Elmore County AlArchives Biographies.....Darden, Richard July 15, 1833 - July 20, 1913 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: J. Mann amann10392@aol.com July 28, 2007, 1:05 am Author: J. Mann Richard Darden was born July 15, 1833 in North Carolina His wife Lear Elizabeth Adams was born December 8, 1837 in Georgia.. Some researchers of the Dardens have her name as Leah. Her tombstone spells her name Lear. There were four known children born to Richard and Lear Darden…...there may have been three others. All of the Darden Children were born and died in Elmore County. James Berry Darden was Richard and Lears first child. He was born January 12, 1859 and died July 15, 1915. He was married to Mary Elizabeth Mullins. Josiah Collins Darden was the second child born to Richard and Lear Adams Darden...he was born May 11, 1860 and died October 1880.… He died after his hand and wrist were cut by a saw in one of the gins belonging to his father Richard. A doctor amputated his arm above the wrist. Josiah Collins never recovered from the injury and died the next day. The Wetumpka Times , October 27, 1880 ran a story on the accident. Richard and Lear's third child, Martha Elizabeth Darden was born September 7, 1866. She died July 28 1900 giving birth to her daughter Mattie Dee Thornton. Martha E. Darden was married to William Jefferson Thornton on Christmas 1883. Sallie Emma Darden, Richard and Lears youngest child was born August 7, 1868 and died July 6 1948. She was married twice: Thomas E. McCain and Edward Pinkard. The home site of Richard and Lear Adams Darden is located next to the present day Lake Martin Amphitheater in Elmore County. A photograph of the Darden family has a large house in the back ground. Richard Darden owned a grist mill, syrup mill, and cotton gin. There was a family cemetery called Darden Cemetery and a school located on the property. Bird Sanford was a teacher at the Darden school. In 1916 three years after Richard Darden died, Alabama Power obtained the rights to build a dam at Cherokee Bluffs on the Tallapoosa River located near the Darden property. Construction began on the dam in 1923 and local cemeteries affected by the project one being the Darden Cemetery... …were relocated to other local cemeteries in the area. Part of the Darden home site including the cemetery now lay under the waters of Lake Martin. The Darden Cemetery graves were relocated to three different cemeteries. The graves of Richard and Lear Adams Darden… along with their children and several grandchildren were relocated to Mt. Gilead Church Cemetery in Elmore county. The graves of Richard and Lear Adams Darden are marked with tomb stones …the other relocated graves were unmarked. The locations of the unmarked graves were unknown for years. A map provided by Alabama Power Archives in 2007 showed all the cemeteries involved in the relocation project, where they were located, and the names of the people buried in the graves. All the unmarked graves were marked with an iron pipe with a letter and number identifying the names of the people buried in the graves. Josiah Collins Darden is buried beside his mother Lear. Next to Josiah Collins are the graves of Buddy Darden, Bennie Darden, and Infant Darden. It is possible they are the other children of Richard and Lear. Martha E. Darden Thornton is buried behind her father Richard. Next to Martha are three of her children, Houston, Audrie and Bessie Thornton. There are three graves behind Martha Darden Thornton belonging to the Thompson family and one unknown grave beside them. Sally Emma Darden Pinckard McCain is buried beside her father Richard. Thomas and Lena McCain ...in laws to Sally Emma are also buried in the plot. Richard and Lears son James Berry Darden and his wife Mary Elizabeth Mullins are buried in the back of Mt Gilead close to the church. The rest of the graves from Darden Cemetery were relocated to Harmony Cemetery and to a plot of land sitting across from Old Prospect Cemetery both located in Elmore County. Some of the Darden grandchildren were interviewed by a Darden family researcher in 1982 and 1996. They remembered their Grandfather Richard having a long white beard and always seen wearing a hat. He was buried with the hat in his hands. One Grandson said his Grandfather Darden paid for everything in cold coins. Apparently Richard was a well off and respected man his community. He was written about in several news papers. The Wetumpka Democrat March 24, 1897 called Richard an " entertaining gentlemen"... and ..."one of Elmores most solid citizens " He was often referred to in the news articles as Uncle Dick. There were several news paper stories written about Richards political involvement. The Wetumpka Democrat… December 26 1895 " Mr. R. Darden was in the city last week from Jordan. He said he cant do without the county Democratic paper." The Elmore Express on July 10 1886 had a story about the Inspectors and returning officers of the general election of August 2nd 1886..In the article Richard was mentioned as being a Deputy Sheriff and a returning officer in the Democratic party. Richard had a close relationship with his son in law William Jefferson Thornton. William was also a Democrat and served as a Deputy Sheriff. Richard and William appeared together in several news articles where they attended Democratic events together. Richard Darden and the father of William Jefferson Thornton…... John Walter Thornton might have been friends....They were in the civil war together serving in the same regiment… Company A of the 47th Alabama Infantry. John Walter Thornton was killed in the Battle of Spotsylvania. Richard served a year and was discharged after an illness. The Dardens and the Thorntons also lived in the same community of Jordan. Richard Darden and William Jefferson Thornton were also Masons. It was Around 1870 when Richard became a Mason. He belonged to Masonic Lodge number 199 which was constituted in 1853 as Kowaliga Lodge. The Masonic register shows Richard was very active in the lodge. He was a master Mason with a Fellow Craft degree and served as Treasurer from 1896 to 1898. Richard was one of nine children born to John and Elizabeth A. Darden. John Darden was born around 1790 in Virginia. Elizabeth A. Darden was born around 1813 in North Carolina. John Died around 1850 in Tallapoosa County Alabama. There is a will in Tallapoosa County Court House for John Darden. Will book #1 page 58.....it has a Samuel G. Adams listed as one of the witnesses to the will of John Darden. Could this Samuel G. Adams be related to Richards wife Lear Elizabeth Adams Darden.... The Adams family is twisted into the Darden family in several ways. Richard Dardens Granddaughter... Mattie Dee Thornton...daughter of Martha E. Darden Thornton and William Jefferson Thornton was married to Clarence Hatton. The Grandmother of Clarence Hatton on his fathers side of the family was Nancy Amanda Adams Hatton. Nancys parents were Nipper and Harriett Self Adams... they were buried in the Darden Cemetery along with a Daughter and two Granddaughters. …Their graves were relocated by Alabama Power to Harmony Cemetery in Elmore County. No relationship has been proven between Nipper Adams and Lear Elizabeth Adams but they were both buried in the Darden Cemetery. Elizabeth Adams Darden died November 25, 1906. Around seven years later Richard Darden died July 20, 1913. Additional Comments: Web site with family photos http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&ext=1&groupid=357174&ck= Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/elmore/photos/bios/darden759gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/elmore/bios/darden759gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 8.0 Kb