Bibb County Alabama Biographies and Biographical Sketches

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BATES, Alonzo W., Biography

ALONZO W. BATES sheriff of Bibb county, was born in Autauga county, Ala., May 10, 1854. He is a son of Elihu and Elizabeth Parr Bates, both of whom were natives of South Carolina, and the parents of ten children, five of whom are now living, viz.: Emma, wife of R. J. Bishop, a farmer; Alonzo W., Oscar E., merchant of Centreville, Ala., Alice, wife of G. W. Taylor, farmer and merchant of Autauga county, Ala.; Jessie, wife of D. F. Golson farme and merchant of Autauga county, Ala.; Whitford L., who reached maturity but is now deceased. The others died in infancy. The father of this family was a farmer until ten years ago, when he engaged in merchandising at Milton, Autauga county, where he now resides. He is a democrat and a member of the Baptist church. The mother was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, and died in 1891. Alonzo W. Bates, previous to being elected sheriff of Bibb county, in 1888, was engaged in farming. December 23, 1875, he was married to Martha James, a native of Bibb county, born in 1852, and a daughter of Daniel M. and Sarah (Parker) James, both natives of Tennessee. They came to Alabama in pioneer days and settled near Harrisburg, in Bibb county, where Mr. James is now engaged in farming and merchandising. Mr. Bates and wife are the parents of seven children, three sons and four daughters, four of whom are living, viz.: Oscar E.; Leonidas; Ruby B.; Dixie; those who died were James T., Ola M., and an infant. Mr. Bates is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Friendship lodge, No. 83, and he and wife are members of the Baptist church. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 478-479]

CONWELL, Stanmore, Biography

STANMORE CONWELL appears in Centreville, Alabama,in the 1860 U.S.Census as having been born in South Carolina, and being aged 50, when his wife Mary was aged 48. His Christian name is spelled variously "Stansmore," "Standmore," and "Stanhope." The surname is variously "Conwill." Stanmore Conwell's great- grandson, "JC" John Conwell Williamson (1912-2001) of Midland, Texas, thought the surname derived from Conwill, a town in Wales.

"Stanhope Conwill" is mentioned in a piece by Jones, "Reconstruction in Bibb [County, Alabama]" at p. 68. In a terrible incident in March 1869, it is said, one of Stanhope Conwill's freed slaves was lynched during Reconstruction, accused of having attacked and robbed a white woman in Sandy. Historian Rhoda Coleman Ellison, in her fine work "Bibb County, Alabama: The First Hundred Years, 1818-1918," at p. 149, writes that the white vigilantees rationalized thus their misdeeds taken under the penumbra of the Klan: Although Stanhope Conwill owned land in Bibb County, he was more of a "Negro raiser" than planter, and therefore his slaves, by then manumitted, were less well-behaved than most.

Whatever the father Stanmore Conwell thought of slavery, his son John Cicero Conwell, long after the Civil War in which he, John Conwell, had participated so tenaciously, expressed the belief that it was a good thing for the South in the long run that the North had won the war, although he had enjoyed killing Yankees, and that it was wrong for one human being to purport to own another. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 479]

CONWELL, John Cicero, Biography

JOHN CICERO CONWELL, Stanmore Conwell's son, "Paw Conny" fought in Civil War battles in the eastern theater almost too numerous to list. He enlisted at the Centreville Courthouse, where the men are said to have stood on the lawn while their women hovered under the porch, and he stayed throughout the war with Law's Alabamians (the 44th Alabama regiment). The Ala. 44th, and we think John Conwell, fought at Manassas, Va., Aug. 30, 1862; at Sharpsburg, Maryland, the 17th of Sep. 1862; at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 2-3, 1863; at Chickamauga, Georgia, the 19-20th of Sep. 1863; at Wilderness, Virginia, on May 6, 1864; and Spotsylvania, Virginia, on the 8th & 10th & 12th of May 1864; at Mechanicsville Road, Virginia, the 1st of June 1864; at Cold Harbor, Virginia, the 3rd of June 1864; at Petersburg, Virginia, June 18th-July 25, 1864; and, finally, at the surrender of the Grays at the Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on the 9th of April 1865.

John Conwell is sometimes listed on the rolls as "sick," but he certainly fought at Gettysburg, and he stacked arms at the end of the carnage at the Appomattox Courthouse. Family tradition is that Paw Conny said he had double- loaded his gun which had to be surrendered with Rebel guns en masse at Appomattox, hoping to kill just one more Yankee. He certainly lost an index finger in the war: One family version has it that a supervisory Yankee soldier saw Paw Conny about to make a move at Appomattox and shot at his hand, but the more accepted family version is that Paw Conny's personal munitions somehow retrofired to sever a finger.-- To get southwardly after Gettysburg, he managed to hop on intermittent train cars.-- When John C. Conwell's young grandson, JC Williamson, asked him if he had enjoyed anything at all about the Civil War, John Conwell responded, "Well, yes, at Cold Harbor I had a lot of fun. We got ourselves into a nest of Yankees and were shooting them like rabbits one after the other." --Family history has it that John Conwell carried with him to war a slave, who was killed, and a brother 4 years older named Daniel Conwell (aged 23 in 1861)who lost his life in the war. It is not known whether the brother named Jiles or Giles Conwell, aged 22 in 1861, died in the Civil War.

The Trek to Texas:

Upon return to Bibb County, Alabama, after the Civil War, in 1866 John Conwell married Josephine Albina McCrimmon (Conwell). Her father, Cornelius Dowd McCrimmon (who married Elizabeth Lawhon) was a son of DANIEL McCRIMMON, a prominent landowner who had amassed over 400 acres of land in Bibb County. Josephine McCrimmon (Conwell) called her husband "Johnny" and he called her "Josie." In old age she complained of his long white beard, "Johnny, you smell." And he retorted, "Josie, you have a nose like an old hound dog."

In 1866 he soon perceived there was little left for him in Randolph, Bibb County, and made plans to head westward. The wife Josie refused to leave Alabama until the very day of departure, but that fateful morning conceded, "Where will I ride?" and got in the wagon. They went to East Texas. They wandered up to Oklahoma where one of their sons, Augustine or Augustus "Augie" Conwell, practised medicine before removing himself (Augie Conwell) finally to Regina, New Mexico. Son Augie Conwell was a frontier doctor and, sadly, a binge drinker who had tired of being paid mostly with barter, with chickens and eggs. Though JC Williamson's "Uncle Augie" tried to retire, wherever he went the frontierspeople insisted he serve them medically. We think at one point Augie Conwell took an Indian common-law wife, then left her when he married a white woman; but most of what we know of Augie Conwell is strictly anecdotal.

John Cicero & Josephine McCrimmon Conwell had wandered up to Oklahoma and when they got itchy feet again, one daughter aged 15, Ruby Rae Conwell, wanted to remain there with her girlfriends and so is said to have married ERVIN WILLIAMSON. Ruby Conwell Williamson's brothers were horrified at her lowering her station in life in Oklahoma, but Paw Conny said, "Leave her alone. She has made her bed and she will have to lie in it." And Paw and Maw Conny moved on again. At one time around the dawn of the 20th century, John & Josephine Conwell spent about a year near the border of Mexico. Some of the people with whom they traveled and camped bribed the border guards to go on southward, but Paw Conny refused to pay bribes to get into Mexico and eventually moved northward.

John & Josephine Conwell settled finally in the village of Thomaston, Texas, where one of their sons was the postmaster at what was called DD McManis' or DD McManus' store. They are buried with sons Howard Conwell and Ernest Conwell at Thomaston, which is near Cuero, which itself is near Victoria, Texas. The temperature is usually warm in Thomaston, Texas, just as it is in Bibb County, Alabama.

