SHERIFFS of LAWRENCE COUNTY.

     From the year 1818 to the late war, a period of sixty-two years, there were thirteen office was never committed to any man who had not enjoyed the confidence of the people for a long time. What a commentary is this upon the habit of our people of breaking all the ties which bind them to their early homes and friends, and seeking new homes, where it requires a large part of a lifetime to give them the same social position they once had.

     Hance M. Cunningham was the first sheriff of this county.  His name is mentioned in several of the early Acts for the organization of the county and for the establishment of turnpike roads.  His mother was sister to John and Moses McWhorter, a very respectable family of old times, into the county in 1817.  Hance married Mary Tiggs.  He was elected sheriff, and Esquire Hogan was his deputy, and this is as much as I have been able to learn concerning him.

     William Reneau, the second sheriff, I knew very well.  The Reuean family came from East Tennessee; and John (the father of William) died many years afterward, at the house of his son.  William was not a man of much education, but of energy and a very kindly disposition, almost too much so for a sheriff.  The consequence was that he became very popular, and at the expiration of his term of office he was elected to the House of Representatives of the General Assembly, in which he served during the sessions of 1835 and 1836.  His deputies were Asa Hodges and Hugh M. Warren.

     Hugh M. Warren, our third sheriff, lived first in Madison, where he was sheriff of that county.  He married for his first wife, a Miss Hart, and settled near Leighton.  Being well known to our citizens who came from Madison county (and we had a great many of them) he was elected, by their influence, sheriff of the county.  I knew him well, for I was then practising law in Moulton.  He was a man of energy and method.  All his official business was closed up promptly.  In this he was assisted by Andrew Kaiser and Levi P. Warren.
     By his first marriage he had four sons: William H. Warren, who was major in the Confederate service, and lives in Colbert county.  He married first Miss Cassidy, of Florence, and secondly, a daughter of John Dial, near La Grange.  He was a fearless officer, but not always temperate.  The second son, Robert, married a daughter of Dr. Clark, and also lives in Colbert county.  The third son, Thomas, married a Miss Webb, of Madison county, and lives near Moulton.  The youngest son, Hugh, married a daughter of John L. Murray, and moved to Texas years ago.

     Hugh M. Warren, for his second wife, married Nancy Emily, daughter of John (Pond) Smith.  This old gentleman was much respected, and was the head of a pious Baptist family.  The issue of this marriage was two daughters, Martha and Mary.  Martha married Robert King, son of Oswald King, in 1856; and Mary married Burchett C. King, brother of Robert, in 1858.  Each has many children.

     Andrew Kaiser, one of Mr. Warren's deputies, studied medicine, found some mineral springs (called Kaiser's Springs), settled and I think died there.  Levi F. Warren lived near Moulton, amassed a very large fortune and died a few years ago.

     Bolling B. Burnett, the fourth sheriff, was a very sociable, talkative man, made a good officer, and was a Methodist and a man of consistent moral character.  He married Mary, the daughter of a stout, lame blacksmith, living near Town Creek Bridge, commonly called Judge Hall; and moved to the State of Mississippi, near Aberdeen, in 1837.  Deputies not known.

     John Gregg was the fifth sheriff, and had for his depnty his brother Ellis. Of John (who was a clerk of the county court) we have already spoken.

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     Matthew Roberts, the sixth sheriff, is now living; with physical and mental powers very good for an old man, and although he is about 86 years of age, and deaf, he is as fond of hearing the news as any man in the county.  Major Roberts is one of a generation, the individuals of which were born and reared when the county was new and wild, and the chances of an education poor, who have, notwithstanding, made a good estate, occupied positions of honor and profit, and raised large families.

