| THE INS AND OUTS OF HARRIS COUNTY by Ronald J. Rollins
HARRIS COUNTY &"THE SACRED HARP" (#4)
Whitesville, once the Settlement of Mountain Creek, was Incorporated in 1837 and named for the Pioneer "White" family.
In May of 1842, Benjamin Franklin White moved his family in a covered wagon to Harris County. Ben made friends in the surrounding area and found a place to settle.
In February 1843, Ben purchased 95 acres of land near Whitesville, Ga.
 From the time Ben arrived in Harris County, he treasured the dream of compiling a songbook . He gathered tunes, experimented with them in his singing schools, and watched the reaction of his pupils. From 1843-1844; Ben edited a weekly newspaper in Hamilton, Ga. In the music section of the paper, where" fasola " songs were printed, he placed 13 of his songs. After 13 weeks of printing songs, they became so popular that the songs from the 13 issues of the newspaper were clipped out and pinned together to make the first " The Sacred Harp ". In the spring of 1844, the manuscript was sent to Philadelphia and 1500 copies of the songbook were printed.
After the publication of the Sacred Harp, Ben White's reputation and popularity increased considerably. He held singing schools, taught shape note singing of the"fasola" syllables and promoted his book THE SACRED HARP. In 1850 the second edition was published with 97 new songs on 103 pages.
This style of singing became very popular in churches and music conventions. It could be done without musical accompaniment and was written in shaped notes for four to five part harmony . Easy to read and learn.
B.F. White lived a busy life while in Harris County----- In the 1840's Ben taught music at the Hamilton Female Institute in Harris County. He was the editor of the Harris County Organ newspaper in 1852. He joined Mountain Creek Baptist Church , now Midway Baptist Church, in1856. He was elected clerk of the Inferior Court of Harris County in 1858. He was Mayor of Hamilton in 1865.He was a Major in the Ga. Militia.
In 1866 he moved back to Dekalb County ,Ga. And died there November 28,1879 and is buried in Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery along with his wife.
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