Speculation: "Rodney Ferry" Route from Alabama to Louisiana

While scanning through some of the issues of the Jacksonville Republican newspaper printed in Jacksonville, Alabama in 1860, I came across the following clipping. It is from the 2 February 1860 issue, was originally placed on 15 December 1859, and was to run for two months.

NOTICE
TO
Emigrants moving to Louisiana and Texas. 

WE beg leave to state, that there is a NEW and SUBSTANTIAL Ferry Boat at Rodney, and that the route by this “Ferry” is the best of all seasons, and nearer by 180 miles. We have been requested by persons travelling this “route” to publish a “Way Bill” for the convenience of those who intend moving west — which we furnish over the card of Mr. S.W. Davitte.
THOS. M. REA & CO. 

WAY-BILL. 

Vanwert, Geo.
Jacksonville, Ala.
Greensport, Ala.
Ashville, Ala.
Elyton, Ala.
Gainesville, Ala.
Scooba, Ala.
DeKalb
Big Oak
Union
Brandon
Monterey
Dear’s Ferry on Pearl River
Ferry on N.O. And Jackson R.R.
Port Gibson
Rodney Ferry. 

Rodney Ferry, Nov. 12, 1859. 

I HAVE just travelled the route to this “Ferry,” and recommend it to all persons intending to move West. The roads are perfectly good, affording an abundance of all necessary supplies — accommodations at the Ferry are also very good. The boat is new and safe; and the proprietors attend to it themselves and are accommodating.
S.W. DAVITTE
December 15, 1859. 2m.

Click to enlarge

My 3rd great grandparents, David Averett (1837–1927) and Martha TIMMERMAN Averett (1847—1927) moved their family to Louisiana in 1877 (seventeen years later, admittedly) from the Reeltown/Tallassee, Alabama area. Stories my mother collected during her lifetime indicate that David and his family had intended to move to Texas. Instead, when they stopped to visit his sister in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana on the way to Texas, they decided to stay there. This is one possible route they may have taken.

John William Jackson (1856–1926), my 2nd great grandfather, and the son of John O. Jackson (1834–1861) who I have mentioned in other posts as having lived in Kirk’s Grove, Alabama in Cherokee County, also ended up in Louisiana, although it was later in the 19th century. John William’s son, William Joseph Jackson (1881–1956), married David Averett’s granddaughter, Monnie Ethel Watts (1885-1985), in Winnfield, Louisiana (Winn Parish) in 1908. William Joseph and Monnie Ethel WATTS Jackson were two of my great grandparents.

If David and Martha Averett followed this route, they probably would have joined it after leaving the Reeltown/Tallassee area somewhere west of Elyton, Alabama and east of Scooba, Mississippi — subject to the availability and condition of the roads, of course. The goal of this post is to show which of the way points I was able to locate on the advertised route.

• Van Wert, Georgia
• According to the Polk County Chamber of Commerce Historic Sites website, Van Wert, Georgia is located in what is now Rockmart, Georgia. It has been designated a historic township by the State. The geolocation is 33.986641N -85.040874E.
• Jacksonville, Alabama
• Jacksonville, Alabama still exists in Calhoun County. Jacksonville State University, the source of my Civil War-period Jacksonville Republican newspapers, is located there. According to Wikipedia the geolocation is 33.815833N -85.760556E.
• Greensport Alabama
• Greensport was a bit more difficult to find. According to a person named Rick Wallace responding to a query on Genealogy.com, "Greensport and Greensport Ferry were located on the Coosa River, South of Gadsden and about 5 miles northwest of Ohatchee. On a present day map find the Henry Neely Lake on the Coosa River, south of Gadsden. Greensport was on the north bank of the river in St Clair County. Greensport was about where the Henry Neely Dam is and pretty well sitting on top of the point where St Clair, Calhoun and Etowah Counties all join.” The following map shows where I believe it is (geolocation 33.848190N -86.079126E).

