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S3.50    The  Copy 


Rutherford  County 
Historical  Society 


PUBLICATION   N0.11 


Suiiimcr  1978 


MURFREESBORO.  TENNESSEE   37130 


K"t3 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


The  State  Capitol  1819-1826  1 

by  Alice  N,  Ray 

From  Jefferson  to  Elkhorn  Tavern  7 

The  Story  of  Ben  McCulloch 
by  Homer  Pittard 

Petition  of  Michael  Lorance,  Revolutionary         31 
Soldier 

furnished  by  Mrs.  Peggy  Herriage 

A  Country  Store  (1912-191^)  36 

by  Jack  R.  Mankin 

^  Soule  College  e;8 

by  Eugene  Sloan 

Index  IQil 


LIBRARY  79-03209 

MIDDLE  TENNESSEE  STATE  UNIVERSITY 
MURFREESBORO,  TENNESSEE     37130 


The  Cover 

This  sketch  is  a  version  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
that  stood  in  Murfreeshoro  on  East  Church  Street  (now  East  Vine) 
between  1820  and  I863.  Alice  Ray,  a  member  of  the  Rutherford 
County  Historical  Society  and  a  considerable  authority  on  struc- 
tural antiquities,  developed  a  pencil  sketch  principally  from  des- 
criptive materials  found  by  Dr.  Ernest  Hooper  in  his  research  on 
the  church.  Artist  Jim  Matheny,  another  Society  member,  converted 
this  rendering  to  the  sharp  ink  sketch  which  appears  on  the  cover. 

The  building  was  razed  some  time  in  I863  during  the  Federal 
occupation  of  the  town  and  was  never  rebuilt  on  this  site  by  the 
Presbyterians.  The  most  intriguing  aspect  of  the  structure  was  its 
service  as  the  State  Capitol  in  1822,  after  the  courthouse  burned 
during  that  year. 

Recently,  the  Preservation  classes  at  Middle  Tennessee  State 
University,  acting  under  tlie  supervision  of  Dr.  James  Huhta,  made 
considerable  archaeological  explorations  in  the  area  of  the  Old 
City  Cemetery  where  the  building  supposedly  stood.  The  "digs"  re- 
sulted in  the  exposing  of  a  rather  distinct  line  of  foundation 
stones  and  other  data  which  have  added  considerably  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  architectural  design  of  the  structure. 

Our  thanks  to  Judge  Ben  Hall  McFarlin  for  his  continuing  in- 
terest in  and  assistance  to  the  Rutherford  County  Historical  Soci- 
ety. Through  his  efforts,  Mrs.  Donna  Newlon  was  assigned  as  secre- 
tary to  the  Society's  office  and  in  this  capacity  performed  innu- 
merable duties  for  the  Society,  including  typing  for  this  and 
other  publications. 


RUTHERFORD  COUNTY  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 
PUBLICATION  NO.  11 

Published  by  the 
RUTHERFORD  COUNTY  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 


OFFICERS 


President Dr.  Homer  Pittard 

Vice-President Mr.  W.  H.  Westbrook 

Recording  Secretary Miss  Louise  Cav/thon 

Corresponding  Secretary  and  Treasurer htrs.  Dorothy  Hatheny 

Publication  Secretary Mr.  Walter  K.  Hoover 

Directors Kiss  Mary  Hall 

Mr.  Robert  Rarjland 
Mr.  William  Walkup 

Publication  No.  11  (Limited  Edition~350  copies)  is  distributed  to 
members  of  the  Society.  The  annual  membership  dues  is  $5.00  (Family—??. 00) 
which  includes  the  regular  publications  and  the  monthly  NEV/SLETTER  to  all 
members.  Additional  copies  of  Publication  No.  11  may  be  obtained  at  $3-50 
per  copy. 

All  correspondence  concerning  additional  copies,  contributions  to 
futvu*e  issues,  and  membership  should  be  addressed  to: 

Rutherford  County  Historical  Society 

Box  906 

Murfreesboro,  Tennessee  3V130 


RUTHERFORD  COUNTY  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 
PUBLICATION  NO.  Vl. 

FOREWORD 

This  volume  represents  the  second  publication  for  1978  and, 
follovdng  past  practice,  each  member  or  family  membership,  receives 
a  copy  as  a  kind  of  "refund"  for  the  Society  membership  duos.  Thus, 
membership  in  the  Rutherford  County  Historical  Society  must  be  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  most  conpelling  bargains  found  in  any  organization 
in  the  community. 

The  Society  has  lived  a  life  of  happy  solvency  since  its  found- 
ing a  few  years  ago.  This  has  been  made  possible  through  several  low- 
key  projects  which  have  generated  revenue  over  and  above  that  needed 
for  certain  community  programs  and  necessary  expenses.  Too,  the  wise 
and  efficient  care  of  the  Society  funds  is  another  inportant  factor. 
For  this,  the  Society  owes  a  great  debt  of  gratitude  to  Dottie  Matheny 
Patty.  Under  her  close  scrutiny,  there  is  never  a  question  at  any 
time  as  to  the  status  of  the  organization's  finances. 

Publication  Ho.  11  is  another  effort  to  record  some  of  the 
community's  heritage,  hopefully,  for  posterity.  In  doing  so,  ^he 
Society  affirms  one  of  the  reasons  for  its  foimding. 


FOR  SALE 

THE  FOLLOV/ING  PUBLICATIONS  ARE  FOR  SALE  BY  THE  RUTIIi^FGRD  COUII?!  IHSTOnXGAL 
SOCIETY,  Box  906,  Ihirfreesboro,  Tennesjoee,  37130: 

Publication  #  1,  2,  3,  U,    5,  and  8:   Out  of  print. 

Publication  #  6:   Link  Connnunity;  History  of  I^Vergne;  Fellov/ship  Conanunity; 
and  the  Sanders  Family.  03.00  +  0-50  postage 

Publication  #  7:   Hopewell  Church,  1816-1883;  Stones  River  Presbyterian 
Church;  Cripple  Creek  Presbyterian  Church;  Early  MJJitia  Ordor, 
Petition  by  Cornelius  Sanders  for  Rev.  War  Pencion. 

$3.00  +  C.50  postage 

Publication  #  9:  History  of  Dilton  $3.50  +  0.5O  postage 

Publication  #10:  1864-  Diary;  Peter  Jennings;  Henderson  Yoakum;  Early 

Methodist  Church;  and  Overall  Family  03=50  +  0.5O  postage 

18A0  Rutherford  Census;   With  index.  05.00  f  0-50  postage 

Deed  Abstracts  of  Rutherford  Covinty.  1803-1810.  Names  of  land  ovnero  and 
other  genealogical  infonnation  from  early  deeds.  $10.00  +  0.5O  postage 

Griffith;  A  beautifully  illustrated  bi-centennial  publication. 

$2.00  +  0.5O  postage 

The  Story  of  Murfreesboro.  A  reprint  of  C.  C.  Henderson.   History  of  the 
town  and  county,  hardbound  with  an  index.       $5.00  +  $,50  postage 

Rutherford  County  Medallion:   Approximately  the  size  of  &  silver  dollar 

with  Rutherford  County  coiirthouse  pictured  on  one  side  and  the  center 
of  Tennessee  marker  on  the  back.  02. OC  +  0.5O  postage 

Commemorative  Plates: 

Plate  #  2:  Pictures  old  Tennessee  College  in  Murfreesboro 

05.00  +  01. 00  postage 
Plate  4   3;  Pictures  the  Rutherford  County  Courthouse  about  1900, 

before  it  was  remodeled.  06.00  +  $1.00  postage 

AVAILABLE  FROM  WILLIAM  WALKUP,  202  Ridley  St.,  Snyrna,  Tennessee,  37167: 

Map  of  Rutherford  County  showing  roads,  streams,  and  land  owners,  dated  1878. 

03.50  +  0.5O  postage 

Cemetery  Records  published  jointly  with  the  Sons  of  tho  American  Revolution: 
Vol.  1:   Northwest  portion  of  county  including  Percy  Priest  Lake  area 

and  parts  of  Wilson  and  Davidson  Counties,  256  cemeteries  with 
index  and  maps.  010-00  +  $.$0  postage 

Vol.  2:   Eastern  portion  of  Rutherford  Co.  and  the  weatern  part  of 
Cannon  Co.,  2^,1  cematerieo  v;ith  index  and  nnps. 

,$10.00  +  $.50  postage 
Vol.  3;   Southwestern  portion  of  Rutherford  County,  193  cemeteries, 

index  and  maps.  $10.00  +  $.50  postage 


QUERIES 
Prepared  by  Mrs.  D.  C.  Daniel,  Jr. 

IMPORTANT:  Publication  of  queries  in  this  coluisn  is  free  to  all  members 
as  space  permits.  Each  query  must  appear  on  a  full  shcot  of  paper  vhich 
must  bo  dated  and  include  membor'o  name  and  address ,  Plenso  typo  if  pos- 
sible. Queries  should  give  as  much  pertinent  data  ast  pocsiblo,  i.e. 
approximate/actual  dates  of  birth,  marriage,  death,  etc.  Queries  must 
refer  to  RUTHERFORD  COUNTY,  TENNESSEE  FAJ4ILIES  and  icmediate  connections. 
Address  all  correspondence  relating  to  queries  to  the  Society,  P,  0.  Box 
906,  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee  37130. 

No.  1  WEBB,  OWEN,  DANIEL.  SEAY,  HAILEY:  Seeking  doscendanbe  of  Aaron 
ViEBB  (b.  1775,  Pa.)  and  wife,  h'^ry  "Polly"  OWEM,  ved  Rutherford 
Co.  Jan.  1,  1823.  Children:  Aeasa,  Isaac  Sholby  (v;ed  Mary  Ann 
SEAY  1853),  Evander  (wed  Ifery  E.  DANIEL  1851),  Nancy  (wed  VJilliara 
B.  HAILEY  1853),  Robert,  I^vid,  and  Lucy  J.  Plcnoe  reply.  Mro. 
George  F.  Davis,  ^752  Oak  Cliff  Drive. _ElJ?aflo,_';H_79512,.. 

No.  2  FELKER,  BAILEY:  Susan  Felker,  1830  census  of  Rutherford  County, 
with  two  sons  ages  10-15,  herself  age  30-4-0,  not  in  I84O  census 
of  TN,  in  1850  census  of  Oregon  Co.,  MO  in  horns  of  covi  John 
Anderson  FELKER  who  married  Louisa  BAILEY  in  Rutherford  Co  in 
I84I  (was  she  daughter  ci'  HoDjneo  BAILEY?).  Descendants  of  John 
Anderson  FELKER  believe  he  married  Louisa  Meissncr.  Rebecca 
BAILEY  Justice  (married  Justice  1840's)  appears  in  1850  census  of 
Oregon  Co.,  MO  in  household  of  Nancy  C.  FELKEP.  near  household  of 
John  Anderson  FELKER  (b.  Sept.  4,  1819,  Til,  d.  Sept.  11,  1894, 
TX).  Nancy  (b.  ca.  1817)  supposedly  divorced  from    ? 
Melvin.  Need  any  information  re  FELKERS  and  BAILEYS.  Need  name 
of  Susan  FELKER 's  husband,  apparently  deceased  by  1830,  or  con- 
cerning relatives  of  Susaii  FELKER.  Puszled  as  to  why  her  daughter 
(Nancy  must  have  been  Joiin  Anderson's  sister,  cinco  he  held  her 
property  in  MO  in  his  name  until  her  second  Earriaf:c  in  18S5)  did 
not  appear  \/ith  her  in  1830  census.  Need  maiden  nancs  of  Susan 
FELKER  or  Nancy  (if  she  was  not  a  FELKER  befora  marriage)  or 
Ciiristian  name  of  Nancy's  first  husband,  Molvin  being  svu:'namo  if 
our  family  legends  are  true,  MissJ^llldred  J.  Felker.  607_E._ Pitkin. 
Pueblo.  Co  81004 

No.  3  TODD:   TODD  families  descended  from  5  original  TODDs  in  Rutherford 
Co.  by  I8O9  -  compilation  in  progress  to  be  published  soon.  Anyone 
not  previously  contacted,  please  correspond.  Particularly  inter- 
ested in  parents  and  relation .:hip  to  other  TODDs  of  William  TODD 
b.  April  10,  1781  N.  C?  GA?  married  Madison  Co.,  KY  1804,  Jane 
Douglas,  and  his  brother  Heubin  TODD  b,  ca.  1792  GA  married  #1 
Polly  P.  (Alexander?)  and  //2  Jcalca  TODD,  daughter  of  Aaron  and 
Sally  TODD.  Both  brothers  roared  large  facllles  in  Rutherford 
County  in  the  old  Big  Springs  area.  Sone  say  they  were   sons  of 
Mary  Jane  TODD,  sister  to  oldest  Benjamcn  TODD  to  come  to  Ruther- 
ford. ANY  data  greatly  appreciated.  Jean  Douglas  Van  Meter, 
2552  W.  Stuart.  Fresno.  GAL  93711. 


No.  4  DOUGLASS:  Desire  any  information  abovit  descendant s/parentB  of 
Rhodham  DOUGLASS  b.  ca.  1775  VA,  and  in  Rutherford  Co,  by  1810. 
At  least  2  of  his  sons,  Bryant  and  Joseph  were  also  listed  in 
Rutherford  and  Coffee  Co  census  records.  Dooire  to  knov;  other 
children  and  family  background.  Was  Thomas  DOUGLASS  Rhodham' s 
brother?  1850  Bedford  Co.  census  shows  Rhodhnm.  Jean  Douglas 
Van  Meter.  2552  W.  Stuart.  Fresno.  CAL  93711. 


A  member  of  o\ir  society  is  a  genealogist:  Mrs.  Lalia  Lester 

1307  W.  Morthfield  Blvd. 


Murfreesboro,  Tenn.  37130 
Tel.:   (615)  896-9089 


THE  STATE  CAPITOL 
1819-1826 

By  Alice  N.  Ray 

The  history  of  a  town  can  be  preserved  in  different  ways,  and  Murfrees- 
boro  can  certainly  share  in  the  architectirral,  religious,  and  cultural  forms 
with  its  historic  courthouse,  many  beautiful  hones,  and  lovely  churches. 
There  is  a  variety  of  architecture  that  contributes  greatly  to  the  rj.chness 
of  the  tovm. 

A  unique  place  in  this  commcjiity  is  the  Old  City  Cemetery,  which  houses 
the  foundation  of  one  of  the  most  historic  buildings  in  this  area.  Not  only 
was  it  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  but  the  State  Capitol  as  well.  This 
was  the  kind  of  building  often  referred  to  in  the  early  eighteen  hundreds  ass 
a  "Meeting  House".  During  this  time,  there  was  usually  a  structure  in  each 
town  that  seized  for  regular  Svmday  services  and  for  town  meetings  as  well. 
In  times  of  trouble  or  emergency,  people  would  meet  there  to  help  each 
other.  Much  can  be  learned  about  a  town  when  we  study  these  churches. 
Here  people  would  come  for  every  purpose,  thus,  they  were  called  "Meeting 
Houses".  "Going  to  meeting"  beca'aas  a  common  phrase  for  attending  church. 

The  old  foundation  of  East  Vine  Street  is  that  of  the  First  Presbyter- 
ian Church,  founded  in  1812  as  the  Murfree  Springs  Church  with  eighteen 
members.   In  1818  the  name  of  the  congregation  vras  changed  to  First  Presby- 
terian, and  a  new  building  was  erected.  TMs  new  building  stood  until  it 
was  demolished  by  the  Union  army  in  1864. 

The  building  was  constructed  of  hand-made  brick  with  the  exterior 
similar  to  the  larger  meeting  houses  of  the  period.  Builders  of  these  ear- 
ly ftructv.res  to.^k  pride  in  their  crnft  ?.nd  \s'orkEianship.   Thev  used  the  best 


materials  available,  and,  as  a  result,  many  of  thcco  biiilding  hnve  ctood 
for  hundreds  of  years. 

In  1779  Asher  Benjamin  published  a  book.  The  Country  Builders  Assistant. 
In  this  book  there  appeared  a  "Design  for  a  Church".  Up  until  th5.s  time,  no 
one  really  knew  or  had  any  guide  lines  as  to  vrhat  a  church  really  should 
look  like.  This  design  was  used  throughout  New  England,  where  the  author 
v/as  bom  and  the  book  was  published.  Many  of  these  buildings  still  stemd 
today  and  can  readily  be  recognized  by  the  three  front  doors,  two  rows  of 
windows  on  each  side,  octagonal  bell  tov/ors,  balconies,  raised  pulpits, 
and  many  other  features  described  in  this  book.  They  became  known  as  the 
"Benjamin  Design". 

The  biiilding  here  on  East  Vine  Street  certainly  had  many  of  the  Benja- 
min features.  In  New  England  the  buildings  differed  in  the  exterior 
materials,  since  weather  board  was  used  most  often  instead  of  brick  or 
stone  as  was  the  custom  in  the  south. 

Since  the  foundation  is  all  that  remains  for  us  to  see  of  this  historic 
structure,  we  are  able  to  learn  about  the  appearance  from  the  specifications 
that  Dr.  Ernest  Hooper  was  successfu-1  in  obtaining  from  the  National  Archives 
in  Washington,  D.C.  The  foundation  vrns  two  feet  wide  of  hammered  stone  four 
feet  high  with  two  feet  above  the  ground.  The  stone  was  laid  with  lime  and 
sand  mortar.  The  lime  was  slacked  in  a  pit  on  the  site.  Stone  was  usually 
quarried  in  the  general  vacinity  of  the  building  site.  To  transport  stone 
from  the  quarry  to  the  site  required  a  lot  of  labor  and  ingenuity.  Larger 
stones  were  secured  underneath  wagons  by  log  chains  to  avoid  much  heavy 
lifting,  while  smaller  stones  v/ere  hauled  in  v/agon  beds.  Stone  was  hammer 
dressed  and  cut  by  skilled  stone  masons.  During  this  period  of  time  stone 

Sinnott,  Edmund  W.,  Meeting  House  and  Church  in  New  En^qland .  p.  80-89. 


masons  made  and  sharpened  most  of  the  tools  that  wore  used  to  face  stono. 
A  greater  amount  of  skill  was  required  to  cut  and  face  sillo>  oteno,  and 
lintels,  because  they  had  to  be  cut  to  exact  dinencions. 

The  walls  were  seventeen  inches  thick  of  hand"=-mado  brick  and  laid 
v/ith  sand  and  lime  iKjrtar.  The  exterior  walls  were  of  a  high  grade,  hard 
brick  usually  made  near  the  site.  Brick  masons  not  only  laj.d  the  brick, 
but  they  made  them  and  built  the  ld.ln  as  vrell.   To  mako  brick  a  pit  was 
dug  and  clay  was  taken  directly  from  clay  banks  and  thrown  into  the  pit 
with  the  proper  amoiont  of  water.  A  large  wheel  operated  on  a  shaft  and 
was  drawn  by  a  horse  or  several  laborers  through  this  pit  to  thoroughly 
mix  the  clay  and  water.  The  clay  mixtuTe  was  then  pressed  into  brick  molds 
and  turned  out  on  boards  to  air  dry,  VJhen  the  desired  number  of  bricks 
were  mad^  the  kiln  was  built  and  fired  at  a  very  high  temperature  until 
the  bricks  were  burned  hard.  This  firing  usually  required  several  days 
and  nights.  The  bricks  nearest  the  fire  vrcro  the  hardest  and  were  used 
on  the  exterior,  while  the  softer  ones  were  used  for  Interior  walls. 

Windows  along  each  side  of  the  building  vrero  in  two  rows  with  five  in 
each  row,  making  ten  windows  on  each  side.  These  windows  were  eight  feet 
high  and  three  feet  six  inches  vide  vrith  sills  and  lintols  of  hammer-dressed 
limestone.  Blinds  or  shutters  were  used  on  all  vrindows,  as  was  the  custom 
at  this  time. 

The  roof  was  put  on  of  heavy  material,  with  the  rafters  and  beams 
being  made  of  eight  by  ten  inch  timbers.  Sheathing  was  one  inch  thick  and 
was  covered  with  cedar  shingles.   Ifeking  shingles  was  a  craft  that  required 
special  tools  that  most  often  were  made  by  the  craftsman,  himself.  Some 


2 
Andels,  Masons  and  Builders  Guide.  Vol  1,  p.  11-13. 

3 
The  Foxfire  Book.  Vol.  1,  p.  33-52. 


tools  used  were  steel  wedges,  go-devils,  froes,  mallets,  gluts,  mauls, 
poleaxes,  and  broadaxes.  Large  trees  were  used  for  marring  the  bolts  that 
were  cut  into  boards  the  correct  length  and  then  finished  into  sh5.ngles. 
Dressing  boards  to  make  the  finished  shingle  required  a  shaving  horse 
and  a  draw  knife.  A  craftsman  could  rive  over  one  thousand  boards  a 
day,  and  the  average  building  required  about  five  thousand  shingles. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  parts  of  this  structure  was  the  entrsmces 
with  the  large  stone  platforms  reaching  six  feet  long  and  being  two  feet 
wide  and  eight  inches  thick.  Steps  were  over  four  feet  long  at  each  of 
the  three  front  doors.  The  folding  doors  had  a  circular  sash,  and  each 
opening  had  an  entablature  supported  by  pilasters  at  each  side.  This  made 
a  very  attractive  entrance,  similar  to  the  Benjamin  design. 

Towers  were  traditional,  and  cupolas  and  be].l  towers  with  steeples 
were  almost  alv/ays  used.  The  tower  had  a  cornice,  as  well  as  the  remain- 
der of  the  building.  Tlie  bell  tower  was  octagon  shaped. 

Plaster  was  used  on  the  inside  vjalls  with  two  or  three  coats  usually 
being  the  custom.  The  final  coat  is  very  smooth  and  white,  and  it  was 
often  used  this  way  and  then  painted  later. 

The  vestibule  reached  across  the  entrance  end  with  a  partition  that 
had  two  folding  doors  that  separated  it  from  the  main  part  of  the  building. 
Two  large  colvuims  supporting  the  back  side  of  the  towf?r  were  near  the  fold- 
ing doors.  Also  In  the  vestibule  were  the  two  winding  stair  ways  that  were 
used  to  reach  the  galleries  along  each  side  and  across  the  front  of  the 
bxiilding.  The  galleries  vxere  supported  by  turned  columns  ten  feet  high, 
and  the  fronts  were  three  fset  high  with  panel  v;o:»-k,  pilasters,  and  molded 
caps.  The  side  galleries  were  laid  out  in  steps  wide  enough  to  have  pews 
set  on  each  step.  The  front  gallery  was  arranged  for  the  choir  and  for  an 
or pan . 


Pews  were  fitted  to  the  space  in  the  three  sections  foi'ined  by  the 
tv/o  aisles.  They  had  panels  in  the  back  with  rounded  top  rails.  The 
ends  of  the  pews  were  also  paneled  with  scroll  caps,  and  each  pevr  had 
a  panel  door. 

Pulpits  being  focal  points  were,  naturally,  made  very  attractive, 
and  the  one  here  was  no  exception.  It  had  a  panel  front  and  pedestal 
and  was  elevated  about  four  feeto  The  pulpit  coiild  be  reached  by  two 
small  circular  stairs  on  each  side.  The  altar,  stair  rails,  and  newel 
post  were  all  cade  of  walnut. 

With  a  bviilding  so  stately  and  near  the  center  of  town,  it  seems 
logical  that  it  would  be  selected  to  become  the  State  Capitol,  when  the 
need  arose.  Both  houses  of  the  General  Assembly  could  make  use  of  this 
peirticular  building,  since  the  Senate  could  use  the  gallery  for  their 
meetings,  and  the  Lower  House  could  meet  on  the  first  floor. 

A  number  of  interesting  acts  that  concerned  ^-brfreesboro  and  Ruther- 
ford County  were  acted  upon  diiring  the  time  Murfree«boro  was  the  capital 
of  Tennessee. 

A  special  session  of  the  Legislature  was  begun  on  July  22  eind  ended 
on  August  24,  1822,   An  Act  was  passed  to  divide  the  state  into  districts 
for  the  election  of  Representatives  in  Congress.  At  this   time  Rutherford 
County  was  placed  in  the  seventh  district  along  with  Davidson  and  Williamson 
Counties. 

On  August  17,  1822  authority  was  given  Rutherford  County  to  levy  a 
property  tax  to  obtain  the  amoiuit  of  $6,000  to  build  a  courthouse.  The 
levy  was  to  continue  for  three  years  and  was  levied  as  follows:  37^^  en 
each  100  acres  of  land;  75^  on.  each  town  lot;  25^  on  each  white  pall;  50^ 
on  each  black  pall;  twice  the  season  price  on  each  stallion;  ^10  on  each 
pleasure  carriage;  $5  on  each  two-v^heel  vehicle;  sir.d  ^10  on  each  ordinary 
where  liquor  was  sold. 


On  August  23,  1822  an  Act  was  passed  to  create  a  lottcryj  alBo  on 
this  same  date,  Acts  ooncerning  marriage,  divorce,  end  some  on  the  rights 
of  vjomen  were  acted  upon.  Another  Act  on  August  23,  1822  provided  for 
payment  of  expenses  for  certain  trials.  The  amount  of  $200  was  paid  to 
James  K.  Polk,  clerk  of  the  court,  for  his  services.  Not  only  did  this 
clerk  marry  a  Murfreesboro  girl,  Jiiss  Sarah  Childress,  but  he  became  gov- 
ernor of  Tennessee,  a  Representative  in  Congress,  and  our  nation's  eleventh 
president. 

In  a  special  session  of  the  General  Assembly  held  from  September  15 
through  November  29,  1823,  one  of  the  first  bills  to  be  acted  upon  was  an 
Act  to  Preserve  the  Purity  of  Elections.  In  this  Act  a  person  could  be 
fined  for  threatening  a  voter  ^Jith  spirituous  liquors,  wagering  cr  betting 
anything  of  value,  and  the  fine  coiald  be  $100.  The  first  voting  precinct 
was  authorized  in  October,  1823.  Many  other  Acts  concerning  Rutherford 
County  were  acted  upon  during  the  years  the  General  Assembly  met  here.  It 
was  moved  to  Nashville  in  early  1826.  While  here  the  Acts  were  recorded 
on  a  Franklin  Hand  Press  borrowed  from  a  Nashville  printing  office. 

This  brief  account  of  the  activities  carried  ->i  at  the  vmique  little 
"Meeting  House"  on  East  Vine  Street,  v;hile  it  was  the  Capitol  of  Tennessee, 
has  been  taken  in  part  from  C  G.  Henderson's  The  Storj  ££  Murfreesboro. 
published  in  I929  by  the  News  Banner  Publishing  Germany  in  Murfreesboro, 
Tennessee.  The  book  had  long  '•;8en  out  of  print,  but  through  the  efforts 
of  the  R'-therfurd  County  Historical  Society  and  the  generosity  of  Mr.  Jesse 
Beesley,  a  limited  number  of  these  books  have  been  reprinted  and  are  avail- 
able through  the  Society,  P.  0.  Box  906,  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee  37130. 


7      — - 

FROM  JEFFERSON  TO  ELKHORN  TAVERN? 

The  Story  of  Bon  McCulloch 
By  Homer  Pittard 

Ben  McCulloch,  a  Rutherford  Countian,  has  almost  a  muted  enshrlnement 

in  the  pantheon  of  heroes.  He  gained  fame  during  the  Texas  Revolution,  the 

Mexican  War,  as  a  Texas  Ranger,  and  finally  as  a  Confederate  general  officer 

during  the  Civil  War.  let,  Texas  history  has  nade  only  a  token  curtsey  in 

his  direction.  One  rather  petulant  McCulloch  admirer  measured  his  hero 

alongside  Davy  Crockett,  a  Texas  immortal: 

"Crockett,  \rfio  was  in  Texas  but  a  fev;  v/eeks  and  fought  but 
twelve  days,  is  known  as  one  of  the  state's  great  heroic  char- 
acters; McCulloch  served  Texas  a  quarter  of  a  century,  rendering 
a  thousand  times  more  service  thpii  did  Crockett.  The  former 
fought  one  battle,  the  latter  fought  in  three  wars,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  Indian  engagements  by  the  score.  Both  died  a  sacrifice 
to  the  cause  which  the  state  espoused.  let  Crockett  is  known  as. 
one  of  Texas'  greatest  men,  while  McCulloch  is  all  but  unknown." 

Also,  reference  should  be  made  to  the  fact  that  the  Confederacy  appointed 
McCulloch  to  the  rank  of  brigadier  general  on  hfey  14-,  1861,  the  identical  day 
that  the  venerable  Robert  E.  Leo  was  elevated  to  the  same  officer  rank. 
These  two  led  the  vanguard  of  appointments  above  the  colonelcy  level  followed 
some  thirty  days  later  by  storied  gray  heroes  James  Longstreet,  Albert  Sidney 
Johnston,  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  Thomas  "Stonewall"  Jackson,  and  Jeb  Stiaart. 
Ten  nsonths  later  a  minie  ball  ended  McCulloch' s  military  career  at  Pea  Ridge, 
or  Elkhorn  Tavern.  Despite  his  considerable  friction  at  times  with  fellow 
officers  and  superiors,  his  star  was  on  the  rise.   It  is  conjecture,  of 
course,  as  to  what  his  status  in  Confederate  histoiy,  as  well  as  Texas  lore, 
would  have  been  had  he  survived  the  four-year  struggle. 

