Category: J – L

Biography: Songwriter; teacher. Born– January 30, 1894, Columbiana. Parents– James Richmond and Willie (Roberts) White. Married– Paul O. Luck. Children– One. Collaborated with Mildred White Wallace, in song writing and teaching music and dramatics at the high schools in Shelby County; wrote monologues for school purposes.  Died April 6, 1976. Source: Files at Jacksonville State…

Biography: Attorney, legislator. Born– August 2, 1867, Clayton. Parents– Alto V. and Lillie (Lawrence) Lee. Married– Augusta Alston, October 29, 1889. Children– Four. Education– University of Alabama, A.B., 1887, LL.B., 1888. Solicitor, Barbour County, 1889-1890; alderman, Clayton, 1896-1897; representative, state legislature, 1898-1899. Moved to Gadsden, 1901; served as city attorney, Gadsden, 1902-1903; reporter of the Supreme…

Biography: Episcopal clergyman; local historian. Born– November 5, 1931, Birmingham. Parents– Silas Emmett and Levice Edith (Osborn) Lucas. Married– Nina Hasel Hanahan, August 1, 1958. Children– Four. Education– B.A., University of the South, 1956; B.D., 1962. Ordained priest, Episcopal Church, 1964, served churches at Carlowville, Lowndesboro, Montgomery, Ala., Swainsboro, Ga., Easley, S.C.; missionary, Guyana, South…

Biography: Clergyman. Born– July 2, 1921, Georgiana, Ala. Education– Howard College; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Pastor of many Baptist churches in Alabama, including those in Aliceville, Warrior, Ozark, Abbeville, Jacksonville, and Pine Apple. Head of Howard College’s Extension Division for North Alabama. Source: Files at the Alabama Public Library Service. Publication(s): A Saint, A Sinner,…

Biography: Attorney, journalist, teacher; writer. Born– August 22, 1872, New Orleans, La. Parents– Lemuel Louis and Adrienne (Helluin) Lincoln. Education– Jesuit College (New Orleans), B.A., 1889, M.A., 1890; Tulane University, law degree, 1899. Assistant editor, the Times and other New Orleans newspapers; practiced law in New Orleans 15 years; taught French, English, history and political…

Biography: Sociologist; university professor; Clergyman. Born– June 23, 1924, Athens. Parents– Less and Mattie (Sowell) Lincoln. Married– first wife unknown. Children– two. Married– Lucy Cook, July 1, 1961. Children– two. U.S. Navy, WWII. Education– Lemoyne College, A.B., 1947; Fisk University, A.M., 1954; University of Chicago, B.D., 1956; Boston University, M.Ed., Ph.D., 1960; University of Chicago…

Biography: College instructor, children’s writer. Born– Dec. 16, 1879, Talladega, Ala. Parents– W.A. and Mary Belle (Wadsworth) Knox. Education– Agnes Scott College; Columbia University. Childhood was spent largely on the estate of relatives in Sumter County, Ala. and in New York City. Taught 7 years at Mississippi State College. Her first book was on school activities,…

Biography: Historian, university professor. Born– August 14, 1930, Andalusia. Parents–Arthur Green and Pearl Fryar Jones. Married– 1953. Children– Three. Education– Auburn University, B.S., 1951, M.A., 1953; University of Alabama, Ph.D., 1964. Taught for the overseas branch of the University of Maryland, 1955-1956; Montgomery Center, University of Alabama, 1959-1960; Furman University, 1960-1966; Auburn University, 1966-1991; Archivist,…

Biography: Musician, civil rights leader. Born– Apr. 27, 1927, Heiberger, Perry County, Ala. Parents– Obie and Bernice (McMurry) Scott. Married– Martin Luther King, Jr., June 18, 1953. Children– Four. Education– Antioch College, B.A.; New England Conservatory of Music, B.Mus. Voice instructor, Morris Brown College, Atlanta, 1962; sometimes substituted as a speaker for her husband during…

