When the news of the terrible
catastrophe at the Cleveland school house in Kershaw county, S. C.,
was flashed over the wires on the morning of May 18, 1923, the first
impulse of the heart was to go as hastily as possible to the scene
and be of what help and comfort we could to the survivors, for there
we had spent our infancy, youth and prime of life, and here, if
anywhere, we had those near and dear to us by the ties of nature as
also by the ties of neighborly friendship. So, we were off as early
as we could leave Charleston, our adopted home, and as hastily as
possible began to go among those here, many of whom were also badly
wounded by falls or fire, and our soul was deeply grieved, and not
being able to do more to comfort' and cheer by personal visitation,
decided to write a little article for the papers, but each family
that was afflicted seemed worthy of more space than we usually took
for a writing. So we decided to write a little book and devote a
short chapter to each family, and we have done what we could in the
limited space to say something of each that would assuage their
sorrows, and with the hope in our heart that the purpose will be
accomplished, we dedicate these lines to' the memory of the dead,
and the survivors of the horrible calamity that made the whole
civilized world shudder with grief.
J.O. Moseley
The building in which
the holocaust occurred, that destroyed nearly four score souls at
Cleveland school house on the night of May 17, 1923, was six miles
southeast of Camden, S. C. It was built on property formerly
belonging to General Chestnut, who had his summer home a few hundred
yards away, where he had a gurgling spring of sparkling water
gushing from the hillside, where nearby was the old brick house,
long ago fallen in decay and the brick used for other purposes.
But some of the old frame buildings are still standing, to
remind one of those halcyon days, and the grounds still retaining
some of their pristine beauty, which was several acres in extent.
The school building was the fifth to be burned in the same
neighborhood, though not any of the others having been erected on
the same spot. Two were erected and burned at Mt. Olivet church, a
mile or more away. Then, to get away from the hoodoo, or whatever it
was that was causing the school buildings to be destroyed by fire,
the trustees decided to erect the third one on lands donated by Mr.
J. F. West, a mile or more from the church, and after two buildings
had been destoyed by fire on this spot, then it was decided to
rebuild on the site above referred to, which was about a mile from
the public road, and far removed from any clearings and out in the
wild woods, some having to make paths for their children to reach
the building by near ways.
Mr. F. H. Arrants, who lost an
adopted child, and many relatives and neighbors and friends in the
fire, was a school trustee at the time of the building of the house,
and it was built according to his plans, and at the time of the
building, was considered one of the best country school buildings in
the state and was noted for the scholarship attained by those
attending its sessions. The teacher selected to teach at Cleveland
always felt fortunate to be chosen to teach such bright boys and
girls, in such a neighborhood and in such a
building.
All can see the mistake
that was made in not having the stairway open into the lower hall,
instead of having it turn into the girls' cloak room, which was on
the east side of the porch that led to the main building, which
hallway also had a cloak room on the west side of it for boys. The
stairway also had a cloak room underneath it, which made it secure
against falling under strain, and had not this cloak room been
placed there, it would possibly have broken in and relieved the
congestion and enabled some to escape that could not, in the
circumstances.
The lower floor had a partition beginning at
the foot of the stairs, running across the building, forming a wall
for the turning into the cloak room, which was reached by a flight
of three steps from the main floor. The stairway turned abruptly
eastward up the north wall and was about thirty inches wide, and the
exit from the upper hall to the stairway was possibly four feet
wide.
The stage was at the
opposite end of this forty by twenty foot room, and was about eight
feet long and across the width of the building, and this was the
last act of the last play that was to be held in the building, as
another and more suitable one had been porcured a mile or so away,
which is known far and wide as the "Boykin Terraces", where
buildings, flowers, shrubs, terraces, walks, everything, remind one
that here once was an historic Southern home, where chivalry and
gentility met and where latterly Miss Charlotte Thompson had
restored it to its former glory; and had donated it, in part, to the
trustees and people of the community as a school building and
grounds, and no lovelier spot could have been chosen.
But,
alas, fate would have it that many that were to share in its
beneficent work were entrapped in the doomed building and engulfed
in the wicked flames, and many heroes were buried beneath its ruins,
and just as heroic were they who saved life and limb by standing at
the windows above and tossing loved ones and friends to heroes
below, who broke the fall of many that otherwise would have been
maimed for life, or possibly there and then been ushered into
eternity. Some, even, that were standing beneath the windows
catching those jumping from above were crushed to earth by the
weight of the fall and crippled for life.
A brother of the
writer, J. H. Moseley, who was responsible for the presence of two
young ladies at the entertainment, rescued both from the burning
building, and they three were catching those jumping from the
windows, when a heavy person jumped into the arms of one of the
ladies and crushed her to the ground, breaking a leg, and otherwise
injuring her, and then the brother had to leave off the work of
rescue and take her to the Camden hospital six miles distant, and
then take the sister to her home at Bishopville, more than twenty
miles distant, and report to her father the calamity that had
befallen his own home as well as nearly every home in the
surrounding country, and had brought sorrow to the whole state and
the civilized world, and just to mention almost any name on the list
of killed or injured or bereaved, brings a tinge of sorrow over the
soul of the writer, who knew most intimately nearly every one so
affected, for forty or more years of his life had been spent in the
community and for many years he was superintendent of a Sunday
school nearby, and was otherwise pleasantly associated with them.
Nearly half of those destroyed were closely related either by blood
or marriage, and those who were not so related were just as dear to
him as if they were fleshly kin.
We will mention them by
chapters, or families, as they appeared on the bulletin board at the
News & Courier office on the morning after the fire.
