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 55
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following: "The nobility of his manhood was painted in form and feature. Of faultless physique, his very appearance inspired admiration. Of well-balanced inind, his judgment was rarely in error. He possessed remarkable equanimity of disposition, and to his sanguine temperament and punctilious habits, as well as to the admirable control which he had over his passions and impulses, may be attributed in great measure his long life and uninterrupted good health."
Mr. Young was married in Marion, Ga., on the 11th day of June, 1832, to Ann Fenda!l Beall, and to the marriage were born nine children : J. W., deceased; H. A., enlisted in Confederate States army and was a member of Kirby Smith's staff; he was killed in a railroad accident in 1863; Anna, wife of S. H. Dent, president of the Eufaula National bank; Mary, deceased wife of Dr. H. M. Weedon, Eufaula; Ada, wife of J. H. G. Martin, broker, Eufaula; E. B., Jr .; Helen, wife of George H. Dent, druggist, Eufaula; and Carrie, wife of N. W. Roberts. secretary and treasurer of cotton mill, Eufaula, Ala. The mother of these children died in 1876. "She wasthe model wife, the perfect mother, the unique neighbor and the devoted unwavering Christian, and contributed much to the suc- cess of her husband."
E. B. Young, Jr., only living son of the above, was born in Eufaula on the 14th day of August, 1849. He was educated at the university of Georgia, but such was his taste for business that he left that institution without graduating, being a member of the junior class. Returning to Eufaula, he entered the banking house of his father as a runner, and has since that time occupied every position but that of president, being at present cashier and vice-president. Mr. Young bears nobly the mantle of the father. He has been treasurer of the city for fourteen years and is always ready to advance her interests. He and family are members of the Methodist church, of which organization he is a steward. Mr. Young was married in Eufaula on the 12th of October, 1871, to Mamie, daughter of J. B. and Flora Jennings. Mrs. Young's family refugeed here from Missouri during the war. The family afterward moved to New Orleans, La., where the father died, thence back to Eufaula. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Young, six children have been born, namely: Annie, Maybelle, E. B., Jr., W. H., Flora and Ada.
BIBB COUNTY.
ALONZO W. BATES, sheriff of Bibb county, was born in Autauga county, Ala., May 10, 1854. He is a son of Elihu and Elizabeth (Parr, Bates, both of whom were natives of South Carolina, and the parents of ten children, five of whom are now living, viz .: Emma, wife of R. J. Bishop, a farmer; Alonzo W., Oscar E., merchant of Centreville, Ala., Alice, wife of G. W. Taylor, farmer and merchant of Autauga county, Ala .; Jessie, wife of D. F. Golson, farme and merchant of Autauga county, Ala .; Whitford L.,
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who reached maturity but is now deceased. The others died in infancy. The father of this family was a farmer until ten years ago, when he engaged in merchandising at Milton, Autauga county, where he now resides. He is a democrat and a member of the Baptist church. The mother was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, and died in 1891. Alonzo W. Bates, previous to being elected sheriff of Bibb county, in 1888, was engaged in farming, December 23, 1875, he was married to Martha James, a native of Bibb county, born in 1852, and a daughter of Daniel M. and Sarah (Parker) James, both natives of Tennessee. They came to Alabama in pioneer days and settled near Harrisburg, in Bibb county, where Mr. James is now engaged in farming and merchandising. Mr. Bates and wife are the parents of seven children, three sons and four daughters, four of whom are living, viz .: Oscar E .; Leonidas; Ruby B .; Dixie; those who died were James T., Ola M., and an infant. Mr. Bates is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Friendship lodge, No. 83, and he and wife are members of the Baptist church.
