Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Ifll THE UNION TIMES VOL. LXVI. NO. iio. part ii?pages 9 to 12. UNION. s. < FRIDAY, JUNE 2:*, part ii?pages 9 to 12. *1.00 a YEAR 0rindal Shoals', Full The Quaint, But Not Unexciting, Lives of Pioneers as Told by One Whose Span of Days Almost Touched the Historic Epoch of the Revolution. (Written by the late Miss Addie Sims and contributed by Mrs. Carrie Boyd Robertson, a relative of Miss Sir s and a member of Fair Forest ch:.. |r, D. A. R.) . ,'ndal shoals is not unknown to all who are familiar with the history of South Carolina. It was on the north side of Pacolet at Grindal ford that Morgan camped just before the hattle of Cowpens. The place is well described by John Kennedy in his famous novel, "Horse Shoe Robinson." In the very earliest settlement a family by the name of Grindal lived on the north side, owned the shoal, which was a noted fishery, and from them 'v* it was called Grindal shoals. How the little river got the name of ,7 Pacolet has always been a mystery to us. Pacolet in its origin i's French and is found in an old ballad written i V in the time of Pepin, familiar to us 1\ all as a nursery rhyme?"Valentine and Orson." Pacolet means swift mesi senger and this was ance a swift litI tie stream. We well know that our 8 old frontiersmen had no acquaintance ? with literature, and it is yet unknown a to us who named the river. It was jj called Pacolet long before Walter I Scott introduced Noma of the fitful head and her dwarf attendant to the reading world. The earliest settlers known to us were families from Virginia and North Carolina who moved here prior to the Revolution. One Chesney, an . 4 Englishman, was probably one of the ^ earliest settlers. Chesney owned a \ large grant of land on the north side \ *f Pacolet river extending above and \ for several miles below Gnndal's ford. I When the war came on he was more 1^,.- to George III than-some of 1 i 7 us who accepted his gifts. Chesney I / adhered to th$ Royalist side and it | I was soon made too hot for him about I (here. He fled to Charleston and esj caped to England. Maj. Chesney of (, the English army, who was in Virginia during our Confederate war, an ardent admirer of Gen. Lee and symf ' . . pathizer with the South, was a descendant of this Chesney who once lived on Pacolet. Maj. Chesney di's/fl covered amongst his ancestors' old l.Jjfr papers a diary which he kept during his reidence here and which contains an account of the rude war in which ff* f the "rebels" forced him to leave the country. Victim of Tories. John Nuckolls came from Virginia m , with his family about 17(57 and setg tied *? place on Thickety, afterward known as Whig Hill. There also came a brother of Mrs. Nuckolls, Maj. Zachariah Bullock of Virginia, who owned a grant of land on the north side of Pacolet three or four miles above Grindal. This place remained ^ x in possession of the Nuckoljs and Bullock descendants until very recently. It was the property of Miss Julia E. Norri's and her nephews, Frank and Will Anderson, the sons cf Maj. F. L. Anderson of Spartan* bjrg. They sold the place and moved to Tennessee. It was this sani3 John Nuckolls, mentioned above, who was murdered by the Tories for his devotion to liberty and whose tombstone, bearing the following inscription, may be seen today in Whig Hill ceme tery: "In memory of John Nuckolls, Sr., who was murdered by the Tories for his devotion to liberty in the 49th year , of his age. "Rest noble patriot, rest in peace; The prize you sought, your country won." ^ Then came the Goudelocks. The Goudelocks were from Rock Fish, Albemarle, Va. They lived before and during the Revolution at a place since known as the homestead of Maj. Elijah Hawkins, now the home of Durbin Littejohn. This place is on the north side of the river above Grindal shoals. William Henderson came prior to the war and owned a large grant of land on the south side of the river. John Beckham and family followed and settled on part of the Henderson grant. Mrs. Beckham was a sister of Henderson. At the beginning of the Revolution Willinm Henderson joined Sumter, who was an old friend, and at the battle of Eutaw Springs was severely wounded. It was after this engagement that he was made general. The war over Henderson t married and settled on the Santee. About 1784 Maj. John Henderson moved from Halifax, N. C., bought the wnoie grant or land rrom his brother, Gen. William Henderson, and settled * place a mile from the shoal on the ' "' y-f ' Annals of Real Interest south side. William and John were the younger sons of Samuel Henderson and Elizabeth Williams and brothers of Richard Henderson, the late colonial judge of North Carolina, all from Granville county. The gallant Col. Williams of King's Mountain was first cousin to the Hendersons. Maj. John was a fine old character, greatly beloved by all of his neighbors. Hi's wife was a Mrs. Als ton of Halifax, N. C. The Henderson house is still standing and when one views its very limited accommodations, one wonders where they stored away all the guests who visited the hospital old gentleman. Adam Totter owned a beautiful plantation on the south side above the ford known since as Nott place. Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Hale, brothers in law to the Henderson, lived nearby. A Stout Old Whig. Above the Potter place on the river lived William Hodge and family. Hodge was an honest, brave Whig who fought all through the war and was at the battle of Cowpens. The family suffered greatly from the marauding, thieving, house burning Tories. This house . was burned and with it all the family's possessions. The old place was still owned by one of the descendants until very recently. The late Rev. James Hodge, Sr., of Fishing Creek church, Chester, was related to this family. All of these were of good old families with as much education as the times afforded and brought with them the courteous manners, habits and tastes that belonged to an older civilization. Hence the settlement around Grindal shoals was always known as a neighborhood of more culture than was often found in the backwoods of Carolina. It was really the cradle and nursery of many who afterward filled hieh nosi' tions. Wade and John Hampton in their early youth were familiar characters about Grindal, where they came to hunt and trap for animals. These youths were always the guests of Mrs. Beckham, her husband, John Beckham, being also fond of hunting. During the Revolution, John Beckham was a noted scout and was often employed by Hampton to serve the cause of liberty in this capacity. So the friendship was kept alive. The war over, Hampton had risen to high distinction and was acquiring great wealth but he still kept in touch with his old friend, Jack Beckham, who was a "ne'er do well." Hampton gave Beckham employment as a trainer of race horses. Jack died at last and left Mrs. Beckham with a house full of daughters and very poor. In looking over her husband's accounts Mrs. Beckham found that there was something due her husband's estate from Hampton, so she resolved to visit him and see what he could do for her. Welcomed by Hampton. The family and friends advised her againftt this, saying that Hampton was now a very rich and distinguished man living in grand style in Columbia. The old lady, however, replied that she would trust him, that she had known Wade in his youth, that her house was then open to him and she could not believe that he would forsake her now. So she mnnntpH Horriplf hop famniio /-vM horse, and set off to Columbia all alone. She made the trip safely, and on her return the family gathered around her, eager to hear the result of the visit. Mrs. Beckham was exultant. "How did he receive you?" was asked. "Receive me," she replied; "he received me like I had been a queen. Nothing in his grand house was too good for Mrs. Beckham. And, child, I was put in a fine chamber with a great mahogany bedstead covered with a canopy, and so high that there were steps to climb into it and they were carpeted. He paid me, and more than paid me." I suppose the dear old lady returned with more money in her pocket than she had possessed in many a day. This was told me by my mother who was a great-niece of Mrs. Beckham, and I record it as illustrating the character of the grand old men who made Carnlinu iirVi a 4- cKo Anon woo This new land, in its sylvan beauty, must have been a paradise to the first settlers, with fish from the stream, game from the woods, flocks of wild turkeys at their very doors, living was certainly easy even for the poorest. From tradition I gather that this old community was a "convivial set" and enjoyed their gatherings for feast and revel. Of dancing I know they were particularly fond. Maj. John Henderson and Miss Sally Gaudelock, arrayed in blue silk and diamond necklace, would lead off in the stately minuet and doubtless "slow step, coupe, sink and rebound" were as gracefully performed then as now, and Mrs. Potter's agility in the execution of the 49 steps of "Old Roger de Coverly" was the admiration of the country. Later on came (Continued on Page 10) WOULD CHANCE SI OF I Lueco Gunter, Slate Superviso Problems of Teachers a Conditions of i Lueco Gunter, State supervisor of rural schools, analyzing the conditions in South Carolina, suggests that the remedy for many of the unbusinesslike practices is to have the school trustees elected one at a time instead of in a body every two years. He points out that in many instances the excuse that a boy is needed for work in the fields is imaginary. Mr. Gunter also opposes the frequency with which teachers change schools during a session. Mr. Gunter' article on problems of the rural schools during the spring of the year follows: Notwithstanding the great improvement in rural schools during the past few years there are yet many problems that are burdensome to country school workers and that become very acute in the spring. Some of these problems are hardly found in any of the larger school systems of the State. Much is said these days about giving the country boy and the countrv girl an equal chance in school opportunities with other boys and girls. But this can never be unless by the cooperation of pupils, parents, teachers and school officers a solution is found for some of the problems that belong especially to the rural school. One of these is the great stoppage of the larger boys and girls with the first days of spring. In many country schools this spring the State supervisor of rural schools has not found a third of the school enrollment present in school. Some country schools keep up the attendance very well. But these are all too rare, and the proportion stopping varies from at least two-thirds of the enrollment to what may be