liittiiiiiiii 
 
The registration of this \york has 
 not heen possible. The copl^ ^"^wv^ 
 4f^ therefore passed to the Order Di- 
 vision for filing on the shelves of 
 the Libray of Congress. 
 
 Class. 
 Book. 
 
 
WILLIAM E. W. YERBY. 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 Greensboro, Alabama 
 
 FROM ITS 
 
 EARLIEST SETTLEMENT 
 
 BY 
 
 William Edward Wadsworth Yerby 
 
 Montgomery, Ala. : 
 
 The Paragon Press 
 
 1908. 
 

 4lo 
 
 Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 1908, by 
 Wm. E. W. Yerby, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at 
 Washington. 
 
 Copy right Office. 
 
 MK i . 1911 
 
V 
 
 ^ 
 
 I \ 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY 
 DEDICATED 
 
 ^0 tfjc iWemorp of tfje Ancient jTorefatfterjl: — 
 
 AND ALSO 
 
 TO THE PRESENT CITIZENS OF GREENSBORO, ALABAMA, 
 
 AND 
 
 TO THE SUCCEEDING GENERATION. 
 
Introduction 
 
 For some years past the author has purposed writing a His- 
 tory of Greensboro, Alabama, and has devoted much time and 
 labor to gathering and verifying data, with that end in view. 
 
 The facts relative to the early history of the town were obtained 
 from the late Henry Watson, Esq., for a long period a citizen 
 of this place, but who, soon after the close of the war between 
 the States, moved to Northampton, Mass., where he died sev- 
 eral years since. He was a gentleman who took more than a 
 passing interest in events, and made notes of all important occur- 
 rences concerning the town. He kindly favored the author of 
 these lines with the notes he had taken during his residence here. 
 
 From the late Col. John G. Harvey, the late Samuel G. Briggs, 
 Col. George Erwin and Mr. Robert B. Waller much valuable in- 
 formation was derived. Various other sources were laid under 
 tribute — files of old newspapers, ancient records, and interviews 
 with old citizens. Of course, much of the more recent history 
 of the town is from personal knowledge. 
 
 These pages have not been penned with any hope of reaping 
 pecuniary reward, but because of a sincere desire to preserve the 
 histoiy of the author's native town in a more tangible form than 
 the mere recollection of its citizens. 
 
 The attention of the reader is especially directed to the fact 
 that the book does not purport to be biographical in its character, 
 and in all cases — except in a few rare instances — the "personal"' 
 is eschewed. Men are dealt with only as they are, or have been,, 
 connected with some particular incident or institution. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Greensboro, Alabama, April 1908. 
 
Table of Contents 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GREENSBORO, ALABAMA^Early Settlement— Russell's Ride— 
 • Names of First Settlers — Greensboro First Known as Troy — 
 Log Huts as Residences — Coming of the Preachers — Who 
 They Were— First Mail Brought From Cahaba by S. G. 
 Briggs-^Appearance of This Section in the Early Days. 
 Page 1 — 6 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FIRST HOUSES— Built by John Nelson Silas Baggett and others 
 — Where Located — The Jackson Road — To New York on 
 Horseback — Location of Troy Changed-<^Original Survey — ■ 
 Village Known as Troy Until 1823— Rapid Growth of Town 
 ■ — Character of Buildings — First Lawyers — Ezekiel Pickens, 
 John Erwin and W. C. Chapman — Manner of Travel-r-How 
 Merchandise Was Brought to Greensboro — Col. John G. 
 Hai"vey — His Trip to New York on Horseback — Financial 
 Crisis of 1825 and 1837— Effect on Business— How a Wife- 
 Beater Was Made to Mend Mis Ways — Rode Him on a 
 Rail Page 7—13 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE PASSING OF TROY— First Charter for Greensboro— Horse 
 Racing — How It Was Broken Up — Lapse of Charter — Re- 
 vived in January, 1832 — Powers Granted — Corporate 
 Limits — McAlpine Addition — Original Notice of Sale of 
 Lots — Early Social Life — Influence of the French Upon 
 Society — J. J. Cluis, Aide to Famous Marshal Lefebvre, a 
 Hotel Keeper in Greensboro — Character of Entertain- 
 ments Page 14 — 19 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS ix 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WEST GREENSBORO— The Old Red House— Yet in Existences- 
 Cutting Down of a Tree Occasion of Intendant Being Hung 
 in Effigy — Amendment of Charter — Building of Callaboose 
 — Hale County's Jail a Present From Greensboro — Old Mar- 
 ket House — Act Incorporating Southern University — 
 Whiskey Forbidden to be Sold in Certain Territory — Entire 
 County of Hale Became Prohibition Territory January, 1887 
 — Extension of Corporate Limits — Extent of Present Cor- 
 porate Limits Page 20 — 24 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ^ GINNING AND MARKETING COTTON— Shipping Point— Sport 
 in the Old Days— Tragedy in 1833— Killing of Dr. Hellen. 
 , Page 25—28 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 / DIVISION OF GREENSBORO IN EARLY YEARS— The White 
 Settlement — The Black Settlement — Dogsboro — Territory 
 Embraced in Each — Gambling and Horse-Racing Common 
 Amusements — Princely Gambling — A Thrilling Story of a 
 Game in Which $60,000 Was to be Won or Lost at a Single 
 Throw of the Dice Page 29—35 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 y NEWSPAPERS— First Paper— The Halcyon— Extract From Is- 
 sue of April, 1824 — The Patriot — No Personal Mention in 
 Papers of That Period — Lady's Name Only Appeared in 
 Print Twice. When She Married and When She Died— The 
 Greene County Sentinel — The Alabama Beacon — The Ala- 
 bama Republican — The Beacon Light of Liberty — The 
 Greene County Gazette — The Greensboro Watchman — The 
 Greensboro Record — Recapitulation Page 36 — 41 
 
X HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE GREENSBORO GUARDS— Complete List of Original Com- 
 pany—Left Greensboro May 1st, 1861— Col. Allen C. 
 Jones — Officers in the War From Greensboro and Hale 
 County — Company of Boys Organized in 1864 — Those Who 
 Composed Company — After the War — The Women of the 
 Confederacy — Their Devotion and Sacrifices in Behalf of the 
 Cause — Mexican War Veterans Page 42 — 50 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THRILLING INCIDENT OF RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD— 
 Federal Soldier Killed by "Tood" Cowin — Another Wounded 
 by Tom Cowin — Escape of "Tood Cowin" — Reign of Pande- 
 monium — Greensboro at the Mercy of Maddened Federal 
 Troops — Timely Arrival of Colonel of the Regiment — Atti- 
 tude of Present Generation to the Union Page 51 — 60 
 
 THE KU KLUX KLAN — Organized as Answer to Loyal League — 
 First Notice of Appearance in Greensboro — Efforts of Fed- 
 eral Government to Disband the Organization — What the 
 Ku Klux Accomplished Page 61 — 64 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS— First Was Completed March, 
 1872 — Cost $204.50 — Account of Dedication — Second Mon- 
 ument — Completed April, 1904 — Cost About $1500 — Loca- 
 tion — Dedicatoiy Exei-cises Page 65 — 68 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 RAILROAD — Projected by Gen. N. B. Forrest^Greensboro Issued 
 $15,000 in Bonds to Aid in Construction — Hale County Is- 
 sued $60,000 For Like Purpose — Completed to Greensboro 
 November, 1870 — Event Celebrated by Barbecue and Speak- 
 ing — Gen. Forrest Present — Completed to Akron in 1882 — 
 Gen. N. B. Forrest — Personal Appearance — An Amusing 
 Incident in Connection with the Signing of the Hale County 
 Railroad Bonds — The Judge "Yanked" From the Bench by 
 the General — Daring Cavalry Leader — Conduct at Ebenezer 
 Church — Several Greensboro Men Members of Forrest Cav- 
 alry Page 69—72 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS xi 
 
 BANKS — Planters Insurance Company — Organization and Offi- 
 cers — D. F. McCrary — A. Lawson — J. B. Coleman — M. 
 Jones & Son — Shelby W. Chadwick — Bank of Greensboro — 
 Lee M. Otts — First National Bank — People's Bank. 
 
 COTTON WAREHOUSES— First Established— Second Built 
 From Materials From Old Nelson Mansion — Its Destruc- 
 tion by Fire — Third Building Page 72 — 77 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GREENSBORO FEMALE ACADEMY— Trustees— Building En- 
 larged — Incorporation — Presidents — Title to Property 
 Vested in Trustees — Closed in 1900 — Greensboro Graded 
 School Using Building Page 78 — 80 
 
 FIRST PUBLIC SCHOOL— Taught by M. H. Yerby— Location of 
 School House in 1869— List of Pupils Enrolled For That 
 Year— Old House Still Standing Page 80—83 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY— Founding of School— First Board 
 of Trustees — Endowment — Laying of Corner Stone in 1857 
 — First Session Opened 1859 — Dark Days — The Renaisance 
 —List of Presidents — List of Faculty Page 85 — 90 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CHURCHES— Methodist Episcopal, South— Baptist— St. Paul's 
 Episcopal — Presbyterian — History of Each From Founda- 
 tion Page 91—105 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 LODGES— Masonic, Washington No. 17— Lafayette No. 26— Royal 
 Arch Chapter — Phoenix No. 11 — Phoenix No. 121 — Knights 
 of Pythias, Eureka No. 29— Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 11. 
 Page 107—115 
 
xii HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MODERN GREENSBORO— J. A. Blunt— First Houses Built Af- 
 ter the War — First Brick Store — Lewis Lawson — Richard 
 Andrews-— Effects of Birmingham Boom of 1886-87 — Steady 
 and Substantial Growth Page 117 — 123 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 WATER WORKS— First Water Supply— The Old Wells— First 
 Steps Towards Getting Artesian Water — Charles E. Waller 
 —Establishment of Water Works Page 125—127 
 
 ' ELECTRIC LIGHTS— When and by Whom Established— Present 
 Ownership — Artesian Wells Page 127 — 128 
 
 ) FIRE COMPANIES— First Organization— List of Members. 
 Page 130—131 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 COURT HOUSE AND JAIL— Creation of Hale County— Vote on 
 
 " Location of Court House — Old Salem Baptist Church — New 
 
 Court House — Bond Issues — Contract Let — First Session of 
 
 Court Held in New Building April, 1908 Page 133—136 
 
 , GRAVES AND GRAVEYARDS— Many Scattered Graves— Dead 
 of Troy — The May Graveyard — Burial Place of General 
 Patrick May — His Bravery in the War With Indians — A Ro- 
 mance — Old Stokes Graveyard — Much Bad Feeling Over Re- 
 moval of Burial Site Page 136—142 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CLIMATOLOGY OF GREENSBORO— Situation— Elevation- 
 Weather Obsei-vers — Record Began in 1855 — Average Tem- 
 pei-atures — Rainfall — Table Showing Annual Fall For 
 Thirty-Five Years— The Moundville Cyclone. Page 143—146 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS xiii 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 YELLOW FEVER— Death of a Number of Excellent Citizens- 
 Names of Those Who Died That Year Page 147 — 148 
 
 A TRIPLE MURDER— The Murder of John A. Singley and 
 Family — Most Shocking Tragedy in History of the 
 County - Page 148—154 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 POSTOFFICE— First Established in 1818— List of Postmasters- 
 First Money Order Issued — Rural Free Delivery — Hatch- 
 Sanborn Incident — Truth Stranger Then Fiction — How An 
 Innocent Person Came Near Being Made to Suffer for the 
 Guilty — Dangers in Circumstantial Evidence — Celebrated 
 Case Page 155—163 
 
 CHAPTER XXIL 
 
 GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA— Greensboro Has Furnished Three 
 — Israel Pickens, John Gayle, Thomas Seay — Other State 
 Officials — Convict Inspector, Wm. D. Lee — Railroad Com- 
 missioner, Wiley C. Tunstall Page 164 — 165 
 
 PROMINENT LAWYERS— Some of Those Who Formerly Resid- 
 ed in Greensboro Page 166 
 
 RICHMOND PEARSON HOBSON— His Remarkable Career. 
 Page 168—171 
 
 CHAPTER XXIIl. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES— Some of the Citizens Who Have 
 Passed the Allotted Three Score and Ten Years— Mrs. M. 
 D. Lightfoot— Mrs. M. L. Nutling— Mrs. Eliza A. Tunstall 
 —Mrs. S. A. Kimbrough— Mrs. Mary J. Happel— Mrs. Mary 
 W. Wadsworth— Mrs. Margaret C. Gulley— Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Ward — Dr. R. H. Cobbs— Hon. George Erwin— Mrs. M. C 
 Keady— Rev. E. M. Turner— Thomas F. Stickney — The 
 Famous Marshal Lefebvre — Wm. A. Avery — Thos. J. Kin- 
 naird — John M. Croom — Names of a Number of Peo- 
 ple Who Formerly Resided in Greensboro Page 172 — 187 
 
xiv HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 CHAPTER OF MISCELLANIES— Mention of Many Things of 
 Interest — Mayors — Marshals — Night Watchmen — Accidental 
 Killing — Physicians — Population — Burning of Greene Coun- 
 ty Court House — First Ribbon Cane — First Appearance of 
 English Sparrows — Cotton Worms — First United States 
 Flag After the War— Practical Joke of the Old Days— Tel- 
 ephones — Telegraph Lines — Authors — Nut Grass — Dr. R. C. 
 Randolph — Planters — Cherted Street — Cotton Oil Mill — 
 Public Halls— Conclusion 188 — 200 
 
List of Illustrations 
 
 Andrews, Allen S 87 
 
 Artesian Well 129 
 
 Baptist Church 96 
 
 Blunt, Jeffries A 116 
 
 Cahaba, Old Site of 5 
 
 Chilton, Rev. Thomas 97 
 
 Cobbs, Richard Hooker 177 
 
 Confederate Monument, (old) 15 
 
 Confederate Monument, (new) 65 
 
 Court House, (new) 132 
 
 Court House, (old) 135 
 
 Dorman Block 119 
 
 Episcopal Church 101 
 
 Erwin, John 10 
 
 Female Academy 78 
 
 Forrest Nathaniel Bedford 70 
 
 Gayle, John 164 
 
 Greensboro Hotel 60 
 
 Hale Col. Stephen F 133 
 
 Harvey, John Gaillord 36 
 
 Hobson, Richmond Pearson 167 
 
 Jones, Allen C 12 
 
 Lightfoot, Mrs. M. D 172 
 
 Methodist Church 106 
 
 Main Street, View Looking East 146 
 
 Main Street, View Looking West 118 
 
 Moore Sydenham 45 
 
 Oldest Building 20 
 
 Old Store Building on Main Street 53 
 
 Old Graveyard of French Refugees 142 
 
 Old Public School House 82 
 
 Old Singley Bam 150 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xvi 
 
 Opera House Block 119 
 
 Peck, Frederick, Tomb of 137 
 
 Peterson, Francis Marion 189 
 
 P/esbyterian Church 103 
 
 Residence of late John A. Singley 152 
 
 Residence of the Author 124 
 
 Seay, Thomas 165 
 
 Southern University - 84 
 
 Spinning Wheel 199 
 
 Stokes, Graveyard, View of 140 
 
 Waller, Charles E 126 
 
 Ward, Dr. Thomas R 112 
 
 Watson, Henry 74 
 
 Webb, James D 50 
 
 Yerby, Wm. E. W Frontispiece 
 
Chapter I 
 
 GREENSBORO, ALABAMA— EARLY 
 SETTLEMENT. 
 
 It was in the year 1816 that the first settlements were 
 made in and around what is now known as Greensboro, 
 Alabama. The pioneers came from Georgia, Tennessee, 
 Kentucky, North and South Carolina. 
 
 Andrew, Caleb and Isaac Russell, three brothers, came 
 from Baldwin county, Georgia, in 1816, and located some 
 three to four miles east of the present court house, on 
 the Marion road, and so far as can be ascertained, were 
 the first white people to settle in this immediate section. 
 Caleb and Isaac Russell resided here for a few years, and 
 then moved to Big Black, Miss. Andrew Russell remain- 
 ed after the removal of his brothers, but in a year or two 
 removed, with his large family of children, to near Prov- 
 idence church in Perry county. The place near Greens- 
 boro where the Russells first located was for many years 
 known as "Russell's Ridge." 
 
 It was also in the year 1816 that John Herran settled 
 three miles south of the present town, near the 'Tick- 
 ens Place," now owned by L. J. Lawson. He died in 
 Newbern, Ala., in October, 1894, at the age of 86 years, 
 and was buried in the Herran graveyard, situated near 
 the spot where he first located in 1816. 
 
2 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 The next year — 1817 — a number of others took up 
 their abode in and around the present corporate limits 
 of the town, among them being Frederick Peck, Edwin 
 Peck, Anthony Kinard, Joseph Nail, Joseph Middle- 
 brooks, William Lovell, Louis Stephens, Lawrence Carr, 
 Benjamin Baldwin, James Yeates, Jason Candy, Shelby 
 Cozine, Silas Baggett, M. Kinard, Messrs. Bennett, Davis, 
 McConnico, Hopkins, Caldwell and Holifield. 
 
 These early settlers soon built up a small village 
 near where the Southern University now stands, to which 
 they gave the name of Troy. Jason Candy was the first 
 merchant in the new village, or in fact, in the county of 
 Greene. He is the same Candy that established the for- 
 merly well known "Candy's Landing" on the Warrior 
 river. 
 
 Frederick and Edwin Peck were among the earliest 
 merchants of Troy, and became, in the after years, quite 
 wealthy and prominent citizens of this section. The Pecks 
 were for a long while residents of Greensboro. The fam- 
 ily graveyard is near the former home of Frederick Peck 
 — the lot now owned and occupied by Mrs. W. W\ Powers. 
 
 John and Peter Stokes were also among the earlier 
 settlers. They resided near the Murphy place on Tusca- 
 loosa street, and owned hundreds of acres of land in that 
 locality. 
 
 In these early times the country in and around Greens- 
 boro was an unbroken forest of primeval oaks, hickory, 
 chestnut and pine. Caldwell creek was a large and beau- 
 tiful stream, whose waters afforded abundant fish to all 
 who cared to catch them. Game was plentiful — there be- 
 ing numbers of deer, an occasional bear, wild turkeys, 
 and birds of all kinds. Indians frequently passed through 
 this section. In fact, to the north, where Havana is now 
 located, the then forest covered hills were still in pos- 
 session of the savages, and large numbers of them re- 
 sided there for several years after the settlement of 
 Greensboro. 
 
COMING OF THE PREACHERS 3 
 
 The low places to be seen in and around the Greensboro 
 of today — the depressions on Tuscaloosa street, the one 
 where is now located the water works, and the one west 
 of the colored Baptist church — were extensive reed 
 brakes, into which cattle frequently went never to come 
 out alive, on account of the boggy nature of the soil. The 
 reed brake extended as far up as Main street from the 
 depression in the rear of the Moore buildings. 
 
 The early settlers went industriously to work to erect 
 houses in which to live. To be sure they were very rude 
 affairs — typical log huts — and as for furniture, they had 
 none — only that they made themselves. For bedsteads 
 they bored holes in the logs of their cabins, into which 
 were driven pieces of wood, across which boards were 
 laid ; a three-legged stool for each member of the family, 
 and a high bench for a table was the sum total of the 
 furnishings for the houses. However, the inhabitants 
 seemed contented and happy, and labored industriously 
 to clear off the ground to make room for the crops they 
 were to plant. The soil was rich and responded gener- 
 ously even to the rude cultivation given it, and large crops 
 of grain were made each year. Cotton was not much 
 of a commodity and the farmers gave but small atten- 
 tion to its cultivation. Cattle raising was quite exten- 
 sively engaged in. They had but little money in those 
 early years, but all had the necessities of life, and barter 
 of the products of the soil largely took the place of ready 
 cash. 
 
 Coming of the Preachers. 
 
 It was then, even as now. The Methodist and Bap- 
 tist preachers followed in the wake of all settlements, 
 no matter how remote from the throbbing pulse of the 
 great outside world. The first sermon ever preached in 
 Greene (now Hale) county, was in the year 1818, at the 
 
4 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 town of Troy. In that year the Rev. James Monette, a 
 Methodist minister, cultivated a crop and preached to the 
 inhabitants of Troy. The next year he moved to Erie, 
 and his house in that village was used as a place of wor- 
 ship for some years. Rev. Robert Payne — afterward 
 Bishop Payne — filled regular appointments there, as he 
 did also at the house of Capt. Edward Clement in Greens- 
 boro in 1820, at which time there was no church edifice 
 in the town. 
 
 Close in the footsteps of the Methodist ministers came 
 the Baptists. The Rev. Joseph Ryan, a Baptist preacher, 
 settled in Troy, and was the first Baptist preacher to come 
 to this portion of Alabama. He founded the Baptist 
 church at Greensboro, which was located in the eastern 
 part of the present town, very near where stands the 
 residence of Mrs. Walker, at the forks of the Marion and 
 Newbern public roads. 
 
 The Presbyterians and Episcopalians came later on. 
 The first sermon preached in Greensboro by a Presbyte- 
 rian minister was in 1822, by a Mr. Hunter. The same 
 year the Rev. James Hillhouse of South Carolina, de- 
 livered his first sermon here, and established the present 
 Presbyterian church, which was located near the Greens- 
 boro Graded School building. He died several years af- 
 terwards, and was buried in the Stokes graveyard in the 
 northern suburbs of the town. His grave may yet be 
 seen, as the tombstone is in an excellent state of preser- 
 vation. 
 
 In 1833, the Episcopalians met and selected St. Paul's, 
 Greensboro, as the name of the Parish, but it was not 
 until 1840 that it was duly incorporated. The Rev. Caleb 
 S. Ives was connected with the church at this place as 
 early as 1834, and preached in the Presbyterian church. 
 He was followed in 1837 by the Rev. J. S. Goodman, who 
 in turn, was succeeded in 1842, by Rev. Julian Sawyer. 
 
THE FIRST MAIL 5 
 
 More extended notices of the various churches will be 
 found elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 The First Mail. 
 
 The first United States mail ever received in Troy was 
 brought from Cahaba, the former capital of Alabama, 
 which was at one time a flourishing city with splendid 
 buildings of brick and stone, fronted by yards filled with 
 choicest flowers, and possessing a citizenship of wealth 
 and culture. But the old town is now only a heap of 
 ruins, and in February, 1894, the site was sold in Selma, 
 under a tax sale, and was bid in by an ex-slave for $550.00. 
 
 THE SITE OF OLD CAHABA. 
 
 The Capital of Alabama from 1820 to 1826. The house shown in 
 the picture is the only one left standing of the great number 
 of magnificent structures formerly in the Capital City. It was 
 from this point that the first mail was brought to Greensboro; 
 and it was also from Cahaba that the Greensboro merchants 
 of the old days hauled their goods. 
 
 The first mail was brought to Troy in 1818, by Samuel 
 G. Briggs on horseback, and was opened in the store of 
 Frederick Peck, the first postmaster, on the 3rd day of 
 September. The arrival of the mail was quite an event in 
 the history of the little village. It had been carried to 
 Cahaba on a barge from Blakely. The trip by the pioneer 
 mail-rider was not unattended by dangers as he journeyed 
 
6 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 alone through the dense forest for half a hundred miles. 
 Mr. Briggs resided in Greensboro from its foundation to 
 the time of his death, which occurred Feb. 12, 1895, 
 at the age of 82 years. 
 
Chapter II 
 
 FIRST HOUSES. 
 
 The first house erected in what is now Greensboro was 
 in the year 1818, and was built by John Nelson. It was 
 a one-room log structure, and was situated nearly oppo- 
 site the store of E. A. Powers & Sons on Main street. 
 In this small house Mr. Nelson, for about a year, sold 
 powder, shot, whiskey, tobacco, etc. In January, 1819, 
 he sold out to Wm. Lovell, and settled on forty acres of 
 land on the place south of Greensboro known as Midway, 
 and engaged in farming. He continued to purchase the 
 rich prairie lands and, at his death in 1856, he was very 
 wealthy, leaving property valued at over half a million 
 dollars. He is buried in the graveyard on the Jenkins 
 place, three miles west of town, near the public road. 
 Mr. Nelson has a number of descendants in this section. 
 He was a man of great common sense and business saga- 
 city. 
 
 In 1819, several other houses were erected in Greens- 
 boro — one by Silas Baggett on the lot where the Presby- 
 terian church now stands. He used it as a wheelwright 
 shop, and kept the rockaways and wagons in repair. 
 
 The same year, Mr. Whitehead built a small log house 
 near where the First National Bank now does business. 
 This house was used as a general merchandise store. 
 
 There was another store near the Andrew Pickens 
 place, several miles to the south of the village, kept by 
 Jason Candy, where he did a thriving business trading 
 with the Indians on the Jackson road — a road cut out 
 by the troops under Andrew Jackson when on their way 
 
8 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 to St. Stephens to quell the disturbances with Indians. 
 There is a spring on the Rabb tract, a mile or two east 
 of Greensboro, where it is said Gen, Jackson camped for 
 a short while when on the mission noted above. 
 
 The next house in the present Greensboro was a log 
 structure built by Frederick Peck on the site where now 
 stands the two story brick building occupied by George 
 Findlay and The Watchman office, and in this log struc- 
 ture Peck sold groceries and dry goods for several years. 
 He annually went to New York City on horse back to 
 purchase his stock of goods. For three successive sea- 
 sons he made this long journey of over a thousand miles 
 on the same horse. 
 
 In 1819 Alabama was admitted into the Union, and 
 soon after its admission the inhabitants of the village of 
 Troy were forced to move their place of residence, be- 
 cause of the fact that their town was situated on the six- 
 teenth section, which, by Act of Congress, was reserved 
 to every State for the benefit of the public schools. 
 
 The people gathered together all their belongings that 
 could be moved, and located in Greensboro, or rather 
 where the town is now situated, for the new location 
 continued to be known as Troy until the year 1823. The 
 original plot of "new" Troy was made in 1820 by McAl- 
 pine, surveyor, and is recorded in Book "I", page 141, 
 Record of Deeds for Hale county. 
 
 The citizens of Troy did not regret to abandon the old 
 town, for the horse jockeys had taken the main street 
 for a race course; whiskey shops, or "doggeries" as they 
 were called in those days, were numerous, and drunken- 
 ness and rowdyism were very common, and life was made 
 miserable to the more respectable portion of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 In 1820 a shoe-shop was the only thing located on the 
 lot on which is now situated Dr. Carson's residence and 
 sanitarium, and deGraffenried & Evins' law office. It was 
 a small frame building in which James Yeaies resided 
 
THE FIRST LAWYERS 9 
 
 and repaired the footwear of the inhabitants of the lit- 
 tle village. 
 
 The same year (1820) Samuel G. Briggs located in 
 "new" Troy and opened a hotel in a small house that 
 stood where Thomas H. Jones' residence is located. Just 
 across the street from him was a tailor's shop kept by 
 a man named Clark. 
 
 Troy seems to have grown rapidly at this period, for 
 at the beginning of 1821, the number of stores had in- 
 creased to five. Malone and Lake kept one on the lot 
 immediately west of the First National Bank; Blanton 
 and McAlpine had a bar room on a part of the present 
 hotel lot; William Lovell also conducted a saloon on the 
 east corner of the Dorman block; Frederick Peck, as be- 
 fore noted kept a general store on the lot where stands 
 the two-story building formerly known as the Shackel- 
 ford building; and J. A. Wemyss kept a stock of goods in 
 a store where the Greensboro hotel now stands. Absa- 
 lom Alston had a hotel on the lot where the M. D. L. 
 Moore stores are located ; Miles Johnson also conducted a 
 hotel in a frame house located on the Dr. Peterson resi- 
 dence lot, and still another was located on the present 
 court house lot, and was conducted by Edward Clement. 
 
 The buildings in which these men of a past generation 
 did business were very rude aff:'airs — most of them being 
 constructed of logs, the cracks being "chinked" with 
 m.ud — and those in which lumber or plank was used were 
 considered fine structures. The passage of more than 
 three-quarters of a century has wrought wonders, for 
 where stood the extremely modest homes and business 
 houses of the ancient forefathers are now to be found 
 splendid buildings of brick, and homes of the most beau- 
 tiful architectural type. 
 
 The First Lawyers. 
 
 In 1822, Ezekiel Pickens opened the first law office in 
 the village in a house that stood on the present Dugger 
 
10 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 old homestead lot. The second was opened the same 
 year by W. C. Chapman near where the Steinhart Gro- 
 cery store is located. The latter part of the same year, 
 John Erwin came from Kentucky and located. He re- 
 sided first in a log house situated on the lot in the rear 
 
 HON. JOHN ERWiN, 
 
 Who came to Greensboro in 1818, whei-e he resided until his death 
 in 1860. He was among the most able lawyers in Alabama 
 and took a very prominent part in the Secession Convention. 
 
 of the Greensboro hotel, and opened a law office in a room 
 near where stands the building in which the First Na- 
 tional Bank does business. He was a man of strong in- 
 tellect and business ability, and in the after years attain- 
 ed to prominence and amassed a fortune. 
 
 Manner of Travel. 
 
 There were no railroads in this entire section in the 
 
FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 1825 11 
 
 early days, and the manner of travel to distant points was 
 either on horseback, in buggies or by stage coach. The 
 merchants frequently rode horseback to New York and 
 Philadelphia to purchase their stocks of goods, which 
 they had shipped to Mobile by water, thence to Cahaba, 
 from which latter place the goods were hauled in wagons 
 to Greensboro. The writer has often heard Col. John 
 G. Harvey relate the fact that he was on his way to New 
 York on horseback in 1833 when the stars fell. It was 
 interesting to hear him describe the grandeur of the celes- 
 tial display ; but he would admit that a person was not in 
 a condition of mind to go into ecstacies over it while the 
 stars were falling, but the beauty and grandeur came to 
 the mind later on, when all sense of the danger of the 
 arrival of the general judgment day had passed. The 
 Colonel related that he was somewhere in North Carolina 
 at the time, and he was specially impressed with the rare- 
 fied atmosphere the next day. He never remembered to 
 have breathed air so pure and bracing. A lame horse 
 would always remind the Colonel of the experience of '33, 
 on account of the fact that the one he was riding to New 
 York was lame at the time of this meteoric shower — 
 which has gone down into history as the most phenomenal 
 on record. 
 
 The financial crisis of 1825 was severely felt in Greens- 
 boro, and from 1825 to 1828 there were many bank- 
 ruptcies, which created much business for the lawyers, 
 who prospered greatly. This over, there came a lull, till 
 the fearful crisis of 1837, when the financial fabric of 
 the entire Union seemed to be ripped from top to bot- 
 tom, and the whole nation nearly became bankrupt, and 
 the effects of which continued until 1842 and 1843, at 
 which later date the people of Greensboro seemed to have 
 somewhat recovered from the shock. During the period 
 the lawyers, clerks of courts, sheriffs and all judicial of- 
 ficers flourished. 
 
12 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 For a graphic and true picture of the disastrous panic 
 of 1837, the reader is referred to "Baldwin's Fhish Times 
 of Alabama and Mississippi," wherein the author has 
 portrayed the woes and miseries the people underwent 
 during the period succeeding the "bursting of the bubble." 
 Thousands upon thousands of acres of land in this sec- 
 tion went under the hammer of the auctioneer when set- 
 tlement day came after the fictitious fortunes that had 
 been accumulated on a mere promise to pay had been 
 swept away by one stroke of "Old Hickory" Jackson's 
 pen. The wreck and ruin that strewed the financial 
 pathway of that period served as danger signals for many 
 long years — and there are those living in this day and 
 generation who have learned from a study of the fearful 
 crisis of 1837, that it does not pay, in the long run, for 
 a person to become rich on a credit. 
 
 Rode Him on a Rail. 
 
 Back in the early days, when Greensboro was going 
 through the formative period, there were quite a number 
 of the rough and lawless element within its borders. Oc- 
 casionally one of these would act so very badly that the 
 better class of citizens would become outraged, and take 
 the matter of punishment of the offender into their own 
 hands. 
 
 In a log house located near where the residence of W. 
 W. Overstreet now stands on Main street, there resided 
 a man who frequently whipped his wife severely. He 
 would be fined for the offence by the justice of the peace, 
 but this did not seem to have the effect of stopping him. 
 One night he gave his wife an unusually severe whipping. 
 The matter became generally known next day, and some 
 of the citizens — of the number Capt. John Cocke, Col. 
 Scott, William Hopper and Richard Hatter — decided that 
 they would endeavor to cure the offender of his wicked 
 doings, so they got a good stout rail and placed it where 
 
RODE HIM ON A RAIL 13 
 
 it could be gotten hold of handily, and waited for the wife 
 beater to come up town. In an hour or two he made 
 his appearance, and seated himself in front of a little 
 store where Northup & Hanna now do business. Capt. 
 Cocke crossed over the street and engaged him in con- 
 versation, totally foreign to the subject of wife-beating. 
 The culprit was whittling with a large, ugly-looking knife, 
 and the Captain watched for a favorable opportunity to 
 knock it out of his hand, but the man seemed to suspect 
 something and kept close watch on him. Seeing the 
 dilemma. Col. Scott crossed over to where the two men 
 were talking, and soon caught the man off his guard. 
 He picked his chance, and with a vigorous kick, landed 
 the knife in the middle of the street. Cocke and Scott 
 grabbed their victim and held him until the rail was 
 brought by Hopper and Hatter. Other citizens joined in, 
 and placed the man on the rail and held him on it, while 
 others put the ends on their shoulders and paraded up and 
 down Main street, singing at the top of their voices : 
 "Here's the man what whips his wife!" After punishing 
 him in this manner for some time, the fellow was given 
 his liberty, with the injunction that if the citizens ever 
 heard of his striking his wife they would take him out 
 and wear the hide from him with switches. 
 
 The admonition was heeded, and this sort of conduct 
 on the part of the fellow was never heard of again. 
 
Chapter III 
 
 THE PASSING OF TROY— GREENSBORO— VAR- 
 IOUS CHARTERS AND AMENDMENTS. 
 
 In December, 1823, Abijah Peck and others made ap- 
 plication to the Legislature of Alabama for a charter of 
 incorporation for the town of Greensborough, in the 
 county of Greene and on the 24th of that month the Act 
 of incorporation was passed. Its chartered name was 
 "the Intendant and Council of the Town of Greensbor- 
 ough," and the incorporation was "endowed with the 
 same powers and privileges and subject to the same re- 
 strictions and regulations in all their proceedings and 
 governed in the same manner as is provided in an Act 
 to Incorporate the Town of Montgomery, passed on the 
 3rd day of December, 1819." And thus was Greensboro 
 first given a name and a habitation on the map. 
 
 Horse Racing. 
 
 Among the first ordinances passed by the Intendant and 
 Council under this charter was one to prohibit horserac- 
 ing through the Main street. 
 
 The spirit of the old Trojans had become quite preva- 
 lent, and the rougher element from the outlying districts 
 made a practice of coming to town and running horse 
 races up and down what is now the Main street of Greens- 
 boro. In addition to the enactment of the ordinance pro- 
 hibiting this conduct, several of the prominent gentlemen 
 of the town banded together, and informed the "sports" 
 that they must discontinue their practice; in fact, our 
 
HORSE RACING 15 
 
 notes recite that the aforesaid gentlemen made their lec- 
 ture to the lawless element more forcible by having their 
 pistols with them, and informing the offenders that if 
 they were guilty of running races on the Main street 
 again they would be shot from their horses. This had 
 the desired effect, and the "jockeys," in the after years — 
 1834 — made another track two miles west of town near 
 the plantation known as the Jenkins place, and kept up 
 the sport for a number of years. It finally fell into dis- 
 use in this section altogether, and there has not been a 
 horse race in Greensboro for many, many years. 
 
 But to go back a little : A note before us says that on 
 an extra gala occasion in Greensboro in the days of the 
 reign of the "jockeys," that as a bunch of the racers came 
 dashing up the street at break-neck speed, one of the 
 horses flew the track and ran into a dogwood thicket 
 where the old Whelan residence (now owned by Mrs. 
 Ricard) stands, and killed the jockey. The name of the 
 unfortunate fellow is forgotten, and even the place of 
 his burial was not remembered by our informant. 
 
 During the period between 1823 and 1832, the citizens 
 of Greensboro seem to have allowed their charter to lapse 
 from non-use, for on January 21, 1832, the Legislature 
 passed an Act "To revive, repeal in part and amend an 
 Act to Incorporate the Town of Greensborough in the 
 county of Greene, approved December 24, 1823." 
 
 By this Act the following taxes only could be assessed 
 and collected : 
 
 1. Not exceeding one-fourth of one per cent on real 
 property. 
 
 2. A poll tax of $1 on each white male inhabitant 
 over the age of twenty-one years. 
 
 3. Not exceeding $1 each on all four-wheeled pleasure 
 carriages. 
 
 4. On all retailers of liquors, goods and merchandise, 
 not exceeding $10 per annum. 
 
 From the foregoing it will be seen that the income of 
 
16 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 the town was quite small, but the expenses were equally 
 so. The officers received no salaries. The Intendant was 
 allowed to charge only a small fee for the trial of crim- 
 inal offences, and the Constable was also allowed to charge 
 a nominal fee for making arrests, but it was a rare oc- 
 currence for a case to be reported to the Intendant. Nearly 
 all the cases for breach of peace, if reported at all, were 
 carried before the Justices of the Peace, whose courts 
 were kept quite busy at times — and all were white people 
 who were tried, as the negroes were slaves, and were 
 rarely ever guilty of violating the laws either of the 
 town or the State. 
 
 The corporate limits of the town at this time were the 
 quarter section — 160 acres — and so remained until Jan- 
 uary 12, 1833, when they were extended to embrace the 
 residence and lots now owned and occupied by Charles E. 
 Latimer. The object of the extension was to relieve the 
 owner — John Marast — of the duty of working the public 
 road outside of the town. 
 
 Addition to Greensboro. 
 
 In 1835 a further proposed addition was made to the 
 town of Greensboro. At that time the corporate limits 
 extended west only to the cross street dividing the Stoll- 
 enwerck old homestead from the N. L. Castleman place. 
 What is known as McAlpine's addition was, in 1836, sold 
 at public sale. The following is a copy of the original 
 advertisement of the sale: 
 
 NOTICE— LAND AT AUCTION. 
 
 Will be sold to the highest bidder, at auction, on the third Mon- 
 day in January next, all of that tract of land known as the Mc- 
 Alpine tract and designated as the South West Quarter of Sec- 
 tion 17, Township 20, and Range 5, East. 
 
 The said land will be sold out in lots of various sizes, contain- 
 ing from one-fourth of an acre to six acres, with streets from 
 66 to 75 feet wide. The above tract of land is situated immediately 
 
EARLY SOCIAL LIFE 17 
 
 West and adjoining the Town of Greensborough, Green County, 
 Alabama. 
 
 Persons wishing to reside in the said town or its immediate 
 vicinity, would do well to examine the above premises, in person, 
 previous to the day of sale. Some of the lots have beautiful groves 
 and elevated situations for building — one of them containing four 
 acres, is verv well improved, having on it a comfortable frame 
 dwelling, all other necessary out houses, a good garden, excellent 
 well of water, and a fine peach orchard. 
 
 The undersigned Commissioners, will give to the purchaser or 
 purchasers, a certificate for the lot or lots they may purchase; 
 deeds given by them when the last payment shall have been made. 
 
 Terms of sale, one-third cash, and the balance in one and two 
 years. Notes with good securities, will be required. Sale to com- 
 mence at 10 o'clock and continue from day to day. 
 
 J. C. McALPINE, 
 WILLIAM McALPINE, 
 
 JOHN N. McDowell, 
 
 Commissioners 
 
 A plat of the above lots may be seen by calling at the Beacon 
 of Liberty Printing Office. 
 
 Greensboro'. Dec. 23, 1835. 
 
 The McAlpines were prominent citizens of Greensboro 
 for a number of years. 
 
 Early Social Life. 
 
 The social life of Greensboro has always been pleas- 
 ant, even from the earliest days. Refinement and culture 
 were brought here with the greater portion of the early 
 settlers, and the children of the pioneers were given the 
 best advantages available in the matter of education. 
 
 After the downfall of the great Napoleon at Waterloo, 
 many of the French people who were identified closely 
 with the Napoleonic party fled the country — one of them, 
 J. J. Cluis, cultivated a farm near Greensboro in the early 
 thirties. He had been a man of considerable note during 
 the reign of Napoleon and was at one time an aide to the 
 famous Marshal Lefebvre, the Duke of Rivigo, who was 
 afterwards at the head of the police department of Paris. 
 Colonel Cluis was then his secretary. At another time 
 Cluis had the custody of Ferdinand VII, King of Spain, 
 
18 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 while he was imprisoned by Napoleon. Like the balance 
 of the refugees, he found the cultivation of the vine and 
 the olive an unremunerative business in Alabama, and 
 became quite a poor man, but was always proud, and 
 seemed to live back in the past when the world trembled 
 beneath the onward march of the great "Army of the Re- 
 public" of which he was an honored member. In order 
 to sustain life, this once famous man kept a hotel or tav- 
 ern in Greensboro for some time. He moved from here 
 to Mobile, where he died a few years afterwards. 
 
