USA > Alabama > Memorial record of Alabama. A concise account of the state's political, military, professional and industrial progress, together with the personal memoirs of many of its people. Volume I > Part 112
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taught school for some time in Brewton, and in 1880 was elected treasurer of Escambia county, which he has held by successive re-elections to the present time. In 1884, in partnership with B. F. Pringle, he embarked in the mill and lumber business, and the firm as thus constituted continued about two years, when a half interest was purchased by Messrs. Parker and Lovelace, the firm name changing to the Pollard Milling Co. With the addition of the last-named gentlemen, a new mill of largely increased capacity was erected, and more timber land purchased. The firm has undergone various changes and is now known as the Pollard. Mill Co., Mr. Herrington, president, and C. Y. Mayo, secretary and treasurer. The company owns 3,100 acres of land and the mill, which saws square timber mostly, has a capacity of 15,000 feet per day. Mr. Herrington was married at the age of eighteen, in Conecuh county, to Miss Margaret Thompson, who has borne him the following children: Adaline, deceased; Mary A., wife of Henry Jernigan; Francis J., deceased; John, and Martha J., wife of B. F. Pringle. Mr. Herrington is a royal arch Mason, a demo- crat in politics, and a consistent member of the Methodist church. A man of the most unswerving rectitude, his name has never been remotely con- nected with any questionable transaction, and his continued retention in the office he now holds is ample proof of his popularity with the people.
A. J. JACKSON .- The parents of the gentleman whose biography is herewith presented are Joseph J. and Lucinda Jackson, natives respect-
ively of Georgia and Alabama. The Jackson family is of Welsh descent and came to Alabama from South Carolina at an early period of the history of the former state. Levi Jackson, grandfather of A. J., was for many years, a resident of Alabama and afterward went to Texas, there serving in the Indian war and where his death occurred soon after having left the army. Mr. Jackson's maternal grandfather was Edmond Powell, who came to America early in the present century and continued a resident of the state until his death. Joseph J. Jackson was born December 17, 1812; taken by his parents to Alabama when six years of age, he has passed the greater part of his life on the farm where he now resides, in Escambia county. He married, August 24, 1835, Miss Lucinda Powell, who was born in the year 1819, and who has borne him twelve children, the following of whom are living: Georgiana, wife of M. Corssley ; William J. ; Edmond P .; Frances V., wife of Willis Thompson; Joseph J .; Andrew J .; Jesse L .; Lucinda M., wife of Henry Barker; Miles J. , and Charles J. The names of those deceased are Mary J., wife of Elijah Jernigan and Nancy, and Andrew J., deceased. Allen J. Jackson is a native of Escambia county, Ala., born March 1, 1851. On attaining his majority, he engaged as a teamster in the timber business, and after continuing the same two years, purchased an interest in a photograph gallery at Brewton, Ala., which he carried on jointly with R. P. Watts for a period of about eighteen months, and then purchased his "partner's share and remained sole proprietor until disposing of the establishment
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sometime later. After selling the gallery, Mr. Jackson again embarked in the timber business, which he continued until 1877 and then went to Texas, where for one year he followed the pursuit of agriculture. Returning to Alabama, he a third time began dealing in timber and lumber, but relinquished the business in 1885 and engaged in merchan- dising at Repton, Conecuh county, where he sold goods until his removal to Wallace, in 1889. From 1889 until 1891, Mr. Jackson conducted a business by himself, but at the latter date, became associated with C. R. Cochran, and the firm thus constituted, purchased the commissary depart- ment of the Sullivan Timber company at Wallace, Sullivan and Pine Log, at all three of which points they are now conducting well appointed stores. Mr. Jackson is an example of the successful self-made man and occupies a conspicuous place in the estimation of the community where he resides. He was married at Flomaton, Ala., in 1880, to Amelia, daughter of Merida Beasley, of Florida, and his home is brightened by the presence of three interesting children, namely: Rufus P. , Samuel N., and Amelia Emma. Politically, Mr. Jackson is a democrat, and he is now a member of the board of trustees for his township.
