Category: A – C

Biography: Attorney. Born– June 23, 1868, Hillville, Va.; family moved to Ashville,  AL, about 1872.  Parents– George Roberts and Harriet Hart (Heath) Cather. Married– Mary Presley of Springville (died 1903); Married– Cora Lee Webb of Centre, 1904. Children– Four. Practiced law in Centre.  Died July 25, 1935. Source: Elizabeth Lonnergan, St. Clair County Library, Ashville. Publication(s):…

Biography: Pathologist; genealogist. Born– New York City. Parents– Eugene and Anna Alma (Powell) Casey. Married– Bourdon Veazey, April 19, 1928. Children– Three. Married– Joanne Gunn, November 8, 1952. Education– Spring Hill College, A.B., 1922; St. Louis University, M.D., 1927. Pathologist and teacher of pathology. Worked for the Rockefeller Institute, 1927-1934; University of Virginia, 1934-1938; Louisiana…

Biography: Physician. Born– November 3, 1853, near Lowndesboro. Parents– John and Mary Frances (Hall) Bragg. Married– Isabella Norvelle Murray, February 7, 1878. Children– One. Education– Spring Hill College; St. Louis University, A.B., 1872; Alabama Medical College, M.D., 1875. Adjunct professor of surgery at Atlanta Medical College, 1875; practiced medicine in Lowndes County, 1876-1896; and in…

Biography: Research sociologist; college professor. Born– July 10, 1923, Patterson, N.J. Parents– Isaac and Celia (Silberstein) Biderman. Married– Sumiko Fujii, November 9, 1951. Children– Three. Education– New York University, A.B., 1947; University of Chicago, M.A., 1952, Ph.D., 1964. U.S. Army, WWII. Instructor in sociology at Illinois Institute of Technology, 1948-52.  research social psychologist at Maxwell Air…

Biography: Pathologist. Born– April 10, 1902, East Lansing, Mich. Parents– Ray Stannard and Jessie Irene (Beal) Baker. Married– Eleanor Elizabeth Ussher, September 29, 1929. Children– Three. Education– University of Wisconsin, A.B., 1924; Harvard University, M.D., 1928; attended the University of Kiel and Tulane University. Worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Duke…

Biography: Civic leader; advocate for education; teacher. Born–August 22,  1867, Dixon’s Spring, Tenn. Parents– Robert Allen and Mary Elizabeth (Lowe) Burford. Married– Leopold Max Bashinsky, June 17, 1891. Children– Three. Education– Columbia Institute at Columbia, Tenn. Taught at Troy State Normal School elementary school, 1888-1890. Member of the board of trustees of Judson College; member of…

Biography: Cotton broker. Born– September 5, 1879, Pickens County. Parents– John Shep and Eloise Johnson Bealle. Moved to Tuscaloosa when he was a child. Married– Annie Vernon Pollard, December 30, 1914.  Children–two.  Volunteer, U.S.Army, Spanish-American War, 1898. Apprenticed to a printing office and remained in that trade until he was eighteen; later joined a cotton brokerage firm. First printed poem…

Biography: Teacher, counselor, genealogist. Born–July 19, 1908, Lamar County. Parents– Robert Lee and Ethel Cora (Clearman) Baker. Education– Attended Athens College; Birmingham Southern College, A.B., 1931; University of Alabama, M.A., 1947.  Taught in Jefferson County, 1928-1943; served in the U.S. Marine Corps, 1946-1947; served the University of Alabama as counselor to women, assistant dean of women, foreign student…

Biography: Journalist; presidential assistant; University professor, college president. Born– August 24, 1923, Montgomery. Parents– Silas D. and Nancy (Chesnutt) Cater. Married– Libby Anderson, December 20, 1950. Children– Four. Education– Harvard University, A.B., 1947, M.A., 1948; Guggenheim Fellow, 1955, Eisenhower Exchange Fellow, 1957.  Served with the OSS during WWII. Worked for Reporter magazine, 1950-1964; special assistant…

Biography: Free lance writer; consultant. Born– May 12, 1944, Talladega. (Moved to Canada at the age of fifteen.) Parents–Robert Lee and Scottibelle Louise Robertson Bradley. Married–Freda Winnifred Doody, June 11, 1966.  Children– one.  Education– Dalhousie University, 1964-67. Worked in journalism, writing, marketing, advertising, research, and social action. Author of more than 100 radio and television scripts. Exponent…

Biography: Librarian. Born– December 7, 1921, Northport. Parents–James W. and Edna A. Anders.  Education– University of Alabama, 1940-1943; University of North Carolina, B.S. in Library Science, 1947, M.A. in Library Science, 1950; Columbia University, D.L.S, 1958. Career began as a librarian at Huntingdon College, 1943, and included positions at the University of North Carolina, Tuscaloosa…

Biography: Agricultural economist; University professor. Born– October 28, 1911, Dalton, Ga. Parents– Fred Luther and Mamie Louise Carter Blackstone.  Married Laura Grace Wald, July 13, 1935. Children– Two. Education– Auburn University, B.S., 1938, M.S., 1941. Assistant agricultural economist at the University of Kentucky, 1941-1942; taught at Auburn University, 1941 and again after 1946; professor of agricultural…

Biography: University professor. Born– February 19, 1916, Camden, Ark. Parents– Louis Victor and Elizabeth (Walther) Benson. Married– Martha Ellen Blanks, May 29, 1941. Children– Two. Education– Southern State College, Magnolia, Arkansas; University of Texas, B.A., 1937, M.A., 1938; University of Illinois, Ph.D., 1948. Taught at Arkansas A & M College and University of Illinois; Auburn University…

