Conecuh County AlArchives History .....History of Conecuh County 1881 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com May 23, 2004, 11:50 pm CHAPTER XIV. Conecuh from 1825 to 1835-Current History Resumed-The Lull of Apprehension Among the Inhabitants-The Fruits of Peace-Tragedy--Rude Customs Still Prevailing-The Birth of Political Agitation, &c. The current history of Conecuh was broken at the point where reference was had to the wide-spread sickness among the inhabitants of the county in 1824. Sufficient attention having been bestowed upon the events which gathered around that period-to the personages, too, who flourished at that time, giving so much character to the dawning history of the county-we resume at this point the continuation of the current record of events. The disease of the previous year had spent its force, and the citizens, having become acclimated, or else having removed with their families to higher and healthier locations, resumed with unabated vigor the work of development. The period, about which I now write, was one of very great tranquility. The circles of population were being enlarged in all directions, more extensive tracts of land were being annually cleared, and the prosperity of the county was settling down upon a solid basis. The oldest and most improved plantations were now exceedingly productive, and their owners were growing rich. As yet no political venom, with its attendant demoralization, had been injected into the social mass. Quietly every man attended to his own affairs at home, or else, acting in concert with his neighbors, would engage in the erection of churches and school houses. The martial spirit imbibed from their contests with the Indians and British, was still retained by the inhabitants, and places for general drilling were appointed in different parts of the county. This gathering gave occasion for having a gala-day, and its recurrence was ever hailed with delight. To these different points the male population would repair, en masse, each man carrying with him his fowling-piece; and after evoking all the delights that could be drawn from a straggling, dusty and irregular drill, they would gather about the place of trade, lounge in the shade, exchange rude jokes, recount perilous adventures, wrestle and box, and not unfrequently become contestants in a tumbling hand-to-hand fray. But, however much puffed the cheek may have been, or however much bunged the eye, or enlarged the nose, every one usually repaired, at the close of day, to his own home bearing no malice toward his neighbor. These pugilistic rencounters, let it be said, were usually confined to the "lewd fellows of the baser sort," each of whom coveted the distinction of "bully." Refinement by degrees predominated and these barbarous practices were gradually abandoned. Returning to the thought of the growth of development, let me say that but little attention was be-stowed upon any occupation except that of farming. Indeed, "farmer" was quite a comprehensive term. Many of the farmers combined merchandising with agriculture. A farmer was very frequently both "a merchant and carpenter; for there was not sufficient trade to engage the entire time of one man, and hence the store was made secondary to the farm. And again, in such a rude state of society, the only architectural knowledge required was that which enabled one to erect a rude cabin with cloven logs. Hence, farming was the chief vocation. For the most part, the in-habitants who first settled Conecuh had removed from wheat-producing regions; and this cereal they undertook to raise in Conecuh, and for the first few years, were remarkably successful. But, either because of the decline of the fertility of the soil, or because it was found to be so much easier and more profitable to produce corn and cotton, its production was gradually abandoned. Another consideration which led, perhaps, to its abandonment was that the harvesting of wheat conflicted sadly with the attention which was necessary to be given the cultivation of corn and cotton. And another consideration, still, was that the wheat was smitten with rust, which was discovered to increase with each advancing year. As in all new regions of country, where Nature is munificent in her gifts, these are sadly abused ofttimes by the earliest recipients, so in this favored region the pioneer fathers manifested, in some respects, a most reckless prodigality in regard to their fertile lands. This, however, was, in part, due to their ignorance of the utility to which many elements could be applied, and partly to a lack of sagacity. For many years after the production of cotton had begun; the seed were regarded a nuisance after that they had been removed by ginning from the fabric. The idea of employing them as a fertilizer, to arrest the decay of lands, was not suggested to the thrifty fathers. Hence they were hauled away and thrown into abandoned heaps. The wisdom of arresting the washing of lands, seems never to have been suggested to the primitive farmer. Of course, the best lands were the first to be improved, as they were quite frequently the first to be abandoned as having become useless through wear. As a consequence, many of the lands which were originally the best to be found in the county, were speedily surrendered to the sedge-grass and the needle-leaved pine, and are to-day regarded as barren wastes. With a more compact population-which our county is destined, at no distant day, to have-these wasted fields will be reclaimed from