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 84
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
church. The McNeils were from North Carolina. Miss Anna J. McNeil, whom Mr. Crawford married, was left an orphan in early life, and was reared by an uncle, Col. John McNeil, of Autauga county. A. D. Craw- ford was born April 15th, 1850, on the old home place. He was educated at the university of Alabama, graduating in the class of 1874. He was his father's assistant in the office of state treasurer during the four years of his incumbency, and he was also with the next treasurer four years. Since then he has been at home on the farm most of the time. He is a planter and miller by occupation and has never married. With his brother James he lives on the old place and enjoys the seclusion of a country life, and is very fond of hunting and fishing.
JOHN S. CREW, hotel keeper at Good Water, Ala., is a son of R. H. and Lucinda (Selman) Crew, the former of whom was a native of Virginia, born near Lynchburg. When he was a boy the family moved to Henry county. Ga., where he grew to manhood and married. He lived there until 1848, when he came to Alabama, settling in the northeastern part of Coosa county. Here he has lived ever since and is now seventy-seven years of age. He has always been a farmer, and a successful and able financier. He reared a family of seven children, viz .: John S .; William, who was a member of Hilliard's legion and was killed at the battle of Shiloh; E. D. a farmer of Greenville, Ala .; R. A., a merchant of Good Water, Ala. : Isa- belle. wife of Alexander O'Neil, postmaster at Good Water, Ala .; B. F., merchant at Good Water, Ala .; C. M., merchant of Good Water, Ala. The mother of these children died in January, 1884. John S. Crew was born October 31, 1838, in Henry county, Ga. He enlisted in company B, Twelfth Alabama infantry, and went to Virginia, reaching there the next day after the first battle of Manassas. He was in the battles of Seven Pines, Sharpsburg, Chancellorsville, in which battle he received a musket ball in the left shoulder, which broke the shoulder bone, and ranging downward lodged in the lower part of his back. Returning home to recover from his wound he remained six months, and then rejoined his company. Shortly afterward he was assigned to Lee's provost marshal's guard, and served in that position until the evacuation of Petersburg, at which time he received a ball in the right hand, which shortened his thumb. He was captured by the Yankees when they took possession of the works and sent to Newport News, remaining there until the night of June 5, when he succeeded in making his escape and returned home. He has been engaged in farming and in merchandising ever since the war and now he is managing the Good Water Inn. He was married in 1877 in Coosa county, to Eliza Goodgame. by whom he has four children, viz .: Margie, wife of O. P. Bently of Good Water; Ada L., wife of B. L. Nolan of Clanton, Ala .; William L. and J. C., both the latter living at home. Politi- cally Mr. Crew is a democrat and he had been postmaster of Good Water ten years previous to the present incumbent, and he is a member of the Presbyterian church.
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS-COOSA COUNTY.
J. C. JONES is a son of Julius and Martha (Walker) Jones, the former of whom was a resident of Madison county, Tenn., having moved there from North Carolina in the early part of the present century. He fol- lowed farming, and reared his family in that county. At the age of twenty-one, J. C. Jones came to Alabama from Madison county, Tenn., and settled in Talladega county, near Brownville. He came south for the purpose of putting up a mill, and during his lifetime he erected nearly every mill that was erected in the county. Two years after he came to Alabama, on October 2, 1851, he married Angelina G. Love, near Brownville. She was the daughter of Archibald and Isabella P. (Gra- ham) Love. The Love family came originally from North Carolina, but came through Florida on their way to Alabama. On the Graham side she was connected with the numerous family of that name throughout the south, many of whom have been prominent in political life. She was born in Quincy, Gadsden county, Fla., and came with her family to Ala- bama in 1836, which settled in Talladega county at Brownville, where she was reared and married to Mr. Jones. To this marriage there have been born eleven children, viz .: Laura, wife of A. K. McCloud of Brad- ford, Ala .; Ella, deceased; Evanda G., a lawyer at Rockford, Ala .; Julius, a physician at Rockford, Ala .; Walter, deceased; Mattie, widow of L. N. Darsey, who lives with her parents; Thomas Henry, living at home; Emmie L., single; Willis Watt, at home; Charles T., at home, and Jennie C., deceased. Mr. Jones lived at Brownville for some time, and afterward at different places, where business rendered it necessary, and for the last four years he has lived at Rockford. Evanda was born De- cember 19, 1855, in Coosa county, and acquired through the aid of the common schools and his own study a good literary education. He began the study of the law in the office of L. E. Parsons, now district attorney, in 1883, and