Biography: Professor of education; pastor. Born–November 4, 1893. Parents–John Thomas and Mary J. Anderson Beck. Married–Eva Bergdoll.   Children–one.  Education– Southern Methodist University, B.A., B.D.; University of Chicago, M.A. Served as a pastor in Dallas, Texas.  Specialist in the teaching of social studies; demonstration teacher in the training school at Lee County High School; supervisor of practice…

Biography: Teacher, author,  museum curator. Born– April 17, 1920, Gadsden. Parents– Louis J. and Myrtle (Woodson) Barnes. Married– Mabel Thornton, July 20, 1947. Children– Two. Education– Attended Auburn University, 1946; Jacksonville State Teachers College, B.S., 1949; University of Alabama, master’s degree, 1977.  Served in the U.S.Army Air Corps, WWII; served in the U.S. Army Reserve,…

Biography: Clergyman; evangelist; hymnodist. Born– April 27, 1856, Tuskegee. Parents– William Parish (Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court) and Elvira Frances (Morgan) Chilton. Married– Mabel Cecilia Pierce, December 3, 1878. Children– Nine. Education– left school at the age of fifteen after the death of his father. After studying for the ministry he was licensed to preach in…

Biography: Teacher. Born– 1904, Thomasville. Parents–James and Orlena Foreman. Married– Booker T. Boatwright.  Education– Selma University and Alabama State College; Tuskegee Institute, M.A.; Wayne State University, post-graduate work. Employed as a supervisor of schools in Jefferson County for many years. After her retirement she devoted herself to church work. Died October 1980. Source: Gene Geiger,…

Biography: University professor; literary scholar . Born– November 1, 1944, Birmingham. Parents– Alan Breck and Billie (Gunter) Cheney. Education– Birmingham Southern College, B.A., 1966; Florida State University, M.A., 1968, Ph.D., 1971. Taught English and American literature at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1968-2000.  Member American Culture Association, Modern Language Association, and other professional organizations. …

Biography: Author of children’s books; Episcopal priest. Born– December 20, 1916, Birmingham. Parents– Franklin C. and Irene (Denny) Cheney. Married– Benjamin Waring Partridge, Jr., September 2, 1939. Children– Four. Education– Florida State College for Women, 1934-1936; University of Georgia, A.B., 1938; Antioch College, M.Ed., 1971.  Author of over twenty books for children.  Ordained as an…

Biography: Historian; clerical worker. Born– September 26, 1925, Birmingham. Parents– Pleasant Wiley and Adrian Mae (Bullock) Acton. Married– George Donnell Axford, March 4, 1949. Children– Two. Education– Howard College; University of Alabama in Birmingham. Worked at Exchange Security Bank, 1943-1950, 1970-1971. Moved to Athens, Ala., in 1971,  where she owned and managed a restaurant. Member…

Biography: Genealogist; historian. Born– June 11, 1926, Birmingham. Parents– Fred Lewis and Gladys Scott (Sims) Davis. Married– Richard Neal Hahn, 1950 (divorced 1973). Children– Three. Married– Carr Byron Barefield, 1983. Married Frederick Mitchell Jackson, December 10, 1993. . Education– Attended Huntingdon College for two years. Worked for Vulcan Materials Company, 1945-1950; Lincoln National Life Insurance…

Biography: University professor, college president. Born– October 1, 1827, Middleburg (Loudoun County), Va. Parents– Edwin Conway and Elizabeth (Channel) Broun. Married– Sallie J. Fleming, November 1, 1859. Children– Seven. Education– University of Virginia, A. M.,  1850; postgraduate course in mathematics and German at UVA, 1852.  Taught at Oakland College in Mississippi, 1852-1854; University of Georgia, 1854-1856.…

Biography: Illustrator, librarian. Born– Albany, N.Y., August 5, 1908. Parents– Gustave M. and Mary Ida Braune.  Spent her childhood in Cincinnati, Ohio; Chapel Hill, N.C.; and Fairhope, Ala. Studied at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts, and at a school in Monton, France. Worked as a librarian…

Biography: High school principal, personnel officer; genealogist. Born Hanceville, April 4, 1940. Parents– Dennis Liphus and Hazel Anne (Phillips) Blalock. Married– Sandra Lee Daniel, December 21, 1962 (divorced 1985). Children– Three. Married– Gail Katherine Aliano, May 25, 1984.  Married– Barbara Gail  Hamrick Chapman, December 16, 1989 (died 2000). Education– University of Alabama, B.A., 1962; M.A.,…

Biography: Librarian. Born– October 13, 1926, Tarrant City. Parents– Archer H. and Jessie Irene Adkins Bell. Education– Birmingham Southern College, B.A., 1950; Harvard University, M.A. in English, 1951; Louisiana State University, M.S. in Librarianship, 1967; University of California at Berkeley, Ph.D., 1974; also attended Columbia University and the University of Texas. Worked at the Birmingham Public Library,…

Biography: College president; professor, chemist. Born– August 31, 1867, Keener. Parents– Captain W. B. and Mary A. (Sibert) Beeson. Married–Anna Leola Selman, 1894. Children– One. Education– University of Alabama, A.B., 1889; Johns Hopkins University, Ph.D., 1893. Instructor in physics at the University of Alabama and chemist with the Geological Survey of Alabama, 1888-1889; research chemist…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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;…

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.…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…