termed a respectable attendance. The reason assigned for this stopping is the need of the services of the larger boys in the field. This is doubtilass true in many cases. But wh<jn tno state supervisor nas ooserved a pood attendance in one community and an extremely poor attendance in another, and yet where the conditic ns of the two communities were very much ali"ke, he could not feel otherwise than that the great need of the larger boys in the field was to some extent imapinary. In nearly every in| stance where the community was pleased with the work of the teacher the attendance was hardly to be complained of. Without mentioning the discouragement that this stoppinp brinps to the pupils who are desirous of an education and are anxious to learn, this condition will present a difficult problem in the classification of pupils at the openinp of the session next fall. If the pupils who stopped begin where they left ofT, there will be a multiply ing of recitation periods in the very schools where the larper number of periods is already one of the great problems, unless the pupils who continued to the end of the session are forced to go back with those who stopped school. If those who left school to go into the field are advanced with those pupils who finished the session, they will be very poorly prepared for the year's work, will likely be laggards in their classes and finally, overcome with discouragement, will likely stop school at an AO *-1 \r rlof A olf AAHAfVlA** Combine School and Field. In cases where the work of the larger boys is absolutely necessary this situation has been helped by a willingness on the part of the boys and their parents to combine school work with field work and by the cooperation of the teacher and other pupils in opening school at an early hour in the morning so as to do the substantial school work during the forenoon and to dismiss the larger boys to their field work in the afternoon. It was very gratifying to find this spring that as a rule in the school districts where the compulsory school attendance law had been taken on the attendance of pupils remained good until the end of the session, in nearly every instance where this condition was observed the good attendance was maintained without frietinn TWean results were mainly due, no douot, to the intelligent, progressive an I oftentimes self-sacrificing, spirit of the patrons of the schools and they show that the need for the larger pupils in the fields may not be so urgent as is sometimes claimed.' Another serious problem with country school that has been observe.! this spring is the shifting of teachers before the close of the session. During March and April teachers were found in many schools who had recently assumed the work of these schools. They had taught in other schools most of the session; but just at the close of their regular session these vacancies had occurred unex fSTEM ILF.CTING TRUSTEES r of Rural Schools,. Analyzet nd Pupils and Discusses Boys and Girls. pectedly and they had stepped in t< li 11 them. The cause of the vacancies in many instances was not asecrtaine< hut frequently it was disssatisfactior of the teacher with the school or th( school with the teacher. The StaU supervisor was disposed to think thai because of the regular closing of s poodly number of rural schools am the availability of a pood teachei close at hand the dissatisfaction wa< easily created. Chanpe of Teachers. Some of the teacher chanpes were due to discharpinp teachers whet there came the usual dropping off oi II it onrl a r\nc% i r\ c? - ' .ii me ojn.-nn. OUIliC O] our socalled best rural school-; follow regularly the practice of securing s teacher or teachers for the large winter attendance. These come into the schools in the fall about the time thai the school work is well organized They teach about two and one-half 01 three months, long enough to get the work well adjusted, and then witt the dropping off of pupils they art dismissed and there is another shifting of the -pupils and teachers. Teachers thus employed are usually poorlj prepared and poorly paid, girls of tht community with nothing else to do In school of this kind many of tht pupils have three teachers during tht session. Most of them have thret changes in their work during the yeai ?a new teacher in the fall, a changt with the winter increase, and anothei change with the spring decrease in attendance. In conditions of this kind there car be no continuity to the work. The teacher can not know the pupil, his bent of mind and habits of thought and study as the teacher ought. The teacher can not lay out a session's program of work for the pupil with the hope of carrying it out. The result is loss of time, slow progress, and in general considerable school inefficiency. One teacher for the pupilf | all the year is the usual way in out larger school systems, and we must have more of it in our country schools if the country boy and girl are to have ian equal chance. Teachers Look Afield. Another country school problem arises at this time every two years Teachers are now considering loca tions for the next session. In nearlj every school district where the trus tees are appointed by the countj board of education, and this is tht case with nearly 1,000 school districts in the State, the terms of the present members of the boards of trustees will expire the first Tuesday in July If a new