USA > Alabama > Conecuh County > History of Conecuh County, Alabama. Embracing a detailed record of events from the earliest period to the present; biographical sketches of those who have been most conspicuous in the annals of the county; a complete list of the officials of Conecuh, besides much valuable information relative to the internal resources of the county > Part 5
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cola, and up freight correspondingly low. The impor- tance of Conecuh river as a commercial outlet may be estimated when the reader is told that, even as early as 1823, there were annually shipped from Brooklyn three thousand bales of cotton. The passage to and from Pensacola was usually made with com- parative ease; and yet more or less peril was appre- hended when the river had been cleared, and the barges floated out into the open sea. Gull's Point, in Pensacola Bay, was an object of peculiar terror to these early boatmen. If this could be passed without encountering adverse winds, it became a subject of common congratulation among these primitive pro- pellers of the oar.
The first mail route that penetrated any portion of Conecuh was along the Old Federal Road-which, for a considerable distance, divides the counties of Cone- cuh and Monroe. The first office was established at Burnt Corn. A branch route was subsequently es- tablished between this point and Sparta. This postal service was originally performed on horseback, and at a later period in stages along the principal routes. With the rapid growth of population, post-offices were eventually established at all the principal points in the county.
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CHAPTER XIII.
A Chapter of Biography-Rev. James King-Rev. Keidar Haw- thorne, and Others.
REV. JAMES KING.
The writer was fortunate enough to find an auto- biographical sketch of the life of this sainted preacher, in the hands of his daughter, Mrs. John Sampey. She very kindly surrendered it for publication, and it is herewith submitted :
DECEMBER 10, 1856.
This day the Conference met at Tuskegee, being the day that closed my 74th year; and being present with this large body of ministers, numbering about two hundred, it caused my mind to run back over the past scenes of my ministerial life, with deep and very solemn reflections. In contrasting the past with the present, I have thought proper to write down a brief sketch of my ministerial life, with a few incidents connected with my history, which are as follows :
In 1800, I attached myself to the Methodist Church. The society which I joined was composed of six women and one free black man-he being the class- leader. In 1802, I married and took upon myself the responsibilities of a family. In 1803, I was appointed the leader of the class which I had joined. In 1805, I was licensed an exhorter. In 1806, I was licensed
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a local preacher. By this time the society had in- creased to the number of seventy. In 1816, I was ordained deacon, in Wilmington, by Bishop McKen- dree; that being the first ordination ever conferred in that place. Up to this date my family had increased to nine in number, beside myself and wife. I re- mained in North Carolina until 1818, making twelve years. During this time my ministerial labors were confined to six counties, to wit: Bladen, Brunswick, Hanover, Cumberland, Roberson, and Columbus, with some occasional visits to Horee District, South Caro- lina. In view of the charge upon my hands looking up to me for support, it will be easy to perceive that my labors were extended beyond the ordinary grounds of a local minister; and for all this service and labor I had no claim upon the church, nor did I receive one cent for my labors. On the 21st of April, 1819, I removed with my family to Alabama. I arrived at Alabama Town, where I met with some of my North Carolina friends, who prevailed upon me to stop there for the year. My ministerial labors during that year were as follows: One Sabbath at Alabama Town-the next at Philadelphia (now Montgomery.) I was the first licensed preacher that ever preached in that place. This was one of the years of great trial and privation to me, there being no regularly organ- ized society, and I heard but one sermon preached during the time. In the winter of 1819, I removed to Conecuh river. There being but few settlements at that time, my labors were somewhat curtailed; but
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I had two appointments-one above and the other below the Florida line. In the winter of 1820, I moved higher up, into the Burnt Corn settlements, in the bounds of what was then called the Conecuh Cir- cuit, belonging to the Mississippi Conference. This circuit, at that time, covered nearly all that part of Conecuh county that was then settled, and a consid- erable part of Monroe county. Here, a field was opened wide enough for my labors. In 1822, I was ordained Elder, at the Bellville Church, by Bishop George and others. This circumstance brought upon me a greater amount of labor. The Mississippi Con- ference, being weak, could not afford an ordained preacher for all the circuits. For four or five years there was no regularly ordained preacher sent to Con- ecuh Circuit, and consequently it devolved upon me to attend all the societies around the circuit to admin- ister the ordinances of the church. Up to 1830, I continued to travel and labor in that section of the county. In 1830, I lost my wife, which was a severe trial to me. Having three daughters with me, I pro posed to them to make their homes with three of their sisters, who were then married, and that I would join the Itinerancy. To this proposition they were op- posed, preferring to remain at their own home. Con- sequently I consented to remain with them, and to do the best for them I could. In 1832, I married the second time. At this time one of my daughters had married, and the other two had gone to live with their sisters.