Mr. and Mrs. C. N. Humphries
They were both very
religious. They were both people of fine judgment. They were both
people of fine parentage. They were both people of the highest
integrity. They were faithful to God. They were faithful to their
children. They were faithful to their neighbors.
They had
started life together, with little besides indomitable spirits,
unquenchable zeal, dogged determination to succeed, and they settled
out in the woods a few miles from Camden, but it was not long before
folks knew where they lived, for here was quickly demonstrated the
truth of - the saying that if you do things in a worthy way the
world will make a path to your door.
Many times have we,
with many others, been edified by the teaching of the Bible class by
Mrs. Humphries at the old church that a few years ago was torn away
and replaced by the present building, that stands by the great new
made grave, which is a monument to the zeal and fidelity of this
faithful pair, more than to any other, and possibly to all others
combined, for they spared neither time nor means until they say to
completion the work to which they had placed their hands, and it was
this as with every endeavor in which they engaged, and the burden to
either did not seem great for they had a peculiar talent in sharing
their burdens and cares, and a task that would crush folks unequally
yoked together, seemed light to these pious friends.
They
soon built up a beautiful home, not only in its outward appearance,
but more beautiful in the inward purity, and there came to bless
them a large family of children, as devoted to mother and father and
to each other as could be found in the state. It seemed little
trouble and great pleasure for faithful parents to labor for
material gain and dispense it to those whom God had committed their
care; and they never seemed to tire in their efforts to advance the
interest of their children, religiously, socially, educationally,
and they seemed to have more time to devote to the happiness of the
community round about them than anybody else.
Whoever was
sick was ministered unto; whoever was friendless was befriended. In
fact, their endeavors for good were only limited by time and
circumstances. Many times the writer vividly remembers visits by the
pair to his home, when sickness or sorrow overtook us, and they were
visits as if angels had been sent from heaven, for who could lend a
helping hand or speak a word of comfort and cheer better than these
faithful friends and neighbors? The same service was rendered all
those in need of it that came to their
attention.
They had, at the time of
their deaths, graduated four of their children at standard colleges,
and another would soon have gone forth into the battle of life well
prepared to measure up to every requirement of the coming days,
which are so fraught with mighty tasks that will call for a high
standard of intelligence, as well as great moral courage, and all
these qualities are theirs in double measure, for both father and
mother were pure gold.
Dr. Alva Humphries is a successful
physician at Bethune. Mr. Arthur Humphries is a leading educator,
being principal of the Kershaw graded schools. Tom Humphries, who
died the death of the hero that he was, trying to rescue his
parents, was at the time of his death assistant cashier of the Bank
of Camden, where he went as teller upon his graduation from college.
One of the reasons for his selection as a member of the
staff of this successful and popular institution was the fact that
the father told the cashier to honor any draft that either of his
boys might draw on him for funds while at college, and the cashier,
who was very zealous of funds entrusted to his care, warned Mr.
Humphries that his boys might impose upon his liberality and use too
much of his deposits. Whereupon, Mr. Humphries told him that if
either of his boys was that kind that he would be willing to lose
all the funds he had on deposit at any one time to find it out, and
that would end his dealings with him. But none have ever betrayed
that implicit trust and are honoring the good name bequeathed them,
which is to be preferred to great riches. Charlie, Jr., soon to
graduate from Wofford college, is a worthy successor to the
name.
Little Frank, a mere
lad, upon seeing that his father and mother had perished in the
flames, rushed to the car and hurriedly went for Dr. Humphries, 25
miles away, and in about one hundred minutes, was back at the spot
where lay the charred remains, and this alone, and through a wooded
country, which shows the true metal of which he is made. Lorena, we
wish we could do or say something that would assauge your bleeding
heart and suffering soul. You were the personification of your noble
parents. Is that enough for us to say? I think
so.
Miller L. McLeod was reared on an adjoining
farm to ours, and Mamie, his wife, was reared on the farms adjoining
ours on the opposite side from where Miller was reared. Either of
them could hear our voices, as we called the pigs or calves, or sing
our little morning song. Even after we had gone away to make our own
home, they could hear our voice as it wafted over the morning dew,
as we called our help for the day's tasks.
These two
relatives (Miller, our double first cousin, and Mayme's wife's first
cousin) had a few years ago married. Soon they built a cozy little
five-room cottage, nicely painted, in the midst of a four-acre grove
of sapling pines on a beautiful mound, which faced the public road
and made it one of the most desirable sites for a pretty residence
to be found anywhere. Well here, amidst such surroundings, and
endowed with natural wit and jovial disposition, they had set
themselves to the task of rearing a family in the nurture and
admonition of God, when suddenly, all but little "Dot", who jumped
from the burning building and was caught by a friend, were
destroyed, and the pretty little cottage stands amidst the sapling
pines, that a few years ago were brought forth to their resurrected
glory by the death of the pine mass that gave them their present
beauty.
We trust that the death
of Miller and his wife and sweet children has only released their
souls to a brighter and sweeter life beyond. They were both generous
to a fault, and ever craved the championship of friends, and few had
more friends than they, or were more worthy of
friendship.
Eugene, as we called him, was reared in an
adjoining neighborhood and was one of a large family, all of whom we
know pleasantly, even before he married and moved into the Beulah
neighborhood. We attended the same church, went to the same picnics
and talked to the same girls when we were boys.
Then, at the
age of seventeen, we, with a brother, went to Thompson military
school at Siler City, N. C. Eugene was among the first to greet us
and give us a welcome that we shall never forget, for it was our
first trip so far from home, and we needed all the help we could get
to keep us from getting too homesick. We were intimate friends as
long as we were at school, and then he married Miss Margaret Wilson,
who was at one time teacher of the Cleveland school. They together
purchased a tract of land a few miles southeast of Camden on which
stood a double penned log house with framed rooms built to the back,
and no porch in front. Both taught school and did other work to
finish paying for the tract of land, and when they had paid for it,
they set about to build up the farm and home.
