History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 53

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

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Salaries .- The amount and the source for the payment of salaries have varied. In some cases they were paid by the State, and in oth- ers from the county treasury. The legisla- ture, February 26, 1907, enacted that salaries of city court judges should not exceed the salaries of circuit judges. The act further definitely fixed the policy of the payment, from the State treasury, of the salaries "of judges of law and equity courts, city courts, and other courts of record, of general com- mon law, equity and criminal jurisdiction, with jurisdiction of felonies, or either, by whatsoever name called, heretofore estab- lished, or that may be hereafter established, whose jurisdiction extends over a county hav- ing a population of twenty thousand or more, according to the last federal census, and also taxable property of three million five hundred thousand dollars, or more, in value, accord- ing to the last assessment of property for state and county taxation." It was provided, however, in cases where special acts author- ize larger salaries for city court judges than the amount fixed for circuit judges, that the excess should be paid out of the county treas- ury.

City Courts .- The following are the city, law and equity courts, criminal courts and county courts consolidated under the act of August 16, 1915, effective for that purpose January 1, 1917:

Anniston City Court.

Bessemer City Court.

Birmingham City Court.

Clarke County Court.

Criminal Court of Jefferson County.

Clay County Court. Gadsden City Court.

Hale County Court. Lee County Law and Equity Court.

Madison County Law and Equity Court.

Marengo County Law and Equity Court.

Mobile City Court.

Mobile Law and Equity Court.

Monroe County Law and Equity Court. Montgomery City Court.

Morgan County Law and Equity Court. Selma City Court. Shelby County Court.

Talladega City Court.

Tuscaloosa County Court.

Walker County Law and Equity Court.

See Chancery Courts; Circuit Courts; County Courts; Court of Appeals; Courts; Criminal Courts; Inferior Courts; Judicial De- partment Judiciary; Justices of the Peace; Juvenile Courts; Probate Courts; Recorder's Courts; Supreme Court; Territorial Courts.

REFERENCES .- Code, 1907, secs. 3296-3300, 6695; General Acts, 1907, pp. 169-170; Nugent v. State, 18 Ala., p. 521; Perkins v. Corbin, 45 Ala., p. 103; Ex parte Roundtree, 51 Ala., p. 42; Sanders v. State, 55 Ala., p. 42; Wiley v. State, 117 Ala., p. 153; State v. Sayre, 118 Ala., p. 1; State v. Blevins, 134 Ala., p. 213; Johnson v. State, 141 Ala., p. 7; Hoge v. Herzberg, 141 Ala., p. 439; Macdonald v. State, 143 Ala., p. 101; Moog v. Doe, 145 Ala., p. 568; State ex rel. Vandiver v. Burke, 175 Ala., p. 561.

CLAIMS. See Compromise of Claims; Compromise of Land Claims; Suits Against the State.

CLAIMS COMMISSION. A special com- mission, consisting of the governor, the at- torney general, the state auditor, the state treasurer and the director of the department of archives and history ex-officio, provided by the legislature of 1915. It was made the duty of the commission to consider and pass upon sundry claims and accounts against the State, which the legislative committees were without sufficient time to consider. After in- vestigation the commission was required to make an award in writing to the governor of the amount, if any, due on the several claims. On receipt of the award the governor was re- quired to certify the fact in writing to the state auditor, by whom a warrant was then to be issued in payment. The commission held its first meeting on and from time to time other sessions were held, and a careful determination was made of all claims in accordance with the several special laws enacted in reference thereto.

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HISTORY OF ALABAMA

REFERENCES .- Acts, 1915, index, p. 968, where will be found a full list of all claims.

CLAIRMONT SPRINGS. Postoffice and station on the Atlanta, Birmingham and At- lantic Railroad, in the northwestern part of Clay County in the foothills of Talladega Mountains; and about eight miles west of Pyriton. It is one of the notable mineral springs in this region, and is locally a popu- lar resort.

REFERENCES .- Manuscript data in the Alabama Department of Archives and History; U. S. Postal Guide, 1916; letter from Talladega; Rand and McNally.

