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 88
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DR. JOHN F. PENDREY, physician, surgeon and merchant of Rose Hill, was born in what is now Crenshaw county, in 1858. He is a son of James Porter and Sarah E. (Webb) Pendrey, for a sketch of whom see elsewhere in this volume. The doctor is the eldest of a family of three
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children, one son and two daughters, the daughters being both dead. He was educated in the country schools and at Greenville, Ala., and afterwards read medicine with Drs. Joseph and William Kendrick. He graduated from Mobile medical college in 1881, practiced one year at Leon, since which time he has practiced at Rose Hill. He has here also been engaged in the mercantile business, doing a business of about $10,000.00 a year. Besides his practice and his mercantile business he owns a farm of about 500 acres, and gives some attention to farming. In April, 1882, he married Roberta E. Lee Riley, who was born and educated at Leon. She is a sister of Malachi Riley, whose sketch ap- pears elsewhere in this work. Dr. Pendrey and wife have been the parents of six children, five of whom are living. Dr. Pendrey is post- master at Rose Hill, is a member of the State Medical association and is president of the Covington county Medical society. While he is not a politician, he supports earnestly the democratic party. Both he and his wife sustain a high social position and are eseemed for their many excel- lent qualities.
JAMES AUSTIN PRESTWOOD, one of the leading timber men and one of the most wealthy citizens of Covington county, is a resident of Anda- lusia. He was born in Coffee county, June 11, 1855. He is a son of Thomas F. and Margaret (McIntosh) Prestwood, natives of Georgia and Alabama respectively. Mr. Prestwood came with his parents to Coffee county when a boy, received a limited education, married and spent the rest of his life as a successful farmer. He was industrious and honest and had a bright future awaiting him, but in the fall of 1861 he joined the Confederate army as a private soldier, fought at Shiloh, Corinth and Missionary Ridge, and from Dalton to Resaca, where he was mortally wounded, taken to a hospital at Atlanta and died in 1864, after three years of gallant service for the cause he loved so well. His father was Terry Prestwood, and he came from Georgia at an early day to Coffee county, where he spent the rest of his life. He had four sons in the late war. viz .: Joseph, who came home with small pox during the war and died; and his father, mother and a grown sister all countracted the same disease and all died; Thomas, the father of the subject; Francis Marion, who was all through the war and who is now one of the most extensive planters in Coffee county, and one of the largest in southeastern Ala- bama; Herman, who served all through the war. Tne maternal grand- father of James A. Prestwood, John McIntosh, was a native of Scotland. The subject is the second of five children, the others being Terry, a resi- dent of Andalusia; John W., of Geneva, Ala .; Nancy, wife of James W. Bradshaw. of Andalusia; Mary Thomas, wife of Jasper Holloway, of Coffee county. Mr. J. A. Prestwood was brought up on a farm by his widowed mother and never attended school but three months in his life. At nineteen years of age his mother gave him his time and he at once went to Andalusia and there worked as a mill hand, teaming and so forth,
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for three years, when he felt certain he could make a success of the busi- ness himself. His career justified this confidence and he now owns two of the leading mills in the county, cutting from 14,000 to 16,000 pieces each season, worth $2.75 each. This cut timber is rafted down the Con- ecuh and Escambia river to the Pensacola market. He employs about eighty-five men, and runs about seventeen teams, some of which he owns. He owns 4,500 acres of land individually and a half interest in 1,600 acres of timber land beside. He also owns considerable property in Andalusia and in Geneva. In 1890 and 1891 he erected one of the most expensive and elegant mansions in southern Ala- bama. This mansion he has protected against fire by a large tank, which he supplies with water by a fine wind-mill, one of the very few in Alabama. He is also engaged to some extent in farming. For thirteen years until recently, he was engaged in the saloon business, and now owns a bar at Geneva. Notwithstanding his dealing and having dealt in liquor, he has never taken a dram in his life; neither has he ever used tobacco in any form. He is regular in his habits and is a fine speci- men of manly health. His mother is still living in Coffee county, is about sixty years old and is a member of the Missionary Baptist church. In 1878 Mr. Prestwood married Mary Elizabeth Fletcher, daughter of Judge A. J. Fletcher. Mrs. Prestwood was born in Covington county and is the mother of six children, viz .: Millard Fillmore, who was drowned in 1891; James Mordan; Freddy Gardner, deceased; Maud E., deceased; John Dun Bibben; Fletcher Burnett. Mr. Prestwood has never sought office but always has been an active worker for the democratic party. He has on several occasions been a delegate of the state con- vention, and for some years has been a member of the county central committee. He is a member of the Missionary Baptist church and is highly respected by his neighbors and friends.