was admitted to the bar in 1884. He has since then prac- ticed law at this place. He has been chairman of the county democartic executive committee for about eight years. He was married in 1888 at Rockford to Miss Carrie McDonald, daughter of Thomas McDonald, a proimnent merchant in Rockford. By this marriage he has two chil- dren, Vesta Love and Kathleen. Politically Mr. Jones is a democrat. He is a royal arch Mason and a king of the chapter, and he is worshipful master of the Blue lodge. at Rockford. Julius Jones was born March 5, 1858, in Coosa county, Ala. After receiving a fine literary education he began to read medicine with Dr. J. B. Kelly of Coosa county, in 1882, and attended. lectures at Vanderbilt university in 1883 and 1884, graduat- ing in the class of 1884, which contained 300 members, he being valedic- torian of his class. He settled for the practice of medicine at Rockford and has since been in practice there. He was married December 12, 1888, at Rockford, to Miss Mattie McDonald, by whom he has had two children: McDonald, deceased, and a baby not named, also deceased. Politically Mr. Jones is a democrat, and is a member of the county ex-
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
ecutive committee. He is a master Mason and is junior deacon of his lodge. He is a member of the Kappa Alpha society, is member of Knights of Pythias, prelate of his lodge, and also of the Baptist church. He is a member of the State Medical association, and is secretary of the Coosa County Medical society. Dr. Jones has a fine practice, and is re- garded as one of the best physicians in Rockford. Evanda Jones is es- pecially strong as a judge of law, has a large practice, and is one of the most active and energetic men in the place. Their wives are sisters and are much more than ordinarily beautiful and accomplished women. The Jones family is an old and highly respectable one, and the members of it mentioned in this memoir are not disposed to permit its reputation to be in any way lowered by any act or failure to act on their part.
A. R. LAUDERDALE, merchant of Good Water, Ala., is a son of John and Rebecca (McElrath) Lauderdale. So far as traceable this branch of the Lauderdale family came from Ireland. The great-great-grandfather of John Lauderdale emigrated from Ireland in colonial days. The family originated, it is believed, in Scotland, as its name is found in Miss Jane Porter's "Scottish Chiefs." Robert Lauderdale, great-grandfather of John, took part in the Revolutionary war under Gen. Morgan; after the war he settled in Virginia, and later went to Kentucky and finally to Tennessee, where he died. His wife was a Lytle. Joseph, the father of John, was reared in Green county, Tenn., and when quite a young man came to Alabama, settling in Morgan county. This was in 1817. He married Luvina Couch and reared his family in that county. In 1836 he removed to Coosa county, and located about two miles south of the pres- ent site of Good Water, where he died in 1871. John Lauderdale was born in Morgan county in 1822, removed' with the family to Coosa county in 1836, and has since lived on the same old homestead, his wife being also still alive. He was married in 1849 in Coosa county, and had four children, viz .: Milton K., deceased; A. R .; Ella J, single, and living at home, and Alma F., wife of Edward Webb of Kellyton, Ala. John Lau- derdale served in the late war in company D, Seventeenth Alabama infan- try, as a private soldier. He was stationed at Mobile until the Atlanta campaign was in progress, and then he joined Johnston at Resaca, re- maining with that general until after the fall of Atlanta. He started back with Hood, but was taken sick and lay in a hospital till the general was on his return to the south, when he joined his command again and went to North Carolina, where he was at the time of the surrender. He was a quiet man; a member of the Presbyterian church and. of the Ma- sonic fraternity. The McElrath family are of Scotch ancestry and came from South Carolina to Alabama in 1835, settling in Coosac ounty. Mrs. Rebecca Lauderdale was born in Georgia, but was reared in Alabama. A. R. Lauderdale was born June 1, 1852, on the old homestead near Good Water. He received an ordinary education and began farming for himself at the age of twenty-one. After farming five years he taught school
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS-COOSA COUNTY.
several years. In 1881, went into business as a member of the firm of Crew, McElrath & Co., and after a year the firm changed to McElrath & Lauderdale. The next year it changed to A. R. Lauderdale & Co., and so continued till 1889, when it became Lauderdale & Crew, as it remains at present. This firm carries a general stock of merchandise, worth about $3,000. Mr. Lauderdale has been a justice of the peace for the last twelve years. He was married October 21, 1881. He married J. Scott, by whom he has four childeren, viz .: Alma Moselle, Juliette Estelle, Mary Belle, and Rebecca Orodelle. In politics Mr. Lauderdale is a dem- ocrat. He is a master Mason, Knight of Honor and member of the Pres- byterian church. The Lauderdale family is one of the oldest and one of the most respected in the county.
