Alabama Authors

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  • BECK, CHARLIE MAY RANDLETTE

    See BECK, MAY RANDLETTE

  • BECK, MAY RANDLETTE, 1874-1968

    Biography: Homemaker; civic leader. Born June 7, 1874– Mobile. Parents– William Albert and Columbia Elizabeth (Monroe) Randlette. Married– Julius Edward Beck, April 15, 1902. Children– Two. Education– Attended Wynnton College at Columbus, Ga.; Elizabeth Whitfield Bellamy Finishing School for Young Ladies at Mobile; postgraduate course at Wilmington, N.C.; studied elocution under teachers from the Boston…

  • ROBINSON, MARILETA SAWYER, 1942-

    Biography: Editor, author. teacher.  Born– December 26, 1942, Kansas City, Kan. Parents– Thomas B. and Rebecca (Hurt) Sawyer. Married– Patrick Leland Robinson, March 26, 1973. Children– Two. Education– Grinnell College, B.A., 1965; Northern Arizona University, 1969-1970; University of New Mexico, M.A., 1973. Served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer teacher in Togo, 1965-1967; assistant editor…

  • HURTEL, CAROLINE GAILLARD, 1875-1965

    Biography: Music teacher. Born– September 25, 1875, Mobile, Ala. Parents– Alphonse and Sarah (Gaillard) Hurtel. Education– Barton Academy High School; Faelton School of Music, Boston. Taught piano in Mobile. Member of the Alabama Historical Association. Died January 20, 1965. Source: Grove’s Library of Alabama Lives; ancestry.com Publication(s): The River Plantation of Thomas and Marianne Gaillard,…

  • PERMALOFF, ANNE

    Biography: Political scientist, University professor. Born– Michigan. Married– Carl Grafton, December 28, 1974. Education– Wayne State University, Ph.B., and M.A.; University of Michigan, Ph.D. Taught at the University of Houston until 1975; Auburn University in Montgomery, 1975-.  Member  League of Women Voters. Source: Anniston Star, July 14, 1985, and AUM Catalog. Joint_Publication(s): Big Mules and…

  • LAWRENCE, ALFRED STRATTON, JR., 1910-1982

    Biography: Clergyman. Born– August 27, 1910, Morganton, N.C. Parents– Alfred Stratton and Millicent (Perkins) Lawrence. Married– Alma Lee Roney, September 30, 1938. Married– Elsie Hawkins Pelham, June 9, 1973. Children– Three. Education– University of North Carolina, 1932; Theological School, University of the South, M.Div., 1935. Ordained an Episcopal deacon, 1935, priest, 1936. Priest, North Carolina,…

  • BEESON, MALCOLM ALFRED, 1879-1971

    Biography: Educator, agronomist, Ford dealer.  Born– June 20, 1879, Gadsden. Parents– W. B. and Mary Ann Sibert Beeson. Married– Effie Harrison, July 14, 1904. Children–three. Education– Alabama Polytechnic Institute, B.S., 1900;  further study at Johns Hopkins University.  Taught at East Mississippi Female College, 1900-01; president of Meridian Male College, 1903-1914. Professor of Agronomy  at Oklahoma A & M, 1915-23. Bulletin…

  • HALL, JAMES HUGH BLAIR, 1855-1936

    Biography: Teacher, clergyman. Born– September 22, 1855,  Hall’s Ferry, Tenn. Parents– Sylvester Young and Alazannah (Blair) Hall. Education– Hiwassee College, 1869-1872; Loudon High School, 1872-1876; Cumberland Presbyterian University, A.B., 1878. Married– Emma Celicia Gardner on July 23, 1882, at Montevallo. Children– Three. Taught school in Shelby, St. Clair, Dallas, and Jefferson Counties (Ala.). Served as…

