Biography of John Archer Elmore, Autauga & Elmore, Alabama http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/autauga/bios/jelmore.txt ==================================================================== USGENWEB PROJECT NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Project Archives to store this file permanently for free access. This file is copyrighted and contributed by: Ronald D. Bridges ==================================================================== October 1998 Biography of John Archer Elmore - Autauga/Elmore Co.'s, AL John Archer Elmore. An officer of the American Revolution, he was born August 21, 1762, in Prince Edward County, Virginia, and died April 24, 1834, in Autauga, now Elmore County. He was the son of Archelas and Susannah (Morris) Elmore, the former a Quaker. He was a grandson of Thomas and Cicely (Ellison) Elmore, of New Kent County, Virginia. General Elmore entered the Continental Army while still a youth, and served under General Greene. General Elmore settled in Laurens District, South Carolina, after the Revolution, resided there for many years and served in the legislature. In 1819 he removed to Alabama, settling in Autauga County, and in 1821, represented the County in the legislature. When Autauga County was subdivided the new county was named in his honor. The station of that name being also named for his family. General Elmore was married to (1) Mary Ann Sarah Saxon, on March 1, 1788. He married (2) on March 14, 1805, to Mary Martin, a descendant of the noted Martin family of South Carolina, also of the Marshall family of Virginia, and of Lieutenant Nathaniel Terry, of Virginia. Children by his first wife were: l. Benjamin F., treasurer of South Carolina, married Sarah Aurora Brevard. 2. Narcissa. 3. Sophia Saxon, married George Ross. 4. Charlotte Perry, married Abner Crenshaw. 5. Franklin Harper, who succeeded Calhoun in the U. S. Senate, married Harriet Chestnut. By his second wife, General Elmore was the father of: 6. Elizabeth S., married Dixon H. Lewis. 7. Sarah Terry, married Benjamin Fitzpatrick. 8. John Archer, married Laura Maria Martin. 9. Morris Martin. 10. William Augustus, married (1) Mary Ann Morrison, (2) Julia Minor. 11. Luther Alfred. 12. Henry Marshall, married Elizabeth Harris. 13. Laurence Ludlow. 14. Physick Rush, married Susan T. Nesbitt. 15. Winfield Scott. 16. Infant. 17. James Scott. 18. Albert Standhope, married Mary Jane Taylor. 19. Ann Harriet, married Joseph T. Hearn. [Source: Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Volume III, page 558] Buried at his residence, "Huntingdon", Elmore County. He was a soldier of the Virginia Line, later member of the legislature of SC, and later of AL. Lived in Laurens Co., SC, moving in 1819 to Autauga County, a part of which later became Elmore County. "Memorial Record of Alabama" V.I. Published by Brant and Fuller, Madison, Wisc US/CAN 976.1 H2m, v.I. p.931. "The legislature was exceedingly anxious to see the laws enforced; and, for that purpose, selected magistrates from among the most respectable and prominent men throughout the State. They discharged the same duties which the Judges of the County Courts had done previous to the adoption of the present Probate system, and as was the practice of Virginia. A few of those now selected must be mentioned merely to show the determination of our then infant State, to give tone and dignity to the administration of the laws, even in inferior courts. For the county of Autauga, for instance, John A. Elmore, John Armstrong, Robert Gaston, James Jackson and William R. Pickett were elected magistrates. General John A. Elmore, one of these justices, was a native of South Carolina, of the legislature of which State he had often been a respectable member. Not long after his removal to Alabama, he represented the county of Autauga in our legislature which then sat at Cahawba. He was a man of firmness and much good sense, and always delivered his opinions, even in common conversation, in a distinct and loud voice, with that candor and honesty which characterized his conduct through life. He had a commanding appearance, was large in person, and, altogether, an exceedingly fine looking man. He delighted in the sports of the chase, being a most successful and spirited hunter, and an agreeable companion in the many camp- hunts in which he engaged with his neighbors and friends. Towards the close of his life, we remember that he presented a dignified and venerable appearance, and we saw him preside as chairman of several large and exciting meetings in the town of Montgomery during the days of nullifi- cation."(1) (1) Albert James Pickett, History of Alabama and Incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the Earliest Period, (Birmingham Book and Magazine Co.: Birmingham, AL, 1962), pp. 662-663.