Written from Memory

Submitted by Bennett Horton

Below is the autobiography of W.D. Horton who was born in Stewart County in 1869 and grew up in Stewart County and talks about a number of
people and places. I have tried to type in exactly as he printed it. Obviously, I made some typos which I have tried to correct. Even though he was owner of the Telfair newspaper, there are some glaring errors in his publication which I have left in. In a few cases, I labeled them "(sic)" but many times I did not. As an example, he repeatedly mispells "guage" but I left it as he spelled it. I think fidelity on my part is the best course of action. Late in the sketch he reveals that this was writtewn in May 1936. Reese Horton, his next to the youngest brother, died (my father). I believe my father's death prompted his writing this autobiography.

I was born November 23, 1869, about three miles northeast of Omaha, in Stewart County, Georgia, near my grand father Horton's wheat, corn and saw mill. My father was Henry Clay Horton, eldest son of Daniel E. Horton and Mary Sherman, and my mother was Susan Catherine Forest, second daughter of William B. Forest and Caroline Elizabeth Baker, who died when my mother was an infant

My grandfather, Daniel Horton, came from North Carolina to Washington county, Georgia, and later moved from there to Stewart county, where he lived and reared a large family, but married the second time after his wife died and moved to Clay county, Georgia, where he died about 1885 or 1886. My grandmother Horton died when I was 9 years old.

My grandfather, Wm. B. Forest lived at Preston, Webster county
for many years, and later moved to a farm near Preston, where he and his
wife, my step-grandmother, died some time after I moved to Telfair county.

I started to school at the age of six, to John Bankston, who was teaching a one-room school at Pleasant Grove church, but only went a short while there, as my father and mother moved near Louvale, then called Antioch, but later named in honor of Mrs. Lou Tatum, at that time a wealth woman for those days. I might add that Bankston later studied law, was admitted to the bar, and came to Abbeville, Ga., and engaged in his profession, where I knew him after I moved to Helena. I went to school at Louvale (Antioch) for some time, to Professor Lasseter, an aged gentleman, but I do not remember his first name, or what became of him.

It was while attending this school that I made my first business venture. I bought a Jewsharp, sold then in country stores at 5 cents, from a Mr. Flynn, who ran a small store at Antioch, and persuaded him to charge it to me and not let my father know about it. I told mother what I had done and got her to let me have half dozen eggs to pay the debt, which the merchant accepted in full payment. It was about this time that I went to school to a man named Abe Wright, who gave me the only whipping that I ever remember receiving at school.

At that time my father was engaged in the saw and grist mill business with the late Thomas C. Johnston, and did cabinet work, making coffins, bedsteads and other furniture.

My eldest sister, Lorena, was a small child when we moved to Johnston's and another sister, Minnie, was born while we lived there.

Later, or about the year 1881, we moved to the John Armour place, two miles east of Antioch, where my father operated a saw and grist mill for several years. My eldest brother, Walter was born while we lived there, and I began work at the mill at the age of 12. My mother had a long spell of sickness while we lived there, and we had to get our doctor from a distance, as none lived near there. While she was sick I had to milk two or three cows night and morning, beside my work at the mill.

In the winter of 1882 we moved to Girard, Alabama, just across the river from Columbus, where my father worked in the Columbus Iron Works for a while, and in the spring of 1883, we moved back to Stewart county, not far from Omaha, where my father bought a saw mill from his father, and operated it until it was burned some time in 1884. My brother Reese who died in 1936 was born while we lived near this mill on June 21, 1884. I donot know where we lived when my sister, Viola, was born. She died in Americus in 1897 and was older than Reese or Walter. After the mill was burned near Omaha, my father and his brother, MN Horton, (editor's note: Monartus Nucoman) bought a saw mill from W.W. Fitzgerald, at Omaha, and moved it to a tract of timber owned by B.H. (Hooper) Johnston, about one and one half miles west of (Antioch) Louvale. One of the years 1885 or 1886 was the time of the Charleston earthquake.

My oldest Sister, Lorena, Mrs. I. Odom, and myself joined the Methodist church at old Irena, in Stewart county, during a revival in 1886. Rev. Crawford Jackson was pastor of the church and did the preaching.

After the timber on the Johnston place was exhausted, my father and uncle Monartus moved the mill to a tract of timber about three miles north of Louvale and we lived at what was known as the King Place, two and one half miles northeast of Louvale, where my two eldest sisters and myself went to school at Louvale to James G. Calhoun, a noted educator of that time, and worked during vacation and on Saturdays.

