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 II pt 1 > Part 55
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home. They also have a large general store at Gurley, and a bucket factory employing 135 men. Mr. Vorenberg is a member of I. O. O. F .. B'nai B'rith, and a Knight of Honor. In 1886 he was married to Lillie Weil, of Huntsville, Ala .. and two children have blessed their marriage: Henrietta and Irving.
ISSIE VORENBERG, the brother of David, was also born in Boston. in 1863, and was educated in the excellent common schools of that city. He came to Huntsville in 1877, where he clerked until 1853, and the following year went into business with his brother in the stores at Paint Rock and Gurley. In June, 1890. they conceived the idea of making a market for the red cedar, indigenous to that county. among the pencil manufacturers. . of the north, and the shipment of cedar for that purpose has now become a leading feature of their business. Mr. Vorenberg, like his brother, is an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Honor, and a member of the B'nai B'rith. He was married in 1886 to Fannie Kahn, daughter of Joseph L. Kahn. of Mt. Vernon, Ind. The father of the Vorenbergs was Israel Vorenberg, born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1840, and came to Boston in 1859. He was an army contractor during the war, and afterward was in the clothing business in Boston, where he died in 1871. In his own country he mar- ried Henrietta Simon, daughter of Seligman Simon, of Meintz, Germany, and there are now five living children of this union: Carrie, wife of Morris Rosenberg, of Paint Rock, Ala .: Issie: David: Lena, wife of Max Glassman, of Somerville, Mass .; Sarah, wife of Max Kahn, of Boston. Mass. The mother of these children died December 25, 1873.
DR. W. C. WHEELER, a leading physician of Huntsville, was born in Tishomingo county, Miss., June 28; 1842, and was educated in the schools of Colbert county, Ala., where he removed with his parents at the age of three years. He attended the Nashville Medical college and graduated there in March, 1862, and the day following his graduation, he entered the Confederate service as assistant surgeon, and was placed in charge of the military hospital on "College Hill." at Nashville. Tenn. He remained there till the capture of that city. when he was sent to Northern Alabama and commissioned as assistant surgeon of Ferrell's battalion of artillery, in Gen. Forrest's command, where he remained until the end of hostili- ties. He then located in Cherokee, Colbert county, Ala., and practiced his profession with a large measure of success, until he came to Hunts- ville in 1590, his present residence. He was for years. secretary of the North Alabama Medical society (now defunct) and a member of the Col- bert county Medieal society, and served as its president one term, and was elected vice-president of the State Medical society in 1890, and is at present a member of the Madison county Medical society, and the health officer of that county. He was married in 1867 to Louisa, daughter of P. J. Smith, of Cherokee, Ala., and the marriage has been blessed with three children-two living. B. Camp and Minnie. He lost his first wife by death, and in 1-77 was again married, this time to Mollie Giles, of Tus-
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cumbia, and two children were also born to this union: George M. and Maud I. Mr. Wheeler belongs to the Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias, Knights of Honor, Knights and Ladies of Honor, Odd Fellows and Knights of the Golden Eagle. He is a prominent member of the M. E. church, and has been a delegate to many of the deliberative bodies of that church, notably, the general conference which met in Richmond, Va., in 1886. His father is Thomas M. Wheeler, a native of Kentucky, who came to Alabama, and in 1845 married Sarah J. Pearsall, by whom he had three children: Dr. W. C., Mary S., widow of John Benson, of Cherokee; Ellen P., deceased wife of J. E. Dean, deceased, of Cherokee. Dr. Wheeler's mother died in 1866.
DAVID IRVINE WHITE, one of the prominent members of the Hunts- ville bar, was born in Richmond, Ky., December 17, 1852, and came to Huntsville with his parents in 1855, He attended the school at Hunts- ville taught by Carlos G. Smith, and afterward attended the university of Virginia, where he completed a collegiate course in 1874. He then returned to Huntsville and studied law with Walker & Brickell, and was admitted to the bar in 1875. He soon after commenced the practice at Huntsville, where he still lives. He was married, in 1876, to Lucy, daughter of Luke Matthews, deceased, and they had five sons: Luke M., David I., Addison, Shelby I. and Gilbert G. Mr. White's father is Addi- son White, a native of Abingdon, Va., who settled in Alabama in 1855. He was a member of congress from Madison county, Ky., in 1850, where he was barely eligible on account of his youth. He was married in Rich- mond, Ky., in 1845. to Sarah Irvine, daughter of David Irvine. His life in Alabama has been devoted to agriculture, He has six children, as follows: Alice, wife of G. C. Greenway, of Hot Springs, Ark. ; Bettie, wife of O. B. Patton, Huntsville; Sunie McDowell, David I., Newton K., of Huntsville, and Sallie Shelby, wife of R. W. Walker, one of the judges of the Alabama supreme court. The White family came from Pennsyl- vania to Virginia about the time of the Revolutionary war, and Capt. Isaac Shelby, the great-great-grandfather of Mr. White, was the hero of King's Mountain and was afterward governor of Kentucky.
