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HISTORICAL
BIOGRAPHICAL

ILLUSTRATED.

1S8S:

Smith & De Land.

HI RMINOHA-M. A.LA.

COPYRIGHTED
BY T. A. DeLAND AND A. DAVIS SMITH.

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CHICAGO;
DONOHUE & HENNEBERRY, PRINTERS AND BINDERS.

iSSS.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

of limestone wMter, tliougli there are among them
many sulphur and chal3-beate sj)rings and a few of
other salts. This valley is boiiiided on the north
bv a broken country, that in the western part of
the State is hilly, and is known as the harrenn, and
is but a part of the highlands of Tennessee, and
that in the eastern part of the Slate is mountain-
ous, and is but apart of the elevated tablelands of
'I'eunessee. On the" south it is bounded by a pre-
cipitous escarpment of the elevated plateau of tlie
Warrior coal field, that is commonly called Sand
Mountain. This precipitous escarptnent rises
from GOO to TOO feet above the valley. It has in
the eastern part of the State, abont half way up
it, a terrace or bench, which, as you go to the
west, gradually widens and separates from the
main mountain until it forms a distinct mountain,
that is known as fiitlle Mountain, and that has
between it and the main mountain, or Sand
Mountain, a fertile valley that gets to be ten to
twelve miles in width, which is called Little or
Russelville Valley. Little or Russelville Valley
is, in most respects, similar to its parent stem,
the Tennessee Valley.

(2) The Coosa Vaij.i;v. This valley and its
outliers are the southwest end of the series of long,
narrow anticlinal valleys that extend from New
York to Central Alabama. They are usually, in
a general way, trough-shaped depressions, that are
low and flat along the center and have smaller
ridges and valleys oif each side. Some of the out-
liers of this valley, as Long Valley or the valley
in which Birmingham is situated, including its
different parts, that are known as Roup's, Jones'
and Murphree's Valley arc over a hundred miles
in length. These valleys are all -very similar to
each other in their lithological, tojiographical and
agricultural features, and they all show plainly
the close relationshi[) that exists between the geo-
logical formations or structure and the soils, topo-
graphy and growth of a country. This is espe-
cially noticeable in the case of the soils, and is
well exem{)lificd in the barren ridges of chert, or
almost pure hornstone, running along parallel to
and with the fertile limestone valleys at their base.
The Coosa Valley proper is a continuation of the
X'alley of Tennessee, which has been described by
Professor Safford, as a com|)lex trough fluted with
scores of smaller valleys and ridges. This
description will apply, equally as well, to all the
out-liers, as they are, in all respects, similar to
the main valley, or to the Coosa Valley proper.

They are all anticlinal valleys, or eroded anticli-
nal ridges. They, including the smaller ridges of
each, comprise in Alabama some 4000 square
miles. 'I'licy Aie very striking topograj^hical fea-
tures, and, from their being environed by ribs of
coal and iron, and from their being, for the most
part, made up of beds of inexhaustible limestones
and dolomites of the very best quality for iluxing
purposes, burning lime, etc., and from the fertil-
ity and durability of their soils and the suj)era-
bundanco of their hold hlfj Kpr'nif/s and limpid
streams of perpetual (low, and from their being,
by far, the most important natural highways be-
tween the great and busy marts of the Northeast
and those of the Southwest, they are of the great-
est interest to the geologist, the engineer, the
manufacturer and the agriculturist. They are
due entirely to erosion, though they present many
features that have been highly influenced by the
outcroppings of special geological strata. Their
edges, as a general thing, are well defined by
ridges or bluffy escarpments of millstone grit on
the heavy bedded sandstones and conglomerates at
the base of the coal measures. Their floors are
often higher than the mountainous country on
each side, beyond their raised edges, as shown by
the fact that, though they are bounded on both
sides by high, perpendicular blulTs of millstone
grit, etc., their streams do not flow along them
for any considerable distance before they break
through the rocky barriers, on one side or the
other, into the mountainous country beyond.
I They therefore in these instances present the
anomalies of valleys that are water divides in a
mountainous country. They rarely exceed two to
three miles in width, though occasionally thev are
much wider. They include outcrops of repre-
sentatives of all the geological formations from
the Carboniferous to the Lower Silurian, inclu-
sive. Their simplest form is a simple regular anti-
clinal valley, with the older rocks along the cen-
ters of the valleys and the others occurring in
regular succession on each side. They seldom
however, have this simple form, and one or the
other of their sides is nearly always more or less
complicated, from the presence of faults and from
the overlapping of strata. They are rarely compli-
cated on both sides at one and the same
time and place. The most important, by
far, of their geological formations are the
Upper and Lower Silurian, from their Ijeing the
great repositories of thf iron ores of Alabama.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

These anticlinal valleys are also remarkable for
their hicj sjyrings. They are destined to be the
seats of the greatest industries of the State and to
be the ricliest and most densely-populated portions
of Alabama.

ROLLING AND PRAIRIE LANDS.

These lands lie to the southwest of the moiaitain
region with its valleys, as above described, or to the
south and west of the broken line that connects
the first cascades, or rocky obstructions to naviga-
tion in the different rivers, or along and to the
south and west of the old shore line of the Gulf of
Mexico, as has been defined by the State Geolo-
gist. They form a belt of country that runs, in a
general way, diagonally across the State. This
belt is some thirty miles wide next to the Missis-
sippi line, but narrows towards the east, until it
finally comes to a point near the Georgia line. It
embraces some 5,915 square miles. These lands do
not present any very striking topographical feat-
ures, as they are comj) )sed of strata of compara-
tive uniformity in hardness, and of strata that are
almost level, having only a slight dip to the south-
west. These lands are, however, hilly and broken
along their upper edge, or the old shore line, where
they are cut up by some deep gullies and ravines,
and hence have some considerable irregularities of
surface. They form the jirairie region that is
known as the Black Belt, or Cnnebrake, and are,
for the most part, of this region. This prairie
region has a gently undulating surface, and a
remarkable uniformity in its topography. It is in
places covered by a fine forest growth of oak, ash,
gum, hickory, etc., though, as a general thing, it
is bare of such, and is in cultivation. It is noted
for the great fertility and durability of its soils.
It produced before the war more of agricultural
value than any area of like extent in the United
States. It may, some of these days, become world-
wide famous for its phosphatic deposits.

WATER SUPPLY AND DRAINAGE SYSTEM.

Northern Alabama is well supplied witli an
abundance of pure water for all j)urposes. Bold
springs that never go dry, and lasting wells and
streams of perjjetual flow, are to be met with in all
parts of the country. The annual rainfall is about
fifty-three inches. The springs occur wlierever
the country is the least broken. They gush out
from the banks of the streams and from the sides
of the ravines and from under the hills and cliffs,

and often boil up in low, fiat places. They are of
all kinds, from the biggest to the smallest, and
from the purest to the most saline. The hig
springs are confined principally to the valleys, and
to limestone formations, though their waters are
never too hard for domestic purposes. They are
nothing more than the coming to light of large
underground streams, and often carry off from 800
to 1,200 cubic feet of water per minute. Many of
the saline, or medicinal springs, have been in time
places of resort for the afflicted and»j3leasure seek-
ers, and some of them have gained for their cura-
tive properties more than a State-wide reputation.
The mean temperature of the waters of seventeen
of these sjjrings during the months of June and
July, was, according to Professor Tuoray, 59"^ F.,
while that of the air was 74° F. Wells of lasting
and cool waters, that are good for drinking and
domestic purposes, are to be had for the digging
in nearly all parts of this country, and streams
that can be made navigable the year round, and
are the great drainage channels, together with their
feeders, form a network over Northern Alabama.
These streams give now to Northern Alabama
almost a complete system of drainage, and will
give to it, some of these days, a cheap and ready
transjwrtation for its every element of wealth.

Northern Alabama has a most delightful temper-
ature, uniform and salubrious climate. It seldom
experiences the extremes of heat and cold, and is
entirely free from the feverish heat and scorching
sun of a more southern summer, and the rigors and
blizzards of a more northern winter. Sunstrokes
are almost unknown, and the streams of running
water are never frozen over. The climate is truly
as equable and as delightful as in any portion of
the South. The springs are early and wonderfully
balmy, the summers are long and even in tempera-
ture, the autumns are late and dry and the winters
are so slow of approach and so mild that the crops
are frequently left out in the fields until after
Christmas. The mean temperatures for tlie sea-
sons are about as follows: Spring, 03. 9''F; sum-
mer, 79.5°F; autumn, 64.5°F;and winter, 504 *.F.

FORESTS.

In many sections of Northern Alabama there
are large forests of soft and hard woods as yet
untouched by the woodman's ax; and one-half of
Northern Alabama may be said to be still covered

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

with its native growth. This native arborescent
growth comprises over 125 species, wliich include
almost every kiiul of tree of any economical value,
though the prevailing forest growth is pine. In
many localities, however, the oak, hickory, gum,
beecii and cedar abound, with, in some j)laces, a
considerable sprinkling of ash, poplar, cypress and
walnut. The i)revailing growth of any locality is
olosely dependent on the soil or the underlying
geological strata. In other words, if the under-
lying strata ' are of sandstones, the prevailing
growth is i)ine: and if the underlying strata are of
limestones, the prevailing growth is of the iiard
woods, that vary in kind with the different geo-
logical formations or the })urity of the underlying
limestones. So true is the above that the different
timber belts of the State conform closely to the
■outcroppings of certain geological formations. So
the outcroppings of each formation may be said to
have its own peculiar growth, and so distinct are
these peculiarities in many cases, that the under-
lying geological formations can be recognized by
them. At the present rate of cut, it is believed,
there is enough standing timber, not allowing any
•for natural growth, to last at least for 150 years.

SOILS.

The soils of Northern Alabama are of the follow-
ing typical varieties with all the intermediate
grades, namely: (1) The silicious soils of the
mountains, or elevated lands, (2) the loams of the
valleys, and (3) the calcareous soils of the prairies.

(1) The SiLK.'iots Soils of the MofXTAixsou
Elev.-vted Lands. These soils cover the hinh-lands
■or barrens, and the table-lands. They are usually of
a light gray color and often are not much more tlian
sand or pure silicious matter. Up to a few years
ago they were regarded as almost wortliless for all
iigricultural ])urposes, but of late years, by kind
treatment and the use, in small quantities, on
them of suitable composts, they have been found
to be line for cotton, corn, tobacco, small grains,
grasses and root and fruit crops. The greatest
objection to them is that they do not hold, or
retain well, organic matter or fertilizers, and hence
in many localities they look as if they had been
leached, so completely have all traces of organic
matter been washed out of them.

(2) The Loams OF THE Valleys. These soils
vary in color from a deep red to almost a deep black.
They arc commonly of a clayey nature and form
£ome of the best farming lands in the State.

They are noted for their fertility and durability,
and are susceptible of the greatest improvement.
They contain within themselves all the ingredients
that are necessary for plant food, and hence, if
properly cared for, can be made to last or be kept
rich, for an indefinite length of time, without the
addition of a single handful of extraneous ma-
nure of any kind. They, however, as a general
thing, have been badly abused, some of them for
as long as seventy-five years, and still, though
they have never received any outside help, are
comparatively fertile wherever they lie so as
not to be easily washed away. Unlike the sili-
cious soils of the hicjldanils and table-lands, they
are very retentive of all organic matter, and
manures ])laced on them show their effects for
years. They are well suited for a great variety of
crops, though they have ever been cultivated in
cotton and corn.

(3) The Calcareous Soils of the Prairies.
These soils include all grades from a gray to a
very black soil. They are based on the rotten
limestone and are famous for their great and last-
ing fertility. 'i'hey, in many instances, have
been constantly abused for the last forty to fifty
years, by uninterrupted planting in the same
crops, cotton and corn, by the exhaustive method
of ever taking off and never putting back, by
working and tramping over at all seasons of the
year and under all conditions, etc., still they
yield good crops for the labor bestowed. They
have to the north and south of them, and in
them, rich phosphatic deposits, that can be easily
and cheaply spread over them, and hence they
will always be regarded as forming the most valu-
able farming lands of Xorthern Alabama.

GEOLOGY.

Xorthern Alabama, in its geological structure,
or in the variety, location, materials and develop-
ment of its geological formations, and in the pres-
ent positions of the outcrops of these formations,
and the manner in which these outcrops have been
thrown together and exposed, and in the economic
wealth of some of these formations, presents a field
that is of the greatest interest, esjiecially to geolo-
gists. It has in its outcrops representatives of
not only every geological formation of the Ap]»ala-
chian region of North America, but also of two
newer formations.

The following is a general and approximate sec-

NOR THERN ALABAMA.

tion, in a descending order, of the geological form-
ations of Northern Alabama :

B. NEWER OR SOFTER ROCKS.

DRIFT.
(13) Stratified Drift 200 feet

CRET.\CEOUS.

(l:;) Upper Cretaceous.. . ■[ Jj) ui^ten Limestone'.: '. '. . ! ! . 1 1 ,«» felt

(11) Lower Cretaceous... -] J^',' Tus'caloosa. ■.'.'.'.■. ■'■.:::::: il.OOO feet

A. OLDER OR HARDER ROCKS.

C,\RBONlKEROUS.

( Warrior Coal Field \

(10) Coal Measures - ("ahaba " " -:!,o001eet.

( Coosa " " )
SUB-C.^BONIFKnOUS.

(9) Calcareous or Mountain Limestone SOO feet.

,„. „.,. . 1 (rt) Upper Silicious or St, Louis Limestone, 400 ft.
(») biHcious..| ^.| Lower Silicious or Keokuk 300 ft.

DEVONIAN.

(7) Black Shale 100 feet.

UPPER SrLURI.\N.

(8) Clinton or Red Mountain «H>feet.

LOWER SILURIAN.

(5) Trenton and Chazy 400 feet.

»\ n„„v,<,« Mi) KnoxDoloraite 3,.5'Ofeet.

,4) Quebec -|,„, KnoxShale l,800feet.

(3) Knox Sandstone 80O f eet

(3) Potsdam Sandstone 4,000 feet.

MET.\M0RPIIIC.
(1) Crystalline Rocks .'i.OOO feet.

These rocks, as shown by the above general sec-
tion, are of later origin than the Carboniferous
formation. They, from their comparatively soft
and uniform nature, do not make any striking
topographical features, or are not at all moun-
tainous. They form the soutliern jjart of the
State, the part to tlie south and west of the old
Gulf shore line, or to the south and west of the
mountain recfion, though the stratified drift occurs
also to the north and east of this line, covering, in
patches, some of the higher points of all the older
rocks. The above section also shows that the only
representatives in Northern Alabama of the newer
rocks are of the drift and cretaceous formations.

DRIFT.

(13) Stratified Drift. Thisisa wide-.spread
formation. There are suj^erficial deposits of it in
nearly all parts of Northern Alabama. As a rule,
it is irregularly stratified. The areas covered by it
have irregularities of surface from the fact that
some few of its strata are of varying degrees of hard-
ness, and the underlying strata or formations were
irregularly eroded previous to its deposition. The
superficial coating of drift, therefore, determines
most of the minor details, but not the general con-
tour and most prominent physical features of the
country covered by it. It most commonly occurs
in detached patches or beds, but sometimes covers

completely areas of considerable extent. As a gen-
eral thing, it occupies, topographically speaking,
high positions and is covered with a growth of prin-
cipally pines, with a mixture of oak, hickory, etc.
In Northern Alabama it appears, in a general way,
to thicken to the south and west, and in places is at
least 200 feet thick. It is made w^i of rounded
pebbles, sands and different colored loams. These
different materials occur in irregular streaks or
seams. The pebbles are of flint and fossiliferous
chert. The flint pebbles are the more rounded of
the two, showing that they have been transported
tlie greater distance. These pebbles are well suited
to the macadamizing of roads and walks ; much
better than the cracked-u]} limestones, etc., that
are generally used, as tliey are round, and hence
are much less injurious to the feet of horses and
pedestrians, and to the wear and tear of vehicles,
and as they are not so easily worn away, and as
they do not give off any disagreeable and injurious
impalpable dust. Among these jiebbles are to be
found beautiful specimens of quartz, agate, jasper,
chalcedony, cornelian, silicified wood, etc. The
sands are coarse-grained and rounded. They are
well suited for movtars, etc., and are frequently of
the very purest quality. The clays are of various
grades and shades of color, and many of them
make the best of ordinary bricks, and some of them
doubtless would make fine fire bricks and pottery
ware.

Cretaceous. Tlie rocks or strata of this forma-
tion lie approximately horizontal, having only a
slight dip to the south and southwest. They form
a rolling and a prairie region, and are comprised
within a belt that runs diagonally across the State.
This belt is some thirty miles wide next to th&
Mississippi line but gradually narrows toward the
east until it comes to a point near the Georgia
line. It embraces some 5,915 square miles. This
formation is divided, in the general section given,
into {T2) JJppvr Cretaceous and {11) Lower Creta-
ceous.

(12) Upper Cretaceous. This division is made
up of the {h) Ripley and {g) Rotten Limestone
groups.

(/<) Ripley. Tliis group is composed princi-
pally of a hard crystalline and often sandy lime-
stone, and a bluish, micacious and frequently a
highly fossiliferous marl. It holds near its bottom
important strata of phosphatic material. It is
estimated at about 250 feet in thickness.

((/) Rotten Limestone. This is an impure argil-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

hiceous limestone of great iniifoi-mity of composi-
tion. It forms a strip of country from fifteen to
twcjity miles wide that extends clear across the
State and is known as the Canehrctke or Bhirk Belt.
Tliis limestone, before it is exposed, is of a bluish
color, though after weathering, it is of a whitish
or chalky clay appearance. It gives rise to a topo-
graphy and soil that are of remarkable uniform-
ity. The to]TOgraphy is not at all striking, the
surface being gently undulating. Its growth con-
sists of oak. ash, gum, hickory, walnut, poplar,
etc. Its soil is noted for its great fertility and
durability. It is not easily washed off from the
prairie likeness of the area covered by it, though
there are slight elevations from which it has been
removed and hence these places arc now bald or
barren. These rocks have in them, and especially
just under and over them, some very important
strata that carry phosphatic green sands and very
rich phosphatic nodules. They are believed to be
about 1,000 feet in thickness.

(11) LoiL'er Cretaceous. This division is sub-
divided into the (/') Eutaw and {()) Tiisailoosn
groups.

(/) Eiitaw. This group is composed pritici-
pally of gray laminated clays and irregularly
bedded sands. It also contains beds of lignite and
lignitized trunks of trees. It is computed at WO
feet in thickness.

((/) TuscalGOsa. This group is named from its
characteristic appearance in and around the city
of Tuscaloosa. It is made up of a great series of
beds of sands and clays, and bears a very strong
resemblance to the stratified drift, for which it was
taken until within the last few years. It borders
upon the ot<trr or harder rocks, and forms the old
shore line of the Gulf of ^lexico. Its clays, espe-
cially those in the lower part of the group, bid fair
to come extensively into use for the manufacture of
fine bricks and various kinds of earthenware. It
also carries, in places, beds of ochre and a very
good fjuality of limonite, both of which have been
tested and used. It is thought to be about 1,C00
feet thick.

A. (II.DKU OK lIAI{I)i;U IJOCKS.

These rocks include the carboniferous and all
the older and lower rocks, geologically speaking.
In Northern Alal)ama they cmlirace representatives
of all the geological formations of the Appalachian
system. They form tUe first cascades, or rocky
obstructions to navigation in the different rivers in

Alabama, and hence, as has been said, they make
up and are confined to the (piadrant drawn with
the northeast corner of the State as a center, and
the straight line from that point to Tu.scaloosa as
a radius. They therefore cover about 25,000
Sfpuire miles of Northern Alabama. They form a
mountainous country, that is resplendent with
topographical features of the most striking kind.
Their strata are thrown into all kinds of positions,
and are rich in minerals. They give rise to a great
diversity of soils, and are covered by a great vari-
ety of forest trees. Their formations will now be
considered separately and briefly, commencing with
the uppermost, or newest one.

C'akhoxifeuous. (10) Coal Measures. — This
formation is highly developed in Northern
Alabama. It is but a part of or the southwest end
of the great coal basin of the Ohio, or of the Appa-
lachian coal field. It consists of a series of sand-
stones, conglomerates, shales and cla3's, in which
are imbedded seams of stone coal. It is rich in
coal and comprisesabout the thickest coal measures
in the United States. The coals are all bitumin-
ous, though they are of almost every variety of
bituminous coals, and are well suited to all the
uses of bituminous coals. This formation is not
only rich in stone coal, but also in fine building
and paving stones. It also has some iron ores and
clavs, and some grindstone and whetstone rocks
that may prove, some of the.se days, to be of great
value. It is also covered, for the most part, with
a fine growth of forest trees. It was once con-
tinuous, and then formed one connected, immense
coal field of some 10,000 srpiare miles in extent,
but, during the Appalachian revolution, there was
thrown up across it, in a general northeast and
southwest direction, a series of parallel anticlinal
ridges that were cracked along their summits and
have since been washed out into narrow anticlinal
valleys, which now divide the outcrops of this
formation, or the coal measures of Alabama, into
three more or less distinct parts, or coal fields of
very unefpial areas. The edges, or rims of these
coal fields still show that they were parts of anti-
clinal folds, and are sufticiently elevated to de-
termine the general directions of the main water
courses and to fashion tiie three coal fields into
long, tray-shaped depi'essions. These coal fields,
though originally of one and the same coal field,
and lience composed of very similar strata, in every
resjH'Ct, are now very different as to their topo-
graphical features and geological stnwtin-.'. Tliis

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

dissimilarity is due jjrimarily to the different de-
grees of disturbance to whicli the strata of the dif-
ferent fields have been exposed, and from this there
resulted a difference in the outcroppings of the
strata of the several fields, and hence a difference
in the erosion, or in the inequalities of surface of
the different fields. These three coal fields are all
rich in stone coal, and it is believed that two of
them comprise the thickest coal measures and the
greatest thickness of coal in the United States.
They have many advantages, the most important
of which are, the inexhaustible quantity and un-
excelled quality of their coal, and the nearness of
their coal to the iron ores and limestones of the
narrow anticlinal valleys separating the different
fields, and the ease and cheapness with which their
coal can be mined and gotten to market, and their
most favorable location; for, as has been said, they
are bounded on three sides by coalless areas, and
are the neai'est of any coal fields to the Gulf of
Mexico and the Atlantic ports south of Charles-
ton. The coals of the different fields differ more
or less from each other. This difference is doubt-
less due primarily to the relative positions which
these fields held in the original coal basin and to the
different degrees of disturbance to which the strata
of each of them have been subjected. It is, how-
ever, believed to be more imaginary than real.
These coal fields were named in 1849 by Professor
Tuomy, the Warrior, the CaJiaha and the Coosa,
respectively, from the names of rivers wiiich drain
them.

Warrior Coal Field. This field, as commonly
understood, embraces all of the coal measures in
Alabama that are drained by the Warrior and Ten-
nessee rivers. It has an estimated area of 7,810
square miles, and hence is nearly ten times as large
as the Cahaba and Coosa fields together. It is the
most northwestern of the three coal fields of Ala-
bama. In a general way, it isa vast plain that slopes
gently to the southwest and that has elevated rims.
Its strata have been less disturbed by upheavals,
and hence, as a whole, they have a less dip and
are less faulty than are those of either of the other
fields. In fact, they are almost horizontal, except
near the elevated rims. As this field, away from
its edges, has no folded or tilted strata, its topo-
graphical features are not so intimately connected
with the geological structure as in case of the other
two fields. It has, however, been conveniently
divided into a plateau or tahle land area, and a
hasin area, without any distinct line of division

between the two, the one gradually merging int&
the other.

The 7J?ff/effi/ or tabU land area, characterized by
its surface rocks of hard sandstones, and conglom-
erates near base of the measures, is the northeast
i:)ortion of the field, and includes what is known as
Sand, Lookout and Kock Mountains. It is most
elevated in the northeast corner of the State,
where it forms a wide, flat plateau that is from
1,200 to 1,800 feet above the sea. Its rims are
somewhat the higher portions of it, and these
slope gently towards the center of the plateau,
while the whole field slopes gently to the south-
west. It is, therefore, a broad, shallow, elevated
synclinal trough that slopes gently to the south-
west. It is divided by an anticlinal valley into
two jjarts that have a similar structure to each
other. This anticlinal valley, as an unbroken
anticlinal ridge, extends some distance down into
the basin proper.

The hasin proper is also a wide, shallow ti'ough
with slightly elevated rims, and as a whole, gently
slopes to the southwest. It comprises the
lower or southwest end and greater half of
the field. Its inequality of surface is much
greater than in the case of the plateau. In the
vicinity of the streams it is really broken. Its
strata undulate, but not enough to affect the
topography. It is rich in workable seams of coal,
which increase in number to the southwest, or as
the measures thicken. Near its southwestern
visible limits, its measures are believed to be over
3,000 feet in thickness and to contain over fifty
seams of coal that have an aggregate thickness of
about VZh feet of coal and a workable thickness of
about seventy-five feet of coal. These coals have
never been developed to any great extent except
along the southeast edge of the field. There are
now however plans on foot to work those near the
center of the field on an extensive scale. There
is cut off from the southeast edge of this field,
by a combined fold and fault, ar strip some twelve
miles long by three in width that has received the
name of the Little Basin. This little hasin is
also a tray-shaped depression and runs in the gen-
eral direction of the anticlinal valleys. The
Warrior field furnishes about five-sixths of the
present coal output of Alabama, or about 2,500,-
000 tons per annum. From the ease and cheap-
ness with which its coal can be mined, and from
the peculiar fitness of this coal for steaming and
coking purposes, this field is destined, in the near

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

future, to be the center of one of tlie greatest
mining and manufacturing districts of this, or
any other country.

Cahaba Coal Field. This is the central coal field
of Alabama. It contains the most southern true
coal in the United States. It is a long narrow field,
some sixty miles long by a maxmum width of
about fifteen miles, with an area of about 435
square miles. It gradually widens towards the
south. It is surrounded almost completely by the
Coosa \' alley and some of its outliers. It is in the
line of tiie great Appalachian upheavals, and hence
its strata have been greatly disturbed and are now
highly inclined. The dip, as a rule, is to the
southeast and increases to the southeast. The
surface is broken and conforms strictly to the geo-
logical structure. As the strata possess varying
degrees of resistance to disintegration, they have
been very unequally eroded, and hence ridges and
valleys have been formed with the strike of tlie
tilted strata, or with a northeast and southwest
direction. The measures of this field, like those of
the Warrior field, are thickest at or near then-
southwestern visible limits. They are reported
to have a maximum thickness of over 4,000 feet,
andtocontain tliirty-nine seams of coal. Eleven
of these thirty-nine coal seams are of two feet si.x
inches and over in thickness, and have a total
thickness of forty feet of marketable coal. This
coal, as a rule, is thought to be harder and
cleaner than the coal of the Warrior field, but it
has the great disadvantages of being highly in-
clined and of being in a more broken country.

Coosa Coal Field. This field is the most south-
eastern, the smallest and least known of the three
coal fields of Alabama. It is also almost sur-
rounded by the Coosa Valley and some of its out-
liers. It comprises about 415 square miles. Its
strata have been greatly disturbed, and hence, as
a rule, are highly inclined and more broken up
than those of either of the other two fields. This
field, it is believed, made the southeastern edge of
the original coal basin of Alabama, and hence, to
a great extent, it is believed to be made up of
strata near the base of the measures, and as these
strata are more barren of coal than those higher
up in the measures, this field, in proportion to
its size, is not so rich in coal as either of the otiier
fields. It is known, however, to contain, at the
least, three seams of workable coal of three feet
and over each in thickness, and with a combined
thickness of over ten feet of marketable coal.

These coals are, however, of a comparatively softer
and dirtier nature than those of either of the
other two fields. They are good coking coals.

StH-CARHOXiFiCKOis. These rocks are princi-
pally limestones, with divisions of sandstone and
cherty strata that sometimes reach a remarkable
thickness. They are much more easily eroded than
the overlying hard sandstones and conglomerates
of the coal measures. They are valley-making
rocks, though the harder varieties of the lime-
stones and the sandstone and cherty strata form
the mountainous sides of the steep escarpments of
the valleys, and oftentimes make distinct moun-
tainous peaks and ridges. They crop out in all
of the valleys, though they are most highly devel-
oped in the extreme northern part of the State or,
in the Tennessee valley, where they reach a thick-
ness of at least l,oOO feet. In this valley they lie
almost level, but in the other valleys, or in the anti-
clinal valleys, they are highly inclined. The lime-
stones are often very pure, and well suited for
fluxing purposes and for burning into lime. They
also often make beautiful and durable building
stones, that are easily cut when first quarried and
harden on exposure. Some of them, it is believed,
would do very well for lithographic stones and
hydraulic cement. This formation is noted for
the sink-holes, caves and big springs that are so
iniinerous in it. These caves often contain large
earthy deposits of niter, copperas, alum, Epsom
salt, etc., which were, in many instances, worked
(luring the late war. The rocks of this formation
in many places are stongly impregnated with crude
petroleum, which sometimes exudes from them as
a liquid bitumen, or mineral tar, and thus forms
the so-called Inr .tj)riiig.s that are scattered over
this country.

This formation is dividable into two distinct
groups, namely: (it) Calcareous Mountain Lime-
stone and (8) Silicious. The Silicious group can
generally be divided into two smaller groups,
namely: (d) St. Louis Limestone And (c) Keokuk.

(9) Calcareous or Mountain Limestone. This
group, as its name implies, is made up of princi-
pally mountain-making limestones of the harder
varieties of limestone of the sub-carboniferous
formation. .\sa general thing, these limestonesare
not uniformly eroded, and hence they form a rocky
or broken surface. Their outcrops are confined,
for tlie most part, to the sides of the mountains
or bluffy escarjjments of the valleys, under the
])rotecting cappings of hard sandstones and con-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

glonierates of the coal measures. Though made
up of principally limestone, this group always car-
ries one or more divisions of sandstones, that fre-
quently reach a very great thickness and some-
times form distinct ridges and mountains, as the
rocky rows of the anticlinal valleys and the Little
Mountain of the Tennessee Valley. From their
prominent development in Little Mountaiu at and
near Lagrange, they have been given the local
name of Lagrange Sandstones. The limestones
vary very much in composition; some of them a:e
almost pure carbonate of lime while others aiu
argillaceous, and others still are silicious. The
purer varieties furnish a good portion of the flux-
ing rocks, and some of the lime-burning rocks
that are now being used in Alabama. The impure
varieties, it is believed in some instances, would
furnish very good lithograiihic stones and hydrau-
lic cement rocks. The sandstones are commonly of
a very pure quality. They are soft and easily cut
when first quarried, but harden on exposure. They
are used in heavy work, in the foundations of large
buildings, culverts, bridge piers, etc. Their out-
crops, however, are frequently weathered into
deep beds of loose sand that can be shoveled up.
This sand is very jiure and is well suited for mor-
tars, molds, glass-making, etc. These sandstones
are remarkable for the very large fossil coal plants,
Lipidodendron and 8agillaria, which they carry.
These fossil coal plants reach a maximum diame-
ter of about four feet. They sometimes show the
stubs of roots and limbs, and are frequently very
plainly marked.

This group has a maximum thickness in Xorth-
ern Alabama of some 800 feet.

(8) Silicious. The strata of this group con-
sist mainly of lime-stone and chert. They are
usually, though not always, divisible into two sub-
groups of entirely different topographical, geological
and agricultural features. The characteristic rocks
of these two sub-groups are, however, in many
parts of Northern Alabama so blended together as
to make such a division of them impracticable.
These rocks often carry fine deposits of limonite
and some manganese.

The two sub-groups are (d) Upper Silicious, or
St. Lonis Limeslone and (r) Lower Sllieioiis, or
KeoJcuh.

(d) I'pper Silicious, or St. Louis Limestone.
This sub-group is made up of massive gray lime-
stones that carry interspersed through some of
their strata, nodules of fossiliferous chert. In

certain localities, however, some of its strata are
very homogeneous and work up well into archi-
tectural and monumental stones. They take a fine
polish and are durable. Tlie rocks of this sub-
group, as a whole, form a gently undulating sur-
face, and are, strictly speaking, valley-making
rocks. The Tennessee Valley proper and the diig-
out and l/ack valleys of the anticlinal valleys are in
these rocks. They are noted for the fertilit)', va-
riety and durability of their soils. These soils,
however worn, are always susceptible of the great-
est improvement. They are most retentive of all
kinds of manures, fertilizers, etc., and show their
effects for years after apj)lication. They, as a gen-
eral thing, are in cultivation and are adapted to a
very great variety of crops. The outcrops of
these rocks were originally covered by fine forests
of oaks, hickories, etc., as shown by the beautiful
groves that are to be seen here and there over the
knolls and around the residences of the farmers of
the different valleys.

((•) Lower Silicious, or I\eokitJc. This sub-group
consists mainly of silicious limestones and chert
that is frequently pure hornstone in regularly strat-
ified seams. Its rocks are, therefore, of a very
silicious character, and this is true especially of
the lower strata, where they are in places nearly
all of pure hornstone, with but little iiiterstratified
limestone. These hard cherty, or hornstone strata,
give rise to an elevated country with deep and
narrow water channels, as the highlands of Ten-
nessee and the barrens of North Alabama. The
purer of these hornstones frequently crack up into
cubes on being struck with a hammer. They are
the rocks from which the Indians made many of
their arrow heads, as shown by the piles of chips
left in the cutting of these arrow heads, in many
sections of the country. These cherty rocks, from
their hardness and indestructibility, make prom-
inent outcrops, as shoals in the different
streams and the back-lone ridges of the anticlinal
valleys. They give rise to a usually light gray,
silicious soil, that is commonly covered with a
growth of dwarfed and stunted oaks, and that
heretofore has been considered poor, and hence
the country formed by it is thinly settled. This
country is now, however, being rapidly settled and
cleared up, and looked upon as a most desirable
country for homes, on account of its pure atmos-
phere and water and freenessfrom mud, and even
the reputation that its soil is acquiring as being
especially suited for certain crops. The inter-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

bedded seams of liniestonearc frer|uently verypin'e
indeed, and sometimes are a good variety of mar-
ble; especially is tiiis true of the white crinodal
kind. In this sub-group, particularly in the Iowit
part, there are often deposits of consi'lerable
extent of good limonite and black oxide of man-
ganese. These ores, as fine cabinet specimens, are
scattered all over the cherty ridges of the sub-
group. The lower cherty rocks of this sub-group
also yield, on disintegi-ation, fine deposits of kaolin
and fire clay, and beautiful specimens of agate,
chalcedony, etc. Its maximum thickness in
Northern Alabama must be some 300 feet.

Dkvoxian. (7) Blttclc Shale. — This is a
most persistent formation, though, as a general
thing, it is comparatively poorly developed in
Northern Alabama. It consists of a bituminous
black shale that is sometimes interbedded with a
red ferruginous sandstone. It crops out a few
miles soutli of the Tennessee line, along the creeks,
and along near the tops of the back-bone or red ore
ridges of the anticlinal valleys. It most com-
monly consists of the black shale alone, and is
from ten to twenty feet in thickness, though it
sometimes gets to be as thick as 100 feet, and.
when it contains the interbedded seams of sand-
stones, it occasionally reaches a thickness of about
250 feet. Its black shale is veiT hard, indeed,
before exposed, but soon slacks or crumbles on
weathering. It is always full of iron pyrites and
is the stumbling block for the miueral hunters,
who often take it forttone coal, or the evidences of
stone coal, and frefjuently spend hundreds of dol-
lars in sinking deej) shafts into it for silver, copper,
€tc. It is the source of most of the mineral springs
of the State. Tnese springs derive their medicinal,
or mineral virtnes, mainly from the weatliering of
the pyrites. These shales could be made to yield,
■on distillation, lubricating and other oils, but they
are, however, of little importance economically.

SiLL'uiAN. This is one of the most important
and interesting of the geological formations of
Northern Alabama, especially from an economical
standpoint. It might be termed the iron ore-
bearing formation of Northern Alabama, from its
preeminence in this respect. It has furnished, for
some years past, all the iron ores that liave been
mined in .\labama. Its strata crop out a few miles
south of the Tennessee line, along the creeks, and
occupy the central and much the larger portion
of all the anticlinal valleys.

This formation is divided into the Upper Sihir-
idii and Lower Silurian.

Ui'i'EK Sii.iuiAN. The only representative of
tliis formation in Northern Alabama is the CUn-
lou or lied Atauutain (/roup.

(G) Clinton or Red Mountnin. This group
in Tennessee is known as the Dyeslone group. It
consists of befls of sandstones and shales with
interpolated seams of red ore and liniestone. The
sandstones are fine and coarse-grained, and are
usually calcareous. The shales are variegated and
also commonly calcareous. The inter-bedded lime-
stone seams are usually impure, being either fer-
ruginous, argillacious or silicious. The red ore
seams vary very much in thickness and purity,
and frequently in number. The same seam at
different points has been seen to be almost a pure
hematite ore, a sandstone and a limestone. The
rocks of this group crop out. as stated, near the
Tennessee line along the creeks, though their most
important outcrops are of the anticlinal valleys
where they, with the two next overlying forma-
tions and the one just under them, form lines of
ridges or mountains. These lines of ridges or
mountains usually occur on each side of the anti-
clinal valleys skirting the bluffy escarpments of
the oual measures which form the borders to
these valleys. Occasionally these ridges or moun-
tains are duplicated on one side of the vallej's,
and arc often much more prominent in places
than in others, though they are never want-
ing unless engulfed in faults. They are known
as red ore ridr/es, or red mountains, from their
deep, red soil, in many localities, over the out-
croppings of red ore. This group of rocks is also
known as the Red Mountain Group, because it
occurs in all of the red mountains, and as the
Dyestone Group, in Tennessee, because its red ore
has been, and is still, used in some localities for
d^'cing purposes, and because it readily stains or
dyes anything with which it comes in contact.
The rocks of this group, in their outcrops along
the anticlinal valleys, always have a considerable
dip, and are frer|uently more than perpendicular
or are bent over on themselves. Tiie seams of
red ore are usually from two to three in number,
though they sometimes dwindle down to only one,
and at other times are nuilti]>lied into half a
dozen. One of these seams sometimes reaches a
thickness by itself of about thirty-five feet of ore.
This ore is most highly developed in the neigii-
borhood of Hirmingham, on the southeast side of

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

the valley. It, however, has been tested in hun-
dreds of other places, and is now being mined and
used on a very extensive scale. The deep red
soil derived from its disintegration is very fertile,
though it is usually shallow and on steejj hill sides.

Lower Silukian. This is a most highly de-
veloped formation in Northern Alabama. It must
be at least 10,000 feet thick. Its rocks are all
more or less calcareous with the exception of those
of its basic group. They occupy the central por-
tions of the anticlinal valleys, or all of the anticlinal
valleys between the bordering red ore ridges, or
Ked Mountains. Its strata are always highly
inclined and are frequently nearly perpendicular.
In its calcareous groups there are belts of very
silicious strata, either cherty or sandy strata, and
belts of very argillaceous strata. The silicious
belts, in their outcrops, form a very broken or
rocky country of a succession of rocky ridges and
hills, while the argillaceous belts give rise to a low
and flat country of imperfect drainage that is
known as ffaf -woods.

This formation in Northern Alabama is divisible
into the following four separate and distinct
groups: — (5) Trenton and Chazy (4) Quebec, (3)
Knox Sandstone and (2) Potsdam Sandstone.

(5.) Trenton and Chazy. As a general thing,
the upper strata of this group are calcareous shales
and the lower strata ai'e impure argillaceous lime-
stones and pure bine and gray limestones. The
limestone strata jsredominate. As a whole, these
rocks are valley-making rocks. They, however,
commonly form the greater part of the inner steep
and rocky sides of the red ore ridges, or Red Moun-
tains, and frequently they make low rounded hills
and glades that have on their sides the strata of the
harder limestones cropping out in step-like
edges. The limestones, though usually shaly and
argillaceous, contain some strata that are very
massive and pure, and that are now being used
very extensively for lime-burning and fluxing pur-
poses. The argillaceous limestones are frequently
variegated, in certain strata, with red streaks, and
are then sometimes called calico rocks. Some of
the shaly limestones have, in certain localities,
irregular, thin seams and nodules of chert which
sometimes carry their streaks of galena. Tliis
galena, however, has never been seen thicker than
a knife blade. This group has a maximum thick-
ness in Northern Alabama of some 400 feet.

Quebec. This group has the greatest thickness
and distribution of calcareous rocks of any forma-

tion of Northern Alabama. It forms the major
part of the anticlinal valleys of the State, and must
be at least 6,000 feet in thickness. Its upper beds
are mainly gray dolomites, that are silicious or
cherty, and sometimes sandy, while its lower beds,
as a rule, are mostly of variegated shales that
alternate with layers of thin sheets of lime-
stone. It is therefore divisible into the following
two sub-groups : {b) Knox Dolomite and («) Knox
Shale.

{b) Knoj- Dolomite. This sub-groujj con-
sists of beds of blue limestone that are succeeded
by thick beds of gray dolomites. The above blue
limestones are frequently very impure, and it is
very likely that some of them would make very
good lithographic stones. The gray dolomites are
massive and crystalline. They are sometimes sandy
and in their upper part, are usually associated with
strata that are very cherty. Tlie cherty portions
of these cherty strata, on the weathering away of
the calcareous or dolomitic jjortions, are left as
nodules and masses of considerable size, that form
rocky, rounded ridges which are characteristic of
thisgioup. The chert, therefore, of these ridges
is of concretionary nature and is not bedded.

The cherty, angular fragments and masses of
these ridges sometimes assume the forms of sand-
stones and conglomerates, and then they more fre-
quently occur as huge boulders and make high
hills. These cherty ridges are usually two in num-
ber, with a valley between them down into the un-
derlying calcareous rocks, but sometimes there is
only one of these ridges, there being no intermed-
iate valley, or the cherty strata not having been
cut through in the washing out of the anticlinal
valley, and then this single ridge forms a broken,
rocky country, frequently a mile or so in width,
occupying the central portion of the anticlinal
valley. Near the edges of these ridges, or the
broken country formed by them, there are numer-
ous outcroppings of silicious and cherty dolomites,
and in these cherty ridges, or in this broken coun-
try, there are often seen lime-sinks. These silicious,
or cherty rocks, on disintegration, form a gray
soil that is sometimes of a very fair quality, espe-
cially for cotton. These cherty ridges are tim-
bered usually with short-leaf pine, post, black jack
and Spanish oaks, and some long-leaf pine, hick-
ory, chestnut, dogwood, etc.

The lower, or more calcareous rock^of this sub-
group.insome of the anticlinal valleys.do not come
to the surface at all, and in none of them do they

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

19-

form so prominent a part as tlie overlying cherty
.si rata. Tliey, however, in tlie larger valleys, as
tiie Coosa Valley proper, give rise to some of the
best farming lands of the State. Their lands are
timbered with red, Spanish, po.st and black jack
oaks, hickory, short-leaf pine and dogwood, and in
the low grounds, with alsosweet gum and sourgum.

This sub-group is, how-ever, of special interest
on account of its vast deposits of limonite, by the
side of which the limonites of all other formations
in Northern Alabama are very insignificant.

(«) Knox Shah'. The upper strata of this sub-
group are made up of thin sheets of limestone,
alternating, on the outcrop, with seams of clay
and thin beds of sandy and aluminous shale; and
the lower strata, principally of calcareous varie-
gated shales, alternated with layers of thin sheets
of shaly limestones and dolomites. When the
shales, or clayey portions of the upper strata, pre-
dominate, and the drainage is defective, level
tracts, frequently of very large aresis, are formed,
that are known us Ji a I woods. These llatwoods are
usually uncleared, though the timber, principally
post oak and short-leaf pine, indicates a good soil.

The lower beds of principally variegated shales
of brownish, reddish, greenish and grayish colors,
give rise to valleys with ridges. Tliese shale
ridges, frequently, are almost bare of soil, or have
a soil that is thin and drouthy. The lands formed
by these shales are timbered with principally
chestnut, red and white oaks, dogwood and
hickory.

The only useful materials of this sub-group are
some small beds of limonite.

(3) A'no.r Sands/one. This sandstone is of
no very great tiiickness, and, as the strata are
highly tilled, iis superficial area is small. It is
confined to sharp crested steep ridges of no great
width. It is sometimes thin-bedded'and some-
times thick-bedded and is commonly calcareous.
It often has alternating with it, layers of dolomite
and sometimes layers of shale of variegated colors.
It forms usually a calcareous, sandy soil.

(2) Potsdam Sandstone. This is a moun-
tain-making sandstone. It is usually coarse-
grained, though sometimes a tine-grained conglom-
erate or a sandy shale. It forms a broken chain of
mountains that contains some of the highest and
most picturesque peaks of the State. It is a dura-
ble building stone. The soil derived from it is thin
and timbered with a stunted growth of oak, chest-
nut and short leaf pine.

Metamokphic. (1) Crystalline Hocks. These
rocks are confined to the central eastern
part of the State and cover about 4,425 square
miles. They exhibit the greatest diversity as to
their chemical comjjositions and physical charac-
ters, and in their topography. They include
granite, the different kinds of gneisses, schists
and slates, steatite, quartzite, jasper, limestone,
and dolomite, or, as has been well said, all grada-
tions of rocks between the almost indestructible-
quartzose rocks and the easily eroded marble.
They form a country of varied scenery, that is-
made up of high and almost mountainous regions
alternating with rolling and sometimes rugged
lowlands and vallevs.

NATIRAL RESOURCES.

The natural resources of Northern Alabama,
though they appear to be very great to the most
casual observers, are greatest to those who know
them best. Their character and quality are such
that no fears need be entertained from a compari-
son of them with the natural resources of any
other country. They are now attracting the
attention and capital of the civilized world, and
their development within the last few years has
placed Alabama at the head of all progressive
States in the growth of its manufacturing and
industrial enterprises, or has changed it from,
strictly speaking, a cotton- and corn-producing
State to one of diversified industries. This devel-
opment of these natural resources has built cities,
as if by magic, that present all the evidences of
wealth and refinement and have a good commerce;
it has made some few enormously rich, and has
given to thousands comfortable homes, and to all
reduced ta.\es with plenty of work at good pay.
It has increased the property valuation of the
whole State from ¥l73,808,0!:»7 in 1886, to *21-t,-
925,809 in 1887, and within the last two years it
has decreased the State and county taxes 8125,000,
and within the last two months it has increased the-
capital stock of incorporated enterprises in the
State over $4,000,000.

The natural resources of Northern Alabama, in
the order of their importance, are about as fol-
lows: I. Mineral Wealth. II. Agricultural
Wealth. III. Titnl»;- ll>„///- ;,,m1 IV. X„f,n;>l
Advaiitaffes.

MINER.VL WE.VI.TII.

The mineral wealiii of Xorthern .\labama is so-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

great and so evident that the wonder is not that
Alabama has become within the last few years the
most progressive of all progressive States in the
development of its mineral wealth, or in the growth
of its manufacturing and industrial enterprises,
but that she did not take the lead in this respect
years ago, or that she was ever regarded as exclu-
sively an agricultural State. This untold mineral
wealth of Northern Alabama, and the rapidity
with which it is being developed, should be a
source of very great pride to all Alabainians and
not alone to those of the favored sections, for the
prosperity of any one portion of the State will
not detract from, but will eventually add to, that
of the rest of the State. The development of this
mineral wealth, though in its infancy, has already
assumed magnifii-ent proportions, and gives evi-
dence of a grand future for Alabama. Fifteen
years ago the mineral output of Northern Ala-
bama amounted, it may be said, to nothing; in
1889, it will be worth at the least $30,000,000, and
in 1891, it is believed that it will be valued at as
much as the cotton crop of the whole State, or
some 130,000,000. This mineral wealth is greatly
-enhanced by the natural advantages which encom-
pass it, as the manner in which all the raw mate-
rials have been thrown together in close juxtapo-
sition and surrounded by exhaustless provision-
producing areas. It consists, liowever, principally
in coal, iron ore and limestones, the three great
powers of wealth, though Northern Alabama has
other minerals that have yielded, and doubtless
will yield again, large fortunes, and other miner-
als still that have never been worked, though their
deposits give fair ])roniises of fair returns, as in
tlie case of the marls and phosphates. These marl
and phosphatic deposits, as lias been said by the
State Geologist, may be worth some of these days
more to the State of Alabama than its at present
three great powers of wealth, or its combined coal,
iron and limestone. Should this supposed proba-
bility ever become halfway true, then there will
be no comparison between the mineral wealth of
Northern Alabama and any other section of the
Union. The importance and value of any min-
eral deposit is strictly dependent on its quality,
quantity, accessibility and vicinity to fuel and
flux. According to this test, the minerals and
mineral substances of Northern Alabama, in the
order of their present importance, are as follows :
1, Goal; 2, Iron Ores: 3, Fluxing I?o-ks and
Lime- Burning Rocks, or Limestones and Dolo-

mites; 4, Building and Paving Stones and Brick
Olays; 5, Poi-celain and Fire Glays; 6, Marls and
Phosphates; 7, Ochres and Mineral Paints; 8,
Millstones, Grindstones and Whetstones; 9, Glass,
Mortars and Molding Sands; 10, Macadamizing
and Ballasting Materials; 11, Ornamental, Curious
and Precious Stones; 12, Manganese Ores; 13,
Copper Ores; 14, Gold; 15, Tin Ores; 10, Lead
Ores; 17, Silver Ores; IS, Zinc Ores; 19, Graph-
ite: 20, Hydraulic Cement Eocks and Litho-
graphic Stones; 21, Natural Gas and Petroleum;
and 22, Soapstone. Shites, Emery, Heavy Spar,
Mica and Asbestos.

COAL, COKE, LIGNITE.

1. Coal. Coal, when of sufficient purity and
quantity, is, from an economic standjioint, the
most important of all mineral substances. It is,
as it were, a magnet that draws to it all kinds of
manufacturing and commercial enterprises, and,
as no country without it can excel now in these
enterprises, and as the most prosperous countries
are the greatest coal-producing countries, it is
evident that coal is the basis of all great commer-
cial and manufacturing prosperity, and that it
might safely be termed the key to the great indus-
trial progress of to-day, especially of that of North-
ern Alabama. Fortunate indeed is the country
that possesses a good quality of coal in very large
quantities. It is, therefore, a matter of the
greatest consequence that Northern Alabama pos-
sesses this mineral in such quantities as to be con-
sidered almost inexhaustible, and of such quality
as to be well fitted for all the uses of soft or bitu-
minous coal, and so accessible as to be easily
reached from all directions by railroads and rivers
that can be made navigable all the year round for
steam tugs and coal barges. There is no doubt
but that the present unprecedented degree of pros-
IJerity of Northern Alabama is due more to its coal
mines than xo its every other element of prosperity
combined. This is evident from the fact that its
true and lasting prosperity has been in an exact
ratio to its relative coal output and consumption.
This, doubtless, will continue to be the case, and
hence the coal of Northern Alabama is worth
more to Alabama than is the gold of California to
California. These coals, as have been stated, are
in the southwest end of the great coal basin of
the Ohio, or of the Appalachian coal field, that
extenas unbroken from Pennsylvania and Ohio to
Central Alabama, and is the most important of all

NOK TIIEKX ALABAMA.

•n

the coal fields of the United States in its extent,
and in the number of its workable coal beds and
in the quality and variety of its coals. It is pro-
ductive of the best of workable soft coal, especially
near its southwest visible limits, or in Central
Alabama, where it is believed to have over fifty
seams of coal that vary in thickness from about
two inches to over fourteen feet, and have a com-
bined thickness of some 125 feet of coal. About
one-half of these coal seams are eighteen inches
and over, each, in thickness, and about one-fourth
of them are two feet six inches and over, each, in
thickness. The thicker of these seams, however,
contain interstratified partings of slate, shale, etc.,
tliat render it utterly impossible to cleanly mine
the coals of some of them. The coals, tiierefoi'e,
of these thick, dirty .seams, to be made most use-
ful and valuable, will have to be crushed and
washed. The coals of the lower seams usually
become thinner and more slaty as the edges of the
original great coal basin are approached. The coal
seams occur in groups that are separated by a great
thickness of comjiarutively barren strata. These
coals are, as has been stated, all bituminous coals,
though of almost every variety of bituminous coals.
Some of them are bright and hard, and hence are
well adapted to handling and stocking, while others
are of a duller color and are softer or of a more
ri'ial)le and crumbly nature; some of them, by ex-
periments and uses on a large scale appear to be
esjiecially fitted for coking and blacksmithing,
and others for steaming and heating, and others
still for gas-making. Tlie greater number of these
coals, however, have never had applied to them
the only sure test of their quality — or actual use-
on a large scale and in various operations. Some
of these coals have a vertical, flaggy structure, or a
regular face-and-hutt structure, while others are
divided up by joints into cubical and rhomboidal
blocks, and others still are solid and compact
throughout. Those of the flaggy and jointy struc-
ture can be mined much more easily and In
larger lumjis than tiie solid and compact coals, but
then they, as a general thiiig, crumble much more
easily. Some of these coals are very pure, or con-
tain but a very small amount of ash and clinker,
while others are bony and slaty. They all, how-
ever, as a class, show on chemical analysis, compo-
sitions equivalent to the bituminous coals of any
other State. Many of them contain thin sheets of
mineral charcoal, and they all, as a rule, are free-
burning coals. Most of these coals, however, have

been judged of simply by their exposed outcrops,
and most of the analyses that have been made of
them have been of average samples of the full
vertical sections of these outcrops, hence, in many
cases, these coals doubtless have been underesti-
mated, for it is a well-known fact that all bitumin-
ous coals on weathering lose more or less in the
proportional parts of their valuable constituents,
volatile matter and fixed carbon, and gain in the
percentages of their hurtful ingredients, moisture
and ash. -Much of this coal, however, stands
weathering finely, for it hasfrequently been known
to remain lumpy after thirty to forty years' ex-
posure to the weather. These coals occur in seams
that are in long, flat waves, and, even in the same
seams, sometimes vary in quality and thickness,
though not more so than the well-known coals of
other States. They, for many years, in ante-
railroad times in Alabama, and from many places,
were paised in considerable ((uantities from the beds
of the rivers, and the mouths of the creeks along the
rivers, during low stages of the water and floated
down the river in flatboats, during freshets. This
business, however, was so perilous to both life and
property that no considerable capital was ever in-
vested in it and no regular miners ever engaged in
it, and so it was abandoned on the building of the
central railroads through Alabama. It was not,
however, until the year 1872, or until the comple-
tion of S. & X. Ala. Uailroad, that any coal seams
were scientifically opened and worked in Alabama.
The coal output of the State for 1872 was about
11,000 tons; for 1S85, about 2,225,000 tons; for
1887, near 3,000,000 tons, and will be for 1888 at
the least 3,500,000 tons. This increase in the coal
output, though most gratifying, is not sufficiently
great to meet the additional demands of the many
new furnaces and other manufacturing enterprises
that have been built lately and are now being built
in Northern Alabama. The crying need, and the
greatest drawback to the more rapiil prosperity of
Xortliern Alabama to-day, is, therefore, the want
of more coal mines, and to this want is due the
talk and fears of a coal famine in this, one of the
richest coal countries. Of the above output of
coal for 1887, nearly 2,500,000 tons are con-
sumed in the State, about 1,400,000 tons for
coking, and the rest for miscellaneous purjioses.
These coals, as a class, have hard solid roofs and
soft underbeds, and most of them have either a
jointy or a face-and-hutt structure. They are
therefore well adapted to cheap mining ; the

•22

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

greatest obstacles that any of them have to cheap
mining is that some of them are highly inclined
and others, especially the thicker seams, haveinter-
bedded in the coal, partings of slate and shale that

. sometimes can be separated from the coal only by
crushing and washing.

The miners of these coals are of many national-
ities ; among them are Americans (principally
natives), Germans, Irish, Welsh, English, Swedes
French, Scotch, Austrians, Swiss, Bavarians, and
Africans (principally natives). These coals are of

: special value from their nearness to iron ores
and limestones of the best quality, and in almost

■ exhaustlessquantities. As has been stated and ex-
plained, the coal measures or the original coal field
of Northern Alabama have been divided by anti-
clinal valleys into three more or less distinct parts,
that are now known as the Warrior, Cahaba and
Coosa coal fields. The combined area of these three
fields is something like 8,(i00 square miles. ' This

.area places Alabama only eighth in the list of coal-
producing States of the Union in the acreage of
coal measures; still Alabama takes a front rank in
the quantity and quality of its coal. There is
believed to be over 100,000,000,000 tons of coal in
Alabama in the workable seams, or in the sefams
that are two feet six inches and over in thickness.
This coal, with an annual output of even 5,000,000
tons, would last for 30,000 years, and at the
mouths of the mines would be worth now nearly

=$120,000,000,000.

Tliis coal in the Warrior, Cahaba and Coosa
fields, from the different positions which the areas
of these fields had in the original coal basin and
from the different degrees of disturbance of the
strata of these fields, differ very much in the num-
ber and dip of its seams, and perhaps some little
in thickness and quality in indentical seams which
have not as yet been connected in the difl'erent
■fields.

Co^^l of the Wurrior Field The coal of this
■field is believed to be in fifty-three different

■seams, that vary in thickness from about two
inches to fourteen feet, and have a combined
thickness of some 125 feet of pure coal. Of these
fifty-three coal seams, twenty-five of them contain
eighteen inches and over, each, in thickness of coal;

-and of these twenty-five scams, fourteen seams have
two feet six inches and over, each, in thickness of
coal; and of these fourteen seams, nine seams have
over fourfeet of coal, each;and of these nineseams,

Tthree seams have over six feet, each, in thickness of

coal. The coal of the Warrior field, under the
supposition that its seams retain throughout their
whole extent a thickness equivalent to that of their
most accurate and reliable measurements, is esti-
mated at over 113,000,000,000 tons. Of this vast
amount of coal, it is estimated that over 108,000,-
000,000 tons are of the seams that are eighteen
inches and over in thickness.

The coal of this field can be mined just as easily
and cheaply as that of any field, from the fact that
the physical features of the field and the small
angle of dip and the structure of the coal ai'e all
favorable to cheap mining. These physical feat-
ures are such as will enable good workable seams
of coal to be found in nearly all parts of the pro-
ductive measures at moderate depths below the
surface, and, in nearly all cases, will permit of the
coal seams being reached by drifts and slopes.
The dip, as a rule, is only a few degrees, and hence
it is much better adapted to cheap mining than if
the coals were perfectly level, as it frequently gives
a natural drainage, and in all cases will permit of
the mines being kept dry at comparatively small
cost. The output of coal from this field for 1887
was about 2,500,000 tons, or about five-sixths of the
output for the whole State. This coal is mined
at the following localities: At and near Warrior,
Jefferson Mines and Newcastle, on the L. & N. Eail-
road; at Pratt Mines; at Woodward Mines; at and
near Coalburg, Day's Gap and Corona, on the Ga.
& P. Railroad; at and near Clement's Station and
Tuscaloosa, on the A. G. S. Railroad ; and at Blue
Creek mines, on the Mineral Railroad. It is also
mined to some little extent near Huntsville and
Guntersville, and at several other places in the
plateau region, and soon will be mined on an ex-
tensive scale at several points on the K. C. M. &
B. Railroad, S. & B. Railroad and T. N. Railroad.
The transportation facilities of this field are good.
It has now seven different railroads running
through and into it, and a river length within its
basin of nearly 100 miles, that can be made nav-
igable for steam tugs and coal barges all the year
round.

Coal of the Cahaba Field. The coal of this
field forms forty or more different seams. Eleven
of these seams are over two feet six inches each in
thickness, and have a combined thickness of about
forty feet of marketable coal. These coals, from
their steeper dip, crop out in much more limited
areas, and are much less above drainage level than
are those of the Warrior field. The seams that are

XOA' THRRX ALABAMA.

over two feet Rix inclies each in thickness coinj)rise,
it is helieved. some 4.000.000,000 tons of cojil.
These coals as a chiss. appear to be cleaner and
harder tli;iri those of the Warrior field, though
more faulty. 'J'hey are usually of a bright and
shiny lustre, and are of a very fine rpiality, con-
taining but a small amount of asii and a large per-
<'entage of fixed carbon. They are considered
especially valuable from the fact that they are the
most Southern true coals in the Ignited States.
They have one great drawback to cheap mining in
their steep dip. They are being mined exten-
sively at or near the following places: Ilenryellen
Mines on the Ga, P. K. R.; Helena on the S. & N.
Ala. I{. 11.; Montevallo and Brierfield, on the E.
T. Va. & Ga. R. R., and Ulockton on the A. G.
S. R. R. The coals of all these mines are of fine
<iuality and bring high prices. They furnished
«bout 240,000 tons, or nearly one-fifteenth of the
coal output of Alabama for 1887. The coals of
this field have three great railroad connections,
with the likelihood of getting several others
witliin a very short time.

f W//.S' of the Coosa Field These coals are
•comparatively little known. They are in at least
three seams, of respectively three feet, four feet,
and three feet six inches in thickness. The coal
in these three seams has been estimated at "600.-
000,000 tons. It is of a beautiful black color
with a shining lustre, and is rather friable for
stocking but is exactly suited to coking. It is
mined in only the upper part of the field, or in the
Broken Arrow region. The mines of this region
have an annual coal output of nearly 72,000 tons.

Coke. Coke made from Alabama coal was
proven in 1876 to be well suited for iron-ore smelt-
ing, and since that time, especially during the
last few years, its output and its demand have
increased much more rapidly than even in the case
of the coal. Its out[)ut for 1887 was about 700-
000 tons, and for 1888 will be near 1,000,000
tons. It is of excellent ([uality, as has been
shown by its uses on a very large scale for iroTi-ore
enielting and foundry purposes. It i.s consumed
principally in the State, and, with tlie exception
of a small percentage, is made from the coal of
the Pratt seam of the Warrior field. It is worth
about *J.75 per ton, wliich will give a value of
*2, 750.000 to the product for 1888. The coke
industry of Alabama is now next to the greatest of
its kind in the world.

Lignite ok Brown Coal. This semi-bitu-

minous coal occurs in .\lal)aiiui in the tertiary
and cietaceous formations, it is therefore of more
recent age than the true, or jjit cool. It usually
contains considerable iron pyrites, principally as
nodules, and most commonly a large percentage
of ash. It can be used for heating and steaming
purposes, but not for coking or blaeksmithing.
It occurs in beds of considerable thickness in Ala-
bama, though it has never been worked any.

I HON ()1{ES.

Of all mineral substances, iron is next in im-
portance to only coal. Its manufacture in Ala-
bama, from native ores, in the old Catalan forge
and small charcoal furnaces, in a small way,
dates back as far as even 1818, but the increase in
its manufacture was very slow indeed until 1876,
when a great and lasting impetus was given to its
manufacture by the successful demonstration
that good coke-made iron could be made in Ala-
bama from native materials at a surprisingly low
cost. In 1876 there were only ten furnaces in
blast in Alabama, all small charcoal furnaces.
They had an output of pig iron for 1876 of only
24,732 tons. In 1888, after a lapse of only twelve
years, there will be in Northern Alabama some
forty-four furnaces in blast, ten charcoal and thir-
ty-four coke furnaces, which will have an output
of pig iron in 1889 of near 1,000,000 tons. The
increase in the output of pig iron in Alabama
during the last decade is represented by the fol-
lowing figures:

In 1878 .... 49,482 tons.

1879 49,841 "

1880 .... 77,190 "
1881 98,081 "

1882 .... 112,765 "

1883 .... 172,465 "

1884 .... 189,644 "

1885 . . . 227.438 "

1886 .... 265,000 "

1887 .... 292,,62 "
There will be built in this State during the

present year some twenty new furnaces, that will
liave a combined average outjiut of pig-iron of
about 2,000 tons per day, or 700,000 tons per
annum, but, as none of these furnaces will go into
blast before spring, and some of them, perhaps,
not until fall or winter, it is impossible, this early
in the season, to do more than guess at tiie pig-iron
output of Alabama for 1888; it will, however,
be close on to 500,000 tons. Tliese twenty new

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

furnaces will be all in blast by 1889, and their
ont[)iit, added on to that of the old furnaces,
will run up the total output of pig-iron in
Alabama for ISS'J to about 1,000,000 tons. The
above output for 1885 placed Alabama fifth on
the list of iron-producing States, that of 1887 ran
her up to the third place in this list, with only
Pennsylvania and Ohio ahead of her, and the out-
put for 1889 will doubtless enable her to overstep)
Ohio and to take a rank only second to Penn-
sylvania as an iron-producing State. The iron
output of Northern Alabama for 1887 was worth,
at the furnaces, nearly §5, 000,000, and, at the
same prices, that of 1888 will be valued at some
$8,450,000, and that for 1889 at $16,900,000.
These are very large sums of money to bring into
and scatter over a comparatively small district,
especially by an enterprise that can be said to
be hardly over ten yeai's old, and must necessarily
render that district prosperous. Say that pig-
iron can be made in Northern Alabama at an
average price of $10.45 per ton, and that it has a
sput value, or value at the furnaces, of $16.90 per
ton, it will give a total spot profit on the out-
put for 1887 of nearly $1,000,000, and on the
above estimated outputs of 1888 and 1889, respect-
ively, $2,725,000 and $5,550,000. At the above
rate of increase it will take but a few years more
to make the iron output of Northern Alabama
equal in value to the cotton crop of the whole
State. Within the last few weeks the best grade
of steel has been made at Birmingham, by the
Henderson process, from the poorest grades of
pig-iron of Alabama ores. This glorious result
shuts the mouths of the croakers who have been
crying out these many years that steel could not
be made from Alabama ores, and removes the last
obstacle to the future great prosjierity of Northern
Alabama.

The value and hnportanee of an iron ore, as
already stated, is dependent on its quantity, qual-
ity and vicinity to fluxing material, fuel and
transporting facilities. According to this crite-
rion, the iron ores of Northern Alabama rank as
follows : (1) Hematite or Red Ore. (2) Limonite
or Brown Ore. (3) Siderite or Carbonate Ore.
(4) Magnetite or Magnetic Ore, and (5) Pi/rite or
Pyrites.

(1) Hematite ok Red Ore. This ore is also
called red hematite, specular ore, oxide of iron,
anhydrous peroxide of iron, fossiliferous iron ore,
lenticular ore, Clinton ore and dyestone ore. It

has, when pure, about 70 per cent of metallic
iron. It is by far the most important and e.xten-
sively-used of the ores of Northern Alabama. It
yields an excellent grade of iron, and hence is
most highly esteemed by the furnace men. In its
purest forms, it rivals even the brown ore in its
per centage of metallic iron. It occurs in North-
ern Alabama in the (a) Upper Silurian, and (b)
Metamorphic rocks.

(a) Red Ore of Upper Silurian Formation.
This dejjosit of iron ore is not only the largest in
Northern Alabama, but it is regarded by scientific
men as one of the mineral wonders of the world.
It occurs in the Clinton group, a most persistent
groujj of rocks, that, with its bands of red ore,
extends irregularly along the eastern escarpment
of the Allegheny Mountains all the way from
Canada to Central Alabama, where it becomes
covered up by a newer formation, lying unconform-
able to it. Nowhere, however, in this whole dis-
tance is the ore so well developed as here in Cei;-
tral Alabama, near its southwestern visible limits.
It is reported to be, in New York two feet thick
in Pennsylvania, four feet, in Tennessee, seven to
eight feet, and in Northern Alabama, it occurs in
from one to six different seams that have a com-
bined thickness of from twelve inches to fifty feet.
One of the seams in Northern Alabama has, by
itself, in places a thickness of nearly thirty-five
feet of ore. These different seams of red ore, in
Northern Alabama, are separated from each other
by calcareous sandstones and shales, and silicious
or sandy limestones. They crop out along the tops
and valley sides of the Red Mountains or red oie
ridges, that border the anticlinal valleys, and also
to a very limited extent near the Tennessee line,
along the creeks. These Ked Mountains, or red
ore ridges, as has been stated, occur on both sides
of the valleys, when these valleys are simply anti-
clinals, separated from the edges of the valleys or
the bluffy escarpments of the coal measures, by
narrow back valleys. They sometimes, however,
from folds and faults in the strata, are doubled or
are wanting, but seldom, if ever, on both sides of
the valleys at once.

The ore is in regularly stratified seams, that are
well defined between strata of hard sandstones and
shales, and which, from their positions, would ap-
pear to cover indefinite areas. The ore is com-
monly oolitic in structure, or commonly consists of
rounded, flattened and glazed grains of various
sizes cemented together. It is nearly always fos-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

siliferoDS and calcareous, though some strata are
111 nch more so than others. On the outcro[)s tlie
calcareous matter is frequently completely leached
out, and the fossil impressions entirely obliterated,
and the ore conii)aratively soft and o'ten porous.
Without any respect to their solidity or hardness,
the leached or non-calcareous ore is called by the
miners and furnace men )<ofl ore, and the limy ore
hard, ov JfK.iiiiff ore. Limy or calcareous matter,
in greater or less quantities, is believed to be always
present in the unleaclied ore. It varies very much
from place to place in the same seam, especially on
and near the outcrop, but, as a rule, it increases
away from the outcrop until the innermost point
of scapage or weathering is reached. The limits
of scapage and weathering are very dejiendent on
the coverings, and hence they vary very much.
Though carhonate of lime is the most common im-
purity of these ores, they are frequently very
silicious or sandy, especially in some of the seams,
to one of whicli, in many localities, it has given
the name of fcnit/i/ scam. It often gets so great as
to render the ore valueless. Besides carbonate of
lime and silicious matter, this ore, in phases, has
through it seams and irregular streaks of clay,
though none of the good ore is known to have this
impurity in sutHciunt quantities to require the
washing of the ore. The sand or silicious matter
is no very serious objection to the ore, provided
it is not in too great quantities, and the carbonate
of lime, when its percentage in the ore is uniform,
is rather an advantage than anohjection, provided
it does not exclude a suflicient percentage of iron
to justify working, as it is mixed intimately in the
ore, and so causes the ore to fuse more readily than
fluxing material sepai'ate from the ore. This ore
in some localities carries as much as 50 per cent of
metallic iron, and a specific gravity of nearly 4,
and a comhined thickness of the dilTerent seams
of some thirty-five feet of ore. If the dilTerent
workable outcrops of eighteen inches and over in
thickness of red ore in Xorthern Alabama were
connected together in one straight line, they
would form an outcropping of ore some 800
miles long, that would have a thickness of
eighteen inches, asptcific gravity of 3, and 40 per
cent of metallic iron. This liypothetical seam
of ore would yiehl for every foot of descent
into it over 237,000 tons of metallic iron, and,
as it would be supposed to cover an indefinite area,
the amount of iron wliicb it would carry might
well be considered inexhaustible. This ore has

been, or is now being mined extensively at the fol-
lowing i)laces: In McAshan Mount. , near McCalla;
between .McC'alla and ]5irmingham, at Sloss Mines
No. 2, Woodward Mines, liillman Jlines, Smith
Bros.' Klines, Redding .Mines, Morris Mining Com-
pany Mines Xo. 1, Eureka Mines No. 2, and Eu-
reka Mines Xo. 1; between Birmingham and Iron-
dale, at Old Irondale Klines and Morris Mining
Company Klines X^o. 2; between Irondale and
Trussville, at Sloss Mines X'o. 1 and Smith and
Eastman Klines. It is also mined in diggings near
Springville, in mines near Attalla, in diggings
near Reesville, Greenwood, Andrews" Institute,
Portersville, Fort Payne and Valley Head, and in
mines near Eureka and Gadsden. Besides the
above there are many small surface diggings into
this ore, and, doubtless, by this time several other
mines of large outj)uts.

These mines had, for 1887, a combined output
of ore of nearly 700,000 tons. They, and other
new mines into this ore, to supplj' the old furnaces
and the new ones that are now being built, will
have to have a combined output of ore for.1888 of
about 1,250,000 tons, and for 1889 of near 2,500,-
000 tons. This ore formerly was used in the
furnaces only as a mixture with the Iroirn ore, but
its proportional part grew greater and greater
until finally, and for several years past, ithasbeeu
used alone and has been found to make a better
grade of iron by itself than as a mixture with the
brown ore. It not only supplies all the coke fur-
naces of the State, with two exceptions and, one or
two of the charcoal furnaces, but it is also shipped
in large quantities to the furnaces of Tennessee,
etc. This ore, from its leached outcrops, is also
ground up and used to a limited extent as a min-
eral paint and for glazing purposes.

(i) Red Ore of Metamorphic Rocks. This
ore is commonly called specular ore from its
external luster; it is also sometimes called blood-
stone, from its exhibiting, on being scratched, a
deep red colored streak. It is a harder and more
compact ore, as a rule, than the hcmalife of the
Clinton group. Very little is known as to its
deposits in Xorthern or Eastern Alabama, though
it is believed to be in considerable quantities and
of very good quality.

(2) Li-MoyiTE ou Browx Ore. This ore is also
known as hydrous pero.ride of iron, brown hema-
tite, broirn iron ore and brown o.tide of iron. It
has, when pure, about GO per cent, of metallic iron.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

It is the most widely diffused of all iron ores, and
there are but few localities and geological forma-
tions in Northern Alabama that do not jjossess it
in greater or less quantities. In most of its
de^josits, it is of fine quality, and as a rule, it is
purer, or carries a greater per cent of metallic iron
than the red ore. On account of its usual large
per cent, of metallic iron, it was for a long time
the only ore used in the State. It now supplies all
of the charcoal furnaces of the State, with one or
two excei^tions, and several of the coke furnaces.
From its mode of occurrence in irregular pockets,
it is a very difficult matter to determine its quan-
tity, though this quantity is known to be such as
to be considered well nigh inexhaustible. It sim-
ply would be impossible to mention all of the
localities of its occurrence in Northern- Alabama,
and the best that can be done will be to treat of
the principal of these localities or the localities of
its greatest deposits in the different geological
formations. These geological formations, in the
order of the imnortance of their brown ore depos-
its, are as follows: (a) Loioer Silurian, {h) sub-
carboniferous, (c) cretaceous, (d) inetamurphic, (f)
drift, (/) and coal measures

(a) Brown Ore of Lower Silurian Formation.
This formation is known as the great brown ore
bearing formation. It carries the most impor-
tant brown ore deposits of Northern Alabama.
These ore deposits occur in principally the sub-
group Knox Dolomite. This sub-group, with its
thick beds of dolomites and limestones and its vast
deposits of brown ore, is a most persistent forma-
tion. It extends, along with the Clinton group,
or red ore rocks, from Canada to Central Alabama,
where it becomes covered up by a newer formation
lying nnconformably to it. For this whole dis-
tance, brown ore deposits are scattered over, at
intervals, the outcrops of its strata. They are
much greater and thicker in places than in others,
and, like the red ore seams, are much the most
highly developed in Central Alabama, near the
southwestern end of the visible strata of this sub-
group. They are confined to the anticlinal val-
leys, and, as they are due to the decomposition of
the underlying ferruginous limestones and dolo-
mites, they are most numerous and extensive where
the strata of these underlying rocks have been
most disturbed and decomposed. Over these local-
ities of greatest disturbance and decomposition,
the ore deposits are not evenly distributed, but are
much thicker and greater in places than in others.

In some places they are grouped thicklvover areas
of hundreds of acres in extent, while in other
places they are almost wanting. They occur,
principally, in leached knolls, hills and ridges, that
occupy, usually, a strip of country from two to
three miles wide, running up and down each anti-
clinal valley near its center. These knolls, hills
and ridges are from 50 to :200 feet high, and are
frequently continuous for sevei-al miles. They are
made uji of eliiefly reddish and orange-colored
loams, with brown ore banks cropping out in
greater or less quantities over them. They, in
some of the richer localities, are almost entirely
covered with the loose nodules and boulders of
this ore, or have scattered over them piles of these
loose nodules and boulders of ore, that have been
picked and piled up to get them out of the way of
the plough. -These ore banks frequently appear to
extend entirely through the knolls, hills and
ridges, and, though they usually occur in knolls,
hills and ridges, they are sometimes found in the
low, flat places. They contain the ore as hard,
solid, compact ore, as honey-comb ore, and as
ochreous and earthy varieties, and as small shot
ore to boulders fifteen and twenty feet in diameter
and of 3,000 tons and more in weight. This ore
is of a concretionary nature. It sometimes breaks
with a conchoidal fracture, and is frequently
fibrous. It also sometimes has cavities that are
lined with a beautiful velvety appearance, and it
frequently has mammillary and botryoidal surfaces
that have a dark or nearly black glaze. This ore
most commonly is of good quality and usually
carries from 50 to 60 per cent of metallic iron.
The A. G. S. E. K. and the S. E. & D. E. E. run
either through or very near the main deposits of
this ore. These deposits, with one exception,
furnish all the brown ore that is now being mined
in the State.

{b) Brown Ore of the Snb - Carboniferous
Formation. The brown ore banks of this forma-
tion are second in importance only to those of
the Lower Silurian formation. Tiiey are very
similar to those of that formation in occurrence,
manner of derivation and composition, though
they have been derived from entirely different
rocks. They have been derived j^rincipally from
the ferruginous cherty limestones of the Upper
Silicious Group, though there are some beds of
them of considerable size that have come from
rocks of the Lower Silicious Group, and others
that now cover outcrops of the Mountain Lime-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

stone Group, though these beds are believed to
have come from, or to belong properly to the coal
measures.

Bkowx (Iiu: i'kom iiii; I'i'I'ku Silk lofs
<ii{ori'. OK St. Ij(U is Limestone. The priii-
cij)al oi\' (k'po.-jits of tliis sub-group are to be
found in the Little or liiisselville Valley. 'i'hey
occur imbedded in a red loam, that forms hills
ami ridges. This red loam has commonly in it
also cherty pebbles and nodules. Tlie ore banks
are distributed not regularly through the hills
and ridges, but rather in groups at intervals.
They consist of either an aggregated collection of
small nodules of ore or of isolated huge boulders
of ore scattered through the matrix of red loam,
and are irregular and uncertain as to both their
■e.xtent and richness in ore. Some of them are
very prolific in ore and would doubtless yield
thousands of tons of ore before giving out, while
others would scarcely justify the working. This
ore, as a general thing, contains an unusual
4imount of metallic iron. It once sujiplied a fur-
nace and made a very fine grade of pig iron, espe-
cially for casting. These deposits are now being
worked again, since the building of the S. & B.
li. R., and will be made to supply the Sliellield
furnaces, etc.

BUOWN OliK 01' TIIK LoWEIt SlI.ICIOlS, OK

Keokik (iRorr. The iron ore deposits or
the brown ore deposits of this sub-group,
though much more numerous, are appar-
ently not near so important, or so great and
jnire, as those of the overlying or Upper Silicious
Oroup. The princijial of these deposits are in or
near the barrens of Lauderdale and i^imestone
Counties, and over the tops and sides of the Red
Mountains or fossiliferous cherty ridges of the
anticlinal valleys. They occur as loose nodules
and loose boulders in a mati-ix of loose nodules
and loose boulders of fossiliferous chert. As its
nodules and boulders are usually intimately mixed
with those of the fossiliferous chert, it would re-
<|uire considerable care and much dead work to
collect together this ore, and hence it would be
expensive, comparatively speaking, to mine it.
Being derived from more silicious or cherty rocks,
it is also, as a general thing, though good, more
silicious or cherty than the brown ores of the de-
posits already mentioned. Its varieties are ai)out
the same as those of the Knox and Lower Sili-
cious 'sub-groups. It has never been mined any

in Alabama, though doubtless it will be made to
furnish the furnaces that are now being built at
Florence, etc.

Bkown Ohio oe Mdint.vi.v Limestone or
Chester Group. Over the mountainous sides
and ridges of the mountain limestone that crops
out under the bluffy escarpments of the coal
measures bordering the valleys, in a matrix of
sandy loam with small rounded flint pebbles and
loose boulders of ferruginous sandstones and
conglomerates, there are numerous deposits of
brown ore, of usually a very good quality and
sometimes of considerable extent. These deposits
of ore, though they now overlie mountain lime-
stone strata, properly belong to, or have come
from the outcroppings of a regular stratified seam
of ore of tire coal measures. This seam crops out
just above the juncture of the mountain limestone
and coal measure strata, or just below the bluffy
escarpments of the coal measures. Its ore in the
outcrops and in the above loose deposits, is a lini-
onite or brown ore, though it is believed to have
been changed into such by atmospheric agencies or
by weathering, and that the unchanged or un-
weathered ore in the seam is a carbonate. It is
evident that the ore of these deposits over the
mountain limestone has come from the above seam,
from the fact that the matrix, or the loose pebbles
and the loose boulders of ferruginous sandstones
and conglomerates with which the ore is intimately
mixed, are of the coal measures. These deposits
of loose ore, however, are removed sometimes over
one- half mile from the outcroppings of the above
seam, but they are always on lower ground and
doubtless have gradually worked their way by
slides, etc., down the steep mountain sides to their
present positions. The stratified seam, as well as
the loose deposits, are much better developed in
places than in others. These deposits are often
seemingly wanting, though there is always more
or less loose ore along, usually just below the line,
or geological position, for the outcroppings of
this seam of ore. The loose deposits, like those of
the Knox group, ajipear to be most numerous and
extensive in those localities where the parent
rocks, or those around the outcroppings of the
stratified ore seam, have been most disturbed and
disintegrated. 'J'he ore has been seen as thick as
six feet in the seam, and some of the loose deposits
occur over areas of seventy-five to one hundred
acres. U'his ore has never been used or dug any.
Its greatest drawback is the uncertainty of the

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

richness of its deposits, and the fact that it is
mixed in these deposits through a mass of much
foreign matter, and hence would be expensive to
mine.

[p) Brown Ores of the Cretaceous Formation.
The iron ores or brown ores of this formation are
in its lower and upper parts, or in the Tusca-
loosa and Eipley sub-groujjs.

Brown Ore of Tuscaloosa Group. Iron ore
or iron oxide is widely distributed through this
sub-grouji, but though some of the strata are
always highly ferruginous, the localities are very
few in which the good ore is in sufficient quantity
to justify working. The ore occurs in both pock-
ets or patches, and in regular stratified seams.
That in patches or pockets is. strictly speaking,
limonite or brown ore, while that in the regular
stratified seams gives a red streak, or has a deep
red powder, and is seemingly intermediate between
a brown and a red ore. The pocket ore occurs
through, usually, a matrix of a deep red sandy
loam in irregular lumps from the size of shot ore
to boulders several feet in diameter. In the
matrix between the pockets of ore there are fre-
qi;ently pockets of ferruginous conglomerates and
sandstones. The ore is usually of good quality,
and is mainly porous, with red and yellow ochres
filling the cavities. It often contains twigs, small
pieces of wood, and other vegetable matter that
have been converted into limonite. It has been
used in the furnace, and is said to work easily
and to make a very fine grade of iron. The prin-
cipal or most extensive dejiositsof this pocket ore,
the only ones that have ever been worked, are
near Vernon, Lamar county, at and near the site
of the Hale and ilurdock old furnace. The ore in
regular stratified seams overlies impervious clayey
strata, and shows plainly that its iron has been dis-
solved from that disseminated through the overly-
ing strata and deposited or precipitated in seams
or layers on reaching the impervious strata. This
stratified ore is usually shaly or in thin scales,
though some of it is massive, Avith frequently
knotty-looking places of concentric rings of ore.
It is commonly very silicious, compact, hard,
micaceous, and of a light red color. It is often
nothing more than a highly ferruginous sandstone
or conglomerate, and is, so far as known, too
impure to work, though some of the seams might
answer very well for ochre. The seams sometimes
reach a thickness of several feet.

Brown Ore of Ripley Group. The brown

ore deposits of this sub-group are numerous. The
ore is of very good quality and is probably of suffi-
cient quantity, in places, to be of industrial value.

{d) Brown Ore of Metamorphic Rocks. The
brown ore deposits of these rocks are for the most
part the resultants of the decomposition of beds
of pyrites and form what are known as "gossans."
These gossans may be in some instances, of very
great extent, as their superficial areas are some-
times great and their depths are unknown. Be-
sides these ffossans, this formation has considerable
compact limestone of concretionary origin, and
of a pure character, scattered over its hornblendic
rocks. This ore has been worked in the old Cata-
lan forge, biTt, as a general thing, it is too scatter-
ing to be of any economic value.

(e) Brotvn Ore of Drift. Iron oxide or brown
ore is distributed universally through this form-
ation. It often acts as a cementing material
and sticks together the sands and pebbles of this
formation into hard compact masses of highly
ferruginous sandstones and conglomerates, that
might occasionally be regarded as siliceous or
sand}' limonites. This oxide, however, in some
localities, is collected together into concretionary
masses of very good ore. It is not known to be
in any one place in sufficient quantity to be of any
jDractical value.

(/') Brown Ore of Coal Measures. There
crops out near the base of the Coal Measures a
seam of ore that, as has been stated, is limonite on
the out crop but which is believed to be a carbon-
ate within. This seam sometimes gets to be as
thick as six feet, and the ore, though usually sili-
cious, is frequently of a very good quality. This
is the seam of ore from which the deposits of
brown ore overlying the mountain limestone
strata are believed to have come. There are very
likely other seams higher wp in the coal measures
that are limonites on the outcrops and carbonates
within. There are also scattered through the
shales of the coal measures, at many horizontal
positions, nodules of very good limonite that have
been formed by the weathering or decomposition
of concretionary masses of clay, iron, stones and
pyrites. These brown ores of the coal measures
have never been used or dug in any way.

(3) SiDERiTE OR Cakbox.\te OF Iron. This
ore, though it occupies a third place among the
iron ores of Northern Alabama, is the ore from
which England's i^reponderating amount of iron
has been produced. It occurs in only the carboni-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

ferous formation or coal measures, and in onlj-
two varieties; namely, (a) The Black Band Ore,
and (6) Tke CJutj Iron Stone.

{ii) The Black Band Ore. This is a coaly
carbonate of iron. It occurs in Xortliern Ala-
bama in several known seams, that vary from one
to four inches in thickness. It has been dugsome
little from two of these seams in the Warrior field,
and, in both instances, it worked very well in the
furnaces with a mixture of more silicious ores.

(b) Tlie Clay Iron Stone. This is an im-
pure argillaceous carbonate of iron. It occurs
usually as balls, nodules and kidney-shape concre-
tions, disposed in layers and interstratified
through the shales of the coal measures, at many
horizontnl positions. It occurs sometimes also in
stratified seams in the shales. In certain localities
the quantity is apparently large, and the quality
is sutticiently good for economical purposes,
though it lias never been worked any in Northern
Alabama.

(4) Magnetite ok Magnetic Ikon Ore.
This ore occurs to a considerable extent in regular
layers and masses in tiie metamorphic or crystal-
line rocks of East Alabama. It is sometimes of a
crystalline, sometimes of a granular and sometimes
of a slaty texture. It is usually gray in color and
mixed with more or less foreign matter. It is
believed, as a general thing, to carry only a small
percentage of phosphoric acid and to be titanifer-
ous.

(5) Pyrite or Pyrite.s. This ore occurs in
greater or less quantities in all the geological
formations of Northern Alabama. It is, however,
especially abundant in the metamorphic and
Devonian rocks. Unchanged, it is never used for
nuiking iron, but the ''gossans" resulting from
its decom]>osition are frequently used for this pur-
l)ose. Its chief use, in the pure state, is for the
nuinufacture of sulphuric acid, which is largely
used in the arts and in the preparation of com-
mercial fertilizers. Its deposits in Northern Ala-
bama have never been used for even this purpose,
from doubtless the fact tiiat the greater of these
deposits are far removed from any transporting
facilities.

(3) Fluxing Rocks and Lime Blrning
Hocks, ok Limestones and Dolomites. These
rocks of the very best quality and in inex-
haustible quantities, occur in several of the geolog-
ical formations of Northern .Mabama. 'i'iiey are,
however, purest and most highly developed in the

sub-carboniferous and lower Silurian formations.
They make up tiie greater part of all the valleys
of the State. Those of the sub-carboniferous form-
ation in the Tennessee Valley have a thickness
of some 1.500 feet, while those of the lower
Silurian formation in the Coosa Valley must have
a much greater thickness. These rocks are
now being quarried extensively in Northern Ala-
bama for botii fluxing aud lime-burning purposes,
the supply coming j)rincij)ally from the groups,
mountain limestone of the sub-carboniferous form-
ation, and Trenton of the lower silurian forma-
tion. The silicious group of the sub-carbonif-
erous rocks and the Knox dolomite of the lower
silurian formation, however, furnish no small sup-
])]}■ for both of these purjioses. These limestones
are oftej\ very constant in their composition, and
frequently carry as much as 98 per cent, of
carbonate of lime. Thej- are, therefore, well
adapted to fluxing and lime-burning purposes.
They readily burn into quick-lime, that is of the
very best quality as to color, cohesive power and
ability to stand the extremes of heat and cold.
These rocks, as a general thing, are most favorably
located for cheap quarrying and cheai) transporta-
tion. Their outcrops usually occupy, topograph-
ically speaking, high positions in the valleys or
sides of the mountains, ridges and hills, and
hence they can be easily and cheaply quarried,
without any trouble from water, and easily and
cheaply handled or loaded into cars, that can be
easily and cheaply run along the base of their out-
crops. These abound with these pure lime-
stones, especially in the sub-group Knox dolomite
of the lower silurian formation, dolomitic lime-
stones of tlie very best or purest quality, that are
also well suited for fluxing purposes and for mak-
ing the whitest of quick-lime and the hardest and
best of mortars.

(i) Building and Paving Stones and
Brick Clays. — Building and paving stones of
beauty and durability occur in unlimited quanti-
ties in many of the formations and in many parts
of Northern Alabama. They consist principally
of almost every variety of limestone and sand-
stone, though they embrace also some granites,
soapstones, gneisses and roofing-slates, that are
invaluable to the architect and builder for many
purposes. The limestones are of all grades, from
very good hydraulic cement rocks and litho-
graphic stones to pure marbles that will take a fine
polish. The sandstones are massive and fiaggy.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

and, though they sometimes split into thin, tough
sheets, they most often work with equal ease in
any direction. Both these limestones and sand-
stones are comparatively soft on being first quar-
ried, but they harden on exposure. The paving
stones are abundant and are of the very best
quality. They are durable; being compact and
impervious to water, they do not crack and scale
off in freezing weather. They are of uniform
thickness — from, say, two to eighteen inches —
and are perfectly smooth and beautifully rippled
marked, and require only to be squared to be
ready for their many uses. They are most
abundant, as well as best and most beautiful, in
the coal measures and Lower Silurian formations.

Besides the above building and paving stones,
there are excellent clays, for making ordinary
bricks, in nearly all of the formations and in
nearly all parts of Northern Alabama. Those
of the drift and cretaceous formations, however,
are of the best quality.

(5) PoRCELAiif AND FiRE Clays. Light and
gray colored plastic and silicious clays, that are
well suited for making pottery ware and common
fire bricks, abound in several of the geological form-
ations and in many parts of Xorthern Alabama.
They are, however, mos^t abundant and j)urest in
the coal measures and in the Tuscaloosa and lower
silicious sub-groups, though they occur in con-
siderable beds in the drift and lower silurian form-
ations. Those of the coal measures usually are
of a gray color, and form the underbeds to the coal
seams. They have been worked in only a few lo-
calities and to a limited extent, only for making
potteryware, to which purpose they are well suited.
They doubtless, in many instances, would make
good fire bricks. They occur in seams from a few
inches to ten and twelve feet in thickness. Those
of the Tuscaloosa group, in some of their beds, are
very pure, and have a greasy, lialloysite feeling.
They have been worked also only to a limited ex-
tent, and in only a few places, and so they have
never been given a fair test. Some of them, it is
believed, would make nice porcelain ware, while
others are well suited for fire bricks. They are the
same clays, in geological position, etc., as the
famous fire clays of New Jersey, and may prove,
some of these days, in some instances, to be of just
as good quality as the New Jersey clays. Those
of the lower silicious group occur along the tops
of the red ore ridges and mountains, just over the
outcroppings of the black shale. They are derived

from the disintegration of the cherty or hornstone
strata at the base of this sub-group, and are fre-
quently, in the outcrops, of a chalky whiteness.
Their beds are sometimes from thirty to forty feet
in thickness, and are of various strata, that differ
in ajipearance and composition. Some of these
strata are of a chalky whiteness, while others are
of a dai-k gray color, and others still are stained
more or less reddish .-nd yellowish. Some of the
strata are very silicious or gritty to the feeling, so
much so as to be frequently very friable, and
hardly, properly speaking, clays, while others are
greasy to the feeling and are very plastic on being
thoroughly wetted. In these different light colored
strata there are numerous very hard nodules of very
pure halloysite of a beautiful ci'ystal appearance.
These ciays are being mined extensively in DeKalb
county, the different varieties separately, and
shipped to Chattanooga to be made up into fine
potteryware and fire bricks. The purer varieties
were shipped once to the large porcelain works
of Trenton, Ohio, where they brought about SIO
per ton, but the distance wasfound to be too great,
or the freight too much to make this traffic pay. In
Chattanooga, the gritty or friable strata are made
into fire bricks and the plastic strata into porcelain
ware. A full set of fine table ware, made at Tren-
ton, Ohio, from this clay, was on exhibition at the
New Orleans Exposition, and its beauty and excel-
lence, in every resjiect, attracted special attention
and drew forth unqualified remarks of praise from
all. It is to be hoped these and all similar clays of
Northern Alabama will soon be consumed at home
or made to supply home manufactoiies.

(G) Marls and Phosphates. The marls and
phosphates of Northern Alabama are in consider-
able quantities and are of the greatest interest and
value. They occur in only the cretaceous and
tertiary formations, and hence those of the creta-
ceous formation alone come within the scope of
this treatise. Those of the cretaceous formation
are of the same formation as those of England,
while those of the tertiary formation are of the
same formation as the deposits of South Carolina.
Those of the cretaceous formation in Alabama are
to be found principally in two well-defined belts
that are made up of the transition beds at the bot-
tom and top of the rotten limestone, though shell
marls and phosphatic casts of fossils and phos-
phatic nodules occur in or over the rotten lime-
stone, and hence it is probable that this rock may
contain marly and jihosphatic strata at intervals

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

all the way through it. These marls and phos-
phates, in the majority of cases, are valued almost
solely by their ]ieroentagcs of phosplioric acid.
The marls include not only the marls proper, but
also the green sands and other materials which
may be valuable as fertilizers. They are nearly
always phosphatic. The phosphates occur in
irregular nodules of almost jiure pliosphate of
lime, in green sands and in silicious limestones. In
the nodules, the average contents of phosphoric
acid is al)out twenty-five per cent. If these
nodules, therefore, could be found in sufficient
quantity and could be easily or cheaply collected
together, they would be of great commercial value.
Tlie phosphatic green sand is insufficient quantity
and contains phosplioric acid enough to make it a
most valuable fertilizer. It carries on an avarage
about ten per cent of phosphoric acid, which is
equivalent to nearly twenty-two per cent of bone
phosphate, and is therefore in fertilizing effect
about equal to tlie Xew Jersey green sand, which
has wrouglit such a revolution in tlie agriculture
of that State. The pliospliatic silicious limestones
disintegrates in jilaces into a phospliatic marl and
doubtless holds j)hosplioric acid enough to justify
the burning of the rock for agricultural purposes.
Marls and i)hospliates, eitherrawor treated with
sulphuric acid, constitute the chief bulk and cost
of nearly all manipulated fertilizers, and Alabama,
instead of making or at least attemjiting to make,
her fertilizers out of her own raw materials, pays
out annually to other States nearly $2,000,000 for
fertilizers. It is true that tlie commercial value
of these raw materials in Alabama have not as
yet been fully determined: still, enough is known
of them to cause a belief that they will make good
fertilizers and that they will eventually add very
much to the manufacturing and agricultural
wealth and prosi)erity of the whole State.

(7) Ochres Axn Mineral Paixts. Red and
yellow ochres of very good quality occur in
several of tlie geological formations of Northern
Alabama. They are, however, most common in
the metamorphic and lower cretaceous form-
ations. Jlineral jjaints that are excellent for
outdoor work are made by grinding up not only
these red and yellow ochres, but also the .w/V redore.

(8) Mll.I.STONES, (iRIXDSTOXES AXD WhET-

STOXEs. Millstones of very good quality, with
and without pebbles, are made, principally for
home uses, from the conglomerates and coarse-
graia sand stones of the drift, coal measures and

lower Silurian formations. In all of these form-
ations, tlie above materials are abundant and the
millstones made from them are said to be espe-
cially suited for grist mills or for grinding corn.
Grindstones and whetstones, particularly of coarse
grit that is very sharp and good for ordinary edge
tools, can be easily and cheaply made from many
of the llagstones of the coal measure and upper
Silurian formation. These articles are transported
now for hundreds of miles to this State, when just
as good, and perhaps often a much better quality
for many purposes, could be made more cheaply
right here at home from home materials.

(9) GLAS^, MoKTAltS AND Moi.DIXfi SaXD.S.

Pure sands that are good for all the purposes for
which sands are used are to be found in nearly
all of the formations of Xorthern Alabama. These
sands, in the drift and cretaceous formations,
occurred originally as regular loose strata ; in the
other formations they occurred originally as regu-
lar stratified sandstones, of greater or less hard-
ness and compactness. The outcroi)pings of
these loose strata and of the sandstones have
given rise to, on weathering, loose beds or heaps
of sand that, in many cases, are removed miles
from the outcroppings of the loose strata or sand-
stones from which they were derived. The purest
and best of these sands perhaps have been derived
from, or form the La Grange sandstone of the
sub-carboniferous formation. These sandstones,
as have been stated, form the Little Mountain of
the Tennessee Valley and the rocky i-mcs of the
anticlinal valleys. They furnish most of the
sand that is now used in the State for mortars
and for molds, :ind will supply sand for the differ-
ent glass works when completed.

(10) Macadamizixi; AXi) Ballasting Mate-
rials. The rounded Hint and cherty pebbles of
the drift are the very best of materials for mac-
adamizing walks and drives and for ballasting rail-
road tracks. They are to be found in the greatest
quantities along several of the railroad lines of
Northern Alabama, and, as they occur in loose
strata or beds, they can be easily and cheaply
shoveled up and loaded on the cars. They are
much better adapted to the above purposes than
the angular cracked up limestones, etc., that are
usually used, as tiiey are much easier on the feet
of both man and beast, and on the wear and tear of
vehicles, and do not give off any disagreeable and
injurious impalpable dust, and can be packed
mucii better, or will make a much firmer road.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

(11) Ornamental, Curious and Precious
Stones. Among the most important of these
stones in Northern Alabama are to be mentioned
white and variegated marbles, beautiful stalactites
and stalagmites, clear and translucent quartz,
crystals and pebbles, curiously shaped concretion-
ary masses, well preserved and distinctly marked
fossil coal jjhnits of great beauty and wonderful
size, and beautiful specimens of silicified wood,
agate, chalcedony, etc. The marbles occnr in sev-
eral of the geological formations, but the most
beautiful varieties are of themetamorphic or crys-
talline rocks, through the white and variegated
marbles of the sub-carboniferous and Silurian
formations are very good quality. Tliese marbles
have been quarried to some extent and used for
monumental and architectural purposes.

(12) Manganese Ores. Manganese, as pyro-
lusite or black oxide of manganese, is widely dif-
fused, in seemingly small quantities, throughout
Northern Alabama. Fine cabinet specimens of it
can be jDicked np in most of the formations, but
perhaps it is in the greatest quantities and of the
greatest purity in the sub-carboniferous, lower
Silurian and metamorphic rocks. It is of con-
cretionary origin, and occurs in patches or pockets,
like the hroirn ore with which it is intimately asso-
ciated. It has been mined to some little extent for
making ferro-mangancse and spicgel eisen. Little,
however, is known as to its quantity, though it is
not believed to be great enough to be of any great
commercial value.

(13) Copper Ores. The copper ores occur in
only the crystalline or metamorphic rocks. They
consist in Northern or Eastern Alabama of chaJ-
copyrile or coppur pyrites or yelloio copper ore, of
melaconite or Mack oxide of cuppier or llach copper
and of covellite or indigo copper. These ores have
been worked verj- successfully in East Alabama,
and likely will be worked again.

(14) Gold. Gold occurs in regular quartz veins
and in surface gravels and sands in and over the
metamorphic rocks of East Alabama, and as fine
washed or placer gold, disseminated through the
sands and flint pebbles of the drift of Northwest
Alabama. The metamorphic rocks of East Ala-
bama are the most southern true gold formation
of the Atlantic States. The gold-bearing quartz
veins are now being developed in several localities,
and they give evidence that they can be worked
with profit, especially by the use of the improved
appliances of the present day for mining and

crushing ores. The loose gravel and sand beds
over the metamorphic rocks were worked in a
rough and wasteful way, on an extensive scale,
some forty to fifty years ago, and yielded consider-
able fortunes. They doubtless will be worked
again. The loose gravel and sand beds of the
drift of Northwest Alabama were also worked
some little years ago for their placer gold, but
they likely did not make any one very rich.

(15) Tin Ores. Tin ore or tinstone, as cassit-
erite, occurs in the metamoriihic rocks of East
Alabama, in several localities. It is not known,
however, to be in sufficient quantity to be of any
commercial value.

(IG) Lead Ores. Lead ore, as galena, occurs
ill situ in several localities in the Silurian rocks of
Northern Alabama, and in the metamorphic rocks
of East Alabama. It is also found scattered over
all parts and over all the formations of Northern
Alabama, as loose lumps from the size of small
bullets to fifteen and twenty pounds in weight.
These loose lumps are particularly numerous
around the Indian mounds, and, jierhaps, were
brought to this country by the motind huilders.
The lead ore in sitii is not known to be in any
place in Northern Alabama in sufficient quantity
to be of any commercial value, notwithstanding
the thousand and one Indian tales of its great
purity and abundance in hundreds of localities.

(17) Silver Ores. Most of the galena of
Northern Alabama carries some silver, and, when
this silver gets to be as much as several per cent,
the ore is called a silver ore.

(18) Zinc Ore. Zinc ore, as sphalerite or zinc
blende, is found associated with the co]iper ores of
East Alabama.

(19) Graphite. Graphite, or jdumbago, or
black lead, occurs in many localities in East
Alabama, in small quantities, associated with the
schists of the metamorphic rocks.

(20) Hydraulic Cement Eocks and Litho-
graphic Stones. Impure limestones and fine-
grained, compact limestones, that would doubtless
make very good hydraulic cement and lithographic
stones, abound in the sub-carboniferous and Silu-
rian formations of Northern Alabama. The
quality of these limestones for these purposes,
however, have not as yet been fully determined.

(21) Natural Gas and Petroleum. Natural
gas is now and has been known for several years
to be constantly escaping from between the out-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

crops of strata in several parts of Xortliern Ala-
bama. There is not believed to be, however, from
the geological structure of the country and from
the piiysical nature of the strata, any great reposi-
tories of it in any of the formations of Northern
Alabama. Petroleum, or m.ineral oil, impregnates
rocks in many parts and, in several of the geoiogi-
cal formations of Northern Alabama, and, as a
soft asphaUum or pitch, it fills cavities in some of
these rocks and exudes from cracks in others as a
semi-liquid bitumen or mineral tar, forming what
are known as Uir .^pritujs. It is to be hoped that
an almost inexhaustible reservoir of this valuable
mineral product will be struck some of these days,
in Northern Alabama, but, as yet, as with the
natural gas, little is known, outside of mere con-
jecture, as to its true supply.

(22) SoAPSTOXE, steatite or talce; Slates, or
roofing slates; Emeky, or corundum: Heavy
Si'AK, barytes or barita; iliCA, or muscovite and
Asbestos, all occur ia the metamorphic or crysta-
line rocks of East Alabama, in many localities.

AGIUC TLTl HAL WEA LT-1 1 .

Northern Alabama, as a whole, i.s a great
agricultural as well as a great mineral country,
notwithstanding that it is still, in many sections,
covered by an unbroken forest, and that, only a few
years ago, when it was, strictly speaking, an agri-
cultural country, a large proportional part of its
lands were looked upon as almost worthless for
agricultural purposes. The increase in the variety
and valuation of its agricultural products, or the
products of its fields, gardens and orchards, for the
last ten years, has been most gratifying, indeed,
even when compared witii that of the richest and
most prosperous of. strictly speaking, agricultural
countries. Its agricultural wealth consists, pri-
marily and mainly, in the great cajtabilities of its
soils and in its erpiable and uniform climate
and rainfall. Its soils, though in certain sections
they show a remarkable degree of uniformity in the
relative proportions of their constituents, are pro-
lific in every aijricultural product that gives sus-
tenance and wealth to its cultivators, or are so
various as to be able to furnish an especially suit-
able soil for each one of the many great agricul-
tural products to wliich the climate is adai>ted,
and to grow, without cultivation, over one hun-
dred and fifty species of grasses. Some of these
soils are so fertile that at one time their lands
produced more of agricultural value than any

acres of like extent in the United States. The
same lands can be made to produce again as
much of agricultural value as any areas of like
extent in the United States; for their soils, as well
as those of other sections of Northern Alabama,
are so duraljle that, after fifty and more years' abuse
and cultivation in cotton and corn alone, without
ever having received a single drop of manure or
fertilizer of any kind, still yield remunerative
returns in these crops for the labor bestowed in
cultivation. These crops, cotton and corn, up to
a few years ago, may be said to have constituted
the only productions of Northern Alabama; but
now, however, the indications of progress in diver-
sified farming in Northern Alabama is most flat-
tering, indeed. Its cotton crop is on the wane,
while the food crops and live stock raising are
proportionally on the increase. This decrease in
the cotton crop and increase in food crops are
indicated by the following figures of total produc-
tions in Alabama of cotton, corn and oats for the
years 1880 and 1885:

Cotton Crop (bales).

Corn Crop (hush)

Out Ciop (busb)

740,oro

2 ,000,000
3,000.000

6.TO.0OO

;ti,(««i,(X,o

5,000.000

The cotton crop, though thus annually falling
off in quantity, is bringing and keej)ing in the
State more money, year after year, from the in-
crease in the home cotton factories and oil mills.
The increase in the other food crops, or those
crops which are grown principally for home con-
sumption, as hay, vegetables, fruits, etc., and in
the raising of live stock, isequally as gratifying as
in the case of the corn and oats. The increase in
live stock raising, though most gratifying, i?, how-
ever, not what it ought to be, considering the many
natural advantages of Northern Alabama for this
most profitable business. The most ))erceptible
and greatest of these advantages is that Northern
Alabama grows spontaneously over fifty different
kinds of plants, of more or less nutritive value,
that are relished by stock and that are suitable
for forage and hay crops. In connection with the
above jileasing fact that the food crops and stock
raising arc rapidly on the increase in Northern
Alabama, it is al.«o pleasant to note that the home
markets for these home-made food products are
also rajiidly on tJie increase. This is due princi-
pally to the daily increa.sc in the home consump-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

tion of the home-made food products, which goes
to show that the people are fast learning the great
art of living well or living at home on fresh and
wholesome food.

The farmers, as a cla.ss, are also becoming much
better educated in their vocation. They are
abandoning the primitive methods and imple-
ments of culture of their forefathers and are
rapidly improving their breeds of stock by im-
portation. They are also taking a much greater
and growing interest in their calling, and hence,
are well organized into State, county and beat
clubs. They have a State Agricultural Depart-
ment and two experimental farms, that are sup-
ported by a tax of 50 cents on every ton of com-
mercial fertilizer sold within the State. This ta.x
gave to them the last fiscal year nearly $25,000.

TDIBEH WEALTH.

More than one-half of Northern Alabama may
still be classed as timber lands. In many sections
of it there are unbroken forests of heavy timber
of many square miles in extent that are as yet un-
touched by the woodman's ax. These forests com-
prise, as has been stated, over 125 species of arbor-
escent growth, and include in their heavy timber
almost every kind of tree of any economical value.
The prevailing timber, however, of most of these
iorests is yellow pine, though some of them are of
the hardwoods, or of oak, hickory, gum, beech and
cedar, with, in some localities, a considerable
sprinkling of ash, poplar, cypress and walnut.
The prevailing timber, however, of any one local-
ity is closely dependent on the nature of the soil
or the geological strata from which the soil is
derived. So true is this, that the timber belts of
the State closely correspond to the outcroppings
of certain geological formations, and hence the
different geological formations can frequently be
recognized and mapped off, approximately, by
their peculiar growth. In a general way, the pre-
vailing timber is of hard woods over a calcareous
or limey soil, and of the soft woods over a silicious
or sandy soil. The prevailing timber, therefore,
over the sandy plateaus is yellow pine, and in tlie
limestone valleys, oak, hickory, etc.

There is believed to be enough timber standing
now in Northern Alabama to last over 150 years,
not allowing any for natural growth, at the pres-
ent rate of cut, which is valued at nearly S!3,500,-
000 per annum. Lumbering will, therefore, be for
many years to come, as it has been in the past,

one of the most important industries of Northern
Alabama. The lumber mills, and hence the lum-
ber outputs, are rapidly increasing, though there
are now in the State 420 saw-mills, with an out-
put that is worth $.3,246,000 per year.

NATURAL ADVANTAGES.

The natural advantages of Northern Alabama
are, in many ■ respects, wonderful, and they are so
numerous that it would be a difficult task to men-
tion them all. They are self-evident alike to the
capitalist and to the day-laborer, and to the manu-
facturer, miner and farmer. They offer to all a
temperate and equable climate, a dry and invigo-
rating atmosphere, pure and health-giving waters,
a cheap rate of taxation that is being constantly
diminished, and clieap homes, with peaceable and
contented neighbors and with good church and
school facilities. Particularizing, they offer to the
capitalist investments that cannot be excelled by
those of any other country; and to the day laborer,
be he skilled or unskilled, plenty of work at good
pay ; and to the manufacturer cheap power and
cheap raw materials, in close jjroximity to each
other and to good transporting facilities; to the
miner plenty of steady work in the many newly
opened mines and quarries; and to the farmer
cheap and rich lands, with varied soils and early
springs, long summers and late falls for the plant-
ing, maturing and gathering of his crops.

FUTURE POSSIBILITIES.

The future possibilities of N^orthern Alabama
are believed to be greater than the conceptions of
even the most sanguine. The great waves of
industrial jirogress may be said to have just fairly
struck Northern Alabama, and their resultants,
the huge billows of prosjjerity, that have just
commenced to roll over it, will doubtless continue
to roll over it until they have made of it one of
the most prosperous and wealthiest of countries.
The time or day will have come when the com-
bined outputs of all of its old furnaces and of all
of its new furnaces that are now being built are
used up in home industries, or are converted into
the most profitable of home manufactured goods,
or when every cent of profit that can be gotten
out of the development and productions of its
natural resources is retained at home. Judging
from the unprecedented increase within the last
few years, in the development of its natural
resources and in the quantity and kind of its

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

manufactured <:foods. and from the fact that all of
its industrial enterprises are now running on full
time with a good profit, and from the great prob-
ability that these industries will increase, both in
number and kind, during the next twelve

months, at a much greater ratio than they
have ever increased in the past, it would seem
that the above gala day, or day of greatest
prosperity forNorthern Alabama is not very far.
in the future.

PART II.

Summary of the State's History from Its Earliest Settlement

TO THE Present Day.

'L'lie climate, of Alabama is one of its chief at-
tractions. It is womlerfnlly equable. The ex-
tremes of heat or cold are rarely ever exjjerienced.
Snow is rarely seen except in tlie most northern
parts. The streams of the State are never frozen
over. The spring is early and wonderfully balmy,
and as a result vegetation is rajjid and luxuriant
ill its growth. The summers are even and regu-
lar in temperature and there is never a great or
sudden change. The extreme of heat rarely ever
reaches the height which is often marked in the
cities of the North, in the low country or the flat
regions of the States lying north of the Ohio river,
or on the plains of the great Northwest. The au-
tumn is late, and the crops have a greater length
of time to mature than in any portion of the dis-
tinctively farming section of the North or West,
and the winter is of so slow ajjproach, that the
crops need not be removed from the fields until
late in November.

To the manufacturer Alabama offers induce-
ments unrivaled by any section of this country.
If he desires to operate by steam, the fuel to gen-
erate the power lies in the greatest abundance un-
der the hills of the State. It abounds in quanti-
ties practically inexhaustible and is suscejitible of
being mined at the minimum cost. The coal beds
of the State are greater in extent and in capability
of output, than probably the like deposits of any
other State in the Union, with possibly the excep-
tion of Pennsylvania. If a manufacturer desires
to operate by water power, he would find in any
section of the State thousands — yes, hundreds of
thousands — of horse power,rusliing madly to waste,
idle, because the hand of man has not been laid
upon it, to turn its course to practical usefulness.
The streams of Alabama, ever running, have power
sufficient to operate the mills of New England
over and over again. A single stream would for
miles and miles along its banks, furnish sites and
power enough for millions of sjiindles or looms.
In fact, an unlimited number of industries sus-

ceptible of being operated by water jtower might
find sites along the streams of Alabama where the
conditions for their ojieration would be most highly
favorable and where the expenses of the operation
would be reduced to the lowest possible cost.

The miner, the man engaged in taking from the
earth its riches, would find work, and steady
work, in Alabama. Its coal mines just being de-
veloped — barely yet producing enough for home
consumption, are being enlarged — new mines are
being constantly oj^ened, and in a thousand fields
there is room for experienced men. The ore mines
employ already thousands, and the opening of new
ore beds will call for thousands more. Marble,
granite and slate quarries are being worked and
others are soon to be worked, and men will be
wanted to work them. The field is here, and the
future promises much for the right men. The
day laborer will find in this State thousands of
enterprises on which labor is in demand, with fair
wages and with surrounding circumstances such
that he can work every day in the year if he
chooses. lie will lose no time in Alabama be-
cause it is too cold to work, nor need he lose a
day because it is too hot.

, The farmer of the North or West will find in
Alabama a series of soils, which for richness can-
not be surpassed in the world. lie will find sec-
tions adapted to the cultivation of everthing which
he raised in his Northern home, while at the same
time it is adapted to many others which would not
grow with him. He will find lands which will,
year in and year out, i)roduce a yield of wheat or
corn equal to the average production of any wheat
or corn State of the North or AVest. He will find
this land excellently well adapted to the cultiva-
tion of the other small grain grown in those
States. He will find lands which will produce
tobacco, in quantity and in quality, equal to that
produced in Connecticut, Pennsylvania or Wis-
consin. He will find land which will yield hay
crops as abundantly as the crop of any State in the

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Union. He will not find a country devoted ex-
clusively to cotton; or rather, lie will not lind a
country in which cotton alone can be raised. lie
will lind that he can raise wheat, rye, barley, and
in fact, anything that he i)roduccs at home, and in
addition he will be able to raise cotton, potatoes
and vegetables, and the two latter he will be able
to ship home something like a month or two before
the same articles are ready for market there. He
can stek the southern portion of the State, and
there he will be able to raise early vegetables, as
well as many of the fruits of the warmer zones.
To the agriculturist, the State of Alabama pre-
sents a greater variety of features than any other
State of the Union. It presents opportunities
which, if seen, would be appreciated, and being
appreciated, would be eagerly accepted.

To the capitalist seeking a safe investment,
Alabama presents as many opportunities, if not
more, than any State in the Union. Its mineral
fields abound in chances for safe and profitable
investments. Farming lands in all parts of the
State may now be purchased at a very low figure,
and in the course of a few years they will be
greatly enhanced in value. Transactions in city
projierty, in the many growing cities of the State,
have enriched hundreds, and only the outside has
been touched. There are scores of cities in all
quarters of Alabama which have not yet been the
subject of marked increase of value or great en-
hancements, which offer inducements and have
resources, that will most certainly cause them to
come rapidly to the front when the spirit of de-
velopment becomes, as it surely will, more widely
spread .

As a home, Alabama offers a congenial climate,
and healthfulness which will compare favorably
witii any section of the country; immunity from
the terrible scourges of the colder portions of the
country and a death rate record below the general
average of the country at large.

The State of Alabama is situated south of Ten-
nessee, west of Georgia and a portion of Florida,
north of a part of Florida and the Gulf of
of Me.xico, and west of Mississippi. It has an
area of .50,72"2 square miles. lu 1880 its popula-
tion numbered l,'i()2,50.5, but the increase since
that time has been such that it is safe to say its
population now numbers over one and a half
millions.

Alabama was first seen by white men, when the
Spanish cavalier, De Soto, with his followers

reached its territory, on liieir march westward in
search of the vast treasures which they had been
told were to be found in the land of the setting
sun. De Soto found the State peoj)led by a hardy
and warlike race of Indians, who lived witii com-
parative comfort in villages throughout its borders.
These people were brave, but they mistrusted the
mission of the gallant cavalier and his mail-clad
followers, and De Soto found that savages though
they were, they knew the arts of war and they
fought with such a daring and such a desperation
against his well-armed and well-protected troops,
that although he defeated them, the victory was
well nigii a defeat, and the blood of many a proud
Spanish nobleman stained Alabama's soil, and the
bones of many a Spanish soldier were left to bleach
with the bones of the slain savage, and De Soto's
party leaving Alabama was not near so large as
when he entered it.

By virtue of De Soto's discovery, Spain claimed
the southern half of the present States of Ala-
bama and Mississippi as portions of the Florida
possessions. France also laid claim to the same
territory, under a settlement of a portion of it by
a French expedition under Bienville. France sus-
tained its claim to the territory in question as a
portion of its Louisiana possessions. 'I'he title of
both of thesecountiies to this particular territory
was denied by Great Britain, and that country
finally obtained and held possession of it until the
matter was formally settled by France ceding to
England all of its Louisiana jiossessions east of the
-Mississippi river, and about the same time Spain
ceded Florida to Great Britain; thus that govern-
ment consolidated all contlicting titles and became
the owner of this entire country south of the Ohio
and east of the Mississippi rivers.

England divided its possessions thus acquired into
three parts — Florida, West Florida and Illinois.
From a line drawn across the present States of
Alabama and Mississippi just north of Montgom-
ery, from the Chattahoochee to the Mississippi, to
another drawn along the northern boundary of the
present State of Flori<la from and to the same
points, was the portion of the territory which com-
prised the division known as West Florida. The
remainder of the State north of the northern line,
was a portion of Illinois. During the occupation
of the country by the British, the first cession of
lands to whites was made by the Indians, who
relinquislied all the lands between the Pascagoula
river, in what is now Mississippi and Mobile Bay,

-38

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

from the coast, north to a given point on the
Tombigbee river, thence west to the Pascagoula.
This cession was confirmed to the United States
{government after the close of the Eevolution.ary
War.

During the struggle of the American colonies
for independence, tlie people of Alabama remained
loyal to the British government, and when the
Spaniards espoused the cause of the colonies and
sent a force to attack Mobile, the white residents
of Alabama responded to the call and so reinforced
the garrison at Fort Charlotte, that for several
days they resisted the attack of the colonists'
allies.

On the conclusion of peace between Great Britain
and the American colonies, that government ceded
to the victorious colonists the territory east of the
Mississippi and north of the 31st degree of lati-
tude. Spain claimed the portion of this territory
south of latitude 30-28, as having been ceded to
that government by England, after the cession of
the territory to England by France. Spain held
possession of a portion of the disputed territory,
and it was only settled after the visit of (;en.
Thomas E. Pinckney in 1795, to Madrid, for that
purpose, when Spain relinquished its claim in
favor of the young government, but it held nom-
inal possession of the section in controversy, until
1798.

Georgia, which was one of the thirteen colonies,
claimed the territory now comprised in the States
of Alabama and Mississippi, and within a year or
so after the close of the Revolutionary war, that
State began preparations for the colonization of
the territory, for the purpose of bringing it
unquestionably under its control, and to this end
in 178-1:, tbe legislature of Georgia authorized the
sending of a party of settlers into the wilds of
Alabama to organize counties. This party, in
1785, organized all of that portion now in the
State, lying north of the Tennessee river, into a
county which was called Houston, in honor of
Gov. John Houston, of Georgia. The seat of
government of this, the first American govern-
mental organization formed in Alabama, was
located at or near Muscle Shoals, on the Tennessee
river. The life of this county was of short dura-
tion. The offices necessary for government were
established, but the wildness of the country and
the fear of the Indians, who were being incited to
offensive acts by the Spanish authorities, together
with the slowness of the arrival of immigration

caused the abandonment of the enterprise and the
return of the party to Georgia.

In 1798, the congress of the United States by an
act created the Territory of Mississippi. This
Territory embraced that portion of the present
States of Alabama and Mississippi which
lies north of an east and west line, along the
northern boundary of Florida from the Chatta-
hoochee to the Mississipjji, and south of a similai
line drawn between those two rivers and passing a
little north of Montgomery. The seat of govern-
ment of the new territory was located at Natchez
on the Mississippi river. John Adams was then
President of the United States, and he appointed
as governor of the newly created territory, Win-
throp Sargeant, of Massachusetts, who proceeded
to Natchez and organized the territorial govern-
ment.

In 1800, Governor Sargeant, by proclamation,
created the county of Washington, and defined
its limits as all the area in the territory of Missis-
sippi east of Pearl river as far as the Chatta-
hoochee. The census of the territory was taken
in that year, and the returns showed Washington
county's population to consist of 733 whites, 494
negro slaves and 23 free negroes. At this time
what is now the counties of Baldwin and Mobile
were under the domination of the Spanish govern-
ment, and it is estimated that their population
equaled that of Washington county. In 1801 the
people of the territory became dissatisfied with the
ministration of Governor Sargeant and petitioned
his removal from office, which petition was granted
by Thomas Jefferson, who had succeeded to the
presidency, and William C. C. Claiborne, of Ten-
nessee, was a25pointed to succeed him as governor
of the territory.

Georgia maintained its claim to the northern
portions of the States of Alabama and Mississippi,
contending that it held a title to the territory
under a grant from the British government.
This dispute was finally settled in 1802, by the
State of Georgia ceding to the United States all of
the territory in question, for, and in consideration
of the sum of one and a quarter million of dollars.
After the purchase of the title to this land from
the State of Georgia, the limits of the territory of
Mississippi were extended so that it all was com-
prised therein. The next step taken by the gen-
eral government was the negotiation of treaties
with the Indian occupants of the lands of the
entire Territory, that they might be thrown open

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

to settlement. An inijiortant treaty was concluded
in the- hitter j)ortioii of 18(i'^. between coniniis-
sioners representing the United States and the
chiefs of sevei'al tribes inhabiting the territory,
by whicli the Choctaws renewed their grant of
land to the British in favor of tlie Tnitcd Slates
government.

In lSii5 Robert Williams, of North Carolina,
.siicceedei] Governor Claiborne as (iovernor of the
Territory, and the i)ej)ding negotiations with the
Indians were concluded, and new negotiations
opened, which resulted in acquiring large grants
of lands from the savages, all of whieii were thrown
open and settled: the tide of immigration began to
How in the State, and in a short time the jiop'ila-
tioii had increased materially. In 1808. (iovernor
Williams created by jiroclamation. from the Chick-
asaw cession, the county of JIadison, and opened
up that portion of the Territory to settlement by
white immigrants. In the succeeding year. 1809,
the county of Hakhviu was organized. Mobile was
still in the hands of the Spaniards, and there was
a continual warfare between them and the settlers.
In 1809 Governor Williams was succeeded by ])avid
Holmes, of Virginia, and at that time the three
countiesof tlie Territory of Mississippi lying within
the present State of AUbama were: Washington,
JIadison and Baldwin. According to the census
of 1810 the ))opu]ation of these counties consisted
of y'iA'l'i whites and 'lXi'l\ negroes, about half of
whom resided within the limits of Madison county.

The Spanish Government ceded Louisiana back
to France in 1801, retained Florida, and claimed
as a portion of it the strip of coast lying south of
the 31st degree of latitude, directly .south of and
adjoining the Territory of Mississippi. In 1803
Franc:e sold Louisiana to the United States, but
Spain still claimed and held possession of the strip
of coast.

Before the breaking out of the war of ISIS, the
Sjianish managed to incite the Indians living in
the Territory to misehief, and they made fref|uent
attacks on settlers and immigrants, and com-
mitted outrages and depredations which brought
on a state of hostilities, which ended only after a
long and bitter war.

On the o]ieningof the War of LST-,' Sj)ainwas an
ally of (ircat Britain, and the United States Gov-
ernment thouglit it best to dislodge the Spanish
soldiers garrisoning the foi'ts south of Mississippi
Territory, to prevent them falling into the liands
of tiie foes, and with this end in view. General

Wilkerson, with a large force, moved from New
Orleans and laid siege to Fort Charlotte, which,
after some days of resistance, capitulated, and thus
the United States became tiie j)ossessor of one of
the best harboi's on the(!ulf coast, and was in a
position to prevent an inroad by the enemy to the
interior by way of the .Mobile and tributary rivers.

Later in this year, 18i:S, occurred the celebrated
fight of Burnt Corn, between a force of less than
two hundred settlers and about twice their num-
ber of savages, in which, owing to discredit-
able action on the part of a lai'ge portion of
the whites, the Indians were victorious. The
repulse received at the hands of the Indians
in the Burnt Corn engagement had the effect of
disheartening the settlers, and at the same time
their success elated the savages; they were ripe for
other deeds of violence, and began an indiscrim-
inate attack on the settlements, murdering all who
fell into their hands without regard to age or sex,
burning down the homes of the whites and laying
their fields waste with fire. The destruction was
general — none were spared.

This state of affairs caused theerection through-
out the disturbed section of the State, numerous
block houses, or as they were called, stockades,
where the people retired for security when the
attacks of the savages became too frequent, and in
these stockades the people found comparative
security: but in one of them there occurred the
most terrible massacre which has marked the
annals of savage warfare in this country. Such a
fort was erected at the residence of David Mims,
in the northeastern portion of Baldwin countv,
and after the Burnt Corn fight, the whites for
.some distance around, fearing the sj>irit of reprisal
in the savages, gathered in this fort, prepared to
defend themselves against any number of Indians
that chanced to attack it. The people in the fort,
according to the most accurate of the State's his-
torians, numbered ^45 men capable of liearing
arms, who were under the command of Maj. Oaniel
Beasley, and 308 women, children aTid friendly
Indians.

