Randolph County AlArchives News.....Newspaper Abstracts for AUGUST 1913 August 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: C. Teal Gravelle tealtree@comcast.net November 14, 2005, 10:25 am The Roanoke Leader August 1913 NEWSPAPER ABSTRACTS FROM "THE ROANOKE LEADER", Roanoke, Randolph County, Alabama for AUGUST 1913 NEWSPAPER issue of Wednesday, August 6, 1913 CARD OF THANKS Please allow us space to tender our profound gratitude to the people of Abanda and surrounding community for their kindness and sympathy to us during our recent sad bereavement in the loss of our son and brother. From J.P. Harris and family ---- LOCAL News Mrs. H.L. Merrell and little son of Carrollton, Ga., will arrive today to visit relatives. --- The children of John R. Poore who were carried to Montgomery some weeks ago for treatment after having been bitten by a dog with hydrophobia, returned home Friday and are now considered out of danger. --- Sidney Hudson, wife and child, arrived Friday evening from Duran, Ga., stopping at the home of their brother-in-law S.N. Wilson. In about an hour a storm came up and the horse they had driven was struck by lightning and killed. Mr. Hudson borrowed a horse and proceeded to visit relatives in northeast Randolph. --- Mr. and Mrs. J.D. Anchors of Haddock, Ga., have come to spend some time with their daughter Mrs. J.C. Brinkley. --- S. Landrum Chase with his wife and three children, arrived Sunday from Teague, Texas to spend several weeks with relatives in and around Roanoke. A sister of the former, Mrs. W.T. Gaylor, and children of Mountain Hill, Ga., arrived last evening. --- Clifford Johnson, a young negro, was locked up yesterday afternoon charged with being implicated in the stabbing of another negro, Manuel Johnson, in Roanoke ten days ago, resulting in the latter's death last Sunday. --- Dr. John Saliba, after a pleasant visit to relatives in Roanoke, left by automobile this morning to visit a brother in Wilson, N.C. He was accompanied as far as Atlanta by Sam and Alex Saliba. --- Miss Cathaline Cumbee of West Point is visiting her aunt, Mrs. W.A. Vinson. --- Sidney Orr arrived Saturday from Louisiana to visit his father W.J. Orr. --- Mr. and Mrs. Tom Denson and little daughter Margy of Granger, Texas and Mrs. Frank Amerson and two children from Columbus have been visiting the family of W.P. Cofield. --- Mr. and Mrs. John Traylor of near Wedowee are visiting relatives in West Point this week. --- Chas. B. Holder of London, Kentucky, arrived Monday to visit the family of his father W.M. Holder. --- J.W. Mason, wife and four children are here to make Roanoke their home. Mr. Mason has a position at the Marble Works. --- Mrs. Conway of Chambers county and Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Robertson of Jonesboro, Louisiana were recent visitors at the home of D. Manley. --- LIME News Aug. 4th Dave Tittle of Beaumont, Texas will arrive this week to spend some time with his mother Mrs. Mary Tittle. --- Pleas Foster of Meridian, Miss., visited Mr. and Mrs. Frank Vineyard last week. --- BACON LEVEL News Aug. 6th Mr. and Mrs. Richard O'Day of LaGrange visited the latter's sister Mrs. Charlie Bishop this week. --- The five year old child of Jim Aldridge of near Potash, was buried here Friday. --- WADLEY News Aug. 5th Last Friday, Mr. Will Evans and Miss Annie McGill from Pleasant Hill went over to Wedowee where they were married. --- Mrs. Gorman of Birmingham is the guest of her sister Mrs. Wascom Blanton. --- Mr. Jesse Osborn, one of the oldest citizens of the county, died at his home here last Wednesday. --- Hardy Rowland arrived from Ashland yesterday to visit his cousin, George Lee Hill and other relatives in Roanoke. --- DEATH OF A YOUNG MAN Joe Harris died at the home of his father, J.P. Harris, a prominent citizen of Abanda, last Thursday night, after a long period of declining health. He was 24 years of age. Funeral services were conducted from the Methodist church in Abanda Friday afternoon by Rev. C.C. Godbey, the pastor, and the remains were interred at Concord beside those of the deceased's mother. Among the relatives present from a distance were Major J.H. Harris and wife, Mr. and Mrs. John Harris, Miss Herd Harris of Oakbowery and Mrs. B.M. Washburn of Montgomery. ---- FOR SALE 75 acres improved land, one mile north of LaFayette square; good six room house on splendid location; two new tenant houses, plenty of out buildings, good pastures, well watered, fine bottoms, ten acres original forest. Apply to G.W. Tapley Sr., LaFayette, Ala. --- NEWSPAPER issue of Wednesday, August 13, 1913 W.W. WADSWORTH DEAD The remains of Walter W. Wadsworth were brought to Roanoke on Friday morning and interred that afternoon at Lane's Chapel, after funeral services conducted by Rev. E.M. Glenn. The doctor's certificate accompanying the remains stated that Mr. Wadsworth met death near Moultrie, Georgia as the result of accidental gun shot wounds. The deceased formerly lived in this section and was a brother of R.A. Wadsworth, the rural mail carrier on Route 4 from the Roanoke post office. --- CARD OF THANKS We desire to express our heartfelt thanks to our neighbors and friends for all the loving kindness shown us in the death of our loved father and brother. We will ever remember them with love and gratitude. His children, sister and brother, Mrs. Carrie Hamer, R.A. Wadsworth --- WEHADKEE News Aug. 11th Since our last writing, "Aunt" Drucilla Young passed to her reward after a long illness. The deceased was 76 years old and had been a member of the Baptist church about 60 years. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. W.J. Layton at Big Spring last Monday afternoon. --- BACON LEVEL News Aug. 11th Mrs. Sis Osburn of Atlanta is visiting her niece, Mrs. G.D. Phillips. --- Clarence Borders is quite sick at this writing. --- MR. S.J. HOLDER DEAD After a long illness, Mr. S.J. Holder died at 9 o'clock this morning at the home of his father, W.M. Holder in Roanoke. He was an excellent gentleman, and was tax assessor-elect of Randolph county. He leaves a wife and three children, parents, brothers and sisters, who have many sympathizing friends throughout the county. The interment will be at Lebanon tomorrow. --- LOCAL News Mr. Jesse Lane and family are preparing to move to Benton Arbor, Michigan. --- Carl Newton returned to Hogansville Monday after a short visit to his sister Mrs. Kirk. --- Mrs. Bettie Vinson went to Gold Hill Saturday to spend a few days with relatives. --- W.Z. East and family went to Gold Hill on Saturday to visit relatives. --- Esq. L.E. Harris officiated Sunday afternoon at three o'clock in the marriage of Hop Burgess and Mrs. Annie Butts which occurred at the residence of G.W. Burgess. --- George Dozier, a negro officer of the Knights of Pythias Lodge here, went to Mobile yesterday to attend the grand lodge convention in that city. --- Among the visitors in town attending the funeral of Mrs. W.E. David on Tueday were Dr. and Mrs. J.P. Liles of Roanoke; Mr. and Mrs. Lucius Tatum and Mr. J.T. Woodall of Abanda, and Mr. and Mrs. P.M. Baker of Anna, Texas. The Lineville Headlight. --- Will Treadwell and family of Oxford visited the family of Glenn Jordan this week. --- WADLEY News Aug. 11th Mrs. Bradford Kilgore and children of Weogulfkee are the guests of the former's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jim Gay. --- Denson Liles returned with his father to Kentucky to remain until the Christmas holidays. --- NEWSPAPER Issue of Wednesday, August 20, 1913 STANDING ROCK IS SCENE OF WEDDING A marriage of interest occurred at the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Ozley at Standing Rock at 8:30 last Thursday evening when their eldest daughter Miss Bessie was married to Mr. Bryant B. Cofield. Rev. W.P. Cofield officiated. Olin Ozley and Miss Lillian Cofield were the attendants while the wedding march was played by Miss Cecil Cofield. The bride and groom left on the evening train to spend ten days on the coast at Savannah after which they will come to Roanoke to remain until the first of September. The groom is the son of W.W. Cofield and wife of this place and is well esteemed by all who know him. He is a telegraph operator for the A.B. & A. at Standing Rock. In the winning of his life companion he is most fortunate, she being a young lady of many lovely qualities and of excellent lineage. ---- RANDOLPH COUNTY MEN SENTENCED FOR ILLICIT DISTILLING Montgomery, Ala., Aug. 13th John W. Gravett, John Irwin, Cicero Gravett and Sam Walker of Randolph County, were convicted of illicit distilling. John Gravett and John Irwin and Sam Walker were fined $100. and sentenced to sixty days in Randolph County jail. The fines were remitted and sentences suspended until Nov. 1st. --- BROUGHTON News Aug. 18th Mrs. Josie Shearer of Bountsville is visiting her mother Mrs. Martha Nixon. --- ROCK MILLS News Mrs. B.M. Pack of Pleasant Hill visited her brother Ernest Sharman last week. -- Joe Bonner and Miss Lurline Vineyard drove over to Evansville, Ga., last Thursday evening and were happily married at the home of Squire Henderson. --- HON. S.J. HOLDER WAS LAID TO REST AT LEBANON LAST THURSDAY One of the largest and most representative congregations ever assembled at Lebanon church was present last Thursday afternoon to witness the funeral services over the remains of the lamented S.J. Holder. The services were in charge of Revs. M. Earnest and W.P. Cofield who made feeling and effective remarks. The body was then laid to rest. Mr. Holder died at the same place where he w s born nearly 36 years before, the home of his father, in the suburbs of Roanoke, where the latter was also born. In his comparatively brief life he had impressed himself most favorably upon all who knew him. This was reflected in his election to one of the most important offices in the county. Had he lived, he would have rendered his people still