Chattanooga - Hamilton and James County History

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Early Settlers

     It is probable and is believed to be true that the first to settle in this part of the country were mainly Scotchmen, and that they came here almost immediately after the close of the Revolutionary war.
Some of their names are here inserted: Daniel Ross, Daniel McNair, Daniel Mc­Coy, Joseph Coody, Joseph Martin, Dick Taylor, Fox Taylor, Mr. Adair, Mr. Lowrie, Mr. McPherson and Mr. McDonald.
Most of these married Indian wives and became incorporated into the Cherokee Nation. Daniel Ross married a half-breed Indian woman and became by her the father of John Ross, the Cherokee chief, who built the house at Rossville, Ga., now occupied by Thomas McFarland; of Lewis Ross, who, had it not been for his high cheek bones and straight, black hair, could not have been distinguished from a white man; of Andrew Ross; of Eliza Ross, a very beautiful and accomplished woman, who married a Scotchman and went to Scotland to live; and of the wife of Joseph Coody, who for a long time lived on the old Daniel Ross farm near the base of Lookout Mountain, and there carried on a deer skin tannery. The reader will remember that by the act of the Legislature organizing the county, the boundary line was so run " as to include Patrick Martin in the county of Hamilton" and that "the court of pleas and quarter sessions and the circuit court of the county of Hamilton shall be holden at such place as shall be designated by Charles Gamble, Robert Patterson and William Lauderdale until otherwise provided for by law.” It would seem reasonable to conclude therefore, notwithstanding the testimony of certain old settlers to the contrary, especially with reference to Patrick Martin and William Lauderdale, that all of these four persons wee her previous to October 25, 1819.
Robert Patterson came to this country as early as 1807, and settled on North Carolina grant No., 23, and Charles Gamb le, who had been deputy sheriff in Rhea County, came to Hamilton in 1816, settled on the Tennessee River near the mouth of Sale Creek, and after the organization of the county became its first sheriff, and it is stated on apparently good authority that the first sheriff’s sale was conducted near this creek, from which circumstances the creek received its name.
    At the time of organization of the county there were 821 inhabitants, 766 of who were whites, thirty-nine slaves and sixteen free colored persons; hence it would be impracticable even if it were desirable to introduce a complete list of these early settlers. A portion only of the names of these, such as now remembered or as appear on the county records can be given. Hasten Poe was one of these, and it was at his house, still standing (1886), not far from Melville Station on the Cincinnati Southern Railway, where the first term of the circuit court was held, having been selected by the commissioners, Gamble, Patterson, and Lauderdale. Mr. Poe came to this county in 1818 an died in 1878. John Poe, his grandson, now owns the old place, from near which Poe’s Road, formerly “Poe Turnpike,” passes over Walden’s Ridge. From Mr. Poe’s house, known in early time as “Poe’s Tavern,” the courts were transferred to that of Asahel Rawlings, who came to this county in 1817, and who had settled near the present site of “Old Dallas,” Dallas having become by law the county seat.
Nimrod Pendergrass settled on the Tennessee, about one mile above the mouth of Opossum Creek, in 1817 or 1818, having come from Rhea County. In about 1819 or 1820 James Smith came from Kentucky and settled also near Opossum Creek.
    James Cozby, with his sons, Woods and Robert, came to this county about the time the Cherokees were moved to the south side of the Tennessee, and in 1820 bought the place formerly owned by the Cherokee Chief, James Brown, about ten miles above Chattanooga on the North Chickamauga.
Andrew Johnson came early and still lives some distance above Hixson. William McGill came from Knox County, probably before the organization of the county, and lived near Robert Patterson.
John Hanna came from Virginia in 1820, and lived on what was known as the Wallace farm.
John Brown, James Warner and Gilbert Vandegriff were also early settlers, as was Nathan Shipley whose father was killed by Mitchell, near Joseph Paine’s. Preston Gann and George Sawyers came about the same time and lived below what is now Hixson Station. They were neighbors of Ephraim Hixson, who came to Hamilton County from the Sequatchie Valley in 1830.John Russell was a very early settler and lived near Sale Creek. Thomas Coulter was here before 1820, for then he was dealing in lands. William Rogers lived near the present Coulterville, as did James McDonald, whose widow is now living at Benjamin McDonald’s. Elisha Rogers was one of the early settlers as was Jacob Hartman. Hugh, James and David Cunningham lived on Mountain Creek, near Daniel Seiveley.
One of Jacob Hartman’s grants from the State was so located that one of its boundary lines crossed a branch of Mountain Creek “the place where Hugh Cunningham was drowned.” Daniel Seiveley lived north of the Tennessee, near Walden’s Ridge. Thomas R. Russell was the first Surveyor the county had and judging from his work he was an educated and competent surveyor, as his lines can now be readily found and followed. George Williams was a very early settler living near the “Suck.”
    Henry Rogers lived two and a half miles above Hixson; Joseph Rogers who came into the county in 1831 built a Griss mill on North Chickamauga Creek. David Beck, grandfather of the present county register, came to the county with his family of thirteen children in 1822, and Beryl Smith, who lived one half miles below Hixson, came into the county in 1830, John Friar coming also about the same time.
Abraham Thomas was a later comer, having lived originally in Virginia. He then moved to Bledsoe County, and finally to Georgetown, in what is now James County, in 1837, one year after John P. Long, at present the oldest living resident of Chattanooga, came to Hamilton County.
Thomas Shirley, now living at the age of ninety in James County, came to Dallas at a very early day, and is probably the oldest of the early settlers of Hamilton County now living.
