Jesse Powell Alford

Notes:

Could he also have married Tabitha Eason? Kathy Casagranda shows that Tabitha EASON married a Jesse Powell ALFORD on 12 Mar 1891 in Sabine Parish, Louisiana. However, based on his date of marriage to Emma Rice, and the subsequent children born to them, it appears unlikely.

His tombstone is inscribed "In Memory of-Only son of Rev. N. B. & Frances Alford-We have drained the bitter cup of grief and prayed to give thee up without one murmured word of pain. Father they will be done. Take back our darling one. We try to pray, in vain."

Jesse married Emma Elizabeth Rice on 18 Dec 1890 in Sabine County, Texas. Emma (daughter of Matthias J. Rice and Millbury Cook) was born on 9 Apr 1866 in Sabine County, Texas; died on 28 Oct 1907 in Texas; was buried in Hemphill City Cemetery, Hemphill, Sabine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Alieff R. Alford was born in Dec 1891 in Sabine County, Texas; and died.
2. Adron Corbett Alford was born on 23 Jun 1893 in Sabine County, Texas; died on 22 Nov 1970 in Sabine County, Texas; was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Yellowpine, Sabine County, Texas.
3. Arie Frances Alford was born on 1 Jul 1895 in Sabine County, Texas; died on 23 Jul 1968 in Hemphill, Sabine County, Texas; was buried in Hemphill City Cemetery, Hemphill, Sabine County, Texas.
4. Jesse B. Alford was born on 30 Dec 1897 in Sabine County, Texas; died on 16 Apr 1974 in Sabine County, Texas.

Notes:

Barbara Yancey Dore notes he married third a Dicey, Mrs. Graves, on 30 July 1906 in Sabine County. Dicey was the daughter of Julius C. Alford, and a cousin of his.

(Research):Census Listings:

1860 Census
Louisiana, Sabine Parish, Many
Enumerated 7 July 1860
Page 52
358-358
N.B. Alford 33 M Farmer $200 $1000 La
Ruthie Alford 30 F La
Alexander Alford 7 M La
George Alford 5 M La
Mary Alford 1 F La
Flora Norsis 23 M Farmer Laborur La
C.D. Carroll 34 M Farmer $850 $270 NC

1870 Census
Texas, Sabine County, Hemphill Beat No. 1
Enumerated 28 June 187
Page 5, Stamped 3
36-36
Alford, N.B. 42 M W Farmer $200 $800 La
Alford, Francis A 34 F W Keeping House Miss
Alford, Needham L 9 M W La
Alford, Ruth L 7 F W La
Alford, Samantha 4 F W Tx
Alford, Jesse 1 m W Tx
Ellen Steele 10 F W Orphan Tx
Susan Steele 8 F W Orphan Tx


1880 Federal Census

Household:
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Oc
cupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
Needham B. ALFORD Self M Male W 53 LA Farmer GA LA
Francies A. ALFORD Wife M Female W 45 MS Keeps House TN MS
Ellen Z. STEEL SDau S Female W 21 LA Farm Laborer KY TN
Susan N. STEEL SDau S Female W 18 LA Farm Laborer --- ---
Ruth A. STEEL Dau S Female W 16 LA Farm Laborer --- ---
Jessie P. ALFORD Son S Male W 9 TX At School --- ---
Francies H. ALFORD Dau S Female W 8 TX --- ---
Source Information:
Census Place Precinct 1, Sabine, Texas
Family History Library Film 1255325 NA Film Number T9- 1325 Page Number 234B

Needham married Frances Ann Partin. Frances (daughter of John C. Partin and Harriet McGrew) was born on 11 Nov 1834 in Mississippi; died on 20 Jan 1902 in Hemphill, Sabine County, Texas; was buried in Hemphill City Cemetery, Hemphill, Sabine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

According to "Sabine County Historical Sketches and Genealogical Records" by Edna McDaniel White and Blanche Finley Toole, Needham Judge Alford was a pioneer Methodist Preacher and was preaching the gospel in East Texas as early as 1832, while living in Sabine Parish, Louisiana and was a member of Jackson Lodge at Milam, Texas. He was the son of Jacob and Elizabeth Alford. Kathy Casagranda's 1850 Sabine Parish census is more specific, citing his parents as Jacob Alford and Elizabeth Bryant Alford of Warren County, North Carolina, and notes the family can be traced back to the Alford's of New Kent County, Virginia. He was listed as being elected to the board of the first parish administrators of public schools in 1843.

