The ALGenWeb Project Montgomery County, Alabama  First White House of the Confederacy Photo by Brian Risher, Oxford, MS

FAQ | Census | Churches & Cemeteries | Communities/ Towns | Court | Deed/Tax & Land | Events/ Reunions | Pioneers & Family Trees | Look-ups| Military | Montgomery Genealogical Society | Queries | Research Resources | Searches | Vitals | Home

FAMILY OF JOHN FLEMING SMITH
1834-1863
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
By Maury D. Smith, Esquire
Montgomery, Alabama
September 24, 1999

In 1861 most white Montgomerians embraced secession and went to war, believing it a morally correct, constitutional, and necessary course of action. Bold words and allusions to gallantry were reiterated by people from all walks of life in settings as disparate as pulpits and saloons. When Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, however, a conflict that had optimistically begun with a determination to defend sovereignty and to preserve a culture ended in despair and defeat. "Epilogue," Confederate Home Front, Montgomery During the Civil War, William Warren Rogers, Jr.

John Fleming Smith, born in Montgomery County in 1834, was the son of Saul and Ann Derrick Smith. Saul Smith was born in 1806 in North Carolina. He married Ann Derrick on September 29, 1831, in Montgomery County, Alabama. They lived near Matthews in Montgomery County. John Fleming Smith married Julia Ann Bulger on March 31, 1853, in Montgomery County. She is the daughter of Charles N. Bulger and Mary Julia Butler Bulger. She was born in 1837 in Montgomery County. She died in Coffee Springs, Geneva County, Alabama in 1907 and is buried in the Coffee Springs Cemetery.

John Fleming Smith volunteered to serve in the Confederate Army at Montgomery on May 12, 1862. The records show him a member of Co. A, 1st Battalion, Hilliard’s Legion, which later became the 59th and 60th Battalions of the Alabama Infantry Regiments. Hilliard’s Legion was organized on June 25, 1862 at Montgomery by Henry W. Hilliard who was commissioned a Colonel and authorized to recruit a "legion" of about 3,000 men for Confederate service. He was a professor at the University of Alabama in 1831 and after three years in Tuscaloosa moved to Montgomery and opened a law practice with Jack Thorington. John Fleming Smith enlisted in Hilliard’s Legion at Montgomery in June 1862. All of the men volunteering for Hilliard’s Legion engaged in training at Montgomery until July 8 when they were transported through Atlanta to Chattanooga. There, they were armed and continued training. On August 4, 1862 the Legion was moved to Knoxville. At the battle of Chickamauga in September, 1863, the Legion was held in reserve the first day. On the second day, they followed the advancing army until they were ordered to move forward "double quick" against a Union log fortification. Earning an excellent reputation in that battle, the Legion lost 45% of the 902 men engaged. The 1st Battalion carried 239 men into this combat and 169 were killed or wounded. Between November 19 - 25, 1863, the Legion was broken up and divided into the 59th and 60th Battalions, of the Alabama Infantry Regiments. John Fleming Smith was in Company F of the 60th Battalion at the time he was engaged in battle at Bean’s Station, Tennessee. He was killed in action on December 14, 1863 and is buried in the Confederate Cemetery at Bean’s Station, Tennessee. Battle summaries of Bean’s Station show casualties totaling 1,600. The Knoxville Campaign ended following the battle of Bean’s Station.

This was the year (1863) President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves in the states which had seceded. This impacted heavily on the family of Julia Ann Bulger Smith in Montgomery County, Alabama. This also was the year Gen. George G. Meade defeated the Confederate army under Gen. Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which was the turning point in the defeat of the southern forces. Lincoln gives the famous Gettysburg Address in the dedication of the National Cemetery at the Gettysburg battlefield. Gen. Michael J. Bulger, uncle of Julia Ann Bulger Smith, commanded the 47th Alabama Infantry in the battle of Gettysburg.

The 1870 Census for Montgomery County names the following survivors of John Fleming Smith: widow, Julia Ann Bulger Smith, age 33, children Mary Elizabeth, born 1856, Charles Alexander, born 1858, Saul Pierce, born 1860 and Ross N., deceased infant.