 Quite a number of other French people settled in this 
 immediate neighborhood, and lent the charm of their 
 manners and the elegance of their deportment to the so- 
 cial life of Greensboro in the long ago. Their descend- 
 ants are yet to be found in this section. 
 
 The tournament was in great vogue in those days, and 
 elaborate preparations were made for the exciting sport. 
 Gallant knights came from miles around to participate 
 in the tourney. Their costumes were splendid, and the 
 plumed knights, as they rode in a body to the grounds, 
 presented a fine appearance. The crowning of the Queen 
 of Love and Beauty was attended with much pomp and 
 ceremony, and was a great occasion. 
 
 Parties and dances were numerous. The dances were 
 always given at private homes, and the host and hostess 
 of the occasion spread a most sumptuous repast, at which 
 champagne and wine flowed freely. The attire of 
 the ladies was of the latest fashion and of the finest ma- 
 terials, and that of the gentlemen was of broadcloth. At 
 the dances only the old Virginia reel and the stately min- 
 uette were danced — the German, with its many intricate 
 figures, being an unknown accomplishment among the 
 dancers of the old time. When the vivacious French peo- 
 ple who entered into the social life of the town, fresh 
 from "gay Paree," showed the assembled company how 
 the round dance was executed, they looked on with pleas- 
 ed surprise, and as time went by they, too, learned the 
 
EARLY SOCIAL LIFE 19 
 
 art, and the old Virginia reel and the minuette were su- 
 perannuated. 
 
 The girls were as beautiful and charming, and the men 
 were as true and gallant in that distant time as are the 
 girls and young men of today. But all those who lived 
 in the period referred to have long since vanished — their 
 very names, many of them, being forgotten. 
 
 They were happy and joyous beneath the self-same 
 sky that bends above the Greensboro of today, but they 
 now rest out under the quiet stars, forgetful of all life's 
 joys and sorrows and disappointments — which will be 
 recorded of you and me in the after-time. But 
 
 "A hundred years from now, dear heart, 
 
 We'll neither know nor care 
 What came of all life's bitterness, 
 
 Or followed love's despair. 
 Then fill the glasses up again, 
 
 And kiss me through the rose-leaf rain ; 
 We'll build one Castle more in Spain, 
 
 And dream one more dream there." 
 
Chapter IV 
 
 WEST GREENSBORO. 
 
 In 1835, the road from Erie, the then county seat of 
 Greene, made no turn at the N. B. Jones' front gate as 
 now, but continued at an angle in the rear of the Benners' 
 house near the present location of the Pasteur home, 
 went across the Boardman front yard, and then entered 
 Main street. 
 
 "THE OLD RED HOUSE." 
 
 Oldest structure in Greensboro. It was erected in the early 
 
 Twenties. 
 
 The Al Stollenwerck old homestead lot extended to the 
 then road; a private dwelling, occupied by Mr. Lowry, 
 known as the "Red House," so-called from the color it 
 was painted, stood very near the road, so that in looking 
 down Main street, it seemed to block it. This old house 
 is still in existence, and was used for many years by the 
 Stollenwercks as a kitchen. It is yet in the back yard 
 
HUNG IN EFFIGY 21 
 
 of the Stollenwerck lot. 'The Red House" was regarded 
 as quite a commodious dwelling when it was erected back 
 in the latter part of the twenties. The above is a splen- 
 did picture of the old two-room building. 
 
 Beyond the Boardman residence was the home of Mrs. 
 Ashe, and further on, as far as Dr. Wm. Jones' planta- 
 tion, which was located in the rear of the present Hobson 
 homestead, all was a dense forest covered with thick un- 
 dergrowth. The hollow just east of where W. B. Inge 
 resides, was a very dense thicket, with a rippling stream 
 flowing through it. 
 
 Himg in Effigy. 
 
 The cutting down of an oak tree and the filling of a 
 well in 1843 in Greensboro came near causing a riot. 
 Much bitter feeling was manifested over the incident. 
 In the exact center of Main street at the intersection of 
 Tuscaloosa street, was a public well covered by a square 
 shelter with a four-sided roof; shading it was a large, 
 thrifty, beautifully shaped oak, beneath the shade of 
 which the inhabitants rested and whiled away the dull, 
 hot summer days. In 1843, the Town Council, after de- 
 liberating over the matter, and coming to the conclusion 
 that the well and the beautiful oak were unnecessary 
 obstructions to the highway, had the well filled up and 
 the tree cut down. So great was the indignation of the 
 populace over this act of vandalism (as they regarded 
 it) that the Intendant, who was instrumental in remov- 
 ing the ancient landmarks, was hung in effigy. At the 
 time of the existence of the well referred to, there was 
 another in the center of Main street very near the Greens- 
 boro hotel. This well was also filled up. About ten or 
 twelve years ago, this old relic was brought to the at- 
 tention of the public by a sinking of the soil at this point. 
 The old inhabitants then recalled the watering place of 
 the old days. It is a fact that is not generally known, or 
 
22 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 at least not thought of by many, that a wound in the 
 breast of old mother earth never heals if made beneath 
 the top soil. The clay never runs together and forms 
 again a solid strata, but the cut always remains. 
 
 On January 27, 1845, an Act was passed to "Alter and 
 amend the several Acts Incorporating the Town of 
 Greensborough." It somewhat enlarged the powers of 
 the Intendant and Council. 
 
 On February 12, 1850, another Act to amend the char- 
 ter was passed, the main feature of which was authoriz- 
 ing the town to build a jail, or calaboose, for the deten- 
 tion of slaves. The building erected is still standing in 
 the rear of the old market house, located on the southern 
 boundary line of the property of Gulley and Christian 
 on Main street. It served as a county prison before the 
 present jail was built, and many are the evil doers who 
 have been detained within the narrow limits of the two 
 little rooms composing the calaboose. It is still in use 
 by the town as a city prison. 
 
 As a matter of historical interest we record here that 
 the town of Greensboro presented the county of Hale with 
 the building now used as a jail immediately in the rear 
 of the court house. This was done in accordance with 
 the proposition Greensboro made the county to the effect 
 that it would present the county with a court house and 
 jail if the voters would make the town the county seat. 
 The brick of which the jail is built was burned in 1868 by 
 the town authorities, and it is claimed that considerable 
 money was saved by the operation. Hugh Watt was the 
 contractor. 
 
 In 1850, the town erected the building that is now used 
 as the Fire Company's House, as a public market, and 
 all butchers and sellers of fresh meats were required by 
 law to keep their places of business in stalls provided for 
 the purpose. The stalls were rented to the butchers, 
 and quite a neat sum was realized each year by the town 
 from the rentals. The bell in the little tower — now used 
 
LIMITS EXTENDED 23 
 
 as a fire alarm — was rung each morning between four 
 and five o'clock to notify the people of Greensboro that 
 the market was open and ready for business. In those 
 days every one buying beef had to go or send for it, or 
 else they went without. 
 
 On January 25, 1856, an Act incorporating the South- 
 ern University was passed. Sections 4, 5, and 6 of this 
 Act forbids the sale of liquors within a radius of five 
 miles of Greensboro, except by druggists. Governor Win- 
 ston vetoed the bill, but the Legislature passed it over 
 his protest. 
 
 The exception in regard to druggists selling liquors was 
 soon taken advantage of, and for some years the drug 
 stores sold whiskey without apparent restraint. So fla- 
 grantly was the intent of the law violated, that at the ses- 
 sion of the Legislature 1884-5, the charter of the Univer- 
 sity was amended so as to prohibit the sale of liquor by 
 the druggists. For nearly a quarter of a century no liquor 
 has been legally sold in Greensboro. On January 1, 1887, 
 the entire county of Hale became prohibition territory by 
 Legislative enactment. 
 
 It was not until the year 1858 that the limits of the 
 town were extended beyond the original quarter section 
 and the Marast lot. Acting under Sections 1220 and 1225 
 of the then General Statutes of Alabama, a petition was 
 filed in the Probate Court of Greene county, praying that 
 the matter of extending the corporate limits of Greens- 
 boro might be submitted to a vote of the qualified electors 
 of said town. The territory designated as an addition 
 was the northeast, the southeast and southwest quarters 
 of Section 16. Considerable opposition to the proposed 
 addition developed, and the election was quite exciting. 
 However, the extensionists won, the vote standing sixty 
 for, and forty-two against extension. The territory an- 
 nexed came under the jurisdiction of the town authori- 
 ties in April, 1858. 
 
 In 1859, the charter was again amended so as to author- 
 
24 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 ize the imprisonment of white persons, and also made the 
 Intendant elective by the people instead of by the Council 
 as before. The office of marshal was also created. 
 
 On March 1st, 1870, an Act was approved by the Legis- 
 lature, by which all former Acts in regard to the Charter 
 of the town of Greensboro were repealed, and the powers 
 granted under the act of 1870, were regarded as the pow- 
 ers to be exercised by those in authority. New ordinances 
 and new by-laws were enacted by the Mayor and Council. 
 
 Finally the Legislature at its session of 1894-5 repeal- 
 ed all former Acts and gave the town its present char- 
 ter. The corporate limits as set forth and defined therein 
 are the same as the limits of today. The following is the 
 territory embraced in the corporation: The West half 
 of the Northwest quarter, the Southwest quarter and the 
 West half of the Southeast quarter of Section 16 ; the East 
 half and the Southwest quarter of Section 17 ; the North 
 half of the Northwest quarter, and the Northwest quar- 
 ter of the Northwest quarter of Section 20, and that part 
 of Section 21 lying north of a line beginning at the South- 
 east corner of the Southern University grounds and run- 
 ning West to the Section line between Sections 20 and 
 21, all in Township 20, Range 5, East. 
 
Chapter V 
 
 GINNING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 
 
 On the lot in the rear of Geo. Findlay's store stood, in 
 1830, a gin house and screw. The merchants bought cot- 
 ton in the seed and had it ginned, and the small planters 
 brought in their cotton to have it ginned for toll. The 
 merchants also bought much cotton in bales. Mobile was 
 the market to which it was shipped, and the shipping 
 point was what is now known as old Erie — not a house 
 being left to mark the site of the once flourishing town. 
 The hauling to Erie gave employment to a number of 
 professional white teamsters. The mule teams of these 
 wagoners, as well as the teams of the neighboring plant- 
 ers, were decorated with bells, high up over the hames, 
 bright and glistening, which, besides setting off the beau- 
 ty of the animals, made the streets musical and lively 
 by their merry jingle. 
 
 Sport in the Old Days. 
 
 In 1830, on the lot where now stands the handsome 
 three-story Opera House, there was located a wall-like 
 erection of plank supported by braces behind (say 30 
 feet long by 25 feet high) like one side of a building, for 
 the purpose of ball-play. The name of the game played 
 by the men of that distant period was "Fives," and dur- 
 ing the dull summer season, it was a very popular amuse- 
 ment. Base ball was one of the joys which the citizen- 
 ship of the long ago never knew, and therefore never 
 missed, just as the game of "Fives" is to the present gen- 
 eration. 
 
26 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 School Lands. 
 
 Up to 1832 the public school lands (the 16th section) 
 were rented out, and the proceeds applied to the schools. 
 On January 13th, 1832, they were sold at auction — John 
 M. Bates, Patrick May and Hugh McCann being the com- 
 missioners. The plat (which shows the location of the 
 roads at that time) with the names of the purchasers, 
 is recorded in Book E, page 511 Greene county deed re- 
 cords. After the sale, the lands were cultivated by the 
 owners, or rented out. Some of the lots — that for in- 
 stance on which stands the D. F. McCrary home, and oth- 
 ers in close proximity, rented for $12 per acre per year 
 for growing cotton. The land was rich and produced 
 very fine crops. 
 
 Killing of Dr. Hellen. 
 
 Up to twenty-five or thirty years ago, Greensboro bore 
 an unenviable reputation abroad for being a rowdy, tur- 
 bulent place, — a place where murders were frequently 
 committed. And it is a fact that there is hardly a corner 
 on the streets of the town where the soil has not been red- 
 dened with the life-blood of some hum.an being. There 
 were feuds and fights and killings that would have done 
 credit to a mountain county of Kentucky, But all that 
 passed away a quarter of a century ago, and in all the land 
 there is not to be found a more quiet, refined, peaceable 
 and lawabiding people. 
 
 It would require many pages to tell of the awful trag- 
 edies that have been enacted on the streets of the town. 
 We shall mention only one of the many occurrences. It 
 happened so far back that there is not a man now living 
 who has personal knowledge of the unfortunate affair, 
 but there are a few who have it from their fathers or 
 mothers. 
 
 On December 21, 1833, a special election for justice of 
 
KILLING OF DR. H ELLEN 27 
 
 the peace was being held in a store situated on the Stein- 
 hart corner. In those days the office was much sought 
 after, and the campaign on this occasion was very warm. 
 
 A man named John Street, a lawyer, was a candidate 
 for the position. During the progress of the election, 
 a young physician named Dr. J. S. W. Hellen, became 
 engaged in a quarrel with one of Street's brothers, and 
 blows and a tussle ensued on the sidewalk near the poll- 
 ing place. The fighting men were soon surrounded by 
 a crowd. John Street came to his brother's assistance. 
 Dr. Hellen broke loose from his antagonists, rushed into 
 the store, picked up a couple of scale weights, exclaiming: 
 "Let me get back to the d — n scoundrels!" and as he 
 went out of the door he fell dead on the sidewalk. An 
 examination showed that he had been fatally stabbed. 
 
 The Streets were arrested, and either placed under bond 
 or put in jail at Erie. They were indicted by the grand 
 jury for the murder of Hellen. Col. John Erwin, the 
 ablest lawyer in this section, was employed to defend 
 them. Owing to the feeling of the public against the men, 
 a change of venue was granted, and the trial took place 
 in Marengo county. Although there was a large number 
 of witnesses, no one could be found who knew which of 
 the Streets struck the fatal blow, and as they were tried 
 separately, both were acquitted. 
 
 At the time of his murder. Dr. Hellen was Worship- 
 ful Master of the Masonic Lodge in Greensboro, and was 
 buried with the honors of the Craft on December 22, 
 1833. The funeral services were held in the Presbyte- 
 rian Church — then located on the lot immediately in 
 front of the Greensboro Graded School. The funeral 
 sermon was delivered by Rev. John Ives. 
 
 Twenty or more years after the occurrence, there came 
 to Greensboro on business a man from North Carolina 
 named Brooks. He met Col. Erwin, the lawyer who had 
 defended the Streets, and in the course of the conversa- 
 tion he remarked that it was his first visit to Greensboro 
 
28 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 since Dr. Hellen was killed. The reference at once arous- 
 ed the interest of Col. Erwin, and he asked him what he 
 knew about the fight, and he said that he saw the entire 
 occurrence from beginning to end, and that he saw the 
 man when he made the fatal stab at Hellen. "The man," 
 continued Brooks, "reached over while the two men were 
 clinched and plunged his knife into Hellen with all his 
 might. He quickly withdrew it from Hellen's body, wiped 
 the blade on the leg of his trousers, and walked off around 
 the corner. He was a tall, slender fellow. The next 
 time I saw him he was standing on the corner (near the 
 present Lichtman store) dressed in an entirely different 
 suit of clothes, but I recognized him as the man who did 
 the killing." 
 
 This, declared the lawyer, was the first time that he 
 knew certainly which one of the Streets struck the fatal 
 blow, and from the description of the man given by 
 Brooks he then knew that John Street was the person. 
 
Chapter VI 
 
 DIVISION OF GREENSBORO IN THE EARLY 
 YEARS OF ITS EXISTENCE. 
 
 A few years prior to 1830, Greensborough was divided 
 into three imaginary wards, known as "The White Set- 
 tlement," "The Black Settlement," and "Dogsboro." A 
 diligent search failed to reveal the reason for the names. 
 The reader is left to judge of the appropriateness of each 
 by a description of the various wards. 
 
 The boundaries of the White Settlement were from 
 Centreville street on the east to the street immediately 
 east of the Greensboro hotel on the west — in other words, 
 the two blocks east from the hotel. In this Settlement 
 was a two-story frame hotel, painted white, located where 
 the court house now stands. Opposite, was an imposing- 
 looking (for those days) frame house, the residence of 
 Dr. Hunter. The house is yet standing, but has been 
 added to in the rear, and is known as the Gewin hotel. 
 Further on towards the west, on either side of the street, 
 were buildings variously occupied — two dry goods stores, 
 in one of which was the postoffice, a tinner's shop, a tail- 
 or's shop, a lawyer's office, a printing office and two 
 dwellings. 
 
 From the street east of the Greensboro hotel to Tusca- 
 loosa street on the west was known as the Black Settle- 
 ment. Within these limits were four or five dry goods 
 stores, two liquor saloons, two lawyers' offices and three 
 dwellings. On the Powers' corner stood a one-story dou- 
 ble log cabin, kept as a hotel, its swinging sign a stag. 
 Scarff's cabinet shop and residence stood where the large 
 
30 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 two-story brick store stands at the corner of Tuscaloosa 
 and Main Streets— built in 1887 by Capt. S. T. Taylor— 
 by the way, the first brick structure that had been erected 
 in the town long before the civil war. Opposite the 
 Scarff building was a red frame house, a hotel, kept by 
 Maj. A. L. DesCourt, a French refugee, who had served 
 under the first Napoleon, and participated in the battle 
 of Waterloo ; further up, on the same side of the street, 
 was a store and a tailor's shop. 
 
 Dogsboro extended from Tuscaloosa street on the east 
 to the Stollenwerck old homestead on the west — the west- 
 ern boundary line being the corporate limits of the town. 
 In Dogsboro stood the village blacksmith shop (Coleman 
 W. Garrett, proprietor). It was located near the west cor- 
 ner of the present Methodist church lot, about as far 
 back from the street as the church stands. 
 
 The passage of the years and the earnest endeavors of 
 good people work wonderful changes. The progress of 
 civilization is to be noted by the churches and schools 
 along the pathway. Back in the days referred to, when 
 Dogsboro precinct was in its glory, near where stands 
 the Methodist church was a two-story frame store, which 
 was used from 1833 to 1836, at the time of the races, as 
 an open gambling house. It was filled with faro tables 
 and gambling devices of many kinds, and the visitors 
 to the place were numerous, and large sums were lost 
 and won on the result of the races and around the gam- 
 ing tables. The officers of the law paid no attention to 
 such diversions, and gambling and horse-racing went on 
 undisturbed. This house was occupied for a few years 
 after 1836 by Levin Gayle as a dry goods store. In 1839, 
 the lot was sold to the Methodists of Greensboro, and 
 a church was erected thereon the next year. 
 
 Princely Gambling. 
 
 As noted above, gambling in the early days of this sec- 
 
PRINCELY GAMBLING 31 
 
 tion was very common and considered quite a respect- 
 able occupation, and men of the highest standing, measur- 
 ed by the moral standard of the age, engaged in it and wa- 
 gered princely fortunes on the turn of a card. To illus- 
 trate the reckless daring of those who sat at the gaming 
 table in the days referred to, the following true incident 
 is related : 
 
 Some time in the year 1833, there went aboard one of 
 the magnificent steam-boats on the Alabama at Mobile, 
 a young man, (whom we shall call Brown) on his way 
 home at a point higher up^he river. He had spent sever- 
 al days in the city transacting business, and was return- 
 ing with a very large sum of money to be used in the con- 
 duct of his business as a merchant. After selecting his 
 state-room and looking to the safety of his baggage, he 
 leisurely strolled about and made the acquaintance of his 
 fellow passengers. He was of good address, handsome 
 and well educated. He found, to his intense disgust, that 
 he was so unfortunate as to have taken passage with 
 quite a large anl accomplished set of gamblers. They 
 were going up the river on a "professional tour." 
 
 No sooner was the steamer well under way before these 
 gamblers brought forth the implements of their profes- 
 sion. Faro, roulette and various other gambling devices 
 were exhibited to tempt the unwary to risk their money. 
 At first, many of the passengers objected to having the 
 cabin turned into a gambling hell; but the professionals 
 were loud in their claims that they played on the square, 
 and assured those who objected that if one of their num- 
 ber should be caught cheating, the stakes should be for- 
 feited and he put off on the nearest land. After this, no 
 further objection was made, and the numerous games 
 went on without interruption. 
 
 By some means the gamblers found out that Brown 
 had a large sum of money with him and they constantly 
 besought him to ''try his luck," but he firmly declined 
 all invitations. But one evening after supper, tiring of 
 
32 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 their solicitations he yielded, and consented to make one 
 of a party of four who were about to sit down to a game 
 of cards for small stakes. 
 
 For a while, no special interest attached to the game, 
 — it seemed tame and uninteresting, and the parties ap- 
 peared to be evenly matched in point of skill. But as the 
 game progressed, the professionals discovered that Brown 
 was no novice at the card table, for he was able to hold 
 his hand with the best. Larger sums were staked as the 
 hours passed. Two of the professionals, either unable 
 or unwilling to risk such amounts as were being bet with- 
 drew from the game. Brown and one of the gamblers, 
 however, still retained their seats, and with eager faces 
 and shaking hands continued to play. All the **banks" 
 were deserted, and every one in the cabin gathered 
 around the table and in breathless silence watched the 
 game. Fortune was favoring Brown, and he won stake 
 after stake, when the professional, with a fierce oath, 
 dashed down the cards and challenged him to give him his 
 revenge with dice, to which proposition Brown assented. 
 
 The dice and cups were produced, and the now thor- 
 oughly excited men again bet their money, but not with 
 the same result. Brown was the loser in every throw. 
 He now seemed wild and beside himself with excitement. 
 He doubled every time, until no less than ten thousand 
 dollars lay upon the table to be won or lost on a single 
 throw of the dice. Again the gambler was successful. 
 Brown sprang from his chair, and telling his antagonist 
 to remain where he was, repaired to his state-room and 
 returning in a few minutes, threw upon the table a large 
 roll of bank bills, saying to the gambler : 
 
 "You have already won from me over fifteen thousand 
 dollars. The money I have just placed upon the table re- 
 presents double that amount. I dare you to put up a like 
 sum and let the ownership of the whole be decided by a 
 single cast!" 
 
PRINCELY GAMBLING 33 
 
 The gambler, without hesitation, expressed his willing- 
 ness to do so, but declared that he did not have so much 
 money as that. The deficiency, however, was soon made 
 up by his partners, and the two men prepared to resume 
 the game. Lying near Brown was a large carving fork 
 which the waiter had neglected to take from the table 
 when he had cleared it that evening, and as he resumed 
 his seat he carelessly, and apparently accidently, drew 
 this fork close to his side. 
 
 A breathless silence pervaded the entire room. Men 
 stood aghast at the tremendous nerve of the two players. 
 Sixty thousand dollars to be won or lost on a single throw 
 of the dice ! 
 
 Brown seized the cup, and shaking the dice violently 
 for a moment, dashed them before him. Those who were 
 in sympathy with him could hardly suppress a cry of 
 exultation as they saw that he had thrown double fives — 
 within one of the highest number it is possible to make. 
 
 The professionals cast uneasy glances at each other, 
 but the gambler who was playing with Brown only smiled 
 scornfully, and drew the dice towards him. However, 
 just as he was placing them in the box, they slipped from 
 his fingers and fell upon the floor. 
 
 In an instant, he stooped and recovered them, but as he 
 reached forth his hand to take the cup. Brown, whose eyes 
 had a fixed and determined look, and had never for an in- 
 stant been off him, suddenly seized the fork, and with a 
 movement as quick as that of a rattlesnake, drove the 
 sharp prongs through the wrist of the gambler, literally 
 pinning it to the table, and at the same time presented 
 a cocked pistol full at his head. There was a fearful yell 
 from the wounded man, and a volley of oaths from his 
 companions. Half a dozen weapons were instantly plant- 
 ed at the breast of Brown. He was, however, equal to 
 the occasion. Not a muscle of his face moved, and his 
 voice was as calm and undisturbed as if in ordinary con- 
 versation as he said : 
 
34 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 "One moment, gentlemen. You yourselves have de- 
 clared that should one of your number be detected in foul 
 play, that the stakes should be forfeited and he summari- 
 ly punished. If the dice under the hand I have pinned 
 down on this table are not false, then do with me as you 
 please. If, however, my assertion is correct, I demand 
 the fulfilment of your pledge." 
 
 By this time every male passenger on the boat had col- 
 lected around the table, and the gamblers saw by their 
 looks and drawn pistols that they were not to be trifled 
 with. So they were forced, reluctantly, to admit the 
 truth of Brown's statement. 
 
 The gambler was held securely in his chair, the fork 
 withdrawn, and the dice examined. They were found 
 to be loaded. The true pair were concealed up his sleeve. 
 His fate was sealed. In spite of desperate resistance, 
 strong arms stripped him of his weapons, forced him 
 into a boat and rowed him to the nearest land — a low 
 sand bank entirely surrounded by the rapidly rising river. 
 Upon this island, deaf to his piteous appeals, they left 
 him, and the steamer resumed her course up the river. 
 
 But long after those on board had lost sight of him, 
 there came to their ears through the black darkness of 
 the night, wild cries and fierce denunciations from the 
 doomed gambler who had been left upon the lonely sand 
 bank, which was soon to be swept by the angry waters 
 of the swollen river. 
 
 Brown hid his face in his hands and wept like a child. 
 Strong men turned pale as they heard, above the dash of 
 the ponderous wheels of the steamer and the rush of the 
 waters, the despairing wails of the man of whose fate 
 there could be no doubt, — for the strongest swimmer 
 could not for a moment stem that fearful torrent, and to 
 remain upon the bank was but to choose a lingering and 
 more fearful death. 
 
 There was no more gambling on board the boat that 
 night; and at the first landing reached next day most of 
 
PRINCELY GAMBLING 
 
 35 
 
 the passengers left her, fleeing as if from some place ac- 
 cursed. Among those who left was Brown. 
 
 It would be profitless to follow him further, for the 
 reason that this incident is simply noted in order that 
 the present generation, and that to follow, may have 
 some idea to what extent men went at the card table in 
 the olden days when gambling was considered a proper 
 and respectable occupation. 
 
Chapter VII 
 
 NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 COL. JOHN G. HARVEY, 
 
 A Graduate of West Point Military Academy, and who was editor 
 of the Alabama Beacon for fifty-five years. 
 
 As early as 1824, and presumably earlier, there was a 
 newspaper published in Greensboro called "The Hal- 
 cyon," and so far as the record goes, it was the first 
 publication ever issued in the town. It was edited by 
 Thomas Eastin. It was a four column sheet, — dimen- 
 sions 22 1-2 by 17 1-2 inches. In 1825, Mr Eastin, 
 merged "The Halcyon" into the "Greene County Patriot," 
 
NEWSPAPERS 37 
 
 which was also a small four-page paper, and printed it 
 continuously for several years. 
 
 From an issue of "The Halcyon" dated April 24th, 
 1824, is to be noted an act of Congress for the "better 
 organization of the District Court of the United States 
 for the District of Alabama, approved March 8, 1824, by 
 James Monroe, It also contains an act of the Legislature 
 of Alabama authorizing the Governor and five Commis- 
 sioners to effect a State loan of $100,000, by the issuance 
 and sale of State bonds. The proceeds to be used as cap- 
 ital in the State Bank then about to be established. 
 
 Israel Pickens was then Governor, and Jas. J. Pleas- 
 ants Secretary of State. 
 
 Among the advertisments in this paper, are the follow- 
 ing: 
 
 Several lots in Demopolis, advertised by Walter Cren- 
 shaw, Joseph B. Earle, Geo. S. Gaines and James Chil- 
 dress, Commissioners. 
 
 A town ordinance "to prevent the burning of coal-kilns 
 within the corporate limits" of Greensboro, — signed by 
 E. Clement, Intendant. 
 
 A notice by T. C. H. Gantt, Sheriff of Greene County, 
 
 "Hitchcock's Alabama Justice of the Peace," for sale 
 by F. & E. Peck. 
 
 "Law Notice," by John Erwin. 
 
 "New Goods," by D. W. Edgerly & Co. 
 
 "Caution," by Theophilus Eddins, and another, of a 
 similar character, by John Stokes. 
 
 "Executors' Notice," by Stephen Cook and John Cole- 
 man. 
 
 "Groceries For Sale," by Franklin Robinson, 
 
 Notice of administration on the estate of Stephen Her- 
 rin, dec'd., by Thos. C. Gantt, Adm'r. 
 
 The following notice of the Mobile cotton market ap- 
 pears: "Prime, 13 l-2c. — Fair, 12@12 l-2c. Inferior, 
 12 1-2@ll-l-2." 
 
 "The Halcyon" and "The Patriot" were the first papers 
 
38 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 ever printed in the town, and their weekly advent was 
 looked forward to with great interest by subscribers, and 
 others. In those days, and even down to a much later 
 date, there was no personal mention of goings and com- 
 ings of the citizens, nor any reports of dances, card par- 
 ties, meetings of Women's Clubs, etc. Indeed, it was the 
 rule with the editors of the olden time to strenuously 
 avoid the mention of the name of a lady in their publica- 
 tions. One of the editors belonging to the old regime — 
 Col. John G. Harvey — told the writer that he thought no 
 lady's name should ever appear in the public print ex- 
 cept on two occasions, to-wit : When she married and 
 when she died. And that was the idea entertained on the 
 subject by nearly all the editors of fifty or more years 
 ago. Could they come forth from their graves and take 
 only a hasty glance at the average publication of to-day, 
 they would be shocked beyond measure, and possibly 
 think that we had fallen upon degenerate times. 
 
 In July, 1833, The Greene County Sentinel was estab- 
 lished in Greensboro by Daniel F. Brown. It was a five 
 column, four page paper, and was well patronized by the 
 citizens of Greene county and of Mobile in the way of 
 advertising. The subscription was three dollars per year, 
 or four dollars if the subscriber waited until the end of 
 the year to pay the bill. We have before us a copy of the 
 Sentinel of December 26, 1835. It contains such names 
 of former residents of the town as Young Bohannan, who 
 offers "A Reward of $5.00 for the return of a Hound Dog 
 with the end of his tail cut off";" Doctors McCann & 
 Thompson who offer their professional services to the 
 people; William W. Jackson, notifies all persons not to 
 purchase a certain note of hand which he had given B. H. 
 Covington ; Dr. Wm. P. Murphy tenders his services to 
 the people of Greensboro and vicinity, and advertises 
 his office "at the residence of Mr. John G. Harvey op- 
 posite Mr. Gayle's store;" Webb & Dugger advertise their 
 mercantile business, as do also J. & G. Noble ; Wm. Myatt,. 
 
NEWSPAPERS 39 
 
 Secretary of Lafayette Masonic Lodge, gives notice that 
 there will be a Masonic and citizen's ball given at the 
 Warrior House in Greensboro on the night of December 
 28th, 1835 ; Chas. Whelan advertises new and fashion- 
 able clothing, and Locke & Lowry, were merchant tail- 
 ors in Greensboro seventy odd years ago; various tracts 
 of land are offered for sale by John F. Sossaman, W. P. 
 Brown, Wm. B. Lightfoot, George S. Dugger, John Car- 
 ter, James S. Jones, Wm. F. Monett, James Yeates and 
 others. The following advertisement from the Sentinel 
 will prove to be something unusual to the reader of the 
 present generation : 
 
 "Public Auction — Will be sold in the Town of Greensborough, on 
 the 8th day of January, 1836, to the highest bidder, 6 Likely Ne- 
 groes, consisting of two Men, three Women and one Boy; all of 
 which are choice field hands. Tei'ms made known on the day of 
 sale. GULEELMUS WOOD." 
 
 The Sentinel passed into the hands of Thomas DeWolf, 
 who retained possession of it for a year or so, and then 
 sold out to one McCormic, and he in turn sold the paper 
 to John B. Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse tired of the news- 
 paper business, and sold the plant to Charles Briggs, and 
 in 1840 left Greensboro and became a Purser in the U. 
 S. Navy. He died in Philadelphia, June 22, 1874, aged 
 62 years. He was on the retired list of the Navy at the 
 time of his death. During The Sentinel's varied career 
 its name was changed by some one of its owners to The 
 Alabama Beacon — subscription $5.00 per year in advance 
 — under which title Col. John G. Harvey purchased it in 
 1843 and continued its publication until his death, July 
 3, 1890, when the paper passed into the hands of Jas. W. 
 Bondurant, who in a year or two sold it to H. G. Benners 
 and Edwin S. Jack. Mr. Benners soon purchased Mr. 
 Jack's interest, and was from 1893 to 1908 the editor and 
 publisher, but in the latter year he leased it to Geo. K. 
 Keady, and returned to the practice of the law. The ca- 
 reer of The Beacon has been a long and honorable one. 
 
40 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 and is linked with the history of the town for nearly 
 three-quarters of a century. 
 
 The Alabama Republican was the name of a paper that 
 was published in Greensboro by Thomas DeWolf in 1839. 
 How long it survived, we do not know, and of its his- 
 tory we could learn nothing. 
 
 In the year 1835 there was published in Greensboro a 
 paper called the Beacon Light of Liberty, but as to its 
 history we are in ignorance, nor could we ascertain any 
 facts in regard to it. Back in those days the county offi- 
 cials were not required to keep bound file copies of all 
 newspapers published in the county, as is now the case, 
 and it is a very great pity that such a law was not in force 
 at that time, for the history of the progress or retrogre- 
 sion of any town or city in Alabama might be accurately 
 written by a study of these old papers — for the papers 
 then, as now, largely reflected the life of the communities 
 in which they were published. In reference to the Beacon 
 Light of Liberty, one might naturally suppose that the 
 Alabama Beacon was the outgrowth of this publication, 
 but the facts related above in regard to The Beacon were 
 obtained from Col. John G. Harvey, who owned and edit- 
 ed it so long, and a more accurate and painstaking man 
 in his statement of matters of fact could not be found. 
 
 In May, 1830, Jacob I. Cribbs conducted the Greene 
 County Gazette at Erie. If the old saying to the effect 
 that "the good die young" is applicable to newspapers, 
 The Gazette m.ust have been a very proper and well-be- 
 haved periodical, for its existence extended over a period 
 of only three years. 
 
 In November, 1876, W. C. Garrett established The 
 Southern Watchman in Greensboro, which he conducted 
 for several years, and then sold the plant to Alex H. Wil- 
 liams, who owned and edited it until his death in Novem- 
 ber, 1885. The paper was then purchased by Wm. E. 
 W. Yerby, the present editor and proprietor of The 
 Greensboro Watchman — Mr. Yerby changing the name 
 
NEWSPAPERS 41 
 
 from The Southern Watchman to The Greensboro Watch- 
 man — thus giving the paper the distinction and honor of 
 being the first publication ever named for the town of 
 Greensboro. 
 
 In 1902, The Greensboro Record Company established 
 the Greensboro Record — Geo. K. Ready and Lee M. Otts 
 editors and publishers. Mr. Ready severed his connec- 
 tion with the Record in the course of a couple of years, 
 and Mr. Otts has continued its publication to the present 
 time. 
 
 It will be seen from the foregoing that Greensboro 
 has not at any time been without a newspaper during 
 the past eighty-five years. 
 
 To recapitulate : The list is as follows : The Halcyon, 
 The Greene County Patriot, The Beacon Light of Liberty, 
 The Greene County Sentinel, The Alabama Republican, 
 The Alabama Beacon, The Greensboro Watchman, The 
 Greensboro Record — a total of eight. 
 
 The editors of the papers mentioned above have been, 
 during the eighty-five years, as follows: Thomas Eas- 
 tin, Daniel F. Brown, Thomas DeWolf, Mr. McCormic, 
 John B. Rittenhouse, Charles Briggs, John G. Harvey, 
 W. C. Garrett, Alex H. Williams, Wm. E. W. Yerby, Jas. 
 W. Bondurant, H. G. Benners, Edwin S. Jack, George R. 
 Ready, Lee M. Otts — a total of fifteen. 
 
Chapter VIII 
 
 THE GREENSBORO GUARDS. 
 
 COL. ALLEN C. JONES, 
 
 Who was the first Captain of the Greensboro Guards, — and after- 
 wards Colonel of the 5th Alabama Regiment C. S. A. 
 
 The following is a complete list of the old Greensboro 
 Guards, Company D, Fifth Alabama Regiment, Confed- 
 erate States of America. This company, numbering 209, 
 left Greensboro for the war on the first day of May, 1861, 
 and served heroically in the fearful struggle from Bull 
 Run to Appomattox : 
 
THE GREENSBORO GUARDS 
 
 43 
 
 OFFICERS: 
 
 Allen C. Jones, Captain. 
 Gid Nelson, First Lieutenant. 
 M. L. Dedman, Second Lieutenant. 
 E. L. Hobson, Third Lieutenant. 
 John F. Christian, First Sergeant. 
 Joe Borden, Second Sergeant, 
 Samuel Cowin, Third Sergeant. 
 J. D. Webb, Jr., Fourth Sergeant. 
 Gid G. Wescott, First Corporal. 
 Jonathan Williams, Second Corporal. 
 E. Pompey Jones, Third Corporal. 
 W. J. McDonald, Fourth Corporal. 
 
 A. H. Moore, 
 Robert Jeffries, 
 John Madison, 
 J. P. Moore, 
 
 J. A. Grigg, 
 J. M. Brown, 
 S. V. Webb, 
 T. C. Hill, 
 
 C. T. Briggs, 
 R. S. McCall, 
 J. W. Wynne, 
 R. B. Price, 
 Gilliam James, 
 W. A. Lanier, 
 W. A. McCall, 
 
 B. A. Carter, 
 W. J. Jones, 
 
 A. B. Chapman, 
 Robert Lanier, 
 
 D. T. Webster, 
 Carter Adams, 
 Joe Sample, 
 W. C. Tunstall, 
 W. G. Britton 
 J. W. Crowell, 
 P. H. Lavender, 
 J. W. Locke, 
 W. T. Jackson, 
 W. A. Simms, 
 W. D. Miller, 
 T. B. Rowland, 
 W. R. Hooper, 
 
 PRIVATES : 
 
 D. J. Briggs, 
 
 B. A. Butler, 
 
 R. A. Chadwick, 
 W. W. Long, 
 Wm. Clifton, 
 Henry Fowler, 
 W. F. Bulger, 
 J. J. Givins, 
 
 E. T. Hutchinson, 
 M. H. Jones, 
 
 G. W. Layne, 
 James Pickens, 
 J. C. Ray, 
 J. Renki, 
 R. H. Simonds, 
 Robert Avery, 
 H. C. Stephenson, 
 R. H. Trawick, 
 Ed Nutting, 
 T. F. Ward, 
 J. L. Youngblood, 
 A. C. Waddell, 
 J. W. Parker, 
 W. Y. Idom, 
 Max Marxtine, 
 W. B. Moorman 
 
 C. Badenhausen, 
 R. H. Adams, 
 G. T. Price, 
 Robt. Paulding, 
 Peter Huggins, 
 E. T. Pasteur, 
 
 S. J. Durrough, 
 J. J. Wright, 
 S. M. Willingham, 
 Henry Beck, 
 J. C. Orick, 
 Tom Frierson, 
 
 D. G. Williams, 
 
 E. Y. Idom, 
 A. A. Sledge, 
 Will McCrary, 
 Wm. Elliott, 
 Lige Lawrence, 
 H. T. Hollen, 
 Louis Elias, 
 W. J. Madison, 
 C. C. Sheldon, 
 
 A. G. Ward, 
 Wm. Ellison, 
 J. C. Morris, 
 J. H. Bayol, 
 W. W. McNeil, 
 W. J. A. Little, 
 L. S. Bostick, 
 James McGee, 
 
 B. H. Sheron, 
 R. Moore, 
 Henry Christian, 
 J. W. Clements, 
 J. W. Parrish, 
 John Wells, 
 Buck Adams, 
 Jack Craddock, 
 
44 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 J. E. Webb, 
 
 M. S. Ramsey, 
 
 Lee Whelan, 
 
 T. G. Moore, 
 
 H. G. Geddie, 
 
 W. S. Cowin, 
 
 B. F. Sadler, 
 
 F. A. Borden, 
 
 H. M. Chadwick, 
 
 E. T. Martin, 
 
 John Warren, 
 
 J. K. Elliott, 
 
 Jas. M. Jack, 
 
 S. B. Jackson, 
 
 Wm. N. Knight, 
 
 J. L. Wright, 
 
 F. S. Huggins, 
 
 Tink Kennedy, 
 
 W. G. Hafner, 
 
 W. L. Kennedy, 
 
 L. M. Wildey, 
 
 W. N. Glover, 
 
 W. S. Duffie, 
 
 J. C. McNeil, 
 
 S. W. Chadwick, 
 
 George Nutting, 
 
 J. H. Lee. 
 
 D. E. Bailey, 
 
 C. James, 
 
 C. L. Williams, 
 
 Jas. Burton, 
 
 J. D. Webb. Jr. 
 
 N. B. Jones, 
 
 D. L. Carroll, 
 
 R. H. Hardaway, 
 
 W. R. Thomas, 
 
 H. R. Childress, 
 
 Tom Perren, 
 
 W. H. Allen, 
 
 J. W. Chiles, 
 
 G. W. Holston, 
 
 J. T. Knowlen, 
 
 J. A. Farrior, 
 
 John Carberry, 
 
 F. E. Bayol, 
 
 W. H. Willinffham, 
 
 John Sample, 
 
 A. R. Morris, 
 
 A. J. Geislin, 
 
 B. McCrary, 
 
 W. R. Quarles, 
 
 C. J. Hausman, 
 
 W. C. Croom, 
 
 Dud Logan, 
 
 A. Jackson, 
 
 J. A. Hester, 
 
 Stan Jawicki, 
 
 Sam Wright, 
 
 W. W. Borden, 
 
 J. M. Martin, 
 
 Sam Pickens, 
 
 A. G. Coleman, 
 
 Sam Wright, 
 
 W. M. Pope, 
 
 John Adams, 
 
 W. B. Haden, 
 
 J. C. Roberts, 
 
 J. M. Johnson, 
 
 Ezra Foster, 
 
 Thomas Rhodes, 
 
 J. E. Wheeler, 
 
 J. W. Sanders, 
 
 R. H. Pickering, 
 
 L. P. Wall, 
 
 C. E. Owens, 
 
 D. H. Sellers, 
 
 G. W. Wilson, 
 
 T. W. Walthall, 
 
 Wm. Stokes, 
 
 J. L. Boardman, 
 
 Coal Hargrove, 
 
 J. S. Tucker, 
 
 J. C. McDermaide, 
 
 Sterling Speed, 
 
 L. Ullman, 
 
 J. E. Griggs, 
 
 Wm. Tinker, 
 
 J. B. Youngblood, 
 
 L. D. Southworth, 
 
 Wm. Seldon, 
 
 W. D. Woodruff, 
 
 J. N. C. Herran, 
 
 J. E. Wilson, 
 
 J. P. Arrington, 
 
 J. F. Jackson, 
 
 C. A. Sheldon, 
 
 W. D. Witherspoon, 
 
 W. H. Sheldon, 
 
 Charles Hafner. 
 