For many days during the latter part of August,
1813, rumors reached tlie fort of the api>roach of
an army of Indians, but as often, investigation by
scouts sent out for the purpose, proved that the
rej)ort was without foundation. This occurred
several times, and as might naturally be supposed,
it was soon regarded as the fabled cry of the wolf,
and the occui)ant8 of the fort rested esisily, conscious

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

of the possession of an apparently secure place of
safety.

The Indians were enraged by the attack on
them at Burnt Corn. The warlike spirit in the
tribes living in the Coosa and Tallapoosa valleys
had been roused during the preceding winter by
the fiery sf)eeches of the great Shawnee chief, Te-
cumsefi, whom, it is said, the British sent from
his home on the banks of the Ohio, among the
Indians of the Mississij)pi Territory for the pur-
pose of rousing them to war. The council fires
burned- throughout the country along those rivers,
and the eloquent chief poured hot words of wrong,
of robbery, of dealh and of devastation into the
ears of the Indians assembled about him, and he
stirred up in their bosoms a fire which could only
be quenched by the blood of the whites; his words
awakened a hatred which clamored loudly for
revenge. The peaceably disposed chieftains of
the tribes endeavored to stay the tide which had
set in. They endeavored to arrest the current
which would madly tear onto rapine and murder,
and which they foresaw would result in the
destruction of the tribes by the whites, whose
superiority in warfare would render them in the
end invincible. In this they failed, and the hills
were enlivened by the war dance, while the defiant
war-whoop uttered by a thousand throats, sounded
over the hills, through the valleys and awoke
echoes from the mountain dells. The savage
boiled. The Burnt Corn attack was the
event which unchained the tiger of revenge.
After its occurrence, the restraining influence of
the peaceable chieftains, which had at least
caused delay, was brushed aside, and the men
who cried out vengeance! vengeance! gathered
thousands of the dusky warriors about them. A
party was organized under the leadership of
Weatherford, Peter McQueen and I'rophet Fran-
cis, for a descent upon the white settlements
along the bottoms of the lower Alabama and Tom-
bigbee. The army numbered a thousand strong
and its march to the scene of its greatest carnage
was as stealthy as the creeping of a cat to a posi-
tion of vantage from which to spring on its prey.
This band of warriors surrounded Fort Mims by
daylight, and at high noon they had crawled up
to its very gates. The inmates of the fort had
been deceived often about the enemy's approach,
and they had grown careless. When the savages
arrived, they were at their ease; the approaches
were unguarded; the stockade gates stood open;

there was not a sentinel in place. With one wild
cry of expectant victory, the maddened savages
poured in like demons hungering for carnage.
They swarmed in on the unpreimred and unsus-
pecting inmates of the fort, and there ensued the
most horrible massacre which has ever stained
with its blood a page of the country's history.
The tomahawk and the scalping knife were
greedy for gore, and though the inmates of the
fort, roused to a sense of their danger, fought
with desperation the battle of self-preservation,
the slaughter was complete, and the declining
sun sent his setting rays over the smouldering
ruins of Fort Mims, around which lay the dead
bodies of about 500 of its inmates, and the
dead bodies of over 2(>0 of its assailants. Of
the 55;i souls in the fort at the time of
the attack, all historians writing on the sub-
ject, agree that less than fifty escaped alive,
^[en, women, and children, all alike, fell vic-
tims to the revenge of the savages. The news
of this terrible slaughter spread like wild-fire,
and Gen. Andrew Jackson was sent from
Tennessee, within forty days after the Fort
Mims disaster, with .3,000 volunteers raised in
that State to wreak vengeance on the bloodthirsty
savages. In November a portion of this body
attacked the Indian town of Tallasseehatchee,
located within the limits of what is now Calhoun
county, and after a brief but bloody struggle,
all the warriors, 186 in number, were killed,
and General Jackson, in making his report
of the engagement to Governor Blount, tersely
wrote: "We retaliated for Fort Mims."
Later in the same month, he attacked the Indian
towri of Talladega, and there inflicted a
crushing defeat, the Indians leaving 299
warriors dead on the field. The remnant
retired across the mountains to the town of Ililla-
bee, and proceeded to open up negotiations with
Jackson for i)eace. A few days later. General
White, in command of another body of Tennes-
see volunteers, surprised the town and killed sixty
of the warriors.

Georgia sent out volunteers to the aid- of the
settlers of Mississipi^i Territory, and the battles
were frequent and fierce throughout the Territory,
and were fought with varying success. The Mus-
cogees were a brave tribe, and' though attacked
from every point of the compass, they fought
desperately aiul fought well, and it was not until
their overwhelming defeat by Jackson's re-inforced

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

army, at Horse Shoe Bend, were they a defeated,
broken and scattered race. This engagement was
j)ractically tlie deatli-blow to the tribe, as its loss
footed u]) probably more than 000 warriors slain.

General Jackson built Fort Jackson on the Ruins
of Bienville's old Fort Toulouse, in what is now
Elmore county, and here he concluded treaties of
peace with tiie various tribes, whereby they sur-
rendered more or loss of their lands, and after the
lapse of a few years they exchanged the pitiful
remnant left to them, for a home beyond the
" Father of Waters."

After spending some time at Fort Jackson
(ieneral Jackson moved his headquarters to Mobile,
and on the arrival of volunteers from Tennessee,
he captured Pensacola from the Spanish, after
wiiich he left the army in charge of Maj. Uriah
Blue, and proceeded to Xew Orleans to take
command there. Major Blue was kept busy
liunting up and crushing out jiredatory bands of
Indians, and after a short time the mighty Mus-
cogee was a race of the j)ast. Driven to the
woods and swamps, with nothing on which to
subsist, the weather compelled the scattered
members of the tribe to come with outstretched
hands begging food, peace and protection at the
iiands of those who had in battle proven the
conqueror.

The lands of the C'hickasaws and Choctaws
were obtained from those tribes by treaties, on the
[)aynient by the Government of a stipulated sum of
money. Thus was the red man pushed out of the
choicest portions of the territory. By force of
arms, and at the price of blood, and when these
failed, or the Government concluded that the war
would be too obstinate, American gold bribetl the
red man to surrender a domain rich enough in its
resources to purchase kingdoms for a hundred
kings. These treaties were concluded in 1814,
and the Indians having been crushed out, or
bought off, the country began to rapidly fill up
with immigrants, and as the richness of its soils
became known, the dissatisfied in the older States
packed up their farming implements and in
wagon trains traveled, orer the rough roads, seek-
ing a home on Alabama's virgin soil.

TIIE DIVISION OF TIIE

TpIlRITOUV AND THE ORGAXIZ.VTIOX OF THE TERRITORY OF
ALABAMA.

By an act of Congress, dated March 1, 1817,
the Territory of Mississippi was divided, and by

another act of Congress, adopted two days later,
the western portion of the divided Territory was
organized into a new Territory, to be called Ala-
bama; defining its boundaries and providing for
its government. The act fi.xed the seat of govern-
ment of the new Territory at St. Stephens, in
Washington county, and directed the president to
ai)point a governor for the new Territory, who
should have authority to call a session tliere of
such members of the Territorial council (the same
as the senate of to-day) and house of representa-
tives of the Territory of .Mississippi as resided
within the boundary of the new Territorv- Presi-
dent Monroe appointed as governor of Alabama
William Wyatt Bibb, of Georgia, who accepted
the position and entered on the discharge of his
duties shortly after his appointment. Governor
Bibb called the first session of the Territorial Leg-
islature together in January, 1SI8. The session
commenced on January 19, when it was discov-
ered that ten members of the house of representa-
tives resided within the boundaries of Alabama,
while Mr. Titus, of Madison, was the sole mem-
ber of the legislative council entitled to a seat, and
throughout the entire session he occupied a
chamber and adopted or defeated the legislation
arising in the other house as he saw fit; enacted
such legislation as he thought necessary, and with
due formality forwarded it to the lower house for
ratification or rejection.

The ten members of tiie house elected Mr. Ga-
briel Moore of Madison, chairmau, and the follow-
ing counties were represented: Baldwin, Clarke,
Madison, Jlobile, Monroe, Montgomery and Wash-
ington. There was some excitement about this
time occasioned by a petition of the constitutional
convention of Mississippi Territory, praving con-
gress to extend the limits of that Territory to the
Tombigbee river and Mobile bay, so as to include
the city and county of ilobile as a portion of that
territory. Counter petitions were sent up from
all parts of Alabama, and feeling ran high on the
question.

The second, and what proved to be the last, ses-
sion of the Territorial Legislature, assembled at St.
Stephens in November, 1S18. The most import-
ant act of this body was to change tlie location of
the seat of government from St. Stephens to Ca-
haba, on the Alabama river at the point where it
is entered by the Cahaba river. This body also pro-
vided for the erection of public buildings at Ca-
haba, and for the temporary location of the seat

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

of government at Huntsville nntil the completion
of the public buildings at Cahaba.

On March 2, 1819, just two years after the
organization of the Territory, Congress authorized
the inhabitants to form a state constitution and
provided that when that constitution was
framed the State should be admitted into
the union on the same footing as the original
States. The act authorizing this donated to
the prospective State the sixteenth section
of every township of the j^iiblic lands for the
maintenance of schools; all salt springs in
the State and the land adjoining necessary
to work them to the extent of thirty-five
acres; five per cent, of the net proceeds of the sale
of public lands within the State to be apjjlied to
works of internal improvements; three-fifths
under the direction of the State Legislature, and
the remaining two-fifths under the direction of
Congress; seventy-two sections of public lands for
the use of a seminary of learning, and 1,020 acres
to be reserved for a seat of government.

The act authorized an election to be held on
the first Monday and Tuesday of May, 1819,
for delegates to a convention, to assemble in
Huntsville on the first Monday in July following,
which was on the 5th day of that month.

The convention f)rovided for in this act met in
Huntsville on the 5th day of July, 1819, with
the following delegates re2oresenting the counties
named present:

Autauga — James Jackson.

Baldwin — Harry Toulmin.

Blount — Isaac Brown, John Brown and Gabriel
Hanby.

Cahaba (now Bibb) — Littlepage Sims.

Clarke — Reuben SafEold and James McGofHu.

Conecuh — Samuel Cook.

Cataco (now Morgan) — Melkijah Vaughn and
Thomas D. Crabb.

Dallas — William R. King.

Franklin — Richard Ellis and William Metcalf.

Lauderdale — Hugh ilcN'ay.

Lawrence — Arthur F. Hopkins and Daniel D.
Wright.

Limestone — Thomas Bibb, Beverly Hughes and
Nicholas Davis.

Madison — Clement C. Clay, John Leigh Towns,
Henry Chambers, Samuel Mead, Henry Minor, Ga-
briel Moore, Jno. W. Walker and John M. Taylor.

Marengo — Washington Thomjison.

Marion — John D. Terrell.

Mobile— S. H. Garrow.

Monroe — John MurjDhy, John Watkins, James
Pickens and Thomas Wiggins.

Montgomerj' — John D. Bibb and James W.
Armstrong.

St. Clair — David Connor.

Shelby — George Phillips and Thos. A. Rodgers.

Tuscaloosa — Marmaduke Williams and John L.
Tindall.

Washington — Israel Pickens and Henry Hitch-
cock.

The convention elected John W. Walker, of
•Madison, chairman, and John Campbell secre-
tary.

The constitution adopted by this body was mod-
eled after the spirit of the age. It guaranteed to
the citizen the fullest liberty; the declaration of
rights set out so mucli of the ilagna Charta as
was consistent in the constitution of a Republican
State government ; slavery, then existing, was
recognized; suffrage was accorded to all white
males of the age of twenty-one and upwards; the
governor, legislature and county officers were
made elective by the popular poll; judicial offi-
cers, it was provided, should be chosen by the
general assembly. The term of office of the gov-
ernor was limited to two years, and one successive
re-election to that office was allowed; terms of
judicial officers were fixed at six years, senators
three years and representatives one year. The
judges of circuit courts collectively were consti-
tuted a supreme court of appeals, with equity
jurisdiction, but the constitution provided for
separate sujireme and chancery courts. The work
of the convention was concluded on the 2d of
August, and a copy of the constitution was pre-
jjared to be forwarded to Congress for its ratifica-
tion by that body.

An election ordered by the new constitution for
governor and members of the legislature was held
shortly after the adjournment of the convention,
and resulted in the choice of William Wyatt Bibb,
first and only Territorial Governor of Alabama, as
Governor of the new State. Governor Bibb was op-
posed in the race for this position by Marmaduke
Williams, of Tuscaloosa, who was one of the
delegates to the constitutional convention from
that county. The election for members of the
legislature resulted in the choice of twenty-two
senators and forty-five representatives.

The first session of the State Legislature of
Alabama met in Huntsville, Oct. 25, 1819, and

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

remained in session until Dec. 10, of tliat year.
Oovernor Bibb was inaugurated as first (iovcrnor of
the State of Alabama, in lluntsville, on the IHli of
November, 1810.

THE CONSTITITION

of the State of Alabama was ajiproved by Con-
gress and a joint resolution admitting the State
into the Union was adopted, and receiving tiie
-approval of President 51 on roe on the 14th of
December, 1819, became law.

Immigration began to flow into the State, and
according to the census of 1820, its population, ex-
clusive of Indians, numbered 127,001, of which
■85,451 were whites and 42,450 were negroes. With
tlie growth of the population a disposition to im-
prove the country was fostered, and, as a result,
roads were cut, steamboat companies and over-
land transportation companies were organized, but
the facilities were so limited that the greater por-
tion of the supplies for the interior of the State
were brought from the coast by the rivers in flat-
boats, and a trip from Mobile to either Montgom-
ery or Demopolis was a matter of from two to four
months. This means of transportation was used
on the river for some years after 1820.

The first newspaper published in Alabama was
established in lluntsville bva Mr. Barhaiii in 1812.
Thomas Eaton, who became the first public printer
of Alabama Territory, established a paper at St.
Stephens in 1814.

Mobile's first newspaper was printed by a Mr.
Cotton in 1816, and Thomas Davenport printed a
paper in Tuscaloosa in 1818. In 1820, besides
the places mentioned, newspapers were jirinted in
other parts of the State as follows : One in
Florence, two in Cahaba, one in Montgomery and
one in Claiborne.

The constitution, to facilitate trade and imjirove
the financial condition of the people, provided for
the establishment of a State bank. For the
greater convenience of all, it provided that a
main or principal bank should be established at
the seat of government, and that branch banks
could be located throughout the State at points
where their location would prove the most advan-
tageous. Under this system the State guaranteed
the issue of the bank, retaining two-fifths of its
stock as security. The parent bank of this
system v.as established at Cahaba in 1820. The
.seat of government was removed in 1820 to
■Cahaba, and here the second session of the

general assembly was convened. Governor Bibb,
tiie first Governor of the State, died in July of
this year, and iiis brother, Thomas Bibb, of Lime-
stone, who was president of tiie senate, succeeded
to the position and filled out the unexpired term.
The act to establish the State university was
passed by the legislature on December 18, 1820.
This legislature also elected the three electors
to rejjresent Alabama in the electoral college, and
who were instructed to cast the vote of the State
for James Monroe, of Virginia, for President, and
Daniel D. 'J'ompkins, of New York, for Vice-
President. The electors selected were John Scott,
of Montgomery; Henry ilinor, of Madison, and
George Phillips, of Dallas.

In 1824, Alabama was visited by General La
Fayette, who was entertained as the State's guest
at the ca])ital, then Cahaba, by Governor Pickens,
(ieneral LaFayette remained several days at
Cahaba, after which he jjroceeded on his trip to
New Orleans by way of Claiborne and Mobile.

In 1856, by a vote of the General Assembly the
seat of government of the State was removed from
Cahaba to Tuscaloosa, where it remained about
twenty years. The government of the State for
the first ten years of its existence had been highly
satisfactory, and as a result, the population was
more than doubled. The people were prosperous,
and as a natural result they were hapj)y and con-
tented. The census of 1830 fixed the population
of the Stateat 300,527, divided asfollows: AVhites,
100,406; negro slaves, 117,540; and 1,562 free
negroes. Educational and religious development
kept pace with the increase in the number of peo-
ple, while on every hand there was to be seen an
increased spirit of internal improvement. The
vast bodies of fine»lands yet in the possession of
the Indians were acquired and opened to settle-
ment by purchase and by treaty; one by one the
tribal remnants of the once great nations which
owned this State were gathered together and sent
to a new home in the far West.

During the term of Governor Moore, which was
begun in 1820, the construction of a canal around
Mussel Shoals in the Tennessee river was com-
menced, and about the same time the building of
a railroad between Tusoumbia and Decatur was
begun, which was the first railroad constructed in
Alabama, and was completed in 1832. The road
ran between those points by Courtland, and was
forty-four miles in length.

The State University at Tuscaloosa was opened

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

April 18, 1831, about eleven years after the passage
of the act establishing it. A spirit of manu-
facturing began to develop itself in the State
about this time, and in 1832 the General Assem-
bly passed a bill incorporating Bell's Cotton Fac-
tory, which was located in Madison county and
was the first cotton factory erected in the State.

In 1835 a treaty was concluded with the Chero-
kees, the last remaining of the four great tribes of
Indians whom the whites found in possession of
the territory of this State. This tribe, for and in
consideration of $5,000,000 and 7,000,000 acres of
land in the West, ceded to the Government their
lands lying in Alabama and Georgia, and shortly
after were removed by the general Government to
their new homes in Indian Territory.

A financial panic was threatened in 1837, being
occasioned by an accumulation of bank issues — a
flooding of the country with money, which tended
to create a feeling of false prosperity, and induced
the people of all classes to plunge into debt.
Property of all kinds appreciated far beyond actual
value, and the anticipations of prosperity not
being realized, debts fell due, and there was every-
where an inability to meet them. Business became
stagnant ; runs were made on the banks, until in
the early summer of this year, all of them sus-
pended specie payment. Values depreciated and
in consequence many of the State's citizens were
reduced to poverty. The exigency demanded
action, and a special session of the Legislature was
called, which devised measures whereby the gen-
eral condition was ameliorated and the pending
disaster checked.

The Legislature of 1839 established separate
courts of equity and chancery; adopted a peniten-
tiary system and provided for the erection of the
necessary buildings at Wetumpka. The boundary
question, which had long been in dispute between
Georgia and this State, was settled in this year, by
a Joint commission of the two States. The
Alabama members of that commission were : W.
B. Benton, of Benton ; Alexander Bowie, of Tal-
ladega, and John M. Moore, of Barbour.

The year 1840 found the State of Alabama
wonderfully prosperous. It owed no debts and
had levied no taxes since the year 1836, the ex-
penses of the government being defrayed by the
State bank and its four branches, but that institu-
tion, which had received the most of the Legisla-
ture's attention, had from bad management,
incurred the ill-will of the peojile and the end of

its existence was fast approaching. The State in
1840 was composed of forty-nine counties with a
total population of 590,756, divided as follows :
white, 335,185; negro slaves, 253,532, and 2,039
free negroes.

The General Assembly, in 1842, passed an act
placing the branches of the State bank, located in
Mobile, Montgomery, Huntsville and Decatur, in
liquidation, and provided for winding up the
affairs of those banks. This act was followed the
succeeding year by one making the same disposi-
tion of the mother bank at Tuscaloosa, and the
method by which the State had supplied its citizens
with currency for over twenty years was discon-
tinued, and there was hardly a voice raised against
this action. Owning stock in the bank, the State
felt bound for the payment of obligations issued by
it, and in consequence the legislature passed a bill,
ordering an issue of State bonds to provide the
means of making this payment. The debts of the
bank, owing to mismanagement and the indiscrimi-
nate endorsement of the worthless paper of individ-
uals, largely exceeded its assets, and the State ap-
pointed a commission, consisting of F. S. Lyons,
of Marengo, C. C. Clay, Sr., of Madison, and Will-
iam Cooper, of Franklin, for the purpose of ad-
justing the affairs of the banks and making a
settlement with the creditors. The issue of bonds
for the purpose of settling the indebtedness of the
State bank was the foundation for the present
bonded debt of the State.

The question of removing the capital was one
which was continually coming up, and, to settle
it definitely, it was submitted to a pojiular vote
of the State in 1845. The leading points striving
for selection as the seat of government were Tus-
caloosa, Wetumpka and Montgomery, and the re-
sult of the election was the selection of Mont-
gomery as the future capital of the State. The
people of that city immediately built a capitol
building on an eminence reserved for that pur-
pose, at the head of what was then known as
Main or Market Street. The State archives and
public offices were transferred from Tuscaloosa to
the new capitol at Montgomery in 1846 and 1847.
In 1849 the people voted on and adopted an
amendment to the constitution, changing the
title of county judges to that of probate judges,
and transferring their election and the election
of circuit judge from the General Assembly to
the people. On the 14th of December, 1849,
while the Legislature was in session in the new

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Capitol at Montgomery, the building was dis-
covered to be on fire, and, notwithstanding
the efforts made to save it, the structure was
destroyed, but the progress of tlie fire was so
slow that all the important records and doc-
uments contained in the offices were saved. The
governor secured apartments in the Exchange
hotel, at Montgomery, and the session of the
Legislature was continued in that building. It
provided means for the erection of another State-
house, to replace that destroyed by fire, which
was ready for occupancy by the time of the reiis-
sembling of the next session.

The growth of Alabama continued steadily, and
everywhere it was noticeable that the State had made
great progress in all things pertaining to civiliza-
tion. In 1850, the population numbered 771,623,
divided as follows: whites, 420,514; negro slaves,
334,844, and 2,265 free negroes.

The year 1850 and the live years following are
memorable as times when the subject of internal
improvement was uppermost in the minds of the
people of the State, and among the great enter-
prises then under consideration was the con-
struction of the following lines of railway : Mo-
bile & Ohio, Memphis & Charleston, Selma &
Rome, Alabama & Mississippi Elvers railroad
(westward from Selma), Montgomery & Pensa-
cola. Mobile tS: Girard, Alabama & Chattanooga,
and the Columbus branch of the Western rail-
road.

The discussion of the great advantage these
roads would be to the State at large, in opening
all quarters of it up to immigration, led also to
discussing the question of the advisability of lend-
ing to the companies controlling these and other
roads the credit of the State to aid them in pro-
curing the means to carry out their enterprises.
This discussion caused several companies having
money invested in such schemes to go to the Legis-
lature and seek relief, or the aid which would come
should the State lend them its credit, by becoming
resjjonsible for tiie obligations in the financial cen-
ters, or by the endorsement of their bonds, or by
the issue of bonds in their favor. The Legislature
was composed of members who came from localities
w^hich would l>e largely benefited by the extension
and completion of these enterprises, and as the
local interests would be subserved, there was some-
thing like a demand sent up to the General Assem-
bly from such localities, that action affording the
relief, or aid prayed, be taken.

John A. Winston, of Sumter, then Governor of
the State, was a statesman who regarded such
action inconsistent with the true object of govern-
ment, vetoed all measures passed by the General
Assembly subsidizing such enterprises.

In his message of Jan. It, 1856, vetoing the act
making a loan to the Memphis & Charleston road,
he says:

"Experience teaches us that any departure
from the legitimate and simple purposes of gov-
ernment brings, as inevitably as a departure from
physical and moral law, a speedy punishment,
and admonishes those who have fixed ideas of
public policy of the danger of any abandonment
of principle, in legislation and matters of gov-
ernment. The experience of Alabama is fruitful
of the bitter consequences of making expediency
paramount to principle."

The insane asylum at Tuscaloosa was built in
1856, but was not opened until some years later.
The asylum for the deaf, dumb and blind, at Tal-
ladega, was completed and put in operation in
1860.

In 1860 the census showed Alabama with a pop-
ulation of 964,201, of which the whites numbered
526,271; negro slaves, 435,080, and free negroes
2,690. The State had grown in people, in wealth,
in enlightenment, and in all things which tended
to the happiness of its citizens, and every one saw
an outlook of great brightness and rich promise
just ahead.

Notwithstanding the bright outlook of the State
at this time, there must have been some who
regarded the situation with concern if not alarm.
Slavery was an institution in the State, as it was
an institution in adjoining States. Slaves were
property recognized by the constitution, and special
acts commanded for them humane treatment, care-
ful attention in time of sickness, proper apparel
and sufficient and wholesome food at all times.
The question of slavery was being discussed at the
North. Enthusiasts preached abolition, and the
doctrine began to gain converts until its adherents
numbered thousands. A new party grew up with
the theory of abolition of slavery as its founda-
tion. The question of slavery was the rock on
which the North and the .South in the old parties
threatened to split. The leaders on both sides of
the sectional line differed widely in their views,
and one would not recede from an opinion, for fear
it would be regarded as the surrender of a princi-
ple. Thus the South stood at the opening of the

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

year 1860 — on the eve of what proved to be the
most critical epoch of the country's history. The
growth and seeming strength of the new party —
the Republican, or rather '' black Republican "
party — filled some of the Southern leaders with
apprehension that that party would be success-
ful in the election for the presidency which
would occur in the winter of 1860.

With this fear in view, a resolution was passed
by both houses of the General Assembly, in Febru-
ary, I860, requiring the governor, in the event of
the election of the candidate of the Black Repub-
lican party, to the presidency of the United States,
to order elections to be held throughout the State
for delegates to a constitutional convention of the
State. The contingency feared occurred, and
after the count by the electoral college, Governor
Moore caused writs of election, for the purpose
specified, to be issued in the several counties of
the State. After the election and pending the
meeting of this convention, news was received of
the secession of South Carolina, and following the
reception of this news. Forts Morgan and Gaines,
the defenses of Mobile Bay, and Mount Vernon
arsenal on the Mobile river were seized by the State
troops, to prevent the general government from
strengthening and holding them in the event the
complications led to a war between the slave hold-
ing States and the Government of the United
States.

The State of Alabama also appointed commis-
sioners to visit the other slave-holding States to
confer with them "as to what was best to be done
to protect their interest and honor in the impend-
ing crisis."

The constitutional convention, provided for by
the joint resolutions of Feb. 24, 1860, met in the
city of Montgomery on the Tth day of January,
1861, and on the 11th of that month the body
adopted, by a vote of sixty-one to thirty-nine, an
instrument entitled, " An ordinance to dissolve
the union between the State of Alabama and other
States united under the compact styled 'The Con-
stitution of the United States of America.'"

The ordinance was signed by William M. Brooks,
president of the convention, and the following
members: A. J. Curtis, W. H. Davis, John W. L.
Daniel, E. S. Dargin, H. G. Humphries, 0. R.
Blue, Franklin K. Beck, Samuel J. Boiling, A.
P. Love, B. H. Baker, of Russell; Thomas Hill
Watts, A. A. Coleman, Thomas H. Herndon,
David P. Lewis, Lyman Gibbons, William H.

Barnes, George Rives, Sr., Archibald Rhea Bar-
clay, Daniel F. Ryan, Samuel Henderson, of
Macon; John R. Coffey, Albert Grumpier, George-
Taylor, James S. Williamson, John Tyler Morgan,.
Gappa T. Yelverton, Thomas T. Smith, Nicholas
Davis, W. E. Clarke, of Marengo; George For-
rester, John W. Inzer, M. G. Slaughter, Julius
C. B. Mitchell, David B. Creech, John Green, Sr.,
Richard J. Wood, William A. Hood, Arthur Camp-
bell Beard, R. Jemison, Jr., Jeiferson Buford,^
DeWitt Clinton Davis, William S. Earnest, James

F. Bailey, N. D. Johnson. H. E. Owens, Henry
M. Gay, Ralph 0. Howard, John P. Ralls, James
McKinnie, J. P. Timberlake, of Jackson; James

G. Hawkins, J. M. McClannahan, John B. Len-
nard, Jere Clemens, Eli W. Starke, 0. S. Jewett,
John M. Crook, G. C. Whatley, James G. Gil-
christ, William S. Phillips, James W. Crawford,.
James S. Clarke, S. E. Catterlin, J. D. Webb, W.
L. Yancey, George D. Shortridge, J. A. Hender-
son, John McPherson, James F. Dowdell, James-
L. Sheffield, George A. Ketcham, John Bragg,
Lewis M. Stone, John Cochran and Alpheus
Baker.

Twenty-four members of the convention did not
sign the ordinance, as follows: John S. Brashear
and W. H. Edwards, of Blount; Henry C. Sanford,.
W. L. Whitlock and John Potter, of Cherokee;
W. 0. Winston and J. H. Franklin, of DeKalb^

B. W. Wilson and E. P. Jones, of Fayette; John
A. Steele and R. S. Watkins, of Franklin; S. C,
Posey and H. C. Jones, of Lauderdale; J. P.
Cowan and T. J. McClellan, of Limestone; I-ang"

C. Allen and Winston Steadham, of ilarion; .Jona-
than Ford, of Morgan; A. Kimball, M. .J. Bulger
and T. J. Russell, of Tallapoosa; William R.
Smith, of Tuscaloosa; Robert Guttery, of Walker,
and C. C. Sheats, of Winston.

The ordinance directed that copies of it should
be prepared and forwarded to the various slave-
holding States, with the invitation that each of
them send delegates to a convention to meet in
Montgomery on the -ith of February, 1861, for the-
purpose of forming " a provisional and permanent
government, ujjon the principles of the Constitu-
tion of the L^nited States — and for the purpose of
consulting with each other as to the most effectual
mode of securing concerted and harmonious action
in whatever measures may be deemed most desir-
able for our common peace and security."

Delegates were chosen by this convention to-
represent Alabama in this provisional congress of

NORTHERN ALABAAfA.

the slave-holding States. After this the conven-
tion took !i recess to await the action of the con-
gress of the seceding States. The Alabama mem-
bers of the national congress withdrew from their
respective houses on the day following the
adoption of the ordinance of secession.

Delegates representing seven Southern States
assembled at the capitol in Jlontgoniery on the
4th day of February, 18(51, and proceeded to organ-
ize the government of the Confederate States of
America. This body adopted a constitution
embracing all the salient points contained in the
Federal constitution, which it submitted to the
various Southern States for adoption. It elected
Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, as president, and
Alexander II. Stephens of Georgia, as vice-presi-
dent of the Confederate States of America, and
located, temporarily, the scat of government of
the Confederate States at Montgomery.

The constitutional convention of the State of
Alabama, which had recessed after the adoption
of the ordinance of secession, met again after the
organization of the Confederate States, and
changed the sessions of the Legislature from
biennial to annual, ratified the constitution of the
Confederate States which had been submitted to
it, and after making some other changes in the
State constitution, adjourned suie die on March
21, 1861.

An extra session of the State Legislature was
called in March, 1861, on account of the changed
condition of affairs, and after its adjournment
another session was called in October of the same
year.

War was formally declared by President Lin-
coln in a proclamation issued April 15, 1861,
and at once Alabama regiments began to take up
their march to the front, until it was estimated
that by October of that year, this State had fur-
nished fully 27,000 soldiers, and by the same time
of the following year fully 60,000 citizens of Ala-
bama were bearing arms in the service of the Con-
federate government.

The State was by no means a unit on the ques-
tion of secession, as was evidenced by the vote of
the convention on the measure, and further, by
the failure or refusal of a jiortion of the delegates
to atlix their signatures to the ordinance, and the
fact is worthy of note that almost every one of those
who failed or refused to sigti that instrument
resided in counties lying in the northern portion
of the State, the most southerly county whose

delegates did not sign being Tallapoosa. The
result of this was that between the adoption of
the ordinance and the declaration of war by
President Lincoln, the matter of organizing the
northern portion of Alabama into a loyal State
was freely and openly discussed in that section
of the State.

The name of the proposed new State had been
decided on, and had not the proclamation of war
followed so speedily on the adjournment of the
constitutional convention, it is probable that the
State of "Nickajack" would have been brought
into existence.

Within a year after the declaration of war the
northern portion of Alabama was occupied by the
Federal troops, and the Tennessee valley was the
scene of war almost continuously from that time
until the cessation of hostilities. The battles were
fought with varying success, first one side being in
control of the ground and then the other. The con-
tests there were fierce, and the advances and retreats
left a blood-stained trail through the valleys and
over the hills of North Alabama. Some of the
Federal commands occupying this section of the
State were guilty of the greatest excesses and a
savage brutality in their treatment of the defense-
less people whom they found there. Robbery and
wanton destruction of property was a common
occurrence, and Federal occupation blighted many
a growing village in the Tennessee Valley.

In May, 1863, Forrest captured Col. A. D.
Streight, with 1,700 men, in the eastern part of
Cherokee county. The remainder of the State
was not the scene of actual hostilities until later
in the war, though occasional raids were made
from Georgia during the year 1863, and in July,
1864, General Rosseau, with a party of about 1,500
cavalry, entered the State from the mountains and
penetrated as far Loachapoka, en route to Colum-
bus, Ga. He destroyed a great deal of property on
this march.

In August, 1864, the federals, being in possession
of both Pcnsacolaand New Orleans, turned their
attention to the capture of Mobile, the approach
to which was strongly guarded by Forts Gaines
and Morgan at the entrance of Mobile Bay. To
accomplish this, on the 3d of August, 1864, 1,500
Federal infantry were landed on Dauphin Island
and moved on Fort (iaines, which was situated on
the eastern point of that island. Two day? later
eighteen war steamers, having 2,700 men on board
and carrying 202 guns, under the command of

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Admiral Farragut, made an attempt to ran the
gauntlet between the forts and enter Mobile Bay.
The guns from both forts opened on them and one
of the vessels, an iron-clad, the " Tecumseh," was
sunk by a torpedo, going down with her crew of
120 men. The remaining vessels succeeded in
passing into the bay, where they engaged the Con-
federate fleet stationed there, which consisted of
a ram and three gunboats, carrying twenty-two
guns and about 500 men.

The engagement which ensued is said to have
been one of the fiercest naval combats on
record, and it ended in the capture of the ram
and one of the gunboats and the retreat of another,
while the third took refuge under the walls of Fort
Morgan. The assault on Fort Gaines by land and
water was such that on the 8th of August it capitu-
lated. The combined forces at Farragut's control
were then disposed to capture Fort Morgan.
Thirty-five hundred men were landed on the main-
land in rear of the fort, and the siege was com-
menced. The terrific bombardment by the fleet
finally resulted in the surrender of the fort. The
operations about this section were kept up until
the Federals had forced the evacuation of Spanish
Fort and its protecting outposts, and had captured
the garrison at Blakey, after which the Confed-
erate forces withdrew from the city of Mobile,
which was occupied by the Federals on the 12tli of
April, 18C5.

During the operations about Mobile, Forrest was
active in North Alabama, and in September, 1864,
he captured nearly 2,000 Federal infantry near
Athens, in Limestone county. While the Federals
were assaulting the forces about Mobile, General
Wilson advanced from the northern part of Frank-
lin county with an army of 15,000 troops. His route
lay by Eussellville, Jasper and Elyton. After
passing the latter place he was met by Forrest, and
after some severe skirmishing with him, the great
number and superiority of Wilson's command
forced Forrest to fall back towards Selma. Here
Forrest, with a command of about 3,000 men, many
of whom were raw, made a stand, and for a time
resisted the desperate onslaught of the Federal cav-
alry, but without avail, and Wilson captured Selma
with 2,500 of its defenders.

At Elyton General Croxton was detached with
a force of men and moved in the direction of
Tuscaloosa, which place he captured after a severe
skirmish on the 3d of April. This command
burned down the State University building.

General Wilson, after the capture of Selma,
moved on towards Montgomery, which city he
entered without resistance on the 12th of April,
1865. The surrender of Gen. Richard Taylor,
the commander of the military department, of
which Alabama was a part, to General Canbv, on
the 4th of May, 1 865, was the occasion of a cessa-
tion of hostilities throughout the State.

The flag of an Alabama regiment floated on
every battle field from Pennsylvania to Missouri,
and the bravery of Alabamians won for the State
a renown which is a proud heritage to transmit to
coming generations. It is estimated that fully
122,000 of this State's sons took up arms in the
cause of the Confederacy, and of this number one-
fourth gave up life at the front; their blood flowed
on every battle field of the war, and their
bones lie bleaching on the hill-tops and in the
valleys of every State in which the contending
forces met.

The clouds of war lifted — the smoke of battle
disappeared, leaving blackened ruins in Alabama,
and vacant chairs at many firesides. The echoes
of the groans of the wounded and dying wrung
the hearts of many Alabamians for years. Cruel
war had filled the homes of the State with black-
robed mourners, who in sorrow awaited the sum-
mons which would call them to meet their loved
ones on the other shore. The slaves who had
toiled to produce that which supported their own-
ers and themselves were, by the result of the war,
free. The land owners still owned their lands,
but lacked the means of cultivating their prop-
erty. The soldiers who returned from the front,
arrived at their homes sore in body, in spirit, and
impoverished in purse. They had followed the
banner of their State through all the varying
fortunes of war, and when the final disaster over-
whelmed that banner and the cause for which
they struggled, they appreciated their condition,
and though the out-look was gloomy, they deter-
mined to bend their energies to the recuperation
of their resources and the itp-building of their
homes.

Buoyed up by this spirit, those who returned to
Alabama immediately after the cessation of hos-
tilities, found affairs in a most confused con-
dition.

Civil government was deposed. A military
master ruled in place of a ruler selected by
the people from among themselves. Military
courts dispensed a justice peculiarly their own,

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

after their own fashion, and these courts felt tlieni-
selves paramount to all law. The civil govern-
nient whicii the Federals found in charge of the
State when the capital was captured on the 12th
of April, 1S()5, Avas at once abolished, and from
that time until June 21 of the same year, there was
no civil authority in the State. On the latter date
President Johnston appointed Lewis E. Parsons
j)rovisional Governor of Alabama, and by procla-
mation authorized him to call a convention of
loyal citizens to make such alterations in the or-
ganic law of the State as would make it conform
with the United States, under the new order of
things brought about by the war. The test of loy-
alty which should determine a right to participate
in this convention would be subscribing to an oath
of allegiance to the United States Government.
In pursuance of this proclamation. Jlr. Parsons
took charge of the State's affairs, and by appoint-
ment tilled the various otlices throughout the State.
The convention provided for in the President's
proclamation met in Montgomery on the 12th of
September, 18(55. The body was a representative
gathering, and at the session, which lasted until
the 20th of September, ordinances formally abol-
ishing slavery, annulling the ordinance of seces-
sion, and annulling all ordinances of the conven-
tion of 1861 in conflict with the Constitution, were
adopted. This convention, before its adjourn-
ment, provided for the election of State and county
otticers throughout the State in November follow-
ing, and the outlook led all to believe that the
bright promises of peace would soon be attained.
At the election held in November, 18(55, Robert
M. Patton, of Lauderdale, was cho.sen governor
over William \\. Smith, of Tuscaloosa, and Michael
J. Bulger, of Tallapoosa. A Legislature was chosen
at this election as well as the representatives to
Congress. The latter were not permitted to take
their seats. The Legi-slature met at the ajipointed
time and Governor Patton was duly inaugurated
into ottice as Governor of the State. Congress had
passed what is known as the fourteenth amend-
ment to the Constitution, which conferred the
priveleges of citizenship on the freedmen of the
JSouthern States: repudiated their debts incurred
in support of the war ; disfranchised all .Southern
men wiio held State or Federal oftices and after-
wards espoused the cause of the Confederate
States, and abridged the representation of the
Southern States in Congress, in proportion, .as their
citizens were deprived of their voting privilege.

This amendment was submitted to the legislatures
of the various Southern States for ratification,
and on the 7th day of September, 180(5, the Legis-
lature refused to ratify the amendment. The
consequence of this refusal to ratify the proposed
fourteenth amendment, by the Alabama Legisla-
ture, Congress, on March 2, 18(57, passed a law
over President Johnston's veto, placing Alabama,
with other Southern States, under military rule,
the law providing that the military department, of
which this State was made a part, should be under
the command of a regular army ofticer, not of
lower rank than brigadier general, who was, by
the law, vested with all power. lie was to take
charge of the department, and if he saw fit, had
the authority to remove all civil officers, and
appoint in their places such oHicials as he chose.
Courts were abolished and their jilaces taken by
military tribunals, presided over by officers holding
appointment from the department commander,
and these courts had jurisdiction in all matters,
civil and criminal, and could inflict any punish-
ment they chose, e.xcept that of death. The law
provided that this regime should terminate when
the State held a constitutional convention which
should draft a constitution embodying the points
covered by the fourteenth amendment, and which
constitution should, after adoption, be submitted
to the people for ratification, which should be by
])opular rote and would require the votes of a
majority of the registered electors for ratification.
The convention was chosen and met in the fall of
1867. The body, after several days' session,
adopted a constitution, which was submitted to
the people for ratification in February, 1868, at
which election the party favoring the views of
Congress, voted for the adoption of the constitu-
tion, and for candidates for State and county
offices. This party was in the minority, and as
the party which opposed the views of Congress
refused to vote on the question, the constitution
failed to receive a majority of the registered voters,
and consequently failed of ratification.

The result of the election was reported to
Congress and although the constitution had not
been ratified, as provided in the law authorizing
the convention and its submission to the people.
Congress, by act, declared it the constitution of the
State of Alabama, and ordered that the candidates
voted for at the election held in February, be
installed in the offices for which they ran.

H. M. Patton, who was elected to the office of

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Governor in November 1865, was practically
deprived of office by the act of Congress of March,
1867, placing the State under military authority,
but he nominally filled the office until July, 1868,
when Wm. H. Smith, of Randolph, who was voted
for for that position in February, 1868, was inaugu-
rated, which was on the 13th of July of that year.
The Legislature, which was convened at once, was
composed of men, many of whom were not citizens
of the State, and many of its members were igno-
rant negroes who had no idea of statesmanship,
beyond the collection of their per diem. The body
contained very few representative citizens of Ala-
bama. Tricksters, lobbyists and monopolists and
jobbers swarmed down on the capitol building
during the session, and bribery and corruption were
the order of the day. Another session of this
assembly was held in October, 1868. An immense
indebtedness was saddled on the State by this body,
through its indiscriminate grants of subsidies to
railroads, and for many years the State's honor and
credit were sorely involved and its resources drained
to meet the obligations which had been fastened
on it by men who plundered and pillaged for the
sake of the individual profit in the exercise of the
duties of misrepresentation.

Notwithstanding the war and the terribly un-
settled state of affairs following its termination,
the census of 1870 showed that Alabama's popula-
tion was still increasing. That census fixed the
population of the State at 096,992, of which
531,384 were whites and 475,510 were negroes.
An election for State officers was held in Novem-
ber, 1870, which resulted in the election of Robert
B. Lindsay, of Colbert, as governor, over W. H.
Smith, who had served in that capacity since
July, 1868. Governor Smith refused to surrender
his office to his successor, and procured an injunc-
tion restraining the president of the senate from
counting the returns of the election for the office
of governor, alleging that the returns were illegal.
The members of the senate held over from the
previous election, and that body was presided over
by R. N. Barr, who, by virtue of his position,
proceeded to count in a joint session of both
houses, the election returns, except for the posi-
tions of governor and State treasurer. A majority
of the house of representatives were composed of
good men, men who were representative citizens of
the State, and this action of the president of the
senate was objected to by them, and on the con-
clusion of the first count these representatives.

with two members of the senate, procured the
election returns from the office of the secretary of
State, to which they had been returned by the
president of the senate. The members of the
house and those of the senate present installed
Hon. Edward H. Moren, of Bibb, lieutenant-
governor-elect, in his office, after which, he, in his-
official capacity, proceeded to count the returns,
and declared Robert B. Lindsay elected as
governor, and James F. Grant, of Calhoun,
State treasurer. Governor Lindsay was immedi-
ately inaugurated as chief executive of the State,
and at once assumed the functions of the posi-
tion. Governor Smith refused to vacate the capi-
tol and obtained from the Federal garrison at
Montgomery a detail of United States soldiers for
the double purpose of sustaining him in his
claims to the office of governor, and awing his
contestant into relinquishing his right to dis-
charge the duties devolving on him by virtue of
his election by the people. This period is what is
known as the " Bayonet Legislature," and con-
tinued some two or three weeks, the senate recog-
nizing ex- Governor Smith, while the house recog-
nized Governor Lindsay as the chief executive.
Legal steps to oust Governor Smith were taken,
and, in obedience to a writ issued by the circuit
court of Montgomery county, he vacated the
office on the 8th of November, 1870.

Governor Lindsay found the affairs of the State
in a deplorable condition on entering office, and
set about the work of straightening them up.
He was a man of excellent education, a polished
gentleman, a most desirable companion, and
highly entertaining, but he did not possess
the ability to grapple practically, and successfully
handle the grave questions which were involved in
the administration of the State's government at
the time that duty was in his hands. His friends
clung to him, and rendered him all the aid possi-
ble, but his critics were observant, powerful and
merciless, and the good qualities he possessed were
not sufficiently strong to condone the faults of, or
the failures which marked his administration, and
at its close his party nominated Thomas H. Hern-
don to succeed him. Mr. Herndon was opposed
by David P. Lewis, of Madison, the nominee of
the Republican party, who, with the entire State
ticket of that party, was elected in 1872. The
administration of Governor Lewis is classed with
that of the other Republican administrations
which followed the close of the war as a recon-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

51'

struction administration. The majoritj' of the
ofiicers of the State were men who had drifted
to tlie South at the war's dose for the purjiose of
picking a competency out of the troubles of the
people, and were known as carpet-baggers, while
their State-born-and-reared associates, who aided
and abetted them in obtaining and keeping con-
trol of the government against the evident inter-
ests of the State, were termed by the opposi-
tion, scallawags. This administration of Governor
Lewis was marked by an indisposition to do any-
thing to rescue the State from the fate to which
it was fast hurrying. Its debt was large and being
increased. Its credit was at the lowest ebb. Its
obligjations were hawked about and offered for a
song. Its revenues, if at all, barely paid the ex-
penses of extravagant and reckless government,
and the interest on the State debt was met by bor-
rowing the amount which the treasury would be
short. Taxes were becoming onerous, and the
people looked to the future with dread. Other
Southern States similarly situated were discussing
the disgraceful resort of repudiation to relieve
them of indebtedness for which they received no
benefit. This matter was discussed to some extent
in this State, but the popular voice was against it,
and the leaders set themselves the task of redeem-
ing the State from the thralldom which had in-
volved it so deeply, and a continuance of which
threatened it with absolute bankru]itcy.

In 18T4 a vigorous campaign was opened in all
quarters of the State. The watchword of the
Democratic party was retrenchment and reform,
and the convention of that jiarty which assembled
in the summer of that year, selecte<l as its standard
bearer Hon. Geo. S. Houston, of Limestone. The
contest was spirited and brilliant, resulting in the
election of Mr. Houston, in Xovember, 1874. His
inauguration into office, which followed within a
short time, was the occasion of rejoicing through-
out the State, and was celebrated at Mont-
gomery as an event which would mark the era
of new and better times. The citizens erected
in .Montgomery a sjdendid fountain as a monu-
ment to this occasion, which has been styled
the redemption of the State. The leading pub-
lic men of Democratic convictions throughout
the State contributed to the success of this cam-
paign, the practical details of which were in the
master hand of Hon. Walter L. Bra£rg, of Mont-
gomery, now a member of the L'nited States Inter-
State Commerce Commission.

When Governor Houston took chargeof the affairs-
of the State he began at once to inaugurate a system
of economy in expenditures at the capitol, a thing
unknown for years in that building. His views
on this subject were strictly carried out, and by
some it was said his economy was carried to a.
degree of stinginess not befitting the dignity of
the State. The previous administrations had dis-
pensed money with a lavish hand, and now the-
flow from the treasury received a check. The-
leaks were all stopped up, and not a dollar passed
from the treasurer's hands unless there was ample-
warrant of law for its payment. The constitution
of the State at the time of Governor Ilouston's-
election was the instrument which had been jire-
pared by the convention of 18G7, and which failed
of ratification in February, 18G8, because it did
not receive the affirmative votes of a majority of"
the registered electors, but which was forced on
the people by an act of the Federal Congress. Itt
was a constitution which did not please the peo-
ple of Alabama, as they felt that they had no-
hand in its nuiking, and they certainly liad none
in its being put into effect. The subject of hold-
ing a constitutional convention was discussed
widely during 1874, and a majority of the Demo-
cratic party favored it, but some of the leading:
men of the party, among whom was Governor
Houston, opposed the movement; but those favor-
ing the convention were in the majority, and
the Legislature, which met in 1874, passed a law
authorizing the question of convention or no con-
vention to be submitted to a vote of the people
of the State in the summer of 1875, and at the-
same time vote for delegates to represent them
should the convention receive a majority of the
votes cast. The election was ordered, and the-
convention assembled in the summer of 1875. It
was for the most part an excellent body of men.
Some of the best and truest men of the State
held seats in the body which assembled in the
capitol at Montgomery, and proceeded to organize
by electing Hon. Leroy Pope Walker, of .Madison,
chairman. On taking his seat, Mr. Walker deliv-
ered an address to the convention marked for its
eloquence and its ability. It was quoted from by
the press all over the country, and the views ex-
pressed were pronounced to stamp him with the
quality of statesmanship. Mr. B. H. Screws, of
Montgomery, was elected as secretary of the con-
vention.

The labors of the convention extended over

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

several weeks, and resulted in the adoption of a
constitution, which was afterwards submitted to
the people, by whom it was ratified, and which is
still in force. The constitution was framed with
a view to the reduction of the State's expendi-
tures. Useless offices were abolished and salaries
were reduced. The terms of State officers were
made of an equal length, it changed sessions of
the Legislature from annual to biennial, and lim-
iting them to fifty days, and other changes of
more or less importance were made.

The most important of all changes was the
introduction of a clause prohibiting legislatures
to lend the aid of the State, or to authorize any
county, city, town or village in the State to lend
its aid, to any railroad, canal or other enterprise
or corporation of like nature. The members of
the convention had seen the evil effects of the
State granting its aid to railroads, and the body
which met to take the initiatory steps in bringing
the State out of the turmoil, thought it well to
throw that safeguard around the State treasury to
prevent the recurrence of a similar state of affairs.
To look back over the past, the great value of
this clause is readily seen. Had it not been passed,
every county, city, town and village in the State,
and most likely the State itself, would be hope-
lessly involved to-day.

The discussion of the debt question began to
take shape during (xoveruor Houston's administra-
tion, and a bill was adopted by the Legislature,
providing for the ajipointment of a commission for
the purpose of making a settlement with the bond-
holders. This most important act, providing for
the appointment of this commission, to whom
would be entrusted a matter in which the State at
large was so vitally interested, was prepared by
Hon. Peter Hamilton, then representing the
county of Mobile in the State Senate. Mr. Ham-
ilton gave the subject most careful consideration,
and the bill passed by the Legislature bears on it
tlie handiwork of his superior intellect. The com-
mission created by this act consisted of Governor
Houston, Gen. Levi W. Lawler, of Mobile, and
Hon. T. B. Bethea, of Montgomery. These gen-
tlemen at once opened negotiations with the hold-
-ers of Alabama bonds and securities, and after
making to them a detailed statement of the con-
dition of the State, and of what it was hoped
would be the result of the settlement could they
agree on terms, the holders of the bonds consented
to the commissioners' proposition, and old bonds

to the value of something over $30,000,000 were
surrendered, and the holders received in lieu new
bonds to the value of 810,000,000, drawing a low
rate of interest at first, but gradually increasing as
the bonds neared maturity. The settlement was
entirely satisfactory to all parties concerned, and
the State regularly met the interest when it fell
due, and in consequence the credit of the State
began to revive, and it was not a great while before
its bonds were quoted in financial centers at par
and above. During administrations preceding
that of Governor Houston, State obligations had
been issued in the form of money, which, from a
design on the backs of the bills, was popularly
known as " Horseshoe money." This money drew
8 per cent interest, and was receivable as taxes due
the State. It was affected by the decline of State
obligations, and was sold often as low as GO cents
on the dollar. After the settlement of the bonded
indebtedness, and the consequent revival of the
State's credit, this issue of money felt the effect,
and before it was finally called in by the State, it
readily brought its par value and was receivable
currently in the ordinary channels of trade at that
value.

The commission failed to come to a satisfactory
settlement with the holders of some State bonds
issued in favor of the Selma & New Orleans, the
Selma, Marion & Memphis, and the Selma &
Greensboro Railroads. It is stated that the amount
of the bonds issued in aid of these roads, and out-
standing, is between one and two millions of dol-
lars. The bondholders, some time since, made an
effort by mandamus jiroceedings in the United
States District Court, to collect interest on these
bonds, but found that their only avenue of relief
was through the Legislature, and in consequence
the proceedings were discontinued. The settle-
ments of these claims will be the work of future
Legislatures.

Gen. John T. Morgan, of Dallas, was elected by
the Legislature of 1875 as United States senator,
to succeed Senator Goldthwaite. Governor Hous-
ton occupied the position of governor two succes-
sive terms, going out of office in November, 1878.
He was succeeded by Hon. R. W. Cobb, of Shelby,
who served as Governor until November, 1883.

Gov. Houston was elected by the Legislature
as United States Senator, to succeed George
Spencer in 1878, but died within a year after
his election, and was buried in Athens, which
place was his home. Governor Cobb appointed

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Hon. Luke Pryor, of Limestone, as United States
senator, to serve until the assembling of the Legis-
lature, wiien the vacancy would be filled by an elec-
tion. The Legislature of isso elected lion. James
L. Pugli, of Barbour, to fill the unexpired term.

The ten years ending with 1ST9 had witnessed
a wonderful growth in Alabanui. The State was
on the eve of a career of development which was
but little suspected even by its most enthusiastic
citizens. The vast deposits of iron, coal, marble
and other articles of nature, highly valuable, had
begun to attract the attention of the world. The
citizens of the State had by energy and saving ac-
cumulated means which they were beginning to
use in the development of mines and in the estab-
lishment of manufacturing enterprises. The
growth of manufactures alone in the ten years
preceding this date was wonderful, but subsequent
events have shown that it was only the awakening.
New cities began to spring up in localities spe-
cially favored, and many of these held out great
promise for the future.

The census of 1880 fixetl the po2nilation of the
State at 1,262,505.

Governor Cobb was succeeded in November,
1882, by Gen. E. A. O'Neal, of Lauderdale, a
Tuan of excellent qualities, a sound head and
a kind heart — a man who had won distinc-
tion as an orator and the renown and glory which
is accorded to the heroism of a brave soldier.
Governor O'Neal brought to the executive chamber
a ripe knowledge of men and affairs, gained by the
experience of daily association under all condi-
tions and circumstances, and a sound judgment,
supported by a clear judicial mind. As governor,
he was quick to act in the discharge of the duties
of the position, and stood firmly and untlinchingly
by the acts performed in the discharges of his
official duties. Ilis two administrations, which
closed Dec. 1, 188G, have been more or less the
subject of criticism, but as the brunt of the pres-
ent wears off, and the official acts are viewed as
matters of jiast history, the administration of
Governor O'Neal will compare favorably with that
of any official who has filled the position. During
his time in office Governor O'Neal was called upon
to fill several very important offices made vacant
by death or resienation, and in this matter his
selections have challenged the admiration of all
thinking men in the State, on account of the
superior fitness of the appointees for the positions
to which they were appointed.

The most important matter of public interest
which occurred during the administration of Gov-
ernor O'Neal, was the defalcation and flight of
Isaac II. Vincent, State treasurer. Mr. Vincent
was elected State treasurer in 1878, and served
two terms, but was a candidate and received the
nomination for a third term at the hands of the
Democratic convention, which assembled in 1882,
and was, for a third time, elected to the office in
August of that year. When the new officials
elected at the same time were installed in their
offices, Mr. Vincent held over. The Legislature
which met that year appointed its usual com-
mittee to examine the books and accounts in the
offices of the auditor and State treasurer, and to
count the money in the vault of the State treas-
ury. This committee proceeded with its work in
the auditor's office, completing it in the latter
part of January, and were preparing to jierform
their duty in the office of the State treasurer.

On Monday, the 28th of January, Mr. Vincent
left the city, informing his family that he was
going to New York on a hurried visit and that he
would return on the following Friday. He sent
by a member of his family, a note to his cliief
clerk, ilr. Crawford, and a package of money con-
taining about §15,000, which belonged to the
State and had been collected by him from a bank

j in Montgomery that afternoon. Nothing was
heard directly or positively from Mr. Vincent from
that day until the 15th of March, 1887, when he
returned a prisoner as unexpectedly as he left.

I The committee appointed to examine the books
in his office and count the cash in the treasury,
found a shortage amounting to something over
?!230,000. A description of Vincent was tele-
graphed to the police of the j)rincipal cities of the
country, aiul a reward of $5,0(i0 was offered for
his capture, but in spite of the efforts of police and
detectives, he evaded arrest for about four years.

After the fact of the defalcation had been ascer-
tained, steps were being taken to proceed against

' Jlr. Vincent's bondsmen. He had made no bond
for the third term, having offered one which was
not accepted, and when the auditor looked for the
bond given for his second term, he found that it
was missing from its place in the safe where it

■ was kept. This being the case, that official aiiplied

' to the office of the Secretary of State for the bond
book in which that bond was recorded, and on a

I search, this too, was found to be missing. The

I names of the signers of N'incent's bond could not

:54

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

all be recalled, so the State proceeded to negotiate
with Messrs. M. E. Pratt, of Autauga, Daniel

■Crawford, of Coosa, and J. J. Robinson, of Cham-
bers, who were known to have signed the instru-
ment, and effected a settlement with the parties,
whereby a sum of something like S50,000 was

■recovered.

After Vincent's flight the grand jury of Mont-
gomery county found thirty-nine indictments
against him, charging him with embezzlement.

■On liis arrival in Montgomery in March, 1887,
he was lodged in the county jail to await trial.
The trial of one of the cases against him was com-
menced on the 8th of August, 1887, and con-
tinued for almost one week, and ended in the
jury finding him guilty with a recommenda-
tion to mercy. Another case was taken up and

-concluded in a few days with a like verdict. The
prisoner was defended by Gov. T. H. Watts and
Capt. J. M. Falkner. The prosecution was in the
hands of Solicitor Lomax, prosecuting officer of
Montgomery county, Attorney-General McCIellan
and Hon. H. C. Tompkins.

The court sentenced Vincent to ten years' im-
prisonment in the two cases. Tlie remaining
thirty-seven cases against Vincent will be disposed

■of at a future term of the city court of Montgom-
ery county. The §5,000 reward offered for his
arrest was paid to a Mr. Kay, of Texas, who cap-
tured him near Big Sandy Springs, in that State,
and delivered him to the sheriff of Montgomery

■county.

Governor O'Neal was succeeded by Hon. Thos.

■ Seay, of Hale, the present Governor of tlie State,
who was inagurated on the 1st of December, 1886.
The years which have elapsed since 1880 have
been fruitful of great results for Alabama. They
have been marked by a steady growth in the older
cities and towns, and a growth in newer cities,
advantageously situated, so marvelous and rapid
that it almost challenges belief.

In the matter of transportation facilities Ala-
bama is well supplied. Important trunk lines
traverse the State in all directions, afforded ample
transportation for almost every quarter. The fol-
lowing railroads are being operated in Alabama:

Alabama Great Southern; Anniston & Atlantic;
Birmingham, New Orleans & Selnia; Cincinnati,
Selma & Mobile; Columbus & Western; East Alaba-
ma; East and West Alabama Narrow Gauge; Eufau-
la& Clayton; Georgia Pacific; Mem2)his& Charles-
ton; East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia; Mobile &

Birmingham: Mobile & Gerard; Montgomery &
Eufaula; Jlontgoniery & Florida Narrow Gauge;
Nashville, Chattanooga & St Louis; South Western;
Talladega & C. V.: Tuskegee Narrow Guage;
Western, West Point Division; Western, Selma
Division; Birmingham Mineral; Mobile & Mont-
gomery; Nashville & Decatur; New Orleans, Mobile
& Texas: Pensacola; Pensacola & Selma; South &
North: Sheffield & Burmingham. Some of these
roads are not completed, but portions of such as are
not are being operated. Besides these lines several
other companies have been organized, and many of
them have been surveyed, and active preparations
are made to begin construction. The railroad
mileage of the State is at present about ;i, 300. This
figure will be materially increased within the next
five years and at least a thousand miles will be
added within the next ten years.

Besides this means of transportation by rail,
Alabama possesses a river system equaled by few
States, and surpassed by none, having navigable
rivers in almost every quarter of its area, and in
addition to this its sixty miles of coast is indented
by bays which afford excellent harbors, and which
will aid materially the State's shipping interests.

Mobile, the principal bay, is a valuable body of
water which affords communication to the Gulf
of Mexico. It is now being improved under ap-
propriatiosn from the General Government, and
the opening of the channel in the bay to a mean
depth of twenty-three to twenty-five feet will do
more for the development of the southern jjortion
of the State than any other improvement.

Probably the most important river to the State
is the Alabama. It is about 480 miles in length
and is navigable to Montgomery the year round,
and in high-water seasons as far up as Wetumpke
on the Coosa. It is given the first place in
point of importance, because of the fact that
through its channel the waters of the Coosa seek
the gulf and when that river is freed from its
obstructions there will be opened up a great
water way, extending from Mobile into North-
western Georgia, a distance by river of over 800
miles and over which the products of one of the
richest sections of the country will be transported
to the sea.

The valley through which the Coosa river flows
is one of unexampled productiveness, yielding
cotton, corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, potatoes,
fruits — in fact, any article of agriculture produced
elsewhere in the countrv. In addition to the fer-

NORTH ERX ALABAMA.

tility of the lands lying along its sides, the Coosa
flows through a country rich in the possession of
viiluuble minerals. Coal, iron and marble abouiul
in the hills which slope down gradually till they
reach the waters of the Coosa. The river is now
navigable from lionie, (ia., to Greenport, Ala.,
l)ut between the latter place and Wetumpke there
is a distance of ];5T miles, locked in by rapids,
rocky obstructions and falls. These obstructions
will j)robably be removed by the next Congress,

Another important river to Alabama is the Tom-
bigbee, which is formed near Demopolis by the
junction of the Little or Upper Tombigbee, which
enters the State through from Mississippi through
Pickens county, and the Warrior river. It is an
important river, for the reason that over it a large
portion of the output of the Warrior coal field may
reach the Clulf coast. It is navigable from Mo-
bile to Fulton, ^[iss., a distance of about (100 miles
via the Little and Mobile Rivers, and via the
Mobile and Warrior to Tuscaloosa. Like the
opening of the Coosa, the improvement of the
Warrior is demanding attention, and no stone will
be left unturned to secure the necessary aid from
Congress to put these rivers in navigable con-
dition.

The Cahaba is one of the rivers of the mineral
section of Alabama, and were it opened to navi-
gation would become an important factor in the
water system of the State. It rises in the north-
ern portion of Shelby county, flows a southeast-
erly and southerly course through the counties of
Shelby, Bibb, Perry and Dallas, and empties into
the Alabama river at the town of Cahaba. Dur-
ing the seasons of high water, steamboats have
ascended this river to Centerville, in J5ibb county,
within a short distance of the famous Cahaba coal
field. In its present condition the Cahaba, as a
factor in the development of Alabama, is practi-
cally valueless. The river can and should be
made navigable.

The Tennessee river is one of paramount im-
portance to the people of Northern Alabama. It
flows almost through the entire northern ])ortion
of the State, furnishing several counties with un-
limited water transportation to the West and to
Chattanooga.

The opening of -Mussel Shoals, now nearing com-
pletion, by the United States (iovcrnment, will
give uninterrupted navigation from Chattanooga,
Tenn., to Pa<lucah, Ky,, ami will afford furnace
men and miners of Northern Alabama a desirable

outlet to all parts of the world for their immense
quantities of coal, iron, lumber and manufactured
articles, and will enable them to pliicc their pro-
ducts in Northern and Eastern markets in suc-
cessful competition with those immense manufact-
urers who have hitherto held a monopoly of these
things.

Mobile river, which is formed by the junction
of the Alabama and Tombigbee, forms an imj)ort-
ant part in the river system of the State, and as
it is a key to the bay, is an avenue over which all
the products of the interior must reach the gulf.
The Mobile river, being both wide and deep,
requires but little attention and expense to keep
it in perfect order at all seasons of the year.

The Chattahoochee river, which flows along the
eastern border of the State, affords tlie people of
Russell, Barbour and Henry counties ample com-
munication with the gulf. The principal rivers
of Southeast Alabama are the Choctawatchie, Pea,
Conecuh, Yellow and Escanaba. Of these streams
the Choctawatchie is probably the most import-
ant, as it furnishes the only means of transjiorta-
tion to a large portion of Geneva, Dale and ("offee
counties. This river, under favorable conditions,
is navigable as far u]) as Newton, in Dale county.
The other rivers in this section are more import-
ant to Florida than to Alabama. The Perdido
river forms the eastern boundary of Baldwin
county, dividing that county from Escambia
county, Florida. Other rivers, of no general im-
portance, are to be found in Baldwin and in
Mobile counties.

In addition to Alabama's mineral resources, the
State possesses a wealth of timber lands, embrac-
ing the counties of Washington, ^fobile, I^aldwin,
Clark, Monroe, Escambia, Conecuh, Butler, Cov-
ington, Crenshaw, Pike, Coffee, Geneva, Dale
and Henry. The forest in this section of the
country is now attracting as much attention as
the mineral wealth of the northern portion of the
State. The principal product of this .section is
the famous long-loaf pine, which here grows to a
perfection known nowhere else on the continent.
Oak, hickory, gum, jioplar, cypress, juniper, dog-
wood, and other varieties useful in building trades
and in the manufacture of furniture, also abound
in these forests.

The soil in this section is peculiarly adapted to
raising vegetables, which may be here produced
from one to two months earlier than in the lati-
tude of Oliii). This section is also well adapted to

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

stock raising, and sheep growing may here be made
especially profitable.

The climate of the timber belt is probably the
pleasantest of the State, while the health of this
quarter is remarkable. The jjeople here are hardy,
thrifty and honest.

An important industry along the coast is the
fisheries, and in this several hundred boats of all
kinds are engaged. The product is marketed in
Mobile, and fish and oysters from that point are
found several miles inland. The oysters obtained
in Mobile bay are noted for size and flavor, and
as high rank as any oysters taken on the gulf coast.

A great industry of Southern Alabama is the
manufacture of turpentine and rosin, and it is
rapidly growing from year to year.

The following is a list of governors who have
filled the executive oflBce from the formation of
the Territory of Alabama to the present time:

William Bibb, first governor of the Territory of
Alabama, a resident of Georgia when appointed —
1817 to 1819.

William Wyatt Bibb, of Autauga — November,
1819, to July, 1820.

Thomas Bibb, of Limestone, was president of
the senate and succeeded to the governorship on
the death of Gov. W.AV. Bibb, July, 1820, to No-
vember, 1821.

Israel Pickens, of Greene — November, 1821, to
November, 1825.

John Murphy, of Monroe— November, 182.5, to
November, 1829.

Gabriel Moore, of Madison — November, 1829,
to March, 1831, when he was elected to the United
States Senate. The President of the Senate, Sam-
uel B. Moore, of Jackson, succeeded, and served
out the unexpired term to November, 1831.

John Gayle, of Greene — November, 1831, to
November, 1835.

Clement C. Clay — November, 1835, to July,
1837, when he was elected to the United States
Senate. Hugh McVay, of Lauderdale, President
of the Senate, served out the unexpired term to
November, 1837.

Arthur P. Bagby, of Monroe — November, 1837,
to November, 1841.

Benjamin Fitzpatrick, of Autauga — November,
1841, to November, 1845.

Joshua L. Martin, of Tuscaloosa — November,
1845, to November, 1847.

Reuben Chapman, of Madison — November,
1847, to November, 1849.

Henry W. Collier, of Tuscaloosa — November,
1849, to November, 1853.

John A. Winston, of Sumter — November, 1853,
to November, 1857.

Andrew B. Moore, of Perry — November, 1857,
to November, 1861.

John Gill Shorter, of Barbour, November, ISOl,
to November, 18G3.

Thomas H. Watts, Sr., of Montgomery — No-
vember, 18C3, to April, 1865, when the Federal
troops occupied the capital of the State, and
two months followed in which there was no
governor.

Lewis E. Parsous, of Talladega — Appointed
firovisional governor, by president Johnson, June,
1865, to December, 1865.

Robert M. Patton, of Lauderdale — December,
1865, to July, 1868.

William H. Smith, of Randolph — Appointeil
governor by an act of Congress, July, 1SG8, to
November, 1870.

Robert B. Lindsay, of Colbert— November, 1870,
to November, 1872.

David P. Lewis, of Madison — November, 1872,
to November, 1874.

George S. Houston, of Limestone — November,
1874, to November, 1878.

Reuben W. Cobb, of Shelby— November, 1878,
to November, 1882.

Edward A. O'Neal, of Lauderdale — November,
1882, to November, 1886.

Hon. Thomas Seay, of Hale — Inaugurated De-
cember 1, 1886.

Since the admission of Alabama into the Union
twenty-seven men have filled the position of gov-
ernor, ^ladisou county leads in the number of
governors, four of the residents of that county
having filled the executive chair. Lauderdale fol-
lows, having furnished the chief executive three
times. Two governors have been furnished by
each of the following counties: Autauga, Lime-
stone, Greene, Monroe and Tuscaloosa. One
governor has been furnished from each of the fol-
lowing counties: Jackson, Sumter, Perry, Barbour,
Montgomery, Talladega, Randolph, Colbert, Shelby
and Hale.

The four northern counties of State — Lauder-
dale, Limestone, JIadison and Jackson — have fur-
nished ten governors, more than one-third of the
total number who have filled the chair. Of this
number three succeeded to fill vacancies, and ex-
cept in one instance — Thos. Bibb, of Limestone,

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

succeeded Gov. W. W. Bibb, of Autauga — the
governor who was succeeded was a citizen of one
of tlie four counties named.

Of the governors of Alabama, one, tiie first, W.
W. ]{ibb, of Autauga, died in office. Two, Ga-
briel iloore, of .^ladison, and Clement G. Claj-, of
the same county, left the ofliice before the
expiration of their terms to take seats to which
they had been elected in the Senate of tlie United
States.

The only other governor elected who failed to
serve a full term was Thomas II. Watts, of Mont-
gomery, whose term began in November, lS(J3,and
was concluded in April, 18G5, on the occupation of
tile cajjital by the Federal troops. Thomas IMbb,
of Limestone, who succeeded W. W. Bibb, of
Autauga, and Hugh ilcVay, of Lauderdale, w'ho
succeeded C. C. Clay, of iladison, each filled the
position from July to the November following.
The next governor, in shortness of the duration of
his term, was Lewis E. Parsons, of Talladega, ap-
pointed provisional governor by President John-
son. He held the i^osition from June to the De-
■oember following. R. ^I. Patton, of fiauderdale,
served the longest single term, being nominally

governor from December, 18G5, to July, 18G8, two
years and seven months.

E.x-Governor Israel Pickens, of Greene, was
appointed in February, 182G, by Governor JIurphy,
United States senator to fill the vacancy caused
by the death of Henry Chambers, of Madison,
until the Legislature met to elect a successor.
He served until November, 182G, when the Legis-
islature elected John McKinley, of Lauderdale.

The following occupants of the executive office
were elected to the United States Senate after
the exj)iration of their terms as governors. Arthur
P. Bagby, of Monroe; Benjamin Fitzpatrick, of
Autauga: J. A. Winston, of Sumter (elected in
1867, but was not admitted to his seat), and Geo.
8. Houston, of Limestone. No governor who suc-
ceeded to fill a vacancy was afterwards elected to
the position. Two governors were named Bibb
and three bore the name of Moore.

Two governors, W. W. Bibb, of Autauga, and J.
A. Winston, of Sumter, have been remembered by
the bestowal of their names on counties. Pickens
county was named for Gen. Andrew Pickens, of
South Carolina, and before Gov. Israel Pickens
became governor.

PART III.
Historical Resume of the Various Counties in the State.

CEREAL belt.

MARSHALL COUNTY.

Population: White, 14,000; colored, 700. Area,
560 square miles. Woodland, all.

Acres — In cotton, approximately, 16,500; in
corn, 27,100; in oats, 3,400; in wheat, 5,800; in
rye, 150; in tobacco, 48; in sugar cane, 50; sweet
j)otatoes, 243.

Approximate number of bales of cotton in round
numbers, 5,500.

County Seat — Guntersville; population, 500.

Xewspaper published at County Seat — Demo-
crat..

Postoflfices in the County — Albertville, Arab,
Bartlett, Bean Rock, Blue Rock, Cedar Ridge,
Cotton ville, Fowler, Friendship, Grassy, Guuters-
ville, Henryville, Hillian's Store, Hyatt, Kennamer
Cove, Lot, Lumpkin, Marshall, Martling, Meltons-
ville Mill, Minorville, North, Oleander, Pender-
grass, Peters, Preston, Ragsdale, Red Apjole, Red
Hill, Reedbrake, Sidney, Southern, Swearengin,
Warrenton.

One of the first white men to settle in this
county was John Gunter, a Scotchman, who located
among the Cherokee Indians and niitrried a beau-
tiful Indian girl. The Cherokee's originally owned
the section of the State whereof Marshall county
now forms a part. They had a village near the
present site of Red Hill, a point about twelve
miles southeast from Guntersville.

John Gunter had three sons. Of these, Edward
served with Gen. Andrew Jackson at the battle of
Horseshoe, and was with that warrior throughout

the whole war. Sam, another son, died on Town
Creek about 1835. The third son, John, became,
with Edward, a leader among his people and they
both went with the Cherokees about the year 1837,
where they both died.

Another early settler was Hugh Henry, who
came to Marshall county in 1828 from Upper East
Tennessee. He sold goods at Gunter's landing
on the south side of the Tennessee river. He was
successful in merchandising and accumulated some
wealth which the vicissitudes of fortune in some
measure depleted before his death.

Hugh Henry was the father of the present heads
of the house of Henry, Messrs. Albert G. and
Patrick Henry, whose fame as reliable and safe
merchants, is second to none in the eastern whole-
sale markets.

Among the early pioneers who were prominent
men were William Black, Arthur C. Beard, James
M. Macfarlane, and others.

About the year 1835 the country had become
sutBcieutly settled to cause the organization of
Marshall county, which event was properly cele-
brated in 1836.

Among the prominent citizens now living who
were here about this time are: Samuel K. Ray-
burn, Washington T. May, Judge Lewis Wyeth
and Albert G. Henry. These gentlemen are still
(March, 1888) in excellent health, although in each
case past " three-score years and ten."

At the time of organisation and for some years

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

afterward there was considerable rivalry in the

location of the county seat, that matter having
been, on three several occasions, left to the will of
the people. The first election made Claysville, two
miles ojiposite Giintersville, across the river, the
place selected. Here court was held during the
years ISSG-T-S.

In the latter year the seat of government was
changed to ilarshall, a place immediately in the
center of the present town of Wyeth City, and
about one mile from the present court house in
Guntersville. Here, for the years lS.'iI)-40— 41 the
seat of justice remained. Still another election
changed the county seat to Warrenton, a beautiful
village five miles away to the West. Here it was
suffered to remain si.x years.

In the vear 1848 the town of Guntersville was

growing and increasing her trade to such a point
th;it it became an incorporated town.

Through the far-sightedness of Judge Louis
Wyeth, this place captured the county seat during
the year 1840, the change being made principally
because Judge Wyeth offered to donate a hand-
some brick court-house to the county on condi-
tion of the seat of government being permanently
located at Guntersville. This was done, the court-
house was built, and Guntersville has since been
enjoying uninterruptedly the honor of being the
seat of government for Marshall county.

The otticials who constituted the first county
court which met at Claysville were as follows :
county judge, AVashington T. ^fay; county clerk,
Kichard S. Kandles; sheriff, Percival il. Bush;
circuit clerk, J. M. Macfarlane.

II..

MADISON COUNTY,

County Seat— Iluntsville ; Population, 8,000;
located on M. & C. IJ. R.

Madison county, Alabama, is at the head of the
famed Tennessee valley, and hivs an area of 872
square miles, with a frontage on the Tennessee
river of thirty miles. The salubriousness of its
climate, fertility of soil, abundance and purity of
water, agricultural resources, beautiful, grand and
l>ictures(|ue scenery, educational advantages, cul-
tured and refined society, and noted healthfulness,
give it such substantial charms as make it one of
the most desirable sections for residence in the
South. Madison is the banner county of the cereal
belt. It leads all others in wealth and the produc-
tion of cotton. The soils of the county vary, but
generally are of the red clay subsoil. Its shape is
almost sijuare. The county is remarkably well
watered, there being twelve creeks and rivers
running through it from the north to south.
These are Barren Fork. Indian, Prices' Fork,
Beaver Dam, Frier's Fork, Mountain Fork, Hur-
ricane, Aldridge, Limestone and Huntsville Spring

creeks, and Flint and Paint Rock rivers. In the
mountainous portion of the county, eastward,
and on the Whitesburg pike to the Tennessee
river south of Huntsville, are found farms which
are devoted to raising-clover, small grain and stock
with great success. This county occupies medium
ground between the tropical and temperate pro-
ducing regions, with many characteristics peculiar
to both. Its soil yields cotton, but is most natur-
ally adapted to the raising of grasses, grain, corn
and stock.

The average annual yield of cotton is 20,000
bales, but there is a growing disposition on the
part of the farmers to forsake cotton, and to adopt
stock raising and the production of cereals exclu-
sively. The lands being of red clay subsoil, are
susceptible of the highest state of fertility, and
being generally level, are easily cultivated. Mad-
ison is one of the largest corn-producing counties
in the State. The raising of wheat is annually
increasing, and twenty-five or thirty bushels per
acre is not considered an unusual crop on good

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

land. The soils of the county are especially
adapted to corn, cotton, wheat, tobacco, oats, rye,
barley, peas, jDotatoes and millet. Orchard grass,
Herds grass, Timothy and all the clovers grow-
here to jierfection, producing as much as three
tons per acre. The cotton crop is estimated at
$1,000,000 ; corn cro]^ about the same ; jieas and
beans, $50,000 ; potatoes, $100,000, and horses,
cattle and sheep, nearly 81,000,000. Being well
watered, with clear running streams the entire
year, the county is admirably adapted to the rais-
ing of horses, mules, cattle, sheeji and hogs ; all
these thrive, and this has jiroven a most profitable
business. Importations of stock of all kinds have
been attended witli great success, this climate
proving remarkably healthy for them. There is
in this county now, at least 100 registered Jersey
cattle (a recent business), and several head are
direct from the island of Jersey. They are as
healthy and jirolific a herd as anywhere in the
United States.

There are also two or three herds of Holsteins.
in which are represented some of the finest milk
strains in the world. Tliey have fine health, and
thrive remarkably well. Madison has, perhajDS.
the finest horses and jacks in the entire country,
and stock-raising is becoming a chief and very
profitable business. Perliaps in no county in the
State is more attention devoted to the matter of
education than in Madison. Schools of excellent
grade are to be found throughout the county.
Men of thi'if t, energy and enterprise, whether with
or without capital, will be cordially welcomed in
this county. Adjacent to the mountains, the soils
are admirably adapted to the cultivation of vine-
yard and orchard products. Great and rapid
strides have already been made in the direction of
horticulture. In this county is the largest nursery
in the United States, and its business has proven
eminently successful. Its name is " Huntsville
Wholesale Nurseries," and as that name implies,
the trees grown are intended for the wholesale
trade. The tract of land devoted to the business
is over a thousand acres. Orders received are
mostly from distant nurserymen. The production
is confined to pears, plums, cherries and peaches.
The plants that will be ready for setting ne.xt
spring will be over 3,000,000,000, which with the
large crops of trees already growing, yield sup-
plies for an extensive business. Ship)ments of
trees are made to all parts of the United States
and Canada.

Varieties of fruit trees suited to the most North-
ern or Southern limits are propagated here. The
products of these nurseries have given satisfaction
wherever sent, and the demand for them is con-
stantly increasing.

The immense water power of this county, its
abounding timber, and its splendid climate are
attracting repeated accessions of population. Its
various advantages are unequaled. No causes for
local disease exist, and the elements of wealth are
in close proximity. The timber is chiefly iiost,
black, white, Spanish oaks, and beech, poplar and
sugar maple. A world of the finest cedar is in the
adjoining county of Jackson, through which the
Memphis & Charleston Railroad runs. Labor is
abundant and cheap. Lands are cheaper tlian
anywhei'e in the South, considering their intrinsic
value, though they are gradually increasing in
value,

There are fine pikes in the county and the
public roads are excellent most of the year. Madi-
son county is out of debt, and does not owe a
dollar. Taxes are low. There is every substan-
tial indication that this valley of remarkable beauty,
iTuequaled health, and wonderful fertility, will, at
an early day, reach the highest state of develop-
ment, and an era of the greatest prosperity will
reign. So high an authority as Commodore Maury
states, in his celebrated work on geography, that
this valley, all things considered, is the garden
spot of the United States. And such is the verdict
of all who see it. Coal has been discovered in the
Northern portion of Madison, and iron is also
believed to exist in valuable and paying quantities.
Gas is believed, by exjierts, to exist in the vicinity
of Huntsville, and that if the test was made by
boring, it would be discovered in abundance, and
of a fine quality. The partial boring of a well
near the city developed eYidences of oil and gas
such as to warrant the above opinion.

Newspapers published at County Seat^Z'pww-
vrat (democrat). Gazette (colored republican), In-
dependott (democrat), Mercury (democrat). New
South (republican). Normal Index (educational).

Postoffices in the County — Bell Factory, Berk-
ley, Bloomfield, Brownsborough, Carmichael,
Cluttsville, Dan, Fisk, Green Grove, Curly,
Haden, Hayes' Store, Hazel Green, HnntsviUe,
Lowe, Madison Cross Eoads, Madison Station,
Maysville, Meridianville, Monrovia, New Ifarket,
Owen's Cross Roads, Plevana, Popular Ridge,
Rep, Triana, Whitesburgh, Wiley.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Madison is an incorporiited town of about 500
iiiluibittiiits, in .Madison county, ten miles west
from Hiintsville on the Menn)liis & Cliarleston
Jiaiiroad.

Its prosperity dejwnds mostly upon tlie fertility
of the soil in tlie surrounding country, and the
cotton, of which about 2,(iOO bales are shipped
from its station annually.

It has eight or nine general stores: a post, tele-
graph and e.vpress office; Methodist, Haptist,
C'hristian. and tiiree colored churches, and a
good academy ; a very healthful place ; has fine
freestone water, and its society is liighlv moral.

.««

C. W. MARTIN was born near :\Iadison in
1820, and has spent his entire life in Madison
county. In business he has been a farmer and
mei chant, in the last of which be has been very
successful.

At the close of the late war he, like almost
everybody else at the South, was tinancially
a wreck, but by close and persistent iij)plica-
tion to business, he has retrieved his loss. He
was a son of Richard and Lydia (Fitts) ilartin,
who came from Virginia to Alabama about
1810.

Uichard .Martin was a farmer, and served in the
War of 1812. They had eleven children, of whom
but four are living. Two of their sons were in
Ward's Battery (Confederate States army), and
both serve<l through the war, spending a great
part of the time at Mobile.

Mr. ilartin was married, in 184'.t, to Miss Xan-
nie Lecman, of .Madison county, and they have
seven children living, of whom two are merchants.

one is railroad agent at Madison, and one a farmer
in Limestone county. .Mr. Jlartin is a member
of the Methodist church and a F. it .V. .M.

— — *— ;<s^— ^^^

G. W. and J. A. WISE, merchants, Madison,
Ala., sons of Samuel and Sarah A. (Line) Wise,
who came with them from \'irginiato this place in
the fall of 1872. The senior Wise died on his farm
near Madison, in 187C. He reared seven sons to
manhood, and two of them, John M. and William,
served through the late war in the 1st Virginia
Cavalry, under Fitz Hugh Lee. They now reside
in Kansas. Of the others, Samuel is in Iowa,
Henry A. in Virginia, David L. died in 18(;2.
The only daughter is in Virginia.

O. W. Wise was born in Virginia, Nov. 20, 1854,
there grew to manhood, and followed farming a
number of years. In 1882 he began the life of a
merchant at Madison, in the firm of Wise, Ilertz-
ler & Co. In January, 1887, that firm was dis-
solved, and the present one of G. W. & J. A.
Wise was organized. They deal in general mer-
chandise and trade in cotton. Wise Bros. & Har-
per is a firm including G. W. and J. A. Wise and
B. F. Harper, who is a clerk in the store of the
Wise Bros.

G. W. Wise is a steward in the ^Methodist Epis-
copal church.

J. A. Wise was born in \"irginia, on the 2d day
of August, 18(i0, and was married, Feb. 28, 1884,
to Miss Lucy Harris, of this State. _ Her father,
Thomas Harri,s, received a wound at the battle of
.Manassas, from which he afterwards died. Dr. A.
S. Harris, of Madison, her grandfather, was a Vir-
ginian. J. A. Wise ha.s twolivinK children.

III.

MORGAN COUNTY.

Population: White, 12.000: colored, 4,500.
Area, 700 square miles. Woodland, all. Coal
measures of sand mountains and sandy land of
Little Mountain, 415; valley lands, red lands,
coves and stoops, 570.

Acres — In cotton, approximately, 18,828; in
corn, 35,G10; in oats, 4,704; in wheat, 7,005; in
rye, 135 ; in tobacco, 53; sweet potatoes, 305.
Approximate number of bales of cotton in round
numbers, 6,500.

County Seat — Somerville : Population, 1,000.

Postoilices of tlie County — Apple Grove, Ba-
shams Gap, Blue Sjorings, Cedar Plains, Cotaco,
Crowton, Danville, Decatur, Falkville, Flint,
Fort Bluff, Gandys, Cove, Hartselle, Hulaco,
Lacy's Springs, Lawrence Cove, Leesdale, Price-
ville. Slipup, Somerville, Stringer, Trinity Sta-
tion, Whisenaut, Winter, Woodland ilills.

The county of Morgan was established in the
j'ear 1818, and named for General Daniel Morgan,
of Pennsylvania. It lies directly south of the
Tennessee river, and is one of the most important
counties in north Alabama.

Proceeding southward from the Tennessee river,
which forms the northern boundary of ilorgan
count}', there are met four terrace-like plains, each
with characteristics peculiar to itself. The first
of these would be the bottoms, which lie in close
proximity to the Tennessee river. The soils here
are porous and productive, but liable to overflow.
For this reason they are planted almost altogether
in corn. Occasionally, however, where the soil is
not so much exposed to overflow, there is cotton
i:)lanted.

Then comes the land of the valley of the Ten-
nessee proper. This is elevated above the bottoms
about seventy-five or one hundred feet, and pos-
sesses the red or brown soils, which mark the great
valley from limit to limit. Because of the gener-
ous soil possessed by this valley, the lands are
almost wholly cleared. The valley in this county
varies very greatly. In some jiarts it is but a mile
or two wide, while in others it is fully eight.

Ascending to the next natural formation one is
from seventy-five to one hundred feet above the
valley, and is upon the summit of a range known
as Little Mountain. The lands along this broad,
natural shelf are not so fertile as those in the
valley for purposes of farming, but are superior in
pasturage qualities. Grasses in the greatest va-
riety and luxuriance gi-ow along this lofty plateau.
Here we find the stock-producing section of the
county. Of course from this it will not be under-
stood that the soils of this section are incapable of
jiroducing only grasses. In this portion of Mor-
gan are found many thrifty farms, surrounded by
all the comforts of life. It is more distinctively
adapted, however, to stock-raising than to agri-
culture.

From tills elevated plain, which commands the
view of the Tennessee Valley, and going south-
ward there is a jjerceptible descent to the foot of
Sand Mountain. This is the fourth distinct divis-
ion of the county. The width of this terrace va-
ries from one to twelve miles. Along this we find
a great variety of soil, the fertility or thinness of
which is indicated by its peculiar hue. In some
1 portions the lands are black, while in others they
I are red and gray. That iiart of the county which
is now being described is a portion of the great
Warrior coalfield. Thus it will be seen that Mor-
gan possesses, to a greater or less degree, all the
advantages, agriculturally and otherwise, which
are possessed by the surrounding counties of the
great Tennessee Valley. All the grains are pro-
duced here that are produced elsewhere in this
Xorth Alabama region. And the hardy fruits, such
as apples, peaches, pears and the various berries
are grown abundantly, and are usually of superior
quality. The water supply of the county is supe-
rior. The Tennessee river forms the whole of tlie
northern boundary of the county, while Flint creek,
and its two forks, Cotaco, Xo Business, Cedar,
Shoal, Six Mile. Crowdabout, Gaudy's fork, pene-
trate every portion of it, and not only su25ply it
with water, but contribute greatly to the enrich-
63

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

:neiit of the soils. The countj' is also well watered
with superior springs. In the northeastern portion
are the ^'alhernloso and Ijaev springs, which enjoy
a local reputation. The ditl'frent streams afford
excellent fish.

There is an abundance of wood for all purposes
in the county. \'ast districts of the county have
scarcely been touched by the woodman's axe.
Principal among the timbers which throng the
forests are the post oak, white oak, red oak, black-
jack, hickory, poplar, walnut, maple, sourwood,
cherry, cedar and short-leaf pine. There are
large milling interests which are engaged in the
conversion of much of this timber into lumber
for home consum})tion and for shipment to distant
markets.

Facilities for transportation are found in the
Tennessee river, which forms the northern bound-
ary line of the county; the Louisville & Nashville
Hailroad, which runs entirely through, and the
^leniphis & Charleston Kailroad, which penetrates
the northern end of the county and crosses the
Louisville & Xashville system at Decatur. Other
railway lines are in contemplation, which are ex-
pected to pierce other portions of the county, and
thus greatly enlarge facilities for the shipment of
jiroduets; but suflicient outlet for transportation
is already alforded in the lines which now pene-
trate the county. Unusual advantages for the
shipment of jiroduce is afforded the inhabitants of
Morgan, as the competing lines of railway cross
at Decatur, and there also cross the Tennessee
river, the navigation of which will soon be open
in both directions.

The county is being rapidly peopled and corre-
sjwndingly developed, ilinerals exist in different
parts of the county. These are chielly coal and
limestone, though there is the evident presence of
gold, and the indications are that it is in large
quantities. Asphalt also exists, being the first
trace of it discovered in America. Oil and natural
gas has also recently been found at Ilartselle. Di-
rect effort has been made to develop these mineral
resources, and the investigations have been satis-
factory beyond the expectations of the most san-
guine.

The moral tone of the population of the county
is healthy, and excellent school and church facili-
ties abound in towns and country alike. The
schools at Mountain Home, near Trinity, at Ilart-
selle and at Decatur are regarded the equal of any
institutions in this portion of the State.

Of the towns, Somerville is an interior vil-
lage, with a poj)ulation of several hundred, and
and it is the seat of justice of the county. Decatur,
with a population of 4,000, is the point of greatest
interest in the county, and is a place of growing
business importance.*

Trinity, Ilartselle, Leesburg, Danville and Val-
herinoso Springs are points of chief importance,
and possess valuable educational interests.

Lands in this county may be purchased at prices
ranging from 85 to 8-10 per acre.

Considering the comj)eting lines which cross
each other in the county, its superior soil, its
climate and medicinal waters, together with its
numerous social advantages, Morgan county is the
peer of any other in the great cereal belt. The peo-
ple regard with favor and encouragement the settle-
ment of men of studious, industrious and frugal
habits in their midst.

The county embraces within its limits govern-
ment land to the extent of 25,280 acres.

— «";

EDWARD J. ODEN, editor Ilartselle Index, was
born in Morgan county, Ala., in 1840, and grew
to manhood and received his education there.
He responded to the first call to arms in the
recent civil strife, and became a member of
Company E, Fourth Alabama Cavalry, of which
company he was made captain in regular order
of i)romotion from the ranks. He was with For-
rest in his campaigns in Alabama, the Valley of
the Tennessee, and Georgia; in the pursuit and
capture of General Streight, when, by their pluck
and well-devised strategeni, Forrest succeeded in
capturing a Federal force of more than five times
the number of his own. The audacity of Forrest's
scheme, and the chagrin of the prisoners when,
too late, they discovered the ruse, will never be
forgotten by those who witnessed it.

Captain Oden was in battle at Decatur, Ala.,
Athens, Sulphur Trestle, Tenn., Pulaski, Tenn.,
Corinth, Tupelo, Miss., and many others.

He was with Johnson's army at Dalton, Ga.,
and in the running fight from Dalton to Atlanta.
From the battle of Peach Tree creek he returned
to the Valley of the Tennessee, and saw his last
fight at Selma, Ala., where his regiment, and in
fact, nearly the whole army, were captured, but
Captain Oden, accomj)anied by General Forrest
and about one hundred others, cut their way out

• See history of Decatur, this volume.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

through the lines and escaped. They proceeded
soon afterwards to Wheeler's Station, near Deca-
tur, and surrendered in May, 1865. After the
war Captain Oden farmed in Franklin county,
Ala., and taught school one year. Since 1868 he
has had an interest in a store at Falkville, and
another at Coal Hill, Ark. He has been county
superintendent of education for ten years consec-
utively. In 1884 he became interested in a bank
in Decatur, in connection with C. C. Harris and
W. W. Littlejohn, and is now a director in tlie
First National Bank, of Decatur, into which the
Bank of Decatur was merged.

In 1886, Captain Oden bought a half interest
in the Hartselle Index from E. H. Rolfe, with
whom his brother, A. A. Oden, had previously
been associated, and since that time has edited
that paper. He was married, in 1862, to Miss
Carrie E. Sherrill. They have two sons, Arthur
L. and Waiter L. The Captain is a member of
the Christian churcli, a Free Mason, Knight of
Pythias and Knight of Honor.

Edward J. Oden is a sou of Elias Oden, and
grandson of Hezckiali Oden, of East Tennessee, who
was a soldier of the IJevolutionary War ; brought
his family to Alabama in 1819, and died in 1848.

Elias Oden was born in 1812, spent his life in
agricultural pursuits, was a Baptist, and made his
religion the prominent feature of his life. He
was married, in 1834, to Miss Mary E. Stringer,
of Kentucky, and raised three sons and five
daughters.

The oldest, W. H. Oden, is a merchant of Ban-
gor. The third son, A. A. Oden is agent of L.
& N. R. R., at Hartselle, and has held that posi-
tion ever since it was opened. He is also editor
and proprietor of the Hartselle Index, the oldest
paper in the county except tlie Decatur Neivs.

ALBERT G. McGREGOR, President of Hart-
selle College, is a son of William and Elizabeth
(Carpenter) McGregor, and was born in Lawrence
County, Ala., March 1, 183.5. He was educated
primarily in Lawrence County and subsequently
at La Grange, that once beautiful college and lo-
cation on the spur of a mountain in Colbert
County, this State. This was a very jirosperous
and popular institution of learning in antebellum
times, but was burned during the war by the
ruthless invader, because, forsooth, many of Ala-

bama's sons had received their military training
there. It has never been rebuilt. At this college
Albert McGregor graduated in the classical course
in 1854, and was elected to the chair of matliemat-
ics of his Alma Mater in the following year. This
institution was subsequently known as La Grange
Military Academy, having received the patronage
of the State, which authorized each county to keeji
two cadets in attendance at her expense. Professor
McGregor taught at La Grange until he joined the
Confederate Army in 1861. He became Quarter-
master in Col. Jeff. Forrest's regiment, and served
with Gen. P. D. Roddy and General Forrest most
of the time in North Alabama, North Mississippi
and West Tennessee. i\f ter returning from the war,.
Professor McGregor raised cotton for four years,
then at the request of friends, returned to La
Grange, where he taught school in a church
building for about six years. He then took charge
of the academy at Tuscumbia for one year, but on
account of poor health, was compelled to quit
teaching and return to the farm. In February,
1885, he took charge of the college of Hartselle,
and is still there. Professor McGregor was mar-
ried December 23, 1858, to Miss Celia King,
daughter of Robert King, an extensive planter, of
Lawrence County, and they have seven children.
He and his family are Methodists. He is a mem-
ber of the Masonic Order, and has been an educa-
tor all his life,

William Carpenter, Professor ilcGregor's mater-
nal grandfather, served in the War of 1812.

The McGregors ai'e, as the name would indicate,
of Scotch blood, but came from North Carolina to
Alabama and became farmers in Lawrence County.
Professor McGregor had one brother killed and
one wounded at the battle of Franklin.

The "Union Male and Female College," of
Hartselle, Ala., was founded March 3, 1883, by
Rev. Thomas Morrow, the object being to establish
a school of high grade at this place, at which the
students might attend and complete a thorough
collegiate course. The building comprises five
recitation rooms, and the schools employ four
teachers. The school teaches all that is included
in a thorough academic course, but as a college, is
as yet, somewhat embryotic. It has hopes for de-
velopment and better days. It is under religious
influences, but is in no sense denominational. It
is attended by about fifty pupils at the present
time. It has a musical department and teaches
both vocal and instrumental music.

NORTJIRKK ALABAMA.

DABNEY A. BURLESON. Hartsellc, Ala., was
Ixini lu'ur ncraiiir. I'Vliriiary 15. 18.'5o, and reared
in this county. He was educated at Union I'ni-
versity, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and at IJaylor I'ni-
versity, Independence, Tex. He began his busi-
ness life as a merchant at Danville, Ala., and went
into tlie Confederate Army in 1801 as a member
of Col. Joe Patterson's Uegiment. lie was for
some time at Grenada, Miss., in the Quartermas-
ter's department, but served mostly in the Tennes-
see valley under General P. Uoddy. lie was once
captured but escaped after a few hours, and was
at Selma at the time of the surrender, lie is a
fanner and has been successful.

He was married February 11, 18")7, to iliss
Sallie, daughter of Jonathan Orr, and of one of the
most prominent families in this county. They
have five living children, viz.: Jonathan, Kitty,
Hetty, Florence and Ellen Byrd.

Mr. Burleson is a Baptist, and an Odd Fellow,
lie takes a great interest in any enterprise which
tends to help or develop the agricultui-al interests
of the country.

D. A. Burleson is a son of Jonathan and Eliza-
beth (Byrd) Burleson. His grandfather, .John
Burleson, was a pioneer from North Carolina, ami
settled at the Spring at lluntsville in 1817, ami
liel[)ed expel the Indians from the country. He
died in Lawrence County, this State. Hislirother
.loe was a captain in the Indian wars. Jonathan
Burleson was a native of Kentucky. He was in
many fights with the Indians, in company with his
uncle Joe, and fought in the War of 1812. He
came to Alabama in 1818, and settled nine miles
south of Decatur, where he remained until his
death, in 1807. He was a county commissioner,
justice of the peace, a wealthy planter, and a man
of much local influence. He was twice married
and had fourteen children, of whom twelve lived to
maturity. •

It is related that before 1S-.20 a gang (if horse
thieves infested this part of the country and com-
mitted many dej>redations. A body of citizens
who desired to be rid of them met in convention
in a cave in this county and passed resolutions
which partook of the nature of laws : that conven-
tion has been called "the first legislature.'' They
cliose Joe Burleson for their president, and Jona-
than Burleson for secretary. "They quickly
cleaned out the horse thieves."'

.lonathiin Burleson's first marriage was to Eliz-
abeth Byrd, daughter of William Byrd. a Baptist

preacher. She bore him thirteen children. The
second was to Ann Humphreys, widow of Dr.
Humphreys, of Somerviile. Her maiden name
wiis lioby, and she bore him one child. The eld-
est of this family, Aaron A. Burleson, was the first
white child born in Morgan county ; he was a
physician in Decatur for nuiny years, and is now
in Arkansas, liufus C. Burleson is the most prom-
inent member of the family. He is a Baptist
preacher, a famous educator, and is now president
of the Waco University, Waco, Tex. He entered the
ministry when but eighteen years of age. and has
led a life of ceaseless activity in Texas for a third
of a century. It is recorded in history that Rufus C.
Burleson has done more for the cause of education--
than any other man in Texas, and he has been
called the "Xestor of Texas preachers and teach-
ers. " He was a pioneer of that country in his
profession, and he has educated thousands who
have gone forth to success in all the learned
professions. He is proficient in ancient Ian--
guages and lore : is eloquent in the pulpit ; kind
and industrious in the class, and much beloved at-
home.

WILLIAM H. SIMPSON, attorney-at-law, Ilart-
selle, Ala., was born at Danville, this State, July
15, 1857, and attended school there until he went
to college at Tu.scaloosa, where he was graduated
in the law department of the State University in
187'.i. Prior to his entering college he read law
four months at Tuscumbia under Governor Lind-
sey, was admitted to the bar in October, 187»,
and licensed to practice in the Supreme Court
of the State in February, 1880. He was elect-
ed to the Legislature on the Democratic ticket
in 1886.

Mr. Simpson seems to have things very much
his own way in Ilartselle, being the only lawyer
there, and his practice, which is mostly in common
law and equity, gives him about as much work as
he can do. He was married March 2(i. 1882, to
Miss JIary Daniel Johnson, a daughter of Daniel
Johnson, who was killed in the battle of Shiloh
when Mary was an infant, and she was given his
full name in honor of his memory.

Stephen and Malinda (Stovall) Simpson, our

subject's })arents, were residents of Danville, where

Stephen .Simpson was a merchant for more than

thirty years. He was postmaster at various times,

' before, during and since the war. He accumulated.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

a fortune, but lost heavily by the war and by
the credit system. He was a Baptist and a
Mason.

He died at Danville in June, 1884. Malinda
Stovall (William's mother) was a daughter of Drew
Stovall, one of tlie pioneers who helped expel the
Indians from the country. He accumulated a
large fortune in land and slaves, and died just be-
fore the late war.

Moses Simpson (William's grandfather) and
his sons, James and Tliomas, came down the
Tennessee river on a flat boat, from the Sequatchie
Valley, Tenn., in 1823, and made a corn crop
where Decatur is now located. In the fall of tliat
year, he brought his family there, and afterwards

entered land near Danville and there located per-
manently.

He raised a family of eight sons and four
daughters: James, Thomas, Abington, William,
George, Reuben, Stephen, Moses, ^latilda, Polly,
Betsy, and Emily.

Stephen reared four sons and one daughter.
They are Walter T., now of Texas; Wm. H., our
subject; Claud, wlio died in 1883, and Edgar, now
near Selma. Orrie, the daughter, married W. V.
Echols, a merchant of Hartselle.

William H. Simpson is a jiopular and jirosperous
young man, and received the largest vote for the
Legislature that was ever cast in his county for one
man.

IV.
LAWRENCE COUNTY.

Population: White, 12,(:!50; colored, 8,400.
Area, 790 square miles. Woodland, all. Red
Valley lands, 260 square miles. Calcareous
slopes, 220 square miles. Mountain lands, 150.
Coal measures, 160.

Acres — In cotton, approximately, 42,800; in
corn, 54,600; in oats, 5,700: in wheat, 6,000; in
rye, 125: in tobacco, 100; in sweet potatoes, 400.
Approximate number of bales of cotton in round
numbers, 14,000.

County Seat — Moulton: Population, 800: located
fifteen miles south of Memphis & Charleston Rail-
road.

Newspaper publislied at County Seat — Adver-
tiser (Democrat).

Postoffices in the County — Avoca, Brick, Camp
Springs, Concord, Courtland, Gum Pond, Hatton,
Hillsborough, Jesseton, Kinlock, Moulton, Mount
Hope, Oakville, Ora, Pitt, Pool, Progress, Spang-
ler. Town Creek, Wheeler Station.

Lawrence was established by the first Territorial
Legislature, Feb. 4, 1818. It was formed out of
the Cherokee and Chickasaw, cessions of lol6, and
still retains its original dimensions. 'It lies in the

nortliwest quarter of the State, contiguous to
Lauderdale and Limestone on the north, Morgan
on the east, Winston on the south, Franklin and
Colbert on the west. It was named for Capt.
James Lawrence, of the United States Xavy. His
last order was : "Fight her till she sinks."

The county is penetrated from east to west by
two extensive valleys, known as Courtland and
Moulton Valleys, the former of these being in the
northern and the latter being in the southern
j)ortion of tlie county, while the center is occupied
by a detached mountain known as Little J\Iountain.

The Little Mountain region, which occupies
the central portion of the count}-, has a light sandy
soil, which in point of fertility falls far behind
those of the two valleys. But no portion of the
county is more inviting than this as a place of res-
idence. Elevated three or four hundred feet above
the valleys, supplied with a profusion of freestone
and chalybeate springs, with a soft, healthful atmos-
phere, with extensive reaches of grazing lands for
herds, this section is most inviting to many who
come to Lawrence County in search of homes. A
small colony of Quakers has recently located in this

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

rejiioii, midway between the towns of Courtland
and Moultoii.

The county is traversed by iiun)i-rous streams,
large and small, wliich alTord abundant supplies
of water to every portion. Tiie northern boundary
of the county is formed by the Tennessee Kiver.
and more than half this boundary is occupied by
the (ireat Jlussel Shoals, which are not navigable.
The upper boundary, however, is on the open por-
tion of the 'J'enncssee River, which will soon be
oj)ened to the largest packets. In other portions
of the county are Town and Xance Creeks, a fork
of Flint Itivur and Sipsey Fork. Springs of great
coolness and of unceasing flow issue from the hilly
portions of the county.

'JMmber is not in sufficient quantities for com-
mercial purjioses. In the past the Little Jloun-
tain region furnished great (puintities to the two
valleys between which it is situated; but the for-
ests have been sufficiently depleted to create care
and protection against future depredations. For
home consumption Ihere is still a sufficiency of
])ine, white oak and poj)lar. The islands in the
Tennessee are densely wooded with poplar, white
oak, ash, red gum and black oak; but this timber
is inaccessible to a great degree, and will remain so
until the canal shall have been opened around the
Mussel Shoals.

The mineral resources of the county, as far as
discovered, are limited. A few thin seams of coal
are found on the high escarpments of the moun-
tains, but it is not in sufficient quantities forprac-
tical purposes. Almost every kind of fruit seems
to do well in Lawrence County. The productions
have been the most satisfactory. Grape culture
has received more attention than any other.

The facilities for transjiortation will be restricted
to the ^femphis & Charleston Railroad, which
runs through the Courtland Valley, east and
west, until the Tennessee River shall liave been
opened by the completion of the JIussel Shoals
Canal.

The chief towns of the county are Moulton, the
county-seat, Courtland and Leighton.

Good cotnmon schools exist in every section of
the county, and a female acailemy of high grade
in the town of Moultou.

In almost every region of the county are the ev-
idences of thrift and jirogress. Along the high,
healthful ridges are found many handsome homes,
adorned with flower gardens and surrounded with
spacious orchards.

In some regions of the county, where coves are
formed, there are oftentimes found scenes of great
wildness and beauty.

The prices of land vary in the county, and are
controlled by the fertility of the soil and the lo-
cation of the land. Lands vary in prices from $5
to $.50.

Thrifty, wide-awake, progressive immigrants
will be greeted by the good people of Lawrence
County. Farmers, fruit-growers, and stock-raisers
could not find a more inviting section. The
county embodies 07,200 acres of land belonging to
the gover!iment, some of which is subject to entry.

JOSEPH WHEELER of Lawrence County, pres-
ent member of Congress from the E'gbth Alabama
district, and distinguished in the history of the
country as the greatest cavalry commander of
the Southern Confederacy, was born at Augusta,
Ga., Sept. 10, 1636, and graduated from West
Point as brevet second lieutenant of dragoons,
class of 1859. His first assignment to duty
was at the Cavalry School for Practice at
Carlisle, Pa. From here he was transferred to
Xew Jle.xico, where he was commissioned second
lieutenant. About this time he began to study
in earnest the science of war. Ilis greatest ambi-
tion was to become a gallant cavalry commander,
and his success in the prosecution and accomplish-
ment of this desire must be read in the authenti-
cated annals of the bloodiest war of which history
gives an account. For four long years his brilliant
achievements crowded upon the heels of each other
like the revolving views of a panorama, and while
many a chieftain whose heroic valor canonized him
in the hearts of a glorious people, drank oft of the
bitter cup of defeat, when the penant of Wheeler
was lowered and the hilt of his sabre was turned,
it was when resistance was no longer war; it was
when the notes of the bugle summoned the cava-
lier no more to the charge, but in tones, saddened
indeed, though sounding a pa>an to peace, signaled
him from the field of carnage and of strife; it wjis
when the curtain had fallen upon the last act of
the terrible trngcdy: it was when the Civil War
was ended I

As has been seen, Wheeler was in New Mexico
at the outbreak of the war between the States, and
the following letter written by him to his brother,
Capt. William II. Wheeler, of (ieorgia, early in

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

1861, gives something of an insight of the sjjirit
that actuated many a brave man, and contradicts
the oft- repeated charges of disloyalty and treason
at heart, to the Union: "Much as I love the
Union, much as I am attached to my profession,
all will be given up when my State, by its action,
shows that such a course is necessary and proper.
If Georgia withdraws and becomes a separate
State, I can not, with propriety, and justice to my
people, hesitate in resigning my commission."

Lieutenant Wheeler's resignation was dated at
Fort Fillmore, February 21, 1801, and he reached
Augusta in person early in the following March.
He was at once commissioned first lieutenant of
artillery in the regular army and stationed at Pen-
sacola, Fla., where he busied liimself erecting
batteries and fortifications, drilling regiments,
instructing companies in artillery practice and
various other duties. While there he attracted the
attention of the Hon. James L. Pugh and other
gentlemen, who, without his knowledge, indited
the following to Mr. Davis: "We feel it our duty
to call your attention to a young officer at this
place. Lieutenant Wheeler of tlie regular army.
Our observation of him convinces us that he would
be of great value as the commander of volunteer
soldiers. His qualifications are unquestioned. "
Similar recommendations were forwarded by Gen.
Bragg and others, and early in the summer of
1861, Wheeler was promoted to the rank of colonel
and assigned to the command of the Nineteenth
Alabama Infantry. At the head of this regiment
he won his first distinction at Shiloh. Division
Commander Withers, in his report of that engage-
ment, says: " * * * Colonel Wheeler, through-
out the fight, proved himself worthy of all trust
and confidence — a gallant commander and an
accomplished soldier. " Col. Wheeler was imme-
diately promoted to brigadier-general, and from
that hour, his star, which had never waned, was,
to the close of the conflict, particularly in the
ascendency.

How he fought the enemy at Farmington and
checked his advance upon Corinth; covered the
retreat of Beauregard from the latter place, and
deceived federal General Pope; took charge of
the idle, neglected and almost decimated cavalry
of the Army of the Mississippi ; organized it,
thrust it inside of the well-established lines of the
enemy, destroyed his communications, whipped
his cavalry, captured his trains, burned his cotton,
and sped back to cover of safety without the loss

of a man, are all given in detail by the historians
of the war, and commented upon as opening the
eyes of army commanders to the hitherto uu-
thought of possibilities in cavalry service. There
is no doubt but what Wheeler's tactics, as practiced
by himself, revolutionized cavalry warfare and
developed it into the important branch of service
it soon became and will forever remain.

On the march of the Southern army into Ken-
tucky, Wheeler's cavalry struck many a well-
aimed blow at the flanks of the retreating enemy;
at Mumfordsville he won the admiration and com-
pliments of the Xorthern army "for gallantry
and brilliancy in action," and at Perry ville he
was the cynosure of both armies, as he held the
enemy in check, or charged him again and again
at the head of his brigade, finally jJutting him to
rout. Upon retiring from Kentucky, General
Bragg appointed Wheeler chief of cavalry, and as
such he covered that retreat into Tennessee. We
next see him harrassing the enemy about Nash-
ville, making life a burden to Rosecrans' foragers,
and fighting, in quick succession, twenty-eight dis-
tinct battles and as many skirmishes — historic
events that flashed with the rapidity and changes
of the kaleidoscope before the eyes of the world.

Pages upon pages have been written and might
be repeated by us to tell only a partial history of
Wheeler's command. In our mind's eye we follow
his phantom-like movements about Stone River>
where for five days he slept not to e.xceed so man}'
hours: where, at the head of his gallant followers,
he dashed into the enemy's rear, his right, his left,
his center— here, there, everywhere, borne with
the speed of the wind from point to point during
the memorable conflict, encircling Rosencrans"
entire army, charging him in detachments, jilung-
ing into his battle lines, stampeding his wagon
trains, destroying his stores, terrifying his guards,
capturing bis jirisoners, firing depots — round and
round he glides with the charm of a wizard, till
summoned again to cover the I'ctreat of the army.

And of such was the life of Wheeler, from the
beginning of the war to its close: never idle, always
on the alert, he was by far the most distinguished
cavalry commander develoi^ed by the American
conflict. In the spring of 1865 he was promoted
to the rank of lieutenant-general of cavalry, and as
such retired from the jjrofession of war to that of
peace.

Less than twenty-nine years of age, he had, by
acknowledged merit, risen from the rank of a sub-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

ordinate to that of eminent command. Though
small in stature, it was with giant strides he rose
to exalted position. Under him. from time to
time, fought many men whose distinguished
acliievemeiits added bright luster to the renown of
American soldiery. Nor did he ever forget them.
Their names, many now recorded upon marble and
ashlar that mark the sodded mound 'neath which
tliey fiiuilly rest, are engraven upon the eiitabUi-
ture of his heart, and, as in retrospect, he calls
up in long review the heroes of Shiloli, Corinth,
Terryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Knox-
ville, Iiinggold, Rocky Face, Dalton, Uesaca,
Cassville, New Mope, Kcnesaw Mountain, Peach
Tree Creek, Decatur, Atlanta. Savannah. Ayers-
l)oro, Bentonville, and literally the thousand and
one other contlicts of arms through which they
followed him, it is with the emotion of a gener-
ous acknowledgment of deeds performed that
I'edounded so much to his own glory.

With his sad farewell to his soldiers, we close
this brief sketch of fieneral Wheeler's military
career, leaving to others the jdeasant duty of
adorning the literature of war bygiving it in full:

•' ilK.VDQl AKTEKS Ca V.V LRY CoRPS,

. Cavalry Corps, )
• April -.29, 1805. )

"Gallant Co.\iuai)ES: — You have fought your
tight; your task is done. During a four years'
struggle for liberty, you have exhibited courage,
fortitude, and devotion; you are the sole victors
i>f more tiian two hundred severely contested
lields; you have participated in more than a thou-
sand conflicts of arms; you arc heroes, veterans,
patriots; the bones of your comrades mark battle-
fields upon the soil of Kentucky, Tennessee, Vir-
ginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, (ieorgia,
Alabama and Mississippi; you have done all tliat
human exertion could accomplish. In bidding
you adieu, I desire to tender my thanks for your
gallantry in battle, your fortitude under suffering,
and your devotion at all times to the holy cause
you have <lone so much to maintain. I desire al-
so to express my gratitude for the kind feeling
you have seen fit to extend toward myself, and to
invoke upon you the blessings of onr Heavenly
Father, to whom we must always look for support
in the hour of distress.

"Hrethren in the cause of freedom, comrades
in arms, I bid you farewell I

" .1. WlIKKLKR."

Leaving the army. (Jcneral Wheeler si>ciit three

years in New Orleans in the commission business,
and ill l^C'.l located iiiion his i)lantation at what is
now known as Wheeler's Station, and turned his
attention to agriculture and the practice of law. In
isSd, he was elected to Congress from the Kighth
District, was re-elected in 1884, and again in 18SC.

His election in 1880 was contested by Mr. Lowe,
and Wheeler was unseated in June, 1882. In
Congress, as in the army he has exhibited ihe
same active, energetic, intrepid and fearless char-
acter, and it is safe to say that no member of that
body has performed more labor and with better
results than he.

(ieneral Wheeler was married at AVheeler's Sta-
tion, February 8, IS'iiJ, to Miss Ella .Jones, the
accomplished daughter of the late Richard Jones,
one of the pioneers of Lawrence County, a native
\'irginian and an extensive planter, and has had
born to him two sons and four daughters.

JAMES E. SAUNDERS, a^ distinguished citi-
zen of Lawrence County, was born in Brunswick
County, \'a.. May 7, 18(i(i, and was two years of
age when his jjarents migrated to Williamson
County, Tenn. He was educated under private
instructors and at the University of Georgia.
Immediately after graduating, he began the study
of law, in the office of Foster & Fogg, Nasliville,
Tenn., and entered the practice during the twenty-
first year of his age.

In 1826 he located at Moultoii, this county,
where his superior (|ualifications as a lawyer were
at once recognized. Three years later, he re-
moved to Courtland, and entered into partnersliip
with John J. Ormand. This arrangement con-
tinued until the elevation of Judge Ormand to
the supreme bench of the State.

In 184(1, Mr. Saunders was elected to the I-egis-
lature, and was assigned to the chairmanshij) of
the judiciary committee.

From Mr. Garrett's " Public .Men of .Mabama "'
we (|Uote the following as (iprojms :

•'In the first di,scu.ssion which arose, relative to
tiie election of United States Senator, the rank
assigned him (Saunders), l)y general consent, was
that of leader on the Democratic side. He wjis
calm as a May morning, never permitting the
exciting scenes around him to ruffle the perfect
equanimity of his temjier. His thoughts ajipcarcd
so well arraiige<l, and his facts so connected, that

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

he seemed only to make a statement m order to
carry a point by the force of deduction. He bore
himself with so much ease and yet with such force
in debate, tliat, while he astonished all by the
strength of his logic, it seemed tliat he held him-
self back, and never darted his heaviest bolts.
Congress would have been a more suitable arena
for the exhibition of his true character and emi-
nent abilities. The laurels he gained never with-
ered, but each successive performance added lustre
to his victories."

Mr. Saunders was for many years a Trustee
of tlie University, and contributed to that change
of administration which took place in 18.37, when
the Rev. Alva Woods retired from the Presidency,
and was succeeded by the Rev. Basil Manly. In
1843, he changed his residence to Mobile, where
he carried on a commission business. In 1S45, Mr.
Polk appointed him Collector of the Port of Mo-
bile, which office he held for four years. In 1852
he served on the Electoral Ticket which cast the
vote of Alabama for Pierce and King. He pos-
sessed a large fortune, having married Mary F.,
daughter of Maj. Robert H. Watkins, formerly
of Georgia. Mr. Saunders dispensed a liberal
hospitality, and gave freely of his wealth to char-
itable objects and the support of the ministry.
He is a member of the Methodist Eijiscopal
Church, South, and has faithfully performed the
duties imposed by tliat relation. He has acted
well his part as a Christian philosopher, and is

now enjoying that retirement and universal re-
spect so well merited by his spotless character.

Colonel Saunders opposed secession, and was
president of the Douglas Convention, held at Mont-
gomery in 1860 ; but when Alabama withdrew
from the Federal Union, he recognized the State's
first and greatest claim upon his allegiance, and
at once threw himself actively into her defense.
He was connected with the army from the begin-
ning to the close, and rendered the cause much
valuable and highly apjireciated service. He
is honorably mentioned many times in " Tlie
Life of Albert Sidney Jolmston," the "Campaigns
of Lieut. -Gen. Forrest," and other popular works.

After the war, Colonel Saunders resumed his
favorite jiursuit, agriculture, and is now living
a life of comfortable, not to say elegant, re-
tirement at his magnificent country seat, near the
little town of Courtland. Here, in his ripe old
age, he continues to disj^ense Southern hospitality
in kee25ing with the time-honored customs of a
glorious people.

He was married, July 1-1, 1824, to ilary Francis
Watkins, the handsome and accomplished daugh-
ter of Maj. Robt. A. "Watkins, of this county, and
formerly of Virginia. The children born to this
happy union, and that grew to adult age, are
named as follows: Robert T., Elizabetli Dunn,
deceased, Mary Louise, deceased, Dudley Dunn,
Sarah Jane, Prudent, deceased, Lawrence Watkins,
deceased, and Ellen Virginia.

,, . e,^Z^iC^ )j((g^S^rL..,,

V.
LIMESTONE COUNTY.

Population : White, l-.>,0(i() : colored. '.),;U0.
Area, 590 square miles. Wooillaiicl, all. Keil
Valley lands, 175 square miles. Barrens, 415
square miles.

Acres — In cotton, a])pro.\iinately, 45.000: in
corn, 47,000: in oats, 4, -400: in wheat, 7,900; in rye,
250; in tobacco, 125; in sweet potatoes, 450. Ap-
proximate number of bales of cotton, 17,000.

County Seat — Athens: Population, 1,300; lo-
cated on Nashville & Decatur branch of Louis-
ville & Nashville Railroad, 107 miles south of
Nashville, and 195 north of Montgomery.

Newspapers published at County seat — Alabania
Courier and Dviiwcnit, both Democratic.

Postottices in the County — Athens. Belle Jlina,
Carriger, Center Hill, Elkmont, Elk Kiver Mills,
Estaville, Ciilbertsborough, Good Springs, Green-
brier, Ilyde Park, Mooresville, Mount Roszcll,
O'Neal, Peltey, Pettusville, Quid Nunc, Kowland,
Sand Springs, Swancott, Veto, Westmoreland,
AVooley Springs.

Limestone was created out of the lands pur-
chased from the Chickasaws and Cherokees, by
an act of the Territorial Legislature, passed Feb-
ruary (i, 1818.

This county lies directly north of the Tennessee
River. It is one of the first counties formed in the
State.

Limestone has all the varieties of soil which be-
long to the Tennessee Valley.

The southern portion of tiie county e.\ceeds in
fertility that of the northern. The southern has
a more uniform surface and is capitally adapted to
the growth of all the cereals. The lands in this
section are almost entirely cleared and are in a fine
state of cultivation. The bottom lands which
skirt the numerous streams are exceedingly fertile.
Notwitlistanding Limestone has long been recog-
nized as one of the chief cereal counties of the
State, and still is, the farmers are turning their
attention more every year to the growth of grasses
and breeding of thoroughbred horses and blooded

cattle, hogs and slice}). This change has proven
to be the best thing our farmers have ever under-
taken.

The grasses usually grown for stock are produced
here in the greatest perfection, and the most san-
guine expectations of stock-raisers have been real-
ized. The finest pasture lands can be had here,
the value of which is greatly enhanced by the
multitude of streams which penetrate every part
of the county. Great encouragement has been
given stock-raisers, year by year, to imjjrove the
character of their breeds.

Except upon the lowlands and near the rivers,
the county is wonderfully healthy, and along the
ridges adjoining these basins excellent places of
residence can be had. Formerly these ridges were
dwelling places of the wealthiest farmers in the
county, while they cultivated the land in the bot-
toms. Along these knolls, as almost in every part
of the county, fine water is found, together with
a salubrious climate.

In many parts of the county are forests of tim-
ber in which are found hickory, poplar, chestnut,
red and white oak, beech, maple, red and white
gum, ash, walnut and cherry.

Along the southern border of the county runs
the Tennessee river, several of the large tributa-
ries of which penetrate the territory of Limestone.
Elk river Hows through the northwest, and at cer-
tain seasons is navigable for light crafts. This
stream will be of vast local advantage when the
obstructions are removed from the Tennessee.
Big Poplar, Round Island, Swan, Piney, Lime-
stone, and Beaver Dam creeks streak the county
in every section with waters of perpetual How.
These are reinforced by many large springs in the
mountain and hill regions. Mineral springs also
exist and are said to be equal to any in the State.
The streams abound in remarkably fine fish, vast
quantities of which are caught every year.

No great public industries have as yet been es-
tablished, but a number are in contemplation at

'72

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Athens, on the Louisville & Nashville railroad.

Energy, skill and capital are needed to make Lime-

. stone what it is by nature fitted to become — a great

manufacturing as well as an agricultural region.

As yet but little attention has been given the
mineral products of Limestone. Valuable speci-
mens of lead have been discovered in the Elk River
hills. In some portions of the county there have
been discovered out-croppings of iron ore, as well
as fine specimens of coal. Slate has been found
to exist in vast quantities, though it has failed
thus far to attract public attention. Silver ore
has also been discovered, but it is not known to
what extent it exists.

The county is highly favored in its facilities
for transportation. It is divided in twain from
north to south by the great Louisville & JSIashville
Railroad, which brings it into easy and rapid com-
munication with New Orleans on the south and
the great cities of the West on the north.

Fruits grown along these valleys find a ready
market in the cities of the Northwest, into com-
mercial relations with which this section is brought
by means of its excellent railroad facilities.

Along the southern portion of the county runs
the ;Memphis«!fc Charleston Railroad, which affords
a competing line to the producers of the county.

The social advantages of Limestone are those
which belong to the best regulated society of the
South. The people are hospitable and are
prompted by a most generous disposition. Schools
of varying grades exist in different jiarts of the
county. In Athens, the county seat, which has a
population of about 1,500, there are -several
schools of high grade. Churches usually of the
Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist denomina-
tions prevail.

The other chief towns are Mooresville and Elk-
mont. The last named point is a town with
promising importance. Lands may be purchased
in some sections for $5 per acre ; in others they
will cost much more, being dependent upon the
fertility and location.

Athens. — Athens, tlie seat of justice of Lime-
stone county, was first incorporated November 19,
1818, and the courthouse was located here at once.
A seminary of learning, for females, was early
established.

The corner stone of the Masonic Hall was laid
in March, 182G, it being the second brick building
in the town.

There are four brick churches, the Baptist being

the first one built and was used by all denomina-
tions. The Methodist was the next one, which
was built in 1836. The Cumberland Presbyter-
ian Church was built early in 1850; owing to
its proximity to the railroad, the congregation
has sold it and purchased a lot for a new one.
The Ei^iscopal Church has been recently built,
and is a very handsome one.

There are two colleges, male and female, the
latter an imposing brick structure, with ample and
beautiful grounds. Under the supervision of
Prof. M. G. Williams it has very rapidly increased
in the number of pupils and is now one of the
finest schools in the State. The male college is a
large and roomy frame building, situated in a
beautiful grove at a sufficient distance from the
public square to make it quiet. Splendid brick
pavements lead to both colleges from any jiortiou
of the town.

The earliest records of the town we have been
able to find, is April 37, 1824, at which time Sam-
uel Tanner was mayor.

