History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 126

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 756

USA > Alabama > History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I > Part 126

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

653

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

siliferous. Near the Alabama River and east- ward through Wilcox County these clays be- come more calcareous, and form "prairies."

Next above the Sucarnochee clays is the Naheola formation, embracing 150 feet or more of gray sandy clays, with some beds of dark sandy glauconitic clay containing marine fossils near the base. To the east this forma- tion appears to die out and is not found exposed on the Chattahoocheever. These three formations constitute the Midway group.

The Chickasaw, or Wilcox, group is the most massive of these divisions, having a thickness of not less than 900 feet. It also presents a great variety in lithologic charac- ter and in fossil contents. The fossil bearing beds form the basis for the separation of this group into four formations, described below.

The Nanafalia formation overlies the Naheola, and maintains a thickness of about 200 feet, entirely across the State. These beds are mostly sandy, but contain great numbers of the shells of a small oyster, Gryphoea thirsae. At the base of the oyster- shell beds there are, at certain localities, other fossiliferous beds containing a great variety of forms. At the bottom of the Nanafalia formation there is a bed of lignite, 5 to 7 feet thick, which may be traced across the country from Tombigbee River into Pike County.

The Tuscahoma, or Bells Landing, forma- tion consists of beds of gray and yellow cross- bedded sands and sandy clays about 140 feet thick and generally poor in fossils except at one horizon.

Above the Tuscahoma is the Bashi, or Woods Bluff, which averages 80 feet in thick- ness. It is composed of the sands and sandy clays common in the Tertiary, but is distin- guished by a characteristic bed of highly fos- siliferous greensand with associated beds of lignite immediately below it.

The uppermost formation of this group is composed of beds of brown, purple, and gray laminated, sandy clays and cross-bedded sands abounding in characteristic fossils. It is about 175 feet thick in the vicinity of Tom- bigbee River, but thins to the east. These beds have been named Hatchetigbee, from a bluff on the Tombigbee River.

Between the Chickasaw group and the base of the St. Stephens limestone lie the strata of the Claiborne group, easily divisible in Alabama into three formations, the lower being the Tallahatta buhrstone, the middle, the Lisbon formation and the upper, the Gos- port greensand.

The Tallahatta buhrstone formation varies in thickness from 400 feet in the western part of the State to 200 feet in the eastern part. It consists of aluminous sandstones or siliceous claystones, varying slightly in com- position, but comparatively poor in fossils.

Between the buhrstone and the base of the Gosport greensand are the Lisbon beds, con- sisting of about 115 feet of calcareous, clayey sands and sandy clays, generally fossiliferous. The lower half of these beds contains a great number and variety of well preserved shells.

The Gosport greensand, so far as known,

does not appear in any other of the Gulf States. It embraces the strata of the Clai- borne group lying between the top of the Lisbon and the base of the St. Stephens. The beds are in general highly glauconitic sands about 30 feet in thickness, and include the fossiliferous greensands which have made the name of Claiborne famous. The name is from Gosport, a landing on the Alabama River a few miles below the Claiborne Bluff.

Above the Claiborne, and constituting the uppermost member of the Eocene in Alabama, is the St. Stephens limestone. (This, or the upper part of it, is now classed as Oligocene by the paleontologists). The great mass of this formation, between two and three hun- dred feet thick, consists of a limestone of a considerable degree of purity and highly fos- siliferous. Southward of the latitude of Jackson, Miss., and southward of the outcrop of the St. Stephens limestone in Alabama, the later Tertiary formations are represented by a series of nonmarine, or fresh-water sands and clays of various colors and various de- grees of hardness, to which the name Grand Gulf has been applied. Until very recently no well defined fossils had been discovered in these materials, but within the past six or eight years a number of clay deposits with distinct and recognizable leaf impressions have been found in the heretofore undif- ferentiated Grand Gulf beds, and it has been possible to fix the age of the formation in part as Oligocene-Miocene, and in part as Pliocene, thus bearing out the conclusions of Dr. Hilgard, who first fully described and mapped the Grand Gulf in Mississippi.

