The Greenville enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1870-1873, 1871-09-13
"REMINISCENCES
q OF TnE ~ ltsa Z.
COUNTY OF GRseRvllle,
BY Ex GOVERNOR n. F. rrRRY.

In 1928 there were two ,,.,o,,,
> m the village, Harrison an
rsoninson, and three LAWYER
Earle, Walker and Choice. Con,
seldom sat longer than Tuesday q
Wednesday, and now the cour, s;t
three weeks, three times n vc,r
and one.half of the business 70
mains undisposed of. The npm
! Der OF lawyers has increased f,.on
three, to fifteen or twenty. Ther,
were were only five stores in the village
SSieveiasnd's, Touey's, Cravton, :
Drowhs and Lovcland's. Now
we have something less than
~ n@mdred' ,'sn'e' and more goods il one
ot them, than there was in the Ave
Zach store was then we'll supplied
with WHISKY and rum, which were
retaiied to their customers, in
great rrcfusion. 1t was a rare
thing to go into store without
seeing some one drunk or drinking
ihe evening / frs, came to the
Shlage, L remember seeing two
drunken men on the public sonare
qn"rreling, cu"eei,n9 and throwing
stones at each other for some time
There was no police, ana no one
attempted to Interfere.
Those were primitive times
compared with the present in
Greehville. 1t was customary for
the gentlemen to meet in tho piaz.
zas OF the stores on Main stree,
and some times on the sidewalks.
and play cards for hours, viii,
their bowl of toddy in front Of
them. l have frequently seen the
very fist citizens of the village.
thus situated in oren day light
Whilst the ladies' were passing the
streets: There was very little bus
mess OF any character to occupy
the time OF tie citizens, and very
few of them thought of spending
their leisure hours in reading. If
there was less refinement i'm those
days, and less culture than there
IS now, there was much more socia.
biiity and good feeling. There
was more genuine kindness and
hospitality, and less selfishness than
we meet with now. AS civiliza
ton progresses, poli,eness and
manners take the place of friend.
chip and kindness. Pleasure par.
lies were more frequent than now
among the young pc 'ple, and Wis.
I.ihS more common and cordial.
Every week or two, and some times
TWO or three times week, the Young
men and ladies would meet at cacH
others houses and have a dance or
sociablc party. Balls were fre.
qrcnt, and the young ladies all
danced. None of them belonged
to the church, or had any scruples
about joining in the dance. Walks
to tho Falls of Reedy River, of
moonlight nights, were common
with the young people, and many
a lover has taken this occasion to
tell his love, and express the depth
of his passion for the fair one be.
side him. Fishing parties were
also fashionable i'm Il ose days. Tn
the winter when we had snow. or
there was hard freeze, the Young
gentlemen and ladies had greaf
sport in the snow, and on the ice
OF the mill pond.
There was nc oinrcl, in tLo ,;I
lage, and never had been u.s.
Parson johnson, eor several years
after he came to Greenvilie, to
tss&e charge of the Greenville Fe-
male Academy, preached every
Sunday in the old Court House.
Previous to that time the iilagers
wonld ride ont in Tie country, to
attend churcLl. on the Sabbath -
.A.!thops'l Doctor johnson was
never able to organize a church
in the village, he succeeded in
builGing, by subscription, the pres
ent old Baptist Church, which was
to be free for all denominations to
preach in. The learning, talents
and ability of DR.. Johnson, are
we'll known to tSc people Of South
Carolina. He preached very able
sermons, for ten or fifteen years in
-ou. village, but never made sin
gle convert to his church. This
was q little remarkable, as ! have
since seen dozens added to the
church in one day in Greenvil.e
under the preaching of greatly in.
ferior ministers. The world may
say what they please, but religion
is an affair of the heart, and not oi
the head. To be successful, the
minister must address the near.
and stir npstho feelings and pas
sions, or he will pass Through hii
ministry rs parson johnson did il
| Greenville.