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THE AMERICAS WEEKLY TIMES-RECORDER: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER IS, im.
AN HISTORICAL HOUSE.
THE OLD COURTHOUSE BUILDING
And ITS EVENTFUL PAST.
Recollection* of the Fatuous Men who
Made It* Wall* Kins with Eloquence-
•Judjje l'ilibury Write* a Readable Ar
ticle About the Structure.
Thirty-eight years the old court house
has stood, which in days past was the
pride of Sumter county. Time moves
along and the past must go to give away
to the future iu style and modern archi
tecture that leaves the past far behind
in regard to beauty and elegance, the
present one becomes an adornment for
the future. Will it hold up to the stan
dard in comparison in some things with
the past, for the old was a building of
historical associations, and has now dis
appeared and is only remembered in
memories casket. What a history that
old brick building could unfold if speech
belonged to such.
In the year 1853 the same was finished
and accepted Within it there have pre
sided eight judges.
First came Judge W. A. Perkins, a
man whomjill respected whom adorn
the bench, and a lawyer of fine parts.
Then came Judge Alex A. Allen, a moral,
temperate gentleman, and one of fine
culture. Succeeding him was Judge
Richard II. Clarke, to mention would
only be sufficient, for he is one whom
all delight to honor and remember, a
scholar, a legal light in the judiciary of
Georgia, without superiority as a judge,
having ;d 1 the requisites to make him
the pure upright judge, an ornament to
the bar and bench of Georgia. lie is
now presiding judge of the DeKalb cir
cuit. After him came Judge D. A.
Vason, a man of genial, pleasant dispo
sition, plain and practicable and a fine
judge. Then it was Judge J. M. Clark.
He had retired for some years from the
practice, but when appointed, realizing
the position he had been placed in, be
came the studious student, and at his
death was a thorough judge, having few
equals on the bench, (if any,) and was
deeply learned iu the law. At his death
there was appointed one that all delight
to honor, one whom his people love and
Georgia proud of. A reputation second
to none, a judge by nature and it seemed
was created for the position, from the
time ho enrobed himself in the ermiu to
the time of his retirement to accept a
higher position, not one stain soiled the
mantle of the judge. It was as free and
unsullied as the day he clothed himself
with the same. A purer judge never
presided over the courts of Georgia. I
speak of Judge Charles F. Crisp. The
next was Judge J. A. Ansloy, a veteran
of the war- lie had sulfered battling
for the rights of the South, had felt the
rigors of imprisonment at Point Look
out as a prisoner of war, and bears on
his person scars, a, gentle reminder of
the lost cause. Judge Ansley lias long
been at the law, one whom tills all posi-
tisus with honor and dignity, he had ex
perience as a judicial officer, having
been the county judge in 1800-07, and on
ascending the bench as Superior Court
Judge, was well equipped for the duties
he was called upon to perform, and was
considered a good ami conscientious
Judge, upright and capable, and in
equity jurisprudence few equals. i ■
i
Judge James Scarborough, who had
been on the superior court bench of one
the lower circuits, a good methodical
lawyer. He too has passed over the
river.
Aroused at the sharpness and pun-
gancy of Goode in his arguments before
the court assailing DuncaD, who was a
man of some note and to some extent
gifted with oratory being a Methodist
minister, he appealed to the court for
protection for his client. Goode paying
no attention to the interruption, pro
ceeded in the same strain w'hen Duncan
arose and stated to the court that his
counsel had asked protection—it had
not been given, therefore, “he In his
own proper person demanded to be saved
from the assaults of an oratorical assas
sin.” Goode with one of his inimitable
bows acknowledged the compliment and
thereafter confined himself to the case
at the bar.
N. A. Smith, in every meaning of the
word an erudite scholar, was a deep
student, well up in the decisions of the
supreme court and the rules of practice.
Sensitive to a fault, quick to resent, he
was as quick to forgive. He was never
married, and at his death the bar lost a
genial companion and associate.
