| 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
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1854 - 1931 (76 years)
