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The People Who Lived on the Land that is Now Redstone Arsenal, page 96
[This parcel fits the description of Parcel A-17 that was purchased by the Army from M.G. Chaney.] Perroni (Shogren et al. 1989:240) states that records indicate James P. Matthews and his wife did not live on this property but southwest of the property on land owned by Lucy Matthews. She notes the 1880 Madison County census enumerates many Black families living in the area; many of the Black families were named Holding.
In 1892, the 700-acre parcel left the ownership of the Matthews family when it was sold to Elizabeth Davis. The deed description:
All of the West half (W V2) of Southwest quarter (SW %) of Section seven (7), South of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad; also the North part of the Northwest quarter (NW %) of Section 18, all in Township four (4), Range one (1) West,--also all of the South half (S ^) of Section twelve (12), South of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad; also the North part of the Northeast quarter (NE %) and the North part of the Northwest quarter (NW %) of Section thirteen (13) and that part of Southeast quarter (SE %) of Section eleven (11) East of Indian Creek, and south of Memphis and Charleston Railroad, all in Township four (4), Range two (2) West??"said land being described by limits and bounds as follows:
Beginning at intersection of quarter section line, running South through center Section seven (7), with South (south) boundary of Memphis & Charleston railroad, thence South on quarter section line seventy-eight (78) chains sixty (60) links to a stake on said quarter section line in Section eighteen (18), thence Westwardly and parallel with Section lines through sections twelve (12) and thirteen (13) one hundred and twenty (120) chains to West boundary of Section thirteen (13) thence North on Section line twenty (20) chains to Northwest corner of said Section, thence West on Section line eighteen (18) chains and fifty (50) lines to Indian Creek, then up said creek as it meanders to Bridge on Memphis & Charleston R.R., thence with said railroad North 74 1/4 , degrees East one hundred forty-eight and 90/100 chains to beginning and containing seven hundred (700) acres, more or less (Deed Record WW:212-13).
(Shogren et al. 1989:240-241)
Perroni noted one discrepancy in this. The metes and bounds description includes the entire southwest quarter of Section 7.
The next owner of Parcel 17-A was Elizabeth Davis, who owned it until her death in 1896. Her will indicates she suffered a long illness beginning in 1893. She may have been living with her son, Loundes H. Davis, to whom she bequeathed the 700-acre parcel she owned (Probate Case #4416, Probate Minute 24:347360). He and his wife, Mary B. Davis, had two sons, Clarendon and Paul.
Shogren et al. (1989:241) state that Loundes and Mary Davis deeded a strip of land 100 feet wide containing 22.23 acres (Deed Record 114:580) to Alabama Property Company.
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