intljeCitpofillftngork 
 
 THE LIBRARIES 
 
^i- 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
REV. W. J. COTTER 
 
 AT AGE OF EIGHTY-FIVE 
 
M 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 By WILLIAM JASPER COTTER, A.M. 
 
 Who has lived nearly a quarter century beyond the 
 allotted threescore years and ten and has 
 been a Methodist preacher in Geor- 
 gia for seventy-three years 
 
 Q^:^^ 
 
 Edited by 
 CHARLES O. JONES, D.D. 
 
 Nastivfiii?, Tenn. 
 
 Dallas, Tex.; Richmond, Va. 
 
 Publishing House Methodist Episcopal Church, South 
 
 Smith & Lamar, Agents 
 
 1917 
 
9 3<?.6 
 
 f b-f6<f/f 
 
PREFACE 
 
 On coming into this world and becoming acquainted with 
 it I found things too numerous to mention prepared for my 
 comfort by those who had gone before. It is my single aim to 
 do something, if possible, for the good of those who may come 
 after me. Hence I write this book, which I have finished 
 June 1 6, 191 7, at the age of ninety-three years and seven 
 months. 
 
 In grateful remembrance I dedicate it to James Gouedy and 
 his wife, born Halliburton, for their kindness to the lone girl 
 and myself after she became my wife. 
 
 I also tender my heartfelt thanks to Charles O. Jones, D.D., 
 for whose generous assistance in preparing this volume of per- 
 sonal reminiscences I am greatly indebted. 
 
 William Jasper Cotter. 
 5 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Those who do not live in historic times are recompensed by 
 knowing, hearing, or reading those who were actors in pioneer 
 days. When we read of the Cherokees in North Georgia and 
 of their removal by the Federal government to the distant 
 West, we are in a sort of historical haze, where it is easy to 
 confuse that tragic event with other incidents of a remoter 
 past. Indeed, memory must take an aeroplane flight to visual- 
 ize occurrences that stirred Georgia and other parts of the 
 Union as far back as 1835, more than fourscore years ago. 
 
 Yet when the Cherokees migrated, the author of this auto- 
 biography was a boy in his teens. He was alert and open-eyed 
 to the quick-moving scenes of the human drama whose actors 
 were hardy pioneers, soldiers of State and nation, and the red 
 men unwilling to leave the fertile and beautiful territory where 
 their forefathers had hunted the deer in primeval forests and 
 speared the trout in limpid mountain streams. 
 
 The removal of these Indians, the most intelligent of all our 
 aboriginal inhabitants, has caused a tremendous amount of 
 historical and critical writing. By many authors Georgia has 
 been harshly censured for the treatment of the Cherokees and 
 the violence that in some cases was inflicted upon the defense- 
 less Indians. The author of this book was a witness, and he 
 writes out of his own experience and observation. He gives 
 us first-hand information. He defends and acquits Georgia 
 of violence and cruelty to the Indians. The chapters concern- 
 ing this are the longest in the book, but will repay close read- 
 ing, and with their documentary evidence should convince all 
 except those blinded by prejudice. 
 
 Since the author was born all great modern improvements, 
 
 7 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 from the railroad to the flying machine, have been developed ; 
 the State has grown into a populous and prosperous common- 
 wealth; the States of the Union have been welded into a 
 mighty nation; and the Church of which the author has been 
 an honored and loved minister for over seventy-two years has 
 become immeasurably strong in numbers, resources, and spir- 
 itual power. 
 
 These experiences of almost a century have been clearly and 
 faithfully depicted in the following pages. They have been 
 written primarily for the descendants of the men and women 
 mentioned in these pages, and the author has been discursive 
 and not crisp and cold, as in a scientific or philosophical trea- 
 tise. They are interesting reading and, because of the method, 
 have needed only the slightest touch of an editorial hand. 
 They will be a mine of information to future writers of for- 
 mal history. 
 
 As we read these reminiscences of the Nestor of Georgia 
 Methodism let us murmur a song of gratitude that our fore- 
 fathers, by the divine blessing, developed for us this goodly 
 heritage, resolve to embrace the glorious opportunities opened 
 to us because of their labors, and breathe a gentle prayer that 
 the author may complete his full century of years and then go 
 to rejoin his Rachel, whose loveliness and love he has em- 
 balmed in this interesting book. Charles O. Jones. 
 
 Trinity Church, Atlanta, Georgia, July 4, 1917. 
 
 8 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PART ONE 
 Boyhood Days and the Georgia Cherokees 
 
 ClIAPTBR P**^^ 
 
 I. My Ancestors and Moving from Home I3 
 
 II. My Boyhood Days with the Indians, 1832-38 i7 
 
 III. Years of Labor and Trial 23 
 
 IV. Some Indian Traits and Customs 29 
 
 V. Early Politics and Preaching 35 
 
 VI. Preparations for the Removal of the Cherokees 41 
 
 VII. The Treaty with the Cherokees in 1802 5i 
 
 VIII. Boudinot, Ross, Vann, Howard Payne, and the Old Federal Road. 65 
 
 PART TWO 
 
 Conversion, Marriage, and Beginnings of Ministry 
 
 I. Conversion and Call to Preach 81 
 
 II. Admission on Trial, 1844, and Dahlonega, 1845 87 
 
 III. My Precious Wife 9i 
 
 IV. Going to Our New Charge, Blairsville Mission, 1846 97 
 
 V. Summerville, Marietta, and Indian Generosity, 1847-48 104 
 
 VI. Clarksville Circuit, 1849— Conversion of My Father m 
 
 VII. Canton and Gainesville Circuits, 1850-51 ^^^ 
 
 PART THREE 
 
 Pastoral Service (Continued) and War Times 
 
 I. Watkinsville and Carnesville Circuits, 1852-54 125 
 
 II. Warrenton and a Visit Home, 1855-56 130 
 
 III. Waynesboro and Sandersville, 1857-60 136 
 
 IV. Culloden, Greensboro, and Forsyth, 1861-65 I45 
 
 V. The Battle of Chickamauga 152 
 
 VI. Fort Valley, Whitesville, and Grantville, 1866-69 I55 
 
 VII. Troup Circuit and LaGrange College, 1870-73 161 
 
 9 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 PART FOUR 
 
 Last Appointmexts, Superannuation, and Peaceful Waiting 
 Chapter Pag2 
 
 I. Grantville, Elberton, and Other Circuits. 1874-82 167 
 
 II. Summerville, Senoia, Troup, Hampton, and Turin. 1883-94 175 
 
 III. Atlanta and Superannuation, 1895-97 178 
 
 IV. The Wife and Mother in the Home 180 
 
 V. Newnan and Coweta County 183 
 
 VI. Ordinations and Appointments 188 
 
 10 
 
PART ONE 
 
 BOYHOOD DAYS AND THE GEORGIA CHEROKEES 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 My Ancestors and Moving from Home 
 
 TV /TY grandfather, William Cotter, was born in County 
 Down, Ireland. When a young man he came to Vir- 
 ginia and there married Miss Catherine Vance. They settled 
 in Union District, South Carolina, where, on November 28, 
 1789, my father, John Vance Cotter, was born. He was 
 brought up on a farm, with the school advantages of that day. 
 His family was Presbyterian, and its members gathered around 
 the family altar in daily prayer. Father was a soldier in the 
 War of 18 12 and was stationed at Charleston. When peace 
 was declared, he came to Georgia and traded on the borders 
 with the Cherokee Indians. 
 
 My mother was Miss Mary Ann Nail, born in Chatham 
 County, North Carolina, June 12, 1796, and was reared in 
 old Pendleton, South Carolina. My father and mother were 
 married December 19, 18 19. To them were born six children, 
 three boys and three girls. My sister Emeline E. was the 
 oldest and in all respects a noble woman. She was an intimate 
 friend of Miss Joanna Troutman, who designed the Lone Star 
 flag of Texas. My sister never married, and after our parents 
 grew old she became the head of the household. She died in 
 1872 in Arkansas while on a visit with our other sisters. 
 
 I was the second child and was born in Hall County, at 
 Cotter's Store, November 16, 1823. I was named William 
 Jasper, evidently after Sergeant Jasper, the Revolutionary 
 hero who replaced the American flag on Fort Moultrie after it 
 had been shot down June 28, 1776, and was mortally wounded 
 in trying to place the colors on Spring Hill redoubt at Savan- 
 
 13 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 nah October 7, 1 779. My brother Robert, next to me in age, 
 died a member of the Georgia Conference, leaving a wife, born 
 Caroline McRae, and three children. My youngest brother, J. 
 C. K., married Miss Malinda Green, one of the best of women. 
 Much of his time he has taught country schools and still sur- 
 vives at the age of eighty-nine. My sister Louisa was a most 
 amiable character. She married Thomas Smith, son of a local 
 preacher, and bore him four children, surviving him many 
 years. She died in 1888 at the age of fifty-seven. Martha, 
 the yotmgest, was born in 1834, married a Mr. Canterbury, 
 and still lives at Mountain Home, Arkansas. We were a har- 
 monious family to the end of the days. 
 
 My parents settled in Hall County, Georgia, at a place 
 known for years as Cotter's Store, now Gillsville. Pioneers 
 had located thirty years before in this eastern part of the coun- 
 ty, on a section of fine farming land between the Oconee and 
 Grove Rivers. I may mention some of our early neighbors: 
 The Garrisons, Caseys, Terrells, Bufifingtons, Rileys, Bowens, 
 Cowans, Peepleses, and others equally worthy. The commu- 
 nity had good schools and a high standard of morals. The 
 Baptist church was at Timber Ridge, where they had large As- 
 sociations. The Methodist meetings were held at Wesley 
 Chapel, Miller's Meetinghouse, and old Dry Pond Camp 
 Ground. 
 
 The larger portion of the county was west of the Oconee. 
 The county had been organized in 18 18. The first members 
 of the County Court were: Jacob Eberhart, John Bates, John 
 V. Cotter (my father), Nehemiah Garrison, and William 
 Cobb. The first thing for the court to do was to select a site 
 for the county seat. The Big Spring and the Lime Kiln were 
 nominated. My father suggested the place where the city of 
 
 14 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Gainesville now stands, then an unbroken forest. He also 
 suggested the name for the new city that was to be in honor 
 of Gen. Edmond Pendleton Gaines, under whom he had served 
 during the war. The surveyor who laid off the site was a 
 great-uncle of the late Governor Terrell. The deed to the lot 
 bore the names of the five judges already mentioned. 
 
 Our old home originally called for eight hundred and eight 
 acres of land, but had been divided into three parts, called the 
 Garrison, Cotter, and Peeples places. It was a lovely country, 
 shaded with great trees and brightened with pinks and roses. 
 We had a cold and living well of water and a garden fertile 
 with the vegetables of that time. In the spring the sunshine 
 was made more beautiful by the glittering wings of butter- 
 flies, and bird choristers made the trees vocal with their songs 
 of praise. On Sunday mornings mother would say: "Go 
 down to the washing place and gather some flowers." Swiftly 
 we gathered honeysuckle and sweet shrub. As we returned 
 mother would say: "You didn't stay long, and you kept your 
 clothes so nice. Now I will read to you." We gathered about 
 her knees, and she read the Bible and told us that God made all 
 things and that Jesus Christ was our only Saviour. I have 
 never heard any one else speak that precious name exactly with 
 the sweetness and unction that she did. When about eight 
 years old, I went with her to church on a beautiful Sabbath 
 morning. As we came home she said: 'T don't want to hear 
 that man again, for he said that our Saviour is not God." 
 She was a constant Bible reader and was well informed as to 
 its doctrines. 
 
 The time came for us to leave our beautiful home. We dis- 
 posed of most of our live stock, prepared provisions for the 
 journey, loaded the wagons, and started on April 3, 1832. 
 
 15 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Every place and object we passed was new. On the eleventh 
 day we stopped at the James Monroe place, on the old Federal 
 Road, about two miles north of what was then known as the 
 Harlen place, now the Carter place. We were in the midst of 
 the Cherokee Nation. 
 
 The third Sunday after we had been in our new home the 
 Rev. Mr, McDowell preached for us. He was then surveying 
 that district. He was a good man, and all the people I have 
 known of that name honored it. I cannot tell how long it was 
 before we heard another sermon. The country was a wilder- 
 ness, and the Indians were about us. 
 
 i6 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 My Boyhood Days with the Indians, 1832-38 
 
 TT THY did we go there? Many answers might be given to 
 the question. It would be hard to make the people of 
 the present time understand the situation then. People had 
 the spirit of adventure, the new country had the charms of at- 
 traction, and it was confidently believed that the Indians would 
 all be gone in a year, at least ; but they did not go till six years. 
 After the War of 1812 my father drifted to Georgia and 
 embarked in trading with the Indians with some success. He 
 and his partner were neighbor boys, different in almost every 
 respect, except David and Jonathan were not better friends. 
 My father had great powers of endurance and complete 
 control of his appetites. I never saw him the least intoxi- 
 cated. He could sleep anywhere and eat almost anything. 
 Smith was the opposite, dainty in his eating and particular 
 about his sleeping. At one time the fare was too bad for 
 him. There was a place where the prospect was better. He 
 
 said: "Cotter, things look better at . Let us call for 
 
 a nice piece of meat and cabbage and a chicken. I intend to 
 watch how it is prepared." The meat and cabbage were nicely 
 washed and put into the dinner pot; and so was the chicken 
 dressed, and all started off cooking nicely. He took his 
 partner out to tell him how well everything was going on 
 and said he could hardly wait for it to get done. Back he 
 went ; and the two women with a stick made hair and dust fly 
 from the dog's back, saying, "Skeener!" (their word for "Get 
 out!") and then stirred the cabbage with the stick. It nearly 
 killed Smith. Again he said to his friend: "Did you see that 
 2 17 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 dirty thing hit the dog and stir the cabbage? I couldn't eat a 
 mouthful." He declined meat and cabbage, but did his duty 
 to the chicken. Though he was doing well, there was one back 
 at home in his mind and heart. She afterwards became his 
 life partner. The time came when Smith and my father sep- 
 arated. They shed tears then and remained dear friends as 
 long as they lived, and a hundred miles was a short distance 
 to go to visit each other. Smith settled in Middle Tennessee, 
 was a captain in the war of Texas in 1836 and, I think, was 
 a prisoner in a dungeon in the City of Mexico when the war 
 ended. The authorities at Washington sent Gen. VVaddie 
 Thompson, of South Carolina, with papers of authority to 
 have the prisoners liberated. I heard him say that before go- 
 ing to a hotel or looking after baggage he went at once and 
 saw the iron bolts drawn and the doors opened and grasped 
 the hands of his dear countrymen, saying to them: ''I have 
 passports for you to go home with me." He said it was the 
 gladdest hour of his life, and it made every one glad to hear 
 him tell it. I may allude to Captain Smith again. 
 
 Cotter continued and extended the business. At that time 
 there was a great trade center at Grayson Bend, on the Chatta- 
 hoochee River, fifteen miles above LaGrange. From the 
 mouth of Peachtree Creek, near where the city of Atlanta is, 
 he shipped in large canoes a cargo of goods. The canoes were 
 worked by strong negroes and Indians. The river was at 
 flood tide, out of banks, which were bordered with cane- 
 brakes, a home for wild beasts. Great gangs of wild turkeys 
 flew over their heads, filling the air with the whir of their 
 wings. The dangerous voyage was safely made, but a great 
 calamity came at the last moment. In turning the canoes in 
 the bend of the river to land, the whole cargo capsized, and 
 
 18 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 everything was lost. The crew escaped safely and, in the best 
 way they could, made their way back home, going pretty much 
 over what is now the line of the West Point Railroad. 
 
 Grayson's Bend had its name from Sam Grayson, the most 
 widely known man in all that part of the country up and down 
 the Chattahoochee and then to the white settlements in the east • 
 em part of the State. Grayson's trails led out in every direc- 
 tion and are still spoken of by the old people of Troup and oth- 
 er counties. I don't know that Sam Grayson had Indian blood 
 in him. I think not. But he had great influence over them and 
 over the whites also. He was a man of honor, most hospitable, 
 and kept an open and orderly house.' My father had great re- 
 spect for Sam Grayson. After the country was settled, the 
 place was known as the Colonel Townes place, named for the 
 father of George W. B. Townes, Georgia's Chesterfieldian 
 Governor. 
 
 I saw that interesting part of the State when all was new — 
 waters in the creeks and rivers as clear as crystal; rich val- 
 leys, hills, and mountains covered with a thick forest ; a land 
 of beautiful flowers — white, pink, yellow, and red honey- 
 suckles, redwood and dogwood blossoms, wild roses, and oth- 
 ers. The ground was covered with violets, sweet williams, and 
 other beauties. There was plenty of wild game — deer, tur- 
 key, and other varieties. When first seen, all was in lovely, 
 beautiful spring, and I was nine years old. 
 
 Many and varied were the troubles encountered with the 
 wild animals, bears, panthers, and wolves, and the smaller ones, 
 wildcats, coons, and foxes. I never saw a bear in the woods ; 
 but they were numerous, and many were killed. I saw a 
 panther three hundred yards from the house. The cattle in the 
 lane scented it and were excited. Panthers killed colts, spring- 
 
 19 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 ing from the limb of a tree. I have often seen the prints of 
 their claws on a colt's back and sometimes on grown horses. 
 Wolves howled in hearing on the mountain, but never did 
 much mischief. The smaller animals gave the trouble. Stand- 
 ing in the yard, we could hear the foxes barking; and coons 
 were nearly as bad as hogs in destroying corn. They began 
 on it before it was in roasting ear. The Indians had no dogs, 
 but small curs, which were of little account. There were no 
 hounds. Colonel Carter's overseer brought two from Mil- 
 ledgeville, and Mr. Black got some from Buncombe, North 
 Carolina. We soon trained them to hunt together ; and in the 
 winter and spring we caught twenty-seven foxes, four wild- 
 cats, and quite a number of coons. It was the gray fox, and 
 usually the chase was fun. If started by eight o'clock, it was 
 caught by twelve; if at four o'clock in the morning, it was 
 caught a little after sunup. We never saw a red fox there. 
 Once in a while the dogs were out all night, and we did not 
 know what they were after. When they caught a fox they 
 would lie down around it for several hours, then one after 
 another would leave. Old Buncombe was the last to go in the 
 afternoon. Walking around the fox, he would howl as loud 
 as he could and start for home with a look of disappointment. 
 He was a large, leopard-colored dog and was the leader of the 
 pack. While the others stayed, he was always nearest the dead 
 fox. Only hunters know the meaning of "as cunning as a 
 fox," when, far ahead of the dogs, he runs back on logs, runs 
 a little way up trees and from log to log, then jumps as far as 
 he can and often eludes his pursuers. The chase was hard on 
 horses. Wildcats can run up a tree and are usually shot. 
 Coon-hunting involves hard work as well as lots of fun. Late 
 one fall, while gathering corn about dark, a company of boys 
 
 20 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 came for a coon hunt ; and, grabbing a handful of bread and 
 meat, I went with them. Early in the night we treed a 
 coon up one of the largest poplars on the creek. It would 
 never do to give up. The tree had to come down. We sent 
 home for help. White boys and negroes came with axes and 
 supper. It was about daylight when the tree fell. We held 
 the dogs, that they might not be killed by the tree. The coon 
 escaped, crossed the creek, and ran up a small tree. We cut 
 it down in twenty minutes and got the coon. It was sunup 
 then. An old coon can easily whip a young dog and is a full 
 match for an old dog. 
 
 On that spot I had a most fearful encounter with a large 
 rattlesnake, alone with a good dog that killed nearly every 
 snake that he found. He seized them with his teeth and shook 
 them to death in a little time. It was a sand bar barren of 
 weeds. The rattler was coiled ready to strike. I saw his 
 eyes and realized the expression, "as mad as a rattlesnake." 
 Had he not been in his coil, the dog would have seized him, 
 but he knew the snake could strike first and so held off. It 
 would never do for a boy to let such a snake live, and with a 
 ten-foot fence rail the blow was struck that turned the tide of 
 battle. 
 
 That year's hunting thinned out the wildcats, coons, foxes, 
 minks, skunks, opossums, and other varmints that troubled us. 
 A traveler told us how to catch wild turkeys. Next day we 
 followed instructions. With an ax and a hoe we cut down 
 some little pines, dug a trench, and made a pen so that a tur- 
 key would come up in the middle of the pen and have to look 
 down in order to get out. This the frightened bird would not 
 do, but would hold his head high. I baited the trench with 
 corn and soon caught two large turkeys and proudly carried 
 
 21 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 them home. Squirrels and opossums were in great abundance. 
 Great fat opossums were dressed, put on the roof of the 
 smokehouse during a frosty night, and the next day cooked 
 with potatoes, making a dish fit for a king or an American 
 sovereign. 
 
 22 
 
CHAPTER III 
 Years of Labor and Trial 
 
 IVyTR. WILLIAM MAY was living at the Monroe place. 
 He was a nice old gentleman of seventy years, and his 
 wife was about the same age. He owned negroes and was 
 well off. He had brought up a large family, equally divided 
 in sons and daughters, all well educated. One daughter mar- 
 ried George Harlan, a rich half Indian. I heard Harlan say 
 that if Mr. May had said "No" when he asked for Ann he 
 would have knocked him into the Chattahoochee. They were 
 on the bank of the river near Winn's Ferry. That knock was 
 a joke, for her father and brothers were strong men. Mrs. 
 Harlan was an estimable woman. They lived in a two-story 
 frame house painted white. She painted the stair steps. At 
 the end of our journey I spent my first night in that house. 
 He owned a large plantation on the Coosawattee. What crops 
 of corn, three or more stalks to the hill, yielding sixty or more 
 bushels to the acre! Woe to the hands that gathered it, for 
 their clothes were as thickly covered with cockleburs and 
 Spanish needles as the hairs on a dog's back ! He had a large 
 orchard of apples, peaches, and other fruits. Better fruit it 
 would be hard to find. They were the best of neighbors, but 
 they left for the West in 1834. 
 
 James Monroe was a skilled mechanic, millwright, etc., and 
 held a permit from the government and the Indians to live 
 there and be protected. He went in 1816 and built the only 
 grist and saw mills. Monroe was a nephew of the late Rev. 
 W. M. Crumley. Monroe's death was tragic. Riding in 
 a gallop, his horse threw him against a tree and killed him, 
 
 23 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 This was before we went; but the tree was pointed out, and 
 I saw it many a time. The tree died ; and some years after, on 
 a still day, it fell and killed a yoke of oxen, the driver narrow- 
 ly escaping. His grave was inclosed, and when we children 
 went to it on Sunday mornings we talked low and walked 
 lightly. We did not see as many graves then as we do now. 
 
 The surveyors were there. I saw them running the lines, 
 marking the station trees and corner posts, shaving off the 
 outside bark of the trees, and making the figures telling the 
 number of the lot of land. Where one of those trees is now 
 alive, the figures are to be plainly seen to this day. Mr. Mc- 
 Dowell, a Baptist preacher, surveyed that district. He 
 preached for us on a beautiful Sunday morning in May. 
 These men had a hard time getting on in the wildwoods. On 
 the side of a mountain a rattlesnake in his coil ready to strike 
 looked them in the face. They reported that three days after 
 the full moon in May and August was the best time to kill trees. 
 A lick with a hatchet sometimes killed a chestnut tree. 
 
 A month had gone, and there was no home to buy nor one to 
 rent. The State owned all the land. Father was disappointed 
 in his plans. Three miles away there was a nice new cabin 
 which had never been occupied. He bought it and moved it 
 on the road between the Monroe and Harlan places, a lovely 
 locality, with one of the best springs of good water, all in the 
 woods. We cleared a place and planted a little garden. How 
 we crowded so many things in the little cabin it would be hard 
 to explain. 
 
 The cabin was made of small logs nicely notched down at 
 the corners and squared at the ends, with joists and a loft. 
 First the trees had to be cut down and cleared away. Hence 
 rails and boards were in demand. Some tall oaks leaning the 
 
 24 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 other way had to come town too. Mother said we did not 
 know which way the wind might blow. A forest is a dark and 
 lonely place, and we were cheered by the light the little opening 
 gave us. Nature's surroundings were grand. On the east 
 near by was a ledge of mountains, in all other directions a 
 rich and beautiful country. As time offered we fenced lots, 
 built stables, and opened land. We bought chickens and a cow 
 from an Indian who lived on Chicken Creek. He was well- 
 to-do and had a large house with a hall, piazza, and dining 
 room. He took in travelers. At a supper there we had bear 
 meat, clabber, and honey. He had about a hundred bee 
 stands. The gums were of hollow trees set on rocks or pieces 
 of boards, two or three by a tree. The old people understood 
 but could not speak a word of English. The younger ones 
 could talk. His name was Calarxee and his wife's Takee, and 
 we named the cow Takee. When they left, mother bought her 
 large washpot, a good article of English castings. I don't 
 know how long it had been used by old Takee ; but it rendered 
 good service in our family for many years, not only for wash- 
 ing and scrubbing, but in general cleaning up. The old-time 
 housekeepers knew the worth of a big pot of hot water. Then, 
 at the right time of the moon, stirring the right way with a 
 sassafras stick, it was used for soap-making, also for making 
 lye hominy and the cooking of a big gobbler that was too large 
 for any oven on the place. Fifty years ago I fell heir to that 
 useful relic, and I prize it highly for its age and associations 
 with the long, long ago. It is well taken care of now. 
 
 It was not long until we had a log house, which was followed 
 by a good frame house. We built good stables and cribs, 
 planted fruit trees and a garden, and in time cleared a large 
 body of good land. So I know by experience what it means 
 
 25 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 to make a string of fence half a mile long with heavy new 
 rails. We had fine geese, ducks, turkeys, hogs, and cows. At 
 one time we milked nine cows. I had good experience in 
 slaughtering and putting away meat. We all fell in love with 
 our new home. In the spring we had boxes and gourds 
 hung up for the martins. One came early and selected his 
 gourd or hole in the box. The next time he brought his bride. 
 Then ever so many came, and how they did sing and fight the 
 hawks! Before long we had bee gums and plenty of honey. 
 
 The place where we built is known now, I think, as the Joe 
 Mclntyre place. We left no relatives there. When we first 
 w^ent, the wealthy mixed bloods received us cordially ; but they 
 were all gone by 1835, and we felt our loss. 
 
 The year 1835 was the most trying year with the newcomers 
 there. We suffered more from the bad Indians and white 
 outlaws; for instance, the killing of the Bowman family, 
 which consisted of Bowman, his wife and little girl, and an 
 old blind aunt. Having a grudge against him, George Tooke, 
 a bad Indian, and five or six more went to the house. Bow- 
 man fought them bravely, wounding one of them. Overpow- 
 ering him, they split his head open with an ax, then did the 
 same to his wife. They left the old aunt in the house to be 
 burned. The Indians set the house on fire and stood around 
 to see it burn. The little girl ran out. They saw the little 
 girl, and Tooke snatched her up in his arms. She clinched his 
 shirt sleeves in her hands. He then threw her into the flames, 
 she with part of his shirt still in her hands. The whole family 
 suffered death in the burning house. Tooke and his men re- 
 mained in the neighborhood for some days. Creek Ben, the 
 one whom Bowman had wounded, was thrown in a deep creek 
 and drowned. Tooke fled to Cherokee County. Upon being 
 
 26 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 arrested, he was severely wounded by a gunshot. He lay in 
 jail at Canton until he was able to be carried to Cassville, 
 where he was hanged. I had a thrilling account of Tooke's ar- 
 rest and talked with the sheriff who was in charge of the ex- 
 ecution. The locality is in Gordon County and is, I suppose, 
 kept fresh in the traditions of the county. 
 
 The same conditions entered into the courts. This rougher 
 element violated their oaths without a qualm of conscience, 
 especially where the rights of the better classes were involved. 
 My father was deeply interested in public affairs and did 
 what he could to have good men elected to office. He himself 
 was a judicial officer. He suffered dearly for his efforts in 
 behalf of the general welfare and the office he held, on one 
 occasion barely escaping with his life. One evening he was 
 sitting quietly in his house when one of the outlaws forced 
 his way through the door. He was a large white man, and 
 before we were hardly aware of his intentions he had given 
 my father some heavy blows with a club. Father sprang from 
 his seat and grappled with the ruffian for the club. My brave 
 little mother seized the assailant around the waist and cried 
 to me: "William, get the ax." This I did and began to use 
 the blade with all my might on the man's legs. When I began 
 this attack, the man hastily retreated. It was not our custom 
 to leave the ax at the woodpile, and it was fortunate that in 
 this case we had it readily accessible. The rascal left the 
 county and was never afterwards seen in those parts. He 
 reported to some of his friends that I was a dangerous boy 
 with a sharp ax. The reader must not conclude from this that 
 I was a "game" boy, for I have never had a fight nor even a 
 quarrel with anybody in my life. 
 
 When about thirteen years old I carried the mail on horse- 
 
 27 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 back from Rock Spring to Spring Place, a distance of about 
 twelve miles. Returning one evening through a thick forest, 
 I met a body of United States infantry in blue uniform. 
 I had never seen the like before. The officer in command 
 halted me and asked me to let him open the mail. I told him 
 that I was under oath not to allow any one that privilege. He 
 told me very politely that he had the right to do so. I dis- 
 mounted, and he opened the mail bag, examining every piece. 
 
 Of course the people were in dread of the dangers, and for 
 this reason there were bodies of soldiers stationed at different 
 places to intimidate the Indians. Many people had already 
 come, and by 1836 there were thousands of the best families 
 that had already moved in. 
 
 What has been said about Murray County applies to other 
 counties in that part of the State. The Floyds, Walkers, Lees, 
 Quillians, McFarlands, etc., were the best of citizens. We 
 welcomed every newcomer, and the friendship and strong at- 
 tachment felt can be appreciated only by going through the 
 same experience. It makes the best of neighbors. 
 
 28 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Some Indian Traits and Customs 
 
 A MILE above the crossing, in the first of the Indian 
 homes I visited, lived an old Indian with some white 
 blood in him. It was said that his father was an old Tory 
 who had been killed by a white man with a long knife. Al- 
 though more than eighty years ago, I distinctly recall the visit 
 and most of the objects I saw — the ten-toed speckled chickens, 
 the numerous cur dogs, the beautiful black-and-white-spotted 
 cows, and the active ponies. Note the Indian names : Chicken, 
 "shetaugee" ; dog, "keetler" ; hog, "sequan" ; cow, "walker" ; 
 horse, "sequilla." The old Indian could speak a few English 
 words. He was a peaceable neighbor and sometimes took a 
 meal with us, sitting at arm's length from the table and hold- 
 ing the knife and fork with the ends of his fingers. His wife 
 had the Indian reticence among strangers and never opened 
 her mouth to a white visitor. With a woman's curiosity, my 
 mother called to see them one evening. They were cooking 
 tripe, and she asked: "Uncle Will, what do you call this?" 
 He answered: "We call it squaller." An appropriate name, 
 for one might squall with pain after eating it. 
 
 What the Indians called a town was nothing like our idea. 
 It was a section of eight or ten miles of country with few 
 houses or settlements. Each town had its name. Rabbit Trap 
 was the name of one on the Cussawattee River, Cussawattee Old 
 Town another, and others were Owl Town and Turnip Town. 
 Their homes were bare of all comforts. In bitter cold weath- 
 er they slept in large pits called hothouses. Hothouse Creek, 
 in Gilmer County, takes its name from these Indian warming 
 
 29 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 places. There were no family dining tables. Next to the wall 
 stood a table three feet long and two feet wide, on which were 
 two cedar keelers, the capacity of each being about two gallons. 
 In one was a stiff mush of corn meal made largely of parched 
 corn. The mush was carried to the mouth with the fore and 
 middle fingers and was, therefore, called two-fingered mush. 
 Soup was drunk out of a large wooden spoon. These two ves- 
 sels were kept full, and any one coming in was free to partake 
 of soup or mush or both. The Cherokee name for the soup 
 was "connahanee," and the Creeks called it "sofkee." Some- 
 where in Georgia there is a. town called Sofkee. 
 
 The Indians lived much on game. When a deer or cow or 
 any other fresh meat was brought in, it was boiled or roasted 
 and eaten late in the afternoon, all the family being present. 
 They would tear off a slice of the flesh and eat to their fill. 
 There were many fallen trees, and they picked up much of 
 their firewood. They cut down the smallest trees and cut the 
 sticks for the fireplace six or eight feet long. These they 
 would put in the fire and push up as they were burned. They 
 were neither fond of nor fit for house or field work. I spent 
 but one night in any of their cabins, and this cabin was in 
 a dark section called Mountain Town. The fare was boiled 
 eggs and boiled sweet potatoes for supper and breakfast. 
 They slept on deerskin spread on the floor, and some hard 
 substance answered for a pillow. I left as soon as I could the 
 next morning, with due courtesy to my host, and was hardly 
 out of sight before I dismounted from my horse and vomited. 
 After lying on the ground a half hour or so, I remounted my 
 horse and reached home in safety. 
 
