Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1893-03-23
WASHINGTON COUNTY
In the State Legislature From 1S47 tO
1892.
[No. 81

President of the United States, and the
fight between his excellency and Con-
gress over my policy" was on in all
of its tierceness and bitterness. A large
/ number of the original Union men and
ex-Federal soldiers had naturally at
tached themselves to the Republican
party, and as their sympathies were
! entirely on the side of Congress as
against the President, they felt that
the time for Union men to stand togeth-
er in Tennessee as well as throughout
the Nation.
Parson Brownlow was then Governor
and the Legislature had enacted many
stringent laws, making it extremely
difficult for any one except an undoubt-
ed Union man to get voting certifi-
! cate. The colored men had also been
enfranchised and would be allowed
their first vote at the ensuing August
election of that year for Governor and
members of Congress and the Legisla-
ture.
Col. Patton was our member of the
, Legislature, and had voted for all the
measures of what was then called the
''Brownlow Legislature. He was a
candidate for reelection and in all
probability would have been allowed
to succeed himself had he not made
the mistake of presuming that he was
bigger man than his party, announc-
ed himself candidate independent of
any party or clique.
A mass convention of the Republi-
can party of this county was held on
the first Monday in April, and Capt.
Newton Hacker, then a rising young
lawyer of this place, and staunch
Unionist of the most approved stalwart
pattern, was nominated, and after a
very able canvass of the county was
triumphantly elected, and made most
useful and industrious member of the
last Republican Legislature of Tennes-
| see.
The year 1869 marked another impor-
tant epoch in Tennessee politics.
Gov. Brownlow had been elected to
the United States Senate, and d. W. G.
Senter, Speaker of the Senate, had sue
ceeded to the Goyernorship, and was a
candidate to succeed himself at the
coming August election.
Congressman VIM. B. Stokes was
also willing-yery willing to be Gov.
ernor of Tennessee. The names of
both Senter and Stokes were presented
to the Republican State Convention at
Nashville about May, 1869. Then the
fire flew-there was regular or per-
haps irregular can cana picnic from
the head of Hoss Creek Stokes and
Senter crawled out from under the de-
bris each bearing the label, Regular
Republican Nominee" and they soon
took the stump to tell the people about
it.
Senter was already in and had the en-
tire election machinery in his own
hands, and going on the principle that
nothing succeeds like success, he soon
performed the brilliant (Y) coup d'etat
of proclaiming himself in favor of uni
versal suffrage, and in order to make
it universal" and to make himself
solid with the newly enfranc nchised, he
turned out all the old Commissioners
of Registration, who were known to be
Stokes men, and appointed men that
he could use for his own purposes. The
result was that everybody voted at the
August election of 1869, and Senter
was elected by large majority.
For the Legislature that year Col.
Patton, Col. Kirk and DR.. VIM. Smith
were the candidates. DR.. Smith was
in favor of universal suffrage" and
was elected. Kirk ran next to Smith
and got the votes of the Stokes men
pretty much.
In 1870 the constitution was changed
and the time for electing the Governor
and members of Congress and the Leg
islature was changed from the first
Thursday in August of every odd year
to the first Monday in November of
every even year, as it is now.
The candid ates that year were nu-
merous. DR.. Smith was a candidate
again, but as the newly enfranchis
edn merely wanted him in 1869 as a
''cas' 8 paw, they did not rally to his
support worth cent. Col. Reeves was
also candidate, for awhile, at least,
also John D. Reeves and Jas. A. West,
and H. H. Carr, Democrat. Mr.. West
withdrew the day before the election,
and Esq, Joe Price was put on the
track, but in this uncertain scramble
II. H. Carr was elected.
In 1872 Jas. A. West had a clear
track and therefore easily defeated H.
H. Carr, the Democratic candidate.
In 1874 things seemed to be very
much mixed up, and there seemed to be
neither organization nor harmony in
the Republican ranks. At the August
election of county officers there had
been free for all race and as many as
from three to seventeen candidates for
every county Office.
Butler and E. E. Gillenwaters were
candidates for Congress and the fight
between them was so fierce that the
party was torn into smithereens. True.