HON. NORVELLE R. LEIGH. - Of the many honorable men who have lived in Escambia county, few have achieved a more favorable notice than Hon. Norvelle R. Leigh, the present probate judge. Paternally, Jugde Leigh is descended from the sturdy German-Scotch immigrants that settled in Virginia in an early day, and in that state his grandfather was born many years ago. Subsequently the family migrated to South Carolina, in Beaufort district, of which state John D. Leigh, the judge's father, was born in the year 1797. John D. Leigh was in early life a mer- chant, and later followed the pursuit of agriculture, in which he was very successful, having been a good business man, prosperous and thrifty. He was twice married, first about the year 1823, in Conecuh county, to Susan Brantley, who bore him two children, William B. and John D., both deceased. Mrs. Leigh dying, Mr. Leigh in due course of time, formed a matrimonial alliance with Nancy Robertson, daughter of a dis- tinguished Baptist minister, who was engaged in his sacred calling for over seventy years, and who died in 1857, at the advanced age of ninety- four. Rev. Mr. Robertson was a native of Georgia, of Scotch descent, and for some time was a resident of Covington, state of Mississippi. The issue of John D. Leigh's second marriage, which was consummated about the year 1833 or 1834, was three children, namely: Norvelle R., Mrs. Amanda Bronson of Meridian, Miss., and George M., a resident of Evergreen, this state. Mr. John D. Leigh lived in Brooklyn, Ala., where he had located in 1820, until his death, which occurred on the 28th day of December, 1848. Mrs. Leigh survived her husband a number of years, dying January 10, 1879. Judge Leigh was born May 31, 1837, in Brooklyn, Conecuh county, and was but eleven years of age when his father died, which loss he keenly and deeply realized, and which early
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS-ESCAMBIA COUNTY.
compelled him to rely largely upon his own resources. His early educa- tional training was limited to the common schools of his native county,
and at the age of fifteen he began life for himself as a clerk in the mer- cantile house of Charles Williford, at Quitman, Miss., in which capacity he was employed until 1855, pursuing his studies as occasions would per-
accepted a clerkship in a store kept by his brother, John D .. Leigh, with mit in the meantime. In July of 1855, he went to Milton, Fla, and
whom he remained until attaining his majority, at which time he pur- chased the stock and followed the general mercantile trade until the breaking out of the Civil war in 1861. Actuated by the spirit which ani- mated so many of the brave sons of the south, at the opening of the
great internecine strife, the judge, on the 17th of September, 1861,
entered the Confederate service as member of a company of mounted
At the time of reorganization, Mr. Leigh was chosen captain and as such for three years' service or for continuance of service during the war. elected second lieutenant, and which was reorganized eight months later rangers, organized at the town of Milton, Fla, of which he was
this company was confined to the coast between the Choctawhatchee and cavalry, and was designated by the letter E. The principal service of which time his company formed a part of the Fifteenth Confederate served with commendable ability until the cessation of hostilities, during
captured. It so happened at the time of the capture, that Judge Leigh fights, in the year 1864, nearly the entire command was surrounded and pated in a large number of small fights and skirmishes, in one of which Mississippi rivers, and while not engaged in any great battles, it partici-
was confined to the hospital on account of a serious indisposition; conse quently he escaped falling into the hands of the enemy. The command with which he was identified was engaged in battle several days, after the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, not having been apprised of that event, but, as soon as the news was published, his company with others,
engaged in agricultural pursuits, near Belleville, Conecuh county, homes. For some time after quitting the service, Judge Leigh was at once lay down the arms of warfare, and returned to their respective
where he carried on a farm belonging to his mother-in-law, but in 1867 relinquished that calling and embarked in the mercantile and timber business at Pollard, Escambia county, which he continued with varying success until 1879, making and loaning a great deal of money during that interval. In 1880 he was.complimented by receiving at the hands of his party the nomination for probate judge, to which position, after one of the most exciting campaigns ever held in the county, he was elected by a majority of seventeen votes over a popular candidate. After discharg- ing the duties of the office in a most creditable manner for a period of six years, the people of the county, to show their further appreciation of his services, re-elected him without any material opposition. He was again re-elected in August, 1892, for six years, his opponent receiving
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
but 132 votes out of 2,000, a fact which sufficiently attests his great popu- larity. The judge is possessed of refined and sympathetic manners, and is a gentleman universally esteemed and admired by the people of Brew- ton and Escambia county, irrespective of party affiliations. His official record has been unimpeachable and his private character may well serve as a model for the young man who has a commendable desire to wield a wholesome moral influence in the world. The married life of Jugde Leigh began on the 31st day of March, 1864, in Belleville, Conecuh county, at which time and place Miss Kate, daughter of John H. and Margaret Burnett became his wife-a most fortunate and happy union, resulting in the birth of the following children, namely: Maggie, wife of David M. Hand, of Birmingham; Katie, wife of E. S. McMillan, mer- chant of Brewton; Norvelle R., a student at school, and John D. Leigh, who assists his father in the office. Politically, the judge is a represent- ative democrat of the old school and in religion adheres to the Baptist. creed, of which he has been for many years an earnest and consistent member. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, belong- ing to lodge No. 301, at Brewton. The judge and the members of his interesting family now under the parental roof, reside in the village of Alco, where he dispenses a genial old-fashioned hospitality in one of the most beautiful and comfortable suburban homes in the vicinity of the. county seat.
