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 2 > Part 37
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. tents into Mr. Edmondson's right elbow, necessitating the amputation of the arm the next day.
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
H. G. GUY .- The Guy family came from South Carolina, and at an early. day settled in Georgia, near Columbus, Muscogee county, where F. M. Guy, father of H. B .. Guy, was born. When a young man F. M. Guy moved to Talladega county, Ala., there married Miss Margaret Johnson, and lived there about five years, when he removed to the southwestern corner of Coosa county, where he died in 1882-a Primitive Baptist in religion and in politics a democrat. He was a farmer and mechanic. and and reared a family of thirteen children, of whom nine are still living- ' most of them in Coosa county -- while the widow resides in Elmore county. H. B. Guy was born July 17, 1854, in Talladega county, Ala., but was reared in Coosa county. He learned the wagonmaker's trade, which he followed five years; in 1884 he moved to Eden, Saint Clair county, where, for a few months, he engaged in repairing watches, and then' entered into the mercantile business, which has since been his vocation. He com- menced with a small capital, but has. by a disposition to please and the . exercise of suavity, diligence, and an avoidance of speculation, so increased his business that he now carries a stock valued at $12,000. In February, 1877, in Coosa county, he married Miss Mary E., daughter of R. L. F. Mitchell. the union resulting in the birth of eight children, five of whom are still living, viz. : Ora L., Marietta and Carrie B., twins, Lillie and Willie; the three deceased were named Henrietta, Bethel and Rosetta. In politics Mr. Guy is a democrat, and he is a member of the town council. The family worship at the Missionary Baptist church, and move in the best society. Mr. Guy is looked upon as one of the most enterprising young merchants in the county, and his store is regarded with pride by the residents of Eden and environs. .
H. N. LANEY, an enterprising and prosperous merchant of Eden, St. Clair county, Ala., was born October 15, 1834, in Harris county, Ga., but was reared chiefly in St. Clair county, Ala. He is a son of John W. and Lavinia (Blackman) Laney. The American branch of the Laney family came originally from South Carolina and settled in Harris county when John Laney was a lad of eight years. The latter grew to maturity and was married in Harris county, but in 1866 came to Alabama and settled near Cropwell in the southern part of St. Clair county, where he and wife still live. They had born to them eight children-six of then still living, viz. : Lizinka, wife of Dr. J. C. Cason, of Coal City, Ala. ; H. N., whose name heads this sketch; Viola, now Mrs. W. P. Cowan, of Eden; Marcus, student of medicine at Vanderbilt university: Oscar, of Cropwell, and Lulu, wife of Mr. Wells, of Winchester, Ky. H. N. Laney began his mercantile career at Cropwell in 1876, but a year later moved his business to Easonville, where he remained five years, and then, in 1883, removed to Eden, where he has since conducted a general store, carrying a stock valued at $2,000 and doing a thriving business. He also owns a farm of forty acres, which also yields him a fair income. December 8, 1875, Mr. Laney was married at Cropwell, to Miss Nannie Jones, daughter of
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS-SAINT CLAIR COUNTY.
John W. Jones, and their untion has been blessed by the birth of five children, viz. : Bertie, a young lady of fifteen years; Marcus, Zilla T., (deceased) ; Ruth and Mettie. Politically, Mr. Laney is a democrat; in religion he affiliates with the Methodist Episcopal church, south, and has filled the office of steward in the same. He is respected socially, and his character as a business man is without a blemish. The Laney family is of Irish extraction. John Blakeney, the maternal great-grandfather of H. N. Laney, was a captain in the war for American independence. His paternal grandfather, David Laney, removed from Chesterfield dis- trict, S. C., to Harris county, Ga., in 1833. John W. Laney was a justice of the peace for many years; served in the state troops in the Civil war; is a royal arch Mason, and is a Methodist.