 D. Bai'num, 
 
 J. H. Cowin, 
 
 
 Total membership — 209. 
 
 Allen C. Jones of this company rose to the rank of 
 Colonel of the 5th Alabama Regiment. The Confederate 
 Veterans' Camp of Greensboro is named in his honor. 
 This Camp was organized May 25, 1889. Col. Jones died 
 at his home in Greensboro on January 9, 1894, at the age 
 of 82 years. 
 
 The following is a list of Confederate officers who 
 served during the war whose residence was in Greens- 
 boro and Hale county : 
 
 Col. A. C. Jones, 5th Alabama Infantry; Col. Syden- 
 ham Moore, 11th Alabama Infantry; Col. Lemuel Hatch, 
 8th Alabama Cavalry; Col. E. L. Hobson, 5th Alabama 
 
COMPANY ORGANIZED IN 1864 
 
 45 
 
 Infantry; Maj. James D. Webb, 51st Alabama Cavalry; 
 Maj. D. T. Webster, 5th Alabama; Maj. John G. Harris, 
 20th Alabama; Capt. Wm. N. Knight, 20th Alabama; 
 Capt. Noah H. Gewin, 20th Alabama; Capt. A. M. Avery, 
 20th Alabama; Capt. James A. Wemyss, 36th Alabama; 
 Capt. J. W. A. Wright, 36th Alabama; Capt. John H. 
 Turpin, 28th Alabama; Capt. F. M. Moore, Lieutenants 
 H. C. Childress, J. M. Dedman, John F. Christian, E. P. 
 
 COL. SYDENHAM MOORE. 
 
 u^ ,,r^« ('nlnnel of the 11th Alabama Regiment. Born May 25, 
 
 ^' TsiT inS died in Richmond, Va . August 30, 1862, from 
 
 wounds leceived in the Battle of Seven Pmes. He was the 
 
 7ather of Mrl Harris T. Waller, of Greensboro. Ala., and also 
 
 of Rittenhouse Moore, of Mobile. 
 
 Jones B S Evans, Dan H. Britton, A. H. Hutchinson, 
 Gideon E Nelson, W. C. Tunstall, Thomas J. Hatch, Joe 
 Borden; Thomas A. Hatch, adj't 36th Alabama. 
 
 In 1864 when the Confederacy was m desperate 
 straits for' soldiers, Wm. H. King of Marion, recruited 
 
46 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 a company of boys between the ages of 16 and 18 years 
 in the counties of Hale, Greene and Perry. Those who 
 went from Greensboro and Hale county were: 
 
 OFFICERS: 
 
 Wm. H. King, Captain, 
 Blaney Brand, First Lieutenant. 
 James Tunstall, Second Lieutenant. 
 Syd Woods, Third Lieutenant. 
 Thomas Seay, First Sergeant. 
 Thomas J. Happel, Second Sergeant. 
 Aaron Lawson, Third Sergeant. 
 Henry Boardman, Fourth Sergeant. 
 E. A. Powers, First Corporal. 
 Russell Lawless, Second Corporal. 
 Dave Perry, Third Corporal. 
 Joe Davis, Fourth Corporal. 
 
 Warren E. Kennedy, 
 Frank E. Robinson, 
 William Tidmore, 
 J. N. Chapman, 
 Peyton McDonald, 
 James Terry, 
 William Stewart, 
 William H. Sims, 
 Henry Stevens, 
 
 PRIVATES: 
 
 Marion Wilburn, 
 Garland Phipps, 
 Lon Ramey, 
 Cap. Stevens, 
 Fred Latner, 
 Joe Grimes, 
 Lum Sims, 
 Sam Lee 
 A. J. Miller, 
 Enoch Herren, 
 
 Wilkins W. Sims, 
 Charles W. Johnson, 
 William Chapman, 
 H. H. Johnson, 
 John Owens, 
 James Clements, 
 Jake Johnson, 
 William Ting^le, 
 Tom Smith, 
 Tom Herren, 
 
 This company left Greensboro in June, 1864, and 
 joined Lockhart's Battalion at Selma. Later, after see- 
 ing actual service at Chehaw, they were organized into 
 the 62nd Regiment, Infantry, Daniel Huger of Mobile, 
 Colonel. Fort Gaines surrendered to the Federals in 
 August, 1864, and the boys were made prisoners of war 
 and sent to New Orleans, where they remained until 
 November of the same year, and were then sent to Ship 
 Island, where they remained until January, 1865, when 
 they were exchanged and joined their old command at 
 Mobile. 
 
WOMEN OF THE CONFEDERACY 47 
 
 These gallant companies made a record during the 
 war between the States of which their native town and 
 county are justly proud. Many of the soldiers fell on the 
 battle field, and the great majority of those who returned 
 to their homes have died during the intervening period 
 of nearly half a century. 
 
 Their hopes and spirits were high when they left for 
 the front, carrying with them the blessings and prayers 
 of loved ones and friends. They felt that they were go- 
 ing out to fame and triumph, and left with joy and glad- 
 ness to serve their native land. But their going forth 
 and the return of those who were spared from the shot 
 and shell of battle and the ravages of disease, was in 
 great contrast. 
 
 "Going out with hopes of glory, coming in with 
 
 sorrows dark; 
 Going out with banners flying, coming in with 
 
 mastless bark." 
 
 But they returned not to sit idly down and lament over 
 their great misfortunes, but went heroically to work 
 to retrieve their fallen fortunes and to meet the changed 
 conditions that had come to the land they loved so well. 
 
 The Women of the Confederacy. 
 
 And through it all — through the four years of bitter 
 warfare — who was it that aided them most faithfully 
 and loyally? Who was it that really bore the larger 
 share of sorrow and suffering incident upon the cruel 
 strife? Was it not the fair and beautiful women of 
 the Southland? 
 
 They were loyally true to the cause of their country, 
 and thought no sacrifice too great for them to make for 
 the men and boys who were at the front fighting for 
 their homes and loved ones. 
 
 As illustrative of the spirit of the Southern women 
 
48 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 during the dark period of war, the following letter to 
 the Greensboro Beacon of April 25th, 1862, and signed 
 "A Rebel Daughter of Alabama," is copied : 
 
 "Greensboro, Alabama, April 22d, 1862. 
 
 "Col Harvey: Whilst our fathers, brothers and friends contend 
 on the gory fields for the rights of freemen, we would gladly as- 
 sist in every way within the sphere of woman's influence. Will- 
 ingly will we deny ourselves the luxuries of life — aye, even the 
 bare necessities — and count us happy to be able to aid them in 
 the glorious cause of our country's independence. We claim a 
 share in the lives of our brave countrymen; they are fighting 
 for our common, rights — we with willing hearts, if feeble hands, 
 are engaged in the soul-inspiring cause. We expect not, nor do 
 we wish a voice in the councils of our nation; ours is not the am- 
 bition that would grasp the sword and take our places in the 
 serried ranks of the battle field; we would only labor that our sol- 
 diers lack nothing that can be provided, and pray that our faith 
 in the God of Battles may be undiminished in the hour of adversity. 
 
 (Signed) "A REBEL DAUGHTER OF ALABAMA." 
 
 This was the spirit that animated the women of the 
 South and gave faith and courage to the men at the 
 front. 
 
 The women of the South toiled unceasingly for the 
 soldier boys ; they nursed them in sickness, wept when 
 they died, and even down to this distant day they scatter 
 choicest flowers on their graves with each recurring 
 springtime; they begged for them; they sewed and knit- 
 ted for them; they suffered, uncomplainingly, hardships, 
 losses and privations; they wore "homespun" dresses; 
 they made their own hats from palmetto; they made 
 their own shoes, and knitted their own gloves and stock- 
 ings; they drank cofi'ee made of wheat, okra or parched 
 sweet potatoes, and tea made of raspberry leaves. They 
 cared for the children and slaves, and in many instances 
 superintended the plantations. 
 
 And such women as these have been called indolent 
 and self-indulgent, incapable of meeting the hard, stern 
 realities of the world! In the annals of the past there 
 will not be found a record of more helpful, energetic, 
 
MEXICAN WAR VETERANS 49 
 
 courageous, self-reliant women than those of the South 
 in the dark and gloomy days of adversity. 
 
 While their hopes and endeavors were in vain, yet they 
 had the proud satisfaction of knowing that they had dis- 
 charged their duty faithfully, and that their endeavors 
 were in the interest of the cause of which Earl Derby 
 wrote : 
 
 "No nation rose so white and fair, 
 None fell so free of crime." 
 
 Mexican War Veterans. 
 
 In 1846 the United States and Mexico got into a dis- 
 pute about the boundary line of Texas — Texas claiming 
 the Rio Grande as the southwestern limit of her boun- 
 dary, and Mexico contending that the line was the 
 Uneces. A two years' war was the result of the dis- 
 agreement, at the end of which period Mexico was whip- 
 ped and signed a treaty of peace, in which she ceded all 
 the land claimed by Texas, and also the territory com- 
 prising New Mexico, Arizona and California — for the 
 latter territory the United States generously paid Mexico 
 sixteen and a half million dollars. 
 
 There were a number of Greensboro people who took 
 part in what is known as the "Mexican War." Captain 
 Andrew L. Pickens organized a company of volunteers 
 in Hale county, the company being composed of 108 mem- 
 bers. It left Greensboro for the war on the 27th day 
 of May, 1846. Those who joined the Greensboro "Inde- 
 pendent Volunteers" in the town were: John L. Croom, 
 E. B. Boast, B. F. Croom, E. A. Wemyss, Jesse J. Mel- 
 ton, P. E. Wolfe, G. A. Dew, John B. Hardaway, Chas. 
 H. Foster, H. Kotch, P. Moss, Christopher Owen, Rich 
 Haynie, H. Williamson, Jas. S. Simmons, Jas. M. Smith, 
 J. W. Hawkins, S. Wm. Morris, J. L. May, John Mar- 
 shall, W. A. Bell, S. H. W. Inge, Nat M. Murphy, John 
 Witherspoon, Wm. P. Evans, G. W. Briggs, W. Thomp- 
 
50 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 son, Powell McDonald, James N. Wood, F. M. Harriss, 
 A. Evans, Wm. H. Fowler, J. R. Capell, Richard Croom, 
 S. P. DuBois, D. M. Barkley, Andrew J. Briggs, Thos. 
 H. Cowin, Archelaus A. Cochran, Taylor McDonald, Jas. 
 J. Jetter; Edward H. Toney, F. B. Moss, David Turner, 
 Jr., John S. Rhodes, Jerry Seale, John Fink. 
 
 John L. Croom and Jesse J. Melton, so far as can be 
 learned, are the only surviving members of this com- 
 pany — sixty-two years after its organization. 
 
 COL. JAMES D. WEBB, 
 
 Who was Colonel of the 51st Alabama Regiment of cavalry. He 
 was killed in battle at Shelbyville, Tenn . July 19, 1863. He is 
 buried in Winchester, Tenn. Just nrior to his death he was 
 promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, but did not live 
 to receive his commission. He was for a number of years a 
 prominent lawyer in Greensboro. 
 
Chapter IX 
 
 A THRILLING INCIDENT OF THE RECONSTRUC- 
 TION PERIOD. 
 
 Those were troublous times in the Southern country 
 directly after the close of the war between the States. 
 While the South was not treated altogether as a sub- 
 jugated province — that is to say, to the extent of the 
 lands being confiscated by the victors, yet they deemed 
 it necessary to send thousands upon thousands of armed 
 troops to the various towns and cities, whose duty it was 
 to maintain general supervision of the affairs of the 
 country. Occasionally one will meet a Northerner who 
 has come to the conclusion in his own mind that in real- 
 ity the South was treated very leniently by his section, 
 and he will point with pride to the fact that the people 
 of the South were allowed to retain their lands and houses 
 and personal property of varioiis kinds, in contradistinc- 
 tion from the hitherto rule of war which dictated the 
 taking possession of everything in the conquered terri- 
 tory, and the proceeds made to swell the coffers of the 
 victors. But nevertheless, it is a historical fact that 
 the policy pursued by the United States government dur- 
 ing the period of Reconstruction came very near com- 
 pletely wrecking all that was left in the South after the 
 four years of war. 
 
 But these remarks are simply made for the purpose 
 of leading up to an incident full of thrilling and dra- 
 matic interest that transpired in Greensboro in 1865. 
 At that time there were three companies, containing 
 three hundred soldiers, camped in the town, with the 
 object of keeping "order," and seeing to it that affairs 
 
52 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 were conducted as the general government at Washing- 
 ton thought they should be. 
 
 On the morning of August 31st, 1865, three Federal 
 soldiers from this camp were seen strolling leisurely up 
 the Main street of Greensboro. When they came to the 
 general merchandise store of Robert B. Waller, Jr., — 
 located two doors west of the present Masonic Hall 
 building — they entered, and called for some fruit, which 
 was passed over to them. They stood around chatting 
 with each other and eating the fruit, and when they 
 were about to leave the store, Mr. Waller asked for the 
 price of their purchase, which they refused to pay, and 
 with an oath left the store and continued on up the 
 street. The merchant felt outraged over the treatment, 
 and upon going to the door he saw the Captain of the 
 Company to which the men belonged standing in front 
 of the Tunstall building, and he immediately went to 
 him and reported the conduct of his men. The Captain 
 asked Waller to point the offenders out to him, which 
 he did. He called them to him, and demanded, in a most 
 positive manner, that they pay for the goods at once; 
 and he further informed them that if he ever heard of 
 their being guilty of like conduct he would have them 
 tied up by their thumbs. 
 
 The soldiers paid the money rather reluctantly, looked 
 very sullen, but said nothing. Dismissing the matter 
 from his mind, Mr. Waller returned to his store and 
 began to wait on customers who had come in during his 
 absence. 
 
 Sitting in front of the store, enjoying the bright sun- 
 shine, was Robert Jeffries, and in his lap was seated 
 W. S. (Tood) Cowin, a young man who had seen much 
 service in the Confederate army. After consulting to- 
 gether up the street the three soldiers, who had been 
 made to pay the debt they owed Waller, came back to 
 the store, and without a word of warning one of the men, 
 Jos. Adams, of Co. H, 11th Missouri Infantry, struck 
 
A THRILLING INCIDENT 
 
 53 
 
 Cowin a most vicious blow in the face with a slung shot 
 — mistaking him (it is supposed) for the merchant who 
 had reported the men to the Captain. Writhing with 
 pain from the sudden and unexpected blow, and with 
 the gleam of a tiger in his eyes, Cowin sprang from his 
 seat, drew his pistol and fired on his assailant, but miss- 
 
 BUILDING IN FRONT OF WHICH DIFFICULTY BEGAN. 
 
 *Tood" Cowin was sitting near the large door to the left when 
 struck by Federal soldier. 
 
 ed him. Adams retreated hastily across the street to- 
 wards Stollenwerck's drug store, and as he retreated 
 he looked back to watch Cowin. When he had nearly 
 reached the opposite sidewalk, Cowin steadied his pistol 
 
54 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 by laying it across his left arm, took deliberate aim and 
 
 remarked, "Now d n you, I'll get you," pulled the 
 
 trigger and sent a ball crashing through the brain of 
 Adams, who fell dead in his tracks. 
 
 When Cowin fired the first shot and missed his man,, 
 another of the Federal soldiers, S. Bryant of Co. D, 11th 
 Missouri Regiment, who was standing near, quickly pull- 
 ed his pistol and was in the act of shooting him at close 
 range, when Tom Cowin, a brother of "Tood" shot 
 Bryant down before he could get his pistol in position. 
 The ball entered his side, and he fell in the gutter. The 
 wound, while quite severe, did not prove fatal. 
 
 The pistol shots soon attracted a large crowd to the 
 street, and in a short while the soldiers began to pour 
 into the town from the camp, which was located in the 
 rear of the residence of Col. George Erwin. They raged 
 and swore and were beside themselves with anger when 
 they learned what had transpired, and demanded, in their 
 frenzy, to.be shown the man who had killed their comrade. 
 Cowin saw the storm gathering and walked off down 
 the street, but before he had gone a great many steps- 
 he was recognized by some Federals who had witnessed 
 the difficulty, and a number of the soldiers made for him, 
 but Cowin faced them and kept them at bay by present- 
 ing the ugly looking weapon with which he had killed 
 the man who was lying in the street a short distance 
 away. When he had walked sidewise to Powers' store, 
 keeping the men back with the presented pistol, he no- 
 ticed a horse hitched in front of the store — a magnificent 
 animal that had been ridden into town that morning by 
 some one from Gen. Cocke's plantation, to whom the 
 horse belonged. She was a thoroughbred racer, and 
 many times had come down the home-stretch a winner 
 on the race-track. Now fully realizing his great dan- 
 ger, Cowin sprang from the sidewalk, cut the bridle 
 reins, leaped into the saddle and clapped his heels into 
 the sides of the splendid charger. With a snort of fright 
 
A THRILLING INCIDENT 55 
 
 at the unexpected treatment, she reared and then bounded 
 away as if on the wings of the wind, while the air re- 
 sounded with the angry shouts of the soldiers calling 
 to those past whom the horse and rider were sweeping, 
 to "stop him! Stop him!" 
 
 Seeing that the man they most desired to capture was 
 about to elude their grasp, half a dozen or more soldiers 
 quickly secured horses and started in pursuit at break- 
 neck speed. On and on sped the thoroughbred racer. 
 She was in her element, and seemed to enjoy the wild 
 dash down the public highway. And wildly and fur- 
 iously also rode the pursuers. But only once or twice 
 did they catch even a glimpse of horse and rider as they 
 sped down some long, straight stretch of road, and then 
 the crack of their pistols rang out on the air — but only 
 with the effect of causing the noble racer to quicken her 
 pace just a little. When about six miles out of town — 
 to the westward — Cowin checked his horse and looked 
 around to see if he could catch a glimpse of his pursuers, 
 but no trace of them could be discovered. He then left 
 the main road, and went into a thicket on a hill overlook- 
 ing the surrounding country. From this position, a short 
 while afterwards, he saw his pursuers, with horses under 
 whip and spur, pass on down the road, and also saw them 
 when on their return from their fruitless effort to cap- 
 ture or kill him. The next day, Cowin was in Mississippi. 
 
 Pandemonium reigned on the streets of Greensboro. 
 Tom Cowin, who had wounded the soldier who had un- 
 dertaken to shoot his brother, passed rapidly through Wal- 
 ler's store — the doors being shut behind him by some 
 one within — went into the back yard and came out to 
 Main street near Powers' store. He was recognized by 
 the Federals, and was immediately taken in charge by 
 an angry mob, who swore they would hang him at once. 
 
 A proposition was submitted that if they would wait un- 
 til sundown, an effort would be made to have his brother 
 "Tood" come in and give himself up, which proposition 
 
56 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 was agreed to; but the half dozen soldiers who had re- 
 turned from the pursuit had but little hope that he 
 would ever be overtaken, for they reported that they 
 had ridden hard and furiously after him, but to no 
 avail — that all traces of him were lost. 
 
 Then Captain Kelley stepped to where the dead sol- 
 dier was lying in the street, placed his sword across the 
 body, and with a terrible oath swore that if the man 
 who had slain his comrade was not delivered up to the 
 soldiers by the going down of the sun, then, by all the 
 gods, he purposed to hang Tom Cowin, and burn and 
 sack the town. 
 
 Squads of soldiers were deputized to go to every house 
 in Greensboro and take therefrom all weapons, and to 
 disarm all the citizens. Realizing the extreme gravity 
 of the situation, and that the town was entirely at the 
 mercy of the frenzied Federals, some of the citizens 
 slipped a runner out of town on a fleet horse to Marion, 
 Ala., where the colonel of the regiment (Lieut.-Col. 
 Green), was stationed at that time. 
 
 While awaiting the delivery of "Tood" Cowin to them 
 by the citizens, the soldiers broke open Waller's store, 
 where the difficulty began, and threw all the goods into 
 the street. As the hours passed by the soldiers drank 
 more freely of whiskey, grew more turbulent, and it 
 seemed to those who had sent the messenger to Marion 
 that he would never return. Minutes seemed hours. 
 
 The sun began to sink in the west, and still the man 
 the soldiers so much desired to get into their possession 
 did not appear. They placed a rope around Tom Co- 
 win's neck led him in front of the hotel — which his 
 father kept — threw one end over a sign board, and stood 
 facing the west, watching for the going down of the sun. 
 Cowin's father stood by and urged him to die like a man, 
 and he replied that he proposed to do so. Not a tremor 
 passed over him, and not a trace of fear could be dis- 
 
A THRILLING INCIDENT 57 
 
 cerned in his face as he looked defiance at those who had 
 him at their mercy. 
 
 When hope had gone, and the citizens thought the 
 very worst would happen, the sound of horses' feet was 
 heard, and looking eastward, they saw approaching at 
 breakneck speed, two horses with distended nostrils and 
 flecked with foam, drawing a buggy in which were two 
 men — one of them proving to be the Colonel of the Regi- 
 ment. Hastily alighting from the vehicle, he pushed his 
 way into the midst of the vast crowd of angry, turbulent 
 soldiers, and went to where Cowin was standing with the 
 rope around his neck. With fire in his eye, and anger 
 in his tone, he demanded of the Captain what he meant 
 by allowing those under his command to be guilty of 
 such conduct. The Captain related the circumstances of 
 the killing of one soldier and the wounding of another 
 by the Co wins, and said he thought he was justifiable. 
 The Colonel replied that it was contrary to military law 
 to hang a man without giving him the benefit of a court- 
 martial, and that he might consider himself under arrest. 
 
 Turning to the troops, he ordered them to fall into 
 ranks. Some of them began to murmur disapproval. 
 The Colonel stepped into the street, drew his pistol, and 
 again commanded them in a loud voice to "fall in," and 
 swore that the first man who refused to obey the com- 
 mand would be shot dead in his tracks. This seemed 
 to restore their reason; they fell into ranks and were 
 marched back to camp. 
 
 The rope was removed from Tom Cowin's neck and 
 he was also taken to the camp, where he was held as a 
 prisoner. Frank Peterson (Dr. Francis M. Peterson, 
 former President of the Girls' Industrial School at Mon- 
 tevallo, who died March 21, 1908) went out to the camp 
 and was permitted to spend the night with his friend. 
 The next day, Cowin was taken to Tuscaloosa under 
 heavy guard, and placed in prison, to await trial for 
 
58 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 shooting the federal soldier (from which he subsequently 
 escaped.) 
 
 There is a bit of romance connected with his escape 
 from prison, which shows the devotion of the Southern 
 woman to the Confederate soldier, A beautiful young 
 lady, who was a staunch friend of Cowin's, set herseli 
 to work to liberate him. 
 
 She was very pretty and most charming and fas- 
 cinating in her manners. The young lieutenant, who 
 was in charge of the prisoners, fell in love with this 
 sweet Southern girl, and as the two strolled about the 
 streets of classic old Tuscaloosa, or watched the placid 
 flow of the river hard by the city, she would plead with 
 him earnestly to allow Cowin, the friend of her child- 
 hood, to escape from prison. For days and days, and 
 time and again the young officer refused to grant the 
 petition — stating that his honor and his position would 
 not permit him to do so. Finally the young lady told 
 him that she would never consent to marry him until 
 her friend was a free man, and reinforced the statement 
 by telling the officer never to see her again. A short 
 time after this, Cowin was missing from prison. How 
 he escaped or whither he went, no one knew. 
 
 It would be a pleasing close to this bit of romance 
 to be able to state that the young lady married the young 
 officer — or at least that she married her friend for whom 
 she pleaded — but the truth of history requires it to be 
 said that she did neither, but in the after years married 
 another man. 
 
 Neither of the Cowins was ever captured by the Fed- 
 eral officers. As the years passed on, and affairs quieted 
 down, both of them returned to Greensboro, and re- 
 sided here for quite a while — "Tood" Cowin died in the 
 town a few years after the killing of the soldier; and 
 Tom Cowin, after keeping the Greensboro Hotel for some 
 time, went to Birmingham, where he kept a hotel. From 
 there he went to Anniston, where he died June 27, 1890. 
 
A THRILLING INCIDENT 59 
 
 Both the men were Confederate soldiers, and were brave 
 and courageous at all times. They are buried in the 
 Greensboro cemetery. 
 
 It was never known certainly what influence was used 
 to secure the safety of the Cowins after they had shot 
 the soldiers, as related above, but it developed, in the 
 course of time, that their father, who was quite well-to- 
 do at the time of the trouble, had parted with nearly all 
 his worldly possessions — and it was whispered about that 
 he had let somebody have in the neighborhood of twenty 
 thousand dollars — possibly in the nature of a loan. 
 
 As the last words of this bit of tragic history are pen- 
 ned, we pause for a few moments and look out upon the 
 streets where, nearly half century ago, men were 
 crazed, and, in their fearful passion, raged and surged 
 like the mighty waves when the wind is at war with 
 the ocean. But a far different scene from that presents 
 itself to view. True, there stands the self-same building 
 in which the awful tragedy begun ; and there, too, stands 
 the self-same hotel before which the angry soldiers stood 
 with halter around the neck of their intended victim, 
 watching for the going down of the sun; the same blue 
 sky bends above, and the same sun they watched has 
 continued to make his rounds through all the many days 
 that have gone to swell the mighty volume of the past 
 since that far-off time. 
 
 But no discordant note is heard — no soldiers' tread, no 
 clang of arms nor shrill note of bugle call. Only a scene 
 of beauty and quiet activity greets the gaze. The trees 
 are just awakening from their long winter's sleep and 
 are putting on their garb of green ; the birds make merry 
 in the boughs, heedless of the ebb and flow of the human 
 tide beneath ; men go about their business, or stand here 
 and there in groups and chat pleasantly together ; bevies 
 of beautiful girls, with smiling faces and queenly step, 
 pass up and down the streets where once tumult and 
 
€0 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 riot reigned supreme; while childhood's merry peals of 
 laughter come in at the open window. 
 
 And then it is that we fully realize that a new genera- 
 tion has appeared upon the stage of action — a generation 
 that is the successor to the noblest and truest of which 
 the South can boast in all its glorious history — one whose 
 deeds of valor and patriotism will live in song and story 
 for ages yet unborn. And with the ushering in of the 
 present generation, sectional strife and bitterness have 
 passed away. It is a generation (while doubting the 
 wisdom of the course pursued by the authorities at Wash- 
 ington in their treatment of the Southern people during 
 those half dozen dark and gloomy years immediately suc- 
 ceeding the close of the war) who rejoice in a re- 
 united country, and would seal its devotion to the Stars 
 and Stripes by defending the honor of the Flag on the 
 battlefield ; yet, it is a generation that looks with pride 
 and approval upon the conduct of their forefathers in 
 their noble defence of the Stars and Bars, and a genera- 
 tion that will ever treasure that conduct as the richest 
 heritage to which it has fallen heir. 
 
 THE GREENSBORO HOTEL. 
 (Property of J. A Blunt.) 
 
THE KU KLUX KLAN 61 
 
 The Kii Kliix Klan. 
 
 During reconstruction times in Greensboro, and in 
 fact, throughout the South, what was known as the Loyal 
 League was organized by Northern adventurers who 
 came, like a swarm of vultures, to prey upon what was 
 left in this section from the wreck of the war. The ob- 
 ject of this league was to enlist all negroes in an oath- 
 bound society pledging them to support the Radical can- 
 didates for office and the measures they advocated. Soon 
 the affairs of government passed out of the hands of 
 those who by right should have filled the offices, and un- 
 der the administration of these unscrupulous men, who 
 had been elevated to position by the votes of the ignorant 
 and vicious negroes, who had been released from slavery 
 only a short while, life in Greensboro and the South gen- 
 erally became almost unbearable. Some answer, it was 
 realized, must be given the Loyal League, and it was 
 found in the Ku Klux Klan. This order was composed of 
 the native white men of the South — many of whom, in fact 
 most of them, had served in the Confederate army. They 
 were a determined body, and resolved to rid the country 
 of the objectionable characters that had flocked in by 
 the score with the hope of adding gain to their worldly 
 wealth. They, too, had an oathbound society, and to 
 this good day, (forty years after) the secrets of the Ku 
 Klux Klan have not been told. They are known to a few 
 survivors of the brotherhood, but they rarely discuss the 
 matter with anyone. These men had the good of their coun- 
 try at heart, and only disciplined those characters who 
 fermented strife between the races, and endangered the 
 safety of the community. Their mission was not mur- 
 der, as has been charged by those who came, possibly, 
 under the ban of their displeasure, but was corrective 
 in its nature. They would take a man out — it mattered 
 not whether he was white or black — and give him a 
 sound thrashing, and order him to mend his conduct. 
 
62 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 The lesson was generally heeded, and but little trouble 
 ever came from anyone who had been waited upon by 
 members of this Klan. 
 
 There surrounded the Ku Klux that atmosphere of 
 mystery that is ever appalling to humanity. They al- 
 ways arrayed themselves in a peculiar garb, consisting 
 of a white robe, and covered their faces with a white 
 mask. Their horses were blanketed in white, and as they 
 silently rode through the street or down some lonely road 
 at the dead of night, the evil-doers trembled with fear. 
 It was seldom that an order was ever issued, or a word 
 spoken. Those who had the real interest of their re- 
 spective communities at heart hailed the presence of the 
 Ku Klux with joy, while the ignorant and vicious, who 
 cared not for the welfare of the town or country, stood 
 in awe and dread. 
 
 The Ku Klux first made their appearance in Greens- 
 boro in March, 1868, and their presence was made known 
 by hand bills that were posted up at various places on 
 the streets. The following was the 
 
 KU KLUX KLAN ORDER. 
 
 K. K. K. 
 
 BLOODY MONTH, 
 CLOUDY MOON— LAST HOUR, 
 
 Special Order No. 92 — Shrouded Bi-otherhood of 
 Hale Division, No. 314. 
 
 The Great Past High Giant commands you. The dark and dis- 
 mal hour will soon be here. Some live to-day, to-morrow die. 
 Be Ye Ready! The whetted sword, the bullet red — and right ai'e 
 ours. Be vigilant and firm. Dare not wear the holy garb of our 
 mystic brotherhood save in quest of Blood. Mark well our friends. 
 Let the guilty beware. Everywhere our brotherhood appears. 
 Traitors, beware! 
 
 II. Burst your cerement asunder! Meet at the den! "The 
 glow of the worm shows the motion to be near." Silence! Watch- 
 fulness! Patience! Faithfulness! The guilty SHALL BE pun- 
 ished! 
 
 By order of Great Grand Cyclops, 
 
 Samivel, N. S. O. E. T. 
 
THE KU KLUX KLAN 63 
 
 Headquarters Cyclops Circle, Spirit Cove, March 15, '68. 
 Grand Cyclops, Hale County, Ala.: 
 
 Sprinkle ye the tombs with Blood! Brothers of the shroud take 
 heed, and enforce ye these orders. Blood! Blood! Blood! Re- 
 venge! Revenge! Revenge! Let the guilty beware, the day 
 of retribution is at hand — BLOOD is our motto! Look wild 
 Shrouds of Hale and enforce all these orders. 
 
 (A. M. U.) Grand Cyclops. K. K. K. Life Extinguishers. 
 
 Notices of like character appeared in nearly all the 
 towns of Alabama, and it was not long before the mili- 
 tary authorities of the United States undertook to crush 
 the Klan. Stringent orders were issued from the head- 
 quarters at Montgomery, declaring that "outrages 
 against life, the peace and good order of the community" 
 were being perpetrated by a "band disguised with masks 
 and styling itself the Ku Klux Klan," and constituted a 
 public evil. The sheriffs, mayors, marshals, magistrates, 
 constables, chiefs of police, and police, the order declared, 
 would be held responsible for the suppression of the 
 organization, and the apprehension of its members wher- 
 ever found. All placards and newspaper cards of the 
 Ku Klux Klan were placed under the ban, and dire pun- 
 ishment was threatened all who failed to aid the military 
 authorities in disbanding the Ku Klux. The order issu- 
 ing from Montgomery on April 4, 1868, was signed by 
 0. L. Shepherd, Colonel and Brevet Brigadier General, 
 and W. T. Hartz, Brevet Major, U. S. A. 
 
 One would naturally suppose that such an order, back- 
 ed by all the power of the United States government, 
 would have had the effect of causing the Ku Klux to 
 immediately disband, but such was not the case. Con- 
 ditions were such in this section during the reconstruction 
 period that the men composing the organization had 
 rather have died than to have sit idly down and passively 
 endured them without a protest. The Klan continued to 
 exist for several years after the issuance of the stren- 
 uous orders, in nearly all the Southern States. 
 
 While much of evil is charged to the account of the Ku 
 
64 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 Klux Klan as a whole, there is no doubt that the branch 
 organization that existed in Greensboro accomplished 
 much good in the matter of bringing about a more endur- 
 able condition of affairs in Greensboro and Hale county. 
 It filled its mission, and quietly passed out of existence. 
 
Chapter X 
 
 CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS. 
 
 THE OLD CONFEDERATE MONUMENT. 
 Erected in 1872 in the Greensboro Cemetery. 
 
 After several years of agitation and earnest work, the 
 citizens of Greensboro raised a sufficient amount to pur- 
 chase a modest monument, and erected it in the Greens- 
 boro cemetery to the memory of the Confederate soldiers. 
 The work was completed in March, 1872. and the treas- 
 urer, Mr. Charles E. Waller, reported the total cost of 
 the monument, including erection, to be $204.50. On 
 
66 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 the 26th of the following April, the monument was duly 
 dedicated. The following account of the proceedings 
 was written for The Beacon by the late Col. Harvey, then 
 editor of that paper : 
 
 "Pursuant to a custom which has been observed for five or six 
 years, Friday, the 26th of April, was observed by the citizens of 
 Greensboro as the day for decorating the graves of those Con- 
 federate soldiers whose remains were interred in our cemetery. 
 
 "A procession was formed at the Presbyterian church, about 
 
 4 p m., composed of the Sunday School scholars of the different 
 
 churches, the Greensboro Brass Band, and Fire Company, and 
 
 the citizens of the place generally, in the following order: 
 
 Greensboro Brass Baiid. 
 
 Greensboro Fire Company, with Banner. 
 
 Orator, ivith Committee of Citizens. 
 
 Presbyterian Sunday School. 
 
 Methodist Sunday School. 
 
 Episcopal Sunday School. 
 
 Citizens on Foot. 
 Carriages ivith Citizens. 
 
 "Col. Allen C Jones, as Marshal of the occasion, marched the 
 procession through Main street to the cemetery, where a stand 
 had been erected for the speaker and where a large crowd had 
 collected in advance of the procession. 
 
 "The ceremonies of the occasion wei'e opened with prayer, by 
 the Rev R. H. Cobbs — after which. Col. Jones introduced John 
 T. Walker, Esqr., as the orator. 
 
 "Mr. Walker's address was highly appropriate, chaste, beauti- 
 ful and eloquent. 
 
 "Through the praiseworthy efforts of a few of our citizens — 
 prominent among whom are Dr. Jas. D. Osborn. Chas. E. Waller, 
 Esqr., Mrs. Dr. Ward. Miss Julia Tutwiler and Miss Mary Jack- 
 son — a handsome marble monument has been erected in the Greens- 
 boro cemeterv, having inscribed upon it the names of those Con- 
 federate soldiers, from this place or vicinitv who lost their lives 
 in battling for the "Lost Cause" — so dear to them and to those 
 who now revere and honor their memories. The monument was 
 decorated with beautiful wreaths of flowers and evergreens." 
 
 Thirty-two years after the erection of the monument 
 in the cemetery— that is to say, in April, 1904 — the 
 beautiful monument on the Court House square was com- 
 pleted. It represents much labor on the part of the 
 Ladies' Memorial Association of Greensboro, who for 
 many years worked to raise the necessary amount to pay 
 for it. The cost was about $1,500.00. 
 
CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS 67 
 
 On May 12th, 1904, the monument was duly unveiled 
 with appropriate ceremonies. Mrs. Mary G. Pickens, 
 Chairman of the Committee and Treasurer of the Mon- 
 ument Fund, read the report from the Memorial Asso- 
 ciation, the concluding portion of which was as follows : 
 
 "We commend the monument to the loving care of the Memorial 
 Association, Daughters of the Confederacy and Veterans. It is 
 placed on a spot given for that purpose by the Hale county com- 
 missioners, and we give it into the sacred care and protection of 
 our Mayor and Town Authorities and our entire community, and 
 sincerely thank all who have helped us in any way. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 Mrs. R. J. Nelson, 
 Miss Martha Young, 
 Miss Mary E. Avery, 
 Mrs. C. J. Pierce, 
 Mrs. Mary G. Pickens." 
 
 Wm. E, W. Yerby accepted the monument in behalf of 
 the town as follows : 
 
 "Ladies of the Memorial Association : 
 
 In behalf, and in the name of the Mayor and Council of the 
 town of Greensboro, we accept the beautiful monument you have 
 here erected in memory of our Confederate soldiers, and pledge 
 the city's honor to throw arovmd it that care and protection it 
 may demand, for we realize that this shaft of granite and marble 
 represents many years of labor on your part, and it silently speaks, 
 in strains as sweet as angels use, of your love and devotion to 
 the memory of those heroes whose valor and patriotism fill one 
 of the brightest pages of the world's history. Nearly forty long 
 and eventful years have passed away since the close of that bloody, 
 fratricidal strife, but the memory of the gallant deeds and heroic 
 conduct of the boys who wore the gray, is as fresh and green in 
 the hearts of our fair and beautiful women as if the tragic event 
 in our counti-y's history had happened only yestei-day. To you all 
 honor and praise! 
 
 While we need no columns of brass or of stone to cause us to 
 remember our heioic dead, nor to remind us of our duty to those 
 who were their companions in arms on many hard fought battle 
 fields, yet it is mete and proper that our love for them, and the 
 cause for which they fought, should be expressed in tangible form, 
 so that those who come among us from afar may know we revere 
 their memory and gallant deeds, and that their glory shall never 
 be forgotten "while fame her record keeps, or honor points to the 
 hallowed spot where valor proudly sleeps." 
 
 "Yon marble minstrel's voiceless stone 
 
 In deathless song shall tell 
 When many a vanquished age hath flown 
 
 The story how they fell; 
 Nor wreck, nor change, nor winter's blight, 
 
68 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 Nor Time's remorseless doom 
 Shall dim one ray of glory light 
 That gilds their deathless tomb." 
 
 Ex-Governor Wm, C. Gates then delivered a patriotic 
 oration, at the close of which the stature of the Confed- 
 erate soldier adorning the top of the monument was un- 
 veiled, and the ceremonies ended. 
 
 THE NEW CONFEDERATE MONUMENT. 
 
 Erected in 1904 in front of the Court House. 
 
Chapter XI 
 
 RAILROADS. 
 
 There has been but one raih'oad in Greensboro 
 — known at present as the Akron branch of the South- 
 ern Railway. It was projected by the late General N. B. 
 Forrest, the famous Confederate cavalry leader, who 
 was quite a familiar figure on the streets of Greensboro 
 during the latter part of the sixties and the early seven- 
 ties. The road was formerly known as the Selma, Ma- 
 rion & Memphis Railroad, and also as the Selma & Mo- 
 bile Railroad. 
 