S. C. Elam has gone as well as the
old courthouse, his eccentricities are a
part and parcel of the old building; his
co-equal will be bard to find. lie could
be brilliant at times, dull and sluggish
at others, he was worth more intellec
tually than was accorded him. He made
no effort to display a talent that his
maker had endowed him with; his suc
cess was in his own hands but he would
not take advantage of it. But alas, he
too has gone, and the old building is re
membered with the past. What
galaxy of brilliant minds, who
too “have passed over the river’
such as Toombs, Dougherty, Colquitt
(W. T.), Lumpkin, Patterson, Starnes
Xesbit, Stephen?, Scarborough, and Gen
Howell Cobb, statesman, patriot and sol
dier, a kindly man, a good mau, brilliant
and having few superiors in the courts,
ever loved by the people of the state
over whom he ruled, ever willing to
honor him with the highest office within
their gift—he, too, has helped to make
the old court house historical in days
past and gone. Whose voice has re
sounded therein from floor to attic, from
corner to corner, more welcome, more
eloquent than the peerless Hill, in
days of reconstruction, on the east side,
within its sdadow, in just such thrilling
tones as when he uttered in the Senate
chamber—replying to Blaine—“Thank
God, lam iu my Father’s house; I’ve
come to stay!” beseeching the people to
stand firm and uphold the manhood of
the South? When we remember such
scenes as this, can any one help regret
ting the demolition of the old court
house?
The two Warrens—Eli and L. I\ D.
A. R. Brown, Carr, Worril, King—good
lawyers, all of them—Bob Bissell, brave,
generous and fearless, giving up his life
battling for the South, though of North
ern birth, practiced within the walls of
this venerable structure
Oue of the most remarkable men who
started iu life within that old building
is S. II. Ilawkius. A man of uutiriug
energy, watchful trad zealous in all mat
ters of business, be was often seen within
that building engaged in the turmoil of
He j legal battles, and persistently pressing
lie claims to judgment. Retiring from the
was followed by Judge Allen Fort.
was perhaps the youngest person that | practice of law to eugage in banking, ho
had been elected to that position iu the ! is now considered one of the best and
state, and following others who had | finest railroad presidents of the day.
longer experience,
As a presiding offi
cisive, and lias the reputation among the
members of the bar of being well versed
in legal law, and in the construction of
statutes of his state few equals. He re
tires to accept the position of Railroad
Commissioner.
This composes all the judges of the
superior court who have presided in the
old courthouse since its erection. Let
us look at the old courthouse and see the
large number of prominent lawyers who
have made it historical. Judge W. A.
Hawkins; can anyone but feel deep
sorrow and regret when wo think of his
death? lie was a lawyer in every sense of
the word, fine ability and a powerful ad
vocate. Success as Gen. Sidney John
son said “is the truo test of merit,”
then success was his, for he hardly ever
lost a cause. Always victorious, he was
one that controlled juries and the ver
dict was never doubtful; he was the
friend of the young practiouer, and they
seemed, by some magnetic influence,
drawn to him; he was a power in the
land and his loss will be hard to replace.
How vividly does the incident appear in
the case of Wiley, Administrator vs.
Aucten; Toombs restless like a caged
lion, moving backward and forward in
front of the judges bench meeting the
salient points made by the sage, Haw
kins, aud when nawkins’ motion in re
lation to raense profits reached his ears,
, a hard task. ; Success has crowned his every effort,
firm and de- j Possessing a memory superior to that of
most men, no flagging, up and doing
ever, his career has been a most remark
able one.
Then there was II. K. McCary. lie,
too, figured therein* He was at heart
good mau. He was a just man, a fine
lawyer, a brilliant mind. Unfortunately
joining the Republican party, he was
appointed supreme court judge. He
was the peer of any judge who ever pre
sided over that court. He, too, is gone,
as well as the old court house.
Then there was Jobn D. Carter.