     His father and mother were both descendants of revolutionary soldiers, and lived in Roane county, North Carolina.  In 1809 they moved to Giles county, Tenn., and in 1817, to this county.  At the land sales, in the Spring of 1818, they were overbid, lost their improvement, and moved to a place on the southeast branch of Town Creek, where they lived for many years and died.  When they moved into this county they brought with them a family consisting of seven children, of whom three are dead, and four living, viz: Matthew (the subject of this sketch), Howard, William (who lives in Texas) and Mary.
     Major Roberts, when I first knew him, was a constable, with a very large collecting practice.  After a while he became so generally and favorably known that he was elected sheriff, and gave satisfaction to the people in that office, His deputies were Samuel Henderson, who succeeded him, and Boling C. Burnett, who had been sheriff before.  The Major was a patriotic man, and was captain of one of the companies raised so promptly for the Florida war, which marched from Moulton to Tuscaloosa in forty eight hours, of which I will speak more especially hereafter.
     Major Roberts was married in 1819, to Susan Wells, who was an orphan, and reared by her grandfather, John Chilcoat.  They settled, during that year, in Robert's Cove, southwest of Moulton, where the family still live.  This couple reared thirteen children, to be men and women, in comfort and respectability. Ye rolling stones ! What think you of a family home sixty-one years old?  Of children, the oldest, John C., was in the Confederate service, along with his son John, and both were Baptist preachers, living in Franklin county, Thomas and Absalom both died in the Confederate service (under General Roddy) of typhoid fever.  Houston served for two years in Captain Hodge's company, in the Sixteenth Alabama Regiment, and was wounded in the head at Shiloh.  To be with his two brothers, he obtained a transfer into Captain Threlkeld's company, Fourth Alabama Cavalry, under General Roddy, and in falling back from Dodge's command from Tuscumbia, he was struck on the head with a fragment of a bomb, and fell apparently dead, but his comrades carried him to the rear, and he finally recovered.  One of the daughters married a Masterson, another an Armor, and a third a Milam.  One of the sons, James, has practised medicine for many years in Kentucky.  This is but an imperfect account of this patriotic family, but it is the best that I can offer.

     Samuel Henderson was the seventh sheriff.  He had for his deputies Denton H. Valiant and Robert Henderson.  The administration of the office, I presume, was satisfactory to the people, for they elected him to the Legislature in 1838.  He married his cousin Rebecca, daughter of John Henderson.  The family moved to Texas many years ago.

     Denton H. Valiant was the eighth sheriff.  I am not advised from what State he came.  When I moved to Moulton he was industriously carrying on the trade of a cabinet maker.  He was a man of good natural mind and embraced every opportunity of improving a very defective education.  He was honest and very tenacious of his opinions and was much respected.  After being deputy he was elected sheriff and made an efficient and popular officer; so much so that he was elected to the Legislature in 1841 and also in 1842.  He married a Miss Kilpatrick, and so did Mr. Branch, who lived in the grove at the Moulton Spring.  They were ladies of some culture and sisters to Dr. Kilpatrick, who was a successful practitioner on the lower Mississippi river.  I knew him when he came to visit his sisters.  I have been told that Mr. Valiant, who with his wife has been dead for many years, left two sons, who have become lawyers of distinction, to-wit, Frank, of Greenville, Mississippi, and LeRoy, of St. Louis.  If this be so, it is probable that the direction of the boys' minds was given by the mother.  Denton

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H. Valiant was Lieutenant in the company of Volunteers for the Florida war, to which I have alluded.

     Mr. John C. Burruss, son of Richard Burruss, is said to have been one of the best officers Lawrence county ever had.  He was elected in 1851 and served a full term very acceptably to the people, and honorably and profitably to himself.  He married Kate, a sister of Samuel D. and John H. Houston.  She was a most excellent lady, highly endowed by nature and education, and a great favorite among her acquaintances.  When I come to speak of the Burruss and Houston families 1 shall give an account of the ancestry of Mr. Burruss and his wife.

     Wm. Eubank succeeded Mr. Burruss and made a correct, painstaking officer.  He was a popular gentleman and much respected by all the people.  He moved to Texas before the war and died years ago.

