Just hoping someone has access to an index for the 1900, 1910 and 1920 census records. I found whre a "Bessie' Holcomb died 1920 in Etowah Co. Al. and thought we could be lucky enough to find that one Eliza, Bessie, Elizabeth etc. Holcmb is the granny of our line. We are hoping she is about 56 years old in 1900. 66 yrsl old in 1910 etc. If this is the case then "Whoopee" who knows what her death cert. may tell us. Our line is an Elizabeth Butler who md. Moses Holcomb about 1870 probably in the Cherokee Co. area. but many descendents lived in surrounding counties This could be her. Any info. appreciated. Thanks for so much help in the past. Aint genealogy fun when one has a pc? I have been doing this for 35 years and I can remember when we didn`t even have a copy machine in state archives buildings. and "nothing" was indexed. Thanks again Lori

GROOVER FAMILY REUNION Announcing the 22nd Annual Groover Reunion SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2005 At Antioch Methodist Church, Abernathy, Alabama The descendants of Peter Groover, a soldier of the American Revolution, who was born about 1762 in Germany and died in 1841 at Marietta, Georgia, are meeting again. This year our family reunion will be held at the Antioch Methodist Church in Abernathy, a church that was built by Rev. William Leander Groover. Make plans to attend and enjoy our program. This is a great opportunity to meet and visit with many of those relatives you might never have had the chance to get to know otherwise. Make plans to attend and let's make this day truly memorable. Bring "Show and Tell" items, keepsakes or photographs that belonged to your Groover grand and great grandparents. Let us know of new additions to your family, or of the death of loved ones. Turn in those dates to the person at the sign in table. Don't forget to register at that time for our drawing. Directions: Abernathy, AL., is located just off Interstate 20. Take the Ranburne/Muscadine exit (#210). This is the first exit inside Alabama. Turn towards Ranburne and the church will be 1.3 miles on the right. Time: Plan on arriving about 11:00 A.M. (Central Time) so you can examine the displays. The program will start at 1:00 P.M.. Lunch: The Church has a new air-conditioned Annex with kitchen and bathroom facilities. We will eat about noon. Bring food and drink for your family and then share off the community table. Two family histories, "The Groover Family Tree" and "Ancestors and Descendants of Margaret Lenora Reid, wife of William Kirby Groover," will be available at the reunion. Family history will be uppermost in our minds on this day. Information about the family is continuously being gathered. If you have not submitted your family history data, please take a moment to do so now, so your information can be included in the Groover data base. Mail your family information to: Elly Groover, 8257 Winston Way, Jonesboro, GA 30236, or e-mail to: ljgroover@mindspring.com Spread the word throughout your immediate family. Come and enjoy the day with us. For further information call: Harlan or Elly Groover, (770) 471-7923 ljgroover@mindspring.com

Hello, As Secretary of the Ballew Family Association of America, I am always searching for any information on the Bellew/Ballew/Belue (and any variations) name. One of my "brick walls" is Sarah Bellew. Here is what I have: SARAH BELLEW was born Abt. 1834 in Georgia. She married ADARINE WATERS/WATTERS 13 Oct 1853 in St. Clair County, Alabama son of JOEL WATERS and QUEENEY JORDAN. He was born Abt. 1834 in St. Clair County, Alabama. According to 1860 St. Clair County census, Sarah was living back at home with her parents. Also in the household was Daniel P. Waters, age 9, born in Alabama. Was Daniel the son of Sarah and Adarine Waters? By 1860, Adarine Waters was in Lawrence County, Arkansas, having remarried on 2 Jan 1860. I have not found any trace of Sarah Bellew/Waters after 1860. If you have any Bellew/Ballew/Belue names ( or other variations) in your family ancestry, I would love to hear from you! I would also like to hear from WATERS researchers. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Rilla Mewbourn Remlap, Alabama

A Century and a half For Christ" A history of the First Baptist Church, Hokes Bluff. 1842 to 1992. Does anyone have a copy of this book that they would like to sell. Contact me personally rather than clutter up the site with messages. Thanks. Beverley jf1991@rgv.rr.com

The Pruett/Pruitt Families are also having a family reunion. All interested & related parties are encouraged to attend. Bring a covered dish to The Kiwanis Building at Noccalula Falls, Saturday July 16, 2005, 5pm ~ 8pm. Gina (Pruitt) Schiazza gschia6719@earthlink.net Why Wait? Move to EarthLink.

