Conecuh County AlArchives History .....History of Conecuh County, AL 1881
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CHAPTER XX.

Chapter of Biography-E. W. Martin-Rev. George Lee-F=fezekiah
Donald-Churchill Jones, etc.

EDMUND W. MARTIN.
   This distinguished son of Conecuh was born near the city of Montgomery, on 
December 15th, 1821. He received his mental training at West Point. Through 
the influence of Senator Dixon H. Lewis, an ardent friend and relative of Mr. 
Martin, a cadetship was secured for him at the National Military Academy. 
Returning to his home from West Point, Mr. Martin's gifts led him into the 
forum, rather than the field. Having taken a course in law, he was admitted to 
practice, and commenced his career, as a lawyer, at Hayneville, about the year 
1843. When the conflict with Mexico began, in 1846, Mr. Martin raised a 
gallant company in the county of his adoption, known as the "Lowndes County 
Volunteers," was made their captain, and went immediately to Mobile to offer 
their services to the government. Here they were received and mustered into 
the service of the government, but lack of transportation prevented their 
being transferred to the scene of action, and the war closed without their 
being able to participate. In 1849 Mr. Martin removed to Sparta, where he 
began a career which enabled him to make quite a reputation for himself as a 
practitioner of law. He was regarded by his brethren at the bar, as a close, 
calm reasoner, dignified, and keenly conscientious with regard to all 
questions of ethics. He was one of the readiest of speakers. A subject was 
quickly grasped by him, and even while the thought was warm, fresh from its 
new creation, he was giving it expression in elegant diction. During the war 
Mr. Martin raised a company of volunteers, of which he was made captain. 
Subsequently he became the major of the regiment to which his company was 
attached. During the battle at Dalton, Georgia, on the 24th and 25th of 
February, 1864, Major Martin was wounded by the fragment of a shell. In his 
command he was admired for the wonderful combination of kindness with 
firmness, in the exercise of discipline. At one time one of the men under his, 
command became somewhat refractory, and it became necessary for him to give 
him some peremptory orders, which, with reluctance, the soldier proceeded to 
obey, but with a protest in a low, under tone of voice, but sufficiently loud 
for every one to hear him say, "Well, never mind, every dog has his day." To 
which Major Martin replied, " That may be, if there are not more dogs than 
days." In politics, Major Martin was a life-long Democrat. In 1872 he was 
elected to the State Senate, from the district composed of Butler and Conecuh 
counties, but upon a contest, his opponent, Miller, was seated, not because he 
had received a majority of the popular vote, but because the Republican Party 
was dominant in the Senate. In 1874, however, when the Democrats again 
attained the ascendency, Miller was legally ejected, and Senator Martin re-
seated. The Montgomery Advertiser, in referring to his restoration to his seat 
in the Senate Chamber, said of him: "He is an able and watchful Senator, and 
possesses to the fullest extent, the confidence and esteem of his associates." 
He was the leading candidate for Lieutenant Governor in the Convention of 
1874, and came within a fraction of a two-thirds vote upon the nomination. 
Also, in 1878, he was conspicuous as a candidate for Congress, and came within 
one vote of the nomination. On the 22nd of October, 1878, he died at his home, 
at Evergreen.

REV. GEORGE LEE

was a Baptist minister of some local distinction, and a member of one of the 
best families that ever resided in Conecuh. He was the seventh son of Justice 
Joel Lee, and brother to Revs. Hanson Lee, whose sketch has already been 
given, and David Lee, now of Lowndes county. George Lassiter Lee was born near 
Burnt Corn, on November 9th, 1819. When he was a lad of fifteen or sixteen, he 
became a Christian, and was baptized by Elder Alexander Travis. From the date 
of his conversion he had a disposition to attempt to preach, but great 
constitutional diffidence restrained him from the assumption of the sacred 
office for ten or twelve years. Yielding at length to those inward 
impressions, he became quite an effective minister of the gospel. During his 
early years he had received a thorough English training. Besides being a 
preacher of marked ability, he was a terse, vigorous writer. During his 
ministerial career, he served the Bethlehem Association, on different 
occasions, in the capacity of Clerk and Moderator. He was the Moderator of the 
body the year before his death. About 1871 or 1872, he died in the same 
section in which he had been reared. Mr. Lee was honored for his piety by all 
who knew him.

HEZEKIAH DONALD

was a native of Conecuh. He was a man totally unpretentious, and yet one of 
the most useful of men during his career. Such was his extreme modesty, that 
no emphasis was ever given by himself to the liberal benefactions which came 
from his hand. He found special delight in contributing to a cause, the object 
of which was the increased happiness or usefulness of his fellows. Diligent in 
the administration of his private affairs, he was prosperous. During the last 
few years of his life he was prominent as a successful planter. Mr. Donald 
died at his home, near Bellville, in 1861, much lamented by all who knew him.

CHURCHILL JONES.