Biography: Attorney, judge. Born– Oct. 16, 1888, Montgomery, Ala. Parents– Thomas Goode (later governor of Alabama) and Georgene Caroline (Bird) Jones. Education– Alabama Polytechnic Institute, 1906-1907; University of Alabama Law School, L.L.B., 1909. Active in elective, appointive, and volunteer positions in state and civic organizations. Appointed Judge of the 15th Judicial Circuit, Montgomery County, 1920;…

Biography: Zoologist. Born– January 27, 1943, Bloomingburg, N.Y. Married– Donald Wayne Linzey, June 2, 1963. Children– Two. Education– Cornell University, B.S., 1964, M.S., 1965. ; Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Ph. D., 1981. Laboratory instructor and research associate, Cornell University; collaborator, National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 1963-1970; research associate, University of South Alabama, 1968-.…

Biography: Biologist. Born– September 4, 1939, Baltimore, Md. Parents– Charles Herbert and Dorothy Katherine (Billingsley) Linzey. Married– Alicia Vogt, June 2, 1963. Children– Two. (Divorced 1983). Married Juanita Bird Holton, May 19, 1984.  Education– Western Maryland College, A.B., 1961; Cornell University, M.S., 1963, Ph.D., 1966. Employed by Cornell University, 1966-1967; instructor and  curator of the…

Biography: Writer.  Born– August 29, 1863, Huntsville. Parents– Robert and Elizabeth Lee (Coles) Fearn, Jr. Married– John Alexander Lusk. Children– Five. Education– Huntsville Female Institute, Holly Springs (Mississippi) Institute. Served as president of the Alabama Writers Conclave and of the Alabama Branch of the League of American Pen Women. Member– Guntersville Literary Circle, Alabama Federation…

Biography: Journalist, broadcaster; genealogist. Born– January 26, 1908, Uniontown. Parents– Charles Poellnitz, Jr. and Eloise Simms (White) Johnston. Married– Margaret Louise Feagin, December 26, 1948. Children– Two. Education– Culver Military Academy; Washington and Lee University, A.B., 1929. President and publisher, Huntsville Times; Vice-President and local advertising manager, Birmingham News-Age Herald; Managing Director, WSGN; Executive Vice-President,…

Biography: Writer; literary scholar; university professor. Born– Sept. 19, 1927, Dothan, Ala. Parents– William M. and Margaret (Farmer) Jones. Married– Ruth Ann Roberts, Aug. 14, 1952. Children– Three. Education– University of Alabama, B.A., 1950; Northwestern University, Ph.D., 1953. Served in U. S. Army, 1945-46. Taught English, Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire, 1953-55; University of…

Biography: Legislator,  professor, attorney. Born– Nov. 20, 1890, Camden, Ala. Parents– John Young and May (Carleton) Kilpatrick. Education– Maryville College, B.A.; Johns Hopkins University, M.A., 1923; University of Paris, Ph.D., 1924; post graduate work at the University of Mexico City and University of Rennes in France. Practiced law in Camden before World War I; enlisted…

Biography: Architect. Born– Dec. 7, 1898, York, Ala. Parents– Benjamin Washington and Mary Emma (Bragg) Lancaster. Married– Minnie Lucile Morgan, June 30, 1922. Children– Two. Education– Alabama Polytechnic Institute, B.S., 1920; class poet and art editor, 1919-1920, awarded several gold medals for scholarship. Worked as a practicing architect; taught, Alabama Polytechnic Institute, 1942-1945; acting dean,…

Biography: Economist; university professor. Born– Nov. 22, 1937, Newark, N.J. Parents– Felix Michael and Philomena Venderosa (Italiano) Lamont. Married– Janice Monk, Jan. 20, 1965. Children– Two. Education– University of Pennsylvania, B.S., 1959; Tulane University, M.B.A., 1960; University of Alabama, Ph.D., 1964. Served in U.S. Army, 1964-1966; taught, University of Notre Dame, 1966-1967; University of Alabama,…

