This is the introduction to the book Compiled records of BIBB COUNTY, ALABAMA PIONEERS VOLUME I: Biographies Genealogy Reports, Notes & Records
Bibb County is located near the center of the state of Alabama, south of Tuscaloosa and Shelby County. It was originally part of the very large Monroe and Montgomery counties in the Mississippi Territory and was first established as “Cahawba” by a Mississippi territorial act Feb. 12, 1818. Probably due to its central location, Cahawba became the first state capital. Changes were made in Cahawba’s boundaries in the years 1819, 1820 and the county received the new name of Bibb on Dec. 4, 1820 in honor of Alabama’s first governor, William Wyatt Bibb.
With the removal of the Indians in 1814 by Andrew Jackson and his men, settlers began to migrate to the fertile Cahawba land even before the Federal survey of the land was completed. By 1818, the area had 1280 residents and two years later, the population was 3876. Usually members of a family such as sons and fathers, preceded the rest of the family by a year or more. They cleared land and built crude cabins for their families and sometimes they even planted the first crop. Then the settlers returned to their homeland to transport their families. Many times, close neighbors in the homeland traveled together and when they arrived in Alabama, they located their farms close to each other and small settlements developed in Cahawba.
These small communities were generally farm clearings and were often named according to the location near a river, creek or the name of the family who predominated in the area. Churches and schools appeared early in 1817. By 1830, Bibb County’s population reached 6306 with lawyers, physicians, tradesman, architects, contractors, blacksmiths, wagon builders, millers, flatboat captains, peddlers, surveyors, ministers and many farmers according to the census.
In 1830, a water-powered cotton mill was established on Schultz Creek. By 1857, Scottsville had a factory, a large hotel, a store, a blacksmith, carpenter, wheelwright, boot and shoe shops, a saw mill, grist mill, flouring mill, church and many cottages. Around the same time, many other businesses developed throughout the county such as the Ashby Brick Works, Weeks Parker’s Carriage Shop and Owens and Yancey’s Saddle factory. Bibb County was also the site of some of the earliest construction in the state connected with the iron industry. Daniel Hillman, an ironmaster from New Jersey, constructed a forge near present day Woodstock in the 1830’s that was later purchased by Nathan Tannehill and later became Tannehill Furnaces.
The following biographies includes only a few of the many pioneers who settled and helped develop Bibb County, Alabama prior to the 1850 census.
This book includes biographies of FREDERICK MONROE JAMES, ADAM JAMES, MARTHA HILL, SARAH JANE ARNOLD, HOPKINS LEE, PETERS FAMILY, STEELE FAMILY, WRIGHT FAMILY and genealogy reports and notes on DANIEL MILTON JAMES, HOPKINS LEE, GEORGE PETERS, JAMES STEELE, and WILLIAM WRIGHT.
During the “Alabama Fever” period of United States history, early settlers migrated to Alabama from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee in search of more land to grow tobacco and/or distance themselves from the Revolutionary War. Bibb County, Alabama Pioneers Volume I focuses on the pioneer families of FREDERICK MONROE JAMES (b. 1793-d. 1863) ADAM JAMES (1800-1884) HOPKINS LEE (b. 1765-d. 1834) STEELE FAMILY (who immigrated from S.C. ca. 1780), WILLIAM WRIGHT, (b. 1778 SC) and GEORGE PETERS (b. 1790 Italy) Genealogy reports with supporting evidence, notes, brief biographies, wills, deeds and census records, when available are included.Descendant surname include: ADAMS, ARNOLD, AVERY, BAKER, BAMBERG, BARNES, BATES, BLAKE, BISHOP, BOLING, BOLLING, BOSCHUNG, BOYD, BRACKNELL, BRADLEY, BRAG, BRANSDORF, BROADHEAD, BURNS, CANTERBURY, CARDEN, CARR, CARROLL, CAUSEY, CATES, CHAMPION, CLARY, CONWAY, COOK, COOPER, COTTINGHAM, CREEL, CREWS, CROCKER, CRUNK, DAUGHERTY, DAILEY, DIXON, DOCKERY, DOVER, DREOLIA, DUGGAN, EASTERWOOD, ERVIN, FAIR, FARMER, FAUCETT, FAUCETTE, FERGUSON, FIKES, FONDREN, FRANCIS, FRIDAY, FRY, FULGHAM, GEORGE, GOLDEN, GREATHOUSE, GRIFFIN, HANCOCK, HAND, HART, HAYES, HILL, HOLLAND, HORTON, HUBBARD, INGRAM, ILES, JACKSON, JAMES, JOHNSTON, KINNAIRD, KIRBY, KORNEGAY, KROUT, LAGRONE, LAND, LARKIN, LEE, LEMLEY, LEWIS, LEVERT, LIGHTSEY, MADDOX, MAJOR, MARTIN, MASON, MCALLEN, MCBRIDE, MCCALEB, MCCULLEY, MCDOWELL, MCLEOD, MCMILLAN, MEDDERS, MEIGS, MERPHY, MESSER, MILLER, MILLS, MITCHELL, MONTGOMERY, MUELLER, MURPHY, MYRICK, NICHOLS, OGLESBY, OWENS, PALMER, PARKER, PEARSON, PETER, PETERS, PETERSON, PHELPS, PIERSON, QUINN, RAGLAN, RAGLAND, RAINES, REACH, REED, RITCHIE, ROAN, ROBINSON, SATTERWHITE, SHAW, SHOWS, SHUTTLESWORTH, SMITH, SNIPES, STACEY, STACY, STAMPS, STARLING, STEELE, STEFANICK, STEWARD, STEWART, STRICKLAND, THOMPSON, TIBBS, TUCKER, TURNER, VARNEL, VERNON, WAGGONER, WAGONER, WALKER, WALLACE, WARD, WOOD, WOODWARD, WOOLLEY, WRIGHT, WYATT, YEAGER, YOUNG
Mike Oakley
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