Lower Altamaha Historical Society, Inc.
P.O. Box 1405
Darien, Georgia 31305

January 1996 Vol.5,No.4

Meetings are held at the Ida Hilton Library, Haynes Auditorium, on the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 P.M. The Society extends a hearty welcome to all.

LAHS MEETING, JANUARY 18,1996, 7:30 P.M. : This will be a membership business meeting. The objective is to make LAHS a more effective and efficient organization in McIntosh County and Georgia. Topics for discussion and decision will be : Goals for the Society, Programs, Field Trips, Special Projects, and Organization Changes. The membership is urged to attend and bring your input and ideas and contributions of interest to this LAHS Meeting.

Charles Joseph McCosker [c.1856-1898] and his wife Annie Columbia Cannon [1856-1916] were the Grandparents of Annie Cannon Fisher Gill and Mary Leontina Fisher Barber. The McCosker's daughter, Ann Elizabeth [1883-1930] was the mother of Annie Gill and Mary Barber. The following is just a portion of their living experiences on the Georgia tidewater.

Annie Columbia & Charles Joseph were living at Cannon's Bluff on August 31, 1886, when an earthquake occurred at 9:25 P.M., lasting for about one minute. The newspaper reported that the quake caused considerable damage to Charleston, and South Carolina, slight damage to Savannah, and tremors felt in McIntosh County. Ann Elizabeth was only three years old at the time, the impression of this experience would be long lasting. She would tell of going on the White Marsh in front of the house and how frightened they all were and how upset the animals were. The White Marsh referred to is thought to be the location where salt was distilled from sea water. Ann's grandfather, William James Cannon and her great grandfather Henry Cannon had been Salt Ketcher's, here at Cannon's Bluff since 1805.

At sometime between 1886 and 1890 the McCosker family and Annie Columbia's unmarried brothers moved from Cannon's Bluff to Hird Island. The men went to work at Aiken's Saw Mill on Hird Island. When Aiken closed this mill, Charles Joseph went to work at Hilton Dodge Lumber Company. This was a saw mill at Lower Bluff, which is today the Fort King George Historic Site. He walked to and from Lower Bluff, the family walked every Sunday to the Roman Catholic Church at the Ridge, the children walked to and from school at the Ridge, the families that lived on May Hall Island would walk to Hird Island to visit their neighbors.

At sometime prior to 1871 a series of plank walks were constructed across the marsh which connected the islands in the Altamaha Sound to each other and the mainland. The " 1871 US Coast Survey Chart #446, Doboy & Altamaha Sounds", show these plank walks. A segment of this chart can be seen on page 442, Early Days on the Georgia Tidewater

The route which the family walked to the mainland started at the north end of Hird Island. They proceeded across the plank walk to Union Island then across the trail on Union Island to Black Island Creek {Ridge River}. There was a ferry which operated daily across Black Island Creek to the high land, which is today Blue'n Hall landing. George Francis was the Ferry Boat operator. They then proceeded across the plank walk to the mainland. This section of plank walk is today the causeway connecting Blue'n Hall Landing to the mainland. Another plank walk was from May Hall Island to the South end of Hird Island. The Corlette family of May Hall Island would walk to visit the McCosker & Cannon family on Hird Island.

On June 19, 1898, Charles Joseph McCosker was killed in a boiler explosion at the Hilton Dodge Lumber Company, Lower Bluff. On October 2, 1898, a hurricane-tidal wave destroyed all the buildings on Hird Island, the plank walks, the ferry on Black Island Creek and created wide spread destruction in McIntosh County.