The descendants of John Cicero Conwell are left to wonder how such a man could have traveled and fought so far under such primitive conditions as reigned in the 19th century. Indeed, the Civil War seems to have taken the mercantile wind from his sails in that he farmed a bit and did a bit of carpentry, but never quite lived up to the economic promise enjoyed by his father Stanmore in Bibb County and at least one of his grandsons, "JC" JOHN CONWELL WILLIAMSON (1912-2001), an oil and gas wildcatter born in Purdy, Oklahoma, to the Ervin Williamson who had acquired teenaged wife Ruby Rae Conwell because she had wanted to remain in Oklahoma with her young girlfriends. Grandson JC Williamson settled in Midland, Texas, after getting a B.S. in gelogy at Texas Tech University in Lubbock and working toward a doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley, and probably found more oil in West Texas and Eastern New Mexican than any other 20th-century geologist. When James Michener was researching the oilfields to write his book "TEXAS," he came to talk to "JC" JOHN CONWELL WILLIAMSON. -- Written with loving memories of "Pop," ("JC") John Conwell Williamson, 1912-2001, and Pop's wonderful stories about his Paw Conny, John Cicero Conwell of Bibb County, Alabama, not the least of which was young JC's getting his Paw Conny to sing "Tell Mother from the baggage train I'll not be coming home from the War" so that the Conwell women would cry.

COOPER, Jesse D., Biography

JESSE D. COOPER, an enterprising and successful farmer and stock dealer of Bibb county, Ala., is a native of Butler county, Penn., and was born March 1, 1832. He is a son of Thomas and Phoebe (Dean) Cooper, both natives of Pennsylvania. Thomas Cooper was a farmer and stock dealer, and held several township offices. Both himself and wife died in Butler county, Penn., he in 1877, at the ripe age of ninety-two years, and she in 1884 at the age of eighty-five years. Thomas Cooper was for many years an elder in the Presbyterian church and his wife was a member of the Baptist church. Jesse D. Cooper was reared on a farm and emigrated to Alabama in early life. He attended school at New Market academy, in Madison county, Ala., and then entered Bucknell college, Lewisburg, Penn., in 1854, and graduated in 1858, when he returned to Alabama, taking charge of the school at Moulton, Lawrence county, for one year as principal. He then removed to Chapel Hill, Tenn., and accepted the principalship of the schools, remaining from 1859 to April, 1861, when he closed his school and enlisted in the Confederate service, in company F, Seventeenth Tennessee infantry, under Captain R. P. Hunter. In 1862 he was promoted to captain of his company, serving as such until the close of the war. He then returned to Chapel Hill and again entered the school he had taught before the war, remaining there this time until 1869. July 12, 1868, he married Rhoda J. Howard, a native of Bibb county, Ala., who was born in 1850 on the farm upon which they now reside. She is a daughter of George W. Howard, formerly a wealthy agriculturist, but now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have had born to them nine children, five sons and four daughters, six of whom are living, viz.: Minnie S., wife of Dr. William J. Nicholson, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work; Bessie; Howard; Eva L.; Robert F.; and Walter B. - the others, John, Jessie and David, having died. After the death of George W. Howard, Jesse D. Cooper moved onto the plantation, which is located near Centreville, at which place he has been employed as principal of the schools for the past six years. In 1878 and 1879 he represented Bibb county in the legislature. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Friendship lodge. No. 83, and is secretary of the lodge. He is extensively engaged in agriculture, owning sixteen hundred acres of fine land in Bibb county. The old homestead or family seat where he resides is one of the most beautiful and picturesque in the county. Everything betokens luxury, elegance and refinement. Mr. Cooper is one of the most highly respected citizens of the county, not only for his professional attainments, but also for his general worth as a man of character. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 479-480]

CRAWFORD, Mrs. Sarah H., Biography

MRS. SARAH H. CRAWFORD, widow of Dr. James W. Crawford, was born in Livingston county, Ky., October 4, 1844. She is a daughter of Robert and Malinda Huey, who were the parents of eight children, two only of whom are living, viz.: Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Stewart of Texas, and Sarah H., the subject of this sketch. Her parents both died in Kentucky when she was a small girl, and hence she recollects but little of them. Dr. James H. Crawford, whom Miss Sarah H. Huey married, was born in Bibb county, Ala., February 15, 1822. He received a common commercial education at Centreville. He was a son of Thomas Crawford, was born April 29, 1784, and Mary (Davidson) Crawford, who was born January 8, 1789. They were the parents of a large family of children. She died October 4, 1831. He was a linen-weaver by trade and died September 4, 1844. On January 8, 1856, Dr. James H. Crawford married Mrs. Rebecca (Huey) Duff, by whom he had two children, both of whom are dead. His wife died April 4, 1862, and he was then married in 1863 to Sarah Huey, a sister of his first wife. To this marriage there were born seven children, two sons and five daughters, viz.: Thomas, deceased; Marrillo; Edgar; Estella; Bryce, deceased; Dallum, and Maud. Dr. Crawford died April 11, 1883. Both he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church. He was a true Christian and a faithful worker for the church. He was a prominent physician and was highly esteemed in every place or position which he was called upon to fill; when he died all were forcibly impressed with the thought that "Death loves a shining mark." Dr. Crawford was a man whose endowments of mind and heart impressed all so fortunate as to form his acquaintance. During his last illness he was a victim of a painful affliction and extreme suffering, which he bore with characteristic fortitude. To his friends his loss was mitigated in some degree by there flection that he had passed his allotted three score years and ten and that he had passed down to his grave as a shock of corn in its season. He was a man of large and varied information and was endowed by nature with superior powers of mind, which he by persistent application, by reading, observation and reflection had greatly improved. He was animated with a strong love of country and by a patriotic devotion to all the great interests of the people. Always commanding the confidence and esteem of his countrymen, he was called at various times to assume the responsibilities which it was known he would conscientiously discharge. He served in the legislature of his state, in councils and conventions for the promotion of medical science, agriculture and education. He always challenged attention and respect for his practical wisdom and native common sense. His entire life as a resident of this county, his name and reputation, have contributed to elevate the general tone and character of society. He was the friend of every movement to advance education, promote refinement, build up the church and the Sabbath school and to inculcate peace, good-will and good morals among the people. For forty years he was an active and trusted leader in all these various laudable undertakings. In all private and social relations he was all that friendship could admire or affection approve. He was an unaffected christian gentleman, affable, kind and considerate to all. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 480-481]

DAVIDSON, James L., Biography

JAMES L. DAVIDSON, a leading merchant of Centreville, is a native of Alabama, born in Centreville, Bibb county, Ala., February 14, 1837. He is a son of Samuel W. and Frances (Stringfellow) Davidson-the father a native of North Corolina and the mother a native of South Carolina. The father was born in 1791. He was a son of John and Margaret (Wilson) Davidson, the former a native of North Carolina, a merchant, and a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Margaret (Wilson) Davidson was born in 1761 and reared a family of three children : Mary, John H. and Samuel W. She died in North Carolina, and her husband in Bibb county, Ala. Samuel W. Davidson was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools of his day. He was the father of nine children: Samuel W., a resident of Bibb county and an extensive planter; James L.; Mary F., widow of Edward H. Moren; Caroline V., wife of Dr. A. S. Murphy, of Eutaw, Ala.; William; Margaret; John S.; Thomas A., and Catherine J., are all five deceased. Samuel W. came to Alabama from North Carolina in 1819, and located in what is now Bibb county, near Pratt's Ferry. In the early part of his life he was a farmer and merchant; later, however, he followed farming exclusively, owning a large tract of land. He represented Bibb county in the legislature of 1840, and also filled various township offices. He died March 4, 1863, an elder of the Presbyterian church. Through the united efforts of Mr. Davidson and a few individual citizens, the Presbyterian church of Centreville was built in 1859. His wife died October 30, 1848, also a member of the Presbyterian church. James L. Davidson was reared in the town of Centreville, was educated at Somerville and Tuscaloosa colleges, was married January 27, 1864, to Miss Fanny Barclay, a native of Alabama. She was the daughter of Hugh Barclay. No children were born to their union, and she died May 30, 1865, a member of the Baptist church. In 1861, Mr. Davidson organized the first infantry company that was organized in Bibb county, and was its captain. He went to Virginia with his company, serving as captain until 1862, when he was detached and served as lieutenant-colonel until the close of the war. He was in the battles of Seven Pines, Chickamauga and a number of skirmishes. At the close of the war he located at Mobile, and embarked in the grocery business; remained one year, then returned to Centreville, forming a partnership with Robert Mcllvain, in the mercantile business. Shortly after he bought his partner's interest and has operated a successful business up to the present date. November 17, 1867, he was married to Miss Susan A. Rowell, a native of Wilcox county, Ala., born in 1844. She is a daughter of James and Ann (Suell) Rowell. To Mr. and Mrs. Davidson have been born seven children, viz.: Margaret, Anna, Fannie, Ella, Dora, James and Ida, all now deceased. Mr. Davidson is an active politician and has served as chairman of the democratic county committee; in 1882 he was appointed postmaster of Centreville, and holds the office at the present time. In connection with his brother, S. W. Davidson, he owns a part of the old homestead on the Cahawba river, which comprises 2,000 acres of fine bottom land, in a high state of cultivation, and is located two miles south of Centerville. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian church, in which he is clerk and one of the ruling elders. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 481-482]