CLANTON. County seat of Chilton County; situated on the Louisville & Nash- ville Railroad, and on the headwaters of Big Mulberry, Clear, and Walnut Creeks, about 8 miles south of Thorsby, near the center of the county, about 10 miles north of Verbena, and 40 miles north of Montgomery. Altitude: 571 feet. Population: 1870-200; 1880- 800; 1890-623; 1900-611; 1910-1,123. It was made the county seat in 1868, and in- corporated by the legislature, April 23, 1873, with corporate limits extending three-fourths of a mile in every direction from the court- house. It has the Clanton Bank (State), and the Peoples' Savings Bank (State). The Clanton Union and Banner, a Progressive weekly, established in 1892, and the Clanton Press, a Democratic weekly, established in 1910, are published there. The industries are lumber manufactories, gristmill, cotton ginneries, cotton warehouses, oil crusher, and general stores. Clanton is the site of the Chilton County High School. Its churches are a Baptist, a Methodist Episcopal, South, and a Primitive Baptist, all with church buildings. It was named in honor of Gen. James H. Clanton. Among the early settlers of the town were the Bivins, Blassinghame, Wilson, Samphey, and Robinson families.

REFERENCES .- Acts, 1872-73, pp. 289-293; Brewer, Alabama (1872), p. 113; Berney, Handbook (1892), p. 276; Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1915.

CLARK-PRATT COTTON MILLS, Pratt- ville. See Cotton Manufacturing.

CLARKE COUNTY. Created by the Mis- sissippi Territorial legislature, December 10, 1812. Its territory as described, included "all that part of Washington County lying east of Tombeckbee River." The eastern boundary of this area was the watershed be- tween the Alabama and the Tombigbee Riv- ers, which was then the boundary between the Choctaws and the Creeks. After the Creek Indian cession of August 9, 1814, by procla- mation of Gov. David Holmes of the Missis- sippi Territory, dated June 29, 1815, all of the Creek lands were erected into Monroe County. On November 28, 1821, "the whole of the fraction of" sec. 8, T. 7, R. 4 E., was taken from Monroe and added to Clarke County. Marengo County was established di- rectly north February 7, 1818, its southern

boundary being the ridge dividing the waters of Chickasabogue and Beaver Creek. Five days later, February 12th, the intervening country between that boundary and the north- ern boundary of Clarke was added to Maren- go. By act of January 26, 1829, "all that part of the county of Monroe which is west of the River Alabama, and the west half of the center line of townships seven, eight, nine and ten, in range five, be added to and com- pose a part of the county of Clarke." By an act of January 15, 1831, it was further pro- vided that "all that part of Wilcox County, lying west of the middle of range four, includ- ing the Choctaw Corner Settlement in said county, be and the same is hereby added to the county of Clarke." The county contains 1,216 square miles or 778,240 acres.

The county was named in honor of Gen. John Clarke, a popular hero at that date in Georgia. He was a major general of State troops on the coast in the War of 1812. Num- bers of settlers in Clarke County at that date had come into the Tombigbee and Tensaw country from Georgia.

The territorial legislature, November 21, 1818, appointed Lemuel J. Alston, Alexander Kilpatrick, Joseph Hearn, Solomon Boykin, William Coleman, William Anderson and Wil- liam Goode, sr., as commissioners to fix the seat of justice for Clarke County and to re- ceive title to "not less than two, nor more than one hundred and sixty acres of land" for the use of the county for the purpose of erecting thereon "a court-house, jail, and pillory."

Presumably the commissioners just re- ferred to did not act, since the first state legislature December 13, 1819, appointed William A. Robertson, Joseph B. Earle, John Loftin, Samuel B. Shields, William F. Ezell, Robertus Love and Edmund Butler as other commissioners "to select and fix on the most suitable site for the seat of justice, in and for the county of Clarke; having due regard to health, water, and accommodations; provided such seat shall not exceed 3 miles from its center." The selection was required to be made by the first Monday in March, 1820. The same act required that "until the public buildings shall have been completed, the cir- cuit and inferior courts shall be held at the house of William Coats." The site having been selected, the legislature on December 7, 1820, declared that it should be known by the name of Clarkesville.

There was dissatisfaction apparently with the location of the county seat at Clarkes- ville, for January 15, 1831, the legislature made provisions for a new selection. Under this act the sheriff held an election on the first Monday in April, 1831, "for the purpose of ascertaining the sense of the qualified elec- tors of said county, in relation to removing the seat of justice from Clarkesville, to the geographical center of said county." Tickets used in the election carried the words "Clarkesville," or "Center," according to choice. The election called for a change and William Murrell, John Loftin, Robert Herrin, Joshua Wilson and James Magoffin named in the act as commissioners, selected a point

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HISTORY OF ALABAMA

near the center of the county, first known as Magoffin's Store, then as Smithville, and then as Macon. It was later given the name Grove Hill, which it has since retained. On Decem- ber 28, 1832, the first courts were held in the new county seat.

