Southern-Style
A Downhome Perspective on All Things Southern

[December 2004.ged]

1 AUTH moved to Conecuh County, Alabama

1 AGNC moved to Pine Apple, WilCox County, Alabama

1 DEST deacon, member of Baptist Church

Owned famous Hawthorne home in Pine Apple AL built in 1852.

Will of J.R. Hawthorne

State of Alabama

County of Wilcox In the name of God--AMEN

I, Joseph R. Hawthorne, knowing that it is appointed unto all men oncetodie, and bein g o l d and weak of body, but of mind and memoryperfectlysound, do make this my last will an d te s tament.

First of all I commit and commend my soul to God, who gave it, and mybodyto the dust fr o m w hence it was taken.

In consideration of the fact that my two daughters Cassie E.HawthorneandLaura W. Powe l l h v e remained with me, and done, as Ibelieve, all intheir power to protect and promot e m y inte rest andcheer, and comfort mein my declining years, I give and bequeath to my twos ai d daughtersCassie E. Hawthorne and Laura W. Powell, my homestead,consistingof my residen c e a n d 80 acres of land. The said 80 acres oflandconsisting of the 40 acres of land on whi c h m y said residence andthebuildings connected therewith are located, and the other 40, bei n g the40 acres lying immediately north of, and being adjoining to thefirstnamed 40, bei n g t h e same 40 on which the Baptist Church islocated,together with all my household furnit u r e of every description,and mybuggy or carriage I may have on hand at the time of my decea s e .To have,to hold to use; to control the said residence, furniture andlands as tothe m m a y se em best, so long as they remain single and inthe occupationofthe same. But if eith e r o f th em should marry, move offof or in anyway abandon said premises the rights herein b e for e giv enshall beforfeited as to the one so marrying or leaving, and immediatelyvest in t h e one remaining,who shall exercise them exclusively andsolely. But ifboth ofthem should m a r ry, move off, or abandon the saidpremises thenand in that event the said premises and eff e c ts sha ll berented out forfifteenconsecutive years from the date of my decease, andthe a n n ual proceedsthereof be annually and equally divided among myheirs. But unlessfor the cau s e s here in before enumerated my two saiddaughters are notto be disturbed in their possessi o n , use and controlof said premises aslong as they may live. But if both of my said two dau gh ters sh ould die,atthe expiration of the aforesaid period of fifteenyears, then theprope r t y bot h real and personal aforesaid should passto my executorsand be sold and the proce e d s thereof be equally dividedamong my heirs.But unti lthat period of event my homestead sh a l l remainand be kept inthe family for the comfort of my children.

I give to my daughter-in-law Hannah J. Hawthorne, widow of my sonJoshuaR. Hawthorne, fo r t h e use and comfort of herself and herchildren,theoffspring of my said son, the house s h e n o w occupies andthe landshereinbefore described, with the garden and yard attached ther eto , theprivilege of taking from the timber on said lands firewoodforhomeconsumption, an d f o r r epairs for said premises, also theprivilegeofclearing around said residence four o r fi v e acres of saidland. Butnomore. To have, to hold to use and control the same until the you n gestof her said children, the offspring of the said Joshua R.Hawthorne,shall become fif te e n year of age. But if before the periodnamed shallhavearrived, she remarries or mov e s o f f or abandons saidpremises,sheforfeits all the rights hereinbefore bequeathed and t h e sa idpremises shall at once pass to my said executors and be rented out,andthe proceed s t her eof, as fast as they accrue to be applied to mydebts,if any, or be equally and annual l y div ided among my heirs.