Among the members of the bar the mo.'^t prom-
inent were Daniel Coleman, Egbert J. Jones,
William Richardson, Thomas Hobbe, George S.
Houston, LukePryor, Elbert English, "William 11.
Walker.

In the medical profession were such distinguished
men as T. S. Malone, J. F. Sewell, Joshua P.
Comau, Frank ^lalone, P. Capshaw.

GEORGE SMITH HOUSTON was the grandson
of John Houston and Mary Ross, who, in 1760
migrated from County Tyrone in the north of
Ireland and settled in Newbury District in North
Carolina.

David, their fourth son, and the father of George
Smith Houston, married Hannah (PLigh) Reagan,
whose mother was of Welch extraction, being of
the family of Pughs, who were noted for their love
for, and ijromotionof education.

He removed to Virginia, and afterward settled
near Franklin in Williamson County. Tenn., where
on the 17th of January, 1S08, the subject of this
sketch was born in 1824 or 1825, the family settled
twelve miles west of Florence, in Lauderdale
County, Ala., and engaged in agriculture. His
father considered manual labor essential to mental
and physical perfection, and reared his sons to
work. In his boyhood, educational facilities were

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

not as good as now. Though not possessed of the
advantages necessary to the thorough and finished
scholar, he received an elementary education in an
academy in Lauderdale County. Ambitious and
fond of books, he daily added to this foundation,
by the close study of standard works.

As a boy he was happy-hearted, bright, liigh-
toncd, industrious, self-reliant and noted for iiis
devotion to his mother.

He read law under Judge Coalter, in Florence,
anil completed his studies in the law school at
Ifarrodsburgh, Ky. In 1831 he was admitted to
the bar, and in 1S3-2. was sent to the Legislature.
He was there twice elected Circuit Solicitor, in
which position he made a decided reputation, being
considered one of the ablest prosecutors in the State.

He removed to Athens, Limestone County, Ala.,
and, in 1835, married Mary L Beaty, the daughter
of Hobert Beaty. They had eight children, all of
whom died before 1860, except David, (ieorge S.,
.lohn P. and Mary E. Houston. David entered
the service as captain of a company of the Ninth
Alabama regiment. He was afterward a member
of (Jeneral Roddy's command. He died, unmar-
ried, September 7, 1880.

George S. entered the service as a private in
.lohnson's regiment of General Koddy's command,
and was afterward lieutenant of General Roddy's
escort. He married Maggie Irvine of Florence,
Ala., and now resides on a farm near Mooresville,
in Limestone County.

.John P. is engaged in the practice of law in
Memphis, Tenn. ^lary E. resides in Athens, Ala.

In April, 1861, he married Ellen Irvine, of
Florence, Ala., a daughter of James Irvine, one of
the leading lawyers of the State. They had two
children, Emma and Maggie Lou. Emma is now
living with her mother at Athens. Maggie Lou
died November 24, 18T7.

In 1841 George S. Houston was elected to Con-
gress on the general ticket. With the exception
of one term, when he declined to make the race,
he served in Congress until .lanuary 21, 1861. He
was recognized as one of the leaders of the House.
He took an active part in the debates on important
measures. He was a strict constructionist, or a
State's rights Democrat, believing all legislation
should be left to the States "over subjects where
they could as amply and beneficially legislate as
Congress."

He was opposed to the tariff system, and held
the public land to be a trust for the people, and

not for speculative greed. He was so economical
and watchful of the public funds, that he was
known in Congress as the " Watch-dog of the
Treasury."

His reputation and influence were by no means
local. He was particularly influential with Pres-
idents Pierce and Polk. It is stated on good
authority that it was the intention of Mr. Tilden
to olfer him a Cabinet position, had he been de-
clared President in 1876.

Perhaps no member was ever more complimented
with committee appointments than he; not only
was he placed on the most important committees,
but was chairman of Military Affairs, Ways and
Means, and the Judiciary, an honor rarely, if ever,
accorded to any other member. He was several
times chairman of Way.* and Means, which is per-
hap.'^ the most important committee in the House.
While a party man, he was not such for selfish
motives. He did not study to ride into power on
a popular wave. He was fearless in his convic-
tions, and, while keeping party lines, he directed
rather than followed it. He was earnestly opposed
to secession, and pr^'bilbly niadff thf lnBt Dnnglm
speech ^er made in Alnhiiniii. While in Congress
and when secession seemed almost a certainty, he
boldly advocated and became a member of the
famous committee of thirty-three to devise means
to save the Union; but when Alabama seceded, he
drafted and presented to the speaker the formal
withdrawal of the Alabama delegation from the
Federal Congress. He retired to his home, and,
though not in the active service, he repeate<ily re-
fused to take the oath of allegiance demanded by
the Federal authority, and was thoroughly in sym-
pathy with th^e Confederacy, and contributed to
its support. He was never defeated when before
the people, and was regarded one of the ablest
stump speakers in the South. He was gifted with
a commanding person, a deep, full and clear voice,
keen repartee and a flow of humor and logic.
Though he lacked the nervous and electric cur-
rent of eloquence, his efforts were always ponderous
and convincing, often grand and eloquent. In
186.5 he was elected to the Senate of the L^uited
States, but not allowed a seat, because his State
was denied representation.

In 1866, he was again offered for the Senate, but
was defeated by ex-(Jovernor Winston, the vote
being Winston 65 and Houston 61. In 1872, he
was again an applicant for the Senate, At this
time it was extremely doubtful whether the one

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

elected would be allowed a seat, the Legislature
being divided and in session in two places. After
many ballots all the names before the Democratic
wing of the Legislature, by agreement of the can-
didates, were simultaneously withdrawn, and the
Hon. F. W. Sykes, who had not been before it,
was elected.

In 1874 the Radical party had control of this
State. EflEorts to dislodge it had been repeatedly
made, but were fruitless. After a careful survey
of the field, George S. Houston was deemed by far
the most available man to make the race against
David P. Lewis for Governor.

Some of Houston's more intimate friends urged
him not to make the race ; they said the success of
the party was extremely doubtful ; that he had
earned sufficient reputation as a statesman, and
had served the people long enough to be entitled
to a discharge from further service.

At that time the State's indebtedness amounted
to about ^32,000,000 ; the rate of taxation for State
purposes was not less than three-fourths of one per
cent.; her treasury was empty; her people were
impoverished ; her obligations were almost worth-
less, and the State was entirely without credit — so
much so, it is said, the funds necessary to hold the
constitutional convention of 1875, could not be
raised until Governor Houston pledged his honor
that the same should be repaid.

To protect the honor and credit of the State,
and not confiscate the property of her citizens,
seemed a herculean task. He was told it would be
impossible ; that the people could not and would
not pay tlie indebtedness as it was then ; that the
creditors would not accept less, but would consider
any effort to settle at less than the full amount
claimed, repudiation ; that it would be impossible
to satisfy both the creditors and the taxpayers, and
that whoever tried it would find himself politically
dead. Though warned that this rock would
wreck the vessel laden with the fruits of his
earlier years and labor, and at his time of life he
could not hope to repair the injury which would
be wrought by a failure to satisfactorily handle
this perplexing problem, he was not deterred but
accepted the nomination which the convention by
acclamation tendered him.

The State was thoroughly canvassed and the lead-
ing issues discussed and fairly put before the people
by the ablest speakers in the party. The Radical
majority of ten to fifteen thousand was overcome,
and the Democratic ticket elected by alike majority.

As Governor, he advocated a policy which con-
verted the penitentiary, that had previously been
a considerable charge to the State, into a source
of State revenue. He favored aiding the public
schools to the full capacity of the State, but not to
the extent of crippling her ability to meet her just
obligations.

He urged economy in every department of state,
setting the example by saving more than $10,000
of the $1.5,000 set apart for contingent expenses.

"While Governor, he was in thorough accord with
the Legislature, having confidence in the honesty
and ability of the members, and inspiring their
confidence. So thoroughly were they in accord,
the veto power was not used oftener than four
times during one term, if so often.

The most important measure for their consider-
ation was the State debt. In a message to the
Legislature, he recommended the appointment of
a committee to investigate and make some adjust-
ment of it. The committee was composed of T.
B. Bethea, Levi W. Lawless and George S. Hous-
ton, who was chairman.

Their management of it is considered one of the
grandest achievements of the age ; the creditoVs
were fairly dealt with and were satisfied ; the
State's honor was not tarnished ; the taxpayers
were j)rotected, and now her bonds are far above
par ; the interest is paid with perfect regularity ;
property has greatly enhanced in value ; the rate
of taxation has been greatly reduced, and taxes
are cheerfully paid.

In 1876, and shortly after his re-election as
Governor, Geo. S. Houston was balloted for in the
caucus for United States Senator. He developed
a strong following, but meeting with considerable
opposition he determined to withdraw his name,
serve another term as Governor, and come before
the Legislature at the expiration of his second
term.

His successful competitor, the able and generous
John T. Morgan, thus spoke of his candidacy:
"At the expiration of his first term as Governor,
the people were ready to honor him still further
by electing him a second time to the Senate of the
United States, but they had again chosen him
Governor of the State and they would not consent
to relieve him of that service until he had com-
pleted fully, the wise course of policy inaugurated
during his first term. "

At the expiration of his second term he was sent
to the United States Senate. He served in the

^ ^

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

extra session of 1879, but did not return to Wash-
ington on account of ill health. On the 31st day
of December, 1870, he died at his home in Athens.

The Hon. Luke Pryor, his former law partner,
bosom friend and successor in the Senate, thus
s|)oke of liini: ■' He was a man free from deform-
ity of mind, body and heart. He was a man im-
pressive and imposing in his personal appearance.
His mind was vigorous, analytical, quick of
perception, sufficiently inrjuisitive, detective and
discriminative —a mind that came to conclusions
slowly but certainly; not because of its dullness,
but because of its caution, its prudence, its sense
of rectitude, and when reached, never found un-
just, ])rejudiceil, biased or partial, and rarely incor-
rect, staiuling and withstanding the severest tests.

•'Added to this was a judgment sound, well-
defined and trustworthy, and whicl), when once
formed, was firm and immovable. He was a man
of foresight and judgment profound. He was a
safe counselor, sagacious, well-trained, and ad-
mirably versed in the principles of wise statesman-
ship and public policy; an instructive, judicious
and adhesive friend, unselfish, never withholding
his views, but promptly and fully disclosing the
same to his associates. His industry in search of
truth was rarely eipialed. He could not l)e unduly
persuaded, and was beyond seduction to do a
wrong.

•' As a debater he was sagacious, ponderous and
■convincing; a hum emphatically of argumentation.
He had no superiors and few equals when dealing
with questions of facts; his powers of separation
and condensations of facts and their application
were wonderful.

'• On questions of law, discriminating clearly and
forcibly, with great cajiacity to present singleness
of point. In debate his manner was courteous,
becoming earnest, attractive and resj)ectful, espe-
cially toward his adversary, with a marked
toleration in respect to those differing with him
in views or sentiments.

LUKE PRYOR. distinguished lawyer, legislator
and citizen, Athens, Ala., was born in ^ladi-
son County, this State, July 5, 1820, and his
parents were Luke and Ann 15. (Lane) Pryor,
natives of the State of Virginia, ami descendants
of English ancestry.

The senior Luke Prvor marrieil in his native

State ; came to Madison Connty, Ala., in 1820,
and into Limestone County in 1822. He was a
planter by occupation ; a quiet, unassuming gen-
tleman ; a good citizen, and died, mourned by all
who knew him, in 1851, at the advanced age of
eighty-one year*. His widow survived him several
years, and died at Athens, in 1874. They reared
but two sons, John B. Pryor, now resident of New
Jersey, and a distinguislied turfman, and the sub-
ject of this sketch.

It was at the common schools of Limestone
County, Luke Pryor acquired the rudiments of an
English education which he subsequently aug-
mented at an academy at Washington, Miss. He
studied law under Daniel Coleman, at Athens;
was admitted to the bar in 1841, and gave to that
profession forty years of his life. His first law
partner was Robert Urickell, now the distinguished
Alabama jurisprudent. He was afterward at
different times associated with Egbert Jones,
(leneral Walker, and lastly, the Hon. George S.
Houston.

Since coming to man's estate, Mr. Pryor has
been identified prominently with every important
inteiest and industry of this community, and
every good work has received his heartiest encour-
agement and support. As early as 1854, he made
himself conspicuous as the friend and ailvocate of
what is now known as the L. & N, R. P., then,
we believe, spoken of as the North & South
Railroad. It is of history that that enterprise, in
its inception, met with much strenuous opposition
at the hands of some of the leading men of North
Alabama, and particularly of Limestone County.
This should not be construed into meaning that
those men opposed the construction of the road
as such, but they objected to the means proposed,
to-wit : that of subsidizing the corporation by ta.x-
ation to be levied upon the common people. Stock
was issued for the involuntary subscription or
county taxes to the tax payer. Upon the other
hand, Mr. Pryor and other gentlemen associated
with Jiim, took the ground that no moneved com-
pany would find it sufficiently to their interest to
induce them to invest the large amount required
for the construction of such line of road at that
early day : for it was known that the product of
the country was then insufficient to make it a
paying investment, and that it would probablv
remain so for many years. Therefore, he argued,
that as the road was to redound to tlie immediate
advantage of the people of that section of the

Northern Alabama.

country by giving tliem an outlet to the world,
and access to markets, thus enhancing the value
of their property, and increasing the price of the
product of the plantation, it was but right that
the people, as a whole, should bear a part of the
necessary expense. It was upon this question that
the people differed ; and the history of the North
& South Railroad shows that Mr. Pryor and his
friends were successful, and that a majority of the
people of Limestone were with him to the extent
that they voted in aid of the enterprise §200,000.
It then became a question as to whether the legis-
lature would pass a bill for this purpose, and Mr.
Prvor and Thomas H. Hobbs were sent to the
Legislature particularly in the interest of the enter-
prise. The bill as introduced and joassed, was
vetoed by the Governor, but it was immediately
passed over his head by the required two-thirds
majority, under the leadership of Mr. Pryor.

Mr. Prvor remained with this railroad com-
pany, and as its friend and champion, for many
years, until, in fact, it became a through line of
road from Nashville to the Tennessee Kiver, and
thence onward in the direction of Montgomery.
As this was one of the most important enterprises
of the South, and resulted in so much good to the
whole people, it is just that we should say that
there were associated with Mr. Pryor, and in its
behalf, many other good and true men, and among
them may be mentioned specially, Major Thomas

H. Hobbs, James Sloss, Geo. S. Houston,

Gilmer, Belser, et al. These men were,

many of them, identified later on with what was
known as the " Mountain Contracting Company,^'
organized for the purpose of constructing this
road between Decatur and Calera. It is now
known that the road was in process of construction
at the outbreak of the late war. It is also known
that the three per cent, levy due from the State to
the trust fund established for the purpose of con-
necting the Tennessee River and Jlobile Bay, was
appropriated to the North & South Railroad Com-
pany, and undoubtedly hastened the construction
of this road, which finally led on to Birmingham
and made that city possible. The bill providing
for this appropriation was largely the work of
Luke Pryor.

In 1880 (.January) Governor Cobb appointed
Hon. Luke Pryor United States Senator, to fill
the unexpired term of the late George S. Houston.
This appointment was made not only in consid-
eration of the warm friendship existing between

Messrs. Pryor and Houston during the lifetime of
the latter, but was also in response to a demand
on the part of people that the great Houston be
succeeded by one most familiar with his methods
and his purposes, and by the man most fitted in
every way to jn'osecute them to comi^letiou. How-
well Mr. Pryor discharged this great duty is now
known to the intelligent reader, and forms a part
of the history of the nation.

At the expiration of the term for which he was
appointed, Mr. Pryor refused to allow his name
to go before the Legislature for re-election. In
the fall of 1882 the people of his district, in con-
vention assembled at Decatur, without any knowl-
edge or solicitation on his part, nominated Luke
Pryor, by acclamation, as the Democratic candi-
date for the United States Congress. Mr. Lowe,
who was at that time the Greenback Re2)ublican
candidate, died quite suddenly during the can-
vass, and the Hon. David D. Shelby was placed in
his stead upon that ticket. Though at the pre-
ceding election Mr. Lowe had been returned by
a handsome majority, Mr. Pryor was elected by
over 800. At the end of the term Mr. Pryor
again declined further nomination.

Mr. Pryor, now in the sixty-eighth year of his
age, the possessor of a sound physical constitution,
in the enjoyment of robust health and the exercise
of every God-given faculty, promises yet to live
many years of usefulness in a community where
he has spent a long life, and where he is known
and loved by all who can apjireciate true worth in
a noble citizen . Kindhearted, generous to a fault,
never purposely inflicting a wound upon any
heart, Luke Pryor, when he shall have been gath-
ered unto his fathers, will leave behind him a
name and reputation to be honored by those who
knew him, and worthy of emulation by the greatest
to succeed him.

Mr. Pryor was married in Limestone County,
August 20, 1845, to a daughter of John H. Harris,
a native of A^irginia, and her given name was Isa-
bella Virginia. To them has been born one son,
William Richard Pryor, now an extensive farmer
in this county. Their daughters are: Aurora
(Mrs. Robert A. McClellan), Memory (widow o€
the late William S. Peebles), Ann P. (Mrs. Maclin
Sloss), Mary (Mrs. Thomas Leslie), Fannie Snow
and Hattie.

The family are somewhat divided in their church
relations, some of them being Presbyterians and
others Methodists.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

JOHN N. MALONE, Attorney-at-law, Athens,
Ala., was born in Sussex County, Va. His parents,
George and Sallie (Moyler) Malone, natives of
Virginia, and of Irish descent, came to Limestoi\e
county in 1823, and here spsnt the rest of their
lives, the old gentleman dying in 1847, at the
age of sixty-two years ; his wife having preceded
him to the other world by about four years. They
reared a family of three sons and three daughters,
of whom John N., and a sister are the only ones
living. One of the sons was a doctor, another a
farmer.

The subject of this sketch graduated from La
Grange College, Franklin County, Ala., as A. B.,
in 1830, and subsequently in due course received
from the same institution the degree of A. M. He
studied law with J. W. McLung, Huntsville : was
admitted to the bar in 18-41, and i^racticed law
for ten years. Then for the next succeeding ten
years, though maintaining his office at Athens, he
devoted his time to planting. In 1 51, he was
elected to the State Senate and was kept there for
six consecutive years. After the war, he resumed
the practice of law, and farming, and in 1881,
was appointed probate judge to fill out an unex-
pired term of five years, the office having been
vacated by the death of John M. Townsend.

Judge Malone was one of the trustees of the
Alabama University from 1851 to the outbreak of
the war, and has been one of the trustees of the
Agricultural and Mechanical School of Auburn
since its organization in 1874. Thus we find that
he has nearly all his life been interested in the
cause of education. He was a delegate to the
National Convention at Baltimore in 1852, and
supported Franklin Pierce and William R. King.
He took an active part in the memorable presiden-
tial campaign of 18G0; supported Stephen A.
Douglas for the presidency ; was opposed to
secession because he feared it would be followed
by coercion and war; but after Alabama seceded,
he cast his fortunes and fate with her, and was
intensely Southern in iiis sentiments and in full
sympathy with the Southern Confederacy.

John N. Malone was nuirried in Lauderdale
County in 1844, to Mary Lucy Kernachan, who
died in 1848, leaving one son, Robert, now a
planter in Limestone County. His second mar-
riage took place in the same county in 1854, to
Miss Rebecca Simmons, and to this union have
been born two sons and three daughters. The
youngest son, Henry, is a farmer: George is a

merchant; two of the daughters are married to
merchants in Arkansas, and the third one is at
lioine.

The family belong to the Jlethodist Episcopal
church and .ludge Jfalone is a .Mason.

— — «"f^i^- ■ < '■ •

JOHN J. TURRENTINE, prominent Attorney-
ai-luwund Deputy Di.stricl Solicitor, Athens, Ala.,
was born in Lawrence County, this State, June
10, 1840 ; and is a son of John and Elizabeth
(Stephens) Turrentine. natives of Xorth Carolina
and Alabama, respectively.

Mr. Turrentine was educated at Athens; studied
law under Judge Walker; admitted to the bar
April, IcGO, and embarked at once in the practice
of his profession. Early in the outbreak of the
war between the States, been listed in H. H. Hig-
gins' Company at Athens, and at Memphis was
mustered into the "Walker Fortieth" known
afterward and in history as the Fortieth Tennessee
Infantry. He served with that regiment up to the
time of his capture. After being held about five
months as jjrisoner he was exchanged at A'icks-
burg. In the Fortieth Tennessee he held the rank
of first lieutenant ; he went into the service as a
second junior lieutenant. The Fortieth Tennessee,
which did not have a Tennessee company in it, was
afterwards re-organized, and the Alabama com-
panies helped form the Fifty-fourth Alabama
Regiment, commanded by Alpheus Baker, colonel
in General Tillman's brigade up to the battle of
Baker's Creek. Just before this battle the com-
mand was transferred to Brigadier-General 0. A.
Buford. ]\Ir. Turrentine remained with the Fifty-
fourth through General Buford 's Mississijjpi cam-
paign, and under Lowring through the Jackson
campaign. In 18G3 lie was detailed Assistant
Quartermaster of his regiment, which position
he held until the spring of 18C4, at which time he
organized a company of skirmishers from the Fifty-
fourth Alal)ama Regiment. He participated in all
the Georgia campaign, and on August IG, 18G4,
was seriously wounded before Atlanta. He had
under him about 172 men at one time, and with
them, in the early jnirt of August, near Atlanta,
fought two Federal regiments for over two liours
a hand-to-hand conflict, in which some of the men
distinguished themselves as skirmishers, among
whom was Mr. Lania, of Choctaw County. Ala.
After the Georgia campaign, on account of some

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

difference with the colonel, he withdrew entirely
from his old regiment and proceeded to organize a
compan}' to be composed of the great surplus of
commissioned officers that, through the destruction
of men, had been virtually dej)rived of commands.
It appears that tliis company, if ever fully organ
ized, was not afterwards engaged in battle, as the
final surrender succeeded shortly after. In Jan-
uary, 1866, he removed to Arkansas; there prac-
ticed law for five years and returned to Athens in
1871. He was elected county solicitor in 1872,
and held the office until the law jaroviding for a
district solicitor went into force. The only other
civil office held by Captain Turrentine appears to
have been that of general administrator. He lield
this position about six years. He married while in
Arkansas (186G) iliss Elizabeth Sanders. She
died at Athens in May, 1881, leaving one son.
His second marriage was to a daughter of Dr. J.
M. Collins, of this county.

The Captain is an active Democratic worker; was
chairman of the Democratic Congressional Com-
mittee in 1882; is a good lawyer, a forcible speaker,
a citizen of the highest repute, a member of the
Masonic fraternity and of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South.

BENTON SANDERS, Merchant, Athens, Ala.,
was horn in this county, November 10, 1829.
His parents, William and Sarah (Fox) Sanders,
natives, respectively, of the S'ates of Georgia
and Virginia, were married in Madison County,
this State, and came to Limestone in 1841:.

The senior Mr. Sanders was a soldier in the War
of 1812, and along in the thirties, represented Lime-
stone County several sessions in the Legislature.
In 1834-5, lie was in the banking business at
Decatur. He died at his home, twelve miles east
of Athens, in 1840, at the age of 47 years. His
widow survived him several years, and died at the
age of 67. They reared three sons, the eldest.
Dr. W. T. Sanders, eminent in his profession,
died in 1865, and Oliver Perry, an extensive
planter, died at Grenada, Miss., in 1868.

Benton Sanders was educated at La Grange
College, studied law with Fred Tate, at Athens;
was admitted to the bar in 1850 ; served the
county three years as sheriff, and was in mercan-
tile business afterward, until the beginning of the
war. Soon after the close of hostilities, he was

appointed register in chancery, a position he filled
until 1874, when he was elected Judge of Probate,
for the term of six years.

Much to the regret of the people of Fjimestone
County, Judge Sanders, at the end of his term,
declined a second nomination for the probate
judgeship, and the sentiment of the public may
be inferred from the following quotation from a
newspaper editorial of that date :

"Judge Sanders retires to private life without
a blur or blot on his administration. No one has
ever filled that highly responsible office with more
satisfaction to our peojde, and in vacating the
office he carries with him the best wishes of the
people of Limestone County."

In 1880, he resumed mercantile business, at the
head of the firm of Sanders & Richardson, and
has since devoted his time to it.

Mr. Sanders is president of the Athens Male
College, and a member of the Board of Trustees
of the Athens Female Institute.

In casting about over the State for a suitable
person to investigate, as an expert, the various
public offices, Governor O'Neal at once settled
upon Benton Sanders, of Athens, and in an
urgent letter, under date of March 24, 1883,
tendered him the ajipointment as follows :

" The Legislature ordered me to have the offices
of auditor, treasurer, secretary of State, super-
intendent of education, and warden of peni-
tentiary examined by a competent person at least
twice each year, and to this end appropriated a
sufficient sum out of which to jDay the expense.
You have been recommended to me by Chief
Jjstice Brickell and others as the man to do this
important work, and I hereby tender you the place."

Though recognizing this as a compliment of
a very high order, Mr. Sanders' private business
was such as compelled him to decline the duty.

[Afterward, Colonel Lapsley received the ap-
pointment, and discharged the duties with marked
ability.— Ed.]

Mr. Sanders was married at Athens. January
27, 1853, to Miss Eliza Thach, daughter of
Thomas H. Thach, planter and merchant, of
Mooresville, and of the five children born to him
we make the following notice : His only son,
W. T., is a student at Vanderbilt University; one
of his daughters is the wife of Thomas J.
Turrentine, another is the wife of J. W.
Woodruff, Jr., a planter of Mooresville. and he
has two daughters at home.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Mr. Sunders' family belong to tlie Wetliodist
Ei)iscopiil C'liurch.

ROBERT A. McCLELLAN, Attorney-at-hiw.
Atliens, was born in Lincoln County, Tenii.,
December, \%\^l. His father was Thomas J.
McClellan, a native of Tennessee, and of Scotch
descent, and liis mother's maiden name was Mar-
tha Beattie, also a native of Tennessee.

The senior Jlr. MoClellan came into Limestone
County in 1844, located npon a farm ten miles
east of Athens, and there followed planting until
1884, when he retired, and. we think, moved
into Athens. lie died October 14, 1887. lie
was a member of the Secession Convention of 1860,
and voted against that movement. He was a
member of the lower house. State Legislature,
in 1862, and of the Constitntional Convention of
18C5. He was not, of choice, a politician. He
was an old line Whig; a plain, common-sense man;
honest, above all things; entertaining and forci-
ble in conversation. It was this latter ac-
complishment probably that forced him into dis-
cussions and, finally, into politics. He had the
reputation of being one of the best posted men
on public cpiestions in the county. He reared
four sons to manhood. .John B., the eldest, is a
farmer in this county; has served in the Legislature,
and was probate judge at the time the Reconstruc-
tion party came into power, when he was ousted.
The second son, William C, died in this county,
December 11, 1869, at the age of thirty-two years.
He was four years in the Confederate Army:
was captured two days before Appomattox, and
kept in prison until August, 1865. The youngest
son, the Hon. Thomas N. McClellan, is now
Attorney- (ieneral of the State.

The subject of this sketch was educated at the
common schools, studied law, and was admitted to
the bar in 1868 at Athens. In the fall of 1862 he
joined the Seventh Alabama Cavalry, and served
to the close of the war, holding the rank of lieu-
tenant, and most of the time was in command of
his company. He participated in the campaigns
of Middle and East Tennessee, (leorgia, and the
Carolinas, and in many battles.

He was a member of the Constitutional Con-
vention of 187-"), and in November of that year
was elected to the State Senate to till out an unex-
pired term. His name was before the Congres-

sional Convention in 1880, when Wheeler was
nominated, and received a flattering vote — a ma-
jority on the first ballot.

He was married in 1872 to Miss Aurora Pryor,
a ilaugliterof Hon. Luke I'ryor.

WILLIAM R. FRANCIS, Jr., Attorney-at-law,
;ind editor ami prf^irietor of the Athens Demo-
crat, a live democratic weekly paper, published
at Athens, was born in Franklin County, Tenn.,
September 25, 1843. His father, William R.
Francis, Sr., a native of Virginia, is now a
planter in Franklin County, Tenn.

The great-grandfather Francis was a soldier in
the Revolutionary War, and Mr. Francis' grand-
father fought in the war of 1812.

The sub ject of this sketch was educated at the
jiublic schools of Tennessee; studied law under
John Frizzell, at Winchester, and was admitted
to the bar in 1867. He first began the practice
of law at Winchester, and remained there until
1879, and in the fall of that year came to Athens,
where he has since been in the practice. In 1886
the Limestone County Publishing Co. established
the Demticrat, and Jlr. Francis was made its
editor.

At Winchester, Tenn.. in the fall of 1861, Mr.
Francis enlisted as a private in Company I, Forty-
first Tennessee Infantry, C. S. A., and served
through the war. At Cliickamauga, September 2:0,
1863, a minie ball crushed the upper section of
the left femur, resulting in crippling him for life.
While not thereafter in active service, he was in the
Retired Corps to the close of the war. Before
Chickamauga, he had participated in the battles of
llaymond, Jliss., Port Hudson, Jackson, Black
River and Corinth. Ilis regiment was captured
at Fort Donelson, but he being sick, he was
allowed to escape, After that time, he served
in the Seventeenth Tennessee. He was paroled in
May, 1865, and in August of that year returned to
Tennessee, and thence, as has been seen, came to
Athens.

Mr. Francis is a wide-a-wake, active democratic
worker, and runs a red-hot jiaper.

— — *>— J^^-^— —

WILLIAM H. WALKER, son of John F. and

Kliza Walker, was Ijorn near Mooresville, Lime-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

stone County, Ala., March 2, 1822, and died
March 4, 1870.

Mr. Walker, one of the leading lawyers of his
day, was left an oi'jjhan at the age of four years.
He was educated at La Grange, began the practice
of law when a young man, and with the exception
of a part of a term, served by appointment, as
Probate Judge, devoted his life thereto.

He was married July 7, 1859, to Miss Sally E.
Ryan, of Baltimore, and had born to him eight
children, seven of whom are living at this writing
(1888): Mary Eloise (Mrs. R H. Richardson),
William Ryan, Ada, John Fortraan, Maria Rich-
ardson, and Robert Henry.

Mr. Walker was an able lawyer, a highly re-
spected citizen, and a consistent member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. South.

WILLIAM R. WALKER, Attorney-at-law,
Athens, son of William H. Walker, a prominent
jurist, who died at this place in 1870.

Mr. Walker was educated primarily at Athens'
schools and Auburn, Ala., and graduated in the
law department of Yanderbilt University in
1882. He began the practice at once at Athens,
and in September, 1885, moved to Guutersville,
and there, associated with B. Coman, edited the
Guntersville Democrat, in connection with the
practice of law, w^ to January, 1887. Since that
date he has been practicing law at Athens. He
was born, in this town, November 10, 1861.

— ^i-

JAMES E. HORTON, Judge of Probate, Lime-
stone County, Ala., was born near Huntsville,
this State, May 20, 1833. His parents, Rodah
and Lucy (Otey) Horton, iratives of Virginia and
England, were married in Madison County, this
State, where their three sons and three daughters
were born. Of the six children. Judge Horton
and a brother only are now living. The others
all moved South, where it seems their lives were
materially shortened.

The senior Mr. Horton died in 18-16, at the age
of fifty-four years. He was an extensive planter,
and represented Madison County once or twice in
the State Legislature.

The subject of this sketch was educated at the
University of Alabama, and the University of

Virginia. He came into Limestone County in
18.57, settled on the Elk River, and engaged in
farming. At Bardstown, Ky., in the fall of 1862,
as aid-de-camp to Gen. Daniel S. Donelson, he
entered the Confederate service. He was with
General Donelson until the death of that gentle-
man, which occurred .at Knoxville, Tenn., in the
latter part of 1863. From that time to the close
of the war. Major Horton was Acting General
Qttartermaster, and was on the Florida coast when
the war closed.

Returning to Limestone County at the close of
the war, he resumed his planting operations,
which he followed up to August, 1886, when he
was elected Judge of Probate. Sometime before
this he had served one term as county commis-
sioner, which appears to be the sum of his office,
holding. He was married in Tennessee, near the
"Hermitage," October 18, 1860, to Miss Emily
Donelson, the accomjilished daughter of Daniel
S. Donelson, a nephew of Mrs. Gen. Andrew
Jackson. To this union four daughters and a
son have been born, the eldest of the former is
now the wife of John B. Tanner, of Athens.

Judge Horton's family are members of the
Presbyterian Church, and he is of the Masonic
fraternity.

JAMES BENAGH, Attorney-at-Law, Notary
Public and Register in Chancery, Athens, was
born at Lynchburg, Va., February 23, 1828, and
his parents were James and Elizabeth (Rich-
ardson) Benagh, the first a native of Ireland and
the latter of Virginia. They lived and died at
Lynchburg, the old gentleman in 1861 at the age
of 74, and his widow in 1868 at the age of 68.

The senior Mr. Benagh was a lawyer by pro-
fession, and was for many years Clerk of the Court
at Lynchburg and Master in Chancery. He came
with his i^arents to America in 1792.

.Tames Benagh was educated at Lynchburg,
there studied law and was admitted to the bar,
but did not actively enter the practice. At the
outbreak of the late war, he was speculating and
taking the world easy. He went into the army
as Captain and Assistant Adjutant-General on
General Kirby Smith's staff. He was in the war
from the beginning to the close, and is probably
the last man that ever received an order fi'om the
Confederate Government. AtJiVashington, Wilkes
County, Ga., and on the day that President Davis

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

and his Cabinet left that town, orders came tli rough
yuarterniastcr-Ueneral Lawton, to Captain Ben-
a<rh, to take charge of all stores accumulated at dif-
ferent depots and turn tliem over to the Georgia
liailway Company-. This was for the purpose of
enal)ling the road to run, that they might carry
paroled men toward their homes. The Captain
was also ordered to see to the delivery of certain
silver coin then being sent in bags to a distin-
guished ex-official. The orders were carried out
as far as in Captain Benagh's power lay. ]5ut
the timid gentleman refused to receive it, and the
supposition is that the boys who had the silver
bags in charge realized the whole. After the war,
Captain Benagh returned to Virginia, and later on
to Athens and followed planting in Limestone
County up to 1875, since when he has been engaged
in the practice of law. He was appointed Kegis-
ter in Chancery, in 188G, by Hon. Thomas Cobbs.
He was married in Baltimore, ild., in 1872, to
a Mi.ss I!yan.

— " — ■ ■^— J^^s — ^ • — • —

JOHN THOMAS TANNER, lieal Estate, Im-
migration Agent and Healer in Exchange, Athens,
was born in Madison County, this State, August
25, 1820. His father, Samuel Tanner, a native
of Virginia, came ■ to Alabama in 1818, and to
Athens in 1825. He was a merchant all his life.
He died in 1871, at the age of 87 years. He was
an active business man to the very day of his
final sickness. He reared four sons, one of whom,
W. P. Tanner, deceased, was secretary and treas-
urer of the Cotton Seed Oil Mill at Montgomery.

The subject of this sketch was educated at
Athens ; began clerking for his father at the age
of thirteen years, from which time, it may be
truthfully said, he has been an active business
man. In 1842 he engaged in the cotton business
in Xew Orleans ; two years later he removed to
Shreveport, and in 1847 returned to Athens and
was with his father in mercantile business up to
1852. He at that time engaged in banking, at
which business we hnd him at the outbreak of
the war, and to which he returned at the close of
the war. In 1866 he was appointed Revenue
Collector (United States); held that office about
eighteen months, and was succeeded by a gentle-
man from Pennsylvania.

As secretary anc^ treasurer of the North &
South Hailroad. during the war. Mr. Tanner was

exempt from (iovernnient service, and the fact of
his not having participated in any manner in the
cause of the South led to his appointment by the
United States (iovernment to the office of Col-
lector of Pevenne.

Associated with the Hon. Luke Pryor and
others, Jlr. Tanner was conspicuous in the or-
ganization and construction of the North &
South Railroad, and was officially connected with
it for twenty-five years. [This road was first
called the Tennessee & Alabama Central. — Ed.]

Since 1871, Mr. Tanner has devoted his time
to the business indicated at the introduction of
this sketch. He has been connected officially
with the Athens Female College for the past
thirty years, a great deal of the time as vice-
president, and at the death of Senator Houston
was made president, a position he has since con-
tinued to fill. He has been five years Mayor of
the city of Athens, and always identified with her
best interests. He is probably the most conspic-
uous advocate of i'rohibition in the State, if not
in the South. The first State Temperance Al-
liance was held and organized at his office, in
1881. He was chairman of the first State Con-
vention called in Alabama in the interest of pro-
hibition. In 1884 he was a delegate to the conven-
tion at Pittsburgh, and in the roll-call of States
placed the Hon. John P. St. John in nomination
for the Presidency of the United States. In 1886,
Mr. Tanner was nominated at Birmingham for
Governor, on the Prohibition ticket, made
the race, and distinguished himself as a powerful
and sincere worker in the cause of temperance.
He is now one of the vice-presidents of the Na-
tional Temperance Society, whose headquarters
are in Xew York City, and is also chairman of
executive committee of the Prohibition party for
the State of Alabama.

At this writing (1888) Mr. Tanner is promi-
nently spoken of in connection with the vice-
presidential candidacy of the Prohibition party,
his name having been indorsed for that place by
the State Prohibition Convention. December 15,
1887. [Mr. Tanner's was presented to the con-
vention at Indianajiolis, June, 1888, for Vice-
President of the United States on the Prohibition
ticket, and received a flattering vote. — Ed.]

He was married at Greenwood, La., November
26, 1846, to Miss Susan Owen Wilson, a native of
Jackson, Tenn., and has had born to him four sons
and fourdaughters,to-wit: John B.. who isacotton

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

broker, Athens ; Jason S., deceased, aged nine-
teen years; Stephen, deceased, and Maria,
deceased : Margaret Elizabeth (Mrs. Dr. W. R.
McWilliams); Mary Ruth (Mrs. J. L. Thompson),
and Susan 0'. (Mrs. C. F. Carter.)

Mr. Tanner and family are members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church.

LAWRENCE RIPLEY DAVIS, Postmaster
at Athens, was born in Limestone County Febru-
ary 27, 1819, and his parents were Nicliolas and
Martha (Hargrave) Davis, of Virginia.

Nicholas Davis came to Alabama in 1817, set-
tled on Limestone Creek, this county, and fol-
lowed planting the rest of his life. He died in
1856, at the age of seventy-six years. He was a
public-spirited man, and one of the first men of
distinction in this county. Prior to 1817 he was
a United States marshal in Virginia, and, after
coming here, was a member of the first Constitu-
tional Convention (1819), and was a rejiresentative
in tlie lower house of the first Legislature after
Alabama was admitted to the L^nion as a State.
From 1820 to 1828, inclusive, he was a member
of the Senate, and for five sessions was President
of that body. He was the Whig candidate against
Cha23mau for Governor in 1847, and ran for
Congress against C. C. Clay in 1829, and was
defeated by only eighty votes, though the district
was known to be largely Democratic. He was a
captain in the War of 1S12.

Another writer, in speaking of Captain Davis,
says: " That he was a man of great exjjerience
in public atfairs, and of the highest personal
worth; that he occupied a high rank in the esti-
mation of all parties as a citizen, and for faithful
public services; and in the councils of the Whig
party his views were received with confidence."

In 1844, he was at the head of the Wliig elec-
toral ticket, and in speaking further of him in
this connection, the author above referred to
says : "In his speech at the close of the conven-
tion, in taking leave of his fellow Whigs he was
very impressive; he was truly the 'old man elo-
quent.' He was a great lover of his country, and
in alluding to its future under under a good gov-
ernment, and the visions opened up to him in the
distance, and the important influence his party
was destined to exert in developing the energies
and greatness of the country, he was overpowered

with emotions, which brought relief in a flood of
tears as he took his seat."

The subject of this sketch was educated in
Limestone County, read law, and was licensed to
practice, but never went to the bar. He followed
farming up to the beginning of the late war, and
probably up to 18G3. In 1873 he came into
Athens, and started the Limestone Xews, con-
ducted it for one year, and sold it out. It was in
this year that he was appointed private secre-
tary to Governor Houston, which took him
to Montgomery. In 1849, to recur to a much
earlier period in his life, he ran for the Legisla-
ture on the Whig ticket against W. H. Harrison,
and, notwithstanding the great Democratic major-
ity to be overcome, he was elected by about 500.
In 1855 he was again a caTididate for the Legisla-
ture, and was ojiposed by the Hon. Luke Pryor
and the late Major Hobbs. The leading question
before the people at that time was in reference to
the aid, by taxation, of the North & South
Road. Mr. Davis, as an anti-taxation man, was
defeated. In 1859 he was again elected, and was
a member of the Legislature when the State
seceded. He was opposed to secession at the be-
ginning, but yielded gracefully to the will of the
majority, and at the request of the Governor he
canvassed Northern Alabama, urging the people
to a peaceful acquiescence in the result of the
Secession Convention. It will be remembered
that there was mucli bitter opjjosition in the Ten-
nessee Valley to secession, and particularly was
this the case in Limestone County: so when Mr.
Davis reached this part of the State, he encoun-
tered the most intense excitement. In 1860 he
was the elector for his District on the Bell and
Everett ticket, and took an active part in that
heated contest.

Mr. Davis was appointed Register in Cluincery
in 1876, and was still holding that position when
appointed postmaster by President Cleveland,
October, 1885. He has always been recognized
as an active worker, and a man of far more than
ordinary influence in the ranks of the Democratic
party. He edited the Post in 1882; has repre-
sented his party in the various State and Con-
gressiotuil Conventions from time to time, and
has delivered more stump speeches than any other
man in Northern Alabama. His last important
canvass was in support of the Hon. Luke Pryor
for Congress, as against D. D. Shelby.

ilr. Davis was married first in Russell County,

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Ala., to Miss Mary Abercroinbie, March 27. 1851.
She died in 185ft. and in 18(!1 -Mr. Davis was mar-
ried to Miss Sarah A. .\[ef'Ielian.

J. R. HOFFMAN. M. D., Athens, was born
at Kingsport, Kust 'I'eniiessee, August 13, 1830,
and is the son of Aaron and Mary Ann (Richard-
son) lIolTman, natives of Virginia and Tenmessee,
and of (ierniau and Irish descent, respectively,
lie was educated at Jonesboro, Tenn., Academy;
raine to Athens in 185G; read medicine with Dr.
\'arbrough; graduated from Jefferson Medical Col-
lege, Philadelphia, in 1858; came at once to Lime-
stone county; practiced three or four years in the
-southern part of the county, and removed to
Athens in 18C5. In 1861 Dr. Hoffman enlisted
as a private soldier in Ward's Battery, and served
about eight months in that position. At the
end of this time he was appointed Assistant-Sur-
geon, and as such saw much service in (ieorgia
and Virginia. At the close of the war he returned
to East Tennessee, ana directly to Athens. From
ISUG to 1874 he was in the drug business with Dr.
Coman, at the same time, however, giving atten-
tion to his practice. He was a member of the
State Hoard of Health from 1882 to 1887: has
been chairman of the Board of Censors of -Lime-
stone ('ounty,and was County Health Oflicer from
1884 to 188G.

Dr. Hoffman was married in this county Decem-
ber 29, 185!i. to iliss Fannie C. Jones, who died
April 12, 1878, leaving one son -and two daugh-
ters.

THEOPHILUS WESTMORELAND. M. D.,

At ho lis, was liiii-n in (iili'sCiiunty.'rciin., Xovunilier
21, 1834, and was educated jiriniarily at Pulaski,
graduating at Nashville, in 1855, as a Doctor of
Medicine. He began practice first, and at once
after leaving college, in Giles County, subsequently
locating at Pulaski for a few years, and came into
Athens in 1879. In 1880 he established a drug
store in connection with his practice.

In the summer of 18(>1 Dr. Westmoreland went
into the army as Surgeon of the Fifty-third Ten-
nessee Infantry, and afterwards was made Chief
Surgeon of (Jeneral Quarles" brigade, in which
])osition he remained to the close of tiie war. He
was captured at Fort Donelson, and when the

Federals were removing the sick, he and two other
j)hysicians got permiasion to take a trip up the
river, and, not being under any [Kirole, made their
escape.

The Doctor was in the Western Army and on
duty at the battle of Port Hudson, Dalton, and
many other jilaces during the war, and finally at
the last conflict of arms, Bentonville, X. C.

Aside from his profession and drug business he
is largely interested in agriculture. He takes no
interest in politics particularly, is no office-seeker,
though a reliable Democrat, and has served the
town one term as Mayor.

lie was married in 1802 at Gilbertsborough,.
this county, to a daughter of Louis Nelson,
an old citizen, merchant and {)lanter of that
place. Mrs. Westmoreland died in 1877, leaving
two daughters and a son. One of the daughters,
an accomplished young lady of seventeen years,
died in 1884. The other is Mrs. Vandegrift of
Athens. The Doctor's second marriage occurred
at Athens, where he wedded Miss May F. Lane,
daughter of Judge (ieorge W. Lane, of Huntsville,
July 29, 1879. [George W. Lane was some years
Judge of the Circuit Court, and was appointed by
Buchanan United States District Judge, and held
the office over, under -Mr. Lincoln.— F.u.] By his
last marriage Dr. Westmoreland has two children,
Frank Grant and Pat tie Lane.

The Doctor stands high in his profession, is a
member of the various medical societies, and is
one of Athens' most popular citizens.

MARCUS G. WILLIAMS. President of the

Atlicn.s Female College, was born at Boonville,
JIo., October 25, 1831, and is a son of the IJev.
Justinian Williams, of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, late of the Tennessee Conference.

The l{ev. Mr. Williams was placed in charge of
Huntsville Station, in 1837, and spent most of
the remainder of his life in Alabama, preaching,
and died ■ in 1859, at the age of seventy-two
years.

Professor Williams was educated at La (Jrange
College, Alabama ; studied medicine awhile, but
feeling that it was his duty to preach, turned his
attention to theology, and was licensed to preach
in the Methodist l]])iscopaI Church, South, in
March, 1854. During the following fall, he en-
tered the Tennessee Conference, on trial, and

KORTHERX ALABAMA.

remained there ixntil the outbreak of the war,
when he was made Chajilain of the Third Ten-
nessee Infantry. At the end of the first year,
his commission as Chaphiin having exjjired, he
raised a company of cavalry for the Xinth Ala-
bama, and, as Captain, commanded it about a
year and a half. He left the service on account
of an injury received at Murfreesboro, and re-
turned to Lawrence County and taught school
for a short time. In 1867 he was transferred to
the Arkansas Conference, Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, going thence, at the end of two
years, to the Southwest Missouri Conference. He
remained in Missouri eleven years, devoting his
time to the ministry, and to the advancement of
education. He resigned his Professorship in the
Central Female College, Lexington, Mo., to come
to the Korth Alabama Conference, ^lethodist
Episcopal Church, South (1880). Since coming
here he has had charge of Xew Market Circuit
and Xew Market High School, Madison County ;
Tuscumbia Station and Tuscumbia Male Acad-
emj^, and Leighton Circuit, and came to his pres-
ent position by election, January, 1884. He
preaches at Elkmont and State Line gratuitously,
and fills the pulpit at Athens in the absence of
the regular pastor.

Professor Williams was married in Lauderdale
County, Ala., October 23, 1850, to a Miss Coffey,
and has reared two daughters, one of whom is
adopted, but is as near to him and as dear to him,
seemingly, as his own child. Both his daughters
are teachers in the college over which he pre-
sides.

RICHARD W. VASSER was born in Amelia
County, ^'a., in September, ISOO. His father,
Peter Yasser, moved to Halifa.x County, Va.,
during the infancy of his son, and being a man
of extravagant and somewhat dissipated habits,
wasted a handsome estate. This induced his son
Richard, in 1816, to join his cousin Ed Dand-
ridge.Jonesinamoveto Middle Tennessee, and they
■afterward settled in (Jiles County. Young Yasser
came to Xorthern Alabama the next year, and de-
cided to make his home henceforth in Limestone.
By persevering energy and the exercise of an in-
domitable will which possessed the magic of
moulding circumstances to his purposes, he in a
few years accumulated sufficient means to bring

his parents and sisters to his new home. The
death of his father, a year or two after their ar-
rival, left the mother and sisters entirely depend-
ent on his personal efforts for their support, and
never did son or brother more faithfully discharge
this sacred duty. His fine intellect, wonderful
business capacit}-, and well-known integrity, made
him a leading spirit in those early daj's of our
young Commonwealth. He was president of the
board of directors of the first Huntsville bank,
and used to take a monthly trip to the then infant
town, on horseback, astride his saddle-bags filled
with papers, currency and coin. Throughout his
life his memory was marvelous, and his friends in
Philadelphia, Pa. (to which city he made a yearly
trijJ, even when it took six weeks to get there),
have told the writer of some of his feats of
memory, especially in dates and figures, not un-
worthy of Parr or Bradford. In 1833 he married
his second cousin, Elizabeth Dandrige Jones (she
being the great-granddaughter of the Peter Jones
who, about 1720, assisted Colonel AVilliam Byrd,
then commissioner of the English C'rown in this
country, to lay off the cities of Richmond and
Petersburg, Ya., and the latter city was named
for this Peter Jones, (and not for Petersburg
in Russia, as many erroneously suppose.) She
bore him thirteen children, nine sons, of whom
William Ed. Yasser was the youngest, and is the
sole survivor. Mr. Yasser died in Athens, Ga,, in
18G4, and in 1880 his remains (with those of his
son. Lieutenant Harry Yasser, who was killed in
Johnston's retreat from Atlanta, just one month
after his father's decease), were brought to Athens,
They lie side by side in the old town ceme-
tery, on ground taken from the garden of the old
home, where the surviving members of the family
still keeji their resting-place fragrant with roses
and lilies, planted by hands long since returned to
mother earth.

WILLIAM EDWARD VASSER. son of Richard
W, and Elizabeth B. (Jones) Yasser, natives of
Yirginia and Xorth Carolina, respectively, was
born March 19. 1855. He was educated at the
^Military Institute, Lexington, Ya., and at the
University of Yirginia, graduating from the
first in 1875, and from the latter in 1876. In
1878, he made a tour of Europe, for the j'urpose

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

of observation. and study; returned to Athens, and
fur the succeeding three years, turned his attention
to farming.

During the years of 1882-3, Mr. ^■as^<er con-
ducted tlie editorial columns of the Alabama
Courier, and in 188(j, the people of the county,
chose him as against six competitors to represent
them in the lower house of the State Legislature,
and it is wortliy of remark that at the primary
election, he received a decided majority of the en-
tire vote cast. At tlie general election, there was
no opposition to Jlr. Yasser. As a member of the
Legishiture, he was chairman of the Committee on
Education, and an active member of the Com-
mittee on Public Roads and Highways. In the
first named committee, and before the House, he
took a prominent stand in favor of the Kormal
School system, and maintained it successfully
against the combined opposition of its enemies,
and it is to his efforts that the peof>le of Alabama
are indebted for the improvement and increase of
the Normal School privileges, if not indeed its
present existence. It was his committee that intro-
duced the law, compelling county superintendents
to cover public money coming into their hands,
into the State Treasury, instead of disbursing it as
they had hitherto done. As under the old system,
defalcations had been for many years more or less
frequent, a change in the law is at once recog-
nized as salutary. It was his committee that
separated the Deaf and Dumb from the Blind
Institution, established different schools for them,
and procured separate appropriations for each
institution. He also advocated successfully an
appropriation for the Auburn Polytechnic School.

Mr. Yasser is a cultured, educated gentleman,
with a decidedly literary cast of mind. His
eulogy in verse on the distinguished Houston, was
((uoted by Congressman Williams in his eulogy
upon the dead Senator before the United States
House of IJepresentatives, and his volume of poems
entitled "Flower Myths and other Poems" (1884)
has attracted much favorable comment from liter-
ary critics in almost every State in the Union, and
many of his poems have been published and repub-
lished by the leading papers of the country.

-. ... > ..;^^. . < .. ■

THOMAS HUBBARD HOBBS, Athens, was born
in Limestone County, Ala., April 19, 182G, and
died in Lynchburg, Va., July 24, 18G2. His

parents were Ira E. and Rebecca E. (Maclin)
Hobbs, natives of Brunswick county, Ya., and of
Scotch-Irish extraction. His mother was a daugh-
ter of Thomas Maclin, a captain in the War of
1812, and his uncle, Hubbard Hobbs, was a lieu-
tenant in the United States Navy, and an officer
on the Yincennes, the first vessel sent by the
United States (Government to circumnavigate the
globe. Lieutenant Hobbs sjient most of his life at
sea, though he occasionally visited Alabama, and
probably erected the first cotton-mill in this State.
It was at Fulton, and in the year 1827.

The subject of this sketch received his academic
education at La Grange College; graduated from
the L'niversity of Yirginia as ]?achelor of Arts in
1853, and subsequently from the law department
of the University of Pennsylvania. He practiced
law but a short time at Athens, this State, when,
finding his plantation requiring most of his
attention, he abandoned the profession almost
entirely.

He was one of the prime movers of the North i<:
South Railroad, and was associated with the Hon.
Luke Pryor in the establishment and final success
of that enterprise.

He was elected to the Legislature in 1856, as
favoring the railroad approj)riation, and was sent
by that body to represent his Congressional district
at the Cincinnati Convention of that year. He
was in the Legislature continuously from 1856 to
1861, and was a Breckenridge elector in 1860.
Though quite a young man, he was prominently
spoken of in connection with the gubernatorial
chair.

In speaking of him after hisdeath, the Jlemphis
Appeal says: ■•Among Alabama's brightest and
purest sons was JIajor Thomas II. llobbs, of Lime-
stone County. He was of the cavalier stock of th»
Old Dominion. His education was thorough,
vai'ied and polished. He wielded a facile pen,
and in writings showed his refined and tacit taste.
He was gifted with a clear, cogent and convincing
eloquence. Calm, dignified, self-poised, he dis-
cussed the most difficult questions with eminent
ability. As a member of the Legislature, he de-
voted his time and talents to the development of
the resources of his own State. He was foremost
in all noble enterprises. In her system of pojiular
enterprises, Alabama owed more to Thomas Hobbs
than to any other one man. A politician of the
old Democratic school, he was the courteous and
gentlemanly opponent, never condescending to

«6

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

low and unmanly tricks to gain his point. Pure,
and as gentle as a woman, he was tlie embodiment
of masculine energy and heroic valor. With a
courage cool, calm and daring, he was among the
first to enter the army."

An original Secessionist, he was opposed by
some of the leading men of his country. He
entered the army in 1861 as the Cajitain of Com-
pany F, Ninth Alabama Infantry, and proceeded
at once to Richmond.

While the battle of Manassas was being fought
he was at Piedmont, and reached the battle-ground
the next day, where, as he said, "I saw for the
first time the awful result of war." After going
through all the battles in which his regiment liad
participated, in the first day of what is known as
the Seven Days' Fight around Richmond, he was
wounded by a gun-shot in the knee. This wound,
though slight, resulted in his death. 'While in
the army Captain Ilobbs was asked to become a
member of the Confederate Congress, but declined
the honor.

He was first married at Richmond, Ya., August
4. 185"2, to Indiana E. Booth. She died 'at Athens
in 185-1. His second marriage was at Lynchburg.
Va., February 17, 1858, to Anne Benagh, a daugh-
ter of James Benagh, of that city. She died at
Athens in 1872, leaving two sons: Thomas JIaclin
and James Benagh. The latter died in 1883 at
t lie age of 21 years. Thomas Jlaclin Hobbs was
educated at the Virginia Military Institute and
the Alabama State University. He lives now upon
the plantation once owned by his grandfather.
Thomas jMaclin, and is the sole successor and
heir to the estates of that family.

JOHN R. MASON, the second son of William
and Rebecca ilasun. was born in tireenville Coun-
ty, Va., 1803, and died at luka, Miss., in April,
1862. He was educated in his native State, came
with his parents to Limestone County; and at
Athens was many years engaged in the mer-
cantile business, in addition to which he was an
extensive farmer and stock grower. He took a
prominent part here in the agitation of the ques-
tion of aid, by taxation, in the construction of the
North and South Railroad, bitterly opposing the
proposition to subsidize. However, after the road
was put under way, we find that he was equally
as earnest in having it pushed forward to comple-

tion, and that he was for years a member of its
Board of Directors.

He was first married in Limestone County in
1833, to a daughter of Gabriel Smith, who died
in 1844, leaving one son, William Mason, who
died in Waco, Texas, in 1878. John R. Mason was
again married at Athens, ilarch 27, 1845, to Miss
(ilorvinia Beaty, a daughter of Robert Beaty, one
of the early settlers of this place. Robert Beaty
came from Ireland when he was but a child, grew
to manhood in the State of Virginia, and there
married Sallie Parrott. He was one of the
jiioneers of Limestone County, and took an active
part in having the county site established at
Atliens. as against the claims of the then preten-
tious village of Cambridge. He was an influential
and jiublic-spirited citizen. He donated to the
town the famous '"Athens Springs," with several
acres of land, with the understanding that it

•^ should be devoted to the public usfr forever. Mr.
Beaty was familiarly known as Captain Beaty.
He died in Missouri, where he had gone on a busi-
ness trip.

John R. Mason, by his second marriage, had
two sons, Robert Beaty and John Ormond; the
latter died at Athens in 1884, at the age of thirty-
six years. Robert B. Mason, the elder son, was
born June 27, 1846; educated at Athens, Ala.,
and Pittsburgh, Pa.: entered the Confederate
Army as a member of (Jen. P. D. Roddy's escort,
served to the close of the Civil War, and surren-
dered at Pond Springs. After the war lie devoted
some time to the mercantile business, but after-
ward turned his attention entirely to farming
and stock raising.

He married at Fayette, Tenn., in 1870, Miss
Mollie P. (larrett, who died in 1882, leaving four
children, Clyde Ormond, Robert Beaty, John

j Greer and Mary Elice.

I John R. Mason was a self-made man. starting

: out in life with little of this world's goods, but by
dint of persistent effort, close application to busi-
ness, and the exercise of sound discretion, he
accumulated and left to his family a handsome
competency. He was universally popular and was
beloved. by all classes. Everybody knew, and en-
joyed the society of " Ca])tain Jack Mason."

It was while visiting his son William (in Missis-
sippi, after the battle of Shiloh), who was a Con-
federate soldier under (jeneral Bragg, that he was
taken sick, and died at luka, without again reach-
ing, his home, which was occujiied just at this

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

time by the Federal forces. The Federal officers
made his residence their head quarters, and pro-
liibitcd the Mason family from leaving town, even
for thf i)ur])ose of bringing him home before he
died.

lie was a strong Douglas Democrat and a
I'nion man until his State seceded, then he went
with his i)eoiile.

DANIEL COLEMAN was Ix.rn in Caroline
County. \'a.. August t, ISOl, and died at
Athens Xovember 4, 1S57. When sixteen years
old he left his home to make his way in the
world, the death of his fatlier having reduced
the family from affluence to poverty. He taught
school at the Kanawha Salt Works a year, and
used the money thus obtained to graduate at the
Transylvania University. He then obtained
employment as a scribe at a court in Frankfort,
Ky.. and read law while so engaged under the eye
of Judge Bledsoe. In 1819 he came to this State
and located at Mooresville, this county. The fol-
lowing year he was cliosen by the Legislature
(through the influence of Hon. Nich. Davis) Judge
of the county court. He was only nineteen years
old, but the gravity of his deportment led no one
to question his majority, and he held the office
several years. In 1829 he represented Limestone
in the Legislature. In 18:J5 he was elected by the
Legislature a judge of the circuit court. Tiiis dig-
nitied and responsilile position he filled for twelve
years. How satisfactorily he performed his duties
may be inferred from the compliment paid hitu in
June. 1851, when (iovernor Collier selected him to
fill a vacancy on the supreme bench. He served till
the following winter, when he declined a candi-
dacy before the Legislature, feeling tiiat his
enfeel)led health would not permit him to undergo
the labors of the post.

Judge Coleman left a character fpr spotless
integrity, piety, decorum and sobriety. As a
judge he was dignified. laborious and impartial.
In a[ipeai'anee he Wiis slen<ler and tall, with a light
complexion. In manner he was grave to austerity.
lie married Miss Peterson of this county, and
left, several children.

Of these we have the following data: P.ev. James
L. Coleman is a graduate of La Grange College,
Ala.: Daui?l Coleman is a graduate of Wesleyan
College (or University), Florence. Ala., and after-

ward of the Law Department of the University
of Vipginia: John Hartwell Coleman graduated
at Florence with first honors, and afterward like-
wise took the Law Course at the University of \'ir-
ginia: Hichard H. Coleman was attending High
School in Virginia when the war broke out, and
he joined the army at about seventeen years of
age; Dr. Ruffin Coleman obtained his collegiate
training at the Southern L'niversity, Greensboro,
and studied medicine at the University of Nash-
ville, Tenn.

Judge Coleman was a conspicuous and zealous
menilier of the ilethodist Episcopal Church,
Soutii. His wife, a native of South Carolina, was
noted for beauty of face and character. She was
a brilliant conversationalist and a noted hostess.
She survived her husband many years, and died at
Athens, February 14, 1885.

JOHN TURRENTINE, .Merchant, Athens, was
born at lIillsbcHo, X. ('., May j5, 1811.

His parents were John and Nancy (Wilson) Tur-
rentine. The Turrentines came from Ireland in
the Colonial days, and some of them fought with
distinction in the Revolutionary War, and after-
ward, held important trusts in the civil govern-
ment. The senior John Turrentine entered the
I'nited States Regular Army soon after the battle
of New Orleans, and served five years, lacking
three months, and died. His wife in the mean-
time had removed, at his request, from North
Carolina to Tennessee, settled in Lincoln' County,
and there received the news of his death. He was
a non-commissioned officer, and was the father of
four daughters and two sons. Through the influ-
ence of (ieneral Houston, Congress j)assed a bill
granting a bounty to his heirs in consideration of
his services. Mrs. Turrentine removed to ilorgan
County. Ala., in 1820, and there died in 1820, at
the age of forty-five years.

The subject of this sketch was brought up on a
farm and acquired such education as was possible
to his limited circumstances. He lived in Law-
rence County twelve years, coming from Courtland,
where lie had been a salesman, with a small stock
of goods, to Athens in 1844. He has now been
forty-four years a merchant in this town.

For twelve years preceding the war, he held tha
office of .Justice of the Peace, and for three or four
vears after the war was General Administrator.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

He was opposed to secession, and did what he
could to prevent it, but when the South withdrew
from the Union, he espoused the cause of his
State, and it cost him the whole of his property,
for the Yankees burned up everytiiing he had.

Mr. Turrentiue was married while in Lawrence
County (May, 183T), to Susan Ann Stevens, who
died in Xovember, 1842, leaving one son, now the
Hon! John J. Turrentine, of this city.

Mr. Turrentine married his second wife, Amanda
Melvina Francis Higgins, in this county, and she
died Jiily 16, 1884. Of the seven children born
to her, SIX were living at the time of her death,
and one has since died. The living are: Thomas
J., a merchant; William H., a lawyer; Nancy
Elizabeth ; Sarah Louisa (Mrs. James William
Bridgfourth), Martha Ann, died August 1, 1870,
and Jane died March 9, 1885.

Mr. Turrentine is a Master Mason and a mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

WILLIAM A. HINE, Hardware Merchant,
Athens, was born in Limestone County January
29, 1822. His father, Silas Hine, was a native of
Connecticut, from whence he removed to Vir-
ginia, and in 1818 to Alabama. Here he was a
planter, and died in 1850. In Virginia, he mar-
ried Miss Temperance Harrison, who bore him
three sons and one daughter, who grew to man's
and woman's estate.

William A. Hine was the second son born, and
is the only one living. He received his education
in the Athens schools ; followed planting many
Tears, and engaged in mercantile business in
1843.

The senior Mr. Hine was a merchant in Athens
in connection with his planting interests, and it
was with him that the present Mr. Hine took his
first lessons in mercliandizing.

During the late war, ilr. Hine was commis-
sioner of revenue and roads. He has never been
in jiolitica, and with the excejition of the period
of the war, he has devoted his time and his talents
to business, and has been successful.

Mr. Hine is a member of the Methodist Ejjis-
copal Church, and is a Mason. He was married,
in Lauderdale County, in February, 1845, to
Miss Letitia Sloss, wlio bore him three children
that grew to man's and woman's estate. She
died in 1865, leaving three children: Clara (Mrs.

Dr. Borroum, Corinth, Miss.), William A., Jr.,
died in February, 1879, at the age of twenty-two
years; and Ernest, a farmer, now in this county.

Mr. Hine's second marriage occurred in Cor-
inth, Miss., in 1867, where he wed Eva, a younger
sister of his first wife.

— «^S^{^- < • • •

WILLIAM B. RUSSELL, of the firm of W. B.
Kussell iS: Co.. wholesale and retail grocers, and
cotton dealers, was born November 28, 1851, at
the town of Athens, and is the son of John G.
Russell, deceased. He was educated in the Athens
schools: began clerking when fifteen years of age,
and at the age of twenty-three, entered into busi-
ness for himself. The present partnership was
formed in January, 1887; ■ the concern has been
doing a jobbing business since 1879. It is the
lai-gest retail house in Athens, and the only whole-
sale store of any kind.

Mr. Russell was married at Winchester, Tenn.,
January 18, 1881, to Miss Jessie Houghton,
daughter of Dr. S. W. Houghton, of that town,
and has had born to him four children. The
family are members of the Cumberland Presby-
terian Church, and Mr. Russell is an active
worker in the cause of temperance. Devoting his
entire time to his business, he cares but little for
politics and less for office holding. The only offi-
cial position he has filled, we believe, has been
that of councilman from his ward.

Mr. Russell, in addition to being a shrewd, suc-
cessful business man, gives some time and thought
to literature, and some of his contributions to
current pajjers have attracted considerable atten-
tion.

■ •♦ > --;^t^-' < '- —

CHARLES W. RAISLER, native of Pennsyl-
vania, son is a of Frederick William and Elizabeth
(Himeberger) Raisler, of Wiirtemberg, Germany.

In early life he learned the cabinet maker's
trade, in New York City, and from there went to
New Orleans, from which place he joined Company
F, Second Regiment, Louisiana Volunteers, and
served through the Mexican War, under General
Taylor. At the close of the Mexican War he
returned to New Orleans, and from there worked
his way North, stopping, ad libitum, at various
cities between the Gulf and the Ohio River, and
finally landing at Triana, Ala., where he en-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

gaged in the manufacture of furniture. In 1856,
after having liis furniture factory at Triana
burned, he came into Athens, and here was en-
gaged in the cabinet-making business, at the out-
break of the late war. In May, 18(31, he raised a
company of volunteers for the Fortieth Ten-
nessee, and was with it until the capture of Island
No. 10. As an officer he was taken to Johnson's
Island, held thirteen or fourteen months, and
exchanged. His command was re-organized
into the Fifty-Fourth Alabama Infantry, with
Uaisler as Captain of Company B. He was with
this regiment at Baker's Creek, and was again
captured, near Jackson, and returned to John-
son's Island, where he was kept until within one
month of the fall of Kichmond. He returned
home, June 15, 1865, and out of the 127 men
that went with him to the front, only eighteen
-survived.

Captain Kaisler was the first representative to
the Ijegislature, from Limestone County, after the
cessation of hostilities, and he served in that body,
sessions of 1865, '66, 'G7, '70, '71, "82, and '83.
He served one term as mayor of Athens, in 18 i 8,
and is the present incumbent of that office. He
is a member of the Masonic order, Knights of
Honor. Golden Rule, Knights and Ladies of
Honor, and a communicant of the Episcopal
Church.

He has always been an active political worker,
and was for many years chairman of the demo-
cratic executive committee, though recently it
has been charged, and probably rightly, that his
independence has taken him somewhat out of the
line of stalwart democracy, though probably not
into the enemy's camp.

While in the Legislature, he introduced several
bills, that became laws, of more than ordinary im-
portance.

Captain Raisler was a gallant soldier during
the war, and afterward, undoubtedly, rendered the
people of Alabama much valuable service.

He is now engaged in the drug business.

C. A. ARNETT. Real Estate Broker, born at
Triana, Madison County, Ala., March 12, 18.38,
and his parents were Thomas and Mathilda (Cole)
Arnett, of Virginia, and descended from the
French.

The senior Arnett married before leaving Vir-
ginia, and died in Alabama, when the subject of
this sketch was an infant.

Mr. Arnett was educated in Madison County and
lived there until 1869. When a young man he be-
gan the study of medicine, but gave it up, and, in
1854, engaged in mercantile business at Triana,
where he was at the outbreak of the war. He
came to Athens in 1875 and engaged in business ;
was elected Mayor of the city in 1887 ; has been
secretary of the Limestone Agricultural Associa-
tion since 1884, and has served tiie town many
years as its clerk and treasurer. He was appointed
by Gov, Houston, July, 1877, assistant commis-
sioner of emigration, and proved himself of great
efficiency in that deptirtment.

.-^«

ROBERT M. RAWLS, Editor and Proprietor of

the Alabiimii (jiiiricr,\\. Weekly Democratic paper,
published every Wednesday at Athens, was born
in Lincoln County, Tenn. Jan. 6, 1861. He was
a son of Luke H. Rawls, who was a merchant dur-
ing his life, and who died in 1873 at the age of
sixty-six years.

Robert M, Rawls was the youngest of twelve chil-
dren. He received his schooling at Jackson, Tenn.
and at the age of sixteen years, entered a news-
paper office in that town and learned the printer's
trade. From the office of the Fayetteville Obser-
ver, where he had worked about eighteen months,
he took charge of the Lynchburg, (Tenn.) Seiifi-
nel, going thence, within a few months, to a posi-
tion upon the Nashville World, then a new paper,
and upon which he set the first line of type ever
placed in a " stick" for its columns. He remained
upon the World until January, 1883, when he came
to Athens and in partnership with J. J. Turren-
tine, purchased the Courier. Mr. Tnrrentine
withdrew from the paper in 1884, since which l^me
Mr. Rawls has been sole proprietor.

Mr. Rawls is now and has been since May, 1886,
treasurer of the Alabama Press Association.

He was married in Athens, May 8, 1883, to Miss
Fannie Black, daughter of the late John W. Black,
and has had born to him two children, a son and
a daughter. Mr. Rawls is a wide awake, public
spirited, progressive young man, and gives the peo-
ple of his county one of the best papers they have
ever had.

VI.
LAUDFRDALE COUNTY.

Population: White, 15,000; colored, 0,000.
Area, 700 square miles. Woodland, all; barrens,
400 square miles; Red Valley land and gravelly
hills, 300 square miles. Acres in cotton, ajDprox-
imately, 26,600; in corn, 4.3,000; in oats, 4,600;
in wheat, 8,500; in rye, 350; in tobacco, 100; in
sweet potatoes, 450. Approximate number of
bales of cotton, 9,500.

County Seat — Florence; population, 3,000; lo-
cated on the North bank of the Tennessee river;
noted for its manufactures, elegant schools and
superior class of society. (See History of Florence,
this vol.)

Newspapers published at Florence, Banner,
Gazette, Wave — all Democratic.

Postoffices in the County ^ — Anderson Creek,
Arthur, Baily Springs, Centre Star, Comer, Cov-
ington, Florence, Gravelly Springs, Green Hill,
Lexington, Oakland, Pruitton, Rawhide, Rogers-
ville. Saint Florain, Smithsonia, Sugar, AV'aterloo.

Lauderdale is one of the most fertile counties in
the State. It is situated in the northwestern corner
of Alabama, and is joined on two sides by the
States of Mississippi and Tennessee. It was one
of the first sections of Alabama settled by the
whites, and was organized as a county before the
State was constituted. It was established in 1818,
and named for the famous Indian fighter. Col.
Lauderdale, of Tennessee, who fell in the battle of
Talladga, December 33, 1814.

It has a diversity of soil, as is abundantly indi-
cated in the variety of crops grown. In the
northern portion of the county the surface is
somewhat more uneven than is that in the south-
ern end. The prevailing soil in the northern por-
tion is of a grayish hue, but yields quite readily.
In the south the lands are reddish in character.
This is due to the presence of iron. These lands
are quite fertile, and though some of them have
been in cultivation seventy-five years, they are
still productive without the aid of fertilizers.
West of Florence, in a great bend of the Tennes-
see river, is a large body of valley lands known

as the Colbert Reservation. It is overspread in
different directions by some of the finest farms
found in this section of Alabama. These valley
lands, when fresh, will jiroduce as much as one
thousand pounds of seed cotton to the acre. The
most of the cotton grown in the county is raised
ujion the red valley lands, and the product per
acre is considerably above the average.

The chief crops of the county are cotton, corn,
wheat, oats, sorghum and sweet potatoes. Apples
and peaches are grown in vast quantities in the
orchards. These are the chief fruits, though
other fruits are grown with success when they
receive proper attention. This is especially true
of the grape. Wild fruits, such as hickorynuts
and berries grow in large quantities.

The chief pursuits of the people are farming,
stock-raising and manufacturing, to all of which
the county is admirably adapted. For many
years the single pursuit was that of planting; but
the superb water power of the county and the
abundant fuel suggested the establishment of
manufactories long before the beginning of the
war. Cotton and wool factories were accordingly
established, as well as manufactories of leather.
At this period Lauderdale was, perhaps, in ad-
vance of any other portion of the State in its
manufactories. It is believed to be the jjioneer
county in establishing manufacturing interests.
These industries perished amid the ravages of the
war, but are now rebuilt to some extent, and in
the town of Florence, joarticularly, manufactur-
ing is assuming important proportions.

The country is abundantly sujjplied with per-
petual streams of water. Shoal, Cypress, Blue
Water, Bluff and Second creeks flow through the
county from the north.

Striking the southwestern boundary of the
county is the Elk river. Besides these there are
many bold mountain springs, containing both
limestone and freestone water. There are springs
in several parts of the county that have medicinal
properties, the most noted of these being Bailey's

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Springs, but a short distance from the town of
Florence: though Taylor's Springs have a local
reputation. In every part of the county are to
be found local industries, such as gins, and grist,
and saw mills.

There are forests of valuable timber in every
part of Lauderdale County. The.se comprise sev-
eral varieties of oak, poplar, chestnut, beech,
liickory, walnut^ cherry, and short leaf pine. The
forests, in many places, are heavily wooded with
these valuable timbers. Facilities for transporta-
tion of products to market are already good, but
are destined to be greatly increased at no remote
])eriod. The Memphis & Charleston Railway runs
a branch road into Florence from Tuscumbia; the
Louisville & Nashville taps the same town with
a road known as the Nashville & Florence, from
Columbia, Teun., and other roads are proposed
and in process of construction.

The educational advantages of the county are
superior. Throughout the entire county there
are good local schools, affording all the educational
facilities necessary for common school instruction.
These schools are supported by all the moral influ-
ence that comes of long established and well-reg-
ulated society. The people are law-abiding and
thrifty, and the tone of society is elevating.

In the northern portion of the county, adjoin-
ing the State of Tennessee, are to be found excel-
lent dejjosits of iron ore. The extent of tiie preva-
lence of this ore is not known, as it has been
oulv partially developed. In the southeastern
part of Lauderdale, on Elk River, is a valuable
cave of saltpetre.

Theciiief towns of the county are Florence (the
county seat), Lexington, Rodgersville and Waterloo,

With water power from the hills and mountains,
with a climate, the brace of which cannot be
excelled, even in midsummer, with superior society
and schools, Lauderdale offers rare advantages to
those seeking homes. Land may be purchased at
prices ranging from fi") to $15 per acre.

The population of the county has increased
seventy per cent, in the past decade, and is still
more rai)idly advancing.

The coneal artificial mound at Florence, is one
of the largest and best preserved of the many left
iiy that mysterious and unknown pre-historic race
in so many [larts of our country.

In 1819, voting places were established at the
houses of Wm. S. Barton and Thomas Barnett,
and in 1821, at the houses of Joel Burrows, And-
rew McMicken and William Howe.

Haywood's IHstory of Tennessee says that the
portion of Alabama, north of the Tennessee, was
organized into a county by the (ieorgia Legisla-
ture in 1785 and called Iloustoun, in honor of
John Iloustoun, governor of that state in 1778
and 1784. A party of eighty men came down the
Tennessee shortly after, and effected a settle-
ment at a point on the Muscle Shoals within the
present limits of this county. They opened a land
office, elected one of their number to the Georgia
legislature, and performed other right of citizen-
ship. But within a fortnight the settlement was
abandoned in dread of tlie warlike Chicasas.

The region now embraced within this country
was the scene of several bloody skirmishes
between the Tennessecans and Chicasas about the
years 1787-90.

During the war between the States a cavalry
fight occurred two miles east of Florence, in which
the cavalry regiment of Col. Wm. A. Johnson, of
Colbert, scattered a federal command with some
loss to it. Near the same spot the army of Gen.
Ilood lay encamped for several weeks just before
entering on the disastrous campaign which cul-
minated at Franklin and Nashville. Lauderdale,
then in common with the other counties of the
Tenessee valley, suffered fearfully inconsequence
of its exposed position.

Probably no single county in the State can boast a
higher order of citizenship than Lauderdale,
while her past history is replete with the names
of men whose brilliant achievements illumine the
annals of a nation. The brave old soldier. Gen.
John Coffee, Jackson's most trusted lieutenant,
lived and died here; Robt. Miller Patton, one of
Alabama's greatest governors, made this his home,
while the distinguished soldier, statesman and
citizen, Edward Asbury O'Neal yet resides at
Florence. Caroline Lee Ilentz, whose memory is
so dear to every lover of a pure literature, spent
nine years of her life here. Judge John Edmund
Moore, Wade Keys. Hugh McVay, Sidney C.
Posey, James Jackson, James Irvine, and many
others who.se names are identified with the liistory
of xVlabama, were citizens of this county.

vri.

JACKSON COUNTY.

Population : White. 21,074: colored, 4,040.
Area, 990 square miles, woodland all. Valley
lands, (of which 190 square miles are in the Val-
ley of the Tennesse), 500 square miles. Coves
and slopes, 310 square miles. Mountain lands,
490 square miles. Acres in cotton, approximately,
19,685; in corn, 60,2»5; in oats, 8,241; in wheat,
10,051; in rye, 347; in tobacco, 99; in sweet pota-
toes, 592. Approximate number of bales of cot-
ton, 6,984.

County Seat — Scotsborough ; pojiulation, 1,500.
Located on Memphis & Charleston Kailroad, forty-
two miles from Huntsville, and fifty-five miles
from Chattanooga. Newspapers published at coun-
ty seat : Citizen, Progressive Age and Alabama
-ffer«/fZ, all Democratic; at Stephenson, The Chron-
icle, democratic.

PostofBces in the county — Atto, Bass Station,
Bellefonte, Berry's Store, Big Coon, Bridgeport,
Coffey's Store, Dodsonville, Dorans Cove, Dry
Cove, Emmert, Estill's Fork, Fabius, Fackler,
Fern Cliff, Francisco, Garth, Gray's Chapel,
Greerton, Hannah, Iligdon, Holly Tree, Kirby's
Creek, Kosh. Langston, Larkin's Fork, Larkins-
ville. Lime Kock, Long Island, Maynard's Cove,
Paint Rock, Park's Store, Pisgah, Press, Prince-
ton, Samples, Santa, Scottsborough, Stevenson,
Trenton, Tupelo, Wallston. Wamsville, Widows,
Woodville.

This county takes its name from the hero of
New Orleans. It was organized in 1819, the
same year of the admission of Alabama into the
Union. Jackson County is the extreme north-
eastern county in the State. It is bounded on
the north by the State of Tennessee ; on the east
by the State of Georgia and De Kalb County,
Ala. ; on the south by De Kalb and Marshall
Counties, on the west by Marshall and iladison
Counties. It is about sixty-five miles long, by
thirty miles wide. Scottsboro is the county
seat of Jackson, and is a pleasajit Itttle town,
situated on the Memphis & Charleston Railroad,

about the center of the county, and four miles
from the Tennessee River. It is a new town,
built up since the county seat was located at
that point, which was done in the year 1868.
It has a population of about 1,000 ; has a new
courthouse and jail, which cost S37,000, and are
of good architectural design. The town is regu-
larly laid out, and has many commodious business
houses, built around the court house square, and
on other streets, with many new and attractive
residences, besides five comfortable churches, and
two commodious hotels, a college building, which
is quite sufficient to accommodate from 300 to 400
pupils, with college ground of six acres, on which
the building is situated, which for beauty of loca-
tion and grounds, cannot be surpassed in the
South. Scottsboro is also noted for the health-
fulness of its location, being situated at the high-
est point of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad,
between the eastern boundary line of the State of
Alabama and the city of 31emphis, Tenn., and at
a distance of 285 miles from Memphis, Tenn.;
indeed, the entire county of Jackson has an ele-
vation above any other county west of it toward
Memphis, its valley lands being at the highest
point 602 feet, and at the lowest point, at Paint
Rock, 595 feet above Mobile Bay. The altitude
diminishes gradually toward the west, until you
reach ^lemphis, Tenn., where it is only 245 feet ;
add to the elevation in Jackson, from 600 to 1,000
feet, and you have the elevation of our mountain
lands above the sea-level ; for this reason people
living west of us often speak of our county as
High Jackson. The destructive malarial fevers
and epidemic diseases, such as yellow fever, chol-
era, etc., which are so common in the warmer
temperatures and low lands south and southwest
of us, have never been known in this county, and
in all human probability, never will be. The
general appearance of this county is much more
broken, and its scenery greatly diversified. It is
made up of high mountain tracts of level lands.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

extending for many miles. These mountains are
cut back into by many beautiful coves and valleys
of level and fertile lands, some of which are three
or four miles wide, shut in by steep mountain
slopes, covered with forest growth of valuable
timber; indeed, the whole of the valley lands are
said by geologists to have been cut out of what
was at one time, a level mountain surface, by the
flow of the Tennessee River and its numerous
tributaries. This mountain surface at that time
was all the Cumberland Mountain, but is now cut
in two by the river, at the point known as the
Jioiling Pot, this side of Chattanooga, and has
cut out the Tennessee River Valley in which this
county is situated : leaving that part of the moun-
tain north of the river known as the Cumberland
Mountain, and that j)art of the mountain south of
the river, known as the Raccoon Mountain, or
Sand Mountain, as it is called by the natives.
Both these mountains e.\tend through north Ala-
bama, and have an average width of about twenty
miles ; hence the main valley lands lie along the
Tennessee River, and are as fine farming lands for
all kinds of farming purposes, as can be found in
the South. (,'otton, corn, oats, wlieat, rye, to-
bacco, sweet potatoes, wool, sorghum, honey, and
butter are chief among its manifold productions.
Pears, apples, peaches, grapes, and berries grow
almost to perfection.

Along the slojies of the hills of Jackson county
are found splendid orchards of peaches. There is
a steady growth of interest in stock-raising. Along
the high table lands of the county are numerous
small farms which are surrounded with all the
evidences of plenty an<l contentment. The streams
are the Tennessee and Paint Rock rivers, and Big
and Little Raccoon, .Mud, Wido, Big Crow, Jones'
Santa. Big Lanne, and Williams' creeks, and
Hurricane and Larkins' forks. Besides these,
numerous mountain springs abound, the water of
which is pure and perj)etual. The county is unex-
celled in its water supply. The hills and mountain
flanks are densely wooded, while some of the al-
luvial valleys are still uncleared and are covered
over with valua'ole timber. On the uplands are
found black and red oaks, pine, cedar and hickory.
Along the valleys are found poplar, ash, maple,
beech, walnut, sweet gum, cherry and giant white
oak. Indeed, both upon the table lands and in
the valleys, many of the forests remain in their
virgin state. They extend along tiie broad and
deep streams of the county, ami timber hewn from

them may be easily rafted. The inclination of the
different water course is such as to favor the erec-
tion of manufactories, and for local demands such
do exist.

The mineral products of Jackson are coal and
iron, while the supply of marble and limestone is
unlimited. Coal abounds both in the Cumber-
land and Sand mountains. These ranges travers
the county twenty or thirty miles. From one of
the numerous caves in the county is obtained salt-
petre. It was used by the confedrate authorities
during the civil war. In several parts of the
county are mineral springs, containing waters of
superior quality.

There are several industries in the county
which have attained considerable local prominence.
Among these are the Belmont mines, situated
twelve miles west of Scoltsboro. In the town of
Scottsboro are numerous steam and saw mills, and
a hub, spoke and felloe factory. There are facili-
ties of industry afforded in Jackson county, the
variety of which, perhaps, is not surpassed by that
of any other county in Alabama.

The valuation of property in Jackson county
for the year 1887 is «i3,3'JG, 283.27, as shown by
the abstract of assessment filed with the auditor.

GEORGE B. CALDWELL was born in Belfont,
Jackson county, April 'i, ISGl, and is a son of
Hamlin and Mary J. (Snodgrass) Caldwell. His
early life was spent on his father's farm, and his
education was acquired at the schools of Spring-
field, Ohio, and at Lookout Mountain academy.
From nineteen to twenty-five years of age he was
in business in Louisiana, and there in April, 1875,
married Miss Sarah PI Hair, daughter of J. B.
and Ann (Brone) Hair, natives respectively of the
states of Ohio and Tennessee. In 1870 he re-
turned to his native county and resumed farming.
He came to Scottsboro, merchandised a few
months, was burned out, and is now, in addi-
tion to his farming, running a saw miil. The
only official position that he api)ears to have held
is that of justice of the peace, and he filled that
office one term.

Hamlin Caldwell, father to the subject of this
sketch, was born in New Hampshire in 1812. His
parents moved to Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1814, and
when twelve years of age he took up his abode in
Cincinnati, making his home with a sister. For

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

awhile, when a young man, he was in mercantile
business at Chillicothe, Ohio, and from there, in
1837, came to Alabama and located in Jackson
county. At Belfonte, this county, he established
a store, having brought liis stock of goods with
him from Ohio. He was among the first mer-
chants, if not the very first, at Belfonte, and he
continued there until 1850. For the then next
succeeding thirty years he followed farming, and
in 1880 moved into Scottsboro, where he has since
made his home. He reared a family of six chil-
dren. Mr. Caldwell is a self-made man. He
started in the world poor, without even the ad-
vantages of schooling, but he rounds up a ripe old
age with a handsome competency, and with the
knowledge tliat in the accumulation tliereof he
has wronged no man. His father was Europe
Caldwell, a native of New Hampshire, and his
mother's maiden name was Hamlin, a relative of
Hon. Hannibal Hamlin.

REV. MILTON P. BROWN, son of James
D. Brown, who in early days, preached on
Sunday and farmed through the week, is the oldest
of a family of seven. He was left an orphan at the
age of nine, took charge of his father's farm when
but eleven, and conducted it with a reasonable de-
gree of success until he was seventeen, attending
schools in the neighborhood at such times as he
could be spared from his duties on the farm. He
was licensed to preach in the M. E. Church, South,
in October, 1848, and served as an intinerant in
the Tennessee Conference until 1858. In that
year he located in Scottsboro and conducted
a farm and taught school in that vicinity until
1861.

He joined the Confederate army and was
severely wounded in the hip at the first battle at
Manassas.

He was elected Probate Judge in 1862, and held
the office until 1868, in Bellefonte, which was then
the county seat of Jackson. Since 1868, he has
conducted a mercantile business in Scottsboro.

In 1854, Mr. Brown was married to Mary Eliz-
abeth Parks, daughter of W. D. Parks, of Scotts-
boro and they have been the parents of eight chil-
dren, namely: Julian C.,who was educated at Van-
derbilt University, is a preacher in the M. E.
Church South, and is now at Francis street
charge, St. Joseph, Mo.; Idella H., wife of M. D.

McClure; Eva R., wife of W. J. Robinson;
Kittie F., wife of S. M. Bains; William Davis,
Annie E., Hattie M., and Mary P.

Having lost his first wife, Mr. Brown was mar-
ried May 7, 1870, to Mrs. Annie E. Williams, a
widow, and daughter of Hiram Read, originally
of Eatonton, N. C, but late of Auburn, AJa.

Mr. Brown is a Royal Arch Mason and a Knight
of Honor. He has been Councilman and Mayor
of Scottsboro, President of the Board of Trustees
of Scott Academy and Superintendent of Educa-
tion of Jackson County.

JAMES ARMSTRONG, Editor of the Scotts-
boro Citizen, was born September 7, 1855, at
Hillsboro, Lawrence County, this State, and is
the son of the late Hon. James Armstrong, who
was well known as a lawyer and legislator from
Lawrence County, and as one of the Franklin
Pierce electors in 1852.

The subject of our sketch moved to Scottsboro
on the 3d of March, 1869. He attended the com-
mon schools of that place, and afterwards the
East Tennessee University at Knoxville. Soon
after attaining his majority he embarked in the
newspaper business, established the Scottsboro
Citizen October 5, 1877, and has conducted it
ever since with considerable success, giving it
high rank among democratic journals of the
State. He was married May 18, 1880, to Miss
Malie R., daughter of Rev. P. L. Henderson, of
Decatur, Ala. They have three living children,
Phillip H., Andrew and Harry Cheatham.
James, the youngest child, died September 10,
1887, aged three weeks.

Mr. Armstrong and wife are members of the
Methonist Episcopal Church, South, and he is a
member of the K. of H.

. JOHN BENTON TALLY, Judge of the Ninth
Judicial Circuit, son of Jolm Benton and Sarah
E. (Price) Tally, was born June 28, 1851, near
Stevenson, Jackson county, Ala.

His parents were born in East Tennessee in
1815, and Jackson county, Ala., in 1817, respect-
ively.

John B. Tally, senior, was brought to Jackson
county by his parents in 1819, and located near

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Stevenson, where lie received a common school
education and became a well-to-do farmer. He
was in the Florida AVar from this State, and held
the rank of Orderly Sergetiiit. lie served in the
Al.ibiiiiia Legislature in 185G-7, and again in
I8<iu-1. lie was a stauncli Union man, and a
Douglass Democrat. He raised a family of three
sons and one daughter, and died February 11,
1881. His father, Jacob Tally, was born in East
Tennessee, and married Mary Mourning lioberts
of Virginia. Her father was killed by the Indians
before she was born, and her mother named her
Mourning in memory of that sad event. Jacob
Tally was an Irishman, and his wife was of
Scotch extraction.

John Benton Tally was reared on a farm, and
received a common school education, which was
limited on account of the war. In January, 1867,
he was matriculated at Cecilian College, Hardin
county, Ky., and graduated from that institution
as A. B. in 1870. He spent two years farming
and teaching, and began the study of law. He
entered Cumberland University at Lebanon,
Tenn., and graduated from the law department
in February, 187.3. After this he located in
Scotsboro, and actively engaged at his pro-
fession.

He was elected Judge of the probate court of
Jackson county in August, 1880, and in August,
1886, elected Judge of the circuit court of the
Ninth Judicial Circuit, a position which he has
filled until the present time with marked ability.

.Judge Tally was married November 8, 1877, to
>Iiss Sidney M. Skelton, of Scottsboro, a daughter
of .lames T. ami Charlotte C. (Scott) Skelton,
both natives of Jackson county. Mr. Skelton
was a merchant. He died in December, 188Si, at
the age of 57 years. Charlotte C. Scott is a
daughter of Kobert T. Scott, who represented
Alabama in a negotiation with the United States
Government, and settled certain claims growing
out of the depredations of the Indians.

This branch of the Scott family came to America
in the person of William Scott (as a stowaway)
away back in the last century. He subsequently
became a lieutenant in the Colonial navy, and
served througli the Revolutionary War under Paul
Jones on the flag-ship Bonhomniie. He was
afterwards L'nited States agent in the settlement
of some sort of French claims.

Judge Tally has two sons, Walter II. and John
B. Tally, and ho and his wife are members of the

Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The Judge is
a public-spirited man, and fully in sympathy with
every legitimate enterprise tending to advance
and build up Northern Alabama. He is probably
the youngest man ever placed on the Bench of
the Circuit in the States.

DANIEL W. SFEAKE, County Solicitor of
.lackson county, son of James B. Speake, was
born July 8, 18.56, in Lawrence county, Ala.

.James B. Speake was the son of a German fam-
ily. He was born in 1803, and is now living in
Lawrence county. He came from Washington
county, Ky., to Alabama soon after completing his
education, and taught school for a time in Lawrence
county. He soon secured a small farm, and kept
adding unto it until he had a large plantation and
a number of slaves. He was for many years super-
intendent of education in Lawrence county; was
once a candidate for the State Senate, and in
1805 was a member of the Constitutional Conven-
tion. In 1870-2 he was a representative to the
General Assembly from his county, and was
returned there in 1876-7. He had three sons in
the army. Since he was last in the Legislature
he has lived on his farm.

He was married June' 4, 1833, to Miss Sarah
Brooks Lindscy, who was born A,ugust 1. 1818,
and was the first white girl child born in Law-
rence County.

James B. Speake and wife had eight children,
of whom six were sons and two daughters. Four
of the sons only are now living.

H. C. Speake, born June 17, 1834, now Circuit
.Judge of the Eighth Circuit, resides in Hunts-
ville ; John Marshal Speake, Dennis Basil Speake
(who was a soldier in I'^orrest's Cavalry, and died
in prison at Chicago), James Tucker Speake and
Charles W. Speake.

Daniel W. Speake worked on a farm in his early
days, and attended the common schools of the
county until seventeen years of age, when he
began teaching, by which means he paid his own
way at the University of Alabama, which institu-
tion he entered in 1877, and from which he gradu-
ated in tlie classical course in July, 1878. During
the succeeding year he took his degree of LL.B.
at the same institution. He was admitted to the
bar in September, 1879. in Franklin County, this
State. lie practiced law for two years at Moul-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

ton, formed a copartnei-ship with Gen. Joseph
Wheeler, and practiced three years at Courtland.
He came to Scottsboro January 1, 1885, and is
now county solicitor.

Mr. Speake was married December 1-4, 1881, to
Miss Caro McCalla, of Tuscaloosa, a daughter of
Maj. E. C. McCalla, a prominent railroad
man, chief engineer of construction of the E. T.,
Va. & G. Kailway system, also chief engineer of
the Alabama & Chattanooga Kailroad Co., now
better known as the A. G. S. Jlailroad.

D. W. Speake has two living children and one
dead— Richard McCalla, born October 30, 1882,
died July 34, 1884, Bessie and Charles Louis.

ROBERT C. ROSS, son of Robert and Ellen
(Nugent) Ross, was born in Clark County, Wis.,
September 21, 1853.

Robert Ross was born on the Inland of Mauri-
tius, formerly called the Isle of France (East
Indies), in ISlfl. He located with his parents in
Quebec, about 183G. He married in Canada;
located in Clark County, Wis., in lc48, and did
an extensive lumber business for many years.
Our subject's grandfather, Robert Ross, was born
in Scotland; became a lieutenant in the British
army, and served last in Canada. He lived to be
about ninety years of age, and was the father of
twelve children. Our subject's mother was also
born in Canada.

Robert C. Ross received a common-school edu-
cation, and began his business life as a lumber
dealer.

He married Miss Ida W. Ross in June, 18.6.
She was a daughter of James Ross, of Eufaula,
Ala. They have but two children: Alice and
Graham.

Mr. Ross came to Scottsboro in March, 1887,
and organized the Jackson County Bank, the first
institution of that kind ever operated in the county.

Mr. Ross and wife are members of the Episcopal
Church, and he is a JIason and a Knight of Honor.

-*•-

JAMES ALFRED KYLE, Register in Chancery,
Scottsboro, is a son of Xelson Kyle, was
born February 28, 1862, in Bellefonte, this State.

Nelson Kyle was a son of John Kyle, and a
native of Alabama. He was a farmer and subse-

quently a merchant at Bellefonte, and has been
Sheriff, Clerk of the Probate Court, County Trea-
surer, Probate Judge from 1874: to 1880, and was
Register in Chancery at the time of his death, Sep-
tember 19, 1886. He was married, first, to the
widow of Henry Walker, of Bellefonte, daughter
of Nelson Robinson, and one of a family of five.
They were the parents of three sons and one
daughter, viz. : William; .James A., the subject of
our sketch; Sallie B., wife of W. B. Hunt; and
Chas. E.

James A. Kyle was educated at the Agricul-
tural and Mechanical School at Auburn. He
assisted in the Probate Judge's office in Jackson
County for some time previous to 1880, clerked
in stores until 1883, became a partner with his
father, and was a merchant for two years. After
his marriage, he went to Texas and remained
there about a year. He returned to Jackson Coun-
ty in 1886, and has been Register in Chancery
ever since.

He was married to Jliss Vula Sanders on March
2-4, 1885. She is a daughter of C. B. Sanders, a
minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
They have two interesting children: Mary Du
and Vula Sidney.

Mr. Kyle is a member of the Knights of Honor.

JOHN H. NORWOOD, Probate Judge of Jack-
son County, was born in Bellefonte November
23, 1828.

He was a son of Henry and Aletha (Caperton)
Norwood, natives of South Carolina and Virginia,
respectively. The senior Mr. Norwood was in
the War of 1812, and held the rank of lieutenant.
He came to Jackson County in 1820, and here
was an extensive planter and slave owner. He
took a prominent part in the Indian wars of his
time, holding the rank of captain in the Creek
War and colonel in the Seminole War. He subse-
quently served several terms in both branches of
the State Legislature, where he acquitted himself
with the highest honor, and to the entire satisfac-
tion of his constituency. He died in 1840, hold-
ing the rank of major-general of the militia.

The subject of this sketch was reared on a
farm, received such education as could be ob-
tained in the schools of the country, and spent
three years in Irving College. He read law in
the village of his nativity, and was admitted to

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

the bar in 1852. After liaviiigr practiced three
years he was appointed Probate Judge, and served
under that appointment twelve niontiis. He was
then elected to the oftice and held it until March,
18G1, when he resigned and entered the Confed-
erate Army as first lieutenant in Captain Brad-
ford's company. Second Alabama Kegitnent.
During that summer he resigned this position,
returned to his home and raised five com]>anie.s,
and with them joined the Forty-third Tennessee
Regiment, of which he was elected lieutenant-
colonel, lie was captured at Fort Donelson, im-
prisoned at Fort Warren, and, in .July of the
.same year, exchanged at Kichmond, Va. After
this he went to Vicksburg in General Loring's
Division, i)articipated in the fight at Port (Jibson
and the bombardment of N'icksburg. After the
fall of that city he went to East Tennessee and
was sub3e(|uently engaged at Ringgold, Resaca,
and all the fights of the Atlanta Campaign. In
18(1-1, under the direction of the War Department,
he recruited a brigade in Alabama, and com-
manded it to the close of the war. At White's
Lancling he surrendered, leaving the service with
the rank of brigadier-general.

IJeturning to his native village, he resumed the
practice of law, and in 1865 was elected to the
State Senate, where he took an active part in the
legislation of that important session. He was a
delegate to the Constitutional Convention of
18T5, and took a jirominent part in the proceed-
ings of that a.<.sembly. In 18SG he was elected
Probate Judge. His term will expire in 1892.
When not in the discharge of the duties of the
various offices to which his peoi)le have called
him, the Judge's extensive law practice has been
diversified by the attention given his farming
interests.

.Judge Norwood was married December 2."),
1850, to Miss Margaret, daughter of John Neth-
erland, who came to Alabama in 1820. The fam-
ily are cotninunicants of the Presbyterian Church,
and the Judge belongs to the Masonic order.

JESSE EDWARD BROWN, son of Jeremiah
and Mary Ann (Williams) Brown, of Scottsbro,
was born May I, 1845. in Jackson County.

Jeremiah Brown is one of a family of North
Carolinians who gave its name to Brownsboro.
He was a planter in .lackson County and died here.

He was a man of firm convictions and great sta-
bility of character. He was married three
times.

His first wife was a Miss Moore, and by her he
had two sons and one daughter: Bridges, who
was a soldier and died at the battle of Corinth;.
John A., and Nancy, who married a Mr. Yates,
of Birmingham. Mrs. Yates, a fluent speaker
and writer, has edited various papers, at different
times, both in this State and Mississippi.

Jeremiah Brown was married t he second time to-
Miss Mary Ann Williams, a daughter of a Samuel
Williams, one of the pioneers of this county, who-
accumulated a goodly estate in land and slaves.
She was one of a family of six chbldren, and her-
self was the mother of four, viz.: Mary wife of
Col. .John Snodgrass, of this place: Jesse Edward,
of whom we now write: Margaret, wife of Will-
iam H. Payne, druggist: Charles A\'., a lawyer,
graduated at the University of Alabama, and now
in the office of the superintendent of education.

Jesse E. Brown was educated at Georgetown,.
Ky., and Lebanon, Tenn., where he studied
law. lie was admitted to the bar in August, 18G9,.
at Huntsville, and began his practice in Scotts-
boro, where he has remained uji to the present
writing. He represented his county in the State
Legislature in 1872-3, and was one of the framers
of the present Constitution of Alabama.

Mr. Brown became a member of the Confeder-
ate Army, in Frank Gurley's company, Fourth Al-
abama Cavalry, and served throughout the entire-
war. He was in battle near Farniington, wounded
and captured at the second battle of Fort Donel-
son, and a piisoiier at Louisville and Baltimore
for about two months. He fought at Murfrees-
boro, Chickamauga, and Kenesaw Mountain,,
where he lost a leg, and was confined to the hos-
pital for a long time thereafter. Having returned
home, he studied law, as before mentioned.

Mr. Brown was married November 5, 1873, to
Miss Virginia E. Wood, at Winchester, Tenn.
She was a daughter of Dr. Ira G. Wood, and they
have three children, viz.: Zaida, Lawrence Ed-
ward; Clifford, who was born in 1878 and died in
18811; and Jes.se E.

.Mr. Brown is a member of the Episcoi>al Church
and of the fraternity of ( >dd Fellows. His position
as one of the most prominent members of the
bar in Northeastern Alabama is well known
throughout that portion of the State, and his-
practice is extensive and lucrative.

NORTH£RN ALABAMA.

JOHN R. C F F E Y, of Fackler, Jackson
County, son of Kice and Sallie (Bradford) Coffey,
was born at Wartrace, Bedford County, Teun.,
March 27, 1814.

Rice Coffey was born in Pennsylvania in 1766.
When a young man he removed to Xorth Carolina
and became a gunsmith. He married and again
removed to Tennessee about 1801, and settled on
a farm of a thousand acres of land which lie bought
of General Jackson, and on which his son, John R.
Coffey, was born. He died in 1853, and his wife
in 1840. He was a son of James Coffey, of early
times, who raised a large family, all of the older
sons of wliom served as soldiers in the Revolution-
ary War. The Coffey family are Baptists.

John R. Coffey spent his early days on a farm
attending the common old-field schools. When
he was thirteen years of age he went to a high
school at Shelby ville, Tenn., and remained there
twelve months. After this, became to Bellefonte,
without an acquaintance in tl:e county or a
■dollar in his pocket, and became a clerk in a store.
At the age of twenty-two, he established a mercan-
tile business of his own in that village, and contin-
ued it until 1846. In 1840, he was elected Sheriff
■of Jackson County. At the breaking out of the
Mexican AVar, he enlisted in the army in a com-
pany commanded by Capt. Richard W. Jones. He
afterwards acted as lieutenant, lieutenant-col-
onel, and major-general in the militia ; went to
Mobile and organized the First Alabama Regiment
and was elected its colonel, and as such, partici-
pated in the siege of Vera Cruz. After the war
with Mexico, he became a general of the militia.
He had now returned to his farm and devoted his
attention to its cultivation until 1853, when he
moved to Stevenson a#d engaged in the mercan-
tile business, which he prosecuted with consider-
able success until the begining of the late war,
when he again closed his store and returned to his
farm of 4,000 acres, on the banks of the Tennessee
River.

Iq 1861 he was elected a delegate to the con-
vention which passed the ordinance of secession.
He was bitterly opposed to that ordinance, but,
being overpowered, he submitted with the best j^os-
sible grace, and thereafter gave moral and substan-
tial support to the Confederacy.*

General Coffey was married January 21, 1849, to
Miss Mary Ann Cross, daughter of Col. Chas. and

♦General Coffey's granrtraother was a sister to Col. Ben, Cleve-
land, who commanded a regiment at the battle of King's Moun-
tain.

Eliza (Clark) Cross, of Jackson County. They
were natives of North Carolina and came to Ala-
bama about 1826. He was a soldier in the Indian
wars, and was drowned in the Tennessee River
about 1848.t

General Coffey is the father of six children, of
whom four grew to maturity, namely: Eliza,
wife of Wm. J. Tally ; Sallie B., wife of C. W.
Brown, chief clerk in the office of the State Super-
intendent of Education ; John B. and Clark
Mac'.in. General Coffey's wife died September 6,
1887. He is a member of the MetLodist I^pisco-
pal Church and the Masonic order. General Cof-
sey is a man of commanding presence, being over
six feet in height and having apparently the vim
and energy of a youth. He is one of the best
known men of the State and one of the most influ-
ential men in Northeastern Alabama.

— «^;^^- < '- •

JAMES HARRISON COWAN, of Princeton,
Jackson County, son of Samuel M. Cowan, was
born near Stevenson, this county, March 17, 1837.

His father, Samuel M. Cowan, was born in
Kentucky in 1798; came to Jackson County in
1824, and settled at Bolivar, two miles north of
Stevenson. He served as captain in the Florida
War, in 1837. In 1819, he was married in Frank-
lin County, Tenn., to Elizabeth Caperton, from
Virginia. He was one of a family of eight chil-
dren, four boys and four girls, and was father of
twelve children. Of these, Eleanor married T.
Boyd Foster, a prominent man, who has been
County Surveyor of Jackson for forty years, and
was in the Florida War; Jane married Dr. Wm.
Mason, who was a major in the Florida W^ar and
afterwards a member of the Legislature — he was
a cousin of Gen. Winfield Scott; Hugh C. was a
lawyer, a member of the Legislature in 1852, a
delegate to the National Convention which nomi-
nated Jas. Buchanan, and an elector of the college
which elected him — he died in 1860; John F. was
a lawyer, well educated and brilliant, but died of
consumption in his early manhood; Samuel C. was
one of the first merchants in Stevenson — he died
in 1858; Geo. E. went into the Confederate Army
in 1861 as lieutenant, and became a major in the
Thirty-third Alabama Regiment.

tHis wife'.'* great-giandfather, Col.Wm. Maclin, and her grand-
father, Robert Clark, were in the Rc\olutiouar.v War ; the latter'
was wounded in battle at Eutaw Springs, from which he died.
Her grandfather, Maclin Cross, was in the battle at Nick-a-Jack,
Indian Nation.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Mr. Cowan's grandfather was an Irisliman;
served in the War of 3812. and in most of the
Ind'an wars; was a major under General Jackson,
and died in Franklin County. Tenn.

James II. Cowan attended Biirritt College in
Van Buren County. Tenn., and was a merchant
before the war. lie entered tlio army in 1801 and
served one year as commissary with the rank of
• ■iqitiiin. 1 Ic was captured at the battle of Fort
DoncLson in 181)2, and confined in prison at
Camp Chase and Johnson's Island for several
months.

After his exchange, lie served a.s captain of
infantry in the Fifty-sixth Alabama Regiment
until the close of the war. lie was in battle at
Baker's Creek. Port Hudson, Jackson, Miss., and
all of the Georgia campaign from Rcsaca to Peach
Tree Creek, lie was wounded three times at the
latter battle, and incapacitated for further service
thereby.

In 1870, J. H. Cowan was electeii to the Legis-
lature, re-elected in 1872, and served until 187:);
since that time he has been engaged in agricultural
pursuits. His wife was Miss Sophia E. Taliaferro,
daughter of Richard II. Taliaferro, a minister of
some note in the Missionary Baptist Church, at
Princeton. Mr. Cowan has six children: Geo.
W., Elizabeth, Sophronia, Angle, Sophie T., and
Samuel C.

Mr. and Mrs. Cowan are members of the Cum-
berland Presbyterian Church, and he is a Free-
mason.

R. C. HUNT. Attorney at Law, was born Feb-
ruary 5. 1860. in Franklin County, Tenn. His
father, William Hunt, was born in the same place
in 1812. He was a substantial farmer, and served
as a captain in the Florida War. He died in 1862.
He married Miss Annis Clayton, a native of Jack-
son County, Ala., and daughter of R. B. Clayton,
of North Carolina, who came to Alabama about
1820. R. B. Clayton was the first C'lerk of the
Circuit Court of .Jackson County. He died in
Baldwin, Miss., in 1872, at the age of 82 years.

R. C'. Hunt received his early education in the
common schools of Tennessee. In 1870 he began
the study of law, and in 1871 was admitted to the
bar at Winchester, Tenn. He commenced the
practice of his profession in Texas, but located in
Scottsboro. in 1875, where he has since establish-
ed a very successful practice.

Mr. Hunt was married in April, 1877, to Miss
Annie Scruggs, a daughter of Frederick and .Mar-
garet (Kimbrough) Scruggs, of East Tennessee.

• 'V* •{QiJ2P5' 'v ' ■

ALEXANDER SNODGRASS, Postmaster,
Scottsboro. sou of James 1). Snodgrass, was born
in Washington t^ounty, Va.. October 1, 1820.

James 0. Snodgrass was born in the same jilaoe
about 17!iO. He was a weaver by trade, as was
his father before him, and he was also a farmer,
lie married .\bigail Dunlap, of Scotch descent and
they had nine children.

Alexander Snodgrass was born in the ancestral
home; educated at the common schools and
Duffield Academy, Elizabeth, Tenn., and at Ab-
ingdon, Va. He came to Alabama in lS43;ha8been
tax assessor, and was rtceivcr of public money at
the land offices at Lebanon and Centre for six years.
He represented Cherokee County in the State Leg-
islature two years, and was State agent for ship-
ping salt for a year or two during the war. After
the war, he established the Alabama Herald at
Scottsboro.

In 1872 he was elected to represent Jack-
son, Marshall and DeKalb counties in the
State Senate, and served there four years. He
continued the publication of the Jleruld until
January 16, 1887, when, on account of his ap-
pointment as postmaster by President Cleveland,
the paper was discontinued.

In 1843, Mr. Snodgrass was married to Miss
Lucetta Byrd, of this vicinity, by whom he had
one daughter, Mary A., married to C. W. Daugh-
drill, and now living in Gadsden. In 18-53 the first
Mrs. Snodgrass died, and in December, 1854. Mr.
Snodgrass was married to Miss Susan Jane Hill,
a lady related to a family of that name well known
in Georgia and Tennessee. The children of this
marriage are John Nathaniel, who died in infancy;
Fannie V., now widow of F. R. King of New
Orleans and for some time known as junior edi-
tress of the Herald. She has become quite famous
throughout the State as a writer under the iiom
de jdnme of "Hex" in the Birmingham Af/e; Su-
san Cornelia, wife of I). K. Caldwell, of this
county, and living in Scottsboro; Jesse Alexander,
wife of Dr. Beech, a dentist of Scottsboro; Irene
and Minnie, yet at home.

Mr. Snodgrass is a member of the P^piscopal
Church and the Masonic fraternitv.

100

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

JAMES K. P. ROREX, M. D., Physician and
Surgeon, son of David and Sarali A. (Wilkinson)
Eorex, was born the 3d of March, 1845, in Fay-
ettesville, Lincoln Oonnty, Tenn.

His father, David Eorex, vpas born in East Ten-
nessee October 16, 180G. He was a merchant;
moved to Alabama in January, 1858, and died in
Scottsboro March, 1880. His wife, Sarah Ann
Wilkinson, died in March, 1863. They had six
children, two boys and four girls.

Dr. Eorex received a common-school edu-
cation at Stevenson in the ante-bellum days. He
entered the Confederate Army at the age of fifteen,
in the Sixth Alabama Infantry. He was in the
Seven Days' Fight before Richmond in 18G2: at the
battle of Chancellorsville, where he was wounded;
at Gettysburg, and the second battle of the Wil-
derness, where he received a wound which crippled
him for five or six years. After the war he
attended school at Stevenson for one year. Then
he went to the University of Virginia, after which
he came home and taught school for three years,
studying medicine in the meantime. He attended
two courses of lectures in Nashville; took his
degree of M. D. at Mobile, in March, 1875;
attended Louisiana State Medical College in New
Orleans in 1884; and has practiced medicine in
Scottsboro since 1875. He is a member of the
State Medical Association and a counsellor therein
since 1881; was County Health Officer five years,
and is President now of the Jackson County Med-
ical Society. He is a member of the Christian
Church and of the Odd Fellows fraternity.

Dr. Rorex was married November 6, i876, to
Miss Ella Lou Whitworth, a daughter of Wm.
Whitworth, of Tennessee. The Doctor has three
children: Louis Wyetb, Fannie Polk and William
David.

JOHN RICHARD HARRIS, son of Richard B.
and A. H. Clopton Harris, of A'irginia, was born
near Huntsville, May 5, 1841. Richard B.
Harris was born in 1806, educated in the country
schools, in early life was a merchant, and after-
ward a farmer. He was a captain of militia at
Huntsville for many years and served also as
a justice of the peace. He reared two sons and
five daughters.

John R. Harris was reared on a farm, and
when eight years old removed with his parents to
Larkinsville, Ala., and received his education at

Irvin College. In March, 1861, he enlisted in
the Confederate Army, in Capt. Hal. Bradford's
company; went to Fort Morgan, where he and his
company were merged into the Second Alabama
Regiment; remained there for ten months, was
transferred to Fort Pillow, and after a short time
discharged. While Mr. Harris and his comrades
were on their way home he joined an Alabama
regiment for the occasion and participated in the
memorable battle of Corinth. Having reached his
home, he remained there but a few days, and went
out as an independent with Colonel Stearns, of
the Fourth Tennessee Cavalry, and there was or-
ganized into Company K., Commanded by Capt.
Francisco Rice, of Madison County, Ala., For-
rest's old brigade. While here he declined an office
which was tendered him. After this he partici-
pated in all the engagements in which his brigade
fought; was never excused from duty at any time;
was in Bragg's campaign in Kentucky; fought
with Kirby Smith's command, and himself com-
manded the extreme advance guard of Smith's
division till he reached Barbersville and Cumber-
land Ford. When his squad had only crossed the
Kentucky line a short distance, they were fired
on by bushwhackers, when they dashed into the
hills and captured some of them; then met a
Federal lieutenant with twenty scouts, and killed
and captured together, fourteen of the same.
Here Mr. Harris was slightly wounded on top of
his head. He was engaged at Eichmond, Perry-
ville, second battle of Fort Donelson, Parker's
Cross Roads, Huntington, Lexington and Dres-
den, where his brigade captured General Fry's
command. He was afterward in the battles of
Thompson Station, Tenn., Knoxville, Chicka-
mauga, Resaca and the campaign of Atlanta, Ga. ;
was slightly wounded several times; was with Gen.
Joe Wheeler in the East Tennessee campaign,
in the winter of 1863-4. After Hood's raid he
was on detached duty as a secret scout, in which
duly he again had command of a small squad of
men, and had numerous fights with an independ-
ent Alabama company, and Federals in Middle
Tennessee and North Alabama, often successfully
fighting five and ten to one; and thinks he, with
five others, made the last fight of the war near
Larkinsville, Ala., killing seven out of sixteen of
the enemy. This engagement was on horseback,
the enemy getting in first fire. A short time be-
fore this Mr. Harris, with Lieutenant Haveren
and eight men, boarded a Federal steamboat some

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

101

miles below Chattanooga, on the Tennessee Kiver,
and captured the urew and destroyed the vessel,
with several cannon.

After the war lie cnjjaged in farming, wliich he
has continued till the jiresent time. In 1871, he
was elected Sheriff, and served one term. It is
said by his countrymen that he made a most
excellent sheriff. In 18K0. he removed to Scotts-
boro, where he owns considerable property.

In 1800, lie was married to Miss MoUie F. Win-
bourn, of West Tennessee. He had one daughter
by this marriage — .Mollie F. His wife dieri in
1870; was married again in 1874 to Miss ilaria
W. Kinkle, daughter of LaFayette and Agnes
(Jones) Kinkle. of lluntsville. They have several
cliildren — Robert K.. John R., Fannie T., Emma
1'., Jennie I'., .Maria W., Lulu (J. and George W.
Mr. Harris and wife are members of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and he is a .Mason and Knight
of Honor.

— -^-f^t^-^*— ^

JOHN P. TIMBERLAKE, Contractor, Steven-
son, son of Joel and Martha (Perkins) Tim-
berlake, was born in Louisa County, Va., August
13, 1817.

His parents were both natives of Louisa County,
where his father was born, in 177*;. He was a
farmer, and died in 1831, leaving five children.
Ili.< widow died a few years later.

Philip Timberlake, grandfather of John P.
'J'imberlake, was also a native of ^'Jrginia, and
was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The
'I'imberlakes came from England.

John P. Timberlake was reared mi a farm, and
received a common school education. When
twenty years of age, he took a contract on the
James River & Kanawlni Canal. After this was
completed, he came to Georgia (in 1838), and
took contracts in the construction of the Western
& Atlantic Railway. He followed the business of
contracting, in Georgia and Alabama, until 1857,
and was successful in accumulating a considerable
fortune.

In 1852, he located at Stevenson, where he
he hivs since resided, and has been a merchant and
farmer, besides continuing his business as a con-
tractor, in pursuance of which, he was interested
in erecting all the principal buildings of Steven-
son, including the William and Emma Austin
College, which was finished in 1873.

In 1801, he was a delegate to the Secession Con-

vention, and gave his entire influence against the
ordinance of secession.

Mr. Timberlake was married, in 1858, to Sarah
T. Roach, of Jackson County, Ala., a daughter
of Rev. Charles L. and Sarah (Bradford) Roach,
of Virginia and Tennessee, respectively. Charles
L. Roach was a minister of the Missionary Baptist
Church. Mrs. Timberlake died in 1807. Mr.
Timberlake is a member of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church and the Masonic fraternity.

JAMES P. HARRIS. Proprietor of the Harris
House, Scottsboro, son of Richard B. Harris, and
grandson of a soldier in the Revolutionary war,
was born April 4, 1847, near lluntsville.

Mr. Harris was a weakly youth until he had
served awhile in the army. His father had plenty
of slaves, and he did nothing in his boyhood davs
but go to school. He joined the Confederate
Army in 1861, being then but sixteen years of age,
and was mustered into Company K, Fourth
Alabama Infantry, under Col. Egbert J. Jones.
He was in the battle of Bull Run, July 21,
1861, but was discharged from the infantry
service on account of his extreme youth.
He returned to his home and remained there
about a month, when he joined Forrest's Cav-
alry in the Fourth Tennessee Regiment; was in the
battle at Jamestown, the seven days' fight before
Richmond, and in all Forrest's West Tennessee
campaigns, including eight or ten heavy battles
and many skirmishes; was at the second battle of
Fort Donelson, the battle of Thompson's Station
and the capture of Streight, whom Forrest pur-
sued from near Tuscumbia until within a few
miles from Rome, Georgia, riding and fighting
day and night for three or four days.

Our subject was engaged in the battle of Tulla-
homa, a most severe fight, in which Colonel
Starnes of his regiment was killed. He was also
in the battle of Chickamauga, and after that went
to East Tennessee and participated in the siege of
Knoxville, and was continuously fighting most
of the winter. In the spring his regiment came
through the Carolinas and joined Johnson's
army at Dalton, Georgia. This regiment was
placed in the rear guard on their retreat from
Dalton to Atlanta, and participated in the
battles of Resaca, Calhoun, Kenesaw Mountain,
and Peach Tree Creek. Before the battle of Peach

103

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Tree Creek they captured Stoneman and his com-
mand south of Atlanta, and made a. raid through
Middle Tennessee. After the battle at Atlanta
tiiey fought a most severe one at Franklin, Ten-
nessee, and then retreated to North Carolina,
where Johnson surrendered.

He was married October 31, 1866, to Miss Jen-
nie Robertson, of Jackson County, and four chil-
dren have been born to this union: "William 8.,
Anna B., Mary S. and James P.

Mr. Harris and lady are members of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, and he is an Odd Fellow.

Vlll.
FRANKLIN COUNTY.

Population: White, 10,456; colored, 1,699.
Area, 610 square miles. Woodland, all. Red Val-
ley and other calcareous lands, 220 square miles.
Sandy soil and gravelly hills, 240 square miles.
Coal measures, 150 square miles.

Acres — In cotton, approximately, 10,368; in corn,
21,038; in oats, 320; in wheat, l,6ci0; in tobacco,
17; in sugar cane, 96; in sweet potatoes, 137.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 3,000.

County Seat — Bel Green : Population, 500 ;
located 23 miles from Tuscumbia.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Frank-
lin News, Democratic.

Postofficesin the County — Alauthus, Bel Green,
Burleson, Ezzell, Fordton, Frankfort, Isbell,
Mountain Springs, Nelsonville, Newburgh, Pleas-
ant Site, Eussellville, Spruce Pine, Waco.

Franklin is one of the northwestern counties of
the State, and adjoins the State of Mississippi.
Its history as a county antedates the history of
the State, it having been organized in 1818, by
the first Territorial Legislature. The county
perpetuates the memory of Benjamin Franklin,
the great American jihilosopher. It is one of
the oldest counties in the State, and has long
been noted for its richness in minerals as
well as the fertility of its soils. At Russellville,
which was once the county-seat, there was estab-
lished the first iron furnace erected in the State ;
but, owing to superior facilities of transportation
in other quarters, its operation has long since been
discontinued, and now its existence is only a
memory of the past.

The principal mineral resources of the county
consist of coal and iron ore, both of which are
found in apparently inexhaustible quantities. The
presence of these minerals bids fair to bring
Franklin County into prominence and materially
increase the value of its lands. The want of fa-
cilities of transportation, in the past, has been
the cause which retarded the develojiment of the
resources of this county ; but this condition is
somewhat changed now, as the county is pene-
trated by the Sheffield & Birmingham Railroad,
which will soon be completed through to the
latter city. In addition to this road, others
highly important to the interests of Franklin
are projected, and no doubt the work of con-
structing some of them will be commenced at an
early date. This is what Franklin has long
awaited, and when the time arrives the county
will enjoy an era of prosperity greater than is now
dreamed of.

The surface of the county is marked by a series
of ridges, and taken as a whole is more or less
broken, but has frequent valleys notable for their
fertility, which furnish excellent lands sufficient
to support a large population of small farmers.
The soil on the ridges is thin and cultivation of it
yields poor return; but in the valleys the results
will compare favorably with sections which are
strictly classed as good agricultural regions. The
princijial products of the county are corn, cotton,
wheat, oats, rye, tobacco, sorghum, potatoes and
the usual field crops. Probably the leading crop
of the county is corn, although it produces nearly

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

103

4,000 bales of cotton per year. This crop was
placed at 2,07*^ bales by tlic Census of 1S70,
while the Census of 1880 shows a yield of .'!,r.03
bales.

The conditions of the county especially adajit
it to the cultivation of grain, in which it
will compare favorably with leading counties of
the cereal belt.

The matter of stock raising i.s receiving much
attention, and Franklin County's wool product
bids fair to be a most imjiortant feature at an
early day.

The county is fairly well wooded, the i)rincipal
of its timbers being red, white, post and black-
jack oaks, dogwood, chestnut and hickory. Co!i-
siderable (piantities of the more valuable timbers —

black locust, cedar, walnut and cherry — are found
in many portions.

Bear River, Little Hear, and other smaller and
uniTuportant streams give the county an ample
supjily of water. Until changed at the last ses-
sion of the Legislature, Bear Kiver was known as
Big Bear Creek.

The County Seat is Bel Green, a pleasant little
town, located about the center of the county.
The other principal towns are llusselville, Frank-
fort, Nelsonville and Center Line. The educa-
tional and religious facilities of the county are up
to the standard. Fine private schools are kept up
in almost every town, while every township has its
public school. Meeting-houses are found in all
l)ortions of the county.

IX.

COLBERT COUNTY.

Population: White. 9.203; colored, C, 0.50. Area,
570 sfpiare miles. Woodland, all. (iravelly hills
and sandy soil, -l^O square miles; red valley and
other calcareous lands, 150 square miles.

Acres — In cotton, approxiniately,25,0U0; in corn,
31,575; in oats, 3.840; in wheat, 1,704; in rye,
6'.i; in toViacco, 34; in sugar-cane, 15; in sweet
potatoes, 28().

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 10,000.

County Seat — Tuscumbia: population. 2,000;
located near tlic Tennessee Kiver, on the Memphis
& Charleston Railroad.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Di^jxitch
and yorlh A hi/mm inn, both Democratic. At Shef-
feld — Enterprise, Independent.

Postotlices in the Count}- — Allsborougli, Bar-
ton, Beeson, Bishop, Cheatham, Cherokee,
Chickasaw, Dickson, Dug, Ingleton, Leighton,
Littleville, Margerum, Maud, Mountain Mills,
I'ride's .Station, Rock Creek, Saint's Store, Shef-
field, South Florence, Spring Valley, Tharp, Tus-
cumbia.

Colbert Countv. named for a famous chief of

the Chickasaws, who once lived within its limits,
was created from territory cut off from the
northern part of Franklin County in 1807.
■'Though one of the youngest counties in the
State," says a recent writer, "it is rapidly coming
to the froTit as one of the most progressive." It
is one of the most highly-favored counties in
Alabama, taking into consideration its climate,
soil, farm products, water-powers, timbers, mine-
rals, and transportation by river and rail.

The county lies east and west, in the sliape of
an irregular parallelogram (twenty by thirty
miles), much compressed in the middle by a
southward flexure of the Tennessee River, which
washes its whole northern border. It contains
570 square miles.

Population in IS'.O, 12,537; in 1880, 10,153 ; in
1887 (estimated), 22,000, of whom fifty-nine per
cent, are white, and forty-one i)er cent, are
colored.