The place of voting in the early elections was at the court house, or place of holding courts. The legislature, November 21, 1818, fixed four separate election precincts for the county-Jackson, Suggsville, Magoffin's Store, and Coffeeville-at which elections were per- mitted to be held but one day only. An act of December 13, 1819, added two additional precincts, one at the house of Duncan Camp- bell, and another at the house of William Coats on Satilpa. The act of December 7, 1820, fixing Clarkesville as the seat of justice, also required that elections heretofore au- thorized at the house of William Coats should be held at the court house.

Location and Physical Description. It lies in the southwestern section of the State, in the angle formed by the junction of the Ala- bama and Tombigbee rivers. It is bounded north and northeast by Marengo and Wilcox counties, on the east and south by Monroe County and by the Alabama River, separating Baldwin, and from the lowest part of Mon- roe County, and on the west lies the Tombig- bee, forming the boundary with Washington and Choctaw counties. The length of the county north and south is about 56 miles, while its extreme width is about 36 miles. It is very Irregular in area. The county in- cludes the comparatively level flood plains along the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers and their tributaries, and the billy uplands form- ing the dividing ridge between the rivers. This ridge is within 6 to 8 miles of the Ala- bama River. The dividing ridge varies con- siderably in width, in places being a broad, flat-topped area, while in others it is narrow. The topography is rolling to moderately billy, broken by occasional high hills and broad val- leys. Its roughest topography is found in the immediate vicinity of some of the streams. In the upland region the drainage is inclined to be excessive. The Bashi, Satilpa, Jackson, Tattillaba, Tallahatta and Bassett creeks flow into the Tombigbee, draining the western part of the county, while Silver, Pigeon, Reedy, Sizemore, Cedar and Sand Hill creeks drain the eastern section into the Alabama. Twenty soil types, including meadow are found in the county. They include 11 series. The county lies wholly within the Gulf coastal plain, and its soils are consequently of sedimentary ori- gin. These soils are highly productive in many sections. Its forests include longleaf and shortleaf pine, spruce pine, various spe- cies of oak, hickory, beech and sweet gum, black gum, cypress, maple and poplar. The climate for this county is equable. Its win- ters are of short duration, with a mean tem- perature considerably above the freezing point. The mean temperature for June, July and August, the hottest months, is about 80° F. The records show a mean annual precipi- tation of 52 degrees 8 inches. Details of the

character and extent of productions are noted in the statistics below.

Aboriginal History .- The county is rich in Indian mounds, found on both the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers. Some of these are associated with burial and habitation sites, and in most instances contain burials, pot- tery, ornaments and artifacts. Considerable exploration work has been done, and many earthenware vessels and relics from the county have been secured by the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. There is a mound and burial ground on the site of an old unidentified fortification, 41/2 miles east of Gainestown, on the Alabama River, in sec. 2, T. 5 N., R. 4 E. A group of mounds, with Indian ball-ground and burial-ground, is to be found five miles north of Wood's Bluff and a half mile from Alabama River. Other re- mains: Morrisette mound near Marshall's Bluff landing; mound on property of C. G. Foote of Calvert at the Cut-off, 8 miles above the junction of Alabama and Tombigbee riv- ers; burial mound on plantation of A. F. Hooks, two miles above McIntosh Landing, on eastern side of Tombigbee River, in which urn-burials are met with; small burial mound on property of Jefferson Bush, 200 yards from Payne's Woodyard landing, Tombigbee River; two small burial mounds (now leveled) one- half mile above Carney's landing, Tombigbee River, on property of P. A. Bryant; two mounds, one containing burials, one-fourth mile east of the railroad station at Jack- son; two domiciliary mounds at the saw-mill of C. W. Zimmerman Manufacturing Co. at Jackson Landing, Tombigbee River; large burial mound 300 yards northwest of Zim- merman say-mill, on property controlled by T. I. Kimbell; large domiciliary mound oppo- site Peavey's Landing, Tombigbee River; mound and village site near Malone's Gin on property of J. M. Dere of Coffeeville; small mound on property of J. W. Nicholls of Man- istee, situated on bluff, immediately above Cox's Landing, containing burials; village sites at Thornton's upper landing on property of E. L. Lang of Mobile, and J. P. Armistead of Coffeeville; large mound one mile below mouth of Bashi Creek on property of Mobile Lumber Co .; small burial mound, one-fourth mile southeast of the mouth of Bashi Creek on property of Mobile Lumber Co. Dr. Clar- ence B. Moore of Philadelphia has visited all of the above named points. The county is in the old Choctaw territory, and some of the foregoing can be identified with later towns of this tribe. Many of the place names in the county suggest Choctaw occupancy.