EDWIN M. LOVELACE .- Few persons in Escambia county enjoy as great personal popularity as Edwin M. Lovelace, who holds a place in the public estimation that might well be coveted by any man. He is a fine specimen of the chivalrous southern gentleman, of commanding pres- ence, strong face, and correct demeanor, and occupies a prominent place among the successful business men of his county. Mr. Lovelace is a. direct descendant of the Lovelaces of England, a family of noble blood. His great-grandfather came from that country to the United States in an early day, and settled in South Carolina, in which state his grandfather, Aaron Lovelace, was born and raised. Basil M. Lovelace, father of Edwin M., is also a native of South Carolina, born in Edgefield district in 1824. He is a planter, and served in the late war, as did also two of his brothers. One of his mother's brothers rose to the rank of colonel. Basil M. now resides on a plantation about ten miles from Brewton, in Escambia county. He was married in his native state in 1852, to his cousin, Amanda Lovelace, and for some time thereafter lived in Lowndes county, Ala. ; thence, in 1860, moved to the present site of Brewton, which was his home until after the war, when the family renoved to their present place of residence on the Conecuh river. The following are the names of the children born to Basil M. and Amanda Lovelace: Edwin M., Laura S., Annie, wife of W. H. Strong; Catherine, deceased; William Y., and James H. Edwin M. Lovelace was born in Lowndes county, Ala., July 14, 1854, was reared to manhood in and near Brewton
E. M. LOVELACE.
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS-ESCAMBIA COUNTY.
and received a practical education in the schools of Escambia county. The war interfering very disastrously with his father's property and his mother being an invalid, he felt in duty bound to assist in the maintenance of the family and the education of the children, for which he remained under the parental roof until his twenty-seventh year. In 1882 he pur- chased an interest in the lumber and milling business with H. T. Parker, from which time, until the present, he has been prominently identified with the timber interest of Escambia county, and manager of the firm of Parker & Lovelace. From a small beginning, the firm has gradually increased its business, added new and improved machinery, purchased additional lands and now owns over 16,000 acres with five miles of canal, and a mill with the capacity of 25,000 feet of lumber per day. Mr. Love- lace is interested in another lumber firm, Lovelace & Lovelace, which has two mills with a daily capacity of 30,000 feet and 10,000 acres of fine timbered land, well drained by over eight miles of ditching, and also owns an interest with C. F. Rankin & Co., in a large mercantile house, which does a very extensive business. He gives personal attention to all these enterprises, and in their management displays superior sagacity. Mr. Lovelace is a member of the Baptist church of Brewton, belongs to the K. of H. and K. of P. orders, and as a democrat has been active in behalf of his party's interest in Escambia county.
