History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 58

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 58

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Penal Code .- By act of February 23, 1866 the penal code prepared by George W. Stone and John W. Shepherd, commissioners was "adopted as part of the criminal laws of this State. (8 vo. pp. 238.) 3000 copies of the Code was ordered printed in pamphlet form for public use. Section 6 of the act proposed that as soon as the Code was printed and delivered to the Secretary of State, it should be the duty of the Governor to issue a procla- mation, appoint a day, no les than thirty and no more than 60 from the date of the procla-

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mation indicating when the Code should go into effect and become operative.

From a note on page 8 it appears that it was the intention of the legislature that the same criminal laws of the State in force at the date of publication should be incorpor- ated in their appropriate place in the new Code This was done as far as possible, but the commissioners reported that it had been impossible for them to reconcile several acts of the then current legislature with the pro- visions of the Code. These acts were there- fore printed in full in the preliminary part of the volume. The Penal Code was inserted, "with such alterations only as were made necessary by legislature," in the Code of 1867.

Code, 1867 .- For the usual ten-year revi- sion, the legislature, February 21, 1860, authorized the appointment of a code com- missioner. Turner Reavis was appointed, but on December 9, 1861, further work was sus- pended until the War should be concluded. Early in 1866, Abraham J. Walker was named under the original act. His work was reported and adopted, February 19, 1867. (8vo. pp. 960.) It was arranged in the same general form as the code of 1852. New numbers were given to the several sections, but the sections of the old code were given in parenthesis immediately following the new numbers. The old code was carried forward substantially into the new, with the omission of inaccurate or redundant phraseology, and all statutes subsequent to those contained in the old code and not declared unconstitu- tional or repealed were condensed into proper sections and inserted in appropriate places.

The Penal Code, supra, was inserted, with such alterations only as were made necessary by subsequent legislation. The indexes to the constitution and to the ordinances of the con- vention, included in the code, were prepared by John W. Shepherd. The compiler acknowledges his indebtedness to John B. Taylor, of Montgomery, for assistance, saying, "Whatever merit it may possess is attribut- able in a great degree to him."

The governor was authorized to have the book copyrighted in the name of the State, and six thousand copies were printed. The General Statutes of Missouri, 1865, was desig- nated as a model. As required by section 8, of the act of adoption, on the delivery of the books, Gov. Patton issued his proclamation, dated December 19, 1867. Under section 9, the code went into effect "after the term of sixty days from the date of such proclama- tion," or February 18, 1868.

Code, 1876 .- This compilation was made by Wade Keys and Fern M. Wood, and by John D. Roquemore, successor to Mr. Wood, appointed by the governor under act of March 8, 1876. It appears that an act had been passed December 17, 1873, providing for the codification and revision of statute laws of the State, and that the manuscript of the revision had been submitted by the compilers, Messrs. Crenshaw, Minnis, and White. The compilers, under the new law, were directed to adopt and correct and as far as possible make use of the work just referred to, inserting all acts

passed by the legislatures of 1874-5, 1875-6, and 1876-7. The work was to conform in its general model to the code of 1867.

The work of the commissioners was adopted February 2, 1877, and it was directed that it should "go into force and be operative on the 30th day after the date of the governor's proclamation, announcing its publication." The governor's proclamation bears date November 9, 1877, and the code went into effect December 10, 1877.

The commissioners received as their com- pensation the sum of $2,000, "payable when the work Is finished." Four thousand copies were printed and bound.

In the "preliminary part," pages 1-184, will be found copies of constitutions, enabling acts, Reconstruction acts, and many other original documents of historical importance. The con- stitutions of 1819, 1861, 1865, 1868, and 1875 are given in full.

