The Gaffney Ledger from Gaffney, South Carolina • Page 30

FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2004 Pge 8 GONE Irene Park, built in the ecrty 1900s by H.D. Wheat, was a popular Icoation for spedning hot summer afternoons. It was named after Wheat's daughter. A baseball field behind the county swimming pool on Logan Street now occupies the lake area, New edition of book lists 4,500 names in Gaflney family tree By CHRISTINA CORRELL GRIGGS Ledger Staff Vty'tef 5 Local author and historian Dr. Bobby Moss has completed the third edition of The Journal of Michael Gaffney.

The new edition includes a tremendously improved and expanded genealogy of the descendents of Michael Gaffney, the Irishman who is credited with founding Gaffney. Approximately 4,500 names are included in the new gonti ny with the birth, death and marriage Ltes of ti da ri liRts. Thafs more than twice the nun Inj that ere relished in the second edition of the book Li V.i i Jjjtion to the new edition, Moss thanks tj.e very coup of volunteers who helped him expand and eJ.t the Gaffney family tree. The ors, hem Moss said wished jo not be identified, vl.1 jnt 'ere a total of 1,742 hours to compile the gene. HeJ hi ary of the Gaffney descendants.

This Li their to tits community as their part in the bicenf ertnial celebration of the founding of Gaffney, S.C by LLehsel Caffhey," Moss said. 1 Moss said the genealogical research yielded some pleasant surprises such as the discovery that many descendants of Gaffney have held very high poets in the federal government "And there are very many people here in Cherokee County who I had no idea were related to Michael Moss noted. The entire text of Gaffney's diary is presented in the book along with detailed footnotes. The diary chronicles Gaffney's journey from Granard Ireland, to New York City, where he landed in October of 1797, his adventures in New York, his journey to Charleston and how he came to settle the backcountry of South Carolina. The journal gives the reader a glimpse of the new peoples and customs Gaffney encountered during bis travels and ends just before he marries his wife, Polly, in 1803.

The new edition of The Journal of Michael Gaffney does not contain any journal entries or footnotes that were not included in previous editions. As in earlier editions of the book, the hew edition will contain two business journals. The business journals are a compilation of financial transactions, recipes and folk remedies as recorded by Michael Gaffney and his son, Wiiam G. Gaffney. There were also children's dra wires and scribbles on several luges of the original business journals, which Moss has iuded copies of in his book far the reader's interest Reproductions cf several photognphs, including one signed by John Calhoun, and oat are included in fxx.k.

The new 178-page edition is being printed on acid free paper. It wUl be a hard bound, sewn book that is slip bound to prrvTve the beauty of its covers. Bookcn "ter of CheL5ea, Mich, is publishing the book. "It Wil'. -t forever," Moss said.

"I am very pleased w. it." a is exuded to be ready for distribution in Irel' V. taking advanced orders for the book at a rt price on Satecrday, May 1 at The Big Mill Event" r. event is being sponsored by the Gaffney Bicentennial Commission and will be held from 11 am. to 5 in downtown Gaffney.

Moss, a retired professor of history from Limestone CoUi rev-archL-g Michael Gaffney in 1968 and published the first edition of The Journal of Michael Gcvy in 1 970. location of the railroad station attracted most of the early business enterprises to North Limestone Street Gaffney's first city government was elected in 1874, and consisted of John R. Webster, iotendent or mayor, and T. Davenport; Nathan Lipscomb, R.M. Gaffney and B.K.

Humphries, councilmen. The town grew slowly at first, but more rapidly in the 1880s and 1890s. In 1880 the population was 400; in 1890, and in 1900, 3,937. The movement toward the development of a county around the new town of Gaffney began soon after the town itself was established. In 1882, the Gaffney Town council passed a resolution calling for a new county, but nothing came of it In 1896, after the new state constiru-, tion had made the formation of new counties a little easier, and after Benjamin R.