In the early part of the century John Walling with a posse of men, among whom were a Mr. Warren and a Mr. Green, came from Virginia to what is now Hamilton County, in pursuit of Indians who had captured and carried away as prisoners two white women. The posse overtook the Indians and recaptured the women on what is now generally called “Walden’s Ridge, but which is sometimes named, as originally, “Walling’s Ridge.: Mr. Walling as his posse, after the recapture of the women, built a kind of fort on this ridge, which they occupied for some days, until, supposing the Indians had become reconciled to the loss of their captives, they returned home and restored the women to their friends. The Indians, however, followed and killed Mr. Walling while he was plowing in his field. From this circumstance the ridge was named originally, “Walling’s Ridge.” In some unknown way the name was subsequently corrupted into “Wallen’s Ridge, and it is now so known in some of the departments at Washington; and still later by another orthographical tergiversation it became; Walden’s Ridge.” It is believed, however, that B. B. Cannon, who was county surveyor from 1830 to 1837, is responsible for this last form of the word, as it is always spelled “Walden’s” by him in his survey; and if this supposition be correct, he was not without reason for its application, for a part of the old Walling family spell their name “Walden,” but the majority adhere to the original form, Walling.
    A very large grant of land was made in 1795 by North Carolina to Stockley Donealson in what is now Hamilton County. Nominally it was for 20,000 acres, but its boundaries as described contained within their limits nearly 150,000 acres. This grant extended from the mouth of Richland Creek in Rhea County to the mouth of North Chickamauga Creek, on what was then supposed to be the line between North Carolina and Georgia; up North Chickamauga Creek to the Cumberland Mountains (that branch now known as Walden’s Ridge); thence along that ridge to Richland Creek, top a point where Dayton now stands, and thence down that creek to the beginning. Langdon Carter’s grant was made in 1795, and Robert Patterson in about 1807 bought 300 acres of this grant lying on what is now known as Opossum Creek, then Mill Creek, and previously, Deep River, so designated on grants and title papers. Mr. Patterson settled on his purchase about that time and resided thereon until the extinguishment of the Indian title in 1819, when he was dispossessed in the following manner: In about 1821 William B. Carter and other heirs of Langdon Carter brought suit against Robert Patterson for the recovery of the land, founding their title upon a 640 acre grant to Langdon Carter, their father. In Hamilton County Mr. Patterson was so popular that the Carter heirs feared justice would not be done them there, and hence took a change of venue to Rhea, where they prevailed over Patterson, who thereupon moved a short distance above, and the place thus given to the Carters was occupied until within a few years by John Hughes.
    The names of other early settlers with the approximate dates of their arrival in the county follow in connection with recorded land grants and deeds.
The first deed registered in what are now the Hamilton County records was one by which Stockley Donelson conveyed to Charles McClung 640 acres for $200. The land was described as being “in the eastern district on the north side of the Tennessee River, on the first big creek above the mouth of Chickamauga Creek, called by some North Chickamauga, beginning some distance below a very large spring on the south side of the creek at a post oak and red oak trees and blazed black oak, running thence east 226 poles, crossing the spring branch at 24 poles; thence north 453 poles; thence west 225 poles, and thence south 453 poles to the beginning.” This deed was dated October 23, 1799, and recorded April 11, 1820.
    Then follow five other deeds from Stockley Donelson to Charles Mc Clung, all dated July 1797, each for 640 acres, except one for 600 acres, the price for the 600 acres being $100; for two of the 640-acre tracts, $107 each; for one, $150, and for the other, $200.Then follows the record of a grant, No. 166, by North Carolina to John Hackett for 600 acres of land for the consideration of £10 for each 160 acres, the grant being signed by “Richard Caswell, Esq., Governor, Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief.” September 20, 1787.Then follows a deed signed by John Hackett, by which, on the same day, he conveyed to Richard Bearden this same grant, No. 166, together with 300 acres adjoining for $1,000. The first quit-claim deed registered was by James Cozby to Joseph Dunham, of a tract of land “lying in the eastern district on the north side of the Tennessee, a small distance above the Suck, and being a part of the 20,000 acres granted by the State of North Carolina to Stockley Donelson, No. 283, and dated July 20, 1795, and being the same land that John Hackett conveyed to Joseph Dunham February 23, 1809.” This quit-claim deed was dated February 24, 1809.
    The above were all before the organization of Hamilton County. The first deed registered after said organization was dated February 23, 1821, and by it Richard Timberlake conveyed to James Brown a tract of land on North Chickamauga Creek of 640 acres for $3,000.The first bill of sale recorded was by Jacob Roberson to John Brown for two negroes, one a woman named Elizabeth, about thirty-five years old, and the other a boy, named Joseph, about four years old, for $600, under date of May 6, 1820.The second was by John Russell to John Brown, under date of December 9, 1815, for two negroes, one a woman thirty years old, named Aney, and the other a girl, Erager, twelve years old, for $530.Still earlier than this John Russell sold to John Brown, December 13, 1808, a negro boy, twenty-two years old, named Peter, for $500, and on the 19th of the same month John Brown bought of “Robert Brown, of the Cherokee Nation,” a male slave by the name of Cyrus,” for $600.
Robert Brown made his mark, as did also Susanna Brown, November 29, 1817, to a similar instrument, by which she conveyed to John Brown, for the consideration of $500, a yellow boy about fifteen years of age, by the name of Moses. According to the records John Brown appears to have been the principal slave buyer of those early days. 