JESSE D. COOPER, an enterprising and successful farmer and stock dealer of Bibb county, Ala., is a native of Butler county, Penn., and was born March 1, 1832. He is a son of Thomas and Phoebe (Dean) Cooper, both natives of Pennsylvania. Thomas Cooper was a farmer and stock dealer, and held several township offices. Both himself and wife died in. Butler county, Penn., he in 1877, at the ripe age of ninety-two years, and she in 1884 at the age of eighty-five years. Thomas Cooper was for many years an elder in the Presbyterian church and his wife was a member of the Baptist church. Jesse D. Cooper was reared on a farm and emigrated to Alabama in early life. He attended school at New Market academy, in. Madison county, Ala., and then entered Bucknell college, Lewisburg, Penn., in 1854, and graduated in 1858, when he returned to Alabama, taking charge of the school at Moulton, Lawrence county, for one year as principal. He then removed to Chapel Hill, Tenn., and accepted the principalship of the schools, remaining from 1859 to April, 1861, when he ยท closed his school and enlisted in the Confederate service, in company F, Seventeenth Tennessee infantry, under Captain R. P. Hunter. In 1862 he was promoted to captain of his company, serving as such until the close of the war. He then returned to Chapel Hill and again entered the school he had taught before the war, remaining there this time until 1869. July. 12, 1868, he married Rhoda J. Howard, a native of Bibb county, Ala., who was born in 1850 on the farm upon which they now reside. She is a daughter of George W. Howard, formerly a wealthy agriculturist, but now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have had born to them nine children, five sons and four daughters, six of whom are living, viz. : Minnie S., wife of Dr. William J. Nicholson, whose sketch appears else. where in this work; Bessie; Howard; Eva L .; Robert F .; and Walter B .- the others, John, Jessie and David, having died. After the death of George W. Howard, Jesse D. Cooper moved onto the plantation, which is
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located near Centreville, at which place he has been employed as principal of the schools for the past six years. In 1878 and 1879 he represented Bibb county in the legislature. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Friendship lodge. No. 83, and is secretary of the lodge. He is extensively engaged in agriculture, owning sixteen hundred acres of fine land in Bibb county. The old homestead or family seat where he resides is one of the most beautiful and picturesque in the county. Everything betokens luxury, elegance and refinement. Mr. Cooper is one of the most highly respected citizens of the county, not only for his professional attainments, but also for his general worth as a man of character.
MRS. SARAH H. CRAWFORD, widow of Dr. James W. Crawford, was born in Livingston county, Ky., October 4, 1844. She is a daughter of Robert and Malinda Huey, who were the parents of eight children, two only of whom are living, viz. : Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Stewart of Texas, and Sarah H., the subject of this sketch. Her parents both died in Kentucky when she was a small girl, and hence she recollects but little of them. Dr. James H. Crawford, whom Miss Sarah H. Huey married, was born in Bibb county, Ala., February 15, 1822. He received a common commercial education at Centreville. He was a son of Thomas Crawford, was born April 29, 1784, and Mary (Davidson) Crawford, who was born January 8, 1789. They were the parents of a large family of children. She died October 4, 1831. He was a linen-weaver by trade and died Sep- tember 4, 1844. On January 8, 1856, Dr. James H. Crawford married Mrs. Rebecca (Huey) Duff, by whom he had two children, both of whom are dead. His wife died April 4, 1862, and he was then married in 1863 to Sarah Huey, a sister of his first wife. To this marriage there were born seven children, two sons and five daughters, viz .: Thomas, deceased; Marrillo; Edgar; Estella; Bryce, deceased; Dallum, and Maud. Dr. Craw- ford died April 11, 1883. Both he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church. He was a true Christian and a faithful worker for the church. He was a prominent physician and was highly esteemed in every place or position which he was called upon to fill; when he died all were forcibly impressed with the thought that "Death loves a shining mark." Dr. Crawford was a man whose endowments of mind and heart impressed all so fortunate as to form his acquaintance. During his last illness he was a victim of a painful affliction and extreme suffering, which he bore with characteristic fortitude. To his friends his loss was mitigated in some degree by there flection that he had passed his allotted three score years and ten and that he had passed down to his grave as a shock of corn in its season. He was a man of large and varied information and was endowed by nature with superior powers of mind, which he by per- sistent application, by reading, observation and reflection had greatly improved. He was animated with a strong love of country and by a patriotic devotion to all the great interests of the people. Always com- manding the confidence and esteem of his countrymen. he was called at
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various times to assume the responsibilities which it was known he would conscientiously discharge. He served in the legislature of his state, in councils and conventions for the promotion of medical science, agriculture and education. He always challenged attention and respect for his prac- tical wisdom and native common sense. His entire life as a resident of this county, his name and reputation, have contributed to elevate the general tone and character of society. He was the friend of every move- ment to advance education, promote refinement, build up the church and the Sabbath school and to inculcate peace, good-will and good morals among the people. For forty years he was an active and trusted leader in all these various laudable undertakings. In all private and social relations he was all that friendship could admire or affection approve. He was an unaffected christian gentleman, affable, kind and considerate to all. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity.
