Randolph County AlArchives News.....Letter to the Governor of Alabama asking for aid  April 28, 1855
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Linda Ayres http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00031.html#0007674 October 17, 2022, 1:18 am

The Weekly Advertiser April 28, 1855
April 28th, 1855. 
Delta, Randolph County Alabama
To the Governor of The State or Alabama: 
Dear Sir,
At a meeting of the citizens of this beat and vicinity at this place today, it 
was agreed by the people en masse to lay before your Excellency the destitute 
ana actually starving condition of many of our neighbors at this time, hoping 
and confidently believing that you, in your wisdom and clemency, can devise some 
means to afford breadstuffs to the needy, either by recommending aid to us by 
general subscription, or by any other plan that your Excellency may deem 
sufficient to meet the exigencies of our case. It is not considered by us 
necessary to advise your Excellency that in consequence of a three-year drought, 
we are now reduced to the point (many of us) of extreme want, and that some of 
the citizens indeed, many of them of this commonwealth, are actually perishing 
for food, to say nothing of the probability of a short wheat crop, in which 
event our condition is still more deplorable. We can conceive of no better plan 
for the alleviation of our sufferings than to lay the matter before our Chief 
Magistrate. Our minds revert with pleasing reflections to the charity of the 
people of our State when the cholera raged at New Orleans and Mobile three years 
ago and believing that our condition at this juncture is, in every respect, as 
deplorable as theirs. (The sufferers.) we do hope that it is only necessary to 
advise them of our wants to elicit the same charitable donations so lavishing 
bestowed on that occasion by the citizens of Montgomery, as well as Selma and 
Mobile. Some of our neighbors have suggested to the propriety of a loan of funds 
from the Bank at Montgomery, to enable us to buy provisions, &c while others 
think as we do the present committee, that would hardly meet our necessities. 
True, we could buy corn if we had the money, and knew who it had to sell. but. 
Dear sir, the corn is not in all this country to spare for those who did have a 
little to dispose of have long since disposed of it. We want something to eat, 
and we want it now. We would be willing to go anywhere for it, with any 
reasonable probability of finding Egypt. Could the merchants or groceries at 
Montgomery, Selma or Mobile do anything for us in the way of provisions of meal, 
meat, molasses, or anything of any kind? we would thankfully and with grateful 
acknowledgments, receive it, and send forthwith after it. In conclusion, we pray 
you to lay the humble contents of this sheet before the people by newspaper 
publication or otherwise, at as early date at possible. Meanwhile, if your 
Excellency has any suggestions to make you will please communicate them to the 
chairman of our committee immediately, via: Harris Stephens, Esq., at Oakfuskee 
Randolph County Signed by the Committee, Secretary and Chairman of meeting, beat 
5. C.S REEVES, MD, ELD. P. REEVES, R. McCULLOUGH, WALLER OWENS, N. P. REEVES, 
md, W. H. GROGAN, HARRIS STEPHENS Chairman, WM INGRAM Secretary

Additional Comments:
June 5th, 1860: 
Wedowee Ala., Mercury published in Randolph County ALA states it is a positive 
fact, that there are persons in this county actually starving and recommends 
that the Judge of Probate call the county commissioners together to take 
measures of relief. 

If you have ever looked at a family on the 1850-1860 Randolph County census and 
wondered "What happened to all those kids in between the census?" The above is 
what happened.

Then the Civil War happened, and more starving, diseases and more suffering. 
Then the war finally ended. The people that lived through the starving, deaths 
of this family members, lost their land for just pennies in back taxes. 

I will say one thing: We are here, meaning our ancestors were strong people to 
survive everything they went through, and their blood makes us strong too. 

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/randolph/newspapers/letterto1903gnw.txt

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