In Alabama the prevailing materials of this formation are massive clays of reddish to brown colors, or mottled gray to red, and laminated clays interbedded with sands vary- ing in coherence from loose sands to firm sandstones with aluminous or siliceous cement. The clayey or aluminous sandstones pass by insensible gradations into meagre clays which are themselves often indurated into mudstones as compact as some of the sandstones.

Near Citronelle in Mobile County and on Perdido Bay in Baldwin, plant remains in clays demonstrate the Pliocene age of this upper part of the former Grand Gulf, to which the name Citronelle has been given by the geologists of the U. S. Geological Survey. In like manner plant remains discovered near Hattiesburg in Mississippi, and in Louisiana, show the Grand Gulf there to include also beds of Oligocene and Miocene ages.

In 1889 Mr. D. W. Langdon of the Alabama Geological Survey discovered on Chatta- hoochee River between Chattahoochee Land- ing and Alum Bluff, a nèw series of marine calcareous formations of Miocene age (since referred to Oligocene), overlying the Vicks- burg or St. Stephens. These are supposed to be the contemporaneous marine equivalents of the fresh-water Grand Gulf beds farther west, though so far as known at the present time, none of them comes to the surface any- where in Alabama. That they do underlie the Pliocene fresh-water beds of the Citronelle is

654

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

shown by the fact that marine shells charac- teristic of the Chattahoochee River section, have been brought up from deep borings in Baldwin and Mobile Counties.

It is impossible to give definitely the thick- ness of the Grand Gulf series but it will go into the hundreds of feet. In the southern or Citronelle portion of the formation, the upland surfaces constitute a more or less level plain, dotted with great numbers of shallow, undrained hollows partly filled with water, partly forming savannahs. In this section of the State the Grand Gulf beds are important in relation to underground waters.

The Lafayette, a great mantle formation some 25 feet or more in thickness, occupies the high level plateaus between the larger streams of the Coastal Plain, lapping also over the Paleozoic formations along their southern or gulfward borders. This forma- tion consists in general of a red sandy loam usually devoid of stratification in its upper part, with irregular beds of water-worn pebbles in the lower part. It overlies with unconformable contact every formation of the Coastal Plain from the oldest Cretaceous to the youngest (Pliocene) Tertiary of the Citronelle division of the Grand Gulf.

While the high-level Lafayette may, as many geologists think, have been deposited at the end of the Tertiary (Pliocene), its materials have been distributed by erosion down the slopes and especially have they been worked over into the third terraces of the larger rivers, in later times. Beds of dif- ferent times of deposition have thus been included in the Lafayette, which may cause the name to be abandoned. By whatever name called, this formation is important as a soil former, and in its relations to under- ground waters.

REFERENCES .- Porter, "Sketches of the geol- ogy of Alabama," in American Jour. Science, Ist ser., 1827, vol. xiii, pp. 77-79; Withers, "Geological notice respecting a part of Greene County, Alabama," in American Jour. Science, Ist ser., 1833, vol. xxiv, pp. 187-189; Conrad, Fossil shells of the Tertiary formations of North America, and his "Observations on the Tertiary and more recent formations of a por- tion of the Southern States," in Jour. Academy Natural Sciences, 1834, vol. vii, pt. 1, pp. 116- 157; Henry C. Lea, "Description of some new species of fossil shells from the Eocene of Claiborne, Alabama," in American Jour: Sci- ence, 1st ser., 1841, vol. xl, pp. 92-103; Isaac Lea, Contributions to geology (1833); S. G. Morton, Synopsis of the organic remains of the Cretaceous group of the United States, Ill., (1834), first published in American Jour. Sci- ence, 1829, vols. xvii and xviii; Charles U. Shepard, "Geological observations upon Ala- bama, Georgia and Florida," in American Jour. Science, 1st ser., (1834), vol. xxv, pp. 162-173; Gerard Troost, "Carboniferous rocks of Ala- bama," in Third annual report on the geology of Tennessee (1835), p. 4; S. G. Morton, "No- tice of the fossil teeth of fish of the U. S., the discovery of the Galt in Alabama and a pro- posed division of the American Cretaceous

