^m^ X/ .^^^^^^ %.^^ ■''o. .s^ .^"^ o o .'Jv^ <\m '^u CD Days in « « na$Doi lk> Ceniu By Mss Jane I). tDomas* ^ PubllsWna Rouse m. €. Cburcb, SoutD, ^, /7J MISS JANE H. THOMAS. OLD DAYS NASHVILLE, TENN IReminiscences. BY MISS JANE H. THOMAS, llepriiited from the N(is//r!7/r Daily America n, 1895 - Nashville, Tenn.: Publishing House Methodist Episcopal Church, Soutil Barbee & Smith, Agents. 1897. INTRODUCTION, Jane Henry Thomas was born in Cumberland Coun- ty, Va., September 2,1800. Her great-great-grandfa- ther on her mother's side of the family, William Ballew, a Huguenot refugee, came to Virginia to live, and there he married Dorothy Parker. Her great-grandfather, Thomas Ballew, married Jane Thomas, a daughter of the Henry Hugh Thomas who was once Lord Mayor of London. She came to Virginia from England in the same ship with Isham Randolph. Jane H. Thom- as's grandfather, Thomas Ballew, married Chloe Bat- tersby, and their youngest daughter, Micah, was her mother. Her great-great-grandfather on her grand- mother Chloe Battersby's side of the family was named William Battersby. He^ was a captain in the King of England's Life Guard before he came to Virginia to live. The coat of arms now in the family was his. Her great-grandfather was also named William Bat- tersby. He married Jane Dunkley, the daughter of an Irish sea captain, who owned the vessel he commanded. A daughter of this William Battersby and Jane Dunk ley was the grandmother of Jane IL Thomas. Job Thomas, the great-grandfather of Jane H. Thomas on her father's side of the family, came from Pennsylva- nia to Virginia, and there married Elizabeth Hoggatt. Her family come from Manchester, England, and set- tled in Virginia. Her grandfather, Jesse Thomas, married Sallie Wood, who had come from London, England, to Virginia to live. Jane H. Thomas's fa- 4 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. ther, Jesse Thomas, married Micah Ballew. In Sep- tember, 1S04, they left their home in Cumberland County, Va., to settle in Nashville, Tenn. They had five children then, Jane being one of them. They had two six-horse wagons, but Mr. Thomas and his wife rode on horseback the entire journey, Mrs. Thomas carrying her youngest child in her lap. After a long and adventurous ride over the mountains, through the " Wilderness," and what was then called the " Cherokee Nation," they reached Nashville December 24, 1804. Mr. Finch Scruggs, who was Mr. Thomas's brother-in-law, having married the third one of his seven sisters, accompanied him to Nashville, bringing his familv also with him. Soon after their arrival in Nashville they rented two blockhouses on some land belonging to Mr. David McGaxock, and on this land raised their first crop of corn in Tennessee. The following year Mr. Thomas moved over to the Tolbert farm, above Page's ferry. In 1809 he bought a farm on McCror3''s Creek, where he lived during the rest of his lifetime. This farm was not far from the famous clover-bottom farm owned by the Donelsons. In 1815 Jane Thomas attended Mrs. Abercrombie's school, in company with other girls, who in after-years became the wives of distinguished men ; Mrs. President Polk, Mrs. Judge Catron, and others, among the number. That year her father died, and her school-days were ended. On the 20th day of September, 1820, she joined the Methodist Church. She was converted at Thomas's camp-ground. wShe was there with her aunt, Nancy Scruggs, and stayed in Mrs. Scruggs's tent during the meeting. Logan Douglas was the presiding elder. Sterling Brown, Sam Harwell, Robert Paine, OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. O James Porter, and Finch Scruggs were the preachers at that camp-meeting. In 1840 the old home place was deserted, and she hoarded in town at the St. Cloud Ho- tel until 1853 ; then she bought a little home for her- self, and kept house there until the civil war broke out. She left her home in the care of her servants, and went to Virginia in 1862 to nurse the sick and wounded soldiers of Lee's army at Warm Springs and other points in Virginia, and also in the Elliott Hospital in Nashville ; her work in the hospitals only ceasing at the entrance of Federal troops into Nashville as victors. She re- mained in Nashville until the close of the war, having during that time occupied her brother's house, it being in a better-protected locality than her own ; while he and his family " went South," and remained there until the war ended. In 1865 she again occupied her own home for a few years, but in the changed condition of things at that time, her old servants gone and old friends and neighbors removed, she was not happy, so she gave up her home, and became a member of her brother's household, where she has since lived. She was born two years after Washington's death, so has lived under the administration of every President of these United States except that of George Washington. She remembers when there were no sewing-machines, when all sewing w^as done by hand ; when spinning-wheels were in use in almost every household ; when mer- chants went to Philadelphia, and even to New York, from Nashville on horseback to buy their stocks of goods ; when fires were kindled by sparks emitted from the striking of flint and steel over spunk or tow, before the invention of matches ; when the Methodists held their meetings in the jail, and were congratulated by a 6 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. <^ood Presbyterian, at the dedication of their first church-bnilding, on "getting out of jail;" when Nash- ville's streets were lighted on dark nights by a single lantern carried by a watchman who walked about and cried the hours of the night at the same time, giving the " weather report " in language all his own ; when Lafayette and Louis Phillipe also visited Nashville. These and many other interesting recollections of the ninety-seven -year-old lady will be found in the follow- ing pages. She is still in the enjoyment of all her faculties, to a de- gree seldom experienced by those w^ho only reach their allotted threescore and ten years. She is a regular at- tendant at her Church services every Sunday, enjoys the society of her friends, loves to read and to keep her- self informed on current topics of the day. With her good health and good spirits she bids fair to live to be one hundred years of age. May she live Jojig and prosper ! CONTENTS. Letter I. PAOK Nashville as I Found It in 1804 9 Letter IL Early Settlers — Indian Mound — The First Jail — The Whipping-Post 17 Letter III. Hemp and Cotton Factories — Daily Paper — Mer- chant Mill — Theater 23 Letter IV. Capt. Thomas's Militia Company — Old Univer- sity of Nashville 32 Letter V. The Big Fire — Brick Storehouses — First Paper. 36 Lp:tter VI. Prominent People — First Water- Works 46 Letter VII. The Grundy- Anderson Senatorial Race — Lafay- ette's Visit and the Attendant Festivities 56 Letter VIII. Recollections of Jenny Lind— Nashville's First Earthquake 61 Letter IX. Clay and Polk in [846 — Harrison — Old Charac- ters — First Dentists — Religious Revival 65 8 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. Letter X. ■A(iK Tlie Children's Friend — First Use of Morphine in Nash\ille 74 Le'jtek XI. A Quilting- — Joke on a Long Nose — The Oldest Brick House 81 Letter XIL A Time of Elahorate Entertainment S6 Letter XIIL A French Dancing-School — The Fogg Residence and Its Appointments 91 Letter XIV. The Good Times at Christmas — A Widower Not Easily Discouraged : 103 Letter XV. How Two Girls Outwitted the Indians — A Visit from Gen. Washington 1 10 Letter XVI. The First Methodist Conference Held in Nash- ville 117 Letter XVII. Dr. Edgar, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church — Social Diversions in the Old Days 121 Letter XVIII. Nashville During the War — Hospital Scenes — In the Hands of the Encmv i 28 LETTER L Nashville as I Found It in 1804. EPTEMBER 1, 1804, my father started from Cumberland County, Va., in two six-horse wagons. One of these was his own ; the other he hired from Mr. Joseph Woolrich, who drove it. My mother rode horseback, and car- ried a child in her arms. My father rode his hunt- ing-pony, named " Dreadnaught." We were three months coming from Virginia to Tennessee, and did not reach Nashville until December 24, 1804. There was but one road, and that came through Cumberland Gap and Sequatchie Valley. We first struck the Cumberland River at Carthage, Tenn., where we ferried it; and, keeping on the east side, we reached Nashville opposite where Lick Branch empties into the river. There we crossed over on a ferry. Oliver Johnson, who was originally from Boston, was the ferryman. He had three sons (Oliver, Winslow, and Antho- ny), who ferried the boat across. He had six daughters. The oldest was named Hannah, and was a widow by the name of Gleason. After reaching here from Boston, she married David Snow, the first tinner in Nashville. The second daughter, Betsy, married Probate, a tailor. They 10 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. had one daughter, who married John B. McFer- rin. His next two daughters were Gabriel and Parnell. Gabriel died from poison, having taken yellow ocher instead of flower of sulphur. Par- nell married a farmer in Williamson County. An- other daughter married Knowles, the cooper. The two other boys, Oliver and Winslow, never married, as I now recall it; but Anthony was married twice, his first wife being Elizabeth Hobson, by whom he had three children, two daughters and a son; his second wife was the widow Cheney, her maid- en name being Mary Smith. The present post- master is her son. They had one daughter, the present Mrs. John Bransford. On the west side of the river, between Lick Branch and the Publishing House, an old lady b}^ the name of Hay kept a tavern; and her house, a one-story frame, was painted red. David Mc- Gavock at that time was living where the present cotton-factory now stands, his house having been pulled down to erect the same. He owned from the river to where Fisk University stands, Jefferson Street being the southern boundary, extending north to Sulphur Springs, on Buena Vista turnpike, and there joining the Beal Bosley place. David McGavock had two blockhouses at the head of the lower island, and they obtained their water from the Spout Spring. One of these my father rent- ed, and his brother-in-law, Phineas Scruggs, rent- ed the other. In 1805 they rented part of the OT.D DAYS IN NASHVn>T.E. 11 McGavock farm, and where they cultivated it the old race-track stood up to a few years ago. David McGavock had six children, five sons and a daughter. His two eldest sons, John and James, were married, and lived on the east side of the river. James had two daughters, one of whom married Jeremiah George Harris, who w^as editor of a Democratic paper when Harrison was elected President; the other married Mr. Bryant. John was married twice, and had a large family, one of his daughters being the second wife of J. B. McFerrin. Frank, another son, married Amanda Harding, a sister of Gen. Harding, and the mother of Mr. David McGavock, Mr. John McGavock, Mrs. Susan Smith, and Mrs. Archie Cheatham. The next son, Lysander, married his cousin, and lived at Brentwood. His two youngest children, Hugh and Sallie, were twins. Hugh married Letitia Hagan, and Sallie married Mr. Ewing. The old man, David McGavock, after the death of his first wife, married the widow Hubble, by whom he had one son. Dr. David McGavock, who married Miss Caroline Pugsley, a daughter of Dr. Pugsley, a physician from London, Eng- land. Dr. David McGavock had two daughters, one of whom married Mr. Felix Cheatham ; and the other, Emmett Cockrill. There lived at that time a Mr. W. P. Ander- son, in a log house, near the Buena Vista sulfur springs. He married a Miss Bell, by whom he had three children: Musidere, CaroHne, and Ru- 12 OLD DAYS IN NASHVIT.I.E. fus. Caroline married Paul, an attorney; Musi- dere married James Campbell, another attorney. The next place was Mr. Rivers's, who lived in a stone house. He was the father of Rev. Rich- ard M. Rivers, who died recently in Louisville, Ky. In 1807 my Grandfather Thomas's widow moved to Tennessee, and lived in that stone house; and her daughter Polly was married to Abner Pillow in that year. The next place was Beal Bosley's, who married Margery Shute, by whom he had three daughters. His second daughter, Elizabeth, married Thomas Harding in 1820; the youngest daughter, Marge- ry, married Hugh Irvin ; the oldest daughter mar- ried John Nicholl. Judge John McNairy married the widow^ Rob- ertson, who had been married twice before. She was Miss Bell, and her first husband was Mr. Hunt, who was killed by the Indians; her second was Gen. Robertson's brother, and he also was killed by the Indians. Between Mrs. Hay's tavern and the Square lived Mr. Aken, a hatter by trade, and ran a tav- ern which he called the *' Boatman's Tavern." His eldest daughter, Jennie, never married; his second, Elizabeth, married a steamboat captain by the name of Smith; and the youngest married Capt. Minor, another steamboat officer. The next house on the Square was owned by OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 13 Thomas Tolbert, who owned the whole eastern part of the Square. He ran a tavern also, in a hewn log house, which was located about the mid- dle of the present Ensley Block. He married Ruth Greer; and by her he had seven children, three boys and four girls. His oldest daughter married Elias S. Hall, a dry-goods merchant; his next daughter married Dr. Hogg; his next mar- ried Thomas Fletcher, an attorney; his next mar- ried her cousin, Mr. Tolbert. His oldest son was named Eli; and the other two, Joe and Tom. There was on the north side of the Square another tavern kept by a negro named " Black Bob." Later the Nashville Inn was built there. On the northwest corner of Market Street and the Square was the first brick *' office house" in Nashville. This was built by Dr. Claiborne, who married the oldest daughter of William Terry Lewis. It was two rooms deep and two stories high, the front room down-stairs being used as an office, while the other three were used as his resi- dence. North of this on Market Street was built by Dr. Henning the first brick residence ever erected in Nashville. This house was com- menced in 1805 and finished in 1806. It is still standing, and is now occupied by the Nashville Relief Society. It was called the Mansion House, and was run by a man named Brown as a select hotel. Adjoining this was a garden owned by Thomas Deaderick, after whom Deaderick Street was named. He married Miss Rawworth. He 14 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. lived in a frame cottage. His oldest daughter married a Stewart, and after the death of her first husband she married Mr. Drennon. His son David lived in St. Louis, Mo., and was a very elegant and handsome gentleman. His youngest son was named Dangerfield. Mr. Randall McGavock married Miss Sallie Rogers, a sister of Mrs. Felix Grundy, and she was the mother of Mr. John McGavock, of Frank- lin, Tenn. Dr. James May, who built the brick house adjoining Mr. McGavock, married Miss PoUv White, of Knoxville, Tenn., a sister of Hugh L. White, who was President of the United States Bank of Knoxville. Dr. May's first child was named James, the second John, the third Mary, the fourth Mar- garet, and the fifth Anthony. James married Miss Perkins, and her children were: first, Susan, who married Mr. Sam Perkins; second. Miss White May, who was never married; third mar- ried first Henr}^ Ew^ing, w^ho was killed at the battle of Murfreesboro, and next married Maj. Hardeman, of New Orleans, La.: the fourth child, Hugh May, was killed at Shiloh; and the fifth, Will May, is now living here. Mary Ma}', third child of Dr. May, married Dick Barry, b}' w^hom she had two children, William and Mary. William married a daughter of William Nichol. Mary never married. Mary May married for her second husband a Col. Martin, of Lebanon, Margaret, fourth child of Dr. May, married Hin- OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 15 ton Phillips, by whom she had three children, Mary, Jane, and Hugh. Dr. May died, and his widow married Judge John Overton, by whom she had three children, John, Annie, and Eliza- beth Cynthia Bell. John Overton's first wife was Rachel Harding, daughter of Thomas Harding and Elizabeth Bosley. His second wife was Miss Harriet Maxwell. He had one son by Rachel Harding, John Overton, Jr., who lived at Mem- phis. Annie Coleman Overton married Mr. Rob- ert Brinkley, of Memphis. Elizabeth Cynthia Bell Overton married Judge John M. Lea. At the time of 1804, ^vhere J. S. Reeves & Co.'s store now stands there stood a small one-story frame house used as a tavern and run by Thomas Childress, who married a Miss Curtis, and they had a beautiful daughter, Miss Paralee. On the northwest corner of what is now College Street and the Square stood a little house and about four acres of ground, owned by Mrs. Peck, who had a very fine spring on the lot of ground. On what is now the northwest corner of Cedar Street and the Square E. C. Hall had a storehouse and kept a general stock of merchandise. At the cor- ner of Cherry and Cedar Streets Mr. Hall built a frame dwelling where Thomas & Sons' coffee- house now stands. On the corner of Summer and Cedar Streets Dr. Sappington had a hewn log house with a long porch in front. Farther up on the hill, and about where Park Street is now, a 16 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. Mr. Turner had a log house ; and on top of the hill, where the Capitol now stands, Mr. John Bell had a frame house. The rest of the hill was Cedar Knob. Mr. Bell's house was afterward sold to George Washington Campbell, who had been previous to that United States Minister to Russia. He afterward sold Capitol Hill to the state, and the frame house was moved to just be- tween where the residences of Maj. Thomas and Dr. Charles Briggs now stands. About the corner of Spruce and Cedar Streets a man by the name of Pr3^or, a carpenter, had a frame house. On the southwest corner of what is now College and Cedar Streets there was a dwelling-house, and next to that a one-story storehouse owned b}- Thomas Kirkman, who ran a hardware-store. He was the ancestor of the nu- merous family of Kirkmans here, and his father was a major in the British army. The next house to that was James Irvin's store. He also ran a hardware-store. The next house was John Beard's, who ran a dr3^-goods store. All of these lots ran through to Cherry Street. Beard had two storehouses, the farther being a corner of what is now Deaderick Street and the Square ; and his son-in-law, Johnson, ran a dry-goods store. LETTER IL Early Settlers - Indian Mound — The First Jail —The Whipping^Post, li HE tirst white man that ever lived in Nash- ville was named Demonbreun. He lived in a cave just above the Blind Asylum. There were two entrances to this cave, one on the river and the other on the south side. He had three children born in the cave. He made his salt at the sulfur spring and hunted buffaloes and deer that came there for water. He built his house at the spring known as the " Demonbreun Spring," after he left the cave. On the north side of Lick Branch was a large Indian mound. When John H. Smith was Mayor he had it dug down to fill up College Street. On the Square there was a stone court-house and a whipping-post, a stone church, a stone jail house. Whenever a man stole a horse, or an3^thing worth over thirty dollars, he had his ears clipped at the ends. For smaller crimes he was tied to the whip- ping-post, his shirt was taken off, and he was given thirty-nine lashes with a cowhide. Wiley Barrow was a very prominent man. He had about ten acres of ground in South Nashville. He had a great many locust-trees on his place, and 2 18 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. it was called " Barrow's Grove." His first wife was Jane Greer, a sister of Mrs. Tom Tolbert. He had three children. David and Alexander moved to Mississippi, where they both became distinguished men. His daughter, Jane, married a distinguished young lawyer, Henry Crabb. After the death of his first wife, Wiley Barrow married Miss Anne Beck. She had three chil- dren, Washington, Micajah, and John E. Wash- ington married Miss Anne Shelby, Micajah did not marry, and John E. moved to St. Louis. Christopher Stump and Raper had two keel- boats lashed together, which was called a barge. They used to gather up peltry, corn, and such things, and go to New Orleans in the fall. In the spring they returned and brought sugar, coffee, tea, rice, molasses, etc. The people went to them and laid in a supply to last until next spring. Cof- fee cost one dollar a pound and sugar fifty cents a pound. The country was bountifully supplied with all kinds of game: ducks, wild geese, tur- keys, etc. There was a beautiful bird about the color of a parrot, but not so large, called paroquet. Peter Bass, an enterprising and very prominent man, owned a tan-yard on Wilson's Branch, below Broad Street. His house was at the corner of High and Demonbreun Streets. He owned a great deal of land in that part of town. He had two sons, Eli and John M. He was a very energetic OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 19 man, and speculated in soldiers' claims and owned a great deal of land in Missouri. Eli, his oldest son, moved to Missouri, where he raised a family of very distinguished children. John M. was a lawyer, and married Miss Malvina Grundy, Judge Grundy's fourth daughter. Judge Grundy's eld- est daughter married Jacob McGavock; his sec- ond. Mason, a lawyer; Margaret married Dr. Ro- lins. Malvina married John M. Bass, as before mentioned; Maria married Masterson ; Felicia married Aiken, and after Aiken's death she mar- ried Dr. Robert Porter. John M. Bass's eldest daughter married Dr. Thomas Harding; Sallie married John O. Ewing; Maria married V. K. Stephenson; Mary married Henry Conner, of New Orleans; Felicia married Gen. Beal, of St. Louis. He had two sons. William, the old- est, married Caroline Watkins; John M., the youngest, married Miss Mary Berry. Alexander Porter lived on Cherry Street, just a little below Church Street. He married a Miss Massingill. His oldest son, James, married a lady from Louisiana, by whom he had one son, Alex- ander. After her death he married Amanda Mc- Nairy. She had no children. Alexander Por- ter's next child, Jane, married James Campbell. Penelope married James Wood. Matilda married Richard Greene. His youngest son, Robert, married Miss Wilhams. She died, and he married the widow Felicia Grundy Porter. 