It was not
long before they had torn away the old log cabin and erected inits
stead a beautiful mansion of the latest type, and it was hedged
about by beautiful privet bushes, which were kept well trimmed.
Flowers adorned the porch, the yard, and everywhere you looked there
was something to gladden the eye. The house was fitted with water
works, and every convenience known to the country home. They were
not satisfied with scrub cows, hogs, stock or poultry. So they had
the finest money could buy of each and many different breeds of
poultry, which were kept in separate pens, was a delight-to the
visitor, and every phase of their farm life was in consonance with
these mentioned.
Mr. Brown was called on
to serve his community in many capacities, and we recall that he was
demonstration agent and county commissioner of roads. He won many
prizes at fairs on his poultry, etc., and prizes on acres of corn,
etc.
Mrs. Brown served
acceptably in many capacities, and was, at the time of her death, a
member of the county board of education.
We shall never forget
the cordiality of the friendship of Mr. and Mrs. Brown. We remember
once having been invited to serve on a committee to measure the
ground and the product of an acre of corn for Mr. Brown, who was in
a state contest for the largest production. When the committee
arrived, Mr. Brown had already staked off the acre, as he thought,
but upon investigation, the committee found that he had
undermeasured it. So they proceeded to add as many rows as necessary
to make up the deficiency, and they had trouble in convincing Mr.
Brown that he was about to cheat himself out of at least two rows of
corn. The error occurred by his not having the measurement square.
They had one of the most up-to-date country homes in the state, and
his last work was at a reaper and binder that he had just started to
harvesting his magnificent oat crop.
They left no children,
but many near relatives and friends to mourn their tragic
end.
Chapter 4
S. J.
West
Shell, as we called
him, was reared about a mile from us and we had never known a better
boy. He was industrious almost to a fault. For several years after
his maturity he kept bachelor's hall, doing his own cooking, and by
industry and frugality, had soon accumulated a nice little start,
and then he married a teacher of the neighboring school, Miss
Ratterree, and together they purchased a nice tract of land, upon
which they had erected a nice settlement and began the rearing of a
family, the most noble calling of man and woman.
The
devotion of each to the other and both to their children, and
especially, Shell's devotion to his brother, Lee, was an example
worthy of imitatio nby any brothers, and Lee will be sure to see
that Shell's family will have every needed protection and help.
Shell left his business affairs in fine shape, and a good set of
laborers to carry on the farm work.
Mrs.
West escaped death by jumping from the second story window,
or climbing down the flag pole, and her mother, who is over 70, also
slid down the pole, but was crippled by the fall. Shell had one
sister and several near relatives burned, to be mentioned in other
chapters.
Once we went to a big fish fry and, after eating
all we wanted, the writer was designated to divide the rest of the
catch among those present, overlooking Shell, who was just a small
boy, and we never forgave ourselves for being so thoughtless as to
overlook anyone, especially the smallest boy. We did not detect the
oversight till it was too late to correct it.
When we wanted help to
repair or repaint the church, Shell was right there, as he was in
every good cause. A true yoke fellow has gone to his
reward.
Thelma and Rebecca West
These were dear, sweet
children of Mr. and Mrs. L. M. West, and nieces of S. J. West. Their
father was, and is, one of our dearest friends, and their mother was
for years a teacher at Cleveland.
Thelma was fifteen the day of the tragedy and
Rebecca was thirteen. Pony, ten, and Lee,
Jr., are left for the fond parents to bestow their love, their care
and their training, which will make it easier for their wounded
hearts to be healed by time.
These precious girls had given
their hearts to God, and were being taught by their fond parents the
high principles of life which alone will take us safely through the
sin-cursed world and land us into the bosom of our Father, from
whence we came. They can't return, but we can go to
them.
J.
E. Pearce
We could write a book
about Jess Pearce and of his parents; we
could speak about his brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, and
friends, but space will not permit us to say more than that Jess was
true as steel and Mrs. Pearce, who was Miss Nellie Simpson, and had
long been a teacher at Cleveland school, has the sincerest sympathy
of all in the tragic death of a true husband, who had built up a
nice home right in sight of the place where she had spent so many
profitable months in serving her community as teacher. God will be
husband to the widow.
Mrs. J. R. Phillips and three
children
Mrs.
Phillips first married Mr. J. W. Murchison, son, who was an uncle to the writer's wife, by
whom she had two children, one of whom, a daughter, is in Chile, S.
A., as a missionary. The other, a son, is completing his education
in Tennessee.
Mrs. Phillips is
survived by her second husband and two children by Mr. Phillips,
having lost three in the fire that took the mother.
Mrs.
Phillips was ever ready to lend a helping hand to the sick and at
the last illness and death of our mother a few years ago, her
constant attention and help was highly appreciated, and her kindly
disposition and jovial nature will be sadly missed from the
community from which she was so suddenly and tragically taken. Ruth
will miss her. Robert will miss her, Johnnie will miss her. Mr.
Phillips will miss her most, and Louise, in faraway Chile, will
never see her smiling face again this side of eternity. We will all
miss her.
Charlie Hendrix
Mr.
Hendrix moved into this community about 25 years ago from the
Bethune neighborhood, where he was born about 45 years ago. He had
not been here long before he wooed and won Miss Minnie Hendrix for
his bride, and it was not long before they had purchased a little
home among the oaks. Here they erected a modest building and worked
hard.