DOUTHIT, William H., Biography

WILLIAM H. DOUTHIT, a merchant of Blocton, Ala., was born in Tuscaloosa county, Ala., March 29, 1845. He is a son of Hubbard and Mary E. (McGhee) Douthit, both of whom were natives of North Carolina. The father of Mrs. Douthit, William McGee, was of Scotch-Irish extraction, was born in Virginia, was largely interested in gold mines in Virginia, North Carolina and Alabama, and early moved to Jacksonville, Ala., where both himself and wife lived the rest of their lives. The father of our subject was reared in the town of Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he studied and afterwards practiced law. He was the father of eight children, two sons and six daughters, three only of whom are living, viz: William H., Sarah E., and Charles F., a liveryman at Birmingham, Ala. Sarah E., is the wife of Capt. J. P. Bartee, a steamboat captain. The other children died in infancy. Their father died in Mobile in 1870, and their mother in 1878.. Both were members of the Episcopal church. W. H. Douthit was raised in Tuscaloosa, where he attended school. At the youthful age of fifteen years he enlisted in company K, Twentieth Alabama infantry, under Captain Joseph C. Guild, serving from 1861 to the close of the war. He participated in several of the severest battles of the war, among them the siege of Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, the campaign of Atlanta, the battle of Kingston, N. C., in which he received what was in reality only a slight wound in the left breast, but which was considered by him a very close call. At the close of the war he returned home and was appointed city marshal of Tuscaloosa, Ala. Afterward he learned the printers' trade and followed it eighteen years. In 1883 he removed to Blocton, Ala., where he engaged in the bakery and hotel business, continuing in the same business for eight years. He then sold out and established a general store, which he is now conducting. He was married in 1879 to Mary Striplan, who was born in Mississippi in 1863, by whom he has had three children, viz : Willie and Maud, living, and an infant which died quite young. Mrs. Douthit is a member of the Episcopal church and Mr. Douthit is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Order of Red Men. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 482-483]

FRAZIER, David J., Biography

DAVID J. FRAZIER, a liveryman of Blocton, was born in Bibb county, Ala., December 3, 1850. He is a son of Samuel and Martha J. (Wood) Frazier and a grandson of Samuel Frazier, who was born in North Carolina, who was a farmer and a stock dealer, and who died in his native state. Samuel Frazier was born in Randolph county, N. C., in 1814, and his mother was a native of Bibb county, Ala., born in 1820. They were married in 1842, and had eight children, five sons and three daughters, four of whom are living, viz: Lafayette W., David J., Mattie, wife of Jesse Ford, and Fannie, unmarried. Those who have died were named William H., Mary E., Samuel J., and Charles. The father of these children was brought up on a farm and followed farming for a living, and also ran a stage between Randolph and Tuscaloosa for several years. He was a prominent democratic politician and died July 9, 1892. His widow resides near Centreville at the advanced age of seventy years, and is a member of the Centreville Baptist church. David J. Frazier was reared on his father's farm and educated at Centreville academy. In 1879 he married Mary C. Kirsh, who was born in Bibb county, Ala., August 11, 1848. She is a daughter of Martin and Lucinda H. (Cleveland) Kirsh, both of whom are natives of Alabama, and the parents of eight children, four of whom are living, viz : J. N. C.; Martha A., wife of J. D. Kirsh; Mary C. (Mrs. Frazier); and David L. The names of those who have died were: O. C. C., W. L. F., Pardee, and Martin C. For a number of years Mr. Kirsh was a merchant at Centreville. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church south, and died in 1852. Mrs. Kirsh was a member of the Baptist church and died in 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Frazier are the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, four of whom are living, viz: Lloyd, Clifford, Clyde, and Anna. The names of those who have died were Ella R. and Lillian. Mr. Frazier was engaged in mercantile business at Centreville for ten years, and in 1892 he started a livery stable at Blocton, where he is now in business, his family residing in Centreville. He and wife are members of the Baptist church. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 483]

GARDNER, Hon. John S., Biography

HON. JOHN S. GARDNER, probate judge of Bibb county, and resident of Centreville, was born in Bibb county, August 20, 1840. He is a son, of Jackson and Margaret (Bolling) Gardner, and a grandson of John Gardner, who was a native of North Carolina and who emigrated to Alabama at an early day and afterward spent his life in farming. The father of John S. Gardner was also a farmer. He was born in Clarke county, Ala., in 1818, his wife being born in 1822. They were married in 1837, and became the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters, viz.: Sarah J., widow of Dewitt C. Logan, now residing at Centreville; John S.; Mattie E., widow of James W. Owen, now a resident of Centreville; Millard F., a resident of Centreville; Beulah B., widow of S. S. Jones, a resident of Centreville; Stonewall J., a resident of South Carolina, and Mary A., Willey P., Mulcay, James P., Parolee, and an infant, all deceased. He came to Alabama early in life, engaged for a while in farming, and in 1853, he was elected sheriff of Bibb county, serving three years. In 1856 he was elected probate judge of the county and served twenty years. In politics he was a whig and in his day was one of the most influential men of the county. Afterward he became a democrat. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and died September 26, 1876, his wife dying in 1889. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. John S. Gardner was educated at Randolph and Centreville, receiving a business education. He was married June 21, 1861, to Miss Rebecca T. Carson, born in Centreville, in 1837, and a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Carson. By this marriage he has three children, viz: Mary V., wife of L. D. Logan; Lena B., wife of E. M Jones, and Margaret R, deceased. The mother of these children was a member of the Presbyterian church, and died in February, 1872. He was then married to Edna L. Parker, a native of Bibb county, born in 1838, by whom he has had three children, only one of whom survives, Robert J., the others dying in infancy. John S. Gardner, in 1861, enlisted in the army as an orderly sergeant in company F, Eleventh Alabama infantry. He was successively promoted to third lieutenant, second lieutenant, and first lieutenant, serving until June, 1862, when he had an attack of pneumonia, was discharged and went home. After remaining at home three months, he volunteered in company H, Forty-fourth Alabama infantry, as first lieutenant, in which he served until November, 1864, when he was nominated for and elected sheriff of Bibb county, which position he returned home to fill, and in this office he served three years. In 1867, he was elected to the office of circuit court clerk and served until 1870. He was then elected again to the same office and served until 1872. In 1873 he was appointed register in chancery, which position he held until 1878, when, on account of illness in his family, he retired to a farm and was engaged in farming until August, 1880, when he was elected to the office of probate judge of the county. He was re-elected in 1886, and held the office until 1892. In these various offices he has served the public with credit to himself and satisfaction to the community. He is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias, and is an elder in the Presbyterian church, while his wife is a member of the Baptist church. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 483-484]