If my daughter Annie E. Crinn should desire to build and live on thelandshereinbefore des c r ibed, I give her the right to do so. She and hertwosaid sisters, Cassie and Laura agre e i n g as to the particularpieceofsaid lands she shall locate on and the extent of her posse s s ion.I giveher the use, possession and control of the same as long as sheremains awido w a n d resides thereon. But if she should marry or abandonor moveoff said premises as she fo rfe i ts her rights to the same unlessshe andher two said sisters Cassie and Laura should ag r e e otherwise.But hertwo said sisters must pay her a fair value for anyimprovements sh e m a yput on said premises and interest on her money soinvested. If either ofmy two daughte r s E mma Ramsey or Sarah Harris,should become widows, anddesire to build and live on the lan d s hereinbefore described, I givethem the right to do so, with the rightsand privileges, a n d o n the sameconditions to do so, with the rights andprivileges, and on the sameconditio n s a s ar e given and prescribed inthe case of my daughter AnnieCrinn.

It is my desire that all my honest debts & property, other thanthathereinbefore named a n d b equeathed, shall be sold and theproceedsthereof be applied to the payment of my hones t d eb t s. If theproceedsthereof does not pay them, then my executors will sell off myreal e st ate what may be necessary for that purpose.

After setting apart the property hereinbefore bequeathed to mydaughterCassie and Laur a a n d paying off all of my honest debts, myexecutorswill lay off my real estate into parce l s a s nearly equal aspossible andmy heirs draw for them. The lands given to my two said dau ghte rs are notto be included in parceling, but my two said daughters areentitled toand mu s t ha ve an equal share in the drawing.

If my son, J. R. Hawthorne should desire to build and live onmyhereinbefore described hom e s tead lands, I give him the right to doonthe same terms and conditions as in the case of A n n ie E. Crinn. Inthecase of any improvements being made on said lands and afterwardsabando n ed said improvements will be rented out by my executors, and therentsannually and equall y d i vid ed among my heirs.

It is my will that my estate shall be administered outsideoftheProbatecourt, and th a t t h e costs of administration shallbeequallydividedamong my heirs any and all other legit i mat e costsofwinding up my estate, shall be so assessed and paid first.

I nominate and appoint my daughters Cassie E. Hawthorne andAnnieE.Crinnand my friend Jo s e p h E. McWilliams as my executors,without bondandwith full powers to execute the provis i o n s of this myLast WillandTestament. J.R. Hawthorne.

From History of Conecuh:

p. 115-

J. Richard Hawthorne is a native of Robinson County, NorthCarolina,wherehe was born Ma r c h 8 th 1805. Five years later, his fatherremoved withhis family to Wilkinson County, Geor g i a. Here the familyresideduntil1817, when they removed to Conecuh County. The first pla c e ofpermanen tresidence was near the home of the late Henry Stanley, nowinthe beautiful li t tl e village of Bellville. Here was pitched thefamilytent when Richard was a bright boy o f t we lve summers. At the timeof thesettlement of this locality it was known at the time o f th e settlementof this locality it was known as "The Ponds"--a name derivedfrom theextensiv e l ak es which lay to the east of the community. Highlygiftedwith native powers, mental an d phy si cal, Mr . Hawthorne'sinfluence wasfelt as he advanced toward Hawthorne's influence w as fe l tas he advancedtoward the period of manhood's perfect mould. He was equalto thehardsh i p s incident to a frontier section, and fromstraitenedcircumstances he rose to the possess i o n of considerablewealth.

In 1837 Mr. Hawthorne was the nominee of his (the Democratic)party,agains tavery formida b l e opponent, Jeptha V. Perryman. And thoughhebelonged tothe minority party of the county , h i s popularity camewellnigh securing for him the laurels of the contest. For when the bal lot swere counted he came within seven votes of victory. No man who haseverlived in Conecu h e x erted a broader or more wholesome influence,than didJ.Richard Hawthorne . His zeal in a l l m atters relating to thepublicwealwas proverbial. He occupied several positions of publ i c tru stbeforehis removal to another section. In 1854 he removed to Pine Appl e,WilcoxCoun t y. H ere his influence was not inactive, and soonpublicappreciation summoned him to activ e u sefu lness. He was sent torepresentthe county in two terms of the legislature, and has be e n frequentlycalled upon to act in matters requiring calm anddispassionateconsideration . H e has r eared a large and respectablefamily, andaccumulated considerable property. He sti l l lives t o wield agodlyinfluence in the promotion of the genera lgood. Generous , hospitab le asa pr ince, warm-hearted and publicspirited, and above all, adevoutChristian gentleman , h is usefu lness is destined to becommensurate withhis days.

