Newspaper Page Text
sew Series —Yol. Ill—No 42
IN THOSE OLDEN DAYS
Pioneer Citizen Relates Some of
City's Earlier History.
Having reached that ripened
stage of manhood where there is a
peculiar joy in things reminiscent,
Mr, Nathaniel Derry Lewis, one of
the early settlers, is a most engag
ing personage, and a conversation
with him reveals many things of
the long ago that are very interest
ing at this day.
Mr. Lewis is in his 88th year,
and, his wife having died year be
fore last, he now lives about with
his children, of which there are
eleven, and all of them living and
grown, the youngest being 35.
One of his sons lives at Annis
ton, Ala., and, haying a stay with
him, he came over, some ten days
ago, to be with his children in this
county for awhile. One of these
is Mark Lewis, near Stilesboro,
and the other is Mrs. Seaborn
Hicks, of this city.
Mr. Lewis acts and looks as spry
as many a man of 50, enjoys the
best of health and thinks nothing
of an eight or ten miles walk when
he chooses that kind of combined
pastimt and recreation. Several
years ago he walked in from Row
land Springs, eight miles, before
breakfast, and the feat didn’t fa
tigue him any to speak of,
Seating himself at our request in
one of our office chairs, after he
had been informed that the News
and Courant would like a story
from him of the long ago, he be
gan:
‘‘You see, I was among the first
of the whites who came to this
locality. The Indians were here,
. ML * * Ji
NATHANIEL DERRY LEWIS.
atM I well remember the ponies
they iode, and the little pappooses,
bound to their mothers’ backs by
blankets 01 shawls, when the bands
would go about; also their ball
games and bow and arrow’ shoot
ings, which the whites would en
joy looking at, and praise the skill
of the redskins.
“There were about one hundred
white people in what is now.Bar
fow county, I reckon, when I first
came.”
“What year was it? I came
over from England in 1833, and
soon landed at this spot. I went
back to England in IS3B to see
Queen Victoria crowned. It w r as
a grand sight,the crowning. I land
ed oacK in America, ana went iw
Pennsylvania in 1841. I then came
back to this locality, where I
have lived ever since until two
years ago, w’hen my wife died.
“There was a little settlement of
a few houses half a mile below
the present town, above where the
Puckett crossing on the W, & A.
railroad now is. I named the
place Birmfcgham, for Birming
ham in England. I put up a black
smith and wood shop there, and
when the stage coach line was run
ning between Rome and Atlanta I
got considerable work on repairs
to the stage coaches.
•‘Col. Farish Carter, of Carter’s
Quarter, on the Coosawattee river,
owned consi ’erable land all around
here, secured in what was known
as the Cherokee purchase. He
was a great friend of mine, and
tried to get me to name the little
settlement we h?d Cartersville, for
THE NEWS AND COURANT.
him. I told him we had our town
already named Birmingham, and
didn’t want to change it. I told
him it looked like there might be
a town grow up a half a mile north.
I meant the present site of Carters
ville; this was now, mind you, a
number of years after I first came,
and when the state road was a
project on foot, and they were fix
ing for a station here. You see
the road was built very slowly.
They didn’t have the methods and
facilities for fast work that they
do now. There was one well and
one house then in what is now
Cartersville. Col. Carter named
the place for himself, and had the
pleasure of seeing it grow into a
smart little town before he died.”
“Are there any of the earlier
settlers here now besides you?”
was asked.
“I can only recall three. They
are John Gladden, John Callahan
and Mrs. Hicks, Seab Hicks’
mother.
“Cartersville built up almost
altogether on the east side at first.
It was a long time that the west
side was nothing but a forest.
Mr. Nathan Howard had the first
little house and a shop on the road
running along the railroad in front
of the Bill Arp home, where D, B.
Freeman's home now is.
“There used to be a large pond
where skating was done in winter
by the earlier settlers. It covered
an acre or so of ground, and the
middle of it was down about where
the warehouses now are, and that
pond was never dried up until after
the war. There was talk of plant
ing trees around it and making it
a permanent lake.
“The new comers that came to
settle up were from lower Georgia
and South Carolina mostly. I re
member when Mark A. Cooper
came from down the country. It
was about the year ’45; Kirkpat
rick had a saw-mill on the river,
and Cooper soon began to discover
there was more to expect there
than lumber, and went to work on
the property which he bought and
built up his iron business, Moses
Stroup having experimented in
iron and built a little furnace al
ready.
