ALABAMA HERITAGE
  • Magazine
    • Current and Back Issues >
      • Back Issues 141-150 >
        • Issue 147, Winter 2023
        • Issue 146, Fall 2022
        • Issue 145, Summer 2022
        • Issue 144, Spring 2022
        • Issue 143, Winter 2022
        • Issue 142, Fall 2021
        • Issue 141, Summer 2021
      • Back Issues 131-140 >
        • Issue 140, Spring 2021
        • Issue 139, Winter 2021
        • Issue 138, Fall 2020
        • Issue 137, Summer 2020
        • Issue 136, Spring 2020
        • Issue 135, Winter 2020
        • Issue 134, Fall 2019
        • Issue 133, Summer 2019
        • Issue 132 Spring 2019
        • Issue 131, Winter 2019
      • Back Issues 121-130 >
        • Issue 130, Fall 2018
        • Issue 129, Summer 2018
        • Issue 128, Spring 2018
        • Issue 127, Winter 2018
        • Issue 126, Fall 2017
        • Issue 125 Summer 2017
        • Issue 124, Spring 2017
        • Issue 123, Winter 2017
        • Issue 122, Fall 2016
        • Issue 121, Summer 2016
      • Back Issues 111-120 >
        • Issue 120, Spring 2016
        • Issue 119, Winter 2016
        • Issue 118, Fall 2015
        • Issue 117, Summer 2015
        • Issue 116, Spring 2015
        • Issue 115, Winter 2015
        • Issue 114, Fall 2014
        • Issue 113, Summer 2014
        • Issue 112, Spring 2014
        • Issue 111, Winter 2014
      • Back Issues 101-110 >
        • Issue 110, Fall 2013
        • Issue 109, Summer 2013
        • Issue 108, Spring 2013
        • Issue 107, Winter 2013
        • Issue 106, Fall 2012
        • Issue 105, Summer 2012
        • Issue 104, Spring 2012
        • Issue 103, Winter 2012
        • Issue 102, Fall 2011
        • Issue 101, Summer 2011
      • Back Issues 91-100 >
        • Issue 100, Spring 2011
        • Issue 99, Winter 2011
        • Issue 98, Fall 2010
        • Issue 97, Summer 2010
        • Issue 96, Spring 2010
        • Issue 95, Winter 2010
        • Issue 94, Fall 2009
        • Issue 93, Summer 2009
        • Issue 92, Spring 2009
        • Issue 91, Winter 2009
      • Back Issues 81-90 >
        • Issue 90, Fall 2008
        • Issue 89, Summer 2008
        • Issue 88, Spring 2008
        • Issue 87, Winter 2008
        • Issue 86, Fall 2007
        • Issue 85, Summer 2007
        • Issue 84, Spring 2007
        • Issue 83, Winter 2007
        • Issue 82, Fall 2006
        • Issue 81, Summer 2006
      • Back Issues 71-80 >
        • Issue 80, Spring 2006
        • Issue 79, Winter 2006
        • Issue 78, Fall 2005
        • Issue 77, Summer 2005
        • Issue 76, Spring 2005
        • Issue 75, Winter 2005
        • Issue 74, Fall 2004
        • Issue 73, Summer 2004
        • Issue 72, Spring 2004
        • Issue 71, Winter 2004
      • Back Issues 61-70 >
        • Issue 70, Fall 2003
        • Issue 69, Summer 2003
        • Issue 68, Spring 2003
        • Issue 67, Winter 2003
        • Issue 66, Fall 2002
        • Issue 65, Summer 2002
        • Issue 64, Spring 2002
        • Issue 63, Winter 2002
        • Issue 62, Fall 2001
        • Issue 61, Summer 2001
      • Back Issues 51-60 >
        • Issue 60, Spring 2001
        • Issue 59, Winter 2001
        • Issue 58, Fall 2000
        • Issue 57, Summer 2000
        • Issue 56, Spring 2000
        • Issue 55, Winter 2000
        • Issue 54, Fall 1999
        • Issue 53, Summer 1999
        • Issue 52, Spring 1999
        • Issue 51, Winter 1999
      • Back Issues 41-50 >
        • Issue 50, Fall 1998
        • Issue 49, Summer 1998
        • Issue 48, Spring 1998
        • Issue 47, Winter 1998
        • Issue 46, Fall 1997
        • Issue 45, Summer 1997
        • Issue 44, Spring 1997
        • Issue 43, Winter 1997
        • Issue 42, Fall 1996
        • Issue 41, Summer 1996
      • Back Issues 31-40 >
        • Issue 40, Spring 1996
        • Issue 39, Winter 1996
        • Issue 38, Fall 1995
        • Issue 37, Summer 1995
        • Issue 36, Spring 1995
        • Issue 35, Winter 1995
        • Issue 34, Fall 1994
        • Issue 33, Summer 1994
        • Issue 32, Spring 1994
        • Issue 31, Winter 1994
      • Back Issues 21-30 >
        • Issue 30, Fall 1993
        • Issue 29, Summer 1993
        • Issue 28, Spring 1993
        • Issue 27, Winter 1993
        • Issue 26, Fall 1992
        • Issue 25, Summer 1992
        • Issue 24, Spring 1992
        • Issue 23, Winter 1992
        • Issue 22, Fall 1991
        • Issue 21, Summer 1991
      • Back Issues 11-20 >
        • Issue 20, Spring 1991
        • Issue 19, Winter 1991
        • Issue 18, Fall 1990
        • Issue 17, Summer 1990
        • Issue 16, Spring 1990
        • Issue 15, Winter 1990
        • Issue 14, Fall 1989
        • Issue 13, Summer 1989
        • Issue 12, Spring 1989
        • Issue 11, Winter 1989
      • Back Issues 1-10 >
        • Issue 10, Fall 1988
        • Issue 9, Summer 1988
        • Issue 8, Spring 1988
        • Issue 7, Winter 1988
        • Issue 6, Fall 1987
        • Issue 5, Summer 1987
        • Issue 4, Spring 1987
        • Issue 3, Winter 1987
        • Issue 2, Fall 1986
        • Issue 1, Summer 1986
    • Digital Features
    • Links of Interest
    • Bonus Materials >
      • Adventures in Genealogy
      • Alabama Heritage Blog
      • Alabama Territory
      • Becoming Alabama >
        • Creek War Era
        • Civil War Era
        • Civil Rights Movement
      • From the Vault
      • History in Ruins
      • Places in Peril
      • Recipes
  • Online Store
    • Customer Service
  • About Us
    • Awards
    • Meet Our Team
    • News
    • Writer's Guidelines and Submissions
  • Search
  • Donate
Published by The University of Alabama,
The University of Alabama at Birmingham,
and the Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama Heritage, Issue 93, Summer 2009
Issue 93, Summer 2009
Buy This Issue
Start Your Subscription
Give a Gift Subscription
On the cover: W. C. Handy had to make music, no matter what. (W. C. Handy Home, Museum, and Library)