Charles Alexander Smith was born September 15, 1858, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where his family resided for a short time. He is the son of John Fleming and Julia Ann Bulger Smith of Montgomery County, Alabama. He attended the Elmore and Montgomery Academies. He married Lillie DeBardelaben of Lowndes County, Alabama. Shortly after their marriage, they, along with his brother Saul Pierce and Sarah Rawlinson Smith, and other relatives, Charles L. and Hallie Phillips, and Thomas Judkins and Siegnora Ray, moved from Elmore and Montgomery counties to Coffee County, Alabama. These aristocratic families left established communities in Montgomery and Elmore counties and moved to the Piney Woods in South Alabama, somewhat in the frontier spirit of colonial America. He and Lillie DeBardelaben Smith subsequently moved to Opp in Covington County, Alabama. He died December 13, 1938, in Coffee Springs, Alabama, and is buried in the Coffee Springs Cemetery. Lillie DeBardelaben Smith died March 22, 1951, and is buried in the Opp Cemetery. They were the parents of seven children: Minnie, born 1884, Annie Frances, born 1886, Edward, born 1890, Mary Alice, born 1892, Gypsie, born 1895, Kathy Ruth, born 1902, and Lillie Derrick, born 1904.

Annie Frances Smith (Frankie) was born in 1886 in Elmore County, Alabama. She is the daughter of Charles Alexander and Lillie DeBardelaben Smith. She married Thomas Jefferson Brooks on June 4, 1903 in Elba, Coffee County, Alabama. They later moved to Samson, Geneva County, Alabama. She was an active civic leader in the community. She was also active in business, managing rental properties and other ventures. She was a charter member of the Samson Study Club and a generous contributor to the public library. She died October 24, 1968, and is buried in Travelers Rest Cemetery in Samson. Thomas Jefferson Brooks was a successful businessman in Samson. He ran a mercantile store, feed mill and other sidelines. His son Fleming Smith Brooks worked with him in all of them. He died December 19, 1962, and is buried in Travelers Rest Cemetery in Samson. They were the parents of three children: Walter Jordan Brooks, Louise Frances Brooks and Fleming Smith Brooks.

Walter Jordan Brooks, born July 26, 1904, in Elba, Coffee County, Alabama. Attended Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama, in high school when he was 15 years old. B.S. degree in Journalism, University of Alabama in 1924. Was a reporter for the Albuquerque Tribune in Albuquerque, New Mexico and, prior to that, for the Houston Chronicle. He was later a writer for the New Mexico Magazine. From the early 1930's until his retirement in 1986, he was an investment banker in Albuquerque. He was a Captain in the United States Air Force during World War II. He married Gertrude Maloney Brooks. She died 1960 and is buried in Albuquerque. He died September 8, 1996 and is buried in Travelers Rest Cemetery in Samson, Alabama. They had no children.

Louise Frances Brooks Rushing was born November 8, 1906, in Opp, Covington County, Alabama. She received her B.A. degree in English and History from Montevallo College in 1927. She taught school for a number of years. Married William Dykes Rushing July 20, 1927. They had three children: Barbara Brooks Rushing, Betty Blue Rushing and Edward Dykes Rushing. Barbara and Betty are identical twins. Each received A.B. degrees in Education from Florida State University. Barbara married Thomas David Scofield. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. They have three children: Betty Kathryn Scofield, B.A. degree Vanderbilt University; Cynthia Irene Scofield, B.A. degree University of Florida; Julia Louise Scofield, B.S. degree Auburn University. Betty married Wilmer Coleman Banks, B.A. and M.A. degrees Florida State University. They have two children: Barbara Louise Banks, B.A. degree, summa cum laude, Florida State University and Beverly Dru Banks. Edward Dykes Rushing, B.S. degree Auburn University, married Frances Christopher Rushing, B.S. degree Auburn University. They have four children: Lynn Shannon Rushing, B.A. degree Appalachian State College; Frances Ann Rushing; Christie Blue Rushing, B.S. degree North Carolina State; David Dykes Rushing, B.S. degree East Carolina State.

