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 81
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
that institution entered the service of his state as a drillmaster before he was fifteen years of age. After this service and a stay of a few months at school, he re-entered the Confederate army as a private in Ramseur's artillery, then commanded by Captain Basil Manly, in which he remained until after the battle of Gettysburg, participating in this battle with McLaws' division, when he was commissioned a lieutenant in the Forty- ninth North Carolina regiment of infantry, which constituted a part of the brigade of General (now Senator) M. W. Ransom. With his regiment he took part in all the battles of General Lee's army up to Five Forks, where on the 1st of April, 1865, while in command of the sharpshooters, lie was captured and was held a prisoner of war at Johnson's Island until after the close of the war. He then returned to North Carolina, and read law with his grandfather, Judge Ruffin, and in June, 1837, received his first license in that state. The year ' following he obtained the license which admitted him to practice in all the courts. In 1868 he sailed from New York for California, and there practiced law in Merced county for three years. In December, 1870, he went to Greensboro, Ala., to be married to the daughter of Colonel Allen C. Jones of that place, with the expectation of then returning to California; but entered into a law part- nership with Hon. Robert H. Smith, of Mobile, and remained in partner- ship with that eminent lawyer until his death in 1878. He continued in the practice of the law at Greensboro, until 1889, when he removed to Sheffield, and there opened an office with Mr. J. H. Nathan. He moved his family there in the following February, and has since continued to reside in that city. He has held no public office except one term as mayor of Greensboro, to which he was unanimously elected. He declined to again be a candidate, convinced, as he said, that such a thing could not happen twice in any man's life. Mr. Roulhac and wife have had six children, five of whom are living.
CONECUH COUNTY.
WILLIAM BEARD .- The subject of this mention is of Revolutionary stock and back of that of Irish ancestry. His grandfather was a native of the Emerald Isle, came to America in the time of the colonies, and served with distinction in the war of independence. He died in the state of North Carolina a number of years ago. Maternally, Mr. Beard is descended from Scotch ancestors, who settled in North Carolina in an early day and subsequently removed to Alabama, locating in the county of Monroe. Neal Beard, father of William, was born in Cumberland connty. N. C., February 3, 1780, and on the 4th of July, 1819, married, in Alabama, Miss Anna A. Moore, and immediately thereafter returned to his native state, where he resided until 1835. In that year the family moved to Alabama, settling in Monroe county, where the father died April 7, 1856, and the mother on the 24th day of March, 1854. By a
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previous marriage with Elizabeth Plumber, of North Carolina, Neal Beard raised a family of two children, namely: Alexander and Sophia, both deceased. His second marriage was blessed by the birth of eight chil- dren, namely: Sara J., wife of Neal McCarty, deceased; Arabella, wife of Zachariah Williams; Steven D., died in 1858; William; Caroline, wife of P. O. Mauldin; Helen, deceased; Jarvis B .; Blakely, deceased, and Margaret G., widow of Robert Baird. William Beard is a native of Fayettville, N. C., and dates his birth from the 15th day of August, 1827. His educational training was acquired by an attendance at the common schools, and he grew to manhood in Monroe county, to which part of the state his family removed when he was but a youth. In the late war he served in company D, Twenty-third Alabama infantry, until the cessation of hostilities, and took a part in a number of campaigns, including that of Atlanta, in all the hard-fought battles of which he par- ticipated. His company was with Hood in the Tennessee raid and was engaged in the bloody battles of Franklin and Nashville, and also Benton- ville, one of the last engagements of the war. Severing his connection with the army after the surrender, he returned to Alabama, and for some- time thereafter was employed as assistant in the probate judge's office at the town of Sparta. He was elected, in 1877, assessor of Conecuh county, which position he held for a term of three years, and was then compli- mented by being chosen county clerk, the duties of which position he dis- charged in a highly creditable manner for six years. In 1886, in partner- ship with his brother, Jarvis Beard, under the firm name of Beard & Co., he engaged in the mercantile business at Castleberry, which he still car- ries on. As a citizen, Mr. Beard is held in the highest esteem, is pro- gressive and enterprising, and has always taken an active interest in the moral and material prosperity of the county. He is a master Mason of Greening lodge, No. 53, Evergreen, and has been a stanch supporter of democratic party since attaining his majority. He was married in January, 1862, to Catherine, daughter of Judge A. D. Carey of Sparta.