group," in American Jour. Science (1835), vol. xxviii, pp. 276, 278; Richard T. Brumby, Ad- dress on the importance of a geological survey of the State of Alabama, December 7, 1841 (1842), and Letters of Professor R. T. Brumby, on the importance of a geological survey of Alabama (1845), first published in the State Journal and Flag, in November and December. 1844; Robert W. Withers, "Geological obser- vations on the region near Centreville, Ala- bama," in American Jour. Science (1845), vol. xlviii, p. 39; Lyell, Sir Charles, Bart., "Coal fields of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, being an extract of a letter to Prof. Silliman," in American Jour. Science, 2d ser., (1846), vol. i, p. 371, and "Notice on the coal fields of Alabama; being an extract from a letter to the president from Charles Lyell, Esq., dated Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 15 Feby., 1846," in Quarterly Jour. Geological Society (London, 1846), vol. ii, p. 278, and "The relative age and position of the so-called Nummulite limestone of Alabama," Ibid, (1848), vol. iv, pp. 10-16, and A second visit to the United States of North America, two volumes. (1849), vol. ii, passim; The contributions of Dr. Eugene A. Smith, the present state geolo- gist, are numerous and include the following: Sketch of the mineral resources of Alabama (n. d. pp. 15); "The Clays of Alabama," ex- tract from Proceedings, Ala. Industrial and Scientific Soc. (n. d., pp. 10); Alabama's re- sources for the manufacture of Portland cement, read before Ala. Industrial and Scientific Soc. (n. d., pp. 8); Report of the sub-committee on the Cenozoic-Marine-(n. d., pp. 18); "The iron ores of Alabama, with special reference to their geological formations," from Proceed- ings of Am. Assn. for advancement of Science, 1878, vol. xxii (Salem, 1879, pp. 15); "A gen- eral description of the climate, and of the geo- logical, topographical, and agricultural features of the cotton-producing states," extracted from 4th Report of U. S. Entomological Commission (Washington, 1884, pp. 80, maps, 2); "The phos- phates of Alabama" (in State Dept. of Agri- culture, Bulletin 5, Auburn, 1884) ; Iron ores of Alabama in their geological relations (1887, pp. 15); Sketch of the geology of Alabama (1892, pp. 36); "Post-Eocene formations of the Coastal Plain of Alabama," from Am. Jour. Sci- ence, April, 1894, vol. xlvii, pp. 285-296; "Phos- phates and marls of Alabama," from Transac- tions Am. Institute Mining Engineers, Oct., 1895, pp. 12; "The Grand Gulf formation," from Science, Nov. 21, 1902, vol. xvi. No. 412, pp. 835-837; "The Grand Gulf formation," from Science. N. S., July 3, 1903, vol. xviii, No. 444. pp. 20-26; "Carboniferous fossils in 'Ocoee' slates in Alabama," Ibid, Aug. 21, 1903, vol. 451; pp. 244-246; "On some Post-Eocene and other formations of the Gulf region of the United States," address before the Am. Assn. for Advancement of Science, New Orleans, Dec. 29, 1905-Jan. 4, 1906 (1906); "Cretaceous- Eocene contact," from Jour. of Geology, Aug., 1910, vol. xviii, No. 5, pp. 430-434, Ills.

GEORGIA AND ALABAMA RAILROAD COMPANY. See East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway Company.

655

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

GEORGIA-PACIFIC RAILWAY COM- PANY. See Southern Railway Company.

GEORGIA WESTERN RAILROAD COM- PANY. See Southern Railway Company.