MALACHI RILEY, probate judge of Covington county, was born in Bar- bour county, September 20, 1853. He is a son of Willis and Martha Clark) Riley, both of whom were born in the state of Georgia, the former in 1825, the latter in 1828. Both were reared to labor on the farm and the latter was deprived of all educational advantages. Mr. Riley's father died when he was yet a small boy and he was reared by his widowed mother, with but limited educational advantages. Mr. Riley married in Georgia about 1845, and came to Barbour county, Ala., and to what is now Crenshaw county in 1860, and in 1889 to Greenville, Butler county, where they both reside. He was a very energetic, indus- trious and progressive man, and accumulated a good deal of property. During the war he was not subject to military duty, and, therefore, devoted his attention to the families of those who went. He has always been well known for his kindness and hospitality wherever he has lived. He has read a great deal and is a well informed man in general affairs. His wife has been a member of the Missionary Baptist church for many.
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years. She was a daughter of Alfred Clark, who was a native of South Carolina, but who removed to Georgia at a very early day, and also came to Alabama soon after Mr. Riley came, dying at Leon, in what is now Crenshaw county, in 1872. His widow died in 1875. Both were members of the Missionary Baptist church for many years. They raised a large family, and two of their sons lost their lives in the late war. Malachi Riley was the fifth of a family of nine children, viz. : Lou, died in 1867; Fannie, wife of Dr. J. E. Kendrick, of Luverne; William, of Andalusia; Julia, widow of James R. Burnett, of Greenville, Ala .; Mal- achi; Middleton, of Hamptonville, Ala .; Robert E. Lee, wife of Dr. J. F. Pendrey, of Rose Hill, Ala. Two others died young. Malachi Riley was reared on a farm and began life for himself at nineteen years of age, reading law with Gamble & Powell, of Greenville, and was admitted to the bar in 1872. He practiced with them until 1874 and then taught school in Crenshaw county until 1876. Upon coming to Anda- lusia in April, 1876, he was appointed superintendent of education in December of same year, but in November, 1878, he resigned, having been elected to the legislature. While in this body he served on the com- mittee on judiciary and on privileges and elections. He was the youngest member of the legislature and served with no little distinction. At the expiration of his term in the legislature he was elected, in 1880, probate judge of Covington county, and was said to be the yougest probate judge in the state. He was re-elected in 1836 and has now served twelve years with very general satisfaction, and was re-elected in 1892. He is a very efficient official, and is conservative and courteous. March 18, 1880, he married Ann White, a daughter of Hon. John D. and Mary Chapman. She was born at Leon, and educated there. and at Rutledge. Judge Riley and wife are both members of the Missionary Baptist church, and he is a member of Andalusia lodge, No. 434, F. & A. M.
HON. JAMES P. ROUSSEAU, farmer, of Rose Hill, Beat No. 4, was born in Greene county, Ala., in 1824. He was a son of Mozea and Martha (Carson) Rousseau, the former a native of Putnam county, Ga., and the latter of Alabama. Mr. Rousseau received a common school education, came when a young man to Alabama, married in Greene county and removed to Texas, where Mrs. Rousseau died when James P. was about four years old. Mr. Rousseau died about 1833. He had been a farmer and had been in one of the Indian wars. His father was John Rousseau, a farmer, a French extraction, being of perhaps the third generation born in this country, the first of them settling in Virginia, whence the fam- ily emigrated to Georgia, and from which sprang some of the best fam- ilies of that state. He died in Putnam county, Ga. James Rousseau was secretary of state in the state of Georgia. James Carson. maternal grand- father of James P., was a native of the state of South Carolina, but came to Alabama about the time this state was formed. His wife was a de- scendant of General Pickens of Revolutionary fame. He raised a small
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family and died in Putnam county, Ga. James P. Rousseau was the fourth of five children, all deceased but him. He was raised by an uncle, James Pickens, of Marengo county, Ala., and when thirteen years old was sent to Davidson college, North Carolina, where he spent five years, complet- ing his education and taking the reuglar collegiate course. He then went to Texas and there taught school for one year, thirteen years in Georgia, and eighteen years in Alabama, where he was recognized as one of the best educators in the state. He was married in Georgia in 1847 to Eliza- beth, daughter of William and Sarah Matthews, both natives of Putnam county, Ga., and both of whom died in that state. Mr. Matthews was