MARENGO COUNTY.
COL. JOHN DAVIDSON ALEXANDER. a prominent planter of Marengo county, residing near Faunsdale, was born in Mecklenburg county, N. C., September 15th. 1829. He is a son of Joseph MeKnitt and Nannie C. Cathey) Alexander. who were both born and reared in the same county in which he was born. The former of these two people was a son of William B. Alexander, who was a son of John McKnitt Alexander, secre- tary of the convention that adopted the Mecklenburg declaration of inde- pendence. He is also a descendant of John Davidson, a signer .of that declaration, The father of Col. Alexander came to Alabama in 1833, and
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settled in Marengo county, between Dayton and Uniontown, and there lived and died, his death occurring in 1865, when he was seventy-three years of age. He was the father of three children, viz. : Violet Rebecca, who married for a second husband Dr. John Smith; Dewitte Clinton Alex- ander, who died in 1865. and John Davidson Alexander, who is the only surviver of the family. The father of Col. Alexander was an old line whig in politics, was a strong Union man, and of course opposed to secession. He was much devoted to the flag of the country; which his ancestors had done so much to make an independent nation. He was a planter by occupation, a man of pure character and of great ability. Col. Alexander was but five years old, when his parents brought him to Ala- bama, they coming by horse and wagon. He is now one of the prominent men in the county. He received a fair literary education at Dayton, and then served five years as a clerk, intending to follow mercantile pursuits. In 1833 he married Miss Rebecca Lawson Cathey of North Carolina, who has borne him nine children, six of whom are now living. In early life Col. Alexander began planting, and has followed it all his life. During the war he was engaged in manufacturing powder for the Confederate government. For the last four years he has been engaged in merchandis- ing at Faunsdale. He is a stockholder and director in the Faunsdale Mercantile company, and he owns and controls six plantations. He is one of the most industrious and successful planters in Marengo county. He has voted the democratic ticket ever since the war, though he still adheres to the principles of the old whig party. He is a firm friend of education, and was instrumental in securing the establishment of the Faunsdale school district, and of which he was superintendent for a period of seventeen years. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian church, and he is an elder in his church.
JOHN C. ANDERSON, attorney-at-law at Linden. Marengo county, was born in Greene county, Ala., August 5, 1863. His parents were Dr. John C. and Elizabeth (McAlpine) Anderson. the former of whom was born, reared and educated in South Carolina. He graduated in medicine from the uni- versity of Pennsylvania, and in 1839 came to Alabama. locating in Greene county, where he entered upon the practice of his profession, and con- tinued to follow it until 1859. He then retired to his farm and was a planter till he died, in 1978. At that time John C. Anderson was fifteen years of age. He received his early education in the country schools and afterward attended the university of Alabama; but did not graduate. He studied law in the office of Major W. P. Webb, at Eutaw, and graduated ' from the law department of the university of Alabama. He was admitted to the bar in 1883, and in 1886 he located at Linden, where he has gained a high position at the bar and a fine reputation as a lawyer. He is past chancellor of the order of Knights of Pythias at Linden, and an active worker for the democratic party.
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS-MARENGO COUNTY.