JARVIS B. BEARD, brother of the preceding and seventh child of Neal and Anna Beard, was born October 27, 1834, in Fayetteville, N. C., and has spent the greater part of his life in Alabama. His educational train- ing was limited, but, being a close observer of men and events, he has, by a long life of active business, become the possessor of a practical education such as schools and colleges fail to impart. At the breaking out of the late Civil war he enlisted in company E. Twenty-third Ala- bama infantry, and was with his command throughout the entire strug- gle, most of the time in Johnston's army. He was not engaged in any , battles of importance until the Atlanta campaign, in which he bore an active part, and subsequently accompanied the army of Hood to Ten- nessee, in which state he participated in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. Owing to severe sickness, he was compelled to leave the ranks at the latter place and return to Franklin, where, with many others
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
of this command, he was captured by the enemy and sent to Camp Chase, and there held a prisoner until after Lee's surrender in 1865. At the close of the war he returned to Monroe county and engaged in the pur- suit of agriculture, and in 1867 removed to Indiana, where he was sim- ilarly employed for two years. Not liking it in that state, he returned to Alabama, but afterward went to Texas and farmed for four years in Col- lins county. In 1874 he again returned to Alamaba, locating in Castle- berry, where he is now engaged in the mercantile business in partner- ship with his brother, William Beard, and also carries on farming in the vicinity of the town. Mr. Beard is one of the substantial citizens of the community, enterprising and progressive, and occupies a prominent place in the confidence and esteem of the public. He is a steward of the M. E. church, a member of the Masonic fraternity, and democratic in politics.
JACOB F. BETTS .- Among the enterprising and philanthropic men of Conecuh county, Ala., may be found the name of Jacob F. Betts. Mr. Betts is a native of Conecuh county. born near what is now known as Fowler's Mill, October 14, 1819, and is the son of Isaac and Nancy Betts. The father was born in the state of Delaware, in 1795, and shortly after his birth was taken by his parents to Georgia, where he lived until about the year 1818, when he moved to Conecuh county, Ala. Isaac Betts was. a blacksmith and planter, a fine christian gentleman. and was known far and wide for his piety and many acts of benevolence. He married in Georgia, in the year 1813, Nancy Denson, and reared a family of thirteen children, the following of whom are now living: Jacob F., Mary, widow of I. M. Henderson; Emily, wife of T. H. Mauldin, and William H., mer- chant, of Burnt Corn. The deceased members of the family were Martha Ann, died in childhood; James M., died in 1852; Elbert G., died in Texas, in 1876; Melissa Ann, wife of Dr. C. P. Partin; Serena W., wife of Wyatt Godbold; Isaac, died in 1864; Nancy, died in infancy; Amanda, wife of D. T. Brown, died in Texas, about the year 1882; Edward, killed in North Carolina, near the close of the war, while fighting for the Confederacy. Isaac Betts settled near Fowler's Mill, Conecuh county, in 1818, where he resided until the fall of 1828. He removed to Monroe county in the spring of 1832, where he lived until his death, April 5, 1863. Mrs. Betts survived her husband several years, dying in the fall of 1876. Her life was that of a true christian woman, ever known for her gentleness of spirit and amiability of character. The Betts family is of Irish descent, and several of their ancestors took part in the Revolutionary war. The Denson family were also of Irish origin, and originally settled in South Carolina, from which state Mrs. Betts' father removed to Georgia. Jacob F. Betts was reared to manhood in his native county, received a limited education in such schools as the county afforded, and, on attaining his majority, went to Kentucky, and was engaged in driving stock to Charleston, S. C. During the time he followed this business, he became very thoroughly acquainted with the same and followed it for a year or two. Returning
