USA > Alabama > History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume II > Part 105
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The Code of 1852 contains this provision:
"The time within which any act is pro- vided by law to be done, must be computed by excluding the first day and including the last; if the last day is Sunday it must also be excluded." Sec. 13, p. 59.
This section remains the law to this day, Sec. 11, Code, 1907, Vol. 1. However, this Code contains the additional provision that "the Monday following shall be counted as the last day within which the act may be done."
The courts have been appealed to for vari- ous applications of the rules stated in this section. To illustrate: If an act is to be done within a given time after adjournment of court, the first day after adjournment must be excluded .- 119 Ala. 459. If an act is to be done within thirty days from the 29th of November, the time expires on the 29th of December; if that day be Sunday, the act cannot be performed on the Monday following, but should be done on Saturday preceding the last day .- 136 Ala. 418.
For illustration of the exclusion of the first and including the last day consult 69 Ala., 221; 78 Ala., 403; 80 Ala., 308; 89 Ala., 406; 90 Ala., 68.
If the last day of the limitation is Sun- day, action brought on the following Mon- day is barred .- 67 Ala., 433.
See Mayfield's Digest, Vol. 4, p. 945.
Somerville, Judge, 67 Ala., p. 437, says, with reference to Sec. 11:
"The statute we think was intended mere- ly' as a reaffirmation of the common law rule, that while Sundays are generally to be com- puted in the time allowed for the perform-
ance of an act, if the last day happens to be Sunday, it is excluded and the act must be performed on the day previous .- See 2d Vouvier Law Dictionary, title "Sunday."
SUNDAY SCHOOL ASSOCIATION, THE ALABAMA. A state-wide, voluntary, non- sectarian, cooperative association of Sunday- school officers, teachers and workers, whose character and objects are thus defined in its official handbook:
"It is a co-operative effort of all denom- inations to extend and improve Sunday-school work in our own state. It is the only organ- ization which aims to help every Sunday school in the state. It seeks helpful co-op- eration, not union; its conventions and insti- tutes discuss methods of work, not church doctrine; and it works by way of suggestion, not by authority. Therefore it helps many, it hinders none. Its conventions and institutes are free schools of method, open to all Sunday school workers of all denominations. Lead- ers in Sunday school though of the various denominations help in this work. The Ala- bama Sunday School Association is the Ala- bama auxiliary of the International Sunday School Association."
There are no requirements as to member- ship in the association, every Sunday school worker of every denomination being consid- ered a member with equal rights and priv- ileges; and there are no restrictions as to delegates at district, county or state conven- tions, every white person who attends being regarded as a delegate and entitled to a vote in the proceedings. The association has no constitution nor by-laws, and no dues or as- sessments are required. Its affairs are man- aged by a state executive committee elected at the annual convention. This committee administers the finances, using a modification of the budget plan by which the expenditures for the ensuing year are limited to the amount of funds on hand and pledged. The executive officers of the association consist of a president, first and second vice-presi- dents, international vice president, member international committee, treasurer, assistant treasurer, recording secretary, general secre- tary, and four field secretaries.
Genesis .- For many years previous to the organization of the Alabama Sunday School Association, many, probably most, of the churches in the State, particularly those in the cities and larger towns, conducted Sun- day schools for the training of children and other young persons in religious work; but they were usually strictly denominational In character, and confined themselves to assist- ing in the work of the local churches to which they were attached. During the late seven- ties it became apparent to Sunday-school workers that the usefulness of the individual school could be greatly increased by organ- ized effort, either within each denomination or by means of a state-wide interdenomina- tional organization. However, no organized effort to develop the Sunday-school work in the State was made until 1878. In that year the International Sunday School Convention
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was held in Atlanta, Ga., and as a result of the enthusiasm there manifested, a commit- tee of delegates consisting of Rev. A. S. An- drews, D. D., of the Methodist Church, Rev. J. O. B. Lowery, of the Baptist Church, and Mr. James H. Franklin, of the Presbyterlan Church, issued an invitation to Alabama Sunday-school workers to meet in a conven- tion at the Broad Street Presbyterian Church in Selma on July 16-17. Rev. Lowery presided over the convention until a permanent organ- ization was effected by the election of W. L. Baker of Mobile, as president, and B. R. Davis, as secretary. An interesting program had been arranged by the committee, and the convention was addressed by Rev. E. T. Win- kle, D. D., Rev. E. P. Palmer, D. D., Rev. H. R. Raymond, D. D., Rev. A. S. Andrews, D. D., Rev. J. O. B. Lowery, Rev. Josiah Bancroft, Rev. O. F. Gregory, Mr. W. L. Baker, Gov. R. M. Patton and Hon. Porter King. There were 20 delegates in attend- ance, and the interesting character of the proceedings resulted in calling a second con- vention which was held in Montgomery, Jan- uary 19-22, 1879. The second convention elected Maj. Joseph Hardie, of Selma, as pres- ident, and B. F. Cassidy, of Ozark, as secre- tary, and selected Eufaula as the place for holding the third convention. Annual con- ventions were held until 1884, but from that time until -1890 the association was inactive. From the latter date until the present time a convention has been held each year.