Biography: Political scientist, university professor. Born– Nov. 16, 1915, Woodstock, Ill. Parents– Gustave A. and Clara (Turner) Larson. Married– Eleanor Lucille Kvasnicka, June 11, 1943. Children– Four. Education– Cornell University, B.A., 1940; University of Michigan, M.A., 1947; Ph.D., 1952. U.S. Naval Reserve, 1940-1946; administrative analyst, Michigan Budget Office, 1948-1949; research associate, Bureau of Government, West…

Biography: University professor; poet; publisher.  Born– September 8, 1907, Tuscaloosa, Ala. Parents– George Doherty and Eleanor (McCorvey) Johnston. Married– Mary Tabb Lancaster, 1936. Children– Four. Education– University of Alabama, B.A., 1929, M.A., 1930; Columbia University, Ph.D., 1943. Taught, University of Alabama, 1935-1941, 1946-1950; U.S. Army, 1941-1946, then served in the reserves, retiring as lieutenant colonel;…

Biography: Author, farmer, University professor; member of the Nashville Agrarian Movement. Born– Murfreesboro, Tenn., December 26, 1902. Parents– Robert Logan and Lillie Belle (Nelson) Lytle. Lived on a farm near Guntersville. Married– Edna Langdon Barker, June 30, 1938. Children– Three. Education– A.B., Vanderbilt University, 1925; Yale University, 1927-1928.  Taught at the University of the South, 1942-1973; taught,…

Biography: Teacher, author. Born– October 21, 1929, Walker County, Ala. Parents– Paul A. and Odell (Robinson) Woods. Married– Reinaldo Luis, June 24, 1950. Children– Four. Education– Kings College, Bristol, TN, 1948-1950; B.S., University of Alabama, 1952. Employed as a teacher, Sunland Training Center, Gainesville, Fla., 1955-1958; social worker, Hillsboro County, Fla., 1960; elementary school teacher, 1960-1969;…

Biography: Clergyman. Born– November 5, 1892, Baltimore, Md. Parents– Benjamin Franklin and Margaret (Hoffman) Leek. Married–Mary Evelyn Andrew, June 29, 1911 (died 1913).  Children–one. Married– Zola Younge Hubbard, July 6, 1919. Children– Two. Education– University of Richmond, B.A., 1922; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Th.M., 1925. Ordained to the Baptist ministry, 1915; pastor at Hollywood, Greenpond,…

Biography: Teacher, vocational counselor, poet. Born– June 10, 1911, Pontotoc County, Miss. Parents– Zephaniah B. and Sarah Francis (Staggs) Kitchens. Married– Iva Louise Stringfellow, June 15, 1930. Children– One. Education– Athens College; Birmingham Southern College, A.B., 1947; University of Alabama, M.A., 1956. Employed, Pullman Standard Manufacturing Co., 1941-1943; U.S. Army, 1943-1945; Vocational programs of the…

Biography: Historian, teacher, editor. Born– Feb. 19, 1904, Birmingham, Ala. Parents– Spencer Bidwell and Lizzie (Dodson) King. Married– Caroline Janet Paul, Dec. 26, 1934. Children– Three. Education– Mercer University, A.B., 1929; George Peabody College, M.A., 1936; University of North Carolina, Ph.D., 1950; additional study at Emory University, Vanderbilt University, and University of Michigan. Taught at Mars…

Biography: Social Worker, educator; newspaper columnist. Born– April 25, 1904, Demopolis, Ala. Parents– William Sylvester and Lillian Vayne (Campbell) Prout. Married– Dr. John Reed Long, October 21, 1933. Children– Two. Education– Alabama College, A.B., 1926 with additional study, 1928. Employed by Department of Pensions and Securities, Marengo County, 1928-1930; child welfare supervisor, 1930-1934; taught school,…