Straight as an Indian, he was a polished,
refined gentleman, and at his death the
press lost a noble member. He fell at
duty’s post in Savannah, refusing to
leave and giving up his life succoring
others.
Then there was another whose name
is inseparably connected with the same,
G. M. Dudley, the chaste, refined, cul
tured gentleman, and an author of fine
literary attainments. His address in
August, 1807, “Farewell to the Bar,” to
be found in Minutes G, pp. 5SS—004, will
well repay the young practitioner for a
careful perusal. The sound and logical
advice given therein aud the beauty of
language aud elegance of composition
cannot be excelled.
Judge W. B. Guerry is one whose con
nection with the building is beyond that
of any living member of the profession.
Toombs,knowing the timo for action bad ! He is the patriarch of the bar. Judge
arrived or Hawkins would carry his j Guerry is sincere in all his actions, true
point and the case be continued, with a | to every instinct of honor, careful but
tone of voice equal to the roar of the | ever doubtful, ever ready to move in the
King of the Forest, exclaimed “I strike j right, fearful of the wrong, but firm
menes profits out from the writ—let us j when satisfied. As much a student now’
proceed.”
j as in the days of his youth, quick but
Goode springing to his feet, in perfect reasonrble, he is ono of the old-time
admiration of the two men, exclaimed gentlemen of ante-bellum days and re-
“A battle of the giants!”
mains among us loved and respected. If
Then there was that matchless orator . he would only speak, what a tale he
—the gifted Goode. Many has been the j could unfold if the incidents that have
time that the silver tongued orator held , transpired within its old walls. Ho has
bench, bar and spectators spell-bound at t seen it erected; be has lived to see it de-
tbe flowery eloquence that fell from his j molished.
lips. Who can forget the case of Dun- j B. B. Hinton; what would the history
can vs. Robinson. *of that old building be without the
mention of his name. He was an ag
gressive lawyer; he struck hard and
litted the blows perfectly; he inflicted
on his opponents; he was firm in his
positions, and when taken was hardly
ever made to recede; he was of a loving
disposition with his friends; he asked
no quarters of his enemies, and gave
them none; he was an advocate of few
equals, and he is sadly missed by his as
sociates.
Then there was Walter C. Simmons;
he was a fine lawyer, and If he had not
been cut down in the flower of his youth
would as he grew older been one to
make his mark among the profession;
he was of nature kind and lovable; he
was of a sensitive nature, and modest in
all the paths of life; a good speaker and
fine address.
Then among the dead is one whom,
for sarcasm, vituperation, fearlessness
and denunciation bad but few equals.
His zeal carried him sometimes too far,
and made him lose sight of the case he
was arguing, and thereby injured his
cause. He was true to friends, but a
mortal hater. J. S. McCorkle was far
above mediocrity in the profession.
Jack Brown has gone too. He was
generous to a fault; charitable in all
things, and was prominent as a politi
cian.
How can one incident that happened
around that old court house be forgot
ten? In 1805 the city had quartered in
it a large number of federal troops.
Thomas Sullivan, an able old ante-bel
lum lawyer, who had ridden from court
to court in a sulky, had retired, and at
the end of the war was left, like all the
people of the south, in an impoverished
condition. He had a large vineyard that
he felt would bring in sufficient revenue
to support his family, but the federal
soldiers were continually depredating on
the same. After repeated remonstrances
he asserted his manhood as a true South
erner and shot one of the robbers. He
was arrested by the military authorities
and carried to the court house. Troops
surrounded the old building, bayonets
flashed in the sun, every avenue was
guarded, at every door a sentinel. Sul
livan, a prisoner, stood before the mili
tary tribunal surrounded by his counsel,
Dudley Patterson, A. R. Brown and H.
K. McKay, fighting for their friend and
associate. McKay, though in full accord
with the party in power, threw party
aside and became himself again—the
truo aud just man. He did heroic work
for his friend of yore and through his
efforts, more than any others, Sullivan
gained his liberty.
