AN ABLE ADDRESS.
REMINISCENCES OF WESTEBN
NORTH CAROLINA.
An Address delivered at the Lyceum
Friday NightNov. 7, 1890, by
Col. A', Davidson.
' From the Lyceum, of January.
I was born on Jonathan's
creek, Haywood county, N. C,
May 19,1819; my fathef William
Mitchell Davidson, son of Wil
liam Davidson, well known to
the" early settlers of Buncombe,
having moved to that county in
1804. I have a distinct recol
lection of men and things for
65 years.
The country at that time was
a .vast mountain wilderness -only
then about twenty yearns
from the first settlement ol the
country fresh, full of beauty,
and of game This occasion will
not allow me to speak of my
childhood sports and Gambles,
and I must hasten on to the
men who felled the forests, sub
dued the wildernessled in pub
lie affairs, and planted the very
highly intelligent, and respecta
ble population that now inhabit
that county. The immediate
neighbors ;oi my lather were
first, David Nelson, who was
one of the very first men on
Jonathan's creek, having come
with Jonathan N. McPeters, for
whom the creek was called,, on
a hunting expedition. He was
illiterate, of fine physical form,
honest, brave and hospitable.
He raised a large f am ily of sons
and' daughters ; was the uncle
of Wm. H. Thomas (of whom I
will speak hereafter), died at 87
highly respected and lamented.
Peaco to his memory.
Then there Ajrere Joshua Alli
son, George Owens, John and
Reuben Moody, brothers, ! all
sturdy, hardy, well-to-do men,
and gbod citizens, with Samuel
Leatherwood, who constituted
the near neighbors, those whom
I first remember as my father's
friends. They all raised large
families, with strong physiques,
sound and good constitutions,
and all without a doctor. Jp-
seph , Chambers of this neigh
borhood moved to Georgia about
the first of the opening and dis
covery of the Carroll countv
gold mine, say about 1831 or '32.
TTTT M . i m
.tie was a man or more tnan or
dinary character, led in public
affairs, raised an elegant family
for the times ; his daughters
ii mi
marrying wen. inev were
splendid ladies, and their dej
scendants belong to some of the
best families in Georgia. His
wife was a sister of John and
Reuben Moody.
Then there was J.olin Leather-
wood, who was well known for
his industry, thrift, fine hounds,
fine cattle, and good "old time
recollection of Jonathan's .creek
aid I will leave that locality
and try to find other, interests.
The first school-master I remem
ber was an oldman by the name
of Hayes. He was a good old
man, and had a j nice family ;
came to that back country to
learn the "young idea how to
shoot." I was about six years
olid. 'We could hot then get
spelling books readily. I had
none : was more inclined to fun
than stud v. Ine old man, or
his daughters, dressed a board
as largre as a broad
shingle, printed the alphabet on
it! bored a hole through the top,
put a string in it, tied it around
miy neck and told me to get my
lesson. 1 did not make much
progress ; was greatly indulged
by the old man; "went-out"
without the "stick,'
ter of this primitive people was tioneenngwitn liquor "
that they were entirely devoted occasion, however, is sa i a oi
to each other, clannish, in, the him, that he . signed pledge of
extreme: and when affliction, trie temperance ioh,
sorrow, trouble or vexation was xneu wry
came to one to all. It was like his first speaking he found that
a beehive always some one on there was a cla,ur against
guard and all affected by the him on that account. While tie
attack from- without. They would not notice it Publicly, ho
were the constant attendants toldhisfriendsthathe would.be
a ,a oju r,f rrinri f n Vihvpi Rnmft hard cider CO
CI A W Li LI A iuw
. a I wViir.li whs Trocured for aim.
q?1 tViA fiinprnls without. rfiWfl rd Some mischievous boys, now
It was never known that a coffin ever, concluded that they would
wag rrmrcpH for or the (Hcrcrincr nlav a trick on him and began
to add to a muir of hard cider a
Is it a fact that these men were little of corn .whiskey. It was
better than those of the present soon seen that the effects began
day? or does it only exist in my to exciteth3 old gentleman. He
imagination? When I look became animated and eloquent,
ack to them I think that they when" kind friends notinecmim
were the best men I ever knew; that the boys were pouring
and the dear old mothers of whiskey into his cider.- Ine
these humble people are now nibicort was passed, and with
THE
ASlMLE DEMOlt
A Large '8-page Weekly Paper.
