African Americans and Slaveholder Relations

By Sharony Green

Most people are familiar with a few dominant narratives about the relationships between American slave owners and the individuals they enslaved. Emerging research, however, reveals that the reality varied widely, and relationships between these entities often subverted the stereotypes. In fact, many white men who owned slaves also formed intimate relationships with enslaved (or sometimes freed) women, and letters and other archival records show that these men often planned carefully to provide for the children they had with these women. 

Southern Justice: Judge Virgil Pittman

By Frye Gaillard

As a federal judge in Mobile, Virgil Pittman adhered very closely to many issues of propriety, even insisting on reimbursing the government for a personal fax he received at the office (for which his clerk calculated a cost of a penny). However, over the course of his tenure, Pittman’s ethical and moral code, which caused him to align his decisions with civil rights advocates, also isolated him from many white Mobilians who preferred to keep the status quo intact. By ruling that Mobile’s electoral policies disenfranchised African Americans and must be restructured, Pittman reshaped the city’s political and social landscape, ensuring a more representative electorate for generations to come. 

Places in Peril 2017: Alabama’s Endangered Historic Landmarks

By Michael W. Panhorst and Collier Neeley

In conjunction with the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation and the Alabama Historical Commission, Alabama Heritage is pleased to offer once more its annual list of endangered properties statewide. These structures—which include the Fort Davis Railroad Depot, Birmingham’s Finley Roundhouse, Tuskegee’s Henderson Park Recreation Center, the Overton Farm in Hodges, and the Chilton County Training School—are in dire need of preservation and restoration. 

Alabama Makers

Golden Opportunity: Alabama Farmers Find Sweet Success with Honeybees

By Mary Johnson

Alabama’s honeybees produce some of the state’s most delicious goods, sweetening the plates and palates of many Alabamians. But behind the insects’ natural work stands many beekeepers who labor tirelessly to share the fruits of the bees’ labor with diners and restaurants across the state. 

Alabama 200

Places, Projects, Institutes: An Alabama 200 Update

By Jay Lamar

As Alabama 200, the state’s bicentennial celebration, launches, its executive director reflects on one of the commemoration’s most lasting projects: the Alabama Bicentennial Institutes, which are training Alabama’s teachers in subjects pertinent to the state. Participating teachers agree to take their lessons back to fellow teachers at home, thus ensuring that students throughout the state will gain valuable insight in the state’s rich history and culture.

The Alabama Territory

Quarter by Quarter: Fall 2017

By Samuel L. Webb

Editor’s Note: Alabama Heritage, the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, and the Alabama Tourism Department offer this serialized history of Alabama’s road to statehood as part of Alabama’s bicentennial celebrations that will run from 2017 through 2019. Quarter by Quarter allows you to experience the story of the territorial era as it unfolds, ultimately culminating in Alabama’s acceptance into the union as a state—sometimes describing pivotal events, sometimes describing daily life, but always illuminating a world in flux. We will wait for the outcomes as our forebears did—over time. For those joining the stories in progress, you can find earlier quarters on our website at www.AlabamaHeritage.com.

This quarter’s installment continues its exploration of Alabama Fever, in which settlers from across the United States traveled to the Alabama Territory to start a new life. Lured by reports of rich land and plentiful natural resources, these pioneers arrived en mass, and many of them stayed to shape what would soon become its own state. 

Alabama Governors

Joshua Lanier Martin (1845-1847)

By Samuel L. Webb

As Alabama’s twelfth governor, Joshua Lanier Martin brought a wide range of political experience to the position. Although he served only one term as governor, some of his decisions—including privatizing the state’s prison system—presaged policies that would be used in the country centuries later. 

From the Archives

“The Discharge of Our New Obligations”: Documenting African-American Voter Registration in Alabama

By Scotty E. Kirkland

Among the many treasures in the Alabama Department of Archives and History are over 130 voter registration books from 1867, the first year that African Americans were allowed to vote in the state. These records provide an invaluable glimpse at the early, albeit tenuous, enfranchisement of African American citizens and marks just one of their many contributions to the life of the state. 

Adventures in Genealogy

“Beyond Kin” and the Family Tree

By Donna Cox Baker

While researching her family’s history in antebellum Alabama, Alabama Heritage Editor Donna Cox Baker discovered that some of her ancestors owned enslaved people on their plantation. Like most genealogists, Baker recorded relevant information about her ancestors. But she didn’t stop there. Realizing that she held valuable information about others’ ancestors as well as her own, Baker set into system a means for all genealogists to record such information, making it available for the descendants of enslaved people. This system, the “Beyond Kin Project,” recognizes that families from all races and classes hold intertwined histories—and it seeks to help descendants work together to illuminate all facets of those histories.

Behind the Image

Looking Beneath the Surface: Researching Objects in Photos

By Frances Osborn Robb

Surely almost every family has photos from generations past, mementos that may contain some recognized faces but that still remain veiled in some mystery. This quarter’s installment of “Behind the Image” explores just how to tackle dating such an image, using the details in the photo to determine an approximate era in which it was snapped.

Recollections

Clio’s Confederates: The Women Who Gave Me My Path

By John S. Sledge

Surely almost every family has photos from generations past, mementos that may contain some recognized faces but that still remain veiled in some mystery. This quarter’s installment of “Behind the Image” explores just how to tackle dating such an image, using the details in the photo to determine an approximate era in which it was snapped.

Portraits and Landscapes

The Interior World of a Deep South Matron

By Elizabeth Findley Shores

A 1948 party in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, thrown by Earline Moore Findley to celebrate the upcoming wedding of a local lady, was a celebration not only of others but of Earline’s own pride in her home and its appearance. Known as the “Pink Party” due to its color scheme, the event allowed Earline to showcase her home after recent renovations and gained mention in the Tuscaloosa News. It also offers Findley’s descendants the opportunity to reflect on the family’s lifestyle and on social norms for mid-century women.