October 2, 1898 was a Sunday. The McCosker family was preparing to walk to the Roman Catholic Church at the Ridge. They were first alerted of different weather conditions by a rapidly rising tide , which had already covered the plank walk, making it impossible to walk to church. The Cannon men, and McCosker's quickly gathered planks and boards, which were abundant on the Island, because of the saw mill location, and proceeded to build benches up in the live oak trees for the family to escape the rising water. The baby was wrapped in the oil cloth from the kitchen table. There was not time to collect food or water. From the trees the entire family watched the water from the incoming tide, flood the ground below them. The outgoing tide proved to be the most terrifying. Buildings, lumber, and animals rapidly rushed by in the fast moving water below them. During the night the very wet and frighten group came down from the trees to find everything washed away. the boards, outbuildings, houses, animals, and everything gone. Their fresh water supply on Hird Island was an open well. This was filled with salt water and gave no satisfaction to the family. The sugar cane patch was flattened, they striped and chewed the cane , attempting to satisfy their thirst, however the sweet juice only enhanced the want for water. When the water receded friends and neighbors from the Ridge, came by boat looking for the Cannon's and McCosker's. They were rescued to the Ridge , where provisions were made for them by the caring friends and neighbors. At Ashantilly, the water rose eight and one-half foot in two hours, above the spring tide mark.

Sweeping in from the Atlantic without warning, the hurricane made landfall in the center of McIntosh County.

The full force of the storm came at high tide--which also happened to be a full-moon spring tide--and this caused extraordinary flooding throughout coastal McIntosh and Glynn counties. Tides were reported at 13 feet above the mean high water mark at Darien and 18 feet at the Sapelo Island lighthouse.

It was a real tidal wave. It is said that the tide rose about five feet in about twenty minutes. It was from ten to twelve feet higher than ever known before. At the Ridge the tide was fifteen feet higher than ever before.

It is estimated that between 40 and 50 people lost their lives.

Lower Altamaha Historical Society, Inc.
P.O. Box 1405
Darien, Georgia 31305

February 1996 Vol.5,No.5

Meetings are held at the Ida Hilton Library, Haynes Auditorium, on the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 P.M. The Society extends a hearty welcome to all.

LAHS Meeting, February 15, 1996, 7:30 P.M. : The program will be "The Maritime History of McIntosh County from 1810 to 1910" presented by McIntosh County historian Buddy Sullivan. With a lecture/slide program, Sullivan will focus on the impact and interplay that the local waterways and islands have had on the various phases of economic and commercial development of the county, including rice and sea island cotton plantations, lumbering and saw milling and the commercial oyster and shrimp fishery.

Much of the material for this program stems from the speaker's exhaustive research on the subject contained in his book, Early Days on the Georgia Tidewater, in which he thoroughly investigated McIntosh County's long-standing maritime and navigational traditions. The program will include information on related topics, such as the wide variety of watercraft associated with the county's maritime history, lighthouses, bar pilots and assorted other relevant subjects.

Buddy Sullivan, historian, author, is well known to the LAHS membership, and McIntosh County. Through his published books and articles, he is respected as an authority on the people and events of McIntosh. Buddy was born at Cedar Point on the McIntosh County tidewater. He grew up playing amid the ruins of the old oyster cannery there and spent the days of his youth in around a variety of watercraft upon the creeks, rivers and sounds of the county. Buddy's forebears came to McIntosh County in 1894 when his great-grandfather, Thomas Marshall Hunter, was called as pastor of the Darien Presbyterian Church.

LAHS Meeting, March 21, 1996, 7:30 P.M. : The program,"LeCONTE-WOODMANSTON PLANTATION, PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE", presented by Randy C. Miller, Executive Director, LeConte-Woodmanston Foundation, Inc. Woodmanston Plantation was established in McIntosh County in 1760 by the brothers William and John Eatton LeConte. It flourished as one of Georgia's earliest inland swamp rice plantations. In 1983, a plan was arrived at which established as primary goals, the preservation of the LeConte family's legacy in America and the accurate portrayal of early nineteenth century plantation life in coastal Georgia. These goals continue to guide restoration efforts at Woodmanston, today in Liberty County, which are being conducted by the private, non-profit LeConte-Woodmanston Foundation, Inc.