     At the time of the arrival of the first settler in what is now Hamilton County the entire county was occupied by the Cherokees, but so far as it now ascertainable there were but few if any of these old settlers, who were slain by the red man’s tomahawk or spear.

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CHARTER OF THE CITY OF CHATTANOOGA.

Charter excerpt taken from the following book.

CHATTANOOGA, HAMILTON COUNTY, 

AND LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN.

By LOUIS L. PARHAM. CHATTANOOGA. 1876 

    Section 1. Be it enacted by title General Assembly of the State of Tennessee : That the inhabitants of the City of Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton, are hereby constituted a corporation and body politic, by the name and style of the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Chattanooga, and by the same, shall have succession for ninety-nine years, may sue and be sued, plead and be pleaded in all the courts of law and equity and in all actions whatsoever. May purchase, receive and hold property real and personal within said city, and may sell, lease or dispose of the same for the benefit of said city, and may purchase, receive and hold property real and personal within said city, and may sell, lease or dispose of the same for the benefit of said city, and may purchase, receive and hold property real and personal beyond the limits of the city, to be used for the burial of the dead, for the erection of water works, for the establishment of a hospital, poor house, work house, or house of correction, and may sell, lease or dispose of said property for the benefit of the city, and do all other acts touching the same as natural persons, and shall have a common seal and change it at pleasure. 