The i>rincipal farm i)roducts are cotton, corn
(in the production of which, per acre, the county
ranks first in the State), oats, wheat, clover, the

104

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

grasses, sorghum, sweet and Irish potatoes, hay, rye,
and tobacco in limited quantities. Peaches grow to
perfection in the mountains, and all other kind of
fruit and vegetables thrive in the valleys.

A range of hills called the " Little Mountain "
runs east and west through the county, north of
which lies the Valley of the Tennessee, and
south Kussel's Valley, in Franklin County.
Toward Kussel's Valley, the hills slope gradually,
and are covered with pebble beds of considerable
thickness, while toward the Tennessee Valley, the
mountain sinks down abruptly, leaving escarp-
ments of rock from 75 to 175 feet in height.

But two geological formations, the sub-carbon-
iferous and the stratified drift, are represented in
the county. These, though lying in contact, are
divided chronologically by the mighty gap which
separates paliszoic from quarterman time. The
sub-carboniferous is composed of limestone and
sandstone; the drift of angular fragments of
clod sands, clay, and rounded pebbles. The lat-
ter is found chiefly in the soutJiern and western
part of the county.

The drainage of the county is northward all the
streams flowing into the Tennessee River, and all,
except Bear River, in the west, having their sources
in the Little Mountain. The streams flowing north
are Spring Creek, Little Bear Ci-eek, Cane Creek,
Buzzard Roost Creek and Bear River. The first four
have cut deep gorges or canons into the sandstone,
which forms the upper stratum of the Little
Mountain. These canons abound in mineral
springs and are wildly picturesque and beautiful.
After leaving the mountains streams flow through
a comparatively level valley to the river. The St.
Louis or coral limestone underlies this valley.

The most striking topographical features of the
county are the bluffs of coral limestone, .50 to 100
feet high, along the south bank of the Tennessee
River, the level and beautiful valley, thirty miles in
length by ten miles in breadth, lying parallel, and
the bold escarpment of the Little Mountain visible
from every part of the valley, forming a mighty
wall of stone to the southward.

The lands of the county may be classified agri-
culturally as follows: Fifty-seven square miles of
alluvial lands — these are -'made lands" along
Tennessee and Bear Rivers, subject to overflow,
but astonishingly fertile, producing maximum
crops of 100 bushels of corn and \\ bales of cotton
to the acre : l.")3 square miles of red lands of the
■valley lying between the coral limestone bluffs of

the river and the limestone escarpments of the
Little Mountain — these lands are not subject to
overflow, have a red to dark brown soil, a deep
red sub-soil, are easily renovated when worn, and
are exceedingly rich and productive ; the bad
class of land — 380 square miles of "mountain"
lands — about one-half of which has a light sand
soil, not very productive, but covered with the
fine forests of pine and oaJc, and the other half
of caves and rich, rounded hills covered with
growth of walnut and poplar, and producing
fine crops of corn, cotton and small grain. Lands
vary from 15 to $50 per acre in price, according to
character, location and surroundings.

The spontaneous and exuberant growth of
grasses in Colbert County marks it specially for a
stock country. The efforts heretofore made at
raising horses, mules, cattle, hogs, etc., and im-
proving breeds of live stock, have been eminently
successful. Few counties in the State could make
an exhibition of live stock that would rival that of
this county.

Colbert is rich in valuable timljers. Forests of
short leaf pine, cutting from 400,000 to 500,000
feet, board measure, to the square mile, abound.
All varieties of oak are found. Thousands of
cords of tan bark are annually shipped by river to
northwestern cities. Red gums of great height
and beauty grow in all parts of the county. Chest-
nut grows everywhere upon the mountains, and
cypress is abundant along the streams.

The mineral wealth of the county is very great.
Beds of silica, hydraulic limestone, ochre, fire-
clay and kaolin are found in various parts, par-
ticularly in the west. Good beds of iron ore
(limonite) are found near Tharptown in the south-
east and near Chickasaw in the northwest portion
of the county. Gray marble, approximating stat-
uary marble in the polish it takes, is quarried at
Ingleton near the Mississippi line. Samples of
this stone may be seen in the Confederate monu-
ment at Montgomery, and the soldiers' monument
at Mobile. Sandstone of superior quality abounds.
Keller's quarry, near the center of the county,
and Ilolsapple's quarry, near Cherokee, are among
the best. The cleavage of this stone is perfect,
any size and thickness being obtained.

Among the industrial and manufacturing enter-
prises of the county are the stone quarries above
mentioned, the lime works of Dr. Pride, near
Pride Station, and of Mr. John A. Denny, near
Margerum, the cotton factory of Messrs. Cheney

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

105

& Brandon, near Barton, and quite a number of
steam saw and grist mills in various parts of the
county.

At Slieffield, ])reparations for making and work-
ing iron on tlie most extensive scale are being
made, and shipments of ore have begun. Five
blast furnaces of a combined capacity of COO tons
of iron daily, are completed, or in process of con-
struction. The limits of this article forbids any
enumeration of the various manufacturing enter-
prises at Sheftield and Tuscumbia, which include
plow factories, ice factories, planing mills, brick
yards, sash and blind factories, etc.

The first railroad in the South, a horse-car rail-
way, was built from Tuscumbia, in this county, to
Decatur, in Morgan County. These points are now
connected by the Jremphis& Charleston Ixailroad,
which runs through Colbert County from east
to west. A branch of the the same road connects
Tuscumbia with Florence. The Sheffield & Bir-
mingham liailroad runs through Colbert County
from north to south, connecting Sheffield with
the iron and coal deposits in Franklin, A\Mnston,
Walker and Jefferson Counties. Besides these
roads the following railroads, all to i)ass through
this county, are projected and in process of con-
struction: The Louisville & Nashville exten-
sion, from Columbia, Tenn., to Sheffield, Ala.:
the Illinois Central extension, from Aberdeen,
Miss., to Sheffield, Ala.; the Florence & Tus-
caloosa Railroad from Tuscaloosa to Florence,
via Sheffield; and the Padueah, Chickasaw &
Birmingham Railroad from Chickasaw to Birm-
ingham.

r.eighton, lying partly in Lawrence County,
Brides, Bartoii, Cherokee, Dickson and Margerum
are stations and thriving towns surrounded by a
fine country and have good churches and schools.

Chickasaw, tlie head of summer navigation on
the Tennes.see River, is below Colbert Shoals. It
is the most northwesterly town in Alabama, and
during low water stage goods may be billed to it
cheaper than any other town in the State. Alls-
boro is a prosperous village on the Bear River
twenty miles below its mouth.

Ninety jier cent, of the population of Saint's,
Camp Smith, Wheeler's and Seygley beats, which
constitute tiio mountain ])recincts are white. Tiie
farmers of this section are the most independent
and self-sustaining in the county.

The Tennessee River secures to dwellers on its
banks water connection with all the river cities of

the north, west and south. The navigation from
Padueah, Ky., to Chickasaw, Ala., is equaled
in this country only by that of the lower Missis-
sippi and the Hudson. The distance is about
three hundred miles. An additional three hun-
dred miles will be added to the navigation of this
river as soon as the Mussel Shoals Canal is com-
pleted and obstructions removed from Colbert
Shoals, for which work there has been an appro-
priation of |!50,000.

FRANK R. KING, born at Leighton, Ala..
October 30, IS.JT, is a son of Ilartwell P. and
Mary Henderson (Smith) King.

The senior Mr. King was born near Raleigh,
N. C, in LS20. He entered the army as a mem-
ber of Captain Rand's Company, with which he
served until the close of the war. He had born
to him eight children, viz.: Henry, Hartwell,
Richard, Duncan, Paul, William, Frank R. and
Susie. The three first named died when quite
young.

The grandfather of our subject, Hartwell Kinsr,
was a native of North Carolina. He reared a
large family and died before the war. His widow
died in 1871, at the extreme old age of 88 years.

The subject of this sketch engaged in mercan-
tile business with his brother Paul, which business
they are still conducting. This firm is one of the
oldest in Leighton, and has the largest trade of
any of its kind in that section of the country.

Mr. King was married in June, 1876, to Imo-
gene White, daughter of James AVhite, of ilem-
phis, Tenn. The union has been blessed with
one child, Walter. Mr. King and wife are mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal and Presbyterian
Churches, respectively.

— ««:

B. R. KING, M. D., born near Leighton, Ala.,
in 1830, is a son of Oswald and Martha (DeLone)
King.

'J'he senior Mr. King was born in North Caro-
lina in the year 1785; came to Alabama with his
parents at the age of seventeen years, and died in
1870. He was a well educated man, a thorough
instructor, and one of the leading citizens of the
county. He taught school when quite young,
and also was a successful planter, in which avoca-

106

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

tion he accumulated a large fortune. He reared
a family of eleven children, of whom we make
the following mention: Edward H., deceased;
Robert, a planter; B. R., our subject; Burchert,
planter ; Margaret F., wife of F. Hubbard ; the
rest of the family died at an early age. The King
family came originally from England.

The mother of our subject was also born in
North Carolina, and was a daughter of C'apt. E.
B- DeLone, a native of Virginia, and of French
Huguenot ancestry. Cajit. DeLone came to
Alabama in its early history, located at Hunts-
ville, where he became an extensive trader, and
thence removed to Arkansas, where he died be-
fore the war.

The subject of this sketch was reared on a
farm, and received his education at La Grange
College, from which institution he was graduated.
He also attended a military school at ilarietta,
Ga., ten months. About 1857 he began the study,
of medicine with Dr. Kumpie, and was graduated
from the University of Peunsylvania in 1861.
Immediately after his graduation he located in
the practice of his profession at Leighton. In
1863, he entered into a contract with the Confed-
erate Government as Surgeon of the Thirty-fifth
Alabama Regiment, with which command he
served about two years. He then acted as Surgeon
of Warren's Battalion for a short time.

After the war, Dr. King settled at Leighton,
where he has been engaged, more or less, in the
practice of his profession ever since. He also
conducts a large farm. He stands high in the
estimation of the community, and is regarded by
the profession as one of the most skillful physi-
cians in Northern Alabama.

DR. GEORGE E. KUMPIE was born near
Castle, Germany, September 7, 1819. He re-
ceived his education in his native country, and in
early life was connected with the Lutheran
Church. When quite young, he and his brother,
John, came to the United States, locating at
Tusciimbia, Ala.

The Doctor took his first course in medicine at
Louisville, in 1847, and graduated from the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania. After his graduation,
he located at La Grange, Ala., where he found a
good field for his profession, and in which he
labored, with much success, until 1876. He

then moved to Little Rock, Ark., where he lived
a few years, coming thence to Leighton, where he
lived until his death, which occurred August 29,
1887.

Being a man of much popularity, a skillful
physician, an active worker in the church, and a
public-spirited citizen, his death was regretted by
a large circle of friends. He was a prominent
Mason, and stood at the head of his profession.
He served as president and vice-pre.sident of the
State Medical Association, and was deeply inter-
ested in all matters pertaining to the advance-
ment and edification of the medical profession.
He left an interesting family, of six sons and one
daughter, who comprise some of Northern Ala-
bama's best citizens.

PARKER N. G. RAND was born at La Grange,

Colbert County, Ala., in October, 1829, and is a
son of John and Martha (Curtis) Rand, natives
of Wake County, N. C.

Mr. Rand's parents moved to La Grange in
1826; purchased two farms, one in Lawrence and
the other in Franklin County, and were success-
ful in accumulating a large amount of land.
They reared four sons and five daughters, namely:
Louise, wife of William Mullens of Alabama;
Pemantha, widow of Robert A. Lampkin; Martha^
wife of Reece Cook, of Vicksburg, Miss. ; Jackson.
C, deceased; John W., physician; William H.,.
farmer; Molsey A., wife of F. C. Vinson; Parker
N. G., our subject; Mary A., wife of Dr. William
Stephenson — she died in Texas. The elder Mr.
Rand died in 1863, at the age of seventy-six years.
His wife died in 1845, aged fifty-six years. He
was a very active and industrious man while in
North Carolina. Beginning in life apparently a
poor man he succeeded in accumulating a fortune
of at least 850,000. The Rand family were origin-
ally of Irish and Scotch ancestry. The mother
of our subject was a daughter of John Curtis, a
native of Wake county, N. C. He was a lineal
descendant of Irish parentage.

The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm;
received a common-school education, and in 1845
entered La Grange College, from which institution
he was graduated as A. B. in 1849. After his grad-
uation he was engaged with his father farming until
February, 1855, when he was married to Martha
A. Smith, daughter of John Smith, of Lawrence

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

lor

County, .Ala. They reared a family of six
chiklren, namely: Pattie; Parker, book-keeper for
F. I{. King & Co.; Leighton, Hall, John and Mary.
After marriage Mr. Pand located in the neigh-
borhood of his birth where he was engaged at
farming. He was elected magistrate, which office
he has held for thirty years *or more. In the
sjiring of 1803, he raised a company of soldiers;
was elected captain, and entered a battalion under
.Major Williams of the Confederate Army. This
company remained a part of the battalion until its
major was killed, after which it was merged into
Company H, Eleventh Alabama, commanded by
Col. James Burtwell, a graduate of West Point.

Mr. Hand remained with this regiment until the
close of the war. He was mostly engaged as a
scout and participated at the battle of Tishomingo
Creek and at the fall of Selma. He surrendered
at Pond Springs, after which he returned home
and resumed farming. Having lost considerable
of his fortune, he went to work with energy and
has succeeded in replenishing his coffers.

Mr. Rand and wife are members of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, of which he has been steward
for many years. He is also worshipful master of the
Masonic lodge, and has taken an active interest in
all that pertains to the advancement and progress of
his section of the country.

MINERAL BELT.

BLOUNT COUNTY.

Population: White, 14,210; colored, 1,159.
Area, 700 square miles. Woodland, all. Coal
measures, 460 square miles; valley lauds, 240
square miles: Brown's and Murphree's Valley, 240
square miles.

Acres iu cotton, approximately, 12,500; in corn,
29,161; in oats, 4,551; in wheat, 10,087; in tobac-
co, 48; in sweet potatoes, 371. Approximate num-
ber of bales of cotton, 5,000.

County Seat — Blountsville;poi5ulation, 300; loca-
ted fifty miles south of Huntsville and forty-eight
miles north of Birmingham.

Newsjiapers published at County Seat — Blount
Coiinty News, democratir.

Postoffices in the County — Anderton, Arkadel-
phia. Balm, Bangor, Blount Springs, BlountsviUe,
Brooksville, Chejjultepec, Craige, Dineston, Gar-
den City, Garrison Point, Gum Springs, Hanbys
Mills, Ilanceville, Hendrick, Huldah, Liberty,
Little Warrior, Lowery, McLarty, Murijhree's Val-
ley, Xectar, Ogee, Remlap, Snead, Strawberry,
Summit, Village Springs, Viola, Wynnville.

This county was formed in 1818, and named
in honor of Governor William G. Blount, of Ten-
nessee. It is noted for the abundance of its
minei'als, the diversity of its soils, the variety of
productions, and mineral waters. In its progress.

it is keeping pace with the surrounding counties,
and is ranked among the best in the State.

The face of the country in Blount is rather
peculiar. It is penetrated through the center by
a plateau which occupies a belt from eight to ten
miles in width. On one side of this mountain
plateau, running parallel with it, is Murphree's
Valley, while on the opposite side is Brown's Val-
ley. Along this belt of plateau are found excel-
tent farming lands, which have been wonderfully
assisted during the last few years by the moderate
use of fertilizers. Cotton grows most readily upon
this broad upland, especially if a little assisted
with fertilizers.

Excellent school and church facilities exist in
almost every portion of the county. Blountsville,
the seat of justice, Bangor, Summit, Hanceville,
and Garden City are places of importance. The
industries of the county are varied. Extensive
limeworks are seen at Blount Springs. Limestone,
dug from the quarries here, is daily shipped iu
large quantities to Birmingham, where the manu-
facturers hold it in repute above any other avail-
able limestone. It prevails in inexhaustible stores,
in hills about Blount Springs. Coal and iron are
abundant in the county. Petroleum is also found.
Enjoying, as it does, facilities for transportation to

108

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

109

the markets of the South, Nortli, and all points in
the far Northwest, nothing prevents Blount from
taking rank with the foremost counties of the
State.

Here, as in the adjoining counties which lie

along the railroad, the value of the lands dim-
inishes as they recede from tiie lineof communica-
tion. Land can be purchased in the county at
prices ranging from k'l to ^3.5 per acre. There are
;U,3'.iO acres of government land in Rlount County.

II.

BIBB COUNTY.

Poimlation: White. G.OOO; colored, ;!,000.
Area, 610 square miles. Woodland, all. Hilly
lands, with long-leaf pine, 310 square miles. C'a-
haba coal fields, Vlh square miles. Eoup's Valley,
100 square miles. Valley lands south of Cahaba
coal fields. To square miles. Gravelly hills, with
long-leaf pines, 110 square miles.

Acres in cotton, approximately, 15,737; in corn,
18,816 ; in oats, 3,935 ; in wheat, 3,125 ; in rye,
151: in tobacco, 36; in sugar-cane, 36; in sweet
potatoes, 308. Approximate number of bales of
cotton, 5,931.

County Seat — Centerville ; population 300: lo-
cated on Cahaba River.

Postoftices in the Count}' — Abercrombie, Affo-
nee, Ashby, Bibbville, Blocton, Brierfield, Cen-
tervUh, Furnace, Green Pond. Ilarrisburgh, Xcw
Marrs, Pondville, Randolph, River Bend, Scotts-
ville, Si.\ Mile, Slick, Tionus, Woodstock.

Formerly, Bibb County was one of the largest
counties in the State ; but a great deal of its area
has been cut off to make up the surrounding
counties established later on in the history of the
State.

In the first days of its settlement, and for
a long time, agriculture was tlie only pursuit of
its citizens ; but along in the d.ays of the Confed-
eracy the industries began to be diversified, and
some attention was given to her minerals. But
her inhabitants soon settled again into the tilling
of the soil, and not until a few years ago have
her great resources of mineral and timber wealth
been discovered ; and while she stands to-day
among the richest and most wonderful of the

counties of the great Commonwealth, she has not
lost much of her agricultural value.

Very little corn is bought by the farmers, and
they could easily i-aise it all. Besides this, the
soil produces with ease and in abundance oats,
rye, potatoes, peas, rice, sugar-cane, and in fact
almost everything except wheat. The forests and
fields afford excellent pasturage for cattle and
hogs, though as yet not much attention is paid to
either, as a rule. A most important crop is grass,
which can be raised at a considerable profit ; and
in many parts of the county the farmers are turn-
ing their attention to stock-raising. The fertility
of the lands can not be too highly spoken of.

The entire country in the eastern portion of the
county is full of iron of the finest quality. With-
in a short distance lie beds of limestone, and coal
is near by. Iron can be made at a small cost.
JIany varieties of marble are found which could
be easily utilized. The finest fire-clay exists in
many places, and is being worked at two points.
Fine brick are made. Yellow ochre is found and
some gold-bearing quality. There are also man-
ganese, asbestos, saltpetre, and some other inferior
minerals.

Great forests of pine timber offer a rich harvest
to mill men, and some of them are being worked.
The county is shaded by the finest of timbers,
embracing hickory, oak, gum, maple, beech, pop-
lar, walnut, chestnut, elm, persimmon, cotton-
wood, and the finest of cedar; all of this timber
could be put to use, and the county abounds in
good openings for wooden manufactories.

Anywhere on the banks of the beautiful streams

110

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

may be found fine water-powers, where small
manufactories could be run. The most important
of those streams are the Cahaba and Little Cahaba
Rivers, and Haysoy, Shultz, Shades, Ockmul-
gee, Sandy, Six Mile, and Mahean Creeks. On
most all of them are found mills and gins, and
many sites for others.

The established industries of Bibb are limited
for a county of so much material wealth, but they
are important. A great many saw-mills are run-
ning, which shiji quantities of lumber to other mar-
kets. Notable among these are Harrison's, at Ran-
dolph, Carter's, at Brierfield, ilartin Strickland's,
at Blaston, besides the many smaller ones.

The Brierfield Coal & Iron Company own the
most extensive manufacturing plant. They mine
coal, make coke, make pig iron, run it through
rolling mills, cast it at the foundry, make nails,
and jiut up some machinery. The Cahaba Coal
Mining Comjiany, at Blaston, are mining immense
quantities of coal, which they make into coke and
ship to Anniston. The Edwards Iron Company,
at Woodstock, will be running very soon. At
Ashley and Bibbville there are large fire and
machine made brick works, which ship large
quantities. At Scottsville, there is a flouring mill
and wool-carding mill.

The places of importance are — -Centerville, the
the county seat, Randolph, Brierfield, Six Mile,
Blaston, Woodstock, Green Pond and Scottsville.

The county is skirted by two railroads, the

East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia on the east,
and the Alabama Great Southern on the west.
Two others are projected through the center.
The Mobile & Birmingham has been located, and
will strike Ashley Furnace, Blaston and Wood-
stock, and will run directly through the coal and
iron fields. The Selma & Cahaba Valley is a pro-
posed line through the timber, marble and coal
regions. Boats have run as high up the Cahaba
River as Centerville, and that stream can easily be
made navigable, thus giving an outlet by water.

The water and climate is fine, and health good.
Good schools are accessible at all points. The
morals of the people are above the average, there
being little business in the courts — churches are
well supported.

Trade is good and many merchants have made
fortunes. The peojile only lack enterprise to
some extent, though they are awakening to a due
sense of the value of their county. Lands can be
bought cheap, and there is a great deal of public
land subject to entry.

A minute description would require a large
volume, and the above are only a few points
touching the true status of the county. There is
an inviting field for those who desire to invest,
and in this age of advancement and progress we
soon expect to see our county put down among the
first of the State. The county is entirely out of
debt, and only imposes a tax of forty-five cents on
the ^100.

III.

CALHOUN COUNTY.

Population: Wliite : U,8T2: colored, 4,9-v'l.
Area. C,io square miles. Wootlland. all. Coosa
A'allev and Coosa coal fields, 040 square miles.

Acres in cotton, approximately, 2(),,43o: in corn,
33,714: in oats, 8,8.52; in wheat, 10,745; in rye,
287; in tobacco, 29; in sweet potatoes, 283. Ap-
proximate number of bales of cotton, 11,927.

County Seat — Jacksonville; population 5,000;
on Kast Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Rejnth-
Uciin, democratic; at Anniston, Hot Blast, Watch-
man, and Southeni Industni, all democratic; at
Cross Plains, Post, democratic; at Oxford, .£"(7*0,
local.

Postotliees in the County — Adelia, Alexandria,
Allsup. .Viiniston, Beasley, Bera, Bruner, By-
num, Cane Creek, Choccolocco, Cross Plains,
Davisville, l)e Armanville, Duke, Eulaton, Fran-
cis, Germania, Grayton, Hebron, Jacksonville,
Jenkins, Ladiga, Mack. Marthadell, Martin's
Cross-roads, Merrellton, Morrisville, Nance, Ohat-
ohee, Ottery, Oxanna, Oxford, Peaceburgh, Peek's
Hill, Rabbit Town, Randall, Weaver's Station,
Wliite Plains.

Calhoun County, in the northeastern i)art of
the State, is bounded on the north by l-^towah and
Cherokee Counties, on the east by Cleburne, on
the south by Cleburne and Talladega, and on the
west by St. Clair. It was organized December
IS, 1833, out of territory ceded the Marcli before
by the Creek Indians.

Exclusive of town lots, railroad rights of way,
and public lands, 324,210 acres of land are assessed
for taxation at a valuation of ?!l,4Gl,722, town
lots and improvements are valued at *il,409,071,
and personal property at ^2,000,078; in all ^4,907,-
471. Since these values were fixed on the first of
January last, there has been something like a
•'boom" in Anniston and other parts, and they
would now be not less than fifty per cent,
greater.

The county tax for all purposes is forty cents on
the «ln(), one-third loss than last year and pre-

vious years. Except about ■^14,(»o(i for the new
court-house, the county is out of debt.

There are 1 10 miles of railway in the county, as
follows: The East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia
Railroad, 37.73 miles; the East & West Railroad,
30.58 miles; the Georgia Pacific Railroad, 30.50
miles; and the Anniston & Atlantic Railroad, 11.42
miles. These are valued at $855,078. In addi-
tion, the .Jacksonville, Gadsden «& Atalla Rail-
road is partly graded; and the Anniston & Cin-
cinnati Railroad, from Anniston to Atalla, will be
open for traffic by the first of February next.
These will increase the railroad mileage of the
county nearly forty miles. The Georgia Central
Railroad extension, projected from Carrollton,Ga.,
to Decatur, Ala., has been surveyed through the
county.

There are about 100,000 acres of imi)roved lands
in the county, which, in 1880, were divided into
l.'.iOO farms, the annual products of which were
worth more than *l,000,ooo then, and are worth
much more now.

Except the western slopes of the hills forming
its eastern boundary, the county lies wholly in
what is known as the Coosa Valley, which is a
continuation of the valleys of Virginia and East
Tennessee, and has the same physical and geo-
logical characteristics. It is a trough between
tlie metamorphic area and the coal fields,
broken by considerable sandstone elevations, with
wide, beautiful, and fertile valleys, abundantly
wooded and watered. These valleys, gently roll-
ing, not swampy or subject to overflow, are fineh'
adapted to cotton, corn, small grains, red clover,
and all the grasses, and the whole county is
specially suited for stock-growing.

The county is rich in minerals — perhaps the
richest in the State. Almost everywhere brown
hematite iron ore abounds, and around the bases
and on the sides of the sandstone hills it is in
amazing (piantities and of the greatest ricliness.
From Oxford to Cross Plains, in the Choccolocco
and Alexandria vallevs. and in the Colvin Moun-

111

112

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

tains, there are the greatest masses of it every-
where exposed on the surface, and everywhere
seemingly inexhaustible. There is not probably
one single section of land in the county without
ore. In the Colvin Mountains, in close proximity
to the brown ores, there are veins of red hematite
scarcely inferior in extent, and not inferior in
quality, to those of the famous Eed Mountain in
Jefferson County.

JEanganese, in greater or less quantity, is found
in many of the brown hematite beds, and inde-
pendently in large dejiosits. Limestone, and
marble of excellent quality, are abundant, as, also,
kaolin, sandstone, barite, and fire-brick clay, with
some copper, lead, and lithograjihic stone. The
Choccolocco, TerrajDiu, Tallasahatchie, Ohatchee,
and Cane Creeks, and the Coosa River, furnish
never-failing and almost limitless water-power.
For all domestic and agricultural jnirposes, water
abounds in every part of the county.

Attention has only recently been turned to the
vast mineral wealth and unequaled manufacturing
advantages of this county, and industrial develop-
ment has only fairly begun. In 1873 the first
furnace was erected in Anniston, which was fol-
lowed six years later by a second, both owned by
the Woodstock Iron Company, and two others are
being erected there by the same company. Annis-
ton has now in operation, in addition to the fur-
naces, car works with $.30,000 capital ; car- wheel
works and rolling-mill, $200,000 ; compress and
warehouse, $100,000 ; pipe works (in construc-
tion), $300,000 ; cotton mills, $250,000 ; steel
bloomery, $.50,000 ; fire-brick works, $25,000 ;
boiler shops, machine shops, planing mills, etc.,
$250,000; three banks; land company, $3,000,000;

and claims a population of over 9,000, with water-
works, electric lights, costly churches, first-class
schools, well-graded streets, a large general mer-
chandise business, and the finest hotel in the
State. The capital of the Woodstock Iron Com-
pany is $3,000,000. Jacksonville, twelve miles
north of Anniston, with mineral resources, mann-
facturing facilities, and location unsurpassed, has
just organized a land and improvement company,
with large capital, which has entered into nego-
tiations for the early inauguration of several large
industrial enterprises that will be under way by
the close of the year. Oxford, four miles below
Anniston, with 1,200 inhabitants, and Cross Plains,
twelve miles north of Jacksonville, with 800 peo-
ple, have situations in all respects as good as those
of Anniston and Jacksonville, and are built up in
the midst of the richest mineral deposits of this
section. Alexandria, in the loveliest valley in the
county, is on the line of the Anniston & Cincin-
nati Railroad, and has a bright future. There are
other thriving villages, as White Plains, Ger-
mania, Oxanna, Morrisville, Cane Creek, Chocco-
locco, etc.

There is a State Normal Scliool at Jacksonville,
excellently conducted high schools at Anniston,
Oxford, Cross Plains, and Alexandria, and good
public schools and churches in every neighbor-
hood. There are thirty-eight postoffices in the
county, about half of which have daily mails.
Xo person in the county lives more than five or
six miles from a railroad. There is a good deal
of government land subject to homestead entry.
Improved lands can be bought at from $5 to $50
an acre, the cheaper lands being more or less
broken, but well wooded and watered and fertile.

-■*«

OXFORD.

THOMAS CARTER HILL, prominent Physi-
cian and Surgeon, son of Thomas H. and Miranda
(Gregory) Hill, natives, respectively, of the States
of Virginia and Xorth Carolina, was born in
Green (now Hale) County, this State, November
14, 1830. After acquiring a thorough preliminary
education at some of the leading colleges of the

State, he, at the age of nineteen, began the study
of medicine, and pursued it successively through
medical institutions of learning in New York,
Boston, and Philadelphia, graduating from Jef-
ferson Medical College, in the latter city, in 1800.
Early in 18G1, young Hill enlisted as a private
soldier in the Fifth Alabama Regiment, and was

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

113

in a short time promoted to Assistant-Surgeon.
Ill 18)14, after liaving followed the fortunes of his
regiment through its various campaigns, he was
transferred to the Valley District of \'irginia, as
•Medical Director, with the rank of a full Surgeon,
and remained in tliat department to the close of
the war.

Heturniug to Alabama, at the close of hostili-
ties. Dr. Hill first located at Dayton, Marengo
County, in the practice of medicine, and re-
mained there until 1884, at which time he moved
into Oxford. Since coming here, he has devoted
his time to real estate and other business enter-
prises, to the exclusion of the profession. As a
]iliysician. Dr. Hill stood very higii. He was,
jirobably, as well taught in the science of materia
medica as any man in Alabama. Not satisfied
with the most thorough training possible at the
finest institutions of learning in America, he, in
18]0, studied arduously under the greatest in-
structors in Europe; and it is to the loss of the
profession, that he has withdrawn from the
practice.

Dr. Hill was married in Marengo County,
May, 1870, to Miss Margaret Lee, daughter of
Columbus W. and Elizabeth (Parker) Lee, and has
had born to him five children: Columbus L.,
Thomas C, Margaret, Myra C. and Plarry.

The Hon. Columbus W. Lee, native of Georgia,
was many years a member of the Alabama Legis-
lature, and was one of the most prominent men
of his day. He was a Pierce and King presiden-
tial elector in 1852 and a Douglas elector in 18C0.
He opposed secession and canvassed tlie State for
Douglas, although he went with his State in her
subse(iuent efforts in behalf of the Southern Con-
federacy. He was a member of the Constitutional
Convention of 1805, and made the race for Con-
gress that same year against Joseph W. Taylor,
and was beaten. He was an original speaker and
the master of thought and sarcasm. He died in
1808.

Thomas H. Hill, father to the subject of this
sketch, migrated in early manhood to North Car-
olina, there married, and in 1812 settled in Green
t'ounty, Ala., wliere he became an extensive
planter. He reared a family of two sons and
three daughters. He died in 1800, at the age of
seventy-eight. His father, Joseph Hill, was a
native of England, and came to America prior to
the Revolution and settled in Culpeper County,
Va.

JOHN L. DODSON. President of Oxford Male

and Female College, Oxford, is a native of Georgia,
and was born April 10, 1837. His early life was
spent on his father's plantation, in his native
State. His education was acquired at some board-
ing school, the County Academy, and at Davidson
College, North Carolina. He came to Alabama
in 1800, and at Jacksonville taught school one
year. From Jacksonville, as professional educa-
tor, he taught successfully at various places in this
State and in Georgia, during the period of the
war. After the declaration of peace, he returned
to Calhoun County, and at Brock's school-house
taught two years. In 1808, he located at Oxford
and, associated with Mr. W. J. Borden, founded
Oxford College. One year later he became sole
owner and proprietor of this popular institution of
learning, and to it has since given his time and
talents.

Professor Dodson, as will be seen by this brief
recital, has given almost his entire life to the
cause of education, and of him it may be truth-
fully said, that that great cause has appreciated
as much from his efforts as from that of any one
man. The success of Oxford College attests at
once his superior ability as an organizer, disciplin-
arian, and educator, and the people of this vicinity
are justly proud of him and his institution.

July, 1883, Professor Dodson, at Oxford, led to
the altar Miss Fannie S. (Uadden. the accom-
plished daughter of James A. and ^Martha (Kelley)
Gladden, of this place. The Professor and his
wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and
he is identified with the Independent Order of ( )dd
Fellows and the Masonic fraternity.

Samuel and Rebecca (Gardner) Dodson, the
parents of the subject of this sketch, were natives,
respectively, of (ireen and Morgan Counties,
Ga. The senior Mr. Dodson, a farmer by occu-
pation, was born in 1788, and participated in
the war of 1812. He was partially reared in South
Carolina, and spent a portion of his early man-
hood in Mississippi. His father, Joshua Dodson,
was a native of Virginia, and his grandfather
came from England. He reared a family of six
sons and four daughters. One of his sons, James
W,, now a farmer in Texas, took part in the Flor-
ida War and the Confederate War; another son,
Joshua M., was in the Confederate service during
the late war as quartermaster in the Trans-^Iiss-
issippi Department. He died in Texas. Christo-
pher C., another son, was in the Mexican War

114

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

from Texas, as a lieutenant, and during the late
war commanded a troop of Indians from Arizona.
He died in Tucson, Ariz. The fourth son, Samuel
P. died in Texas; Elijah M. was major of the
First Confederate Georgia Regiment, and is an
attorney-at-law at Chattanooga, Tenn., and George
W. was in the Fifty-first Alabama Iiegiment, and
is a farmer in Georgia.

The Gardner family, in tiie person of the grand-
father of the subject of this sketch, Christopher
Gardner, on account of political troubles, came
from Ireland away back in the eigliteenth century,
settled in Virginia, and was a soldier in the
Eevolutionary War, and was severely wounded at
Brandywine. He died in Georgia, after having
reared a large family of daughters and two sous.

WILLIAM W. WHITESIDE, prominent Attor-
ney- at-law, Oxford, is a native of what is
now Calhoun County, this State, where he was
born February 13, 18.58. His early life was spent
on his father's plantation and in attendance at
the old-field school, completing his education,
however, at Oxford College, from which institution
he was graduated in 1879. Prior to his graduation
he taught school and, in the meantime, read law.
He comjjleted his law studies at Cumberland Uni-
versity, Tenn. .in 1881, and located immediately
in the practice at Oxford, wliere he has since
remained. In the practice of his profession he
has met with much success, and, though a young
man, he is at this time regarded as one of the
brightest lights at the Calhoun Bar. In 1881 he
was elected to the lower house of the Legislature,
and in that body took a conspicuous part, acquit-
ing himself with much credit and to the entire
satisfaction of his constituency.

Mr. Whiteside was married at Alexandria, De-
cember, 1884, to Miss Alice CoojJer, the accom-
plished daughter of W. P. Cooper, Esq., and has
had born to him two children: William Cooper
and Kenneth Whittington. Mr. Whiteside and
wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and
he is identified with the order of the Knights of
Honor and the Masonic fraternity.

Josiah W. Whiteside, the father of the subject
of this sketch, was a native of North Carolina, and
came with his parents in 1837 to Alabama: his
wife was Elizabeth J. Small, a native of McMinn
County, Tenn. She died in 1873, leaving four

children, viz.: Lizzie, James ^L, Joseph, and
William W.

His second wife, Amanda Little, of Calhoun
County, to whom he was married in the fall of
1875, is the mother of one child: Worth.

The Whiteside family are probably of English
origin, and came into North Carolina at a very
early date in the history of our country. John
Whiteside, the grandfather to the subject of this
sketch, was a native of North Carolina, and his
wife was a Miss Hemphill; they reared a family of
six sons and two daughters: J. W. Leander, Adol-
phus, Thomas, William .J., James M., Mary, and
Ellen. Mary married Dr. S. C. Williams; she and
her husband are both dead.

William W. Whiteside's grandfather, Matthew
Small, was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister.
He married a Miss Buchanan, at McMinn, Tenn.,
and settled m Alabama about 1835. In 1845 he
moved into De Kalb County, and in 1875 located
at Sulphur Springs. He died in 1883. He reared
a family of four sons and two daughters. His
sons were all soldiers in the Confederate Army.
The Small family came originally from Scotland.

ROBERT P.THOMASON, Merchant and Banker,
Oxford, was born in Harris County, Ga., De-
cember 21, 18.51, and is the son of John Thom-
ason, a planter, who came to Alabama in 1853,
lived in Tallapoosa County till 1808, and removed
thence to Elmore County, where he now resides.

The subject of this sketch spent the first seven-
teen years of his life on his father's plantation in
Tallapoosa County, and by dint of perseverance
and application to study, without the aid of pro-
fessional instruction, acquired something like an
elementary education. He began life for himself
as a salesman, at the age of seventeen years, and
at the age of twenty-one embarked in business.

From 1879 to 1883, he "drummed" for a New
York grocery house, and in the latter year estab-
lished the wholesale grocery business over which
he now presides at Oxford.

This was the first jobbing concern opened up in
this part of the State, and from a limited affair,
with a capital of $10,000, it has grown until its
trade roaches throughout Northeastern Alabama
and into Georgia, and now employs a capital of
$100,000. The style of the company at present is
C. J. Cooper & Co.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

115

In addition to his mercantile business, Mr. Tiiom-
ason is largeU' interested in real estate at Oxford
and Anniston, and in tlie bankiTig iioiise recently
establisiied in connection with liis grocery con-
cern.

llemeinljering the fact that young 'I'honiason
came to Oxford penniless, tlie preceding details
need no comment at our iiands to elaborate his
success a.-i a business man.

5Ir. 'I'homason.iii July ls7-">, at 'rallodaga, mar-
ried Miss Mary 8cott, the accomplished daughter
of AVm. Scott, Esq.

The senior Mr. Thomason was a gallant Confed-
erate soldier during the late war : his father served
tlirough the war with Mexico, and his grandfather
was a Revolutionary soldier. His great-grand-
father, Cooper Tiiomason, came from Scotland
prior to the War for Independence, and settled in
\'irginia, where he lived to the remarkable age of
104 years. Old Cooper Thomason liad eight or
nine sons in the Colonial Army during the ]{evolu-
tiou.

It might be remarked that the war record of the
Thomasons is also a matter that needs no elabo-
ration at tlie hands of tiie writer.

They all appear to have been well-to-do jdan-
ters.

- \^.

THOMAS H. BARRY, Merchant and Manu-
fatturui-. (txlord, .son of Keese and Ann S.
(Man.son) Barry, natives, respectively, of Virginia
and Maryland, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, May
4, 18;3i!, and in that city received his education.
Accompanying his mother, in 18.55, he moved to
San Antonio, Tex., and was there engaged in mer-
cantile business until the outbreak of the late war.
Karly in the spring of IStil, he enlisted as a pri-
vate soldier in Company G, Eighth Texas ("Ter-
ry's Rangers"), and remained in the service until
the close of the war, })articipating in the battles
of Woodsonville, Ky., Shiloh, Murfreesboro, and
all the engagements from Chickamauga to New
Hope Court-Housc. At the latter engagement he
was wounded, and fell into tlie hands of the
enemy, but escaped while '■« nnde to Rock Island,
rejoined his command, and took part in the bat-
tles around Atlanta. At Waynesboro, November
^'^i. 1SH4, he was severely wounded, and from that
date to tlie close of the war remained in hospital
Returning to Texas in IHiio, he engaged at his
former business, and was there until is;-.', when

he came to Oxford. Here he has since been, in
the mercantile business, and was one of the organ-
izers of the Barry & Draper Manufacturing Co.
This company was organized in ls-^4, and ilr.
Barry has been its president from the beginning.
He is also president of the Oxford Building «&
Loan Association, and is otherwise identified with
various other industries.

Mr. Barry was married March •>, l.sti5, to Jliss
Emily F. (Jray, of (ieorgia. He is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Knights
of Honor, Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
and of the Masonic fraternity.

The senior ^Ir. Barry moved to Cincinnati
when he was a young man, and was engaged at
steamboating the rest of his life. He died iu
1S40, leaving three children, to-wit : William D.,
Thomas II., and Caroline E. His father, Daniel
Barry, was a farmer in Virginia, where he lived
and died. The family came originally from Ire-
land, and the Mansons appear to be of French
origin.

• ■'>';^^'-^ —

DANIEL P. GUNNELS was born in Franklin,
Ga., near Bold Spring, October 0. is-^:i, and his
parents vmvfi Nathan and Nancy (Hunt) Gunnels,
natives of Wilkes and Franklin Counties, Ga.,
respectively.

The senior Mr. G. moved to Franklin County
at an early day, and there subsequently made his
home. He was a planter by occupation, and died
in 18T0 at Atlanta, at the age of seventy years.
He was an officer in the AVar of 1 8:5(1, and was a
niembei' of the Georgia Constitutional Conven-
tion. He was quite a politician in his day, of the
Clay and Webster faith, and a man of no little
influence in the vicinity where he lived. His
children were — Daniel P., Sarah F. (Mrs. J. M.
Alexander). Joel I).. Nathan C, Mary E. (Mrs.
Shephard), Elmira (deceased), and John H.

The subject of this sketch was reared on a
farm, receiving an academic education, and in
184o located at Boiling Springs, in Calhoun
County. Ala., where he was several years clerk in
a mei'cantile establishment. He subsequently
purchased an interest with his employer, and later
on became sole owner of the concern. lie came
to Oxford in 18.")4, where he continued in the
mercantile business until 18T'-i. It is proper to
explain, however, that from 180".2 to the close of
the war he found it expedient to i^uspeiid the

116

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

mercantile business and was, during that period,
in the employ of the Oxford Iron Co. Though
the war swept away his fortune in common with
the fortunes of other men, he has since succeeded
in amply replenishing his exchequer. Since 187'2
he has given most of his time to planting.

March, IS.Vi', Mr. Gunnels was married to Miss
Susan E. Cunningham, daughter of William N.
and Nancy E. (Pratt) Cunningham, natives of
South Carolina, and his children are: Nancy E.
(Mrs. Warnock), John X. and James N. (twins),
Esther L., Elmira P., Henry C. and Willie
Francis.

The family are all identified with the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, and Mr. Gunnels is a
member of the Masonic and Odd Fellow fratern-
ities.

CLARKE SNOW, Merchant, Oxford, was born
at this place July 5, 184(j, and is a son of
Dudley and Priscilla (Munger) Snow. He was
reared on the farm, and at Howard College and
the schools of Talladega acquired a fair English
education. At the age of twenty-one years, at
Selma, he accejjted a situation in a mercantile
establishment, remained there one year, returned
to Oxford, and with C. Snow & Co. embarked in
the grocery business. In 1870 he formed a part-
nership with C. J. Cooper in mercantile business,
and from 1871 to 1874 devoted his time to farm-
ing. In the latter year, associated with James Stew-
art, under the style and firm name of James Stew-
art & Co., he engaged in the leather and carriage
business. This firm was dissolved in December,
188"-3, since wliich time Mr. Snow has conducted
the business alone, and has been thereat quite
successful. In addition to his mercantile business
he is largely interested in various other enter-
prises.

In the fall of 1803, Mr. Snow entered the
Fifty-first Alabama Cavalry, and, though not an
enlisted soldier, he jiarticipated with that com-
mand in the battles of I\Iaryville, Rockford, and
Knoxville. In ilay, 1804, he regularly enlisted,
and thereafter took part in the battles of New Hope
Church, Kenesaw Mountain, Rome, and the battles
around Atlanta. At Decatur, Ala., he was
wounded, and at Salt Creek participated in his
last engagement. He was married, November "-iO,
1808, to Miss Roxy C. Elston, of Davisville, and

the children born to this union are : Corinne,
Ada, Ruth, Maxie, Norman, and Mary.

Dudley Snow was born in Graceland County,
Va., December 25, 1803, and his parents, John
and Elizabeth (Hale) Snow, migrated to North
Carolina in 1812. From there they moved to
Tennessee in 1832, and from Tennessee Dudley
Snow moved to Oxford, where he died in 1803.

The Snow family came originally from England,
and the Plungers from Germany.

Henry Snow, a brother of Clarke, entered the
Confederate Army from Texas, as a private in the
First Texas Infantry. At the re-organization of
this regiment, in 1802, he was made first lieu-
tenant, and he participated in all the battles of
Northern Virginia, and at the Seven Days' Fight
around Richmond was seriously wounded.

ABNER WILLIAMS, Merchant, Oxford, was
born in Jefferson County, this State, Novem-
ber 21, 1824, and his parents were Jordan and
Edna (Atkins) Williams. He was reared on his
father's farm, attended the old-field schools, and
in 1844 began life as a school teacher. The year
following he accepted a clerkship in a store at Tal-
ladega, for which service he received, at the begin-
ning, five dollars per month. He remained with
that concern three years, another firm three years,
another one year, and for his last year's labor re-
ceived $375. In 1853, at Curry's Station, he be-
gan business for himself, and in 1855 removed to
Selma, where he was engaged in cotton business
until 1802. At the close of the war he returned
to Selma from Talladega County, resumed his old
business, and was there until 1884. In August of
that year he came to Oxford and engaged in the
millinery business.

December 23, 1852, Mr. Williams was married
to Agatha A. Ileacock, daughter of Dr. Joseph D.
and Rachel M. (Garner) Heacock, of Talladega
County; and of the six children born to them we
have the following data: Curry E., Emma R.
(widow of II. A. Singleton), Mollie E. (wife of
Dr. B. D. Williams, of Utah Territory), Joseph,
Albert. Abner J. P., and Lillie B.

Jordan Williams was born in South Carolina,
August 31, 1794; served through the war of 1812
as a member of the Eighth United States Infantry;
married Edna Atkins in Abbeville district, South
Carolina, May 5, 1810; settled near Elyton, Jef-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

\Vi

ferson County, Ala., in 181S; from there moved
to ii farm near Trussville, and subsequently, or
aliout irarcli 1, 1S33, settled in Talladega County,
lie was stricken with paralysis while preaelnng to
the Confederate conscript soldiers at Talladega,
Sejjtember, 1S6"2, and died near Tallasahatchie
Bajjtist Church, fifteen miles south of Talladega,
November ■l\, 18(5",'. He was a farmer, and a min-
ister of the Baptist Church.

LUCIUS L. ALLEN, son of Ilud.son 11. and
Xaiiiy (Corneilsoii) Allen, was born in Gwinnett
County, (Ja., June "..'3. l!s;il, and was educated at
Emory College, that State. In 18ii'^* he enlisted in
Company D, Fifty-first Alabama Cavalry, and with
that command participated in the battles of Jlur-
freosboro, .Missionary Kidge, Kno.wille, Chicka-
niauga, and the Atlanta and Dalton campaigns.
His father came into Alabama in 18:!."), purchased a
large tract of government land, and other lands
from the Indians, and became one of the most
extensive planters and slavelmlders in his neigh-
borhood .

Mr. Allen was reared on a farm, and to agricul-
ture has devoted his time and his talents. He was
married, in November, 18.5-i, to Miss Kmma Pyles,
daughter of Lewis and Catherine (Perrin) T'yles,
and his children are: Susan C. (Mrs. Hudson),
Lelia J. (Mrs. Snow), Nancy Lulu. Lilly A. and
Alice C. The faniilv are all members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and Jlr.
Allen is a Mason.

The senior Mr. Allen died at his home, near O.x-
ford, .January 8, 188."), at the age of 83 years: his
wife died in 18(j'J. They reared a family of three
sons: ^\'illiam II., Asa F., and the subject of this
sketch. Asa F. is a Baptist minister, and resides
on the old homestead.

Asa Allen was the name of the grandfather of
Lucius L. He married a Miss Jones in Georgia,
whither he had migrated from Virginia at an
early day. He reared a family of four sons and
four daughters, and in ls:J4 or 18:!.") moved to Lime-
stone County, Ala., where ho died in ls4ii at the
age of tiO years.

■ ■ •

SAMUEL K. BORDERS was born in Jackson
County, Ga., January VI, 18>'-,', and died at Ox-

ford Ala., December 20, 1881. His parents were
John and Cynthia Borders. The senior Mr. Bor-
ders in early manhood migrated from Virginia to
Tennessee, and from there to (ieorgia, where he
was married. From Georgia he moved to Missis-
sij)pi, where he was engaged at planting, and from
Jlississippi in 18:!:! or 18:!4 he came to Calhoun
County. Here he located near O.xford, and be-
came one of the most extensive planters of his
neighborhood. He reared a family of two sons
and six daughters, namely: Samuel K., Abner,
-Mary (.Mrs. Brooks), ^'irginia (Mrs. Cunningham),
Adaline (.Mrs. Bush), Ann (ilrs. Jenkins), Eliza
(Mrs. Pondor), Evaline (Mrs. Bush), and buried
one daughter, Georgia, in early girlhood.

The subject of this sketch was educated at
Athens, Ga., and after graduating began the study
of medicine. At the request of his father he gave
uj) the idea of professional life, and thereafter
turned his attention to farming. He served
through the Mexican War as a member of Com-
pany I, First Uegiment Alabama Volunteers, and
through the war between the States as a member
of the Fifty-first Alabama Cavalry.

March, 18.51, Jlr. Borders was married to Miss
Sallie Williams, daughter of Dr. John AVilliams,
and had born to him seven children: Georgia
(Mrs. Christian), JIary (Mrs. Waters), Ilattie
(.Mrs. AVilson), Annie, Sallie, Lillie and John.

___.^„!cgj^— .4» i—

AURELIUS F. BULLARD. M. D.. prominent
Physician and Surgeon, Oxford, was born at
Bennington, Vt., September l.j, 1848, and is
the son of William H. and Koxanna K. (Moon)
Bullard, natives of Massachusetts and Vermont,
and of Irish and Scotch extraction, respectively.

Doctor Bullard received his primary education
in the common schools of Vermont, and at the
Wesleyan Institute of Willbraham, Mass., and at
the age of fifteen years went to sea as a sailor
before the mast. In 18ii!», as second mate of a
ship, he came South. The crew, while at Mobile,
were taken with yellow fever, from the fatal
effects of which, it appears, that he and his cap-
tain were the only ones to escajie. lie made his
way to Wilmington, Avhere another crew was or-
ganized, and as first mate he sailed to Boston,
where he abandoned seafaring life. Returning
to Alabama, he attended school at ^lontgomery,
and graduated in 18T1. In the meantime he took

118

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

lectures at Jefferson rdlege, Philadelphia. Since
engaging regularly in the practice of his jjrofes-
sion, he has been recognized as one of the most
careful, studious, and reliable physicians of Oxford,
and he is at this writing in the enjoyment of an
excellent practice. He is a member ot the various
medical associations, and is held in high esteem
by the members of the profession throughout the
State.

He was married August "28, 18T0, to iliss Julia
B. Goodhue, daughter of Prof. Amos B. Good-
hue. The Goodhues are also of Massachusetts
and New Hampshire, and came South about thirty
years ago. Professor Goodhue is now retired.

The senior Mr. Bullard came South in 18G8,
and to Oxford in 1872. He reared three sons:
the subject of this sketch, William E. and
Oliver H.

Doctor Bullard is a member of the Knights of
Pythias, of the ^lasonic fraternity, and of the
Baptist Church. His children are: William G.,
Alice A., and Elerslie W.

JOHN F. SMITH is a native of Cleburne
County, where he was born December 1.3, 1839,
and is a son of John and Sarah Ann (Lambert)
Smith. The senior Mr. Smith immigrated to Ala-
bama from Georgia in 18;33, and moved from Cle-
burne County to a point on the Tallapoosa Eiver,
south of Edwardsville in 18.51, and there died in
18.33, at the age of forty-two years. He reared two
sons: the subject of this sketch and Samuel H.

John F. Smith was reared on a farm ; was edu-
cated at the common schools, and at the age of
eighteen accepted a clerkship in a store. In 18.58 he
went to Wetumpka, and from there the year fol-
lowing to Talladega, where he engaged in business
in partnership with J. B. Gay. This partnership
lasted but a short time, when he sold out and re-
sumed employment as a clerk.

In 1801 Mr. Smith enlisted as a private in Com-
pany II, Tenth Alabama, and remained in the ser-
vice until the close of the war. Soon after the
battle of Dranesville he was promoted to third
lieutenant, and when he left the service he held
the rank of first lieutenant, and had been for some
time in command of his company. From first to
last he participated in many of the hardest-fought
battles of the war, and was wounded three times.
Returning from the war, he located at Selma, and

from there, in 1866, came to Oxford, where he has
since made his home. In 1869 he moved upon his
farm, at Boiling Springs, and from that date has
given most of his time to agriculture. He was
mai-ried in 1869, to Miss Augusta G. Caver, daugh-
ter of Thomas J. and Eliza (Davis) Caver, and
has had born to him four children : Kate E., Xan-
nie Gay, Carrie Lee and Thomas F.

WILLIAM F. HIGGINS, is a native of Butts
County, (ia., a son of Joseph and Judith W.
(Key) Iliggins, and was born June 11, 1838. The
senior Mr. Iliggins came from Edgefield Dis-
trict, S. C, into Georgia, when a boy, there
married, and in 1844 settled in Chambers County,
Ala. He located at Oxford in 18T5, and died in
188(1, at the age of sixty-six years. He was a jew-
eler by trade, but the latter part of his life was
devoted to farming. His father, AVilliam Iliggins
was a native of South Carolina, there married a
Miss Ashley, and subsequently became one of the
early settlers of Georgia.

William F. Higgins was reared and educated at
Lafayette, in Chambers County, and while a
young man learned the jeweler's trade. He entered
the army in 1863, and remained until the close of
the war. After the war he resumed the jewelry
business; moved into Oxford in 1868, and in 1874,
turned his attention entirely to farming. He be-
gan life at the close of the war without money,
but has succeeded in accumulating a handsome
competency. He was married May 29, 1869, to
Miss Virginia Dennis, daughter of Sumeral and
Mary (Ilanchett) Dennis, natives of South Caro-
lina.

Mr. Dennis came into Alabama in 1832; re-
' moved thence to Tallapoosa County, and died at
Dadeville. He was a captain in the irexican War,
and also in the late Confederate Army.

Mr. Higgins and wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and Mr. H.
is of the Masonic fraternitv.

WILLIAM J. ALEXANDER was born in Cal-
houn County, Ala., in May, l!S42, and is a son of
Arthur T. and Rebecca (Borden) Alexander.

The senior Mr. Alexander was born in Xorth
Carolina, and when a child taken by his parents

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

119

to Habersham County, and thence to Carroll
County, Ga. He came to Calhoun County, this
State, in is;)-,', and settled eight miles east of
Cross Plains (now in Cleburne County), where his
father entered lands and improved them. He
died in 1S.")1, and a few months later his wife fol-
lowed lii|n. They left two sons and four daugh-
ters, all of whom lived to maturity. The Alex-
anders and Hordens are of English ancestry.

The subject of this sketcli was reared on a farm,
received a common-school education, and at the
age of seventeen years began life as a farmer,
which he has continued ever since.

\\\ July, liSiil, he enlisted in Comiiany I,
Twenty-fifth Alabama Infantry, and was in the
first battle of Farmersvilie, Tenn., south of Shi-
loli. He participated in the Kentucky invasion,
was taken prisoner at Glasgow, Ky,, and was ex-
changed about two months later. He joined his
regiment again at Shelbyvillc, Tenn., and wiis in

the battles of Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, in
all the fights from ( 'liattanooga to Atlanta and Xew
Hope Church to Atlanta. When Hood made his
raid into Tennessee, our subject joined Wheeler's
cavalry, with which command he remained until
the surrender.

At the close of the war he resumed farming. In
ISTl he was appointed sherilT of Cleburne County,
and in ISTi was elected to that office. He served
in this capacity about six years. In 1878 he was
elected to the Lower House of the Legislature,
reelected in 188-J, and in 1884 was elected to the
Senate from his district, which ofHce he holds at
the present writing (1888). Mr. Alexander was
married in August, 18G(!, to Sarah Cornelia,
daughter of Henry A. Smith, of Floyd County,
Ga. This union has been blessed with two chil-
dren. William H. and Bessie E.

Mr. Alexander and wife are members of the
Christian Church.

--^—i^jS'j— ^-

CROSS PLAINS.

WILLIAM A. WILSON, Postmaster at Cross
Plains, was born in Campbell County, Ga., October
■•i4, Xt^.Vl, and is a son of Craven and Lucinda
(Ijangston) Wilson.

Tiie senior Mr. Wilson was a native of Virginia,
from which State he removed into North Carolina,
thence to Hall County, Ga. In December, 183"2,
he migrated to Alabama and located about four
miles east of Cross Plains. He was a farmer, and
at his death, which occurred in IS75, he was the
j)Ossessor of about l,",'(iO acres of land. He reared
five sons and two daughters, to-wit: William A.
(the subject of our sketch), John J,, Daniel S.
(deceased), Jerry C, Benjamin C. (who died in
his youth), Xancy Y.. (deceased), and Mary Ann
Croft (deceased). All of the sons served in the
war between the States. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson
were communicants of the Episcopal Church. The
Langston family were of Gernnin descent.

The subject of this s"ketch was reared on a farm,
received a common school education, and at the
age of twenty-one years began life on his own ac-
count. In ISGl he enlisted in the Confederate
Army as a member of Comjiany E, First Alabama

C^avalry, and particii)ated in the battles of Shiloh,
Corinth, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga,
and all the principal fights from Chattanooga to
Beutonville, N. C. Company F was detached
from the First Alabama after the Kentucky cam-
paign and iissigned to General Wheeler's com-
mand. Mr. Wilson was captured at Beutonville,
N. C, and imprisoned at Point Lookout until
July 'I, 1S05, when he was released. He imme-
diately returned home and resumed farming. He
was appointed postmaster at Cross Plains in No-
vember, 1SS3, which position he is now filling.

Mr. Wilson was married in December, ].S57, to
Martha il. Harris, daughter of Warren and .Mary
(Statum) Harris, of this county. She is noted as
being the first white female child born in this
county. Mr. Wilson and wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is a Mason.

■ ■ • > ■ ''^^' < ' ■ •

JACOB F. DAILEY was born in Lincoln
County, N. C, December 3, 1817, and is ason of
Aaron and Mary (Albernathy) Dailey, natives

120

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

of Ireland and of Xorth Carolina, respectively.
The senior Mr. Dailey came to America with
his parents (about 1705), and settled in Lincoln
County, N. C. He was a farmer and also super-
intendent of an iron furnace. He reared a family
of four sons and three daughters, and died in 1858
at the age of forty years. His widow survived
him many years, and died at the extreme old
age of ninety-six years. She was a strong and
hearty woman up to the time of her death.

Jacob K. Dailey, our subject, was reared in
Xorth Corolina by his uncle. Miles W. Abernathy;
received a common-school education, and at the
age of sixteen years began life as a sailor, which
avocation he followed six years, and at the age of
twenty-one entered into business on his own ac-
count at Lincolnton Court House, X. C. In 1847,
he came to Cross Plains, entered into a general
merchandise business, and continued it with suc-
cess ever since. His was the lirst store erected in
this village. In 1849 he purchased several hun-
dred acres of land, and in connection with his
merchandise business, has been farming ever since.
He now owns several large farms near Cross
Plains. In 1802 he was apjiointed member of the
Advisory Board with headquarters at Jacksonville,
this State.

Mr. Dailey was married August 10, 1841, to
Jane M. Kibler, daughter of Michael and Catherine
(Lawrence) Kibler, of North Carolina, and has had
born to him two children: Mary Catherine,
wife of Alexander Mct!ollister, and Jacob Kibler.
The family are communicants of the Episcopal
Church. Mr. Dailey is a j^rominent Mason; is a
wide-awake, public-spirited citizen, and is always
alive to the development of enterprise in his
section of the couutrv.

MARTIN T. MOODY, was born at Belmont,
Sumter County, Ala., 2v.'ovember 4, 1845, and is
a son of Theopliilus and ilary L. (Little) Moody,
natives respectively of South Carolina and Georgia.

The senior Mr. Moody moved with his parents
from South Carolina to .Mississippi. In is;il he
came to Alabama and joined the Alabama Con-
fei-ence in 1832 at Tuscaloosa, of which he was
one of the original organizers. He lived in Ala-
bama until his death, which occurred at Gadsden,
March 1.3, 1870. His wife died at Gainesville, Ala.,
in 1854. He reared two sons and two daughters.

viz.: AVilliam R., Martin T. (our subject); Fan-
nie A., wife of Milton Jenkins, Camden, Ala.;
and Sarah E., wife of George W. Caldwell, also of
Camden. Mr. iloody was one of the pioneer
preachers of this State, and was a very popular
and well-known man.

The mother of our subject was a daughter of
William Little, a leading attorney of Carnesville,
Ga. He was a prominent and wealthy citizen,
and died about the close of the war.

The subject of this sketch was reared in Alabama
and educated princijially at Summerfield, Dallas
County. In the spring of 18<i2, he enlisted in
Company I, Twenty-eighth Alabama, as a private,
and served until health failed. From an attack of
brain fever, he lost his hearing and was detailed
in the niter mining service as a clerk in which
capacity he remained until the close of the war.

At the close of hostilities he returned to Cam-
den, where he served as Clerk of the Probate
Court four years, going thence to Selma, and serv-
icg four years in the Probate Court of that
County. In 1873 he came to Cross Plains and
engaged in the drug business, which he has con-
tinued ever since, with marked success.

September 15, 1800, Mr. Moody was married to
Sarah E. Scurry, daughter of Dr. John R. Scurry
of Cross Plains. They had born to them seven
children, to-wit: Arthur R., May Louise, Anna,
Lucy, Ida, Martin T., Jr., and Harry. The family
are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South.

JOSEPH W. HARRIS, born Xovcmber 7, 1830,
at Warrenton, Va., is a son of William and Eliz-
abeth (Anderson) Harris, natives, respectively, of
Talbot and Warren Counties, Ga. The senior
Harris was a farmer until his marriage, when he
was elected sheriff of Warren County, which
office he held for two years. In January, 1840,
he located in Talbot County, entered into the
merchandise business, and died there in June,
1848. He served in the Seminole War. He
reared three sons and three daughters, viz. :
Sarah, William, Joseph, Mary, Martha, and
Thomas. lie and his wife are members of the
Baptist Church. The grandfather of our sub-
ject, Henry Harris, came to Georgia as one of
the earliest settlers of that State, about the
year 1800. The subject of this sketch was
reared and educated in the common schools at

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

121

Fiiyetteville, and at the age of seventeen began
his business career as clerk in a general mer-
chandise store of that town, which position he
held six months, after which he spent three years
at Montovallo.

September 10, 1801, he enlisted as a private in
{'om])any E, Twenty-sixth Alabama, and par-
ticipated in the first battle of Fort Gibson, the
battle of Baker's Creek, siege of N'icksburg, the
battle of Missionary Kidge, camjiaign from Dal-
toii to Atlanta, the battle of Nashville, and the
last light at Uentonville, N. C. In 1863 he was
commissioned third lieutenant of the regiment,
and at Dalton, in 1804, was promoted to second
lieutenant, and shortly after, at Palmetto Sta-
tion, (ia., was again promoted, to first lien-
tenant. He was captured at Tupelo, Miss., in
December, 1804. After the war lie returned to
his home and engaged in farming, and in the
fall of 1805, accepted a position with the Ala-
bama & Tennessee River Railway, in the ca-
jiacity of agent, express agent, and telegraph
operator. In the fall of 18T2, he went to Bir-
mingliam, as express agent, thence to Montevallo,
in laT3, where he engaged in merchandising, and
in 1870 went to South Alabama, and merchan-
dised two years. In December, 1881, he came
to Cross Plains, as telegraph operator for the
East Tennessee Railway, where he has since con-
tinued to live. In connection with the railroad
business he is running a hotel.

In December, 1801, Mr. Harris was first mar-
ried to Martha J. Wilson, daughter of Henry
Wilson, of Columbiana, Ala., and has had born
to him seven children, three of whom are now
living: Rolling, of Talladega; Ernest, clerk and
book-keeper, of Burkville, Ala., and May. Mrs
Harris died in November, 1881, and in February,
1S84. .Mr. Harris was married to Nannie .Jones,
of Cave Springs, Ga., and to this union two
children were born: Jones and Albert. Mr.
Harris is a member of the Baptist Church, and
his wife is of the Congregational Methodist
Church. He is of the Masonic fraternity and
Knights of Pvthias.

REV. GEORGE BRYANT RUSSELL, was born
in Cherokee County, Ala., May 11, 1840, and is a
son of Rev. Samuel 1{. (born in N'irginia, .January

'II, 1801) and Nancy Ann (Gamble) Russell, na-
tive of East Tennessee.

The senior Mr. Russell was a minister in the
Cumberland Presbyterian Ciiurch. He came to
Alabama in ls;i-->, and settled near Jacksonville.
He reared eight sons and two daughters: James
E., Robert A., Samuel L., John (\., William C,
(ieorge B., Andrew B., Marcus M., Elizabeth A.
and Mary J. Of the sons the following served in
the war: James E., Samuel L. (lieutenant and
chaplain), John G. (orderly sergeant, was killed
at Chickamaugu), and William C. (was killed at
Shiloh). The senior Mr. Russell died September
30. 18T0, at the age of seventy-five years : his
wife died at the close of the war at the age of
sixty-two years. Tlie Russell family were of
Scotch-Irish parentage, and the Gamble family
came originally from Ireland .

George Bryant Russell was reared on a farm;
attended the common schools of the neighborhood,
and was graduated at (ialesville, Ala., in 1873.
He subsequently spent two years at Cumberland
University, Lebanon, Tenn., and in 1874 began
teaching. In a 877 he migrated to Cross Plains,
where he was occupied teaching and farming until
1881, when he moved to Jacksonville and taught
one year as Assistant Principal of Calhoun Col-
lege. On his return to Cross Plains he took
charge of the Cross Plains Educational Institute,
which was soon afterwards chartered.

.Mr. Russell having received his license to preach
September 10, 1870, and being ordained Septem-
ber 22, 1873, is now a preacher in the Cumberland
Presbyterian Church. He has represented his
Presbytery in the General Assembly several times;
has served Calhoun County as Suj)erintendent
of Education twelve years, and is at present second
Vice-President of the Alabama Educational Asso-
ciation.

Mr. Russell was married September 23, 1873,
to Sarah A. Hampton, daughter of John Hamp-
ton, of Cherokee County, Ala. They have had
born to them three children, namely: Samuel
Hampton, deceased, John Floyd and James Gor-
don. Mr. Russell is a member of the Masonic
fraternity and Knights of Honor. He has ever
been a temperance worker ; was elected by the
County Temperance Convention in 1880 to the
State Convention, and was of Committee on
Ifesolutions in that convention. He was elected
President of the County Temperance Convention
at .\nni.<t<)ii in ISSO.

122

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Our subject bears the reputation of being one
of the best educators in the State.

DR. ORVILLE D. LAIRD, born in Cohunbus,
Ga., January 20, 1840, is a son of Dr. Orville P.
and Xancy (Dyer) Laird, natives of Oneida j
County, N. Y.

Doctor Laird was reared in Kew York; received
an academic education, and at the age of nineteen
years began life as a clerk. In April, 18G1, he
enlisted in Company E, Seventh Ohio Regiment,
with which command he served three months,
and then joined Company C, One Hundred and
Sixteenth New l^ork Infantry. In 1863 he was
promoted to the Quartermaster's Department at
Xashville, and early in IS'Jo was commisioned
lieutenant of light artillery. He was mustered
out in July of the latter year.

In 18.39 Mr. Laird was graduated as M. D. from
Ann Arbor, and after the war practiced in Tennes-
see, locating at Clinton in ISOG. In November,
1869, he engaged in the railroading and furnace {
business. In 188-1 he was appointed United
States Commissioner for the District Court,
Northern District of Alabama, and in 1886 came
to Cross Plains.

Dr. Laird was married October 2.5, 186.5, to
Mary C. Stevens, daughter of Rev. R. AI. and
Nancy (King) Stevens, natives of Tennessee.
They have had born to them three children:
Harvey, George Edgar, and James G. The Doe-
tor and wife are members of the .Methodist Epis-
cojjal Ciiurch.

Dr. Orville P. Laird, the father of the subject
of this sketch, was a practical dentist. He spent
the winters in Georgia, and the summers in New
York up to 1857, after which he lived in Ohio
and Michigan in order to be more convenient to
his business interests. He reared four children,
and died at Adrian, Mich., in 1886. The Laird
family originally came from Scotland.

ROBERT F. HUGHES, born in Calhoun
County, Ala. : is a son of John T. and Mary T.
(Brown) Hughes, natives of South Carolina.

The senior Mr. Hughes came to Alabama in
1832, and settled near Weaver's Station, where he
engaged in farming. He represented Calhoun

County, in its early history, as a member of the
Legislature. He reared three sons and seven
daughters, of whom William J. T. died in the
war; John W., of Atlanta, served through the war
and was in prison at Fort Delaware two years. Mr.
Hughes was a member of the Presbyterian Church,
and died in 187-5, at the age of .seventy-four years.
His widow, who is still living, moved to Cross
Plains. The Hughes family are originally from
Ireland.

The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm
and received a common-school education. He was
engaged in farming up to 18T'.i, when he entered
mercantile business, which he lias conducted suc-
cessf ullv ever since.

CLAIBORNE A. SHARP was born iti Iredell
County, N. C, January 12, 1848, and is a son of
Claiborne I. and Courtney A. (Johnson) Sharp,
natives of the same county.

The father of our subject was a farmer and
stock-raiser; came to Alabama in 1854, and set-
tled on a farm near Cross Plains, w^here he re-
mained until 1868, when he entered into mercan-
tile business. He reared five sons and six daugh-
ters, of whom are now living four sons and two
daughters. Three of the four sons now living
served in the late war.

Our subject's grandfather was a farmer of North
Carolina, and was of Scotch origin. He served
in the War of 1812, and died in his native State.
The mate;-nal grandfather was also a farmer of
North Carolina, and of English ancestry.

The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm
and received a common school education. He
enlisted in Company G, Third Alabama Cavalry,
and in the fall of 1864 was in AVheeler's com-
mand.

After the war he farmed until 1880. when he
engaged in the livery business for one year, after
which he purchased a half interest in his father's
store. He is still in the merchandise business, and
is very successful.

Mr. Sharp was married in December, 1869. to
Miss Julia F. daughter of John Chancellor,
of Cherokee County, this State. To this union
have been born six children : Charles C, Oliver
W\, Mary G., Claude, Nellie D., and Annie H.
Mr. Sharp and family are members of the Baptist
Church.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

123

ELISHA D. McCLELLEN. born uear Jaekson-
villo, Ala.. October v'4. Is4^, is a son of Samuel D.
and Deborah (Price) McClellen, natives of Kast
Tennessee. 'I'iie senior ^Ir. MeClellen came to
Alabama with his parents in 1834, and settled in
Talladega County. In 1844 he removed to t!al-
hoiin County, where he was engaged in farming,
lie represented the county in the Legislature one
term, and assisted in removing the Indian.s from
the State.

lie died in December, 188T. The McClellens
are descendants from Scotland. The Price
family came from Ireland.

The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm
and received an academic education. He
worked on a farm until 1808. when he came to

Jacksonville, where he was engaged in mercantile
business with his father. In 188:i he was engaged
in the livery business for a short time, and in Jan-
uary, 1884, came to Cross Plains, started in the
millinery business, and subsequently engaged in
general merchandising. In 1887 he was running
a brick business in connection with farming and
merchandising.

In January, 18T4, Mr. McClellen was first mar-
ried to Dollie Barron, of Jackson County, and had
born to him one child. Mrs. McClellen died in
1878, and in December, 188G, Mr. McClellen was
married to Sallie Glover, of Cherokee County.

Mr. McClellen is a member of the Baptist Ciiurch
and is also a prominent Mason. His w^ife belongs
to the Presbvterian Church.

IV.
COOSA COUNTY.

Population: White. 10,05(1; colored, 5,0(5;:!.
Area — 'i7U square miles. Woodland, all.

Acres — In cotton 20,408; in corn, 29,!t!iO; in

oats, 5, "^25; in wheat, 9,735; in tobacco, ;

in sweet jiotatoes, . Ajiproximate number

of bales of cotton, '.t.doo.

County Seat — Rockford: population l,0(iO.

Newspaper published at County Seat — En-
terprise (Democratic).

Postottices in the County — Bentleysville,
Crewsville, Dollar, Equality, Gantt. Gold Branch,
Good Water, Hanover, Ilissop, Iwana, Kellyton,
Lauderdale, Marble Valley, Mount Olive, Nix-
burgh, Pentonville, Rockford, Salter, Stewarts-
ville. Traveler's Rest, Weogufka.

Coosa County was established by an act of the
State Legislature dated December 18, ]8.'i2, out
of a jiortion of the territory ceded by the JIus-
cogee Indians by the treaty of Cusseta in March,
183"i. The original area of the county was much
larger than its present size, as it comprised a
considerable portion of that part of Elmore
County which lies east of the Coosa Ifiver, which

territory, with the County Seat, Wetumpka. was
taken from Coosa on the organization of Elmore
County, in 1860.

Coosa County receives its name from the Coosa
Hiver, which in turn perpetuates the name of the
beautiful and fertile valley which so charmed the
eyes of De Soto and his cavaliers when their gaze
first rested on it and its bosom was for the first
time pressed b\- the foot of the white man.

The surface of the county is uneven and is
marked by mountainous elevations, valleys, broad
ridges containing beautiful stretches of level table-
lands and sections of slightly rolling lands. The
general character of the soils is red and gray, but
along the hills and ridges some sandy lands are
found, while in the valleys and along the bot-
toms of the numerous creeks, a black soil of won-
derful productivcnesss is found, which yields
cotton, corn, wheat or oats equal to the best lands
of the State. The.se, with sweet potatoes and cane,
form the principal crops raised, and while Coosa
County is not regarded as one of the banner agri-
cultural counties of the State, it is a safe county.

124

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

and its soil returns a yield which will average up,
year in and year out, with some of the counties
which stand higher than it in the agricultural
scale. The red lands of this county are sjiecially
adapted to the culture of wheat and other small
grain, and the yield of these articles per acre w'ill
compare favorably with the production of like
crops in any other portion of the State.

The hills of Coosa County are clothed with a
rich forest of long-leafed pine, with considerable
oak, hickory, gum, and some short-leaf pine. Ow-
ing to the fact that this county is only entered
by a railroad on its border, this forest has scarcely
been touched.

Besides its agricultural features and its timber
wealth, Coosa County can lay claim to distinction
on account of the extent and variety of its mineral
deposits. Like the county of Tallapoosa, which
joins it, Coosa has gold within its borders, but
none has yet been discovered in quantities which
would pay to work. North of Rockford there lies
a belt of granite of a superior character, which
will be quarried and used largely, as soon as trans-
portation facilities are provided to convey it to
centers where it will be in demand. There is an
extensive deposit of iron ore some miles north of
Rockford, which at present is unavailable for the
reason that it is locked in by the absence of the
means of conveying it to points where it could be
utilized. The other minerals, which are found in
this county in greater or lesser quantities, are
copper, tin, asbestos, corundum, emery, kaolin,
and mica.

The principal streams of the county are the

Coosa River, which forms its western boundary,
Hatchett, Weogufka, Paint, Socapotoy, Pintlocco
and Futtegal Creeks. These streams all furnish
water-power of almost unrivaled extent. The
Coosa River, where it borders this county, is ren-
dered inq^assable by obstructions and rapids, and
should the movement now on foot cause it to be
opened to navigation, the benefit to Coosa County
will be inestimable. At Bradford, on Socapotoy
Creek, there is a cotton mill known as Bradford's
Factory, which has been idle for some years. The
building is a substantial stone structure, and, bvit
for the fact that it is situated so far off of tlie line
of railroad, the property would be very valuable
and the mill might be worked to advantage.

Rockford, a little town of about 1,000 inhabit-
ants, is the County Seat. It possesses excellent
schools, good society, and has several churches.
Kellyton and Good Water are the only railroad
stations in the county. For some years the latter
has been the terminus of the Columbus & West-
ern Railroad. This road is now being extended
to Birmingham, and will be completed at an early
date. The other towns of Coosa are: Xixburg,
Bradford, Mt. Olive, Stewartsville, Hanover,
Equality, Lorraine, Traveler's Rest, Ilissop, Weo-
gufka and Marble Valley.

The price of land ranges from %1 to 81.5 per
acre- The county contains a large body of public
land, ojjen to homestead settlement or purchase.
The future of Coosa County is most promising, and
with increased railroad facilities, and the Coosa
River open to navigation, it would come to the
front as one of the wealthiest counties of the State.

CHILTON COUNTY.

I'opuliitiou : White, 8,()")1; colored, 2,14"-i.
Area, TOO square miles. Woodland, all. (iravelly,
hills, and long-leaf pines, 400 square miles.
•Metamorphic, 2^*0 square miles. Slate resjion,
80 square miles.

Acres— In cotton, (approximately), 11,5.38; in
corn, 18,185; in oats, '-l/ioo in wheat, 4,507; in
rye, 00: in sweet potatoes, -350,

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 4,000.

County Seat — Clanton; population, 800 : on rail-
road, about forty miles north of Montgomery.

Newspaper published at County Seat — ChiUon
View (Democratic).

Postoffices in the County — Clanlon. Clear
Creek, Cooper, Dixie, Energy, Jamison, Jumbo,
Kincheon, Lily, Maplesville, Mountain Creek,
Spigner, Stanton, Strasburgli, \'erbena.

When this county was organized, in 1SC8, it
was called Baker, which name it retained until
1874, when, in honor of Judge W. P. Chilton, it
received its present designation. Chilton occu-
pies the geographical center of the State. AVon-
derful advances have been made in the indus-
tries of the county within the last few years.
From 1870 to 1880 the i)opulation of Chilton was
almost doubled.

Chilton is varied, both with respect to the face
of the country and the character of the lands.
In tlie eastern jiortion there is a high ridge which
forms the watershed between the Coosa and Ala-
bama Hivers. Along the southern border of the
county the surface is uneven. This irregularity
of tlie face of the country extends northward for
some distance. The soils vary from the rich red
and brown loam lands to the most sterile. In the
western portion of the county, and especially in
the regions lying contiguous to ^fulberry Creek
and its tributaries, are found the best agricult-
ural lands. It is here that the population is
denser than elsewhere in Ciiilton. This is em-
phatically tlie farming section of the county.
On the opposite side (the eastern) of the county
are found altogether a different class of indus-

tries. Extensive pine forests are a prevailing
feature here. They spread over the knolls and
hills which hold within their bosoms deposits of
minerals. To what extent these minerals exist
has not yet been discovered. Professor Eugene
A. Smith, State Geologist, atlirms that there is a
greater variety of minerals in Chilton than in
any other county in Alabama. They consist of
mica, graphite, iron, copper and gold. Copper
mines and gold mines have been operated with
some success.

The timber resources of Chilton are very ex-
tensive, as is indicated by the fact that there are
twenty-nine saw-mills in the county. These com-
prise some of the largest mills and lumber in-
dustries in the State. Many of these are found
along the line of the Louisville & Nashville
Railroad. It will be inferred from the foregoing
that the forests of Chilton are composed almost
entirely of the yellow or long-leaf pine.

As the timber is cleared off these lands they are
brought into cultivation, and yield readily in re-
sponse to proper fertilizing. Corn, cotton, oats,
wheiit and rice are principal crops. The cultiva-
tion of rice for the market has been undertaken
within the last few years with the most gratifying
results. It will ultimately prove a source of great
revenue in the county. It has been tested in the
refineries of New Orleans, and pronounced equal
to that grown upon the famous rice plantations
of South Carolina.

The crops which can be profitably raised are
corn, wheat, oats, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes,
peas, sugarcane, rice, cotton, and every variety of
garden truck, besides fruit in the greatest abund-
ance, such as strawberries, melons, peaches, ajiples,
pears, plums, etc. Stock-raising can also be carried
on with profit, and the splendid stock ranges in
various portionsof the county would be more than
trebled in value were they put to the i)roper use.
The raising of sheej) is also engaged in with profit.

The increase in wealth is keeping pace with the
growth in population. In 1870 the first assess-

125

126

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

ment of property was made, the county having
been formed the latter part of 1868. For the
first assessment the county gave in 139,449 acres
of land, valued at *ai4,879; in 1887 the number
of acres has increased to 399,743, valued at
$250,334, showing how rapidly Government lands
in this county have been and are still being set-
tled. Tlie value of town property in 1870
amounted to nothing, there being only a few rail-
road stations in the county. Since this time
thriving villages have grown up around these sta-
tions, and the value of town property goes up into
the hundred thousands. The increase in tax val-
ues during the past year amounted ^ to $155,622.
The railroad property of the county was assessed
for the i^resent year at $.756,507.

Chilton County, with its beautiful scenerj', could
be made a great State park. Along the Coosa and
on Yellow-Leaf and Blue Creeks the scenery is
wild and weird as one could wish to see.

Advantages for the shipment of products to
distant markets are afforded by the splendid line
of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, which
passes through the county. The East Tennessee,
Virginia & Georgia Railroad also passes through
the county.

Thei'e is no lack of water, as the county is
drained by the Coosa River, and Chestnut, Swift,
Big and Little Mulberry, Yellow Leaf and Blue
Creeks.

The placesof greatest importance are: Clantou,

the County Seat, with a population of 600; Ver-
bena, Maplesville, Jemison and ilountain Creek
have become somewhat noted as summer resorts.
At the former place an elegant hotel has been
erected, both for summer and winter boarders;
while at the latter point neat cabins of summer
visitors dot the slopes and crown the higher
ridges. Families from Montgomery and the
neighboring towns have established these tasteful
retreats in order that they may find a pleasant
refuge from the heat and dust of the city. Both
these points are growing in popularity as jilaces of
summer resort.

Good schools are found at every center of in-
terest in the county. At Clanton and Verbena
the schools are of high grade, and moral in-
fluences good. Churches of the different de-
nominations also abound.

Immigrants or investors desiring to jiurchase
lands in this county may obtain them for prices
ranging from %\ to S15 per acre. Knowing how
much depends ou an increased population of
thrifty habits, the people of this county are eager
to encourage such to establish homes in their
midst.

Chilton County embraces 52,000 acres of land
belonging to the General Government, which are
being very rapidly settled.

The valuation of taxable property in Chilton
County is $1,864,832, as shown by the al)stract of
assessment filed with the Auditor.

VI.
CLAY COUNTY.

Population: White, 1-2,000: colored, 1,000.
Area, (JlO square miles. Woodland, all.

Acres — In cotton (ajiproximatel\'), 13,921; in
corn, ■v>4,503; in oats, 4,894; in wheat, 9,785; in
tobacco, 85; in sugar cane. 10; in sweet potatoes,
•i:i7.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 5,:i00.

County Seat — Ashland; population, 450; located
25 miles from Talladega.

Newspaper published at County Seat — (.'lai/
County Watchman (Democratic).

Postoffices in the County — Ashtuml, Black
Store, Bluff Spring, Buckeye, Coleta, Copper
Mines, Dean, Delta, Elias, Enitachopco, Flat
Kock, (ribsonville, (ireshamton, Ilarlan, Hatcli-
ett Creek, Ilillabee, Idaho, Lineville, Mad In-
dian, Mellow \'alley, Moseley, Mountain Meadow,
Pinckneyville, Rocky Mount, Shinbone, Wheeler-
ville.

This county was created in 1800, and took its
name from the great Kentucky statesman, Henry
Clay. Like other interior counties in Alabama,
the mineral and agricultural properties are not as
yet fully recognized and appreciated. It is remote
from lines of transportation and is not as acces-
sible as other portions of the State which
have won distinction among capitalists, and yet
are not a whit in advance of Clay. When the pro-
ductive soils, the varied minerals, and the vast
water-power of the county shall attract public no-
tice, gateways of commerce will be opened, and
its hills anil valleys will teem with population.

Clay County is varied both with respect to the
face of the country ami the character of the soil.
The eastern portion has a varied surface with a soil
of sandy loam. A mountainous ridge penetrates
the county from the southwest to the northeast.
Most of tiie lands lying adjacent to this ridge are
very productive. In the northern end of Clay and
west of this range, is a valley of exceedingly rich
farming land. The bottom lands which lie along
the streams which water the county are generally
j)roductive. A belt of "flatwoods" four or five

miles wide is found east of the ridge lands. This
belt is covered with a mixed growth of oaks and
pine and has generally a gray and somewhat sandy
soil. Throughout the county the gray lands are
regarded the best for farming purposes.

The bulk of the cotton crop of Clay is raised in
the southern and eastern parts of the county,
because of the superiority o'f the soils. The chief
jiroductlons are cotton, corn, wheat, oats and
sweet potatoes. Orchard and garden fruits also
do well.

The timbers of the county include both short-
and long-leaf pine, with blackjack and other oaks,
hickory, sweet gum, walnut, poplar, crab apple,
persimmon, ash, maple, dogwood and alder. The
mountains and hillsides are covered with the heavi-
est timbers. The timber and lumber trade is one
of the future industries of Clay County.

(Jold, silver, barytes, tin, manganese, pyrites,
soapstone, iron, copper, copperas, mica, graphite
and slate are found in different parts of Clay. The
Confederate authorities, during the last two years
of the war, secured much sulphur from this coun-
ty for the manufacture of powder.

The water-power of the county is immense.
The inclination of many of the streams is great,
imparting a mighty momentum to the descending
waters. Big Kitchabadarga, Talladega, Hatchet,
Ilillabee, Ilatchee, Enitachopka, Condutchkee,
Crooked and Mad Indian Creeks are the main
streams. The county is abundantly supplied,
too, with perennial springs of freestone water.

.Vshland, Lineville and Delta are the jirincipal
points of interest. Excellent schools of a high
grade are found at all these i)oints.

At present Clay County is entirely without
railroads, which, more than any other cause,
accounts for its want of development. The
county lies between the Coosa and Tallajioosa
Kivers, and the mountainous range which pene-
trates it, divides the water flowing to those streams.
The healtii of Clay County is exceptional, while
its soil is varied and fairly productive. The

127

128

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

people are thrifty and contented, raising at
home almost everything needed for domestic
comfort.

Some of the railroads projected througli this
section of the State will penetrate this county,
and, upon completion of one or more of these
roads, the resources of Clay will divide the atten-
tion which is now concentrated on more favored
localities, and the growth and development of

the county will be commensurate with the past
experience of the mineral region of Alabama.
AVithin the limits of this county there is a large
body of public lands subject to homestead entry
or purchase, which within a few years will become
the homes of a thriving population. At present
the prices of land range from 81 to $15 per acre,
depending upon situation and condition of im-
provement.

Vll.
CHFROKEE COUNTY.

Population: White, 10,800; colored. 2,000. Area,
ceo square miles. Woodland, all. Coal measures
of Lookout Mountain, 150 square miles. Coosa
Valley, etc., 510 square miles.

Acres — If cotton (approximately), 24,390; in
corn, 33,3;5; in oats, 7,475; in wheat, 10,085;
in rye, IGO; in tobacco, 80; in sweet potatoes, 335.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 11,000.

County Seat — Centre; population (150: on Coosa
river, 140 miles north by east of Montgomery, 20
miles north of Jacksonville.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Chcro-
hee Advertiser, Coosa River News, and the Tele-
phone (all Democratic).

Postoffices in the County — Alexis, Ball Flat,
Blaine, Broomtowu, Cedar Bluff, Cedar Spring,
Centre, Chance, Colma, Davis' Cross-roads, Farill,
Firestone, Forney, FuUerton, Gaylesville, Gnat-
ville, Grantville, Hancock, Howel's Cross-roads,
Hurley, Key, Kirk's Grove, Lay, Leesburgh,
Maple Grove, Moshat, New Goshen, New Moon,
Piano, Eieks, Einggold, Eock Eun, Eock Eun
Station, Bound Mountain, Sand Eock, Slackland,
Spring Garden. Sterling, Stock's Mills, TafE,
Tecumseh.

Cherokee County derives its name from the
Indian tribe which formerly inhabited it. The
county was constituted in 183C. It is a border
county, lying alongside Georgia upon the east.
Its natural advantages are very great, especially
those relating to its mineral richness. Its agri-

cultural capabilities are also good. Considerable
enterprise has existed in the county for many
years, and great progress has been made in the
development of its resources, as its numerous
mining interests will attest.

In 1880 the population was almost doubled.
There has been a steady influx of population into
the county, which has increased with the years.
More and more its numerous advantages in soil, cli-
mate, mineral wealth and location are being ap-
preciated. The face of the county is generally
uneven, and sometimes mountainous, and, like all
the counties of this region, the upper lands are
thin, with very fertile valleys lying between.

The cultivated soils of Cherokee are composed
of red and brown loams, which belong to the coves
and valleys, and skirt the principal streams. Upon
these lands most of the cotton of the county is
produced. Then along the ridges and hills are
found the thinner soils, which have a grayish cast
and are mixed with a flinty gravel. The charac-
ter of both these classes of land varies very greatly
with the different localities. Then there are what
are called " the flatwoods," which form a consider-
able belt in the county. Though this soil, when
analyzed, shows that it has fine productive capa-
bilities, it is but rarely cultivated, because care
has not been taken to drain it. No doubt it can
be brought into profitable cultivation. Perhaps
in no county in the State can there be found a
greater diversity of soil than in Cherokee.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

129

The valley lamls are almost entirely devoted to
the production of corn, cotton, wlicat and oats.
l'l)on the higher or table lands are produced ex-
cellent fruits, chief among which are apples, pears,
peaches and plums. Fruit tree.s are seldom dis-
turbed by frost. With proper care and cultivation
orchards growing upon these elevated lands become
very profitable. The vine is cultivated with won-
derful success along the mountains.

Stock-raising in Cherokee is on the increase
because of the revenue derived from the experi-
ments already made. Herbage grows with such
readiness and in such profusion as to encourage
the greater production of stock.

'J'he growths of the forests comprise oaks (of the
several varieties), hickory, chestnut, short- and
long-leaf pines. There is quite an extensive prev-
alence of pine forests in the county, wliich
have given rise to many mills and log yards,
which are established at convenient bluffs along
the Coosa River, giving employment to many
laborers.

In several portions of Cherokee there are exten-
sive and valuable deposits of iron ore, much of
wliich is worked up in furnaces along the East
Tennesse. A'irginia tS: Georgia liailroad. The
following iron works are in successful operation in
the county: The Stonewall IronComjiany, Tecum-
seh Iron Company, Kock Run Furnace, Ala-
bama Iron Company, Cornwall Iron Works and
Round Mountain Furnace. There is a fine cotton
factory at Spring (Jarden. Rich coal deposits also
exist in the count v.

Cherokee has an abundant water supply, being
traversed by the Coosa, Chattanooga, Yellow and
I.ittle Rivoi's, and (^owairs. Hall Play, Wolf. Spring,
Terrapin, Vellow and .Mill Creeks. All tiiese are
valuable streams, which are fed by numerous tril)-
utaries. This is the only county the heart of
which is penetrated by the beautiful Coosa River.
With the exception of Etowah, near whose eastern
boundary the river runs, it forms the border line of
all the other counties which it waters. But Chero-
kee it divides in twain, imparting fertilitv and
beauty from limit to limit of the county. The
waterways already named have, almost without
exception, immense capabilities of water-power
adapted to the planting of vast enterjjrises.

The line between Cherokee and DeKalb Counties
runs along the summit of Lookout Mountain.

The Broomtown Valley, in the northwest corner
of Cherokee, is worthy of special mention by rea-
son of its fertility and romantic beauty. The
grandeur of this section is enchanced by its bold
and clear streams which ramify it throughout.

Transportation is afforded the county by the
East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad,
and the Coosa River.

Centre, the county seat, and Cedar BhilT are the
leading towns. Together with other centers of
population, these possess good educational and
religious advantages. At Gaylesville there is a
high school of note.

Lands range in price from *!2.5n to *3.5 per acre.
The Government owns 2(»,720 acres of land in
Cherokee County.

-■»-;

CENTRB.

SAMUEL KING McSPADDEN. Chancellor of
the Northeast division of .Vlabama, resident of
Centre, son of the Rev. Samuel and Rebecca
(I)onalson) McSpadden, natives, respectively, of
the States of Virginia and South Carolina, was
born in Warren County, Tenn., November 12,
1.S'.'3. The senior McSpadden, a minister of the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church, died at the old
homestead, in Wilsoii County, Tenn., in 18C0, at
the age of eighty-three years. He was one of the

original agitators of the questions that led to the
division of the old Presbyterian Church and the
organization of the Cumberland Presbyterian
denomination. His home was on the Cumberland
Hiver and in the bounds of the Cumberland Pres-
bytery, and it was from that fact that the denom-
ination mentioned took its name.

Thesul)ject of this sketch may be said to be a
self-educated man. He learned the saddler's trade
at Winciiester, Tenn., and worked at it until 184:8.

130

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

He came to Alabama in-1843 and lived seven years
at Talladega. While at that place he began ilie
stndyof law, pursuing the study finally under the
distinguished Samuel F. Rice, and was admitted
to practice before George W. Stone, the present
Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.
This was in 1848 or '49, and Mr. McSpadden be-
gan the practice in 1850 in Cherokee County,
where he has since made his home. He entered
the army as a private in the Nineteenth Alabama
Infantry in 1801, and upoji the final organization
of that regiment was appointed its major. In
1863, upon the return of the army from Kentucky,
Major McSpadden was promoted to lieutenant col-
onel. The regiment was then at Knoxville. He
had commanded the regiment from the time it
left Kentucky, and at Tullahoma he was promoted
to colonel. At Resaca he fell into the hands of
the enemy. May, 1804, and was taken to John-
son's Island, where he was detained until March,
1865. He never again joined his command, though
he met them in Salisbury, N. C. It should have
been mentioned that Mr. McSpadden was elected
to the State Senate in 1857, and that he was a
member of that body at the time he entered the
army.

Chancellor ileSpadden was first elected by the
Legislature, session of 1865-0, and in 1868 tiie
United States Congress declared him further in-
competent. This retired him to his practice, to
which he devoted himself until again made Chan-
cellor, in 1885. He was elected to the Senate in
1882, and resigned as a member of that body to
accept the Chancellorship. In Xovember, 1880,
the unexpired term for which he had been aj)-
pointed having expired, he was regularly elected
for the ensuing term of six years.

At Centre, Ala., June 14, 1854. Samuel King
McSpadden was married to ^liss Charlcie Ann
Garrett, daughter of Gen. John H. Garrett. To
this union was born one child, Lulu, now the wife
of Hon. H. W. Cardon, of Centre.

The Chancellor and Mrs, McSpadden are mem-
bers of the Presbyterian Church, and he of the
Masonic fraternity.

ROBERT R. SAVAGE, Judge of the Pro-
bate Court of Cherokee County, was born in Union
District, S. C, September 23, 1831, and at the
common schools of his native place acquired a fair

education. He was married February 24, 1852,
to Miss Louisa J. Geer, daughter of Willis and
Cynthia E. (Hall) Geer, of Cherokee County, and
from that date until 1869 was here engaged in
farming. In the latter named year he was elected
Tax Collector, held that office two terms, and in
1880 was elected Probate Judge, a position he has
continued to hold, having been re-elected in
1880.

February, 1863, Judge Savage enlisted in Com-
pany E, Forty-seventh Alabama Regiment, and
was elected first lieutenant. He resigned at the
end of nine months, returned home, and soon
afterward joined General Wheeler's escort, and
remained in the service until the close of the war.

Judge Savage is one of the substantial citizens
of Cherokee County. He has reared a family of
six children. He and his wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

James P. Savage, the father of the subject of
this sketch, was born in South Carolina, and in
1848 settled at the town of Goshen, Cherokee
County, Ala.; from there in 18T3 he moved to
Cross Plains, Calhoun County, where he died in
1874. He reared a family of nine sons anl three
daughters. His father, .James Savage, was a
native of Pennsylvania, and his grandfather came
from Europe.

JAMES AVERY REEVES, Attorney and Coun-
selor at Law, Centre, native of Jasper County,
Ga., son of James Madison and Susan Rice
(Watt) Reeves, was born November 22, 1842.
Until twelve years of age his home was at Cedar
IJlutf. At that time, his father having been dead
some years, his mother married the Rev. 0. D.
McNeely, and moved upon a farm.

This limited our subject's early education for a
sliort time. In 1858 he entered college at Murfrees-
boro, Tenn., where we find him at the outbreak of
the late war. In August, 1861, he enlisted in
the Nineteenth Alabama, and from that time to
the close of the war was identified with the
Confederate service. At Shiloh he was severely
wounded. This led to his discharge, and in the
fall of 1803 he entered tlie Quartermaster's
Department, in which he was assigned to post duty
at Centre and Gadsden. Early in 1864 he was ap-
pointed by the Governor as Special Aid, with the
rank of colonel, and assigned to the duty of rais-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

131

iiig and organizing State troops. In September,
]S(i5, he began tiio study of law, and in the fall of
isi;;, was admitted to the bar at Centre. Here heat
once entered upon a successful practice, wiiicli he
has maintained fully to the present time. lie was
elected County Treasurer in 18()5 and held that
office one term. He was Journal Clerk of the
House of Representatives, session of 18(>'i-7. lie
had been appointed Kegister in Chancery, probably
in 18<i">, and he hold this ofKce in addition to his
other duties until iScO. He was elected to the
[legislature in February 18G8, and took a con-
spicuous ])ait in the succeeding important session.
He was appointed State Examiner of Public
Accounts by Governor Seay, in the spring of 1887,
and how well he has acquitted himself in the
discharge of this important duty is a matter of
public record.

Mr. IJeeves was married December "JO, 18<i(i, to
•Miss Mary E. Haynes, and the names of the chil-
dren born to them are: Maggie S., James H.. Mary
T. and John A. The family are identified with
the Jlethodist Episcopal Church, South, and Mr.
Reeves is a Mason.

• ■ » > ■ •t^^'-»—-

ELLIS HALE. Clerk of the Cherokee County
Court, was born in Carroll County, Va., March 'I'u
184",', and is a son of Fielden L. and Evaline
(Anderson) Hale, natives of Georgia.

He was a soldier in the late war, and partici-
pated in all the battles in which liis regiment,
the Twenty-fourth Virginia, took part. He
entered the service .is first sergeant, and left it
with the rank of first lieutenant. He was
wounded at the battle of Gettysburg; spent six
months in the hospital at Staunton, Va., and was
disabled thereafter for service. At the close of the
war he returned to Virginia, and was elected
Clerk of the Carroll County Court. At the end
of si.x months he gave up that oftiee and came to
Alabama. He was in the mercantile business
some years at Leesburg, and from there came to
Centre. He was elected County Treasurer of
Cherokee County in 18T7, and holds that office at
this time, in addition to the clerkship to which
he was apjiointed in 1880.

He was married while a young man to Miss
Xannie I'ullen. of Centre. She died in 1877,
leaving one child. Bernard. In October, 1878,
.Mr. Hale led to the altar Miss .Tosie ^f. Davidson,

of Rutledge, Tenn., and the four children born to
this union are named respectively: .Marslial E.,
Benjamin F., Elbert and Anna Bell. Mr. and
Mrs. Hale are members of the Methodist Episcopal
C'hurch, .South, and he is of .the JIasonic fra-
ternity.

The senior Mr. Hale was a merchant and miner
in Carroll County, \'a., from about 1840 to 18(j5.

J He was also many years Clerk of that county, and
Superintendent of Education. He was a member

' of the Secession Convention of Virginia, and held
tiie rank of captain during the war. He settled
in Cherokee County in l.S(;."(, and from there re-
turned to Virginia three years later. In 1884 he
left Virginia and settled in \'olutia County, Fla.,

I where he yet resides, and is engaged in mercantile
business. His wife died in 18.").").

A. M. PRATT, M. D. The suljjert uf this
sketch was born in York District, S. C, Novem-
ber, 1837, and is the son of John J. and Dorcas I-].
(Moore) Pratt. He was reared in Unionviile, S.
C, where he received his primary and literary
education, and at the age of eighteen began the
study of medicine. Having graduated from the
colleges of Charleston, the Jefferson of Philadel-
phia, and Stuyvesant University of New York
City, as M. D., he at once entered into the prac-
tice of his profession in his native State, where he
remained for two years. After leaving there he
located in Carnesvilie, Ga., in 1853; there he
mai'ried the daughter of Dr. Henry Freeman, who
was a distinguished physician and who figured
prominently in the Legislative Halls of Georgia as
a Representative and Senator.

Dr. Pratt having practiced his profession for
several years in a successful and lucrative way,
and having established himself as a skilled physi-
cian and successful practitioner, concluded to
move West; having done so, he located in Cherokee
County, Ala., in the year 18-57, and in ISGO at
Centre, where in 18ii3, he was appointed Post
Surgeon, a position he filled to the close of the
war.

Dr. Pratt is one of the most successful and pop-
ular physicians of Northeastern Alabama. Al-
though the war dissipated his am])le means, he has
long since recovered, and is at this writing, again
possessed of a moderate competency. The Doctor
is a member of the Masonic fraternity and several

133

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

other orders, and is a believer in evolution and all
other subjects which promote and foster liberty
of thought and freedom of oi^inions. The Doctor
has three sisters who possess rare literary attain-
ments; one a playwright of considerable ability,
and who has translated many foreign period-
cal magazines, novels, and other literature into
the English language; another who has written
several novels and private histories of the United
States. The third lister is an extensive traveler
(at this time she is sojourning in Europe), having
crossed ths Atlantic Ocean no less than a half
dozen times, and visited all the provinces and
principal cities of Europe, and personally met
several of the potentates.

John J. Pratt, a younger brother of the Doctor,
is an inventor of considerable note, being the
inventor of one of the first type writers: also the
inventor of the type writer which was awarded
the highest gold medal at the New Orleans Expo-
sition. He, John J. Pratt, Jr., is the supei-intend-
ent of the Hammond Type Writing Company of
New York City. The Doctor's father, .John J.
Pratt, Sr., was a native of Newberry, S. C, and
was twenty-one years Probate Judge of Union
District, that State; he was also a prominent
merchant and shoe and leather manufacturer. He
came to Cherokee County, Ala., in 1851, and was
here an extensive planter and slave-holder.
The Doctor's grandfather, John J. Pratt, was a
native of Salem, Mass. He moved from there to
Fauquier County, Ya., in 1780, and on to Newberry,
S. C, in 1790. His forefather came over in the
noted " Mayflower" in the year 1020.

WILLIAM MADISON ELLIOT, Secretary of the
Eound Mountain Iron Company, Centre, Ala.,
was born in Home, Ga., August 2(i, 1860, and is
the son of James Madison and P^mily .Jane (Hoss)
Elliott. He graduated from Emory and Henry Col-
lege, Ya., as A. B., class of 187'.t, and immediate-
ly thereafter engaged at steamboating on the
Coosa Kiver. Here he was for some time master
and pilot of the steamboat Magnolia, In 1885 he
abandoned the river, and accepted a situation as
book-keeper for the Gadsden Iron Company. He
remained with that company three years, and has
since that time been connected with the Round
Mountain Iron Company.

Mr. Elliott was married March 15, 1887, to Miss

Sallie E. Bogan, the accomplished daughter of
Henry S. and Amanda (Hoss) Bogan.

JOHN BUTLER WALDEN, Attorney-at law,
was born in Jasper County, Ga., September 1,
181G, and is a son of Charles and Sarah (Walker)
Walden, natives of South Carolina.

He was reared on a farm, and at the age of
twenty years, at Wetumpka, Ala., began the study
of the law, and at Talladega was admitted to the
bar. He located first in the practice at Lebanon,
De Kalb County, and was within a short time
appointed Register in Chancery, and afterward
appointed -Tudge of the County Court of De Kalb
C'ounty, He held these offices but a few months,
when he resigned for the purpose of devoting his
entire time to the jiractice of the law, and soon
gained rank in the profession. He was appointed
Solicitor of the Huntsville Circuit in 18(i2, and
was shortly afterwards elected by the Legislature
to that office, and held it the close of the war.
In 1864 he came to Centre, and has here since
that time given his whole attention to his pro-
fession.

Mr. Walden was married in December, 1812, to
Catharine 0. Chambliss, daughter of John and
Sarah (Pierce) Chambliss, who came from Dar-
lington District, S. C, to Talladega County in
1841. Of the children reared by Mr. Walden we
have the following data: John is a farmer and
trader in Texas; Charles is a trader at McMinn-
ville, Tenn. ; Joseph A. studied law of his own
volition; was admitted to the bar on the day after
he was twenty-one; was elected Solicitor for Chero-
kee County by the jjopular vote, and served one
term only. He holds a high standing in his pro-
fession as an untiring, zealous advocate. Emily
married Captain Marable, of Georgia, and Minnie
is unmarried, and remains with her parents.

The senior 3Ir. Walden, in about 1800, moved
to Green County, Ga., and from thence to Jasper.
He was a lieutenant under General Floyd in the
War of 1812, He came into Alabama in 1819,
and located in Autauga County, near old Fort
Jackson. He died in 1832. Of his seven sons
John B. is the only one now living.

His wife was one of those excellent pioneer.
Christian women. She was a member of the
Baptist Church over fifty years, and many of her
ancestors and kinsmen were noted divines. She

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

133

died in 1854, at the age of seventy years. Her
fatlier, Jeremiah Walker, a Virginian by birth,
and a gaHant old Revolutionary soldier, was a
fanner in South C'aroliini. His paternal ancestors
came from Kiigland.

-^^

!-♦-

JOHN W. TATUNS, (deceased) was born in
t'alhouu County. Ala., in 183.">: came into Chero-
kee County in ISti.s, and in January of that year
married the widow of M. J. Alexander, a daugh-
ter of Dr. William and Rebecca W. (Parker) ^Sfc-
Klrath. Mr. McElrath was born in Spartanburg
District and his wife in Tennessee. 'J"he Doctor
graduated in medicine from the Cincinnati Med-

ical College, and in 183<> located in Coosa County,
Ala. In 1S3'.I he came into Cherokee County, and
settled within three miles of Centre, where he
practiced medicine until 1837. In that year, his
wife's health having become imjjaired, he gave up
his practice and turned his attention to farming.
The Doctor was a public-spirited man, noted for his
cliarity, and for his interest in the general good
of his neighborhood, lie died in 188.") at the age
of eighty-seven years, leaving a large estate. His
wife had died the year before. His father was a
native of Ireland.

John W. Tatuns at his death, in 1884, left three
children: Samuel C, Leonora I., and Wcstly S.
He was a consistent member of the ilethodist
Episcojial Church and a highly respected citizen.

Vlll.
CULLMAN COUNTY.

Population: White, 6,312: colored, 143. Area,
590 square miles. Woodland, all.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 1,409 ; in
corn, 10,343 ; in oats, 1,179; in wheat, 2,569 ; in
rye, 480 ; in sugar-cane, 66 ; in tobacco, 41 ; in
sweet potatoes, 215.

Approximate number of bales of cotton in
round numbers, 400.

County Seat — Cullman ; population, 1,600 ;
located on South & North Alabama Railroad.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Alabama
Tribune and Trumpet.

Postoffices in the County — Baileyton, Bosen-
berg, Bremen, Crane Hill, Crooked Creek, Chill-
man, Dreher, Etha, Jones Chapel, Logan, Mar-
riott, May Apple, Nesmith, Ruby, Sinicoe, Trim-
ble.

This is one of the last counties formed in the
State, and was organized in 1877, and has an in-
teresting history, which begins in 1873, when
John 0. Cullman became the agent for the sale
of the vast tracts of land belonging to the South iS:
North Alabama and Louisville & Nashville Rail-
roads. [See History of Cullman, this volume.]

^, ^ tJr^ ^lf^

IX.
CLEBURNE COUNTY.

Populatiou : AVliite, 10,308 ; colored, 068.
Area, S-tO square miles. Woodland, all. Meta-
morpliic, 400 square .miles. Coosa Valley, 140
square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), it, 150; in
corn, ^1,552; in oats, 567; in wheat, 7,."i04; in
tobacco, 85; in sweet potatoes, 2'il.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 4,000.

County Seat — Edwardsville; population, 600; on
Georgia Pacific liailroad.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Cleburne
County Netvs (Democratic), Stundard (Demo-
cratic).

Post-offices in the County — Abernathy, Ai, Ar-
bacoochee. Beecham, Bell's Mills, Belltown, Bor-
den Springs, Chulafinnee, Cicero, Cold Water,
Edwardsville, Grantly, Heflin, Hightower, Hoop-
er's Mills, Kemp's Creelr, Lecta, Micaville, Mus-
cadine, Oakfuskee, Oak Level, Oak Lone. Pales-
tine, Kosewood, Slioal Creek, Solomon, Stone
Hill.

This county was formed in 1867 from portions
of Calhoun, Talladega and liandolph Counties,
and named for the lamented General Cleburne,
who fell in the forefront of the famous battle at
Franklin, Tenn., in 1864. Though abounding in
natural resources, the county is not as fully devel-
oped as some others in the same region. Since
the construction of two railroads through the
county, giving its productions a ready outlet, it is
winning to itself a thrifty population, and in many
ways the merits of Cleburne are coming more and
more to be recognized and appreciated.

Great inducements exist in the county for cap-
italists and immigrants, as its mines are stored
with rich ores, and its lands abound in fertility.

Cleburne has a varied surface. In the nortli-
ern end of the county there are rugged interven-
ing valleys, of fertility. These valley lands are of
a reddish hue, as is true of the most of the lands of
this character in this and the northern portion of
Alabama. The lands which lie along the ridges
are of a light or grayish color.

But few of the mountain lands have ever been
cultivated, as the residents of the county have
never felt the necessity of leaving the level for the
higher districts. Along the slopes, however, there
are good farming lands with yellow sub-soil. The
remainder of the county is covered with either red
or gray lands, excejit in the creek and river bot-
toms, where the soil partakes largely of sand.

In the western jiortion of the county there is a
sparser population than in any other section, be-
cause the lands are regarded as less fertile. Cle-
burne has many fertile valleys, which are mostly
devoted to the production of corn, though some
cotton is planted. Along these valley stretches
are some of the best farms in the county. The
lower portion of the county abounds in red fertile
lands.

The productions are corn, cotton, wheat, and
oats, with minor crops of great importance.

Near the line of the East & West Alabama
Kailroad in this county, a very extensive bed of
manganese has been opened, the property of State
Senator Hon. W. J. Alexander and a Jacksonville
la)id company, and has been pronounced by scien-
tific assayists to be of most excellent quality.

The soils are admirably suited to the produc-
tion of apples and peaches. The clover and
grasses are found to thrive with great readiness,
and home stock raising is gradually receiving
more attention.

The county has many forests of excellent tim-
ber, the chief growth of which is white, red, Span-
ish and post oak, sh(>rt and long-leafed pine, wal-
nut, hickory and gum.

For many years a gold mine has been success-
fully worked at Arbacoochee. The same ores
are also found in other places in the southern
portions of the cotinty.

In different parts of the county copper, mica,
slate, graphite, pyrites, zinc and kaolin are found
prevailing. Iron exists in great abundance, and
silver has also been discovered . These await capi-
tal to be developed.

134

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

135

The supplies of water in every portion of Cle-
burne are unfailing, as it is penetrated by such
streams as the Talla])Oosa river, whieh runs diag-
onally through the county from northeast to south-
west, and such streams as Terrapin, Muscoaline,
Cane, Shoal, Chulafinnee, Cohulga, Dying and
Snake and Lost Creeks. All these are sustained
by numerous tributaries which eontril)ute further
to the supply of water.

The places of the greatest importance are Ed-
wardsville, the county seat, Hetlin. Oak licvel,
ChulaHnne and Arbacoocliee.

At Edwardsville and Heflin tlieic arc high
schools of local note. Otlier good schools are

found in different parts of the county. The
channels of transportation are the Ceorgia Pacific
Railroad, and Edwardsville is about midway
between Atlanta and J5irmingham. The East &
West railroad, running from Centerville, Ga., to
Birmingham, runs through the north end of the
county, and runs near an inexhaustible dejtosit of
excellent roofing slate. Another important rail-
way line is being constructed through the county
from Carrollton, Ga., to Decatur, Ala., by way of
Oak Level, in this county.

A large area of (iovcrnineiit lands is yet on the
market, which can l)e had under the homestead
law.

;ci^::v-

DE KALB COUNTY.

Population: White. I'-i, 125: colored, -IIG. Area,
740 square miles; coal measures, on Lookout and
Sand Mountains, 4'.I0 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately),?, 409: in corn,
23,!)"^fl: in oats, 5.115; in wheat, (i.84C: in rye,
383; in tobacco, 19; in sweet potatoes, 218.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 3,100,

County Seat — Fort Payne: pojiulation, 350; on
Alabama Great Southern Kailroad.

Newspaper published at County Seat — louriiid
(Democratic).

Post-offices in the County — .\ndrews Institute,
Hlack Oak, Brandon, Chavies, Chumley, Collins-
ville, Cordell, Cotnam, Crossville, Crumly, Deer
Head, Denton, Floy, Fort Payne, Geraldine, (ilad-
ney. Grove Oak, Ilenagar, Ider, Laurel, Lebanon,
Lookout, Loveless, Luna, Lutterell, Lydia, Ma-
lum, Jhisgrove, Nicholson's Gap, Pea Hidgc, Por-
tersville, Kodentown, Sand Mountain. Sandy Mills,
Skiruin, Snake Creek. South Hill, Stella, Sulphur
Springs, Ten Brocck, Thirty-Nine. X'allcv Head,
Whiton, Wills.

Ho Kalb County took its mime from the
famous Baron De Kalh. It was constituteil in

183G. De Kalb lies in the extreme northeastern
corner of the State, and is bounded by Georgia on
the east, its extreme northern point touching the
line of the State of Tennessee. It shares largely
in the fertile lands and mineral deposits, both of
which abound in this section of Alabama. Its
climate, liealthfulness, favorableness of location,
and natural sources of wealth make it one of the
most desirable counties in the State.

De Kalb has been almost doubled within the
last ten years, which serves to indicate quite fully
the estimate which is placed upon the county by
immigrants and investors. This is due to the
peculiar advantages offered in climate, -diversity
of productions, mineral deposits, and cheapness of
lands, all of which are chief factors in tlie pros-
perity of the county. De Kalb County is occu-
pied in great part by the two plateaus of Sand
and Lookout Mountains. The former of these
constitutes a high plane, whose surface rocks are
those of the Coal Measures, These two plateaus,
of which that of Sand Mountain is the greater,
are separated by Wills A'alley. which cuts entirely
across tiie county from northeast to southwest.
This valley embraces the most productive lands of

136

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

De Kalb. It is here that almost all the cotton in
the county is produced.

The land along the valleys was very highly
prized by the first settlers of the County, and but
little regard was had for that which lay along the
plateaus. Later, however, the uplands were
brought into use, and the result of their tillage
has been peculiarly gratifying.

They are not only cultivated with far less effort,
but are found to be almost equal in production
to the lower soils, when assisted some with
fertilizers.

The lands of the county may thus be divided in
a general way between the dark, stiff soils of the
valley and the lighter soils of the plateaus. The
staple productions are cotton, corn, wheat, oats,
rye and sweet potatoes. Grasses and clover
flourish also, and the attention which is being
given their production is tending to the improve-
ment of stock. As is true throughout this entire
section of the State, the lands upon the plateaus
are those devoted to fruit culture. Apples, pears
and peaches, and. indeed, all fruits grown in this
latitude attain perfection. Fruit trees thrive here
for many years, and the crop is rarely killed or in-
jured by frosts. Perhajis no section of America
can display finer specimens of plums than grow
in this region. The principal timbers of the
county are oaks, hickory, cherry and short leaf
pines. These exist in sufficient quantities for all
domestic purposes.

DeKalb County has the amplest water supplies
for all purposes. Streams of rapid and deep cur-
rents offer inducements for the erection of ma-
chinery, while cool and everlasting springs issue

from the hills in every section of the county.
Lookout Mountain plateau is drained by Little
lliver and its tributaries, while Sand Mountain is
drained by Tom Creek and the numerous streams
which empty into it. Prominent among the
streams are Long Island, Scarham, Black and
South Santa Creeks.

Near Valley Head, in Lookout Mountain
plateau, is where the beautiful falls of Little River
occur. They are nearly 100 feet in height,
with a deep, rocky gorge below them.

L-on and coal largely prevail in the county. Li
Willis' Valley there is found a superb quality
of fire clay, which has become famous. It exists
also in other parts of DeKalb.

The kaolin of the county is very fine. Speci-
mens displayed at the Xew Orleans Exposition
took the first premium in 188.5, and beautiful
crockery manufactured from these porcelain clays
was exhibited there.

Railroad transportation is enjoyed by the peo-
ple of the county, as the Alabama threat Southern
Railroad penetrates it from northeast to south-
west. Fort Payne, the county seat, Collinsville,
Lebanon and Portersville are the principal towns
of the county.

Public school system is good, and church facil-
ities abound.

Lands can be secured upon the most reasonable
terms possible. There are many Government
lands yet unsettled, being 32,600 acres, and vast
quantities of railroad lands, which can be had at
a marvelously low rate. In other sections, where
land is purchasable, it can be had for from ^v* to
%'lh per acre.

XI.

ETOWAH COUNTY

Population: Wliite, 19.808; colore'1, 3.000.
Are:i. 5'iO s<inare miles. Woodlanil, all. Coal
measures. 14(i square miles (40 on Lookout Moun-
tain and 100 on ."^aml Mountain).

Acres — In cotton, approximately. 17.000; in
corn. 24,891; in oats, (5,000; in wheat. 7,000: in
tobacco, 07: in sugar-cane, 9; in sweet potatoes,
260.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, in
round numbers, 7,.>00.

County Seat — Gadsden: population, 4,000.

Newspaper published at County Seat — Times
and yorx.

Postoffices in the county: Atalla, Aurora, Ball
Play. Huford, Clear Spring, Coats Hend, Coxville,
Duck Springs. Etowahton, Gndsilen, Greenwood,
Hill. Hokes Hluff. Howelton, Keysburgh, Mark-
ton. Nix. <»ak Hill, Heaves, Red Bud, Seaborn,
Shahan. Stanfield, Turkeytown, Walnut (Jrove.

Three-fourths of the county is made up of
mountain jdateaus or table lands.

The agricultural resources of the county are
tine, and when you take into consideration the
diversity of crops which flourish in it, it is equaled
by few counties in the State.

The county contains lands of nearly every va-
riety, and these lands are adapted to raising profit-
ably many of the cereals and fruits. Some of the
richest valley lands to be found in the State are in I
this county, and these valley lands produce the
finest staple of cotton, as well as abundant crops
of corn, oats and wheat. Some of these valleys
are remarkable for their beauty, as well as their
fertility, and we mention the Little Wills Valley,
up which runs the (Jreat Southern Railroad.

We have these beautiful valleys running through
the county, in addition to the Coosa River bot-
toms, as they are called.

This Coosa bottom land is remarkable for pro-
ducing a very fine grade of cotton, from which
the celebrated Coates thread is made.

It also yields large crops of corn and oats, and
other small grains.

10 13

The county is penetrated from the northeast to
the southwest by two mountain plateaus and their
valleys. As before nientioned. nearly three-fourths
of the county is mountainous, the other fourth
takes in the three valleys. These valleys are
known as the Coosa Valley, which averages from
three to four miles on either side of the river,
making its width about six or seven miles.

The other two valleys are known as Big and
Little Wills Valleys, and are remarkable for their
beauty and fertility, especially the latter, which
is the smaller of the two valleys.

While Etowah County is rich in minerals of
nearly every description, her mineral treasure is
not her only wealth. Her agriculturol resources
are very fine, and her chief products are cotton,
corn, wheat, oats, millet, sorghum, sweet and Irish
potatoes, besides the clovers and grasses. The
amount of tilled lands is nearly <;.i,000 acres. Of
this amount, nearly 17,000 acres are planted in
cotton, yielding annually about 7,500 bales. About
2,50(t acres are planted in corn: 6,0"^.5 acres in
oats; 7,0.5.3 acres in wheat: ■,'<!<• acres in sweet po-
tatoes, and about ti7 acres in tobacco.

The soils of the county vary greatly in the dif-
ferent localities. The valley lands are quite pro-
ductive being of a loamy character, and of a dark
color. These lands are usually stiff, but yield
abundant crojis when properly cultivated.

The lands along the ridges and plateaus are of a
different character, being light, sandy, and easily
cultivated. L'pon the plateaus crops can be
rotated very rapidly, as tliey grow more rapidly
and mature earlier than on the valley lands.
Among the early settlers the valley lands were
])rized the most highly, but latterly the plateau
lands have come quite in demand, and their tillage
has been very gratifying. These plateau lands
are not only cultivated with far less effort, but
when assisted by fertilizers are found to be almost
equal in production to the lower soils in the val-
leys.

The lands of the countv mav be divided, in

138

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

a general way, between the dark, stiff soils of the
valleys and the light soil of the plateaus.

In connection with a description of the soils,
we mention the fact that in this county there
are 13,000 acres of Government lands, still open to
settlers, besides a large quantity of railroad lands,
which can be bought very cheap, with the mineral
rights reserved.

The mountain lands are especially adapted to
the raising of fruits. Fruits grow upon them to
the greatest perfection, and the climate, as well as
the soil, seems adapted to peaches, api)les, plums,
pears and the smaller fruits, such as strawberries,
grapes, raspberries and the like. Grape culture
has proven quite a success, and experts believe that
as fine grapes can be grown on Sand Mountains
as in France or any other grape countries.

In addition to fruits, all garden vegetables flour-
ish here and some of them reach the highest per-
fection.

Within the jjast few years, the clover known as
Lespecleza Striata, has spread rapidly over the
mountain lands of the county, and is even going
into the. valleys. It affords a luxuriant green pas-
ture for cattle, horses and sheep — even hogs fatten
on it. This new clover is self-propagating, and
grows in the sun as well as under shade.

Besides the Lespedeza, we have the Bermuda
grass, which flourishes in this county, affording
fine pasturage for stock. It is also valualile for
producing hay.

The Johnson grass also does well here with cul-
tivation. These other grasses grow without any
attention or cultivation. Especially would we
mention the crab grass, which is indigenous and
very abundant. It is equal in value to any other
grass grown in the county. Several of the Etowah
farmers gather fine crops of hay from this grass,
which springs up after the wheat and oats have
been taken from the land.

There are few counties in the State that offer as
many inducements to stock raisingas Etowah does
in consequence of her fine grasses.

The timber is another source of wealth to the
county. In the valleys are found forests of oak,
hickory, chestnut and walnut, while in the flat
wood region, south of Gadsden, are found large
numbers of Spanish, red, post, and black-jack
oaks, and short-leaf pines. Very little of the
above timber has been used beyond the home mar-
ket.

The long-leaf yellow pine, which is found in

great abundance along the Coosa Eiver, just on
the edge of the valley, has been a great source of
wealth to Etowah County, and especially to the
city of Gadsden.

As before stated, the county is crossed midway
by the 3-tth parallel of latitude and is divided
north and south by the 8iith degree of west longi-
tude.

Tiie climate is all that could be desired, being
exempt from either extreme of heat or cold.

The following is taken from the records of the
signal service which have been kept in the city of
Gadsden, by Prof. D. P. Goodhue, for a number
of years. Of course the average is a fair ajqiroxi-
mation, and as nearly accurate as can be obtained.

TEMPERATURE.

The winter season averages 40"-^ F.

" spring " '■ fid

" summer " " 76 "

" fall " " 58 "

" whole year " 58J2 "

RAINFALL.

Winter season .- l(i inches

Spring " 13

Summer " 11 "

Fall " 8 "

Total 48 inches

The above shows that the county has a very
generous rainfall, and at the same time its distri-
bution is such as to practically exempt the county
from either floods or drouths.

The general distribution of it, through the
year, prevents the extremes of heat and cold,
and gives the county quite an equable climate.

The whole county is almost a bed of minerals,
in which nearly every variety is found. It is im-
possible to give accurate information concerning
the mineral wealth of the county, because it is
only partially developed.

In the county are found the following ores, with
an analysis of each appended, as far as we have
been able to obtain them:

1st. Red Hematite, a fossiliferous ore, yielding
from 45 to .50 per cent, of metallic iron. This
ore is found in large quantities along the Coosa
River, and five miles west of the Coosa, at or
near Atalhi, is found what is called Red Mountain,
containing inexhaustible deposits of this ore, and
is not only one of the largest deposits in the State,
but is one of the mineral wonders of the American
continent. The seams vary from eighteen inches
to three feet in thickness.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

139

This vast body of fossiliferous ore runs from a
jjoiiit a few miles east of the city of Tuscaloosa to
the northeastern limits of the State and is said to
be loo miles in lengtli by from half a mile to a
mile wide. This vast deposit passes right through
tiie county of Etowah.

In addition to the red hematite, the county
has large quantities of brown hematite, though
undeveloped. The<|ualityof this brown hematite
ore is regarded l)y exi)crts as good, though we have
no analysis of it.

Though in its initial state of development,
the most abundant mineral of the county is coal.

Around the city of Gadsden the coal deposits
have been tapped and worked at eight or ten dif-
ferent points, and it is clearly established that
there are three veins, one above the other, running
under the mountain. The top veins alone have
been worked, and they have averaged from eighteen
to thirty-six inches in thickness. The yield is a
soft, bituminous coal, which is very fine for coking.
It is supposed that the twolower veins are thicker,
and of a better quality. The quality of the top
vein improves as you follow it under the moun-
tain, and (iadsden to-day is mining as good coal
as is to be found in the State, with a few ex-
ceptions.

On the western edge of the county, on Straight
Mountain, east of Murphy's \'alley, the coal fields
of the county have been tapped, and here they
show four veins, varying in thickness from eigh-
teen inches to five feet. It is a soft, bituniiiious
coal, and makes fine coke.

