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J. W. Reid
CHAPTER I On the 5th day of February, 1824, I was born in what was then Pendleton District, South Carolina, in the portion now known as Oconee county. My father, Reuben Reid, was a school teacher and surveyor by profession. He was born August 22, 1785, which was but a few years after his father, Joseph Reid, had moved from Virginia, where he was raised. He was, I think, of Scottish descent. My father's mother was also raised in Virginia, and was a cousin to Andrew Jackson, who was twice president of the United States. I remember hearing my father speak of four brothers of his —George, Joseph, Jesse and Blincoe. I never knew any of them except George, the eldest brother. He and his children are all dead. My father also had three sisters, but I have never seen them. One of them married a man named Beard. My father in his young days traveled about a great deal, teaching school and surveying land. He taught school not only in South Carolina, but in North Carolina and Tennessee. During the war of 1812 he enlisted (I think at Greenville Courthouse), and went into the service of the United States army. When he had served out his term of eighteen months he received an honorable discharge from the army and started home, somewhere about the mountains, but when he got within fifteen miles of home he heard of the death of his father, and he turned back with the intention of going to Charleston, but on the way he stopped one night in Newberry District with a man named Boyd, who persuaded my father to put up a school in his neighborhood, which he consented to do. A very large school was soon made up for him and he went to teaching. While teaching in this neigborhood he first saw my mother. My mother's grand parent had come from Germany when her father and mother were children, and settled in what was known as Dutch Fork, between Saluda and Broad rivers, on Cannon's creek. A good many other German families also settled in the same neighborhood, among-whom were the Cramers, the Wickers, the Subers, the Kinards, the Kestlers, the Eichelbergers and many others. My mother was a Dickert. Her father had died when she was small, leaving her and three brothers, Michael, Adam and Henry. All of them have long since died. My grandmother afterwards married Simon Wicker, a widower with five or six children. As I have said, my father, while in the Boyd settlement, first saw my mother. She was then staying with an uncle of hers named George Stackman, a preacher, who lived in the Boyd Settlement, as it was called. I omitted to state that my mother was born in the year 1800. Somewhere in this neighborhood my father and mother were married at a camp meeting on August 16, 1816. My father had wandered about a great deal in his young days, and it seemed to be natural with him to continue this practice as long as he lived. I do not know where he was living when my eldest sister, Lucinda, was born, but that momentous event occurred in 1819, and in 1821 my next oldest sister, Matilda, was born, and by the time I was born we had gotten around to Pendleton District, as above stated. We were still in Pendleton, though not at the same place when my sister Zillah Elizabeth was born, July 25th, 1826, near what was called Rock Spring church, on Coneross creek. My very farthest recollection commences about this time. I cannot remember when I first began to go to school, as my father often carried me to school in his arms before my recollection. As I was his only son he took great pains to train me. I can say what I presume few others can say, that is, that I have no recollection whatever of when I learned to to read and write. My first recollection of my schooling is when I began to cypher in arithmetic, and I was then, quite young. I can well remember when my father used to go to Old Pendleton for examination as a teacher and to get his public money. He did his trading with a Mr. Cherry. He also went to Columbia once in every four years to have his license renewed as a surveyor. When I was about six years old we moved to Newberry again and my father taught school for awhile a short distance below Stony Batter in the neighborhood of the Lindsays, the Waits, the Wise's and Harmon's. After remaining there a few years he moved a few miles to a ferry on Saluda river, known as Lee's ferry. Here we remained for about two years, my father attending to the ferry and keeping a public house for traveling men and drovers. It was while here that my youngest sister, Zillah, and myself commenced rabbit hunting, fishing and climbing for muscadines, which we kept up for some time afterwards. She was just the same as a brother to me. We would ride canes and call them horses, ride up and hitch our steeds to the fence, and feel a good deal larger than we have ever felt since. We used to go into the piney wood and whip pine trees for negroes, the accusation against one and all being that we caught them stealing 10,000 barrels of flour—a pretty good load. While living at this place a man called to stay all night. My father let him stay, but was not acquainted with him. He had come on foot. He was up early the next morning and walked down to the flat-boat landing. Just afterward my father started down toward the landing and saw the man go out to the hind end of the flat. When my father reached the landing he could see nothing of the man. His hat was lying in the boat. My father sent me around to inform the neighbors on the Edgefield side of the river and he went on the New-berry side to inform the neighbors. The hat was left where it was in the boat. A large crowd soon gathered and about 1 o'clock he was gotten out. It was found that he had filled his bosom and pockets with rocks weighing twenty-eight