board of trustees is appointee ] in ai\y school district, the new boa re I would not be bound to the electioi j made at this time by the present board. So the teacher who is now elected to a position and accepts might readily find himself without a positior after the first Tuesday in July. A kind of gentlemen's understand ing between the county boards of ed ucation and the present or/incominp trustees, or merely the taking of the selection of teachers as a matter ol course prevents dissatisfaction ant confusion at this time in the organization of the teaching corps of nearlj every school in the State. Matters sc important to our schools should nol be left to a mere understandinc or tt u matter of course. This lack of busi ness method in so important a mattei merely encourages migration of teach era, one of the greatest hindrances tr school progress in our State. The remedy can be found only in t continuing board of trustees. Chang< the law so as to follow the plan pur sued in most of the special districts? not have the terms of all the boart , members expire at the same time With the district organization, lot th< term be for six years or three years and the term of one member expir< every two years or one year. The or gani'zation of the board would ther be continuous and their contracts i more binding. This plan would have a tendency t< keep down school district wrangles When a patron or several patrons ha< a grievance, they would not try to gel the whole school district in an up neavai in orcier to pet a new hoard 01 trustees. Only a third of the membership of the hoard would he appointee new with each appointment and anj dissatisfied element could not get con,trol of the hoard in a year. With this change in the organization of the hoard of trustees, election of trustees by the people would likely result in in ; creased public interest in the schools At the same time a policy of the i school board could not he set aside al an .election, as two-thirds of the mem i bership of the board would hold over However, for this year we are work ; ing with our present non-businesslike i method with new appointments of the . entire board the first Tuesday in July Manning Orders To Camp > 1?? WELL KNOWN MEN UNDER SUSPICION SOUGHT IN CONNECTION WITH JUDGES MURDER. ) j Sequel to Campaign?Climax of Hitter Alabama Fight Comes in Killing of Huntsville Candidate. ' Huntsville, Ala., June 17.?That Madison county officers and Hunts| villo police are seeking at least three and probably more of the most prominent citizens of Huntsville and at least one truin ? ?!! u ..VII niM/vtli ill Alcl" I bama politics in connection with the murder of Probate Judge W. T. I.aw> ler became definitely known tonight, i After the finding of the body today f weighed down in the Tennessee river f two companies of militia were sent > here to prevent violence which was , feared when the tragic climax of a - bitter political fight became known. ? Judge Lawler was last seen by s friends and relatives Wednesday . night. He said on that night that > he had an engagement to meet a j political opponent at the court house, i When he did not return that night ; his family became alarmed and re ported his absence to the sheriff. Judge I.awler's eye glasses were r found Thursday morning on the ; court house lawn. His automobile . was standing Thursday morning in s front of the court house where it is ? believed he drove it. > He was shot twice and struck on the head with a blunt instrument. The ! body was found at 1 :"0 o'clock this afternoon ten miles from the city but it was some time later when the news reached Tfuntsville. At about i 1 o'clock, it is stated, one of the men sought by the officers was seen leavi ing the city in a northerly direction , in an automobile. Officers say that t other men they were looking for also had suddenly disappeared. Later in the night it was rumored that one of the men who could not , be found early in the evening had re turned to the city. ! ! The home of It. 0. Overton, for a| nuiiiuer ??i years circuit court clerk and Judge Lawler's recent opponent , in the judgeship race, was entered s hy officers. It was said that Mr. Overton was not at home. No arrests were made, i Both Sheriff Phillips and Police . Chief Kirby say warrants have been . sworn out for at least three very well r known citizens but decline officially . to make known their names, fearing r publicity might hinder them in serv-j > ing the warrants. 5 Acoroner's jury was empaneled j t early tonight and remained in session I ? until nearly midnight when a recess j . was taken until !? o'clock Monday j 1 morning. At that time Attorney Gen- ! 1 eral W. I.. Martin is expected to asi sume charge of the investigation. It t is also planned to draw a new grand j jury to investigate charges of frauds t at the primary when Judge l.awler i was renominated. Two grand juries have not returned indictments. Three arrests in the case had been . made tonight?Percy Brooks, owner r of a ferry operated near where Judge ; Lawler's body was found; Jack Gof forth and Joseph Spanning, employes I of Brooks. Brooks was hurriedly i . taken from Huntsville tonight and i officers started with him to Birming) ham for safekeeping. Goforth and t Spanning are held as witnesses, i The town was ouiet at midniirht but Sheriff Phillips made no effort to conceal his anxiety over what might occur should arrests be made. The large crowd that gathered in the court house square dispersed early, but up to midnight many persons were on the streets which still were patrolled by the guardsmen from Florence and Decatur. PENSION BILL PASSED. Washington, June 17.?The annual pension appropriation bill, carrying $158,065,000, passed the house today without a roll call after a debate devoted to many subjects other than pensions. The total is $6,000,000 less than that of last year's bill. A separate bill increasing the pensions of widows of War of Secession 1 veterans who have reached the age t of 70 years from $12 to $20 a month . probably will be passed Monday. It i f increases pensions to widows about 1 $9,000,000. 