'Historical Events of Former Days Related by Beloved Evergreen Lady'

Eunice Adelaide Sampey

(The following historical article about the life of Eunice Adelaide Sampey originally appeared in the Jan. 13, 1938 edition of The Evergreen Courant newspaper under the headline of "Historical Events of Former Days Related by Beloved Evergreen Lady." Enjoy.)

At historic Claiborne, Oct. 28, 1849, Eunice Adelaide Robbins, now Mrs. E.A. Sampey, widow of the late A.D. Sampey, was born literally with a song in her heart. Even before she could talk, she cooed a true alto to her mother’s songs. She says: “That sounds rather ‘Ripley’ and you may believe it or not.” Just the same, if you sit in church, near this remarkable little 88-year-old lady today, you will find yourself listening to that same sweet alto, grown richer and fuller with the years.

Mrs. Sampey is a direct descendant of the noted Norwegian composer and violinist, Ole Bull. She is a great-great-granddaughter of Eunice Bull and the same name Eunice has come down through generations to Mrs. Sampey’s little great-granddaughter, Eunice Adelaide Wiley of Allentown, Penn. This makes four living generations with the name, Eunice.

When emigrants poured into the south from every state, many came from the New England states, and among them was young George W. Robbins of Rocky Hill, Conn. He soon met Ann Mary Stanley of Hartford, Conn. Although Rocky Hill and Hartford are not far apart, these young people met for the first time here in the south.

They soon married and these were Eunice Robbins’ parents. Ann Mary Stanley came south with her brother, Henry Stanley, also of Hartford, Conn. Mr. Stanley came to be one of Belleville’s leading citizens, progressive and highly esteemed.

He married Sarah Lee, sister of Dr. R.A. Lee. This union gave Conecuh some of its finest men and women of today. Henry Stanley’s store still stands in Belleville, and is owned by Wesley Reid.

In Mrs. Sampey’s early childhood, we see a shy little girl living in Old Sparta, singing her way into the hearts of its people. She recalls how the men she knew on the Square and in the stores asked her to sing and how one day she and her little brother, Charlie, sang. Charlie is remembered as the late C.W. Robbins, longtime owner, editor and publisher of the Brewton Standard Gauge.

Back in Sparta that day, they stood Charlie up on the counter to sing. Charlie had a sore finger, and when the song was ended he burst out crying at the top of his voice! Blood was streaming from his finger because the man who had been holding his hand had squeezed it too hard.

And so Charlie had been the true Spartan, all for the glory of his song! And the price of such glory was candy! His pockets ran over.  Mrs. Sampey recalls that the song he sang was “Hurrah! For The Bonny Blue Flag, That Bears A Single Star.”

At this time, during the 1850s and 60s, Sparta was the county seat of Conecuh and later she ascended to heights of pomp and glory rarely achieved. Great doings went on, especially at the Masonic Hall. Upstairs, the Masons reveled in their secrets, while villagers on the Square stood in awe and wondered.

Downstairs, church services were held for there were no church buildings there. School was taught in this hall and so was a dancing class. It so happened that Eunice Robbins, just 12 years old, played for the Episcopal Church services on Sundays, and on Mondays, in that same room, she went to dancing school.

For amusement in Sparta, the dance prevailed. We quote an old Spartan who once said: “There is no end of good music! Every man that lives in Sparta, save two, can play the fiddle!”

But in the midst of this gay life war came and ended Sparta’s glory. A poem by J.H. Dey Jr., principal of the Conecuh County High School at Castleberry, presents a vivid picture.

OLD SPARTA IN CONECUH

We came today upon a lonely hill

Where once Old Sparta bravely stood.

Now naught remains to tell the world

Of its birth and life and passing

Save a graveyard in a silent wood.

Like the lovely fragrance of a flower

That bloomed a season and is gone –

Like the echoes of a melody lingering –

The memories of Old Sparta linger,

And ever must live on!

Tho the busy stir of village life

Be no more heard upon that hill –

Here’s a tribute to that village –

To the hands that raised it –

To the hearts that loved it;

Hearts and hands that now are still.

To you, Ye Proud, who tread the earth,

So sure of self and what you are and do,

Go sit a while beneath the grove

Where once proud Sparta boldly stood –

And know what Fate has stored for you.