Fleming Smith Brooks is the namesake and great grandson of John Fleming Smith. He is the son of Annie Frances Smith Brooks and Thomas Jefferson Brooks, the grandson of Charles Alexander Smith and Lillie DeBardelaben Smith. He was born December 30, 1915 in Samson, Geneva County, Alabama, and has lived there all of his life. Married Opal Griffin Brooks on December 27, 1935. They are the parents of two children: Fleming Griffin Brooks and Rebecca Louise Brooks. Fleming Smith Brooks’ second wife is Ella Merle Rushing. They were married on September 13, 1958 and reside in Samson, Alabama. Fleming Griffin Brooks, B.S. degree Auburn University, married Sherry Elana Hagler. They have three children: Fleming Griffin Brooks, Jr., Barrett Edward Brooks and Jordan Hagler Brooks. Fleming Griffin Brooks and his father are associated in business. They run Brooks Peanut Company, Brooks Cotton Gins, Brooks Milling Company and Brooks Farms in Samson, Alabama. Fleming Griffin Brooks, Jr. is an orthopedic surgeon in Enterprise, Alabama, B.S. degree Auburn, M.D. degree University of Alabama, Birmingham, Interned Emory University Hospital. Barrett Edward Brooks is a cotton merchant, B.S. degree Auburn. Jordan is a student. Rebecca Louise Brooks, attended Greenbrier College in Virginia and Auburn University, B.S. Auburn, married Milton Mortimer Cooke, Jr. They have three children: Sherri Rebecca Cooke, Rebecca Kristin Cooke and Milton Mortimer Cooke, III.

Saul Pierce Smith, the son of John Fleming and Julia Ann Bulger Smith was born March 14, 1860 in Montgomery County, Alabama. He was three years old at the time his father was killed in battle at Bean’s Station, Tennessee. He went to school in Montgomery and the Elmore Academy where he was trained in building construction and became a successful builder in Geneva, Alabama. He married Sarah Mildred M. Rawlinson from Robinson Springs, Elmore County, Alabama. After incurring a heart problem which made him a semi-invalid, he moved his family to Coffee Springs in Geneva County and operated a small hotel in what was then a summer resort community. He also owned a mercantile store there which he and his two sons ran. He died in a Dothan hospital on March 14, 1919 and is buried in the Coffee Springs Cemetery.

Sarah Mildred M. Rawlinson born December 8, 1861, married Saul Pierce Smith on January 20, 1880 in Robinson Springs, Elmore County, Alabama. She was the daughter of Abb J. B. Rawlinson and Mary Elizabeth Goree Rawlinson. She studied at the Academy of Montgomery and Elmore County, was learned in Latin, French and Astronomy and also read law in her father’s law office. She was active in religious and civic affairs in the town of Samson and Geneva County. She died on April 17, 1942 in Samson, and is buried in the Coffee Springs Cemetery.

Saul Pierce Smith and Sarah Mildred M. Rawlinson Smith were the parents of seven children: Mary Mildred, born 1882, Annie Laurie, born 1885, Saul Rufus, born 1887, Abb Jackson, born 1891, Charles Pauline, born 1894, Lydia (Babe), born 1897 and Sally Pierce, born 1906.

Abb Jackson Smith was the son of Saul Pierce Smith and Sarah Mildred M. Rawlinson Smith. He was born April 15, 1891 in Coffee County, Alabama. He worked with his father in the building construction business and also in running a general mercantile store in Coffee Springs, Alabama. During World War I, he served in the United States Army taking basic training, and from there was sent to Officers Training School, Camp Pike, Arkansas. He was heard to lament the American troops ate up all the potatoes, and this ended World War I. After his discharge by reason of demobilization, he went into the mercantile business at Coffee Springs. This business flourished until the depression and market crash in 1929 when he and many other entrepreneurial farming supply businesses went broke. He then moved to Samson and opened a retail grocery and rolling store business. It ran trucks stocked with canned goods out in the rural farm areas, many times exchanging them for cotton, corn, peanuts, chickens and other farm produce. Later he and his son (Jack) Abb Jackson Smith, Jr. engaged in the building construction business at Panama City, Florida, and Montgomery, Alabama. He died September 8, 1950 in Montgomery and is buried in Travelers Rest Cemetery in Samson, Alabama.