After the reorganization of the state asso- ciation in 1900, the number of delegates at the annual conventions and the interest and enthusiasm manifested increased from year to year. For 1902-1904 the number of dele- gates ranged from 250 to 350. In 1905 the first "large convention" was held in Birming- ham, with 700 delegates in attendance. Since 1911 the attendance has uniformly exceeded 1,000, and in the last three or four years has often numbered more than 2,000.
Activities .- The Alabama Sunday School Association, in its effort to extend and im- prove Sunday-school work of every kind in the State, has inaugurated a large number of special activities. It has a definite and well-established educational policy, compre- hending methods of training for every de- partment, from the individual pupil in the elementary division of the local Sunday school to division superintendents and state secretaries for organized work. The policy also comprehends denominational teacher- training courses; community training courses, and community study circles to train county and district officers and leaders for denomina- tional teacher-training classes; and to give advanced specialized courses to those who have graduated from the denominational courses. As an aid to its educational work, the association maintains a circulating li- brary, containing about 2,000 volumes on Sunday-school and methods, with groups especially suitable for pastors, super- intendents, teachers, and workers in the ele- mentary, secondary and adult divisions. There are also books dealing with the sub-
jects of missions, temperance, social service, evangelism, etc., etc. The use of any por- tion of this library is extended free to any Sunday-school worker in the State.
Among the channels for specialized indi- vidual and organized activities fostered by the State association are organized adult Bible classes, home department, cradle rolls, "teen-age" classes, men's graded unions, older girls' councils, Bible training-schools, "banner-school" systems, and an extensive system of standards for all departments of Sunday-school work, under which the local schools are graded as to efficiency.
The activities of the state association have been more than merely inspirational; they have taken the form of practical planning, in- struction in, and supervision of efficient methods for carrying on the work under- taken by Sunday schools of all denominations in the State. Personal direction of the activ- ities of the different departments is given by experts employed by the state association, and full information on the various phases of their work is furnished in numerous pub- lications. The association has both em- ployed, or salaried workers, and volunteer workers.
The general supervision of the details of the association's affairs is in the hands of the general secretary, who maintains an office and a staff of assistants in Montgomery.
There is a field secretary and state ele- mentary superintendent who travels, visiting individual Sunday schools, conducts insti- tutes for the training of teachers and other Sunday-school workers; writes articles for the press, religious and secular; and con- ducts correspondence with local workers throughout the State. She has a corps of county elementary department superintend- ents under her general supervision.
There is another field secretary whose duty in most respects is similar to those outlined above, except that she has no special super- vision over the elementary department.
The state secondary superintendent attends county conventions, makes addresses, some- times as many as 250 or 300 in one year, and has general supervision of workers In the secondary grades throughout the State.
The adult division superintendent also travels, delivers addresses, attends conven- tions, and looks after organized adult Bible classes.
The rural specialist visits Sunday schools in the rural sections of the State, assisting and instructing in the methods best adapted for schools in such communities.
A recent activity of the state association has been the securing of credits in the public schools of the State for Bible study in Sun- day schools. The details of the plan were first worked out in the city schools of Birm- ingham, under the supervision of Dr. J. H. Phillips, superintendent, and Miss Minnie E. Kennedy, general secretary of the Birming- ham Sunday School Association.
Sunday, February 11, 1917, was observ- ed as "Alabama-Come-to-Sunday-School-Day," by all the Sunday schools of the State, which
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used a program prepared and distributed by the state association.
The principle upon which the activities of the association are predicated is that of spec- ialization, or efficiency as the result of spec- ial training for particular kinds of work. To assist in training workers for special duty, numbers of leaflets, pamphlets, and other publications designed to give the latest and most approved information concerning all de- partments of Sunday school work, are issued and distributed free throughout the State.