In the spring of 1832, Needham Alford and Sumner Bacon, a Cumberland Presbyterian, held a 2-day meeting in Sabine County, near the town of Milam; meetings had been forbidden by the Mexican officials and there was other opposition. Just before the meeting began, a person appeared on the grounds declaring he would horsewhip the first preacher who entered the stand. Alford arrived and someone repeated the threat to him. "Well," he said, "I am as able to take a whipping as any man on this ground." He was muscular, strongly built and a stranger to fear who had gone by the name of "Bulldog Preacher" in Louisiana. The antagonist looked for a moment at the brawny arm of Alford stretched out at full length over the buckboard and quietly retired. He was commended to the Texans by letter from the Presiding Elder of the San Augustine District Texas Conference as he travelled through Texas (Rep. TX, Sabine July 5, 1848).

Source:?u??sup?
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Needham married Martha Waddell on 18 Feb 1815 in Franklin County, Mississippi. Martha (daughter of John Waddell and Sarah ???) was born about 1798 in South Carolina; died on 7 Nov 1876 in Limestone County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Information about the John and Harriet Partin Family was supplied by Bettye Bragg Wagstaff of Bronson, Texas. Her research included the following sources:

1850 Sabine Co. TX census "1850 Sabine County, Texas Census with Corrections and Added Family Information" by Schluter and Toole 1860 Sabine Co. TX census Morris Bible Record (John C. Partin's second wife was Drucilla Cordelia Watkins White. Her sister married Jacob Dickon Morris. Their daughter, Cordelia Morris Dickerson lived next door to Bettye Bragg's family. "Aunt Cord" gave Bettye the family Bible records in the 1950's. It appears that when John C. Partin married Drucillia Cordelia, they entered his birthdate, his marriage date to Drucilla and the birthdate of his children by Harriet McGrew.)

A. P. Steele, Frances's first husband, was connected to the Morris family. They were both from the same area of Kentucky. They are living next door to each other in 1860 in Sabine Co, TX.

In letters to Ester McGrew Hardin, Blanche Toole and others recount a legand of two McGrew brothers returning from the California gold mines, and who stayed briefly with the Partin or Alford family (Harriet McGrew's son in law) on their way back to Mississippi. One was dying, but would let no one attend to him or touch his saddlebag, said to be full of gold. That night he was said to have slipped out to bury the gold. The next morning he was too delirious to tell anyone where he had hidden it, and to this day it has never been found.

John married Harriet McGrew on 17 Jan 1831 in Marion County, Mississippi. Harriet (daughter of Alexander McGrew and Elizabeth Blackburn) was born about 1813 in Feliciana Parish, Louisiana; died after 1851 in Sabine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Allen Weeks Methvin notes that "Jacob Alford was probably born in Bute County, North Carolina. After some reorganization of counties, he lived in Franklin County and later moved to Cumberland County, where he was enumerated in 1790. Before 1795 he moved to Montgomery County, Georgia, where tax and land records show he lived until about 1806. By 1807 he was in Louisiana where his twin sons were born. Louisiana land records prove that he had settled on land in what was to become Washington Parish by December 1807. He was given headrights on 641.32 acres in what was to become Sec. 54 with the north boundary on what was to become the state line and the eastern boundary on the Bogue Chitto River. His father willed to him "the land and plantation whereon I now live lying on both sides Tarr River together with six cows and calves, six sows and pigs and one Breading (sic) mare to him and his heirs forever."

Jacob married Elizabeth Bryant about 1785 in North Carolina. Elizabeth was born on 20 Jun 1765; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Sarah ??? before 1798. Sarah was born before 1768; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

According to both THE SOUTHERN McGREWS GREW and the notes of Robert Lee McGrew of Pearland, TX, Alexander was probably born around 1778 in South Carolina. Wynema McGrew instead shows he was born in Louisiana/Mississippi Territory, sometime prior to 1783.

He obtained a passport in St. Stephens on September 24, 1797 to go to Georgia. His father had obtained a passport to go to Georgia earlier that same year. A land record indicates that Alexander inhabited and cultivated land near the Tombigbee River around 1797. In the early 1800's he put up a $700 bond as postmaster of Woodstown, AL. In 1801 he bought some land and in 1802, he and his mother sold land in Mississippi. He signed a memorial to Congress in 1803, and in 1806 he sold, along with other heirs of James McGrew, additional land. Alexander married Elizabeth Blackburn on October 16, 1808. Since she was under 18 years old, her father had to first grant his permission. Alexander was a veteren of the War of 1812. (Nixon's Company, Mississippi Militia), serving for the entire three years of the war. On 3 February 1817, he, a brother, and brother-in-law John Johns were charged with assault and battery. Alexander was the only one who paid a fine. In October 1818, he, John Johns, and brothers (this time William, James, and John) once again were fined for assault and battery. On July 11, 1819 he registered his brand "MC."

In 1843, he was involved in a lawsuit over the ownership of a slave named Elvy he was alleged to have stolen.