C. H. AsKEW. planter, merchant and justice of the peace, of Dayton, Ala., was born in Henry county, Ala., February 15, 1845. His parents were S. W. A. and D. K. (Elwards) Askew, the former of whom was a native of Georgia, and the latter of South Carolina. S. W. A. Askew was a Methodist minister. They had three sons and three daughters. From his tenth to his sixteenth year, C. H. Askew was reared in Jack- son county, Fla. In 1861 he went into the army as a private soldier, serving through the war in the First Florida battalion, Fifteenth Confed- erate cavalry. In 1866 he located at Dayton, Ala., where he has since continued to reside. He was a clerk for the firm of Askew Bros. for some years at Dayton, since which he has followed farming near that place. He was elected justice of the peace in 1870, and has served in that capacity ever since. & period of twenty-two years. He is a demo- crat in politics and a member of the Presbyterian church. He has been superintendent of the Sunday-school for several years. He is a royal arch Mason, a Knight of Pythias, and has devoted much time and labor to advance the work of the Young Men's Christian association. In 1883 he married Miss M. A. Askew.
TRISTRIM BENJAMIN BETHEA was born in South Carolina. in 1810. He was descended from an early French Huguenot family of that state. Three brothers of this name came to America long before the Revolu- tionary war, in which war they bore a conspicuous part. T. B. Bethea. when a young man, was brought to Alabama by his parents, who settled in Claiborne, Monroe county. He studied law, and in 1832 married in Wilcox county Miss Eugenia Bethea, daughter of David Bethea. also an early settler in South Carolina. After his marriage he settled near Camden, Wilcox county. and followed farming, and the practice of the law for many years. In 1850 he removed to Mobile, and in 1856. to Montgomery, , where he lived the remainder of his days, dying in 1879. While practic- ing law in Wilcox county, he was elected presidential elector, and while living at Mobile. he was twice elected state senator. After locating at Mont- gomery, his life was somewhat retired, yet, under an act of the legisla- ture, providing for a commission to adjust the state debt. he, together with Gov. Houston, and Levi W. Lawler, made the required adjustment. greatly to the satisfaction of the people of the state. He was regarded as a man of wisdom. and of great purity of life. He was prominent in Alabama politics, and otherwise. for a number of years, and was uni- versally respected. He had four sons and two daughters. viz. : Henry, Alfred, deceased; Theodore, deceased, and A. J., a resident of Marengo county, all of whom were in the late war, and all returned home, but Theodore, who was killed. The daughters were: Mary, deceased wife of Dr. Philip Fitzpatrick, and Cornelia, wife of Hon. Malcolm Graham, of
- Alabama. The father of these children was a very wealthy and successful planter. Henry Bethea was born in Wilcox county in 1-36 .. He was educated at a preparatory school at Charlottesville. Va., and graduated in
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medicine in 1861, at New Orleans, but the war then cooling on, instead of engaging in the practice of the profession for which he had prepared himself, he enlisted as a private soldier in the Third Alabama infantry, and was soon made assistant surgeon, and, as such, left the state with the regiment, which was the first from Alabama to reach Virginia. He participated in all the battles in which his regiment was engaged, and was never either wounded, taken prisoner, or sick. He left the medical department of the army in December, 1861, and was for some time with Semple's battalion. Buring the battle of Murfreesboro, he was promoted to second lieutenant of Hawkin's battalion of sharpshooters. In 1863, orders were issued that all detailed privates should return to their com- mands, and he was sent to northern Alabama as commander of a company ' of scouts. Afterward he was commissioned as assistant adjutant general on Gen. Dan. Adam's staff. and served in this capacity during the remainder of the war. Soon after the war, in the spring of 1865, he settled down on a plantation in Marengo county, where he has since con- tinued to live, and has all the time been engaged in farming with suc- cess. He has never practiced his profession, nor has he sought political perferment, but he has always been an active supporter of the demo- cratic party. In 1863, he was married to Miss Ida E. Rice, daughter of Judge Samuel F. Rice, of Montgomery. She died in 1865, leaving a son, Samuel Rice Bethea, who is also a planter, and who married the daughter of Capt. William M. Selden. of Faunsdale. Dr. Bethea is a member of the order of Elks.