To these coal fields on the western edge of the
county two railroads are in process of construction,
and these fields will doubtless soon be developed.
The coal fields, as far as they are known, extend
under Sand and Lookout Mountains, and all indi-
cations would lead one to infer, that the quantity
of coal is simply inexhaustible.

Mai\ijanc!<i\ — The extent and character of these
deposits of manganese are hardly known, as until
the pa.st six months, no efforts have been made
to locate or open up the mines, except by the
(iadsden Iron, Coal and Heal Estate Co., but the
surface indications are good. Floats of this ore
are found on the line of the R. & D. R. R., north-
east of Gadsden, but the richest deposits are found
in the western part of the county near the village
of Walnut Grove, on this same line of railroad,
the Rome ant! Decatur.

These mines have been examined by Earle Sloan,

of the firm of Reccio, Sloan & V'ediles, Birming-
ham, Ala. We will copy his report:

" P]ntering gulch along the outcrops we ascend-
ed comb of ridge affording a bold outcrop of man-
ganese ore ; a test-shaft was sunk, showing section
affording vein thirty-five inches in thickness, the
lower ten inches being an inferior ore, the upper
twenty-five inches affording ore ranging from forty-
five to sixty-five per cent, metallic manganese, as
determined by series of analyses of sections made
by writers, and also by analysis rendered by J.
Blodgett Britton, of the Iron Masters' Laboratory,
Philadelphia, Penn. The ore is low in both phos-
phorus and sulphur, containing of phosphorus less
than O.ti per cent.; of sulphur less than 0.05 per
cent.

'• Careful inspection of analysis rendered, shows
an ore of manganese of the di-oxide class, emi-
nently adapted to the production of ferro-manga-
nese, so essential to the manufacture of steel."

This deposit was also examined by Mr. Carl
Wentrock, of Birmingham, Ala., who is the min-
eralogist of the Alabama Mineral Bureau. His
report was as follows:

" AVe examined the outcrop for over one mile
and chose a place for prospecting. On opening
this, we found a vein of four layers.

" 1, Six inches of ore (mixed); 3, seven inches of
clay between; 3, two inches of ore; 4, four inches
of clay; 5, two and one-half inches of ore; C,
eight inches of clay; 7, eighteen inches of ore.

•• This shows a true vein runs through the prop-
erty. After this, about 100 yards distant and
thirty feet below in the same course, wc made an-
other opening, and found the same true vein in a
better condition, showing a first layer of eleven
inches solid manganese super-oxide of best quality,
called soft manganese ore. I went over the prop-
erty for three miles and found the same outcrop-
ping and leading veins over the whole distance."

The deposit of manganese extends over a con-
siderable area between Blountsville and Walnut
Grove, but has not been developed. The above
facts and following analysis we get from Mr.
James M. Cooper, President of the Gadsden Iron,
Coal and Real Estate Co.

Analysis of outcrop of vein, much washed, made
by J. Blodgett Brittain, June 3, 1887, for the fol-
lowing substances only:

Pure metallic Maganese 44.094

•• Silica 12.160

" Pliosphorus 106

140

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Contained of available binoxide of manganese,
53.30.

Analysis of specimen from pocket made bj' same

party on June 22, for the following substances

only:

Pure metallic 3Iangauese .59.840

Sulphur 0.000

Phosphorus 212

Contained of binoxide of manganese, 93.85.

Stillwell & Gladding, chemists of the TS'ew
York Produce Exchange, made the following ana-
lysis on June 0, 1887.

Manganese .56.950

Phosphorus 0.081

Sulphur 0.0.50

Other minerals.

Besides iron, coal, and manganese, the follow-
ing minerals, rocks, and clays are found in the
county: Baryta, used in the manufacture of
mineral paints, is found in different sections of
the county.

Building Stones. Lime rock, in great abund-
ance and easily quarried, blue sandstone of the
prettiest quality, and yellow sandstone in the
greatest quantities.

In addition to the building stones mentioned
we have a marble quarry containing the varie-
gated marble of chocolate color, and of the finest
quality.

Bath brick are also to be found, and they are
unsurpassed.

Kaolin is found within iive miles of the City of
Gadsden, though the mines are undeveloped,
specimens of the finest quality having been ob-
tained from wells dug at different points.

Potters' clay of a very fine quality can be found
almost anywhere in the county.

Beautiful sjiecimens of galena have also been
found, but not in working quantities.

As we have before stated, the extent of these
mineral dejjosits are not known, but in many cases
they are known to be very great.

XII.
FAYETTE COUNTY.

Population: White, 8,873; colored, 1,2G2. Area
C60 square miles. Woodland, all. Coal measure
600 square miles. Generally pine hills, CO square
miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 12,341; in
corn, 2,495; in oats, 3,ii27; in wheat, 4,826; in
rye, 40; in tobacco, 37; in sweet potatoes, 421.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 5,000.

County Seat — Fayette; population, 1,000;
located forty miles from Tuscaloosa, on the Geor-
gia Pacific Railroad.

Newspaper published at the County Seat —
Fayette JournuL

Postoffices in the Countj^ — Ballard, Boley
Springs, Brockton, Buck Snort, Cane, Cave Springs,
Davis Creek, Dublin, Fayette, Froglevel, Glen
Allen, Handy, Julian. Legg, iMont Calm, New
River, Newtonville, Palo, Pilgrim, Ridge, Spen-
cer, Toledo, Wavside, Willingham.

Fayette County lies in the northwestern quarter
of the State, and is surrounded by the counties of
Larmar, Clarion, Walker, Tuscaloosa and Pickens.
Almost the entire area of the county lies in the
famous Warrior coal field, and it is destined in
time to be the center of mining operations second
to no county in the State.

This county was organized in 1824, being creat-
ed out of the territory belonging to the counties of
Tuscaloosa and Marion. General LaFayette, the
French military leader, who espoused the cause of
the struggling colonist during the Revolutionary
War, was at the time of the creation of this coun-
try on a visit to America, and in his honor it was
called Fayette.

Fayette is not, strictly, speaking, an agricul-
tural county, but its soils have proven prolific.

The surface of this county is much broken, and
its soils are jirincipally a broad loam with clay sub-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

141

soil, sandy iiplunds aud creek and river bottoms,
tlie latter being covered with alluvial desposits
which render them exceptionally fertile. The
county is well watered, three rivers coursing
through its borders, viz., Sipsey, Luxapalia and
North. None of these streams are navigable. In
addition to these rivers, the county is watered by
several creeks in all portions, the principal of
which are Lost, Cane, Wolf and Dry.

These water-courses render the valleys through
whicli they tlow very fertile, and the three valleys
named for the three rivers of the county are of the
character and richness of the Tennessee valley.
The crops grown on tJie farms of Fayette County
are corn, cotton, wheat, oats, rye, sorghum, sugar
cane, tobacco, peas and a variety of small articles.
The country is admirably adapted to the culture of
fruit, and on the uplands peaches, pears and ap-
ples yield abundantly, and with a little care the
culture of these articles proves highly remunera-
tive. The farm in Fayette County alTords a good
living, and the people can raise everything neces-
sary to sustain life comfortably on the county's
soil. Considerable attention is now being given
to the subject of stock raising, and, as the results
of experiments in this line become generally known ,

this industry will become one of the prominent
.sources of wealth.

Fayette County need not depend on either agri-
culture or stock raising for a future of greatness.
Its bosom covers a wealth of mineral resources.
The coal supply of the county is practically inex-
haustible, while iron ore of a sujjerior quality of
fineness abounds in limitless quantity. The prox-
imity of these two articles can only result in. the
establishment of works to i^roduce pig iron, and
when this is done the county will enter on an era
of prosjierity which will jilace it in the front rank
of Alabama's progressive counties.

1'he resources of Fayette have remained unde-
veloped for want of facilities of transi)ortation,
but now the (leorgia Pacific Railroad is completed
through it from east to west, and it is thereby
by rendered accessible. Other roads projected,
tiirough the mineral region of Alabama will pene-
trate Fayette, and in the near future its mineral
resources will become as well known as those of
counties which have been more favored in the
matter of transportation facilities.

The health of the county is excellent. The
people "'are law-abiding, industrious, thrifty, hos-
pitable and patriotic.

Xlll.
JEFFERSON COUNTY.

Population: White, 30,000; colored, 15,000.
Area, 9G0 square miles. Woodland, all. Coal
measures, 7C0 square miles; Cahaba fields, i:SO
square miles; \'alley lands, 70 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 15,000; in
corn, :5O,9O0: in oats, 4,500; in wheat, 105,089;
in rye, 83; in tobacco, 55; in sweet potatoes,
504.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 6,000,

County Seat — Hirmingham: jiopulation, 30,0(t0;
at tlie junction of the Louisville & Nashville and
Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Railroads.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Aijc

(Democratic), Evening Chronicle, Herald (Inde-
pendent), Alabama Christian Advocate (Meth-
odist), Alabama Sentinel (Democratic), Prohibit-
ionist (Prohibitionist), Furnace and Factory,
Southern Industries and Planters' Jour naJ (Agri-
cultural).

Postottices in the County — Alice, Argo, Avon-
dale, Ayres, Baylor, Birmingham, Brake, Brevard,
Brock's Gap, Brownsville, Clay, Coalburgli, Dolo-
mite, Earnest, Ezra, Curley's Creek, Ilenryellen,
Huffman, Jonesborough, Leeds, McCalla, Morris,
Mount Pinson, New Castle, Oxmoor, Partridge,
Porter, Pratt Mines, Rasburgh, Rolibin's Cross

142

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Roads, Scrap, Short Creek, Sloss, Toad Yiue,
Trussville, Warrior Station, Wetona, Wheeling,
Woodlawn.

Jefferson County was established in December,
1819. The territory was taken from Blount, and
retains about its original boundaries. It is in the

centre of the State, south of Blount and Walker,
west of Shelby and Saint Clair, north of Shelby,
and east of Tuscaloosa and Walker. The county
was named for Hon. Thomas Jefferson, of Vir-
ginia. [See History of Birmingham, this vol-
ume. 1

XIV.
LAMAR COUNTY.

Population: White, 10,000; colored, 2,000.
Area, 590 square miles. Woodland, all. Gravelly
hills 550; coal lands, 40 square miles.

Acres — In cotton, apjjroximately, 15,245; in
corn, 28,300; in oats, 440; in wheat, 5,630; in rye,
75; in tobacco, 45; in sweet potatoes, 625.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 5,200,

County Seat — Vernon; population, 300; located
28 miles from Columbia, Miss.

Newspaj)ers jniblished at County Seat — Courier
and Lamar News (both Democratic).

Postoffices in the County — Angora, Anro,
Beaverton, Cansler, Detroit, Fernbauk, Gentry,
Hudson, Jewell, Kennedy, Kingville, Millport,
Molloy, Moscow, Pine Sjjrings, Purnell, Vernon.

This county was formed in 1860, and named
Jones; in 1808 the name was changed to that of
Sanford, and in 1877 its present designation was
adopted.

Remote from transportation, the county of
Lamar has been placed at great disadvantage,
uothwithstanding its rich stores of mineral and
the productiveness of its soils.

Like the most of this section of Alabama, the
surface of Lamar is hilly and broken, with many
productive valleys. The soil along the oak up-
lands is superior, while that along the pebbly
ridges is barren. The general character of the
soils of Lamar is that of red loam. The best lands
in the county are those found along the uj^lands,
or table lands, and those alona: the banks of the

streams. But there is a mixture of sand in all the
lands of the county. The soil is easily tilled
under all circumstances.

The chief productions of the county are cotton,
corn, wheat and oats. Nearly, or quite, one-half
of the tilled lauds of Lamar is devoted to the
production of cotton. Grasses grow here sponta-
neously, and afford rich pasturage for stock. Bet-
ter grasses are cultivated, and much attention is
devoted to stock raising, and, with commercial
outlets, this would be one of the chief industries
of the county. The forests of Lamar are heavily
timbered with short-leaf pine, the various species
of oak, hickory, ash, chestnut and sassafras.

The drainage of Lamar is secured through But-
tahatchie River and Luxapalila, Weaver, Coal
Fire and Yellow creeks, all of which have large
branches and tributaries. The river and creeks
are finely suited to machinery, by reason of their
immense water-power.

The mineral products of the county are iron,
coal, and valuable stones for building purposes.

The county now enjoys railroad transportation
since the passage of the Georgia Pacific through
its territory. With the completion of this great
line the county will be speedily appreciated and
developed.

Vernon, Moscow and Millport are towns of
local importance, the first mentioned being the
county seat. Schools and churches are found in
every part of the county.

XV.
LEE COUNTY.

Population: White, 12,-ilT: colored, 15,045.
Area, 010 square miles. Woodland, all. All
nietaniorphic; but the rocks, overabout 250 square
miles in the soutliern jwrt of the county, are
covered witli stratified drift.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 51,889; in
corn, 30,i;i;: in oats, 11,018; in wheat, 8,(j'.):; in
rice, 10; in tobacco, 11; in sugar-cane, 'iOf>: in
sweet potatoes, !)"^5.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, l-t,lS'.i.

County Seat — Opelika; population 4,000; located
on the Western Alabama IJailroad, at the junction
of the Columbus. Western & East Alabama Kail-
road .

Newspapers published at County Seat — Demo-
crat and Rejmhlican. At Lively — Saturdaii Even-
iiKj Xe%v» (Democratic).

I'ostofbces in the County — Auburn. Beulah,
Gold Hill. Halawaka, Lively, Loacliapoka, Jfe-
chanicsville, -Mott's Mill, Opelika. Koxana. Salem,
Smith Station, Wacoocliec, Waverly and Yonges-
borough.

This county, organized in accordance with an
act approved December 15, 1880, was formed from
portions of Chambers, Kussell, Macon and Talla-
poosa Counties, and named in honor of Gen.
liobert E. liCe. It is located in a high and
hcalthfnl section of country in the east-central
l)ortion of the State, and is entirely free from
malaria. The elevation above sea level ranges
from TOO to 850 feet, and the water from wells
and springs is exceptionally fine. The surface
is undulating, and the entire county is well
watered bv creeks and smaller streams which

never fail. The Chattahoochee Kiver forms the
eastern boundary of the county, and is one contin-
uous chain of falls along the entire line, affording
rare facilities for manufacturing enterprises. In
addition to this fine water, the'-e is not a commu-
nity in this county that does not already enjoy the
advantages of water-power grist and flouring mills.

The county is well timbered, principally with
long- and short-leafed pine, though oak, hickory,
j)oplar, ash, maple, walnut, dogwood, the gums
and cherry abound.

There are fine deposits of soapstone, granite
and lime rock in the county, and attention is now
being given to the quarrying of building stone
in the western part of the county, while the
lime works near Yongesboro are making large
quantities of lime for shipments to the markets of
this and adjoining States. Considerable excite-
ment has been caused recently by the discovery of
of large beds of superior soapstone and iron ores
in the vicinity of fiold Hill, an extensively prosper-
ous community in the county, ten miles northwest
of Opelika on the Columbus it Western Kailroad.

Few counties in the State enjoy superior advan-
tages in transportation facilities. Two trunk
lines cross the county, while the East Alabama
llailroad pours into Opelika almost the entire
produce of Chambers and a large amount of that
of Randolph County. The model railroad of the
south, the Western Railroad of Alabama, crosses
the county from west to east, and the Columbus
& Western from southeast to northeast, giving
the county about seventy-five miles of railway.
[See Opelika, this volume.]

-S^^"^-

AUBTJRN.

AiMU'KX, one of the most moral and cultured | road seven miles from Oje'.ika, and sixty miles
communities to be found anywhere, is a town of from .Montgomery. The State Polytechnic Insti-
1,5011 inhabitants situated on the Western Rail- tute and the Agricultural and Mechanical College

14:5

144

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

is located here. Brownsville, Loachapoka, Salem
and Yongesboroiigh are pleasant towns in the
county that enjoy fine railroad and school advan-
tages. The various neighborhoods in the county
have good schools and churches, and new settlers
are accorded hearty welcome.

Land can be had from $2 to $20 per acre.

The valuation of taxable property in Lee County
for the year 1887 is *3,017,!i3S, as shown by the
abstract of assessment filed with the Auditor.

■ ALAB.^MA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE.

In 1862 an act was passed by Congress donating
public lands to the several States and Territories
for the purpose of establishing colleges "for the
liberal and practical education of the industrial
classes." Owing to the demoralization incident
to the civil war, and the subsequent period of re-
construction, this grant, for ten years, was unutil-
ized by the State of Alabama. Finally, in Feb-
ruary, 1872, during the administration of Gov.
R. B. Lindsay, an act Avas passed by the State
Legislature accepting the national grant, and in-
corporating a college pursuant to the Federal act.
The Board of Trustees was immediately appointed,
and by the latter part of Jlarch the college was
organized and in operation.

The proceeds of the sale of the land scrip furnish
the only permanent endowment for strictly col-
legiate purposes. The amount of public land that
fell to the share of Alabama was 240,000 acres,
which realized on sale $2.53,500. The sum is in-
vested in State bonds bearing eight per cent. —
which rate is guaranteed as perpetual — making
the permanent annual income $20,280. About
ninety per cent, of this income is used in the pay-
ment of salaries.

In 1884, the State Legislature appropriated to
the college $30,000, and in 1887 $12,500 more for
technical education. According to an act of
1885, one-third of the net proceeds arising from
the ta.xation of the commercial fertilizers sold in
the State goes to defray tlie expenses of the experi-
mental station. This fund has averaged about
$8,000 per annum. By a recent act Congress has
made an annual appropriation of $15,000 to aid
the experiment station. An annual income of
about $1,500 is derived from the incidental fees.

The Congressional Act forbidding the use of any
of the endowment fund for building purposes, and
the State treasury being dejileted in 1872, the
Legislature was forced to offer the location of the

college to the community making the most liberal
bid in buildings or money. In the village of Au-
burn, in 1858, through the zealous efforts of Rev.
L. B. Glenn, president of their Board of Trustees,
the Methodists of Alabama had erected a hand-
some structure for a college, known as the East
Alabama Male College.

The structure was a handsome brick building
four stories in height, of the Italian school of
architecture. It was one hundred and sixty by
seventy-five feet, containing thirty-eight rooms.
Its erection cost $75,000. Through the generosity
of the Methodist denomination, this commodious
building was proferred the State for the accommo-
dation of the Agricultural and Mechanical College,
and easily won the location over many competitors.
This building, with nearly all its valuable contents,
furniture, laboratories aiul museums, was burned,
June 24, 1887.

The new building, now in process of construc-
tion, will be upon the same basement as the old
building, and will conform, in the main, to the
same proportions, with such changes and modern
improvements as are desirable. It will be an ele-
gant and impressive structure, finished off with
pressed brick, and stone trimmings. The new
chemical laboratory at the north end of the cam-
pus has been recently completed. It is a stately
building sixty by one hundred feet, two stories high,
with a tower, and is of the same finish as the main
building.

Langdon Hall is two-stories high, and is ninety
by fifty feet. The first story is appropriated to
the use of the wood and machine shop of mechanic
arts; the second story is usea as the College
Audience Hall.

To the rear of Langdon Hall stands the boiler
house, and a single story brick building, seventy-
two by thirty-two feet, divided into two rooms
for the forge and foundry departments. The
Chambers residence adjoining the campus has re-
cently been purchased, and furnishes offices and
lecture rooms for some of the officers of the Col-
lege. Ultimately, it will be used as a dormitory.
The college also owns two residences, and several
out buildings on the experiment station farm.

Objects — Faculty — According to the act of
Congress, the leading object of this institution is,
" excluding other classical and scientific studies,
and including military tactics, to teach such
branches of learning as are related to agriculture
and the mechanic arts, in such a manner as the

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

145

Legislature of the State may prescribe, in order to
promote the liberal and practical education of the
industrial classes in the several pursuits and jiro-
fessions of life."

United States Commissioner Eaton says in his
report of 1883: "These colleges seek to educate
for leading industries. They aim also to prepare
by a general education for a share of the govern-
ment of the people." Since its organization in
18T>', the college has kept steadily in view these
main objects. About nineteen-twentieths of the
salaries, and more than this ratio of the e.xpendi-
tures for apparatus, has been in behalf of the
department ever since. Seven of the eight original
claims pertained to a strictly technical college, and
one to the '"classical studies" referred to in the
Act of Congress, The first faculty consisted of
the president, who was also (1) i)rofessor of Politi-
cal Economy and Rhetoric, and professors of (2)
Pure Mathematics. (3) Analytical and Agricul-
tural Chemistry, (4) Natural History and Civil
Engineering, (5) Practical Agriculture and Hor-
ticulture, (<)) Moral Philosophy, and English
Literature, (7) Ancient and Modern Languages,
(S) Military Service and Engineering. With
the e.xcejition of the chair of Ancient Languages,
all of these chairs, bearing some slight modifica-
tion, remain intact. In 1883 Greek was elimin-
ated from the chair of Ancient Languages and
Latin was associated with History. In 188'i, Latin
was combined with English into a chair. In 1884
the Department of Mechanic Arts was established
under an instructor. Tiiere are now also an
adjunct professor of Modern Languages, and two
instructors for the fourth class.

The faculty and officers at present are as follows:
William LeKoy i$roun. M. A., LL. I)., Presi-
dent, and Professor of Physics and Astronomy ;
(•tis D. Smith, .\. M., Professor of Mathematics;
P. H. Mell, .Ir.. M. E.. Ph. I)., Professor of
Natural History and Geology ; James H. Lane,
C. E., A. M., Professor of Civil Engineering and
Drawing: J. S.Newman, Professor of Agriculture
and Director of the Experiment Station : Charles
C.Thach, B. E., Professor of English and Latin ;
N. T. Lupton, A. M., M. D., LL. D., Professor
of (ieneral and Agricultural Chemistry and State
Chemist ; Lieut. M. C. Richards, 'US. Artillery, L'.
S. A. [W'est Point], Commandant and Professor of
Military .Science ; (icorge H. Hryatit, M. E. [Mass.
Institute Technology], Instructor in .Mechanic
Arts: George Petrie, M. A. [University of \'ir-

ginia]. Adjunct Professor of Modern Languages
and History : L. W. Wilkinson, B. Sc, B. S. Bur-
ton, H. Sc, Assistants in the Chemical Laboratory;
C. 11. Ross, B. Sc, V. L. Allen, B. Sc, Assistants
in Mathematics and English; J. II. Drake, M. D.,
Surgeon; C. C. Thach, Recording Secretary; E.
T. Glenn, Treasurer.

Previous to this organization the offices and
chairs were filled as follows: The presidency by
Rev. I. T. Tichenor, D. D. (18:2-8-^) : W.
L. Broun, LL. D., (1882-83): Col. D. F. Bojd,
(1883-84); the Chair of Agriculture by Prof. W.
H. Jemison(18T2); President Tichenor (18:3-78);
Col. W. H. Chambers (1878-83); Prof. W. C.
Stubbs (1881-83); Engineering by Prof. J. B.
Read (1872); Col. R. A. llardaway (1873-81);
Chemistry by Prof. W. C. Stubbs (1872-85); Eng-
lish by Prof. B. B. Russ (1872-78); Prof. G. W.
Maxson (1878-84); Mathematics by Prof. Alex-
ander Hogg (1872-74); Ancient Languages by
Prof. J. T. Dunklin (1872-8G); Natural History
was united with Chemistry until 1S77, when Prof.
E. Q. Thornton was elected (1877) ; Military Science
and Tactics and office of Commandant by Gen. G.
P. Harrison (1872-73). For several years this
chair was filled by the Professor of Engineering; a
United States officer is now detailed to discharge
its duties. Four professors have died while
connected with the institution. Prof. B. B.
Ross in 1878; Prof. E. Q. Thornton in 1878;
Col. W. H. Chambers in 18,s3; Prof. J. T. Dunk-
lin, 1886.

Courses — Studies — Degrees— li the above enu-
meration of departments indicate that the Board
has always addressed itself in good faith to
meet the letter and spirit of the law that requires
the college to teach such branches of learning as
are related to agriculture and the mechanic
arts, equally has the faculty shown itself in
accord with the predominance of the scientific
element by the arrangement of the courses of
instruction. Instruction was at first offered in
four regular courses: (1) Agriculture, (2) Science,
(3) Civil Engineering, (4) Literature. Three of
these, it is seen, were purely scientific; the fourth
one was also well filled with science. The three
first courses have undergone little or no change.
Modern languages were eliminated from them in
l.ss3,and agricultureand science were consolidated,
leaving two courses strictly teclinical. Greek was
eliminated from the literary course, and French
and German were substituted . These three courses

14C

NORTHER aX ALABAMA.

are now known as— (1) Chemistry and Agriculture
(2) Mechanics and Engineering, (3) General
Courses.

Course I. includes theoretical and practical in-
struction in those branches that relate to chemis-
try and agriculture, and is especially adaptetl to
those who propose to devote themselves to agricul-
ture or chemical pursuits.

Course II. includes Ihe principles and applica-
tions of the sciences that directly relate to civil
and mechanical engineering, and is adapted to
those who expect to enter the profession of en-
gineering.

Course III. has been arranged to give a general
and less technical education in subjects of science
and language to meet the wants of those students
who have selected no definite vocation in life, as
well as of those who propose ultimately to engage
in teaching, or in some commercial or manufac-
turing business.

The three courses require four years for gradua-
tion. Tlie first two years' work is substantially
the same for all.

Freshman Year (introductory to ull courses) —
English grammar and the principles of English
composition, history of United States, algebra after
quadratic equations, geometry (six books), physics,
linear drawing and grapliic studies, physiology,
agriculture, mechanic arts (covering a course of
carpentry, turning and pattern-making). In the
general course, Latin (Virgil, Cicero and com-
position) is substituted for physics and physiology.

Sophomore Year (common to all courset) — Khet-
oric, critical study of American poetry, plane and
spherical trigonometry, solid geometry, surveying
and mensuration, general chemistry, theoretical
and practical agriculture, or modern languages
for students who have decided to follow the course
in engineering, drawing in projection, shades and
shadows and jjerspective, mechanic arts (embracing
a course in moulding and casting iron), forge work
in iron and steel, and lectures on the working of
metals. In the general course, Latin (Cicero,
grammar and com]iosition) is substituted for
English.

At the end of the second year the courses di-
verge, and the work in the junior and senior
classes become more special in the several lines
followed.

The studies pursued in common by all mem-
bers of junior and senior classes are: In junior
year — English, history of literature, critical study

of English poetry and prose, elements of criticism,
political economy, physics, rational mechanics,
treated graphically, molecular mechanics, prop-
erties of matter, military science. In senior
year: English criticism continued, pliysics, prac-
tical application of electricity, astronomy and me-
teorology, geology, mineralogy, military science.

I. The special studies pursued in chemistry
and agriculture are: In Junior year — (1) Recita-
tions and lectures in industrial and theoretical
chemistry,qualitative analysis and laboratory prac-
tice; {'I) Theoretical and practical agriculture,
stock-raising and feeding, etc.; (3) Zoology, with
practical laboratory work in the study of insects;
(4) Lectures and analytical laboratory work in bot-
any. In Senior year: (1) Lectures on agricultural
chemistry, including "a thorough discussion of
the origin, composition and classification of soils,
the composition and growth of plants, the sources
of plant food and how obtained, the imj)rovement
of soils, the manufacture and use of fertilizers, the
chemical principles involved in the rotation of
crops, in the feeding of live stock, and m the va-
rious operations carried on by the intelligent and
successful agriculturist" ; (■^) Agriculture, the ob-
jects and results of experiments, proj^agation,
planting, pruning, and cultivation of plants, farm
management and improvement; (3) Zoology con-
tinued.

II. The course in Mechanics and Engineering
embraces the following special studies: In Junior
year — (1) Analytical geometry, descriptive geom-
etry; ("-i) Engineering and laying out curves, lev-
eling, grading, construction of railroads and com-
mon roads, Henck"s Field Book ; (3) Technical
drawing in perspective, shades and shadows, ma-
chines and buildings. In the Senior Y^ear — (1)
Differential and integral calculus, with their prac-
tical application: (".3) Engineering, building ma-
terial, resistance of materials, roofs and bridges,
graphic and mathematical problems in strains,
location and construction of roads, Wheeler's en-
gineering; (3) Technical di'awing in topography
and machines.

III. The general course offers special instruction
in Junior year in: (1) Latin, Tacitus, Horace,
composition; (2) Analytical geometry: (3) French
and German. In Senior year: A full course in
French and German is offered in addition to the
scientific and other studies pursued in common
with the other courses.

In fine, according to President Broun's announce-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

147

mcnt: "The college endeavors to subject each
student under itsintluenoeto the exact and accurate
training of science-discipline, giving prominence
in its instruction to the sciences and their api)lica-
tionssofarasthe facilities at itsdisixisal will permit.

'• The essential discipline obtained by an accn-
arteand critical studyof languages is not neglected.
All students are refpiircd to study the English
language in each course of study for a degree, thus
giving it special prominence. The Latin, French
and German languages are taught, and opportu-
nity for their study is offered to students in any
course. In the general course they are re(|uired
for a degree."

I'ntil 18S3, four (different) degrees were con-
ferred; subsequently only one, Haclielor of Science,
has been conferred. There is a post-graduate
course in Alining Engineering, leading to the de-
gree of M. E. Master of Science and t'ivil Engi-
neer are conferred upon graduates on examination
after at least one year's residence at the college.
Xo honorary degrees are conferred.

Atlinidance — Graduates — The success of the
college on the new line, if not brilliant, was stable.
To be sure, some practical, narrow-minded people
pooh-poohed at book-farming, and lifteen years
ago there was a dearth of technical pursuits in the
South to induce students to pursue technical
courses as a means of securing a sure and ready in-
come.

Farming had not then advanced to the j)oint of
science and protit that it now occupies, and that
enables it to offer such flattering rewanls to young
men who, though without capital, may be
possessed of scientific training. Indeed, none of
those material walks had then been developed that
have since made Alabama the cynosure of the
world, and that have created a demand for skill
in all branches of mechanics. Still, the college
grew. The attendance the first session was 103;
in IKSO it was 2T0. For various causes a jieriodof
de])ression intervened, but for several years past
the attendance has been steadily increasing. The
numbers of students in attendance the last session
lSKO-87 was 18.5. Of these, ten were resident
graduates, 1.'5 seniors. 24 juniors, 5'! sophomores,
'Si freshmen.

The College has given tuition, altogether, to
about 1,G()() students, of whom l.">t) — nearly ten per
cent., the usual rate in. Southern institutions — have
graduated. In the distribution of this jiatronage,
the one classical chair did not. as has been charged

in some quarters, overshadow tiie other five chairs
of science; the sheaves of the three scientific
courses did not make obeisance to the solitary
course, called literary. During the first decade,
according to the records, ninety-four students
graduated as follows : In engineering, 3i!; science,
and agriculture, ■^U; literature, 3'^.

Sixty-jiine of these, about seventy per cent.,
engaged in those ]iursuits, "which," according to
Commissioner Eaton, "the aid given to their
Alma Mater was intended to promote."' Of this
number, 'ii were teachers, \i farmers, 4 manu-
facturers, T civil engineers. T scientists, IT mer-
chants. Several of these young men have taken
leading positions in their j)rofession8. Lai-ge
numbei'S of these graduates began their careers as
teachers, and it is to the credit of the institution
that they have given eminent satisfaction.

No data are available to show the occupation of
those who have graduated during the last five
years. It is to be presumed that the per cent, fol-
lowing technical courses is even higher than the
above exhibit.

Nine-tenths of the 1500 under-graduates are en-
gaged in other than the learned professions, and
iiave carried into their life work all the benefits of
the valuable instruction in science given in the
lower classes.

Pravtiral Work — Eqiiipinent — The Board has,
from the first, done all in its power to develop the
practical work of the college. Its desires and de-
signs have been long thwarted, or at least tram-
meled, by lack of means. It must beborne in mind
that an equipment for technical instruction is ex-
pensive. Some subjects can be successfully taught
in a bare room — some advantage possibly accruing
from a bench and a blackboard. Not so scientific,
technological courses. Plants for jiractical agricul-
ture, for engineering, mechanic arts, physics,
natural histor\' — are all expensive. Not a cent of
the endowment could be touched: for twelve long
years not a dollar did the State appropriate. Only
incidental fees and. at first, tuition were available
for this end. Witii their funds a farm was
purchased, and, at an expense of §2,000, was
stocke<l and jnit in repairs. Though inadequate for
all the i)urposes desired, it sufficed for much valu-
able research under Dr. Tichenor, and Professors
Chambers and Stubbs. A chemical laboratory was
ei|uii)ped. the department of engineering furnished
witii necessary instruments, and even an effort was
made to obtain a slight equijjment for mechanics.

148

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

The impecunious condition of the Board was finally
relieved in 1884 by the State appropiation of §30,-
000. As soon as judicious investigation could be
made of an untried field, the dejiartment of me-
chanic arts was established after the plan of the
leading technical institutions in this country and
Europe; a large farm with proper appliances was
bought, and a thoroughly appointed experiment
station was organized, and all the departments of
science were furnished with the most improved
apparatus for field and laboratory use. Unfortu-
nately, much of this valuable apparatus was de-
stroyed by the recent fire. However, neither the ex-
2")eriment station nor the department of mechanic
arts sustained any injury. By means of the State
appropriation, made in 188", the equipment of
mechanic arts has been completed, and the dejjart-
ments of engineering, natural history, physics, and
chemistry partially rehabilitated after their de-
struction. Laboratory instruction is now offered
in the following departments: Mechanic Arts, Ag-
riculture, Civil Engineering, Technical Draw-
ing, Chemistry, Physics, Natural History. It
may be well to specify the equipments and facili-
ties for instructions in these departments of science
and manual training.

I. Agriculture and Horticulture — The farm
contains 2"-i<! acres, and is supplied with illustrative
specimens of stock of select varieties. By Act of
the Legislature the experiment station for the State
of Alabama is located at Auburn. The Professor
of Agriculture is also Director of the Experiment
Station.

" This public work done at Auburn in behalf of
the agricultural and industrial interests of the
State affords to students an unusual opportunity
to become familiar with its agriculture, its defects
and remedies.

"The Exjjeriment Station is not a model farm;
but a i^lace where experiments and scientific inves-
tigations in agriculture are made, at the public ex-
pense, for the common good, and where the young
men at the college receive instruction in the
methods applied.

" The students of agricultitre accompany the pro-
fessor in the field, garden, conservatory, stock-
yard, etc., where lectures are delivered in presence
of the objects discussed."

All students of the fourth class attend lectures
in this department. Instruction continues through
the third, second and first classes.

II. Mechanic Arts — The laboratory is thor-

oughly equipped in all four departments. The
power for running the apparatus in this department
is derived from a twenty-five horse-power Harris-
Corliss automatic engine, which is supplied with
steam by a thirty horse-power steel horizontal
tubular boiler of most approved design. A Deane
steam pump and a heater for the feed-water form
a part of the steam apparatus.

The equij)ment for the wood-working shop com-
prises the following: 20 double wood-working
benches, each with complete set of carpenters'
tools; 20 turning lathes, 10-inch swing, each with
complete set of tools; 1 double circular saw; 1 band
saw; 1 board planing machine; 1 buzz planer; 3
scroll saws (power); 1 large pattern maker's lathe,
16-inch swing; 1 3G-inch grindstone. In addi-
tion to these, the tool-room is supplied with a
variety of extra hand tools for special work.

The equipment for the foundry consists of
moulding benches for twelve students, each sup-
j^lied with a complete set of moulder's tools; a
14-inch cupola with all modern improvements,
capable of melting 1,000 pounds of iron per
hour ; a brass furnace in which can be melted
100 pounds of brass at a heat, with a set of cruci-
bles, tongs, etc., also a full supply of ladles, large
and small moulding flasks, special tools, etc.
The forge shop equipment consists of twelve
hand forges of new pattern, each with a set of
smith's tools, anvil, etc. The blast for all the
forges is supplied by a No. o Sturtevant steel pres-
sure blower (which also furnishes blast for the
foundry cupola); and a No. lo Sturtevant exhaust
blower draws the smoke from the fires into the
smoke flues and forces it out through the
chimney.

The machine shop is furnished with the fol-
lowing machines and appliances :

Six engine lathes, 14-incli swing and two ditto
IG-inch swing; one speed lathe, one 20-inch drill
press, one post drill jiress, one jslaner, 22x22 in. by
5 ft., one 15-inch shaper, one Universal milling
machine, one corundum tool grinder, one bench
emery grinder. Vise benches for twelve students
are provided; each bench is supplied with vise,
sets of files, chisels, hammers, etc. The tool
room is well supplied with cutting and measuring
tools, shop appliances, etc.

This course is obligatory upon the students of
the three lower classes (fifth, fourth and third.)
For satisfactory reasons a student may be excused
from this laboratorv work by the facultv.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

149

Tlie full work of each class is six hours per week,
ill three exercises of two hours each.

I'resideut liroun says: "The work performed
by the students is as indruclive in character as in
any other college laboratory; the classes are taught
in sections under the supervision of the professor.
There is no attempt to teach students skill in con-
structing s])ecial article^ of commercial value, but
all exercises are systematically arranged and de-
signed for purpo.^es of education. The >rechanic
Ai't Laboratory is used as an auxiliary in indus-
trial education, to instruct in the arts that consti-
tute the foundation of various industrial pursuits,
thus aiding in giving mentally and manually, in
theory and practice, that sound education that
will, in a measure, fpialify a young man to enter
upon some one of the associated industries; that
education wliich comes of training the eye and the
hand as well as the mind, and tends to associate
.skilled manual and mental labor."

III. Civil Eiigiurcring ami DniiciiK/ — This de-
partment, having recently had valuable additions
made to its equijiment, is now well supplied with
instruments, with which all important field work
is taught. All the students in the two lower
college classes are required to take drawing. Well-
lighted drawing rooms are provided with suitable
tables.

IV. Chemisfry — The entire chemical depart-
ment of the college, the professors' lecture-room,
student laboratory. State laboratory, and offices are
situated in the new chemical laboratory building.

This building affords accommodation to sixty
analytical students; and all of its rooms are
furnished with the best of modern appliances for
analyzing, assayiiig — in short, for all fields of ex-
perimental and original work. The student labora-
tory is provided with gas and water, filtering
pumps, analytical balances, and working tables for
each student; indeed, ''it is provided with every-
thing necessary for instruction in chemical manip-
ulation, in the rpialitative and quantitative analy-
sis of soils, fertilizers, minerals, mineral waters,
technical products. It is perfectly equipped for
the special study of practical chemistry." Acourse
of systematic lal)oratory work is carried on in con-
nection with each course of lectures. The labora-
tory is open from !• \. M. to .i v. m., five days in
the week, liy law, the Professor of Chemistry is
also State Chemist. In the State laboratory work
is done for the State Uepartment of Agriculture,
and the Experiment Station. Several hundred

quantitative analyses are annually made of fertil-
izers, soils, and mitierals.

V. Pliysirs — X'aluable additions are constantly
being made to this department. Practical work is
given in the applications of electricity, manipula-
tion of batteries, dynamos, circuit-laving, etc. A
physical laboratory will be equip])ed when tlie new
l)uilding is completed.

VI. Natural History — In the junior class, con-
siderable time is devoted to systematic and struc-
tural botany, and to advanced laboratory work
with the microscope, in the preparation of speci-
mens showing plant structure, sufficient not only
to familiarize the students with the methods of
j)lant building and cellular organizations, but also
to practice them in detecting the various forms of
fungi that are injurious to fruits and vegetables.
A biological laboratory has been fitted up for stu-
dents, provided with excellent microscopes of the
most improved patterns, well-constructed tables,
and all the necessary chemicals for preparing and
mounting vegetable tissues. A dark room is at-
tached to this laboratory for micro-photographic
work.

Adiiiissioji — Expense — Ap})licants for admission
must be of good moral character. To enter the
fourth class the applicant must be not less than
fifteen years of age, and be qualified to pass a sat-
isfactory examination in the following subjects:

I. Geography and history of the United States.

II. English. — (a) An examination upon sen-
tences containing incorrect English, (i) A com-
position giving evidence of satisfactory proficiency
in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and division
into paragra]ihs,

III. Mathematics. — (a) Arithmetic, including
fundamental operations: common and decimal
fractions; denominate numbers: the metric sys-
tem: j>ercentage, including interest and discount;
proportion; extraction of square and cube roots;
(/;) Algebra to quadratic etjuations.

For admission to the fourth class in the general
course a satisfactory examination is also required
in Latin grammar and ('a?sar, four books.

Incidental fee, per half session, is ij:7 50

Library fee, per lialf session 1 00

Siirg(ion's fee, per lialf .session 2 ."lO

Hoard, pernioutli, wilh fuel and liglits $12 to 14 00

These fees are payable, >!ll on matriculation
and >«11 on February 1st. By order of the Hoard,
no fees can be remitted. Tuition is free.

The Colleire has no barracks or dornutories. and

150

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

the students board with the families of the town
of Aubvirn, and thus' enjoy all the protecting and
beneficial influences of the family circle.

By messing, the cost of board has been reduced
by a few students to IsS.SO per month. For stu-
dents entering after January 1st, the fees for half
session only are required.

Any economical student can bring his annual
expenses, including clothing, books, washing,
board and lodging within the limits of %-i.^O.

Experiment Station — On February "24, 1888,
the Board of Trustees organized the Experiment
Station as a department of the College, with the
following corps of officers:

President of the College in charge; Agriculturist
and Director, Chemist and Vice-Director, Physi-
ologist, Botanist, Entomologist and Meteorologist,
First and Second Assistant Chemists, First and
Second Assistant Agriculturist, Assistant Meteor-
ologist.

— — ^-f^J^-^

WM. LeROY BROUN, M. A., LL.D., President
of the Agricultural and Mechanical College, was
born in Loudoun County, Va., in 1827. His
parents were Edwin Conway and Elizabeth Broun,
natives of the same State. His father was of
Scotch ancestry and lived in Virginia up to the time
of his death, in 1840.

The subject of this sketch received his collegiate
education at the University of Virginia, and grad-
uated with the degree of Master of Arts from that
institution in 1850. In 1852 he was elected to
a professorship in a college in Mississippi, and
filled the chair to which he was called, two years.
He was then chosen to the chair of Mathematics in
the University of Georgia, at Athens, and discharg-
ed the functions of that position for two years. In
the year 1857, he organized Bloomfield Academy,
situated near the University of Virginia, and con-
ducted that school until ISGl.

Professor Broun, at this juncture, entered the
Confederate service as a lieutenant of artillery; was
shortly afterward promoted to the rank of lieu-
tenant-colonel in the Ordnance Department, C. S.
A., and was assigned to duty as commandant of
the Richmond Arsenal, over which he exercised
supervision until the war closed.

After the war the University of Georgia, situ-
ated at Athens, elected him Professor of Natui'al
Philosophy; and also, subsequently, President of
the State College of Agriculture and Mechanic

Arts. Professor Broun's connection with this
Seat of learning continued from 186(; until 1875,
when he was elected to fill the chair of Mathe-
matics in Vanderbilt University, at Nashville,
Tenn., where he remained seven years. In 1882,
Dr. Broun was called to the presidency of the
Agricultural and Mechanical College, at Auburn,
which he held one year, .and was then elected
Professor of ^Mathematics in the University of
Texas, at Austin, where he was elected Chair-
man of the Faculty. He resigned in 1884, to
accept, for the second time, the presidency of the
Agricultural and ^lechanical College, in Alabama.
The degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by St.
John's College, Maryland, in 1874.

Dr. Broun, as a gentleman, citizen, soldier,
scholar, and as a man in the broadest sense of the
term, ranks among the foremost of his country and
time. At any eijoch in oir history, he would
have been an ornament to his kind. Especially
to the youth and people of the South is lie endeared
by numberless ties which it were needless and
imj^ossible to enumerate. His example can well
be adopted, by the young men of the country he
has loved so well, as a model. To him do many
of the best young men of the South owe the value
of timely advice and assistance. With his admir-
able qualifications to fill the various positions to
which he has been called, it is in no sense sur-
prising that he is honored among her best and
brightest men.

Dr. Broun was married, in 185'.i, to Miss Sallie,
daughter of George and Mary (Coleman) Flem-
ming, of Hanover County, Va. They have
had seven children born to them, viz.: LeRoy,
Mary, Maud, Bessie, Sallie, George and Katie.

Our subject has been a member of the Episcopal
Church for more than thirty years.

NATHANIEL THOMAS LUPTON, A.M.,M.D.,
LL.D., Chair of Chemistry, Agricultural and
Mechanical College, and State Chemist of Alabama,
was born near Winchester, Va., December 19,
1830. His parents were Xathaniel and Elizabeth
(Hodgson) Lupton, natives of Mrginia and of
English descent.

Dr. Lupton graduated at Dickinson College,
Carlisle, Pa., in the year 1849. Chemistry has
always been a favorite pursuit with him, and con-
sequently, after graduation, he sought to gratify

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

151

his wishes by stiulyiiig tlie subject under the
great Bnnsen, at Heidelberg, (iermany. He
spent two winters there in the ])roseciition of liis
scientific studies, and upon liis return to this
country was well (|uali(ied to deal with scientific
subjects in the departments of chemistry and
geology. He filled the chair of these sciences at
the famous Kandolph-Macon College, Vii-ginia,
from ISoli to 18.j8, and in the following year, up
to and including 1871, a period of twelve years,
discharged the functions of a similar position in
the Southern University at Greensboro, Ala. He
then accepted the presidency and professorship of
chemistry at the State University of Alabama
from 1871 to 1874, when he was called to the
chair of chemistry at Vanderbilt U)iiversity,
Nashville, Tenn., where he renuiined from 18 4
to 1885. In that year he was selected to fill the
chair of Chemistry at the Agricultural and
Mechanical College, where he has since remained.

I'rofessor fAijiton has received ample and
gratifying recognition from his contemporuries
in the world of science, and has sustained many
honorable relations towards different scientific
bodies. He is at present State Chemist of Ala-
bama ; has twice been Vice-President of the
American Scientific Association, and presided
over the section- of chemistry at the meetings
held in the city of Nashville during his residence
there, and at the meeting in Ann Arbor, ^Hch.,
in 1885 ; has been \'ice-I'resident of the American
Chemical Society, and has taken an active and
leading part in the deliberations of many other
scientific bodies. During the war he was Chemist
in the Ordnance Department of the Confederate
(iovernmcnt, with headquarters at Selma.

Thus do we see Professor Lupton, from the time
he returned to America, ins]ured w-ith the instruc-
tions received at the liands of the great Bunsen.
taking an eminent stand in the scientific world,
and in all these years, his career has been but a
succession of triumphs and a recognition of his
great ability. He has sustained the most honor-
able relations to his fellow-num, and, wherever his
lot had been cast, has always moved in the highest
social spheres. While in the lecture room he has
bestowed unlimited benefit upon the many young
men who have been so fortunate as to receive his
instruction.-;, his life has been spent in eminent
usefulness, and to him are many of the young men
of the South indebted for their practical knowl-
edge of the sciences.

Professor Lupton was married in 1854, to Miss
Ella v., daughter of the l{ev. John and Hannah
(Paine) Alleniong, of Frederick County, \'a. To
them three children have been born, viz. : Kate,
who is a regular graduate of the Vanderbilt Uni-
versity, from which she received the degree of
M. A. She afterwards went to Europe, where she
pursued her studies for some time. The other
children are Ella and Frank.

Professor Lupton has been a member of the
.Methodist Flpiscopal Church, South, for many
years. He is now a prominent member of the
church at .\uburn, superintendent of the Sab-
bath-school, and on three different occasions, has
been a lay delegate to the General Conference of
the Southern Methodist Church.

-*"

PATRICK H. MELL, Jr., M.E.. Ph.D., Chair
of Natural History and (ieology. Agricultural and
Mechanical College, was born at Penfield, Ga.,
-May '24, 1850. His parents were Patrick II. and
Lurene (Howard) Mell, natives of that State.

The senior Mr. Mell, was connected with the
University of (ieorgia, at Athens, from 1857 to
1888, and he died in the latter year. He was
Chancellor of that institution from 1878 until the
time of his death. He was well known through-
out the country, and was distinguished as an
educator.

Patrick H. .Mell was educated at the University
of Georgia, graduating in ]S71 with the degree of
Bachelor of Arts. In 187'-i, he graduated in min-
ing and civil engineering, and subsequently
received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. He
was State Chemist of Georgia from 1873 to 1877,
and afterward actively engaged in mining engi-
neering. In the latter calling he was employed
until 1878, when he was elected to the chair of
Natural History and (Jeology at the Alabama Agri-
cultural and Mechanical College, which position he
now fills. He is a member of the American In-
stitute of Mining Engineers, with which he has
been identified as a member since 187'.i, and is also
Director of the Signal Service for tJie State of
Alabama.

Professor Mell was married in June. 1875, to
Miss .\nnie. daugliter of William N. and Hebecca
(Benedict) \\'hite. Mr. White was a noted hor-
ticulturist and agriculturist, and was editor and

152

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

proprietor of the Southern CuUivator up to the
time of his death, in 1807.

Prof. Mell is a member of the Baptist Churcli.

JAMES S. NEWMAN, Professor of Agriculture
of tlie Agricultural and Mechanical College,
Auburn, was born in Orange County, Ya.,
in 18o<;. His parents were James and Mary
(Scott) Newman, natives of the same county and
State. The senior Mr. Newman was a farmer up
to the time of his death, in 1886.

James S. Newman attended the University of
Virginia, where he completed the jDrescribed
course in 1859. He taught school two years, and
in 1801 enlisted as a private in the Confederate
army. He was in active service until 1864, when,
owing to failure of his health, he was discharged.
He farmed for the first two years after leaving the
a.imy; then, at Hancock, Ga., taught a jjrivate
school and filanted until 1875. From here he
accepted a position with the Department of Agri-
culture of Georgia, and remained there until
1883, when he was elected Professor of Agricul-
ture and Director of the Agricultural Experiment
Station of the Agricultural and Mechanical Col-
lege.

He is also director of the Canebrake Agricul-
tural Experiment Station of Alabama, at Union-
town; Vice-President of the American Pomologi-
cal Society, and State Statistical Agent of the
United States Department of Agriculture, and
was for three years President of the State Agri-
cultural Society.

Professor Newman enjoys great distinction on
account of his great ijroficiency as an agriculturist.
His reputation as a writer is co-extensive with the
country on horticultural and agricultural sub-
jects, and his articles are everywhere character-
ized by ability. Whatever subject in his chosen
field of thought he may select for discussion or
elucidation, bears the impress of deep and careful
thought, and his opinion on all matters pertaining
to his profession is accepted as authority.

Prof essor Newman was married, in 1863, to Miss
Elberta, daughter of Elbert and Eliza Lewis, of
Macon County, Ga. To this union five children
have been born: CliSord L., Assistant Professor
of Agriculture and Natural History in the Univer-
sity of Tennessee, at Knoxville; Wilson H., As-
sistant Agriculturist of the Experiment Station at

the Agricultural and Mechanical College, this
State; Mary S., Alba and Charles C.

The Professor and family are communicants of
the Episcopal Church.

CHARLES C. TRACK, B.E., Chair of Eng-
lisli and Latin, Agricultural and Mechanical
College, Auburn, Ala., was born at Athens, this
State, in 1860. His parents were Robert H. and
Eliza (Coleman) Thach, natives of Alabama. The
senior Mr. Thach was a practicing lawyer for many
years at Athens, and died there in 1866.

Charles C. Thach received his education at the
State Agricultural, and Mechanical College, Au-
burn, and Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,
Md. Mr. Thach began teaching at Hopkinsville,
Ky., in the High School, in 1877, where he re-
mained one year, and in ls78 was elected to the
position of assistant professor in the preparatory
department of the Agricultural and Jlechanical
College at Auburn. He was elected principal of
that department in 1879. In the session of
1880-81 he attended lectures at the Johns Hop-
kins University, Baltimore. The following year,
1881, he was chosen to fill the chair of Modern
Languages in a college conducted under the aus-
pices of the Presbyterian Church at Austin, Tex.
In 188"2 he was elected Adjunct Professor of Lan-
guages in the Agricultural and Mechanical Col-
lege at Auburn; in 1884 he filled the chair of
English and Modern Languages, and in 1886 was
chosen to his present position.

Professor Thach is one among the youngest of
the Faculty of Auburn, and among the youngest
educators in the State, and yet the mantle of
learning has never fallen on more worthy shoulders.
There are few men who possess the varied attain-
ments of our subject, due not less to his natural
capacity, the innate power of mind, than to
earnest, jiersevering and well-directed industry in
the acquisition of that priceless treasure, know-
ledge. He justly ranks among the brilliant men
of the State.

Professor Thach was married in November, 1886,
to Miss Nellie S.. daughter of Professor Otis D.
Smith, of the Agricultural and Mechanical Col-
lege, at Auburn. Their union has been blessed
with one child, Elizabeth.

The family are members of the ilethodist Epis-
copal Church, South.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

153

[Professor Tluich is the author of tlie chapter
on the Agricultural ami Mechanical College, tiiis
volume, the only complete history of that insti-
tution ever pnlilished. A perusal of it will repay
the reader. — Kn.]

JAMES H. LANE, was born in 18:i:J, in Mat-
thews t'cumty, Va., anil his parents were Walter
(i .and Mary A. II. (Barkwell) Lane, of that State.
The elder Mr. Lane was a merchant at Matthews
Court House, where he died in 18GS.

.Tames H. Lane was educated at the Virginia
Military Institute, and at the University of Vir-
ginia. He graduated with honors at the former
in 18.">4, and in the scientific course at the latter
in 1857. His first appointment was on the hydro-
graphic survey of York River. He was then ap-
pointed assistant professor in the Virginia Mili-
tary Institute, where he remained one year. From
there, he went to Floriila as professor of Mathe-
matics ami Instructor of Tactics in the State Sem-
inary at Tallahasse, and after one year's connec-
tion with that institution, was elected Professor
of Natural Philosophy and Instructor of Tactics
ill the North Carolina Military Institute, at Clhar-
lotte.

Professor Lane remained at tlie Xoith Carolina
Military Institute until 1861, when he entered the
Confederate service as Adjutant of the first Camp
of Instruction at llaleigh. From major, he was
promoted lieutenant-colonel of the First North
Carolina Volunteers, and later, colonel of the
Twenty-eighth North Carolina Tioojis. In
18(;2 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-
general.

(ieiieral Lane saw service at the fiont in the Army
of Northern Virginia through the entire war, and
won that distinction which is only accorded to the
Ijrave. chivalrous, intrepid, sagacious and heroic.
He was, in the best acceptation of the word, a mar-
tial spirit, and all over the South there are many
who will bear testimony to his faithful record as a
soldier and oHicer. He was not one who ordered his

men where he himself was not willing to go ; and
those that served under him, jjlace him among the
•'truest of the true," and the " bravest of the
brave," He, therefore, is one of the soldiers who
retired to the peaceful walks of life with a military
record upon which there is no stigma and whose
escutcheon is untarnished. In peace he has proved
himself as worthy as he did in war.

After the surrender (ieneral Lane taught pri-
vate schools in North Carolina and Richmond,
Va., a short time, and for eight years thereafter
acted in the dual capacity of Professor of Natural
Philosophy and Commandant of Cadets at the Ag-
ricultural and JMechanieal College at Blacksburg,
Va. In 1880 taught a private school in Wilming-
ton, N. C. ; in the following year was called to the
chair of Mathematics in the School of Mines and
Metallurgy of the State University of Missouri;
in the succeeding year was called to Richmond,
Va., to take charge of the Virginia Mining and
Manufacturing Company, where, their property
being destroyed by fire before their works were
put in operation, he had no opportunity of
showing his fitness for that department of active
industrial life. He was too well known, how-
ever, to be left long without offers, and it was
reserved for the Agricultural and Mechanical Col-
lege of this State to exhibit its knowledge of the
fitness of men by selecting him to fill the chair of
Eiigineeriug and Drawing, and to discharge the
duties of Commandant of the Corps of Cadets of
that institution. He still fills the position of pro-
fessor of Civil Engineering and Drawing and the
board of trustees have had no occasion to regret
their choice. He has cast in his lot with the
peo])le of Alabama, and has shown his determin-
ation to identify himself with this State by pur-
chasing property in the town of Auburn.

General Lane was married in 18G9 to Miss
Charlotte, daughter of Benjamin L. and Jane E.
Meade, of \'irginia, and to them four daughters
have been born, viz.: Lidie II., Mary B., KateM.,
and Lottie E.

The family are communicants of the Episcopal
Church.

XVI.
MARION COUNTY.

Po^julation: White, 8,841; colored, 5'i3. Area,
810 square miles. Woodland, all. Coal measures,
660 square miles. Gravelly aud pine hills, 150
square miles.

Acres.— In cotton (apiDroximately), 7,260; in
corn, 21,835; in -oats, 2,321; in wheat, 3,925: iu
tobacco, 44; iu sugar-cane, 15; in sweet potatoes,
47r.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 3,240.

County Seat — Hamilton; population, 225; on
Buttahatchee Kiver, 45 miles from Aberdeen,
Miss.

Newspaper published at County Seat — Mario)i
Herald.

Postoffices in the Count}' — Allen's Factory,
Allhill, Barnesville, Bexar, Bull Mountain, Can-
dle, Chalk Bluff, Gold Mine, Hackleburgh, Haleys,
Hall's ilills, HamiUon, Hodges, Ireland Hill,
Pearce's Mills, Pikeville, Shottsville, Texas, Thorn
Hill, Ur, Young. •

Marion County was created in 1818, and was
named for Gen. Francis Marion, the celebrated
South Carolina soldier, whose brave deeds and
the sore privations he endured during the Revo-
lutionary War endeared his memory to every
American heart. This county forms a portion
of the Warrior coal field, and as such it is rapidly
coming into prominence. [See part I. this vol-
ume.]

XVII.
RANDOLPH COUNTY.

Population: White, 13,155; colored, 3,420
Area, 610 square miles ; Woodland all. All meta-
morphic.

Acres — In cotton (approximately). 23, ITT ; in
corn, 29,595 ; in oats, 4,850 ; in wheat, 10,156 ; in
tobacco, 44 ; in sweet potatoes, 433.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, T,500.

County Seat — Wedowee ; population 300. lias
fine water jiower and mineral deposits.

Newspaper published at County Seat — Observer
(Republican).

Postoffices in the County — Almond, Blake's
Ferry, Christiana, Corn House, Dingier, Gaj',
Graham, Handley, Haywood, High Shoals, La-
mar, Level Road, Louina, Miluer, Omaha. Roan-

oke, Rock Dale, Rock Mills, Sewell, Wedowee,
Wehadkee, Wild wood.

The county of Randolph was created in 1832,
and named for the famous John Randolph, of Vir-
ginia. Its natural advantages are, in a great
many respects, superior. Its climate salubrious,
lands good, tone of society elevated, and health
unsurpassed.

During the census of 1880 the census official
reudered in his report at Washington only to have
it returned to him for correction, the Washington
official declaring the death rate to be too small to
be true. But the original rsport was returned to
Washington unchanged, as no error had been com-
mitted.

154

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

155

The soils of Kaiidolph are of average fertility,
and on account of deep clay subsoil and abundant
rainfall, are quite reliable for agricultural pur-
jioses. Xot more tlian one-fourth of the mag-
nificent forests of Randolph have been cleared,
and the fine pine timber here will one day be a
feature in itself. The lands are easily worked and
j)roduee remarkably well. All the crops that are
congenial to the southern climate grow their best
here. Fruit-gnnving is gradually expanding, and
bids fair ere long to rival all other industries.
There has been only one failure of the peach crop
in thirty-five years, and the apple crop never fails.
The farmers produce nearly everything they
use at home, and are, as a general tiling, well-
to-do.

Like other counties, the absence of railroad
transportation has prevented much attention be-
ing given to the minerals of Randolph, but this
want is now being supplied. The Kast Alabama
Railway has been extended to Roanoke, in the
southern portion of the county, and will soon be
completed to Anniston, running right through
the centre of the county, and will open up some
of the finest timber and mineral lands in the
State.

In gold, copper, mica, tin, graphite, kaolin and
iron, Randolph is doubtless one of the richest
counties in the State. All these abound in the
northern portion of the county. The kaolin is
of .<upcrior quality and is inexhaustible. More

than one mine is now being worked to ad-
vantage.

There is scarcely a square forty acres of land in
the county that is not penetrated by a rivulet,
creek or river. The Tallapoosa and Little Talla-
poosa rivers run through the county, and have
some of the finest shoals on them that nature has
ever formed. There will be large cotton factories
run by them some time in the near future. As
for creeks, Randolph has almost a superfluity of
them. There are eight flour and grist-mills turned
by the waters of Wedowee Creek. Randolph has
the purest and coldest freestone water in the world,
and that in abundance. This accounts for the
wonderful health enjoyed here.

Wedowee, situated as it is, in rich mineral beds
of kaolin and mica, will one day be a large and
prosperous city. Leaving out the minerals, the
large pine forests that extend for miles and miles
around it in every direction will one day make it
an interesting town. Brockville, in the north-
eastern portion of the county, has a fine school,
and is building up rapidly.

J?ock Mills and Roanoke, in the southern por-
tion, are also points of interest. Rock Mills has
a cotton factory, a tannery, pottery and cabinet
establishment, and a fine school also. Roanoke
has lately arrived at the importance of being the
only railroad station in the county, and will doubt-
less be a flourishing village. There is a flourishing
and well-established collcsje there.

XVIII.
ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

Population: White, 13,500; colored, :i,500.
Area, 030 square miles. Woodland, all. Coosa
and Cahaba Valley lands, 430. Coal measures,
etc., 2,000 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), l-i,7oO; in
corn, •->5,450; in oats, 4,603; in wheat, 9,840; in
tobacco, 50; in sweet potatoes, 230.

Api3roximate number of bales of cotton, (i,500.

County Seat — Ashville; population '^50; on the
Alabama & Great Southern Railroad, forty miles
northeast of Birmingham, Ala.

Newspaper published in the county — Soulhern
JEgis (Democratic).

Postottices in the County — Alluxla, Ashville,
Beaver Valley, Branchville, Broken Arrow, Cald-
well, Cook's Springs, Cornelia, Cropwell, Eason-
ville, Eden, Fairview, Greensport, Kelley's Creek,
Lochthree, Moody, Odenville, Poe, Riverside,
Round Pond, Seddon, Slate, Springville, Steel's
Depot, Trout Creek, Whitney, Wolf Creek.

St. Clair County was founded in 1818. Quite
a number of aborigines i-oamed over its soil, or
still occupied its territory then, and among the
old records are found deeds of land from the
Indians to the white settlers. While the county's
resources are just coming into notice, its histori-
cal character, coincident with that of the State of
whose territory it forms a part, has been known
ever since its creation. It is the only county in
the State, mentioned by name in Chambers' Uni-
versal Knowledge — it is, the OTily one that has
furnished more than one Governor for its own and
other States.

Its soil is memorable as a part of the Jack-
son campaign in the War of 1813 against the
Muscogees, which aboriginal commune were the
natives of this county at that time. There are still
trace of the encampments and defenses of the mili-
tary, as well as many evidences of Indian settle-
ments in various parts of the county. Besides the
Indian town Litafutchee, once situated not far
from where the county seat is now located, is a
relic of the ancient empire of the Red Man's

dominion here, preserved on the pages of our
State History.

The northwestern boundary of the county i3
Blount Mountain, a spur of the great Sand Ridge.
In the same corner is Chandler's Mountain. The
table lands of those elevations are noted for fruit
culture, and no better conditions exist for sheep
raising. Besides the level plateaus are submissive
to agricultural life, and in this jiarticular, owing
to the fertility of the soil, are very productive, and
can be made very profitable. For health and en-
joyment no more desirable locations can be found
in the South. The mineral character of those
mountains is well known — coal, lime and iron are
found in jDlaces, with excellent rock, while timber
is abundant.

But the principal coal beds of the county lie
south in the neighborhood of Broken Arrow, and
along the East & West Railroad. Here, owing
to the peculiar formation of hills and small valleys,
between the ridges the soil is even more diversified
than in the northern jiart of the county — the
country around is broken, undulating, and the
ridges narrower and less steep than further north.
The surface features are just such as one would
naturally expect in a section of mineral character-
istics varied by agricultural pursuits.

While the recent industrial progress has not
concentrated at one point or centre in the county,
so to speak, the effect of general material devel-
opment all over its territory has been very marked
in the improved condition of society, and is visi-
ble in the numerous thriving and enterprising^
communities sjjringing up in all directions. New,
Broken Arrow, Fairview, Ragland, River Side, Sed-
den. Pell City etc., are familiar names in the news-
pajjers. The lumber business along the railroads,
rivers and large creeks has increased to immense
proportions, within a few months.

Six years ago only one railroad passed through
the county near its western boundary. Now, be-
sides the Alabama Great Southern — a link of the
great trunk line of the Cincinnati Southern — thft

156

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

157

Georgia Pacific traverses oiif territory south, and
the East & West pierces the very heart of the
coal and iron region,, giving life and vigor to hun-
dreds of before latent industrial operations. Other
railroads are projected into the county and still
others are in view. St. Clair lies directly on the
line of the great railroad belt through the mineral
and timber regions of the south to the (iulf. aiul
on the East «& AVest line from the Atlantic coast
to the pojjulous Mississippi regions of teeming
wealth and progress. It is probable that both
Anniston and Birmingham will be compelled to
draw from the natural resources of tliis county.
Unfortunately for the latter city, neither of the
great lines of railroad mentioned pass through the
sections of our territory that would give it the
greatest advantages by opening roads to the great
wealth stored away in our hills and forests. Hut
it will be seen that the advantages to travel and
shipping afforded by transportation lines in this
county are almost equal, if not entirely so, to the
best in the State, and they are sure in a short time
to be unsurpassed in the South.

(Juitc recently several mining and improvenient
companies have been incorporated to ojierate in
in this county. These have invested largely in
mineral lands, and sooner or later a greater indus-
trial era will begin here. Active operations, in
this respect, are secured by the amount of capital
already scattered among the land owners of the
county.

The agricultural ijrospects of the county are in
a flattering condition, and the farmers have not
been so generally in a better financial condition,
since the war. The products of the soil are cotton,
Irish and sweet potatoes, with all the cereals of a
temperate climate. Potatoes of both kinds grow
abundantly. The sorghum crop seldom fails, and
the syrup manufactured from this cane is much
superior usually to the grades of syrups shipped
to our local markets. This county will produce a
finer te.xture of cotton and more to the acre on an
average, with care and attention to cultivation,
than can be produced elsewhere in the State. Corn
can be raised in greater abundance than in the
corn growing States with proi)er cultivation — the
soil seems, adapted naturally to this cereal growth,
if planted early, but the crop is too generally left
to take care of itself when it needs most attention.

Lands are remarkably cheap, but this will not
be long the case. Grasses and clover grow lu.\ur-
iantlv. though little or no cu+tivation is given to

such crops, the soil naturally producing grasses
enough for home purjjoses without culture. The
dew, black and huckle-berries grow abundantly,
while the raspberries and strawberries can be cul-
tivated to great advantage.

The local educational advantages can hardly be
e.xcelled anywhere, as the people are paying great
attention at this time to literary and business cul-
ture. Every community has its local school, and
new school buildings are going up where they are
needed. The same progress is making in religious
and moral culture. In this respect St. Clair's his-
tory of late has been remarkable, from the new
places where public works have been going on.
The county is almost free from criminals or law
violators. Even the new-comers, if wild and reck-
less wheu they come here, soon adapt themselves
to the quiet, peaceful habits of the old element of
our society.

The valuation of taxable property in St. Clair
county for the year 1887 is S:^, 403, 230, as shown
by the abstract of assessment filed with the audi-
tor.

JAMES T. GREENE. Probate Judge of St.
Clair County, was born in 1841). The father of
the subject of our sketch came to this country
from Ireland at an early period, and was one of
the first settlers in St. Clair County. His mother,
Elizabeth Thoniasoii, was a native of Alabama.
Her brother, John I. Thomason, was Probate
Judge of St. Clair County from 184i; to 185U. He
was a public-spirited man, and took part in the
incorporation of the Alabama Great Southern
Kailroad Company.

The early educational advantages of our subject
were very meager, and his literary attainments are
entirely the results of his own efforts. He at-
tended the country schools at his home, and, after
leaving them, commenced reading law in 1871, at
Ashville. He was admitted to the bar in 187"2,
and during the same year was appointed Register
in Chancery, in which position he remained until
1880.

In 1S7(), when Judge L. F. Box, now Circuit
Judge, wa.s State Superintendent of Education,
James T. Greene was chief clerk in his office at
Montgomery throughout two terms, and while
ho'ding such position he, of course, became widely
known in this State.

.lames T. (ireene was elected in 18s4 to rejire-

158

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

sent St. Clair County in the Legislature, and while |
in that body was Chairman of the Committee on
Education. Prior to this time Judge Greene had
been identified with his party in some of its most
important councils, and from IST-i to 1870 was
Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee
of St. Clair County. In 1887 he was appointed
Probate Judge, and is still holding that jiosition.

Among other interesting facts before us, in the
life of our subject may be mentioned his intense
love of country at a time in life when we are not
expected to show much appreciation of such things.
He enlisted in the Confederate Army at the youth-
ful age of thirteen years, and while the spirit was
willing, the strength was not proportioned to its
demands, and on account of ill health he was com-
pelled to leave the service.

Judge Greene is a member of the Masonic fra-
ternity, and was for some time W. M. of the lodge
at Ashville.

In 1873, our subject was married to Miss Mag-
gie Ashley, of Ashville. To this union have been
born five children, one of whom was recently taken
from them by a dreadful accident. The following
touching notices of the sad occurrence is copied
from recent publications:

"IX MEMORIAM."
OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOII OF HEAVEN.

Postelle Greene, born August 27th, 188"^, died
in the afternoon of March 14, 1888, from the effects
of burns received while popping corn with her
little sisters few hours before. Her sufferings, at
first intense, were soon greatly relieved, and her
last hours were calm and peaceful. The untold
anguish of the fond parents was shared by the
community, and all that tender, loving hands
could do was done. The deceased was an unusually
attractive child. From infancy the jjet of the
household, the darling of all, her bright, winsome
beauty and artless loving manner, found their
way like a sunbeam, to every heart. She retained
entire consciousness until the sad end came, speak-
ing brightly and pleasantly to her many grief-
stricken friends who crowded around her bedside,
calling them by name, aud manifesting a courage
and bravery wonderful to see. Her bright little
spirit passed away from this to a heavenly home,
where, safe in " the Lord Christ's bosom," she
awaits the coming of papa, mamma, brother and
sisters at the '•beautiful gates ajar" — not alone,
but hand in hand with a cherub brother gone be-

fore. Just before her death she exclaimed,
"Everything looks golden."

Perchance a gleam from the golden splendor
"beyond" lit up her passage across the dark
stream. ■' I am trying, but can not see you, papa,"
were the last words she uttered. Then sweetly
she fell asleep; as sweetly and calmly as the flower
at evening closes its petals at the kiss of the dew-
drop.

" She is not dead, but sleepelb."'

Our associations with our little friend, now a
'• little white angel in Heaven," will ever be a
bright spot in memory's waste. Lovingly wo will
cherish them, and indulge the fond hojie that we

may

"Meet beyond the river,
Where the surges cease to roll."

In the hour of deep affliction consolations are
not of this world — the balm for the wound must
come from a higher source. May "a glimmer of
light in the darkness " penetrate the deep anguish
of the distressed household."

It is with most profound sorrow we learned this
morning of the death of little Postelle, daughter
Judge and Jlrs. Jas. T. Greene, of Ashville, St.
Clair County, Ala., Little Postelle, the idolized
and beloved child, was six years old, and as beauti-
ful as the fairest dream, and endowed with so
lovely a disposition that, though in the very per-
fection of health, the impress of heaven seemed
placed upon her angelic face. While playing
around the fire with her sisters, her mother left
the room for a few moments and returned to find
her child mangled by the flames. She died in a
short time and has

" Gone to the land of life and love,
She whom we loved,

Risen to mansions fair and bright,

Dwelling ia God's eternal sight,

She whom we held so dear — so dear."

Judge and Mrs. Greene have a large circle of
friends in Montgomery and over the State, who
sympathize with them in their hour of sorrow,
and rejoice in the one comforting thought that
their darling is safe in the hands of Jesus " wait-
ing and watching at the beautiful gate" her loved
ones to meet."

JOHN W. INZER, Attorney-at-law, Ashville,
was born in Gwinnett County, Ga., in 1834, and
lived there until he had nearly attained his

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

159

majority. lie attended the commoTi schools of his
iieigliborhood, and "Gwinnett Labor School,"
near Lawrenceville, Ga., where he received tlie
greater part of his education.

lie read hiw with .Morgan & Walker, of Talhi-
doga, was admitted to the bar in that city in -May,
1S5."), and at Ashville began the practice of his
profession. He was appointed Probate Judge of
St. Chiir County in 18.")9, and held the office
eleven months.

,Iudge Inzer was the youngest member of the
Secession Convention of 18(!1, and voted against
the ordinance; but after it was passed he signed
and supported it to the best of his ability. After
the war. Governor Parsons appoiiited him Probate
Judge of his county. He held the office only for
a short time, when he resigned. In I8Ij6 he was
elected to that office and held it until removed by
the reconstruction. In 1874 he was elected to
the State Senate, and remained in that body two
years. In August, 187.5, he was elected delegate
to the Constitutional Convention, in the labors of
which he took an active part. Since that time he
has been engaged at the law — his practice extend-
ing throughout the State. He has never been an
office-seeker nor-jilace hunter, and has not been a
candidate since 18;. 5.

When the war broke out Judge Inzer was in
feeble health: nevertheless he entered the army in
18111 as a member of the Xinth Alabama Hattal-
lion of Infantry. In 18i;"2 he was transferred to
the Eighteenth Infantry, and in February, 18G3,
the Xinth IJattallion being reorganized, he again
became a member of that command, held the
rank of captain one week, and was promoted
to the office of major of the battalion, Itush
Jones being its colonel. In July the X^inth Bat-
tallion became tiie Fifty-eighth Alabama Regi-
ment, and Inzer was made lieutemmt-colonel.
During the war he was engaged in many battles,
among which were Sliiloh, Corinth, Chickamauga,
Lookout .Mountain, Missionary Kidge and others.
He was eajnured on Xovember 2.5, 1863, at Mis-
sionary Kidge and carried to Johnson's Island,
where he was kept in confinement until the close
of the war. Until he was captured, his regiment
never went into battle without him.

The Judge's grandfather, John Inzer, was an
Englishman, and a soldier in the Colonial Army
during the Revolutionary War. (He afterward
settled in .Maryland, and later on emigrated to
North Carolina). His maternal grandfather,

John Reid, was an Irishman ; he too was a

Revolutionary soldier. Our subject's father, Rev.
Henry White Inzer, a minister of the Baptist
Church, was a native of Xorth Carolina; removed
thence to Georgia when a young man, and was
there married to Miss Phebe II. Reid. He served
as a captain in the Florida War, and in 18.54 immi-
grated to Alabama, settling in St. Clair County,
where he died April 25, 1881. His mother was
born and raised in Xorth Carolina. She is now
living with Judge Inzer, her only son.

Judge Inzer was married in ISii'i, to Miss Sallie
E. Pope, of Columbiana, a daughter of Capt.
Wiley H. Pope, late of the Twenty-fifth Alabama
Regiment, and afterward Clerk of the Circuit
Court of Shelby County.

Judge and Mrs. Inzer have three children, two
daughters and one son. The family are members
of the Baptist Church, and the Judge is a Royal
Arch ^lason and Past Master of the Lodge.

-♦-

-^-

JOHN B. BASS, M. D., was born in Jefferson
County, Ala., January T, 184.5, and was educated
partly at Ruliama (now East Lake). His first
medical course was at the L'niversity of Virginia,
in 1809 where he graduated in medicil jurispru-
dence, and afterward took a ditiloma as JI. D. at
AVashington University, Baltimore, February 'li,
1870. He came to Ashville in 1870, began the
practice of his profession, and has remained
here until the present time.

Di-. Bass' grand father, Burrell Bass, was of Eng-
lish descent. He served in the Revolutionary
War, migrated from X'orth Carolina to Alabama
about 1813, and settled near where now stands the
city of Birmingham when Alabama was yet a
Territory. The Doctor's maternal grandparents
were of Irish lineage, and came from South
Carolina to Tennessee, and thence to Alabama the
same year.

Dr. Bass' great-grandfather Bass was in the
Revolutionary War. The Doctor's father, Andrew
Bass, lived on a farm near Birmingham until the
time of his death, in 1854. He served in the
Confederate Army as a member of Company
B, Second Engineer Corps, and operated with
Gen. Leonidas Polk, anil later in the Army of
the Tennessee.

160

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Dr. Bass was married in February, 1875, to
Miss Annie E. Gunn, of Georgia. Tliey have but
one child, Hershel W. Bass.

The Doctor lias eschewed politics, devotes his

time exclusively to his profession, and has held
every official position in the Saint Clair County
Medical Society. He stands at the head of the
profession in his county.

XIX.
SHELBY COUNTY.

Population : White, l-.^SOO ; colored, 4,500.
Area, 780 square miles. Woodland, all. Valley
lands and coal fields, 780 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 17,900; in
corn, 26,170; in oats, 4,765; in wheat, (;,2!i5; in
tobacco, 10; in sweet potatoes, 350.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 0,750.

County Seat — Columbiana; population, 600; lo-
cated 73 miles northeast of Selma, Ala., on East
Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad.

Newspaper published at County Seat — Shelby
Chronicle (Democrat). At Calera Shelbtj Sentinel,
Democrat, and AUiniice-Netrs.

Postoffices in the County — Aldrich, Bridgeton,
Calera, Cobb, Cohanbiana, Ilarpersville, Helena,
Highland, Hot Spur, Knight, Lewis, Longview,
Montevallo, Pelham, Shelby Iron Works, Siluria,
Spradley, Sterrett, Weldon, Wilsonville.

The county of Shelby was constituted in the
year 1819. It received its name from Governor
Isaac Shelby, of Kentucky. It is highly favored
in location, wealth and mineral wealth. It is
justly ranked one of the best counties of the
State. Of late, rapid strides have been made in
Shelby County in the development of her mineral
wealth. Large interests of many kinds have been
established and are in a thriving condition.

The general surface of the county is hilly
and rough — features inseparable from a mineral
district. Still, there are many valuable lands for
agricultural purposes to be found. The north-
western portion of the county is formed by the
coal measures of the famous Cahaba coal field; the
central portion by those of the Coosa coal field.
Lying between these two natural divisions is the

Valley of the Coosa. Alo7ig these coal measures is
to be found the usual rugged surface, and the soil
is of a sandy character, and not very fertile. The
Coosa Valley, which extends the distance of thirty
miles through the county, is based upon mountain
limestone. It varies in width from two to eight
miles. The lower valley lands, formed of lime,
clay, and vegetable matter, are' quite fertile; the
higher lands, of gravel and clay, are of inferior
character. The lands in the valleys are deemed
altogether as good as those found in the famous
Valley of the Tennessee. Corn and cotton grow
luxuriantly here, and the yield, under favorable
circumstances, is immense. In addition to these
Shelby produces oats, wheat, rye, barley, and
indeed all crops grown in this latitude. Some
portions of the valley are peculiarly adapted to
stock raising. This is especially true of the region
lying west of the valley alread_y described.

On the western boundary of the county is the
Cahaba Valley, the width of which varies as does
that of the Coosa on the east. The characteristics
of the soil are the same as in the valley first men-
tioned — fertile in the bottoms, and thin and
gravelly upon the high lands.

The conditions in many j)ortions of Shelby are
quite favorable to the production of fruit, and
orchard culture is receiving, by degrees, more atten-
tion.

The prevailing timbers are hickory, oak, chest-
nut, mulberry and pine. Along the numerous
valleys that intersect each other throughout the
county is to be found the short-leaf pine; while
the knolls and the uj^lands are crowned with
the long-leaf pine. During the greater part of the

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

161

year water prevails in great abundanfc in every
section of the county.

The Coosa river forms tlic eastern bonntlary, an<l
receives the drainage of that portion of Shelby.
Hig and Little (.'alKil)a rivers drain the western
j.art.

Springs abound throughout the county. Issu-
ing from beneath june-crowned ridges that lie be-
tween the minor intersecting valleys, or else burst-
ing from thousands of craggy mouths from the
rocky hillsides, these springs flow down through
the valleys in perennial streams, supplying water
in richest abundance to man iind beast.

But the peculiar glory of Shelby is her l)road
domain of coal and iron, her vast treasures of stone,
marble and timber, and her health-giving mineral
waters.

Extensive manufactories of iron exist at
the Shelby Iron Works, which have been in suc-
sessful operation for thirty years, and at Helena,
where are located the Central Iron \\'orks. In
addition to these interests are found the Helena
coal mines, and the Montevallo coal mines. Fur-
thermore there are considerable lime-works at
Calera, Siluria, and J^ongview, in the county.
Some of these furnish lime as far south as Galves-
ton, and as far north as Louisville and Cairo. Saw-
mills are also numerous. '

In some of the Liniestor.e formations are to be i
found as superb building stone as exists in any
quarter of the globe. Among these may be men-
tioned a light grayish-blue rock, dotted over with
dark spots, black marble, yellow marble with black
spots, gray and dove-colored marbles. These are
very durable, and serve admirably as ornamental
building material. In the mountains between the
ujiper jjortion of Shelby and the St. Clair portion
of the Cahaba valley, there is, in wonderful abuiul-
ance. a beautiful sand-stone that would serve for
building purposes. Harytes and slate also exist.

Just above Calera. on the East Tennessee. Vir-
ginia & Georgia Railroad are the Shelby S|irings,
a favorite watering resort. The location is liigh
and healthful, and the waters have valuable medici-
nal jiropcrties. At Helena and .also near Bridegton
there are valuable mineral springs.

The advantages of transportation are excellent
in this county. At Calera, tliere is an intersec-
tion of the Louisville & Xasliville and the East
Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroads. The
former of these lines runs north and south through

the county, and the other almost east and west.
All the benelits accruing from the competing lines
are here afforded .

The points of greatest interest are Columbiana,
the county seat, with a population of about 5<iH,
Calera, which is located at the intersection of the
two railroads already mentioned, Wilsonville,
Ilarpersville, Helena, and Montevallo. Kxcellent
church and educational advantages exist at all of
these places. A common-school system, uiuler
favorable direction, exists throughout the county.

The chief center of interest in the county is the
growing town of Calera. Its name is of Spanish
origin, and indicates the character of tlie sur-
rounding region, Calera being the Spanish name
for lime. It has a population of possibly ■■.',00(»,
and for a number of years has been the location
of a large foundry.

Other important enterprises have already been
established. The Charcoal and Furnace Comjiany
have a magnificent plant and one of the finest wells
in the State. The two shoe factories are turning
out daily a very superior quality of shoes that com-
pare very favorably with the best of eastern fac-
tories, and are sold at prices that defy competi-
tion, and they are consequently crowded with or-
ders. The Spoke and Handle Factory is a i)aying
institution, and their products are shipped to
every portion of the Union, as they are finely fin-
ished and made of the most perfect timber. Two
large steam brickworks are in operation, and have
orders ahead for several weeks. Another spoke
and handle factory will soon be established. The
waterworks are now nearly completed, and nego-
tiations are now pending for the erection of a fine
academy. «

'{'he town suj)ports good schools, and has two of
the best hotels in the State. It is located in the
midst of coal, iron, lime and excellent timber, and
enjoys railroad facilities in all directions, being
the intersection of the Louisville & Nashville and
East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroads.

Throughout the connty of Shelby there abound
the facilities of luunan comfort, so great are ad-
vantages of climate and the diversity of soils and
mineral jiroducts.

Laiuls may be purchased at jirices ranging from
ijix'.oii to *'^.5 per acre.

There exist :5T,!i"-iIi acres of (Jovernment land in
the county, wliich is being rapidly entered as
homesteads bv actual settlers.

162

^^^ORTHERX ALABAMA.

COLUNIBI^NA.

JAMES THEOPHILUS LEEPER, Judge of

Probate, was born in Mnulton, Lawrence County,
Ala, September 'ii, myi.

In his extreme youth his parents moved to
Talladega County, where their son was given a
common-school education.

In 1S48, young Leeper moved to Shelby County,
but in 1850, returned to Talladega to be employed
as clerk in the probate office a position he held
for a year and a half. Coming again to Shelby,
he was employed in the same cajiacity. lu ISS-l
he was admitted to the bar. In 1855 Mr. Lee-
per assisted M. II. Cruikshank. Register in Chan-
cery for Talladega, with the duties of his office.
The next year he was himself appointed Register for
Shelby County by Chancellor James B. Clark, of
Eutaw. In connection with his duties as Register
he entered upon the practice of the law, in co-
partnership with his father, Samuel Leeper, who
was one of the most successful jiractitioners in
this circuit.

Mr. Leeper was elected a member of what is
known as the "Parson's convention" of 1865.

In 1865 he was appointed by Governor Parsons
solicitor for this circuit; in 18C6 he formed a law
partnership with Mr. Lewis; two years later he
was appointed Register in Cfiancery for the Dis-
trict of three counties, Jefferson, St. Clair and
Shelby, by Chancellor Woods, afterward Associate
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
The year following (18G9), Mr. Leeper was ap-
pointed Judg% of Probate for Shelby by Gov.
W. H. Smith. He has held the office continuously
since, by three popular elections, and, when his
present term expires in 1893, will have .occupied
that and other important appointment and elect-
ive positions of trust and emolument for the
greater part of forty-four years.

Judge Leeper is a son of Samuel and Elanora
(Stone) Leeper, and is one of a family of nine, of
whom eight are now living. Samuel Leeper was
born in Georgia in 1800; taken to Tennessee when
but nine years of age; came to Alabama in l^'il,
and settled in Lawrence County. In early life he
was a merchant, but afterward studied law, and
twice represented Shelby County in the Legislature.
He died in ISTl. One of his sons, Francis L.

Leeper, is a Presbyterian minister in Tennessee.

On the 1st of Xovember, 185T, Judge Leeper
was united in marriage to Miss Antoinette M.
Bandy; and of the nine children born to them
only five are living — three sons and two daughters.
The eldest son, Samuel B. Leeper, assists in his
father's office. The Judge is a Royal Arch ]\Iason,
and an Odd Fellow.

In 1807 Judge Leejier joined the Presbyterian
Church, and four years later was made an elder of
the same, which position he has filled with that
dignity and singleness of purpose which distin-
guishes his life.

He is frank, open, easy and social in manner.
His courtesy is never varying, his sincerity is self-
vindicating, and the native courage of his life at-
tracts men of all degrees and conditions. Xo man
ever lived in the county who carries a wider per-
sonal influence than he. The popular vote which
fixed the county on the side of Prohibition, was the
result of his calm but firm espousal of that policy.
He acts only after mature deliberation, and seldom
changes his opinion.

As a Judge of Probate, he possesses the un-
bounded confidence of his constituency.

Prior to the late war. Judge Leeper was an active
Whig in politics and opi)osed secession.

• ■♦ > ■ •^^^>-»— ^-

HENRY WILSON, Attorney-at-law, was born
at Afontevallo, Shelby County, this State, Febru-
ary 21, 1850. He was reared and educated at
Montevallo. He studied law there for a time with
B. B. Lewis (late president of the University of
Alabama), and afterward read law at Columbiana
with R. W. Cobb (afterward Governor of the
State), and was admitted to the bar in April, 1871.
He was apjDointed Solicitor of Chilton County in
that year, and remained such until 1873, when he
removed to Montevallo. He has practiced law
throughout Shelby and adjoining counties from
1873 until the j^resent time, 1888. Judge A. A.
Sterrett and Gov. R. W. Cobb were his partners
until the death of Judge Sterrett, after which
time the firm name became Cobb & Wilson,
including Mr. Benjamin F. Wilson, brother of

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

163

Henry. They had office sat Montevallo ajid
Coliinibiana. This firm was dissolved in 1884, and
a new jiartnership etfocted with K. P. Lyman, of
Montevallo. In 1887. anotlier change included
J. L. Peters, of Pibb County, and the firm name
became Peters, Wilson & Lyman. In 1880 and
1881 .Mr. Wilson represented Shelby County in the
Legislature and was on some important com-
mittees, inchtding the Committee on Judiciary
and the Committee on Commerce and Common
Carriers.

Mr. Wilson is a son of Dr. Joiin B. Wilson, of
.ATontevallo, and his grandfather, Benjamin Wil-
son, was one of the pioneers of that village, long
known as Wilson's Hill. The Wilsons came from
Tennessee and Mrginia.

Dr. John B. Wilson was a iiroininent physician
of ilontevallo, where he practiced medicine for
forty or fifty years. He died in 1881, about sev-
enty years old. He was married twice, first to a
Mrs. Watrous, who died. He was next married
to Miss Amanda Bandy, a sister of Mrs. Judge
Leepei'. By the second marriage there were
five children who grew to maturity: three sons
and two daughters, viz. : Henry Wilson, Ben-
jamin F.. John B., Ella (who married J. L.
Peters), and Leta (who married .Foe Slaton).

The subject of this sketch was married in 18?:!
to Miss Augusta Allen, of Montevallo. He is a
Mason. Knight of Honor and member of the I.
II. < >. V.

^Ir. Wilson stands in Shelby County as a man
of liigh character. He is well known in the State
as a fine lawyer, a man of influence, and an ad-
herent of Democratic principles.

WILLIAM BRADFORD BROWNE, Attorney-
at-law, was Ijoi'ii in Piiiladclpliia in 1853. Heob
lained his education at .Sjiring Hill College, near
-Mobile, and at the University of the South, Sewa-
nee. Tenn. He began the study of law in 1871 at
Montevallo, with Paul H. Lewis, and was admitted
to the bar in 1873, at Columbiana, where he has
been practicing law ever since.

His father, William P. Browne, was born in
\'ermont, in 1804, raised there, and ]>racticed law
for about seven years. He took a contract, at an
early day, to 'construct a canal at New Orleans,
and, after several years, completed it and received
a fair profit for his work. He then went to

Mobile, whence he was sent to the Legislature
in 1840.

While at Tuscaloosa, he met Miss Margaret
Stevens, whom he afterward married. In 1848,
he moved to Shelby County, opened the Monte-
vallo Coal Mines, and operated them until his
death in 1809. He was a man of great energy
and indomitable will.

Of his seven children four are still living. One
of them, Cecil ^Browne, of 'I'alladega, represents
Talladega and Clay Counties in the State Senate.
A daughter, Mrs. Jfargaret Collins, is an actress,
and is well known to theatre going jieople as Flor-
ence Elmore. She has attained enviable distinc-
tion as a star.

William B. Browne was married, in 1885, to
Miss Lizzie, daughter of Samuel B. Roper, of
Columbiana.

Mr. Browne and wife are members of the Pres-
byterian Church.

-<4»-

WILDES S. DU BOSE, M. D., was born in
Soiitii Carolina in IS'!;, and spent his youth at
Columbia. He attended ilount Zion College,
at Winnsboro, that State, three years, and spent
the same length of time at the State LTniversity
located at Columbia. He graduated in the class-
ical course from the University of Louisiana, in
New Orleans, and after studying elsewhere,
graduated finally at the Atlanta Medical Col-
lege, in 18.")8. He practiced medicine at Decatur,
Ga., until IS'il, when he entered the Confed-
erate Army as captain of the Anthony ( ireys. This
company was captured at Koanoke Island, Feb-
ruary (i, 180"2. Dr. Dn Bose afterward served as
surgeon of the Eleventh Confederate Cavalry, and
othei' commands. After the war he practiced
medicine in South Carolina until 1872, when he
came to Columbiana. He has been Chairman of
the Board of Censors of Shelby County almost
continuously since its organization, and is now
Senior Counselor of the State -Medical Association.

Kev. Julius J. Du Bose, our subject's father,
was a minister of the Presbyterian Church in
South Carolina, and a man of great ability. He
died in 1843. His wife, Margaret, was a daugh-
ter of (.'ol. Wm. Thomjison, of .Savannah, who
was a contractor, and built the railroad from
Charleston to Augusta, said to be the first rail-
road begun in the United States. In this venture

164

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

lie performed a large part of the work with the
labor of his own slaves.

Dr. Du Bose was married in 1859 to Miss Anna,
daughter of James M. Calhoun, of Atlanta. Mr.
Calhoun was a lawyer of distinction in Georgia,
and a man of great personal pojiularity. He was
elected Mayor of Atlanta eleven consecutive times,
and held that office when the city was surrendered
to Sherman. He was a member of the Georgia
Senate for many years, and wielded a great influ-
ence in regulating the banking Interests of that
State. He was a cousin of John C. Calhoun, of
national fame.

Dr. Du Bose has seven children living. One of
them, Clarence C, is editor and proprietor of the
Slielby Chronicle; another, Gordon, is an attorney-
at-law in Columbiana.

The Doctor is a Freema.son, and he and his fam-
ily are members of the Presbyterian Church.

AMOS MERRILL ELLIOTT, merchant, was
born about ten miles south of Columbiana, March
2-.', J 829; attended such sciiools as the vicinity
afforded, and was early initiated into the mysteries
of merchandising. In 1855, he began selling
goods on his own account at Harpersviile, this
county; in 1857, i-emoved his business to Colum-
biana, and, in 1858, purchased another store in
Elliottsville. He continued this business until
1801, when he was elected Clerk of the Circuit
Court. In ]8r2, he was elected to the lower
house of the Legislature; in 1874, again he was
elected Clerk of the Circuit Court, which position
he filled, in the aggregate, twenty-five years, and
finally declined a re-election. After this he re-

established his mercantile business in Columbiana,
and has continued it to the present time.

His father, Amos M. Elliott, a Tennesseean by
birth, came to Alabama when quite young; his
grandfather, of same name, came from Virginia
to Tennessee in eai'ly times, and to Alabama about
1810. He settled first in the Cahaba Valley, and
afterward about ten miles south of Columbiana.

A. M. Elliott's mother was Sarah (Hale) Elliott,
from Tennessee. Chas. B. Eilfott, the elder
brother, was sheriff of the county soon after the
war. and is now County Treasurer. He also w;as a
merchant for many years. Lindsey F. Elliott, the
other brother, has served the county as a deputy
sheriff. Both these brothers were in the army.
The sister, Rachel M., is now the widow of Dr.
Thomas P. Lawrence, who was a member of the
Legislature in 185'2-.3. He was an eminent physi-
cian and an eloquent orator. He was elected on
the Whig ticket.

Amos M. Elliott was married in 1847 to Miss
Mary Bragg, a daughter of Captain Chas. Bragg, -
of South Carolina. She died in September, 1800.
They had six children, of whom three lived to be
grown, and two, James and Charles, are still living.
Both are farmers.

Amos M. Elliott was married again in Sejitem-
ber, 1801, to Mrs. Sophronia Holdman, daughter
of James Hampton, of St. Clair County, Ala.
They had two children, Emma, now wife of R. L.
Cater, of Columbiana, and Amos M., who is in
his father's store.

Mr. Elliott is a Methodist, a Royal .\rch Mason,
and has been Master of Shelby Lodge N"o. 140 for
a number of years. He is also Past Chancellor of
Knights of Pythias of Shelby Lodge, No. 50.

Mr. Ellioit has been Justice of the Peace many
vears. and has been Countv Administrator.

HKLBNA.

Helexa is a mining and manufacturing town
in Shelby County, situated on the Louisville &
Nashville Railroad Company's main line from
Louisville to New Orleans, and within five miles
of the half-way point between the above two

cities, also about a half-mile from the half-way
point between Birmingham and Calera.

Tiie town is mostly in the valley that skirts the
Cahaba coal fields along the full length of its
eastern boundary, and is near the middle of town-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

165

ship 20, S. range 3 west of the Iluntsville Meri-
dian. The population within a radius of one and
one half miles from the railroad depot is about
1,7(10. Hiifk Creek, a rocky, swift-flowing stream
passes almost in a direct line across the valley and
through tlietown to theCahalia Uiver, joining the
river about a mile northwest of the town. The
town contains three churches built by the white
people of the place, and the two churclies (Meth-
odist and Baptist) built by tlie colored inhabi-
tants.

The oldest church in tiie place is Harmony
C'huVch (Presbyterian), the Rev. J. C. JIale being
l)ast()r ; by a special law of the State, all liquors are
forbid being sold within five miles of this church.

The Baptist denomination have a good substan-
tial church on Main street, of which the Rev. H.
C. Taul is pastor.

The Methodists liave a handsome new cluirch
about a block Avest of the Baptist Church, with
the Rev. 1'. B. McKane as pastor. The above
three churches have a fair attendance, are out of
debt, and increasing in strength, The town has
a good, large well-lighted frame school-house,
owned by the towns-people, in which the rising
generation are ably taught by Professor Moses
Crittenden, assisted by Miss Fanny Hale; the at-
etndance is large, some of the pupils coming three
or four miles to this school.

The people of Helena are mostly engaged in
coal mining and iron manufacturing.

The Eureka Comjiany, of Oxmoor, employ
about 1")0 men in mining and coking coal for
their furnaces at O.xmoor and outside markets.
.Said company are now enlarging their woiks here,
building new coke ovens, and opening up new
mines, contemplating a large output of coal and
coke in the future.

Mr. R. Fell, Sr., his son-in-law. the Hon. R.
W. Cobb, and three sons, Charles, Richard and
Albert Fell, forming the Central Iron Works
Company, have a well-fiitted up rolling-mill here
for the manufacture of merchant bar iron and
cut nails. The oldest member of the firm, Mr.
R. Fell, Sr., has had over fifty years' experience
in the manufacture of wrought iron.

The Fell Brothers have an excellent water-power
grist-mill and cotton-gin within a few yards of
the railroad depot here.

The Cahaba Comi)any are contemjilating the
opening up of the ('ahal>a Mines. 'J"he company
have almost entire control of the basin of the

Cahaba seam, which can be worked from three
different slopes.

The altitude of Helena is 400 feet above sea
level, and is located in what is generally known
as Possum \'alley, a valley remarkable for health-
iness along its whole length of forty or fifty miles.
Said valley is nearly solely drained by the heads
of small tributaries of the Cahaba River, having
no large streams in it except Buck Creek, at
Helena, and the east prong of Cahaba River cross-
ing it at right angles. The valley, consequently, is
entirely free from malaria.

Doctor Tucker, a practicing physician at Hel-
ena for the sixteen years just past, states that he
has never known a single case of disease from
malarious causes that originated at Helena.

The gap in Conglomerate Ridge on the west
side, and the gap in New Hope Mountain on the
east side of the town, keep the air currents con-
stantly moving from one gap to the other across
the town. This is the secret of Helena's health-
fulness.

Helena is mostly located on the geological for-
mation usually classified as " Quebec" or Knox
shales and Knox sandstones and dolomites, but
pai-tly on the Cahaba coal measures, the two being
divided by an immense ujithrow or "fault" of
the measures of over a mile in vertical displace-
ment at the railroad culvert, :ii)n yards west of the
railroad depot. The measures are all thrown up, to
an angle of from twenty-eight degrees to vertical,
thus giving a greater variety of si)ring waters than
any other place along the lines of railroads, at least
for a distance of twenty miles from Birmingham.

There are seven springs, each affording entirely
different water from the rest, within a radius of
.■)0n yards from the railroad depot. One of them
the "Alum Spring" has already become famous
for its benefits in certain chronic diseases; quanti-
ties of it have been shijiped to parties continu-
ing its use after returning home.

A railroad from Heleiui to Blocton is exi)ected
to be built shortly, and said road will be the best
coal road in the State, giving Helena with its abun-
dance of water, first-class manufacturing advant-
ages. The scenery around Helena is reniarkabh'
picturesque; that on the west side, where the
creek and railroad go through the gap in con-
glomerate ri<lge, closely resembling (on a small
scale) the vjdley and surroundings of Mauch
Chunk, Penn.

The town has six stores doinir a ilrv i;oods and

166

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

grocery business, one drug store, two hotels, and
several boarding houses

RUFUS W. COBB, was born at Ashville, St.
Clair County, Ala., February 25, 1829.

He attended school at an academy at Ashville,
and graduated from the University of Tennessee
in 1850. After leaving his alma mater he at once
began the study of law at the home of his child-
hood; was licensed to practice at the same place
about 1855, and admitted to the bar of the Su-
preme Court very soon afterward.

He began his professional life at Ashville, but
moved to Montevallo, Shelby County, in 1856,
and made that place his residence until after the
war. In the tall of 1865 he transferred his home
to Marion, Perry County, where he practiced law
until 1868, at which time he returned to Shelby
County, and located at Columbiana.

In 1872 his friends of the Democratic party
elected him to the State Senate from the district
including Shelby and Bibb Counties. In 1876 he
was again sent to the Senate fiom this district,
which by a change was now comprised of Shelby,
Jefferson and Walker Counties. This Senate made
him their president, and in 1878, the Democratic
party expressed its appreciation of his services and
ability by placing him in the gubernatorial chair.
About 1874 the State of Alabama found herself
hampered with an enormous debt, amounting to
about thirty millions of dollars, a very large por-
tion of which was improper and fraudulent. A
plan for the adjustment of that debt was devised
by Peter Hamilton, of Mobile, Rufus W. Cobb and
other members of the Senate, and after it had been
submitted to, and approved by, the Governor
(Houston), bills were prepared, and proper steps
taken to effect such legislation as would develop and
carry out this plan. They provided for a com-
mission to adjust the indebtedness, which com-
mission consisted of George S. Houston, Levi AV.
Lawler, and T. B. Bethea, who effected the pro-
posed adjustment, and reduced the State indebted-
ness to about ten millions of dollars. This action
on the part of the commission was ratified by the
Legislature. The position of Rufus W. Cobb,at this
time, as President of the Senate, and his active en-
ergy in developing the plan to relieve the State
from her burden, made him the prominent and
most desirable man to succeed Houston as Gover-

nor. He was re-elected Governor in 1878, and at
the expiration of his second term (1882) his pub-
lic life ceased. Since that time he has been active
as a member of the bar of Shelby, and has resided
at Helena.

When the tocsin of war rang through the land
in 1861, Rufus W. Cobb responded promptly to its
call. He entered the army as captain of Com-
pany C, Tenth Alabama Regiment. This command
was in the Army of Xorthern Virginia. In 1863,
he was transferred to the Western Army under
Bragg, and placed on special and detached duty,
reporting personally to the generals in command.
He remained in this service until the close of the
war.

Governor Cobb is a son of John W. Cobb, who
was born in Virginia about 1800, reared in South
Carolina, and came to Ashville about 1820. He
married Catherine Peake, a widow, whose maiden
name was Stevens. They had two sons, of whom
W. Harvey Cobb is the elder. He was born Sej>
tember 2, 1823, at Ashville, where he has always
lived, and is now the oldest inhabitant. John W.
Cobb was by occupation a merchant and farmer,
and served as a member of the State Legislature,
several terms. He was a colonel in the Florida
War, and died in 1845. Bishop Cobb, of the Epis-
copal Church, is related to Governor Cobb, and
it is believed that all the Cobbsin the country des-
cended from the one stock, which originated in
Wales Governor Cobb was married in 1850 to iliss
^largaret, daughter of W. S. McClurg, of Knox-
ville, Tenn. By this marriage Governor Cobb
has two living children — John W. Cobb, a farmer
near Blount Springs, and Dora, now the wife of
Richard Pell, Jr., of the Central Iron Works and
Helena Mills, ilrs. Margaret Cobb died in 1865.

On the last day of December, 1866, Governor
Cobb was niiirried to Miss Frances Pell, daughter
of Richard Pell, Sr., a practical and successful
iron master, and by this marriage has two child-
ren — Edith and Richard.

Governor Cobb and family are Baptists: the Gov-
ernor is a Knight Templar and has taken the 32d
degree in the Scottish Rite. He has been Master
of Blue Lodge at every place in which he has lived,
and was Grand Master of the State for two terms.
He is the only man who was ever Grand Master
and Governor at the same time. The Governor
is an eloquent speaker : a man of great deliber-
ation and forethought i social in his disposition ;
liberal in his means, and attracts hosts of friends.

XX.
TALLADEGA COUNTY.

Population: White, 12,319; colored, UMl.

Area — 7()(i square miles. Woodland, all.

All Coosa \'alley and woodland.

Acres — In cotton, approximately, l>"i,S5(»; in
corn, 4(i,:57(i; in oats, 9,280; in wheat, i:{,2:50: in
rye, 140; in tobacco, 30; in sweet potatoes, .335.

Approximate number bales of cotton — 12,000.

County Seat — Talladega: poj>ulation, 3.000.
on East Tennessee, Virginia it Georgia, AiinistoTi
& Atlantic, Talladega & Coosa Valley Railroads.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Our
Mountain Home, Re/xnii'i- and Wotcli Tower, both
Democratic.

Postoffices ill llic County — Alpine, Bledsoe,
Chandler Springs. Childersburgh, Cyprian, Esta
lioga. Eureka, Fayetteville, Ironaton, Jenifer,
Kentuck, Kyniulga, Lincoln. McElderry, McFall,
Munford, Pcckerwood, Reiidalia, IJenfroe, Silver
liun, Smelley, Sycamore, TaUadeya. Turner, Wal-
do. White Cloud.

Talladega County was established December 18,
1832, the territory being a ))artof the last Muscogee
cession. The original limits were retained until
Clay County was formed in 1860. Its name is said
to be derived from the Muscogee words. Teka,
meaning border, and Talla, meaning town.

This county has long numbered among its res-
idents some of the most distinguished men of Ala-
bama, prominent among whom may be mentioned
as follows:

.Judge Shortridge. Judge John White, Mr.
Joab Lawler, Mr. Lewis \\ . Ijiiwler, Mr.
Alexander IJowie, Mr. Felix (J. McConiiell, the
gifted Mr. Frank \\'. Howdon, Mr. .Jacob T. Bran-
ford, Mr. John J. Woodward, ilr. Jabez L. M.
Curry, Ex-CJov. Lewis E. Parsons, Mr. Marcus
II. Cruikshank. Gen. James B. Martin, Mr.
.John T. Iletlin, Mr. John Henderson, Mr. X. D.
Johns, Mr. A. R. Biircliiy. Mr. M. C. Slaughter,
Mr. Joseph D. McCaiiii. Mr. Andrew Cunningham,
Mr. Alexander White.

MoUie E. Jloore, a native of this county, but
now of Texas, has acquired a just colclnity as a

poet. Some of her verses are among the rarest
gems of Southern literature.

Talladega County, situated along the southern
tier of the northeastern counties of the State, and
having within its borders the southern terminus
of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is favored in cli-
mate, location, soil, accessibility and varied re-
sources.

The mean tempei'ature is Sn degrees. The aver-
age annual rainfall is 50 inches. The soil and
climate are peculiarly adapted to all kinds of fruits
and vegetables, besides growing, fairly well, corn,
wiieat, oats, rye, cotton, clover and the grasses.
While many varieties of soil exist, the prevailing
color is red clay; and as there is an abundance of
lime in the soil, they respond readily to manuring.
The county offers prominent inducements to stock-
men, fruit growers, truckers, saw-mill men, and
iron workers.

Lanils are to be had from five to thirty five
dollars per acre, owing to location and fertility;
but there are within the county thousands of
acres of timbered lands which can be had for the
value of the timber, and which will inevitably
bring wealth when used for vineyards, orchards
and truck.

The location of the county favors such a system
of farming, as it is environed by growing cities
which must needs be fed: and it has, within its
borders, great quantities of timber, of limestone
and marble, of gold and of iron, besides being
contiguous to limitless beds of coal. These var-
ious resources are beginning to be developed, and
on every hand are being evidenced thrift, vitality
and wealth. Iron furnaces are located at .Jenifer
and Ironaton. and others are contemplated at
Talladega. Sylacauga and Childersburg. Large
saw-mills are in operation at Berneys. Cymulgee,
Childersburg. Nottingham. Lincoln and l{enfroe.

The county isaccessible. having on the west the
Coosa River, and being traversed by the East
Tennessee. Virginia & Georgia, the Georgia Pa-
cific, the Anniston & Atlantic, the Coosa Valley

1C7

168

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

and the Columbus Western Railroads. The county
has three summer resorts, viz. : Talladega, Chand-
ler and Shocco Springs, which, from their health-
ful waters and favorable locality, add much to the
inducements of the county.

The people are intelligent, hospitable and largely
church-going. The county is well supplied with
churches and schools, and the roads are fast being

put in good condition. There is no debt on the
county.

The taxable values are §4,.50O,U0O, and rate of
taxation one per cent.

The valuation of taxable ^jroperty in Talladega
County for the year 1887 is $4,722,308, as shown
by the abstract assessment filed in the office of the
State Auditor. [See Talladega, this volume.]

XXI.

TUSCALOOSA COUNTY.

Population: White, 15,216; colored, 9,711.
Area, square miles, 1,390. Woodland, all. (h-av-
elly hills and long-leaf pines, 675. Coal measures
965 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 33,773; in
corn, 38,638; in oats, 6,974; in wheat, 2,689; in
rye, 130; in sugar-cane, 35; in tobacco, 20; in
sweet potatoes, 919. Approximate number of
bales of cotton, 12,000.

County Seat — Tuscaloosa; population, 2,500;
located on Black Warrior River at the head of
steamboat navigation, and on Alabama Great
Southern Railroad.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Gazette,
Timesa.ni\ Alabama University — the former Dem-
ocratic and the latter educational.

Postoffices in the County — Binion's Creek,
Clement's Depot, Coaling, Cottondale, Dudley,
Fosters, Hagler, Hayes, Hybernia, Hickman's,
Hull, Humphrey, .Jena, Leled Lane, McConnell's,
Marcumville, Moore's Bridge, New Lexington,
Northport, Odenheim, Olmsted Station, Ore-
gonia, Reuben, Romulus, Samantha, Sijisey Turn-
pike, Skelton, Sylvan, Tannehill, Tuscaloosa,
Tyner, Waldo, White Cloud.

Tuscaloosa County was established February 7,
1818.

Its original northern boundary was that of
the jjresent counties of Marion and Winston. It
was named for the river Tuscaloosa, wliieii Hows
through it. Tiie name is from tiie Choctaw

words, tusca, warrior, loosa, black, hence Black-
warrior. The northern and northeastern por-
tions of the county contains the finest long-leaf,
yellow pine forests in the State. Poplar, ash,
white oak, hickory and beech, and others of the
forest trees, some of which are marvelous in size.
Coal, iron ore and fire clays abound throughout
the entire county.

In addition to the Queen and Crescent, several
railroads have been projected and surveyed, and a
large force is now constructing one, the Tusca-
loosa Northern, which crosses tlie Warrior nine
miles above the city, and will pass the great coal
and timber belt north and northeast of the city,
and cpnnect with the Georgia Pacific at Ada, and
thence with the great St. Louis & Memphis sys-
tems, giving access to the great West. The Gulf
& Chicago has been surveyed from Florence to
Mobile, developing a remarkably low grade con-
sidering the rough country through which the
northern division passes. The Mobile & Tusca-
loosa has also been surveyed, which will be ex-
tended to Natchez via Jackson. In addition is
another important railroad, the Great Northwes-
tern, which is to be built from Montgomery
through the Cahaba and Warrior coal-fields, cia
Tuscaloosa to Sheffield.

The Tuscaloosa Cotton Mills, with about 200
looms, started six years ago with 140,000 capital,
and has paid out over §(250,000 to employes. The
varn mills of L. P. Gander run about 3,000

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

169

spindles, and have doubled tlieir output within the
last year. These are located on the river front,
and are models of success. The Cottondule Mills

have been equally successful. In addition to these,
four or five extensive brickyards are in successful
operation.

XXll.
TALLAPOOSA COUNTY.

J'opulation : White, KJ, 108 : colored, 7,283.
Area, 810 square miles. Woodland, all.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 41,200 ; in
corn, -11,450 ; in oats, 9,100 ; in wheat, 14, .572 ;
in tobacco, 21 ; in sugar-cane, 41 ; in sweet pota-
toes, 408. Approximate number of bales of cot-
ton, 14,921.

County Seat — Dadeville ; pojuilatiou, 1,200;
on the Columbus & Western Railroad, thirty
miles from Opelika, and forty-five miles northeast
of -Montgomery.

Xeuspaper published at County Scat — Talla-
pmixa yew Era, Democratic.

Postollices in the County — Alexander City, Bul-
ger's Mills, Huttston, Camp Hill, Cowpens. Dade-
ville, Daviston, Dudleyville, Emuckfaw, Fish
Pond, Foslieeton, Goldville, llackneyville. Island
Home, Jackson's Gap, Mary, Matilda. Melton's
Mill, Xew Site, Sturdevant, Susanna, Thaddeus.

Tallapoosa County lies in the east center of the
State, and was created in 1832 out of a portion of
the last cession of the Creek Indians. The word
Tallapoosa, means ''cat town,"' and was first ap-
plied to the Tallapoosa KiveV, from wliidi the
county derived the name.

The soils of this county may be divided into
two prominent or predominating classes, the red
and the gray, both of which are based on a subsoil,
of a reddish or yellowish color, but in addition to
these soils, which are found mostly on uplands,
there are a large number of bottoms along the
banks of the Tallapoosa River, and the many creeks
tributary to that stream. These bottom lands are
the most productive lands of the county, and com-
prise a considerable proportion of the county's
area. The yield of this class of lands will compare

favorably with the yield of the best laiuls in the
State, and, take it year in and year out, crops plant-
ed on them yield with regularity and certainty.
The reddish lands of the uplands are specially
adapted to the ])roduction of small grain, and fair
crops of wheat and oats are produced on them.
All the soils of the county are used in the pro-
duction of cotton, though that article is culti-
vated more extensively on the loamy lands of the
southern portion. The yield of corn and wheat
on the red lands will compare favorably with tlie
best results obtained elsewhere in the State, while
in the production of the latter, Tallapoosa ranks
with the leading counties of Alabama.

The forests are heavily timbered with white,
red and Spani.<h oak, poplar, hickory, pine, ash,
mulberry, and gum. These valuable timbers will
be brought into requisition as the demand grows
for their use in the mechanical arts.

'J'he county is watered by the Tallapoosa River
and the Hillabee, Chattasofka, Big Sandy, Little
Sandy, Sorgahatchee, Buck, Elkehatchee, Blue,
Winn, and Emuckfaw Creeks. Immense water-
power jjrevails in every section of the county and
upon the principal streams, notably upon Big
Sandy and Hillabee. The incline jjlanes over
which the vast volumes of water are precip-
itated give them immense power for numufactur-
ing purposes.

The Tallapoosa River which flows through the
county, dividing it in two, is capable of furnishing
many thousand horse-power to be utilized for
manufacturing purposes. The great falls on
this river occur in the southern portion of the
county, and are utilized at Tallassee, in Elmore
County, for the manufacture of cotton goods. At

170

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

this point the waters of the river rush for several
hundred yards down a steep declivity, until the
falls are reached where they pour down over a shelf
about twenty feet in height. The fall of the river,
within 500 yards of the factory at Tallassee,
is fixed at between 50 and 75 feet, and it is
estimated that this fall is capable of furnishing
fully 100 horse-power. The many sites for manu-
facturing purposes in this county, where motive
power could be furnished by water, are used for
nothing more important than saw or grist mills.

Tallapoosa is rich in mineral resources, and it is
thought that, for extent and variety, its mineral
deposits will lead those of any other county in the
State. There is no question as to the presence of
gold in different portions of the county, and
recent investigations have strengthened the belief
that it was in sufficient quantity to make work-
ing it highly profitable. This precious article is

being mined in several localities in the county,
with more or less success. Copper mines, near
Dadeville, have been fitted up at a great cost with
a stamping mill, and it is said that the indications
point to a rich reward in the future for the out-
lay. In addition to gold, silver signs have been
discovered in several localities, but the extent of
the deposits has never been ascertained. Besides
the minerals of great value, Tallapoosa contains
deposits of mica of a superior grade and an extra
large size, graphite, asbestos, emery and granite.
Dadeville, the county seat of Tallapoosa, is a
pleasant little town of about 2,000 people, situated
on the Columbus and Western road, about sixty
miles west of Opelika. Its people are content,
prosperous and happy. The location of the town
is all that could be desired in point of scenery and
health. Fine schools flourish, and churches of
various denominations are found here.

XXIll.
WINSTON COUNTY.

Population : \Miite, 4,23G ; colored, lo. Area,
540 square miles. Woodland, all. All coal meas-
ures, but in western part of county these rocks are
covered with drift.

Acres — In cotton (approximately). 2,000: in
corn, 8,098; in oats, 5.79 ; in wheat, 1,9G7 ; in
sweet potatoes, 173. .

Approximate number of bales of cotton, G55.

County Seat — Double Springs; population 325.

Newspaper publisheil at County Seat — Winston
Herald, Democratic.

Postoffices in the County — Ark, Biler, Brown's
Creek, Clear Creek Falls, Collier Creek, Double
Springs, Houston, Larissa, ]\Iotes, Pebble.

The name of this county was changed from that
of Hancock in 1858. Under the original name it
was organized in 1850.

As far as investigations have gone the county
seems to have immense resources of minerals.
Within the last year it has attracted considerable

attention, which has been mainly due to the con-
struction of the Georgia Pacific Kailroad. As soon
as the road shall have been comjileted, Winston
will become one of the chief manufacturing dis-
tricts of the State.

It is in no sense an agricultural county, although
in some portions cotton and corn are quite readily
produced. The local industries are farming,
stock raising and wool growing. Dairy-farming
is carried on to a limited extent.

This county is abundantly supplied with water.
These numerous streams, by their confluence, form
the chief water-ways of the county — Black AVater,
Big Bear, Clear and Eock Creeks, and Sipsey and
Brushy Forks. The Buttahatchie and New Rivers
have their fountain heads amid the wild hills of
Winston Ciounty. Along the abounding gorges and
valleys there rush the multitudinous tributaries
which feed these principal streams from many
quarters. Winston can not be excelled, perhaps, by

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

171

any county in tlie State, in the wildness and pict-
uresqueness of its natural scenery. The waters
in some instances have worn channels in the sand-
stones, and often flow through gorg:es with high,
])erpoudicular sides. In some instances rapids and
cataracts are found, wliich till the solitudes with
their loud-sounding thunder. Two of these water-
falls occur in Clear Creek about :iOO yards apart;
tlie fall of each is about thirty feet. Below the
falls the water dashes down a deep, narrow gorge.
They are objects of pecular interest, and will one
(lay attract many sight-seers. " Kock-houses," as
they are locally named, abound along these streams.
In the neighborhood of these rocky caverns are
found growing in luxuriance and beauty the rarest
ferns known to American florists.

The natural timber growth is composed of post,
red, and Spanish oaks, poplar, beech, holly,
chestnut, sour gum, and occasionally short-leaf
pine. In many parts of Winston the forests are
as yet untouched, aiul hence abound in many
fine specimens of the timber already named.
This is especially true of the lands which lie adja-
cent to creeks in the bottoms.

One of the chief attractions of this county is
its abundatit game. Turkeys and deer abound in
every portion of Winston, and hunters resort

thither from the adjoining counties. Most excel-
lent fish, too, are found in the numerous streams.

The county is exceedingly rich in its mineral
properties. The extent of these deposits is as
yet unknown, but it is believed that no portion of
Alabama, of the same compass, will excel the
county of Winston in its mineral resources.

Vast quantities of coal underlie the hills, and
iron ore is also abundant. In some sections a
superior quality of slate is found, and in large
quantities. These slumbering resources only
await the construction of railway lines in order to
fiiul their way into the mai-kets of the world.

There are several railroads contemplated, some
of which are under construction, which will add
greatly to the market facilities and general im-
provement of the county. Among them may be
mentioned, as most prominent, the Georgia I'acific.

The educational advantages of the county are
fairly good; church facilities good. Land may
be purchased at from S3 to §30 per acre.

Government land in the county, 20,T'J0 acres.

The people of the county of Winston are social,
industrious, thrifty, law-abiding, hospitable. God-
fearing and serving, and will gladly welcome all
good people who may come to make tlieir home
witli them.

XXIV.
WALKER COUNTY.

population : White. !i,000; colored, .i,000.

Area, 880 square miles. Woodland, all.t

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 8,f.50: in
corn, -21,830; in oats, 2,580; in wheat, 5,-430; in
rye, 80; in tobacco, 70: in sugar cane, 11; in
sweet potatoes, '.Vl'i.

Approximate numlier of hales of cotton, '2, 800.

County Seat — Jasper; population, OdO; located
on the Kansas City, Memphis, Hirmingham &
Atlanta Railroad.

Newspapers publislied at County .Seat — Mountain
Ea(jh, Democratic; True Cilizen, Indejiendent.

Postoffices in the County — Bartonville, Heach
(irove, Boldo, Clark, Cordova, Corona, Eagle,
Edgil, Eldridge. Gamble, Gravleeton, Gurganus,
Hewitt, Holly Grove, Janeburgh, ,/rtc>7;f;-, Kansas,
Leith, Loss Creek, Luckey, Manasco, Marietta,
jMiddleton, Xaiivoo. Patton, South Lowell, Wil-
mington, York,

Walker was cieated December 'J", 18'2-1. ami
the territory taken from Tuscaloosa and Marion.
Tiie northern portion was set apart to form Win-
ston in IS.iO. It lies soutii of Winston, west of
Blount, northwest of Jefferson, north of Tusca-

172

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

loosa, east of Marion and north and east of Faj-
ette. It was nanaed for the Hon. John W.
Walker, of Madison.

It is attracting remarkable attention at this
time by reason of its immense resources of coal.
From present indications. Walker is the richest of
all the counties of the State in its mineral deposits.
It seems to be almost an unbroken coal-field from
limit to limit. The coal is of a hard bituminous
character, with but a small percentage of ash.
Various geological reports point to the existence of
five or six valuable seams, which lie in successive
layers, one above the other. There are various
outcroppings, indicating, from the surface, seams
of superior coal which vary in thickness from two
to eight feet. Remoteness of transportation has
forbidden the establishment of mines in the past,
but the construction of the Georgia Pacific is
awakening new life, and the early comjjletion of
the Sheffield & Birmingham and the Memphis &
Birmingliam Railroads, running from Kansas City
to the Atlantic, will greatly enhance the value of
Walker County lauds. The surface of the county
is broken, the hills in some places being steep and
high.

Like the adjoining county of Winston, the soils
of Walker are not remarkable for their fertility,
it being in nowise an agricultural county, but
adapted almost solely to manufactures. Still, it
is not without fertile lands. Snug farms are found
in many portions of it, and many of its inhabi-
tants have subsisted upon the productions of their
farms since, and even before, the formation of
their county.

About one-third of the area of AValker is cov-
ered with a sandy soil. This land is admirably
suited to the production of fruit, which grows
here in great abundance, especially such as the
hardy fruits, jjears, apples, peaches, plums, etc.
Fruit trees have been standing in many orchards
for many years, and have rarely failed of an annual
yield. In other sections of Walker, especially in
those lying adjacent to main streams, there are
many thrifty farms, upon which grow, with great
readiness, corn, cotton and wheat.

This is also true of what are locally termed " the
bench lands'' — the plateau regions of the county.
Here are many first-class farms, which are easily
. tilled, and whose cultivation is most remunera-
tive. Stock-raising is receiving some attention in
the county, and the experiments have been most
gratifying.

The county is highly favored with streams, whose
rapid and perjietual flow mark them for future
usefulness in the manufactures. Chief among
these are Mulberry Fork, which flows through the
southeast and joins Locust Fork in the south; the
Black Water, SijDsey Fork and Lost Creeks. These
are supplied by numerous tributaries, which drain
the county from every quarter. As fine timber
forests skirt these sti'eams as are found in the
northern portions of the State. These embrace
the different varieties of oak, post, red and Sjjan-
ish, together with beech, poplar, the gums, and
short-leaf pine. In the neighborhood of South
Lowell, about six miles from Jasper, the county
seat, there is a section of long-leaf pine forest,
covering an area of about ten miles broad and
twenty-five miles long. This superb tract of tim-
ber is penetrated by the Black Water River, the
banks of which are lined by thriving manufac-
tories, such as corn, wheat and lumljer mills and
cotton gins.

The passage of the Georgia Pacific through the
county has awakened much interest, and when
that shall have been intersected by the j\IobiIe &
Birmingham Railroad, which will run the entire
length of the State, from Mobile to Florence, the
advantages of the county will be immense.
Through these great channels of trade her rich
minerals of coal and iron will seek outlets to the
world beyond. These minerals are considered
j^ractically inexhaustible. In the interior of the
basin in Walker County is the Jagger's coal bed,
which is said to be one of exceeding thickness.

The coal development of Walker County is only
in its infancy. The following collieries have been
opened and are now in operation on the main line
of the Georgia Pacific Railroad : The Tennessee
& ilobile Coal Co. ; Virginia & Alabama Mining
and Manufacturing Co. ; Wolf Creek Coal Co.;
O'Brien Coal Co.; Black Diamond Coal Co.; Ed.
Donaldson Co. and the Norvil Coal Co. The
capacity of these mines at present is 1,500 tons
daily, and if a supply of cars could be bad they
would increase their output to 2,500 tons of coal
daily. The quality of this coal can not be excelled
for domestic and steam purposes. The seam of
coal averages three feet and eight inches, covering
a territory of 20,000 acres of this seam of coal, to
say nothing of three other seams of coal on the
same property, adapted for coking and steam
purposes.

The Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

173

Koad is now comi)leted from Memphis to Uir-
iniiigliam, passing through Wali<er County.
The seams of coal in Walker County im the War-
rior Coal Fields are entirely clear of faults, which
is a great inducement for coal operators to locate
in AWilker County. There is no oounty in the
State of Alabama to equal Walkei- County in coal
and lumber interests.

Throughout the county the educational advan-
tages are moderate, and church facilities abound.
Both these improve, as one approaches the princi-
pal villages. Jasjjer, the county seat, with a

population of three or four hundred, has good
schools and two comfortable church edifices. Holly
(Jrove and South Lowell are also points of interest
and growing importance.

TJke other counties, the resources of which are
being ra|)idly developed, the peoj)le of Walker are
anxious to have their lands purchased and jiopu-
latod.

