Chatham County GaArchives History .....Chapter VIII - History of Savannah 1913
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 23, 2004, 7:44 pm

p. 64

CHAPTER VIII RELIGIOUS, MORAL AND INDUSTRIAL

PIONEER CHURCHES—OGLETHORPE RETURNS TO ENGLAND—UNPOPULAR COLONIAL
DEPUTY—INTOXICATED WITH POWER AND PRIDE—ANTI-RUM AND ANTI-SLAVE LAWS—THE
TRUSTEES AGAINST SLAVERY—WHITE-FIELD IN FAVOR OF SLAVERY.

   The manifestly great importance of the actual settling of Savannah and the
incidents connected with that matter, including the work done in improving the
place and in making the soil as productive as possible, necessitated the use
heretofore of considerable space, and henceforward the many incidents to follow
in this history will be recited in a more condensed form. Wherever it was
possible, the facts have been given in the very words of the documents found in
all cases—surely the best evidence to be had.

   Apprehending trouble with the Spaniards on the southern frontier,
Oglethorpe's first separation from his people occurred in January, 1734, when,
early on the 23d, he departed, with Captain Ferguson and sixteen men, including
two Indian guides, on a reconnoitering trip. Then it was that the sites for the
future towns of Frederica and New Inverness (afterwards Darien) were chosen.

PIONEER CHURCHES

   The first minister to the colony was, as we have seen, the Rev. Dr. Henry
Herbert, who volunteered to act in that position, performing all necessary
services without compensation. Religious services were held at first, according
to the statement of Francis Moore, in a hut thirty-six feet long and twelve feet
wide, made of split-boards, which was built for a courthouse at the time of the
first landing.* On the return of Oglethorpe from his first visit to England in
1735, he "ordered a house to be erected in the upper square which might serve
for a Courthouse and for divine service till a church could be built.'' The hut
which was the first place of worship was on the northeast corner of Bay street
lane and Bull street, and the second place mentioned was on the lot bounded by
Bull, President, Whitaker and York streets, where the postoffice now stands; and
the Colonial Dames have marked the spot with a bronze tablet recording the fact
that there stood the courthouse built by Ogle-
__________
* Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Vol. I, p. 100.

----------------

p. 65

thorpe as well as the information that John Wesley preached in that building
from May 6 to November 27, 1736. Doctor Herbert's term of service as rector of
the church of the colony did not last long, and we have no information as to the
exact time or the cause of his leaving. We only know that he was succeeded
probably before the expiration of a year, by the Rev. Samuel Quincy, who himself
was succeeded in 1736 by the great John Wesley. From the time of Moore's voyage
until the arrival of Mr. Wesley the affairs in the town apparently "went on in a
quiet way, as no matters of interest during that period have been found recorded
anywhere.

OGLETHORPE RETURNS TO ENGLAND

   The Salzburgers, on coming to Georgia, settled at a point south of what is
now the thriving town of Springfield, in Effingham county, to which they gave
the name Ebenezer, and Oglethorpe feeling the relief from the anxiety which his
concern for that people had caused, felt that it was a proper time to return to
England and render in person an account of the progress made in a little more
than a year of experience as the steward of the trustees. We have seen how he
carried out his plan of taking with him his friend Tomo-Chachi and others of the
Indian tribe whose kind treatment had helped materially in the successful
development of the settlement. To Mr. Thomas Causton he committed the care of
the town and province, and that man, who was the storekeeper of the trustees as
well as a bailiff of the court, was assured of the advice and counsel of Mr.
James St. Julian, a South Carolina gentleman deeply interested in the Georgia
people, and of Mr. Francis Scott who had cast his lot with Oglethorpe's band and
was a man of influence and integrity.

UNPOPULAR COLONIAL DEPUTY

   In the allotment of lands Causton had drawn garden lot 8E and farm lot 10 in
Frederick tything G of Derby ward. To his suburban place he gave the name
Oxstead, of which the three writers of "A True and Historical Narrative of the
Colony of Georgia in America,” printed in 1741, said: "About three miles
southeast of Savannah, upon Augustine creek, lies Oxstead, the settlement of Mr.
Thomas Causton, improven by many hands and at a great charge, where he now
resides with a few servants." This place now bears the name Causton's Bluff.

