A while back, I visited the Linn Henley Research Library (of the Birmingham, Alabama Public Library) for the second time. My first visit was several years previous, and I found some things I didn’t notice the first time. Readers may know my great-great grandmother Emma Luella Lamphere was born in Tuscaloosa around 1854, making me anxious to make use of a stay in Birmingham to learn more.
The main reference room at the Linn Henley Research Library, Birmingham, Alabama.
I think the experience of visiting a repository more than once is an important one. In this case, it had been three years between visits. In those years I have learned more about Russell and Hannah (Andrews) Lamphere including the location of their graves, further information about some of their children, Russell’s future business activities after he left Alabama, and my hard-won determination of Hannah’s Andrews Rhode Island-based family.
What I really want to know
It’s Russell’s business dealings in Tuscaloosa that interest me most. It’s the earliest family story that exists in my mother’s family – that he went down south, started a business, and lost it in the Civil War.
Here is the evidence I have for Russell’s career:
Early years in Norwich, Conn., as a machinist/cotton mill overseer:
- Russell’s father left Westerly, Rhode Island by 1805 and worked in some of the early textile mills of Plainfield and Norwich, Connecticut, so Russell, born in 1817, grew up in the mill neighborhoods of Yantic Falls, Norwich. Russell married in 1838 and appeared in the 1840 census with his wife, new son, and 3 extra adults around their age. Clearly, he was earning a living.
- 13 Aug 1845 – Russell and his father together gave a mortgage of $200 for property and half a house to (Russell’s brother in law) Henry Palmer in Greeneville, Conn.
- 9 June 1847 – Russell Lamphere 2nd purchased for $545 part of the homestead of John J. Denison “a lunatic,” “on the north side of the highway leading from the Methodist Chapel to the Paper Mill Bridge” as the highest bidder at a public auction. Also on this date contracted a mortgage on the property for $400.
- 16 Sep 1847 – the birth record in Greeneville for Russell’s daughter Caroline M. states that Russell was “overseer in cotton mill.”
- 1850 census (Norwich, Conn.) – Russell is listed as a “Machinist” with property worth $700. John Denison’s household is just prior to his on the list.
- 15 May 1851 – Russell Jr “of Montville” quitclaims for $100 his rights to the property “at the North side of the highway leading from the Methodist Chapel to the Paper Mill Bridge, at Norwich Falls” to John Eggleston. Quitclaim means he gives up all rights to the land, whatever those rights or the value of those rights may have been.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama years of building and losing a business, and the Civil War
- 1855 – Russell appears in the Alabama State Census in Tuscaloosa index (FamilySearch.org) as “Russell Lampkin.”
- 6 Aug 1859 – An ad appeared for a new business (The Independent Monitor, Tuskaloosa, Ala., August 6, 1859. Vol XXIII, No. 17, p.2):
New Firm – Murrell & Lamphere, The Independent Monitor, August 6, 1859
- 1860 – Russell was in the federal census in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with his family. His unreadable occupation appears as this:
The indecipherable occupation of Russell Lamphere in the 1860 census.
- 1 Feb 1861 – An ad appeared announcing the dissolution of the business due to the death of partner Wm B Murrell (Independent Monitor, The City of Tuscaloosa, Ala. February 1, 1861, Vol XXIV, No. 42, p. 2):
The Dissolution of the Lamphere and Murrell partnership. Independent Monitor, Feb 1, 1861, p. 2
- 28 Aug 1861 – An ad appeared for a tin shop (The Observer and Flag of Alabama, The City of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Volume 15, No. 35, p1):
Tin Shop ad, The Observer, Aug 28, 1861
- 1866 – Alabama state census White Population – Russell is head of a household of 9 in Tuscaloosa.
- 1870 – Russell and daughter Emma (my gg-grandmother) were enumerated in Meridian, Mississippi, and he was a “machinist.”
Later career in Rhode Island as a mill overseer
- 1875 – Rhode Island state census, in Johnston, lists Russell and family. His occupation was “Manufr. of Cotton Goods.”
- 1878 – Providence city directory: “Lanphere, Russell, overseer, Oriental Mills”
- Mar 17, 1879 – married Sarah Rawson, his occupation listed as “Overseer in Cotton Mill”
- 1879 – 1885 – Connecticut Congressman John Turner Wait submits, three times, a bill for the relief of Russell Lamphere (Session 46-2 – H.R. 5889; Session 47-1 – H.R. 3223; Session 49-1 – H.R. 3182). Any backup papers have not yet been found.
A Bill for the Relief of Russell Lamphere, filed in 1879. $50,000. I almost fell off my chair at the Boston Public Library when I saw that.
- 1880 – federal census in Providence, R.I., “Works in Cotton Mill.”