 In 1869, the town of Greensboro issued $15,000 worth 
 of bonds to aid in the construction of the road to this 
 place. A direct tax was put on the citizens to pay in- 
 terest on the bonds and to provide a sinking fund to pay 
 off the indebtedness. The obligation has been met. 
 There are at present only a few thousand dollars worth 
 of the old bonds outstanding against the town. 
 
 In this connection it will be of interest to note that the 
 County of Hale also voted a bond issue of $60,000 in 
 1869 to aid in the building of the road. All of said bonds 
 — principal and interest — have been paid in full by the 
 citizens of Hale — who were taxed directly for the pur- 
 pose for about thirty-five years. 
 
 The railroad was completed to Greensboro on Novem- 
 ber 4th, 1870 — work having been suspended on it for 
 some months when it reached Newbern, nine miles below 
 Greensboro, to which place the citizens went by hack to 
 catch the train going to Selma, until the trains begun to 
 make the trip from this point — and the laying of the 
 
70 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO. ALA. 
 
 last rail was celebrated by a grand barbecue and public 
 speaking by prominent Greensboro people. General For- 
 rest, the President of the road, was present, and was 
 very highly commended for his indomitable energy in 
 successfully completing the work under so many adverse 
 circumstances. 
 
 It was hoped that the line would be at once extended 
 to the then objective point, (Eutaw) but for twelve years 
 Greensboro was practically the terminus of the road. 
 It was not until 1882 that the road was completed ta 
 
 GEN. NATHANIEL BEDFORD FORREST. 
 
 From a portrait in possession of his descendants in Memphis, 
 Tenn., and regarded by them as the only good likeness in 
 existence. 
 
 Akron and the first train was run to that point. There 
 it connects with the Alabama Great Southern Railroad, 
 and at Selma it connects with the Southern Railway to 
 Rome, Ga., and Meridian, Miss. 
 
RAILROAD 71 
 
 As stated above, General Forrest was quite a familiar 
 figure on the streets of Greensboro during the construc- 
 tion of the railroad. He was a man who carried with him 
 into his business life all those extraordinary physical, 
 moral and intellectual qualities that distinguished him as 
 a soldier. He was of commanding presence — being about 
 six feet, two inches in height, and before his health was 
 impaired by wounds received on the battlefields and by 
 hard marches, his weight was one hundred and eighty 
 to ninety pounds. In physical strength he was a match 
 for a prize ring champion. His hair was jet black, his 
 skin dark, eyes blue and mild enough till the devil within 
 was aroused, and then they flashed green. He was the 
 idol of the soldiers during the war, but as a business man 
 he made many enemies by his overbearing and dictato- 
 rial manner. Some eminent men have adjudged that For- 
 rest was really the greatest genius developed by the war 
 between the States, so far as generalship was concerned. 
 After completing his railroad work in this section, he 
 moved to Memphis, Tenn., where he died some years ago. 
 
 The following incident in reference to the signing of 
 the bonds issued by Hale County to aid in the construc- 
 tion of the railroad by General Forrest, is worthy of note : 
 After the $60,000 worth of bonds were printed, the pro- 
 bate judge of the county refused to sign them as required 
 by law. General Forrest employed an attorney and de- 
 manded to be heard in the probate court in regard to 
 the matter. A session of the court was called, the pro- 
 bate judge took his seat on the bench, and the General's 
 lawyer arose and made a very learned and exhaustive 
 argument on the subject of the judge's duty to sign the 
 bonds. In the course of the argument the attorney used 
 many high-sounding legal phrases— such as "nunc pro 
 tunc," "nolens volens," "amicus curiae," etc. The judge^ 
 who, by the way, was not a lawyer, seemed to get very 
 angry as the lawyer indulged in these Latin phrases. At 
 
72 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 the conclusion of the lengthy argument the judge said 
 in a very determined manner, addressing the plaintiff's 
 attorney : 
 
 "Sir, I don't give a damn about your nunc pro tunes, 
 your nolens volenses or your amicus curis. I am not 
 going to sign them bonds!" 
 
 The announcement aroused the anger of the lawyer, 
 and he jumped up and started for the judge, who quick- 
 ly reached under his desk and pulled a six shooter and 
 held it on the astonished limb of the law. 
 
 As quick as a flash, Gen. Forrest, who was sitting near 
 the judge, grabbed the pistol from his hand, caught him 
 by the collar, dragged him from the bench and very quiet- 
 ly said : 
 
 "Wall, Jedge, I don't care a damn whether you sign 
 them bonds nunc pro tunc, nolens volens or amicus curi ; 
 you are going to sign 'em. Come along in here with me!" 
 And the general led the judge into an ante-room, where 
 they remained about half an hour. 
 
 When they came back into the court room the judge 
 was smiling and at once signed the bonds. 
 
 What took place in the little private conference between 
 Gen. Forrest and the judge will never be known. 
 
 General Forrest was probably the most daring and 
 successful cavalry leader on either side in the civil war. 
 He had the confidence of his men in a large degree, and 
 they willingly followed him in his desperate encounters 
 with the Federals. There were a number of cavalrymen 
 from Greensboro and Hale county in his command — Dr. 
 S. C. Carson, Dr. L. D. Webb and Judge W. C. Christian 
 of the number. 
 
 Dr. Carson relates that while Forrest's cavalry was in 
 camp at Ebenezer church, near Plantersville, Alabama, 
 seventeen Federal soldiers made a sudden charge upon 
 the Confederate lines, taking them wholly by surprise. 
 The Doctor says he saw General Forrest rush forward 
 to the encounter with a pistol in each hand and shoot down 
 
BANKS 73 
 
 three of the enemy. The seventeen Federals, the Doctor 
 says, were as brave men as ever v^ent upon a battlefield. 
 They asked no quarter and gave none. It was a fool- 
 hardy undertaking and everyone of them paid the penalty 
 with his life. 
 
 Col. L. J. Lawson and J. D. Hamilton enlisted in 1863 
 as members of Company B, 7th Alabama, Forrest's Ca- 
 valry, and were with the company until the end of the 
 war in 1865. 
 
 It is the concensus of opinion of the old soldiers of the 
 Confederacy now residing in this section, that if it had 
 not been for the aggressive and fearless manner in which 
 Forrest and his cavalry kept the Federals at bay, that 
 Greensboro, Marion, Eutaw and other towns m this part 
 of Alabama would have been destroyed by the enemy. 
 The Federals did not get to Greensboro during the four 
 years of the war. 
 
 Banks. 
 
 In February, 1854, the Planters' Insurance Company 
 was incorporated in Greensboro, Books for subscription 
 to the capital stock were opened March 17th, 1854, and 
 stock to the amount of $130,000 was subscribed. Henry 
 Watson, Esq., was the President. The company did a 
 general insurance business and also a banking business, 
 and was the first banking establishment ever in the town. 
 It proved a great convenience to the citizens who had 
 formerly done their banking business with the commis- 
 sion merchants and banks of Mobile and Selma. At the 
 breaking out of the war between the States, in 1861, all 
 except $50,000 of the capital stock was returned to the 
 stockholders, this amount being retained to keep alive 
 the charter, and business was abandoned until better 
 times should arrive. The war lasted so long, and its 
 termination was so uncertain, that the company sold its 
 real estate and personal effects and closed out the entire 
 
74 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 concern, paying to the stockholders the capital and sur- 
 plus in full. This was done in February, 1865. The 
 company was never revived, and for ten years Greens- 
 boro was without banking facilities. The Planters' In- 
 surance Company owned and did business in the store 
 house on Main street owned of more recent years by the 
 late W. G. Miller. 
 
 HENRY WATSON, 
 
 Who was a prominent citizen of Greensboro from 1838 to 1861. 
 He was a law partner of Hon. John Erwin and was also the 
 President of the fii'sc banking institution in the town. Died 
 in 1891 in Northampton, Mass. 
 
 As indicative of the scope of the business engaged in 
 by the Planters' Insurance Company, the following ad- 
 vertisement is copied from a publication of 1856: 
 
 PLANTERS' INSURANCE COMPANY. 
 Capital Stock $130,000. 
 This Company, located at Gi-eensboro. in Greene County, Ala- 
 
BANKS 75 
 
 bama, with a perpetual Charter, and a capital of $130,000, all paid 
 in and securely invested, will do a general Insurance Business. 
 Public buildings, stores, stocks of merchandise, dwelling houses, 
 gin houses and cotton warehouses, insured against loss by fire 
 at reasonable rates. River and Marine risks taken, and insurance 
 made upon the Lives of White Persons and of Slaves, and upon 
 live stock. The well known standing and safety of this Com- 
 pany, and its convenient location, it is believed, will secure to it 
 a preference where Insurance is desired. Money received on de- 
 posit with or without interest. Terms of deposit made known at 
 the office of the Company. Loans made upon Bills of Exchange 
 at 8 per centum per annum. 
 
 Gideon E. Nelson, 
 John Erwin, 
 Henry Watson, 
 James A. Wemyss, 
 
 Board of Directors. 
 HENRY WATSON, President. 
 SERENO WATSON, Secretary. 
 
 Sereno Watson, the Secretary, after the liquidation of 
 the Planters' Insurance Company in Greensboro, went 
 to Massachusetts, and subsequently became a very dis- 
 tinguished botanist. At the time of his death, which oc- 
 curred at Cambridge, Mass., March 9, 1892, he was Cura- 
 tor of the Herbarium of Harvard College. 
 
 On January 1st, 1875, D. F. McCrary gave notice to 
 the public that he had opened an Exchange and Banking 
 office in Greensboro, and that he would buy and sell ex- 
 change on all points and would also receive money on 
 deposit and pay out same on checks free of charge. He 
 advertised that he had "one of the famous Speigle-eisen 
 Safes with combination lock." 
 
 Mr. McCrary continued in the banking business until 
 1881 when he was succeeded by Dr. A. Lawson, who con- 
 ducted the business until 1905 when "The Peoples Bank 
 of Greensboro, Alabama," was incorporated under the 
 laws of the State, with a capital stock of $50,000, of 
 which institution Dr. Lawson was made President by the 
 stockholders. 
 
 James B. Coleman conducted a bank in Greensboro 
 early in the "80's" but discontinued business in a few 
 years. 
 
76 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 Shelby W. Chadwick also did a banking business for 
 some time, and was succeeded by M. Jones & Son, who, 
 in 1900, were succeeded by Lee M. Otts. After conduct- 
 ing the bank as a private banking institution for a few 
 years, Mr. Otts converted it into "The First National 
 Bank of Greensboro, Alabama," with a capital stock of 
 $50,000 and conducted it as such until 1904. 
 
 In 1894 "The Bank of Greensboro, Ala.," was organiz- 
 ed with Col. C. Derrick as President, who was succeeded 
 in 1896 by J. A. Blunt. It was conducted under this 
 name until 1904, when "The Bank of Greensboro" bought 
 out the First National Bank from Mr. Otts, and assumed 
 its name, and increased the capital stock from $50,000 
 to $100,000. Mr. Blunt was continued as President of 
 the First National Bank, and Mr. Charles Stollenwerck 
 was made cashier, both these gentlemen holding their 
 respective positions to the present time. 
 
 In more than half a century in the history of banking 
 in Greensboro, there has never been a bank failure, which 
 record speaks for itself and the gentlemen who have con- 
 ducted the institutions. 
 
 Cotfo7i Warehouses. 
 
 In April, 1871, A. H. Ravesies & Co., established a 
 cotton warehouse at the Greensboro depot, and conducted 
 it as such until they were bought out by A. C. Evans, 
 who for a number of years carried on the business of 
 storing cotton. Mr. Evans in turn was bought out by 
 Messrs. J. A. Blunt and T. R. Ward, who constructed a 
 large brick warehouse, most of the materials used there- 
 in being taken from the wreckage of the "Nelson House," 
 the largest, most commodious and most beautiful resi- 
 dence ever constructed in Greensboro. It was built by 
 Gideon Nelson sometime in the latter part of the fifties, 
 at a cost of nearly a hundred thousand dollars. 
 
 The floors of the lower story were of the finest marble, 
 
COTTON WAREHOUSES 
 
 77 
 
 and the ceilings were frescoed by painters from abroad. 
 It was a gorgeous place. There were fountains in the 
 front yard, and rarest shrubbery and trees adorned the 
 place. The war wrecked the fortunes of the Southern 
 planters, and after Mr. Nelson's death the house passed 
 into the hands of various parties, and was finally torn 
 down and the materials, as before stated, were used in 
 the construction of the warehouse at the depot. In what 
 was the front yard to this splendid mansion, there are 
 now located some half dozen or more neat cottages. The 
 warehouse constructed of the Nelson home materials 
 was destroyed by fire in October, 1906, together with 
 a large amount of cotton, which was paid for by the 
 Southern Railway, as it was proven that a train on that 
 road caused the fire. The present commodious ware- 
 house is the successor to the one destroyed by fire. It 
 was built by Mr. J. A. Blunt in 1907, he having bought 
 out the interest of Mr. Ward in the business. 
 
Chapter XII 
 
 THE GREENSBORO FEMALE ACADEMY. 
 
 THE OLD GREENSBORO FEMALE ACADEMY. 
 
 The brick poi-tion has been standing for nearly three-quarters of 
 
 a century. 
 
 In December, 1839, a meeting was held in the Greens- 
 boro Lyceum by the subscribers to the building fund of 
 the Greensboro Female Academy. For a long while 
 prior to this time a female school had been conducted in 
 the same lot on which the Academy building now stands. 
 Judge Pasteur was principal and was assisted by Miss 
 Mary Lawson. Edwin Fay was the principal in 1839, 
 and possibly further back, but no records on the sub- 
 ject are available. 
 
 At this meeting of the subscribers to the building fund 
 the following board of trustees was elected : John Er- 
 win, chairman, J, M. Witherspoon, John May, James Mc- 
 
GREENSBORO FEMALE ACADEMY 79 
 
 Donald, Matthew Hobson, Wiley J. Croom, and Robert 
 Waller. John Fife was made secretary of the board. 
 At the first meeting of this board of trustees, Edwin Fay 
 was elected as president of the Academy, and Miss Ruth 
 White as music teacher, and Dr. Bradford assistant 
 music teacher. 
 
 In 1840, a contract was let to Jesse Gibson and Clau- 
 dius Jones for $6,345 to make necessary "additions to the 
 present academy building." The work was finished in 
 1841, and in that year Edwin Fay resigned as president 
 of the Academy and Rev. Daniel P. Bestor was elected 
 to succeed him. 
 
 On December 29th, 1841, the act of the legislature 
 incorporating "The Greensboro Female Academy," was 
 approved. The incorporators mentioned in the Act were : 
 Robert C. Randolph, James M. Witherspoon, Daniel P. 
 Bestor, John May, James McDonald, Matthew Hobson, 
 and Robert B. Waller. 
 
 The school was among the best and most prosperous 
 in this section for a number of years, and was attended 
 by young ladies from many portions of Alabama. The 
 prescribed course of study the year of incorporation was : 
 Spelling, reading, writing, grammar, geography, mathe- 
 matics, philosophy, chemistry, history, logic, French, 
 Latin, drawing, painting, ornamental work and music. 
 
 A complete list of the presidents of the Greensboro 
 Female Academy is as follows : Judge Pasteur, Edwin 
 Fay, Rev. Daniel P. Bestor, C. J. D, Pryor, Rev. James C. 
 Mitchell, Rev. C. E. Brame, A. H. Hutchinson, N. T. Lup- 
 ton and J. C. Wills, Miss Julia Tutwiler, P. B. Capbell, 
 Miss Mary Avery (filled out unexpired term of P. B. 
 Capbell in 1874) Rev. Thomas Ward White, Rev. W. C. 
 Clark, D. P. Christenberry, J. B. Cassidy, Rev. W. G. 
 Keady. 
 
 In 1876, Miss Bettie Lou Clark (afterwards Mrs. Pyr- 
 nell) the author of "Diddy, Dumps and Tot," a most pop- 
 ular book with children, was a teacher in this Academy. 
 
80 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 From 1865 to 1871, the school was not opened on ac- 
 count of the stringency of the times immediately follow- 
 ing the close of the civil war, and really it was never 
 again as successful as it was prior to the war. It was 
 again closed from 1877 to 1883, when Mr. Clark took 
 charge of the institution. Some time during the inter- 
 vening six years the trustees of the AcacTemy opened 
 subscriptions for money with which to repair and make 
 additions to the building, and about $4,000 was raised 
 for this purpose. The large frame structure on the north 
 side of the brick portion of the Academy was added. 
 The last president was Dr. W. G. Keady, who gave the 
 school up in 1900, since which time the property has 
 been rented to the board of trustees of the Greensboro 
 Graded School, where a large and successful public school 
 has since been conducted. 
 
 The title to the property of the Greensboro Female 
 Academy is vested in the board of trustees of that insti- 
 tution, who, it would appear from the mtnutes of the 
 board, hold it in trust for the "stockholders" — said stock- 
 holders being composed of all those who contributed as 
 much as $25.00 towards the building fund. These stock- 
 holders held elections annually for the election of seven 
 trustees, to whom was turned over the management of 
 the property and the selection of a president. 
 
 The Greensboro Female Academy numbers many most 
 excellent women among its graduates, who are scattered 
 far and wide, and it was a source of regret to all when 
 the doors of the time-honored institution were closed. 
 
 Public School. 
 
 In 1858, Miles Hassell Yerby, a graduate of the State 
 University at Tuscaloosa, came to Greensboro and taught 
 the first public school near the town of which any record 
 can be found. The school house was situated outside of 
 the corporate limits, northeast of Greensboro, across 
 
PUBLIC SCHOOL 81 
 
 Caldwell creek. The school was attended by many 
 boys, who in after life, attained to prominence in the 
 affairs of church and state. The location of the school 
 was changed after the war, and the building on Centre- 
 ville street then known as the Gibson place, was used 
 for a long while as a school house. From the old record 
 before us for 1869, (the only one that could be found) 
 the following pupils were enrolled in the Greensboro 
 Public School for that year: Reuben C. Johnson, Frank 
 Johnson, Andrew W. Owens, Nelson Owens, Morris 
 Steinhart, Charlie Steinhart, Jeff D. Steinhart, Joe Stock- 
 ton, Willie Stockton, Joe Stokes, Dan Taylor, Milford 
 Harris, Filmore Norfleet, Will Miller, Jeff Evans, Willie 
 McGee, John Musy, John Yerby, Willie Yerby, Tom Tay- 
 lor, Syd Taylor, Alex Davis, Willie DuBose, Willie Kenan, 
 Ed Williamson, Steve Williamson, Albert Williamson, 
 Ed Bell, John Bell, Mary Herran, Bettie Sharon, Rosa 
 Sharon, Julia Wilburn, Fannie Owens, Sallie Owens, Bet- 
 tie Andrews, Lida Miller, Alice Sledge, Jessie Yerby, Bet- 
 tie McDonald, Ida Steinback, Sallie Blanton, Alice Blan- 
 ton. 
 
 The teachers of the public school have been, in all its 
 history, as follows : M. H. Yerby, Mrs. Mary Happel 
 and Mrs. M. A. Hutchinson, Miss Sallie Pasteur, Mrs. 
 J. M. Pickett and Miss Maggie Pickett, W. W. Lee, J. A. 
 Baxley, 
 
 The present school is known as "The GreensDoro Grad- 
 ed School," and is taught in the old Female Academy 
 building on Demopolis street. There is an attendance of 
 about 130 pupils, and besides the principal, there are 
 four assistant teachers. 
 
 The old school house on Centreville street presents 
 much the same appearance now it presented some forty 
 years ago, and the picture will no doubt be recognized 
 by many of the former pupils, scattered far and wide 
 over the face of the earth, into whose hands a copy of 
 this volume should chance to fall. But they will miss 
 
82 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 the wide-spreading elm trees in the yard — only one of 
 the many now remaining, and it is gnarled, and the 
 branches have been broken and torn by the winds that 
 have angrily passed through them these many years. 
 They will also miss the stately poplars on the hillside 
 
 THE OLD PUBLIC SCHOOL HOUSE ON 
 CENTREVILLE STREET. 
 
 just north of the building, and the forest trees and the 
 "big swamp" in the rear of the play ground. And the 
 flowers have blossomed and faded above the grave of 
 the highly educated and painstaking schoolmaster of the 
 
PUBLIC SCHOOL 
 
 83 
 
 old days for nearly ten years. He rests from life's labors 
 in the quiet city of the dead in Greensboro among loved 
 ones, friends and former pupils. 
 
 The same babbling brook is at the foot of the little 
 hill to the north of the house, but the shade trees and 
 the violets are gone, and the spot is no longer an invit- 
 ing place for the school boy to stroll side by side with 
 his first sweetheart and gather the wild flowers for 
 her — as the boys used to do in the years that are dead. 
 
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Chapter XIII 
 
 THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY. 
 
 The greater portion of the following brief history of 
 the Southern University was compiled by Prof. D, P. 
 Christenberry, Professor of English in the University. 
 
 The agitation which led to the founding of the South- 
 ern University began at the twenty-third session of the 
 Alabama Conference, Talladega, Ala., December, 1854. 
 At this Conference much enthusiasm was aroused. 
 
 In 1855 the Conference met at Eutaw. After much 
 debate it was decided to found a college at Greensboro, 
 and Col. John Erwin, of Greensboro, was appointed to 
 secure a charter of the legislature. 
 
 At the first meeting of the Board, March, 1856, at 
 Greensboro, were the following trustees : Bishops Jas. 
 0. Andrew and Robert Payne, Rev. Doctors T. 0. Sum- 
 mers, Archelaus H. Mitchell, Jeff'erson Hamilton, Philip 
 P. Nedy and Edward Wadsworth, Revs. Christopher C. 
 Callaviay, Joseph J. Hutchinson, Joshua T. Heard, Thos. 
 J. Koger, Lucius Q. C. DeYampert, Col. John Erwin, 
 John W. Walton, Thomas M. Johnston, RoTDert A. Baker, 
 Gideon E. Nelson, Doctors Thos. W. Webb and Gaston 
 Drake. In the charter appear in addition to the above 
 names the following: Judge Augustus A. Coleman, 
 Duke W. Goodman and Rev. Henry W. Hilliard. 
 
 Col. Erwin was called to the chair and presented the 
 charter dated January 26, 1856. The charter was se- 
 cured over the veto of Governor Winston. 
 
 At this, the first meeting, a report was made by the 
 agent, Rev. C. C. Callaway, showing that $168,500 had 
 
86 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 been raised, $100,000 of which was secured by the en- 
 dorsement of L. Q. C. DeYampert, John Walton, Gideon 
 Nelson and others. The whole of this amount was se- 
 cured from Greene and Sumter counties. A site was 
 bought costing $6,400. During the next year, the agent 
 raised $40,508, having visited only eight counties. 
 
 At the second annual meeting, June 11, 1857, with 
 much pomp and splendor of military parade, bands and 
 music, the cornerstone was laid. Col. Wiley, Masonic 
 Grand Master of Alabama presided. Bishop Pierce and 
 Col. Milliard made the addresses. 
 
 The first session opened October 3, 1859, with the fol- 
 lowing faculty : Dr. William W. Wightman, President 
 and Professor Biblical Literature ; N. Thomas Lupton, 
 A. M., Professor of Chemistry; Oscar F. Casey, A. M., 
 Professor of Ancient Languages ; Edward Wadsworth, 
 A. M., Professor of Moral Philosophy; John C. Wills, A. 
 M., Professor of Mathematics. 
 
 At the first commencement, the date of which was fixed 
 for the first Wednesday in July, 1860, Benjamin Huey, 
 of Talladega, and John V. Glass of Pickens county, grad- 
 uated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. 
 
 The faculty in 1861 reported much excitement among 
 the boys on account of the war between the States, and 
 expressed diflficulty in preventing their going. The young 
 men had been drilled for service, to which slight objec- 
 tion is expressed by the Trustees. 
 
 The professors' salaries, which had been fixed at $1500, 
 were reduced one-half, and they were permitted to se- 
 cure additional work outside if possible. 
 
 During the entire session of '61 and '62 only $1150 
 was paid to the entire faculty, and they were praised 
 for standing by the University under the circumstances. 
 The institution did not close its doors during the war, 
 but the enrollment ran down to fourteen. Still instruc- 
 tion was given in all classes, at times chiefly by one 
 man. 
 
SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 
 
 87 
 
 At the opening of the session in 1865 not a single 
 class could be formed, but Professor Casey, during the 
 year, gave instruction in classics to twenty young men. 
 There were forty-three in the Preparatory Department 
 under Professor Casey. Though the struggle through the 
 war was hard, it seems the doors were never closed. 
 
 Reconstruction was almost as hard as the period of 
 war. In 1867, the agent, the Rev. Mr. Callaway, re- 
 
 REV. ALLEN S. ANDREWS, D. D., 
 
 Who was for a long while one of the most disting-uished Presidents 
 of the Southern University. He died at Union Springs, Ala.^ 
 December 4, 1898, aged 74 years. 
 
 ported that $171,810.66 in notes was placed in his hands. 
 Of this amount $4,683 was collected in cash, $16,000 
 was renewed, $40,000 was classed as possibly good and 
 $75,000 as worthless. The magnificent endowment had 
 been swept away, leaving the school a lot of worthless 
 
88 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 paper which was carried upon the book for years. The 
 buildings were intact and free from debt. 
 
 Hamilton Hall, the present dormitory, was secured in 
 1868 by the foreclosure of a mortgage held by the Uni- 
 versity. 
 
 The North Mississippi Conference adopted the South- 
 ern University as its college in 1870, and appointed six 
 trustees to sit on the Board. This adoption must have 
 been short lived, for no further mention is made in the 
 minutes of the Board of Trustees. 
 
 The seventies were the dark days in the history of the 
 school. Even the people of Greensboro thought the 
 school would close after the session of 1871-72. Some 
 of the buildings were placed under mortgage, and af- 
 terwards foreclosed. There was even some remote dan- 
 ger of the loss of the main building itself. But Chan- 
 cellor Luther Smith came from Emory College, Oxford, 
 Ga., at a great personal sacrifice because he thought the 
 service of the church called him, and infused new life 
 into the institution. The debts were wiped out, and the 
 institution was placed in a fair way to prosperity when 
 death removed the chancellor. 
 
 The second advent of Dr. Andrews as president, in 
 1883, marks the beginning of a remarkable period in 
 the history of the Southern University. In that year the 
 property became joint possession, in fee simple, of the 
 Alabama and North Alabama conferences. An era of 
 prosperity ensued. The largest attendance in the his- 
 tory of the institution was reached in 1889-90, 238 names 
 having been placed upon the matriculation book of that 
 session. 
 
 The North Alabama Conference, at its session at Flor- 
 ence, on December 23, 1897, deeded back its interests in 
 the school to the original patron, the Alabama Confer- 
 ence. 
 
 Under the administration of Dr. J. 0. Keener much 
 was done towards the upbuilding of the school. The in- 
 
SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 89 
 
 terior of the main building was greatly improved, and 
 the chapel remodeled into a beautiful auditorium, 
 
 A splendid gymnasium was erected on the campus in 
 1907. 
 
 In 1904 the plan of government was changed. All re- 
 strictions were removed, and the school placed upon the 
 honor system. The results have been highly gratifying. 
 
 Presidents of the Southern University. 
 
 Wm. W. Wightman, 1859-1867. 
 
 Edward Wadsworth, 1868-1870. 
 
 Allen S. Andrews, 1871-1875. 
 
 Luther M. Smith, 1875-1879. 
 
 Josiah Lewis, 1880-1881. 
 
 Francis M. Peterson ( acting president), 1881-1883. 
 
 Allen S. Andrews, 1883-1894. 
 
 John 0. Keener, 1894-1898. 
 
 Samuel M. Hosmer, 1899-to present. 
 
 Faculty of the Southern University. 
 
 Dr. Edward Wadsworth, A. M., 1859-70. Moral Phil- 
 osophy. 
 
 N. Thomas Lupton, A. M., 1869-71. Chemistry. 
 
 0. F. Casey, A. M., 1869-76. Ancient Languages. 
 
 J. C. Wills, A. M., 1859-71. Mathematics. 
 
 J. A. Reubelt, 1860-'61. Modern Languages. 
 
 John S. Moore, A. M., 1871-'84. Mathematics. 
 
 D. M. Rush, A. M., 1872-74. Mathematics. 
 
 Dr. T. O. Summers, Jr., 1871-74. Chemistry. 
 
 L S. Hopkins, 1876-78. Science. 
 
 C. A. Grote, A. M., 1876-'94. Science and Modern Lan- 
 guages. 
 
 Rev. J. Lewis, Jr., 1875-'81. English. 
 
 C. M. Verdel, A. M., 1876-'81. Science. 
 
 F. M. Peterson, A. M., 1877-'99. Ancient Languages. 
 
90 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 J. A. Moore, Ph. D., 1883-'94. Mathematics. 
 L. C. Dickey, 1883-'84. English and History. 
 Rev. J. F. Sturdivant, 1885-'90. English. 
 E. L. Brown, B. S., 1889-'03. Science. 
 
 C. L. McCartha, 1890-'92. English. 
 
 D. P. Christenberry, A. M., 1892. English. 
 
 L. P. Giddens, A. B., 1894-1907. Mathematics. 
 Rev. J. W. Shoaff, D. D., 1899-'02. Mental and Moral 
 Philosophy. 
 
 J. T. Littleton, A. M., 1899. Modern Languages. 
 
 E. K. Turner, Ph. D., 1899-'03. Ancient Languages. 
 Andrew Sledd, Ph. D., 1903-'04. Greek. 
 
 E. L. Colebeck, M, A., 1902-1907. Ancient Languages. 
 
 B. P. Richardson, B. S., 1903. Science. 
 
 C. P. Atkinson, A. M., 1904. Mental and Moral Phil- 
 osophy. 
 
 F. E. Chapman, A. M., 1907. Mathematics. 
 
 D. M. Key, A. M., 1907. Ancient Languages. 
 
Chapter XIV 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Greensboro. 
 
 The earliest records of this church were lost, and have 
 never been in the possession of the present generation, 
 nor that of the one this generation succeeds. This fact 
 is borne out by the following statement taken from the 
 minutes of the Quarterly Conference held on the 25th 
 of April, 1835: 
 
 "A. B. Sawyer, John DuBois and S. G. Field were ap- 
 pointed a committee to search for and arrange the rec- 
 ords of the church, and have them recorded." Evidently 
 these gentlemen failed to find the records, for there is 
 no further mention of the matter in any of the succeed- 
 ing minutes kept by the church officials. However, it is 
 known that as early as the year 1822 there was a Meth- 
 odist church in Greensboro. It stood where the negro 
 Methodists now have their brick church in the rear of 
 the Dr. Ward homestead. One among the first Methodist 
 ministers to preach in Greensboro was the Rev. Mr. 
 Hawkins. 
 
 Some time between the years 1822 and 1833, Greens- 
 boro was made a station. The records from which this 
 history is compiled begin with the latter year, and at 
 that time Rev. Mr. Hearn was presiding elder of the 
 Greensboro district, and Rev. Robert L. Kenon was 
 preacher in charge at this place. The stewards were: 
 Robert Dickens and Franklin Shaw. The Revs. Hearn 
 and Kenon were succeeded in 1835 by Rev. E. V. LeVert, 
 
92 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 presiding elder, and Rev. S. B. Sawyer, preacher in 
 charge. 
 
 At a meeting of the Quarterly Conference held March 
 11th, 1837, a committee, composed of Robert Dickens, 
 Thomas Johnston and Andrew Walker, was appointed 
 to take under consideration the necessity and expediency 
 of building a parsonage for the station. At the next 
 meeting of the Quarterly Conference, held June 10th, 
 1837, this committee reported, and recommended that a 
 parsonage be purchased as soon as possible, and asked 
 the Conference to allow them to open a subscription for 
 the purpose — subscriptions to be made payable the fol- 
 lowing January. The report was received, and the com- 
 mittee was urged to press the matter, but pending the 
 purchase of a suitable building. Dr. William Jones of- 
 fered the church the use of a house that stood just west 
 of the present Madison Jones lot, which offer was ac- 
 cepted, and for some years the Methodist ministers re- 
 sided there. The house was torn down ten or a dozen 
 years ago. Finally the Methodists decided to own their 
 parsonage, and purchased the (then) Randolph lot, — the 
 same now owned and occupied by Thomas Johnson — and 
 this was used as a parsonage until the year 1866, when 
 it was sold, and with the proceeds the lot upon which the 
 present parsonage stands was purchased, and again for 
 nine years the Methodists were without a home for the 
 preacher, for it was not until 1875 that the present par- 
 sonage was erected. But really no home for the minis- 
 ter was needed, for the church was supplied, with one 
 or two exceptions, for nearly twenty years, with a pro- 
 fessor from the Southern University, by the annual con- 
 ferences. But in 1886 this method was changed, and 
 a preacher was sent who was to devote his entire time 
 to the charge. 
 
 At the meeting of the Quarterly Conference in June, 
 1837, Thomas M. Johnston and Joel Reynolds were ap- 
 pointed stewards, in place of Greene B. Williams, de- 
 
CHURCHES 93 
 
 ceased, and Stephen G. Field, removed. At this same 
 meeting (June 10, 1837) the stewards were appointed 
 a building committee to "build a new Methodist church 
 in the town of Greensboro, Alabama," "and it is recom- 
 mended," said the conference, "that the house be built 
 at once." 
 
 It was decided to remove from the place where the 
 church had been located for some years, and the old lot 
 and edifice standing thereon were disposed of to the 
 negroes, and in 1837 the lot at the intersection of Main 
 and Tuscaloosa streets (where the church now stands) 
 was purchased from Matthew Hobson for the sum of 
 $1,000.00. 
 
 On March 16, 1839, the Quarterly Conference appoint- 
 ed a committee to superintend the building of the new 
 church, said committee consisting of Dr. William Jones, 
 Dr. Thomas Cottrell, Thomas M. Johnston, John M. Bates 
 and Andrew Walker. The contractor was Robert Dick- 
 ens. 
 
 The work on the new building was pushed quite rapid- 
 ly for those days when the brick had to be made and 
 burned at home, and the timber had to be gotten out by 
 hand — for in a little more than a year after the appoint- 
 ment of a committee to superintend the building the 
 church was dedicated — April 3, 1840. Rev. E. V. LeVert 
 preached the sermon, his text being: "This is a faithful 
 saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus 
 came into the world to save sinners." 
 
 At the time of the dedication, the church had a mem- 
 bership of one hundred and sixteen whites; the Sunday 
 School had two superintendents, nine teachers and sixty 
 pupils. 
 
 Church matters seem not to have prospered with the 
 Methodists in a financial way during the next few suc- 
 ceeding years, if the following from the minutes of the 
 Quarterly Conference, held February 2, 1846, is to be 
 taken as an indication : 
 
94 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 "In view of the indebtedness of this Station, be it 
 Resolved, That it be returned to the Circuit; Provided, 
 That first the matter be brought before the whole So-, 
 ciety on next Sabbath, and that if they will come forward 
 and pay all arrearages and promise to sustain the Sta- 
 tion, it shall remain as such." 
 
 On the following Sunday the matter was brought be- 
 fore the congregation, and the alternative of either re- 
 turning to the Circuit or paying up arrearages was sub- 
 mitted to them, and they chose to liquidate the indebted- 
 ness and remain as a Station. 
 
 The building that was torn away in June, 1907, to 
 make room for the present handsome and commodious 
 structure, was practically the same as the one erected 
 1839-40. 
 
 For several years the question of building a new church 
 was discussed by the membership, and finally the mat- 
 ter was definitely decided by its being ascertained that 
 the roof of the old building was in a dangerous condition, 
 and was liable to fall in. Nothing was left for the Meth- 
 odists to do but to either repair the old strucrure at great 
 cost, or to build a new one, and at a meeting of the Quar- 
 terly Conference held on January 29, 1907, it was decid- 
 ed to build a new church, and the following building com- 
 mittee was appointed: Dr. S. M. Hosmer, chairman, F. 
 D. Gulley, R. F. Monette, Wm. E. W. Yerby, Thomas 
 Johnson, Thomas E. Knight, L. J. Lawson, W. C. Chris- 
 tian and E. A. Powers. 
 
 The contract was let to John A. Straiton, contractor, 
 for $17,984.91, and work on the present building was 
 begun on June 21, 1907, and finished in June, 1908. The 
 above price does not include the interior furnishings. 
 These cost in the neighborhood of $10,000 — including 
 windows, organ and heating. While the church was 
 building, services were held for more than a year in the 
 Greensboro Opera House, which was kindly tendered the 
 congregation free of rent, by the owner, Mr. J. A. Blunt. 
 
CHURCHES 95 
 
 The following is as complete a list of the presiding 
 elders and preachers in charge who have served this dis- 
 trict and station as it was possible to obtain : 
 
 PRESIDING ELDERS— Rev. Mr. Hearn, 1833; E. V. 
 LeVert, 1835-36; Francis H. Jones, 1838; E. V. LeVert, 
 1839-41; Charles McCloud, 1842-45; Edmund Pearson, 
 1846-48 ; P. P. Neely, 1849 ; Greenberry Garrett, 1850-51 ; 
 T. J. Kager, 1852-55; J. W. Starr, 1856; J. J. Hutchinson, 
 1857-58; T. J. Ramsey, 1859; Edward Wadsworth, 1860; 
 J. W. Starr, 1861; C. C. Calloway, 1862-65; Abram 
 Adams, 1866; J. L. Cotton, 1867-68; A. H. Mitchell, 1871- 
 79 ; S. H. Cox, 1880 ; H. Urquhart, 1881-84 ; J. Bancroft, 
 1884-86; T. J. Mangum, 1886- O. R. Blue, J. R. Peavy, 
 J. Bancroft, 0. C. McGehee, Jno. A. Peterson, W. P. 
 Hurt, E. A. Dannelly— a total of 29. 
 
 Preachers in Charge. 
 
 Robert L. Kenon, 1833; S. B. Sawyer, 1835; F. H. 
 Jones, 1836; Claiburne Pirtle, 1837; E. V. LeVert, and 
 C, Shannon, ass't preacher, 1838; James A. Boatright, 
 1839-40 ; W. W. Bell, and W. W. Thomas, ass't preacher, 
 1840-41; W. Dorman, 1843; Thomas Capers, 1845; C. C. 
 Gillespie, 1846; T. P. Shelman, 1848; C. D. Oliver, 1849- 
 50; A. H. Powell, 1851-52; J. J. Hutchinson, 1853; C. C. 
 Calloway, 1854-55; Edward Wadsworth, 1856-57; Wil- 
 liam Shapard, 1858-59; T. J. Ramsey, 1860-61; J. A. 
 Heard, 1862 ; R. K. Hargrove, 1863 ; T. T. Ramsey, 1864- 
 65; T. O. Summers, 1866; J. C. Wills, 1866; T. C. Weir, 
 1867-68; John S. Moore, 1869-71; A. S. Andrews, 1872- 
 75; 0. R. Blue, 1875; H. Urquhart, 1876; J. Lewis, Jr., 
 1877-80; F. M. Peterson, 1881-84; A. S. Andrews, 1885; 
 W. P. Dickinson, 1886-89; O. C. McGehee, 1889-92; J. 
 0. Keener, 1893-4 ; A. S. Andrews, July 1894 ; W. M. Cox, 
 1894-98; C. L. Chilton, 1898-1902; T. R. McCarty, 1902; 
 -03; E. L. Crawford, 1903-06; Henry Trawick, 1907— a 
 total of 42. 
 
96 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 THE GREENSBORO BAPTIST CHURCH. 
 
 The Baptist Church. 
 
 The Baptist denomination was among the earliest, and 
 at one time the most important, of the Christian denomi- 
 nations in Greensboro and vicinity. The Rev. Joseph 
 Ryan in 1819 organized the first Baptist church in this 
 part of the State. It was known as Salem Baptist church, 
 and was situated in the eastern part of Greensboro near 
 where the Marion and Newbern roads fork. The mem- 
 bers who were present at the organization were : James 
 Hutchins, Offa Caloway, Samuel Caloway, Thomas and 
 James Gresham, David Eddins and Messrs. Thomas and 
 Seaton. In addition to those mentioned, other members 
 were : Louis and David Stevens, C. C. Latimore, Thomas 
 Ward, James Brantley and wife. In 1820 a large frame 
 church was built. It had neither laths nor plaster, with 
 wooden shutters, without glass, and was seated with 
 wooden benches. This church stood on the south side of 
 the Main road and immediately east of the present New- 
 bern road. Near the head of the swampy hollow in the 
 rear of the Williamson old place (at present owned by 
 
CHURCHES 
 
 97 
 
 Mrs. Walker) was the pool for baptism — a square reser- 
 voir with steps descending into it — without a roof. 
 
 The Rev. Joseph Ryan was pastor of Salem Baptist 
 church for about twenty years. He came to Greensboro 
 from South Carolina, and was ordained as a minister at 
 Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 1819. After resigning his pastorate 
 here he moved to Sumter county, residing near Gaston, 
 where he died in 1845. Rev. Daniel P. Bestor succeeded 
 Mr. Ryan as pastor, a position he filled with marked abil- 
 ity for some years. He also had charge of the Greensboro 
 Female Academy from 1841 to 1846, and also represented 
 Greene county in the Legislature several terms. He died 
 in Mobile on the 9th of April, 1869, aged at)out 65 years. 
 