greater service. In his personal life, Joe, as his friends called him, was a perfect gentleman and a consistent christian. As a teacher he touched the lives of many young people for good. He has left his wife and three children the heritage of a good name. They will make their home in Wedowee. --------- ONYX DEPOSIT OF GREAT VALUE DISCOVERED IN TALLADEGA COUNTY AND IS BEING PROMOTED BY MRS. MATHIS The following extracts from an elaborate and illustrated article by special correspondent in a recent issue of the Birmingham Age-Herald will be of general interest to many and of special interest to the friends of Mrs. Ida E. Mathis, who has relatives and acquaintances in Roanoke and whose daughter is presently spending some time in this city. The article is as follows: The discovery of onyx in Alabama is worthy of more than passing interest, as adding another item of wealth to the immense mineral riches of the state. The find occurred in Talladega county, near a little station of Kymulga and has already drawn attention of investors of immense resources. A great cavern, 2,000 feet in length, averaging 100 feet in width and 65 feet in depth has been discovered to contain a beautiful and valuable onyx in quantities which cannot yet be estimated. The writer a few days since visited the cavern and ceased to wonder at the glowing reports already made. The mountain in which the cavern is located is a short distance from the "Blue Ridge" of Clay county. It is isolated from the other ridges. An easy grade leads up to the mouth of the cavern, the opening going halfway to the top of the mountain. Inside, even with the ineffective light of gasoline flares, the effect is stupendous. Stalagmites of great size and curious form rear themselves on every side, while from the roof the pendant stalactites hang in giant clusters. Some of these are 40 and 50 feet in length while one which has fallen reaches the remarkable length of 100 feet. Smoke from torches of countless sightseers has blackened the walls and the roof until all are blended into one dull hue, but a sharp blow from the hammer reveals the surface, as white as snow, undermarked with undulating parallel bands of rare beauty. The cavern, known as the "Morgan Cave" has been known for many years. A legend states that during the battle of Talladega between the forces of General Jackson and the Indians, a sub-tribe which had refused to go to war, remained hidden in the cave until the fighting was over. At one time the negroes of the surrounding country held religious services in the cave, the gloomy surroundings accentuated by the light of the torches and its reverberating echoes adding terrors to the fervid exhortations of the preachers. Hundred have visited the cavern and have gone away with no idea that it contained anything of value, until an old marble worker saw a specimen of stone and became imbued with the thought that it might be worth something. But it remained for a woman, Mrs. Ida E. Mathis, of Gadsden, to settle the matter once and for all and set a new star in Alabama's crown. Mrs. Mathis, who combines a practical knowledge of geology with great energy and decision, formed a partnership with Mr. James W. Baker of Kymulga and bought the mountain. She then secured the services of H. Ham, a mining and quarry engineer of Birmingham who visited the cave and made the following report: " I visited and inspected your onyx property in Talladega county, Alabama for the purpose of reporting on the proposition. I regard the cave as a great curiosity and freak of nature. It is located in the great marble district of the state but appears in the side of a mountain instead of in the valley as do other quarries. The stone is a crystalized marble or onyx of dense, stiff structure and translucent, takes a fine polish, the colors are creme and white with orange colorings and markings of red, yellow and brown. There appears to be several different grades but all good stone. The shelving walls and large stalagmites assures cuts of desirable size and shape and the quantity is immense. There is an enormous amount uncovered and in sight and quarrying possibilities to supply a growing market for a century. The stone is of a superior quality for inside decoration or ornamental design. It will class as onyx and rare stone and should bring a corresponding price per cubic foot in the rough. With a cut of 20 feet under the hill to loosen the lift, the stone can be worked at a moderate cost. It is accessible from railroad, about 3 miles." C.B. Falconi who has worked and handled onyx since 1875, states that blocks of onyx can be quarried that will average up to 300 cubic feet. He says "The mountain seems to be honeycombed with onyx. To my knowledge, there is no like proposition located in the United States." Other experts have visited the cave, notably Moretti, the sculptor, and J.F. Lumpkin, superintendant of the Gadsden Marble Works and Stone Co. and they agree that the