Great inducements are just now beinir offered
to purchasers of lands.

There are embraced within the limits of Walker
County U'8,840 acres of Government land.

JASPBR.

Jasi'KU, county-seat of Walker, is located at the
junction of the Kansas City, Memphis it Birming-
ham, and Sheffield & Birmingham Kailroads, forty-
four miles west of Birmingham, 210 miles east
from Sheffield, and fifty-six miles northeast of
Tuscaloosa. The country around Jasper is like
most of Walker County, broken and mountainous.
The growth and prosperity of the town depends on
coal, timber, and agriculture in the valleys.

Jasper is centrally located in the county, coal-
fields extending in every direction for about fifty
miles. It promises to be an important railroad cen-
ter in the future: that is to say in addition to the
two roads now here, there will be a connection
with the Georgia Pacific, and Tuscaloosa Xorth-
crn, and the Sheffield & Birmingham Coal. Iron &
Railway Company. There are now going on ne-
gotiations for a furniture factory, as well as a large
lumbering outfit; also for a rolling mill, and a
plant for pit cars, wheel-barrows, etc. Also, a
coke plant, at a cost of !!!500,(i00, is now breaking
ground. This company owns, in Walker County,
70,0(1(1 acres of mineral lands, and has a capital of
xSdO.ddO. In addition to the above named indus-
tries, there are twenty other comiianios owning
valuable coal mines in Walker County.

Jasper has two churches — Methodist and Bap-
tist — a Miwonic lodge, twenty-five business housss,
including a bank with a )>aid up capital of ^••200,000,
and two hotels. Its population is now about l,.")(Ki,
and is daily increasing. It is an active and bust-
tling plare, full of hope and enterju'ise. The

value of town property has advanced ten-fold in
the last eighteen months.

The city of Jasper was iiteorporated December
22, 1887, and George H. Guttery was its first may-
or; W. S. Foster its first secretary and tax assessor;
B. M. Bradford, marshal and collector: and J. B.
Shields, W. C. Rosamond, I). L. Stovall, and W.
G. Gravlee its first Board of Councilmen.

The streets are all laid off, and some grading
done, a corporation building, including a court-
room and council chamber and prison, has been
erected, and the entire town has been platted, ex-
tending over one square mile. The Sheffield &
Birmingham Coal, Iron & Railway Company are
now building at this place 250 coke ovens and the
largest coal bins in the State. The trestle over
which the railroad track runs will be about fifty
feet high, and the coal will be placed in the bins,
taken thence and placed in the ovens without be-
ing handled from the time it leaves the mine. The
intention of the comjiany is to increase the num-
ber of ovens to 1,000, and when completed will
have a capacity of 1,000 tons of coke per diem.

The city of Jasper is not yet old enough to have
made much history, but for the unparalleled ad-
vantages offered by it and Walker County, the
reader is referred to the history of the county,
and the •' Toi)ography, Geology and Natural Re-
sources '' of Xortherii Alabama, so elegantly and
elaborately set forth in this volume. Among the
prominent members of the legal profession of
Jasper nniy be named: A\'. B. Appling. E. W.

174

NORTHERA' ALABAMA.

Coleman, C. J. L. Cunniugham, S. M. Gunter,
S. Lacy and John McQueen, while the other pro-
fessions are well represented.

Among the oldest families iu JasjDer is the
Miisgrove family, in fact they were the first set-
lers of the town. Dr. E. G. Musgrove moved to
that section of Alabama befoi'e the State was ad-
mitted into the Union, and, immediately after the
formation of the county of Meeker, he laid out
the town of Jasper and gave the entire town to
the county, conditioned upon locating the county
seat there, which was accepted, and a court-house
and jail was immediately built. This family has
been continuous residents of Jasper. First after
the death of Dr. Musgrove came his oldest son,
Capt. P. A. Musgrove, who was born and reared
in the place and was amongst the first citizens of
the town and county, having filled various jiosi-
tions of trust and honor in the county and served
one term in the State Legislature. At the begin-
ing of the war he went into service as captain of
OomiDany L, Twenty-eighth Alabama Regiment.
He was wounded at the battle of Murfreesboro, and
after his recovery went into service as major of a
cavalry conijiany which he raised at home during
his illness. Following in the direct line of the
decendants comes L. B. and J. C. Musgrove, his
only sons, who are still living at the old home-
stead, and are both closely identified with the
building of the city, and also in the development of
the coal and iron interests of the count}-.

The Jasi^er Land Company was organized on
December 19, 1S87, by the election of the follow-
ing Board of Directors:

G-orge H. Nettleler, President of the Kansas
City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad; James
P. Johnston, President of the Alabama Xational
Bank; J. G. Chamberlain, (General Manager of
the Sheffield & Birmingham Coal, Iron, and Rail-
road Company; A. G. Francis, of the Corona Coal
& Coke Company; J. C. Musgrove, W. L. Wallis,
R. H. Elliot, Chief Engineer of Kansas City,
Memphis & Birmingham Railroad; P. A. Gamble
and S. B. Musgrove.

The following were elected the active officials of
the Company:

Joseph P. Johnston, President; L. B. Mus-
grove, Vice-President and General Manager; J.
M. Burrell, Secretary, and William S. Foster,
Treasurer.

This company owns about 4,000 acres of land
in and ai-ound the city of Jasper, and is closely

identified with both the citizens and railroads
running into that place. It is quite liberal in
its efforts to build up a flourishing city in shape
of donations, and also in loaning money to insti-
tutions to locate here. The greater portions of
the most valuable property of the city is in the
possession of the Land Company, and it is sjiaring
neither means nor money to develop this fast-grow-
ing city. The Company has succeeded in locating
several of the largest and best industries in the
State at Jasper, and with their efforts bent on
this line, as it is at the present time, will in a
very few years, put Jasper among the flourishing
cities in North Alabama.

WALKER COUNTY BANK was organized in
Xovenibei', 1887, with llinton F,. Carr, president,
John B. Hughes, cashier, and a cajjital stock of
$20,000, all paid in. The business has been satis-
factory from the first, and has doubled itself the
last two months. The deposits are larger than
the managers had any reason to exjiect, and the
business is conducted on a strictly legitimate
plan. The managers will change it into a national
bank November 1, 1888.

HiNTON EvEKETT Cark, president of the bank,
was born May 23, 1856, in Coffeeville, Miss. His
father, Louis F. Carr, moved from Coffeeville to
Memphis, Tenn., in the same year, and the sub-
ject of our sketch resided there until fourteen
years ago. In 1870 he went to Arkansas with his
father, studied law there and was admitted to the
bar at Helena. He practiced law in Helena and
edited The Patriot, a daily and weekly paper.
He came to Jasper April 1, 1877, and soon after
associated himself in the practice of law with
Hon. A. E. Stratton, which partnership continues.

Mr. Carr was married in Helena in 1880 to Miss
Emma, daughter of Joseph Delaney. They have
two daughters.

Mr. Carr's father, Louis P. Carr, was a native
of North Carolina, and a graduate of the Univer-
sity of that State. His wife, Lucy, was a daugh-
ter of Alfred Turner, one of the most extensive
slave owners of Mississippi. He died about the
close of the war.

H. E. Carr has fought his own way in the world
and has been entirely the architect of his own
fortune, since the fortune he would have inher-
ited was lost on account of the war.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

175

John Bell Hl'uhes, son of Daniel and Char-
lotte (Bell) Hughes, was born in Tuscaloosa County,
Ala., February t|, 1S.'38. He was roared on a farm,
attended the country schools and the academy at
Tiiylorville, spent some years in a tannery, and at
the breaking out of the war, became a member of
Company (J, Eleventh Alabama Kegiment. In
the fall of 18G1 he was elected lieutenant, and in
18G-2 was promoted to a captaincy. lie was in
the first battle of Manassas, all the important
battles of the army of Xorthern Virginia, and was
at Appomattox at the surrender. He was once
captured and imprisoned two montlis at Washing-
ton and Fort Delaware; was wounded at the bat-
tles of Sharpesburg and Gettysburg.

Mr. Hughes was appointed clerk of the circuit
court at Jasper in 1881. At the organization of
the Walker County Bank, he was made its cashier,
and still holds that office. His father, Daniel
Hughes, was a native of Tennessee, and his
mother was born in Georgia. The Hughes family
was originally from near Charleston. S. C.

JOHN B. SHIELDS. Probate Judge of Walker
County, .son of i>r. Milton and Priscilla J, (Brad-
son) Shields, was born at Marshall's Ferry, in
Granger County, Tenn., xVugust "^5, 1840. He
attended an old field school in that neighborhood
until about fifteen years of age, when he went to
Greensville College, East Tennessee, and pursued
his studies there for two years. He next studied
medicine for two or three years, and upon the
breaking out of the war became first lieutenant
of Company I, Fifty-ninth Regiment Tennessee
Confederate Infantry. This regiment was cap-
tured at the siege of Vicksburg, but was paroled at
once, and thereafter mounted as cavalry under
Gen. J. C. Vaughan (since the war a Congress-
man). His brigade made a camjiaign into Mary-
land in 1864, under (ien. Early. After the raid
into -Maryland they went into East Tennessee and
Western Virginia. He then commanded the com-
pany as captain. He was engaged at the battle
of Grand (iulf, siege of Vicksburg, Baker's Creek,
Piedmont, Morristown, Bull's Gap, Monocacy
.Junction, ild., Winchester and many others.
After Lee'.s surrender he went into North Caro-
lina and joined Joseph F]. Johnson's army, but
surreiulered at Athens, Ga.

After the war he went into mercantile business

at Newnan, Ga., and remained there eighteen
months. During tiiis time he married and returned
to his native place in East Tennessee in 18<J(i. He
found his home entirely desolate, and his first
business was to rebuild the old house and re-estab-
lish the homestead. After acconijilishing this he
clerked two years at Morristown.

In 1808 he moved to AVolf Creek, then the ter-
minus of the Cinciunatti, Cumberland Gap &
Charleston Railroad, as merchant and railroad
station-agent. In 1871, he moved to Carroll
County, Ga., to sujierintend the (ieorgia Paper
]\Ianufacturing Company. (His childhood had
been largely spent in his father's pa]>er-mill.) In
1873 he moved to Walker County, re-fitted Long's
Mill, on Black AVater Creek, and became a mer-
chant and miller there. After three years he sold
out that interest to B. M. Long, moved to South
Lowell, and ran a steam saw and planing-mill,
which he conducted individually for two years.
He still owns an interest there as a member of the
firm of Shields & Cartter.

His old homestead in Tennessee ha.s been in the
possession of his family for si.xty years, and it has
been very recently discovered that the place con--
tains a ledge of solid marble of many different
colors, beautifully variegated, and more than 300
feet thick.

The Judge's residence is properly at South
Lowell, which was once a flourishing village (six
miles from Jasper), but is now neglected and dead.

Judge Shields was elected to the Legislature in
1878 on the Greenback ticket, by a majority of
twenty-eight votes, but was counted out. In 1884
he was again elected to the Legislature on an Inde-
pendent ticket, and served in 1884 and 1885. In
the year 188G he was elected Probate Judge of
Walker County, and is still the incumbent of that
office.

Judge Shields was married September IK, 18IJG,
in Carrollton, Carroll County, (ia., to iliss Carrie
E., youngest daughter of Judge John Long, who
was a native of Tennessee, and served as judge,
legislator, and in other offices, for more than
twenty-five years. He settled in Carroll County
in 182G, when the county was full of Indians, and
reared a family of four sons and tiiree daughters.
One of these sons, B. M. Long, of Cordova, is one
of the most prominent and infiuential men in
Walker County, and pays more taxes than any
other man in the county.

Five children have been born in Judge Shield's

176

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

family, all of whom are girls. Their names are :
Kaniiie P., Lily Lou (now dead), Carrie May, J.
Maud, and Johnnie B. The Judge is a member
of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Presbyterian
Church. His wife is a Methodist.

Milton Shields, the Judge's father, was a son of
James Shields, and of Irish descent. He was
born in Greene County, Tenn., in 1804, and died
in Sevier County, Tenn., December 20, 1866. He
owned pajjer-mills at Marshall's Ferry and at
Middlebrook, near Knoxville, and was interested
in an iron furnace. He made the writing and
printing paper that was used throughout this
country fifty or sixty years ago, and shipped it
here down the Tennessee Eiver. This paper was
at first made by hand, and one sheet moulded at
a time.

FRANKLIN ASBURY GAMBLE, Director
of the Jasjjer Land Company, is a son of John E.
and Jane (Mills) Gamble, and was born September
23, 1830, in Shelby County, this State, near
where Calera now stands. His father moved to
Walker with his family and goods in a wagon, in
1837. His early advantages were poor, and his
education was principally obtained by hard study at
home. He left the farm in 1855, and clerked for
two years. He was elected Judge of the Probate
Court in May, 1859, and March, 1862, was captain
of Company F, Twenty-eighth Alabama Kegiment
Infantry, and served with that regiment in Bragg "s
camjjaign through Kentucky. The hardshijjs of the
army proved too severe for him. His health failed,
and he was sent home in the latter part of that
year, and saw no more service in the army.

From 1865 until 1868 he served as County Ad-
ministrator, and directed the management of a
farm. In 1869, he embarked in mercantile busi-
ness, and followed that for four years. In 1874 he
took charge of the Mountain Eagle, a weekly
paj)er at Jasper, and edited it until July, 1877,
when the Eagle office and other buildings, includ-
ing the Walker County Court-House were burned.
Soon after this. Judge Gamble was apjiointed
Judge of the Probate Court by Gov. George S.
Houston, an old and warm personal friend of his,
and he retained that office by election until No-
vember, 1886. During his term of office, he
dealt to some extent in real estate, and has con-
tinued that business. He was one of the origina-
tors of, and a stock-holder and director in, the

Jasper Land Company, and has had much to do
with its management from its inception. He also
owns and controls large and extensive mining in-
terest in Walker County.

Judge Gamble was first married in Kovember,
1857, to Jliss Jerusha A., daughter of Rev. James
H. Freeman, who was a minister of the Methodist
Ej)iscoi3al Church, South, for about sixty-two
years, and was extensively known in Walker, Fay-
ette and Tuscaloosa Counties. By this marriage,
the Judge had five children born to him, of whom
but one (Lelia J.), is now living. Mrs. Gamble
died in April, 1874, and the Judge was again mar-
ried in April, 1877, to Miss Mary A., daughter of
Judge Thomas Owen, one of the jDioneers of Tus-
caloosa. By the second marriage the Judge had
a family of five, of whom two sons only are living:
Frank A. and Foster K.

The .Judge's father was a minister of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, South, for many years, and
held some county offices. He was a soldier under
General Jackson in the War of 1812, and died in
186;). Judge Gamble's two grandfathers, Robert
Gamble and James Mills, were both soldiers in the
Revolutionary War, and Robert Gamble was present
at the surrender of Cornwallis. He came from Ii-e-
land at an early date. James Mills was one of
the few survivors of the Continental Army at the
battle of Bunker Hill. He was bayoneted in that
conflict by a British soldier, knocked into a deep
ditch by the blow of the bayonet against the
buckle of his sword belt, and left there for dead,
as he feigned to be, but his life was saved by the
buckle, and when opportunity ofEered he made
his escape. About thirty years after this he met
Joseph Crawford, a comrade, messmate and most
intimate friend before the battle of Bunker Hill;
each one of them having long been confident
that the other had been killed in that battle.

WILLIAM CAPERS ROSAMOND, Druggist,
Jasper, Ala., son of Nathaniel J. and Amy (Pow-
ell) Rosamond, was born in Lawrence District,
S. C, in 1833, worked on a farm until he was
eighteen, when he began the study of medicine at
Northport, Ala., and was licensed to practice at
Tuscaloosa, this State. He came to Walker
County in 1856, and soon attained an extensive
practice here. In 1862 he joined the Confederate
Army, serving as a private; was appointed Assist-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

177

ant-Surgeon in General Fiirgeson's brigade, and
saw service in Tennessee, Louisiana. Mississippi
and Alabama. He was at Shiloh and Vicksburg,
and served under Bragg and Johnston in Ten-
nessee.

In l!S(J() Dr. Rosamond returned to .Tasper. and
l)racticed medicine until 187.S. when he retired
from practice on account of his health. He was
soon afterward elected to the State Senate from
Walker, Jefferson and Shelby Counties. Since
that time he has been engaged in nierchaiidising,
and is now a druggist.

Dr. JJosamond was first married, in 18.")6, to
Miss Medorah F., daughter of Kev. Jas. H. Free-
man, a poi)ular Methodist preacher then living at
Tuscaloosa. There were six children born to this
union, viz.: Edward P.. Willie L., Ethbert C,
Franklin K., Hester May and Amy Lee. Mrs.
Rosamond died November 1.5, 1882, and the Doc-
tor contracted his second marriage December li,
18S.'3, with Miss Henrietta, daughter of David F.
Dinsmore, of Laudersville. Mr. Dinsniore was a
prominent citizen, and held several county offices
in Lawrence County.

N'athaniel J. Rosamond, Dr. Rosamond's father,
was of French Huguenot origin. His ancestors
came to Virginia about the time of the Edict of
Nantes (1.598). The Doctor's mother. Amy Pow-
ell, was born in Kentucky, and came to South
Carolina with her parents, and was married
there.

Dr. Rosamond is a member of the .Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, and of the Masonic
fraternitv.

• - O '-S^^--^

GEORGE HOUSTON GUTTERY, Mayor of the
City of Jasper, son of Robert and Sarah (Will-
iams) Guttery, v.'as born in Walker County, Ala.,
in 1818. He was reared on a farm: educated at
Jasper and llollygrove, and farmed until the
breaking out of the war, when he went into the
army as a member of Company A, Fifty-si.xth
Alabama Regiment, with Capt. A. J. Guttery, his
brother, commanding the company. He served in
Forrest's command in Mississippi, and with John-
son's army from Dalton to Atlanta, and in all the
battles in which it participated until, and imlud-
mg, Peach Tree Creek.

In 18(i'i, Mr. Guttery came from llollygrove to
Jasper, commenced business as a merchant, and
conducted that business until 1874, when he was

elected sherifT of Walker County, and served as
such until 1877. In the following year he com-
menced merchandising again, and continued it
until April 20, 1SS8. The city of Jasper was in-
corporated December 22, 1887, and Jlr. Guttery
was elected its first major, a position he still holds.

He was married in 187li, to Miss Alice C,
daughter of W. L. Stanley, one of the pioneers of
Jasper and treasurer of AValker County before
and during the war, and has three children.
Claude, Pearl and John McQueen.

Mr. Guttery's father, Robert (iuttery, was a
pioneer preacher of the Primitive Baptist Church,
and among the first settlers of Walker County.
He came here from Tennessee with his father,
William Guttery, at an early day.

-^^

JOHN B. LOLLAR, son of John A. and Susan
(Gillin) Lollar, was born November 30, 1835, near
Jasper, Ala., and was reared on a farm at Lost
Creek. He went into the Confederate Army as
third lieutenant in Company G, Thirteenth Ala-
bama Regiment, Cavalry (Colonel Hewlitt.) This
regiment was consolidated with the First Ala-
bama, which was commanded by Colonel Boyle,
of .Mobile, and for about a year did garrison duty
at Columbus, j\Iiss. It afterward served at other
places in that State.

After the war Mr. Lollar made corn and cotton
for some years on Lost Creek. In 1877 he was
elected sheriff of Walker County, and ta.\ collector
in 1880. In 1885 he was appointed postmaster at
Jasper, and in 1880 was elected Clerk of the Cir-
cuit Court, which position he has held until the
present time.

Mr. Lollar was married in 1857 to Miss Eliza-
beth, daughter of Isaac Taylor, a prominent citi-
zen of Poplar Cove, N. Ala., and who died in
Texas. Jlr. Lollar has eight living children, viz :
William R., Fannie E., Meta J., Queen Victoria,
JIargaret E., Isaac II., Andrew J. and Joe.

John A. Lollar (John B.'s father) came to
Walker County at its first settlement, and his
father. Hugh Lollar, named the town of Jasper.

Hugh Lollar, Jr., John B.'s oldest brother,
was sheriff of Walker County before the war, and
is said to have been one of the best oflicers the
county ever had. He was killed at the battle of
Murfreesboro.

XXV.

CHAMBERS COUNTY.

Population: White, 11,36-1; colored, 12,076.
Area, 610 square miles. Woodland, all. All
metamorphie.

Acres — ^-In cotton (approximately), TO.iiS-l; in
corn, 49, .300; in oats, 9,258; in wheat. 11,520; in
tobacco, 39; in sugar-cane, 211; in sweet potatoes,
1,038.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 20,100.

County Seat — La Fayette; population, 2,000;
located on East Alabama Railroad, eighteen miles
from Opelika, and eighty-four miles from Mont-
gomery.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Cham-
ber.s County Democrat and Sun, both Democratic.

Postoffices in the County — Bloomingdale, Bos-
worth, Buffalo, Chapel Hill, Cusseta, Fredonia,
Happy Land, Hickory Flat, La Faijette, Lystra,
Milltown, Oakbowery, Osanippa, Sandy Creek,
Sharon, Stroud, Tuckersburgh.

Chambers County lies in tlie eastern portion of
the State, and joins the State of Georgia, from
which a portion of it is separated by the Coosa
River.

The county was created in 1832 from a por-
tion of the lands ceded by the Muscogees at the
treaty of Cusseta. It was named in honor of
Hon. Henry Chambers, of Madison County, who
represented Alabama in the Senate of the United
States at the time of his death in 1826.

The area of the county is about 610 square
miles. The surface is rolling and hilly, with light
soils, having a good sub-soil, though in the county
there is a considerable area of bottom lands ren-
dered very fertile by alluvial deposits. The land
generally is red, mulatto or gray, the first of
of which is specially adapted to the culture of
grain. The gray lands are best adapted to the
production of cotton, while the mulatto lands
produce all crops abundantly.

This county is well wooded, and it contains fine
forests of red, white, post and Spanish oaks, which
grow luxuriantly on the red hill lands. Long-
leaf pine is found in limited quantities, but not

sufficiently to be enumerated as one of the factors
of material wealth.

Chambers County is well watered, being touched
on the southeastern quarter by the Chattahoochee
River, while the Tallapoosa cuts off its northwest-
ern corner. Through the center of the county
there runs from the northeast to the southeast a
ridge, which is the watershed that divides the
waters that flow into the Chattahoochee and those
that flow into the Tallapoosa. The body of the
county is watered by several creeks, tributary to
one or the other of these rivers, the principal of
which are: Weehadkee, Oclickee, Osanippa, He-
olethloochee, Cohelsaneia and several other minor
streams.

The climate of the county is excellent and es-
pecially adaptable for fruit culture, which prom-
ises to become an important industry. At j^resent
it ranks as one of the first counties of the State in
the i>roduction of peaches. The mineral resources
of the county have never been developed, but there
is very little doubt that it contains many articles
highly valuable. It adjoins the counties of Talla-
poosa and Randolph, in both of which gold is
known to exist, and by many it is thought that
this precious metal will one day be discovered in
Chambers. Granite has been found here, as well
as a superior article of graphite, both of which
might be developed with great jirofit.

This county is possessed of ample water-power,
which is being utilized for running grist- and saw-
mills and gins. There are two cotton factories on
the Chattahoochee, partly in Chambers and partly
in Georgia.

The Western Railroad of Alabama passes
through the southern corner of the county, and
the East Alabama & Cincinnati Railroad extends
to the central portion from Opelika, terminating
at Buffalo Wallow.

La Fayette is a jjleasant little city. It is located
in the central portion of the county, and enjoys an
excellent trade. It possesess all the advantages of
rail communication, and is the seat of several edu-

178

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

179

cational institutions of ii high order. The inhab-
itants are noted for their refinement and liospital-
ity, and no city of its size iu the State can present
more attractions as a home.

Churches of the leading Christian denomina-
tions are found here;

The other towns, worthy of mention, are Fre-
donia, Miljtown and Cussetta. At the hitter place
the celebrated treaty was concluded with theMus-
cogees in 18;3'^, whereby that tribe surrendered a
large body of land, the last of its possessions in
Alabama, to the General Government.

COTTON BELT.

AUTAUGA COUNTY.

Population: AVhite, 4,760; colored, 8,105. Area,
660 square miles. Woodland, 060 square miles.
Gravelly hills, .560 square miles. Calcareous lands,
100 squai'e miles.

Acres — In cotton 30,130; in corn, 20,750; in
oats, 2,010; in wheat, 940; in rye, 110; in rice,
37; in sugar-cane, 62; in sweet potatoes, 500.

Approximate number of Ijales of cotton, 7,700.

County Seat — Prattville: population, 1,625; lo-
cated fifteen miles northwest of Montgomery.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Progress
and Southern Signal (both Democratic).

Postoffiees in the County — Autaugaville, Bill-
ingsley, Bozeman, Independence, Jones Switch,
Kingston, Milton, :\rulberry, Prattville, States-
ville, Vine Hill, Wads-.voil!' "

Prior to 1818 this was a part of the territory of
the county of Montgomery. In the fall of that
year the Legislature at St. Stephens, assembled, by
statutory enactment, created the new county of
Autauga. It was named for Autauga Creek, a
stream rising among the northern hills of the
county, and meandering in a southerly direction,
empties into the Alabama river.

The exact significance of the word "Autauga "
is not now known. By some it is claimed to have
meant "dumpling," an article of food, indicating
a land of plenty. By others it is thought to mean
" Clear Water. " The latter is pro1)ably more nearly
correct.

The county is bounded on the east, west and
north by Elmore, Dallas and Chilton Counties,
respectively, and on the south by the Alabama
Eiver. Skirting the entire southern line of the
county, the Alabama River affords ample trans-

portation for its products to Montgomery, Selma
and Mobile. The Louisville & Nashville Eailroad
crosses the northeast corner of the county, and
the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia traverses
nearly the whole of its western boundary. There
are also several other railways contemplated and
surveyed, whose routes will penetrate the interior
section of the county, and give outlet to the in-
exhaustible minerals of Bibb, Tuscaloosa, and
Walker Counties, and to the magnificent lumber
of Autauga and Chilton.

The soils of Autauga County are of every vari-
ety. They are the isinglass lands and rich allu-
vial river bottoms, occasional jiatches of prairie,
sandj' surfaces with clay subsoil, rich hummock,
and elevated red or brown table-lands. The sur-
face of the county isgenerally broken and undulat-
ing, and yet in that portion bordering on the river,
and even in the northern section where the hills
predominate, there are extensive level plateaus
well adapted to the purpose of agriculture. In-
deed some of the most attractive farms to be found
in Central Alabama maybe seen in this county. In
the ujjper or northern section the soil is compara-
tively thin, and yet in many of the valleys and
creek bottoms there is considerable productiveness,
and the jieople often make good crops of the
cereals, besides cotton, and are happy and content.
It is in northern Autauga that the tall yellow
pine, which is of so much commercial value, tow-
ers to j)erfection; and acres of this valued growth
remains to-day in virgin ignorance of the sound
of the woodman'.-* axe or saw. In the lower or
southern section there are endless kinds of trees,
the black, red and white post oaks, hickory.

180

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

181

including shell bark, chestnut, walnut, persimmon,
ash, sassafras, dogwood, poplar, gum, oodar, and
cypress, with pines interspersed. The jirocuring
of cypress and other valuable timbers for ship-
ment is becoming an industry. The woods and
forests at seasonable periods abound in fruits and
(lowers. Tiiere the wild grape and muscadine
nourish in the greatest profusion, and when spring
comes and touches nature with her verdure tlie
most fragrant and lovely Howcrs, from the expan-
sive magnolia to the modest violet, regale the
senses and laden the air with the sweetest perfume.

The soils of Autauga, under judicious cultiva-
tion respond in abundant crops of cotton, corn,
peas, potatoes, rye, oats, barley, wheat, chufas,
rice, millet, milo-maize, sorghum, and sugar-cane.
Perhaps in no section does tiie seuppernoiig grape
grow in greater profusion in proportion to its cul-
tivation. Pecans are also succestffully produced.
The gardens and orchards, uiuler proper manage-
ment, return all vegetables and fruits known to
the climate, embracing, in the line of the latter,
apples, pears, peaches, grapes, quinces, prunes,
dates, plums, pomegranates and figs.

Perhaps no land is more favored with bright, run-
ning streams than Autauga. From north to south
her territory is traversed witli a number of bold and
beautiful creeks, wliose waters in many instances
skirt rich productive bottom lands. Among these
may be mentioned Big and I^ittle Mulberry, Ivy,
Swift, White Water, Hear. Autauga, Beaver. Pine,
Big and Little Mortar. Upon the courses of these
streams may be found many eligible locations for

the founding of manufactories and industrial
institutions.

This was one of the pioneer counties of the
State in manufacturing. Located at Autaugaville
are two cotton factories; at Prattville, one cotton
factory, one sash, door and blind factory, and one
cotton-gin factory. The Prattville Cotton-(;in
Manufactory is the largest of the kind in the
world. It employs upwards of one hundred men,
turns out over one thousand gins annually, and
the " Pratt (iin " is known throughout the civil-
ized world. Xear Prattville, also, is a cotton fac-
tory, and scattered throughout the county is tJie
usual number of grist-mills, shoe and blacksmith
shops, ])ublic ginneries, etc. In the eastern part
of the county is an earthenware establishment,
manufacturing jugs, churns, urns and other arti-
cles of clay.

Ochre, fire-clays, paints and pigments abound in
the county, while many of her miignificent springs
are pregnant with healing and health-giving min-
erals.

Land is worth from one dollar to fifteen dollars
per acre, and fine farming land can be liad for three
dollars per acre. Government land in the county,
about 12,000 acres.

Kate of taxation, forty cents on the *:loO; coun-
ty debt, none.

The people are law-abiding, iiospitable, indus-
trious and jtatriotic. The public-school system is
but indifferently developed, though popular
enough witli the masses, and growiftg in impor-
tance, (leneral health of the county, good.

II.

CHOCTAW COUNTY.

Population: White, 7,390; colored, 8,341.
Area, 930 square miles; oak and hickory and long
leaf pine uplands, 830 square miles; pine hills,
100 square miles.

Acres — In cotton 31,080; in corn, 25,013; in
oats, 3,338; in rice, 38: in sugar-cane, 101; in
tobacco, 23; in sweet potatoes, 7-18.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, lO.oOO.

County Seat — Butler: population, 300; forty
miles east of Meridian, Miss., near the Tombigbee
River.

Newspaper published at County Seat — The
Choctaw Herald (Democratic).

Postoffices in the County — Aquilla, Ararat,
Bergamot, Bevill's Store, Bladen Springs, But-
ler, De Sotoville, Fail, Isney, Lenora, Lusk, Mel-
vin, ]\Iount Sterling, Naheola. Pushmataha, Res-
cueville, Silas, Souwilpa. Tompkinsville, Tusca-
homa, Womack Hill, Yantley Creek.

The county was organized December 29, 1847,
from territory originally belonging to Washing-
ton and Sumter Counties. It is in the western
portion of the State, and bounded, north by Sum-
ter, south by Washington, east by Marengo and
Clarke, and west by Mississippi.

The lands are rolling and flat. The ridges and
pine lands are sandy, but the river and creek
" bottoms" are all alluvial. The pine forests are
extensive, and can be and are being made a source
of great wealth.

Grazing for cattle is in great abundance and
first-class in the outlying lands.

The inhabitants are honest, industrious, brave
and patriotic, and gladly welcome all good people
who may come to make their home with them.
There are numerous churches and school-
houses scattered throughout the county easy of
access.

HI.
BARBOUR COUNTY.

Population: White, 13,091; colored, 20,888.
Area, 860 square miles. Woodland, all. Oak,
hickory and long-leaf pine, 610 square miles; Blue
marsh land, 250 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 100,000; in
corn, 61,800; in oats, 10,300; in wheat, 150; in rye,
100; in rice, 50; in tobacco, 25; in sugar-cane, 650;
in sweet potatoes, 1,300.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, in round
numbers, 26, 100.

County Seat— Clayton; population, 1,200; lo-

cated seventy-five miles southeast of Montgomery,
and at the terminus of the Eufaula & Clayton Rail-
road.

Newspa25ers published at County Seat — Courier,
Democrat; at Eufaula, Mail, Times, Xeivs — all
Democratic.

PostofRces in the County — Batesville. Belcher,
Bush, Clayton, Clio, Coleridge, Cotton Hill, Cow-
ikee. Cox's Mill, Elamville, Eufaula, Harris, Haw-
kinsville, Howe, Lodi, Louisville, Mcluness,
]Mount Andrew, New Topia, Oateston, Pea River,

183

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

183

Ueccler's>[ill. Star Hill. Tuli. \S\\\W Oak Springs,
White I'oiul.

'I'lic county was organized in 183'^, and luinied
ill lionor of Gov. James Barbour, of X'irginia. It
lies ill the eastern portion of tlie State, and issep-
aralcd from Georgia by the C'liattahooclice River,
Hliich forms its entire eastern boundary. Harbour
ranks as one of the leading counties in tlie State.

.\ line drawn east and west through Harbour
County, near the center, will divide it into two
parts wiiich are quite dissimilar. The soils on the
iicirth of this line are more or less calcareous, those
(111 the south, sandy. The northern half has a sub-
stratum of marl and limestone of the upper cre-
taceous formation, which, acting upon the soil,
gives rise to some of the best and safest cotton
lauds in the State. This portion of the county is
il rained by the tiiree forks of Cowikee Creek, and
is known thoiighout the county a.s the Cowikee
lands.

Tlie soil is moderately stiff, calcareous clay,
with patches of what is known as hog-wal-
low, which are seldom more than an acre or two
in extent. In the immediate vicinity of the
streams the soil is much more sandy, but highly
productive. The general appearance of these
lands is that of a gently undulating, occasionally
hilly region, somewhat resembling the prairies of
the Rotten Limestone country, hut with reddish
or light-colored soils. This region, though fertile,
is malarious, and is inhabited by comparatively
few white families. The negroes, however, appear
to endure it very well. There is a peculiar mix-
ture of trees characterizing these lands,viz. : hick-
ory, white and Spanish oaks, sweet and sour gums,
and long-leaf pine. The latter appears to be out
of place with sucli surroundings.

'I'he Chattahoochee Kiver forms the eastern
boundary of the county, and the bottom lands of
this stream are from one to three miles wide, and
very productive, Xext to these are the second
linltoiiis or liuinniock.s, or pine Hats, always safe
and easy to cultivate. Bordering upon these are
the foot-hills of the pine uplands.

Although the larger part of the surface of this
county is orcupicd by lirowii lnaiiis, with a

growth of oak, hickory, and pine, yet the charac-
teristic agricultural features of Barbour depend
upon the blue marls of the Cowikee and other
drainage areas of tiie northern half of the county.
A large proportion (more than half) of the cotton
crop is produced in the northeastern part of the
county, where these maris give character to the
soils. There is, jierhaps, no part of the State
which ranks higher in the jiroduction of cotton
than the blue marl lands of adjacent parts of
Russell, Barbour and Bullock Counties, whose
prevailing soils are light, sandy loams, easily
worked, possessing a comparatively high percent-
age of lime, by which they are rendered extraor-
dinarily thrifty.

From the hills in tiie southwest have been gath-
ered specimens of iron ore. Lime rock iirevails
in abundance in different portions of Barbour,
while specimens of kaolin have been secured. In
the town of Louisville is a bed of green marl
about twelve or eighteen feet below the surface,
and in vast quantities. Repeated experiments by
gardeners prove its value.

In the southern portion of the county, four
miles above the line of Dale, is a great natural
curiosity in the form of a niagniticent spring, the
dimensions of which are 4itx80 feet. Its waters
are of a bluish cast and so transparent that the
light glows through them. The eye of a fish is
distinctly seen in their shining depths. This was
once a point of popular resort, but since the de-
struction of the spacious hotel it has been aban-
doned as such. The waters of this spring are sup-
posed to possess wonderful curative powers. There
issues directly from it a large, bold stream.

Clayton is the county seat, and is a pleasant
little village. It is the seat of several excellent
institutions of learning.

Eufaula, on the Chattaliooclieo. is the most im-
portant place in Eastern Alabama. It is a cily of
between six and seven thousaml people, and has
a promise of an extensive growth in tlie near fu-
ture. Eiifaula's commercial importance will be
greatly increased by the completion of several
railroads which are projected. Batesville and
Louisville are the other towns of the coiinly.

IV.
BULLOCK COUNTY.

Population: White, 0,800; colored, 21,4S(;.
Area, 000 square miles. Woodland all, excejit a
few square miles of prairie. Prairie region, 300
square miles (300 of black prairie etc.. and 10'.)
hill prairie, or Chunnenugga Kidge). Oak and
hickory iiplands, with long-leaf pine, oGO square
miles.

Acres in cotton (approximately), SO, 470 ; in
corn, 47,441; in oats, 0,177; in wheat. 111; in rye,
88; in sugar-cane, 429; in rice, 10; in sweet pota-
toes, 77.'S.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, in
round numbers, 22,000.

County Seat — Union Springs; jjopulatiou, 2,200;
situated near the center of the county.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Bullock
dounty Reporter and Herald (both Democratic).

Postoffices in the County — Aberfoil, Arbor
Vitfe, Bughall, Enon, Fitzpatrick's, Flora, Guer-
rytown, Hector, Indian Creek, Inverness, James,
Midway, Mitchell's Station, Mount Hilliard,
Perote, Pine Grove, Postoak, Shopton, Straw-
berry, Suspension, Thompson. Three Notch,
Uninn Springs.

Bullock County, situated in what is known as
the Black Belt of Alabama, was formed in 1880
out of j)arts of the adjacent counties of Maconj
Eussell, Barbour, Pike and Montgomery.

It took its name from the late Edward C. Bul-
lock, of Barbour County.

The tax valuation of its jiroperty in 1887 was
about $3,500,000, with rate for the county of four
mills, which is sufficient for current expenses, the
county being out of debt.

The county is divided into two nearly equal
parts by Chunnenugga Ridge, which extends quite
through it from the northeast to the southwest.

That portion north and west of the Eidge is
known as the prairie district. It is from 100 to
150 feet lower than the ridge, and is for the
most part level but sufficiently undulating for

thorough drainage. These lands are chiefly what
are known as black and post oak prairie, being of
calcareous formation, interspersed in many places
with jihosphatic nodules, and are very rich. They
are best adapted to cotton and corn, which con-
stitute the chief crop, though small grain, jiotatoes.
sugar-cane, and all varieties of vegetables and
nnmy fruits grow quite as well.

From a third to half a bale of cotton and twelve
to fifteen bushels of corn to the acre, are regarded
as about the average yield. Fully one-half of the
tillable lands are devoted to cotton. 'J'hese lands
raTige in price from five to ten dollars per acre,
depending upon the amount and character of the
improvements.

That portion of the county south of the Kidge
is of drift formation, and constitutes what are
called the uplands. It is generally elevated, hav-
ing very nearly the altitude of the Eidge, sloping
gently, however, toward the south. This region
is composed mostly of what is known as oak and
hickory lands, sandy with clay subsoil. They are
abundantly watered, and in the main thoroughly
well drained, naturally. The head waters of Pea
and Conecuh Elvers are in this county; besides
there are important tributaries of the Chatta-
hoochee in the eastern, and Tallapoosa Eiver in the
western and northern jjarts of the county.

The lands in the southern part of the county,
though less rich than the prairie region, yield,
with moderate fertilization, abundant crops of
corn and cotton, and in their capacity for vegeta-
bles and all kinds of fruits are probably unexcelled
in the South. Stock-raising is but recently begin-
ning to receive attention, and promises from the
favorable soil and climate for the production of
grasses, to equal any of the more favored portions
of the State.

Besides several varieties of valuable native
grasses, the Japan clover [Lesindgezn) and Ber-
muda grass, imported i^robably through accident,

184

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

185

grow and spread abundantly on all uncultivated
lands. Many cultivated grasses as Texas blue
grass, Lucerne and .Mellilotus grow well.

JIucli of the original forestry still exists, abound-
ing in all varieties of oak, hickory, ash, elm, beach,
poplar, and other varieties of valualile woods.

.Manufacturing has hitherto received no very
special attention, the county iieiug preeminently
an agricultural one, though it is believed that,
situated centrally in the cotton belt as it is,
the manufacture of this staple might be made very
profitable. The altitude at Union Springs is 51'.f
feet above sea-level, being perliai)s the highest
l>oint on tiiis parallel of latitude anywhere be-
tween the Atlantic Ocean and Hocky ^[ountains.
This extraordinary altitude is thought to protect
it in some degree from excessive rain-fall, the
average from a correctly kept record of seventeen
years being only forty-eight inchesannually, which
was distributed tolerably nearly equally through
the four seasons of the year. The southwest
winds are most frequently the ones that attend the
rains, tiiough seasons of somewhat continuous
rains are chiefly brought by the southeast winds.

Gentle breezes from the south Gulf region are
very common during the summer months of June
and July, setting in late in the afternoon and con-
tinuing until midnight, generally roulering the
nigiits sutticiently comfortable for refreshing sleep.

The summer heat, which occurs cliiefly in June
and July, rarely a.<cends higher tiian 90'-\ nor is
this height maintained for very many days. Ex-
ceptionally it reaches 94'-'or 96", but these periods
are of short duration, usually not more than a day
or two, before they are broken by refreshing
showers.

From carefully kept vital and mortuary statis-
tics, regulated by law, it appears that the white
deatli rate from all causes, per 1,(10<) of ]iopulation
in 188<;, was 11.47, and in 1S8T the rate was 1(1.73
per l,Otiti.

The prevailing diseases, gleaned from the same
source, are malarial fever, dysentery and pneu-
monia. .\mong the colored people there is consid-
erable consumption, due probably to their want of
projjcr regard for personal hygiene, but the death

rate from this cause in 1887, in the county, was only
1.1 per l,00t)of population among the whites. In
deed,consumptiop,inanyof its forms, is a very rare
disease among the whites in this part of the State.
In most cases it yields to proper treatment, and,
it is known, to our physicians, that manv cases,
contracted in the North, get well by a kind of
felf-liuiitation when moved to the southern part
of Alabama.

Union Springs, the county seat, is situated near
the center of the county, on Chunnenuggee Ridge,
overlooking the immense prairie district to the
north, anil at the crossing of the Mobile & Girard
with the Montgomery & Eufaula Iiailroads. It
has a population of about -.'.500. It is beautifully
laid off and shaded with numerous oaks and elms.
It has several splendid buildings, among which may
be mentioned the court house, which cost about
1560,000, and in point of magnificence is second
only to the best in the State.

There are four churches, namely, Presbyterian,
ilethodist. Baptist and Episcopalian. There are
two very fine schools in successful operation. The
I' nion Springs Female College, chartered by the
Legislature in lhG6, Prof. H. K. W. Smith, Presi-
dent, with a full corps of teachers, and the Union
Springs Seminary, presided over by Prof. J. R.
Smith. There is also a street railroad owned by a
corporation of the town.

Surrounded by one of the finest agricultural
districts of the State, L'nion Springs has few
superiors in a business point of view. Her mer-
chants aie thrifty, and many of them in very easy
circumstances — a wealth that has for the most part
been accumulated by a legitimate business confined
to the immediate vicinit}'.

Midway, the next largest town in the county,
with a population of about 500, is situated on the
Montgomery & Eufaula L'ailroad, twelve miles
Southeast of I'nion Springs. It is noted for its re-
fined society, its excellent schools, the thrift of its
merchants and the fertile quality of its agricultu-
ral lands.

Enon, Guerryton, Perote, Inverness, Thomp-
son's and Fitzpatrick's are the other smaller
towns.

186

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

UNION SPRINOS.

LEWE SESSIONS, M. D., President of the
Bullock County Bank, was born March 37, 1825,
in Spalding County, Ga. His parents were Fred-
erick and Mary (Kendall) Sessions, who were
Georgians by birth

John Sessions, the grandfather of our subject,
was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and by
birth a North Oarolinian. Frederick Sessions was
a farmer, and died when his son Lewe was only
two years of age.

Our subject, in consequence of the death of liis
father, as already noted, was thrown on his own
responsibilities early in life. He did not have
what would be termed good educational advant-
ages, but made the best use of such opportunities
as were offered. He studied medicine at Augusta,
Ga., where he graduated from the medical col-
lege of that city in 1848. He came to Bullock
County, where he j^racticed his jjrofession for
nineteen years, and practiced one year in Bibb
County. After the war Dr. Sessions retired
from the practice and engaged in the general
merchandising business and farming until 1879.

In that year he organized the Bullock <^ounty
Bank, in company with J. F. Leary. He was
made j)resident of it, and still holds that position.
The bank is now a chartered State institution.
He was one of the organizers, and a stock-holder
of the Montgomery State Bank, and also sustains
the same relations to the Clayton Banking Com-
pany of Barbour County.

I)r. Sessions was married in 1847 to Miss Ange-
line, daughter of Jonathan and Margaret Musick,
of Chambers County, Ala. To their union one
child has been born, Statira. She is the wife of
Dr. Benjamin F. Coalman, of Florida.

The first Mrs. Sessions died in May, 1853, and
the Doctor was nuirried again in August, 1854,
to Miss Carrie, daughter of William [I. and Exie
(Maddox) Simmons, of Pike County, Ga. To
them two children have been born: Don. F. and
Bettie. The family are members of the Metho-
dist Episcojial Church, South.

A. and Virginia C. (Tarrant) Hogan, native Ken-
tuckians, and of Scotch-Irish descent. His father
was a merchant.

Samuel M. Hogan received his literary education
at Talladega, and attended medical lectures at
Nashville, Tennessee, in the session of 185G-'57.
When the war came on, he entered Company F, of
the fifty-first Alabama cavalry as a private, was
subsequently promoted to the position of surgeon,
and was on post and hos2")ital duty until the close
of the war.

Keturning from the war. Dr. Hogan settled and
commenced i^racticing medicine in Union Springs
and in 1873 graduated from the medical depart-
ment of the University of Louisville, Ky.

Dr. Hogan returned to Union Springs, took up
his practice and has since devoted himself untir-
ingly thereto. The result has been that he has
won a rejiutation which extends far beyond the
confines of his immediate locality. He is well
known all over the South, and favorably known as
a physician and sui'geon in various portions of the
United States. Dr. Hogan's office is one of the
best equipped in the way of surgical instruments
in the State; he has S2)eut for these alone thou-
sands of dollars. He acts on the wise plan that a
physician should always be prepared for any emer-
gency that arises, and it is his motto never to al-
low a case to pass him for lack of attention. In
September, 1887, Dr. Hogan was a member of the
International Medical Congress, which met at
Washington, D. C. He is a member of the County
Medical Society and the State iledical Association;
has been President of the former and Councilor in
the latter. He is also President of the County
Board of Censors.

Dr. Hogan is a permanent member of the
American Medical Association.

Our subject was married in 1865, to Miss Sallie
T., daughter of Thornton M. and Ann E. (Mc-
Lamare) Baugh, of Chambers County, Ala. The
family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South.

SAMUEL M. HOGAN, M. D., was born at Talla-
dega, this State, in ls:)8. His jjarents were James

NATHANIEL M. BLEDSOE, was born in April,
1835, in Butts County, Ga. His parents were
Morton and Mary (Bailey) Bledsoe. His father

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

187

was a native of Orange County, Va. . and liis
mother of Oglethorpe County, Ga. The senior
Mr. IJledsoe, was a planter. In political affilia-
tions, lie was an old-line Whig, and took an active
pai't in politics. lie died in Butts County, Ga.,
in 1^4.").

The subject of tiiis sketch was educated at
Jackson, Butts County, Ga., attended the Medical
De])ai-tnient of the University of the South, at
Nusliviile, TiMiti., in 18.").i-'.5l>-'57, and was gradu-
ated in the latti-r year. He began the practice in
.Macon, now Bullock County, in 1857, and has
here been actively engaged in professional work
ever since. During the war, he was detailed to
remain at home to extend his professional services
to his community. Dr. Bledsoe has had a large
practice for many years, and may be rankeil among
the successful physicians of the State.

lie has always been remarkably kind to the
poor and needy, going night and day to visit
them in their sickness and distress, generally ex-
tending to them the blessings of his medical skill
and the benefactions of his benevolent hand. Xo
doulit he has done more, (jratnitously, to bless his
fellow men around him than any other man of
his means in his ccmnt}".

Dr. Bledsoe has farmed extensively for a num-
ber of years. He takes an especial interest in
educational matters, and iias undoubtedly paid out
more money for the education of poor and orphan
chililren than any man in the county. Having
no children of his own. he has taken this noble
method of extending aid where it was most needed.
Among the particularly praiseworthy deeds in this
connection, may be mentioned his adojition of an in-
fant child when she was but seven days old, to whom
he gave the name of Nellie Lorena. She is now
grown to woman's estate, and is an accomplished
lady, unusually gifted in music and art. Dr.
Bledsoe has ])aid the tuition of some child for
the last thirty years, and has selected such as least
expected assistance.

In connection with his i>rofessioual labors. Dr.
Bledsoe has carried on the drug business. He
belongs to the Bullock County ifedical Society,
an<l has been its vice-president. (A\r subject
was married in December, 1857, to Miss Amanda,
daughterof .Iame.~ U. ['ickett, of Bullock County,
Ala. He is a Mason and a member of the Baj)-
tist Church.

As a Christian gentleman, he has always been
true to the ini|nilses of a warm heart, — ten-

derly alTectionate to his brethren, very kind and
liberal to his pastor, and ever prompt and active
in the discharge of his religious duties. Though,
from the very ardor of his nature, may be, he is
sometimes a little imi)etuous, yet, in the honesty
of his motives and the purity of his aspirations.
Dr. Bledsoe is truly a grand man, abounding in
every good word and woi-k.

JAMES T. NORMAN, Attorney -at-law, was born
.January :5ii, 1S3U, at Columbus, (ia. His parents
were James S. and Leah J. (Marks) Norman.
His father was a native of London, England, and
his mother a Georgian. The former came to the
United States when a boy, and lived in South
Carolina two years, afterward came to Georgia,
and, in 1854. located permanently in Russell
County, .Via. He died in 1871. at I'nion Springs,
Ala.

Our subject received a common-school educa-
tion; studied law in the office of Thomas & Down-
ing, at Columbus, Ga., was admitted to the bar
in 1849, and admitted to practice before the Su-
jirenie Court of Alabama, in 1857. He came
to I^nion Springs in 1S54. He entered the Con-
federate Army as a lieutenant in the Twenty-third
Alabama Infantry; was afterward promoted to
the rank of adjutant, which he filled until ilay.
1863, when he was taken prisoner, and kept two
months in the State penitentiary, at Alton. III.;
was then transferred to prison on Johnsoirs
Island, where he remained until February, 1805,
and was patroled a short time before the surren-
der.

Immediately returning home, Mr. Xorman be-
gan the ]iractice of law at L^nion Springs, which
he has successfully followed ever since. In 188"2,
he was elected to the Alabama Senate, and re-
elected in 1884. He was married in October,
1851, to Miss Mary E., daughter of Dr. David,
and Miriam (Eilaiid) Dean, of (Jeorgia. To them
five children have been born: Miriam, James D.,
Frederick D., Mary E., and Thomas J. He is a
member of the Presbyterian Church.

ROBERT H. HAYES. M. D., Union .Springs,
was Ijorn in May, Is"):), in Chambers County. Ala.
His parents were Dr. James A. and Anna L.

188

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

(Thomas) Hayes, native Georgians. Dr. Hayes,
Sr., iDracticed medicine at Union Springs from
1859 to 1883, and died in the latter year.

Our snbject received his elementary education
at the common schools, and attended Emory Col-
lege, at Oxford, Ga., in 1872. lie began reading
medicine in his father's office in the spring of 1875.
In the fall of 1875 and spring of 1870 he attended
the Medical Department of Vanderbilt University,
at jSTashville. In lS78-'9 he attended medical
lectures at the St. Louis Medical College, and
graduated from there in March of the laiter year.
He immediately commenced the practice at Union
Springs, where he has since been professionally
engaged. He is a member of the Bullock County
Medical Society and Examining Board; member
of and Senior Counselor in the State iledical
Association, and Health officer of Bullock County.

Dr. Hayes was married in 1883, to Miss Annie
M., daughter of Dr. Robert Williams, of Barbour
County. They have two children living: 3Iaud
C. and Carrie B.; Geraldine Hunter died at the
age of sixteen months.

Dr. Hayes is a member of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church, South.

CHARLES H. FRANKLIN, M. D„ was born in
May, 1838, at Albany, Ga. His parents were Tal-
bert H. and Mary (Adams) Eranklin, natives of
that State. The senior Mr. Franklin was a farmer,
and died at Elba, Ala., in 1866.

Charles H. Franklin was an attendant at a
boarding school, and received a liberal education;
taught school at Elba, this State, two years; at-
tended the medical department of the University
of Nashville, Tenn., one year, when the presence
of the Federal troof)s in that city closed the Uni-
versity. In January, 1805, he became a student in
the medical department of the University of Louisi-
ana, at New Orleans, and was graduated in 186G.
He had practiced medicine awhile prior to taking
his last course of lectures. In 1860 he located per-
manently at Union Sjirings, and at once entered
into a lucrative practice. He has also carried on
the drug business since his residence in that town;
has devoted much time and attention to agricul-
ture, and, being a most successful fruit raiser, is
worthily accounted a true disciple of Pomona.

Dr. Franklin is a member of the Pullock Coun-
ty Medical Society, and has been its president; he

is also counsellor in the State Medical Association,
and a member of the State Board of Health.

He was married in 1870, to Miss Sallie, daugh-
ter of Jabez B. and Jane (Ilarvy) Banks, of Rus-
sel County, Ala. To this union two children
were born, Charles and Lula. Mrs. Franklin
died in 1879, and the Doctor afterwards mar-
ried Miss Lula, a sister of his first wife, and to
them five children have been born: John K.,
Jerome C, James .1., Jane, and Higgs B.

DANIEL M. COLLINS, Clerk of the Circuit
Court of Bullock County, Ala., was born in Feb-
ruary, 1848, in the county where he now resides.
His parents were Charles B. and Elvira (Culpep-
per) Collins, who came from Georgia.

Daniel M. Collins received his education at the
common schools of Bullock County. After leav-
ing school he went to Montgomery, Ala., where
he read lav in the office of Governor Watts and
Col. Daniel S. Troy, and in 1873, was admitted to
the bar. He did not engage in the practice of
the law, but taught school and farmed until 1 80.
In 1884 he was Justice of the Peace, and two
years later was elected Circuit Court Clerk, and
is still filling the position with credit to himself
and to the interest of his county.

Mr. Collins was married in 1875 to Miss Sarah
E., daughter of Oliver and Martha (Martin) Pow-
ell, of Dallas County, Ala,, and to them three-
children have been born : Bertie, Charles M. and
Robert Lee.

FLEMING LAW, Attorney-at-law, was born in
October, 1833, at Sunberry, Liberty County,
Ga. His parents were Josiah S. and Ellen S.
(Barrett) Law, both Georgians. His father was
a minister of the Baptist Church in Georgia,
for over twenty-five years, and died in October,
1853.

The subject of this sketch was educated at the
common schools; read law in the office of Law &
Sims, Rainbridge, Ga, ; was admitted to the bar
in 1853. He was also admitted to practice before
the Supreine Court of that State in 1850. He
began the practice at Fort Gaines, Ga., which he
continued until 18G"2, when he entered the Con-
federate Army as a private in Company G, Fifth
Georgia Cavalry, and, being subsequently appointed

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

189

to a non-commissioned office, lie served in that
capacity until tlic war closed.

After the war, Fleming Law was farming until
18(i7: came in that year to I'nion Sjirings, and
resumed the practice of his profession, to which he
has since sedulously devoted his attention. Since
coming to Union Springs, he has held the oflice of
County Solicitor for six years, and has also been
Jfayor of the town. As a lawyer he ranks well at
the liar before which he practices,

Jlr. Law was married, in 185ti, to iliss Caledonia

A., daughter of 'William P, and Ann A. (Baily)
Ford, of Fort CJaines,(Ja. Tiiey have fourchildren:
M'iliiam F., Callie, DeLacy, and Claud,

Our subject has been a member of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church, South, for thirty-five years,
a steward therein for thirty years, and super-
intendent of the Sunday-school at L'nion Springs
for ten years.

He was a lay delegate to the General Conference
in 18:8. 18S-2 and 1S8(;, and to the Annual Con-
ferences several years.

DALLAS COUNTY.

Population: White, 8,42.5; colored, 40,008,
Area, 980 square miles. A\'oodland and Prairie,
830 square miles. Gravelly hills, with pine, 150
square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately). 115,031;
in corn, 4G,. 542; in oats. 8,260; in wheat, 71; in
tobacco, 13; in sugar-cane, 18; in sweet potatoes,
2,250.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 40, OOO.

County Seat — Selma; population, 10,.J00; situ-
ated on the Alabama river, liOO miles from its
mouth: center of trade, in cotton, lumber, iron,
and coal, at the terminus of the Western Railroad,
of Alabama; Selma & Pensacola; also Selma
& Cincinnati. Selma \ Mobile, and Selma & New
Orleans Uoads.

Postothces in the County — Helknap, Berlin,
Brown's, Burnsville, Cahaba, Central .Mills, Cren-
shaw, llarrell, Hazen, King's Landing, Marion
Junction, Martin's Station, Jfassillon, Minter,
Morrowvillc. Orrville, Plantersville, Pleasant Hill,
Portland, Richmond, Selma. Shields' Mill, Soap-
stone, Summerfield, Tasso, Terry, Tilden.

Dallas County was organized in 1818, during
Alabama's Territorial period, and was named in
honor of Hon. A. .1. Dallas, of Pennsylvania.
Rate of taxation, *!l.05 on tiie *100. Bonded
debt, for railroad purposes, 4^73.000, Floating

debt none. About 144 miles of raiload cross the
county in all directions, giving eveiy portion
ample shipping and market facilities.

The surface of the country is gently undulating,
and in no portion is found barren soils. Along
the Alabama and Cahaba Rivers the lands are
famous for their depth, strength and fertility, and
the second bottoms, or terraces found after the
bottoms arc passed are level and susceptible of a
high state of cultivation. In the northwestern
part, pine lands prevail and lumbering is the prin-
cipal industry. Thi.s region is noted for its clear.
swift-tlowing streams, healthfulness and excellent
pine timber, but as the forests disappear it is grad-
ually being converted into an agiicultural section,
as cotton, corn, potatoes, fruits and vegetables
are found to do most excellently there. All of the
northern part is elevated and well adapted to gen-
eral farming and stock-raising. Upon the table
lands the soils are red and gray, friable, easily cul-
tivated and very jiroductive. Toward the center
sandy "lands are encountered, interspersed with
flowing streams. These sandy lands are very pro-
ductive, and by many preferred to either bottom
or uplands. In the western portion are found the
famous caiiebrake lands, which for productiveness
and location are unexcelled, while lower down on
the western border are found variable soils, and a

190

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

great diversity of forest growth and field vegeta-
tion.

Dallas produces more cotton than any other of
Alabama's sixty-six counties, and its farm pro-
ducts exceed in value those of any other county
in the State.

Land is worth from ^"•2..">0 to §40 per acre, and
excellent farming land maybe purchased from *10
to $15 per acre. Government land. none. Titles
wee perfect, and from the records kept at Selma, a
perfect abstract title may be easily obtained.

The educational advantages of Dallas County
are among its many attractive features. There
are over one hundred public schools in the rural
district, wliite or colored; the latter, while not en-
joying educational privileges in common with the
former, being, nevertheless well provided for in this
direction, and the schools often taught by persons
of their own race. Every neighborhood has its
school-house and is provided with efficient teach-
ers. Churches are also scattered jilentifully
throughout the county, and all the princii)al de-
nominations are represented. Thus it will be seen
that the new comer finds all the advantages of
civilization, a well-ordered and regulated com-
munity, and as intelligent and law abiding a citi-
zenship as that of his Northern and Western home.
In the far West all these things must be acquired
after many long years of frontier jiioneering, full
of danger, hardships and privation. It may be
true that sectional feelings and strong prejudices
against "Yankees" exist in the South, but if such
is the case, the writer, who has spent ten years in
traveling through every portion of that much-
maligned division of this great republic, has failed
to discover it. There are "cranks" and fools and
ignorant persons in every part of the world, but
no greater 2iercentage of this class is found in the
South than in the North, or elsewhere in the world,
for that matter. No one need be deterred from
going to Dallas County for fear of ostracism or
nnkindness on account of political predilections;
because politics are less thought of now tlian

money making, and every dollar of Northern cap-
ital invested in the South (and millions are invest-
ed annually) is an unanswerable argument in favor
of the desirability, the advantages, resources and
glorious future of that grand section, and a lie
direct, given to malignant falsifiers of facts, who
for political purposes would make it appear
that neither Northern men nor northern capital
are safe in the South.

Certain it is that great advantages will be found
in Dallas County in the shape of fertility of soils,
cheapness of lands, abundance of timber, ease of
transportation, and the law-abiding disjjosition of
the jieople. More productive lands cannot be
found in the State than in this county, which
is the very heart of the South's great cotton
belt.

The class of immigrants wanted for the agri-
cultural districts of the State (Alabama) is small
farmers who understand our language and cus-
toms, men with money enough to pay their
fares, purchase their farms and live independ-
ent of charity or assistance from the community
in which they locate. And to this class every
good citizen says. Come and be welcome sharers
in the great favors which a bountiful nature
has lavished upon our fair State. Compare ad-
vantages and resources with those of your North-
ern or Western homes. We offer you the most
fertile lands at prices that will enable you to
pay for and imjorove them; we offer you a climate
the most delightful that the mind can conceive
of, and water as jiure as the earth produces.
We have ample and ever-increasing transporta-
tion facilities to carry your products to every
market in the world, and we offer you good so-
ciety, religious and educational advantages, a
good, wise and economical State, county and
municipal government; in short, all the advant-
ages of civilization, and extend the right hand
of fellowshiji, and welcome you most heartily,
provided your object is to live among us, and aid
in the grand work of developing our resources.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

191

DEMOPOLIS.

GEORGE WASHINGTON TAYLOR. Altorney-
at-la«' ami Solicitor of the First Judicial Circuit,
was born January Ifi, 1849, at Moiitgomery. and
is a son of Edward F. and Anne S. (Trezevant)
Taylor, both natives of Columbia, S. C. After
his father came to Alabama he was engaged in
planting: iuid at the time of his death he was a
Confederate soldier, and died at .Montgomery,
November 4, 18112.

Our subject was educated at the University of
South Carolina, situated at Columbia, which has
been a seat of culture and refinement for many
years. He was graduated from this institution in
June. ISfir. Going back somewhat, we find that
in November, 18(!4, he entered the army as a
private in Company D, of the First Regiment of
South Carolina Cavalry, and served in the capacity
of courier till April, 18(;5, when the war closed.

Immediately after his graduation, as already
noted, we find our subject engaged in teaching in
Jlobile, Ala., which he continued four years, and,
having read law in the meantime, he was admitted
to the bar in 18.1, In the following year he
located in Choctaw County, for the practice of
his profession, lie was a member of the Alabama
Legislature from Choctaw during the session of
18T8-T9, and served on a special committee and
was a member of the Judiciary Committee of the
House.

In November, ls8(i, he was elected Solicitor of
the First Judicial Circuit, and having come to
Demojjolis in January, 1883, to live, he was re-
elected from there to the same position in 188<i.
It needs no assurance on our part to satisfy our
readers that Mr. Taylor has been eminently suc-
cessful as a lawyer. If the tree is known by its
fruit then, indeed, can we know by the results of
his life'.s work thus far: and should we base the
outcome of the future on the past and present,
we can say that his life will present a well-rounded
and well-won series of events achieved in a useful
and noble calling.

Mr. Taylor was married January, 1881, to Miss
-Margaretta V. T., daughter of F]. H. and Mary J.
Metcalf, of ^lontgomcry. Their family consists
uf four children: Mary, Maggie M., Edward and
Lucy C,

Mr. Taylor is a member of the Masonic fraternity

of the Knights of Pythias and of the Episcopal
Church.

JOHN R, ROBERTSON, I'.anker, was born in
Hale County, this State, July 28, 1842, and is a
son of Henry C. and Julia 0. (Yancey) Robert-
son, natives of Virginia. The senior ilr. Rob-
ertson was a planter, and died in Sumter County,
this State, in Uctobei', 1879.

John R. Robertson attended the common schools
of his immediate locality until twelve years old,
and then entered the academy for boys kept by
the Rev. W. A, Stickney, at Marion, this State.
After completing a course of studies here he went
to Texas, and assumed control of a plantation
which his father owned, and was there when the
war broke out. He enlisted as a private soldier in
Company I), Fifth Texas, and was ]iromoted by
regular gradation until attaining the rank of
major. He gave four years to the cause of the
South, and participated in many battles. He was
wounded slightly while skirmishing around Rich-
mond in June, 18(i4.

Returning from the war in ISUo, Mr. Robertson
spent one year in the "Old Dominion," and
returned to Texas, where he engaged at farming
for three years. In December, 1869, he came to
Demojjolis, and engaged in the banking business
in partnership with Mr. R. H. Clark. After one
year Mr. D. T. Front bought out Mr. Clark's
interest, and the business was continued under the
firm name of Front & Robertson. This commer-
cial institution does a large business, and is rightly
regarded as a solid concern.

Mr. Robertson has achieved far more than the
ordinary measure of success, and being yet in the
prime of manhood, there is no extravagance in
asserting that a bright future yet awaits him in
his chosen field of life. He is identified with
other substantial enterprises, among which may
be mentioned the Presidency of the Demojiolis Oil
Mill Comiiany. and the directorship of the ilem-
phis & Pensacola Railroad, a line now in process
of construction.

Mr. Robertson was married in May, L^C.'i, to
Miss Virginia, daughter of II. F. and .Mary (King)
Watson, of Christian Countv, Ky.

192

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

He is a member of the Episcopal Church, one
of its wardens, takes an active interest in all its
affairs, and was for some years superintendent of
the Sunday-school at liis liome. He is also a
member of the Blasouic fraternity.

E. H. C. BAILEY, Physician and Surgeon,
was born at Lewisburg, Va".. December 14, lo25,
and his parents were Edward B. and May C.
Bailey, natives, respectively, of Virginia and
South Carolina.

The senior Mr. Bailey was a distinguished at-
torney, and was several years Judge of the Fayette-
ville Circuit of Virginia. He was an active poli-
tician, and in several presidential campaigns was
district elector. He died at Demopolis, at the
residence of his son, in 1874.

Dr. Bailey was educated at Lewisburg Academy,
and entered the Medical Deiiartment of the Uni-
versity of Virginia, at Charlottesville, in 1846,
graduating June 20, 1848. In the same year he
began the practice of his profession at his home,
and afterward moved to Kanawha County, W.
Va., where he remained until 1852; from
thence to Palmyra, Mo., and continued the
practice until 18G1. Early in this year, he was
made Chief Surgeon of the Second Division of
the Missouri State Troops, in the service of the
Confederate States, and was afterward appointed
Surgeon of the Second Regiment, First Brigade,
of that State.

In 1862, Dr. Bailey was appointed Medical
Purveyor in the Department of Alabama, Mis-
sissippi, and East Louisiana, in which position he
remained until the war closed.

Thus do we see a young man emerging from
the halls of his medical instruction, and, by de-
serving and sterling qualities, winning his way
rapidly as an excellent and skillful physician and
surgeon, and the crowning glory of his career
comes when his ability is thought amply sufficient
to entitle him to recognition in such distinguished
manner as we have just chronicled: nor does he
prove any way lacking in the qualities which go
to make up the faithful, worthy, useful and skill-
ful jDhysician and surgeon. How much he did to
relieve suffering humanity will never be known to
but comparatively the fewest number: but he will
be ever held in honest esteem by thousands of
people throughout the South.

He came to Demopolis in 186.5, and has been
in active j)ractice ever since.

Dr. Bailey belongs to the State and County
Medical Societies, and has served several years as
president of the latter.

He was married in 1851 to iliss ^largaret,
daughter of John Shrewsburg, of Kanawha
County, W. Va. Their union has been blessed
with five children — John S., Edward B.. Alex-
ander C, Mary Cori-ie and Eobert Augustus.
The familj' are communicants of the E]iiscopal
Church, and the Doctor is a member of the Ma-
sonic fraternity.

— — ^'-"^^^- < ' ■ •

JAMES F. RUFFIN, Physician and Surgeon,
was born December, 1826, in Rockingham County,
N. C, and is the son of James H. and Susan
(Williamson) Euffin, natives of Virginia and
Xorth Carolina, and of English and Scotch de-
scent, respectively.

James F. Ruffin graduated in the literary
course from the University of North Carolina in
1846: three years afterward graduated in medi-
cine from the University of Pennsylvania (Phil-
adelphia), and at once came to Demopolis to
inirsue the practice of his profession, where he
has ever since been living.

Dr. Ruffin was married in January, 1851, to
Miss Rosalie, daughter of Samuel Strudwick, of
Marengo County. Her death occurred in 1860,
and he was married, the second time, to Miss
Ann, a sister of his first wife, in 1864. Dr.
Ruffin has one child, Agnes Y.

The Doctor is a Mason and a member of the
Knights of Pythias.

GEORGE GAINES LYON, Attorney-at-law, was
borii in W ashington County, Ala., January 11,
1821. He is a son of James Gaines and Rosa
(Fisher) Lyon, natives of North Carolina. His
father was a prominent lawyer, and, for sevei-al
years. Clerk of the Circuit Court and Register in
Cliancery, in Washington County. In 1827 he
went to Mobile: engaged quite extensively in the
real estate business and the practice of law, and
was for a time Register in Chancery. He was the
eldest brother of the Hon. F. S. Lyon, and nephew
of the late George S. Gaines, who was one of the

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

193

first settlers of Alabama. He remained there
until his death in l.s4'.'.

Our subject studied law at famous old Yale Col-
lege \a,\s School. Iteturning lumie. lie began
the practice in the citj' of Mobile, and after remain-
ing there a short time lie removed to Demopolis.
He was admitted to the bar in February, 1S40, arid
subsequently admitted to practice before the Su-
preme Court. Since coming to the bar he has been
in the active practice at Demopolis, and has been
eminently successful, both professionally and finan-
cially.

During the war. Mr. Lyon jield the ofiice of
Sequestrator, and was, in addition, one of the
Commissioners of the Confederate (iovernment.
During the administration of Gov. John Gill
Shorter, he was the (iovernor's Aid for West Ala-
bama.

Since the advent of Democratic rule at Wash-
ington Mr. Lyon is among those who luive been
favored, in consequence of his fitness and admirable
qualifications for tiie holding of public ofiice, and
was by reason of this and without his solicitation
made United States Circuit Court Commissioner.
In this position, as elsewhere, he has given every
evidence of his capacity for what he has undertaken
to do, and Uncle Sam in no wise has reason to re-
gret iuiving thus favored one of his faitiiful and
worthy citizens.

Mr. Lyon, for a man of liis ])osition. capacity,
fitness, influence and acceptabloness to the peo-
ple, has held very few otlices. This has not been
owing to that the office was not in reach, but
because he has not been of that class of citizens,
wiio are always anxious for political preferment.
Among the conspicuous examples which we may
cite ill supjwrt of this fact was his declination of
two nominations of tiie Whig party to run for the
legislature, once, for the lower house and once for
the senate; and also, of the office of chancellor, in
1SG8. an office which owing to its dignity, honor
and lucrativeness, has always made it a prize
eagerly sought after: but he turned aside from

this, prefering, as much greater prizes, the pleasure
of domestic life and the success of its professional
labors.

Mr. Lyon was married in April, 18.50, to Miss
Annie (i., daugiiter of Allen and Mary A. (Diven)
(ilover, one of the leading and best families of
Marengo County. To tiiem iiave been born nine
children, of whom James (i., Allen G., Xorman
and Francis S. are all dead. Of the children who
grew to maturity may be mentioned: Rosa, after-
ward Mrs. William T. Kembert, who met a dread-
ful fate in the burning of the Steamer " (iardner,"
on the Tombigbee IJiver, in 1887: Susie D., wife of
Julius P. Rembert, met the same fate as her sister,
at the same time; George C, is now a promi-
nent physician at Pulte Medical College, Cincin-
nati; Mary G. and Annie (i.

Our subject is a member of the F. A. & M.,
and an active and efficient member of the Method-
ist Episcopal Church, South.

Several years back, when tlie Grange movement
started in the South, Alabama was no exception to
the list of Southern States taking hold of the
movement, believing it to be for her material
good. Mr. Lyon interested himself very much in
the movement, and gave it all the aid in his power.
In 1S7">, he was appointed by Gov. George S.
Houston, Commissioner of Immigration, and, in
connection with it. took an active and aggressive
part in the canvass of the southern portion of the
State on the subject, which was then absorbing a
considerable part of the ])ublic attention.

Mr. Lyon's grandmother was a Gaines, sister of
the late George Strother Gaines, and General E.
P. Gaines, who were among the first settlers of
Alabama, at St. Stej)hen's.

Since the above sketch was written, Mr. Lyon's
son, Francis Strother Lyon, died of Bright's disease,
January 111, 1888, in the twenty-fourth year of his
age. lie graduated at the University of Alabama,
in 188G, and, at the time of his death, was study-
ing law in his father's office, with fine prospects
before him.

VI.
ELMORE COUNTY.

Population: White, 8,74T; colored, 8,755.

Area, 630 square miles. Woodland, all. Grav-
elly hills, with long-leaf pine, "^30 square miles;
metamorphic 400 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 31,045; in
corn, 20,000; in oats, 5,153; iu wheat, 3,883; in
rye, 37; in rice, 5: in tobacco, 12: in sugar-cane,
16; in sweet potatoes, 642.

Approximate number of bales of cotton — 10,000.

County Seat — Wetumpka; population 1,20():
on the Wetumpka branch South & North IJuil-
road.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Elmore
Express, Times (both Democratic).

Postoffices iu the County — Bingham, Bnyck,
Central Institute, Channahatchee, Colley, Coosada
Station, Cotton's Store, Deetsville, Eclectic, Edge-
wood, Elmore, Good Hope, Irnia, Kowaliga, Kob-
inson Springs, Sand Tuck, Sykes' Mills, Tallas-
see, Ware, Weoka, Wetumpha.

Elmore County was created out of portions of
Coosa, Autauga, Montgomery and Tallapoosa Coun-
ties, by an act of the Legislature approved Febru-
ary 15, 1866. The county was named for Gen.
John A. Elmore, who was one of the first settlers of
Autauga County, and resided in that portion which
was embraced in this county. The county is d ivided
into two parts by the Coosa River, and the Talla-
poosa, which forms a portion of its eastern bound-
ary, takes a bend and washes its entire southern
border.

The surface of the county is generally rolling.
The lands vary in appearance, and in thcraerit of
their soils. The gray lands have the predomi-
nancy in the county, and vary with the localities.
On the Coosa River above Wetumpka, there are
found narrow basins of good land, but out from
these bottoms there are formed level plains wliich
are generally covered with a sandy soil. On the
side of the Coosa River, opposite the town of
Wetumpka, there is an extended plain which
stretches away to the boundary of Autauga County.
The character of the land belonging to this level

stretch of country is a sandy surface ^vith a stiff
clay subsoil. This gives to the wagon ways a per-
jsetual firmness, and renders hauling easy. Follow-
ing along the Tallapoosa one finds a girt of
superior lands which are excellent for the pro-
duction of cotton and corn. Perhaps the best
lands are found in the fork of the Coosa and Talla-
poosa Rivers. These alluvial bottoms have been
steadily planted for many years, and have yielded
unceasingly heavy crops of corn and cotton. The
planters prize these river lands because of their
capacity to produce the snowy staple as well as the
stafE of life, to-wit, corn, more than any others in
the county.

The lands that lie just above those alluded to,
and which are above the annual overflow of the
rivers, are also superb cotton lands, and are re-
garded the safest for the production of that staple.
Of course, it must not be understood that the
production of cotton is confined to these lands.
In different parts; of the county are brown loam
and slaty soils, which yield splendid crops.

Elmore has many magnificent pine forests, and
on many of its streams fine saw-mills are erected,
which turn out large quantities of fine pine lum-
ber for local use, as well as for shipment to south-
ern and western markets.

The health of the county is unsurpassed, and
all portions of it possess drinking water as jiure and
wholesome as any found in any portion of the
world. The climate is equable, and the hills make
most desirable residences for those to whom a
healthy locality and an abundance of pure water
for all purposes is an inducement in selecting a
home.

Among the fruits which experience has proven
will thrive in Elmore County may be mentioned:
pears, apples, figs, j^eaches and grapes, while
strawberries, raspberries and other small fruits
yield abundantly.

The timber of the county consists of oak, jjine,
hickory, beech, walnut, magnolia, dogwood, gum
and persimmon.

194

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

195

Yellow uchre has heen discovered at several
points in tlie county, sind is reported to be of an
excellent grade. The county can produce a buhr
stone, for millstones, which in service is equal
to any ever used, and in crushing corn into meal
is superior to many so-called finer varieties. In
addition there are deposits of stone which is
very durable and useful as a building stone. Gold
exists in localities in the county, and has been
worked with great profit and satisfaction to those
engaged. Large deposits of clay have been
found in the county, which is thought valuable
for the manufacture of a tine grade of porcelain
ware, while some sands of tiie county have
been pronounced to be excellent for making glass.

At Tallassee, on the Tallapoosa Kiver, is the
Tallassee Cotton Factory, which was, for many
years, the largest mill of that character in the
South. The falls in the river at that point far-
nish immense water-po«'er, which is only slightly
utilized. This is but one of the numerous sites
favorable to the location of manufactories in the
county.

Splendid streams of water ramify the county
in all directions. Among these are the Coosa
and Tallapoosa Kivcrs, Shoal. Wewoka, Mill,

Safkahatchee, Hatchee, Chubbee. Corn, and
Wallahatchee Creeks. Tiiese lesser streams find
outlet.s through either the Coosa or Tallapoosa
Hi vers.

The points of interest in the county arc \Ve-
tumpka, the county seat, with a jiopulation of
1,500; Tallassee, with about 1,200; and Kobinson
Springs. Wetumpka has long been noted as the
location of the State Penitentiary. Tallassee is
famous as a manufacturing center, and Robinson
Springs, in former years, was a noted local resort
for the vlitc of Montgomery.

The educational advantages of the county are
good, as are also facilities for the enjoyment of
religious worship. The means of transportation
are convenient. The Louisville & Nashville
Railroad runs through the county, a branch of
wliich terminates at Wetumpka, while in the
eastern end the Western Railroad is sutticientiy
near to be quite accessible. The Coosa River fur-
nishes another cheap means of transportation to
Montgomei'y and Selma upon the Alabama River,
and the cities upon the Southern coast.

Lands may be had from %\.h^ to ^15 per acre
in the county. The Government owns 7,320
acres of land subject to entry.

VII.
GREENE COUNTY.

Population: White, 3,76.''); colored, 18,106. Area,
520 square miles. Woodland all, except about
twenty-five square miles of prairie.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), i>3,G43: in
corn, 31,820; in oats, 2,103; in wheat, 214; in rye,
25; in sugar-cane, 25; in tobacco, 41; in sweet
potatoes, 705.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 1."),8(M).

County seat — Eutaw; population 1.100; situated
on the Alabama <)t Great Western Railroad, thirty-
five miles from Tuscaloosa, and sixty miles west
of Selma.

Newspapers published at t'ounty Seat — Mirror,
Whig and Observer (all Democratic).

Postoffices in the County — Boligee, Rurton's
Hill, Clinton, Dobbs, Eutair, Forkland. Knox-
ville, Mantua, Mount Hebron, Pleasant Ridge,
Tishabee, Union, West Greene.

The county bounded is on the north by the Sip-
sey River, on the east and southeast by the War-
rior River, and on the west and southwest by the
Tombigbee River; is situated in the western part
of Alabama, and, agriculturally considered, is
one of the best counties in the State. Its county

196

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

seat, Eutaw, is situated on the Alabama (ireat
Southern Ilailroad, and three miles west of a
steamboat landing on the Warrior River. Its
other towns are Forkland, 300 inhabitants, in
the southern part of the county, near the junc-
tion of the Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers; Bol-
igee, on the Alabama Great .Southern Railroad,
300 inhabitants: Mount Hebron, West Greene
and Pleasant Ridge, in the western part of the
county, near the Tombigbee River, each contain-
ing about 150 inhabitants: Knoxville, 200 inhab-
itants, and Union and Mantua, two small villages
in the northern j^art of the county. The Alabama
Great Southern Railroad crosses the county from
east to west. The lands lying south of this rail-
road, with a few exceptions, are what are known
as "canebrake lands,'' and much resemble the
jorairies of the North and Xorthwest. They are
very productive, an average crop being one-half
bale of cotton or thirty bushels of corn per acre.
These lands are worth from six to fifteen dollars
per acre, according to locality and fertility. North
of the river is a small belt of black or canebrake
lands, but the main body of the lands lying north
of this railroad are either dark red or gray sandy
lands. These sandy lands are good for all kinds
of farming, and respond generously to judicious
fertilizing. Thev are worth from two to twelve

dollars per acre, according to locality and quality.
The principal products of the county are corn,
cotton, peas, potatoes, molasses, and vegetables.
Large bodies of cane are to be found upon the un-
cleared lands of this county, which form a splen-
did winter jjasture for stock, and owing to the
sjilendid climate, fertility of soil and abundance
of water, and its adaptability to the growth of
clover, this county would be a sjilendid locality
for stock raisers. Greene County contains large
bodies of virgin timber, consisting of oak, red
and white, ash, poplar, cypress, hickory and pine,
and the Sipsey, Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers
would be splendid places for the lumber mills.
Greene County lies seventy miles south of Birming-
ham, and '• truck farming" there would yield good
and immediate profits.

Among the great men given to the State by
this county are to be mentioned the brilliant ad-
vocate, William M. Murphy: the eminent jurist,
John Erwin: the well-known Chancellor Clark.
These men are now dead. Among the living are to
be mentioned Thomas Seay, the present Governor
of Alabama, who was born in Greene County, and
Thomas W. Coleman, the present efficient Chan-
cellor of the Southwestern Chancery Division of
this State. Educational and religions facilities
of the countv are good.

EUTAW.

THOMAS WILKES COLEMAN, Chancellor,
is a son of James C. and ^[artha (Anderson)
Coleman, natives of North and South Carolina,
respectivel}'.

Judge Coleman's grandfather, John Coleman,
a planter, came from North Carolina to Alabama
in 1S18, and settled near Eutaw in 1821. James
C. Coleman, his son, was also a planter, and, like
his father, farmed successfully and on an exten-
sive scale.

Thomas Wilkes Coleman was born at Eutaw in
1833, educated partly at Green Springs, Ala.
and graduated in classical course at Princeton,
N. J., in 1853. He read law at Eutaw
under Stephen F. Hale (for whom Hale

County was named), and was admitted to the bar
in 1855.

Mr. Coleman volunteered in the Confederate
Army in 18C1, raised a company, and became its
cajitain. He was captured at the siege of Vicks-
biirg, and, at the battle of Missionary Ridge, was
wounded by a minie ball which passed entirely
through his body, destroying his left lung, and in-
cai)acitating him for further military duty. He
recovered from his wound, however (a fact which
seems marvelous to those who know its character
and extent), and resumed the practice of law.

Captain Coleman was a member of the Consti-
tutional Convention of 1805, and in 1866 he was
elected Solicitor for the Fifth Circuit, but was

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

197

ousted by the reconstruction performance of IKfiS.
In 1878 he was iippoitited to the same ofKce forthe
Seventh Circuit by Gov. K. W. Cobb, and, in
1880, was elected to that office by the Legislature,
for a six-years term. In 1886, Captain Coleman
was again elected .Solicitor for another six-years
term, and in ilarch, 1887, he was appointed Chan-
cellor of the Southwestern Chancery Division of
Alabama, by (rov. Thomas Seay.

Judge Coleman's life has been a busy one. In
politics, he has always been a staunch Democrat.
He lost a fortune by the war, but has made for
himself a name and a place among his people,
which might well be envied by the most fortun-
ate of the land. He was heartily opi)osed to the
idea of secession and war from its earliest in-
ception, but when the issue was made, he threw
his entire influence with the cause of his people.

The Judge was married in 18(30, to Miss
Frances J., daughter of Samuel J. Wilson, and
of a family very prominent in their locality and in
the Presbyterian Church, and has ten living
children, six sons and four daughters. One of the
sons, P]. W. Coleman, is practicing law in Texas;
another, T. W. Coleman, Jr., graduated at the
University of Alabama, in 1885, taught school two
years, and is now taking a law course at the
University of Virginia.

Judge Coleman is a Presbyterian of the old
school, and an elder in tiiat church. He is also a
IJoyal-Arch Mason.

WILLIAM C. OLIVER, Judge of the Pro-
bate Court of (ireene County, was born December
12, 181i>, in Xottoway County, \'a. His father,
Isaac Oliver, and his mother, Mary A. (i. Oliver,
were both of English lineage. His maternal
grandfather. Col. Parks Bacon, was a native of
Lunenburg County, Va. Asa Oliver, a paternal
uncle, was a member for many years of tiie \'ir-
ginia F^egislature: Charles Oliver, another uncle,
resided in Botetourt County, Va., and owned
many negroes and a large estate there.

Onr subject was reared and educated in Virginia.
He clerked in a retail store in Petersburg,
until he was twenty years old, and then came to
Alabama, settling at Erie, then the county seat of
(ireene. He there clerked and kept books. From
1840 to 1844, he clerked on the steamboat " Vic-
toria," which ran the Warrior River between Mobile

and Tuscaloosa. During a portion of this time he
was tax collector and assessor for Greene County.
In 1844, he was deputy-sheriff. He then en-
gaged as a drygoods salesman in Mobile for three
years, and was elected sheriff of Greene County in
18.i0, which office he held three years. He was
elected probate judge in 18.50, and served until
1808, when he was removed from office under the
reconstruction acts. In 1880, he was again
elected probate judge, and has held that office
ever since.

Judge Oliver was first married in 1842, to Miss
Elizabtth Phillips, daughter of W. II. Phillips,
of Ilillsboro, X. C. She died in 1850, leav-
ing three children, of whom two died in child-
hood, and Martha Epes grew to maturity and
married John P. Gilmer, In 1800, our subject was
married, to Miss Lizzie S. Whitehead, of Carroll
County, Miss., by whoni he had two children,
Jeannette, who married W. D. Duncan (a merchant
of Eutaw), and William W. Oliver, a teacher at
Tuscaloosa.

Judge Oliver is a Free & Accepted Mason.

WILEY COLEMAN. Attorney-at-law, was
born near GohLsboro. X. C, in 181!', and is a son
of John and Rhoda (Cobb) Coleman, natives of
tiie same State. The Coleman family, of whom
there is a great number, came originally from
England.

John Coleman came from Xorth Carolina with
his family, and first settled in Bibb County, Ala.,
in 1810 From there he removed to Greene
County, in 1821, and here lived until his death.
He was engaged here, as formerly, in planting; was
a good farmer, a good neighbor, and a member of
the Baptist Church; owned many slaves and
was in many respects a successful man. He ranked
among the best pcopleof his part of the State, and
left a posterity that has always borne an excellent
name for all tiie better traits of human nature.

Wiley Coleman was educated at Tuscaloosa and
La Grange, this State. He graduated in law at
the University of Virginia, in the year 1842, and
has devoted most of his life to its practice in Eutaw.
So far his life has flowed along smoothly and
harmoniously, with no more than the ordinary
number of exceptions. He was never married.

He was in the Mexican War for a short time;
has held few political oHicee, heing one of those

198

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

philosophical natures that preferred the quiet sat-
isfaction of a tranquil life to the broils and heai't-
bnruings that invariably fall to the lot of aspir-
ants for public favor.

Mr. Coleman was made Judge of Greene County
for one term, in 18-iG, and represented the
county in the Legislature two terms during the
war. He was a member of the State Constitu
tional Convention which formed a new Constitu-
tion for the State, in ISTS.

Being now at the age when men cease, gener-
ally sj^eaking, to be troubled with the cares and
excitement of life, he is, to use his own expres-
sion, taking his ease in the quiet retireinent of
private life.

JOSEPH P. MC QUEEN, Attorney-at-law,
was born in Eutaw, June z'l, lS.5-i. His
father, John McQueen, Avas born in Robeson
County, N. C. When quite a young man
he removed into Benuettsville, Marlborough Dis-
trict, S. C, and there practiced law until he
was sent to Congress, where he represented his
district for thirteen consecutive years jn-ior to
the war.

As the name indicates, John McQueen was
of Scotch extraction, and was born February !•,
1804. He was in Washington City at a time mem-
orable in American history. This was when the
country was on the eve of the great civil strife.
As was natural. Judging from the part of the coun-
try that he came from, he took an active interest
in the secession movement, and went out of the
Union with his State when the final separation
came. He was identified with the first delegation
that seceded and became a member of the Con-
federate States Congress, remaining in tliat mem-
orable body four years.

John McQueen was a man of abundant means,
and, after the war, devoted himself to his extensive
agricultural interests. He was married in 1852, to
Miss Sarah Pickens, of Eutaw, a daughter of
Joseph Pickens, and a granddaughter of Gen.
Andrew Pickeiis, of Revolutionary fame.

Andrew Pickens, a son of General Pickens, was
Governor of South Carolina, and his son Francis
W. Pickens, was Governor of that State at the
breaking out of the war, and made the famous de-
mand of Major Anderson for the surrender of
F'-rt Sumter to the Confederate Government.

The Pickens family are related to that of the great
John C. Calhoun.

The subject of this sketch was in South Caro-
lina until sixteen years old, and, upon the death of
his father in 1S6T, came with his mother to Eutaw.
After the completion of his scholastic training, he
read law with Chancellor Clark and Judge AViley
Coleman, and was admitted to the bar April 15,
18T5. He has been practicing law ever since, and
with such success as to place him among the best
lawyers in his section of the State. He has
eschewed political life, and with the exception of
representing his county in the Legislature, during
the session of 1884-1885. has always remained in
private life.

Mr. McQueen was married in December, 1875,
to Miss Roberta Kirksey, daughter of Robert B.
W. Kirksey, of Marengo County. Three children
have been born to this union: Anna, John and
Sarah.

JUDGE & DeGRAFFENRIED, Attorneys-at-
law. This firm consists of Ililliard M. Judge and
Edward De GrafEenried.

An old adage says: " Young men for war and
old men for council," but this seems to be a
change, wherein the young men are popular as
counsel. Jlr. Judge is a young man in his " thir-
ties," and Mr. De GrafEenried is still younger. Tliis
firm has attained a prominence second to none in
their vicinage, ilr. Judge is a son of James L.
Judge, a pioneer and planter of the olden times.
H. M. Judge was Judge of the County Court of
Greene, in 1885 and 1886. He has been practic-
ing law about ten years.

Mr. De Graffenried is a scion of an old family
and a nephew of Governor Seay. He has been
practicing law about seven years.

HARRY T. HERNDON, Clerk of the Circuit
Court of Greene County, is a son of H. T. Hern-
don and Sarah (Inge) Herndon, both rf wliom are
native Alabamians.

The senior H. T. Herndon was born at Erie in
18"2(5; received his earlier educational training at
or near his home, and finished it by graduation at
the L^niversity of Alaljama in 844. He was mar-
ried, in 1840, to Miss Sarah J., daughter of Dr.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

199

Ixichard Inge, of Tisliabee, Ala. Tliere were born
to this union, two sons and two daugiiters. Mr.
Ilerndon diod August 11, 1S5.">.

Our subject was born at Forkland, Ala. in
1S51, and wa.s reared at Eutaw. Having complet-
ed ills education, lie read l.'iw in .Mol)ile with tiie
lirni of Smith & llerndoii, but never engaged
in the practice of his profession, as we find him
shortly afterward merchandising in Eutaw, which
he followed from isr:i to 188?. In the last
named year, he was elected Circuit Clerk (also
alderman of the town of Eutaw), by an overwhelm-
ing majority. The former position he has held
ever since.

Jlr. Heriidon wa.s married October "28, I8T:i, to
Miss Mary A. Watkins, daughter of Dr. II. E.
Wiitkiiis aiul Anna (Oliver) AVatkins, boih of
Kutaw. The latter is a sister of .ludge William
Oliver. By this union he had two children, only
one of whom is living, Anna Mary Ilerndon.
Mrs. Ilerndon died September '11, 18.S().

Mr. Ilerndon is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. South, and of the .Masonic
fraternity.

Althoufjli it may be regarded as a digression, still
it is higlily appropriate to speak of another member
of the Ilerndon family here, who indeed is worthy
of the liigliest esteem among bright and honor-
able Southern names. AVe refer to the Hon.
Tliomas Ilerndon, for many years a resident in
-Mobile, and one of the most conspicuous charac-
ters identified with the history of the State. He
was born at Erie, July 21, 1828, on the banks of
the historic Black Warrior.

Thomas II. Ilerndon was educated jiartly by
(Jen. Samuel Houston, partly at La(irange, and
the I'niversity of Alabama, where he graduated in
1M47. He took the degree of Bachelor of Laws at
Harvard I'niversity, in liS18. Co-incident with
the year of his graduation he was married to Miss
Mary Alexander, daughter of Dr. A. F. Alexander,
of North Carolina. The youthful couple were
aged respectively twenty and si.xteen years.

In 18.51, he was defeated as the Democratic can-
didate for the Legislature; in 1853 he moved to
-Mobile, and in 1.^57, was sent to the Legislature.
When the Secession Convention met at Montgom-
ery in 18C0. he was :i member of it; nor was he of
that class who ]irefcrred remaining at home away
from danger and duty.

He entered the Confederate Army as major, and
rapidly rose to the rank of colonel. Though twice

severely wounded, he faltered not in the perform-
ance of duty, nor was he ever known to shirk re-
sponsibility. The future recorder of the brave
deeds of Alabama sons will rank his name ainor.g
the very foremost.

In 1872, when the hydra-lieaded monster of re-
construction was rampant in the South, he was
nominated by the Democi'atic party for governor,
but as the time had not come for the State to be
rid of her worst foes, the miserable horde of polit-
ical tramps who weighed upon her as a blighting
curse, he was defeated. Future and greater hon-
ors awaited iiim, and he was a member of the 4<)th,
47th and 48th Congresses, successively, whither
he was sent to represent the Mobile District.

His devotion to Alabama was always ardent.
He suffered for her and the whole South alike.

The wounds which he received finally cost him
his life. While, of course, we say he recovered,
it must be remembered that the words are only
used in an a))proximate sense. He came out of
the struggle deprived of fortune and healtli. The
one. he retrieved by courageous and persistent
effort: to the other he succumbed as to the inevit-
able. Among other debts, than which there is no
greater, that Alabama owes this her most worthy
and noble son, is that for the important part he
took in ridding her of the worst form of carpet-
bag rule, wresting her from adventurers, political
thieves, knaves and ignorant negroes, and restor-
ing her once proud name to the intelligent and
good people of the Commonwealth.

Colonel Herndon's death occurred in Washing-
ton City -March 2!-:, 188;i. Sj)ccial proceedings of
both the lower and upper houses of Congress were
had in his honor on the 12th and ISth of April,
1S84. Among the fitting tributer; paid liis
memory none are more worthy of a place in
this volume than the words of Mr. Culberson of
Texas : " His name in camp and field was the
synonym of all that is heroic in courage, noble in
])atriotic devotion to duty, magnanimous in vic-
tory, or hopeful in defeat. He loved liis home,
his native State, with more than filial devotion,
and served her cause in peace and war with the
energy of his tireles.s nature. When the noble
deeds of the sons of Alabama in that great
struggle shall be gathered up by the historian,
there will Ite no brighter, ]>urer or lovelier chapter
than that which shall record the sacrifices, the un-
selfish love of home and country, the indomitable
courage and fortitude of her trifted son whose

200

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

virtues we commemorate, aud whose deatli we now
deplore."

WILLIAM 0. MONROE, was boru at Athens,
Ga., in 18;!5, and came to Alabama iu 1843 with
his parents, who settled at Ilinton's Grove, Greene
County.

His father was John Monroe, of South Carolina,
and his mother Emily, a daughter of John Paschal,
of Georgia.

William in all spent about five years at school.
He has had an unbroken connection with the press
since 1840, barring sh(n-t intervals which he sjient
at school.

It was in 1846 that he entered the office
of Tlie Eutaw Whig, where he served an apprentice-
ship of five years. This journal was founded by
Houston aud Davis in 1840, but was owned by the
former at the time young Monroe's connection with
it commenced. In 18.59, when he had attained his
twenty-fourth year, young Monroe purchased a
half interest in the ]\hig. He purchased the
Observer in 1861, and during the same year it was
consolidated with the Wiig. under the -name of the
Eutaio WM(j and Observer. The new paper was
conducted by Anderson and Monroe, it seems, until
after the war.

Mr. Monroe was in the war a short time as
lieutenant of cavalry in Clanton's brigade, one of
the most noted organizations of its kind that took
part in the great civil strife. Owing to ill health
he was compelled to give up his command, which
he did by resigning.

He continued in copartnership with Anderson
in management and conduct of The Whig und Ob-
server during the war, and after that he became
sole proprietor, a relation he has ever since
maintained. This journal is a weekly. Dem-
ocratic in politics, and has a circulation of 800
subscribers. It is one of the most influential
papers of its class in the State, and has always
enjoyed a liberal degree of prosperity. Its utter-
ances have, throughout its course, been dictated
by .honest convictions; its intentions characterized
by honesty itself, and its career has been a con-
stant labor to build up the material and highest
interests of the county with which it has been
identified for so long a time.

W. 0. Monroe was married to Jane, a daughter
of the Rev. John DuBois, of Greensboro, Ala.,
in 1866. llev. DuBois was for half a century a

minister of the gospel. He was the inventor of the
famous Du Bois cotton-gin, one of the finest ma-
chines of its kind ever made in this country.

Tliere are but two of the children, born to this
union, living: Jane and Louise.

Mr. Monroe and family are all members of the
church, and he himself is a Roval-Arch Mason.

WILLIAM T. CALLAHAN, Editor aud Pro-
prietor of the Ei(t(iw Mirror, is a son of Elias
and Sallie (Stockman) Callahan, and was born in
Bibb County, this State, August 24, 1852. He
spent his early life on the farm, and gave his father
very material assistance in all the work incident to
that kind of life. At an early age, however, we
find him leaving the parental roof, and, to his
credit be it said, he educated himself. He first
worked with his brother, J. W. Callahan, in the
office of the Elyton Enterprise, in 1866, where he
remained several years. He worked with other
journals, at different times, in various parts of the
State.

William T. Callahan came to Eutaw in June,
1876, and worked in the office of the Whig and
Observer for nearly three years, and then estab-
lished the Eutaw Mirror, April 22, 1879.

Some remarks in reference to this pajier will af-
ford an insight into the success achieved by its
proprietor. It is an independent Democratic
journal, a firm friend of progress and all material
advancement, and makes use of every means
which will secure these desirable results. Believ-
ing that a protective tariff is th^best jiolicy, it
supports that idea, notwithstanding the fact it is at
variance with the views of a majority of those
among whom it circulates. All the greater credit,
however, is due its proprietor for having the
courage to announce his views in such a locality;
and that he has achieved success, would seem to
indicate that he has, in a great measure, made a
new idea popular to his constituents. The Mirror
has a circulation of one thousand subscribers, or
thereabouts, whicli, taken from a practical stand-
point, is very flattering for a country journal
and places it far above the average.

In addition to journalistic work, ^Ir. Callahan
does a lage job-printing business.

Some years back Mr. Callahan was married to
Miss Nannie A. Speed, of Greene County. Their

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

20i

union has been blessed *ith one eliild, a
daughter.

Mr. Callahan bcloii<j;s to the Masonic fraternity.

FOSTER M. KIRKSEY is a son of Jehu and
Nellie (Foster) Kirkse\-, natives of North and
South Carolina, respectively, llis grandfather,
John Kirksey, Sr., was a Scotchman, and emi-
grated to America some time prior to the Kevolu-
tionary War, in which he took part. Ilis father
came to Alabama in 1804, and settled in what is
now Madison County, and engaged at planting.
In 181G lie moved to Tuscaloosa; in \'6'l'l to Cireene
County, this State, and settled at Erie, the county
seat, and in 1S24, to Greensboro, now the county
seat of Hale.

F. M. Kirksey was born at Tuscaloosa, Ala.,
June 10, 1817. In 1834 we find him at Erie,
where he received most of his education. In 1839
he removed to Eutaw, where he has since resided.
As an interesting part of his career in the county
of his adoption, it may be mentioned that at one
time he knew personally every man living witiiin
its bounds. He lias been engaged in planting and
merchandising during his residence in Greene
County, in both of which callings he has been
successful. He has .served the public in different
capacities. In 183(1 he was Deputy Sheriff of
Greene County, and was Sheriff from 184.") to 1848.

Mr. Kirksey was married the first time Octo-
ber 2(1, 1845, to Jane Merriweather, daughter of
Dr. Z. Jlerriweather, of Greene County, Ala.
She died in 18")7. All of the children by his first
wife are dead. He was married the second time
to Margaretta Liston, of Indiana, who was a
daughter of Jonathan J. Liston, a prominent
lawyer of that State. By his second wife he has
four living children, three sons and one daughter:
Liston, Hobert, Harold, and Margaretta.

The Hon. Stephen F. Hale married Mary E.
Kirksey, a sister of our subjeoi. He was a Ken-
tuckian l)y Ijirth, and came to Erie in 1838 and
from there to Eutaw in 1839. He was a lawyer
by profession, and served in the State T^egislature
in 1843. He went to the Mexican war in 1.S4G,
and serveil there two years as a lieutenant. He was
again in the Legislature from lo.">7 to 1859. In
all his political acts and af!iliations he was a Whig,
and in them all proved himself a man of great
force. He was Attornev-(ieneral of the State in

18(51, under the Confederate Government. After-
ward he joined the Army of Virginia, with the
rank of lieutenant-colonel, and was killed in one
of the battles around Richmond, in 1862, while
gallantly leading his command in action. In 18G6
the Legislature formed a new county out of a part
of Greene and portions of other counties, and
named it Hale, in honor of the man who had
proved himself a lawyer of ability, a worthy citi-
zen, an intelligent lawmaker and a brave soldier.

REV. STEPHEN U. SMITH, Eutaw, is a son of
Stephen and .Sally A. ( Kluxles) Smith, of North
Carolina.

On his mother's side he is related to William li.
King, for several terms United States Senator
from Alabama, and also Vice-President of the
United States during the administration of
Franklin Pierce. His maternal grandfather,
James Rhodes, was for a great while member of
the North Carolina Legislature, and a member of
State Senate at the time of his death. His ma-
ternal great-grandfather, Andrew Bass, was a
prominent man in Dobbs County, N. C, in the
IJevolutionary War, and was a member of the con-
vention which framed the first constitution for
the State.

Our subject was born January 2, 1817, in
Wayne County, N. C. His first educational
training was obtained at his home, and after fur-
ther prepiiration elsewhere, he entered the Law
department of Transylvania L^niversity, at Lex-
ington, Ky., from which he graduated in February,
1841. Some time afterward he came to Alabama
and was made a deacon of the Episcopal Church,
by Bishop Cobb, at Montgomery, February 16,
1853. Prior to this time, he had practiced law.
He was ordained to the priesthood of his church
in May, 1854. Since that time, he has devoted
his life to its service in West Alabama. At one
period in his early ministerial career he did mission-
ary work. He occupied the parish at Livingston,
Ala., at several different times, and has been in
charge of the parish at Eutaw, for thirty years.

Rev. Mr. Smith is a Roval Arch .Mason.

GREENE P. MOBLEY is a son of Wiley Mob-
ley, of Winnsboro, S. C, and Nancy (Coleman)
Mobley.

202

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

The Mobleys were originally from Wales, and
came to this country with Lord Baltimore, and
settled in Maryland.

G. P. Mobley was born in Greene County, Ala.,
in 1849, and educated at Greene Springs. He
went into the army when but thirteen years old,
and took part in many battles, among which may
be instanced Spanish Fort and the Seven Days'
Fight around Richmond, in both of which en-
gagements he was severely wounded.

After the war he taught school to defray the
expenses incident to finishing up his own educa-
tion. Immediately afterward he applied himself

industriously to the study of the law, was
admitted to the bar in 1870, and has practiced his
profession ever since, at Eutaw. He has the
proud consciousness of knowing that he laid the
foundation by his own personal efforts for the suc-
cess which h,e has achieved in life.

Mr. Mobley has, by industry, attention to the
wants of his clients, acquaintance with the de-
mands of his profession, and an accurate knowl-
edge of the law. built up a good and lucrative
practice.

He is a member of the fraternity of Free and
Accepted Masons.

VIII.
LOWNDES COUNTY.

PoiJulation : White, 5,G45; colored, y5..")31.
Area, 740 square miles. AVoodland, all, except a
few square miles of prairie.

Acres — In cotton (a^iproximately), OS. 200; in
corn, 41,169; iu oats, 3,030; in sugar-cane, 201;
in sweet potatoes, 1,000.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 30,000.

County Seat — Hayneville; population, 500; lo-
cated 23 miles southwest of Montgomery.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Exam-
iner (Democratic); True Citizen (Independent
Democrat).

Postoffices in the County — Benton, Burkville,
Braggs, Calhoun, Collirene, Farmersville, Fort
De230sit, Gordonsville, Hayneville, Letohatchee,
Lowndesborough, itorganville, Mount Willing,
Saint Clair, Sandy Eidge, White Hall.

Established in 1830, this county was named
in honor of Hon. William Lowndes, of South Caro-
lina. It has long been known for the productive-
ness of its lands, and is regarded one of the best
agricultural districts in the South. Prior to the
war the planters of Lowndes made immense for-
tunes from farming upon its fertile cotton fields.
Though in use many years, the lands remain
unimpaired in their productiveness. The county
needs onlv the hands of svstem and diligence to

direct and urge the industries suited to the capa-
bilities of its soil, to place it alongside the most
advanced sections of our planting interests. Like
all other localities of the famous cotton belt,
Lowndes County has shared in the shrinkage of the
valuation of lands. This is mainly due to the
destruction of an organized labor system conse-
quent upon the emancii^ation of the slaves. Its
lauds are well adapted to the employment of im-
proved imjilements of labor.

The surface of Lowndes is rolling. The whole
of the county lies within the prairie belt, still
there is a fair proportion of upland soils. Along
the table-lands are found sandy loam soils; in the
extensive bottoms which prevail along the river
and numerous streams are found dark loam soils,
while iijion the prairies proper, and the flanks of
the lime-hills, exist the soils which have a great
admixture of lime. While the prevailing surface
of Lowndes is rolling, there are many precipitous
hills in the southern portion. The presence of
lime in the clay makes the roads miry during the
wet seasons. This feature, connected with that
extreme southwestern portion, has won it the
local name of "Little Texas." But this consti-
tutes but a fractional part of this magnificent
agricultural region. A feature belonging largely

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

203

to the first bottom soils is tliat they are sandy, but
they derive vast Ijeiiefits from the mulerlying for-
mations of lime. Here, as elsewhere in the prairie
region, there are occasional interventions of sandy
knollf!, which furnish locations for liouses and set-
tlements, and also an abundance of good water.

The main crops grown in Low'iules are cotton,
corn, oats, sweet and Irish potatoes, millet and
sugar-cane. The black lands are usually devoted
to the j)roduction of corn, while the sandy lands
are employed for raising cotton; but the red lands
produce equally well. Many of tliese lands are
well adapted for jiasturage purposes. Numerous
grasses tiourish, some of which are indigenous and
others imported. These, together with the vari-
eties of clover and the dense brakes of cane which
prevail along the streams and in marshy lowlands,
makes this one of the most desirable sections for
stock-raising.

This consideration is enhanced by the fact
that the winters in this latitude are brief and
mild, and stock does not have to be cared for

so tenderly as in sections farther north. Pint-
lala. Big Swamp, Manack, Cedar and Dry Creeks,
with numerous tributaries, flow across the county.
It is along these streams that much of the richest
land in the county is found.

Scattered throughout Lowndes are broad belts
of valuable timber, comprising several varieties of
oak, hickory, long- and sliort-leaf pine, elm, ash,
poplar, walnut, sycamore, gum, beech, cedar, mul-
berry and chestnut. Points of interest are Ilayne-
ville, the county seat, with a population of several
hundred, Lowndesboro, Benton, Fort Deposit and
Letohatchee. Good schools are found in almost
all the centers of population, while a common-
school system provides educational advantages for
all classes.

Transportation is afforded by the Louisville &
Xashviilc Railroad, the Montgomery & Selnia, and
the Alabama River.

Lands may be inirchased from *3 to *v'0 per
acre.

There are no (ioveriiment lands in the county.

IX.
HALE COUNTY.

Population : White, 5,000 ; colored, 20,000.
Area, 1170 square miles. Woodland, all, except
some prairie region and gravelly hills.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 70,000 ; in
corn, 43,250 ; in oats, 3,GT5: in wheat, 1,430; in rye,
60; in rice, 1(J ; in tobacco, IC ; in sweet potatoes,
1,21.5.

Appro.ximate number of bales of cotton, in round
numbers, '20,000.

County Seat— Greensborough; population, 2,100;
located on Cincinnati, Selma & Mobile Railroad.

Xews])apers i>ubli8hed at County Suat — Ahi-
hima beacoti, Walchman (Democratic); Sotilheru
University Monthly (Educational).

Postoftices in the County — Akron Junction,
Carthage, Cedarvillc. Dominick, Evans, Five
Mile, Gallion, Grefiixbnroiigli, Havana, Laneville,

Xewbern, Phipps, Powers, Sa\v_verville, Stewart's
Station, Whitsitt.

The above named county was founded in 1867,
and was named for Col. Stephen F. Hale. It em-
braces one of the finest agricultural districts in
the South. Productive in soil, healthful in cli-
mate, abundantly supplied with superior schools,
and with an intelligent, thrifty, and progressive
people, the county of Hale, deservedly ranks among
the best in the State. The industry of the people
is agriculture, with few exceptions.

In the northeast the county is hilly. There is
almost every variety of soil to be found in Hale.
The southern portion, being a little less than one-
half of its territory, is composed almost entirely
of black cane-brake land, which has a marvelous
fertility. The western and northwestern parts of

204

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

the county furnish a variety of lands, some of
which are sandy and others red, wliich gradually
shade oS into the dark lands composing what is
called the second Warrior bottom. Most of this
land is of excellent quality, being strong, and some,
especially that referred to as second bottom, of
superior richness. The bottoms along the War-
rior River, which constitutes the western boundary
line, with few exceptions, are subject to overflow,
and are not regarded as valuable as those
higher up and beyond the reach of the water-
mark.

Along these lower bottoms there is a terrace of
land called second bottoms, which are not exposed
to overflow. As has been said, the northeastern
part of the country is more or less hilly. It is not
cultivated except in isolated tracts; but the thin-
ness of the soil is atoned for by the abundance of
yellow or long-leaf jjine, which jjossesses rare value
because of its location and its relation to the ad-
joining domains of rich prairie lands. In the
eastern portion there is a commingling of sand and
red loam, which makes the lands exceedingly
valuable for agricultural purposes.

The staple protluctions grown in the South are
raised in Hale, viz. : cotton, corn, peas and pota-
toes. Many other elements are produced, as the
statistics at the head of this article will show, and
every year increases more and more the variety
of crops. Rice, sugar and tobacco are gradually
receiving more attention. Farms for the produc-
tion of hay are coming annually more into note.

and there is a corresponding improvement in
stock. The principal timbers which stock the
forests of Hale are oak, maple, hickory, gum,
long- and short-leaf pine, poplar and ash.

The county abounds in excellent streams, which
not only will furnish supplies of water for house
and farm purposes, but for manufactories as well.
Chief among the streams may be mentioned War-
rior River, Big Prairie, Little Prairie, German,
Big, Brush, Five Mile, Gabriels, and Elliott's
Creeks. Together with the abounding springs,
these streams afford amjile sujiplies of water.

Late geological surveys have established the fact
that there are large deposits of phosj^hate in Hale
County.

Means of transf)ortation are furnished by the
Warrior River, the Cincinnati, Selma & Mobile,
the Alabama, Great Southern & East Tennessee,
Virginia & Georgia Railroads, and Chicago & Gulf
Railroad.

The county is throughout sui^plied with educa-
tional advantages.

Agricultural lands may be had for from 82 to
$30 per acre. Pine lands will cost from $1.3.5 to
$5 per acre. These lands are everywhere supplied
with streams of water. Artesian wells abound,
especially in the southern portion. A desire pre-
vails to have the county populated with thrifty
immigrants.

There are about 1,000 acres of Government land
in Hale County.

[See Greensborough, this volume.]

MACON COUNTY.

Population: White, 4,587; colored, 1"^,786.
Area, G30 square miles. Woodland, all. Gravel-
ly hills, with long-leaf jiiiie, 330 square miles;
prairie and metamorphic regions, 300 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 56,763; in
corn, ■,'3,833; in oats, 6,195: in wheat, 1,016; in
rye, 45; in sugar-cane, 140; in sweet potatoes, 9"^S.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 15,000.

County Seat — Tuskegee; population, •■i,500; 40
miles from Montgomery.

Newspaper jmblished at County Seat — News
(Democratic).

Postoftices in the County — dough's Store,
Cotton Valley, Cowles Station, Creek Stand,
Dick's Creek, Gabbett, La Place, Xotasulga,
Shorter's Depot, Society Hill, Swamp, Tuskegee,
Warrior Stand.

Macon County was formed in 1832, and named
for Nathaniel Macon, Esq., of North Carolina.
The county has long been noted for the intelli-
gence and thrift of its inhabitants. Prior to the
war its centers of interest were abodes of wealth,
intelligence and refinement. The county has
been gradually rallying from the prostrating influ-
ences of the war, and is now assuming its wonted
place among the best counties of the State. Its
social and nniterial advantages are vast, and, when
combined, they furnish the county elements of
advancement inferior to none of the agricultural
counties of the great Cotton Belt.

The general surface of the county is undulat-
ing, except in the northwest, which is inclined to
hills; but there are no elevations of note within
the territory of Macon. The lands, as a rule, lie
quite well for drainage and cultivation. In the
northern, northeastern and northwestern portions
of the county the soil is of a light, sandy charac-
ter. Skirting the watercourses it is much more
fertile and productive. In the southern, south-
eastern and southwestern parts of the county the
soils are very fine, being a rich loam, with clay,
lime, or sand predominating, according to the lo-
cality. Usually sjjcaking the bottoms of tiie

county are very fertile. While Chewacla Creek,
for the most part, winds its way through regions
iif pine, there are to be found bordering it lands
of a bluish hue which are very productive. Per-
haps the richest lands lie along Big Swamp Creek.
Thus it will be seen that a diversity of soils pre-
vails throughout the entire county, and this gives
rise to a diversity of crops. Chief among the
products of the farm are cotton, corn, potatoes,
peas, wheat, oats, rye, millet, rice, sugar-cane and
peanuts.

Domestic grasses have as yet received but lit-
tle attention. Swamp cane grows in rank profu-
sion along the watercourses, and sometimes serves
to sustain stock during an entire winter. Fruits
are easily grown in the soils of Macon — apples,
pears, peaches, grapes, cherries, walnuts, plums,
figs, quinces, pomegranates, raspberries, straw-
berries and melons yield readily in proportion to
the attention bestowed upon them, ilany wild
fruits are found in the old fields, and along the
edge of swamps and through the forests. These
include blackberries, strawberries, dewberries, mus-
cadines, chestnuts, etc.

Through the swamps the towering oaks yield a
vast abundance of mast, which serves to fatten the
hogs during the fall and winter, without the
owners being subjected to the slightest expense.
The county is watered by the Ufoupee, Chewacla,
Calebee, Big Swamj), Cupiahatchee and Oakfus-
kee Creeks. The Tallapoosa Kiver sweeps through
the northwestern corner. JIany smaller streams
exist, furnishing an abundant water sujiply to all
parts of the county. The water from the springs
and wells is pure and delightful.

The timbers are oak, hickory, pine, jioplar,
beech, red elm, gum, magnolia, and maple. The
forests are frequently drawn upon for the manu-
factories.

There are two railroads which furnish transport-
ation for the products of the county, viz.: the
Western Bailroadand the Tuskegee Narrow Guage.
These serve to place the county into easy connec-

.'05

206

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

tion with the great lines which converge both at
Montgomery and Atlanta. The towns of impor-
tance are Tuskegee, the county seat, Xotasulga,
and La Place.

Tuskegee has long been famous as an education-
al seat. Here is located the Alabama Conference
Female College, which is an institution of great

merit: and the Alabama High School for boys and
young men. At the other places named, are good
schools, and indeed in every part of the county
are good common schools. Churches exist in
towns and country alike, affording facilities for re-
ligious worship. The moral tone of the society
in Macon County ia excellent.

XI.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

Population: White, 15,000; colored, 30,000.
Area, TiO square miles. Woodland, all. Level
and hilly prairies, of which 75 square miles have a
coating of drift, 640 square miles sandy and peb-
bly hills, with 100 square miles pine.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 11"^, 100; in
corn, 62,300: in oats, 4,800; in wheat, 58; in
sugar-cane, l'i'4; in sweet potatoes, 1,720.

Api^roximate number of bales of cotton, 32,000.

County Seat — Montgomery: population, 25,000;
on Alabama Kiver, 197 miles northeast of Mobile,
at the centering point of six railroads.

Newspapers published at the County Seat — Ad-
vertiser (Democratic), Dispatch (Democratic), AS'^r;/-,
Alabama Uaptisf (Denominational), Herald (Re-
publican), Odd Fellows' Journal.

PostofSces in the County — Ada, Arcadia, Ba-
rachias, Catoma, Chambers, Devenport, Hope
Hull, Legrand, Mathews, Meadville, Montgomery,
Mount Carmel, Mount Meigs, Myrtle, Panther,
Patterson, Pike Eoad, Pine J.evel, Pugli, Raif
Branch, Earner, Snowdoun, Stoddard, Strata,
Tharin, Woodley.

Montgomery was one of the first counties in the
State, being erected by an act of the Legislature
of the Territory of Mississippi, bearing date De-
cember 6, 1816. Originally this county was
formed from Monroe County, and comprised al-
most the whole of Central Alabama, south of the
mountains of Blount County, to the Cahaba Eiver,
from the watershed between Tombigbee and War-
rior Eivers on the west, to the lands of the Creek

Indians on the east. From the original territory
of Montgomery the following counties have been
wholly taken: Autauga, Bibb, Dallas and Shelby.
St. Clair was formed entirely of the latter county.
The following counties were formed in portion
from the area of Montgomery directly: Bullock,
Elmore, Lowndes and Perry, while other counties
have been formed from counties which were con-
stituted out of the territory taken from Montgom-
ery County.

The princii^al products of the county are cot-
ton and corn. Of late years considerable atten-
tion is being paid to the jiroduction of oats and
grasses, while stock-raising is noted as growing,
and the profits in this branch tends to the belief
that it will become more general within the next
few years. Fruits and early vegetables do well in
this county, and largely increasing quantities of
the latter are shijiped north every year.

The forests are timbered with oak, hickory,
short-leaf pine, poplar, gum, magnolia, beech,
hawthorn, wild plum and ash.

The principal streams which water the county
are the Alabama and Tallapoosa Rivers, Lime, Ea-
rner, Catoma, Pintlala and other smaller and un-
important creeks.

The county is intersected by the Louisville &
Xasliville, the Western, the ilontgomery & Eu-
faula, the Selma & Montgomery, the ^lobile &
Montgomery, and the Montgomer}- & Florida Eail-
roads. The latter is a narrow-gauge road, which
is now being built to the Florida line, through a

NOJiTHER.V ALABAMA.

207

very rich portion of Southeast Alabama. The
following railroads are projected: the Alabama
Midland, the Montgomery, Hayneville and Cam-
den, and tlie(ireat Northwestern of Alabama, and
the .Montgomery & Chattanooga. The subject of
building a railroad to connect with the Anniston
U'oad at Svlacauga is being discussed.

The county is well provided with facilities for
religious worship, there being in it churches of
all denominations. The schools are the equal of
any in the South, and in Montgomery the public
schools will compare favorably with any similar
institutions in the country. [See Montgomery
City, this volume.]

Xll.
MARENGO COUNTY.

Population: White, 1,'i',Q: colored, 23,G17.
Area. 050 square miles. Woodland, all. Prairie
oak and hickory uplands, with long-leaf pine and
post-oak flat wood.

Acres in cotton SO, 790: in corn, 43,870; in oats,
G,.5T4; in sugar-cane, 43; in tobacco, 43; in rice,
2G; in sweet potatoes, 1,138.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 24,000.

County Seat — Linden; population, 300; 52
miles southwest of Selma.

Newspajier published at County Seat — Reporter
(Democratic.)

Postoffices in the County — Clay Hill, Dayton,
Demopolis, Dixon's Mills, Faunsdale, Gay's Land-
ing, Hampden. Hoboken, Jefferson, Linden,
Luther's Store, .McKinley, Magnolia, J[oss.
Myrtlewood, Xanafalia, \icholsville, Nixonville,
Octago, Old Spring Hill, Putman, IJembert,
Shiloh, Sweet Water, Tombigbee, Van Dorn,
Williamsburgh.

This historic county was settled by French
immigrants after the fall of Xapoleon L, and was
organized as a county in the year 1818. It is one
of the largest counties of Alabama, containing
960 square miles, or about 015,000 acres. Its
soil, for the most part, is fertile, and the uplands
offer as great advantages to the agriculturist as
can be found in the world, combining, as they do,
healthfulness witli great productiveness. It has
a population of about 3o,O00, three-fourths of
whom are blacks.

The white population is made up largely

of immigrants from the older States, and
their descendants, chiefly from the States of
Virginia and South Carolina. Throughout its
length and breadth the county possesses intelli-
gent, substantial citizens, far above the average of
agricultural communities. Prior to the war be-
tween the States the people of the upper portion
of the county were noted for their wealth, culture
and hospitality, and, although impoverished by
the Avar, they yet retain the characteristics of
ante-bellum days.

The northern portion of Marengo County is
level, or slightly undulating. The soils vary,
being partly stifE prairie and partly light, sandy
loams. There is prevailing in some parts of this
section a post-oak soil, which is heavy, sandy clay,
of reddish and yellowish colors.

The county is diversified throughout with hills,
plains and fertile valleys. The great stretches of
prairie arc broken here and there by a line of hills,
which overlook vast regions of country or gaze
down upon rich valleys. The several soils are
black prairie, which belong to the plains; the
mulatto soils, which belong to the higher table-
lands, and the gray hnmmock. As is true through-
out the counties of the Black Pelt, the most
valuable of these soils is the black prairie, but all
are valuable under different circumstances. Over
these limelands grows the mellilotus, or honey-
weed, an excellent forage herb, of which stock of
all kinds are exceedingly fond. Oftentimes it
grows to the height of six feet, and overspreads

208

NORTHERN A LAB A AT A.

the bare lime rock. Eaisers of stock prize it quite
highl}' for its nutritious qualities.

The cane-brake lands of Marengo are found in
the northern end of the county, and extend south-
ward about ten or fifteen miles. These lands
have long been proverbial for their marvelous
productive qualities.

From about the center southwards the lands
become thinner with a sandy surface. About the
county occur the "flat woods," which extend with
varying width across the country from east to west.
The average width is five or six miles. This
region of flat woods is slightly undulating, and,
because of the waxiness of the soil, is sought by
the planter. Upon analysis, the soils of this
peculiar section are found to be deficient in
lime, though in some jiortions of it cotton grows
remarkably well. Early in the spring the wild
clover (lespedaza), begins to show itself in this
flat woods country, and attains to the height of
two or three feet. A finer grazing region was

never seen than this flat woods section, which
sweeps without interruption from the Tombigbee
to the Alabama Eiver. This wild clover is eag-
erly sought by all kinds of stock, and lasts from
March or April until the coldest jjeriods of
winter. Where streams flow across the flat
woods they arethickly bordered with luxuriant
swamp cane.

Lower down still are the famous Eembert hills,
the favorite resort of the planters of the past as
a region in which to establish their homes. These
high hills overlook the rich valleys which lie along
Beaver Creek. Along the last named stream are
outcropjiings of marl beds, which lend additional
richness to the soils. All these lands — the black
prairie and the brown loam on the uplands, as
well as the light gray — are valuable and product-
ive. The crops usually produced are corn, cot-
ton, peas, sweet potatoes, millet, oats, and sugar-
cane. Corn and cotton thrive about equally well
upon the different lands.

Xlll.
PERRY COUNTY.

Population : White, 7.500 ; colored, ^2,591.
Area, 700 square miles. Woodland, all. Gravelly
hills, with long-leaf j^ine, 4G0 square miles.
Prairie region, 3"^5 square miles.

Acres — In cotton, 75,303; in corn, 48,132; in
oats, 6,003; in wheat, 440; in rye, 70; in rice, 27;
in tobacco, 24; in sugar-cane, 20: in sweet pota-
toes, 1,107.

Approximate- number of bales of cotton, 22,000.

County Seat — Marion; population, 2,500; located
30 miles northwest of Selma, on Cincinnati, Selma,
& Mobile branch of the Western Eailroad.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Stan-
dard, Normal Fepo?ier, Hoivard Collegian and
Judson Echoes.

Postoffices in County — Augustin, Bush Creek,
Chadwick, Cruess, Felix, Hamburgh, Ironville,
Jericho, Le Vert, Marion, Morgan Springs, Muse-

ville, Oakmulgee, Perryville, Pine Tucky, Scott's
Station, Sprott, Talmage, Theo, Uniontown, Vi-
lula.

Perry was created in 1819, and named in honor
of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, of the United
States Navy.

The county lies between parallels 32 and 33
north latitude, and embraces most of the elevated
lands between the Tombigbee and Alabama Eivers.
Its maximum elevation is 470 feet, and its mini-
mum 190 feet above sea level.

