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UNION RECORDER, MILLEDGEV'LLE, GA., MARCH 8, 1828
II
t
Alexander H. Stephen*
The following sketch of Alexande
Stephi ns w*s read at a meeting o'
the Kiwani- Club Friday cvenin.
February 17th. by Mrs. J. L. Beeson
Great n:«-n are not all famou-
■either are ail famous men great
but Alexander H. Stephens
r.t the night at his uncle*:
• morning tnountrd his h r
for the ride of ten mi
-hington. Just before tr
tow n he entered the rfiadi
»gr •
and
childhood. His
•d hi-
later, his step-mother died. Thu t»
sets of children had to be divide*
and this division caused amrui i
i his fre-h white cotton .-
•ase in which h<- made hi:
rputation in his county.
The Battles were pro
v.ll-to-do Isaac Ba
who
wrote “I take up my pen to say Mr.
Stephens of Georgia a little 4im,
pale-faced consumptive man, with a
voice like Logan’s, has just conclud
ed the very best speech of an hour's
length. I ever heard. My old wither
ed dry eye* are full of tears yet.”
Stephens early became acquainted
.th Robert Toombs* and their friend-
-h.f- was like that of David and Jona-
• an. Toombs declared Stevens had
■re brains and more soul, for the
flesh than any man God Al-
igfety ever made."
-• phrn- was little, Toombs, huge
<i solid, cr.quered men, Stevens
• rrned them."
Her. in Mill, dgeville in 1860 they
•ki* on differ- nt sides of the que-*-
•n. Tooml - -poke on one evenir.i
the
’ plandrd, some one said “
>ou dap for your opponent'.'
reply was “ I always try to
roomhs
>’hy do
belie
y-.-lf i
l fuii<
» the t
Lir
illu
for hi- half brothe:
orj-.
Hie
t the University of Geor-
gi i. hi jrs were his hap]
“halcyon days" he calls them. IHs
room was the rallying place of those
■who cultivated wit and repartee. He
graduated with fir.** honor.
Only last year, :*t the University
of Georgia, was Alexander H. Ste
vens' diploma given to his great, great
grand ni< ce. Miss Queen Elizahetn
Hold* n, herself a member of the
graduating class. The resolution
adopted for the Board of Trustees
read as follows:
Whereas it appears that the Hon
orable Alexander Hamilton Steph
ens a graduate of the class of 1832,
did not receive his diploma at that
time, the following being an extract
from historical collections of Georgia
by Rev. George E. White, M. A., to-
wit, he (Mr. Stephens) did not take
a diploma as it then cost two dollars
and the state of his finances did not
in his opinion justify an outlay of
so much money for such an object.
“Therefore, he it resolved, by the
board of trustees of the University
of Georgia that at the present com
mencement the diploma of Alexander
IL Stephens, of the class of 1832, be
granted and delivered to his great,
great grand niece, Mbs Queen Eliza
beth Holden, who is a member of this
year’s graduating class, and that a
copy of this resolution be attached
to the diploma."
Alexander Stephens taught school
at Madison, Ga.. and then in Liberty
County Ga., was trutor to John and
Joseph LcContc, both of whom be
little da
irhtei
The
< <1 and the second husband drank |
continually, the Bat*les det rmined!
.to have the child and one day as th<
! grandfather was passing, h« took th- ,
j little girl into his buggy and carried
' her to his home. »
The distracted mother employed th
v'iing, unknown lawy. r, Alexander
H. Stephens, to battle for her cau-i
in the courts. On the eventful day.
thire were five judge**, and a tre-
| tnendous crowd. The lawyer for the
Rattles plead his cause, and a pal**
young man unknown to most of
them, began to address the immense
throng. He plead for the rig bus of
the mother, for the law of nature
and soon all five judges were weep
ing and the jurors were shedding
teers and yobs come from the court
room. The Battles lost, and the next
day Dr. Cull* n Battle said. “When
that little fellow began to argue that
ever, among the beasts of the forest
the mother was by the great law of
nature, the keepir of her offspring,
and would fight even to the death f'*r
their custody, and all the judges fell
to crying, I knew that Isaac would
have to give up Martha Ann!"