Pp. 104-105

...Nullification struggle, it was destined to be followed within afewyears, by a discussi o n , the excitement of which, if it did not equaltheintensity of the former, it exceede d i t i n general interest. Thiswasthe discussion of the great Bank question. A subject so im por tan t,andofsuch popular interest, touched all classes of persons alike. In themidstof th e s te rnness displayed by President Jackson, which unpoisedthefinancial system of the whol e cou nt ry, producing a serious crashin1837,Thomas H. Benton, Senator from Missouri, urged t he ad op tionofagold and silver currency, as the true remedy for theembarrassmentsofthe times .Th i s financial question drew the line ofdemarcation verybroadly and clearly between the tw o e x isting dominantparties--the Whigsand Democrats--the former of whom opposed the measures ug g ested andadvocated with so much power by M. Benton, while thelatter, withheartiness, ado p t ed them. The two parties became verypronounced in theenunciation of their respective vi e w s . This periodwitnessed the firstpolitical contest, upon clearly defined party issues, t h a t was everhadin the county of Conecuh. True, divergent views hadbeen held byherpeop l e p r ior to this time, and minor differences hadbeen expressedin afeeble way; but now exci t eme nt ran high, and therespective partiesrallied and drilled their forces for a hot cont e s t at the ballotbox.They selected their candidates for the Legislature theDemocraticnomi n e e being J. Richard Hawthorne, and that of the WhigParty beingJeptha V.Perryman. Becau s e o f his enthusiastic advocacy ofhard moneyprinciples, Mr.Hawthorne won from his opponen t s th e sobriquet of "TheBenton Mint Drop Boy." After a thorough and excitingcanvass of the c ounty, the election resulted in the choice of Mr.Perrymen by just sevenvotes. This electio n , fo r a t ime put a quiet usupon the county, theWhigs being exhilarant over their victor y , whil ethe Democrats wereencouraged to renew the contest, by the fact that theycame so ne a r of success . At this period of the county's history, publicattention wasdiverted to a mo r e seri ous question than that whichagitated the peopleat their homes--this was the outbre a k of hos tilitieson the part of theIndians. The policy of the government of removing themf r om thei r oldabodes, which was instituted in 1832, had met withresistance almosteverywher e . Both a long the Chattahoochee and inFlorida, there werehostile demonstrations. A call w a s made fo r troops ,and inresponse,Captain Bell of Bellville, raised a company and went t o Georgia.O f those who were members of that company, the names of none canbesecured,except t ho se of Ab salom Autrey, Pinckney Straughn, andMadisonCrosby.

Conecuh did not become a separately organized county untilJanuary,1818.Prior to this ti m e i t was embraced within the limits ofMonroeCounty,which then embraced an extensive trac t o f t erritory,extendingfrom east to west, from the Chattahoochee to the Alabama. Butafte r th eor ganization of Conecuh into a county, it was bounded on thenorth byMonroe and Montgom er y cou nties, on the west by Clarke andMobile, ontheeast by Georgia, and on the south by Fl or ida - -then aSpanishprovince.Richard Warren became the first representative of thecounty i nthe T erritorial Legislature, which met then at St. Stephens inWashingtonCounty. Ransom De a n (b rother-in-law to Col. J.R. Hawthorne),was thefirst sheriff and by virtue of his offic e , wa s tax assessorandcollector, as well.

History of Pine Apple, Wilcox County, Alabama, p. 79.