20 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. Nathan Ewing lived on the corner of Church and Cherry Streets. He was the clerk of court. His oldest child, Dr. John Overton Ewing, mar- ried Miss Douglas, of Kentucky. They had one child. He died, and his widow married John Boyd. Henry, the second son, married Miss Susan Grun- dy. Orvil married Mildred Williams. Edwin's wife was Miss Rebecca Williams. He now lives in Murfreesboro. Albert married Miss Campbell, of Wheeling, Va. She was Rev. x\lexander Campbell's daughter. Andrew, the youngest, married Miss Hines. She had one son and died, and he afterward married Rowena Williams. Rev. William Hume lived on Market Street, in South Nashville. He was a Presbyterian preach- er, and the first President of the old Nashville College. He was a very benevolent and promi- nent man, and performed the wedding ceremony of nearly everybody about here who married. Al- fred, his oldest son, the first Principal of public schools in Nashville, married Louisa Bradford. Jane married Sam Snowdan. Eliza married a Mr. Jones. She was the mother of Mr. Edgar Jones. John married Miss Petway. Rachel did not marry. Jonathan Robertson, a brother of Gen. Robert- son, married Miss Dolly Maclin. They lived on College Street in a log house. They had two daughters, Matilda and Betsy. Matilda married OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 21 John Childress, and Betsy married Washington L. Hannam, a lawyer. John Childress had a large farm near the Vanderbilt. It is Mr. Shields's pres- ent home. His eldest daughter, Jane, married Sam Marshall, and had two children. Matilda married Judge Catron. Minerva married Benja- min Litton. Jane married Judge Brown. Bessie was V. K. Stephenson's first wife. They had two children. John Childress had three sons, George, John, and James. George's first wife was Miss Vance. His second wife was Mary Jennings. James went to Arkansas, and lived in Benton. Washington L. Hannam, Betsy Childress's hus- band, ow^ned a brick house on High Street. He built the house where Mr. Pilcher now lives. He had but two children, a son and a daughter. He sold his place to John Bell, whose first wife was Miss Sarah Dickerson. When he bought the place from Hannam, Hannam moved from here to Mississippi. It was afterward sold to John Kirk- man, who built the stores now on Church Street between High and Vine. Bell built all the houses from Mr. Pilcher's to the club-house. Judge Searcy's wife was Miss Susan Wendal, a very beautiful woman. They were very prom- inent people. They lived in a frame house on the corner of Deaderick and Cherry Streets. When I came to Nashville the first physicians 22 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. were Drs. May, Henning, Claiborne, Watkins, and Sappington. There was an old Indian woman, called " Gran- ny Nell," who was a female doctor. She was a full-blooded Indian. She got drunk every Christ- mas, got on a horse, and galloped around the Public Square three or four times. This hap- pened every Christmas. She had a daughter, named Charlotte, also a doctor. John Thomas was a colored barber, and was a very prominent negro. He had a garden, and supplied a great many people with vegetables. He lived on Summer Street, and had a large family of boys and girls. His oldest daughter married Gra- ham, a barber. She had a big wedding, and in- vited all the prominent white people in town, and they all went. He was a very respectable, up- right, humble negro. Gen. Andrew Jackson at- tended the wedding, and Dr. McNairy danced the reel with the bride. LETTER III, Hemp and Cotton Factories — Daily Paper Merchant Mill Theater. ILLIAM TERRILL LEWIS was one of the wealthiest men in Nashville when I came here. He had six daughters. He lived in the house in South Nashville which is now used as a Catholic hospital. It is called Fairfield. His eldest daughter married Dr. Claiborne, who built the first brick office in Nashville. His next daughter married Alfred Baulch, a lawyer; the next, John H. Eaton, who was one of President Jackson's most prominent men. The next daugh- ter married William B. Lewis, and the youngest married Baker. William B. Lewis's daughter married George Washington. She died, and he married Miss Jane Smith. A man named Boswith had a hemp-factory on Water Street, w^here he made bags and ropes and such things. George Posier owned from where Phillips & Buttorff's store now is down to Church Street. He had a cotton-factory. He spun thread, but did not weave any cloth. He kept a dry-goods store also. Beside these stores, his dweUing-house and garden were on College Street. Across the alley a man named WilHam 24 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. Condon lived in a two-story brick. He had a very distinguished son, a young lawyer. Farther up on College Street Robert B. Currey's famil}- lived. When Lafayette was in Nashville Mr. Curre}^ kept the post-office, and entertained him in that house. Thomas Hill, the father of Mrs. Emeline Hamilton and grandfather of Mr. J. D. Hamilton, was clerk in George Posier's store. He afterward became a prominent merchant, and his dwelling and store were on College Street, where J. H. Fall & Co.'s store now is. He had three children, Robert, Emeline, and Susan. Em- eline married Mortimer Hamilton, whose oldest daughter, Leonore, became the wife of John J. Davies, a lawyer of Kentucky. Another daugh- ter married E. R. Richardson, a merchant on the Square. Susan Hill married Mr. Saffron, and Robert died young. Joel Lewis, another very prominent man, lived where the Catholic convent now is in South Nash- ville. He had a large family, and was a very wealthy man. His eldest daughter, Charlotte, married Dr. King. After his death she married Thomas Claiborne. She had three sons and one daughter. One of her sons married, and lived in the house which is now used as a Catholic orphan asylum. He married his cousin, Miss King, of Abingdon, Va. Her daughter, Elizabeth King, married Dr. McCall. Joel Lewis's next daughter married Dr. Lea, an uncle of Judge John M. Lea. OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 25 He had several sons, one of whom became a very prominent man of Huntsville, Ala. Dr. Coleman built a house in South Nashville. It was a one-story house, wdth five or six rooms in a row, and a latticed porch in front. He had some very pretty daughters. He sold the place and moved to Huntsville, Ala. Maj. Rutledge, a very distinguished and wealthy man, bought his place and lived there. His daughter Mary mar- ried a young lawyer from Boston, Mr. Fogg, w^ho became a very useful citizen of Nashville. Mr. Rutledge 's son Arthur married a daughter of Judge Underwood, of Kentucky. Mr. Fogg lived on the corner of Church and High Streets until he died. He had two sons; one died just a few days before he was to have been married to Miss Martin, and the other, a lieutenant under Gen. Zollicoffer, was killed at the same time that Gen. Zollicoffer was killed. Mr. Anthony Foster owned twelve or thirteen acres where Mr. Keith's home now is, and built the house he lives in. His wife was a Miss Beck- with, of Kentucky. He was a very benevolent, hospitable, and wealthy man. His wife's sister was Mr. Thomas Yeatman's first wife. She had one child and died, and Mr. Yeatman married Miss Jane Irvin. She had four children — James, Tom, Emma, and Harry. James married Miss Pope; Tom married her sister. Emma married 26 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. Col. Player, and Hariy married Miss Mary Polk, daughter of Mr. Lucius Polk. In 1807 Benjamin Bradford's brother-in-law, Mr. Tunstel, began to publish a paper in Nashville. In 1808 his cousin, Thomas G. Bradford, came from Lexington, Ky., and bought him out. He published a daily paper here from 1808 until after Gen. Jackson was elected President. His paper was first called the Clarion. In 1808 he married Chloe Thomas, my eldest sister. After Gen. Jackson was elected President he was made Treasurer, and held the position until Harrison's election, in 1840. A man named Love built a merchant mill below the mouth of Lick Branch, where he made flour and spun thread. It was burned down. Where the Normal College grounds now are Pryor, Anderson & Rutherford had a race-track. Old Mr. Rains had a farm just beyond this. He used to come to town, and sometimes stay very late at night. When he went home he had to pass the race-track, and he always said that he saw Dick Pryor, Patton Anderson, and the devil killing race-horses. Mr. Richard Cross, a wealth}^ and influential young man, lived in South Nash- ville. He owned several lots on Broad Street. He died of consumption w^hen quite 3^oung, and having never married he left all his property to his nephew and niece. His niece. Miss Gordon, mar- ried Gen. Zollicoffer, from Germany. OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 27 Judge White, a prominent lawyer, owned a little farm on Broad Street from High to Vine Street. He had a large family, and lived in a one-story brick house just back of Hume School. His wife was Miss Glascow. His eldest daughter married Mr. Ben Bedford; EHzabeth married Mr. Whit- ticer; the next married Mr. Donelson. Mr. Ben Bedford's first wife died soon after they were married, and he married Miss Nancy White, Judge White's fourth daughter and his first wife's sister. The youngest daughter married Mr. Joe Craighead, whose mother was Miss Irvin. Her first husband was Mr. Dickerson, whom Gen. Jackson killed in a duel. After his death she married Mr. John Craighead, and had two sons, Joseph and Thomas. Thomas married Miss John- son, and Joseph's wife was Miss White, as before mentioned.' She had three children, two sons and a daughter. Her daughter married Mr. John Bun- ton, who now lives in Nashville in a house built on part of the land owned by her grandfather, Mr. White. Joseph T. Elliston came to Nashville in 1807, a young man and a silversmith. He married Miss Elizabeth Mullen. He commenced business on Market Street on the lot where the St. Charles Hotel used to be. He was an upright Christian gentleman. He was very prosperous in business, and accumulated a large amount of propert}^ in Nashville and vicinity. His oldest child was Jane, 28 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. the next Harriet, the next Adehne, the next Jo- seph, and the youngest William. His wife died in 1816, when William was a young child. His oldest son was killed in Kentucky. Harriet mar- ried Mr. Quinn, the first local Methodist preacher in Nashville. He kept a bookstore on the corner of College and Union Streets. He had three daughters: Sarah, Louisa, and Harriet. Sarah married Mr. Moore. Louisa married and went to Philadelphia to live. After the death of his first wife Joseph Elliston married a widow, Mrs. Black- man. Adeline, his third child, married Mr. Odum, a brother of her stepmother. Joseph married Miss Mitchell, of Sumner County, and William married Miss Body, a granddaughter of his stepmother. The first theater in Nashville w^as an old frame salt-warehouse on Market Street belonging to John H. Smith. It contained only one large room, and the seats were arranged as they were at the old race-track at West Side Park. The stage was a small raised platform. Row & Russell were the managers. The first play I ever attended, in 1819, was called " The Robbers." Mrs. Russell and Mrs. Row w^ere the lady performers. Mr. Lud- loe, a very handsome young actor, who came here from the North, went to Franklin, ran away and married Miss Murray, sister of A. B. Murra}^ who danced "The Fisher's Hornpipe" between the farce and the play. This was his wife's first appearance on the stage. She was dressed OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 21) in pink silk, low neck and short sleeves, with a short skirt. She had wreaths of roses around the bottom of her skirt, her neck and arms, and on the top of her shoes. She became a very noted actress. Her husband had a very beautiful voice. After the battle of New Orleans the favorite song was ''The Hunters of Kentucky," and Mr. Lud- loe sang this between the farce and the play. Part of it was : Ye gentlemen and ladies fair Who grace this famous city, Come, listen, if you've time to spare. While I rehearse this ditty; And for the opportunity Conceive yourselves quite lucky, For 'tis not often that you see A hunter from Kentucky. Chorus. O Kentucky, the hunters of Kentucky ; O Kentucky, the hunters of Kentucky. Old Pakenham, he made his brags. If he in fight was lucky, He'd have our girls and cotton-bags In spite of old Kentucky. And when so close that we saw 'em wink. We thought it time to stop 'em; It would have done you good, we think, To have seen Kentuckians drop 'em. After Russell and Row left, Drake was manager of the theater. He had a beautiful daughter, an actress, and two sons, who were also actors. Alex Drake ran away and married Miss Denny, of Lexington, Ky., who also became a noted ac- tress. Miss Julia Drake was said to be the hand- 30 OI.D DAYS IN NASHVILLE. somest woman on the stage at that time. She married Mr. Dean, an actor. Her daughter, Julia Dean, became a noted actress. Her favor- ite play was ''The Lady of Lyons." Caldwell was the next manager, and he built a new theater on the corner of Union and Summer Streets. Forrest and Parsons were two very hand- same actors who came from Kentucky. They became very distinguished tragedians. Forrest went to New York, and Parsons was converted under the preaching of Maffitt, and became a Methodist preacher. After Caldwell left, Mr. Green took charge of the theater. He had two beautiful daughters, Mrs. McKenzie and Mrs. Jefferson. Mrs. McKenzie was considered a rnost magnificent actress, but she died of con- sumption. After her death her husband, who had never been an actor, was a clerk in Snow's tin- shop for a long time. Mrs. Jefferson was the grandmother of Joe Jefferson, the well-known ac- tor of the present day. The last play I attended was in 1848. Charlotte Cushman played in " Mac- beth." The plays, as a rule, were of much better style then than they are now. Shackelford was a bricklayer. He owned four or five acres of ground from McLemore Street to the depot. He built a brick house on the corner of Broad, where Christ Church now stands. He married Miss Agnes Clopton. He had a brick- yard between Walnut and McLemore Streets. OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 31 He sold out to McLemore and went to Clarks- ville. Mr. McLemore's daughter, Miss Katie, was a very beautiful young lady. Her father married Miss Donaldson, Mrs. John Donaldson's daughter and a niece of Mrs. Gen. Jackson. Mrs. Walker, a widow from Virginia, had a large family of handsome sons and beautiful daughters. Her oldest daughter married Sandifer Hoggett, a prominent young lawyer. He died eleven months after their marriage. She was the belle of Nashville for several years after his death, and then married Dr. Horton, a United States offi- cer. Her oldest brother, James, married Kittie McLemore. McLemore then sold out to Judge Maney, and went to Memphis. Judge Maneyhad a large family. His eldest son, George, married Miss Elizabeth Crutcher. His next son, Henry, a very prominent lawyer, was a member of the Legislature, and died of consumption when very young. His eldest daughter married a man from Asheville, N. C. Annie married John Seaborn, a son of the Methodist preacher. James Maney married a young lady from Richmond, Va. He now lives on Broad Street. Dr. William Maney married Miss Bettie Stone, and lived on Hayes Street. The youngest son, Frank, lived in New Orleans. LETTER IV, Capt, Thomas's Militia Company — Old University of Nashville, ^N 1812 Jesse W. Thomas, my father, was a mihtia captain. His muster - ground IJ was Wilham McMurray's farm, near Todd's Knob, on the Lebanon turnpike. I was a child twelve years old, and was delighted when I saw him dress in his uniform. He wore white pants, white vest, blue cloth coat trimmed in red, and brass buttons. His hat was crescent shape with a cockade, with a silver eagle on one side, and a large white feather tipped with red. He wore a sword and belt and a ruffled shirt and high boots. This is his muster-list, and contains the names of those who composed his company: Jesse W. Thomas, captain; John Drury, William Mc- Murray, John Thomas, John A. Allen, Benjamin Caps, William Murphey, Andrew Edmunson, Samuel Williams, Charles Mulherren, Robert Wood, John Buchanan, John Roberts, Joshua Fu- quay, Daniel Treadwell, John B. Hall, James Mc- Ferrin, Henry Owen, Talton East, Joseph Ander- son, John Irvin, x\ntony Clopton, Thomas Fuquay, Zachariah Noel, Thomas Bernard, Samuel William- son, Edward H. East, Graves Pennington, Will- iam L. Carter, Archibald Pullin, Edmund Owen, OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 33 Ansylan Barnes, Joseph Castleman, Samuel Mc- Murray, James Austin, William Quales, Samuel Ridley, George W. Charlton, George Aiken, John McFerrin, Sherrod Hall, Samuel Lyndal, Zachariah Hayes, Jeremiah Roberts, Henry Hayes, Amos Robertson, Silas Flournoy, John Elgin, James Love, Henry Gray, Richard Smith, Will- iamson Birthright, Leonard Keeling, James Mc- Daniel, Samuel Blair, John Noppe, James Lea, James Sample, James McBride, Robert Edmunson, George Buchanan, Zachariah Harrison, Allen Mc- Niece, Hopehull McNiece, James Carter, Archi- bald Hall, Richard Nolyboy, Thomas Bird, John E. Hall, Christopher Clarton, Micah Snidon, Zach- ariah Howell, Henry Graves. Dr. Priestly was President oi the old University of Nashville about 1818 and 1819. Old Dr. Troust was the geologist and Mr. Sours was the Latin and Greek professor. Mr. Len Cheatham kept a boarding-house for the boys. Mr. Hamil- ton was a very eccentric old bachelor. There were some very wild boys here from Alabama and Mississippi who were always playing pranks on him. One night the boys got a calf and took it up to Mr. Hamilton's room, on the third floor, put it in the room, and left it there. When he went to his room and found it there he was very much frightened and did not know how to get it down the steps, and had to get some of the boys to help him. The professors tried to find out who did it, 3 34 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. but could not do so. It was against the rule for. the boys to carry firearms of any kind One of the boys said that he kept them in his room all the time. All such things had to be reported to the professors, and it was reported to them that this young man had firearms in his room and would not give them up. The professors called him up and asked him if this was true, and he said yes. They told him that he must give them up, and he went to his room, got his andirons, and brought them and laid them at the professors' feet. It was also against the rules to go to the theater, and there was a young man who had been two or three times, and he was brought before the faculty. Mr. Litton was one of the professors, and he said: "Mr. Perkins, were you at the theater last night? " He replied: "Mr. Litton, if I had been there, you would be the last person I would tell about it." Some of the students killed a turke}^ and tied it to Mr. Cheatham's front gate, and put a piece of paper in its mouth with this written on it: "I ad- vise all you young men not to come here to board unless you want to die of starvation, for that is what killed me." My mother lived in the country on a farm, and one day I made a large old-fashioned peach potpie and put it in a bucket, and got four very large wa- termelons and sent them down to four of the stu- dents: Mr. Dancy, from Alabama; Mr. Abe Lit- ton, a professor; Charlie Dickerson; and another OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 35 young man from Louisiana. At an oratorical con- test in April, which was held at McKendree Church, Mr. Heiskell, one of the students, had for his subject " Poets and Poetry" and made one of the best speeches ever made in that college, and Mr. Litton said that there would not be another such speech made in this century by a young man in that college. A war broke out in the West, and he went to join the army and never returned to graduate. That same year there were several bright young men at school. Among them were Hardy Burtin, John M. Lea, John Stephens, Mr. Gilchrist, from Alabama, and WilHam Menefee. Nearly every one of that class became distin- guished men. I remember when Mr. Gilchrist said in his address at Commencement that he could always tell an aristocrat by his feet, because they always had a high instep, and he put his foot out to show us. "Parson" Hume had a very talented son, Al- fred, who graduated here. After he graduated he taught school all his life. LETTER V, The Big Fire — Brick Storehouses— First Paper, N 1812 there was a large fire. All the houses on both sides of Market Street, from the Square to the St. Charles Ho- tel, were destroyed. The people then decided it would be best to build only brick houses. The