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 51
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DANIEL MCLEOD .- Among the older citizens of Barbour county is Daniel McLeod, who, for nearly a half century, has been one of the well known substantial planters of the county. His father, Daniel McLeod, was born on the Isle of Skye, north of Scotland, about the year 1783, and was the son of Alexander McLeod, who emigrated to the United
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States at the beginning of the present century and settled in North Car- olina. Daniel McLeod was married in Robeson county, N. C, to Cath- erine Douglass and shortly thereafter removed to Kershaw district, S. C., thence in 1835 to Alabama, locating in Barbour county, within a short distance of where his son Daniel now lives. Mr. and Mrs. McLeod were the parents of six children, and died in the years 1856 and 1853, respect- ively. Of their children, four are living at this time, namely: Nancy L,, wife of Andrew Lee; Daniel, William and Archie P. McLeod. The subject of this sketch was born in Kershaw district, S. C., January 2, 1824, and consequently is in his sixty-ninth year. He was brought to Alabama by his parents in 1835, and has spent the time from that date to the present in Barbour county, of which he is now one of the oldest and best known citizens. He began life with a limited capital and like many others who have impressed their characters upon the community, the moral and mental fiber of his nature was early hardened and invigo- rated by contact with the rugged labor of the farm. He has always followed agriculture as an occupation, and while not so successful as some in the accumulation of wealth is, nevertheless, in comfortable circumstances, owning a fine farm of 1,104 acres, upon which his declining years are being passed in the enjoyments of those comforts which a long and busy life has taught hin how to appreciate. During the late war, Mr. McLeod rendered valuable service to the south by manufacturing salt for the government, but he did not perform any active duty as a soldier. On the 31st of October, 1848, in Barbour county, Mr. McLeod and Parmelia McGill were united in wedlock. Mrs. McLeod was born in Ab- beville district, S. C., in 1832, and came to Alabama in 1846. The fol- lowing are the names of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. McLeod: John, Isabella, wife of George M. Howell; D.D., attorney-at-law. Anniston, Ala .; Ella V., Rev. C. B., Presbyterian minister, located at Faundsdale, this state; Archie N., student at Abbeville, Ala .; Edward L., and Robert E. Lee, the last two and Ella V., living with their parents. Mr. McLeod has spared no pains or expense in the education of his children, and they have grown up to be an honor to the name they bear. He is an earnest and conscientious member of the Presbyterian church, and for a number of years has been a ruling elder in his congregation.
J. F. McTYER, a prominent planter, was born in Marlborough district, S. C., February 5, 1849, and is the son of R. A. and Caroline McTyer. At the age of three years, he was brought by his parents to Alabama, and he has spent the greater part of his life in Barbour county. A few months prior to the close of the war he ran away from home and entered the army as member of Kolb's artillery company, but did not participate in any active service, returning to Barbour county on the cessation of hostilities. He began life for himself when twenty years of age, choos ing agriculture for an occupation, and he has ever since followed that useful calling with the most encouraging success. Mr. McTyer was
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married, in 1876, to Eva, daughter of Judge B. B. Fields, and by this union became the father of three children: Carrie, Fields and Fulmore. Mrs. McTyer died in 1884, and in November, 1890, Mr. McTyer married his present wife, Lizzie Thompson, who has borne him one child, Stella. Politically, Mr. McTyer is a supporter of the democatic party, and frater- nally, belongs to the K. of H. order.