pounds. There were several men present who knew the man. His name was W. H. Tyler, of Newberry Courthouse. The cause of the suicide was not known. These were the days of nullification. And the great meteoric shower called the falling of the stars occurring, caused great revivals in the churches for a short time. After remaining at Lee's ferry for two years we moved up to within five miles of Newberry Courthouse, and my father put up a school in the settlement of the Chapmans, the Shepherds, Boozers and others. While here I went with my father to Newberry. A negro had been hung there for beating a man named Igenor, and the doctors had his body dissecting it. But of this I was in blissful ignorance. My father had some business with one of the doctors, and called at the office to see him, and I at his heels, as usual. When the door was opened and I got a glimpse of that negro, I left father's heels and my own carried me away at the rate of ten knots an hour. No chuckle-headed youngster was ever worse scared. CHAPTER II. From this place we moved down on Cannon's creek, in the Dutch fork, not far from my grandmother's. At this time nullification was at its height. I remember going with my father to a barbecue at a place called Rumley Hill. A great many speeches were made, all in favor of nullification. A cavalry company mustered there that day, commanded by Captain H. H. Kinard, afterwards General Kinard. From Dutch fork we moved up into Abbeville county, near Double Bridges, on Rocky river, and there my father taught another school on the Harleston place, and here we were at the time of the noted cold Saturday in 1835. We remained here some time and then moved up into the edge of Anderson county, on Hen Coop creek, remained a short time and moved to old Laurens factory, on Big Rabun creek, in Laurens county. We children went into the cotton factory to work and my father went in the grist mill. When we had worked about three months the factory burned down. My father then put up a school near the burnt factory, and I worked with the Messrs. Whites at building a new factory, which was fluished, but they never got machinery in it, and the Whites moved away, Robert White to Georgia and William to Mississippi. While living at Burnt Factory my mother gave birth to another son on the 7th of April, 1837. On the night of the 24th of December in the same year, my father died from an attack of choking quinsy, after an illness of two days. At my father's death we were left in rather a bad condition—the family all girls except the baby and myself and I was too young to attend to business. Before proceeding any further, I will state that I never went to school after my father's death, but went regularly to work from that time on. After father's death my mother consulted with the neighbors as to what would be the best thing for her to do under the circumstances in which she was left. She was advised to go, if she could do so, to a cotton factory. Accordingly, my oldest sister and myself went to the Reedy river factory in Greenville, owned by Vardry McBee, and very readily made arrangements with Colonel Leonard Allen, superintendent of the factory, to move there immediately. Accordingly we moved in March, 1838. CHAPTER III. When I first moved to Reedy River factory and for some time afterwards, the factory ran day and night, having two sets of hands, who relieved each other at mid-day and mid-night. My sister and I were what were called morning hands. We went to work at midnight and worked until mid-day. I have often gone to sleep standing upon my feet. This same spring my mother was taken sick with fever, and my little brother Reuben C, Reid, then a little over a year old, had to be weaned. With the fever my mother took an internal disease with which she died fourteen years afterwards. I have known my mother's condition to be such that for a year at a time she was unable to leave the house. There is no telling what that good woman suffered for fourteen years. In 1839 my oldest sister, Lucinda, married Edward McCarthy, and moved to Greenville Courthouse, while we moved to a small factory on South Tyger river called Hutchins' Factory, owned in part by Rev. Thomas Hutchins, an Englishman by birth and the most talented preacher (of the Methodist denomination), I ever knew. In about eight months after moving there the owners of the factory disagreed and the factory shut down and was afterwards sold. When this occurred we moved back to Greenville, to a paper mill owned by Andrew Patterson. The paper mill was only one mile above the Reedy River factory. In the year 1840 my sister and her husband separated and she came home to us again, and in the summer of 1840 her daughter was born, who is now living at Piedmont factory, the wife of George Brownan and the mother of eleven children, of which nine are living, three being married. While living at the paper mill I first became acquainted with John A. Cargill, a son of Clement Cargill. The man was never born of woman whom I would rather be with than J. A. Cargill. After remaining at the paper mill about two years the owner, Mr. Patterson, failed, and the mill had to be sold. Patterson moved to Missouri. Bennijah Dunham bought the mill. About that time we moved back to the McBee factory, otherwise called the Reedy River factory. I had reached the age of seventeen years, and Leonard Allen, the superintendent, took a great interest in me. He learned me all he could about machinery, and treated me precisely as he did his own son, John, who was one year younger than I. Unfortunately for me, after a year or two Mr. Allen died. He was next thing to a father to me. For a while they got first one and then another
incapable man to run the factory. I ran the factory and they got the pay.