JAMES L. DAVIDSON, a leading merchant of Centreville, is a native of Alabama, born in Centreville, Bibb county, Ala., February 14, 1837. He is a son of Samuel W. and Frances (Stringfellow) Davidson-the father a native of North Corolina and the mother a native of South. Carolina. The father was born in 1791. He was a son of John and Margaret (Wilson) Davidson, the former a native of North Carolina, a merchant, and a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Margaret (Wilson) David- son was born in 1761 and reared a family of three children: Mary, John H. and Samuel W. She died in North Carolina, and her husband in Bibb county, Ala. Samuel W. Davidson was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools of his day. He was the father of nine children: Samuel W., a resident of Bibb county and an extensive planter; James L .; Mary F., widow of Edward H. Moren; Caroline V., wife of Dr. A. S. Murphy, of Eutaw, Ala. ; William; Margaret; John S. ; Thomas A., and Catherine J., are all five deceased. Samuel W. came to Alabama from North Carolina in 1819, and located in what is now Bibb county, near Pratt's Ferry. In the early part of his life he was a farmer and mer- chant; later, however, he followed farming exclusively, owning a large tract of land. He represented Bibb county in the legislature of 1840, and also filled various township offices. He died March 4, 1863, an elder of the Presbyterian church. Through the united efforts of Mr. Davidson and a few individual citizens, the Presbyterian church of Centreville was built in 1859. His wife died October 30, 1848, also a member of the Presbyterian church. James L. Davidson was reared in the town of Centreville, was educated at Somerville and Tuscaloosa colleges, was married January 27, 1864, to Miss Fanny Barclay, a native of Alabama. She was the daughter of Hugh Barclay. No children were born to their union, and she died May 30, 1865, a member of the Baptist church. In 1861, Mr. Davidson organized the first infantry company that was organized in Bibb county, and was its captain. He went to Virginia with his company, serving as captain until 1862, when he was detached and served as lieutenant-colonel
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until the close of the war. He was in the battles of Seven Pines, Chicka -. mauga and a number of skirmishes. At the close of the war he located at Mobile, and embarked in the grocery business; remained one year, then returned to Centreville, forming a partnership with Robert McIlvain, in the mercantile business. Shortly after he bought his partner's interest and has operated a successful business up to the present date. November 17, 1867, he was married to Miss Susan A. Rowell, a native of Wilcox county, Ala., born in 1844. She is a daughter of James and Ann (Suell) Rowell. To Mr. and Mrs. Davidson have been born seven children, viz. : Margaret, Anna, Fannie, Ella, Dora, James and Ida, all now deceased. Mr. Davidson is an active politician and has served as chairman of the democratic county committee; in 1882 he was appointed postmaster of Centreville, and holds the office at the present time. In connection with his brother, S. W. Davidson, he owns a part of the old homestead on the Cahawba river, which comprises 2,000 acres of fine bottom land, in a high state of cultivation, and is located two miles south of Centerville. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian church, in which he is clerk and one of the ruling elders.
WILLIAM H. DOUTHIT, a merchant of Blocton, Ala., was born in Tus- caloosa county, Ala., March 29, 1845. He is a son of Hubbard and Mary E. (McGhee) Douthit, both of whom were natives of North Carolina. The father of Mrs. Douthit, William McGee, was of Scotch-Irish extraction, was born in Virginia, was largely interested in gold mines in Virginia, North Carolina and Alabama, and early moved to Jacksonville, Ala., where both himself and wife lived the rest of their lives. The father of our subject was reared in the town of Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he studied and afterwards practiced law. He was the father of eight children, two sons and six daughters, three only of whom are living, viz: William H., Sarah E., and Charles F., a liveryman at Birmingham, Ala. Sarah E, is the wife of Capt. J. P. Bartee, a steamboat captain. The other children died in infancy. Their father died in Mobile in 1870, and their mother in 1878. Both were members of the Episcopal church. W. H. Douthit was raised in Tuscaloosa, where he attended school. At the youthful age of fifteen years he enlisted in company K, Twentieth Alabama infantry, under Cap- tain Joseph C. Guild, serving from 1861 to the close of the war. He par- ticipated in several of the severest battles of the war, among them the siege of Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, the campaign of Atlanta, the battle of Kingston, N. C., in which he received what was in reality only a slight wound in the left breast, but which was considered by him a very close call. At the close of the war he returned home and was appointed city marshal of Tuscaloosa, Ala. Afterward he learned the printers' trade and followed it eighteen years. In 1883 he removed to Blocton, Ala., where he engaged in the bakery and hotel business, con- tinuing in the same business for eight years. He then sold out and estab- lished a general store, which he is now conducting. He was married in
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS-BIBB COUNTY.