1 The several county boards of educa tion can likely save teachers and trus tees some anxiety and the schools some confusion by having their trustee appointments ready and announcing them promptly at the time appointed by law. Whatever inconvenience we are called upon to bear, whatever haUowed tradition we may be called upon to give up, even if it be a change in our venerable school law, let us do it all that me may give the country boy and girl an equal chance with other boys and girls.?The State. Militia > Ground at Styx Plans for Mobilization of Troops Go Forward at Rapid Pace ? Medical Corps Ready for Service. To Secure Equipment for 2,000 Men and Officers. (The State.) General orders for the mobilization of the National Guard of South Carolina, including two i< giments of infantry, the troop of cavalry and attached sanitary troops, at Styx, the State camp ground, were issued Monthly by Gov. Richard I. Manning: as commander-in-chief of the State's armed forces. The mobilization order was signed by the governor immediately upon receipt of the call for the troops, which had been issued in Washington by President Wilson through the secretary of war. The movement of troops to Styx will begin within five days. . The general orders were immedi- J ately sent by telegraph to the colo- / \ nels of the two regiments to be trans- J mitted through the regular channels ^ to the company commanders. t More than 2,000 men and oflicers V throughout the State were yesterday anxiously awaiting orders from the company commanders to assemble at Styx, about seven miles from Colum- f V their armories preparatory to moving I ' on the State mobilization ground at | ' , Styx, about seven miles from Colum bin. Gov. Manning took personal charge of the situation and remained in hi office throughout the lay in conference with oflicers when the movement, of the troops were considered. Practically every detail for the mobilization of the troop, was worked out during the day ami by night all orders were on their way to the headquarters of the two regiments. The list of staff officers for the j camp ground at Styx was included in / the general mobilization older as < v signed by Gov. Manning. After the call from Washington . Gov. Manning sent the following tele* \ gram to Newton I). Baker, secretary \ of war: "Orders for mobilization have already been issued." "The National Guard will be in camp at Styx by Friday." This was the statement made yesterday at the governor's office. Mobilization Order. The text of the governor- orders is as lollows: 'In accordance with telegram from till' secretary <>' war. dated June IS, railing tin- National Guard of . i Soutli Carolina into tlu orvice of the tI I'nited States, i hereby direct thai Cue X, following command jno.oed to rh ? mohilization camp at Styx: K i-* South Carolina infantry Col. E. M. Ulythe; Second South a v.. na infantry, Col. Holmes P.. Sprite. : Tioop A, ? South Carolina cavalry. 1 at' W. M. |* Manning. with attached -aiitary V troops. "The following staff oflici will re port in person to the adjutant general of South Carolina at the adjutant general's office not later than dune 20, 1016: Maj. J. Shapter Caldwell, Maj. P. J. Drew, quartermaster corps; Maj. Henry E. Haines, quartermaster corps; Capt. Oscar W. Bahh, quar ermaster corps; Capt. George O. Warren, quartermaster corps. "Regimental commanders will sal.Clef f Ko mnn aT f l-? ^?? ? ? ments at their home station at a rate not exceeding 7f? cents per man per day, as shown by the morning's report. | "Purchases of subsistence will b" made for five days. To obtain a settlement therefor, receipted vouchot must be obtained, on form 26, 1) M. A., and forwarded for payment to the adjutant preneral, accompanied by consolidated ration returns. "When troops remain at their company rendezvous and where adeepmb army facilities for sleeping do not exist, commanding officers are an thori'zed to permit such enlisted me? as they may designate to sleep at home. "All officers and men will be examined by a medical officer prior to lea'inj; the company rendezvous to find out if any of them have any con lap.ious disease. "Headquarters company, a machine gun company and a supply company will he organized in each regimen as prescribed by the new military bill, approved June 3, l!)lt>. "State transportation requests will l.< issued direct to organizations by the adjutant general. No command will, however, leave its home station and proceed to the mobilization camp urtil it has been so instructed by its regimental commander, and in case of the cavalry by the adjutant general. "A serious danger to American lives And honor confronts us. I ap(Continued on Page 11)