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Farming For A Better Future, page 446
Following the Civil War and Emancipation, Matthew H. Banks found success as a Republican leader. Matthew H. Banks was part of the group who founded King's Memorial United Methodist Church. He helped to convince the City of Decatur to support the right to public education for African American children. This resulted in the St. Paul Methodist Episcopal Church building becoming one of the first sites of an African American school, and he was the second man of color elected to the Decatur City Council after Reconstruction. Matthew H. Banks was the beginning of a legacy of a very prominent family in the African American community through the 20th century. Matthew Hewlett Banks married Eliza Walden (born 1844) around 1865. Together, they had at least five children, one of which was Hewlett J. Banks. Eliza was a member of the St. Paul Methodist Episcopal Church's Ladies Aid Society along with Abbie Robinson Schaudies. Eliza's son and Abbie' daughter were Miss Athelyne's parents. Hewlett J. Banks (1875-1966) and Tulie Ophelia Schaudies (1875-1964) Tulie Schaudies and Hewlett J. Banks were Miss Athelyne's parents. H. J. Banks was a noted entrepreneur in Decatur. Like his father, he was a Republican, businessman, and appointed Notary Public of Morgan County by Governor Bibb Graves on October 14, 1937. During the Scottsboro Boys Trial, H. J. Banks was 55 years old and was known as a bill plasterer. He was one of the men of color brought forward to testify against racial discrimination and provided a list of potential jurors. According to Ms. Towns, when he approached the witness box, Mr. Banks was dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, matching tie and kerchief, looking like the well-respected former alderman and successful businessman that he was. During his testimony, Mr. Banks stated he had been voting for the last 15 years - something that became increasingly difficult for people of color after the 1901 rewriting of the Alabama State Constitution. Tulie was born in the Schaudies-Banks Cottage that her parents bought. Samuel Schaudies celebrated Tulie's birth by commissioning a portrait of his wife and newborn daughter. When she was grown, Tulie and H. J. Banks were wed in the parlor of the cottage. They had one daughter, Miss Athelyne Celest Banks. Athelyne Celest Banks (1907-2006) Athelyne Celest Banks was a spinster and an only child. She may have been the last remaining Schaudies or Banks from her direct family lines. Miss Banks lead a full and generous life in Decatur. She was the first female person of color and native-born Morgan County resident to be principal of a local school. She dedicated her life and wealth to the community, giving freely to organizations, institutions and groups such as the Boys and Girls' Club, King's Memorial Church, the mentally ill, and the homeless. Dr. Willis Sterrs and Eva Sterrs Dr. Willis Edward Sterrs (1867-1921) was Decatur's first African American physician. Born in Montgomery, he first attended school at Lincoln Normal University - now Alabama State University - and graduated in 1885. From there, he attended medical school at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where he graduated as a doctor of medicine on June 8, 1888. Moving back to Alabama, he briefly practiced in Montgomery before moving with his wife, Eva Sterrs, to Decatur. In Decatur, Dr. Sterrs owned the Magnolia Drug Store and the People's Dry Goods Store on Bank Street, where he was (Left) Dr. Willis Sterrs (Right) Sterrs Infirmary and Nurse Training School, Image Courtesy of Ms. Peggy Allen Towns and the Decatur Daily pharmacist, and opened the Cottage Home Infirmary and Nurse Training School on Vine Street. Dr. Sterrs was also a notary public. His wife, Eva A. Young Sterrs was born in 1871 in Canada. She moved south with her husband and became the publisher and editor of Decatur's first African American newspaper called The Guardian. She was also known for encouraging and investing in education. Dr. Sterrs died in 1921 when his fishing boat capsized on Beaver Lake (no longer in existence after the flooding of the Tennessee River). He is buried in the Sterrs Section of the Decatur City Cemetery, which is named for him and his wife. Mrs. Sterrs stayed in Decatur until her death in 1958 and left large sums of money to several organizations in the community. Her will left (Top) (1) “The First Colored Man,” Excerpt from The Journal, Huntsville, Alabama, April 30, 1897 (2) “Dr. Sterrs has been in Decatur for Nine Years,” Excerpt from The Journal, Huntsville, Alabama, June 16, 1899 (3) “Sterrs Again Heads Negro I.O.O.F.,” Excerpt from The Decatur Daily, Decatur, Alabama, August 1, 1916 (3) “Well Known Negro Physician Drowns in Beaver Lake,” Excerpt from The Albany-Decatur Daily, April 29, 1921 (Newspapers.com) (Left) Sterrs Infirmary, 1900. - (4974)