KEITH, Mrs. Della Groover, age 77, of 1533 Pearson Ave., S.W. passed away Sunday a.m., at the residence. Survived by one daughter: Mrs. E.J. CANNON of Birmingham; 7 sons: James Shelton KEITH and E.E. KEITH, both of Birmingham; B.B. KEITH of Gadsden, Ala., and George G., Robert R., and Woodrow W. KEITH, all of Dearborn, Mich., and Thomas G. KEITH of Ann Arbor, Mich.,; One sister, Mrs. Nellie DAVIS of Opelika, Al., 20 grandchildren, 5 ggrandchildren, and several neices and nephews. Funeral will be Tuesday 3pm from Brown Service, Norwood Chapel. Internment atForest Hill Cemetery. The Rev. R.E. Hood, the Rev. M.D. Scott and the Rev T.H. Stone officiating. Active pallbearers: Donald Keith, Jimmy Keith, Jr., Robert Keith, Jr. Frank Gray, Jr., Charlie Conkell and Joe Moon. Date of death: Feb. 26, 1956.

This is my grandmothers family - Peter Franklin GROOVER and Sarah FRIX/FRICKS, were her parents - my grandmother married my grandfather Thomas Jefferson DAVIS in Etowah County on Aug 24, 1907. My grandmother was Nellie Clyde GROOVER DAVIS, A lot of this part of the family is buried at Union Grove Cemetery in Adamsville, site of the old Groover homeplace. The DAVIS' other than mygrandfather is buried at Gum Springs Cemetery, St. Clair County. One of his sisters, a Louise DAVIS married a Sydney BOWLING. ---------------------------------------------------- GROOVER FAMILY REUNION Announcing the 22nd Annual Groover Reunion SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2005 At Antioch Methodist Church, Abernathy, Alabama The descendants of Peter Groover, a soldier of the American Revolution, who was born about 1762 in Germany and died in 1841 at Marietta, Georgia, are meeting again. This year our family reunion will be held at the Antioch Methodist Church in Abernathy, a church that was built by Rev. William Leander Groover. Make plans to attend and enjoy our program. This is a great opportunity to meet and visit with many of those relatives you might never have had the chance to get to know otherwise. Make plans to attend and let's make this day truly memorable. Bring "Show and Tell" items, keepsakes or photographs that belonged to your Groover grand and great grandparents. Let us know of new additions to your family, or of the death of loved ones. Turn in those dates to the person at the sign in table. Don't forget to register at that time for our drawing. Directions: Abernathy, AL., is located just off Interstate 20. Take the Ranburne/Muscadine exit (#210). This is the first exit inside Alabama. Turn towards Ranburne and the church will be 1.3 miles on the right. Time: Plan on arriving about 11:00 A.M. (Central Time) so you can examine the displays. The program will start at 1:00 P.M.. Lunch: The Church has a new air-conditioned Annex with kitchen and bathroom facilities. We will eat about noon. Bring food and drink for your family and then share off the community table. Two family histories, "The Groover Family Tree" and "Ancestors and Descendants of Margaret Lenora Reid, wife of William Kirby Groover," will be available at the reunion. Family history will be uppermost in our minds on this day. Information about the family is continuously being gathered. If you have not submitted your family history data, please take a moment to do so now, so your information can be included in the Groover data base. Mail your family information to: Elly Groover, 8257 Winston Way, Jonesboro, GA 30236, or e-mail to: ljgroover@mindspring.com Spread the word throughout your immediate family. Come and enjoy the day with us.

