Public Servants of Greensboro, Alabama in the early days

Mayors

Diligent search has failed to disclose a satisfactory list of the names of those who have served as Mayor of Greensboro, but we give all that could be found, as follows: John Clement, Charles Whelan, James J. Garrett, James M. Hobson, Thomas R. Roulhac, Charles E. Waller, L. J. Lawson, Amasa M. Dorman, W. W. Powers, E. B. Randolph, Robert F. Otts, Wm. E. W. Yerby, N. L. Castleman, John G. Apsey, Jr.

Street scene in Greensboro, Alabama 1941 by Jack Delano (Library of Congress)

Marshals

The office of marshal was not created until 1859, and since that time the following have served in that capacity: Jno. B. Williams, George W. Briggs, Wm. A. Bell, Wm. Roberts, J. D. Hamilton, F. H. Johnson, W. P. Johnson, A. B. Mackey, W. E. Torbett, J. W. Otts, John Erwin.

Night Watchmen

It seems that it has been only of recent years that Greensboro realized the importance of having a night watchman, for so far as the records of the old days show, no such office existed—that is to say as far back as forty years ago. Those who have held this office are: Ed. Gayle, M. C. Knight, C. C. Wilkerson, Reuben Johnson, D. A. Seale, Rufus DuBois, Walter Seale, Wm. Stokes.

On the night of October 16, 1874, two Greensboro citizens—John H. Atkins and J. T. Walker—became engaged in a personal difficulty on the sidewalk between the deGraffenried & Evins law Office and Dr. Carson’s front gate, and opened fire upon each other. The night watchman at that time was M. C. Knight, who was standing across the street. He rushed in between the two men, and a ball from one of the weapons struck him and killed him almost instantly. It was never definitely known from which of the two pistols the fatal shot was fired. Both the men were tried and acquitted. Knight was a comparative stranger in Greensboro, coming, he stated upon his arrival here, from McMinnville, Tenn. Very little was ever learned about who he was, or why he came to this place.

FRANCIS MARION PETERSON, M. D., a distinguished physician and honored citizen of Greensboro from 1846 until his death in 1898.

Physicians

Greensboro has always been blessed with the best medical skill in the person of her physicians. Among those who formerly practiced their profession here may be mentioned Francis Marion Peterson, Wm. Jones, John H. Parrish, T. C. Osborne, Charles Whelan, Beverly Griggs, James J. Peterson, Elisha Young, Joseph M. Pickett, Thomas R. Ward, David J. Castleman.

SOURCE

Transcribed Excerpt from HISTORY OF GREENSBORO, ALABAMA From Its Earliest Settlement by William Edward Wadsworth Yerby, Montgomery, Alabama

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Donna R. Causey, resident of Alabama, was a teacher in the public school system for twenty years. When she retired, Donna found time to focus on her lifetime passion for historical writing. She developed the websites www.alabamapioneers and www.daysgoneby.me All her books can be purchased at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. She has authored numerous genealogy books. RIBBON OF LOVE: A Novel Of Colonial America (TAPESTRY OF LOVE) is her first novel in the Tapestry of Love about her family where she uses actual characters, facts, dates and places to create a story about life as it might have happened in colonial Virginia. Faith and Courage: Tapestry of Love (Volume 2) is the second book and the third FreeHearts: A Novel of Colonial America (Book 3 in the Tapestry of Love Series) Discordance: The Cottinghams (Volume 1) is the continuation of the story. . For a complete list of books, visit Donna R Causey