Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1894-06-13
For the Herald and Tribune.
AN INTERESTING SKETCH.
Some Statistics as to the POstOiiices In
this County.

HtS SOuhtys
From the United States official Reg
lister, published September 80, 1S47, we
gather many interesting historical facts,
relating not only to the country at
large, but also to our own State and
county.
Jas. X. Polk, of Tennessee, was Presi-
dent of the United States, at salary
OF 5000 per annum; Geo. NJ. Dallas,
of Pennsylvania, was the Vice Presi.
dent, at salary of $4,000 per annum.
Twenty eight States composed the
Federal Union at that time.
A list of tn members of the Thirtieth
Congress of the Senate and
House-is given ia the Register.
In looking over the list of Senators
we see that Hopkins L. Turney was the
Senator from Tennessee; John Bell was
elected to the other seat November 80,
1S47.
Among the other distinguished names
we note John p. Hale, Daniel Webster,
John A. Dix, VIM. l.. Dayton, Simon
Cameron, John NJ. Clayton, r. N. T.
Hunter, Reverdy johnson, Willie p.
Mangum, j. c. Calhoun, Jefferson Davis,
Henry S. Foote, ]. j. Crittenden, Tom
Corwin, S. A. Douglas, T. H. Benton,
Lewis Cass.
In the House Robt. C. Winthrop, of
Massachusetts, was speaker. He is yet
living, in his eighty sixth year, and is
the Oldest ex-speaker now alive. Our
own Tennessee had eleven mem bers in
that Congress as follows: Andrew
johnson, VIM. NJ. Cooke, John H.
Crozier, Hugh L. w. Hill, G. W. Jones,
Jas. III. Thomas, Merideth P. Gentry,
Washington Barrow, Lucien B. Chase,
Fred P. Stanton, VIM. T. Haskell.
From the other States we find the
names of John Quincy Adams, of
Massachusetts; John NJ. Bolts. of Vir-
ginia; Howell Cobb, Alex. ii. Stephens,
Robt. Toombs, of Georgia; j. R. Gid
dings, of Ohio; Elisha Embree. of In
diana; John A. McClernard, Abraham
Lincoln, Illinois; David Wilmot, Penn
sylvania.
This was the last Whig Congress ever
elected. The members received 80 per
day during each session and $S m Mileage
for each twenty miles of actual travel
in going to and returning from the
place of meeting.
In Tennessee Morgan w. Brown was
Federal Judge at salary of 81 800 per
annum. For the Eastern District of
Tennessee, Thos. C. Lyon was Attorney
and Arthur Crozier was Marshal. They
both resided at Knoxville, and each re-
ceived salary of 5000 and fees.
Jesse Thomas was the only Collector
of Customs in Tennessee; he lived at
Nashville, and received salary of
$3.50 per annum.
In our own county we find that John
p. Chester was the postmaster here in
Jonesboro at a salary of $267 2S per an
mum. Outside of Jon, sboro we find
that there were only seven postoffices
in the entire county and two of them
were in what is now Unicoi County, 80
that in the entire county outside of
Jonesboro there were only five postof-
fees as follows:
Young's Tan Yard, Henry Young,
postmaster; salary $2 II per annum.
This is now called Swadley' 8 tan yard,
and is some two miles from the present
johnson City; at Boon's Creek Martin
was postm aster, salary $1O.-
OIL; at Fall Branch Anson Gwinn was
postmaster, salary S14 so; at Leesburg
Isaac MCPHERSON was postm aster, salary
$S5 30; at Washington College Adam
A. Broyles was postmaster, salary $780,
~; this Office however was not kept at
the college, but at Broylesville, some
two miles west of that place; at Long
mire in the Greasy Cove, Chas. Long
mire was postmaster, salary So SO; the
office at Flag Pond is marked discon-
tinued, no return.
In the year 1S47 Jonesboro was sixty
eight years old; Tennessee had been a
State 81 years, and yet on the entire
south side of this county, reaching from
above where now stands johnson City
down through the Eighth, the Fourth,
the Sixth, and part of the Second Dis
trict. there was not a single postoffice.
Jonesboro had to supply that entire ter
ritory with mail; then in all of the en-.
tire western portion of the county,
south of Leesburg, there was only one
that of Washington College,
some ten miles from here at Broylesville.
That was forty seven years ago, and
Just fourteen years before the beginning
of the late war. We had no railroad
then, were just beginning to talk about
building one through here. Our mer-
chants had to have their goods hauled
in wagons from Baltimore, Charleston,
Hamburg and Augusta. Bacon was
hauled over into North and South Caro-
lima in great covered wagons drawn by
six horses or mules, much of the -four,
etc., was boated down the river in fiat
boats; horses, mules and hogs were
driven into the Carolinas and sold.
The people in those good old days
had plenty to eat, plenty to wear; had
good schools, good preachers, plenty
of churches, and everyone seemed to