The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1902-12-18
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
The Barlow Philosopher Talks This
Week on History.
HAS GOTTEN OUT A new BOOK
Mr.. Arp Develops Some Historical
Facts Not Heretofore Generally
Accepted.

DR.. Conway is right about James
Madison's mother. She was Nellie
Conway and not Fanny Taylor. Fanny
was his grandmother. But the gond
doctor is wrong about Thomas Jeffer
son. He did not marry Miss Martha
Shelton, for she was widow and her
maiden name was Martha Wales. as
said. Neither did Andrew Jackson
marry Miss Rachel Robards. She was
not a miss, but a divorced wife and
| her maiden name was Rachel DCnel
| son. Jackson rad to marry her twice
in different states to comply with the
law. OF course George Washington
married the widow Gusts. Everybody
knows that 1t was the typo that made
it Curtis. DR.. Conway says that Mil.
| lard Fillmore never married. He is mis-
taken. His first wife was Abigail Pow.
ers and his second was Caroline Nc.
| Intosh. 1t Is singular how many of the
! presidents married widows. Madison's
wife. Dolly Payne, was a widow Todd
Her maiden name was Dorothy Coles.
| | reckon we will get this matter
Strengthened out after while. Mr..
| ThaXton. of Tennessee, writes me
that the full list of mothers and wives
can be found in the World Almanac =
Of 1894. Friend Thaxton is not mad,
but he is grieved that said Johnson'a
parents were too poor and ignorant
to be named in the biography. That
was not my assertion, but was bit
OF sarcasm on the compiler, who
makes special mention of their poverty
and lack OF education and records that
Andrew and his mother and stepfather
moved from Raleigh, n. c., to Green.
vile, Tenn. in a wheeled cart
drawn by blind pony, but does not
| give their rs mes Mr.. ThaXton says
his wife's father was an own cousin
to Andrew Johnson and Andrews
mothers name was Mary McDonough,
| but he does not mention the STEP
father. Who did Mary marry the
second time? The biography in Apple
ton was written by James Phelan, ed!-
tor of The Memphis Avalanche, and
seems to be very fair and favorable
/ to Johnson and his wife and children.
It says tia: Johrson's father died
when Andrew was only four years old
and Mr.. Thaxton says his mother had
MAN. more children. 1t says that
.Iohnson's iatler Gicd when Andrew
vas only 1 years old, and Mr. ThaXton
says his mother had many more chi!'
drer. Mr.. Phelan says that Andrew
! learned his alphabet on the tallo:
bench ami his wife, Eliza McCardle,
taught him 10 read.
Ny friend ThaXton says that he did
not know that poverty and ignorance
were tied together. AS a general rule
they are. That second husband must
have been both shiftless and ignorant
if he couldn't prove any better trans.
portation for his wife and stepson'
| than a two-wheel cart and bin
pony for long journey. If Mr.. ThaX.
ton was to see such a cavalcade as
that coming down the big road now
he would say that poverty and ignor
ance were tramping along together.
But this much we have learned from
Mr.. Thaxton-that Andrew Johnson's
mothers maiden name was Mary Nc
Dorough. All honor to him who rose
from poverty and obscuriy and all
honor to his devoted wife and to
his accomplished daughter, Mrs. Pat
terson. who presided so worthily Iii
the white house.
And Roosevelt, married twice
that's right! He ought to have good
woman at his elbow all Of the time.
reckon he must have been a Wldowef
when he wrote those ISLANDERS against
Jefferson Davis and the people OF the
South. am still waiting for him to
retract and apologize. But now he is
a candidate and is scheming for the
| solid northern vote, and the Southern
negroes thrown in, he won't retract.
II he is to be elected president, l
want Miles to be coupled with him on
the ticket for vice president. The
champion chainer and the champion
defamer ought to be paired. One to
work on live men and the other on
dead ones.
And here is letter from MIS-. Lucy
Harrison GAY Whitfield, Of Siddons-
Vile, Ala. who informs me that Will
| liam Henry Harriscn's mother was
Elizabeth Bassett. She Is Mrs. Whit.
fields great t-greatHgrandmother and
was the wife of Ben Harrison. who
signed the Declaration Of indepen-
dence. His mother was Anne Carter,
an 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-one 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 it raised a howl all over New
York and New England. The northern
extremists demanded that Mr.. Davis
be tried and hung for treason. or 10:
the assassination of Lincoln, or FOR
something or anything, so he was
hung. Greely belonged to the Union
Club Of New York, powerful organ.
ization. and they were outraged anG
enraged at his signing that bond and
cited him for trial. His reply Is long
one and some parts of it are most de-
/ IphTful sarcasm.