Code, 1886 .- This code was published in two volumes (8vo. vol. 1, pp. 1035, and vol. 2, pp. 319.) The compilation was made by Judge Robert C. Brickell, Peter Hamilton, and John P. Tillman, under acts of February 17, 1885, which required them "to revise and reduce into a written and systematic code, the whole body of the public statutes of this State, civil and criminal." The work was adopted February 28, 1887, and became oper- ative on the 30th day "after the date of the governor's proclamation announcing its publi- This proclamation was issued on catlon." and the code therefore went Into effect on

The commissioners received for their work $2,000, half of which was paid when the work was delivered to the binders, and the remain- der when 5,000 copies of the code were delivered to the secretary of state. Five thousand copies were ordered printed, in sub- stantial conformity to the style and specifica- tlons of the code of 1876. It was especially stipulated that it should be bound in two volumes.

In the code of 1876 a few annotations or references to the decisions of the supreme court had been inserted. The act providing for publication, February 21, 1887, expressly provided that immediately following the several sections of the constitution and code, should be given citations to every decision of the supreme court construing such sections.

The report of the commissioners indicated that the criminal code was "almost entirely the work of Francis B. Clark, jr., of Mobile." In the preface, acknowledgment is made to P. J. Hamilton, of Mobile, "for valuable ser- vices rendered by him in the preparation of the work." John P. Tillman was sole commis- sioner In charge of publication.

Code, 1896 .- This code was the work of William L. Martin as sole commissioner, appointed by the governor under act of Feb- ruary 18, 1895, to revise, digest, and codify the laws of the State. His work was sub- mitted, and publication authorized by act of February 16, 1897. It was published In two volumes (8vo. vol. 1, Civil Code, pp. 1627; vol. 2, Criminal Code, pp. 576.) Copies of the

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constitutions of the State, the usual historical and other statutes were included.

The committee of the legislature appointed to review the work refer to it as "a code of laws for the State equal to any it has ever had, and surpassed by that of no state in the Union." The commissioner was commended highly. From the report of the commissioner to the governor, it appears that he had the assistance of A. D. Sayre, P. C. Massey, Fred S. Ball, W. H. Thomas, Francis G. Gaffey, George Stowers, and Lorleys Rogers. To Messrs. Sayre and Massey acknowledgment is made for having "prepared certain parts of the code."

The code was printed in an edition of 7,000 copies. The commissioner was paid the sum of $6,000. The code went into effect by proclamation of the governor, on February 17, 1898. A copy of the proclamation, with a facsimile of the great seal of State, and of the signature of the governor and secretary of state appears on the inside cover of volume 1.

Code, 1907 .- The constitution of 1901, sec. 85, provided that it should be the duty of the legislature at its first session after ratification, and within every subsequent period of 12 years, "to make provision by law for revising, digesting, and promulgating the public stat- utes of this State, of a general nature, both civil and criminal." At the first session of the legislature, September 30, 1903, an act was passed to carry this direction into effect. James J. Mayfield was elected by the legisla- ture to prepare the code under this act.

During the succeeding four years, the com- missioner carefully and thoroughly devoted himself to the task, and at the next session, July 27, 1907, it was adopted. The work of the commissioner was "read and thoroughly considered" by a joint committee of the legis- lature. appointed under an act of February 15, 1907. "The committee either adopted, rejected, or amended and revised each section of the code prepared by the commissioner, and added some few sections thereto. This manuscript, as amended and revised by the committee, was reported to the legislature, and as revised and reported was adopted by the legislature, with one amendment, which was, striking out of the manuscript the sec- tion thereof corresponding to section 1370 of the code of 1896." In volume 1 is this com- mendatory reference to the work of the com- mittee: "It is due this committee to say that probably no committee in the history of the State ever labored more earnestly or faithfully than did this one. While the committee made many changes in the manuscript prepared by the commissioner, none were made capri- ciously or arbitrarily, but only when in the opinion of the committee, the law would be made better or more certain. While the com- missioner did not then and does not now agree with the committee in all of the changes made by it, he did agree to many of them; and the code as a whole was improved by the re- vision of the committee."

