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The Barney History Project: The people, places, and stories of Barney, Georgia

W. A. S. Humphreys

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Probably May 5, 1852 to October 10, 1906 | merchant, lawyer, newspaper proprietor, legislator, railroad counsel, and judge

Identity and the unresolved given names

The W. S. Humphreys associated with the South Georgia Railroad was a Brooks County native who practiced law in Quitman, represented the county in both chambers of the Georgia legislature, moved to Moultrie as counsel for the Georgia Northern Railroad, and became judge of the City Court of Moultrie. The identity chain is verified through censuses, his marriage and household, early law advertisements, political reports, railroad cases, his judicial work, and the account of his death.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

His complete given names are not settled. From 1875 through 1877, his own Quitman law advertisement repeatedly printed the name "W. A. S. Humphreys".[8] The 1860 census index also includes the three initials. Later records usually shorten the name to W. S. A cemetery memorial calls him William Shelley Humphreys, but its family photograph caption calls the judge William Strahan Humphreys and identifies his son as William Shelley Humphreys. Contemporary Moultrie notices distinguish “Hon. and Mrs. W. S. Humphreys” from “Mr. and Mrs. Shelley Humphreys,” which places Shelley with the son.[9] The marker itself gives only W. S. HUMPHREYS.

This dossier therefore uses W. A. S. Humphreys when discussing the elder man's full printed initials and W. S. when following the common later form. Neither William Shelley nor William Strahan is presented as proved. The 1900 household is Ancestry record 8574769.[5]

Parents, childhood, and birth date

The 1860 census placed eight-year-old William in Brooks County, Tallokas post office, with A. S. Humphry, 41, Mary A. E. Humphry, 30, and children James T. S., Walter S., Laurence C., and John E. S. Humphry.[1] In 1870, William Humphries, 18, was a farm laborer in a Brooks County household headed by Alexander Humphries, 52, with Mary, 40, and younger family members.[2]

Nineteenth-century censuses did not state relationships within a household. Even so, the two-household sequence, ages, names, and place make Alexander and Mary his strong-probable parents. A detailed 1893 newspaper report about his brother Walter named the brothers' occupations and said their parents were still living in Brooks County. It called W. S. the sitting state senator, James T. S. a farmer, and A. S. Jr. and J. S. physicians. That article is also a strong safeguard against mixing the brothers.[10]

Mary's 1912 obituary strengthens that family chain. It says she had spent all eighty years of her life in Brooks County, died at the Morven home of her daughter, Mrs. Will Golden, and was buried at Bethel Church near Tallokas. Her surviving sons were Dr. A. S. Humphreys of Barney, J. T. Humphreys of Pavo, and Walter Humphreys of Mississippi. W. S. had died six years earlier.[51]

The cemetery memorial gives May 5, 1852. Ages eight, eighteen, and twenty-eight in the 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses support 1852.[1][2][3] The 1900 census instead says May 1854.[5] May 5, 1852 is the better-supported date, but its exact day depends on a derivative memorial because the photographed marker was not freshly transcribed beyond the visible W. S. name and dates.

Merchant and young lawyer

Humphreys entered business before he became prominent at the bar. An October 1873 advertisement said another merchant had opened in a corner store formerly occupied by W. S. Humphreys, dating that change to October 1872.[11] By April 1874, he advertised “W. S. Humphreys' Cash Store,” selling dry goods, shoes, hats, groceries, and other general merchandise.[12] This direct evidence resolves the older Huxford listing that had previously been treated as a possible namesake.

He was already involved in town affairs. A January 1875 statewide roundup listed him among Quitman's aldermen.[13] A June 1877 literary-society notice assigned him one side of a public debate about whether national intelligence depended on the press.[14]

His legal career began no later than 1875. The Quitman Reporter carried a standing advertisement for “W. A. S. Humphreys, Attorney at Law,” with an office in the courthouse.[8] The 1880 census found him on Screven Street in Quitman, age 28, working as a lawyer and living with his wife, S. E.[3] An 1882 political report called Humphreys and D. W. Rountree young lawyers and friendly rivals for Brooks County's House seat.[15]

His practice included land finance, civil appeals, criminal defense, and railroad work. In August 1888 he advertised $50,000 available for real-estate loans in Brooks and Lowndes counties on three- and five-year terms.[16] An 1889 appellate notice lists him for the prevailing side in Domestic Sewing Machine Company v. Johnson, receiver.[17] Later reported matters included a Moultrie liquor-license injunction, a Colquitt County criminal appeal, a contract suit involving the Georgia Northern, and a Brooks County criminal appeal.[18][19][20][21] These are examples, not a complete docket.

One pension matter turned physical. In September 1889, Humphreys confronted Captain Tip Harrison in the state executive department over a Brooks County veteran's claim. The men called each other liars, Harrison struck Humphreys, and bystanders stopped the fight. The paper reported a swollen face for Humphreys and skinned knuckles for Harrison. Both men said afterward that they were satisfied.[52]

Marriage, household, and son

A compiled abstract of the Southern Christian Advocate records the marriage of William S. Humphries of Quitman and Sallie E. Ousley of Lowndes County on June 12, 1878. Her father, the Rev. N. B. Ousley, performed the ceremony.[4] The 1880 census recorded the couple without children.[3]

The 1900 census found William S., Sarah E., and their 19-year-old son William S. in Moultrie. William was listed as a lawyer. The couple reported 21 years of marriage, which roughly agrees with the 1878 notice, and Sarah reported three children born with one living.[5] The record supports two children who were no longer living in 1900, but it does not establish their ages at death or securely identify either one.

The surviving son was William S. Humphreys Jr., called Shelley or Shellie in contemporary society and family reports. In 1910, Sarah lived on Gay Street in Moultrie with son William S., daughter-in-law Hattie H., grandson Edgar H., and servant Will Williams.[6] The census index calls Sarah married despite her husband's 1906 death, so that field is plainly wrong or misread.

Sarah Elethia Ousley Humphreys remained active in Moultrie's Methodist church, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and Worth While Club. She died on October 29, 1923 after an automobile collision while her son was driving. Newspaper reports name Shellie as her only surviving child. Her death record and cemetery memorial identify the same Ousley-Humphreys family, though they disagree about her age and contain other indexing errors.[22][23][24]

Newspaper, law, and Brooks County politics

In July 1884, a profile of Quitman identified Humphreys and his father-in-law, N. B. Ousley, with the newly established New South. It also said Humphreys was being discussed for solicitor general of the Southern Circuit.[25] Huxford dates their ownership of the paper broadly to the late 1880s.[26] The contemporary article shows that the venture began earlier than that summary suggests.

Humphreys served four supported legislative cycles:

  • Georgia House, 1886 to 1887
  • Georgia House, 1890 to 1891
  • Georgia Senate, 1892 to 1893
  • Georgia House, 1894 to 1895

Contemporary election and office notices establish each cycle.[27][28][29][30] A 1906 obituary's claim that he served in both chambers is therefore confirmed, but its broader wording about several Senate terms is not supported by the term-by-term evidence located in this search.

His record fits the Democratic politics of his time and place. In 1890 he chaired the House immigration committee.[31] During the contest for a United States Senate seat, he publicly committed himself to former Confederate general John B. Gordon while promising to hear objections from Brooks County farmers and Alliance members.[32] In 1894 he campaigned against the People's Party, and Governor W. Y. Atkinson gave him the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel on the governor's staff.[33][34]

The most difficult episode in his public record came during deadly racial violence in Brooks County in December 1894. Representative Humphreys telegraphed the governor for state troops, although he had opposed a military appropriation during the legislative session. Newspapers criticized the inconsistency. The request itself shows that he sought state protection during the crisis, but the located evidence does not connect him to the underlying killings.[35] In January 1895, Humphreys and Mitch Brice secured a $3,000 bond for one of Brice's Black workers arrested during the aftermath. The report does not identify the charge or the outcome.[36]

He served on the legislature's pardon board and inspected leased-convict camps in 1895 and 1896. In later testimony, he said he had expected mistreatment but found conditions satisfactory at the camps he visited. He also acknowledged that he had not seen every prisoner or investigated every emergency arrangement.[37] That testimony records what he said and the limits of his inspection. It does not establish that the convict-lease system was humane.

Humphreys sought the Southern Circuit solicitor general's office from 1895 into 1896 but did not win it.[38] His public career then shifted toward railroad law and Colquitt County.

The South Georgia and Georgia Northern railroads

Humphreys had two distinct railroad connections. In 1896, he was one of 26 petitioners for the South Georgia Railroad charter.[26] He was not on the January subscription committee, the right-of-way committee, the first board of directors, or the first officer slate. No stock ledger or subscription amount was found. His verified role was incorporation, not management.

His Georgia Northern work was deeper. A March 1899 dispute with the Tifton, Thomasville and Gulf Railroad names him as Georgia Northern counsel.[39] In May 1901, he argued for the Georgia Northern before the state Railroad Commission in a freight-delivery dispute at Moultrie.[40] The detailed account of his death says he moved from Quitman to Moultrie about 1901 to become the railroad's general counsel.[7] A 1904 Supreme Court report also places him among the Georgia Northern's attorneys in a breach-of-contract appeal.[20]

This sequence explains why a South Georgia Railroad charter petitioner soon became part of Moultrie's legal establishment. It does not show that he performed legal work for the South Georgia Railroad after its incorporation.

Moultrie practice and judgeship

The family established itself quickly in Moultrie. A 1902 fire destroyed a wooden building belonging to Humphreys, with loss reported at $1,000 and insurance at $300.[41] By 1904, society reports distinguished the elder couple from their married son and called the family residence Edgewood.[9]

Humphreys became judge of the City Court of Moultrie after Judge W. A. Covington resigned, effective April 1, 1904.[42] Governor Joseph M. Terrell appointed or reappointed him in July 1905 for a four-year term beginning January 18, 1906.[43] The 1906 funeral report called this his second term, which fits an initial 1904 appointment followed by the longer term.[7]

The surviving Moultrie newspaper gives more than the title. In 1905, the court handled gambling, illegal liquor, assault, property, and other criminal and civil matters. Humphreys imposed chain-gang sentences in gambling and liquor cases, drawing praise from the Observer for what it called his firmness.[44] That praise reflects the editor's values, not a neutral assessment of the punishments. County payment records printed in the paper show his judicial salary at $62.50 per month.[45]

In July 1905, Humphreys sold his East End home to Dr. G. F. Taylor for $5,000. The paper described a house on about one and a half acres and said Humphreys retained a separate building lot.[46] This was the family home associated with Edgewood. No complete deed or probate search was available, so the sale should not be used to estimate his total property or estate.

He continued private practice while on the city court bench. In April 1906, he joined the defense team for B. N. Conger, who was tried and acquitted in the killing of Ed F. Smith at Crossland.[47] The located evidence shows dual judicial and private legal work but does not provide a full ethics or recusal record under the law then in force.

Illness, death, and burial

By July 1906, Humphreys was dangerously ill after what one report called a nervous attack brought on by overwork.[48] He later underwent surgery at a Valdosta sanitarium. Contemporary accounts disagree on whether the institution was called Holmes or Halcyon Sanitarium, so the dossier does not choose between them.

The strongest chronology favors death on Wednesday afternoon, October 10, 1906. The Macon Telegraph's October 11 dispatch said he had died the previous afternoon, and the cemetery marker gives October 10.[7] Some later reports give October 11, apparently blending the death, dispatch, and transport dates.[49] October 10 is strong probable, with the one-day conflict preserved.

His remains were taken by rail to Moultrie on October 11. Citizens and public officials met the train at Boston, Georgia, and accompanied the body home. The funeral took place that afternoon in Moultrie's city cemetery, now Westview Cemetery. The Knights of Pythias attended as a body, and the press described Humphreys as a leading Methodist. His wife and only surviving child, W. S. Humphreys Jr., survived him.[7]

Governor Terrell appointed Robert L. Shipp to complete the unexpired judicial term.[50] The succession, funeral, marker, family household, and earlier professional record close a continuous identity chain from Brooks County to Moultrie.

Assessment

Humphreys's career joined several institutions that shaped late nineteenth-century South Georgia. He began in general merchandise, entered law, helped publish a newspaper, served in the legislature, participated in the legal creation of the South Georgia Railroad, became the Georgia Northern's general counsel, and finished his public career on Moultrie's city court.

The evidence establishes Humphreys's merchant phase, identifies his parents at strong-probable confidence, establishes his wife and surviving son, reconstructs four legislative cycles, identifies the court he led, and separates his two railroad roles. His full given names remain unresolved.

Open questions and research limits

  • No original birth record was found. May 5, 1852 rests on the marker and a consistent early census sequence, while the 1900 census says May 1854.
  • The printed initials W. A. S. are verified, but no inspected original record expands them. William Shelley and William Strahan are conflicting derivative claims, and Shelley is independently associated with the son.
  • Alexander and Mary are strong-probable parents. No original birth, Bible, probate, or parent-child instrument was located.
  • Sarah reported three children born and one living. The two children who were no longer living in 1900 remain unidentified, and their ages at death are unknown.
  • The search did not locate a complete law docket, legislative journal record, deed index, probate inventory, will, or estate valuation.
  • No South Georgia Railroad stock ledger or subscription list gives Humphreys a dollar amount. His only proved role there is charter petitioner.