Thiy persuasive quality was alwyag
present, as well as a clear knowledge
of facts.
Alexander St< phens
’ I ent red Congress in 1844, until he
-r.crj ri.-vmed from that body in 18.V.*, the
ith a I storm of th.* oncoming secessi-.n was
breaking.
He was a whig who was forced by
the slavery issue into the Democra
tic fold.
Benjamin Harvey Hill charged
him with being the Judas Iscariot to
' betray his party, and infuriated by
, the insult, Stephens challenged him
l a duel, ii was never fought. Hill re
plied “I have a soul to save and a
I family to support, and you have
neither!”
Herschel V. Johnson of the Mil-
lcdgveille Federal Union, criticized
Stephens scverly about his views
Institution in the world to give diplo- j
men of our State—It being the first
mas to women.
Referring to that day in 1836, he I
at a later day at Augusta, Ga., said;
of the honors of Georgia “however 1
high they may be heaped let thiy still .
be at the top, the filling and crown- i
| ing point of her glory. She took
and holds the head of all the world
i in female education."
We here »n Milledgeville should
take special pride that in the very
hall where spofc • Alexander Stephens
and Linton Stephens and Nisbet and (
; Herrchal Johnson and T. R. R. Cobb
and Robert Toombs, and Alexander
Means and Augustus Reese and Ben
Hill, Francis S. Bartow, those giants
• f thought and oratory, Georgia
hoy* and Georgia girls have the
previlege of daily assembling at their
school tasks at G. M. C.
Alexander Stephens believed that
the Constitution of the United States
was our shield wrought in the furn
ace of the Revolution. He did not
think the South should seced. He
thought that there were enough
lovers of the Constitution in th: 1
North to join with those lovers of
dicetly interfere with the slaves or j
with them about the slaves.”
Because of his loyalty to the Con
stitution both the North and the
South criticized him, but when Geor
gia seceded from the Union, he cast
his lost with her.
He was the only Vice-President of
the Confederacy. He was re-elected
to Congress, and served from 1873
to 1882.
Ir. 1883 he was elected Governor
of Georgia and died at the Gov
ernor’s Mansion.
His wish was fulfilled:
"Let my days be brought to an
cn i in my own natite land! Let my
lust breath be of my own native air!
My native land, my country, the only
one that is country to me, is Georgia.
CHEVROLET TOURING FOR SALE
One that i» good cheap and right,
ride while you pay plan.
L. N. JORDAN
me winds that sweep 0
are my native air. The
live and there to die.”
LOOK!
BEFORE YOU LEAP
—INSURE-
BEFORE YON WEe P _
- All Lines of
AUTO INSURANCE
MULER R, BEIL
Agent
CKK-
outh, to protect the rights of
elebrated
The
lent is
itinualiy
Ho
Wash-
of law
beckoning to him.
His grandfather Grier had the
largest library in his part of the
country; and Alexander’s uncle and
aunt with whom he lived, had in
herited it. His own father was a
teacher, so the love of books was al
most an inherited pa.sion. He read
them and loved them and collected
them and findly wrote them. His
celebrated journal begins thus:
“Thiy book was bought this day
April 19, 1834 (It being Saturday)
of the house of Jones and Co., in the
town of Crawfordviile, for the pur
pose of registering therein sorpe of
the changing scenes and varying
events of each passing day.”
After much all night study he was
admitted attorney at law, and the
business of life began.
The next week the court sat at
Washington, Willkes Co., and a law
yer in those days always “rode the cir.
* owned no horse, so what
was he to do? He solved his prob
lem in this fashion: the night before
court was to meet, he walked
miles to his uncle’s carrying his
saddle bags on his shoulders and his
white cotton suit neatly folded
package. He wore a suit of c
material called “everlasting.”
n, D. C., who .-aid that “yoi
BADLY RUN-DOWN
Kentucky Woman Had ‘Terrible
Time” Doing Her Home Work.
