History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume II, Part 70

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: 724

USA > Alabama > History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume II > Part 70

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).

River and probably a few miles west of Nix- burg in the creek swamps. The name sig- nifies "big swamps." It first appears on De Crenay's map, 1733, under the name "Pil- laco." By the French census of 1760, as Pitlako, it has 40 warriors.

REFERENCES .- Gatschet, in Alabama History Commission, Report (1901), vol. 1, p. 408; Hand- book of American Indians (1910), vol. 2, p. 140; Hamilton, Colonial Mobile (1910), p. 190; Mis- sissippi, Provincial Archives (1911), vol. 1, p. 95; Bureau of American Ethnology, Eighteenth annual report (1899), p. 2, map 1; Hawkins, Sketch of the Creek Country (1848), p. 50.

OPP. . Post office and station on the Ala- bama & Florida branch of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, in the eastern part of Cov- ington County, near Yellow River, 15 miles east of Andalusia, 14 miles southwest of Elba, and 30 miles northwest of Geneva. Population: 1912-863. It was incorporated July 12, 1902, with limits extending one-half mile each way from the railroad depot. All the municipal buildings are rented except a small jail, which is owned by the town. It has municipally owned electric light and waterworks plants, whose combined cost was $20,000, a volunteer fire department, 4 miles of sanitary sewerage laid in 1914, at a cost of $13,000. Its bonded indebtedness is $20,000, maturing in 1928. Its banks are the First National, and the Covington County Bank (State). The Opp Messenger, a Democratic semiweekly news- paper established in 1907, is published there. Its industries are a peanut oil mill, a cotton- seed oil mill, 2 cotton ginneries, a gristmill, and the electric and waterworks plants. It has a 4-acre park and playground. It was named for Henry Opp, a lawyer and its prin- cipal promoter.

REFERENCES .- Northern Alabama (1888), pp. 233 et seq .; Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1915.

OQUECHITON. Name of a large river, mentioned in the Tristan de Luna expedi- tion of 1560. The name signifies "great water," Oak chitto, that is Oka, "water," chitto, "large." The name undoubtedly re- fers to the Tombigbee.

REFERENCE .- Dowery, Spanish Settlements (1901), p. 367.

ORANGES. See Fruits.

ORCHARD FRUITS. See Fruits.

ORPHAN ASYLUMS. See Child Welfare.

ORRVILLE. Post office and station on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, in the west- central part of Dallas County. It is located about 1 mile east of Boguechitto Creek, and 18 miles southwest of Selma. Population: 1870-400; 1880-450; 1910-255. It is incorporated under the municipal code of 1907. The Orrville Bank & Trust Co. ( State) is its only banking institution. It is one of the old settlements of Dallas County, and was settled by the Orr, Hayes, Lavender, Pegue and Crossland families.

1097

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

REFERENCES .- Brewer, Alabama (1872), pp. 209 et seq .; Northern Alabama (1888), p. 189; Polk's Alabama gazetteer, 1888-9, p. 638; Ala- bama Official and Statistical Register, 1915.

OSOONEE OLD TOWN. An old Creek In- dian town in Shelby County, on the east side of the Cahaba River, about 2 miles above the influx of Shades Creek.

REFERENCES .- Manuscript records in Alabama Department Archives and History.

OSOTCHI (Oswichee). A Lower Creek town, in Russell County, near the right or south bank of Uchee Creek, about a mile and a half from its influx with the Chatta- hoochee and about the same distance by road from Bonacre Landing in Hatcher's Bend. Its site is about 312 miles from the modern village of Oswichee. To the southeast and adjacent was the town site of Chiaha. North east and below the mouth of Uchee Creek, was the town of Yuchi.

It was settled some time prior to 1791. Hawkins says that "they formerly lived on Flint River, and settling here, they built a hot house in 1794; they cultivate with their neighbors, the Cheauhau (Chiaha), below their land in the point." In their old seats, the French census of 1760 assigns to the Ouchoutchis 50 warriors. Swanton is author- ity for the statement that the original lan- guage of the town may have been Timacua, but on their association with the Chiaha, it was supplanted by the Hitchiti. Bartram calls the town Hooseche, and says that its inhabitants spoke the Muscogee tongue.

REFERENCES .- Handbook of American Indians (1910), vol. 2, p. 161; Hawkins, Sketch of the Creek Country (1848), pp. 25, 63; Gatschet, in Alabama History Commission, Report (1901), vol. 1, p. 406; Bartram, Travels (1791) ; Pickett, History of Alabama (Owen's ed., 1900), pp. 401, 402.