He was straight in his dealings, harmless as a dove,
never having been in any difficulty, always pleasant to meet, ever
ready to greet you with a smile.
He lost his wife a year
or so ago, and had his sister keeping house for him and looking
after the motherless children. They all had gone to enjoy
the night entertainment and, lo,
and behold, not a one was left to drive the mule and buggy back to
the home that night, and when some other person took it there the
next day, there was none to receive it. A home without a soul left,
where happiness and contentment resigned a few tours
before.
An industrious citizen
has gone to his reward, a whole family reunited in a have not
rest.
M.
B. McLeod
His father and our
grandmother were brother and sister. He was an uncle of M. L. and E.
G. McLeod, with whom he was spending some time. As his wife, who was
also our first cousin, had recently died and he was spending the
time among his children and friends.
For most of his life he
was an overseer of large plantations, and he had good succees in the
management of labor, and his help always thought lots of him, for he
was ever as kind as circumstances would permit.
He is
survived by three children, Capt. Alfred McLeod of Camden, who came
within one vote of being elected major of South Carolina militia
last year; Robbie, who lives in Alabama, and is blind from being
gassed in France during the World War, and Mrs. B. G .Cannon of
Camden, S. C. Mr. McLeod was also the father of Captain Eben McLeod,
who died during the World War. These dear friends and relatives left
behind have the sincere sympathy of every one in their great sorrow.
Mr. McLeod was over 70 years old.
Mr. and Mrs. B. G. McLeod
Burnell and Eva were
known to us from chidhood. Burnel was the baby boy at his father's
house, but being the baby boy did not spoil him, for he was one of
many children and they were all taught to dig for themselves and do
anything that came to hand.
His father was one of the best
nurses for the sick of the community while he was able to do such
work. Many nights did he pond waiting on the sick of our father's
family, and the children of each family seemed alrnost like brothers
and sisters to each other, for we were not only near neighbors but
double first cousins as well. Many afternoons on their way from
school would the McLeod children stop and beg our parents to let us
go and spend the night with them, and many times we were allowed the
sweet privilege of having that kindness bestowed upon us as only a
McLeod could bestow it. They were as generous to friends as the
Father is generous with the air we breathe, or the water we drink.
Burnell seemed to cultivate the habits and good traits of
his parents, and glory in his overflowing generosity. When he won
Eva for his bride we knew he had a jewel, for she was schoolmate and
chum of our eldest daughter; and we grieve almost as much for her as
if she were our very own, for from early childhood we were with her
Sunday after Sunday, year in, year out. At church and Sunday school
the Bruce children could always be counted on to be present and with
the best lessons and best behavior, whether mother or father were
present or not.
Eva had a dear sister, Irene (Mrs.
Truesdel), severely burned, and another, Ethel, severely bruised by
jumping from the upstairs window, who may be injured for life. All
three of these
had good preparation for
teaching, at which they were apt, and all had busied themselves at
this calling till Cupid came along and took Eva and Irene into his
trap, and only Ethel, a graduate of Winthrop college, was still
teaching at the time of the tragedy.
Their father was a
successful teacher for many years and auditor of Kershaw county for
a number of years and was highly esteemed for his good works. Mrs.
Bruce was as patient and kind as a mother could be. Eva left nine
brothers and sisters (already orphaned by the death of Mr. and Mrs.
P. T. Bruce), as follows: Alex, who was among the last ones to leave
the burning building, after doing all he could to extinguish the
flames after the lamp exploded, and failing in this, began letting
down women and children through the upstairs windows to the ground,
holding them by the hand and lowering them as far as he could and
then letting them fall.
He came very near being carried head
foremost to the ground by a stout lady that he had lowered, and
could not get loose from the hold she had on his arm. Tom, John,
Charlie, Claburn, Kate and Sarah, besides those mentioned above,
each of whom we would like to speak of more at
length.
Mrs. Brit Croft
Mrs.
Croft was known before ber marriage to Brit, as we called
him, as Miss Lula Branham. The Branhams are known far and wide as
men of honor frugality and industry. Only a year or so ago the
father had the misfortune of losing a large quanity of baled cotton
that he had stored under a shed, upon which he carried no insurance.
This loss represented the hard and honest toil of two years
for himself and family, but this property loss, though severe, was
as nothing as compared to the loss of his dutiful child in the angry
flames, Our heart goes out to the motherless children and bereft
husband, for we were pleasantly associated in business for quite a
while with Brit, and when his mother died he seemed to look to us,
in some measure, to help him overcome the handicap of coming into
manhood without her beneficent influence. We never tired of having
him in our home, or in our business, and he always proved faithful
to us. May God comfort his soul and guide the
children.
Wesley Hendrix
Mr.
Hendrix was, at the time of his death, an overseer of Pine
harm, one of the most beautiful farms to be found, belonging to Mr.
H. G. Garrison, father to the mayor of Camden.
Mr. Hendrix
had only one child and she was taking a leading part in the
entertainment, and was possibly as bright a girl as the community
afforded, and she was the idol of her parents' hearts.
Mr.
Hendrix had made his escape from the burning building, when he
perceived that his only child was unrescued. He rushed back into the
flames and they perished together. Mr. Hendrix was heard to say,
"watch me die with her".
They left wife and mother alone
except for the presence of the aged father of Mrs. Hendrix, who was
staying on Pine farm to aid Mr. Hendrix in his work. Thus, perished
Charlie and all his children, and Wesley and all he had except his
wife and a brother that lived in a faraway city.
But the
mutual friendship existing between us will be fragrant as long as
memory shall last, for we lived in sight of each other for twenty
years or more. Wesley Hendrix was an honest and upright man, and we
need say no more.