  • HALL, WADE HENRY, 1934-2015

    Biography: University professor; collector; philanthropist. Born– February 2, 1934, Union Springs. Parents– Wade and Sarah (Waters) Hall. Education– Troy State College, B.S., 1953; University of Alabama, M.A. 1957; University of Illinois, Ph.D., 1961. Served in U.S. Army, 1954-1956. High school English teacher, Opp, Al., 1953-54; taught at University of Illinois, 1957-1961; University of Florida, 1961-1962;…

  • HALL, EDWIN PRESLEY, 1902-2002

    Biography: Physician. Born September 24, 1902 — Albertville. Parents–Dr. William Presley Hall and Mildred Ann Young Hall (brother of Ivo Hall Sparkman, wife of Senator John Sparkman).  Married–Mildred Guay, June 30, 1940.  Children–two.  Education– University of Alabama, B.S., 1922; University of Pennsylvania, M.Sc.; Tulane University, M.D.; further study at Harvard, Columbia, and Mayo Clinic. Served in U.S.…

  • BALLARD, JAMES CLARENCE, 1921-1990

    Biography: Born–December 28,  1921, Florence, Ala. Parents–William and Mittie Ballard. Lived early part of life in Alabama, Tennessee, and Virginia. During WWII, he served four years in the Air Corps as a radar observer;  served in the Strategic Air Command during the Korean Conflict. Education– University of Virginia and St. John’s College in Annapolis. Lived…

  • HUBBARD, PRESTON JOHN, 1918-2016

    Biography: Historian, university professor of history. Born– October 5, 1918, Winfield. Parents– James A. and Rachel (Smith) Hubbard. Married– Ruth Ann Perry, August 31, 1947. Education– Vanderbilt University, B.A., 1948, Ph.D., 1955; Peabody College, M.A., 1949. Served in the U.S. Army, 1941-1946, captured on Bataan by the Japanese and was a prisoner of war for…

  • MIXON, WINFIELD HENRY, 1859-1932

    Biography: Clergyman; African Methodist denominational leader. Born– Dallas County, Ala., April 25, 1859. Parents– Andrew J. and Maria A. Mixon. Married Elizabeth Jackson, 1898 (died 1901).  One child.  Married Marie W. Mixon.  Education– tutors; Selma University. Licensed to preach, 1876; employed as a clergyman, African Methodist Episcopal Church; pastored nine churches and helped to found…

  • BELSER, DANYLU, 1893-1972

    Biography: Teacher; educational administrator. Born– March 28, 1893, Montgomery County. Parents– Stephen P. and Martha Frances Crawford (Hays) Belser. Education– University of Denver, B.A.; Columbia University, M.A., Ph.D. Teacher and principal in elementary schools in Alabama; served as supervisor of elementary education for Montgomery County, supervisor of primary education for the state of Alabama, state…

  • LUCIER, MAYME RUTH McCONNELL, 1924-1996

    Biography: Teacher; Born– March 3, 1924, Limestone County, Ala. Parents– Edwin Daly and Ila (Gross) McConnell. Married– Lionel Lucier, October 14, 1944. Children– Three. Education– Nazareth College, Saint Barnard College, Alabama A & M College. Employed; Catholic School Systems, Louisville, Ky. and in Alabama: Decatur School System; Morgan County Association for Retarded Children; Lurleen B. Wallace…

  • LAZENBY, MARION ELIAS, 1885-1957

    Biography: Methodist Clergyman; denominational leader.  Born– February 8, 1885, Forest Home. Parents– James Elias and Mary Elizabeth (Greene) Lazenby. Married– Mary Feagin, June 17, 1908. Married– Doris H. Chervase, November 15, 1949. Children– Three. Education– Southern University, A.B., 1907. Ordained to the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1907, and served pastorates in Havana,…

  • CHAPMAN, ROBERT BERRIEN, 1918-2014

    Biography: Business executive; teacher. Born– June 12, 1918, Game, Kentucky. Parents– Theodore Robert and Alma Voris (Jordan) Chapman. Married– Thelma Isabelle Light, June 14, 1941. Children– Three. Education– Eastern Michigan University, B.A., 1940; Wayne State University, M.Ed., 1949. Taught school; served as office manager with Chemstrand Corporation in Decatur, 1952-1955; worked with  the Monsanto Company…