FEATURE  ABSTRACTS


Selma's Live Oak CemeterySelma's Live Oak Cemetery
(Robin McDonald)
Where the Dead Speak: Black Belt Cemeteries and their Stories 

By Thomas C. Ware

Although often viewed simply as monuments to the past, cemeteries are actually a treasure trove of information about the lives and customs of people and their communities. Alabama’s Black Belt cemeteries prove no exception. Exploring them reveals a great deal about Alabama communities. From Eutaw to Demopolis, Dayton to Marion and Selma, Alabama’s cemeteries hold important lessons about the wartime customs, religious beliefs, and social practices of Alabamians.

Additional Information
The following articles in the Encyclopedia of Alabama will also be of interest:
  • Black Belt Region in Alabama 
  • United Daughters of the Confederacy Alabama Division 
  • Selma 
  • Marion 
  • Decoration Day 
  • Decoration Day, ca. 1905 (image) 

About the Author
Thomas C. Ware, professor of English at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, is co-author of Theodore O’Hara: Poet-Soldier of the Old South (University of Tennessee Press). He holds degrees from the University of Louisville and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has published articles and reviews in such journals as The James Joyce Quarterly, EIRE-Ireland, English Literature in Transition, Kentucky Humanities, South Atlantic Review, Studies in Short Fiction,and Victorians Institute Annual. He has hosted the Southeast meeting of the American Conference for Irish Studies in Chattanooga on three recent occasions, including in 2009, and he served for five years on the SAR Prize Selection Committee. He and his wife live on Lookout Mountain in Tennessee. 

Back to Top

Brig. Gen. Ormsby MacKnight MitchelBrig. Gen. Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel
helped lead the southern thrust
of Buell's Army of the Ohio
(Library of Congress)
The Sacking of Athens and the Souring of ‘Civil’ War

By Thomas Ress 

In May 1862, after repeated struggles, the Union occupied Athens, Alabama. Led by Colonel John Basil Turchin, the troops inflicted considerable damage on the town, but the exact cause of that damage remains disputed. Some witnesses claimed that Turchin gave his men explicit permission to plunder Athens as revenge for earlier Union defeats. However, when the charges were formalized in a trial, presided over by future President James A. Garfield, evidence against Turchin proved conflicted. Turchin's punishment reflected a growing leniency toward "war crimes" and led to a shift in the attitudes of citizens on both sides of the war. It soon became much more violent than “civil.”