A. R. LIVINGSTON, farmer of Kellyton, Ala., is a son of John and Susan (Rylant) Livingston, the former of whom was a native of Orange- burg district, S. C., born in 1803. By occupation he was a farmer, and he was a member of the M. E. church. He was married in Autauga county, Ala., having come to this state when quite a young man, to a Miss Derden, by whom he had five children. After his first wife died he married again, and by his second marriage he had thirteen children. The family about 1840 moved to Coosa county near Kellyton, where the father died in 1870, and the mother in June, 1888. Most of the children live in the vicinity of Kellyton at the present time. A. R. Livingston was born February 10, 1345; he enlisted in the Confederate service in 1863 in company D, Seventeenth Alabama infantry, Gov. Watts' regi- ment, as a private soldier. His first active service was in the Atlanta campaign, and he was wounded by a musket ball in the left arm in a charge at Peach Tree Creek. The arm was amputated next day, and Mr. Livingston returned home on fulrough, where he remained during the rest of the war, and ever since that time his armless sleeve has told an eloquent story of honorable service. He was married in 1872. 19th of December, to Miss Ella Washburn, by whom he has had four children,
- viz, : Eula, eighteen years old; Columbus B .; Mary S., and Carrie. He has been a farmer in the beat in which he now lives all his life. He was justice of the peace for six years in the seventies. In 1880, he was elected by the democrats tax assessor and was re-elected twice, and is now retiring from his third term of office. It is generally conceded that he has been the best tax assessor the county has ever had. Politically he has always been a straight-out democrat. He is a member of the M. E. church.
P. J. MCADORY, a prominent farmer of Coosa county, is a son of Robert and Emily (Mckinney) McAdory, the former of whom was a native of Christian county, Ky., born there in 1808. His parents moved to Alabama in 1818, settling on the present site of Birmingham. Thomas McAdory, the father of Robert, was born in Union district, S. C., and his father, Thomas, was a native of Ireland, where he learned and
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
followed for some years the weaver's trade. The father of Robert was a hatter by trade. He lived on the site of Birmingham until his death in 1825. Here Robert was reared to manhood and was married. He was a teacher in the early days and afterward a farmer. He was a dem- ocrat in politics. He reared a faimly of three children, viz. : P. J .; Mary J., widow of Dr. Baker, and living near Good Water; Celia, wife of Dr. Slaughter of Good Water. The father of these children died in 1837, and his widow married A. M. Massengale, moved to Texas, and there died in 1858. The Mckinney family was of Scotch origin, but removed from Vir- ginia to Georgia, and thence to Alabama, settling in Jefferson county. Mrs. Emily McAdory was born near Warrenton, Ga., and reared in Ala- bama P. J. McAdory was born March 10, 1833, in Jones' Valley, Jef- ferson county, Ala., and began life for himself at the age of eighteen. He inherited some little property from his father's estate, and followed farming until the war. He was married in Jefferson county, December, 22, 1857, to Eliza N. Sadler. Her parents moved to Jefferson county from North Carolina in 1818. Mr. McAdory and his wife have no children. They have, however, reared several orphan children, and others. One is a boy named Daniel O. Dyson. Another was a girl named Millie Epperson, who married David Abernathy, and now lives near Hanover. They are rearing a nephew, named W. J. Cannon, five years old. Mr. McAdory moved to his present home immediately after his marriage, and has ever since resided in the same house. He has a planation there of 800 acres, and he has ohter lands in Alabama aggregating 2,000 acres, beside 1,000 acres in Texas. When the war came on he enlisted as a private soldier in company B, Thirty-fourth Alabama infantry, and served mostly in the western army. At Perryville he was in the reserves, but was in the bat- tle of Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, the Atlanta cam - paign, and after this was over he was transferred to the cavalry service and served in that arm of the service until the close, at which time he was in South Carolina. Since the war he has continuously followed farm- ing. In politics he is a democrat, and is a royal arch Mason, and a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. He is a man of great energy and thrift, and is probably the most prosperous farmer in the county.