first house, where Lebeck Brothers' store recently stood on the Square, was built by Mr. Irvin, a dry-goods merchant. He had three sons and one daughter. From Irvin' s store to Union Street was owned by Peter Bass, and he built a row of brick houses. His first store was rented to William Carroll, who kept a nail-factory. The next store was a dry- goods store, kept by Robert and William Arm- strong, uncles of Judge John M. Lea. Robert married Margaret Nichol, Josiah Nichol's eldest daughter. William married Nancy Irvin, whose father owned the corner store. One of her brothers was a very talented and distinguished physician. He was very small, and was always called " Little Dr. Irvin." He lived to be an old man, but never married. The next store w^as occupied by Robert and William Hewitt, w^ho were saddlers. Mrs. Adams and Matildaj her daughter, kept a millinery-shop OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 37 next door. Miss Matilda married Dr. O' Riley. Margaret, her next daughter, married Mr. Crock- ett, a dry-goods merchant. Rebecca married Robert Gibson, and Jane married his brother, Joe Gibson. Jane died, and her husband married her sister. The next store was owned by an old bachelor named Black. The store was afterward pulled down to open Union Street. The next store was owned by John Elliston, father of Mrs. Green. He was a silversmith. Mr. Eastland occupied the next house, and kept a billiard-table. Mr. Beno- itte kept a barber-shop in the next store. He used to make large, flat ginger-cakes with horses on them, which he sold for a dime apiece. The last house on the west side of the alley was built by Duncan Robertson. He kept a bookstore. He had three children: Annie, Harriet, and John. Annie married Nat Carroll, a brother of WilHam Car- roll. Harriet married L. Temple. Duncan Rob- ertson was one of the most benevolent and chari- table men that ever lived in Nashville. L. Tem- ple was a carpenter, and built a brick house on Church Street between High and Vine. He had one daughter, Agnes, who married Frank Foster, Robert Foster's youngest son. On the east corner of Market Street and the Public Square Mr. Gordon kept a dry-goods store. His wife was Miss Bell, sister of Mrs. Mc- Nairy. There was only one more house on this side as far as Union Street. In this house Dr. B8 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. Higginbottam had his office and kept a drug-store. Next to this there were two vacant lots, and then there was a one-story brick house, occupied by David Snow. He used the back room as a tin-shop and the front as a sales-room. Anthony Johnson, his brother-in-law, was his clerk. The next house was a dwelling, built by Mr. Black. On the cor- ner of the alley was a brick dwelling-house, built by Thomas G. Bradford, the first publisher and printer in Nashville. On the alley back of his house he had his printing-office. Across the alley Joseph T. Elliston built two brick houses, which were afterward made a part of the St. Charles Hotel. The dresses the ladies wore in those days would look very strange to us now, especially the skirts. They were made with three widths of calico. The dress-waist was gathered into a belt, and hemmed at the top, and held by a drawn string. This was held up by shoulder-straps about an inch wide. The sleeves were rather small, and came only to the elbow, and then were finished off at the elbow with a narrow band. The shoes had pointed toes. The bonnets were called " scoops," and were made in the shape of a coal-scuttle. They were made of silk or satin, and tied under the chin with ribbon. The ribbon strings were the only trim- mings. The hair was worn twisted up behind, with a large, square comb stuck in it, and it was banged in front. The combs were about three OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 39 inches wide. The ladies wore two or three strings of large wax or amber beads around their necks. The earrings were large gold '* half-moons," as they were called. In winter the favorite wraps were red capes, trimmed with white ermine. The refreshments at the parties were very dif- ferent from what they are now: they were very bountiful. There was one table for meat only, and another for candy, cakes, fruit, etc. They always had sillibub and boiled custard. In the center of the table they made a large pyramid of jelly and custards, put up in beautiful glasses. They always had tea, coffee, and chocolate. There was always a large bowl of toddy with baked apples in it, called apple-toddy. Every- body sat down to the table, and at each plate there was a small pie, made in patty-pans. The crust was baked in scalloped patty-pans, and filled with preserves. We had no sardines then, but used chipped beef instead. What was left was given to the servants, and the amount given to them was much greater and much nicer than is prepared now to feed fifty or a hundred people at the par- ties. At the dinings they had the greatest abun- dance of everything: meats, vegetables, jellies, and desserts. Boiled puddings of all kinds, with rich sauce, were a favorite dessert. John Boyd lived on Market Street, between Union and Church. It was a small grocery store, 40 OLD DAYS tN NASMVILLE* and he kept whisky. Mr. Woods used to say that he never met but one man who was sharper in trade than he was, and that was an Indian, who went to him to trade coon-skins. His counter was a large bench. The Indian had only four coon- skins, and made John Boyd pay him for twelve. He did it in this way: Every time Boyd bought a skin from the Indian he would just drop it on the floor, and when the Indian stooped and pretended to pick up another skin he would get the one he had alread}' sold him, and sell it over again. John Boyd did not find out what he had done until the Indian had left. He built a handsome two-story brick house on the east side of Market Street. He afterward bought a farm out on Church Street and moved to it. His house was in the same place Mr. Dickerson's home now is. His first wife had no children. His second wife was Mrs. Ewing, John O. Swing's mother. She had three daugh- ters, Mrs. John Williams, Mrs. Robert Smiley, who afterward became Mrs. Governor Foote, and Mrs. Hal Hayes, who inherited the home. Her daughter married Mr. Ford, who now lives on West End Avenue. On Market Street, nearly opposite Phillips & Buttorff's present store, was a two-story brick house, with two rooms up stairs and two down. It was a double house, and in 1814 Thomas Hill lived in one part; in the other the first United States Bank was kept. Thomas Somerville was the President, Mr. Cregg was the cashier, and OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 41 George Washington was the clerk. The bank was afterward built on the north corner of the Square. Mr. Somerville had two daughters and three sons. His oldest daughter married John Young, and his other daughter was an old maid. His oldest son, John, ran away and married Miss Hewitt, whose sister married WilHam Watkins. The other boys moved from here to Alabama. Mrs. Young left one child, Miss Lizzie Young, who now lives here. On the west corner of Deaderick and Cherry Streets there was a row of frame houses built by the Searcys. Judge Searcy lived on the corner. His wife was Miss Wendal, a very beautiful wom- an. The next two houses were occupied by young men who rented them for offices. Dr. Jack Whar- ton, a son of Jesse Wharton, occupied one, and Archibald Goodridge, a young lawyer, rented the other. He wrote a farce called " The Shavers." It was played twenty nights in succession. One of the actors, called " Old Grey," used to repre- sent Dr. Lawrence, and wore a long gray over- coat. The next house was a one-story brick with only two rooms, built by Mr. Rawworth, a silver- smith. He and his wife, who was Priscilla Brew- er, lived in the back room and kept a store in the front. Mr. Welsh, a carpenter, who married Miss Wharton, lived in the next house, which was a one- story frame with two rooms and a shed. Josiah Nichol owned a block on Cherry Street, between Union and Cedar. He built a large two- 42 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. story house, containing only eight rooms, but it was considered large then. He was a dry-goods merchant, and kept a store on the south side of the Square. His eldest daughter, Margaret, mar- ried Robert Armstrong, a brother of William Arm- strong. Jane married J. P. W. Brown, and Hen- rietta married Dr. Percy. His oldest son, William Nichol, married Miss Julia Littel, of Murfeesboro. Ben did not marry, and Josiah was killed on the Fourth of July by a cannon used in the celebra- tion. James's first wife was Miss McCullough, of Murfeesboro. Josiah Nichol's brother, John Nich- ol, married Rachel Bosley. She had four chil- dren and died, and he afterward married Miss Harriet Mauford, of Boston, whose sister married Locke Weakley, the only son of Col. Weakley. His third wife was Miss Bradford, who had three children. Her second daughter married Mr. Hightower. Her son, Bradford Nichol, keeps a wholesale furniture-store in Nashville now. In 1812 Mr. Eastin began to publish a paper. He only kept it a little while and then sold it out to Moses and Joseph Norvil, two young men from Kentucky. In 1819 the First Presbyterian Church in Nash- ville was built on the corner of Summer and Church Streets. Randall McGavock, of Frank- lin, gave the lot to build it on, with the condition that if they ever built anything on it but a church OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 43 it would go back to his family. Judge John Over- ton gave the lot to build the Masonic Hall on, upon the same condition. Joseph and Robert Woods were commission merchants. They had a warehouse on College Street. Joseph Woods's residence was on Market Street, just opposite the St. Charles Hotel. He married Miss Jane West, of Lexington, Ky. He had no children. Robert Woods married Miss Sallie West, a sister of his brother's wife. They had six children. Josephine married John Branch, a son of Gov. Branch, of North Carolina. James married Bessie Campbell. Jane, his next daugh- ter, married a hardware merchant, Mr. Handy, in Philadelphia. Robert married Miss Cheatham, and Joe married Miss Foster. His youngest daughter, Julia, married Dr. Robert Foster. Jane married Mr. Armstead. Samuel V. D. Stout, sometimes called " Samuel Vexation Damnation Stout," was a carriage-maker. His wife was Miss Tannyhill. He lived on the east side of Water or Front Street. Next to him was a two-story frame house which was rented to tenants. Theodoric Yeatman lived there for some time, and after he left it was rented to Mr. Brad- ford, brother of Thomas G. Bradford, the first editor in Nashville. He married Miss Lucy Mar- tin, a sister of Barkley Martin, of Shelby ville. Just opposite this house, on the other side of the 44 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. river, was a ball alley, where the young men used to go to play ball for exercise. One evening I was sitting on the back porch, and saw J. P. El- liston's sons and some other children playing over there. The bo3^s decided to go in bathing, and Robert Elliston was drowned. The river was searched, but his body could not be found until the next evening. Old Mr. Cruff, who had a vineyard just across the river, was the watchman of the town. After nine o'clock at night he used to walk up and down the streets and cry out the hours. If it was a rainy night, he would say: "Past eleven o'clock, a t'undering and a lightning, and a tam rainy night." On the south side of Cedar Street, on Capitol Hill, a lawyer named Andrew Hayes lived in a small one-story brick house containing only two rooms. He had a daughter, Annie Hayes, who was very beautiful, talented, and smart. She read law with her father. Mrs. Ephraim Foster, and all the other wealthy ladies, took great inter- est in her. Forrest and Parsons, two very hand- some 3^oung men, were studying for the stage. Forrest used to wear a large white collar turned down over his coat and tied with a black ribbon. Miss Hayes fell in love with him. Mrs. Foster gave a large part}' to Miss Hayes, and invited For- rest, although it was not customary to invite actors OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 45 to private houses in those days. Forrest wrote an excuse to Mrs. Foster, saying that he had no time to spend in society, and that he wished to devote himself to his profession and become a noted act- or, which he succeeded in doing. Where the Maxwell House now stands Mc- Combs & Robertson had a cabinet-making shop. Mr. Egbaum came to Nashville a saddler, but after- ward sold out and kept a bookstore. He lived on the west corner of Vine and Cedar Streets, where he built the first brick house on Vine Street. He built the next two houses to rent. Maj. Kelly and Mr. Ely now own them. Mr. McCombs, the cab- inet-maker, built the house where Dr. Briggs now lives. Where Mrs. James Manier now lives, Rob- ert Imo then lived. The next house was built by George Yearger, afterward sold to Judge Brown, who married Miss Eliza Hightower. She died, and he married Miss Louise Gibbs, a very beau- tiful young lady. Her father was a lawyer, and built a brick house on Church Street opposite the Nicholson House. LETTER VI, Prominent People — First Water/' Works. WO springs, one at the end of Church Street, the other under the bluff where the Methodist PubHshing House now stands, supplied the first inhabitants of Nashville with wa- ter. The water was carried in wooden buckets and pails to their homes by the servants. The first water- works were at the end of Church Street, and the machinery which conveyed the water was a mill which ground meal and sawed timber. The res- ervoir was next to the Masonic Hall. Before the water-works were built, if a house caught fire, they put it out in this way: Every man had a leath- er bucket which held about two gallons, and with his name on it. It was always hung up near the front door. The men formed a line from where the fire was down to the river, and buckets of water were handed from one to the next. On South Cherry Street the first residences were built by J. P. Irvin, Dr. Roane, son of Gov. Roane, Dr. Wells, Sam Marshall, and Sam Seay. John P. Irvin's was a one-story brick house, and Sam Marshall's was a two-story brick, and is still standing. Dr. Roane's is a two-story frame house. OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 47 The house in which Mr. Jungermann now hves was built by Sam Seay, who came here a very young man. He fell in love with Agnes Woods. He became a very prominent citizen and a fine business man, and reared a family of very distin- guished children. Mrs. Irby taught the first free school for children ever in Nashville. Her daughter Fan- ny married George Morgan, the father of the late Irby Morgan and John Morgan, the United States Senator from Alabama. Her youngest daughter, Nancy Irby, married Dr. Roane. He died, and she moved to Texas with her daughter, who had married Thomas Masterson. After she moved Mr. Wessel lived in her house on South Cherry Street. Buchanan, a dry-goods merchant, and Porter- field, a commission merchant, built two large brick houses on Market Street, between the Square and Lick Branch. Buchanan married a beautiful girl, Miss Turley, a sister of Judge Tur- ley and a niece of Mrs. Weatherall. Mr. Porter- field was father of Robert and John Porterfield. Robert married Miss Eliza Shepard, and John married Miss Figures, of Franklin. A man named Decker came to Nashville and opened a confectioner3'-shop. He built a resi- dence on Cedar Street. His daughter married 48 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. Mr. Dyer. Decker bought two or three acres of land in South Nashville, and built a large one-story frame house and ball-room. He had a large gar- den planted with flow^ers and shrubs. All the balls, concerts and entertainments were given at " Vaux- hall," as his place was called. He had a railroad built around the place, where the people used to ride for amusement. It was a great place of re- sort, such as Glendale Park was during the summer of 1895. Mr. George Shawl was a very prominent man here. His wife was a Miss Haines, of Knoxville. He was a dry-goods merchant, and kept a store on the Square. He lived on High Street, in the house Mrs. Huff now lives in. The house was built by O. B. Hayes. He afterward built a large brick house on College Street. He moved from here to New Orleans, and Mr. Hudnall, from Mississippi, bought his house. The first school of the Sisters of Charity was kept in this house. George and Robert Yerger, nephews of George Shawl, were two 3^oung lawyers from East Ten- nessee. George built a home on the corner of Summer and Cedar Streets, and he also built the house on Vine Street where Mr. Throne now lives. He rented this house, and it was occupied by Gen. Gaines, a United States officer, whose w^ife was Gov. Blount's daughter. It was next rented by Judge Brown. His first wife was Eliza- beth Hightower, and his second wife was a beauti- OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 49 ful young lady, Miss Louisa Gibbs, a daughter of Lawyer Gibbs. Judge Brown died, and she mar- ried Dixon Allen, a prominent young lawyer and brother of Joe Allen, who lives now on Spruce Street. Richmond and Flint, two young men from Bos- ton, came to Nashville as silversmiths. Mr. Flint married a young lady in Boston, who had one daughter. He died, and his wife married Dr. John Waters, the brother-in-law of Dr. Felix Rob- ertson, the first white man born in Nashville. Mr. Flint's daughter married Mr. Bankhead, a commission merchant. They had five daughters. Mr. Bankhead owned a large farm in Arkansas. His eldest daughter married a prominent physi- cian in St. Louis. Then they moved to New York. Dr. Waters' first wife died, and he married Miss Annie Rollings. He lived in a brick house on the west side of College Street, near Mr. Warren's furniture store. They raised only one son, John Waters. After Dr. Waters' death his wife mar- ried Col. Beverly Williams, an officer in the Fed- eral army. They now live in Little Rock, Ark. Judge Trimble's family came to Nashville in the early settlement. His wife was Miss Clark, a sister of James P. Clark. Judge Trimble built a two-story brick house on Summer Street, which is still standing. His oldest son, John, married Miss Margaret McEwin. His daughter Susan 4 50 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. married William Washington, a brother of Thomas, James, and Gilbert Washington. After the death of her first husband she married Dr. Ramse}^ of Knoxville. Her daughter married Mr. Mclver, of East Nashville. One of Judge Trimble's daugh- ters married Mr. Lindsley, whose father was a President of the Nashville College, and one of the most prominent men in learning and education ever in Nashville. Mr. McEwin, the father of John Trimble's wife, lived on Spruce Street. His wife was Miss Hettie Kennedy, who was consid- ered one of the most benevolent, useful, and prac- tical women in Nashville. Her second daughter, Caroline, married Judge Jones, of Arkansas; her next daughter, Anna, married Mr. Wilkins. Between 1820 and 1830 there was a very romantic wedding in Nashville. Thomas and John Price, salt and commission merchants, owned a warehouse on the river-bank at the mouth of Broad Street. John's wife was Miss Rucker, of Murfreesboro. Tom married a beautiful woman. Miss Robertson, from Kentucky. They went to housekeeping on High Street where Mr. Pilcher now lives. Soon after they gave a party. One of the most promi- nent men in Nashville had a very beautiful daugh- ter about fifteen years old. A young man from Louisiana came here with Charlie Dickerson to go to school, and fell very much in love with this young lady. (I boarded in the house with the young man.) The young lady went to the Nash- OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 51 ville Academy, and she used to meet the young man nearly every day on her way from school. She was invited to the party given by Mrs. Thomas Price, and she wrote a note to the young man and told him to come to the party prepared to run away and marry her, as her father was go- ing to send her away to school the next day to stay two years. She was dressed in a pink silk dress, with low neck and short sleeves, and had on satin slippers. There were four inches of snow on the ground. The young man procured two horses. In those days the men wore woolen cloaks and large plaids, which were lined with a very thick woolen cloth. They had very large capes. He got one of the cloaks. The young lady left the party and met him at the corner of the street. She put on this large cloak, tied his handkerchief on her head, and got on one of the horses behind him, and a friend of his accompanied them on the other horse. They rode all night, and stopped at a tavern just this side of Frankhn, and he bought her a sunbonnet. They rode all day, and the next night about nine o'clock they reached Winchester. They went to the clerk's office and were married. The next day they reached Huntsville, Ala., and went to a hotel. Mrs. Coleman, who was well acquainted with the young lady's family, wrote to her mother to send her trunk and clothes. They remained in Huntsville until she received them, and then went on to Louisiana to his father's home. His father was a very wealthy planter. 