Biography: Teacher. Born– September 24, 1905, Bay Minette, Ala. Parents– Dr. J.C. and Virginia (Hand) McLeod. Married– Hanchey E. Logue, August 20, 1929. Children– Four. Education– Agnes Scott College, A.B., 1927. Taught at Luverne, Ala., 1927-1929. Mr. Logue was 4-H director for Alabama and they lived in Greensboro and Auburn.  Died September 13, 2000. Source:…

Biography: Teacher, lecturer. Born September 8, 1927,  Greensboro, Ala. Married– Robert J. Kennedy, Selma, Ala. Children– Four. Education– Alabama College at Montevallo; University of Alabama, B.S. in secondary education, 1949; George Wallace Community College. Teacher in Selma schools; private piano teacher; organist at several Protestant churches and at the Jewish Temple in Selma; lectured on the…

Biography: Nurse; journalist;  businesswoman. Born– April 1, 1926, Levelland, Tex. Parents– Charles Samuel and Jewell (Yeager) Lawhon. Married– Martin James Lide, November 12, 1950. Children– Three. Education– Draughon Business College; University of Texas; Jefferson Hillman School of Nursing, Birmingham, R.N., 1950. Columnist, Baldwin Times in Bay Minette, 1964-1968; columnist, Shades Valley Sun, 1974-1975; vice president,…

Biography: Journalist, writer. Born– Sept. 2, 1913, Montgomery, Ala. Parents– Andrew Carroll and Mary (Anderson) Kilpatrick. Married– Frances Talbot Williams, Mar. 6, 1941. Children– Two. Education– University of Alabama, A.B., 1935; graduate study, Harvard University, 1939-1940. Reporter, 1935-1937, Washington correspondent, 1939-1943, Birmingham News and Age-Herald; Associate editor and European correspondent, Montgomery Advertiser, 1937-1939; Washington correspondent,…

Biography: Homemaker. Born– August 13, 1922, Opelika, Ala. Parents– Richard Lewis and Ione (Barnes) Samford. Married– Charles H. Jernigan, October 5, 1940. Children– Two. Died January 28, 2014. Source: Mrs. Charles Jernigan, Opelika, Ala. Obituary, January 30, 2014. Publication(s): Good! Good! Good!; Selected Recipes for Party People, Collected, Tried, and Found Good, Good, Good. Auburn,…

Biography: Accountant. Born–Feb. 20, 1909, Walker County, Ala. Parents– Fleamon A. and Arminda (Miller) Thompson. Married– Paul Earl Lockhart, September 6, 1925. Children– One. Education– Business College, Opelika. Employed on the staff of Congressman Ross Collins of Mississippi; a statistical analyst in the Adjutant General’s Office, U.S. Department of Defense, for twenty-one years; Head of Accounts Receivable,…

Biography: Historian, university professor of history. Born– February 3, 1923, Coos Bay, Or. Parents– Franz Oscar and Agnes (Sandquist) Johnson. Married– Vivian Ellis, December 19, 1959. Education– University of Oregon, B.A., 1951, M.A., 1953; Claremont Graduate School, Ph.D., 1956. U.S. Coast Guard, 1941-1946; active duty U.S. Naval Reserve, 1951-1952. Taught history at the University of Alabama, 1956-1993.…

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,…

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…

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,…

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,…

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…

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…

Biography: Physician. Born– July 4, 1920, Guntersville, Ala. Parents– Charles Brents and Birdie (Hooper) Kennamer. Moved to Montgomery in 1931, when his father became federal judge for the Middle District of Alabama. Education– University of Alabama, B.A., 1942; Jefferson Medical College, M.D., 1945; interned at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Fla., 1945-1946. U.S. Army Medical Corps, 1947-1949;…