a farmer and raised a large family. Mrs. Rousseau was born in Pike county. Ga., and is the mother of five children, viz .: Dr. George M., a dentist of Montgomery, educated in his profession at Thomasville, Ga .; Eudora, wife of William Riley; Lavinia, wife of George M. Crittenden, of Texas; Elizabeth A., wife of Noah Caton; Ida, wife of Clant O'Neal. All the children were educated under the instruction of their father, and received a good English education. Mr. Rousseau lived for some years in Crenshaw county, but then returned to Covington county, his former home. He now owns a fine farm of about 400 acres in two tracts near Rose Hill, all of which he has accumulated by his own efforts. He has been in public life many years, serving some years as justice of the peace. In 1874 he was elected to the legislature from Crenshaw county, and served during the stormy time of the overthrow of radical- ism. During this term he served on the committees on agriculture, on the capital and on the penitentiary. In 1890 he was elected to the same position from Covington county, and served on the committees on tem- perance and penitentiary. He has always been active in public matters, and for the past forty years has been a Mason. He is now a member of Rose Hill lodge, No. 253, F. & A. M. He has been president of the Farmers' club, of Covington county, for some time, and is a local Metho- dist preacher, in which church he has for many years been a steady worker. Early in the war he enlisted as first lieutenant of company A, Forty-second regiment, and served two years or more in the service of the Confederate States, and at Vicksburg was discharged on account of sickness. Mrs. Rousseau, like her husband, is a prominent member of the Methodist church, as also are all of the daughters. The family is one of the leading and most influential families of the county, and is highly esteemed.
GEORGE L. SIMMONS, of the firm of Lindsey, Simmons & Bro., timber manufacturers of Covington county, was born in Coffee county, Ala., in 1856. He is a son of Edward and Mary (Smith) Simmons, the former born in Georgia in April, 1836, and the latter in April, 1838. They came to Alabama after reaching maturity, and married in Coffee county. Mr. Simmons died in 1862, during the war, at Mobile, being a private soldier in the Confederate army, and she in October, 1891. He was the only one
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of the family who ever came to Coffee county, and was a prosperous farmer. She was a daughter of Ferdinand Smith, who came to Coffee county from Georgia, and died in Coffee county during the war, she dying since the war. He was a carpenter and a farmer. He was with Gen. Jackson when he made his march through the wilderness of Alabama to Pensacola, and assisted to cut the old Three Notch road. He reared a large family, and three of his sons were in the late war, viz .: James and Levi, who died in the service, and Henry, who served as did they, in the western army and died soon after the war. George L. Simmons was the oldest of two sons and one daughter, the other children being Martha E; wife of L. Lindsey, the partner in the firm mentioned in the beginning of this sketch, William and Ferdinand, all three of whom were raised in Coffee county, by their widowed mother, and with but meager educational advantages, as their assistance was required in the support of the family. The subject remained at home until he was twenty-two years old, and then went to Escambia county and worked as a hand in the timber busi- ness a short time, and in 1888 came to Covington county and formed the present firm of Lindsey. Simmons & Bro. The firm then purchased the mill they now run on the Conecuh river, and in 1890 the one they own near Pea river, both of which are doing a good business. They ship their timber to Pensacola. This firm is one of the strongest in the county. They employ about twenty-two men and eight teams, and beside their timber business they run a general store. They now own nearly 6,000 acres in Covington county and about 1,000 acres near the Pea river mill. At the Conecuh river mill they have a ditch six miles long for floating logs to the mill, which costs about $500 per mile. Mr. Simmons was married the first time in July, 1878, to Sina Graves, who was born in Barbour county, Ala., and died September 12, 1887, leaving three child- ren. He was then married, a second time, to Mary, daughter of Thomas D and Mary T. Moore, April 12, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Moore were natives of Georgia, were married in Butler county, Ala., and now live in Escam-
bia county, Ala. Mr. Moore was in the late war, serving in the cav- alry on the coast. Mrs. Simmons was born in Escambia county. While Mr. Simmons is not a politician, yet he always liberally supports his party. He is a member of Andalusia lodge, No. 434, F. & A. M., and is. junior deacon of the lodge. He is a public-spirited citizen and is highly esteemed for his many excellent qualities.