THE HOWISON FAMILY, Biography

THE HOWISON FAMILY.-In these days when so much that is old and venerable is melting away before the destroying touch of radical philosophy, and when all the tendencies of the times are to teach children that they are better than their ancestors, it may be well, occasionally, to recall the past and to unearth an old family record, which will remind us that our generation is not the first that has lived on the earth. In the elaborate compilation of John Burke, entitled, "Commoners of Great Britain," we find some interesting memorials of the Virginia family mentioned above. We believe this is the only family of the name in the United States and that it can be traced back to the old Scottish parentage from whom they descended. Mr. Burke's works, known as the "History of the Peerage," and "Baronetage of the extinct and dormant Peerage," and "Commoners of Great Britain," have long been regarded as very high authority - in fact as perfectly reliable sources of information on the subjects he presents. In his second volume, from page 231 to 236, he traces the times of the Howison and Crawford families - which were united by the marriage of Elizabeth Crawford with John Howison of Brackhead, in Midlothian, on the 3d of June, 1744. Elizabeth was lineally descended from Sir Reginald De Crawford, the ancestor of Sir William Wallace of the Howisons. Mr. Burke says; "The families of all those that have lived with repute in the district of Cromind, in Midlothian, is by far the most ancient, having continued there for more than three centuries and a half. The first mentioned by name of John Howison, a burgess of Edinburgh, born in 1450, nearly half a century before the discovery of America by Columbus. A well sustained tradition informs us that the family were from early times devoted to agriculture and that some of its members once saved the life of a Scottish king. When, in 1424, King James the first of Scotland returned from his long captivity in England, he spent his brief reign with great energy in subduing to order the turbulence of his nobles and commoners, who were in constant feuds. On one occasion he was attacked by assassins and would have been slain but for the sturdy courage of the Howisons, who advanced from a neighboring field with their flails and effectually aided the king's guards in his defense. After the affray the king accompanied them to their home and one of them presented to him a basin and napkin for his hands. In honor of their courage and simple hospitality his majesty granted specal privileges to the family - the memory of which was perpetuated in their coat of arms and in a singular ceremony which has been repeated in modern times, and which we will presently notice. After the intermarriage of Elizabeth Crawford and John Howison the heraldic symbols of the two famlies were united in one coat of arms - which Burke thus describes: Crawford crest - A marble pillar surmounting Mamores' heart. Howison crest-A right hand erect, coupled at the wrist by left hand, supports two husbandmen in the dress of the fourteenth century, one holding a flail, the other, a basin and napkin. Mottoes: Crawford "Stant innexa." Def.: "Supported by God, they stand." Howison- "Sursum corda." Def.: "Hearts upright." On the 4th of August, 1822, King George the fourth of Enlgand attended a banquet in the' city of Edinburg and repeated the ceremonial honors granted to the Howison family by the chivalrous James, 400 years previously. The scene in this instance is thus described by Burke, page 235. Soon as the king had dined, a silver basin, containing rose water, was brought to his majesty by William Howison Crawford of Brackhead, who, in right of his mother, as proprietress of Brackhead in the county of Midlothian, claims the privilege, the service performed being the ancient tenure by which the estate of Brackhead is held. He was attended by Masters Charles and Walter Scott (the one a son and the other a nephew of Sir Walter Scott, baronet), as pages attired in splendid dresses of scarlet and white satin-the former holding a silver ewer and the other a salver, with a damask napkin of Scottish manufacture and of the finest texture. Mr. Howison Crawford knelt down to his majesty, who, after he had dipped his fingers in the water and wiped them with the napkin, acknowledged the service with affability and grace. Members of this family occasionally visited America, and one of them, upon his return, published a book which was very popular in its day. His description of Niagara Falls-although somewhat inflated in style-is so full of pictorial power, that it has been inserted in many books of descriptive scenes intended for children. As far as is known, only one branch of the family ever settled in the United States. They bought land in Prince William county, Va., where many of their descendants still live. Of these, Allen Howison of Effingham, is best known. From the Prince William branch, the Fredericksburg family is descended. Samuel Howison, from Prince William county, settled in Fredericksburg as a merchant, and in 1801, married Helen Moore, daughter of an English merchant who had conducted business in Falmouth for many years. To that marriage eleven children were born, and they or their descendants are now widely known in our country. One son, Neil Howison, was a United States naval officer, whose art and delightful conversational powers made him a general favorite. He rose to a command in the Pacific, but died in 1848, comparatively young. Another son, John Howison, inherited the ancestral fondness for agriculture. His farm near Fredericksburg was beautiful and productive before the war, but during the terrible struggle between the Confederate armies under Gen. Lee and the Federals under Gens. Burnside, Hooker and Grant, it was nearly the center of the strip and was, of course, greatly devastated. Since the war it has begun to flourish again, and, we believe the old Scottish name "Brackhead" has been continued in the family seat. Another son is Robert R. Howison, a member of the Richmond bar. He has been laborious and successful as a lawyer and his contributions to history have made him generally known. The oldest son was William, who died in 1849. He was a lawyer of brilliant talents and his mind was richly stored with the spoils of time which he gathered by his wide range of reading. Another son is James R. Howison, a resident of Annapolis, who was long secretary of the Naval academy there, and now holds a judicial position in the city government. The two youngest sons are Samuel and Edward, both of whom sought their fortunes in California. Samuel, after meeting with considerable success, returned to Virginia. Edward has continued to stay in California, and is now the chief clerk in the comptroller's office there. The daughters of the family are : Ann, wife of Commodore Darwin of the United States navy; Helen, who married Commander Thorburn of the navy, and who died in 1865; Jane, the wife of the late William C. Beale, an upright and enterprising merchant of Fredericksburg, and Marion, the wife of Prof. Richard Sterling of Greensboro, N. C. Allen P. Howison, of Randolph, Bibb county, Ala., is a native of Prince William county, Va., born July 10, 1848, a son of James and Amanda M. (Farrow) Howison-she a daughter of Benjamin and Amanda Farrow and a granddaughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth Farrow. James Howison was the father of five children, viz.: James B., a farmer and stock raiser and ex-president of Gallatin bank, Sumner county, Tenn.; Emma, wife of J. N. Keyser of Dallas county, Ala., a planter; Allen P., alluded to above; Lizzie, unmarried, and Lucy, deceased. James Howison was a planter of princely wealth and both he and wife died in Prince William county, Va. Allen P. Howison was reared upon a farm until fourteen years of age. He received a business education, and in 1862, was attached to a corps of scouts in the Confederate army; he was captured a short time afterward in citizen's clothes, and was held as a citizen, with charges preferred against him as a spy. He was in close connfiement for nine months at the old Capitol or Carroll prison, but the charges were not sustained and he was sent as a prisoner of war to Point Lookout on Chesapeake bay and Potomac river. Md., with "not for exchange" written across his name, to remain there for the balance of the war. He remained there fourteen months and eighteen days, making an imprisonment of twenty-three months and eighteen days. While there he was made a sergeant and, in command of a company of Confederate prisoners of whom one died suddenly; he changed names with the dead prisoner as W. W. Wilson of the Seventh North Carolina regiment and thus secured his exchange. He then returned to his father's home in Prince William county, Va., where he remained a short time, thence moved to Albemarle county, Va., and engaged in farming and stock raising with an aunt, Mrs. George A. Farrow, remaining some three years. He then went to work on a construction train on a railroad until 1873, when he got into a difficulty with an ex-Federal officer in a discussion upon the late war, and left there under an assumed name-going to Texas, and from thence to California, where he remained about a year, returning again to Texas and engaging in stock raising on the Rio Grande. In 1876, he removed to Bibb county, Ala., where he engaged extensively in saw milling, and lumbering. His business assumed large proportions; he invested in land, speculating largely, and today is recognized as the "Land King of Alabama," owning some 45,000 acres, with numerous saw-mills, cotton-gins, a mercantile business, livery stable and hotel at Randolph. Since locating there he has been closely connected with the interests of Bibb county, and has been tendered, but refused to accept, any political offices, with the exception of acting as one of the board of state democratic executive committee, which office he now holds. Mr. Howison seems to have inherited the Howison family traits, courage to do right, quickness of intellect and apprehension and a reverential regard for divine guidance and protection, which have been their characteristics for four centuries. There are but few families whose mental and moral traits have been more uniform and - more true to a worthy ancestry than this of the sturdy Howisons. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 484-488]