GEORGIANA. Incorporated town in the southwestern part of Butler County, in sec. 27, T. 8, R. 13 E., 16 miles southwest of Greenville, 60 miles southwest of Montgom- ery, and 126 miles northeast of Mobile. It is on the main line of the Louisville & Nash- ville Railroad and is the northern terminus of the Alabama & Florida branch of that road. Altitude: 264 feet. Population: 1870 -400; 1880-277; 1890-456; 1900-567; 1910-999. It was incorporated in 1869 and rechartered in 1872, with mayor and alder- men. It has a waterworks system. Its hank- ing institutions are the Butler County Bank (State), and the Farmers & Merchants Bank (State). The Butler County News, a Demo- cratic weekly, established in 1911, is pub- lished there. Its industries are a sawmill, cotton ginnery and warehouses, wagon and repair shops, lumber yard and planing mill, gristmill, feed mill, and the production of naval stores. It has a high school and gram- mar schools. Its churches are the Baptist, established in 1865, by Rev. Pitt S. Milner, and the Methodist Episcopal, South, estab- lished in 1866.

The locality was originally settled in 1824 by John Shepherd who came from Georgia. Later other settlers came from that State. The railroad company established a station about a mile from "The Old Milner Place," and named it Pittsville, for Rev. Pitt S. Mil- ner its owner. In 1858 Milner opened a general store at the station, and had the name changed to Georgiana, in honor of his native State, and of his little daughter. Other early settlers of the town were Peter Mason, Michael O'Brien, Dr. Clements, John R. Kene, T. H. Powell, Miles and Peter Simp- son, John W. Wheeler, and the Stockton family. The first school was established in 1856, in a log house, taught by Miss Eunice Eskew. Public roads to Bear's Store, to Oaky Streak, and to South Butler were opened in 1862. The first sawmill and grist- mill was built by E. C. Milner in 1858.

REFERENCES .- Brewer, Alabama (1872) ; Ala- bama Official and Statistical Register, 1915; Little, Butler County (1885); The Butler County News, Georgia, Sept. 12, 1912.

GERMAN BAPTIST BRETHREN CHURCH (CONSERVATIVE). A religious body, com- monly known as "Dunkers," or "Dunkards," originally founded as the Pietists of Ger- many. They appeared first in America at Germantown, Pa., in 1719. They are without written creed, but are classed as orthodox trinitarians. Their church polity corresponds more nearly to the presbyterian than to any other specific ecclesiastic form.

Details of the church in Alabama are not available. The U. S. census report of 1916 gives the total number of organizations as 2; total number of members 92; and two Sun-

day schools, with 13 teachers and 178 scholars.

REFERENCES .- Manuscript data in the Ala- bama Department of Archives and History.

GETTYSBURG, ALABAMA CONFED- ERATE MARKERS AND TABLETS AT. A number of granite pedestals and bronze mark- ers and tablets have been erected by the Gettysburg National Park Commission, to commemorate the participation of Alabama troops in the battle of Gettysburg. They are located as follows: Granite Pedestals with Bronze Brigade Tablet, together with Bronze Tablets on Confederate Avenue, Section 5; another in Section 5, Confederate Avenue; North Confederate Avenue, East Confederate Avenue, East Slope Culp's Hill; West Mere- dith Avenue, South of McMillan Woods; and West Confederate Avenue, North of Pitzer Woods. Another to Carter's Battalion of Ar- tillery, contains mention of the Jeff Davis Battery, and is located on the East slope of Oak Hill. A granite pedestal with bronze tablet, containing mention of Hardaway's Battery, is situated on West Confederate Av- enue in Schultz Grove.

Alabama was represented by 17 regiments of Infantry, and 2 Batteries of Field Artillery in the Battle of Gettysburg. There is no monument to Alabama soldiers other than the ones inentioned.

REFERENCES .- The location of the monuments, markers and tablets on the battle field of Gettysburg, published by the Gettysburg Na- tional Military Park Commission, 1918; Report of the Gettysburg National Military Park Com- mission, 1917; letters from the Chairman of the Commission, to Dr. Owen, in the files of the Alabama State Department of Archives and History.

GHUALLAHATCHEE. See Hoithlewalli.