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home, he entered into the mercantile business at Belleville, Conecuh county, in 1847, and since that time has been extensively engaged in the mercantile trade at that place and Burnt Corn. In addition to the goods. business, he has also dealt largely in real estate, in which he has met with the most flattering encouragement. In 1848, October 11th, Mr. Betts was united in marriage to Miss Anna B. Clarke, daughter of Russell Clarke, of Connecticut. Mr. Clarke's people were English, and early settlers of one of the New England states. Mrs. Bett's mother was a Miss Boardman. Politically, Mr. Betts is a supporter of the democratic party, but has never been a partisan, so far as seeking official positions is concerned. He is a master Mason, belonging to the Burnt Corn lodge, No. 489, and, with his wife, belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, south, in which he holds the position of steward. Mr. Betts is broad minded and liberal, and of sympathetic and generous disposition, char- acteristics that have made him justly popular and influential among his fellow-citizens. His success financially, has been due, not only to his natural fine ability as a business man, but to his integrity and fair deal- ing as well. He is known far and wide for his benevolence and gener- osity, and for years has been prominent in the affairs of his church in southern Alabama. He owns large and valuable tracts of real estate in different counties, and is owner of the popular hotel Whitcomb, which is run as a winter resort in Evergreen,
COL. PINCKNEY D. BOWLES .- Among the representative men of south- ern Alabama, deserving of particular mention, the name of Col. Pinckney D. Bowles is especially prominent. Col. Bowles is_descended from old and well known families of Virginia and traces his ancestry, both pater- nal and maternal, back through several generations, to England. On the mother's side the family contains an admixture of Scotch and Irish blood, and the characteristics of those sturdy races have been reproduced in a marked degree in the several descendants now living in Alabama and other states of the Union. The colonel's grandfather, Isaac Bowles, was born and reared in the Old Dominion state, and in an early day removed to South Carolina, Edgefield district, where he was extensively engaged for many years as a tobacco planter. He married into a French family by the name of Dupree, the lady being the accomplished daughter of a French Huguenot refugee. The colonel's father, also named Isaac Bowles, was born in Edgefield district, S. C., on the 14th of April, 1809, and fol- lowed the occupation of a planter and was also an accomplished civil engineer. He held various local offices, among others, high sheriff; was major in the state militia, and served as captain of a minute company in 1832, during the times of the nullification excitement in South Carolina. He was married in Edgefield district by Rev. Basil Manly, a noted divine of early times, to Emily Holloway, the ceremony being solemnized about the year 1832. As already stated, the Holloways were of English,
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
Scotch and Irish descent, and were among the earliest permanent settlers of Brunswick county, Va., locating there a number of years prior to the Revolution, in which struggle the colonel's great-grandfather bore a con- spicious part. Jordon Holloway, the colonel's grandfather, married Mary Rarden, daughter of an Indian agent in the employ of the English gov- ernment who died some years before the war of independence. Mrs. Bowles was born and raised in Edgefield district, S. C., where she is still living at the advanced age of eighty-four years. One of her sisters has in her possession the patent to the old homestead, signed by King George of England. To the marriage of Isaac Bowles and Emily Hollo- way, were born seven children, whose names are as follows: Jane M., deceased at the age of thirteen; Col. Pickney D .; Savannah, wife of Pres- ley M. Williams, of Duttonsville, S. C .; Permelia M., wife of Col. A. B. Dean, of Odom, S. C .; Mary S., wife of Dr. J. R. Beall, of Self, S. C .; Llewellyn H., a lawyer at Troy, Ala., also a Baptist minister, and Clar- issa C., who resides with her widowed mother on the old home place in Edgefield district. Col. Bowles was born on the 7th of July, 1835, in Edgefield district, S. C., and enjoyed superior educational advantages in his youth, becoming a student in a boarding school at the age of fourteen. He supplemented the course of instruction at this institution by an atten- dance at another school of higher grade, and at the age of seventeen entered the government military academy at Charleston, S. C., where for two years he pursued his studies under the surveillance of superior and ยท well disciplined tutors. Owing to physical disability he was compelled to leave this institution before completing the prescribed course, and after recuperating