- 1883 – overseer, Oriental Mills
- 1890s through death in 1898 – mostly boarding with his children
A summary of his career
- Skilled with metalworking and machinery, Russell took responsible work in cotton mills when he needed a job. My guess is that the title “overseer” was more about overseeing the machines, rather than the people, although it could have included both.
- Reading between the lines, and hinted by the Relief bills, I believe Russell tried to open his own cotton mill three times:
- 1847, at Norwich Falls, on property near the other mills that he purchased from John J Denison, which was very close to other mills. If not, he certainly was making his plans for the Tuscaloosa move, and, possibly, working with a partner to plan the move south.
- 1855 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I suspect the south’s growing desire by 1850 to begin processing its own cotton, and not relying on northern mills, drew Russell to Alabama some way, somehow. I suspect this business, whatever it was, was already dissolved by 1859 when the “new firm” of metalworkers Murrell & Lamphere opened.
- 1875 in Johnston, Rhode Island. This is reasonably certain because it is listed in the R.I. 1875 census.
- The family legend, and the size of the H.R. Relief bills, suggest that his business interests were larger than the tin shop business described in the surviving ads.
And this is where things stood as I approached the Birmingham library for the second time.
The records in Birmingham
On my first visit, I stuck with the many volumes of vital and military records that I would never have access to in New England. Nothing much turned up back then except some compiled military listings that seemed to show that my gg-grandmother Emma Lamphere’s two brothers, Charles C. and William, served in the confederate army. A quick review turned up nothing new.
Being more experienced now, I had several ideas about how to get smaller details that might help me.
Maps
I explored the map case. The first discovery was a map of early roads and waterways in Alabama. Back in the book section, I also found a map of an inland journey down the Ohio River to northern Alabama taken by Juliet Bestor Coleman, a “Connecticut Yankee in Early Alabama” (Mary Morgan Ward Glass, ed., National Society for Colonial Dames in America in the State of Alabama, p. 17). These may help me determine, someday, how my ancestors may have traveled to Tuscaloosa.
I managed to find a Sanborn map of Tuscaloosa from 1884 using web access at the library. Before this trip, I had reviewed the historical materials I had on Tuscaloosa, in particular, The Federal Invasion of Tuscaloosa, 1865 by Thomas P. Clinton and others (Northport, Ala: American Southern, 1965). I knew that important buildings in Tuscaloosa were burned by federal soldiers in April, 1865 in the waning days of the Civil War, including the University of Alabama and its library, also local factories, warehouses, and munitions. So a map from 1884 may or may not reflect the Tuscaloosa of the 1850s-60s. But I examined it closely.
Sanborn map of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 1884, showing one cotton mill.
Nothing like a visual image to bring a story into focus. There was one cotton factory in the town of Tuscaloosa in 1884. One. Boy, does that clarify the search a bit. Even if, prior to the war, there were several, what I realized was that this was not a booming metropolis with dozens of cottons mills. I learned from the Clinton essay that the cotton mill in 1865 was called “Black Warrior” (you can see on the map it borders the Black Warrior River). I learned on this web page, Tuscaloosa Area Visual Museum, that Black Warrior was founded in 1846. I checked several resources at the library but could not learn very much about the Black Warrior factory; I learned the names of the series of owners, and traced some biographical info on those folks, with no obvious connections to my Connecticut family.
History
To prepare for my trip I re-read the various sources of Tuscaloosa history I had found during my last trip, and a couple of books I bought since. At the library, I examined each history book, probably much more closely than I did on my previous trip when I was still mostly interested in finding my family’s name – a practice that I have come to realize causes you to not think and reason enough, although of course it would always be lovely to find our ancestors in those index pages.
“Hard time of the severest nature prevailed in Tuscaloosa in the last days and directly after the war. Any money available was worthless Confederate currency or city change bills, equally worthless. Acorns were frequently eaten for food. … Population fell to a new low ebb in 1870 with only 1,650 residents.” (– A History of Tuscaloosa, Alabama 1816-1949 by Ben A. Green, ed. W. Stanley Hoole and Addie S. Hoole, University, Alabama: Confederate Publishing Co, 1980).
I’ve been curious about why my family left Tuscaloosa by 1870 and briefly stayed in Meridian, Mississippi, but I think that snippet is giving me a pretty good idea of why. If the 1870 census is right, the wife and older children were not with Russell … perhaps now I can understand why they may have been forced to live separately, perhaps just to survive.