HENRY H. MALONE, M. D., the oldest practicing physician of Brew- ton, was born in Columbus, Ga., March 29, 1837, the son of William P. and Rebecca Malone. Dr. Malone received a liberal education in his youth, as did also all his brothers and sisters. Having early selected the medical profession for his life work, he prepared himself for the same by taking a thorough course in the university of New York, which institu- tion he entered at the age of twenty-three, and from which he graduated in the class of 1860. Immediately after his graduation he began the practice of his profession in Brewton, where he has ever since resided, and his reputation as a skillful physician and surgeon is not confined to Escambia alone, but has spread to a number of other counties in southern Alabama and northern Florida. In 1861 the doctor raised a company for the First Florida infantry, and served as captain for a period of twelve months, resigning at the end of that time on account of a chronic ailment contracted while in the service, and for eighteen months there- after was compelled to keep his bed by reason of great bodily suffering The doctor ranks deservedly high in his profession, and his practice, which is still very extensive and lucrative, has returned him a comforta- ble competence, which he is now enjoying in one of the largest and most comfortable houses in Escambia county. During the great yellow fever epidemic which raged throughout the southern states in 1883, and which visited Brewton with especial virulence, more than 50 per cent. of the cases in the town proving fatal, Dr. Malone did not desert his patients, but labored assiduously, night and day, in behalf of the suffer-
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA
ers for a period of six weeks, during which time the plague reached its most violent stage. In June, 1865, Mary A., daughter of James and Elizabeth Snowden, became the doctor's wife, and seven children have blessed their union, namely: Rebecca P .; Eugene, a student in Alabama Medical college, Mobile; Walter J .; Ella Penn: Jessie; Maud, and Ruby. Politically, the doctor adheres to the faith of the democratic party, and in religion is a communicant of the Methodist church, to which his wife also belongs. The doctor's father. William P. Malone, was born in South Carolina in the year 1800, and in early life moved to Georgia, locating at the town of Columbus, where for some years he carried on an extensive mercantile business, and accumulated a large fortune. He served in the Creek war, was a man of much more than ordinary powers of mind, highly educated and a most genial and accomplished southern gnetleman. He married near Milledgeville, Ga., December 23, 1834, Miss Rebecca P. Griggs, who bore him the following-named children: Henry H .; E iza, widow of John Iverson; Sarah, Arthur and Chandler, the last three de- ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Malone departed this life in the years 1849 and 1883. respectively. Dr. Malone's grandfather, on the paternal side, was Robert Malone, a native of South Carolina, of English-Scotch descent, and maternally he is descended from one of the old Virginia families, which settled prior to the Revolutionary war in Dinwiddie county, that state. The maternal grandfather, William Griggs, was born in Virginia, March 13, 1787, moved to Hancock county, Ga., when a young man, and there married Charlotte Penn, also a native of Virginia and second cousin of the renowned William Penn, founder of the city of Philadel- phia. Jesse Griggs, father of William Griggs, was a Virginian of Welsh- Irish descent.
JOHN E. MARTIN, physician and surgeon, Brewton, is a native of Macon county, Ala., and dates his birth from the 10th day of April, 1849. His paternal grandfather, John Martin, was born of Irish parentage, and lived all his life in South Carolina. William A. Martin, the doctor's father, was born in Edgefield district, S. C., in 1829; is a planter by occu- pation, served with distinction as a lieutenant in the Third Alabama infantry during the Civil war, and now resides at Union Springs, in his native state. He married, in 1848, Nancy Strom, daughter of John Strom, also of South Carolina, and had a family of seven children, namely : John E .; Janie; Willie, wife of R. L. Williams; Mollie; Moses; Sudie, wife of C. F. Rankin, and Nannie, deceased in infancy. The mother of these children died in 1863, and in 1869 Mr. Martin entered into the mar- riage relation with Nancy Books, who has borne him the following chil- dren: Lewe, Flora B., William, Thomas, and Maggie. Dr. Martin was raised on a farm, and at the age of twenty engaged in the pursuit of agriculture on his own responsibility, continuing that useful calling about two years. He then attended school one year, and in the winter of 1873 carried out a long-felt desire of becoming a physician by entering the
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS-ESCAMBIA COUNTY.
office of Dr. J. H. Reynolds, at Bullock, under whose instructions he pur- sued his professional studies until 1874, during which, and a part of the succeeding year, he attended a course of lectures in the State Medical college at Mobile. He received a diploma from this institution in the spring of 1875, and at once opened an office at Bullock, where he prac- ticed successfully until his removal to Brewton in the winter of 1883. The doctor has met with gratifying success in his profession, and ranks among the progressive medical men of the county. His reputation as a citizen is first class, and he enjoys in a large measure the confidence and esteem of the public. The doctor and Miss Jessie, daughter of Benjamin Lovelace, were united in marriage December 22d, 1881. Dr. and Mrs. Martin are members of the Baptist church at Brewton.