A reunion for the descendants of James and Margaret (PARKER) POTTER who moved from Crawford Co. GA (1830 census) to DeKalb Co. (1840 census), and left descendants in Etowah Co. will be held July 10, 2005. Their son Rev. John W. POTTER lived in the Gallant, Attalla, Gadsden area until his death in 1883. The rest of their children moved on to Pontotoc/Union Co., MS. Margaret POTTER is buried there. Would love to have as many descendants as possible even if you've never been in touch with us before. There will be a covered-dish lunch at Sportsman's Lake just north of Cullman AL, from abt. 11:00 a.m. till about 4:00 p.m. In 2006, we will move the reunion back to the Wheeler State Park area where the reunions started in 1956. We want to make 2006 the biggest and best ever. Contact me for more into Patti Martin View my genealogy queries: http://cousinconnect.com/p/a/0/u/71736/ Talk to me on line! AIM: fcspatti; MSN Messenger: fcspatti; YAHOO Messenger: fcspatti Surnames being researched: MARTIN (NC, So. GA), HOUSTON (FL, SC), McDANIEL (GA), POTTER (AL, MS, GA, NC), WIGGINS (SC, AL), BROWN (AL), PARKER (GA), WES(T)COT(T) (NY, IL, AL), CORNU(E) (NY), McCLURE (AL, KY), STONE (AL, SC), NOWLAND (AL, GA), WILLIAMSON (AL, GA, SC), GOGGINS/GOGGANS (SC), HUGHES (AL, SC), BALL (AL, GA, SC), GOLDEN (AL, SC?), ROBERSON (GA), ROBERTSON (SC), TRAYLOR (SC), MOSELY (GA, SC), GRAHAM (NC, SC, PA), GIBSON (SC), RICHARDS (SC, NH), RAMSOUR (NC, PA), BOLLINGER (NC, PA), SMITH (NC), DAVIS (NC), KINNIARD (FL, WV, VA), ROLSTON (WV, VA), WORTH (PA), ALEXANDER (SC, PA)

Does anyone have info on the Gulledges of Alabama City.

Reunion for Ager, Williams, Lewis and Woods families from Gadsden July 7-10, 2005 Ginger Underwood Distance Learning & Instructional Technology Learning Resources Assistant 412-237-6540 gunderwood@ccac.edu Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Meade _____ From: ALETOWAH-D-request@rootsweb.com [mailto:ALETOWAH-D-request@rootsweb.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 6:00 PM To: ALETOWAH-D@rootsweb.com Subject: ALETOWAH-D Digest V05 #12

Friends and Family - thank you for all the responses to my forwarded request for help from a lady who had posted her request on the ALABAMA list and I forwarded it to the ETOWAH CTY list as that was where she was going - but I am not the one who requested the help, I just sent her to the Etowah list as I knew there were a lot of people there who would be more than glad to help - here is the address of the woman EVERETTLATTIMORE@aol.com <EVERETTLATTIMORE@aol.com> she is the one who would like some help - contact her at that address and see what you may have in common or help with her request delilah

----- Original Message ----- From: <EVERETTLATTIMORE@aol.com> To: <ALABAMA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, May 09, 2005 7:30 PM Subject: [Alabama] Research help please > I am planning to go to DeKalb, Etowah county to do some nosing around to find > my Great grandmothers parents FOR SURE. > Now, Where would I start?? If in a library, what books?? In a court house > what records. > I have actually only ever done the researching by sites such at this one > or word of mouth. > My Great grandmother was Sarah Hannah Copeland Hallmark. Census says she > was born in Alabama, dont't know what county. But, My great grandfather > Hallmark was found 1900 Grahams, DeKalb Al and there are severel Copelands living > in Lathamville DeKalb county ala in 1900 as well as my Ggrandmothers sister. > > My Grandmother and all of her 5 siblings were born in Altoona, Etowah > county Ala. > So, given all of this I figure These to areas of Ala are a safe bet to > do research. > Any instructions on search records would be appreciated. > > Thanks > Barbara > > Barbara Lattimore > > Barbara Lattimore > > > ==== ALABAMA Mailing List ==== > Alabama-L archives, a great resource for new subscribers > http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl?list=ALABAMA-L > >

