Georgia and Georgians - the Digital Library of Georgia

3246 GEORGIA AND GEORGIANSwar. When he was about twelve years of age his parents moved to SumterCounty and Samuel attended school in the vicinity of Magnolia Springs andgave his father assistance in various ways. Being unusually intelligent andentirely dependable, he was early entrusted by his father with importantbusiness transactions, and doubtless it would have satisfied the father if hecould have looked forward at a time when his son would take his place inmanaging his cotton plantations. The boy, however, was cherishing otherhopes and the time came when he was permitted to enter the office of Ingram,Crawford & Russell, at Columbus, Georgia, as a student of law, and in 1857he was admitted to the bar.Abstemious in his habits, cheerfully industrious and impressive in hispersonality, it became easy for the young lawyer to inspire confidence andduring the next few years he was able to build up an excellent law practiceand his professional future appeared particularly bright when came the callto arms in the lamentable war between the states and Mr. Hawkins was oneof the first to enlist for service. Interesting indeed is his war record, andyet his old cavalry comrades proudly tell of his valorous deeds when he followed Forrest and Cheatham; his heroic rescue of his company when indanger of being led into ambush in the mountains of Virginia; his brave solitary scouting expeditions; his promotion first to a lieutenancy and then toinspector-general; his uncomplaining suffering from wounds; his courage inthe face of the enemy; and his tender sympathy among the sick and wounded.When the sad days of defeat came and many gave way to the distress thatoverwhelmed them, he saw the bright lining to the cloud and inspired otherswith hopefulness.After four years Mr. Hawkins resumed the practice of his profession,seemingly with the same interest and certainly with no lack of vigor, and ina short time his practice had grown to such proportions that he found it advisable to admit several partners, his choice being Dupont Guerry and B. P.Hollis, who later became distinguished lawyers and for a number of yearsthe law firm of Hawkins, Guerry & Hollis was a leading one in the state.Mr. Hawkins wras active in numerous other ways. It was mainly through hisforesight that the cotton planters in this section secured banking privileges.With his associates, in 1872, he organized the Bank of Americus, \vith a capitalof $150,000, of which he was president for many years.The history of his connection with railroad building, particularly in relation to his home city, Americus, belongs to the annals of the state, but briefmention here may prove interesting. He was one of the first and most earnestadvocates of a railroad commission, which, however, when established, did notadequately correct the great freight rate discriminations made against Americus. The Central was the only railroad Americus possessed and they resentedhis opposition, knowing full well that his influence was far reaching. Theyenlarged the scope of their construction and triumphantly went on their way,practically diverting all business from this city. Mr. Hawkins fully realizedthe difficulties of the situation and considered the matter from every legalpoint, finally determining to build himself: a narrow gauge railroad to deepwater transportation on the Chattahoochee River, forty-five miles distant,and he succeeded. When the road was completed the competition at Americus forced the powerful Central to abandon the line they had built to Andersonvilleand connect with Americus. This, the first railroad ever built inGeorgia by local capital, soon doubled the population of this section andbrought wealth and prosperity to Americus, now made a wholesale mart, anencouragement to capital and an invitation to home-builders. What SamuelHugh Hawkins did for this section of Georgia by his enterprise and courageshould never be forgotten, and that it was the man rather than the public orthe opportunity has been since proven by the failure of subsequent attemptsby others along the same line. He had sacrificed his entire fortune to secure