 The Indians did not marry young, nor did they wait until 
 they were old. Boys and girls usually stayed at home until 
 
 30 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 they were fully grown. There was not much ceremony at a 
 marriage, but they lived together. Few couples parted. Only 
 a few of the rich chiefs had two wives. As a rule, they all 
 married. The women wanted a home and a protector and the 
 men a wife to do the work. Usually there were not many 
 children in a family, and the little Indians took to the water 
 and could swim like ducks. The ambition of a boy was to 
 shoot with his boAv and arrows, and he soon became an archer. 
 I have seen them shoot a squirrel out of the top of a tall tree. 
 Their bows were made of sycamore, and the arrows of reeds. 
 They were great ball players. Crowds went for miles to see 
 a ball game. It lasted several days. I remember the stick 
 with which they caught the ball, but no one would understand 
 it if described. They were rough players. There were many 
 bruised bodies and broken bones, and almost at every ball 
 game there was one or more killed. Annually they had a 
 green corn dance after roasting ears were fully matured. 
 They tied terrapin shells, with something to make them rattle, 
 to their ankles and moved arotmd in a large circle quite slow- 
 ly, making a grunting noise. They held on till late in the 
 night, then tumbled down and slept almost anywhere. There 
 was solemnity in the green-corn dance. When traveling they 
 walked or rode one after another. If the road was ever so 
 wide, they went in single file. The sober Indians would give 
 anything for whisky. They would give corn for it; and if 
 the measure was heaped, they would say: "You don't heap the 
 whisky." They would get drunk the quickest and the drunk- 
 est of any people I ever saw. But there was always one sober 
 Indian. If two or ten were together, one was sober and took 
 care of all the knives and pocketbooks and had a sad face all 
 the time ; but the next time he was the first man to get drunk. 
 
 31 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 I don't remember to have seen a drunken woman. The wife 
 had whatever property she brought into the family. 
 
 When marauding parties went to the white settlements and 
 carried off boys and girls, they put plaited strings around the 
 necks of the captives that were not to be killed and to signify 
 whose property each captive was. They were afraid of an 
 angry cloud, and the women would hold up a dog to turn away 
 the thunderbolt. Hume, in his "History of the Ancient Irish," 
 says they did the same things — put plaited strings upon cap- 
 tives, and the women held up a dog before the angry cloud to 
 turn away the lightning. Who can explain it? No such oc- 
 currence took place in my day, but I heard it from the lips of 
 the honored grandmother of the late Rev. A. J. Deavors. She 
 herself was a captive for nearly a year and saw the strings 
 and the dogs. Her story was a thrilling one. It was in South 
 Carolina, in the locality of Lossen's Fork. It was a bright, 
 moonlight night. Quite a number of friends were at a neigh- 
 bor's house. Two girls were walking to the spring, and one 
 said: "What if the Indians were to come?" In a moment all 
 the men were shot down, the house plundered, the horses 
 taken, and she and her little brother and sister were carried 
 away as captives. The account of the captives I had from 
 the lips of the old lady. They were taken from the western 
 part of South Carolina, then a frontier. Their raid was at the 
 full of the moon in the fall of the year, and they got away as 
 fast as they could. They traveled by night and hid away 
 in the dark forests all day, going and coming. Their trail was 
 by Reinhardt, across Pine Log Mountain, to Pine Log Valley. 
 Friendly Indians told where they were. A band of white 
 soldiers rescued them. 
 
 I attended only one Indian service. The weather on this 
 
 32 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 occasion was cold and damp. The arbor under which the 
 meeting was held was covered with brush, and the seats were 
 comfortable. The attendance was fairly good. The minister 
 and the hearers seemed quite devout. The meeting continued 
 for six or seven days, six or eight members being added to 
 the Church. An Indian named Watt Foster could speak 
 English fairly well, and I think he could also write it. He 
 was always a welcome visitor at our home. After the meeting 
 he came and reported the names of the newly added members. 
 He said that Aunt Katie Falon was one. When asked if she 
 was baptized, he answered, "Yes." "Had she not been bap- 
 tized before?" "Yes." "Why did they baptize her again?" 
 "To make her stronger." There had been a Baptist mission 
 that they had attended, but I am unable to give the location 
 of this work. 
 
 The Rev. Jesse Bushyhead, a half Indian, preached once in 
 our house. In the course of his sermon he said: "Some one 
 said, 'Indians have no souls.' Do you think I have only half 
 a soul? I think I have a whole soul that is full of the love 
 of God, and I live to preach that love." 
 
 George Tassels, the first Indian hanged under the law of 
 Georgia, was executed at Gainesville on a cold, sleety day. I 
 remember it well. We had not moved from Hall County then. 
 Twenty years afterwards I saw his skeleton with coagulated 
 blood about his neck. Tassels had killed Andrew Falon, a 
 good Indian, the son, I think, of Aunt Katie Falon. 
 
 About ten miles from New Echota we called at an Indian 
 house and asked for sweet potatoes and boiled eggs, as we 
 were hungry. The squaw removed the shells from the eggs 
 until she came to the last one, which had a chick in it about 
 ready to hatch. She ate the wings and legs of this unhatched 
 3 33 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 fledgling before us without seeming at all abashed. She was 
 a fair sample of ninety-five per cent of the Indians of that day. 
 The quickening touch of trade and commerce beginning to 
 move the people of the wild tribes, hundreds of Indians went 
 to the rich coves of the mountains to dig gentian and pinkroot 
 for their medicinal properties. They packed great loads upon 
 their ponies and delivered them where they could be carried off 
 in wagons. In the fall of the year they went to the mountains 
 for chestnuts and gathered large quantities for the market. 
 Often some of the party ate too many and died from it. 
 
 34 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 Early Politics and Preaching 
 
 ''T^HOSE first years were years of great strain and trial. It 
 was not unlike going from one place to another where 
 people and objects were familiar, but the very opposites were 
 met everywhere. Often we talked over our troubles and as 
 often broke down with a hearty cry. Dear mother's burden 
 was the heaviest of all, as she was in constant fear of the In- 
 dians. The troubles and the transitional state of the country 
 blocked everything like business. Father could do but little. 
 He was not afraid, nor rash, but cautious. In the midst of 
 drunken Indians and white men he had presence of mind and 
 knew what to do at the moment. Three times he narrowly 
 escaped death by lightning — at Gainesville, when a horse was 
 killed and he was knocked to his knees ; in Murray County, 
 alone in the woods, he was thrown to the ground and stunned 
 for a time; and on the public road near a large pine tree the 
 thunderbolt shivered the tree, and he fell from his horse and 
 was not hurt. I never heard him express the least fear of 
 lightning. 
 
 There were two political parties; and politics, like noxious 
 weeds, grew spontaneously in every place. Major Ridge head- 
 ed one party and John Ross the other. Ridge told his people 
 that it was better to accept the offers of the govermnent, get 
 pay, and go West. The Ridge party were all friendly to the 
 whites and good neighbors. In 1833-34, when the laws of the 
 State were set up and the oath of allegiance was taken, white 
 men who had taken up with the Indians could take the oath 
 and get an office. The law is a dangerous weapon when in the 
 
 35 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 hands of bad men. One has to experience such a condition to 
 know its evils. 
 
 In 1836-37 a Httle light came. Families moved in — the 
 Catheys, Blacks, Brights, a colony of North Carolinians. 
 From them I learned the history of the western part of the 
 State, of Buncombe and other counties, the mountains and 
 rivers, and remember them to this day. Aunt Eve Smith, an 
 old maid with a fine mind, was the most charming story-teller 
 [ ever heard, and what a treat it was for us children when she 
 :ame to spend the night ! 
 
 We were three years without preaching. Four sermons 
 heard in that time cannot be recalled ; only two are remem- 
 bered, one by the surveyor and one by a half Indian. That 
 part of Georgia was in the .bounds of the Holston Conference, 
 and the first preacher was Rev. A. H. Ross. The Conference 
 was held at Abingdon, Virginia. It was a long journey into a 
 lone and dangerous field. The first night he came is well re- 
 membered, bleak and cold, in November. He called to stay all 
 night at the Ellis Harlan place, on the Federal Road to Rock 
 Creek. Mr. Cathey lived there then. It was a stopping place 
 for travelers, with good accommodations. All the houses were 
 of logs, and there were three or four — the loom house, kitchen, 
 eating house, family room, and the house for travelers, the 
 latter having a wide fireplace well filled with good wood. The 
 house was full that night. They talked about the current events 
 of the day. The lonely, well-dressed man, with a fine horse and 
 well-filled saddlebags, had little to say, but attracted every 
 one's attention. I, boylike, was everywhere and learned what 
 was said. One said one thing, and some one else said that he 
 might be a Murrell man. The country was full of talk about 
 John A. Murrell, the great Western land pirate. 
 
 36 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 After supper was over, all settled down before the good fire ; 
 and in an impressive manner he told who he was, for what 
 he had come, and, if agreeable to the family and those present, 
 he would pray. The lesson from the Bible was read, and a 
 hymn was sung. The prayer was tinged with the feeling of a 
 stranger and with confidence in the promise, "I am with thee." 
 All felt the pathos and power of that prayer. It touched the 
 heart of Mrs. Cathey and maybe others. I shared the bed 
 with him. I have not the least idea as to the wide field he 
 went — some places to visit but once. At Dallas, in Tennessee, 
 he was beaten by four gamblers, one the sheriff. Swift retri- 
 bution followed them. One came to his death in a steamboat 
 accident. Six months afterwards one was shot to death over 
 a gambling table. Another was cut to death over a game of 
 cards. In a short time the sheriff lost all he had and was a 
 drunken vagabond till he died. I saw him at Harrison, Ham- 
 ilton County, Tennessee, in 1843. The town died, and the 
 courthouse was moved to Harrison. Perhaps Mr. Ross 
 preached only half a dozen times at one place, but he kept 
 appointments where he hoped his successor might do some- 
 thing. His labor was not in vain. He left good impressions. 
 
 Rev. W. M. Rush followed the next year. Prospects were 
 a little brighter. The preacher was quite young, just from 
 school and from a home of wealth, affable, and well dressed. 
 Tight pants were the fashion, and some of the young people 
 said that his were too tight for kneeling. But little impres- 
 sion was made. 
 
 Rev. Elijah Still came next. This brings us to 1837. 
 Nothing like building a church or collecting a membershii> 
 had been spoken of, but the preacher did good. He was a 
 pure Christian with good gifts and had mixed with the peo- 
 
 37 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 pie ; not light and funny, not at all cold and reserved. Where 
 he visited he won the family and directly the people of the 
 community. People not in the Church felt it their duty, for 
 their credit's sake, to take care of the preacher. So one man 
 would say to another: "You must take care of Mr. Still next 
 time." Those who had not much love for the Methodists liked 
 Mr. Still. They preached in private homes or some vacant 
 house. Jeremiah Harrison, one of the faithful ones, had 
 moved in and would exhort after the preacher. He and the 
 preacher wanted the seed sown with their tears. Brother 
 Harrison died in his field in a fence corner kneeling alone, as 
 if the angels met him while engaged in prayer. The good 
 preacher did not get on so well at some places, for at Spring 
 Place some rude fellows of the baser sort shaved his fine 
 horse's tail, and shaved it close to the skin. His horse was a 
 beautiful chestnut sorrel and was highly prized by the owner. 
 No such thing would have been done in our neighborhood. 
 All of our settlement was up to a good average for honorable 
 people — the Catheys, Blacks, Brights, Mclntyres, Atkinsons, 
 Carters, and others. Col. Harris Carter lived at Milledgeville 
 (rather at Scottsboro) and was one of the largest property 
 owners in the State. They were there during the summer. 
 His partner, Atkinson, lived there several years. Mrs. Car- 
 ter was a devout member of the Baptist Church, was deeply 
 concerned about the training of her children, and taught them 
 by precept and example to be Christians. 
 
 The spring of 1838 opened most beautifully. There was no 
 cold weather after the first of March. Vegetation advanced 
 without any backsets from cold. The buds burst into leaves 
 and blossoms ; the woods were green and gay and merry with 
 the singing birds. The Indians started to work in their fields 
 
 38 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 earlier than ever before. Usually they were lazy and late in 
 starting with their crops, working around logs in their fields 
 and letting bushes and briers grow in the fence corners. That 
 spring you could see the smoke of their log heaps or piles of 
 ashes where the boys had been. Fence corners and hedgerows 
 were cleaned out. The ground was well plowed and the corn 
 planted better than ever before. Soon it was knee-high and 
 growing nicely. They cultivated only the richest bottoms. 
 An Indian never worked an acre of poor land. 
 
 After all the warning and with the soldiers in their midst, 
 the inevitable day appointed found the Indians at work in 
 their houses and in their fields. It is remembered as well as if 
 it had been seen yesterday, that two or three dropped their 
 hoes and ran as fast as they could when they saw the soldiers 
 coming into the field. After that they made no effort to get out 
 of the way. The men handled them gently, but picked them up 
 in the road, in the field, anywhere they found them, part of a 
 family at a time, and carried them to the post. Everything in 
 their homes was left only for a day or two and then hauled to 
 the post. When a hundred or more families had been collect- 
 ed, they were marched to Ross's Landing (now Chattanooga). 
 It was a mournful sight to all who witnessed it — old men and 
 women with gray hairs walking with the sad company. Pro- 
 visions were made for those to ride who could not walk. 
 
 I had a part in all this tragic scene. Col. W. J. Howard, 
 the quartermaster, boarded with us and kept his office in the 
 Harlan house. There were no army wagons and teams, and 
 he hired what he needed and gave father the privilege of fur- 
 nishing some of the supplies for the post. Horses and oxen 
 did most of the work. We had a yoke, strong and true, and 
 they walked nearly as fast as horses. I was the driver, and I 
 
 39 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 hauled the first corn for their horses and perhaps the last. 
 Daily we made five dollars, one day thirteen. Corn was worth 
 one dollar a bushel and sold for one dollar and a half. It was 
 a hard day's work, starting early and getting back late, and 
 this was the daily round. 
 
 In hauling the stuff from the cabins a file of six or more 
 men went with me as a guard. They forced open the doors 
 and put the poor, meager household effects into the wagons, 
 sometimes the stuff of twO' or three families at one load. Aft- 
 er following me a mile or two the guards galloped away, leav- 
 ing me in worse danger than any one else; for if there had 
 been an Indian hiding out, I would have been the one to suffer. 
 
 But few of the Indians ever went back to their homes. We 
 turned the cows and calves together, as they had been apart a 
 day or two. Chickens, cats, and dogs all ran away when they 
 saw us. Ponies under the shade trees fighting the flies with 
 the noise of their bells; the cows and calves lowing to each 
 other; the poor dogs howling for their owners; the open doors 
 of the cabins as we left them — to have seen it all would have 
 melted to tenderness a heart of stone. And in contrast there 
 was a beautiful growing crop of com and beans. 
 
 40 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 Preparations for the Removal of the Cherokees 
 
 ITROM Evans's "History of Georgia," page 228, I take the 
 following: 
 
 In December, 1835, a treaty was made with the Indians at New Echota, 
 a place in Gordon County not far from the town of Calhoun. The princi- 
 pal articles of this treaty were as follows : The Cherokee Nation gave up 
 their claim to all lands east of the Mississippi River for the sum of five 
 million dollars and a tract of seven million acres west of the Mississippi 
 River. This land was never to be included in any other States. The 
 United States agreed to protect the Cherokees from civil strife and for- 
 eign enemies, to convey them to their new homes, and to maintain them 
 for one year after their arrival. 
 
 In 1834 a band of them broke open and robbed a smokehouse belonging 
 to a white man who lived on the border. Eli Hicks, a friendly Indian 
 chief, who favored the removal of the Indians to lands west of the Mis- 
 sissippi River, went with only two followers in pursuit of the robbers. 
 When he found their camp, he walked in among them and began to up- 
 braid them for their conduct. One of them fired at him, and he died two 
 days afterwards. Several other chiefs who were willing to move West 
 were also shot by Indians. The white families along the border were, 
 therefore, in great terror, and troops were stationed there to preserve 
 the peace. The United States government soon saw the necessity of taking 
 some active steps to remove those troublesome people. 
 
 Then the treaty of 1835, already mentioned, followed. 
 Let the reader take notice that all that is said by the calum- 
 niators is not only false, but is an absurdity. They were given 
 from 1835 to 1838 to take their departure. The limit was 
 May 24, 1838. Everything for their comfort was considered. 
 The mildest time of the year was given. By the first of 1838 
 the government saw that it would have to move them. From 
 twenty-five hundred to three thousand troops made their ren- 
 
 41 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 dezvous at New Echota under General Winfield Scott, an offi- 
 cer of experience and a most capable one. The situation re- 
 quired a dozen or more military posts. All was soon arranged, 
 and by the first of March all the captains had their commands 
 at their places. They went to work building forts and making 
 every preparation for collecting the Indians. It was not 
 thought there would be any fighting. The Indians had no arms 
 to fight with ; but, lest some daring bandit should give trouble, 
 it was well enough to be prepared against it. Fort Gilmer was 
 near the Carter place. The soldiers came on March 26, 1838. 
 I delivered to them the first corn for their horses on that day. 
 
 On a mild May morning two men stood at our gate. Dis- 
 mounted from his large, raw-boned white horse, his bridle 
 rein on his arm, stood General Scott, with White Path, 
 an Indian, for whom White Path Gold Mine was named. 
 There was neither a white man nor an Indian there, only two 
 old soldiers who had met at the battle of Horseshoe Bend. 
 White Path exhibited a medal that General Jackson had given 
 him for his bravery in this battle. 
 
 The names of some of the officers are: Colonel Buffington, 
 of Hall County; Major Venable; the late Hon. Cincinnatus 
 Peoples, then a young lawyer and secretary to the Major 
 (this handsome young officer died soon after his return to 
 his home, at Jefferson) ; Capt. C. W. Bond, of Franklin 
 County; J. W. Horton, of Jackson County; Brewster, of 
 Walton; Cleveland, of Franklin; Dorsey, of Hall; and Far- 
 ris, of Walker. The soldiers under them were among our 
 best citizens, intelligent and moral men. 
 
 There are civil and military codes providing for the protec- 
 tion of prisoners. A civil officer is bound to protect his pris- 
 oner; and a military officer that would abuse a prisoner is 
 
 42 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 always regarded as a low, mean coward. The Indians were 
 neither prisoners nor captives. They were the defenseless 
 wards of the government, cared for and fed from the commis- 
 sary stores. From General Scott down, every soldier and 
 citizen looked upon them with an eye of pity. I think I can 
 safely say that there was not a man who' would have abused 
 them by word or bayonet. General Scott thought he could col- 
 lect them in twenty days. It took him about thirty days. They 
 were all gathered up by the 24th of June. No Indian stayed at 
 the fort more than ten days, perhaps. When a sufficient num- 
 ber were collected, they were carried to Ross's Landing or some 
 place outside the limit of Georgia. The Indians were not kept 
 in the forts, but camped just outside the soldiers' camps. All 
 old and infirm Indians were carried in wagons. The young 
 Indians and children were as merry as larks. I had an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing the things of which I write. As I have said, 
 I delivered the first corn their horses ate and perhaps the last. 
 
 Colonel Howard employed me to carry papers to Fort Het- 
 sell, near Ellijay. It was twenty-five miles, a pathway in the 
 mountains, one stretch of seventeen miles without a house. I 
 had seen the track of a large man in sandy places and dreaded 
 to overtake him. Crossing Big Mountain Town Creek, thirty 
 yards wide, there sat the man on a log, putting on his shoes. 
 He had waded the creek, and there was the hammer of his pis- 
 tol on his vest. Holding firmly my bridle reins and my feet 
 well in the stirrups till he was behind me, I felt better when out 
 of sight of his pistol. The last long rays of the sun were shoot- 
 ing along the streets of Ellijay as I galloped up to Fort Het- 
 sell. The next morning the soldiers took the papers. They 
 pertained to the sale of the commissary stores at Fort Gilmer. 
 
 43 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 I was entertained with soldierly hospitality and returned home 
 the next day. 
 
 The next year, after the soldiers and Indians were gone, I 
 passed in those mountains the most dreadful night of my life 
 on a business call to EUijay and to a point about eight miles 
 north of there. I was told that if I went a certain route I 
 could save about five miles. All the routes were upon little 
 narrow paths. I was directed to go by a lick log. Cattle and 
 horses were turned in to range on the rich land of grass and pea 
 vines. They were salted about once a week at a lick log, a 
 long log with a place chipped out in which to put salt. The 
 stock had come from different directions, and they spent the 
 night at the log. It was difficult to decide which path was 
 the right one. The wrong one was taken. Soon after cross- 
 ing the big creek the path went entirely out of the way. I 
 knew I was on the west side of the big creek, but wandered 
 about until just before sunset. It had been a cloudy day; but 
 half an hour before the sun set it was as bright a one as was 
 ever seen, appearing as clear as a sunrise in the east. 
 
 I knew I was doomed for the night on the side of a moun- 
 tain of rich land where years before a storm had blown down 
 every tree. The bears usually turned over the logs for bugs. 
 The spot where I was was thickly set with bushes and vines. 
 Going down the mountain, I discovered a small creek running 
 into a larger one. I dismounted and waded the creek, leading 
 the horse over. By this time it was dark. Going up a deep 
 ravine, I couldn't see my hand before me ; so I gave my horse 
 the bridle, and he went straight toward home until about 
 nine o'clock. I was just over a spell of sickness and had 
 eaten nothing since breakfast. I was nearly overcome with 
 sleep. Where I stopped the ground was level. Wrapped 
 
 44 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 m my overcoat, my feet in my blanket, and with the sad- 
 dle for a pillow, I nestled down on the south side of a log. 
 My horse was tied near by. I slept soundly for at least three 
 hours. There were wolves, panthers, and bears; but none of 
 them troubled me. At different times of the night deer came 
 up to me. Next morning, after waiting till sunup that I 
 might get directions, I reached home safely. This was about 
 November 30, 1839. Only the Lord knows how thankful I 
 have been for the preservation of my life that night. 
 
 Let me here contradict what has been recorded in periodi- 
 cals and books saying that the Indians hid out and fed on 
 berries and roots, also that old Indians and little ones were 
 left in the homes to perish. Every word of this is untrue. 
 They felt no fear of the soldiers, realizing at once that they 
 w^ere their protectors. Not one of them could have been 
 tempted to leave the camp a mile. I am persuaded that more 
 than half of them were glad and ready to go. 
 
 Mississippi was admitted as a State and had been in posses- 
 sion of her territory for twenty-one years. Alabama, admit- 
 ted in 1 8 19, had been in possession of her territory nineteen 
 years. Much-maligned Georgia had been kept from her rights 
 thirty-six years, from 1802 to 1838, Take notice of this when 
 you see in encyclopedias and other books that Georgia is 
 charged with robbing the Indians of their lands. 
 
 The treaty of 1835 contemplated that all Indians would be 
 out of Georgia by the first of July and safely landed in their 
 Western home by the first of September, embracing the mild- 
 est part of the year. These wise provisions were all thwarted, 
 and they were kept for a long time in Tennessee. Van Buren 
 was President then and did not have the backbone of Jackson. 
 As I have learned, he made a contract with Chief Ross to 
 
 45 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 carry out their removal. This delayed matters till the dead 
 of winter, causing much sickness and many deaths. To 
 lug this into a history of Georgia does great injustice to the 
 State. The massacre of the three leading chiefs — Major 
 Ridge, John Ridge, and Boudinot — was a barbarous act. 
 As there were six hundred braves at the home of Ross 
 that day, no one would believe that he had no hand in it any 
 more than they would say even-handed justice had overtaken 
 them. These men died martyrs for their country, and some- 
 where there ought to be a monument to perpetuate their mem- 
 ory. No' one who knows the story of Boudinot can read it 
 without pitying his motherless children, for whom he was 
 preparing a home while she was sleeping in her grave at New 
 Echota. A merciful Providence provided for them. Their 
 mother's friends and others took care of them. The oldest 
 son, Cornelius Elias Boudinot, was educated at a college in 
 Arkansas. He was a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate 
 army. For many years he represented the interests of his 
 people in Washington City. He was very popular and suc- 
 cessful in what he did. Upon good authority it may be said 
 that he married a lady possessing about fifty thousand dol- 
 lars. I have his picture. 
 
 In Emerson's "History of the Nineteenth Century," Vol- 
 ume n., page 896, is this untruth: 
 
 Other acts of persecution during this year brought lasting disgrace upon 
 Georgia. In direct violation of the Federal treaties with the Indians, the 
 State troops of Georgia forcibly removed sixteen thousand Cherokees from 
 their lands in that State. Nothing was done to alleviate the sufiferings of 
 the Cherokees, who were driven from the settlements in midwinter. The 
 resulting death rate was fearful. More than forty-five hundred Indians, 
 or one-fourth of the whole number, perished before they reached their 
 destination in the distant Indian Territory. 
 
 46 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Every word of this is false, slanderous, absurd. The removal 
 was not in violation of, but carried out to the letter. Federal 
 treaties and not those of the State of Georgia. Notice should 
 be taken of this by historical associations of the State and by 
 the Legislature. 
 
 Take another case. A. C Millar, in the January, 19 16, 
 number of the Methodist Quarterly Review, page 171, says: 
 "Those who were utterly unable to travel, the helpless aged 
 and the mortally ill, were left in remote cabins to die of star- 
 vation and neglect." Old Indians and children were not left 
 in houses to perish. Every word of this sentence is as far 
 from the truth as the blackest midnight is from the midday 
 Sim. 
 
 As to Professor Mooney, let me say something about Long- 
 fellow's "Evangeline." In the case of Acadian exiles and the 
 moving of the Cherokees there is not the faintest resemblance. 
 In Lawton B. Evans's "History of Georgia," page 56, we 
 read: 
 
 The business which called Governor Reynolds to Savannah was the 
 arrival of two ships with four hundred Acadians on board. These Aca- 
 dians were French Catholics from Nova Scotia, then called Acadia. Un- 
 der the laws of Georgia no Catholic could be admitted to the province ; and 
 as these Acadians were Catholics, the Governor was in doubt as to what to 
 do. The feeling of humanity prevailed over his respect for the law, and the 
 Acadians were cared for during the coming winter. Most of them left 
 Georgia as soon as possible. 
 
 They were driven away from Acadia in the dead of winter, 
 not knowing where to go nor what to do. Not so were the 
 wards of the United States. Every Indian had the protection 
 of the entire army and had bread enough from every commis- 
 sary. 
 
 Here I quote from Knight's "Georgia's Landmarks, Memo- 
 
 47 
 
M y AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 rials, and Legends," from the chapter entitled "Under the 
 Lash": 
 
 To an eminent investigator, Professor Mooney, of the Bureau of 
 Ethnology, Washington, D. C, who has devoted his life to Indian re- 
 searches, we are indebted for the following graphic account of the removal 
 of the Cherokees from Georgia. He makes no effort to soften the colors. 
 The story is most pathetic, and even at this late day some of the incidents 
 cannot fail to melt the reader to tears. Says Professor Mooney : "The 
 history of this Cherokee removal of 1838 was gleaned by the author from 
 the lips of actors in the tragedy and may well exceed in weight of grief 
 and pathos any other passage in American annals. Even the much-sung 
 exile of the Acadians falls far behind it in the sum of death and suffering. 
 Under the orders of Gen. Winfield Scott, troops were stationed at various 
 points throughout the Cherokee country, where stockade forts were erect- 
 ed for the purpose of coralling the Indians preparatory to removal. From 
 these forts large squads of troops were sent out to search with rifle and 
 bayonet every small cabin hidden away in the coves of the mountains and 
 to make prisoners of all the occupants, however and wherever they might 
 be found. Families at dinner were startled by the sudden gleam of bayo- 
 nets in the doorway and rose up to be driven with blows and oaths along 
 the weary miles of travel leading to the stockades. Men were seized in 
 the fields all along the roads. Women were taken from their wheels, and 
 children from their play. In many cases, as they turned for one last look 
 as they crossed the ridge, they saw their homes in flames, fired by the 
 lawless rabble that followed on the heels of the soldiers to loot and to 
 pillage. So keen were these outlaws on the scent that in some instances 
 they were driving off the cattle and other stock of the Indians almost 
 before the soldiers had started their owners in the other direction. Sys- 
 tematic hunts were made by the same men for Indian graves to rob them 
 of the silver pendants and other valuables deposited with the dead. One 
 of the Georgia volunteers, afterwards a colonel in the Confederate serv- 
 ice, said: T fought through the Civil War. It has been my experience to 
 see men shot to pieces and slaughtered by thousands. But the Cherokees' 
 removal was the cruelest work I ever saw.' " 
 
 I feel justified in saying that there were neither blows nor 
 oaths on the way to the fort. Men were not seized anywhere, 
 nor were their houses in flames. Not one hoof of cattle was 
 
 48 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 driven away, not one Indian grave disturbed, and there was no 
 lawless rabble. I have never seen on any page of history such 
 a malignant, unmitigated, slanderous absurdity. On reading 
 it my blood boiled. This is a slander upon General Scott and 
 every man in that command, and now it reaches to the second 
 and third generations of those noble men. Lest we should 
 think Nova Scotia was cruel in banishing the Acadian exiles, 
 it should be said that the bone of contention between the 
 French and English for years had been the government. 
 The "Student's Reference Work," Volume XL, says: 
 
 Montcalm was born near Nimes, France, February 20, 1712. He be- 
 came commander of the French army in Canada in 1756, capturing very 
 soon after the British fort at Oswego. Crossing Lake George with eight 
 thousand French and Indian troops, he took Fort William Henry, where 
 the massacre by the Indians of the helpless women and children has left 
 a blot on his memory. 
 
 "Stem was the necessity for this banishment of the Aca- 
 dians from the reclaimed land of Grand Pre ; but tragic as is 
 the story, it is well to remember that the narrative embodied 
 in the poet's romance is not altogether to be taken from his- 
 tory." Like the missionaries, they refused to take the oath 
 of allegiance. When Governor Holden was impeached by 
 the Legislature of North Carolina, the legislative web had a 
 black-and-white selvage. When the day arrived, every space 
 was occupied. The negroes were in the gallery with their 
 necks craned over the railing, everything still, all looking 
 and listening. Before calling the roll, the clerk said: "All 
 for impeachment say 'Yes' ; all opposed say 'No.' " The an- 
 swer started, "Yes," "Yes." On the colored side came, "No," 
 "No," "No." Then "Y-e-s." "Dare now, bit by his own 
 4 49 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 dog!" said an old colored man. My application is from Mr. 
 Knight's "History." 
 
 Notwithstanding the defamation of Georgia by Lucian 
 Knight, Wilson, Emerson, and others, Mr. Knight injured 
 her more than any because of his ability. His book is 
 couched in elegant diction, pleasing paragraphs, charming 
 chapters, and all that pertains to the old part of the State is as 
 clear of error and untruth as the cleanest winnowed wheat is 
 from a particle of chaff. But not so with a single chapter 
 pertaining to Georgia and the Cherokees. Those who have 
 more capacity than I may appreciate his book more. Some 
 of my reasons for writing thus positively are: I have been 
 spared to live a long life, and in earlier days I mingled with 
 many who are mentioned as landmarks. As I read of them 
 I see them again. Then, too, I have been over much of the 
 State, the northern, middle, and southern parts. Only those 
 with greater capacity can love Georgia and her people more 
 than I. 
 
 50 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 The Treaty with the Cherokees in 1802 
 
 TNASMUCH as our good State has been misrepresented and 
 defamed for defrauding the Indians of their lands and 
 gold mines, it may be well to state when and by whom the 
 treaty was made and the terms of agreement. It was made by 
 President Jefferson, the father of States' rights and Jeft'erso- 
 nian Democracy. The terms of the treaty were approved by 
 the Federal authorities and, on the other part, by Gov. John 
 Milledge and the principal authorities of Georgia. 
 
 Hitherto Georgia had possessed all the territory to the Mis- 
 sissippi River. Georgia was paid one and one-half million 
 dollars by the government for the territory ceded, which now 
 includes Alabama and Mississippi. On the part of the United 
 States, she promised to extinguish the Indians' title and re- 
 move them from Georgia as soon as practicable. They were 
 not moved until 1838. Why this delay? From Washington's 
 time to the present day the Indians have been the wards of 
 the United States government, with the President as principal 
 guardian. Like many other cases, meddlers have interfered 
 with wards and guardians, and many times the wards have 
 been the sufferers from the intermeddling. 
 
 In "Georgia — Land and People," by Miss Frances Letcher 
 Mitchell, we read: 
 
 One of the striking evidences of harmony between the sisterhood of 
 States was the ceding of their western lands to the Federal government. 
 In this surrender of territory Georgia, then the largest State in the Union, 
 gave up almost one hundred thousand square miles, embracing all the land 
 lying between the Chattahoochee and the Mississippi Rivers. This territory 
 afterwards formed the two noble States, Alabama and Mississippi, which 
 
 51 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 are called "the daughters of Georgia." One of the objects of this grant of 
 land was to enable the Federal government to obtain money by its sale 
 for paying off the national debt contracted during the war. In return, as 
 a slight compensation to Georgia, the Federal government agreed to pay 
 all expenses of holding treaties with the Creeks and Cherokees and final- 
 ly to extinguish the Indian title to all lands within our State as early as 
 it could be peaceably done. 
 