   The birth-place of Mr. Jones was Virginia. But little is known of his early 
career. He emigrated to Conecuh when a young man, and began teaching at 
Gravella. He soon found a charm in the agitated politics of the county, and 
ardently espoused the cause of the Whig Party. As the standard-bearer of that 
party he was sent to the Legislature for several consecutive sessions, He was 
regarded as possessing uncommon shrewdness in business, and within a few years 
after he came to the county he was the possessor of no mean wealth. His name 
is inseparable from the litigations which characterized the history of the 
county during his residence within it. He is remembered, to-day, as a most 
uncompromising litigator. In manners, Mr. Jones was affable and communicative. 
Several years before his death he removed to Texas.

JOHN W. ETHRIDGE.

   The subject of this sketch came to Conecuh with his father's family when he 
was quite a small boy. He was born in North Carolina in 1810, and eight years 
later was residing near Brooklyn. Mr. Ethridge has led a quiet, unostentatious 
life. At different times he has been summoned from the solitude of home life, 
and by the popular vote elevated to positions of trust.

   In 1870, he was regarded the most available man in Conecuh to defeat the 
notorious William P. Miller for the Legislature. In this his supporters were 
not disappointed. His unquestioned integrity, and sober, conservative spirit, 
secured to the party of the Democracy a majority, and he became the 
Representative of the county in the lower house during the sessions of 1870 
and 1872.

   Other positions have been held by him with credit to himself and honor to 
his county. Though the frosts of three-score-and-ten winters have gathered 
upon his locks, he is, to-day, as elastic in his tread as a youth. Of him it 
may be almost as truly said as of the olden lawgiver: "His eye is not dim, nor 
is his natural force abated."

SHERMAN G. FORBES.

   Many years ago there came to New England from Scotland two brothers whose 
names were Abisha and Squire Forbes. One of these settled in Salisbury, and 
the other in Canton, Connecticut. The latter of these, according to the 
history of that section, was the first smelter of iron in the United States. 
Abisha was the grandfather of Sherman G. and Dr. Solomon S. Forbes.

   Sherman G. Forbes, familiarly known in all sections of the county 
as "Squire Forbes," was born in Canton, Connecticut, in the year 1813. His 
father was a native of the same section. Mr. Forbes removed to Alabama when he 
was quite a young man, and located at Sparta. Here he found employment as a 
clerk in the mercantile establishment of Robinson & Cary. He afterwards served 
Mr. Cary as clerk in the Land Office. Subsequent to this he was postmaster at 
Sparta, by appointment; and was also elected justice of the peace, which 
office he continued to hold for more than thirty years. He was, at length, 
elected to the position of tax assessor of the county, where he displayed such 
rare efficiency that he was re-elected for several successive terms. About the 
year 1845-'46, he was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court. In 1849, he engaged 
in a political contest with A. D. Cary for the Probate Judgeship. He was 
defeated by only thirty votes, and by a man of the most decided strength in 
the county. The close approximation to success in this election manifested the 
estimate which was placed upon his worth by the good people of Conecuh. Upon 
the resignation of Stephen C. Richardson as sheriff of Conecuh county, the 
office was tendered Mr. Forbes by the Governor of Alabama, but this offer he 
declined. At the close of the late war, he was appointed Revenue Assessor for 
the United States District, and none could have performed the duties 
pertaining to this office with greater efficiency. Mr. Forbes was a gentleman 
of even temperament, of much native dignity, and of superior qualifications 
for business. His memory was proverbially exact. The different stations held 
by himself during his life, had led him largely into the investigation of the 
legal science, and within a given compass of law no opinion could exceed his 
in exactness. He was freely resorted to for legal advice, which was 
gratuitously given. Politically, Mr. Forbes was a Democrat. He was 
emphatically a Union Democrat, both before and after the war. In March, 1876, 
he suffered from a paralytic stroke, from which he never recovered. After a 
sickness of seventeen days his spirit passed from earth into the boundless 
Beyond. The verdict of Judge Cary upon the reception of the news of his death, 
was that of every one who knew him with any degree of intimacy: "Conecuh 
county has lost one of its best citizens. He was the most correct business man 
I ever knew!"

DR. SOLOMON S. FORBES,

brother to Sherman G. Forbes, beheld the light, first, in 1827, in the town of 
Canton, Connecticut. He emigrated southward and reached Sparta in 1852, where 
he engaged in teaching a school. This he discontinued, however, after six 
months, and addressed himself to the study of medicine, under the tutorship of 
Dr. John Anderson. In 1854 he attended medical lectures in Albany, New York, 
at the Union Medical College. Here he graduated three months before the 
expiration of his term of study, received his diploma, and started westward. 
He opened an office at Sauk Rapids, in the Minnesota Territory, eighty miles 
above St. Paul. He continued his practice in this region for eight months, 
until the arctic breath of winter brought with it a vivid reminder of the 
bland climate and fervid skies of the far South, and without delay he left the 
hyperborean region of Northern Minnesota and returned to Alabama. Coming again 
to Conecuh, he located at Bellville, in 1856, and continued the practice of 
his chosen profession until 1872. During this interval he was President of the 
Board of Examination for the county, Vice-President of the County Medical 
Association, and 2nd Recording Secretary of the Medical Association of 
Alabama. During the year 1872 he removed to Milton, Florida, where he 
continues the practice of medicine. The citizens of Milton have honored him 
for three successive terms with the mayoralty, and upon his election the third 
time, it was his humorous boast that he had beaten General Grant for "the 
third term." Dr. Forbes is a gentleman of cultivated taste and of polished 
manners. A vein of genuine humor pervades his nature, which, coupled with his 
accomplishments, makes him quite companionable in the social circle.