cavern is filled with a stone not only beautiful and unique but of immense value. The cavern is at present accessible for a distance of only about 1000 feet, a fall of rock having closed the entrance to another cavern approximately of the same size as the one open. Explorations within the past few days have disclosed another cavern beneath the floor of the main room which contains great boulders of solid onyx. The writer spent several hours in the cave and in company with Allen W. Mathis, explored it as far as possible. Some of the stalactites are of such length and breadth that slabs of onyx 40 feet long can be secured. But the strangest feature of the formation is the fact that at the entrance to the cavern a fissure reveals seeral feet of onyx underneath the soil of the mountain and exposures which have been made of the rock higher up indicate that the entire mountain is a mass of onyx, broken at intervals by blue dolomite. Nothing yet has been done toward quarrying the stone, further than to secure specimens for polishing and exhibition. This will come in the course of time and will add no inconsiderable item to the development of the mineral wealth of Alabama and the South. --------- LOCAL News Mrs. Roberts, mother of Mrs. W.A. Morgan, died near Bacon Level on Sunday. --- W.C. Hunter and wife returned Saturday from a ten days delightful visit to relatives at Newberry, S.C. --- V.M. Pittman of Lexington, Kentucky is here to spend two weeks with homefolks. --- Clinton Grille left yesterday to take a job in Russell County. --- Charlie G. Moses left Monday evening for Abbott, Texas on a prospecting trip. --- R.W. Griffin will accompany his sister Miss Cora to Hot Springs, this week, where the latter goes for relief from rheumatism. --- Miss Tommie Broadwater and Mrs. W.M. Poage and children from Newnan are on an extended visit to Mrs. C.W. Cunningham and other relatives near Roanoke. Mr. Poage will join them later. --- R.W. Pate will return to Winston County this week. He contemplates moving back to Randolph County. He says this section is hard to beat. --- E.R. Burns of Pittsview arrived with his family on Friday to visit relatives in this county. --- Allen W. Mathis of Gadsden is the guest of relatives in Roanoke this week. --- "Uncle" Shirley Sledge's 74th birthday was becomingly celebrated on Saturday. A number of relatives from other points were present on this occasion. --- J.B. Hart and family leave in the morning to spend some time in Hendersonville, N.C. --- NEWSPAPER Issue of Wednesday, August 27, 1913 MRS. JOHN A. THOMPSON DIED THURSDAY AT STROUD News reached the city late yesterday that Mrs. John A. Thompson, an estimable lady of Stroud, had been found dead in her bed early that morning. Mrs. Thompson was about 59 years old, and while known to have heart trouble, her death came as a shock to family and friends. She is survived by her husband, sons Hoyt and Homer and daughters Misses Bertha and Lila, all of whom reside at home. The Opelika News, Friday. The Thompson family is among the most prominent in North Chambers and has many friends in Roanoke who learn of this sad demise with sincere regret. ----- WADLEY News Aug. 25th Mrs. M. Watts was called to Daviston last week by the death of her mother Mrs. Motley. --- Mr. Will Hearn returned a few days ago from a trip to Texas and Oklahoma. He was accompanied home by his mother who has spent the past three months in Texas. --- LOCAL News Mrs. E.P. Mickle is quite sick. --- W.E. McIntosh is on a visit to his old home in Tallapoosa. --- W.C. Norred and wife were in Roanoke Friday enroute to Riverview to visit their daughter Mrs. J.H. Ashburn who is ill. --- C.N. Avery and little daughter of Austin, Texas and Dr. Wyatt Avery and wife of Wylam are visiting relatives in this vinicity. --- Mrs. T.J. King returned Saturday to Tifton, Ga., after a visit to her sister Mrs. Emil Zobel. --- C.W. Pace will move with his family to Atlanta this week, to the regret of their many friends here. --- Two weeks ago, the Leader made mention of the reported marriage of H.H. Bowen of this county to a lady residing in Marshall County. This information seemed to come to this office straight, but Mr. Bowen informs us that the report was erroneous. The Leader gladly publishes this correction and regrets the mistake any any embarrasment it may have caused the parties concerned. ---- WEHADKEE News Aug. 25th The messenger of death visited the home of Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Ballard last Friday and took away their little daughter Wilmer, after a short illness of diptheria. She was a bright little girl of only four summers. Services were conducted at Big Springs Saturday afternoon. --- WEDOWEE News Frank Edwards is back from Waurika, Okla., where he spent the summer with his uncle. --- File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/randolph/newspapers/newspape755gnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 20.4 Kb