desolation, and again be made to "blossom as the rose." A few years after the first settlement of the county another branch of business sprang into existence-that of stock raising. The luxuriant pasture lands that composed the southern portion of the county, reaching even down to the coast, were covered with vast herds of cattle. The largest among the herds was that of David Tate, a half-breed, whose cattle swarmed over the grassy districts stretching between the Big and Little Escambias. Higher north, a herd of four thousand was owned by John Sampey. This branch of trade has ever been one of profit, and is destined, in the history of the county, to become one of the most lucrative of her industries. In 1825, a Land Office was established at Sparta, with Dr. Jonathan G. Shaw, of Massachusetts, as Receiver. Be was appointed by President John Quincy Adams. Considerable excitement prevailed among the people of the county at this period in consequence of the spirit of speculation that existed in certain quarters. Keen-eyed speculators were industrious in seeking out the best lands in the county, the claims of whose occupants were not secure, and in putting an enormous estimate upon their value in order to realize, in their sale, considerable profit. This produced wide-spread dissatisfaction and demoralization. To avoid being dislodged from the place improved by himself, Rev. Alexander Travis purchased his land of these Shylocks at the exorbitant sum of $37.50 per acre. But so grave an imposition upon a quiet, industrious community, such as Conecuh had become, could not go unrebuked and unchecked. The grievances of the indignant masses reached the ears of Congress, and the Relief Bill was passed, causing the late sale to he cancelled and the lands to be re-purchased. Mr. Travis now secured his land, under this bill, for $1.25 per acre. And what was true of him was equally true of others. This brought a protracted period of tranquility and prosperity to the people of Conecuh. The successful navigation of the Conecuh river, and the enormous revenue which the owners of the boats on that stream were realizing, led to an effort to navigate Murder creek.* Accordingly the services of Colonel Bowie were secured to clear the stream, and prepare it for the passage of boats. Several ineffectual efforts, however, convinced the inaugurators of the enterprise that it was by no means feasible, and the project was abandoned at once. While this attempt was a bootless one, it only served to show that the spirit of enterprise was abroad in the land. By every means the inhabitants sought to utilize the facilities with which nature had so prodigally supplied their adopted home. Continued advancement served to stimulate the energies of the thrifty population, and each recurring year witnessed a marked change in all portions of the rapidly growing county. Lands were being improved by a more thorough system of drainage, and the rude contrivances of the early colonists were being eventually displaced by substantial evidences of advancement. _________ * This beautiful stream derived its name, according to Colonel Pickett, in his History of Alabama, vol. II., page 82, from a bloody tragedy enacted upon its banks in 1788. In 1827, a tragedy occurred at Ellis's Mills that shocked the entire county. Captain Cumming, who had, for some years, been conspicuous in different ways in the county, was killed by a man whose name was Fuller. Naturally impulsive, and of a domineering disposition, Cumming attacked Fuller with a storm of abuse, to which no resistance was offered. Stung by this cool indifference, Cumming went away and carefully loaded his gun for the express purpose of killing Fuller. Fired with passion still, he returned to the place where Fuller was quietly at work hewing a log, and walking within a few feet of him, he levelled his gun at his breast, pulled trigger-and it missed fire. At this juncture Fuller sprang forward, with his broad-axe, and drove it into Cumming's skull. He quietly surrendered himself to the proper authorities, but was duly acquitted. While the material interests of the county were being steadily advanced, regard was had to the moral enlightenment and spiritual improvement of the people. The ministry of this period were ardently devoted to the promulgation of the truths of the gospel, and their laborious exertions bore fruit in the form of thriving spiritual interests, which were being planted within convenient reach of the growing population. The consecration of Revs. Alexander Travis, Keidar Hawthorne, John Ellis, and William Jones, Sr., of the Baptist denomination; and of Revs. James King, Joshua Calloway, John A. Cotten, and Lewis Pipkin, of the Methodist Church, is sacredly enshrined in the memories of the oldest residents of the county. The recollections of these sainted pioneer preachers will never be embalmed in "the flower-crowned annals of song," but better, they will be transmitted with pathetic interest to the future generations of the county. An event took place in the region of the Burnt Corn settlement, in 1828, that deserves special notice in the History of Conecuh, as indicating both the assiduity of Elder Travis and the generosity of John Greene, Sr. Ministerial laborers being but few in the county, and Mr. Travis being anxious to have the gospel preached to as many as possible every Sabbath, conceived the plan of centralizing the interests in different portions of the county. In upper Conecuh there had been established, by himself and his co-laborers, several