OTCHISI. A Lower Creek town, some- times referred to as a Seminole town, in the upper part of Henry County, at what is known as Ocheesee Bluff. It was 7 miles below Tamali Town. On Jeffry's map they are Io- cated on the east side of the Chattahoochee River, but later they doubtless moved across to the location here indicated.

REFERENCE .- Gatschet, in Alabama History Commission, Report (1901), p. 407.

OTIPALIN. An Upper Creek town in St. Clair County, situated on the Coosa River just below the junction of Canoe Creek. It was probably at or near the site of Coste of De Soto times. The present location is known as Lock. Just below the town and on the west side of Coosa River Fort Strother was built, opposite the influx of Tallahassi- hatchi. The name of the town signifies Ten Islands by which that section of the Coosa is today known.

REFERENCES .- Gatschet, in Alabama History Commission, Report (1901), vol. 1, p. 407; An- drews, "De Soto's Route," in American Anthro- pologist (1917), vol. 19, pp. 55-67.

OTITUTTCHINA. An Upper Creek town in Coosa County, the exact locality of which is uncertain. In Schoolcraft, 1791, it is placed in the country between Coosa and the southern part of the present Coosa County. The name, signifying "Three Islands," would doubtless assign it to a point on the Coosa River, but it may have been in the open country on Weogufka or Hatchet Creeks. Ochuecola Creek of the present day is near to the locality assigned to this point, and may be a modern corruption of the name.

REFERENCES .- Gatschet, in Alabama History Commission, Report (1901), vol. 1, p. 407; Schoolcraft, Indian Tribes (1855), vol. 5, p. 262.

OXFORD. Post office and incorporated town, on the Southern Railway and the Louis- ville & Nashville Railroad, in the southern part of Calhoun County, on Big Shoal Creek, 3 miles south of Anniston, and 22 miles north- east of Talladega. Altitude: 640 feet. Popu- lation: 1870 -- 1,147; 1880-780; 1890- 1,473; 1900-1,372; 1910-1,090. It is in- corporated under the municipal code of 1907. It rents all its municipal buildings except the jail and fire department buildings. It has privately owned gas and electric light plants, municipally owned waterworks, 8 miles sani- tary sewerage, paved sidewalks laid in 1912 and 1913 at a cost of $6,000, and a volunteer fire department. Its tax rate is 5 mills, and its bonded indebtedness, $22,000, maturing in 20 years-$10,000 for waterworks, and $12,000 for sewerage. There is an electric street car system between Oxford and Annis- ton, and to Oxford Lake, the site of the plant of the Alabama Power Co. The First National Bank is the only banking institution, and the Oxford Tribune, a weekly, its only news- paper. Its industries are a cottonseed oil mill, a linter ginnery, a fertilizer plant, a cot- ton ginnery, a firebrick plant, a cotton-cord and twine mill, a Farmers' Alliance ware- house, and iron ore and coal mines in the vicinity. It is the location of the Calhoun County High School. There is a playground or park, occupying a large block in the city, and under the supervision of the school im- provement association. Oxford Lake Park, owned by the Alabama Power Co., is con- venient to the town.

The locality was known in pioneer days as "Lick-Skillet," but for what reason no one now knows. It was settled by the Kelly, Snow, Gunnells, Dudley, and Don families. In 1868 John L. Dodson founded Oxford Col- lege there (q. v.).

REFERENCES .- Armes, Story of coal and iron in Alabama (1910), pp. 179 et seq .; Brewer, Alabama (1872), p. 152; Northern Alabama (1888), p. 112; Polk's Alabama gazetteer, 1888- 9, p. 640; Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1915.

OYSTER RESOURCES. The oyster beds of the State, both natural and planted, are lo- cated almost wholly in the waters of Missis- sippi Sound and the adjacent parts of Mobile Bay. In 1910-11 the Bureau of Fisheries, United States Department of Commerce and