I finally grew tired of this and went to the Pendleton factory in
December, 1843. CHAPTER IV. As I have stated, I moved to Pendleton with my mother and family in December, 1843. To attempt to tell one-tenth of my ups and downs would be more than I care about undertaking. A young man was working in the factory whom I had worked with at the paper mill and known in Laurens when a child, named Henry Adkins, and another one on the place named Thomas Massey, whom I had also known in Laurens and Greenville, together with myself, cut a tremendous swell around about the old Pendleton factory for about two years. Massey in 1845 married Susan Dickinson, whom I had worked with several years. She is now a widow living at Piedmont with her son, Benjamin Massey, a good stone mason. I do not know what eventually became of Adkins. I left him at the Pendleton factory in December, 1845. In 1845 I became of age, but still remained with my mother. The summer of that year was known as the dry summer. The factory lost a great deal of time for want of water. I took several trips that summer up on Chauga creek, where I had lived when a little boy. I had a good time with the boys up there that summer, but a good deal bet-time with the girls. Some of them came to Sandy Springs camp meetings that fall, and there I had a still better time. Sandy Springs is near the factory. I moved back to McBee factory in December, 1845, being gone just two years. I went to work in the factory again and also to looking around among the girls. I tell you I was beginning to be pretty bad among the girls at that time, but I could not help it. I had not been in Greenville long when I found the only girl I ever dearly loved. Her father, John Tripp, had moved to the Dunham paper mill while I was at the Pen--dleton factory. As soon as I became acquainted with Mary Tripp (always called Polly), I dropped all others, as I soon found that my future destiny was in her hands. I became a regular visitor at her father's house, and it was not long until I perceived that my dear little Polly was thinking well of me. At the same time, my friend John A. Cargill was courting Polly's sister, Matilda. I shall not allude to the pleasure we four young people have had together. What one knew all knew, and it was not long before other people knew something about it too, for on the 22d of October, 1846, I was married to my darling Polly by Squire Cox, and just five weeks afterward friend Cargill was married to Matilda by the same man. A little house was built for me at the factory and I moved into it with my wife. If ever a man was happy on this earth I was that man, in that little house and with that little woman. On the 26th day of October, 1847, our son and only-child, Washington Irving Reid, was born. After remaining in the factory another year I left it and went to work at doing stonework with J. J. Lewis, who had recently married my sister Matilda. About this time, McCarthy being dead, my sister Lucinda married William Smith. Mr. Lewis and I moved down on Grove creek, in the Charles settlement. We worked about all over the country, and in Laurens, Newberry and almost everywhere, blasting rock principally. In 1849 we got a large Job of work to do in Edgefield from Adam Eichelberger. I took my wife with me there and kept her with me for several months. When we had finished there we went back into Greenville, where we had left our things with mother and Sister Zillah, who was yet unmarried. After coming back to Greenville I left Lewis and went on any own hook through Greenville, Anderson, Pickens, Abbeville, Laoirens and Newberry, working at my trade. CHAPTER V. In January, 1851, having so much work to do in Newberry, I took my wife and child with me down on Broad river, ten miles above Alston, which was then being built and within two miles of where my mother was born and raised, I remained in Newberry for two years. The largest job of work I ever did for one man was for David Halfacre, in 1852, six miles below Newberry Courthouse on the Columbia road. This was the year of the great August freshet. I, with my little family, sat on a hill and watched the surging waters rush by all day when the river was at its height. It was on Sunday. In the latter part of December, 1852, I moved back to Greenville, in night of where Pelzer factory now stands. Sister Zillah had that year married Stephen Hicks. I remained at this place one year, working around as usual, doing a great deal of work at Williamston, in Anderson county, just about that time being built up. At that time the Greenville and Columbia railroad was being built. I remained here one year and moved up to within five miles of Greenville and one mile from the old paper mill where my wife's father still lived, as was also my friend Cargill, bossing the paper factory. During my stay of four years at this place my wife's father, John Tripp, died. I still followed my trade, which kept me the greater part of my time away from home. I worked a great deal about Greenville Courthouse, for Joab Mauldin, James Benson, Dr, Jones, Thadeus Bowling, Colonel T. E. Ware and many others. I also blasted out the well at the Greenville poorhouse, at the foot of Paris mountain. John Black was steward at the time. I also did a good deal of work around old Pickensville, Pendleton, Caesar's Head and elsewhere. After living at the paper mill for four years, as I have said, I returned to within sight of Wilson's bridge, where Pelzer now is, and worked about as usual. At one time I was at work twelve miles below Anderson Courthouse, near Holland's store, at a church called Shiloh. While there some neighbors, who wanted some work done, Colonel Thomas Parks, Alexander McClinton, E. J. Earle and others, persuaded me to move over into the neighborhood. Colonel Parks offered to move me and furnish me a house. I moved over in January, 1861, and worked about in the neighborhood until April, at which time I went to Virginia with the Fourth Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers. Of our travels and hardships there I have already informed you as best I could. CHAPTER VI. This day be peace and bread my lot,