We later moved to Louvale, just before the new railroad, a narrow guage short line that ran from Americus to Lumpkin and known as the A.P L Ry was later extended to Louvale. My father secured a position on this road and fired for about 9 months, when he was promoted to engineer, and assigned to run the passenger train from Louvale to Americus and return each day. My youngest brother, Herman, was born while we lived at this place, in February 1889. The line of road from Louvale back to the junction about one and a half miles was afterwards taken up, and the road extended to Montgomery Alabama, after all of the narrow guage track had been replaced with standard guage, and the name changed to S.A.M., Savannah, Americus and Montgomery, later to The Georgia and Alabama, and finally to the Seaboard Air Line system.

During the year 1888 I worked for Dr. W.H. Tatum, running his grist mill and gin at $15.00 per month, and that fall and the next spring went to school to Miss Mary Neal, sister of Dr. J.W. Neal of Scotland, which wound up my education as far as going to school was concerned, and not being able to continue my studies in any other school I secured a job on December 17, 1889 on the little railroad, firing for my father between Americus and Louvale, a round trip every day at $25.00 per month. My father drew $45.00 per month for running the engine pulling a mixed passenger and freight train.

In the fall of 1890, after the road had been changed from narrow to standard guage I was assigned to a work train as fireman, building the road from Louvale to Omaha on the Chattahoochee river, with the late W.T.Roughton as engineer. Just prior to taking the work train job, I made my first trip on a through freight from Americus to Lyons, the then terminus of the S. A. & M. Ry, where connection was made with the Central Ry from Savannah. A box car was used for the depot, and we slept in the caboose of our train and ate at a restaurant run by a negro in a tent. There were but two or three houses in Lyons at that time and no boarding houses.

After leaving the work train I fired for my father on a mixed train from Americus to Omaha, a round trip daily, hauling material for the bridge which was built across the river near Omaha. In the fall of 1891 I was sent on a work train to Hurtsboro Alabama, to haul mud and muck that had slid in on the tract all along from the river to Montgomery and spent Christmas of 1891 at Hurtsboro.(sic) There were 8 work trains doing this work in a distance of 80 miles. I continued on this job until April 30, 1892, and we were camping in the section houses near Rutherford a flag stop neat the home of Mr. R.E. DeLACY, father of the girl who later became my life companion.

During the month of March, on the 18th, to be exact at the suggestiion of Pat Booth, our conductor, who boarded his family with Mr. and Mrs. DeLacy, I called on the DeLacy girls, Sallie and Lula and was very much smitten with them both but after two trips I decided that Lula was my choice, if I could get her to thinking my way.

On April 30, 1892 we came to Americus with our engine to have some repairs made and were not sent back. May 1st was on Sunday and I had to go to the shop and clean up my engine, which was the usual custom then.
On Monday I fired the switch engine in the Americus Yards for the late Ed
Hines, and on Tuesday May 3rd was sent to Helena to relieve Jim Bird who was doing the switching and caring for the engines that laid over in Helena for the night, and running to Alligator creek near Alamo for water for the
engines about twice each night. This job took about 16 to 18 hours each day with no overtime and paid $55.00 per month.

During this time I kept up a correspondence with my girl in Alabama, and made about two trips back to see her. We were engaged by letter as I never could get up courage enough on those trips to "pop" the question, and came home and wrote her. The same was true when it came time to ask her father the vital question. I wrote him also.

We were married on Wednesday night, November 23, 1892, on my 23rd birthday at her home, by the Rev. Mr. Solomon, an aged Methodist minister, and came to Americus on the noon train November 24th, where we spent the remainder of the week, with my father, mother and family, coming to Helena on Sunday November 26th. As there were no public hacks for hire, when we reached Helena we walked back down the railroad and up to the boarding house of Mrs. Goolsby, and with whom we boarded until January 15th, 1893 when we decided that $30.00 per month was too much to pay for board, and we started housekeeping, renting rooms in a house on the northside of Helena, which cost us $4.00 per month. We later moved into the section house, which was not being used by the section foreman. Our eldest daughter, Susie Emmett, Mrs. W.L. Bowen, was born in these house. This house was burned some years later.

