Moses Harshaw
I do family research as a hobby. Genealogy combined with history is a big interest I have.
Our recent trip through the north Georgia Mountains reminded me of Moses Harshaw.
I am not related to Moses Harshaw. But we have common relatives. My g-g-g grandfather John Hunter's daughter and son married two siblings with the surname England. Their aunt Nancy England married Moses Harshaw. This was probably between 1840 and 1860.
Moses Harshaw was conidered at the time to be the "meanest man in Georgia".
He was considered the meanest man in Georgia because of the treatment he gave his slaves. They lived in a little community of The Sautee Valley just southest of Helen, Georgia. Moses had a beautil and big farm. When one of his slaves became ill or too old to work, Moses felt the slave, being unproductive was a libility. He would take him up to a cliff on nearby Lynch Mountain and forced him or her off the edge. That was the retirement plan Moses gave the people who worked for him.
Another story about Moses was when he went into town to buy supplies he would need a slave to do all the heavy lifting to put in the wagon. The slave was not allowed to ride in the wagon. Moses would attach a leather harness around the man's neck, attached to a rope and the man had to run behind the wagon and keep up. I suppose if the man tripped and fell and snapped the poor man's neck then Moses would have to go back and get another slave.
Moses was a lawyer and had a room or small house in the nearby county seat, about 20 miles away and come home on weekends. Another story: one time he came home and found out that a slave's daughter had died and Nancy bought a new little dress for the girl to be buried in. Moses had the little girl dug up and the dress removed, and he returned it for credit.
That was the last straw, Nancy divorced him.
Moses had to defend himself several times in manslaughter cases, where he had terminated a slave's life.
I have read that on Moses tombstone is: DIED AND GONE TO HELL". Although, I have not yet found the marker in any of the local church's cemeteries.
Their home, which I have visited is a bed and breakfast now.
Our recent trip through the north Georgia Mountains reminded me of Moses Harshaw.
I am not related to Moses Harshaw. But we have common relatives. My g-g-g grandfather John Hunter's daughter and son married two siblings with the surname England. Their aunt Nancy England married Moses Harshaw. This was probably between 1840 and 1860.
Moses Harshaw was conidered at the time to be the "meanest man in Georgia".
He was considered the meanest man in Georgia because of the treatment he gave his slaves. They lived in a little community of The Sautee Valley just southest of Helen, Georgia. Moses had a beautil and big farm. When one of his slaves became ill or too old to work, Moses felt the slave, being unproductive was a libility. He would take him up to a cliff on nearby Lynch Mountain and forced him or her off the edge. That was the retirement plan Moses gave the people who worked for him.
Another story about Moses was when he went into town to buy supplies he would need a slave to do all the heavy lifting to put in the wagon. The slave was not allowed to ride in the wagon. Moses would attach a leather harness around the man's neck, attached to a rope and the man had to run behind the wagon and keep up. I suppose if the man tripped and fell and snapped the poor man's neck then Moses would have to go back and get another slave.
Moses was a lawyer and had a room or small house in the nearby county seat, about 20 miles away and come home on weekends. Another story: one time he came home and found out that a slave's daughter had died and Nancy bought a new little dress for the girl to be buried in. Moses had the little girl dug up and the dress removed, and he returned it for credit.
That was the last straw, Nancy divorced him.
Moses had to defend himself several times in manslaughter cases, where he had terminated a slave's life.
I have read that on Moses tombstone is: DIED AND GONE TO HELL". Although, I have not yet found the marker in any of the local church's cemeteries.
Their home, which I have visited is a bed and breakfast now.
posted by Eddie at 4:23 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home