The committee was made up as follows: on the part of the house, S. W. John, chairman of the committee, A. H. Carmichael, J. Manly

Foster, O. C. Maner, and H. B. Steagall; and on the part of the senate, John A. Luck, Henry P. Merritt, and Lucien D. Gardner.

The code was published in three volumes (8vo. vol. 1, Political, pp. 1099; vol. 2, Civil, pp. 1694; and vol. 3, Criminal, pp. 1102.) The sections are numbered throughout from 1 to 7900. The numbers in parenthesis fol- lowing the number of the section, represent the corresponding numbers of previous codes. Marginal references show the origin of the statute since the code of 1896 upon which the statute is based, or which amended the sec- tion since last codified. The letters "w. c. c." indicate that the section was written by the code committee, and the letters "r. c. c." indicate that the section was revised by the code committee. Historical annotations, ref- erences, and cross references are given. The decisions of the supreme court from Minor to 145 Alabama have been cited. The general arrangement is alphabetical, "classified with respect to a practical or utilitarian arrange- ment, as nearly as could be, rather than a logical or theoretical one, placing in the Polit- ical those subjects which pertain to the polit- ical organization and administration of the government, and in the Civil those which pertain to civil rights and remedies. The one pertains more to the executive, legislative and administrative departments of the State, and the other more to the judicial depart- ment." The several constitutions and other historical documents usually found in the codes are contained in this compilation.

The special session of the legislature, August 26, 1909, re-adopted the code of 1907, as contained in the three volumes printed and distributed under the act of 1907. Section 2 of this act provides "that all acts of the legis- lature, passed at the special sessions of the legislature, altering, amending or repealing either the sections of the code, or the acts of the legislature passed at the general or special sessions are unaffected by the adoption of this code." This was considered in the case of the City of Montgomery v. Wyche, 169 Ala., p. 181, and the history of the act, and the necessity therefor, fully reviewed.

Compilers .- Aikin, John G. 1833, 1836; Bagby, A. P., one of the Code Commissioners, 1852; Brickell, R. C., one of the Code Com- missioners, 1886; Clark, F. B., arranged, anno- tated and indexed Vol. 2, Criminal Code, 1886; Clay, Clement C., Sr., Compiler, Digest, 1843; Goldthwaite, George, one of the Code Commissioners, 1852; Hamilton, Peter J., assisted in compilation of Code of 1886; Hamilton, Peter, one of Code Commissioners, 1886; Keyes, Wade., one of Code Commission- ers, 1876; Martin, William L., Compiler, Code of 1896; Mayfield, J. J., Compiler Code of 1907; Meek, A. B., Compiler, Supplement, Aiken's Digest. 1841; Ormond John J., one of Code Commissioners, 1852; Roquemore, John D., one of Code Commissioners, 1876; Semple, Henry, Indexed Code of 1852; Shepherd, J. W., one of Compilers, Penal Code, 1866; Stone, George W., one of Compilers, Penal Code, 1866; Tillman, John P., one of Code Commissioners, 1886; Toulmin, Harry, Com-

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piler, Digest of Alabama, 1823; Walker, Judge A. J., Code Commissioner, 1867; Wood, Fern M., one of Code Commissioners, 1876.

See Conventions and Constitutions; Courts, Judicial Department; Law or Laws.

REFERENCES .- A subdivision of the authorities for this title is made for practical purposes, grouped by digests of codes, followed by a gen- eral bibliography.

Toulmin, 1807; Turner, 1816; Toulmin, 1823 .- Consult the volumes themselves for copies of acts and other authorization, etc.

Aikin, 1833 .- Acts, 1831-32, p. 21; 1832-33, pp. 29, 135; Digest (1833), pp. iii-vii, 301; Ibid (1836), p. 618.

Military Code, 1838 .- Acts, 1836, p. 22; 1837, pp. 131-132.