Later we moved into a house, owned by C.B. Parker, of McRae,
which fronted the railroad, at $4.50 per month. This house has burned also.
We decided that the rent was too high and wanting to own our home, I bought a lot from Jas. D. Smith, agent for Henry P. Talmadge & Co., of New York, who had acquired nearly all of the vacant property in Helena, by a mortgage foreclosure, Talmadge having loaned The Americus Investment Co., $40,000 on the land Helena was built on, and had to foreclose his mortgage and buy in the property. The New York parties still own some lots in Helena but all of the best ones have been sold. I might add that Mr. J.D. Smith was postmaster and the leading merchant in Helena at that time with only one or two small competitors. Mr. Smith later married a Miss McRae of Abbeville, sister of the late Andrew McRae. They have been living in Plant City Florida for many years. Our little four room house was built on this lot in 1894, at a cost of about $400.00 and paid for out of my salary for one year, at $55.00 per month and an occasional trip on the main line at $3.60 per trip.

Our second daughter, Pearl, Mrs. J.H. Girardeau, was born in this house, and we lived there until April 1,1898. While living there I built the first sidewalk ever built in the town, one leading to the store of Mr. Smith and another to the freight depot in the yard where I did most of my work.

About this time the Town of Helena was incorporated, and a Mayor and council elected. Dr. O.W. Turner was the first Mayor, and James D. Smith was elected city clerk and treasurer, to start off the new town administration, but for some reason Mr. Smith declined to serve and I was given the place at the princely salary of $25.00 per year. I copied the town charter and all of the first ordinances enacted, in a large minute book in long hand with pen and ink. Some job

I do not remember how long I served as clerk, or who succeeded me.

When we came to Helena, there was no church of any denomination, and we attended services at McRae occasionally, walking from Helena to McRae and back, usually for the night services.

While Rev. C.D. Adams was pastor of the McRae Methodist church, he preached about once a month in Helena and in 1894 or 1895 he organized a church with 30 members, my wife and I joining as charter members, as neither of us had moved our membership from our old homes. I served as steward, trustee, and was a member of the building committee that selected a lot, for building a church. The Helena church stands on the lot now, but has been turned around, as it faced the railroad when first built, there being no street then from Helena to McRae, only a wagon road which ran diagonally across the hill by the college building, which was then under construction. After we got in our church building I served as Sunday school superintendent for a while.

In October 1895 I was promoted to the position of work train engineer and stationed at Huntington with a contractor from South Carolina named Strother improving the road bed from Americus to Desoto.

We were moved from there to Abbeville, running a work train and pile driver rebuilding the trestles on the Abbeville branch which had been taken over by the Georgia and Alabama or S.A. &M., I do not remember which owned it then. The late Mr. G.L. Moorhead, father of our fellow townsman R.L. Moorhead, and grandfather of Mrs. D.M. McRae, was my conductor or bridge foreman. This was just after the Fitzgerald colony had been started. While hauling gravel into the yards of the new town one day a house was burned near the railroad, and as they had no waterworks or fire protection we ran our engine as near the fire as possible and let them bail water our of the tender to fight the fire with.

While I was off on the work trains, my wife and two little daughters were at home alone, and I was not allowed to come home more than once a month.

Some time that year I was transferred to a work train near Lumpkin with another contractor, lowering the cuts and raising fills around Lumpkin. We stayed there until February 1897, and my wife and two little girls boarded with Mrs. Jason Tompkins and Mrs. J.Z. Deason. In February we moved back to Helena and I took the same job that I had left and kept it until March 1898, when my health gave our and I resigned and moved to Richland and engaged in the drug business with my brother-in-law, Tom Perryman. (Editor's note: This was Mary Lorena's husband.) We lived in Richland the balance of that year and until November 1899. Our son, DeLacy, was born in February 1899, and died in McRae September 1902. In November 1899 we moved back to Helena and I bought an interest in a saw mill with Julius King, located down on Sugar Creek near McRae and Helena. We moved the mill in January 1900 to what was known as Clark's bluff on the Oconee River, about 10 miles below Glenwood.