Additional Resources
For additional information on this topic, Alabama Heritage suggests the following book: From Conciliation to Conquest: The Sack of Athens and the Court-Martial of Colonel John B. Turchin by George C Bradley and Richard L. Dahlen (University  of Alabama Press, 2006).

The following articles in the Encyclopedia of Alabama will also be of interest:
  • Sack of Athens 
  • John Basil Turchin 
  • Alabama and the Civil War (Feature) 
Multimedia:
  • Sack of Athens (video)
  • John Basil Turchin 
  • Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel 

About the Author 
Thomas V. Ress resides in Athens, Alabama. He is a freelance writer and has been writing for sixteen years. He has had over one hundred articles published in numerous magazines, newspapers, and websites including SKI, Backpacker, Blue Ridge Country, and others. His article “Five Hours at Sulphur Trestle Fort” appeared in the Spring 2008 issue of Alabama Heritage. Ress grew up in southern Indiana and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Evansville and his MBA from Eastern Kentucky University. He currently does consulting work for the federal government. 

Back to Top

W.C. HandyW.C. Handy
(W.C. Handy Home, Museum,
and Library)
The Making of a Blues Legend 

By Daphne Pruitt

Growing up in Florence, William Christopher Handy had little hope of pursuing a career as a professional musician. His parents insisted that music interfered with religion, and other adults in Handy’s life disparaged what was often perceived as the wild lifestyle of musicians. Despite the hardships he faced, Handy was determined to make music his career, and he worked diligently to achieve this dream, traveling throughout the South to learn and practice his trade. Along the way, he found love, earned a following, created a new genre of music, and established himself as the “Father of the Blues.”

Additional Information
The following articles in the Encyclopedia of Alabama will also be of interest:
  • William ‘W.C.’ Handy 
  • Traditional Music 
Multimedia:
  • St. Louis Blues 
  • W.C. Handy, ca. 1940’s 
  • W.C. Handy, ca. 1893 
  • W.C. Handy Home and Museum in Florence 

About the Author
Residing in Montgomery Alabama, Daphne Pruitt graduated from the University of Alabama with a BA in Communications. While completing courses in journalism, she also participated in internships, writing articles for Missing Ink and creating and editing web content for theTuscaloosa News. She worked as an assistant editor for Alabama Heritage for a year. She would like to thank Dr. Jennifer Greer and Dr. George Daniels for their support. She would also like to thank the editorial staff of Alabama Heritage for guiding her in the development of her first feature article. 

Back to Top

Fob James as Rob Warwick in Fob James as Rob Warwick in "Stark Love"
(Helen Mundy/Donald Ramlow Collection)
Hollywood’s Reluctant Star: Forrest James 

By John White 

In 1926 Forrest James was a student athlete at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, the future Auburn University, when he was spotted and asked to star in a Hollywood movie. The film, Stark Love, premiered to great acclaim, making its mark as one of the last films in the silent movie era. Its star, too, had great appeal, and was even offered a Hollywood contract. Interestingly, Hollywood never acknowledged the reality of James’s life, and advertisements for Stark Love touted him as an Appalachian Mountain man who made one movie then retreated back into the hills. In reality, James, influenced by his mother, turned his back on Hollywood and returned to his native land of Alabama, where he became one of the most successful multi-sport athletes at API and established himself as a successful businessman and community member.

Additional Information
Author John White’s documentary will launch the Southern Appalachian International Film Festival on Thursday, October 22, at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, Tennessee. The venue is a beautifully restored 1931 theater. Dr. White’s documentary, which follows the making of Stark Love and the people involved in it, is a centerpiece of the festival and the 25th anniversary celebration for the Department of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University. 

The following articles in the Encyclopedia of Alabama will also be of interest:
  • Auburn University
  • Forrest ‘Fob’ James, Jr.
  • Ralph ‘Shug’ Jordan (image) 

About the Author
John White, an Atlanta writer and filmmaker, holds a doctorate degree in education from Auburn University. His interest in Stark Loveemanates from his friendship with the late Cal James Sr., son of the film’s leading man. White’s article, “Myth and Movie Making: Karl Brown and the Making of Stark Love” appeared in Film History: An International Journal in 2007. White is married to Atlanta playwright, political guru, and community leader Melita Easters. 