CHARLES Y. MAYO, SR., one of the oldest natives of Escambia county, Ala., is Charles Y. Mayo, Sr. He was born November 23, 1819, in that portion of Conecuh county, which was subsequently cut off and known as Escambia county. His parents were John W. and Nancy (Gaines) Mayo, the former of Irish and the latter of Scotch-Irish extraction; they were born in Georgia and South Carolina, respectively, and settled in Escam- bia county in 1815. Charles Y. Mayo, Sr., had no early opportunities for a college education, but acquired a very fair share of knowledge at the schools of his neighborhood. He worked with his father in the mill busi- ness until 1847, when he went into the hewn timber business; later, he engaged in saw milling and in mercantile business, which he still follows, being at present the senior member of the firm of C. Y. Mayo & Sons, of Douglasville, Ala. February 14, 1847, Mr. Mayo married Miss Mary Brackin, of Irish descent. To this union have been born the following children: Andrew, now deceased; Nancy, married to L. D. Solomon; David, deceased; Laura, wife of W. A. Dixon; Frances, now Mrs. W. O. Dixon; Julia, deceased wife of Dr. S. C. Henderson, of Brewton; Charles Y., Jr. ; William K., a member of the firm of C. Y. Mayo & Sons. The great-grandfather of C. Y. Mayo, Sr., came to this country direct. from county Mayo, Ireland. John W. Mayo, father of C. Y. Mayo, Sr., came from Georgia to Conecuh county, Ala., in 1815, and located north of Conecuh river on a branch which was called Mayo creek, and which still bears the name. In 1816 he moved across the river and settled within one mile of the present home of his grandson, C. Y. Mayo. Jr., where the latter was born, and which has been his abiding place ever since. John W. Mayo and Nancy Gainer were married in 1818, and were blessed with the following children : Charles; Martha, deceased; Samuel G., in real estate business at Independence, Mo .; Nancy, married to James Bishop, of Milton, Fla .; Rebecca, wife of William T. Spies, of Brewton, Ala. ; David and John L., of Hitchcock. Tex .; Adeline, married to Andrew Newman, of Brewton, and Reuben, Benjamin and Emeline, all three deceased. During the late war Charles Y. Mayo, Sr., was a mem- ber of company I, Sixth Alabama cavalry, Capt. J. C. Keyser, having
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
enlisted in August, 1863, and serving until the close of the war. In this company Samuel G. Mayo (brother of C. Y., Sr.) was the second lieuten- ant. In politics C. Y. Mayo is a reliable democrat; in religion he is a Universalist: he is, beside, a member of the order of Good Templars, and is universally esteemed throughout the county of Escambia and adjacent counties. He is fond of literature and frequently indulges in composition, both of prose and verse.
CHARLES Y. MAYO, JR., a popular young business man of Pollard, possessing in a marked degree personal characteristics which have gained for him the highest respect and esteem of all with whom he has come in contact, was born in what is now Escambia county, on the 28th day of December, 1866. In youth he attended the common schools. but at the early age of fourteen, owing to the death of an elder brother, he was compelled to forego the privilege of securing the education he so greatly desired, and take charge of his father's business, with which he became identified two years later as a partner. The firm of C. Y. Mayo & Sons, manufacturers of timber and lumber, and dealers in general merchandise, has been one of the fixed business establishments of Douglasville for a number of years, and its present commendable standing is largely due to the superior management of Charles Y., Jr., who, for a period of nine years, was the efficient superintendent. In addition to his connection with this firm, Mr. Mayo owns a fourth interest in the Pollard Mill com- pany, with which he became identified in August, 1891, and is now filling the position of secretary, treasurer, and general financial manager of the firm. As a business man, Mr. Mayo possesses abilities of a high order, as is attested by the successful career of the large firms of which he has been the financial head. He is a superior accountant, an accomplished penman, and the books, which he keeps with most scrupulous care, are models of elegant chirography. Mr. Mayo possesses a well-balanced mind, which has been cultivated by an intimate acquaintance with the best authors, and in point of intelligence and general integrity he is easily the peer of any citizen of his community. He early imbibed the spirit of politics, in which he takes great interest, and his counsel has been prominent in every convention of his party in Escambia county since he became of sufficient age to wield the election franchise. He was married in September, 1885, to Mary Avent, daughter of J. C. and Mary Avent. Mrs. Mayo was born in Pike county, Ala., April 15, 1866, and is the mother of one child, Arthur David Mayo, aged three years.
JAMES McMILLAN, the popular and efficient sheriff of Escambia county, is a descendant on the paternal side from an old and highly respected Scotch family, several representatives of which emigrated from Kentyre, Scotland, to America, as early as 1785, and settled in Robeson county, N. C. The first members of the family, of whom there is any reliable information, were Duncan McMillan and his wife, Mary, whose maiden name was McPhatter. They had a son, Daniel, who married Christiana
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