Achievements .- According to the latest official report of the International Sunday School Association, Alabama stands near the top in nearly every line of modern Sunday school work, and in several departments it leads the entire Sunday school world. In the number of organized adult Bible classes, and home departments, it is far in advance of every other State and of every Province of Canada. In the number of cradle rolls it is surpassed only by Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. In the number of students en- rolled in teacher-training classes, it is far ahead of every other State. It has twice as many cradle rolls as New York State, twice as many home departments, ten times as many organized "Teen age" classes, six times as many organized adult Bible classes, and ten times as many teacher-training stu- dents.
The first men's graded union in the world was started at Birmingham, and the second at Mobile. The first and largest training school for negro Sunday school workers con- ducted by white people is the one held an- nually in Birmingham. The first complete library dealing with Sunday school methods is the one maintained by the Alabama Sun- day School Association in its general offices at Montgomery. The first state adult Bible class convention in the world was the one held at Dothan in April, 1915. The first state-wide "Soul winners' conference" was held at Marbury in 1915. The first perma- nent "Older girls' council" in America was formed at Birmingham in 1915, and it was in Alabama that the first home department convention was held, also in 1913. The larg- est Bible training school in the world was held at Birmingham in 1912 or 1913, at which there were 2,561 matriculated stu- dents.
So far as known, the Alabama Sunday School Association originated the plan of marking the efficiency of Sunday schools on the basis of a 10-point standard designated as the "Banner school standard." It also contributed the idea of the district chart system, under which the Sunday schools of a given district are grouped together, and their comparative standing in "Banner School" points is exhibited to the eye by a system of stars representing the percentage attained by each school. The association has also suggested, in addition to the percentage standard for the Sunday school as a whole, that a complete set of department standards be adopted which would enable the workers
in each department to grade their work on a 10-point standard of efficiency.
"The secret of the remarkable growth and the general success of the work in Alabama is to be found largely in the cordial and hearty cooperation which all denominations accord to this work," writes a prominent Sunday school worker. "Practical Sunday school workers of all denominations, Bap- tists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and others have heartily cooperated with each other through channels of the Alabama Sunday School Association and through this cooper- ation each denomination has both given and received help from others. The necessary expense for carrying on the work has also been greatly decreased by means of this co- operation and sharing of expenses. It is estimated that in this way by the division of expenses among all denominations the work has been carried on at about one- fourth of the expense than it would other- wise require, while at the same time each denomination receives the full benefit of the work."
County Associations .- As the Alabama Sunday School Association is the Alabama auxiliary of the International Sunday School Association, so the county associations are auxiliaries of the state association. Every county association has a corps of officers cor- responding to that of the state association and holds conventions at stated times, and conducts its work within the county in much the same manner as the state work is carried on. The minutes of the county conventions are frequently published, and various other publications dealing with Sunday school work are distributed. Most of the counties are divided into several districts in which neigh- boring Sunday schools are grouped for the convenient prosecution of their work.
So far as the records show, there was not a single county association in existence at the time the state association was re-organ- ized in 1890. By 1903, organizations affili- ated with the state association had been per- fected in thirty-nine counties. In 1904, forty-five counties had been organized; in 1905, fifty-two; in 1906, fifty-eight; and in 1909 every county in the State had a local association, and all of them have continued active to the present time.
Statistics .- According to the Handbook for 1917, there were 2,965 Sunday schools in the State whose enrollment, exclusive of the home department and the cradle roll, aggregated 244,196, equal to 19 per cent of the white population as shown by the census of 1910. Of the total, 874 were graded schools; 875 had organized adult classes; 621 had a teacher-training class; 1,158 had a cradle roll; 882 had a home department; and 2,502 cooperated with the county asso- ciations.
Auxiliary Organizations .- There are four state-wide auxiliary organizations of the state association, viz, the Alabama Men's Organ- ized Adult Bible Class Federation, the Ala- bama Women's Adult Bible Class Federation,
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the Alabama Older Boys' Conference, and the Alabama Older Girls' Conference.
