Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-04-28
HISTORY OF rows POINT.

place OF importance, N IS bound so to
continue, I thought a sketch Of its early
history might be interesting to the read
ers of the APPEAL, and / regret that a
more full aud perfect account of the in
cidents connected with il, and names Of
its first settlers cannot probably now he
obtained.
At what time Judge Benjamin Foy
settled on the Point | do not remember
to have heard but il certainly musthave
beep prior 10 the commencement of the
present century. FOy's Point, rs il was
called. held a high character, not only
asa very important landing, but as the
centre of the most healthy, intelligent,
and moral community between Cape
Girardeau aud NatcheZ, which was
owing most likely 10 the example Of he
Judge. who, although he held his court
at the Post of Arkansas, cNerted his
more direct influence at home, being
one of that class Of mel whose very
prcsence is a terrort to evil-dOers, and the
Tennessee shore was then considered by
far the safest refuge.
/ think his was an old Spanish grant,
but i'm this I may be mistaken. At all
events il was considered safer than mo
Others at that time, which, perhaps IN
duced the more prudent settlers to pur-
chase of him. He also appears to have
p~oSsessed a far more extensive and cor
rect knowledge Of the country than any
other man i'm il, and his statements were
held hv the government a. the most re-
liable. which caused the Point TO be
visited, not only by many of our most
able statesmen OF that day, but also by
distinguished tourists from foreign cOul-
tries. Among the latter ! might name
the great philosopher, historian, poet,
deist, etc, NOlBey, who spent several
weeks in 1885, with the Judge, in quest
of knowledge. The notorious Aaron
Burr also made frequent visits
to the Point about the same
time, though 1 have not heard
that the Judge or any of the set
tiers were suspected of being con-
nected with his supposed schemes or
expeditions. Judge FOy had two bro
Tiers. Isaac and Henry, who, although
good, industrious men, fell behind old
Ben in talents and weight of character.
ISaac's farm centred about opposite
Adams street, and contained some
thirty OF forty acres i'm cultivation. /
WAS well acquainted with the old man,
and particularly 50 with his son Spill
man, a young man about my ewnsage,
born and buried on the place. We spent
many happy days together, hunting and
fishing. / have listened for hours to his
tales of early days. The Judges farm
Law up at the point, which has fallen III
considerably since. 1t was much more
extensive, and better improved than
Isaac's. Henry first settled above the
Judge, in the bend, but he was a man
of more energy than either of his bro
Tiers, and his heart was set on the
Chickasaw bluff, and seemed to have
anticipated its future greatness. He
first purchased an Indian hut, about the
foot of Court street, which was II way
of acquiring a color of title, and which
some thought would be treated a. a pre-
emptiOn right, though no such law eX-
listed at the time. His farm was, l
think, unusually large for that day, eX-
tending from jefferson, if not Adams,
below Union to a skirt Of woods and
and back to, or beyond Third, besides
an extensive field on the batture, which
he had also in cultivation. There were,
however, some spots of woodland left
standing, one of which vas at Court
Square. He built a house on the bluff,
below the foot Of Jefferson street, which
took the shine of Brother Ben's big
red house, at the Point; paled in a
handsome graveyard, in which some of
our prominent citizens were buried. He
also made q handsome little lake, known
long after a Lake Walker, and planted
a fine orchard, from which ] and Others
still living gathered fruit as Ate as 1894.
! would like to continue this subject fur
Their, but my story is on the other side of
the river. / viii simply add that the
John Rice grant, laid Immediately after
the purchase, forever ousted the poor
settlers.
TIE FLOYs.
The Foys, | think, were Of German
descent, 50 were several other families at
or neal the Point; also some old Spanish
still remaining, one of which
was named Grandy, who married a Miss
sister-in-law of Isaac Foy, but
most of this nationality seemed to pre-
fer marrying among the Indians, and
have now wholly disappeared. From
one of these / received an old Spanish
tradition Of this bluff, which, in the
of a Maryatt, might furnish mate
rial for a first-class novel, and although
out of place, yet, as ] may never have
opportunity, and as you, Mr..
Editor, have assumed the responsibility
Of saying, in reference to this story, that
/ would 20 back 10 the days of Governor
GayOso, / will Try to make your words
good, at Least to a slight extent, though
no obligations TO do 50.
THE FRsT MEMPHIS LOVE STORY.
The original Spanish fort, which stood
the county Jail now stands, was
first commanded by Don GallOssO, who
had a beautiful daughter named Marcia,
beloved by all, and especially q young
Don, who sought her hand in marriage,
and being in every way worthy, was ac-
Although a great favOrite, the
Young man had an implacable enemy,
who WAS no less a parsonage than the
priest and father cOnfessOr Of the young
lady, who, after having failed 10 preiu-
lice lIeragainst her lover, finally refused
most positively to sOlcmnize the nup-
tials. This pTeyed 50 heavily on the
mind OF the young girl, that she sicken-
ed aud died, and was buried under an
elm tree which stood on a slope of the
bluff. below the foot of Jackson street.
The old Don took the deathO Of his daugh-
ter greatly 10 heart, and requested TO be
relieved. During the tendency (which,
he built a vessel at the mouth of Wolf
river, in which il was said he and his
with Others, made the voyage TO
Europe. This vessel he named "Marcha
GallOssO.n That a craft bearing that
name was built, as indicated, there is no
in my mind, but as TO her rig and
capacity, which was represented as quite
there is doubt, and particularly her
trip to Europe, though / believe such was
the original intention. | have heard
that she was sold at New Orleans, and
went into the cOasting trade, which l
think more likely. The original map of
published in 1920, has a cut
representing the Marcia Gallosso as a
light "fOre-and-aft schooner
THE BURIAL PLACE.
The place represented as the burial
spot of Donna Marcia showed no symP-
Of a grave on the surface, but when
he bluff was graded to fill the navy
yard, two graves were found near the
place as l could judge. The old fort,
whose name was too hard for me 10 call,
much less remember, stood, as i before
ON the ground now occupied by
.he county Jail. When knickeTbocker
and Wright built their storehouse, the
first brick-building ever erected on the
bluff, and which occupied the same
place, remains OF the old fort were found
IN digging the foundation; among 9TH
srs, a vault built Of brick wal found,
broken up, and used in building the
warehouse, and now, in ali probability,
occupy a place in the walls of the pris-
on. It was thought by some, at the
time, that these might be the ruins Of
Fort LAssOmciOn, built by the French,
under the celebrated B~ienviile, who, for
"A short time, held possession Of the
country; but that could not have been
the case, ] think, as it was too far from
the river, being full double what il isl
now, for which this latter fort was
designed, IN part, as a protection. III
will further state that / made frequent
inquiries Of the old Spanish settlers i'm