Abb Jackson Smith married Rose Drane Sellers Smith on October 25, 1921, in Coffee Springs, Alabama. They later lived in Samson, Geneva County, Alabama. She is the daughter of Dr. Joel Carter Sellers of Montgomery and Margaret Drane Sellers from Lowndes County. She was born July 14, 1901, in Farmersville, Lowndes County, Alabama. Dr. Sellers moved to Enterprise, Coffee County, Alabama, when she was young. She attended High School in Enterprise and Women’s College in Montevallo, Alabama. She studied voice and music, and was a soloist on numerous occasions. She was also a social news reporter for the Samson Ledger and a special reporter for other state newspapers. There is a plaque in the Samson downtown area commemorating the Samson Garden Club and the work of Rose Sellers Smith for creating beautiful parkways of roses and shrubs in the center portion of the street parkway along West Main Street. The Montgomery Advertiser, in an article by Atticus Mullins in the 1930's, gave the name "City of a million roses" to the town of Samson. She died on June 12, 1940, in Samson and is buried in Travelers Rest Cemetery in Samson, Alabama.

Abb Jackson Smith and Rose Drane Sellers Smith were the parents of six children: Abb Jackson, Jr., born 1924, Maury Drane, born 1927, Joel Pierce, born 1929, Robert Sellers, born 1931, Sarah Margaret, born 1934 and Saul Douglas, born 1939.

Abb Jackson Smith, Jr. graduated from Auburn University in Building Construction. He is a retired commercial building contractor in Geneva, Alabama. Married Mildred Beck from Geneva. She attended Draughon Business School. They have three children: Carolyn Rose, B.S. degree in Physical Education, Auburn University, M.S. degree, Troy State University. Rebecca, B.S. degree in Secondary Education, Auburn University, Jacqueline, B.S. degree in Journalism, Auburn University.

Maury Drane Smith, B.S. and LL.B degrees from the University of Alabama. He is a lawyer in Montgomery, Alabama. Married Lucile West Martin, Clayton, Alabama, B.S. degree University of Alabama. They have three children: Martha Martin Smith, Randolph Macon College Lynchburg, Virginia, and the University of Alabama, B.S. and M.A degrees from the University of Alabama. Sally Drane Smith, Hollins College Roanoke, Virginia, and the University of Alabama. B.S. degree in Interior Design from the University of Alabama. Maury D. Smith, Jr. B.S. degree University of Alabama, M.D. degree Harvard Medical School, interned Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. He is a surgeon in Selma, Alabama.

Joel Pierce Smith, B.S. degree in Journalism Florida State University. He is Publisher and Editor Emeritus of the Eufaula Tribune, Eufaula, Alabama. Married Ann Moxley Sutton, B.A. degree the University of Alabama M.A. degree Vanderbilt University. They have three sons: Joel Pierce Smith, Jr. B.S. degree Washington and Lee University Lexington, Virginia, Juris Doctor degree the University of Alabama. He is a lawyer in Eufaula. Abb Jackson Smith II, B.S. degree Birmingham Southern College Birmingham, Alabama, M.A. degree in Journalism the University of Alabama. He is Editor The Eufaula Tribune. William Sutton Smith B.S. degree Birmingham Southern College in Political Science. He is a political consultant in Montgomery, Alabama, and Arlington, Virginia.

Robert Sellers Smith, B.S. and LL.B. degrees University of Virginia. He is a lawyer in Huntsville, Alabama. Married June Claire West. They have four children. Robert Sellers Smith, Jr., B.S. and M.A. degrees in Industrial Engineering, Renesslaer Polytechnic Institute, M.S. degree in Software Engineering, George Mason University. David West Smith studied at the University of Salzberg in Austria, University of Salamanca and University of Granada in Spain. B.A. degree in Comparative Cultures, Eckerd College, M.B.A. University of Miami. Rosemary True Smith, B.S. degree in Education, University of South Alabama. Adam Douglas Smith, B.A. degree Bowdoin College in Physics and Art, B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, studying for M.S. degree in Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sarah Margaret Smith Price B.S. degree in Business Administration, Auburn University. Married John Sansbury Price of Ozark, Alabama. B.S. degree in Accounting, University of Alabama. He is a Certified Public Accountant in Montgomery, Alabama. They have two children: John S. Price, Jr. is an architect draftsman in Montgomery, Alabama. Lydia Pierce Price, Converse College, Spartanburg, South Carolina, B.S. degree the University of Alabama.

Saul Douglas Smith, Emory University and Huntingdon College B.S. degree. Married Janice Ruth Phillips, B.A. degree in French Huntingdon College, graduate work at Sorbonne in Paris, France. They have two children: Sarah Lovelace Smith attended Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts. Evelyn Pierce Butler Smith attends Montgomery Academy.

