Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-10-20

tory kindly writes me COM
mending these fugitive arti-
Giles. He says they do much to make
Georgians honor and love their state.
If this was not my object I should not
continue them.
II Is not TO be denied that the people
of Georgia have not been rated highly
in the public estimate. They have
been Intentionally misrepresented and
have been woefully misread. Those VINO
have written her history have too
readily accepted as true the uncontra-
dicted story that the low country was
settled by paupers and the up country
by ignorant rufians. Many Georgians
admit without question that she was
pauper colony, and that the ignorant
and criminal classes from the better
states settled her hills and valleys.
That the Georgia Scenes, me
Dukesboro Tales and other works or
humor. give the true picture of the
Georgian as he was in the first days OF
the last century Is generally believed.
There was in Virginia the Harrisons,
the Carlens, the Howards, the fuckers,
The Bvrds. the Marvens, the RAN
dolphs, the Nelson's, the Pages, the
Robinsons, Lewises, Mennothers ana
perhaps a half hundred other fani-
lies who lived in baronial splendor,
and every novelist from John Esten
Cooke down to Mary Johnson, finds
in these people Of large wealth ana OF
high culture, the only Virginians, VINO
are worthy of attention, and yet there
was none of these families who did not
have some Of their members among the
early Georgians. But Stailings ana Blu
Durham and Ransy Sniffie, will be
H.. In VIRGINIA. well
as in Wilkes and Lincoln, in Georgia
The unwillingness of the low country
where there was wealth and culture
even in the days of Sir James Wright,
70 recognize the social worth Of the up
country immigrants from Virginia and
North Carolina for years after his COM
ing. has had something to do with this
generally received opinion. The up
country people were called Crackers
and poor trash until they retaliated
by speaking of Oglethorpe's "Raga-
mullins" The fact Is both OF these
parties were sadly mistaken, was sad
ly ignorant. The low country people
were not the descendants OF paupers
or prison birds, but were from the best
veomanry of England and Scotland,
and Germany. The .up-country people
had no superiors in birth or character
in America. John Clarke, who led the
/, Clarke party, was not an ignorant ruff
fan. but a gentleman who alas had too
many Of the vices of the gentlemen OF
his time. w. II. Crawford was man
the peer of any other on the continent
and these were both from poor up
country families, and George Michael
Troup from the low country as proud
patrician as ever walked the streets OF
Rome, was only the peer of his party
friend the school master OF Columbia
poor lawyer of Oglethorpe, whose
career had been so brilliant. and OF MS
sturdy antagonist, John Clarke, the
Danton of his day. 4
His father, who was George Troup'
went 10 England while the son was
babe In the last days of the revolution
and returned to America when peace
was declared.
Mr.. Troup was trader and took no
part against the colonies, and ne TOOK
no part against England, and as soon
as the war was over he came to Sa-
vannah. where he had a general sup
ply store in which he sold puncheons
of rum and ladies' hats alike. he
made money rapidly and opened a
plantation, and had comfortable
home in what was afterward Mcintosh
county. lie was man Of culture MN
self. and gave his sons all the adj
vantages for an education, which
wealth could procure. ne had a fine
library and had a tutor for his son,
and the young lord Of the manor, with
his dogs and gun, lived the free life
of an English country gentleman ana
as soon as he was old enough to leave
home, he went to the academy at
Sunbury, and then to a school in
Long island, kept by an old Scotch
man of great learning. Judge Harden,
who wrote his life. says he was OF
slender frame. fair complexion and
rather handsome, warm hearted and
emotional, and intense Republican OF
the jefferson school and even then,
boy as he was, he was a high spirited
quick tempered sensitive young gen.
tleman who treated no man discour-
teously and whom nobody dared to
trifle with. He went from the acad-
envy to enter the Junior class at
Princeton and graduated with distinc-
Ion. He came back to Savannah be-
fore he was q years old and began to
study law. He never practiced his
profession, but went into the legisla-
ture as soon as he was of age, and to
congress by the time he was 25. His
large rice plantation was on Bryan
Neck. and he married a Miss McCor-
mick and carried her there. but he lost
this fair young wife before he had
been married a year. She was the
daughter of DR.. Mccormick, of Louis
willie. She was a handsome and love-
~ woman. Young Troup was indie
pendently wealthy and devoted to her,
but on the lonely plantation away
from physicians, she was taken sud
denly and violently i'll and died. He
went sadly away from the home which
had been so desolated, to Savannah,
and in 1906 he was elected to congress.
He was only % years old, a young man
of talents, education, wealth, posi-
ton, and family, and an ardent friend
of the administration. He soon won
his place
He was a very decided Republican.
and what gave him great popularity in
Georgia, he was a most decided anti
Yazoo man. He remained in congress
in the house till 1915. He was in close
alliance with the Crawford party in
the state and was elected to the senate
against his own protest He was an
extreme state rights man and was
a warm friend Of W. H. Crawford. He
married again a Miss Carter, of Vir-
ginia, and fixed his home in a rich
section of Laurens county. He had a
very large estate, two plantations and
scores of negroes. He was now young
as he was a leading statesman and
was the favorite low country mem
Der of the Crawford party, but he was
anxious to leave public life. He was
fond of good living, his gun and his
horses and hounds. and of retirement
and hunting on the river. He had
access to the markets of Savannah,
and had all the luxuries It could supply
him. His wife was an invalid in