 REV. THOMAS CHILTON, 
 One of the early Pastors of the Greensboro Baptist Church. 
 
98 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 Rev. Thomas Chilton succeeded Mr. Bestor as pastor, 
 and remained as such until about 1850, when he moved 
 to Newbern, Ala., where he resided for two years and 
 then went to Texas, where he died some years after- 
 wards. 
 
 During the years 1851-52-53, Rev. C. F. Sturgis was 
 pastor. He in turn was succeeded by Revs. Russell Hol- 
 man, W. S. Barton, W. C. Buck, J. C. Wright, and T. W. 
 Toby until 1865 when the church ceased to exist. 
 
 In 1842, Peter Mclntyre, for the consideration of $2,- 
 700, sold to the Baptists the lot on which the court house 
 now stands, and they proceeded at once to build what was 
 then considered the finest church edifice in west Alabama. 
 John Crossland was the contractor. This building was, 
 in 1867, sold to the town of Greensboro, and by the town 
 donated to Hale county as a court house, and served as 
 such until 1907, when the old building was torn away to 
 make room for the present court house. The town paid 
 the Baptists $8,000 for the property. 
 
 In 1820, the Cahaba Baptist Association convened in 
 Salem church, and in 1823, while the church was on the 
 lot at the forks of the Marion and Newbern roads, the 
 Alabama Baptist State Convention was organized. There 
 were present twenty delegates, representing twenty-eight 
 churches with a membership of about 7 000. 
 
 Salem church, in its day and time, numbered among its 
 membership many prominent people. Besides those al- 
 ready mentioned may be added Dr. W. T. Hendon, Green 
 Huckabee, Hayward Lawrence, Harris Tinker, Wiley 
 Croom, C. C. Huckabee, Jesse Croom, George Deal, Mrs. 
 Kissie Croom, George Pollard and Messrs. Coates and 
 Harmon. 
 
 In 1834 the Baptist Convention met with Salem church 
 and established the Baptist Manual Labor School. Some 
 objected to the name "Manual Labor," and it was later 
 called "The Alabama Institute of Literature and Indus- 
 try." This school was located in the neighborhood of the 
 
CHURCHES 99 
 
 old Breen place about a mile northeast of the present 
 court house. The school was largely attended for several 
 years. The pupils were required to do a certain amount 
 of labor in the field or elsewhere each day, for which they 
 were allowed a small sum per hour. A. J. Holcombe was 
 Secretary of the Board of Trustees. The institution 
 proved a failure, and the buildings were sold at auction. 
 These buildings were a row of one-story frame houses 
 of two rooms each, with shutters at the windows. There 
 were a half dozen or more of them. 
 
 When Salem Baptist church was dissolved in 1865 the 
 Baptists were left unorganized in Greensboro, until Feb- 
 ruary 18, 1894, when the present church was established. 
 On that date nine Baptists met in the court house and or- 
 ganized "The Greensboro Baptist Church." Rev. W. B. 
 Crumpton, D. D., Secretary of the State Board of Mis- 
 sions, and Rev. S. 0. Y. Ray, State Evangelist, assisted 
 in the organization. The constituent members were: 
 T. J. Kinnaird, Wm. Martin, Mrs. Rachael Martin, Thom- 
 as Mitchell, R. D. Redding, Misses Mattie Redding and 
 Nannie Redding, and P. H. Wilkerson and wife. The 
 church was duly incorporated on the 10th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1894. 
 
 On July 8th, 1894, Rev. A. R. Hardy, the first pastor 
 of "The Greensboro Baptist Church," begun his work, 
 services being held in the court house until the present 
 church edifice was erected. On August 8th, 1896, the 
 property on which the church and the pastorium now 
 stand was purchased from D. W. Taylor, Syd Taylor and 
 Lily Taylor, the deed being made to the Alabama State 
 Convention. The lot and the residence standing thereon 
 (the present pastorium) cost $1600. 
 
 The first Sunday School was organized in 1895 with 
 P. H. Wilkerson as superintendent. The first baptisms — 
 seven in number — took place Nov. 22, 1896, in a pool, 
 made for the purpose, in the rear of Col. L. J. Lawson's 
 pasture on Tuscaloosa street. 
 
100 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 Rev. A. R. Hardy, labored earnestly and most efficient- 
 ly for the upbuilding of the church until his death on 
 December 1, 1896 at Greensboro. The membership was 
 largely increased under his ministry, and it was through 
 his untiring efforts that the present church was erected. 
 
 In April 1897, Rev. Mr. Barnes was called as pastor, 
 but remained only a short while. During the years 1898 
 and 1899 Rev. R. G. Patrick, D. D., President of the 
 Judson Institute, supplied the church. 
 
 On the 7th day of July, 1899, the contract was let to 
 John A. Straiton to build a one story frame church on 
 the Northeast corner of Centreville and Main Streets. 
 The cost was about $2600. The building was commenced 
 in October, 1899, and completed in March, 1900. It was 
 dedicated on January 14, 1900, — Dr. W. B. Crumpton 
 preaching the dedicatory sermon. 
 
 In March, 1900, Rev. W. W. Lee became pastor, and 
 continued as such until his resignation in September, 
 1902. Rev. John G. Apsey kept up the preaching services 
 after Mr. Lee's resignation until the arrival of Rev. T. M. 
 Thomas as pastor in June, 1903. In July, 1904, Rev. T. 
 M. Thomas tendered his resignation and went as a mis- 
 sionary to China. 
 
 From the time of Mr. Thomas's resignation until the 
 coming of Rev. J. G. Dobbins as pastor in June, 1905, 
 Maj. John G. Harris filled the pulpit once a month. 
 
 From a membership of nine in 1894 it has steadily 
 grown, until there are in the neighborhood of one hun- 
 dred enrolled as members of "Hardy Memorial Baptist 
 Church" at Greensboro. 
 
CHURCHES 
 
 101 
 
 ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 As far as can be ascertained, the first service by a cler- 
 gyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church was held in 
 Greensboro on the 14th day of March, 1830. On that 
 date a congregation was duly organized, the original com- 
 pact being signed by the following persons : R. E. Meade, 
 R. W. Withers, Wm. T. Boiling, T. B. Randolph, J. B. 
 Stickney, Jno. F. Abbott, Ryland Randolph, T. S. Wash- 
 ington, John Morrast, John Malone and D. W. Wither- 
 spoon. The following composed the first Vestry: Dr. 
 Richard E. Meade, Dr. R. Inge, Dr. R. C. Randolph, 
 Frank Inge, Esq'r, Dr. R. W. Withers, Wm. Murphy, 
 Esq'r, J. B. Stickney, Esq'r, Col. Samuel Pickens and 
 J. Bell, Esq'r. At a meeting held August 22d, 1831, by 
 
102 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 this Vestry it was resolved to enter into negotiations for 
 the erection of a church edifice, but this plan failed to ma- 
 terialize, and the attempt to organize a parish at this time 
 was abandoned. 
 
 On December 24th, 1833, at a meeting held by a num- 
 ber of citizens, certain persons were appointed as vestry- 
 men, and St. Paul's, Greensboro, was selected as the name 
 of the parish, but not until about 1840 was this parish 
 duly incorporated. 
 
 In 1834, the Rev. C. S. Ives was connected with this 
 parish, but how long his connection lasted is not known. 
 The Rev. J. B. Goodman took charge of the work in 1837 
 and continued to serve as rector until 1842, when he was 
 succeeded by Rev. Julian E. Sawyer. The next rector 
 was Rev. S. Patterson who, in 1845, was succeeded by 
 by Rev. J. S. Marbury, who continued the work until 
 
 1850, at. which time he tendered his resignation on ac- 
 count of ill health. He died in Greensboro in September, 
 
 1851, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Paul's. 
 The Rev. J. M. Bannister was the next rector, who re- 
 mained in the parish from 1851 to 1860, when he was 
 succeeded by Rev. Richard Hooker Cobbs, D. D., who took 
 charge on September 1st, 1861, and served continuously 
 for forty-six years, — resigning the rectorship in Septem- 
 ber, 1907. He was again re-elected as Rector in March 
 1908, and so urgent was the request on the part of Ves- 
 try and congregation, that he accepted. 
 
 The present church building was erected in 1840, but 
 has been considerably improved since that time — a chan- 
 cel being added in 1855, and the building was enlarged 
 and much improved in 1872. The Sunday School room, 
 immediately north of the church, was erected in 1906. 
 
 The first baptism recorded in this parish was on Jan- 
 uary 14, 1838, and confirmation was administered for the 
 first time on Good Friday, April 13, 1838, by Rt. Rev. Dr. 
 Kepper, Missionary Bishop of Missouri. 
 
CHURCHES 
 
 103 
 
 In 1840 Bishop Polk visited this parish, and in May, 
 1844, Rev. Dr. Cobbs, father of the rector who served 
 the parish forty-six years, was elected the first Bishop of 
 Alabama, by a convention sitting in this church. 
 
 GKEExXSBORO PREiSBVTEKIAN CllL'KCil. 
 
 Preshyterian Chu rch. 
 
 The first sermon ever preached in Greensboro by a 
 Presbyterian minister was some time prior to 1822, when 
 Mr. Hunter delivered a discourse. In 1822, Rev. James 
 Hillhouse came from South Carolina and delivered his 
 
104 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 first sermon in a small house used as a tavern. The next 
 year (1823) he organized a church of twenty members, 
 and the same year a house of worship was erected where 
 Mrs. Mary G. Pickens now resides. On the first roll 
 are the names of Norris, Knox, Hall, Hunter, Hillhouse, 
 Darragh, Bell and Barron. Except during the period 
 from 1830-1832 Mr. Hillhouse served as pastor until his 
 death in 1835. Such was the growth of the church under 
 his administration that the congregation was able to 
 offer in 1836 a salary of $2,000 per year. 
 
 In 1837 Rev. T. R. Witherspoon became the pastor of 
 the church and held the position until 1843. 
 
 The following ministers subsequently served the 
 church either as stated supplies or as regular pastors, 
 viz: 
 
 Rev. L. D. Hatch, spring of 1843; Rev. R. C. Yale, 1843 
 and 1844; Rev. R. H. Chapman, 1845 to 1850; Rev. J. C. 
 Mitchell, 1850 to 1859; Rev. F. H. Bowman, 1859 to 1860; 
 the church pastorate was vacant 1861 and 1862; Rev. 
 J. M. P. Otts, D. D., 1862 to 1867; Rev. D. D. Sanderson, 
 1868 to 1871; vacant 1871 and 1872; Rev. W. J. Frierson, 
 1872 and 1873; Rev. Thomas Ward White, 1874 to 1879; 
 Rev. J. J. Anderson, 1880 and 1881; Rev. W. C. Clark, 
 May 1882 to 1886; Rev. W. G. Ready, 1889 to 1902; Rev. 
 J. P. Anderson, 1902 to present (1908). 
 
 The church has numbered among its membership some 
 of Greensboro's most honored and prominent men. On 
 the roll will be found such names as Witherspoon, Kerr, 
 Locke, Lowry, May, Strudwick, Webb, Carson, Castle- 
 man, Boardman and others. The number of persons 
 brought into the church since its organization has been 
 something over six hundred. 
 
 This church has furnished seven or eight ministers, 
 and there have been associated with it, as pastors, seven 
 ministers: Witherspoon, Chapman, Mitchell, Otts, Clark, 
 Ready and Anderson; and as stated supplies, nine: Kill- 
 
CHURCHES 105 
 
 house, Murphy, Hatch, Yale, Bowman, Sanderson, Frier- 
 son, White and Anderson. 
 
 Three houses of worship have been built — 1823, 
 1841 and 1859, in the latter year the present edifice was 
 erected. 
 
 Miss Emma Boardman, a member of this church, went 
 as a missionary to China in March, 1894, and is yet at her 
 post of duty. 
 
Chapter XV. 
 
 LODGES. 
 
 Masonic. 
 
 The Masonic Lodge now in existence in Greensboro — 
 known as Lafayette No. 26 — dates back to the year 1826, 
 though it would appear from the minutes of the Lodge 
 that it was the successor to one which had formerly been 
 organized in the town. From an old, faded and dim min- 
 ute entry the following is taken : 
 
 "3y virtue of the foregoing Dispensation from the Right Wor- 
 shipful John B. Hogan, Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge 
 of Alabama, a special communication of the Lafayette Lodge No. 
 26, was begun and held at the store house of Samuel Reed & Co., 
 in the town of Greensborough on the 19th of August A. L. 5826, 
 A. D. 1826." 
 
 There were present at this first communication the 
 following : Josiah Downing, Worshipful Master ; Franklin 
 Shaw, Senior Warden; Ebernezer Whiting, Junior War- 
 den; Nathan Baker, Treasurer; Thomas B, Childress, Sec- 
 retary; James B. Scott, Senior Deacon; Benjamin H, 
 Mann, Junior Deacon ; Lathan Cooper, Tyler ; also visiting 
 brethren J. B. Stickney, James C. Harrell and William 
 T. Scott. 
 
 A committee was appointed "to collect the jewels and 
 furniture of the former lodge held at this place, value 
 them, and report at the next communication." 
 
 In order to ascertain something in regard to the "for- 
 mer lodge" referred to in the above, a letter was written 
 to the Grand Secretary at Montgomery, the reply to which 
 is here inserted : 
 
108 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 Montgomery, Ala., March 18, 1907. 
 Mr. William E. W. Yerby, 
 
 Greensboro, Ala. 
 
 Dear Sir & Brother :- 
 
 I am in receipt of your favor of the 16th instant and take pleas- 
 ure in giving you the information we have concerning the first 
 Lodge instituted in your city. 
 
 The name of said Lodge was Washington No. 17. The petition 
 on which dispensation was issued said Lodge January 8, 1822 was 
 signed by Hiram Shortridge, Ina Nelson, Ebernezer Whiting, Sam- 
 uel G. Briggs, Samuel Dickenson, Lawrence Carr, Joseph Middle- 
 brooks, Joseph B. Stickney. Recommended by Rising Virtue Lodge 
 No. 4. 
 
 November 27, 1822 petition for Charter signed by Joseph B. 
 Stickney, W. M., and blank date 1822, another petition for Charter 
 signed by Thomas Sheridan, John L. Martin, James Means, Henry 
 Halbert, Thomas Westbrook, Allen M. Donald, John C. Dunn, L E. 
 Norris, T. L. Jernigan, Wiatt Harper, John Thomas, John C. Whit- 
 sett recommending Thomas Sheridan, W. M., Henry Halbert, S. W., 
 John P. Martin, J. W. 
 
 A Charter was issued December 10, 1823 to Thomas Sheriden, 
 Henry Halbert and John P. Martin, signed by Horatio G. Perry, 
 Dep. G. M., David Moore, Dep. G. W., A .Hutcheson, S. G. W., 
 Thomas Owen, J. G. W., W. I. Adair, Grand Secretary, p. t. 
 
 Returns — 1822, 17 members, 1823, 12 members, 1824, 9 members 
 and 1825, 14 members. 
 
 The Lodge surrendered its Charter, Jewels, etc., June 10, 1825. 
 The books, jewels, etc., were delivered to L Downing, W. M., of 
 Lafayette Lodge No. 26 in August 1826, with a petition to the 
 Grand Lodge that its members be permitted to join Lafayette 
 i-odge, signed by the W. Master Henry Halbert. 
 
 As it may be of some interest to you, I enclose copy of letter 
 written by Henry Halbert, W. M., protem of said Lodge. 
 
 Yours fraternally, 
 
 Geo. A. Beauchamp, 
 
 Grand Secretary. 
 
 To the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free Masons of 
 Alabama : 
 
 Prior to the dissolution of Washington Lodge No. 17 held at the 
 Orient of Greensborough the meetings were so thinly attended 
 and the members so dispersed that it was not in my power to make 
 a return to the last annual communication of the Most Worship- 
 ful Grand Lodge, and therefore solicit their indulgence for any 
 omission of duty I may have reluctantly committed. 
 
 Agreeably to an order of the right Wovshipful first deputy 
 Grand Master dated in August last, I delivered the funds and fur- 
 niture of the late Washington Lodge No. 17 to Brother L Downing, 
 Worshipful Master of Lafayette Lodge in this place, as also the 
 books and papers. The funds of the late Washington Lodge were 
 barely sufTicicnt to defray the expenses and it was with some dif- 
 ficulty that I have been enabled to collect the necessary dues to the 
 Grand Lodge forwarded heretvith: I therefore hope and trust 
 that the restrictions, if any, may be removed so far as that: Every 
 
LODGES 109 
 
 member of the late Washington Lodge who has paid up his dues 
 and is otherwise thought deserving may be permitted to join La- 
 fayette Lodge. 
 
 (Signed) HENRY HALBERT, 
 
 W. M. protem of the late Washington Lodge. 
 
 Greensborough, 11th Dec, A. L. 5826. 
 
 At a communication of Lafayette Lodge No. 26, held on 
 February 20th, 1827, it was ordered "that a petition for 
 a Charter for this Lodge be forwarded to the Grand 
 Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Alabama before the next 
 regular communication." 
 
 The Charter was promptly granted, and bears date of 
 March 21st, 1827. It designates Franklin A. Shaw as 
 Worshipful Master; Josiah Downing as Senior Warden, 
 and Ebenezer Whiting as Junior Warden. The Charter 
 is signed by Nimrod E. Benson, Grand Master, John B. 
 Hogan, Deputy Grand Master, and John G. Acker as 
 Grand Secretary. The sheep-skin upon which the char- 
 ter is written is now yellow with age, and has been in 
 the lodge room for more than three-quarters of a century ; 
 yet, it is in a fairly good state of preservation, and is 
 likely to witness the coming and going of several more 
 generations of Masons. 
 
 No reference is made in the ancient minutes of the Lodge 
 in regard to where the communications were held from 
 August, 1826, until January, 1833, at which time the agi- 
 tation of the question of building a lodge room was begun. 
 From some of the old inhabitants we have heard that the 
 Masons met in the early days in a building situated some- 
 where near the present shops of George DeLaney — this 
 location was probably where Washington No. 17 met. 
 
 It would seem that the Lodge went to work in earnest 
 on the lodge room proposition, for at a special communi- 
 cation held on February 15th, 1833, the following ap- 
 pears on the minutes : 
 
 The committee appointed to select a lot on which to 
 erect a lodge room reported "that the lot of Col. McAlpine 
 cannot be obtained on the terms anticipated by the Lodge, 
 
110 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 and that Mr. Sanders' lot could not be obtained without 
 restriction." Thereupon it was ordered 
 
 "that Mr. Sanders' lot and Mr. Peck's lot be put in nomination, 
 and the one which shall receive the greatest number of votes be 
 taken as the site for a Lodge, whereupon it appeared that Mr. 
 Peck's lot received the greatest number of votes." 
 
 The next week — February 22d, 1833 — the Lodge met 
 and "the brethren were formed in procession and march- 
 ed to the Methodist church, where an eloquent and feeling 
 address was delivered to them by Brother R. L. Kennon; 
 from thence they proceeded to laying the corner stone of 
 the new lodge, which being performed with appropriate 
 ceremonies, they returned to the lodge room." 
 
 The Masons participating in the dedicatory services 
 were : J. S. W. Hellen, John Fife, V. T. Shell, John Cocke, 
 Henry Webb, R. Shackleford, C. Jones, C. H. Cox, S. W. 
 Webb, J. P. Hill, J. B. Scott, W. T. Scott, N. Pinkham, 
 G. Goodrum, C. F. Stephens, John Craig, W. Earby, W. 
 S. Harrison, Messrs. Noel, Halbert, Whiting, Stewart, 
 Ocheltree and Garrett all of Lafayette Lodge; and visit- 
 ing brethren R. L. Kennon, Thomas S. Abernathy, Wil- 
 liam Craig, James A. Beal, T. F. Moody, John Nelson, 
 Joseph B. Stickney, J. Middlebrooks, J. Downing, James 
 Chambers, J. E. Frierson, F. J. W. Nelson, T. Goodrum, 
 W. D. Baldwin, J. D. Cash, Willis Nail, John P. Lipscomb, 
 John McGinnis, 0. Eddins, A. McMillan. 
 
 At the meeting of the Lodge on September 16th, 1833, 
 the following motion was passed : 
 
 "Resolved that the site agreed on for the location of a lodge 
 room be rescinded, and that a committee of three be appointed to 
 circulate subscriptions for the purpose of raising sufficient funds 
 to build a Lodge Room on the top of Mr. Dickens' house; when 
 brothers Cocke, Hellen and Webb were appointed." 
 
 This committee did not progress as rapidly with their 
 work as did the first one appointed to select a site, for it 
 was not until February 17th, 1835, that Mr. Dickens 
 made the Lodge the following proposition : 
 
LODGES 111 
 
 To the Members of Lafayette Lodge ai; Greensboro: 
 Gentlemen :- 
 
 "Having had a conversation with some of the members of your 
 body on the subject of building a lodge room on my lot lying east 
 of the Warrior House, I take this method of making you the fol- 
 lowing proposition : 
 
 I will erect a building of the same size of the one you now occupy 
 on the street leading from Main street to Mr. Peck's family res- 
 idence (Peck's residence was the W. W. Powers homestead) on 
 the same terms that the one you now occupy was built, without 
 the restriction that was laid on it. The lower room of the build- 
 ing is to be constructed so as to make a good Town Hall, and to be 
 appropriated to that purpose, provided the citizens of our town will 
 pay for it, if not, to be owned by myself. I am also willing to 
 make a good title to the upper story on its being paid for, or to the 
 whole building if the Lodge, or citizens, will pay the cost of the 
 same, without any charge for the ground on which it stands; the 
 room now occupied as a lodge room to be retained by the Lodge 
 until the new one is finished, without any charge for rent, and 
 then to be given up to me. I am, Gentlemen 
 
 Yours with respect, 
 
 Robert Dickens. 
 N. B. It will be understood that I will make good all the expense 
 the Lodge has been at in furnishing a part of the materials for 
 building the present Lodge room." 
 
 This proposition was accepted and Dickens built the 
 lodge room now occupied by the Masons of Greensboro. 
 The amount paid Dickens was $629,54, this being ordered 
 paid at the communication held on September 15th, 1835. 
 In the month of April, 1837, a bill from C. Jones was pre- 
 sented "for work in building the Masonic Hall." The 
 amount of this bill was $460.64. This was nearly two 
 years after the payment to Dickens. The minutes dis- 
 close nothing further on the subject. 
 
 The career of Lafayette Lodge has been a long and 
 honorable one. Many distinguished men have been num- 
 bered among the membership. Scattered throughout the 
 length and breadth of the land are those who have been 
 within the precincts of its Hall and have taken part in 
 the Masonic work. 
 
 It has a present membership of forty-five. 
 
112 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 DR. THOMAS R. WARD. 
 
 He was for twenty-two years Worshipful Master of LaFayetle 
 Masonic Lodge 
 
 The following is a complete list of those who have filled 
 the position of Worshipful Master since the organization 
 of the Lodge in 1826 : 
 
 Josiah Downing, 1826; Franklin Shaw, 1827; Wm. S. 
 Chapman, 1830; J. B. Scott, 1831; John Craig, 1832; J. 
 S. W. Hellen, 1833; John Fife, 1834; Daniel H. Bingham, 
 1835 ; Charles Whelan, 1836 ; Robert B. Waller, 1837-35- 
 39 ; Volney Boardman, 1840 ; Robert B. Waller, 1841 ; Wm. 
 Kerr, 1842-43; Robert B. Waller, 1844; Thomas Capers, 
 1845; Wm. Kerr, 1846; Thomas P. Chilton, 1847; Wm. 
 Kerr, 1848-49-50; Robert H. Jackson, 1851-52-53; R. D. 
 Huckabee, 1854-55-56; Thomas R. Ward, 1857-58-59-60- 
 61-62-63-64-65-66-67-68-69, 1871-72-73-74-75, 1880, 1886- 
 87, 1894; Wm. Trice, 1870; John S. Tucker, 1876-77; 
 Richard Inge, 1878-79; L. J. Lawson, 1880-81-82-83-84; 
 
LODGES 113 
 
 Elisha Young, 1885-86. (Note— From March, 1887, to 
 June, 1890, there was a suspension of the Lodge. On 
 June 17th, 1890, T. R. Ward, E. Young, R. U. DuBois, L. 
 J. Lawson, B. Steinhart, J. P. Lieser and J. H. Young rnet, 
 and under a dispensation of the Grand Secretary, elected 
 officers.) L. J. Lawson, W. M., 1890-1891; John H. Tur- 
 pin, 1892-93-94; D. P. Christenberry, 1895-96; J. A. Eller- 
 be, 1897-98; William Smaw, 1899-1900-01-02-03-04-05-06; 
 L. J. Lawson, 1907. 
 
 It will be noted that Dr. Thomas R. Ward served as 
 Worshipful Master twenty-two years,— the longest in 
 point of service of any of the Worshipful Masters. 
 
 Wm. E. W. Yerby has served the Lodge as Secretary 
 for fifteen consecutive years, i. e., from 1893 to 1908— 
 the longest period ever served by any Secretary during 
 the eighty-three years of its existence. 
 
 ROYAL ARCH CHAPTER. 
 
 Phoenix Royal Arch Chapter No. 11, under dispensa^ 
 tion, was organized April 16, 1838, at Greensboro, Ala., 
 with the following members : 
 
 Charles Whelan, H. P.; J. B. McVinoy, King; John Fife, 
 Scribe ; Henry Webb, C. of H. ; R. Haygood, P. S. ; W. D.' 
 Baldwin, R. A. C. ; R. B. Walthall, Charles Briggs, A. B. 
 Winn, M. of Veils. 
 
 A charter was granted by the Grand Chapter dated 
 December 6, 1838, and was forfeited in December, 1876. 
 The following are the names of the High Priests : 
 
 Charles Whelan, 1839 to 1844; Rev. Thomas Capers, 
 1845; Charles Whelan, 1846; William Kerr, 1847 to 1848; 
 Volney Boardman, 1849; William Kerr, 1850; Francis 
 M. Peterson, 1851 to 1859; William Kerr, 1860 to 1865; 
 N. T. Lupton, 1866 to 1867; Thomas R. Ward, 1868; N.' 
 T. Lupton, 1869; Reuben H. Jackson, 1870 to 1872; Fran- 
 cis M. Peterson, 1873 to 1874. 
 
 A dispensation was issued August 29, 1902, to the fol- 
 lowing Companions to organize a new Royal Arch Chap- 
 
114 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 ter in Greensboro, to be known as Phoenix Chapter No. 
 121: 
 
 John M. P. Otts, Jr., H. P.; William Smaw, King; John 
 G. Apsey, Sr., Scribe; Lee M, Otts, John G. Apsey, Jr., 
 A. C. Jones, George Findlay, R. U. Dubois, H. T. Waller. 
 After the organization of the Chapter other members 
 were: J. D. Hamilton, Wm, E. W. Yerby, T. G. Jones, 
 John A. Straiton, Richard Muckle, Henry A. Andrews. 
 George Delaney, N. L. Castleman, Chas. E. Waller, E. P. 
 McCollum. 
 
 In December, 1907, Phoenix No. 121 forfeited its 
 Charter. 
 
 KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS. 
 
 Eureka Lodge No. 29, Knights of Pythias of Greens- 
 boro, was chartered by the Grand Lodge of the State of 
 Alabama on the first day of April, 1880. 
 
 The following are the charter members : Mayer Frank, 
 S. Markstein, Abe Frank, Henry Beck, S. M. Marx, J. L. 
 Levy, A. H. Williams, J. Friedlander, P. N. Booker, R. 
 Inge, L. J. Lawson, J. B. Coleman, A. B. Loveman, J. M. 
 Shivers, A. I. Klein and M. W. Redus. 
 
 The Charter is duly signed by George F. Taylor, Grand 
 Chancellor of the State of Alabama. The charter mem- 
 bers at once went industriously to work to build up Eu- 
 reka Lodge No. 29, and the membership has at times been 
 as high as one hundred. 
 
 Eureka No. 29 has never owned its lodge room, but 
 has rented quarters from various parties. The first lodge 
 room was the upstairs over the hardware store of George 
 Findlay, — now occupied as The Watchman office. The 
 meetings were held there for a number of years, and then 
 the Lodge rented other quarters from M. Steinhart, up- 
 stairs in the building immediately in the rear of the Stein- 
 hart store. After remaining there for a term of years. 
 J. A. Blunt built a room in the third story of the Opera 
 
LODGES 115 
 
 House building especially for Eureka Lodge, since which 
 time the meetings have been held therein. 
 The present membership is about fifty. 
 
 THE ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 On February 24, 1845, George W. Freiderick and five 
 others, applied for and obtained a Charter to establish a 
 lodge of Odd Fellows in Greensboro, and on the 1st of 
 March, 1845, Grand Chaplain Williamson came to Greens- 
 boro and instituted Lodge No. 8, I. 0. O. F. It prospered 
 for a time, and then the Charter was forfeited. There 
 has been no lodge of Odd Fellows in the town for many 
 years. 
 
JEFFRIES A. BLUNT. 
 
Chapter XVI. 
 
 MODERN GREENSBORO. 
 
 Any history of modern Greensboro with J. A. Blunt 
 omitted, would resemble the play of Hamlet with Hamlet 
 left out, for no more progressive and enterprising man 
 ever resided in the town, — nor one who took more pride 
 in the advancement of everything that tended to the up- 
 building of the place. His name is identified with many 
 of the most substantial improvements that have been 
 made of recent years. 
 
 Jeffries A, Blunt is the son of the late E. A. Blunt and 
 his wife Mary Francis Hall Blunt, and was born in Mar- 
 ion, Alabama, on the 5th day of December, 1861. At the 
 age of thirteen years — 1874 — he came to Greensboro and 
 clerked in the general merchandise store of A. S. Jeffries 
 for three years, at the expiration of which time he en- 
 tered the employ of James W. McCrary, as a clerk in his 
 store. He held this position for ten years, when he and 
 M. M. Avery entered the mercantile business, buying out 
 A. S. Jeffries, the style of the firm being Avery & Blunt. 
 In 1894, upon the organization of the Bank of Greens- 
 boro, Mr. Blunt was elected as Cashier, which position 
 he held until 1896, when he was elected as President of 
 the institution, which position he has filled since that time 
 to the present with marked ability and success. 
 
 Mr. Blunt served for a dozen or more years on the 
 Town Council, and it was largely through his efforts that 
 the cemented sidewalks were put down in the business 
 portion of Greensboro, and also that the Main Street 
 was cherted from the depot to the cemetery. 
 
118 HISTORY OF GREEXSBORO. ALA. 
 
 The reader will find, in perusing this volume, that Mr. 
 Blunt's name is connected with a number of Greensboro's 
 enterprises, and many of the principal buildings. 
 
 In 1897, Mr. Blunt erected a two story brick structure 
 filling the space on the south side of Main street between 
 the Steinhart building and the Dorman stores. In the 
 upper story he fitted up a pretty Public Hall, and the 
 building was given the name of the ''Opera House Block." 
 This structure was burned to the ground on the night 
 of Nov. 24, 1902, as were also the Dorman stores. It 
 was the most disastrous fire in the history of Greensboro, 
 the losses footing up about $70,000. In 1903, Mr. Blunt 
 replaced the burned stores with the present handsome 
 building — the most imposing ever erected in the town. 
 The same year, Mr. C. A. Ramsey rebuilt the Dorman 
 block, the present handsome stores being the result. In 
 this block has been conducted since 1847, the Stollen- 
 werck drug store, which was established in that year by 
 Alphonse Stollenwerck, who died in Greensboro on Au- 
 gust 11, 1900. Since his death, the business has been con- 
 ducted by his sons. Mr. Stollenwerck was an honored 
 and much respected citizen of Greensboro for more than 
 half century. 
 
 MAIN STKKKT Ol' (iKEKiN .■>!.( >Ku 
 Looking West from the Methodist Parsonage. 
 
MODERN GREENSBORO ' 119 
 
 BLUNT'S OPERA HOUSE AND THE DORMAN BLOCK. 
 
 FIRST HOUSES BUILT AFTER THE WAR. 
 
 It would be superfluous to state that for nearly twenty 
 years after the close of the war between the North and 
 South that enterprise and progress were unknown quan- 
 tities in the smaller towns of this section. The people 
 were disheartened, and had to adjust themselves to 
 new conditions — conditions that were hard, and seeming- 
 ly unbearable, for they were so different from those to 
 which they had been accustomed. 
 
 It was not until the year 1884 that there was a sem- 
 blance of building of new stores or residences in Greens- 
 boro. The sound of the hammer and the saw had been 
 unknown for nearly a quarter of a century. But in 1884, 
 S. H. Lawrence built the little wooden store house on the 
 south side of Main street now occupied by Wynne as a 
 beef market. He soon afterward erected a cottage on the 
 
120 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 lot on which is now situated the handsome home of Thom- 
 as R. Ward, Jr. A few years prior to this, Col. L. J. 
 Lawson built his present residence on Tuscaloosa street. 
 
 The building spirit was soon caught by others, for in 
 the early part of 1886 the residence of Mrs. W. D. Lee 
 on Demopolis street was erected, and that of Prof. F. M. 
 Peterson on Main street, — now owned by Thos. H. Jones. 
 
 Up to this time no building had been done in Greens- 
 boro worthy of note — indeed, so strange a thing was the 
 erection of a house, that the writer recalls that as he was 
 passing one of the structures mentioned above while it 
 was in course of building, that a little girl asked him what 
 the men who were at work on the residence were doing, 
 and when informed that they were building a house she 
 said: "Well, I declare! I thought that when God made 
 the world He made at the same time the houses the people 
 live in." 
 
 Other improvements begun to be made, and Greensboro 
 was progressing well until the "Birmingham boom" broke 
 in full force upon the citizens, not only of Greensboro, 
 but of Hale county as well. Hundreds of thousands of 
 dollars were carried there and invested — the buyers of 
 real estate hoping to become immensely wealthy. Some 
 of them did well — many others did not, but lost heavily 
 when the inevitable crash came, and prices of real estate 
 shot downward, the winds of adversity seeming to blow 
 untempered upon the "shorn lambs." 
 
 The large amount of money taken from Greensboro to 
 Birmingham during 1886 and 1887 almost put a stop to 
 the progress of the town in the matter of new buildings 
 for several years. 
 
 However, in 1887, Capt. S. T. Taylor moved to Greens- 
 boro from Mississippi, and purchased what was then 
 known as the Scarff corner, at the intersection of Tusca- 
 loosa and Main streets, and upon it he built the first 
 brick store (possibly the one which W. W. Overstreet 
 now owns and occupies being excepted) that had been 
 
MODERN GREENSBORO 121 
 
 built for forty years or more. J. S. Buchanan was the 
 contractor at the price of $10,000. This only applies to 
 the two story building on the corner — for the two stores 
 immediately east of and adjoining this one were built 
 by James W. McCrary in 1890. 
 
 In 1891, T. R. Ward & Son removed the small wooden 
 building on Main street which Dr. T. R. Ward had oc- 
 cupied as an office for many years, and erected the pres- 
 ent brick structure. The same year, G. W. Dugger added 
 a story to the Greensboro Hotel. 
 
 Morris Steinhart in 1894 tore away the wooden build- 
 ing in which J. W. McCrary did business for many years, 
 and erected two brick stores and a brick warehouse on 
 the site. 
 
 In 1895, the colored Baptists begun the building of a 
 large brick church on "Baptist Hill." The work, while 
 at present well under way, has by no means been complet- 
 ed. The same year, W. E. Torbert built his present brick 
 livery stable. Dr. A. Lawson also remodeled his bank 
 building. 
 
 In 1897, J. A. Blunt erected a two story brick store 
 now owned and occupied by P. F. Osborn. 
 
 In December, 1896, the building on Main street known 
 as the old Christian Hotel, was destroyed by fire. It had 
 been standing since about 1829, and was at one time re- 
 garded as among the finest two story bricks in the town. 
 It was for a long while kept as a hotel by Mrs. Christian, 
 a saintly woman, whose memory is yet kept alive by the 
 older inhabitants. She was the mother of Judge W. C. 
 Christian and of Mrs. L. W. Turpin, now of Greensboro. 
 In 1898 Mrs. W. C. Tunstall, who owned the property, 
 had the present one-story brick stores erected on the site 
 of the old hotel building. 
 
 In the old days there formerly stood a brick building 
 where the Johnson-Winn Millinery establishment now 
 stands known as the "Mansion House," which was kept 
 as a hotel for a few years by the late Col. John G. Har- 
 
122 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 vey. While it was under his charge, sometime about 
 1843, the building fell, wrecking nearly everything on 
 the interior and killing a jeweler named Munn. 
 
 In 1898, Benners and Jack removed the small wooden 
 structures on Main street formerly occupied as law of- 
 fices, and erected the two-story brick structure just east 
 of Dr. Lawson's property. The same year Ed. deGraf- 
 fenreid built the two-story structure at present occupied 
 by Gulley & Christian, 
 
 In 1899, Tutwiler & Jones removed the wooden build- 
 ings on the corner east of the Benners & Jack building 
 and erected the two-story brick that stands there at pres- 
 ent. 
 
 In 1900, S. P. Stickney, who had purchased the L. Law- 
 son property on Main street, removed the wooden struc- 
 tures standing thereon and erected the brick store occu- 
 pied by F. F. Whittle, and also the one immediately 
 east of it. This was the last wooden structure on the 
 north side of the business portion of the town. 
 
 The passing of the old Lawson store recalled the memory 
 of one of the noblest, sweetest-spirited Christian gentle- 
 men that ever resided in the town — Lewis Lawson, the 
 father of Dr. A. Lawson and Col. L. J. Lawson. He came 
 to Greensboro from England, and for many years con- 
 ducted a successful mercantile business here. In all good 
 works he was foremost, and was true to every responsi- 
 bility of life. Mr. Lawson died in Greensboro in De- 
 cember, 1881, honored and respected by those among 
 whom he had resided for so many years. It was through 
 his kindness of heart that Greensboro was indebted 
 for another most excellent citizen — Richard Andrews, 
 also from England. Mr. Lawson met Andrews, a wan- 
 dering waif, in Mobile, and brought him to Greensboro 
 and gave him employment in his store, where he re- 
 mained until he was, in 1868, given the position as clerk 
 of the Probate Court of Hale county, which position he 
 filled with great credit until his death in January, 1907. 
 
MODERN GREENSBORO 123 
 
 In the earlier days of his life, Mr. Andrews followed 
 the sea — being a sailor on a lumber ship that plied the 
 ocean. »The wind never blew angrily that it did not recall 
 to his mind his life as a sailor lad. There was one inci- 
 dent that was impressed indelibly upon his memory. 
 While a severe storm was raging and the waves were run- 
 ning mountain-high, just as a sailor who was high up on 
 one of the masts unloosing sails, uttered a frightful oath, a 
 great gust of wind, more severe than any that had blown, 
 swept him from the mast out into the angry waters. His 
 body was never recovered. The thought of this poor fel- 
 low being ushered into eternity with that awful oath 
 upon his lips always made this good man shudder. 
 
 In 1902, Dr. S. C. Carson erected his Sanitarium, and 
 A. M. Tunstall built his law office. 
 
 In 1902, John A. Straiton established his manufactur- 
 ing plant in Greensboro, where is turned out numerous 
 articles for building and furnishing houses. 
 
 In 1904, M. D. L. Moore built the livery stable and 
 three stores on the south side of Main street at the in- 
 tersection of Tuscaloosa street. 
 
 In 1906-7, J. A. Blunt greatly improved the Greensboro 
 hotel, and also, a few years previous to this time, erected 
 the building now occupied as the Postoffice, and also the 
 offices immediately to the south of this building, practi- 
 cally opening up a new business section of the town. 
 
 The brick structures in Greensboro not mentioned as 
 having been erected since the war have been standing so 
 long that no present inhabitant remembers when they 
 were built, 
 
 A very large number of handsome residences have been 
 erected during the past twenty years, and the town has 
 steadily progressed. 
 
 Greensboro is situated in the heart of a fine agricultur- 
 al country, and while it may never become a very large 
 city, it will always maintain a degree of prosperity pro- 
 portionate to the success of those who cultivate the farms. 
 
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Chapter XVII. 
 
 WATER WORKS. 
 
 It is a far cry from "the old osken bucket that hung in 
 the well" to a modern system of water works, but that is 
 the distance Greensboro has traveled. In the early days, 
 the citizens were entirely dependent upon the water 
 drawn from wells by means of rope and bucket for their 
 supply. The business portion of the town was furnished 
 from a couple of wells — one of which was located in the 
 exact center of the Main street where it is intersected by 
 Tuscaloosa street, and the other was in the center of Main 
 street where it is intersected by Market and PostofRce 
 streets. 
 
 As the town increased in population, these wells were 
 found to be badly situated and were filled in, and three 
 others dug in their stead, — one on the edge of the side- 
 walk on the south side of Main street nearly opposite 
 the Powers store; one on the edge of the sidewalk on 
 the north side of Main street at the southeast corner 
 of the Greensboro Hotel, and the other on the south 
 side of Main street on the edge of the sidewalk 
 northwest of the Court House. These wells were 
 supplied with pumps, instead of buckets, in 1874, and 
 the citizens considered that quite an advance in the line 
 of progress had been made. This method of obtaining 
 water was continued until 1893, when a complete sys- 
 tem of water works was inaugurated by Charles E. Wal- 
 ler, Esq., and the wells were filled up, and are now parts 
 of the sidewalk. 
 