     Sec 2. The boundary of the city shall be as follows: Be- ginning at a point on the Tennessee river where the north line of the southeast fractional quarter of fractional section twenty-one, in the second fractional township west of the basis line in the Ocoee District strikes the said river, thence south 70° east to the northeast corner of said quarter section ; thence south 20° west to the township line dividing the second and third townships; thence north 70° west along said township line to the middle of said river ; thence up the middle of said river to a point opposite the beginning ; thence in a direct line to the beginning. 

     Sec. 3. Be it further enacted. That the act passed February 12th, 1869, entitled an act to "incorporate the Raknghand Mineral Spring Hotel Company" be and the same is hereby amended so as to change the line of the corporate limits of the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee ; commencing at a point in the center of the Tennessee river opposite the corner of the Lendsey and George Gardenhire tracts of land, on the south bank of said river and running with said line between said lands to a point where it strikes the citizens cemetery, thence along the line of said cemetery on the side next to the river to the Jewish cemetery ; thence in the same direction in a straight line to the "right of way" of the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad Company ; thence in a northeast direction along the north side of .said "right of way" to the present line of said incorporation. 

     Sec. 4. There shall be a Board of Mayor and Aldermen to consist of two rnembers from each ward, chosen by the qualified voters of each ward respectively, for one year. No person shall be an Alderman unless he be a citizen of the State of Tennessee, and a bona fide resident and freeholder in the ward for which he is elected at the time of his election. Any Alderman after his election, removing" from or ceasing to be a freeholder in his ward, shall thereby vacate his said office. Each Alderman shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take an oath, that he will faithfully demean himself in said office. All vacancies in the Board of Aldermen shall be filled by the vote of a majority of the remaining members. 

     Sec. 5. The mayor shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city, and shall hold his office for one year, and until his successor shall be elected and qualified. No person shall be elected Mayor who is not at the time of his election, a citizen of the State of Tennessee, and a bona fide resident and freeholder of said city. When two or more persons shall have an equal number of votes for the office of Mayor, the election shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the Council elect. A vacancy in the office of Mayor shall be filled in the same manner. The Mayor may fill all vacancies occurring in any office except that 'of Alderman, until the same be filled by an election. It shall be the duty of the mayor to preside at all meetings of the Council; to take care that all the ordinances of the city are duly enforced, respected and observed, within the city ; to take an oath of office before he enters upon the duties of the s^me ; and to call special sessions of the Board.

     Sec. 6. The Mayor and Aldermen shall appoint a Recorder and define his duties and shall have full power and authority to appoint all officers, servants and agents of the corporation to fill such offices as they may deem necessary to create by ordinance and shall fix the compensation of such officers; They shall have power a majority of the whole Board concurring) to dismiss any officer, servants or agent by them appointed. 

     Sec. 7. Be it further enacted, The Board of Mayor and Aldermen of said city may at any time lay off new wards and adjust or change existing ones, always giving at least twenty days' notice of such change before any annual election for Aldermen. 