His father, R. A. McTyer, a planter by occupation, was born in Marl- borough district, S. C., in the year 1802. He came to Alabama in 1853, settling in Barbour county, about six miles south of Eufaula. R. A. McTyer was assentially a self-made man, and from a poor boy became very successful in life, accumulating a large amount of property, the greater part of which was swept away by the war. He was a man of much more than ordinary intelligence, took great interest in political matters and was one of the well informed citizens in the community in which he lived. November 10th, 1836, in Robeson county, N. C., he was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Fulmore, and they became the parents of eleven children, all of whom reached the years of maturity, and nine of whom are still living. The oldest son, William A., raised what was known as the Eufaula light artillery, of which he was captain until his death, which occurred in May, 1864, from disease contracted in the service. He was a lawyer of fine ability, and for some time was associated in the practice of his profession with Messrs. Pugh & Bullock, under the firm name of Pugh, Bullock & Co. His wife was Teresa Hunter, and he was a brother-in-law of Senator Pugh. The following are the names of the other children of the family in the order of birth: Mary, wife of S. H. Holmes; Thomas, Margaret, Bessie, John F., Joseph, Frank, Robert and Sumter. The father of these children died on the 12th of October, 1888; the mother is still living, at the age of seventy-two years, in the town of Eufaula. The ancestors of the McTyer family came from Scotland in the colonial times, and settled in Marion county, S. C. There Robert McTyer's great-grandfather, of J. F., made his home after landing in the new world. A few years before the arrival of the McTyers in South Carolina, there came to that state, from Ireland, one, Dr. Robin Adair, who was a surgeon in the American army during the war of Independence, and whose daughter became the wife of the above mentianed Robert McTyer. To this marriage were born two sons, William and Robert; the former of whom, also a surgeon in the patriot army, married Elizabeth Whitington, and became the father of William and Robert A. McTyer, the latter, the father of the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch.
SETH MABRY is the popular and efficient agent of the Central railroad at Clayton. His paternal ancestors were early settlers of Georgia, of which state his grandfather, Allen Mabry, was a native. James W. Mabry, father of Seth. was also a native of Georgia, born in the county of Forsythe, in 1825. He came to Barbour county, Ala., with his parents, in 1836, settling near Louisville, and in 1855, at the town of Midway, was
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united in marriage to Mary A. Caldwell, and shortly thereafter moved to Clayton, where he raised his family. At the beginning of the late war he entered the Confederate service as captain of the "Clayton Guards," and subsequently, at Pensacola, Fla., was promoted to a colonelcy, which position he held until the cessation of hostilities. He passed through the greater part of the war in the southwest, and by his distinguished services in the field earned the reputation of a brave soldier and gallant and judicious commander. He and his estimable' wife are still living. The father of Mrs. Mabry was Daniel Calloway, a native of England, and for many years a resident of Georgia, to which state he removed when a young man. He married, in Georgia, a Miss Hill, a relative of Hon. Benjamin Hill, United States senator, and subsequently moved to Ala- bama, settling near the present site of Midway prior to the Indian war of 1836. He was a very successful planter and a man of much more than ordinary powers of mind. Mrs. Mabry was born and reared in Alabama, and has always lived in her native state. The following are the names of the children born to James W. and Mary A. Mabry: Seth, Daniel, railroad agent for the Alabama Midland, at Ozark; Mary, resides at home; James F., merchant at Clayton; Carrie J., wife of Ed. Nix, of Dothen, Ala .; and Annie L., who lives with her parents. Seth Mabry was born in Clayton, Ala., August 28, 1856. He spent a year in the Ala- bama university, and in 1872 became a matriculate of Howard college, from which he graduated in 1876, taking second honors of his class and delivering the salutatory. In January, 1888, he was elected president of the Female college at Clayton, which, under his efficient management and superior instruction, soon became one of the most thorough and popular private institutions of learning in southern Alabama. Mr. Mabry took charge of the school under the most discouraging circumstances, the records at the beginning of the first term showing an attendance of only twelve pupils, but during his incumbency of three years the number contin- ued to increase until, at the time of his resignation, there was an average of 187 pupils in attendance. Endowed with talents peculiarly fitting him for the profession, Prof. Mabry brought to the work of teaching a mind well disciplined by close study and enthusiasm in the preservation of facts, which aroused in his classes the greatest interest and made him one of the most efficient of instructors. Broad-minded and liberal and of a sympathetic and generous nature, he now has an abiding place in the hearts of his pupils, many of whom, owing to his careful instruction, have already distinguished themselves in different vocations of life. On account of ill health Mr. Mabry was compelled to retire from the educa- tional field, and in 1882 he entered the service of the Central railroad as station agent at Clayton, a position which he still holds. As an employee he is faithful to the interests of the road and enjoys in a marked degree the confidence of the large corporation with which he is identified. He has several times refused advancement, preferring to reside at Clayton,
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where his health has been fully recuperated, and where he has a beau- tiful and elegant home. Mr. Mabry was married December 6, 1887, to Laura E., daughter of M. R. Hill, to which union gve children have been born: Ola W., Willie Hill, Claude E., Nellie, deceased, and Seth. Mr. Mabry is a royal arch Mason and holds the office of captain of the host in his chapter, and is worshipful master of the blue lodge. He is also a member of the K. of P. fraternity, and, with his wife, belongs to the Baptist church.
