Newspaper Page Text
Volume X—No. 43.
PASSING OF A
PIONEER WOMAN
MRS. ELIZABETH SHELTON ASH
LEY, WIDOW OF COFFEE COUN
TY LAND AND SLAVE OWNER,
DIES IN VALDOSTA.
(By Mrs. Lon Dickey.)
The. death of Mrs. Elizabeth Shelton
Ashley, at Valdosta, on August the
4th. at the age of ninety years I feel
deserves more than passing notice in
her bid home county of Coffee, inas
mu. h as the hardships of pioneer days
have caused the graves of many dis
tinguished people to remain unmarked
; • r• ravages of the war between
the States so closely following have
forced the ancestry of many splendid
people of the County into obscurity.
(I wish here and now to laud the ef
forts of Honorable Warren Ward in
preserving the records of the county’s
early settlers.)
Miss Elizabeth Shelton was born in
the year 1834, in Telfair County, near
Jacksonville. Her father, Charles I.
Shelton, “Born Nov, 16, 1787, died
July 19, 1871,” is buried at the old
Block House there which has recent
ly been appropriately and enduringly
marked by Oconee Chapter, D. A. R.
Site frequently visited Misses Mary
and Ellen Ashley, who lived across
Oc ttulgee in Ccffee county, and who
owned jointly with their brother,
Jonathan Ashley, a large number of
slaves. This was one of the largest
plantations of its day in Coffee, and
still bears the imprints of its large
, slave quarters in old wells and chim
ney mounds.
In 1854 she became the bride of
Jonathan Ashley, and together they
ferried the river and came to preside
over the “Big House” together. She
was early a member of the Methodist
Church, and it was stated in Valdosta
papers that she “had been a member
of this denomination for a period of
, eighty, years, fifty-four years having
Vent in VMdosU vvhe.v ehe wit-
VrowfnJrT'a s tTagflfiig vil
lage to a Pity.”
She was of distinguished ancestry,
be.' •; herself a direct descendant ot
Nathanial Ashley, of St. Mary s, Cam
den County, Georgia, who, history
tells us. was “In the year 1784 granted
by the Colonial and State Government
a Headright in Camden County.
This ancestor married Miss Jane Wil
hr. ns, daughter of an Episcopal rec
to'. ot Virginia who “generously con-
I tributed to the cause of Indepen
dence in 1776.” Their daughter. Miss
Susan Ashley, became the bride of
Samuel Talbot Boyd, who history rec
ords as having “become possessor of
a headright in Burke County, togethei
with his brother, James, in the yeai
1779, having just come over from
S otland.” It was of this union that
Jsne Boyd and who afterwards mar
ried Charles I. Shelton, the father of
Miss Elizabeth Shelton, subject of
'■ is sketch. All these people from St.
Mary’s, history goes on to say, were
“ river, inland by Indians, later join
f.._ the Scotch colony of Highlanders
in Telfair County, themselves being
pure English.”
The glories of Ashley Gardens, the
ancestral home in England, having
been told to her since early childhood
fc'. is young bride of Jonathan Ashley s
round an ideal setting for her dreams
in the beautiful grove of caks, cedar,
holly, black walnut, and other native
trees, and we regret that we cannot
dwell at length on the glories of this
old garden made by her hands. Two
weeks before her death the writer
talked with her as she wishfully ex
pressed a desire to sec it. once more.
There are still the Carolina Cherry
trees with their evergreen leaves,
wealth of spring blossom and abund
ance of berries for the rcvbbins the
cone-shaped cedars with their frosty
bine berries; old largerstroemias with
their pink blooms, and the western
hedge of old-fashioned chinaberry
trees described by a southern'writer
as “being covered with masses of
sweet-smelling lilac-eolorde blossoms
in spring, and in autumn the soft,
glaves thickly carpeting the ground
wit bright gold.” (The slaves always
called these “Chaney trees.”
Durng her residence here in north
ern Coffee she gave three brothers to
the southern cause during the years
1861-65, only one returning to her,
Honorable Cowpcr Shelton who died
in Valdosta several years ago. A son
bom to her here row lives in Valdosta,
J. Maxey Ashley, Secretary C. of C.
named for beautiful Miss Juliet
Maxey, as Ashley biide of earlier
(ttoffitt ifUnintp JproijtTss,
FIRST METHODIST CHURCH
Guyton Fisher, Pastor.