 The following is taken from Knight's "Georgia's Land- 
 marks, Memorials, and Legends": 
 
 The discovery of gold in North Georgia operated as a spur to hasten 
 the departure of the Cherokees toward the West. It created an eagerness 
 on the part of the white population to possess themselves of the red man's 
 home among the mountains, and they began in the most imperious tones 
 to call upon the government to redeem the old agreement of 1802. The 
 complications of the following years were only the material symptoms of 
 this same gold fever; and while the final outcome was divinely ordered in 
 furtherance of wise ends, it was destined to leave a scar upon our history 
 which time has not effaced. 
 
 In reference to this, there was never a scar nor a scab in 
 the history of Georgia. The mention of the old agreement 
 implicates the men who made it, Thomas Jefferson and Gov. 
 John Milledge. The discovery of gold in Georgia was not 
 thought of until twenty-five years after the old agreement. 
 
 In "Georgia and State Rights," by U. B. Philips, we read: 
 
 In July, 1829, deposits of gold were found in the northeastern corner 
 of the State, and the news rapidly spread that the fields were as rich as 
 those being worked in North Carolina. As soon as the news was known 
 to be authentic there came a rush of adventurers into the gold lands. In 
 the summer of 1830 there were probably three thousand men from various 
 States digging gold in Cherokee, Georgia. The intrusion of these miners 
 into the Cherokee territory was unlawful under the enactments of three 
 several governments, each claiming jurisdiction over the region. The 
 United States laws prohibited any one from settling or trading on Indian 
 territory without a special license from the proper United States official. 
 The State of Georgia had extended its territory over the Cherokee lands, 
 
 52 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 applying them, after June i, 1830, to Indians as well as to white men. 
 The Cherokee Nation had passed a law that no one should settle or trade 
 on their lands without a permit from their officials. A conflict of author- 
 ities was imminent; and yet at that time no one of the three governments, 
 nor, indeed, all of them combined, had sufficient police service in the sec- 
 tion to check the great disorder which prevailed. The government of 
 Georgia was the first of the three to make any efficient attempt to meet 
 the emergency. Governor Gilmer wrote to the President on October 29, 
 1830, stating that the Cherokee lands had been put under the laws of 
 Georgia and asking that the United States troops be withdrawn. 
 
 This was on the line that divided the State from the Indian 
 Nation. The presence of this crowd was a menace to peace, 
 prosperity, and person. Their Sabbaths were spent in battles 
 royal. To control them United States troops had to come five 
 hundred miles from Charleston. 
 
 Philips's "Georgia and State Rights," page 74, says: 
 
 The attitude of the judge of the Georgia Superior Court, who had 
 most of the Cherokee territory in his circuit, had already been shown in a 
 letter which he (Judge A. S. Clayton) wrote Governor Gilmer on June 22, 
 1830, suggesting a request to the President for the withdrawal of the 
 United States troops. Nine citizens of Hall County had just been brought 
 before him by the Federal troops for trespassing on the Cherokee terri- 
 tory. He wrote : "When I saw the honest citizens of your State paraded 
 through the streets of our town in the center of a front and rear guard 
 of regular troops belonging, if not to a foreign, at least to another gov- 
 ernment, . . . for no other crime than that of going upon the soil of 
 their own State, ... I confess to you I never so distinctly felt, as 
 strong as my feelings have been on the subject, the deep humiliation of 
 our condition in relation to the exercise of power on the part of the 
 general government within the jurisdiction of Georgia." 
 
 To remedy this evil, Gilmer called the Legislature together, 
 the laws were extended over the territory, and the State had 
 power to control its own bailiwick. 
 
 At that time there were two political parties of the Indians, 
 one headed by John Ross and the other by Major Ridge. The 
 
 53 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Ross party, an enemy to Georgia, was against removal. The 
 Ridge party loved its country as well as the other party did, 
 but thought it better for its people to go West, working with 
 the government and Georgia to that effect. General Jackson 
 was with the Ridge party, and J. O. Adams was with the Ross 
 party. Mr. Knight, in his history, sides with Adams. 
 Knight's "Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends," 
 page 171, says: 
 
 In 1802 there was a compact made between the State of Georgia and 
 the government of the United States whereby the remaining lands of the 
 State were to be cleared of Indian titles. The consideration involved was 
 the transfer to the United States of the territory now embraced within 
 the States of Alabama and Mississippi. In 1819, pursuant to this agree- 
 ment, the Federal authorities secured quite a strip of land in North Geor- 
 gia and induced a number of Cherokees voluntarily to remove to the West, 
 giving them acre for acre by way of fair exchange of land. Thereafter 
 for several years nothing was done. In the meantime the Cherokees 
 began to make rapid strides. They expected no further molestation. But 
 just as they were entering upon an epoch of civil government gold was 
 discovered in the neighborhood of Dahlonega. This sounded the death 
 knell of the Cherokee. Coincident with the startling news in regard to 
 the yellow metal, there emerged still another factor which was full of 
 menace to the poor Indians. It was the election of Gen. Andrew Jackson 
 to the Presidency of the United States. He was a frontiersman who 
 possessed little patience with the savages. 
 
 This is extremely erroneous and defamatory. From the 
 days of Washington to the days of Wilson the Indians never 
 had a better friend. Jackson carried out the treaty made by 
 Jefferson. How did he do this? He commenced at the first 
 of his term. The Indian Territory was provided for the In- 
 dians during his administration (1834). In this they were to 
 be protected by their guardian, the United States. Jackson 
 not only did this, but by the treaty of 1835 he gave them over 
 two years to move voluntarily, in which time they could dis- 
 
 54 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 pose of all their property. There were enrolling officers to 
 visit their cabins to pay them government prices for every 
 clapboard, every fence rail, and every hoof of stock. All who 
 had enrolled had presented to them a Schemmerhorn blanket. 
 They received two acres of land in Indian Territory for one 
 in Georgia and also a year's supplies. The time of their re- 
 moval was to be in the mildest season. If they were not gone 
 at the end of the time given, the collecting was tO' begin on 
 May 24, 1838. By July all were to be out of the State, and 
 by October i they were to have reached their destination. As 
 for Presidents Adams and Jackson, Philips, in his "Georgia 
 and State Rights," says that Jackson readily conceded all that 
 Adams had struggled to deny Georgia. 
 
 From Knight's "Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and Leg- 
 ends," page 172, I quote as follows: 
 
 The presence of white men in the Cherokee Nation was a constant 
 source of annoyance, especially to the State authorities. As early as 1830 
 Georgia extended her jurisdiction over the Cherokee territory, and there 
 followed quite a chapter of incidents. It was necessary to put even mis- 
 sionaries under arrest, for there were not a few malicious characters who 
 assumed the guise of religion in order to poison the minds of the savages 
 and to sow broadcast the seeds of discord. More than one conflict between 
 the State and Federal governments occurred at this crisis. 
 
 The following is taken from the Atlanta C onstitiUion : 
 
 Were missionaries put under arrest by the State of Georgia? Knight 
 says, "Yes"; Cotter says, "No." Throughout Georgia much interest will 
 attach to the controversy that has arisen between Rev. W. J. Cotter, of 
 Newnan, Georgia, and Lucian Lamar Knight, Compiler of Records for the 
 State. Mr. Knight's statement that "missionaries were arrested in Geor- 
 gia" has led Mr. Cotter to enter a vigorous denial of the statement, with an 
 explanation of what he declares were the circumstances surrounding the 
 arrest of "violators of the law." Replying to Mr. Cotter's communication, 
 Mr. Knight declares that he is prepared to cite proof of the statement that 
 missionaries have been arrested in this State. He disclaims any intention 
 
 55 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 of writing anything defamatory of the State and declares that in writing 
 the history he has made an effort to rescue from oblivion many important 
 records which were in danger of perishing. The controversy is based on 
 a unique happening in the early part of Georgia's history, when the State 
 was dealing with the Indians and efforts were being made to control them. 
 Mr. Cotter's letter follows: 
 
 "Newnan, Georgia, January lo, 1917. 
 
 "Editor Constitution: In the Constitution of the 25th of December it is 
 stated that Mr. L. L. Knight is to prepare a history of Georgia for a 
 Northern company. 
 
 "There are things in the author's history that ought to be corrected, as 
 they are far from the truth and are defamatory to the State. He says 
 missionaries were put under arrest. This is utterly untrue. Let us have a 
 word about these missionaries. By whom were they permitted to come 
 into the State? First, they obtained permission of the Indian chiefs, then 
 permission of the State, that they might be protected. The locaHty of the 
 mission was at New Echota. Why were they licensed by the State? It 
 was to protect the Indians from impostors of every kind and to advance 
 their civilization. All professionals had to have licenses — millwrights, 
 master mechanics, and ministers. 
 
 "The reason for this was that the nation had become a refuge for 
 thieves, murderers, old Tories of the Revolution, and men who had left 
 their wives and children and taken up with Indian squaws. The Indians 
 could not correct these evils, and it was necessary for the State to extend 
 her laws and protect herself. 
 
 "The missionaries came, say, about 1815. There were two political 
 parties of the Indians— one headed by John Ross, the other by Major Ridge. 
 The Ross party was against the removal of the Indians, were bitter ene- 
 mies of the State, and did all they could against the Federal authorities, 
 that were in favor of the removal. The Ridge party thought it best for 
 them to move and were in favor with the Federal party, that was for 
 removal. 
 
 "The missionary station became a hotbed of politics. In 1826 the con- 
 stitution and laws of the Cherokees were concocted, and everj^hing points 
 to the fact that the missionaries dictated every word of them. They were 
 the most capable men of the party to do such a thing and to do everything 
 offensive to the State and also everything that was derogatory to the 
 State and its people. 
 
 56 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 "John Q. Adams was President and was in accord with every one of 
 these things. From Washington to Wilson, he was the bitterest enemy to 
 the State that ever occupied the chair. When the State extended her au- 
 thority, these missionaries led indignation meetings, denouncing the acts 
 of the Legislature. They were not only violators of the law, but they 
 defied the State. The court records of Charles Dougherty and Smith 
 Clayton will prove what is here said. I saw these sallow men with frown- 
 ing faces when they were under arrest. Rev. W. J. Cotter." 
 
 The reply of Mr. Knight is as follows : 
 
 "Editor Constitution: Rev. W. J. Cotter calls me to task for saying that 
 missionaries were arrested in Georgia and asks me to cite proof. This I 
 am prepared to do. Not only were missionaries arrested, but one of the 
 most celebrated cases before the Supreme Court of the United States grew 
 out of the arrest of these missionaries. To establish the truth of this 
 statement I cite the following authorities : White's 'Historical Collections 
 of Georgia,' page 140; Nile's 'Register,' Volume XL., page 296, Volume 
 XLL, page 176; Golmer's 'Georgians,' pages 414, 536; Georgia Journal, 
 September 29, 1831, October 6, 1831, and December 5, 1831; and 'Georgia 
 and State Rights,' by U. B. Philips, pages 78-80. 
 
 "Dr. Philips tells of the arrest of these missionaries as follows : 'An 
 act of the Georgia Legislature approved December 22, 1830, made it un- 
 lawful for white people to reside in the Cherokee territory of Georgia 
 without having taken an oath of allegiance to the State and without a 
 license from the State authorities. This law was directed primarily 
 against the intruding gold miners, but the message of the Governor had 
 stated the expediency of considering all white persons as intruders. The 
 law was accordingly made one of sweeping appHcation. 
 
 " 'There were at the time residing among the Cherokees twelve or more 
 Christian missionaries and assistants, some of them maintained by the 
 American Board of Foreign Missions. These men were already suspected 
 of interfering in political matters and would probably have been made to 
 feel the weight of the law without inviting attention to themselves, but 
 they did not passively await this action. They held a meeting at New 
 Echota on December 29, 1830, in which they passed resolutions protesting 
 against the extension of the laws of Georgia over the Indians and assert- 
 ing what they considered the removal of the Cherokees an event most 
 earnestly to be deprecated. 
 
 " 'After sufficient time had elapsed for the intruders to have taken their 
 
 57 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 departure, if so disposed, the Georgia guard for the Cherokee territory 
 arrested such white men as were found unlawfully therein. Among the 
 number arrested were two missionaries, Messrs. Worcester and Thomp- 
 son. On writ of habeas corpus they were taken before the Superior Court 
 of Gwinnett County, where their writ was passed upon by Judge Clayton. 
 Their counsel pleaded for their release on the ground of the unconstitu- 
 tionality of the law of Georgia. The Judge granted their release, but 
 did so upon the ground that they were agents of the United States, since 
 they were expending the United States fund for civilizing the Indians. 
 Governor Gilmer then sent inquiries to Washington to learn whether the 
 missionaries were recognized agents of the government. The reply was 
 received that as missionaries they were not government agents, but that 
 Mr. Worcester was United States minister at New Echota. President 
 Jackson, upon request from Georgia, removed Mr. Worcester from that 
 office in order to render him amenable to the laws of the State. The 
 Cherokee Phanix, a newspaper and organ of the nation, expressed out- 
 raged feelings on the part of the Indians at the combination of State and 
 Federal authorities against them. 
 
 " 'The Governor wrote Mr. Worcester on May i6 advising his removal 
 from the State to avoid arrest. On May 28 Col. J. W. A. Sanford, com- 
 mander of the Georgia guard, wrote each of the missionaries that at the 
 end of ten days he would arrest them if found upon Cherokee territory in 
 Georgia. Notwithstanding an address to the Governor in justification of 
 their conduct, they were arrested by the guard. Those arrested were : The 
 Rev. Samuel A. Worcester, the Rev. Elizur Butler, and the Rev. James 
 Trott, missionaries, with eight other white men, for illegal residence in 
 the territory. Their trial came on in the September term of the Gwinnett 
 County Superior Court. They were found guilty and on September 15 
 were each sentenced to four years' confinement at hard labor in the State 
 penitentiary. But pardon and freedom were offered to each by the Gov- 
 ernor on condition of taking an oath of allegiance or promising to leave 
 the territory. Nine of the prisoners availed themselves of this executive 
 clemency; but Worcester and Butler chose rather to go to the penitentiary, 
 intending to test their case before the Supreme Court. 
 
 " 'The cases of Worcester and Butler, who refused the Governor's con- 
 ditions for pardon, were appealed to the United States Supreme Court, 
 from which a writ of error was issued October 27, 1831.' 
 
 "Meanwhile Wilson Lumpkin had become Governor. The hearing on 
 
 58 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 the writ of error in Worcester's case came up before the Supreme Court 
 during the course of the year 1832. It was argued for the plaintiff by 
 Messrs. Sergeant, Wirt, and Chester. Georgia refused to appear. The 
 decision rendered by Chief Justice Marshall was adverse to the State. It 
 held that the Cherokee Nation was a distinct community over which the 
 laws of Georgia could not be extended and that the judgment of the 
 State Court, therefore, should be reversed. This seemed to be a victory 
 for the Indians, but they rejoiced too soon. President Jackson refused to 
 enforce the judgment of the Supreme Court. He intimated that since 
 John Marshall had rendered his decision he might enforce it. Of course 
 the Chief Justice had no authority beyond stating what he thought right in 
 the case. Worcester and Butler remained at hard labor in the Georgia 
 penitentiary, and the Cherokee chiefs began at length to realize that no 
 recourse was left them against the tyranny of the State. 
 
 "As far as the two missionaries were concerned, they felt that their 
 martyrdom had been sufficiently long and adopted the course of conciliat- 
 ing the State in order to secure their liberation. They informed the At- 
 torney-General of Georgia on January 8, 1833, that they had instructed 
 their counsel to prosecute their case no further in the Supreme Court. 
 Appreciating this change of attitude, Governor Lumpkin pardoned both 
 of them January 10 on the same conditions that he had offered them some 
 months before and ordered their release from prison. 
 
 "These are the facts. The records to substantiate them are here in the 
 capitol. Mr. Cotter is, I understand, in his ninety-first year. I would 
 not wound the feelings of this aged gentleman. I respect not only his 
 white locks, but his high calling. He must have lived a temperate, clean, 
 beautiful, and wholesome life to have been spared so long. It is a matter 
 of keen regret to me that I do not know Mr. Cotter. There is much I 
 could learn from him of Georgia's history, much I would love to hear him 
 tell. But even the clearest memory is sometimes at fault when long years 
 have intervened. 
 
 "What I have written in regard to the Cherokees I have gathered from 
 official accounts and from contemporaneous records. Much of the infor- 
 mation which I have found relative to the removal of the Indians has 
 been obtained from a government report prepared by James Mooney, of the 
 Bureau of Ethnology, and published as Volume CXVIIL, Senate Docu- 
 ments. I am not proof against error, but I have never written a syllable 
 defamatory of my native State. If I have told some unpleasant things, I 
 have told others of a far different nature, and I have tried to rescue from 
 
 59 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 oblivion many important records which were in danger of perishing. It is 
 no defamation of Georgia's good name to state facts. She did perfectly 
 right to arrest men who were defying her laws, even though they wore 
 religion's cloak. These missionaries ought to have been arrested, for in- 
 stead of doing missionary work they were intermeddling. I hope Mr. Cot- 
 ter and I will not quarrel. We have too much in common. I want him to 
 be not only Georgia's friend, but mine. Lucian Lamar Knight, 
 
 Atlanta, Georgia, January 21, 1916. Compiler of Records." 
 
 These are the only men who ever sowed the seeds of dis- 
 cord. They were not arrested as missionaries, but because 
 they had defied the law. There is no mention that they were 
 arrested as missionaries. There cannot be found in any legal 
 authority in Georgia a sentence pertaining to such an arrest. 
 Take the case of a deacon who was convicted of horse-steal- 
 ing and served his time in the penitentiary. It would be just 
 as truthful to say that deacons were arrested. I saw that 
 deacon many times before and after he left the penitentiary. 
 
 I leave it for all fair-minded readers to decide. Follow the 
 case up to the United States Supreme Court, as well as the 
 case brought before Chief Justice Marshall, when the colonial 
 rights of the country were called in question. There was nev- 
 er a greater farce in any court. If Adams had been President, 
 the decision would have been signed; but without the Presi- 
 dent's signature it had nO' force whatever. But President 
 Jackson said: "Let John Marshall carry it out." According 
 to Marcius Wilson's "American History," Jackson said that 
 he himself "had no power to oppose the exercise of the sov- 
 ereignty of any State over all who may be within its limits," 
 and he therefore advised them to "abide the issue of such new 
 relations without any hope that he will interfere." 
 
 Let it be added here that Jackson is called a frontiersman. 
 He had been about a little. 
 
 60 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 "He had been down to Cypress Swamp, 
 Where the ground was low and mucky; 
 There stood John Bull in martial pomp, 
 And here was 'Old Kentucky.' " 
 
 And "Old Hickory" too. He had been Governor of Florida, 
 had represented the State of Tennessee in the House and in 
 the Senate, had been Judge of the Supreme Court of Tennes- 
 see, and was President of the United States for eight years. 
 He was fair-minded with all the States and in accord with the 
 leaders of Georgia — Gilmer, Lumpkin, and others. He had 
 great respect for religion. When a preacher went to him for 
 an appointment, he said he couldn't give it, for the preacher 
 had a higher calling than he could give. 
 
 Though Adams had put a shield manual on one of those 
 missionaries, protecting him against the laws of the State, 
 Jackson inquired of Governor Gilmer about the case and then 
 removed him from his postmastership, giving the State the 
 right to defend herself and enforce her own laws. 
 
 As to the presence of the white men being an annoyance to 
 the State, this is neither truth nor justice. Who are the au- 
 thorities of the State? The legislative, the judicial, the exec- 
 utive, the coordinate branch represented by the Senate, and 
 all those behind the great body of constituents. Nothing 
 more was desired than the presence of white men in that ter- 
 ritory at that time. Of course white men as outlaws were a 
 menace. Just as soon as it could be done, provision was made 
 to fill the land with white men. Lands were surveyed and 
 numbered. Tickets were placed in a large hopper, the crank 
 of which was turned by Rev. James B. Payne, a young local 
 preacher, who became a prominent minister and was presiding 
 elder over the Cherokee District. His remains rest at Thom- 
 
 6i 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 aston, Georgia. When on my only visit to that place, one 
 morning bright and early, while the dewdrops on the grass 
 were shining like diamonds, with hat in hand, I stood at his 
 grave and thanked the Lord for this man's friendship to me 
 and for his great and useful life. 
 
 Georgia, noble and just to rich and poor, did not open a 
 land office and price the land from ten cents to ten dollars an 
 acre. The land was laid off in lots of one hundred and sixty 
 acres each, and in the gold region forty acres. So the for- 
 tunate drawer, whether a poor widow or an old soldier, had 
 an equal chance for the richest gold land or the richest farm 
 land. I saw the surveyors running the lines that divided the 
 lots. At once the white population poured in. 
 
 As to the notorious missionaries that were under arrest, in 
 the histories of all Protestant denominations there is not a 
 parallel to what they did. "Let every soul be subject unto 
 the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the 
 powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore 
 resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they 
 that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." (Rom. 
 xiii. I, 2.) "Put them in mind to be subject tO' principalities 
 and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good 
 work." (Titus iii. i.) How is this for resisting the laws of 
 the State and of the United States? What must be thought of 
 the missionary boards that were supporting them? The mis- 
 sion on which they came to the State has already been de- 
 scribed. Going up the stream of history to find its source, if 
 these men did not start what has been written in history, who 
 did? They were capable and had backing. What they start- 
 ed is in the histories of Georgia to this day. 
 
 After this bold insult to the State, Governor Gilmer called 
 
 62 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 the Legislature together. An act was passed forbidding mis- 
 sionaries to hold any national assembly in the State. The 
 councils were held at Red Clay, just over the line in Tennes- 
 see. It is known as the Old Council Ground, about fifteen 
 miles north of Dalton. To permit them to hold their councils 
 there was not a friendly act upon the part of a sister State. 
 Chief Ross found a harbor there, and this brought about a 
 conflict between Governor Lumpkin, of Georgia, and the Gov- 
 ernor of Tennessee. I can't explain how much politics was 
 involved in this. 
 
 It may be well to say here something about the long delay 
 from 1802 till 1838. Following Jefferson, Madison was Pres- 
 ident for the next eight years. He was in full accord with 
 Jefferson and aided in securing the Louisiana Purchase. He 
 was in the midst of a storm center the entire eight years. The 
 War of 181 2, troubles with France and other foreign powers, 
 and the Hartford Convention showed that all was not harmo- 
 nious at home. The next eight years Monroe was President. 
 He was against Georgia and sided with the Indians. John O. 
 Adams served the next four years. There were twelve years 
 against Georgia, which delayed the removal of the Indians. 
 Then came Jackson, the best friend the Indians ever had and 
 equally as good a friend to Georgia. He heartily support- 
 ed her able Governor and others. That great Indian Ter- 
 ritory, bounded on the north by Missouri, on the east by 
 Arkansas, on the south by Texas, and on the west by all that 
 great Western land, was provided as a permanent home for 
 the Indians. This move he commenced during the first of his 
 term. The treaty completing it was made the latter part of his 
 term. It is due that great Senator, Thomas A. Benton, of 
 Missouri, that he stood by Jackson against Clay and Calhoun. 
 
 63 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 The last time this question was discussed in Congress there 
 was a committee appointed by both houses, and Benton was 
 made chairman. In the last words of the final report Georgia 
 was justified in all her claims founded upon the treaty made 
 by Jefferson in 1802. 
 
 Let us have a brief review of the whole question. Missis- 
 sippi had been admitted in 181 5 and had been a State twenty- 
 one years, Alabama had been admitted in 18 19 and had been 
 a State nineteen years. Georgia had been kept out of her 
 rights for thirty-six years. It was Georgia's "ox that was 
 gored" all this time. So Georgia contributed more to the 
 Federal government in ceding so much territory and in using 
 money to pay off the old war debt than any other State. In 
 1760 Virginia drove the Cherokees from her borders, more 
 than seventy years before they left Georgia. In 1776 General 
 Rutherford drove them from North Carolina, and about the 
 same time General Sevier drove them from Tennessee. His- 
 tory says of the colony of Massachusetts, the home of the 
 Adamses, that the foundation was laid with the bones and 
 cemented with the blood of the aborigines. It is often quoted 
 that Chief Justice Marshall sided with the Indians against 
 Georgia. Jackson treated this with contempt, as it deserved. 
 It is the only instance in which the colonial rights of any State 
 have been called in question, and such a case would be kicked 
 out of any court, high or low. 
 
 I repeat again that it is the joy of my heart that I have 
 lived to defend the honor of General Scott and all the good 
 men with him. I feel sure that the descendants of them, down 
 to the third and fourth generations, will appreciate and thank 
 me for it. 
 
 64 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 BouDiNOT, Ross, Vann, Howard Payne, and the Old 
 Federal Road 
 
 ]\ /TORE than one hundred years ago, in the heart of the na- 
 tion, on the Coosawattee, there was born an Indian boy, 
 and this baby Indian possessed a great mind. Diamonds are 
 found in yellow dirt, but by the skilled lapidary they are made 
 to sparkle. The darkness of ages of heathendom had almost 
 frozen the genial current of his soul; but under his yellow 
 skin was a diamond mind of the first water, and in some way 
 a faint spark of light shone upon his intellect, and as it in- 
 creased he was led to the mission school at Cornwell, in Con- 
 necticut. There, by close application, he was develoi>ed into 
 a high state of intellectual and moral culture and commended 
 himself to the wise and good. He asked of Mr. Boudinot, 
 the first President of the American Bible Society, if he might 
 assume his name, and the request was granted. He won and 
 wedded Miss Harriet Gold, of an excellent family. Such mar- 
 riages since the day of Rolfe and Pocahontas have not been 
 taboo. To-day the President's wife is traced to that noble 
 blood. 
 
 This noble Indian came back at once to help his own people, 
 and he was successful in many ways. He became the editor in 
 chief of the Cherokee Phoenix, lived in a commodious house, 
 and was visited by some of the best people in the State, espe- 
 cially from Washington, Georgia. The newspapers of that 
 day teemed with praises on the noble hospitality of this great 
 social center. Boudinot's faithful wife was truly his help- 
 meet in all his work ; but she died in 1836, taken from the evil 
 5 65 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 to come, as the sequel will tell. Her grave is well marked at 
 New Echota. In 1838 Boudinot went with his people to their 
 new home in the West. While working to build a house for 
 his motherless children in 1839, in savage revenge he was cut 
 to pieces with knives. On the same day Major Ridge and his 
 son John were killed because they favored removal to the 
 West. So Boudinot died as a martyr to his people. His son, 
 Elias Cornelius Boudinot, was a lieutenant colonel in the 
 Confederate army, loyal to the land of his fathers. 
 
 John Ross, head of the chiefs, was bom in Georgia, ten 
 miles from Chattanooga, in 1790. His father was a Scotch- 
 man, his mother half Scotch and half Indian. He was edu- 
 cated at Kingston, then the capital of Tennessee. When a 
 young man of about twenty-five, he was made a chief. For 
 years his residence was where Rome, Georgia, now stands. 
 He headed his letters, "The Cherokee Nation, at the Head of 
 the Coosa." He was regarded as Georgia's greatest enemy, 
 and she had no friendship for him. He moved into Tennes- 
 see in 1835, J^^st over the line, not far from the Old Council 
 Ground. I saw him that year. He was dark. If he had 
 been a blonde, his Cherokee blood would not have been noticed. 
 He was a man of large brain and strong will. 
 
 From Knight's "Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and Leg- 
 ends," page 181, I take the following: 
 
 On June 22, 1839, Major Ridge, his son John Ridge, and Elias Boudi- 
 not suffered the penalty of having advocated the removal of the Indians 
 to the West. It was in the midst of great political excitement that the 
 threefold act of murder was perpetrated, but the evidence shows that the 
 whole affair was deliberately planned. The report made by the Indian 
 agent to the Secretary of War two days after the occurrence gives the 
 following particulars : "The murder of Boudinot was treacherous and 
 cruel. He was assisting some workmen in building a new house. Three 
 
 66 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 men called upon him and asked for medicine. He went off with them in 
 the direction of Worcester's, the missionary who keeps medicine, about 
 three hundred yards from Boudinot's. When they were about halfway, 
 two of the men seized Boudinot, and the other stabbed him, after which 
 the three cut him to pieces with knives and tomahawks. This murder 
 having occurred within two miles of the residence of John Ross, his 
 friends were apprehensive that it might be charged to his connivance, and 
 at this moment there are six hundred armed Cherokees around the dwell- 
 ing of Ross, assembled for his protection." 
 
 There is not a drop of ignoble blood in the veins of the Cher- 
 okees. They are capable of the highest cultivation of intellect 
 and morals. In proof of this they have advanced in civiliza- 
 tion till they are now denationalized and are bona fide citizens 
 of the United States, entitled to all the privileges of citizen- 
 ship. 
 
 Referring again to history, the arrest of John Howard 
 Payne and Chief Ross, we read the following in "Georgia's 
 Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends," page 172: 
 
 To escape persecution at home, John Ross transferred his residence to 
 Tennessee. But one day he was put under arrest and brought back to 
 Georgia. His papers were also seized. John Howard Payne, the famous 
 author of "Home, Sweet Home," then an obscure investigator who was 
 gathering scientific data among the Cherokees, was at this time the guest 
 of the fugitive chief. But the hostile Indians were no respecters of per- 
 sons. He was given the hospitalities of the blockhouse, in company with 
 his host, and detained for several days, until his innocence could be estab- 
 lished. 
 
 Payne was a gifted tragedian. When he was about twenty 
 he went to London, remaining there for about twenty years 
 and winning great applause. But he was not a successful 
 financier. On a cold winter night, walking through the mud- 
 dy streets of London, he saw through a lattice in a home a 
 blazing fire and a young lady playing a Sicilian air. Return- 
 ing to his lodging, which was either a bench or a counter, for 
 
 67 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 which he had paid about a dime, he composed the immortal 
 lyric, "Home, Sweet Home." In a short time more than one 
 hundred thousand copies were published, and they were waft- 
 ed to various lands. That brought him fame and fortune. 
 He soon returned home, being received with great eclat. As 
 he was a little charmed with English titles^ — sirs, lords, etc. — 
 it was proper for him to see Chief Ross, the head of the In- 
 dian Nation. He had come to Georgia representing a New 
 York newspaper, and on his arrest his paper was examined. 
 In it were found some improper things; but by the influence 
 of Colonel Hardin, of Athens, Georgia, he was released as 
 soon as he was proved innocent. As to the blockhouse, it 
 was an elegant brick mansion, then the residence of Capt. A. 
 B. Bishop. The Indians had nothing to do with this arrest. 
 In his report Payne with his poetic spleen unintentionally 
 complimented Captain Bishop, calling him the "smooth and 
 silky Absalom." I leave it to the reader to decide whether 
 this arrest was a reflection upon Governor Lumpkin. 
 In "Student's Reference Work," on page 1060, we read: 
 
 The author of "Home, Sweet Home" had no home for the last forty 
 years of his life and died in a foreign land, having been appointed Amer- 
 ican Consul at Tunis, where he died April 10, 1852. His remains were 
 brought to America and buried at Washington in 1883. 
 
 In their deepest sorrow poets sing out their sweetest songs, 
 
 ". . . like the plants that throw 
 Their fragrance from their wounded parts, 
 Breathe sweetness out of woe." 
 
 After his arrest Mr. Payne heard the soldiers singing 
 "Home, Sweet Home." He convinced them that he was the 
 author, and every one of them became his friend. In a short 
 time he was set free. One of the soldiers, John Oats, told 
 
 68 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 me of the arrest of Chief Ross and Payne. He and four or 
 five others were detailed to make the arrest. It is proper here 
 to offer a word of criticism upon a book of great merit by 
 Miss Rutherford. She says some uncharitable and untrue 
 things about Mr. Curry, an enrolling agent, having something 
 to do with the arrest. She is wholly mistaken. What she 
 says is a reflection upon Gov. Wilson Lumpkin. He was 
 responsible for the arrest and ordered it. Mr. Knight also 
 has a remark that is not correct. He says that the Chief fled 
 from Georgia on account of persecution. That is a slander 
 upon Governor Lumpkin. 
 
 Now it affords me great pleasure to offer a word in 
 commendation of Miss Rutherford's book, "American Au- 
 thors." It ought to be in all public libraries and in every 
 home library where the people can afford it. The older 
 readers will be charmed with what they read in their young- 
 er days. The younger ones will be delighted, and it will 
 help them to a refined and elevated taste for good reading 
 — yes, more than anything in modem novels. She has col- 
 lected in pamphlet form "A Hundred Things for a Better 
 South." It is sold for a small price and is worth its weight 
 in gold as a reference. 
 
 Let me add two other items. Several years ago at the 
 World's Agricultural Fair the best specimen of wheat in the 
 world was raised in Germany, in the Valley of the Rhine. 
 The next best specimen was raised in Floyd County, Georgia. 
 At another World's Fair the best specimen of corn in the 
 world was raised in Walker County, Georgia. 
 
 Spring Place was a central point. In 1817 a Moravian 
 mission was established there. If Joseph Vann was not its 
 founder, he fostered it, gave the land, and assisted in the 
 
 69 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 erection of the buildings on a beautiful site. The comfortable, 
 roomy buildings were of good timber well prepared and well 
 put up. A nice bake oven was in the kitchen. Near by from 
 a bluff was a great volume of the best cool spring water. It 
 is likely that the wealthy McNair family, who lived not many 
 miles away, helped in fostering the school, as at least one 
 daughter was educated in the Moravian school at Salem, 
 North Carolina. 
 