KENNEDY, Mrs. Ann Eliza (McNeill), Biography

MRS. ANN ELIZA (MCNEILL) KENNEDY (widow of the late Josiah S. Kennedy), of Centreville, Ala., was born in North Carolina, September 30, 1812. She is a daughter of Archibald and Mary (Waddell) McNeill, natives of North Carolina and of Scotch extraction. Her paternal grandparents were Daniel and Sarah McNeill, natives of Scotland. Daniel McNeill in an early day emigrated to North Carolina, where he spent the remainder of his life in farming. Her maternal grandparents were Edward and Lucy (Birdsong) Waddell, who were natives of Virginia and emigrated to North Carolina and engaged in farming. Archibald McNeill, the father of Mrs. Ann Eliza Kennedy, was a farmer and merchant. In early life he taught school; later, he filled several county offices in Moore county, N. C., and was also a representative in congress from the same county for two terms. He was the father of twelve, children, ten of whom lived to man and womanhood, viz: Thomas, Sarah, Lydia, Lucy, Mary, Ann Eliza, Margaret, John, Daniel, and William W. These have all died since reaching maturity, excepting Ann Eliza and William W., the latter a resident of Stephensville, Texas. Archibald McNeill was identified with the whig party, was an active politician, and. filled various places of public trust. He died in 1838; his wife in 1843, both members of the Baptist church. Ann Eliza was married to her late husband, June 6, 1833. He was a native of Moore county, N. C., born March 29, 1807, a son of Alexander Kennedy. His paternal grandfather was a native of Scotland (of Irish descent), and a pioneer emigrant to North Carolina, who, being shipwrecked on his voyage to America, was rescued, but lost his two brothers, who embarked with him and never knew whether or not they were saved. J. S. Kennedy's maternal grand-father was a Williamson, who was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and who died at the age of one hundred and thirteen years. Alexander Kennedy reared a large family of children, but one of whom is now living-Thomas S., a resident of Springdale, Texas. He was a gunsmith and carried on an extensive manufacturing establishment at Mechanic's Hill, N. C., and at his death was succeeded by Josiah S. Kennedy and two brothers, who conducted the business successfully for several years. J. S. Kennedy emigrated from North Carolina to west Tennessee, thence, coming to Bibb county, Ala., in 1837, to visit his brother Lewis, who was a practicing lawyer at Centreville, he decided to remain, and engaged in the grocery business and farming, and was also proprietor of a large blacksmith shop until 1865, when he formed a partnership with J. P. Taylor in the mercantile business. In 1868 he bought out this partner's interest and formed a partnership with his son, Edward Kennedy. This firm (J. S. & E. Kennedy) is one of the oldest in the state of Alabama, having carried on the business at the same old stand successfully and continuously until the present time-Mrs. Ann E. Kennedy now con-trolling the interest of her late husband in said firm. Josiah S. Kennedy was for many years postmaster and a member of the town council of Centreville. He was an old-line whig and opposed to secession, believing that the rights claimed should be contended for, at any cost, under the flag of the union; but when Alabama seceded he was true to his state, and sent four sons to battle for its cause. After the death of the whig party he was a stanch democrat, and while he never aspired to public office he was always devoted to his party principles. He was for many years proprietor of a hotel in the town of Centreville. He died June 25, 1891, in the eighty-fifth year of his age - a man sadly missed in his community, and his noble deeds of charity and hospitality will long be remembered in the hearts of his friends and fellow-citizens. He was a man full of energy and a co-worker in every good cause, both educational and religious. He and his wife were consistent members of the Baptist church. To Josiah S. Kennedy and wife were born eleven children, viz.: Louise E., a member of the Presbyterian church; William L., book-keeper and accountant, residing in Mobile, Ala.; he enlisted in an Alabama regiment of infantry from Mobile in 1862, and served until the close of the war. He was married, in 1869, to Miss Annie Lombard of Mobile. Archibald E. enlisted in company C, Fourth Alabama infantry, was severely wounded in the first battle of Manassas and disabled for further service; he is a merchant of Arcadia, La., and a leader in the church and school work of the town; he married Miss Ella Creary of Milton, Fla., in 1872. Margaret E., wife of James Lotspeich, a cotton broker of Corsicana, Texas. Josiah M., who enlisted in the late war in company F, Eleventh Alabama infantry, and was killed in the seven days' fight near Richmond in 1862. Edward (of J. S. & E. Kennedy), who enlisted in the latter part of 1863, in company I, Fifty-first Alabama, cavalry, under Gen. Morgan and served as special scout of Gen. Wheeler under Capt. Shannon of the Eighth Texas, until the close of the war in 1865; he was married in 1878 to Mary, daughter of Dr. James W. and Rebecca Crawford; his wife died in 1880. Lydia F., who died in childhood; Mary C., widow of J. N. Suttle, who was a prominent lawyer of Centreville and a leading politician; Annie E., a cultured and refined lady, who has for several years been teaching English and history in the high schools of Knoxville, Tenn.; David A., a wholesale grocery merchant of Selma; he married Leila, daughter of Dr. T. P. Gary of Selma, in 1882; John P., a prominent citizen of Centreville, Ala., who has held the office of register in chancery of Bibb county since 1886 to date. All of these sons are members and officers of the Presbyterian church (except William L., a member of the Methodist church). Three daughters are members of the Baptist church. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 488-490]

LOGAN, Stephen Douglas, Biography

STEPHEN DOUGLAS LOGAN, a noted lawyer of Centreville, Ala., is a native of the town, born May 29, 1859, and a son of John H. and Levinia (Moseley) Logan. His father was a native of Shelby county, N, C., born in 1802; his mother was a native of Edgefield district, S. C., born in 1818, and came, when a small child, to Alabama with her parents, who settled at Centreville. They were married there in 1838, and became the parents of twelve children, five sons and seven daughters, ten of whom are now living, viz.: William H., farmer and lawyer of Bibb county; Samuel H., farmer of Bibb county; Serene, widow of Sylvester Ambrose, now a resident of Montevallo, Shelby county, Ala., Nannie, widow of Columbus F. James, of Bibb county; Harriet E., wife of John E. Jones, farmer of Bibb county; Jown W., farmer of Bibb county; Thomas H., farmer of Bibb county; Fannie, wife of Stephen W. Price, farmer of Bibb county; Julia, wife of Matthew P. Wallace, farmer of Bibb county; Stephen D., Belle, deceased, and one that died in infancy unnamed. The father of these, John H. Logan, when quite young, emigrated with his parents to Tennessee, and when sixteen years of age he came with them to Alabama, locating at Centreville. Soon afterward he filled the position of captain on all the flat-boats that floated to Mobile from Centreville, on the Cahawba and Alabama rivers - then quite an enterprise, as thus all the products of the section found egress. He was thus employed in connection with farming for twenty-five years; he then turned his attention entirely to farming. He was an active politician of the whig party until after its dissolution, and then became a stanch democrat. He departed this life in 1877, a member of the Presbyterian church. His excellent wife still survives him and is living at Centreville. She has been a consistent member of the Presbyterian church for many years.

