William Henry Alford, youngest son of Job Alford, was born on September 3, 1825 in Upson County, Georgia. I have identified William as the brother of John Turner Alford by some very strong circumstantial evidence. In the 1870 Walton County, Florida census he was living next door to John Turner, and William named a son after John Turner (as well as after Julius Caesar and Henry Miles, two other brothers). In February 17, 1848 William Henry married Eliza Louviza Webb of Elbert County, Georgia (11/4/1829-11/11/1857) in Muscogee County, Ga., probably in the city of Columbus. Jefferey Oats performed the service. Eliza was the daughter of Fortunatus and Sara Webb, also of Harris County, Georgia. Fortunatus Webb was the coroner of Harris County, Georgia in 1835. Eliza had a first cousin, Phillip Elkane (Elkanna) Webb, who was living with William Henry’s nephew, William Floyd Alford in 1860. Like William, his Father-in-Law was a Baptist minister. Muscogee County bordered Harris County, where William grew up. In 1849 he left the Harris/Muscogee County, Ga. area and moved to Coosa County, Alabama (north of Montgomery, Al.), where in the 1850 federal census, he was listed as an overseer on a plantation. This move was probably in concert with the move of his father-in-law, Fortunatus Webb, who settled nearby. William also apparently followed Mr. Webb into the ministry. In about 1856 William moved south to Pike County, Alabama (Mount Ida area), probably to take over a ministry there. On November 11, 1857, William’s wife, Eliza died in Pike County. William and Eliza had five children together. On November 16, 1859 William re-married to Narcissus Pudgett (b. 1839 in Muscogee County, Ga.) in Butler County, Alabama. William and his family were listed on the 1860 Pike County census. On August 25,1861 William’s 2nd wife, Narcissus, died during childbirth in Butler County, Alabama. She possibly was in the home of her parents in Butler County during this time. After losing his 2nd wife, William married his 3rd wife, Samantha M. Owens (4/1839-1/28/1921) on February 17, 1863 in Pike County, Alabama. Shortly after marriage, on September 22, 1863, William joined the Confederate Navy and served until the end of the war in 1865. Upon returning from the war, in around 1866, William moved to Butler County, Alabama. His stay there was short-lived as in September 1867 he moved to Walton County, Florida (according to daughter’s Civil War pension application), where he was listed on the federal census as living in the Gaskin/Darlington area. His occupation was a teacher and minister. Here he finally caught up with his brother, John Turner Alford. In 1870 William Henry was living next door to John Turner in the Limestone area, near Darlington. William Henry was the founder and first minister of Limestone Baptist Church near Darlington, Florida. In about 1871, shortly after the death of his brother, John Turner Alford, William Henry moved to the Sandy Creek area of Holmes County, Florida, not far from Lake Cassidy. The move was probably an effort to reside centrally in the middle of all the churches he preached at. In 1878 he was the Pastor of Sandy Creek and New Hope Baptist Churches in Holmes County. In 1879 he took on the additional pastorship of Limestone Baptist Church near Darlington in Walton County. In 1880, he shows on the census in the Sandy Creek area, six houses away from his daughter, Emma, and her husband, Abner Vaughn. Also not far away, were his daughter Alice and her husband, Daniel Smith. In 1880 he was Pastor of Sandy Creek, New Hope, Limestone, and Mt. Zion Baptist Churches in Holmes and Walton Counties. William’s brother-in-law (by his first wife), Thomas J. Webb, was the church clerk at New Hope in 1880. Another brother-in-law, William H. Webb, was also active in the area churches as a clerk and messenger. The last mention I have found of William Henry in the Limestone Church records, as minister is August 27, 1881. He was still the pastor of Sandy Creek and New Hope Baptist Churches in 1881. His son-in-law, Daniel Smith, husband of daughter, Alice Alford Smith, was his clerk at New Hope Church in 1881. Around 1882 William, Samantha, and family went to Texas (probably Shelby County), probably in an attempt to join up with their son, Thomas James Alford, who had left for Texas in 1879. Family legend has it that he was accompanied by two unknown family members outside his immediate family. In 1886, according to his wife’s widow’s pension, the family moved to Shelby County, Texas, near the town of Spivey (no longer exists), 7 miles north of Center. William Henry died in Shelby County on November 21, 1898 (10/23/1897 on tombstone), according to his wife’s pension application. His burial was at North Jericho Cemetery in Shelby County, about 7 miles north of Center, Texas on Jericho Creek (at the end of CR 3671). On June 12, 1900, while still a resident of Shelby County, Samantha, his wife, filed for a widow’s Confederate pension, which was granted on July 12, 1900. In 1900 the recently widowed Samantha was listed living as a boarder with Martha Braly in Shelby County, Texas. Apparently, one of Samantha’s sons married one of Martha’s daughters, as there was a Willie Alford listed as Martha’s grandson. The census also showed that Samantha had 7 children, with 6 living in 1900. Willie Alford (born 10/1889 in Texas) must have been the son of John Turner Alford, son of William Henry and Samantha Alford, who we lost track of after leaving Florida. In 1910 Samantha was living with her son, Samuel B. Alford in Newton County, Texas. Samantha M. Alford died on January 28, 1921 of heart disease in Port Neches, Texas (Jefferson County), at the home of her son, Henry Miles Alford, with whom she had moved in with in the summer of 1920. According to her Mortuary Warrant, she was taken by train to Shelby County and buried at North Jericho Cemetery in Shelby County, near Spivey. William Henry Alford had the following children by his 1st wife, Eliza:

(43) William Lafayette (2/22/1849-12/10/1918) b. Coosa County, Al. m. Ursula Moore
(44) Mary Indiana Francis (5/22/1850-1897) b. Coosa County, Al. m. Ruben Davis
(45) Emma Eliza (4/12/1852-10/17/1915) b. Coosa Co., Al. m. Abner Vaughan
(46) Alice Booney (3/10/1854-5/26/1936) b. Coosa County, Al. m. Daniel Smith
(47) Thomas James (11/11/1857- 8/20/1931) b. Pike County, Al. m. Catherine Neal

By his 2nd wife Narcissus “Narcy”, his children were:

(47a) Chorner Alexander (8/25/1861-9/28/1861) b. Butler County, Al. m. died young

By his 3rd wife Samantha, his children were as follows:

(48) Susan Antoinette (12/15/1863-aft 1900) b. Pike County, Al. m. Unknown
(49) John Turner (4/16/1867-1891) b. Butler County, Al. m. Lenora Braly
(50) Henry Miles (5/5/1868-1/3/1924) b. Walton County, Fla. m. Leila Sandlin
(51) Julius Charles (2/23/1872-aft 1900) b. Walton County, Fla. m. Lillie Brown
(52) Samantha (1874-aft 1900) b. Holmes County, Fla. m. Unknown
(53) Sarah (1877-aft 1900) b. Holmes County, Fla. m. Unknown
(53a) Samuel B. (8/11/1880-6/18/1952) b. Holmes Co., Florida M. Ethel MurrayNow, we will look at the children of William Henry Alford, son of Job Alford.