his health for some time in Florida, entered, in 1855, the university of Virginia, where he remained two years, graduating with honor in the literary course in 1857. On receiving his degree he entered the law office of Judge Samuel McGowan, now on the supreme bench of South Carolina, under whom he pursued his professional studies until his admission to the bar in December, 1858. In April, 1859, he located at Sparta, then the seat of justice for Conecuh county, and practiced there for two years, during which time his superior abilities and thorough knowledge of the law gained for him an extensive legal business and much more than a local reputation as a lawyer. Col. Bowles was early imbued with a spirit of politics and was an active participant in the stir- ring events which eventually culminated in the war of secession. He entered heart and soul into the cause of the south, and in January, 1861, was one of the first from Conecuh county to offer his services to the state, enlisting at that time in a company of Alabama volunteers recruited for the purpose of capturing Fort Pickens. Returning home after this expedition, he assisted in the reorganization of the company and was unanimously elected its captain. On the 24th of April, 1861, the company, which had been given the name of the Conecuh Guards, left for the seat of war, and was ushered into the service as company E, of the Fourth
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Alabama infantry. Col. Bowles shared the honors and vicissitudes of this regiment in all of its varied experiences throughout the war, and on August 22, 1862, by virtue of the resignation of Charles L. Scott, major, he was promoted to that position. In September of the same year, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and three days afterward became colonel, on account of the advancement of Col. E. M. Law to brigade commander, which brigade he commanded in all the battles below Richmond in the summer and fall of 1864. On the 3rd of April, 1865, for gallant and meri- torious conduct in the field, he was promoted to brigade commander, and served as such until severing his connection with the army at the close of the war. Col. Bowles participated in many bloody battles and was fortunate in escaping unhurt, but had many narrow escapes, one of which was at first Manassas, where his canteen was shattered by a ball from the enemy, and at Spottsylvania court house his cap was knocked out of his hand by a missle from a Yankee gun. At the close of the war Col. Bowles resumed the practice of his profession at Sparta and continued there until the removal of the county seat to Evergreen in 1867, at which time he removed to the latter place, where he has since been in the enjoyment of a large and lucrative legal business, and where he has won a conspicious place among the leading lawyers of southern Alabama. For ten years he filled the office of prosecuting attorney for Conecuh county, but is not now connected with any official position, giving his entire attention to his private practice. Col. Bowles' military record is one of which any brave son of the south might feel proud, and his professional career presents a series of successes such as few lawyers attain. He brought to his life work a mind well schooled by persistent and system- atic study, and the reputation which he has achieved is not limited by the boundaries of his state. Endowed with an ardent love of his profes- sion and with talents peculiarly fitting him for its higher practice, he has been fortunate in having had ample opportunity of improving and culti- vating his natural abilities by study, and his experience, added to these, has made him a leader among the most prominent in his profession. Col. Bowles and Alice Irene, daughter of Judge H. F. and Anna C. Stearns, were united in marriage at Sparta, Ala., on the 24th of February, 1862. They have two children living, Catherine E. and Mary Ella, and one deceased, Minnalula H. Col. and Mrs. Bowles belong to the St. Mary's Episcopal church, in which he holds the position of warden, and also that of superintendent of the Sunday schools, having been honored by the latteer for twenty years. He has always been a democrat and takes an active interest in the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Greening lodge, No. 53, at Evergreen.
WILLIAM D. BROWN, a prosperous merchant of Gravella, is a native of Conecuh county, Ala., and son of William T. and Mary E. Brown. The father was born in North Carolina in 1816, and early moved to Conecuh county, of which he continued a resident until his death, June 30, 1887.