Stephen D. Logan was reared upon a farm near Centreville. He received the rudiments of his education at Centreville and at the Montevallo (Shelby county) high school, attending the latter in 1874-75-76; he then attended, Tuscaloosa (Ala.) university, where he graduated July 4, 1877. He began the study of law in 1875, and immediately after graduating was admitted to the bar at Centreville, where- he began the practice of law and has since continued with eminent success and distinction, ranking among the leading lawyers of western Alabama. Mr. Logan served four years as county superintendent of education. He owns the old family seat of 265 acres near Centreville, which he operates in connection with his law business. He was married November 1, 1885, to Mamie V. Gardner, daughter of John S. Gardner and Rebecca (Carson) Gardner, born in Centreville, November 4, 1865. Four children, three of whom are living, have been born to gladden their home, viz.: Gardner C., born August 10, 1886; Douglas C., born March 10, 1889; Edna L., born December 16, 1890, and died August 15, 1891, and Winnie Rebecca, born June 15, 1892. Mr. Logan is an enterprising, self-made man, takes an interest in all the public issues of the times, and he and wife are members of the Presbyterian church. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 490-491]

LOWRY, Joel B., Biography

JOEL B. LOWRY, circuit court clerk of Bibb county, was born in the county, March 6, 1834. He is a son of Joel and Abigail (Pratt) Lowry, and a grandson of Samuel and Hannah (Peffers) Lowry. Samuel Lowry emigrated from Ireland to Virginia and thence to Tennessee, where he lived until his death. His widow then emigrated from Tennessee to Bibb county, Ala., where she lived till her death. The father of Joel B. Lowry was born on a farm in Rhea county, Tenn., November 3, 1790, and his mother in 1800. They were married in Bledsoe county, Tenn., in 1818, and became the parents of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters. Six of these children are still living, viz.: Maria, widow of Thomas Jordan of Winn Parish,La. ; John, a farmer of Bibb county, Ala.; Adeline, widow of A. N. Hayes of Tuscaloosa county, Ala.; Rebecca C., wife of Henry T. Hale of Louisiana; William F., a farmer of Bibb county; and Joel B., the subject of this sketch; the names of those deceased being as follows: James H.; Leonard P.; Mary A.; Charles C.; Isaac N. and Mary A. Woods. The mother of these children died August 4, 1845. The father then married Mararet Lytton, by whom he had two children, Fannie C. and an infant, both deceased. The mother of these children died July 21, 1884, and the father June 8, 1891. He served in the war of 1812 as corporal of his company. Mr. Lowry and his first wife were members of the Baptist church. The subject of our sketch was reared on a farm and was educated at Sandy academy, Bibb county. On February 10, 1876, he married Miss Mary E. Thomas, a native of Perry county, Ala. She was a daughter of William and Sarah (Hawley) Thomas, and was born November 9, 1852. To this marriage there have been born six children, four sons and two daughters, as follows: Milford E.; William E.; Sarah A.; Clyde W.; Anna E. and Sydney C. Our subject started out in life as a school teacher, following this vocation until the breaking out of the Civil war. He enlisted in company B, Forty-fourth Alabama infantry, under Captain John A. Jones, as a private soldier. In a short time he was promoted to sergeant and served as such until 1864. He was appointed ambulance sergeant and served until 1865. He returned home at the end of the war, and resumed his profession. In 1871 he was elected tax assessor of Bibb county, serving three years, in which he was excelled by none, after which he managed a farm and taught school until 1890, when he was appointed clerk of the circuit court, which office he now holds. Politically he is a democrat. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church. At the age of twenty-one years he had no education, but educated himself, and has proved to be competent to fill every position that has been offered to him. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 491-492]

MAHAN, William H., Biography

WILLIAM H. MAHAN, a merchant and influential citizen of Randolph, was born in Bibb county, Ala., September 2, 1847. He is a son of Allen and Jane (McDaniel) Mahan, both natives of Edgefield, S. C., the former born in 1811, the latter, May 10, 1824. Allen Mahan was by trade a mechanic and brickmason during his life, and was identified with the whig party. He was the father of three children, William H. being the only one now living, Robert and Margaret having died. He died in 1850, and his widow married Thomas Smitherman, by whom she had five children, viz: Jesse, a farmer of Bibb county; Samuel, deceased; Lucy, wife of Joshua Milam, a farmer of Bibb county; Sarah, wife of James W. Carr, a farmer of Bibb county; and Murdoch, also a farmer of Bibb county. Thomas Smitherman died in 1872, and his widow now lives with William H. Mahan. He is a grandson of Bailey Mahan, who was of Irish origin, having emigrated from Ireland to South Carolina in an early day, and later on to Mississippi. His mother's parents were of Scotch descent. Mr. Mahan was brought upon a farm from childhood, receiving a common school education, and started out in life as a day laborer, at a small compensation, but by economy and tact he had, by 1869, accumulated money enough to start a small grocery store at Randolph. By good management and close attention to business, fair and honest dealing, he has built up an extensive trade, and carries a large variety of general merchandise. He also owns some 600 acres of fine farming lands in a high state of cultivation. In 1872 he was elected magistrate, which position he still holds. December 14, 1873, he married Miss Nancy Derrick, who was born in Lamar county, Texas, July 26, 1848. She is the daughter of Tobias and Hannah (Webb) Derrick, the latter of whom was born in Tennessee, November 4, 1826. Mr. and Mrs. Mahan are the parents of six children, viz.: John W.; Sarah; Martha; Allen D.; and Effie, living, and George M. deceased. Mr. Mahan is a democrat, and a Mason, and both he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 492]

MEADOW, Albert E., M. D., Biography

ALBERT E. MEADOW, M. D., a practicing physician of Blocton, was born in Humphreys county, Tenn., November 22, 1860. He is a son of Jacob E. and Susan (Crockett) Meadow, and is thus a lineal descendant of the renowned David Crockett. He is a grandson of William D. and Sarah (Harris) Meadow, both of whom were natives of Tennessee. William D. Meadow was an overseer of a large plantation owned by General Harding prior to the breaking out of the war. He now resides in Maury county, Tenn., aged seventy-three years. The father of Albert E., was a farmer and was born October 30, 1838. His mother was born August 26, 1838. They were married September 11, 1856, and had nine sons, seven of whom are living, viz.: William H., cashier of the Waverly Bank and Trust company, at Waverly, Tenn; Jesse H., a planter of Clinton, Ky.; Albert E.; James D., a well known physician of Sherman, Texas; John M., a physician and partner of Albert E.; Thomas R., tax assessor of Humphreys county, Tenn.; and Daniel G., assistant postmaster at Blocton. David Mc., and an infant are deceased. The father of our subject is now a resident of Houston county, Tenn., is a Mason and a member of the Presbyterian church. The mother died April 2, 1870, and was also a member of the Presbyterian church. The boyhood days of Albert E. Meadow were spent upon his father's farm, and during the time spent at home he received the rudiments of an English education. In 1879 he began the study of medicine under Dr. J. C. Bridges, and the fall of 1881 he entered the Homeopathic Medical college of Missouri at St. Louis; in 1882-83, he attended the Pulte Medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio. He then began the practice of medicine at Birmingham, Ala., associated with Dr. A. L. Monroe, continuing thus until 1885, when he removed to Blocton, and has since remained in practice there. He was married September 24, 1885, to Miss Emmie Andrews, born in Oxford, Miss., in 1868. She is a daughter of Dr. David Audrews and the only one surviving of a family of two children. She came with her parents to Alabama when a small child. Dr. Andrews died in 1868, Mrs. Andrews, surviving and living with her daughter. Dr. Meadow is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Enterprise lodge, No. 48. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity and is worshipful master of lodge No. 474. He is a member of Ridgely lodge, No. 88, I. O. O. F., and is representative to the grand lodge of the state. Mr. Meadow and wife are the members of the M. E. church, south. They are the parents of one son, who was born. September 22. 1887. Dr. Meadow and his brother, J. M. Meadow, are rising young physicians and have a large and yet steadily increasing practice. The latter attended Pulte Medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio, and formed a co-partnership with his brother in 1892. Both are excellent physicians as well as citizens, and enjoy the respect of all. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 494-495]