Back to Top

DEPARTMENT  ABSTRACTS


The Shoal Creek Church The Shoal Creek Church
has never been wired for electricity
(Robin McDonald)
Southern Architecture and Preservation
Shoal Creek Church

By Joseph M. Jones

Standing in the Talladega National Forest, the Shoal Creek Baptist Church offers an example of a late eighteenth-century rural sanctuary. Built over a hundred years ago, the log structure remains under the care of descendents of its original parishioners, who work to preserve and protect this monument to their ancestors’ spiritual heritage. Although no longer a practicing church, the structure is used for occasional worship services, Boy Scout events, weddings, and reunions. The primitive building remains one of the forest’s best-kept secrets—a structure that reminds passersby of the importance of preserving the remnants of our past. 

Additional Information
The following items in the Encyclopedia of Alabama will also be of interest:
  • Southern Baptists in Alabama 
  • Talladega National Forest (image) 

About the Author
Joseph M. Jones of Huntsville is a former newsman and retired director of public affairs at the NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center. In recent years he has developed a keen interest in matters of the past and authored an article in the Winter 2009 issue of Alabama Heritage on the McCrarys of Madison County.

Back to Top

Mr. and Mrs. William Morgan, 1852Mr. and Mrs. William Morgan, 1852
(Ernest Dollar)
Alabama Treasures
The Shoemaker and His Bride: The Story Behind a Picture

By Ernest Dollar

An antique photograph of a couple on their wedding day led its purchaser to uncover the story of Montevallo’s Mr. and Mrs. William Morgan. A shoemaker by trade, William Morgan left his wife and child to serve in the Confederacy, was wounded in the Battle of Antietam, and became a Union prisoner before finally returning home to his family. Throughout it all, this photograph served as a precious and rare memento, reminding his wife of her beloved while he was at war.

Additional Information
The following articles in the Encyclopedia of Alabama will also be of interest:
  • Shelby County 
  • Civil War in Alabama 

About the Author
Ernest Dollar earned degrees in art and history from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and public history from North Carolina State. He now serves as the Executive Director of the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill and is completing a book and documentary about the end of the Civil War in North Carolina. 

Back to Top

Wildflower CroomiaThe story of the wildflower Croomia
combines death, prolonged litigation,
and the founding of the Confederacy
(W. Mike Howell)
Nature Journal
The Story of Croom and Croomia

By L. J. Davenport 

A little-known Alabama plant draws its name from its discoverer, Hardy Croom. Croom’s short life held several significant botanical moments, but his death provided an important legal precedent in the United States.

Additional Information
The following articles in the Encyclopedia of Alabama will also be of interest:
  • Plant Communities of Alabama 
  • Wildflowers of Alabama 

About the Author
Larry Davenport is a professor of biology at Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama. 

Back to Top

Picture
Picture
Picture
Reading the Southern Past
Fame, Fleeting and Fragile: Remembering Forsyth, Hilliard, and Nott 

By Stephen Goldfarb

Stephen Goldfarb reviews biographies of lesser-known but historically significant Alabamians: John Forsyth, Henry Hilliard, and Josiah Nott. The Pen Makes a Good Sword: John Forsyth of the Mobile Register (University of Alabama Press, 2006), by Lonnie A. Burnett, follows Forsyth’s influential career as a newspaper editor who helped shape public opinion in the years surrounding the Civil War. A Southern Moderate in Radical Times: Henry Washington Hilliard, 1808–1892 (Louisiana State University Press, 2008), by David I. Durham, follows the life of Forsyth’s contemporary, Henry Hilliard, a state representative, lawyer, and minister from Montgomery. Reginald Horsman’s Josiah Nott of Mobile: Southerner, Physician, and Racial Theorist (Louisiana State University Press, 1987) follows Nott, an ethnologist whose scientific hypotheses about the origins of disease proved much more accurate than his opinions on race. Each of these biographies helps rescue its subject from the anonymity of the past.

Additional Information
The following articles in the Encyclopedia of Alabama will also be of interest:
  • John Forsyth, Jr. 
  • The Mobile Press-Register 
  • Whig Party 
  • Josiah Nott 
  • William Crawford Gorgas 
Multimedia:
  • Mobile Register, ca. 1920 
  • John Forsyth, Jr. 
  • Henry W. Hillard 
  • Josiah C. Nott 
  • William C. Gorgas 

About the Author
Stephen Goldfarb holds a PhD in the history of science and technology. He retired from a public library in 2003.
Back to Top
Online Store
​Customer Service
Meet Our Team
Board of Directors
Corporate Sponsors
News
Join Our Email List

Employment
UA Disclaimer
UA Privacy Policy ​
​Website comments or questions?  

Email ah.online@ua.edu
Published by The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the Alabama Department of Archives and History
​Alabama Heritage
Box 870342
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
Local: (205) 348-7467
Toll-Free: (877) 925-2323
Fax: (205) 348-7473

alabama.heritage@ua.edu