  • CARTER, FORREST see CARTER, ASA EARL

  • CARTER, ASA EARL, 1925-1979

    Biography: Radio broadcaster; speechwriter, novelist. Born–September 4, 1925, Oxford, Alabama. Parents– Ralph and Hermione Carter.  Married– India Thelma Walker.  Children– four.  Education–Attended the School of Journalism at the University of Colorado for one year.  Served in the U.S. Navy in WWII.   Worked as a radio broadcaster in Alabama; at station WILD, Birmingham, 1953-55.  A rabid segregationist…

  • CARMICHAEL, PETER ARCHIBALD, 1897-1981

    Biography: College professor of philosophy. Born– April 19, 1897, Anniston. Parents–Archie and Mary Carmichael.  Married Louise Swannanoa Harris. Education– Johns Hopkins University, B.S., 1927; Columbia University, A.M., 1928; University of North Carolina, Ph.D., 1930. Taught at William and Mary; Converse College, 1931-1934; served with the U.S. Department of Labor, 1934-1935; dean of men at Marshall College, 1935-1936;…

  • BRINKLEY, IDALEA CROCKER, 1907-1988

    Biography: Editor, journalist. Born April 22, 1907, Wilmington, N. C. Parents–Lloyd and Blanche Twining Crocker. Married– (1) Edwin T. Brinkley (died 1949). Children–three.  Married (2) Richard Lee Wortham.   First husband was managing editor of the Anniston Star and city editor of the Birmingham Post.  Served as a society and church editor for newspapers in Birmingham and Anniston.…

  • BOOZER, CELINA LUZANNE, 1903-1982

    Biography: Musician; music teacher. Born– May 11, 1903, Hokes Bluff, Etowah County (moved to Anniston in 1910). Parents– Simon Henry and Clara Elizabeth (Landers) Boozer. Education– Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Established and ran a conservatory of music in Anniston. Involved in developing real estate and attempted to establish an artists colony on Cheaha Mountain. Wrote…

  • BACON, MARY GORDON PERKINS, 1924-1999

    Biography: Teacher. Born– April 9, 1924, Anniston. Parents– Redding Lightfoot and Mary Billingsley (Gordon) Perkins. Married– William D. Bacon, January 5, 1943. Children– Three. Education– Judson College; Jacksonville State College, B.S., 1956. Taught in the Anniston Public Schools until 1959.  Died May 28, 1999. Source: Our Many Cousins. Publication(s): Our Many Cousins. Anniston, Ala.; Author,…

  • AYERS, HARRY BRANDT, 1935-

    Biography: Editor, publisher. Born– April 8, 1935, Anniston. Parents– Harry Mell and Edel (Ytterboe) Ayers. Married– Josephine Peoples Ehringhaus, December 9, 1961. Children– One. Education– University of Alabama, A.B., 1959; attended Harvard University  as a Nieman Fellow,  1967-1968. Reporter for the Raleigh (N.C.) Times, 1960-1962; Washington correspondent for the Timmons Agency, 1962-1964; editor and publisher…

  • BOLES, WILLIAM J. , 1867-1945.

    Biography: Journalist. Born October 10, 1866, Piedmont. Parents– John B. and Elizabeth Savage Boles.  Married– Helen Nelson.  Education– Attended a one room school. In 1887, lived over a print shop in Decatur when the owner wanted to start a newspaper and asked Boles to help; became city editor of the Anniston Hot Blast, 1890; was…

  • GUTHRIE, McCOY, 1910-1995

    Biography: Methodist clergyman, educator. Born– August 15, 1910. Parents–William E. and Alice Guthrie. Married– Annie D. Davenport. Children– Two. Education– Study at Birmingham Southern College, Emory University, Harvard University. Military service, WWII. Methodist minister in Guntersville; professor, Florence State University; vice president, Athens College. Died May 11, 1995. Source: SCRIPSIT Joint_Publications: Thirty Days of Christian…