Randy Miller is a native of Savannah. He was graduated from the University of Georgia, in Athens, with a Bachelor of Arts in History. His graduate courses are from Georgia State University in Atlanta. In 1994 he was employed as the first Executive Director of LeConte-Woodmanston Foundation, Inc. Miller oversees the restoration efforts of Woodmanston from the Foundation office in Midway. He conducts field trips to the plantation site, and works very closely with the Trustees and Directors. Dyson Flanders is a Trustee and Director of the LeConte-Woodmanston Foundation, Inc.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM BOARD OF DIRECTORS, LAHS

LAHS has become an affiliate member of the GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. We are proud to join some fifty other historical societies in support of this great organization.

LAHS has purchased a print of John Stobart's painting On The Georgia Tidewater Loading Sea Island Cotton at Darien c. 1862 The print is being framed by Joe Durrett. It will be displayed in Darien in order for many to observe and enjoy.

March 2, 1996--Day field trip for LAHS to Wassaw Island--Hostess, Ellie Legg--Rain day, March 9--Reservation confirmation, February 15--Reservations filled with waiting list--contact Everett Moriarty, 832 5250

March 8 and 9 Spring Encampment FORT KING GEORGE HISTORICAL SITE

A living history portrayal of early 18th century life at Fort King George on the frontier that was to become Georgia. Demonstrations will be ongoing through the day : musket firings, drilling, cannon firings, tomahawk throwing, domestic skills, children's games, cooking, dyeing, candlemaking, and more. On Saturday, the encampment will be highlighted by a battle between the British and Spanish. Reenactors from all over the southeast will be participating in the special event portraying Ft. King George soldiers, Independent Companies, Spanish Garrison soldiers, Rangers, and Native Americans. The program Friday will be set aside for school groups.

William James Cannon [1804-1865] and his wife Anne Eliza McCollough [1815-1878] were the Great Grandparents of Annie Cannon Fisher Gill and Mary Leontina Fisher Barber. The following is just a portion of their living experiences on the Georgia tidewater.

William James & Ann Eliza lived at Cannon's Bluff, north McIntosh County. Their house is thought to be near, what is now Belle's Bluff Marina, which was then, Bell's Landing & Trading Post, owned and run by Mr. Bell, husband of Sarah, William James's sister. William James was a farmer and Salt Ketcher,like his father.

In 1864 the ages of William James and Ann Eliza were 60 and 49 years. Parents of eleven children, only the three youngest ages 13, 10 & 8 were living at home. William James's oldest sister Mary Ann Jane Cannon Carroll [1802-1870] was an extended member of this family.

After the destruction of Darien in June 1863, the courthouse and a loosely-organized civil government of McIntosh C. was relocated to Edenezer Church, north of Darien.--On the night of August 2-3, a Union naval force of 115 men landed at Sapelo Main (Baisden's Bluff), marched overland several miles and made prisoners of 26 McIntosh County men who were holding a meeting at the church at Ebenezer.[pg 315 Early Days on the Georgia Tidewater]

William James was one of the McIntosh County men captured at Ebenezer Church in August 1864. He was taken to New York Harbor and a northern prison. He was released at Aiken's Landing, Virginia, on the James River, following the South's surrender. He died in Charlotte, N. C. , March 22, 1865, en route back home from prison. The family that sheltered and cared for William James, sent his personal effects with a letter to his wife Ann Eliza, telling of William James's death and burial on their place in Charlotte, N. C. . This letter was lost in the personal effects of Ann Eliza, during the hurricane-tidal wave of October 2,1898. The descendants of William James do not know the name of the family or cemetery, except the locale of Charlotte, N. C.

Lower Altamaha Historical Society, Inc.
P.O. Box 1405
Darien, Georgia 31305

April 1996 Vol.5 No.6

Dyson Flanders, Trustee and Director of the LeConte-Woodmanston Foundation, Inc. and the Foundation's Executive Director, Randy Miller will lead the LAHS members and invited friends on a Field Trip to the plantation site on Saturday, April 13. The schedule for LAHS members and their invited guest is: 8:30 A.M.-----Breakfast, Altman's Restaurant, Eulonia

9:30 A.M.-----Depart for plantation

10:00 A.M.----on site

Lunch at Holton's, afterwards is an option.

