364 LAURENS COUNTY. 



The instances of longevity are : Mrs. Elizabeth Hudson, 

 91 years old at her death; Jonathan Jones, 80; James 

 Darsley, 90. 



Mills. — Saw-mills 12, grist-mills 20. 



Original Settlers. — General Blackshear, Colonel McCor- 

 mick, Jonathan Sawyer, Colonel Hampton, the Robinsons, and 

 others. 



Religious Sects, Education, Character of People. — 

 Methodists and Baptists are the prevailing denominations. 

 Education is at a low ebb. Competent instructors are needed. 

 There is an academy at Dublin, besides several district 

 schools. The people are no better or worse than those of 

 other counties, where no efforts have been made to place edu- 

 cation on an enlightened and permanent basis. The popula- 

 tion is nearly stationary, and exhibits no great signs of im- 

 provement. 



Eminent Men. — General Blackshear resided in this county. 

 At the age of 16 he took up arms in defence of his country. 

 In 1790 he came to Georgia, and defended the lives and pro- 

 perty of the people during the incursions of the Indians on the 

 frontiers. He died in 1817, at the age of 74, leaving behind 

 him the character of a valued citizen, honest man, and brave 

 soldier. The Hon. George M. Troup, so conspicuous in the 

 history of our State, is a resident of this county. 



Additional Remarks. — The oak and hickory lands consti- 

 tute one-third of the cultivated lands of the county ; the remain- 

 der are, for the greater part, the open pine woods and wire- 

 grass. The wire-grass lands are easily susceptible of improve- 

 ment : a little manure is sufficient to give from ten to twelve 

 bushels of corn, ten to twelve of wheat, and 200 bushels of sweet 

 potatoes. The wire-grass itself is valuable. There is no other 

 known grass in the south, which resists the cold and furnishes 

 food to cattle, sheep, and hogs, and in the spring or early sum- 

 mer, to the table of the farmer the finest butter, rich in flavour 

 and beautiful in colour. It is true that, as the season advances 

 and winter approaches, this grass, like every perennial, be- 

 comes coarser and tougher, and is therefore less relished ; but 

 never so coarse or tough as not to afford aliment sufficient to 

 sustain life. Besides the wire-grass, there is the lightwood. 