 Many of the mixed bloods sent their daughters to the mis- 
 sion at Spring Place, and so did many of the leading families 
 of the whole State. The members of the mission were well 
 received and exerted a good influence, taking no part in any- 
 thing that was not in harmony with their Christian work. 
 When the laws of the State were extended over that section, 
 they left peaceably in 1830 and no doubt found an inviting 
 field for their work. It may be safely said that Mrs. Vann 
 was an earnest worker in all that was done. 
 
 Joseph Vann, about six feet six inches in height and of 
 fine appearance, had Cherokee blood in his veins. He owned 
 quite a number of slaves. His negro quarters were out 
 four miles, at Mill Creek. He was fond of fine stock, 
 particularly fine horses. About 1800 to 1806 he decided to 
 build a beautiful home. The wealthy mixed bloods could 
 have what they wanted, and that of the best from Philadelphia 
 or Washington City. The best master builder was engaged 
 to make the brick and build the house. A skilled architect 
 was engaged to prepare the plan, and when it was laid before 
 Mr. Vann and the builder every mark on the profile was 
 plain. It was a handsome, two-story brick building with 
 beautiful surroundings. 
 
 It would be difficult to say how many false stories have 
 
 70 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 been told about tbat bouse. One is tbat Dave Vann built it. 
 He was a man of very bad cbaracter. Another is that the 
 bricks were made in Savannah ; another, that the bricks were 
 brought from Philadelphia. The truth is that they were made 
 about four hundred yards from the house. I have seen the 
 old brickyard where they were made. Joseph Vann built the 
 house and lived in it twenty-eight years. He had a generous 
 heart, and his wife was indeed his better half. They fostered 
 the Moravian Mission, one of the best in the Cherokee Nation. 
 It is claimed that the first convert became a chief and was 
 murdered because he favored moving to the West. 
 
 Not many years after Vann left a battle was fought in the 
 house by parties contending for possession. They fought 
 with guns and knives, some being upstairs and some below. 
 Much blood was shed, but no one was killed. The contending 
 parties were Capt. A. B. and Col. W. N. Bishop and Mr. 
 Spencer Riley. Another battle was fought after this at Mil- 
 ledgeville. When Berry Bishop and Riley met, they com- 
 menced to fire. Bishop knocked Riley down and placed the 
 muzzle of his pistol at his ear, but the gun flashed and did 
 not fire. This ended the fighting over the house at that time. 
 The wives of the Bishops were sisters and excellent women. 
 Capt. A. B. Bishop lived in the Vann house and Col. W. N. 
 Bishop in the mission house. The wife of the former had 
 been our near neighbor. In my boyhood I spent nights in 
 both houses. 
 
 Spring Place was for years the arena of hard-fought polit- 
 ical battles, the Bishops on one side and their opponents on 
 the other. Years afterwards my mother visited Spring Place, 
 was attacked with fever, and had a long spell of sickness in 
 the brick house. Two or three years ago I was honored by 
 
 71 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 the Daughters of the American Revokition with an invitation 
 to Spring Place, where they were to put their mark on the old 
 brick house. That Chapter is known as the Governor Mil- 
 ledge Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. I 
 have not seen the dear old place since 1840. 
 
 The Old Federal Road comes out of Bradley Coimty, Ten- 
 nessee, intOi Murray County, Georgia, running south on the 
 west side of the Cohutta and Coosawattee Mountains for, say, 
 seventy miles, then turns east over the mountains for about 
 seventy miles to the older settlements of Georgia. This trail 
 is perhaps two or three hundred years old. 
 
 The Indians had very narrow paths, walking or riding. 
 They went in single file, the Indian riding on his pony, with 
 his feet nearly touching the ground; his wife, with her baby 
 on her back, walking before him. They had good sense of 
 direction, and their trail was as straight as a surveyor's line 
 and on the best ground for a road. For instance, on locating 
 the Atlanta and West Point Road the engineers little dreamed 
 that they were on an old Indian trail. The people of Coweta 
 and Troup Counties know it to this day as the Grayson Trail. 
 
 For years the Old Federal Road was the darkest and most 
 dangerous place in the old Cherokee Nation; and many a 
 marauding band went from here to murder, plunder, and steal 
 away captives from the frontier settlers. They went for miles. 
 Their usual time was at the full of the moon, in the fall of the 
 year. 
 
 The light of civilization was beginning to shine from both 
 sides over this dark domain. First from East Tennessee. 
 That section was first settled by Virginians and North Caro- 
 linians, as brave and noble people as ever lived. No braver 
 men fought at King's Mountain than the soldiers from that 
 
 72 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 section. John Sevier was one of them. That battle was a 
 pivot on which victory began to turn and was a prelude to 
 Comwallis's surrender. These noble people in East Tennessee 
 at once started schools and churches. Dr. Daniel Doak 
 brought his library on pack horses and opened a school in 1 780. 
 He became President of Washington College, a noted institu- 
 tion. This was twenty years before the University of Georgia 
 was opened. To Dr. Doak is due the first honor of starting 
 schools and churches there; but soon he was joined by the 
 Methodist circuit rider, who came with his saddlebags stuffed 
 with his library and wardrobe. Here are some of the appoint- 
 ments of the circuit riders: Holston, Thomas Milligan; 
 Nolichucky, Samuel Douthet; French Broad, John Johnson; 
 New River, Elisha W. Bowman ; Clinch, Joab Watson ; Pow- 
 ell's Valley, Moses Black; Wilderness, Jacob Young. This 
 light spread over Middle and West Tennessee. 
 
 Tennessee was admitted into the Union in 1796 and early 
 gave attention to internal improvements. In 1804 "turnpike 
 roads" were built. The people lived in good houses and on 
 fine farms. So civilization came to North Georgia from East 
 Tennessee; and all this time we were advancing on our side, 
 and the irrepressible spirit of trade was pushing from both 
 sides. First the people commenced moving West with pack 
 horses. Then the old trail was widened into a turnpike road. 
 Enterprising men soon established stands on the road and 
 built good frame houses and clusters of log houses, also 
 stables and stake-and-rider fence lots. They made provision 
 for the traveling public. At first most of the traveling was 
 on horseback. A strong horse, with a good, roomy saddle, 
 stirrups the right length, and going in a fox trot, will easily 
 carry a rider forty miles a day. Sometimes half a dozen or 
 
 73 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 more people met at one of these stands. They found plenty 
 of good things to eat, and around a wide fireplace good cheer 
 prevailed. 
 
 The next things that came were droves of fine beef cattle 
 from Kentucky and Tennessee; droves of horses and mules, 
 sleek and fat, a hundred in a drove ; then the hog droves, from 
 five hundred to two thousand in a drove. The manager went 
 forward a day or two ahead to engage corn and lots for his 
 hogs. Often there was a purveyor, who came early in the 
 afternoon to stop at the place where they were to spend the 
 night. He commenced cooking for the hands that drove the 
 hogs, and he also prepared an early breakfast in the morning. 
 Usually the cooking was done in a little house built for their 
 use. The hallooing of the drivers could be heard from morn- 
 ing till night. If ever you were a boy, had eaten a hearty 
 supper, and had gone into the place where these men were 
 cooking and frying potatoes, if it didn't sharpen your appe- 
 tite, it did mine. 
 
 One other member of the traveling public was a large wag- 
 on drawn by four oxen. It was loaded with flour and whisky. 
 They went direct to the gold mines. The horses, mules, and 
 hogs went to Middle Georgia, where cotton was king. 
 
 Commencing with the Tennessee line, coming into Georgia, 
 here are some of the names of the principal men who had 
 stands on the road: Pettis, McNair, Ellis Harlan, James Mon- 
 roe, George Harlan, Judge Martin, John Bell (at Sanders- 
 town and Love), Mrs. Harnage and Judge Daniel (at Long 
 Swamp), and Lewis Blackburn (on the Etowah). I make 
 particular mention of some of these. 
 
 Judge John Martin, usually called "J^ck" Martin, with 
 some Indian blood, but a blonde, was a chief. He was about 
 
 74 
 
.1/ )' .1 U T O B I O G R A P H y 
 
 five feet ten inches and weighed about one hundred and seventy 
 pounds. He had two wives at one time, not many years be- 
 tween their ages. They were sisters, Misses Lucy and Nellie 
 McDaniel, who had about the same amount of Indian blood 
 that he had. They were rather small and good-looking wom- 
 en. He had good homes for them both about fifteen miles 
 apart, one on the Saluquay River, the other on the Coosawat- 
 tee. The oldest daughter of the Saluquay wife married John 
 Bell, a merchant and farmer. Her father provided well for 
 her. She had an old negro man and his wife to look after ev- 
 erything, a cook, and plenty of house servants. The cares of 
 the household did not trouble her much, and she was very fond 
 of playing cards. She had a brother and a sister, one a little 
 older and the other a little younger than I. Occasionally I 
 was a visitor. We hunted possums with a little dog named 
 Grooch, and we seldom failed to get a possum. The oldest 
 child of the Coosawattee wife was named Brice, a tall, hand- 
 some young man. She also had a grown daughter, Susanna, 
 and a son, Dawson, twelve years old. I was there in 1834 
 and saw Susanna sweep their house for the last time. She 
 burned the broom for good luck, walked down the steps, and 
 got into the carriage. With a sad heart they left their old 
 home for the last time and started on their long journey to 
 the West. Judge Martin owned about eighty negroes, well 
 fed and clothed and not overworked. In sight of the old 
 home were their quarters, a little village kept clean and neat. 
 Martin owned a noted farm on the Coosawattee River. It is 
 now known as the Carter place. 
 
 Three miles north on the road was the George Harlan 
 place. Harlan was part Indian and dark. Mrs. Harlan was 
 Miss Anna May, a white lady and a superior woman in every 
 
 75 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 respect. They had one child, Elvira, who, like her mother, 
 was a most excellent woman. She married a Mr. Roach. 
 Harlan's was the best house in that part of the country, a well- 
 arranged two-story frame. He had a very fine orchard of 
 apples and peaches, as delicious as any fruit I have ever tasted. 
 A spring came out from a large limestone rock, with a fine 
 stone spring house a few feet below. This gave the place the 
 name of Rock Spring. His farm was three or four miles 
 from here, a little below the Martin place. He had from 
 seventy-five to a hundred head of cattle. They lived well on 
 the canebrakes on the river during the winter and in summer 
 on a mountain range. He salted them himself on Sunday, and 
 when he called them they bellowed and scampered as if they 
 would run over their master. The first night I ever spent in 
 that part of the country was in that house. In 1834 they left 
 their fine home for the West. 
 
 The old McDaniel home, where Martin's two wives were 
 brought up, is about a mile north of the Harlan place. That 
 old place must have been settled about 1770. When I saw 
 the old place not a tree nor stump was to be seen, except a 
 clump of trees where there were some graves. There was a 
 tall Lombardy poplar, on the top branches of which was one 
 of the finest singing mocking birds, mocking every bird that 
 was there to warble its notes. On that place were a large 
 limestone rock and quite a number of walnut trees, where my 
 brothers hulled bushels of walnuts. Also there was a large 
 blackberry patch. 
 
 The Old Federal Road was once a turnpike road. By 
 whom owned and who collected the toll I do' not know. 
 There was not much digging to level the road, but there was 
 a heavy causeway in that limestone soil. The road was not 
 
 76 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 kept up after 1830. I saw one of the old gates hanging to 
 the post on its hinges in 1832. My question is, Who made the 
 road, and why is it called Old Federal? 
 
 The generous soil of these fresh lands yields from thirty 
 to forty bushels of corn to the acre, and the bottoms yield 
 from fifty to sixty bushels. The drovers took about all the 
 farmers could spare at a good price, so they were fortunate 
 in having a market at home. 
 
 77 
 
PART TWO 
 
 CONVERSION, MARRIAGE, AND BEGINNINGS OF 
 
 MINISTRY 
 
CHAPTER I 
 Conversion and Call to Preach 
 
 T N 1840 we moved from where we first settled, still in Mur- 
 ray County, but not far from the Tennessee line. The 
 last thirty years of the family the home was near Catoosa 
 Springs, and until the death of father and mother. The 
 springs were at one time a popular resort, having hundreds 
 of visitors. The locality is a little valley through which flows 
 a stream of water, quite small until it enters the springs, about 
 fifty in number. None are large, but all boil up as distinct 
 fountains. They flow from two large hills upon the opposite 
 side and furnish many varieties of mineral waters good for 
 cutaneous diseases. The Cherokees knew the virtues of these 
 waters, and there were evidences of old Indian camps on the 
 grounds. Lately the springs have not attracted the attention 
 they once did. At first they were on the line of Walker and 
 Murray Counties, but now they are in Catoosa County. The 
 name is a misfit. Catoosa is the Cherokee word for "moun- 
 tain." That part of the State was also settled by numerous 
 worthy families — Colonel Ramsey, a noted citizen, the Mc- 
 Gills, and the McSpaddens. In the Red Hill settlement were 
 the Pitners, Mortons, Varnells, McGatheys, Stantons, John- 
 sons, John McCombs, and many others, as good citizens as 
 could be found in any State. 
 
 Here let me pay tribute to the Rev. Francis Bird. He en- 
 tered the South Carolina Conference in 1805 with Dr. Lovick 
 Pierce. He was an itinerant for four years, then married 
 and located in Buncombe County, North Carolina. As there 
 were no homes for pastors' families, the marriage of a preach- 
 6 81 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 er was soon followed by his location. Yet these men did not 
 cease to preach and build up the Church. They were loyal to 
 all her interests. While in the Conference they w^ere studious, 
 became able men in the ministry, and supplied a great need in 
 the Church. As young itinerants were not ordained, these 
 local preachers baptized and administered the sacrament to 
 the people. Brother Bird did a full share of this good work 
 in keeping together and building up the Church. While yet 
 a strong man he moved to Habersham County and lived in 
 the Mossy Creek settlement, which was inhabited by people 
 of high intelligence. Dr. Josiah Askew, grandfather of Bish- 
 op Atticus G. Haygood and of Miss Laura Haygood, is buried 
 there. The Bishop's mother taught him about all the Latin he 
 ever learned. Historians have not done full justice to these 
 people. Nacoochee started first and has always been in the 
 lead. Brother Bird moved to Cherokee, Georgia, before the 
 Indians left, and as the white people came he was ready to 
 organize them into a Church. One of the first churches in 
 Walker County was Bird's Chapel. 
 
 Brother Bird was often a supply on a mission. He was a 
 great preacher, and the people heard him gladly. He lived in 
 his own home, had plenty, and was given to hospitality. 
 Traveling by private conveyance to a Western Conference, 
 Bishop Andrew stopped with his old friend and mentioned 
 his enjoyment of the visit. Sister Bird read good books, had 
 an amiable disposition, and her home influence was the best. 
 The nine daughters of the family were modeled after their 
 mother — all fair in feature, graceful in form, bright in 
 mind, and married not too young nor too old. The parents 
 were sweethearts as long as they lived. Brother Bird died 
 in November, 1861 ; and his wife died in May, 1864. Both 
 
 82 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 were buried at Lee's Chapel, in graves still unmarked, not far 
 from Catoosa Springs. The late Rev. F. G. Hughes was 
 Brother Bird's grandson, and he has four great-grandsons in 
 the North Georgia Conference: the Revs. W. T. Hamby, 
 John P. Irvine, and the Twiggs brothers. Personally, I owe 
 much to Brother Bird, who baptized me and other members 
 of the family. 
 
 I had the "Shorter Catechism" and could read the Bible 
 when seven years old. My first teacher was a devout Chris- 
 tian. At twelve o'clock we all stood while he asked the bless- 
 ing. It was in the country, and he had a full house. Young 
 at this time, he became a prominent citizen and filled honor- 
 able positions. The first hymn I heard my mother sing was, 
 "Alas! and did my Saviour bleed?" I was impressed when 
 I heard of people being converted and of dying triumphant 
 deaths; also with the sacredness of the Sabbath, but I violated 
 it often. After I entered my teens I often went to bed with- 
 out supper, turned my face to the wall, and was sorry for 
 what I had done, but never said a word about it. 
 
 The effectual conviction was made when I was nearly 
 eighteen. On a Sunday evening, with my most congenial 
 friend, I went to his father's after a sermon. His brother 
 gave an exhortation. He had been growing weaker for 
 months from a wasting sickness, but had been gloriously con- 
 verted. He told us of it. That was the arrow that pierced 
 my heart, and it was a year before it was removed. On my 
 way home I knelt by a tree and prayed. "The more I strove 
 against its powers, I felt its weight and guilt the more." This 
 was in June, 1841. My load grew every day. A sermon 
 from the text, "Moses said to Hobab, Come thou with us, and 
 we will do thee good," led me to join the Church. At the 
 
 83 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 first opportunity, as the hymn, "I am bound for the promised 
 land," was being sung, I gave my hand to the preacher, Rev. 
 Levi Brotherton. The next moment my brother and three 
 other boys followed my example. 
 
 A month afterwards there was a revival meeting seven 
 miles from home, over the line in Tennessee. I was teaching 
 at the time ; and as school had just started, I thought I could 
 not attend the meetings. Great reports of it came every day. 
 On Tuesday we turned out for dinner and had our buckets 
 at the spring. One of the schoolboys had been converted, 
 and he said that if I would go he would return with me. In 
 a moment I decided and dismissed the school until Thursday. 
 With five others, I went that evening. All visitors were wel- 
 come, and the meeting that night was good. The next day 
 Brother Brotherton preached from the text, "They that be 
 whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." With a 
 number of others, I knelt for prayer and did what I had tried 
 to do for more than a year, to trust my sinful soul into the 
 hands of a holy and righteous Saviour. When the trust was 
 given, in a moment joy came. I rose up and praised the Lord 
 of glory, and every face was bright with love, many praising 
 God for his wonderful goodness. Night came before I was 
 alone and could thank the Lord. It was a precious moment 
 to bless him for what he had done for me. The whole way to 
 the mercy seat was bright and clear. I did not so much pray 
 as give thanks for the great blessing received. An early start 
 brought me to school on time Thursday. 
 
 The next question was as to which Church I should join. 
 With good feelings toward Presbyterians, Baptists, and oth- 
 ers, I concluded that as to doctrines and usages the Methodist 
 Church was the one for me. Boarding at the home of the 
 
 84 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 young man who went with me to the meeting, we had family- 
 prayer, and we also had family prayer in my own home on 
 Friday night. The family Bible had never felt so heavy be- 
 fore. At dinner the next day mother requested me to ask the 
 blessing. When I had done so, I saw tears in her deep blue 
 eyes. 
 
 Two weeks afterwards we had a meeting at our own church, 
 the building having just been completed. Before this preach- 
 ing had been held in the schoolhouse. Some families tented, 
 and the meeting started well. About the second night, while 
 in my arms, my sister was converted and then my brother. 
 Sister was the oldest child, I next, and then brother. She 
 had been deeply concerned before any of the rest of us. My 
 brother died a member of the Conference. 
 
 My call to preach came the next year. I had taken part in 
 prayer meetings and class meetings. I was working on the 
 farm and saw the stars in the morning and sometimes in the 
 evening while at work. Always the great question was before 
 me. I did not know what to say or do. Every moment pos- 
 sible, week day and Sunday, I read the Bible. I began at the 
 first chapter and read to the epistles of Peter. I read oi those 
 whom the Lord called — Moses, Samuel, and especially Paul. 
 "Woe is me if I preach not the gospel!" I cannot number 
 the times I knelt at the end of a furrow and prayed for guid- 
 ance. I had never mentioned the matter to any one. Intend- 
 ing to talk about it, I stayed all night with a preacher, but I 
 failed to speak on the momentous subject. One Sunday night 
 the house was full. A Presbyterian preached on the subject, 
 "The Ambassador." Every word came to me. The time to 
 yield had come, and despair seized me. I went to the altar, 
 crying for help. The good minister came to me. I told him, 
 
 85 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 and he understood. Then all was surrendered, and all re- 
 mains so to this very day. 
 
 Of two events in my life I am well satisfied: First, my con- 
 version; second, my call to preach. Soon afterwards I was 
 licensed to exhort in our new church. The hymn was : 
 
 "My Saviour, my almighty Friend, 
 
 When I begin thy praise, 
 Where will the growing numbers end, 
 
 The numbers of thy grace ? 
 Thou art my everlasting trust; 
 
 Thy goodness I adore ; 
 Send down thy grace, O blessed Lord, 
 
 That I may love thee more. 
 
 My feet shall travel all the length 
 
 Of the celestial road, 
 And march with courage in thy strength. 
 
 To see the Lord my God. 
 Awake ! awake ! my tuneful powers : 
 
 With this delightful song 
 I'll entertain the darkest hours. 
 
 Nor think the season long." 
 
 Smith Chapel was a fruitful little vine for a number of 
 years. Children whose parents took no interest in religion 
 were added to the Church and made useful members. My 
 conviction came in 1841, my conversion in 1842, and my call 
 to preach in 1843. I ^^^t that section in 1844. 
 
 86 
 
CHAPTER II 
 Admission on Trial, 1844, and Dahlonega, 1845 
 
 A FTER spending four years in that section of Georgia 
 next to Tennessee, I came to Lumpkin County and taught 
 school near New Bridge. The preceding teacher had had 
 trouble with the larger boys, who had broken up his school. 
 The custom was for the teacher to draw articles of agreement 
 stating what he would teach and the price per pupil. Parents 
 signed the number of children they would send. Some told 
 me they would patronize the school on condition that I would 
 not take the bad boys. When the school opened, one of the 
 worst boys came. He behaved for a few weeks and then re- 
 fused to keep the rules and was expelled. The news spread 
 rapidly everywhere, and many said: "I told you so." The 
 boy's venerable father and his brother, who had supported the 
 school, came to see me and said: "We know the boy is in the 
 wrong, and he must be made to obey the rules. We will stand 
 by you until you flog him well." I replied that I heartily 
 appreciated their friendship, but that I could not do as they 
 wished. I submitted this proposition: that I did not want 
 them present, but that if the boy would come back the next 
 morning, confess his wrong, and promise upon his honor as 
 a gentleman to obey the rules I would take him back. He 
 did so and became one of my best pupils. He finally became 
 an educated man and a Cumberland Presbyterian minister. 
 
 Soon after this one of the greatest benefits came to me, 
 from whom I cannot tell. Mr. Wesley asked perhaps a dozen 
 men to give an account of their call to the ministry. Dr. 
 Clarke, Dr. Benson, John Fletcher, and others. I was per- 
 
 87 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 mitted to keep the book reciting their experiences only for a 
 month, and I devoted every spare moment to reading it. From 
 it I received great comfort and help. I was a licensed ex- 
 horter then and did a pretty full share of missionary work 
 among the gold miners. A rich mine up the river was known 
 as the Brier Patch. The diggers had no Sunday clothes and 
 did not go to church. A regular appointment at that place 
 was enjoyed by them. Elsewhere we had services on Satur- 
 day night and Sunday morning. At Smith Chapel we had a 
 good Sunday school and some able teachers. Dr. J. R. Thom- 
 as, afterwards for many years President of Emory College, 
 attended the school ; and his sister, Miss Adeline Thomas, 
 Mrs. Dr. Smith, who was highly educated, and Mrs. Gouedy 
 were teachers. In many respects I have never been in a bet- 
 ter Sunday school. Being its secretary, it was of great benefit 
 to me. 
 
 About the time my school closed I was licensed to preach 
 and was recommended to the Conference for admission on 
 trial November i6, 1844, on my twenty-first birthday. 
 
 Circuits were large in those days, and Quarterly Confer- 
 ences were of great interest, although sometimes it was twenty 
 miles from one to another. From New Ridge to Cumming, 
 Forsyth County, was about that distance. Uncle Sammy 
 Smith, a somewhat eccentric exhorter, and Joseph Chambers, 
 a class leader and valuable worker in the Church, accompanied 
 me to the Quarterly Conferences. The preaching by all de- 
 nominations was done in the courthouse. The Quarterly 
 Conference was held in the academy. The presiding elder 
 examined the applicant, and he was licensed tO' preach and 
 recommended to the Annual Conference by the Quarterly 
 Conference. The text at eleven o'clock Saturday morning 
 
 88 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 was Isaiah xxx. 21: "And thine ears shall hear a word be- 
 hind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn 
 to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." 
 
 Willis D. Mathis was the presiding elder. He entered the 
 Georgia Conference in 183 1. He served the Church effective- 
 ly in many prominent appointments — circuits, stations, and 
 districts — for twenty-one years, was superannuated three 
 years, and then served two additional years in the Georgia 
 Conference. In 1856 he was transferred to the Alabama Con- 
 ference, serving the Talladega District four years and We- 
 tumpka Station in 1861, where his health failed. The ensuing 
 Conference granted him a superannuate relation, which he 
 retained until his death. His was a sweet spirit. The good- 
 ness of his heart was stamped on his countenance and gave 
 the witchery of love to his voice and manner. He sang the 
 praises of God with remarkable unction and sweetness. He 
 was profoundly versed in the mysteries of grace and taught 
 the deep things of God in demonstration of the Spirit and 
 power. Divine love permeated his private and public life and 
 made all who knew him feel that the power which wrought in 
 him was not of man, but of God. The beauty of his Chris- 
 tianity rendered him a fit medium through which the attrac- 
 tiveness of the cross drew many souls to God. Multitudes 
 will bless his memory. When his last hour came he was 
 ready to say, with the beloved apostle: "Come, Lord Jesus; 
 come quickly." In addition to the above general information, 
 Brother Mathis was brought up in Jackson County, Georgia, 
 became a useful local preacher, and was on the Coweta and 
 Carrollton Mission in 1828. The fruits of his work remain 
 to this day. For a number of years he resided in Meriwether 
 
 89 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 County. He presented to me a book at the end of my second 
 year, and it is cherished to this day. 
 
 Rev. Robert StripHng was our beloved pastor then. He 
 lived at Gumming. While preaching at Dahlonega one of his 
 children died early in the morning, and he received the news 
 that evening. He rode thirty miles in the night to meet the 
 mother in her grief and to see the child cold in death. It was 
 a sore bereavement. Brother Stripling was especially kind to 
 me. He also transferred to Alabama. When old and super- 
 annuated, nearly forty years afterwards, he wrote to me,, 
 telling how glad he would be to be back in Georgia. 
 
 90 
 
CHAPTER III 
 My Precious Wife 
 
 T WOULD be recreant to opportunity and obligation if I 
 did not give a full chapter to the wife of my bosom and 
 to other women who have smoothed the way for my feet in 
 my long journey as an itinerant Methodist preacher. 
 
 In every character and incident there are two or more 
 questions: Where? When? Who? The "where" was at 
 Leathers' Ford, or New Bridge, in Lumpkin County, on the 
 Chestatee River, the Cherokee word for "clear water," but 
 the gold diggers made it a very muddy stream. In the early 
 thirties the rich gold mines in that section attracted people 
 from far and near. In the ford of the river there was a rich 
 mine in a canal a mile or more in length which turned the 
 entire volume of the stream. In the old bed of the river 
 thousands upon thousands of dollars' worth of gold was 
 found. A number of intelligent and some wealthy people 
 came there to live — the Stocks, the Smiths, the Halls, the 
 Masons, the Gouedys, and others. 
 
 Mrs. Gouedy was the only daughter of a rich planter in 
 South Georgia. Her father, David Halliburton, owned three 
 plantations and many negroes. Her mother was a Virginian, 
 a most excellent lady, and Tom Pete was an only brother. 
 Ann Eliza was a beautiful girl of bright mind and noble heart 
 and was well educated. She became the wife of James Goue- 
 dy, at one time a prominent merchant in Augusta. He was a 
 man of generous heart, and the couple were very congenial. 
 Mr. Gouedy was richer than any one else in the community 
 in gold lots, mills, farms, and merchandise. 
 
 91 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 In the village lived a lone orphan thrown upon her OAvn 
 resources for a living, but rich in industry, energy, fortitude, 
 and intuitive judgment of people and of what was proper at 
 all times. Her name was Rachel Mullinix. Mrs. Gouedy 
 asked Rachel to come to her house and said: "Rachel, what 
 are you doing now?" She answered: "Almost anything I 
 can get to do." "Can you work a buttonhole?" "I can try." 
 Taking a piece of cloth and needle and thread, she made 
 an effort and handed the work back. Mrs. Gouedy ex- 
 claimed: "Why, Rachel, this is as good as I want. I have a 
 great deal of work to be done, and I will pay you for it." 
 The girl was industrious and economical. The Gouedys had 
 horses and a carriage, and after many a day's busy work the 
 good lady and Rachel were seen riding out in the carriage. 
 They often rode on horseback, which was much more common 
 then than now. The names of the horses were Tom and Pete. 
 Tom was spirited and shied at many an object, but this was 
 the horse that the brave girl rode. She looked to see that 
 the bridle was right and the saddle well put on, and away they 
 galloped. 
 
 A United States branch mint had been established at Dah- 
 lonega, and many good people lived there. The Gouedy house 
 was a hospitable one, and numerous visitors were entertained. 
 Mrs. Gouedy always had Rachel to meet the company, and 
 some of her intimate friends were young ladies of the com- 
 munity. Her intuition helped her to make the best of these 
 opportunities. This was the situation when I went there in 
 1844 to teach the school. Marrying was the remotest idea in 
 my head. My fixed aim was to enter the Conference at the 
 end of the year. 
 
 We had a good Sunday school. Dr. James R. Thomas, 
 
 92 
 
MRS. W. J. COTTER 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 afterwards President of Emory College, often heard our 
 class. I met the young lady at Sunday school and church and 
 at other places. The story of our courtship need not be told, 
 but in a little while that remote question was present. The 
 subject of an itinerant preacher's wife was seriously consid- 
 ered, and the engagement was made, but not to be consum- 
 mated until I had preached one year. Thus it remained until 
 the end of the year. I had bought my horse, saddle, and bri- 
 dle, and all preparations had been made for my entering the 
 ministry. The time had come, the Conference had met, and 
 I could not tell Rachel good-by. Early one morning I went 
 to her and told her so. I do not remember what she said, 
 but the next day we were married. I had notice of my ap- 
 pointment. It was a good one for a young preacher, but I 
 must go and fill a round of appointments and see about our 
 living. 
 
 The next week I left and found that the jtmior preacher 
 at Dahlonega was to be supplied and that the man who was 
 to have been there could not come, but could take my place 
 on the Cassville Circuit. So after a two-weeks ride of three 
 hundred miles I returned with the glad news that I was to 
 remain on the Dahlonega Circuit. Mrs. Gouedy came at 
 once and said that we must live with them. She told Rachel 
 to go on with her work for three weeks at pay and that for 
 the week I was at home there would be no charges whatever. 
 This was a great favor to me and gave the desired opportu- 
 nity to study and learn my life work. 
 
 There was no care as to what I was to eat or wear. My 
 horse was saddled and hitched to a post when I was ready to 
 go ; and after returning one day in a week I had only to dis- 
 mount at the gate, take my saddlebags and enter the house, 
 
 93 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 and my horse was not seen until I was ready to go again. 
 Not many Methodist preachers started their itinerancy under 
 such favorable circumstances. 
 
 When I visited on week days the people had work to do, 
 and so had I in the house or under a shady tree. Here two 
 things were learned: the tobacco habit was left off, and the 
 least the preacher said about his salary the better. At the 
 close of the second round the work was well in hand and con- 
 tinued to increase until the end. The district was the Chero- 
 kee, and it embraced all the Cherokee country to the Alabama 
 and Tennessee lines. The presiding elder was Russell Reneau, 
 and the preacher in charge was Aiken W. Ross. The num- 
 ber of members was one thousand three hundred and forty- 
 five. A good salary was paid Brother Ross. He was well 
 read in history and poetry, read his Greek Testament daily, 
 and was a gifted speaker. The people desired his return; but 
 he decided to go to Texas, where he filled the strongest sta- 
 tions and sensed faithfully for many years. 
 
 Our circuit was fifty miles long and twenty-five miles wide, 
 extending over Lumpkin and Forsyth Counties, with twenty 
 appointments, at each of which there was preaching twice a 
 month. There were three camp grounds: Lumpkin, in the 
 lower part of Lumpkin County; Holbrooks, in the western 
 part of Forsyth County, on the Cherokee County line; and 
 Amicolola, in the northwest part of Lumpkin County. The 
 latter name means "falling water." The meetings at Lumpkin 
 were established at the first settling of the country. People 
 came twenty miles or more to attend. Thousands of souls 
 were converted there, my wife among them. Many people 
 tented at Holbrooks with gracious results in converting prayer. 
 Spending the night with Jesse Holbrooks, who was a fine 
 
 94 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 singer, he sang "One more river to cross, and we'll be at 
 home." Little did the singer or hearer think that before they 
 met again the tuneful one would have crossed the river and 
 gone home. Great congregations and many conversions also 
 signalized the camp meetings at Amicolola. 
 