126 
 
 HISTORY OF GREEXSBORO. A LA. 
 
 HON. CHARLES E. WALLER. 
 He established the Greensboro Water Works System. 
 
 The first steps toward obtaining water works was made 
 by the town authorities in 1890, when, with the object in 
 view of obtaining an overflowing well of artesian water, 
 they contracted to have one bored. The work was begun 
 that year, and continued for about eighteen months on a 
 lot which is now covered by the southwest corner of the 
 Court House. 
 
 Just here it is worthy of note that one day, just as the 
 workman had wearily picked through about twenty feet 
 of rock at a depth of 520 feet, his auger suddenly dropped 
 a distance of 15 feet, and the water in the piping that had 
 for a month or more stood at a depth of 48 feet from the 
 surface, receded to a depth of 110 feet. From these facts 
 it was decided by those who know much of geology, that 
 it was an underground river fifteen feet deep that had 
 
ELECTRIC LIGHTS 127 
 
 been struck. The iron casing was, after a time, forced 
 through the gap, and the work of boring continued until 
 a depth of 890 feet was reached, when the workman 
 broke off his drill, and after many vain efforts to remove 
 it, the well was abandoned, after an expenditure by the 
 town of about $5,000.00. 
 
 Somewhat discouraged, but not entirely disheartened, 
 by the first failure, the town authorities decided to try 
 again, and put the workman to boring in the bottom im- 
 mediately south of Main street where the Water and 
 Light Plant is now located. They were successful here, 
 for in a few weeks, at a depth of 432 feet, a bold stream 
 was struck that overflowed gently. Another well was 
 bored near this one, and at the same depth the same 
 stream was struck. The cost of the two was only $550.00. 
 
 Not wishing to undertake the ''Municipal Ownership" 
 problem, the Mayor and Council contracted with Charles 
 E. Waller, Esq., to take the wells, and he at once proceed- 
 ed to establish a system of water works. Mr. Waller paid 
 the town $1200.00 for the last two mentioned wells and 
 a couple of small lots adjacent. He was granted a fran- 
 chise for a period of thirty years from 1893, — the fran- 
 chise to be renewed and extended another thirty years at 
 the expiration of the first period should he or his succes- 
 sors and assigns choose to renew the contract, and the 
 terms of the contract having been faithfully complied 
 with by the party of the second part. 
 
 Mr. Waller continued to own the Water Works until 
 the year 1900, when he disposed of the property to James 
 E. Webb of Birmingham. 
 
 ELECTRIC LIGHTS. 
 
 Greensboro, from its foundation up to the year 1883, 
 never knew what it was to have even a street lamp. Look- 
 ing at the matter now, it appears inconceivable that the 
 citizens should have allowed the streets to remain in total 
 darkness after nightfall for about 65 years, — but such 
 
128 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 is the fact, for it was not until 1883 that W. W, Powers 
 appeared before the Mayor and Council and presented 
 a petition signed by eighty citizens and tax-payers pray- 
 ing that body to erect twenty street lamps at convenient 
 places on certain streets of the town. The petition was 
 granted, and the lamps were, in a few months, placed in 
 position. In 1885, the number of lights was increased to 
 thirty. Mr. Powers was among the most sterling, pro- 
 gressive and successful business men of his day. 
 
 In December, 1899, the Mayor and Council granted 
 James E. Webb of Birmingham, the privilege of erecting 
 and operating an Electric Light Plant in Greensboro, and 
 in 1900 the kerosene lamps that had been on duty for 
 seventeen years were put out of commission, and their 
 places supplied with arc lights, — twenty-three in number, 
 
 Mr. Webb purchased the Water Works of Charles E. 
 Waller in 1900, and combined the Electric and Water 
 Works Plants, — the combination being styled "The 
 Greensboro Water and Light Company." 
 
 Mr. Webb continued to own and operate the plant until 
 1904, when it was purchased by J. A. Blunt and associ- 
 ates, by whom it is now owned and operated. 
 
 The present steel water tank was erected in 1905, and 
 has a capacity of 80,000 gallons. Its extreme height is 
 1361/2 feet. 
 
 ARTESIAN WELLS. 
 
 While a number of unsuccessful attempts have been 
 made to get overflowing wells in Greensboro proper, yet 
 a few miles south, and also west, of the town there are 
 many of these wells — some of them furnishing great quan- 
 tities of water. There is one located twelve miles south- 
 west of Greensboro on what is known as the "Goodrum 
 Place," that possibly furnishes a greater amount of water 
 than any other in the United States. It is ten inches in 
 diameter, and the water gushes out of the earth from a 
 depth of six hundred feet in such volume that a sufficient 
 quantity is furnished to run a grist mill, cotton ginnery, 
 
ARTESIAN WELLS 
 
 129 
 
 ONE OF THE LARGEST ARTESIAN WELLS IN THE WORLD 
 
 Situated ten miles Southwest of Greensboro. 
 
 cotton press and saw mill. It was bored in 1852 by Col. 
 Samuel Pickens, and for over half a century it has con- 
 tinued to flow with imperceptible diminution in the quan- 
 tity of water. To give an idea of the amount of water 
 that is furnished by the well, it is only necessary to state 
 that the trough around it is four feet across, and when the 
 water falls back it fills the trough from side to side. 
 
 The grist mill, ginnery and saw mill run by the water 
 from this well are situated on a hillside about a hundred 
 yards away, and the water is carried to it by means of a 
 canal cut in the solid limerock. Just under the mill house 
 is a well three feet in diameter and forty feet deep. In 
 
130 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 this, at a depth of twenty-five feet, is a turbine wheel, 
 and the water from the canal is turned on when it is de- 
 sired to put the machinery in motion. A tunnel from the 
 bottom of this 40-foot well has been cut a distance of a 
 hundred yards — ranging upward — and the waste water 
 is turned into a branch. The accompanying picture gives 
 some idea of the magnitude of this remarkable artesian 
 well. 
 
 FIRE COMPANIES. 
 
 The first Fire Company organized in Greensboro was 
 on the 28th of February, 1868, on which date a number 
 of citizens of the town met in the old Franklin Hall and 
 discussed the necessity of such an organization. R. H. 
 Jackson was chairman of the meeting, and Dr. Jas. D. 
 Osborne was secretary. After a thorough discussion of 
 the matter, and the passage of a resolution to form "The 
 Greensboro Fire Company," the following officers were 
 elected : 
 
 A. E. McClure, President; Wm. G. Hafner, 1st assis- 
 tant; N. P. Lawrence, 2d assistant; James D. Osborne, 
 secretary; Thomas J. Seay, treasurer. 
 
 On December 16th, 1869, an Act was approved incor- 
 porating the Greensboro Fire Company No. 1, the cor- 
 porate name being the "Greensboro Fire Company No. 1, 
 of the town of Greensboro, Alabama," Those named in 
 the body of the Act as incorporators are : L. J. Lawson, 
 R. H. Jackson, George Breitenbach, E. T. Hutchinson, 
 T. J. Seay and A. H. Benners. The following is a roll of 
 "Greensboro Fire Company No. 1:" 
 
 L. J. Lawson, Foreman. Briggs, S. G., Jr. 
 
 C. A Ramsey, 1st Assistant. Carson S. C. 
 
 Geo. Breitenbach, 2nd Assistant c ^ - v> i: 
 
 E. T. Hutcliinson, Secretary. ^^i-on, r. iv. 
 
 Alex H. Williams, Treasurer. Coleman. J. B. 
 
 Atkins, Jno. H. Douglass, R. B. 
 
 Benners, A. H. DuBose, C. P. 
 
 Boaidman, H. Fain, J. E. 
 
 Briggs, C. T. Gayle, J. M. 
 
FIRE COMPANIES 131 
 
 Hamilton, J. D. Mellown, S. S. 
 
 Hooton, H. H. Nelson G. T. 
 
 Johnson, C. A. Parish, E. T. 
 
 Johnson, W. P. Roberts, W. W. 
 
 Johnson, Frank. Seay, T. J. 
 
 Leiser, J. P. Sharon, F. P. 
 
 Love, J. E. Stockton, John T. 
 
 Loveman, A. Tramill, S. C. 
 
 McDonald, Peyton C. Williams, J. A. 
 Wills, W. D. 
 
 "Phoenix Hook and Ladder Company" was soon after- 
 ward organized as an adjunct to the Fire Company, but 
 lasted only a few years. 
 
 In 1893, the Fire Company of which the present is the 
 successor, was organized, and the old Market House was 
 set apart by the Mayor and Council as a fire house. It 
 was overhauled and made a very suitable place for the 
 storing of the fire apparatus. It is yet in use by the Com- 
 pany. The members of the present Greensboro Fire Com- 
 pany are as follows : 
 
 Chief— C. Y. Stollenwerck. 
 
 Foreman & Secretary — N. L. Crabb. 
 
 Treasurer — N. L. Crabb. 
 
 Members : 
 
 Otts, E. V. Sledge, W. G. 
 
 Payne Walter. Helton Robert 
 
 Reasonover, W. L. Torbei't, Edgar 
 
 Waller. C. E. Jr. Wilson, W. C. 
 
 Davis, H. A. Wmn, Lee. 
 
 Ctts, J. W. Sledge, E. W. 
 
 Waller, A. E. Scale, Walter. 
 Powers, A. J. 
 
Chapter XVIII. 
 
 COURT HOUSE AND JAIL. 
 
 COL. STEPHEN F. HALE, 
 
 In honor of whose memory Hale Covmty was named. He was a 
 prominent lawyer of Greene County, Ala., residing at Eutaw, 
 and represented Greene in the Leg:islature a number of terms. 
 He was a soldier in the Mexican War, 1845, and made a bril- 
 liant record. He held the rank of Lieut -Colonel in the Con- 
 federate war, belonging to the Army of Virginia. Col. Hale 
 was killed in 1862 in one of the battles around Richmond. 
 
 On January 30th, 1867, the Legislature passed an Act 
 creating Hale county. It was named for Col. Stephen F. 
 Hale, a prominent and highly respected citizen of Greene 
 county, from which latter county Hale was carved. The 
 first election for county officers was held in March of the 
 same year, and resulted in the election of Alfred H. Hutch- 
 
134 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 inson as probate judge; J. E. Griggs, sheriff; James A. 
 Tallman, circuit clerk (Mr. Tallman failing to qualify, 
 the Governor appointed Volney Boardman to fill the posi- 
 tion, which he occupied about 25 years) ; Ed. Nutting, 
 tax assessor; Dan H. Britton, tax collector; I. F. Lewis, 
 R. B. Allen, Burrell Johnson and A. S. Jeffries, county 
 commissioners; P. T. Wright, justice of the peace, and 
 Benjamin E. Dorman, constable. 
 
 At this election the question of locating the court house 
 was submitted to a vote of the people. There were three 
 candidates for the county seat, namely : Greensboro, 
 Bucksnort, and Five Mile Church. The vote was as fol- 
 lows : For Greensboro, 570 votes ; for Bucksnort, 280 
 votes, and for Five Mile Church, 124 votes. Greensboro 
 received 166 majority over all, and was declared the 
 county seat of Hale county. 
 
 Pending the decision of the voters on the question of 
 locating the court house, the citizens of Greensboro pledg- 
 ed that in the event the citizens of Hale would put it in 
 Greensboro they would furnish the county a court house 
 and jail free of charge. This promise they kept, but it 
 was the cause of considerable friction for several years 
 in the town when the question of raising the money to 
 pay for the buildings was brought home to the tax payers. 
 
 On the 13th day of December, 1867, the Intendant and 
 Council of Greensboro purchased from the Alabama Bap- 
 tist State Convention their church building, then known 
 as "Salem Baptist Church," for the sum of $8,000. The 
 church stood where the present court house stands. The 
 deed to the town to this property is signed by J. L. M. 
 Curry and Charles Manley for the Baptists, and is wit- 
 nessed by James D. Spiller and U. P. Walker. 
 
 On the 5th day of April, 1868, the "Intendant and Coun- 
 cil of the Town of Greensboro," conveyed the property to 
 Hale county, on the following conditions : "The use and 
 right of property to the premises conveyed shall be and 
 remain in the County of Hale so long as Greensboro shall 
 
GRAVES AND GRAVEYARDS 135 
 
 remain the county seat ; but if at any time or in any event 
 the said Greensboro shall cease to be the county seat of 
 said county, and the purposes for which this deed is given 
 should fail, then all right, title and interest in and to the 
 said land and buildings conveyed shall revert to, and be 
 vested in and belong to the said town of Greensboro, 
 which shall then have the right to enter upon and take 
 possession thereof." 
 
 The deed is signed by Amasa M. Dorman as Mayor, 
 who by the way, was one of the most progressive and 
 useful citizens of the town. He was Mayor of Greens- 
 boro for a dozen or more years and it was his pride to 
 
 THE OLD COURT HOUSE 
 
 Which was torn down in 1907 to make room for the present Court 
 House The middle portion of the old structure was formerly 
 Salem Baptist Church. 
 
 beautify the streets of the town. To him Greensboro is 
 indebted for the magnificent oaks along the Main street. 
 He died March 20th, 1885, and is buried in the Greensboro 
 cemetery. 
 
 Owing to dissensions of citizens in regard to the man- 
 ner in which the Mayor and Council managed the court 
 house and jail question, the Governor in December, 1868, 
 removed the Mayor and Councilmen and appointed others 
 in their stead. A special tax was levied upon the pro- 
 perty in the town to pay for the court house and jail, and 
 there was much dissatisfaction on the subject for some 
 years. 
 
136 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 It was not until September, 1871, that the present jail 
 was completed and turned over to the county by the town. 
 During the interim, the county used the calaboose of the 
 town for a prison. It is still standing, a curious looking 
 little two-room building situated almost in the heart of 
 the city in the rear of the present fire house. 
 
 In November, 1905, the question of issuing $30,000 
 worth of bonds by Hale county, to bear 5 per cent in- 
 terest, for the purpose of constructing a new court house 
 was submitted to the people, and the bond issue was car- 
 ried. In November, 1906, the contract was let, and in 
 January, 1907, work on the present court house was be- 
 gun, and the building was completed in May, 1908. John 
 A. Straiton was the contractor, his bid being $44,767.19, 
 It was found, before the contract was let, that the $30,- 
 000 was not sufficient to build the structure, so the com- 
 missioners at their August, 1907, term instructed the pro- 
 bate judge to issue twenty county warrants for the sum 
 of one thousand dollars each and to sell them and get the 
 money with which to complete the building. This was 
 done the October following. These warrants are be- 
 ing paid yearly at the rate of $1,000 a year, and bear 6 
 per cent interest. 
 
 The first session of court held in the new structure was 
 in April, 1908, Judge B. M. Miller presiding. 
 
 GRAVES AND GRAVEYARDS. 
 
 There are a number of scattered graves in Greensboro 
 of which the present generation — most of them — know 
 nothing. 
 
 On the eastern edge of the woods in the rear of the 
 Otts residence are quite a number of graves, the dead of 
 Troy being interred there. No tombstones are to be seen, 
 but the graves are bricked up, and all that is known is, 
 that beneath the sod repose the remains of some of the 
 ancient settlers of this section — their names and their 
 history being entirely obliterated. 
 
GRAVES AND GRAVEYARDS 
 
 137 
 
 GRAVES OF FREDERICK AND THOMAS PECK. 
 Among the first inhabitants of Greensboro. 
 
 There are also a number of graves in t'ne rear of Dr. 
 A. Lawson's residence — it being the burial place of the 
 Pecks. 
 
 Here lie the remains of Frederick Peck, one of the ear- 
 liest settlers of Greensboro, who was the first postmas- 
 ter and among the very first merchants of the place. 
 He died February 4th, 1846, Mrs. Eliza Peck is also 
 buried here, she having died in April, 1863. Rev. Wm. S. 
 Peck, formerly the pastor of the Presbyterian Church at 
 Livingston, is buried here. He died in September, 1849, 
 In this same enclosure are the graves of Mrs. Sophia 
 Wemyss, who died in September, 1822, and Edwin A. 
 Wemyss, who died in June, 1855. The Wemyss' were for- 
 merly very prominent citizens of this place. In the 
 northwest corner of the little graveyard, solitary and 
 alone, is a tombstone, bearing this inscription : "Abram 
 Duff, Born April, 1790; died June, 1852." He was prob- 
 ably a relative of the Pecks or Wemyss', but not a soul 
 could be found who remembered that he had ever resided 
 in the town of Greensboro, though he supposedly lived 
 here a long while. 
 
138 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 In a clump of woods in the rear of Dr. R. H, Jackson's 
 old homestead on Demopolis street, is the family grave- 
 yard of the Mays. In this lot is buried General Patrick 
 May, who joined General Andrew Jackson's forces when 
 they were in Alabama quelling disturbances with the In- 
 dians. He was a very brave soldier. At the battle of 
 Burnt Corn, which was fought in 1813, Lieut. May and 
 two other soldiers, became separated from the main body 
 of the army while fighting with the Indians in a swamp. 
 The savages were concealed in a dense cane'orake, and the 
 three men were battling with a large number of them, 
 As the fight progressed, a tall,swathy warrior, more brave 
 than his fellows, came out of hiding and leveled his gun on 
 May, who also threw his into position. The weapons were 
 discharged at the same instant. The Indian warrior fell 
 forward a corpse, while May was uninjured, but the fire 
 of the savage shattered May's gun near the lock. Being 
 thus disarm.ed, he thought it best to retreat, and the three 
 made a rush for their horses, but before reaching them, 
 one of the soldiers, Lieut. Girard W. Creagh, was shot 
 down by the Indians, the ball entering his hip. He fell 
 upon the ground, exclaiming: "Save me. Lieutenant, or 
 I am gone!" Instantly, May wheeled around, ran to his 
 fallen companion, raised him from the ground and bore 
 him ofi" on his back, — the Indians following rapidly. 
 Reaching their horses, Creagh was placed on his animal, 
 and May and the other soldier leaped into their saddles, 
 and made off at full speed, soon joining the main body of 
 troops from which they had become seoarated. May be- 
 came a noted Indian fighter in the succeeding years. He 
 died at his home in Greensboro — the red brick house on 
 the hill to the east of Brick Springs — on April 5th, 1868, 
 and was buried in the family graveyard. No tomb has 
 •ever been erected above his grave, and it is a mere matter 
 of speculation which of the mounds of earth his re- 
 mains lie beneath. 
 
 Many years after the happening at Burnt Corn, when 
 
GRAVES AND GRAVEYARDS 139 
 
 the young man whose life May had saved had married 
 and his children were grown, a son of Creagli, having of- 
 ten heard the incident related above told by his father, 
 resolved to see the man to whom his father owed his life. 
 He came to Greensboro, met thv3 General and his family, 
 fell in love with one of his daughters, and they were hap- 
 pily married, — the Creaghs of Selma and Birmingham 
 being the children of this marriage. 
 
 For more than half a century after the settlement of 
 Greensboro, there were no public graveyards — all bur- 
 ials being made on private ground. The Stokes grave- 
 yard, in the northern suburbs of the town — where lie 
 the remains of the older inhabitants, was never a public 
 burial place. It was owned by private individuals, and 
 the lots were bought from them. 
 
 When the question came up for the purchase by the 
 town of Greensboro of a public cemetery, this place, of 
 course, was under serious consideration by those who had 
 the matter in charge. The land was of little value for cul- 
 tivation, and was really worth only a nominal sum, but 
 the owners, knowing the interest the public and the rela- 
 tives of those who were buried there felt in the matter, 
 demanded what was considered a most exorbitant price 
 for the plat, which the town authorities refused to pay. 
 Much bad feeling was engendered, which lasted for quite 
 a long while — in fact, until all who had to do with the 
 matter directly, needed for themselves a quiet resting 
 place in a cemetery. 
 
 The present site, known as the Greensboro cemetery, 
 was bought by the town, and the Stokes graveyard grad- 
 ually came into disuse as a burial place. Only an occa- 
 sional interment is ever made therein. It presents a very 
 sad and dilapidated appearance. 
 
 In this old burial place repose the remains of the men 
 and women who walked the streets of Greensboro when 
 the town was young, and who owned the lands, the stores 
 and houses for miles around. Their word was law in 
 
140 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 View of a portion of the old Stokes Graveyard- 
 June 28, 1908. 
 
 -taken 
 
 the old days. They established our churches and schools, 
 directed the affairs of government, carried on the com- 
 merce, and put forth their best efforts for the uplift of 
 humanity. But they lived in a period of the history of 
 this section to which the present generation is a stranger, 
 — amidst the dazzling splendors of the "old South," 
 when men owned slaves by the hundreds, and were lords 
 upon their large landed estates. The great majority of 
 them passed from the stage of action years before the 
 changed conditions (resultant upon the civil war) took 
 place in the Southland. Their long sleep was undisturbed 
 by the roar of cannon and the rattle of musketry as tre- 
 mendous issues were fought out and decided in the bloody 
 battles between the northern and southern troops nearly 
 half a century ago. 
 
 From the present appearance of the Stokes graveyard, 
 it would seem that those who are buried there have beer, 
 forgotten. Many of the tombs have toppled over, the 
 
GRAVES AND GRAVEYARDS 141 
 
 brick vaults have crumbled, and only gaping cavities re- 
 veal, in many instances, the last resting place of those 
 over whom no tombs were erected. Brambles and briers 
 run riot everywhere, and it is v/ith difficulty one makes 
 his way through the tangled mass of undergrowth in this 
 old burial place of the long ago. 
 
 The following are the names of some of those who 
 have rested out there on the hillside for many, many 
 years, — names that are known far beyond the confines 
 of Greensboro and of Alabama : 
 
 Robert Heywood McFadden, died 1858; John D. Moore, 
 died 1849 ; Thomas M. Johnston, died 1863 ; Catherine, 
 wife of Wm. A. Jones, died 1852; Mary Ellen, wife of 
 Richard H. Lewis, and daughter of Louis A. Foreman, 
 died 1840; Thomas H. Shackelford, died 1840; John R. 
 Witherspoon, died 1852; Wm. T. Bryan, died 1827; 
 Thomas W. Witherspoon, died 1836; Rev. Thomas S. 
 Witherspoon, died 1844 ; Robert Franklin Witherspoon, 
 died 1840 ; Rev. J. Hillhouse, died 1835 ; Elizabeth Stokes, 
 died 1833 ; George M. Johnston, died 1834 ; James John- 
 ston Huckabee, died 1854 ; James Huckabee, died 1851 ; 
 George F. Huckabee, died 1851 ; Elizabeth Eddins, wife 
 of Dr. D. Eddins, died 1850; Jesse Shivers, died 1845; 
 Thomas Eddins, died 1850; Miles S. Wright, died 1843; 
 John Locke, died 1848; Wm. S. Bird, died 1840; James 
 Cowan, died 1844; William Alfred Locke, died 1845; 
 Jane, wife of Squire Lowry, died 1840; Martha Stewart, 
 wife of Larkin Stewart, died 1841 ; William P. Stewart, 
 died 1843; Amanda F. Peterson, died 1858; Jane Byrd 
 Page, died 1840; Dr. Elisha Young, senior and junior. 
 
 Eight miles to the westward from Greensboro, on the 
 Tuscaloosa and Sawyerville road near the public thor- 
 oughfare, is a desolate and neglected graveyard in which 
 are buried the remains of a number of the French refu- 
 gees who came to this section of Alabama after the down- 
 fall of Napoleon at Waterloo. For years many of them 
 lived in the neighborhood where the graveyard is located. 
 
142 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 OLD FRENCH GRAVEYARD. 
 
 The trees shown in the picture have grown above the graves of a 
 number of the refugees. 
 
 and died exiles from the land of their nativity. In a 
 radius of five miles resided the Bayols. the Bordens, the 
 Stollenwercks, the Maniers, the Baumgardiners and 
 others. Manier was a school teacher, and the house in 
 which he resided and taught the children of the past 
 generation is still to be seen. The Roudets and the 
 Gardins, and perhaps others over whom no tombs are now 
 standing, are buried in the little cemetery, and some of 
 them have been resting out there in the wide stretch of 
 the prairies for more than seventy years. Huge maple 
 trees have grown up on the graves of the quiet sleepers, 
 and in the beautiful green foliage the mocking birds 
 pour forth their sweetest songs throughout the day, and 
 the silent stars keep watch by night above this last rest- 
 ing place of those who loved the great Emperor too 
 well, and who paid the penalty of that devotion by fill- 
 ing an exile's grave in a land far away from bright and 
 sunny La Belle France, — as did Napoleon himself on the 
 lonely Isle of St. Helena. 
 
Chapter XIX, 
 
 CLIMATOLOGY OF GREENSBORO, ALABAMA. 
 
 Greensboro is situated in the north-central portion 
 of Hale county, Ala., in latitude 32° 42' north, longitude 
 87° 35' west, and at an elevation of 220 feet above the sea 
 level. 
 
 The climatic record of Greensboro began in January, 
 1855, when the station was established by the Smithson- 
 ian Institute. Robert B. Waller, Sr., Capt. J. W. A. Wright 
 and Prof. N. T. Lupton were observers at this station dur- 
 ing the period from 1855 to 1888. The records were 
 broken at intervals until January, 1888, when the station 
 was established by the Signal Service — now the Wea- 
 ther Bureau — with Prof. M. H. Yerby as the observer. 
 Prof. Yerby made a continuous record up to the time of 
 his death in October, 1900, since which date his son, W. 
 E. W. Yerby, has co-operated with the Weather Bureau 
 in the capacity of observer. 
 
 The record shows the average temperature to be 64° ; 
 the average for the winter, 48° ; spring, 64° ; summer, 
 79 ° ; autumn, 65". The warmest year was 1891, with an 
 average temperature of nearly 66° ; the coldest, 1857, with 
 an average of 61°. The highest temperature recorded, 
 105°, occurred July 12, 1901 ; the lowest, 5° below zero, 
 occurred February 13, 1899. The average maximum tem- 
 perature is 74° ; the average summer maximum is 90°. 
 The average minimum temperature is 54°, and the aver- 
 age winter minimum is 37°. The average number of days 
 with maximum temperature above 90° is fifty-three; the 
 average number of days with minimum temperature be- 
 low 32° is thirty-three. The average date of the last 
 
144 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 killing frost in spring is March 20th; the average date 
 of the first in autumn is November 8th. The earliest kill- 
 ing frost of which there is a record occurred on October 
 24th; the latest on April 5th. 
 
 The precipitation record, while continuous since 1888 
 only, covers thirty-five complete years and shows the aver- 
 age annual amount to be 50 inches. The greatest amount 
 recorded during any year was 68.98 inches in 1900; the 
 least yearly amount was 35.67 inches in 1904. February 
 and March are the wettest months, with an average of 
 5.42 inches ; October is the driest month, with an average 
 of 2.01 inches. The greatest amount of rain which fell 
 during any one month was 14.81 inches, in May, 1903 ; 
 the least monthly amount recorded was 0.08 inches, in 
 October, 1904. The average number of days during the 
 year with .01 inch or more of rain was 94. 
 
 The average amount of snowfall for the winter is 0.5 
 inch. The record shows, however, that snowfalls amount- 
 ing to more than 4.0 inches occurred during February 
 of several years, and that 10.0 inches of snow fell during 
 March, 1900. 
 
 The prevailing direction of the wind is from the north 
 during November to February, inclusive, and from the 
 south during the other months. 
 
 The average number of clear days during the year is 
 191 ; partly cloudy days, 51 ; cloudy days, 123. 
 
 The following table shows the monthlv and annual pre- 
 cipitation at Greensboro during the period in which the 
 record has been kept : 
 
CLIMATOLOGY 
 
 145 
 
 PRECIPITATION. 
 (In inches and hundredths.) 
 
 YEAR 
 
 IS55.... 
 1856.... 
 1857.... 
 1858 . . . . 
 1859.... 
 I860.... 
 1861.... 
 1862.... 
 1863.... 
 1864.... 
 1865.... 
 1866.... 
 1867.... 
 1885 . . . . 
 1886.... 
 1888.... 
 1889 . . . . 
 1890.... 
 1891.... 
 1892.... 
 1893.... 
 1894.... 
 1895 . . . . 
 1896.... 
 1897.... 
 1898.... 
 1899.... 
 1900.... 
 1901.... 
 1902 . . . . 
 1903.... 
 1904.... 
 1905.... 
 1906..., 
 1907 . . . . 
 
 I JAN. I FEB. I MAR. | APR. I MAY I JUNE I JULY | AUG. | SEPT | OCT. I 
 
 NOV 1 
 
 DEC. 1 
 
 5.24 
 
 5.751 
 
 12.79 
 
 5.731 
 
 6.04 
 
 7.99 
 
 3.19 
 
 7.84 
 
 1.95 
 
 4.79| 
 
 7.77 
 
 6.36 
 
 3.87 
 
 2.58 
 
 0.53 
 
 3.091 
 
 2.85 
 
 7.391 
 
 6.31 
 
 5.20| 
 
 2.94 
 
 8.44| 
 
 4.41 
 
 3.781 
 
 2.77 
 
 5.11| 
 
 7.32 
 
 5.331 
 
 4.53 
 
 2.111 
 
 3.13 
 
 2.151 
 
 4.13 
 
 2.19| 
 
 1.15 
 
 3.371 
 
 5.17 
 
 5.031 
 
 3.06 
 
 4.56| 
 
 3.22 
 
 5.301 
 
 "1.03 
 
 5.3SI 
 
 i.;(S4 
 
 3.91| 
 
 3.92 
 
 ^0.981 
 
 2.73 
 
 6.05| 
 
 5.82 
 
 .2.761 
 
 1.75 
 
 6.021 
 
 4.25 
 
 5.271 
 
 2.59 
 
 7.63| 
 
 2.89 
 
 5.91| 
 
 0.54 
 
 3.03] 
 
 2.70 
 
 2.53| 
 
 1.43 
 
 7.fi6| 
 
 1.96 
 
 4.30J 
 
 5.13 
 
 7.02| 
 
 AN'L. 
 
 1.33 
 
 1.44 
 
 1.64 
 
 0.59 
 
 1.79 
 
 3.99 
 
 1.68 
 
 6.41 
 
 6.29] 
 
 3.52 
 
 2.60 
 
 6.16 
 
 3.95 
 
 5.23 
 
 6.37 
 
 1.91 
 
 2.75 
 
 0.58] 
 
 5.17 
 
 2.21 
 
 3.34 
 
 3.43 
 
 8.55 
 
 1.71 
 
 4.75 
 
 2.46 
 
 0.84| 
 
 9.29 
 
 3.58 
 
 3.15 
 
 4.. 55 
 
 3.26 
 
 1.11 
 
 0.91 
 
 3.88 
 
 0.14i 
 
 4.29 
 
 6.33 
 
 7.00 
 
 6.27 
 
 1.96 
 
 2.65 
 
 7.20 
 
 3.93 
 
 5.52| 
 
 2.16 
 
 6.13 
 
 0.91 
 
 2.63 
 
 1.41 
 
 3.35 
 
 4.06 
 
 11.61 
 
 3.90| 
 
 4.85 
 
 6.21 
 
 3.02 
 
 2.88 
 
 2.32 
 
 2.51 
 
 4.41 
 
 13.18 
 
 1.79i 
 
 8.39 
 
 9.76 
 
 5.12 
 
 7.16 
 
 1.29 
 
 1.74 
 
 0.36 
 
 1.00 
 
 4.141 
 
 7.50 
 
 9.51 
 
 6.13 
 
 3.70 
 
 1.93 
 
 4.61 
 
 1.83 
 
 5.84 
 
 0.481 
 
 2.45 
 
 1.75 
 
 9.15 
 
 2.74 
 
 1.32 
 
 7.73 
 
 2.04 
 
 3.84 
 
 6.79| 
 
 4.85 
 
 13.09 
 
 6.11 
 
 5.90 
 
 1.02 
 
 1.37 
 
 2.14 
 
 5.22 
 
 2.741 
 
 3.05 
 
 7.05 
 
 2.73 
 
 7.38 
 
 7.36 
 
 6.31 
 
 3.06 
 
 5.22 
 
 2.741 
 
 1.86 
 
 1.64 
 
 9.55 
 
 5.67 
 
 3.85 
 
 4.52 
 
 3.06 
 
 5.22 
 
 2.74| 
 
 S.94 
 
 3.33 
 
 2.92 
 
 3.17 
 
 5.88 
 
 4.00 
 
 2.51 
 
 2.23 
 
 l.S4| 
 
 10.15 
 
 5.-34 
 
 11.72 
 
 6.97 
 
 2.86 
 
 6.73 
 
 5.95 
 
 7.31 
 
 0.541 
 
 4.38 
 
 4.38 
 
 11.20 
 
 2.16 
 
 2.35 
 
 4.14 
 
 3.37 
 
 9.29 
 
 7.931 
 
 5.40 
 
 2.00 
 
 1.52 
 
 6.62 
 
 0.61 
 
 3.37 
 
 4.52 
 
 2.98 
 
 1.91| 
 
 3.42 
 
 4.50 
 
 5.65 
 
 3.16 
 
 4.58 
 
 2.68 
 
 5.38 
 
 1.46 
 
 8.98| 
 
 6.75 
 
 8.15 
 
 8.86 
 
 1.75 
 
 2.02 
 
 3.61 
 
 4.82 
 
 0.31 
 
 1.7u| 
 
 7.56 
 
 2.86 
 
 5.64 
 
 1.96 
 
 3.88 
 
 4.58 
 
 10.37 
 
 3.53 
 
 2.17 
 
 2.42 
 
 8.46 
 
 3.36 
 
 0.88 
 
 11.85 
 
 3.10 
 
 >2:20 
 
 7.72 
 
 3.12 
 
 4.91 
 
 5.61 
 
 4.94 
 
 3.32 
 
 1.44 
 
 0.74 
 
 2.96 
 
 7.37 
 
 3.46 
 
 8.70 
 
 3.37 
 
 6.40 
 
 2.76 
 
 3.94 
 
 4.32 
 
 2.76 
 
 5.64 
 
 1.67| 
 
 4.44 
 
 4.66 
 
 4.36 
 
 4.64 
 
 3.07 
 
 6.15 
 
 2.39 
 
 2.25 
 
 0.351 
 
 5.74 
 
 5.70 
 
 6.54 
 
 4.24 
 
 1.09 
 
 2.23 
 
 6.61 
 
 3.70 
 
 0.741 
 
 2.. 37 
 
 1.77 
 
 1.99 
 
 4.81 
 
 1.88 
 
 5.97 
 
 4.55 
 
 5.06 
 
 2.631 
 
 1 6.44 
 
 6.17 
 
 6.74 
 
 2.74 
 
 3.19 
 
 2.39 
 
 4.43 
 
 1.89 
 
 0.50| 
 
 3.19 
 
 10.26 
 
 4.62 
 
 12.95 
 
 1.57 
 
 8.34 
 
 2.29 
 
 3.61 
 
 4.66| 
 
 4.34 
 
 4.58 
 
 5.23 
 
 6.28 
 
 6.09 
 
 2.24 
 
 3.09 
 
 5.63 
 
 4.021 
 
 4.61 
 
 5.28 
 
 12.69 
 
 2.04 
 
 4.91 
 
 0.35 
 
 2. .01 
 
 3.36 
 
 3.84| 
 
 3.50 
 
 9.27 
 
 4.22 
 
 1.31 
 
 14.81 
 
 5.84 
 
 3.67 
 
 4.09 
 
 1.171 
 
 5.08 
 
 4.62 
 
 2.82 
 
 1.65 
 
 3.00 
 
 1.19 
 
 6.93 
 
 2.78 
 
 0.721 
 
 1 6.98 
 
 7.20 
 
 3.43 
 
 4.21 
 
 4.13 
 
 2.91 
 
 2.23 
 
 9.31 
 
 1.80| 
 
 1 4.47 
 
 2.43 
 
 13.84 
 
 1.14 
 
 4.69 
 
 2.79 
 
 5.05 
 
 2.51 
 
 6.87 
 
 1 2.37 
 
 5.27 
 
 2.92 
 
 9.71 
 
 8.75 
 
 2.61 
 
 6.83 
 
 2.39 
 
 5.74 
 
 1.45 
 0.44 
 1.49 
 2.67 
 1.56 
 4.52 
 2.31 
 0.58 
 2.85 
 4.30 
 2. OS 
 2.13 
 1.91 
 1.37 
 1.501 
 4.40| 
 0.37 
 0.911 
 0.23 
 0.23 
 1.28 
 0.65 
 1.25 
 2.551 
 1.96 
 2.96 
 0.87 
 7.97 
 0.25 
 5.90 
 0.85 
 0.03 
 4.40 
 4.78 
 1.50 
 
 37.60 
 52.23 
 47.96 
 40.57 
 53.45 
 54.81 
 59.93 
 43.16 
 54.62 
 53.62 
 55.90 
 55.22 
 47.58 
 48.84 
 65.71 
 58.88 
 36.02 
 45.24 
 48.40 
 50.40 
 52.91 
 41.75 
 46.36 
 39.86 
 46.33 
 41.57 
 43.13 
 68.98 
 51.97 
 53.79 
 52.30 
 35.67 
 5,T.49 
 5 4. S3 
 60.24 
 
 • •- Annual Average 50.15 1-5 
 
 Greensboro has been remarkably free from cyclones, — 
 not one being on record for this station. The most de- 
 structive that ever visited this immediate section was on 
 the night of January 21, 1904, Vv^hen Moundville, a town 
 in the northern part of Hale county, was struck by 
 a wind of unusual severity. The great majority of the 
 houses were swept away, and those left standing were 
 badly damaged. Thirty people — six whites and twenty- 
 four colored — were killed, and seventy injured, besides 
 much stock and cattle were killed. Forty houses, the 
 railroad depot, and seven freight cars were destroyed in 
 less than a minute's time. The funnel shaped cloud 
 swooped down upon the village about twelve o'clock, its 
 course being from the southwest to the northwest. The 
 property loss was estimated at about $75,000.00. 
 
146 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 The work of rebuilding the town was begun within a 
 few days after the terrible calamity, and Moundville is 
 now among the most thrifty and populous towns in Hale 
 county. 
 
 MAIN STREET OF GREENSBORO 
 Looking East from the Court House. 
 
Chapter XX. 
 
 YELLOW FEVER. 
 
 Once in its history of nearly a century, Greensboro has 
 been visited by yellow fever. It was in the year 1897, 
 and the disease was in the town several months before 
 the physicians officially declared it to be such. There 
 were possibly some fifty cases from the middle of August 
 till the 18th of November, and about a dozen deaths from 
 that cause during the period. The trains were taken off 
 the railroad the latter part of October, and were not run 
 for a week or two. Provisions became scarce, and the 
 inhabitants, many of them, were on scant rations when 
 traffic was resumed. Even before the existence of the 
 fever was announced by Dr. Eiisha Young, there was a 
 panic among the people, and many endeavored to leave for 
 other points, but found that they were hemmed in on 
 all sides, — all places having quarantined against Greens- 
 boro. Many went to the country and remained until af- 
 ter the disease was stamped out by the frost on the 18th 
 day of November. Those who remained did what they 
 could to alleviate the sufferings of the afflicted, attended 
 the sick and buried the dead. Business was almost at a 
 complete standstill during the months of October and 
 November. 
 
 Many excellent citizens died during that year, and it 
 will long remain a memorable period in the history of the 
 town. In January, J. P. Lieser, Dr. J. M. Pickett anq 
 Mrs. Jane Buchanan died. In February, Miss Eliza 
 Smaw and Charles A. Sheldon. In March, Alfred Drake 
 and Wilkes Hanna. In April, Mrs. Katherine Randolph 
 
148 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 and J. Pick Moore (near Greensboro.) In May, Capt. 
 James M. Jack. In June, Mrs. John M. Martin. In Au- 
 gust, little Mary Quitman Seed. In September, J. C. Dew, 
 In October, John H. Young, James W. McCrary, Syd John- 
 son, little Elizabeth Ward, little Margaret Jones and Miss 
 Ida Dorman. In November, Thomas Q. Smith, Shelby 
 W. Chadwick, little Annie Parrish, little Lizzie Lawson, 
 Dr. Thomas R. Ward, Mrs. Maria Williams and Frank 
 Chadwick. In December, D. J. Castleman. 
 
 The death rate among the negroes was also unusually 
 high during 1897. 
 
 A TRIPLE MURDER. 
 
 While the occurrence to be noted does not belong, strict- 
 ly speaking, to the history of Greensboro, yet the citizens 
 of the town were so wrought up over the matter, and the 
 parties concerned were so well known here, that it is in- 
 serted as part of this volume. 
 
 The night of December 1, 1897, was a cold, dark and 
 dreary one. All day long a drizzly rain had fallen, and 
 it was muddy and sloppy under foot, and the clouds were 
 black and heavy overhead. It grew no better as night 
 came on. 
 
