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CHAPTER 22 1844 r HAT God hath wrought." Those four words constituted the first message sent by Morse's telegraph, between Washington and Baltimore on May 24, 1844. Three days later the Democratic National Convention at Baltimore nominated James Polk and George M. Dallas for president and vice-president. The news was flashed over the telegraph between the same points, providing the convention with the distinction of being the first to avail itself of the new method of communication.1 Folk's opponent, Henry Clay, the Whig nominee, had many ardent admirers in Georgia and enjoyed great personal popularity. However he had destroyed his prospects of carrying any considerable portion of the South by his opposition to the annexation of Texas, the leading issue of the campaign. Even so, Polk was able to carry Georgia by the comparatively slim majority of 2,000 votes.2 While the presidential contest occupied the center of the stage, a slight flutter was heard locally in the wings. The Commissioners of the newly created Town of Marthasville were testing their charter-given powers upon a skeptical citizenry. The first move was the levy of a tax for the purpose of opening new streets. This was not only met with a stubborn refusal to pay, but with an invitation to the commissioners to hitch up their mules and clear the ground themselves. The citizens thought that the existing seven streets, Marietta, Decatur, Peachtree, Whitehall, Pryor, Loyd [Central Avenue] and Alabama were sufficient.3 Attempts by the commissioners to try lawbreakers were equally ineffective. The accused, being notified by friends that officers were after him, usually struck out for the woods, there remaining for some time during daylight hours. He was generally able to return at night, eat a good supper and gather some local news before returning to the woods.4 All in all the commissioners were impotent as a governing body. They received little cooperation from the citizenry, made up for the most part of transient railroad workers. History has demonstrated time and again that no government has succeeded without the cooperation of the governed. The grand jury for the March term, 1844 illuminated to some extent the problems of the commissioners of Marthasville, when it said: ". . . we have declined recommending to the Inferior Court the levy of an extra tax for the purpose of the poor school fund, as vice and immorality seems to be prevailing in our County, particularly on the line of the Rail Road. We recommend all officers whose duty it is to be vigilant in bringing offenders to justice. . . ." JAMES DIAMOND, Foreman.5 The various commissioners of Marthasville during 1844 and 1845, and of Atlanta in 1846 and 1847 kept no records, or if kept they have never come to light. Therefore we do not know who was appointed "clerk" to the commissoners or indeed who the commissioners themselves were in '46 and '47, unless those elected in 1845 continued in office. An article in the Atlanta Constitu-«W 206 ATLANTA AND ITS ENVIRONS tion? published more than sixty years ago identifies the individuals who served as "marshal" from 1844 to the organization of a police force headed by a "chief" in 1874. First honors, according to this article went to a native Frenchman named Antonio [or Antoine],7 whose deputy was Jim Kelley. Of course the idea of arresting a free white man just because he got drunk and cut somebody, or exchanged a friendly shot or two, was not considered necessary in a raw new town like Marthasville. It is therefore, to be inferred that the Messrs. Antonio and Kelley did not exert themselves unduly in the direction of making arrests. While the rough element was much in evidence locally in these early days it must not be inferred that good substantial citizens were entirely lacking. During '43 and '44 Marthasville acquired several of them. Edwin Payne, Stephen Terry, Ambrose B. Forsyth and William G. Forsyth cast their lot with the community in 1843, while Jonathan Norcross, James Loyd and James A. Collins arrived in 1844, and John J. Thrasher returned from Griffin the same year.8 Payne, a devout Methodist and expert cabinet maker, specializing in chairs, was born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, in 1796, and came to Marthasville from Newton County, Georgia. He acquired a substantial tract of land out some distance from town along the Marietta Road north of what is now Simpson Street and settled there. He was to contribute very tangibly to...

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