Presidents, 1890-1916 .- W. L. Barber, 1878; Maj. Joseph Hardie, 1879; G. R. Farn- ham, 1880; Dr. M. J. Green, 1881; Rev. S. L. Russell, 1882; Maj. Joseph Hardie, 1884; Maj. Joseph Hardie, 1890; T. L. Jones, 1891, 1892; W. H. Williams, 1893; J. B. Greene, 1894, 1895; T. W. Palmer, 1896, 1897; W. E. Holloway, 1898, 1899; W. T. Atkins, 1900, 1901; B. Davie, 1902, 1903; E. J. Russell, 1904. 1905; Judge Armstead Brown, 1906; R. F. Lewis, 1907; George G. Miles, 1908; Jerome T. Fuller, 1909; M. M. Sweatt, 1910; H. S. D. Mallory, 1911; R. O. Harris, 1912; Judge M. N. Manning, 1913; William D. Dunn, 1914; S. A. Russell, 1915; Dr. Charles C. Thach, 1916.
Annual Convention, 1878-1916 .- The list which follows gives annual conventions in chronological order, with places of meeting and inclusive dates.
1st Annual Convention, Selma, July 16-17, 1878.
2nd, Montgomery, June 19-22, 1879.
3rd, Eufaula, June 8-10, 1880.
4th, Gadsden, June 10-12, 1881.
5th, Opelika, June 16-18, 1882.
6th, Tuscaloosa, October 20-22, 1883.
7th, Selma, April 13-15, 1884.
8th, Birmingham, March 18-20, 1890.
9th, Anniston, April 14-16, 1891.
10th, Huntsville, April 19-21, 1892.
11th, Opelika, April 26-28, 1893.
12th, Montgomery, 1894.
13th, Mobile, 1895.
14th, Selma, 1896.
15th, Tuscaloosa, 1897.
16th, Birmingham, 1898.
17th, Florence. 1899.
18th, Opelika, 1900.
19th, Talladega, 1901.
20th, Troy, 1902.
21st, Huntsville, 1903.
22nd, Anniston, 1904.
23rd, Birmingham, 1905.
24th, Montgomery, 1906.
25th, Birmingham, 1907.
26th, Birmingham, 1908.
27th, Montgomery, 1909.
28th, Mohile, 1910.
29th, Anniston, April 25-27, 1911.
30th, Selma, 1912.
31st, Huntsville, 1913.
32nd, Mobile, 1914.
33rd, Dothan, 1915.
34th, Gadsden, April 25-27, 1916.
35th, Montgomery, April 24-26, 1917.
PUBLICATIONS. - Alabama Sunday School Herald (m), 1896-1900; Alabama Sunday School Bulletin (m), 1909; Alabama Sunday School Handbook. 1913-1917, 5 vols .; and various pamphlets and leaflets.
REFERENCES .- Publications, supra.
SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION. See Education, Superintendent of.
SWINE. See Live Stock and Products.
SYCAMORE MILLS, Sycamore. See Cat- ton Manufacturing.
SYLACAUGA. Post office and incorpor- ated town, in the southeastern part of Talla- dega County, sec. 29 and the N. 12 of sec. 32, T. 21, S, R. 4 E., 22 miles south of Talla- dega, 35 miles east of Calera, and about 60 miles southeast of Birmingham. It is the junction of the Louisville & Nashville Rail- road and the Central of Georgia Railway. Population: 1870-1,034; 1880-500; 1890 was -464; 1900-880; 1910-1,456. It incorporated hy the legislature, Febru-
now under the ary 26, 1887, but is
commission form of government. All municipal buildings are rented except the jail and the schools. It has electric lights, waterworks, fire department, sanitary sew- erage, and 6 miles of paved sidewalks. Its tax rate is 5 mills, and its honded indeht- edness, $65,000. Its banks are the First Na- tional, the Marble City Savings Bank (State), and the Merchants & Planters National. The Sylacauga Advance, a Democratic weekly es- tablished in November, 1906, is published there. Its industries are cotton mills, a cot- tonseed oil mill and ginnery, 3 cotton ware- houses, a fertilizer plant, a sawmill and box factory, a grain mill, an ice factory, a saw- mill, a turpentine works, a gristmill, a mar- ble works, a hosiery mill, and the public utilities mentioned above. It is the location of the Fourth District Agricultural School.
