Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-02-17
TO THE OLD FOLKS.
A Brief Biographical lsHFsal Ihclud.ns
Sixty Years, A, D.. 1910.

I wac selling goods iu Jacxsb1ro.
East I5nn6ssee, in the fall OF that year
/ was in Giles C01u5y, T6unesses, collect
ing sud driving beef cattle, the country
a -caneDrake, dotted here ard there with
small cleariugs and cabins: in 1911, I
was selling goods az Caldwell Bridge, in
Franklin county Tennessee. on the Nick
slack trace leading through the Cher0-
kss Nation TO Georgia; in ISI2 Joined the
United states army At Knoxville; Gen
sral h. p. Gaines was my Lieutenant
Colonel; embarked in haCb0ats on the
Tennessee river near Kingston, soon en-
tered the Cherokee Nation and saw no
white settlement eXceat ab DiJt0's land
ing in Alabama, and R~eVnCIdsburv.
Montgomery county, Tennessee, until we
landed az Fort Wallace, on the west bank
Of the Ohio, forty miles above It's mouth,
where we went into winter quarters.
When passing over the Muscle Shoals,
the boat / was in, stove and hung on a
rOCck some three miles above ths foot OF
the shoals, we were taken of, TWO at a
Jimel in a canoe, occupying near W.
days.
In the spring Of 1915, left Fort Massao
and marched through kentucky and
Ohio 20 Fort Meigs; in the fall, crossed
Lake Erie with HarriHOn's army, on
Psrry's da8t, Co Canada: Wiutsred In Fort
COvingtOn, buIl5 by Captain Holmes, in
Upper Canada; was discharged in the
spring Of 1914, and had TO make my way,
as best I could h0mswErd. On arriving
at Fort ST. MaTY's on the frontier OF
Ohio, / substituted for "a term Of three
months in Captain Curris's company Of
OlIO militia, after which i returned to
Kentucky, where remained until Ken
lucky was called or 90 send a brigade to
the defense of New Orleans, I Joined the
command at Louisville, where two rsgi-
ments LEFT on ~hatboat5, Dist November,
1914. and landed sc the mouth OF Gumhar-
land river, % December, where another
regiment joined us. On the 9Th Deem
Der, lefb the Cumberland and pursued
Jul voyage; pa the l7tu December, land
ed at the third or lower Chickasaw Bluff.
I made my way to the top Of the bluff.
near its upper end, and stood where the
city of Memphis now stands. Ths plain
presented the appearance of an old nelG,
a cabin stood near the edge of the bium
and near its upper end, and Fort Pick
ering, near the lower end Of the bluff was
occupied by an artillery company Of
United States soldiers. if there was
any settlement, or sign of settlement on
the west bank of the river. opposite the
bluff, / failed to notice It,. The only set
tism6n6 between the mouth Of the Ohio
aAA aAA " 10. . NJ 1E
New Madrid, and the cabin sud Fort
Pickering, on the lower Chickasaw Bluff.
We landed at New Orleans on the 4th Of
January, 1915, arrived with some three
hundred muskst and perhaps twenty
rifles, was armed on the 7th and marched
down TO JacksOn's lines, where, on the
morning of the 18th, we fought, hut neither
'bied nor died. Sometime the ensuing
h steamboat E-ua made her an-
pearanCe at New Orleans, the first steam
boat [ had seen; / was told she could run
from New Orleans to Louisville in a
month, and her charge for passage 500;
/ returned from New Orleans by way OF
old Natchez Lrail, Cu0w lOst.1
On the 10Th OF May, 1915, started anoth-
Or voyage u~atb0atluQ, under that distiu-
pushed river man. Captain Silas Craig. !
who died sOms twelve years since at Point
-hlc0t, Ark, leaving an immense fortune
10 an only son, who survived him but a
years. We took in a cargo at Frank
fort. KY, passed the lower ChickasaW
Bluff the 18Th Of June. landed on
Presidents Island, then dosbed,
landing, to Eatchez, a
distance OF 46S miles $50 saws my
~ournal): landed at New Orleans June
having two fatboats. Did not see
during this voyage. Captain
Craig appeared to take a fancy to me. and
Engaged me TO return with him to Ken
lucky and take charge of a K BOAT as steers
mans; and in all probability / should have
leCOme a " river man " under his patron
.ge, but for the misfortune Of an attack
# "ague and fever" at the Upper
french Camp Ga Floresl on our return,
where was left, and had a tedious Jour
up to Franklin, Tenn, where I
topped. Then follows a space Of some
en- years, passed mostly in Pulaski,
'enn., wherein the city of Memphis or its
ppsndages has no concern, up to the 18th
f March, ISIS, when / settled in Favstts
0uuty, Tenn, in which county I still re-
ide. During he f5w first years Of my
ssidencs here, j frequently visited Mem
his, and became acquainted with Major
4. b. Winchester and Isaac Rawlings,
leTchants, who appeared TO have the con-
-Ol of the Indian trade; also 10. Davis, a
l%erchant, VIM. Lawrence, ESQ, and his
RObt. Lawrence clerk for Win
hester, Mr.. Vaughan with whom I
Oarded); also the Rev. Eliiah Coffee. a
aptist preacher, with whom I had been ,
squainted in Our boyhOOd. I found
Otfee comfortably settled in a new cabin. 2
n a siX-acre tract Of land that he had
of Winchester. This land is now
Jvered by the city. Not long after my
isit, Coffee lost his wife. And many
ears later I again called on him (Or raJh-
hunted him up, and found him in the 7
west depths of restitution and poverty. 7
70 was working at his trade of shOema.
or, for Elijah had the care Of sOles, both
mpOral and spiritual. While I sat talk
e with him a woman came in to set hia
-eakfast. He introduced her as his wife. 1
.er appearance at once brought wildly
my mind Burns description Of Willie
'asselIs WIFE," I parted with him in
'rrowi and some years later saw an ac- I
'unt Of his death. I have heard that
ulah Coffee prsached the first sermou
at was preached in Memphis. Lam of
10 opinion that he told me so, but I am G
u positive as TO that; but he was GER y
inly among the first settlers there, and y
.ere Is q strong probability that he did Y
the first sermon ia the town, after =
became Memphis.
The last crop of Gotten I inside was H
by Winchester to New Orleans. d
got returns in June of sales at So. Twas
ok that summer, and whom i was called 2
l for adebt L gave an order on Wiuches- y
titus giving many little orders Of q
nlch 1 kept no account. In b fall i
lied TO settle the account. Winchester
ls not in, but Richardson f0und a larger /.
lance in my favor than j had counted
j; but I could not recOllect ali the orders
lad drawn. think I called twice De-
re- I saw winchester. But he finally
peared, and found we Small ordefs
at had been paid u not charged, ana
/, settled. Us your Richardson the same q
al settled with me, and does he reGOl-
n 40 AMOS DAVID, y
Of SOmerville.