How often have I said during the war that I would thank my God if I could once more be at home with my little family and a piece of bread. If I had anything more I would highly appreciate it, but if not I could be happy. I returned home to my family. I had the bread; I also had plenty of other things, or at least as much as nature called for. I was once more a free and happy man. I went to work at my trade again, doing a good deal of work in Hart and Franklin county, Ga., and in Greenville, S. C. After two or three years I got to doing a great deal of work in Elbert county, Ga., below Elberton. I worked for Robert Hall, William Jones, Jr., the Heards, the Herndons, Judge Thomas, William Tate, and a great many others. I worked more or less in Elbert county for many years. Two or three years after the war my wife was stricken with inflammatory rheumatism, which she never recovered from. Her illness kept me a great deal at home. I would only take such occasional trips as necessity compelled. About this time my son was married to Miss Cora McCoy, which made it necessary for me to be at home more than ever. In a year or two, however, she got a good deal better, and I was enabled to do a considerable amount of work. A time or two I attempted to make a little crop at home in the season, and work at my trade in the fall and winter and at odd times. I found to my sorrow that I could not do two things at one time. I made but little at home and less elsewhere, but I got along as best I could until April, 1889, at which time my wife again became ill and I remained with her until the end. Those were dark and sorrowful days. She lingered until the 4th day of November, 1889, when she died, perfectly in her right mind and praising God. She requested her son and husband to meet her in Heaven. Thus died as good a mother, as true a wife and Christian and as kind a neighbor as has ever cheered the course of a husband's life. My dear companion snatched
away, My son got a fine metallic coffin and she was laid to rest at Rahamah church near Brown's Ferry, on the Savannah river, to which church she belonged. And I am happy to state that my membership is also there. I had attached myself to the church before my wife's illness, to her inexpressible joy. And let me say to the world that right there by the side of my darling, is where I want to be put when I cease wandering about seeking for the rest I cannot find. I will now give a short account of my travels since the death of my wife, and then you will, in all probability, not hear from me Again. CHAPTER VII. After the death of my wife I was entirely alone. I remained in the settlement, staying at night first with one neighbor and then with another, until just before Christmas, when I had my effects taken to Hartwell, Ga., to my son's. I remained about Hartwell until the middle of the winter and then moved down to L. H. O. Martin's, three miles below Elberton, in Elbert county, Ga. Martin had been wanting me to live with him for several years. He now wanted me to live with him as one of the family, as he said, and so I did, with the exception that I had a great deal to do, more, in fact, than I cared or was able to do without better pay. I was well treated, however, by the entire family. In March ,I left Martin's and went to Piedmont factory, in Greenville county, S. C, where I remained until June, blasting in a well. I then returned to my son's, in Hartwell, and had my things brought back from Martin. I remained there until the 11th of September, and again went back to Piedmont, being promised a room and $1.50 a day. I had my things brought over, but could get no room of my own to put them in. I had to put some at one place and some at another as best I could, and pay board out of my pittance. They gave me the wagesy however, they had promised me, until about Christmas, when superintendent told me I would have to work for $1 a day or nothing. I quit, and had my things moved up to my sister's, near Woodville, where I have been writing these pages. Since my wife's death I cannot content myself long at any one place. I am now with my only living sister, my other sisters having died several years ago. My brother Reuben also died several years ago at Westminster, where his widow still lives. Sister Zillah and myself are all that are left of my father's family. My sister, too, has seen her share of sorrow. Her husband was killed in the war, in 1864. Just after the war one of her children died, and a few years subsequently her eldest child, a daughter, who was married and had one child, was drowned, together with her child, in Grove creek. My sister now has one unmarried son living with her, named Reuben. As I have said, my things, such as I have, are with her, and here they will remain, unless I find a place I can call home, and some one to take care of them. I am now done my writing and will be on the wing again. I have no idea where I may go. My son has such a large family it doesn't suit me to live with him. I have a hope that this little book and a patent I own for blasting rock without danger from the explosion will enable me yet to have a home of my own to go to. Let me go where I will, my central office will be Woodville, Greenville county, S. C. In case any one would wish to correspond with me, that will be my post office. Hoping that these writings may interest my readers in some degree, I remain yours truly, J. W. Reid. Woodville, S. C., Jan 20, 1891.
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