Clay, 1843 .- Acts, 1841-42, pp. 9-10; 1842-43, pp. 24-26; Digest (1843), p. 365.

Code, 1852 .- Acts, 1849-50, pp. 43, 44; 1851- 52, pp. 22-27; Senate, Journal, 1849-50, pp. 195- 197; House of Representatives, Journal, 1851-52, pp. 28, 334-357; Code, 1852, Prefatory note; Commissioners, Report, 1851 (8vo., pp. 7); Re- port of the Joint Committee, 1852 (8vo., pp. 32); Dew v. Cunningham, 28 Ala., p. 466.

Penal Code, 1866 .- Acts, 1865-66, pp. 120-124; Penal Code, 1866, pp. 5-14; Code, 1867, Preface; Hoover v. State, 59 Ala., p. 57.

Code, 1867 .- Acts, 1859-60, pp. 88-90; 1861, p. 20; 1866-67, pp. 111, 112, 718-721; Code, 1867, Preface; Reynolds v. Taylor, 43 Ala., p. 420; Nicholson v. M. & M. R. R. Co., 49 Ala., p. 205; Ex parte Amos, 51 Ala., p. 57; Dane v. McArthur, 57 Ala., p. 448.

Code, 1876 .- Acts, 1875-76, pp. 160-163; 1876- 77, pp. 57-61; House of Representatives, Journal, 1876-77, pp. 64, 382-383; Code, 1876, Preliminary Part, pp. 1-5; Ulmer v. State, 61 Ala., p. 208; Bailes v. State, 63 Ala., p. 30; Carmichael v. Hays, 66 Ala., p. 543; Sawyers v. Baker, 72 Ala., p. 49.

Code, 1886 .- Acts, 1884-85, pp. 146-147; 1886- 87, pp. 43-47, 797; Code Commissioners, Report, 1886 (8vo., pp. 23); Report of Joint Committee, 1887 (8vo., pp. 8); Code, 1886, vol. 1, Preface, and Preliminary Part; Ex parte Thomas, 113 Ala., p. 1.

Code, 1896 .- Acts, 1894-95, pp. 1001-1004; 1896- 97, pp. 1088-1089, 1194-1201; Wm. L. Martin, Com'r, Report, 1896 (8vo., pp. 116); Report of Special Committee of Code, 1897 (8vo., pp. 22) ; Code, 1896, Explanatory and Preliminary Mat- ter; Builders' and Painters' Supply Co. v. Lucas & Co., 119 Ala., p. 202; Bluthenthal & Bickert, 131 Ala., p. 639; State v. Towery, 143 Ala., p. 48.

Code, 1907 .- General Acts, 1903, pp. 298-301; 1907, pp. 110-111, 499-500, 504-512; 1909, Special Sess., p. 174; James J. Mayfield, Com'r, Report, 1907 (8vo., pp. 190); Code, 1907, vol. 1, Preface, Code Committee, etc .; Farmers Union Ware- house Co. v. McIntosh, 1 Ala. App., p. 407; Ray- ford v. Faulk, 154 Ala., p. 285; City of Anniston v. Calhoun Co., 158 Ala., p. 68; Birmingham v. Miller, 158 Ala., p. 59; City of Montgomery v. Wyche, 169 Ala., p. 181; Fulton v. State, 171 Ala., p. 572.

Bibliography .- Owen, "Bibliography of Ala- bama," in American Historical Association, Re- port, 1897, contains full lists of all digests, codes, etc., under the title "Codes of Alabama." Judge