I would have to guess that most of Hokes Bluff was in Calhoun Co. previous to 1867. I will also say that the Hokes Bluff Cemetery contains several older Tidmore burial sites...seems like dating to the early 1800's. Would you like me to "check it out" for you? It's not 5 miles from my house. Michael L. Tucker 1883 Posey Road Gadsden, AL 35903 mtucker51@yahoo.com mtucker51@bellsouth.net 256-492-9351 Home 256-393-0599 Cell 205-667-1633 Work If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one? Abraham Lincoln -----Original Message----- From: Beverley Ferrell [mailto:jf1991@rgv.rr.com] Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2005 4:35 PM To: ALETOWAH-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [ALETOWAH] Etowah County line changes Can anyone tell me if Hokes Bluff part of Gadsden or Attalla were in ever in Benton (Calhoun), or Cherokee before Etowah? I live in S. TX and have not been to the above areas. Eliza A. Hawkins b. 1826, SC and Samuel S. Kelly b. 1826 SC, were married in Benton Co., in 1850. On Cherokee Census in 1860 and Etowah in 1870. I am looking for their parents. I also had Tidmore's in Etowah for which Tidmore Bend on the Coosa River is named. ==== ALETOWAH Mailing List ==== The Gadsden Times newspaper is at http://www.gadsdentimes.com/

Can anyone tell me if Hokes Bluff part of Gadsden or Attalla were in ever in Benton (Calhoun), or Cherokee before Etowah? I live in S. TX and have not been to the above areas. Eliza A. Hawkins b. 1826, SC and Samuel S. Kelly b. 1826 SC, were married in Benton Co., in 1850. On Cherokee Census in 1860 and Etowah in 1870. I am looking for their parents. I also had Tidmore's in Etowah for which Tidmore Bend on the Coosa River is named.

May 2, 2005 Frank N. Ford Funeral Services for Mr. Frank N. Ford, 88, of Montgomery, formerly of Gadsden and Huntsville, will be Tuesday, May 3, at 11 a.m. from the chapel of Collier Butler Funeral Home. Mr. Ford passed away April 30, in Montgomery. Rev. Coy Hallmark will Officiate and burial will follow in Forrest Cemetery. Collier Butler Funeral Home and Cremation Service will direct. The family will receive friends from 10-11 the day of the service. Mr. Ford was a native of Gadsden, A WWII Army Veteran and a member of 1st united Methodist Church and the Big Brothers Bible Class of Huntsville. He retired as general manager and district manager for Meadow Gold Dairies. He joined the National Guard in Gadsden when it mobilized in 1939 and was discharged as a major in 1945. He is survived by his wife, Louise Cole Ford, son, Nelson (Dorothy) Ford, daughter, Shellye (Ernest) Kaufmann, grandchildren, Jim Ford, Jennifer Glaze, Ernest Kaufmann Jr. Michael Ryan Kaufmann, Lauren Elizabeth Kaufmann and several nieces and nephews. In Lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or Campus Crusades for Christ.

http://www.gadsdenmessenger.com/ This is to the newspaper, they usually have articles on the places around Gadsden/Etowah County, Al.