GIRARD. Town in Russell County on the Central of Georgia Railway, and the Chatta- hoochee River, 19 miles northeast of Seale, and 90 miles east of Montgomery. Altitude: 263 feet. Population: 1900-3,840; 1910- 4,214. It has a municipal waterworks sys- tem. The Citizens Bank (State), is located there, and The Phenix-Girard Journal, estah- lished in 1909, I. I. Moses publisher, and the Alabama Social Democrat, established in 1914, J. P. Marchant, publisher, are published in the town. It has a cotton mill and a brick manufactory. Girard and Phenix City are both included in the original "Ben Marshall Reserve," a section of land opposite the city of Columbus, Ga., with the Chattahoochee River as the eastern boundary. It was given to a Creek chief, Ben Marshall, by the terms of the treaty of March 24, 1832, between the United States and the Creek Nation. On June 19, 1832, this tract was purchased by Col. Daniel McDougald and Dr. Robert Col- lins of Georgia, for $35,000.

The first house in the town was built by Horace King, a slave, for John Godwin, his master, in October, 1832. On the establish- ment of the county in the same year, a com-

656

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

mission composed of Hardemen Owens, An- derson Abercrombie and Thomas M. Martin, was appointed to select a site for the court- house. Girard was chosen, but it was generally conceded that it would not be permanent, and substantial buildings were not constructed. The courthouse was built on the hill west of the lower bridge connect, ing the city with Columbus, Ga. Neither it nor the jail had been completed in 1839 when the seat of justice was changed to Crocketts- ville (Crawford). The first court convened at Girard on October 14, 1833, and was held in John Godwin's workshop, on the hill near the Methodist Church. The town being just across the State line opposite Columbus, Ga., was for many years the refuge of a lawless element; and for that reason was for a long time known as Sodom, but never officially given that name. The post office was established in 1840, with Wm. B. Harris as postmaster. On April 16, 1865, the last engagement of the War took place there, during which the Confederates burned the bridges leading to the Georgia side.

The Abercrombie family, long prominent in the State's history, settled river plantations immediately below the place, about the time of the removal of the Indians. Benjamin H. Baker practised law there from 1840 to 1850, at which time he removed to Crawford. The Holland family, which still has representa- tives there, was among its first settlers, as were Martin G. Buchanan and Wm. Faulken- berry. Mr. Buchanan was an overseer for Paddy Carr, an Indian chief, who had plan- tations on the river below. John Godwin was a contractor and builder. His foreman was Horace King who built most of the houses both in Columbus and Girard during the first 15 years of their existence. All of the bridges spanning the river before the War were built by King. He was the grandson of a Catawha Indian of South Carolina, and was emancipated by the legislature in February, 1848. After the death of Mr. Godwin, some years later, the family then being in destitute circumstances, King assumed the wardship of the widow and children, taking care of the former as long as she lived. Benjamin Mar- shall, an Indian chief of means, was one of the first settlers in the town.

The famous trial of Jere Austill, then United States marshal, and his associates, for the killing of Hardeman Owens, took place there in October, 1833.

REFERENCES .- Brewer, Alabama (1872), p. 510; F. L. Cherry, "History of Opelika," in Opelika Times, circa Oct., 1883.

GIRARD COTTON MILLS, Girard. Cotton Manufacturing.

See

GIRLS' PATRIOTIC LEAGUE. The Junior branch of the National League for Woman's Service, Montgomery, active during 1917-19, organized under a call from Mrs. William J. Hannah, County chairman of the parent league. Miss Eugenia Byars was elected president and from a small group of patriotic young ladies the organization grew to two

