Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, 1820s-1870s

CHAPTER 34

CHAPTER 34 1856 HE presidential election of 1856 brought victory to James Buchanan, nominee of the Democrats. His opponents were John C. Fremont, standardbearer of the newly organized Republican Party, and Millard Fillmore, candidate of the Know-Nothings. It was to be nearly thirty years before the Democrats were able to elect another president. The result of the contest in Georgia was a victory for Buchanan of 14,000 votes. The only counties carried by Fillmore were in those parts of middle Georgia where the Whigs had formerly been especially strong. The men who voted for Fillmore did so in order merely to prevent their party from falling to pieces, and because there was no urgent reason to the contrary. The rising young orator Benjamin H. Hill was the only noteworthy leader of the Fillmore party in Georgia, and he stumped the state vigorously for his candidate.1 In spite of the fact that Millard Fillmore made a relatively poor showing in Georgia, his candidacy inspired a large mass meeting in Atlanta on October 2,1856. The lowest estimate of the number present was 12,000. The meeting was addressed by several eloquent speakers, including Henry W. Hilliard, Benjamin H. Hill, Dr. Homer V. M. Miller, "The Demosthenes of the Mountains "; Robert P. Trippe and Ambrose R. Wright. Though much enthusiasm was engendered, an ominous event marred the occasion. An eighty-foot flagpole had been erected in a vacant area just north of the passenger station, and in attempting to raise a flag, the flag rope became entangled with the guy-ropes near the top. There seemed no way to remedy the matter but by taking the pole down. At this critical juncture, John McGehagan , a delegate from Morgan County, and a former sailor, volunteered to ascend the pole and cut the entangled ropes. After cutting one, near the top, he lost his hold and fell to the ground, being killed instantly. The sympathetic crowd, before leaving the grounds, raised a subscription of $2,000 for his widow.2 Politics upon a smaller scale resulted in the commissioning, on January 12, 1856, of the following new officers of Fulton County: Thomas J. Perkerson, Sheriff; William R. Venable, Clerk, Superior Court, and Moses Holland, Coroner. Other officers held over. In De Kalb County all former officers were continued except that John W. Fowler succeeded Spencer P. Wright as sheriff, and John Hawkins succeeded William Johnston, deceased, as coroner. Both were commissioned January llth. Samuel C. Elam and Zachariah A. Rice became members of the Fulton County Inferior Court on August 2, 1856, succeeding Samuel Walker and Clark Howell.3 At a city election held January 25, 1856, William Ezzard, one of the pioneer lawyers of De Kalb County, was chosen mayor of Atlanta. Councilmen elected to serve with him were: 1st Ward, Larkin H. Davis and John F. Albert; 2nd Ward, Cicero H. Strong and Ezra Andrews; 3rd Ward, Thomas L. Thomas and James L. Terry; 4th Ward, Cornelius R. Hanleiter and Lewis J. Parr; 5th Ward, Thomas Kile and Ambrose B. Forsyth.4 T 406 ATLANTA AND ITS ENVIRONS T. L. Thomas resigned June 27 and was succeeded by Green B. Haygood, July 18. C. R. Hanleiter resigned November 21st and was succeeded by John B. Peck, December 5, 1856.5 Officers elected by the above board were B. N. Williford, Marshal; E. T. Hunnicutt, Deputy; H. C. Holcombe, Clerk; James McPherson, Treasurer; G. A. Pilgrim, Sexton, and John D. Wells, Clerk of Market.6 That the above was the first city administration to have the benefit of the then modern convenience of gas lights is indicated by a paragraph from the Fulton County grand jury presentments for the 2nd week in April, 1856: "Whereas the court and office rooms in the City Hall occupied by the County have been furnished with gas fixtures, we recommend the Inferior Court to procure and attach suitable chandeliers." HENRY B. LATIMER, Foreman.7 Some of the routine business to come before Atlanta's first "gaslit" administration is indicated by the Minutes of Council for 1856: Jan. 29—Salary of City Judge (S. B. Hoyt) fixed at $500. April 11—P. S. Gerald, through C. R. Hanleiter, presented to City Council, a portrait of General Zachary Taylor, for which a resolution of thanks was voted, and the portrait ordered hung up in Council chamber. April 11—A Board of Health was elected as follows: Drs. John G. Westmoreland , Elisha J. Roach, Thomas C. H...