R. C. Brickell, Digest of Decisions of Alabama (1874), vol. 2, Introduction, has an interesting sketch of the courts and laws of the state. In Brewer, Alabama (1872) ; Garrett, Public men in Alabama (1872); Northern Alabama (1887) ; Memorial record of Alabama (1893), 2 vols., and other biographical works, are to he found sketches of compilers. References to law reform appear passim in Alabama State Bar Associa- tion, Reports. Above are noted decisions relat- ing to particular codes. Other cases are as follows: Sartor v. Br. Bank of Montgomery, 29 Ala., p. 353, Stallworth v. Stallworth, Ihid, p. 76, and Huffman v. State, Ibid, p. 40; Barker v. Bell, 46 Ala., p. 216; Fretwell v. Mclemore, 52 Ala., p. 124; Hendon v. White, 52 Ala., p. 597; Hatchet v. Billingslea, 65 Ala., p. 16; E. T. V. & G. R. R. Co. v. Hughes, 76 Ala., p. 590; Werborn v. Austin, 77 Ala., p. 381; South v. State, 86 Ala., p. 617; Potter v. State, 92 Ala., p. 37; Thomas v. State, 124 Ala., p. 48; Poull & Co. v. Foy-Hays Const. Co., 159 Ala., p. 453; Fulton v. State. 171 Ala., p. 572. See also Brickell, Digest, vols. 1 and 3, "Code" titles; and Mayfield, Digest, vols. 1, 2, 6, 7, "Code" titles.

The original manuscripts of the Code of 1852, Penal Code 1866, Codes of 1867, 1876, 1886, 1897, and 1907 are in the custody of the Alabama De- partment of Archives and History under secs. 794, 800 and 801 of the Code of 1907.

COFFEE COUNTY. Created hy the legis- lature, December 29, 1841, out of the western portion of Dale County. It contains 678 square miles or 433,920 acres.

It bears the honored name of Gen. John Coffee of Lauderdale County, a gallant soldier in the War of 1813-14, and a distinguished early settler of the State.

Commissioners, consisting of Britton T. Atkinson, Jams Claxton, Thomas Cole, John B. Cruise and Amos Wiggins were named to select a seat of justice. Power was given to secure not exceeding 160 acres of land, to erect a courthouse and jail, and to lay off the re- mainder of the land into lots for sale. Elec- tions were required to be held, but it was pro- vided that officers of Dale county, whose resi- dence would fall within the new county, should continue to hold office until the expira- tion of their terms.

The commissioners were directed to select a point as near the center as practicahle for the location of the county seat, and not ex- ceeding six miles from the center. When selected the county seat was to be known by the name of Wellhorn. A subsequent act of February 1, 1843, amended the original law in reference to the selection. In this act it was made the duty of the sheriff to advertise the election in three or more public places in the county, together with an advertisement at Bridgeville, for an election to be held on the first Monday in May, 1843, "an election for the location of the seat of justice in said county."

Events appear to have moved slowly, and just ahout one year, December 23, 1842, after the formation of the county the legislature found it necessary to direct the judge of the county court of Coffee to hold an election on the first Monday in March for county officers.

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In the event the judge should fail to comply with the provision of the act he was subjected to a fine of $500.

The first officers, all commissioned in 1843, appear to have been Wm. Peoples, sheriff, Bartley M. Tucker, clerk of the circuit court, and Benjamin F. Tucker, clerk of the county court.

The question of the location of the county seat came up again, and the legislature on January 23, 1845, appointed commissioners to select, on or before the first day of March of that year, "forty acres of land, which were within one mile of the center of Coffee county, which when selected, shall be the permanent site or seat of justice for said county." As soon as the selection was made the commis- sioners were required to have the town sur- veyed and laid off into convenient lots, "suit- able for a courthouse town." The lots were to be sold to the highest bidder. After the sale of the lots they were required to contract for "the building of a courthouse and jail."

The courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1851, and the legislature February 5, 1852 required the probate judge to procure suit- able and separate books in which to record anew all deeds, marriage licenses and all other papers required by law to be recorded, which may be deposited in the office for that purpose. The same legislature, December 16, 1851, authorized the judge of probate and the commissioners of roads and revenue, to levy a tax, not exceeding fifty per cent of the State tax "for the express purpose of building a courthouse and appurtenances in and for said county." On January 30, 1852 another act was passed directing the sheriff to hold an election on the first Monday in August 1852 to fix the permanent location of the courthouse. The electors were authorized to select one of the towns of Wellborn, Elba and Indigo Head. The town receiving the ma- jority was to be the county seat provided the citizens of the town should build a good and substantial courthouse and jall free of charge to the county. As a result of the election Elba was chosen, and it has since remained the county seat.

Location and Physical Description .- It lies in the southeastern section of the state. It Is bounded north by Pike, east by Dale, south by Geneva and west by Covington and Cren- shaw Counties. It is a rectangle, 29 miles long and 24 miles wide. The topography ranges from long flat ridges in the southern part to hilly and broken surfaces in the north- ern section. In the former lies the "piney woods," and the latter is known as "hill lands." The northern part of the county has been eroded into a choppy or broken surface, making a succession of rounded knolls and narrow ridges. The largest ridge extends from Kinston to the northeastern corner of the county. In the central and eastern parts lie another large ridge upon which are located Enterprise and New Brockton. The Pea River runs from the northeastern to the southwestern part of the county, and indi- cates the general drainage direction. The drainage to the Choctawhatchie River is

through Bowles, Stripling, Indian Cowpen, Line and Wilkinson creeks. The section drained by Pea River includes Bluff, Double Bridges, Tight Eye, Philips and Flat creeks. The largest tributary to Pea River is White- water Creek. Other tributaries to Pea River include Clearwater, Hall, Cardwell, Indigo, Harper's Mill, Beaver Dam, Helm's Mill, Buck's Mill, Hayes and Page's creeks. It has 18 soil types, including meadow. All of these are derived from the sands and clays of the Lafayette formation, with the exception of the Susquehanna fine sandy loam, derived from a Tertiary formation underlying the Lafayette. The county lies wholly within the Coastal Plain, and was originally included as a part of the ocean bed, gradually elevated to its present position. The soil types referred to represent the weathered or reworked mate- rials of ancient marine deposits. The original forest growth was different varieties, oak, hickory, beech, ash, elm, gum, bay, cedar and chestnut. Over considerable areas are now to be found second growth pine, scrub oak and underbrush. The climate is suited to a widely diversified agriculture. The summers are long with periods of high temperature, but the mean temperature of the months of June, July, August and September rarely ex- ceeds 80º F. The winters are short and usu- ally mild. The usual minimum temperature is 10° to 12º F. above zero. The average mean annual precipitation is 51 inches. Arte- sian wells supply water for the larger towns. Details of the character and extent of produc- tions are noted in the statistics below.

Aboriginal History .- This county was in the Creek territory, but no town sites are acredited to its area. It is too far removed from the Chattahoochee River Creek settle- ments to have been very much influenced, but on the larger streams are found some chipped arrow and spear points. A mound is located in T. 6., R 19 W.

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

Infantry.

Co. D, "Coffee Rangers," 12th Regt.

Co. A, "Bullock Guards," 18th Regt.

Co. K, "Little George Mathews' Friends,"

25th Regt. (in part from Coffee.)

Co. A, 33d Regt.

Co. A, 54th Regt.

Co. E, 54th Regt. (Formerly Co. D, 4th Conf. Inf. Regt. )

Co. C, 57th Regt. (In part from Coffee.)

Co. G, 57th Regt.

Co. G, 61st Regt.

Cavalry.

Co. B, 6th Regt.

Co. H, 53d Regt. (Mounted Infantry; in part from Coffee.)

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

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Bureau of Crop Estimates, U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Number of all farms, 2,700. Acres cultivated, 210,000. Acres in pasture, 105,000. Farm Animals: Horses and mules, 8,700.

Milk cows, 13,100. Other cattle, 10,750. Brood Sows, 10,750. Other hogs, 56,250. Sheep,

Selected Crops (Acres and Quantity) .-

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History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 58

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