hundred members. Among the activities of the Girls Patriotic League were the follow- ing: making comfort kits for soldiers and sailors; collecting donations for hospitals and libraries; raising funds for patriotic purposes by tag-days, dances, vaudevilles, etc .; collect- ing and distributing knitting materials; en- tertaining convalescents at the camp hospi- tals; promoted a "melting-pot," through pub- lic donation of old silver, by which several hundred dollars was raised; aided the Red Cross in a garden party; sent gifts and com- forts to maimed Alabama soldiers in French hospitals; assisted the Humane Society in raising funds for the "Red Star" fund for the relief of animals injured in the war zones in France and elsewhere; conducted a benefit tea room; participated in the parade escort- ing drafted men to the depot; raised funds for the "Remembrance Fund" for gifts, espe- cially cigarettes, for Alabama boys in France; gave farewell dance for the Alabama troops on their removal to Camp Wheeler, Macon, Ga., and dance to welcome the Ohio Division on its arrival in Montgomery to go into camp at "Camp Sheridan."

The G. P. L. assisted the U. S. Public Health Service in a campaign against typhoid fever by keeping records of inoculation and distributing literature; sold War Savings Stamps; furnished a room at the children's receiving home; secured donations for Shelter Home for delinquent girls; assisted the Y. W. C. A. in a membership drive; marched in Registration Day parade; provided for the support of a soldier for a year at the Anti- tuberculosis camp; spoke as "Four Minute Men" in the various bond and thrift drives and campaigns; taught in the school for il- literate soldiers at Camp Sheridan; acted as hostesses at the soldier's club, Y. M. C. A. on Sunday afternoons; participated in the reception to the 167th Regiment (Fourth Ala- bama), May 13, 1919. In addition to the foregoing the league rendered services on numerous occasions of a minor character, but all important.

Officers .- Miss Eugenia Byars, president; Miss Marcelle Sabel and Miss Edith Meyer, vice-presidents; Miss Blanche Wolf, treas- urer; Miss Olivia Kennedy, secretary.

REFERENCES .- Newspaper accounts and no- tices for the period.

GIRLS' TECHNICAL INSTITUTE, ALA- BAMA. An educational institution, estab- lished by the State of Alabama as the Ala- bama Girls Industrial School, at the session of the legislature of 1892-93, but without approval date, "for the education of white girls in Alabama." As originally chartered it was known as the Alabama Girls' Indus- trial School. The legislature February 20, 1911, changed the name to Alabama Girls' Technical Institute.

The school is located at Montevallo, Shel- by County, one of the oldest settled sections of the State. It is surrounded by a rolling and hilly country. The campus includes about 95 acres, and occupies the highest point in the town. The buildings comprise

Col. Samuel W. John Trustee of numerous educational institutions and champion of that cause in legislative halls for many years.

Col. N. H. R. Dawson U. S. Commissioner of Education, 1886-1888

Gen. H. D. Clayton President State University, 1886- 1888

THREE FRIENDS OF EDUCATION

Vol. 1-42

659

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

Bloch Hall, Peterson Hall, the chapel, dormi- tory, library, gymnasium, laundry, power house and dairy. The school owns 250 acres of land adjacent to the campus, all in a high state of cultivation, and utilized for truck- ing, dairying and diversified farming. The school garden affords vegetables for the dor- mitories. A dairy herd, a drove of hogs, and flocks of poultry are maintained by the school. The water supply is received from free stone springs, which together with their water sheds, are State property. Fire pro- tection is ample.

Instruction in the liberal arts and sciences are given in the following schools:

"1, English Literature and Expression; 2, Mathematics; 3, History and Political Econ- omy; 4, Psychology and Education; 5, An- cient Languages; 6, Modern Languages; 7, Chemistry and Geology; 8, Physics and As- tronomy; 9, Biology, Botany, Floriculture and Horticulture."

In addition industrial departments are es- tablished as follows:

"1, Art, Drawing, Painting and Designing; 2, Vocal Music; 3, Instrumental Music; 4, Commercial, Bookkeeping, Stenography, Typewriting, Telegraphy; 5, Domestic Art, Sewing, Millinery, Dressmaking; 6, Domestic Economy, Cooking, Chemistry of Foods; 7, Dairying; 8, Physical Culture; 9, Manual Training."

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 126

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869- Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 756

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 756