The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1877-01-25
ALTERNATELY.
A Brief Sketch of the Life and
Services of the Late Chas.
c. Alternately.

Preamble and Resolutions al
a Public Meeting ON Mon
day, 18th, and a Brilliant
Eulogiusn by Hon.
Il. NJ. Jones.
The sad intelligence has been
announced of the death of Charles
c. Alternately, Esq'r, at his resi-
dence, four miles south east of Pu
Iaski, on the Ind day of January
1877, in the S7th year of his age.
The deceased had been a resident
Of Giles county over 66 years, and
for nearly 30 years of that time was
an officer of our courts, first as clerk
and master of the Chancery Court
and afterwards as clerk of the Cir
cult Court. In consideration Of his
long and faithful public services as
| well as his worth as a citizen. it is
fit and proper that some memorial
of his life, with appropriate testi-
monials of our regard for his mem
ory, should have place on the
records of our county.
Charles c. Alternately was born
on the 9th of July, 1890, in Bruins
wick county, in the State of Vir-
ginia. When or Z years old his
father, William Abernathy, moved
to Dinwiddy county, and from
thence, in the spring of 1908, to
Davidson county, Tenn, and settled
on Whites creek. In the summer
or fall of 1908 Charles G. entered
Cumberland College, in Nashville,
since known as Nashville Univer-
sity. AT that time DIR. Jas. Priestly
was at the head of the faculty, Will
liam Hume professor of ancient Ian
guages, and G. Nj. Martin { father
of Judge VIM. P. MARTINI was
teacher in the preparatory depart
ment. At that time John Bell,
Ephraim Ii. Foster, Eldridqe B.
Robertson, Cave johnson and VIM.
B. Turley were boys and fellow stu
dents at College, all of whom after
wards became distinguished.
After remaining about two years
in college, he came to Giles county,
and arrived at his fathers (who
had preceded him on the 10th of
Oct, 1910, and has since resided in
the county. On the next day after
his arrival be came to the present
site of Pulaski, and ON his way
found the citizens engaged in open
ing road from the direction of
Elkton to Pulaski. They were
working from the south, and had
reached Crooked creek, one mile
south of Pulaski. The town had
been located and partially laid off,
and few rods of cane cut down on
the public square, north of the
present court house. The balance
of the public square and what is
now the town was covered with tall
cane and large poplar, beech and
other forest trees. Alexander Black
lived in log cabin near where Da;
vid S. Martin now lives, on 1st
Main street, and had cut down a
few rods of cane where his house
stood. Robert Black lived in a
similar cabin on the same street,
near the old cemetery. Lewis KiIk k
lived in rough log cabin on the
bluff of Richland creek at the foot
of the shoals. A rough log house
had been erected in his yard in
which to hold courts. Kirk kept a
boarding house and tavern during
the sessions of court. Richard
Scott had a small stock of goods in
q cabin near Kinks which he soon
after sold out to John Q. Talbot.
William Ball kept grocery in
cabin near Kinks. These were then
the only houses and improvements
in what is now the town of Pulaski,
that he remembered. Col. Nelson
Patterson lived about mile east of
the town. Maj. Thos. Williamson
lived near the Patterson spring;
Major John Clack about mile west,
and the Bufords and Somerset
Moore about a mile or two south
west of the town, together with a
few others in the vicinity. After
some of the lots were sold in Au
gust, 1911, and the cane cut down
on the public square, courthouse
was built on the square out ofround
logs and covered with boards, where
courts were held for several years.
1t stood about where the south gate
of the present court house yard is
situated. About the same time a
log house was built for Jail, which
stood near the southeast corner of
the public square, and near the
southeast corner of the drug store
lately occupied by Pope & Gordon.
In 1913 report reached the
county that the Indians south of the
Tennessee river had become hostile,
and were advancing on the white
settlements. The militia of the
county was Immediately assembled
by Col. Robert Steel, and marched
to Fort Hampton to meet the In
dams, and from thence to the mouth
of Elk river, where, finding no In
dians, Mr.. Abernathy, who was in
the expedition, with DIR. G. ID Tay-
lor and a few others, crossed the
Il leuHtSSee IlNci slHu ItCOuuOilclC Gu
the south side of the river for some
distance, and became satisfied the
alarm was unfounded and returned
home. In the latter part of the
year he responded to a call for
troops to go to the Creek nation,
and left Pulaski the 18th of Deer,
1913, a member of volunteer Rife
company, under the command of
Lieut.. Nathan Davis, and went by
way of Fayetteville, Huntsville and
Ditto's landing and joined General
Jackson's army at Fort Strother,
and served a tour in the campaign
against the hostile Indians, and
was in the battle of the Horse Shoe
9th of March, 1914.
After he returned from the army
he read law with Judge Alfred III.
Harris, but his natural diffidence
and aversion to appearing before
the public as speaker caused him
to abandon the law as profession.
Nevertheless his knowledge of the
elementary principles of law was of
great advantage to him in after life
In 1920 he took the Federal cen
sus of the county, and soon there
n ftar vaS made Jufoa dvoeota of