Issue 153, Summer 2024
On the cover: Lelia Seton Wilder Edmundson
with bales of cotton. [Morgan County Archives]
Features
Lelia Seton Wilder Edmundson: Cotton Queen of Alabama
By John Allison
As a young Reconstruction-era widow in Decatur, Lelia Seton’s future likely seemed unpromising to most observers. Her husband left an estate riddled with debt, and she was forced to sell both her personal property and the farm they had shared. Given the limited opportunities available to women in this age, it would have been understandable if Lelia had quietly seen out the rest of her days living with relatives or remarrying quickly in order to tie her fortune to the prospects of a suitor. However, her business acumen and personal gumption led Leila down a very different path—one that caused her to run for elected office, become an important landowner, and establish herself as a leader in agriculture.
A Flourishing Seaport: Visitor Descriptions of Antebellum Mobile’s Commercial Scene
By Mike Bunn
Prior to the Civil War, Mobile was Alabama’s largest city, vastly outranking others in terms of population. The city’s growth and prosperity was predominately fueled by cotton, which pervaded nearly every aspect of life in the area. Historian Mike Bunn charts the influence of this humble plant, highlighting primary accounts of the area from visitors from around the world.
Government’s Grip on the Schoolhouse: Alabama Education During the Cold War
By Elizabeth Meads
As the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (the USSR) entered the Cold War, nearly all aspects of life became fodder for competition—and the threat of inadequacy. After the USSR’s successful launch of Sputnik, government officials in the United States sought every possible recourse to ensure that the American populace would not fall behind. A primary target of their efforts was the public education system, which quickly became subject to legislation and policies dictating what could (the virtues of capitalism) and could not (merits of other political systems, such as communism) be taught to America’s impressionable youth.
The Storied Life of Dr. George Washington Coffey
By Kristina Mullenix
Born in the decade immediately after the Civil War, to parents who had likely been enslaved by prominent Alabamian John Coffee, George Washington Coffey faced many obstacles to success. He did not let those stop him, however, and matriculated from Howard University’s medical school before launching into a significant career as a physician. Coffey worked from Alabama all the way out to Colorado, all the while using his education and social standing to advocate for civic responsibility and civil rights.
Department Abstracts
From the Archives
The Flowers & Steiner Family Collections
By Mary Taylor Peake
Archival items donated by everyday Alabamians enrich the collections at the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH), as illustrated by a recent acquisition. Eager to share more of her family’s history with researchers, Martha Miller donated several sets of diaries and letters belonging to her grandparents and great-grandparents. These materials offer poignant and noteworthy accounts of Alabamians’ experiences during the Civil War and World War I, ensuring that generations to come will learn from these firsthand accounts of historical events.
Alabama Treasures
The Art of Dionicio Rodríguez in Birmingham’s Elmwood Cemetery
By Ashley Steenson
Though its primary purpose is the final resting place for Alabamians, including some of its most prominent figures, Birmingham’s Elmwood Cemetery also boasts significant and distinctive artwork by Mexican sculptor Dionicio Rodríguez. Rodríguez’s work, in a style called trabajo rustico, graces the cemetery with whimsy and drama, from fanciful bridges to playful mushroom statues.
Alabama Governors
Charles Henderson, 1915-1919
Alabama’s thirty-fifth governor, Charles Henderson, hailed from Troy and led the state through several significant events, including the advent of World War I and recovery from the fiscal calamities of the preceding years. In addition to his public service in elected office, Henderson personally supported many of the state’s social causes, such as education and children’s health.
The Nature Journal
The Migrating Monarch (Memorial) Highway
The monarch butterfly is a familiar sight to many, its vibrant orange and black pattern known throughout the state by schoolchildren and elders alike. What many may not realize, though, is just how precarious the monarch’s status and migration are. Alabama Heritage’s resident naturalist explores this species’ lifecycle, migratory patterns, and the complicated process it undergoes to ensure the next generation survives to grace plants across the state each year.
Reading the Southern Past
“God and the Strongest Battalions”
This quarter’s book review column considers the question of what factors helped the North win the Civil War, looking in turn at Gabor S. Boritt’s Why the Confederacy Lost (Oxford University Press, 1992); Why the North Won the Civil War, edited by David Herbert Donald (Simon & Schuster, 1960, 1966), and The Elements of Confederate Defeat: Nationalism, War Aims, and Religion by Richard E. Beringer et al. (University of Georgia, 1988)
Alabama Counties
Baldwin County
By Katharine Armbrester and Laura Newland Hill
Baldwin County, dating to 1809, boasts many of the state’s significant sites, from popular beaches to sculptural marvels and even one a well-known bar.