EDWARD H. C. BAILEY, M. D., practicing physician of Demopolis, Ala., was born in Monroe county. Va., December 14. 1825. He is a son of Edward B. and Mary C. (Corrie) Bailey ; the former, though a Virginian, was of English ancestry. His mother was a Miss Howe, a cousin of Lord Howe, of England. Edward B. Bailey was a lawyer by profession, and before the war he held the judgeship of the circuit court in Virginia. Mrs. Mary C. Bailey was a South Carolinian, of Scotch ancestry. She died during the Civil war. Dr. Bailey is one of five children. four sons and one daughter. He is the eldest of the family, and received an academical education in Virginia. In 1844. he began the study of medicine, and graduated from the university of Virginia in 1848. He at once entered upon the practice of medicine at Lewisburg, Va. He afterward went to Missouri, where he practiced medicine from 1853 to 1861. In this latter year he entered the Missouri state troops, and was made chief surgeon of the second division. He was afterward made chief surgeon of the second brigade of Missouri Confederate troops. In 1862 he was made medical purveyor of the department of Alabama, Mississippi and east Louisiana, and held this position until the close of the war. In 1865 he came to Alabama and settled at Demopolis, where he has since continued to reside and practice his profession. He has long been a member of the state and county Medical societies. He has been president for many years of the
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS-MARENGO COUNTY.
county society, and is now its vice-president, and he is a member of the county board of censors. In 1-52 he married Miss Margaret Shrewsbury. of West Virginia, by whom he has four sons and one daughter. He and his family are members of the Episcopal church. He is a democrat in politics, and a Knight Templar Mason. He has always been strongly attached to his profession, and he is a successful and popular physician.
J. C. BROWN. a prominent merchant of Faunsdale. was born in James City county, Va., October 19, 1851. His parents were Joseph P. and Mary E. (Harwood) Brown, whose personal history is given in connection with the memoir of J. J. Brown, of Uniontown., J. C. Brown was six years old when his parents moved to Charles City county, Va., where he lived until he was eighteen years old. He then came to Alabama alone. For some time he lived at Uniontown, Ala .. and then, in 1870. he removed to Faunsdale, and after remaining there a year, he returned to Uniontown. In 1873, however, he returned to Faunsdale. where he has remained per- manently. He has, ever since that time, carried on mercantile business with success. and he is now transacting an annual business of about $50.000. In addition to his mercantile interests, he has a grist and gin mill at Faunsdale. He has always been a democrat in politics. and in 1874 was appointed postmaster of Faunsdale, and held the office for a period of eighteen years, when he was superseded by the present incum- bent. On May 18, 1880, he married Miss Maria L. Selden. of Marengo county, but a native of Perry county. and a daughter of Joseph Selden, who was a native of Virginia. By this marriage he has six children, five sons and one daughter. He has been a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church. south, since he was twenty years of age. He has also been a member of the order of Knights of Pythias for nineteen years, and has held prominent offices in the order.
HON. WILLIAM CUNINGHAME. attorney-at law of Linden. Ala., was born in Clarke county. Ala .. October 18. 1857. He is a son of William and Emma (Armistead) Cuninghame, both of whom were natives of Ala- bama. The father, now deceased. was a planter, and the mother is still living. The father of William Cuninghame was George Cuninghame. who came from Scotland, direct to Alabama, settling in Linden, Marengo county, which county he served as clerk of its court. The father of Mrs. Cuninghame was a native of Virginia, but came from North Caro lina. to Alabama. His name was Westwood Armistead. Hon. William Cuninghame is one of a family of four sons and four daughters. He was reared on a plantation in Clarke county,-and received a common school education, and afterward completed a course at Howard college. He then completed a business course at Atlanta, Ga. In January, 1881, he became clerk in the office of the probate judge of Marengo county, and remained in that position until he was appointed by Gov. Jones, in 1890, probate judge to fill out an unxepired term. While in this office, he has read law and has been admitted to the bar. He is now in the
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active practice of his profession. He is an active democrat. He was married in 1889 to Miss Eula Woolf. daughter of the late Hon. H. A. Woolf, of Marengo county. He is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias, and is past chancellor of his lodge. He has landed interests in the county, and is a member of the mercantile firm of Cuninghame & Co.
