The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1909-06-15
7 WO. GALLANT MEN
WHO DIED IN DEFENCE OF THE
SOUTHERN CAUSE.
They Laid Aside All Differences and
Fought Side by Side for the State

Fought Side by Side for the State
They Loved.
The following interesting and read
able scrap of local history was furn-
ished The Sunday News by DR.. T.
H. Dreher, who writes most enter
tainingly on any subjec. that may
engage his facile pen. Here is the
article:
Four miles south of st. Matthews
and within a stones throw of the
old State Road" lies the Tabernacle
church ground and cemetery. A
quiet and thoughtful hour within its
dismal and gloomy confines, If not
sufficiently suggestive to inspire an
Elegy from modern Gray, fur
nishes at least a strong stimulus to
quasi-reportorial journeyman with
desire to depict few of its sal
lent features with biographical no.
tices in the good, old Sunday News.
There is little now to remind the
stranger of its past greatness and
popularity. The weird and sombre
the adjacent, undulat-
ing fields, despoiled Of their former
fertility and productiveness by shift
less renters, and general air Of
desolation, make it hard to believe
tradition and "old folks lore" that,
within the four walls Of the old
frame building, gathered the ante
bellum wealth and aristocracy of
these domains That on Sunday
mornings Orangeourg (now Cal
houn) county's leading slave-holding
and wealthy citizens were drawn
thither in handsome carriages, with
spans of thoroughbreds and liveried
coachmen in the drivers box.
The ravages of war and other minor
causes ate into the vitals Of the his
toric temple and she finally sue
cumbed, after a gradual creeping de-
cay, to the changed conditions in
1884, under the sanity Rev. Shu-
ford, of the Methodist Conference.
He was succeeded by the bats, owls
and goats, which held undisputed
sway until recently, when the ancien.
structure was torn down and utilized
for other purposes.
The old cemetery, hard by, enclos-
ed by a board picket fence, fast 60
ing to decay, is almost hidden from
view by dense growth of dogwood,
hickory, pine and briers, which have
transformed it into veritable howl
ing wilderness. The dim inscrip-
tions on the marble slabs and monu-
ments, however, indicate that, be
meath this neglected sod the bones of
past, splendid citizenship repose-
some of whom figured conspicuously
in making the proud history Of old
Orangeburg county. There lie the
Millers, now extinct, except through
marriage into the Dantzler strain
There repose the Dudlys-descend
ants of the warrior who, as one Of
the sixty-fve braves under the daring
and intrepid Capt Jacob Rumph, COW
cred themselves with immortal glory
during Revolutionary days. There
sleeps the Keits, who fill large
square and who leave no represen-
tative in this county to honor the
name and memory of race which
Impressed itself upon every fibre
of this community.
There are the Dantzlers, Amakers,
Whetstones and Zimmermans, still
honored names in our midst.
But the two graves which in
stinctirely rivet attention and cause
one to tarry longer in meditativc
recollection; which attract curious
wayfarers to this ghostly spot and
which keep the memory of the old
cemetery green in the minds OF a
patriotic public, are those of Coils.
Olin Miller Dantzler and Lawrence
Massillon Keitt The former is
marked by handsome marble shaft
an exact prototype Of that to his
father, on one side, and beautiful
marble cradle to his wife "a Miss
Caroline Glover) on the other. Tru"
ly does his brief epitaph record that
"he fell in advance of his command
and in the cause of the South"
Col. Keitt's grave is at the head
of Col. Dantzlers, but there is moth
ing to identify his remains except the
unquestioned testimony Of living eye
witnesses to his burial. BY way OF
depression, the advisability Of erect
ing a suitable memorial to his name
and fame may be kindly suggested to
the noble ard patriotic Daughters of
the Confederacy.
These two names. still magical to
the minds OF old and young, were
probably the most unique characters
ever produced by OrangeburS coun-
ty.
Born under lucky stars, in old ST
Matthews Parish. and within ont
year of each other, they were reared
as boys, together and enjoyed SD
perior advantages. They were SINH
lar in many ways. but in others as
diametriacally opposite as If tho
products of different races. Both
were college bred, proud, hot tenn
pered and brave as Mamelukes. They
were popular, though high-strung