-Chapter III- SLAVERY, WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION (1850-1900)
Slavery
Situated in the mountains of northwest Georgia, Murray County of the 1850's was an agricultural land of small farmers. Most inhabitants did not and would never own a single slave. However, all were a part of that agricultural system! upon which the southern economy was based and a minority of Murray residents were slave owners (See Appendix H). Both the slave owners and the non-owners were pretty typical Southerners of their class. Such a state would seem likely since most of Murray's original settlers came directly from the yeoman stock of the Carolinas and east Tennessee with the remainder moving from other parts of Georgia and middle Tennessee. Most of the Murray slaveholders migrated from one of the latter places.
Since communication was slow in this region, the controversial national events of the 1850's such as the Compromise, the Kansas-Nebraska Act and Dred Scott, might not have mattered a great deal to those settled in this area. (There was no newspaper in this locale until after the War.) Perhaps the bitter arguments between the North and the South were too far away to worry about. However, by 1860 all had heard of Abraham Lincoln, the Republicans, and the four-way contest for the Presidency as well as what would happen if Lincoln were elected. Even in Murray County a little Negro boy asked his mistress why the blacks had to work for her and expressed a desire to be free.
The Census of 1850 reported 2,047 families in Murray. Making up these families were 6,604 white males, 5,888 white females, 11 free Negroes, and 1,930 slaves. The next year a new county, Whitfield, was created out of Murray reducing its size from 625 square miles to 342 square miles and its population accordingly. By 1860 a few families owned a large percentage of the slaves in the then smaller Murray County. Among the slaveholders were the Morris, Seay, Black, Wilson, Treadwell, Tibbs, Fouts, Carter, Dwight. Edmondson, Bryant, and Waterhouse families.
James Morris came to this area in the 1840's and made a good deal of money in real estate and as a merchant and planter. A letter written in 1897 by Elias Camp Morris of Arkansas speaks fondly of the Morris family and recalls numerous pleasant experiences. Elias Morris was a former slave and one of the many who adopted the name of their former owner. The letter, now in the Georgia Department of Archives and History, reads:
Helena, Arkansas —————,1897
Mr. J.C.Morris
Spring Place, Ga.
Having learned when passing through Dalton a few weeks ago that you were living at or near the old homestead, 1 told my sister Sarah about it and she wrote you at once and received your reply today. I was exceedingly glad to hear from you. 1 have passed through there quite often and had I known any of you were still living 1 would have stopped off to see you.
Perhaps you hardly remember me. I was only nine years old when we left to go to Dalton in 1864 but I have a clear recollection of you and all your people.
Your father will remember me if he is still living, for 1 used to carry messages for my sister to her husband, Robert, when he was hiding from the patrollers. God bless your father, he was one of the best men that ever lived.
I remember your Aunt Lizzie well and used to nurse for your Aunt Sarah. What has become of her boy by the name of Jeff Davis? 1 was so small I could hardly carry him about ... All the Morrises I ever saw were industrious ... I have four children. I am holding to the old family manners. I am very glad to hear that your children are doing so well . . .
I can't tell you how near I feel towards you and all those who are left of the family. My father and mother used to talk about you all so much before they died. All us boys learned trades. Jim and William . . . learned the blacksmith trade under father. Tolliver and I learned the shoemaker's trade. I followed my trade with great profit until 1 took charge of a church. (17 years earlier). . .
1 am glad that you and I were on the same side of the political question in the last campaign. 1 was a delegate to the convention that nominated McKinley . . .
1 hope you will get whatever you aspire to, and if I can be of any benefit to you, command me, for I flatter myself to say that I stand as well with party leaders as any colored man in the country. I live in a Democratic stronghold but 1 enjoy the respect and confidence of all the people, white or black.
Is old Temperance Hill church still standing? God bless the sacred old spot. I know you will tire of reading this, so will close.
Yours very truly,
Elias Camp Morris
PS. I can almost feet the kiss which your grandpa gave me the morning we left to go to Dalton.
An agreement between Wilson Norton of Whitfield County and John Bryant of Murray reveals that in July, 1863 Mr. Bryant purchased nine slaves, a single family, for $13,200. Even in the midst of war the slave trade continued. Upon reading the document one feels that Mr. Bryant might have bought the group just to keep the family together since the mother, Sidney, was only 32 years old and already had problems with her leg. The father, Frank, was 34 years old and referred to as "a boy." Family members say that Mr. Bryant sold all nine before the war ended. Following is the document (provided by Mrs. Louise Mitchell of Chatsworth):
State of Georgia Whitfield County
I have this day sold and do hereby transfer and convey to John Bryant, his heirs and assigns forever for thirteen thousand two hundred dollars to me paid, nine slaves 1 boy named Frank about 34 & 6 months of age, 1 woman named Sidney aged about 32 years and 6 months 1 boy named James aged about 14 years, 1 boy named Ben aged about 15 years 6 months, 1 boy named Jack aged about 12 years of age, 1 girl named Mollie aged about 8 years, 1 girl named Sallie aged about 6 years, 1 girl named Allis aged about 5 years 1 girl child named Fanna(?) aged about 2 years old, I warrant the title of these said nine slaves to the said John Bryant his heirs and assigns against the lawful claims of all others. I also warrant the said slaves to be sound and healthy and sensible and slaves for life. But as to the health of the woman Sidney she has some broken veins and (?) her leg otherwise healthy so far as I know. Given under my hand and seal This July 8th, 1863.