Alexander and Elizabeth (Blackburn) McGrew moved to Sabine County in the mid-1840's. They may have moved to join Elizabeth's father, Gabriel Blackburn, who had received a large land grant in Sabine County in 1836. The 1845 tax roll of Sabine County listed A. McGrew as owning 5 slaves. His eldest son, James, paid tax on a horse and a wagon at the same time. Alexander operated a gristmill on the banks of the Palo Guacho Bayou. The Texas Mortality schedule for 1850 showed "Alexander McGrew, age 58, sick 10 days, died 1849 in Sabine County." Alexander's widow, Elizabeth, can be found on the 1850 Sabine County census, along with her children John, Lorenzo, Margaret, and Adaline. She later moved back to Mississippi (Perry County) with her eldest son, James McGrew.

Blanche also indicated that the McGrew family was closely connected to the Methodist Ministers of that time. Son Lorenzo Dow McGrew was apparently named after the "eccentric Methodist Lorenzo Dow. In fact he covered virtually all of the territory of the United States in his peripatetic life, from New England to the Louisiana territory, but his journeys through the Old Southwest left an especially indeliable impression..On September 3, 1804, he married an equally peculiar woman, Peggy, and then the very next morning left her for an eight month trip through the Mississippi Territory." From the book, "A Way through the Wilderness: The Natchez Trace and the Civilization of the Southern Frontier" by William C. Davis (Harper Collins, 1995). According to Robert McGrew of Pearland, the McGrew's were in fact neighbors of preacher Lorenzo Dow in St. Stephens (Alabama) in the Mississippi Territory.

There is a military marker for Alexander McGrew in the Old Milam Cemetery in Sabine County. It is inscribed with a cross and "Alexander McGrew, Pvt Capt Motts Co, 15 Miss Militia, War of 1812. [Died] 2 Oct 1849. "

The Sabine County Reporter
October 22, 2014
Pages 1 and 2

"Milam Cemetery receives marker"

The Texas Historic Cemetery Dedication Ceremony for Milam Cemetery took place on Saturday, October 11, following the annual Nethery reunion...local historian Weldon McDaniel....gave a presentation outlining some of the significant historical events that took place in Milam and the importance of preserving the history of Milam Cemetery. He said as many as 85 percent of all early settlers coming into Texas put their boots in red dirt. Although San Augustine and Nacogdoches counties have a friendly battle over which is older, Milam is just as old as either of them....

Dorothy Nethery Spain had the honor of reading the script engraved on the marker:

"Milam, the first County Seat of Sabine County, has a history of travelers and visitors stretching back centuries. Native Americans and Spanish exploreres, soldiers and missionaries passed through and often camped on Las Boregas Creek. Texian settlers encountering the natural abundance echoed the words of Stephen F. Austin, who recorded in his diary entry of July 16, 1821: "We then suddenly came to an open rolling country thinly timbered soil about the color of Spanish browne, and in some places redder. This Red Land is very productive and is covered with the most luxuriant growth of grass I ever beheld in any country." The settlment first called Red Mound (Red Mount) was the seat of Government for the Sabine District since 1822, and was surveyed as a town site in 1828.

Milam Cemetery is on a high hill overlooking the historic community. The exact dated of the first burial will never be known Spanish Explorers were passing through present-day Milam as early as 1539 and camped on Las Boregas Creek a few hundred yards west of the cemetery. Local hisorians believed Anglo burials occurred here probably as early as 1775, since travelers used the campsite down the hill on the Las Boregas. The land on which the cemetery is located was granted to JOHN SMITH on Feb. 26, 1835. The first marked burial is dated 1864, although more than 100 unmarked graves are suspected. The numerous military Veterans dating back to the Creek War are interred here, as well as prominent early citizens from the CAUSEY, WEATHERRED. McGREW, and NETHERY families. Milam Cemetery may be the oldest organized cemetery in Sabine County, and cherished chronicle of generations of visitors and residents."

Alexander married Elizabeth Blackburn on 14 Oct 1808 in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. Elizabeth (daughter of Gabriel Blackburn and Frances Tyner) was born between 1794 and 1796 in Feliciana Parish, Louisiana; died after 1860 in Perry County, Mississippi. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

(Medical):The child of a direct female descendant of Elizabeth Blackburn (Nina Fuller, the daughter of Viola Fullen and granddaughter of Jane Allen) had their mtDNA analyzed, and it was predicted as H, with only one difference from the Cambridge Reference Sequence, 16519C, which is a fast moving marker. Mitochondrial haplogroup H is a predominantly European haplogroup that participated in a population expansion beginning approximately 20,000 years ago. Today, about 30% of all mitochondrial lineages in Europe are classified as haplogroup H. It is rather uniformly distributed throughout Europe suggesting a major role in the peopling of Europe, and descendant lineages of the original haplogroup H appear in the Near East as a result of migration. Future work will better resolve the distribution and historical characteristics of this haplogroup.

