Dale County Stories
History and Genealogy
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Ozark-Dale County Public Library | ||
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Operating Hours: |
Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. |
Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. |
Eustus Howard E.H. Hayes
and family
Eustus Howard (E.H.) Hayes was born on 2 April 1923 in Gadsden County, Florida and died on 4 April 1983 in Ozark, Alabama in Dale County. E.H. was the son of Foriece Wilborn Hayes who was born on 2 May 1900 in Bristol, Florida and died 27 September 1967 in Quincy, Florida and Eula Alderman who was born 20 February 1889 in Bartow, Florida and died 13 January 1977 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Foriece Wilborn Hayes was the son of Henry Hayes who was born on 2 March 1875 and died on 28 May 1931 in Carrabelle, Florida and Frances Drucilla Chason who was born on 30 October 1877 in Carrabelle, Florida and died on 2 April 1941 in Greensboro, Florida.
Henry Hayes was the son of Wilborn Hayes who was born born in 1844 in Poplar Head (now Dothan), Alabama and died in 1878 in Bristol, Florida and Susan Elizabeth Lynn who was born on 8 February 1841 in Iron City, Georgia and died on 19 December 1906 in Bristol,Florida. Henry Hayes is reported to be the first White child born in Bristol.
Wilborn Hayes was the son of Elijah Hayes who was born in 1816 in Sumpter, South Carolina and died on 14 September 1897 and Mary Harrod who was born in South Carolina and died in 1860/1870. Elijah and Mary were early settlers of Dothan, then known as Poplar Head. Elijah is buried in Prospect Cemetery in Dothan. Mary is buried in Piney Grove Cemetery located south of Dothan.
Elijah's parents were Elijah Hayes and Charity ? born about 1775 and 1779 of South Carolina. Whose parents were Elijah Hays born about 1746 and Amey Clark of Mariboro, South Carolina.
After graduating from high school, E.H. took a job with the Atlantic Coastline Railroad, later to become the Seaboard Coastline Railroad. E.H. worked as a Telegraph Operator, Ticket and Freight Agent for a total of 41 + years.
E.H. married Lillie Mae White of Highland Home, Alabama on 12 April 1944 in Bainbridge, Georgia. He registered for the draft while a resident of Dale County. Consequently,E.H. was inducted into service from Ozark in May 1944. He served approximatly two years in the Navy, returning to his RR job in Climax, Georgia.
In July 1946, E.H. and Lillie moved to Ozark
which became their home. They had five children:
Kenneth Howard on 15
January 1947 in Ozark
Spencer Thomas on 12 July 1949 in Dothan
Roysce
Allan on 16 September 1954 in Ozark
Shari Lillie on 11 September in
Ozark
Brent White on 2 December 1961 in Ozark
The Hayes family were
members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. All children
attended college with Kenneth graduating from Brigham Young University in Provo,
Utah. Kenneth and Roysee served Church missions to France-Belgium and Colorado
for two and a half and two years respectively. Kenneth served four years in the
Air Force. Spencer served in the Air National Guard.
In 1971 Lillie became a LPN and worked twenty five + years at DMC. She is now retired and active in genealogy research.
E.H. had a great love for genealogy and compiled
and published various records. Some of these included:
Dale County
Tombstone
Misc. Old Records of Dale County
History of South East
Alabama
Cemetery Census
And others.
Copies of all may be found in the
Ozark-Dale County Public Library.
E.H. also compiled and wrote Decatur
County Tombstones, Marriages, and Bible records while residing in that area and
were placed in Georgia and other libraries. Also responsible for Tomb records of
Crenshaw, Coffee and Pike Counties and their publication.
Many of the Decatur County and neighboring Counties are now on the internet.
Found on the Ga-Gen-Web- Decatur Co & Ga-Gen-Web Archives for researchers. The devoted efforts of Eustus Howard Hayes in genealogy has helped and continues to help many people in this area.
Submitted by Lillie Hayes
13 Byrd
Circle
Ozark Alabama 36360
E.H. HAYES
Gatherer of tombstone inscriptions
and cemetery census
For years, those doing genealogical research in Dale
County consulted E. H. Hayes. They looked in his treasured book of cemetery
census records to find tomb inscriptions about their deceased
ancestors.
Mr. Hayes and his wife, Lillie, came to Dale County. "After work," according to his widow, "he could always be found in a cemetery, even in very hot or very cold, damp weather, writing down cemetery inscriptions. He just loved doing it! Every night, he would take out all of his notes and spend the evening alphabetizing and typing them. He and his family were members of the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints. So, it was truly a work of love for him.
It was in this manner that he not only put together a respected and much used cemetery census of Dale County, but those of other Wiregrass counties as well. Unfortunately, his research does not include the census of many of Dale County's African American cemeteries. The Dale County Genealogical and Historical Society plans to do a new cemetery census that will be inclusive of all known cemeteries in Dale County by the year 2003.
Submitted by: The Dale County Heritage Book Committee
Source: Conversations with Mrs. Lillie Hayes,
Ozark, AL
Dale County Stories from The Creel Richardson
Room. Visit the website, Dale County Stories, to view local family stories and Dale County history from
The Creel Richardson Room of the Ozark - Dale County Public Library. The
following websites are just some of the stories that may be
view.
Eustus Howard E.H.
Hayes was a
man who could always be found in a cemetery, even in
very hot or very cold, damp weather, writing down cemetery inscriptions. He just
loved doing it! Every night, he would take out all of his notes and spend the
evening alphabetizing and typing them. It was in this manner that he not only
put together a respected and much used cemetery census of Dale County, but those
of other Wiregrass counties as well.
Ms. Manonia Snell shares the history of a family in
northeast Dale County whose descendants continue to live in the Skipperville
area. Copies of her book, MA-MA COUNTRY, DALE COUNTY, AL can be
purchased for $40.00 at the front desk of the Ozark - Dale County Public
Library.
Judge Val McGee. A history of Fort Rucker is a
summary of a speech by Val McGee, author of CLAYBANK MEMORIES and THE
ORIGINS OF FORT RUCKER that are two reference books written on the history
of Dale County.
Amos Lavon Boykin. A family history that describes his
arrival in Dale County, family members, and his love of building well known
homes in Ozark, Alabama.
Helen Taylor
Andrews
shares her passion for people and buildings of South Alabama, Southwest
Georgia, and the Florida Panhandle. Mrs. Andrews is a leading artist of our area
whose work is shown nationally and internationally. She combines them by
painting portraits of buildings that catch her eye. When she looks at a
structure, she sees the character of the building made up of the people who
built them, used them, owned them, sold them, and, in many cases, abandoned
them. She uses watercolors or acrylics are used to translate this character into
prize-winning, architectural portraits. Mrs. Andrews’ work is hanging at 124
Broad Street so that the public will no longer need to wait until the Claybank
Festival for a viewing.
Key contacts include:
Ms. Sandra J. Holmes, Library Director, at (334) 774-5480.
Ms. Jocelyn Rayford, Genealogy and Reference
Librarian, at (334) 774-5480.
To obtain additional information, you may call the Library at (334)
774-5480, send a fax to (334) 774-9156, email a message to Library
staff, or visit the Library
during normal operating hours on 320 James Street in Ozark, Alabama
36360.
Suggestions and
comments that would make this web page more useful are appreciated. Please feel
free to email them to the Library.
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| Last updated on 24 March 2001 | Return to Library Home Page |