FRANKLIN S. MARGART, a farmer of Barbour county, and a son of John P. and Anne C. (Treadwell) Margart, was born in Orangeburg dis- trict, S. C., May 4, 1843. His great-grandfather, John H. Margart, was a German by birth, and came to the United States before the revolution- ary war. After that he went to London, England, expecting to return to his native land but was taken sick and died on the way, his widow and family returning to this country. Grandfather Margart was born in Charleston, S. C., and was a military officer, holding the position of keeper of ordnance for many years and had charge of the forts and gov- ernment property along the coast as far as Washington, D. C. He was captain in the war of 1812. John P. Margart was born November 19, 1816, in Charleston, S. C., and was educated at the theological seminary of the Lutheran church at Lexington, S. C., and he was in the active ministry in that state from 1840 to 1861. He then came to Alabama, and has spent most of his time in Barbour county since that time, engaged in farming. He owns a large plantation in this county. He was married in Lexington, S. C., in 1840, and reared a family of four children, viz: Franklin S., Caroline E., wife of Col. W. J. Otis, of Batesville, Ala .: Samuel, of Batesville, Ala .; Alice, deceased wife of Walter Bates, of Bates- ville, Ala. The mother of these children is still living. The Treadwells came to Alabama from South Carolina in the forties. They were in early days very prominent in public life. Col. Benjamin F. Treadwell represented Barbour county in the legislature a number of times, and when the Kan- sas-Nebraska question was uppermost in the public mind he took great interest in it, and raised a company of emigrants to help colonize Kansas with pro-slavery people. He however lost his health in Kansas and died just before the breaking out of the Civil war. Franklin S. Margart, at this time, was at Newberry college, and enlisted in the Newberry Rifles afterward company B. Thirteenth S. C. infantry, and served in the army of Virginia. He was in the Seven days fighting, distinguishing himself for gallantry in action, and being complimented by his superior officers. Being exposed to a three-days' rain, during the campaign, he suffered from a severe attack of measles, which unfitted him for further service, Since the war he has followed farming in Barbour county. He was mar- ried in Columbus, Ga., June 19, 1878, to Miss Cornelia B., daughter of James B. Norman. Mrs. Margart died December 30, 1887, leaving no children. She has ever since been remembered by her husband as one of
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the purest christian spirits he has ever met. Mr. Margart is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, and in politics a member of the democratic party.
MURDOCH MARTIN, a prominent merchant and planter of Clio, is a native of Barbour county, Ala., and dates his birth from the, 25th of Jan- uary, 1844. His father, Martin D. Martin, was born in Richmond county, N. C., in 1833, came to Alabama and after engaging in the Indian war, went back to his native state and there married Margaret McRae, whom he at once brought to Alabama, settling in the western part of Barbour county, where he died in 1860; his widow survived him a number of years, departing this life in 1891. Of the five children born to Martin D. and Margaret Murdoch three are now living, namely: Mur- doch Martin, the subject of this sketch, A. L., a merchant at Clay- ton, and J. P., a well known physician of Birmingham. Murdoch Martin, Jr., was reared to manhood in Barbour county, and in 1861 he enlisted in company G, Twenty-ninth Alabama infantry with which he served first at Pensacola and later took part in the battle of Resaca, and other engagements of the Atlanta campaign. At the battle of Cassville, Ga., he was wounded in the hand, crippling that member for life, after which he was compelled to leave the ranks and did not succeed in rejoining his command, the declaration of peace preventing him from again going to the front. Returning home at the close of the war, Mr. Martin at once engaged in farming, which he still carries on and in which his success has been all that he could have reasonably expected. His plantation is a beautiful place, embracing an area of 1,700 acres, and in addition to farming he carries on a very successful mercantile business at Clio, where he began selling goods in 1886. His stock, valued at $4,000, embraces a full line of merchandise, demanded by the general trade, and the business done yearly will aggregate in the neighborhood of $25,000. Mr. Martin is the leading man of Clio and one of the well-to-do representative citizens of Barbour county. His political faith is repre- sented by the democratic party, and for many years he has been promi- nent in religious work as a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he holds the office of deacon. His marriage to Miss Belle McLennan, of Barbour county, was consummated in 1867 and to the union have been born the following children: John D., student at A. & M. college, Auburn, Ala., James P., William C. and Daniel S.