1879 to Mary Striplan, who was born in Mississippi in 1863, by whom he has had three children, viz: Willie and Maud, living, and an infant which died quite young. Mrs. Douthit is a member of the Episcopal church and Mr. Douthit is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Order of Red Men.
DAVID J. FRAZIER, a liveryman of Blocton, was born in Bibb county, Ala., December 3, 1850. He is a son of Samuel and Martha J. (Wood Frazier and a grandson of Samuel Frazier, who was born in North Car- olina, who was a farmer and a stock dealer, and who died in his native state. Samuel Frazier was born in Randolph county, N. C., in 1814, and his mother was a native of Bibb county, Ala., born in 1820. They were married in 1842, and had eight children, five sons and three daughters, four of whom are living, viz: Lafayette W., David J., Mattie, wife of Jesse Ford, and Fannie, unmarried. Those who have died were named William H., Mary E., Samuel J., and Charles. The father of these chil- dren was brought up on a farm and followed farming for a living, and also ran a stage between Randolph and Tuscaloosa for several years. He was a prominent democratic politician and died July 9, 1892. His widow resides near Centreville at the advanced age of seventy years, and is a member of the Centreville Baptist church. David J. Frazier was reared on his father's farm and educated at Centreville academy. In 1879 he married Mary C. Kirsh, who was born in Bibb county, Ala., August 11, 1848. She is a daughter of Martin and Lucinda H. (Cleveland) Kirsh, both of whom are natives of Alabama, and the parents of eight children, four of whom are living, viz: J. N. C .; Martha A., wife of J. D. Kirsh; Mary C. (Mrs. Frazier), and David L. The names of those who have died were: O. C. C., W. L. F., Pardee, and Martin C. For a number of years Mr. Kirsh was a merchant at Centreville. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church south, and died in 1852. Mrs. Kirsh was a member of the Baptist church and died in 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Frazier are the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, four of whom are living, viz: Lloyd, Clifford, Clyde, and Anna. The names of those who have died were Ella R. and Lillian. Mr. Frazier was engaged in mercantile business at Centreville for ten years, and in 1892 he started a livery stable at Blocton, where he is now in business, his family residing in Centreville. He and wife are members of the Baptist church.
HON. JOHN S. GARDNER, probate judge of Bibb county, and resident of Centreville, was born in Bibb county, August 20, 1840. He is a son of Jackson and Margaret (Bolling) Gardner, and a grandson of John Gard- ner, who was a native of North Carolina and who emigrated to Alabama at an early day and afterward spent his life in farming. The father of John S. Gardner was also a farmer. He was born in Clarke county, Ala., in 1818, his wife being born in 1822. They were married in 1837, and be- came the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters, viz. :
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
Sarah J., widow of Dewitt C. Logan, now residing at Centreville; John S. ; Mattie E., widow of James W. Owen, now a resident of Centreville; Mil- lard F., a resident of Centreville; Beulah B., widow of S. S. Jones, a resident of Centreville; Stonewall J., a resident of South Carolina, and Mary A., Willey P., Mulcay, James P., Parolee, and an infant, all deceased. He came to Alabama early in life, engaged for a while in farming, and in 1853, he was elected sheriff of Bibb county, serving three years. In 1856 he was elected probate judge of the county and served twenty years. In politics he was a whiig and in his day was one of the most influential men of the county. Afterward he became a democrat. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and died September 26, 1876, his wife dying in 1889. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. John S. Gardner was educated at Randolph and Centreville, re- ceiving a business education. He was married June 21, 1861, to Miss Rebecca T. Carson, born in Centreville, in 1837, and a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Carson. By this marriage he has three children, viz: Mary V., wife of L. D. Logan; Lena B., wife of E. M Jones, and Margaret R., deceased. The mother of these children was a member of the Presbyterian church, and died in February, 1872. He was then married to Edna L. Parker, a native of Bibb county, born in 1838, by whom he has had three children, only one of whom survives, Robert J., the others dying in infancy. John S. Gardner, in 1861, enlisted in the army as an orderly sergeant in company F, Eleventh Alabama infantry. He was successively promoted