52 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. They raised one of the most prominent families in Louisiana. Three of her daughters married gen- tlemen from Tennessee, all of whom were very prominent men. After death she was brought back to Nashville and buried at Mount Olivet last winter, and was the last one of her father's children. Whenever any news was brought to town that was important or startling, a man or boy would ride on horseback, with a long tin horn. He would ride in a gallop through town to the post- office, blowing his horn as loud as possible. When he reached the post-office he would proclaim the news. When the people heard the result of the battle of New Orleans they illuminated every house in town. They illuminated by putting candles in all the windows in the front of the house. There was a candle at every pane of glass, and they were arranged in different ways, sometimes in the shape of diamonds, and sometimes in circles. Gen. Harding's first wife was Selene McNair}^, the daughter of Mat McNairy, whose wife was Kitty Hobson. Charlie Cooper was clerk in the bank on College Street, which was where the Commercial National Bank now is. His wife was Maria Eastland, a cousin of Selene McNairy. Charlie Cooper gave a party over the bank. OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 53 There were two beautiful young widows here then, Mrs. Hoggett and Mrs. Camp. They were two of the most beautiful women ever in Nashville. Mrs. Hoggett was Miss Amanda Walker, from Virginia, and Mrs. Camp was Miss Webster. Mrs. Camp was married three times. Her first husband was Mr. Tate, her second Mr. Camp, and her last husband was Col. Andrew Irvin, brother of Mrs. Thomas Yeatman. Both of these widows attended the party given by Charlie Coop- er. Mrs. Camp was dressed in black velvet, with low neck and short sleeves, and had a long white ostrich feather in her hair. Mrs. Hoggett had on a crimson velvet, with a crimson rose in her hair. She afterward married a United States officer. Dr. Wharton. In 1834 ^^^ ladies all wore their dresses made with high necks, with ruffles around the neck, and mutton-leg sleeves. Under the outside sleeves they wore short sleeves stuffed with feathers, to make them stand out. The belts were embroi- dered satin ribbons of different colors, and they wore large buckles in front. The buckles were very handsome: some were made of gold, some had jewels in them, and some had landscapes painted on them. I have one of them now, the front of which is green glass, with a beautiful landscape painted on it, and the belt in white sat- in, embroidered with roses and other flowers. 54 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. They wore large capes made of white India mus- Un, and embroidered very elaborately. They were very expensive, some of them costing one hundred dollars. The first bridge built over the river was just back of where the Methodist Publishing House now stands. It was built by McChesney & Stacker. It was covered over and weather- boarded like a house, and had windows on both sides. The first rolling-mill in Nashville was on the hill near the Blind Asylum. It was owned by Woods, Dick & Stacker. The people used to go up and watch them make bars of iron out of the bloom. I went up there one day and watched Daniel and Charlie Hillman make them. It was astonishing to see how rapidly they did work. In 1822 Miss Lavinia King, a cousin of Robert and Joseph Woods and Mattie Strong, came to Nashville to spend the winter. The Legislature was in session, and a young lawyer named Ready, from Murfreesboro, was a legislator. He fell in love w^ith and married Miss Mattie Strong. They lived in Murfreesboro. His eldest daughter was Dr. William Cheatham's first wife. She was a OT.D DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 55 beautiful, refined, elegant woman. When they were first married they lived on the north cor- ner of Summer and Cedar Streets, in a two-story brick house built by George Yearger. Mrs, Cheatham had two children, a son and a daugh- ter. Her daughter married Mr. Tom Weaver, and her son married Miss Berry, a sister of Mrs. John M. Bass. LETTER VII, The Grundy^ Anderson Senatorial Race — Lafayette's Vis^ it and the Attendant Festivities. HEN Judge Grundy was elected United States Senator his opponent was a man named Anderson, a lawyer, formerly of East Tennessee. The legislators from East Ten- nessee were in favor of Anderson, except Gen. Cocke, who was a high-toned, elegant gentleman. The East Tennesseeans were Tiptons, McFar- lands, Francis Miller, and Alexander Bradford, and were all for Anderson. I boarded in the house with all these gentlemen. Gen. Cocke took a fancy to me, and on one occasion said, *' Miss Jane, we must elect Judge Grundy; " and by the time of the election we had persuaded all of them to vote for Judge Grund}^, and he was elected. When Gen. Cocke went home he made a bet with me that if I was not married to a certain young Methodist preacher here when he came back he would give me the finest head-dress that could be bought in Nashville. He had a grand- son living in Nashville who married the grand- daughter of the preacher, and he says he is going to give me a handsome head-dress to pay his grandfather's debt. OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 57 Mrs. Jacob McGavock, Judge Grundy's daugh- ter, and her husband gave the legislators a party after her father was elected Senator. The' supper excelled anything I have ever seen in Nashville. The house had double parlors down-stairs, and the rooms just above the parlor also had folding doors between them. They went to New Orleans and got a French confectioner to prepare the supper. The table was set up-stairs in the room over the parlor. The folding doors were open, and the table extended from one room to the other. At each end the table was set in the shape of a cross, and where the table went through the folding doors there was a large pyramid, which was at least three feet high, made of beautiful jelly put in glasses. Dispersed all over the tables were vases of beautiful artificial flowers, with glass globes over each vase. The candlesticks were of sil- ver, and each one held three beautiful wax can- dles. Long leaves were cut out of tissue-paper, dipped in spermaceti, and covered with isinglass, which made them look like crystallized candy. These w^ere put around each candle, and hung down over the candlestick. On the tables w^ere all kinds of large and small cakes, confectionery, and fruits. They had dancing down-stairs. A widower, Col. Gray Garrett, was a member of the Legislature. One of the young ladies was very much in love with him. There was a young lady playing on the piano at Mrs. McGavock's party, and he was standing near her turning the 58 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. music for her. The 3'oung lady who was in love, and who lisped very badly, went up to him and said: "Please, sir, can you tell me which is Col. Gray Garrett? I am very much in love with him." He replied: "I am the gentleman." In 1825 Lafayette came to Nashville. He came up in a boat. It w^ent up the river, turned around, and landed at the mouth of Broad Street. _ When he landed cannons were fired. He was met at the river by a large crowd of people, and his body- guard w^as a beautiful company of cavalry which conducted him through the streets. He w^as taken from the boat to an open carriage drawn by six white horses. Lafayette and Gen. Jackson sat on the back seat, and his son, George Wash- ington Lafayette, and his aid-de-camp, Barnard, sat on the front seat. All the houses were gaily decorated. The party came up Market Street, around the Square, and down College, passing under a beautiful arch at the corner of College and the Square. Robert B. Currey was Mayor and postmaster at this time, and lived on College Street, between Union and Church, where Mrs. Early used to keep a millinery-store. He entertained Lafayette during his visit here. The night of Lafayette's arrival a large ball and supper were given him at the Masonic Hall. There was a platform where he stood, and he shook hands with everybody. He kissed all the OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 59 young ladies who shook hands with him. He was invited to the Nashville Academy. There was a platform made in front of the building, and Miss Malvina Grundy delivered the welcome address. He was also entertained by Ephraim Foster in the house in South Nashville now used, as a Catholic convent. Gen. Jackson, too, entertained him at the "Hermitage." At night the entire town was illuminated. Mrs. Littlefield, a daughter of Gen. G.reene, knew Gen. Lafayette when he was at their house, where he was brought when he was wounded during the revolutionary war. She was living here in Nashville when Lafayette came. Dr. Lawrence came to Nashville and built a house on the corner of Broad and Walnut Streets. He lived in the house where George Whitworth used to live. He had a large family of beautiful girls. Mr. Abednego Stephenson married one of his daughters. Mr. Stephenson was a young Episcopalian^ minister and a professor in our col- lege. He and Dr. A. Litton were the youngest professors ever in our college. Mr. Stephenson died of consumption soon after he was married, and his brother-in-law died the same day. They were buried from the First Presbyterian Church. Dr. John Lawrence married Miss Rachel Jackson, the daughter of Gen. Andrew Jackson's adopted son. They owned and lived on a farm near the " Hermitage." William Lawrence, another broth- er, married Miss Corinne Hayes, a very beautiful 60 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. woman, and is still living on the Granny White pike beyond Belmont College. All of Dr. Law- rence's daughters died young. Dr. "Redhead" Martin, as he was always called, came to Nashville about 1830 and bought a lot on the corner of Summer and Church Streets. His lot extended from the corner to where Thomp- son & Kelly's store now is. His first wife had no children. After her death he married a daughter of Dr. Dickerson. He added to his residence a wing out to Church Street, and the house was kept as a boarding-house by Mrs. Edmunson. She first kept a private boarding-house, but it was aft- erward turned into a hotel and called the St. Cloud. Dr. Martin left here and went to Knox- ville. He had two daughters and one son. His grandchildren are still living in Knoxville. LETTER VIII, Recollections of Jenny Lind — Nashville's First Earth-^ quake* HE first house in Nashville in w^hich gas v^as used vs^as Mr. John M. Bass's. He lived in the house which belonged to Col. Cole, and is now occupied by Drs. Savage and Price. The gas was put in when Mr. Bass's old- est daughter, Margaret, married Dr. Tom Hard- ing. Dr. Harding has two daughters living. One of them married a doctor from Mississippi, and the other married Mr. Champion, the lawyer, who now lives on Spruce Street. In 1819 the fashionable material for dressing for evening wear was Canton crape. It could be bought in all colors: pink, blue, white, etc. It was woven like Canton crape shawls. The dresses were made with tight sleeves and high necks, with two or three rows of quilled ribbon about an inch wide around the skirt, sometimes being put on in straight rows, and sometimes festooned. The dresses had wide ruffles of very handsome India mull, scalloped at the edge and embroidered in beautiful designs, which were worn around the neck. These ruffles were about a quarter of a 62 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. yard wide, and were worked on each edge and quilted in the center. Two of them were gener- ally put on the neck of the dress, and had the ap- pearance of four ruffles. Velvet hats were worn. The brims were three or four inches wide, and the crowns of about medium height. They were trimmed with large ostrich tips, and often had four or five large ones on each hat. In the sum- mer the girls wore Leghorn hats, with very wide brims. They were very expensive, sometimes the hat alone costing fifty dollars. I had one which cost twenty dollars and was trimmed with lilac ribbon and white and lilac flowers. The brim was turned up in a fold behind so that they would not hang down on the neck. In winter capes made of velvet or cloth were worn. Jenny Lind came to Nashville about 185 1 or 1852. She sang at the theater, and the best seats costs from ten to twelve dollars, and those in the pit from three to four dollars. I went to hear her with W. P. Harding, a brother of Dr. Thomas G. Harding. Jenny Lind was small and slender. The night I heard her sing she was dressed in pink silk made very simple. She sang '' The Last Rose of Summer " and one or two other old songs. *' The Echo Song" was especially beautiful, and when she was singing it her throat would swell out like a bird, and you could hear the notes die out in the distance just an exact imitation of an echo. OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 63 In 1827 and 1828 it was the "fad" in society circles to make conundrums. They gave pre- miums to those who made the best ones. The premiums were silver cups. Randal McGavock, son of Mr. Jacob McGavock, got the first pre- mium. His conundrum was: "Why is a poor horse like France?" " He has bony parts (Bona- parte) in him." Miss Jennie Trabue got the sec- ond premium. Her conundrum was: "Why is Nashville like a sick kitten?" " She has Paines and Aikens in her." When the First Presbyterian Church was built, in 1820, they built in the yard an office, which was used as the pastor's study and as a place for the ladies of the church to hold their benevolent so- ciety meetings ever}^ Wednesday evening. The society had their work laid off in wards. There were members from all the different Churches — Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, etc. The prom- inent members were: Mrs. Grundy, Mrs. George W. Gibbs, Mrs. Annie Carroll, Mrs. Stephen Cantrell, Mrs. Joseph Litton, Mrs. Margaret Crockett, Mrs. Robert Smiley, Mrs. Judge White, and Mrs. McCombs. Each lady had certain wards to attend to, and went around each week to see who was sick, hungry, or suffering, and sup- plied them wdth comforts. I have never known such a band of benevolent Christian women in Nashville since that time. Those I mentioned were only some of the prominent members. Among others were Mrs. Jane Gibson, one of the 64 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. loveliest women I ever knew; Mrs. Temple, and Mrs. Joseph Woods. In 1811 there was an earthquake here, the first that ever happened in Nashville. It occurred about three o'clock one Monday morning. It was very severe, and ever^^thing in the houses rattled. My mother was always very much fright- ened at a storm, and when she heard the roaring w^hich preceded the earthquake she jumped up and opened the door, and by that time the earth began to shake. These shakings happened at in- tervals for about a year, and were often very se- vere. They were worse in West Tennessee than here, and by the sinking of the earth Reel Foot Lake was formed. LETTER IX, Clay and Polk in 1846 — Harrison — Odd Characters- First Dentists — Religious Revival HEN Clay and Polk ran for the Presi- dency in 1846 if was the most exciting election ever held in Tennessee. Clay was the Whig and Polk the Democratic candi- date. They organized all sorts of companies, such as the " Clay Slashers," the " Coon Hunt- ers," etc. The Clay Slashers were composed of cavalry dressed in white pantaloons and gay plaid hunting-shirts. They wore caps with w^hite plumes striped with red in them, and a blue silk sash. They had badges made with white ribbon with Clay's picture printed on them, and fastened to the sash with a white rosette. There was a long frame put on wheels, and a log cabin built on it, with a door with the latch and string put on the outside. Inside the cabin there was a barrel of cider which they sold as they marched through the streets, singing and blowing a long tin horn: " Git out the way, you Polk-stalk pizen ; you can't beat Clay and Frelinghuysen." They had a big convention, and Clay stayed at Dr. McNairy's, who lived on Summer Street be- tween Union and Church, Clay and J. J, Crit= 5 66 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. tenden, George Prentice, of Louisville, and Sar- gent S. Prentiss, of New Orleans, were here then. The convention was held on McGavock's farm, in a grove of walnut-trees. They had a large stand for the speakers and seats for the audience. In another part of the grounds there were tables a hundred feet long, where barbacue and other things w^ere served free. The distin- guished speakers were Clay, Crittenden, Breck- inridge; George Prentice, of Louisville; S. S. Prentiss, of Louisiana; Tom Marshall, Haney, Bingham, Pike, Cummins. The procession going out to the grove was nearly a mile long. Sar- gent S. Prentiss, of New Orleans, did not get there in time to speak at the grove, but spoke at night on the Square, just opposite Lebeck's store. The whole Square was tilled with people. I went and heard him. All the Whigs of the town opened their houses and entertained these men. Sam Morgan's and Dr. McNair3^'s houses were head- quarters for distinguished visitors. Sam Morgan came from Huntsville, Ala., among the early settlers. He was always an en- terprising business man, and one of the first men to start the cotton-factor}-. When the Capitol was built he superintended everything. He de- signed the chandeliers and selected the- statuary, He was a wholesale dry-goods merchant, and prom-s inent in everything which would promote the in^ terest of the town, His residence was on Summer OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. (>7 Street, next to Thompson & Kelly's store. He entertained all the distinguished people who came to the town. He and John M. Bass have enter- tained more than anybody who ever lived here. Sam Morgan's wife was Miss Matilda Mcintosh, a daughter of Dr. Mcintosh, of Virginia, who came originally from Scotland. He had a large family of children. His oldest daughter, Sarah, married Mr. Cheney. Henrietta married Ben Clark, a son of J. P. Clark. His next daughter, Amanda, one of the most beautiful and attractive women that ever lived in Nashville, married William Sherrod, of Alabama, whose father was a very prominent railroad man. Matilda Morgan mar- ried Dr. Robert Williams, a son of Willoughby Williams. His next daughter married Dr. Dun- can, a nephew of Mrs. Paul F. Eve. His eldest son married a young lady from Memphis. His second died w^hen he was just twenty-one years old, never having married. His youngest son, Sam, never married, but was killed during the war in the Confederate army. His youngest daughter died unmarried. In 1840, when Harrison was running for Presi- dent, C. E. Harris, whose wife was a sister of A. P. Maury, of Franklin, Mr. Bradley and myself came from Little Rock to Nashville, and passed Harrison's home, on the Mississippi River. When he reached Nashville the excitement was at its height. At this time Gen. Armstrong was post- 68 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. master. Jeremiah George Harris was editor of the Democratic paper, and Robert Foster was a Whig. He and Harris had some trouble, and Foster shot but did not kill Harris. Every even- ing when J. G. Harris came after the mail, his first inquiry would be : "Watchman, what of the night?" He married Miss McGavock, daughter of Mr. James McGavock. He had two daugh- ters, and died of consumption. His daughters grew up to be very pretty, attractive young la- dies. One of them married Dr. Lindsley, a prom- inent young physician, and lived in the house where Baxter Smith lives on Spruce Street. The other married Mr. Bryant, and lived near East Nashville, on a farm. Their father, J. G. Harris, left here and went to Washington City, and was a very prominent man there. His daughter, Mrs. Lindsley, and her husband went with him. Mr. Ferriss came to Nashville in early settle- ments. He was a confectioner, and came origi- nall}' from France. His wife was Miss Taylor, a most intelligent and lovely young w^oman. He had three very pretty daughters, and one who was especially beautiful. The}^ were Amelia, Har- riet, and Ann. Amelia married Joe Vanleer, son of Bernard Vanleer. Harriet married a young man from Louisville. His son, John Ferriss, is still living here. Joe Vanleer's father was a very prominent man here. He had two children, a sop and a daughter. His daughter married Mr, OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 69 Lanier, and his son married Miss Ferriss. Bar- nard Vanleer's brother, Anthony, Hved on College Street. He had three children. His oldest daugh- ter, Leonora, married Hugh Kirkman. She built the house on the corner of Summer and Ce- dar Streets, which is now used for a Conservatory of Music. She had three children, and died of consumption. His other daughter married John Polk, Bishop Polk's youngest brother. His son died unmarried. Mr. Gowdy came to Nashville, and owned a jewelry-store and restaurant on the Square, in the house now owned by Mr. Archie Cheatham. He was an energetic and prominent citizen. He had a family of very beautiful and intelligent children. He lived on what is now Gowdy Street. His eld- est daughter married Mr. McCampbell, a nephew of J. P. Clark, and now lives on a farm on the Leb- anon road. His next dau^jhter married Mr. Cocke, and the youngest married Mr. Stretch. They were all intelligent, good men, and made good citizens, and their wives were good women. There was a very amusing and eccentric old man named Tom Pearce. He was a beggar. He used to play a fiddle, and about dinner-time he would go to the different houses playing the fid- dle, and ask if you had any chairs to bottom, and beg his dinner. He said he slept in the market- house in the summer. Just across the river Dr. 70 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. Shelby had a sawmill, and Tom Pearce said he slept here in the winter with the hogs to keep warm. In the olden times all the gentlemen wore ruf- fled shirts. Mrs. Woods lived on High Street, in the house Mrs. Fogg now owns, and Mrs. Shawl