Large crowd gathered at 'Tait burying ground' in August 1924

Those of you who read the column in this space last week probably remember reading the item from the Aug. 28, 1924 edition of The Wilcox Progressive Era about Capt. James Asbury Tait. That brief paragraph reported that Mrs. T.M. Owen of Montgomery planned to visit Wilcox County in September of that year to assist in placing a marker at Tait’s grave in Coy, recognizing him for his service in the War of 1812. During the past week, several people have asked me about this, so I did some research to see what else could be learned about this momentous event.

The grave marker ceremony actually took place at 2 p.m. on Sun., Oct. 5, 1924 and details about it were published in Oct. 9, 1924 edition of the newspaper under the headline, “A Historical Event.” That story said that “long before the appointed hour a large concourse of relatives and friends of the Tait family had gathered at the Tait burying ground near Coy to witness the placing of a marker at the tomb of one of Wilcox County’s successful men, Capt. James Asbury Tait, for his military service in the War of 1812.

The Rev. Paul E. Engle, who was the rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Camden, opened the event with prayer and “urged the descendants of their heroic pioneer of Alabama to emulate his example.” Tait’s great-great-granddaughter Amelia Beck followed the prayer with a reading of “Your Flag and My Flag.” Peter A. Brannon with the Department of Archives and History in Montgomery delivered the keynote address, which was “replete with acts of the life and times of Capt. Tait and many references were made to his diary.”

The newspaper went on to say that Tait “was an exponent of education in Alabama, having been of the number to assist in building the college at Summerfield and the Judson College and was a trustee from 1843 to 1845 of the State University at Tuscaloosa. He was also instrumental in the building of the Wilcox Female Institute, which is used as our high school now.”

Other sources say that the placement of the marker was requested by Tait’s granddaughter, Mrs. Wells Thompson of Houston, Texas. Her maiden name was Carrie Tait, and she was a member of the Capt. James Asbury Tait Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the War of 1812. Mrs. Samford C. McMurphy, a former state historian of the Alabama Daughters, and Mrs. James Tait Beck also played a big part in having the marker placed in the cemetery.

Sources say that the event also included a trombone solo of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by the Rev. J.W. Rosborough, who also delivered the benediction at the end of the program. Other musical entertainment included a solo of “My Own United States” by Mrs. Ruby McLeod, and everyone joined in singing “America” to close out the day’s music.

In the end, Oct. 5, 1924 appears to have been a red-letter day in the history of Wilcox County. Like a lot of people, I would be interested to learn more about Tait’s life and military service. If anyone in the reading audience has information that they’d like to share, please let me know so that I can pass it along to readers in the days to come.