“I used to go to Louisville, in
Jefferson county, when the capital
was there, and knew some of the
prominent Georgians of those
days; but you see my memory is
now getting faulty on names.”
“What were the first incentives
for a town here?” was a question
given Mr. Lewis.
“There didn’t seem to be any
great incentive, and Cartersville
seemed a slow grower. Rowland
Springs seemed to catch a great
crowd, people coming from Savan
•nah, Mobile, New Orleans, and
other places to get the benefit of
the water and have a pleasant
time. Cartersville was the near'
est railroad station, and the com
ings and goings made it lively
here.”
Having heard the fact stated, we
asked Mr. Lewis regarding his
helping to make the Joe Brown
pikes that evoked so much ridicule
during the civil war.
“Yes, I worked in the armory
at Milledgeville where those imple
ments were made, and helped to
make them.
“ ‘You can get the enemy going
or coming,' was Governor Brown’s
remark about using them in bat
tle.
“If I could refresh my memory
a little I could tell you more, but
you see my memory is getting faul
ty,” said Mr. Lewis again,and,grate-
ful for his patient narrations, we
desisted from further tax on his
willing faculties.
CARTERSVILLE, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 1 1, 11)04.
A FATAL ACCIDENT
Bullet from a Winchester
Kills a Little Child.
SUPPOSED EMPTY GUN
Treacherous Piece Was a Part of
the Remains of an Old
Shooting Gallery.
. 1
C)ne of those lamentable fatalities
that come from the handling of fire
arms supposed not to be loaded and
for which there is no blame but
only regret, happened in this city
last Saturday afternoon.
At the home of Mrs. R. L.
Reeves, which is between the home
of Col. T. C. Milner and the gas
works, at about two o’clock, David
Reeves, a youth of 14 years, was
playing with his fourteen months
old niece, Mary Reeves.
The child espied a winchester
rifle and cried for it. The gun was
the property of Frank Rogers,
some of the effects of his late shoot
ing gallery. Young Reeves had
unloaded the gun several days be
fore, and never dreaming of possi
ble harm to the child, handed it to
it. When in the child’s hand the
gun caught against a bed post. A
loud report was heard and a bullet
went crashing into little Mary's
skull. The ball entered under the
left eye. The child lingered only
about twenty minutes.
Frank Rogers had reloaded the
gun after young Reeves had un
loaded it, never dreaming of an
accident, but the latter was perfect
ly ignorant of the fact, and sup
posed the weapon empty and harm
less.
The little child was the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Ransou Reeves,
who live on the J. W. L. Brown
farm, and had come in with its
mother, on a visit to its grand
mother.
The grandmother, mother, and
young David Reeves, have been
overcome with grief over the acci
dent.
GEORGIA HONORED.
Col. Douglas Wikle i* Nominated for State
Senator in Tennessee.
Col. Douglas Wikle is again
honored by his fellow citizens in
Tennessee. He was elected two
years ago to the legislature without
ODposition and has just been nom
inated for the state senate, having
carried 17 of the 23 districts in the
democratic primary, which is equiv
alent to election.
Col. Wilke has a law office
in the city of Nashville, and
resides on his farm, at a con
venient distance, just over the line
in Williamson county, and reaches
the city by lailroad or a drive over
the pike. His many friends in
Bartow, his old home, will be glad
to hear of his success.
Rase Rail Revived.
Interest in base ball is reviving
again in Cartersville. The boys who
used to put up such good games
here have found some new material
and have organized a team that
will do some clever work. They
went down to Kennesaw to play
the club at that place yesterday.
Mr. Ben Jones, a well-known
citizen of Gordon county, was
found dead in his room at his home
at Farmville Monday morning. An
inquest was held, and it was de
cided that his death was due to
heart failure.
An excursion will be run by the
Western and Atlantic railroad from
Adairsville, Resaca, Calhoun and
McDaniel’s, to Chattanooga and
return, on next Thursday, August
ißtb. Special train leaves Adairs
ville at 7 a. m.; $1.25 for round
trip. Tickets good for two days.
Little Misses Margie and Mary
Hooper Wikle, of Atlanta, are vis
iting their aunt, Miss Mary Wikle.
FORMEDENCAMPMENT
A New Organization of
Odd Fellows.
M EMBERSHIP TWENTY.
Grand Patriarch Randall and Grand
Representative Bass are
Present and Officiate-
An Odd Fellows' encampment
was organized under fine promise
from Cartersville Lodge No. 142,
last Monday night, at the hall of
the lodge.