JOHN L. STEWART, farmer and ginner of Rose Hill, Beat No. 4, was born in Newton county, Ga., in 1833. He is a son of John F. and Elizabeth (White) Stewart, the former a native of Monroe county, Ga., the latter a native of Newton county, same state. They received a fair common school education, came to Pike county, Ala., in 1852, and to Covington county in 1860. Here Mr. Stewart died in 1890 and Mrs. Stewart in 1888. Both were Methodists for many years. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity. While he was reticent and reserved in politics, yet
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he was active in the support of his party. He was one of a large family born to John Stewart, who died in Georgia. His father was of Scotch descent, was a Revolutionary soldier, and died in Georgia. Grandfather White and his wife both died when Mrs. Stewart was an infant, and as she was their only child, but little is known of them. The subject of this sketch was the oldest of ten children, of whom five sons and three daughters are still living, viz .: John L., William Blanton of Cren- shaw county, who was in the late war; Charley Q .; Gilford; Monroe; Nancy, now Mrs. Crews: Narcissa, now Mrs. Rice of Texas, and Susan, now Mrs. Adams. The subject was raised on the farm with but little opportunity for acquiring an education, never attending school more than six months in his life. What education he has, he has obtained by his own effort since his marriage. He was married at eighteen years of age to Sarah Elizabeth; daughter of James Dunn, who died when she was a little girl, and she was brought up by her widowed mother who also died in Georgia. Mrs. Stewart was born in Georgia, and is the mother of thirteen children: Georgiana. deceased; Aaron W .; Frances, wife of Sam Tindall; Melvina, wife of T. A. Farr; Amsey D. V., wife of J. R. Stewart; Mary, wife of Jesse J. Dauphin; Sallie L., deceased wife of J. B. Reed; Josephine, who also married J. B. Reed; Charles J .; Benja- min C., the rest dying in infancy. Soon after his marriage Mr. Stewart removed to Brundidge, Ala., being one of the first settlers there. In 1857 he came to Rose Hill, and has since lived in this neighborhood and is one of the leading farmers of the county. He now owns about 460 acres and has disposed of several hundred acres in order to reduce his landed possessions. He has always been a very indus- trious, energetic and prosperous man. He has always followed the practice, now steadily on the increase in all the cotton states, of raising all his own supplies, never buying either pork or corn. He has always been a farmer. except for the years he spent in the Confederate army
during the civil war. In August, 1861, he joined company B, Eighteenth Alabama infantry, was mustered in at Auburn, spent the first winter at Mobile, then joined the Tennessee army, fought at Shiloh, and Corinth, was taken sick, was discharged and came home. In the fall of 1862 he joined company E, Sixth Alabama infantry, of Battle's brigade, in the army of Virginia, and fought at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, being in this battle wounded in the right side and neck by a shell, and was then on detached serivce as steward in hospital at Lynchburg until the close of the war. During the war he lost all that he had previously accumulated, but realty, and he began again with his ac- customed vigor and has since been rewarded for his efforts by the accu- mulation of a competency for -the remainder of his days. He is a mem- ber of Rose Hill lodge, No. 253, F. & A. M .; is chaplain of Rose Hill al- liance and was at one time its president. He has been president of the Covington county alliance since its organization. He has always been a
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stanch democrat. but never has taken any very active part in politics, except that since the farmers' movement in this field he has allied him- self firmly with them, and no man in that order is doing more persistent or more effective work for their cause than he. He has always had the interests of the farmers at heart, and is doing all that he can for their relief. In religion both he and wife are Congregationalists, and they are both highly respected by their neighbors for their social and other excellent qualities.