The April meeting will be held at the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation in order for us to fully appreciate the program which will feature this Historic Site in our community. One of the highlights of Ranger Andy Beckman program will be the viewing of the new film People of Hofwyl-Broadfield. The family silver will also be on display.

The Hofwyl-Broadfield Historic Site is managed by the Georgia Department Natural Resources. Ranger Andy Beckman has been with DNR for six years.

The election of LAHS officers for 1996-97 year will be held. The nominating committee presents the following slate for the memberships consideration:

President Buddy Sullivan Board of Directors, 1996-98 Vice-President Natalie Webb Donna Garner Secretary Mattie Gladstone Everett Moriarty Treasurer Honey Fanning Myrtle Newberry

Kaye Traer

The May meeting will be held at the recently opened and dedicated Sapelo Island Visitors Center located at Sapelo Dock, Meridian. The program will introduce the interpretative displays and exhibits of this new facility. The planned future activities and volunteer program which will be centered here will bring Sapelo Island and McIntosh County to the attention of many people. This program will be presented by Buddy Sullivan, Manager, Sapelo Island Reserve, Bill Merriman, Manager, Sapelo Island Visitors Center, and Fred Hay, Education Coordinator for Sapelo Island Reserve.

ANNOUNCEMENT--from OFFICIAL PUBLICATION of CLAN MACKINTOSH of NORTH AMERICA

Lieutenant-Commander Lachlan Ronald Duncan Mackintosh of Mackintosh,30th Chief of Clan Mackintosh, died December 26, 1995, at Raggmor Hospital, Inverness.

May 2, 1996--DEDICATION & RIBBON CUTTING--SAPELO ISLAND VISITORS CENTER

April 13, 1996--FORT KING GEORGE HISTORIC SITE--11 P.M.--4 P.M.

DARIEN IN FLAMES Huge flames utterly consumed the town of Darien on a fateful day in June, 1863. It was a tangible expression of uncontrolled emotions that clutched a nation. Visit the site and learn from interpreters in both Blue and Grey as they tell the tales of a small town in Southeast Georgia so effected by the Civil War. Camp life, soldier's talk, drilling, and musket firings will be presented through the day.

April 26, 1996--CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY

Everett Moriarty will be placing some 130 flags on the graves of the Confederate Veterans buried in McIntosh County. A spray of flowers will be placed on the Confederate Monument at the Court House. In memory of our Confederate Veterans,families are encouraged to visit grave sites,April 26.

LIVING ON THE GEORGIA TIDEWATER

John Michael Fisher [1833-1913] and his wife Christina Leontina Schreiber [1841-1889] were the grandparents of Annie Cannon Fisher Gill and Mary Leontina Fisher Barber. The following is just a portion of their living experiences on the Georgia tidewater.

John Michael Fisher emigrated to Savannah, Ga., circa 1858-59 from Stuttgart, Wurtenburg, Germany. He worked as a Journeman baker in the German Bakery owned and operated by Philip & Margaret Giebelhauss, who had also emigrated from Wurtenburg, some years earlier.

Christina Leontina Schreiber and her mother and brother also emigrated to Savannah from Stuttgart, Wurtenburg, Germany, prior to 1860. The Schreiber family is listed in the 1860 Chatham County Census as: Frederick Schreiber, 20 year old shoemaker, Fredericka Schreiber 58 years old,female domestic, from Wuttenburg, Germany, Lenah {Leontina} Schreiber, 19 years old, dealer, cakes & candies.

The German emigrants of Savannah were an active congregation of the Lutheran Church of Ascension on Wright Square. This church, still active today, has always been known for the keeping of excellent records. Leontina Schreiber's First Communion and Confirmation in Germany in on record.

John Michael enlisted in the German Volunteers in Savannah on August 26, 1861. He enlisted as a Private in Company I. John Michael was captured at Fort Pulaski on the Savannah River by the Federal Army under the command of General Quincy Adams Gillmore, on April 10, 1862. The assault took place from a position opposite the fort on Tybee Island. Three hundred and sixty Confederates are taken prisoner; one Union soldier is killed, as is one Southerner.

