The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-17

near the site of his old home a halfmile west of the modern railroad station of Coosada, and nine miles from Mont gomery. The old family cemetery Is | on the place of MT. Ben Burch. Mrs l Burch is kinswoman of Hon. Craw l ford Jackson, who owned the fine old place after it passed out the hands of the Bibb family. The splendid old home went up in flames a number of years | ago. suffering the fate of so many other of the ante bellum manor houses But the magnificent row of oaks that l led from the road to the doorway of 1 the house, for a quarter of mile still | survives and are reminiscent of the past glories of the estate. MT. and l Mrs. Burch occupy handsome modern home, two stories in height and near CT the road in the spacious grounds | Governor Ribb died on this estate July 10. 1920. of hurts sustained while horseback riding. Tn the previous No vember, he had been inducted into the | high office of Governor of Alabama He had the distinction of being the first and only territorial Governor the | State ever had and the honor of being l the first Governor chosen to that high estate by the votes of the people of | the State. l He died at the early age of forty but his life had been wonderfully fruit l full in honors He was constantly in public life from his twentythird year | until ho was laid to rest on an Ala
 bama hill A young physician. he was elected to the legislature from Elbert | County Georgia. the county of his | birth. He served in the Georgia Leg | isla ture as representative or Senator | until in 1897. when he was elected to the American Congress. being then | only twenty-seven vears of age. Made United Stntes Senator. | Higher honOrs were vet in store for ! him. however. for in 1913 he was made United States Senator from Georgia
 He would no doubt have remained for many years in the Senate. but for the issue raised by the famous "compen- sation Bill" which gave agitators an fl opportunity of reaching the public ear and stirring up unbridled criticis,' against the men who voted for the a"' l This act simply raised the compene
 ton of Congressman and Senators 1 $1 300 a year. which seems sm ' enough in this day. But so much st,r was raised in Georgia about the pas sage of this act that Senator Bibb be- came indignant and with number of other ConEressmen and Senator's re- siGned his seat in Congress- Ont Of this incident came his appointment and removal to Alabama.
 For the young Physician Senator from Georgia. President Madison on tcrtnincd the highest regard. The two were close personal friends. Rather { than see such 2 promising career come to such an end President Madison in
 1Sl7 offered him the Governorship of the Territory of Alabama and it was i accepted.
 Alabama had just been carved out of the Territory of Mississippi. The : capital of the Territory was far down the river at the old town of St Step hens. place which was none too i hcalthfnl. The hills of t,lmore offered g far more inviting site for home Coosada. especially, was inviting to i Governor Rihh. for it was here that many of the wealthy Georgians had settled. nanv of whom were his per Sonal friends and Coosada. too. was hard by the seat of government of the Creek Indians with whom Governor
 Ribb was called into .rcquent confer cnce and consultation.
 Indians His Neighbors.
 The Indians. too. were his near neighhors In their old town of Coosa- da little more than a mile away on the high bluff overlooking the heauti-
 full view of the Alabama. There at Coosada the Indian told the white
 men that once upon a time many years
 before, the waters of the Alabama rose
 so high that they overran the plateau
 on which tn" Indian town of Coosada
 stood.
 The white men for many years pro
 fcsSed to believe that this was one of
 the many legends. many of them pc
 culiarlv supcrStitious which the In
 dians told their white neighbors. But
 the Indians insisted that in years gone
 by the water had risen so high that
 it covered the plateau and forced the