The price of lumber went down and that fall we moved the mill back to Helena and erected it on the lots where the Folsom & Tillman Warehouse now stands

In the spring of 1901 I became so dissatisfied that I sold my interest to Mr. King taking his note for $700.00 due in October and went back on the railroad then called the Seaboard Air Line. I worked on this road under four names, first Americus, Preston and Lumpkin, next The Savannah, Americus and Montgomery, next the Georgia and Alabama, and last, The Seaboard

I fired different runs, some passenger, but most of them freight runs, and was promoted in October to the switch engine in the Helena yard. About this time Mr. King told me that the note was due, and he could not pay it and proposed to sell me his Telephone exchange at McRae and Helena. I knew nothing of that kind of business, had only used a telephone a few times, but got my father, who was running into Helena and stopping with us, to get a day off and help me look at it and decide what I could do about it. He did this and as neither of us knew anything about the business it was all a leap in the dark, but I took the chance and traded with King for $1300, which took my note and I borrowed the rest from my father, but was never able to pay it back and I sold him a one fourth interest later on to pay the debt. I took charge of the telephone business on November 1, 1901, with 48 telephones and no lines that were working outside of the two towns, but there had been one to Lumber City which I put back in service on November 12th, and one to Alamo and Mt. Vernon put in service later on. The gross revenue from the telephone business was $72.50 per month when I took charge. I than had my wife and four children to support, my third daughter, Oneita, Mrs. W.W. Barrett, arriving just before we moved to McRae, with a day and night operator to pay and a lineman helper.

I seemed to have struck the telephone business in the right time, as the Bell Telephone Co., did not have a line or station south of Macon and the business began to build by leaps and bounds. My income was meager, but I sold my home in Helena, and my father and I sold two houses that we had built for rent in Helena and I used the proceed to buy wire, telephones and poles for increasing our business. I also borrowed various sums along from my father to use in extending our business, and sold him another one fourth interest to repay the loans.

After moving to McRae we lived in rented houses until I built our home on railroad street fronting the Harris hotel in 1906.

I continued to operate and expand the telephone business, building exchanges at Alamo, Chauncey, and buying one at Rhine. Also built one at Towns which was taken out later on account of failure to pay for the additional expenses.

My father and I were sole owners for a while, but later sold some stock after we incorporated in 1915, to get additional funds to pay for expenses.

After the death of father, in 1917, his stock wad divided between his heirs and my holdings were increased, and later when my mother died in 1923, her stock was divided between the six living children, increasing my stock to three fifths, or 300 of the 500 shares outstanding.

I do not remember the year it was, but I was elected a member of the McRae City Council sometime about 1905 or 1906, when the late T.J. Smith Sr. was mayor and the late W.H. Boothe clerk. During one of the years I served on the council and was chairman of the light and water committee, we moved the light plant from what was then known as Windsor park to the location now used by Telfair Ice company. We also installed crude oil engines and abandoned the steam plant and sold the boilers and engine. While serving as chairman of the water committee I had the old water tank washed inside and as no one else would go up to see if the job was done properly, I went up myself and made the inspection.

In July 1916, I was appointed sole commissioner of roads and revenues of Telfair county by legislative enactment, the late Matt Cook, Telfair's representative in the legislature making the appointment, and was sworn in on August 10 following. I served the remained of that year and the following four years, retiring on January 1, 1921.
As I had been working in double harness for more than four years, and giving up part of my burden, I was like a fish out of water for something to take up any spare time that I might have. As I always worked from 10 to 14 hours a day I was restless until February 1921 the newspaper in McRae was for sale, and my son-in-law, W.L. Bowen and myself, decided to buy it, which we did, and took charge on the 21st of that month.

Neither of us knew anything about running a newspaper. He was running the only jewelry store in town and had very little time then to spare, but I came across the street and spent a good part of each week for more than a year helping to get out the paper and look after the financial end of it.

I leased my interest in the paper to L.T. Proctor, who was foreman of the mechanical department, for one year and later for one year to Grover Wooten who had learned the printing business while working part time for the paper and the Telephone business, but after I sold the telephone property in 1928 I took charge until January 1st 1933 when I was again sworn in as sole county commissioner of Telfair county, having been elected by the grand jury at the October term 1932.

I served as commissioner for 1933 and 1934. In February 1934 our county courthouse was destroyed by fire and it became my duty to rebuild it. I also had to provide offices for the different court house officials and a place to hold the sessions of superior court, which placed a heavy burden on me. I had $38,000 of insurance from the burned building to use in rebuilding, and a more modern and much nicer building now stands where the old one burned, paid for out of the insurance money. I retired from this office on January1st, 1935, being succeeded by F.A. Smith, as I was not an applicant for re-appointment, the terms running for one year each at that time.

I sold out the telephone property in the spring of 1928 and gave up control on June 1st of that year.