MOREN, Mrs. M. F., Biography

MRS. M. F. MOREN, widow of the late Dr. Edward Hawthore Moren, is a native of Alabama and a daughter of Samuel W. and Frances (Stringfellow) Davidson, mention of whom is made elsewhere in these volumes. Mrs. Moren was married July 5, 1860, but to their marriage no children were born. Dr. Moren was one of the best known and most influential men of Bibb county. He was born in Dindwiddie county, Va., in 1825. His father, a merchant and farmer by principal occupation, was several times a member of the senate of Virginia; his mother was a Miss Crawford, of Maryland. Dr. Moren graduated at a medical college in New York. He served as assisstant surgeon in the Mexican war, resigning in 1848. In 1851 he settled in Bibb county, and for ten years devoted himself to the practice of medicine. In 1861 he was chosen to represent Perry and Bibb counties in the upper house of the general assembly, serving with distinction until 1866. He was a member of the committees of finance and of taxation, and by his zeal, intelligence and activity, afforded valuable aid in devising a system of revenue at a time when the treasury of Alabama was exhaused and the public credit in imminent peril. He was charman of the joint committee on retrenchment, and in February, 1866, he made a scrutinizing report which may be seen on the Senate Journal, page 290. At the expiration of his legislative term, in 1866, he joined the Twenty-ninth Alabama regiment as surgeon, and subsequently had charge of a hospital at Greenville, Ala. In 1870 he was elected lieutenant-governor of the state, and presided over the deliberations of the senate with dignity and impartiality throughout his term. He was also a member of the board of regents of the Albany university. Dr. Moren died March 19, 1886, after having lived a life of usefulness, admired and beloved by all. The world was brighter and better for his having lived in it. He possessed the gift of a rare intellect-stored richly with the wisdom of philosophy, science and art, which he put to practical use. Since his death Mrs. Moren has continued to live on their plantation of 800 acres, adjoining the town of Centreville. This is one of the most magnificent country seats in that vicinity. Situated one-half mile south of Centreville, near the banks of the Cahawba river. The residence is one of the old southern type and from whose balconies and observatory one can command a broad expanse of wood, orchards and cotton fields. One of the pleasantest homes in the land is to be found here. Mrs. Moren, being a cultivated and highly intellectual woman, has a large circle of friends and acquaintances, to whom she takes pleasure in opening her spacious parlors. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 493-494]

NICHOLSON, William J., Biography

WILLIAM J. NICHOLSON, M. D., a practicing physician of Centreville, Bibb county, is a native of Tuscaloosa county, Ala., and was born March 18, 1860. He is a son of the distinguished Rev. Evan Nicholson, who was born in Tennessee, May 29, 1832. He was raised on a farm and educated at the common schools. At the age of nineteen he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, and is still engaged in this profession. He is now a resident of Birmingham. He was appointed chaplain of the penitentiary by the governor in 1886. He is an Odd Fellow, a Mason and a democrat. His wife was named Martha Winn, and was born November, 1832. They were married December 26, 1837, and became the parents of five children, viz.: Evan O., a dentist residing at Collinsville, De Kalb county, Ala.; William J., whose name appears above; Lulu, deceased; Mary A., wife of Marcus B. Long, a civil engineer of Chattanooga, Tenn.; Ella P., wife of F. W. Beall, railroad superintendent residing at Birmingham. The mother of these children died January 20, 1872, and on November 4, 1874, Mr. Nicholson married Agnes Murdock at Taylorsville, Tuscaloosa county, Ala. William J. Nicholson is a grandson of William R. Nicholson, who was a wealthy farmer and stock dealer of Tennessee. He grew to manhood on the farm in the town of Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he received his education. In 1882 he began the study of medicine under Dr. T. F. Robinson of Bessemer, Ala., and attended medical lectures at Vanderbilt university during the session of 1882-83, and 1883-84, graduating in the spring of 1884. He then began the practice of medicine at Centreville. Ala., where he has since resided and where he has built up a lucrative practice. On December 23, 1888, he married Miss Minnie S. Cooper, who was born April 14, 1869, and who is a daughter of Jesse D., and Rhoda (Howard) Cooper, a sketch of the former of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Dr. and Mrs. Nicholson are the parents of two children, Rosa, born January 9, 1890, and Cooper born April 11, 1892. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is senior deacon of Friendship lodge, No. 83. He was mayor of Centreville during 1891, and both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. Dr. Nicholson stands high both as a citizen and as a professional man, and is one of the rising young physician of Bibb county. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 494-495]

SCHOOLAR, Milton C., Biography

MILTON C SCHOOLAR, M. D., a practicing physician at Centreville, Bibb county, is a native of the town, and was born June 24, 1862. He is a son of William A. and Mary F. (Carson) Schoolar, and a grandson of Abner and Margaret (Kirk) Schoolar. The father is of French descent and the mother of Scotch extraction. The grandfather was a farmer and reared a family of eight children, three of whom are now living, viz: William A.; Garnett B., of Prentiss county, Miss., and Margaret, widow of Jesse Rix, of Bibb county, Ala. The grandfather died in Autauga county, Ala., and the grandmother in Mississippi. William A. Schoolar is a native of Virginia, and was born in 1819, Mrs. Mary F. Schoolar is a native of Shelby county, Ala., and was born in 1827. They were married in December, 1851, and to their union have been born seven children, six sons and one daughter, viz.: Charles W., a farmer of Bibb county,; Milton C.; Thornley E., a practicing physician of Sprott, Perry county; Robert E.; William F., and George L., the last three deceased. In the early part of life, William A. Schoolar learned the tailor trade, which he followed some fifteen years. He served a term as sheriff of Bibb county and also one term as tax collector. In 1873 he was elected county treasurer and served for fifteen years, since when he has turned his attention to farming. He has always been alive to public questions; has been a Mason for forty years. Mr. and Mrs. Schoolar are members of the Presbyterian church. Dr. Milton C. Schoolar was for the most part brought up on the farm, received his literary education at Centreville, and his professional education at the Medical college of Alabama, graduating in 1887. He then returned to Centreville and began the practice of his profession, which he has continued successfully ever since. He was married October 31, 1888, to Miss Mary E. Rencher, born in Clarke county, Miss., July 8, 1864. She is a daughter of Charles R. and Virginia (Coffman) Rencher, who now live at Enterprise, Clarke county, Miss. Her father is a dentist. Dr. Schoolar is a public spirited man, is a member of the town council and of the Masonic fraternity, in which he holds the office of senior warden. He and his estimable wife are members of the Presbyterian church, of which he is a deacon. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 495]