JO GALLION, of Demopolis. Ala., was born in Knox county, Tenn., March 15, 1833. His parents were Thomas and Alvira (Deal) Gallion, both of whom were born and reared in Burke county, N. C. After their marriage in North Carolina, they removed to, and settled in, Knox county, Tenn., where they lived until their death. He was a farmer by occupa- tion, and reared a family of four sons and eight daughters, all but one of whom reached the age of maturity. Jo Gallion was, therefore, reared in Knox county, Tenn., and received a fair "old field" education. When he was about twenty-four years of age, he went out with an engineering corps, which laid out the route of what now is the East Tennessee, Vir- ginia & Georgia railroad. This was the beginning of Mr. Gallion's career as a railroad man, which has now extended over a period of thirty-six years. He was a foreman of bridge-building and section work for about four years, and then for about two years he was a con- ductor on the Memphis & Charleston railroad. When the Federal soldiers went into Corinth in July, 1862, he conducted a train out of that place, and his train together with six others had to be burned to keep them from falling into the hands of the Federals. He next aided in the con- struction of a railroad from Meridian, Miss., to Demopolis, Ala .. and when it was completed, he was made road-master, in which capacity he con- tinued to serve until June, 1892, when, on account of ill health. he resigned, to accept the position of claim agent, a less arduous one. Since 1866 he has resided in Demopolis. He has been unusually fortunate. as he has never met with an accident during his long career. That he per- formed his work to the satisfaction of his superior officers. is evident from his long continued service in one position. In January. 1869. he was married to Miss S. A. Russell, of Russells. Miss., in which state she was born. Mr. and Mrs. Gallion have but one child, Thomas Travis Gallion, who has been well educated at Demopolis, at the Southern uni- versity at Greensboro, and at the university of Alabama. He is now preparing to enter the medical profession. Mr. and Mrs. Gallion and their son, are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. Mr. Gallion has never been active in politics, but in sentiment he has always been a democrat. He has been interested in farming and stock-raising for about seven years. and now resides on his plantation, which is known as Forest Hill, about two miles from Demopolis. His home is one of the most beautiful places in Marengo county.
J. T. JONES, attorney-at-law at Demiopolis, Ala .. was born in Rich mond, Va., July 20, 1832. His father, Richard Jones, was also a Virgin- ian, of Welsh ancestry, and a planter by occupation. He married Miss
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Ann Jene Taylor, a daughter of Zachariah Taylor, of Cartersville, Va., and a niece of Creed Taylor, a man of eminence in Virginia. They had four sons, and came to Alabama in 1534, and settled in Marengo county, where Mrs. Jones died in 1540, and Mr. Jones in 1572. J. T. Jones was a child two years of age, when his father removed to Alabama. His father, though of limited education was a man of good sense, and sent his sons to good schools and colleges. J. T. Jones was sent to Prince- ton college, and entered the freshman class, remained four years and graduated in 1852, with the degree of bachelor of arts. Three years afterward the college conferred upon him the degree of master of arts. He then entered the law department of the university of Virginia. where he studied law under Profs. Minor and Hawthorne, and graduated in 1855. He was one of seven graduates in a class of seventy-five. In 1856 he began the practice of the law in Marengo county, Ala., as'a partner of George C. Lyon, Esq .. at Demcpolis, and practiced there until the outbreak of the war. He enlisted as a private soldier in the Fourth Alabama infantry. one of the first regiments received into active service, commanded by Col. Law. This regiment reported for duty to T. J. Jackson at Harper's Ferry. He participated in the first battle of Manas- sas, July 21, 1861. His regiment having re-enlisted for the war, upon its being re-organized, Mr. Jones was elected captain of company D. He was afterward in the battles of Seven Pines, Gaines's Mill and those around Richmond and other lesser engagements. His company, being a rifle company, was always employed as skirmishers. He was in the battle of Gettysburg. and while in the trenches around Richmond and Petersburg, he was assigned to duty by Judge John A. Campbell, assist- ant secretary of war, as judge advocate in the war department, and in this capacity he continued to serve until the end of the war. Mr. Jones left Richmond the day before it was occupied by the Federal soldiers, and he escaped on foot and alone up the tow path by Cartersville, Va., and made his way to Greensboro, N. C., where he reported to Gen. Breckinridge, secretary of war of the Confederacy. He was then informed that his services were no longer required. and at Gen. Breckin- ridge's suggestion Capt. Jones began his journey to Alabama. He was on the way thirty days on foot, and arrived at Demopolis in May, 1865. In the fall of that year he was elected by the people of Marengo county, as a delegate to the constitutional convention to prepare the way for the re-admission of the state into the Union. He then resumed the practice of the law in Demopolis, in which he was successful. In 1869 he was invited by the Hon. F. S. Lyon to become his partner in the practice of the law, and this partnership continued for nine years. In 1872 he was elected state senator from his county. In 1874, while at his home in Demopolis, he received a telegram from the congressoinal convention, then in session. inquiring if he would accept the nomination for congress from the Fourth district, and though it was his earnest wish to decline,
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