According to Wikipedia, "The Coosa River is the major tributary when it joins the Tallapoosa River near Wetumpka, Alabama to form the Alabama River.” These locations are important to the story of David Averett, which is why I include the detail here and I intend to return to the subject in more depth in the future. Wikipedia also provides a very nice map that was created by Wikipedia user “pfly":

• Ashville, Alabama
• Ashville, Alabama still exists in St. Clair County. Geolocation 33.843611N -86.266111E.    
• Elyton, Alabama
• Elyton or Ely’s Town, Alabama is now a part of Birmingham. The geolocation is 33.5014942N -86.8408239E.
• Gainesville, Alabama
• Gainesville, Alabama still exists in Sumter County, near the border of Mississippi. Geolocation is 32.817317N -88.158026E.
• Scooba, Alabama
• The advertisement in the 2 February 1860 newspaper says this is a town in Alabama but I believe it is a misprint. Scooba, Mississippi, on the other hand, is in Kemper County, near the border with Alabama. Geolocation 32.830382N -88.474783E.
• DeKalb, Mississippi
• DeKalb, Mississippi is also in Kemper County. Geolocation 32.769751N -88.650407E. 
• Big Oak, Mississippi
• I have not been able to find any information about Big Oak, Mississippi. The closest items that I have found are Big Oak Methodist Church (32.721977N -88.765469E) and Big Oak Church (32.684782N -88.843395E) in Mississippi. They are about five miles apart, but they appear to line up nicely on the route defined by the other geographic locations specified in the advertisement.

• Union, Mississippi
• Union, Mississippi still exists and is located in Neshoba and Newton counties. Geolocation 32.571320N -89.118118E.
• Brandon, Mississippi
• Brandon, Mississippi is the county seat of Rankin County. Geolocation 32.280330N -89.998470E.
• Monterey, Mississippi
• Monterey, Mississippi is a “populated place” in Rankin County. Geolocation 32.185N -90.081E.
• Dear’s Ferry on the Pearl River
• “Dear’s Ferry” or “Dears Ferry” is a historic site and is a crossing of the Pearl River in Hinds County. Geolocation 32.0918189N -90.2411994E. For future reference, the linked “iTouchMap” web site contains other useful geographic and historical information about Mississippi and other states: Various place types (arroyos, basins, crossings, etc.), including many river crossings.   

• Ferry on N.O. And Jackson R.R.
• I haven’t been able to find this. Searching on this in Wikipedia connects to the page on the “New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern railroad” which connected Chicago with New Orleans and was completed just before the start of the war. One site on the Internet indicates that it was considered one of the best Confederate Railroads. The Federal Army captured New Orleans in 1862 and spent the rest of the war trying to disrupt the railroad, which they apparently largely succeeded in doing.
• Port Gibson
• Port Gibson, Mississippi is a city in Claiborne County near the Mississippi River. Geolocation 31.956243N -90.983124E.
• Rodney Ferry
• According to Wikipedia, Rodney, Mississippi doesn’t exist as a town anymore because the Mississippi River changed course. Carolyn Jean Adams Switzer indicates that the town was incorporated in 1828, was a “thriving boomtown” in the 1830s, and had become a “struggling ghost town” in the 1840s. Some buildings are still there and Wikipedia relates an interesting story (unsourced, alas) from the Civil War about how several Union officers were taken prisoner while attending services at the Presbyterian Church in 1863. But the population is now apparently zero, although Switzer indicates that the Baptist Church is still in use. The geolocation is, according to Wikipedia, 31.861389N -91.199722E.

If one wanted to go to Texas, would the idea have been to reach the Mississippi River and then ride a boat down to New Orleans, and then another boat to Texas? But where in Texas? Galveston? What cities existed on the Texas Gulf Coast in 1859? Or would one have crossed Louisiana by road to arrive in Texas?

My 2nd great grandfather, John William Jackson ended up in Hico, Texas before doubling back to Louisiana. The following Wikipedia map of Hico, Texas is by Seth Anthony.

Unless one traveled up a river to reach Hico (I have no idea if this is possible), it might have been easier to simply cross Louisiana to get there.

It seems likely that there was more than one route commonly taken from Alabama to Louisiana but it will take a lot more research to determine just how many routes were taken and how many ferries across rivers, especially the mighty Mississippi river, were available and able to accommodate wagons carrying the personal effects of entire families. Families such as that of David and Martha Averett, my 3rd great grandparents and John William Jackson and his wife, Carrie Eliza Michael (1860–1910).

I might start by plotting the locations of all the historical river crossings in Alabama and then Mississippi using the data from the iTouchMap site. This might identify a few choke points through which all traffic had to be funneled. The topic is worth revisiting in the future.

The Problem of Slavery

The source of the trouble between the southern and northern states was, of course, slavery. Besides taking up arms against our government, what kind of circumstances, personal beliefs and attitudes would lead a person to approve of, acquiesce in, or fight for a definition of "property rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution" that included human beings? Perhaps this may be researched most effectively by reading the local newspapers from this time period.