     Sec. 8. An annual election for Mayor and Aldermen shall be held in each ward of said city by the Judges of Election appointed by the existing Board of Mayor and Aldermen of said city; Provided, that the first election after the passage of this act shall be held by the Sheriff of Hamilton County, on the third Thurs- 18th day in November. The voters shall vote by ballot, and only in the wards in which they may reside. Non-resident freeholders may vote in the ward where their freehold is situated, and not elsewhere. These Judges of Election, being freeholders in their respective wards, shall be appointed by the Mayor and Aldermen for each ward, who shall take an oath to faithfully and impartially dis- charge their duties, naming also the places where such election shall be held. They shall open the polls at nine o'clock in the forenoon and close them at four o'clock in the afternoon; when they shall forthwith proceed to ascertain, and certify to the existing Mayor, the result of said election. All persons owning a freehold in said city, and all person's resident therein who would be qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly, shall be qualified to vote at such election. In all cases of a tie in the election of an Alderman, the election shall be referred back by the mayor to the voters of the ward. The Mayor and Aldermen elect shall meet on the first Monday after the third Thursday in November, in each year, and be qualified and enter upon the discharge of their duties; two-thirds of the whole number of Aldermen elect being a quorum competent to transact business. 

     Sec. 9. The Mayor and Aldermen shall have power by ordinance within the city: 

1st. To levy and collect taxes upon all property taxable by law for State purposes. 

2nd. To levy and collect taxes upon all privileges and polls tax- able by the laws of the State. 

3rd. To appropriate money and provide for the payment of all debts and expenses of the city. 

4th. To make regulations to prevent the introduction of contagious diseases in the city; to make quarantine laws for the purpose and enforce the same within the corporate limits of the city.

5th. To establish Hospitals and make regulations for the government thereof. 

6th. To establish a system of free and other schools, and to regulate the same. 

7th. To make regulations to secure the general health of the inhabitants, and to prevent and remove nuisances. 

8th. To provide the city with water by waterworks, or otherwise, within or beyond the boundaries of the city. 

9th. To open, alter, abolish, widen, extend, establish, grade, pave, or otherwise improve, clean and keep in repair streets, alleys and sidewalks, or to have the same done. 

10th. To erect, establish and keep in repair bridges, culverts, sewers and gutters.

11th. To provide for lighting the streets and public buildings. 

12th. To establish, support and regulate watchmen by day and by night. 

13th. To erect Market-houses, establish markets, and regulate the same. 

14th. To provide for the erection of all buildings necessary for the use of the city. 

15th. To provide for enclosing, improving and regulating all public grounds belonging to the city, in or out of the corporate limits. 

16th. To erect and repair public wharves and regulate all wharves, docks and buildings, and to fi.x the rate of wharfage thereat, and to regulate ferries so as not to conflict with the laws of Tennessee. 

17th. To restrain and prohibit gaming. 

18th. To license, tax and regulate auctioneers, grocers, merchants, retailers, taverns, brokers, bank agencies, coffee-houses, confectioneries, retailers of liquors, hawkers, peddlers, ten-pin alleys, billiard table and livery-stable keepers. 

19th. To license, tax and regulate hackney carriages, omnibuses, wagons and drays, and fix the rate to be charged for the carriage of persons and property within the city and to the public works without the limits of the city. 

20th. To license and regulate porters and fix the rate of porterage.

21St. To license, tax and regulate theatricals, and other exhibitions, shows and amusements. 

22nd. To prevent and suppress all disorderly houses and bawdy houses. 

23d. To provide for the prevention and extinguishment of fire to organize and establish fire companies to regulate, restrain and prohibit the erection of wooden buildings in any part of the city; to regulate and prevent the carrying on of manufactories dangerous in causing or producing fires.  

24th. To regulate the storage of gunpowder, tar pitch, rosin, saltpeter, gun cotton, and all other combustible materials, and the use of lights, candles and stovepipe.-. in stables, shops and other places. 

25th. To establish standard weights and measures and regulate the weights and measures to be used in the city, in all cases not otherwise provided for by law. 

26th. To provide and establish necessary inspectors for the city

27th. To regulate the police of the city; to impose fines, forfeitures and penalties for the breach of any ordinance, and to pro- vide for their recovery and appropriation; to appoint an officer, or officers, for the city, being a Justice of the Peace, or Recorder, before whom such recovery may be had—not, however, to include the jurisdiction of other justices of the Peace in said city.

28th. To provide for the arre.st and confinement until trial of all rioters and disorderly persons within the city by day or by night; to authorize the arrest and detention of all suspicious per- sons found violating any ordinance of the city.