Z. D. MCCORD, manufacturer, at Good Water. Ala., is a son of E. F. and Elizabeth (Thompson) McCord, the former of whom was a native of Georgia, was married in Gwinnett county, Ga., and came to Alabama soon afterward, settling in Tallapoosa county in Hackney's beat. This was in 1854. Here he lived till the fall of 1876, when he moved across the line in Coosa county, and there lived until his death, November 2, 1888. He was a quiet man, never taking any part in politics. He was a zealous and active worker in the Primitive Baptist church. He had no desire to be rich, was a good liver, and was very liberal with his means. He reared a family of six sons and one daughter, all living, viz .: Martha J., wife
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS-COOSA COUNTY.
of A. B. Ogburn, Good Water, Ala. ; J. J., Gibsonville, Ala. ; R. B., farmer, of Elias, Ala. ; Z. D .; B. A., partner of Z. D .; W. H. and E. F., both of Good Water. The mother of these children is still living with her son. B. A., and enjoys good health at the age of seventy-two. The great- grandfather McCord emigrated from Ireland before the Revolutionary war, in which he took an active part, as captain of a company. The family resided in North Carolina. Grandfather Robert McCord was born and reared in that state, probably in Spartanburg district. When E. F. McCord was seven years old the entire family moved to a place near the present site of Atlanta, Ga., and he drove cows all over the site when there was not a house to be seen. The Thompson family came to Ala- bama about 1853, grandfather Zachariah Thompson dying in Hackney's beat. He was peculiar in his ideas and his life. All the other Thomp- sons were well educated. He could have been, but would not. He was also singular in another respect, that he never took a drink of liquor in all his life. Z. D. McCord was born January 6, 1863, in Gwinnett county, Ga., and remained with his father till he was of age. He began life for himself then as a farmer, in Hackneyville beat, in Tallapoosa county, and after two years moved to Good Water, where he has since lived, engaging in the milling and ginning business. Sixteen years ago he started on a very small scale, and has built his business up inch by inch and by his own labor. He has now a manufacturing plant devoted to the manufac- ture of wagons, buggies, plows and machinery of different kinds, and also runs a mill and cotton gin in connection with his manufacturing. The entire plant is worth about $12,000. The firm is known as the Good Water Manufacturing company, and is composed of Z. D. and Benjamin A. McCord. Up to the present time they have merely supplied the local trade, but now they are putting their goods in different parts of the state. Z. D. McCord was married December 14, 1882, near Good Water, to Minerva Vaughan, by whom he has four children, viz .: Lou Anna; Mary L .; Velmer E. and Zachariah J. Benjamin A. McCord was born in 1855, in Hackneyville beat, Tallapoosa county, Ala., and began farming when twenty-one years old. After a few years he entered business with his brother, and helped him build up a trade. He was married October 28, 1880, in Mt. Olive beat, Coosa county, to Alabama Pate, by whom he has five children, as follows: Sarah E .; Mary V. ; Minnie J. ; Thomas E .; Annie B. Both brothers are democrats, and Benjamin A. is a member of the farmers alliance.
THOMAS S. MCDONALD (deceased) was of Scotch origin, and a son of Dr. John S. and Elizabeth McDonald. He was born in Rockford, the county seat of Coosa county, Ala., April 10, 1836, and was there reared amid the privations of pioneer life, and there also acquired the rudiments of an English education in the imperfect schools of the time. At the outbreak of the late Civil war he entered the Confederate army, and valiantly served until the end. Returning to Rockford, he entered into
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
mercantile business, and, although a comparatively poor man, soon made his way to the front, and at the time of his death, which occurred Feb- ruary 4, 1884, was the most prominent figure in the business circle of his section. He was a man of large heart and generous impulses, which many a poor family in his neighborhood has good reason to acknowledge. He was a consistent member of the Baptist church, was upright and con- scientious, a kind and loving husband and father, and his loss was deeply mourned by the entire community in which he had lived. His marriage took place in Coosa county, November 15, 1866, to Miss Julia A., daugh- ter of William H. and Carrie E. (Huffman) Spigener, the happy union re- sulting in the birth of six children, who were named as follows: Carrie, who became the wife of Evanda Jones, a lawyer of note at Rockford; Mattie, married to Julius Jones, a brother of Evanda Jones, and a rising physician of the same place: George, Thomas S., Belle, and Huffman. The father of Mrs. Julia A. McDonald, William Spigener, was born in Orangeburg district, S. C., and when a young man migrated to Mont- gomery county, Ala. Soon after coming to this state he married in El- more county, and passed the greater part of his lifetime there and near Buyckville, Elmore county, as a merchant and farmer. He reared a family of six children, who were named as follows: Mattie A., deceased; William H., Jr., of Rockford; George M., deceased; Julia A., widow of Mr. M. McDonald; Jacob H., of Montgomery, and Warren D,. of Good Water, Ala. Mrs. McDonald is a lady of refinement and fine social quali- ties, and is highly respected by her neighbors and associates. Mr. Mc- Donald was a descendant of the famous Scotch family of his name, who were prominent in the wars of Scotland.