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In the spring of 1834, myself and wife removed to Middle Tennessee, where we remained until the close of 1835. My labors during that time were con- fined to three counties, to wit : Weatherford, Bedford and Williamson, and I attended five campmeetings during my stay there. In the winter of 1835, I re- moved to Wilcox county, Alabama, and settled a short time afterwards. At the request of Bishop Andrew, I consented to confine my preaching for one year to the colored people, for the purpose of arranging a mission. For this service I received one hundred dollars from the Missionary Society ; all is told that I ever received for my ministerial labors. From that time up to 1850, I continued my labors in Wilcox and adjoining counties. In 1851, I lost my second wife. This circumstance changed my situation, and placed me under the necessity of breaking up for good. Since that time, being relieved of the cares of a fam- ily, I have devoted my time, as far as circumstances and feebleness would permit, in extending my labors to a wider field.
I have been three rounds with the Presiding Elders down on the west coast of Florida; one round on the ' Lowndesboro' District, and as far east in this as Dale and Pike counties; from thence west across the State as far as Sumter, and the southern portions of Missis- sippi. I have visited the above named State three times, in its northwestern counties; and I have also made three visits to my native State-North Carolina. And in all my travels I have preached as often as
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circumstances would allow. And, in conclusion, what is in the future, is impossible for me to foresee; but of one thing I am assured, that it is my settled pur- pose to devote the remainder of my life to the service of God and his church. Whereunto I subscribe my name.
[Signed]
JAMES KING.
It will be seen from the above article that my labors have been scattered over seven States, to wit: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee.
[Signed]
J. KING.
Mr. King died in Wilcox county, on January 12th, 1870, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years.
REV. KEIDAR HAWTHORNE
was a native of North Carolina. He removed from Robinson county, in that State, to Conecuh county, Alabama, in 1817. Six months after his arrival in Alabama, he enlisted in the United States Army under General Jackson, and continued with him to the close of the Indian War, in Florida. After his return to Conecuh, he settled near Bellville, where he was mar- ried to Martha Baggett, in 1825. It was just subse- quent to this time that both Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne became the subjects of renewing grace, and were bap- tized by Elder Travis. About two years afterward, Mr. Hawthorne was licensed to preach the gospel, and after serving as a licentiate a short time, he was or- dained by Elders Travis and Ellis. A door of oppor-
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tunity opened to him in the Forks Sepulga, and he forthwith directed his attention here as an inviting field for the exercise of his ministerial powers. A flourishing interest was established by him in this growing section.
Leaving this region, he removed to Mount Moriah, in Wilcox county. He founded the Baptist church at that place, known as the Fellowship Church. . Living at a period when there was quite a scarcity of ministers, his services were broadly demanded, and hence he became thoroughly identified with every denominational interest that sprang up in the counties of Wilcox, Monroe and Conecuh. He aided in the constitution of most of the churches in these counties. Perhaps the most remarkable period of his career was the service which he rendered in Eastern and Middle Florida, as a missionary. His labors here were pecu- liarly blessed. In 1856 Mr. Hawthorne removed to Mobile and established a book-store, at the same time serving with efficiency the Stone Street African Church-one of the largest in the South. Mr. Haw- thorne reared quite a useful family, several of whom attained to marked distinction. One of his sons, Gen. Alexander Travis Hawthorne, was a chivalrous officer under General Price, in the Trans-Mississippi Department, during the late war. Another of his sons, Rev. Dr. J. Boardman Hawthorne, has a national reputation as a pulpit orator.