   Though left in charge of the colony during the absence of the leader, Causton
was fully advised beforehand as to the duties he was to perform and what
authority he should exercise. Notwithstanding this, he acted in such a way as to
cause great displeasure to the people and to be the subject of the special
rancor of those men who have become known by the title of "malcontents," the
authors of the work from which we have just quoted, and from which we again
quote. They arraigned him in this language:

   "Whilst we labored under those difficulties in supporting ourselves, our
civil liberties received a more terrible shock; for instead of such a

-----------------

p. 66

free government as we had reason to expect, and of being judged by the laws of
our mother country, a dictator (under the title of bailiff and store-keeper) was
appointed and left by Mr. Oglethorpe, at his departure, which was in April,
1734, whose will and pleasure were the only laws in Georgia. In regard to this
magistrate, the others were entirely nominal, and in a manner but ciphers.
Sometimes he would ask in public their opinion, in order to have the pleasure of
showing his power by contradicting them. He would often threaten juries, and
especially when their verdicts did not agree with his inclination or humor, and
in order the more fully to establish his absolute authority, the store and
disposal of the provisions, money, and public places of trust, were committed to
him; by which alteration in his state and circumstances he became in a manner
infatuated, being before that a person of no substance or character, having come
over with Mr. Oglethorpe amongst the first forty, and left England upon account
of something committed by him concerning his majesty's duties. However, he was
fit enough for a great many purposes, being a person naturally proud, covetous,
cunning and deceitful, and would bring his designs about by all possible ways
and means.

INTOXICATED WITH POWER AND PRIDE

   "As his power increased so did his pride, haughtiness and cruelty, insomuch
that he caused eight free-holders with an officer to attend at the door of the
court every day it sat, with their guns and bayonets, and they were commanded by
his orders, to rest their firelocks as soon as he appeared, which made people in
some manner afraid to speak their minds, or juries to act as their consciences
directed them. He was seldom or never uncovered on the bench, not even when an
oath was administrated ; and being perfectly intoxicated with power and pride he
threatened every person without distinction, rich and poor, strangers and
inhabitants, who in the least opposed his arbitrary proceedings, or claimed
their just rights and privileges, with the stocks, whipping-post and log-house,
and many times put those threatenings into execution, so that the Georgia
stocks, whipping-post and log-house soon were famous in Carolina, and everywhere
in America where the name of the province was heard of, and the very thought of
coming to the colony became a terror to people's mind." There is much more of
the same sort in the pamphlet from which we will make further quotations as we
proceed with this narrative.

ANTI-RUM AND ANTI-SLAVE LAWS

   Among the instructions given to Causton when he was clothed with authority to
govern during Oglethorpe's absence was one specially relating to the acts
recently adopted prohibiting the use of intoxicating drinks. Legislation on this
subject had been forced upon the people by reason of the fact that in the month
of August, 1733, several persons residing in"1 Savannah had died, as was then
stated, from the use of rum, and, in response to a report to that effect by Mr.
Oglethorpe,

---------------

p. 67

the common council passed a resolution on the 21st of November "that the
drinking of rum in Georgia be absolutely prohibited, and that all which shall be
brought there be stored." As no such law existed in the neighboring colony of
South Carolina, rum was freely imported there from both the West Indies and New
England, and the traders of that colony who could get all they wanted supplied
the trustees' store at Savannah with it. This law against the sale of rum Mr.
Causton endeavored to enforce, and his action relative thereto was severely
criticixed by the malcontents. In their tirade against Causton, they asserted
that by reason of the punishments alleged to have been inflicted by him the
people of South Carolina "who had, in private and public donations, given in
upwards of 1,300 £ sterling, seeing these things and how the public money was
thrown away, began to despise the colony, and out of regard to the welfare of
their fellow creatures, persuaded everybody they could from settling in it."
They then declared his efforts to restrain the sending of rum from South
Carolina into Georgia as an intentional "design further to exasperate the people
of Carolina," adding that "he caused their boats to be searched, and whatever
rum was found therein was directly stored, in pursuance of an act, as he
alleged, entitled an act against the importation of rum into the colony of
Georgia."

   At the same time another act was passed by the common council of the trustees
which, later, became the subject of much talk and excitement, but which,
together with the resolution forbidding the importation of rum, was some sixteen
years later rescinded. It was "an act for rendering the province of Georgia more
defensible by prohibiting the importation of black slaves or negroes into the
same," the reason for its adoption being the fear of the trustees that by the
aid of negro labor the people would relax their "habits of labour, industry,
economy, and thrift by personal application." Objection to this measure was made
by the malcontents in a petition to the trustees calling their attention to the
causes of what they called their “personal misfortunes” in these words: "The
want of the use of negroes, with proper limitations; which if granted, would
both occasion great numbers of white people to come here, and also render us
capable to subsist ourselves, by raising provisions upon our lands, until we
could make some produce fit for export, in some measure to balance our
importation. We are very sensible of the inconveniences and mischiefs that have
already and do daily arise from an unlimited use of negroes; but we are as
sensible that these may be prevented by a due limitation, such as so many to
each white man, or so many to such a quantity of land or in any manner which
your Honour shall think most proper."