Ben  McCulloch  was  born  near  Jefferson  in  Rutherford  County  on  November  1 1 , 

^Webb,  "Exploits  of  the  Texas  Rangers",  p.  24. 
""Warntjr,  Generals  in  Gray.  (Random  references) 


8 

1811.  His  parents  were  Major  Alexander  McCulloch  of  North  Carolina  and 
Frances  LeNoir  of  Virginia,  Alexe.nder  was  an  aide-de-camp  to  General  James 
Coffee  in  the  Creek  War  and  the  War  of  1812.  The  Major,  inheriting  with 
his  brother,  a  large  plantation,  several  slaves,  money,  and  considerable 

unimproved  land  in  Tennessee,  came  with  his  brother  to  middle  Teanessee 

3 
near  the  turn  of  the  century  and  settled  along  Stone's  River.   He  v/as  a 

graduate  of  Yale  and  was  described  by  his  son,  Henry  Eustace,  as  "one  of 
the  stern  men  of  his  dayj  with  great  decision  of  character."'*  Despite  his 
impressive  educational  background  and  generous  inheritance,  his  penchant 
for  the  life  of  a  wastrel  and  his  habit  of  lavishing  his  friends  with  gifts 
and  money,  left  scarce  support  for  the  education  of  his  burgeoning  family: 
six  sons  and  six  daughters.  In  addition  to  Ben,  there  were  Henry  Eustace, 
who  was  to  win  a  modicum  of  fame  as  a  Texas  Ranger  and  Confederate  briga- 
dier; Alexander,  a  Mexican  V/ar  participant  and  a  colonel  of  militia  in 
Dyer  County;  John  S.,  a  Confederate  captain  in  the  quarter-master's  depart- 
ment; Samuel,  a  merchant  in  Florence,  Alabama;  and  James  C,  the  yovmgest 
brother,  a  rheumatic  invalid  who  died  in  1862.  The  j^ix  sisters  were  Sarah 
Stokes,  who  married  Albert  Keehle  of  Rutherford  County;  Mary  Annie,  who 
married  William  L.  Mitchell  of  Rutherford  County  and  died  in  Gonzales, 
Texas;  Francis  Olivia,  who  married  Charles  Parish  of  Weakley  County,  Tenne- 
ssee; Harriet  Maria,  who  married  Nat  Benton,  a  nephew  of  Thomas  H.  Benton, 
captain  of  a  company  of  Texas  Rangers,  and  an  officer  in  the  Confederate 
amy;  Elizabeth  Julia,  who  married  Robert  H.  Tarrant,  a  Methodist  preacher 

of  Dyer  County;  and  Adelaide  Delia,  v/ho  married  Albert  C.  Pierce,  also  of 

5 
Pyer  County. 

^Rose,  Ben  McCulloch,  p.  14« 

^bid,  p.  15. 

5 
Speer,  Encyclopedia  of  the  New  West,  p.  281 . 


General  Ben  McCulloch.  It  is 
possible  that  this  is  an  exanple 
of  trick  photography  with  the 
head  mounted  on  a  "standard" 
body. 


McCulloch  marker  near  Brady, 
Texas  city  limits.  Brady  is 
the  county  seat  of  McCulloch 
County, 


~^fts^ 


*:,     ^♦'^i#^-v-vU 


„«i.»tMp.^ 


•'.^      f 


Elkhorn  Tavern, 
Arkansas — McCulloch 
was  killed  near  here. 
Note  the  antlers  on 
the  roof. 


10 


Alexander  worked  at  the  surveyor's  trade,  and  it  is  conjectured  that 
he  plotted  the  county  seat  of  Jefferson  for  speculators  Thomas  Bedford  and 
Robert  Weakley  when  Rutherford  County  v/as  established  in  1803.   He  is 
listed  as  one  of  the  petitioners  for  the  forming  of  the  new  county  on 
August  10,  1803  and  as  the  first  trustee  of  the  new  political  entity. 
Deed  abstracts  and  other  records  of  the  period  shov;  a  diversification  of 
real  estate  activities  on  the  part  of  the  elder  McCulloch.   He  served  as 
witness  for  several  real  estate  transfers  and  bought  and  sold  land  himself. 

In  the  fall  of  1820,  for  some  unexplainable  reason,  Alexander  loaded 
his  family  and  household  furniture  on  the  plantation  wagons  and  ox  carts 
and  moved  to  Alabama »  There  at  J^uscle  Shoals  along  the  Tennessee  River, 
he  continued  his  surveying  activities  and  efforts  at  farming. 

Ben,  almost  ten  years  of  age  at  the  moment  of  his  removal  to  Alabama, 
augmented  his  one  year  of  schooling  at  Jefferson  vrith  a  fev/  months  at  the 
neighborhood  school  some  three  miles  from  his  home.  Beyond  this,  his 
lessons  were  learned  from  the  practicalities  of  the  frontier  life  and  a 
voracious  appetite  for  reading.  Near  the  McCulloch  home  was  the  favorite 
winter  cajnping  grounds  of  the  Choctaw  Indians.  From  them  he  learned  the 
intricate  basics  of  building  canoes,  tracking  animals  and  humans,  and,  in 
particular,  the  habits  and  lore  of  Indians.^  This  knov/J  edge  was  to  serve 
him  well  v/hen  he  later  found  himself  a  Redman  adversary  on  the  Texas  plains. 

In  1830,  the  McCullochs  loosened  their  roots  again  and  moved  back  to 
Tennessee,  three  miles  from  Pyersburg  in  West  Tennessee,  Ben,  then  nine- 
teen years  of  age,  was  sent  ahead  vrith  ox-carts  containing  most  of  the 

"Publication  No.  2>   Rutherford  County  Historical  Society,  p.  55. 

7 
Wray,  Rutherford  Coxmty  Deed  Abstracts.  (Random  references) 

g 

Dictionary  of  American  Biography,  p.  5- 

'^Gunn,  Ben   McCulloch.  p.  20. 


11 


household  furnitvire,  the  Negroes,  and  livestock.  Major  McCulloch  had 
calculated  to  arrive  first,  but  when  he  arrived,  Ben  was  waiting  and  had 
selected  the  site  for  the  cabin,  farm,  and  spring.  In  addition,  several 
house  logs  had  been  cut. 

Once  ensconced  in  his  new  home  some  twenty  miles  from  the  Mississippi, 
his  restless  and  active  spirits  came  into  full  flower.  He  built  a  large 
pirogue  and  began  trapping  in  earnest,  along  with  operating  a  low-key  trans- 
port business.  His  constant  hunting  companion,  despite  the  disparity  of 
ages,  was  Davy  Crockett  who  lived  in  the  neighboring  county.    In  the  spring 
of  1832,  Ben  left  for  Independence,  Missouri,  where  he  had  hoped  to  join  a 
trapping  party.  When  he  found  there  was  no  room  for  him,  he  switched  to 
Galena  where  he  found  employment  in  the  lead  mines  for  some  twelve  months. 
Following  a  restless  summer  in  Wisconsin,  Ben  returned  to  Tennessee  and 
joined  with  brother  Henry  Eustace  in  cutting  eind  marketing  cypress  logs- 

These  were  rafted  down  the  Obion  River  to  the  Mississippi  and  then  to  Natchez 

1? 
where  the  logs  were  sold. 

Confinement  to  a  precise  occupation  for  any  extended  length  of  time 

appeared  to  accentuate  Ben's  restlessness.  It  was  natural  that  he  should 

turn  his  attention  to  Texas.  On  rafting  trips  to  Natchez,  he  frequently 

visited  New  Orleans  where  he  had  searched  for  the  grave  of  one  of  his  kins- 

13 
men,  St.  John  Petersen  LeNoir,  an  xincle.    In  the  Crescent  City,  he  heard 

tales  about  the  struggles  of  Americans  in  the  new  land  above  the  Rio  Grande 

and,  in  particular,  the  report  of  atrocities  by  Mexican  soldiers.  Too,  many 


Rose,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  3A. 

^^Ibid,  p.  40. 

12 

Gunn,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  4-0. 

Reid,  The  Scouting  Expeditions  of  McCulloch ' s  Texas  Rangers,  p.  24., 


12 


Tennesseans  had  already  left  for  Texas.  Neighbor  Davj--  Crockett  was  poised 
for  the  trek  west.  Supposedly,  he  had  confided  in  Ben  that  if  he  were  un- 
successful in  his  re-election  campaign  for  Congress,  he  would  follovj  the 
Tennessee  exodus  to  Texas  and  would  invite  his  young  neighbor  and  some 
other  West  Tennesseans  to  accompany  him.  To  complete  the  story,  Crockett 
lost  his  1835  re-election  bid  and  shortly  thereafter,  the  first  of  October, 
he  left  for  Texas.    Fortunately  or  unfortunately,  according  to  one's  de- 
gree of  preference  for  immortality,  Ben  could  not  leave  his  farm  chores  at 
the  time.  Possibly  a  month  later,  with  his  home  obligations  completed,  he, 
accompanied  by  his  young  brother,  struck  out  for  the  Crockett  trail.  They 
crossed  the  Mississippi  at  Men^Dhis,  then  to  Little  Rock,  crossed  Red  River 
at  Compton,  and  then  took  the  Gaine's  Ferry  at  the  Sabine  to  Mexico.  At 

this  point  Henry  Eustace  was  persuaded  to  return  to  the  family  farm  in  Dyer 

15 
Cotmty,  remain  for  two  years,  and  then  join  his  brother.    Early  in  Janu- 
ary of  1836,  Ben  set  out  alone  on  foot  for  San  Antonio.  At  the  Brazos 
River  a  kind  fate  intervened,  and  he  was  delayed  several  weeks  by  measles. 
On  February  23,  the  Alamo  siege  began  with  169  valiants,  including  Crockett, 
facing  Santa  Anna's  5,000  Mexicans.  Thirteen  days  later,  the  mission  fort 
fell  with  all  of  the  remaining  defenders  being  summarily  placed  before  the 
firing  squad. '6 

In  the  midst  of  the  angry  outcry  that  follovied  the  butchery  at  San 
Antonio,  Ben  MoCulloch  entered  the  portals  of  his  destiny.  He  immediately 
joined  Sam  Houston's  rag-tag  army  and  thus  geared  himself  for  his  role  in 
the  Revolution.  He  was  twenty-foxu*  years  of  age  upon  his  entry  into  Texas 

"•"^Ibid,  p.  35. 

1 5 
Rose,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  60. 

G'lnn,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  36. 


13 


and  was  described  as  "five  feet,  ten  inches  in  height,  slightly  thin,  but 
muscular  arms  and  shoulders  gave  him  the  appearance  of  an  athlete.  Sharp 
blue  eyes  illuminated  his  keen  features."    Ben  must  be  categorized  as 
one  of  the  free  spirits  of  his  time-  Never  affiliating  himself  with  a 
religious  faith,  he  also  studiously  avoided  narriage,  thus  remaining  a 
dedicated  bachelor  during  his  fifty-one  years.  Sam  Houston  who  later  became 
a  close  friend  of  the  Rutherford  Coiontian,  concluded  one  of  his  letters  to 
McCulloch  with  this  warning:   "Never  get  married. "^^  This  was  obviously  an 
iraploration  in  jest,  but  the  warning  was  possibly  of  no  serious  consequence 
to  McCulloch,  since  he  had  already  set  his  course.  Some   disposition  toward 
shyness  may  have  motivated  Ben  to  choose  the  life  of  single  solitude.  Once 
when  stationed  in  Washington,  D.C.,  he  visited  White  .Sulphur  Springs,  Vir- 
ginia in  an  effort  to  escape  the  searing  heat  in  the  nations 's  capital. 
This  excerpt  from  a  letter  to  his  mother  may  imply  his  acceptance  of  the 
loner's  role  and  his  slightly  cloaked  reticence  and  discomfort  in  the  com- 
pany of  the  opposite  sex:   "People  were  there  (the  reaort)  for  three  reasons. 
These  were  to  drink,  geimble,  and  make  love.  I'm  not  handsome  enough  to  marry 
to  advantage  or  sufficiently  dishonest  to  be  a  successful  gambler.  The  only 
advantages  offered  me  were  health  and  knowledge."    However,  there  is  some 
evidence  that  he  was  not  completely  oblivious  to  the  allurements  of  the  at- 
tractive female.  Ben's  patrol  duties  later  as  a  Texas  Ranger  carried  him 
through  many  of  the  Mexican  villages.  The  brownskin  native  woman,  naked  to 
the  waist  by  custom,  were  observed  strolling  through  the  streets  or  staiiding 
agape  at  the  passing  horsemen.   A  companion  rider  reported  that  "Hen  McCuiioch 

^'^Ibid,  p.  4.3. 
'^Ibid,,  p.  91. 
^^Ibid,  p.  '8. 


14 


20 
spoke  enthusiastically  of  the  unveiled  charms  of  the  Coir?.rgo".    Probahly 

the  best  explanation  for  his  choice  of  li.fe  style  v.'as  his  restlescnccs  and 
hxs  passion  for  mobility.  Apparently  never  satisfied  vrith  a  task  or  activ- 
ity for  any  length  of  time,  he  was  forever  in  search  of  aev;  vistas  end 
physical  challenges.  One  observation  of  McCulloch,  if  near  tho  truth, 
pi'obably  places  him  in  the  proper  perspective,  thus  explaining  his  intense 
individuality  and  the  rationale  for  remaining  single  and  unencumbered:   "He 
was  flamboyant,  headstrong,  intelligent,  coarse,  somotimos  bnatnl,  usually 
profane".'^^ 

McCulloch' s  first  combat  action  came  at  San  Jacinto  on  April  2,  1836, 
a  battle  that  proved  to  be  the  deciding  engagement  of  the  Revolution.  It 
was  not  difficult  for  an  aggressive,  outspoken,  and  combative  young  man  of 
twenty-four  to  attract  the  attention  of  Houston  in  his  tiny  force  of  no  more 
than  80C.   Ben  was  pulled  from  the  line  and  placed  in  command  of  one  of  the 

"Two  Sisters",  two  pieces  of  artillery  which  represented  the  total  heav:y 

22 

ordnance  complement  of  the  Texans.    The  battle  was  over  in  fifteen  minutes 

with  an  almost  con?)lete  destruction  of  the  1500  Mexican  arjjy  with  General 
Santa  Anna  among  the  captured.  Ben's  courage  and  ability  ddmonstrated  in 

directing  the  maneuver  and  fire  of  the  "Twin  Sister"  resulted  in  his  pro- 

23 
motion  next  day  to  first  lieutencjit.  ^  An  unknown  versifier  gave  some 

small  iaanortalization  to  McCulloch' s  performance  in  the  fray  in  a  poem  en- 
titled, "Ben  McCulloch  at  San  Jacinto".  Here  is  a  saaiple  from  the  nine-verse 
effort:   "Hurrah  for  stout  Ben  I  and  hurrah  for  the  band/  That  gave  freedom 


21 

Ibid,  p.  107. 

22 

Rose,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  101. 

The  "Twin  Sisters"  were  contributed  by  a  ladies  organization  in  Cincin.-iati. 

23 

Barker,  "San  Jacinto  Campaign",  p.  237. 


15 


to  Texas  that  day/  And  hurrah  for  the  gun  which  so  bravely  was  manned/ 
When  the  hero  was  passing  that  way."  ^ 

Ben's  military  life  ended  for  the  moment  after  San  Jacinto.   Bored 
with  the  inactivity  of  garrison  and  occasional  patrol  duty,  ho  requested 
and  received  a  furlough  which  led  him  into  an  exploring  foray  to  Lavaca 
and  Guadalupe.  This  was  followed  by  a  trip  to  Tennessee  to  recruit  a 
conpany  of  troops.  After  retxirning  to  Texas  and  finding  himself  no 
longer  obligated  to  the  militai-y,  he  labored  for  a  few  months  as  a  whip- 
sawyer  in  a  Houston  Ivunberyard.  Ben  was  soon  teick  in  Toanesoee  for  the 
purpose  of  learning  svirveying  from  his  father.  After  a  brief  "schooling" 
from  Major  McCulloch,  he  returned  to  Texas  with  residence  in  Gonzales, 
where  he  anno\mced  himself  as  a  surveyor.^  Brother  Henry  Eustace  followed 
his  brother  to  Gonzales  in  July,  1838,  and  they  bunked  together  in  a  cabin 
two  miles  from  the  town.  This  continued  until  Henry  Eustace  was  married 
in  1840.2^ 

Surprisingly,  Ben  McCulloch  devoted  much  of  hi 3  time  to  surveying 
during  the  next  few  years.  In  1839  when  Austin  was  tapped  for  the  Capital 
of  the  state,  Ben  surveyed  and  plotted  the  road  from  Gonzales  to  Austin. 
However,  he  always  kept  a  weather  eye  out  for  action;  tho  previous  year  he 
had  organized  a  vigilante  unit  which  later  became  a  contingent  of  the  Texas 
Rangers,  a  famed  frontier  security  force  which  was  formed  in  San  Antonio  in 
1840.  Elected  from  Gonzales  to  the  first  Texas  Republic  Congress  in  1839, 
and,  in  the  process,  fighting  a  duel  with  one  Colonel  Alonzo  Sweitzer,  his 
opponent  (in  which  he  emerged  second  best  with  an  ugly  shoulder  wound),  he 


2/ 

Rose,   Ben  McCulloch.  p.   45. 

^^Ibid,  p.   50. 

26 

fiunn.    Pen  McCulloch,    p.   oO, 


16 


27 
served  only  one  term,  the  political  lethar^  at  Austin  not  to  his  liking. 

Interspersed  with  his  sojourn  at  Austin  was  his  somewhat  eager  role  with 

other  volunteers  in  subduing  a  band  of  marauding  Indians  near  Gonzales  in 

March,  1839.  This  incident,  known  as  the  Battle  of  Peach  Creek,  served  as 

a  preliminary  to  a  larger  drama:   the  Great  Comanche  Raid.  The  Indians, 

angered  by  the  incursions  by  the  white  man,  swept  across  the  southern 

plains  the  following  year  in  a  frenzy  of  stealing,  raping,  and  murdering. 

McCulloch,  commanding  a  detachment  of  Rangers,  met  the  band  of  over  1,000 

28 
warriors  at  PItud  Creek  on  August  12,  184.0  and  virtually  destroyed  them. 

The  action  at  Plum  Creek  catapulted  McCulloch  into  the  Republic's  lime- 
light, and  thereafter  he  retained  a  high  visibility  in  the  military  affairs 
of  Texas.  During  the  early  months  of  18^2,  there  were  rumors  of  a  possible 
Mexican  invasion  of  the  Republic,  and  McCulloch  was  dispatched  to  San  An- 
tonio to  aid  in  repelling  the  invaders.  The  Mexican  troops  soon  retired, 

but  the  incident  provided,  in  essence,  a  kind  of  dress  rehearsal  for  the 

29 
major  conflict  that  was  to  erupt  four  years  later.    In  18^5,  Ben  was 

elected  to  the  first  legislat\ire  of  the  new  state  of  Texas,  possibly  as  a 

reward  for  his  military  prowess  and  emerging  hero  statu.:.  On  April  24,  I846, 

the  Mexican  War  "officially"  began  when  sixty-three  American  dragoons  were 

30 
killed  on  the  Rio  Grande. 

Responding  to  General  Zachary  Taylor's  clarion  call,  McCulloch  left 

his  desk  at  the  Capitol  and  raised  a  company  of  Rangers,  a  highly  mobile 

unit  that  traveled  lightly  and,  most  Important,  required  no  encumbering 

27 

Smither,  Journal  of  the  Fourth  Congress  of  Texas,  p.  13. 

28 

Rose,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  55. 

^Gunn,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  80. 

30 

^  Ibid,  p.  81. 


I 


17 


supply  wagons.  At  this  time,  Ben  was  thirty- five  years  of  age  and  was 
remembered  as  being  "rather  lean,  sinewy,  and  a  fine  horseman."-^   David 
Wilkins  Kendall,  a  jotirnalist  who  was  attached  to  the  Rangoro,  v/as  on  ar- 
dent admirer  of  the  Captain,  and  his  dispatches  added  much  to  the  McCxilloch 
n^rstique,  however  minimal.  He  described  his  hero  as  "a  man  of  rather  deli- 
cate frame,  about  six  feet  in  height,  with  licht  hair  and  coE^lejdon.  His 
features  are  regular  and  pleasing,  though,  from  long  expostire  on  the  fron- 
tier, they  have  a  rather  weather-beaten  cast.  His  quick  smd  bright  blue 

eyes,  with  a  mouth  of  thin  compressed  lips,  indicate  the  cool,  calculating, 

32 
as  well  as  the  brave  and  daring  energy  of  this  man."    Webb  added  this 

salute:  "His  face  was  a  mask  and  his  features  under  such  control  as  to 

give  no  clue  of  his  feelings  or  emotions,  or  intentions.  It  was  as  natural 

for  Ben  to  remain  calm  in  danger  as  it  was  to  breathe  ...  His  courage 

33 
may  best  be  described  as  a  complete  absence  of  fear." 

McCulloch  commanded  Ranger  units  in  most  of  the  principal  battles  of 
the  war  which  included  Palo  Alto,  Resaca  De  La  Paliaa,  Monterrey,  Buena 
Vista,  Cerro  Gordo,  Churibusco,  and  perhaps  others.  The  Ranger  companies 
under  his  command  "were  perhaps  the  best  mounted,  armed,  emd  equipped,  and 
appointed  units  that  were  out  in  the  ranging  service.  .  .  .   (They)  enjoyed 
more  of  the  trust  and  confidence  of  the  commanding  general  than  any  other 
volunteer  conpany  of  the  invadiug  arny."-^^  There  is  evidence  that  the  Ran- 
gers performed  little  lina  duty  but  occupied  their  time  principally  in 
scouting,  reconnoitering,  and  spying.  However,  at  Monterrey  on  September  21 , 

31 

Rose,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  75. 

32 

Kendall,  Picayune,  June  24,  1SA6. 

33 

Webb,  Texas  Rangers,  p.  95. 


-^'Tleid,  McCulloch ' s  Rangers,  p.  38. 


18 


the  Reingers  in  scouting  the  west  sector  of  the  fortress  city,  foxmd  a  fatal 
flaw  in  the  defense.  Tvjo  limestone  heights  guarding  the  city  had  a  ninimmn 
of  armament  on  the  steep  west  faces,  and  this  become  the  vulnerable  point 
that  led  to  the  storming  of  the  works  and  the  eventual  capitulation  of 
Monterrey  on  September  23.  In  this  pivotal  battle,  the  Rangers  led  the 
onslaught.-'^  Buena  Vista  also  saw  the  Rangers  rise  to  the  attack.  At 
this  time  McCulloch  held  the  rank  of  major-general  in  the  Texas  militia. 

V/ith  the  fall  of  Mexico  City  in  1848,  the  war  wound  down  and  Bon  re- 
turned to  Texas  as  a  national  hero.  His  response  to  the  wide  acclaim  was 
reported  in  this  manner;  "He  bore  his  honors  with  modesty  and  shrank  in- 
stinctively from  any  parade  of  himself;  being  at  all  times  the  plain, 
unpretentious  citizen;  yet  in  spite  of  himself,  he  was  also  the  famous 
xinique  Ben  McCulloch.""^''  At  thirty-seven  Ben  was,  indeed,  unique.  Al- 
ready he  had  begun  to  embrace  some  of  the  eccentricities  that  were  to  set 
him  apart  during  his  remaining  fourteen  years  of  life. 

In  18^6,  during  Ben's  single-minded  involvement  in  the  Mexican  War, 
Major  McCulloch  had  died  in  Tennessee.  After  the  war's  cessation,  McCul- 
loch returned  to  Dyer  County  to  assist  his  mother  in  settling  the  estate. 
Retracing  his  steps  to  Texas  by  the  way  of  Huntsville  to  visit  friend  Sam 
Houston,  he  ended  his  military  career,  for  tho  time  being,  after  assisting 
General  David  Emanuel  Twiggs  in  xocating  the  United  States  posts  or  forts 
along  the  border  of  Texas. 

Until  1849  he  followed  the  siirveying  trade  again  vrith  a  few  years  of 
unprecendented  muting  of  his  wanderlust.  During  this  period,  his  mother 

^Hardeman,  Wilderness  Calling,  p.  H7. 
^^Gunn,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  67. 
^'^Rose,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  116. 


19 


came  from  Cyersburg  to  Texas  to  establish  residence  near  Ben  and  Henrjr 
Eustace.  Early  in  184.9  liis  thoughts  turned  to  the  militaiy  again,  and  he 
decided  to  travel  to  Washington,  D.C.  in  an  effort  to  exploit  his  fame  or 
prestige,  if  euxy,  gained  in  the  late  war.  Also,  there  were  rumors  that 
an  Indian  agency  was  to  be  formed.  The  Indian  agency  failed  to  develop, 

and  his  aspiration  for  a  commission  in  a  United  States  cavalry  unit  proved 

38 
fruitless.    His  ambition,  however,  died  a  slow  and  agonizing  death,  for 

he  remained  in  the  Capital  City  most  of  the  summer  and  fall  and  almost 
daily  appeared  before  various  military  tomes  of  all  description  to  augment 
his  credentials.-^"  Ben's  failures  may  have  been  attributable  to  his  crude 
habits  and  his  personality  now  bordering  on  the  eccentric.  It  is  possible 
that  his  persistent  and  gnawing  appearances  at  the  office  in  the  War  De- 
partment could  have  easily  been  interpreted  in  the  spirit  of  harassment. 

Disgusted,  he  left  Washington  and  was  in  Austin  by  September.  Gold 
had  been  discovered  in  California,  and  all  roads  led  to  the  Golden  State. 
Always  drawn  to  the  source  of  action,  Ben  made  his  travel  preparations  and 
arrived  in  San  Francisco  on  December  1,  1849.  Apparently,  for  some  unex- 
plainable  reason,  he  made  no  particular  effort  to  try  his  hand  at  mining 
gold.  Records  show  that  he  left  for  Los  Angeles  in  January,  1850  on  a 
mule-buying  trip.^   The  disposition  of  the  purchase,  if  any,  is  not  known. 

By  September,  McCulloch  was  in  Sacramento,  possibly  to  be  closer  to 
the  mining  operations.  Nearby,  Sutter's  Mill,  the  focal  point  of  the  gold 
madness,  had  long  passed  the  boom  stage.  It  was  a  "city"  of  some  300  can- 
vass houses  with  lots  in  the  market  place  ranging  from  $4-00  to  $20,000. 


38 

Gunn,   Ben  McCulloch.   p.  76, 

^^Ibid,  p.  78. 

^  Sacramento  Union.   September  S,   1850,   p.  2, 


20 


The  Magnetic  Telegraph  Company 

NORTH,  SOUTH,  EAST  ANQ  WEST, 

OoiilKtial  vUh  ti\  tb<  fe'itbora    Wciuin.  Eutin  xn/.  Xorlhgrn  L,^r>    <f  T»|io|,l 
DIRECT  SOUrHEftN   LINE.   NEW   YORK    TO   NEW  ORLEfNS 

M'\HRINOTUN  OmUE     NsliODt]  HoUI.  Peiin>Tlv>ni>  Avcixi.-  ,iv[  h.iHi  Ml t. 

NEW  YORK  OTKICI-No   il  W«U  m™.t 
PHILADBI.HHIA  OJTICB-lOU  onii  107  B.j.ilh  Thir.l  H,.. 


Tvnaa  aat  eoalitionl  oa  wUeb  Mojugoj  arc  r 


TCd  by  ihi*  Comp  iny  (or  Trin»nu 


/>..^^rA^/^..V     r^^.X^^lj/ 


\H      .^    or/,,,/,. 


;  ^-y7^   j%v^^'-^'>^ 


1/ 


'/^>e^y/.rl 


■'•"t*!?"" 


^^^  ^...  -^  ^  ^f - 


'  ^^jyt-e 


/jtjL^hJ^^ 


Qk^     AV^^^^ 


fi  ^^A/^ 


Gov,   Sa:;.  Houston  requesting  assistance  fronj 
McCulloch  in  the  plan  for  an  invasion  of 
Mexicc . 


21 


Sacramento,  a  terminus  of  the  short-lived  Pony  Espress,  was  the  supply 
center  for  prospectors  in  the  northern  mines  of  the  I-lother  Lode  and  became 
the  Capital  in  1854.*  It  mushroomed  almost  overnight  as  a  reunbunctious, 
teeming  city  of  saloons,  fandango  houses,  and  gambling  dens,  all  designed 
to  separate  the  gold  from  the  miners.    Lawlessness  stalked  the  muddy  or, 
conversely,  dusty  streets,  and,  undoubtedly,  only  a  lawmaji  in  the  cast  of 
a  Wyatt  Earp  could  meet  the  awesome  challenges  of  this  frontier  town.  The 
Sacramento  sheriff  was  Joseph  McKinney,  whose  most  onerous  problem  centered 
in  squatters  who  converged  on  the  mining  crossroads  like  a  plague  of  locusts. 
The  sqxiatter  regarded  all  vacant  property  as  public  land  and  at  night  would 
seize  unoccupied  lots,  enclose  the  areas  with  "ribbon  fences",  and  construct 
shanties.  One  night  after  a  sqviatter  had  suimnarily  been  evicted  from  a  lot, 
forty  armed  squatters  moved  to  regain  it.  Facing  them  were  Sheriff  McKinney, 
the  mayor,  and  several  vigilantes  rounded  up  for  the  occasion.  In  the  street 
battle  that  followed,  Sheriff  IfcKinney  and  several  squatters  were  killed.^ 

A  special  election  was  then  held  to  fill  the  xmexpired  term  of  the 
lawnjEUi  who  had  expired,  a  common  occupational  hazard  of  a  frontier  sheriff. 
McKinney 's  term  had  some  two  years  remaining. 

Apparently,  with  scarce  regard  for  the  narginal  survival  record  for 
law  enforcers,  ten  hopefuls  offered  themselves  to  the  Sacramento  voters. 
Ben  McCulloch  was  one  of  these.  Prior  to  this  entry  into  local  politics,  he 
had  foTond  a  minor  government  job  which  required  the  collection  of  a  twenty- 
dollar  tax  from  all  foreigners  entering  the  tovm  for  the  first  time.  Evi- 
dently the  Sacramento  citizens,  those  who  could  vote,  were  more  favorably 
inclined  toward  Ben  than  the  'Washington  officialdom,  for  he  led  the  ticket 
with  678  votes,  only  one  more  than  his  nearest  opponent.  He  was  sworn  in 


•^^Rolle,  California;  A  History,  p.  107. 
^Ibld,  p.  118. 