GEORGE W. MCEWEN, planter and miller, of Rockford, Ala., is a son of Kirkham and Mary (Kanada) McEwen. The McEwen family is of Scotch-Irish extraction, the great-grandfather of George W. McEwen. having emigrated from Scotland before the Revolutionary war, in which he took part as a private soldier. He settled in North Carolina. Robert McEwen, the father of Kirkham, and his brother James, were the only children. James went to Tennessee and lived there, as do his descendants, but Robert removed to Georgia when a young man, and settled in Newton county. Here he married and reared his family, Kirkham among the rest. The family afterward removed to Gwinnett county, where Robert McEwen and his wife died. In Gwinnett county, Kirkham McEwen grew to manhood and married. Several of his children were born in this county. He then removed to Meriwether county, where he lived two years, and he removed thence to Alabama, in 1836. He settled on the Tallapoosa river, in the county of that name, about fourteen miles south of Dadeville. In 1844, he moved to Coosa county, and in 1855, his parents moved to Calhoun county, Miss., where they both died, the father in 1866 and the mother in 1889. He was a mechanic, as were nearly all the McEwens, both before and after him. He was a justice of the peace for
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years while he lived in Alabama, and he was a member of the Methodist. Episcopal church. Of his twelve children. six are now living: George W., was born October 22, 1828, in Gwinnett county, Ga., and for several years of his life followed farming. During the later years of his life he has mainly followed milling. In 1860, he located three and a half miles north of Rockford, on Hatchet creek, where he built a mill, which has since been in operation. He also owns a plantation of six hundred acres. He was married in 1949, December 29th, in Coosa county, Ala., to Mary C. Sears, by whom he has nine children. viz .: Martha A., wife. of S. M. Adams, of Coosa county; J. K., of Rockford; W. P., George W., Jr., and J. T., all three of Coosa county; Emma J., wife of J. A. Miller, of Coosa county; Mary S., wife of T. J. King, of Greenhill, Ark .; Arsular. wife of John Dobson, of Coosa county, and Archie A., at home. Mr. McEwen enlisted as a private soldier in company C, Fifty-third Alabama cavalry, and was soon afterward elected second lieutenant, and was afterward promoted to first lieutenant. He served mostly in the western army. He was wounded in the Atlanta campaign, having a finger of his left hand carried away. Politically, Mr. McEwen is a democrat. He is a royal arch Mason, and is treasurer of the blue lodge. He was worshipful master for some years. He has been a Methodist and a steward of his church for twenty years.
JOHN MCLEOD, a prominent merchant of Good Water, Ala., is a son of William and Margaret K. (Kelly) McLeod, the former of whom was a native of North Carolina, born in Cumberland county in 1800. He was reared and married in that county. In 1838 he emigrated to Coosa county, Ala., settling within four miles of Good Water, and living in the same vicinity until his death, which occurred in 1856. His widow died in 1878. John McLeod, the father of William, was born and reared in the Isle of Skye, one of the Hebrides off the coast of Scotland. He was a member of a Highland clan. He was reared in the latter part of the last century. The Kelly family also came from the Isle of Skye. Angus Kelly, father of Mrs. Margaret K. McLeod, came to North Carolina when quite a young man. William and Margaret McLeod reared a family of six children, all of whom are living, viz: Sarah, single and living on the old homestead; Martha, single and living on the old homestead; John Lovdy, single and living at Good Water; Julia, single, and Angus, of Kellyton, Ala. John McLeod was born November 22, 1835, in Cumberland county, N. C. During the war he served in the army of north- ern Virginia as a member of company A, Sixtieth Alabama in- fantry, Col. John A. Sanford. He enlisted April 2, 1862, and participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Bean Station, Drury's Bluff, Bermuda. Hundred, the battles around Richmond, and numerous other engagements about Petersburg and elsewhere. During the last eight months he was a member of a sharpshooters' battalion, and was taken prisoner at Hatcher's Run April 1, 1865. He was taken to Point Lookout, Md., and kept until
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