THE TRUSTEES AGAINST SLAVERY

   This question of slavery was a matter of some concern to the trustees, and
the advisability of changing the positive law on the subject was brought to
their attention from time to time. On the 20th of June, 1739, they declined to
accede to the request of the magistrates, and other citizens, in a letter
addressed to the latter, in which, after acknowl-

-------------------


p. 68

edging the receipt of a "representation signed by you, the magistrates and many
of the inhabitants of Savannah on the 9th of December last, for altering the
tenure of the lands, and introducing negroes into the Province," they go on to
say "they direct you to give the complainants this answer from the Trustees:
That they should deem themselves very unfit for the trust reposed in them by his
Majesty on their behalf if they could be prevailed upon by such an irrational
attempt to give up a constitution framed with the greatest caution for the
preservation of liberty and property, and of which the laws against the use of
slaves and for the entail of lands are the surest foundations."

   Oglethorpe reported to the trustees that their decision had been received and
promulgated, and that its effect was noticeable for the good it had
accomplished, and they took from the magistrates who had signed the petition
their commissions. At the same time the malcontents who had stirred up strife by
their unruly behavior in many ways departed from Georgia. In their severe
arraignment of the office-holders and others, whose conduct did not meet with
their approval, those discontented persons magnified the little mistakes of
those whom they despised, made assertions they could not prove, and showed a
remarkable degree of spite, while, at the same time, they said some things which
were true.

WHITEFIELD IN FAVOR OF SLAVERY

   Once before the trustees had positively refused to yield to the demand for
the employment of slaves in Georgia, and the fight was kept up so persistently
that a modification of the law finally resulted, and slave labor was permitted.
Among those who advocated the rescinding of the prohibitory measure, strange to
say, was the Rev. George Whitefield who played a prominent part in Georgia's
history in connection, principally, with the orphan home established by him,
with the aid of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, at Bethesda, near Savannah. He
believed that the bringing of slaves from Africa was demanded by the claims of
humanity, and declared that it was greatly to their advantage to be permitted to
toil in useful labor, and went so far as to say that it was an established fact
that the colony could not prosper without the use of slave labor. His views were
shared by the Hon. James Habersham. who came to Georgia with him. These names
are here mentioned somewhat out of the regular chronological order because we
are now on a subject in the discussion of which it becomes necessary to state
their position. It must be borne in mind that this question was under discussion
a long time before it was definitely settled and the parts taken in it by these
two men was of such importance as to call for a statement of their view of the
matter at this point; and we now quote from Mr. Whitefield who thus wrote to the
trustees of Georgia from Gloucester, December 6, 1748: "I need not inform you
how the Colony of Georgia has been declining, and at what great disadvantages I
have maintained a large family in that wilderness. * Upwards of £5,000 have been
expended in that under-
___________
    * Referring to the orphan-home at Bethesda which will be presented to the
reader's attention presently.

--------------

p. 69

taking; and yet very little proficiency has been made in the cultivation of my
tract of land; and that entirely owing to the necessity I lay under of making
use of white hands. Had negroes been allowed, I should now have had a sufficient
to support a great many orphans, without expending above half the sum that has
been laid out. An unwillingness to let so good a design drop induced me, two
years ago, to purchase a plantation in South Carolina, where negroes are
allowed. This plantation has succeeded; and, though I have only eight working
hands, in all probability there will be more raised in one year and with a
quarter of the expense than has been produced at Bethesda for several years
past. This confirms me in the opinion I have long entertained that Georgia never
can be a flourishing province unless negroes are employed. * * * My chief end in
writing this is to inform you that I am as willing as ever to do all I can for
Georgia and the orphan house, if either a limited use of negroes is approved of,
or some more indentured servants be sent from England. If not, I cannot promise
to keep any large family or cultivate the plantation in any considerable manner.”

   Commenting on this letter, Whitefield's biographer, the Rev. Luke Tyerman,
pointedly remarks: "From such a pen this is a strange production. Whitefield,
with his large heart, urging the introduction of slavery into the province of
Georgia and almost threatening to abandon his Orphan House unless his proposal
be granted! White-field's honour is best cared for by saying as little about the
incident as possible.” But there were many others in Georgia who were strongly
urging the trustees to rescind the act against the use of negroes. Among them,
as first stated, was the Hon. James Habersham, founder of the family of that
name in Georgia, who came over with Whitefield in 1738, and whose intercourse
with the celebrated preacher was intimate and of the most friendly nature for
many years and until broken by death. Others, in close touch with the trustees,
stood by these men, and in spite of the repeated failures they met with,
stubbornly contended the point until their demand was granted.



Additional Comments:
From:

A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA
BY
WILLIAM HARDEN

VOLUME I
ILLUSTRATED
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
1913

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/chatham/history/other/gms398chapterv.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/

File size: 17.6 Kb