 The congregation at Dahlonega was an intelligent one. 
 There were three able preachers in the Church, Dr. Thomas 
 being one of them. This made it embarrassing for the young 
 preacher. One beautiful Sunday in May I begged Dr. Thomas 
 to preach for me, but he said plainly that he would not. He 
 explained that he wanted to help me, but that if he did 
 preach it would be saying to the people that I was ashamed 
 of the cause I had espoused, and thus it would do me more 
 hurt than anything else. At this my conscience rallied, and 
 afterwards I preached with less embarrassment and felt as 
 much freedom there as anywhere else. At three o'clock that 
 Sunday we had a class meeting, and sixty were present. Near- 
 ly all told me that they were praying for me. The membership 
 there was strong, including three of the best families — the 
 Ouillians, the Pynes, and the Moores — and other prominent 
 people. At all the appointments there were good people and 
 a large number of useful local preachers. Rev. W. S. Wil- 
 liams, known as "Buck" Williams, was a leader. He had been 
 a member of the Annual Conference. John Harvey Mash- 
 bum was another. The Quarterly Conference was a strong 
 body, many of the official members being leading citizens. 
 
 Conference met that year in Athens. When my name was 
 called, my presiding elder. Rev. Russell Reneau, said: "Noth- 
 ing against him ; but it is well for me tO' report that early in 
 the year Brother Cotter took unto himself a wife, and she is 
 his better half." Bishop Andrew, in the chair, then said: 
 
 95 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 "You have no complaint, then, that Brother Cotter has been 
 gallanting the ladies." The old rule was that the younger 
 preachers could not marry under four years; but I got no 
 scolding for breaking the rule and had nothing to do but to 
 listen until the reading of the appointments, when Bishop 
 Andrew read out my name to Blairsville. 
 
 96 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Going to Our New Charge, Blairsville Mission, 1846 
 
 npHERE were unseen difficulties and dangers on our way, 
 rivers to cross and mountains to climb. Parting with our 
 friends was a trial to us all. We all broke down and cried. 
 There was a short and pleasant visit tO' the dear ones at home, 
 then we started to Blairsville. The second day we forded the 
 Conasauga River. It is a deep stream with a strong current ; 
 and had we been beaten down six feet, we would have been 
 drowned inevitably. The true horse stood at one time for 
 nearly a minute unable to stem the current. Gaining his 
 strength, he carried us to the opposite bank. The body of 
 the vehicle was full of water. 
 
 The third day, on the Westfield turnpike road, we crossed 
 the Cohutta, and, going down the mountain, one of the wheels 
 had a hard jolt upon solid rock and was dished the wrong 
 way. There was no chance to have it mended, and we vainly 
 hoped it would hold out to the end of the journey; but the 
 next evening, where the road ran along the side of a little 
 creek (its banks were bordered with laurel and ivy ever- 
 greens), we crossed the creek and went into some stiff mud, 
 where every spoke in the wheel gave way. It was getting late, 
 and we had no chance to turn back. The last house we passed 
 was several miles away, and there was no house on the road 
 before us that could have been reached. It seemed for a while 
 that we were doomed to spend the night there, but we learned 
 that there was a little house half a mile away. After dark, 
 leading the horse, we walked to the place. The floor was half 
 dirt and half puncheon, but the good woman received us kind- 
 7 97 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 ly and did the best she could for us. About midnight her 
 husband came home drunk. Next morning I went back sev- 
 eral miles to the White Path Gold Mine and hired a carry-all, 
 perhaps the only one within twenty miles. It was getting on 
 in the evening before I got back. Rachel had taken the arti- 
 cles that had gotten wet in the river out of the trunks and 
 spread them on the low bushes to dry. The scene of the lone 
 young woman there impressed me as partaking of the morally 
 sublime. As quickly as possible we arranged everything and 
 started on our way. That night we spent with Col. E. Chas- 
 tain, who was a member of Congress at that time, and we were 
 very kindly treated. 
 
 The next evening we reached Blairsville and were kindly 
 received at the home of Rev. Thomas M. Hughes, a local 
 preacher. Our fixed purpose was to keep house. I was the 
 first pastor that had lived there, and really there was nothing 
 else to do. The only house was a cabin which had not been 
 occupied for some time. The rent for the year was twelve 
 dollars. This was paid by covering the house. With my own 
 hands I chinked and daubed it. We bought feathers, and 
 Rachel made a new bedtick, and we had a good bed. The 
 one improvised for company was not sO' good. With a small 
 supply of cooking vessels and dishes for the table, we moved 
 in, took our first meal together, established a family altar, 
 and, being tired, a good night's rest followed. It was a two- 
 acre lot, so we had a good garden and a fine patch of corn. 
 There our first baby was born, and we named him Gouedy 
 Halliburton. 
 
 The mission extended over a wide territory, and there were 
 twenty appointments to be filled once a month — one in North 
 Carolina, one in Tennessee, and the rest in Georgia. There 
 
 98 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 were bad characters on the State Hnes. Outlaws could easily 
 go from one State to another and escape the law. In one or 
 two neighborhoods I was afraid of losing my horse. There 
 were six camp grounds: Young Cane, Hothouse, Cherokee, 
 Fighting Horn, Gaddistown, and Choestoe. A good measure 
 of success was obtained all over the charge. After the middle 
 of the year Brother Elrod, a useful local preacher, was em- 
 ployed to help me, and one hundred and twenty-seven mem- 
 bers were added to the Church. Our camp meetings were 
 attended by many people, who heard the gospel with profit 
 and probably would never have heard it anywhere else. At 
 Gaddistown there was some very rich land which yielded one 
 hundred and twenty-three bushels of the finest oats to the 
 acre. Brother McAllister took charge of my horse to recruit 
 him during the camp meeting and fed him on the heads of the 
 oats. 
 
 We had some trouble at the Choestoe camp meeting. The 
 Union County gold mines had just been discovered, and soon 
 there were many people settling in that section. There was 
 no law nor order. Large crowds attended the meeting and 
 gave trouble. Unknown to them, I mingled with them on 
 Friday night and heard many bad things they said. The vig- 
 ilance committee had discovered whisky on the grounds and 
 had broken a large jug of it. Saturday was the day for the 
 Quarterly Conference. The rule of the Church is that in the 
 absence of the presiding elder the preacher in charge must pre- 
 side. Brother Reneau was not able to be at the third nor the 
 fourth Quarterly Conference that year, so I had to preside. 
 After the Conference adjourned and all had left, I remained 
 in the tent to review what had been done. The tent was on 
 a little eminence, back of which was an open glade for several 
 
 99 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 hundred yards. Seven men walked down the glade and 
 stopped in full view of the tent. I saw one of them take out 
 his pistol and put it back. Three of them walked away out 
 of sight. Four walked back tO' the tent, and I walked to the 
 stand as they did. From the pulpit I saw them all take their 
 seats. I think Brother A, J. Reynolds preached at that hour. 
 These four men all responded tO' an invitation for mourners 
 at the close of the service, but it was a hypocritical response. 
 There seemed to be trouble boding for the night service. The 
 women became alarmed and suggested that we break up and 
 go home. That night the warning was to those who desecrat- 
 ed the sacred place of worship. One case was told of a des- 
 perate Tory in the Revolutionary War who killed a Baptist 
 preacher and cut out his tongue. The desperado was cap- 
 tured. He was offered a few moments of prayer before death 
 came to him. He said that good man's tongue was before 
 him, and he could not pray. Other incidents were given. 
 Fear settled down upon the troublesome crowd. The power 
 of the Spirit and blessing came upon the whole congregation. 
 The darkness of the cloud was gone, and light came. Sixteen 
 were converted that night. Sudden vengeance came upon the 
 four men. One was blown up on a steamboat, another was 
 killed by lightning, another was stricken blind, and the fourth 
 perished miserably. 
 
 There were many poor and illiterate people scattered over 
 the country, and there were many first-class citizens in com- 
 fortable homes. I found in one or two homes copies of Clarke's 
 and Benson's "Commentaries" and Fletcher's "Checks" in 
 eight volumes, light enough to be held and read while riding 
 in a saddle. There were a few copies of the Church paper 
 taken. Scattered over the county we had some excellent 
 
 lOO 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 members of the Church — the Leggs, Huckabys, Addingtons, 
 Jones, Logans, and others equally as good. 
 
 The people were anxious for light. They needed only a 
 chance. The chance had come. Young Harris College has 
 done a great work for the people there and practically all over 
 the State. This portion of the State has sent forth represent- 
 ative men in Church and State. 
 
 The Mission Board paid me one hundred dollars and the 
 mission about fifty dollars, with quite a number of donations. 
 The amount paid does not mean that the people were mean 
 and stingy. All the supplies of the county were made at 
 home. There was but little sold, and but little money was in 
 circulation. At one time I was without a cent, and I went to 
 a man to borrow a dollar. Before asking for it a brother 
 came to the door and said: "Where I came from they used to 
 pay the preacher, but no one has said a word to me about it 
 this year." He handed me three half dollars. I have never 
 felt heavier half dollars since that day. 
 
 The year was drawing to a close. My brother Robert came 
 to see us. He said that he must take Rachel and the baby 
 home with him, that it would not do to leave them there while 
 I went to Conference. He procured a gentle horse and side- 
 saddle. With a pillow in her lap and the baby on it, Rachel 
 rode upon her horse. Robert, ahead upon his own horse, led 
 them on a three days' journey. 
 
 Our good friends, the Hugheses and Barclays, had never 
 allowed Rachel to spend a night alone while I was gone. The 
 weeks passed by very slowly. Most of my time was spent in 
 the country, but when in town the little cabin looked very 
 lonely. During that year at one point in my circuit thirteen 
 bears were killed. 
 
 lOI 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Rev. Thomas M. Hughes was born in Buncombe County, 
 North Carolina, January 31, 1809. His wife was born De- 
 cember II, 1 8 10, in Rutherford County, North Carolina. 
 They were married in Habersham County, Georgia, January 
 I, 1828. Eleven children blessed their home. Two daughters 
 married preachers. Revs. J. W. Twiggs and M. G. Hamby. 
 Three of their sons became preachers. Three of their grand- 
 sons are members of the North Georgia Conference — Rev. 
 W. T. Hamby, Rev. John P. Erwin, Rev. Lovick Marion 
 Twiggs — and Rev. George C. Erwin, a great-grandson, belongs 
 to the South Georgia Conference. 
 
 Rev. Francis Goodman Hughes married Amanda Goodrum. 
 He was a young lawyer with good prospects. Obeying the 
 call to preach, he became a chaplain in the Confederate army. 
 He preached faithfully to the soldiers and looked after the 
 sick and wounded. When the war closed, he, with Gen. C. A. 
 Evans and a young man from the ranks. Brother Ellis, was 
 admitted to the North Georgia Conference. I was one of the 
 committee that approved their examinations. Brother Hughes 
 was well qualified and served good circuits and stations and 
 was at one time a presiding elder. He was always well re- 
 ceived and was successful. He was at one time pastor at New- 
 nan. When he superannuated, he came to Blairsville to live. 
 We were greatly endeared to each other, often going back to 
 old memories. He lingered for a while in his last illness. 
 When the end was near, he called his family in around his bed 
 and pronounced on them his last blessing, dying without a fear, 
 but with the sweet hope of heaven. I was asked to conduct 
 the funeral and did so, the other pastors of the city taking 
 part. His remains rest in the cemetery here. I prepared an 
 obituary for the IVesleyan Advocate, which was adopted as 
 
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MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 a memoir by the committee on memorials. His family is still 
 in Newnan, highly esteemed and loved by all. In the church, 
 to the right of the pulpit, is a beautiful memorial window 
 perpetuating the esteem and love in which he is held. 
 
 I am indebted to the Rev. Thomas C. Hughes, a useful and 
 -beloved local preacher at Blairsville, for my information. His 
 fellow citizens have sent him to the Georgia Legislature. He 
 has held places of honor. I held him in my arms many 
 times in 1846. I thank him and greatly appreciate the service 
 he has rendered me. 
 
 103 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 SUMMERVILLE, MARIETTA, AND InDIAN GeNEROSITY, 1 847-48 
 
 /'^HATTOOGA is in many respects one of the best coun- 
 ties in the State. Its soil is rich, lying mostly in beautiful 
 valleys. Its original forest was magnificent in oak, hickory, 
 pine, poplar, and other tall trees. In intelligence and high 
 social position, its citizens equal any in the State. It has 
 more fine country schools than any county I have ever 
 found. Take an instance from the north line of the county. 
 From the Browntown Valley to Alpine, on ihe Alabama line, 
 it is twenty miles. There were four fine schools, all with 
 good teachers and well attended. The people took great in- 
 terest in their children. They also had good Sunday schools 
 that did not freeze out in winter, but were warm and comfort- 
 able the coldest days that came. One Sunday school was con- 
 ducted in the evening, the most successful evening school I 
 ever attended. 
 
 The land was in lots of one hundred and sixty acres. The 
 owners held the deeds to their homes. There were no monop- 
 olies in land. Of course some men owned more than others. 
 The property was well divided. Many people owned negroes, 
 but a majority of the work was done by industrious white 
 people. The soil yielded forty bushels of corn and twenty 
 bushels of wheat to the acre. Large cribs were full of corn, 
 and barns were full of provender for the stock. They had 
 very fine stock — horses, cows, sheep, and hogs^ — and flocks of 
 geese and ducks which yielded feathers for comfortable beds. 
 There were apples, peaches, and other fruits in abundance. 
 
 The three denominations^ — Methodist, Baptist, and Presby- 
 
 104 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 terian — were about equally divided. The moral standard of 
 the country was high. I mention one man, the Rev. Irvin 
 Atkinson. When yoimg he was a member of the North Car- 
 olina Conference and was stationed at Raleigh. His mind 
 was of no ordinary cast, and it was well cultivated. In my 
 third year of Conference study he was a great help to me. He 
 could answer all my questions so I could understand them. 
 He was a man of great influence for good. He was lovable in 
 every respect. His feeble health and frail constitution limited 
 his labors and brought death sooner. 
 
 Summerville was a very small town then. The parsonage 
 was at Teloga Springs, one of the finest communities in the 
 county. The reception we received was warm, and the people 
 remained cordial to the last. With my wife's intuitive judg- 
 ment and single aim to learn the duties of a preacher's wife, she 
 had an opportunity which she greatly improved. As every- 
 where else, she won the affections of the people. The parson- 
 age was visited almost daily by the good women. They fed us 
 on the fat of the land. There she found some women of great 
 experience and learned from them how to manage a home. 
 She saw the country in its beauty, in its greatness and noble- 
 ness of people, as she had never seen it before. It was an op- 
 portunity which fitted her for the years before us. It was 
 the nearest charge to my old home I ever served, only about 
 thirty-five miles, and one of the most pleasant. 
 
 I must mention Brother A. B. Neal and his family. They 
 became very dear to me. The family consisted of noble boys, 
 some of whom I received into the Church. Two of his grand- 
 sons are now members of some of the Western Conferences. 
 His only living son is Robert P. Neal, of Dalton, Georgia, a 
 useful local preacher. Brother Neal died about six years after 
 
 105 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 I left there. His was one of the saddest deaths to me. From 
 my heart I wrote the family a note of condolence. It was 
 preserved in the family Bible. Only a few years ago, when 
 R. P. Neal was visiting a brother or sister, the letter was read 
 by them. 
 
 I might add the name of William Penn, who was a leading 
 Methodist and controlled more money, perhaps, than any man 
 in the county. He had that year a fine peach orchard full of 
 fruit. The brandy makers tried to buy it, setting a price upon 
 each tree. Thomas Wimms, worth not half the property, was 
 a close friend. They talked the matter over and decided that 
 it was against the rules of their Church to make brandy. 
 Brother Penn had a great number of hogs and large cribs of 
 corn. He turned his hogs into the peach orchard, and they 
 became fat. He sold his corn for a good price and said that 
 he had a clear conscience and had made money. 
 
 The place was one mile west of the river, a few miles above 
 the old Warsaw Ferry, on the Chattahoochee, owned by Evan 
 Howell. I crossed there in 1838 on my way from Murray 
 County to Augusta. Considerably over a hundred years ago 
 a young Englishman married an Indian girl. He cultivated 
 the rich river bottoms and became a man of wealth. In the 
 early twenties a young Methodist preacher, afterwards the 
 good and great William J. Parks, conducted a wonderful 
 revival of religion in the western part of Gwinnett County. I 
 cannot give the locality ; but when John Rogers told me of the 
 great meeting he said it was twelve miles, and I went every 
 Sunday morning to class meeting. It was no more trouble 
 than to take my basket of corn and go twO' hundred yards 
 and feed my hogs. Surely "duty did not seem a load, nor 
 worship a task." Brother Rogers and his whole family be- 
 
 106 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 came members of the Methodist Church. The west side of 
 the river was then all Indian territory. Brother Rogers de- 
 termined to give his children all the educational advantages 
 possible. He sent his daughters to the far-famed school at 
 Salem, North Carolina. The governors of the State and many 
 of the leading people sent their daughters to the same school. 
 His son, William, married one of the teachers of the school 
 and brought her to Georgia. 
 
 Contemporary with the Rogers family, there lived a man 
 widely known on the banks of the Etowah River, Lewis 
 Blackburn, who kept a public house and entertained thousands 
 of people, stock drovers and others. When President Monroe 
 made his tour through the South, he spent a night there. He 
 and his traveling companions traveled in the State coach. 
 There was another coach that carried their baggage. After 
 supper one of the drovers came out picking his teeth, saying: 
 "I wish that peddler would open his trimks. I might want to 
 buy something." If the President was traveling incognito, 
 Mr. Blackburn knew who he was. Mrs. Blackburn had some 
 Indian blood in her, though their daughters were fair, beau- 
 tiful women. Two of the Blackburn sisters married two of 
 the Rogers brothers. So these, with other good women, were 
 the principal members of old Mount Zion Church. Almost 
 every family was directly or indirectly connected with the 
 Indians. 
 
 After Marietta was made a station there was no home for 
 the preacher on the circuit, and it was a very difificult problem 
 to solve. This generous-hearted and noble membership said: 
 "We will take the preacher, furnish him a home, and feed his 
 family." It was my wife's motto not to become too friendly 
 upon short acquaintance, but for one time the wary bird 
 
 107 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 was caught in the Indians' trap. These good women came to 
 her at once without any ceremony. "We are not going to lose 
 any time getting acquainted; we are going to take charge of 
 you and are going to take care of you," they said. She saw 
 at once that they were sensible and sincere and entered at once 
 into the unceremonious introduction. To the little one-room, 
 split-log cabin they added a frame addition with glass win- 
 dows and a brick chimney. They also put articles of comfort 
 inside. This is where they kept their captive. They furnished 
 us with all needed provisions and everything to make us com- 
 fortable. They soon found out that my work called me from 
 home sometimes two weeks at a time. As soon as I was gone 
 a carriage came to take my wife to some of their homes, and 
 they were glad to have her visit from one home to another. 
 When it was necessary for her to be at home while I was gone, 
 she had company to stay with her day and night. This was 
 a group of very intelligent women. They read much good, 
 solid literature, including the Church's periodicals. The Old 
 Home Circle was a great favorite with them. 
 
 The Marietta Circuit extended over considerable territory, 
 commencing at Smyrna, six miles below Marietta, and ex- 
 tending to Canton and Reinhardt (Lewis Reinhardt lived 
 there then ) . It extended back to the Chattahoochee. We had 
 about twenty appointments, filled every two weeks. There 
 were four camp grounds: Smyrna, Warsaw, Hickory Flat, 
 and Marietta. There were sixty-nine tents built and rebuilt 
 at the Marietta Camp Ground, and they re-covered the arbor. 
 This work was done by the people themselves as they could 
 spare the time from their farms, and many ejaculatory prayers 
 went up while they were at work. The camp meeting was one 
 
 io8 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 of the most gracious I ever attended. I think there were fully 
 one hundred souls soundly converted. 
 
 I was in charge of the circuit; but as I was not an elder, 
 Rev. Davis Lowry, a local elder good and acceptable in every 
 way, was the supply on the circuit with me. My part was 
 a very responsible and difficult one. There were old Church 
 feuds to settle and many troubles to prevent, besides other 
 cares that came upon a preacher in charge. You ask me what 
 this has to do with a tribute to my wife. I answer: It has 
 much to do. She accepted the situation, never murmuring, 
 making herself very agreeable. So I never spent a moment 
 thinking of how we would be fed or how she would be taken 
 care of. What many a woman might have made troublesome 
 she made pleasant. 
 
 William Rogers was a superior man. Before the removal 
 of the Indians, the government offered to pay them for every 
 fence rail and every improvement, and all who accepted moved 
 peaceably to the West. The money paid to them by the gov- 
 ernment amounted to thousands of dollars. William Rogers 
 was one of the agents selected by the Indians to represent them 
 at Washington City. After a day's transaction with the offi- 
 cers at Washington, he went to his room, locked his door, 
 looked over what had been done, and saw that he had four 
 hundred dollars too much. Though the door was locked, the 
 "old boy" was there and told him that nobody would know it. 
 His reply was: "William Rogers knows it." The next day he 
 went back, and the officers of the treasury corrected the mis- 
 take. If it had been thousands of dollars, it would have been 
 the same with William Rogers. 
 
 I say there is not one drop of ignoble blood in a Cherokee 
 Indian's veins; no, not one. All things being equal, he is 
 
 109 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 capable in his intellectual and moral faculties of the highest 
 development. I am not sure, but I believe the Rogers family 
 are Scotch instead of English. In the last century a great 
 many Scotch came to this country and mixed with the Indians. 
 Their greatest chief, John Ross, who troubled the United 
 States so long, had three-fourths Scotch blood and one-fourth 
 Indian. If he had been a blonde, it would never have been 
 noticed; but he was swarthy and had the sedate countenance 
 of an Indian. 
 
 no 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 Clarksville Circuit, 1849 — Conversion of My Father 
 
 /^^ LARKS VILLE was the county seat of Habersham Coun- 
 ^^ ty. The county contains quite a number of creeks, rich 
 valleys of land. Mount Yonah, a noted mountain not connected 
 with any range, the noted waterfalls Toccoa (the Cherokee 
 word for "beautiful"), the great Tallulah Falls (meaning 
 "terrible"), and Nacoochee Valley, one of the most beautiful 
 valleys to be found. 
 
 The Methodist Church was strong. Mossy Creek was 
 thickly settled by intelligent people^ — the Askews, Dorseys, 
 Pitchfords, and others. The Mossy Creek Camp Ground was 
 well attended, and here the presiding elder baptized twenty- 
 seven children. Our membership at Clarksville was not large, 
 and many of our people were poor. Mr. Reuben Nash, six 
 feet six inches tall, was not a member, but was one of the 
 best friends of the Church. He met me and very cordially 
 said: "All of your people are not prepared to take care of 
 your horse; but there is always a stall ready for him in my 
 stable, and you are welcome to come to my stable without an 
 invitation at any time." He was a good adviser at all times. 
 We needed a superintendent at our Sunday school. A medi- 
 cal student boarded with Mr. Nash, and he suggested that he 
 would make a good one, and he did. At the end of the year, 
 when the student went to Augusta to attend lectures, I gave 
 him a letter to the pastor, who introduced him at once to the 
 members, and he was very kindly treated there. He was quite 
 a success as a doctor and became a valuable local preacher at 
 
 III 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Dahlonega. He has gone to his reward, and his name, Dr. 
 Howard, is kindly remembered by many people in that section. 
 
 Nacoochee was by far the leading Church of the charge. 
 There were many prominent families there — the Williamses, 
 two families of Richardsons, not related, the Browns, and the 
 Trammels. Major Williams and his four sons were all re- 
 fined and intelligent. John L. Richardson was the son of an 
 old patriarch, Jesse Richardson. The noted Duke's Creek 
 Gold Mine was his property. Sometimes after a day's wash- 
 ing out a plateful of the precious metal was placed on the 
 table to be looked at. J. M. and W. C. Richardson were 
 brothers, both good local preachers and strong supporters of 
 the Church. The Rev. A. Littlejohn's wife was a daughter 
 of the old patriarch. When there was a deficit in the last 
 Quarterly Conference, J. L. Richardson footed the bill, what- 
 ever it was. As soon as the people heard of it each one paid 
 his part at once, and so it was with every item of Church 
 expense. The church building was one of the first framed 
 with glass windows. All were in sympathy with the pastor 
 and his family. The parsonage was there. Men's shirt bos- 
 oms and collars were made at home, and often there was a 
 misfit. Rachel did her part, which was appreciated. She 
 gave them a perfect pattern. 
 
 The Quillian family was a very numerous one in the coun- 
 ty. I have been in touch with six generations of them, from 
 the oldest grandsire down tO' one of the yoimgest babes. 
 There were three brothers contemporary with my father: 
 Clement, a man of fine intelligence, rather tall and slender, 
 with a swarthy complexion; James, not so slender, about five 
 feet ten inches, of fine intellect, well balanced, a local preach- 
 er ; and Daniel, a stout blonde with red hair. From Clement 
 
 112 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 and James the multitude of Ouillians came, and of them there 
 have been more preachers, teachers, lawyers, doctors, mer- 
 chants, and statesmen than of almost any other family. Many 
 of them were well-to-do in the world and were liberal sup- 
 porters of the Church. I have never known one abjectly poor 
 or mean. In many communities I have found more Smiths, 
 sometimes two to a name, but the Quillians outnumbered the 
 Smiths up there. 
 
 A closing word about the Chattahoochee. It heads but a 
 few miles above Nacoochee Valley, where one can almost step 
 across it. It takes its name from a peculiar rock. Take one, 
 say, twelve inches long, at each end four inches white, the 
 middle four inches black. It is a smooth rock, but I do not 
 know the constituents of it. Many of them are small, w^th 
 white and black streaks. This rock gives the name to the 
 Chattahoochee, meaning "streaked rock." 
 
 The spring of 1849 "was especially memorable. On the fif- 
 teenth day of April there was a heavy snow, extending to Flor- 
 ida. A heavy frost followed for several days, and all vegeta- 
 tion was killed. The forest looked as if it were draped in 
 mourning. 
 
 My father always stood for Churches and every other good 
 thing, but never in any way committed himself as a member 
 of the Church. This continued till he began to grow old. 
 Mother and all the children had become professors of religion 
 and members of the Church, and they prayed for him daily. 
 It was my fifth year in the Conference, and Clarksville was 
 my charge. There was a great temperance meeting to be held 
 in Marietta. The late Dr. William H. Felton was the elo- 
 quent orator. Chief Justice Joseph H. Lumpkin was one of 
 8 113 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 the principal speakers. Dr. G. G. Smith spoke to the children, 
 who were arrayed in white. It was a great day for temper- 
 ance. 
 
 The trains had been running through the tunnel to Dalton 
 a few weeks before. I left my horse and went up to see the 
 home folks. The object of my visit was to make one more 
 appeal to my dear father. Heretofore, while he always treat- 
 ed me with respect, he dropped the subject where I could 
 not take it up. It was a mild day in July. Dinner had to be 
 early, that I might get to the train. When I arose to leave, I 
 threw my arms around my father's neck and made my appeal. 
 He said: "O my son, I have resolved many a time and failed, 
 but now I make my final resolution and beg you and your 
 mother and sisters to pray for me." We all knelt down and 
 prayed fervently. My sister said: "My dear brother, when 
 you leave it nearly breaks my heart. It will be so long be- 
 fore you come back again. But now I say good-by gladly. 
 Your visit has been so much blessed." 
 
 My father kept his vow, but it was nearly three years be- 
 fore he was converted. At a gracious meeting held in Union 
 Hill, where the Presbyterians and Methodists worshiped to- 
 gether, my father was a constant mourner, and the good men 
 and women took a deep interest in the gray-haired penitent. 
 There he was greatly blessed and told to all his peace and 
 joy. He united with the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 During his last nineteen years father was one of the most 
 patient, lamblike men and was grateful for the least kindness. 
 He seemed to have forgotten all the bright days of prosperity, 
 all the dark days of adversity, and all the stormy scenes of 
 politics. He received kindness from his children and grand- 
 children and appreciated it all. 
 
 114 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Father and mother died at the home of my brother, J. C. K. 
 Cotter, in different rooms, on September 9, 1871, she dying 
 at five o'clock and he at seven. They rest in the same grave 
 at Stone Church. There may they rest in peace "till He shall 
 bid them rise" ! 
 
 115 
 
o 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Canton anp Gainesville Circuits, 1850-51 
 
 UR first Conference held west of the Chattahoochee was 
 at Marietta, on January 9, 1850. Bishop Andrew pre- 
 sided. Many people attended, it being the first. Bishop 
 Joseph S. Key closed his first year there and I my fifth. So 
 far as I know, he and I are the only men living that were 
 present at that Conference. J. M. Dickey, the father of Dr. 
 J. E. Dickey, was then admitted on trial. When the appoint- 
 ments were read, Jesse Boring was named as superintendent 
 of the California Mission and A. M. Winn as missionary to 
 California. I was appointed to Canton. It was the first time 
 my name had appeared in the appointments. Before it had 
 been on the Marietta Circuit, and I had served it in 1848. 
 
 While coming up the banks of the Etowah we view a beau- 
 tiful level spot, "nowhere surpassed in situation for a city and 
 at that time the home of a fine class of people. Joseph E. 
 Brown was a young lawyer who attained to great distinction. 
 He was the noted War Governor of Georgia, was on the Su- 
 preme Bench, and was a United States Senator. Other names 
 to be mentioned are: The Fieldses, Donaldsons, Gaits, and Gen. 
 Daniel Bird. Three of the Bird brothers were in the Georgia 
 Legislature at the same time. Others are: James Jordan, W. 
 P. Hammond, and R. J. Cowart, called in that day "Bob" 
 Cowart. He had been a member of the Conference, located, 
 practiced law, and went into politics and never got out. Po- 
 litical excitement was very high in 1850. The party that had 
 been at the top before went to the bottom that year. We were 
 building a good brick church. Twelve or fifteen hundred 
 
 116 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 dollars was needed, and twelve or fifteen men were called on 
 to subscribe one hundred dollars each tO' finish it. When 
 Cowart was asked if he would give, he was told that if he 
 would another man would follow his example. When in 
 earnest he had a musical twang in his speech. He said : "Cot- 
 ter, you had as well butt your head against a brick wall as 
 to get that man to give a hundred dollars." The party gave 
 it at once. Cowart was a very eloquent speaker and charmed 
 the people with sermons or political speeches. 
 
 They had fine schools in Canton. Dr. Dubose was in 
 charge of the female school. Cherokee County contains some 
 very fine farming lands. One portion is known as Hickory 
 Flat, another Little River Land. There are other portions 
 of the county just as good. These lands were owned by a 
 fine class of people — McCornells, Gunbys, Evanses, Parks, 
 Paynes, Freemans, and Bells. Best of all, we had many good 
 people in our Church. They had asked to be made a charge 
 and doubled the amount they had paid to the Church. They 
 paid that year about what the old Marietta Circuit had paid. 
 
 The Lord blessed us with many good revivals, one at Can- 
 ton and a great one at Little River Church. The latter started 
 in May and continued till the end of the year. About sixty, 
 from ten to twenty years of age, were converted. Largus 
 Bell, one of the converts, joined the Alabama Conference and 
 was at one time presiding elder. M. G. Hamby, a very modest 
 boy, became a useful member of the Georgia Conference. His 
 son, W. T. Hamby, at the time I write, is a station preacher at 
 Carrollton. At the close of the year the pastor and his wife 
 were complimented with new suits out and out. The new 
 brick church, having had a marble front added, stands to this 
 day. A parsonage had been bought. 
 
 117 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Charles Christian was a noted man six feet tall and weigh- 
 ing two hundred pounds. He was born in the penitentiary of 
 Georgia. His father was the principal keeper. Charles pos- 
 sessed the strength and courage of a lion and had considerable 
 temper. When a mob disturbed the peace at a camp meeting 
 or anywhere else and the officer feared to meet the leader, 
 Charles walked right up to him and laid his hands on him. 
 The grace of God made him one of the most lamblike Chris- 
 tians. I was his pastor for three years. This resulted from 
 the changes in the charges. A pastor never had a member 
 more helpful than he was. A few years after I left that work 
 he died, and I went fifty miles to preach his funeral. 
 
 In the many charges where my lot has been cast, none is 
 cherished with more loving remembrance than Canton. 
 
 Our next move was to Gainesville Circuit, in 1851. "Mc- 
 Gregor was on his native heath." My father had selected and 
 named the place. Nineteen years before, in my ninth year, I 
 had left the county. A cordial reception was given us by 
 many of the old citizens. According to the number of mem- 
 bers of the Church, nowhere else were there so many good 
 women to be found. A long list would be required to give all 
 the names, but here are a few: Mesdames Banks, Rivers, 
 Good, Thompson, McAfee, Lovick P. Thomas, Peoples, and 
 Graham. 
 