The city is now popularly called "the marble city," on account of the fine quality of statuary marhle quarried there. It is one of the oldest settlements in east Alabama. Many of Coffee's and Jackson's militia set- tled there after the Indian wars. Among the earliest settlers were the Dent, Rye, Lindsey, Hubbard, Gibson, Hugins, Reese, Rylant, Pat- terson, and Wilson families. It is located on the old plankroad, built in the fifties, by Col. Joseph Winter, of Montgomery, from the capital city toward Talladega. It is in the midst of the finest wheat section in east Ala- bama. Signor Moretti, the Italian sculptor, has done much to develop the marhle indus- try of this section. He moved his studios there from New York City, and finally ac- quired the Moretti marble quarries. He first exhibited specimens of statuary, made from this marble, at the Atlanta Piedmont Expo- sition in 1895.
See Chala Kagay.
REFERENCES .- Acts. 1886-87, pp. 452-460; 1894- 95, pp. 986-990; Brewer, Alabama (1872) ; Armes, Story of coal and iron in Alabama (1910), p. 323; Northern Alabama (1888), pp. 167-168; Polk's Alabama gazetteer, 1888-9, p. 748; Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1915.
SYRUP MANUFACTURING. Sugar cane and sorghum cane from which syrup is manu- factured are grown successfully in Alabama in all hut the northern counties. In 1920 all hut twelve of the 67 counties of the State showed syrup canes grown. The acreage covered was
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59,700, producing 10,358,000 galions, worth $10,718,000. The majority of farms grow enough syrup cane to supply molasses for fam- ily use, and either manufacture it upon their own farms or carry the cane to a nearby plant or movable mil :. The demand for home-made syrup by refiners has greatly increased the industry in recent years.
Sugar Cane .- Sugar Cane is a large peren- nial grass, grown for its stem, the juice of which is used in making sugar and molasses. It is a native of tropical counties. It grows best in the southern coast country, but throughout south Alabama, is successfully cul- tivated. It has been cultivated so long that its origin is lost. It is doubtful whether any- one has ever seen sugar cane growing wild. There are several varieties. The possibilities are that it was used by man ages before there is any record of the fact, and that its culture was first undertaken by tropical people. It was first eaten raw. Later when artificial means were developed to extract the juice and convert it into sugar and molasses, the plant took a high rank in agriculture.
Sorghum .- A cultivated grass, the juice of which was extracted for making a variety of syrup. Johnson grass is one of the species of sorghum and widely distributed. Broomcorn belongs to the sorghum family, also sumac, kafir corn and the durras. Sorg- hum (syrup producing) is a drought resisting crop. The forage Is used for fodder and silage, pasture or for feeding and is generally considered superior to forage productions. It makes good pasture for hogs.
Alabama-Georgia Syrup Company. Organ- ized in October, 1906, in Montgomery, L. B. Whitfield, president and manager. Contract was let for the building on November 1st, the same year, and on January 29, 1907 the first run was made. The office force consisted of a combination superintendent and stenog- rapher, but the business grew rapidly, and in 1917, had five traveling salesmen, a large office force, and fifty brokers selling the prod- ucts of the factory throughout the southern and western States, as far as Washington and California.
Southern Syrup Company .- Established in 1904 in Montgomery, by Ralph D. Quisen- berry and Frank McPherson. In 1911 and 1912, branch factories were established in Birmingham, and Jackson, Miss. In 1916, 4,000,000 labels were used in distributing its products over eighteen States. The company manufactures the "Peacock" syrup. The Southern Syrup Company offers a market for sorghum and sugar cane.
Dothan Syrup Company. (No data on hand).
REFERENCES .- Bailey, Cyclopedia of American Agriculture; letters from L. B. Whitfield and Ralph D. Quisenberry.
T
TALATIGI. An Upper Creek settlement in Talladega County, situated within the lim-
its of the present city of that name. The name signifies "border town," that is, talua, "town," and atigi, "at the end, on the border." It was originally settled from Abihka. Facts of its settlement are not preserved, but it was thrown off from the mother town in the first half of the eighteenth century. By the French census of 1760 the town, erroneously spelled Kalalekis, had 130 warriors. On No- vember 9, 1813, the town was destroyed by Gen. Jackson's forces.
See Abibka; Talladega, Battle of.
REFERENCES .- Gatschet, in Alabama History Commission, Report (1901), vol. 1, p. 409; Mis- sissippi, Provincial Archives (1911), vol. 1, p. 96; Drake, Book of Indians, p. 56.
TALI HULI. This place name means Stand- ing Rock, "Tali," Rock, "Huli," standing, is written Talle quile on De Crenay's map. The place is on the south side of Alabama River, near Bridgeport, perhaps a mile above it in Wilcox County.
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