     Joseph H. Shrygley succeeded Mr. Eubank, and gave satisfaction as high sheriff of old Lawrence.

     C. C. Gewin was the twelfth and Henry A. McGhee was the thirteenth, and we have already spoken of them.  We will now give an account of the Burleson family, including Gen. Edward Burleson.

THE BURLESON FAMILY

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MOULTON NEWSPAPERS and EDITORS.

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THE MOULTON ADVERTISER.

MELTON'S BLUFF

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THE INN-KEEPERS

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LAWYERS OF NORTH ALABAMA - Hon. Arthur Frncis Hopkins

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JOSEPH YOUNG.

a young lawyer, came from Kentucky, and I judge from the "Blue Grass" region, for he was well grown, about six feet high, and well formed.  He had read law sparingly, but he wa "death" on Shakespeare, and the staple of his speeches was composed, in great part, of quotations from that author.  I think he was a an of uniform courtesy, for I never heard of his refusing to drink with a man when invited.  He was of weak judgment, and great vanity.  He bad heard Henry Clay speak several times, and it seemed " to come so natural and easy-like to him," he imagined that he, too, was born an orator.  He knew it, for he felt it in him.  On all occasions, in season and out of season, he would play the orator, and would rise boldly in his flight, yet as certainly as he rose would "his wings be melted," and he would fall heavily to the ground.  But no amount of falling would ever convince him that he was not to succeed as an eagle orator.  He was like the confident Yankee who tried his flying machine from the top of the barn.  As he lay upon the ground in a heap, he was asked how he liked flying.  "Wal, I like flyin' well enough," he said, "but the' ain't sich a thunderin' sight o' fun in it when you come to light."  The people came to know this tumbling habit of Joe's, and some times took unfair advantage of him.  On one occasion the question before the Commissioners' Court was where the road to Tuscaloosa should rise the Sand Mountain; whether at Sutton's Gap, or ran through the valley many miles beyond and ascend at Martin's Gap.  Joe was the advocate of the valley route.  He commenced by saying: "If the court please, suppose you were offered the choice of two routes to Heaven, one like this by Sutton's Gap - sterile, rough, rocky and steep; and another through a rich and verdant valley, canopied with flowers and - " "Stop, Mr. Young," said a member of the court, " the question is not which is the best road to Heaven, but to Tuscaloosa."  Joe's balloon collapsed; it was "a lost ball," and he never could recover it.  Joe was fond of "Old Bourbon," but whether he brought this fondness from Kentucky with him is uncertain, as I did not know him until some years after he came.
     It is said the people now take a man at his own valuation of himself, but this adage was not true in Joe's case.  The people elected him to the Legislature, not only in 1822, but in 1823.  He was the colleague of Judge Hopkins.  I have wondered what use Judge Hopkins had for him, but I suppose in the canvass Joe did his drinking for him with the people as a proxy, and iu the Legislature he made the same use of him which dextrous men now make of the negro - he "voted him."  But why did the people of Lawrence elect him?  There, you are too hard for me.  It was not for want of good material, for I have shown in my early numbers that there was plenty of that.  I have been conning over the list of legislators from the commencement (all of whom I

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knew personally until 1865), and the conclusion I draw is, that the people of Lawrence have a "weakness" for weak men - a magnanimity which inclines, in witnessing a fight, to favor the "small" man.  It is true that our county has been represented by a number of solid prudent men of experience, and a few able men, but, with them, a large proportion of men who did not comprehend the first principles of legislation.  Is there no remedy for this state of things?  We have Normal schools for those that wish to be teachers; how would it do to have a Normal school for those who aspire to be legislators?  Or is a man born a legislator, as Mr. Grundy said, factiously of himself, he was born a "veteran!"
     As Joe Young's professional and political prospects declined, he became fonder of old Bourbon, and gradually seedy in his dress, until he declined finally into a wreck, and died while yet a young man.