GEORGE C. MCCORMICK, an enterprising business man of Eufaula, president of the McCormick-Kendall Grocery company, is a native of Alabama, born in Louisville, Barbour county, July 25, 1843. His educa- tional training was received in the common schools and on the 4th of April, 1861, he responded to the call of his state to resist the invader, joining a company known as the "Louisville Blues," with which he served first at Pensacola and later in the army of Albert Sydney John- ston in Kentucky, where he remained until the expiration of his twelve:
PERSONAL MEMOIRS-BARBOUR COUNTY. 449
months period of enlistment. Subsequently he re-entered the army as a member of Hilliard's legion, afterward the Fifty-ninth Alabama, joining company D as first lieutenant. His first battle was the bloody engage- ment at Chickamauga, where he received a severe wound in the neck. The effect of this wound was to confine him to the hospital for nearly a year, but when sufficiently recovered he rejoined his regiment in the trenches of Pettersburg, and was actively engaged from that time until the surrender at Appomattox, having had command of his company during the last months of his service. Returning to Louisville at the the close of the war, he found his possessions to consist of an indifferent suit of clothes and fifty cents in money. In the fall of 1865 he moved to. Eufaula, and has there lived since -- engaging in the various branches of business, as clerk, bookkeeper and merchant. In 1890 he organized the McCormick-Kendall Grocery company, George C. McCormick, president; his son, W. L. McCormick, is at this time vice-president. This company is one of the largest firms of Eufaula and its members are all well known, responsible, and highly honorable business men, and are highly quoted in commercial circles throughout the state, and also beyond its bound- aries. Mr. McCormick is one of the prominent men of his town and none stands higher in the estimation of the public than he. He has been active in behalf of the city's interest as member of the commnon council, and to his wise and vigorous action is largely due the credit of establishing the present excellent school system of Eufaula, one of the most efficient and successful in the state. In his political affiliation Mr. McCormick has ever been an earnest supporter of the democratic party, and for a period of twenty years has been one of the city's most active and aggressive legislators. In fraternal circles he holds membership with the Masonic, Pythian, K. of H. and A. O. U. W. fraternities, and in religion is a representative member of the Presbyterian church. On the 17th day of February, 1867, Mr. McCormick and Catherine, daughter of Dr. George L. Allan, were united in marriage, and their union has resulted in the birth of three children: W. L., associated with his father in business; Annie, wife of E. Y. Dent, assistant cashier of the Eufaula National bank, and. George R., who resides under the parental roof. The parents of George C. McCormick were William and Anne McCormick, of Scotch and Irish decent respectively. The father was born in Richmond county, N. C., in 1817, and at the age of eighteen came to Barbour county, Ala., and like many other early settlers fought the Indians in the struggle of 1836. For a number of years he was engaged in educational work, but later in life followed merchandising. He married, in 1840, Ann McKigney, and reared a family of five sons, namely, John D , deceased; George C., W. E. ; Henry and James A. William McCormick died in 1861 and his wife was laid to rest in the year 1884. Willam McCormick's father, John, was a native of 28
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Scotland and came to the United States when a young man, settling in North Carolina, where his death occurred many years ago.