22 


on  September  9,  1850.  ^  The  office  was  q\iite  lucrative.  It  was  reported 
that  revenue  from  a  variety  of  sources  inflated  the  Sheriff's  annual  income 
to  over  $4.0,000,  more  than  the  salary  of  the  President  of  the  United  States 
and  three  times  that  of  the  California  Governor  sind  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court. ^ 

Although  moderately  successful,  Ben  evidenced  little  interest  in  his 
new  elective  position.  Bookkeeping  and  other  office  chores  were  not  to 
his  liking.  He  appeared  to  be  principally  drawn  to  the  operation  of  four- 
teen quartz  mines  in  which  he  had  made  some  investment.  Also,  he  found  the 
time  to  visit  Tennessee  during  the  attenviated  term  and  then  to  Washington 
where  he  tried  unsuccessfully  to  generate  funds  to  build  a  mill  at  one  of 
the  California  quartz  mines. 

His  term  of  office  ended  in  1852,  and  Ben  returned  to  Texas.  One  year 
later,  March  29,  1853,  the  long  drought  of  government  rejection  ended,  for 
McCulloch  was  appointed  United  States  Marshal  by  President  Franklin  Pierce. 
His  territory  was  the  Eastern  District  of  Texas  vdth  headquarters  at  Gal- 
veston. His  appointment  being  well  received  by  the  people,  he  remained  in 
the  position  for  nearly  eight  years.  On  several  occasions  his  duties 
carried  him  to  Washington,  where  he  continued  his  study  of  military  subjects 
including,  among  others,  gunnery,  fortifications,  cavalry,  and  infantry. 
Hearing  that  two  regiments  of  riflemen  were  to  be  formed,  he  again  sought 
to  fulfill  his  long-time  ambition  by  applying  for  a  colonel's  rank.  For 
some  reason,  he  failed  once  more,  although  he  was  offered  a  commission  as 
major,  whi.ch  he  declined.  Reacting  characteristically,  he  sat  down  and 

^^Sacramento  Union.  September  9,  1850,  p.  2. 
^bid,  March  15,  1863,  p.  2. 
Rose,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  75. 


23 


wrote  an  open  letter  to  the  National  Intelligencer  in  which  he  chided  the 
President  for  bypassing  him  in  the  appointment.    VJhethor  Pierce  ever  had 
th«-  ''letter  to  the  editor"  brought  to  hin  attention  is  not  knovm,  but  some 
of  the  sharp  edge  of  disappointment  may  have  been  dulled  when  McCulloch 
was  reappointed  Marshal  for  the  Eastern  District.'*' 

In  1858  President  James  Buchanan  appointed  McCulloch  and  L-  VJ.  Pov/ell, 
former  governor  of  Kentucky,  as  the  two  commissioners  to  Utah.  There  were 
grave  problems  in  the  Mormon  territory,  for  Brigham  Young  had  literally 
forced  Federal  troops  and  their  officers  out  of  the  territory  by  the  simple 
expediency  of  refusing  to  sell  supplies  to  the  military.  Acts  of  violence 
were  being  committed  against  troops  emd  Federal  property,  and  two  military 
installations.  Fort  Bridges  and  Fort  Supply,  were  burned  by  the  Mormons. 
Toung,  as  a  result,  remained  in  virtvial  control  of  the  territory'.  The  jour- 
ney to  Utah  by  the  two  commissioners  v/as  not  a  diplomatic  mission  but  one  of 
conveying  a  proclamation  ordering  the  Mormon  leader  to  desist  and  to  use 
his  influence  to  reestablish  law  a^d  order.  McCulloch,  in  light  of  past 
performances,  was  not  eqxiipped  persoxmlly  for  the  nicetiv-s  of  diplomacy, 
but,  for  the  purpose  of  the  Utah  javint,  he  appeared  to  be  a  logical  choice. 
On  May  27,  1858,  the  message  was  forthrightly  delivered  at  Camp  Scott  and, 
after  two  days  of  conferences,  the  matter  was  settled.^ 

During  the  interim  preliminary  to  the  impending  sectior^al  conflict,  Ben 
returned  to  V/ashington  where  he  was  recorded  as  purchasirig  an  interest  in 
what  he  described  as  "an  apparatus  to  bore  wells."    What  practical  use  he 


Gunn,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  91. 
'^'^Ibid,  p.  80-81. 


^Otis,  The  Utah  Expedition,  p.  266. 
Gunn,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  86. 


2A 


subsequently  made  of  this  new  acquisition  is  not  knovm.  Also,  dxiring  this 
period,  he  resigned  his  marshalship  and  was  successful  in  securing  an  ap- 
pointment for  brother  Henry  Eustace  to  complete  his  unexpired  term.  There 
were  strong  efforts  made  to  persuade  Ben  to  become  a  candidate  to  replace 
United  States  Senator  Sam  Houston  who  was  to  become  Governor  of  Texas. 
McCulloch  vehemently  declined.  late  in  1858,  Houston  devised  a  visionary 
plan  to  invade  Mexico,  establish  a  protectorate  over  the  country,  and  there- 
by, hopefully,  reduce  slavery  to  a  secondary  issue,  at  least  tenporarily. 
In  order  to  pursue  this  bizarre  plan,  he  called  in  several  of  his  friends, 
including  McCulloch,  for  assistance.  Ultimately,  Ben  and  two  other  Houston 
representatives  in  search  of  fvmds,  met  with  London  bondholders  in  New 
York  City.    The  idea  was  soon  set  aside,  for  war  clouds  were  now  hanging 
menacingly  over  the  country.  At  the  time  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  inauguration, 
McCulloch  was  in  Washington,  and  a  north  persisted  that  "he  was  making  ar- 
rangements, at  the  head  of  a  body  of  secessionists,  to  take  possession  of 
the  city;  but,  owing  to  the  precautions  of  General  Scott,  the  idea  was 
abandoned."'' 

With  the  coming  of  the  Civil  War,  Texas  cast  her  lot  with  the  Confed- 
eracy, much  to  the  dismay  of  Governor  Houston.  Although  secession  had  not 
been  officially  declared,  the  State's  Committee  on  Public  Safety  was  deeply 
concerned  about  a  Itaion  pocket  of  resistance  at  San  Antonio.  Ben  was  ad- 
vanced to  the  rank  of  colonel  and  instructed  to  capture  the  garrison  at  San 
Antonio,  With  only  4.00  men,  he  moved  and  occupied  the  city  in  February, 
1861;  emd,  the  hero  of  Monterrey,  General  David  Emanuel  Twiggs,  seventy-one 
years  of  age  at  the  time,  siirrendered  without  firing  a  shot,  not  only  the 


Rose,  Ben  McCvaioch.  p.  90. 
^^ Davis,  An  Illustrated  History  of  Sacramento  County,  p.  34.. 


25 


gaorison  but  all  of  the  personnel  stationed  at  the  various  posts  in  Texas, 
over  2700  troops  in  all.^   It  must  be  conjectured  that  the  first  signifi- 
cant engagement  of  the  Civil  War  might  have  been  triggered  at  Sa.n  Antonio 
predating  the  firing  on  Federal  troops  at  Fort  Sumter,  seventy-five  days 
later.  The  atmosphere  was  highly  charged  in  the  garrison  tovm,  and  Mc- 
Culloch's  little  band  was  thirsting  for  combat,  A  defense  was  at  first 
ordered,  but  General  Twiggs,  the  "Bengal  Tiger"  of  many  stirring  engage- 
ments in  the  Southwest,  was  now  old  and  tired,  and  the  order  was  counter- 
manded. McCulloch's  fame  in  Texas  and  Confederate  history  nay  have  been 
greatly  enhanced  if  this  "early  Sumter"  had  occiorred.  Following  the  events 
at  San  Antonio,  Ben  was  enployed  by  Texas  to  purchase  1,000  Colt  Revolvers 
and  1,000  Morse  Rifles.  He  was  svicoessful  in  locating  only  the  revolvers 
and,  returning  from  his  assignment,  he  was  appointed  brigadier  general  by 

President  Davis  on  May  11,  1861,  after  McCulloch  had  declined  a  colonel's 

53 
rank.    His  command,  with  headquarters  at  Fort  Smith,  Arkansas,  embraced 

the  military  district  including  the  Indian  Territory  went  of  Arkansas. 

The  assignment  was  specific:   "To  guard  the  Territory  against  invaEions 

from  Kansas  and  elsewhere. "^^  This  initiated  the  nevi  brigadier's  brief 

service  of  less  than  a  year  as  a  Confederate  general  officer. 

McCulloch,  subsequently  stationed  near  Wilson  Creek,  Fissouri,  was 

soon  to  experience  his  first  full-scale  engagement.  Union  Brigadier-General 

Nathaniel  I^on  began  a  movement  from  his  position  in  southeast  Missouri  to 

attack  the  forces  at  Wilson's  Creek.  Sterling  Price's  arny  combined  with 

McCulloch's  to  face  I^yon,  On  August  10,  the  battle  opened  with  the  Confederate 

52 

Gunn,  Ben  McCulloch,  p.  96. 

53 

Warner,  Generals  in  Gray,  p.  200. 


^^ose,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  175, 


26 


line  being  driven  several  miles  from  its  original  position.  Only  the 
tenacious  stand  and  cotinterattack  by  McCvilloch  saved  the  day,  and  Vfilson's 
Creek  became  a  Confederate  victory. ^^  As  was  his  custom,  Ben's  abrasive 
personality  usually  ran  afoul  of  his  fellow  officers,  this  time  the  target 
became  the  imperious  Price,  an  individxialist  in  his  own  right.  Price  had 
the  audacity  to  sharply  censure  McCulloch  for  not  pursuing  the  Federals 
toward  Volia  and  refusing  to  cooperate  with  Price  in  an  advance  movement 
into  central  Missouri. 

Ben,  never  one  to  buckle  tinder  any  criticism,  angrily  tvimed  over  his 
troops  to  Price  and  left  for  Richmond  to  plead  his  case  with  President 
Davis.  The  description  of  him  as  he  appeared  on  the  streets  of  the  Confed- 
eracy is  in  full  accord  with  his  habits  as  a  loner  and  practicing  eccentric, 

"His  face  was  nearly  concealed  by  a  brown  beard  and  mustache.  Keen, 
gray  eyes  looked  with  a  piercing  glance  from  beneath  shaggy  eyebrows;  a 
brown  felt  hat  placed  firmly  on  iiis  headj  black  and  vrtiite  checked  overcoat, 
pants  of  blue  army  cloth,  the  inside  half  of  the  legs  being  lined  v/ith  buck- 
skin, and  hands  encased  in  soiled  buckskin  gauntlets,  with  not  a  mark  or 
ornament  to  betoken  his  rank,  or  attract  attention.  An  observer  would  have 

en 

little  supposed  him  to  be  the  famed  and  dreaded  Ben  McCulloch."-' 

There  is  no  way  of  knowing  just  how  much  or  to  what  degree  Davis  was 
iopressed  with  his  picturesque  petitioner,  but  an  organizational  change  was 
made  in  the  Missouri  and  Arkansan  troops.  General  Earl  Van  Dom  was  assigned 
to  the  department  with  both  Price  and  McCxilloch  serving  tinder  his  command. 

It  was  March,  1862  before  there  was  further  sustained  action.  General 
Sam  Curtiss,  commander  of  the  Union  Army  of  the  Southwest,  In  February 
succeeded  in  driving  both  Price  and  McCulloch  from  Missouri  into  northwest 


^  Gxmn,  Ben  McCulloch.  p.  110. 
^'^Rose,  B^  McCulloch.  p.  190. 


27 


Arkansas.  Van  Dorn  marshalled  both  armies  into  a  unit  for  an  attack  against 
Curtiss  at  Pea  Ridge  near  ElkKbm  Tavern.  The  battle  opened  on  March  7  and 
throttled  down  near  the  close  of  the  nert  day  vd.th  disaotrouo  results  for 
the  Confederates.  Ben  McCulloch  was  killed  in  the  first  day's  engagement 
near  Elkhom  Tavern  shortly  after  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Riding 
in  advance  of  his  troops,  he  vras  shot  by  a  sharpshooter  who  was  later  iden- 
tified as  Peter  Pelican,  a  private  in  Company  B.  thirty-sixth  Illinois. 
Pelican  removed  a  gold  watch  from  the  body  and  later,  in  carro,  displayed 
the  watch  and  substantiated  the  report  that  he  had  mortally  wounded  the 
brigadier.  To  the  end  in  character,  Ben,  when  carried  from  the  battlefield, 
was  clothed  in  a  suit  of  black  velvet,  patent  leather  high  top  boots,  and 
was  wearing  a  light  colored  broad-brimmed  Texas  hat.  toother  description 
had  him  attired  in  a  dove-colored  coat,  sky-blue  panta,  and  VIellington 
boots. ^^  Whatever  sartorial  habiliments  were  present  during  Ben's  last 
moments,  it  can  be  assured  that  they  bore  little  resamblance  *o  what  would 
be  regarded  as  typical  officer  attire.  McCulloch  did  not  die  on  the  battle- 
field as  several  sources  have  reported  but  in  a  field  hospital.  This  des- 
cription of  the  last  moments  possibly  depicts  the  typical  McCiilloch: 

He  died  of  his  woTinds  about  11  o'clock  the  esame  night,  though 
he  insisted  that  he  wo\ild  recover,  repeatedly  srying  with  great 
oaths  that  he  was  not  bom  to  be  killed  by  a  Tanl:ee.  A  few  minutes 
before  he  e:q>ired,  his  physa-Cian  assvired  him  that  he  ha.d  but  a  very 
brief  time  to  live.  At  this,  Ben  looked  up  incredulously  and  say- 
ing, "Oh,  Hell  I"  tvimed  away  his  head  and  never  spoke  after.  I 
presume,  if  Ben  be  really  dead  (he  is  dead,  as  the  order  of  his 
funeral  has  been  published),  the  Southern  papers  will  put  some 
very  fine  sentiment  into  his  mouth  in  his  closing  moments;  but  the 
last  words  I  have  mentioned  are  declared  to  be  correct  by  a  pris- 
oner. They  are  not  very  elegant  or  dramatic,  but  quite  expressive, 
and  in  McCulloch 's  case  decidedly  appropriate.-'^ 

Texas  and  the  Confederacy  needed  heroes,  and  McCiaioch  was  the  first  and 

most  noted  to  fall,  therefore,  he  became  the  initial  candidate  for  the  state 

^^acramento  Union.  April  19,  1862,  p.  1. 
5%bid,  April  2^,  1862,  p.  3. 


28 


and  national  pantheon.  So,  after  a  battle  that  saw  three  regiments  of 
"Confederate"  Indians,  plied  with  pro-battle  whiskey,  inurder  and  scalp  both 
friend  and  foe;  a  mimerically  larger  Gray  arncr  outfought  and  defeated;  and 
a  legendary  Westerner,  "Wild  Bill"  Hickock,  serve  as  a  scout  for  the  op- 
posing Union  Array,   it  was  fitting,  in  the  wake  of  such  a  bizarre,  if  not 
epochal  occasion,  that  the  body  of  one  of  its  principals  should  be  carried 
over  400  miles  for  proper  eulogy  and  enshrinement.  Major  John  Henry  Brown 
left  Fort  Smith,  Arkansas  on  March  10,  in  an  army  ambulance  with  the  em- 
balmed body  of  McCulloch.  On  April  9,  he  arrived  in  Austin.  Along  the 
way,  authorities  in  several  of  the  coxrnty  seats  and  large  towns  requested 
that  the  remains  lie  in  state  for  brief  periods  and  that  time  be  allowed 
for  ceremonies  and  eulogies. 

The  final  rites  for  Tennessean-Texan  Ben  MoCulloch  at  Austin  is  des- 
cribed as  follows: 

The  remains  of  General  Ben  McCulloch,  the  hero  of  Wilson's 
Creek,  the  pride  and  boast  of  the  amy  of  the  West,  were  on 
Thursday,  with  all  the  usual  poiop  and  ceremony  attending  such 
occasions,  laid  by  the  side  of  Burleson,  Henphill,  and  McLeod, 
The  body  laid  in  state  in  Representative  Hall  from  four  p.m.  on 
Wednesday,  until  fo\ir  p.m.  on  Thursday  last.  About  eleven 
o'clock,  after  prayer  from  Rev.  Mr.  Phillips  and  Bishop  Gregg, 
Captain  John  Henry  Brown,  who  acted  as  aid  to  General  McCulloch 
in  the  action  in  which  he  lost  his  life,  entertained  the  large 
concourse  of  citizens  that  crowded  the  Representative  Hall,  with 
an  address,  narrating  the  thrilling  incidents  of  the  battlefield, 
and  portraying  the  military  acconplishments,  patriotism,  heroism, 
and  noble  single-heartedness  of  our  Ranger  General. 

General  Henry  MoCuD.loch  being  present,  remarked,  in  a  voice 
tremulous  with  emotion,  whose  accents  reached  the  hearts  and 
filled  the  eyes  of  all  present,  that  his  brother  had,  in  his  will, 
commended  his  soul  to  God,  and  bequeathed  his  body  to  hia  State. 
The  procession  at  MoCullooh's  funeral  was  a  mile  long.°0 

As  it  has  already  been  indicated,  Texas  may  have  given  only  a  quiet 

salute  to  the  memory  of  one  of  its  transplanted  heroes.  In  1856,  while  Ben 


60 


Ibid,  June  7,  1862,  p.  3. 


29 


was  a  United  States  Marshal,  McCvilloch  County  was  formed.  Located  in  the 
central  plains,  the  political  entity  was  not  conpletely  organized  until 
1876.  The  county,  until  the  early  1890's,  was  a  central  staging  point  for 
marauding  Comanche  Indians.  Also  range  problems  and  mob  violence  took  a 
heavy  toll  of  its  citizenry  during  this  period.  Today,  McCulloch  County 
regards  itself  as  progressive  with  ranching,  farming,  msjiufacturing,  and 
mining  serving  as  the  principal  economic  bases.  An  historic  marker  out- 
side Brady,  the  county  seat,  relates  the  essentials  of  McCulloch' s  career. 
In  the  Texas  Ranger  Museum  in  V/aco,  there  is  scattered  reference  to  Ben. 
In  one  exhibit  case  is  a  razor  purportedly  lifted  from  the  brigadier's 
body  shortly  after  he  died  at  Elkhorn  Tavern.  In  a  conjunctional  exhibit, 
housed  in  another  building,  a  few  pictures  of  JfcCuiloch  are  on  display, 
and  a  mechanical  sound-visual  presentation  focusing  on  Texas  Rangers  has 
a  few  commendatory  references  to  his  contributions. 

Rutherford  County  does  not  know  Ben  McCulloch  and  for  good  reason. 
When  he  was  bom  near  the  forks  of  Stone's  River  in  1811,  Jefferson  was 
still  the  county  seat,  but  Jefferson  no  longer  exists  in  the  sense  that  it 
existed  in  1811.  Also,  the  Alexander  McCulloch  fsunlly  left  the  county  for 
Alabama  in  1820  when  Ben  was  only  nine  years  of  age.  Alexander's  brother, 

Henry,  may  have  remained  at  Jefferson  for  an  Alexander  McCulloch,  possibly 

62 
Henry's  son,  is  listed  as  local  militiaman,  first  lieutenant,  in  1829. 

Too,  Beer's  1878  Rutherford  County  Map  shows  a  McCulloch  farm  in  the 

Jefferson  area. 


61 

Spiller  (Correspondence),  October  27,  1977. 

^2 

Publication  No.  2f   Rutherford  County  Historical  Society,  p,  64.. 


30 


BIBLIOGRAPHT 

Barker,  Eugene  C,  "The  San  Jacinto  Campaign",  Southwestern  Historical 
Quarterly.  Vol.  IV,  April,  1901. 

Davis,  Winfield,  Jr.,  An  Illustrated  History  of  Sacramento  County. 
(Chicago,  1890). 

Dictionary  of  American  Biography.  Edited  by  Allen  Johnson,  Dumas  Malone, 
and  Harris  B.  Starr.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1928-^, 

Gunn,  Jack  Winston,  Life  of  Ben  McCulloch  (Masters  Thesis  at  University  of 
Texas,  Dept.  of  History"n~1947. 

Hardeman,  Nicholas  P.,  Wilderness  Calling.  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  U.T. 
Press,  1977  (Selected  by  Dr.  Fred  Brigance) . 

Hartje,  Robert  G.,  Van  Porn.  Nashville:  Vanderbilt  IMiversity  Press,  1967. 

Otis,  Grant  Hammond  (ed.).  The  Utah  Expedition.  Concord,  N.  H.  (New 
Hanpshire  Historical  Society) ,  1928. 

Picayune  (Microfilm  Newspaper) ,  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  1846-1847. 

Publication  No.  3.  Rutherford  County  Historical  Society,  Murfreesboro, 
Tennessee,  Summer  1974., 

Reid,  Samuel  C,  Jr.,  The  Scouting  Expeditions  o£  McCulloch ' s  Rangers. 
Philadelphia  (B.  G.  Zieter  and  Company),  1847. 

Rolle,  Andrew  F.,  California.  A  History.  New  York,  Thomas  V.  Crowell  Co.,  1969. 

Rose,  Victor  M.,  _Life  and  Services  of  General  Ben  McCulloch.  Philadelphia 
(Pictorial  Bureau  of  the  PressTT  1888. 

Sacramento  Union  (Microfilm  Newspaper) ,  Sacramento,  California,  1850-1873. 

Smither,  Harriet  (ed.).  Journal  of  the  Fourth  Congress  cf  the  Republic  of 
Texas.  1839-1840,  II.  The  House  Journal. 

Speer,  J.  A.,  The  Encyclopedia  of  the  New  West  (Part  I),  Houston,  1900. 

Spiller,  Wayne  (McCulloch  Coimty  Historian),  Correspondence,  Oct.  27,  1977. 

Warner,  Ezra,  Generals  in  Gray.  New  Orleans  (Louisiana  State  University 
Press),  1959. 

Webb,  W.  P.,  The  Texas  Rangers.  Boston  and  New  York  (Houghton  Mifflin  Co.),  1935. 

Webb,  W.  P.,  "Exploits  of  the  Texas  Rangers",  Reprint  from  The  News  (Dallas), 
April  19,  1921 .  ^  ~~ 

Wray,  Henry,  Deed  Abstracts  (Rutherford  County,  Tennessee),  Vol.  I,  1804-1810. 

Yesterday's  California.  Miami,  Florida,  E.  A.  Seemann  Pub.  Co  Inc.,  1910. 


31 


PETITION  OF  MICHAEL  LORANCE  OF  RUTHERFORD  COUNTY 
FOR  A  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR  PENSION 

Furnished  by  Mrs.  Peggy  Herriage 
Pilot  Point,  Texas 


State  of  Tennessee 

Circuit  Court,  April  Term,  1833 
Rutherford  County 

On  this  6th  day  of  April,  1833,  before  James  C.  Mitchell,  one  of  the  Circ\iit 
Courts  of  the  State  of  Tennessee  now  sitting  at  Murfreesborough  for  said 
County  of  Rutherford,  personally  appeared  in  open  court  Michael  Lorance, 
resident  of  said  county  of  Rutherford  &  state  aforesidd,  aged  eighty-three 
years,  who  being  first  duly  sworn  according  to  law,  doth  on  his  oath,  make 
the  following  declaration  in  order  to  obtain  the  benefit  of  the  act  of 
Congress  passed  June  7th,  1832. 

That  he  entered  the  service  of  the  IMited  States,  about  the  month  of 
Jvme  1780,  immediately  after  the  battle  of  Ramsours,  in  a  volunteer  conqpany 
which  went  in  pursuit  of  Col.  Brytint  tAo  had  collected  a  coii?)any  of  Tories 
on  the  ladkln  River  in  North  Carolina.  The  company  of  whiggs  started  from 
Third  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Yadkin,  thence  down  to  the  Pedee  River,  thence 
returned  home.  Bryant  made  his  retreat  into  South  CaroLlna.  ^plicant  can 
not  recollect  the  names  of  his  officers  in  this  piirsuit  of  Col.  Bryant,  in 
^t^ch  he  served  at  least  one  month. 

About  the  month  of  September  1780  shortly  after  Gates'  defeat,  he 
again  entered  seirvice  under  Col,  Davis  in  Capt.  Joseph  Dickson's  company. 
He  believes  the  regiment  contained  about  five  con?)anieB.  He  remembers  Cap- 
tains Coldwell  and  Cowen.  They  rendezvoused  about  3  miles  below  Salisbury, 
North  Carolina,  thence  they  marched  to  Charlotte,  Mecklenburgh  County,  thence 
to  Six  Miles  Creek  where  they  remained  a  few  days,  thence  to  the  Waxaw 
settlement  in  South  Carolina,  and  remained  there  about  two  weeks.   The  Brit- 
ish under  Cornwallis  had  left  Charlotte  a  few  days  before  Col.  Davis  arrived 
there  and  made  their  way  through  the  Waxaw  settlement  to  Gampden.  The 
Americans  returned  home.  In  this  canpaign.  Applicant  served  at  least  two 
months . 

Sometime  in  Febniary  1781,  soon  after  Morgan  had  defected  Tarlton, 
he  again  entered  service  again  at  Batie's  Ford  on  the  Catawba  River,  North 
CarolinK  under  Gen.  Davidson  in  Capt.  Cowen'e  company.  From  Batie's  Ford, 
they  marched  down  to  Cowen' s  Ford  where  Gen.  Davidson  was  killed  in  opposing 
the  pasjage  of  the  British  under  Cownwallis.   The  Amsricans  were  scattered 
at  this  place  &  collected  again  above  Second  Creek  where  they  destroyed  a 
bridge  to  prevent  the  crossing  of  the  British.  The  British  came  to  the 
place  &  were  fired  upon  by  the  Americans.   The  British  went  below  &  crossed 
the  creek  at  some  ford.  The  Americans  were  again  dispersed.  Under  Generals 
Davidson  and  Locke  opposing  Cornwallis'  pursuit  after  Morgan^ applicant 

served  at  least  three  weeks. 


32 


About  the  first  of  April,  1781,  applicant  again  entered  service  under 
John  Read,  Capt,,  Daniel  Carter,  Lieutenant,  in  Rowan  County,  North  Carolina, 
thence  they  marched  to  the  Congaree  River  in  South  Carolina  where  they 
joined  Gen,  Sumpter  in  Col.  Wade  Hajopton's  regiment,  thence  to  Orangeburgh 
then  in  possession  of  the  eneny.  The  British  fired  on  the  Americans  as  they 
approached  the  town,  but  soon  surrendered  as  prisoners  to  Sunqpter  to  the 
nvunber  of  100  or  150  men.  From  Orangeburgh  the  Americans  marched  in  the 
direction  to  Ninety  Six,  got  in  three  or  four  miles  of  that  place,  when  an 
express  arriving  that  Gen.  Green  had  left  Ninety  Six.  They  changed  their 
course,  crossed  Bread  River  at  the  fish  deun  ford,  joined  Gen.  Green.  Ap- 
plicant then  recrossed  at  the  ford  with  a  detachment  of  about  fifty  men 
under  Maj.  Rutherford,  march  in  direction  to  Ninety  Six  to  Saluda  River, 
thence  down  the  Saluda  on  one  side,  while  a  party  of  the  British  marched 
down  on  the  opposite  side.  The  Americans  crossed  the  Saluda  about  two  miles 
above  its  mouth,  made  a  circuit  and  surrounded  the  eneny  at  the  head  of  the 
Congaree  where  they  made  forty  or  fifty  prisoners.  Thence  they  returned  to 
Sumpter  on  the  Congaree,  Joined  Green  &  went  down  to  the  Eutaw  Springs  where 
the  battle  was  fought  well  known  in  history. 

Then  applicant  under  Maj,  Moore  went  to  Georgia,  swam  their  horses 
across  the  Savannah  about  3  miles  below  Augusta,  thence  down  to  Ebenezer 
&  Joined  Col  White,  thence  down  towards  Savannah  then  in  possession  of  the 
British.  They  ranged  in  the  neighborhood  of  Savannah  about  three  months 
but  without  any  engagement.  In  this  campaign  applicant  served  ten  months 
at  least.  In  all  the  service  aforesaid,  he  served  as  a  private. 

Applicant  never  received  any  xjritten  discharge  from  service,  and  knows 
of  no  person  living  by  whom  he  could  prove  his  service,  nor  has  he  any  docu^ 
mentary  evidence  whatever  to  prove  the  same. 

In  the  several  caaqjaigns  before  mentioned,  he  was  a  volunteer,  never 
seirved  except  as  a  private  &  was  always  in  the  cavalry  and  furnished  a  horse. 

Applicant  represents  that  on  account  of  palsy  &  inability  to  speak 
the  English  language  intelligibly  together  with  old  age  &  defect  of  memory, 
he  fears  the  circumstances  of  his  services,  their  duration,  &  the  names  of 
more  of  his  officers  are  not  so  fully  set  out  as  the  rules  of  the  War  De- 
partment require.  He  believes  that  he  served  several  months  longer  than  he 
has  stated  above.  But  he  could  not  precisely  state  the  length  of  his  ser- 
vices &  thereupon  does  not  claim  a  pension  for  more  than  the  services  before 
stated  amounting  in  all  to  one  year,  one  month,  &   three  weeks  to  which  he 
can  saXely  swear. 

As  to  hla  character  for  veracity  &  their  belief  of  his  services  as 
a  soldier  of  the  revolution,  applicant  refers  to  his  present  neighbors  Nace 
Overall,  Robert  Overall,  Williaa  Northcut,  Jordan  Williford,  Arthur  Totty, 
Robert  Thompson,  &  James  Tucker,  to  all  of  whom  he  is  well  known  &  who  can 
testify  as  to  his  character  for  veracity  &  their  belief  of  his  seinrices 
aforesaid. 