     William E. Anderson, Esq., was the brother of Hugh A. Anderson, who lived east of Courtland, and was leader of a party in early times. William E. had been Secretary of State in Kentucky, and had practised law there, before he came to Moulton, in 1822.  In less than a year he died from sitting in his office one day with his feet wet.  I never knew him.  Col. Isaac Owen described him as a tall, fine-looking man, a graceful and strong speaker, and said that many persons thought he wuld, had he lived, become a rival of Judge Hopkins.

     Ellison A. Daniel, Esq., came early to Moulton.  He was a lawyer of slender abilities, but modest and industrious.  He had the good fortune to be elected to the House of Representatives in 1827.

     Argyle Campbell, Esq., came from Tennessee.  He was a nephew of Hon. George W. Campbell, of Nashville, once Minister to Russia, and he was brother-in-law of Hon. David Hubbard.  Mr. Campbell had been pretty well educated for that day; had a fine person, and was a graceful speaker.  But, with all these advantages, he had only moderate success in his profession.  In his case there seemed to be no lack of intellect, but a want of force of character.  He moved to Columbus, Miss., where he died many years ago.

     Rufus K. Anderson, Esq., came to Moulton about 1825 from Tennessee.  He was a handsome man, dressed well, and had genteel but distant manners.  Our people some how didn't give him much encouragement, and after a year or two he left Lawrence and went into Pickens.  His tragic history is told by Colonel Garrett in his "History of the Public Men of Alabama:" "Rufus K. Anderson, formerly of Tennessee, resided in Pickens, and was a Senator in the State Legislature from 1829 to 1833.  He had previously killed his brother-in-law, Thomas P. Taul, of Franklin county, Tennessee, and was arraigned for murder.  He was on trial eighteen days, during which he was defended by Hon. Felix Grundy, the eminent advocate, who succeeded in procuring his acquittal by the jury.
     "Mr. Anderson was said to be an overbearing, reckless man, who insulted whom he pleased, and was generally regarded as a dangerous man.  Peaceable men avoided difficulties with him, and would often submit to exactions rather than enter into a deadly conflict.  To oppose him in any way, or to incur his resentment, brought life into jeopardy.  It was reported that he had beaten one of his slaves to death in his barn, and had left him hanging from a beam.  Several persons happened to pass near the barn and peep through the cracks to see if the negro was there.  Among those who looked in for discovery was Mr. Gideon B. Frierson.  It appears that Mr. Anderson was then away from home.  In the meantime Mr. Frierson made a journey to Mississippi.  When Mr. Anderson was informed of the liberty that had been taken at his barn he declared vengeance, and set out in pursuit of Mr. Frierson to take his life. At one place he dined where his intended victim had stayed the night before, and on learning that the latter had left a bundle for which he would probably return the next day, Mr. Anderson said he would remain, as he wished to see him.  Providentially the bundle was sent for by the person to whom it was addressed, and Mr. Frierson went in another direction.  Anderson kept on his track, from Mississippi to Pickensville, and

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his office when he was informed of the threats of Anderson to take his life, and was advised by his friends to be prepared.  He loaded a double-barreled gun and awaited the attack.  Anderson appeared before the office and called out in a loud, angry voice: " Come forth, Gideon, like a man.  I am after your blood, and am determined to have it.  Face the thing at once, and let it be over."
     "In the meantime Mr. Frierson had retired from his office through the back door, and came facing the street where Anderson stood.  On the latter perceiving him he advanced with his pistol drawn, swearing that the time had come, and he would make sure work.  Mr. Frierson discharged one load without effect, and as Anderson still came on, he emptied the other barrel with better aim.  A number of shots entered the breast and shoulder of Anderson, who in the meantime had fired one pistol, and drawn another.  Mr. Frierson held his ground, and was about to club his gun.  To ward it off, Anderson picked up a chair which he held before him as a shield, when Mr. Frierson struck a blow with his gun which shivered the chair into fragments, and came down on the head of Anderson with such force, that the cock penetrated his brain; he fell to the ground, and died in a few minutes.  Thus the bloody encounter terminated fatally to the aggressor, and much to the relief of the community.  Mr. Frierson was not even prosecuted."

