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| Alonzo & Margaret Taylor |
Alonzo Grant Taylor was born in Winston County on June 6th
1869. Of course this was just after the great American tragedy, the Civil War. Winston
County was an area of hilly terrain and very little flatfarming land; most of
the residents were small farmers of very modest means. Hardly any had slaves
and the people of this part of the state were generally not sympathetic to the
“flat landers,” where cotton was king. The
War was truly a struggle of brother against brother for which each side felt
justified. So how did the healing
process take place and how long did it take? Alonzo Grant was the oldest son of
William “Carroll” Taylor the only child of Mary Shipman; she died in about 1876
and is buried at Curtis Cemetery. It is easy to see embedded in his name “Grant” where this family placed their
loyalties. Alonzo’s grandfather, John
Henry Taylor was a Republican state legislator from Winston County from
1868-1872 and was well known for his support of the Union during that time.
Alonzo was only 7 years old when his mother died and Carroll
soon married Sarah Evans with whom he had 10 more children. Sarah certainly had
her hands full with her own children; but in later years she told Alonzo she
was sorry for not giving him more attention when he was a child; Alonzo told
her that was OK. In some ways that conversation speaks to the character of both
of them, redemption and forgiveness. Alonzo grew up a Christian and remained so
his entire life; always an active member of Liberty Grove Missionary Baptist
Church. In 1898, he gave an acre of land for the Liberty Grove Church site (south
portion), and Mr. Cauthen gave additional land (north portion). As for the
nature of Alonzo, he was a quiet man, never known to curse, drink, smoke or
speak ill of his neighbor. He and his family, like most in the area lived a
plain and simple life, looking not to accumulate material things but to insure
his salvation and when asked by his sons, why not get another mule; he would
say this is all we need now. . He raised the things needed to feed his family
and his wife often made garments from wool sheared from his own sheep. Early
days of his farming included plowing with oxen.
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| Emma "Emmer" L. Elliott, 1st wife of Alonzo |
+Taylor.jpg) |
| Alonzo and 2nd wife, Margaret in later years |
On December 22, 1898 Margaret Derusha Stephens (Stevens), daughter of John Benjamin Stevens, joined this family as Alonzo’s spouse. Margaret’s father, John, was a confederate Soldier, in contrast to Alonzo’s Union father: so here we see the mending of a torn nation forgetting, forgiving, and moving forward. Peaceful, quiet, pious, and forgiving Alonzo died March 6, 1949.
Their children were:
- Sarah Lucinda, 2-4-1900 to 10-15-1990, she cared for her
parents for many years, and at age 39 married Jasper M. King then (2nd)
Verdie Davis, no children. Lucinda
was a lifelong resident of Winston who was loved by many. She touched many lives with her kindness
and sweet spirit.
- Aussie
Elizabeth 1-22-1902 to 1-1-1998, who married James W. Knight, lived in
the Haleyville area (Forkville) and had 7 children, Eugene, Auziline,
Carl, Johnnie, Wynema, Patricia, and Joe. Following in their father and
mothers footsteps, this large successful family was often business leaders
throughout Alabama and the southeast.
- Wallace Roosevelt, 5-4-1904 to 11-19-1987, married Hazel
Jordan who died in an accidental fire tragedy at their home; they had 2
daughters, Gloria “Ann” and Norma “ Jean”. Wallace then married Martha
Louise Glasgow, who later became an Alabama teacher of the year; they had
1 daughter Sarah Margaret (Sally). Wallace lived in Haleyville AL and
worked for the IC Railroad.
- Elmer Benjamin, 10-22-1906 to 6-24-1999, married Audrey Pulliam;
they had 3 children, Elmer “Ben”jamin Jr., Franice “Legetta”, and “Billy”
Owen. They left the farms of Winston County, moved to Birmingham in the
early 1950’s and lived there and St. Clair County until his death. He
worked for Hayes Aircraft many years.
- Newman Oliver, 9-22-1909 to 1-25-2000, married Lucy Charity
Godsey on 11-15-1936. They followed
Elmer’s family to Birmingham in the 1952 and Newman also worked at Hayes
as a forklift operator. Lucy worked
for Dowdy Candy Company and Contenential Can Corp. They were active
members Meadowbrook Baptist Church. Their 3 children, “Anita” Ann, Newman “Wayne”,
and “Harold” James all had careers with Alabama Power Company.
- Hubert Atticus, 11-22-1913 to 3-15-1974, married Marguerite
Angela Enright of Springfield OH, a registered nurse, they lived in
Birmingham, Al and he was a WWII veteran, and worked in management with
Firestone Stores. Their three children, John “Grant”, Monica Ann, Mary
Lucinda “Cindy” graduated from John Carroll High School and all finished
college.
- Thurlo McKinley, 11-17-1917 to 2-3-2001, married Melba Jean Parker, 2nd Mary Lucille Danchower, 3rd Vera Winnie Walker. Thurlo had a successful tour during WWII and was a Captain in the USAF. He worked as a salesman for Progressive Farmer for years. Arguably the most gifted of all Alonzo’s children, he was plagued with alcoholism for much of his adult life. He had no children and died in Carrollton Ga.
Written by Alonzo's Grandson, Newman "Wayne" Taylor