  • FORNEY, KATHERINE ELIZA, 1902-1991

    Home economics teacher. Born– October 1, 1902, Birmingham. Parents– John Cortlan and Anne Lee (Bonholzer) Forney. Education– Florence Normal School, 1917-1921; Teachers College of Columbia University, George Peabody College; Iowa State College, B.S., 1928; M.S., 1930. Taught in Montgomery County schools, 1921-1927; itinerant teacher trainer and assistant supervisor of home economics education, Alabama College, 1928-1933;…

  • DOUGLASS, HIRAM KENNEDY, 1893-1975

    Biography: Episcopal priest. Born– August 21, 1893, Lauderdale County. Parents– James Josephus and Mary Sue (Brooks) Douglass. Education– Attended Florence State College, 1913; Columbia University, 1913-1915; University of the South, B.A., 1919; Keble College, Oxford University, B. Litt., 1921. Ordained a deacon in Episcopal Church, 1921; and a priest, 1923. Served as rector of churches…

  • GIBSON, JOHN MENDINGHALL, 1899-1966

    Biography: Reporter, editor, administrator. Born– September 8, 1899, in Gibson, N.C. Parents– William Ziba and Florence Gibson. Married– Virginia Elizabeth Smith, 1940. Education– University of North Carolina, B.A., 1919; Columbia University, B. Litt., 1921; Certificate of Presence, University of Paris, 1928. Worked as editorial writer, reporter, and editor for various publications in U.S. and Berlin,…

  • CHASE, RICHARD, 1904-1988

    Biography: Folklorist, author, editor. Born– February 15, 1904, Huntsville. Parents– Robert Collier and Emma Florence Chase. Education– Antioch College, B.S., 1929. Lecturer on folklore and storyteller of Appalachian folktales. Honors– Southern California Council on Literature award, 1970; honored by the Governor of Virginia, 1972, by the Los Angeles Renaissance Pleasure Faire, 1973,  by the Greater Los…

  • BEE, FANNA MAI KEES, 1899-1990

    Biography: Librarian. Born– August 18, 1899, Fair River, Miss. Parents– Leonidas Polk and Florence LaPearl (Maxwell) Kees. Education– Whitworth College, 1916-1919. Married– Eugene Seavey Bee, May 5, 1921. Children– Three. Held positions as office secretary and librarian for the Birmingham Sunday School Council; library consultant to the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention…

  • JORDAN, WILLIAM CHRISTOPHER, 1834-1923

    Biography: Farmer; state legislator. Born– July 10, 1834, Talbotton, Ga. Parents– Thomas George and Mary Lovicy (Chambliss) Jordan. Married–Frances  Anne Thornton, Feb. 14, 1856. Children– Thirteen. Education– Tutored by sisters and neighbors; Male Institute, Glenville, Ala., 1858-1862. Family moved to Alabama and lived in Society Hill, Eufaula, and Midway.  Served in Company B, 15th Alabama,…

  • HILL, HENRIETTA FONTAINE McCORMICK, 1904-1986

    Biography: Homemaker; political wife. Born– December 6, 1904, Eufaula. Parents– William Love and Henrietta (Copeland) McCormick. Married– Joseph Lister Hill, February 20, 1928 (seved in U.S. Congress, 1923-1969). Children– Two. Education– St. Mary’s Episcopal School for Girls, Raleigh, N.C., 1922-1923. Member of the board, Women’s Medical College of Philadelphia; member, DAR, Alabama Historical Association; chair,…

  • BRYANT, SPURGEON QUINTON, 1905-1996

    Biography: Teacher, college administrator. Born– December 25, 1905, Leake County, Miss. Parents– James and Dixie (Sanders) Bryant. Married– Betsy A. Mitchell. Children– Two. Education– Alabama State University, B.S., M.Ed.; University of Northern Colorado, Ed.D. Taught in elementary and secondary schools in Alabama and served as a principal for almost twenty years; for seven years, dean…