HON. DAVID HUBBARD,

for thirty-five years, was a man of note in our county.  No man ever had more uniform success in elections before the people.  He had considerable ability, but was eccentric in mind, person, and manners; and at all times there was great contrariety of opinion respecting him amongst the people.  He had war friends and bitter enemiese.  I can hardly flatter myself that the account I shall give of him will be satisfactory to all; but it shall be based entirely on facts, and the comments made conceived in a spirit of fairness and charity.
     David Hubbard was the son of Major Hubbard, who was an officer in the Revolutionary War, and a very intelligent and respectable gentleman.*  He moved from Virginia to Rutherford county, Tenn., in early times.  Young David had been taught in the
 

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     *NOTE: - Thomas Hubbard is the only officer from Virginia, of that name, mentioned in Heitman's Historical Register of the Officers of the Continental Army.  He was Regimental Quartermaster, First Virginia, 1777 to May 1778.

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THE PHYSICIANS of MOULTON.

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MECHANICS of MOULTON

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REV. ROBERT M. CUNNINGHAM, D. D.

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CAPT. WILLIAM LEETCH.

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THE PETERS FAMILY.

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SOUTHEASTERN PART OF THE COUNTY.

THE SMITH FAMILY.

GEORGE W. SMITH.

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THE PRIEST FAMILY

REV. ELLIOTT JONES

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THE COWANS.

THE WERTS.

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Nannie L., who married Dr. W. L. Dinsmore, of Laudersville; (10) B. S. Wert, M. D. who a physician at Moulton; (11) F. O. Wert, lawyer, of the firm of Wert & Wert, of Decatur; (12) Arthur B. Wert, 18 years old, student.

THE McCORDS.

     Two brothers of this name, Joseph and James, lived Northeast of Moulton.  They must have come very early, for Joseph was a member of the Legislature in 1824, and his brother James ten years after, in 1834.  They were men of ecellent character, and very much respected.  Their descendants have, I believ, nearly all emigrated.  William (as I have mentioned) married Ann Cowan, and Samuel W., for some years after 1829, kept the Moulton Inn; but I think are are gone, except a granddaughter of James McCord, who now lives in Courtland.

THE HODGES

were prominent in the first settlement of the county.  Fleming was the eldest of two brothers who came together.  He first married Miss Johnson of Madison, and secondly, Miss Loony of the same county.  Col. Fleming Hodges was a member of the General Assembly (Senate) in 1819, 1820, 1821.  He died about 1828.  His wife survived him.  Col. Wm. Hodges was the younger brother and was a member of the House of Representatives in 1828-29.  His eldest sons, Fleming, had considerable talent for trade, and moved to Mississippi.  Wm. (Buck) Hodges of Sixteenth Alabama Regiment, who made so much reputation in the late war, was his son.  Another, Asa, was a lawyer he moved to Arkansas.  Two sons, Moses and James, moved to Mississippi.  A sister of Fleming and William Hodges married Samuel W. Wallace in Shelby county, where she happened to be on a visit.  They resided in to Dallas county, and were there when the State was organized and then moved to Shelby county again.  Thence to Oakville, in Lawrence county, and, in 1840, to Wolf Spring.  The old gentleman is now in his 85th year; but is vigorous in mind, and, having been a school teacher, can still write a fine hand.

THE PREWITTS.

     Three members of this family were among the earliest settlers of our county.  The

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COL. NICHOLAS JOHNSON

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THE PRICES.