The Hawthorne family was a true pioneer family in Pine Apple. Infact,theReverend Kadar Ha w t orne organized the Friendship Baptist Churchin1825and the nearby Fellowship Baptist Chu r c h in Mount Moriah in 1828.Webelieve, based on early observation, that Reverend Hawthorn e d o natedtheland for the church and the cemetery across the road. A relative,ColonelJ.R. Ha w t horne, donated land to former black slaves in 1869. Itbecameknown as the Arkedelphia Bapt i s t Church. Kadar Hawthorne'sson,Boardman, was ordained in the Friendship Baptist Church , a n d formanyyears served with distinction as pastor of the Brooklyn, NewYork,Baptist Churc h.

The Hawthorne family was related to the Crum, Ramsey,McCrearyandStallworth families . T h e y were prominent in theirsocial,professional,and civic activities. Ada Sue Hawthor n e a n d hernieceGladys, werebelles of the 1900-1929 era. Ada Sue married Dr.J.O.Tucker , P i n eApple's beloved dentist for many years. Thiscoupleentertained thecollege crowd alon g wi t h their older friends fromPineApple,Greenville, Monroeville,and Camden for many years.

"Miss" Ada Sue was widely traveled and her parties would rival thoseofthe large citie s . D r . Tucker and Miss Ada Sue used extensivelightingon their beautiful grounds during t h e Chr istmas holidays. Theyoungadults always caroled here each Christmas as they began the i r traditionof caroling the aged and the infirm of the town. Caroling to"Miss"AdaSueand D r . Tuck e r was an expression of joy and thanks forthegenerosity of this fine couple. "Mis s " Ada Su e' s brother, Walter,was adebonair visitor as was her nephew, Dr. Julian Hawthorn e . JulianHawthorne received his medical education both in the U.S. and abroad.Hebecame a we l l-know n obstetrician in Rye, New York, a Westchestersuburbof NewYork City near Greenwich , C onnect icut . A member oftheexclusiveWestchester Country Club as well as several yacht cl ub s ofLo ngI slandSound, Julian never forgot his Pine Apple roots. He restoredtheHawthorne m a nsio n to its former glory, restocked it with perhapsthemost beautiful antiques in that pa r t o f the state, and visited itoftenafter his sister, Gladys Hawthorne Whitaker, made it h e r ho me. Helovedto hunt and often brought his friends from the Rye area down tohuntwher e h e ho sted game dinners. Although a Roman Catholic, hecontributedgenerously to the Friends hi p Bap tist Church begun by one ofhisancestors in 1825.

The Hawthorne family in so many ways left their stamp on theirbelovedcommunity.

Hawthorne House, a beautiful southern antebellum mansion, was builtbyColonel Joseph Rich a r d Hawthorne in 1852. The house is constructedofheart pine and it rests on 56 foot long si l l s of hand hewn pinelogs.Themansion's facade is graced by square columns, a lower portic o a ndbalcony of identical proportions and entrance ways using threelargedoors, onthe first f l o or the doors are flanked by full sizewindows andadorned with a graceful fan light wh i c h w s imported fromEngland.Thelower floor plan consisted of a wide central hall dividin g f our largerooms; the parlor and dining room connected by broadslidingdoors.Colonel Hawth o r n e owned large plantations in Conecuh andWilcoxcounties. He was born in 1805 and die d i n 1 889. He was marriedthreetimes, his first two marriages were to the King sisters in Mo bil e,Alabama and his third marriage was to Mrs. Herbert, a widow andguardianofher two grands o n s, John Herbert and Rollin Kelly. The twoboys livedat Hawthorne House during their childh o o d. Rollin died at anearly age.John Herbert left at 17 years of age to attend West Point . W hen the WarBetween the States broke out, he left West Point to join theConfederateArm y a n d became theSouth's youngest General. He was killedat the battleof Franklin,Tennessee , a t t he age of 24.

