The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-10-25
Old Times In Tennessee.


From the address Of Mr.. W. B. Waldr n. At the
Memphis old Folks' barbecue.
In 1875, forty-seven pens ago, nav
father settled in this countfy, about
ten miles northeast - the village of
Memphis, upon Government land that
had not been sanctiOnized. After we
crossed the Tennessee rivees we saw
but little sign of civilization-very few
settlers. The whole country was
heavily timbered. There Were no hos
tile Indians, but every other obstacle
that the settlers of new country ever
the Western District of Tennessee.
In 1928 the tide of immigration
increased, but very large portion of
the new comers were very poor; many
of them would have retreated, but
were not able, and it became with
most of them a question of@life aud
death while they were unable to move
away. They had to subdue the forest
and bring it into cultivation before
they had the promise of bread. and you
who think the cutting down OF trees is
bringing the land into cultivation
should follow shovel-p'oy with a
jumping coulter through ro6ty, new
piece of ground to know what a vir-
tue patience is. The killing of bear.
deer and turkeys saved many a family
from suffering; for all other supplies
they had to draw on the Chickasaw
Bluffs, and to reach Memphis, only ten
miles distant, was no small job. Think
for a moment. Surrounded by an
unbrOken forest, no roads, no bridges,
no mills, no school-hOuses, no church.
There was but one wagOn.rOad to
Memphis, and that poor one, though
it was called the Great Alabama or
State Line road.
Memphis was a small town in 1927,
the year the first newspaper was start
ed here what town there was lay up
toward the mouth of Wolf river. The
eleventh number of the first voluem
of the Memphis Advocate and Western
District Intel'igencer was published
March %, 1897, by Parran & PhOebus
1t states: "a town has been laid off
by the owners of the lands; they pro-
pose to sell the lots on accommodating
credits to improvers. William Law
renee and M. B. Winchester are the
agents." 1t contains Congressional
news of the Nineteenth Congress, and
liberal extracts of foreign news from
Liverpool and London, which has lust
been received by the steamboat Car
roll, up to the 18th of January (only
seventy days. The notes of the Bank
of Tennessee and Yeatman. Woods &
Co. were par; United States bank
notes one ner cent. premium. Among
the advertisements we find the tamil.
lar names of RO. Lawrence, Little
Henderson, Anderson B. Carr, Isaac
Rawlings, M. B. Winchester, w. D.
Ferguson and F. A. & T. Young.
The New Orleans Price Current, of
the 18th of March, 1927, shows cotton,
and Mississippi, choice, 13M
14c; prime, 10c; second, Sc; iuferiOr
Sc. Tennessee and North Carolina,
choice, Ole; prime, Sic; second, Sc;
inferior, &c.
The town of Raleigh was laid out in
1897, and the road to SOmerville
through Raleigh was cut out soon
after which James Brown and Co.
started line of four horse post-coaches.
This was a greater epoch in our his
tory than the opening of the Memphis
and CharlestOne railroad waa.
In addition to the privatiOns / have
that the early settlers had
to contend with, there were many
Others. Almost every one had the
chills and fever, the whole country
WAS infested with mosquitoes. btffa'O,
gnats, and all manner of flies and
snakes, all of which have well-nigh
passed away. l sometimes hear peO-
pie complain of the few mosquitoes we
now have in the spring of the year,
and l assure you they are small and
very poor sample of what the early
settlers had 10 contend with, and that
mosquito-bars.