Notes:

Died:
Source: Headstone

Alvin married Willie McCants. Willie was born on 3 Apr 1890; died on 22 Mar 1981; was buried in Pleasant Home Free Will Baptist Cemetery. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Info from Owen Daniel McEachern (1991), via Jane Linton, PO Box 218, Gordon, Alabama 36343.

Notes:

General Notes: Correspondence from Owen Daniel McEachern, grandson, via Jane Linton, P.O. Box 218, Gordon, Alabama 36343.

"James Owen, the son of John and Sarah Ann Lammons McEachern, was born at Barnes Cross Roads, Dale County, Alabama, October 28, 1854. He attended public schools there, and then took additional courses, which qualified him to be a schoolteacher. Mary Barton Miller was born in 1860 and she was 20 years old when she fell in love with James Owen. They were married in 1880 and, not long after that, they moved to Pike County, Alabama, where he became a teacher at Blackwood School. There, their first two sons were born.

With their growing family, James Owen and Mary decided to make a change, and during the latter part of 1885, moved to Dothan, Alabama. James Owen entered into a partnership there with his cousin, Earley Garner, in a hardware business. James Owen also became an administrative assistant to Dothan's first mayor and a few years later became the third mayor of Dothan. In 1892 Mary contracted typhoid fever. She lingered 88 agonizing days and then quietly passed away November 30, 1892. She was buried in the Dothan City Cemetery.

With the death of his wife, James Owen was left with three young sons to raise, Alvin 11, James Cleveland 8, and Daniel Carlie 3. He prevailed on his widowed mother, Sarah Ann Lammons McEachern, to leave Dale County and come to Dothan to help raise the children. She accepted the challenge, bringing with her Daniel Carlie, her bachelor son (Uncle Pick) who lived with her. In the meantime the hardware store was suffering from neglect and was not doing well financially. Too, there were differences of opinion between the partners over management policies, which led to the sale of the business.

In 1894 James Owen moved the family to the nearby small settlement of Dundee, and began farming there. After almost two years at Dundee, it did not appear that the family could make a go of it there, and James Owen began exploring other possibilities. He still owned his house and lot in Dothan, and was finally able to swap it, "Even-Steven", to a Doctor Chapman for 40 acres of land, with a house thereon, at Thurston, Geneva County, Alabama, about 40 miles away.

The family, including James Owen, Sarah Ann, Uncle Pick, Alvin, James Cleveland, and young Daniel Carlie, were on their way to their new home on January 1, 1896. The date was well remembered because of the bitter cold and the 14 inches of snow on the ground, something most unusual in that area. After they were settled in at Thurston, they began clearing and cultivating the land. With Sarah Ann doing the housework, and the men and boys doing the farm work, they adjusted easily to their new surroundings.

On August 6, 1900, James Owen was elected tax assessor for Geneva County and served in that capacity from September 1, 1900 through August 31, 1905. The usual term of four years had been extended to five years due to a change in the election laws. During his term of office, James Owen purchased an additional 160 acres of land at Thurston from William Holloway.

In 1903, the 3 McEachern sons, Alvin, James Cleveland, and Daniel Carlie decided to go out on their own and moved to Hartford, Alabama, where they established a furniture store. It was in Hartford that Alvin and James Cleveland met the girls who would later become their wives. While James Owen was tax assessor he met Lou Ada Hagans, an illiterate girl who lived with her parents, Z.B. and Martha Riley Hagans. Lou Ada had been born in Dale County, Alabama, September 24, 1886. The two soon fell in love and were married at the bride's home on Sunday, October 15, 1904.

James Owen taught her how to read and write, and do mathematics. When his eyesight failed in his declining years, she was able to handle all his correspondence and all accounting records. Soon after the marriage of James Owen and Lou Ada, his brother, "Uncle Pick" and their mother, Sarah Ann, moved to a house on his own land about a mile away. Sarah Ann did the housekeeping chores while "Uncle Pick" managed the farm work. This set-up continued for some time, until "Uncle Pick" was able to employ two colored workers to live with them, Minnie Collier who would cook and handle the housework, and Frank Parks, who would assist with the farm work.

In the meantime, to make room for the two new employees, Sarah Ann moved back in with James Owen and his wife, Lou Ada. The furniture store in Hartford had done well for several years, but by 1909 was beginning to fall on hard times, and plans were made to sell the business, the sale was finally consummated in April 1910, and on May 1, 1910, was turned over to the new owners. On that date Danile Carlie and James Cleveland returned to Thurston and moved in with "Uncle Pick" and assisted with the farm work.

Alvin remained in Hartford for a time as he had married in 1908, and had a young son. They were having a house built in Thurston, and when it was completed in 1910 he and his family moved there. At about the same time, Sarah Ann decided to visit friends and relatives at the old home place in Dale County. While there she became ill, and on June 27, 1911, she died. She was buried at Mount Olive Cemetery in the Rocky Head community in Dale County.

The McEacherns used the proceeds from the sale of the furniture store to buy an additional 320 acres of land at Thurston from William Holloway. This brought the family holdings to 520 acres, and it was decided at this time to formally divide the acreage among the family. James Cleveland was given power of attorney to accomplish this through a series of deeds.