 Sometime after the sun had gone down, Phelan Craw- 
 ford left Greensboro to spend the night with his father- 
 in-law — M. C. Hall — who resided about ten miles north- 
 east of the town. Just before he reached John A. Sing- 
 ley's residence, — old Warren's store — eight miles out, the 
 horses he was driving became violently frightened at some 
 object on the roadside, and made a break to run. The 
 darkness was so dense that Crawford could see nothing, 
 but as his horses dashed up the hill in the blackness of 
 the night, he thought he heard a deep groan coming from 
 some one in pain or distress. It made his blood run cold — 
 out there alone in the darkness and rain and stillness 
 of the night. It was enough to make the stoutest heart 
 quail with fear. He put whip to his already frightened 
 
TRIPLE MURDER 149 
 
 horses, and was soon at the place of his destination. 
 
 He was not long in telling his experience, and at once 
 went out and gathered a number of the neighbors to- 
 gether, who resolved to go back to the spot where the deep 
 groan was heard. They plodded on through the night and 
 mud, back to Singley's home on the roadside. Arriving 
 there they found that all was quiet and still within. Not 
 a sound could be heard save the dripping of the rain from 
 the trees and the rush of the wind as it passed through 
 the boughs on towards the south. They continued their 
 journey down the road about fifty yards, and to their 
 horror they saw in the dim light afforded by a lantern, 
 a sight to make one's hair stand on end^a man groping 
 about on his hands and knees, groaning at every breath. 
 They called to him, — but no answer came. They approach- 
 ed closer and saw that his hands and clothing were clot- 
 ted with blood and besmeared with mud. They did not 
 recognize the man at first, but a closer scrutiny disclosed 
 the fact that it was John A. Singley, one of the most well- 
 to-do and respected farmers of Hale county. They ask- 
 ed him what had happened, but he made no reply — only 
 pointing to his throat. Then the men discovered thai 
 it was cut from ear to ear. They lifted him up and as- 
 sisted him to the house. An attempt to open the front 
 door disclosed the fact that it was locked. They hastily 
 broke it in, and then the men fell back with exclamations 
 of horror, — for indeed it was a ghastly sight that greeted 
 their gaze. For a moment they stood paralyzed. There 
 upon the floor lay Mrs. Singley in a pool of blood, her 
 head crushed and her throat most cruelly cut, cold in 
 death. But where was the little boy, the only child of the 
 fond parents? The party searched further, and in an 
 adjoining room they found the little twelve-year-old son, 
 lying face downward, butchered in a most brutal manner. 
 
 Who did it? What could it all mean? The men had no 
 idea that Mr. Singley would be able to throw any light 
 on the mystery, but as he lay on the bed on which he 
 
150 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 The old stable at the top of the hill. Singley had crawled a hun- 
 dred yards up the road, and was found near the gate to 
 the left. 
 
 had been placed, breathing hard send -g-asping for life, he 
 beckoned them to come closer. They approached and 
 began to ask him questions. They discovered that he was 
 in possession of his mental faculties, and could make 
 himself understood by signs and nods of the head. He 
 was asked who had committed the crimes. He indicated 
 the direction in which the guilty party resided by point- 
 ing up the road from his home. They called the names of 
 several persons, but at each he would shake his head. 
 Finally someone asked if it was Bill Scott, — a negro who 
 lived three miles above him — and he nodded his head af- 
 firmatively several times most emphatically. 
 
 By this time, the cold gray dawn of another bleak Dec- 
 ember day began to show itself, and a large number of 
 people had gathered — some from Greensboro, who had 
 been notified soon after the discovery of Singley's condi- 
 tion. 
 
 The suffering, dying man told all he knew of the hor- 
 rible crimes. The full particulars — which developed lat- 
 er — are given as follows : 
 
 Bill Scott, a negro to whom Singley had advanced 
 money and goods for several years, came to the house 
 
TRIPLE MURDER 151 
 
 some time after dark on the night of December 1st, and 
 told Singley — who was sitting by the fire chatting with 
 his wife and little son — that his (Scott's) mule had got- 
 ten loose, and asked him to please come out and help him 
 catch it. Having known Scott for quite a while, and 
 not for a moment suspecting foul play, Singley at once 
 lighted a torch and went with Scott down the road. When 
 they had gone about a hundred and fifty yards from the 
 house, near the foot of the hill, Scott suddenly turned 
 upon Singley, and at one stroke felled him to the ground 
 with a heavy stick. He then took Singley's knife from 
 his pocket and cut the throat of the prostrate man from 
 ear to ear — severing everything except the jugular vein. 
 He left his victim for dead, and hastily went to Singley's 
 home, cautiously opened the front door, and as Mrs. Sing- 
 ley, who was sitting near sewing, looked up he struck 
 her a blow on the head with the stick, knocking her from 
 the chair, and then cut her throat, killing her instantly. 
 The little son, who was sitting in the room with his 
 mother, seeing her so horribly murdered, fled to the ad- 
 joining room, followed by the fiend, who brained him 
 with the same cudgel he had used on his father and 
 mother. He then cut the little boy's throat. Having com- 
 mitted these awful murders, he went to the bureau 
 drawer, forced it open, and took therefrom seven hun- 
 dred dollars — the object he had in view when he went to 
 Singley's house. 
 
 After securing the money, Scott locked the front door, 
 went out the back way, threw the key away, and re- 
 turned to where he had left Singley on the ground, and 
 thinking to be doubly sure of his murderous work, he cut 
 another gash in his throat, and then went to his own home 
 three miles up the road, and remained there until early 
 next morning. 
 
 Singley lingered nearly all the next day after being so 
 horribly butchered, but died when the evening shades 
 began to gather. 
 
152 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 THE JOHN SINGLEY HOME 
 Where Mrs. Singley and son were mui'dered. 
 
 It was a sad funeral cortege that left the once happy 
 home of John A. Singley on Saturday, December 3rd. 
 The hearses containing the coffins of father, mother and 
 son, followed by a large number of friends and relatives, 
 slowly wended their way over the hills and vales to the 
 cemetery hard by the little Methodist church at Havana, 
 and there, after a most touching funeral sermon, the re- 
 mains of the three persons — an entire family — were de- 
 posited in one grave. 
 
 Officers and citizens were soon in pursuit of the mur- 
 derer. His trail was followed all day Thursday and Fri- 
 day. On Saturday he was captured by a negro man 
 named Wes James at his (James') home, in Perry county, 
 whither Scott had gone, and was driven to the house by 
 hunger, little thinking that James had heard of the mur- 
 der of the Singleys. In this he was mistaken, and soon 
 after he entered the house, James leveled his shot gun 
 on him and told him to consider himself under arrest. 
 The prisoner was carried to the Perry county jail, and 
 remained there for a short while, after which he was 
 taken to Selma and lodged in the jail at that place — it be- 
 
POST OFFICE 153 
 
 ing considered unsafe to bring him to Greensboro, so bit- 
 ter was the feeling and so great was the excitement. 
 
 In a day or two after his capture, Scott confessed his 
 guilt — or at least a part of it — and told that the money 
 he had taken from the bureau drawer had been divided 
 with other parties, but that he had gotten half of it, which 
 he had hidden at a place he designated. A search re- 
 vealed the truth of the statement, for exactly where he 
 said he had put the money, three hundred and fifty dol- 
 lars were found. Before his death, Singley told that 
 the amount he had in the drawer was seven hundred dol- 
 lars. The other half of the money was never accounted 
 for. 
 
 Scott endeavored to implicate several other negroes in 
 the horrible crime, but in every instance the accused par- 
 ties were proven to have been elsewhere on the night 
 the Singleys were killed. 
 
 The clamor for a speedy trial of the brute was so per- 
 sistent that Judge John Moore ordered a special term 
 of the circuit court of Hale county to try Scott, which 
 was held January 19, 1898. He was brought from the 
 jail in Selma a week or so before the day set for his trial, 
 and the author of these lines and Edwin S. Jack, Esq., 
 were appointed by the Court to defend him, — he being fi- 
 nancially unable to employ counsel. The writer recalls 
 that he had several conversations with Scott relative to 
 the case, and he would talk freely about the murder of 
 Singley and his wife, but when asked "What about the 
 little boy. Bill," he would exclaim : "Oh, for God's sake, 
 don't talk about that child!" And then he would swear 
 that he didn't kill him, — that another man did that; that 
 he loved the boy, and the boy was fond of him. 
 
 The day for trial arrived. The town was filled with 
 people from far and near who wanted to get a glimpse of 
 this human monster. Trouble was expected, and the 
 Sherifl^" swore in a number of special deputies. But no 
 disturbance occurred. The session of the court was ex- 
 
154 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 tremely orderly. The prisoner was arraigned, the indict- 
 ment charging- him with the murders was read, and Scott 
 entered a plea of guilty. After confessing his guilt, the 
 jury returned a verdict of guilty of murder in the first 
 degree and fixed the punishment at death. The judge 
 told Scott to stand up, and asked him if he had anything 
 to say why the sentence of the Court should not be pro- 
 nounced upon him, and he replied "Nothing." Then the 
 Judge sentenced him to be hanged by the neck until he 
 was dead. Scott received the judgment of the Court with- 
 out a tremor, and was hurried back to jail by the Sheriff 
 and his deputies, where he was kept closely guarded un- 
 til February 25, 1898, when he was brought forth and 
 hung. His body was cut down and buried in the pauper's 
 field at the expense of the county, — his family refusing 
 to have anything to do with it. 
 
 And thus ended the blackest chapter in the history of 
 this entire section, and the citizenship felt that the moral 
 atmosphere was purer by the passing away of such a 
 demon in human form. 
 
Chapter XXI. 
 
 POSTOFFICE. 
 
 The postoffice at Greensboro was established in Sep- 
 tember, 1818, and during the ninety years of its existence 
 there have been seventeen postmasters, as follows: 
 
 Frederick Peck, John Street, Sr., John Street, Jr., Her- 
 man Kohnen, Wm. M. Palmer, Al. Stollenwerck, J. C 
 Simonds, Wm. Kelly, C. W. Hatch, Wm. H. Sanborn, Jo- 
 seph Atkins, W. White Jones, James W. Locke, W. White 
 Jones, G. W. Dugger, James M. Hobson, L. J. Lawson. 
 
 It was not until the middle of 1869 that it was made a 
 money order office, the first postoffice money order being 
 issued on July 14th, 1869, to D. F. McCrary for the sum 
 of $24.60. 
 
 The first rural free delivery route from the Greensboro 
 office was established in 1906. There are at present three 
 routes radiating from this point. 
 
 Truth Stranger Than Fiction. 
 
 In the year 1872 there happened an incident in connec- 
 tion with the Greensboro postoffice that fully demonstrates 
 that "truth is stranger than fiction," and further, that cir- 
 cumstantial evidence is very treacherous at times. The 
 account of the incident about to be related was written 
 by Judge Anthony W. Dillard, who held the first session 
 of the Chancery Court of Hale county in Greensboro on 
 the 11th day of July, 1869. Judge Dillard was a lawyer 
 of ability, and was well known to the older citizens of 
 Greensboro. The facts of the strange case given below 
 were recalled to his mind by the death of Wm. H. San- 
 born, which occurred at Village Springs, Ala., on Novem- 
 ber 24th, 1898, from the effects of a wound received from 
 the accidental discharge of a shot gun. His remains were 
 brought to Greensboro and buried in the cemetery here. 
 
156 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 Charles W. Hatch is also buried in the same cemetery, 
 he having died some years before. 
 
 The following is Chancellor Dillard's letter : 
 
 Gainesville, Ala., Dec. 12, 1898. 
 Dear Mr. Editor : I see you announce the death of Wm, 
 H. Sanborn, former postmaster at Greensboro, Ala., and 
 this induced me to forward to you a copy of the "San An- 
 tonio Light," containing an article from my pen concern- 
 ing Mr. Sanborn, which you might re-produce if you think 
 proper. The United States District Attorney gave me 
 the facts recited, and that is all I know. 
 
 A. W. DILLARD. 
 
 As it may prove interesting to your readers, I have 
 concluded to narrate a case in which a registered letter, 
 containing the sum of $1,950 in national bank notes, when 
 it reached the party to whom it was addressed, in the 
 city of New York, did not contain a single dollar. The 
 seals on the letter were unbroken, and showed that the 
 ]etter had never been tampered with while enroute. 
 
 The letter was registered in the postofRce at Greens- 
 boro, Ala., by Charles W. Hatch, the postmaster, and sub- 
 sequently was placed in a mail pouch and locked, in the 
 presence of Wm. H. Sanborn, Hatch's clerk. 
 
 Hatch kept the postofRce on one side of his store, in the 
 front side of it. In 1872 he had Wm. H. Sanborn, a young 
 man, aged about 20, employed as a clerk in his store and 
 in the postoffice. 
 
 Young Sanborn ate at his mother's, but slept at night 
 in the rear end of the store of Hatch, and had access to 
 the mails and the matter in the i)ostoffice, situated in the 
 front part of the store. 
 
 When the registered letter was delivered to its owner, 
 in the city of New York, and found to contain no money 
 at all, the owner immediately telegraphed the facts to the 
 postmaster general at Washington and requested that a 
 postal detective be sent to New York. This detective was 
 
POST OFFICE 157 
 
 sent at once, and Hatch, the postmaster at Greensboro, 
 Ala., was notified by the postofRce department of the loss 
 of the money contained in the registered letter. 
 
 Young Sanborn, on hearing of the matter from Hatch, 
 made an affidavit to the effect that he was a clerk in the 
 store of Hatch as well as a deputy postmaster; that the 
 postofRce was in the store; that he saw Hatch count the 
 money, place it in a registered envelope, seal it, put the 
 same in the letter mail pouch and lock the mail pouch; 
 that he knew of his own personal knowledge that Hatch 
 did not after that re-open or touch the said mail pouch; 
 that Hatch and himself left the store at sunset at the 
 same time, and in company; that they walked together 
 down the street a couple of hundred yards, to a point 
 where they separated to go to their respective homes, 
 which were on opposite sides of the town; that he (San- 
 born) returned to the store immediately after getting his 
 supper — slept in the store that night; that Hatch did not 
 re-enter the store and the postoffice that night after they 
 had quitted it in company, and that he delivered the mail 
 pouches to the stage driver at the door at 3 o'clock, the 
 morning following the placing of the registered letter in 
 the letter pouch. 
 
 This affidavit exonerated Hatch, the postmaster, but it 
 clearly inculpated young Sanborn, when supplemented 
 by another fact disclosed by the moneyless letter when 
 it reached New York. After abstracting the money the 
 thief had placed several old papers in the registered envel- 
 ope to represent the money in bulk, anct among these 
 was an almanac, on which was printed the name of a 
 Greensboro druggist, who kept the patent medicine of the 
 almanac make for sale. On the almanac was visible the 
 name of the person in New York to whom the money in 
 the registered letter had been sent, and this showed the 
 almanac had been used as a blotting paper on the ad- 
 dress on the registered letter. Of course, this had all 
 been done in the postoffice at Greensboro, Ala., and, as 
 
158 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 a matter of course, the robbery of the registered letter 
 had taken place in the Greensboro postoffice. That was 
 the only place where the almanac could possibly have 
 been employed as a blotter on the registered package and 
 then placed inside the registered envelope prior to its be- 
 ing sealed. 
 
 Young Sanborn was arrested by the United States mar- 
 shal, carried to Mobile, Ala., and in default of bail lodged 
 in jail. At the first term thereafter of the United States 
 District court an indictment was returned into court 
 against Sanborn for robbing the registered package of 
 $1,950. As he could not give bail, Sanborn remained in 
 jail in Mobile. Hatch had been summoned as a witness 
 before the grand jury and had appeared and testified. 
 
 Sanborn had been in jail a year. On the Monday pre- 
 ceding the day set for his trial. District Attorney South- 
 worth told me that while at the dinner table at the Battle 
 House he received a card requesting him to call at room 
 twenty-three immediately after dinner as the writer de- 
 sired to consult him on government business of an ur- 
 gent character. 
 
 "I called at room 23," said the district attorney to me, 
 "and was received by a gentleman, who informed me that 
 the name on his card was his traveling name ; that he was 
 a detective in the postoflfice department and had been for 
 many years, and handed me his commission properly exe- 
 cuted and avouched by the proper official seal. He then 
 said, 'I am on my way to Galveston, Texas, to investigate 
 a crooked transaction in that postoffice in reference to a 
 registered money package, but was ordered to stop here 
 and see about the Greensboro robbery of the money in 
 a registered package.' 
 
 "I replied," said Mr. Southworth, "that it was entirely 
 useless for him to do so, as the thief was in jail, would 
 be tried and convicted two days later, and that the at- 
 torneys for the thief had already admitted their client's 
 case was hopeless, and had entreated him, in considera- 
 
POST OFFICE 159 
 
 tion of the previous good character and youthfulness of 
 the culprit, to consent to the infliction of the lowest pun- 
 ishment." 
 
 The Detective: "I am paid a yearly salary, sir, and 
 it is my rule to obey the orders of my superiors to the 
 letter, and I wish you to allow me to see and examine the 
 papers in the case. By the by, who is the party in jail 
 for the Greensboro robbery?" 
 
 Southworth : "Young Sanborn, the deputy postmas- 
 ter." 
 
 Detective: "Can you send to my room the papers in 
 the case, Mr. Southworth? As I am a detective it is my 
 duty and my business to prevent my real character being 
 discovered; hence I do not care to examine them in your 
 office." 
 
 "Certainly, I will send them to your room by one of the 
 clerks in my office." 
 
 Detective: "Please call here at my room, Mr. South- 
 worth, after supper." 
 
 Mr. Southworth sent the papers to the detective in room 
 23, and called on him immediately on quitting the dining- 
 room the same evening. 
 
 "Mr. Southworth, you have the wrong man arraigned 
 for the Greensboro robbery," said the detective. 
 
 "Nonsense, sir; the proof is perfectly conclusive. The 
 man's own voluntary affidavit proves him to be guilty," 
 replied Southworth in a tone of pique and irritation. 
 
 "Is Charles W. Hatch in the city," asked the detective. 
 
 "Yes, sir ; he is one of the witnesses against Sanborn." 
 
 "Mr. Southworth, I wish you to send a note to Mr. 
 Hatch to call at your office at 11 o'clock tomorrow, and 
 I wish you to ask him the questions written on this slip 
 of paper. I will drop into your office a few minutes af- 
 ter eleven as an entire stranger and tell you that I came 
 from the north and am a stranger in the city, and ask 
 if I can write a letter in your office. You will please place 
 me at a desk or table where I can observe Hatch without 
 
160 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 his being aware of it, and contrive somehow to get your 
 clerk out of your office." 
 
 Southworth told me he followed out this plan to the 
 letter; that at 11 o'clock the next day, Hatch entered 
 his office, and he sent his clerk out to see a gentleman 
 who lived some distance off, on a case in court. In a 
 few minutes the detective entered and asked if he might 
 write a letter and was placed at a table on one side of 
 Hatch, but from where he could observe the countenance 
 of Hatch. 
 
 "I then commenced asking Hatch the written ques- 
 tions," said Southworth, "telling him that, as Sanborn 
 was to be tried the next day, I wished to fully understand 
 what he (Hatch) could testify to on the trial. I had not 
 asked him half the questions written on the slip of pa- 
 per, when the detective arose and stepping in front of 
 Hatch said to him: 
 
 " 'Charles W. Hatch, you are a thief; you stole the $1,950 
 out of the registered package, and yet you have the base- 
 ness to come here and swear away the character and 
 liberty of young Sanborn, whom you know to be inno- 
 cent. You persuaded him to make the affidavit that 
 exonerated you, but criminated him. You not only stole 
 the $1,950 out of the registered package, but six weeks 
 before you stole $830 out of another registered package. 
 I am a secret agent in the postoffice department; here is 
 my commission to prove my statement. I am occupying 
 room 23 in the Battle House, and I tell you now, that un- 
 less you appear at my room this evening with a confes- 
 sion of your guilt in both cases, duly sworn to, and $2,780 
 in cash, or your bill of exchange at thirty days accepted 
 by a solvent business firm of this city, I will cause you 
 to be arrested on both charges. It is a rule with the gov- 
 ernment, where a thief makes good what he has stolen 
 prior to the institution of criminal proceedings against 
 him, not to prosecute him, and you have until 3 o'clock 
 this evening to refund what you have stolen, but don't 
 
POST OFFICE 161 
 
 fail to appear at my room, No. 23, at the hour named." 
 "The detective," said Mr. Southworth, "turned on his 
 heel and walked out of my office. I was utterly dum- 
 founded at his remarks to Hatch, whose character and 
 standing were first-class. And the other evidence against 
 Sanborn was so conclusive ! Hatch sat there in his chair, 
 silent and astounded. At last he said, 'Mr. Southworth, 
 did you hear what that man said to me?' I nodded my 
 head by way of reply. 'What must I do about it, Mr, 
 Southworth?' asked Hatch. 
 
 "I told him the charge against him was a calumny and 
 that his character was his rock of defense, and to treat 
 the threat of the detective with utter contempt and stern 
 defiance. In a few moments Hatch withdrew and I saw 
 him no more that day. At 3:30 o'clock, that evening, 
 while I was dining in the Battle House, the detective pass- 
 ed behind my chair and requested me to come to room 
 23 when I left the dining room. 
 
 "I repaired to room 23, impatient to learn the result of 
 the affair, and the detective placed in my hand the sworn 
 confession of Hatch acknowledging that he had stolen 
 both the $830 and the $1,950 out of the registered envel- 
 opes. In regard to the $1,950 theft Hatch said Sanborn 
 and himself did leave the store together but that after 
 he and Sanborn separated, he waited until Sanborn had 
 gotten out of sight and returned to the postoffice, to 
 which he also carried a key. Entering the postoffice, he 
 unlocked the mail pouch, took out the registered package, 
 broke it open and withdrew the $1,950, took another en- 
 velope similar to the one first used, placed in the almanac 
 and some other papers, sealed it, addressed it exactly as 
 the first one was addressed, placed it in the mail pouch 
 and then locked it. The detective then exhibited to me 
 the $2,780 which Hatch had paid him. 'Now, Mr. South- 
 worth, you must dismiss the case against Sanborn to- 
 morrow, and state that circumstances have come to light 
 which establish his innocence; that the real culprit has 
 
162^ HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 confessed his guilt, and refunded the money stolen by 
 him. I have written the facts to the postoffice depart- 
 ment, enclosing the resignation of Hatch, and I have 
 urged and recommended that Sanborn be appointed post- 
 master at Greensboro, as some reparation for his imipris- 
 onment.' 
 
 *'I was amazed at this denouement," said Southworth. 
 "and I asked the detective what proof he had of the guilt 
 of Hatch. He said he reached New York on the first train 
 after having been notified the letter had been robbed, 
 and that the tell-tale almanac had given him a clue as well 
 as directed suspicion to Hatch himself. He discovered 
 that Hatch carried on a mercantile business in Greens- 
 boro, Ala., and was indebted to two merchants in the city 
 of New York, so he went to see them in person and re- 
 quested them in case Hatch should remit them money, 
 either by express or registered letter to apprize him of 
 it immediately and not to open it until he was present. 
 I also went to the express ofllice and requested them to 
 notify me should any money package from C. W. Hatch 
 reach their office directed to A or B, and hold the package 
 until I arrived. About a week after my arrival in New 
 York to investigate the case, the Greensboro merchant 
 who had remitted the $1,950, forwarded to his merchant 
 creditor a list of the bills, together with their numbers, 
 which rendered identification an easy matter. After a 
 few weeks, two money packages shipped from Newberne; 
 Ala., by C. W. Hatch to his two merchant creditors in 
 New York, arrived and I was notified by the express com- 
 pany; I went to the office and accompanied the express 
 messenger who had to deliver them. When the two pack- 
 ages were opened they contained the identical bills taken 
 from the registered letter. The size and the numbers 
 tallied with those on the list forwarded by the Greensboro 
 merchant, made prior to the sending of the money by 
 registered letter. The two express packages contained 
 the sum of $830 over and above the $1,950, which led 
 
POST OFFICE 163 
 
 me to conclude that Hatch had also abstracted that sum 
 from a registered letter from Greensboro, that was mon- 
 eyless when it reached its destination." 
 
 Sanborn was appointed postmaster at Greensboro, Ala., 
 and my recollection is he held the office on December 
 23, 1882, the day on which I left Alabama. This case 
 will deserve a place among the cause celebre, and would 
 have occupied it, had it appeared in the reports of ad- 
 judged cases. It suffices to make it highly probable, that 
 innocent persons are so entangled in a web of circum- 
 stances as to be sometimes convicted and punished for 
 crimes which they did not commit. The fall of Hatch, 
 after leading an honest life for years, is an occurrence 
 witnessed daily. 
 
 ANTHONY W. DILLARD. 
 
Chapter XXII. 
 
 GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA. 
 
 During its history, Greensboro has furnished the State 
 of Alabama with three Governors. 
 
 ISRAEL PICKENS, who was Governor from 1821 to 
 1825, was a resident of the town. He was a member of 
 the United States Senate at the time of his death, which 
 occurred in 1827, on the island of Cuba. His remains 
 were brought back to his old home, and are buried some 
 three miles south of Greensboro. 
 
 JOHN GAYLE. 
 
GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA 
 
 165 
 
 JOHN GAYLE, Governor from 1831 to 1835, was also 
 a citizen of Greensboro. At the expiration of his term 
 of ofRce he removed to Mobile and practiced law until 
 his election to Congress in 1847. In 1849, he was ap- 
 pointed as Federal District Judge in Alabama, which 
 position he held until his death in 1858. 
 
 THOMAS SEAY, 
 
 Who was Governor of Alabama from 1886 to 1890. 
 
 THOMAS SEAY, Governor from 1886 to 1890, was 
 born and reared in the old town. At the expiration of 
 his term of office he returned to Greensboro and reopened 
 his law office, and practiced his profession until his death 
 on March 30, 1896, at the age of 50 years. He was an 
 able, upright, conscientious. Christian statesman, and 
 was an honor to Alabama and to the town of his nativity. 
 
166 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 OTHER STATE OFFICIALS. 
 
 HON. WILLIAM D. LEE filled the position of State 
 Convict Inspector for some years just prior to his death, 
 which occurred at his home in Greensboro on February 
 25, 1899. Many needed reforms were inaugurated, and 
 others projected, in the convict system of Alabama dur- 
 ing his term of office, for which he is entitled to much 
 credit. 
 
 HON. WILEY C. TUNSTALL held the office of Asso- 
 ciate Railroad Commissioner longer than any other man 
 has ever occupied it. He went out of office in 1906, after 
 filling the position for seventeen years. Upon return- 
 ing to his home in Greensboro, he actively entered into 
 the work of looking after his large landed interests in 
 Hale county. He is a gentleman of great force of char- 
 acter and strong common sense, and has left his imprint 
 upon the political history of the State. He continues to 
 manifest a lively interest in public affairs. 
 
 PROMINENT LAWYERS. 
 
 Greensboro has furnished some of the most eminent 
 lawyers in Alabama. Among the number who formerly 
 resided in the town may be mentioned John Erwin, 
 William M. Murphy, John Gayle, Israel Pickens, James 
 D. Webb, A. B. Pittman, Robert B. Waller, Augustus 
 Benners, Henry Watson, Thomas Seay, Thomas R. Roul- 
 hac, Augustus A. Coleman, James E. Webb, James J. 
 Garrett and others. 
 
RICHMOND PEARSON HOBSON. 
 
168 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 RICHMOND PEARSON HOBSON. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Greensboro, 
 Ala., Aug. 17th, 1870. He attended school at the South- 
 ern University, and so brilliant was he that at the age 
 of fourteen years he was able to pass successfully the 
 competitive examination for entrance to the Naval Acad- 
 emy at Annapolis, from which institution he graduated 
 at the head of his class in 1889. This latter distinction 
 entitled him to go to Paris, France, for a course in naval 
 construction, of which opportunity he eagerly took ad- 
 vantage. At the expiration of two years he returned 
 to the United States and was engaged in the Naval Con- 
 struction Department, and also at Annapolis as a pro- 
 fessor, which position he was filling at the time of the 
 breaking out of the war between this country and Spain 
 in May, 1898. 
 
 Lieutenant Hobson asked, and was granted the privi- 
 lege of joining his pupils to the American squadron, and 
 he and his class were detailed to the New York, Admiral 
 Sampson's flagship. When the Admiral decided to block 
 the harbor of Santiago, Cuba, he asked for plans from 
 the various officers. Hobson's was adopted, and after 
 selecting six non-commissioned officers, viz : George 
 Charette, J. E. Murphy, Oscar Deigan, John Phillips, 
 John Kelley and Daniel Montague, early in the morning 
 of June 3rd the men went aboard the collier Merrimac, 
 and made straight for the entrance to the harbor. Thq 
 thrilling story of the sinking of the Merrimac is best 
 told in Hobson's own words as related to a correspondent 
 of the New York Herald the day he and his men were 
 released from the Spanish prison, July 6, 1898. 
 
 "We have been thirty-three days in a Spanish prison," 
 said Lieutenant Hobson, "and the more I think about it, 
 the more marvelous it seems that we are alive. 
 
 "It was about 3 o'clock in the morning of June 3rd 
 when the Merrimac entered the narrow channel and 
 
RICHMOND PEARSON HOBSON 169 
 
 steamed in under the guns of Morro Castle. The still- 
 ness of death prevailed. It was so dark that we could 
 scarcely see the land. We had planned to drop our star- 
 board anchor at a certain point to the right of the chan- 
 nel, reverse our engines and then swing the Merrimac 
 around, sinking her directly across the channel. 
 
 "This plan was adhered to, but circumstances ren- 
 dered its execution impossible. When the Mierrimac 
 poked her nose into the channel our trouble commenced. 
 The deadly silence was broken by the wash of a small 
 boat approaching from the shore. I made her out to be 
 a picket boat. 
 
 "She ran close under the stern of the Merrimac and 
 fired several shots, from which it seemed to be three- 
 pounder guns. The Merrimac's rudder was carried 
 away by the fire. That is why the collier was not sunk 
 across the channel. 
 
 "We did not discover the loss of the rudder until 
 Murphy cast anchor. We found that the Merrimac 
 would not answer to her helm, and were compelled to 
 make the best of the situation. 
 
 "The run up the channel was very exciting. The picket 
 boat had given the alarm, and in a moment the guns of 
 the Vizcaya, the Oquendo and the shore batteries were 
 turned upon us. Submarine mines and torpedoes were 
 exploded all about us, adding to the excitement. The 
 mines did no damage, although we could hear rumbling 
 and could feel the ship tremble. 
 
 "We were running without lights and only the dark- 
 ness saved us from utter destruction. When the ship 
 was at the desired position and we found that the rudder 
 was gone, I called the men on deck. While they were 
 launching the catamaran, I touched off the explosives. 
 
 "At the same moment, two torpedoes, fired from the 
 Reina Mercedes, struck the Merrimac amidship. I can- 
 not say whether our own explosives or the Spanish tor- 
 
170 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 pedoes did the work, but the Merrimac was lifted out 
 of the water and almost rent asunder. 
 
 "As she settled down we scrambled overboard and 
 cut away the catamaran. A great cheer went up from 
 the forts and the warships as the hull of the collier 
 foundered, the Spaniards thinking the Merrimac was 
 an American warship. 
 
 "We attempted to get out of the harbor on the cata- 
 maran, but as the tide was running, daylight found us 
 still struggling in the water. Then for the first time 
 the Spaniards saw us and a boat from the Mercedes 
 picked us up. It was then shortly after five o'clock and 
 we had been in the water for more than an hour. 
 
 "We were taken on board the Reina Mercedes and 
 later we were sent to Moro Castle. In Moro we were 
 confined in cells in the inner side of the fortress and 
 were there the first day the fleet bombarded Moro. I 
 could only hear the whistling of the shells and the noise 
 they made when they struck, but I judged from the con- 
 versation of the guards that the shells did considerable 
 damage. 
 
 "After the bombardment, Mr. Ramsden, the British 
 Consul protested, and we were removed to the hospital. 
 There I was separated from the other men of our crew 
 and could see them only by special permission. Monta- 
 gue and Kelley fell ill two weeks ago, suffering from 
 malaria, and I was permitted to visit them twice. 
 
 "Mr. Ramsden was very kind to us and demanded that 
 Montague and Kelley be removed to better quarters in 
 the hospital. This was done. 
 
 "As for myself, there is little to say. The Spaniards 
 were not disposed to do much for the comfort of any 
 prisoners like us, but after our army had taken some 
 of their men as prisoners, their treatment was better." 
 
 In 1900, Lieutenant Hobson was advanced to the posi- 
 tion of Captain in the navy. His eyesight was injured 
 in service rendered in raising the sunken Spanish ves- 
 
RICHMOND PEARSON HOBSON 171 
 
 sels in Cuban waters, and also those in the harbor at 
 Manila, and he asked to be placed on the retired list 
 of the navy by Congress, which request was refused, 
 and Captain Hobson tendered his resignation, with the 
 parting message to the Navy Departrnent that whenever 
 his country needed him he was ready to respond. 
 
 In 1904, Captain Hobson made the race for Congress 
 against John H. Bankhead in the Sixth Alabama Con- 
 gressional District, but was unsuccessful. He again 
 contested for the place in 1906, and was nominated and 
 elected, and is at this writing filling the position. Cap- 
 tain Hobson was married in New York on May 25th, 
 1905, to Miss Griselda Houston Hull. 
 
 The Captain's native town of Greensboro has watched., 
 and will continue to watch, with pleasure his brilliant 
 career. 
 
Chapter XXIII. 
 
 OLDEST INHABITANTS. 
 
 This chapter is devoted to short sketches of those citi- 
 zens of Greensboro who have passed their three score 
 and ten years. There are fifteen — nine ladies and six 
 gentlemen. Their combined ages sum up a total of 1,184 
 years — an average of nearly 80 years each. The oldest 
 person is 97 years of age, and the youngest appearing 
 in the list is 71. 
 
 They are grand old people — forming a connecting link 
 between the present generation and the one of the past — 
 a generation that knew and loved the "Old South" when 
 it was at the very zenith of its glory and power. 
 
 MRS. M. D. LIGHTFOOT, 
 jreensboro's Oldest Citizen. 
 
OLDEST INHABITANTS 173 
 
 Mrs. M. D. Lightfoot. 
 
 The oldest citizen, in point of years, is Mrs. Martha 
 Diana Lightfoot, widow of Philip C. Lightfoot who died 
 in 1866. Mrs. Lightfoot was born in Richmond, Va., 
 on the 11th of May, 1811, and is therefore 97 years old. 
 She was a daughter of Dr. Hermon Byrd Sneed, for 
 many years a Baptist minister. She came to Greene 
 county, Alabama, with her husband in 1841, and has 
 resided in Greensboro and vicinity since that time. She 
 has been a member of the Methodist church at this place 
 for sixty-four years. She has been a member of the 
 church since 1829, joining at Huntsville that year, when 
 the Revs. A. L. P. Green and John Hannon were on that 
 "circuit." 
 
 Mrs. M. L. Nutting. 
 
 Maria Louise Price was born in Newberry, S. C., 
 October 21, 1818. She moved to Columbia, S. C., when 
 seven years of age. In February, 1836, she was mar- 
 ried to Samuel Nutting, and left immediately with him 
 for Greensboro, Alabama, making the entire journey by 
 stage coach. They arrived April 1, 1836, and since that 
 time Mrs. Nutting has continued to live in the town. 
 She has occupied the house on Main street in which 
 she at present resides since 1841. In the younger years 
 of her life she is said to have been regarded as one of 
 the most beautiful women of this entire section. 
 
 Mrs. Eliza A. Tunstall. 
 
 Mrs. Eliza A. Tunstall is the daughter of the late 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wiley J. Groom, who came from North 
 Carolina in 1818, and settled near Mussle Shoals, Ala., 
 where Mrs. Tunstall was born on March 4th, 1820. She 
 was educated at Huntsville and LaGrange, and was at 
 school at the former place when the stars fell in 1833., 
 She came with her parents to Greensboro in 1836, where, 
 two years after her arrival, she was married to Dr. 
 James Tunstall of Virginia, and has since that date con- 
 
174 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 tinuously resided in the town. She now makes her home 
 with her daughter, Mrs. William B. Inge in Greensboro. 
 Mrs, Tunstall is the mother of three children, viz : Col. 
 Wiley C. Tunstall and Mrs. Wm. B. Inge of Greensboro, 
 and the late Dr. James Tunstall, who died some years 
 ago. She also had the responsibility of rearing five sis- 
 ters, the parents having died, leaving the little girls in 
 her care, and they made their home with her until their 
 marriage. The eldest sister married Mr. Eugene Hill of 
 Greensboro; the second married Mr. Jack Chadwick of 
 Texas ; the third. Judge Wm. Rodman of North Caro- 
 lina; the fourth, Mr. Luther Hill of Montgomery, and 
 the fifth, Capt. Wm. Selden of Faunsdale. 
 
 Mrs. Tunstall joined the Presbyterian church in 1838, 
 and has been a consistent member for the past seventy 
 years. She is a woman of remarkably fine sense, and 
 an honor to the community in which she has resided for 
 so many years. 
 
 Mrs. S. A. Kimhrougli. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah Angeline Anderson Kimbrough was born 
 on the 27th of August, 1820, near Mt. Zion Church in 
 Greene (now Hale) county, Ala. In 1843, she was mar- 
 ried to Col. J. M. P. Hanna, and there were three chil- 
 dren born of this union, viz : Robert C, Irene H., and 
 T. A. Hanna. Her daughter, Irene, married John E. 
 Love, Esq., at one time a prominent attorney in Greens- 
 boro, but who now resides in St. Louis, Mo. After the 
 death of her first husband, the subject of this brief 
 sketch married E. L. Kimbrough in 1859, and of this 
 marriage there is only one child, Mr. Edward L. Kim- 
 brough of St. Louis, Mo., who, with his wife, spends 
 much of his time in Greensboro, — a gentleman noted for 
 his fine business sense and splendid social qualities. 
 
 Mrs. Kimbrough joined Concord Presbyterian church 
 near Havana, over seventy-five years ago, and has re- 
 mained a devout member of this denomination ever 
 
OLDEST INHABITANTS 175 
 
 since. She has lived all of her long and useful life — 
 extending now over a period of eighty-eight years — in 
 Greensboro and vicinity. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Johnson Hapvel. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Johnson Happel is a daughter of Jesse 
 Gibson and Susan Holman Gibson, and was born in 
 Lebanon, Tenn., on November 14, 1826. She came with 
 her parents to Greensboro in March, 1836, and lived in 
 a log hut which was situated near where the residence 
 of her daughter, Mrs. Wm. N. Knight now stands, which 
 latter residence Mrs. Happel's father, Jesse Gibson, built 
 in 1837. Mrs. Happel had a sister, Mrs. Susan Callie 
 Yerby, who also resided nearly all her life in Greens- 
 boro. Mrs. Yerby was born in Lebanon. Tenn., and died 
 in May, 1904, at the age of 73 years. There were two 
 Gibson boys, William and German, both of whom were 
 Confederate soldiers, enlisting in Selma, where they re- 
 sided at the time of the breaking out of the war. In a 
 letter before us, written by Mrs. Happel, she says : 
 
 "Greensboro improved considerably during the years 1836-37. 
 Several new residences were built, and the town boasted of two 
 Female Schools — one where the present Academy building is now 
 located, and the other in a two story frame house situated on 
 the corner where the court house now stands. This school was 
 taught by a Mrs. Cottrell — grandma Ccttrell, as we lovingly called 
 her. She was a widow of a Methodist preacher, and mother of 
 two preachers, Dr. Joseph Cottrell and Rev. Hugh Blair Cottrell. 
 At this time the Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists had 
 weather-boarded churches, not lathed and plastered. The Epis- 
 copalians had no church, but held services in the Academy. In 
 1839, there was a great religious revival under the pastorate of 
 the Rev. Mr. Boatright of the Methodist church, which was a 
 great blessing to the town After this, each denomination felt the 
 need of larger and better houses of worship, and proceeded to build 
 them. The Methodists at this time were worshiping in a frame 
 building located where the negro Methodist church stands in the 
 rear of the Dr. Wai"d residence. The Methodists bought the lot 
 on which their church is now located, and turned the old church 
 over to the colored membei's." 
 
176 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 Mrs, Happel was married in Greensboro in April, 1844, 
 to Philip Happel, Rev. Thomas Capers officiating. She 
 resided in the town until a few years ago, when she 
 went to live with her son, Dr. Thomas J. Happel, in 
 Trenton, Tenn. She is a woman of remarkably fine 
 sense, strong character, and a devout member of the 
 Methodist church, with which denomination she united 
 in 1843 under the pastorate of Rev. T. W. Dorman. 
 