Mrs. Grace Rhoden
When we read the list of
the dead we did not dream that the Mrs.
Rhoden whose name appeared had reference to one we had known
from childhood to womanhood as Grace West. We did not know that it
was Grace that had been caught in the holocaust until we reached
Camden from Charleston on the following evening, and we were so
utterly unprepared for it that it seemed as if the shock was greater
than that of any other single death, for she was reared, you may
say, right under our eye.
Every time we went to church we
saw her. Every time we went to market we would see her when she was
a bright little girl about her mother's knee, for our road to church
and market passed by her father's home. She was the apple of her
father's eye as a child and though he was the father of a large
family, and all were loved and respected and were worthy of all
honor, it seemed as if Grace was the angel of the home.
She
had carried her winsome ways and Christian character into womanhood,
and even in death, she seemes to shine more brightly, for she left
an imperishable impress upon those who knew her most intimately, and
they are the one who loved her most. She was a most devout Christian
and she was a sister of Mr. Shell West, who lost his life at the
same time; also Mr. L. M. West, who lost two bright girls, and Mrs.
J. E. Rush, who lost a bright boy, Jack; Mrs. Anderson of Hampton,
S.C., who was so well and favorably known as Miss Annie West; Mr.
Walter West, Dr. Carl A. West, and Troy West, all of whom are
bringing honor to their alma mater, Cleveland.
This is one
of the largest and most honorable family connections in Kershaw
County.
Mrs. Andrew Campbell
We did not realize that
we knew this estimable lady until we were at the station awaiting
the train that was to take us back to Charleston, when our good
friend, Mr. Gus Lollis, who was Mrs. Campbell's father, told us that
it was the same dear little woman who, as a girl, had assisted her
grandmother, Mrs. William Lollis, in waiting on the guests at the
Lollis House, where we, with many others, were often served
toothsome meals, while in attendance upon court as a juror or in
town on business at meal time. Now she is being served by a heavenly
host, and no more will we eat at the same table till we, too, shall
cross the bar. We sorrow with the husband and with the father and
all the rest that knew and loved her. We are sorry that we did not
know Mr. Storey Campbell's daughter, but we knew Stoney; we knew his
father before him, and we knew all of his brothers, if not by name,
we knew them by the family resemblance. They were such fine fellows
we are glad we can sympathize with them, for just three years ago a
darling boy was tragically snatched from our own home and our own
heart.
Chapter 15, 16, 17 are missing
Mrs. Walter Davis and children
Leaving the old home
place, where we romped and played and worked in our boyhood days, we
first came to the home of Uncle Ashmore McLeod, where the afternon
before the fire, B. G. McLeod, his wife and little child were happy
in the contemplation of what life held in store for them, but the
morning after the home was closed and it was sad to pass it by and
no one there to greet you, no one to feed the chickens, who were
sauntering about as if in search of Eva; and there sat the rocking
chair on the front porch just as she had left it on the fatal night.
Out about the barnyard there was no one to feed the hogs or
look after the cows and mules, and a look of desolation was
everywhere in evidence. A few hundred yards away was Miller McLeod's
place, having no one to open unto you the door that always stood
ajar for a friend, and that was sad. But about 400 feet from that
spot we were to meet a sadder picture still.
For here Walter Davis
had spent many years in building up a beautiful home, years he had
spent in toil for those he loved, and now he had been called home to
find it vacant of his devoted wife, a sweet Christian woman, and
without guile, and three sweet children swallowed up in the
flames.
Well the agony of soul
through which our neighbor and kinsman was passing is beyond
description and also beyond comprehension, except to those who have
passed through like sorrow. There was his fine Duroc hogs. There was
his poultry. There were fine cows, fresh in milk. There were the
beautiful flowers in the yard, on the porch, everywhere. There were
the things about the house placed in order by the deft hand of his
own dear wife, and there the tracks of his own dear children.
He had recently gone to a tuberculosis hospital for
treatment, and how could he stand the strain to his physical
strength as well as the weight that was pressing down upon his very
soul? Did you ever hear a man cry whose soul was in deep anguish?
Well, we heard it on the morning of our visit to this home, that the
day before was happy, but now desolate, and disconsolate, for no
words were able to console him and it was a full day before he could
see how he could leave the spot made hallowed by the work and walk
of his bosom companion and the prattle and companionship of his
children and the flowers and things so fragrant with the aroma of
spring, and yet sweeter still, with the association of loved ones
now no more.
But he overcame it in due time and before we
returned to our home in the City by the Sea he was wending his way
back to the place where a hope was held out that some day he might
be well again, but with a hope that was brighter and sweeter still
that some day he would be reunited to those whom fate had torn
asunder, and the two bright children who had been bereftt of a
faithful mother were placed in the home of a brother, W. S. Davis,
of Columbia, where they will be cared for as best they can.
But there can be no one to take the place in their little
lives that was so well filled by their own dear mother, who in every
good word and work was superb, and many besides the immediate
friends will mourn the death of this good woman and her bright
little lambs that Jesus has taken into his lap.
Grace Arrants
This little girl we
don't well remember, but we do remember the foster parents, and we
know how devoted they have always been to those they seek to extend
parental care to. Grace is just one of
several that have been cared for in this good home, and any child
bereft of parents, or even parents having more children than they
can properly care for, the child of such a home would be fortunate
to fall into the hands and home of Mr. and Mrs. F. H. Arrants. They
always took great delight in the religious as well as the secular
training of their foster children, and also took great interest in
the educational facilities of the community. We feel sure that the
hearts of both bled with sorrow, not only for the loss of Grace, but
for the others as well, and out of a heartfelt sympathy, we express
the hope that they coin see the hand of God in it all.