Applicant  was  bom  in  Germany  on  the  18th  of  November  17^9,  as 
appeared  from  his  father's  record  which  applicant  brought  to  America  with 
him  &  lost  it  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  Applicant  lived  in  Germany 
until  he  was  about  twenty-eight  years  old,  when  he  was  sent  with  a  regiment 
of  Germans  over  to  America  to  aid  the  British  in  subduing  their  colonies. 


33 


He  landed  in  New  York  on  Staten  Island  3rd  of  Juno  1777,  remained  in  the 
British  service  about  one  year,  deserted  them  in  Rhode  Island,  escaped  over 
to  Gen.  Sullivan's  army  as  a  deserter  made  himself  Imovm  to  Sullivan  who 
permitted  him  to  pass  on  to  Pennsylvania,  He  cade  his  way  to  Spring  Houoo 
Tavern  18  miles  from  Philadelphia  whore  he  resided  1C  ncntho  ao  a  barkeeper. 
Thence  he  moved  to  Rowan  Goimty,  North  Carolina  in  1780  whore  ho  rooidcd 
about  seven  years  &  where  he  was  residing  when  he  entered  the  sorvico  of 
the  United  States.  The  County  of  Iredell  v;as  in  tho  ncantimo  laid  off  & 
comprehended  his  residence.  Thence  he  moved  to  Mecklenburgh  County,  North 
Carolina,  where  he  lived  until  the  year  1812  when  he  coved  to  Rutherford 
County,  Tennessee  where  he  has  ever  since  &  now  resides , 

He  hereby  relinquishes  every  claim  whatever  to  a  pension  or  annuity 
except  the  present,  and  declares  that  his  name  is  not  on  tho  pension  roll 
of  any  of  the  agency  of  any  state  or  territory. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  the  his 

day  and  year  aforesaid.  Michael  X   Lorance 
s/Win.    ?  nark 

Clerk 


We  Nace  Overall,  a  clers^nan  and  Jordan  Williford  both  residing  in  the 
County  of  Rutherford  &  state  of  Tennessee,  hereby  certify  that  wo   are  well 
acquainted  with  Michael  Lorance  vrtio  has  subscribed  and  sworn  to  the  above 
declaration;  that  we  believe  blm  to  be  oighty-three  years  old,  that  ho  is 
believed  &  reputed,  in  the  neighborhood  where  he  resides  to  have  been  a 
soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and  that  wo  concur  in  that  opinion. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  s/Jordan  Willeford 

the  day  and  year  aforesaid 

s/Vta.    ?  s/Kace  Overall 

Clerk 
(On  the  outside  of  document) 
West  Tennessee  #13820 


Michael  Lorance  of  Rutherford  Co.  in  the  State  of  Tennessee 
who  was  a  private  in  the  company  commanded  by  Captain  Dickenson 
of  the  regiment  commanded  bj  Col,  Davis  in  the  North  Carolina 
line  for  1  year,  1  month,  and  21  days. 

Inscribed  on  the  Roll  of  West  Tenne??see 

at  the  rate  of  57  dollars  03  cents  per  annum 

to  commence  on  the  Ath  day  of  Maxch,  1631. 

Certificate  of  Pension  issued  the  22  day  of  June,  1833 
and       Vftn.  Ledbetter,  Murfreesborough 

Arrears  to  the  ^th  of  March      $114-, 66 
Semi-anl,  allowance  ending 

4.  Sept.  _28j^ 


$U3.17 

Recorded  by:  Revolutionary  Claim  Act,  June  7,  1832 

Daniel  Boyd,  Clerk 
Book  E  Vol.  7  PaRe  84 


34 


State  of  Tennessee 
Cannon  County 

TO  WIT: 

Before  me  Thos.  Elkins  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  and  for  the  county 
aforesaid,  this  day  personally  appeared  Mary  Ford,  aged  Bisrty-five,  v/ho  first 
being  sworn  deposeth  &  saith  that  she  knew  llichaol  Loranco  and  Esther  Loreince 
in  Mecklenburg  CoTmty  emd  state  of  North  Carolinao  Sho  knew  then  from  her 
earliest  recollection  to  the  time  of  the  death  of  caid  Kichaol  vrhich  occiired 
in  Rutherford  County  seven  years  ago,  tho  eighth  day  of  Fobe  Iccto  (1834) 
She  remembers  the  time  vrtien  they  were  married  in  North  Carolina ^  They  V7cre 
married  in  one  half  mile  of  vrtiere  affiant  was  Btc3rlDg  at  tho  tinoo  Sho  was 
at  the  house  of  her  brother,  and  taking  care  of  the  children  vhilo  the  older 
part  of  her  brother's  fandly  were  at  tho  vjcdding,  £ftcr  tho  wedding  v:ac! 
over,  the  married  couple  and  the  coiroany  camo  over  to  hor  brother's  to  play 
and  dance.  They  lived  together  as  man  and  wifo  from  tbjit  timo  till  hie 
death  as  aforecald.  The  time  of  their  marriage  sho  cannot  eznctly  remenbcr. 
The  enclosed  list  of  the  ages  of  their  children  she  believes  to  bo  correct. 
She  has  written  her  name  at  the  bottom  of  it,  Sho  resomboro  that  tho  oldest 
child  was  born  in  about  ten  months  after  the  marriagej  and  affiant  v:ac  about 
ten  years  old,  when  they  married.  Affiant  moved  to  Te:jneBcce  abou.t  thirty- 
eight  years  since,  the  said  Michael  &  Esther  came  out  como  seven  ycT.ro  after 
that;  she  has,  with  that  exception,  boen  living  near  then  all  tho  timo  since 
their  marriage.  The  widow  Lorance  nov;  resides  in  Ru.therford  County,  como 
fifteen  miles  from  affiant.  Said  Michael  was  a  pensioner  of  the  United 

States  when  he  died.  /..    _  , 

E/Mary  Ford 

Subscribed  and  sworn  before  me  this  24.th  Sept., 
I84.I,  and  I  certify  that  said  Mary  Ford  is  a 
person  of  respect,  ability,  and  worth  of  credit, 

s/Thomas  Elkins 
Justice  of  the  Peace 


State  of  Tennessee 
Cannon  County 

I,  Reain  Fowler,  Clerk  of  the  County  Court  of  said  County  of  Cannon 
certify  that  Thomas  Elkins  who  has  attested  the  above  deposition,  is  and 
was  at  the  time  of  attesting  the  same,  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  our  said 
county,  diily  elected  and  qualified,  that  the  foregoing  signature  pixrporting 
to  be  his,  is  genuine. 

The  testimony  v/hereof  I  have  hereunto 
set  my  hand,  and  affixed  my  private 
seal,  having  no  seal  of  office,  this 
25th  Sept.  A.D.  184-1. 

Reain  Fowler 

Clerk  of  County  Court 


MICHAEL  and  ESTHER  Moore  LORANCE'S  GM.ldrcn 

Jolm  lo ranee  vrao  bomt  September  23,  1787 
Anny  loroncg  was  bornt  Auguot  Jth,  1769 
Esther  Lorance  was  bom  February  18,  1792 
Michael  Lorance  was  bornt  October  31,  1794 
Eohralm  Lorance  was  bomt  April  29,  I797 
Catharine  Lorance  was  bomt  December  16,  1799 
Jimmy  Ervin  Lorance  was  bomt  January  11,  1802 
George  W.  Lorance  was  bomt  August  13,  1805 
Mary  lorance  was  bomt  January  31,  I8O9 

s/Mary  Ford 


36 


A  COUNTRY  STORE  (1912-1914) 

(Selection  from  Jack  R.  Mankin's  "Autobiography"  written  for  his 
children  in  which  he  describes  his  brother's  store  and  offers 
some  nostalgic  impressions  of  life  as  he  remembers  it  in  the 
surrounding  communities  of  Mankinville  and  Dilton.) 

When  I  was  a  child--some  eight  or  nine  years  old — Papa 
bought  a  country  store  for  my  older  brother  Hendrick  to  run, 
Ilendrick  being  at  that  time  about  nineteen  or  twenty  years  old. 
The  store  was  located  on  the  Manchester  Pike  at  the  corner  of  the 
little  country  road  that  wound  and  meandered  through  the  farms, 
across  the  branch,  on  to  cross  Lytle  Creek  and  finally  to  end  in 

the  Bradyville  Pike  at  Dilton.   On  its  winding  way  it  passed  the 

2 

"Walker  place,"  where  I  was  born,  and  by  Cousin  Oscar's, 

although  his  house  set  far  back  from  it  and  was  anproached  by  a 
long  driveway.   At  the  road  end  of  his  driveway  was  one  of  the 
most  fascinating  inventions  my  young  mind  had  ever  seen,  namely, 
a  "patent  gate."   It  had  long  arms  sticking  out  on  each  side  of 
two  tall  posts  and  dangling  from  the  arms  were  ropes  that  could 
be  reached  from  the  buggy  seat.   When  one  of  these  ropes  was 
pulled,  wonder  of  wonders,  the  gate  opened!   Aladdin's  magic  lamp 
was  no  more  improbable  or  exciting!   After  driving  through  and 
stopping,  the  other  rope  was  pulled  and  the  magic  gate  closed 
itself.   If  children  in  this  day  are  thrilled  and  awed  by  rockets 
and  computers,  I  was  just  as  thrilled  and  awed  by  this  wonderful 

"*"  Dr.  John  Benton  Mankin  (1860-1926). 
Mr.  Oscar  Mankin. 


gate.   The  road  passed  by  Frank  Overall's  place  and  the  church 
where  I  grew  up  before  losing  its  identity  in  the  Bradyville  Pike. 

But  back  to  the  store.   It  was  a  long,  narrow,  and  high 
wooden  building  sitting  up  on  cut  stone  piers.   It  had  a  porch, 
or  unloading  dock,  all  the  way  across  the  front.   The  front  door 
was  in  the  center  of  the  platform  porch,  and  a  large,  heavily 
shuttered  window  was  on  each  side  of  the  door.   I  think  the  width 
of  the  store  was  twelve  feet  and  the  length  was  fifty  feet.   It 
was  divided  into  one  large  room  at  the  front,  which  was  the  store  ,. 
proper,  and  a  smaller  room  on  the  rear  for  storage.   Somewhat 
more  than  halfway  back  in  the  store  proper  was  a  large,  pot- 
bellied, coal-burning  stove.   This  was  the  social  center  of  the 
farming  community  during  the  winter,  that  is,  for  the  older  male 
members.   The  women  were  too  busy  with  their  interminable  work  to 
have  any  time  for  socializing.   That  would  have  to  wait  until 
Sundays,  the  summer  "protracted  meeting,"  and  possibly  hoq-killing 
time. 

The  store,  facing  the  west,  was  about  one-fourth  mile  north 
of  where  we  lived--an  easy  walk,  but  a  dark,  cold  one  on  a  winter 
night.   Of  course  there  were  no  street  lights — there  was  no 
electricity  nearer  than  "town,"   which  was  about  four  and  one-half 
miles  away. 

As  one  entered,  he  viewed  the  store  from  a  central  aisle. 
There  were  shelves  up  to  the  ceiling  on  both  the  north  and  south 

The  Dilton  Church  of  Christ. 

2 

Murf reesboro,  Tennessee. 


38 


walls,  running  about  two- thirds  of  the  way  back.   In  front  of  the 
shelves  were  two  heavy  wooden  counters  on  each  side  of  the  center 
aisle  with  a  narrow  passageway  between  them  and  between  them  and 
the  shelves.   The  counters  were  hollow  where  heavier  items,  such 
as  buckets  of  candy,  were  stored  under  them.   Part  of  the  tops  of 
the  counters  were  taken  up  v;ith  glass  show  cases  displaying  the 
most  enticing  articles  and  those  that  were  particularly  attractive 
which  might  stimulate  sticky  hands  and  lead  to  shoplifting.   By 
and  large,  however,  the  people  were  honest  and  did  not  need  to  be 
deterred  from  stealing  by  glass  cases.   Inside  the  cases  were 
cookies  placed  there  maybe  with  some  intent  of  keeping  flies  off 
of  them,  but  more  likely  to  keep  samplers'  hands  off,  for  sampling 
and  eating  on  the  spot  was  not  stealing.   Most  of  the  residents  of 
the  community  did  not  bother  much  about  flies  at  this  time.   The 
cases  displayed  pocket  knives,  fishhooks  and  lines,  spools  of 
thread,  chewing  gum  (not  Long  Tom,  it  was  out  of  date  by  this 
time),  papers  of  pins,  needles  and  thimbles,  rick-^ack,  bias  tape, 
boss  balls,   and  other  small  items.   Of  course,  V7hat  excited  my 
child's  mind  was  the  candy,  the  chewing  gum,  and  cookies. 

No  description  of  this  country  store  would  be  complete  if  it 
omitted  the  "punch  board,"  a  gambling  device  that  was  quasi-legal 
at  that  time  though  later  banned  by  law.   It  consisted  of  a  board 
about  twelve  by  sixteen  inches  with  holes  about  one-half  inch 
apart  each  direction,  making  a  total  of  about  660  holes.   Each 

A  small  ball  of  darning  thread  that  came  in  a  ball  about 
an  inch  in  diameter  in  black,  white  and  brown. 


39 


hole  had  a  roll  of  paper  in  it  with  a  number  on  it.   Both  sides  of 
the  board  were  then  covered  over  with  a  colored  paper.   On  the 
front  side,  as  I  remember,  there  v;ere  three  colors  across  the 
board.   One  was  for  25C  punches,  the  next  and  larger  for  10<? 
punches,  and  the  third  and  largest  for  5<;:  punches.   Below  it  in  a 
show  case  were  the  enticing  prizes  which  could  be  won.   The  top 
prize  was  a  handsome  watch  perhaps  worth  $25  at  retail  price. 
It  was  of  course  among  the  numbers  in  the  25<:  punches.   I  can't 
remember  all  the  prizes,  but  they  were  attractive  and  desirable 
and  calculated  to  whet  the  greed  of  the  prospective  customer. 
The  merchant  had  a  chart,  which  he  kept  out  of  sight,  of  all  the 
winning  numbers.   Of  course,  like  all  gambling  devices,  they  were 
rigged  to  pay  a  profit  to  the  "house." 

When  anyone  came  in  the  store,  particularly  males,  this 
attractive  display  of  wanted  items  and  the  punch  board  on  top  of 
the  show  case  fairly  shouted,  "Stop.   Try  your  luck.   You  might 
win  a  watch  or  a  ten  dollar  bill."   This  subtle  salesmanship  along 
with  an  inherent  desire  to  get  something  for  almost  nothing  broke 
down  the  resistance  of  many  and  they  would  lay  dov;n  their  money, 
the  merchant  would  give  them  the  punch  for  punching  out  the 
numbered  paper,  and  then  the  agonizing  decision  as  to  which  one 
(within  the  chosen  and  paid  for  color)  to  punch  haa  to  be  made. 
After  due  deliberation,  the  punch  was  made,  the  paper  unrolled 
and  the  number  checked  against  the  merchant's  list.   If  it  was  a 
winner,  the  prize  was  taken  out  of  the  shov/case  and  delivered  at 
once.   If  it  was  a  loser,  as  most  of  them  were,  he  had  a  lesson 
in  economics  to  the  effect  that  wealth  comes  from  productive  work 


40 


and  not  from  chance.   At  the  same  time  the  merchant  had  reinforced 
his  knowledge  that,  as  Barnum   said,  "A  sucker  is  born  every 
second. " 

Eventually  all  the  punches  were  gone,  all  the  prizes  given 
out,  and  the  merchant  pocketed  a  neat  profit  from  a  minimum  of 
effort  and  risk. 

Most  of  the  merchants  in  these  country  stores  had  a  trace 
of  New  England  skepticism  about  them  and  this  led  them  to  "ring" 
the  coins  they  received  in  payment.   At  this  time  all  the  coins 
above  the  nickel  were  made  of  silver  and  if  dropped  on  a  hard 
surface  would  give  out  a  clear,  bell-like  tone.   The  proprietor 
on  receiving  a  silver  coin,  particularly  a  dollar  or  half  dollar, 
would  flip  the  coin  in  the  air  and  let  it  fall  on  the  hard  coun- 
ter top.   If  it  "rang  true,"  which  most  of  them  did,  he  accepted 
it  and  put  it  in  the  cash  drawer;  if  it  didn't  "ring  true,"  he 
refused  to  accept  it.   This  was  a  routine  thing  and  no  local 
customer  took  it  as  a  challenge  of  his  honesty.   Of  course,  this 
test,  while  it  is  probably  more  needed  now  than  then,  would  be 
worthless  at  the  present.   Our  modern,  "two  faced"  coins  have 
about  as  much  music  about  them  as  a  frog  landing  in  thick  mud. 
The  ring  they  make  is  a  dull  "plunk" — still  another  instance  in 
which  beauty  and  romance  have  fallen  victim  to  "progress."   Alas, 
how  much  we  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  practicality. 

Under  the  counter  on  the  north  was  the  cash  drawer.   Cash 
registers  were  not  yet  in  vogue,  at  least,  not  in  the  boondocks. 
Under  the  drawer  were  several  keys  like  typewriter  keys.   If  one 

P.  T.  Barnum 


41 


pressed  the  right  combination  of  these  keys,  the  spring-loaded 
drawer  would  slide  open  and  ring  a  bell.   Presvimably  this  was  to 
warn  the  proprietor  if  an  unauthorized  person  was  "dusting"  the 
till. 

In  the  shelves  on  the  north  wall  and  behind  the  show  case 
was  the  drug  section,  loosely  defined.   It  held  patent  medicines 
such  as  Cardui,  Beef  Wine  and  Iron,  Sloan's  Liniment,  Sarsaparilla , 
Black  Draught — what  an  awful  dose  it  was.   It  was  a  finely  ground 
black  powder  made  of  roots,  barks  and  vegetable  matter,  and  was    ^ 
used  as  a  laxative.   Also,  there  were  Doan's  Kidney  Pills,  Calomel, 
Castor  Oil,  Iodine,  and  small  bottles  of  turpentine — which  was 
used  as  an  antiseptic.   Two  other  drugs  that  are  nov/  rigidly 
controlled  were  paregoric  and  laudanum,  both  of  which 
contained  opium,  the  latter  in  considerable  amount;  but  then 
anyone  who  claimed  to  have  a  toothache  and  who  had  the  money  or 
the  credit  could  get  them.   Presently  drug  useis  would  probably 
look  on  those  as  the  good  old  days,  although  the  merchant,  as  a 
matter  of  principle  and  also  because  he  personally  knew  all  his 
customers,  would  probably  have  stopped  short  of  selling  any  of 
them  a  dangerous  amount.   And  by  the  same  token  none  of  them  ever 
considered  taking  it  by  force.   In  those  pre-World  War  I  days, 
force  was  a  little-used  item.   Both  the  merchant  and  the  customer 
had  a  mutual  respect  for  each  other.   That  was  one  of  the  features 
of  "the  good  old  days"  I  would  like  to  have  back. 

I  failed  to  mention  that  on  that  drug  shelf  was  vermifuge, 
which  was  one  of,  if  not  the  vilest  tasting  concoctions  ever  devised 
by  man.   If  we  could  just  make  every  politician  whose  words  and 


42 


acts  get  us  into  wars  take  two  doses  of  vermifuge  before  he 
threatened,  I  believe  it  would  usher  in  the  golden  age  of  peace! 
Its  merits  were  alleged  to  be  that  it  would  rid  children  of  pin- 
worms.   I  guess  it  would,  but  there  must  surely  be  some  easier 
way.   Aunt  Louella"'"  gathered  Philip  and  me  up  one  day  and  gave  us 
a  dose  of  it.   The  memory  still  puts  a  bad  taste  in  my  mouth. 

Next  to  the  medicine  section  was  the  tobacco.   There  was  a 
great  variety  of  smoking,  chewing  tobacco,  and  snuff.   Among  the 
chewing  varieties  I  remember  Brown's  Mule,  Spark  Plug,  and  Picnic 
Twist.   The  first  two  were  plug  tobaccos,  that  is,  tobacco  leaves 
treated  with  molasses  and  pressed  into  sheets.   And  near  them 
stood  the  inevitable  tobacco  cutter  to  cut  as  much  off  a  plug  as 
the  customer  wanted.   As  I  remember  about  a  fourth  of  a  plug  of 
Brown's  Mule  sold  for  a  nickel.   I  guess  the  plugs  were  scored  to 
indicate  where  to  cut.   Picnic  Twist,  though,  was  a  different 
breed  of  cats.   It  was  pure  tobacco  twisted  into  a  twist  that 
looked  like  an  overgrown  periwinkle.   It  was  dry  and  strong. 
Some  advanced  tobacco  users  crumbled  it  up  and  smoked  it  in  their 
corncob  pipes.   When  one  got  to  the  place  that  he  could  use  Picnic 
Twist,  he  had  arrived,  because  his  system  must  be  almost  saturated 
with  nicotine  before  he  could  stand  it!   While  it  may  not  have 
been  as  strong  as  I  described,  it  nonetheless  had  a  tendency  to 
separate  the  men  from  the  boys!   If  my  memory  serves  me  right. 
Papa  chewed  Brown's  Mule  very  sparingly.   Then  there  were  the 
snuffs  in  nickel  and  dime  cans.   There  were  two  brands,  Bruton's 

Mrs.  Welcom  H.  Mankin. 


A3 


and  Garrett's  Scotch  Snuff.   They  were  probably  both  made  by  the 
American  Snuff  Company  in  Memphis.   Snuff  was  used,  if  at  all, 
by  the  women  who  before  this  time  had  given  up  smoking  pipes  and 
had  not  yet  got  to  cigarettes.   My  Grandmother  Hendrick  dipped 
snuff;  Mother  did  not.   Most  of  the  men  smoked  or  chewed,  or  both. 
But  cigarettes  were  in  high  disfavor  with  the  older  men;  they 
called  them  coffin  tacks,  and  subsequent  research  indicates  they 
were  just  about  right.   As  for  cigarettes,  those  shelves  did  not 
hold  any  ready  rolled.   They  were  beginning  to  catch  on  in  town, 
but  the  country  people  who  smoked  cigarettes  at  all  rolled  their 
own,  partly,  I  guess,  because  they  were  cheaper.   There  was  a 
rather  strange  notion  among  the  cigarette  smokers  that  it  was  the 
paper,  specifically  cigarette  paper,  that  was  harmful,  not  the 
tobacco.   To  get  around  that,  they  rolled  them  in  pieces  of  brown 
or  white  paper  sacks,  which  added  three  or  four  times  as  much  paper 
as  the  very  thin  cigarette  papers.   Some  few  of  the  more  audacious 
owned  a  book  of  L.L.F.  cigarette  papers.   Whether  it  was  because 
they  were  not  socially  approved  or  because  they  were  illegal,  I 
do  not  know,  but  they  were  kept  pretty  well  concealed.   I  think 
Hendrick  generally  used  L.L.F. 's.   The  initials  were  locally 
reputed  to  mean  "last  leaf  first."   Actually,  I  think  they  were 
the  initials  of  the  French  firm  that  made  them.   Among  the  ciga- 
rette tobaccos  that  were  on  the  shelves  were  Bull  Durham  (way  out 
the  most  popular),  R.J.R.,  and  Prince  Albert.   The  first  two  came 
in  little  flattened  cloth  bags;  the  third  in  a  red  tin,  as  I 
presume  it  still  does.   Of  the  pipe  tobaccos  I  can  only  recall 
Our  Pride,  which  came  in  a  round  cloth  bag  with  a  red  and  white 
label,  and  Tuxedo,  and  Prince  Albert,  which  were  packaged  in  tins. 


u 


Really  experienced  cigarette  rollers  could  roll  one  in  one  hand 
after  the  tobacco  was  poured  in  the  paper,  including  striking  the 
kitchen  match  (Diamond  brand,  no  less) .   I  learned  how  to  roll  a 
very  presentable  cigarette,  but  I  never  advanced  to  become  a 
one  hander! 

Among  the  other  tobacco  supplies  were  some  cheap  cigars. 
The  one  that  fastens  itself  on  my  memory  was  Virginia  Cheroots 
or  "threefors,"  meaning  three  for  a  nickel.  The  box  had  a  picture 
of  a  big  sow  rooting  and  under  it  cheroots.   Even  in  those  days 
of  cheap  products  and  cheap  labor,  I  can't  imagine  that  three  for 
a  nickel  cigars  could  have  had  much  quality.   They  could  probably 
just  as  well  have  been  named  "El-Ropo."   It  is  likely  that 
Fleur-de-Melba  and  King  Edward  also  graced  the  shelves  and  touted 
their  virtues  at  five  cents  each,  which  were  treats  for  the  more 
affluent  only.   Pipe  smoking  and  cigar  smoking  were  not  considered 
to  be  harmful;  they  had  not  yet  been  associated  with  lip,  throat, 
and  tongue  cancer.   Today  they  are  still  regarded  as  less  harmful 
than  cigarettes,  but  not  helpful  to  the  health. 

But  back  to  the  drug  shelves.   There  were  bottles  of  Grove's 
Tasteless  Chill  Tonic  guaranteed  to  cure  malaria.   And  it  probably 
would,  too,  if  one  could  stand  the  taste  for  sufficient  time  to 
take  enough  doses.   Little  cans  of  Gray's  ointment  were  there. 
The  ointment  was  supposed  to  liG   a  specific  for  boils.   It  was  as 
black  as  axle  grease  and  had  a  peculiar  odor.   It  was  almost  as 
adhesive  as  glue.   Aspirin  had  not  come  into  vogue  and  there  was 
little  or  nothing  to  console  one  with  a  headache,  but,  fortunately. 


45 


there  were  not  many  headaches  either.    I  suppose  the  more 
leisurely  pace  removed  the  tensions  that  now  cause  us  so  many 
pains,  or  rather,  the  tensions  never  built  up  to  the  point  of 
pain. 

Immediately  behind  the  drug  and  tobacco  shelves  the  groceries 
began.   There  wasn't  much  rhyme  nor  reason  about  the  arrangement; 
soap  and  spaghetti  might  be  side  by  side.   But  there  was  sure  to 
be  found  somewhere  in  the  shelves  cans  of  sardines  (cheap  American 
variety  which  sold  for  five  cents).  Nigger  Head  Oysters,  Club 
Salmon  in  tall  cans,  pork  and  beans,  bottles  of  pepper  sauce,  a 
meager  selection  of  spices  including  black  and  cayenne  pepper, 
maybe  whole  cloves,  allspice,  stick  cinnamon,  and  whole  nutmegs. 
Since  country  people  canned  their  own  fruits  and  vegetables,  not 
many  of  these  were  sold.   There  were  round  cardboard  boxes  of 
Quaker's  or  Mother's  Oats  (not  the  quick-cook  kinds,  for  they  had 
not  appeared  yet),  Kellogg's  Corn  Flakes,  Post  Toasties,  sometimes 
Grape  Nuts  and  Cream  of  Wheat.   Grits  came  as  hominy  flakes  in 
large  burlap  bags  lined  with  a  cotton  bag.   They  sat  against  the 
counter  in  the  center  aisle  along  with  one  or  two  hundred  pound 
bags  of  coffee  (whole  beans),  a  hundred  pound  bag  of  sugar,  from 
which  the  merchant  dipped  it  with  a  scoop  and  weighed  it  for  the 
customer  in  a  small  paper  bag.   On  second  thought,  I  believe  the 
sugar  was  kept  in  a  bin  under  the  counter.   Large  bags  of  dried 
beans—pinto,  navy,  and  maybe  large  butter  beans — sat  along  the 
counter  in  the  center  aisle  on  the  north  side.   The  south  side 

^   Acetanilide  was  used  by  some  for  headaches  but  occasionally 
induced  unpleasant  side  effects.   It  was  never  popular  like 
aspirin  or  some  of  the  other  present-day  pain  relievers. 


iV6 


of  the  aisle  was  taken  up  largely  with  kegs  of  nails,  staples, 
and  horseshoes,  some  opened,  some  unopened.   You  might  think  that 
rats  and  mice  would  bother  these  bags  that  were  sitting  on  the 
floor.   The  fact  is  that  they  probably  did,  but  no  one  worried  a 
lot  about  it,  unless  it  was  the  merchant  who  lost  a  little  of  his 
wares  and  who  had  to  clean  up  the  mess. 

There  wasn't  much  of  an  assortment  of  soap;  usually  to  be 
found  was  Octagon,  Fels  Naphtha,  perhaps  Ivory  for  the  elite, 
and  Grandpa's  Wonder  Tar  Soap  that  the  women  prized  highly  for 
washing  their  hair.   It  came  in  a  yellow  cardboard  box.   The  bar 
was  rounded  and  was  almost  as  black  as  tar.   It  lathered  freely, 
having  a  tantalizing  odor  of  pine  tar.   Along  with  the  soaps  were 
Faultless  Starch  and  cans  of  Merry  War  Lye,  used  variously  for 
making  your  own  "lye  soap"  and  for  putting  in  pig  swill,  presum- 
ably to  rid  them  of  intestinal  worms;  but,  I  suspect,  given  just 
because  we  had  always  done  it  this  way!   It  certainly  makes  one 
have  a  high  respect  for  a  pig's  innards  to  think  that  it  could 
stand  a  dose  of  lye!   Along  with  these  items  too  was  Twenty  Mule 
Team  Welding  Borax,  used  by  the  housewives  as  a  water  softener 
and  by  the  nearby  blacksmith  as  a  flux  in  welding  iron,  which  was 
to  me  then,  and  still  is,  an  amazing  process. 

Conspicuously  missing  from  this  section,  as  compared  to  a 
modern  grocery,  was  toilet  paper.   The  law  of  supply  and  demand 
prevailed  here,  for  there  simply  wasn't  any  demand  for  it.   The 
people  used  sheets  of  old  Sears  cataloas,  newspapers,  or  even 
sometimes  freshly  shelled  corn  cobs.   You  might  infer  from  this 
that  people  were  tougher  then  than  they  are  now.   If  you  did. 


Kl 


your  inference  would  be  totally  correct.   They  were  tougher  both 
physically  and  morally. 