Obviously modern civilization, such as it is, considers slavery immoral and worthy of condemnation. It is even often said that sufficient reason exists to violently prevent others from enslaving persons and keeping those persons in slavery. But I am torn: my ancestors were good people, in spite of their support of the institution of slavery. And as an American and a Catholic (in that order), I recognize a societally approved area of collective amorality in our national life today every bit as awful as slavery was. And yet I do not believe that sincere people on either side of the present issue are, by definition, condemnable and contemptible. Their opinions and even actions also cannot be cited as sufficient reason to take up arms against the U.S. government. People and democratic civil structures, throughout history, are good but are far from perfect. However they are capable of improvement by (peaceful) means, over time.

So can there be the possibility of pride in one’s ancestors concurrent with recognition of the evil of a civil institution for which they fought? I am proud of my southern American ancestors and recognize their heroism in a war that they believed themselves morally right to wage. I am proud of their survival of frontier conditions and their willingness to produce children who would benefit from their struggle. I am proud that they were, most of them, poor farmers who worked themselves into early deaths, worshipped God, and hoped for a better life for their children.

That having been said, in the seventh column of the third page of the 12 January 1860 issue of the Jacksonville Republican newspaper from Jacksonville, Alabama, there is a notice printed as follows.

For the purpose of accessibility in future Google searches by others, I have transcribed this:

ADMINISTRATORS SALE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY.
Under and by virtue of an order and decree of the Probate Court of Calhoun county, Alabama, made on the 21st day of December, A.D. 1859, we will sell
On Tuesday the 24th day of January, A.D. 1860.
At public auction, to the highest bidder, at the late residence of George Broyles deceased, all the PERSONAL PROPERTY belonging to the Estate of the said George Broyles, deceased, consisting of  

TWELVE Young and Likely NEGROS.
Eight head of Mules,
2 good brood Mares,
Six Cows and Calves,
One Road Wagon,
One Ox Wagon,
One Buggy and Harness,
One Cotton Gin,
One Wheat Thrasher,
One Set of Blacksmith Tools,
About 3000 pounds of Dried Pork,
Some Stock Cattle, Stock Hogs,
Some 75 head of Sheep,
Corn, Wheat, Fodder, Cotton Seed, Farming Utensils, Household & Kitchen Furniture, and many other things too tedious to mention.
Said property will be sold on a credit of Twelve Months with interest from date. All sums of five dollars or over, note with two approved securities will be required, to secure the purchase money — all sums under five dollars cash.
No property removed until terms of sale are complied with.
Also at the same time and place, the Plantation will be Rented for the year 1860.

BENJ. F. BROYLES, Adm’r.
ROSANNA BROYLES, Admx.
Dec. 22, 1859 — 5t.

Just in case the question comes up: I am not related to Broyles, nor to a man named Phillips, whose estate auction was announced in the eighth column of the same page:

It is transcribed as follows.

Administrators Sale Of Personal Property.
UNDER and by virtue of an order & decree of the Probate Court of Calhoun County Alabama, made on the 15th day of Oct., 1859, we will proceed to sell at public auction to the highest bidder, at the late residence of Joseph Phillips dec’d, on Monday the 9th day of January 1860, the whole of the personal Property belonging to the Estate of the said Joseph Phillips dec’d, consisting of Thirteen Likely Negroes, & Some Milch Cows, stock Cattle, Pork Hogs, & Stock Hogs, 2 yokes of Oxen, & Mules, Horses, Corn, Wheet, Oats & Fodder, & Rye, & Barley, & some thirty thousand lbs seed Cotton, 1 Cotton Gin, & Threshers, 1 Set of Black Smith tools, & 2 Ox wagons & farming utensils, 2 copper distilleries and stands, four shares in the South Western Rail Road Bank at Charleston S.C. & 80 acre Land Warrant issued in the name of decadent, & Household kitchen furniture, & other things too tedious to mention, said property will be sold on a credit of 12 months with interest from date on all sums over five Dollars, all sums under five Dollars, Cash, note & two approved securities will be required before the property purchased is removed.
ABEL PHILLIPS, C.W.P. PHILLIPS, Adms’ of said estate, Oct 20th, 1859.

Two weeks later, in the first column of page 3 of the 26 January 1860 issue of the newspaper, the following article was printed.

It is rendered as follows.

High Prices for Negroes. — At the late state sale of the property of Jos. Philips, dec’d in this county, 14 Negroes were sold at an average of $1233. One boy 23 years old sold for 1701. Several others sold for $1540 and $1550. At the estate sale of George Broyles [unreadable] on Tuesday last 12 Negroes were sold at an average of $1040. One woman and infant sold for 1765 — one boy 10 years old, $1200 — one girl 8 years old, $1385 — one boy 6 years old, $1200.