JOHN MCCLENDON, one of the substantial farmers of Springville, St. Clair county, Ala., is a son of William and Ireen (Mays) Mcclendon.' He was born November 25, 1829, in the county - mentioned above. His paternal grandfather came from North Carolina to Alabama in 1818 and settled near the head of Canoe Creek in St. Clair county. William McClen- don, father of John, was reared in St. Clair county. He was married in 1828 and brought up a family of eleven children, viz .: John, Samuel, a substantial farmer of Springville, St. Clair county: Frances, wife of William McBrayer, died in 1867; Isaac, died in Mobile in 1862 in the Con federate service; Robert, died at Holly Springs, Miss., also in the Con- federate service, in 1862; Elizabeth, a resident of Springville, and the wife of L. A. Bradford; William, a citizen of St. Clair county, and a farmer; James, died at Okalona, in 1862, in the Confederate service; Harvey, is a citizen of. East Lake, Jefferson county, Ala .; Mesa, deceased wife of Thomas Montgomery; Matilda, widow of Wiley King, and now living in St. Clair county. All the boys-seven-served during the Civil war in the same regiment and company-company H, of the Ninth Alabama infantry. The father of this family died in 1873 and the mother died in 1880. John McClendon was reared a farmer and is still engaged in that vocation, owning a farm of about one hundred acres and other property. His residence is in Springville. June 15, 1848, at the age of eighteen years, he married Miss Sylvania M. Pearson, daughter of James Pearson, and to this union have been born four children, viz. : E. M. Mcclendon, Minervia J., wife of W. W. Perkins, Jr .; Dr. C. F. Mcclendon, who died in 1886, and A. R. Mcclendon, merchant of Springville. Politically John McClendon is a democrat, and served as tax collector of his county from 1871 to 1873 and again from 1888 to 1891. He is a council Mason, and has served as trearurer and junior warden. His service in the army lasted three years and five months, most of the time on detail duty. Later he was in active service in the battle of Jonesborough, Ga., was with Hood through Tennessee and participated in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. He was in the Bay fight at Mobile, Ala., and was under arms eight days and nights at Spanish Fort. He surrendered at
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
Meridian, Miss. Mr. Mcclendon stands high in the community in which he lives and is justly esteemed for his sterling qualities of mind and disposition.
SAMUEL P. MCLELLAN, the oldest and most experienced lawyer of Easonville, St. Clair county, Ala., is of Scotch origin, and descended from a family that settled in America contemporaneously with the Revo- lution. In 1775 three Mclellan brothers settled in the state of New York, of whom one, Samuel, was the great-grandfather of the gentleman with whom this sketch has most to do. He fought through the war for independence, and, after the close of that war, settled in Spartanburg district, S. C., where the family resided until 1805, when Samuel, the son of Samuel and grandfather of Samuel P. moved to Franklin county, Tenn., where he reared a family, but in 1834 came to Alahama and settled in Talladega county, where he died. William MeLellan, son of Samuel last mentioned. was born and reared in Franklin county, Tenn., and there married Miss Elizabeth Patton. This couple came to Alabama with the rest of the family, and died at his residence, ten miles north of the town of Talladega, in 1852. He reared a family of nine children, of whom four are still living, viz. : Samuel P., Francis A., of Birmingham, Ala .; Emma, wife of C. J. Teague, of Ashville, Ala., and Caroline, wife James A. Mansfield, of Birmingham. Two sons were killed during the late war, viz. : William, a sergeant in the Fifty-eighth Alabama infantry, who, in 1864, was taken prisoner at Missionary Ridge and taken to Nash- ville, where he was shot by a Federal guard; and Wesley, a private in the same regiment, who was killed on the field of Chickamauga. Will- iam Mclellan, the father of this family, was a physician of some renown and was also a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church. Great- grandmother Mclellan lived to be nearly one hundred years of age, and died in Talladega county, Ala. Samuel P. MeLellan was born in Frank- lin county, Tenn., March 8, 1827, but has been a resident of Alabama since 1834. After attaining his majority he went to Calhoun county, Ala., and taught school at Cross Plains, where, on the 24th of December, 1852, he married Miss Maragret L. Morrison, the result being the birth of seven children, viz .: Idora, wife of John Abbott. of Birmingham : Callie P., wife of John Fant, Gate City, Ala .; Samuel E., of Easonville; Bettie, Maggie, art teacher; Lillie, single, and Robert Lee, also unmar- ried and residing at New Decatur, Ala. In 1861, Mr. Mclellan moved to Ashville, St. Clair county, and during the late war was in the Confeder- ate revenue department. In 1365 he moved to Easonville, which has since been his place of residence. He began the practice of law in 1876, and has met with much success in the practice of that profession, and yet finds time to oversee his farming interests. He has been a Free- mason since 1851, and is a consistent member of the Methodist Episco- pal church, south. In politics he is a democrat.
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS-SAINT CLAIR COUNTY.