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
He was a planter, held the office of tax collector of Conecuh county two terms, and was one of the intelligent and progressive citizens of the com- munity in which he lived. At the breaking out of the war he enlisted, with a company of old men, for detail duty, principally, and was subse- quently promoted lieutenant of the same. In 1846 he was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary E. Butler, who bore him the following children: Virginia A., who resides with her widowed mother in Evergreen; Susie J., died at the age of five years; Dr. Daniel A., dentist at Chipley; William D. ; Nancy E., teacher in the schools of Andalusia, Covington county, Ala. ; Amanda J., wife of Dr. William R. Smith; James T., bookkeeper in Gravella for W. D. Brown & Co .; and Mary E., assistant teacher in the Andalusia schools. William D. Brown was born May 7, 1851, and received a practical English education in the schools of his native county. At the age of twenty-one he began working in the timber business, making cross ties for the M. & M. railroad, and was also connected with the same com- pany for some time in the capacity of bridge builder. In 1872 he accepted a clerkship in the mercantile establishment of John Rhodes at Gravella, receiving for his services the sum of fifteen dollars per month He con- tinued in this capacity until January, 1878, at which time he effected a copartnership in the goods businees with his employer under the firm name of W. D. Brown & Co., which has remained unchanged to the pres- ent time. The firm carries a general stock of merchandise valued at $4,000, and the business, which is constantly increasing, is now estimated at over $20,000 per year. Mr. Brown has also paid considerable attention to real estate, and beside 6,000 acres of land in Conecuh county, owns valuable property in the city of Birmingham and other places in the state. His success as a business man has been well merited, and his career since beginning for himself has been one of which any person might reasona- bly be proud. Mr. Brown's married life began October 16, 1879, at which time Martha I. Rhodes became his wife. Mrs. Brown is the daughter of John and Eliza Rhodes, who moved from Butler county to Conecuh in 1871. They had a family of three children, namely: Luella, died at the age of fourteen; Martha I. and Mary J. Mr. Rhodes departed this life July 13, 1884, and the mother is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have had two children, William Claude, who died in infancy, and Lula M., who has now reached the age of ten years. Mr. Brown is a democrat in his political belief; fraternally he is identified with the K. of P. order. Mrs. Brown belongs to the Baptist church.
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HON. JOHN D. BURNETT, the subject of this biography is a native Ala- bamian and inherits in a marked degree the finer characteristics of his Scotch-Irish ancestry. His father, John H. Burnett, was born in Geor- gia in 1818, and came to Alabama with his parents the following year. He was by occupation a planter, owning a large tract of real estate and a number of slaves. He was prominent in the affairs of his adopted state and in politics a democrat He died in 1861. The wife of John H. Bur-
JOHN D. BURNETT.
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS-CONECUH COUNTY.
nett was Margaret Donald, a daughter of Alexander and Catherine (Simpson) Donald, natives of South Carolina, from which state they re- moved to Alabama in 1820, and settled near Belleville, Conecuh county. His grandfather, Samuel Burnett, was the first judge of the county court of Conecuh and was elected to this office two terms. The marriage be- tween the parents was solemnized in 1847, the issue of the same being, Catherine, wife of Judge N. R. Leigh of Brewton; Harriet, wife of G. Sam- pey of Belleville; John Donald of Evergreen; Samuel (died at the age of twenty-four); Hezekiah of Belleville; and Rachel, wife of John G. Walker of Choctaw county. John D. Burnett, was born on the 8th of February, 1852, in Conecuh county, which he has always made his home. The early death of his father and the result of the war between the states, made it necessary for Mr. Burnett, when a mere boy, to assume the sup- port of his mother's family, the education of the younger children de- volving almost entirely on him. Leaving school at the age of fourteen he faced the stern realities of life, cheerfully accepting the conditions surrounding him and courageously discharging his duty to those near and dear to him. He aimed at a collegiate course, hoping to fit himself for the law, and at the age of eighteen he had, by rigid economy and hard work on a farm, acquired means for the purpose. An unfortunate investment at this time in the timber and mercantile business swept away this capital in a few months, leaving him deeply in debt; however, he did not despair, but continued in the timber business, performing the hardest and most laborious manual labor, driving oxen. cutting, rafting and running timber to market, and pursuing his studies at night by pine knot fires, until his twenty-third year. Then, having discharged every obligation, he applied himself entirely to his professional studies, and within a few months passed a successful examination before Judge John K. Henry at Andalusia, where he was admitted to the bar in September, 1875. He at once began the active practice of his profession at Ever- green, at which place on the day of opening his office he was employed as counsel in a case and made his first speech in court. At the end of a year he became associated in the practice with Hon. N. Stallworth, and the firm thus constituted still exists. Mr. Burnett acted as county solici- tor from 1877 to 1880, and in the fall of 1882 was elected to represent Conecuh county in the state legislature, in which body he served two terms, and in the deliberations of which he took an active, conservative and prominent part. In 1885, he resigned this office to accept the ap- pointment of United States district attorney for the southern district of Alabama, having received the endorsement of both senators and all the representatives in congress from his state for this position. This ap- pointment gained for Mr. Burnett national notoriety from the fact that it was made President Cleveland's test case in a long and heated contest with the United States senate. Briefly stated the facts are as follows: In July, after his inauguration, President Cleveland removed from the
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