For all the rationalizations that have been made, the matter-of-fact description of the sale of adults and children, and the probable separation of children from their parents, stops one dead in his tracks in his reading. Were the eight-year-old (whose sale brought the equivalent of $40,000 in 2014), the ten-year-old ($35,000) and the six-year-old ($35,000) siblings? Was the woman with her infant ($51,000) also the mother of any of these children? Even if she wasn’t, these children were somebody’s. Did they ever see each other again? Within five years, the war would be over and the slaves emancipated. Were they still alive then? Had distance made reunion impossible? Who was the thirteenth slave in the Broyles auction and why wasn't he or she sold?

From what I have been able to determine, a few of my ancestors or their relatives owned slaves. I cannot defend that act, nor can I defend the act of defending the “property rights” of those who did. My ancestors were not perfect and neither were yours. But I reiterate that my ancestors and their neighbors did what they thought was right, just as most of us in this time do what we think is right. They remain my ancestors and, like it or not, my pride in my family and their history remains strong. I hope our descendants are able to say the same.

Newspapers Published in Eastern Alabama in the Civil War Period

I am interested in the lives of my Alabama ancestors during the 1861—1865 Civil War. As Vicki Betts, Librarian at the University of Texas at Tyler has said,

"Newspapers remain one of the most underutilized resources available to the historian, and with good cause. Relatively few full runs of Southern newspapers survived the Civil War and the years of storms, fires, and business failures that preceded the advent of microfilm … [R]esearchers are … encouraged to approach the "truth" in historic newspapers cautiously. Even more so than now, nineteenth century newspapers often expressed extremely partisan positions. Editors gathered reports and rumors from correspondents, travelers, and other newspapers, usually with little or no verification. At the same time, these papers do reflect what people of the period were reading and perhaps believing. As such, they remain a valuable source, used wisely."

I have therefore tried to conduct a brief survey of the newspapers published in Eastern Alabama that may have been read by my ancestors and their families in the years prior to, during, and following the War Between the States.

Click images to enlarge.

While I am interested in what everyday life was like, I am particularly interested in understanding the state of mind that it would take to

• Take up arms against one’s own country, and
• Own slaves and/or defend the "property rights" of those who did.

I am proud of my ancestors and I insist that they were good people, but I am frankly unable to imagine today in 2014 how either is possible. I want to understand the circumstances that brought my ancestors to the point where they found it possible to do so. The Republican party was, during the election year of 1860, apparently widely hated in the South. Based on my reading of the first few issues of the Jacksonville Republican newspaper published in Jacksonville, Alabama in January of 1860, they were dubbed the “Black Republicans” and the paper strongly advocated secession from the Union — by violent means if necessary — in the event that any Republican candidate, presumed in advance to be an abolitionist — a very hated person in this part of the country — were to be elected president that autumn. Several of my direct ancestors and many members of their families enlisted in the Confederate Army after Alabama seceded from the Union in January 1861 so it is likely they agreed with that sentiment. Alternatively, their reasons may have included the wish to defend their homes from any military invasion from the north, regardless of why such an invasion might occur.

So far in this blog I have discussed two of my ancestors from Alabama who enlisted in the Confederate Army.

• John O. Jackson (1834-1861), who died of disease at a Confederate Army camp in Hunstville, Alabama before seeing any combat. He lived in the vicinity of Kirk’s Grove, Alabama in the 1860 US Census.
• David Franklin Averett (1837-1927), who survived his wounds at the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864 and was with Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at the surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865. He lived somewhere in the vicinity of Reeltown and Tallassee, Alabama, based on information from the 1860 US Census and the Muster Roll of his Regiment in the Confederate Army in 1861.

There may be others. There are certainly others if one considers the war service of brothers, fathers, and sons of my direct ancestors.

I have started my search for newspapers at Kirk's Grove and at the Reeltown/Tallassee areas. Towns were connected by roads of some kind, but also by railroad, stagecoach, etc. I want to find the newspapers mostly likely to have been read by Averett and Jackson and their families. Common sense seems to indicate that the papers published in the closest locations would be the mostly likely candidates. But if one allows several days for the papers to be distributed, it also seems possible that the liveliest newspapers, in terms of size, amount of information printed, controversy, would also be read. How easily were they distributed? How long did it take to receive a newspaper from another town?

