This section is for brief histories of Dale County, Alabama families. I invite you to send very brief histories of families to be included here. They MUST be Dale County families: if you do not mention any Dale County connection, they will not be included. Your entry must be limited to no more than one regular typing page because of our limited space. Send your history to me by email: Robert Earl Woodham.
If a family listed here has a link (in blue), you may contact that person for additional information. Please do NOT contact me unless you see my link with the family.
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ll the Bagwell's of southeast Alabama are descendants of Redmon R. (also as Redden) Bagwell, b. 13 Mar., 1810 in SC and died Oct., 1866 in Dale Co. He m. Rhoda Corley (1813-1898). They lived in Gwinnett Co., Ga. until the 1860's when they moved to the forks of the Choctawhatchee River and settled next to the Woodham family. They had at least 13 ch.: William R., John N. A., Larkin R. M. V., James A. J., Curtis G., Nancy, Rhoda Jane, Daniel M., Pinkston V., Louisa P., Joseph W., Baxley H. and Sarah L. The Bagwell's became close friends with the Woodham family and were buried in the Woodham Family Cemetery near Newton. The intersection of Woodham Road and Newton-Echo Road, just north of US Hwy. 231, is now known as "Bagwell's Crossroads". The family bought this land from the Woodham family.William R. (1839-1863), John N. A. (1840-1862) and James A. J. (1843-1863) all died as soldiers in the Confederate States Army during the War for Southern Independence. Larkin R. M. V. Bagwell (1842-1905) m. Argent ? and had 11 ch., all died as infants except William Riley Bagwell (1877-1949) and Cordelia Caroline ("Delia") m. Joseph Peacock. Larkin m. (2) to Frances ? and had Daniel (1903).
Curtis G. ("Curt") Bagwell (1845-1916) m. Martha Ann Stevens in 1873 and had 11 ch., including James Wesley, John M., Mary Elizabeth ("Mollie"), William C., Daniel Frank, Pinkston V. ("Pink"), Cletus and Middleton. Curt and Martha Ann are buried at the Woodham Cemetery.
Submitted by: Robert Earl Woodham
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ll the Enfinger's of Dale County and all the Emfinger's of Alabama and Infinger's of panhandle Florida are descendants of the same Infinger family who came from Germany in the 1740's to Dorchester County, SC. Conrad Cornelius Infinger brought his family to Dale Co. in the late 1820's and was among the earliest pioneers of the region.CORNELIUS INFINGER was born in the 1760's. Neither of his two wives are known. He had at least 12 children, including John (1786), Henry (1795), Jacob ("Jake") (ca 1796), Nicholas ("Nick") (1803), Emanuel (1806), Daniel (1809- 1883) and Ellis (1812-1870). Cornelius died in Dale Co. in the 1840's. Due to illiteracy in pioneer days, the spelling of this family name has undegone numerous spellings over the years. The modern spelling for the family in Southeast Alabama and most of those in panhandle Florida is Enfinger.
HENRY ENFINGER m. Nancy Ann Brown in 1825 in Henry Co. Nancy was a dau. of Lewis and Mary Brown. They had at least 6 ch, including Lavinia, Thomas (1832-1989), Alsa (Elsa, Alesey) and Haminton (1841). Henry died in the 1860's.
JACOB INFINGER had 2 sons, Abraham and Francis, both of whom moved to Florida, and at least 4 daughters, one of whom, Sarah, m. Moses Riley.
NICHOLAS INFINGER (1803-1860's) and his wife Mary A. had at least 10 ch: Lucy, Mary, Nancy Frances ("Fannie"), Elizabeth, Charles Edward (1843-1881) m. Elizabeth Evans, James, Enos (1848), Benjamin Franklin and Henry. Nicholas moved to Walton Co., Fl. in the 1860's.
EMANUEL ENFINGER (1806) had at least 10 ch, including Jane Elizabeth, John, Francis Marion, Lavinia m. (1) J. H. Larrimore and (2) Nathan Hall; Gilbert, James E. and Clarissa.
DANIEL ENFINGER (1809-1883) m. (1) Lydia and they had at least 8 ch, including Nicholas ("Nick"), John, Mary, Jennie, Thomas, Absolem Noah and Jasper. DANIEL m. (2) Nancy Rhoda Jane Bagwell in 1878. They had 3 ch: Rhoda Jane m. James Roberts, Josephus ("Joe C.") (1880-1956) m. Lula Jane Thompson and Henry Terrell (1882-1922) m. Anzilla ("Annie") Riley. Daniel and Nancy Rhoda Jane are buried at Mt. Carmel Methodist Church Cemetery.
NICHOLAS ("Nick") ENFINGER, son of Daniel, was born 24 Mar., 1832 in Dale Co. and died 8 Jan., 1918. He m. Margaret Beverett in 1850. They had 9 ch.: Joseph Henry ("Joe"), Mildred Ann ("Milly") (1856-1934) m. Ira Edward Woodham, John Wesley (Wesley), Nicholas Jr., Daniel A., Horatio Nelson ("Nelse"), John E., James Irvin (Erwin) and Benjamin. Nick served in both the Confederate States Army and was captured by the yankees and given the choice of prison or joining the yankee army, during the War for Southern Independence. He and Margaret are buried at Mt. Carmel Church.