 Mrs. M. W. Wadsivorth. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Winifred Wadsworth was born at La- 
 Grange, Alabama, November 22, 1829. Her parents, Dr. 
 Alexander Sledge and Winifred Bryan Lane, moved to 
 Alabama from North Carolina in 1822, and settled at 
 LaGrange, in North Alabama. Dr. Sledge was one of 
 the founders and a liberal supporter of the once famous 
 LaGrange College. Early in 1830, Dr. Sledge moved 
 with his family to Marengo county, and afterwards set- 
 tled near Greensboro. In 1850, the subject of this sketch 
 was married to Rev. Dr. Edward Wadsworth, who at 
 the time, was president of LaGrange College — which Col- 
 lege was burned by the Federal troops during the civil 
 war. Dr. Wadsworth was a member of the first Faculty 
 of the Southern University, and while the buildings were 
 being erected he moved to Greensboro and served the 
 Methodist church at this place for two years, that period 
 being the limit a pastor was allowed to serve a church. 
 While awaiting the completion of the building of the 
 Southern University, Dr. Wadsworth served the Meth- 
 odist church at Selma for two years, and in 1859 he re- 
 turned to Greensboro and entered upon his duties as a 
 member of the University Faculty, which position he 
 held for a number of years. He died in 1883, at his 
 home in Greensboro. Mrs. Wadsworth has been identi- 
 fied with the town for the past half century, and no one 
 was ever held in higher esteem. She has been a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist church for sixty-two years. 
 
 Her sisters, Mrs. Margaret J. Peterson and Mrs. Belle 
 
OLDEST INHABITANTS 
 
 177 
 
 Castleman, and her brothers, Messrs. Alexander and 
 James Sledge are now residents of Greensboro. 
 
 REV. RICHARD HOOKER COBBS, D. D., 
 
 Who has for the past forty-eig-ht years been the Rector of St. 
 Paul's Episcopal Church in Greensboro. 
 
 Rev. R. H. Cobbs, D. D. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Richard Hooker Cobbs came to Greens- 
 boro in 1860, and became rector of St. Paul's church, 
 which position he held continuously for forty-seven 
 years, resigning as rector in September, 1907, — but de- 
 cided in March, 1908, to again accept the rectorship of 
 this church. He was born in Montgomery, September 
 7th, 1835, and is a son of Bishop Nicholas Hamner Cobbs, 
 the first Bishop of the Diocese of Alabama. Dr. Cobbs 
 graduated from the State University of Alabama in the 
 class of 1855. In May, 1862, he married Fannie A. Avery, 
 who is yet with him to cheer and bless his declining 
 
 13 
 
178 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 years. Dr. -Cobbs is much beloved by the people he has 
 served so long and faithfully. 
 
 Mrs. Margaret C. Gidleij. 
 
 Among the oldest people now residing in Greensboro 
 is Mrs. Margaret Clemintine Gulley, the mother of Frank 
 D. Gulley, one of the most highly respected citizens of 
 the town. She has two other children living, to-wit: 
 Walter Gulley and E. L. Gulley who reside in Tuscaloosa 
 and Jackson, Miss., respectively. Mrs. Gulley's parents 
 were Samuel Oliver Davidson and Nancy Catherine 
 Lowry, Mrs. Davidson being the daughter of Mr. Lowry, 
 among the early comers to Greensboro. Mrs. Gulley was; 
 born near Salisbury, N. C., April 6th, 1827. At the 
 age of thirteen years, she came to Greensboro and at- 
 tended school at the Greensboro Female Academy, which 
 was then in charge of Mr. Fay. She also went there af- 
 ter Mr. Bestor was m.ade President. She has been a 
 member of the church since 1843. On July 25, 1855, 
 she was married to Bryant Gulley, by Rev. James C, 
 Mitchell, Pastor of the Greensboro Presbyterian church. 
 Mr. Gulley was at one time a prominent merchant at 
 old Erie. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Gulley 
 resided in Greensboro for six years, and then moved to 
 Greene county, Alabama, where they resided until Mr. 
 Gulley's death on December 24th, 1887, at the age of 
 82 years. The next year Mrs. Gulley removed to Greens- 
 boro where she has since lived with her son, Frank D. 
 Gulley. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Ward 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Ward was born in or near Greensboro, 
 Alabama, in the year 1836. She is a daughter of the 
 late Col. John H. Burton, who came to this section in 
 1833 from Campbell county, Virginia, and settled 
 about eight miles from Greensboro in the prai- 
 ries. In 1850 he moved to Greensboro and purchased 
 
OLDEST INHABITAXTS 179 
 
 the lot now owned by Madison Jones. He was a prom- 
 inent citizen for many years. Mrs. Ward's mother was 
 Miss Whitworth, a daughter of Jeremiah Whitworth, 
 also a Virginian, who owned and resided on the (now). 
 Hobbie place near Cedarville. There were four children 
 of this marriage, J. L. Burton, of Crescent City, Fla. ; 
 Dr. J. W. Burton and W. C. Burton (both deceased), and 
 Elizabeth Burton. All three of the sons were Confed- 
 erate soldiers. Miss Burton married the late Dr. Thomas 
 R. Ward in 1858, who was for more than forty years a 
 prominent physician in Greensboro. Dr. Ward was a 
 North Carolinian by birth, and came to Greensboro when 
 quite a young man. He first practiced medicine with 
 the late Dr. F. M. Peterson, and afterwards alone until 
 his death in 1897. He was among the brightest and 
 most prominent Masons in the State, and for twenty- 
 two years was Master of the Lodge at Greensboro. He 
 officiated as Master of the Lodge at the laying of the 
 corner stone of the Southern University in 1857. Dr. 
 and Mrs. Ward had three children, to-wit: Dr. E. Bur- 
 ton Ward, an honored physician in Selma, Col. Thomas R. 
 Ward, a prosperous merchant of Greensboro, and Mrs. 
 Bessie Norvell Ward Colebeck, who died in June, 1906, 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Ward was educated in Lynchburg, Va. 
 For more than half a century she has been a member 
 of the Methodist church. She is much beloved by a large 
 circle of friends. 
 
 Hon. George Erivin. 
 
 At the time this is written (1908) Hon. George Erwin 
 is the oldest native-born citizen of Greensboro. He was 
 born in the year 1834 in the then corporate limits of 
 the town, and has resided here ever since. He is a son 
 of the late John Erwin, the eminent jurist, who was 
 among the earliest inhabitants of Greensboro. Mr. Er- 
 win is a highly cultured gentleman, and represented Hale 
 countv in the Legislature the session of 1884-85. He 
 
180 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 married a daughter of the late Col. Cadwalader Jones of 
 North Carolina, in 1857 — they having celebrated their 
 "golden wedding" in 1907. Though 74 years of age, Mr. 
 Erwin's intellect is as clear and forceful as ever, and 
 he lives among his books when not looking after his farm- 
 ing interests. His memory of past events is remarkably 
 good, and to him we are indebted for much valuable data 
 contained in this volume. 
 
 Mrs. M. C. Keady. 
 
 Mrs. Martha Chambers Keady is a daughter of John 
 and Katherine Chambers, and was born at Canonsburg, 
 Pa., September 12, 1837. She was well educated in the 
 schools of her native State. In August, 1869, she was 
 married to Dr. W. G. Keady, who was born in Baltimore. 
 Md., in 1833. He was a Confederate soldier for four years 
 — first joining Watson's (Mississippi) Battery. At the 
 siege of Vicksburg he lost an arm, and upon the fall of 
 the town he was taken prisoner &nd sent to Camp Doug- 
 lass, where he remained until his exchange. He then 
 went to Georgia and joined the Confederate troops, and 
 remained with them until the close of the war. After 
 the cessation of hostilities he taught school at Macon. 
 Ga., and other places. In 1871, Dr. Keady entered the 
 Presbyterian ministry. His first charge was at Wil- 
 liamsville, 111. He came to Greensboro from Kentucky 
 in 1889, and served as pastor of the Presbyterian church 
 at this place until his death in 1902. He was also for 
 several years President of the Greensboro Female Acad- 
 emy. Early in life, Mrs. Keady joined the church, and 
 for many long years has been a consistent member of 
 the Presbyterian denomination. She is a woman of 
 remarkably fine intellect, and is much beloved by a large 
 circle of friends. She has two children, Geo. K. Keady 
 editor of The Beacon, with whom she resides, and Wm 
 M. Keady, a prosperous druggist at Norcross, Ga. 
 
OLDEST INHABITANTS 181 
 
 Rev. E. M. Turner. 
 
 Rev. E. M. Turner, who has, for the past twenty years, 
 been a citizen of Greensboro, was born in Walker county, 
 Alabama, December 1, 1836. His father, Rev. John Tur- 
 ner, was a Methodist minister, and was admitted to the 
 Virginia conference in 1797. In the course of his min- 
 istry he served Newbern, S. C, Caswell, N. C, and towns 
 in Virginia. At the Conference of 1801 he located, on 
 account of ill health and moved to Walker county, Ala., 
 and in 1844 he moved to Greene county, where he re- 
 sided until his death. His wife was a Miss Kimbrough 
 of North Carolina. The subject of this sketch, Rev. E. 
 M. Turner, was educated in the common schools in Greene 
 county, Ala. He joined the church in 1845. When 8 
 or 9 years of age, his father put him. in a printing office 
 at Eutaw, Ala., The Whig, then conducted by Houston 
 & Nunnalee, where he remained for quite a while. En- 
 listed in the Confederate army in April, 1861, in a 
 regiment formed by Hon. W. R. Smith. Went into camp 
 of instruction at Tuscumbia, Ala. In September he was 
 elected First Lieutenant of Company E, and on reaching 
 Virginia was promoted to Captain of the Company. The 
 Regimental number M^as the 26th Alabama, and upon 
 the resignation of Smith, who was elected to the Con- 
 federate Congress, E. A. O'Neal was made Colonel. Cap- 
 tain Turner served under both Lee and Jackson. In 
 1864, he was transferred to the Western army, and serv- 
 ed under Johnston and Hood until the surrender at 
 Greensboro, N. C, in 1865. He has a war record that 
 few possess, but one, by conversing with him, would 
 never know he served four years in the army, so modest 
 is he with reference to matters pertaining strictly to 
 himself. 
 
 Capt. Turner joined the Alabama Conference of the 
 Methodist church at Mobile in December, 1865, and was 
 in the active ministry for many years. He is spending 
 
182 HISTORY OF GREEXSBORO. ALA. 
 
 his declining years with his wife and daughter in his 
 neat and modest home in Greensboro, among friends who 
 honor him for his upright, Christian life, and his genial, 
 sunny disposition. He has threa sons and one daughter : 
 J. G. Turner of Greensboro, Ala., Dr. E. K. Turner of 
 Oxford, Ga., Walter Turner of Atlanta, Ga., and Miss 
 Clara Turner of Greensboro. 
 
 The Stickneijs. 
 
 Thomas F. Stickney is possibly the oldest male resi- 
 dent of Greensboro. He was born April 14th, 1830, at 
 the old homestead three miles west of town, now owned 
 and occupied by his brother, Edward L. Stickney. His 
 father, Joseph Blodgett Stickney, came from England 
 in 1800, and located in North Carolina, where he mar- 
 ried Harriet Grice. After living there for some time, 
 he moved to this section, and located three miles west 
 of the present town of Greensboro, and about the year 
 1820, he purchased 840 acres of land from the 
 famous General Lefebvre, who had come in possession 
 of it under what is known as the French grant. Mr. 
 Thomas Stickney relates that he had often heard his 
 father speak of the noted Frenchman — that he was a 
 frequent visitor to the Stickney home, and the descend- 
 ants now have in their possession a number of memen- 
 toes that were presented the elder Stickney by the Gen- 
 eral. Lefebvre frequently visited the town of Greens- 
 boro in its early days. Of this distinguished character, 
 Pickett has the following in his History of Alabama : 
 
 •'A colony of French soughl; Alabama as an asylum from Bour- 
 bon persecution. The winter of 1816 and 1817 found many of these 
 distinguished refugees in Philadelphia. An ordinance of Louis 
 had forced them from France on account of their attachment to 
 Napoleon, who was then an exile upon St. Helena. 
 
 "Among those who were exiled was Count Lefebvre Desnoettes, 
 who had been a cavalry officer under Bonaparte with the rank 
 of lieutenant-general. Accompanying Napoleon in his march to 
 Russia, he rode with him in his carriage in his disastrous i-e- 
 treat over the snows of that country. He had served in Spain 
 in many bloody wars, and was an active participant in the dread- 
 
OLDEST INHABITANTS 183 
 
 ful battle of Sarragjossa. Vivacious, active and handsome in per- 
 son and graceful in carriage, he was the most splendid rider of 
 the age in which he lived. His imperial master was so much at- 
 tached to him that when forced to abdicate the throne and about 
 to depart for Elba and while addressing his weeping and sorrow- 
 ing officers at Fontainbleau, said, 'I cannot take leave of you all, 
 but will embrace General Desnoettes in behalf of you all.' He 
 then pressed him to his bosom in the most affectionate manner. 
 Napoleon frequently made him valuable presents, and influenced 
 his cousin, the sister of the celebrated banker. La Fitte to es- 
 pouse him. While he was at Demopolis, that lady made an attempt 
 to join him in exile, but being shipwrecked on the coast of Eng- 
 land, was forced to return to France. At length she negotiated 
 with the French government for his return, and, through the in- 
 fluence of her family, succeeded in obtaining permission for him 
 to reside in Belgium. This induced Count Lefebvre in 1823, to 
 leave Alabama in the ship Albion, which was wrecked upon the 
 coast of Ireland, at Old Kinsale, in view of an immense number 
 of people who were standing on the cliffs. The distinguished re- 
 fugee was washed overboard, and the ocean became his grave." 
 
 J. J. Cluis, mentioned elsewhere in this volume as 
 having kept a hotel in Greensboro, came to this section 
 with Count Lefebvre, and was a man of note under the 
 Napoleonic rule in France. 
 
 Joseph B. Stickney was the father of eleven children, 
 as follows: Rev. William A. Stickney, Frederick G., 
 Joseph B., Edward L., Thomas F., John, and Richard H. 
 Stickney, the latter being at the time of his death in 
 February, 1904, among the most prosperous and highly 
 respected citizens of Greensboro. The daughters were: 
 Mrs. Eliza Street, Mrs. Harriet J. Charles, Mrs. Olivia 
 Morgan, and Miss Mary Stickney, all deceased. 
 
 Mr. Thomas F. Stickney says that soon after his father 
 settled near Greensboro others came from North Caro- 
 lina and located to the w^est of the present town, — among 
 the number. Off a Shivers, Stith Evans, Benjamin Evans, 
 the Morrisons and the Arnolds. 
 
 William A. Avery. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, William A. Avery, was born 
 
 four miles north of Greensboro on March 1, 1832. His 
 
 father was William Ingram Avery, who came from 
 
 North Carolina in 1818, and located near the present 
 
184 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 town of Greensboro. He built the first frame house 
 ever erected in the town in 1818, for Peck, Brewer and 
 Bates. It was located on the site on which is now situated 
 the two story brick building occupied now by George 
 Findlay and The Watchman office. William A. Avery 
 has resided all his life in the territory of what is now 
 Hale county. For the past twenty years he has lived 
 with his family in Greensboro. In 1855 he married Miss 
 Sarah Elizabeth Walton, daughter of the late Joseph 
 Walton, who is remembered by many of the people as 
 among the best and most highly respected citizens of 
 Hale county. Mr, Avery served for several years dur- 
 ing the war between the States in the Confederate ar- 
 senal at Selma, Ala., engaged in the work of making gun 
 carriages. He was so employed when Wilson's Raiders 
 captured the city. Mr. Avery has been a member of the 
 Methodist church for the past 45 years. He has always 
 enjoyed the reputation of being a good citizen and a 
 good neighbor. 
 
 TJiomas J. Khmuird. 
 
 Thomas J. Kinnaird is among the oldest citizens of 
 this vicinity. He has resided in Greensboro for a num- 
 ber of years past. He is the son of James A. Kinnaird 
 and Mary McMaster Kinnaird. The father came to this 
 county when quite a young man from North Carolina. 
 His mother was a native of Greene county, Alabama. 
 They resided at Green Springs, near Havana, Ala., at 
 which place Thomas J. Kinnaird was born April 30th, 
 1830, and he has lived in what is now Hale county all 
 his life. In 1855 he married Miss Keziah Lavender of 
 Newbern, Ala. In 1862 Mr. Kinnaird enlisted in the Con- 
 federate army, and was a member of Company C, 36th 
 Alabama Regiment — Captain Wemyss' company — and 
 was in the Tennessee army and saw actual service 
 from Chickamauga to Spanish Fort. He served for four 
 
OLDEST INHABITANTS 185 
 
 years, and was in many battles, but did not receive a 
 single wound. 
 
 Mr. Kinnaird has been a member of the Baptist church 
 for the past fifty years, having joined Bethsaida church 
 in 1858. He is one of the original members of the pres- 
 ent Greensboro Baptist church, being present at the 
 organization in February, 1894. He has always enjoyed 
 the respect and confidence of the people among whom 
 he has lived so long. 
 
 John L. Croom. 
 
 One of the oldest living former residents of Greens- 
 boro is Mr. John L. Croom, who has kindly furnished 
 the author valuable information for this volume. He 
 was born at LaGrange, Ala., Nov. 26, 1826, and came 
 with his father, Wiley J. Croom, to Greensboro in 1834, 
 and resided here until 1850, when he moved to Mata- 
 gordo, Texas, and for the past fifty-eight years has been 
 a resident of Matagordo and Wharton counties. He 
 served for ten years as County and District Clerk of 
 Matagordo, and since the expiration of his term of office 
 he has been engaged in the real estate business. He was 
 orderly sergeant in Company A — Andrew L. Pickens, 
 Captain, John R. Coffee, Colonel — First Regiment Ala- 
 bama Volunteers in the Mexican War, and was honorably 
 discharged from service, on account of disability to 
 perform military duty, in July, 1846. In November of 
 the same year he married Miss Ellen R. Davis, at Mata- 
 gordo, Texas, a lady who was born and reared at Frank- 
 lin, Tenn. She died in Wharton, Texas, in October, 1901. 
 There were two children from this union, Judge W. J. 
 Croom, and Mrs. Rosa F. McCamly, widow of the late 
 Fred C. McCamly, a prominent lawyer of Texas. Mr. 
 Croom is a brother of Mrs. Eliza A. Tunstall of Greens- 
 boro, and an uncle of Col. Wiley C. Tunstall of this 
 place. He is spending the evening of his life happily 
 
186 HISTORY OF GREEXSBORO, ALA. 
 
 with his children, grand children and great grand chil- 
 dren in Wharton, Texas. 
 
 Mr. Croom furnishes the following list of old citizens 
 of Greensboro whom he remembers as residing here dur- 
 ing his early residence in the town : 
 
 Gen. Patrick May, soldier of the war of 1812 ; John 
 May, cotton planter; Charles or Robert Fortune, dealer 
 in stock, and also kept a stage stand on his place at the 
 forks of the road south of the depot; James McDonald, 
 cotton planter ; Dr. McCann ; Shelby Chadwick, mer- 
 chant; I. N. Chadwick, merchant; Jack Shackelford, 
 merchant; V. Boardman, jeweler; Sam Cowin, hotel 
 keeper; John G. Harvey, editor Alabama Beacon; Mat- 
 thew Hobson, planter — father of Mrs. W. C. Tunstall 
 and Mrs. W. D. Lee; A. Benners, Edward Benners, Jas. 
 D. Webb, Wm. P. Webb, John Erwin, Wm. M. Murphy, 
 Rob't. B. Waller, Henry Watson, Rob't D. Huckabee, law- 
 yers; Samuel Webb, merchant; Albert Hendon, mer- 
 chant; Thomas M. Johnston, merchant and planter; Maj. 
 Bell, soldier of war of 1812; his sons were John, Bush- 
 rod, William and Frank Bell; Frederick Peck, merchant, 
 and first postmaster; D. P. Stockton; Joseph and Jesse 
 Seligman, the latter became a noted banker in New York ; 
 A. C. Horton, who was the first Lt. Governor of Texas; 
 Dr. Sydney Vaughan; James Levi Tunstall, Thomas 
 Webb, Wm. T. Hendon, P. W. Kittrell, Wm. Street, all 
 physicians; one son of Dr. Kittrell and another of Dr. 
 Street became district judges in Texas; Rev. D. P. Bes- 
 tor; Rev. Sydenham Witherspoon; Rev. John DuBois, 
 first manufacturer of cotton gins; Samuel Duncan, Ben- 
 jamin and Geo. W. Briggs; Andrew J. Briggs, Samuel G, 
 Hardaway, sheriff; Jos. Atkins, druggist; A. Stollen- 
 werck, druggist; A. M. Dorman, merchant; Col. Isaac 
 Croom, planter, and president of State Agricultural So- 
 ciety; Jessie H. Croom, planter; Dr. Stephen Davis; Dr. 
 Wm. T. Barnum ; Calvin Norris, planter ; Dr. Wm. Jones ; 
 Samuel Boykin; Nat M. Murphy, lawyer; Mr. Murray, 
 
OLDEST INHABITANTS 187 
 
 first fashionable tailor ; Mrs. Pasteur, Mrs. Dickson, Mrs 
 Fowler, among the first settlers of Greensboro ; Dr. R. U. 
 DuBois, dentist; Samuel DuBois; David Barckley; Jo- 
 seph Simmons, dry goods clerk and dancing master; Dr. 
 Richard Groom ; Mr. Reynolds, first tinner in the town ; 
 Dr. Jos. Reynolds, his son ; B. F. Avery, ancestor of B. 
 F. Avery & Sons of Louisville, Ky., celebrated for making 
 Avery's plows; Thos. Archer, a great wit and ladies' 
 man; Rev. Thos. Ghilton, grandfather of ex-Gongress- 
 man Horace Ghilton of Texas; Dr. Rufus Haywood, an 
 eminent surgeon ; Wm. P. Eaton, graduate of Yale col- 
 lege, school teacher; Mr. Whelan, tailor and only Roman 
 Catholic in Greensboro in the early days. 
 
Chapter XXIV. 
 
 CHAPTER OF MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Mayors. 
 
 Diligent search has failed to disclose a satisfactory list 
 of the names of those who have served as Mayor of 
 Greensboro, but we give all that could be found, as fol- 
 lows : John Clement, Charles Whelan, James J. Garrett, 
 James M. Hobson, Thomas R. Roulhac, Charles E. Wal- 
 ler, L. J, Lawson, Amasa M. Dorman, W. W. Powers, 
 E. B. Randolph, Robert F. Otts, Wm. E. W. Yerby, N. L. 
 Castleman, John G. Apsey, Jr. 
 
 Marslials. 
 
 The office of marshal was not created until 1859, and 
 since that time the following have served in that capacity : 
 Jno. B. Williams, George W. Briggs, Wm. A. Bell, Wm. 
 Roberts, J. D. Hamilton, F. H. Johnson, W. P. Johnson, 
 A. B. Mackey, W. E. Torbett, J. W. Otts, John Erwin. 
 
 Night Watchmen. 
 
 It seems that it has been only of recent years that 
 Greensboro realized the importance of having a night 
 watchman, for so far as the records of the old days show, 
 no such office existed — that is to say as far back as forty 
 years ago. Those who have held this office are: Ed. 
 Gayle, M. C. Knight, C. C. Wilkerson, Reuben Johnson, 
 D. A. Seale, Rufus DuBois, Walter Seale, Wm. Stokes. 
 
 On the night of October 16, 1874, two Greensboro citi- 
 zens — John H. Atkins and J. T. Walker — became engaged 
 in a personal difficulty on the sidewalk between the de- 
 Graffenried & Evins law office and Dr. Carson's front 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 189 
 
 gate, and opened fire upon each other. The night watch- 
 man at that time was M. C. Knight, who was standing 
 across the street. He rushed in between the two men, 
 and a ball from one of the weapons struck him and killed 
 him almost instantly. It was never definitely known 
 from which of the two pistols the fatal shot was fired. 
 Both the men were tried and acquitted. Knight was a 
 comparative stranger in Greensboro, coming, he stated 
 upon his arrival here, from McMinnville, Tenn, Very 
 little was ever learned about who he was, or why he 
 came to this place. 
 
 FRANCIS MARION PETERSON, M. D., 
 
 Who was a distinguished physician and honored citizen of Greens- 
 boro from 1846 until his death in 1898. 
 
 Physicians. 
 
 Greensboro has always been blessed with the best med- 
 ical skill in the person of her physicians. Among those 
 who formerly practiced their profession here may be 
 
190 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 mentioned Francis Marion Peterson, Wm. Jones, John 
 H. Parrish, T. C. Osborne, Charles Whelan, Beverlj'; 
 Griggs, James J. Peterson, Elisha Young, Joseph M. 
 Pickett, Thomas R. Ward, David J. Castleman. 
 
 Population. 
 
 The population of Greensboro in 1860 was (about) 
 1600; in 1870 it was 1760; in 1880, 1834; in 1890, 1759; 
 in 1900, 2416. These figures (except for 1860) were ob- 
 tained from the Census Bureau in Washington, D. C. 
 
 Burning of the Greene County Court House. 
 
 So intimately was Eutaw and Greensboro associated 
 in the days before Hale was made a county, that a note 
 of the fact that the court house at Eutaw was destroyed 
 by fire on March 20th, 1868, will not be out of place in 
 these pages. From the Alabama Beacon of March 28, 
 1868, the following is taken : 
 
 "THE COURT HOUSE AT EUTAW DESTROYED BY FIRE 
 
 — Greene county has sustained a heavy loss. The Court House at 
 Eutaw was destroyed by fire on Friday morning of last weel<;, with 
 all the records, papers etc., in the office of the Circuit Clerk, in 
 which the fire originated. The records and papei's in the office 
 of the Sheriff", Register in Chancery and County Treasurer were 
 all saved. The Eutaw Court House was one of the most commodi- 
 ous and costly in the State. Its destruction at any time would 
 have been a heavy loss to the county, but at this junctui-e, when 
 most people find it extremely difficult to support their families 
 and nay their taxes, it will prove a most serious calamity, es- 
 pecially so, in view of the loss of the valuable records and papers. 
 The circumstances connected with the origin of the fire, as we 
 have heard them, leave no room for doubt as to its having been 
 the work of an incendiary. They also create the presumption that 
 the deed was done for the purpose of destroying certain recoi'ds 
 or papers in the Clei'k's office." 
 
 Ribbon Cane. 
 
 The first genuine ribbon (or sugar) cane ever success- 
 fully planted in Hale county was cultivated seven miles 
 Northeast of Greensboro by Rev. A. R. Ramey. In 1873 
 he brought fifty stalks from Citronelle, Ala., and planted 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 191 
 
 it. The next year he had a quantity of stalks to sell to 
 his neighbors, and from this small beginning the molas- 
 ses crop of the farmers, especially of Northeast, West 
 and North Hale, has grown to be quite a profitable one, 
 — the Greensboro market being supplied to a large ex- 
 tent with the home-grown article. 
 
 First Appearance of English Sparirnu. 
 
 The English sparrow, that destructive and troublesome 
 little pest, is comparatively a lecent conier to Greens- 
 boro. The first note of its appearance was in November, 
 1885, and the little birds were viewed with interest and 
 curiosity by the people. Since then the tribe has in- 
 creased, and is almost as the sands of the seashore for 
 multitude. 
 
 Cfjfton Worms. 
 
 For many years prior to 1890, the cotton worms would 
 annually strip the leaves from the cotton plant, but that 
 year, for the first time within the memory of "the oldest 
 inhabitant," they failed to do any damage to the cotton 
 plant in this section, nor have the pests returned in any 
 considerable numbers since then. 
 
 Tlie Stars and Stripes. 
 
 The first United States flag that was unfurled on a 
 building in Greensboro since 1861 was in May, 1898, and 
 was floated from Hamilton Hall, the boarding annex 
 of the Southern University, and another from the 
 Greensboro Hotel. This was done in honor of the vic- 
 tory of the American navy under Admiral Dewey over 
 the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Manila. Since that 
 tim^e the Stars and Stripes have not been strangers to 
 the eyes of the inhabitants of Greensboro. 
 
 Practical Joke of the Old Days. 
 
 Among the earliest watchmakers and jewelers of Greens- 
 boro was Thomas Rainey, an Irishman, fresh from the 
 
192 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 old country. He was always ready with his wit and also 
 ready at all times for a drink. Contemporary with him, 
 although in a different line of business, was William 
 Scarff, the undertaker. Rainey and Scarff were the best 
 of friends, and spent many hours talking together. One 
 day Rainey, when about half drunk, told some friends 
 that he wanted to play a joke on his friend Scarff, and 
 asked them to come in and arrange him in his bed as a 
 dead man. The friends complied and spread a sheet over 
 Rainey, who told them to go tell Scarff that Rainey was 
 dead, and to come up and take his measure for a coffin. 
 (In those days the undertaker always took the measure 
 of a corpse before bringing the casket.) The friends went 
 to Scarff and sadly told him of Rainey's demise, and he 
 expressed much sorrow over the news. He went at once 
 to the room of the supposed dead man, and after again, 
 with tears in his eyes, bemoaning the death of his old 
 comrade, he began to remove the sheet. When he had 
 taken it from the body, and was in the act of removing 
 his shoes, Rainey very gently said : "Be careful, friend 
 Scarff, and don't hurt my corns." Scarff made the air 
 blue for a while with his denunciations of the "low down 
 trick" that had been played on him. 
 
 As stated above, Rainey was among the early jewelers 
 of the town. He purchased, forty or m.ore years ago, 
 from Volney Boardman, whom he succeeded in the jew- 
 eler's business, the big clock which is now in Dr. Jay's 
 drug store. For more than half a century this clock 
 regulated the time for the citizens of Greensboro and 
 surrounding country. Charles Jones gave it to Dr. Jay 
 when he went out of the jeweler's business ni 1895. The 
 old clock is still ticking away, and keeps the time as ac- 
 curately as it did when first installed. 
 
 Local Telephone. 
 
 In 1895, T. B. Fitzpatrick was granted a franchise for 
 a period of twenty-five years to establish and operate a 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 193 
 
 telephone system in Greensboro. He at once went to 
 work on the line, but died in September of that year, 
 and his wife, Mrs. Lucy Fitzpatrick, carried the work to 
 completion. On the 15th of April, 1896, the local tele- 
 phone commenced business and was conducted by Mrs. 
 Fitzpatrick until 1907, when she sold the property to the 
 Southern Bell Company, who now operate it. 
 
 Long Distance Teleplwne. 
 
 The Southern Bell Telephone Company was granted the 
 privilege of entering the town by the Mayor and Council 
 in the year 1895. It did only a "long distance" business 
 in Greensboro until 1907, when the company purchased 
 the local telephone system from Mrs. Fitzpatrick, since 
 which time it has had exclusive charge of both the long 
 distance and the local telephone service. 
 
 Authors. 
 
 Greensboro has produced authors of note. Of the num- 
 ber: Dr. J. M. P. Otts, who wrote "The Fifth Gospel, 
 or the Land Where Jesus Lived," "At Mother's Knee," 
 "Unanswered Questions," "The Gospel in Pagan Relig- 
 ions," "Laconisms," "A Dream About My School Days." 
 
 Judge A. A. Coleman, who has written many poems, 
 which are published in a volume entitled "Poets of 
 America." 
 
 Miss Martha Young, has written a book entitled "Bes- 
 sie Bell," also "Plantation Songs." 
 
 Mrs. Martha Gielow, "Old Plantation Days," "Mam- 
 my's Reminiscences," and others. 
 
 James J. Garrett, "The Forty-fourth Alabama Regi- 
 ment." 
 
 Rev. Henry Trawick, "The Modern Revival." 
 
 Miss Anne Hobson, "In Old Alabama." 
 
 Dr. J. T. Littleton, "History of Pocahontas." 
 
 Captain R. P. Hobson, "Sinking of the Merrimac," 
 "Buck Jones of Annapolis." 
 
194 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 Prof. D. P. Christenberry, "History of the Southern 
 University." 
 
 Plant ej-.'i. 
 
 Greensboro has been the home of many prominent 
 planters and large land owners. Of the rramoer may be 
 mentioned : John Nelson, Allen C. Jones, Wm. R. Smaw, 
 D. F. McCrary, J. W. McCrary, J. H. Y. Webb, John W. 
 Walton, Gideon Nelson, Wiley Groom, Ivey F. Lewis, 
 Robert W. Withers, Wm. B. Inge, Sr., Dr. Wm. Jones, 
 Thomas M. Johnston, S. D. Owens, E. T. Pasteur, Reuben 
 Seay, Henry Watson, R. H. McFadden, Sr., S. S. Lati- 
 mer, W. W. Powers, Edward Bi^yol, John Erwin, Thos. 
 Seay, Dr. Drake and others. All of the above named 
 gentlemen are dead. 
 
 Nut Gras.s. 
 
 Probably there are those of the present generation who 
 think that the cocoa, or nut grass, has always beeen in 
 Greensboro and vicinity, but such is not the fact. The 
 author has it on the authority of Hon. Charles E. Waller, 
 who knows the history of the grass in this section, that 
 the first appearance of cocoa was in the yard of Dr. 
 Richard Garter Randolph, two miiles east of Greensboro. 
 Mrs. Randolph had one of the largest and most beautiful 
 flower yards ever in this vicinity, and she would fre- 
 quently order plants and shrubbery from New Orleans, 
 and more than half a century ago there came in these 
 plants or shrubbery either the seed or the nuts of the 
 cocoa. When the grass first made its appearance in the 
 Randolph yard no one knew what it was, and no attempt 
 was made to eradicate it, and from this beginning it has 
 spread, in various ways, over the entire section. 
 
 It is worthy of note that Dr. Randolph was a close rela- 
 tive to the famous "John Randolph of Roanoke," and 
 was, before he moved to Greensboro, a surgeon in the 
 United States navy. He was quite wealthy, and owned 
 thousands of acres of land east of the corporate limits 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 195 
 
 of the town. In the midst of these broad acres he erected 
 a palatial home, which he called "Oakleigh" and furnish- 
 ed it most elegantly. He and his wife entertained lavish- 
 ly, and many brilliant parties were given beneath their 
 hospitable roof. The front yard was a scene of beauty, 
 filled with flowers and shrubbery of every description, 
 and adorned here and there with statues of the finest 
 Italian marble. The Doctor and his wife are buried in 
 the family graveyard hard by the place where once stood 
 their elegant home. 
 
 In the after j^ears the house was burned, — the brick 
 were moved away, and the property passed into other 
 hands, and now a modest cottage adorns the site where 
 once stood the mansion of the old days. 
 
 Dr. Randolph was the father of Major R. C. Randolph, 
 who married Sallie Julia Pickett, daughter of Albert J. 
 Pickett, the historian. His other children were Mrs. R. 
 I. Hill, Mrs. J. W. Tayloe and Mrs. Rittenhouse Moore. 
 
 Cherted Street. 
 
 For a long number of years, during the winter season, 
 the Main street of Greensboro from the cemetery to the 
 depot was almost as bad as the average country road. 
 Teams were frequently stalled in the mud — particularly 
 on the small hill just before getting to the depot, and 
 also in front of the Lightfoot place. In the business por- 
 tion of the town in rainy weather, the street would get 
 in an almost impassable condition, and the odors eminat- 
 ing from the mud were very offensive. 
 
 In 1900, this was remedied by the Mayor and Council 
 making a contract to have the street cherted from the 
 depot to the cemetery. G. M. Burkhalter & Co., of Bir- 
 mingham, were the contractors, and the work cost a little 
 over ^'10,000. The town, in July, 1900, issued $10,000 
 worth of bonds to pay for it. The indebtedness bears 6 
 per cent, interest, payable semi-annually. Said bonds 
 specify that on July 1st, 1921, one thousand dollars of 
 
196 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 the principal is to be paid, and one thousand dollars each 
 succeeding July until the entire debt is liquidated. 
 
 Cotton on Mill. 
 
 The Greensboro Cotton Oil Mill was established near 
 the depot in 1902, and was exempted from taxation for 
 a period of ten years by the town authorities in order 
 to induce the promoters to locate it here. It is owned by 
 local capitalists, and has prospered. 
 
 Telegraph Lines. 
 
 In 1869, the citizens of Greensboro donated a thousand 
 dollars to induce the Western Union Telegraph Company 
 to extend its line from Marion to this place. The first 
 office was opened in Greensboro during that year. It 
 was through the untiring efforts of Henry Beck, Al Stoll- 
 enwerck and A. S. Jeffries that the line was brought 
 here. 
 
 Twenty-four years after this, the citizens do not ap- 
 pear to have been so anxious for a telegraph line as for- 
 merly, for in 1893, the Postal Company humbly petition- 
 ed the Mayor and Council to allow it to enter the town 
 and maintain an office, — which petition was granted, and 
 the Postal opened for business in Greensboro in 1893. 
 
 Public Halls. 
 
 By public halls is meant a place where public meetings 
 were held. The very first that existed in Greensboro was 
 somewhere about the year 1834, and was located on the 
 Northeast corner of the lot of Col. W. C. Tunstall, almost 
 opposite the residence of Judge W. C. Christian on Main 
 street. It was a one-story frame structure, and was 
 known as the "Theatre Building," from the fact that the 
 traveling troupes would have their shows therein. 
 
 The next public hall of which there is any record was 
 in the upper story of a frame building that was located 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 197 
 
 where the Steinhart store now stands on Main street. It 
 was known as Lyceum Hall. 
 
 After this place fell into disuse, Washington Hall came 
 into prominence, and for some years the public speakings 
 and gatherings were held in this place. 
 
 Franklin Hall was the next in order, and is still stand- 
 ing. It was the room above the stores in the block in 
 which D, W. Taylor's store is at present located. Be- 
 sides other public uses to which it was put, the military 
 companies used it as a drilling place. 
 
 After Amasa M. Dorman built the Dorman block on 
 the South side of Main street and fitted up "Dorman's 
 Hall," the Franklin Hall ceased to be used as a place for 
 public gatherings. At the time it was erected, "Dorman's 
 Hall," with its wooden benches, and its raised stage, was 
 accounted the finest public hall in this section. Many stir- 
 ring scenes were enacted within the compass of its walls, 
 — the most exciting, perhaps, being in the latter part of 
 1860, when a discussion of the question was had as to 
 whether Alabama should secede from the Union or not. 
 Hot and angry words were passed between those who 
 difl'ered on the subject and friendships of a lifetime were 
 shattered. And it was in this place that the military 
 company, known as "The Greensboro Guards," was or- 
 ganized and drilled before starting for the war. Here 
 the strolling minstrels would come and amuse the people 
 with their shows, and it was here that the amateurs of 
 the town would display their talent as actors and actress- 
 es. The old hall served its day and generation well, and 
 stood until 1903, when it was torn away to make room 
 for the present commodious store building. 
 
 In 1897, J. A. Blunt erected a splendid public hall above 
 his stores on the South side of Main street. The build- 
 ings were burned in November, 1902. In 1903 Mr. Blunt 
 rebuilt the burned district, and fitted up the present beau- 
 tiful Opera House. 
 
198 
 
 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 The Greensboro Dramatic Association. 
 
 Nearly forty years ago — to 1)e exact, in 1869 — there 
 existed in Greensboro an organization known as "The 
 Greensboro Dramatic Association," the object of which 
 was "for the purpose of aiding the destitute of Greens- 
 boro and vicinity." The Association gave dramatic exhi- 
 bitions once a month, and the proceeds were devoted to 
 charitable purposes. The first play enacted was entitled 
 "Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady," and was a great 
 success. There were no lady members of the company, 
 and the characters in the play that required ladies were 
 taken by the men, who would dress in feminine attire. 
 The Dramatic Association accomplished much good dur- 
 ing its career. The following were the members, as gath- 
 ered from the minutes : 
 
 L. J. Lawson, S. C. Carson, Henry Boardman, Alex 
 H. Williams, W. P. Johnson, Henry H. Hooton, H. Hum- 
 phries, Robert H. Jackson, John A. Peterson, John M. 
 Gayle, Stawell W. Gillespie, Robert B. Monette, Charles 
 T. Briggs, Charles E. Waller, Porter K. Carson, L. M, 
 Osborn, Ed. Nutting and John Atkins. Dr. Simonds was 
 manager of the Company. 
 
 *^^ 
 
MISCELLANEO US 
 
 199 
 
 AN OLD FASHION SPINNING WHEEL. 
 
 A Relic of the Old Days. 
 
 The above is a good representation of the old spinning 
 wheel that was so common in the South in Colonial times, 
 and in the days before the Civil War. It, together with 
 the ponderous old loom, was the forerunner of the mod- 
 ern cotton factory. Almost every family was supplied 
 with a ''Spinning Jenny" and a loom before the advent of 
 cotton and yarn mills. The Spinning Jenny was invented 
 by James Hargreaves in 1767, and for nearly a hundred 
 years its use was continued — improvements upon the 
 original being but slowly made. 
 
 It will not be a great many years before these old relics 
 will be entirely out of existence, — hence it is that the 
 picture of the one which has been in possession of the 
 writer's ancestors for nearly sixty years is given above. 
 
200 HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALA. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Our task is finished. It is with a feeling of sadness 
 rather than of joy that the pen is laid aside, because it 
 has been purely a labor of love that has engaged our at- 
 tention for some years past in the preparation of these 
 pages. The work had grown to be fascinating, and really 
 a part of existence. 
 
 It is our earnest hope that the future historian may de- 
 rive as much pleasure from a continuation of the History 
 of Greensboro in the years to come as has been afforded 
 this writer in the prosecution of the work. 
 
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