which was
the nasanort for the others. The
old rn an wore a pair of blaclr strikingly engraved on my mem-; great force he -said "he didn't
steel-rim spectacles, with the ory. The men rolled each oth- care if it was all whiskey.". I
largest eves I ever saw. and was ers loers in common: thev eath- have a . vivid recollection of the
a breat smoker. There were no ered their harvests, built their bearinniris: of all his speeches.
matches in those davs. and no cabins, and all work of a' heavy It was thusly : "Gentlemen and
wKv to cat firfi AYfifint-' hv nnnlr character was done in common, fellow citizens I have had the
ard steel; hence he had to keep without price. The log meeting
fire covered up in ashes in the house was reared in the same
way, and it is a tact that this
was done promptly, without
hesitation- regardless of creeds
fire-place to light his pipe. It
was, therefore, necessary to add
a few sticks now and then to
kaep "seed-" As I was gener
ally at leisure he would send
me out for wood" (or sticks). It
wiis the early fall, the time of
the buckeye. When 1 1 would
pring in the sticks I would usu
ally bring m two or three buck
honor of representing you in the
lower branch of the General As
sembly of the State of North
Carolina for the last two and
thirty years, and I have no
BY
V
with a will, although many of again be elected, I shall be able ROBT. M. fURMAN AND DAVID IV1. V ANCh
eating a fitted belief in the etc. Sufficient, to say of this
Christian religion. The Bap- man that he made his mark on
tists, "rifle, axe and saddle bag society, and retained the public
men," or the Methodists "cir- conndence until he left the
wood in the embers I would slip
mj the buckeye. The wood
would smoulder to a coal and
the buckeyes would get hot;
thiey would not explode until
the air reached them. The old
man wouia cnarge his pipe, a
5!
eyes. As I would cover the cuit rider," supplied the people State. ,
with the ministry of the word,
and it is pleasant to look and
reflect upon the enio3rment and
comfort these humble people had
in the administration by 1 these
humble ministers in the lonor
ago. Then they came together
very short stemmed one, and go and held what they called "Un
to the fire-place to lisrht it. As un meetings," under arbors
he began to stir the ashes to get I made with poles and brush, or
a live coal, as soon as the buck- at the private residence of some
eye wasex posed to open air it good citizen, often at my fath-
would explode and e:o off. like er's house. 1 remember dis-
the report of a musket, scatter- tmctly that IN athan Gibson, of
in the hulls, ashes and embers Crabtree creek, converted the
all over the house, in the old top8 of his mill house into one
man's face and against his spec of these places of worship; and
tacles; whereupon he would say, Jacob Shook, on Pigeon, the
Allen, you really must quit father of the family near Clyde,
putting this popping stuff in the turned his threshing floor, in
fire." You can j well imagine his barn, into a place of wor
the condition of the shool room ship, and near this was estab
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! "
If you want the l-ett paper for the bus
Iness: man, the farmer, the family, sub-'
icribe at once for Tna Asuevillk 1)km;
ocba't Only il.50 per year, in advance
NOTICE, FARMERS,
J. E. REED & CO.
I , 1
Will pay the highest market price for trood
mutton delivered at their market. No. 10,
North Court Square, Asheville, N. C.
ASIIEVILLE.'TN.- C
THE APE R FOR THE PEOP-
i !
-THE-
at ';this time.. The good old man
i?eer am aisco.ver wnat was
the cause of the explosion. He
nap lung since gpne 10 nis re
ward and I remember him with
the tenderest affection
A T I 1
lished, about 1827 or '28, Shook's
dMrJwSefS fet ; Tennessee, -Virginia k Georgia
n ited to the church ten acres of
land, which have ever been kept
tor a place of public worship.
I
Railway
It will be a large, 8-page, weekly paper, devoted to the Social, Industrial
and Political Interests of Western North Carolina.' It will be the earned
endeavor of the editors tomakeTUE DEMOCRAT useful to the greatjani
varied Interests of this rapidly growing city and section. No efforts wll!
TO Till
A wider range jwould lead me Time would fail me to tell of the Is' the Only Short and Direct Line snared to make it cntirclv accentaWe of tu fnin.