 Our membership contained some leading men, including 
 Brother Johnson, a lawyer, and Brother Graham, who was my 
 first school-teacher. The most distinguished man was Dr. 
 Richard Banks, a graduate of the university and of a medical 
 school. He was the most widely known man in that part of 
 the State, and sometimes he rode a hundred miles to perform 
 an operation. He came all the way to Murray County to 
 
 118 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 remove a tumor from a lady's breast. My mother was pres- 
 ent. His temperament was of a marvelous combination. He 
 performed an operation with a perfectly steady hand, yet he 
 was tender and emotional. One morning, before anv of the 
 family had gotten up, one of the servants had made a fire. A 
 little daughter three years of age jumped out of her bed and 
 ran to the fire. Standing in front of it, her nightgown caught 
 fire, and she was burned to death. At different times he tried 
 to relate the circumstance to me; but always the words were 
 choked, and he never finished. He was a class leader; and 
 if any of the young members violated the rules of the Church 
 and he had to report them, the report was prefaced with some 
 palliating excuse — maybe the young man had been surrounded 
 by unfavorable circumstances, etc. It would not be saying too 
 much to state that Dr. Banks was an oculist fifty years in 
 advance of his profession. He not only discovered many 
 troubles of the eye, but he invented delicate instruments by 
 which they could be removed. Dr. Westmoreland, a lead- 
 ing surgeon in Atlanta, told me that years ago, when he was 
 a young man, he rode fifty miles and stayed a week or more 
 to receive instructions from Dr. Banks. Banks County is 
 named in honor of Dr. Banks. 
 
 Dr. Banks was a devout worker in the Church. We had a 
 gracious meeting in Gainesville. He was at the altar much of 
 the time encouraging the penitents. At one time Brother 
 Graham was richly blessed. He sat on the floor thanking the 
 Lord for the blessing. The Inferior Court met then about 
 once every six months and continued about a week. The in- 
 fluence of the meeting closed the court on Wednesday, and 
 the sheriff was received into the Church. One of the con- 
 
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MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 verts, then about fourteen years old, was Dr. J. R. Graham, 
 now of Dalton. 
 
 It may be said that we had a good year all the way round. 
 At its close my family went to stay at my father's while I 
 went to Conference. A most fatal fire destroyed three 
 squares of the town and the courthouse. Our books, bedding, 
 and all we had went up in flames. I received notice of it 
 while at Conference and sent it to my wife. Our little boy 
 said: "And the trundle-bed is gone!" 
 
 Twenty-six years afterwards the first Conference was held 
 at Gainesville, and I was the guest of Sister Banks. The Doc- 
 tor had been dead a number of years, and she was quite an 
 old lady. Fifty-seven years after my pastorate I took part 
 in the memorial service, the last held in the old church, and 
 also in the opening of the splendid new church. The Confer- 
 ence was held that year in Gainesville. Bishop Hoss asked 
 me to take the chair and preside over the Conference for a 
 little while. This would not be mentioned but that it was at 
 Gainesville. When I was eighty-six years old, I dedicated a 
 nice church at Gillsville, in sight of where I was born. While 
 there the thought came tO' me that that was the ground my 
 feet first trod upon. That was my last visit to dear old Hall 
 County. 
 
 Rev, Jackson P. Turner was born in Gwinnett County in 
 1823. At eighteen years of age he started learning the car- 
 penter's trade at Roswell Factory, in Cobb Coimty, when the 
 first buildings were erected. The workmen lodged together, 
 and after supper they spent their hours together telling yams. 
 Turner's worst habit was profanity, but a deep conviction fas- 
 tened on his conscience. One of the young men, a devout 
 Christian, gave him the "Life of Carvosso," which led him 
 
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MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 to trust in Christ. His conversion was clear and satisfactory, 
 and his call to preach soon afterwards was also clear. Mr. 
 Ball released him from his apprenticeship ; and he made good 
 use of the year, beginning with the schoolbooks. This was 
 in 1 84 1. He was admitted to the Conference at the end of 
 the year. His first appointment was as junior preacher on 
 the Dahlonega Circuit in 1842, the same on the McDonough 
 Circuit in 1843, junior in Augusta in 1844, in charge at Da- 
 rien in 1845, stationed at Marietta in 1846, in charge of Mon- 
 ticello Circuit in 1847, stationed at Milledgeville in 1848, and 
 presiding elder on the Gainesville District in 1849, where he 
 continued for four years. In 1853 he was stationed in Au- 
 gusta. In 1854 he was presiding elder on the Columbus Dis- 
 trict, where he started off with good prospects for the year. 
 He lived at Talbotton. In July the fatal fever came. He 
 lingered for about four weeks. Clear in his mind, with his 
 last message to his brethren he told Brother Hinton to tell 
 them that he had labored with them in love for twelve years 
 and was leaving them with a sweet hope of heaven. He 
 married Miss Jane Fayette, of Clarkesville, in 1850 and left 
 her with two little boys. His mind was one of the best. He 
 became a good Latin and Greek scholar, with a smattering of 
 the Hebrew language. He was well up in history and the 
 poets. He was a very able preacher and presiding officer. 
 He was of medium size, had a fine face and voice and beautiful 
 blue eyes. He was my presiding elder for three years. We 
 were close friends, and I feel it an obligation to say what I 
 have here said. 
 
 121 
 
PART THREE 
 
 PASTORAL SERVICE (CONTINUED) AND WAR 
 
 TIMES 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 Watkinsville and Carnesville Circuits, 1852-54 
 
 npHE next charge was the Watkinsville Circuit. This was 
 a large circuit, embracing Clarke and Jackson Counties 
 and extending from Green County to Hall County. Much of 
 Clarke County was between the Oconee and Apalachee Rivers 
 and was very rich land. It had made many people rich — the 
 Branches, Swinneys, Thrashes, Williamsons, and others. 
 
 We were total strangers, spending the night with Brother 
 Johnson. Dinner over, we walked to the parsonage and found 
 it all ready, with good fires burning. With other things we 
 were glad to see, there was a trundle-bed for the children. It 
 was January 19, 1852, a cold day. The weather calendars have 
 since recorded but few spells as cold. Watkinsville was a 
 small town, but it was the place of the courthouse of Clarke 
 County. Athens, Salem, and Farmington were centers of fine 
 schools. The people, many of them, were well off, intelligent, 
 and hospitable, and many of them the best Christians I have 
 found anywhere. These were the palmiest days of our dear 
 old South. Great freedom existed between the town and the 
 country people. Athens was a classic city — not a large com- 
 mercial town, but no one was known by his title. Howell 
 Cobb had been one of the President's Cabinet and Governor 
 of the State, but everybody called him Howell Cobb. Judge 
 Dougherty, of the Superior Court, was called Charles. And 
 so it was at Watkinsville. Bishop Haygood's father, a lawyer, 
 was called Green. Judge Jackson was called Meeks. Dr. 
 Durham was called Milledge. And so it went around — Calvin 
 Johnson and Isaac Vinson. Even the ladies were called by 
 
 125 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 their given names. The Bishop's mother was called Martha. 
 Mrs. Johnson was called Matilda. It was customary in those 
 days to call the preacher's wife "Aunt" or "Sister," but they 
 said they were going to call Rachel "Rachel" ; so everybody 
 called her "Rachel," just as if she had lived there all the 
 time. Really, if it was not an honorary degree, it meant 
 marked respect. 
 
 Quite a revival spirit was developing in the first of the 
 year, and Rachel entered heartily into it. During our second 
 year Mrs. Gouedy paid us a visit. Her noble heart was moved 
 when she met the lone girl. Really their meeting moved all 
 who witnessed it to tears. A mother could scarcely have 
 appreciated all the surroundings more — the high esteem in 
 which Rachel was held, the comfortable parsonage — yes, all 
 the surroundings. Mrs. Gouedy was no dyspeptic and en- 
 joyed well-prepared meats and vegetables for the table and a 
 dessert to follow. She said: "Rachel, you didn't know much 
 about cooking when you were with me. How about all these 
 good things to eat?" The answer was: "I would have been 
 a very dull learner if I had not learned something by this time." 
 And she had learned how to prepare the best things for the 
 table. Whether prepared by herself or her cook, she saw 
 everything before it reached the table. For herself, she was 
 very fond of variety. Her good friend's visit was very much 
 appreciated. 
 
 Ten years afterwards, going to Conference at Athens, I 
 spent the night with Brother Johnson. Sister Johnson said: 
 "We have had good preachers and good preachers' wives 
 since you left us, but none have attained to Rachel's stand- 
 ard. The best thing we can say to them is that they do like 
 Rachel. She took good care of things in the parsonage and 
 
 126 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 always kept it in such good order. She was cheerful when 
 you were gone on your long stays from home and gave strict 
 attention to everything that would help you in your work." 
 Surely she deserved the highest tribute of praise, and it made 
 my heart glad to hear it. 
 
 John Calvin Johnson was a great and good character. He 
 was bom in North Carolina and was educated in a fine clas- 
 sic school. Of the thirteen in his class, eleven were bright 
 boys. Two were plodders and were the only ones that at- 
 tained to high distinction — one a judge of the Superior Court 
 and the other the Governor of the State. Had Calvin so 
 aimed, he was capable of filling any place. He was clerk of 
 the Superior Court nearly forty years, was one of the best 
 stewards in the Church, and was a local preacher acceptable 
 at any time to the Church in Athens. Much of his preaching 
 was done for the negroes. A widow whose neighbor was giv- 
 ing her trouble about her land lines asked Brother Johnson 
 what lawyer she should employ. He said: "Don't get a law- 
 yer. I know all the papers ; and if you lose, I'll pay the cost." 
 Soon afterwards she won her case in court and wanted to 
 pay Brother Johnson something for his advice. He said: "I 
 am amply paid to think that that mean man who troubled a 
 widow lost his case." She said: "But I must make you a pres- 
 ent. Let the tailor take your measure and make you a suit of 
 clothes out of the finest cloth." 
 
 On a Christmas morning a negro called at the gate to see 
 "Mars' Calvin," and when he went out he saw a negro with 
 a bread tray. The negro said: "Uncle Jim made this bread 
 tray, and it's a nice one. Mars' Calvin, you've been so good 
 to preach to us negroes, and we want you to continue to 
 preach for us." Calvin thanked him and said he would try 
 
 127 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 to do so. He said he made a suit of clothes by pleading 
 law and a bread tray by preaching. Dear Brother Johnson 
 was a great and genial soul; and Matilda, his wife, was one 
 of the most consecrated Christians. Long since they have 
 gone to their reward. 
 
 A gracious revival spread over the whole work, and more 
 than five hundred members were received into the Church. 
 At old Dry Pond Camp Meeting eight hundred dollars was 
 received for missions. The whole amount raised that year 
 was nine hundred and sixty dollars. Rev. J. H. Grogan, a 
 young man of fine promise, rendered great assistance to the 
 work that year. 
 
 I was returned to the same work the next year. The rule 
 then was to receive members into full fellowship after six 
 months' probation. Those who had joined were received that 
 year, almost every one of them. 
 
 My colleague the second year was J. R. Little John, then in 
 his fourth year in the Conference. He was a good preacher 
 and was well received by the people. He was placed in charge 
 of that work the next year. 
 
 Brother Grogan was a man of fine judgment and attained 
 good standing in the Conference, and so did Brother Little- 
 john. At the time of this writing his son, Littlejohn, is judge 
 of the Superior Court at Sumter, Georgia. 
 
 In 1854 Carnesville, Franklin County, was my work. The 
 county seat was a small town. A very large stronghold 
 of Methodism was Bold Spring. It was the home of one 
 of our great leaders of the Conference, William J. Parks. 
 Wesley Mayfield, a large planter, held his membership there. 
 Rev. Jackson Oliver, a local preacher, the Shannons, Squire 
 Gunnells, and other good families were there. To have the 
 
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MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 pastor in their midst, they made a very unfortunate selection 
 for their parsonage. It was a new building, fairly well fur- 
 nished, but at the edge of an old field, with a deep forest on 
 the other side and no human habitation in sight. My heart 
 sank when I saw it. But few women would have met it as 
 bravely as Rachel did. That year one of our children died, 
 and another was bom. The people were as kind as they 
 could be. We had a fairly good year. 
 
 My colleague was Rev. I. G. Worley, a good young man, 
 but possessed of some eccentricities. For the only time, a 
 request was made for removal. 
 
 9 129 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 Warrenton and a Visit Home, 1855-56 
 
 npHE next charge, in 1855, was Warrenton, about fifty miles 
 north of Augusta. The county has its own marked indi- 
 viduality in many respects. The soil generally is good, and 
 the property is more equally divided than is found elsewhere. 
 Few were very rich and few very poor. The people were 
 prompt in paying their debts. Methodism had a pretty good 
 following there. Thomson, then a good town, forty miles 
 above Augusta, was one of the appointments. The old log 
 house of v/orship was just a little out of town. That year they 
 erected a very good frame building in town. A teacher noted 
 for handling bad boys had a school of perhaps a hundred. It 
 was known as Greenway Institute. When the new church 
 was opened, the teacher and his boys attended for two nights, 
 and the boys behaved well. Later a number of boys attended 
 without the teacher and behaved badly. The next night they 
 came and behaved no better. It was against my rule to 
 reprove in the church, but forbearance was no longer a vir- 
 tue. Striving not to show anger in voice or word, a reproof 
 was given. There was no more unbecoming behavior in the 
 church. Taking meals at the different boarding houses, I 
 was surprised at the courteous treatment given by the boys. 
 That was not explained to me for five or six years. One of 
 the students at that time afterwards graduated at Emory 
 College and entered the Conference, of which I was very 
 glad. He failed in no point to be one of the most attractive 
 men. I greeted his coming. He said to me: "You gave me 
 the most severe reproof I ever received in my life." I replied: 
 "No, I never saw anything in you to reprove." He an- 
 
 130 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 swered: "When a man looks at me and shoots his words at 
 me like bullets, I imderstand what he means." I said: "I give 
 it up." Then he said: "Do you remember reproving some 
 boys at Greenway Institute?" My answer was: "I remember 
 it very well. It was a most unpleasant duty." He told me 
 that after dark the boys held an indignation meeting. One 
 suggested that they take off the preacher's buggy wheel and 
 put it in the pond, and another said that they should meet him 
 in the dark and "cuss him out." At last one said: "Boys, 
 every word he said was the truth, and he showed no irrita- 
 bility. I suggest that we be Mr. Cotter's friends." "Agreed," 
 said the others. That accounted for their politeness at the 
 table where I visited. Dr. Hopkins was the one who told me 
 this, and I think he was the boy who had made the proposi- 
 tion. He became a professor and President of Emory Col- 
 lege, was the founder of the Technological School in Atlanta, 
 and was one of the most attractive preachers in Georgia. All 
 in all, he was a most lovable character. 
 
 Warrenton had a fine dry goods trade, drawing customers 
 from all aroimd. There were quite a nmnber of lawyers lo- 
 cated there. Judges Gibson and E. H. Pottle both presided in 
 the Superior Court for a number of years. Dr. R. W. Hubert 
 was one of the leading physicians. He was well posted on 
 medical jurisprudence, never letting a lawyer tangle him. He 
 and Rev. Amos Johnson were local preachers and leaders in 
 all Church matters. Brother Johnson was large and had a 
 coarse voice, but he had good judgment and a good heart. 
 Johnson's relatives composed his Church, one of the largest 
 memberships in the circuit. They often had difficulties to 
 settle, and Amos came down and settled them. We needed a 
 junior preacher. The matter was submitted to Amos. His 
 
 131 - 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 answer was: "I'll see Dr. Hubert." When it was mentioned 
 to Dr. Hubert, his answer was: "I'll see Amos Johnson." If 
 they agreed, the matter went; and if not, the matter did not 
 go. We had two fairly good years there. 
 
 I had been asked the second year to speak on the Fourth 
 of July. When the day came I was in bed with a fever, and 
 was not out till the first of August. About the first of Sep- 
 tember my wife took the fever and was seriously ill. At one 
 time for four days all chances for recovery seemed gone. 
 Then Dr. Hubert said: "Sister Cotter is going to get well." 
 Soon we were both sound and well again. 
 
 Let something be said here about the negroes. We had 
 three or four colored preachers, all good men. Clack was 
 above the ordinary in natural gifts and was in great favor 
 with the whites. At three o'clock on Sunday they had the 
 house full and had good preaching and the loudest and best 
 singing. 
 
 I will tell how I was "sold out" at one time. At Newark, 
 New Jersey, there was a fine church to be dedicated, and one 
 of their foremost preachers came to see Bishop Pierce. He 
 came to my home to inquire about the way. At that time 
 there was much published in the papers about a noted im- 
 postor. Suspicion was that he might be the man. I went with 
 him to the livery stable, but told the keeper to charge nothing 
 to me. With a two-horse team he went the sixteen miles to 
 the Bishop's residence. As soon as he returned I asked the 
 driver about his arrival, and his answer was that they shook 
 hands and scraped and bowed. He said he left after that. 
 At the appointed time the Bishop went. President Franklin 
 Pierce learned of the Bishop's visit and invited him to call 
 and see him. Neither of these dignitaries of Church and State 
 
 132 
 
MY AUTOBI OGRAP H Y 
 
 had any taste for sham and show. The President was a de- 
 vout Christian, having family prayer morning and evening. 
 His name goes down in history as being the most eloquent 
 President we have ever had. The principal question before 
 them was to see if they were not distant cousins. The Bish- 
 op's sermon at the dedication was one of his happiest efforts, 
 and a great collection followed. There were several of us 
 who greatly enjoyed his report of it when he returned. 
 
 Fifty-two years afterwards I assisted in dedicating a new 
 church that was built where liquor had been sold when I was 
 there the first time. Amos Johnson and hundreds of others 
 were gone. Dr. Hubert was still alive, and we met like broth- 
 ers. Of course he is now gone. 
 
 Good-by, dear old Warrenton ! 
 
 Again and again mother told us to be honest, strictly hon- 
 est to the worth of a pin, and truthful in everything ; to avoid 
 evil associations and to associate with good people; told us 
 that everybody could not be wise or rich, but that everybody 
 could do right and tell the truth. I have heard her say many 
 times: "I would go to my grave with sorrow in my heart if 
 one of my children should do a disgraceful thing." She told 
 us to be kind and affectionate toward one another; that all 
 fusses were bad, but that a family fuss was the worst. She 
 said to us: "It won't be long till you are grown and separated 
 from one another." Her precious words were not lost upon 
 us. We grew up lovingly together. We have been widely 
 separated. Three, we trust, are in the home above, and three 
 others are striving to get there. 
 
 Leaving home is a sad day to all who properly consider it. 
 It was so to me. My plans were made to enter the old Georgia 
 Conference. The morning appointed to leave was a cold, 
 
 133 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 cloudy one in January, 1845. Mother was the last one to kiss 
 my cheek and press me to her bosom, and my heart responds 
 to that loving embrace to this day. 
 
 In the years that followed, my visits home were made an- 
 nually for a time ; but when my family became larger and my 
 appointments were a long way off, we sometimes made visits 
 once in two years, then it became four. In 1856 my visit was 
 planned for the first of July; but Providence willed it other- 
 wise, for when the time came I was in bed with fever. So 
 letters to the dear ones at home had to take the place of the 
 visit. 
 
 Waynesboro was my charge for 1857 and 1858. The pas- 
 tor and people were total strangers tO' each other, and I waited 
 till the fall of 1857 to make my visit home. Leaving Waynes- 
 boro via Augusta and Atlanta and on to Dalton, the schedules 
 were not reliable. I got off the train at Catoosa platform at 
 4 A.M. There was nothing there but the platform, the spring 
 being three miles away. With grip in hand, I started for a 
 two-mile walk. I opened Mr. Taylor's big gate and found 
 the path leading through the field and crossed Tiger Creek on 
 a foot log. In a short time my journey was at an end. The 
 chickens had done their loudest crowing and were nearly 
 ready to fly down from their roosts. By the gray light of the 
 morning I could distinguish different objects. Everything 
 was silent. The very depths of my heart were stirred. It 
 came upon me in a moment. It was there that I had the 
 biggest and sweetest cry for joy in my life. I realized that in 
 a moment I would see my precious mother again. The next 
 moment they were all up and crying for joy, and then I 
 laughed for joy. Those at home were mother and father and 
 two sisters. All were well. We felt sad to see father and 
 
 134 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 motlier growing old. We could see that the hand of Time had 
 numbered more gray hairs on their heads and more lines upon 
 their faces. Upon all these happy occasions each one did 
 what he could to make them pleasant. 
 
 Like all good mothers, mother thought of the best things 
 for us to eat. If the visit was in the summer, she would tell 
 me about her chickens, which were fat and fine. Then she 
 would want us to go to the spring house and see the hard 
 cakes of butter and the bowls of rich cream. Next she would 
 show us her honey in the comb. If the visit was made in the 
 winter, she had the finest turkey cooked the best and the rich- 
 est dressing and gravy. She would say: 'T have made some 
 of the best sausage you ever tasted." I have never eaten as 
 good corn light bread as she made. This time the great sen- 
 sation was her little black-and-white-spotted cow, long-bodied, 
 deep in the flanks, with short legs, which gave six gallons of 
 rich milk every day. I saw it with my own eyes. After a 
 day's rest I asked them what they were going to do for fire- 
 wood. It was late in October, and the frost had already 
 turned the leaves red. There was plenty of wood — oak, hick- 
 ory, and ash — near by. They said to me : "Don't worry about 
 that. You haven't been here long, and we want you to enjoy 
 your visit." I said : "Yes, it's been more than four years, and 
 I've come over three himdred miles to make this visit, and I 
 want to get all I can out of it. I've learned that what I don't 
 put much into I don't get much out of." So, with sharp axes 
 and hands and wagons, laying off my coat, I set to work. 
 In two days we had enough wood and lightwood to do for 
 the winter and the following summer. 
 
 The visits were never so far apart after that. I returned 
 home and found them all well. 
 
 135 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 Waynesboro and Sandersville, 1857-60 
 
 /^N the Waynesboro Circuit in 1857 and 1858 we found a 
 very pleasant home at Alexander, a nice little town with a 
 good school and churches. The parsonage was well located 
 and had attractive surroundings. Among other things, there 
 was a fine garden, with a nice patch of raspberries on frames. 
 Rachel said: 'T am going to learn something about the gar- 
 den. When you are gone, a hand comes and works it, and I 
 don't know whether it is right or wrong, and he doesn't." 
 
 Our nearest neighbor, Mrs. Oscar Shewmake, always known 
 as Susan Shewmake, said: "Sister Cotter, I find you want to 
 learn something about the garden, and I do too." So' they got 
 the gardener's guidebook and studied it faithfully. It was 
 like the children coming home from school telling about their 
 lessons and how they had studied grammar, geography, etc. 
 I heard it and remember it to this day. My wife said: "Well, 
 I can tell you about the garden. First, it must be made very 
 rich, then broken up deep and thoroughly, and raked off well. 
 The lines must be as diametrically straight as the line that 
 divides a circle in halves. They must be exactly the same 
 distance apart. For English peas the rows must go east and 
 west. Dig a deep trench and pile the dirt all up on the north 
 side. Cover the peas with but little earth at first. While 
 they are young the dirt on the north side will protect them 
 from the cold. As the weather turns warm, fill the ditch with 
 the dirt, and the peas will be green longer. Save the first 
 beans and other vegetables for seed." Ever after that she 
 
 136 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 had a list for planting and saw to the planting of the garden 
 and enjoyed it. 
 
 It was the custom in those days for people to lay in their 
 meat for the year. On the very day we arrived J. A. Shew- 
 make, one of the best of stewards, asked me what I wanted 
 to do about meat. I told him, and he had some meat slaugh- 
 tered for me that evening, about half what I wanted. In 
 those days we bought drove hogs from Tennessee and Ken- 
 tucky. There were some there then, and I added all we 
 wanted. I knew all about taking care of meat, getting the 
 animal heat out, and then salting it well. My father's rule 
 was to use plenty of salt and save the salt and meat too. 
 After it was hung up and smoked, then was the time to save 
 the hams from skippers. Rachel had the rule for that. She 
 had a large washpot, with boiling water and red pepper and 
 other things in it. Then she saw every ham prepared and 
 put away. Even after that she would say: "We are on our 
 last ham, and I have examined every one and have not found 
 a single skipper." 
 
 Waynesboro was one of the best places in which to live 
 that I have ever found. Being only a short distance from the 
 Savannah River, we could have shad every day during the 
 season for them. Brier Creek and other streams were fine 
 for fishing with hook and line. My oldest son, a careful boy 
 with his gun, brought in partridges and some swamp birds, 
 also some squirrels from the post oak ridges near by. It was 
 only thirty miles from Augusta, from where we could lay in 
 all our groceries for the year at one time. 
 
 Few counties had more negroes than Burke, and no people 
 were better to their slaves. They provided for one of the best 
 preachers in the Conference to serve them. The leading men 
 
 137 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 of the county were stewards to see to his support, and his 
 salary was about equal to their own pastor's. He preached 
 to them, visited their sick, buried their dead, administered the 
 communion to them, and served them in every good way. It 
 was a reproach to any man's character if he did not feed and 
 clothe his negroes and treat them humanely. 
 
 In speaking of a good man's character in that community 
 they would not only say that he was good to his family and 
 friends, but also to his negroes. Hardly have I found an- 
 other place where the rich and the poor were on the same 
 equality. The standard of high Christian character I have 
 never seen surpassed anywhere. 
 
 We had a measure of success all round the circuit. We 
 built a church at Waynesboro, and Bishop Pierce dedicated it. 
 In many places we had gracious revivals of religion, the 
 greatest perhaps at Old Church, six miles south of Waynes- 
 boro. A church was built there under the auspices of King 
 George of England before the Revolutionary War. The bat- 
 tle known in history as the battle of Brier Creek was fought 
 on that sacred spot. In 1855 we built a nice church there. 
 The old church was torn down, and many musket balls were 
 found in its timbers. Our meeting there in 1858 was a most 
 gracious one. All political feuds were reconciled, and many 
 members of the Church took on new growth and devotion. 
 As everywhere else, Rachel made new and lasting friends 
 there. The limit of our stay came, and we had to leave. No- 
 where else in our wanderings did we spend two more pleasant 
 years than at Alexander. 
 
 Burke is enchanted and historic ground, not only because 
 the battle of Brier Creek was fought there, but the first Meth- 
 odist preachers that crossed the Savannah, Humphreys and 
 
 138 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Majors, made a lasting impression for good. Many of the 
 leading men of the county were members of our Church. 
 Judge A. J. Lawson, for many years a member of the Legisla- 
 ture, J. J. Jones, at one time a member of Congress, J. B. 
 Jones, a graduate of the University of Georgia and of a law 
 school and a most devout Christian and efficient steward, and 
 J. K. Hines, a member of the Legislature, were among them. 
 Our great Dr. Young J. Allen was born in that county, at 
 Bark Camp. His father died just a little while before he was 
 born, and his mother did not live a week after his birth. 
 When about a year old he was brought to Meriwether County, 
 where he was brought up. One of our best revivals was at 
 Old Church. The stewards raised the money for Conference 
 collections and all others and requested me to raise five hun- 
 dred dollars for missions, which I did. On shaking hands 
 with Mose Greene, for whom Greene's Cut is named, he placed 
 a fifty-dollar bill in my hand. 
 
 Dr. G. G. Smith was my colleague. He was then about 
 twenty years old. As soon as he came the children asked me 
 what his name was. They said they would call him "Brother 
 George." He captured the family. He did not make his 
 home with us, but Rachel told him to bring to her all his 
 clothing that needed attention, and she would mend them for 
 him. He called her Aunt Rachel. Few older men were as 
 well informed as he was then on the history of the Church. 
 Both of his grandfathers were leading members of the Con- 
 ference. He was brought up at Oxford, the home of Bishop 
 Andrew and Bishop Capers. So he had the finest opportuni- 
 ties, and he improved them. We were lifelong friends. He 
 has left in his books kind mention of both my wife and myself. 
 He says: "Aunt Rachel was a queenly woman." 
 
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MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 The next move, for 1859-60, was to Sandersville, in Wash- 
 ington County, one of the old counties of the State. It con- 
 tained many good people and some not so good. It could not 
 be said that many of the old and best leaders of the Church 
 remained at that time. The good board of faithful stewards 
 were pretty well worn out. There was not a member of the 
 Church that would respond when called upon to pray. 
 
 We had a comfortable parsonage and were well received. 
 The circuit extended over cjuite a wide territory. The first 
 year was a fairly good one. The presiding elder and the 
 official board felt that they needed more of the presence of a 
 pastor, and it was made a station. Dr. A. C. C. Thompson 
 was a competent and successful teacher and was principal of 
 both the male and female schools, on opposite sides of the 
 town. Professor Didier, of Maryland, superintended the 
 male school, and I the female school tO' help pay my salary. 
 We had a very prosperous year. Yes, I had some noble girls, 
 and they became valuable women. Everything worked har- 
 moniously. 
 
 Another great question came up before me. The old church 
 building was at a sharp fork of the roads, and every rain 
 washed away some of its foundation, so that it was hardly 
 safe to worship in. As our old official board was almost worn 
 out, Capt. Seaborn Jones, not a member, but one of the best 
 men I have ever met and a safe adviser, was consulted about 
 building a new church. His influence was great, and what he 
 said went. He said: "Yes, we ought to have a new church." 
 If he had said "No," it would have been a setback. He sug- 
 gested the name of Thomas Youngblood, the leading mer- 
 chant of the place, and lawyer Beverly Evans. With these 
 three men the enterprise was speedily accomplished. Where 
 
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MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 I looked for maybe twenty-five dollars, Youngblood brought 
 up two hundred dollars. I was sent to another party from 
 whom I expected twenty-five dollars and got one hundred and 
 fifty dollars. Evans's father-in-law, a wealthy Primitive Bap- 
 tist, owned several negro carpenters, under a white man to lead 
 them. He took the contract to build the church. A new 
 site was selected, and the building went up rapidly. The work 
 was faithfully done, and soon it was ready for dedication. 
 Rev. James B. Payne started from that very point when he 
 was converted and became a leading member of the old Geor- 
 gia Conference. He came and dedicated the church for us. 
 Before the dedicatory prayer was offered I went down the 
 aisle; and a wealthy bachelor whispered to me not to ask for 
 any more money, that he would foot every bill. Before reach- 
 ing the pulpit a member told me that he would give one hun- 
 dred and fifty dollars. A beautiful chandelier had been pre- 
 sented by one who was not a member of our Church. We 
 had already purchased a fine-toned bell that could be heard 
 five miles. It was an undertaking most dreaded and the easi- 
 est accomplished. The next thing was tO' buy an extra street 
 to reach the church. A gracious revival followed the dedica- 
 tion service. After it closed we started a young men's prayer 
 meeting. It was not large, and they were very timid. One of 
 them who was to pray had his prayer written. When he took 
 the paper from his pocket, it was heard all over the church. 
 Of course they were carefully charged not to criticize each 
 other in any way. They afterwards became strong officials 
 of the Church. 
 
 Here let me add: A few weeks before I had preached the 
 funeral of a lady whom the doctor had told me two days be- 
 fore must die. Her children and mine were in school togeth- 
 
 141 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 er, and I felt the deepest sympathy. The stores were closed, 
 and the church was crowded. In what I had to say, if there 
 were three words to convey the meaning, the weakest came; 
 so I went through the service deeply embarrassed. Starting 
 with a revival afterwards, one of the most moral men came to 
 the altar as a penitent and continued to come for several days. 
 In the evening, after the business hours, I called to see him 
 and asked him about the starting point. I wanted to see "the 
 snag where he was hitched." He said: "The day you preached 
 Mrs. Northington's funeral it seemed as if every word you 
 said pierced my heart." He was converted, lived a most ex- 
 emplary life for three years, then went to his reward. So let 
 us not be too much elated with good sermons nor too much 
 cast down over poor ones. 
 
 That we built the church then was a great good. The old 
 church could not have lasted much longer, and the people were 
 soon stripped of their property by the war; so the new church 
 would not have been built. I have not been there since, but 
 I have learned that they have a good brick church and one of 
 the finest schools in the State. 
 
 The Washington Rifles, commanded by Captain Jones, were 
 in the First Georgia Regiment and served and suffered a full 
 share throughout the war, 
 
 Sandersville is about twenty-eight miles from Milledgeville, 
 and occasional visits were made to the old capital. When 
 Gov. Joseph E. Brown was elected and came to the capital, he 
 brought a number of Canton people with him. Gen. Eli Mc- 
 Cornell was the principal keeper of the penitentiary, and other 
 places were supplied by people from Canton. With the rest 
 was a couple whom I had married while there. The Governor 
 and his wife were our neighbors and friends. They called 
 
 142 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 to see me and on leaving invited me to stay with them the 
 next night I spent in Milledgeville, and I did so. We talked 
 about Canton and Canton friends. We had family prayer, 
 and Mrs. Brown and the children retired to their rooms. The 
 Governor and I remained at the table in the dining room. He 
 told me of his inaugural address and how he felt in delivering 
 it. Then he told me of his conflict with the political party. 
 It was the custom of those leaders to have their slate prepared 
 and let the Governor make the appointments. These appoint- 
 ments were not always best for the people at large, but were 
 made to keep the party together. More of them were made 
 by the Governor then than now. He appointed the superin- 
 tendent of the Western and Atlantic Railroad, the treasurer, 
 and other important officers. The slate did not suit the Gov- 
 ernor. Mr. was the party's man for superintendent of 
 
 the road. The Governor had not made the appointments, and 
 the party was uneasy about it. Alexander H. Stephens was 
 then leader of the party. He spent the night with the Gov- 
 ernor and stated that they had left no stone unturned to se- 
 cure his election. They mentioned the names slated for the 
 appointments. The Governor then told them he appreciated 
 what they had done for him, but he must regard the obliga- 
 tions upon him for the good of the State. 
 