Mrs. R. L. McCaskill
She was known to us all
as Miss Kate Brown, and a beautiful and
dutiful girl she was. We know she made Bob, as we called him, a
faithful helpmate. When we began to stroll around Camden the first
morning of our visit after the fire, we saw a car dash by and a
brother of Robert was driving the car and Robert sat on the rear
seat. We came near not recognizing him at first, so changed was his
countenance from the ordeal through which he was passing, but as
soon as we saw it was "Bob" his features soon looked natural to us,
and we could only say that we were so sorry for him and shed a tear
of grief, for Bob and Kate were both friends that we prized very
highly, and we feel sure Bob will get comfort from the thought that
a bright and beautiful character has appeared spotless before
God.
Emily Trapp, eleven, and Vera, nine, were sweet little daughters of Mr.
and Mrs. D. S. Trapp who were born and reared in the Antioch section
of Kershaw County, a few miles east of Cleveland.
Mr. Trapp
is now a prominent business man of Camden and Mrs. Trapp, who before
her marriage to Mr. Trapp, was Miss Cora Davis, who is closely
related to the Smith and Davis families that are so numerous thruout
(throughout) this whole section of South Carolina and have done
much for its development.
United States Senator E. D. Smith
is a relative of Mrs. Trapp. We were very fond of Mr. Trapp's
brothers and only sister when we attended the old Gum Spring School
together as well as church and Sunday school and all of these are
making good in the world, the brothers as business men in Camden,
and the good sister as the wife and home maker for our good friend,
Ex. Supt. of Education J. McKenzie, who is now also a leading
business man of Camden.
We heard a friend of the family
remark that they were the most pleasing children she had ever known,
and we did not think it strange for they had inherited a jovial
disposition from their fond parents, and even their grand parents
before them were pleasing to meet and to greet.
Jesse Smith, Jr.
Jesse was a six-year-old lad when we saw him
last, but now he would have been 13 the Thursday following the fire.
When we drove up to the house where Jesse's mother was and where the
other children were, Clyburn, Alzora and the rest, the father of
Jesse had walked over the way to a brother's house, but was soon on
the spot, for the loss of Jesse had been just as terrible a blow to
these fond parents and these sisters and brothers as had been the
blow to the other afflicted ones of the community.
It was
one of the redeeming features of the situation that each family in
the community could deeply sympathize with every other family, and
thus, it seemed that each other' burdens were lightened as their
sympathies: were extended those in like circumstances. Well, Jesse
was a bright little man, and has uncles, aunts, cousins, friends
aplenty to mourn his goings.
It comes very near home to us
for his father was wife's uncle and all the family connections were
dear friends to us. Many times has Jesse's grandfather come over and
spent the day with us, often spending the night as well. We recall
that on a very windy February night the howling of the wind kept
sleep from his brow and he would call occasionally to us and express
wonder that we could sleep in the midst of such howling
wind.
Jesse and his people are
related to U. S. Senator Smith, and the late Bishop Coke Smith, and
has other relatives scattered over the state and elsewhere to mourn
his death.
Children of Mr. and Mrs. C. K.
McCaskill
We remember very little
about these children, but we visited the afflicted home, where the
father was unable to walk, with a large burn on his back, and Boykin
McCaskill, brother, was crippled badly by the jump from the window
of the second floor.
Here we talked with the grief stricken
father and uncles of the children, and we know they were all well
nigh heartbroken by the tragedy that had not escaped this home,
erected by the grandfather of the children when we were a little
tot, forty or more years ago.
Here we met several friends of
the long ago that had come to offer sympathy and lend a helping hand
and here we were mingling with those who helped to make our boyhood
joyeous, for we were reared just across the creek and could hear
Alex, Sam, Murdock and Kenneth sing their morning songs as they
plowed the fields in the early part of the newborn day, and with
them, rode the goats, wexnt to school and in swimming and to see the
girls together.
They all made stalwart men and men to make
the community proud of them. The grandfather of the children, now
long gone to his reward, seems more a true man than ever, as our
memory reverts to him, as it constantly does.
Alex, the oldest of the
boys, and C. K., the youngest, have remained on the old home place
and added to it other tracts, till now they have a large estate,
some in Lee county, while Sam and Murdock moved to Camden, where
they have been in business for many years, Sam in the shoe business
and Murdock has been treasurer of Kershaw for many years and just
started on a new term, to which he was elected last summer.
The eldest sister died
recently, after having reared quite a family, and Janie and Lou and
Mary complete the list of those reared in the home made desolate by
the absence of these dear children, that had for a few years
brightened and gladdened it, and where the little things that they
wore, little toys that they used at play, and the little tracks that
they made, will constantly remind them that these voices that they
loved are stilled and their clatter and chatter will be heard no
more.
Ima Arrants
When our mother was
having her last illness, over three years ago, Ima passed by her
home each day on her way to school, and she always wanted to know
how Aunt Laura was and when mother thought of what she wanted done
with her faithful old buggy horse, Mary, she said to Ima's mother,
whom she knew would be kind to the old animal, that she was
hers.
Ima was a very bright
17-year-old girl, and when we visited the afflicted home we heard of
her heroic efforts to save herself and save her little brother, but
finding it impossible to extricate herself and save the boy, too,
she forced the boy through a small opening that remained at the top
of the pile of humanity, and thus saved his life. But a that, the
child's arms were burned to a crisp to its elbows and the mother of
Ima saved her own life by jumping from the upstairs window, but was
crippled and possibly otherwise injured for life. But here we found
a stern determination to bestow upon those left behind all the
loving care and training to make of them useful men and women. Ima
was a niece of M. L. and B. G. McLeod and grand-niece of M. B.