Strength Returned After
She Took Cardui.
Shelbyville, Ky.—-Several year,
ago," tuiya Mrs. Alvcn Jesse, of this
place, "my health was very bad. I
was very much run-down. I was in
such a weak, nervous condition that
1 was not able to do my housework.
"I struggled to keep up, because I
had to, mt many a time I spent
hours in bod, trying to force enough
strength to go through the daily
routine.
This condition went on for some
time, until I heard about Cardui.
which some one told me was good
for such ailments. I gave it an im
mediate trial, and, I am thankful to
say, my improvement was rapid. I
soon was able to do my housework
with case nnd comfort. I felt fine
and 1 looked so much better.
This spring I was not as well as
I had been. I was ill in the winter
with colds, which left me weak. Sp
I sent at once to the store for Cardui
and began taking it. In just a little
while I waa feeling much better, my
strength returned and I was able to
get my work done easier and with
less effort.’’
At all drug stores. NC-176
against the war in Mexico. Stephens
demanded retraction and challenged
him. Johnson gave a dignified re
fusal nad they remained e-tranged
until Johnson was elected Governor
When Judge Cone assaulted him and
had wounded him time after time,
and said “ retreat or . I'll . cut,”
No man st rved hi? state more ably
than: did Alexander H. Stephens, and
we here in Milledgeville should take-
pride in the fact that it was here that
he made some of his greatest and
noblest speeches. It was here that
he made his famous address on the
Constitution. It was here in 1836
that as chairman of the committee of
Education, he won over the jeer.4 of
many, Wesleyan College for the wo-
the
the
He could not understand how hi?
friend, Abraham Lincoln, even for
military necessity, would override
the Constitution.
No eyes except those of Stevens’
Secretary ever saw Lincoln’s letter
to Stephens marked “for your eye
only,” until after Lincoln’s death.
It contained that famous sentence
“Do the people of the South really
entertain fears that a Republican
administration would directly or in-
GATE CITY COACHES
MILLEDGEVILLE—ATLANTA
Lv. Milledgeville 7:30 E. T. Arrive Atlanta 11:00 C.
Lv. Milledgeville 2:30 E. T. Arrive Atlanta 6:00 C.
Leave Atlanta 7:30 C. T. Arr. Milledgeville 1:00 E.
Leave Atlanta 3 -30 C. T. Arr. Milledgeville 8:40 E.
$4.00 One Way; J7-.00 Round Trip
C. F. STONE, Manager.
For Reservation! Call Phones: 366 or 392
BRlCK Thatclink LikeSteel
“STILL ON THE JOB”
We are still and yet w e are nc
We do shoe repairing every wh
and with every body.
“SUDDEN SERVICE”
Phone 373
Blain Shoe Plant and
Pressing Club
Are Made by the “McMILLAN” Proce.o
BURNT IN OUR CONTINUOUS KILNS
There is No Waste in Our Bricks.
We Make Quick Shiprr
in Any Qm
RICH GIjO FACE BRICK—FIRE BRICK—COMMON BRICK
Milledgeville Brick WorksCo
K. G. McMilln
MILLEDGEVILLE. GA.
ablithed 1883 by J. W McMillan,
resident Belle McMillan,
CZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZXZZZZZZZZIT
OUR WORK ALWAYS PLEASES
Wait a minute 1 I can’t work
without my Waterman’s.
How nnyonc can refrain from using a
Waterman's Ideal Fountain Pen is
something that those who have used
Waterman’s cannot understand.
fabric and coloi
ablifhment does fir
riled dress of the most delicate
well! we do the work. We will
tish, but w«
. work for i
Our dry cleaning
, women and chil-
May we l
limit guar
Jewelers
II you about that no-time-
rtce and take your measure
i 100 per cent fit?
WILLIAMS & RITCHIE
Milledgeville, Ga.
Milledgeville Laundry
and Dry Cleaners
PHONE 440