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About Woman's work. (Athens, Georgia) 1887-1??? | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1893)
IWIWI Wil IF T. L. MITCHELL. Publisher. Vol. 6—No. 9. For WOBK. S children inherit peculiar traits from their parents, so cities and colonies are impressed by their founders. Hence the in ( terest that the thoughtful student of history takes in these men, A who, standing head and shoulders above their fellows, have left such deep “footprints on the sands of time.’’ Janies Edward Oglethorpe was the son of Sir Theophilus Ogle thorpe, (who was descended from an ancient family of high repute), and was born in London, December 21st, 1688. He was already a student of Oxford University when he was only sixteen years old ; but, the military profession having more charms for him than literary pursuits, he never finished his college course. In his very youth he was a Lieutenant in the Guards of “Good Queen Anne.’’ After her death he withdrew from the British army and learned the arts of war under Prince Eugene of Savoy, counted one of the greatest generals of modern times. With him he crossed the Danube and defeated the Turks under the Grand Vizier Ali, and the next year was present at the siege and capture of Belgrade. Here he gained his title to brave and high-toned distinction, and was highly complimented by his il lustrious commander He had also fought with Queen Anne’s fa mous general, the Duke of Marlborough. Shortly after these stirring events, he returned to England to try for a seat in Parliament. He was elected as a member from Hasle mere, in the county of Surrey. He continued to represent that bor ough by successive elections for thirty-two years. His parliamentary duties did not prevent him holding rank as an officer in the British army, or spending a good deal of time in America, as it was his for tune to do a few years afterwards. As a statesman, he proposed and promoted many salutary laws for the benefit of trade. He was always found on the side of justice and humanity. He made a brave effort to restore a constitutional militia, and to abolish arbitrary impress ment of seamen. As a politician, he was independent but consistent. His earnest, able speeches gained for him the unqualified respect and esteem even of those opposed to his political views. As a philanthropist he was above all praise. Sensitive to the voice of suffering, quick to see wrong and redress it, ever ready to lend a helping hand to the weak, his whole career displays a “vast benevo lence of soul.’’ He alleviated to some extent the horrors of the Mar shalsea ; and worked great reforms in the tyrannies of Bambridge, the notorious warden of the fleet. When he was appointed Chair man of the Committee of Parliament for inquiring into the condition of the jails, he inspired his colleagues with some of his own active and persevering benevolence. Together they visited the dark and pestilential dungeons of the prisons which at that time disgraced London ; brought the guilty keepers to merited punishment, and res cued multitudes from extreme misery. He was a patriot in the no blest and highest sense of the word ; but England was too narrow to bound his broad humanity. No part of the globe was too remote to claim his interest; no man so obscure as to be beyond his sympathy. When Oglethorpe was in “the prime of life, handsome, tall, man ly, dignified, but not austere, and blessed with ample means for the gratification of every reasonable desire,’’ he planned to found a colo ny, unlike any other that had been designed by man. He interested twenty-one other noblemen in his views, and they petitioned the reigning sovereign, George 11,.f0r a grant of lands in America forthis purpose, and the liberty to use such money as they themselves should give, or receive from others, in carrying over and establishing these unfortunate families ; and also that the money collected for the per sons first relieved should not end there, but extend itself to the latest posterity . The King readily granted this charter ; and, in his honor, the col ony was called Georgia. Oglethorpe was peculiarly fitted to be the leader of such an enter prise. He had a liberal education, a fearless soul, a strong will, an unbounded energy, the culture of foreign travel, and a varied expe rience of men, countries and state affairs. With a small band of one hundred and sixteen settlers, he embark ed for Georgia in the bleak November, 1732. It was February of the next year when, obtaining land from the Yamacraws, he marked out a town and called it Savannah, from the river that flowed by. Here, in the wilderness, the colonists built'their humble homes, and this was the cradle of a great State. Oglethorpe, realizing the importance of being on friendly terms with the Indians, lost no time in seeking an interview with the Chief of the YamacrawS, and a mutual and deep friendship sprang up be tween them which only