Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1902-12-17
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
The Barlow Philosopher Talks This
Week on History.
HAS GOTTEN GUT A NEW BOOK
MIR. Arp Develops Sorne Historical
Facts Not Heretofore Qeueraiiy
Accepted.

Dr. Conway is right about James
Madison mother She was Ncil.o
ConwaY and not Fanny TAYLOR. Fanny
was his erandmother But The good
doctur IS wrong about Thomas Jofrer.
son. llc did not marry Miss Martha
shelton. for she was a widow and her
maiden name was Martha Wales. as
said. Neither did Andrew Jackson
marry Miss Rachel Robards. She was
not miss. bot divorced wife anu
her maiden name was Rachel Donel.
Son. jackson had to marry her twice
IN dihcrent states TO comply with the
law. or course George WASHINGTON
married tie widow Custis Everybody
knows that. 1t was the typo that made
1t Curtis. DR.. Conway says that Mil
lard Fillmore never married Re is mis-
taken. Ills first wife was Abigail Pow
erS ana his second was Caroline Nc
lntosh. I, IT, singular how man. OF t,,e
presidents married widows. Madison's
wife. Dolly Pas nc was widow Todd.
Ter maiden name was Dorothy Coles
reckon we viii get this matter
straightcred cut after a while. Mr.
ThaNton. OF Tennessee writes ne
That the full list Cr mothers and wives
can hc found in The world Almanac
OF 1881 F!icnd ThaXtOn is not !u25.
but he is grieved that | said Johnson's
parents were too poor and ignorant
to he named in the Biography. That
was not my assertion. but was a bit
of sarcasm On the compiler, who
makes special mention of their poverty
and lack Of education and records that
Andrew and his mother ana steufather
moved from Raleigh. n c.. to Green
vile. Tenn. N tVo-wheeled cart
drawn bv blind pony. but does n0t
give their names. Nj. Thaxton save
his wife's father was an own cousin
to Andrew Johnson and Andrews
mothers name was Mary McDonougn,
but he does not mention Che step
father. Who did Mary marry the
second time? The biography in Apple
ton was written b. James Phelan. edi-
tor ~ The Memphis Avalanche. and
seems 70 he very fair and favorable
to Johnson ana his wife and children.
II says that JChnson's father died
Wncn Andrew was only four years old
and Ny. ThaXtOn says his mother mad
man more children. 1t says that
john* on's rather died when Andre,
was only : Years old. and M. Thaxton
says his mother had many more chill
drer Mr. Phelan says that Andrew
learned mis- alphabet on the taiio.
bench. and his Wife Eliza McCardie
taught him to read.
Ny friend Tha&ton says that ne did
not know that poverty and ignorance
were tied tog ther. AS Il general rule
they are. That second husband must
have been both shiftless and ignorant
II nc couldn't prove any better trans
portatiHn for his wife and stepson
than twO-wheSl cart and a blin
pony for long journey. If Mr. Thax-
ton was to see such cavalcadc al
that coming down the big road row
ne would say that poverty and ignor-
ancc "C~c tramping along together
But this much we have learned from
Mr.. ThaNton-that Andrew JohnsCn's
mothers maiden name was Mary Nc
DonouSh All honor to him who rose
from. poverty and obscurity and all
honor tC his devoted wife and to
his accomplished daughter. Mrs Pat
terson. who presided SO worthily ~
tho white house.
And Roosevelt married twice
that's wight He ought 10 have a gooti
woman at his elbow all Of the time
reckon he must have been q widower
wnen ne wrote those SANDERS against
j f.oisCa Davis and the people of the
South. i ON stlll waiting Tor him 70
rSt:aCt and apologize But now he IS
candidate and is scheming for tie
Solid northern vote. and the Southern
negroes thrown in. he won't rctraCt
II lc Is TO ne elected president,
want Niles 10 be coupled with him on
the ticket for vice president. The
champion Chainer and the CHAMPION
defamcr ought to be paired. One 10
work on live men and the other o..
dead ones.
And here is a letter from Mis-. Lucy
Harrison Gay Whitfield OF Siddons-
vile. Ala, who informs me that Will
liam Henry Harrisons mother was
Elizabeth Bassett. She is Mrs Whit
fields great greatgr grandmother arj
was the wife OF Ben Harrison. who
signed the Declaration of inGoren.
dence. His mother was Anne Carter
on aunt of Robert Lee. | believe that
supplies all the missing links.
I've been enjoying some rich and
racy reading-the reply of Horace
Greely to the committee who sum
moned him to trial for signing the
bail bond of Jefferson Davis that re-
leased him from prison. There were
twenty-onc who signed it. but Greely
was the first and the only Republican
abolitionist. He volunteered to do 1t
and did it willingly, going from New
York to Richmond for that purpose,
and Ii raised a howl all over New
York and New England The northern
extremists demanded that Mr.. Davis
be tried and hung for treason, or for
the assassination OF Lincoln, or for
something or anything, so he was
hung. Greely belonged to the Union
Club of New York, a powerful organ
ization. and they were outraged and
enraged at his signing that bond and
cited him for trial. His reply is long
one and some parts Of it are most de-