SMITHERMAN, Thomas J., Biography

THOMAS J. SMITHERMAN, a native of and a prominent attorney of Centreville, Bibb county, was born February 28, 1837. He is a son of Joseph and Sarah (Latham) Smitherman, the former of whom was a native of Randolph county, N. C., and the latter also of North Carolina. They were the parents of seven children, five sons and two daughters, of whom two are living: Mary, widow of I. M. Hicks, now a resident of Chilton county, Ala., and Thomas J.; the others having died. Joseph Smitherman was reared on a farm, and immigrated from North Carolina to Bibb county, Ala., where he lived until his death, in March, 1862. He was an upright and honorable citizen, and having served as township trustee for twenty years, he had a wide circle of friends. His wife died in 1815, and both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Thomas J. Smitherman was brought up on a farm until he was sixteen years of age. He attended school at Benson, Chilton county, Summerfield and Selma, preparing himself for his professional work. He took a collegiate course at the Lebanon law school, in Tennessee, graduating in 1860. Immediately afterward he located at Centreville, and began the practice of law. In 1861 he enlisted in company B., Eleventh Alabama infantry, under Capt. J. L. Davidson, and served as a private soldier until 1863, when he was discharged. In the latter part of 1863 he enlisted in company H, Capt. F. M. Goode, Alabama infantry, and served until 1864, when he was elected lieutenant of his company. He was appointed register in chancery of his county, came home and remained until 1865, when he was elected to the office of superintendent of education, which position he held until 1870. He was then elected to the legislature as representative from Bibb county. In 1876 he was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Judge of Probate J. Gardner, who had died. Since serving as probate judge he has given his entire attention to the law, and is the present county solicitor. He is a member of the city council, and has been administrator of the county for ten years. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He was married June 20, 1861, to Mary E. Howard, born in Bibb county, April 17, 1842, a daughter of George W. and Teresa (Coleman) Howard, the latter of whom died in 1855, and the former in 1867. Mr. Smitherman and his wife are the parents of nine children, five sons and four daughters, six of whom are now living, viz., Fannie M., Joseph F., Wiley J., Nellie, Thomas J., Jr., and Howard; those deceased having been named Coleman, Mary L. and Eva. Both Mr. and Mrs. Smitherman are members of the Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Smitherman is an elder. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 496]

SUTTLE, Julian L., Biography

JULIAN L. SUTTLE, an enterprising young merchant of Blocton, Bibb county, Ala., is a native of the town, and was born August 28, 1864. His parents, John W. and Mary A. (Goodwin) Suttle, were pioneers of the county, and became the parents of a large family of children, of whom the following six are still living: John C., Annie E., wife of Dr. Davis, of Montevallo, Ala.; E. L. and Mary E., unmarried and living with their mother; M. A., Margaret Henry and her son, Julius, also live with their mother, Mrs. M. A. Suttle, on the old farm. The father, John W. Suttle, was a farmer by vocation, and was a very popular citizen of the county. For many years he served as sheriff, and subsequently for eighteen years he was judge of probate. The latter office he finally resigned in order to be able to devote his, entire attention to agriculture, which he followed until his death. His son, J. C. Suttle, still conducts the farm, which is situated near Centreville. His widow is a consistent member of the Baptist church, worshiping in that town. J. L. Suttle was reared on the home plantation, and was educated at Selma. His first business experience was as a clerk for his uncle, John K. Goodwin, of Selma, in whose employment he remained from 1872 to 1884. While in this position he acquired a thorough business knowledge. From 1884 to 1888 he was engaged in business for himself as a merchant. In 1889 he formed a co-partnership at Blocton, Ala., with E. N. Chattingham, and this firm now deals in general merchandise and miners' supplies. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of the Odd Fellows, of the Red Men, and of the Knights and Ladies of Honor. He is unmarried, and one of the rising and promising young men of Bibb county. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 496-497]

WALLACE, Thaddeus C., Biography

THADDEUS C. WALLACE, of Blocton, is a native of Bibb county, Ala., and was born August 29, 1843. He is a son of Pulaski and Durana (Pratt) Wallace and a grandson of John Wallace, who was a native of Maryland, who emigrated thence to Davidson county, Tenn., in pioneer days, removed thence to Centreville, Ala., in 1818; here opened a store and also engaged in farming and teaching. He raised a large family of children and both he and wife died in Bibb county. The father of Thaddeus was born in Centreville in 1820. He received his first lessons in reading by the bright light of a pine knot, and was for the most part his own teacher. He became a politician of note, serving as justice of the peace some twenty years in beat No. 28. He is a plain, unassuming farmer and enjoys the respect and esteem of his fellow-men. He is a Mason and both he and wife have been members of the Presbyterian church for the past twenty-five years. He was married in 1842 to Durana Pratt, who was born in Bibb county, Ala., in 1823. By her he has had four sons and one daughter: Thaddeus C., Eugenia, wife of W. H. Logan, an attorney of River Bend; Julius M., Leonidas T. and Matthew P. The parents of these children now reside on the farm near Blocton, Ala. Thaddeus C. Wallace was reared on a farm and was educated principally at Six Mile academy in Beat No. 6. In 1861 he enlisted in company D, Twentieth Alabama infantry, under Captain R. H. Pratt, served as orderly sergeant about six months, when he was taken sick and returned home. A short time afterward he enlisted in company H, Twenty-fifth Alabama infantry, and served twelve months, but he was again taken sick and discharged. After a short time he again offered his services but was refused by the surgeon on account of his poor health, but being full of ambition to serve the Confederate cause, he persuaded the enrollment officers to receive him into the army, and he served until he was taken prisoner at the battle of Nashville, Tenn., and taken to Camp Douglas at Chicago, Ill., where he was kept six months, being among the last of a large number of Confederate soldiers to take the oath of allegiance to the government of the United States. From his blanket which he had in camp he made a coat to wear home, and still retains it. Upon reaching home he managed his father's farm on shares until June 8, 1867, when he married Margaret Lightsey, also a native of Bibb county, who was born February 19, 1845. She is a daughter of Jacob and Johanna (Snead) Lightsey, the former of whom was a native of Barnwell district, S. C., born in 1810, the latter being born in North Carolina in 1812. They were married in 1835 and became the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters, four of whom are living, viz.: Elmira, wife of D. L. Crews, a farmer of Bibb county; Margaret J., wife of Thaddeus Wallace; Isabel, unmarried, a school teacher living with Mr. T. Wallace; and Jacob. Those deceased were named Henley D., Daniel E., John D., Hazeltine, Wilson and Mary. Before the war the father of these children was a wealthy planter. He died in 1858 and his widow in 1861. They were both members of the Baptist church. Mr. Wallace and wife are the parents of ten children, three sons and seven daughters, as follows: William, born December 10, 1867; Hattie E., born November 30, 1869; Myrtle B., born January 21, 1872; Margaret L., April 17. 1874; Rosa D., born October 27, 1876; Alden M., born March 11, 1879; Mary N., born August 12, 1881; Johanna S. born February 24, 1884; Olivia L., born July 3, 1886, and Frank C., born November 9, 1889. These children are all living. Mr. Wallace has served as tax assessor two terms in Bibb county, and as justice of the peace four years at Blocton, during which time he disposed of over three thousand cases. He has taught school eight years at Blocton. In 1880 he assisted in taking the census of Bibb county. He and wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, he being clerk and secretary of same. He is recognized as one of the leading citizens of his community and holds the respect of all good citizens. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 497-498]

YEAGER, William W., Biography

WILLIAM W. YEAGER, merchant, of Centreville, was born in Bibb county, Ala., June 19, 1856. He is a son of Everett and Maria (Shuttersworth) Yeager, both natives of Bibb county, Ala. The former is a farmer and the parent of eleven children, eight of whom are living, as follows: William W., Mary J., wife of Columbus Steele, farmer, of Bibb county; James E., a school teacher; Perry, a farmer; Fannie, wife of Albert Steele, of Bibb county; Ezekiel, Hester and Winston. Those deceased were named Bettie, Mack and Bertie J. The mother of these children was a member of the Presbyterian church, and died in 1884. William W. Yeager was reared on a farm, and received a common school education. In 1886, he married Miss Melvina Ward, who was born in Tuscaloosa county, Ala., in March, 1857, and is a daughter of John and Adeline (Mayfield) Ward. Her father was a native of Georgia, and her mother, of Tuscaloosa county, Ala. Mr. Ward is a farmer, residing in Tuscaloosa county, Ala., and has served for a number of years as a justice of the peace. Mr. and Mrs. Yeager have had but one child, which died in infancy. He had always followed farming until December, 1891, when he moved to Centreville and went into the hotel and grocery business, which he is now conducting. He owns four hundred and forty acres of land, seven miles west of Centreville, which is in a high state of improvement. He is a whole-souled, genial, kind-hearted man, and self-made. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, while his wife is a Baptist. Both stand deservedly high in the estimation of their neighbors and friends. [Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 498-499]