The house and property was out of the Hawthorne family for a numberofyears. In 1935, M r s . Gladys Hawthorne Whitaker and herbrother,Dr.JulianHawthorne, a noted New York physici a n , retrievedownership ofthe property, restoring the house and grounds to theiroriginal be a u ty.Mrs.Marie Bankhead Owens, director of the State'sArchives and HistoryDepartment reque s t ed that it be made a historicshrine in 1947.Mrs.Whitaker died on November 25, 1980 an d t h e house isnow owned byDr.and Mrs. Edward Childs of Mobile, Alabama.

A short biography of Joseph Richard Hawthorne is included intheHistoryof Conecu h (Coun t y , Alabama). His family settled first inBellvillewhere they pitched the family tent whe n R i chard was twelve. Hewas thenominee of the Democratic Party in 1837, then the minoritypa rt y. Hecame within seven votes of victory. In 1854 he moved toPineApple,Wilcox county . " H ere his influence was not inactive andsoon publicappreciation summoned him to activ e usefu l ness. He was senttorepresent the county in two terms of the Legislature..." Hawtho rne w assuch an advocate of hard money (gold and silver currency) he won fromtheoppositio n t h e n ickname of "The Benton Mint Drop Boy." Theferventnational debate continued.

"He has reared a large and respectable family, andaccumulatedconsiderable property..." " G e nerous, hospitable asaprince,warm-heartedand public-spirited, and above all, a devout Chr i stian gentleman, hisusefulness is destined to be commensurate with hisdays."

J. Richard Hawthorne was one of the largest landowners in WilcoxCountybefore the War.

This branch of the Hawthorne family originates in Berks Bray, Englandasdid the New Engl a n d Hawthornes, made famous because of their role intheSalem Witch Trials. The origins o f t h e New England Hawthornesisrelated in The Hawthornes written by Vernon Loggins and publi sh e dbyGreenwood Press, New York, 1968. LDS files mention a Robert as oneofthe childre n o f a n ancestor of the New England branch. Onemightpresume a relationship to the common a nce sto r who established theinn atthe foot of Hawthorne Hill on the ancient road between Lon do n andOxford. The sign of the inn known as the Woodman showed agreen-coatedforester, axe r a is e d about to chop into the trunk of agreat gray oak.Nathaniel Hawthorne related the or a l tr adition of thelegend ofrecovered Roman treasure by the humble innkeeper and ancestor o f the seHawthornes in "An Old Woman's Tale".

Letter from: Richmond, Virginia, February 4, 1902

J. R. Hawthorne, Pineapple, Wilcox County, Alabama

Dear Cousin Dick:-

It is probable that the land you refer to belongs to the heirsofNathaniel Hawthorne who d i e d near Orange Lake, Florida more thanfiftyyears ago. Some of his family lived in the s a m e viciityuntilthebeginning of the war. They went into the army and servedinTexas.The s e f acts I learned from the Hawthorne family now livingatHawthorne,Florida. They are ver y d ist a nt relatives of ours.UncleNathaniel and my father were in the U. S. service in 181 7 . Th eyfoughtthe Indians in Florida. I think Uncle Nathaniel was also in thearmyduring t h e Wa r of 1812. My father received a land warrant which Ithinkmy brother,General Hawthorn e , loc ated in Texas and afterwards soldtheclaim. Itmay be that Uncle Nat's warrant was loc a ted a lso in Texasandthat the lands have never been sold. This is all the light that Ican t hro w upon the problem.

Do not think that I have ceased to be interested in my kins folkinWilcox. It would b e a g r eat pleasure to me if you would writemeoccasionally about them. I am longing for a n oppor t unity to make youavisit. Write me about Cousin Sue, your children, Cassie and Emm a andLaura, and about Old Friendship Church. Some of the sweetest memories ofmylife cluste r abou t t he site on which it stands.

Affectionately yours,

J.B. Hawthorne.

Children of PATIENCE KING and JOSEPH HAWTHORNE are: