Mike Guyton Laurens County Georgia

A dispatch from Raleigh, North Carolina, says that at a meeting of the L, O'Branch camp of Confederate Veterans of that city a resolution was passed petitioning the incoming Legislature of North Carolina to pension worthy Negro servants who followed the fortunes of the Confederacy and rendered valuable service. This action on the part of the North Carolina veterans recalls the fact that some years ago an effort was made in the Georgia Legislature to pass a bill pensioning these Negroes who had lost a limb or had become otherwise disabled while faithfully serving their Georgia masters in the Civil War, The measure failed on the ground of unconstitutionality. There is an old negro man named Mike Guyton living in Laurens County, who accompanied the late Col. C. S. Guyton of Laurens to the war as a body servant and during one of the severe winters was so unfortunate as to have his feet so badly frostbitten the had to be amputated. From that time until now Mike has always walked on his knees, and continued to reside on the Guyton Plantation, in a house that was given to him by Colonel Guyton/ The knowledge of Mikes worthy case prompted a legislator to try and get a pension for him, and other faithful Negros who like him had become disabled in the war. Mike is now quite aged and a pension would be a great blessing in his declining years. Mike has not been idle by reason of his maimed condition, but has been very industrious. Although forced to walk on his knees he has been an excellent farm hand and can yet chop an acre of cotton a day and pick one hundred pounds of the fleecy staple daily.

THE TWICE-A WEEK TELEGRAPH Friday January 11th 1907 Macon Telegraph