Settlement and Later History .- Perhaps the first white man that made a home in Clarke County was John McGrew, a royalist refugee, who in 1782 obtained from the Choc- taw Indians a grant of land on Jackson's Creek. Others doubtless joined him, but rec- ords are meager. William Coate came from Newberry District, S. C., in 1800, bringing his effects in a rolling hogshead. In 1809 Caleb Moncrief with a number of families en- tered the county and settled on the west side

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HISTORY OF ALABAMA

of Bassett's Creek. During the next few years many other families moved in, and settled near old Clarkesville, at Grove Hill, Suggs- ville and other points. By the opening of the Creek war of 1813, the county had such a large population that it furnished many sol- diers to Gen. F. L. Claiborne's army.

The names of a few of the early settlers living in the county prior to 1812 are: Drury Allen, Elijah Pugh, Thomas Figures, John Carney, Joseph Phillips, Mrs. Cathell, Isaac Bainter, Elijah and Abner Presnall, John Smith, John Kelley, Moses Savill, John Brown, John Walker, John McCasky, Peter Parker, Jonathan Embree, David Taylor, John Chapman and William Walker. After the Creek War the settlers came rapidly. In 1820, a company of ninety persons from South Carolina settled in the county. Thence to 1830 there was a steady flow of immigrants.

One of the first grist mills in the county was erected by John Slater, put up in 1812. About the same time Moses Savill built one on Savill's branch, a tributary of Bassett's Creek. This mill ground the corn for the people of Fort Madison during the Creek War. The first cotton gin was erected by Jonathan Emmons, perhaps soon after the Creek War, on Smith's Creek, two miles south of Suggsville. Robert Hayden started a tan- nery and a shoe factory about 1815, three miles south of Suggsville. In 1816, Robert Caller had a mill and water gin, and an iron screw for packing cotton, on what was after- wards known as the Barnes' place. In 1821 there was a saw-mill on Bashi Creek, erected by Nathan Lipscombe.

Confederate Commands from County .- The commands listed below were made up in whole or in part from this county.

Infantry.

Co. D, "Suggsville Greys," 2d Regt.

Co. A, "Grove Hill Guards," 5th Regt.

Co. B, "Frank Lyon Guards," 22d Regt.

Co. E, "Dickinson Guards," 24th Regt. Co. D, 32d Regt. (in part from Clarke).

Co. E, "Bigbee Tigers," 32d Regt.

Co. G, "Dickinson Guards," 32d Regt. (in part from Clarke).

Co. H, 32d Regt.

Co. A, "Eliza Flinn Guards," 38th Regt.

Co. D, "Alabama Invincibles," 38th Regt.

Co. I, "Alabama Greys," 38th Regt.

Farm, Livestock and Crop Statistics, 1917. -The statistics below are given for illustra- tive purposes, and, in tabular form, without any attempt at comparison or analysis. They were gathered under the direction of the Bureau of Crop Estimates, U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Number of all farms, 2,100. Acres cultivated, 99,500. Acres in pasture, 110,180. Farm Animals,

Horses and mules, 5,060.

Milk cows, 5,890. Other cattle, 16,650. Brood sows, 6,460.

Other hogs, 25,850.

Sheep, 620.

SELECTED CROPS (ACRES AND QUANTITY )

Corn, 57,960 acres; 661,290 bushels. Cotton, 15,280 acres; 4,710 hales.

Peanuts, 8,300 acres; 20,140 bushels.

Velvet beans, 33,520 acres; 5,030 tons. Hay, 4,430 acres; 3,890 tons.

Syrup cane, 1,570 acres; 164,050 gallons. Cowpeas, 6,590 acres; 36,090 bushels. Sweet potatoes, 1,630 acres; 123,790 bush- els.

Irish potatoes, 130 acres; 9,280 bushels.

Oats, 5,940 acres; 4,600 bushels. Wheat, - acres; - bushels.

Post Offices and Towns .- Revised to July 1, 1917, from U. S. Official Postal Guide. (Figures indicate the number of rural routes from that office.)