HON. JOHN S. MADDOX .- The Mallox family of Saint Clair county, Ala., is of English origin, and in America antedates the Revolution. Notley Maddox, grandfather of Hon. John S., was a citizen of Maryland at the time of the heroic struggle, and was captain of an artillery com- pany throughout the war. After peace had been declared, he removed to Virginia, and settled in the vicinity of Lynchburg, and there passed the remainder of his days. There, also, was born his son, Notley, Jr., the father of the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. Notley, Jr., was reared, however, in Clemmonsvile, Forsyth county, N. C., but on reaching his majority, migrated to Putnam county, Ga., where he mar- ried Miss Parmelia Rowe, and where three of his children were born. In 1835 he removed to Harris county, Ga., where his death occurred in 1876. In religion he was a Methodist, and in politics an old-line whig. His family consisted of nine children, of whom seven are still living, viz. : James Alexander, of Harris county, Ga .; Elizabeth, wife of H. J. Hen- derson, of Troup county, Ga .; Hon. John S., of Saint Clair county, Ala. ; Parmelia, of Harris county, Ga .; Tannie, wife of Amos Smith, of Harris county, Ga .; Josephine, wife of James Frost, of Waco, Tex., and Notley, of Harris county. Ga., where, also, the venerable mother still resides on the old homestead, at the age of eighty-six years. Hon. John S. Maddox was born August 27, 1835, in Putnam county, Ga., and on the 13th of November, 1860, near Augusta, married Miss Nancy, daughter of Dr. W. G. Johnson. Eleven children have been the result of this marriage, of whom the eldest two are deceased. The nine living are Fontaine A., superintendent of the Standard Scale company, at Rome, Ga .; Fannie, now Mrs. T. M. Jones, of Cropwell, Ala .; Notley, at home; Emma, wife of J. H. Wyatt, of Hood county, Tex .; John, at home; Fredonia, attend- ing school at La Grange, Ga .; Rosser, Jeremiah and Henry, at home. In the month of April, 1862, Mr. Maddox enlisted in company D, Third Georgia cavalry, was promoted to be first sergeant, and served through the war without being wounded or captured. He participated in the Kentucky campaigns, the Atlanta campaign, followed Sherman across Georgia, and preceded him to the Carolinas, and surrendered with John- ston at Raleigh, N. C., after which he passed a year on the old home- stead. In 1866 he came to Alabama, and settled on his present farm of 500 acres, about a mile east of Easonville, Saint Clair county. In 1880 he was elected by the democratic party to the Alabama state legislature, and served one term. In 1888 he was again elected to the same body and served another term. He is a master Mason, has been junior warden, and the Methodist Episcopal church, south, holds him within her fold, he being a trustee. He is one of the largest farmers in the county, and enjoys the full confidence of its citizens.
A. W. WOODALL, merchant of Springville, Saint Clair county, Ala., is descended from an old English family that settled in southern Georgia in the colonial days, his great-grandfather, Jonathan Woodall, having been
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a soldier in the war of the Revolution. Jonathan, Jr .. the grandfather of A. W., was born in Georgia, but in early life moved to Lincoln county, Tenn .. remained there a short time, and in 1827 came to Alabama, and settled in Saint Clair county, near the present site of Springville. Reu- ben Woodall, son of Jonathan, Jr .. was reared and married in Saint Clair county, the last named event occurring in 1841, and the bride being Miss Ellen Scroggins. The result of this union was two sons, A. W., whose name heads this 'sketch, and who was born March 29, 1843, near his pres- ent home, and a brother, Obadiah, now deceased. Reuben Woodall was a very successful farmer and a man of great influence in his community. He was the possessor of a large estate, but lost the greater portion of it through the devastation of war. In politics he was a democrat, but he was never very active as a party man; in religion he was a Missionary Baptist and fraternally was a Free Mason. The Scroggins family was also of English descent from a family that settled in North Carolina prior to the Revolution, Aaron Scroggins, the maternal grandfather of A. W. Woodall, coming to Alabama in 1824, and settling in St. Clair county. Mrs. Ellen (Scroggins) Woodall was born and reared in North Carolina. In the spring of 1861 A. W. Woodall enlisted in copmany A, Ninth Ala- bama infantry, Col. Blount commanding. His first battle was at Corinth, after which he was stationed at Mobile for a year, and then took part in the battles of Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, and in the Atlanta campaign through to Jonesboro, and back with Hood through Tennessee to Franklin and Nashville. He was then returned to Mobile, where he took part in the bay fight, and was thence sent to Meridian, Miss., where the surrender was made, he having risen from a private to be a second lieutenant. After the war was closed, he farmed and dealt to some extent in mineral lands, and in 188) established his present mercantile business at Springville, in which he carries a general stock, valued at $15,000. He is also largely interested in agriculture, and owns the most extensive farm in his section. In 1867 Mr. Woodall married Miss Mary Thomason, who bore him three children, Minnie, Joshua P. and Alice, and died in 1885. Mr. Woodall's second marriage took place in 1887, to Miss Alma Wilson, and his union has been blessed by the birth of one child, Reuben. Mr. Woodall is a royal arch Mason and an elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian church. In politics, he is a democrat, but is not an office seeker, and he stands as high socially in the community, as he does in business circles, north and south.