lived just opposite Gen. Thruston's. They could make a shirt and rufl^e it in one day. In those days nearly every lady made her own and her children's clothes and her husband's shirts. Mrs. Shawl was one of the most benevolent women in Nashville, and was always interested in the poor. Her husband was very wealthy. They moved to New Orleans, and when she was quite an old lady she came back here on a visit. I was keeping house in my little cottage, and Mrs. Clark brought her out to see me. She said to me: "O Miss Jane, I came out to congratulate you, and to tell you I was so glad to find one woman in Nashville who had independence and sense enough to take care of herself without the help of a man." A woman once came to Nashville who had no arms, and was no larger than a three-year-old child. She wrote and cut out profiles with her toes. She was intelligent, and could read very well. Then there was another set of show-people who had a woman with them who had a beard, and another woman over six feet tall, called the *' giraffe." There was another little woman about three feet high. She said that when she was on OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 71 the vessel coming over to this country they used to tell her that the devil was a black man. One day she said she saw a negro coming up out of the ship, and thought it was the devil. It frightened her so much that she never grew any more. She was married, and had three children. The first dentist that ever came to Nashville was Dr. Harris, a Methodist preacher from Baltimore. He used to come twice a year only, in the spring and fall. He would get all the dentist's work in the town, and then go into the surrounding coun- try. He was a fine man and a splendid preacher. The next dentist was Dr. Badger, from New Or- leans. He spent his winters in New Orleans and summers in Nashville, and lived on Summer Street, between Broad and Church. He married Miss Perkins, a very beautiful young lady. The next dentist was Dr. Gunn, who stayed here all the 3^ear round. He was the first dentist that ever lived in Nashville all the year. There was a colored woman here named Sarah Estell, who kept an ice-cream saloon in a small log house next to McKendree Church. Mr. Maflfitt came here and had a big revival in McKendree Church in 1833. The church had not been com- pleted, but temporar}^ seats were put in for the oc- casion. Harry Hill was a prominent man in the Methodist Church. He had one son, Jimmie Dick Hill. He lived on Broad Street, on the lot 72 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. on which the custom-house now stands. His son was about ten years old, and had a little bench in the church. He had joined the Church, and used to go and get other little boys to come up and kneel at the bench to be prayed for. Between the song and the prayer he would take the boys to Sarah Estell's and treat them to ice-cream, and then take them back to church and go to singing and praying again. Mr. Maffitt had services there everv day and every night for three months. I was there one morning at ten o'clock to attend prayer-meeting. I never used to go up very close to the altar, where the excitement was, and Mr. Maffitt came up to me, shrugged his shoulders, and asked what I was doing in the cold, and wanted to know why I did not come up to the lire. I said to him: *' You have plenty of shavings up there to keep up the light. I am sitting out here, an old log, to keep up the fire, so that when your shavings go out you can come and get fire to light them again." He never came after me again to go up to the altar. I have never seen such con- tinued interest in a revival since I have been in the Church. Compare the Legislature of the present time with the Legislature of the past. Men of the best talent and standing in the state used to make our laws. Look at the men we used to choose as our repre- sentatives and governors, such men as Cocke, Dunlap, Tipton, Bradford, Miller, Frances, Mar- OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 73 tin, Wharton, Foster, and Huntsman. Here I must tell an amusing thing about Adam Hunts- man; He boarded in the house where 1 boarded. He had a small room to himself. The colored boy that waited on the gentlemen went up with him to the room to get his boots. He came run- ning back, frightened nearly to death, and said he could not stay in the room where that man was, because he took all the hair off his head and laid it on the table, and took his teeth out, and then took off one of his legs. "Law! Miss Sallie," he said, " 1 can't stay where that man is: he's taking himself all to pieces! " LETTER X, The Children's Friend First Use of Morphine in Nashville. R. STEPHEN CANTRELL was a dry- goods merchant. He was a half-brother of the Deadericks. He married Miss Wendall. John M. Hill, a young man, clerked in his store for a while. Then he quit clerking, and bought wood and cut a cord of wood every day. He brought it in a boat to the mouth of Lick Branch, and sold it there. Miss Phoebe Thompson came here from Cincinnati with the family of Mr. Thomas Coleman, who lived on Market Street. She married Mr. John M. Hill, who commenced to keep a small dry-goods store on Market Street. He and his wife stayed in the store, and they kept goods suitable for country people. The business grew so rapidly that they sent for two of her brothers, George and Charles Thompson, and kept them as clerks in the store. In a few years they had made enough money to retire, and they gave the store to George and Charlie Thompson. Mr. Hill bought the house on Church Street where Mr. John Aiken now lives. He lived there until his death. This house was built by Dr. John Wharton, the oldest son of Jesse Wharton, who OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 75 married a young lady from Baltimore, Miss Ma- son, whom he met while there studying medicine. She became dissatisfied with Nashville, and they sold the house to Mr. John M. Hill and went back to Baltimore. Mr. Charlie Thompson's first wife was a daughter of Dr. John Edgar, a Presbyterian preacher. She was a beautiful and accomplished young lady. She lived only a few years, and died leaving no children. After her death he married an adopted daughter of Judge White, of Gallatin. She was one of the best children I ever knew, and grew up to be one of the most talented, lovely. Christian women in Nashville. She was charita- ble and beloved by ever3^body, especially the poor. She died, leaving a family of good Christian chil- dren. Mr. Thompson has a dry-goods store here now and is a very prominent merchant. He has a beautiful home opposite the Vanderbilt. Mrs. James Scott, a lady from Ireland, and her husband came to Nashville in the early twenties, and she taught a female school. She first began in a rented room on High Street. Then she built a house and schoolroom on Vine Street, opposite the Episcopal Church. She was considered one of the finest lady teachers that ever taught here. She had two children, Walter and Mary Jane. Dr. Lapsley was a young Presbyterian preacher when he came here. He married a niece of James and Robert Woods, a Miss Walker. He took charge of the old Female Academy. There was a wealthy old bachelor who always boarded at the 76 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. Nashville Inn, and he took great interest in all the children who went to the Academy. He was one of the trustees, and visited the school every day. The children all called him " Uncle Tomm}^ Crutcher.'" He alvva3'S had his pockets filled with cakes, candies, or apples for the little children, who were perfectly devoted to him. He took as much interest in ever}^ child in the school as any father did in his family. As long as he lived he gave his kind care and talent to them. Many grandmoth- ers now living remember with pleasure *' Uncle Tommy Crutcher," for those he has helped in man}^ ways are now scattered all over the South. Robert Smile}^ a very worthy Christian man, owned a large lot on the corner of Cedar and Cherry Streets. His eldest son, Tom Smiley, is still livino- here. He married Emeline Norvil, a daughter of Moses Norvil, who built the house on the Franklin pike now owned by Mr. Douglas. He sold that and built the house where Mr. Allo- way lived. Henry Norvil, his eldest son, married Laura Sevier, a granddaughter of Gov. Sevier. Robert Smiley' s eldest daughter, Kitty, married Benjamin Bugg, one of the handsomest young men in Nashville at the time of his marriage. He built two three-story houses on Cherry Street. His family occupied one, and he rented the other. His daughters were all very pretty. One married Mr. Plater, and another married Mr. Church, of Memphis. Cabe Johnson, from Clarksville, was clerk in a OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 77 bank here. He was considered one of the hand- somest men ever in Nashville. He was tall, grace- ful, and elegant in appearance. He was a great beau, and was admired by all the young ladies. He married a 3^oung lady in Clarksville, and raised a f amity of very handsome and useful children. His daughter married Ed Hickman. His youngest son. Hick, was very handsome and one of the most fascinating young men I ever knew. I am ninety-tive years old. I am writing these recollections of Nashville entirely from memory. I don't expect all dates, names, and ever3^thing to be perfect, because a person of my age can not be expected to have a perfect memory. I may make errors, but I know that what I write about people — what they did, how they lived, etc. — is correct, I am quite certain that Randall McGavock wrote the conundrum that I said he did. Mr. McEwen might have written one, but I don't remember it. Randall McGavock's conundrum was: "Why is a poor horse like France? Because he has bony parts (Bonaparte) in him." My critic says a poor horse has more bony parts in him than France, and France has only one Bonaparte. I think France had more Bonapartes than a horse has bones. I am going to write, to the best of my memory, what I think will interest, amuse, and in- struct the people of Nashville. Owing to my age and circumstances, I hope my critics will deal gently with me, 78 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. I will now take up one of the most interesting characters ever in Nashville: William Walker, of Nicaraguan fame. His father, James Walker, was a Scotchman. He married Miss Mary Nor- vil, a very interesting and intelligent young lady. He lived on High Street, where Mrs. Gaut now lives, on property that he inherited from his uncle, Mr. Tate. He was at first a merchant on the Square, and was afterward a prominent insur- ance man. Many people here now will remember James Walker. He had four children: William, Norvil, James, and Alice. William was a very in- telligent child. He graduated at sixteen at the University of Nashville. He joined the Baptist Church soon after. He studied medicine here with Dr. Jennings, and then went to Paris and studied two years and then came back to Nash- ville. His mother was an invalid, and he spent every morning with her in her room reading to her. He was very intelligent and as refined in his feelings as a girl. I used to go often to see his mother, and always found him entertaining her in some way. He had two very special friends. Dr. Farquarheison and Dr. Lindsley, who lives on College Hill. He did not like to practise medi- cine, and went to New Orleans and began jour- nalism. He fell in love with a beautiful and intel- ligent young lady who was a mute. He was per fectly devoted to her, but she did not reciprocate his love. He went from New Orleans to Nica- ragua, Everybody is familiar with his career OLD DAYS IN NA.SII\'I I.LE. 79 while there. He was a filibuster, and was shot in the fall of i860. He was a constant friend of mine until his death, and wrote to me regularly. The last letter I received from him was written three weeks before he was shot. His father got his rifle after his death. When the Federals came to Nashville they took all the guns, etc., they could find, and his father asked me to keep Will- iam's rifle. I kept it in my room. Alice Walker married Mr. Richardson, a very prominent man of Louisville. His son Jim was very peculiar and witty. He was very sick once, and told his moth- er that he didn't want but one funeral ticket print- ed at his death, and that was to tell old Mrs. John Wright that he didn't want her to get a ride at his funeral. Mrs. Wright and her daughters were dressmakers, and always went to every funeral in tow^n to get a ride. The house where Gen. Thruston now lives, on High Street, was built by a stone-mason named Shields. He was an old bachelor when he lived there. He afterward married Miss Clay. Be- fore he married he used to rent his house, and the first man who lived in it was Mr. Steven Watkins, who married Miss Baxter. Her father owned the ironworks. She had a ver^^ beautiful sister, Miss Emma Baxter. I used to claim her as one of my children because I was very fond of her. She married Mr. Mike Vaughan, and is still living on a farm near East Nashville, After Mi*, Watkins 80 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. left, Mrs. Bankhead lived in this house. She gave a large party to Mr. Ed Alloway, who married the eldest daughter of Mrs. V. K. Stevenson. It was a very large and fashionable assembly. Mrs. Blood, a very fascinating woman, was at the par- ty. They had just begun inhaling morphine here. She had a headache, and some one advised her to take morphine. She took it and was overpowered. They had to get a couch and put her on it. Dr. Kennedy was a very fascinating 3^oung physician from Kentucky. They called him in to see her. Mrs. Barrow asked me to go and see what to do for her. When I went to her she was hysterical, and said: "O Miss Jane, will I die?"' I said: " O no, Mrs. Blood; you will be all right in a few minutes." I bathed her head in ice-water, and she soon became faint. She was very beautiful and rather fleshy, and was dressed in pink satin. Aft- er that she was always a dear friend of mine, and never came to Nashville that she did not come to see me. LETTER XL A Quilting Joke on a Long Nose— The Oldest Brick House* NE of the old landmarks here was Will- iam Brookes' s old frame tavern on Cher- ry Street, between Church and Broad. I don't remember exactly when it was built, but it was about 1819 or earlier. Just opposite this was Mrs. Robertson's residence, made of hewn logs. She was living there when I came to Nashville in 1804, and lived there until her death. She was the mother of Mrs. Hannon and Mrs. John Chil- dress. Another old landmark was a brick house in the bottom, on Wilson's Branch, where Christo- pher Brookes lived. Before he came here he lived on Stone's River, at Clover Bottom. In the early twenties he moved to Nashville and was the town constable. He had two or three boys and one beautiful girl, who had the most beautiful complexion I ever saw, and was very fleshy. She married Capt. Bell Snyder, a steamboat officer, and afterward went to New Orleans to live. In the country they used to have quiltings.v Mrs. John Hall, who lived on the Lebanon road, had a quilting and promised the young ladies a dance if they would finish the quilt by night. We finished it before night, and she invited all the 6 82 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. young men of the neighborhood and sent for Mr. William Brookes to come and play the " fiddle " for us. It was a very wealthy, aristocratic neighbor- hood, and there were several very nice young men who were invited to the dance. They were Will- iam Cook, Standifer Hoggett, Dr. James Hoggett, Judge Turley, Lindsley Hall, Langston Cooper, William Cooper, and Jack Clopton. The 3^oung ladies were Misses Sallie Cook, Lucinda Lunden, Patsy Hall, Meeky Thomas, Agnes Clopton, and myself. We danced until twelve o'clock, and then we had some refreshments. We had tea-cakes, biscuit and butter and coffee, and nuts and apples. Every one of the young men who w^ere there be- came distinguished men. William Cook was a judge and married Judge Brown's sister, of Clarks- ville; James Hoggett was an eminent physician and his brother was a lawyer; Langston Cooper w^as a doctor and his brother a lawyer; Standifer Hoggett was a prominent lawyer. About 1817 or 1818 Mr. Thomas Hill, my brother-in-law, was a merchant on College Street. He had a clerk who was a Yankee. His family lived in the same house in which the store was kept, and very often after supper the clerks would come in and sit with the famil}/. There was a colored girl who always waited on the room, and Mr. Douglas, the Yankee clerk, said to her: '*Amanda, curtail the superfluity of this nocturnal luminary." She walked to the table, took the OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 83 snuffers, and snuffed the candle. I asked her what Mr. Douglass told her to do. She said: " He told me to take the snuffers and top the tail off the candle." Mr. John H. Smith had a dry-goods store on College Street, between the Square and Union Street. He had a very prominent nose and was a very ordinary-looking man. He was standing on the pavement in front of the store one day and a country wagon was passing. The countryman said to him: "Mister, will you please turn your nose the other way until I get my horses by?" The boys in the store heard it, and they laughed at him a great deal about it. When they saw any one with an unusually large nose they always said: "Will you please turn your nose the other way until I get my horses by! " Another old landmark here was at the corner of McGavock and High Streets, on the large vacant lot now owned by Mr. John M. Lea. There was about an acre of ground- laid off in a square, and one-story log cabins were built on each side of it. They were for the corporation hands, as the negroes who made the streets were called. Mr. James McLaughlin and his family lived in one of the houses and they attended to everything. His wife superintended the cooking for the hands. He had charge of this place for several years. He had several children. One of his daughters 84 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. was a beautiful woman. She married Mr. Mc- Kinney, who was a steamboat pilot. His father was a blacksmith and lived on Market Street. Another daughter of Mr. McLaughlin married Mr. James Jenkins, who died leaving two children, a son and a daughter, and they now live on Gowdy Street. John B. West had a cotton-factory just below Broad Street. I don't remember what street it was on, but it was near Wilson's Branch. Mr. Antony, who lived on the corner of Demonbreun and McGavock Streets, owned a potter}^ where he made pots, jugs, bowls, etc., out of clay. The old house was still there the last time I was in that neighborhood. The oldest brick house now standing here is on Cedar Street. It was built by Mr. Cockrill, and Mrs. Cockrill lived in it and kept a boarding- house. One of her daughters married Mr. Huff, a bricklayer. There was a brick Methodist Church on McLemore Street just below the negro St. John's Church. They sent a young preacher named Harwell to preach here. He married a grandaughter of old Mrs. Cockrill' s, Miss Huff. Later on Mrs. Cockrill left this house and built one on the corner of Line and College Streets. She kept a tavern there until her death. She lived to be a very old woman. Harwell quit preaching and became engaged in Odd-Fellow work, and is OLD DAYS IN NASHVIT.T.PJ. 85 still employed in it. During the war his church was torn down by the Yankees, who used the bricks to make chimneys for their tents. Just below the depot Mrs. Fairfax, a widow, lived. She owned a small farm. She had two very lovely daughters and one or two ^ons. Her eldest daughter married Mr. Peck, and after his death she married Mr. Link. Her next daughter, who was a beautiful girl, married Mr. Lusk, a gentleman who came here from the North and kept a clothing-store. His widow^ now lives on the corner of Vine and Union Streets, just oppo- site the Polk Place. LETTER XII, A Time of Elaborate Entertainment, J]N 1825 Bishop Paine was in Nashvilie, and Bishop Oty, a young Episcopahan, had charge of a church in Frankhn. VTr. Paine and Mr. Oty were great friends, and were both young men at that time. There were very few Episcopahans in Nashville then, not enough to organize a church ; but they had a so- ciety, and the first Sunday in every month Mr. Paine gave up his church to Mr. Oty, and let him conduct the services. The Episcopalians were the families of Col. Rutledge, Mr. Godfrey, Fran- cis Fogg, and Mr. Sims. The Methodist Church was on Church Street, just below Demoville's drug-store. Mr. Paine boarded with my sister, Mrs. Hill, and every Sunday when Mr. Oty came to town he would stay at her house with Mr. Paine. Mr. Lion, an Episcopalian minister, came here from the North about this time. Mrs. Hill had a daughter between seven and eight years old. She had just been baptized by Mr. Paine. One of her little friends gave a dancing-party, and invited her to it. Her mother asked her if she would go to the dancing-party after having been baptized and becoming a Methodist. She OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 87 went off, and came back in a few minutes, and said: " Mother, I believe I will leave the Meth- odist Church and join the Piperterian [Presbyte- rian] Church." Mrs. Teatman was living next door, and Mrs. Hill told her to see that even her children saw the difference in the churches. Let us compare the manners and customs of these days with those of sixty or seventy years ago. In those days everybody had their own serv- ants, and had a great many. Every lady had an old servant, or " mammy," to take care of the children and look after the other servants. All of them were well-trained negroes. The mistress directed the head servant, and she superintended the others. The people had everything provided in the household that they needed. The store- rooms and pantries were filled with things suitable for housekeeping, and they were very sociable and hospitable. Every week some one in the city would give a dining to their friends. The ladies used to try to surpass each other in the elegance of these dinings. Soup, which was very rich and highly seasoned, was always the first course. They had rice with the soup. The next course would probably be a large boiled fish, elegantly cooked and served with creamed Irish potatoes, bread, and pickles. There was a whole boiled ham at one end of the table, and a roast of beef or turkey or ducks at the other, and all kinds of veg- etables, pickles (such as mangoes, cucumbers, S8 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. sweet peaches, etc.), and jelly. The desserts were always nice plum puddings, apple custards, or pies, and always cakes and jellies. They nev- er had a dinner in those days without claret wine; it was indispensable. The girls were always re- quired to superintend the cleaning of the parlor and the bedrooms where the guests were enter- tained, and most of them were excellent house- keepers. They used candles altogether then, and had beautiful silver candlesticks. On the mantel in the parlor they generally had a large silver can- dlestick in the center, and on each end artificial flowers with a glass globe over them. The chairs were made entirely of wood, without plush or cloth covering. They were different colors, and were called Windsor chairs. The carpets were handsome, and the center-tables were very pretty, and had pier-tables at the side. There were large brass andirons in the fireplace, and they were al- ways kept bright and shiny. Some of them were plated with silver. The ladies kept nice things in the house, so that they might prepare for unex- pected compan}^ They always kept calf-heel jelly on hand, and dried beef and cakes of every kind. A delightful dish for breakfast was made by putting the calf -heels in batter and frying them. Thanksgiving Day they had a large boiled plum- pudding, with rich sauce, and other things for des- sert. One dish was made of saddle of venison, dressed with bread-crums and seasoned. The next day the tenderloin was cut in a chafing-dish 6l>D DAYS IN NASMVILTvE. 