Perhaps, in these discussions regarding place names, and the Native Americans of the Etowah Co. area, we are leading ourselves astray by trying to be too specific with regard to the meaning of some terms, and not specific enough in others. These days, when we use the term "town", we are usually referring to a specific area which has well defined boundaries. But, as one person has noted, some have drawn the conclusion that "Turkey Town" was really a wide ranging area. That is the same conclusion that I drew, long since. There seems to be no disagreement that there was a significant Native American population in the areas of Etowah, Cherokee, and surrounding counties. There is no doubt that "events" occurred in that area that are referenced to "Turkey Town". But, in every case where I have ever seen "Turkey Town" mentioned, it is always relative to some other place. It has been shown on old maps, but the location varies. I think we are overworking the word "Town." Regrettably, perhaps, we need to just be thankful that we know the general area where the Native American population lived and that significant historical events did occur there. The word "ferry" seemingly is also a little bit overworked. Clearly, there was a number of established ferrys along the Coosa between Gadsden the upper reaches of the Coosa. The original settlement where Gadsden is located, if memory serves, was "Rafferties Landing". I am unsure of that spelling. That landing was "near" where the old bridge is located, connecting East Broad and downtown Gadsden. When I asked my grandfather where that landing was located, he said he was not certain, but thought that it was a little upstream from where the old Bridge is located. In any event, until the railroad bridge was built, there was no bridge there, and according to my mother, folks had to be "ferried" across the river to get from East Gadsden to downtown Gadsden. Even after the railroad bridge was built, which was built to facilitate walking traffic and carriages, my Mother said some were afraid to walk across, so still had to be "ferried" across. I got a kick out of my Mother saying "we could not be afraid" -- because her maternal grandfather, William P. Sears, was the Section Master of the railroad. I never have researched for a ferry operation "at" Gadsden. If anyone has, it would be nice to hear their findings. As late as the 1950s, there was not always someone manning the Hokes Bluff ferry. There was a house close by, and if a "paying" customer showed up, they came out. When a paying customer did arrive, I, a kid, on several occasions, hitched a ride. What I am suggesting here is, that while there definitely were some established ferry operations, there likely were a number that were "informal", but, for which, some have given names. One more point that seems to me to be a bit overworked. That being that all of the Native Americans had to "hide out" after the Indian Removal. Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I think that Native American women, married to White men, and their children, were not required to move, and clearly some did not. Very likely, some did "hide", and seems likely that some who were not required to leave chose to hide out of fear of being persecuted. Identifying and locating one's ancestors is sufficiently difficult as it is. If one incorporates into their thinking conditions that may not have existed, that they were hiding, that is going to make the process unsurmountable. If they were hiding, and were successful, it is highly unlikely you are going to find them now over a hundred years later. A more constructive "assumption" would be that they were not hiding, then turn every stone looking for them. I'll wind this epic down by mentioning a category of records that I rarely see mentioned --- I think they are called "Terrirotial Papers of Alabama", and are available at NARA on microfilm. I have never used them myself, but I have seen extracts from them that mention Native Americans. Those of you who are pursing Native American ancestors might do well to look there. Harry Nelms