Then the three days’ election that the
old walls witnessed—a state of affairs
then existing within the borders of
Georgia that has no parallel in the his
tory of any people or nation. The slave
of ono day the full fledged citizen of
the next, enforcing the right of
citizenship. The heavens becoming
overcast and the white, beautiful snow
falling fast and quick as if weeping for
the stain that day perpetrated on a free
and chivalric people—a blot upon the
history of the federal government that
time aud eternity can never efface.
Then in 1870 the election for presi
dent—who can forget that day ? The
battle array; the firm decided stand
taken by a people who rose in their
might to uphold the majesty of the law
and the purity of the ballot box, and in
no unmistakable terms enunciating the
doctrine “our’s is a white man’s gov
ernment now and forever,” aud the
lesson of that day has had its fruits, for
its like has never been again attempted
by tlio race that defied the law.
In speaking of the past a portion ol
the living have made*the old courthouse
historical too. There is C. B. Hudson,
the “state,” as he is familiarly saluted
by all, tho very essence of honor and
truthfulness, and iu him the state has
not a more faithful prosecuting officer;
L. J. Blalock, county solicitor, a lawyer
of fine legal ability, and as a prosecuting
officer has made a reputation second to
none; E. A. nawkins, systematic and a
fine pleader, a sou of a noble sire; B. P.
Ilollis, quick, able, calm and a fine and
deep lawyer; Dupont Guerry, now of
Macon, is an advocate of fine ability,
carrying with him a trenchant blade,
aggressive and stubborn, aud ever con
fident in the cause he represents; James
Dodson, well up in the law and a leader
in the profession; W. A. Dodson, brainy,
true to friends, with the brightest sense
of honor, a fine practitioner and an able
attorney; Hawkes, legislator, ever ready,
ever willing, an orator of high order. As
stenographer he is a part and parcel
of the house of 1853 to 1801. E. G.
Simmons, legislator and railroad at
torney, as a speaker familiar with the
law ranks high in the profession; W. H.
Kimbrough, once representative in the
legislature and county judge of Leo
county, he fills all positions with credit
and as legislator, judge and attorney,
stands second to none; E. F. Hinton,
nephew of B. B. Hinton, is a foeman
worthy of any man’s steel. He is bright
and brainy and a graceful speaker, a
good lawyer, and his speech made in
that old courthouse on tho stock-law
was one of deep research and study and
will compare with the best in elegance
diction and rhetoric; J. C. Mathews has
made a reputation at the bar. He is
placid, calm, never fiusterated, persis
tent aud full of energy; L. F. McCay—
all like “Mac”—he is agreeable pleasant
and a sociable gentleman, and tho old
walls might, if it could tell, say many
funny things connected with his
career in the old building;
Henry Lumpkin, retiring, but of good
business qualities and in time will hold
a high place in the profession and now
a young attorney of fine ability. E. H.
Cutts, deliberate, systematic, careful—a
good pleader, never hurried and ever
composed—he too is among the list of
able attorneys that more or less, have
made the old courthouse so noted and to
be remembered.
There are the living who have had
their share in making the old building
historical. They have had their part
and will in the future carry with them
to the new, reputations made, to meet
thoseljust entering the profession, and
In time the names of Wheatley, Fitz
gerald, Maynard, Smith, Hixon, Wallis,
Lane, Clark, Hooper and Graham, will
in the new courthouse stand side by
side with the old in interest, brilliancy
and eloquence. J. B. Pilsbuiit.
Allen & Allen
403 Jackson st.
We wish to an
nounce to the ladies
that our store room is
nearing completion and
in a few days we will
be able to exhibit the
finest line of Notions,
Novelties, Etc., in the
city.
We extend a cor
dial invitation to all to
come and see us.
Resp’y,
ALLEM & ALLEN.
NEW: GOODS
-A.T-
Beall & Oakley’s.
We Cordially invite the trading public to
call and examine our stock of New Goods.