     Charles Price, the ancestor, in the latter part of the last century, lived near Rich-

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REV. THOS. A. STRAIN.

were a family of very industrious, moral, and respectable people.  The eldest of the family was Ezekial; he died in this county.  It seems to me that he was involved in the general calamity which prostrated Oakville.  His son Jesse became a partner of Patrick O'Neill (formerly of Moulton), in the commission business, in the city of Mobile.  The style of the firm was O'Neill, Michaux & Thomas.  They failed in business, and Jesse Thomas moved to Burleson county, Tex., where he became a Baptist preacher.  Another son, Jerry, moved to the same place.  A third son, William E., became a Baptist preacher, but whether he moved to Texas or not, I am uncertain.

LINDSEYS AND SPEAKS.

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THE THOMASES

HAMPTONS.

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much altered.  The hillsides once so productive, have been washed into unsightly gullies, the people no more take the county paper, and there exists a good deal of confusion in their minds as to the progress of political events.
     Of the Hamptons (who were cousins to the Shaws in the Northern part of the county), there was a large family, but the principal man in the Cove was Ephraim Hampton.  He was justice of the peace, owned a cotton gin, was well informed in politics, and had considerable influence.  I think he, as well as Sam Livingston, Elijah Stover, and many others in that part of the county, were soldiers under General Jackson, Stover, and many others in that part of the county, were soldiers under General Jackson, during the Creek war.  This gave him (as it should) great ascendancy over his neighbors and as Ephraim Hampton went, the Cove was sure to go, Ephraim had many an encounter at Oakville, with Puckett, and other Whig champions, but he remained as firm as a rock to his party.  At length, an occurrence took place, which gave them (as they supposed) a great advantage over Ephraim.  As he drove his wagon to market loaded with cotton (before our railroad was built), in the neighborhood of Tuscumbia, where the mud was very deep, he met a gentleman's carriage.  Unfortunately, the wheel of Hampton's wagon locked in that of the carriage.  A gentleman from its window, who proved to be Mr. W. Winter Payne, in a furious passion, threatened to give him his cane for running against his carriage; and Hampton raising his wagon whip replied that he would cut his broadcloth into ribbons, if he didn't apologize for that insult.  The result was that they mutually descended from their vehicles to the ground, for a pitched battle.  Mrs. Payne implored them to desist, bnt her words were unheeded.  There they stood confronting each other, both in the prime of their strength and activity.  Payne was fully six feet high, and well developed; Hampton about the same height, but more spare; Payne was wealthy, irascible and brave, for he had Winston blood in his veins; Hampton was just as fearless, for he had heard bullets whistle before, and just as proud, for he was a "Highland Chief" at the head of his clan.  Payne was well muscled and in splendid condition, from-a habit of deer hunting.  Hampton had undergone severe training, not only of manual labor, but he often climbed the steep mountains before the sun touched their summits, in pursuit of wild game.  There they stood like two game cocks of the finest feather, with crests proudly arched, and ready for the encounter.  When the shock did come it was dreadful. Blows resounded.  Mrs. Payne screamed, the combatants maintained the conflict for a long time, when both, bruised and bleeding, fell to the ground side by side, and were so completely exhausted that they were only able to claw each other in the face, with their finger-nails.  Then Mrs. Payne successfully interfered, and parted them.  Scowling darkly at each other, they rose from the ground and each went his way.  It happened afterward that Mr. Winter Payne was nominated by the Democratic party as their candidate for Congress.  When the news reached Oakville, Hampton's Whig friends prepared themselves for a good laugh at his expense.  When he visited the place, they gathered around him and informed him of the nomination of his personal enemy, and inquired if he would vote for him.  Hampton paused a while and reasoned with himself and then replied: "Winter Payne is the best man I ever fought with, in my life, and he is not afraid of anybody.  Now is the time we need fearless men in Congress; therefore, I will not only vote for him myself, but will give him all the help I can." The consequence was that Payne lost no Democratic votes in that beat.
     I have now closed my article on the Southeast Part of the County.  I will now commence the Military articles, and finish them on my way to Courtland.

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