89 and laid in between the slices were bread-crums and butter and spices and a little jelly, and all was baked. The turkeys were dressed with oysters and bread-crums. Then they were buttered and rolled up in a cloth, and boiled until perfectly done. A rich gravy, made of oysters, butter, etc., was poured over them, and they w^ere eaten with celery. They had all kinds of fruits: figs, raisins, prunes, grapes, oranges, apples, etc. In olden days the ladies never had more than two nice dresses, no matter how wealthy they were. The}^ wore large, square w^hite handker- chiefs, which were richly embroidered or edged with lace. The home dresses were nice woolen dresses or calico wrappers, made to fit nice- ly. The young ladies always had some employ- ment when at home, some kind of needlework. When the young ladies who lived in the country wanted to go to the theater or to a party in town they used to come to town and stay with some of their friends. In the early twenties the Nashville Inn was a very fashionable hotel. Maj. Biddle, a widower from Philadelphia, came here with a family of beautiful, accomplished daughters. He boarded at the Nashville Inn. Mrs. Hoggett, a beautiful widow who lived in the country, always stayed there when she came to town. I called one day to see Mrs. Hoggett, and Mrs. Malvina Grundy yO OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. had called to see the Misses Biddle. Gen. Sam Houston, Maj. Howard, and several other gentle- men were in the parlor. One of them asked Mrs. Grundy to play on the piano, and she played and sang " Coming through the Rye." In after- years, when she was Mrs. Bass and had daugh- ters, she used to tell them that none of them were as graceful and interesting as she was when she was a young lady, and told them to ask me if it were not so. I used to laugh, and go to the piano and show them how she played and sang for those gentlemen at the Nashville Inn. She would say: *' Jane Thomas, that's the meanest thing you ever did: ridiculing me before these girls, just after I had told them what an elegant young lady I was." She certainly was one of the most intelligent, en- tertaining, and interesting young ladies ever in Nashville. I love her memory. Mrs. Grundy and Miss Biddle were married the same night; and as Miss Biddle was boarding at the inn, Mrs. Grundy invited her to come to their house and marry, which she did. Miss Biddle married Mr. Boyd, and Mrs. Grundy married Mr. Bass. LETTER XIII. A French Dancing^School — The Fogg Residence and Its Appointments, IN the forties a French dancing- master came here from New York. His name was St. Maud Stuart. He opened a very large dancing-school in the Masonic Hall, on Sum- mer Street, and had a great variety of fancy dances, all of which were very beautiful. At the close of the school he gave a ball. The partici- pants were dressed in costumes corresponding to the dances. Those w^ho danced the Highland fling were dressed in Scotch costumes. They w^ere Henrietta Cockrill, Madeline Morgan, Jennie Whitfield, and Medora Carter. They wore plaid skirts, pink sacks, and plaid sashes tied over their shoulders, and plaid stockings and pink slippers. He had a class of little girls between six and seven years of age. They were Sadie Gardner, Nannie McNairy, Jennie Craighead, Henrietta Cheney, and Annie Brinkley. They wore white mushn over blue silk, and their dresses had spangles on them. Annie Brinkley married Mr. J. B. Snow- don, of Memphis; Sadie Gardner married Mr. Buckner; Henrietta Cheney married Henry Nel- son, and after his death Mr. Robertson, of Mur- feesboro; and Jennie Craighead married Mr. Bun- 92 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. tin, and lived on Spruce Street. Sam Morgan was about nine or ten years old, and the handsomest boy I ever saw. He danced the " Fisher's Horn- pipe." They danced cotillions and the mazurka. Henrietta Cockrill, a ver}' beautiful woman, was Dr. William Nichol's first wife. She died with consumption about eighteen months after her marriage. Madeline Morgan married Dr. Dun- can, a nephew of Mrs. Eve. Jennie Whitfield moved away from here. Medora Carter married a Federal officer and moved to Washington. Mr. William Aiken was one of the kindest, most benevolent men that ever lived here. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church. Mr. Thomas and William Aiken came here from Ire- land, and were wholesale dry-goods merchants. William married Felicia Grundy, Judge Grundy's youngest daughter. He bought a large brick house on Cedar Street, between Summer and Cherry. They had three children, two daughters and a son. His son died when he was only a few years old. Mr. William Aiken died when his eldest daughter was onl}^ three years old. She married Mr. Judson, a distinguished lawyer in St. Louis. His other daughter married Mr. Tom Sta- ger, a lawyer who owns a handsome home on Charlotte Avenue. After her husband's death Mrs. Aiken married Dr. Robert Porter, the young- est son of Alexander Porter. He studied medicine in Europe for several years, and became a very OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 93 prominent physician and professor in the medical college here. He died with the cholera, leaving only one son. His widow never married. Dur- ing the war she went to Washington Cit}- and de- voted her time and money to the care of the sick Confederate soldiers. She was very wealthy and one of the most charitable women ever in Nash- ville. She was President of the Orphan Asylum until her death. The first man who manufactured candles out of lard-oil was named Wharton. His wife was a very accomplished woman. They sta3^ed here for a few years, and he went off and never came back. Nobody here ev^er heard what became of him. He left a wife and one child, and they w^ent back to her home in Columbus, O. His factory was on College Street. A man named Baity made soaps ai\d candles. He had a pretty daughter who mar- ried Gen. Hickman. Mr. Garner was a cabinet-maker. His shop was on a little cross street between Market and Front. He married Miss Hill, a sister of Mrs. Ewing. One of her daughters married Mr. Ba- ker, and one married Mr. Washington. His son. Gen. Garner, lives in Springfield, Tenn. Mr. Joseph Woods was a banker and a very wealth}^ man. He married Miss West, but had no children. The house where Mr. Fogg now 94 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. lives on High Street was built by Mr. Thomas Fletcher, a lawyer, whose wife was Miss Sallie Tolbert. He was not able to finish the house, and Mr. Woods and Mr. Yeatman, the bankers, bought it. They had it finished handsomely, and Mr. Joseph Woods lived in it. Mrs. Woods was an elegant lady. She went to Philadelphia once or twice with her husband, and rode horseback, that being the only mode of traveling except by stage. Their house was very handsomely furnished. The halls were painted in landscapes. On the right- hand were the double parlors, and on the other side were the library and her bedroom. The bookcases were made of mahogany, and were handsomely carved. There was a beautiful cen- ter-table in the middle of the room, and the chairs were large and comfortable. The carpets in the parlors were Brussels, and the chairs were cov- ered with dark-blue plush. On the mantel were large silver candelabra with wax candles in them. The center-tables were small, but very handsome, as were the rug^s on the floor. Damask silk the color of the chairs and white lace curtains were hung at the window. The dining-room was an L room back of the parlors, and was beautiful^ fur- nished. The mahogany tables were very hand- some, and the sideboard was carved and contained beautiful cut glass and silver. The chairs were mahogany. The bedrooms were all on the second floor. In those days the bedsteads were very high, and had as many as three steps to get up in OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 95 them. The posts were very high, and were cov- ered with a canopy from which beautiful draperies hung. In each bedroom they always had a nice cushioned rocking-chair, besides the other chairs; a handsome wardrobe, bureau, wash-stand, and center-table. All her servants were well trained. They belonged to her. In the house there was a man servant and two maids. One of her servants married and had a little girl. When she was five years old Mrs. Wood took her in the house to pet and raise for her maid w^hen she was old. She had a cushion stool for her, and required a few little jobs. She never ate with the servants, but ate in the house after her mistress had finished. She continued to wait on Mrs. Woods as long as she lived. Her name was Bett}^, and she is still living here. Mrs. Woods's brother's wife, Mrs. West, died and left four little girls, one a baby. Mrs. Woods took them and raised them as if they were her own children. They all married nice gentlemen. The eldest one married Henry Yeat- man, the youngest brother of Mr. Thomas Yeat- man. One married a gentleman from New Or- leans. When the youngest child was about five years old Mrs. Woods went to Philadelphia. I went to tell her good-by, and she said she did not know what she was going to do with Louisa. I asked her to let me keep Louisa for her. I lived in the country then, and kept her with me all the summer, until her aunt's return. She married a gentleman from Philadelphia. y(3 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. In 1837 ^^- Edmunson kept the City Hotel. His wife was one of the finest cooks in the country, and was beloved by all those who stayed in the house. He had a married son who assisted him. Mr. Bayard Snowdon was a dry-goods merchant who came from Boston. He married Miss Beaugardis, a daughter of Gen. Beaugardis, of New York. Their eldest son w^as a very young baby w^hen they boarded at the ho- tel. Mr. James Washington, who married Miss Susan Thomas, boarded there at the same time. Mr. Washington had consumption, and was con- fined to his room, the most of the time to his bed. He became very fond of Mrs. Snowdon 's little boy, and used to have him brought in and laid on the bed by him. He died in a short time, and willed his library and a handsome mahogany couch to this little boy, and Mrs. Washington's maid took charge of him until he w^as quite a large boy. That little boy is now Mr. Beaugardis Snowdon, of Memphis. He married Miss Annie Brinkley. Mr. Henry Ewing and his wife, who was Miss Susan Grundy, boarded at the hotel at the time. They had two httle daughters. His elder daughter married Mr. Thomas Aiken, a brother of Mr. William Aiken, who married Miss Felicia Grundy. The other daughter married Mr. Aiken, a nephew of Mr. Thomas Aiken. They all w^ent to New York to live. The last I heard of Mrs. Henry Ewing she had moved from New York to Paris, and was living there. Mr. OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 97 Thomas Aiken's eldest daughter married Mr. Ste- venson, the eldest son of Mr. V. K. Stevenson. The three prominent negroes of old Nashville were Fannie Grundy, Jennie McFarland, and Bob Porter. Jennie was a member of the First Pres- byterian Church. It was very unusual for a col- ored person to belong to the Presbyterian Church. She went every Sunday and had a seat in the back. She was supported by the Church until her death. She Hved to be quite old, and was re- spected by every one who knew her as a pious old woman. Aunt Fannie Grundy belonged to the Methodist Church. She is still living here, a very old woman. She took a great interest in the work of the Church, and always was good to the pastor and his wife, and was very charitable. She is now one hundred and four years old, and still retains all her senses and is able to see. Bob Porter was a splendid servant. When a party or dining was given, and a good servant was wanted, he was always called on to assist. In the spring and fall he helped with the cleaning, taking up the carpets, etc. In those days nearly everybody put up their own bacon, and he was called on to salt it, put it away, make the sausage, and attend to all such things for them. Aunt Fannie Grundy was the servant of Judge Grundy. Dr. McNeal, a most excellent Presbyterian, came from East Tennessee. He built a house on 7 98 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. High Street, either Mr. Gaut's or Mr. McNairy's, I have forgotten which one it was. He married Miss Crockett, a young lady from Franklin. She had one daughter, and died, and he married the widow Hardin. She was a beautiful, elegant lady. She had two sons when she married Dr. McNeal. In 185 1 I went to board at the St. Cloud Hotel, and stayed there until 1854. ^^- ''Redhead" Martin and his family owned the building. It had formerly been his dwelling-house. It was added to and changed into a hotel. His first wife died, leaving no children. He then married a very handsome, intelligent young lady. Miss Dickinson, a daughter of Dr. Dickinson, who was a very prominent physician in Nashville. The St. Cloud was kept by Mrs. Edmunson, who had before kept the City Hotel. They kept an excellent boarding-house and had a great many boarders. James Hamilton and his wife and daughter, who was Gen. Thruston's first wife, and Auguste Ber- ry and his wife and daughter, Mrs. Dairy and her daughter, who married Randall McGavock, board- ed there while I was there. Miss Patsy Somer- ville, Mr. Anson Nelson, his wife and child, Mr. Macey, his wife and child. Col. Courtney and his famil}', Mrs. Sterling, Col. Plater and his wife, who was Miss Buchanan, and her sister; Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson, who vvere afterward proprietors of the Nicholson House, and Dr. Mayfield and his wife, were some of those who boarded there at the OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 91) same time. The other boarders were: William Evans and his wife and children, Mr. Kingsley, Mr. Brownlow, a member of the Legislature; Dr. Wilham Morgan and his sister, Dr. Tom Maddin, Ben Roy and his sister. Gen. Stewart and his fam- ily, Mrs. Anne Pope, a niece of Mrs. Tom Kirk- man, and an aunt of Mrs. James Frazer; Dr. Jen- nings, who married Miss Mary Courtney; Mr. Finney, who was employed to go to China to show the Chinese how to raise cotton. At the table Dr. Hardin was next to me, Mrs. Pope next to him, Ed Alloway next to Mrs. Pope. I was fifty-one years old. Dr. Hardin was about twenty. I had always been very fond of him, and he was a pet of mine when he was a child. The boarders used to laugh and say there were two young men and their sweethearts who always sat together. Mr. Alloway became teased and moved his seat, but Dr. Hardin stayed next to me until he left. Rich- ard Bostick, who married Miss Cannon, Gov. Cannon's eldest daughter, was a member of the Legislature, and boarded at the St. Cloud during the winter. Gov. Johnson had a room next to mine. Just opposite mine was the room of Mr. and Mrs. Norton. Mr. Norton was a tailor. Gov. Johnson had been a tailor, and he and Mr. Norton became great friends. Whenever Mrs. Norton had anything very nice she would divide with Gov. Johnson. Amanda Morgan was a great friend of mine, and used to come to my room very often. One day Mrs. Norton came out of her room with 100 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. an umbrella which she mended for the Governor, and a very nice peach. She said: "Governor, will you eat a piece of peach out of my hand? I have mended your umbrella for you, and it's like yourself, a faded beauty." Amanda Morgan was in my room and heard it, and it was one of her by- words: " Like yourself, a faded beauty." Johnson was a tailor and Pepper was a blacksmith, John- son became Governor and Pepper became judge of the court. Johnson made Pepper a coat and sent it to him, and Pepper made Johnson a shovel and sent it to him. Miss Lizzie Young played on the guitar, and the people used to laugh and say that Dr. Maddin was very partial to her. He was very fond of music, and she would play and sing: 'Tis vain to tell thee all I feel, Or say for thee I would die. Miss WilHe Hardin, the late Mrs. David McGav- ock, was married while I was boarding there. She graduated at the academy here. While she was at school her cousin, David McGavock, fell in love with her. After she graduated she went to Mem- phis to stay with her mother, who had married Mr. Owen, and wrote and asked me to buy her trousseau, which was very beautiful. Her wedding- dress was lace over beautiful glase silk, with two ruffles of lace one-half yard wide around the skirt, and a bertha and veil of the sam» kind of lace. She had her portrait painted in her wedding-dress. Mrs. Williams, afterward Mrs. Dorson, and her niece, Miss Annie Murphy, and her nephew, Per- OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 101 kins Allison, a young lawyer, and William Led- better, of Murfreesboro, were other prominent boarders at the St. Cloud. Of all those I have mentioned who boarded there while I did, the only ones now living are Col. Plater, Dr. Hardin, Dr. Morgan, Dr. Tom Maddin, Mrs. Judge Trigg, and Miss Lizzie Young. These are all I know to be living. While I was boarding at the St. Cloud I went into the country and bought two acres of ground in a dense forest on the Bosley pike. I built a brick cottage with two rooms, a passage and a a porch. Mrs. Ben Clark died, leaving a young baby. I begged them to give me the baby to raise. On January 20, 1853, I moved to my cottage and took the baby with me. The first night Edgar Hardin came and stayed with me to protect me. I had two negro servants; one was my maid, and a negro man stayed in the day. After supper the first night before I retired I had prayer. The next morning Edgar offered to come and stay with me the next night, but I told him: "No; I expect to make this my home, and I will not bother my neighbors to take care of me." I lived there six years before the war, and added three more rooms, a kitchen, and a porch to my house. I have enter- tained everybody in Nashville who was worth en- tertaining while I was there. In 1843 the smallpox broke out in Nashville, and in 1849 the cholera w^as very bad. James K. Polk died with cholera in that year. After he was 102 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. taken sick he sent for John B. McFerrin, was bap- tized, took sacrament, and joined the Methodist Church. He was buried from McKendree Church, and his funeral services were conducted by John B. McFerrin. The first case of cholera in Nash- ville w^as in 1833. LETTER XIV, The Good Times at Christmas — A Widower Not Easily- Discouraged, OR weeks before the old-time Christmas the ladies of the house were preparing for the Christmas dinner: penning up the turkeys to fatten, preparing mince-meat for pies, and making all kinds of pickles, and saving eggs and butter for cakes, making spice rounds, and such things. The week before they would pre- pare for Christmas festivities by making the pies, jellies, cakes, and plum puddings. They had large fireplaces and burned wood altogether, and on Christmas eve a large backlog that would burn all night was put on the tire. They would all get up about four o'clock in the morning and make a large bowl of egg-nog, and there was merry ma- king by trying to get each other's " Christmas gift." At nine o'clock they would have a big breakfast consisting of boiled spareribs, sausages, birds, hominy, light bread, biscuits, corn