  • BROWN, MARY VIRGINIA POUNDS, 1916-2014

    Biography: Librarian; historian; writer; bookseller. Born May 29, 1916, Birmingham. Parents– John Lewis and Virginia Lawson Pounds.  Married– John Lassiter (died in 1943).  Married– William Bestor Brown, November 1, 1947.   Education– Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, A.B., 1937; Emory University, M.L.S., 1942.  Librarian, Birmingham Public Library, 1938-41; Birmingham-Southern College Library. librarian, 1941-44, director, 1944-48. With her husband,  operated bookstore, The Book-Keepers, in Mountain…

  • BRANTLEY, MARY E., 1906-1982

    Biography: Teacher; historian. Born– May 4, 1906, Burnt Corn. Parents– Henry H. and Eugenia (Betts) Brantley. Education– Alabama College (Montevallo), A.B, 1930; graduate work at the University of Alabama. Taught in the Birmingham City Schools, 1930-1945; Atmore City Schools, 1945-1972. Died December 1982. Source: Who’s Who in Alabama, 1972 and the jacket to Early Settlers…

  • BOGGAN, LOUISE WARD, 1900-1980

    Biography: Teacher. Born February 4, 1900,  Starkville, Miss. Parents– William and Annie Connell Ward. Married– Jeff Boggan. Children– One. Education– Mississippi State College for Women, B.A., 1927; attended the Palmer Institute of Creative Writing in Los Angeles, 1950. History teacher in Mississippi and Alabama schools. Contributed articles to newspapers and the Birmingham News Magazine. Died…

  • BANDMAN, LOTTIE COPLAN, 1891- 1971

    Biography: Teacher. Born–January 20, 1891,  Florence. Parents–Morris and Lena Jacob Coplan. Married–Chester G Bandman, December 25, 1917. Children–two.  Education– Florence State Normal College; postgraduate studies in Germany.  Taught in Birmingham. Lived in Birmingham and in Pittsburgh, PA. Died July 10, 1971. Source: Files at Alabama Public Library Service. Joint_Publication(s): Flowers and Festivals of the Jewish…

  • BANCROFT, BETSY BARBER

    Biography: Poet. Born Birmingham. Parents– Judge William C. Barber and Frances Barber.  Married– Joseph Bancroft. Children– Three. Education– Howard College (now Samford University). Served as a poet-in-residence in several school systems of the state including Fort Payne and Montgomery. Member of the National League of American Pen Women; the Women’s Committee of 100 for Birmingham; the Alabama…

  • LAW, VIRGINIA, 1923-2004

    Biography: Missionary, lecturer; denominational leader. Born– July 4, 1923, Dothan. Parents– Clinton and Margaret (Stokes) Williams. Married– Burleigh A. Law. Children– Three. Married–Donald L. Shell.  Education– Asbury College, 1941-1942, 1947-1948; Florida State University, B.S., 1962; Scarritt College, M.A., 1966. Methodist missionary, the Congo, 1950-1964; returned to the U.S. after the death of her husband, a…

  • KING, CLINTON PATRICK, 1918-2007

    Biography: Merchant seaman; genealogist. Born– Nov. 7, 1918, Lauderdale County, Miss. Parents– William Richard and Mattie Caroline (Mosley) King. Married– Dorothy Valentina Terrell, June 3, 1961. Education– East Central Junior College, Decatur, Miss., 1937-1938; University of South Alabama, 1970-1973. Served in U.S. Merchant Marine, 1941 to retirement in 1968; genealogical and local history researcher after…

  • GRIFFITH, LUCILLE BLANCHE, 1905-1993

    Biography: Historian; professor of  history. Born– October 25, 1905, in Bessville, Mo. Parents– Lawrence Clinton and Caroline (Mabuce) Griffith. Education– Belhaven College, A.B., 1929; Tulane University, M.A., 1942; Brown University, Ph.D., 1957. Taught high school in Mississippi; head, History Department, East Mississippi Junior College, Scooba; taught history at the University of Montevallo, 1946-1973; headed Social…