Graud Patriarch Randall, of
Griffin, and Grand Representative
J. L Bass, of Rome, were present
and officiated in the organization.
The encampment organized with
an enrollment of 20 members and
was named Bartow Encampment
No. 19.
The following were the officers
elected:
J. H. Donahoo, Chief Patriarch.
W. E. Smith, High Priest.
F. M. Smith, Senior Warden.
G. H. Hendricks, Jr.. Scribe.
H. L. Adams, Treasurer.
J. C. Ray, Jr.
C. Gribble, Guide.
C. N. Smith, 0.-Sentinel.
T. W. Tinsley, I. Sentinel.
C. W. Sproull, Ist Watch.
H. D. Ford, 2nd Watch.
Jno. Stanford, 3rd Watch.
J. W. Hill, 4 th Watch.
G. W. Young, Ist Guard.
H. L. Collins, 2nd Guard.
The growth of Odd Fellows in
Cartersville has been almost phe
nomenal and the order is one of
the most sturdy and popular secret
orders of the town. Cartersville
lodge was organized two years ago
with a small beginning and it now
numbers over one hundred mem •
bm-s.
The organization of the c scamp
ed is quite an additional neat tri
umph for the order here.
A JUVENILE CARVER.
Tw* Little Negroes Have a Scrap With Almast
Fatal Consequences.
There was a scrap between two
little negroes Friday night that
came near being the end of one of
the participants.
Bill Wofford and John Willie
Kelly were their names, they were
both about 13 years old, and the
row, which was up about the
African Methodist church, began
first in a play, but grew in violent
proportions at a rapid rate.
Finally Bill Wofford whipped
out a pocket knife and began
carving his antagonist with Jack
the-ripper speed. Kelly was cut
six or seven times. One wound in
the back nearly reached his lungs
and another in the stomach was an
ugly gash.
For a while it was doubted if the
boy who was, cut would live and
Wofford was put in jail to wait
developments.
The Kelly boy has improved and
it is believed will finally get well.
DIED IN ALABAMA.
Father of Mrs. W. F. Baker, of This City
Passes Awav Last Week.
Mr. C. C. Sorrels, father of Mrs.
W. F. Baker, of this city, was ac
cidently killed ba train, walking
around one engine into another, at
Horse Creek, Ala., last Sunday.
His remains were carried to Ac
worth Monday and were interred
Tuesday.
Mr. and Mrs. Baker and daugh
ter, Mrs. Robert F. Jones, atteud
the funeral.
Mr. Sorrels had long been a citi
zen of Acworth but moved to
Alabama about five years ago.
He leaves a wife, who now is very
ill, and five children. They are
Clifford and Charles Sorrels, of
Alabama; Mrs. W. F. Baker, of this
city; Mrs. John McEver, of Ac
worth; and Mrs. R. E. Cason, of
Cedartown.
A GREAT PEACH CROP
Georgia’s Shipments Amount to
About 4,000 Car Loads.
HE GOT HIS PRICE.
How a Bartow Peach Man Caagkt Up With a
Would-Be Buacoer of Shipmest.
Mr. R. R, Whitehead has re
turned from a trip to Indianapolis,
Ind., and Columbus, 0., where be
went to see after the sale of two
cars of peaches, which were shipped
from Stilesboro by Mr. W. H. Grif
fin and himself. These cars had
been shipped on a guarantee ot 85
and 90 cents, but on their arrival
there the commission merchant
wired that the fruit was small,
specked and in bad condition.
Mr. Whitehead boarded the fast
train to go and see if this was the
case. He arrived at his destina
tion, and went direct to the house,
and did not make himself known,
but asked if they had aif “fancy”
peaches.
“Yes, sir; a car on the track has
just arrived," was the reply.
Mr. Whitehead was taken to the
car and the fruit shown to him.
He asked the price.
“A dollar and a quarter to $1.50
a crate,” he answered.
They went back to the store,
and there Mr. Whitehead made
himself known. The gentleman
was dumfounded, and did not want
to pay t ie guaranteed price, but Mr.
Whitehead did not leave until he
had every cent of it.
The peach growers are con
vinced that it is best-tosend a man
with every car.
IN ALDERMAN IG RACK.
Farmer Cartersville Maa Named for Ma
aicipal Heaers ia Atlanta,
Along with an excellent picture,
the Atlanta Constitution of yester
day makes the following compli
mentary mention of Dr. C. A.