Biography: Laborer, prison guard, service station owner, mail carrier. Born– Sept. 23, 1910, Cottondale, Ala. Parents– Alexander Washington and Linnie Ida (Green) Lambert. Married– Carrie Beale Boswell, February 8, 1936. Children– Three. Worked at a foundry at Holt; on a gas pipeline; as a state prison guard, 1934-1940; Tennessee Coal and Iron, 1940-1947; U.S. Post Office, Fairfield,…

Biography: Local historian; beautician. Born– January 19, 1902, Birmingham. Parents– Thomas and Martha David (O’Barr) Gibbons. Married– Ellis K. Walker, December 2, 1920 (died 1935). Married– P.H. Fazi, June 7, 1937. Married– Patrick J. Lovett, April 29, 1944. Children– Eight. Education– Gladys Cook College of Beauty, Colorado Springs, Colo. Employed by Southern Bell Telephone Company and…

Biography: Historian; university professor. Born– June 24, 1931, Towanda, Pa. Parents– Gordon Cleon and Eleanor Esther (Tobias) Lewis. Married– Carolyn Wyatt Brown, June 12, 1954. Children– Three. Education– Pennsylvania State University, B.A., 1952, M.A., 1954; Cornell University, Ph.D., 1961. Taught, Hamilton College, 1954-57; Fellowship Coordinator, Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation, 1959-65; Instructor,  University of Delaware, 1959-61; Professor…

Biography: Businessman, reporter, college president. Born– January 3, 1925, Tuscaloosa. Married– Helen Merriweather. Children– Two. Education– Withdrew from high school to join the army, then worked for B.F. Goodrich Company while completing high school and Booker T. Washington Business College in Birmingham; Miles College, B.S., 1955; Troy State University, M.A., Ed.S.; Atlanta University, Ed.D. Founded Jesse J.…

Biography: Editor; freelance writer and photographer. Born November 8, 1932, Headland. Parents– Aaron Gordon Livingston and Beatrice DuPree Livingston. Education– Auburn University, 1954-57; University of Alabama, 1957-60.  U.S. Navy; editor, Space Information Digest, RCA, Huntsville, 1955-. Source: Files at Alabama Public Library Service. Publication(s): Advanced Bass Tackle and Boats. Philadelphia; Lippincott, 1975. Cast Iron Cooking; From Johnny…

Biography: Journalist. Born–January 11, 1909, Mobile.  Parents; Herbert and Reba Mae Neville Lyons.  Employed by Mobile Press until 1938. Selected as one of the first class of Nieman Fellows at Harvard in 1939; editor Mediterreanean edition of Stars and Stripes and on staff of Yank, World War II; staff, New York Times; acting editor, book…

Biography: University professor, administrator. Born– November 25, 1902, Abbeville, S.C.  Parents; Alfred and Annie Coral Muse Lyon. Married–Margaret Charters. Education– B.S., The Citadel (South Carolina Military College), 1923; M.A., University of North Carolina, 1926; Ph.D., Columbia University, 1936. Employed by the Citadel, 1926-1936; Furman, 1936-1942; served in U.S. Army, WWII (1942-46);  Georgia Southern, 1946-1948; Livingston University, 1948-77:…

Biography: Writer. Born September 17, 1905, Carlsbad, N.M.  Parents– Thomas Spence Knox and Lucile Pauline Schwerdtfeger Knox.  Married–Elsie Lorene Oliver, 24 March 1941. Children– Four. Education– Abilene Christian College; McMurry College. Spent his early childhood in Eutaw, Ala., where his father was a Presbyterian minister; later moved to South Carolina, Texas, and back to Decatur,…

Biography:  Author, lecturer, political activist. Born– June 27, 1880, Tuscumbia, Ala. Parents– Arthur H. and Kate (Adams) Keller. Early illness deprived her of sight and hearing before the age of two. Education– Tutored by Anne Sullivan Macy through childhood; attended the Perkins Institute for the Blind, Boston, 1888-94; Wright-Humason School and Horace Mann School, New…