At 11:30 there will be a mixed
service, including songs and enter
tainment by the little quartet from
the Orpans’ home of the South Ga.,
Conference. After which the agent,
Rev. J. A. Smith will make a, short
talk.
tlunday School at 10:15, J. H.
Breedlove, Superintendent.
Col. Rufus Moore will speak to his
regular class at the Court House at
te same our.
It is like ly the children from the
Orphans Home will be at the Sunday
School too.
All are cordially invited to these
vices and Strangers are especially wel
come.
The pastor will preach at 8 p. m.
SIDE WALK PAVING"
TO SOON BEGIN.
The Mayor and Council are making
plans as rapidly as possible to begin
paving the walks of many of the
main streets of the city, and there re
gains nothing left to do hut adver
tise for bids, secure contracts and the
project will begin. The paving will
extend to many of the main residence
streets of the city and throughout the
paved street area, and according to
plans, the paving will bo so extended
as to reach just as many people as
oossible.
An ordinance is published in this
issue of The Progress stipulating
those streets which will be paved, and
also stating the plan by which the
work will be done. The certificates
which will be sold-allowing a period
of ten years to make’ payments hv
property owners will cause the ex
pense of this great improvement to
come without material inconvenience
to property owners. «
The paving of sidewalks has' been
deiaved ’ftrt ftdeoffhft bf th ssioil
in money matters for some time, but
many of the property owners are an
xious that the work begin. When
his has been completed the city ad
ministration will have well-nigh com
pleted their plan of improvement be
»un a few years ago.
Mr. T. A. Fulgham ,of the Im
perial Tobacco Company, Lid., was
among those to visit the Douglas to
bacco market this week. .Mr. Shuff,
popular buyer fur this company and
Mr. Majettee were hosts to Mr. Ful
gham while he was in the city.
days. It is said in Valdosta that one
can trace her places of residence by
tne presence of beautiful flowering
shrubs which she always planted. On
leaving- her plantation home she sold
it to her cousin, Captain Julius War
ren Boyd, who reared a large family
there, his bride arriving there in
1870 when the old garden was in its
greatest glory, having been referred
to by a well-known Georgia writer
once a s “Elizabeth’s Georgia Gar
den.” \
During the reign of Mrs. Elizabeth
Ashley over the slaves on the planta
tion, she worked unceasingly for their
Christian education, and there were
many of them given Bible names by
her. Left to choose their own names
they invariably chose flowers, and
[ recall having a little city cousin visit
us once, who after springing numerous
bits of knowledge on us was final I'
asked if she “ever saw a black Rose.”
On being calmy led to old black
Mammy Rose, she burst into indig
nant tears at having been gotten the
best of. There were black pews re
-rved for thorn at Oak Grove church
where this good woman worshiped,
and they heard, perhaps, better prech
,ng that they have heard since. And
perhaps no berter misisoneries have
ever gone out of our State of Georgia
than those good.woman who helped
to educate and christianize these black
people fresh from the jungles of Af
rica.
When I last talked to this good
woman, as I looked into her gentle
face „under its crown of snowy hair,
I thought of a -Latin inscription I once
read on an old sundial, “Horas non
numero nisi werenas,” (T count no
hours but unclouded ones}. I like to
remember many things in her life
that, t have not hero the space to re
cord. but I offer this in her memory
to the good pcoote of Coffee County
who are interested in those who have
made its history before them.
OFFICIAL ORGAN COFFEE COUNTY. CITY OF DOUGLAS, AND THE CITY OF NICHOLLS
DOUGLAS, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 1924.
PRICES MOUNT HIGHER AS BETTER
GRADE COME ON LOCAL MARKET
There seems to be some apprehen
sion upon the part of some of the to
bacco growers that the warehouse will
be open for only four weeks in Geor
gia this year. The report has gained
considerable proportions, and is with
out foundation. The Georgia ware
houses will remain open just as long
as there is* tobacco to sell, though it
be six or eight weeks. There is hard
ly question but they will remain open
ai least three weeks longer, and if
necessity demands, still longer.
Instead of a weakening in prices,
there is a tendency to grow stronger,
and the average will be considerably
higher this week than at any time
since sales began. seems to
be no doubt but that excellent prices
will prevail throughout the present
season. We’ve no foundation for
this statement other general condi
tions as presented. The quality is
good and the demand strong for the
Georgia product.