Wikle, formerly of this city:
“The friends of Dr. Charles A.
Wikle, who is a candidate for the
city council of Atlanta from the
seventh ward, declare he will be
elected with little or no opposition.
He has never been in politics,
never before aspired to any office,
and has always been a quiet, thor
ough, energetic and prosperous
business man. He had no idea or
intention of aspiring to any office,
being content to pursue the even
tenor of his way as a druggist.
His candidacy, therefpre, is the
result of numerous solicitations
from friends who would not take
no for an answer; and. yielding to
this solicitation, he is now a pro
nounced candidate for the city
council.
“Dr. Wikle was born and reared
in Cartersville, Ga., but has lived
in Atlanta almost continuously
since 1881, the most of which time
has been spent behind the drug
counter and in the chemical labor
atory. He has lived in West End
for five years, and conducts one of
the most attractive drug stores in
the city. His patrons are num
bered among nearly the entire pop
ulation of that ward. He is a son
of Judge J. R. Wikle, president
of the National Bank of Carters
ville, and a brother of State Sena
tor Douglas Wikle, of Nashville,
Tenn.
“Asa character that the people
admire, Dr. Wikle presents a strik
ing personality. He is apparently
about 42 years old, kind in his
ways, strict to perform every obli
gation, true to his friends and for
giving to his enemies. He will
make ho undue sciamble for the
place, but nevertheless will doubt*-
less be overwhelmingly elected.
It goes without saying that if
elected he will make the seventh
ward and the city of Atlanta a
first-class and valuable council
man.”
Old Series—2sth Year
Georgia’s shipment of peaches
this year amounted to nearly four
thousand car-loads. The bulk of
*
this vast amount of fruit came
from north Georgia, and consider
able of it came from Bartow, Gor
don and Flovd counties.
The shipments from Kingston,
Cass Station, Halls, Adairsville,
McDaniels, Calhoun and Plain
ville were the heaviest ever known
from those points, but the prices
have been disappointing. Tbe
growers have not received wdiat
they hoped for, and there is a feel
ing among the orchard growers
that the industry has received a
serious check.
This feeling is perhaps due to
the fact that former prices had in
a measure spoiled the growers.
They had come to look upon a
crate of good Klbertas as a box of
gold nuggets. The industry had,
in the nature of things, to come to
the level of common business, and
this is no doubt what will occur.
The orchards which are carefully
and cheaply worked and kept ia
good condition will produce good
fruit, and this can always be sold
for a lair price. The orchards
which are neglected, and the fruit
which is badly packed, will be
eliminated in the course of time,
and then the well managed orchard
will have the market to itself.
THE TELEPHONE.
Farmer* Should Help the New Liae by
Liberal Ceaceaaiaaa.
There is no convenience that has
come to the people in the march of
progress in this century that is
more generally appreciated when
once enjoyed than the telephone.
Your friends are brought to you in
communication, if not face to face,
within voice sound and there is a
pleasure and satisfaction in confer
ences thus that one doesn’t expe
r.ence in those otherwise.
Since the exchange was first
instituted in Cartersville the tele
phone has grown more and more
popular with the people and many
people would give up most any
home convenience before they
would dispense with their phone.
Since the lines have been built
into the country and new connect
ions have been secured their use
has been greatly enlarged and
more appreciated.
The Bell company are now fixing
to build a line to Fairmount and
meet with no obstruct
ions in their work. People in the
territory which it will reach do not
appreciate as yet what a great con
venience it will be to them- The
company desires such concessions ‘
from farmers as the running of the
lines of poles through their farms,
This should be granted them freely
and readily and we think it will.
Farmers, “think about it, and
treat the developers of your locality
with liberality.
Lengthy Sweets.
The day of tall growth for Bartow
products seems here. Last week we
told of a corn stalk feet high
and this week there has been left
at our office a stalk of sorghum cane
that measures over fourteen feet.
It was grown on the farm of Mrs.
J. L. Irick, at Grassdale, and was
from the crop of Arthur Weems,
colored.
Among those from out of town
attending the Goodwin-Ross wed
ding were Mr. and Mrs. T. A. Cor
ley, Mr. and Mrs. Clem Hackney,
of Macon; Mr. and Mrs. John
Fambro and Mr. and Mrs. W. W.
Mcßride, of Rockmart.
The friends of Mr. Irby Hen
derson will be glad to learn that
he is improving.