Wilson Norton (Seal) Test. L.P. Gudger Wilson Norton (SEAL)
Following is another slave transaction (courtesy of Jackie Gray. San Luis Obispo.CA).
Georgia Murray County
This -----
Made and entered into the March 29, between William Mitchell of the one part and John H. Hawkins and Charles D. Durham of the other part all of the county aforesaid. I the said William Mitchell Doth bargain and sell _____ to the said Hawkins & Durham three negroes One woman Sarah Twenty-eight years of age Two Boy children, the Oldest One by the name of Joseph Eight years old and the other boy Three years old by the name of Jeny-all Black Complettined
I the said Mitchell for an consideration of the sum of Thirteen Hundred in hand paid Doth warrant and Defend from Myself and all other parties unto the said Hawkins and Durham the three Negroes above stated the Wright and Title for ever in fee simple.
Signed Sealed in the present John B. Mitchell Wrn Mitchell
The Seay and Wilson families intermarried and were reported as being very good to their slaves. The Dwights were wealthy and came from South Carolina. They built a fabulous mansion west of Spring Place called "Hopedale."
Mr. Black, who was also a physician, sold all of his slaves to James Edmondson in the late 1850's upon the agreement that Mr. Edrnondson would not separate the Negroes. One of the slaves involved in the transfer was a young boy named Levi Branham. Levi possessed an excellent memory and later put the story of his life in a small book called My Life and Travels. Published in 1929, the book gives a fascinating account of life in Murray in the 1800's, though the greatest distance Mr. Branham ever traveled was to South Georgia.
According to Levi, Mr. Edmondson owned many, many acres on several farms. Levi's mother was on her master's Tennessee farm while Levi was on the Spring Place plantation and, at other times, on his master's country estate at Mayhill in southwest Murray County on Holly Creek. Levi had much to say about his owners:
One of my young masters was Tom Polk Edmondson. I was Tom Polk's waitman until he went to the Civil War ... All of the waitmen and waitresses stayed in the Edmondson house now known as the Chief Vann House. The room in which we stayed had a fine carpet on which we slept. Mr. Edmondson gave us fine blankets and we surely did sleep warm and comfortable.
My old mistress, 'Miss Beckie," was very good to us. She took more pains with us darkies than our parents did, simply because she had more to care for us with, and she loved us ... I thought as much of 'Miss Beckie' as 1 did my mother. When all the white boys and girls would be away Miss Beckie would gather the little N children around the fire and talk with us. . . One day I said to Miss Beckie: •Why do we little Negro children have to work for you?' She said: 'That's the way our fore-parents fixed the matter.' My mistress told me that the Negroes were brought from Africa so that they could be enlightened and that they may be taught to serve God . . .
My master owned all the land west from the ... Vann House to the Conasauga river . .. He owned 35 or 40 slaves . . . never had any overseers, but had a foreman. After crops were laid by, Mr. Edmondson would give a picnic for his slaves. He would take part. .
The Edmondsons seem to have been unusually benevolent owners. Levi played with both the black children and the white. Many white people were among his closest friends. However, the kind owners also demanded respect and discipline for in another place Levi writes;
My . . . mistress would always say she was going to whip me, but she never whipped me but once . . . one morning after the others had gone to work and I was still lying in the bed, my old mistress came upstairs to my room with an old cow hide and struck me three or four licks. 1 jumped up and ran to the fields . . . One day while a crowd of children and I were pulling up cotton stalks, my hands became very tired so 1 went to the House, Mr Edmondson asked my why 1 quit. I told him that 1 was tired, so to punish me for my laziness he carried me upstairs and put me on a very high porch so that I could not escape. . . Within a few days .. . I began to play off again, so Mr. Edmondson ... carried me to a dark room in the ... house and made me stay there until dark and ... I got enough of it that time.
In still another chapter the writer states:
In 1862 the slave owners had paddle rollers that they used to whip their slaves with when they were caught away from home. Once two slaves who belonged to Seay were caught on Mr. Edmondson's place ... I ran along behind them to see what the white people were going to do with the slaves. They whipped them ... All slaves caught after sundown without a pass were beaten. It was always an easy matter for Mr. Edmondson's slaves to obtain a pass . . . The slaves of other owners would hardly ever get a pass.
The Edmondson's also allowed their slaves to attend the funeraJ of their former mistress, Mrs. Mary Black.
