The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-08-23
A True Story.

Judge Sampson W. Harris, Of the
Coweta circuit, who is in the city at
tending the Judges Convention, told
an interesting story to party of
friends in the corridors Of the Kimball
house yesterday evening. Judge Har-
ris was reared near Montgomery, Ala,
and it was in the days of his youth
that this story commenced, and subse-
quent years added more interest to it's
development.
1t was away before the war when
Judge Harris father, whose name was
also Sampson W. Harris, owned fine
farm near Montgomery, and the old
ante-bellum residence was one Of the
best in the country. It was here that
Judge "Samps' Harris, as he is ia
miliarly called, spent his boyhood days.
Near this old home lived a poor man
who delved hard from day to day fdt
the scanty food that kept body and
soul together. Mr.. Williams had sew
eral children, the oldest of whom was
named Tom. Tom was very bright
boy, but as his father was poor his
chances for education were limited.
The boys poverty did not discourage
him, though, and he put in his long,
idle mv--ents at study. At length he
concluded that he wanted to go to col
lege. and he commenced casting around
for some friend who would loan him
the money. He called on Judge Har-
ris' s father and his earnest and honest
talk won the admiration Of the old
gentleman, and he loaned young Will
liams the necessary money. Tom
Williams went to the University Of
Georgia and put in every spare mo-
ment to his study, and he soon went
through and went back home. His
education was all Tom Williams had
and he owed for that, but he did not
owe for it long.
Very soon after Tom Williams 8 re-
turn from college he met Miss Rebecca
Judkins, the only daughter Of Captain
Judkins, who was one Of the richest
men in South Alabama. He owned
more slaves than any man in the State,
and his landed possessions were i'm
mense. Tom Williams, in the mean
time, had been admitted to the bar and
began the practice Of his chosen pro-
fession. He made few visits to Miss
Judkins, but later the father informed
| his daughter that she must no longer
al1r-- -oung Williams to visit her, for
he poor and he could not think Of
agreeing to a match between them.
| Miss Rebecca heard her fathers re-
quest, but she did not heed it. Tom
Williams, however, discontinued his
visits to the fine Judkins mansion, but
now and then he and the young lady
met at neighbor's houses, and soon an
agreement was made to marry. Tom
Williams would not marry the girl
till he had made known their intentions
to the father, who created a scene.
In his wrath he told his daughter that
he would disinherit her if she married
that poor chap, but this did not change
the girl one bit.
| One night when the full moon shone
| in brilliant splendor a small urchin
entered the elegant Judkin mansion
about 10 o'clock, bearing a short note
to Miss Rcbecca. The parents had
gone to bed. The note read: "Meet
me behind the garden in one hour
Tom
Rebecca was dressed in her "every-
dav" plain dress and put on her large
sunbonnet and went to the place des-
ignated in the note. In a few mo-
ments Tom Williams came up alone,
and after few words were said Tom
and Rebecca ran, hand in hand, down
the cotton rows to the Atlanta and
Montgomery Railroad and then count
ed the crossties to a little station
three miles away. They just reached
the station in time to catch the night
express from Montgomery, and in a
very short time they landed at West
Point. Ca, where they we're married
by the light Of the moon. The happy
Tom and Rebecca took the first train
home, where they landed yLe next day
at noon, and Immediately went to the
humble cottage Of Tom William faith
er.
Tom Williams was hustler. The
next day after his arrival at home he
bought thirty acres Of land, and he
would practice law all day in town,
and at night he built snug little cot
tage in less than two months. Tom,
in the meantime, had been elected a
justice of the peace, and the salary Of
his Office and his law practice kept him
and Becky up very well. The young
wife had been raised in aflnence-had
never worked day in her life, but
she soon learned to cook and to Go
Toms darning. Tom Williams made
money, as the saying is, "hand over
fist. He was one Of the strongest
Democrats in the town. He worked
, hard for his party and had an abiding
faith in it's success.
It was in the presidential race OF
1856 that Tom took the greatest inter,
est. He said from the start that Buch-
anan would win and he backed his
, judgment with some of his hard earn
ings. In this race Tom Williams, who
had already accumulated several thou.
sand dollars, added twenty-five to
thirty-thousand dollars. When the
election was over Tom Williams built
an elegant mansion. This was five
years after his marriage. He nor his
. loving wife had ever visited or spoken
to Rebecca's parents. One day ne,
gro arrived from the Judkins home,
bearing note from the Captain to Mr..
and Mrs. Tom Williams, in which he
begged pardon for his former conduct
/ and cordially invited visit from them
, Immediately. Tom consulted with his
!. wife, and it was agreed that the wife,
!. who was then the mother Of two beau
tiful children, should make the visit
2 alone, as Tom was very busy in court.
So Tom had his fine carriage brought
out and the wife and the two little
children went to the Judkins' home.
The meeting between father and moth
er, brothers and sisters and the daugh'
ter who had been apart so long cannot
be described, but after the weeks Wis
it Mrs. Williams went home and along
with her were fifty of her father s