On  the  back  counter  on  the  north  side  sat  the  cheese  cutter. 
It  was  a  circular  platform  some  fourteen  inches  in  diameter  with 
a  heavy  knife  hinged  over  it.   The  platform  could  be  rotated  a 
fixed  distance  at  a  time.   This  amount  of  arc  represented  the 
value  of  a  nickel's  worth  of  cheese,  which  was  a  segment  of  the 
circle  of  the  cheese.   The  cut  of  cheese  was  wedge  shaped.   If  a 
dime's  worth  was  wanted  it  could  be  ratcheted  twice,  or  multiples 
for  another  multiple  nickel's  worth.   The  cheese  itself  was  about 
fourteen  inches  in  diameter  and  five  inches  thick  and  of  little 
better  quality  than  the  kind  we  now  describe  as  mousetrap  cheese. 
A  cheese  this  size  came  in  a  wooden  box  of  the  same  shape.   The 
cheese  itself  weighed  about  fifty  pounds.   I  didn't  bother  about 
it  at  the  time,  but  I  suppose  the  ratchet  was  adjustable  to  take 
care  of  the  varying  price  of  cheese.   When  not  in  use  the  knife 
was  left  standing  vertically  and  the  hoop  (the  box  the  cheese  came 
in)  was  placed  over  the  cheese  on  the  cutter  platform.   I  suppose 
that  the  purpose  was  to  keep  the  mice  from  getting  their  share. 
Flies  probably  got  their  share  off  the  standing  knife.   As  far  as 
I  remember,  no  one  ever  bothered  to  take  the  knife  off  and  wash 
it,  but  I  also  never  knew  of  any  case  of  illness  being  traced  to 
the  cheese  cutter. 

On  the  center  end  of  this  same  counter  was  the  indispensable 
roll  of  wrapping  paper  in  its  stand  with  a  guide  to  tear  the  paper 
off  by.   Most  things  were  not  prepackaged  and  had  to  be  either 
wrapped  and  tied  with  string  or  put  in  a  paper  bag  and  tied  with 


ifi 


string.   There  were  no  staplers  and  no  tape.   Cellophane  and 
polyethelene  had  not  even  been  dreamed  of  at  that  time.   The 
string  was  on  a  ball  or  spool  in  a  container  on  the  ceiling  and 
the  end  of  the  string  hung  down  so  that  it  could  be  reached. 
Some  of  the  string,  I  remember,  had  a  red  thread  and  white  thread 
twisted  together;  other  was  all  white. 

In  addition  to  the  burlap  bags  of  beans,  coffee,  and  hominy 
flakes,  in  the  middle  aisle  there  might  be  a  barrel  of  apples  in 
season  or  even  a  box  of  oranges.   If  this  seems  awfully  crowded 
to  you,  just  remember  that  there  was  seldom,  more  than  one  or  two 
people  in  the  store  at  a  time  except  for  the  "hangers-on,"  who 
were  either  sitting  around  the  stove  in  the  winter  or  on  the  front 
porch  in  the  summer.   The  porch,  which  jutted  out  almost  to  the 
road,  was  a  good  place  to  see  who  was  passing  and  what  they  were 
hauling  and  to  enjoy  good-natured  talk  about  them.   There  wasn't 
any  continual  flow  of  traffic  as  there  is  now;  there  was  an 
occasional  buggy  carrying  one  or  two  people,  a  tew  farm  wagons, 
and  sometimes  old  man  Ab  Wharton  walking  along  with  his  hands 
clasped  behind  his  back  and  his  wife  following  some  five  or  six 
steps  behind  him.   Many  of  the  people  who  passed  were  Negroes 
who  often  heralded  their  approach  by  singing,  particularly  at 
night.   We  almost  knew  them  by  their  voices,  most  of  which  were 
rich  and  melodious. 

Behind  the  northeast  counter  there  was  a  barrel  of  salt  pork. 
It  was,  I  think,  taken  from  the  jowls  of  the  hogs  and  was  almost 

Not  his  real  name. 


49 


pure  fat.   This  must  have  been  the  same  kind  that  the  army  bugle- 
call  ditty  referred  to  as  "porky,  porky,  porky,  without  a  bit  of 
lean."   It  was  a  staple  among  the  poorer  people  who  could  not 
afford  to  raise  their  own  hogs.   I  don't  remember  what  it  sold  for 
per  pound,  but  I  would  guess  not  more  than  ten  cents,  perhaps  even 
less.   This  salt  pork,  hominy,  and  corn  bread,  along  with  dried 
beans,  were  the  main  constituents  of  the  diet  of  the  very  poor. 
There  were  no  food  stamps,  no  welfare  programs,  no  subsidies.   In 
those  days,  except  for  a  little  help  from  the  somewhat  better  off 
neighbors,  you  were  on  your  own,  and  if  worst  came  to  awful  worst, 
it  was  the  poorhouse  for  you.   There  were  several  people  in  the  com- 
munity, both  whites  and  blacks,  who  had  a  daily  battle  with  the  wolf 
at  the  door.   It  is  almost  superfluous  to  say  that  tuberculosis  was 
rampant  among  them  and  that  the  death  rate  was  inordinately  high. 
They  were  caught  in  the  poverty  syndrome  and  there  was  very  little 
hope  of  ever  getting  out.   Let  it  be  noted,  however,  that  not  many 
of  them  were  ever  suspected  of  stealing.   By  and  large,  they 
accepted  "what  can't  be  cured  must  be  endured,"  and  suffered  with 
a  dignity  that  puts  to  shame  our  modern  complaining.   And  suffer 
I'm  sure  they  did,  sometimes  being  actually  hungry.   In  the  Dilton 
neighborhood,  there  were  one  or  two  cases  of  pellegra,  which  is 
specifically  a  disease  of  dietary  deficiency. 

Sometimes  in  the  winter  months  when  hogs  were  being  killed,  the 
merchant  might  have  "a  few  sets  of  bones"  for  sale  at  ten  cents  a 
set.   A  set  consisted  of  a  pair  of  ribs  and  a  backbone.   He  might 
also  have  some  fresh  faces  and  jowls  which,  I  think,  sold  for  ten 
cents  each.   This  fresh  meat  was  a  welcome  addition  to  the  diet  of 
the  very  poor  and  furnished  them  some  much  needed  protein  and 


50 


vitamins.   A  novelty,  and  maybe  even  a  revolting  kind  of  novelty, 
in  this  and  other  country  stores  was  the  sight  of  rabbits  hanging 
by  a  string  from  a  hook  in  the  ceiling.   The  merchant  had  bought 
them  from  local  hunters  for  ten  cents  each  and  sold  them,  I  guess, 
to  the  more  affluent  for  about  twenty  to  twenty-five  cents  each. 
They  had  been  "drawn"  (innards  taken  out),  but  the  skin  and  head 
were  still  on  them.   H.  K.  Mankin  and  J.  B.  Preston  used  to  be 
local  nimrods  who  picked  up  a  little  spending  money  this  way. 
No  doubt  they  invested  a  substantial  part  of  it  in  Bull  Durham, 
while  most  of  the  rest  went  for  jellybeans.   The  older,  married 
hunters  used  their  rabbits  to  supplement  the  families'  diet.   It 
should  be  noted  that  a  shotgun  shell  sold  for  about  three  cents. 
But  they  didn't  always  use  a  shotgun.   Often  they  would  kill  them 
while  sitting  with  a  .22  rifle.   The  shells  for  it  cost  about 
one- half  cent  each.   When  there  was  a  snow  on  the  ground,  they 
would  track  them  to  their  burrows  and  kill  them  with  a  club. 

Under  the  northeast  counter  was  one  or  more  stands  (50  lb. 
metal  cans)  of  hog  lard  which  the  merchant  had  bought  from  local 
farmers  and  which  he  sold  retail  to  those  who  did  not  produce 
their  own.   There  was  also  shortening  manmade  from  cotton  seed 
oil  which  the  local  people  called  compound  lard.   Generally  speak- 
ing, only  the  poor  would  use  it  as  it  was  considered  of  inferior 
quality  and  sold  at  a  cheaper  price.   Some  of  us  have  lived  to 
see  that  position  reversed,  since  pure  hog  laid  doesn't  find 
much  of  a  market  now.   Then,  as  now,  it  had  a  tendency  to  get 
rancid  as  weather  warmed. 


51 


Considerable  of  the  business  of  the  country  store  was  carried 
on  as  barter.   Women  would  bring  in  eggs  and  butter  or  chickens 
and  trade  them  to  the  merchant  for  staples  such  as  coffee,  sugar 
and  flour,  thread,  and  calico.   We  children,  too,  engaged  in 
barter  with  the  local  merchant  as  from  time  to  time  we  could 
wangle  an  egg  from  our  mothers.   With  almost  drooling  anticipa- 
tion, we  would  rush  to  the  store  with  our  egg  to  trade  it  for 
some  goody  we  wanted.   But  just  what  goody?   There  were  so  many 
enticing  choices.   There  were  chocolate  drops,  jellybeans, 
cookies,  fishhooks,  and  boss  balls,  and  we  just  had  one  egg  to 
spend,  worth  roughly  one  cent.   The  merchant  waited  understand- 
ingly  while  we  wrestled  with  this  momentous  choice.   Finally  we 
decided,  the  deal  was  completed  and  we  went  away  as  happy  as  if 
we  had  made  a  shrewd  deal  on  a  new  Rolls  Royce.   The  merchant 
usually  gave  us  more  than  value  received.   He  was  our  neighbor 
and  friend,  not  just  a  dealer  and  salesman. 

Frequently,  too,  some  adult  would  bring  in  a  live  hen  and 
trade  her  for  some  staple  such  as  sugar,  coffee,  or  lard.   Ready 
cash  was  scarce  and  barter  took  its  place.   The  merchant  had  a 
coop  outside  the  back  of  the  store  that  he  kept  the  chickens  in 
until  he  took  them  from  time  to  time  to  sell  to  the  poultry 
wholesale  dealer  in  town. 

Part  of  the  business  was  done  on  a  credit  basis  also. 
Things  would  be  charged  until  the  fall  crop  was  gathered  when 
the  customer  and  the  merchant  would  have  a  settlement.   If  one's 
credit  was  questionable,  he  would  have  to  get  some  more  acceptable 
person,  usually  a  landowner,  to  "stand"  for  him,  that  is. 


52 


guarantee  payment.   The  poor  then,  as  the  poor  have  always  been, 
were  "on  the  short  end  of  the  stick, "  and  occasionally  there  was 
a  grasping  merchant  who  would  gouge  them.   Hendrick  was  not  that 
kind.   He  had  more  of  a  tendency  to  be  softhearted  and  let  them 
gouge  him,  for  often  his  outgo  was  more  than  his  income.   Busi- 
nesses do  not  prosper  that  way,  nor  did  his,  but  I  venture  to  say 
that  he  laid  up  a  lot  of  shekels  where  "moth  and  rust  doth  not 
corrupt  nor  thieves  break  through  and  steal."   I  doubt  seriously 
that  he  ever  knowingly  cheated  anybody,  but  I  don't  doubt  that  he 
gave  long  weight  to  the  poor. 

To  the  east  of  the  counter  toward  the  back  of  the  store, 
there  was  a  barrel  of  vinegar  lying  in  a  cradle  with  a  wooden 
spigot  in  it.   Vinegar  was  drawn  out  into  the  customer's  jug  or 
jar. 

Somewhat  near  the  northeast  corner  of  the  store  was  a  hanging 
platform  to  hold  the  cloth  bags  of  flour  and  meal.   The  purpose, 
of  course,  was  to  keep  thfe  rats  and  mice  off  it,  not  necessarily 
for  sanitation  but  to  keep  them  from  gnawing  holes  in  the  bags 
and  wasting  the  contents.   A  customer  might  be  more  concerned 
about  the  bag's  being  a  half  pound  short  than  he  was  about  any 
germs  the  rat  or  mouse  might  distribute;  anyhow,  cooking  would 
kill  the  germs! 

There  was  some  variety  of  flour  but  small  quantities  of  each. 
Flour  came  in  twenty-four  and  forty-eight  pound  bags.   I  only 
remember  the  name  of  the  one  brand  that  Mother  used.  Dainty,  I 
think  it  was,  made  by  Ransom's  mill  near  Murf reesboro.   I  believe 
there  were  both  plain  and  self-risina  flours.   Mother  used  plain 


53 


flour  and  made  her  biscuits  (which  we  had  twice  a  day)  with 
buttermilk  and  bicarbonate  of  soda.   The  meal — the  brand  escapes 
me — came  in  twenty- four  and  forty-eight  pound  cloth  bags  also. 
The  bags  were  prized  for  making  cup  towels  and  underwear  for  us 
children  after  the  printing  had  washed  out. 

Among  her  other  duties,  Mother  made  underwear  and  shirts  for 
us.   When  I  think  of  all  the  things  she  did,  it  makes  me  ashamed 
of  what  we  call  work  now,  nor  is  it  any  surprise  to  me  that  she 
wore  out  and  died  in  sixty-two  years.   There  was  no  electricity 
nor  much  gasoline  to  lighten  her  load.   She  did  have  a  gasoline 
iron  that  gave  her  a  desperate  headache  nearly  every  time  she 
used  it,  probably  from  carbon  monoxide  fumes.   It  was  a  cantan- 
kerous piece  of  equipment  as  temperamental  as  a  movie  actress. 
When  it  was  good,  "it  was  very,  very  good,  and  when  it  was  bad 
it  was  horrid!"   I  doubt  seriously  that  Underwriters'  Laboratories 
would  put  their  seal  of  approval  on  one  now,  and  probably  didn't 
then.   But  in  the  summertime,  as  bad  as  it  was,  I  guess  it  was 
better  than  heating  the  wood-burning  kitchen  stove  to  heat  the 
sadirons  to  do  a  big  family  ironing  including  shirts,  sheets,  and 
table  cloths.   Incidentally,  she  kept  a  green  cedar  bough  to  put 
the  iron  on  occasionally  to  keep  it  from  sticking  to  starched 
clothes  so  badly.   I  suppose  the  heat  extracted  oil  or  wax  from 
the  cedar  needles.   Country  people  were  not  botanists,  but  they 
knew  many  practical  things  about  trees  and  herbs. 

Across  the  back  wall  of  the  store,  hanging  on  hooks  or  pegs, 
were  work  harnesses  for  horses  and  mules.   Among  them  were  trace 
chains,  collars,  hames,  hame  strings,  clevises,  backhands,  curry 


54 


combs,  and  maybe  singletrees  and  doubletrees.   Other  farm  items 
were  kept  in  the  back  storage  room. 

In  addition,  the  back  room  contained  the  coal  oil  (kerosene) 
barrel  with  a  hand-cranked  pum.p  on  it.   Coal  oil  was  one  of  the 
necessities  of  life  in  those  days  before  electricity  reached  the 
rural  areas.   We  had  at  our  house  a  metal,  one-gallon  can  with  a 
small  spout  to  get  our  supply  of  kerosene  in.   It  could  be  poured 
from  the  can  directly  into  the  lamps  without  benefit  of  a  funnel. 
Since  the  small  spout  didn't  have  a  cap,  the  merchant  would 
usually  stick  a  potato  on  it  so  that  I  would  not  slosh  it  out  as 
I  carried  it  home.   Other  people  got  theirs  in  a  glass  jug  with 
a  cork  in  it  for  a  stopper.   They  also  had  a  loop  of  heavy  cord 
or  small  rope  attached  to  the  handle  to  carry  it  by.   I  suppose 
carrying  a  gallon  of  oil  by  one  finger  for  a  mile  or  two  got 
rather  tiresome. 

The  shelves  on  the  south  side  toward  the  back  were  devoted 
to  shoes,  men's  and  women's  and  children's.   They  were  mostly 
work  shoes.   The  men's  shoes  were  high  top,  lace-up,  with  hooks 
about  halfway.   As  I  remember  the  women's  shoes,  they  had  eyelets 
all  the  way  up  and  reached  almost  to  mid-calf.   No  ankle  was 
going  to  be  exposed  to  public  view!   The  clothes  then  not  only 
protected  the  property;  they  also  obstructed  the  view. 

Immediately  to  the  west  of  the  shoe  shelves  were  the  dry 
goods.   The  selection  was  not  impressive.   It  consisted  of 
several  different  calico  prints,  maybe  some  ginghams,  unbleached 
and  bleached  domestic,  some  Indian  head,  hickory  stripes  for 
shirts,  overalls,  work  socks,  garters,  black  ribbed  cotton 


55 


stockings  in  weights  for  women  and  boys  in  short  pants,  elastic 
banding,  spools  of  thread,  safety  and  straight  pins,  hairpins, 
huck  toweling  and  various  other  kindred  items.   The  wants  of  the 
community  had  not  been  whetted  to  such  a  keen  edge  by  advertising 
as  they  have  been  now;  therefore,  the  canny  merchant  stocked 
accordingly.   Somewhere  along  this  side  of  the  store  was  sole 
leather  and  "sprigs,"  which  the  industrious  bought  and  used  to 
half-sole  their  own  work  shoes.   I  often  thought  how  unfortunate 
it  would  be  if  a  piece  of  this  sole  leather  got  mixed  in  with  the 
Brown's  Mulel   They  looked  somewhat  alike.   The  half-soling  jobs 
were  crude,  but  they  served  the  purpose  and  postponed  the  day  of 
judgment  on  buying  a  new  pair  of  shoes,  a  momentous  decision  to 
make. 

It  is  nearly  impossible  for  us  to  envision  now  the  tran- 
quility, the  sense  that  tomorrow  was  going  to  be  very  much  like 
today,  the  slowness  of  the  tempo  of  living,  the  simple  pleasures, 
the  almost  all  pervading  calm  that  enveloped  those  days, 
especially  before  World  War  I.   We  who  lived  in  those  days  and 
now  have  the  long  perspective  needed  to  assess  them  can't  help 
but  conclude  that  1914  was  a  turning  point  in  history.   Life 
before  that  time  and  after  it  are  almost  as  different  as  life  on 
separate  planets  would  be.   ^s  one  example,  violer.ce  was  rare  and 
was  frowned  upon  by  all  but  those  who  committed  it,  and  the 
punishment  meted  out  for  it  was  both  swift  and  harsh.   Divorce, 
too,  was  looked  upon  almost  as  a  scandal  and  divorcees  were  not 
glamorized.   Shoplifting  was  practically  nonexistent. 


56 


One  of  the  simple  pleasures  I  remember  with  nostalgia  was 
the  mournful,  sweet  sound  of  the  steam  locomotive  whistles  in  the 
dead  of  night.   When  we  lived  at  the  Gamewell  place  there  was  a 
switch  on  to  a  sidetrack  of  the  N.C.  and  St.  L.  Railroad  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  our  house,  and  in  the  still  of  night  we 
could  clearly  hear  the  whistles.   Remember,  there  wasn't  much 
background  noise,  for  there  were  few  automobiles  and  most  of  them 
went  to  bed  at  dark;  there  were  no  radios,  no  televisions,  and 
for  all  practical  purposes,  no  airplanes,  so  it  was  quiet  when 
night  fell  except  for  an  occasional  passing  wagon  or  buggy  in  the 
early  hours  or  the  lilting,  half-happy,  half-sad  voice  of  a  Negro 
singing  as  he  walked  along  the  pike.   So,  late  at  night — I  think 
about  midnight--when  the  Dixie  Flyer  passed  through,  the  freight 
that  met  this  fast  passenger  train  from  Chicago  to  Jacksonville 
at  that  siding  had  to  get  off.   We  could  hear  it  coming  to  a  halt 
while  the  switchman  threw  the  switch,  then  a  short  toot  from  the 

tenor  pitched  whistle,  then  the  puff  puff  puff  —  puff  — 

puff  —  puff  -  puff  -  puff  of  the  steam  exhaust  as  the  locomotive 
labored  to  get  the  heavy  train  moving  again,  the  low  rumble  of  the 
moving  train  then  when  it  got  on  the  switch  (siding) ,  the  clangor 
of  car  couplings  bumping  together  as  the  brakes  were  applied, 
then  silence  while  the  freight  lay  there  waiting  for  the  Dixie 
Flyer  to  pass.   It  usually  wasn't  a  long  wait  until  the  Flyer 
came  roaring  and  clacking  and  its  deeper-throated  baritone  whistle 
sounding  out  an  "all's  well"  to  the  waiting  freight  as  it 
thundered  by  and  was  soon  gone.   Then  the  freight  with  two  short 
toot- loots  began  its  laborious  chuff  chuff  chuff  -- 


57 


chuff  --  chuff  -  chuff  -  chuff  as  it  started,  then  a  slowing  of 
the  chuffing  as  it  slowed  for  the  switchman  to  throw  the  switch 
and  run  and  catch  the  caboose  then  faster  chuff-chuff-chuff- 
chuff-chuff  until  the  individual  chuffs  were  lost  to  the  growing 
roar  as  the  train  gained  speed.   It  didn't  have  far  to  go,  though, 
until  it  came  to  the  Rucker  crossing  and  there  the  engineer  really 
expressed  himself  on  the  whistle,  almost  playing  a  tenor  solo  with 

the  W-H-0-0,  W-H-0-0,  WHOO,  W  H  0  0  O  with  a 

diminuendo  toward  the  end  of  the  last  WHOO  trailing  off  into  the 
still  night  as  clear  as  the  note  of  a  violin  and  as  plaintive  as 
the  wail  of  a  banshee.   It  was  a  thrilling  pleasure  that  younger 
generations  have  been  deprived  of.   "Progress"  drove  the  steam 
locomotive  to  the  bone  yard,  the  raucous  diesel  horn  displaced 
the  melodious  whistle,  and  music  gave  way  to  noise.   Perhaps 
Longfellow  had  the  tenor-pitched  steam  whistle  in  mind  when  he 
wrote  "and  the  night  shall  be  filled  with  music"  at  least,  he  well 
could  have.   I'm  sure  efficiency  has  been  increased  by  the  change 
from  steam  to  diesel,  but  the  soul  went  out  of  railroading  with 
the  demise  of  the  steam  whistle.   Shall  man  live  by  efficiency 
alone  or  is  there  some  nobler  goal?   Is  it  necessary  to  swap 
beauty  for  ugliness  in  the  name  of  progress?   The  passing  of  the 
steam  whistle  is  typical  of  the  passing  of  many  of  those  charms 
that  set  the  pace  of  peace  and  calm  which  prevailed  in  the  entire 
community. 


58 


SOULE  COLLEGE 
b7  Eugene  H.  Sloan 

Traditional  Southern  education  for  women  in  cultural  st\idies  and  social 
graces  has  long  been  associated  with  Murfreesboro. 

A  Female  Acadeny  was  organized  in  1825  by  F.  N.  W.  Burton,  Dr.  W.  R. 
Rucker,  M.  B.  Murfree,  and  Dr.  James  Money.  Misses  ^fary  and  Nancy  Banks  were 
employed  as  teachers. 

The  Female  Covmty  Academy  was  founded  in  1829  and  continued  in  successful 
operation  until  after  185u. 

Mrs.  E.  S.  Bowles  opened  a  school,  Murfreesboro  Female  Seminary,  in 
January,  1835. 

Midsylvania  Female  Academy,  "located  five  miles  southeast  of  Murfreesboro, 
Tennessee"  was  granted  a  charter  in  1834. 

Reorganizations  and  consolidations  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Tennessee  Baptist  Female  Institute  and  Batons  College  for  Women  in  1853' 

Soule  College,  the  moat  long  lived  and  prestigious  of  all  these  efforts 
to  provide  private  schools  for  girls,  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  meeting  held 
July  H,  1851  at  the  urging  of  a  local  Methodist  minister.  Rev.  Thomas  Madden. 

Dr.  J.  R.  Finley  was  named  president  of  the  proposed  school,  which  was 
named  for  Bishop  Joshua  Soule  of  Nashville. 

The  school  opened  work  in  the  "old  Female  Academy"  in  September,  1851. 
This  gave  credence  to  the  Soule  College  Alumni  Association  claiming  the  school 
was  fovinded  in  1825. 

Work  on  the  new  building  on  Lebanon  (North  Maple)  Street  was  begun  on 
July  3,  1853  and  was  ready  for  occupancy  in  November.  The  three-story  build- 
ing cost  $25,UUU.   Dr.  S.  D.  Baldwin,  pastor  of  the  Murfreesboro  Methodist 


5y 


■*-,■ : '  '-^ '-  ;',' »  ,'•,•• 


Bishop  Joshua  Soule  for  whoffi  the  college  was  n 


t;  .  -  .  ;  ji.* 


60 


Church,  had  succeeded  Finley  as  president.  He  continued  as  president  until 
1856  when  C.  W.  Callendar,  a  professional  teacher,  was  elected  president. 

The  Soule  College  site,  four  blocks  south  of  the  Court  Square  on  Lebanon 
(Maple)  Street  had  been  a  Methodist  church  vdth  a  grave  yard  located  south  of 
the  church  building.  Middle  Tennessee  Electric  Membership  now  occupies  the 
area. 

Thomas  Robertson  acquired  the  church  property  and  used  it  for  the  manu- 
facture of  cotton  gins.  He  conveyed  it  to  the  trustees  of  Soule  College. 

A  study  of  the  real  property  involved  in  Soule  College  as  recorded  in 
Deed  Books  and  Trust  Deeds  records  in  the  Rutherford  Courthouse  reveals  in- 
teresting changes  in  street  names,  real  estate  ownershl^j,  and  the  flucuating 
value  of  property  over  the  years. 

Apparently  the  original  tract,  which  included  an  old  Methodist  church, 
with  the  possibility  of  an  adjacent  cemetery^ embraced  about  four  acres. 

On  April  8,  1874-  there  was  a  conveyance  to  Joseph  B.  West  from  D.  D. 
Moore  the  tract  with  no  metes  or  bounds  description  other  than  a  statement, 
"the  Soule  Female  College  grounds  were  bounded  on  the  south  by  Iffalnut  Street, 
east  by  Lebanon  Street,  west  by  Railroad  Street,  and  north  by  John  C.  Spence." 

In  the  transfer  by  the  F.  W.  Snead  et  al  to  A.  M.  Overall  on  September 
10,  1907,  the  property  was  described  as  "4  1/2  acres  more  or  less"  bounded 
on  the  east  by  Maple  Street,  west  by  Walnut  Street,  south  by  Burton  Street, 
and  north  by  the  property  of  James  Moore. 

Just  two  years  later  in  April,  1909  the  conveyance  gave  more  minute  des- 
criptions. The  south  boundary  was  owned  by  P.  A.  l4yon  and  Mrs.  C.  P.  Campbell, 
indicating  that  some  of  the  Soule  property  had  been  sold  for  private  develop- 
ment. This  is  further  indicated  by  *.he  more  minute  linear  boxonds  of  370  feet 
along  Maple  Street  and  300  feet  westerly  to  iJalnut  Street.  This  was  the  first 
conveyance  mentioning  insurance.   The  new  owners  (Miss  Hopkins  and  Mrs.  Hyde) 


61 

were  to  keep  the  property  insured  for  $5,000  to  protect  mortgage  holders. 

In  April,  1909  Martha  A.  Hopkins  et  al  transferred  the  property  to  G.  B. 
Giltner,  H.  0.  Parker  and  B.  L.  Sims  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  "white  high 
school"  financed  by  a  bond  issue.  An  interesting  clause  in  this  deed  conveyed 
"war  claims"  to  the  School  Commissioners.  The  property  lines  defined  in  this 
transfer  begin,  "at  the  P.  A.  Lyon  northeast  corner,  running  with  the  Maple 
Street  line  north  363  feet  to  James  A.  Moore  southeast  comer,  thence  Moore's 
south  boundary  in  a  westerly  direction  314  feet  to  the  east  side  of  Walnut 
Street  thence  southerly  363  feet  to  Mrs.  C.  P.  Campbell's  lot,  thence  easterly 
3H  feet  along  the  Campbell,  T.  L.  Richardson  and  Lyons  north  boundary  to  the 
point  of  beginning." 

The  charter  of  Soule  was  granted  in  1854.  Trustees  were  L.  B.  Carney, 
B.  W.  Avent,  D.  D.  Wendel,  Levi  Wade,  W.  R.  McFadden,  Joseph  Watkins,  Willian 
Spence,  W.  S.  Huggins  and  W.  F.  Ly^le. 

Soule  College  had  many  scholarly,  highly  dedicated,  and  widely  recognized 
administrators  in  its  sixty-five  years  of  service  to  education  in  the  South. 

Dr.  J.  Randolph  Finley,  who  was  a  moving  force  in  its  incorporation,  re- 
signed the  presidency  of  Soule  Fecjale  College  in  a  formal  letter  addressed  to 
the  Board  of  Trustees  December  1,  1852.  He  suggested  that  the  vacancy  be 
filled  by  Rev.  T.  W.  Randle  or  the  Rev.  S.  D.  Baldwin. 

The  Board  accepted  his  resignation  "since  he  had  already  received  a  trans- 
fer to  the  Pacific  Coast  Conference".  The  Board  voted  to  release  "Dr.  Finley 
of  his  subscription  of  stock  and  commend  him  for  his  indomitable  energy  and 
vigilant  care  to  the  institution".  He  was  also  complimented  for  his  scholar- 
ship, rapport  with  the  community,  and  "extraordinary  architectvural  skill  in 

drafting  the  plan  and  supervising  to  most  speedy  completion  without 

fee  or  reward  the  beautiful,  spacious  and  well-constructed  college  buildings." 


62 


Some  of  the  frustrations  experienced  by  the  Rev,  Mr.  Finley  were  re- 
vealed in  the  research  conpiled  by  Frank  Bass  in  his  thesis  for  the  ^faster 
of  Arts  degree  at  Peabody  College  in  194.1. 