The face of the country is somewhat broken,
though there are no great elevations. The ex-
treme western jiortion of the country is drained by
small streams emptying into the Tombigbee, while
the country generally slopes off gently to the east,
and its waters shed off into the Cahaba and its
tributaries. The highest land is somewhat sandy;

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

209

the chief growth is the long-leaf pine. Next
comes the prairie, "a gently umhilating trough-like
plain lying between the ilrift liills on the north
and similar ones on the south."

The northern half of the county has an abun-
dance of freestone water supplied by surface
springs and wells: the prairie sections are supplied
by pools and artesian wells.

The climate is as mild and salulirious as can be
found in the South. Our proximity to the Gulf
gives us the benefit of its refreshing breezes. The
summers are long, and the days are nnfrequently
very hot, but our nights are cool and pleasant.
Sunstroke is very rare.

Mean temperature for fourteen years: spring,
fi5. 3: summer, SO. <i: autumn, (i.i.o: winter, 50.4.

No section on the globe can show a better health
record than I'crry County. The county occupies
the liigh lands lying between the Alabama and
Tombigbee Rivers, and it is almost above the mias-
ma line. In the river bottoms there are more or less
of chills and fever in the summer and fall. There
is but little pneumonia, and consumption is rare
among the whites.

The State tax this year is levied on the basis of
:>\ mills, the county on 4 mills. There is a con-
stitutional prohibition against any county levying
a tax of more than ,"> mills.

County school funds for the year ending Sep-
tember :S0. 1886, were *11,03-^.

Number of schools: wiiite, 3."); colored, o3; total,
88. Average number of teachers: white, 33;
colored. .*>(); total. 83.

Average number of pupils to teacher, 42.

Average monthly pay of teachers, |i30.90.

School age, seven to twenty-one years.

Average length of schools, eighty days.

Marion and Uniontown enjoy very superior
public schools.

No section enjoy.s greater advantages than this
county in the number and character of its higher
educational institutions.

Located at Marion are two institutions of learn-
ing that are second to none in the South; Jud-
son Female Institute, founded in is:i'.t, denom-
inational, Haptist: Marion Female Seminary,
founded in 1830. non-sectarian.

The prairie comprises about one-third of the
county area, or about 170,000 acres.

Sandy lands comprise the balance of the county
area. There are no special features that are pecu-
liar to these lands.

Bottom lanils lie along the branches, creeks and
Cahaba River, and are a superior kind of soil.

The prairie lands can be bought at from 110 to
^1.") per acre; the clay lands from *8 to %Vl per
acre; the sandy lands from %-l to %h, and the
bottom lands from ^S to %\'l per acre.

T.AIifLAK STATEMKXT KOU PKUUY COUNTY.

Corn, average number of lbs. per acre 840

Cotton, ■• ' " 414

Hye, 3.50

Wheat. 400

Oats, " 4.'50

Barley, " " " " " " 600

Potatoes, " " " 4,ij00

Hay, 4.000

Average number of pounds per acre, 1,444.

Total value of Perry County's products per
acre about ^"^5.

Corn, rye. barley and oats do well in this county,
and with the proper attention as much can be pro-
duced as anywhere else on the globe. Wheat
usually suffers with rust. Forty years ago these
lands produced, on an average, twenty bushels of
wheat per acre.

All grasses do well, but especially red clover,
nieliotns, Johnson grass. Japanese clover and
Bermuda.

Sorghum cane can be raised here in the greatest
abundance, and if it will pay anywhere to raise it,
it will pay nowhere better than here. Sugar-cane
pays well on our mulatto lands.

All kinds of vegetables grow here, and of most
of them two crops can be made. Two crops of
Irith potatoes, or Irish potatoes first and sweet
potatoes next, on the same ground.

The county is doing something in stock raising,
and the success that has attended the little that
has been done, promises to revolutionize the present
surroundings.

There are two railroads through the county;
the Alabama Central and the Selma & Memphis:
the Alabama Grand Trunk, leading from Mobile
to Birmingham, is now under construction,
and will be completed in about six months.
This road will bisect the county from south to
north, giving us direct communication with Mobile
on the south, and Birmingham, Bessemer, Annis-
ton, Decatur, Sheffield, etc., on the nortli. In
addition to the above, the following roads have
been chartered, and will run through the county:
Chicago & Gulf Air Line: Baltimore, Birmingham
& Gulf; Bessemer & Selma; Selma & Cahaba Val-

210

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

ley, and a through trunk line to Pensacola. The
Kansas City & Birmingham Railway will also be
built through this county to the Gulf. Cahaba
River, for all practical purposes, is past navigating.

We have the very best society in this country,
and this does not mean aristocracy in any sense.

No section in the Union offers so many induce-
ments to those who are seeking homes in the genial
South than Perry County, Ala. With a cli-
mate mild and healthy, with tJie best of soil, and
in great variety, with good prices for products and
low prices for land and labor; with unsurpassed
educational surroundings: with plenty of markets
near at hand and good facilities to reach them;
with great timber resources; with the best of
society; with the greatest iron, limestone and coal
beds in the world in the counties joining us on the
north; with pure water, purer atmosphere, high
and dry, we extend to the northern farmers a most
cordial welcome to come and live amongst us, and

reap the great harvest that is ready and waiting
for the intelligent and progressive farmer. We
say, and it is beyond the possibility of contradic-
tion, that every acre of land in this county will
yield enough in crop products to pay for itself in
one year. If you have the means to buy our land
and sustain yourself for one year, you need have
no misgivings on this score. The land will pay
for itself in one year, acre for acre, that is culti-
vated. It will do it now, and if more could be
asked of any land it is an unreasonable demand.

Besides many smaller streams, there are the
Cahaba River, and the Washington, Legreon, Blue
Cat, Brush, Belcher's, Five Mile, Big and Bogue
Chitta Creeks in Perry. A bounteous supply of
water is furnished from the copious wells which
are found in every portion of the county.

The valuation of taxable property in Perry
County, for the year 1887,U $2, 977,890, as shown by
the abstract of assesssment filed with the Auditor.

UNIONTOW^N.

JOHN C. WELCH, Mayor of Uniontown, was
born September 6, 1845, in Itawamba Coixnty,
Miss. He is a son of Henry H. and Emily
(Patterson) Welch, natives respectively of North
Carolina and Georgia. His father throughout his
life was a merchant, and died at his home in iliss-
issipi^i, in 188.5.

Our subject attended the common schools at his
home, until fifteen years old, and then enlisted in
the Confederate service, in that organization
known as the Confederate Guards' Artillery, under
command of Captain Bradford. He remained in
active service throughout the course of the war,
and during the time was in a number of severe bat-
tles. Returning from the war, he located at Col-
umbus, Miss., in 1865, where he began the jewelry
business, and remained there six months. In the
early part of 1866, he came to Uniontown, and
began the same business, which he has enlarged
by adding books and stationery. Mr. Welch has
also been closely identified with the city government
of Uniontown for a number of vears. He was for

more than eleven years a member of the city coun-
cil, was city treasurer for several years, and served
as tax assessor. In March, 1887, he was elected
mayor of Uniontown, and has held the office ever
since. He possesses many of the traits which
would give one standing in any locality, for to the
better instincts of the polished Christian gentle-
man, he adds the tact and adaptiveness of the
business man of the world, a combination at once
calculated to inspire confidence and esteem. It is
needless to say that he has won such a stand-
ing among those with whom he has resided for so
long a time.

John C. Welch was married in December, 1874,
to Miss Carrie, a daughter of Warren DuBose and
H. H. Stewart, of Hale County, Ala. Their
family consists of four children — John C Jr.,
Stewart H., Annie S. and Evelyn.

Our subject is a member of the Masonic Order,
a steward in the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, and secretary of the Sunday-school of
Uniontown.

XORTHERN ALABAMA.

211

JOHN MILTON SADLER. M.D., Physician
and I)ni<jgist. «as born Scpteniher 'I. 1S4S, near
Rock Hill, in York County. S. C, and is a son of
liifhard and ilary (Williams) Sadler, wlio were
both natives of Yoi'k County.

We find our subject attending tlie common
schools in the immediate vicinity of his home
until attaining the age of sixteen, when he entered
tiie Confederate Army as orderly sergeant of the
South Carolina State troops, but was only in the
service three months, owing to the closing of the
great struggle.

Immediately after returning home he went to
school two years, then engaged in farming three
or four years, and afterward went to IJradley
County. Ark., and there studied medicine under
Dr. J. T. Meek, two years. lie then went to the
Louisiana University Medical Department, at New
Orleans, where he graduated in March, 1873, with
the degree of M. ]).

Dr. Sadler began the practice in IJradley fJounty,
and remained there till 1880, when he came to
L'niontown, where he has ever since engaged in
the active practice of his profession. His exten-
sive i)ractice would make it needless to affirm that
iu' is ranked well in his profession. Dr. Sadler
has al-so engaged in the drug business since iden-
tifying himself with Uniontown. and in this, as
in his i)rofessional life, he has been successful.

Dr. Sadler was married in February, 188G, to
Miss Etta, daughter of William O. and Virginia
C, Key. His wife's father is a native of Mary-
land, and descended froni one of the oldest and
most highly resjiected families of that grand old
Commonwealth.

Ur. Sadler belongs to the Masonic fraternity,
and is a member of the County and State Medical
Societies. He served as president of the County
Society during the year 1S8T, and has acted as
medical examiner for a number of insurance com-
]ianies.

JOHN BRADFIELD, M. D., was born May VI,
181.'), in liockingham County, N. C, and is a son
of Louis and JIary (Farrar) Bradfield, natives,
resjiectively, of Virginia and North Carolina.

The father of our subject was a farmer and car-
penter, and, after a long and useful career, died at
Uniontown in is^d.

John Hradfield attended Smith's high school in
Rockingham County, where he prepared himself

to enter the medical college in Charleston, of
which institution he was a graduate in lK-1.'). In
that year he began the practice of his profession
at Uniontown, where he has had an unbroken
professional career of forty-three years, and is be-
yond doubt the oldest practicing physician in the
county, where he has resided so long, and has,
perhajjs, few equals in the State who can claim as
long an experience in any locality as he. It needs
no assurance on the writer's part to convince any
one that Dr, Bradfield has been uniformly success-
ful as a physician. If such were wanting it could
be established from the testimony of hundreds to
whom he has skillfully applied the great healing
art, and by reason of which he is constantly the
recipient of the benedictions of those thus jilaced
nnder a pleasant obligation.

Dr. Bradfield is a member of the Perry County
and Alabama Medical Societies, and has held the
office of president of the former and censor of
both. He is likewise a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, and belongs to the
Masonic fraternity.

Dr. liradfield was married in November, 1845,
to Miss Emily F., daughter of Dr, Archibald and
Frances (Ware) Perkins, of Madison, Ga., and has
a family of three sons, all of whom are now suc-
cessfnl men of the world and ornaments of the
social spheres to which they belong, George H, is
a practicing lawyer, John W, a doctor, both resi-
dents of Uniontown: and Louis T. a successful
business man of Birmingham, Ala.

— •■*— 5^^?^— ^-

GEORGE M. CORCORAN, M.D., Physician
and Surgeon, Uniontown, was born March .31,
ISfWI, at Black Kock, Baltimore County, Md.,
and is a "son of Christopher and Cynthia (F.) Cor-
coran, an old and respectable Maryland family.
His father is a farmer in that State at this writing
(188S). .

The subject of this sketch attended the common
schools until he was sixteeti years old ; took private
instructions two years, and began the study of
medicine at the University of Maryland (Balti-
more). During two years of his course he had the
advantage of an hospital experience equivalent
to actual professional life to such as are inclined
to use it and there is no doubt of its application in
this manner by young Corcoran. He graduated
March tl, 1887, with the degree of M.D.

213

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Dr. Corcoran, shortly after his graduation,
came to Unioiitown, and entered upon the prac-
tice of his profession, and from the beginning lias
met with signal success. As a slvillful practitioner
and polished gentleman he is held in higli esteem.

The Doctor is a member of the Perry County
Medical Society, and the Alabama State Medical
Society, and of the American Legion of Honor,
of which latter he is the Examining Officer. He
is also a member and vestryman of the Protestant
Episcopal Church.

JAMES H. HOUSTON, Physician and Sur-
geon, was born in Iredell County, N. C, De-
cember 'I'l, 1826, and is a son of James H. and
Sarah (Lee) Houston, natives of that State. The
two grandfathers of our subject were soldiers in
the Revolutionary War. James Kerr, his moth-
er's father, took part in the battle at Eamsour's
Mills, N. C, and James Houston, his grand-
father was commander of a company at that
battle, and was severely wounded. He lived to a
good old age, to tell of the event to his numerous
grandchildren. Tn the same battle Mrs. Houston's
great-grandfather was killed while leading his
command as captain. Dr. Eph. Bravard, who
wrote the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independ-
ence of 20th of May, 177."), Charlotte, N. C, was
the uncle of his grandmother Houston. Our sub-
ject's father was a farmer and merchant, and died
in 1826. His widow afterward married Maj. W.
Lee Davidson, the son of Gen. Wm. Davidson,
who was killed at Cowan's Ford, on February 1,
1781, during the Revolutionary War. They both

lived to a good old age, and died some years ago.
James H. Houston, like most other boys, re-
ceived his preliminary education at his home, but
completed it at Davidson College, in his native
State. He then studied medicine in the office of
Dr. John McClean, in Newton County, N. C,
and subsequently entered the L^niversity of
Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia. In 1848, he began
the practice of his pi-ofession in his native county,
and remained there eight years. In 1856, he came
to LTniontown, where he has had an unbroken
practice, with the exception of the time spent
in the war. Dr. Houston entered the Confederate
service as Assistant Surgeon of Beulah Batter}', and
wasstationed part of the time at Savannah, Ga., and
maintained his connection with the command until
the war was brought to a close. He took part in
a number of severe battles, and fortunately escaped
unhurt. He returned to LTniontown and immedi-
ately resumed his practice, which has been a very
successful one. He belongs to the best class of
people in the State, and is regarded by his brother
physicians as an adornment to the profession
which he has followed for so many years with suc-
cess. He belongs to the State Medical Associa-
tion and the County Medical Society, and has
been officially connected with both.

Dr. Houston has been Superintendent of Edu-
cation in Perry County, and Postmaster at Union-
town, and, in both jjositions, discharged the duties
devolving upon him with marked credit to himself
and to the satisfaction of the peoi^le. He was
married in 1849, to Miss Mary J., daughter of
Absey and Isabella (Falls) Simonton, of Statesville,
N. C. They have three children living: Lula, wife
of Cleveland Terrel, of Uniontowu; Isabella and
Robert L.

XIV.
PICKENS COUNTY.

Population: White, 11,000; colored, 11,250.
Area. 1,000 square miles. Woodland, all. (}rav-
elly i)iiie hills. ii.")0 square miles; prairie, •")(• square
miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 52,051; in
corn. 43,104; in oats, 8,(i53; in wheat, 2,220; in
rye, 3G; in tobacco, 51; in sugar-cane. Ill; in sweet
potatoes, 757.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 17.283.

County Seat — Carrollton; population, 34!i;
about i!0 miles west of Tuscaloosa, and same dis-
tance southeast of Columbus, Miss.

Newsjiaper published at County Seat — IIVvY
Alnbdinian (Democratic).

Postotlices in the County — Beard, Benevola,
Bethany, Bridgeville, Byars, CarrolUon, ("oal Fire,
nillburgh, Durrow, Franconia, Garden, Gordo,
Henry, Koon, Lineburgh, Lubbub, McBee, Mem-
phis. Palmetto, Pickensville, Pleasant Grove,
Providence, Kaleigh, Reform, Sharp, Stafford,
Stone, Temple. \'ienna.

Pickens County was carved out of Tuscaloosa
December lH, 1820, and has preserved nearly its
original dimensions, with the addition of two
beats on the west side, added in 1832, the town-
ship and fractional townships in range 2 having
originally belonged to (ireene, to which county
they were again attached several years ago. It
was named in honor of Gen. Andrew Pickens, of
South Carolina. Assessed valuation of taxable
property in 1887, *1, 181.008. Hate of taxation in
county and State. 50 cents on the ^100.

The surface in the northeast is hilly aiul sandy,
with alluvial loam in creek bottoms. The soil in-
creases in fertility in the westerly direction, and
the valleys of the Tombigbee aiul its tributaries,
and tiie prairies in the southwestern part of the
county are very rich and productive. Some of
the lands have been in continuous cultivation
since first the forests were removed, fully fifty
ago, and yet they are still very prolific. During
all this time, too, no fertilizers have been em-
l)loycd to stay the decline of fertility of the soil.

This only proves what immense liarvests would
accrue from the cultivation of these lands if they
were put to their utmost capacity.

The fruits grown in the county are such as
might be expected of a section with so mild a cli-
mate. They are apples, peaches, pears, pome-
granates, cherries, nectarines, apricots, figs,
quinces, grapes, scuppernongs, strawberries and
raspberries. The bland climate enables them to
ripen rapidly, and to find their way, at an early
season, to the market, thereby commanding good
prices.

In addition to the above, common fruits —
prunes, Japan plums, jujube, Spanish chestnuts,
English walnuts, almonds and filberts have been
planted to a limited extent, and so far as tried
have been successful.

The water supplies of the county are extensive.
The Tombigbee and Sipsey Rivers, together with
Bogue Chitta, Coal Fire, Lubbub , Blubber, and
JIcBee Creeks, are the princi})al streams. Besides
these, there are numerous sources of water in the
abounding springs and wells. Artesian wells ex-
ist in some parts of the county, and the water
supply is perpetual throughout the year.

In most of the streams there are superb fish,
which are easily caught. alTording much delight
to the sportsman.

The transportation facilities of the county are
confined at present to the Tombigbee River,
which unites with the Alabama and forms the
Mobile River, just above the (Julf City. An im-
portant railway line is being constructed between
Brunswick, (ieorgia and Kansas City, Mo., which
will pa.ss directly through Pickens County.

Points of interest are: Carrolton, the county
seat, Pickensville and Vienna, all of which are
towns of much local commercial importance.
Valuable schools for males and females are found
in all these places; indeed, throughout the
county are found valuable educational facilities.
Excellent places of worship, which represent the
different religious denominations, are also found.
213

214

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

The timbers which are fouud in the forests of
Pickens, embrace the ash, birch, black walnut,
cedar, cherry, chestnut, cottonwood, cypress, elm,
gum, hickory, maple, mulberry, oak, persimmon,
pine, poplar, sycamore and willow.

Many timbers of the highest character are
rafted along the 'i'ombigbee to Mobile, where
they command a good price. The excellent oaks
are admirably adapted to the manufacture of bar-
rel staves, which are made in great quantities and
find their way to Mobile.

More than any other county of the cotton belt,
perhaps Pickens has tested the virtue of immigra-
tion. Earnest, vigorous and thrifty immigrants
have purchased land in the county at low figures,

and are contributing in no small degree to the
development or the divers resources of the county.
Under the auspices of these immigrants, a
broom factory has been established near Carrol-
ton. These immigrants have added greater diver-
sity of the crops of the country.

Within the last year or two, the castor bean has
been planted with successful results.

Lands may be purchased at prices ranging from
85 to *3(».

Men of sobriety and thriftiness would be
welcome to Pickens, where they would find an
orderly and law-abiding community. Pickens
County has 0,l"-?0 acres of land belonging to the
Government.

XV.
RUSSELL COUNTY.

Population: White, 6,182: colored, 18,6.5.5.
Area, 670 square miles. Woodland, all. Grav-
elly hills, with pine and oak uplands, and blue
marl.

Acres — In cotton (aj)proximately), 81,600; in
corn, 34,300; in oats, 9,700; in wheat, 1,000; in
rice, 65; in sugar-cane, 190: in sweet potatoes,
1,000.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 20,000.

County Seat — Seale; population, <iOO: on Mobile
& Girard Railroad.

Newspaper published at County Seat — Russell
Register (Democratic).

Postoffices in the County: Arahburgh, Craw-
ford, Dexter, Fort Mitchell, Glenville, Hatche-
chubbee, Hurtsboro, Jernigan, Loflin, Marvyn,
Oswichee, Seale, Uchee.

The county was established in 1832, and named
for Col. Gilbert C. Russell, of Mobile. This is
one of the border counties of the State, being sep-
arated from Georgia by the Chattahoochee River.
It has many valuable tracts of land and a thrifty
population.

The general surface of Russell County is undu-

lating, and in some sections broken. It abounds
in capital agricultural lands, many of which have
been in cultivation for quite a number of years.
Its soils differ widely in their character, but are
generally quite .productive.

Beginning the survey with lands in the eastern
part of the county, and those which lie along the
western bank of the historic Chattahoochee, we
find them to be excellent for farming purposes,
the loamy soil having the color of chocolate.
These embrace a belt five or six miles in width,
when the more elevated table-lands begin. These
are covered with a red loam soil, and are consid-
ered even more valuable than those which lie in
close proximity to the river. Beyond this, still
westward, are the hill regions, which have long
sustained a reputation for productiveness.

In the hills which adjoin the two I'chee Creeks,
limestone is found in inexhaustible quantities and
of the finest quality.

Next this comes a range of gravelly hills, which
penetrate the county near the center. From this
point to the extreme western boundary there is
quite a diversity of soil, produced largely by the

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

215

numerous streams wliich ramify this portion of
Kussell. In this western half may be found rich
alluvial bottoms, as well as thin, sandy ridge
lands. These lands are peculiarly adapted to the
production of corn, cotton, oats, potatoes and
sugar-cane, and to all kinds of fruit, including the
Lecompte pear which grows in great luxuriance.
The uplands arc especially adapted t(i all kinds of
grajjcs and berries.

The bottom lands are usually preferred for cot-
ton. The lands are generally tilled with ease.
Every variety of soil may be found in the county,
from I hat of sand to that of the most fertile black
jirairie and blue marl. The county is highly fav-
ored in its dense forests of excellent timber. Both

the short-leaf, and yellow or long-leaf, pine, the
white, red, water and blackjack oaks, hickory,
gum, beech, dogwood, willow, maple, walnut, cy-
press and cedar timbers prevail in different sec-
tions of Hussell. The county has ample supplies
of water throughout the entire year. The Chat-
tahoochee h'ivcr forms the entire eastern boundary
of the county, giving a river front of more than
fifty miles, while its territory is watered by such
streams as Cowikee and Watauia Creeks. These
bold streams are fed by numerous tributaries that
drain every section of the county. The springs
iind wells afford abundant suj)plies, taken in con-
nection witii the readiness with which stock mav
be raised.

XVI.
SUMTER COUNTY.

Population: White, G,451 ; colored, 22,277.
Area, 1,000 square miles. Woodland, all.

Acres — In cotton, approximately, 80,000 ; in
corn, 51,4:00; in oats, 2,700; in wheat, 24; in rye,
H>2; in sugar-cane, 42; in tobacco, 1:5: in sweet
potatoes, 1,050.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 25,00(1.

County Seat — Livingston; population, 1,200;
on Alabama & Great Southern Kailroad.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Jouinud,
Democratic.

Postoffices in the County — Alaniuchee, Belmont,
Coatopa, Cuba Station, Curl's Station, Dove, Epes'
Station, Gainesville, Gaston, Kinterbish, LiviiKjs-
/on, McDowell, Kamsey, Kosser, Shernum, Sum-
terville, Warsaw, York Station.

Sumter County was organized in l.s:i2. and was
named for Gen. Thomas Sumter, of South Caro-
lina.

A line running northwest and southeast through
Livingston would mark approximately the limit
iif the prairies which form the upper part of Sum-
ter County down to that line. I'his part of the
countv has an average elevation of 150 feet above

tide, and is underlaid throughout with the rot-
ten limestone of the cretaceous formation. This
material is directly concerned in the formation of
a considerable proportion of the soils, which are in
some cases little more than the disintegrated lime-
stone mixed with organic matter. Where this
rock forms the surface the country is gently un-
dulating, and the differences in level are very slight.
Interpersed, however, throughout this whole cane-
brake region, are ridges and hills capped with sand
and pebbles of the stratified drift formation.
These ridges are occasionally elevated l.")0 feet and
more above the surrounding country, and 2.">0 feet
above the river. Their distribution, structure and
other circumstances point to the conclusion that
they are the remnants of a once universal cover-
ing of drift. Where this formation is at the sur-
face, the soils are sandy loams of the usual drift
type. These loams, in mingling with the disin-
tegrated limestone give rise to a class of soils
known as post-oak or prairie soils.

Southwest of the line above alluded to, and
occupying a belt varying in width from five to
eight miles, aie the so-called flatwoods or post-oak

216

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

flatwoods. This division shares with the prairies
their gently undulating surface and elevation
above tide. It rests, however, upon a bluish, tena-
cious clay of the lowest tertiary formation. Like
the prairies this belt is covei'ed in spots with the
sands and other material of the drift, and the var-
ieties of soils thus produced by intermixture are
quite numerous. Beyond the flatwoods, in the
southwestern part of the county, the sandy and
clayey strata of the lignitic group of the tertiary
are, as a rule,hidden from view by the overlying beds
of sand and pebbles and red loam of a later forma-
tion.

This portion of the county presents the usual
characters of the drift regions so often pie-
viously described. The high, level table-lands
which occupy the main water-sheds have a sandy
loam soil and red-loam subsoil resting upon sand
and pebbles, and these in turn overlie the lami-
nated clays and other beds of the lignitic group.
Sometimes the surface is made up of deep beds of
sand, as is the case near Gaston. The growth upon
these sandy tracts consists mostly of long-leaf pine
and blackjack oak. Beds of lignite are exposed
in many places thi'oughout this section, and one
of these, in a cut along the Alabama Great South-
ern Railroad, has been on fire for many years. As
yet this lignite has not been profitably used as a
fuel.

The agricultural relations of Sumter County are
similar to the adjoining counties of Mississippi
and Alabama, which are situated in the same belt,
which is pre-eminently the cotton belt of the State.
While the soils of this belt are, perhaps, in the
elements of plant-food not much superior to those

of other divisions, they are rendered more thrifty
by the usually large percentage of lime.

Livingston is a pretty city, and is the seat of sev-
eral important institutions of learning. Gaines-
ville, Ejjps, York and Cuba are the other points
of interest.

Transportation lines abound throughout Sum-
ter. The Alabama Great Southern and the East
Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroads both
traverse the county, and cross at York. A rail-
road is expected soon to unite Gainesville with
Narkeeta, Miss. Both the Tombigbee and Noxu-
bee Rivers are navigable. These several lines place
the county in readiest communication with the
north, west, east and extreme south.

The points of interest in the county are Living-
ston, the county seat, with a jiopulation of 1,200,
Gainesville, Epes, York, Cuba, and Warsaw. In
most of these places the tone of society is excel-
lent. Edticational facilities are good throughotit
the county.

At Livingston there is a high school for boys
and young men, with an able corps of professors.
This school will compare favorably with any insti-
tiTtion in the State. There is also a normal col-
lege for girls. This is a school of great repute,
and conducted by educators of State and National
reputation.

Lands may be purchased at prices ranging from
83 to $12 per acre. Many of these lands embrace
beds of marl. This fertilizer is mined in large
quantities near Coatopa, and shipped to ileridian.
Miss.

Sumter County embraces ;5,<140 acres of Govern-
ment land.

LIVINGSTON,

LiviNuSTON was founded about the year 1833.
It is located upon a beautiful sandy plateau, with
the black, undulating prairies on the north and
east, and the Sucarnatchee River on the south
and west. Prior to its settlement by the whites
it is said to have been an Indian village and a
favorite resort for the pastimes of the Red Men.
Its groves of green trees, overspreading leagues of

white sand with an occasional patch of grass, were
well calculated to lure the wild hunter to rest, the
youths in their primitive games of ball, and the
dusky lovers of the forest wilds. For many years
prior to the civil war, Livingston was a favorite
place of residence of the wealthy planters who
built handsome houses along its broad, shady
streets, while their slaves tilled the prairie planta-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

217

tions in the adjacent regions. Thus the place
came to be, even in its earliest days, one of social
elegance and refinement.

Upon the organization of the county of Sumter,
Livingston became the seat of justice, a distinc-
tion which it enjoys to-day. It has a population
of about 1,200. It is located upon the Alabama
(ireat Southern Division of the famous Queon &
Crescent Line, which extends from Cincinnati to
New Orleans. South of Livingston nine miles,
at the village of York, the East Tennessee, \'ir-
giiiia & Georgia Hailroad system crosses the Ala-
bama Great Southern; and north, at Akron, thirty-
tivo miles distant, the Western Railroad of Alabama
forms a junction with the line upon which Liv-
ingston is located. Of late years the place has
become a watering resort and an educational
center. While boring for water with which to
supply the town, a saline current was reached,
which, upon investigation and analysis, was found
to contain wonderful curative i3roj)erties. Work
was begun upon the well on December 13, 1854,
ami it was not completed until April 1, 18.57. It
is 1,im;2 feet deep, and yields about five pints every
minute. The water caught at the spout in a clear
glass discloses slight eirervescent ipialities, as the
minute bubbles rise to the surface or cleave to the
sides of the vessel.

The water is saline in taste and to most persons
is slightly unjjleasant when it is first drunk, but
becomes quite palatable after drinking it a few
times. Its temperature is 08 deg. Fahr., and
from this does not vary.

The following is an analysis of the water:

FIXED INCREDIENTS.

Silicic Acid and Silicates (Troy Grs) 1.138

Bi-Carb. of Iron " 0.204

Hi- Unrb. of .Magnesia '• 2..320

I'.i Curb, of Lime " 7.140

I'crc hloride of Iron '• 0.190

Chloride of iMajrnesium ■' 1.^39

Chloride of C'aUium " 2.983

Chloride of Potassium " 0.325

Chloride of Sodium " 29ri.435

Strontiii " Trace

Bromide of Sodium " 11.980

312.554
Persons resort to the waters from every section
of the f nion. especially sufferers from dyspepsia
and chronic affections of the bowels, and find the
waters exceedingly beneficial. Large rpiantities
of the water are also shijjped. The well is upon
a corner of the public square, which is coverul
throughout with a carpet of green grass and

shaded by broad-branched water oaks. Within
easy distance of the well are spacious hotels and
livery stables.

There are located in the town two schools of re-
pute — a boys' high school, and the Alabama Nor-
mal Female College. They arc liberally patronized
not only by the people of Alabama, luit by those
of the adjacent States. The town sustains two
banks.

In the surrounding sections are some of the
most fertile agricultural lands to be found in the
famous Black Belt. With its social, religious and
educational advantages, Livingston is the peer of
any town of the same size in the South.

-«-.

REV. B. F. RILEY, D. D., the subject of this
sketch is a native Ahibamian. He was born near
the village of rineville, .Monroe (.'ounty, July 16,
1849.

Keared in a country home far in the interior,
his early scholastic advantages were meagre. His
early years were chiefly spent laboring on his
father's farm, with occasional alternations of at-
tendance at a country school. At the age of
eighteen he asked permission of his father to leave
home, in order that he might secure an education.
Going to Starlington, Butler County, he taught a
primary school, where he made his first money.
In his nineteenth year he went to Erskine Col-
lege, S. C, and begged that he be taken on trial
in the sophomore class. Ilis training had been
so defective that he found it difficult to retain his
place in the class, but, overcoming all barriers, he
pushed through and graduated in 18T1.

His original purpose was to prepare for the bar,
but this idea he abandoned and chose the ministry
instead.

After the completion of his course at Erskine,
he ei^ered the Southern Baptist Theological Semi-
nary, then at Greenville, S. C, but his health had
been so impaired by the taxation of his strength
in his literary course, that he had to give up the
prosecution of his theological studies. Returning
to Alabama, he engaged in manual labor, in order
to recuperate his strength for the further pursuit
of his divinity coilrse.

After the lapse of a year or more he entered the
Crozer Theological Seminary, near Philadel]ihia,
and returned to Alabama in 18T6.

He has served as jmstor of the Baptist Churches

218

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

at Snow Hill and Opelika, Ala., and Albany, Ga.
At present he is pastor at Livingston, Ala. In
1885 he was honored with the title of Doctor of
Divinity by the State University.

Dr. Riley's tastes are decidedly literary. He
has accumulated an excellent library, and is a
regular contributor to some of the leading jour-
nals of the country.

He has written two small works — one a local
history, the History of Conecuh County, Ala.,
and the Immigrants' and Capitalists' Guide-Book
to Alabama. The latter work was purchased by
the State for gratuitous distribution, and is used
in the interest of immigration.

Dr. Riley has other works in course of prepara-
tion, which will be issued as early as the exactions
of his pastoral work will allow.

REV. JEREMIAH M. BOLAND, A. M., is a

minister of the Metliodist Episcopal Church,
South. He is a son of David and Mary (Jones)
Boland, natives of South Carolina, and of German
and English descent, respectively.

Mr. Boland's grandfather came from Germany
to South Carolina prior to the Revolutionary War,
and participated in that struggle for liberty. His
father, David Boland, came to Georgia in 1837,
and was a successful farmer in Muscogee County.
He reared a family of four daughters and six
sons to maturity. Three of his sons became min-
isters in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
Rev. Elijah Boland was for years a member of the
Georgia Conference, and died at Rome, Ga., in
1863, while acting as chaplain of a hospital. Rev.
Josiah A. Boland is now a member of the North-
west Texas Conference. His brother William was
in the Mexican War under General Scott, and
James F. belonged to a Georgia Regiment during
the late civil war and was killed at Gettysburg,
while John Boland, an uncle, was a captain in the
famous Seminole War in Florida.

Rev. Jeremiah M. Boland was born July 12,
1835, and was brought up at Columbus, Ga. He
came to Alabama while in his "teens," and was
educated at Summerfield in th« male department
of Centenary College. He received the degree of
A. M. from Hiwassee College, in Tennesee.

In 1859, he joined the Alabama Conference.
The first ten years of his itinerant life were spent

in South Alabama ; the next decade were spent in
Xortli Alabama, during which time he was Pre-
siding Elder on the Huntsville District, and
station ^jreacher at Talladega and Tuscaloosa He
was a delegate to the General Conference in 1874
and 1878, from the North Alabama Conference.
During his stay in North Alabama, he made a
deeji imj^ression as an able preacher, a strong
writer, and a fine organizer. He was in the Bish-
op's cabinet which organized the North Alabama
Conference in 1870, and stood the peer of any
man in it.

He was also one of the leading actors in
establishing the ''Alabama Christian Advocate,"
the official organ of the two Alabama Con-
ferences.

Mr. Boland returned to South Alabama at the
close of 1878, and has served as presiding elder of
the Pensacola, the Union Springs and the Selma
Districts. He now has charge of Livingston and
Eutaw Stations — his home being at Livingston.

For years Mr. Boland has been a regular cor-
respondent of several leading periodicals of his
church, and his articles have been copied in other
periodicals, and read by a large number of admir-
ing readers. Some of his articles have been copied
into European periodicals. In addition to several
good sized pamphlets, he is the author of a 12 mo.
volume of 331 jiages, bearing the title, "Tlie Prob-
lem of Methodism," which has just been pub-
lished by the " Southern Methodist Publishing
House," at Nashville, Tenn., and of which the
Book Editor, Rev. W. P. Harrison, D. D., speaks
in very complimentary terms.

The "Irish Correspondent"' of the Nashville
Advocate says:

"Mr. Boland is a fine and vigorous writer. He
thinks. He is possessed of strong mental grasp
and wide intellectual girth. He writes like a
Christian philosopher, or rather like an able
metaphysician, who is faithful to the Cross. I
always read his articles with more than ordinary
interest, and shall always be right glad to meet
him with pen in hand in any walk of literature in
which he may jjlease to travel."

Mr. Boland has been married twice. He was
married, in 1860, to Miss Sallie E. Pennington,
and by her he had four daughters and one son.
After her death, in January, 1881, he was married
in May, 18»2, to Miss Hattie .John, daughter of
Chancellor John, of Selma, Ala.
Mr. Boland is a Royal Arch-Maspn.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

219

JEREMIAH H. BROWN, son of an English
fatluT !ind Knglisli niotlier, was born in Darling-
ton District, S. C, in 1800. ITis father, Samuel
Brown, was a minister of the Baptist t'liurch, and
a man of great wealth.

J. II. Brown graduated at .South Carolina Col-
lege in \%i'.\ with the highest honors, and soon
after studied law and was admitted to the bar, but
never jiracticed the profession because it had no
attractions for him, and the management of his
interests on his plantations occupied his entire
time. At the time of his graduation he found
himself ready to start in life with more than sixty
field hands aiul a very large tract of land.

lie was married in 1834 to Miss Julia, daughter
of Hobert 1 lines, and in the following year came
to Alabama, brought his slaves with him, and
settle-,1 near Sumterville. In his treatment of
his slaves, he is said to have been very kind and
indulgent. He gave them every Saturday the
entire day for their own, and fiirnished them with
good churches and white preachers on Sunday,
and saw that they had a reasonable amount of
instruction and religious training. His business
increased until he found himself the master of
more tiian a thousand slaves, and a jilantation of
more than eight thousand acres of land in the
most fertile portion of Alabama. He was a Bap-
tist, and more devoted to his Church than people
ordinarily are, and his enormous wealth gave him
opportunity for doing a great deal of good. For
many years he donated $1.5,000 every year to the
missionary cause. He furnished the means to
educate forty young men in Howard College for
the ministry in his Church. In 185.") he endowed
the Brown Theological Chair in Howard College
with ?i5"),o0{i: and his treatment of the poor of
his neighborhood was in a similar degree of benefi-
cence. In the Baptist Encyclopa'dia of 1881, he
is called "a princely planter, an intelligent and
cultivated gentleman of vast intluenee, and liberal
with his money."

Probably no man in Alabama ever did so much
good with money as he. During the war he
furnished the means to equip and provide for,
])erhaps, more than a regiment of soldiers, and
after the emancipation, so great was the affec-
tion of his slaves, that many of them declared
that they iiad no desire for freedom, but pre-
ferred to remain in his service.

Mr. Brown died at the house of his daugliter,
Mrs. H. S. Lide, February 10, 1868. He left

two sons and one daughter, all of whom are now
living. Laura, the elder child, was married in
1853, to Col. H. S. Lide. a successful farnie
and aide-de-camp to Governor Shorter during
the war, but he resigned that position and took
one of more active service in the army. He
died in 18T9. His widow was married October
.5, 1880, to Dr. James (J. Forster, of Livings-
ton, where they now reside. She had five chil-
dren by the first marriage, of whom three are
sons and two are daughters. Mrs. Forster is a
stanch Baptist.

Dr. Forster was born in Clarke County. Ala.,
in 18',;ii. He merchandised in his younger days,
studied medicine and graduated at the L'niver-
sity of Louisiana at New Orleans in 1856, and
has practiced medicine ever since. The Doctor
was married in 1S47 to Miss Eliza M. Gilmore,
and had five children by that marriage, two sons
and three daughters, one of whom is dead. One
of the three daughters is married to Samuel Ruffin,
Jr. ; one son, W. C. Forster, is practicing med-
icine in Birmingham, and James M., the young-
est, is with a commercial house in Meridian. Dr
Forster is a ^lethodist, and a Mason.

•«^?g^' <" ■

WILLIAM R. DeLOACH, Judge of the Pro-
bate Court of Sumter County, was born at the
town where he now resides, in the year 184"^.

His father was the late Dr. A. B. DeLoach, a
luitive of Tennessee, and his mother was, before
marriage, a Jfiss Roby, of the State of Georgia.

William K. DeLoach finished his educational
training at Professor Tutwiler's excellent institu-
tion at Greene Springs, Ala., and at the out-
break of the late war promptly enlisted as a pri-
vate soldier in the Southern Army. As a member
of the Army of Virginia, he participated in many
hotly contested engagements, and upon his person
bears several scars in commemoration of Cold Har-
bor, Chancellorsville, Antietani, etc.

Late in the war he was transferred to the West-
ern Army, and became a captain in Gen. Forrest's
cavalry. At the close of hostilities, he returned
to his native place, and was some time afterward
elected to the office of Ta.x Assessor, a position he
lield for ten consecutive years. In 1880 he was
elected to the Probate Judgeship, and re-elected in
1886.

Judge DeLoach is a num of high standing in

220

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

tlie community where his life has been spent. He
is a modest, unostentatious, wide-awake, progress-
ive citizen ; enjoying the confidence and esteem
of the good people among whom he resides. Such
is the tribute paid him by one of the best-known
citizens of Alabama. In 1867, our subject was
married to Susan T. Gibbs, a daughter of the late
Charles R. Gibbs, a colonel in the War of 1812.

REUBEN CHAPMAN, Attorney-at-law, son
of the late Hon. Samuel C'hapmau, native of Vir-
ginia, was born in Madison County, this State,
May 25, 1833. The senior Chapman was born in
in 1791; removed from Virginia to Tennessee in
his early manhood, there became State's Attorney
General; and, in 1818, came to Alabama, settling
in Madison County. He was a member of the first
Legislature that assembled after the admission of
this State into the Union, and, as he lived till 1803,
he was many years the sole survivor of that body.
He was thirty years a Judge of nisi prius Courts,
twelve of the county and eighteen of the circuit-
He removed to Livingston in 1834, and called
that place home thereafter, though his last days
were spent at the residence of his son-in law,
Gen. E. W. Pettus, at Cahaba. He died October
11, 1863, at the age of seventy-two years. His
younger brother, Reuben Chapman, is known in
the history of our country as Governor of Alabama
and member of the United States Congress. [See
Gov. Reuben Chapman, this volume.]

The subject of this sketch received a thorough
educational training at some of the best institu-
tions in the countr}', and studied law under
Colonel Wetmore, at Livingston. He was licensed
to practice by the Supreme Court in January, 1856,
and the year following hung out his shingle at the
thriving little village of Carrollton. He was
expounding the intricacies of Blackstone, Chitty,
and Coke upon Littleton, at this suburban retreat,
when the tocsin of war summoned him to the
defense of his State. During 1861 and a part of
1862, he was attached to the Army of Virginia as
a cajitain in the Eleventh Alabama Infantry. His
health compelling his resignation, lie returned
home, where he speedily recujierated sufficiently to
re enter the service, which he did as a member of
Bradford's Battalion of Scouts. He remained with
this command until the close of the war, when he
returned to Livingston and resumed the practice

of law. I'o his profession he has assiduously
devoted his time and his talents. Always inter-
ested and active in the political advancement of
friends, he has sought no preferment in that line
for himself.

In March. Is61, at Livingston, Mr. Chapman
was married to Miss Rebecca S. Arrington, daugh-
ter of Robert Arrington, who came from Xorth
Carolina in the early history of the State, and
was a member of that numerous and honorable
family so well known throughout the South.

Mrs. Chapman died March 1, 1866, leaving two
children — a daughter, Alta, at present a popular
teacher in Livingston Normal College, and
Robert A., now a business man at Sheffield.

Captain Chapman's second wife was Miss Mary
C. Scruggs, also of Livingston. They were mar-
ried July 27, 1870, and their children are Lillie
Beck, Reuben, Anna and Lulu.

h4>>

REV. W. T. ALLEN, Rector in charge of the
Episcopal Church, was born iu Shenandoah Valley,
Clarke County, Va., on December 15, 1855. He
remained there, living on his father's farm, and
attending the neighborhood schools until he was'
nineteen years of age. In 187-t, he taught school
in West Mrginia, and in 1876 went to the Theolog-
ical Seminary of Virginia, where he remained two
years. While there his health was shattered by
typhoid fever, which nearly proved fatal. Being
called to teach in the Church School in Seguin,
Tex., his health being impaired, he accepted and
taught till 1879, studying theology meanwhile,
under the principal. Rev. Wallace Carnahan.

In 1879 he was ordained deacon by the late
Bishop Elliott, at San Antonio, Tex., and placed
in charge of Boerne, Tex., and points adjacent.
Having built a neat church in this place, in 1881,
he went to the University of the South, Sewanee,
Tenn., and remained two years. In 1883, he took
charge of San Marcos, Tex., and other points.
AVhile here he was ordained to the priesthood by
the late Bishop Elliott. In December, 1884, being
called to Eufaula and Livingston, Ala., he ac-
cepted the latter, Avhere he has remained uj:) to
date, having Boligee and Gainesville, also, under his
charge. He was married in December, 1885, to the
widow of the late Dr. Pettey and daughter of the
late Jesse Weissinger, of Dallas County, Ala.

The great-grandfather of our subject. Col.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

221

Thomas Allen, came from Comity Armagh, Ire-
hiiul, aiul settled in Shenandoah Valley, Va., in
1732. He commanded a regiment in the War of
the Kevolution, and was presented with a sword by
tlie .State for distinguished services. 'J"he grand-
fatiier of our subject, D, II. Allen, on of Col.
Thomas Allen, was a graduate of Princeton C^ol-
lege. studied and practiced law for a time, but
retired early to his estates, spending his time in
making the family residence, Clifton, one of the
handsomest in the State. His eldest sister married
(ieneral llussell, of the Kevolution, one of whose
daughters married a son of Henry Clay. I). H.
Allen married a daughter of Col. (Jriftin Taylor,
whose wife was descended from Laird McKinnon
and Lady Anne Maitland, of Scotland. The
father of our subject, also named W. T. Allen,
graduated at Princeton in 183'.). In 1841 he went
to the Pacific as Secretary to the Commodore of
the PaciQc Squadron. In 18-10 he married iliss E.
Bayly, of Fauquier County, \'a., and settled on a
farm, relieving the monotony of it by literary and
scientific pursuits. One of these was the study of
ornithology. He made life-size portraits of 150
species of Virginia birds, which, being submitted
to the late Professor liaird, of Smithsonian Insti-
tute htad of the science in this country — were
pronounced by him to be ''very si)irited drawings
and accurate likenesses.'' He then took up botany,
and is now engaged on an •' Illustrated Flora of
tiie Shenandoah Valley," for which he has collect-
ed, classitied and made paintings of 7Hi species.

The mother of our subject is descended from
General Payne, on the one side, and Thomas
Greene, brother of Generals Moses and Duff
Greene, of the Ilevolution. Our subject's sister,
Emma Allen, married Bushrod Charles Washing-
ton, grandson of Charles \\'ashington, brother of
George Washington.

JAMES W. ABERT WRIGHT, President of the
Ala!)ama Xormal College for Girls, and co-
principal of Livingston Feni.ale Academy, was
born at Columbus, Miss., July 28, 1834. His
father, the IJev. David Wriglit, of the Presbyterian
Church, (;ame to the South from Massachusetts in
1820, as a missionary to the Choctaw Indians in
Jlississijipi. and, in connection with Revs. Kings-
bury and IJyington, established headquarters at
a place called Mayhew, near Starkville. the pres-

ent site of the Agricultural College of that State.
He was distinguished as a scholar and educator,
and devoted to missionary work. His grammar
of the Choctaw language, prepared during that
period for u.se in the mission schools, is the recog-
nized authority to this day. FraTiklin Academy,
Columbus, Miss., one of the first public schools
of the South, was organized by him ; and his
only surviving daughter, Mrs. Laura E. Eagar,
presides over the female department at this writ-
ing (March, 18SS).

Kev. David Wright was many years pastor of
the Presbyterian church at Columbus, and there
died in 1S40, leaving behind him a record that
will endure so long as Christian people shall live.

His mother, nee Eliza Abert, was a native of
Virginia, her father, Jolin Abert, born in Mar-
seilles, France, having come with the French
army, under La Fayette and Count Rochambeau,
in 1T81, to aid in our War for Independence. Mrs.
Wright was a sister of Col. John J. Abert, of
AVashington City, who was for many years at the
head of the Topographical Engineers of the United
States Army ; also, of Col. Charles II. Abert, of
the Confederate Army, a prominent citizen of Col-
umbus, iliss.

Major .Tames W. A. Wright became associate
Principal of Alabama Normal College for Girls, in
September, 188G, and in December following was
elected to the position he now fills with distin-
guished ability in the consolidated institutions.

He began teaching as an assistant to Professor
Henry Tutwiler, at Greene Springs, in 18.54, and
at the end of one year entered Princeton College,
New Jersey, and graduated therefrom in 1857,
as valedictorian of his class.

Returning to Greene Springs, he associated him-
self with Professor Tutwiler and devoted his time
thereafter, for several years, to teaching in that
popular institution.

In May, 18fJ2, Professor Wright raised a com-
pany of infantry (Company H),and with it joined
the Thirty-sixth Alabama Regiment. Through
tiie many terrible engagements in which this regi-
ment participated, Cajitain Wright led this com-
panv, and during the last year of service, frequent-
ly commanded his regiment. He left the service
at the final surrender with the rank of major.

Company H, tiiat mustered 15ii men at the
out-set. answered the last roll call at Jleridian,
Miss., with si.x names. The rest were mustered
into the miirhtv armv of the dead, had been dis-

222

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

charged for physical disability, or languished yet
in Northern prisons. They had fought at Chicka-
mauga. Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge,
Dalton, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta and through
all of Hood's campaigns up to April li, 18(i5,
at Spanish Fort, in the final defense of Mo-
bile.

At Missionary Ridge, Captain Wright was
severely wounded, and fell into the hands of the
enemy. As prisoner of war, he was taken first to
Nashville, and from there to Camp Chase, Colum-
bus, Ohio. While in transit from Camp Chase,
destined to Fort Delaware, he Jumped from the
train and made his escape, reaching home finally
by way of Philadelphia, Kew York, Canada, the
Bermuda Islands, and Wilmington, N. C.

For three years after the war, he was Associate
Princijial with Professor Tutwiler at Greene
Springs.

In August, 1S59, Prof. Wright married Miss
Margaret, the accomplished daughter and eldest
child of Professor Tutwiler, at Greene Springs. Of
the seven children born to them, three are living:
Ruffin A., teacher at Livingston Academy,
while Julius T. and Henry T., are students
thereat. Three died in infancy. Their only
daughter, Willie, a brilliant and accomplished
young lady, graduate of the Normal College, Liv-
ingston, died in August, 1883, at Greene Sfirings.
Professor Wright belongs to the Masonic fratern-
ity, and is prominently identified with the Pres-
byterian Church, having been ordained as elder in
1867, in Concord Chuich, Hale County.

In 18G8, he removed to California, and there
for fifteen years followed farming and insurance
business, diversifying his labors in the meantime
with journalistic work, and in the advancement of
the interest of the State Grange, of which organi-
zation he was the first Master, and afterward lec-
turer.

In 1883, he returned to Alabama, and again be-
came co-principal in Greene Spring School with
Professor Tutwiler, in which position he remained
until the death of the latter.

In his life-studies and life-work, Prof. Wright
has been especially devoted to the Physical Sci-
ences.

DEVEREUX HOPKINS, Register in Chancery,
is by birth a North Carolinian. In 1S35, at the

age of twenty-two, he came into Greene County,
and began farming. He was educated at Raleigh,
N. C, and there began the battle of life as a
clerk. His father, Wm. W. Hopkins, was many
years a merchant at Smithfield, that State, and
there died when our subject was only five months
old. The maiden name of his mother was Sarah
Boone, daughter of Joseph Boone, of North Caro-
lina, a relative of the famous Daniel Boone, of
Kentucky.

Ten years after her husband's death, Mrs. Hop-
kins married Thomas Cobbs, of Raleigh. Chan-
cellor Cobbs, of the Northwest Chancery Division,
this State, and James Cobbs, many years Circuit
Judge of the Mobile District, are half-brothers of
Mr. D. Hopkins.

In 1836, D. Hopkins removed from Greene
County to Mobile, and there embarked in the
commission business with Hiiiton & Horton.

In 1838, he married Miss Elizabeth W. Ryan,
daughter of the Rev. Joseph Ryan, of the Baptist
Church, and the same year returned to Central
Alabama, and settled in Sumter County, where
he resumed cotton jilanting upon a pretty exten-
sive scale.

In 1846 he held his first public otlice, that of
sheriff; in 1851 he was a member of the lower
house of the Legislature, as a Whig; and in 1868
removed to California, residing some years at
Stockton, serving the people jiart of the time as
justice of the peace and police judge. In 1880
he returned to this State, and was soon after-
ward appointed Register in Chancery.

Mrs. Hopkins died March 2, 1884. Of the ten
children born to them six are now living. The
eldest son, AVm. W., was a member of Hampton's
brigade during the late war, and is now employed,
professionally as an expert accountant. A daugh-
ter, Sarah E., was the wife of the brave Capt.
Abner L. Gaines, who lost his life at Shiloh. Mrs.
Abner L. Gaines subsequently married Captain
Lake, also an old soldier, now of Mobile. Another
daughter, Miss Kate Hopkins, is now the efficient
postmistress at Livingston. Anna married Dr.
Wm. M. Br3'ant, of Clarke County; Florence is
now Mrs. Addison G. Smith, of Livingston. Ala.,
and Miss Julia, the youngest, has not left the
paternal roof.

Mr. Hopkins is now in his seventy-fifth year.
It is more than a half century since he first came
into Alabama. Here he has lived past the average
years of man, and here will his presence be more

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

223

missed and mourned than average men when, in
the fulness of tlie Maker's own good time, he shall
be gathered unto his fathers.

THOMAS MORRISON TARTT was born in
North Carolina Ai>ril 1, liS^il. He was adopted
by an uncle, whose name was the same as his own,
and was reared by liim from tlie age of ten. He
received his education at Philadelphia and Colum-
bus, Ohio. While still quite young, his uncle
placed him in charge of a farm, near Gainesville,
Ala., but he had no taste for farming, and soon
entered a commission house at Jlobile — Tartt,
Stewart & Co., — of which his uncle was the head.
Here he developed the remarkable traits of his
character which afterward made him so succes.s-
ful as a merchant. In 1806 he was married to

Annie Maria Jones, near Sumterville, and they,
in 1867, moved to Livingston, where Mr. Tartt
went into business as a merchant, and continued
it until his death. Asa business man, Jfr. Tartt's
life was particularly worthy of attention.

He sailed through the hard times of 18 1 3.
The commercial crash carried down hundreds of
the leading merchants of that country, but he
was one of the few who came out unhurt. lie
succeeded in accumulating a fortune, where
others could secure but a competency, and was
one of the men who could successfully compete
with the "Sheeney" system of advancing, now
in vogue in that country.

Mr. Tartt was a public-spirited, philanthropic
citizen, and as such was highly esteemed by the
commuity in which he lived, lie died in Living-
ston in 188.5. His wife was reared by an uncle,
the liev. D. P. Bestor, a Baptist minister of this
State, who wa,^ quite prominent in his day.

XVII.
WILCOX COUNTY.

Population: White, 6,911; colored, -25,000.
Area, 060 square miles. Woodland, all. Oak and
hickory uplands with long-leaf pine, 600: central
prairie and flatwood, .160 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 77,000, in
corn, 40,0.5:5: in oats, 7.011: in sugar-cane, 'IhX;
in rice, 14; in tobacco, 15; in sweet potatoes, 1,597.

Appro.ximate number of bales of cotton, 28, "201.

County Seat — Camden; population, 1.500: near
Alabama Itiver, 40 miles southwest of Selma.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Home
Ruhr and Wilcox Progress (both Democratic).

Postoftices in the County — Allenton, A win,
Uethel, Black's Bluff, Boiling Springs, Caledonia,
('(inirloi, Canton Bend, Clifton, Dumas' Store,
Fatama, Furman. (Jeesbend, Lower Peach Tree,
Pine Apple, Pine Hill, Prairie Bluff, Rehoboth,
Bosebud, Kowell, Sedan, Snow Hill, Yellow
Bluff.

This county derives its name from Lieut. Joseph
M. Wilcox. It was created as early as 1819, and
has steadily maintained a reputation as one of the
leading agricultural counties of the State. It is
highly favored both with respect to the character
of its lands and the abundant supplies of water.
Most of its lands, and especially its most tillable
soils, lie well for cultivation.

The timbers of the county are long and short-
leaf pine, the different varieties of oak, hickory,
ash, elm, poplar, cedar, mulberry, beech, magno-
lia, sycamore and walnut. Some of the most
splendid specimens of timber found in Southern
forests can be obtained in AVilcox. Perhaps no
county surpasses it in the abundance of its cedar
growth.

There is also quite a quantity of excellent
cypress timber. When this is removed and
the land upon which it grows is thoroughly

234

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

drained, it has been found to equal any other in
its capacity of production.

Lands may be purchased in the county at prices
ranging from §2 to S25, depending, of course,
upon the locality and the fertility.

So eager are the people to have thrifty and ener-
getic settlers locate in their midst, that they are
willing to offer extraordinary inducements in the
sale of lands and homes. There are 3,380 acres of
Government land in Wilcox County still untaken

f C^ /C^<^^e^^t:^i^ii-^£yXC-'€^^2^C00-

TIMBER BELT.

BUTLER COUNTY.

l'o|MilatioM: Whiu'. lii,'.i-.'(i. ciilnrt-il. S.oou.
Area. S(MI sr|iiiii'e miles. AVoodlanrl. all. Oak
ami liickory uplands. li-'iO square inile.s. Pine
ii|)lamls, 4()() square miles. Hill-|iraii-ie ami lime-
liilKs, oil square miles.

Acres — In ootton (approxima''ely), 35,!t00; in
corn, •-24, 048; in oats, 7,4".I4; in sugar-cane, -V-iS:
in rice, 17: in sweet potatoes, ()70.

.Vpproximate ntiniberof bales of cotton, 12,000.

County Seat — (ireenville: population, 3,ikmi; on
.Mobile & A[ontgomery Railroad.

Xewspai)ers pul)lislied at County Seat — Advocatv
(Democratic).

Postoffices in the County — Rolling, Butler
Springs. Dunham. Forest Home, (farland, Georgi-
ana. (iiasgow, (IreeiiviUe, Lamont, Manningham,
ifonterey. Oaky Streak, Pigeon Creek, Pontus,
liunville, Searcy. Shell. Sim's Afill. Starlington.
Tohu-i, Crbanity.

The county of Hutler was established in 1810.
It derived its name from one of the earliest set-
tlers, Captain William Hutler.

There is a great diversity of soil and a corres-
ponding variety of productions in the county. Its

climate, health, location and resources give jii-om-
ise that it will become one of the leading counties
of this great timber section.

In different sections of Hutler County there are
s])lendid forests of timber, comprising the several
varieties of oak, pine, ash, gum, cedar, poplar,
hickory, dogwood, maple, beech, and magnolia.
Of the yellow, or long-leaf, pine there are vast
districts, and the timber is equal to that of any
other section or this belt.

In the northern or prairie region of Hutler there
are belts of cedar growth as fine as can be obtained
in the Union.

Those desiring lands may secure them in many
localities at nomimil figures. The present market
price extends from $1..")0 to §10 per acre. There
! are in the county 13,1 CO acres of public land sub-
ject to homestead entry. In addition to this there
are i,0OO acres of railroad land, which can be pur-
chased at %\.i.-i per acre.

Pleasant and cheap homes are here afforded
tiiose desiring to settle. The people are industri-
ous, thrifty and quiet, and immigrants will be
well received.

JULIUS C. RICHARDSON, a prominent Law- at Auburn College, Summertield Institute, and

yer, .son of the ii'ev. Simon Peter and Mary E. the Southern University, at (ireensboro. Ala.
(Arledge) Richardson, was born on the Island of From 1^70 to 1872 he gave his time to teaching.

Key West, Fla.. April 18, 1851, and was educated In the latter year he entered the law department

236

NORTHERK ALABAMA.

of the Cumberland University, at Lebanon, Tenn.,
and graduated therefrom, as Bachelor of Laws, in
1873, In January, lS?-i, he located at Greenville,
where he at once entered upon a successful
practice in his chosen profession, and where he,
at this writing (1888), is recognized as standing
at the head of the Butler County bar. His prac-
ti-^e is general, and extends largely throughout
Central and Southern Alabama.

He was elected to the State Senate in 1886-87,
where, as a member of the joint committee of the
House and Senate on the revision of the code of
Alabama, he rendered much valuable service and
proved himself entirely familiar with the needs
and purposes of the undertaking, and was identi-
fied with the princijDal legislation of the session.
Another writer very Justly describes him as a man
of '■' quick and acute perception, possessed of a
mind thoroughly trained and organized for the law

which he loves for its own sake He

is a most brilliant conversationalist, an extensive
miscellaneous reader, an eloquent speaker and
writer, and possessed of much dignity of character. "
In an article devoted to the Senator, the JMont-
gomery Advertiser says of him : " He is a source
of pride and pleasure to his friends throughout
the State. As a loublic man he has always been
upright, honest and true, and his ability to fill the ■.
honorable position to which he has been called by I
the people of his district, is unquestioned and un-
questionable." I

Mr. Richardson diversifies the duties of profes-
sional life to some extent by turning his attention
occasionally to fruit culture, in which he has i
achieved decided success. Within his well-culti-
vated fields devoted to the jiurpose, he produces |
some remarkable results in horticulture and venti-
oulture : his varieties of grapes are probal.ily the
finest in the State.

A sort of modern ethics that seems to prevail in
the treatment of popular living men in publica-
tions of this character confines us at times too
much to a bare recital of well-known facts, leav-
ing no room for the play of imagination or the
display of any pyrotechnics in the eulogy of the
worthiest of men. Thus, in the jDresent instance,
the publishers find themselves reduced to the pres-
entation of the outlines of one of Alabama's most
promising young men. As a mark of distinction
and as a means of testifying to the high esteem in
which Julius C. Kichardson is held, thejiublishers
take pleasure in prefacing this sketch with a hand-

some and life-like steel-plate portrait of that
gentleman.

Mr, Richardson was married in Xovember, 18?!,
at Greenville, to Miss Bettie McCall, the accom-
plished daughter of D. T. McCall, Esq.. of that
place, and has had born to him two children :
Terry ^I. and Mack.

• "^"•6S5J2^" 'x*" — • —

ZELL GASTON, Attorney-at-law, Greenville, of
the firm of Carmichel & Gaston, was born in But-
ler County, this State, June 31, 18U.'5, and is a
son of Lucius C. and Amanda J. Gaston, natives,
respectively, of the States of Georgia and Florida.

Mr. Gaston attended the common schools of
his neighborhood until about sixteen years of age,
at which time time he entered the Agricultural
and Mechanical College at Auburn, where he
remained four yeai's. From the Agricultural and
Mechanical College he entered the Alabama Uni-
versity, and from' there graduated as Bachelor of
Arts, class of 1884. Returning to Greenville, he
accepted the principalship of the public schools,
and taught therein for the two succeeding years.
He read law in the office of the Hon. J. C. Rich-
ardson, of this city, was admitted to the bar in
February, 1886, and entered at once into a part-
nership with John C. Carmichel, in the practice
of law.

Mr. Gaston is now, and has been for some time.
County Superintendent of Education; lie is a mem-
ber of the Knights of Pythias, Knights and Ladies
of Honor and of the Methodist Episcopal Chui-ch.

He was married January 26, 1887, to Miss Lelia
Dulin, daughter of Adam B. Dulin, Esq., of this
2ilace.

ROBERT E. STEINER, prominent Attorney-
at-law, (rreenville. was born in Butler County,
this State, May 9, 1862, and is a son of Joseph
and Matilda M. (Camja) Steiner, of this place.

From the age of five years to twenty-two, the
subject of this sketch was almost continuously at
school. Hegraduated with the degree of Bachelor
of Arts from the State University (Alabama) when
sixteen years of age, and, two years later, received
from the same institution the degree of Master of
Arts. In 1884 he graduated from the Law Depart-
ment of Harvard University as a LL. B. ; returned
at once to Greenville and, associated with the
Hon. John K. Henry, entered at once upon the

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

227

practice of law. Judge lleiiiT died in 188(!, and
Mr. Stciner formed a partnership, as at present,
with the Hon. J. C. l}ichard.<on. In ]88<!. lie was
elected to the Legislutiire and was made chairman
of the Committee on Military Afl'airs, in which he
performed mucli valuable service. JLr. Steiner
lias always taken much interest in State Military
matters, and is at this writing holding the com-
mission of major of the Second Keginient Ala-
bama Troops.

lie is a member of the order of Knight of Phy-
tliias, of the Masonic fraternity, and of the ileth-
odist Kjiiscopal Church, South. He devotes much
of his time tocluirch work, and in 1S8T, as lay del-
gate, represented the Union Springs District in the
Alal)ama Conference. lie is also a member of the
board of stewards, and is one of the trustees of
his church at (ireenville.

Major Steiner was married in December, 1884,
to Miss May Flowers, the handsome and accom-
plished daughter of John .1. Flowers, Esq., of
Butler County.

-««;

JESSIE F. STALLINGS, prominent Attorney-
at-law, Greenville, was born in Butler County, this
State, April -4. 1855, and is a son of IJobert and
Lucinda (Ferguson) Stalliiigs, of that county.

^Ir. Stallings' grandfathers were among the
early settlers of Butler County, having settled
there in 1818.

Mr. Stallings' father was a farmer, and his
sons were brought up to that vocation. The
subject of this sketch was educated at the
Universities of Kentucky and Alabama, gradua-
ting from the last named institution in 1877. After
teaching school one year he took up the study of
law with Mr. J. C. Richardson, of Greenville, as
his preceptor. It is proper to remark, however,
that he had taken the law course at the Alabama
University. He was admitted to the bar in ls7!i,
and at once, in partnershiji with Mr. L. \i. Brooks,
entered upon the practice. This partnership was
dissolved at the end of two years, ami the present
one, with Mr. C. L. Wilkerson, formed.

.Mr. Stalling was elected solicitor for the Second,
or Montgomery District in May, l.sS7, for the term
of six years. He was married in March. 1S85, at
Eufaula, Ala., to Miss Ella McCallister, the accom-
plished daughter of A. M. McCallister, Esq., of

that city. Mrs. Stallings died, leaving one child,
and in 1887, Mr. Stallings was married to Miss
Bessie McCallister, a sister of his former wife.

.■^^

JOHN C.CARMICHEL, Attorney-at-Law,
Greenville, son of Duggald and Caroline E. Car-
miclu'l, natives, respectively, of the States of
South Carolina and Georgia, was born in Dallas
County, this State, July 2, 1801.

The senior Mr. Carmichel was a minister in the
Methodist Episcopal Church. He came into Ala-
abama in early life, devoted his time to the minis-
try until 1867, and in that year embarked in the
mercantile business in Dallas County, where he
died in 1875.

John C. Carmichel was educated, primarily, at
the common schools. In 1882 he entered the
Agricultural and Mechanical College at Auburn,
remained one year, and for the ne.xt succeeding
twelve months turned his attention to teaching
in the public schools. In 1885 he edited the Ala-
bama Free Press, at Brownsville, and while there
conceived the idea of studying law. In the office of
^\'. .1. Sanford, at Opelika. he ])ursued the study of
law about one year, and on April 15, 188(), was ad-
mitted to the bar. He began the jii'actice at
Greenville in October, 1887, in partnership with
^Ir. Zell Gaston. The firm of Carmichel & Gas-
ton are among the most reputable in Central Ala-
bama.

Mr. Carmichel is a member of the Knights of
Honor, Knights of I'ythias, the Methodist Episco-
pal Church, South, and is officially identified with
the Sabbath school.

JAMES BERNEY STANLEY, Editor of the
Greenrillc Aiirfini/c. was born in Hayneville,
Lowndes County, Ala.. August 9, 1845, and was the
fourth .-^on of Robert II. and Emma Stone Stanley.
His father was a Carolinian of English parentage;
his mother was a daughter of a British officer,
and was born in Paris.

His first work of w'hich we have any record, is
in connection with the Soulheni Messenger, a
weekly paper printed at Greenville, his family
having already removed to that place. He entered
the office of this jiaper as an apprentice in 185:j,
and remained there for two vears. He was then

228

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

entered as a cadet of the Glennville Collegiate
and Military Institution, but did not remain tliere
but one session, when the whole college, aroused
by Southern patriotism, entered the army in de-
fense of the Southern Confederacy. The subject
of this sketch joined the Seventeenth Alabama,
and remained with it until the close of the war.
Although he was in active service all the time,
and witnessed some of the bloodiest of the fights,
he was wounded in but one battle. On the mem-
orable field of Franklin, Tenn., he received two
severe wounds, which disabled him for several
months.

Immediately after the close of the war Mr.
Stanley returned home, and in November, 1805,
he commenced tlie publication of the GoeeiiriUe
Advocate. Day by day the paper grew more and
more in the favor of the people, until to-day it is
welcomed in thousands of families.

Although he is a stanch Democrat, and has
always been a strong advocate of the principles
of his party, he is not particularly fond of jJolities,
and has never shown any desire for office, though
he has been sent by his county as a delegate to
every State Convention since 186T, and in 1884
was elected by that convention as an alternate
delegate from the State at large to the National
Convention in Chicago, which nominated Presi-
dent Cleveland. He has held a number of impor-
tant offices in various societies; three years ago he
was elected Grand Vice-Dictator of Alabama, of
Knights of Honor, and, probably, would have
been Grand Director to-day, could he have attend-
ed the last session of the Grand Lodge.

He is a member of the ^lethodist Episcopal
Church, but is a man of views too broad to believe
that there is but one church, and that all that is
good and holy is in that church. As all earnest
Christians should be, he is constantly striving to
impress the minds of the young with the sacred
teachings of the holy scriptures, and is rarely
ever absent from the Sunday School, of which,
until recently, he was superintendant.

In May, 188"i. on a steamboat on the Alabama
River, the editors of the State almost unanimously
elected him president of the Editors and Pub-
lishers' Association of Alabama. The members
of the Press showed their appreciation of his abili-
ties as an officer by re-electing him the succeeding
three years by acclamation. He takes a great
interest in the brotherhood, and does everything
in his power to make each meeting of the Asso-

ciation as pleasant as possible. Two years ago he
was apjjointed by the President of the National
Press Association as a member of the National
Executive Committee from Alabama, and at the
meeting of that Association in Cincinnati last
year he was retained in that position by election.

The success of his jjaiier and the noble qualities
of his character, have won for him a wide reputa-
tion and given him rank among the journalists of
the country.

He was united in marriage to Miss Lulu Reid,
December 7, 18ti7. His wife was indeed a help-
mate, whose worth was only rivaled by her mod-
esty.

SAMUEL J. STEINER, M. D„ Physician and
Surgeon, (ireenville, native of Butler County, this
State, son of Joseph and Matilda M. Steiner, was
born January 18th, 1857. At the age of thirteen
years he was employed as a clerk in a drug store
and remained there about five years. In 18T6, he
entered the literary department of the Vanderbilt
University, Nashville, and graduated from the
medical department of that institution as M. D.
in 1878. Immediately II jjon receiving his dijjloma
he returned to Greenville, and entered upon the
practice of medicine.

Dr. Steiner, though yet a young man, occujjies
a high position in the estimation of the fraternity
throughout the State. He was for some years
Medical Examiner for the order of Knights of
Pythias, and is now (1888) Examiner in Chief for
the Equitable Life Insurance Company for the
district of Butler and adjacent counties. He is a
member of the firm of Joseph Steiner & Sons,
bankers; Steiner Bros. & Co., merchants; J. JI.
Steiner & Co., hardware dealers; and of the
Steiner Hardware Company. The two first named
institutions are located at Greenville, and the
others at Decatur, this State.

The Doctor is a member of the order of the
Lnights of Pythias, the I. 0. G. F., and of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He was mar-
ried at Greenville, September 2.ith, 1879, to Miss
Lottie McCall, daughter of D. T. McCall, Esq.,
of this place.

He was commissoned surgeon of Second Regi-
ment, Alabama State Troops, 1863 and served in
that capacity at the Battle of Birmingham and all
the engagements of said Regiment.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

239

JOSEPH M. STEINER. .Merchant and Banker,
(Irecnvillc. was born in Butler County, this .State,
in IS.")-!, and is a son of Joseph and .Afargaret M.
(Camp) Steiner.

"Slv. Steiner was educated at the eonunoiiscliools
of (ireenville, and was onlj' fourteen years of age
when he was engaged as a clerk in his father's cotton
establislinu'Ut, at Mobile. lie remained at Mobile
one year, and returned to Greenville, accepted a
clerkship in the store of Dunklin & .Steiner, was
there until 1874, and was in that year admitted to
partnership. In 188T, Governor Seay appointed
him Treasurer of Butler County, to fill out the
unexpired term, caused by the death of the recent
incumbent of that office. He is, therefore, at this
writing County Treasurer, and is also a member
of the (ireenville Board of Aldermen. His busi-
ness relations may be summed up as follows: He
is a member of the firm of Joseph Steiner iS: Sons,
bankers, and .1. M. Steiner & Co., hardware mer-
chants, (ireenville; Steiner Bros. & Co., general
merchandise; Jose])h Steiner & Sons, fertilizers,
etc. ; and the Steiner Hardware Company, Decatur,
Ala.

Altogether, Mr. Steiner is oneof the most active
and successful business men (and he is a business
man, to the exclusion of everytliing else except of
his duties to the community as a good citizen,) in
the .state of Alabama. He was married at (ireen-
ville JIarch 11,1875. to Jliss Ida, daughter of
A. J. and Clara E. Hawthorne, of this city, and
has haa born to him four children: Bettie, Clara,
.Joseph, Aileen.

-Mr. .Steiner is a member of the (ireenville Light
Guards, of the Knights of Pythias, Knights of
Honor, and the I. 0. 0. F., in all of wliich organ-
izations he has filled the various chairs.

— -*"J^t^-«— —

DANIEL G. DUNKLIN, prominent Merchant
and I'lanter. was boin at (ireenville, Ala., October
28, 1823, and his parents were James and Cath-
arine (Lee) Dunklin, tlie former a native of .South
Carolina and tiie latter of Lecsburg, X. C.

James Dunklin came to -Mabama in 1.S18, and
was among the first (if not the very first) settlers at
where now stands the town of Greenville. He be-
came an extensive planter, was one of the com-
missioners that laid out the town of Greenville, and i
was afterward commissioner of the county. He 1
died in (ireetiville in 1828. '

I Daniel G. Dunklin, during his youth, acquired
such learning as was ])ossible at the neighboring

j schools, attending perhaps three months out of
the year. As will be seen he was only four years
of ijige at the time of his father's death. At the
age of fourteen years in a dry goods house at

I Montgomery, he received his first employment as

t a clerk, and he remained with that concern seven
years. He was twenty-one years of age when he
engaged in the mercantile btisinessat Montgomery
on his own account. He remaine<l tliei'e two years,
came to (ireenville, and established himself in the
mercantile business. Here he has been oneof the
most successful merchants; he has devoted his
time to his business, and has accumulated a com-
jietency. Prior to the war he owned a large num-
ber of slaves, was extensively interested in plant-
ing, and had standing out on interest a large
amount. It is not necessary to add that the war
swept away this immense fortune, for that was
but the common lot of a great many.

During the four years of the war, Mr. Dunklin
was in the Quartermaster's Department of the Con-
federate States, and afterwards engaged in mercan-
tile business again at (ireenville. He has suc-
ceeded in regaining largely his lost estate. He is
now one of the most extensive farmers in Butler
County, producing annually many bales of cotton,
and giving particular attention to the breeding of
stock. He has probably the finest stock farm and
vineyard in this section. He is one of Greenville's
most respected citizens, noted for his kind-heart-
edness, liberality and jjublic-spiritedness.

He was married January lit, 18-17, to Miss Susan
C. Burnett, of Greenville, Ala. She died in 18<J1,
leaving one child. Walter J. January 12, 1864,
Mr. Dunklin married Miss Hanna Patton, of Green-
ville, Ala., and has had born to him one son, Pat-
ton B. The family belong to the Episcopal Church,
and Mr. Dunklin is a member of the -Masonic fra-
ternity and of the I. O. 0. Y.

JOItN T. STEINER, Merchant and Banker,
(ireenville, son of Joseph and Margaret (Camp)
Steiner, was born November 27, 1800, in Butler
County, this State. From the common schools
of Greenville, at the age of sixteen years, he
entered Vanderbilt LTniversity, where he remained
two years, and returned to Greenville and engaged
with his father in the Greenville Bank, in the

230

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

capacity of runner. From this initial step he
rose rapidly to j)roficiency in the various depart-
ments of the banking business, and of late years
has been the controlling element in the manage-
ment of that institution. He is a member of the
firms of Steiner & Sons, bankers; Steiner Bros. &
Co., general mei'chants; J. H. Steiner & Co.,
hardware dealers; and the Steiner Hardware Com-
pany, the latter institution being at Decatur,
Ala.

Mr. Steiner, in addition to his various enter-
prises, takes an active interest in politics, and is
one of the solid workers of the Democratic jiarty.

He represented his i:)arty from Greenville as dele-
gate to the convention that nominated Governor
Seay in 1886, and aftei-ward worked faithfully
in the interest of the ticket. He is a mem-
ber of the order of the Knights of Pythias,
Knights of Honor, the American Legion of
Honor, and is a lieutenant in the Greenville Light
Guards.

J. T. Steiner was married in July, 1881, to
Miss Annie Dunklin, the accomplished daughter
of .J. H. Dunklin, of Greenville, and has had
born to him three children: Jolin, Lucile and
Edith.

BALDWIN COUNTY.

Population : White, 5,000 ; colored, 3,000.
Area, 1,620 square miles. Woodland, all, except
coast marshes. Eolling jDine land, 000 square miles;
pine flats, 730 square miles.

Acres-In cotton (ai^proximately), 1,400; in corn,
2,000 ; in oats, 350 ; in rice, 121 ; in sugar-cane,
81 ; in sweet potatoes, 484.

A23j)roximate number of bales of cotton, 050.

County Seat — Daphne; population, 150.

Newspapers published at County Seat — None.

Postoffices in the County — Battles, Bay Mi-
nette, Bromley, Carney, Daphne, Dowty,
Gasque, Herndon, Hurricane Bayou, Josephine,
Kohler, Lamberta, Latham, Lillian, Magnolia
Springs, Montrose, Perdido Station, Point

Clear, Ray, liosinton, Stockton, Swift, Ten.saw,
Theresea,

Baldwin County was created in 1809. It has
the honor of being the largest county in the State,
embracing within its limits a larger scope of terri-
tory than that embraced by the entire State of
Rhode Island. Lands in Baldwin are remarkably
cheap. Where the timber has been removed they
may be purchased at 25 to 50 cents jjer acre.
Others may be had for fl and f5 per acre.

Many Government lands exist, and are subject
to entry, there being 120,240 acres.

Men of limited means, but of industrious habits,
could not find a more inviting region for settle-
ment than Baldwin County.

111.

CLARKE COUNTY.

Popuhition: Wliite, 8,000: colored, 9,088. Area,
1,1(10 Sfiuare miles. AVoodlaiid, all. Lime-hills,
5G0 square miles. Oak, hickory, and long-leaf
])ine uplands, 340 square miles; rolling and open
pine woods. 260 square miles.

Acres — In coiton (approximately). o^.-loO; in
corn, 28,220; in oats, 5,00."); in tobacco. 19; in
sugar-cane, 200; in rice. 22: in sweet potatoes,
1,250.

Approximate number of li;ilcs of cotton, 12,000.

County Seat, (irove Hill: ])Oj)ulation. 30o: 84
miles northeast of Mobile.

Newspaper published at County Seat — Clai-ke
County Democrat (Democratic.)

Postottices in the C'ounty — Airmount, Baggett,
Barlow Bend, Bashi. Bedsole, Campbell. Carney'tj
Bluff, Cherry, Chocktaw Corner, Coffeeville,
Conde, Cunningham, Dead Level, Gainestown,
Glover, Gosport, Grove Hill. Jackson, Jlorvin,
Nettleborough. Pickens Landing. Rual, Salitpa,
Singleton, Suggsville, Tallahatta Springs. \'a.shti.
Walker Springs, Winn, Wood's Bluff.

This county was created in 1812. It is
historically associated with many of the bloody
scenes enacted during the prevailing war of that
time.

Clarke abounds in forests of excellent timber,
comprising oak, jioplar, hickory, beech, bay, cy-
press, maple, elm, cedar and pine. Vast pine for-
ests prevail in several portions of Clarke, and the
trees are some times rafted to ^lobile, where they
find a ready market.

Some attention is now being bestowed upon
the improvement of stock. In the western part
of the county are quite a number of salt
springs and wells, to which the peojile of that
and adjoining counties were forced to resort
and manufacture salt during the late war, while
the ports of the south were blockaded.

There are 9T,G00 acres of Government land in
Clarke, which are subject to entry.

The people of Clarke are eager to have their
lands peopled by a thrifty energetic population.

IV.

COFFEE COUNTY.

Population: White. •',831 : colored, 1,288. Area,
70<i S(|uare miles. Woodland, 340 square miles.
Rolling or undulating j)iue lands, 300 square
miles.

Acres — In cotton (ajiproximately), 10,5U0; in
corn, 18,608; in oats, 2,370; in rye. 3l; in wheat.

22: in rice, 21; in sugar-cane, 254; in sweet pota-
toes, 474.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 4,788.

County Seat — Elba: population, 222; located
on the Pea Kiver, 30 miles south of Troy, and
75 miles southeast of Montgomery.

231

232

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Newspajjer published at County Seat — Coffee
County News.

Postoftices in the County — Alberton, Cliuton-
ville. Cross Trails, Damascus, Elba, Elizabeth,
Enterprise, Haw Ridge, Rodney, Victoria.

Coffee County was established by an Act of the
Legislature, dated December 29, 1841, and was
formed from territory taken from Dale County. A
portion of its original territory was set ajiart in
1868, to form Geneva County. The county was
named in honor of General Colfee, one of the pio-
neers of Lauderdale County.

This county is jjarticularly noted for its forests,
which consist of the greater part of pine, but in
localities large quantities of ash, hickory, oak
beach and poplar are found. Timber form the
chief industry of the county, though stock raising
is receiving much attention now, and the wool

product of the country is increasing largely every
year.

The advancement of the county is considerably
retarded by the want of transportation facilities,
which, if it had, would cause it to become one of
the pleasantest and most substantial portions of
the State.

The health of the county is phenomenal, and
this, more than any other cause, goes to make it
a most desirable place as a home.

The county is watered by Pea River, Double
Branch, White Water,and Bluff Creeks and their
tributaries.

Educational and religious institutions flourish
in all portions of the county.

Elba, on Pea River, is the county seat. Vic-
toria, Ciintonville and Enterprise are some of the
other towns of the county.

CONECUH COUNTY.

Population: White, 6,500; colored, 6,000. Area,
840 square miles. AVoodland, all. Lime-lands,
470 square miles; f)ine uplands and rolling pine
lands, 3T0 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 16,500; in
corn, 20,118; in oats, 3,17.3; in rye, 32; in sugar-
cane, 267; in rice, 124: in sweet potatoes, — .

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 5,000.

County Seat — Evergreen; jjopulation, 1,200; on
Mobile & Montgomery branch of Louisville &
Nashville Railroad.

Newspaper published at County Seat — Conecuh
Escambia Star, Democratic.

Postoffices in the County — Alniarant, Belleville,
Bermuda, Betts, Bonnette, Brooklyn, Castleberry,
Cohasset, Commerce, Crete, Evergreen, Gravella,
Herbert, Hilaryton, Jayvilla, Mount Union, Oli-
via, Pryor, Range, Repton, Sepulga.

Conecuh was established as a county in 1818.
The name is derived from two Indian terms,
which, taken together, mean "Caneland," or
" Land of Cane," supposed to have been suggested

by the beautiful straight cane which grew along
the banks of its wide and clear streams when the
Red Man held sway. The early settlers describe
the face of the country as having been one of sur-
passing lovliness before the woodman's axe laid the
the forests low and the hands of progressive
art displayed the wigwam of the rude children of
the woods. The land was radiant with long, wav-
ing grass, intersjiQrsed with the wild oat and the
native peaviue, in the midst of which grew the
towering forms of )nonarch pines. At any time
could be seen herds of deer and flocks of wild
turkeys roaming at will over these lands of smiling
beauty. The whites first occupied its soil in 1815
The lands in the county may be had for prices
ranging from §1.25 to 810 per acre. They are
coming more into demand. Even from the sur-
rounding counties the lands of Conecuh are being
sought. There are public lands which may be
entered by settlers. Strangers seeking homes would
be gladly received by the peoi^le of this county.
The county has 50,320 acres of public land.

VI.
CRENSHAW COUNTY.

Popuhition: W'liite, !i,500; colored, "^,<i()0. Area,
TiGU S(iuare miles. Woodland, all. Long-leaf pine
ui)land, 4:i.") square miles; oak and hickory up-
lands, T-i.") square miles; hill, prairie and lime
lands, 100 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 27,000; in
corn, 28,090; in oats, .5,208; in tobacco, 33; in
rice, 2.5: in sugar-cane, 2'J4; in sweet potatoes,
558.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 8,500.

County Seat — Kutledgc; jiopulation, 300.

Newspaper published at County Seat — Enler-
prine, Democratic.

Postoffices in the County — Aiken, Argus, Best,
Bradleyton, Bullock, Cook's Stand, Helicon, Hon-
oraville. Host, Johnson, Leon, Live Oak, Mount
Ida, New Providence, Xorwood, Peacock, Rid-
Iidge, Sal-Soda, Saville, Vidette.

This county was formed in 180."), ami named for

Hon. Anderson Crenshaw. It lies in that section
of the State toward which much attention is now
being turned, because of its varied resources and
growing industries. Debarred the enjoyment of
railroad privileges, there has not been that spirit
of enterprise and energy which is warranted by
the varied resources of Crenshaw.

In this county, as in all others in this region,
lands may be had at very moderate figures. Over-
spread with forests of splendid timber, both of
pine and oak, they are destined to be quite valu-
able, and yet may be bought in some sections for
$1 per acre, in others for ^2.50, and in others
still, for §5.

There are 24,500 acres of land belonging to tne
general Government in Crenshaw.

Vast tracks of land may be purchased at nom-
inal prices, and the people would welcome immi-
grants of thrifty habits.

VII.
COVINGTON COUNTY.

Population: White, 5,000; colored, 600. Area,
l,03o square miles. AVoodland, all. Undulating
pine lands, 720 square miles: lime-hills and pine
uplands, 310 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 4,200; in corn,
10.558: in oats, 2,114; in rice, 47; in sugar-cane,
147; in sweet jiotatoes, 400,

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 1,358.

Connty Seat — Andalusia: population, 025; lo-
> ated 9(t miles south of Montgomery.

Newspaper published at County Seat — Coving-
ton Timex, Democratic.

Postoffices in the County — Andalusia, Cameron,
Conecuh River, Beda, Dannelly, Fairfield, Green
Bay, Ilallton, Ilamptonville, Hilton, Lake View,
Loango, Opine, Rat. Red Level, Rome, Rose Hill,
Sanford. Shirley, Vera Cruz, Wiggins, Williams'
Mill.

Established in 1821, this county took its name
from Gen. Leonard W. Covington, of JIaryland.

233

234

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

It is noted for its streams, grazing lands, and
superb regions of timber. Like other sections of
Alabama, Covington has failed of appreciation,
because of its remoteness from lines of transporta-
tion.

The timbers of the county are yellow or
long-leaf pine, oak, hickory, elm, beech, and poplar.
The county is noted for its forests of towering

pine. Districts of this magnificent timber extend
for many miles in all directions through the
county.

Beneath these lofty pines, there flourisli tlie
greenest grasses and leguminous plants, which
afford superior range for herds of cattle, sheep,
and goats. Great quantities of lumber are hewn
from the forests every season.

VIII.
DALE COUNTY.

Population: White. 7',.55 ; colored, 3,124.
Area, 6.50 square miles. Woodland, all. Pine
upl.ands, 420 square miles ; undulating, pine
lands, -230.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 27,000; in
corn, 31,867; in oats, 5,114; in wheat, 59; in rye,
24; in rice, 49; in sugar-cane, 373; in sweet
potatoes, 872.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 0,800.

County seat — Ozark; population, 700; located
near the center of the county.

Newspaper ])ublished at County Seat — South-
ern Sfur, Democratic.

Postoffices in the County — Barnes Cross Roads,
Beaver Creek, Clayhatchee, Clopton, Crittenden's
. Mills, Daleville, Eclio, Newton, Ozark, Rockyhead,
Skipperville, Strickland, Weed, Wicksburgh.

This county was organized in 1824, and named
in honor of Gen. Samuel Dale. It is one of the
counties of the State in which there were manu-

factories prior to the war. Its people have long
been noted for their sobriety and progressiveness,
and, in the centers of interest, for their intelli-
gence. Possessing a varied soil, genial climate,
healtliful atmosj)here, abounding resources of
water, rich pasture lands, and broad forests of
pine. Dale County is the peer of any other section
in this portion of Alabama.

The prices of land extend from 81 to §10 per
acre. The county has an industrious agricultural
population that would readily greet settlers and
investors seeking homes and locations for business.
No doubt these lauds will attract great attention
within a few years, because of the vast abundance
of yellow j)ine timber which they contain. Rare
bargains can now be had by those seeking profit-
able investments in lands and real estate. Much
of the land is public, and may be entered under
the homestead act. Of this there are 46,240
acres.

IX.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY.

Population: Wliite, 4,00(1: colored, l.oim. Area.
1,000 sf|iiare niili's. Wooillaiul, all. All rolling
pine lands.

Aere.s — In cotton (appro.xiniately), 3oo; in corn,
3,fi09; in oats, S(I9; in sugar-cane, 83; in rice,
405; in sweet potatoes. 404.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 100.

County Seat — Hrewton; ])opulation, ]..")0o: on
Louisville & Nashville Eailroad.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Bdiincr
aiul Esriimhid liiildiriii lltnes, the former Inde-
pendent, the latter Democratic.

Postoffices iti the County — Boykin, Brewfoti,
Canoe Station, Douglasville, Flomatoii, Kirkland,
Mason, Pollard, Koberts. Steadhani, Wallace,
Williams Station, Wilson.

The county of Escambia was constituted in
1SG8, and named for the beautiful river which
flows across it. It is one of the youngest
counties of the State, but is regarded as one of
the thriftiest in the great Timber Belt. It has

peculiar natural advantages in its forest wealth,
its smooth topography, and its deej) and wide
streams.

But the glory of Escambia is her magnificent
forests of pine. In this county the e.\paiisive do-
mains of yellow or long-leaf pine may be seen in
its perfection. These pines give rise to the chief
industries of the county, viz.: the timber, lumber,
and turpentine business. Some of the finest and
best equi[)ped saw-mills and turpentine distilleries
known to the South are found in Escambia
County.

Timbers are hewn from the forests and rafted
along the large streams to the mills to be con-
verted into lumber, or else to Pensacola, where a
ready market awaits them. Tliese lumber and
turpentine industries are near the Louisville &
Nashville Railroad, which traverses tlie county
north and south.

The county contains 140,949 acres of Govern-
ment land.

GENEVA COUNTY.

Population: White, 4,0ii0; colored, oOO. Area,
591 ( square miles. Woodland, all. Undulating
pine lands, 56o square miles; red lime lands, 30
square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 5,onO; in corn
9,47<i: in oats, l.To.i; in sugar-cane, 118; in rice,
1.54: in sweet potatoes, ."i.io.

Aj)proximate number of bales of cotton. 1,300.

County Seat — (ieneva; population. Ton.

Newspaper published at County Seat — Record,
Democratic.

Postoffices in the County — Big Creek, Coffee
Springs. Dundee. Elton, Ennola. Garrard, Geneva
High Falls, ilartha, Noblin, Pea, Taylor,
A'aughanville, Warwick, Watford.

The county of Geneva was formed in iSiiS. It
is one of the most progressive counties in this por-
tion of the State. Capital and enterprise have

235

336

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

been wou to it, and its lands are being rapidly oc-
cupied. Long remote from important lines of
transportation, it now enjoys facilities which en-
able its numberless resources to find their way
easily to market. The wide-awake sj)irit which
prevails among the people of Geneva, may be in-
ferred from the rapid increase of i^opulation
within the last four years.

The trees are largely those of yellow pine, while
there are also oaks, hickory, poplar and beech.
The manufacture of the pines into lumber for
shipment is a growing branch of business. Large
quantities of logs are floated down the waters of
the principal streams to markets further south.
The manufacture of turpentine is also a pursuit,

the proportions of which are constantly increasing.
Schools are moderately good and are annually
improving. Churches of the Baptist and Meth-
odist denominations, jn-incipally, exist.

Lands may be had as low as $1 and -f3 per
acre. Vast quantities of public or Government
lands are found in Geneva, there being 216,840
acres. Rare inducements for investments, or for
settlements, are found in this young and growing
county. The people are of a progressive spirit,
and will cordially welcome to the county men of
limited means, who are seeking cheap and pleas-
ant homes, as they will the capitalist with ampler
resources, who desires to make a profitable invest-
ment.

XI.
HENRY COUNTY.

Population: White, 12,000: colored, 6,500.
Area, 1,000 square miles. AVoodland, all. Oak,
hickory and brown loam lands, 100 square miles;
pine uplands and undulating pine lands, also red
lime-lands, 450 square miles.

Acres — \\\ cotton (approximately), 54,000; in
corn, 48,605: in oats, 790; in rye, 265; in wheat,
195; in tobacco, 24; in rice, 25; in sugar-cane, 670;
in sweet potatoes, 1,266.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, 12,600.

County Seat — Abbeville; population, 500; lo-
cated 90 miles southeast of Montgomery.

Newspapers published at County Seat — Spirit
of the Age, Times; at Columbia, population 700,
Enterprise, Democratic.

Postoffices in the County — Alihcville, Baker,
Balkum, Brackin, Columbia, Cottonwood, Co-
warts, Crosby, Cureton's Bridge, Dothen, Gor-
don, Grafton, Granger, Ilaleburgh, Hardwicks-
burgb, Headland, Hilliardsville, Kinsey, Law-
renceville, Otho, Pleasant Plains, Shorterville,
Smithville. Wesley, Zornville.

Henry County was created in the same year
that Alabama became a State, 1819. It derived its
name from that of the great Virginia orator, Patrick
Henry. It lies in the extreme southeastern cor-

ner of the State, having on the east Georgia,
from which it is separated by the Chattahooche,
and on tlie south, Florida.

It was originally composed of the territory now
constituting Henry, Dale, and a large portion of
Geneva and Coffee Counties.

The county seat was then at '' Old Richmond,"
a i^lace now marked only by a single church and a
beautiful sjjring known as the ''Wiggins Spring,"
twenty miles due west from Columbia. After
some of its western territory had been cut off, the
court-house was removed to Columbia — a town
situated on a beautiful plateau overlooking the
Chattahooche River, a half-mile to the east, and
the clear, health-giving and rippling waters of
the Omercee Creek a half-mile to the west, and
which was then the trading and shipping point for
all the country one hundred miles west. After the
county of Dale had been cut off on the west, the
county was left in an oblong shajie, being about
twenty-two miles wide, while from north to south
along the line of the Chattahooche, measured a
distance of some sixty miles.

In 1834, the court-house was removed to Abbe-
ville, a point situated near the center of the east-
ern and western boundaries, but within' twelve

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

237

miles of the northern. This portion of the county
is very miu-h broken and cut up by the streams of
the Choctawliatchee Kiver, Abbey Creek, and their
tributaries.

At tlie time of the removal of the court-liouse,
this portion of tiie county was very thickly settled,
the lands being fresh and fertile, while the lower
or southeast portion was but sparsely settled ex-
cept along the Chattahoochee Kiver, where there
was a continuous line of large and rich farms.

The Chattahoochee l\iver on the eastern border
of the county, furnishes to the inhabitants an
avenue for the cheapest transportation of all her
products to all portions of the world. Nine differ-
ent railroads, though not all under different man-
agement, now tap the river, requiring only a small
local tariff to the boats, to give them the advan-

tage of either, besides the open outlet to the gulf
through the point at Appalachieola, wiiich is at the
mouth of the river.

The people are solicitous of, and welcome, im-
migration.

Kare bargains can yet be had by those seeking
profitable investments in lands and real estate.
Some of the lands are yet public, and may be en-
tered under the homestead act at 11.2.5 per acre.
Improved lands vary in valuation according to im-
provements and location. The level pine lands,
convenient to market, being preferred and ranging
from *!•■.' to %\h per acre.

An educational system prevails through the
county, and is equally accessible by all classes.

Churches, mainly of ]?aptist and Methodist de-
nominations, prevail throughout the county.

XII.
MONROE COUNTY.

Population: White, 7,800: colored, 0,2.50. Area,
1,0:50 square miles. Woodland, all. Undulating
pine lands, iJSO square miles. Pine uplands, oak
and hickory and lime hills, G.50 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 33,500; in
corn, 25,135: in oats, 4,997; in rice, 78; in sugar-
cane, 329: in tobacco, 11; in sweet potatoes, 920.

Ajiproximate number of bales of cotton, 12,000.

County Seat — Monroeville; population, 300.

Newspaper published at the County Seat — Mon-
roe Journal (Democratic).

Postotticesin the County — Activity, Axile, Bell's
Landing, Buena Vista, Burnt Corn, Bursonville,
Carlisle, Chestnut, Claiborne, Dennard, Finch-
burgh, Fork, Olendale, Hollinger, Kempville,
Monroeville. Mount Pleasant, Nero, Newton
Academy, I'erdue Hill, Jiiley, River Ridge, Simp-
kinsville, Tinela, Turnbull, Watson.

-Monroe County was created in 1815, and named
in honor of President Jlonroe, of Virginia. It

was one of the first counties of the State settled by
the whites, and its people have been uniformly
thrifty while engaged chiefly in planting. Much
of the productive land belonging to the timber
belt is found in this county.

The points of interest are Monroeville, the county
seat, with apopulation of 400, Perdue Hill, Buena
Vista, Burnt Corn, and Pineville. The school
and church advantages of the county are good.

Transportation is afforded by the Alabama
River, and by the Selma & Pensacola Railroad,
in Wilcox, or the Louisville & Nashville, as
it passes through the adjoining county of
Conecuh.

Lands maybe had for figures runningfrom *1.25
to $10 per acre. About 77,000 acres of public
lands exist in the county. Anxious to have the
prosperity of the county enhanced, and its unoc-
cupied lands taken, the people would hail with
delight the influx of an industrious population.

Xlll.
AIOBILE COUNTY

Population: White, 27,500; colored, 21,000.
Area, 1,200 square miles. Woodland, all, except
coast marshes; rolling pine lauds, f:<2(i square miles:
pine flats, 470 square miles.

Acres — In cotton, approximately, 10; in corn,
1,G39: in oats, 139; in rice, 191; in sugar-cane,
151; in sweet potatoes, 776.

County Seat — Mobile; population, 32,000; lo-
cated on Mobile River, near its entrance into ^fo-
bile Bay.

Xewspapers published at County Seat — Register,
Blade, Clirutian Weekly, Item and Sunday Times,
Democratic.

Postoffices in the County — Bayou, Labatre,
Chickasabogue, Chunchula, Citronelle, Coden,
Cox, Creola, Grand Bay, Mobile, Mount Vernon,
Nanna, Hubba, Prichard, Saint Elmo, Spring
Hill, Theodore, Venetia, Whistler.

Mobile was established in 1813, and named for the
bay whose waters wash its eastern shores. It lies in
the extreme southwest corner of the State, and is
the wealtiest, most populous, and one of the largest
counties of the Commonwealth.

The educational advantages of Mobile have been
proverbially excellent for almost a half century.

The city takes great pride in the maintenance of
her famous institution of learning — the Barton
Academy. The Medical College of Alabama is
located here. As a point of refuge from the chill
and blast of a Xortheru clime. Mobile is without
a rival. Generally, the winters are exceedingly
mild and but rarely at all harsh. It is delight-
ful as a place of residence even in midsummer. The
cool breezes from the sea sweep it continually and
fan away the scorching heat of summer tide. Dot-
ting the coasts of the Bay. opposite the city, are
magnificent hotels which have become famous as
summer resorts.

The timbers of the county include the oak,
hickory, elm, magnolia, bay, cypress, sweet and
sour gums, and yellow pine. The water outlets
are furnislied by tlie Mobile River and Bay on the
one side, and the Escatawpa River on tlie other.
Beautiful streams of perpetual flow ramify differ-
ent portions of the county.

The natural, social, and commercial advantages
possessed by Mobile indicate it as one of the com-
ing cities of the South.

Mobile County contains 9T,000 acres of land be-
longing to the Government.

''^m--^'

MOBILE.

DR. GEORGE A. KETCHUM. Ralph Ketch-
um, the father of the subject of this sketch, wlio
was born on Long Island, of Welch ancestors, in
1780, was married in 1807, in the city of Xew
York, to Christiana Colden, a daughter of Gen.
Griffiths of the British Army. Prior to his mar-
riage, Ralph had made his home in Augusta, Ga.,
and there his English wife became the mother of
five sons who have made their impress upon the

history of the South. Richard Colden Ketchum
became a distinguished divine in the place of his
birth ; Major William H. Ketchum commanded
a battery of artillery in the Confederate Army ;
Col. Charles T. Ketchum became the Colonel
of the Thirty-eighth Alabama Infantry : Capt.
John R. Ketchum died in tlie defense of Atlanta
in the first battle fought after the removal of (Jen.
Johnston. The career of Dr. George A. Ketchum

238

i^r^

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

239

us physician, teacher and citizen, constitutes one
of tlie brightest pages iu tlie history of Alabama.
Creorge Augustus Ketchuni was born iu Augus-
ta, (ia., April (J, \%'lh, and there his youtli was
passed uj) to the time of the removal of his fatlier
to Mobile, Ala., which took place in \%'-\h. His
scholastic training, which was committed in turn
to two teachers of distinction, was completed
under the tutorship of Mr. A. A. Kimball, who
prepared him for the Sophomore class at Prince-
ton. At this juncture his father's failure in busi-
ness disconcerted his plans, and led him, at the age
of sixteen, to accept the jiosition of assistant
teacher then offered him by his tutor, Mr. Kim-
ball, in his Academy at Livingston, Ala. After
such wholesome preliminary training, he, in due
time, began his studies in his chosen profession,
under the guidance of the late Dr. F. A. Ivoss,
and for two years he occupied the position of resi-
dent student in the Mobile City Hospital. While
thus employed, the yellow fever epidemic of 1843
brought him for the first time into practical con-
tact with a disease in whose treatment he was des-
tined to win such wide and merited distinction.
In the ilctlical College of South Carolina, at
Charleston, he attended his first course of lectures
at the session of 1S4-1-1845. In the spring of
184."), he went for the completion of his studies to
I'hiladeliihia, graduating at the University of
Pennsylvania as il.]). in the spriiig of 1840. While
a student in Philadelphia, he formed the acquaint-
ance of Miss Susan Burton, a daughter of one of
the original (Quaker families tliat came over with
Penn, and to her he was married in November,
1848. Two years prior to that event he had be-
gun the practice of medicine in Mobile, where his
professional success was marked and rapid. The
yellow fever ei)idemics of 1.S47 and 1848, which
took place soon after his admission to practice,
gave him the opjjortunity for an experiment
which produced rich and permanent results. At
this time, he, it was. wlio first ventured to admin-
ister large doses of quinine in the earlier stages of
the disease, a treatment which was repeated witli
sucli success in the epidemics of 1853-58-67-70-
73 and 78 iu ^[obile, that it has now become the
general practice in yellow fever cases throughout
the South. With sucli a beginning, and with a
power to labor which has been seldom equalled,
and with a charm of manner never to be surpassed,
the young physician soon won his way into as
large and lucrative a practice as any physician has

ever enjoyed in the city of Mobile. For many
years liis labors as a practitioner and consulting
physician have been sufficient to exhaust the time
and resources of any ordinary man, and to exclude
all other pursuits. And yet in sjjite of this mass
of work his activities have extended so far beyond
the circle of his duties as a mere practitioner of
medicine, that his achievements in that s))here con-
stitute only a part in the sum total of his life
work.

Dr. Ketchum's relations to the medical profes-
sion and to the cause of public hygiene, can not
be measured by any standard that excludes from
consideration the services ho has rendered to the
cause of medical education and to the preservation
of the public health. To every movement which
has been orgai.ized in his day, not only in his own
State, but in the Union, for the advancement of
the medical profession as a corporate body, and
for tlie increase of its usefulness as a teacher of
sanitary science, he has given his active and
earnest support. The central aim of his life has
been to teach the true science of medicine in its
highest sense to the younger members of his own
profession, and at the same time to practically
demonstrate how the science of public hygiene
can be utilized by the State for the preservation
of the public health. In both departments of
labor he has been eminently successful, and ia
both he has been awarded the very highest stations
of usefulness and authority. In 1848, in conjunc-
tion with Dr. J. C. Nott and others, he organized
the Medical College of Alabama, with which he
has ever since been jirominently connected. Since
1859. he has held the position of Professor of the
Theory and Practice of Medicine: and since the
resignation of the late Dr. Wm. II. Anderson, he
has been the Dean of the Faculty. As a medical
lecturer he is especially hai)py. An easy and nat-
ural delivery, coupled with a perfect mastery of
English prose, render his lectures as attractive as
they are instructive. In the sanitary government
of ilobile, city and county, he has been the most
important factor for nearly twenty years. Presi-
dent of the Board of Health since 1871, he has
rendered, without compensation, services to the
public which but few outside of his own profession
either understand or appreciate. In the medical
government of the State his influence has been
hardly less potent. Xo one was more active than
he in bringing about the organization of the
Medical Association of Alabama, of which he be-

240

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

came president in 1873. For many years he has
been a member of the Board of Censors and of
the State Board of Health. His activity in the
line of medical organization has not been limited,
however, to the boundaries of his own State; as a
member of the American Public Health Associ-
ation, as a member of the American Medical Asso-
ciation, and as a member of the Ninth Inter-
national Medical Congress, his name and fame as
a leader in his profession have assumed a national
importance.

No review of this many sided man, however
brief and incomplete, should exclude from con-
sideration the influence which he has exercised as
a citizen upon the political affairs of his State and
county. With a j)erfect comprehension of the
constitutional system under which we live, with
a clear insight into all the details of executive
administration, with great gifts as an orator and
parliamentarian, had his tastes been otherwise,
he might have figured as one of the foremost poli-
ticians of his time. Whenever duty has called
him into service in that department of work, his
great aptitude for public iiffairs, his immovable
firmness, coupled with great tact in the manage-
ment of popular assemblies, have invariably given
to him a position in the foi'emost rank. For
many years before tlie war he stood at the head of
Mobile's municipal legislature as president of the
Common Council; and when the stirring events
of 1800-61 made every community in the South
turn for counsel to its wisest and strongest men,
the county of Mobile selected him as one of four
to represent her in the convention which severed
the relations of Alabama with the Union. As
volunteer surgc-on ho went with the State Artillery
to Pensacola, where he received his commission as
surgeon of the Fifth Alabama. While on his way
to Virginia with his regiment, he was solicited by
Dr. J. C. Nott to accept a position as surgeon in
an organization formed for the defense of Mobile,
which was then sadly deficient, owing to the in-
crease of population and the absence of jihysicians.
in medical aid. In tliis laborious position he
continued until the end of the war. After the
surrender he was appointed by Governor Parsons,
provisional governor under Andrew Johnson, a
member of the Common Council; and for a short
time he became, ex officio, ]\[ayor of Mobile. In
the councils of the Democratic party in his State
and county, he has been recognized as a leader
for twenty years.

And yet, neither in his capacity as physician at the
bedside, neither in his capacity as teacher in the
college to which he has given the best years of his
life, neither in his capacity as a tireless adminis-
trator of health laws, nor yet in his cajiacity as
political leader, can be found the record of services
which will forever interlace the name of George
A. Ketchum with that of the city of his adoption.
When every other memory connected with his life
has been forgotten, the fact will remain that his
care for the public health, backed by his patience
and indomitable will, has brought a pure stream
of living water from distant hill tops to the cot-
tage door and to the palace gate of every dweller
in the city of Mobile. This great achievement is
the legitimate outcome of his scientific instinct.
His far-seeing eye perceived years ago that the
public health of his city was imperiled by the lack
of a bountiful supply of i^ure and wholesome water.
With the heart of a humanitarian, with the fore-
sight of a scientist, and with the pluck and pa-
tience of a man of business, he imposed upon him-
self the task of organizing a scheme for the relief
of the city, and that scheme he has carried into
successful execution. After selecting an available
stream in the silence of the forest, he next em-
ployed competent hands to overcome the engineer-
ing and legal difficulties which forbade its in-
gress to the city, and at last induced capitalists
to come from abroad and transform his dream
into a reality. Through his efEorts, after twenty
years of working and waiting. Mobile to-day enjoys
one of the most perfect aiid bountiful sujijilies of
water that can be found in any city in the Union,
not only for sanitary bnt for fire purposes. In
the time to come, when his labors have ended, jier-
haj^s a grateful people will perpetuate the memory
of this great service, by the erection of a public
drinking fountain, over which the unselfish physi-
cian shall preside in bronze or marble.

In the social life of Mobile, Dr. Ketchum's
splendid home has been a source of j^leasureand an
object of interest for many years. Here his warm-
hearted wife and charming daughter (married a few
years ago to Robert Gage, Esq., of Boston) dis-
pense a hospitality as unaffected as it is attractive.

When, from every point of view — professional
political and social — it appears that the life-work
of a man has ripened into a full harvest of suc-
cess, honor and usefulness, the fact is revealed
that the author of such results must be a man, not
only of well-rounded character, but of systematic

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

241

and conscientious habits of work. Of no one
could this be more truly said tluiii of Dr.
Ketchum.

With high natural endowmont.s, hotii of mind
and person, he has trusted nothing to chance
or genius: with him genius has been made the
voke-fellow of labor. V>\ linking together great

natural gifts with habits of patient and sys-
tematic work, he has attained, not an eccentric
eminence, but the highest legitimate distinction
as a physician and citizen. When the roundness,
the fullness, the completeness of his life-work is
considered, the result may be well e.vpressed —
"Simphx a/i/i/c ruhiinhis."

XIV.
PIKE COUNTY.

Population: White, ]4,;5(JS; colored, f!,-^;-^.
Area. 740 square miles. Woodland, all. Oak and
hickory uplands. 5!t0 square miles: ])ine hills,
150 square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately). SS.lJdii: in
corn, 5(1,648; in oats, 6,508; in wheat, 80; in rye,
127: in sugar-cane, 550; in sweet potatoes, 1,359.

Approximate number of bales of cotton, in round
numbers. 19,000.

County Seat — Troy; population. :i.000: located
at terminus of 3[obile & Girard Railroad.

Newspapers published at the County Seat — En-
quirer and Messenger (Democratic).

Postoffiees in the County — Barr's Mill, Krun-
didge. Buck Horn, Catalpa, Chesser, China (irove.
County Line, Curry. Fleetwood, Flemington,
Goshen Hill, Harmony. Henderson. Indian Branch,
Josie. Linwood, Little Oak, ^filo, Monticello,
Olustee Creek, Orion, Pottersville, Troi/, Wingard.

Pike County was established December 17,
1821, from portions of Henry and Montgomery,
and was named in honor of General Zebulon M.
Pike, who fell at York (now Toronto), April 27,
181:5.

The Alabama Midland Railroad will pass through
Troy, and diagonally across the county from the
northwest to the southeast corner the Mobile & Gir-
ard, from Troy to Pollard, the Brunswick & Mem-
phis Railroad, ria Greenville, through Troy to
Clayton. All the present indications favor and

justify the expectation that these roads will be
completed within i-easonahle time.

Tlie lands are generally level with suflicient un-
dulation for proper drainage. Except in a few
localities in the northern and central portions of
the county, there is no land unsuited for cultiva-
tion on account of the abruptness of those undula-
tions. The character of the soil varies, embody-
ing red clay, black hummock and sandy soils. In
the northwestern and southeastern portions of the
county are large bodies of fine red lands,
which are very ])roductive and lasting. In the
northeastern and southwestern portions it is
generally sandy, with a sufficient admixture of
lime to render them very productive when first
brought into cultivation: but within five years
their i)roductive capacity exhausts, unless aided
by fertilizers. In the central portion of the county
every character of soil above enumerated can be
found. The close proximity of a clay foundation
renders all of these lands susceptible of the highest
improvement by fertilization.

A chain of hills in the northeastern portion of
the county contains iron ore of good quality in
abundance. There are also beds of marl sufficient-
ly rich in phosphoric .acid to justify utilization in
several localities in the county. There are also
deposits of ochre, acid iron earth and other val-
uable minerals in the county, none of which have
been utilized.

243

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

There are vast areas of pine timber in the county,
which, with better faf>ilitiesfor shipment or being
more accessible to a railroad line, would be very
valuable.

There are also large quantities of hickory,
white oak, red oak, and cypress in the swamps
near watercourses, which could be utilized to ad-
vantage by a furniture or bucket and barrel factory.
Several large contracts for staves are now being
filled by residents of Linwood, and the staves fur-
nished are classed A No. 1.

Immigrants of limited means will find all their
hearts could crave or wishes prompt in regard to a
cheap, pleasant, healthy home in Pike County.
The price of land ranges from §2 to *10 per acre.
Some highly improved command $20 jier acre, but
in such cases the improvements represent over

half of the price. Immigrants would be kindly
received and considerately treated. Regardless of
nativity, they would be accorded that regard and
esteem to which their merits and intrinsic worth
would entitle them.

The i^eople are law-abiding and orderly, very
hospitable and kind, and ambitious to elevate and
improve their condition and place their posterity
on a higher plane of intelligence and usefulness.
They study their business closely, and are prompt
in adojiting improvements that are j)ractical and
advantageous. Their homes are generally well
kept, neat and tidy, and possess every comfort and
convenience their ability will i^ermitthem to enjoy.
By judicious management they have largely
increased the jn-oductiveness of their lands within
the past ten years.

XV.

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

Population: White, 3,000; colored, 1,500.
Area, 1,0.")0 square miles. Woodland, all. Undu-
lating pine-lands, 800 square miles; lime hills and
shell-prairie lands, 1.50 square miles: pine hills, 100
square miles.

Acres — In cotton (approximately), 3,300; in
corn, 4,259; in oats, 464; in rice, 07; in sugar-
cane, 90; in sweet potatoes, 448.

Ai^proximate number otf bales of cotton, 1,400.

County Seat — St. Stephens; population, 200.

Postoffices in the County-^Atchison, Bigbee,
Escatawpa, Gondola, Healing Springs, Koeton,
Lumberton, Mcintosh Bluff, Millry, St. Stejihens,
Sims Chapel, Washington.

Washington is the oldest county in the State,
having been created by Governor Sargent in 1800.
It was named for the first President of the United
States. Considerable historic interests attaches
to the county. It has the honor of having within
its limits the first capital of Alabama — St.

Stephens. It was in this county that Aaron Burr
was arrested, in 18<i7. It is alike noted for the
quiet tone of its people, its forests of timber, its
health, and its healing springs.

Pine, oak, hickory, beech, ash, cedar, cypress,
and dogwood are the trees which stock the forests
of the county. Many of these are of matchless
size, and are of great marketable value, (heat
quantities of turpentine are gathered from the jjine
forests.

St. Stephens and Escatawpa are the places of
interest. A good common-school system exists in
the county.

Lands may be had for $1, or as high as 88 per
acre. The inhabitants would be glad to welcome,
as accessions to their ijoi^ulation, earnest and ener-
getic citizens.

The county of AVashiugton embraces 130,120
acres of Government land awaiting the occupation
of settlers.

PART IV.

Monographs of the Principal Cities and Towns in Northern
AND Central Alabama, together with Biograph-
ical Sketches of many of their Rep-
resentative People.

HUNTSVILLE.

Himtsville, in the rolling liighlantls of the Ten-
nessee Valiov, bordered by niountain ranges, is
the heart of the most jileasant. healthful and at-
tractive canttiii on the continent of Xorth
America. It is the oldest English settled town
in Alabama, and tlie county seat of the oldest
county, Miwlison. Its early history is for tliat
period the history of the State. In the undulat-
ing table-land between the State line, north, and
the great bend of the Tennessee IJiver, south,
where it breaks through the Cumberland chain, at
Guntersville, and turns its course to the northwest,
the town lies at the northwest foot of Monte
Sano, behind which wild-woods and mountain
ridges rise to the east. On the eastern side of a
beautiful and fertile valley, extending ten miles
southward to the river, it looks out upon long
ranges in the distance, and rounded spurs here
and there looking up from the broad plateau, while
north and west a semicircle of fields and forests is
spread, with farm-houses, herds of cattle, horses
and mules, crops of grain, clover and blue grass,
cotton and corn, in their season, giving variety
and life to the exquisite jianorama.

.Madison County is situated between it" and
10*^ of longitude west of Washington, and be-
tween 34'-' 3i>' and 35" of north latitude. The

elevation of Iluntsville, at the court-house, is 040
feet above the sea; that of Monte Sano, 1,:00 feet.
The climate, winter and summer, is unrivaled in
America, and the .air is light, and pure and sweet.
The soil is similar to that of the region of Lex-
ington. Ky. With a red clay sub-soil and lime-
stone foundation, it is sniiceptible of the highest
degree of fertility.

Ever since the discovery of Cat Island and Cuba
by Christopher Columbus, in 1492, the territory,
embracing Madison County and Himtsville, has
been included in various grand land enterprises.
With shipping furnished by Henry YII. of Eng-
land, and autiiority to occupy and possess in the
name of the King, Sebastian Cabot first discovered
the continent of North America at Labrador in
1407, and in 1498-9 and loOd he made further dis-
coveries as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. Upon
this basis of right, Queen P^lizabeth, in 1585,
granted to Sir Walter Raleigh, for settlement and
development, the territory of America between
45^ and 33' north latitude, which wa^s named by
him after the virgin queen, Virginia. But this
enterprise soon came to naught, and in IGOil .James
I. granted to "the London Company" the terri-
tory from the Potomac River to the Cape Fear, to
be called '■ South Virginia." Vnder its auspices,

243

244

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

the settlement was made at Jamestown, on James
River. This company failed in 1624, and surren-
dered its franchises back to the crown. In 166.3-5,
Charles II. granted to eight of his princii^al ad-
herents the territory lying between north latitude
36'^ 30' and 29", from the Atlantic Ocean "west-
ward to the seas beyond," to be called "the Pro-
vince of Carolina." Under these charters, Edward,
Earl of Clarendon; George (Monk), Duke of
Albemarle: William, Lord Craven; John, Lord
Berkley; Anthony, Lord Ashley; Sir George Car-
teret, Sir William Berkley and Sir John Colleton,
their heirs and successors, were created "absolute
Lords and Proprietors" of this magnificent domain,
the King reserving only "faith, allegiance and
sovereign dominion." These gentlemen of the
"cavalier" i^arty sent settlers, many of them
relatives, to their colony, of which Charles Town
(Charleston), established in 1672, became the
chief seat. But in 1719 the people threw off the
Proprietary government and placed the Province
directly under the Royal Government of England.
AVithin ten or twelve years, the successors of the
original proprietors, surrendered for less than
$100,000, all title and interest in "Carolina,"
which included not only North and South Caro-
lina, but the region now occupied by Georgia, the
greater part of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and
"westward to the seas beyond." In 1732, George
II. granted to General Oglethorpe and twenty-
one trustees, for philanthropic colonization of im-
prisoned debtors and persons bound to service, the
territory from the Savannah River southward to
St. Alary River, for twenty-one years, to be called
after the King, "Georgia." The period of this
charter expired in 1753, and Georgia reverted to
the British Crown. The Revolution of 1776, the
independence of the colonies, and the formation
of the Federal Government of the United States,
changed the status. As a sovereign State,
Georgia then claimed, under the Royal charter,
the territory north of 318, westward to the Miss-
issippi River. In 1783 the British Government
ceded all rights to the L'nited States, and in 1802,
for the sum of 81,250,000, Georgia ceded to the
General Government the whole of her territory be-
tween the Chattahoochee and Mississippi Rivers,
amounting to 1,000,000 square miles, stipulating
that every sixteenth section should be donated for
purposes of education.

The commissioners who effected this transaction
on the part of the General Government, were

James Madison, Albert Gallatin and Levi Lincoln.
Those who represented Georgia were James Jack-
son, Abraham Baldwin and John Milledge. North
and South Carolina also ceded all claims to terri-
tory from the western boundary of those States to
the Mississippi River and the boundary of Miss-
issippi Territory was extended northward to the
Tennessee State line.

But, j)revious to this great transfer, two epi-
sodes occurred, touching territory, in which Madi-
son County is embraced.

In 1875, out of that portion of the then terri-
tory north of the Tennessee River, the State of
Georgia, by enactment, created the coun-
ty of Houston, called after John Hous-
ton, Governor of Georgia. Commissioners
were appointed to organize it, and, with
eighty men, proceeded to Muscle Shoals for
that purpose. A land-oilice was opened, and
magistrates were made. But apprehension of
the Chickasaw Indians arose. The party broke
np and departed, and the enterprise fell
through.

In 17'.»4-5, the government of Georgia author-
ized the sale of 21,500,000 acres of land, now in
Alabama and Mississippi, for the sum of 8500,000.
The pur-'hasers were companies of speculators
called "The Yazoo Land Company," "The
Georgia Land Company," and "The Tennessee
Land Company." The measure was passed by
bribery and corruption, and was afterward char-
acterized as "The Yazoo Fraud." The Legislature
succeeding obtained ample proofs of bribery, ex-
punged the bill from the journal, and had the
official engrossed act burned at Louisville, at
that time the capital of Georgia. But, " The
Tennessee Land Company" having received a
deed over the seal of Georgia and sign-manual of
its Governor, Matthews, to that pai"t of North
Alabama "from the Tennessee line, extending
South to latitude 35" 10', and, with Bear Creek
as its western boundary, thence running east one
hundred and twenty miles," claimed a good title
to all North Alabama for a distance of sixty miles
south, including 1,000,000 acres among the rich-
est, in agricultural and mineral resources, in the
United States. While the Indians occupied the
land, and called it their own, this corporation di-
vided it into townships and sections, or lots, of
one thousand acres each, and sold what they could
on a credit of one, two, three and four years,
without interest, about the years lSOO-7. Deeds

XOJ^ THERX ALABAMA,

245

thus given antedate other titles, except ii few. ami
were recordeil in 1810-11 — tlie first that iii)pe:ir
on the county deed books. The oldest deed is to
-Martin Beatty, in 1808, for one thousaud acres in
a square, including '"the big spring." and nearly
all of Iluntsville. The consideration was one
tiiousand dollars. Other conveyances were to
Freeman Jones, 450 acres, William Campbell, tj4<)
acres. G. Harrison, 200 acres, and to Henry L.
Sheffey, 10,O0O acres— all at the rate of i^l jier
acre. The last of these deeds recorded bears
date of record in ISll, to Martin IJeatty and Ben-
jamin Estill, 40,000 acres, excepting (;,000 in-
cluded and already sold at the rate of %\ per
acre. This tract covered land in the region of
Iluntsville, and was one of the finest in the
South.

The Indian tribes had been recognized by the
General Government as independent communi-
ties, and their riglit to remain in possession of
of their lands and to sell them when they pleased,
was acknowledged, so that all sales of lands by
comjianies or individuals, when the Indian titles
were not extinguished, were held null and void
and were disallowed by the (ieneral (iovernment.
And after lands were ceded by the Indians to the
General Government, parties had no claims, excejit
occupancy and preemption, the same as other
settlers on land, at the time of survey of the public
domain for public sale. These just and projier
decisions were arrived at in consequence of the
claims set up by the corporators of the gigantic
land speculations, mentioned.

In 1814, Congress appropriated 8600,000 of
script, known as ''Mississippi stock." for distribu-
tion iH'O rata among the claimants under the Land
Company, and receivable in payment of j)ublic
lands in the territory claimed by the " Tennessee
Land Company." Prior to the land sales of ISOO,
Martin Beatty had relinquished his claim to the
land about Iluntsville and the spring, and entered
other lands. The claims of many others were sim-
ilarly settled ^y the (ieneral Government. After
181."), the few purchasers from the "Tennessee
Land Company '" who had not adjusted or filed
their claims were ejected by troops, and the United
States had undisputed title to the lands obtained
from Georgia.

In 1805, John Hunt first came to the " Big
Spring," and, in 180(;, brought his family from
East Tennessee to that locality. After him the
town was named. He failed to perfect his title to

the land he occupied at first. One of his descend-
ants was John Hunt Morgan, the distinguished
cavalry officer of the Confederate Army, who was
betrayed and killed at (ireenville, Tenn. A year
or two before 1805, old man Ditto was among the
Indians at Ditto's Landing, now called Whites-
burg: John McCartney, from Georgia, was living
near the Tennessee line; and Joseph and Isaac
C'riner built a house near Criner's big spring, on
Alountain Fork of Flint Kiver, before the first visit
of Hunt.

The land embraced in Madison County was the
common hunting-ground of the Cherokee and
Chickasaw Indian tribes, used by buth and settled
by neither. These were the finest of their race in
physique, intelligence, and courage: and, though
savage and cruel, they sometimes exhibited genu-
ine nnignaniinity. The Cherokees in 1712-13
assisted the colonists of Carolina, under Cols. John
Barnwell and James Moore, to defeat the Tusca-
rora Indians, who had seriously threatened the
province, and helped to drive them northward,
where they joined the Five Nations under King
Philip. The Chickasaws are not known to have
ever been defeated in battle. The rugged moun-
tain region, eastward of Madison, with their strong-
hold at Nickajack, was occupied b}' the Cherokees;
and the country, westward to the Mississippi River,
north of the Choctaws, who inhabited the prairie'
section below them, belonged to the Chickasaws.

July 2."5, 1805, the Chickasaws ceded their claim
to tlie land east of a line run from the mouth of
Duck Kiver on the Tennessee line, to the western
])art of " Chickasaw old fields" on the Tennessee
Kiver: and January 7, 1806, the Cherokees ceded
their right to land west of- a direct line from near
the source of Elk River to Chickasaw Island, now
Hobbs. in the Tennessee River. This area con-
tained 322,000 acres. About thirty miles north
and soutii. it was three miles wide on the river and
twenty-five wide on the State line, and when or-
ganized was called '• Old Madison." This occurred
in 180S. Robert Williams, originally from North
Carolina, the Governor of Mississippi Territory,
by proclamation created the county of ^fadisou.
Here was made the first government survey in the
territory, and in 1809, in the land oflSceat Nashvile,
the first public sale of land in the teriitory was
made of the lands of Madison County.