Records
I also learned, from a microfilm copy of the 1855 state census, that Russell Lamphere headed the following household in 1855 (Department of Archives and History, Montgomery. Alabama State Census, 1855: Tuscaloosa County, p. 75, entry for Russell Lamphere):
- White males under 21: 2
- White males over 21: 2
- White females under 21: 2
- White females over 21: 2
- Slaves: 1
- Total inhabitants: 9
Previously, I had only seen a brief listing of his name from this census. For a family that had just arrived from Connecticut a couple of years prior, it seemed astonishing to me that a slave was counted in the household. There is no way to know if the enslaved person was male or female. A perusal of the census shows a very large enslaved population in Tuscaloosa, and the next household on the page was occupied by Robert Jemison Jr. with 162 slaves. Were the Lampheres renting on his property? A check of Tuscaloosa deeds that I did at the Family History Library in 2015 shows no property owned by Russell. I’m troubled that Russell and Hannah owned another human being, although possibly, they were paying for the service of a slave owned by others. I’ve always thought of Russell as not so much a dreamer, although he had big dreams, but an ambitious schemer. One assumes he acclimated himself quickly to southern life.
Checking the “7th Floor Records Project” of the Tuscaloosa Genealogy Society for local records which are gradually being digitized (yay for those folks, what an outstanding job) and its compiled index, I found two entries for “Russell Landfier” in the Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court Subpoena Docket Book 10, 1854-1859, dated 19 Sep 1856 and 19 Dec 1856; both were subpoenas issued for cases involving Robert Jemison Jr. I wonder what else I could ever learn about the case involved and Russell’s testimony, if any.
“James Goodrum vs Robert Jemison Jr.” “139” “4th” – not sure what those indicate. Looks like witnesses for the defendant are James Little, Reuben Searcy, and Russell Landfier. With thanks to the 7th Floor Records Project.
Robert Jemison Jr.
I got curious about Robert Jemison Jr (see a photo and flattering biography here) and learned that he was a local politician and business leader. He was involved in many business ventures and, among other things, owned plantations that produced a great deal of cotton. Could he be the person that enticed Russell Lamphere to move south and help start a cotton mill?
Mr. Jemison’s papers are housed at the University of Alabama. I was curious if he had any correspondence with Russell and did a search.
3 letters
I found, in the University of Alabama digital archives, three items that relate to Russell Lamphere. One was, amazingly, an 1867 letter written by Russell Lamphere. I’m not sure of my rights to reproduce that here, so I leave the link. Here is a transcription:
DeSoto Miss July 12/67
Hargrove & Fitts
Gents
your letter of the 2d is at hand and its contents noticed in relation to that business I left with you. I will be perfectly satisfied with anything you think best about the Accounts. I think they are all togeather however I will write to my wife to send the Book to you just put the thing through and I will and I will pay the bill. I do not know when I can come but if it is nessary you can drop me a line.
Yours Very Respectfully
R Lanphere
(on reverse) R. Lamphere
July 12th 1867
I also found a letter written by Mr. Jemison to Russell Lamphere. It contained intriguing suggestions of business activities. Surprisingly, this was from 1860 when Russell was in his Murrell & Lanphere “guttering/piping/repairing” years (see above) … any cotton mill seemed to have been left behind. I’m confused by this; Russell didn’t have a son named Russell, and indeed the very name Lamphere seems virtually unique in Alabama in this period – there was, presumably, only one Russell Lamphere. Would he be running the cotton mill and the tin shop at the same time? Here is a transcription:
Tuskaloosa 7 January 1860
Mr. R. Landphere
D Sir
Messrs Hines and [blot] applies to me for the use of the two small lathes belonging to the Cotton Mill. If yourself & Mr. McLester shall think you can accommodate them without prejudice to the Company’s interest I have no objection to its being done.
Very Respectfully
R. Jemison Jun
[illegible] M. Co.
Robert Jemison Jr and “Mr. McLester” ( Robert McLester?) do not immediately bring up many ties to cotton mills, but they were wealthy Tuscaloosa businessmen who could possibly have partnered with Russell Lamphere if they aspired to start a cotton mill. I now have wonderful new clues (albeit confusing and conflicting ones) about Russell’s ties in Tuscaloosa and Mississippi.
And lastly, I found a 1980 inquiry from a descendant of Russell Lamphere’s son, Charles, that gave me some additional evidence that Charles stayed behind in Tuscaloosa and joined the Confederate Army. More on that another time.
Lessons learned
- Looking at the 1855 NEIGHBOR of Russell Lamphere is what led me to the University of Alabama Archives and ultimately to these letters.
- I should have checked the University of Alabama archives website many times, not just once, years ago. Records are being digitized all the time, and local universities have MANY archival materials relating to local residents.
- I had used, over the years, a briefer index of the 1855 census that did not help me realize who Russell Lamphere’s neighbors and household were.
- I have not searched hard enough for war materials relating to Charles C. Lamphere.
This feels like a huge breakthrough, to have the name of a possible business partner or colleague. Next stop: Learning everything possible about Robert Jemison, Jr.
The post you are reading is located at:
https://onerhodeislandfamily.com/2017/09/26/land-of-cotton/
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