Julius Newton Alfordwas born 14 November 1838 in Pike County, MS. He married Mary Margaret Brumfield. They were the parents of eight children but only four of those children survived to adulthood[i]: Martha A. Alford, Mary A. Alford, Jewell Alford and Ola L. Alford.[ii], [iii]The family lived in Pike County, MS. He settled on the “western part of the old homestead and farm, and reared a large family.”[iv]
In 1860 Julius owned land in Progress, Pike County, MS. He purchased 80 acres that year.[v]His father, Edwin Barksdale Alford, owned several parcels of land nearby.[vi]
Like his brother, Seaborn S. Alford, Julius went to Franklinton in May 1862 and enlisted in the Louisiana Calvary. He was a private in Company C, Wingfield’s Company.[vii]Both brothers returned home safely after their service.
In 1870 Julius and Mary lived in Osyka. The farm was valued at $500 and their personal estate at $350. Daughters, Martha and Mary, were toddlers.[viii]In 1878 children Martha, Mary and Ola were attending school.[ix] In 1885 Julius Alford had four children in Pike County schools: Anna, Mary, Jewell and Ola.[x]
In 1878 Julius N. Alford bought 159.90 acres of land in Pike County.[xi]
Julius was a 41-year-old farmer in 1880. Mary was 35 years old. Their four children, who were all attending school, ranged in ages from 9 to 13 years old.[xii]In 1890 only Jewel and Ola were still in school.[xiii]In 1900 only their daughter, Mary, was still living at home.[xiv]In 1910 they lived alone but their son, Jewell Alford, lived two houses away.[xv]
Mary Margaret (Brumfield) Alford died 1 March 1914. She is buried in Silver Springs Baptist Cemetery. Her stone says, “May her soul rest in peace.”[xvi]Julius Newton Alford died 26 May 1916. He is buried in Progress Cemetery, Mississippi. His tombstone says:
The flowers fade, hearts wither,
Man grows old and dies.
The world lies down in the
Sepulchre of ages.
But time writes no wrinkles
On the brow of eternity.[xvii]
[i]1900 US Census, MS, Pike, SD 7, ED 104, Sheet 19; digital image, Ancestry(ancestry.com: accessed 2016) Julius N. Alford family.
[ii]Conerly, Luke Ward, Source Records From Pike County, Mississippi 1798-1910; (South Carolina, Southern Historical Press, 1989) 97.
[iii]Alford American Family Association, Edwin Barksdale Alford(AAFA Action March 1991: 55 – 57.
[iv]Tynes, Walter Edwin,My Pilgrimage(1928) 8.
[v]US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records; Accession #MS0610.455, 1860; digital image (glorecords.blm.gov: accessed April 2019) Julius N Alford, Pike, MS.
[vi]Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Pike County, Mississippi. Deluxe. (Norman, Oklahoma: Arphax Publishing Co., 2005) 158 & 164.
[vii]Booth, Andrew Bradford,Records of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers and Louisiana Confederate Commands (New Orleans, 1920) Genealogy Gophers (gengophers.com; accessed 2017).
[viii]1870 US Census, MS, Pike, Osyka, page 2; digital image, Ancestry(ancestry.com: accessed Sept. 2016)Julius N. Alford.
[ix]1878 MS Enumeration of Educable Children, 1850 – 1892; 1908 – 1957; Family Search(familysearch.org: accessed 2016) Alford children.
[x]Haymon, Serena Abbess. Pike County, Mississippi School Census, 1885. Julius N. Alford children. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
[xi]US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records; Accession #MS2330.139, 1878; digital image (glorecords.blm.gov: accessed April 2019) Julius N Alford, Pike, MS.
[xii]1880 US Census, MS, Pike, SD 3, ED 37; digital image, Ancestry(ancestry.com: accessed 2016) Newton Alford family.
[xiii]Haymon, Serena Abbess. Pike County, Mississippi School Census, 1890. J Newt Alford children. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
[xiv]1900 US Census, MS, Pike, SD 7, ED 104, Sheet 19; digital image, Ancestry(ancestry.com: accessed 2016) Julius N. Alford.
[xv]1910 US Census, MS, Pike, Beat 1, SD 7, ED 96, Sheet 13A;digital image, Ancestry(ancestry.com: accessed 2016)Newton Alford family.
[xvi]Find A Grave (findagrave.com: accessed July 2019) memorial #16344384, Mary M. Brumfield Alfor d (Silver Springs Baptist Cemetery, Progress, Pike, MS).
[xvii]Find A Grave (findagrave.com: accessed July 2019) memorial #22449242, Julius Newton Alford (Alford Cemetery, Pike, MS).
1 Julius Newton Alford b: 14 Nov 1838 in MS, d: 26 May 1916
… + Mary Margaret Brumfield b: Jun 1846 in LA, m: Abt. 1865
……2 Martha A. Alford b: 1867 in MS
……2 Mary A. Alford b: Apr 1868 in MS
……2 Jewell Alford b: 1870 in MS
…… + Fanny b: Abt. 1872 in LA
………3 Eula Alford b: Abt. 1896 in MS
………3 Cloe Alford b: Abt. 1897 in MS
………3 Newton Alford b: Abt. 1903 in MS
………3 Audry Alford b: Abt. 1905 in MS
………3 Emmett Alford b: Abt. 1906 in MS
………3 Earl Alford b: Abt. 1908 in MS
……2 Ola L. Alford b: 1871 in MS
Selected Sources:
- 1870 US Census, MS, Pike, Osyka, page 2. Julius N Alford & family
- 1880 US Census, MS, Pike, SD 3, ED 37. Newton Alford & family
- 1900 US Census, MS, Pike, SD 7, ED 104, Sheet 19. Julius N Alford& family
- 1910 US Census, MS, Pike, Beat 1, SD 7, ED 96, Sheet 13A. Newton Alford & family
- Boyd, Gregory A. Family Maps of Pike County, Mississippi. Deluxe. Norman, Oklahoma: Arphax Publishing Co., 2005. Julius N Alford in Pike, MS. Land patent for 1860.
- Creel, Bevin J. A Patriot’s Legacy: The Family of Richard Dillon and Ann Lawrence From Bertie County, North Carolina To Southern Mississippi and Louisiana. Franklinton, Louisiana: Privately Printed, 2002.