Sources

  1. 1860 U.S. census, Brooks County, Georgia, A. S. Humphry household, NARA M653, roll 112, p. 678, Ancestry database 7667, record 10753065.
  2. 1870 U.S. census, Brooks County, Georgia, Alexander Humphries household, NARA M593, roll 137, p. 58A, Ancestry database 7163, record 586839.
  3. 1880 U.S. census, Quitman, Brooks County, W. S. Humphreys household, NARA T9, roll 135, p. 285C, ED 4, Ancestry database 6742, record 7462951.
  4. Southern Christian Advocate marriage-notice abstract, William S. Humphries and Sallie E. Ousley, June 12, 1878, Ancestry database 3319, record 5132.
  5. 1900 U.S. census, Moultrie, Colquitt County, William S. Humphreys household, NARA T623, roll 189, p. 48, ED 26, Ancestry database 7602, record 8574769.
  6. 1910 U.S. census, Moultrie, Colquitt County, Sarah E. Humphreys household, Ancestry database 7884, record 3280750.
  7. “Judge Humphreys Buried at Moultrie,” Macon Telegraph, October 12, 1906, p. 6, Newspapers.com image 825331295.
  8. W. A. S. Humphreys law advertisement, Quitman Reporter, November 18, 1875, p. 2, Georgia Historic Newspapers; repeated May 25, 1876 and March 1, 1877.
  9. Moultrie society column distinguishing Hon. W. S. Humphreys from Mr. and Mrs. William Shelley Humphreys, Macon Telegraph, February 7, 1904, image 825767058.
  10. Walter S. Humphreys family report, Macon Telegraph, May 18, 1893, image 825346397.
  11. Beaty store advertisement, Quitman Banner, October 2, 1873, p. 3, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  12. “W. S. Humphreys' Cash Store,” Quitman Reporter, April 16, 1874, p. 2, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  13. Quitman municipal officers, Daily Times, January 12, 1875, p. 2, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  14. Quitman literary-society debate, Quitman Reporter, June 7, 1877, p. 3, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  15. Brooks County legislative race, Columbus Daily Enquirer-Sun, August 9, 1882, p. 1, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  16. Real-estate loan advertisement, Valdosta Times, August 25, 1888, p. 3, image 889632568.
  17. Domestic Sewing Machine Company v. Johnson, receiver, Columbus Enquirer-Sun, April 11, 1889, p. 2, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  18. Melton et al. v. Mayor and Council of Moultrie, Atlanta Journal, December 20, 1901, p. 11, image 969477126.
  19. Bryant v. State, Atlanta Journal, January 9, 1903, p. 3, image 969480312.
  20. Georgia Northern Railway Co. v. Hutchins & Jenkins, Atlanta Journal, February 13, 1904, p. 4, image 969521145.
  21. Pike v. State, Atlanta Journal, January 26, 1905, p. 9, image 969520114.
  22. Sarah E. Humphreys death record, Georgia death records, Ancestry database 2562, record 210501.
  23. Sarah Elethia Humphreys, Find a Grave memorial 60995083.
  24. Sallie Humphreys obituary, Atlanta Journal, October 30, 1923, image 970874909.
  25. Quitman profile and New South notice, Southern World, July 15, 1884, p. 6, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  26. Folks Huxford, The History of Brooks County, Georgia, 1858-1948 (1948), pp. 197-198, 225, 257.
  27. Brooks County House election, Savannah Morning News, October 7, 1886, p. 2, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  28. Brooks County representative notice, Daily Times-Enterprise, September 19, 1891, p. 3, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  29. Seventh District Senate election, Daily Times-Enterprise, October 8, 1892, p. 1, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  30. Brooks County House election, Atlanta Constitution, October 4, 1894, image 26833357.
  31. Georgia House committee list, Columbus Enquirer-Sun, November 12, 1890, p. 1, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  32. Humphreys statement on John B. Gordon, Macon Telegraph, October 23, 1890, image 825361862.
  33. Brooks County Democratic campaign, Savannah Weekly News, October 1, 1894, p. 3, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  34. Governor Atkinson staff appointments, Savannah Weekly News, November 29, 1894, p. 1, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  35. Brooks County troop request, Atlanta Constitution, December 28 and 29, 1894, images 26817305 and 26817334.
  36. Bond after Brooks County violence, Daily Times-Enterprise, January 9, 1895, p. 3, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  37. Convict-camp testimony, Atlanta Constitution, February 15, 1896, image 26788449.
  38. Southern Circuit solicitor-general contest, Banner-Messenger, November 5, 1896, p. 2, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  39. Georgia Northern counsel in railroad dispute, Thomasville Times-Enterprise, March 18, 1899, p. 1, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  40. Georgia Railroad Commission hearing, Savannah Morning News, May 18, 1901, p. 2, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  41. Moultrie fire loss, Macon Telegraph, May 24, 1902, p. 4, image 825752000.
  42. City Court appointment after Covington's resignation, Camilla Enterprise, April 1, 1904, p. 4, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  43. Governor Terrell appointment, Atlanta Journal, July 6, 1905, p. 2, image 969539599; Moultrie Observer, July 14, 1905, p. 2.
  44. City-court sentencing editorial, Moultrie Observer, July 21, 1905, p. 4, archive page moultrie_observer_usa_georgia_moultrie_19050721_english_4, History Archives viewer.
  45. Colquitt County payments to W. S. Humphreys, Daily Observer, July 25, 1905, p. 4, archive page daily_observer_usa_georgia_moultrie_19050725_english_4moultrie_observer_usa_georgia_moultrie_19050929_english_3, viewer.
  46. “The Humphreys Home Is Sold,” Daily Observer, July 19, 1905, p. 1, archive page daily_observer_usa_georgia_moultrie_19050719_english_1, History Archives viewer.
  47. Conger murder trial, Tifton Gazette, April 13, 1906, p. 1, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  48. Humphreys illness, Valdosta Daily Times, July 19, 1906, image 889788542.
  49. Humphreys death reports, Atlanta Constitution, October 12, 1906, image 34154421; Atlanta Georgian, October 12, 1906, p. 10, Georgia Historic Newspapers; Find a Grave memorial 60995067.
  50. Robert L. Shipp appointment, Americus Times-Recorder, October 17, 1906, p. 4, Georgia Historic Newspapers.
  51. “Death of an Aged Lady,” Valdosta Daily Times, June 22, 1912, p. 5, Newspapers.com image 889657006; reprinted in the Valdosta Times, June 25, 1912, p. 6, image 889590287.
  52. “Blacked Humphreys' Eye,” Macon Telegraph, September 3, 1889, p. 2, Newspapers.com image 825354278; shorter reprint in the Schley County News, September 5, 1889, p. 4, Georgia Historic Newspapers.