Lydia Smith and Sally Pierce Smith, sisters of Abb Jackson Smith, were devoted to their children. After the death of Rose Sellers Smith on June 12, 1940, Sarah Margaret and Saul Douglas lived in their home in Eufaula. One of the Abb Jackson Smith grandchildren is named Lydia and another Sally after them.

Lydia Smith (Babe) was born January 27, 1897, in Geneva, Geneva County, Alabama. She graduated from high school in Coffee Springs, Alabama, in the class of 1914. She married Dr. J.H. Hendry, Jr. on November 15, 1916 and lived in Bainbridge, Georgia. They were divorced in 1931. For several years, she was manager of the York House, a resort hotel in Mountain City, Georgia. In 1944, she moved to Eufaula, Alabama where she resided with her sister, Sally Pierce Smith. She was Barbour County director of the American Red Cross for several years. She and her sister, Sally Pierce, were matriarchs to many of the John Fleming Smith descendants. If they were in a dispute and you agreed with one of them, the other would quickly assail you. She died on February 18, 1988, and is buried in the Coffee Springs Cemetery.

Sally Pierce Smith was born January 15, 1906 in Coffee Springs, Geneva County, Alabama. She attended Auburn University and Troy State Teachers College, B.S. degree. She taught school in the Eufaula, Alabama, City Public School System from 1926 to 1968 when she retired. She is remembered admiringly by her former students. Her sister Lydia, and Sarah Margaret and Saul Douglas, children of Abb Jackson Smith, lived with her in Eufaula. She was like her mother, for whom she was named, a delightful lady with lots of charm and personality. Sally Pierce Smith never married. She devoted practically all of her adult life to the care of members of her family and helping people, including some of us, to speak grammatically correct. She died at Eufaula on August 17, 1990, and is buried in the Coffee Springs Cemetery.

Saul Rufus Smith born October 21, 1887 in Elmore County, Alabama, son of Saul Pierce and Sarah Mildred Rawlinson Smith. He worked with his father and brother Abb Jackson Smith in the mercantile business at Coffee Springs, Alabama. Played professional baseball as a pitcher in the Cotton States League. Served as Postmaster and rural mail carrier from 1912 until his retirement in 1949. He was noted for knowing every family in the Coffee Springs area and throughout most areas of Geneva County. He married Dora Bryan Lyster from Inverness in Bullock County. He died January 18, 1968 and is buried in the Coffee Springs Cemetery. She died October 26, 1987 and is buried in the Coffee Springs Cemetery. They were the parents of seven children:

Abb Rufus Smith born April 30, 1914 in Coffee Springs. Married Marie Louise Davis of Geneva. In World War II, he served with the 171st Engineer Combat Battalion in both the Pacific and the European Theaters. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the European Service Medal and the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal. He owned and operated the Geneva Machine and Fabrication Company. He died August 19, 1985 and is buried in Memorial Garden Cemetery in Geneva, Alabama. They have two children Marie Smith Riddle and Abb Rufus Smith, Jr.

Saul Pierce Smith born August 3, 1916. Served in the United States Army in the Panama Canal Zone and in France and Germany as a combat infantryman in World War II. He received the European-African Service Medal with three Bronze Stars. He was never married. He died May 1, 1990 and is buried in the Coffee Springs Cemetery.

Carolyn Smith Andrews born September 14, 1919 in Coffee Springs. Married Jesse Bruce Andrews of Samson, Alabama. She died November 8, 1997 and is buried in the Coffee Springs Cemetery. He died August 31, 1999 and is buried in the Coffee Springs Cemetery. They have three children, Charles Bruce, Stanley Steven and Priscilla.

Bryan Lyster Smith born August 11, 1922 in Coffee Springs. Married Sarah Lillian Miller of Coffee Springs. Had career employment with the A&P Company. Served in World War II with Patton’s 3rd Army, was in five major battles in the European Theater. They have three children, Charles Bryan, George Edwin and Charlotte Ann. They reside in Montgomery Alabama.

Charles Eugene Smith born December 9, 1924 in Coffee Springs. Married Mildred Watford of Coffee Springs. He was a civil service employee at Fort Rucker, Alabama, until his retirement. They have two children, Ronald Eugene, and Miriam Reese. They reside in Coffee Springs.

Richard Wilson Smith born December 13, 1927 in Coffee Springs. Married Mary Alice Campbell. He worked for the U.S. Postal Service from 1945 until his retirement in 1989. Mary worked in the Geneva County Public School System until her retirement in 1995. They have five children, Vicki, Masters Degree Troy State and Auburn University, Lydia, B.S. Degree Pharmacy, Auburn University, Suzanne, B.S. Degree Interior Furnishing, Auburn University, Richard W., Jr., attended Enterprise State and Wallace Community Colleges and Jeffery, B.S. Degree in Accounting, Auburn University.

Ronald E. Smith born December 1, 1930 in Coffee Springs. Married Patricia Murdock of Coffee Springs. He was a career employee with the General Electric Company. She was a teacher in the Enterprise Public School System. They have three children, Ronald, Ronali and Jedwin. They reside in Coffee Springs.

The towns of Samson, Coffee Springs, Geneva and Slocomb in Geneva County, are near each other. The descendants of John Fleming Smith, who lived in those towns, have close family ties. All of them have been heretofore mentioned, except the children of Mildred Harris Segrest and Hugh Benjamin Segrest, who lived in Coffee Springs and Slocomb. Mildred Harris Segrest is the daughter of LeRoy Edwin Harris and Mary Mildred Smith Harris. She is the granddaughter of Saul Pierce and Sarah Mildred Rawlinson Smith.

Hugh Benjamin Segrest, Jr. born December 6, 1926 in Coffee Springs, Alabama. Son of Mildred Harris Segrest and Hugh Benjamin Segrest. Grandson of LeRoy Edwin Harris and Mary Mildred Smith Harris. Attended Auburn University. Worked with his father in the Segrest Feed and Seed Company business in Slocomb, Alabama. He is now its Chairman and President. Married Patricia Brazil of Bonifay, Florida. They have two daughters: Judith Mildred and Nancianne. They reside in Graceville, Florida.

Lydia Anne Segrest, born August 8, 1935 in Slocomb, Geneva County, Alabama, daughter of Mildred Harris Segrest and Hugh Benjamin Segrest, Sr., attended Sullins College in Bristol, Virginia and Troy State University. B.S. Degree in Education. Teacher in the Dothan Public School System. Married Harold G. Merritt. They have two children: Harold G. Merritt, Jr. and Segrid Merritt.

THE ANCESTORS OF JULIA ANN BULGER SMITH

The progenitor generations of Julia Ann Bulger Smith family antedate the Revolutionary War. Charles N. Bulger was born in 1808 in Richland District, South Carolina. He married Mary Julia Butler on April 8, 1834 in Montgomery County. They were the parents of Julia Ann Bulger Smith. Mary Julia Butler Bulger was the daughter of Henry and Sarah Butler, who came to Alabama from Georgia @ 1817. Charles N. Bulger died February 10, 1848 and is buried at Shorter, Montgomery County, Alabama.

Pierce D. Bulger, born in Beauford County, North Carolina, in 1785, married Sarah Anne Adams of Beauford County. They were the parents of Charles N. Bulger, Michael J. Bulger, Pierce D. Bulger and John Carroll Bulger. Sarah Anne Adams, born @ 1790, was the daughter of John Carroll Adams of Beauford, North Carolina. She was a descendant of President John Adams’ family. Pierce D. Bulger was in the War of 1812 and was wounded. He died in 1815 in Richland District South Carolina.

Michael William Bulger, father of Pierce D. Bulger came from Ireland during, or just prior to, the American Revolutionary War, 1776. He was a brother of Lord John Bulger of Ireland and came with Gen. Baron DeKalb to join the American Revolution. He was with Gen. DeKalb when he was killed in battle at Camden, South Carolina. Michael William Bulger was wounded in that battle, but recovered.

The Bulger family came to Montgomery in 1823. Charles N. Bulger, along with his brother Michael J. Bulger, left Columbia, South Carolina, moved to Alabama and located in Montgomery in 1823. They were apprenticed to a gin maker and remained with him five or six years. Michael removed to Tallapoosa County and lived there until his death. He was a member of the Alabama Legislature in 1851, 1857, and 1866. He was a brigadier general, commanding the 47th Alabama Infantry in the battle of Fredericksburg and, prior to that, Cedar Run. At the battle of Gettysburg, he was in General Laws Brigade commanding the 47th Alabama Infantry in the charge on Little Round Top and was wounded.

Charles N. Bulger was a successful farmer in Montgomery and Elmore counties. His land holdings were estimated, eleven thousand acres at one time. His children in addition to Julia Ann Bulger, were Ezekiel Bulger and Lovick Pierce Bulger. Both were killed in the war between the states. Thus, Julia Ann Bulger Smith, wife of John Fleming Smith lost her husband and two brothers in the war.

The descendants of John Fleming and Julia Ann Bulger Smith and their forefathers are closely intertwined with the early history of Alabama and Montgomery County. His death in the war at an early age caused dire hardships on his immediate family, which they withstood, as did numerous other families, both during and after the war. Their descendants have personified those qualities. Many of them have succeeded in their various business and professional lives and have been a part of the civic, religious and social life of Alabama.

Killed in the cause of the Confederacy when he was 29 years old in 1863, John Fleming Smith lives on in the hearts and telltale memories of numerous descendants, who revere his family name and the ultimate sacrifice he made. Verses from In Flanders Field, written by Lt. Colonel John MacRae and Moina Michael in 1915-1918, best state our sentiments about the crosses which were in the Confederate Cemetery at Bean Station, Tennessee, and are no more:

Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead, short days ago,
We lived - felt dawn - and saw sunset glow,
loved - and were loved - and now we lie
In Flanders Field...

Oh you who sleep in Flanders Field,
Sleep sweet to rise anew,
We caught the torch you threw,
And holding high we kept,
The faith of those who died.
We cherish too the poppy red,
That grows on fields where valour led,
It seemed to signal in the skies,
The blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red,
Of the flower that blooms above the dead,
In Flanders Field.

The present generation of his descendants is limited in this paper to the families of Annie Frances Smith Brooks, Abb Jackson Smith, Saul Rufus Smith and Mildred Harris Segrest. To include all of the other cousins and relatives would have made it too lengthy, as much as I would have liked doing so.

Smith, Derrick, Bulger, Butler, Adams, Rawlinson, Debardelaben are families connected with the lineage of John Fleming Smith and Julia Ann Bulger Smith families.

REFERENCES AND SOURCES

The Smith Family of Alabama, 1975, by Lydia Smith of Eufaula, Alabama

Montgomery County Records by Jones and Gandrud, Vol. 238

1830 Census Montgomery County

Marriage Records Montgomery County, 1817-1850, compiled by Pauline Jones Gandrud

1850 Census Montgomery County

History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography by Thomas McAdory Owen LL.D. 1921

Memorial Record of Alabama, Vol. II, The Reprint Company, Publishers, Spartanburg, South Carolina 1976

Editorial Page Comments by Joel Pierce Smith, Editor of the Eufaula Tribune

Internet access by Dianne Early, legal secretary, Balch & Bingham

Cemeteries of Elmore County, Vol. II, by Linda and Tracey Blankenship, Library Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama

1850 Census Autauga County, Alabama

Marriage Records Autauga County, Alabama, 1854-1868, Vols. 4 and 5

Confederate Home Front, Montgomery During the Civil War, William Warren Rogers, Jr.

 

Maury D. Smith, admitted to the Alabama Bar in 1952, is a practicing lawyer in the Montgomery office of Balch & Bingham. He is a former Assistant Attorney General of Alabama and a Deputy District Attorney for Montgomery County. A past President of the Montgomery County Bar Association. Listed in the Best Lawyers in America. A former member of the University of Alabama Board of Trustees and presently Trustee Emeritus. He is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the American Bar Foundation. He serves as President of the Alabama Heritage Foundation.

 

Send Comments about this Montgomery County site to Carolyn Golowka I do not live in Alabama so I am unable to help with your personal research questions. All the information I know about Montgomery County is posted promptly on this site. Please visit the "Research Resources" section of this site. I would suggest that if you don't find the information your looking for here, that you join the email list and post your question on the query board. The more places you ask the question, the better your chances of getting an answer.

ALGenWeb is part of the USGenWeb Project.  To volunteer for, or comment about ALGenWeb, contact Jeff Kemp, State Coordinator.

Thanks to the volunteers who sponsor the counties and everyone who has donated files to the site.

© 2001- 2018 by Carolyn Golowka and this sites contributors. All rights reserved. This information may be used by libraries, genealogical societies and genealogists, however, commercial use of this information is strictly prohibited without prior permission of the owners. If copied, this copyright notice must appear with the information.