29th. To prevent and punish by pecuniary penalties all breaches of the peace, noise, disturbances. Sabbath breaking, or disorderly assemblies in any street, house, or place, in the city, by day or by night.

30th. To remove all obstructions from the sidewalks, and to provide for the construction and repair of all sidewalks, and for the clearing of the same, at the expense of the owners of the ground fronting thereto or otherwise.

31st. To pass all ordinances not contrary to the Constitution and laws of the State that may be necessary to carry out the full intent and meaning of this act, and to accomplish the object of their incorporation.

     Sec. 10. When lands and town lots have been assessed for city taxes and they remain due and unpaid, and the owners have no goods and chattels within the city, from which distraint can be made, the same may be reported to the Law Court of Chattanooga, for condemnation and sale by the city tax collector, who is hereby invested with the same authority in the premises, that the State and County tax collectors have in the collection of the State and county taxes. 

     Sec. 11. The Recorder of the city of Chattanooga be, and he is hereby invested with concurrent jurisdiction with Justices of the Peace in all cases of violation of the criminal laws of the State, or of the ordinances of the Mayor and Aldermen of the city of Chattanooga, within the limits of said city 

     Sec. 12. That the Mayor and Aldermen of the city of Chattanooga shall have power to erect a work-hou.se and lock-up, or calaboose, for the .safe keeping of all persons; and when any persons convicted of a violation of any ordinance of said corporation and refuses to pay or secure to be paid, the tin^ and cost accruing thereon, the Mayor and Aldermen may provide by ordinance for their confinement in said lock-up or work-house, and put them to work for the city, either within an enclosure or on the streets, and other public works for the city, under proper guard, at such wages as the Board may adopt by ordinance, until such fine and costs are paid. 

     Sec. 13. That the territory included in the boundary of the city of Chattanooga as defined in the second section of this act, shall be, and constitute a civil district of Hamilton County, and shall be entitled to elect three Justices of the Peace. 

     Sec. 14. That the city Marshal and regularly constituted watchmen of said city shall have power to execute State warrants, and other process, which constable, - generally have power to execute within the limits of the corporation. 

     Sec. 15.. That the corporation of Chattanooga shall have full power to borrow money on its bonds, for any object that its authorities may determine to be important to the promotion of its welfare, and that is not made im- proper by existing law. "Provided, that the sum borrowed, under the provisions of this .section shall not exceed the sum of fifty thousand dollars without being specially authorized so to do by a majority of the qualified voters of said city, expressed by an election to be held for that purpose; and, 'Provided further, that said bonds shall not bear a higher interest than six per cent, per annum, and that nothing herein contained shall be construed as conferring on said corporation a power to issue paper that shall circulate as money.

     Sec. 16. All ordinances and regulations heretofore enacted by the Mayor and Aldermen of the city of Chattanooga, and not rescinded by them, shall be, and remain in full force until altered, modified, or repealed under this act.

     Sec. 17. That the City Marshal shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city of Chattanooga at the same time the Board of Mayor and Alder- men are elected; and that he shall be voted for in each Ward as the Mayor is voted for; and he shall give such bond and securities for the performance of his duties as the Board of Mayor and Aldermen may require. 

     Sec. l8. That all acts and parts of acts contrary to, and inconsistent with the provisions of this act be, and the same are hereby repealed. 

     Sec. 19. That this act shall take effect from and after its passage. 

W. 0'. N. PERKINS, Speaker House Representatives. 

D. B THOMAS, Speaker of the Senate, 

Passed November 1Oth, 1870. 

This excerpt was taken from the following book.

CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE. 

HAMILTON COUNTY, AND LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. 

An Epitome of Chattanooga from her Early Days down to the Present. 

Hamilton County, its Soil, Climate, Area, Population, Wealth, Etc.-, 

Lookout Mountain, its Battlefields, Beauties, Climate' and other Attractions.

 PREPARED AND PUBLISHED by

        LOUIS J. Parham.