Like many others, Elder Hawthorne suffered the total loss of his estate by the war, but he was tenderly
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cared for by his children to the close of a long and useful life. He died in Greenville, Alabama, in 1877. Some estimate of his wonderful usefulness may be had when the fact is related that, during the years of his active ministry, he baptized more than 4,500 be- lievers. His ministry extended over more than fifty years.
JOEL LEE, ESQ.
Among the first who set foot upon Conecuh's soil was the subject of this sketch. Joel Lee was born in Johnston county, North Carolina, January 4th, 1773. Forty-four years after this date he removed to Conecuh county, choosing for his home a spot about three miles from Burnt Corn. Here his usefulness was speedily recognized, and he became one of the most prominent citizens in this section. When Alabama became a State, and Conecuh was made a county, Mr. Lee be- came her first justice of the peace. He was appointed by Gov. William Bibb-Alabama's first Governor. In 1821 he became a member of the Old Bethany Baptist Church, and was baptized by William Jones, Sr. In his church relations his usefulness was as conspicuous as it was in the walks of public life. For many years he served his church efficiently as clerk and deacon. Under his wholesome influence there grew up a large and useful family. Three of his sons were eminent ministers of the gospel. One of them still remains a venerable monument of piety, and a sage counsellor in Israel. I refer to Rev. David Lee 5
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of Mount Willing, Lowndes county. Joel Lee died at his home, near Burnt Corn, on October 23rd, 1863.
CAPT. WILSON ASHLEY
was among the most useful of Conecuh's sons. He was a native of Barnwell District, South Carolina. His entrance into public life was quite early. When in 1814 the struggle with Great Britain was pending, Mr. Ashley, then a youth of eighteen, joined a volun- teer rifle company, of which he became the first lieu- tenant. He afterwards became the captain of this com- pany, and subsequently the captain of a cavalry com- pany. He removed to Alabama in 1820, and located within a few hundred yards of where he spent the remainder of his life. In his new home his attention was directed altogether to husbandry. The results of his energy and skillful management soon showed themselves in a growing fortune. In 1832 he was called from his favorite pursuit and was made the sheriff of Conecuh county. Three years later he was chosen, without opposition, to represent his county in the General Assembly of the State. At the expira- tion of his term of service he peremptorily declined further honors at the hands of the people of the county, and returned to the quietude of his rural home. Here he remained until 1861, when the stirring scenes of that period drew him again from his seclusion. In the election of President and Vice-President, of what was designed to be the permanent government of the Confederacy, Capt. Wilson Ashley was honored by
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the people of his State with a position on the electoral ticket of Alabama. This closed his career with pub- lic life. Mr. Ashley was noted for his suavity of manner, his penetrating discrimination, and his clear judgment. Once convinced of the righteousness of the cause in which he was enlisted, and his zeal knew no bounds. He had all the elements necessary for a political leader of the people. In his home, he was proverbially hospitable. In his social relations, he was cheerful and generous. Full of years, well spent, and endeared to a host of friends and relatives, he closed his eyes in death in the 74th year of his age.
NICHOLAS STALLWORTH, SR.,
was one of the original settlers of Conecuh. Born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, on April 25th, 1777, he removed to Clarke county, Alabama, where he remained but one year. The hostilities of the Indians having subsided, in 1818 he, together with several others, removed to the east side of the Ala- bama river. He located his home four miles southeast of Evergreen, on what is now known as the Ever- green and Brooklyn public road, where he continued to reside until his death in 1836. Mr. Stallworth was constitutionally fitted to brave the perils of a pioneer country. With robust frame, determined will and unlimited energy, combined with business tact and shrewdness, he rapidly accumulated a handsome fortune, and became one of the wealthiest men in the
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county. He was the ancestor of quite a number of descendants, some of whom attained marked dis- tinction.
JOHN SAMPEY, SR.