J. ; -.1. Jl 1 1 i 1 II 1-1- 1- ' A 1 I I "
ij tspeaiv 01 tne naoits ana cus- numoio ine. aeprivanons ana
tnms nf thfl nonntp TIta (rrpnl. infionvenifinr,es undr which
- -"v
burdens they bore, the manhood I these people labored without
exhibited, the great inconveni- murmur and without complaint,
ences under which thev labored. Happy in their simplicity, fond
shows a state or facts not known 01 their friends, and given to ruiiman's mest Vestibule SSleepers
NORTH, SOUTH, EAST AND WEST.
apple brandy a good citizen
. r 1 1 r 1
uvea to a erooa 01a agre. James
McKee, father of James L. Mc
Kee of this city, lived on this
creek, was the sheriff of Hay
wood for many .-years, and died
at an old) age near Asheville.
He was very popular and was
never defeated for office. Near
him lived Felix Walker, jHo
was the !represent:iiive in oih
gress from this district in 1820--22.
He served till '24, and was
succeeded by Dr. Robt. Vance
of this county. He was a man
of great suavity of manners : a
fine electioneer insomuch that
he was called "the old oil jug";
was the author of the now Na
tional phrase, "l am talking for
Buncombe.'' He went after his
defeat. for Congress to Mississ
ippi, and died about4835. I re
member him well, although! I
was only five or six years old
whien he left he State.
The manufacture and trade in
gin sing was begun on this
creek by Dr. Hailen, of Phila
delphia, who employed Nimrod
S: Jarrett and Bacchus J.Smith,
late of this county, to conduct
the business. It was abundant
then and verv Dro-fi table, thp.
green root being wf?th about
seven cents a pound. A branch
of this business was established
on Caney river, in Yancey
. county. I well remember seeing
the, great companies of moun
tameers coming along the
mountain passes (there were no
roads then j only as we blazed
them), withj packed horses and
oxen going to the "factory," as
we called it ; and it was a great
rendezvous ! for the people.
where all the then sports of the
day were engaged in, such as
pitching, quoits', runninp: foot
races, shooting matches, wres
tling and sometimes a good fist
ana skuii ngnx.
3ut the curse and indignation
of the neighborhood rested on
the man who attempted, as we
called it, to interfere in the
fight, or double-team, or use a
weapon."
One other incident of my early
to (this progressive age. I spek
now 01 tne nrss generation or
heads of families who settled
this back country. Tinie would,
fail me to 'speat of their de
scendants and th many useful
and valuable citizens that spran g
from this band -heroes'.' They
mduufactured all, their wearing
apparel, tanned teir own leath
er,, made their axjes an 1 plow?,
anlii, in short, bpught nothing
from the stores except iron. In
fat, they nad nothing to buy
with. There wai but one post
office in the couin'tv. and that
All the nec
were urocureu
of Georgia and
It was a three
was at the to wn.
essanes of lite
f rdm the markets1
South Carolina.
week's trip with a wagon to
Adgusta, Ga. For this ,market
th$ neighborhoo4 would bunch
their products, bring their forces
together and make trips to Au
gusta, loaded with bacon, pel
tri?s and such other marketable
articles as wouldjbear transpor
tation in this, simple way. The
reiurn ior tnese products was
susrar, coffee and molasses, and
happy was the family on the
return of the wagons to be able
to have a iusr full of New Or
le, jn black molasses; and how
happy the children were to meet
thdir fathers and brothers again
anji have them recite the many
to:nes of the tHp. . We then
Bought salt by tte measure, a
bushel weighing about 70
pounds. The average price on
the return of tlie wagon was
three dollars per bushel. It was
intjeresting to see the people
meet to get from the wagons
their portion of the return load;
and happy was tile small family
that got a half b'ushel of .salt,
50 cents worth I of molasses.
There was general rejoicing, all
going home satisfied and happy,
content with their small cargo,
and satisfied thkt they had
enough to do therja for the next
year. It is remarkable how
simple and careful they lived,
and with what earnestness and
hope they went to their daily
toil, expecting nothing more
than this small contribution to
thejir luxury for a year to come.
A striking fact m the charac-
hospitality.