McLeod, who were also burned to death in this disaster, mention of
whom has already been made.
Mrs. W. M. Brown
This lady was a
bridesmaid at our wedding twenty-five years ago. Not very long
afterward she changed her name from Miss Florida Thompson to Mrs.
Brown, and four sweet children had blessed her home, and now three
of these are left motherless, and Willie is bereft of his bosom
companion.
The reader might think
we exaggerate when we speak of these dear friends, but we have never
seen a community so filled with unselfish folks, and folks worthy of
an abler pen than ours to picture the loftiness of character and
largeness of soul of those that perished in those flames, and we
feel sure that these good folks have suffered all the burning ever
to be meted out to them.
Mrs. Thomson lost a
sister and her husband and two of their children, all on the same
farm, seven in all. But here, too, are some left to love and cheer
the faiting heart of father and to be loved and cared for by
him.
Mr. And Mrs. A. R. Davis and two
children
Mr. Davis was such a
jovial fellow and his wife so good natured that you would have to
hunt a long time to find a couple better fitted to travel life's
road together. They were just such father and mother from whom you
would expect to find just such a boy as Thompson Davis proved
himself to be on the morning when he made the heroic statement that
he would do what he could to take the place of father and mother who
perished in the flames with two of their bright little ones, and had
left five orphan children, and he the largest, only in his teens.
Mrs. Davis, nee Miss Hallie Thompson, was a very dutiful
girl, even tempered and kind to all, and always ready to do her part
in every good work; came from sturdy parents, used to the hard life,
and her mother still lives, though feeble, and will be there in the
home, almost helpless, to look after the children as best she can,
and by the Providence of God to arrange things that an uncle of the
children will be there to look after their interests as well as an aunt, Miss
Lottie, who married Mr. Quinly of Chester, but he died in January.
They had no children.
Coroner Dixon and daughter, Clara (Dixon)
Mr.
Dixon had been coroner for many years, and held this office at the
time of his death. He was known all over Kershaw County and though
stooped by the drawing of muscular rheumatism, was always pleasant
to meet, and he always exercised cool judgment in emergencies. We
remember once having been drawn on a coroner's jury to place the
crime of the murder of a woman in sight of our farm.
We had
put the suspect under arrest before the arrival of the officers, and
had tied him to keep him from escaping, but upon arrival of the
coronor we turned the supect over to the designated person and it
was less than five before the suspect jerked loose from the officer
and made a break for the swamp a half mile away. But he was captured
and brought back, the guilt placed at his door and finally convicted
and electrocuted. The coronor was as calm as if nothing was
happening.
We tried to visit him when we were in the
community, and he seemed to always appreciate our coming, and the
last visit we made there, more than two years ago, we remember what
a bright, sweet girl Clara was, who at the time of her death was
blooming into young womanhood, with every promise of a bright future
before her. But alas, her mother is left without a girl child and
without her devoted husband, and we sorrow with her as we do also
with the three dear boys who have lost their only sister and the
father of them all.
Mrs. L. T. Dixon and two children
Here we are to chronicle
the death of another patient mother, loving wife, and friendly
neighbor. Many times have we been in her home, and never have we
found her out of sorts, or crabbed or cross. She had a large family
and most of them girls, and they were always sent to school and to
church neatly and nicely dressed. Refinement was in her face and in
her manners, and we are proud that we had the privilege to cheer her
on her way as her tasks seemed hard, and we feel sure that on the
day before this fateful night she had worn herself almost to
exhaustion making preparations for her bright children to appear in
their proper role in the play and properly dressed as they always
were.
Mrs. Dixon was the daughter of Mr. T. W. Brown, an old
Confederate soldier now in his 78th year, and who lost another
daughter, Mrs. R. L. McCaskill, one daughter-in-law, Mrs. W. L.
Brown, and four grandchildren.
This, in truth, was the
only place we wanted to stay, for here there seemed to be need
beyond anywhere we had been. There, on one farm, had occurred eleven
deaths in a night, and every crop on the place needed attention
right now, and as these folks did most of their own work, the need
seemed appalling. It was at least appealing, and the need of comfort
was far more urgent than the call for material or physical aid. L.
T. Dixon said it in a way that left no doubt that he craved human
sympahty and human companionship far beyond his need of physical or
material aid, and above all, he craved the solace that comes alone
from God.
Mrs. T. L. Dixon and two children
Mrs. Dixon was the
daughter of Mrs. James Burgis and a niece of Mrs. Wesley Hendrix.
When we moved from the neighborhood seven years ago they had just
married, and now they had a family of three children, and now Lem is
left with only one child.
Lem himself is disconsolate, for
even as school children, he and Teresa were very fond of each other.
In fact, we have heard it remarked that he rarely said anything to a
person at school except to her, and that she rarely conversed with
anyone except Lem. So it is no wonder that his mind is dazed, his
heart broken, and his soul crushed, when they had known each other
for eight years in the sweetest of all earthly relations, that of
man and wife, and to add to that the loss of two darling children,
that were as dear to him as any of ours ever were to us, was enough
to utterly crush one's spirit, except it can take hold of a higher
power.
Her aged grandfather and
auntie live just across the branch and they, too, will miss her, and
her father and mother will sorely miss her, for she was the only
child of the home for a number of years. But finally there came
another to bless it, and but for this fact, the loss would be the
sadder still, and the little child is left motherless and the home
is desolate under any circumstance with mother gone, not to
return.
Mrs. S. L.