We have just received and have marked to
meet LOW COTTON prices, the most com
plete line of
Dry Goods,
Dress Goods,
Notions, Etc.
to be found in this market. We invite an in
spection, fully confident that our stock is
second to none in Style, Variety and Price.
In our stock can be found
Beautiful Novelty Suits!
Handsome Plaid Dress Goods,
Lovely Bedford Cords, Henriettas, Etc.
Our line of Black and Colored Silks is
complete.
Elegant Nuns Veiling for mourning veils.
Call and see us.
BEHLL & OAKLEY,
313 LAMAR STREET,
You Will Forget
all about the hard times by trading at
THE BEE-HIVE
Is the strongest
Home-indorsed
Medicine
in the world.
The stringency of money matters during the past Summer rniulc
the closing out of our stock au impossibility, aud since we come to
think of it, we are glad of it, as this will euable us to benefit our friends
aud customers by dividing our bargains out among them, in place of
one party getting them all. We intend to fill iu such lines ns me
broken now, so as to enable us
To close out our entire stock of goods now on
hand by January 1st, next.
And you will save money by not buying a dollar’s worth until yon
hnve been to see us. We offer to-day:
2000 yds. best new Fall Calico, 5c. 1000 yds. Cotton Chinas, newest
designs, only Ojc., cost you 8c. all over town. 2500 yds. best quality
Dress Ginghams, only 8£c., are 10c at other stores. Lowest prices in
town on Bleachings, Sea-Islands, Etc.
*be wu treated by several specialist*. Has taken
quantities or all tae blood purlflera on the market,
without realtor* any special benefit. She la now
using Wooldridge** Wonderful Cure, afew bottle*
of which have made a complete cure. I unhesitat
ingly recommend It os the beat blood purtfier ever
discovered. Yours truly, A. 0. ncGEHRE.
Columbus, Go., March Zi, 1SSA.
MAVarACTCUQ* BT
WOOLDRIDGE WONDERFUL CURE CO.,
Co'nmbus, Ga,
FOIL 8ALE hi ALL DRUGGISTS
Household Remedy £
FOR ALL f
BLOOD and SKINS
DISEASES
B. B. B.
Botanic Blood Balm
U TnrOQ SCROFULA, ULCERS, SALT
uurefr rheum. ECZEMA, every
form of malignant SKIN ERUPTION, be- <
tides being efficacious in toning up the
system and restoring the constitution,
when Impaired from any cause. Its I
almost supernatural healing properties (
Justify us in guaranteeing a cure, if .
directions are followed.
„ ITXUSTRATED
SENT FREE “Book of Wonder*.**
BLOOD BALM CO., Atlanta. Ga.
LOANS.
About Corsets.
W e were the first to bring the C. B. corset to Americus; ko»
wisely we selected is attested by the fact that nearly every dry goods
house here handles them, but here is something they won’t copy:
We sell you C. B. Corsets at 75c. for which they want $1.00
our $1.00 number sells at $1.25 all over town. We also give unap
proachable value at 50c. and other prices. We are the Leaders.
2500 yds. Best Checked Homespun at 4^c.
2000 yds. new Hamburgs opened yesterday, 25c. edges at l 5c -
20c. goods at 10c. 40c. width at 25c.
New Torchon Laces just received.
School time is coming and you want Stockings for the little one*-
50 doz. fast black hose going at 10 cts, per pair.
15c
15c
loc
Loans negotiated at LOWEST KATES.
Easy payments, on city or farm lands.
J. J. HANESLEY,
oct 5 ly Americus, Oeorgia.
Best bargain you ever saw in Ladies’ Hose, fast black, regul«
made goods. Call for the 15c. Hose.
Lord A Taylor Onyx, fast black Hose at 25c.
^ 0 Ciiu do you good on Dress Goods.
These are only a few of the many bargains we have for you-
Watch this space closely; you will find money therein and
your purchases at the
BEE-HIVE