I have already found many examples of articles published in newspapers printed considerable distances republished in a local paper. Samuel Morse patented his telegraph in 1837 so it was in fairly extensive use by 1860, adding considerably to the available information and opinion that ordinary people such as my ancestors would have had available. It seems likely that information appearing in newspapers, particularly pro-slavery newspapers, would be disseminated among other pro-slavery newspapers. Surely many of these articles would be eventually read by the families of David Averett and John Jackson.

I want to read them too. So, where to look?

My first readings of one newspaper, the Jacksonville Republican, give a clue. I have noticed that out-of-town businesses from, for example, Rome, GA advertised in the Jacksonville Republican in 1860, in spite of the two towns being about forty-five miles apart. The first example is a drug store ad from 12 January, obviously advertising for customers living in Jacksonville.

And here is another ad in the same issue, placed by a general store in Selma, Alabama — 156 miles away!

Even more significant, however, is an advertisement in the Jacksonville Republican for subscriptions to a newspaper published in Rome, GA.

Subject to the availability of regular transportation such as railroad, stage coach, rivers, etc., it seems reasonable to assume that inhabitants of Kirk’s Grove, AL saw newspapers in a fairly timely manner, even if they were printed forty-five miles away. The US Postal Service functioned well and, I assume, so did the Confederate States Postal Service. Alabama counties touched by a circle centered at Kirk’s Grove having a radius of 45 miles include:

• Calhoun
• Cherokee
• Cleburne
• DeKalb
• Etowah
• Jackson
• Marshall
• St Clair

They are highlighted in green.

Similarly, such a circle centered between Reeltown and Tallassee would touch the following Alabama Counties:

• Autauga
• Barbour
• Bullock
• Chambers
• Chilton
• Clay
• Coosa
• Elmore
• Lee
• Lowndes
• Montgomery
• Pike
• Randolph
• Russell
• Talladega
• Tallapoosa

They are highlighted in yellow.

For the time being, I am concentrating on newspapers published during the years 1859--1866, to which I refer as "the Civil War period" below.

According to the Chronicling America web site at the Library of Congress, the following newspapers were published or may have been published during the Civil War period. For each title, the first set of years shown are the years in which the Library of Congress believes or estimates the papers were published. The information after that provides information about which specific issues are still in existence today. Most are on microfilm and the rest are apparently originals[!] Some are available in digital format online and can be downloaded. I have struck the titles for which no extant issues from the Civil War period are listed. Of course, some of the struck titles may later turn out to have issues found in forgotten archives in the future. This is why I have kept them on what has turned out to be a very long list of titles.

• Titles in Autauga County, Alabama
• The Autauga Citizen (Prattville, AL; 1853-1882) (issues available for 1859–1866)
• Southern Statesman (Prattville, AL; 1854-186?) (single issue from 1859 and a single issue from 1860)
• Titles in Barbour County, Alabama
• Clayton Banner (Clayton, AL; 1852–1869) (several issues from 1860–1862 and single issue from 1864)
• The Eufaula Daily News (Eufaula, AL; 1865–18??) (two issues available from late 1865)      
• Eufaula Express (Eufaula, AL; 1858–186?) (some issues available from 1859 and 1861)
• Eufaula News (Eufaula, AL; 1866–18??) (no issues available from Civil War period) 
• Eufaula Weekly News (Eufaula, AL; 18??—18??) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• Eufaula Weekly Times (Eufaula, AL; 18??—187?) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• Southern Native (Eufaula, AL; 185?—18??) (single issue available from 1858)
• Spirit of the South (Eufaula, AL; 1850–1865) (issues available from 1859–1863)
• The Times & News (Eufaula, AL; 18??—1906) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• Titles in Bullock County, Alabama
• The Southern Home Journal (Union Springs, AL; 186?-18??) (one issue available from 1861)
• Union Springs Gazette (Union Springs, AL; 185?-18??) (one issue available from 1860)
• The Union Springs Journal (Union Springs, AL; 18??-1???) (one issue available from 1882)
• Titles in Calhoun County, Alabama
• The Alabama Weekly Inquirer (Anniston, AL; 18??-1???) (issues available from 1898) 
• Jacksonville Republican (Jacksonville, AL; 1837-1895) (many issues from 1837-1895; most issues from 1859-1866)
• Titles in Chambers County, Alabama
• The Chambers Tribune (La Fayette, AL; 1849-186?) (one issue from 1861 and two issues from 1863)
• The East-Alabamian (La Fayette, AL; 184?-1?a??) (issues available from the second half of 1843)
• The People’s Journal (La Fayette, AL; 18??-1???) (one issue available from 1892)
• Southern Sentinel (La Fayette, AL; 18??-1???) (one issue from January 1860)
• Titles in Cherokee County, Alabama
• Cherokee Advertiser (Centre, AL; 1866-1892)
• Coosa River Argus (Centre, AL; 1854-18??) (one issue from 1854, two from 1860) 
• Gladiator (Cedar Bluff, AL; 1843-18??) (one issue from 1843, one from 1844)
• Titles in Chilton County, Alabama
• (no titles listed for the Civil War period)
• Titles in Clay County, Alabama
• (no titles listed for the Civil War period)
• Titles in Cleburne County, Alabama
• The Fruithurst Times (Fruithurst, AL; 1???-190?) (issues available from 1903)
• The Standard-Democrat (Edwardsville, AL; 18??-1???) (issues available from 1896) 
• Titles in Coosa County, Alabama
• (none during the Civil War period)
• Titles in DeKalb County, Alabama
• The Collinsville Courier (Collinsville, AL; 1???-1927) (no issues from the Civil War period))
• The Fort Payne Journal (Fort Payne, AL; 18??-1958) (none from the Civil War period are available)
• The Wills Valley Post (Collinsville, AL; 1854-18??) (one issue from 1879 is available)
• Titles in Elmore County, Alabama
• The Alabama Times (Wetumpka, AL; 1840-18??) (few issues available only from 1840-1841)
• Daily State Guard (Wetumpka, AL; 1849-18??) (few issues available only from 1849) 
• Dorsey’s Dispatch (Wetumpka, AL; 185?-1857) (few issues available only from 1856-1857)
• The Elmore Standard (Wetumpka; AL; 1865-1868) (few issues available only from 1867-1868)
• Harry of the West (Wetumpka, AL; 1844-18??) (single issue available from 1849)
• The Southern Crisis (Wetumpka, AL; 1840-1840)
• The Southern Dial and African Monitor (Wetumpka, AL; 185?-18??) (single issue available from 1858)
• The State Guard (Wetumpka, AL; 1847-18??) (few issues available from 1847 and 1852)      
• Weekly State Guard (Wetumpka, AL; 184?-????) (single issue available from 1851) 
• Wetumpka Dispatch (Wetumpka, AL; 1857-18??) (issues available only from 1857) 
• Wetumpka Spectator (Wetumpka, AL; 185?-186?) (some issues available from 1856-1857, 1859, and 1861)
• The Wetumpka Whig (Wetumpka, AL; 1844-18??) (single issue available from 1844, 1846, and 1847)
• Titles in Etowah County, Alabama
• The Camp Fire (Gadsden, AL; 18??-????) (one issue from 1895 and one from 1896 are available)
• The Gadsden Weekly Times (Gadsden, AL; 18??-1887) (several issues from 1885 are available)
• Titles in Jackson County, Alabama
• Bellefonte Courier and Jackson County Republican (Bellefonte, AL; 183?—????) (single issue from 1839)
• Camp Illuminator (Bridgeport, AL; 1864–1865) (several issues available from 1864–1865)
• Era and Star (Scottsboro, AL; 18??—1???) (no issues available from Civil War period) 
• Jackson County News (Stevenson, AL; 1865—????) (single issue available from 1865) 
• The Progressive Age (Scottsboro, AL; 18??—1962) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• The Stevenson New Era (Stevenson, AL; 186?—1???) (all available issues from 1869) 
• Titles in Lee County, Alabama
• East Alabama Monitor (Opelika, AL; 186?-1869) (some issues from 1868-1869)
• The Opelika Recorder (Opelika, AL; 186?-187?) (one issue from 1866)
• The Opelika Tri-Weekly Locomotive (Opelika, AL; 186?-18??) (some issues from 1869-1870)
• Opelika Union (Opelika, AL; 1865-????) (at least one issue available form 1865)
• The Opelika Weekly Locomotive (Opelika, AL; 18??-1871) (at least one issue available from 1871)
• The Progressive Age (Opelika, AL; 18??-1872) (a few issues from 1872)
• The Sketch Book (Auburn, AL; 1860-18??) (a few issues from late 1860)