Among the best and most useful of Conecuh's earliest inhabitants was John Sampey, Sr. His birth- place was Belfast, Ireland, where he first beheld the light on April 20th, 1801. In September, 1824, he sailed for America, and reached New York some time during the following month. His tastes having led him to the new regions of rapidly growing America, he came to the inviting State of Alabama, then just looming into prominence, and settled upon the soil of Conecuh. His attention was directed at once to stock raising, and he soon populated the grass grown dis- tricts of southern Conecuh with herds of stock cattle. The energy with which he addressed himself to his chosen vocation soon became proverbial. The ances- tors of Mr. Sampey (Sampier) were French. They were driven by religious persecution from France during the 16th century, and sought refuge in Ireland. The subject of this sketch was originally a devout member of the Church of England, in which he was reared; but upon removing to Conecuh he became a member of the Methodist Church, in which he spent a devoted life. Mr. Sampey was remarkably quiet and unostentatious. His career was one of even- flowing uniformity. all his transactions.
He was scrupulously exact in Was careful never to allow a
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. note to mature without being promptly met. His eyes were closed in death at his old home, near Bell- ville, on July 8th, 1877.
WILLIAM RABB, SR.
Among those who have contributed to dignify the early annals of Conecuh county by an unobtrusive, yet virtuous life, may be classed the subject of the present memoir. William Rabb, Sr., was born in Fairfield District, South Carolina, on January 10th, 1775. His father was born in Ireland. Mr. Rabb's mental training was defective, because of the meagre- ness of educational advantages during his early life. During his youthful days he realized the fearful responsibilities of the present life, as connected with the life to come, and without delay gave his heart to God. At this time he joined a Presbyterian church, but in 1835 his church relations were changed by his union with the Old Beulah Church. In 1804 he was married in Edgefield District, South Carolina, to Miss Sarah McDonald, of Scotch parentage. With his
family, he removed, in 1819, to Conecuh, and settled what was subsequently known as Rabbville, or Rabb's Store, five miles east of Evergreen. This was one of the first voting points established in the county. Here Mr. Rabb proceeded to merchandising and farming. His goods were hauled across the country, from Pen- sacola, by his own teams. Like most of the pioneer fathers, who had been attracted from their homes in distant States, Mr. Rabb was active and energetic, and
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shared largely in the fruits yielded by the virgin soil of Conecuh. He was noted for his liberality, and gave largely to the relief of suffering humanity. His days upon earth closed on September 20th, 1859. His family physician remarked that it was the first natural death he had ever witnessed. There was no disease, no expression of pain, but a placid sleep, ebbing out in death. He sank
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-" As sinks the morning star,
Which goes not down behind the darkened west, Nor hides obscured amid the tempests of the sky, But melts away in the light of heaven."
ADAM M'CREARY
was the ancestor of the extensive relationship of that name still to be found in Conecuh and adjoining counties, and indeed in different States. He was born in Barnwell District, South Carolina, about 1772. He removed to Conecuh county in 1818. The strug- gles and perils of his youthful life thoroughly inured him to hardship, and fitted him for what he had to encounter in a wild region, such as was Conecuh when he removed thither. While he was quite a boy he endured some of the horrors of the Revolution. His father's home was located in that region which was so sorely infested by the Tories. Fearful lest her son might have to pay the penalty of his father's patriot- ism-for he was in the ranks of the regular army- the anxious mother would send her son, in company with a negro boy, to sleep, at night, in the woods.
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Upon his removal to Conecuh Mr. McCreary selected, as the place of his future residence, the thrifty little community of Old Town. He was the first to im- prove the present home of Dr. Taliaferro. In dispo- sition, Mr. McCreary was quiet and passive. His Christian deportment was almost without exception. Such was his veneration for the Scriptures that he drew therefrom the names of all his children. His views were exceedingly hyper-Calvinistic, and quite frequently, in the midst of calamity, he would seek relief in the assurance "that it was foreordained, and therefore right." On one occasion, a negro boy, belonging to him, made an inroad upon the smoke house of his Antinomian master, and when arraigned for the deed, took refuge in the favorite doctrine of his owner, saying, "Well, Massa, you see all dis was 'ranged fore hand. It was all fore'dained dat I should take dat meat!" Stung by the evident sarcasm, and exasperated by the complacent impudence of the thief, the master bound toward him and caught him in the collar, saying, "And it is foreordained that I give you a thorough thrashing, and I'll do it !" After a long and useful;life, spent in Conecuh, he died at his home, in 1844, in the 72nd year of his age.