Dixon
Just at this writing we
don't recall who it was that Shafter married, but Shafter was the
son, we believe the only son, of L. T. Dixon, who lost so heavily of
kin in the fire. Shafter not only lost his only child, but wife as
well, and you can imagine how lonely he feels if you have ever been
through a like experience, but not otherwise. Shafter was one of our
bright Sunday school boys several years ago, and now he has grown to
be a useful man to the community, and much sympathy is felt for him,
as he had to share so heavily in the toll of life made by the
Cleveland fire, where he had received his education, and now he is
left without either wife or child to comfort and cheer him in his
lonely condition.
Child of Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland Godwin
We only knew this child
in infancy, but had known its mother and father since they were
little ones and they were near neighbors to us, when we moved to,
Sumter seven years ago. These good friends are living on the same
farm now. Mr. Godwin is the overseer of the Dunlap place for Dr.
Brasington of Camden, and the doctor values him very highly. They
both are highly regarded for their real worth.
In this connection it
many not be out of place to mention the heroic work of Dr.
Brasington, for whom Cleveland Godwin worked, in handling the
crisped bodies of the dead, and itis said that he handled nearly
every one of the vast number, digging them out of the hot coals and
ashes and rolling them in white sheets and preparing them for
burial. This was a herculean task and called for heroism as well as
physical endurance beyond the ordinary to accomplish such a feat
almost alone.
Mr. and Mrs. Sowell's two
children
These were bright girls,
one 13 years of age and the other 8.
We were shown their
pictures, recently taken, and they were beautiful of face and
perfect of figures. The beautiful flowers that adorned the room was
only emblematical of that purity of life beholden in the .face and
features of the tivo, And these only faintly represented those
girlish virtues found in this pious country home.
Mr. and
Mrs. Sowell reside at the old homestead of his father, Mr. B. F.
Sowell, who about twenty years ago purchased the old Truesdel place
and soon made of it one of the model country homes of Kershaw
county, not only in its outward appearance, but also in its inward
purity, and now he has passed to his reward and these two were
rearing a family worthy o fth egood name borne by the large family
connections throughout Kershaw county and there were, no hearts made
sadder by this terrible disaster than these faithful parents' hearts
were, and deserving of deeper sympathy.
Dan was superintendent
of the Beulah Sunday school, where lie buried not only his own dear
children, but many of those who from Sunday to Sunday he was trying
to pilot to a higher and more serviceable life, and we dobut if any
one in the whole community suffered deeper grief than he and his
faithful wife, who was ever ready to join her husband in every good
work.
Ora
Belle Hinson, eleven and J. C.
Hinson, nine, were children of Mr. and Mrs. James Hinson and
these friends have a very wide connection thruout (throughout)
Kershaw couny and especially in the West Wateree Section. They had
moved into the Cleveland community as much for the educational
advantages as any other, and the Hinsons were noted far and wide for
their industry and frugality and were fond of attending to their own
business and they have the sympathy of a host of friends in the loss
of these very bright lights in the home.
Little Frank Hinson was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Hughey
Hinson and was a first cousin of the other two just mentioned and
was just as dear to the heart of his fond parents as were those of
any of the victims, and we share their grief as do many others
thruout Kershaw county.
Ella Barnes
The mother of this girl
was named for our own mother, and was mother's niece, and had spent
many days in our home when we were children, or young folks
together. We knew Ellen's father intimately and we are sorry that it
was not so that we could remain long enough to go out to Luncknow to
see them in their great sorrow. But the fact that Ellen's mother was
named Laura is enough to make us drop a tear of sympathy, and at the
same time let our heart break forth in praise to the Lord that doeth
all things well.
Miss Addeline McCaskill, one of the fire victims,
was a daughter of Johnnie and Ada (Boykin) McCaskill, and was the
bright teacher of the McLeod school, a few miles distant, and was
accompanied to the Cleveland school that fateful night by Dunnie Truesdale, who also perished in the
flames.
This lady, it is said,
escaped from the building and returned like a heroine, to the
burning building to help in the rescue of others, and she was
engulfed in the flames.
The ring that she wore,
that was awarded for merit at her graduation from the Camden high
school three years ago, was found in the ashes a week later, and
this was turned over to her fond parents as a memento of the awful
tragedy that has snatched their bright daughter from them, to be
greeted no more in this earthly tabernacle. This lady was only about
twenty years of age, and was quite a favorite wherever she was
known.
The daughter of Wade and
Victoria: Wade (Sadie) died the death of
a hero, for it is said that the little child of Mr. and Mrs.
Cleveland Godwin, who was burned to death, was found clasped in the
arms of this faithful nurse.
Wade and Victoria had
done many faithful days' labor for the writer, and we are glad to
say this word as a consolation to them.
Willie Jeter Johnson, son of Rev. J. Jeter
Johnson, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Camden was a bright
manly boy of eleven years of age. His father was the main speaker of
the evening, and while the family had not long been residents of
Camden having recently come from Virginia, they had made a warm
place in the hearts of the community, and certainly this faithful
minister of
righteousness and his devoted family will be borne up in their deep
distress, to the unfailing source of comfort that he has so often
pointed others to.
Miss Fannie Bowers
This bright young lady was just sixteen years of age and
lived near Kershaw, S. C., and had come with a party of friends to
the entertainment where some of her family connections were to take
part, for she had a large family connection thruout the county and
we knew many of them most pleasantly and the name of Bowers, West,
Sowell, Hough, Horton and others are so intertwined as to inhabit
the whole Buffalo section of Kershaw County with as fine manhood and
womanhood as that of any section of South Carolina., and when the
sad news was spread that Miss Fannie Bowers was no more, many souls
were bowed in
grief.