Alameda Grove Hill (ch)-1

Allen-1

Jackson

Alma

McVay

Atkeison

Manila

Barlow Bend

Morvin

Bashi

Nettleboro

Campbell

Opine

Carlton

Peacock

Chance

Rockville

Choctaw Bluff

Rural

Cunningham

Scyrene

Dickinson

Suggsville

Forestdale

Tallahatta Springs

Fulton

Thomasville-1

Gainestown

Walker Springs

Glover

Whatley-1

Glendon

Winn-1

Gosport

Woodbluff

Population .- Statistics from decennial pub- lications of the U. S. Bureau of the Census.

White.

Negro.

Total.

1820

3,778

2,061

5,839

1830

3,894

3,701

7,595

1840.

4,228

4,412

8,640

1850.

4,901

4,885

9,786

1860.

7,599

7,450

15,049

1870

7,098

7,565

14,663

1880.

7,718

10,086

17,804

1890.

9,685

12,939

22,624

1900

11,952

15,829

27,790

1910.

13,665

17,311

30,987

Delegates to Constitutional Conventions .-

1819-Reuben Saffold, James Magoffin.

1861-Origen Sibley Jewett.

1865-Samuel Forwood.

1867-James M. Jackson.

1875-Samuel Forwood.

1901-Massey Wilson, John A. Gilmore.

Senators .- 1819-20-Joseph B. Chambers.

1823-Neal Smith.

1825-6-George S. Gaines.

1827-8-Joseph B. Earle.

1828-9-Neal Smith.

1831-2-Neal Smith.

1834-5-Samuel Wilkinson.

1836-7-Neal Smith.

1839-40-Girard W. Creagh.

Coffeyville-2

Salitpa

Damon

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HISTORY OF ALABAMA

1842-3-Girard W. Creagh.

1845-6-B. L. Turner.

1847-8-Girard W. Creagh.

1849-50-Cade M. Godbold.

1851-2-Lorenzo James.

1853-4-James S. Dickinson.

1855-6-James S. Jenkins.

1857-8-Noah A. Agee.

1859-60 -- Stephen B. Cleveland.

1861-62-Origen S. Jewett.

1862-3-Robert Broadnax.

1865-6-John Y. Kilpatrick.

1868-J. T. Foster.

1871-2-J. T. Foster.

1872-3-S. Walton.

1873-S. Walton.

1874-5-S. Walton.

1875-6-S. Walton.

1876-7-E. S. Thornton.

1878-9-E. S. Thornton.

1880-1-Henry Ware.

1882-3-Henry Ware.

1884-5-W. H. Evington.

1886-7-W. H. Evington ..

1888-9-J. R. Cowan.

1890-1-J. R. Cowan.

1892-3-L. W. McRae.

1894-5-L. W. McRae.

1896-7-Isaac Grant.

1898-9-Isaac Grant.

1899 (Spec.)-Isaac Grant.

1900-01-W. D. Dunn.

1903-William Dixon Dunn.

1907-Norman Gunn.

1907 (Spec.)-Norman Gunn.

1909 (Spec.)-Norman Gunn.

1911-B. D. Turner.

1915-T. J. Hollis.

1919-T. J. Bedsole.

Representatives --- 1819-20-William Murrell; Girard w. Creagh.

1820-1-William Murrell; G. W. Creagh.

1821 (called)-William Murrell; G. W. Creagh.

1821-2-James Magoffin; Edward Ken- nedy.

1822-3-James Fitts; Edward Kennedy. 1823-4-James Fitts; John G. Creagh.

1824-5-Richard Dickinson; John G. Creagh.

1825-6-John G. Creagh.

1826-7-Elias H. Dubose.

1827-8-Neal Smith.

1828-9-William Mobley.

1829-30-William Mobley.

1830-1-William Mobley.

1831-2-Samuel Wilkinson.

1832 (called)-John G. Creagh.

1832-3-John G. Creagh.

1833-4-John G. Creagh.

1834-5-Abel H. Dubose.

1835-6-Neal Smith. 1836-7-Thomas Saunders.

1837 (called)-Thomas Saunders.

1837-8-R. P. Carney. 1838-9-Girard W. Creagh.

1839-40-Samuel Forward.

1840-1-W. F. Jones.

1841 (called)-W. F. Jones.

1841-2-Lorenzo James.

1842-3-Peter Dubose.

1843-4-John W. Portis.

1844-5-John W. Portis.

1845-$-Morgan Carlton.

1847-8-Thomas B. Rivers.

1849-50-Lorenzo James.