1098

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

Labor, made a survey and report on the productive and barren bottoms of Mississippi Sound, at the request of the Alabama Oyster Commission. According to the report of this survey, the natural oyster beds within the region mentioned embraced 4,008 acres, nearly all being near the junction of Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound. Of this area ap- proximately one-half bore oysters in sufficient quantity to warrant tonging and, to a less extent, dredging. On the rest of the area the oysters were too scattered to be available commercially. It was estimated that in Janu- ary, 1911, these beds contained more than 600,000 bushels of oysters over 3 inches long, and about 460,000 bushels of smaller ones. Numerically the small exceed the large ones. On the areas classified in the report as bear- ing a dense growth, there were two small oysters and on the scattering growth four small oysters to each one over 3 inches long. "As an average of one year would he sufficient to promote most of the young to the market- able class," says the report, page 59, "it is apparent that in the absence of disaster due to freshets or oyster enemies it would be safe to take from these beds at least about 600,000 bushels, as measured by oystermen, without fear of depletion. This is over twice the quantity taken in Mobile County during 1911. Some of the beds do not produce oysters of good quality; but these would doubtless im- prove under a judicious remova' of part of their contents either for canning or, prefer- ably, for transplanting either on depleted natural beds or on private grounds."

It may be stated that the extraordinary freshets and storms of the spring of 1916 caused extensive destruction of the oyster beds of the State.

See Oyster Supervision; Secretary of State. REFERENCE .- H. F. Moore, Condition and ex- tent of the natural oyster beds and barren bot- toms of Mississippi Sound, Alabama, 1913 (in U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, Document 769).

OZARK COTTON MILL CO., Ozark. See Cotton Manufacturing.

PACKING PLANT, se℮ LIVE STOCK AND PRODUCTS.

PAFALLAYA. Name of an Indian province on the east side of the Tombigbee, embracing parts of Greene and Pickens Counties, north and west of the province of Mauvila. The same name, but spelled Apafalaya, is given by Ranjel as the name of the chief of this province, and also as the name of the river, which was the Tombigbee.

There is curious fact, recorded by Adair, that the Choctaws were once called Pas Pharaah, "long hair," by other tribes because they did not trim their hair. To correct Adair's peculiar spelling,-since he always uses an "r" for an "l" in his Indian names-the name should be written "Pash' falaiya," or "Pas' falaiya." It seems very probable that this name, "Pas' falaiya," of Adair is the same name as the Pafallaya of

the De Soto chronicles, and was the old name of that division of the Choctaw people liv- ing east of the Tombigbee. The name must have survived from the days of De Soto down to the days of Adair, who made his advent among the Southern Indians in 1735. In ordinary conversation the Choctaws fre- quently telescope syllables and the full form "Pashi falaiya" can easily be shortened into "Pas' falaiya," and even into "Pa' falaiya."

REFERENCES .- Narratives of De Soto (Trail makers series, 1904), vol. 1, p. 99 and vol. 2, pp. 129, 130; Adair, American Indians (1775), p. 192; Handbook of American Indians (1910), p. 184; French, Historical Collections of Lou- isiana (1850), vol. 2, p. 160.

PAINT ROCK RIVER. A small tributary of the Tennessee River (q. v.), 65 miles long, with an average width of about 50 feet and an average low-water depth of approximately 3 feet. It is formed in Jackson County by the junction of the Larkin and Estill Forks, both of which have their sources in Franklin County, Tenn. It flows southwardly and empties into the Tennessee 15 miles below Guntersville and 38 miles above Decatur.

The Paint Rock River traverses a part of Jackson County and forms the boundary be- tween Marshall and Madison Counties. The contiguous country is mainly timberlands and farm lands. The river takes its name from a very precipitous and beautiful bluff which rises perpendicularly from the margin of Tennessee River at the mouth of Paint Rock River. The bluff is three or four hundred feet high and about 600 feet long. Beauti- fully colored by mineral waters percolating from its face, it is known as the "Painted Rock," or "Paint Rock Bluff."

The river has been navigable for small steamboats during high water, but during low stages is impassable because of rock reefs and shoals. The Government made an examination of the lower 12 miles of the stream in 1913, but the engineers reported adversely to its improvement. There are no water power de- velopments on the river.

REFERENCES .- U. S. Chief of Engineers, Report on preliminary examination of Paint Rock River, for a distance of 12 miles above its mouth, 1913 (in H. Doc. 227, 63d Cong., 1st sess. ).

PAINTS. See Mineral Paints; Ochre.