We do not believe it necessary at
all to rush the tobacco on the mar
ket as has been the case since open
ing of the sales. The warehousemen
end the buyers are anxious to move
the crop as rapidly as posible, but pre
fer to give the best service they can
at the same time, and this is best
done when the houses are not ove*
eroweded.
AS OTHERS SEE US
(By Erskine Caldwell in Monday’.',
Macon Telegraph, and Augusta Her
ald.)
Douglas, Ga., Aug. 17—Probably
there is, no .county ip the. state that
►is raismg* ifs 'ecOno rm d L sl: ructur eon
firmer foundation than Coffee County
No county in the state has put great
er street on scientific diversification
and it is doubtful if there is a county
in the state that is in a better fi
nancial position than this county.
Here are some of the things that
makes Coffee one of the most pros
perous counties in the state: Last
year the county shipped 255 carloads
of hogs end beef cattle that were
raised on Coffee County feed and
there will be about the same amount
this year; a small cotton acreage will
produce about 7,000 bales, the larg
est corn crop in the history of the
county, 187 farmers have cream sep
arators and are shipping cream, and
have enough hogs and chickens to
consume all the skimmed milk, 50
per cent of the farmers are raising
tobacco, having on an average four
acres to the plow and making from
S2OO to SSOO to the acre.
It is almost impossible for one who
has not been on the ground to gain
any adequate condition of what di
versification has done for this coun
ty. This is especially true in regard
to the part that tobacco has played
in saving a large section of the state
from absolute bankruptcy. It is ad
mitted by everybody here that to
bacco has not only made money for
the people, but has actually saved
the county from economic debacle.
First Tobacco in 1905
It was in 1905 that a man from
South Carolina raised the first Coffee
County tobacco. There was no mar
ket in this state and the product
was shipped to Florence, S. C. This
tobacco was poorly handled and the
returns were not attractive, but this
man and one cr two other men con
tinued the experiment. Cotton was
king and his loyal subjects frowned
upon the would-be usurper. Tobacco
was an economic Cinderella and it
was not until 1915 that a small ware
house was built where she might en
tertain a few friends. Today in
Douglas alone there are two large
warehouses, one of them with an
acre of floor space, and a stemming
and redrying plant where the China-
American Company prepares tobacco
for direct shipment to China. To
bacco has raised Douglas from the
position of an unknown wiregrass vil
lage ?nd placed in the center of re
gion of unexcelled prosperity where
P.ig Business is eagerly spending mil
lions for the golden weed.
During the last week the streets
of Douglas were crowded with peo
ple from far and near. All available
tit is natural that a person wants
to sell their tobacco the same day that
it is brought to market. When this
canpot be done, it is natural to sup
pose that the i-esults will be some dis
satisfaction.' It may he that the
peak t»f sales has been reached. On
the floors Thursday morning was as
much tobacco, or more than was here
on opening date, and no one knows
how long this will continue.
The' excellent prices paid here are
attracting growers from several oth
er counties, and in one shipment alone
seven car loads of tobacco was re
ceived on the Douglas warehouses
Monday. Other car load shipments
have been arriving during the week,
and a continuous stream of trucks are
flowing into the city day and night,
and the traffic on the streets was nev
er greater on any special occasion
than it is all during the day from
early nmrn to late at night. Hun
dreds of visitors who do not make
themselves known, but merely come
to see for themselves, tmd go away,
are here every day.
There is a much greater rush on
this market than was even anticipated
Had tw*o sets of buyers been on the
Dcugla.4 market, there is little doubt
that tPye would been at least a third
more of' the Georgia crop sold on the
Douglas market.
jparking space around the warehouses
. was occupied by cars belonging to
the men who had tobacco on the
floors. The sales at Douglas during
. the ‘Secyhd week of the sale has av
orv.go*' • ■ ■:i a quafi-p-r - million
i pounds for each day, bringing the
j farmers fer the week about a quar
ter million dollars. This enormous
amount of money is reflected in every
line of trade. The two local news
papers carried several page adver
tisements for local merchants in their
two Jssues. Fred Ricketson, editor
of the Progress, says that the busi
ness in his office for the past month
is the largest in the histoi’y of the
paper.
This reporter spent two days in
conversation with farmers and busi
ness men and not one was found
■who did not look with confidence to
the future. There may be farmers
who cid not succeed in growing to
bacco. but they could not be found
among the hundreds who crowded
the warehouses Thursday and Friday.