MARK BUTLER TRAVIS.

   Few men have left a more illustrious record to the future generations of 
Conecuh, than Mark Butler Travis. His life was one of chivalrous heroism and 
of devotion to his country. He was born in the neighborhood of Old Town, on 
May 18th, 1827. At quite an early age he evinced remarkable aptness in the 
acquisition of knowledge, while attending the schools of the neighborhood. 
Having pursued a course of medical study under the supervision of Dr. John 
Watkins, he left his home, when a stripling of only seventeen, to attend 
medical lectures in a distant State. But Mars was a more attractive personage 
to his chivalrous mind than AEsculapius, and while en route to college, he met 
the famous Palmetto Regiment, of South Carolina, on their way to join General 
Scott, in Mexico, and the blood of our young hero grew so warm within him, 
that he determined to enlist in the regiment and to go with them to Mexico. 
This he did, and shared with them the glories of Contreras and Cherubusco. In 
the latter named battle, he received a wound in the head, and was thereby 
prevented from being with his regiment when they entered the Mexican Capital. 
Recovering from his wound, he rejoined his comrades and served with patriotic 
efficiency throughout the remainder of the struggle. Returning to his home, he 
was honored by his fellow citizens with the office of Colonel of Militia, and 
was afterwards made General of Militia, over Col. Brock Henderson, of Butler. 
The people of Conecuh showed him deserved consideration by elevating him to 
the office of Clerk of the Circuit Court, which he held for four consecutive 
terms. He was universally known as an ardent Democrat, and yet such was his 
personal popularity, that serious inroads were invariably made by him into the 
ranks of the opposite party, and hence his unbroken political success. When 
again the clash of conflict summoned the men of the South to arms, General 
Travis was among the first to respond. He enlisted in the Conecuh Guards-the 
first company that left the county. He was made the 2nd lieutenant of this 
company, and went with it to Virginia. The following anecdote is related of 
him, as connected with the battle of Bull Run. At the time of the fall of the 
gallant Colonel Jones, the Fourth Alabama Regiment, to which the Conecuh 
Guards belonged, seemed threatened with utter extermination by the peculiarity 
of its surroundings. Becoming cognizant of this fearful fact, a panic seemed 
inevitable, and brave men began to turn their feet and faces toward the rear. 
Seeing the perilous situation, Lieutenant Travis endeavored to stay the flight 
of the regiment, and stood before the retreating columns with brandished 
sword, begging them not to fly. He was suddenly confronted by a burly Teuton, 
whose glaring eyes, open mouth and thin nostrils showed that he was the victim 
of a stupendous fright, and as he witnessed the efforts of Travis to check the 
flying columns, he blurted out: "O, mine friendt, my life is too schweet!" 
Lieutenant Travis, seeing that all efforts to arrest the flight were useless, 
himself joined in and sought a more secure position. He was sadly encumbered 
by a pair of heavy horse-skin boots, which provoked Dr. Taliaferro to say to 
him as he ran past: "Lieutenant, you had better look out, or Barnum will have 
those boots in his Museum before night!" The subject of this sketch died of 
pneumonia, at his home, in 1864. There were combined in his character many 
elements of true nobility.

JOHN DUDLEY CARY.

   Conspicuous among the worthies of Conecuh county is he whose name is placed 
at the head of this sketch. He was brought to Conecuh, by his parents, when 
quite an infant, having been born in Sumter District, South Carolina, on the 
20th of January, 1820. Having been reared by a father whose uprightness was 
proverbial in the county, Mr. Cary became an elegant gentleman, and one 
eminently fitted to the positions which he was summoned to occupy during his 
life. His first attainment to distinction was in 1841, when he had barely 
reached maturity. During this year he was elected county clerk, and in 1845 
was re-elected to the same position. But for his personal popularity, he would 
have sustained defeat in the second contest, as he had to encounter the 
serious difficulties of leading a party whose voting power was in the 
minority, and of confronting a candidate who himself enjoyed the confidence of 
the people-William M. Bradley. The second victory of Mr. Cary was exceedingly 
creditable to him, as he led his opponent, in the face of the barriers already 
alluded to, with a majority of sixty-eight. In 1857 he was sent by the popular 
voice of the county to the Legislature. Having been renominated two years 
later, for the same office, he was again elected, defeating Hon. F. M. Walker. 
Like his father, he enjoyed the confidence of the masses, which was manifest 
whenever he presented himself before them for their suffrage. He removed to 
Florida in January, 1872, and died just a month later, leaving a wife and five 
children.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

History of Conecuh County, Alabama
By
Rev. B. F. Riley
Pastor of the Opelika Baptist Church
Columbus, Ga.;
Thos. Gilbert, Steam Printer and Book-Binder
1881

Chapter XX

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