Qiioting  from  the  Louisville  and  Nashville  Christian  Advocate,  July  26, 

1851,  and  the  Minutes  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  Minute  Book  of  1851,  Bass 

virote: 

"It  seems  that  schools  always  have  had  many  difficulties  and 
Soule  Female  College  was  no  exception.  School  was  opened  in  the  old 
Female  Acaden^y,  but  owing  to  disagreement  with  trustees  of  that 
institution,  plans  had  to  be  rushed  for  a  new  building.  It  had 
been  agreed  in  the  beginning  of  the  movement  for  the  school  that 
fifteen  thousand  dollars  be  raised  by  a  joint  stock  conpany  for  the 
erection  and  furnishing  of  the  building.  During  the  winter  of 
1851-52,  events  moved  rapidly  towards  plans  for  erection  of  a  suit- 
able structure  for  housing  a  'Female  Institute  of  high  grade  and 
liberal  charter'." 

Bass  continued  his  account: 

"On  December  3,  1851,  Dr.  Finley  and  Rev.  S,  D.  Baldwin  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  drafl  a  plan  for  a  building.  At  the  same 
time,  in  order  to  speed  up  the  collection  of  funds,  T.  W.  Randle 
was  appointed  agent  for  the  collection  of  such  funds,  and  he  was 
allowed  2-^  per  cent  on  $10,000,  including  the  subscription  already 
obtained,  and  5  per  cent  on  vrfiatever  sum  he  may  obtain  over 
$10,000." 

On  December  17,  1851,  the  committee  for  drafting  a  plan  for  a  building 
made  its  report,  and  it  was  approved  by  the  Board.  At  the  same  meeting,  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  see  the  Tmistees  of  the  Murfi'eesboro  Female  Acaden^r 
and  ascertain  their  view  in  reference  to  subscribing  the  present  groiuid  and 
building  as  stock  in  Soxile  Female  College.  In  a  short  time,  this  committee 
made  a  favorable  report,  and  a  building  committee  was  appoxnted. 

The  appointment  of  Rev.  T.  W.  Randle  as  agent  for  the  College  must  have 

been  tenporary,  because  on  January  30,  1852,  the  Board  rtoeived  an  application 

for  this  job  from  Rev.  S.  S,  Moody.  On  Febiniary  3,  the  Board  passed  a 

resolution  to  the  effect  that: 

"Rev.  S.  S.  Moody  be  enployed  as  a  traveling  agent,  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  collect  fxmds  for  the  erection  of  the  building; 


63 


and  to  use  his  best  energies  to  obtain  pupils  for  the  school 
provided  he  vdll  do  so  for  ten  percent,  upon  the  amount  of  his 
subscription.  His  pay  to  be  retained  out  of  said  subscription; 
and  that  the  secretary  address  Mr.  Moody  and  ascertain  from  his 
views  upon  the  subject." 

On  February  18,  Mr.  Moody  appeared  before  the  Board  and  accepted  the 
proposition.  This  appointment  was  approved  by  the  Annual  Conference,  accord- 
ing to  the  minutes  of  the  Annual  Conference  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  South,  1851-52. 

This  Board  meeting  brought  the  first  disagreement  among  the  members.  Dr. 

Avent  moved  that  the  Board  proceed  to  make  contracts  "for  the  brick  work  of 

the  building,  and  for  such  wood  work,  and  painting  as  will  preserve  the  same." 

All  of  the  Trustees  present  voted  for  the  motion  except  William  Spence,  and 

the  following  week  the  brick  work  was  awarded  to  William  Summerhill,  who  had 

made  his  bid  in  these  words: 

"To  the  committee  of  the  Female  Institute:  I  will  erect  the  brick 
work  of  the  whole  building  of  the  Female  Institute,  after  the 
Banner  and  form  of  the  drawing  in  the  town  of  Murfreesboro:  the 
brick  to  be  measured  and  counted  according  to  the  ruler  of  brick 
work  for  SEVEN  DOLLARS  AND  FORTS"  CENTS,  per  thousand,  counting  the 
openings  out." 

The  contract  for  the  wood  work  was  given  to  Green  Clay,  who  had  made  the 
following  proposition: 

"I  will  furnish  lumber,  nails,  locks,  hinges,  and  do  all  the 
carpenter  work  belonging  to  the  SoMle  Female  College  according 
to  the  plan  as  exhibited  by  Dr.  Finley,  and  either  cover  the  roof 
idth  good  cedar  shingles,  or  with  the  conqposition,  such  as,  the 
railroad  depot  at  Murfreesboro  is  covered  with,  (except  the 
observatory)  for  the  sum  of  NIIfE  THOUSAND  FIVE  HUNDRED  DOLLARS. 

School  was  in  session,  plans  were  well  under  way  for  the  new  building, 

but  it  seemed  that  there  was  some  doubt  as  to  the  ultimate  completion  of  plans. 

According  to  the  1852  Minutes  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  Clay  was  awarded  the 

contract  for  wood  work  but  agreed  to  take  a  per  cent  of  his  contract  in  stock. 

In  October,  1852,  the  Board  made  a  special  call  upon  the  stockholders  for  the 

first  installment  of  twenty- five  per  cent  upon  their  subscriptions.  Apparently, 

there  was  some  difficulty  with  collections.   In  spite  of  all  handicaps,  however, 


6a 


plans  went  forv/ard,  and  President  Finley,  in  announcing  plans  for  the  first 

coiranencement  season  stated  thats 

"The  comer  stone  of  the  new  and  commodious  college  edifice, 
which  is  about  to  be  erected  by  the  Board  of  Trustees,  will  be 
laid  by  the  Fraternity  of  Masons,  on  Satiirday,  the  3rd  of  July 
next." 

Although  no  description  of  the  interior  arrangement  of  the  building  in 

1851-52  is  available,  there  is  an  excellent  delineation  of  its  appearance 

appearing  in  an  advertisement  for  a  Chancery  Court  sale  in  the  Murfreesboro 

Monitor  of  August  22,  1868; 

"For  elegance,  unity  of  design,  and  adaptation  to  educational 
purposes  this  College  edifice  has  but  few  superiors,  if  any.  The 
form  of  the  house  is  that  of  a  nassive  Ronan  cross,  three  stories 
high,  135  feet  long,  and  115  feet  wide.  The  brick  work  is  executed 
in  the  finest  style — the  wood  work  on  the  exterior  is  tastefully 
adjusted.  A  fine  battlement  cornice  extends  entirely  around  the 
eaves,  with  a  frontispiece  facing  the  street.  On  the  right  of  the 
main  entrance  on  the  first  story,  are  two  family  rooms,  each  twenty 
feet  sqxiare,  and  opposite  are  parlors  corresponding  in  size.  This 
entry  intersects  a  passage,  froai  which  doors  open  into  a  chapel, 
laboratory,  apparatus,  and  dining  rooms.  In  the  same  wing  are  the 
library  and  the  Juvenile  and  Preparatory  departments.  The  Study 
Hall  is  5U  feet  square,  well  lighted  and  thoroughly  ventilated. 
From  this  hall,  glass  doors  open  into  the  various  recitation  rooms. 
The  dormitories  are  twenty-six  in  number,  twenty  feet  square  on 
average,  and  all  fourteen  feet  high.   The  windows  are  large,  open- 
ing full  length  on  hinges,  and  protected  from  without  by  Venetian 
blinds.  There  is  a  beautiful  lawn  in  front  and  on  either  side  of 
the  bviilding,  well  set  in  blue  grass,  and  pleasantly  shaded.  All 
necessary  out-buildings,  cisterns,  etc.,  on  the  premises." 

The  first  faculty  consisted  of  Professor  J.  R.  Finley,  J.  Hoffman,  Jane 
Raymond,  Julia  Knapp  and  Jane  Wolf. 

Little  is  known  of  Dr.  Finley's  work  in  the  Pacific  Coast  Conference  after 
leaving  Murfreesboro.  That  he  retur-ied  to  the  South  is  evidenced  by  his  being 
listed  as  president  of  the  Tennessee  Conference  Female  Institute  in  Athens, 
Alabama  in  1885. 

The  first  class  graduated  in  185^.  It  was  composed  of  Amanda  (Barlow) 

Headers,  Adelaide  (Cooper)  Malone,  Georgiana  Thompson  (Gill),  Keeble  Thompson, 

and  Sue  F.  Dromgoole  oi'  Murfreesboro.  I'llss  Dromgoole's  sister.  Will  Allen, 
bacfune  ono  of  Tennessee's  most  famous  writers. 


65 


.^T')i 


66 


The  class  of  1855  had  15  members  including  Kit  I^le  (Mrs.  Doc  Ledbetter) 
and  Anna  Murfree.   "Kit"  must  have  been  a  popular  pre-civil  war  name.  The 
only  two  members  of  the  1856  class  were  Kit  Barlovr  and  Kit  Hall  (Mrs.  Thomas 
Fletcher) . 

Mattie,  Sallie,  Lizzie,  Lottie,  Annie,  and  Nannie  were  other  popular 
contractions  of  given  names  of  the  period.  Mattie  Ready  (Mrs.  John  Hunt 
Morgan)  had  Ifettie  Pea,  Mattie  Woods,  and  Mattie  Horton  as  classmates. 

The  school  suspended  operation  February  1862  but  was  reopened  in  Jan- 
uary 1866,  and  in  June  graduated  a  single  girl,  Jennie  Ford  (Mrs.  Benjamin 
Sawrie),  of  Nashville. 

Conditions  had  apparently  returned  to  some  degree  of  nornalcy  by  1867, 
when  there  were  five  graduates.  There  were  ten  girls  receiving  diplonns  in 
1868. 

In  the  decade  between  1870  and  1880  the  influence  of  Soule  College  had 
extended  to  list  graduates  from  Texas,  Florida,  Indian  Territory,  Georgia,  ^ 
Arkansas,  Illinois,  and  Kentucky. 

Hard  times  must  have  hit  the  school  in  the  mid  1890*8.  The  class  of 
189A  had  only  Eugenia  Neilson  of  Ilurfreesboro  graduating.  The  year  before 
Miss  Neilson  had  been  a  "Laurel- crowned  Student".   There  were  two  graduates, 
Stella  Cross  and  Lizzie  Bates  of  Si^yrna,  in  the  1895  class.  Maggie  Bock  re- 
ceived an  "English  diploma"  in  I896.  There  were  no  gradtiates  in  1897. 

In  1898  one  of  the  largest  classes  to  date  was  graduated.  The  class 
included  students  from  Korea,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  from  Port,  Oklahoma,  and 
Tennessee  students  from  Martin,  Cross  Plains,  Smyrna,   Sweetwater,  Jackson, 
and  Bellbuckle.  The  fcUoway  sisters,  Nell  and  Anna  Eliza  (Mrs.  Richmond 
Jones),  were  graduates  from  Jefferson,  Tennessee.  Elodi©  Ross,  Smyrna;  Ivie 
Mai  Smith  (Mrs.  Guy  McFerrin),  Rosa  Moore  (Mrs.  Tom  Cannon),  Adele  Kimbro  and 
Neina  Childress  were  among  the  Murfreesboro  girls  who  were  members  of  this 
class. 


67 


Dr  Samuel  Davies  Baldwin,  then  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  Mur- 
Ireesboro,  was  elected  to  lill  the  unexpired  term  of  Dr.  Finley  and  was 
re-elected  in  May  18^3.  He  was  to  receive  an  annual  salary  of  $1,20U  and  a 
"comfortable  house  to  live  in". 

A  native  of  iJorthington,  Ohio,  Baldwin  had  been  graduated  from  Woodward 
College.   He  was  described  as  a  "Knight  Templar,  critic,  autor,  preacher, 
pastor,  revivalist  and  scholar".  He  had  preached  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Clarksville, 
Lebanon  and  Edgefield  in  Nashville.  His  last  pastorate  was  at  McKendree 
Church  in  Nashville,  where  he  died  in  1881. 

Dr.  Baldwin  was  a  nationally  known  author  and  lecturer.   Among  the  books 
he  wrote  while  president  of  Soule  College  was  Armageddon.  The  Seventh  Trump_et. 
and  The  Millenial  Empire  also  attracted  national  attention.   His  theories  on 
The  Revelation  of  St.  John  was  summarized  on  the  title  page  of  Armegeddon, 
which  reads: 

"Armageddon:   Or  the  Overthrow  of  Romanism  and  Monarchy;  the 
Existance  of  the  United  States  Foretold  in  the  Bible;  It's 
Future  Greatness;  Invasion  by  Allied  Europe;  Annihilation  of 
Monarchy;  Expansion  into  the  Millenial  Republic  and  It's 
Domination  Over  the  World." 

Since  his  writing  and  lecture  toxir  to  the  principal  cities  in  America 
came  to  occupy  so  much  of  his  time,  Baldwin  surrendered  his  administration  in 
October,  1856. 

Professor  C.  W.  Callendar  had  been  named  vice-president  in  1855,  possibly 
assuming  the  immediate  executive  duties.  He  was  a  native  of  Harrisburg,  Penn- 
sylvania but  had  been  associated  with  a  Washington  College  at  Hendersonville, 
Tennessee  before  coming  to  Soule  College.   The  school  prospered  under  his  ad- 
ministration,  reaching  an  enrollment  of  lUO  in  1857.   The  next  year  Cqllende-, 


68 


the  first  professional  education  to  head  Souls  College,  went  to  Franklin  to 
establish  a  girl's  school  there. 

Callander  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  George  E.  Naff  who  came  to  Soule 
from  the  presidency  of  the  Tennessee  Female  College  in  Athens,  Alabama. 

A  description  of  the  1859  commencement  at  Soule  College  was  typical 
of  such  exercises.  The  Sunday,  June  19,  commencement  sermon  was  delivered 
at  the  Methodist  Church  by  Dr.  Summers.  "The  examination  exercises"  were 
conducted  by  a  Conference  Committee  on  Monday,  Wednesday,  June  22,  was 
the  formal  commencement  day.  Each  graduate  read  an  original  poem,  essay, 
or  delivered  an  address.  President  George  E,  Naff  presented  diplomas  to 
each  graduate.  Mrs.  Naff  presented  a  gold  thimble  to  Fannie  S*  Allen  of 
Athens,  Alabama  for  "having  the  neatest  room  during  the  preceding  year". 
The  "station  preacher"  presented  a  Bible  to  each  graduate.  This  Bible  pre- 
sentation tradition  seemed  to  have  been  renewed  at  various  times  during  the 
subsequent  years.  Petty  Bostic  of  Triune  gave  the  valedictory  address  and 
two  Murfreesboro  girls,  Martha  J.  Cox  and  Bettie  S,  Hoover,  appeared  on  the 
program  at  the  1859  commencement. 

President  Naff  made  valient  efforts  to  keep  the  college  in  operation 
as  the  War  Between  the  States  approached.  The  school  had  an  enrollment  of 
192  pupils  at  the  close  of  the  school  year  in  1861.  In  August  of  1861,  the 
school  was  advertised  as  one  "of  safety  and  easy  access  from  the  South". 
Opening  on  September  2,  the  Christian  Advocate  reported  that  the  school  was 
prepared  to  "retain  our  reputation  as  a  school  of  faithful  eind  thorough  in- 
struction ...  in  healthful  and  comfortable  quarters".  Charges  for  10 
months  was  "about  $175". 

An  example  of  the  struggle  to  keep  the  school  open  as  Federal  armies 
moved  South,  the  Christian  Advocate  reported  that:   "For  the  past  few  months 


69 


women  vdth  "missions"  have  been  migrating  northward  like  geese  in  the  spring- 
time .  .  .  Soule  College  is  erect  and  floiirishing". 

But  the  vicissitude  of  war  caused  the  school  to  close  in  February  of  1862, 
after  the  fall  of  Forts  Donelson  and  Henry.  The  school  was  used  as  a  hospital 
by  both  Federals  and  Confederates  during  the  war.  There  are  former  students 
of  Soule  College  living  in  Murfreesboro  who  state  that  as  late  as  191",  there 
were  blood  stains  ingrained  in  the  floors  of  some  of  the  rooms.  Before  the 
war  was  over,  the  fences  were  destroyed,  furniture  carried  away,  and  the 
building  defaced. 

Six  months  after  Appomatox,  the  Rev.  James  R.  Plumer,  a  Methodist  preacher 
from  Maury  County,  collected  a  faculty  consisting  of  Mrs.  E.  M.  Eaton,  Jo  Eaton, 
Betty  Wharton,  Mrs.  M.  Henderson,  Anna  Ransom,  R.  T.  Steinhagen,  Mrs.  H.  Keeble, 
with  Mrs.  Plumer  as  "matron".  On  January  1,  1866  the  school  reopened  and  was 
described  as  having  "no  school  marms"  from  the  North.  The  faculty  were  all 
"Southern  magnolias". 

An  interesting  excerpt  from  a  letter  written  by  a  visitor  at  the  i860 
commencement  described  the  Soule  College  as  "alive  with  girls — well  fed,  well- 
taught,  and  well  behaved".  There  were  I4.6  students,  114-  of  which  were  boarders, 
in  the  1866  enrollment. 

Fiscal  problems  continued  to  vex  Soule  under  the  Plumer  administration, 
until  it  was  necessary  to  foreclose  in  a  Chancery  Coiirt  sale  as  recorded  in 
Book  22,  page  33  of  the  Rutherford  County  Register's  office.  The  Rev.  R.  D- 
Moore  took  charge  of  the  school  in  the  fall  of  1868. 

Records  of  the  Christian  Adv-cate  and  Tennessee  Conference  reports  indi- 
cate that  the  number  of  boarding  students  doubled  in  1868-69,  and  that  there 
was  an  equal  increase  in  students  of  music. 


70 


Moore's  administration  from  1868  until  1874  reflected  a  modernization  of 
the  physical  plant  and  curriculvun.  A  reading  room  was  established  with  "an 
extensive  stock  of  s\il table  and  tasteful  books  and  selections  of  v/eeklies, 
monthlies  and  quarterlies  of  America  and  Europe". 

Physical  plant  inprovements  were  made.  Gaslights  were  installed  through- 
out the  building.  Apparently  the  toilet  facilities  of  the  school  were  installed, 
as  "modern  city  improvements  including  furnace  heat  for  the  recitation  room  and 
study  hall  were  advertized.  "Sleeping  apartments  were  more  cheerfully  warmed 
by  grate  fires",  according  to  the  1870  advertisements  for  the  school. 

In  an  advertisement  in  the  July  9,  1870  Christian  Advocate.  Moore  wrote: 

"Having  conformed  our  curriculum  to  the  standards  of  good 
male  colleges,  procured  the  services  of  some  of  the  ablest  and 
most  experienced  professors  in  the  country,  as  teachers  of  that 
curriculum,  especially  designed  as  a  finishing  school  for  young 
ladies  of  the  South." 

For  one  of  the  few  times  in  the  hi.story  of  the  school,  the  men  faculty 
members  made  up  almost  half  the  staff.  The  Rev.  D.  D.  Moore  was  professor  of 
"moral  philosophy",  Rev.  W.  H.  Bfss  A.M.  taught  Latin  and  Greek,  and  the  Rev. 
Lorenzo  Lee,  A.M.  taught  mathematics  and  modern  languagss.  Kate  S.  Carney  was 
in  charge  of  the  academic  department.  Other  faculty  members  were  Sallie  R. 
Thompson,  Mrs.  R.  K.  Keeble,  Mrs.  G.  T.  Henderson  and  Willie  Lea. 

A  diploma  from  Soule  College  hangs  in  the  foyer  of  Linebaugh  Library. 
Apropos  to  the  prevailing  collegiate  diplomas  of  the  period,  it  is  lettered 
on  a  verticle  1/+  x  20  sheet  of  paper  with  a  light  blue  ribbon  in  the  lower 
left  corner,  in  lieu  of  a  seal.  It  reads: 


71 


SOULE  FEMALE  COLLEGE 
Morfreesboro,  Tennessee 

To  All  Whom  It  May  Ckjncern  GREETINGS 

Be  It  Knovm  That 

MESS  SALLIE  RAMSON 

of  Bedford,  Tennessee 

Having  passed  successfxillj  the  prescribed  course 
of  English  and  Mathematics  study  has  been  thought 
worthy  of  this 

DIPLOMA  OF  (21ADUATI0N 

by  the  President  and  his  associates  in  consideration 
of  scholarship  and  purity  of  character,  June  13,  1870 

D.  H.  Moore 

Mrs.  H.  A.  Peabody 

E.  N,  Eton 
Joe  Easten 
Kent  Gredg 
_______  Dixon 

Gassie  £.  Deason 

In  1873  a  visiting  committee  from  the  Conference  reported  that  atten- 
dance at  Sotile  College  was  not  as  large  as  it  had  been,  and  that  free  schools 
had  been  established  in  Murfreesboro.  These  and  other  factors  may  have  in- 
duced Dr.  Moore  to  sell  the  college  and  grounds  to  Dr.  Joseph  B.  West  on 
April  8,  1874  for  $12,000.  The  transfer  is  recorded  in  the  Rutherford  Coun- 
ty Register's  Office,  Book  22,  page  333. 

Dr.  West  had  been  president  of  Clarksville  Acadenc^  before  he  came  to 
Murfreesboro  for  a  four-year  tenure  (1874-78)  as  president  at  Soule  College. 
In  1876  the  Rev.  John  R.  ThoiiDDSon  purchased  a  one-half  interest  in  the  school 
for  $6,500.  The  enrollment  dropped  to  fewer  than  90  pupils  in  1878,  and 
T.  A.  Z.  Adams  was  brought  in  to  serve  as  president  for  one  year.  The  next 
Year  J.  R.  Thompson  became  the  '*^ief  administrator  at  Soule  College. 


72 


John  Ransom  Thompson,  a  native  of  Rutherford  County,  graduated  from 
Union  University  and  received  a  law  degree  from  Cumberland  University  at 
I^ebanon.  He  later  taught  at  Union  University  and  then  practiced  law  at 
Shelbyville.  In  1859,  he  joined  the  Tennessee  Conference  and  was  licensed 
to  preach. 

In  1879  he  became  president  of  Soule  College,  and  over  a  ten-year 
period  increased  the  enrollment  to  175  and  established  the  strongest  re- 
ligious code  the  school  had  experienced. 

Bible  study  was  reqtdred  of  each  student,  and  ten  minutes  of  each  day 
was  devoted  to  memorizing  Bible  verses.  On  Saturday  nights  the  boarding 
students  learned  and  recited  the  S\inday  School  lessons  for  the  next  day. 
Dancing  was  prohibited,  and  Sunday  was  Set  aside  for  a  period  of  meditation 
witn  no  callers  being  permitted.  Revivals  were  held  and  pupils  converted— 
3U  in  1884..  In  a  later  report  the  statement  was  made  that  all  the  175 
students  and  the  faculty  members  were  Christian. 

Mrs.  Thompson  supervised  the  boarding  students  with  a  discipline  that 
"is  strictly  Christian  and  is  exercised  in  the  spirit  ol  kindness".   Tlioir.p- 
son  was  twice  married — first  to  Martha  Lou  Goodrich,  who  died  in  1867.  In 
1873  he  married  Mrs.  Addie  Hill  Swan,  a  native  of  Paris,  Tennessee. 

It  is  difficult  to  evaluate  just  how  strongly  the  Methodist  doctrine 
was  taught  the  pupils  of  Soule  College  before  1900.  There  are  many  refer- 
ences to  religious  practices.  As  early  as  1857,  a  r^po^t  stated  that  eight 
of  the  nine  graduates  were  "professed  followers  of  Je&as". 

In  1871  the  college  reported: 

"Almost  every  young  lady  of  the  College  is  a  church  member, 
l^ny  were  converted  during  the  past  year.   One  of  the  chief  aims 
of  this  college  is  true  piety,  both  by  precept  and  example.   'Iny 
young  lady  who  enters  here  will  be  surrounded  by  the  pure  and 
sacred  influences  of  a  well-regulated  Chi'isLiun  hoir.e." 


73 


At  some  time  during  the  more  than  a  decade  of  John  Ransom  Thompson's 
administration,  W.  P.  Henderson  had  acqiiired  a  one-fourth  interest  in  the 
school.  In  July,  1889  Thompson  conveyed  his  interest  in  the  school  for 
$8,000  to  John  G.  Paty.  Henderson  sold  his  interest  together  vdth  personal 
property  listed  in  The  Rutherford  County  Register's  office  Book  30,  pp  621-62? 
to  Paty.  The  personal  property  inventory  ranged  from  four  pianos  to  fruit 
jars.  It  included  "22  small  feather  pillows,  13  bed  comforts,  H  mattresses, 
13  wardrobes,  seven  sideboards,  eight  bureaus,  and  4-0  chairs." 

Z.  C.  Graves,  who  had  been  associated  with  Mary  Shap  College  at  Win- 
chester, was  secured  as  president  of  Soule  College  by  Mr.  Paty.  Graves 
renained  in  charge  until  Miss  Virginia  Oceania  Wardlaw  cam';  from  the  Price 
School  in  Nashville.  She  was  a  "charter  graduate  of  the  Wellesley  College 
and  had  taught  in  Virginia  before  coming  to  Nashvillo."  Miss  Wardlaw  and 
her  sister,  Mrs.  Mary  Snead,  operated  the  college  until  the  oldest  of  the 
three  sisters,  Mrs.  C.  W.  Martin  from  New  York,  joined  in  the  operation 
in  1903. 

During  the  Wardlaw  administration  much  emphasis  was  placed  on  concerts, 
lecturers,  and  visiting  teachers.  Piano,  violin,  organ,  guitar,  and  voice 
were  offered  in  music.   There  were  offerings  in  expression  and  drama.   Dur- 
ing one  graduaticHi  period,  there  were  four  "commencement  concerts". 

Although  Soule  College  continued  to  operate  until  1917,  if  any  one 
year  could  be  designated  as  the  apex  as  opposed  to  the  nadir  of  189*7,  it 
would  be  the  class  of  190^.  In  February,  1903  Mrs.  C.  W.  Martin,  a  sister 
of  Miss  Wardlaw,  acqiiired  title  to  the  school  property  for  $9,000.  Two 
months  later  the  title  was  transferred  to  Miss  Wardlaw  fo;  ^^^^,,000  nnd  the 
assumption  of  a  mortgage  note  for  $5,000  held  by  Miss  Carmine  Collier.   The 
school  then  launched  a  program  that  attained  wide  scholastio  recognition. 


74 


Miss  Wardlaw's  progressive  ideas  were  apparently  implemented  by  pro- 
fessional enthusiasm,  as  she  introduced  dressmaking,  bookkeeping,  type- 
writing, and  commercial  law  into  the  curriculum.  The  Visiting  Committee 
early  in  her  administration  complimented  the  "practical  manner  in  which 
the  sciences  are  taught  in  well-eqviipped  laboratory  in  which  pupils  are 
required  to  perform  experiments".  Geological  field  trips  were  conducted 
by  Professor  Safford,  the  State  Geologist. 

"Latin  and  Greek  are  read  with  a  fluency  we  have  never  seen  equaled 
in  a  female  institution",  the  visiting  committee  reported. 

Miss  Wardlaw  brought  visiting  lecturers  from  Vnnderbilt.   She  intro- 
duced the  use  of  the  stereoptican  in  the  study  of  literature  and  history. 
French  and  German  were  taught.  Constitutional  history  for  seniors  was 
added  to  a  four-year  course  that  covered  conventional  United  States  hist0i.'y, 
English,  French,  and  modern  European  history.  Civil  government  and  polit- 
ical economy  placed  emphasis  on  "application  of  principle?  to  personal 
and  home  affairs". 

The  hiunanities  were  further  einphasized  by  courses  in  ethics,  aesthetics, 
and  Bible.  The  mathematics  courses  included  arithmetic,  algebra,  plane 
and  solid  geometry,  trigonometry,  analytical  geometry,  and  calculus.  Phys- 
iology was  designed  to  be  practical  with  "resident  physicins  adding  lectures 
on  eye,  ear,  brain,  digestion,  circulation,  and  respiration".  The  pupils 
dissected  animals  to  study  the  vital  organs  of  frogs,  chickens,  rabbits,  nnd 
other  small  animals. 

The  faculty  included  Miss  Virginia  0.  Wardlaw,  Mrs.  Ma.ry  Ward  Snead,  A.M., 
Mrs.  Alice  Foxworthy  Glascock,  Albert  Charles  Snead,  Rev.  C.  S.  Ware,  Mrs. 
William  Browen  Hamen,  Miss  Myrtice  Jarrell,  Miss  I.  M.  Smith,  Miss  Anna  E. 
McFadden,  Miss  Elizabeth  Gailbraith,  Prof.  Frany  J.  Strahn,  Miss  Abbie  Speer, 
Miss  Margaret  Hatcher,  Miss  Katherine  Jones,  Miss  Alemeda  Hughes,  and  Sadie 
Fry. 


The  course  of  study  outlined  in  a  1904.  catalog  stated:  "A  knowledge 
of  Latin  and  Greek  is  essential  to  a  critical  appreciation  of  the  English 
language".  The  study  of  these  langviages  began  in  the  "academic"  class  for 
Latin  and  the  sophomore  class  for  Greek.  The  method  of  instruction  vras  des- 
cribed as  "electic,  embracing  features  of  the  inductive  and  analytic". 
French  and  German  offerings  were  available  but  not  required. 

The  study  in  English  classes  required  "etymological  and  sjrntactical 
principles  of  the  language".  Much  essay  writing,  the  study  of  parliamenta-^v 
law,  argumentation,  letter  writing,  book  revievring,  journalism,  criticism!";, 
and  eachaustive  reading  in  literature  (including  the  Bible)  were  among  the 
requirements. 

Miss  Wardlaw  published  a  collection  of  the  work  of  her  better  stxidents 
entitled,  Original  Work  of  Miss  Wardlaw 's  Pupils,  Included  in  this  book  was? 
a  poetic  version  of  the  Book  of  Ruth,  a  dramatization  of  the  Book  of  Esther, 
and  six  poems  based  on  The  Idyls  of  the  King, 

Rules  established  by  the  Vfardlaw  administration  inclvided  "Symplicity 
in  style  and  material  of  dress",  the  limiting  of  "pin  money"  to  a  definite 
sum  for  a  definite  time,  and  a  prohibition  of  "Sunday  callers". 

That  students  other  than  those  of  the  Methodist  faith  were  enrolled 
is  suggested  by  the  request  to  parents  to  provide  ''a  Bible,  a  Hymn  Book  cf 
their  own  church,  and  the  sending  of  copies  of  their  own  church  papers"  to 
the  stiidents. 