The McEacherns cleared and cultivated their lands, raising corn, cotton, and peanuts, as well as livestock. In addition to the crops, they did a thriving business smoking and curing hams, bacon, and sausage, shipping it throughout the south. They also used the meat in paying workers to stump and clear their land."

--Owen Daniel McEachern

James married Mary Bartow Miller in 1880 in Barnes Cross Roads, Dale, Alabama. Mary was born in 1860; died on 30 Nov 1892; was buried in Dothan City Cemetery. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
According to Owen Daniel McEachern (grandson):

Mary Barton Miller was born in 1860 and she was 20 years old when
she fell in love with James Owen. They were married in 1880 and, not long after that, they moved to Pike
County, Alabama, where he became a teacher at Blackwood School. There their first two sons were born.
With their growing family, James Owen and Mary decided to make a change, and during the latter part of 1885,
moved to Dothan, Alabama. James Owen entered into a partnership there with his cousin, Earley Garner, in a
hardware business. James Owen also became an administrative assistant to Dothan's first mayor and a few
years later became the third mayor of Dothan. In 1892 Mary contracted typhoid fever. She lingered 88
agonizing days and then quietly passed away November 30, 1892. She was buried in the Dothan City
Cemetery.

Notes:

Married:
This information comes from correspondence from Owen Daniel McEachern (grandson) via Jane Linton, PO Box 218, Gordon, Alabama 36343

Notes:

General Notes: 1850 Dale Co., Alabama Census, Dwelling 852, p. 455. Correspondence from Owen Daniel McEachern, 615 Roberta Ave., Orlando Fla. 32803, (1991) via Jane Linton, P.O. Box 218, Gordon, Alabama 36343

"John was born April 1, 1816, in North Carolina, the son of Archibald and Catherine. He moved with his parents to Barnes Cross Roads, Dale County, Alabama, when he was 17 years old. In 1836 he began purchasing land there, accumulating 162.88 acres for which he paid $1.25 per acre, for a total of $203.59. "John was made constable of the Barnes Cross Roads area at age 22, and later was Justice of the Peace for two terms."

"John married Sarah Ann Lammon at Christmastime, 1841. She was born February 26, 1826, at Green Swamp, North Carolina."

-- Owen Daniel McEachern, great grandson

John married Sarah Ann Lammon on 25 Dec 1841 in Dale County, Alabama. Sarah (daughter of Duncan Lammon and Nancy Ann McCoulskey) was born on 26 Feb 1826 in Green Swamp, North Carolina; died on 27 Jun 1911 in Barnes Cross Roads, Dale, Alabama. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

General Notes: THE LAMMON TREE by Avis, Irene & Sadie Lammon. 1850 Dale Co., Alabama Census, p. 455, Dwelling 852.

The following is excerpted from "Sons of the Horse Lords, Genealogy of The McEachern Family, 1788-1995" - Owen Daniel McEachern.

"?James Owen McEachern is in our direct line of ancestors, and additional information is given about his life in a succeeding section. He died at the age of 76 on February 9, 1931, and is buried at Thurston Cemetery..."

"Sarah Ann Lammon was only 4 years old when she left North Carolina with her family in 1830, after joining a wagon train to seek new territories for themselves. The families in the wagon train spent many days and nights on the rugged trails, marked only by previous travelers who had blazed the way. Her parents, Duncan and Ann McColskie Lammon, enjoyed the northern areas of Alabama and Georgia, and they tarried there for about two years. They had been warmly welcomed by the Cherokees in what was called "The Cherokee Nation." The Indians treated them royally, often inviting them to their celebrations and other rituals."

"In 1833 the Lammon's bade goodbye to the Indians and pushed on southward. It was during this trip they saw the 'Stars Falling on Alabama' a noted event which was later immortalized in song."

"The Lammons eventually reached an area they liked, called Barnes Cross Roads, Alabama, and they settled there. "Sarah Ann married John McEachern at Christmastime, 1841. Sometime in the 5 or 6 years following the birth of her last child, James Owen in 1854, his father, John, disappeared. Where he went has remained a mystery to this day. Some of the older members of the family believed he may have gone to Texas with a young girl of the area who disappeared about the same time. Other family members mention hearsay to the effect that John was asked by his wife, Sarah Ann, one cold rainy night to ride to the grocery store and buy salt so she could complete the evening meal. He went to the store and bought the salt. However, when he returned home he was reprimanded by Sarah Ann for buying rock salt rather than the desired table salt. She instructed John to return the salt to the store and to exchange it for the proper kind."

"Sarah Ann was known to be very strict and firm, and since she was so overbearing she probably exhibited those qualities on that occasion. In any event, John took the salt and headed back toward the store. What happened next has never been determined, but he never returned home, and nothing further was ever heard of him. "Sarah Ann did an excellent job thereafter in caring for her children. By the judicious use of the farm income, supplemented by money she earned as a seamstress, she was able to have all her children finish their public education, and in the case of her two youngest sons, Daniel Carlie and James Owen, see them through further education which enabled them to be public school teachers."

---Owen Daniel McEachern, great grandson