Dallas County AlArchives Biographies.....Lauderdale, James March 1836 - living in 1893
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Ann Anderson alabammygrammy@aol.com May 20, 2004, 1:00 pm

Author: Brant & Fuller (1893)
    JAMES LAUDERDALE, local agent for the Western Railroad of Alabama at Selma,
was born in Rhea county, Tenn., in March, 1836. His father, James Lauderdale,
was a native of Tennessee, and his father, also named James Lauderdale, was of
Scotch descent and among the early inhabitants of east Tennessee. The early
progenitor of the Lauderdale family in the United States, although his christian
name cannot now be ascertained, was among the colonists who settled Virginia,
and his descendants have become numerous and scattered throughout nearly all the
states of the Union, contributing largely to the prosperity of the country. The
name "Lauderdale" originated in Scotland, and was applied to the families owning
the dale adjacent to the river Lauder, hence Lauderdale. The name is well known
both in Scotland and in the United States, being applied to many towns and
counties. The name applied to several counties in southern states was given in
honor of James Lauderdale of Tennessee, who was well known to and intimately
associated with Gen. Jackson in the war of 1812, and who was killed at the
battle of New Orleans. When the present Mr. Lauderdale was a mere child his
father removed from Rhea county to Bradley county, Tenn., and aided in removing
the Indians from that portion of the state, and there aided in organizing
Bradley county, of which he was elected sheriff. He subsequently represented
that county in the lower house of the Tennessee legislature for several years.
At the time of his death, which occurred in 1852, when he was fifty-one years of
age, he was engaged in farming. He married Jane Johnson, a native of Tennessee,
who died about a year before him. She bore her husband six sons and three
daughters. Each of the sons participated in the Civil war as Confederate
soldiers, the youngest enlisting at the age of fifteen. When his father died Mr.
Lauderdale was just thirteen years old, and for the next succeeding two years
made his home with an elder brother, and then he made his home with his uncle
for about two years. He received what would at the present day be called a
common school education, and at the age of seventeen returned to Bradley county
and accepted a position as clerk in a store owned by Reynolds & Hughes at
Cleveland. This position he held two years, and then became local agent at
Cleveland for the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia railroad, and held the
position eighteen months. He then resigned to enter into co-partnership with
Reynolds & Hughes at Cleveland, in the dry goods business, the name of the new
firm being J. Lauderdale & Co. This firm continued until the breaking out of the
war, and in 1861, Mr. Lauder-dale became a private in an artillery company,
known as Lookout artillery, R. L. Barry, captain. Soon after the organization,
Mr. Lauderdale was chosen first lieutenant. This command was active in the field
in the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida, and
participated in the Georgia campaign from Dalton to Jonesboro, where it fought
its last battle. For a brief period after the war, Mr. Lauderdale held a
clerkship with the Southern Express company at Macon, Ga. He was then appointed
to a position under John M. Bridges, agent at Atlanta for the State railroad of
Georgia, holding this position for eight months. He next secured the appointment
as a southern passenger agent for the Atlanta & Washington Railroad company, for
two years, but at the end of this time the republican party secured control, and
he was removed. He was next made agent for the Selma & Meridian railway at
Meridian, Miss., remaining one year. Soon afterward he was offered the agency of
the Southern Express company at Jackson, Miss., whither he went, but on reaching
that city, decided not to accept the position. A few months later he returned to
Selma, Ala., and accepted at that place the agency of the Western railroad of
Alabama, holding the position from 1871 to 1880, when the management of the road
changed him to Columbus, Ga., where he remained one year. He then was made agent
of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia railroad company, and of the Memphis &
Chattanooga railroad company at Chattanooga, Tenn., where he remained till
February, 1885. He then resigned to accept the agency of the Western railroad of
Alabama at Selma, which position he holds at the present time. Mr. Lauderdale is
a thorough railroad man, of much executive ability, and a faithful employee. He
is an honest and highly respected citizen, a master Mason, and a member of the
Presbyterian church. He has never sought notoriety, but has held several
positions of trust and responsibility with credit to himself, and he has never
asked for promotion. In 1875 he married Miss Florence Howard of Dallas county,
Ala., by whom he has one son and two daughters. He has been a resident of Selma
for the last twenty years, with the intermission of four years, and he and his
family enjoy the respect and esteem of all who know them.



Additional Comments:
from "Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 882-884
Published by
Brant & Fuller (1893)
Madison, WI

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