LeRoy Pope

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LeRoy Pope or Leroy Pope (born January 30, 1765 in Northumberland County , Colony of Virginia , † June 17, 1844 in Huntsville , Madison County , Alabama ) was a prominent American plantation owner, lawyer and settler from Madison County , Alabama. He acquired much of what is now downtown Huntsville , Alabama. His role in the formation and early growth of this city should also be mentioned, which led to him being called the "Father of Huntsville".

Early years

Leroy Pope, son of LeRoy Pope, Sr. and Elizabeth Mitchell, was born on January 30, 1765 in Northumberland County, Virginia. He attended school there before moving with his parents to Amherst County , Virginia. He is said to have served during the American Revolutionary War and to the siege and battle of Yorktown , but there are no official records of his service.

The South

In 1790 Pope moved with his friends and relatives to Petersburg , in Elbert County , Georgia , where he owned a tobacco plantation . In 1809 he was one of the first wave of wealthy settlers from Madison County in Mississippi Territory (now Alabama). There he acquired a large part of the land, which included the much sought-after "Big Spring", where the pioneer John Hunt had already settled in 1805. Hunt, like many other illegal settlers ( eng. Squatters ), could not afford to buy his land.

Pope succeeded in petitioning the territorial parliament to select his country for the location of Madison County's seat of government. He named the new town of Twickenham after the home in England of his distant relative Alexander Pope , but the town was renamed Huntsville in 1811 in honor of pioneer Hunt.

LeRoy Pope's mansion, called Poplar Grove, was built in 1814 in time to host General Andrew Jackson on his return home from the Battle of Horseshoe Bend . It was one of the earliest brick buildings in Alabama and is one of the most distinctive landmarks in Huntsville above Echols Hill in the Twickenham Historic District .

Political career

Pope was a wealthy and successful plantation owner. He was also an active member of the early government and community leadership of Huntsville and Madison Counties. He also presided over the First District Court as Chief Justice and was one of the founders of the first Episcopal Church in Huntsville, founded in 1830. Parliament also appointed him Commissioner for the Planters 'and Merchants' Bank of Huntsville, Alabama's first Banks corporation and for the Indian Creek Navigation Company.

LeRoy Pope died on June 17, 1844 in Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama. He was buried in Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama.

family

He was married to Judith Sale, daughter of Cornelius Sale and Jane Dawson, of Amherst County, Virginia. His daughter Matilda Pope married John Williams Walker , who became Alabama's first US Senator , and was the mother of LeRoy Pope Walker , the first Secretary of War of the Confederate States of America ; Percy Walker , a member of the US Congress, and several other children. Another daughter, Maria Pope, married Thomas George Percy, Sr., and was the ancestor of such persons as US Senator Charles H. Percy from Illinois , US Senator LeRoy Percy from Mississippi , the poet William Alexander Percy, and the author Walker Percy .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ This article uses the birth and death dates provided by Owen. Pope's tombstone gives the dates of 1764 and 1845, respectively.
  2. ^ Southern Advocate, 1844.
  3. ↑ Owen, 1374/1375.
  4. ↑ Robey et al., X.
  5. ^ "The LeRoy Pope Mansion, 1814."
  6. ↑ Owen, 1375.
  7. ↑ Owen, 1375.
  8. ↑ Owen, 1375; Owen, 1717; Robey et al., 119.

Bibliography

  • Thomas McAdory Owen, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography . Vol. IV. Chicago: SJ Clarke, 1921. Reprinted with an introduction by Milo B. Howard, Jr. Spartanburg, SC: Reprint Company, 1978.
  • Robey, Diane, Dorothy Scott Johnson, John Rison Jones, Jr., and Frances C. Roberts. Maple Hill Cemetery: Phase One . Huntsville: Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society, 1995.
  • Alabama Historical Association. "The LeRoy Pope Mansion, 1814." Historical marker. 1997.
  • Le Roy Pope Obituary, - Southern Advocate, Huntsville, June 21, 1844.
personal data
SURNAME Pope, LeRoy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pope, Leroy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American plantation owner, lawyer, and settler
DATE OF BIRTH January 30, 1765
PLACE OF BIRTH Northumberland County , Virginia
DATE OF DEATH June 17, 1844
Place of death Huntsville , Madison County , Alabama