On her Clan Helena website, Amelia Reimer writes that, "Whether just by chance or by the guiding hand of natural selection we do not know, but Helena's clan has grown to become the most widespread and successful of the Seven Daughters of Eve. Her children have reached every shore, settled every forest and crossed every mountain range. Helena's descendants can be found from the Alps in the South to the Scottish Highlands and the Norwegian fjords in the North, and as far east as the Urals and the Russian steppes. Helena was born about 20,000 years ago on the strip of land that joins France and Spain, near what is now Perpignan. She belonged to a family of hunters, who harvested the rich oyster beds in the lagoons of the Carmargue to supplement their diet of meat. Helena's clan arrived in Europe from the Middle East, pushing their way along the Mediterranean, constrained to the narrow strip of land that was still habitable. Not long after she was born, the glaciers that covered the Pyrenees, which Helena could see on a clear day only thirty miles from her camp, began to draw back as, little by little, the summers grew warmer. Some of her clan moved south of the mountains, up the valley of the Ebro to the West to reach the lands of the Basque, where they remain to this day. The most adventurous of her children took advantage of the climatic improvements and journeyed ever northwards to join the great movement of hunters across the plains of France. We know that they reached England around 12,000 years ago because DNA recovered from a young male skeleton found in Gough's Cave in Somerset shows that he too belonged to the clan of Helena. [Same cave as Cheddar Man, but 3,000 years older.] "

Notes:

Married:
Wilkinson County Courthouse--Woodville, Mississippi Circuit Clerks Office Marriage Book A ---- page 293

Know all men by these presents that we, ALEXANDER MCGRAW and Ezekial Petty, both of the county of Wilkinson, Mississippi Territory, are held and firmly bound unto the Governor of the Mississippi Territory and his successors in office, in the sum of $200 which payment well and truly be made, we bind ourselves and each our executors, administrators, and severally firmly by these presences sealed with our seals and dated the 12 of October 1808.

The condition of the above obligation is such that whearas the above bound Alexander McGraw hath this day prayed and obtained the license to be joined in marriage to ELIZABETH BLACKBURN of the County aforesaid, Now if there is no lawful cause to obstruct this marriage for which the license was granted, then the above obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue. Signed, Alexander McGrew and Ezekial Petty (his mark)


Marriage Book A --- page 305 This is to certify that I, G.B. am willing to the marriage of my daughter to Mr. Alexander McGraw. Given under my hand this 13th day of October 1808. Signed, Gabriel Blackburn

Marriage Book A --- page 135 (315?) On the 16th day of October 1808, I joined in Matrimony Mr. Alexander McGraw and Miss Elizabeth Blackburn. Signed, Josias Gray, J.P.

Per a Family Group Sheet prepared by Mary Frances SMITH Fisher of Jackson, Mississippi, Alexander McGrew and his wife Elizabeth Blackburn were the parents of nine known children, and three additional children, a daughter born ca. 1810-1815 per the 1820 and 1830 Marion County, Mississippi census, a daughter born ca. 1820-1825, per the 1830 and 1840 census, and a son born ca. 1830-1835, per the 1840 census. Bettye Bragg Wagstaff of Sabine County, Texas indicated that some researchers indicate 10 children were born.

Mary Fisher used the following information in her research: 1816 MISS Marion County census 7th page 1820 MISS Marion County census page 85 1 male under 10, 1 male 10-16, 1 male 26-45 3 females under 10, 1 female 16-26 1830 MISS Marion County census page 117 5 sons, 4 daughters plus he and Elizabeth 1840 MISS Marion County census page 117 1850 TEX Sabine County census- Elizabeth McGrew. He was listed on the Mortality Schedule. 1860 MISS Perry County census page 12, Family # 88/81 Elizabeth McGrew

Her family group sheet lists the following children:
**James Alexander McGrew b. ca 1810 m. to Elizabeth Lott
Harriet McGrew b. ca 1813 m. to John C. Partin
**William McGrew b. ca 1815 m. to Dorinda Lott
**Eliza Ann McGrew b. ca 1816 m. to Elisha M. Collins
**John Gabriel McGrew b. ca 1821 d. ca 1857 in Sabine County
**Ferdinand L. McGrew b. ca 1825 died 24 Aug 1846 in the Mexican War
**Lorenzo Dow McGrew b. circa 1828 m. to Mary Margaret Neeley
**Margaret McGrew b. circa 1835
**Adaline McGrew b. circa 1838

**Matches the LDS Family Group Sheet from Ancestral File Ver 4.15. The LDS sheet did not include Harriet McGrew, and additionally showed the following three children, apparently in error:
Thomas McGrew b. ca 1824
Samantha McGrewb. ca 1826
-male McGrew b. prior to 1830, m. 1838 to Serena ? and died 1842

Thomas and Samantha are actually the children of Alexander's brother, James Tate McGrew. They are listed in his will.