• The Southern Era (Opelika, AL; 1860-1860) (some issues available from 1859-1860) 
• The Southern Republic (Opelika, AL; 1861-186?) (issues available from 1861-1862) 
• The Weekly Southern Era (Opelika; 185?-1860) (issues available from Nov 1859 — Feb 1860)
• Titles in Lowndes County, Alabama
• The Chronicle (Hayneville, AL; 18??—1860) (issues available from 1860)
• The Citizen-Examiner (Hayneville, AL; 18??-192?) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• Hayneville Chronicle (Hayneville, AL; 1860–186?) (issues available from 1860)
• The Lowndes County Chronicle (Hayneville, AL; 183?—18??) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• Lowndes County Observer and Spirit of the Times (Hayneville, AL; 183?—1???) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• The Watchman (Hayneville, AL; 185?—186?) (issues available from 1860)
• The Weekly Herald (Benton, AL; 185?—186?) (issues available from 1859–1
• Titles in Macon County, Alabama
• The Confederate States (Tuskegee, AL; 1861-18??) (one issue from April 1861)
• The News (Tuskegee, AL; 1865-????) (one issue from 1873 and one from 1887)
• South Western Baptist (Marion, AL; 1850-1865) (scattered issues on microfilm for 1850-1865)
• The True Union (Tuskegee, AL; 185?-18??) (one issue from 1857)
• The Tuskegee News (Tuskegee, AL; 1865-18??) (issues from 1866)
• Tuskegee Republican (Tuskegee, AL; 1856-18??) (issues from 1856-1858)
• The Universalist Herald (Notasulga, AL; 184?-19??) (a few issues from 1859-1861) 
• Titles in Marshall County, Alabama
• The Columbus City Journal (Columbus City, AL; 18??—????) (no issues at all available)      
• The Marshall County News (Guntersville, AL; 185?—18??) (single issue available from 1858)
• The Marshall Eagle (Guntersville, AL; 185?—18??) (no issues available from Civil War period)
• The Tennessee Valley (Guntersville, AL; 185?—18??) (two issues available from 1856)
• Titles in Montgomery County, Alabama
• Alabama State Gazette (Montgomery, AL; 184?-????) (single issue available from 1849)
• Alabama State Sentinel (Montgomery, AL; 1860-186?) (few issues available from 1867-1868)
• The Atlas (Montgomery, AL; 1849-185?) (three issues available from 1850-1851)
• Capital City Record (Montgomery, AL; 186?-18??) (single issue available from 1869) 
• The Church Register (Montgomery, AL; 186?-????) (large number of issues available from 1869-1870)
• The Daily Advertiser (Montgomery, AL; 18??-18??) (issues available for April-July 1863 and a single issue from 1865)
• Daily Alabama Journal (Montgomery, AL; 1847-18??) (issues available from 1847-1856)
• The Daily Confederation (Montgomery, AL; 1858-186?) (issues available for 1860-1861)
• Daily Montgomery Ledger (Montgomery, AL; 1865-1866) (issues available for August — November 1865)
• Daily State Sentinel (Montgomery, AL; 1863-186?) (some issues available from 1867)
• Titles in Pike County, Alabama
• Advocate and American (Troy, AL; 1861–186?) (issues available from 1861–1862)
• Independent American (Troy, AL; 1855–1861) (issues available for 1855–1861)
• Southern Advertiser (Troy, AL; 1859–1868) (issues available for 1860–1866)
• Southern Messenger (Troy, AL; 1866–1868) (issues available from 1866–1867)
• States Rights Advocate (Troy, AL; 1860–1861) (a few issues available from 1861–1862)
• Troy Messenger (Troy, AL; 1???—19??) (a few issues available from 1912)
• Titles in Randolph County, Alabama
• The Randolph County Democrat (Wedowee, AL; 1860-????) (none available)
• The Roanoke Herald (Roanoke, AL; 18??-1???) (issues available from 1896-1899)
• Southern Mercury (Wedowee, AL; 18??-1860) (one issue from 1859 and one from 1860 are available)
• Titles in Russell County, Alabama
• Alabama State Register and Girard and Columbus Advertiser (Girard, AL; 1840-18??) (two issues from 1840)
• East Alabama Messenger (Girard, AL), 1???-19??) (one issue from 1904)
• East Alabamian (Girard, AL; 185?-18??) (two issues from 1852-1853)
• Titles in St Clair County, Alabama
• (No titles listed for the Civil War period)
• Titles in Talladega County, Alabama
• The Alabama Reporter (Talladega, AL; 1843-1875) (issues available for 1860, 1862, 1864, 1866)
• The Democratic Watchtower (Talladega, AL; 1840-1867) (issues available for 1859-1866, and other years)
• The Humorist (Talladega, AL; 1838-1???) (one issue from 1838)
• Our Mountain Home (18??-1???) (issues available from 1872, 1875-1882, 1886, 1888, 1891, 1893-1897, and later)
• The Patriot (Talladega, AL; 1839-18??) (four issues available from 1840-1841)
• Southern Register (Talladega, AL; 183?-18??) (one issue from 1839)
• Titles in Tallapoosa County, Alabama
• The Dadeville Banner & Times (Dadeville, AL; 18??-18??) (a couple of issues from 1864 are available)
• Formed from the merger of The Dadeville Banner and the Tallapoosa Times
• The Dadeville Banner (Dadeville, AL; 18??-186?) (several issues from 1861)
• Merged with the Tallapoosa Times to form The Dadeville Banner & Times
• Dadeville Democrat (Dadeville, AL; 18??-????) Issues available only from 1885 
• Messenger (Dadeville, AL; 1866-18??) Single issue available from 1867
• The Tallapoosa Gazette (Dadeville, AL; 18??-1???) (few issues available only from 1879-1880)
• Tallapoosa News (Dadeville, AL; 186?-187?) (few issues available only from 1870-1872)
• Tallapoosa Times (Dadeville, AL; 185?-18??) (a few issues from 1860 — 1861 are available)
• Merged with The Dadeville Banner to form The Dadeville Banner & Times
• The Tallapoosian (Dadeville, AL; 186?-1???) (few issues available only from 1867-1868)