muffins, coffee, chocolate, and milk. After breakfast all the servants were neatly dressed and brought to the house to receive their presents. They would all try to catch "Ole Master and Mistus " in ''Christmas gift." The " Ole Mistus" would 104 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. give all the little negroes crullers and tea-cakes for their Christmas gift, and to each family was given a supply of coffee, sugar, flour, lard, etc. To the house servants were given white aprons and checked handkerchiefs to tie around their heads. To the men were given money and tobacco. A big dinner was always prepared for Christ- mas. A nice stuffed ham, a big fat turkey nicely roasted, spice round, and pickles and jellies of every kind, and every winter vegetable, and al- ways a plum pudding with rich wine sauce, boiled custard, with whipped cream on it, fruit-cake, pound-cake, sponge-cake, apples, raisins and nuts, and wine, or cordial, and sweet cider, composed a part of most of the dinner. They had such din- ners all Christmas week. The young people in the neighborhood would come together and have dances and exchange gifts. The young men would give handsome books to the young ladies, and they would knit the young men pairs of gloves, or give them something that they had made themselves. At night they used to bake apples and put them in sweet cider and ginger-cakes for refreshments. They would play all kinds of games. My mother was a widow, and she and I were the only white people in our house. I used to go to town and have some money changed into dimes, quarters, and nickels. The negroes used to come in early Christmas morning to get " Miss Jane" in " Christmas gift," and I would give them a piece of OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 105 money according to their size. The little ones re- ceived a nickel, and so on. Then my mother would give them cakes. They were just as happy as they could be. We would give the men and boys gloves and handkerchiefs. At Easter time the rivers and creeks were gen- erally high, and we usually had an Easter fishing- party on Easter Monday. We w^ent fishing at Capt. Hoggett's Mill. We took lunch with us and stayed all day, and would go to Mr. Hoggett's for supper and to spend the evening. We played games and danced. Standifer Hoggett played the violin, and James played the flute, and we always had some very good music. We never stayed later than ten o'clock, and then the young men would go home with the girls. The young ladies in our neighborhood w^ere Misses Jones, Cooper, Hall, Thomas. The young men were the three sons of Capt. Hoggett, Standifer, James, and Jack ; William, Henry, James, and Langston Cooper; Jack and Ben Clopton ; John, Charles, Elisha, and Lindsley Hall; the Flournoys, Buchanans, Jones, and others. In 1812 Mr. Richard Drake kept a tavern at Clover Bottom. On the Fourth of July he gave a ball. Lucian Brown, the father of R. W. Brown and Miss Sallie Brown and Mrs. Bradford, was a young man then, and I danced with him at the ball. The young ladies who went were Misses Martha and Virginia Jones, Rody and Betsy Hall, 106 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. Jane Sandifer, Lucinda Lunden, Agnes and Eme- line Clopton, Sarah Priestly, Sallie Cook, Thomas, Harriet, and Fannie Drake. At supper they al- ways had iced cakes with sprigs of cedar stuck in them. Tied to the cedar were white roses made of tissue-paper, I made the roses. This was the decoration for the table. Capt. Camp lived at Todd's Knob, in a large two-story log house which belonged to Mrs. Jones, a sister of Col. Ed Ward. She was an elegant old Virginia lady. She had a daughter and two sons. Old Capt. Camp was a widower, and she was a widows He courted her, but she would not have him. He had a son. Dr. Camp, and he said he was going to make his son court Mrs. Jones's daugh- ter; and if he succeeded, he would court Mrs. Jones again. The son came, courted Dolly Jones, and married her; and then the Captain courted the widow again, and she married him. He was an elegant old aristocrat from Virginia. Mrs. Jones's eldest son married his cousin. Miss Jones, and his wife died and left tw^o daughters, Martha and Virginia, who went to live with their grandmother Camp. They married brothers named Upshaw. Mrs. Jones's youngest son married Miss Jane Munford. Her eldest daughter married John Wright, an old bachelor. Silas Flournoy came here from Virginia, and was of a very wealthy and aristocratic family. His wife was Miss Cannon, of Virginia. His eldest OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 107 son, Alfred, was very distincruished in the war with Gen. Jackson. He was wounded in the leg and it had to be cut off, and he wore a wooden leg. He belonged to Maj. Exum's Cavalry. After the war thev came home and Maj. Exum taught school. His schoolhouse was built on Mr. Clop- ton's land, at his big spring on Stewart's Ferry road to Lebanon. Mr. Ridley now owns the Clopton place. All the young men who were in the war with him and who were able went to school with him. They were Isaac Winston, Al- fred Flournoy, Maj. Baskerville, the Hoggetts, Coopers, Halls, Jack and Ben Clopton, Tom Ma- con, Purnell, Jones. There were also several girls belonging to these and other families. Mr. Edwin Cooper owned the place next to Capt. Hoggett, which now belongs to Mr. Ridley. His eldest daughter, Polly, married WiUiani Win- stead. Charlie married Maria Eastland. Annie married Mr. Deaderick. Langston Cooper was a doctor. I don't 'know whom the other children married. The family moved here from Alabama. Isaac Winston went to Alabama, and was Gov- ernor of the state. Lindsley Hall went to Prince- ton from Maj. Exum's school and studied law. Mr. Joseph Phillips lived on White's Creek. He had a large family. His eldest daughter mar- ried Jesse Wharton. His next two daughters mar- ried Joseph and William Williams, and his young- est daughter married Mr. Martin. His son's first wife was Miss Clark, a sister of James B. Clark. 108 OLD DAYS IN NASHViLlE. After her death he married Miss Eliza Maguire, of Franklin. Next to Mr. Phillips, on White's Creek, young Mr. Hooper lived. His first wife was Patsey Hooper. She had one child and died, and he married her cousin, Mary Ann Keeling. The next farm belonged to Mr. Joseph Hooper. He had a splendid farm, and it was enclosed by a rock wall. He lived on the north side of White's Creek, and the creek at the road on the north side of it passed through the farm and just in front of his house. His eldest daughter, Betsy, married. Dick Hyde, and lived at Hyde's Ferry. Patsey married her cousin, Mr. Hooper, and Jim, his only son, married Miss H^^de, and lived on his father's farm. Mr. Parker lived on the farm next to Mr. Joseph Hooper's, and next to Mr. Parker's Mr. Ewing lived. He had a large family, but I don't remember whom they married. Then came the Youngs, Laniers, Pages, Boyds, Morrisons, who lived in that neighborhood. Where Buena Vista ferry now is Mr. Douglas lived and kept a ferry. Old Mr. Robert Weakley was a very influential, intelligent man. Mr. Jim Richardson has his summer home where Mr. Robert Weakley used to live. He had three daughters and one son. His eldest daughter married Jack Reid, and went to Huntsville to live. His second daughter mar- ried Maj. Hickman. His youngest daughter married Lucian Brown. His son married Miss OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 109 Manford, of Boston, who was a beautiful and ac- complished woman. They lived in Rutherford county. Mr. Robert Weakley's brother, Sam, owned a farm where Mr. Irby Morgan's nursery used to be. His .son, Dr. Weakley, was a Methodist preacher, and married Miss Porter, the daughter of a Methodist preacher of Williamson County. Mr. Overall owned the place where Mr. Hiram Vaughan now lives. Mr. Mike Vaughan was Mr. Overall's overseer. Mr. Overall died, leaving four children, three sons and a daughter. His sons were Methodist preachers. His daughter had one son, who married John Price. After Mr. Overall's death Mr. Paul Vaughan married his wid- ow, and had one child, who married Dr. Higgin- bottom, a very prominent young physician from Virginia. Mrs. Paul Vaughan died, and her hus- band married his first wife's cousin. Miss Sallie Thomas. He had two sons, Mike and Hiram, and one daughter, who married Mr. Lawrence. LETTER XV, How Two Girls Outwitted the Indians— A Visit from Gen. Washington. OBERTSON TOPP was a very promi- nent man. He had a large farm on Mill Creek. His wife was Miss Nancy Ev- erett, whose father lived on the west side of Mill Creek, and on the east side was Maj. Buchan- an's residence. The fort was on the east side of the creek, and Nancy Everett and Sallie Ridley had been over to the Everett farm, and as they were going home on horseback they met a body of Indians. Nancy said: " O Sallie, look at the Indians there on the road! " And Sallie told her to throw her foot over the saddle, and they whipped their horses into a gallop, and when they came to the Indians Sallie said: " Get out of the way, you redskins I " The Indians were so surprised that they thought they were soldiers, and let them pass. As soon as they saw they were women they chased them, but the ladies reached the fort in safety before the Indians could overtake them. Sallie Ridley married Maj. Buchanan. He owned a large mill. His sons were Moses, Alex, William, James, Dick, and Henry, and two sons who died in 1816. His daughters were Betsy, OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. Ill Jane, Sallie, and Nancy. Betsy married Tom Ev- erett, a farmer; Jane married Mr. Goodwin; Nan- cy married Mr. Smith, and Sallie married James Williams. William Buchanan married Miss Rob- erts, his cousin, and Moses also married his cousin, Miss Sallie Ridley. Dick married Miss Jane Murphy. Henry, the youngest, lived at the home place, and I don't remember that he ever mar- ried. Nancy Everett married Mr. Topp, a very ex- cellent man and a farmer. He reared a large family of children. His eldest daughter married Tom Martin. His next daughter married Major Claiborne, and his other daughter married Mr. Lions, a china-merchant. He had several sons, most of whom moved away from here. They all became distinguished men. Mrs. Claiborne lived on Spruce Street, next to Mrs. Lindsley. Mrs. Lion lived on High Street, between Church and Broad. Tom Martin was a dry-goods merchant on the Square for a long time, and then moved to Pu- laski. He was the father of the young lady after whom Martin College was named. One of the old settlers of Nashville, Mr. John Thompson, lived out on the Franklin turnpike. He was a farmer, and lived on a farm on which his son John now lives. His first wife was Miss Mary Washington, a beautiful and accomplished young lady, and a sister of Gilbert, James, and ri2 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. Thomas Washington. She had two daughters, and died with consumption when they were quite young. He then married the widow Buchanan, a most excellent woman. She had two daughters when she married Mr. Thompson. She died, leaving her two daughters, Sallie and Maggie Buchanan, to Mr. Thompson. Sallie married Mr. Thomas Plater, and Maggie never married. His third wife was also a widow, Mrs. Rolins, whose maiden name was Miss Raines. She had one son, Mr. Robert Rolins. She died, leaving one daughter, Elizabeth Thompson, who married Mr. Joe Horton. His fourth wife was the widow House, who had one daughter, Miss Sallie House. She had two sons, John and Joe Thompson. Sallie married Mr. William Ewing. She died, leaving one daughter, Miss Mary Ewing, who has recently married Mr. McNealy. His eldest son, John Thompson, married Miss Con Overton, the youngest daughter of Mr. John Overton. Joe married Miss Ella Vaughan, a daughter of Mr. Mike Vaughan. Their mother is still living. She is a sister of Mr. Mortimer and James Hamilton. Mr. Jesse Wharton lived on the Hillsboro pike. He married Miss Phillips, a sister of Mr. William Phillips. She had two children, Joe and Sarah Wharton. Joe Wharton was a very eminent young physician. He married Miss Mason, of Baltimore, whom he met while there studying medicine. Sarah married Mr. Green, a very prominent young lawyer of Mobile. Mr. Jesse OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 113 Wharton's first wife died, and he married Miss Rice, who had been living with his wife. She had several children. William married Dr. Ed- gar's daughter. In 1808 Gen. George Washington came to my father's house, when we lived on the Tolbert farm. He owned and lived on the farm that Mr. Overton Lea now owns. His wife was Miss Love, of Virginia. His eldest son, Gilbert, mar- ried Miss Wharton, a daughter of Mr. William Wharton. His next son, Thomas, married a wid- ow, Mrs. Osborne, who was Miss Alloway, of Philadelphia. She had one child, Sarah Osborne, who married Alex Nichol. Gen. George Wash- ington's third son, James, was a wholesale com- mission merchant, a partner of James Wood. He married Susan Thomas, my sister. William Washington, his fourth son, married Miss Susan Trimble, and his youngest son, George, died when he was twenty-one, never having married. His eldest daughter, SalHe, married Thomas Mas- terson, a very wealthy dry-goods merchant. Fan- nie married Thomas J. Reid, and his youngest daughter, Mary, was the first wife of John Thomp- son. Mr. John Nichol lived where Mr. John Will- iams's house now is on the Harding pike. His wife was Miss Scales. He was very wealthy, and a member of the Presbyterian Church, He 8 114 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. had three daughters. He bought the farm on which he Hved from Mr. Robert Hill, the grand- father of Mrs. Emeline Hamilton. His eldest daughter, Polly, married Mr. Joe Irvin, the eldest son of a very wealthy man. Miss Nancy Nichol married Willoughby Williams. She was a lovely, good. Christian woman, as were his other daugh- ters, Polly and Jane. Jane married Christopher Williams, a brother of Willoughby Williams. Wil- loughby's eldest daughter, Mary, married Cur- ren McNairy. His second daughter married Mr. Lewis. His eldest son, John, married Elizabeth Boyd. Robert married Mr. Sam Morgan's third daughter, and one of his sons never married. Mr. Sam Watkins's father and mother came to Nashville in the early settlement. They both died with fever, leaving six children, and the neighbors took the children to raise. Two of them lived at Gen. Andrew Jackson's. The eldest daughter married Solomon Clark. When Sam Watkins was a child he lived at Gen. Jackson's and part of the time with his two sisters. Margaret Wat- kins married Mr. Allen, who lived on Stone's River and kept a dry-goods store. One of his sisters married Mr. Lewis, and one married Mr. Pew, and I don't remember whom the other one married. Sam Watkins learned the bricklayer's trade with his brother-in-law, Clark, and made his money that way. He lived on Line Street, and had a very large brick-yard. W^hen the negroes were freed he had nearly fifty negro men whom he OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 115 had taught to make and lay brick. He made a veiy large fortune, and everybody knows how ju- diciously it has been laid out. He never married, but died a respected and much-beloved old bache- lor. He built a lovely little Methodist church and a parsonage on Park Street, and gave them to the Methodists. The Yankees destroyed them during the war. He gave twelve acres to the town to make a park out of. It is on Line Street, and is known as Watkins Park. In 1815 a family from France came to Nashville. It consisted of Mr. Abercrombie, his wife, two daughters, and one son. They were very elegant and accomplished people. Wiley Barrow owned the farm next to the one John Harding now owns. He had a large one-story frame house. He rented the place to Mr. Abercrombie, and he opened a school there. It was called Belmont Domestic Academy. He taught French, music, and dan- cing, his wife taught the literary course, and his daughters assisted them. It was the first school of any importance here, and they had a large num- ber of boarders. His boarders were Jane Barrow, who married Henry Cobb; Jane, Matilda, Miner- va, and Maria Childress, and also Elizabeth Chil- dress, Sarah and Susan Childress, of Murfrees- boro; Mary Hobson, Sophie Overall, Maria Eastland, and Nancy Irvin, Sarah and Katharine Bell, Eliza Hightower, EHza Smith, Myra Boyd, Harriet Overton, Gen. Overton's daughter; Court- ney Goodridge, Maria and Elizabeth White, Bes- 116 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. sie Hayes, a niece of Mrs. Gen. Jackson; Rachel Donelson, Eliza Bell, from Russellville, Ky. ; Amelia Hadley, Eliza Peacock, whose father was a United States officer; Eliza Harris, who died while she was going to school; Katharine Kates, from Kentucky; Lucy Tally, from Gallatin; and myself. They married as follow^s: Jane Childress and Sam Marshall; Matilda Childress and Judge Catron; Minerva Childress and Ben Litton, a brother of Mrs, Jesse Thomas; Maria Childress and Judge Brown; Elizabeth Childress and V. K. Stevenson; Sarah Childress and Dr. Rucker; Susan Childress and James K. Polk, President of the United States; Mary Hobson and Mr. Knox, whose daughter married WilHam Gales; Sophie Overall and John Price; Maria Eastland and Charlie Cooper; Nancy Irvin and WilHam Arm- strong ; Sarah Bell and Mr. Crockette ; Eliza High- tower and Judge Brown; Eliza Smith and Denny Hadley; Myra Boyd and Mr. Rucker, and then Jesse Maxwell: Courtney Goodridge and Mr. Nelson; Maria White and Mr. Donelson; EHza- beth White and Mr. Whitaker; Bessie Hayes and Mr. Chester, who carried the report of the Presi- dent's election to Washington; Rachel Donelson and her cousin, Mr. Donelson ; Eliza Hell and Mr. Rumsey; Amelia Hadley and Dr. Hadley. I have never been unfortunate enough to marry. LETTER XVL The First Methodist Conference Held in Nashville, N October of 1819 the Conference of the Methodist Church was held in Nash- ville. It was held in the Methodist Church on Church Street. The church was be- tween College and Cherry, just across the alley from Demoville's drug-store. I don't remember whether Bishop Roberts or Bishop George presi- ded at this Conference, but I know that Logan Douglas was the presiding elder of the district. Robert Paine, Henry B. Bascom, Thomas Mad- din, Sterling Brown, Hartwell Brown, Samuel Howell, Lewis Harrett, and William Carpenter Page were some of the young preachers at the Conference. The citizens of Nashville who be- longed to this church were Thomas Reid, John Price, Joseph T. Litton, Mrs. Sneed, Miss Wes- ley Harvey, Nicholas Hopson, Mrs. Hopson, Mr. Turner, Richard Garrett, Mr. Lanier, a local preacher, and his wife. Henry B. Bascom and Thomas Maddin remained in the city three months after Conference before they received their appointments. Thomas Mad- din came here from Baltimore, where he was edu- cated for a Catholic priest. He married when he was nineteen, and his father disinherited him. He came to Kentucky and lived with a gentleman and worked with him. He was taken very sick while 118 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. with this gentleman, and while on the sick-bed was converted and became a Methodist preacher, and joined the Methodist Church at Nashville in 1819. His first wife died in two months after he married her. His second wife was the dauohter of his friend in Kentucky. Henry Bascom and Thomas Maddin were the handsomest men I ever saw. Henry B. Bascom preached on Sunday afternoon at three o'clock at the First Presbyterian Church. My brother-in-law, Thomas G. Bradford, and I went to hear him. His text was: "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" He preached the finest ser- mon heard at that Conference. Sterling Brown and William Carpenter were appointed on the Nashville Circuit, which com- prised Wilson, Davidson, and WilHamson Coun- ties. There was the greatest revival under this trio of preachers ever known. In September of 1820 Sterling Brown held a camp-meeting at Thomas's Camp-Ground, in Williamson County. A great many professed religion in this meeting. At that meeting Martin Clark was converted and gave himself as a preacher. There were no churches in the country at this time, and the preaching was done in the farmhouses. These houses were from five to ten miles apart. On Tuesday the meeting was held at Mr. Thompson's home, on the Nolensville pike. On Wednesday they preached at Mr. Sam Blair's, the father of Mrs. McWhirter. On Thursday they preached OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 119 at Mr. Tate's, in the Hermitage neighborhood. While the meeting was being held at Mr. Blair's his wife was taken sick with consumption, and we had to go out and hold the services under the apple- trees, and when it rained we went to the large barn. Lucinda Lunden, a beautiful young lady and a granddaughter of Maj. Hall, was convert- ed during this meeting, and was baptized under an apple-tree. During this same year Rhody Clopton, the grandmother of Mrs. David McGav- ock; Meeky Thomas, Eliza Thomas, and Jane Thomas, joined the Church at Mr. Sam Blair's. During the year Mrs. Blair died, and Mr. Blair moved away. After that the preaching was done in a schoolhouse on McCrory Creek. John Holland and David Scales preached in this schoolhouse. John Holland was then only seventeen years old. The only members of this church were Mr. Blair and his three daughters; Nancy, Jane, and Sallie McNeal; Eliza Thomas, Meeky Thomas, Jane Thomas, and Mrs. Sanders. Mrs. Clopton and I decided we could raise a subscription and build a church. Mr. Clopton gave us an acre of ground. Her three brothers, Standifer, James, and John Hoggatt, gave us $250. Mr. Hill, my brother-in- law and the grandfather of Joseph