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.




Covered Bridges of Alabama


Book Description

Alabama's covered bridges are reminiscent of a more romantic time, when people rode in horse-drawn buggies and couples stole kisses beneath their roofs. But they are also keepers of history--structures built by former slaves and Civil War soldiers. Such places are steeped in legend, including tales of ghostly children and the hanging of a sheriff turned outlaw. Just eleven historic covered bridges survive in Alabama--the oldest dating to the 1850s--but dozens of more recently constructed spans dot the landscape. Wil Elrick and Kelly Kazek provide photos and detailed information on more than fifty Alabama bridges, reveal the fate of the state's lost bridges and delve into the haunting legends surrounding these nostalgic structures.




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.




The Heritage of Blount County, Alabama


Book Description




Dragonwings


Book Description

THE STORY: At the turn of the century, a young boy living in China with his mother, travels to San Francisco, California, Land of the Golden Mountain, to be with his father, Windrider, a kite maker who immigrated there a few years earlier to take




1870 Blount County, Alabama Federal Census


Book Description

This book is a faithful transcription of the original census images from the National Archives. This easy to read tabular format includes some marriage annotations from Blount County records plus a full name index. An ideal book for the those Blount County researchers new to organizing their family tree.




Blount County, Alabama WWI Draft Card Abstracts


Book Description

Information comes from over 4,700 Blount County men who filled out cards and submitted them to the Selective Service System. Information often includes full names (first, middle, last), full birth date, occupation, next of kin, marital status, and number of children. Birth dates range from 1870 to 1901 of service aged men who submitted cards in 1917 - 1919. Most of the birth dates are from the 1880s and 1890s. This book is a good substitute for the missing 1890 Federal Census. Additionally, the data is annotated with hundreds of marriages and death dates from Blount County marriage records and cemetery records.




Blount County, Alabama Confederate Soldiers, Volume 3: Miscellaneous


Book Description

Mary Gordon Duffee wrote: "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 attempts to identify all the Confederate soldiers who enlisted in organizations from the Blount County area, along with those who moved to Blount County after the Civil War. Whole company rosters are captured and entire service records, pension applications, birth dates, spouses and marriage dates, newspaper clippings and obituaries, and dozens of pictures are contained in these volumes. This is the first time ever all this information has been available in a single reference book. Volume 3 contains information on soldiers who enlisted in other Alabama organizations and those who moved to Blount County after the Civil War. These books are vital to any serious student of Blount County, Alabama genealogy and history.




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.




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.