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Farming For A Better Future, page 434
St. Stephen Primitive
Baptist Church
Located in West Decatur on 7th Avenue between Moulton and 1st streets, St. Stephen is one of the oldest churches in Decatur. The Reverend George Franklin was pastor in 1875. The first private school for African American children was organized in this church in 1875. Unfortunately, after a fire burned the church, the school was moved to King's Memorial.
Stone, John - Plantation*
The name “J. Stone” was found on an 1837 map of Alabama made by John LaTourrette. This land belonged to John Stone according to a 1832 land patent (no. 556) awarding John Stone, as assignee of James Green, “the southeast quarter of Section 33, in Township 7, of Range 5 West” containing 156 acres. John Stone owned 20 slaves in 1830 and had one free person of color living on his plantation. Stone was not found on the 1840 census, but appears on the 1850 living in Panola, Texas. Exactly when he left Morgan County is unknown.
John and Mildred Stone of Virginia had a daughter named Anne who married Drury Stovall, Sr., another local plantation owner. The plantation was somewhere southeast of Danville.
(Above) 1818 Cotaco (Morgan) County Tract Book Record, Abraham and Thomas Skidmore (U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records)
Stovall, Peter - Plantation(
The eldest son of at least seven children born to Drury Stovall, Sr. and Anne Stone Stovall, Peter was one member of a large planter family. In 1824, Peter acquired about 120 acres in Section 8, Township 6 South, Range 4 West and another 120 acres in Section 5 of the same township and range. The following year, he purchased 80 acres in Section 10. In 1828, he expanded his land by 240 acres. Overall, Peter Stovall held land patents in Morgan, Lawrence, and Winston counties, totaling 1,360 acres between 1824 and 1839. For all this land, it appears that Stovall did not own many slaves relative to his neighbors. In 1840 and 1850, he owned five and six slaves, respectively.
Perhaps he passed much of his wealth on to his children before his death in 1857.
(Left) Photograph of General Jesse Winston Garth
(Findagrave.com Posted By Phil Wirey) (Below) 1831 Morgan County Tract Book Record, Gen. Jesse W. Garth (U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records)
Summerseat Plantation*
The summer home of James Fennell, overlooking Happy Hallow, west of Trinity no longer stands, but the Fennell Cemetery with over 90 graves is situated to the southwest and once accompanied the house.
James Fennell appears on the 1840 census in Morgan County. He is noted as owning seven slaves at this time. James had passed away in 1849, leaving his estate to his widow, Mary Curtis King Fennell. The 1850 census records Mary owning 31 slaves. In 1860, she was living across the county line in Lawrence County and owned 35 slaves. The extended Fennell family collectively owned at least a couple hundred slaves by the time of the Civil War.
Sykes-Garth Plantation*
General Jesse Winston Garth was a veteran of the War of 1812 and is commonly accepted as a founder of Decatur and Morgan County. He was one of the earliest patent holders and by 1818, more than 1,479 acres of Morgan County was patented to Garth. From 1824-1854, Garth held 28 land patents in Morgan, - (4962)