Tales of Old Blount County, Alabama


Book Description

Many of the people and events in Blount County history are well documented. Others, not so much. This book of essays is an attempt to revisit some of the well known events of our county's past, add a little more background, and present our history from a Blount County point of view. In addition to illuminating some familiar topics, this book attempts to bring to light people and events who played significant roles in the development of Blount, but were somehow overlooked or skimmed over by the primary reference books-people and events which were the topic of conversation among our ancestors but over time, have been forgotten. These fun to read tales will promote a greater understanding of the history of Blount County.




Early Settlers of Alabama


Book Description

Early Settlers of Alabama by Elizabeth Saunders Blair Stubbs, first published in 1899, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.




Sketches of Alabama


Book Description

Mary Gordon Duffee's father, Matthew Duffee was born in Ireland and immigrated to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1823. In Tuscaloosa he operated a popular tavern, and he later bought a resort hotel at Blount Springs. Mary Duffee was born in Alabama in 1840 and spent many summers with her family at the resort. It was the journey to and from Blount Springs that inspired Duffee's best-known work, Sketches of Alabama, which originally appeared as fifty-nine articles in the Birmingham Weekly Iron Age in 1886 and 1887. She also contributed articles to several out-of-state newspapers, wrote guide books, advertising copy, and poetry. She died in 1920. This collection contains typescripts of some of Mary Gordon Duffee's Iron Age columns "Sketches of Alabama," manuscripts of seven of Duffee's poems, a typed biographical sketch of Duffee, undated, and Duffee's obituary from the Birmingham Age-Herald.




History of Clarke County


Book Description

A written history devoted almost exclusively to Clarke County Alabama and its people. Quoting from books published before this (1923) and recording his own personal accounts, the author, a resident of Clarke County since 1875, gives his personal observation of Clarke County places and events.In the introduction, the author states, " This book will doubtless be read with much interest by the present generation living in Clarke, as well as by the generations to follow. If it should be preserved and handed down through the coming years, it may, in the far distant future, fall under the eye of some descendent of some Clarke countian and enable him or her to look back through the avenue of time and get a mental picture of Clarke County in the nineteenth and twentieh centuries."




History of Walker County, Alabama


Book Description

Waker County is located in the North Central portion of the state. It was created in the 1830's and was surrounded at the time by the counties of: Blount, Fayette, Franklin, Jefferson, Lawrence, Marion, Morgan, and Tuscaloosa. Large numbers of early pioneers passed through this portion of the state of Alabama on their way westward with numerious individuals staying on as settlers. The main bulk of this book is devoted to over 500 Biographical Sketches of these early pioneer settlers. Due to these vast numbers, we are unable to list these surnames at this time. This New Index that was specially compiled for this volume contains the names of over 7,300 individuals.




Blount County, Alabama Confederate Soldiers, Volume 1: Cavalry


Book Description

Mary Gordon Duffee wrote in 1892: "When the drums beat, and the bugles called for men to march to the front, I tell you old Blount responded nobly, and sent hundreds of her gallant sons to march, fight, suffer and die for the flag that now lies furled forever." This series of books identifies Confederate soldiers who enlisted from the Blount County area, plus those who moved to Blount County after the Civil War. Company rosters are captured and service records, pension applications, birth dates, spouses and marriage dates, newspaper clippings and obituaries, and pictures are contained in these volumes. This is the first time ever all this information has been available in a single reference book. Cavalry companies examined here include: 12th Alabama Cavalry, Companies B and C; 2nd Kentucky Cavalry, Company G; Lewis Battalion Alabama Cavalry, Companies B and E; Graves, Barbiere, and Stewart's Alabama Cavalry; Holloway's Escort; and the 3rd Confederate Cavalry, Company D.




Tuscaloosa Through Time


Book Description

Over its two hundred years of history, the city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has held a prominent position within the state, not only as home to the state's flagship university, but also taking turns as the State Capitol, as the location for the state mental health hospital, as the site of Civil War conflict, and as a Civil Rights landmark. A locale marked by rapid growth at the time of its formal incorporation, today's Tuscaloosa replicates that rapid development--witnessing industrial and commercial growth, a rising population, and an expanding University. Yet residents of contemporary Tuscaloosa are never far from their history and forebears, for beautiful reminders of its past dot the city and lend to its grace and charms, while uglier aspects of that past lend to its self-awareness and point the way toward more enlightened and just self-governance. Indeed, this rich and varied history claims for Tuscaloosa a compelling position in American memory.




Red Book


Book Description

" ... provides updated county and town listings within the same overall state-by-state organization ... information on records and holdings for every county in the United States, as well as excellent maps from renowned mapmaker William Dollarhide ... The availability of census records such as federal, state, and territorial census reports is covered in detail ... Vital records are also discussed, including when and where they were kept and how"--Publisher decription.




Blount County, Alabama Cemeteries, Volume 1


Book Description

Blount County was carved out of the territory ceded to the State by the Creek Indians following their defeat at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The earliest settlers began streaming into the former wilderness as early as 1817. Blount was originally a large county, but over the decades pieces were taken to make up other adjoining counties such as Jefferson, Marshall, Etowah, and Cullman. Every cemetery within the contemporary boundaries of Blount was visited by the author and each readable tombstone was copied to develop the contents of this three volume series. Most of the cemeteries were read in 2002. Volume 1 covers alphabetically A through H, beginning with the Alldredge Family Cemetery and concluding with the High Rock Methodist Church Cemetery. This book is vital to any serious student of Blount County genealogy and history.