 The State road was then in the worst of management. It 
 was a frolicking crew from one end to the other. Corn had 
 been bought at Chattanooga, and the people were suffering 
 for transportation. Brown knew it; and he appointed Dr. J. 
 W. Lewis, perhaps the best man in the State, to take control 
 of it. In a short time Dr. Lewis had the road in fine condi- 
 tion. He then said to me: "I intended to have a safe man 
 made treasurer." That was George Kellog, of Forsyth Coun- 
 
 143 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 ty, who possessed every essential qualification for the office. 
 Other appointments were as judiciously made. 
 
 The banking system was then very bad. The law allowed 
 three paper dollars to be issued for every silver dollar, and 
 some of the banks issued six for one. The result was that 
 there were many failures. The planter sold his cotton for 
 ten cents. The bank failed, and he lost his money. The ablest 
 lawyers were employed against the Governor. The clerks in 
 the bank criticized his bookkeeping and made it a public joke. 
 But the confidence the people reposed in him was strengthened 
 every day. He pointed his finger to the room above and said: 
 "I prepared that veto between eleven and one o'clock at night." 
 Like every other trying experience, he had more confidence in 
 himself than he had ever had before. Our conference was 
 closed at a late hour. I had to leave at an early hour, and 
 Mrs. Brown was up to see that I had an early start. The 
 crowning grace of hospitality is, "Speed your guest." 
 
 Mr. Brown was elected Governor four times and was 
 known as the "War Governor." In the days of Reconstruc- 
 tion he was accused by some of having been bought by the 
 enemy. The last conversation we had on this subject was 
 about like this: "I feel that if we don't accept the best terms 
 we can get we will be like the little boy whipped by the big 
 one, spitting in his face and saying, T ask you no odds.' " 
 Governor Brown was the safest guide in the most dangerous 
 times. He regained the full confidence of the people and was 
 Judge of the Supreme Court and then United States Senator 
 as long as he lived. For one, I think there ought to be a 
 county named Joe Brown County. 
 
 144 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 CuLLODEN, Greensboro, and Forsyth, 1861-65 
 
 TN 1 86 1 Culloden was my charge. It is in the southwest 
 corner of Monroe County, and its history has been writ- 
 ten more than that of any other town in the State, for it was 
 the first to establish schools of high grade. It has sent forth a 
 greater number of distinguished men than any other town of 
 its size. Members of Congress, Representatives and Senators, 
 a Governor, and quite a number of preachers have gone from 
 there. Dr. Eustace Speer, Dr. W. F. Cook, and Bishop Mc- 
 Tyeire may be mentioned, the Bishop having been prepared 
 there by Dr. J. R. Thomas to enter Randolph-Macon College. 
 According to its size, Culloden was one of the wealthiest towns 
 in the State. It was a fairly good circuit in every respect. 
 While there my home was made with Rev. W. F. Cook, a 
 local preacher. He and his wife were two of the best of 
 people. She was a sister of Dr. Ellison, the second President 
 of Wesleyan Female College. It was a year of many ups and 
 downs with me. There I read Lincoln's inaugural address 
 and could smell the smoke of war in it, for it was war all over. 
 My oldest son was prepared to enter Emory College, and I 
 had bought a home and moved to Oxford. I was away from 
 home about a month at a time. In Henry County, in front 
 of the home of Robert Grier, the author of Grier's Almanac, 
 my horse died of blind staggers. I was only about one-fourth 
 of the way from Cbcford to Culloden, but I managed to get 
 a conveyance and filled my appointments. I bought another 
 horse ; but he did not suit, and the man took him back. About 
 three weeks later the horse died. With all the bad we had 
 10 145 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 some good. Dr. J. E. Evans was my presiding elder, and he 
 was a most companionable man. He was a gifted man in all 
 respects — a good preacher, a good pastor, and a good singer. 
 We had a good meeting at Russellville Camp Ground and 
 built a new church. I dedicated it. Dr. Evans, with his 
 white cravat, straight-breasted coat, at a camp meeting altar 
 clapping his hands and singing as loud as he could, "I am 
 bound for the promised land," is a picture of old Methodism. 
 
 This is to be recorded as one year that my wife and I were 
 separated. At the close of 1861 the war was getting to be at 
 its worst. Rachel had done her part well, as she always did. 
 Old Brother Mixon sowed her turnip seed for her. The col- 
 lege was closed. It is putting it very mildly to say that Oxford 
 was one of the most religious and intellectual communities I 
 have ever spent a year in. Dr. J. R. Thomas was president of 
 the college. We had lived in the same town together before. 
 When the college closed, I sold my house and lot for Confed- 
 erate money and lost it all. 
 
 Troubles came in troops and at the worst times. At no 
 period of our family's history could the war have come to us 
 at a worse time. With a large family to feed and clothe, this 
 absolute necessity had to be met, and for meeting it the condi- 
 tions were growing worse every day. When the first volun- 
 teers went out, there was plenty of clothing and everything to 
 fit them for the field. Then came the blockading of our ports; 
 and, as before, we could get nothing from the North. Call 
 after call came for more volunteers, and this took material 
 for feeding them. Finally came the conscript law. This took 
 every able-bodied man to the war, and nearly every family 
 sent a son or husband. To clothe and provide for this great 
 number the country was stripped bare. The clothing of the 
 
 146 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 people at home was almost worn out. We had to resort to 
 the ways our grandmothers made cloth. Those useful arti- 
 cles were the cotton and wool cards, spinning wheels, and 
 looms. With these we had to manufacture or make cloth. 
 This story need not be told again, but all these articles were 
 in evidence in our home. For me the material had been pre- 
 pared, and a lady in the country wove the jeans, which was 
 dyed with walnut. I had a good suit that lasted till the war 
 ended. Always provident and persevering, Rachel, through a 
 friend, had gotten a bolt or two of white cloth at the factory 
 at Macon and also several bunches of factory thread. She 
 knew nothing about weaving, but said she would try to do 
 what others had done. She struck the first lick too hard, 
 making the first yard as hard as a board. Under similar cir- 
 cumstances I never sympathized with her more tO' see her 
 brave spirit so severely tried. I think she finally got the right 
 lick and wove the web through. Other help in the weaving 
 came, and an ample supply of cloth was provided. 
 
 A friendly eye had been watching her all the time. Mrs. 
 Samuel Davis, possessed of ample means, had a fine seam- 
 stress, a negro. She said to Rachel that she had been watch- 
 ing her and wanted to help her. She said the time had come. 
 She told her that her seamstress was in every way a capable 
 and reliable woman and that she would send her to help her 
 make every garment, if it took her a month. So Sally came 
 and said: "Mrs. Cotter, Mistress told me to come here with 
 my tape measure, thimble, and scissors and to stay till ev- 
 ery garment for the boys and girls is cut out and made and 
 every button and buttonhole is done. She said for you not to 
 sew a stitch." So Sally went to work and pleased in every 
 garment. Rachel did not forget the weapon that won her first 
 
 147 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 victory. She overhauled all the old clothing, turning some of 
 the skirts upside down and mending others, congratulating 
 herself that she was better off than she thought she was. All 
 the children had two good suits around. She said: "Before 
 me this was a big hill to climb ; but when I came to it, it was 
 as smooth and level as the house floor. We speak of angels 
 in heaven; but there must be some in this world, and Sister 
 Davis must be one of them. Nobody could have done her 
 part better than Sally." 
 
 While this was still going on, with me it was "root, hog, 
 or die," and I raised some. My good neighbor Johnson said: 
 "Your hogs are ready, as mine are, and I will slaughter them 
 all to-day." It turned out that I had thirteen hundred pounds 
 of good pork. We had plenty of bread, and once more we 
 had something to eat and to wear. 
 
 Greene County had a noble citizenship of men and women, 
 and Greensboro was noted for its good women. Mrs. Cun- 
 ningham, of the Presbyterian Church, was the starter of the 
 Presbyterian college there. Mrs. Weaver, sister of the late 
 W. M. Weaver, was in many respects a very superior char- 
 acter. She was a consecrated Methodist. Sufficient mention 
 has been made of Mrs. Davis, of the Baptist Church. There 
 was no precious ointment to give, no service to render to our 
 Lord that these godly women would not have delighted to do. 
 Our Master said that there should be a memorial of Mary's 
 devotion to him, and here I make a grateful memorial of these 
 good women who have long since gone to their reward. 
 
 This was in 1862 and 1863. The time limit had come for 
 us to move again; and the good people sent us away with a 
 barrel of sirup, flour, and other provisions, enough to last us 
 a quarter of the year. We chartered two freight cars to 
 
 148 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 move in, one for the family and provisions and one for the 
 cows. Does any one ask why we took the cows? If you had 
 seen the droves of cows driven through the country to feed 
 the men and had heard the soldiers tell of what poor beef they 
 had to eat, you would have thought there wasn't a cow left in 
 the country. So we held on to ours. 
 
 On our way to Forsyth we went through Atlanta, where 
 we were sidetracked for the night, and the next morning we 
 went down to Forsyth. We jumped out of the frying pan 
 into the fire. The enemy had beaten us back till our sick and 
 wounded had to be moved and crowded into every place. 
 Forsyth made room for about three thousand sick and wound- 
 ed at one time. In all we cared for about twenty thousand. 
 As soon as we got intO' the parsonage everything had to be 
 regulated to render service to the sick and wounded. We got 
 up soon and had our breakfast early and then prepared some- 
 thing better for the sick. At once Rachel took her place at 
 the forefront and did a noble part. She soon found out those 
 who deserved the most attention. With others she came to a 
 young man who' looked liked her own boy, who was a young 
 lieutenant and was at one time detailed to carry nearly two 
 hundred Federal officers who were taken prisoners at Chicka- 
 mauga. He delivered them to the Confederate authorities at 
 Richmond. He was about the last man to cross the pontoons 
 at Savannah and about the last to fire the Confederate guns 
 at Bentonville. Rachel said she often thought that her boy 
 might be wounded like the young man she was attending and 
 that it might be a joy to his mother to know what attention 
 she was giving him. She was saving to a penny and benevo- 
 lent to the limit of her ability. She gave the last bed blanket, 
 saying that the poor sick soldiers needed it more than we did. 
 
 149 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 No women ever acted a nobler part than did the women of the 
 Confederacy, and the women of Forsyth were equal to the 
 best. 
 
 A little incident: A Mississippi brigade had failed to sur- 
 render in North Carolina, and when they came to Macon they 
 notified General Wilson that they wanted to surrender. He 
 sent General Croxton tO' meet the Confederate general. A 
 lieutenant colonel represented the brigade. Croxton was 
 mounted upon a fine horse and wore a new uniform. The 
 Confederate officer's clothes were very much soiled, but he 
 had a bright eye and a brave heart. Only a few words passed 
 between them. General Croxton said that he would not take 
 their wagons and teams away from them and that they might 
 carry their baggage home in them. What about the horses? 
 Every man owned his horse when he went into the army, 
 but the horses had been turned over to the government. Crox- 
 ton said that the government was defunct and that the men 
 could never be paid for their horses, but he said: "I will give 
 you protection, so that every man may keep his own horse till 
 he reaches home, then turn over the horses and wagons tO' the 
 nearest Federal post. I ask no promise from you. I take the 
 word of a soldier anywhere." The time occupied in this 
 transaction did not exceed fifteen minutes. The Federal offi- 
 cer galloped away, and every Confederate soldier felt kindly 
 toward him. 
 
 The next year we were at Fort Valley. A friend of mine 
 had one or two hundred bales of cotton, about which he was 
 having a great deal of trouble. He told me that he had em- 
 ployed Gen. Howell Cobb and other prominent lawyers to 
 represent him at Washington. I told him that General Crox- 
 ton had opened a law office in Macon and that he might be able 
 
 150 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 to render him service that a Southern man might not be able 
 to do. I think he was employed in the case. Cotton was fifty 
 cents a pound then, and a lawyer's fee in such a case was a 
 pretty large one. I do not know what the result was. 
 
 • In Smith's "History of Georgia Methodism," pages 262, 
 263, we read the following: 
 
 The Conference met in Eatonton January 18, 1845. There were 
 twenty-one received on trial. They were : John S. Dunn, Albert G. Banks, 
 John B. C Quillian, John C. Ley, Osborne L. Smith, Robert M. Carter, 
 James M. N. Lowe, William A. Smyth, Reuben H. Griffin, John H. Cald- 
 well, George H. Hancock, John M. Marshall, Nathaniel N. Allen, James 
 Quillian, Freeman T. Reynolds, George W. Pratt, H. H. McQueen, Jacob 
 Hogue, Gideon Y. Thomason, George C. Clarke, and William J. Cotter. 
 
 William J. Cotter was a mountain boy, whose family lived among the 
 Indians in Murray County. He was converted while that county was in 
 the Holston Conference. He had a better education than many of his 
 associates and taught school. He entered the Conference and has been 
 for seventy-four years a most valuable member of it. He was a professor 
 in LaGrange Female College. He is still living (1912), a Master of Arts 
 by compHment of Emory College, a wise counselor, and a devout and sin- 
 cere Christian gentleman. 
 
 In the memoir of Dr. G. G. Smith, written by George W. 
 Yarbrough, in the Minutes of the North Georgia Conference 
 (1913), we find the following: 
 
 Brother Smith's first appointment was junior preacher in the Waynes- 
 boro Circuit, with W. J. Cotter preacher in charge. His love for his 
 senior was deep and warm and lasted as long as he lived, he having dealt 
 with him as a real father in the gospel, and remembering his wife, too, a 
 "warm-hearted, handsome, stirring, and devout young woman, who took 
 the younger preacher to her heart as if he had been a child." 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 The Battle of Chickamauga 
 
 '' I "^HIS was one of the great battles of the War between the 
 States. The Federal army lost fifteen thousand men and 
 the Confederate army eighteen thousand, in all thirty-four 
 thousand men killed, wounded, and taken prisoners. The fatal 
 field extended over several miles in, maneuvering and getting 
 ready for the conflict. The main part of the ground was level. 
 
 The battle came suddenly and with great surprise to the 
 people living there. Women at their looms cut off the woven 
 part of the web and left the warp on the beam. Geese and 
 chickens were shot down in the yards. The armies com- 
 menced getting ready for the battle on Friday afternoon, the 
 cavalries tearing down all the rail fences. Up tO' Saturday 
 night the Federals were throwing up breastworks. After 
 emptying ax boxes, they used them, with rocks, cutting down 
 trees, felling them at full length. At one place, coming 
 up from different points, the fortification was in the shape of 
 a V. The Federals had to come to the sharp point of the V. 
 The Confederates had to come to the crest of a little hill and 
 then move thirty yards, exposed to the enemy's fire. Their 
 loss was fearful, and the ground was covered with blood and 
 brains; but they drove the enemy from their breastworks. 
 With an enfilading fire the Federals dropped their guns and 
 ran for their lives. One could have walked three hundred 
 yards upon dead Union soldiers. 
 
 The shooting on that ground was most fatal. Seven out of 
 ten balls ranged from four to five feet above the ground. 
 There was but little wild shooting up to ten and fifteen feet 
 
 152 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 above the ground. The men who did the shooting were 
 Southern and Western men accustomed to handling guns. 
 Many a good-sized saphng was hit on both sides about four 
 or five feet from the groimd, as if it were being cut down with 
 an ax. So there were more men killed or mortally wounded 
 in this battle than in any other. A huge pile of muskets was 
 gathered from the field. I could not tell how many thousand 
 of them there were. 
 
 Great numbers of letters were scattered over the field from 
 friends at a distance. One was from a sister: 
 
 My Dear Brother: At church last Sunday there was not a young man. 
 Our wheat crop is good ; but father is not able to gather it, and we can- 
 not get laborers. My earnest prayer is that the Lord may spare you. 
 
 Another was from a mother: 
 
 My Dear Son: My daily prayer is that the Lord may shield you and that 
 this terrible war may soon come to an end. 
 
 Other affectionate words followed. Some were from wives 
 to their husbands, and others were to the dear soldier boys 
 from sweethearts. 
 
 The Confederate dead were buried first and the Federal 
 dead some days later, but they turned as black as negroes be- 
 fore they were buried. With a relief corps, I was on the 
 bloody field as soon as anything could be done. We visited 
 every field hospital. The battle was fought on September 19 
 and 20, 1863. I was there till the first of October. We had 
 then used all the supplies we had on the battle field and walked 
 eight miles to Ringgold, where the supplies were. We had 
 already made away with our eight-gallon keg of brandy. Of 
 course I had not touched a drop. They then urged that it 
 was my duty to drink it for my health's sake. Tom Foster 
 said to me: "Wouldn't you like a cup of coffee?" I said: 
 
 153 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 "Yes, Tom, the best in the world." He soon had it ready; 
 and, with the ham and other things, I soon had a hearty 
 breakfast. When report about the fatal shooting was made 
 to the surgeons, they said that they had noticed it in their 
 final report. There were eight of us, and we returned to 
 Greensboro. I was the only one spared from an attack of sick- 
 ness. I jumped in my buggy and went to my appointment. 
 Our marshal, who was at the head of our committee, was 
 stricken ill and died. 
 
 The battle ground is now a beautiful park. The Confeder- 
 ate Monument is an honor to the State, and all our citizens 
 should see it if an opportunity offers. There are hundreds of 
 smaller monuments on the fields marking where the battles 
 were fought each day and at what hour. 
 
 154 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 Fort Valley, Whitesville, and Grantville, 1866-69 
 
 "pORT VALLEY was my field in 1866. The storm cloud of 
 war was past. They had had none of the war there. 
 They had suffered from the effects of the war, but there had 
 been no battle near there. The country about Fort Valley is 
 rich and beautiful and is inhabited by the finest type of in- 
 telligent and good people. My first work was to look over 
 the record of the Church, and there were quite a number of 
 local preachers and leading members to help consider it. 
 When the name of one who had fallen in the war was called, 
 the entry was made, "Killed in battle," or, "Died in a hos- 
 pital," and all felt sad. There was a large attendance at the 
 meeting. Some had lost interest in the Church, and the ques- 
 tion was, Who was the best one to bring them back? Not 
 one refused to do his part. The interest of the Sunday school 
 came up before us, and it was revived and prospered. The 
 year was a prosperous one with the Church. There was con- 
 siderable sickness in that section of the country, and I was 
 one of the sufferers. 
 
 A new question came before us. There was the greatest 
 harmony existing between the former masters and slaves. 
 The present conditions were new tO' both parties. The ne- 
 groes went to their old masters for counsel in everything. 
 Some came tO' me and said: "What shall we do? We were 
 converted in the Southern Methodist Church. We love our 
 old pastors as well as we love our white brethren." We told 
 them we didn't know what was best, but that we could not 
 drive them from our Church, that it was their home. Bishop 
 Turner, of the African Methodist Church, was a presiding 
 
 155 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 elder then, and he sent a man there with a letter tO' the pastor. 
 We did not know what to do. Bishop Turner and his Church 
 were in no way friendly to the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 South. The Methodist Episcopal Church was doing all it 
 could to get the negroes with them and against us. The ne- 
 groes that had decided to stay with us had bought a building 
 adapted for Church and school purposes, paying for it in in- 
 stallments. Their former owners helped them every time the 
 payment fell due. Here are some of the names of these faith- 
 ful men: Caesar Taylor, a local preacher, who had been or- 
 dained a deacon in our Church that year; Paul Bamett, a 
 preacher and a man of fine common sense, with at least two 
 kinds of blood in his veins, negro and Indian; Isaac Anderson, 
 also a preacher, who always went to his former master for ad- 
 vice; and Jim Staley, his master's foreman before the war and 
 who continued so after the war. 
 
 We instituted a literary and theological institute for the 
 negroes. These brethren came to my home two or three times 
 a week at night, and we started in the spelling book. Some 
 could read a little. A text would be given them ( for instance, 
 "Christ died for all"), and the next day they came with the 
 scripture to prove what they preached. All moved on the 
 entire year; and when the Colored Methodist Episcopal 
 Church was organized, in 1870, Georgia sent five delegates, 
 and two of these, if not three, were from Fort Valley. One 
 of her delegates was made a bishop. It was Bishop Holsey. 
 When the war ended, we had two hundred thousand negroes 
 in our Church. There is no extravagance in saying that it 
 was one of the best Churches I ever served. Among them I 
 might mention Dr. Hollinshead, Dr. Mathis, and Dr. Green, 
 all preachers. 
 
 156' 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Marshallville, six or eight miles from Fort Valley, was one 
 of my appointments. The people were equal to the best in 
 Fort Valley. Donald Frederick was superintendent of the 
 Sunday school for I can't tell how long, and it was one of 
 the best in every respect. Our Conference was held that year 
 at Americus, and we were divided into the North Georgia and 
 the South Georgia Conferences. It was Bishop McTyeire's 
 first Conference in Georgia. This notable incident occurred: 
 We met at the home of Brother Jewett, the pastor, and Dr. 
 J. R. Thomas said: "I parted with Holland [McTyeire] on 
 the campus of Randolph-Macon College, in Virginia. I had 
 not seen him since till he presided to-day." When the appoint- 
 ments were read out, my name was called for the North Geor- 
 gia Conference, which I preferred. 
 
 My next appointment was at Whitesville, in Harris County, 
 which is divided by Pine Mountain. I was on the north side 
 of the mountain, a fertile section of land. There were a 
 number of the best citizens of the State located here, and they 
 were generally well off. Methodism was well established. 
 The Rev. James Cotton, a local preacher and a man of great 
 ability, had done much in establishing a Church there. Rev. 
 John Little and Rev. Jackson Ruch, well-beloved local preach- 
 ers, added much to the building up of the Church. 
 
 Whitesville had at one time two very prosperous schools, 
 but the war had broken them up and had reduced the place to 
 a mere village. My first year there was a very hard one. 
 Cotton went down to nine cents a pound, com went up to one 
 dollar and sixty cents a bushel, and meat was high in propor- 
 tion. The people, as well as the preachers, had to struggle 
 for a living. In many respects the year was a very good one. 
 Our Sunday school started with less than a dozen pupils and 
 
 157 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 increased to about seventy. I have never seen a school where 
 teachers and pupils worked harder for the good of it. Nearly 
 every one of the pupils was converted that year. Rev. Jimmy 
 Callahan was the superintendent. He was the father of our 
 great missionary, W. J. Callahan, of Korea, who was a baby 
 then. Father and son are two of the most consecrated men. 
 
 John Pattillo and his wife were two- of the most liberal sup- 
 porters of the Church. They brought up a family of twelve 
 children, six sons and six daughters. Of the sons, John and 
 William were graduated from Emory College. John joined 
 the Texas Conference. His father always wanted a report of 
 the fourth Quarterly Conference; and when it came, a check 
 was sent to John to meet the deficit. William was a successful 
 insurance agent in Atlanta for many years and made liberal 
 contributions to his Alma Mater, as well as to other institu- 
 tions of the Church. All the other members filled their places 
 well. 
 
 At the end of the first year at Whitesville the people said: 
 "If you will take the school, we will not require so much pas- 
 toral work, but will do as much for you another year and 
 more, if we can." The trustees gave me the school; but, like 
 everything else, it was run down, and nobody was to blame. 
 We had a very good school. We left at the end of the year 
 cherishing the best memories of the people of the Whitesville 
 charge. 
 
 Lewis J. Davis was the presiding elder. He was one of the 
 best preachers in the Conference and one of the best presiding 
 elders. He planned for the best for his preachers and for the 
 people. He placed my name before the trustees of the Grant- 
 ville High School, and Grantville was my charge in 1869. 
 Like other places, it had suffered from the effects of the war, 
 
 158 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 and there were some political differences in the community 
 which hurt the Church. It was not expected that the Church 
 would support the pastor. All parties rallied to the school. 
 They had had good teachers, and the pupils were very well 
 advanced. 
 
 Dr. J. W. Lee, whom everybody knows now as one of the 
 greatest literary men in the Church, who is called upon for 
 commencement sermons, and who is the author of several use- 
 ful books, offered the prayer at the convention when Presi- 
 dent Wilson was nominated the second time. Dr. Lee was not 
 far from twenty when I was in Grantville; and I had never 
 heard of him before, as he did not live there. He came to 
 live with his imcle and to go to school. He was there the first 
 day and the last and improved every hour. His example was 
 worth a great deal to the school. He was not the only good 
 and studious pupil. There were several girls fifteen or sixteen 
 years old who were models of propriety in every respect. The 
 patrons all stood by me, and the pay was equally good. For 
 Brother Lee's tuition I received two twenty-dollar bills. One 
 patron paid one hundred dollars. All the tuition, from one 
 thousand to twelve hundred dollars, was collected. 
 
 My successor was S. E. Leigh, a fine classical teacher. He 
 went through Emory College, but did most of his prepara- 
 tor)^ work at Grantville. I did not know then that he would 
 preach. I have never felt authorized to ask a man if he felt 
 called to preach; but when he reports the call, I feel a tender 
 interest in each case, and I especially did in Brother Leigh's. 
 No honor has come to him that it has not brought joy and 
 gladness to my heart. 
 
 While sitting here and dictating what is being printed, on 
 
 159 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 April 24, 19 1 7, I insert a letter just received from Brother 
 J. W. Lee: 
 
 St. Louis, Missouri, April 22, 1917. 
 My Dear Brother Cotter: I thank you for the names of the doctors 
 you have been good enough to send me. I am glad to know that you live 
 on earth and continue to do good. It has been forty-six years since I met 
 you first, in 1869, when I went to Grantville to start to school to you. 
 May the Lord bless you and keep you always ! 
 
 Affectionately and always your friend, James W. Lee. 
 
 160 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 Troup Circuit and LaGrange College, 1870-73 
 
 1% TY charge in 1870, 1871, and 1872 was Troup Circuit. 
 The first year was a successful one. We had revivals in 
 all the churches. In 1871 we had a very fine peach crop, the 
 trees literally breaking down with their burden of fruit. Dur- 
 ing the war a considerable quantity of brandy had been made. 
 Many of the people had lost their property, and the temptation 
 was strong to make brandy for the money there was in it. 
 Perhaps one hundred of my members, some of them stewards, 
 engaged in the business. I had never had anything like it to 
 contend with before. To meet the issue, twO' points were de- 
 cided upon and strictly maintained. One was to sustain the 
 rule of the Church, and the other was to expel no' one if it could 
 be avoided. The subject was not distinctly preached about 
 except at one appointment, where sO' many were involved that 
 a committee could not be selected. A very plain sermon was 
 preached at that point ; and it was reported that the preacher 
 was angry, which was a great mistake. Nevertheless, the ob- 
 ject was accomplished, no one was expelled, and brandy- 
 making received a death blow. 
 
 In 1872 we had a very good year, and at its close the pre- 
 siding elder said: 'T think you are in better shape than you 
 were at the end of last year." 
 
 LaGrange Female College had not only suffered fiery 
 trials, but one of the buildings had had a severe fire. It was 
 not reduced to ashes. The only timbers left were about one- 
 half charcoal and the other half smoked wood. After the 
 war, until that time, the Baptist and Methodist schools had 
 II 161 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 been united. It was decided then that each college would take 
 its place again. Rev. Morgan Callaway was elected President. 
 His name excited the highest expectations. He was the prin- 
 cipal of a fine school in Washington, Georgia, on the opposite 
 side of the State; but he brought his literary and musical fac- 
 ulty and a large number of girls. Their coming was like the 
 sound of the mellow horn of spring sounding over every hill 
 and dale and calling dead and dreary winter into budding and 
 blooming life. On the day of their arrival they came in a 
 body. Every hack in the city had been engaged and was 
 ready. They were filled with girls, and the drays were packed 
 with trunks. As they moved from the depot through the pub- 
 lic square to the college it was a grand demonstration — yes, 
 an ovation. The clerks, as well as the customers, in the stores 
 came to the doors and looked. As they passed, all the families 
 in the homes came to their doors and looked. It was a grand 
 occasion. I looked on and saw it. At once the school started, 
 and it was a full one. It increased in popularity all that year 
 and still increased the next year. 
 
 But there came a sudden eclipse that the almanac had not 
 foretold. Emory College, always taking the best, took our 
 president into one of its professorships. Rev. E. P. Burch was 
 President of LaGrange College in 1872. My charge was the 
 Troup Circuit. I lived in LaGrange. I was asked to become 
 secretary and treasurer of the college, which did not interfere 
 with my pastoral work. We had a fairly good year collecting 
 money and paying the teachers. Brother Burch gave up the 
 presidency, and all was fiat again. Mr. J. J. Johnson, a grad- 
 uate of Delaware College, an experienced teacher and in every 
 way a good man, was urged by the trustees to accept the 
 presidency. He made one sole condition, and that was that I 
 
 162 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 should be associated with him in the school. When asked, 
 Bishop Marvin appointed me to that position. The boarding 
 department of the college was not opened that year; so my 
 rented house, with a goodly number of rooms, was filled with 
 college girls. I shuddered to think of the burden on Rachel's 
 shoulders, but I knew she would fill every demand. It was a 
 case of falling desperately in love at first sight. Every girl 
 was loud in her praise of "Aunt Rachel's" table and nice bed- 
 rooms. Rachel did not stint herself in reciprocating their 
 words of praise. Informally they were in a mutual admiration 
 society. Rachel said that they were the best college girls 
 she had ever seen. They gave her no trouble, but helped 
 her in every way possible. When they visited their homes, 
 they told their mothers good things about Aunt Rachel ; and 
 years afterwards, when they were married and in homes of 
 their own, they sent her word that they tried tO' prepare things 
 like they had learned from her. A scrapbook was kept of 
 the pleasant days of the Cotter boarders. We had a good 
 commencement, with a class of five girls to graduate, having 
 had a very successful year. After that the college started on 
 a career of success which continues to this day, and to-day 
 LaGrange Female College is one of the best in the State. 
 Western Georgia and Eastern Alabama ought to rally to its 
 support. It well deserves the richest endowment and all possi- 
 ble encouragement. LaGrange is a fine city and is accessible 
 from every quarter. Rachel, Brother Johnson, and I held 
 the post till the danger point was passed, when reenforce- 
 ments came to the rescue. 
 
 Rev. Morgan Callaway assisted me as junior preacher on 
 the circuit in 1870. We became close friends. He was born 
 to command, to be obeyed, and to be loved. With the least 
 
 163 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 ado he achieved the greatest results. His dress was neat, but 
 not extravagant. His movement was with the step of a miHta- 
 ry man. The first impression was that he was stiff in his man- 
 ner, but he excelled in his pleasant way of meeting a stranger. 
 He was one man who never thought more highly of himself 
 than he ought to have thought. Really he never knew his own 
 worth. Within the last seventy-five or hundred years I suppose 
 there have been seventy-five or a hundred Baptist preachers 
 of the name of Callaway. I have known of but two Method- 
 ist preachers with that name. One was a member of the old 
 Alabama Conference, and this one of the North Georgia Con- 
 ference. In this instance blood was stronger than water. His 
 Callaway kin were his warmest friends and strongest support- 
 ers. His memory is kindly cherished to this day by the people 
 of LaGrange. 
 
 164 
 
PART FOUR 
 
 LAST APPOINTMENTS, SUPERANNUATION, AND 
 PEACEFUL WAITING 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 Grantville, Elberton, and Other Circuits, 1874-82 
 
 TN 1874, 1875, ^^^ 1876 Grantville was my charge. There 
 were four strong appointments: Grantville, Lutherville, 
 Moreland, and Lone Oak. It had become one of the best cir- 
 cuits in the Conference. We had three very prosperous years 
 there. 
 
 In 1877 and 1878 I was in Elberton, on the South Carolina 
 line. Elbert County is another one of the best in the State. 
 I may mention some of the leading men who were there: Col. 
 Robert Hester, a lawyer of prominence, representative of his 
 county in the Legislature, a devoted member of the Church 
 (never missing prayer meeting or Sunday school, always car- 
 rying his large hymn book, and delighting to sing the songs 
 of Zion) ; Maj. J. H. Jones, a graduate of the State Univer- 
 sity, a leading member of the Church, and a prominent mer- 
 chant and planter ; and Col. Thomas J. Bowman, a most popu- 
 lar and leading citizen (I think he was Vice President of a 
 railroad). These men went to quarterly meetings on all occa- 
 sions, leaving out all other engagements. Freeman Auld was 
 one of the best all-round men tO' be found anywhere. He act- 
 ed as Sunday school superintendent, steward, etc., nothing ever 
 standing between him and the Church. 
 
 In that coimty I found my old colleague. Rev. J. H. Grogan. 
 Mention has been made of him as being my junior on the 
 Watkinsville Circuit years before. He was an active and 
 useful member of the Conference for many years. He faith- 
 fully filled his place everywhere, either as junior preacher or 
 in charge of a circuit, station, or district. When his family 
 
 167 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 increased, he decided he had better locate. Being a man of 
 fine judgment, he succeeded in farming, in merchandising, 
 and in other enterprises. He educated his family well; but 
 his interest in the Church never abated, and he was looked to 
 as a wise counselor. We were devoted friends as long as he 
 lived. 
 