1851-2-A. J. Henshaw.

1853-4-E. S. Thornton.

1855-6-James J. Goode.

1857-8-James J. Goode.

1859-60-W. J. Hearin.

1861 (1st called)-W. J. Hearin.

1861 (2nd called)-W. J. Hearin.

1861-2-W. J. Hearin. 1862 (called)-W. J. Hearin.

1862-3-W. J. Hearin.

1863 (called)-John Y. Kilpatrick.

1863-4-John Y. Kilpatrick.

1864 (called)-John Y. Kilpatrick.

1864-5-John Y. Kilpatrick.

1865-6-Thomas B. Savage.

1866-7-Thomas B. Savage.

1868-B. R. Wilson.

1869-70-B. R. Wilson.

1870-1-H. C. Grayson.

1871-2-H. C. Grayson.

1872-3- J. C. Chapman.

1873-J. C. Chapman.

1874-5-T. W. Baker.

1875-6-T. W. Baker.

1876-7-Samuel Forwood.

1878-9-Frank Winn.

1880-1-S. B. Cleveland.

1882-3-Isaac Grant.

1884-5-Isaac Grant.

1886-7-J. N. Cowan.

1888-9-A. L. McLeod. 1890-1-J. W. Armstead.

1892-3-E. B. Calhoun; Green E. Jones. 1894-5-Isaac Grant; E. O. Calhoun.

1896-7-T. A. Long; J. S. Henson.

1898-9-Thomas A. Long; J. W. Mathews. 1899 (Spec.)-Thomas A. Long; J. W. Mathews.

1900-1-F. E. Poole; Massey Wilson. 1903-Frank English Poole; Isaac Pugh.

1907-Isaac Pugh; J. D. Doyle.

1907 (Spec.)-Isaac Pugh; J. D. Doyle.

1909 (Spec.)-Isaac Pugh; J. D. Doyle.

1911-A. S. Johnson; J. W. Mathews.

1915-J. D. Doyle; Isaac Pugh.

1919-John S. Graham; D. C. Matthews. See Boshi; Boshi Skirmish; Conor Fight; First District Agricultural School; Fort Madi- son; Fort Sucquefield; Forts and Defensive Works; Grove Hill; Jackson; Kimball-James Massacre; Salt Land Agent; Salt Springs, Salt Lands, Salt Works; Soils and Soil Surveys; Suggsville; Tombighee River.

REFERENCES .- Toulmin, Digest (1823), Index; Acts. 1828-29, p. 62; 1830-31, p. 30; 1831-32, p. 24; Brewer, Alabama. p. 173; Berney, Hand- book (1892), p. 278; Rlley Alabama as it is (1893), p. 208; Northern Alabama (1888), p. 231; Alabama, 1909 (Ala. Dept. of Ag. and Ind., Bulletin 27), p. 89; U. S. Soil Survey (1913), with map; Alabama land book (1916), p. 50; Ala. Official and Statistical Register, 1903-1915, 5 vols., Ala. Anthropological Society, Handbook (1910); Geol. Survey of Ala., Agricultural fea-

Judge Oliver Fitts Territorial Judge in Alabama sec- tion of Mississippi Territory

Judge Ephraim Kirby First Superior Court Judge in what is now Alabama

Leonard Tarrant, Esq. Indian agent and public man

Thomas Eastin First State printer

Hon. John Dandridge Bibb Member Constitutional Convention, 1819, from Montgomery County

EARLY PUBLIC OFFICIALS

Vol. 1-18

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HISTORY OF ALABAMA

tures of the State (1883) ; The Valley regions of Alabama, parts 1 and 2 (1896, 1897), and Under- ground Water resources of Alabama (1907); Rev. Timothy H. Ball, Clarke County, Alabama (1882).

CLARKESVILLE. See Clarke County.

CLAY COUNTY. Created by the legisla- ture December 7, 1866, from Randolph and Talladega counties. Its area is 614 square miles or 392,960 acres.

It bears the name of Henry Clay, the dis- tinguished Kentucky statesman and Whig leader.

The act of establishment named James L. Barnhill, A. A. West, H. A. Manning and W. J. Pearce as commissioners to hold an election on March 4, 1867, to elect the authorized county officers, and also to hold an election for county site. The town of Lineville was named as the place of holding the courts, until a suitable court house could be elected. As a result of the contest, a small place was selected, to which the name of Ash- land was given, so called for the home of Mr. Clay, for whom the county had been named.

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History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 53

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