PAKAN TALAHASSI. An Upper Creek town in Coosa County, on a creek called by that name in its lower course, but now known as Hatchet Creek. It is situated on the right bank of the stream, 4 miles from its influx with Coosa River, and in the fork formed by Weogufka Creek. As stated, the name of the creek is the same as that of the town, during its lower course, but above the influx of Opil-hluko (Pin thlocco), it was known as Potchushatche. The first reference to the town is on De Crenay's map, 1733, where the name is spelled Pacana talaché. It appears on both sides of the Coosa River, apparently near the iuflux of the creek of that name. The French census of 1760 gives the town 50

1099

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

warriors, and places it 15 leagues from Fort Toulouse. The town with its 45 hunters, under the trade regulations of 1761, was as- signed to the Indian traders William Struth- ers and J. Morgan. On Mitchell's map, 1755. and on the map of the American Gazetteer, 1762, the name is spelled Puckantala. The town name means "old peach orchard town," that is, Pakana, "peach," talua, "town," ahassi, "ancient," in the sense of waste.

REFERENCES .- Gatschet, in Alabama History Commission, Report (1901), vol. 1, p. 407; Ham- ilton, Colonial Mobile (1910), p. 190; Missis- sippi, Provincial Archives (1911), vol. 1, p. 95; Georgia, Colonial records (1907), vol. 8, p. 523; Hawkins, Sketch of the Creek Country (1848), pp. 41, 50; Handbook of American Indians (1910), p. 191.

PAKANA. An Alibamu town, located on the north side or right bank of the Talla- poosa River, and in the vicinity of old Fort Toulouse. The first record of this town is 1732 on Danville's map, where it is so lo- cated. Belen's map, 1744, places it appar- ently in the same locality, and near the influx of a small stream west of Chubbehatchee, and on the south side of the river. This may be accounted for, since the towns in that vicinity all had fields on each bank of the river. The town is given 50 warriors, and is located 300 paces from Fort Toulouse. In the English trade regulations of the council at Augusta, July 3, 1761, it is recorded that "Puckanaw joining Alabama Fort," had 30 hunters, but no traders were assigned, a fact significant as showing that the town was un- alterably attached to the French interest. On a map in the American Gazetteer of 1762 the town is located on the east side of the Ala- bama River just below the confluence of Coosa and Tallapoosa, a situation which sug- gests that this may have been either a new or the original site of the town. The spelling varies, as Pacana, Pagana, Packana, Pakkana and Puckanaw.

There is an incidental reference to the town in Adair. There was a Puckna town in Clay County, situated in the fork of two of the upper branches of Hatchet Creek, and a few miles below Stanley. It has been suggested that this may be the remnant of the Pacana of the Tallapoosa, who refused to emigrate with the French. This is mere conjecture, as it is more than likely that the inhabitants of the town either migrated west after 1763 or were absorbed in other Alabama villages in the vicinity.

From the foregoing and from local evi- dences the town evidently at various times occupied sites on the north of the Tallapoosa, on the south of the ruin nearly opposite, and south of, and near the junction of the Coosa and the Tallapoosa. The town sites south of the ruins are marked by mounds and numerous local evidences, the stockade and farm of State Prison No. 4, occupying the site of the first, while the latter site is near Gold- thwaite Mill Creek and about a mile above its influx.

REFERENCES. Hamilton, Colonial Mobile

(1910), p. 188; Shea, Charlevoix's History of New France (1900), vol. 6, p. 11; Mississippi Provincial Archives (1911), vol. 1, p. 94; Geor- gia Colonial Records (1907), vol. 8, p. 524; American Antiquarian, (1886), vol. 8, pp. 252- 254; Adair, American Indians (1775), p. 257; Bureau of American Ethnology, Eighteenth An- nual Report (1899), part 2.

PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION. See Cen- tennials and Expositions.

PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EX- POSITION. See Centennials and Expositions.

PARDONING POWER. As defined by the . courts of the State, a pardon consists in re- lieving a person from the penalty inflicted by law, and it has the effect of restoring him to his condition before conviction. The power to pardon offences, except in cases of treason and of impeachment, and to remit fines and forfeitures is by the constitution reposed in the executive department alone, being exer- cised by the governor with the advice of the ex officio council known as the State board of pardons (q. v.). It has been decided that the law not only reposes a pardoning power in the executive department, but also specific- ally denies it to all other departments of the State government. In many States pardon may be granted either before or after con- viction, and may be absolute, limited or con- ditional. In Alabama a pardon may be abso- lute, limited or conditional, and commuta- tions, reprieves, and paroles may be issued, but only after conviction. A recent phase of the extension of clemency to lawbreakers is their release on probation. Another phase is the reduction of the term of a convict, under provision of law, for good conduct.

The exercise of the pardoning power is governed by the code of 1907, sections 7510- 7516, which provides that "in all cases, ex- cept treason and impeachment, the governor has power, after conviction, and not other- wise, to grant reprieves, commutations, pa- roles, and pardons, and to remit fines and forfeitures and he must cause to be entered, in a book kept for that purpose, his reasons therefor, and must preserve and keep on file all documents on which he acted; and it is the duty of the secretary of state to attest the reprieve, commutation, or. pardon when granted."

