HALL COUNTY, GEORGIA: FOR WHOM WAS IT NAMED? We mentioned last week, that we had received several communications in answer to the above question, propounded by Quaero. We publish the following letter, which was the first that came to hand, and gives a more detailed account of the matter than any of the others. It is proper to state that all of our correspondents agree with the writer below, whose name is familiar to a large class of our readers, and carries with it an authority which needs no support. Dear Sir: I see a writer in your paper of the 17th inst., signed "Quaero," asks you a question about the origin of the name of "Hall county," in Georgia-saying that the Rev. W. H. Foote, in his sketches of North Carolina, had supposed the county had been named after Rev. Dr. Hall, of North Carolina, &c. In "White's Statistics of Georgia," pages 308, 309, is a full statement of this affair. The Rev. James Hall, from Iredell county, North Carolina, accompanied a party of 4,000 troops, during the American Revolution, into the upper part of Georgia, then inhabited by the Cherokee Indians, and the troops, in honor of this divine, named all that section of country after their Chaplain, Rev. James Hall. The Rev. Mr. White, the historian alluded to above, says, "This is a mistake. The county was named after Dr. Lyman Hall, a sturdy and inflexible patriot of the Revolution. He was born in Connecticut in 1731, and graduated at Yale College in 1747. After his collegiate course he studied medicine, and removed to Dorchester, in South Carolina, and came to Georgia, accompanied by several others, to whom a grant of land, 31,950 acres, was made in what was then known as St. John's Parish, South of the Ogechee River. The people of this Parish were early and decided advocates of the cause of liberty, and before any general measures had been adopted by the Colony, had sent a delegate to the Continental Congress. That delegate was Lyman Hall. Upon taking his seat in the Congress at Philadelphia in 1775, a difficulty arose as to whether the Parish of St. John's should be considered as representing the Colony of Georgia. Mr. Hall stated his wish merely to hear and assist in the debates, as he only represented a part of Georgia, and to vote only when the sentiments of Congress were not taken by Colonies. Soon after this, Georgia, by her Provincial Assembly, determinded to join the other Colonies, and Lyman Hall, in conjunction with others, was selected to represent the whole Province. Owing to several causes, only three members from Georgia were present in the Congress at the signing of the Declaration. Dr. Hall was one of these, and his name stands among those noble men who proclaimed the independence of America. Mr. Hall was compelled to remove his family to the North; when the British took possession of Georgia, his property was confiscated. He returned to Georgia in 1782, and in the succeeding year was elected Governor of that State. He afterwards removed to Burke county, where he died in the 67th year of his age," &c. &c. I have no doubt that this statement of the Rev. Mr. White is strictly correct. Hall county was organized [taken principally from Jackson and Franklin counties] in 1818. This information I furnish to you, and you can, of course, make what use of it you please. Your ob't. serv't., Savannah, 17th March, 1855. A. PORTER. The following was sent us by an esteemed friend, who has repeatedly contributed to our pages, as a translation of the description of the "virtuous woman," which the mother of King Lemuel taught to her son. It belongs to the class of Alphabetic compositions, and was written in the acrostic form, that it might be easily learned by heart, and retained in memory. It is, as it were, a monumental description of what was regarded as a virtuous, i. e. an energetic, able woman, 2500 years ago, and was probably given to the youthful king to aid him in his search after one worthy to share his affections, his palace, and his throne. As a composition, it is marked with a noble and beautiful simplicity, and introduces us to the rural life and manners of Palestine at an early age. THE WOMAN OF ENERGY. PROV. XXXI: 10-31. Aleph.-V. 10. A woman of energy who, then, shall find? One who leaves, in her value, the pearl far behind. Her wool and her flax are combined at her will. And brings its returns from the westernmost star. Vav.*" 15. With the dawn she will rise and with gentlest sway Zayin." 16. Zeal seeks a new sphere;-and the fruit of her toil Wheth.-" 17. Cheer on then her efforts! Her frame as her mind Tet.-"18. Test her not by a trick! This sweet daughter of light Kaph." 20. Kindest cares are her glory-for, wise in her cares, For those who do neither she spends and she spares. Lamech.-" 21. Let the cold snows appear and the dark blasts appal, Nun.—“ 23. Nor pass her beloved, as he sits at the gate, Lamech.