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CHAPTER XIV.
Conecuh from 1825 to 1835-Current History Resumed-The Lull of Apprehension Among the Inhabitants-The Fruits of Peace- Tragedy-Rude Customs Still Prevailing-The Birth of Political Agitation, &c.
The current history of Conecuh was broken at the point where reference was had to the wide-spread sickness among the inhabitants of the county in 1824. Sufficient attention having been bestowed upon the events which gathered around that period-to the personages, too, who flourished at that time, giving so much character to the dawning history of the county-we resume at this point the continuation of the current record of events. The disease of the previous year had spent its force, and the citizens, having become acclimated, or else having removed with their families to higher and healthier locations, resumed with unabated vigor the work of develop- ment. The period, about which I now write, was one of very great tranquility. The circles of population were being enlarged in all directions, more extensive tracts of land were being annually cleared, and the prosperity of the county was settling down upon a solid basis. The oldest and most improved plantations were now exceedingly productive, and their owners were growing rich. As yet no political venom, with its attendant demoralization, had been injected into
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the social mass. Quietly every man attended to his own affairs at home, or else, acting in concert with his neighbors, would engage in the erection of churches and school houses. The martial spirit imbibed from their contests with the Indians and British, was still retained by the inhabitants, and places for general drilling were appointed in different parts of the coun- ty. This gathering gave occasion for having a gala- day, and its recurrence was ever hailed with delight. To these different points the male population would repair, en masse, each man carrying with him his fowling-piece; and after evoking all the delights that could be drawn from a straggling, dusty and irregular drill, they would gather about the place of trade, lounge in the shade, exchange rude jokes, recount perilous adventures, wrestle and box, and not unfre- quently become contestants in a tumbling hand-to- hand fray. But, however much puffed the cheek may have been, or however much bunged the eye, or en- larged the nose, every one usually repaired, at the close of day, to his own home bearing no malice toward his neighbor. These pugilistic rencounters, let it be said, were usually confined to the "lewd fellows of the baser sort," each of whom coveted the distinction of "bully." Refinement by degrees predominated and these barba- rous practices were gradually abandoned.
Returning to the thought of the growth of devel- opment, let me say that but little attention was be- stowed upon any occupation except that of farming. Indeed, "farmer" was quite a comprehensive term.
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Many of the farmers combined merchandising with agriculture. A farmer was very frequently both a merchant and carpenter; for there was not sufficient trade to engage the entire time of one man, and hence the store was made secondary to the farm. And again, in such a rude state of society, the only architectural knowledge required was that which enabled one to erect a rude cabin with cloven logs. Hence, farming was the chief vocation. For the most part, the in- habitants who first settled Conecuh had removed from wheat-producing regions; and this cereal they under- took to raise in Conecuh, and for the first few years, were remarkably successful. But, either because of the decline of the fertility of the soil, or because it was found to be so much easier and more profitable to produce corn and cotton, its production was gradually abandoned. Another consideration which led, per- haps, to its abandonment was that the harvesting of wheat conflicted sadly with the attention which was necessary to be given the cultivation of corn and cot- ton. And another consideration, still, was that the wheat was smitten with rust, which was discovered to increase with each advancing year.
As in all new regions of country, where Nature is munificent in her gifts, these are sadly abused ofttimes by the earliest recipients, so in this favored region the pioneer fathers manifested, in some respects, a most reckless prodigality in regard to their fertile lands. This, however, was, in part, due to their ignorance of the utility to which many elements could be applied,
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and partly to a lack of sagacity. For many years after the production of cotton had begun, the seed were re- garded a nuisance after that they had been removed by ginning from the fabric. The idea of employing them as a fertilizer, to arrest the decay of lands, was not suggested to the thrifty fathers. Hence they were hauled away and thrown into abandoned heaps.
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