For Instance—
Here are afew examples of what
farmers have done. H. Cole planted
nine acres of tobacco last year. His
expense account for labor and other
cash items w'as S7O. He sold his crop
for $2,590. This year he has fifteen
acres and has spent $260. The grade
of tobacco this year is better than
that he raised, last year and the pro
duction amounts to 27,000 pounds. On
Thursday -one of Mr. Cole’s small
sons sold 130 pounds of sand lugs
which his father had thrown away
as worthless. The lugs were sold
for 12 cents, the pounds. Mr. Cole
is a share cropper and his half of
r’ns year’s crop will go far towards
buying a la n.
Will Stafford, a colore I share crup
per last year cultivated two and a
half acres of tobacco and his share
of the proceeds was $340. This year
he has four acres of tobacco. He
sold, his sand lugs Friday, the lowest
price being 32 cents. One lot brought
48 cents. After receiving his check}
he and his family went home in an
automobile.
Mr. Pegram, a North Carolinan,
who operates one of the warehouses,
bought a large tract of land last year
and made enough off his crop to
pay for the land. Four brothers
bought an immense tract of land for
which they paid $1,200. They have
SB,OOO worth of tobacco at current
prices and will have 1.200 bushels of
corn to sell.
These examples were taken at ran
dom and in no sense are they excep
tional.
Dr. C. A. Moody of University of
Ga., spent several days with Dr. S. J.
SHrley this week, resisting him with
his work.
PEANUT GROWERS URGED TO
USE CARE IN GATHERING
PEANUTS FOR MARKET
ALBANY. GA., Aug., 18.—Warning
by the Georgia Peanut Growers Co
operative Association, from its head
quarters at Albany, against threshing
peanuts, instead of picking them on
a picker, has brought criticism from
some sources, This criticism, how
ever, has in no way caused the Peanut
Association to recede from its posi
tion that peanut growers will make a
mistake to thresh their peanuts, J. J.
Watson, Head of the Sales and Pro
duction Department of the Associa
tion declared.
Advice against the use of threshers
was inspired by no desire to injure
the business of any man who sells
threshers or to help anyone who sells
pickers, Mr. Watson said, but was
issued solely for the purpose of help
ing farmers grow peanuts. The only
way to secure the best grade andthe
best price, he declared is to put their
crops on the market in the best mar
ketable condition.
Each year sees a larger percentage
age of the world’s peanut crop used
for edible purposes, Mr. Watson con
tinued, this condition having progress
ed to the point where the entire
domestic peanut crop is used for food
except what is too badly damaged to
be fit for human consumption. In the
nine month period from November
1923 to August 1924, the amount of
peanuts used for edible consumption
in the United States increased fifty
million pounds compared with the
same period the year before.
This enormous increase in consump
tion for elible purposes and the high
prices prevailing for peanuts make it
necessary to apply the most approved
methods in handling the crop so that
a considerable portion of it can be
j stored and distributed to the trade
I throughout the year as the demand
j requires, he addefcl. In order .to
! make this possible' ¥he
! be in good condition when stored.
If the hulls are cracked, even
through the kernel may fceem unin
jured, the peanut is immediately ex
posed to the air and will become rancid
in store, and if kept until spring or
| summer will most likely become in
i fested with worms. In fact, cracked
or shelled kernels when stored be
come often badly infested with worms
by February or March. On the other
hand, a sound, dry peanut, where the
hull is net cracked, will keep in stor
age throughout the summer without
injury, Mr. Watson stated, as evi
denced by the fact that peanuts re
cently shipped by tnc Association af
ire ten months stoiage came out in
perfect condition.
M st of the peanuts to be held over
along pernd he stated, will generally
be stored in Federal Licensed Ware
houses. The mtipt.s irsued by these
licensed warehouses are th eoniy re
ceipts which ur Federal Intermediate
Crone rank wi.l ac opt as collateral
fir lo«ns o pe:»U£" As all such
loans are made for at least six
months the warehousemen is allowed
to issue a licensed receipt for threshed
peanuts, because, in the judgement of
the United States Department of Ag
riculture, they cannot be kept safely
in storage for the period covered by
the Federal Warehouse License
It has been demonstrated too often
to be denied that a threshing machine
will jsheli a considerable percentage
of kernels and crack a still larger
percentage of hulls, thus exposing
the kernels to decay and insect dam
age rendering them unfit for per
manent storage. The Association,
therefore, insists that the only safe
plan for the peanut grower to avoid
the use of a thresher and. a pick
ail his peanuts on a picker and to be,
i sure that the picker itself is in good
condition and is operated efficiently.