The  girls  were  required  to  have  "one  hoxir  of  recreative  exercise  each 
day  in  the  open  air,  in  good  weather".  Regular  wallcs  were  varied  with  "ten- 
nis, basketball,  croquet,  and  other  out-door  games",  according  to  the  catalog. 

The  1904.  commencement  wad  held  in  the  Soule  Chapel  on  May  25.   Dr.  H. 
C.  Tolman  of  Veinderbilt  University  delivered  the  commencement  address  with 
Dr.  J.  P.  McFerrin  awarding  diplomas  to  28  women,  five  of  whom  received  the 


76 


Bachelor  of  Arts  degree.  Certificates  in  Teaching  of  music  were  avrarded 
13  yo\ang  women.  Four  qualified  for  certificates  to  teach  elocution. 

The  I9O3-I9O4.  school  year  provided  Soule  College  women  with  ten  major 
social  events,  the  attending  of  13  off-campus  affairs,  and  68  lectures,  re- 
citals, concerts,  dramatic  productions,  dinners,  and  entertainments-  These 
included  a  reception  for  the  Confederate  veterans  reunion,  a  reception 
for  the  students  from  Webb  School  and  the  senior  class  from  Mooney  School, 
and  an  affair  honoring  former  Governor  Robert  L.  Taylor. 

The  names  Wardlaw  and  Snead  mean  little  to  the  present  generation  in 
Rutherford  County.  Three  quarters  of  a  century  ago  these  names  were  synon- 
ymous with  distinction  in  education  in  the  South.  In  the  period  1910-1913 
the  names  were  spread  in  headlines  of  newspapers  over  the  world  in  a 
bizarre  Svengali  horror — a  puzzling  mystery  that  has  never  been  solved. 

Virginia  0.  Wardlaw  was  of  distinguished  ancestry,  descended  from  the 
royalty  of  Scotland.  Her  ancestral  family  included  church  dignitaries, 
surgeons,  bankers,  judges,  Revolutionary  and  Civil  War  military  and  civil 
leaders.  She  was  a  "charter  stuaent"  at  Wellesley  College  at  Massachusetts 
and  came  to  Nashville  vith  her  sister  to  teach  at  the  exclusive  Price  School. 

Her  parents  were  John  Baptist  ./ardlaw  and  Martha  Eliza  Goodall  Wardlaw, 
There  were  four  daughters,  Caroline  (Mrs.  R.  M.  Martin),  hbry  (Mrs.  Fletche- 
Snead),  Virginia,  and  Bessie  and  two  sons,  Albert  and  John,  in  the  Wardlaw 
family. 

The  Rev.  John  B.  Wardlaw  was  for  four  decades  a  prominent  Methodist 
clergyman  in  southern  states.  In  the  early  1890's  he  and  Mi-s.  Wardlaw 
moved  to  Murfreesboro,  where  he  died  in  1898.  The  widow,  Martha  Eliza 
Wardlaw,  moved  to  a  room  at  Soule  College. 

Miss  Virginia  Wardlaw,  a  brillant  woman,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
those  who  knew  her,  locally  and  professionally,  was  a  woman  of  fine  charactpi 


77 


and  gentle  demeanor.  Her  sister,  Mrs.  Nfery  Snead,  was  a  teacher-overseer- 
assistant  principal  at  the  school.   Two  of  Mi-s.  Snead 's  sons,  Albert  and 
Fletcher,  taught  at  the  school.   One  son,  Fletcher,  was  to  play  a  strange 
role  in  the  events  between  the  1904  and  1907  period. 

A  third  sister,  Mrs.  Caroline  B.  Martin  came  to  the  school  from  her 
home  in  New  York  City.  Weii^d  tales  began  to  develop  among  the  impressionable 
students  at  the  college  and  among  the  black  servants.  Occult  powers  were 
attributed  to  Mrs.  Martin. 

Dr.  C.  C.  Sims  in  his  History  of  Murfreesboro  alludes  to  the  bizarre 
situation  that  developed  in  the  last  few  years  of  the  Wardl^w-Snead 
administration. 

Teachers  were  frightened,  and  students  left  the  school  or  failed  to 
return.  The  sitviation  worsened  until  1907  when  the  College,  in  severe 
financial  straights,  caused  the  sisters  to  turn  their  operation  ovp/  to 
local  leadership  and  leave  Murfreesboro. 

The  three  sisters  and  their  ciother  next  appear  in  East  Orange,  New 
Jersey  where  Ocey  Martin  Snead  was  found  dead  in  a  bathtub  in  November, 
1909.  On  December  22,  I9O9  Virginia  Wardlaw,  Mrs.  Snead,  and  Mrs.  Martin 
were  indicted  for  murder  and  the  trials  set  for  the  following  spring  in 
Newark,  New  Jersey.  The  sensational  affair  was  extensively  covered  by 
reporters  of  the  area  press. 

In  June,  I9IO  the  mother  of  the  three  sisters,  Martha  Eliza  Jardlav, 
died.  Virginia  Oceana  d'd^pdi^u   died  two  months  later  in  the  House  of  De- 
tention at  Newark,  either  of  heart  disease  or  pelfr-iioDposed  malnutrition. 
Mary  Martin  was  found  sane  by  the  trial  judge  and  charged  vrith  ths  homicide 
of  her  daughter. 

Martin's  trial  in  January,  I9II  resulted  in  her  plea  of  noa  viilb  ',0  a 
charge  of  manslaughter.   She  vra..T  sentenced  to  a  seven-year  prison  term. 


78 


Two  years  later  she  was  removed  to  the  New  Jersey  State  Hospital  fo-  the 
Insane,  where  she  died  January  2u,  1913. 

Fletcher  Snead  has  been  described  as  a  handsome,  blonde  youn;^  man    in 
his  early  twenties,  while  a  resident-teacher  at  Soule  College.   He  h.id  Lhrec 
separate  wedding  ceremonies  with  his  first  cousin,  Ocey  Martin.   There  w;ts 
conside  able  speculation  that  Ocey  was  really  the  daughter  ol'  Virginia 
//ardlaw,  who  had  been  reared  oy  Caroline  Martin  to  avoid  a  scandle.  Th's 
innuendo  was  vigorously  denied  by  Ifrs.  Snead  in  a  lengthy  article  in  the 
Murfreesboro  News  Banner  in  I93u. 

Alvin  Harlow  published  a  book,  h^ysteries  Not  Quite  Solved,  in  which 
he  recounts  some  or  his  findings  in  a  chapter  entitled,  "Three  Sisters  in 
Black". 

The  Shadow  and  the  '^eb  by  Mary  :\llerton  (Estelle  Noble  Gowan),  the 
popular  author  of  children's  books,  used  the  Wardlaw-Snead  story  for  the 
basis  of  her  first  novel  as  a  mystery  writer.  The  plot  and  descriptions 
of  life  in  an  imaginary  Fenale  Academy  offers  an  interesting  picture  oi 
what  it  may  have  been  like  at  Soule  College  about  19U5  to  19U7. 

Factually,  the  soundest  work  that  has  been  done  on  the  story  is  The 
Three  Sisters,  written  by  Norman  Zierold.   It  contains  pictures  of  the 
Wardlaw  family  and  a  good  brief  of  the  legal  maneuvering  of  the  Martin- 
Snead-Wardlaw  defense. 

After  leaving  their  quarters  at  Soule  College,  the  './r\rdlaw  faiidly 
moved  to  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Street  located  opposite  the  present  site  Ox 
Citizens  Central  Bank.   According  to  Mi's.  N.  C.  Beasley,  who  lived  next 
door,  the  neighborhood  children  were  frightened  1;/  the  elderly  women, 
clothed  in  black  and  heavily  veiled  who  could  be  seen  wandering  about  it. 
night. 


vv 


Soule  College  as  it  appeared  around  I9I6,  See  contrast  photograph  on  pg,  65. 


Virginia  Oceania  Wardlav 


Ocej  Martin,  neice  of  Virginia 
Ward law. 


80 


Following  a  few  months  residence  in  the  Street  house,  the  women  moved 
to  the  upstairs  rooms  of  the  Searcey  house  located  on  the  present  site  of 
the  Murfreesboro  Electric  Department  at  the  comer  of  College  and  Walaiut 
Street. 

A  great  aunt,  Oceana  Seaborn  Pollock,  was  owner  of  Montgomery  College 
in  Christiansburg,  Virginia.   As  the  clan  scattered,  Virginia  went  to 
Christiansburg  to  head  that  college.  The  Snead  boys,  Fletcher  and  John, 
went  to  I^rnnville,  Tennessee  where  they  operated  a  saw  mill  and  married 
sisters.  Mrs.  Martin  returned  to  New  York  City  where  she  had  been  princi- 
pal of  an  elementary  school  before  moving  to  Murfreesboro  in  1902.  Mrs. 
Snead  went  to  Georgia  "where  she  had  relatives"  to  teach  school.  Bessie 
Spindell,  the  fourth  sister,  lived  near  Christiansburg.  John  Snead  later 
went  to  Christiansburg  to  teach  in  the  college  and  there  died  in  a  fire 
under  nysterious  circumstances.  Fletcher's  wife  in  I^ynnville  divorced  him, 
and  he,  subsequently,  married  Ocey  Snead. 

The  denouement  of  this  strange  chronicle  of  Wardlav  clan  appeared  in 

the  Murfreesboro  News  Banner  in  1930  imder  the  banner  headline: 

THREE  HEIRS  TO  JEWELS  ARE  NOW  FOUND  LIVING 

Mary  Snead  Places  Blame  for  Bathtub  Murder  on 
"Irresponsible"  Mrs.  Martin 

The  last  chapter  in  the  Wardlaw-Snead-Martin  nystery  was 
written  yesterday  when  the  last  of  three  immediate  heirs  to  the 
Wardlaw  diamonds  were  made  known,  and  Mrs.  Mary  Snead  placed  full 
blame  for  the  death  of  Ocey  Snead  on  her  "irresponsible"  and  "insane" 
sister,  Carolyn  Martin. 

In  less  than  one  week  after  news  broke  that  the  jewels  of 
Virginia  Wardlaw  were  reposing  in  the  First  National  Bank  vault 
here,  Mary  Snead,  a  material  witness  in  the  fairous  murder  case 


81 


of  1909,  was  foxmd  living  in  Oakland,  California,  and  word  of  the 
diamond  find  brought  from  her  a  complete  statement  that  not  only- 
exonerated  her  and  Virginia  Wardlaw,  but  threw  light  upon  the  many- 
sinister  happenings  that  led  up  to  the  weird  tragedy  of  twenty- 
one  years  ago. 

A  brother  and  sister  of  Mary  Snead  were  also  foiond,  the  three 
living  apparently  unknown  to  each  other  in  different  sections  of 
the  country.  Statements  were  refused  by  the  brother,  Albert 
Wardlaw,  living  in  West  Palm  Beach,  Florida,  and  the  younger  sis- 
ter, Mrs.  R.  S.  Spindle,  living  in  Christiansburg,  Virginia. 

But  Mrs.  Snead,  a  principal  in  the  trial  of  I9IO,  spoke  after 
twenty  years  of  silence,  and  told  how,  out  of  pity,  the  insane 
Mrs.  Martin  was  taken  into  Soule  College  to  live  with  her  two  sis- 
ters, and  how  her  increasing  insanity  resulted  in  strange  happenings 
credited  erroneously  to  all  three  sisters.  And  how  the  tragic 
death  of  Ocey  Snead  brought  about  by  her  irresponsible  mother, 
completely  crushed  the  well-meaning  sister,  Virginia,  and  caused 
her  suicide.  Said  Mrs.  Snead:  "I  was  so  happy  when  I  learned 
that  the  diamonds  were  found,  but  I  had  rather  never  see  them 
than  to  have  their  discovery  reopen  that  chapter  of  my   life." 

"Yet,  I  think  it  is  better  that  the  simple  truth  should  be 
told,  and  all  the  nightmare  of  rumor  and  legend  cleared  away  at 
last." 

"My  sister,  Virginia  Wardlaw  was  an  angel  on  earth.  She 
was  good,  almost  too  good  for  this  world.  Her  school,  Soule  Col- 
lege, in  Murfreesboro  was  successful  with  300  boardin;^  pupils. 
It  was  her  pity  thr.t  led  her  to  take  Mrs.  Martin  and  her  daughter, 
Ocey,  a  sweet  lovely  child,  into  the  school  to  live.  The  bare 
LruLh  ia,  that  Va-z.    Martin  wns  insane  and  h;id  been  so  for  yvirc. 


82 


She  should  have  been  put  into  an  asylum  long  before.  She  was  the 
only  one  of  the  three  of  us  who  was  queer,  but  she  caused  so  much 
trouble  with  her  increasing  insanity  that  Miss  Wardlaw  had  to  give 
up  the  school,  I  imagine  that  such  gossip  arose  from  Mrs.  Martin's 
queemess,  which  gave  rise  to  all  sorts  of  superstitions  about  the 
place  where  she  lived.  We  never  wore  black  mits  nor  dressed 
peculiarly  except  Mrs.  Martin." 

"The  marriage  between  my  son,  Fletcher,  and  Ocey  was  not  forced 
but  was  voluntary  on  both  sides.  Mrs.  Martin  had  a  very  strong 
personality  and  will,  but  no  occult  or  hypnotic  powers.  The  terrible 
mistake  was  in  keeping  her  with  us  instead  of  having  her  committed 
to  an  institution.  When  the  tragedy  of  Ocey's  drowning  in  the 
bathtub  occurred,  all  three  of  us,  Mrs.  Caroline  Martin,  Virginia 
Wardlaw,  and  myself  were  held  because  we  were  all  members  of  the 
household.  I  absolutely  know  that  Virginia  was  not  guilty  of  the 
murder  of  which  she  was  accused.  She  was  the  best  v/orean  in  the 
world,  but  horror  of  it  all  simply  crushed  her.  She  could  not 
bear  it,  and  that  is  why  she  killed  herself  before  she  came  to 
trial.  It  would  be  quite  true  to  say  that  the  shock  is  what  really 
killed  her." 

"I  was  never  brought  to  trial.  I  was  held  as  a  material 
witness,  but  I  was  able  to  prove  that  I  was  in  New  York  at  the 
time  of  Ocey's  death.  I  do  not  call  it  a  murder.  Mrs.  Martin, 
the  girl's  mother,  was  absolutely  irresponsible  and  had  been  so 
for  a  long  time. 

"Fifteen  years  ago  I  came  to  California  to  join  iny  son,  who 
has  a  teaching  position  here.  The  baby  of  Fletcher  and  Ocey  is 
dead.  Virginia  Wardlaw  it  dead,  and  Caroline  Martin  died  insane 
before  the  expiration  of  her  sentence  for  the  mxirder  of  which  she 


83 


v/as  convicted.  And  now  after  nearly  a  qioarter  of  a  centvury, 
that  act  of  restitution  has  shown  that  after  all,  the  past 
cannot  die,  unless  this  explanation  will  lay  its  ghost  at  last 
and  forever,"  said  Mrs.  Snead. 

The  recovery  of  the  jewels  is  in  itself  a  nystery  which 
has  p\izzled  bank  officials  who  declare  that  they  have  no  idea 
how  the  diamonds  got  into  the  safety  deposit  vault  where  they 
were  found  and  identified  as  the  property  of  Virginia  Wardlaw. 

"I  cannot  say  exactly  what  happened  as  a  natter  of  probable 
fact,  but  I  believe  that  I  know,"  Mrs.  Snead  said, 

"I  believe  that  I  know  who  stole  them  from  a  secret  drawer 
in  my  sister's  desk  at  Soule  College  in  I9O6.  I  will  not  re- 
veal that  person's  name,  because  she,  too,  is  a  member  of  a 
fine  Southern  family  in  educational  work,  and  I  have  no  desire 
to  bring  pain  upon  her.  She  had  access  to  my   sister's  desk  and 
knew  where  she  kept  the  diamonds,  some  of  which  were  family  heir- 
looms. I  believe  that  they  were  stolen  out  of  spite  and  that  her 
conscience  finally  impelled  her  to  attempt  to  restore  them  to  the 
family  in  this  strange  way.  Miss  Wardlaw  never  rented  a  safety 
deposit  box  at  the  bank,  and  no  members  of  otu-  family  has  rented 
one  in  Morfreesboro.  All  our  connections  with  Tennessee  were 
severed  when  we  left  there  for  New  Jersey.  1^  explanation,  and 
this  is  only  inference  and  reasoning,  is  that  the  woman  wno  took 
the  jewels  so  long  ago  must  have  rented  a  box  in  ny  sister's 
name  and  placed  them  there.  That  is  the  only  way  I  can  account 
for  their  discovery  and  for  the  fact  that  they  -..-ere  identified  by 
the  bank  as  Virginia  Wardlaw' 3  property." 


^u 


Mrs.  Snead  did  not  comment  on  what  course  she  would  follow  in  estab- 
lishing her  claim  to  the  diamonds. 

Thus  endeth  the  loncanny  story  of  the  three  "black"  sisters  whc 
terrorized  a  populace  with  strange  antics  that  hinted  of  black  magic  which 
led  to  the  weird  bathtub  murder  of  the  daughter  and  niece  that  mj'stified 
the  country. 

There  are  those  who  take  the  statements  of  Mary  Snead  as  the  true 
story  about  a  deranged  woman.  This  would  account  for  the  circumstances 
that  brought  tragedy  into  the  lives  of  two  benevolent  sisters  and  caused 
Carolyn  Martin's  death  in  an  insane  asylum  while  paying  the  penalty  for  her 
daughter's  death. 

The  post-Wardlaw  era  began  July  8,  1905  when  N.  I).  Overall  bought 
the  property  from  the  Wardlaws  for  $8,000  and  became  "Regent"  of  the  col- 
lege. Miss  Alice  Glascock  was  hired  as  the  "Principal". 

In  1906  Miss  Martha  Hopkins  and  Mrs.  Ada  B.  Ryde  rented  the  school 
from  Overall.  Three  years  later  the  women  bought  the  building  for  111  i, 300. 

Among  the  innovations  of  the  new  administration  was  a  course  in 
"Pedagogies"  designed  for  those  who  wished  to  become  teachers. 

As  early  as  1899  the  school  had  laid  much  enphasis  on  encouraging 
practical  journaliatlc  training  in  original  literaiy  efforts  which  were 
published  in  "The  Crimson  and  Gold",  a  monthly  journal.  Other  original 
works  of  students  appeared  in  Miss  Wardlaw's  Book  of  Essays.  In  1910  and 
1911  yearbooks.  The  Gleaner,  were  published.  Martha  Ordway  was  editor  of 
the  1911  volume.  Miss  Ordway  later  became  a  teacher  at  Ward  Belmont  College. 

Athletics  were  enphasized  in  "Physical  Training"  classes,  with  basket- 
ball, tennis,  and  croquet  being  played.  A  "match  game"  of  basketball  with  a 
YWCA  team  was  open  to  the  public.  The  "public",  however,  was  Jimited  to 
"ladles  and  children".  For  the  first  time  in  its  history,  the  school 


S5 


The-  last,  ainainistratiors  0/  3oule  Coij 


The  members  of  the   I9IO  senior 
class  pictured  i'rora  bop  left 
downward  were  Maud  CejHpbel.i , 
.iobbie  Ring  Hoover  ^  Carrie 
ffoorei   Second  Row:      Louise 
Leachj,   Minerva  Bond,   Tessi^je 
Swops  I   Bottx^  SSH'      ^'^argarsv 
•■»iiij   Secretaj-j;    Ajlne  Norfch, 
lYsastxrerj   Laiira  Clendea^m, 
?.'.  cs  Presld®nt|    and  Nadine 
C^'-^'-rali,   !  resident.* 


86 


adopted  a  uniform — white  middy  blouse  and  dark  blue  or  brovm  coat  suit  with 
matching  hat. 

Altie  McKalg  Todd  of  Murfreesboro  was  a  "boarding  girl"  who  said  she 
had  the  best  of  two  worlds.  Her  father  would  bring  her  good  things  to  eat 
from  the  farm,  while  she  enjoyed  the  conviviality  of  living  with  three 
girls  in  a  big  JlP-foot  square  room.  The  older  girls  in  the  room  taught 
her  to  "do  her  hair"  and  the  proper  method  of  dress  and  deportment. 

At  "recess",  according  to  Mrs.  Todd,  a  black  woman  brought  in  a  basket 
of  sandwiches  which  the  girls  could  buy.  She  and  another  "boarding  girl" 
had  roller  skates  and  a  bicycle  which  they  could  use  on  the  sidewalk  for 
the  block  in  front  of  the  Soule  College. 

Social  activities  for  the  girls  were  increased.  Properly  chaperoned, 
the  students  watched  the  Mooney  School  football  games.  On  Wednesday  after- 
noons Stanley  Overall  invited  the  young  ladies  to  enjoy  the  facilities  of  his 
skating  rink. 

"Teachers  and  pupils  enjoyed  the  half  hour  intervening  between  supper 
and  study  hour.  Everyone  gathered  in  the  library  around  the  open  fire.  All 
kinds  of  games  were  played-flinch,  muggins,  proverbs,  and  charades  being 
favorites,"  according  to  the  memory  of  another  boarding  student  of  the 
Hyde- Hopkins  era. 

In  addition  to  Mrs.  Hyde  and  Miss  Hopkins,  the  members  of  the  last 
faculty  at  Soule  College  were  Margaret  Rhea  Daxji,  science;  Roxana  Whitaker, 
ancient  languages  and  mathematics;  Elizabeth  Thompson,  primary  and  kinder- 
garten; Martha  Quarles,  assistant  academic  department;  Daisy  Leuhon  Hoffman, 
music;  Gertrude  Richards  Schumacher,  voice;  Jennie  Mai  McQuiddy,  expression 
and  physical  tradning;  Mme.  Lorene  Gobel,  art  and  modern  language;  and 
Catherine  Reeves  Bell,  home  department. 

In  February,  1917  the  two  women  gave  up  the  struggle  against  the  com- 
petition with  public  schools,  Tennessee  College,  and  the  Normal.  The  city 


87 


of  Murfreesboro  bought  the  property  for  $4,000  end   the  aESV!r.ption  of  soeo 
debts.  The  classes  were  moved  to  a  house  at  442  North  Chtr.^eh  £'t::oct  dd 
the  boarding  students  to  the  Church  of  Christ  minister's  building  on  Enst 
Main  Street.  The  final  commencement  v/as  held  in  the  Grand  Theatre  building 
on  May  27,  1917. 

When  Mrs.  Hyde   and  Miss  Hopkins  took  charge  of  the  school,  every 
resident  pupil  for  the  first  time  v;as  required  to  wear  a  school  uniform~a 
brown  or  dark  blue  coat  and  hat  for  winter;  the  unlforia  skirt,  white  waist 
and  hat  for  spring.  To  insure  uniformity,  the  uniforms  vere  ordered  by 
the  school.  The  rules  also  provided  that  each  young  lady  liave  "a  simple 
vrtiite  dress  for  school  entertainments".  Underscored  in  the  catalog  was 
the  strict  rule  that  on  "no  occasion  are  low  neck  and  short  slcoves 
permitted." 

Every  resident  pupil  and  teacher  was  required  to  furnish  "a  confort, 
a  pair  of  blankets,  a  white  coixnterpane,  two  pair  of  sheets,  tv.'o  pair  of 
pillow  cases,  towels,  six  table  napkins,  napkin  rings,  toilot  soap,  over- 
shoes and  an  umbrella" . 

Board,  literary  tuition,  furnished  room,  fuel.  Lights,  and  laundiy 
cost  $275  each  session,  with  additional  fees  for  "optional  studies".  These 
fees  included  $70  for  individual  piano  lessons,  $60  for  voice  or  violin, 
$50  for  expression,  $50  for  art,  and  $25  for  foreign  lan^iages. 

There  were  literary  societies  at  Soiile  as  early  as  1858,  During  the 
1909-1917  period,  organizations  at  the  college  included  the  Aletlxa  Literary 
Society,  the  Thespian  Uterary  Society,  the  Studio  Club,  tho  Dranntic  Club, 
the  Mozart  Club,  Choral  Club,  Y.W.C.A.,  and  athletic  teams  and  social 
activities. 

The  ;:tugfa^'?3)?orQ  MoSiS  J-aumal  of  the  period  had  reports  of  basketball 
games  between  the  "resident  pupils  an^  to;m  pupils"  to  v/hdch  only  women  and 
children  were  admitted. 


Cw;; 


Ball   Tl^,..,    ^ouls   college. 

athletic  teams  of  1903. 


The  Alethea  Literary  Society  of  1911^ 


High  draina  at 
Soule  College, 
Thespian  Society 
production,  of 
"Blue  Beard"  with 
Augusta  iiiggins 
and  Ethel  Ilaney. 


There  are  reports  of  "old-fashioned  candy  pulls,  gamus,  and  charades." 

Description  of  a  "delightful  reception"  given  by  the  young  ladies  and  faculty 

October  25,  1907  was  reported  in  the  Murfreesboro  Home  Journal; 

"The  spacious  old  parlors  of  historic  Soule  presented  a 
charming  scene  with  huge  fires  glowing  in  the  grates,  the  man- 
tels banked  in  flowers  and  autumn  leaves.  The  young  ladies 
were  gowned  in  light  colors.  The  Seniors  were  assisted  in 
receiving  by  Kdss  Hopkins  and  I'lrs.  Hyde.   All  kinds  of  geunes 
were  played,  flinch,  muggins,  proverbs,  and  charades  being  the 
favorites.   Delightful  refreshments  were  served." 

Mrs.  Leiper  (Richardsorj)  Freeman,  and  the  Licker  sisters,  Mrs.  Ethel  Haney  ^'■ 
and  I-lrs.  Esther  Maxwell  are  among  present  residents  of  Mui-freesboro  who  re- 
count many  experiences  of  life  at  Soule  College. 

Mrs.  J.  D.  McFarlin  recalls  her  experiences  at  Soule  College.   Mattie 
Lowe  and  her  sister,  Elizabeth,  boarded  with  an  aunt  who  lived  in  Murfrees- 
boro.  They  spent  the  weekends  at  home.  Each  Monday  morning  they  would  get 
up  before  daylight  for  a  two-hour  ride  in  a  buggy  driven  by  their  mother  to 
return  to  the  home  of  the  aunt. 

As  a  former  teacher,  Mrs.  McFarlin  is  in  an  especially  strong  position 
to  evaluate  the  work  of  Soule  College  in  its  later  years. 

"The  curriculum  was  more  advajiced  than  children  woula  encounter  today 
in  the  comparable  grade  and  much  more  advanced  than  the  "public  school" 
children  of  that  time  could  expect",  she  said. 

The  college  work  was  probably  equivalent  to  the  first  year  of  college 
today.  Scholastic  standards  were  very  high.   The  grading  system  was  of  the 
E  (Excellent),  3  (Satisfactory),  and  U  (Unsatisfactory)  t^-pe. 

"Moral  influence  was  outstanding",  Mrs.  McFarlin  declared.  The  teachers 
used  the  honor  system  which  was  meticulously  observed  by  the  students. 

In  the  "Our  Family"  oonpilation  of  Fount  Henry  Rion,  genealogist,  is 
a  description  of  the  effect  of  the  Federal  occupation  of  Soule  on  the  neighborhood, 


91 


"Grandma's  (Mrs.  Fountedn  Jefferies  Henry)  home  at  that  time,  was  a 
comfortable  little  brick  cottage  located  diagonally  across  the  street  from 
Soule  College,  She  had  a  large  brick  underground  cistern  filled  with  rain- 
water, the  only  source  of  water  other  than  the  'town  pump'. 

Grandma  told  of  the  desolation  as  she  stood  on  the  porch,  helpless, 
holding  the  baby  in  her  arms,  and  my  mother  by  the  hand,  as  she  watched  every- 
thing she  owned  in  the  world  being  carried  away,"   (Mrs.  Henry's  husband  was 
with  the  Confederate  army  in  the  retreat  from  Murfreesboro  in  early  Jan,  1863) 

Virtually  all  the  moveable  assets  of  the  College  were  destroyed  by  the 
contending  armies  or  by  vandals. 

After  the  war,  each  dormitory  room  appeared  to  have  been  furnished  by 
double  beds,  two  wardrobes,  a  study  table,  lan^JS,  and  at  least  four  chairs. 
This  bare  furnishing  was  supplemented  by  various  amenities,  including  some 
type  of  toiletry  accomodation,  llrs.  Knox  McCharen  recalls  that  her  mother 
obtained  some  of  the  rugs  or  carpets  at  a  dispersal  sale  when  the  school  was 
closed. 

Mrs.  Priscilla  P.  Weathersby  of  Clarksville  has  an  eight-page  hand- 
written essay  on  "Ireland"  coiqjiled  by   her  grandmother.  Pearl  Frost.  Such  an 
essay  was  apparently  one  of  her  requirements  for  gradup.tion  from  Soule  College 
in  1879.  Mrs.  Weathersby  also  possesses  an  autograph  album  signed  by  class- 
mates of  Pearl  Frost, 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walter  King  Hoover  have  many  mementoes  of  Soule  College 
students,  including  receipts  signed  by  Miss  V.  0,  Wardlaw  for  $8  tuition  paid 
hy   Anne  Overall,  A  report  card  of  Carmine  Collier,  signed  by  "John  B.  Thoup- 
son.  President",  of  Soule  College  in  1908  indicates  the  grading  system  was 
based  on  points — 180  points  indicating  perfection  and  below  100  points 
unsatisfactory  grades. 

Andrena  Briney  owns  a  picture  of  the  entire  student  body  of  1903  stand- 
ing in  front  of  the  inqjosing  building.  A  white  fence  surrounds  the  property. 


92 

One  amusing  incident  is  recalled  by  Mrs.  McFarlin  about  1908  or  1909 
on  April's  Fool  Day.   The  girls  decided  to  "cut  classes",  but  they  dared 
not  face  the  wrath  of  teachers  should  homework  be  unprepared.  So  the 
girls  slipped  in  early  and  left  their  homework  on  the  teacher's  desks 
and  left  quickly.   Later  they  learned  the  teachers  had  decided  not  to  have 
classes  on  that  day. 

