AAFA ACTION Summer 1996 AAFA Officers Editorial Odds and Ends Alford American Family Association Probate Records
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AAFA ACTION The Official Publication of the Alford American Family Association Summer 1996 Vol. IX, No. 1 Words from Wick When my mother died in 1953, all nine of her children swore to meet every year on the anniversary of her death, to worship together in her Church, the Pinson Memorial Methodist in Sylvester, Worth County, Georgia, in memory of her and to celebrate her wonderful Christian life. We have been at it ever since. Some years some of us could not make it because of illness or in my case when I was on my ship in the Mediterranean or off the coast of Korea. Some of you may know that my father sired 21 children, 17 of whom grew to maturity, by two wives, eight in the first bunch and nine by my mother. Some of the first group were quite young when my mother married and she is the mother most of them remembered. Anyhow none of us thought of each other or spoke of us as half brothers or sisters. We once even had a family sandlot baseball team! All 17 of us, our wives, children, grandchildren, uncles, aunts and cousins galore Contents started to come to our annual April reunion in Sylvester. It gradually became known as the W.L.H. Alford Family Reunion and the Lucy Mell Alford Memo- Words from Wick 1 rial. Some years we had as many as 125 attend, but in recent years attendance has Editorial Odds and Ends 2 seemed to slack off. I don’t know when it peaked if it ever did. Marshall Alford of Winston Co., AL, 1905–1996 3 Now let me explain—in Worth County there were three Alford families, my Obituaries from East Texas 7 father and two of his older brothers who had come down to South Georgia from Obituaries from Greene Co., Wake County, NC after the Civil War. Also two of his sisters came down. Now Missouri—Part 1 12 the children (us) of the three Alford families were known as “The Alfords” (high Volentine Smith’s society), “Those Alfords,” and “them Alfords” (poor white trash). I give you one Letter Home, 1863 18 guess that I was in the last category which I choose to describe as genteel Needham Judge Alford, poverty. “Those Alfords” moved to Florida about turn of the century and did not Methodist Preacher 19 cause any trouble. Over the years we occasionally got one or two of “The Booklist Additions 20 Alfords” to attend our reunions in Sylvester. But mind you there was never any Fat Alford, Texas Cowboy 23 animosity. It was that the families were not very close, a lot of them moved far Autauga County, Alabama, away and most of “The Alfords” died out. Only two of the surname remain and Alfords 25 neither of them have male children. “Alfords” in California SS Decedent File 27 Now only four of my mother’s children remain. All the first bunch are gone, and David Price, Jr., for some time now we have been apprehensive that after all of us are gone the AAFA Hall of Famer 39 Alford Family Reunion in Sylvester would die out. Last April 21st when we met Indiana Alford Brothers at 10:30 a.m. for the church service, the crowd seemed unusually small. Some of in the Civil War 41 us muttered to each other, “Uh oh! this is what we have been afraid of—the Alfords in Show Biz 45 reunion will die out.” Alfords in the News 47 Gil Alford’s But when we got down to the civic center where we have barbecue and zillions of About Alfords, Part 2 53 good things to eat, the crowd was bigger than ever. A lot of them come from such Lawrence County, Tennessee, distances it is hard for them to get to the church by 10:30. We were glad they got Alfords: Part 1 58 there at any time. But some of us hypocrites could not resist remarking that those Photo Corner 62 who needed it most did not get to the church on time. Isn’t that just like us Index 63 Alfords? (Continued on p. 62) Page 2 AAFA ACTION Summer 1996 AAFA Officers Editorial Odds and Ends Alford American Family Association probate records. P.O. Box 1586 By Pam Thompson, Editor Florissant, MO 63031-1586 Are you on line yet? Many of us are, E-mail: [email protected] If all goes according to plan, this issue is arriving in your mail box fairly soon and the e-mails are flying! To get a list of members with electronic mail BOARD OF DIRECTORS after you received the Spring issue. I hope you’ll agree that the recent delays addresses, send a message to member Benjamin F. Alford Marian Alford Hodges have