Aside from my church connection, being a member of the McRae Methodist Church since 1902, I have been somewhat of a "joiner" of secret orders. I joined the Knights of Pythias in 1898 in Lumpkin; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1904, being a charter member of Twin City Lodge, which was very active for nearly thirty years, but has now quit business in McRae. I joined the Masonic lodge here in 1913, and took a dimit when the lodge went down and placed it with the Towns lodge. I was also a member of the Ku-Klux Klan for a while, but retired before they quit business here. I was also a charter member of the Improved Order of Red Men which operated
here for some years but now out of business. I was also a member of the
Woodmen of the World, but retired some time ago, and now only keep up my membership with the masons.

For a number of years my two sisters and three brothers and myself had annual reunions at one of lour houses, but this was abandoned several years ago and since one of our number passed away this year, March 13, 1936, the band is broken. We also started a letter, which we called "The Round Robin", in which each of us wrote a letter and sent the six letters around to one of the others, to be sent on by him or her to the next, but this practice died out.

At the close of this rambling manuscript, written from memory, our family consists of the following:

Susie Emmet, Mrs. W.L. Bowen, McRae.

Pearl, Mrs. J.H. Girardeau, McRae.

Oneita, Mrs. Walter W. Barrett, McRae.

Lucile, Mrs. Howell Mullis, Cochran.

Myrtle, Mrs. Wade Harbin, Adel.

Arrie, still at home with us.

Elaine, Mrs. E.C. Ryals, Jr., Abbeville.

Mary, Mrs. C.A. Ryals, Jr., McRae.

Joan, our baby, in school at Valdosta.

Mrs. Horton and I have always worked hard, but have taken care of our health and now at my age, 66, I am able to work ten hours each day six days in the week and feel very well all the time.

SOME NEAR ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF MY LIFE
While in railroad service I jumped from three different
locomotives that turned over while I was riding them as fireman, but escaped without injury.

While climbing poles, after I entered the telephone business, I had one pole to fall with me, but I was only badly shaken up and I jumped from another that broke into(sic) but landed on my feet without injury. I cranked our Chalmers automobile by hand and received a badly broken arm for my pains.

A RECORD TRIP TO ATLANTA
Some time in the summer of 1933, while acting as treasurer of
the Telfair county relief fund, which was being furnished by the Federal
government, but under the control of the Governor, I made a trip to Atlanta
to see Governor Talmadge in regard to it.

O.N. Tharp, Supt., of Schools, also had business in Atlanta, and I went with him in his auto, leaving here about 1:30 one afternoon. We reached Atlanta at 5 or 5:30, and I stepped out of Mr. Tharp's can on the sidewalk at the state capitol, as Mr. Tharp had planned to remain over until the next day he left me there. I went to the governor's office and transacted the business I had in mind and on his invitation went to supper with him, getting in the state's car on the curb neat the capitol. After supper, Adjutant General, Lindley Camp, came out to see the governor and volunteered to take me back to the Union Terminal station where I boarded a Southern Railway train which left there at 9:30. As I had mileage on the Southern, this was used for my fare and I reached McRea without having spent one penny, or even opening my pocket book. As I have always been rather economical in all my business dealings, I never spent very much on any of my trips, but this one made a record that I could not duplicate any more.

I was elected member of the board of trustees of South Georgia College and was serving when Hon. Braswell Deen was president, and after he resigned that office I was on the board and took part in closing the college and disposing of the property to the McRae-Helena school district.

After I sold my telephone business Mr. Deen and myself bought the Alma Times a small newspaper and put in a furniture store also, but the furniture business did not succeed and we closed it out. We operated the paper for a while and I sold my interest to Mr. Deen, and he still owns it. In 1902, my wife and I moved our church membership to the McRae Methodist church, and we were called upon to help pay off a debt on the parsonage. In 1928 a movement was launched to build a new church, and a number of us pledged $1,000 each. I paid my subscription and against my better judgement, with several others endorsed a note for $15,000 to the general board of church extension to get funds to complete the building. This was one of the greatest mistakes of my life. As this is written, May 1936, we are engaged in a drive to raise funds to pay this note in full, and some local obligations of long standing. If we get the mortgage note back we expect to have a public burning of it. My name will never go on another note as endorser, unless I am willing at the time to pay the note if is becomes necessary.

As I failed to remember the birth dates of my last six daughters I did not undertake to look up the record, but all of other were born in McRae. Five of them in our old home fronting the Harris hotel. (sic)

Finis