Dear Gail, I didn't grow up here, so much of my information comes through reading, except for the stories that were told to me by my father-in-law. My father-in-law was born in Murray Cross (I never knew it was Murray Cross...I always thought it was MARY Cross, since that's how he pronounced it! :] ) and his family lived in the Ball Play, Pollard's Bend, and Leesburg areas while he was growing up, and before he was born. He was a member of the Cherokee County Historical Society for a 5 year stretch and he did quite a bit of research on the Rains' and other allied families. He has taken me to cemeteries and places in the area and told us stories about the family. Dabney Rains and his wife Barbary White Rains and their 10 children came from Elbert Co., GA to Cherokee Co., AL about 1837. From the Cherokee County Ancestral Homestead book, in 1851 Dabney and Ignatius (Ignatius was his #3 son) are located where Hwy 150 is, at just about the curve, nearest the Coosa River. We know they were in the area earlier, as they are listed in the 1840 census for Cherokee County. John W. Rains was the oldest son and he was located at Blue Pond. John's wife, Lucinda Hicks Rains, was recorded as dying in 1860 in the Sarah R. Espy diary and she stated that she could hear the wailing of the family at the burial site, though a mile distant. There are no marked graves for John and Lucinda Hicks Rains, so we can only guess that they were buried within a mile of the Thomas Espy home in 1860. John died in 1873 (having remarried to Mrs. Susan A. Machen, the widow of Thomas Machen), and in that year he was also the post master for Leesburg. John and Lucinda Rains' son, Josiah Johnson Rains, and his wife Susannah T. Payne Rains (daughter of John Payne and Francis Jackson Hall Payne) and the next 3 generations of Rains family were buried at Union #3 Baptist Church which is located in Ball Play. My father-in-law grew up in Pollard's Bend, near Dixon Shop, and it is recorded that his uncle, Lonnie Rains (James Leon Rains) ran the store at one time. My father-in-law has shown me many things off of this road from his childhood (Dixon Shop is located at the intersection of Hwy 20 and Hwy 7). The Street and Garner families lived in Ball Play and came from GA as well. The Street/Garner family took a train from Buford, GA to Rome, GA where they boarded a flatboat and traveled down the Coosa River and got off at Ball Play Landing. Milton O. Street married Louisa B. Garner and Milton's brother, Alonzo, married Louisa's sister, Elmina Jane Garner. Each of these families were married with children so it must have been quite an entourage! There was a Davis Ferry which carried people from Ball Play side of Etowah County into the Cherokee County side of Pollard's Bend. I think it was later known as McClesky Landing. At Murray Cross was the Croft Ferry and it may be that this was one of the ferries that many of the early 1800 Cherokees might have taken, as there was a well traveled road that went from the Murray Cross area into Owls Hollow, which I believe may have been a hiding place for many Cherokees, since it led to the most northern section of what we know as Turkey Town. Much of Turkey Town was most likely located in the Coats Bend area, but as John Awbrey stated, there seems to be some difference of opinion about where it existed as far as what the Cherokee stated, and what the "white man" stated where it existed. In reading about the travels of John Ross and those he met with, I believe that he most likely traveled on the route known as Hwy 411 because he traveled back and forth to Rome quite a bit. Knowing that other prominent Cherokee lived along this route (such a Vann, Ridge, and my ancestor, Judge James Daniel), makes it more likely that Turkey Town was also along this route. However, the Cherokee removal was in 1838 and after that date we no longer had the Cherokee moving back and forth along this route and in the Turkey Town area, so the names and exact locations would be lost to those who moved in later, which is probably why we don't know exactly. There seem to be 2 points in Coats Bend where ferries may have been located. One would have taken a person from Coats Bend into Ball Play, and the other would have taken a person from Coats Bend into Hokes Bluff, which is where Appalachian Hwy crosses the river right at the old Coats home. I'm not very familiar with any ferries for that area, but it seems as though there were roads that led up to the river on both sides, so it seems to be a logical place for one anyway! :) I know that there was a Trippe Ferry, as it was mentioned in Sarah R. Espy's diary (one of her daughters married a Trippe) so it most likely went from around the Leesburg area into Pollard's Bend. Maybe John Awbrey knows better than I do about the precise area. There was also a Wood's Ferry and an Adam's Ferry that were in Pollard's Bend, but I don't know their precise location either. I just know that Mr. Rains spoke of taking the ferries often, and now that many of them are no longer in use and/or there is no bridge there, many of the families that were connected by these ferries were no longer connected in later generations. This is all my limited knowledge can conjure up for you. I hope some of it helps. Blessings, Jill Watters Rains Gail Moore wrote: > Dear Jill, > In 1860-1890 would this Ferry have taken travelers also from Gadsden, AL to Ceder Bluff, AL or Centre, AL to visit kin? > Also what more can you tell me please about this area? > I had Cothrum's {Cockrum's} Cothran's in that area of AL. during this timeframe. > Gail

Arlene and John, Thank you for the information. It's good to know there were some efforts to preserve that part of history. I have not done a lot of Cherokee Indian research because my family were Creek. However, it is impossible to study one of the Southeastern tribes without learning about the others. One thing I did discover early on when I began looking into my Creek ancestry was that very little of what really happened was taught in our public schools in Alabama when I came along. We were familiar with a few famous Indian names and the rest of what we "knew" came from Western movies. Mine has been a very eye-opening journey. Evelyn

Another question; Where was subdivision 42 on the 1860 and/ or 1870 censuses? Thanks again sue