ended with the Indian’s death. He was as A FAITHFUL WOMANOF INFANCY THE STAY, OF AGE THE COMFORTER. The Father of a State. ATHENS, GEORGIA, SEPTEMBER, 1893. the right arm of Oglethorpe, and his name is honorably associated with the planting of the colony. The Georgia Indians always had a contempt for small men ; there was that about Oglethorpe’s person and character that inspired confidence from the beginning. He nev er deceived them, nor cheated them, so he was highly respected. Just before the Spanish War broke out, when any Indian who had carried Oglethorpe’s head to the Spaniards in Florida, or the French in Mo bile, would have received a large reward, this dauntless Father of Georgia took a journey of over two hundred miles across the country to attend a conference of Chiefs. His only escorts were three men and his servants, and an Indian trader who acted as guide. For ten years, including a few necessary absences in England, Oglethorpe was in Georgia, giving his whole time to the settling of various towns, promoting friendly relations between the colonistsand the two powerful Indian nations that owned Georgia, and providing away to bring over such of the friendless, the persecuted and the un fortunate,as could show that they were worthy to receive his benefac tions. During these ten years Oglethorpe not only received no sal ary for his services, but supported himself, besides giving largely of his means to the helpless. He would not permit the colonists to build him a house, but lived for a year in a tent stretched under a cluster of pines. These trees then crowned Yamacraw Bluff. After wards he contented himself with boarding with one of the colonists. It was only when all the families had comfortable homes, that he permitted himself one. He set apart for himself fifty acres of land on St. Simon’s Island, near Frederica where he had built a Fort. His homestead consisted of a cottage, a garden, and an orchard for oran ges, figs and grapes. He became much attached to it, and it was the only property he ever owned or claimed in Georgia. If his ambition had been less pure and philanthropic he might have owned a million acres and played the role of a prince. No English Governor of an American province ever gave such assurance of deep devotion to pub lic duty, as he. On the 23rd. of July, 1743, Oglethorpe finally left Georgia, and never returned ; but, to the end of his long life, he felt the deepest interest in her welfare, which he showed in a remarkable way when occasion was presented. Two important events happened in his life the next year. In March, he was appointed one of the field officers, under Field Mar shal, the Earl of Stair, when the rising for the Young Pretender took place in Scotland, and England feared an invasion from France ; but the defeat of the young Prince at the battle of Culloden, ip April, put an end to all fear on that score. In the following September, Oglethorpe married a lady to whom he had long been attached : Elizabeth, only daughter of Sir Nathan Wright, Baronet, of Cranham Hall, and sister and heiress of Sir Sam uel Wright, Baronet. The remainder of his life, forty years, was passed in this beautiful home, except when duty to his country called him away. When war broke out between Great Britain and the American col onies, Oglethorpe was the senior officer in the British army ; he was offered, as a great compliment, the position of commander-in-chief of the King’s forces in America. For love of Georgia, he declined this high position. He offered to accept it if the ministry would assure him that full justice should be done the colonies ; which meant, of course, that there would be no war, and no need for his military ser vices. The position was given to the officer next below him, Sir William Howe. It is easy to imagine with what intense interest Oglethorpe watched this struggle, and how his heart was torn with conflicting emotions— patriotism was a prominent trait in his character, and he loved England; but England was in the wrong, and he loved Georgia, too. How his soul must have glowed, as he listened in Parliament to the fiery eloquence of Chatham, Burke and Wilkes as they defended the position of the colonies! After seven long, bloody years, peace was declared, and the young nation sent a Minister to represent her at the Court of St. James. Oglethorpe was the first British noblemanto call upon this gentleman, and extend to him the courtesies that his position demanded. It is rare that a man is understood and appreciated in his lifetime; but Oglethorpe enjoyed that pleasure. In the British House of Lords, the ever memorable John, Duke of Argyle, bore testimony of his fine military character, his natural generosity, his contempt of danger, and his regard for the public good. A similar encomium is perpetuated in the French language, by the Abbe Rayiial; this Compliment was proportionally greater, for in KATE GARLAND, Editrbss.. 50 Cts. per Year.
