{"id":58499,"date":"2020-05-12T13:23:36","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T17:23:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=58499"},"modified":"2024-07-25T06:06:12","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T10:06:12","slug":"ben-perley-poores-georgia-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/ben-perley-poores-georgia-scandal.html","title":{"rendered":"Ben: Perley Poore\u2019s Georgia Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry digs into old newspapers and archival records to tell the story of the famed journalist Benjamin Poore \u2013 and the scandal he endured in Georgia. <\/em>Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com<\/a><\/em>, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The prominent Washington correspondent and historian Major Ben: Perley Poore (the colon after \u201cBen\u201d is the family custom), from Indian Hill Farm, West Newbury, Massachusetts, led a charmed life.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Benjamin Perley Poore, between 1865 and 1880. Credit: Brady-Handy Photograph Collection; Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Poore (1820-1887) dined with Lafayette and Sir Walter Scott. His collection of Americana was the finest in the country. His home had a Masonic Hall and a bedstead slept in by Washington. His drawing room charm earned himself a seat at the best parties.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), 29 May 1887, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, before Poore rose to success, a brief stint in the sunny south landed him in hot water.<\/p>\n

Poore edited and wrote for the Southern Whig<\/em> newspaper in Athens, Georgia. When he arrived in town, invites flooded in from the upper crust plantation lords. He was admitted in by all the top-drawer aristocrats and, per reports from the society pages, the handsome Poore was getting along \u201cswimmingly\u201d and living like a pasha.<\/p>\n

Over time, though, Poor neglected genteel society and instead immersed himself in a Bohemian coterie. His taste for a good story sent him hunting in a section of town known as \u201cthe Broken Shutter.\u201d This area was particularly newsworthy, and it furnished \u201cthe best fluid in town.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to sources, Poore\u2019s Northern abolitionist tendencies and progressive ideals blew a chill in the welcoming atmosphere he had first received \u2013 and the warm Southern hospitality was losing its steam. The final frost would come\u2026<\/p>\n

On Saturday night, 30 January 1841, Poore hosted a ball in his \u201cbachelor hall\u201d and his guestlist included \u201cmulatto\u201d women. The news spread like wildfire and Poore and his cohorts were summoned to court.<\/p>\n

According to records housed in the Clarke County Court House in Athens, Poore is listed with Jacob Grover, William Flemming, Bartley W. Murdock, Elisha Royall, Benjamin Phinizy, and Thomas Sherwood \u2013 a group of men all charged for being \u201ctainted\u201d because they \u201cunlawfully continued to dance and carouse and hug and embrace said female Negro slaves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"From:<\/a>
From: Talmadge, John E. \u201cBen: Perley Poore\u2019s Stay in Athens.\u201d The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Vol. 41, No. 3, September 1957. Permission to publish: Patricia Meagher, Georgia Historical Society.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other bad boys were released due to their family connections, but Poore\u2019s actions cost him $400. Poore retreated into Northern territory because he was \u201cvery close to becoming the star of tar and feather entertainment.\u201d In 1885 the Atlanta Constitution<\/em> recapped how wild Ben outraged the old citizens of the town and declared: \u201cThere never was such an orgie [sic] given as was witnessed in Athens that night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia), 1 August 1885, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Poore could not understand how people looked upon him with such unpleasantness. He honestly thought he was not guilty of any social impropriety. Poore cut his losses on the newspaper and moved on.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Indianapolis Journal (Indianapolis, Indiana), 31 May 1887, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Southern papers rehashed the scandal again during the Civil War when Poore rose to the rank of Major in the Second Massachusetts Regiment. This Yankee was still ruffling the feathers of Georgian society, as shown by this headline: \u201cPoore Has Found His Level at Last \u2013 A Major in Lincoln\u2019s Army.\u201d (Athens Banner<\/em>, Athens, Georgia, 1861.)<\/p>\n

The stint in Athens did not stain this raconteur \u2013 shortly afterward, he was appointed attache to the United States minister in Belgium. After all, Poore was bred from the sturdy stock of Newbury pioneers who drank enough punch and flip to fill the channel beneath Choate bridge \u2013 and probably never a headache in one. (Hon. Ben: Perley Poore of our sister town, West Newbury, speech 1844.)<\/p>\n

Note:<\/em><\/strong> Just as an online collection of newspapers, such as GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>, told the stories of Benjamin Perley Poore\u2019s life, they can tell you stories about your ancestors that can\u2019t be found anywhere else. Come look today and see what you can discover!<\/p>\n

Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks to Johanna McBrien, former editor of Antiques and Fine Arts Magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sources and Further Reads:<\/strong><\/p>\n