Tillman as governor and senator had favored new counties, the successful movement for the new county began. A bill was introduced in the legislature calling for local elections to be held favoring or opposing the new county, and these were held in the townships of Spartanburg, Union and York counties that were nearest Gaffney. The vote in favor of the new county was in the majority in Limestone and White Plains townships in Spartanbt'rg; in Drayton ville and Gowdeysville townships in Union; and in Cherokee township in York. The new county had a territory of 373 miles, and a population, according to the census of 1900, of 2159. At the time of the formation of Cherokee, John Black of Blacksburg was a state senator from York County; Calvin Whisonant of Wilkinsville, was state representative from Union; and WA.

Austell of Gaffney was representative from Spartanburg County. At the elections of 1898, William Jefferiea was Cherokee County's first elected state senator; J.B. Ross was elected sheriff; Jim Jones, county treasurer, J.E. Webster, probate judge; and N. Lipscomb, county supervisor.

At that time, AH. Wood was mayor of Gaffney, and A. Carroll, RA. Jones and L. Baker were town councilmen.

In 1921, by act of the legislature, an area of two square miles was transferred from York to Cherokee, making the present area of the latter 375 square miles. The coming of railroads to the county, also brought a rebirth in industry, this time centered around textiles lather than iron. In 1882, the first cotton mill in Cherokee County, the Cherokee Falls Manufacturing Company, was established at the site of the old iron works. It had many ups and downs, including a disastrous fire in its early days, but in 1888 it had 8,000 spindles in operation and in 1914, 28,000. The Gaffney Manufacturing Company was founded in 1892, followed by Limestone Mills in 1900, and the Hamrick Mills in 1908.

The Victor Continued from Pegs 7 Relief Association there as well Cannon balls and shell cases were made at Leo's Foundry near the Springs and the South Carolina Manufacturing Company turned out bolts, shot, shells, and even four-pound cannon. A lead-mine was opened during the war on Limestone Creek, and the toad from It was cast into bullets, sometimes in old soap-stone bullet molds dating bnck to the Revolution. The students at Limestone Springs High School under President William Curtis were active in knitting and for the soldiers, in participating in patriotic gatherings, such as those held on Cowpens battleground on the anniversary of that battle, and in giving benefit performances of plays and concerts to raise money for soldiers' aid. When the threat of deserters and Union sympathizers from the mountains became noticeable in 1863, the able-bodied men and boys of the area organized into "Home Guards' for the remainder of the war. In November 1864, this group saw its only major action when it chased a group of marauders across the line into North Carolina, only to lose them in the iPolk County mountains.

The Reconstruction period following the Civil War was a low period in the history of the entire state. The Cherokee County area, having fewer slaves before the war than the lower part of the1 state, suffered less in this regard, but the loss of investments in Confederate and' state bonds, the loss of men, the decline of the iron industry and the general economic disaster following the war resulted in a very confused period. Most of the veterans returned to their faims, or else fiiigrated to more prosper-' ous areas. The major event of tf 1870s, at least as far as Gaffney was concerned, was the coming of the railroad. Though a railroad had reached Spartanburg from Columbia before the Civil War, there had been no railroad to what is now Cherokee County until the completion of the: "Richmond and Atlanta Airline" in 1873.

A station was made near Gaffney Tavern, and anctber at "Black's Station," a location that had formerly been known as Stark'i Folly, and later became Blacksburg. When the rail- road came, Limestone Springs was still the post office and market place of the Gaffney area. There was a hotel there, several tore and some 20 or more homes, besides cot- -tages for not to summer visitors. Nathan Lipscomb ran the largest stnre at the Springs, The school run by Dr. Curtis had bur forced to dose by 1871, due to tt: lack of students and the general economic uplteavaL but a "day school" vfft still in operation there.

The railroad station was more than a mile from the Springs, however, and Limestone Springs soon gave way to Gaffney city as the "metropolis" of the area. In the fall of 1873, the town of Gaffney was Wd off, according to plans drawn by Tillman Gaines, and lota in the new town were sold by auction. Cotton Seed Oil Company was founded in 1899, and a uford Street fajplDedp Jhe, main.