ELLIS ENFINGER (1812-1870) m. Matilda Tiller and had 9 ch: Sarah ("Sally") m. John Beverett, Cornelius (1838- 1898) m. Sarah Vann, William ("Billy") (1841-1921) m. Martha Atwell, Mary Jane, Piety Ann m. Wiley Wesley Riley, Mill- edge (1850-1920) m. Martha Frances. Martha Ann (1854-1913) m. Daniel W. Woodham, Nellie and Isabella ("Ibba") m. William Bull.
Submitted by: Robert Earl Woodham
Richard A. Ramsey was b 22 Feb 1838 in Randolph Co., Ga. He migrated to Dale Co. in the late 1850's. He was a school teacher prior to the War for Southern Independence in the 1860's. He enlisted 8 Aug 1863 in the 57th Alabama Regiment of Infantry, Confederate States Army. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1864 and several months later was captured by yankees during the seige of Atlanta. He was held as a prisoner of war at Johnson's Island, OH. until 16 Jun 1865. He returned to Dale Co. and mar Mary Elizabeth Griffith Newman, widow of Robert E. Newman (son of Samuel), who had died in the war. She was a dau of Oliver Herrin Griffith and Matilda Washington. Mary and Robert had 5 ch: Samuel O., Robert A., John, Elzora and Jefferson Davis Newman. Mary and Richard had 4 ch: Reeves Monroe, Walter Dekel, Leah L. and Nevada M. Ramsey.
Richard continued to teach and also farmed the land Mary's father gave them. He was elected Sheriff of Dale County in Mar, 1876 and serve one 4 year term. He died 18 Mar 1884 in Dale Co. from pneumonia caused by smoke inhalation while fighting the fire which consumed the county courthouse earlier that month. Richard, Mary and her father are buried in the Newton Cemetery.
Roselyn Shiver
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everal different Ward families settled in Dale County and the Wiregrass area during pioneer days. One of the largest is des- cended from John Ward Sr. and his wife Nancy ("Patsy"). Very little is known of John personally.JAMES CASWELL ("Cash") WARD (1794-abt 1866) married (1) Delphy Barefield and had at least 7 ch: Amanda, Carmela, Sarah, Delpha, John T., Mary and James. Amanda m. a Johnson. Sarah m. a Strickland. Delpha m. a Watson. John T. (1829-1891) m. Rebecca Strickland. James C. m. (2) Mrs. Malissa Johnson Payne. Cash was elected to the Alabama General Assembly in 1845 and re-elected in 1853 and 1855. He was on the commission which selected Newton as the Dale County capitol; it was then moved there from Daleville. Cash and his two wives are buried at Salem Baptist Church.
THEOPHILUS ("Thial, Theal") WARD (1796-abt 1865) m. 1st Martha Vickers and they had at least 10 ch., including Thomas C. ("Tom"), Mary, David, Nancy, Martha, Elizabeth ("Betty") and John Wesley. Thomas C. ("Tom") Ward (1833) m. Elizabeth Benton. David Ward (1838-1863) m. Charity Nichols. Nancy Ward (1839) m. James Dykes. Elizabeth Ward (1846) m. John Trawick. After the death of Martha, Thial m. 2nd Mrs. Mary Simmons in 1852.
JOHNATHAN C. WARD (1798-abt 1855) m. Rachel Chavas (Javis) in 1824 at Augusta, Ga. on his move from SC to Dale Co. They had at least 9 ch. including James ("Jimmy"), David, George Washington Sr., William J., Christina, Sarah, John and Kenneth. George Washington Ward Sr. (1835-1900) m. Rhoda; they had 3 ch.: George W. Jr. (1865-1943) m. Leona; Narcissus ("Narcis") (1869); and Elizabeth (1872). Jimmy Ward reportedly moved to Texas. Sarah ("Sally") Ward (1840-abt 1897) m. John Wesley Woodham: they had 6 ch. Both are buried at Wiggins Chapel Cemetery in Grimes. Kenneth Ward (1847) m. Harriett Elmore. Rachel died after 1880 and is buried at Whitewater Cemetery.
Submitted by: Robert Earl Woodham
JAMES YEOMAN, son of Solomon Yeomans, was b. ca 1805 in South Carolina. He mar. NANCY DILLARD, b. ca 1805, dau of Sampson Dillard and Sarah Phoebe Neal. James moved from Beaufort Dist., SC with his father and brothers Redden and John to Emanuel Co., Ga. before 1810. In 1831, James and other relatives moved to Jefferson Co., Fl. where James joined the Florida Militia at Monticello and fought in the Second Seminole War, 1836. Sometime before 1855, James moved to Dale County. After he moved to Dale, he filed petitions for federal bounty land for his military service: his claim was rejected. James was shown on the 1860 and 1870 Dale Co. US Census. His daughter Ziltha Nancy Yeomans also moved to this area with her husband, William R. Burge. These families were also related to the Buckner family by marriage. The Buckners moved here from Ga. All three families lived here after 1850 and raised large families.
Submitted by Wylline Waters
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