    CHATTANOOGA, TENN.

             1876 

 Reminiscences of the Early Days of Hamilton County.

    The territory- south of the Tennessee river, and north of and adjoining the Chattahoochee River, in Georgia, was still in possession of the aborigines of this country up to IS36, when the Senate of the United States ratified the treaty made with them, to adjust the difficulties about to spring up between the Government, the Stale of Georgia and the Indians. This encouraged the whites, who began taking possession of this territory—the lands being subject to the school fund of Tennessee, after the extinguishment of the Indian title. Those who were settled on the lands had right of pre-emption, while anyone might enter any- lands not so pre-empted, at $7 per acre. This was in accordance with act of Legislature, . In this year, accordingly, a great deal was taken up. The year following, this territory of Hamilton County south of Tennessee river, called Ross' Landing, became the town of Chattanooga. In the several years following, up to 1844, Hamilton County increased but slowly in population or internal improvements. Accordingly,', the citizens of the county held a "Third Meeting of the Friends of Domestic Manufactures ' —we copy from the Chattanooga Gazette, Sept. 4, 1844: 

     At a third meeting of the friends of Domestic Manufactures, in Hamilton County, at the Court House in Harrison, on Monday, the 2d inst., Lewis Patterson was called to the Chair, and F. A. Parham appointed Secretary'. "After the organization of the meeting, on motion, Col. Wm. Clift arose and delivered an argumentative address on the propriety of immediately entering into manufacturing in this county. The sentiments he advanced, were sustained by satisfactory references, and his address was listened to with pro- found attention. 

     Richard Henderson, Esq., being called for, arose and urged the expediency of the steps which hi.s fellow-citizens were then taking to increase the wealth of Hamilton County, and enhance the interests of those who engaged in the business. When he concluded, F. A. Parham having made a few prefatory re- marks, offered the following resolutions, the adoption of which was advocated by John R. Williamson, Esq., and unanimously adopted: 

     Resolved, That Dr. Troost, State Geologist, be invited to visit our county at his earliest convenience, and make a survey, so as to develop our natural resources, and that Wm. I. Standefer, Esq., Dr. Wm. I. I. Morrow, and Col. R. B. Brabson be requested to correspond with him on the subject. 

     Resolved, That J. R. Williamson, Esq., Dr. B. Frazier, Robert Jack and Col. Wm. Clift, be appointed a committee to draw up an appeal to the citizens of Hamilton County on the importance of establishing manufactories, and that they furnish a copy of the same to the Chattanooga Gazette for publication previously to the next meeting. 

     Resolved, That R. B. Cannon, Esq., Major Robert C. McRae, Gen. Samuel Igou and R. Henderson, Esq., be appointed a committee to designate the kind of manufacturing which would be most conducive to the welfare of the citizens of Hamilton County, and that they defend their opinions by argument, and make their report to the next meeting. 

     Resolved, That the friends of home manufactures in Hamilton County be requested to meet in this place on the first Monday in next month, preparatory to organizing' a manufacturing company. 

     Col. B. B.Cannon, whose official business prevented him from being present at the commencement of the meeting, accepted an invitation to present his views on the subject of manufactures. They were highly encouraging and to the point. "

     A letter addressed to Gen. S. T. Igou from Capt. S. S. Thatcher was read by the Secretary. Capt. Thatcher is a citizen of this county—;i mill-right by trade, and his communication, detailing the cost of erecting and putting in operation a cotton spinning and weaving manufactory, was quite useful and entertaining to the meeting. 

     Dr. B. Frazier submitted the following resolution, which was adopted: "Resolved, That 1,000 copies of the appeal to be prepared by the committee be printed for the use of the citizens of this county, and that a committee of twelve—one from each civil district —be appointed to distribute the appeal in their respective districts. 

     The following gentlemen were named as the committee: 1st District—Robert A. Hunter. 