Hamilton, raised $250. We built a cedar hewn-log church on the acre of ground at McCrory's Creek, on the Lebanon pike, near what is now the Ridley farm. We built a nice church and put a good stove in it. The church was dedicated at a quar- 120 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. terly meeting, and Frank Owen preached the first sermon. Robert Alexander, the great preacher, and Mr Winburn were some of the first preachers who preached in this church. The Moore family was a prominent one in the Methodist Church at this time. The family con- sisted of Mrs. Moore and one daughter, Polly. Mrs. Moore was a grand woman, and a great worker in the Church. Mr. and Mrs. Moore lived in the country and worked for Mr. Edmond- son, grandfather of John Bell. Mr. Moore died, and his wife and children came to Nashville. Mrs. Moore apprenticed her son to David Snow, the tinner. She sewed for a living until her sons were able to support her. She was one of the brightest Christians I ever knew. Her home was always the preachers' home when they were in Nashville. Her sons became prominent and use- ful citizens. William Moore married Tabitha Sanders, a daughter of Herbert Sanders, a preach- er in Sumner County. James Moore married a daughter of Lens Keeling. John Price, men- tioned before as a prominent Church-member, was a salt-merchant. His wife was Joanna Rucker, an aunt of Andrew Jackson. Tom Price, the brother of John, married Miss Robertson, of Kentucky, and afterward moved to New Orleans. Matthew Quinn was the first local Methodist preacher in Nashville. In 1816 he married Miss Harriet Elliston, a daughter of Joseph ElHston. LETTER XVIL Dr, Edgar^ Pastor of First Presbyterian Church — Social Diversions in the Old Days. ^ PROMINENT member of the First Presbyterian Church asked me to write my recollections of Dr. Edgar while he was pastor of that church. In May, 1833, Dr. Edgar and Dr. John Newland Maffitt preached their first sermons here on the same day. They were two of the most eloquent and distinguished preachers ever in Nashville. Dr. Maffitt was a Methodist preacher from Ireland, and Dr. Edgar came here from Kentucky. Dr. Edgar was one of the finest-looking men I ever saw. He was very tall and weighed one hundred and seventy- five pounds, and was a distinguished orator. He had a wife and five children, three daughters and two sons. His eldest daughter married Mr. Wharton, a son of Mr. Jesse Wharton, then a member of Congress. They went to Mississippi to live. His second daughter, a beautiful and ac- complished girl, was Mr. Charlie Thompson's first wife. She died young, leaving no children. Dr. Edgar's third daughter married Mr. McClel- lan, a dry-goods merchant, and went to St. Louis, where she was still living when I last heard of her. i 122 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. His eldest son, Andrew, had some business in Lebanon. I think he was engaged in the Cum- berland Presbyterian College there. His other son married a lovely young lady from Kentucky, and left Nashville to accept some appointment under the government. He had a ver}^ lovely and inter- esting family of children. Dr. Edgar was really one of the most comfort- ing and soothing men in a sick-room I have ever met, and prayed the most beautiful prayers. He was stationed in Nashville nearly thirty years. He died early in the sixties, but I do not remem- ber exactly what year. His first wife was Miss Todd, a most intelligent woman, and of a fine fam- ily from Kentucky. For years before she died she was a great sufferer from inflammatory rheumatism. She was an intimate friend of mine, and often when her physician was out of town she would send for me. In all of her sufferings she was remarkably patient. After her death Dr. Ed- gar married Mrs. Crittendon, the widow of John J. Crittendon, who was killed in Little Rock, Ark. Her maiden name was Morris, and she came here from Kentucky. She was a very elegant woman, tall, handsome, and dignified. One of her sisters, Mary Morris, married one of the best lawyers in Little Rock, named Charlie Bertrand. Dr. Ed- gar was an unusually popular man, and had mar- ried more couples and preached more funeral sermons than any other Presbyterian preacher in Nashville. The first sermon he preached here OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 123 Mrs. Thomas Yeatman, afterward Mrs. John Bell, went to hear him, and in the evening she went to the Methodist Church to hear Mr. Maffitt. Mr. Litton spoke to her, and asked her how she liked the new preacher. She said she went to the First Presbyterian Church in the morning and heard a most eloquent sermon, and had come to the Methodist Church that night and heard a most splendid performance. After that Mr. Yeatman and Dr. Maffitt went to Louisville on the same boat, and Mr. Yeatman was taken sick and died. Before his death Mr. Maffitt prayed with him, and under his influence Mr. Yeatman was converted. After Mr. Yeatman' s death Mr. Maffitt wrote Mrs. Yeatman a beautiful letter of sympathy, which she had printed in golden letters and al- ways kept in her room. Mrs. Clopton had a large family of children, and every spring and fall she had a sewing-bee. She invited all the girls and boys in the neighbor- hood. The young men used to thread the needles and wait on us. Mrs. Clopton always had a big dinner for us: several kinds of meats (such as chicken pie and boiled ham), all kinds of vege- tables, jelly and pickles; and then the desserts, which were generally apple pie in the summer, peach potpie in the fall, and in the spring straw- berries or cherry pie. In the fall we always had cider to drink. We enjoyed Mrs. Clopton's sew- ing-bees very much. We generally stayed until 124 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. about ten o'clock, and played games after it was too late to sew; and sometimes we had a dance. Another thing we used to enjoy were the fishing- excursions. We would get up a party of young la- dies and young men to go to the river fishing. We always took our lunches with us and stayed all day. There were a great many hazelnuts not far from us, and going nutting was one of our fa- vorite diversions. During the watermelon season we would give watermelon parties. Every 14th of February we would meet at the home of one of the girls and have a valentine- drawing. The girls would either cut or paint pieces for the young men to put in their watches. I was the artist of the crowd, and would paint double hearts with an arrow through them and a wreath around them for the girls to send to the young men. Some of the girls painted forget- me-nots, and others painted heartsease. Another amusement was the tenpin alley. We had a plank walk from the house to the front gate, which we used as our tenpin alley. The singing- school was also an enjoyable amusement. It was held on Saturday at the schoolhouse. George Ridley married Mr. Tim Dodson's daughter. Mr. Dodson kept a hotel at Clover Bottom, and owned a ferry. His daughter was very beautiful, and had lovely black hair and eyes. The day after they were married they went to his father's house and had a reception, or "infair," as it was called in those days. The dinner was OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 125 set out in the yard, under the trees, on a long work-bench. They had the finest kind of dinner. Dr. Yandall, formerly of Murfreesboro, after- ward of Louisville, Ky., had just married Mrs. Wendel, and they came down to the " infair " with Moses Buchanan, who married George Rid- ley's sister. They did not have big church wed- dings then, as they do now, but everybody was married at home and had the wedding-sup- pers prepared at home. In those days they did not preach the funeral sermon when the corpse was buried, but set apart a certain day for that, and prepared a big dinner, and everybody who came to the funeral was in- vited to stay to dinner. They generally had the funeral services at the house, but never on the day of the burial. When Mr. WilHam Harding, Sr., died the funeral sermon was preached a month after his death, and Parson Hume preached it. They gave a big dinner, and everybody who came stayed to it. One of the most prominent families of the old times was that of Mr. Davis, who lived in the neighborhood of the Hardings, Shutes, New- soms, on Richland Creek. He had six daugh- ters. The eldest married Joe Horton, a very prominent man, who owned a farm on the Frank- lin pike, just this side of where Mr. Douglas lives. Joe Horton' s eldest daughter married Alex Fall, the father of Horton Fall, and his 126 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. second daughter married Mr. Mason, a nephew of the Mr. Mason who married Judge Grun- dy's second daughter. His next daughter mar- ried Richard Dunn. His son, Joe Horton, mar- ried Miss EHzabeth Thompson, and his other son married Miss Graham Cannon, a daughter of Gov. Cannon. Mr. Davis's second daugh- ter married Dr. Patton Robertson, the young- est son of Gen. Robertson. His next daugh- ter married Mr. Edward Hicks; and his young- est daughter, Fannie Davis, married Morris Harding. He had two beautiful daughters who never married, but died young with consumption. One of them was the prettiest girl I ever saw. All of Mr. Davis's children raised distinguished families, and their children all became useful citizens. LETTER XVIIL Nashville During the War— Hospital Scenes — In the Hands of the Enemy, FTER I returned from Virginia, where I had been nursing the sick soldiers, Mr. Elliott offered the ladies his beautiful sum- mer home for a hospital. It is where the Protes- tant Orphan Asylum now is, and he owned three or four acres of beautiful forest land, and it was filled with squirrels and birds. The house was handsomely furnished, and he gave it as it was. The ladies of the neighborhood supplied it with food, clothing, blankets, nurses, cooks, and ever}^- thing necessary. The ladies who contributed were: Mrs. Plater, Mrs. Deaderick Cantrell, Mrs. Doctor Berry, Mrs. Foster, Mrs. Joseph Woods, Mrs. Alex Fall, Mrs. William Berry, Mrs. William Lawrence. Their husbands would come over at night and sit up with the sick soldiers. They asked me to go over and take charge of the hos- pital. The first doctor who attended the soldiers was Dr. Rowland; and then Dr. Sam Black, a young physician from Murf reesboro ; and after- ward Dr. Gray, of Louisville. Dr. David Yan- dell had charge of the hospital and sent the doctors out. After the battle of Fishing Creek, 128 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. when Gen. Zollicoffer was killed, several sol- diers were sent to Nashville, and three wounded ones, one with inflammator}^ rheumatism and two with typhoid fever, were sent to my hospital. Mr. Wilkerson, who had typhoid fever, was delirous when he arrived, and died after he had been here only three days. He was one of the handsomest men I ever saw. The one who had inflammatory rheumatism was a young boy between fifteen and sixteen years old. He was so sick he could not bear to have an3^body touch him. Whenever any- thing touched him that hurt him he would scream and say that the " valrus " had hold of him. Of all the sick soldiers I nursed, I never had as much sympathy for any of them as I had for that boy. I knew he had a good mother, for his clothes were so beautifully made, and with so much care. He did not live long. He was from Knoxville. We received the news of the fall of Fort Donel- son Sunday afternoon about three o'clock. I went around and gave all the sick soldiers their supper that night. There was one soldier ver}^ tall and large named Butler, who helped me to wait on the other soldiers as soon as he was able. About nine o'clock I was sitting in my room, and he came and knocked at my door and said: "Miss Jane, go see where all those sick soldiers are that you fed in bed." There were but two in bed. They had all gotten up and gone away for fear the Yan- kees would capture them. They had heard of the fall of Fort Donelson, I sent those two to the hos- OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 129 pital at the old lunatic asylum, where Dr. Bowling had charge. Then I broke up my hospital Mon- day morning, after having kept it five months. By Wednesday morning everything was cleared away, and nobody would ever have known the house had been used as a hospital. I came into town Wednesday morning after breakfast. I was going down Cedar Street from Mrs. Porter's, and met Gen. Buell's body-guard, going up to the Capitol to plant the Union flag. We had burned the bridge before they reached here, and they had to cross the river on a pontoon bridge. I then went back to my cottage, which I had left in the care of my servant while I was at the hospital. Gen. Buell and his men were the first Union soldiers who came to Nashville. Then Gen. McCook came, and then Gen. Rosecrans, whose headquarters were at Gen. Zollicoffer's home. Gen. McCook was on Cherry Street in either Mr. Craighead's or Tvlrs. Buchanan's house. Gen. Buell's headquarters were at the St. Cloud Hotel. He had a body-guard of sixty men, ele- gantly dressed and splendidly mounted. They used to ride in the town and surrounding country. They rode out Charlotte pike one day; and if they had gone a half mile further, they would have been captured by Forrest's men. John Morgan's Cav- alry were on the Franklin pike, and he came into town one day disguised as a miller and went to the St. Cloud while Gen. Buell was there and sold flour and meal. He came in every day disguised loO OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. in some way, and he captured four cannons from Gen. Buell. Gen. McCook was very kind to us. I was at his office one day, and Mrs. Claiborne came in and said her husband had sent for a pair of gloves and some tobacco. He told Mrs. Clai- born that if the Confederates would camp on one side of a big pond and the Federals on the other, and exchange tobacco and whisk}^ they would soon make friends and the war would stop. But Gen. Rosecrans was very mean. He and a Yan- kee Jew cut down the trees off of several farms and sold the timber to the government and kept the monev. They cut down all the trees in Wat- kins Park, and used it as a mule-pen. Gens. Buell and McCook were gentlemen and treated us kind- ly, but Rosecrans and Thomas Steadman and Turchin were neither gentlemanl}^ nor kind. The first skirmish in which any of the soldiers were killed was on Mr. Bradford's and John M. Lea's farm, on the Granny White pike. There were three or four killed and buried on Judge Lea's farm, and one or two on Mr. Bradford's. They were afterward moved to the cemetery. Gen. Steadman used my cottage as his headquar- ters. When they left it they took almost every- thing I had — all my books and letters and papers. They cut down all my trees and took out the grates in the house and broke the glass out of the windows. I had to go down and stay at Mrs. Harding's. My brother and his famil}- went South, and I could not stay at my own home; so I came OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. ViM to his house, where I am now hving, and stayed here and took care of the place for nearly three years. The Yankees were camped on our lawn, and I stayed here myself. I went to Gen. Grain- ger, and he gave me protection for m}^ house and land. On Sunda}' I went to town and spent the night, and next morning Mrs. Cooper, who lived next door, sent for me. When I came home 1 found Col. Kennett and his regiment camping on my ground. He was going to take possession of the house, or the " old Rebel's house," as they called it. When I asked for the Colonel, the}' told me he was not in, but I might see Lieut. - Col. Doane. I gave him my papers of pro- tection, and the Major said: "We will have this house before night, either for a hospital or officers' home." When the Confederate women went to the Federal officers there was generally a big scene, and the soldiers expected to see me cry and beg for my place. I handed my papers to the Colonel, and he said very politely that he was very sorry he didn't know before that I had protection pa- pers, and he w^ould be very much pleased if I would let them stay, as they would do no harm, but would protect me. Then the young major came up and said what he did. I told the Colonel they might remain, and then turned to the Major and said: "What do you want with tliis house for a hospital, when you already have such large nice ones? But I can excuse you; you must be a doc- tor. A soldier's place is in his tent, but doctors lo2 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. must be housed." Lieut. Doane said: "Miss Thomas, let me introduce you to Maj. Hammon." I said: "O no; he must be a doctor, because a soldier would not want to turn a lady out of a home, because his place is his tent." When I in- sisted that he must be a doctor because he wanted a house, the soldiers all laughed. Whenever I would see him I would call him Doctor, and the soldiers laughed at and teased him so much that he resigned his position as Major and went home. Col. Kennett's father was a wealthy grocery-mer- chant in Cincinnati, and he was an educated e^en- tleman, as were all of his soldiers. They never gave me an}^ trouble, but were a great protection to me. Col. Kennett and his w^ife rented one of my rooms, and stayed in the house with me nine months. M}' brother had a hunting-dog of which I was very fond. He always slept at my door. One morning he stole a steak from Capt. West's cook, and two or three mornings after that I found m}' dog lying at my door dead. I called Col. Kennett and told him thev had poisoned m}' dog. He said he thought the dog had died from old age. He was very old, but I knew^ b}- looking at him that he had been poisoned. I went to the front door, where the officers' tents w^ere, and said: " I want all the officers to come here. I know you are gallant fellows, and when 3'ou go home you want to carry some trophy of your gallantry, and I want you to get a lock of this poor old dog's hair to take back with you to show that you killed OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 13E something." They did not say a word, but stayed in their tents. When Col. Kennett went away he wrote me a beautiful letter, recommending me to the care of all soldiers, saying that I would treat them like a lad}-. He supplied me with ever3^thing I wanted at government prices, and he and his wife were just as nice to me as they could be. Capt. Marshall also camped out here. His camp was on Mr. Cooper's place, but he and his wife rented a room from me and stayed in my house. The penitentiary was used as a prison by the Yankees, and nearly every Friday morning they would hang one of them. Capt. Marshall used to go to the prison Friday to see the hanging. One morning he came back looking very sad, and he said: "Miss Jane, I saw one of the finest men hanged this morning I ever saw in my life. He was very tall and very handsome. His name was Moseley, and I never felt as sorry for anybody as I did for him." Capt. Marshall stayed with me for four or five months, and was very kind and polite to me. Aft- er the battle at Franklin he told me that he never saw such bravery as the Southern soldiers dis- played. When Sherman passed through here on his way to Georgia he camped in the commons just in front of our place. Fifteen thousand soldiers passed me on my way home alone. A 3^oung Yankee physician, seeing that I was alone, came and walked with me. I had a hundred-and-fifty-dollar 134 OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. gold watch with me that Mr. Lea had sent to his nephew, John Bass, Jr., and twenty dollars of my own money. But the soldier did not trouble me in the least. The Yankees confiscated the house, and in order to keep it I had to pay rent for it. I paid ten dollars a month for two rooms, and the Yankees occupied the other room. A Yankee named Heeley and his wife had a room here part of the time. He was the grandest thief I ever saw. He went to Mrs. John Thompson's one day, and came back with his pockets and arms full of towels and such things. He also had a pair of opera-glasses that he had stolen. He stole all the clothes for his w^ife to wear, and she had seven stolen breastpins. They w^ent foraging every da}^, and came back with all kinds of things. There was one man named Treat who used m}^ serv^ant's room to put his stolen goods in. His wife was here with him, and she ate and associated with the negroes all the time. Gen. Thomas Smith, Maj. Fred Cla3'brooke, and Lieut. -Maj. James Thomas, with their regi- ments, camped at Hoover's Gap. Mr. Wheat, a Federal, had a compan}^ of sharpshooters near Murfeesboro, and they made a raid on Gen. Smith's camp and killed Maj. Claybrooke and wounded James Thomas. It was reported that James Thomas was killed, but they brought him to Murfreesboro, put him in a hospital, and aft- erward moved him to Nashville. Gen. McCook had him taken from the hospital to his uncle's, OLD DAYS IN NASHVILLE. 135 Mr. Washington Cooper's, who was then Hving next door to our home. He w^as very severely wounded, and stayed there for three months. Where the rock for the Capitol was dug out there was a large hole. After the capture of Gen. Smith at Todd's Knob the men were brought here and put in that hole. They hauled out crack- ers in a wagon and threw them in to the soldiers like they would throw corn to hogs. The officers of the penitentiary let them put the captured sol- diers, who were Confederates, under the scaffolds for protection. x\fter Gen. Smith had surrendered and given up his sword, the officers to W'hom he surrendered struck him on the head with his sword and injured him so that he has never re- covered. mni JL^ {5^U0 LB S '08 A fk^ V .^ 0°\ AT* 'o , , »> :^ ^^ A- <^ ^-^ . . s ^ 'J^/ ^^