HON. TRAVIS W. STRAUGHN, county surveyor and farmer of Beat No. 4, was born in Yalobusha county, Miss., in 1838. He is a son of Leroy M. and Mary (Taylor) Straughn, the former a native of Clarke county, Ga., and the latter of North Carolina. Leroy M. Straughn came with his parents to Alabama, married at New Providence, Pike county, and settled in what is now Crenshaw county in the woods, living there some time among the Indians and becoming familiar with their habits and customs. He then removed to Mississippi where he lived about three years, when he returned to his own place in Alabama. Here he lived some years and then removed to Covington county, where he now resides. He is now nearly seventy-eight years old. He has always been a farmer and has always been an industrious, energetic, and generous man. While he has been a hard-working man all his life, yet he has accumulated but little property, on account of the generosity of his disposition. He has been a. member of the Primitive Baptist church for the past fifty years, is noted for his honesty and upright character, and is universally esteemed. His father, Travis Straughn, was probably a South Carolinian, but came to Alabama at à very early day, and was one of the earliest settlers in Cov- ington county. He lived in this county some years and then moved to Mississippi, where he died during the war at an advanced age. He was of English descent. The maternal grandfather of our subject, Windal Taylor, was probably born in one of the Carolinas, but was one of the first settler in what is now Crenshaw county, having first settled however on Conecuh river in Conecuh county. Toward the latter part of his life he lived, and lies buried, in Crenshaw county. The mother of our subject is still living at the age of seventy eight. She is the mother of eight sons and six daughters, viz .: Nancy, wife of J. R. Price; Rebecca, deceased wife of J. G. Currington; Elizabeth, wife of M. J. Currington; Wenefor I., deceased; Jane, deceased; Mary Ann, wife of J. A. Stewart; Travis W .; James M. was a private soldier in company B, Eighteenth Alabama infantry, served in the Tennessee army from the fall of 1863 until the close of the war, was captured at Franklin in December, 1864, and kept in prison until the war ended; Hillary, died young; John G., served in the Home Guards; Andrew C .; Daniel I .; William L .; and Edward. Travis W. Straughn was in early life so afflicted with rheuma- tism that he could not attend school. He began life for himself at twenty- one years of age, the first year being engaged in farming. He then ran
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a shoe shop, tannery, etc., and followed this business for some years both before and after the war. In June, 1861, he joined the Wilcox True Blues for thirty days, and in July he enlisted in company B, Eighteenth Ala- bama infantry, went to Huntsville and spent the winter at Mobile. After fighting at Corinth, Shiloh, and other places he returned to Mobile, spending the winter there. In the summer of 1863 he joined his company in Tennessee and fought at Chickamauga, where he received three distinct wounds, one in the jaw, one in the left hip and the third in the left arm, the last two disabling him for life. After spending some time in the hospital at Atlanta he returned home, and then in the spring of 1864 rejoined his company at Dalton, fought to Atlanta, then back with Hood to Tennessee, and on the retreat to Mississippi, and then to Fort Blakely and to Spanish Fort, where the garrison surrendered. He and six others made their escape and went to Meridian, Miss., where they sur- rendered. He was a sergeant at first and was afterward commissioned a lieutenant, but did not fill the position. For some time after the war he followed his shoe business, tanning, saddlery, etc., and then took up farm- ing, which he has followed ever since. He now owns 168 acres, where he settled in 1871. In 1871 he married Sarah, daughter of James and. Rebecca Cook, the former a native of South Carolina, the latter a native of North Carolina. Mr. Cook died in Crenshaw county in 1872, and Mrs. Cook in Texas in 1891. Mrs. Straughn was born in Georgia and is the mother of three children. In 1874 Mr. Straughn was elected to the legis- lature, and was re-elected in 1876, and served on the committees on tem- perance, on counties and on penitentiary. Since 1881 he has been county surveyor. He is a member of Rose Hill lodge, No. 253, F. & A. M., in which he has filled every office with credit. He is a member of Rose Hill alliance, and is its lecturer, and was lecturer for Covington county alliance for three years. As an indication of the progress made in this section of the country during Mr. Straughn's residence here, it may be. noted that, in his boyhood days, he did marketing in Mobile and Pensa- cola, requiring all the way from five to fifteen days to make the trip, whereas now markets are at his very doors. Mr. Straughn is one of the substantial and reliable men of the county and stands high in the estima- tion of his fellow-citizens.
WINDAL W. TAYLOR, a farmer and miller of Beat No. 4, was born in what is now Crenshary county, then Covington county, in 1840. He is a son of John and Rebecca (Carter) Taylor, the former born in North Carolina in 1806, the latter in South Carolina, 1808. While yet young their parents took them to Georgia, and in 1824 to Alabama. Here they married in what is now Crenshaw county, and when our subject was a small boy came to what is now Covington county, and spent the rest of their lives near where the subject now resides. He always worked hard. was kind hearted, liberal and generous, and never accumulated much of this world's goods. He was conservative and reserved regarding public
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