'• The great bend of the Tennessee River," in-
cludes the counties of Madison, .lackson, Lauder-
dale and Limestone. The river crosses tlie thirty-

246

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

fifth parallel of latitude about ten miles uortheast
of Bridgeport and turns southwest, reaching its
extreme southern point near Guntersville, at a
point about forty-two miles due south of the Ten-
nessee State line, and then turning northwest,
again enters Tennessee at the northwest corner of
the State, some ten miles down the river from
Eastport. The distance from the Huntsville
meridian, along the Tennessee line to Mississippi
State line, is about ninety miles and from this
meridian westward to the Tennessee River, is about
fifty miles, and on from the river to the Georgia
State line, at the corner of Jackson and DeKalb
counties, ten miles. The great bend measured east
and west along the Tennessee line, is one hundred
and forty miles from entrance to exit of the river,
and its greatest extent north and south is forty-two
miles. Madison and Limestone counties occupy
the middle portion of this territory, extending
from the river to the State line. The early set-
tlers of North Alabama were men who had fought
the Indians in Western Georgia and Middle Tennes-
see, and were inured to the danger, privation, and
suffering of pioneer life. But when they came to
Alabama, they found a land of jieace and plenty.
Though nearly surrounded by savage tribes, there
never was any war or disturbance in Madison
County. The white settlers, who came in 1805-6,
were never molested by the Indians. The Chero-
kees and Chickasaws visited it in autumn, and re-
turned to their settlements, as winter set in, laden
with game. Their camping-grounds can now be
identified by the stone arrow-heads and hatchets,
scattered over the fields in certain places. The
pioneers who first settled the county, from Geor-
gia and Tennessee, originally came from North
Carolina and Virginia. They were enthusiastic
in their praises of the beauty and fertility of the
county; and those who were attracted to it by the
glowing accounts of its wonders, said, " the half
had not been told them." The beauty of the
mountains and valleys, the numerous clear and
sparkling streams running over pebbly bottoms,
and the magnificence of the primeval forests,
decked with the splendor of great giants of the
woods, led them to think this the finest region
ever trodden by the foot of man. They had at
last reached the land of promise. In a climate,
free from extremes of either cold or heat, with a
deep, rich virgin soil, subject to neither floods nor
drouths, a region abouiuling in game of every
description — deer and turkeys, ducks and wild

pigeons by the hundreds, thousands and millions,
and watercourses full of trout, bream and salmon,
the native game fish, the means of living were
abundant.

The lands once cleared and fenced, with little
labor yielded a generous support to man and beast.
Cattle and hogs required little care and multiplied
rapidl v. The seasons were regular, and good crops
could be depended upon.

When the public lands were surveyed and sold,
many of these pioneers, since known as "squat-
ters,"' were able to jjurchase their homes, and, be-
fore the close of 1809, the ancestors of a large
numljcr of the best citizens were permantly
settled on lands now occupied by their descend-
ants. Up to the close of the year 1809, a popula-
tion of nearly five thousand was in the old county
limits; but. with a few exceptions, the population
was of the pioneer type: however, stories of the
beauty, fertility and salubrity of the county began
to attract a more cultured and wealthy population
from the other States, who developed here the re-
finement and luxury of their former liomes. The
tide of immigration flowed steadily in this direc-
tion, slaves were brought in considerable numbers,
and lands were opened for cultivation, good houses
were erected, and money became plentiful, with
abounding prosperity.

In the year 1807, the general surveyor for Mis-
sissippi Territory was authorized to contract for
the survey of public lands in his jurisdiction,
to which the Indian title had been extinguished.
Madison County was the first land surveyed in
North Alabama, with the exception of the lands,
in Eange 'I, East, surveyed by T. Roach. The old .
county was surveyed by Thomas Freeman, of
Nashville, Tenn., and his work was well performed.

The first was the survey of Huntsville meridian,
from the State line to the Tennesse River. The
survey of "old Madison" was reported to the
land office in May, and in August, 1809, the lands
were offered for sale. The land office was at
Nashville, Tenn., Gen. John Brahan being
Register. These lands were eagerly sought for
and taken up by a class of settlers who were, in
intellect, enterprise and energy, the peers of any
on the continent, and who, for over a quarter of
a century were prominent in the State and Na-
tional assemblies.

Immigration to the county, previous to 1809,
came from the direction of Winchester, crossed
into the countv near its northeast corner, and fol-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

247

lowed " the Cherokee line " ilown Flint Hivor to
Brownsboro. Tiie fine water-power at Flint liridge
attracted many settlers, and Bennett Wood entered
t!ie lands from the Three Forks down to the Bell
I''actory, with the intention of erecting a niill
thereon. .John limit had made his way from tlie
New .Market country, through the wilderness, to
the lluntsville Spring in ISO.i, and many followed
that path. But the larger settlement was by way
of New Market to Flint Bridge, and down the old
])e{)osit road to the Brownsboro neighborhood.

At the laiul sales in ISOSi, a strong tide of immi-
gration commenced down the Meridian road by
l)ersons from Williamson, Bedford and .Maury
Counties, Tenn., to make purchases in the newly-
ojiened territory. A direct route, via Fayetteville,
to Nashville was established; and the land office
remained in Nashville until 1811, founding close
business relations between the capital of Tennes-
see and lluntsville. The National road, when
Natchez was tiie caj)ital of Mississippi Territory,
leading from Tennessee to the lower colonies, was
first called " the Natchez trace,"' afterwards " the
Military road," because the troops from Tennessee
and Alabama travelled it in marching to the de-
fense of New Orleans, and is now "the Limestone
road." The right of way had been conceded by the
Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes in ISli.i. In ISii'.t
Wallace Kstell entered the quarter section of lam!
where Cumming's Mill now stands, and there Imilt
the first mill in the county. Charles Cabaiiiss
located at I'owers' Spring, entered the old Tate
place above Hazel (ireen, and built the first cotton
factory in the county, on Barren Fork, in Section
S. II. Ford entered the land near the junction
of Mountain Fork and Barren Fork, and Iniilt
a cotton factory at an early period.

Between Flint Bridge and lluntsville, William
Moore, Nathan Strong, James Boper, Matthew
Weaver and John K. B. Eldridge lived. Down
the Meridian road, the land was all taken up in
large bodies. Kobert Thompson and Thomas
Bibb entered nearly all in sections west of the
road from Birch Fork to Meridianville; and James
Manning and B. S. Pope the land south to the
Strong homestead. On the east of the road were
John Lowry and John and William AVatkins.
Along the line of the western road from Pope's
place. Powell, Richard Harris. Kowland Cornelius
and others settled. From Strong's to lluntsville.
John Connally, D. Humphrey. P. Cox, John W.
Walker, Charles Cabaniss and Hugh ^IcVay

entered. Out towards Russell's Hill, George Dil-
wortli, Edward Ward and John Allison located
lands; and east of lluntsville, in Powers Cave,
Chailes Calniniss, Moses Vincent and Allen Chris-
tian lived. South and west of lluntsville many
|iurcliases were made in ISO!), by ancestors of the
present owners. Among these early buyers were
Dr. David Moore, A. and J. Sibley, J. and S.
Ackleii, W. Langford,.!. Withers, William Lanier,
Archie -McDonald, D. Carniichael, James and
Andrew Drake, P. McLemore, J. and W. Blevins,
William Sim])son, William Robertson, Henry
Hay lies and the Turners. Large bodies of land
were entered for speculation, and Petersburg,
Oa. , is remarkable for having been the former
residence of a large number of the heaviest pur-
chasers of j)ublie land. James Manning, R.
Thompson, Leroy Pope, John W. Walker, Thomas
J5ibb. William Bibb and Peyton Cox, were all
from that place, and probably purchased nearly
one-half of the lands sold in 1800. They were,
for a long time, prominent men in the county.
Of other large purchasers, C. Kennedy was
from Pendleton District, S. C. ; B. Wood from
Tennessee; Charles Cabaniss from Lunenburg
County, Va.; S. Allen, Jacob Priest and Willam
Robertson were living in the county before the
land sales. In 181(1 Thomas Brandon and Nich-
olas IJeedy entered the Henry Motz farm; and
John Baker, the Holding Brick house tract below
-McDonalds or Baker's Creek. At that time, J.
H. I'osey, C. C. Clay and Gabriel Moore made
their first purchases of land in Madison County.
G. Moore settled the homestead west of the brick
sclioolhouse: Posey, north of Huntsville; and
(May, a quarter section of land, south of -Andrew
Drakes, in Drake's Cove.

December -^3, 180(t, the Territorial Legislature
passed an Act, that " William Dickson, Edward
Ward, Louis Winston, Alex. Gilbreath and
Peter Perkins, of Madison County, be elected
coinmi.ssioners, for the purpose of fixing on the
most convenient i)!ace for establishing the public
buildings in the said county, and they, or a ma-
jority of them, shall have power to procure, by
juircliase or otherwise, not less than thirty, nor
more than one hundred, acres of land, at the most
convenient anil suitable place, which shall be laid
out in half-acre lots, reserving three acres forjiub-
lic buildings, and sold at public auction, on
twelve months' credit. The money to be applied
bv said commissioners towards dcfravins the ex

248

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

penses of erecting the public buildings of the
county."

For the quarter section of land containing the
big spring there was no competition at the land
sales of 1809, and Le Koy Pope paid over 823 per
acre. At that time there were two or three hun-
dred inhabitants, scattered over the ground now
occupied by Huntsville. The town was first laid
out in 1810, and its plan was probably agreed
upon between Pope and the commissioners.
There were four half -acre lots in each square, and
about sixty acres of ground were embraced in the
plan. Pope was a wise and liberal man. The
Spring Bluff determined the angle of the streets,
which are thirty- four degrees from .the true merid-
ian. The first survey of the town was probably
the work of John W. Leake. Hunter Peel came
Into Huntsville in 1816. The original plan of the
town was not recorded and is not extant. The
plat thought to be the original plan was drawn by
Hunter Peel, by order of the trustees of the Pope
donation, in 1821, and .still exists. After the
town was first laid out, the commissioners, who
all lived in the neighborhood of the big spring,
purchased thirty acres from Mr. Pope, paying the
nominal price of seventy-five dollars. This deed
was not recorded until 1815. They selected the
south half of the town, the line running through
the court-house square. This portion of the town
was sold rapidly in half-acre lots, bringing from
two to five hundred dollars each. Ten thousand
dollars was realized and applied to public build-
ings. Pope afterward obtained more than twice
as much for the northern portion of the town,
which he had retained.

John Hunt, afttr whom the place was called,
was not able to purchase at the sales the land on
which he located. He did buy one quarter-sec-
tion, but failed to make the payments, and it re-
verted to the United States. In 1811, the town
was incorporated by the Territorial Legislature,
as "Huntsville," with a board of trustees. The
Legislature of 1843-44, granted a new charter to
the town, dividing it into four wards, and pro-
viding for the election of a mayor and eight alder-
men.

The first lot sold in the new town, was sold on
the Fourth of July, 1810. The first court-house
was commenced soon afterward, and court was
held in it in the fall of 1811.

The first trading-house or store was that of
Alexander (Jilbreath, near the spring, about the

corner of Gates and Henry streets. After the
town was laid out, Gilbreath and James White
formed a coiiartnership, and did a large business in
1811-12.

The first houses on the public square were built
by John Brown and J. 0. Crump, on the north
side, called "Exchange Row." Rose, LeKoy Pope
and Hitchman built the first stores on the east
side. John Reed, a clerk in the land office at
Nashville, in 1809, bought the west half of the
South Side, called " Commercial Row," and also
tlie corner lot west, across Madison street. On this
he built his first house and sold it to Andrew Jami-
son, who afterward sold it to Allen Cooper. Lat-
terly it has been the j^roperty of F. 0. Schandies.
Reed sold lots on Commercial Row to J. Falconer,
James Clemens, Stephen Ewing and Taylor and
Foote. Stephen Xeal, who was sheriff from
1809 to 1822, purchased the east half of Com-
mercial Row, and sold it, by the lot, to Luther
and Calvin Morgan, C. C. Clay, William Patton
and Andrew Beirne, who were long and favorably
known under the firm-name of " Patton & Beirne."
Christopher Cheatham erected a tavern on the
Huntsville Hotel lot. Thomas and William Bran-
don, the builders of the place, came here in 1810,
with no property except their trowels and mechan-
ical skill; and from a struggling village of wooden
shanties, they made a town of brick and stone.

The Creek War began with the massacre of Fort
Minis, in Washington County, on the Alabama
River, on the 30th of August, 1813. General
Jackson appealed at once to the militia of his
division and soon found a considerable force at his
command. Among his troops were four compa-
nies from Madison County, led by captains Gray,
]\[osely, Eldridge and Hamilton. Organizing his
army at Fayetteville, he established a depot of
supplies at Deposit Ferry, on the Tennessee River,
and opened "Jackson's Trace," the Deposit road
from New Market, through New Hojse, to the
ferry. Enthusiasm was great, and high prices
were paid by some for the privilege of taking the
places of the men enrolled. The ^Madison com-
panies were put into a regiment with Tennesseans,
commanded by Col. James Carroll, an intinuite
friend of General Jackson. Lender him they par-
ticipated in the important battles of Talladega
and Emuckfaw, where, being on an exposed flank,
they suffered severely. They were also at the bat-
tle of Tohopeka, which closed the war. The
company of Captain Eldridge was raised in Hunts-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

249

ville anil Meriflianville, and that of Captain Tlam-
iltoii in the mountain settlements of Flint IJiver.
Tiiese cotnpanies bore a jiart in the occupation of
>[obile and I'ensacola.

On the Sth of January, 1S15, the battle of New
Orleans was fought, and on the 18tli of June the
battle of Waterloo. . The Treaty of Ghent between
En<rland and the United States and tlie cessation
of lighting between the nations of Europe, on the
imi)risonment of Napoleon at St. Helena, gave
rest and opportunities of recuperation to the civ-
ilized world.

Cotton came into demand at a high price,
and its cultivation, with negro labor, edu-
cated to the skillful use of the plow and the hoe,
reliable and under control, promised large profits.
In 1818 the magnificent lands of the Tennessee
A'alley of Alabama were placed upon the market.
8i>ecu]ation became the rage. 'J'he tobacco lands
of X'irginia had become worn and the profits of
that staple had materially diminished. The price
of cotton was high, '-iit to 2o cents per pound; and
in the rich virgin soil of the Tennessee Valley of
Alabama, each good hand could make, annually,
five or six hundred dollars. Besides, being unlike
the sickly land.s of the coast region, high and
healthy, the increase of the negro slaves equalled
the proceeds of the crops. Lands purchased in
1809, at %-l per acre, sold at *15 and §20. For
example: In 1817, Robert Thompson sold 640
acres, entered above Meridianville, to Thomas G.
Percy, for *10,800; Jacob Pruitt sold 137 acres,
north of Mooresville, for *i2i) p^r acre; James
Manning sold the land on which Dr. Hampton
now resides, at ^18 per acre. These were consid-
ered bargains, and shrewd business men like
Charles Cabaniss, Dr. David ^Moore, John Brahan
and Samuel Allen, who had purchased large bodies
in 1800, considered their lands worth more, and
l)referred the profits of cotton planting to specu-
lation. The value of town property kept pace
with that of farms. For instance: John Heed
paid the commissioners $T.5ii for lot No. 42, now
Shandies' corner, and in 1815 sold it for ^7,500:
Heed and Neal paid *.")00 each for the lots on Com-
mercial How; Neal sold his for ¥8,400. LeHoy
Pope realized *10,000 for the Holding Square, in-
cluding the storehouse of Pope & Hickman.

On the 2d day of February, 1818, land sales
began at Iluntsviile. then the only town in the
valley, liut, with the land-otlice and a bank, and
twenty thousand ]icoplo in Madison County eager

to invest in lands, the times were lively. Within
two years the counties of Morgan, Blount, St.
Clair, Jackson, Limestone, Lauderdale, Lawrence
and Franklin were occupied and organized. And
the towns of Bellefonte, Somerville, iloulton,
Athens, Tuscumbia, Florence, Blountsville, Ashe-
ville and Husselville were founded, and nearly all
of them incorporated. At that jieriod there were
no preemption laws for the benefit of the poorer
classes of settlers, and men of means, chiefiy from
Virginia, North Carolina and (ieorgia, fiocked in
to buy and to settle. Lauds covered with jjrimeval
forests sold from twenty, as high as one hundred
dollars per acre, and all the best lands in the en-
tire valley were taken up. Fifty thousand people
settled in its limits within a period of two years,
and the Tennessee liiver, from its entrance into
the State, near the Georgia line, to its exit, near
the Mississijjpi line, had a continuous farming
settlement on both sides, with a teeming popula-
tion.

In 1818, old Madison comprised about three-
fourths of its present area (872 square miles);
and the population was 20,000. Huntsville was
the only town in the valley of the Tennessee, in
Alabama: and outside of the county limits not a
man owned an acre of ground. Madison received
considerable accession of new territory, to which
many of its citizens transferrrd their energies.
But numbers of prominent men located lands far-
ther down the valley, and became representatives
of the new counties. At the public sales the lands
added to Madison sold well. The uplands of the
Matthews plantation, west of the Indian line,
brought $27 per acre; the Donegon place, $20:
the lands in ilullin's Flat. 83(i. Toward Madison
station, the Bradford plantation brought iS30;
the Clemens place the same; while the Patton and
Stevens plantations, near Swancot, sold at $.50
and $54 per acre, all wild woods. West of Madi-
son the bottom landsbrought higher figures, some,
in the region of Tuscumbia, covered with timber,
selling at over $1(hi per acre.

During 1S18 the United States Government
laid off three sites for cities, " York Bluff," -'Cold
Water," and "Marathon," and sold the land
in one acre lots. A cor[)oration was also formed
under the name of " Indian Creek Navigation
Company "; and the bluff at Triana was nuuked
off for a city, lots of which, at tlie first sale by the
trustees, realized $9(t,(>00. This enterprise was
made a failure by fhc progress in transportation

250

NORTHERX ALABAMA.

through science, and the changes in the carry-
ing trade effected by steam.

AYhen the laws of the Territoi-y were extended
into Madison County in 1810, LeRoy Pojoe, Edward
Ward, Wm. Dickson, Jolin Withers and Thomas
Bibb were appointed justices of the quorum. Pope
being chief justice. In tlie year 1814, Wm. Dick-
son and Edward Ward resigned, and Dr. David
Moore and Abner Tatum were appointed. These
gentlemen served until 1819. Wm. H. Winston
was recorder, and was succeeded by Henry Minor.

In May, 1810, by an Act of Congress, a judge of
the Superior Court of Law and Equity for Madison
County was ajipointed, and Judge Obadiah Jones
ojiened court at Iluntsville, attired, as customary
in the older States, with black gown and cocked
hat, the sheriff preceding him, holding in front a
drawn sword. Peter Perkins was clerk of the
court, and in April, 1811, Francis E. Harris, who
remained in office until Alabama was admitted
into the Union. John \V. Walker served as attor-
ney-general. On the second Monday in Decem-
ber, IBT-i, Eli Norman was tried for murder, and
convicted. Motion for a new trial was overruled
on Thursday. The criminal was sentenced on
Friday and hung on Saturday. There was no
lynch law or lynching in those days. This was
the issue of the first trial for murder in Alabama.

In 1812, the Territorial Legislature incor-
porated the old "Green Academy" for boys;
in Huntsville, with Wm. Edmanson, John Bra-
han, Wm. Leslie, James McCartney, Peter
Perkins, C. Burns, W. Derrick, J. Neely, Jno.
Grayson, H. Cox, B. Woods, S. Allen, A. K.
Davis, W. Evans and Xathan Powers as trustees.
Woods and Davis were ministers of the gospel.
General Brahan donated the land on which the
public school now stands; and until the establish-
ment of the State University, in 1821, this was the
leading institution in all this region. In 181G the.
Territorial Legislature appropriated §500 to the
academy; and in 1818 Lemuel Mead, Henry Cham-
bers, Henry Minor, Jno. M. Taylor, C. C. Clay
and J. W. Walker became trustees. In every part
of the county there was an effort to keep up public
schools, and very few of the early generation raised
in Madison County were unable to read and to
write. Many of them have scattered to the prairie
region of South Alabama and Mississippi, to the
Mississippi bottom, to Arkansas, Louisiana and
Texas — and they have generally held their own.

Among the first ministers of the gospel men-

tioned in the county are: David Thompson,
Thomas Moore. Woodson Loyd, Robert Hancock
and William Lanier, of the Methodist Ejjiscopal
Church, all licensed before 1814; Bennett Woods,
John Nicholson, John McCutchen, John Canter-
berry and Wm. Bird, of the Baptist Church; and
A. K. Davis and J. W. Allen, of the Presbyterian
Church.

The roll of attorneys who were admitted to prac-
tice in the Superior Court at Huntsville, from the
year 1810 to 1820, is an exceptionally brilliant
one. J. W. Walker became Circuit Judge and
United States Senator; il. AVilliams, member of
the Legislature and Judge of County Court at
Tuscaloosa; G. Colter, Circuit Judge at Flor-
ence; John il. Taylor, Circuit Judge and Jus-
tice of the Supreme Court; C. C. Clay, Circuit
Judge, Member of Congress, Governor, Justice of
the Sui^reme Court, United States Senator and
Codifier of the Laws of Alabama: Henry Minor,
Circuit Judge and Suj^reme Court Reporter: John
McKinley, Member of the Legislature and United
States Senator; Samuel Chapman, Judge of Madi-
son County Court for fourteen years and Circuit
Judge of Tuscaloosa Circuit for twelve j-ears;
William Kelly, Member of Congress and L'nited
States Senator; Henry Chambers, Member of the
Legislature and L^nited States Senator; Hugh Mc-
Va}', President of the Senate of Alabama and
Governor; Wm. I. Adair, Speaker of the House
of Alabama and Circuit Judge; James G. Birney,
Member of the first Legislature of Alabama, and,
on removing to the North, tlie first candidate of
the Republican party for the Presidency of the
L^nited States; Arthur F. Hopkins, Circuit Judge
and Justice of the Supreme Court from Mobile,
where he moved; and James W. McClurg, twice
Speaker of the lower house of the Legislature.

In the medical profession, during the early days,
were two men of scholarly attainments and emi-
nent skill, both as surgeons and practitioners —
Dr. David Moore, elsewhere sjioken of, and Dr.
Thomas Fearn. The latter served under General
Jackson in the war of 1812, and spent 1818 and
1819 in the medical schools and hospitals of Eu-
rope. An article he afterward published on the
use of quinine in typhoid fever inaugurated a rev-
olution in the treatment of that dread disease.
He represented Madison County in tlie Legisla-
ture in 1822, and twice soon after. He was a
Presidential Elector and Member of the Provis-
ional Congress of the Confederate States in 18G1.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

251

He was a handsome man, with a fine mind, great
enterprise and public spirit, |)artieipating in many
of the improvements about lluntsville and in tlie
various projects of the day. I'r. Alexander Ers-
kine came later, from Virginia also, and survived
his distinguished confreres. He was jiopular and
beloved, a man of high character. He practiced
his profession after Drs. Moore and Fearn had
withdrawn, and long did a lucrative business.

After these. Dr. Francis H. Newman came to
lluntsville from Maryland. He was a physician
of scientific attainments and general information.
A man of heart, retiring in his disposition, devoted
to his profession, and able in diagnosis and treat-
ment, he possessed the confidence of his patients
and of the community in which his life was passed.

The first newspaper published in Alabama Ter-
ritory was printed at lluntsville, in 1812, by a
Mr. Parham, and called The Madison Gazclte.

The first bank was established under authority
conferred by the Legislature upon LeRoy Pope,
Jolin P. Hickman, David ^loore, B. Cox, John
M. Taylor, Thomas Fearn, J. Searcy, C. C. Clay
and John W. AValker to open books of subscription
for that purpose, in 1810.

Hunter Peel, who came to HuntsviUe in 1816,
was a useful citizen. He was an Englishman, and
had served in the Hritish Army as an engineer.
He surveyed part of the public domain in 1818,
and was an excellent draughtsman. His admirable
!nap of Madison County was lost or destroyetl dur-
ing the sectional war. His map of the old Hunts-
villa corporation is extant ; and, in connection
with J. Barklay, he constructed the lluntsville
Water-Works, which have furnished pure, cold
water, by iron pipes, throughout the town, for
sixty- five years.

Alabama Territory had the pre-re()uisites to
constitute a State. A convention of the people
was called to frame a constitution and to apply
for admission into the Uliion. This body con-
vened at lluntsville, July 5, 1810, and wascompos-
ed of forty-four delegates from twenty-two coun-
ties. Madison County was entitled to eight, Mont-
gomery and Tuscaloosa to two each, i»nd 3Iobile
and Dallas Counties to one each. John W. Walk-
er, of Madison, was made presiding officer. A
Territorial Legislature also met at HuntsviUe,
October 2.">, 181'.t. On the Utli of December, the
same year, Congress, by joint resolution, approved
by President Monroe, admitted Ahibanni as a
State into the Union. The first Legislature of

Alabama assembled at HuntsviUe, on the first
Monday in August, 1820. And the first (iovernor
of the State was AVm. W. Bibb, of iladison
County, who on his death was succeeded by Thomas
Bibb, his brother. President of the Senate,
also of Madison.

In the history of Alabama as a State, nine of
its Governors have been identified by residence or
by birth with iladison County, to-wit : the two
Bibbs, (iabriel Jloore, C. C. Clay, Reuben Chap-
man, John A. Winston, before the sectional war;
and Robert Patton, D. P. Lewis and E. A.
O'Neal, since the wai-. Eight United States
Senators, and two Confederate Senators, have
hailed from HuntsviUe, namely : John W.
Walker, who served from 181(» to 1823 ;
William Kelly, from 1822 to 1825 : Henry Cham-
bers, from 1825 to 1820 ; John McKinley, from
1820 to 1831 ; (iabriel Moore, from 1831 to 1837 ;
C. C. Clay, from 1837 to 1843 : Jere Clemens,
from 1840 ta 1853, and C. C. Clay, Jr., from
1853 to 1801 ; in the Confederate States Senate,
C. C. Clay, Jr., served first and afterward
Richard W. Walker. Gen. L. P. Walker was
Secretary of War of the Confederate States, in
1801. in 1842 Dr. David Moore was defeated for
the United States Senate by four votes from his
own .section of the State, influenced by personal
or local motives ; otherwise lluntsville would
have had an unbroken succession of Senators in
the Congress of the United States.

Before the war, in the Conventions of the Dem-
ocratic party in Alabama, the basis of representa-
tion was the white vote in each county, and
Xorth Alabama, being overwhelmingly Democrat-
ic, was called "The Avalanche," because, going
down solid from this region, it overran the more
Whiggish counties below. Colonel Galloway, a
native of iladison County, Ala., started an im-
-portant newspaper at Memphis, Tenn., and mind-
ful of this soubriquet, callpd it -'TJie Arahtiiclie,"
known and respected to-day. Under the new system
of representation in Democratic Conventions, since
the redemption of the State, the wliite counties
of North Alabama have lost the power tliey for-
merly had in the counsels of the party, and,
through the material used in State elections. Dem-
ocrats of "the black belt" dominate. There is
no disposition to jeopardize the peace, safety and
conservative influence of that section of the State.
But the party is organized on Federal politics,
not on State, county, town or ])ersonal issues: and

252

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

the election of the Presidential electors is the
most unfailing, unmixed and important criterion
of party allegiance. In the distribution of j^arty
l>ower in the State, its fairness and squarenesss
can not be questioned. When the Democracy of
Xorth Alabama require rejiresentation on that
basis, it will be conceded as right : but not until a
firm and decided stand is taken. In the mean
time this section is dwarfed of the power justly
belonging to it.

In 18:23, the great thoroughfares of the country
here were opened in various directions for conven-
ience and to facilitate communication and the busi-
ness interests, superseding tlie old Indian trails.
Tlie streets of Huutsville, many of them graded
by Hunter Peel, were also macadamized with blue
limestone rock from the mountain base. Drains
were opened next to the sidewalks and deciduous
trees set out for comfort, health and adornment.

Between 1820 and 18.30, houses of worship were
built in Huntsville by the different denominations
of Methodists. Baptists, Presbyterians and Cum-
berland Presbyterians. They were occupied by
large and liberal congi-egations, as they are now.
Later the Episcopalians raised a gothic structure,
and for several decades have had a full and pros-
perous church. Since the war the Roman Catho-
lics have built a stone edifice for their services, on
amain street. ''The Christian" sect have re-
cently completed a modest building. And the
colored peojjle of different jiersuasions have their
churches. Among all, the spirit is liberal and har-
mony prevails, with absence of bigotry and jealousy.

In 1830, the population of Madison County was
27,990. In that year the Pre-emption Law was
passed, having been earnestly advocated by C. C.
Clay, Representative in Congj-ess.

In 1832, great land sales took jilace in this val-
ley, with additional influx and settlement by
farmers of moderate means.

In 1831, the Female Seminary was established
by Presbyterians, and has continuously sent forth
young ladies of high education.

In 1832, "The Bell Factory" wasincorjjorated,
as " Patton, Donegan & Company," for the man-
ufacturer of cotton clotlis. It ran 100 looms and
3000 spindles, and for many years under direction
of Dr. C. H. Patton distributed its excellent pro-
ducts at a handsome profit.

In 183G, th-e last remnants of the Indians were
removed from ^ladison County to the Indian
Territorv.

In 1838, the present court-house was built by
Wilson and Mitchell for §.32,000: and at the same
time the structure of the National Bank was
erected by George Steel. The streets were ex-
tended and graded, drainage was improved: and
many private residences were put up.

In 184:3, the Female College was inaugurated by
Methodists, and has since been an admirable insti-
tution, popular throughout the South.

In the same year a new charter for Huntsville
was obtained from the General Assembly, dividing
the town into four wards and providing for a
government of a mayor and eight aldermen.

In 18.50, the Memphis & Charleston Railroad
was projected by men of Huntsville, and soon con-
structed. The second president of the enterprise
was George P. Beirne, and the third Archibald
Mills, of this place.

In 1872, "The Huntsville Agricultural and
Mechanical Association " was organized, for giving
Fairs every fall, with exhibitions of farm produce
and fine stock. It has greatly promoted the ob-
jects sought, has been well managed, and is un-
doubtedly the most prosiserous and substantial
Fair association in the Cotton States. In 1886,
it had the best exhibit of farm produce at the
State Fair in Montgomery, and last fall took the
first j)remium of $400 tl}ere.

In 1883, the population of Madison County was
37,625 — White, 17,5'.»1: colored, 19,034. Acres
in cotton, corn, oats, wheat, rye, tobacco and
sweet potatoes, 213,221. The production of cot-
ton, 29,879 bales. The rich, red valley lands con-
stitute 300 square miles; the coal measures table-
lands, 150 square miles; and sandy lands on the
mountains, 50 square miles.

The latitude, the elevation, the configuration of
the mountain chains, and the direction of the val-
leys and of the jirevailing winds combine to create
a climate, the finest throughout the year to be

found in the United States. The beauty of the

t
women of Huntsville is as j)roverbial as their cul-
ture. And the numerous ruddy children and
robust, athletic men give the most substantial
proof of beneficent surroundings.

• •♦ >" ^^?^- < '- •

REUBEN CHAPMAN was born in Caroline
County, \"a., in 18(i2. His father. Col. Reuben
Chapman, was a soldier in the war of 1776 for the
independence of the American colonies. His

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

253

mother's maiden name was Reynolds, and she was
of Essex County, Va. Well educated in his
native State, he came to Huntsville, Ala., in
lS'i4, where he studied law in the ofticeofhis
brother, Judg;e Samuel Chapman, wiio had pre-
ceded him. During that year he was chosen to
carry the electoral vote of the State — the second it
had cast — to Washington. In 1825 he was ad-
mitted to the bar. He practiced a year in Hunts-
ville, and then removed to Morgan County. In
1S:!2 he was elected to represent that county in
the State Senate and was twice re-elected, when, in
183."), he was sent to Congress over Jlessrs. R. T.
Scott, of Jackson, and William II. Glasscock, of
Madison, by a large majority. Two years later
he was re-elected over ex-Gov. Gabriel Moore by
<i,30i) majority, after a close canvass. In 1841 he
defeated Hon. John T. Rather, of Morgan, the
candidate for this District on the Whig general
ticket. He remained a member of Congress, until
1M47, when he was nominated for the office of
governor without his solicitation aiid to concen-
trate the strength of the Democratic party,
threatened by personal divisions. He was elected
over the nominee of the Whig party. Col. Nicho-
las Davis, by a majority of (),25.t votes.

During his career as a member of Congress,
the Hon. Reuben Chapman was bright, humorous
and impressive in conversation, with courtly man-
nei-s. Reared in the school of " John Taylor, of
tiie Carolinas," he was a consistent Democrat of the
States' Rights wing all his life. On the great
questions of the tariff, independent treasury,
Cumberland road bill. United States bank. Abo-
lition petitions, and the admission of Texas into
the Union, he stood squarely with the Hons. R. B.
Rhett. Dixon H. Lewis, William L. Yancey and
other staunch defenders of the rights and safety of
the Southern States under the Constitution, against
the sectional encroachments of the Xorth. His
accurate knowledge of the political history of the
country, his strict adherence to principle, un-
swerving devotion to tlie true interests of his con-
stituents, coupled with contempt of demagogism
and fine judgment, made him a man of de-
rideil influence. He commanded the respect and
tonlidence of his contemporaries. Of a calm and
courageous spirit and comprehensive views, he
was a statesman of practical ability. Besides
understanding public men, his sympathies with
the people were strong.

Wlien elected Governor the .State was suffering

great financial embarrassment, largely brought
about by the gross mismanagement of the Bank of
the State of Alabama and its branches, whose
funds had been scattered broadcast in loans to
local politicians, producing failure and general
distrust. From 1845 to '47 the affairs of these
banks had been placed in the hands of three com-
missioners: F. S. Lyon, C. C. Clayand W. Cooper,
for settlement, and to apply the assets to the
payment of the State bonds. The proceedings of
these commissioners were formally recognized as
faithful and able. But Governor Chapman con-
ceived that, in negotiations of the sort, one com-
missioner was better than three, and Mr. Lyon was
constituted " sole commissioner and trustee to ap-
ply the remaining assets of the banks, with power
and discretion as to settlements with debtors, in
buying exchange and taking up the indebtedness
to the State, as he thought best for the public
interest." In consultation with the Governor,
who was a very able financier, the task was per-
formed quietly, on the best information obtainable
in each case, with integrity, firmness and good
judgment. The result turned out greatly to the
advantage of the State, which was much relieved,
during tliis prudent and skillful administration
of two years.

Governor Chapman was brought forward as a
candidate for a second term before the Democratic
State Convention in 184!). But, Governor J. W.
Martin, who preceded him in the office, elected
as an independent, over the nominee of the Demo-
cratic party, had been superseded at the close of
his first term, and now his friends within the
ranks of the party retaliated on Governor Chap-
man and went to the support of Judge Henry W.
Collier, of the Supreme Court. In this way the
two-thirds majority of the Convention, requisite
under the usage of that date, was not obtained for
Governor t!hapman's renomination, although he
had a decided majority and the solicitous support
of many of the ablest and most influential men in
Alabama. The Whig party was strong, and in the
next Legislature obtained a majority of the Senate.
In the face, therefore, of a severe party contest
in the State, and to avoid a heated struggle within
the Democratic ranks. Governor Chapman had
his name withdrawn and lent his support to Judge
Collier, wlio, after two days ballotting among four
candidates from Middle Alabama, was uiuiiii-
mously Jiominated and elected in the fall. i

On November VI, 1849, Governor Chapman

254

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

transmitted to the House his annual message.
Toward its conclusion the following significant
paragraphs occur:

"Having thus placed before yon, for j'our con-
sideration, ever}' subject connected with the do-
mestic policy of the State, and the immediate
interests of her people, I should feel that I had
not discharged my whole duty, if, before retiring
from office, I did not call your serious attention
to the question of slavery in the Territories, and
the action of Congress on that subject. A more
important subject never presented itself to the
consideration of a people: for it concerns not
merely our property, but is a question of State
and individual honor — of self preservation.

"I recommend that provision be made by the
Legislature, at once, for the calling of a conven-
tion of the peojjle of the State immediately upon
the passage of the AVilmot Proviso in Congress, or
any similar measui-e having a tendency to exclude
slavery from the Territories, or abolish it in the
District of Columbia, or interfere with the removal
of slaves from one State to another. I recom-
mend also, that provision be made that, in any
such contingency, our sister States, similarly af-
fected, be invited to unite with us in general
convention, to consult i;pon the state of the Union,
and the best means of preserving our common
rights.''

In this message. Governor Chapman showed his
thorough understanding of the political position
between the Xorth and the South, and suggested
the only method of meeting sectional aggression.
But his advice, based on superior knowledge, was
not appreciated, and further submission to uncon-
stitutional exclusion of the Southern people was
submitted to under the so-called compromise,
adopted in regard to the Territory acquired
through the Mexican War. This postponed for
ten years the inevitable issue, while the Xorth west
was filled uj) by hundreds of thousands of trained
soldier immigrants from Germany, and thousands
of miles of railroads were built between the sec-
tions, facilitating the invasion and conquest of
the South.

Governor Chapman retired to private life and
removed his residence to Huntsville in 1850. He
devoted himself to his large landed estates in
Madison. Morgan, and Sumter, Ala., and in Texas.

In Madison County, in 1855, the American or
Know-Nothing party gained some foothold, and
ex-Senator Jere Clemens was i)nt uj) as a candi-

date for the lower house of the State Legislature.
Upon the demand of the Democratic party. Gov-
ernor Chapman consented to run against him, and
defeated Colonel Clemens. This was his last
official service.

In 1860 he attended the Baltimore Convention,
held after the break of the Democratic party in
Charleston, and used his utmost efforts to bring
about an understanding between Xorthern and
Southern men there. He came near succeeding,
but was defeated by the irrepressibles on both
sides.

During the war the Federal troops burned his
residence, desolated his possessions, imprisoned
and harrassed him, and finally forced him out of
their lines. And his cujo of sorrow was filled by
the fall of his young son, Steptoe Chapman, on
the field of battle.

Governor Chapman survived the war, residing
in Huntsville until his death, in April, 1882.
He was a man of fine proportions, six feet high,
straight, sinewy and unencumbered with flesh.
He had a florid complexion and chestnut colored
hair. His wife was Miss Felicia Pickett, a sister
of Hon. E. 0. Pickett, of Lauderdale, and a rela-
tive of General Pickett, of Gettysburg fame. He
left a son bearing his name, and four daughters,
one of whom married Captain Humes, a ijromi-
nent lawyer of Huntsville: another. Col. Turner
Clanton, of Montgomery; a third, Mr. Hubbard,
of Virginia; and the youngest, Mr. Taylor, of
Colorado.

Notwithstanding the losses of the war. Gover-
nor Chajiman left a large estate. He was a man
of public spirit, took an interest in all matters of
general beneflt, and befriended those who were in
trouble, with his credit as well as his advice.
During his later years his mind was bright, and
his social qualities and great fund of information
and dry wit was greatly apjjreciated. He was a
Xestor among the young men of the community,
often sought after and consulted. Having been
for years a consistent member of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, he died suddenly and much
regretted.

MICHAEL J. and JAMES F. OSHAUGH-
NESSEY. In the annals of Ireland the name of
O'Shauglinessey is among the oldest, and is identi-
fied with those patriotic struggles which have
commanded the sympathy and respect of all true

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

255

Americans. For hniulreds of years its represent-
atives have shown qualities of inanliood and
sagacity which make a staying race.

"The great rebellion" of 1041, in Irohuul. was
brought on by penal laws as to the Catholic relig-
ion, which pressed on a whole people, and by the
systematic iniquity of despoiling them of their
posisessious. With Roger ^loore and other promi-
nent men, the O'Siiaughnesseys suffered, and after
the conquest of Ireland, effected by Oliver Crom-
well with his powerful army in 1040, througli sev-
eral years of butchery and spoliation exceeded
only by the Koman Titus in his destruction of
the Jews, the landed estates of the O'Shangh-
nesseys, in County, Galway. were confiscated and
allotted to men who aided in the reduction of
the country, as were those of many other so-called
'• insurgents." For nearly two hundred years,
until 1837, the Catholics of Ireland, numbering
between 5,000.000 and 0,000,000 of people, were
debarred of the common rights of civil society and
of political privileges. But members of the
O'Shaughnessey family survived the bloodshed
and the forfeiture of estates, and have held posi-
tions among the respected and 2'""osiieroiis, un-
bought and unintimidated.

In 1S30, Thomas O'Sluuighuessey came to the
United States, and established, in Cincinnati, a
commission house for the sale of dry goods in
package.s imported from abroad and dispatched
from eastern factories. He succeeded in building
up a large business, and acquired a considerable
fortune.

In 1846, his brother James O'Shaughnessey
came to this country, settled at Newport. Ivy.,
and engaged advantageously in the manufacture
of cotton goods.

Michael J. O'Sh.^ighnessey the elder son
of James, was born in 1833 on his father's
estate in Kildare County, Leinster — his mother
being an O'Kelly and the blood on both sides purely
Celtic. lie was educated at St. Xavier's College,
Cincinnati. and then entered the commission house
of his uncle Thomas.

In 1801, when Salmon P. Chase, who proved to
be a great financier, was called by President Lin-
coln to assume the arduous responsibilities of
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States
on the eve of the sectional war, he found the
department filled with -expert officials opposed
to the Administration: and, looking around for
the means of securitv for himself and for the

Government, he sought from his own State, Ohio,
ten competent and thoroughly trustworthy
young men, to be put at once into positions of
control.

Among these Michael J. O'Shaughnessey was
selected and placed at the head of the important
department of accounts, under General Spinner,
the Treasurer. At that period the forms of business
and of bookkeeping for the Government were
obstructive and dilatory from unnecessary red
tape and complicated entries. The emergencies
of the times soon developed need for more direct
and prompt methods, and Major O'Shaughnessey
proposed and effected a change in the entire sys-
tem, which, while securing the Government,
offered facilities for the rapid transaction of the
enormous and vital business of the Treasury
Department. Those improved methods are in use
in Washington to-day.

After the war, having no special interest in pol-
itics or in the society of Washington he joined his
brother James, who had opened a commission
house at Xashville, Tennessee.

Later on, JIajor O'Shaughnessey purchased the
machine shops of the Memphis & Charleston
Kailroad at Huntsville, and converted them into a
cotton-seed oil factory, which he has conducted
with great success. Through his influence his
brother became attracted to Alabama and embarked
in plans for the development of Huntsville on
a large scale.

Major O'Shaughnessey is president of ihe
Huntsville Land and Improvement Company,
which has done so much in this direction
even in this, the commencement of its career.
Possessing a fine residence in Nashville, he has
just completed, north of Huntsville, a country-seat,
" Kildare," superior in style and finish to any in
the State: and he is about to establish in the town
a factory for the production of a first class fertil-
izer. A man of uncommon business ability, he is
scholarly, refined in manners and of cultivated
tastes, an educated draughtman, a musician and a
connoisseur in art. He is a gentleman of soci-
able disposition and is fond of field sports, fine
horses and fox hunting. His stable contains select
thoroughbred riding horses and his kennel pro-
bably the best fox-hounds in tlie State. He mar-
ried .Miss Pyles, of Nashville, Tenn., a grand-niece
of John C. Calhoun and of Major Nichohvs Hob-
son of Nashville. They have a family of four sons
and one daughter.

256

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

James F. O'Shaughnessey, the yoiniger son
of James, was born in Dublin in 1841, and
from St. Xavier's College, in 1859, went into a
commission house in Cincinnati. At the close of
the sectional war, he was in the Quartermaster
Department under General Swigert at that city,
having shown great ability in handling transport-
ation facilities

Opening a commission house in Xashville in
18G5, Colonel 0'»Sliaughnessey bought the first
cotton of any volume which passed through that
place in commercial circles. In 1868, he and his
brother originated one of the first cotton-seed oil
factories in the South. In order to conduct sat-
isfactorily the sale of cotton seed products, he
moved to New York: in 1871, and was the first to
open the way for that industry in the east and in
the foreign markets of the world. He shij)jied
the first cargo of cotton-seed oil to the olive grow-
ers of the Mediterranean. Shortly after going to
New York he married a daughter of Judge N^el-
son J. Waterbury, a gentleman of wealth and
influence in the State of Connecticut. In 1873,
Jay Gould's corner in the currency of the coun-
try, which produced Black Friday, and wrought
ruin to thousands, caught the O'Shaughnesseys,
and temporarily crijjpled them: but, having credit,
they soon recovered. Continuing the commission
business with which he has been constantly iden-
tified. Col. James F. O'Shaughnessey established
at Brooklyn a refinery of cotton-seed oil. By a
judicious purchase made by him some years ago,
these brothers own forty-three acres of laud in
Harlem, where the gaslights and sidewalks of
New York city have now been i^laced. In the
rapid spread of that great emporium, it may not
take many years for this property to occui^y an
important position of untold value. Colonel
O'Siiaughnessey also purchased from the Gov-
ernment of Nicaragua the franchise of the Nic-
aragua Canal, for the sum of -^100,000. The fab-
ulous expense of making the DeLesseps Panama
Canal renders it impracticable and abortive, and
the Nicaragua enterprise the only one likely to be
accomplished. Colonel O'Shaughnessey has organ-
ized a company with a capital of $(50,000,000, and
has obtained the passage of an Act by Congress
which gives the protection of the United States
Government to the project. Hence, if success-
fully carried through, this magnificent improve-
ment for the commerce of the world will be iden-
tified with the administration of President Cleve-

land. Colonel O'Shaughnessey has also made in-
vestments in Pensacola, the only first-class harbor
of the United States on the Gulf of Mexico from
which shijjs of large tonnage can export coal and
iron. And he has been a pioneer in establishing
Brunswick, Ga., with its bar thirty feet deep
and land-locked estuary, as the great seaport of the
South Atlantic coast. This is likely to become
the principal place of entry for the great trade
with South America, and also the Eastern termi-
nus of the Southern Pacific Eailroad, which runs
on the best line of latitude, and is free from ob-
structions of ice and snow. He has also projected,
and is engaged in arranging, a great trunk line
railroad from Brunswick to St. Louis, through
Huntsville, Ala, and a line from the latter
point to Cincinnati. These are grand enter-
prises, showing sagacity and breadth of mind,
coupled with energy and courage, which, com-
bined, constitute genius. But, while inaugurat-
ing these gigantic improvements and promoting
them with his own money, as well as that of his
friends. Col. James F. O'Shaughnessey prefers
that others be chosen to carry out the details, and
keeps himself in the background, free from care
and drudgery. Never dejaressed and of great re-
sources, he is a man of rare business intuition,
buoyant temper and elastic spirit — as fresli in
feeling as a boy, the sort of man to accomplish
great results. Among the exclusive plutocracy
of New England, he has an elegant residence at
Buzzard's Bay, on the coast of Massachusetts, and
on j\[onte Sano, Alabama, a pretty villa, for the
accommodation of himself and his guests during
his trips to Huntsville.

-^•-•i

ROBERT BARNWELL RHETT, the father of a
long lineage and of a conspicuous public service,
was born in 1800. The son, of whom this brief
sketch is given, was born in Charleston, S. C'., in
1828. His accomplished mother was a Burnets,
whose paternal grandfather came from Aberdeen
in the colonial days, her maternal grandfather
being Daniel DeSaussure, whose son W. H. De-
Saussure was first Controller of the United States
mint and whose wife was Sarah Mcpherson, of
Badenoch-Cluny descent.

On both sides of his house Mr. Ehett is identi-
fied with the history of the United States, early
and late.

>fe<^^l„*«^^».-<^^-txi^ M^ij:z^

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

257

Prepared for college chiefly bj' William \\. Ab-
bott, of (ieorgetown, D. C, he entered Harvard
from Charleston in 1845. At the June exhibition
of "47, being one of ''the first eight "of a large class,
he was a speaker ; at that of '48 he was again a
speaker : and on commencement day, 1849. For
rank in scholarship he was chosen a member of
"The Phi Beta Kappa Society." Ue was elected
president and orator of " The Hasty Pudding
Club," and he was an active member of "The
Oneida Boat Club," pulling in several eight-oared
races on the river Charles among the winning crew.

President Everett having advised against a two-
years' travel in Europe, ho returned to Charleston,
studied law in the office of .James L. Petigru, a
jiersonal friend of his father, and was admitted to
the bar at Columbia, S. C, in 1851. He also
served on the staff of Governor Means.

In 1853, sullering from laryngitis, having mar-
ried a handsome and popular young lady of Hunts-
ville. Ala., and being fond of country life, he
became a rice-planter in Colleton district, S. C,
working a goodly number of I'.egroes.

After two years' close, practical attention to the
business, supplemented by the study of " Leibig's
.\gricultural Chemistry," " Watson's Practice of
.Medicine," " Youatt on the Horse," etc., etc., he
dispensed with the services of an overseer and
managed his own planting. At the same time he
supervised his father's plantations and overseer,
W'ith 350 odd slaves. To many of these both
father and son were strongly attached, and the
feeling was largely reciprocated and practically
exhibited during the war.

While engrossed in these occupations, his cousin,
Wm. R. Taber, editor of the Charleston Mer.vu-rij,
was killed in a duel, regularly fought. A challenge
had been accepted for publishing an anonymous
communication from a personally responsible
author, who criticised in stringent terms a candi-
liate to succeed Hon. Wm. Aiken in Congress.
Regarding the conduct of the affair as pressed too
far, especially in the demand for a third fire, which
jiroved fatal, and as intended or tending to break
down the politics represented by the paper, those
of his father. Colonel Rhett bought the interests
of Taber in the Mercunj and afterward that of
his partner, .Tohn Heart. He quit jjlanting with
a handsome profit, and from March, 1857, edited
the Merrunj. In less than four years its circula-
tion quadrupled, and it was the leading political
organ of the Southern States, looked to by the

most prominent and influential public men, partic-
ularly in the Cotton States. The events of the
Charleston convention and the results of the
canvass of 1800 were the culmination of the long
pending sectional issues.

Early in the summer of that year Colonel Rhett
lost his first wife, and while at Saratoga for his
health, in August, he was elected to the Legisla-
ture, from Charleston.

Upon the electi'^n of Mr. f.incoln to the presidency
of the United States, in November, Colonel Rhett,
through the Columbia (luardian newspaper, called
a meeting of the members of the Legislature at
Kinsler's hall, on Main street, at ten o'clock \. Ji.
He had obtained a number of letters from public
men, of the different Southern States, who had the
confidence and respect of the people of South
Carolina. The letters were replies to specific
questions, propounded as to the course which
South Carolina should pursue in the contingency
anticipated. He presented them to the meeting
and they were read by the secretary, Gen. AVm. E.
Martin, the clerk of the Senate. Letters of similar
character were offered by other members and were
read, and the meeting adjourned. Colonel Rhett,
then in the House of Representatives, offered a
joint resolution, by precedent, for the call of a
State Convention, and named December 6th for the
election of delegates and December 17th for the
assembling of the body. This, by consent, was
referred to the Judiciary Committee, and the prop-
osition was reported back in the form of a bill,
prepared by the late Hon. Henry Buist, of Charles-
ton, and was unanimously passed by both
lIou.ses. The State Convention, thus called, met
at Columbia, adjourned to Charleston, and, on the
20th of December, unanimously adopted the
ordinance of secession dissolving the Union.

On the 24th of December Major Anderson trans-
ferred his command from Fort Moultrie over to
Fort Sumter. As this was held contrary to the
understanding of the South Carolina commis-
sioners, with President Buchanan, Colonel Rhett
urged its immediate seizure by the State authori-
ties, a stroke then easy of accomplishment ; and
this course was pressed on two considerations:
first, to settle the issue under President Buchanan
rather than under President Lincoln: and, second,
to compel Virginia and other halting border
States, to take sides definitelyj so that the North
might know what to e.vpect in the event of war.
But these views did not prevail, and the compli-

258

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

cation remained until April 12-13, with the
results which followed. For the flag of South
Carolina, Colonel Rhett, in the House, proposed
the old blue field, and white crescent, with a color-
less palmetto added, and the proposition was car-
ried after opposition.

In an editorial of the Mercury, Colonel Rhett
first suggested ^Montgomery, Ala., as the place
of meeting for the convention of the seceding
ing States. The suggestion was made, not merely
on account of its central ijosition below the
mountains, but because the Montgomery Advertiser
was thoroughly in accord with the movement and
because it was the home of Wm. L. Yancey. The
State convention adopted the proposal, and invited
the delegates to assemble at Montgomery on the
4th of February, which they did.

In 1861-1862 Colonel Rhett served on the
staff of Gen. R. S Kipley, in South Carolina, and,
during the war, he was repeatedly under fire in
Charleston and on the islands adjacent. He
edited the Mercury, and served as a member of
the Legislature. His four brothers were in service
under Beauregard, Johnston and Lee, from the
beginning. One, Lieut. Robert W. Rhett, was
killed at Cold Harbor, in 1862 ; Capt. Edmund
Rhett and Maj. A. B. Rhett, survived the war,
physical wrecks, to linser a few years. Col.
Alfred Rhett, of Fort Sumter fame, is still liv-
ing in Charleston, S. C. After the evacuation of
Charleston, Col. R. B. Rhett received an appoint-
ment on the staff of Gen. J. E. .Johnston, but the
end came quickly.

The course of Colonel Rhett, in editing the
Mercury, was throughout the war distinct and
positive, in regard to foreign dii^lomacy, financial
matters, and military and naval affairs. But in
this brief notice it is impossible to convey any
idea of the various policies projected, or the
reasons offered in their support. Results, how-
ever, of the management pursued, under the lights
of the present, go far to prove the political sagacity
shown in the Mercury and the justice of its
criticisms of the Confederate Government.

After the war, when suffrage was conferred
upon the negroes. Colonel Rhett, at a meeting of
prominent citizens, held at the office of " Porter
& Conner," in Charleston, for consultation,
argued the importance of canvassing among the
new voters, utterly ignorant, before the agents of
the Freedman's Bureau could array them solidly
as Republicans against their white neighbors ; but

he was alone, and the f nion League had it their
own way for ten years.

In November, 1866, the publication of the
Mercury was resumed, and in 1808 its editor warm-
ly advocated the nomination of General Hancock,
for President, by the Xew York Democratic con-
vention. When the motley reconstruction con-
vention of South Carolina was held in Charleston,
Colonel Rhett set forth, in plain terms, the un-
savory antecedents of its various members : and
during the period of deepest gloom, he contributed
to holding up the hearts and hopes of the people
of that depressed State, notwithstanding a threat
made him of imprisonment at Castle Pinckney b}'
General Sickles and menaces of assassination by
Republican politicians, whom he had shown up.

The flush times following the war subsided, and '
cotton from 40 cents a pound dropped to 9 in
1807-1808, with wide-sp)read disaster at the South.
Colonel Rhett sunk considerable money in the
Mercury and in cotton planting at this period.

Having in 1807 married a second time, a lady
of Huntsville, Ala., of rare beauty, he moved to
Alabama in 1S70, and since that time has attended
to cotton planting in Madison County and in
Noxubee County, Miss.

In 1872 he opened the State canvass of Alabama,
with Colonel Herndon, nominee for Governor,
offering resolutions in support of Mr. Greeley, not
as a Democrat, but as an alternative to Grant.

Soon afterward he accepted an invitation from
"The N. 0. Printing and Publishing Company"
to edit the Picayune, and through that canvass,
and for a year after, during the stormy struggle of
the people of Louisiana against Kellogg's fraud
and usurpation, he controlled its columns. He
vigorously and fearlessly exposed the great wrong
and the various men conspicuously engaged in the
enterprise, when an effort was made to muzzle
the Picayune by two $100,000 suits for libel,
brought respectively in behalf of Chief Justice
Ludeling and of Hawkins, made Judge of the
Superior (or political) Court. Without going into
detail, suffice it to state, that, in defending the
cause of Louisiana, the Picayune and himself.
Colonel Rhett became involved in a personal
difficulty with Judge Wm. H. Cooley, counsel for
Judge Hawkins. It sprung from a gratuitous and
baseless imputation, made against the editor by
the lawyer in his speech, and followed by a grossly
insulting card in the Xew Orleans Times. A duel
was fought between the parties, at Montgomery

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

259

Station, Miss., in which Judge Cooley fell at the
second fire. Colonel Rhett's course was fully
justified by people of the South, who understood
the situation and the circumstances of the alTair.
By precept and example he inculcated the sjiirit
wliicli led to the needed ])olitical change in
Louisiana under Wiltz, Nicholls, and Ogden.

In 187."), in Noxubee County, he took an active
and responsible part in the canvass which freed
Mississippi from carpet-bag domination.

In 1876, on account of dissatisfaction with
the News and Courier, the Charleston Journal of
Commerce was started (without the Associate Press
dispatches, however), and Colonel Khett was
called to edit it. The News and Courier persist-
ently advocated the support of Chamberlain,
Republican, for Governor, by the Democrats of
South Carolina. Colonel Rhett advised a straight
struggle under a Democratic leader of sufficient
prestige and popularity, to rouse the people to the
supreme effort required, Hampton being the man
indicated. Hampton was nominated in tlie
Jiiurnal of Commerce by Oeu. M. C. Butler.
This programme was adopted by the State conven-
tion of the party, the News and Courier falling
into line. An ellort was then made to separate
the S-.ate canvass from the presidential election,
and confine the labors to the former, as a purely
local affair. Colonel Rhett strenuously insisted
that the canvass should be conducted abreast with
and as a part of the presidential election, the
issue of which was so vital. Tilden and Hendricks
were elected, but the country was deprived of
Tilden's administration of aflfairs. Hampton,
after a long struggle, secured his office : and the
(Jovernment of South Carolina got again in the
bands of white men and Democrats. Colonel
Uhett was elected to the Legislature with General
ihitledgc, at the head of the large delegation from
(Uiarleston; and he assisted in the rehabilitation of
the State, in the settlement of the State debt, and
in the reestablishment of her high credit.

Having returned to Iluntsville, Ala., in 1878,
in 1880 Colonel Rhett advocated the nomina-
tion of Hancock and engaged actively with
voice and [len, in the election of General Wheeler
to Congress from the 8th district.

In 1882, at Atiiens, Ala., he opened the canvass
for State offices, by the first speech, taking the
highest grounds for the Democratic party. He
also spoke effectively on this iilane. with (iovernor
O'Neal, at Montgomery and at Mobile.

In 1884 he attended the Chicago Democratic
convention, and on returning home, after the
nomination, was made president of the Cleveland
Club, at Iluntsville. He canvassed the 8th
district for the presidential nominees and for
(ieneral Wheeler, who was again elected to Congress.
At the Democratic convention of Alabama, in
1880, Colonel Khett was chairman of the committee
on platform and resolutions, which first endorsed
the administration of Mr. Cleveland. Civil service
reform and an equitable revision of the tariff for
revenue, were the two jilanks proposed by him ;
the committee struck out the tariff plank. He
was also elected at the head of the executive com-
mittee of the State : and he was appointed by
Governor O'Neal as trustee of the University of
Alabama.

His latest work in politics is an article among
the " War Papers '■ of the Centurij magazine on
the Confederate Government of Montgomery.
In terse and pregnant sentences it throws much
light on the events of that historic period.

In person. Colonel Rhett is five feet nine inches
tall, with straight limbs, and weighs 140 pounds.
His eyes are dark gray and clear. His bearing
is simple, calm, direct and courteous. The corre-
spondent of the New York Herald, from New
Orleans, described him as follows : •' Personally
Colonel Rhett is represented to be high-toned,
gentle and chivalrous — a quiet, low-spoken man,
and the last either to court a quarrel or to
recede from one. at the expense of his own honor:
he has never hesitated to hold himself responsible
for all language uttered in his journalistic columns
or elsewhere.'"

Colonel Rhett is deeply interested in the develop-
ment of the beautiful valley of the Tennessee River
and presided over the first public meeting in
Iluntsville for the building of the Elora Railroad
to connect with Nashville, and over the first con-
cerning the Cincinnati. Iluntsville & Birming-
ham KMilroad.

— «-j€i^--«^ —

HENRY CLAY SPEAKE was born in Lawrence
Countv, Ala., .hinc IT. ls:)4, and is a son of James
H. and Sarah H. (Lindsey) Speake.

James R. Speake was born in Kentucky in 1803,
where he received his education mostly after he
was grown. He came to Lawrence County, .\la.,
in 18:t2, ami located near Oakville. where he

260

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

taught school and followed teacliing for a liveli-
hood forseveral years. He married in June, 1833,
and settled near Oakville on a plantation, and has
remained there all his life. He and his wife, who
are still living, have reared six children, of whom
the subject of our sketch is the eldest. He
has served as County Suirerintendent of Law-
rence County several terms, and was a member
of the Convention ihat framed the Constitution of
Alabama in 1865. He was in the Legislature in
1870, 'n, '76 and 1878. He has been very active
in the Baptist Chv;rch, and is a member of the
Masonic fraternity. His father, Basil Speake,
came from Maryland to Kentucky about 1790,
and his ancestors came from England with Lord
Baltimore, and settled in Maryland.

Henry Clay Speake was reared on a farm; re-
ceived a common-school education, and, at the age
of twenty, taught school to procure money with
with which to attend the law-school at Cumber-
land University, from which institution he gradu-
ated in January, 1857. In February of that year,
he located at Decaitur, and with the exception of
six months in Texas in 1860, he lived there until
the war. He entered the army in August, 186--i,
as a private in Compai\y D, Fourth Alabama Cav-
alry Regiment, and was soon afterward promoted
to sergeant-major, and, later, to adjutant of the
regiment. About January, 1864, he was appointed
quartermaster of the regiment, and was captured,
with a part of Forrest's command, near Columbus,
Ga. After the war he settled in Moulton, and in
1874 was elected Chancellor of the Northern
Division of Alabama, which position beheld until
1880. In August of that year, he was elected Judge
of the Eighth Judicial Circuit of the State, and
re-elected thereto in August, 1886. His present
term will expire in 1892.

In December, 1876, Judge Speake located at
Huntsville, where he has since resided. He was
married January 27, 1860, to Carrie 0. Mayhew,
daughter of Jonathan Mayhew, remembered as an
educator of more than ordinary ability. He. was
originally from New England. The three chil-
dren born to Judge Speake, now living, are Kate
M., Henry C, Jr., and Paul M. He has three
dead: Sallie May, James M. and Carrie Belle.

The Judge is a Campbellite and his wife a Pres-
byterian. He is also a member of the Masonic
fraternity.

It is worthy of note that Judge Speake was called
to the chancellorship and afterward to the judge-

ship by the voice of the people who considered his
eminent fitness for the position, and that in neither
case was it in response to any solicitation upon his
part. His career, both as Chancellor and Judge,
have shown the wisdom of the selection.

THOMAS J. TAYLOR, Probate Judge of Mad-
ison County, Ala., was born at Maysville, this
county, July 2, 1829, and his parents were M.
and Nancy J. (McCartney) Taylor, natives of
Georgia. He received a common-school education,
and, at the age of nineteen, began teaching. In
1858, he was elected County Surveyor, and held
that office until January, 1862, at which time he
entered the army as second lieutenant of Company
K, Forty-ninth Alabama Regiment. After the bat-
tle of Shiloh, in which he participated, and at the
re-organization of the regiment, he was elected cap-
tain of iiis company. He was captured at Port
Hudson, and sent to Johnson's Island, at which
place. Point Lookout and Fort Delaware, he was
detained until the close of the war. For three
years after returning liome he taught school. At
the end of that time he was again elected county
surveyor, and held that office until 1871, when
he was elected tax assessor for the six succeeding
years. In 1880 he was elected Clerk of the Circuit
Court, held that office tix years, and in August,
1886, was elected Probate Judge.

In his early manhood Judge Taylor married a
Miss Douglas, daughter of John and Catherine
(Nowlin) Douglas, who came from Lynchburg,
Va., about 1819, and tlie children born to this
union are: Kate (wife of S. M. Seward): Nannie
J. (wife of William L. Jones); Lillie (wife of W.
A. Walls); and Laura L. The judge and his wife
are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church, and he is of the orders of I 0. 0. F. and
K. of H.

The senior Mr. Taylor was born in LexLngton,
Ga., in 1801, and his wife in Madison County,
Ala., in 1811. He came with his parents to this
county in 1809, from Winchester, Tenn., whither
the family had migrated in 1805. He was a
farmer and merchant by occupation.

Of his children we are able to make the follow-
ing notices: (1) The subject of this sketch. (2)
John M., a newspaper man, went to New Orleans
in 1852, thence to Baton Rouge, as editor of tlie
Baton Rouge Advocate; was State printer at the

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

261

outbreak of the war; served througli tlie war, ris-
ing from the ranks to the command of a regiment;
after the war lie was a member of the Louisiana
[legislature, and died while of that body. (3)
(irant, was a membei- of tlie Twelfth Alabama Reg-
iment; died in the hotipital soon after the battle
of Seven Piues. (4) Charles was a private in the
Seventli Alabama Cavalry; now a railroad man in
Louisiana. (5) Felix M. was a member of the
Fiftieth Alabama Wegiment. and afterward .Major
of the Fourth Alaljama Cavalry; served through
the war; died in Mem])his in 188(i. (fi) Waverly
K. was a member of tiie Seventh Alabama Lifan-
try, and afterward of the Second Louisiana Cav-
alry: was on (ien. Dick Taylor's staff; now a
farmer in Louisiana. (T) (ieorge L., at the ago
of fifteen years, entered the Seventh Alabama
Regiment; became a courier to General Wlieeler;
was killed at Murfreesboro (8) I\[ary, wife of
Clinton Hay worth, of FiOuisiana. (D) Jjucy. wife
I if Pleas Davison, of l^ouisiana.

.Mr. Taylor's father, George Taylor, was born
near K'ichmond, Va., in 17G2. He was a lieuten-
ant under Henry Lee, and particii)ated in the
battles of Monmouth, (iuilford Court House and
King's Mountain. After the war- he settled in
Georgia, and was many years captain of militia.
He moved to Tennessee in 180.5, and to Jfadisou
County, Ala., in 1800. The Taylor family came
to America with Lor<l Baltimore, and tlie -McCart-
ney family from Scotland.

— —■ '^-J^^-^— —

MILTON HUMES. .Vttorney-at-law. son of John
N. and Jane C. (\\ iiite) Humes, was born at
Abingdon, Va., in August, 1844. Jolin N. Humes
was born in Knoxville, Tenn., about 1800; was
educated for the law and graduated from one of the
New England Colleges. After marriage he settled
in Virginia and became a planter on an extensive
scale. He wa.'s a very influential man. His wife
was a Presbyterian, but he was an admirer of the
Swedenborgian doctrine. They raised a large
family, viz.: Capt. John \., killed at .\ntietani;
Gen. W. y. C, a lawyer at .Memphis; James \V.,
deceased, who was a colonel from Tennessee in the
Confederate service, aiul afterward an attorney at
Abingdon; Andrew R., a captain from \'irgiiiia
in the Confederate service — he died at Memphis
during the yellow fever epidemic in 187S; Thomas
W.. a teai'lierat Hiintsvilli': Frank .\., an attorney

at Abingdon, Va., wasa captain in the Confederate
service; IHIton, subject of this sketch; Elizabeth
W.. now widow of i)r. L. B. Shcffey; Ellen W.,
wife of Dr. D. K. Tuttle, of Baltimore — he
was a professor of chemistry in the University of
Virginia; entered the army with the rank of col-
onel and in the capacity of a scientist.

• lohn X. Humes died in 1872. He was a .son of
John -N. Humes, who, with two brothers, came
from Scotland. They settled in Pennsylvania,
and he, at Knoxville, Tenn., where he became
a successful merchant. He married Margaret,
widow of James Cowan, of Knoxville, and sister
of Gen. Gilbert Russel, of ^'irginia. Thev had
three sons and two daughters, namely: John N.;
'J'honuis W., who was for several years President
of the University of Tennessee, at Knoxville; An-
drew R., a farmer, who died young; Mary, wife
of Hon. John White of Kentucky, who was, at
one time, Speaker of the House of Representatives
in the United States Congress; and Elizabeth,
wife of a Mr. White, of Tennessee.

Jane C. (White) Humes, our subject's mother,
was a daughter of James \Vhite, of Abingdon, Va.,
a native of Pennsylvania. He was eminently suc-
cessful as a business man. and became very
wealthy. He owned a large number of planta-
tions all through the South besides, vast interests
in iron, lead and salt. He married a Miss Eliza-
beth Wilson, of Virginia, and reared a large fam-
ily, namely; James Tj., W. Y. C, Thomas W.,
\ewton K., Addison, Frank, Milton, Jane V.., our
subject's mother; Eliza, wife of Dr. Hannum of
East Tennessee; and Eleanor.

Jlilton Humes received his early education in
an academy at Abingdon. He enlisted in the
late war as a private soldier in Company A, Sixt}--
third Virginia Infantry, in the fall of 1801. He
was engaged in battle at Princeton, W. \'a.,
Charleston and Suffolk; at Chickamauga and
Missionary Ridge. He was made captain at
Dalton; received a severe flesh wound, being
shot through both legs near .Marietta; was re-
commended for promotion to the rank of major,
and assigned to the Army of Tennessee, and
fought at Bentonville. N. ('., which was his
last liattle. Captain Humes' mother having died
during the war, and his home liaving been broken
up, he came to Huntsville, and began the study
of law with Beirne & Gordon. He took the
degreeof LI.,. D. in 18fiTat Lexington, Va.; located
at Huntsville. and has been enjoying a successful

262

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

practice there ever since. He has a large railroad
jsractiee, having for years been attorney for the
Memphis & Chattanooga Railroad Company, the
East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Kailroad
Company, and the Nashville, Chattanooga & St.
Louis Railroad Company in Alabama.

In 1884 Milton Humes was elected to the Legis-
lature, and was made chairman of the Judiciary
Committee. He is attorney for and director of
the '•■ Xorth Alabama Improvement Company,"
also director of the *" Alabama Black Band Coal,
Iron and Railroad Company" of Jackson.

Captain Humes was married June 1, 1870, to a
daughter of Reuben Chapman, ex-Governor of
Alabama. He and his wife are members of the
Episcopal Church.

JOHN PATTON is an honored representative of
an old and distinguished family. His parents
were William and Martha Lee (Hays) Patton. The
former came from theXorth of Ireland to America
jn-ior to 1800, at the age of sixteen years, and
settled in Virginia, where he was subsequently
married, his wife being a native of that State.
In 1812 he came to Huntsville and began mer-
chandising, and in 1815 brought his family from
Virginia, driving his wagon the entire distance.
Mr. Patton continued to sell goods up to 18.'3(j,
and was also largely interested in planting, owning
a large estate in Mississippi and two in Alabama.
Mr. Patton was a member of the firm of Beirne &
Patton, and was the architect of his own fortune.
He was a man possessed of rare business judg-
ment, and at the time of his death, in 1840, left a
large estate. He was the father of nine children,
all of whom attained an advanced age and had
descendants. Of these, Dr. Charles H. Patton
was a celebrated physician and manufacturer, and
accumulated a large property; Robert M. Patton
was a planter, legis'ator and statesman; he achieved
a high jDosition among public men of Alabama;
Jane became the wife of Wm. H. Pope; Martha
manied J. B. Bradford, who for many years was a
merchant of Huntsville; Wm. R. was an old mer-
chant and also a planter of Mississippi ; Eliza became
the wife of Lawrence Watkins, well known in Ala-
bama and Mississippi; .Mary Ann became the wife
of Wm. G. Selleck, and after his death married N.
M. Groch, and is again a widow; Margaret E. be-
came the wife of Ned Richardson, a native of Nortli

Carolina, who subsequently became a cotton factor
and commission merchant of New Orleans. Mr.
Richardson is a millionaire, and enjoys the reputa-
tion of being the largest cotton raiser in the world,
conducting during the season of 1886 twenty-four
plantations. Four sons and one daughter have
been born to them. Mrs. Richardson died Dec-'
ember 18, 1887.

John Patton was born July .5, 1S14. in Virginia,
and early in life entered his father's store, where
he acquired business habits and methods which
fitted him to succeed to his father's mercantile
trade. He jDurchased his father's interest in 1830,
and successfully conducted it until 1858, acquiring
a handsome fortune. Mr. Patton has also been a
leading planter, and was the owner of an exten-
sive plantation in Mississijipi, which he ojierated
until 1868, since which he has retired from active
business life and is now enjoying the autumn of
life in his beautiful home in Huntsville. July 11,
1843, he was united to Miss M. Louise Walker, a
daughter of James Walker, of Virginia, wlio had
served in the State Legislature and was a large
planter.

Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Patton; three, only, are now living: James II., of
Huntsville, a planter and trader; Robert H., a
merchant of Ellisville, Miss., and Leila D., wife
of William H. Raymond, a prominent mercliant
and citizen of S'elma, Ala.

OSCAR R. HUNDLEY, Attorney-at-law, was
born in Limestone County, Ala., October 30, 1854,
and is a son of Orville M. and Mary E. (Holding)
Hundley, both natives of Alabama. His father is
of English descent, and is a graduate of Marietta
College, Marietta, Ohio, in classical course, class of
1853.

Oscar R. Hundley received excellent educational
advantages, preparing for college at Phillips' Exe-
ter Academy, of Exeter, N. H,, completing his
course there in 1872. He then entered ]Marietta
College, where he pursued his studies during
1873-4. In 1876 he entered Vanderbilt Univer-
sity, and graduated from the law department,
with distinction, in 1877, taking the degree of
B. L. He was admitted to the Huntsville bar in
December, 1S77, and has been in active and suc-
cessful practice since.

Mr. Hundley has achieved a flaitering and ele-

XOH rUERX- ALABAMA.

203

vated position for a young man, not alone in the
practice of iiis chosen profession, but in public
life, into whicli he lias been called by his political
party.

In 18S"i lie was elected City Attorney of Ihints-
villc, and re-elected in 1883. While an incumbent
of this office he prei)ared and published the revised
code of the city ordinances wiiich are now in use.

In itay, 188G, he received, unsolicited, the nom-
ination for the State Legislature, and was elected
the following August, by the largest vote of any
candidate on the legislative ticket. lie was jilaced
upon important committees in the ensuing ses-
sion, and made an exceedingly favorable impres-
sion. He was chairman of the Committee on Fees
and Salaries, and a prominent member of the Ju-
diciary Committee. He was recently renominated
for another term in the Legislature, by the con-
vention of iiis party, receiving the largest vole in
the convention, over nine other candidates, on the
first ballot.

In August, 1887, he was appointed, by Governor
Seay, commissioner to represent the State of Ala-
bama at the Constitutional Centennial Conven-
vention, held at Philadelphia, the ITtli, 18tli and
19th of September, thai year. Jlr. Hundley was
chairman of the Huntsville & Klora Hailroad Com-
mittee, and assisted materially in securing and
building that important line of road. He is at-
torney for the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis
Railroiid for Alabama, and enjoys a general lucra-
tive practice in the various courts.

-Mr. Hundley was married in February, 187S, to
Miss Anna E. Thomas, of Xa.<hville, Tenn.

He is a Knight Templar Mason; has been an
officer of the State Crand Chapter, and is a prom-
inent member of the I. 0. 0. F. and Knights of
Pythias, being now Past (irand Chancellor of the
State in the latter ordei'.

JOHN D. BRANDON, Attorney-at-law, was
horn at lluiilsville. December 18, 1837. Tlie sen-
ior Brautloii came to Alabama from T'ennessee,
when nineteen years of age; began the study of
law in the office of Gov. C. C. Clay, at Hunts-
ville, and was admitted to the bar in 1822. He
placticed law here up to the year of his death,
which occurred June 2, 1838. He died in the
thirty-eighth year of his age. Mr. Prandon was a
successful lawyer and regarded as one of the ablest

jurists of his day. He died the possessor of a
handsome estate. He was United States Attorney
under Jackson seven years, and the Government
Commissioner's legal adviser in their treaty with
the Creek Indians. In 182.5, he held the raTik of
Lieutenant-Colonel on the stalf of (iovernor Pick-
ens, and in 1638, was appointed, by President Van
Buren, Consul to Canipeachy and Tabasco, but
died before assuming the duties of office. He left
surviving him two sons, and three daughters, of
whom John D. was the youngest child.

At the ages of fifteen years John D. Brandon
accompanied his mother's family to St. Louis;
there studied Latin and Greek under the Rev.
Reed, and the following year entered Rochester,
N. Y. , Academy to prepare for college. In the
fall of IS.ji; he became a student at Cumberland
University, and graduated from the law depart-
ment of that institution in 18.j9.

Returning to St. Louis, he engaged at once in
the practice of law, but his health failing him, he
came the year following to Huntsville, where he
has since given his time to the profession. April,
1861, he enlisted as a private in Company I,
Fourth Alabama Infantry, one of Bee's regiments,
and served to the close of the war. After the
first battle of JIanassas he was promoted from the
ranks to second lieutenant, and in April, 1862,
was advanced to the rank of captain. He served
on the staff of the Fourth .Vlabama with this
rank, as regimental commissary; and as captain
he was assigned to duty under (ieneral Law, as
assistant brigade commissary.

At Richmond, \'a.. Captain Brandon was en-
trusted with a letter from President Uavis to Gen-
eral Lee. As he delivered the letter in person, he
had his first opportunity of meeting the most dis-
tinguished hero of the war face to face. The
(Jeneral iiupiired of him about the people of Rich-
mond, and of what they had to say regarding the
campaign: and upon being told that tlie talk was,
that the Federal Government was preparing. to
confront the Army of Virginia with General Grant,
** and," the Captain added, " in which case General
you will crush him as you have his predecessors"?
(ieneral Lee replied •' It must be; it shall be; it is
our only hopel" But the Grand Army of N'ir-
ginia, under even the incomparable Lee, could
not contend against fate.

In the latter part of IS'i.'i, Captain Brandon
was a,ssigned to duty at Camden, Ala., was
there until the close of hostilities and surrendered

264

NOR THERN ALABAMA.

finally at Mobile. For the next succeeding three
years he practiced law in Wilcox County, whence
he returned to Huntsville, where he is known as
ail able lawyer, ajiublic-spirited and energetic citi-
zen.

The Captain was married in November, 18G3, to
Mrs. Rosalie C. Christian, a daughter of Dr. John
D. Caldwell. Mrs. Brandon died October 19, 18C9.
The Captain is a member of the Masonic Order,
Knights of Pythias, and Knights of Honor.

The mother of Captain Brandon was Miss Mary
J. Caldwell, of Kentucky, whose paternal ances-
tors came from Scotland to Ireland, and from Ire-
land to Virginia; and her immediate family
moved into Kentucky in the latter jjart of the last
century. She and John C. Calhoun are descend-
ants of the same Caldwell family, she being a third
cousin of this great man and distinguished states-
man.

L. W.DAY, Attorney-at-law, Huntsville, Ala.,
is a native of the State of Maine, and was living in
Illinois at the outbreak of the late war. He came
South with the Illinois troops, and after the cessa-
tion of hostilities, located at Huntsville, in the
practice of law. He was appointed Clerk of the
United States District Court, in January, 1866,
held that office eight years, and was subsequently
appointed Assistant United States District Attor-
ney. He retired from the last named office in
1884.

Mr. Day is at this writing in the practice of his
profession at Huntsville. and is ranked as one of
the successful lawyers of Northern Alabama.

ERNEST ROBINSON, Attorney-at-law, was born
in Huntsville, February, 1866, and his parents
were James and Sarah (Smith) Robinson.

James Robinson was born in Hopkins County,
Tenn., in 1805. In 1814, his jiarents immigrated
to Alabama, and settled near Huntsville, where he
received his education and fitted himself for the
law, in which profession he attained considerable
eminence. He served as City and County Attor-
ney, and afterward in the Legislature; and was the
father of three children, of whom our subject is
the youngest.

Ernest Robinson received his education in

Huntsville and began the study of law at the age
of seventeen, in the office of his father. He was
admitted to the bar in 1ST7, and lias been prac-
ticing since that time with considerable success.

CHARL-ES P. LANE, Lawyer, Politician and
Real Estate Dealer, is a descendant of well-known
Southern ancestry. He is a son of George W.
and Martha (Davis) Lane, the former a native of
Georgia, and the latter of Virginia.

George W. Lane was reared in Limestone
County, Ala., and when young was elected probate
judge of that county. He was subsequently
elected Circuit Judge of Huntsville District, and
in 1861, was appointed .Judge of the United States
District Court by President Lincoln, which office
he held until his death in 1865. He was a Whig
in politics, and a strong loyal Union man.

The mother of our subject was the daughter of
Capt. Nicholas Davis, one of the most noted men
of his time.

Charles P. Lane was born in Huntsville, Ala.,
March 18. 1854, and is the youngest of a family
of eleven children. He received a good education,
and before attaining the age of eighteen years was
licensed to practice law in the circuit court of
Limestone County. He began his public career in
1880, when he was elected to the State Legislature
from his county, upon the Democratic ticket. In
that session he became noted by his independence
of strict party lines in favoring the minority re-
port on elections, offered by" B. M. Long, the only
Republican in the House. By this action he be-
came known as a "Republican-Democrat." In
188"^, he was nominated by the Greenback Con-
vention as their candidate for attorney-general,
making the camjjaign upon a platform favoring
fair elections and a repeal of the then existing
convict laws. In 1884, he was honored with the
nomination by the Republicans, Greenbacks and
Anti-Bourbons for governor, but declined to make
the race. The same year he served as a Blaine
and Logan elector. In 1885, he established The
New South, at that time the only Republican
paper in the State.

In 1886, he was a candidate for the State Legis-
lature. He is a young man of j)leasing address
and superiot capabilities, and has a promising
future. During the year 188T, he was the rejire-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

205

siMitative in tlie North of four large land coni})a-
nies — Sheffiekl, Decatur, Florence and Iliints-
villo. Mr. Lane is now practicing law.

.Mr. [iane was united in marriage in Issi with
Miss Ella Abercroinbie. of Tuskegee, Ala., daugh-
ter of John Abercromhie, who died in the army,
and granddaughter to Col. James Abcrcrombie,
long known a.s the "Whig Congressman " from
the Kufaula District.

Four children have been bo'-n to them; Madge,
George, Mattie and Sarah.

SAMUEL H. BUCK, Vice-president and Man-
ager of " The North Alabama Land and Improve-
ment Company," at Iluntsville, was born in the
blue-grass region of Kentucky. His father is
Thomas Mountjoy Buck, of a Virginia family,
prominent in the time of Washington, and des-
cended from the •' cavaliers " of tl)e war of Charles

I. of England. His mother was Catharine Wat-
kins, also of high lineage in " the Old Dominion."

The son was educated at Bethel, and at Union
University, Kentucky. Before he graduated, the
war between the States came on, and at the age of
twenty lie entered the Confederate service, April

II, ISO!. He served in battles around I?ichmond,
in Tennessee and in Kentucky, under General
Whitetif-ld and General Bragg. By both of these
officers he was complimented for "gallantry on
the tield." Early in 1862 he was promoted to a
captaincy, and in 1803 had reached the rank of
lieutenant-colonel. He was then assigned to the
staff of (ieneral Holmes, in command of the
Trans-Mississippi Department. And when that
officer was relieved, he was assigned to the staff of
Gen. .lohn B. Magruder, and took an active part
in the campaigns against (Jenerals Banks, .Mc-
Cook and Steele.

At the close of the war Colonel Buck settled in
New Orleans, and in one year was a member of the
cotton factorage house of Morrison, Buck & Co.
He soon Ijccame influential in the cotton interests
of that great mart. For three years from 1870 he
was secretary of " tlie National Cotton Hxchange
of America," an office afterward held by Col. C.
1[. Parker, editor-in-chief of the Picayune. After-
ward he was made chairman of the important
" Committee on Appeals," to settle business mis-
iinderstaiulinirs among its members.

Colonel Buck was one of the marshals under
Gov. F. N. Ogden, who in 1874 led the citizen
soldiery of " the White League " against the plun-
dering and tyrannical usuri)ers, a movement that
resulted in the redemption of Louisiana and the
re-establishment of a State government by the peo-
ple for tiie people. He was elected a member
of the Democratic Legislature of 1870, and served
in three State conventions; also in the postal con-
vention held at Old Point Comfort. And he was
appointed, with Hoji. Louis Bush as a colleague, a
delegate from Louisiana to tlie Franco-American
<"'ongress, which met at Paris in 1878 to frame a
commercial treaty between the United States and
France. But, as he was about to sail, yellow-fever
broke out in New Orleans and he returned to the
city.

When Congress granted a charter for "The
World's Industrial and Cotton Continental Expo-
sition" at New Orleans, the Act autiiorized " The
National Cotton Planters' Association " to nomin-
ate six out of the thirteen Governmental Com-
missioners to constitute the Board of Manage-
meiit. Colonel Buck was one of the six nomin-
ated, and he was commissioned by President
Arthur. And when Col. E. A. Burke, who was
made Director-Cieneral of this gigantic enterprise,
retired, broken down by the strain of a position
so responsible and arduous. Colonel Buck was se-
lected to complete the work and afterward to close
up the business of this, the most varied and inter-
esting exposition ever held in the civilized world.
In fulfilling the trying duties of Director-Gen-
eral he achieved so much reputation, that Presi-
dent Cleveland, unsolicited and of his own motion,
appointed him postmaster of New Orleans. Here
Colonel Buck instituted many desirable reforms
and improvements, and then resigned the best office
financially at the South, to take charge of the
all'uirs of "The North Alabama Land and Im-
jirovement Company," at Huntsville. This fact
alone and the guiding presence of such a man in
ihe developments here projected, furnished the
most satisfactory grounds for faith in the value of
the ad vantages and in the great destiny of thispoint
in the valley of tlie Tennessee as a center of indus-
trial enter))rises, population, thrift and progress.

But by all who know him. Colonel Buck is re-
garded as a typical southern gentleman. \\"\i\\ a
keen sense of honor, he is broad and just and con-
servative. Physically fearless, he enjoys a reputa-
tion for moral courage and candor, and is a safe

266

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

man in difficulties. In the social world he is the
peer of the best, a man of courtlj' jiolish as well
of as worldly wisdom.

Colonel Buck married Miss Annie Douglas
Fleming, of Natchez, Miss., and their family con-
sists of a daughter and a son.

FRANK COLEMAN, of Athens, Ala., Register
of the United States Land Office, Huntsville, is
the youngest son of the late Judge Daniel Cole-
man.

He was educated at the Southern University,
Greensboro, Ala., and the Washington and Lee
University, Lexington, Va. Graduating from the
last named institution, in 1S69, he read law with
the Hon. Luke Pryor, at Athens, and was ad-
mitted to the bar. He taught school a while;
spent some time in the far West, and was for
about one year connected with the editorial corps
of the St. Louis Times. At the instance of
Major Henry Heiss, with whom he had done jour-
nalistic work on the St. Louis Times, he came to
Nashville, Tenn., and was for five years one of
the editors of the Nashville Banner, a morning
daily. His health failing, in 1875, he retired to
his old home at Athens. Li November, 1876, he
became editor and half proprietor of the Hunts-
ville (Ala.) Independent, a Democratic journal.
Under his administration, the Independent became
quite an influential paper, and was always fully
identified with the greatest interests of its section
of the county.

Mr. Coleman was four years a member of the
State Democratic Executive Committee, and after
the election of President Cleveland, he was
strongly endorsed by the best men of the State
for the position to which he was subsequently ap-
pointed and unanimously confirmed. His com-
mission as Register of the United States Land
Office was dated January 20, 1887, and upon tak-
ing possession of the office he severed his connec-
tion with the Independent.

-«"

DR. DAVID MOORE. The name of this influen-
tial and broad-minded gentleman stands con-
spicuous in the list of prominent and useful citi-
zens of Huntsville, where he spent the greater
part of his life. He was a leading spirit in all the

public enterprises which made it fifty years ago
the most beautiful town in the South.

Dr. Moore was born in Brunswick County,
Va., in 187!), of a Virginian mother, whose
maiden name was Rebecca Fletcher. His father,
John Moore, was a man of scholarly attainments
and eminent piety from the Cape Fear region of
Carolina.

Dr. David Moore received his education in Vir-
ginia, and was graduated in medicine at the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania. Moving to Nashville,
Tenn., he entered on his profession, was soon
recognized as a man of ability, knowledge and
skill, and speedily obtained a lucrative practice.
Here he married first Miss Harriet, an accom-
plished daughter of Judge Haywood, a man of
note in Tennessee.

In 1809, at the first sale of lands in Madison
County, Mississippi Territory, Dr. Moore became
a considerable purchaser. He was also selected
as one of the three trustees to whom LeRoy Pope
deeded one-half of his purchase covering the site
of Huntsville, with authority to lay off, sell lots
and use the proceeds for the improvement of the
projected town; and this work in the beauty of the
place is still gratefully visible, for it is well done.

At Nashville Dr. Moore had been the family
physician and attached friend of Gen. Andrew
Jackson; and in 18i;5-14, during the bloody war
which crushed the power of the Creek Indians in
South Alabama, he served as surgeon on the staff
of the General.

After the finishing battle of Tohopeka, on his
return home. Dr. Moore was appointed one of five
"justices of the quorum" of Madison County —
an English and Virginian method of administer-
ing law; and he served until the admission of
Alabama, as a State, into the Union.

Under an act passed by the Territorial Legisla-
ture December 11, 1816, Dr. David Moore was
one of nine citizens authorized to open books of
subscription for "The Planters' and Merchants'
Bank," at Huntsville; and this was the first bank
established in Mississijipi Territory.

In 1820, after the admission of Alabama as a
State, Dr. Moore was elected to the Legislature,
and was returned thirteen times — five times at
the head of the ticket chosen. From 1822 to
1825 he was sent to the State Senate; but, for
influence, he afterward preferred the lower house,
of which, in 1841, he was unanimously elected
the Speaker.

V ^/ u^,

.ayiyiA^

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

267

Among the many important measures, which
he influenced, it should be stated, that Dr. David
Moore inaugurated and carried through " the wo-
man's law." which creates a statutory settle-
ment for the protection of married women from
the i)Ossible vices or business misfortunes of their
husbands, and generally considered just in its
provisions without humiliating the husbands —
a most wise and conservative measure, which
has saved from ruin thousands of the families
of Alabama.

Dr. Moore was eminent in his iirofossion ; but
he had faith in land investments and in cotton
planting. He bought the best lands, employed
the best overseers and required them to account
to him regularly. lie made good crops,
shipped his cotton to Liverpool, sold it at his
own time, and furnished exchange to the people
of the Tennessee Valley. He became the owner
of nine choice plantations and many negroes.

In January, 183:5, the Madison Turnpike Com-
pany was chartered under the auspices of Dr.
David Moore and six other enterprising (;itizens.
This comjiany macadamized the roads ten miles
south to the Tennessee Eiver, and northward to
Conally's, and west in the direction of .\tliens.
Limestone County.

On the ■24th of Xovember, 1841, the Legislature
of Alabama, entered on an election of a United
States Senator, to fill the seat vacated by (iovernor
C. C. Clay's retirement. Two ballots were taken.
On the first ballot. Dr. Moore led by one vote; on
the second ballot, Bagby was elected and Moore
defeated, to the surprise of his friends, through
the defection of a few men from Xoith Alabama,
who on this occasion misrepresented their con-
stituents.

After losing his first wife, childless, he married
in 18;J4 Martha L. Harrison, a daughter of Ben-
jamin Harrison, of Brunswick Connty, Va., who
afterward also moved to Madison County, Ala.
By this marriage he had three daughters and three
sons; ami at his death, he left his widow and four
cliildren surviving him.

Dr. David Moore was a man of the blonde type,
medium in stature, but of fine physiijue: calm and
dignified in his bearing, courtly in iiis address, he
was observant of men and careful and punctual
in business. A man of affairs, he was successful
beyond his contemporaries. At the same time, he
was governed by princi]>le, irreproachable in his
habits and a Christian gentleman in the highest

sense of the word. His charities were wide and
numerous. Hospitable and public-spirited, he
was liberal to the Methodist Episcopal Church, of
which he was a member. He was a substantial
friend of worthy young men who needed help, and
was not only generous during life to kindred, but
provided in his will for the education of those of
his nephews whom he considered in need of his
aid.

Although a man full of the cares of business,
his devotion to his family was remarkable. His
heart ivas ever at home, and his watchful, tender
love for his wife and little children was notably
rare. The loss of sncli a guardian and guide in
their early youth was an irreparable misfortune to
his sons and daughters. He gave to his wife and
children each an ample fortune, placed in the
hands of trustees for safe keeping and ultimate
division. He died in 184.5.

DR. GEORGE M. HARRIS was born in Madi-
son County, this State, .Fuly II, 1820, and his
parents were Frank K. and JIahala (Isbell) Harris,
natives of the State of Virginia. The senior Har-
ris was born in 18ii0 in Appomattox County, Va.,
and came with his parents to this county in 1809.
The family settled at Blue Springs, four miles
north of Huntsville. Some time in 1856 or 18.57,
Francis E. Harris removed to Jackson County,
this State, and there spent the rest of his life,
dying in 1877.

Dr. Harris' grandfather, Richard Harris, held
the rank of captain in the Colonial Army, and
served under Washington through the Revolution-
ary struggle. Coming to Madison County he
purchased a large tract of Government land, and
became one of the extensive farmers of that early
day. He died near Huntsville at the great age of
94 years. His wife lived to be S(i years of age.
The house, in which he lived for many years, was
enclosed by a high picket fence, with blockhouses
on each corner, and was used by his neighbors as
a kind of fortress, into which they retreated
nightly for protection against the Indians.

George M. Harris, whose name forms the cap-
tion of this sketch, was reared on his father's
farm, and at the age of 19, when he began the
study of medicine, he was probably as well in-
formed as most any young man of his dav, and he

268

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

entered upon his studies with a fair fiiiul of
general information.

Dr. Geo. K. Wharton, a distinguislied pliysi-
cian, was his uncle, and became his preceptor in the
study of physic. Dr. Harris was graduated from
the Lonisville School of Medicine, with the degree
of M. D., in 1842, and located at once at Belle-
fonte, Jackson County, where he pursued the
practice of his profession ten years. He was also
an extensive farmer, and about 1850, established a
tannery, in connection with which he carried on
an large dry goods business. He also manu-
factured the leather produced by his tannery into
such articles of commerce as were then found sala-
ble. In 1857 he removed to Meridianville, then
an important village some miles north of Hunts-
ville, and was there engaged in mercantile business
until 1863. By this time the doctor had accumu-
lated a pretty large fortune in lands, merchandise
and slaves. He owned a large farm in Arkansas,
to which he sent stock and negroes from North
Alabama, and upon it annually raised many bales
of cotton. Though he still owns his farms, it
seems that he ceased to give them any personal
supervision about 1870, as at that time he removed
to the city of Huntsville. Here he is connected
with some of the largest and most important en-
terprises, and gives them much of his personal at-
tention. He is one of the largest stockholders of
the cotton factory at this place; in fact, is the
president of the company that owns it. and its
great success is probably as much due to his judi-
cious management and direction, as to any other
cause. The Doctor was one of the organizers, and
is now a director of the North Alabama Improve-
ment Company; also an organizer and director of
the Huntsville Electric Light Company; also
largely interested in the hardware business; and
to all of these, in his own quiet unostentatious
way, he gives his personal influence and supervi-
sion.

Doctor Harris is a broad-gauged, wideawake,
enterprising, public-spirited, isresent-day man, and
it is to such as he that Northern Alabama must be
indebted to the grand future that awaits her, and
in fact, is now dawning upon her.

JOHN JEFFERSON DEMENT, M.D., was born
13th May, 1830, in Madison County, Ala., and is a
son of John and Celia W. (Loue) Dement. John

Dement was a native of Sumner County, Tenn.
He received a common-school education, became a
good, substantial farmer, and served as a justice of
the peace. He was married in 1819, and came at
once to ifadison County, Ala., which was there-
after his home. He died in 1848, and his wife
in 1852. They raised eight children, viz.: Alfred
T., now dead; Susan, wife of G. B. Smith, of
Phillips County, Ark.; John J., our subject ;
Elvertou F., Cornelia J., widow of Robert Herel-
ford, and now wife of Dr. 11. T. Searcy, of Cull-
man; MattieE., wife of L. B. Burnes, of Arkansas;
Kate, wifeof B. R. Thompson, of Madison County;
and Lowe, a soldier under Breckinridge in the
late war, and was killed at Jackson, Miss.

John Dement was a son of Charles Dement, a
native of North Carolina, and one of the pioneers
of Sumner County, Tenn. He raised alarge family,
viz.: Cader, Charles, Abner, James, David, John,
and two daughters, Mildred and Clara. There is
a tradition, that three brothers of this name came
from France in the Colonial days, and were soldiers
in the Revolution. One settled in Tennessee, one
in Maryland, and the third went West.

The subject of this sketch, John Jl Dement,
received his education in the field. The early
death of his father required him to stay on the
farm and take charge of the family, which fact
precluded the possibility of his receiving as good
an education as he otherwise would have had.

At twenty he began the study of medicine, at
Meridianville, Ala., under Dr. G. A. AVyehe, now
of Bossier Parish, La.

He took his first medical course at Louisville, in
the winter of 1851-52; went to Philadelphia, and
was graduated from the Medical Department of
the University of Pennsylvania, in 1853. He tiien
located at Meridianville, where he practiced with
success until 1862, when he was commissioned
suigeon in the Confederate Army, and was as-
signed to the Twenty-seventh Alabama Regiment.
He served with this regiment until the surrender
of Fort Donelson, when he was sent a prisoner
to Camp Chase, and, later, to Johnson's Island.
He was released in June, 1862. While the
Doctor was in prison, his warm, personal
friend, Judge Peter M. Dox, of Huntsville,
wrote to a former classmate of his own, Judge
L. Bates, of Ohio, to befriend Dr. Dement and
relieve his wants; but when the hospitality of
Judge Bates" home was extended to him, in con-
sideration of the circumstances he declined to ac-

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

269

cept it and preferred to remain with, and minister
to. tlie needs of liis sick and imprisoned comrades,
and the Judge supplied him with money for his
personal needs. After the war was over the Doc-
tor felt in honor bound to repay Judge ]$ates
with the first money earned: and did so, with lieart-
felt thanlvs for his great kindness and magnani-
mous generosity.

In August, 18().>, Dr. Dement was assigned to
tlie Forty-nintli Georgia Regiment, at (iordons-
ville, Va., under General Jackson, and remained
with this regiment until it was surrendered at Ap-
pomattox, and during this time was surgeon
of General Ed. L. Thomas' Brigade. lie was in
all the battles in which his brigade participated.
After the war he came to Iluntsville, and has
practiced there until the present time. He was,
for a few years, a member of the American Medi-
cal Association, and a member of the American
Public Health Association. lie is now a member
of the Medical Association of Alabama, and was its
President in 1870. He is a member of the State
Board of Censors; has been a member of the
Madison County iledical Society since 185.3, and
is now its "president; is a member of the ilasonic
fraternity. Knights of Honor, Knights of Pythias,
Ancient Order United Workmen, and a Knight
Templar. He is vice-president of the Home Pro-
tection Fire Insurance Company, and has taken a
part in every public-spirited enterprise in Ilunts-
ville.

For many years he has been president and an
active member of the Board of Trustees of Ilunts-
ville Female College, and has been since its foun-
dation a member of the Board of Trustees of
Vanderbilt University. He was twelve years a
member of the Board of Trustees of Alabama
Insane Hospital; was Surgeon-general of Ala-
bama Militia for eight years under Governors
Houston and Cobb, and declined to act longer.
He was appointed by Governor Seay as one of
the examiners under the Color Blind Law. Dr.
Dement has never sought office, but when it has
been tendered him he has considered it his duty
to accept. He was married January "^T, 18(19, to
Miss Cornelia ('.. daughter of Dr. Henry A. Bin-
ford, of Iluntsville. 'J'hey have seven children:
Henry B., Koltert S.. Sarali B., John J., William
R. and Susie.

The hoctorand his wife are Methodists. Henry
A. Binford, Mrs. Dement's father, was a leading
physician of iluntsville. 11" > f!v-..| an e.xcel-

lent education, taking the medical part of it at
Philadelpliia. He died in 1875, aged sixty-two
years. He reared six children: William H., Peter,
Thomas L., Henry, Cornelia C. and Sarah E.
Henry, a son of Peter Binford; married Grace
Lee, a near relative of Gen. R. E. Lee.

Doctor Dement's mother was a daughter of
Jesse and Susannah Lowe. They raised the fol-
lowing children: George E.,a farmer, who died in
Virginia; Thomas, of Mississippi; John .1., who
died in Arkansas; Mary, of West Tennessee;
Martha, who died in Alabama; and Celia W.

-<^«

«^-

SAMUEL H. LOWRY. M. D., one of the leading
young physicians of .Mailison County, is a son of
John T. and Virginia H. (Miller) Lowry. John
T. Lowry was of Scotch- Irish descent, and a son
of Rev. Samuel Lowry, a divine of the Cumber-
land Presbyterian Church, whose wife, Elizabeth
Tate, belonged to the well-known family of that
name.

The fatlier of our subject was an old-time mer-
chant of Huntsville in ante-bellum days, being a
member of the firm of Lowry, Hamilton & Co.,
and also owning large jilantations. Like all
Southern planters, he lost heavily by the late war
having a great number of slaves. He was con-
nected with the commissary department during
the struggle, and subsequently resumed farming,
which, with an interest in the lumber firm of
Mayhew & Lowry, occupied his attention until
his death in I88(;. He was a member of the Cum-
berland Presbyterian Church, and left one son,
Samuel H.

Our subject was born October lii. 1850. and
received a superior education, commencing with
the schools of Huntsville, and continued at the
University of Virginia. His medical studies be-
gan at the L'niversity of Virginia, and were sup-
j)lemented by lecturesat Bellevue Hospital Medical
College, Xew York, from which institution he was
graduated in 1873. He began the practical study
of his chosen profession the .•^ameyear of his grad-
uation in association with Dr. Dement, of Hunts-
ville, and has been a successful and active worker
since.

Dr. Lowry is a member of the Madison C'ounty
Medical Society; is secretary of the County Board
of Censors: meml)er of the College of Counsellors

of th.- •>\:\\i- M.Mlic.lI As<ri,l.itinii; is Health

270

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

Officer for the City of Huntsville and County of
Madison, and a member of the Order of Kniglits
of Pythias.

ALBERT RUSSEL ERSKINE, M.D., was born
January 17, IS'-iT, in Huntsville, and was the sec-
ond son of Dr. Alexander and Susan Catharine
(Russel) Erskine, natives, respectively, of Monroe
and Loudon Counties, Va.

Dr. Alexander Erskine, who received an aca-
demic education, taught school for awhile, before
entering the medical dejiartment of the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, from which institution he was
graduated in 1810. In January, 1817, he located
at Huntsville, where he became one of the most
successful physicians, and where he remained until
his death, July 5, 1857. He took a great interest
in church and State affairs, as well as in the im-
provement of his town. He was for many years
President of the Board of Medical Examiners of
the State Medical Association, of which he was a
conspicuous member. He was the first prominent
!Mason in Huntsville, and was one of the charter
members of the Masonic lodge at this place. He
became a wealthy citizen, and wielded much influ-
ence for good in that community. Eleven chil-
dren were born to him, of whom nine grew to
maturity.

The subject of this sketch received his educa-
tion at Huntsville, and was a student for a time
at Georgetown College, District of Columbia.
While at the latter place, he received an appoint-
ment to West Point Military Academy, and attend-
ed that school two years. Finding that he had
no taste for military life, he resigned, and began
the study of medicine with his father, in 1849.
He took his first course of lectures at the Univer-
sity of Virginia, and was graduated in medicine
from the University of Pennsylvania in the spring
of 1851.

The same year he located at Huntsville, in
which place he successfully practiced medicine
until the war. In December, 186"-i, he joined the
Confederate Army, and was assigned to the Fifth
Tennessee Regiment as Surgeon. Eight months
later he became Gen. Pat Claiborne's Medical In-
sjiector, and was in this capacity for four or five
months, after which he was assigned to the Forty-
fifth Alabama Regiment as its Surgeon. After

the battle of Jonesboro, having received intelli-
gence of the illness of his wife, at his request he
was assigned to Convalescent-Camp Wright, which
he established, and finally to Marion, Ala., Hos-
pital, where his family was then located.

He is a member of the Madison County Medical
Society, and was for three years its president: was
for several years a member of the American Board
of Health Association and of the State Associa-
tion, and is a member of the County Board of
Health, and has been secretary of the County
Board of Censors for some years. He is a member
of the Masonic fraternity.

Dr. Erskine was married October 5, 1854, to
Maria D. ilatthews, a daughter of Luke and
Judith (Peete) Matthews, of Huntsville. Her
father was one of the wealthiest and most success-
ful planters in Xorthern Alabama. He came from
Campbell County, Virginia, at a very early date.

Dr. Erskine has three children: Alexander,
Luke Matthews and Janet. The Doctor and his
wife are Presbyterians, and he is an elder in that
Church.

The family of Alexander Erskine, as far as
known, sprang from the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine,
of Scotland, who was the founder of the Secession
Church, and who was born in 1080. Henry Ers-
kine, our subject's great-grandfather, married
Jean Thompson, of Stirling, moved to Amer-
ica and settled in Cecil County, ild., where he
died.

Subsequently his wife and son Michael
moved to Monroe C'ity, Va. Michael married
Margaret Paulee, wfeHanley, of Monroe C'ity, Va.
They had five children. Dr. Alexander Erskine
being the fourth. His mother, with her first hus-
band, John Paulee, was captured by the Shawnee
Indians while en route from Virginia to Ken-
tucky, whither they were going for settlement.
The savages promptly slew Mr. Paulee after a
desperate struggle, in which other associates
were engaged: and the chief of the tribe adopted
her ,as his daughter. His savage highness sub-
sequently decided npon her death, but was dis-
suaded by other members of the tribe, with
whom it appears she had grown to be a great
favorite.

The son born to her soon after her capture,
grew to manhood and was slain in battle with the
Indians. After the chief's death, her friends ran-
somed her by the payment of S200, and she lived
to the age of ninety-one years.

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

271

MILTON C. BALDRIDGE, M. D., son of

William F., and Klizabeth Caroline (Mitchell)
Baldridge. was born in Cornersville, .Marshall
County, Tenn., May VI, 18:5-.'.

William F. Baldriilge was born in North Caro-
lina in 180'.i, and brought in his infancy to Giles
County, Tenn., wherein due time, he learned the
tanner's trade, iu which business he afterward
engaged quite extensively. In 183(i, he removed
to Perry County and embarked in merchandising
and in 1.S44 he became a resident of Lauderdale
County. In 185."), he established a nursery not
far from Huntsville, which is said to liave been
the first enterprise of the kind in that section; and
in l!S6T, he removed to Piano, Tex., where he
still resides. He had eleven children: Milton C,
James A., Jane C, Virginia C, Mary A., Par-
iiiclla K., Elizabeth, William F. . John C, Henry
H. and Oscar.

.Mrs. Caroline Baldridge died in Marcli, 1860,
and William F. was again married to a Miss Mc-
Donald, of Huntsville.

.Milton C. Baldridge was reared upon a farm.
He received a good education, and in Ls.iO began
the study of medicine at Florence with Dr. J. P.
Mitchell. In 1853, lie attended lectures at the
^fedical College of Ohio, in Cincinnati, and prac-
ticed on a license until 1874, when he was grad-
uated from the Medical College, of Xew York.

In the spring of l!-i6"^, he entered the army as
assistant surgeon of the Twenty-sixth Alabama
and Forty-eighth Tennessee Begiments, and con-
tinued there until ill-health forced him to abandon
the field. After returning home, he practiced
near Huntsville until 1871, when he located in
that city, where he has since remained and
established a most successful practice. He is a
memberof the State Medical Association, of which
he has been Vice-president, Orator, and is now
Grand Senior Counsellor and President. He has
been Ilealth-Oflicer of .Madison County since 1882:
is a memberof the County Medical Society; Chair-
man of the .Medical Board of Examiners, and is a
frequent contributor to medical journals.

The Doctor is a Knight Templar, Scottish Kite,
Mason, an Odd Fellow, Knight of Honor and a
Knight of Pythias.

He was married .January 10, 1855, to Miss N. C.
Neely, a daughter of Anderson P, and Eliza il.
(Cannon) Neely. Unto them were born seven
children: James Alexander, Viola Beatrice, Mol-
lie Bertie, Felix Edgar, Stella Corvin, Percy

and Katie. James Alexander died October 6, 1856,

Mollie Bertie died Marcli, 1^06, Percy died 1872.
Viola Beatrice is the wife of Bently H. jirooks,
now of Paris, Texas. Felix Edgar, Stella Corvin,
and Katie reside with their father in Huntsville,
Ala. The Doctor's first wife died in April, 1878,
and in September, 1880, he married Mis.s Ella
M. Johnson, who has one child, Milton C, .Jr.
The Doctor and Mrs. Baldridge are members of
Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

A. B. SHELBY. M.D., was born in .Madison
County, De('ember lo, 1845, and is a son of Dr.
David and Mary (Bouldin) Shelby. In April,
18G1, he enlisted as a private soldier in Company
I, Fourth Alabama Infantry, and was in the ser-
vice until the close of the war. With the Fourth
Regiment he remained about fifteen months,
taking part in the battles of the first Manassas,
Seven Pines, and the Seven Days battle around
Richmond. In July, 180'2, the term of his first en-
listment having expired, he came home, and three
weeks later rejoined the Fourth Regiment as a
member of Captain Hurley's Company. He subse-
quently participated in the battles of Chicka-
mauga, the Dalton and Atlanta campaigns, and
was with Hood in his advance into 'i'ennessee.
After Hood's retreat he was in Forrest's command,
and at Benton, Ala., was slightly wounded. After
the final surrender he returned home, and in 18G0,
with his father as preceptor, began the study of
medicine. After a course of lectures at Jefferson
Medical College, he located at Meridianville, and
here remained in the practice about ten years.
He came to Huntsville in October, 1SS"2.

WILLIAM J. BARRON. D.D.S., was born
near Gurleysville, Madison County, this State,
.January 22, 1832, and is a son of Samuel B. and
Martha (Cotton) Barron, natives, respectively, of
.South Carolina and Tennessee. He came to
Huntsville in 1855, as a salesman in a dry goods
establishment, and in !Marcli, 1802, joined For-
rest's command. He was with Forrest until 1863,
when he was transferred with the Fourth Alabama
Cavalry to Wheeler's command. He was captured
near Winchester, Tenn., in September of that

273

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

year, and sent to Johnson's Island, where he
remained until the close of the war. In June,
1865, he returned to Huntsville, and was engaged
iu the dry goods business until. 186T, at which
time he took uji the study of dentistry. In the
winter of 18G7-8, he attended Dental College at
Baltimore, Md., and has since that date given his
time to the practice.

Doctor Barron was married June G, 1873, to
Miss Emma Ilalsey, daughter of William Irby and
Martha (Cain) Halsey, and has had born to him
four children: Noel Irby, Eugene, William LeRoy
and Julia. Both he and his wife are members of
the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Samuel B. Barron, father of Doctor Barron,
was born March 23, 1793. He learned the black-
smith's trade, at which he earned sufficient money
to educate himself, and afterward made an envi-
able reputation as a professional educator. He
sjjent many years of his life in Madison County,
where he died May 15, 1843, leaving a wife and
four young children. His father came from
Ireland; the Cotton family came from England
originally.

REV. JOHN MONRO BANISTER, D.D., the

son of John ^[onro and Mary Burton (Boiling)
Banister, was born at Battersea, near Petersburg,
Va.

His father, a native of that city, was edu-
cated at Princeton College, N. J., and was the
son of Col. John Banister, who was educated in
England, and bred to the law at Temple Bar.

He was a Burgess of the Assembly, and, after-
ward, a distinguished member of the Convention
of 1776. In 1778-9, he was a member of Con-
gress from Virginia, at New York and at Phila-
delphia; and in September, visited headquarters
as a member of the Committee of Arrangement.
He was one of the frainers and signers of the
Articles of Confederation. His father, a wealthv
and distinguished scientist of England, iu one of
his botanical excursions, near the Falls of the
Roanoke, fell from a precipice and was killed.
As a naturalist, he was esteemed not inferior to
Bartram.

Col. John Banister married, first, Mary, daugh-
ter of Col. Theoderick Bland, Sr.. and an aunt of
John Randolph of Roanoke. His second wife,
the grandmother of our subject, was Anne Blair,
sister of Judge Blair of the Federal Court.

The children of this marriage were — Theoderick
Blair and John Monro. The latter married Mary
Burton Augusta Boiling, daughter of Robert Boil-
ing, of Centre Hill, Petersburg, Va.

William C. Banister, their oldest son. fell
bravely defending his native city, on the 9th of
June, 1864.

Robert Boiling Banister, a graduate of the Med-
ical School of the University of Virginia, entered
the Navy, as Surgeon, and died in Petersburg in
the year 1843.

The youngest son. Rev. John Monro Banister,
D. D., was reared in Petersburg, Va., and educated
at Princeton College, New Jersey, where he gradu-
ated in the class of 1840, and was honored as its
valedictorian. He read law under Judge Lomax,
of Fredericksburg, Va., and was admitted to the
bar iu 1843; after which, determining to enter the
ministry, he graduated at the Episcopal Theo-
logical Seminary, at Alexandria, Va.

In 1848 he married Mary Louisa, a daughter of
Gen. William H. Brodnax, a distinguished attor-
ney of Dinwiddle County. The same year, he
moved to South Alabama, and after spending ten
years of his ministry at Greensboro, he moved to
Huntsville in November, I860, and has continued
to be the Rector of the Cluircli of the Nativity
since that time.

J. A. B. LOVETT is the youngest son of A. J.
and Mary (llardwick) Lovett, and was born in
Walker County, Ala., March 3, 1847. At the age
of thirteen he was placed in the village school at
Ashville, Ala , where he continued until April,
1863, when he joined the Confederate Army. He
was captured by the Federals in June, of the same
year, and was held in Northern prisons two years.

On September 2, 1866, he was joined in mar-
riage to Miss Frances P. Gilbert, of Shelby
County, Ala. Soon after this Mr. Lovett joined
the ministry of the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church, for which he was educated at Cumberland
University, Lebanon, Tenn.

Professor Lovett has been connected with South-
ern education about twenty years. In 1883 he
organized tlie Huntsville Graded Schools, and he
is now their efficient Superintendent. In 1885 he
established the Alaiama Teacher's Journal, of
which he is still senior editor and publisher.

In 1886 Professor Lovett was on the programme

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

273

of tlie National Eilucational Assembly, ami read
a paper on Federal Aid to Education, wliich was
l)rinted in iianiphlet and furnished to the United
Stales ("oiiEfress, then in session, lie was also a
member of the same body in ISSS, when he ap-
peared before the House Committee on Kducation.
Professor Lovett is justly regarded as being one
of our ablest and most progressive educators, and
he enjoys the confidence and esteem of his many
patrons. While he was eminently successful as a
minister, having served his congregation in
Iluntsville a number of years as pastor, his jirin-
cipal qualifications lie in the direction of school
management and class instruction.

REV. AMOS B. JONES, A.M.. D.D., LL.D.,

President and Proprietor of liuntsville Female
College, was born December 4. 1841, in Randolph
Macon Clollege, Boydtou, Mecklenburg County,
\'a. Ilis father, IJev. Amos W. .Tones, D.D.,
was a son of Amos Jones, a local preacher of
Xorth Carolina, and a native of Lewisburg, that
State. lie graduated at Kandolph Macon College
in 18311. with the highest honors; became tutor in
his Alma Mater, and a minister of the Methodist
Episcoi)al Church; located in Jackson, Tenn.,in
lS4.i, where he still resides. He has been Presi-
dent of the Memphis Conference Female Institute
for nearly forty years. He is a man of sterling
worth as minister and educator, and is much be-
loved by his hosts of friends. His wife's maidt-n
name was Caroline HIanch, a daughter of Gen.
William Rlancli, of Virginia, and a woman of the
highest type of Christian ciiaracter. She died
within one week after Amos B. was born.

The subject of our sketch received his early
education in Jackson, Tenn. At different times
he attended West Tennessee College, Andrew Col-
lege. Union University, and East Alabama Univer-
sity, at Auburn, in all of wliich he gave evidence
of decided thirst for knowledge and an invincible
determination to take a front rank in the world
of letters. But like hundreds of Southern boys,
his education was arrested by the clash of arms.
He gave up iiis studies in East Alabama Univer-
sity, returned to his home in Jackson, Tenn.. and
at the age of nineteen entered the Confederate
service as second sergeant in the Sixth Tennessee
Infantry. On the reorganization of the regiment.

liis comrades in arms having recognized the cour-
age and bravery of Sergeant Jones, elected him
Captain of Company II. which position he re-
tained until the war was over.

As Cajitain he was in many battles of the West,
and was wounded at .Murfreesboro and Chica-
maiiga. Returning from the war he undertook
to run a farm, as the only expedient for im-
mediate employment. But his old thirst for
knowledge began to revive, and by diligent study,
he gathered up the fragments of his shattered edu-
cation, and heroically began anew his much cher-
ished asi)irations for a professional life.

In 18G8, he was ha])})ily united in marriage to
Jliss Mary G. Gates, near Aberdeen, Miss. They
have had born unto them two sons and three daugh-
ters, of whom Amos W. and James T., are living,
and Carrie, Blanch, Joseph N., and Mary Sue are
dead. In 18(i!i, Dr. Jones, was elected to a promi-
nent professorship in the M. C. F. Institute, of
Jackson, the home of his boyhood. This position
he held for nine years, while the rapid, solid and
continuous growth of the Institute fully demon-
strated his preeminent qualifications for such
work. He was elected president of this institu-
tion in 1878, served two years most efficiently,
and resigned in 1880 to take charge of the liunts-
ville Female College.

Under the conduct of Dr. Jones, with his broad
culture, liberal education, and fine business ad-
ininistrative ability, this institution has enjoyed
such solid and continuous prosperity as it never
did before. The degree of LL.D., was conferred
upon Dr. .lones by the Southwestern Baptist
University, at Jackson, Tenn., his old home, and
where he was best and most favorably known.
The degree of D.D. was conferred upon liiiii liy
the State University of Alabama.

Aside from his work as an educator, Dr. Jones,
is an able and eloquent gospel minister of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which he
was licen.sed to preach in 18T3, bv the Jlemphis
Conference. Wliile in Tennessee, he held various
offices of trust and honor in several benevolent
orders. In Masonry, he was at one time 1{.W.
Deputy Grand Master, and at another. Right Emi-
nent (irand Captain-General of the Grand Com-
maiulery, of that State. He has been i)resident
of the Alabama Y. JI. C. A.; is a professor in the
Correspondence University of Chicago, and was
lately elected a menil)er of the American Insti-
tute of Christian Philosophy.

274

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

REV. HENRY HARRISON SMITH, Pastor of
the Cumberland Presbyterian C'hurcli, Huntsville,
Ala., was born in Richmond County, A'. C, Oc-
tober Tii, 1847.

Mr. Smith's father, Henry Benjamin, was a
planter by occupation, and was born in South
Carolina in 1809. His ancestors came from Eng-
land. His mother, Sallie (Nicholson) Smith, was
born in 1S"20, in North Carolina, and was of Scotch
descent. They emigrated from North Carolina
to Mississippi in 1841), wheie his father died in
1873. His mother still survives. Mr. Smitli
joined the Confederate Army the 1st of August,
18(i4, as a member of the Twenty-fourth Missis-
sippi Regiment, and at the battle of Jonesboro,
Ga., during the latter part of the month of his
enlistment, he was severely wounded. He is a
self-educated man, and, after his education was
completed, filled for some time the Chair of Nat-
ural Science and English Literature at the Cooper
Institute.

Feeling called to preach the Gospel, he joined
the New Hope Presbytery, of Mississippi, in De-
cember, 187.3, and in July following was licensed
to preach. He was ordained in July, 1875, and
his first charge was Pleasant Hill, Ala. In 1877
he accepted a call to Jackson, Tenn., where he
remained for two years, when, on account of fail-
ing health, he resigned. In 1879, his health hav-
ing been restored, he accepted a call to Selma,
where he labored with great acceptance and suc-
cess until May, 1887, when he was called to his
present charge in Huntsville. He was married,
October 7, 187.5, to Mrs. Mattie G. Terrell, of
Crawford, Miss., and has had born to him two
children: Guthrie and Henry Harrison.

about two years, he was, in May, 1870, licensed to
preach. He joined the Northern Alabama Con-
ference, in November of that year, and in 1880,
after having been several years in the pastorate,
was made Presiding Elder. He held that office
two years, and was then assigned to the First
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at Birming-
ham. He was appointed to Huntsville, in Decem-
ber, 1885.

Mr. Newman was married, in October, 1869, to
Hannah W. Berry, a daughter of one of the
old and substantial families of DeKalb County,
and has had born to him four eiiildren : Carrie
S., Mary S., Olin B. and Albert H. Mrs. New-
man died at Gadsen, Ala., November, 1885.

Mr. Newman is Treasurer of the Mission Board
of his Conference; Secretary and Treasurer of the
^lutual Insurance Association of the Northern
Alabama Conference ; is a Mason and an Odd
Fellow.

Moses C. and Elizabeth (Smith) Newman, jjar-
ents of the subject of this sketch, were born in
South Carolina, the former in 1815, and the
latter in 1824. Mr. Newman was early orphaned,
and virtually thrown upon the world while an in-
fant. His mother moved from South Carolina to
Lincoln County, Tenn., and from there to De-
Kalb County, this State. He married in the lat-
ter county, and there followed farming for some
years and represented that county one term in
the Legislature. For some years before the war
he was merchandising, and resumed that business
after the war, and followed it until 1874. He
always took an active interest in politics ; was in
full sympathy with his State during the American
conflict, and has for many years been a consistent
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South. He reared a family of eight children.

REV. JOHN WALKER NEWMAN, Pastor in
charg;of the .Methodist Ejiiscopal Church, South,
Huntsville, was born in Van Buren, DeKalbCounty,
this State, October -^3, 184(1, and was educated at
the common and high schools.

In the spring of 1864, he entered the army as a
private in the Third Confederate Regiment, and
within a very few days thereafter, saw actual ser-
vice near New Hope Church, Ga. He was in
AVheeler's command, and participated in that
General's campaigns to the end of struggle. At
the close of the war he returned home and resumed
hig studies, and after having taught school for

ADDISON WHITE, was born at Abingdon. Va.,
May 1, 1824, and was a son of James and Eliza
(Wilson) White, natives of Pennsylvania and Vir-
ginia, and of Irish and Scotch-Irish descent, re-
spectively. When a youth James White went to
Baltimore, and was there for a time employed by
a Avholesale dry goods firm. Later on he went to
Abington, Va., where he engaged in the mercan-
tile business, and was married to Eliza Wilson, of
Pittsylvania County.

He became largely interested in tlie production

NORTHERN ALABAMA.

275

of salt, iron and lead, and at the time of his
death, wliich occurred in Wythe County, Va.,
l.s;{8, was reported to be worth over a mil-
lion dollars. He took an active part in the war of
1.S12. holding the rank of colonel.

His father, William White, was a farmer near
Carlisle, Penn., and spent his life in that State.

Addison White greiv to manhood in his native
village, receiving an academic education, which he
completed at Princeton, N. J., in 184"^. In Sep-
tember, 1844. he was married to iliss Sarah
Irvine, a daughter of Col. David Irvine, of Kich-
mond, Ky. Soon after his marriage he became a
resident of Kentucky, and was elected to the
'riiirty-second Congress for the Sixth District of
that State. At the close of that Congress, coming
into possession of his inheritance, he removed to
lluntsville, Ala., and engaged in planting in Ala-
bama, Mississippi and Arkansas. He has six chil-
dren: Alice, wife of Dr. G. C. Greenway; Eliza
\V., wife of 0. B. Patton; David Irvine, Susan
McDowell, Xewton K., and Shelby, wife of Rich-
ard W. Walker. Mrs. Sarah Irvine White, is a
grand-daughter of the illustrious Dr. Ephraim
McDowell, of Kentucky, and great-grand-daughter
of Gov. Isaac Shelby.

Her father. Colonel David Irvine, was a son of
Capt. William Irvine, of Madison County, Ky.,
who, being an early settler, participated in
many of the bloody battles with the Indians, and
• in one of them known as '' Estill'.s defeat," or
••the battle of Little Mountain," received
wounds from which he ultimately died. He and
another, named Proctor, were the only whites,
with one Indian, left to recount the deeds of that
sanguinary fight. Mr. White's family are mem-
bers of the J^piscopal Church.

• •* > '^^?^-^—

BENJAMIN POWELL HUNT was born in
Franklin County, Tenn., in September, 1849, and
is a son of George W. Hunt, a native of Franklin
County. His mother's maiden name was Priscilla
Powell.

Ben. P. Hunt spent his younger days near
Salem, Tenn., but when the war broke out his
parents moved to Winchester, that State, and there
he received his education. When twenty years
of age he began the study of law, and in 1870
entered the law department in the University of
Virginia, remaining there about six months. He

was admitted to the bar in November of the same
year, and practiced in Winchester until February,
1882, when he located at lluntsville, and there
practiced law one year. After this, he became
connected with the lluntsville Mercury as its
editor, and began the publication of the daily
issue of tiiat paper August '^I, iss.i.

When Mr. Hunt first took charge of the editor-
ial columns of the Mcrcuri/ it was a weekly paper
with a patent outside, and with a circulation not
exceeding .")(iO, but whea he severed his connection
with it, in August, 1887, the weekly had a sub-
scription list of about 1,100, and the daily was
fairly upon its feet and making money.

Under his administration, the Mercury was the
telling champion of lluntsville and her growing
industries, and the present prosperity of her var-
i