to third lieutenant, second lieutenant, and first lieutenant, serving until June, 1862, when he had an attack of pneu- monia, was discharged and went home. After remaining at home three months, he volunteered in company H, Forty-fourth Alabama infantry, as first lieutenant, in which he served until November, 1864, when he was nominated for and elected sheriff of Bibb county, which position he re- turned home to fill, and in this office he served three years. In 1867, he was elected to the office of circuit court clerk and served until 1870. He was then elected again to the same office and served until 1872. In 1873 he was appointed register in chancery, which position he held until 1878, when, on account of illness in his family, he retired to a farm and was engaged in farming until August, 1880, when he was elected to the office of probate judge of the county. He was re-elected in 1886, and held the office until 1892. In these various offices he has served the public with credit to himself and satisfaction to the community. He is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias, and is an elder in the Pres- byterian church, while his wife is a member of the Baptist church.
THE HOWISON FAMILY .- In these days when so much that is old and venerable is melting away before the destroying touch of radical philosophy, and when all the tendencies of the times are to teach children that they are better than their ancestors, it may be well, occasionally, to recall the past and to unearth an old family record, which will remind
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us that our generation is not the first that has lived on the earth. In the elaborate compilation of John Burke, entitled, "Commoners of Great Britain," we find some interesting memorials of the Virginia family men- tioned above. We believe this is the only family of the name in the United States and that it can be traced back to the old Scottish parent- age from whom they descended. Mr. Burke's works, known as the "History of the Peerage," and "Baronetage of the extinct and dormant Peerage," and "Commoners of Great Britain," have long been regarded as very high authority-in fact as perfectly reliable sources of informa- tion on the subjects he presents. In his second volume, from page 231 to 236, he traces the times of the Howison and. Crawford families-which were united by the marriage of Elizabeth Crawford with John Howison of Brackhead, in Midlothian, on the 3d of June, 1744. Elizabeth was lineally descended from Sir Reginald De Crawford, the ancestor of Sir William Wallace of the Howisons. Mr. Burke says; "The families of all those that have lived with repute in the district of Cromind, in Mid- lothian, is by far the most ancient, having continued there for more than three centuries and a half. The first mentioned by name of John Howi- son, a burgess of Edinburgh, born in 1450, nearly half a century before the discovery of America by Columbus. A well sustained tradition in- forms us that the family were from early times devoted to agriculture and that some of its members once saved the life of a Scottish king. When, in 1424, King James the first of Scotland returned from his long captivity in England, he spent his brief reign with great energy in subduing to order the turbulence of his nobles and commoners, who were in constant feuds. On one occasion he was attacked by assassins and would have been slain but for the sturdy courage of the Howisons, who advanced from a neighboring field with their flails and effectually aided the king's guards in his defense. After the affray the king accompanied them to their home and one of them presented to him a basin and napkin for his hands. In honor of their courage and simple hospitality his majesty granted specal privileges to the family-the memory of which was per- petuated in their coat of arms and in a singular ceremony which has been repeated in modern times, and which we will presently notice. After the intermarriage of Elizabeth Crawford and John Howison the heraldic symbols of the two famlies were united in one coat of arms- which Burke thus describes: Crawford crest-A marble pillar sur- mounting Mamores' heart. Howison crest-A right hand erect, coupled at the wrist by left hand, supports two husbandmen in the dress of the fourteenth century, one holding a flail, the other, a basin and napkin. Mottoes: Crawford "Stant innexa." Def. : "Supported by God, they
stand." Howison- "Sursum corda." Def. : "Hearts upright." On the 4th of August, 1822, King George the fourth of Enlgand attended a banquet in the city of Edinburg and repeated the ceremonial honors granted to the Howison family by the chivalrous James, 400 years pre-
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