State Board of Pardons .- The constitution of 1901 established the State board of par- dons, which acts as an advisory council to assist the governor in ascertaining the facts, determining the merits, and deciding upon the proper action in cases of application for pardon or other form of executive clemency. The main reason for creating the board was to afford partial relief to the governor from the burden imposed upon him by the exercise of the pardoning power. Early in the State's history this part of the executive function had become burdensome; and during the past 50 years particularly, the subject has been dis- cussed in the messages of different governors. The conditions surrounding the extension of clemency were well epitomized by Gov. Rufus

1100

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

W. Cobb in his message of November 9, 1880, in which he said:

"The pardoning power is, by the constitu- tion, vested in the Governor, subject to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by law. Its exercise, constantly invoked, and perhaps too frequently granted, is a delicate and embarrassing duty. Even in cases where the greatest crime has heen followed by a righteous verdict and a just sentence, plaus- ihle ex parte representations may be urged with much force; and citizens of the greatest respectability, unable to resist persistent per- sonal importunity, too often become petition- ers for undeserved clemency. The Governor cannot entirely ignore statements supported hy names of highest character, no matter how . strongly he may be inclined to respect the verdict of the jury, lest the innocent suffer, while if, through his mistaken judgment, or too ready credulity, the guilty escape, justice is wronged, and the law is robbed of its terror for the evil-doer. Acting with the best inten- tions, and after the greatest care and deliber- ation, he must sometimes err on the one side and sometimes on the other, in the one case doing irremediable wrong to the individual, or in the other inflicting irremediable injury upon society. The duty of rejecting a final appeal in a case involving life, liberty, or property, on the one hand, or on the other of releasing from a proper sentence, a justly convicted offender against the peace and dig- nity of the commonwealth, is too grave to be imposed upon a single person, without official and responsihle advice. I commend to your consideration the propriety of creating a board of pardons, to be composed of the At- torney General of the State, and two other persons, without whose recommendation, in writing, with the reasons therefor, the gov- ernor may not remit fines or forfeitures, or grant commutations or pardons, leaving to him, with no other than existing restrictions, the power to grant reprieves."

The board of pardons recommended hy the governor was not established, however, until the adoption of the constitution of 1901.

Restoration of Civil Rights .- While the constitutional grant of pardoning power to the governor includes the power to grant con- ditional pardon and cannot be taken away or limited hy legislative action, although the legislature may enact laws to render its exer- cise convenient and efficient, a pardon so issued does not restore a convict to civil rights unless specifically so stated in the par- don; and under the present law the governor may not include restoration of civil rights in a pardon except with the concurrence of the State hoard of pardons. The exercise of clemency is further limited in that a pardoned convict may not be restored to a State office held before conviction. When the governor orders the release of a convict on parole he may also order his rearrest and return to custody if convinced that the conditions of the parole have not heen observed, and a convict so returned to custody must serve out the un- expired portion of his sentence as though no parole had been granted.

Constitutional and Statutory Provisions. -The pardoning power in Alabama has been a prerogative of the executive department since the organization of the State. The con- stitution of 1819, under the head of executive department, provided that "In all criminal and penal cases, except in those of treason and impeachment, he [the governor] shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, under such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by law. In cases of treason he shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, to grant reprieves and pardons ;. and he may, in the recess of the senate, respite the sentence until the end of the next session of the general assembly."

In accordance with the clause of the sec- tion of the constitution quoted above, which authorized the exercise of the pardoning power of the governor, "under such rules and regulations as shall he prescribed by law," the legislature on December 12, 1822, passed an act authorizing the governor to remit any or part of any fine or forfeiture accruing to the State hefore such fine or forfeiture had been paid into the treasury, but not after. This act repealed a law of December 21, 1820, which had authorized the governor to remit any part of any fine, forfeiture or sentence of impeachment, either before or after pay- ment.

When the penitentiary was established, and the revised system of criminal laws made necessary hy the change in method of pun- ishment was adopted in 1841, it was provided by legislative enactment that the governor might, "with the consent of the convict, com- mute any sentence imposing an ignominious punishment for all offences committed before the second day of November, one thousand eight hundred and forty-one, by substituting therefor imprisonment in the penitentiary for two years."

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 II, Part 70

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: 724

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: 724