SHELBY COUNTY.
WILLIAM F. ALDRICH, the president of the Montevallo Coal & Trans- portation company, was born at Palmyra, Wayne county, N. Y., March 11, 1853. His father, William F. Aldrich, Sr., was a prominent lawyer and financier. His mother, Louisa (Klapp) Aldrich, was of literary
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PERSONAL MEMOIRS -- SHELBY COUNTY.
tastes, and a descendant of Gen. Barker, a Revolutionary hero. William F. Aldrich, Sr., left Wayne county when his son was twelve years old, and with his family settled in New York city. He obtained the charter for and was the promoter and secretary of the Union Trust company, after- ward was appointed bank examiner, and also was made the receiver of a savings bank, giving a bond for a million of dollars as his security. He was well and favorably known in moneyed circles in New York. He died in 1878. William, the son, was educated at the public schools in New York, and finished at the Warren Military academy in Poughkeepsie, taking a special course in mathematics and civil engineering. In 1871 he begun work with the Essex public road board of Newark, N. J., and assisted in improving the roads and boulevar'ls in that section. In 1874 he came to Alabama and began mining coal with his brother, Truman H. Aldrich. The mines, located about three miles west of Montevallo, are now known as Aldrich-named after the brothers. He has continued at the mines ever since, and has built up a prosperous town and has one of the best mines in the country, both for the quality of the coal, the appli- ances used, and for safe and skillful management. He is known as a "bright" Mason, having been connected with that "ancient honorable order" ever since he became of age, and is a Knight Templar and a thirty-second degree Scottish rite Mason. He married in 1889 Josephine Cables, of Rochester, N. Y., a lady of great ability as a writer, and in every way qualified to adorn the highest station. Their beautiful home, "Rajah Lodge," is considered by many the finest residence in the state. Mr. Aldrich has never taken an active part in politics nor in religious mat- ters-being a close student, he could see that all systems contained both truth and error, and that the highest moral development was based on the practice of the golden rule. He and his wife are active in reform work, going hand in hand to prisons and wherever their chosen work leads them. The cry of the weary, the sick, and the unfortunate never goes by them unheeded. They are the friends and advisers of all their employees and all who come within their influence, and, with the poet, we may add, "None knew them but to love them."
The Montevallo Coal and Transportation Company is an incor- poration with a capital stock of $300,000. William F. Aldrich is the president of the company, and James L. McConaughy, secretary and treasurer. The extensive property belonging to this company is located at Aldrich, and the company's mines are among the oldest in operation in Alabama. The mines were first opened about 1855, by William P. Brown, but they were operated only to a limited extent until 1872, when the property was purchased by T. H. Aldrich & Co. This firm largely increased the yearly output and conducted the business successfully until 1882, when the present company was organized with its present officers. Since then the workings of the mines have been very extensive. In 1885 a new slope was put down about one mile west of the old drifts. This
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MEMORIAL RECORD OF ALABAMA.