 The people of Elberton dispensed the regular old-time hos- 
 pitality, entertaining in their homes distinguished men, judges 
 of the Superior Court, and others of high positions. It was 
 another place where were found a number of the best of 
 women. When I went there, I think they reported that they 
 had raised by their sewing society a thousand dollars toward 
 building a new church. They were prayerful, devout Chris- 
 tians. Chie woman told me that she had read Clarke's "Com- 
 mentary" through. 
 
 The new church was already finished, and I was the first 
 pastor to serve in it. There I met George Loehr. He had 
 done good work in a store with Major Jones. He treated me 
 with kindness and assisted me in many ways when I first ar- 
 rived. There were some difficulties in his way in getting to 
 Emory College. I advised and did all I could to get him to 
 go. His long and valuable service in China is known every- 
 where. 
 
 We had two pleasant and profitable years at Elberton, which 
 is now a large and flourishing city. 
 
 Going on the back track, Watkinsville, where I had been 
 twenty-six years before, was my next charge. The desolating 
 war had come and stripped the people of their property. Many 
 that had been rich I now found poor, but nowhere else have I 
 been more cordially received. The parsonage was then the 
 old home of Bishop Haygood's father and mother and was the 
 
 1 68 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 house in which he was born. It was an old-time, two-story 
 house, built for room and convenience. It was on a beautiful, 
 level site, with twenty-six varieties of fruit and forest trees, 
 live oaks and others that had not been cut down. There was 
 a well of good water and an old dry well in which to keep milk 
 cool. Many of the dear friends who were there before had 
 gone to their heavenly homes — Sister Johnson and others. 
 Sister Richardson was President of the Woman's Missionary 
 Society and is still living (1917). Some of the members that 
 were received the first time I was there were then leading 
 members of the Church. At Farmington I missed Colonel 
 Branch and Brother Williams. At Salem I missed Brothers 
 Swinney, Hester, and others. At Ray's, where we had a most 
 glorious revival in 1852, the Church was strengthened. We 
 built a beautiful, well-proportioned church, after which many 
 churches were modeled. There were some divisions in the 
 Church, which were considerably removed. 
 
 A word about Bishop Haygood. When I was at Watkins- 
 ville the first time, he was about twelve years old. His father 
 was president of a manufacturing company. Atticus (Hay- 
 good) was the delivery boy with a small horse and little 
 wagon, and there was evidence then of his capacity for busi- 
 ness. Receiving his order for goods, he gave perfect atten- 
 tion, asking his father to repeat the order. Away he went, 
 and in a short time the goods were delivered. 
 
 That year I had the honor and pleasure of having as my 
 guest Dr. J. B. McFerrin. We had been together during the 
 war on some of the bloodiest battle fields. A year before, at 
 the home of Judge Reese, we occupied the same room in 
 Washington at a District Conference. Washington was the 
 home of Robert Toombs, the great Senator. In his last days 
 
 169 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 he was converted and was a very humble Christian. Bishop 
 Pierce presided at that District Conference. Dr. McFerrin 
 was there collecting money to save the Publishing House, at 
 Nashville, which had become greatly involved. Toombs sat 
 there, a most interested hearer, with tears often in his eyes. 
 He responded to the appeal with one thousand dollars. 
 
 The next year the District Conference was at Watkinsville, 
 my home, and Dr. McFerrin was my guest. He was in all 
 respects a man of the most chaste speech, and I have wondered 
 that this has not been noticed by others. He received Presi- 
 dent Polk into the Church. Mention of this has been made 
 in the Christian Advocate. As Dr. McFerrin related it to 
 me, he and President Polk had been very intimate friends. 
 Years before he preached a sermon which, I think, led to 
 President Polk's conversion, but he did not unite with the 
 Church then. He never lost the influence of that sermon ; and 
 when the end was near, he wanted to make a public profession 
 of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He called for Dr. Mc- 
 Ferrin and told him that he wanted him to baptize him and 
 administer the sacrament to him. Polk's wife was a Presby- 
 terian and a devout Christian. They took communion to- 
 gether. 
 
 Dr. McFerrin was once connected with a mission to the 
 Cherokees at Gunter's Landing. He often referred to it with 
 a great deal of interest. I do not remember to have seen an 
 account of it in any history of Methodism. In 1828-29 he 
 was one of the first missionaries in Western Georgia. On 
 the Chattooga Mission in 1829 he held a camp meeting with 
 the Indians in Dirt Town Valley. He served two or three 
 years on missions. He was often the guest of John Ross, the 
 chief who headed his letters, "Cherokee Nation, at the Head 
 
 170 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 of the Coosa." So religious light came to Georgia from the 
 West. 
 
 Dr. McFerrin and I were together in some of the bloodiest 
 battles around Atlanta. On a beautiful Sabbath, with many 
 wounded soldiers around him, he spoke from the text: "The 
 sun shall shine on you no more." We could not place them in 
 the shade, so the sermon was most appropriate. 
 
 At that time that section was in the Tennessee Conference, 
 which came down through North Alabama and east to Geor- 
 gia. Afterwards it was in the Holston Conference with the 
 rest of North Georgia. It was nearly twenty years after- 
 wards that Georgia preachers went there. 
 
 On the back track again. Kingston is in Bartow County, 
 one of the best cotmties in the State. Going back a little in 
 history, we find that the coimty was first named Cass, for 
 Lewis Cass, of Michigan, who was one of the leading states- 
 men of his day. He was Governor, Senator, Foreign Minister, 
 and was popular in both the North and the South. When the 
 county was first organized, Cassville was the name of the 
 county seat. Cassville became one of the leading towns of 
 that part of the country. The members of the bar compared 
 with the best lawyers in the State. Judge Tripp presided over 
 the Superior Court for a number of years, and so did A. J. 
 Wright. One of the prominent lawyers was Warren Aiken. 
 H. V. Miller, the Demosthenes of the mountains, once a Unit- 
 ed States Senator and professor in the medical college in At- 
 lanta, Dr. W. H. Felton, many years a member of Congress, 
 Dr. Rawls, and other professionals worthy of mention lived 
 there. A male and a female college were patronized from dif- 
 ferent parts of the State. The citizens of the town compared 
 well with these professionals. The county could boast of some 
 
 171 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 leading citizens of the State — Johnsons, Gilreaths, Weemses, 
 Jacksons, and many others. The land was fertile, and the 
 people lived in good, comfortable houses. These were the 
 conditions when I first saw Cass County, in 1845. 
 
 When the dark days of war came, Cass County suffered 
 greatly. There was no county that suffered more. Gen. 
 Joseph E. Johnston, in his memorable retreat before General 
 Sherman, consumed nearly all there was to eat for man and 
 beast. He was there in 1864 and cut off the growing crop. 
 Then Sherman followed, devastating the whole country, and 
 his crowning act of vandalism was to send an officer there to 
 bum the town and not leave a gatepost standing. Take a 
 case: The clerk of the Superior Court had been dead about 
 three months. His family was in a good two-story house. 
 In tears the widow begged for her house to be spared and 
 displayed the emblems of Masonry. He went upstairs, opened 
 all the windows, kindled a blazing fire, and the house was 
 reduced to ashes. That night she and her children slept near 
 the wall of the cemetery under a shelter of planks. The court- 
 house, colleges, and all went up in the flames. There was not 
 an able-bodied man, white or black, there. The town was 
 almost deserted. There may have been an old negro man 
 there barely able to shoulder a peck of corn and go to mill. 
 Old Cassville was never rebuilt. The name of the county was 
 changed from Cass to Bartow, and Cartersville became the 
 seat of the county. I learned what is here stated from the 
 lips of the lady whose house was burned. 
 
 Some years after the war I saw General Sherman in citi- 
 zen's dress, and I thought he had a mean look. I could not 
 say as mildly as Henry Grady did when Sherman burned 
 Columbia, South Carolina: "He was a little careless with fire." 
 
 172 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Kingston is about seven miles from old Cassville and rep- 
 resents a good part of what is now Bartow and Gordon Coun- 
 ties. The first preacher sent there after the war (in 1866) 
 was Gen. C. A. Evans. This was his first work in the 
 Conference. The people had had no preacher for three 
 years. He went with his wife and children. At first the 
 people were a little awed at the title "General." He visited 
 the humblest homes, visited the sick, and buried the dead. At 
 the close of the year he was returned for the same hard work, 
 and so was he sent back the third year. The people rallied to 
 him and did what they could to support him. At the end of 
 the third year they lacked one hundred and fifty dollars of 
 having their assessments paid in full, and two men paid that. 
 They were George Gilreath and Warren Aiken. They met 
 and consulted, saying: "The people have done all they can, but 
 we cannot let the preacher go without the money." Aiken 
 said: 'T collected an old fee of two hundred dollars which I 
 never expected to get, and I'll pay seventy-five dollars of the 
 deficit." Gilreath said: "I have my fattening hogs for my 
 year's meat in the pens. I can sell them and get the money 
 and risk living on the shoats. I'll pay the other seventy-five 
 dollars." So the one hundred and fifty dollars was paid, and 
 they were two very happy men. 
 
 Now let me tell something about these men. That grand 
 man, Jesse Mercer, who did more for the Baptist Church 
 than any other man, has done a great deal for the State. 
 When the race between Troup and Clark for Governor was 
 over and all the votes were counted but four, it was found 
 that there was a tie. The four were all for Troup. With his 
 hat in his hand, Mr. Mercer said: "Thank the Lord!" He 
 looked after his people in both large and small things and 
 
 173 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 advised them to name their babies after great men. This was 
 the aim when Bishop Candler was a baby, so he was named 
 Warren Aiken. 
 
 General Evans at different times filled the appointments at 
 Athens, Atlanta, and Augusta. Brother Gilreath had some ec- 
 centricities of character. His wife died, and he was lonely; 
 so in due time he sought another companion. There was a 
 widow suitable in age and highly esteemed by all. She lived 
 about halfway between Cartersville and his home. He called 
 to see her one day and told her that the Bible says it is not 
 good for man to be alone, and he asked her to consider the 
 question and give him an answer as soon as she could. He 
 said he was going to Cartersville and would be back about 
 two o'clock, and that if she thought favorably of what he 
 asked to have a white handkerchief hanging by the window. 
 When he came by, the handkerchief was there. They were 
 married in a few days, and it was a very happy couple. 
 
 My stay in Kingston in 1881 and 1882 was a very good one. 
 They had an excellent parsonage and were very kind to me. 
 I cherish the kindest feeling toward Kingston. 
 
 174 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 SUMMERVILLE, SeNOIA, TrOUP, HaMPTON, AND TuRIN, 
 
 1883-94 
 
 TN 1883 I was back in Summerville. This was my third 
 charge and has already been written of. 
 
 In 1884, 1885, 1886, and 1887 I was pastor of Senoia Cir- 
 cuit. This is in Coweta County. We had four good years 
 here. Senoia was comparatively a new town. Its settlers 
 were first-class people. Among the prominent names may be 
 mentioned the Hunnicutts, Haralsons, Couches, and Smiths. 
 I was there four years, and in the changing of lines I was in 
 three districts and had four presiding elders. 
 
 In 1888 I was returned as pastor of Troup Circuit. I shall 
 mention only one meeting held there. It was held at Salem 
 and was most glorious, sixty people having been converted in 
 three or four days. Out of that revival we have received 
 several valuable preachers. 
 
 In 1889, 1890, and 1891 my pastoral charge was Hampton 
 Circuit. Hampton is a good railroad town, but it is not the 
 seat of Henry County. McDonough is the county seat. This 
 coimty was a new locality to me. It has been noted as the 
 ecclesiastical battle ground of the different Churches — their 
 disputes and divisions. One of the first was a "split-off" of a 
 denomination called Bible Christians. They are extinct now. 
 The next were the Methodists. Leaving the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, the Protestant Methodists, fighting against 
 bishops and presiding elders, all were not satisfied with that, 
 but formed the Congregational Methodists. The next was 
 what is now called the Christian Church. They were at first 
 
 175 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 called Campbellites. Their great leader was Alexander Camp- 
 bell, a Presbyterian preacher who came from Scotland and at 
 first in some way united with the Baptist Church. Campbell 
 was a man of great ability. There was a great debate between 
 him and an infidel named Owens in Cincinnati, Ohio. Camp- 
 bell triumphed, and this gave him world-wide popularity. 
 I saw him in 1848. He was a small man, and there was noth- 
 ing striking in his appearance. His followers, as I have said, 
 were called Campbellites. The main point with them was 
 baptism by immersion, quoting: "Believe and be baptized, and 
 you are saved." They have had sharp contentions with other 
 denominations. They are now known generally as the Chris- 
 tian Church and are numerous in the North, West, and South. 
 The Baptists had their part in the split. Their leader's name 
 was White, and his followers are known at Whitites. They 
 are about extinct, and I do not know just what was the cause 
 of the split. Then there were the Hardshell and Missionary 
 Baptists. I have respect for all denominations of Christians. 
 One of the leading Hardshell preachers had a small congrega- 
 tion while I was at Hampton. I always went to hear him 
 when I could. The first hymn he gave out was, "Jesus, Lover 
 of my soul," one of Wesley's hymns. 
 
 While I was there the war ceased between the Christian 
 Church and the others. So far as I know, the Methodist 
 Church was the strongest, with some of the very best mem- 
 bers. William Turnipseed led the singing, worked in prayer 
 meetings, was a leading steward and a successful business 
 man in the place. Brother Mat Harris, William Wilson, Sis- 
 ter Henderson, and other excellent people were prominent 
 members. 
 
 We had a good membership at Sunnyside and also at Mount 
 
 176 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Carmel. All in all, my parishioners on this circuit were ex- 
 cellent people, and they treated us well. My good friend, A. 
 J. Henderson, gave me a walking stick, which has rendered me 
 great service ; and as I get older I prize it all the more, since 
 it has been twenty-five or twenty-six years since he presented 
 it to me. 
 
 In 1892, 1893, and 1894 Turin was my charge. This is 
 also in Coweta County, and it had some of the best people and 
 Church members in the Conference. 
 12 177 
 
CHAPTER III 
 Atlanta and Superannuation, 1895-97 
 
 A SBURY was my last pastoral charge, and I always called 
 it my "baby" appointment. From first to last, the mem- 
 bers of the Church and friends treated us most kindly. We 
 dwelt together in harmony and love. There were then the 
 North Atlanta and South Atlanta Districts, and the preachers' 
 meeting was held every Monday morning at ten o'clock. Aft- 
 er the death of Rev. H. H. Parks, the brethren honored me 
 with the chairmanship of the meeting, and I continued as 
 chairman as long as I remained in the city. As a token of 
 love they presented me with a beautiful gold-headed cane. I 
 cannot express my high appreciation of their regard. 
 
 The Atlanta Ministerial Association, an association of all 
 the evangelical ministers, met once a month. It was a great 
 privilege to meet and get acquainted with these good men. 
 When leaving them they sang, "Blest be the tie that binds our 
 hearts in Christian love." So I carry with me to this day 
 pleasant memories of our stay in Atlanta. 
 
 Our golden wedding took place at Asbury Church, February 
 2, 1895. The people of our charge wanted to prepare the 
 supper, but our children desired that privilege. Part of the 
 feast came from four places besides Atlanta. Rev. W. F. 
 Glenn, D.D., officiated, and I baptized some of my grand- 
 children. It was a simple and precious service, calling us to 
 remember how the Lord had led us these fifty years. The 
 members of Asbury and numerous other friends entered heart- 
 ily into the fiftieth anniversary of our marriage. 
 
 I suj>erannuated at the Conference of 1897 at Athens. 
 
 178 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 Bishop Galloway presided. My home was at one of the best 
 places, with Brother Nickerson, a prosperous man, who made 
 benevolent use of what he had. The Nickersons were deeply 
 interested in the Wesley family, and they owned a hymn book 
 that was once the property of Charles Wesley. They also had 
 some spoons and other mementos of the Wesleys. Being on 
 no committees, I was free to enjoy the Conference. All were 
 pleased with Bishop Galloway. When a certain presiding 
 elder's name was called, the Bishop said that in Mississippi 
 the people reported that one of the presiding elders had deliv- 
 ered a new sermon. 
 
 Several months before the Conference I had made up my 
 mind to superannuate and had so informed my presiding elder 
 and stewards. I felt that I should not stand in the way of 
 younger and stronger men. My wife's health had not been 
 good for some time; so I had no tears to shed as an old sol- 
 dier leaving the battle ground, but felt thankful that I had 
 been permitted to serve as long as I had. 
 
 179 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 The Wife and Mother in the Home 
 
 "jV/TY wife was my greatest help in my pastoral work. She 
 was my best critic, and therefore she was of inestimable 
 value to me in my preaching. 
 
 Only a true mother knows what mother love means and the 
 duties and obligations to her children. This Rachel realized, 
 and from first to last she asked the guidance and help of the 
 Lord. We had twelve children, sixteen grandchildren, and 
 eighteen great-grandchildren. Three of our children died in 
 infancy, and nine lived to be grown. When the first-bom, a 
 boy, was old enough, he bowed at his mother's knee, and she 
 taught him the prayer lisped by millions of infant lips, "Now 
 I lay me down to sleep." Each child that followed bowed at 
 the same mother's knee and was taught the same prayer. 
 When the children were older, Rachel saw that every one was 
 in place morning and evening for family prayer. She would 
 say to them, "Now you listen to pa as he reads and prays," 
 her earnest face showing that she was in tuneful accord with 
 the service. These prayers, especially in the evening, when I 
 had been absent for days and perhaps weeks, were occasions 
 for thanksgiving that the Lord had prospered us and kept us 
 in the hollow of his hand. Indeed, the angel of the Lord 
 seemed to be encamped round about us, and wherever we 
 moved he was our Companion and Guard. Our one aim was 
 to "seek the Lord and his righteousness." 
 
 The question often arose, "What shall we eat, and where- 
 withal shall we be clothed?" Mother became the center and 
 stay of the home. When the time came for the children to 
 begin school, the mother saw that they were ready, and they 
 
 1 80 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 started with her kiss and blessing upon them. The five boys 
 all touched Emory College at some time, either in the prepara- 
 tory or collegiate department. All did not graduate, but each 
 was benefited. The girls all received a collegiate education, 
 both literary and musical. The day the last one received her 
 diploma President Rufus W. Smith gave her a receipt for the 
 final payment. Who toiled more than any other or suffered 
 more anxiety or rejoiced more over this great achievement of 
 educating so many children ? Their mother, of course. 
 
 My wife was my counselor in all temporal affairs and said: 
 "Let us never go in debt without a probability of paying." 
 She could tell me when to go and where to go. If a dark 
 shadow had fallen upon a family, she would say: "Go at once 
 to see them. To be neglected now would hurt them; to 
 go now may do them good hereafter." She was of a social 
 disposition and enjoyed visiting and being visited by her neigh- 
 bors. She made friends wherever we went ; and the longer we 
 stayed, the stronger were the bonds of friendship. 
 
 She believed that a preacher should study and prepare 
 himself for the pulpit. She always arranged that I might 
 have full and undisturbed opportunity tO' study. She thought 
 that a preacher ought to attend Conference, and she made 
 every preparation for me to do so. How carefully she packed 
 my valise! Once when she was sick, but improving, I hesi- 
 tated about going. "O yes," she said; "I'm getting better 
 and will be taken care of. Go and get all the inspiration and 
 benefit you can out of the Conference." As I have said, she 
 was my best critic. If I said anything in the pulpit that should 
 not have been said, she heard it. While reading to her an 
 article for publication, if she requested that I read a part of 
 it over, I knew that it needed correction or ought to be left out. 
 
 i8i 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 She was extremely modest and was as unpretentious as mod- 
 est. 
 
 The late Rev. G. G. Smith, D.D., was my junior preacher 
 during his first year in Conference, and much of the time he 
 was in my home. In my wife's obituary, which he wrote for 
 the Wesleyan Christian Advocate soon after her death, he said : 
 "She was a queenly woman." 
 
 One line inviolably sacred she never crossed, that which 
 pertained to my duty as a preacher. If I asked her about the 
 weather, as to whether I should go or not, her answer would 
 be: "That is with your conscience. You must decide." She 
 would have stood before a cannon's mouth before she would 
 have interfered with my duty. 
 
 In the fifty-three years of my pastorate she never said: "If 
 I were you, I would locate or superannuate." I simply told 
 my presiding elder, John W. Heidt, D.D., of my plan to super- 
 annuate, that he might provide for the appointment for the 
 next year. When I told her, she said: "It will be better for us 
 now. and it will be our last packing and moving." 
 
 182 
 
CHAPTER V 
 Newnan and Coweta County 
 
 "[XyT ANY inducements led us here. We had sen'^ed eleven 
 years in Coweta County. We were at Grantville and 
 Senoia four years each and at Turin three years. Some of 
 our children and grandchildren were living here. The people 
 received us kindly and have always been good since. 
 
 We had our own home and greatly enjoyed it. Though I 
 was seventy-five and Rachel seventy- four, we started out as 
 beginners. We put out strawberries, grapevines, and fruit 
 trees. Rachel saw the garden planted twice. 
 
 On September 22, 1899, Rachel fell and fractured her hip 
 joint and was never able to walk again without crutches. She 
 was a patient sufferer for nearly three years. A few times 
 she could ride out ; and the last time was in the spring, when 
 she went into the woods to see the trees and flowers and hear 
 the birds sing. Her patience and submission in her suffering 
 were wonderful to me. The end came at three o'clock on a 
 calm June day, and without a struggle she passed peacefully 
 away. I had looked upon that face when it shone in the beauty 
 of youth. I saw the color of life fade away and change to 
 the paleness of death. In a moment there was on her face an 
 expression of peace and calmness. She often spoke of that 
 passage of Scripture: "For we know that if our earthly house 
 of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, 
 a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." This 
 was a favorite verse of hers, and the thought came: Has 
 her spirit reached that happy place? It was one of the most 
 peaceful deaths I ever saw. The next day the same sweet 
 
 183 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 expression was on her face when I kissed those cold Hps for 
 the last time and the lid of the casket was drawn over her 
 face. The funeral took place at the First Methodist Church, 
 all the pastors of the city taking part, and we laid her to rest 
 in a spot ever sacredly dear to me in Newnan's lovely city of 
 the dead. 
 
 Rachel was born August ii, 1824. We were married Feb- 
 ruary 2, 1845, and lived happily together fifty-seven years and 
 four months. She died June 4, 1902. She was a member of 
 the Church for sixty years. 
 
 When we first moved to Newnan, I was able to do some 
 Church work. I was supernumerary Sunday school teacher, 
 from the infant class to the oldest, and preached sometimes in 
 the Baptist and Presbyterian churches, as well as in the Meth- 
 odist. The people are always very kind to me on my birthday. 
 The house is always filled, and we have a song and a prayer 
 before they go. They have a beautiful memorial window to 
 the left of the pulpit. This token of love is highly appreciated. 
 
 Where did Coweta County get its name ? We find the fol- 
 lowing in Evans's "History of Georgia," page 28: 
 
 Fearing that the French and Spanish would ahenate the good will of 
 the Indians, Oglethorpe decided to go in person to a great meeting of the 
 warriors at Coweta Town, three hundred miles from Savannah. Seven 
 thousand warriors were to be present, and the safety of Georgia depended 
 on their friendship. The journey was a long and dangerous one, but 
 Oglethorpe did not allow the perils to deter him. With a few chosen 
 friends he set out in Jul}^, 1739. Following the river for twenty-five miles, 
 the party landed and submitted to the guidance of Indian traders. Across 
 deep ravines, through tangled undergrowth and deep swamps, where the 
 horses would mire up, the travelers toiled for many weary weeks. Often 
 they had to build rafts on which to cross the streams. The smaller ones 
 they swam or waded through. At night Oglethorpe would wrap himself 
 in his cloak, lay his head upon his saddle, and sleep on the ground. If 
 
 184 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 the ground happened to be wet, he sought shelter under the trees or under 
 a tent made of cypress boughs. For over two hundred miles they neither 
 saw a human dwelling nor met a living soul. At their journey's end the 
 Indians met them with every expression of love and joy. Oglethorpe soon 
 won the hearts of the red men, and he made firm treaties of peace and 
 friendship with them. As one of their beloved men, he drank of their 
 black medicine and smoked the calumet, or pipe of peace. The importance 
 of this treaty, in view of the approaching troubles with the Spaniards, can- 
 not be overestimated. Old Coweta is three miles from Columbus and 
 richly deserves to have the county named for it. 
 
 Coweta County had been well advertised all over the United 
 States by the sharp contention between President Adams and 
 Governor Troup. It was organized in 1826; and many good 
 people from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and 
 Eastern Georgia became its first settlers, and they came to 
 stay. I have never been in a county where so many of the 
 first settlers remained — Pages, Smiths, Carmichaels, Leighs, 
 Taylors, and Norths. More need not be mentioned, but there 
 are many who deserve the highest praise. Among these good 
 people there were Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and 
 Lutherans. They established schools and churches. Prof. T. 
 E. Atkinson, a graduate of Emory College and of the Univer- 
 sity of Virginia, taught a high school at Senoia for several 
 years. Senoia is named for an old Indian and is a fine com- 
 mimity. The county has contributed a full share of able 
 statesmen and preachers as well. Rev. C. D. Atkinson, now 
 presiding elder of the Shreveport (Louisiana) District, is a 
 Coweta boy. Rev. R. F. Hodnett, a valuable member of the 
 Florida Conference, and A. S. Hutchinson are Coweta boys 
 and graduates of Emory College. Before closing my book let 
 me say that Rev. Dabney P. Jones, the great prohibition apos- 
 tle, preached the first sermon in Newnan in the little log house 
 that served as the courtroom. 
 
 185 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 For whom was Newnan, the seat of Coweta County, named ? 
 Daniel Newnan, who was born in Rowan County, North 
 Carolina, in 1780. He was commissioned second lieuten- 
 ant in the Fourth United States Infantry on March 3, 
 1799, and was promoted to first lieutenant the following No- 
 vember. He resigned January i, 1801. He commanded 
 Georgia volunteers, was captain of militia in two actions 
 with the East Florida Indians in September and October, 
 
 1 81 2, and was conspicuous in an attack on the Owtasee towns 
 of the Creek Indians, under Gen. John Floyd, November 2, 
 
 181 3, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. The following 
 month he was severely wounded in an engagement with the 
 Creeks at Camp Defiance, in what is now Elmore County, 
 Alabama, under the same commanding general. After the 
 war he resided on his plantation, near McDonough, in Henry 
 County, and was made adjutant general of the State militia. 
 He was elected to Congress as a State Rights Democrat and 
 served from March 5, 183 1, to March 5, 1833. 
 
 General Newnan was elected adjutant general by the Legis- 
 lature of Georgia in 181 2. On November 13, 181 3, it was 
 resolved by the General Assembly that the Governor be re- 
 quested to transmit to General Newnan the brevet commission 
 of brigadier general. During the expedition against the In- 
 dians a clerk was elected to his office, and he was to retain his 
 salary as adjutant general; but he received pay as brigadier 
 only while in the service. In January, 1814, he was given a 
 vote of thanks by the General Assembly for the courage, pa- 
 triotism, and fortitude manifested in his service against the 
 Creeks. On November 8, 181 7, he was elected by the Legis- 
 lature and commissioned by the Governor as Major General 
 of the Georgia Militia, Third Division. On December 12, 
 
 186 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 1823, he was elected principal keeper of the penitentiary; and 
 on November 24, 1825, he was elected by the Legislature to 
 the position of Secretary of State. 
 
 General Newnan died January 16, 1851, in Walker County 
 (now Catoosa), near the Tennessee line, two miles east of 
 Rossville and a mile or two from the Chickamauga battle 
 field. He died on Peavine Ridge, three miles from his grave. 
 He was there for his health. He was buried at Newnan 
 Springs. 
 
 187 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 Ordinations and Appointments 
 
 T HAVE been a Methodist preacher seventy-three years. I 
 was ordained deacon by Bishop Capers at Macon in De- 
 cember, 1846, and ordained elder by the same Bishop at Au- 
 gusta on January 13, 1849. I received appointments from 
 eighteen bishops, all of whom are dead except Bishop Joseph 
 S. Key, D.D., who resides at Sherman, Texas, coming to the 
 end of a long and useful life with the admiration and love of 
 a great multitude. My first appointment was from Bishop 
 Joshua Soule in January, 1845 ; the last, from Bishop Alpheus 
 W. Wilson in 1896. I served under twenty-six presiding eld- 
 ers while in the active ministry, none of whom survive. I can 
 truly say, "My company is gone before" ; yet I am happy in 
 the respect and love of the younger generation, as well as of 
 a constantly decreasing few who, like myself, linger on the 
 shores of time awaiting the call to come up higher. 
 
 On entering the Methodist ministry I paid especial attention 
 to the Discipline and the general laws of the Church. Upon 
 the decision in three cases I differed with three presiding eld- 
 ers, all of whom yielded to my construction of law. One 
 case went to Bishop McTyeire, one of our greatest ecclesias- 
 tical statesmen. He wrote to me, and in his letter he separated 
 the words with hyphens: "I-think-you-are- wrong." Bishop 
 Pierce answered me: "You are right." And thus the case 
 stood. 
 
 For more than twenty-five years I served on committees of 
 examination and was a member of that committee before 
 which the present Bishop Candler came as a candidate for 
 
 188 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 admission on trial. I reminded the Bishop that he was ad- 
 mitted by my approval. I served on the Board of Finance 
 for many years, sometimes being its chairman. I have been 
 also on the Board of Church Extension, and it afforded me 
 great pleasure to assist the Churches in the needy fields. I 
 tried my best to fill every place to which I was assigned by 
 the proper authorities. I thank God for any service I have 
 been able to give in his name for the advancement of the 
 human race and the glory of our blessed Saviour. 
 
 Following is a list of my numerous appointments: Dah- 
 lonega Circuit, 1845; Blairsville Mission, 1846; Summerville 
 Circuit, 1847; Marietta Circuit, 1848; Clarksville Circuit, 
 1849; Canton Circuit, 1850; Gainesville Circuit, 185 1; Wat- 
 kinsville Circuit, 1852-53; Carnesville, 1854; Warrenton, 
 1855-56; Waynesboro, 1857-58; Sandersville Circuit, 1859; 
 Sandersville Station, i860; Culloden Circuit, 1861 ; Greens- 
 boro Circuit, 1862-63; Forsyth Circuit, 1864-65; Fort Valley, 
 1866; Whitesville Circuit, 1867-68; Grantville Circuit and 
 Principal of Grantville High School, 1869; Troup Circuit, 
 1870-72; LaGrange Female College, 1873; Grantville Circuit, 
 1874-76; Elberton, 1877-78; Watkinsville Circuit, 1879-80; 
 Kingston, 1881-82; Summerville, 1883; Senoia, 1884-87; 
 Troup Circuit, 1888; Hampton Circuit, 1889-91; Turin Cir- 
 cuit, 1892-94; Asbury, Atlanta, 1895-97. 
 
 AN APPRECIATION 
 
 Newnan, Georgia, October 4, 1912. 
 Rev. W. J. Cotter, City 
 
 Dear Brother Cotier: Tne Building Committee of the First Methodist 
 
 Church takes pleasuie in >ioti<"ying you fict the entire membership of the 
 
 Church, wishing in a feeble way to show you how deeply and truly they 
 
 love you and in what tender and affecricnc^.te regard you are held by us 
 
 all, have set apart and dedicated to you one of the windows of our new 
 
 189 
 
MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 church and have inscribed thereon your name, in feeble token of your 
 faithful, aflfectionate, and devoted work, your earnest and consecrated life 
 and example, and your tender and unselfish eflforts of love for our Church. 
 We herewith give you a copy of the message of the Church in making their 
 freewill offering in testimony of this love and appreciation : 
 
 "We, the members of the First Methodist Church of Newnan, wishing 
 to show in some way our love and affection for Brother W. J. Cotter, and 
 wishing to assure him of the gratitude of our Church to him for his long, 
 tender, faithful, and affectionate service among us, and desiring him to 
 know that we do love him and will always love him for his life and works 
 of love and unselfishness, hereby contribute to the window set apart and 
 dedicated to him in aflFectionate remembrance." 
 
 Affectionately yours. Garland M. Jones, Chairman. 
 
 RESOLUTIONS BY THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 
 
 Resolved by the First Methodist Sunday School, That we to-day thank 
 God for the continued presence among us of our beloved brother and 
 father in Israel, the Rev. William J. Cotter; that he has been spared to 
 enter upon this new year and the eighty-sixth year of his life ; that we 
 are grateful to God for his continued usefulness to the Church, for his 
 beautiful Christian life, and for his unswerving faith and his holy life. 
 
 Resolved, That we assure our beloved brother of our unbounded confi- 
 dence, of our warmest love, and of our high appreciation of his gentle and 
 loving ministrations in times of joy and in hours of sorrow. 
 
 The above resolutions, introduced by T. E. Atkinson, were, on motion 
 made by J. J. Goodrum and seconded by D. T. Manget, unanimously 
 passed by a rising vote. 
 
 This January 3, 1909, at Newnan, Georgia. 
 
 W. G. Post, Superintendent; 
 J. T. Fain, Secretary. 
 190 
 
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