2nd District—Preston Gann. 3rd--- District Alfred M. Rogers. 4th District—J. C. Rowden, Esq. 5th District—F. A. Parham. 6th District—Samuel T. Igou, Esq. 7th District—H. J. Harris. 8th District—John J. Ramsay. 9th District-Henry B Lusk. 10th District —James Roark. 11th District —James Gamble. 12th District—John Brown, Jr.

     On motion of Col. B. B. Cannon, "Resolved. That the Secretary have the proceedings of the meeting published in the next number of the Chattanooga Gazette. 

LEWIS PATTERSON, Chairman. 

F. A. P.ARHAM, Secretary.'

     Thus, was planted the germ of those manufacturing interests which thirty- two years later have opened out into extensive proportions, and are constantly growing, so that we shall ultimately- become the great manufacturing center of the South. In another part of the same issue is a communication from Mr. Thomas White on the subject of silk culture, in which he urges the consideration of the enterprise upon the people of the county. 

     Free Schools of the County. 

So recent has been the inauguration of these institutions of instruction, that the county is not sufficiently supplied with buildings, and the other necessities of a system of public instruction. But, a beginning has been made, and enough interest manifested in the work in hand by the Trustees and Commissioners to ensure their ultimate success. As yet the people of the county have not shown a good appreciation of this great boon. They have not recovered from the innovation upon their old way of educating, and thus are not pre- pared to look upon the free school as the only true system of general public instruction that can and will succeed where private enterprises often fail. The following, from tile report of Prof. Beene, Commissioner of Hamilton County, will give some idea of the condition of the public schools: 

     The Public-School law of 1873 has operated very beneficially in this county. lender this law schools have beer, established in every civil district. The number of persons enrolled, between the ages of six and eighteen, was, in Chattanooga, 2,387; outside the city, 2,146; total in county, 4,833. The 

attendance outside of the city is about fifty per cent., in the city more favorable, as will be seen by reference to our article on Public Schools of Chattanooga. 

     The schools of the county are established upon a firm basis. Public feeling is more favorable to them now than when first inaugurated. The facilities offered thereby are constantly increasing and will be equal to all demands for fundamental education. In Chattanooga the principals of public schools are paid $80 to $90. assistant teachers $40 to $50 per month. Outside of the city teachers are paid $30 to $40 per month. There are three academic institutions in the county, the North Creek Academy, in the northwest portion of the county: the academy at Tyner Station, and the Chattanooga Female Institute. 

     Since the above report was made, the Public Schools have progressed in a gradual manner, not so much in numbers, as in every other way. The proper management of these Schools has brought them up to a high standard. Their success is no longer a question. 

     The Political History of Hamilton County. 

The information at the writer's hand on this subject, is very limited. But enough is known to warrant the assertion that Hamilton County has furnished to the legislative halls of the nation two of her most gifted sons. In the Fifth Congress. Hon. Joseph Anderson was Senator with Gen. Andrew Jackson from Tennessee. In the Sixth Congress the former also served, with Hon. Wm. Cocke. 

     STATE SENATORS. A. M. Cate, (2 terms), A. A. Pearson, E. A. James, L. S. Marye.

     UNITED STATES CONGRESS, FROM THIS COUNTY. R. B. Brabson, Wm. Crutchfield. 

     UNITED STATES SENATE. D. M. Key. 

     STATE REPRESENTATIVES. Dr. Wm. I. I. Morrow, Wm. I. Staudifer, James A. Whiteside, John Cowart, J. W. White, John C. Burch, D. C. Trewhitt, J. R. Hood, George D, Foster, John Anderson, E. A. James, Isaac G. Thomas, H. N. Snyder, J. R. James.

      From the above it will be seen that Hamilton County has furnished the Council Halls of the Nation with several of her sons. Did space permit we might turn the eyes of the reader toward the wars of 18i2, and later of 1847-8, and. still more recently, of 1860~65, where, on many a bloody field, Hamilton County's sons poured forth their lifeblood for their country, and their homes and firesides—this task, however, remains for the historian. To these heroes, in peace or war, all honor! —will find a responsive chord in every patriotic bosom