The Edmondsons also allowed visitors to tip their slaves for things tike putting up horses or shining shoes. Levi saved his tips so that he could visit his mother in Tennessee. Though he lost the money on the way, Levi got there safely and visited for six months.
When Levi returned to Spring Place in 1861, he was given a new job-that of fanning flies in the dining room during meals. Even though he was always well fed, Levi reports that watching the white folks eat all that good food always made his mouth water. Among his other duties were to help mind the calves, to carry water, to churn, and to carry sugar from its keeping place in the garret down to the kitchen each morning for breakfast.
Soon, Levi begged Mr. Edmondson to let him stay with another white family, the Keisters. Mrs, Keister was extremely good to the young slave and taught him arithmetic, geography, and history. Levi also wrote:
In 1862 Spring Place was a wealthy little town. Mr. Edmondson, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Scay were very good to their Negroes. Some of them around were regular speculators. I knew a preacher by the name of Selvidge who preached around Spring Place to the Negroes, and his text was "Servant Obey Your Master." And he would have them washed and dressed; then he would put them on the block and bid them off like a group of horses or mules.
In 1863 the Edmondsons moved to their Terrell County farm as the war moved closer to Spring Place and Levi stated: "My master always said that his Negroes did not pay him anything; what he had, he had made in the legislature . . . Some Negroes had good masters and some had bad ones, but 1 think I had a good master."
Near the end of the War all the Edmondson Negroes were sent into town to fast and pray. Levi prayed, "Oh Lord, please help Abraham Lincoln to whip Jefferson Davis." When Mr. Edmondson asked him what he prayed, the young boy answered: "Oh Lord, please help Jefferson Davis to whip Abraham Lincoln," to which Mr. Edmondson replied: "You prayed right," and gave the slave a half dollar.
Thus the Edmondsons seem to have been much like many other slave holders in the South in terms of discipline, working conditions, and general treatment. Two other slave owners of Murray County were a little different.
Euclid Waterhouse, a very wealthy native of Tennessee, owned much of the land in what became known as Little Murray, an area which was dominated by large farms. Waterhouse eventually acquired 3,000 acres of land at one tent an acre and increased his fortune by selling it at a higher price. Most of the land in Little Murray (much of which is still under cultivation) was cleared by slave labor. Mr. Waterhouse produced vast quantities of grain on his rich river-bottom land. After harvest and during the winter rains, the corn was shelled, loaded on barges, and floated down the Conasauga River and other streams until it reached market at Rome. The Waterhouse home was Oakwood, about a mile south of the state line on the Spring Place-Cleveland Road (Georgia Highway 225).
Mr. Waterhouse was a pacifist, called in his day "a Union man," and hoped to just live quietly without trouble when the War began. However, his neighbors would not allow it and finally Mr. Waterhouse sold his property and freed all his siaves. He then moved north for the duration of the conflict. Even though it meant a severe decline in his fortunes, Waterhouse would not go to war to preserve slavery. His home was purchased by Major M.D.L. McCroskey and is now owned by the Colvard family.
The largest plantation in Murray County was the famed Carter's Quarters owned first by Farish Carter . Mr. Carter was a self-made man who had amassed a fortune selling supplies to the U.S. Arrny during the Warof 1812. He first saw the Murray area and what was to become his home when Cherokees lived there.
As the Indians were removed, he bought up the land lots from the Land Lottery drawers until he had about 15.000 acres. Here at Rock Springs, which was also called Coosawattee and has since been named Carters, Mr. Carter spent the summer months, returning to his home in the then state capital of Milledgeville in the winter.
The operation of the farm was left to Farish Carter 's son, Samuel. Together: they ruled a vasl empire of several farms scattered over the state. So abundant; were the Carter crops that the expression, "more money than Carter had oats"' was formed to suggest the highest level of wealth in the ante-bellum days. The base of this wealth was the slave force, numbering over 300 in Murray County alone. Many steamboats came up the Coosawattee River to Carter's Landing and returned to Rome full of crops.
The Carters treated their slaves extremely well. Food was plentiful, the slaves content, and the appearance of the quarters so pleasing to the eye that the plantation took on the name "Carter's Quarters." In the 1850's the elder Carter considered selling his slaves and investing the capital otherwise. This shocked his family and friends so much that his wife persuaded him no! to do so.
Farish Carter died just after the firing upon Fort Surnter, leaving Samuel Carter to preside over the empire alone during the War and Reconstruction. The sway which Colonel Sam Carter exercised over his plantation was one of "firmness tempered with gentle speech and kind treatment. When he died in 1897, eight of his oldest servants acted as pallbearers for a beloved master to whom they had once been slaves and whose service they never left," according to his obituary in The Atlanta Constitution, This must have been one of the reasons for the success of the Carter plantation even into the twentieth century.
However, the old way of life, the way of life for folks like the Carters, Ed-mondsons, Waterhouses, and Wilsons did not last, for war came-even to Murray County. Every citizen of the area was affected by this conflict between the North and the South
Murray County Heritage