  • CLINTON, MATTHEW WILLIAM, 1898-1977

    Biography: Historian; high school history teacher. Born–January 9, 1898. Parents– Thomas Patrick and Julia Ann Watkins Clinton.  Married– Bernice Blackshere, May 29, 1938. Children– Two. Education– University of Alabama, B.S., 1920, M.A., 1942; further study at  Peabody College and the University of North Carolina. Taught at Tuscaloosa High School, 1920-1963, serving as athletic director for twenty five…

  • COOK, ROBERT DANE, 1905-1991

    Biography: Methodist clergyman. Born April 4, 1905,  Gardendale. Parents– Rufus A. and Vashti R. Cook. Married– Mary C. McShan, November 14, 1928. Children–one. Education– Birmingham Southern College. Pastor of Methodist Churches in Birmingham,   Fort Payne, Northport, and Tuscumbia. Died January 22. 1991. Source: Files at Alabama Department of Archives and History; ancestry.com Publication(s): Cabin Lore. Dallas, Tex.;…

  • BLACKMON, ROSS, 1877-1963

    Biography: Lawyer. Born– March 5, 1877, Cedartown, Ga. Parents– Augustus Young and Sarah Ann (Ross) Blackmon. Resided at Choccolocco near Anniston. Married– Julia Virginia Miller, December 29, 1917. Children– Two. Education– Jacksonville State Normal School. Licensed to practice law in Alabama, 1898. Worked with the committee to draw up the 1901 Constitution of the State…

  • HUEY, MATTIE MARIE McADORY, 1876-1938

    Biography: Civic leader. Born March 7, 1876. Parents– Chambers and Maria Melton (Jordan) McAdory. Married– Eugene LeRoy Huey, October 10, 1899. Children–one. Active in civic activities:  First woman member, Bessemer Board of Education; member, Bessemer Carnegies Library Board; member, Domestic Relations Board of Jefferson County.  Active in fundraising for Liberty Loans and other war work, World War…

  • HOBBS, HERSCHEL HAROLD, 1907-1995

    Biography: Baptist clergyman; denominational leader. Born– October 24, 1907, Coosa Co. Parents– Elbert Oscar and Octavia (Whatley) Hobbs. Married– Frances Jackson. Children– One. Education– Howard College, B.A., 1932; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Th., 1935, Ph.D., 1938. Ordained a Baptist minister, Birmingham, 1929. Pastor of churches in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile, Ala., and in Alexandria, La.,…

  • HARRIS, JULIA MAY, 1891-1979

    Biography: Teacher. Born– March 20, 1891, Russellville. Parents– Elijah McCulloch and Callie (Wilson) Harris. Education– George Peabody College, B.S., 1920, M.A., 1923; further study, Columbia University. Teacher, South Highlands Elementary School, Birmingham, for eight years; principal of an elementary school at Okmulgee, Okla., for four years; assistant in research in the elementary curriculum department at…

  • FOOTE, GASTON, 1902-1989

    Methodist clergyman. Born– September 6, 1902, Comanche County, Tex. Parents– Charles and Ola (Smith) Foote. Married– Lucy Lee Young, 1927. Children– One. Education– Southern Methodist University, B.D., M.A.; Iliff School of Theology, Th.D.  Admitted to the Northwest Texas Methodist Conference, 1924. Served churches in Amarillo, Pampas and Fort Worth, Tex.; Little Rock, Ark.; Montgomery (1941-1944),…

  • FORT, WILLIAM EDWARDS, JR., 1905-1988

    University professor, college president. Born– September 29, 1905, Birmingham. Parents– William Edwards and Adele Brooks Fort. Married–Helene Gores, 1932. Children–two. Married– Margarette Bullard, 1942. Married Anne H. Fort.  Education– Georgia Institute of Technology, B.S., 1930; Duke University, M.A., 1932; Ph.D. 1934. Taught economics and business administration at Mercer University, 1934-1938; taught business administration and psychology at Winthrop College, 1938-1942;…