I have highlighted the titles that seem to provide the most complete information over the duration of the Civil War period. I believe the Jacksonville Republican from Calhoun County appears to be the most complete available, with The Autauga Citizen from Prattville, and The Alabama Reporter and The Democratic Watchtower from Talladega also being strong candidates. They should provide the best opportunity to observe the evolution of a pro-slavery newspaper from a year or two prior to the war, through the war, and for a year or two afterward.

Based on geography instead of completeness, the Jacksonville Republican is the most likely candidate for John O. Jackson. For David Averett, The Dadeville Banner, the Tallapoosa Times, and The Dadeville Banner & Times are the most likely candidates.

I was fortunate to find a fairly complete set of The Jacksonville Republican newspaper issues in digital form for those years. In fact, the collection actually extends from 1837 to 1895 and are available, free to download in PDF format, from a site at Jacksonville State University. The results of the search from the geographic point of view of David Averett are not as promising: only a few issues are available from 1860-1861 and 1864.

My plan is to begin with the most accessible of the titles, the Jacksonville Republican and see where that leads.

How to Create Alabama County KML Files for Google Earth

For the purposes of my genealogy, I want to be able to highlight certain counties in eastern Alabama in Google Earth. Google Earth has county boundaries and names but there is no option to color the area covering specific counties. And, if you zoom out far enough, the county lines and labels disappear. There is data available on line to generate such county coverings but what I found needs to be processed first. First, go to the “Alabama Counties - Google Fusion Tables” web page.

(Click on the images to enlarge them.)

Click on the blue “Filter” button near the upper left-hand corner of the table.

Choose the “County Name” option. In this example, I am interested in Cherokee County.

Under the “File” menu, choose “Download”.

Alas, the “KML” options are grayed-out so we will have to choose the “Filtered Rows” content and the “CSV” format. Click on the blue “Download” button.

This will cause a “csv” (“comma-separated values”) file to be downloaded, named "Alabama Counties-filtered.csv” or some variation of that. Use your preferred text editor to open the file. When I opened it in Vim, it looked like this:

[EDIT:  Make sure there are no spaces between the comma-separated values and that there are spaces or carriage returns separating data pairs or triples. Otherwise, Google Earth has trouble.  Why?  I don't know.] I now follow the instructions found on the dagik.org web site: Delete all text at the top and bottom, except the (longitude, latitude) data. Add the following lines to the top of the file:

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <kml xmlns="http://earth.google.com/kml/2.0"> <document> <placemark> <polygon> <outerboundaryis> <linearring> <coordinates>

 and then add the following lines to the bottom of the file:

  </coordinates> </LinearRing> </outerBoundaryIs> </Polygon> <style> <polystyle> <color>#a00000ff</color> <outline>0</outline> </PolyStyle> </Style> </Placemark> </Document> </kml>

The result should look like the following.

You can massage the data so that it’s in two nice, neat columns, but it isn’t necessary for it to work in Google Earth.

NOTE: The order of the latitude and longitude points is reversed from what you are probably used to! If you look carefully at each comma-separated ordered pair, you note that the first coordinate is the longitude and the second coordinate is the latitude. This is due to the fact that Google Earth uses them that way, which is just the opposite of what I’ve ever done with any other software. Now write the result to a new file with a “.kml” file name extension.

Drag this new KML file to the Google Earth map window and drop it there. You should see the county area highlighted.

If you zoom in a little bit you can see the outline is not perfect, but it’s pretty close. Certainly it is useful for my purposes.