Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-09-09
auALLE AnDr LIVED III YEARS.
Born In walhalia In 1856 and Died In the
City Of Atlanta September 1, 1908.

the Oldest negro in the State of
Georgia, and probably the oldest
man in the Southern States, died
yesterday afternoon at a o'clock at
the Old Folks Colored home. He
was well known not only in Atlanta,
but throughout the North and East,
and had many friends among both
white and black. BY those in the
best position to know. his age waJ
said to be LII.
He was born in Walballa, s. O.,
and moved to this State with bis
master, Col. James M. @. Mont
gomery, in the earliest part
of the nineteenth century, COM
ing to what is now known
as Fulton county, and what was then
q great forest of trees unrelieved by
signs of civilization. The Indians
were roaming all over the State and
frequently in the later daya of his
life Uncle Andy delighted in telling
stories of these early days and of
the hardships experienced then.
Through the eighteenth and nine
teenth centuries he marked the pass
ing years and noted with interest all
the events of the times.
He was man twenty years of age
during the war of 1912, when his
master, James M. g. Montgomery,
was fighting the British and winning
the title of colonel.
Some idea of the age of the old
man may be gained from the fact
that several years before his death,
in speaking of Atlanta and her peo-
pie, he said he remembered the time
when Jonathan Norcross, dead for
ten years. past and ninety years old
at the time of his death, was but a
little boy. At that time Andy
Montgomery was nearing manhood.
In 1842, at the time when his second
master, III. B. II. Montgomery, the
father of w. T. Montgomery, mar
ried Mary A. Broughton, Andy was
even then known as "Old Uncle
Andy" and this name stuck to him
until his death.
For years the old man has been
supported by members of the fire de-
partment and w. j. Montgomery,
the grandson of his old master. He
lived in little house near the fire
department until very recently, when
he went to the Colored Old Folks
home. Some time before this w. j.
Montgomery made arrangements to
have him taken in at the aims house
and saw to it that he was provided
with a r N and that he would be
comfortal II every way, but when
he broached the subject to Uncle
Andy he met with a flat refusal.
"Babe, does you think this old negro
is going to lose his dignity going to a
poor houseP" was all the answer
that he could get, and the idea was
given up in despair.
About Is years ago the press asso-
citation met in Atlanta and old Uncle
Andy was urged to come to a ban
quet given in their honor. He went
and there met all the best known
men in the newspaper world. And
during that whole afternoon he was
the center of attraction. All the
members of the convention gathered
around the centenarian listening to
his stories of olden days.
In 1898 an effort was made to get
Uncle Andy to go North and lecture
on old slavery negroes and he learned
his lecture and was prepared to 20,
when suddenly and unexpectedly he
refused to take the trip. Shortly
afterwards, however, another party
prevailed on him to undertake the
lecture tour and took him up North.
Somehow the old man did not take
very well and Uncle Andy was soon
left stranded in a strange country,
and again the members of the fire
department sent him money to come
home. In 1900, however, ne tried
it again and met with the same fail
ure. This trip was undertaken, how
ever, for the benefit of the Colored
Old Folks home, the very place in
which he finally died. Once more
money was sent to him and once
again he was brought home. On this
trip he met number of important
men, and was introduced to Presi-
dent Mckinley by General Long
street as the father of all the me-
groes in the South.
During his youth Andy Montgo-
merry was said to be very unruly
negro, always wanting his own way
and always desiring to be free. In
the later days of his life, during the
last twenty years, all his exuberance
of youth disappeared and the old
man became fervent Christian. He
was the founder of Big Bethel
church and was respected and loved
by all of his own race. He was
anxious to die and death was proba.
bly, great relief. Many times he