W. H. NIX .- The grandfather of the subject of this mention was Wil- liam Nix, a native of Georgia, and for a number of years a resident of Barbour county, where he died in 1887. His son, D. E. Nix. father of W. H., was born near Atlanta, Ga., in 1823, married Miss Elizabeth Brooks (née Thomason), also a native of Georgia, in 1843, and reared a family of seven children, namely: W. H., Gideon, Martha, wife of John Justice; John, Joseph, David, Sallie, wife of William Wilcox; all living but Mrs. Wilcox. Mr. and Mrs. Nix spent the first thirteen years of their married life in Georgia, moved to Barbour county in 1855, and now live about three miles west of the town of Clayton. W. H. Nix was born in Cobb county, Ga., February 28, 1844. He was reared to agricultural pursuits and received in the common schools an education which, supplemented with a fund of sound practical judgment, has enabled him to transact successfully the business of a very active life. In the spring of 1861 he joined the "Barbour Grays," a military organization which became com- pany A, Fifth Alabama infantry, and served with the same in the army of Lee during the bloodiest period of the late war. Among the battles in which he participated were the following: First Manassas, Yorktown, Seven Pines and Seven days' fight in the vicinity of Richmond, in the second day of which he received a minie ball wound in the forearm, which necessitated the amputation of that member just below the elbow. On account of this disability he was discharged from further service and, returning home, he at once began organizing a cavalry company, of which he would have been elected captain had not his parents dissuaded him from again going to the front. After this he attended school one year, and in 1867, March 1, was united in marriage to Susan Watkins, daughter of Frank Watkins, who has borne him eleven children, nine now living, namely : James E., farmer, of Butler county; C. E., druggist at Dothen, Ala .; Hampden, living at home; Whitfield, principal of Clay- ton Male academy; George P., drug clerk with his brother at Dothen, Ala .; Glenn; Lee; Nattie, and Quinn, the last three still under the parental roof. Since the war, Mr. Nix has given the greater part of his attention to agricultural pursuits, besides being connected at different times with various other business ventures. In 1877 he was elected tax collector of Barbour county, the duties of which position he discharged in a manner highly satisfactory to all concerned until the expiration of his second term, in 1885. Mr. Nix owns a fine plantation of 2,000 acres, in the management of which he displays shrewd business sagacity, and his farming is carried on quite extensively with the latest and most approved agricultural appliances. As a citizen, Mr. Nix stands high in the public esteem; he is prominent in religious work as a member of the Methodist church and Sunday school superintendent, and as a democrat has been active in the deliberations of his party in Barbour county.
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T. R. PARISH .- The subject of this sketch is one of the leading and influential business men of Barbour county. He was born March 4, 1847, in Pike county, Ala., and is the son of J. E. and Rebecca (Sellers) Parish, parents, natives respectively of South and North Carolina. Mr. Parish was reared to manhood on a farm, and in 1863, enlisted in company G, Sixty-first Alabama volunteer infantry, with which he served as sergeant until the surrender of the southern forces in 1865. He took part in the battles of the Wilderness, and a few days after that engagement was cap- tured at Spottsylvania Court House and sent to Elmira, N. Y., where he was kept in confinement until the close of the war. Upon his return home, Mr. Parish worked for some time on the home farm, but agriculture not being to his taste, he subsequently embarked in the mercantile business at Clayton, where he has since carried on a large and lucrative trade, being at this time the leading merchant in the city. He sold goods by himself for two years and then became associated in the business with Mr. Lilienstern, under the firm name of Parish & Lilienstern, a partner- ship which lasted about six years, when Mr. Parish purchased the entire, stock and took in his brother, J. E. Parish, with whom he is still con- nected. The firm of Parish and brother carry a general stock, the average value of which is about $12,000, and the sales are quite large, aggregating about $10,000 a year. In addition to the mercantile business, the Parish brothers are largely interested in various other enterprises, notably among which are the South Alabama Oil & Fertilizing company, at Ozark, the East Alabama Fertilizing company, at Clayton, the Clayton Banking company and the Enterprise Hotel of Clayton. T. R. Parish is a director of the bank and president of the East Alabama Firtilizing company, and also belongs to the city council, in which body he has been quite active in promoting much needed city legislation. Since taking up his residence in Clayton Mr. Parish has in every way justified the record he has made. He possesses business ability of a high order, and his intelligence, activity and untiring devotion to the best interests of his business and to the gen- eral welfare of the city make him a power in the community, while his social nature and winning manners render him popular with all classes. His affiliations with the democratic party makes him prominent in local politics of the city and county, and the Methodist church has in him an earnest and devoted member. He is also identified with the Masonic fra- ternity and takes an active interest in the deliberations of the local lodge to which he belongs. He and Margie, daughter of M. R. Hill, were united in marriage on the 16th day of March, 1871, and they have become the parents of four children: Ida May, wife of A. B. Carlisle; Ella Hill, Joseph Richard, and T. R. Parish. J. E. Parish, father of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Kershaw district, S. C., born in the year 1822. He is of Irish extraction, but having been early left an orphan has little definite recollection of his father's people, who appear to have been old residents of the Carolinas. When a young man he moved to Pike county,
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