John Michael related the story of this assault to his son John Henry. He, John Michael was assigned as Baker at Ft.Pulaski. The first shots of this attack were rolling across the parade ground at 3 A.M. as he was removing bread from the oven. He was first imprisoned at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.[ between April 10 and June 2, 1862 ] Joe Anderson, a negro, was also imprisoned there at this time. Many years later Joe Anderson was living in Darien on Highway 99, near Ashantilly Community. John Michael always kept Joe supplied with bread from Fisher's Bakery. Joe lived in a cabin in his daughters yard. Joe's daughter, Josephine was married to Jack Campbell.

John Michael appears on a Roll of P.O.W. at Fort Columbus, New York Harbor, June 2, 1862. He was delivered on July 12, 1862. He appears on a list of non-com officers and prisoners exchanged at Aiken's Landing, Virginia, August 5, 1862. On December 30, 1862 , he is a baker in General Hospital, No.1, Oglethorpe Barracks, Savannah. By order of General Mercer, he is assigned to Mercer Hospital on February 28, for 60 days.

In 1865, John Michael moved to the Ridge in McIntosh County. He built a Bake House and opened a Bakery at the Ridge. He returned to Savannah to marry Christina Leontina Schreiber at the Lutheran Church of Ascension on July 5, 1866.

Excerpts: " Short Historical Sketch of McIntosh County, Ga."

On the Point, where Mr. William Mallard resides, there was to be seen until quite recently, one of the old Confederate look-outs, a scaffold secured along the limbs, whence one obtained a full view of the river and the Sound (Sapelo), where gun-boats of the enemy came in June 1863. People on "The Ridge", our beautiful suburb and summer resort, watched the movements of these strangers with much apprehension. The gun-boats coming near "The Ridge", landed troops at Hall and Blue's Mill, and marched over a causeway to "The Ridge" where they were met by "McIntosh Calvary", doing picket duty under command of Lieutenant William H. Atwood (afterward Captain). After some sharp firing on both sides the marines fell back to their gun-boats and began shelling "The Ridge", the firing lasting three days. No lives were lost, but many a house bore the marks of that shelling for years. The women were plucky enough here, as all over the South, and even yet can tell of "tongue-lashings", though they might be their last; and heroic deeds they would not dare repeat. One very old lady, since dead, who could remember the last of British soldiers, told me that she was scared to death when the "Blue-Coats" began searching her house and she followed them obediently, opening doors and closets, quaking all the time, until they dragged out a trunk containing clothes once belonging to her husband;then she commanded

them to "leave that and get down stairs!" with such sudden bravery that they obeyed, while she sat down to tremble all over.

Everybody knows, now, that the City of Darien an abandoned post and occupied at the time by a few men too old for service, was burned by order of Colonel Montgomery of the 14th Mass.(colored troops). This act of vandalism lay for years at the door of Colonel Robert Shaw, but in 1869 when an appeal was made to our Northern brethren for help to rebuild St. Andrew's Church, stating by whom, and how it had been destroyed, Mrs. Sarah Shaw sent a handsome sum, one thousand dollars, and published a card, saying that in justice to her son's memory, we ought to learn that the town was burned in spite of his protestations, by Colonel Montgomery.

Only four buildings were left in the town, and of these, two had been fired, but were saved by the efforts of Mr. Arthur Bailey and Mr. Moses Thompson. The Methodist Church was one of them. Mr. Bailey had been detailed as a blockade-runner, and his boat, loaded with seventy-five bales of cotton was captured, but he escaped and in endeavoring to find somebody to aid in recapturing his boat, saw the fire and had the opportunity of saving these buildings. There are many of us left who remember the scene of utter desolation the town presented, even as late as Oct. 1866. The solitary chimneys marking the sites of comfortable, and often luxurious homes, the wide tracts of ashes and the charred trunks of the great live-oaks that once spread their boughs from side to side of the wide streets.

*1 Early Days on the Georgia Tidewater by Buddy Sullivan--page 520