The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-07

Reidsville is siXty-seven miles from
Savannah and situated in the midst
of an agricultural and stock-raising
section, and it's citizens are not only
largely interested in those pursuits, but
in timber, of which there is still an
ample supply in Tattnall county. The
town is growing steadily, and a num-
Der Of houses have been built of late.
There are indications of new court
house, a big excavation in the public
square and some material lying about.
but ii is only the venturesome tnhabi-
tant who will risk his reputation in
guessing as to when the court house
will be built. The idea was to have
a $4,000 building, but an attempt to
change the county seat, which failed,
and legal proceedings, injunctions ana
other expensive pastimes stopped the
enterprise I learned from a reliable
source, however, that there was good
prospect of all differences being ad-
justed In the meanwhile the courts
are held in a rented court house, the
same old building which was Sod and
moved away from the public square to
make room for the new one, but which
is still used as of yore.
/ promised some of my friends In
Reidsville to find out how the town
received its name, but I have looked
over all my Georgia histories without
discovering it's origin. There were no
Reds among the early settlers of TAFT
nall. 1t is Just possible that 1t was
named for MIR. Reid. who, away back
sixty or seventy years since, was a
prominent merchant of Savannah. He
was a merchant prince" Of those days,
and some admirer might have named
the settlement for him,
Reidsville is not the only town in
| Tattnall There are the towns of
Lyons, Claxton, Hagan and Glenville,
all of which are larger than the coun-
ty site, and Surrency, Cobbtown, Per-
RVS Mills, Sawdust and other places.
| Tattnall county last year paid $11,563
| for educating 1876 white children and
| 1851 colored children, the average
monthly cost per pupil was $1.05, of
which the state paid 81 cents.
| Tattnall has a cavalry company at
| tached to the First Regiment of Caval-
| ry, State Troops, the Meldrim Tattnall
| Guards, named in honor of our es-
| teemed fellow citizen, Col. Peter Wilt
berger Meldrim, the colonel of the reg
! iment.
The day I was in Reidsville the price
of cotton jumped to 20 cents, and as
black seed is the money maker of
| the county there was much rejoicing.
| While referring to this 1t will not be
amiss to say that Tattnall county
| claims to raise not only fancy cotton.
but the finest of Georgia syrup. and
that might have personal knowledge
of the latter, Jddge Thomas Jefferson
| Williams, (any one can tell that his
father was a Democrat by his name),
one leading farmer of the county and
a member of the F'ffty-fourth Georgia
Regiment, G. S. A., presented me with
| bottle of his syrup, hot from the
pan.
l. Among those 1 met in Reidsville and
on the cars, besides the gentlemen al
ready mentioned. were Col. Josiah
Beasley, the Oldest member of the TAFT
nall bar, j. l.. DeLoach, Esq, Clerk
| Superior Court: S. A. Breton, Esq.
sheriff; Col. John H. Heery, chairman
of the Democratic Executive Commit
tee of the county; Hon. B. F. Alexar-
der, ordinary; J. P. Collins, Esq,
clerk City Court; J.. B. Smith, ESQ,
county treasurer; Rev. C. S. r. Strick-
land Rev. John A. J. Smith, Hon. ].
and energetic citizens of the state:
Capt. G. w. Brazell, president of the
| Tattnall Bank, and Hon. c. w. Smith,
! vice president of that institution: and
| for thirty years ordinary of the coun-
ty; Judge II. G. Smith, DR.. f. M
| Alexander, w. l.. Strickland, ESQ.,,
H. C. Beasley, Esq, DR.. o. l.. Alex
ander, Ebert Bird. ESQ, Rev. A. H.
| Bazemore, Judge w. H. Cowart, J .
V. Kelly, Esq, L. r. Randall, Esq.
! G. c. Giles, ESQ, Messrs. Porter
| Moore, r. A. Giles, C. C. Anderson,
Josiah Kennedy, John p. Rogers, Hem
ry Rogers, and W.. M. Rogers, Dr.
| d. G.. Rogers, DR.. j. L. Kennedy (of
Manassas; Evan Parker Esq, ex-
tax collector, and member of the
Fifty-ninth Georgia, "Tige" Ander-
sons brigade; John Hughey, Esq, ex-
school commissioner, holding the office
for twenty seven years; w. H. YOU
mans of Ounce; j. u. Tippins, large
| farmer; Messrs. J. s. Lanier and T.
| s. Mccall. school commissioners; DR..
r. w. Mccall, Dr.. j. l.. Mclean, w.
b. Surrency. Esq, DR.. Wallace DAN
lei, f. NJ. Smith. Esq, II. w. Tippins,
Esq, Messrs. lack Smith, r.. N.
Adamson, Lon. Strickland, and last
but well remembered, Mr.. J. p. r..
| Skies, and there were others whose
names have escaped me. All of those
named are readers OF the Tattnall
Journal, and many of them of the Sa-
vannah Morning News.
Tattnan county was laid off from
| Montgomery county In 1872 and is So
/ mics lOnB anu o. Wlue. Inc OnOOpee
river, about divides the county i'm
halves, the Altamaha Is on the south
east and the Canoochee on the north
east. 1t was named I'm honor of Jo-
/ slab Tattnall. United States senator.
governor and brigadfer general and
last, but not least, captain Of the
Chatham Artillery. The story of his
life reads like a romance. He was
born at Bonaventure. which was the
| property of his grandfather, James
Mulryne. His father, Josiah Tattnall.
married Miss Mulryne. and the great
live oaks which are the beauty and
grandeur OF Bonaventure, were plant
ed in honor of their union IL is said
that the rows of trees represent the
letters T and NJ but have never
been able to trace out the monogram.
When Gov. Sir James Wright vio-
lated his parole to Mai Habersham
and his fellow patriots, and made his
escape from Savannah, he sought the
protection of his friend Mulryne and
an English war vessel lying of Bon
adventure. Later these loyalists en-
barked for England, taking with them
the little boy. Josiah Tattnall The
young Georgian, In the course of time,
was placed In the British navy The
vessel which he was on came into Port
Royal, and Tattnall, taking advantage
OF the opportunity. left the ship and
Joined Gen. Greene's army, then op-
Grating in South Carolina and Geor-
gia. The Revolutionary war was near
fits end, but the devotion and courage
Of the young man made him the idol
OF the people, who, when peace re-