points where preaching was had as often as a minister could, in turn, visit them. He determined upon a combination of these several interests, and appointed a committee to select a site for the erection of a house of worship sufficiently commodious to accommodate these congregations when formed into a single church. Finding the committee somewhat embarrassed by their inability to fix upon an eligible spot, Mr. Greene very generously offered them a tract of land, northwest of his dwelling, as a spot suited to the erection of a church edifice. The lot thus donated by himself was covered with a grove of beautiful oaks, from the midst of which flowed, perennially, the waters of a bold spring. The terms of the donation were, that the tenure of possession was to be commensurate with the occupation of the place as a point of worship. The generous offer was gratefully accepted, and the church became famous as a place of worship in this portion of the county. In after years the church was removed to Puryearville, in Monroe county, and became the Old Bethany Church. Among the enterprises which were inaugurated in the county during the following year (1828) was one that sprang into existence as if by magic. This was a point of business of unusual interest, that was established just below Bellville, between the Fergurson Place and the residence of Thomas Simpson, Sr. This enterprise was established under the auspices of a young man, from Mobile, whose name was Hosefield. His place of business was contiguous to an old field, whose broad, level acres presented an inducement to the county militia-men as an admirable place for "mustering." So important did this point become, as a place of thriving trade,-and so notorious was it for rowdyism,- that the inhabitants named it "Little New York." After a few years' existence, it disappeared with the suddenness with which it originally began. A slightly cleared place is the only relic now remaining of one of the most notorious points that existed in the county of Conecuh. The political questions of the period, which had already commenced their turbulent sway in the older States, had not as yet reached Alabama. The Carolinian element, which entered so largely into the early population of Conecuh, shared somewhat in the exciting Nullification movement, which stirred so deeply the public sentiment of South Carolina, in 1832. But it gave no shape or color to the politics of this region, as did no other question at this time. It was reserved for later years to witness all the bitterness and rancor that are born of heated political discussion. At this period of the history of the county, voters were not controlled in their preferences by the complexion worn by any political organization, but altogether by the reputation of the candidate. The contests in the realm of politics were based upon no pronounced issues. Sometimes there was but one candidate before the people-at other times there was quite a host. The most formidable opponent was he whose integrity was most unquestioned and unsuspicioned, and whose personal influence was such as to sway the masses. Long before this period-perhaps as early as 1820 or 1822-election precincts had been established at the homes of William Brewer, William Blackshear, and David Hendricks, at Cumming's Mill; also at Zuber's Store, George Constantine's, Brooklyn, James Caldwell's, Rabb's Store, James Grace's, and John Bell's. About 1833, a startling event occurred in the region of Fort Crawford. A woman, whose name was Mrs. Nancy Taylor, had gone to the home of a neighboring woman and had given her a severe drubbing. The violent assault evoked judicial interference, and Deputy Sheriff Dollyhide was sent by Sheriff Wilson Ashley to arrest the turbulent woman. When Mr. Dollyhide reached her house, she positively told him that she would not be taken. Walking coolly up to her side, he laid his hand upon her shoulder, and said: "Madam, you are my prisoner !" She instantly snatched from her bosom a sharp dagger, and drove it to the hilt into the heart of Deputy Dollyhide, and he fell dead at her feet. Dressing herself in the costume of a male, and in company with a kinsman, whose name was Fed Walker, she fled to Texas, leaving behind her husband. He remained in Conecuh for another year, when he, too, emigrated to Texas, and rejoined his fugitive wife. The following is a list of the members of the General Assembly from the county up to the period of 1835: SENATORS. 1819-John Herbert. 1821-John W. Devereux. 1825-William Jones. 1828-John Watkins. 1830 William Hemphill. 1833-William Hemphill. REPRESENTATIVES. 1819-William Lee, Thomas Watts. 1820-Samuel Cook, Thomas Armstrong. 1821-Eldridge S. Greening, John E. Graham. 1822-Samuel W. Oliver, John S. Hunter, ______ Taylor. 1823-Samuel W. Oliver, John Fields, James Salter. 1824-Samuel W. Oliver, Nathan Cook, John Greene. 1825-Samuel W. Oliver, Eldridge S. Greening. 1826-Samuel W. Oliver, Eldridge S. Greening. 1827-Samuel W. Oliver, Eldridge S. Greening. 1828-Joseph P. Clough, James Salter. 1829-John Greene, Henry E. Curtis. 1830-Joseph P. Clough, Samuel Dubose. 1831-Samuel W. Oliver, John Watkins. 1832-Samuel W. Oliver, Julian S. Devereux. 1833-Samuel W. Oliver, Watkins Salter. 1834-Samuel W. Oliver. 1835-Wilson Ashley. Additional Comments: History of Conecuh County Rev. B. F. Riley Pastor of the Opelika Baptist Church Columbus, Ga.; Thos. Gilbert, Steam Printer and Book-Binder 1881 Chapter XIV This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 17.1 Kb