DAN L. GIBSON.
Editor and Mrs* W. E. Bradley, otV
the Baxley News-Banner were visitors
in the city Monday In addition to
being an editor, Mr. Bradley has ex
tensive farming interests, and this
year, has grown a large crop of to
bacco, about twenty acres, which he
bus marketed at Douglas. Mr. and
Mrs. Bradley were accompanied by
Miss Winrified Gilmore, of Baxley,
who spent the day with friends.
Mrs. Horton Christopher was the
hostess to her bridge last Thursday
afternoon at her home on Gaskin
Avenue. 1
$1.30 Per Annum in Advance
TOBACCO TRADE BOARD
ORGANIZED HERE,
A Tobacco Board of Trade was per
fected at a meeting held at the Geor
gia State Bank Monday evening of
this week. The new organization is
composed of warehousemen, buyers,
auctioneers, and representatives of
the various tobacco companies of the
country, and practically every one on
the local market have become mem
bers.
Mr. Arthur Barber, of the China-
Amerisan Company, and the Georgia
American Company, acted as tern
porary chairman. He was elected as
permanent president, and Mr. G. H.
Pegram, of the Big Tobacco ware
house was elected vice president, and
Mr. J.JI. McLean, of the Growers
Warehouse was elected secretary.
treasurer.
Membership dues were assessed at
$lO annually, and a number of com
mittees were appointed, including an
arbitration committee and a sales
committee.
The purpose of the organization is
to function for the tobacco industry
just as a similar trade body would
function for a city. The better co
operation of the farmer, the ware
housemen. the louver, and all interest
ed parties for the better handling,
and placing tobacco on the market,
the protection of the buyer against
fraud on the part of any one, and
vice-versa. The organization will meet
and discuss problems in general and
work in harmony for the best plans
o follow in facilitating the hand
ling and promoting the best interest
of the local market.
COMMISSIONER J. BPOWN
SPENT THURSDAY IN CITY
# ' . —■— n : j ,*
C-fKmiDsioftet - 4 f
"Brown* of Aalanta, with Mr. Goodtoe
Yancey, a former prominent Georgian
but now of Tampa, Fla:, and Mr.
Newbern, secretary to Mr. Brown,
spent Thursday in Douglas. Mr.
Brown is on a speaking tour of the
state in his race to succeed himself.
Te spent the day here attending the
tobacco sales and meeting friends who
were here from many sections. He
spoke confidently of his re-election,
and stated that assurances had come
to him from all over the state that
he would be elected again by the lar
gest majority he had ever received.
Mr. Brown was tendered a luncheon at
Hie New Douglas hotel. Ho left in
he late afternoon for Irwin county.
KIWANIS CLUB RESUMES
LUNCHEONS AT NEW DOUGLAS
After a lapse of five vvekes the Ki
war.is Club resumed their luncheon at
i,hi New Douglas hotel and e spirited
meeting was held at the new hour of
meeting—one o’clock on Friday. A.
lumber of subjects came up for dis
■ussion and some old business des
•atched.
The program committee was instruc
ted to arrange a luncheon to which
vouid be invited those in Douglas
in the tobacco business, and the ladies
Another committee was appointed to
investigate the erection of an addi
tional tobacco warehouse for another
;casr»n, end in addition, suitable pack
houses to handle the immense crop
ixpected to be marketed here another
year. President John R. Slater pre
sided over the meeting,
orodan: sd hie ..inolunch. fflUf shr
KUAN PARADE ATTRACTS
LARGE CROWD THURSDAY
The Klan pa Fr LCROOD mhhh
The advertised Klan parade was
pulled off on schedule time on Thurs
day evening at eight o’clock. Tre
mendous crowds thronked the streets
and witnessed the fire works and the
gigantic parade which marched about
8:30. A torchlight and flag was car
ried by each Klansman in the parade
and the marchers surrounded the court
house while holding the buring tapers
creating a pretty scene.
NOTICE SERVICE AT
PRESBYTER*AN CHURCH.
Rev. Fritz Rouschenberg will hold
two services at the Presbyterian
church next Sunday, preaching ser
vices rt 11:30 a. m. /nd 8:00 p. m.
The publif is cordially invited to hear
him.