slope is 2,600 feet in length, divided into lifts, with gangways running both east and west. About 100 rooms are in operation, giving employ- ment to from 150 to 250 men, and having a daily output of 250 tons of coal. These mines are being worked on what is known as the long wall system, by which plan ninety per cent. of the coal is made available. The ventilation is excellent, the air being circulated by means of two large fans placed at the top of the slope. The machinery is of the finest description, comprising four boilers of forty-six inches diameter, of sev- enty-five horse power each, hoisting engines with 14x24 inch cylinders, with link motion similar to that on locomotives. The coal from these mines is known throughout the south as second to none, and is the stand- ard by which other coal is compared. It is a very hard, free-burning, non-coking coal, and when burned leaves a very heavy red ash. On no other property in the state is this coal found. A test of this coal, made by the United States government, showed that its evaporating power is higher than Pittsburgh or any other coal. It is used mostly for grate purposes, makes a bright, cheerful fire. is easily ignited and in this quality is equal to the English cannel coal. The company has extended its broad gauge road to connect with the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia railroad. Mr. William F. Aldrich, the president of the company, is also general manager, superintendent, engineer and surveyor. Per- haps the two most creditable facts connected with the management of the company's business, are these: that the stock has always paid a divi- .dend, and it has never had a strike. The company have a large and well stocked store on their property for the convenience of their employees, but the men are perfectly free to buy or not, no pressure being used to influence trade, as is, unfortunately, the case at many mines and other public works. The company will not employ men that are disorderly, nor do they allow whisky or beer sold on their property; and as a result, the little mining town of Aldrich is a model of order, quiet peacefulness, and cleanliness. There are churches and schools for both races, and the utmost good feeling exists between the whites and the blacks. A new slope is now being opened, fitted with the latest improved and finest machinery, using steam, compressed air and electricity, which gives additional work of a permanent character. The company spares no expense in making the mines a safe and healthful place to work in, looking after their employees' interests in every way.
W. E. BRINKERHOFF, banker at Calera, is a native of New York city, and was born in 1861. He is a son of Albert R. and Susanna (Edwards) Brinkerhoff, the former of whom was born in the city of New York, and is able to trace his ancestry back to the Puritans who came over in the Mayflower. Albert R. Brinkerhoff was for many years in the wholesale coal business, in the old Trinity building, in New York city. Mrs. Brink- erhoff was also a native of New York state. W. C. Brinkerhoff, received a common school education, and at an early age accepted a posi-
PERSONAL MEMOIRS-SHELBY COUNTY. 893
tion as a clerk in Chicago. After remaining in this position a short time he went to New York city, where he accepted a position as clerk in a wholesale grocery store, owned by Moore, Jenkins & Co., where he remained four years. He then removed to Oxford, Ala., and was there office man for C. J. Cooper & Co., two years, when he removed to Wet- umka, Ala., and engaged in general merchandising for two years, as clerk. He then removed to Calera, where he engaged with J. D. Hardy & Co. as clerk in the lime and lumber business, continuing in this business nearly two years, and he was then assistant secretary for the South Calera Land and Improvement company, for about the same length of time. In 1890, he established himself in the private banking business at Calera, under the name of W. E. Brinkerhoff & Co., with a working capital of $10.000, which is capable of, and subject to, increase at any time. The company is composed of Mr. Brinkerhoff and Joseph T. May, of Fremont, Neb., a prominent banker of that place. In 1887, Mr. Brinkerhoff married Miss Lizzie MeKibbon, daughter of Capt. Robert F. and Julia J. (Cook) McKibbon, by whom he has one child, Celeste. Mrs. Brinkerhoff was born in Talladega county, was a member of the Presbyteria. church, and died in 1890. In 1892, Mr. Brinkerhoff married Ida A. Brown, daughter of George W. and Anna (Petterson) Brown. Mr. Brinkerhoff is a mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias, and one of the leading young business men of Shelby county.
WALTER S. CARY, a prominent young attorney of Montevallo, was born in October, 1853. He is a son of William A. and Matilda (McMeans) Cary. The former was educated at LaGrange, Ala., and afterward attended, and graduated from, the Medical college at Philadelphia. He first began to practice at Cahaba, Dallas county, Ala., and afterward, beside other places, he practiced at LaGrange, where he remained, however, only a short time, when he removed to Talladega Springs. Here he remained until 1856, when he removed to Shelby county and opened an office at Montevallo, where he remained until his death in 1867. He was a son of James and Mrs. (Sledge) Cary, who removed from Baltimore to North Carolina at an early day. James Cary was a native of England, but left Eng- land and came to Baltimore when a young man. He was an architect by pro- fession. The maternal grandfather was, for many years, a leading attor- ney at Ashville, Saint Clair county. Walter S. Cary was educated at Montevallo, receiving the advantages of the common school. He after- ward attended a literary institution at Lexington, Ky., three years, and then engaged in merchandising in Montevallo. He continued in this business until 1880, when, having prepared himself therefor by hard study, he opened a law office, and began the practice of the law. He now has a large and lucrative practice in his profession. In 1878, he married Ludie C. Morrow, daughter of Lafayette and Mrs. (Young) Mor- row, the former, a native of Mississippi, coming to Alabama in 1845, and 52*
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