been worthwhile—both the [email protected]. I am Max Ray Alford Alicia Roundy Houston Winter and Spring issues were larger now receiving almost all the text for Paul W. Alford Lynn Shelley than usual and so took a long time to AAFA ACTION via e-mail. Aside from Raymond Alford Janice S. Smith e-mail, there is a lot of genealogical Nancy Alford Dietrich Pamela Alford Thompson prepare. In order to keep my work load Doris Alford Vetri manageable, I’ve been aiming for information on the Net—we’re about 60 pages per issue, but we’ve downloading the Alford information as President & Chairman of the Board Emeritus had so much material lately! fast as it appears so we can share it in Lodwick H. Alford, Capt USNR the quarterly. (Every other interest and PRESIDENT In an effort to get AAFA ACTION back hobby you can imagine is there as BENJAMIN F. ALFORD, JR. on schedule, we are skipping New well.) And don’t forget to visit 911 Ivy Court Member Lineages this quarter. If your AAFA’s home page at http://www. Wyomissing, PA 19610 membership number is after #810, alford.com/alford/aafa/aafa2.html. It’s you’ll see your lineage published in the still under construction, but we have VICE-PRESIDENT next issue—or later if you haven’t big plans! LYNN D. SHELLEY gotten information back to Gil Alford 1921 E. Nottingham Lane You might notice a couple of new Springfield, MO 65804-7733 by the time we go to press. E-mail: [email protected] items in this issue. Bobby Alford, If you’ve sent something for publica- AAFA #669, has given us permission SECRETARY tion but haven’t seen it yet, don’t give to reprint his book about the Alfords of MAX RAY ALFORD up! Submissions that are delivered Lawrence County, Tennessee—the 427 Wheatridge electronically get my first priority first installment starts on page 58. We Mesquite, TX 75150 because they’re ready to format—no won’t be reprinting it entirely though, E-mail: [email protected] typing! If they’re not typed, they need so if you want a full copy, be sure to order one from him. We’re also TREASURER additional handling that I don’t always starting “Photo Corner,” where we’ll DORIS ALFORD VETRI have time for: find a typist, xerox the 981 Larkspur Place, N. material, send it—or type it myself. print a current photo even if it wasn’t Mount Laurel, NJ 08054 But eventually I print nearly every- “in the news.” Be sure to write a brief E-mail: [email protected] thing that crosses my desk. article to go with it. Thanks to our first contributor, Harold Alford AAFA EDITOR, AAFA ACTION I’m making an effort to geographically #227, whose photo and write-up gave PAMELA ALFORD THOMPSON distribute the contents of each issue, me the idea! 1017 Marilyn Drive but sometimes a member provides Mountain View, CA 94040 masses of data from one particular Good news: Dogwood Printing has E-mail: [email protected] state. If you haven’t seen much from informed us that “the mill that makes All contents Copyright ©1996 by the your area and you want to see more, our paper has converted from acid base Alford American Family Association you’re probably not alone—so contrib- preparation to alkaline base, and our unless copyrighted by individual contribu- ute! Visit a local genealogical library paper is now pH neutral.” tors or reprinted from published work. and see what “Alford” information you The Alford American Family Association can find, specific to your area, that we Do you know any inactive AAFA is a Missouri corporation which has been haven’t published yet. Visit your members? Let them know that we exempt from federal income tax by the county courthouse and copy the land really miss them and would love to Internal Revenue Service as provided by records index for “Alfords”—see the have them back. Every AAFA member Internal Revenue Code 501 (c7). The example in “Autauga County, Ala- is important to the Association—and Association has no paid staff or employees bama, Alfords” in this issue. While we especially don’t want to lose any and depends entirely on volunteer workers. you’re there, check for wills and because they forgot to renew! ❖ ISSN 1082-3212 Summer 1996 AAFA ACTION Page 3 Marshall Alford of Winston Co., AL, 1905–1996 By Robin Alford Sterling, AAFA #320 Marshall Alford was married to Emma Speer (known to the family as “Em- [Marshall Alford was my grandfather mer”) on 22 Sept 1928 and had three Owen’s older brother and a brother to children: Billie Dean Alford Wilson, my Aunt Myrtie.