A  horseshoe  hanging  by  the  classroom  door  was  used  when  one  wished 
to  be  excused  to  the  bathroom.  As  one  student  replaced  it,  another  would 
take  it  without  disturbing  the  class  or  raising  a  hand  in  embarrassment. 

Bishop  L.  Gailor  was  the  commencement  speaker  for  the  class  of  1908. 
The  following  year  when  Mrs.  McFarlin  graduated,  Sawney  Webb  was  the  speaker. 
Mrs.  McFarlin  remembers  that  Bishop  Gailor  spoke  for  only  20  minutes,  but 
she  considered  that  address  superior  lo  that  of  the  Webb  School  head. 

Such  joyous  nostalgia  remains  in  the  minds  of  alumnae  still  living, 
yet  they  marked  the  beginning  of  the  end.   A  decade  later  the  headline  in  a 
Murfreesboro  newspaper  read:  "Soule  is  not  dead,  but  liv^sl" 

The  single  significant  sentence  "impressively  uttered  by  Miss  Hopkins 
in  her  closing  remarks  before  presenting  diplomas"  to  the  five  last  gradu- 
ates of  Soule  College  must  have  left  a  lasting  impression  on  sympathetic 
minds  of  those  who  witnessed  the  finale  of  the  sixty- fifth  commencement. 

The  commencement  was  formally  inaugurated  on  Friday  morning.  May  18, 
1917  with  Class  Day  at  the  Grand  Theater.  There  was  the  usual  baccalaureate 
Sunday  morning  service  at  the  Methodist  Church,  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Morgan 
stressing  the  necessity  of  "earnest,  honest  toil,  service  to  the  world  and 
loyalty  to  the  Savior". 

Sue  Gill  Riggs,  a  member  of  the  last  class  who  lives  in  the  Murfreesboro 
Chelsea  Apartments,  has  preserved  the  class  day  and  commencement  programs, 
newspaper  clippings  of  the  events,  and  one  verse  of  the  class  poem  she  de- 
livered at  the  closing  exercises.  Recognizing  the  Soule  College  claim  to 


93 


have  been  founded  in  1825  as  the  "Female  Academy",  Miss  Riggs  recited: 

For  93  years  has  Soule  stood  here 
Watching  the  simrise  from  year  to  year 
Facing  the  rain,  the  wind,  the  snow 
Seeing  the  seasons  come  and  go. 

Her  classmates  were  Jean  Marie  Faircloth,  Ollie  Mae  Harrell,  Mary  lytle 
Kelton,  and  Josephine  Ramsey.  Miss  Ramsey  was  the  class  valedictorian.  Miss 
Faircloth  gave  the  salutatory.  Miss  Harrell  was  the  class  historian,  and  Miss 
Kelton,  the  author  of  the  class  will. 

The  Murfreesboro  News  Banner  reporter  wrote; 

"The  five  beautiful  girls  in  geirments  of  spotless  white  .  .  . 
occupied  the  center  of  the  stage,  Mrs,  Uyde   and  Miss  Hopkins,  the 
guiding  geniuses  of  the  school,  sat  at  the  left  front,  and  Mr.  R. 
W,  Vickers,  master  of  ceremonies,  and  the  Rev,  H,  J,  Mikell  of 
Nashville,  were  on  the  right  front." 

There  is  little  review  of  the  Reverend  Mikell 's  address,  other  than  the 
statement  that  it  was  of  "high  literary  merit  whilst  presenting  a  lesson  of 
great  value".  Musical  numbers  by  Mrs,  Gertrude  Richards  Schumacher  and  Mrs. 
Will  C,  Hoffman  "gave  great  delight  and  occasioned  prolonged  applause".  The 
invocation  was  by  Rev,  G,  Dallas  Smith, 

The  closing  remarks  by  Mrs,  Hyde  and  Miss  Hopkins  occupied  lengthy  coverage  in 
the  Murfreesboro  News  Banner,  Mrs,  Ifyde  thanked  all  the  friends  and  patrons 
of  the  school,  "For  more  than  half  a  century  Soule  has  closed  her  doors  until 
the  fall— but  on  March  26th  we  went  out  and  closed  the  doors  of  that  grand, 
historic  old  building.  Not  one  stain  has  ever  been  upon  the  fair  name.  Here's 
to  the  daughters  of  Soule,  may  your  lanps  shine  bright  as  you  shed  your  light  . 
,  ,  .  May  the  Master  shower  you  with  His  love",  she  stated. 

Miss  Hopkins  called  attention  to  the  graduates  heritage  and  touched  on 
the  troubled  war  years  when  she  said,  "Class  of  1917,  you  v,lll  enter  the 
greatest  University  in  the  world—a  University  that  knows  no  nationality, 
no  race,  no  creed,  I  bid  you  be  strong,  I  would  not  wish  you  all  sunshine 


94 


and  brightness,  for  that  would  lessen  your  appreciation  for  the  fulness  of 
joy.  Shun  not  the  struggle,  take  it,  'tis  God's  gift!  Be  strong  in  the 
power  of  his  might,  and  all  will  be  well  with  you". 

Two  tender  and  responsive  sentiments  live  among  the  stories  of  this 
graduation.  Oae  is  a  newspaper  story  of  a  note  penned  to  a  sheaf  of  roses 
presented  to  Jean  Marie  Faircloth  that  read,  "To  Jean  on  her  first  real 
turn  in  the  road.  May  she  continue  as  she  has  ever  been,  a  comfort  and 
dependence  to  her  mother," 

There  is  the  episode  story  of  the  member  of  the  class  who  had  no  near 
relative  to  share  her  graduation  Joy.  A  Murfreesboro  resident  sent  her  a 
bovquet.  The  denouement  occured  many  years  later  when  this  woman  received 
a  present  mailed  from  Neiman-Marcvis  in  Dallas.  Such  a  gift  continued  to 
come  each  year  vaxtil  this  Murfreesboro  Soule  aluiana,  who  had  remembered  a 
girl  who  was  graduating  without  the  traditional  roses,  died  only  a  few 
years  ago. 

According  to  Barbara  Prentice,  a  librarian  at  Morris  Harvey  College, 
the  I9I6-I7  catalog  lists  both  Mrs.  I^e  and  Miss  Hopkins  as  members  of  the 
faculty  at  the  Charleston,  West  Virginia  institution.  This  sviggests  that 
the  two  women  left  Soule  College  in  I9I6  instead  of  1917  as  indicated  by 
Murfreesboro  records  and  the  memory  of  local  people.  This  same  catalog 
credits  Mrs.  Q^de  as  holding  the  A.B.  degree  from  Soule  College  and  having 
"had  courses  at  Peabody  College".  She  taught  logic  and  history  at  Morris 
Harvey  until  1920. 

Miss  Hppklns  also  came  to  Morris  Harvey,  according  to  the  same  catalog, 
in  1916  and  taught  Bible  and  preparatory  English  until  1920. 

Dr.  Leonard  Riggleman,  president  of  Morris  Harvey  from  1932  to  I964., 
stated  in  January  1978  that  he  remembered  Mrs.  Hyde  and  Miss  Hopkins  when 
he  was  a  student  at  Morris  Harvey.  He  recalled  that  in  the  1930 's  the  two 


Lasv  Classes  of  joule  College  vere  held  in  this  b-oixiing  locatea  on 
Ch.-irch  Strict   in   the  spring  semester  of  1917. 


Jean  Marie   Fairclotii 
(MacArthur)    as    she 
appeared   in   a   Soule 
College   dramatic    pro- 
duction. 


96 


women  were  teaching  in  a  small  school  at  Paintsvllle,  Kentucky,  called  Mayo 

College. 

Soule  College  had  a  very  active  alumnae  organization.  As  early  as  1873, 

The  Christian  Advocate  reported  that: 

"At  four  o'clock  a  large  assembly  of  the  college  alumnae 
met  in  the  college  for  their  annual  reunion.  It  was  like  review- 
ing one's  youth  to  meet  with  the  happy  bsmd  of  former  classmates, 
to  witness  attachment  for  their  beloved  Alma  Mater.  A  beautiful 
address  was  read  by  Miss  Maggie  Muirhead  (listed  in  Frank  Bass's 
history  as  a  member  of  the  1870  class)." 

A  complete  list  of  gradviates  was  preserved  by  the  Alumnae  Association 
through  the  class  of  1910.  Louise  Richmond  Freeman  has  supplied  the  names 
of  the  class  of  1915,  of  which  she  was  a  member.  Other  members  of  the  1915 
class  were  Sophia  May  Bell,  Hilda  Margaret  Creech,  Susie  Mae  Harrell,  Ora 
Lee  Haynes,  Bessie  Lee  Hoover,  Mamie  Mullins,  Virginia  Patience,  and  Remina 
Woods. 

Sue  Gill  Riggs  lists  other  members  of  the  1917  class  as  Jean  Marie 
Faircloth,  Ollie  Mae  Harrell,  Mary  Lytle  Kelton,  and  Josephine  Ramsey.  Miss 
Riggs  report  card  dated  May  21,  1917  was  signed  by  Mrs.  A.  B.  Hyde  and  lists 
grades  in  Bible  92,  ethics  94-,  history  90,  grammar  98,  trigonometry  83,  and 
French  96. 

In  comparison  with  modern  college  requirements,  it  is  difficult  to  eval- 
uate just  how  much  Soule  deserved  the  designation  of  a  "College".  Certainly 
its  coiirses  included  some  coiirses  still  measured  as  college  credit  by  modern 
standards.  In  a  1916  advertisement,  the  school  offered  courses  ranging  "from 
primary  through  one  and  one  half  years  of  college  work" .  According  to  the 
evaluation  by  N.  C.  Beasley,  dean  emeritus  at  Middle  Tennessee  State  Univer- 
sity, Soule  credits  for  transfer  varied  from  year  to  year  vrith  individual 
students.  Students  were  accepted  at  Peabody  College  and  Randolph-Macon  Col- 
lege. At  least  one  other  institution  accepted  credits  up  to  two  years 
following  completion  of  one  year  acceptable  resident  at  the  transfer  school. 


01  1909 


Br  K^n  when  this  piec-ore  was  taken,  the  Fria&ry   Glass  raembers  had 
ohan.'i^ed  frojr.  high  button  shoes ^  uiack  cotton  stockings  and  hair 
ribbon  bows  to  white  u-nifors!  dresses,  the  appearance  of  tnodlsh  whit 
stockiugSj  ar;.,;  Bustei-  Browrs  hair  b<:jbs. 


98 


The  changing  scene  in  Murfreesboro  is  dramatically  revealed  in  reading 
the  yearbook  advertisements  in  the  Gleaners  of  the  first  decade  of  the 
twentieth  century.  Professional  men  were  not  adverse  to  complimenting  the 
young  ladies  of  Soule  with  free  legal  advice,  dentists  provided  the  best  of 
care,  and  the  "Joys  of  walking"  were  encouraged  by  shoe  store  merchants. 

"Early  to  bed  and  early  to  rise,  mind  your  own  business  and  advertise" 
was  an  encouraging  admonition  introducing  the  advertising  section  of  the 
yearbooks . 

Sam  Nirshbnjnner. Hackmen  advertised  rubber- tired  busses  that  met  all 
trains.  For  those  not  sophisticated  enough  to  ride  the  rubber-tired  busses, 
there  was  "livery  stable"  accomodations  by  H.  H.  Good,  Butler  and  Company, 
the  Murfreesboro  Livery  Con^Miny,  and  Sam  Hunt,  whom  one  could  call  at  Phone 
10  or  100  and  "save  a  dime". 

There  were  mercantile  establishments  and  professional  people  whose 
names  are  still  seen  around  town.  Among  those  were  Ridley  and  Richardson, 
attorneys;  J.  H.  Grichlow,  insurance;  W.  R.  Bell,  jeweler  and  optometrist; 
Woodfin  and  Moore,  fxmeral  directors;  Leatherman ' s  Women's  Wear;  A.  L. 
Smith,  druggists;  Christy  and  Huggins,  coal  and  Coca  Cola.  This  firm 
promised  to  "please  you  winter  or  summer". 

Someii^at  unusual  for  a  girl'p  boarding  school  was  a  full  page  suggest- 
ing the  use  of  Ox  Fertilizers  for  sale  by  Spain  and  Hudson.  Misses  E  and  M 
Earthman  used  old  English  type  to  persuade  the  students  to  "Home  Here  and  Buy 
Yo\ir  Gradviation  Hat".   E.  H.  Tatum  had  a  oon^setitor ' s  plea  to  "buy  your 
sunmer  frocks  for  seashore  and  summer  resorts". 

The  attorneys  who  offered  legal  services  included  E.  H.  Hancock,  Ridley 
and  Richardson,  2.  T.  Caaon,  Jesse  W.  Sparks,  A.  L.  Todd.  E.  fl.  Hancock  was 
also  aunong  the  attorneys  whose  announcements  graced  the  Gleaner.  D.  E.  Logan, 
W.  W.  Jones,  and  L.  H.  Tate  were  dentists  whose  advnrtisements  were  listed. 


99 


The  Jordan  Hotel  with  F.  W.  Miles  as  proprietor  advertised  rooms  for 
$2.00  per  day,  with  bath  $2.50. 

Vickers  Drug  Store  advertised  Joy's  cut  flowers,  while  the  Kerr  Dnig 
Store  suggested  it  had  the  "best  soda  foTint  in  town"  and  urged  the  use  of 
Geny's  cut  flowers.  R.  F.  Overall  appealed  to  the  girls  to  buy  "Hay,  Oats, 
Corn  and  Bran"  while  shipping  "timothy,  clover  and  millet  hay".  Perklns- 
Crichlow  suggested  one  call  phone  3  for  "custom  sawing". 

Covington  &  Conpany  paid  for  a  full  page  in  the  Gleaner  to  boast  that 
it  was  a  "one  price  house"  where  one  could  select  from  the  stock  "larger 
than  any  before  shown  in  Murfreesboro." 

Among  the  other  champions  of  the  Soule  yearbook  staff  were  J.  T. 
Rather,  cotton,  lumber,  livestock;  J.  G.  Smith  and  E.  M.  Littler,  men's 
wear;  W.  T.  Gerhardt,  merchant  tailor;  Clayton  and  Draper,  fine  shoes; 
I^le  and  Hanson,  produce  house;  Liveley's  Art  Studio;  Frank  Farris,  staple 
and  fancy  groceries;  Hooper  Shoe  Coinpany;  Henry  Fleming  of  the  Gilt  Edge 
Grocery;  Home  Jo\irnal  Printers;  C^_H.  Byrn,  hardware  H.  H.  Morton,  real 
estate;  Logan  and  King,  real  estate  and  insvirance;  J.  M.  Nay  lor  and  Ellis 
Rucker,  grocers;  Lewis  Maney,  confectioner;  Blumenthal  and  Becker,  jewelers; 
Butler,  Hooper  Co.,  men's  furnishings;  Baker  Lumber  Co;  E.  C.  Cannon  and 
Son,  dry  goods;  J.  B.  Matthews,  grocer;  H.  C.  Turner,  grocer;  W.  Goldstein, 
dry  goods;  Spain  and  Hudson,  hardware;  A,  G.  and  W.  H.  Tongjkins,  poultry; 
Avent's  Drug  Store;  W.  G.  Batey,  insxiranoe;  K5-ng  and  Ragland,  wholesale 
groceries;  Cem^ibell  and  Gannaway's  Home  Steam  laundry;  J.  B.  and  J.  W. 
Gannaway,  groceries;  Ransom  Brothers,  millers;  Baker  Lumber  and  Manufactiiring; 
Knox,  Overall  and  Co.,  furnitvire  and  leather  goods;  E.  H.  Tatum,  dry  goods; 
P.  R.  Miller,  funeral  directors,  Cohn's  Cafe;  and  Mrs.  W.  H.  Haynes,  milliner. 
The  First  National  Bank  listed  deposits  at  $5,000,000  with  F.  0.  Watts,  pres- 
ident. Other  officers  were  D.  S.  Williams,  vice-president;  E.  A.  Lindsey, 
2nd  vice-president;  J.  M.  Ford,  advisor;  Randell  Currell,  cashier;  Frank 


100 


K.  Houston,  assistant  cashier,  and  J.  R.  Johnson,  assistant  cashier. 

The  students  were  urged  to  visit  the  "swellest  refreshment  parlor  In 
the  South"  where  they  could  get  "dainty  lunches,  candies,  and  ice  cream" 
at  the  Ocean.  Apparently  the  chief  rival  of  the  Ocean  was  the  Gilt  Edge 
Grocery  where  Henry  Fleming  insisted,  "College  Girls  can  buy  something 
good  to  eat".   Lewis  Maney  challenged  both  with  his  suggestion  that 
telephone  orders  wo\ild  receive  prompt  attention  for  "table  delicacies  and 
everything  good  to  eat",  inclxiding  Lawney's  chocolates  and  bon-bons.  He 
also  had  two  phones  to  answer  calls  I 

There  were  numerous  Nashville  firms  represented  in  The  Gleaner  ad- 
vertiser. The  Methodist  Publishing  House  apparently  supplied  the  books  and 
stationery  for  the  school.  B.  H.  Shief  Jewelry;  Parrish  ($2.98)  Shoes 
located  on  4.21  Union  Street;  Phillips  and  Buttorff;  Starr  Piano  Co., 
Royal  Shoe  Co.  ($2.50),  314  Union  Street;  Ambrose  Printing  Co.;  Standard 
Printing  Co.;  Jaccard  Solid  Gold  Jewelry  of  St.  Louis  nay  have  furnished 
designs  in  jewelry  and  stationery  for  clubs  and  literary  societies,  as 
well  as  programs  and  commencement  invitations  for  the  college. 

Cumberland  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company  took  a  full  page  to  insist 
on  everyone  getting  Cumberland  Telephone  service.  "We  have  exchanges  in 
every  important  city  in  southern  Indiana  and  Illinois  and  the  entire  states 
of  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Mississippi,  and  Louisana",  according  to  the 
advertisement. 

In  his  thesis,  Frank  Bass  paid  tribute  to  the  "long  existence  which 
had  influenced  the  lives  of  nany  fine  people".  Bass  concludes,  "Though 
the  buildings  were  torn  down,  the  property  sold  (to  the  Murfreesboro  School 
Board  for  the  location  of  the  old  Central  High  School  Building),  the  memory 
of  Soule  College  still  lives  in  the  hearts  of  many,  and  they  like  to  join 
in  the  Toast  to  Soule". 


staff  members  of  the  1910  Gleaner  posed  in  a  way  that  a  glimpse  of  the 
study  hall  wall  with  its  art  work  is  revealed. 

w 


SOULE  COLLEGE 

Organized  1625  as  "The  Female 
Academy  by  Misses  Mory  &  Nancy 
Banks.  &  teaching  rhetoric,  phi- 
losophy, belles-lettres,  palntlnq. 
needlework  6  music.  It  was  Improved 
In  1652  <§>.  named  for  Bishop  Soulc 
of  the  ME  Church.  South.  It  closed 
during  the  Civil  War.  when  Its 
bulldlnqs  were  damaged.  Reopening 
thereafter.  It  closed  finally  in  I9ld. 


I  hi 


The  Tennessee  Historical  Association  marker  on  the  north  boundary  of 
the  Middle  Tennessee  Electric  Membership  Corporation  marks  the  Soule 
College  site  in  1978. 


102 


Here's  to  the  days  we've  spent  at  Soule, 

Here's  to  the  days  to  come, 

Here's  to  the  hours  we've  spent  in  work, 

Here's  to  the  hours  of  fun; 

Here's  to  her  fame  through  all  the  earth, 

Spreading  from  pole  to  pole, 

Here's  to  the  College  we  all  love  best. 

Here's  to  our  dear  "Old  Soule". 


103 


Bibliography 

Soule  Female  College.  1930,  Master  of  Arts  thesis,  Peabody  College 
by  Frank  Bass. 

Minutes.  M.   E.  Church  South  Annual  Conference.  1850  to  1858. 

Reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education.  Washington,  D.  C.  Printing 
Office. 

Reprinted  material  from  the  Louisville  and  Nashville  Christian 
Advocate. 

Murfreesboro  Home  Journal.  1905-1916. 

Murfreesboro  News- Banner.  1930. 

Soule  College  Catalogs,  1899-1901,  1904,  1910,  1915. 

History  of  Rutherford  County.  C.  C.  Sims. 

Rutherford  County,  Tennessee  Registers  Office  Books,  22,  30,  43,  48,  59. 

History  of  Murfreesboro.  C.  C.  Henderson. 

The  Shadow  and  the  Web.  Mary  Allerton. 

True  Detective  >fagazine.  Jfeiy  25,  1940. 

The  Gleaner.  Soule  College  yearbook,  1910-1911. 

Three  Sisters  in  Black.  Norman  Zierold. 

Reprints  Newark,  New  Jersey,  Evening  Star  transcripts  of  trial,  1910-11. 

Original  materials  and  interviews  contributed  by  Miss  Catherine  Clark, 
Mrs.  Leiper,  Sue  Richardson  Freeman,  Mrs.  Annie  Mary  Beasley, 
Mrs.  J.  D.  McFarlin,  Mrs.  Jean  Faircloth  hkcArthur,  Miss  Sue  Riggs, 
Miss  Bertha  Licker,  Mrs.  Ethel  L.  Haney,  Mrs.  Esther  L.  Maxwell 
in  the  form  of  letters,  report  cards,  diplomas,  pictures  and 
personal  recollections. 

The  Aliunni  Office  of  Morris-Harvey  College. 

Photographs  by  Gene  H.  Sloan,  Dr.  Bealer  Smotherman. 


Index  for  Publication  NOt  11 


104 


Adams 

71 

Allen 

68 

Allerton 

78-103 

Ambrose 

100 

Anna 

U 

Avent 

61-63-99 

Baker 

99 

Baldwin 

58-59-61-62 

67 

Banks 

58 

Barker 

30 

Barlow 

64-66 

Bamum 

40 

Bass 

70-96-100-103 

Bates 

66 

Batey 

99 

Beasley 

78096-103 

Becker 

99 

Bedford 

10 

Beer 

29 

Bell 

86-96-98 

Beesley 

6 

Benjamin 

2 

Benton 

8 

Blumenthal 

99 

Bock 

66 

Bostic 

68 

Bowles 

58 

Boyd 

33 

Brigance 

30 

Briney 

91 

Brown 

28 

Bryant 

31 

Buchanan 

23 

Burleson 

28 

Burton 

58 

Butler 

98-99 

Buttorff 

100 

^ym 

99 

Cannon 

66-99 

Callender 

60-67-68 

Campbell 

60-61-99 

Carney 

61-70 

Carter 

31 

Cason 

98 

Childress 

6-66 

Christy 

98 

Clark 

103 

Clay 

63 

Clayton 

99 

Coffee 

8 

Cohn 

99 

Coldwell 

31 

Collier 

73-91 

Cooper 

64 

Cornwallls 

31 

Covington 

99 

Cowen 

31 

Cox 

68 

Craig 

71 

Creech 

96 

Crlchlow 

98-99 

Crockett 

7-11-12 

Cross 

66 

Currell 

99 

Cxirtlss 

26-27 

Dann 

86 

Davidson 

31 

Davis 

25-26-30-31 

33 

Deason 

71 

Dickson 

31 

Dixon 

71 

Draper 

99 

Dmmgoole 

64 

Earthman 

98 

Easten 

71 

Eaton 

69 

El  kins 

34 

Earp 

21 

Eton 

71 

Falroloth 

9>94-95-96 

103 

Farrls 

99 

Flnley 

58-60-61-62 

63-64-67 

Fleming 

99-100 

Flemmlng 

100 

Fletcher 

66 

Ford 

34-35-66-99 

Fowler 

34 

Freeman 

90-96-103 

Frost 

91 

Fry 

74 

Gallhralth 

74 

Gallor 

92 

105 


Gamevell 

56 

GflniMuay 

99 

Gates 

31 

Gerhardt 

99 

Gill 

6^ 

Qlltner 

61 

Glascock 

74^84 

Cobal 

86 

Goldstein 

99 

Good 

98 

Goodall 

76 

Goodrich 

72 

Govaa 

78 

Graves 

73 

Green 

32 

Gregg 

28 

Guan 

30 

Hackman 

98 

Hall 

66 

Hamen 

U 

Easspton 

32 

Hancock 

98 

Han^ 

90-103 

Hnrdeman 

30 

Harlow 

78 

Harrell 

93-96 

Hartje 

30 

Hatcher 

74 

Hajnes 

96-99 

Ho^hill 

28 

Henderson 

6-70-73-103 

Hendrick 

43-52 

Henry 

90 

Hickock 

28 

Hoffman 

64^86-93 

Hollovray 

66 

Hooper 

2-99 

Hoover 

68-91-96 

Hopkins 

60-61-8V86 

87-92-93-94 

Horton 

66 

Houston 

12-13-14^18 

24-100 

Hudson 

98-99 

Haggins 

61-98 

Hughes 

74 

Hunt 

98 

^e 

60-84^86-87 

93-94^96 

Jackson 

7 

Johnson 

30-100 

Johnston 

7 

Jones 

66-74-98 

Keeble 

8-69-70 

Eelton 

93-96 

Kmdflll 

17 

Kerr 

99 

Klmbro 

66 

King 

99 

Knapp 

64 

Knox 

99 

Lea 

70 

Leatherman 

98 

Ledbetter 

33-66 

Lee 

7-70 

Leiper 

103 

Lenoir 

8-11 

Licker 

90-103 

Lindsey 

99 

Littler 

99 

Uvely 

99 

Locke 

31 

Logan 

98-99 

Longstreet 

7 

Lorance 

31-33-34-35 

Lowe 

90 

lyon 

25-60-61 

lytle 

61-66-99 

Madden 

58 

t^lone 

30-64 

Maney 

99-100 

Hanson 

99 

Mankin 

36-42-50 

Martin 

73-76-77-78 

79-80-81-82 

84 

Matthews 

99 

Maxwell 

90-103 

McArthtu: 

103 

McCulloch 

7-8-10-11-12 

13-14-15-16-17 

18-19-21-22-23 

24-25-26-27-28 

29-30 

McFadden 

61-74 

McParlin 

90-92-103 

MoFerrin 

66-75 

McGharen 

91 

McEinney 

21 

McLeod 

28 

McQuiddy 

86 

Headers 

64 

Mikell 

93 

Miles 

99 

Miller 

99 

Mitchell 

8-31 

106 


Money 

58 

Moody- 

62-63 

Moore 

32-60-61-66 

69-70-71-98 

Morgan 

31_66-92 

Morton 

99 

Muirhead 

96 

MulUns 

96 

Murfree 

58-66 

Naff 

68 

Nay  lor 

99 

Northcut 

32 

Nellson 

66 

Ordway 

BU 

Otis 

30 

Overall 

32-33-37-60 

84^86-91-99 

Parish 

8 

Parker 

61 

Parrish 

100 

Patience 

96 

Paty 

73 

Pea 

66 

Peabody 

71 

Pelican 

27 

Perkins 

99 

Phillips 

28-100 

Pierce 

8-22-23 

Pittard 

7 

Pltuner 

69 

Polk 

6 

Pollock 

80 

Powell 

23 

Prentice 

94 

Preston 

50 

Price 

25-26 

Quarles 

86 

Ragland 

99 

Ramsey 

93-96 

Handle 

61-62 

Ransom 

52-69-71-99 

Rather 

99 

Ray 

1 

Raymond 

64 

Read 

31 

Ready 

66 

Reid 

30 

Richardson 

61-90-98 

Ridley 

98 

Riggleman 

94 

Riggs 

92-93-96-103 

Rion 

90 

Robertson 

60 

Rolle 

30 

Rose 

30 

Ross 

66 

Rucker 

58-99 

Rutherford 

32 

Sawrie 

66 

Scott 

24 

SchiiTT-icher 

86-93 

Searcey 

80 

Shief 

100 

Simn 

61-77-103 

Sloan 

58-103 

Smith 

66-74-9>98 

99 

Sndther 

30 

Smotherman 

103 

Snead 

60-73-74^-76 

77-78-80-81 

83-84 

Soule 

58-59 

Spain 

98-99 

Sparks 

98 

Speer 

30-74 

Spence 

60-61-63 

Spiller 

30 

Spindle 

81 

Spindell 

80 

Stelnhagen 

69 

Stuart 

7 

Starr 

30-100 

Strnhn 

74 

Street 

78-80 

Stillivan 

33 

Surnmor 

68 

Suimerhill 

63 

Suii5)ter 

32 

Swan 

72 

Sweitzer 

15 

Tarlton 

31 

Tarrant 

8 

Tate 

98 

TatTim 

98-99 

Taylor 

16-76 

ThoETjEon 

32-64-70-71 

72-73-86-91 

Todd 

86-98 

To!  inn 

75 

Tonpkins 

99 

Totty 

32 

Tucker 

32 

107 


Turner 

99 

Tvdggs 

18-24 

Van  Dom 

26-27 

Vickers 

9>99 

Wade 

61 

Walker 

36 

Ware 

74 

Wardlau 

73-74-75-76 

77-78_79_80 

81-82-83-84 

91 

Warner 

30 

WatHns 

61 

Watts 

99 

Wea thereby 

91 

Weakley 

10 

Webb 

17-30 

Wendal 

61 

West 

60-71 

Wharton 

WhltnVer 

86 

Williams 

99 

Wllliford 

32-33 

White 

32 

Wolf 

64 

Woodfin 

98 

Woods 

66-96 

Wray 

30 

Young 

23 

Zlerold 

78-103 

DATE  DUE 


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Rutherford  County^  Higt.  .  Society 
TT^  '■ ^'  Vi    


LIBRARY 

MIDDLE  TENNESSEE  STATE  UNIVERSITY 

MURFREESBORO,  TENNESSEE 


M    T    S    U      LIBRARY 


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