. A more general view of the
country leads me to the organi
zation of the county of Hay
wood, and to the men who lei
in tnat movement. Haywood
county was cut off j)f Buncombe
county in isu. 1 am only now,
to speak of those things which
do not appear in the history of
the times, and in mentioning
families, or names, I can only
mention them as families and
those persons who took part in
the organization of the county.
I am at a great loss according
to my memor about dates.
The most nuted characters of
the county, who were in public
life, were John Welch, John
McFarland, Hodge Reyburh,
Thomas Tatham, Gen. Thomas
Love, - Ninian Edmondston.
These represented the county of
Haywood for many years, pre
served and maintained a high
reputation until their death.
Joseph Chambers, of whom I
have spoken, represented the
county for three sessions in the
legislature. Some of these had
formerly represented Buncombe
county in the legislature, nota
bly Gen.. Thomas Love, who
represented 'Buncombe from
1800 to 1808, (the sessions of the
legislature then were annual),
afterwards served in the legis
lature for Haywood from 1808
until 1828, perhaps the long-
est service or any one man
in the State, continuously. He
immediately afterwards moved
to Macon county, where he
resided for several years, and
then removed to the western dis
trict of Tennessee!; was elected
BETWEEN
DEMOCRATIC EST POLITICS
Hot SDrings, Knoxville and Cincinnati.
Knoxville and Lonisville- ,
Philadelhpia & New Orleans..
1
i
Memphis & New York.
Washington & Memphis-
arties gojng West via thi3 line have choice of
2 ! Through Eoutes,
One via the
Memphis Short Line,
The other via"
Y 111 be Democratic in politics emphatically and reliably '
natae and the life-time creed of Its editors Imply.
so a
to the Legislature from that
State, and was made presiding
officer of the Senate. JHe was a
man of very fine apearance.
j.1 jt . . 1 i -
more man six ieex nign, very
popular, and a nne electioneer.
Many amusing stories are told
of him, such as carrying garden
seeus in nis pocKex, ana aistriD
uting them, always with the as
A 1 . 1 .
surance mat ms wire naa re
membered the voter's wife and
sent them with-, her regards.
The old gentleman was fond of
a good toddy, ut !h1 not resort
TJHE INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS OF THIS SECTION,
Agricultural, Mechanical and Mining, will, receelve special attention.
The1 resources of every county, the various enterprises of all the people,
will have constant consideration.
1
Tho department .for the Home Circle will be complete.
Mobile ; JN eW Orleans. A THE DEMOCRAT Is already assured a large circulation In the'
For any information address,
B. .W. WIIEXX, G. P. it T. .A.
A. BEX SCOTER, A. G.-P.A.
of Asheville and all the Western Counties, It will be an excellent meilaai
for advertisers. Hates -will be reasonable.
Knoxville, Tenn.
city
Insure Your Property With
: ii I v '
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Rear No. 20 South Main St Asheville, N. C
J j I Established 1865.
j it AMERICAN COMPANIES.
-tt 1, Assets Jan. 1, 18W
XXda. of Hartfof-d, Conn., tin oriai
The riome. of New York, SwiieO
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The Hartford, of Hartford, Conn., 6 424
Phcenii. of Hartford. Conn' - ' r'VT
Springfield F. and MSpringfleld, Mass 3,410,93
Fire Association, of Philadelphia, 4J587JJ70
New ort Underwriters Agency, 3.728 319
TheGermaniajOfNev York, &SJ37
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Georgia Home, of Columbus, Ga.,
wiu Carolina uome insurance Co., of iia
leigh, X. C.
Send In your names with the cash at once. Address,
THE ASHEVILLE DEMOCRAT;
FURMAN & VANCE, Editors'
FORIIOR COMPlsnsL
London &ad Globe.
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to the mean su
iterfue
of elec-
uverpooi; London and Globe, of
ojverpooi, t.ag
The ltoyal, of Liverpool, Eng
Knrf horn T nnn Pni
North British and Mercantile, Lon
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Commercial Union, of London, Eng., 13.689 '''n
lxndon and Lancashire, of Liverpool,
Ln' i' 4,005,998
j ACCIDENT COMPANIES,
Fidelity and Casualty Co- of New
r 1,017,315
j Greenwich, , 1,439,797
Asheville, N. 0.
We will thank any one for any name
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the States; or Tcrrltcilei that we mav send .r.rimMfM of tttT BZJIOCI1
,4
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