-" 24. See, she rivals old Egypt, she emulates Tyre Hayin.—“ 25. Eden's strength, Eden's beauty unite round her home, A vigil all womanly wakes in her eye:- Koph.-" 28. Quote her oft as a mother; her children her pride, Crowns all with her piety, constant as rare. Tav.-" 31. Throne her highest in praise-where'er justice is found, The Arab sounds it like our W, which most probably, was the Hebrew usage.-PROFESSOR STUART. ARTICLE X. CRITICAL NOTICES. 1. College Discipline: An Inaugural Address, delivered at Davidson College, N. C., on the 28th February, 1855. By Major D. H. HILL, Professor of Mathematics and Civil Engineering. This is an opportune and excellent address. As we gather from a cursory perusal, the subject was assigned to the learned Professor by the Board of Trustees. The discussion is conducted with signal ability, and in a felicitous style characteristic of the author. Though all his views may not appear to be, in every point, practicable, nor to commend themselves to indulgent parents, yet are they eminently wise and judicious, and manifestly indicate that the Professor has not only been an experienced teacher, but bestowed upon College government much patient and earnest thought. He is an able advocate of the "grading system," and fortifies his position by a reference to its success in elevating Yale, Nassau Hall, Washington and other Colleges, and in making the Military Academy at West Point the first school of science in America. Instead of a ruinous and demoralizing espionage, he proposes to locate every riot that may occur in the College buildings, and to hold all in the vicinity responsible for the disorder, and thus the rioters will be compelled to inform on themselves; or, if the disturbance should take place in the campus, he regards an inspection of the rooms as sufficient to detect at least some of the offenders. The practical application of all the principles and rules which he recommends must be attended with difficulties, and will sometimes implicate the innocent with the guilty; but in those Colleges in which such obstacles do not exist, and where the students prefer to maintain and establish their innocence, or an alibi, to being criminated with the accused, the system may answer a most valuable end of discipline. The remarks of the Professor on the duty of parents, and especially of mothers, in instructing and restraining children at home, are worthy of being engraved on the tablets of their memory, in characters of gold. Whilst we would not be understood as endorsing every idea, expression, or rule which the Professor has enforced, we think he has handled a difficult subject as well as it could be treated in so limited a compass, and express our hope of seeing some further contributions from his vigorous pen. 2. The Monumental History of Egypt, as recorded on the ruins of her Temples, Palaces, and Tombs. By WILLIAM OSBURN, R. S. L., author of "The Antiquities of Egypt," "Ancient Egypt, her testimony to the Truth," "Israel in Egypt," etc., vol. 1. From the first Colonization of the valley to the visit of the Patriarch Abram, pp. 461, 8 vo., vol. 2. From the visit of Abram to the Exodus, pp. 643, 8 vo. This is an elaborate and independent work on the history of Egypt, drawn from monumental inscriptions, and giving the results of long and well considered study. In researches so intricate, and requiring such skill in hieroglyphic interpretation, it will be wonderful if no mistakes have been committed. The number of scholars versed in Egyptian studies in this country is so small, we presume that these errors will escape detection here. The main results the author has reached, place Egyptian history altogether in harmony with that of other ancient nations. The immense antiquity which has been claimed for India, China, and Assyria, has disappeared when subjected to the scrutiny of impartial investigation. So have we always believed it would prove with Egypt. The dates claimed by Lepsius and Bunsen for the reign of Menes, we have had no doubt would, some day, be shown to be erroneous; and Egypt, which our skeptics are now pointing to, as a standing refutation of Moses, we have not doubted, would show from her temples, pyramids, and catacombs, the entire truth of Scripture history. The tactics of infidel writers will be to scoff at their opponents yet some time longer. But the hour of their defeat will not be long delayed. The path is marked out by the author now before us, by which perhaps, the labyrinth of Egyptian Dynasties will be revealed. The first settlers of Egypt he shows were a company of persons in a high state of civilization, who, by some strange anomaly, had been deprived of a great part of their language, and their entire written system. They had journeyed thither across the Isthmus of Suez, bringing with them the worship of the setting sun. The Dynasties of Manetho were, to a large extent, cotemporary dynasties. |