To Eunice Robbins, the Episcopal church services in old Sparta were supreme! When she played the songs and especially the chants, while her mother, General Martin and Dr. McDougal led the singing, her cup was full for “these were truly great singers.”

And then she tells about the little organ, a genuine melodeon that belonged to her mother. It was taken back and forth by Myra, the colored girl, but never on Sunday! A desecration unthought of! It was a familiar sight to see Myra on Saturdays and Mondays gliding through town with the melodeon balanced, nonchalantly, on top of her head, her body swaying with a certain sort of weird grace.

The Baptists held services in the Masonic Hall too, but they did not use a musical instrument; they had a professional “Hymn Hoister” instead, and for many years Mr. “Bud” Higdon sat in the amen corner – lined off the songs and “Hoisted” the “Hymns” in no uncertain tones. His reputation went far and wide.

It was during this time that the Rev. Mr. Andrew Jay so endeared himself to the people of Sparta. He was loved by all regardless of creed or color. Mrs. Sampey recalls vividly a funeral sermon he preached for little Mary Nabors. The text was: “And they shall come from the East and the West and sit down in the Kingdom of Heaven with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Even today, when she hears the passage of scripture, Mrs. Sampey has a mental picture of little Mary sitting by a camp fire, surrounded by the three wise men, while caravans and caravans of people are marching by. Some from the East and some from the West; and always she feels the presence of the Rev. Mr. Jay.

During the war between the states, G.W. Robbins gave his life in the Cause of the Confederacy. Sparta was in ruins, and soon we find Eunice Robbins living in Belleville. When she was 19, her mother moved back north, however not until after Eunice was safely married to Mr. A.D. Sampey of Belleville.

Mr. and Mrs. Sampey had nine children. Seven of them lived to be grown. As Mrs. Sampey and her family grew into the life of Belleville, she naturally became active in church work and for years was the “village organist.”

The great singer in Belleville then was Professor Charlie Newton. The Newtons came from Vermont and Professor Newton stands out today as one of Conecuh’s most brilliant educators. “And how he did love to sing,” says Mrs. Sampey. In all of her life she has never been associated with anyone whose singing meant quite as much as his.

Go with her to Belleville’s little Methodist church today and she will show you where she stood when she married nearly 70 years ago; where Mr. Newton always sat by the organ when he sang; and the benches divided in the middle to separate the men and women, and when you leave you will feel like you too had lived in Belleville.

As time passed, Professor Newton’s mantel fell on his children, who continued to be a vital part of Conecuh’s development. Following Mrs. Sampey in her church associations, we think particularly of Mr. Will Newton and what he meant to the little church in Belleville. In later years, when he moved to Evergreen, the Methodist church here looked to him for even greater strength. With his passing, the Evergreen Methodist suffered one of the greatest losses in its history.

In the 1880s, Mr. Sampey built his spacious home on Shipp Street in Old Evergreen; especially designed for a large family, and guests besides. It was a conceded fact that the Methodist preachers and their families were welcome. One of the most beloved of these was the late Dr. J.S. Frazer and his family. Dr. Frazer baptized all nine of the Sampey children and performed other rites in the family. He was loved by them all.

Mr. and Mrs. Sampey were great church people in Evergreen, always on hand with the children. Again we see her at the organ, playing and singing. In the 80s and 90s a good, hearty choir practice was in itself a social event; and the late Mr. Lewis Finch, with his beautiful tenor voice, thoroughly enjoyed singing at these gatherings and wherever music was to be had. He and many others of that day are a sweet memory.

Mrs. Sampey’s five talented daughters inherited from her their love of music, and to know that somewhere members of her family are active in church work, especially with the music, has a deep meaning for her.

In 1887, Mr. Sampey’s passing left a young mother facing life with seven small children. Though untrained for business as were our women of that time, she set out to educate her children. “That,” she says, “was the only thing I could give them that could not be taken from them.” And so each of the seven in turn, went to college. How? – Indomitable courage, prayer and a singing heart, accomplishes the almost unattainable.

When the Sampey girls were all at home, they had their little orchestra; each playing a different instrument. Often their mother accompanied. “Professor Glenn” and “Professor Payne” played on the clarinet and the flute. They were the popular young teachers in the new Agricultural school, who have since become great educators. Dr. C.B. Glenn is superintendent of the Birmingham schools and Dr. L.W. Payne, we are told, holds a chair in some University.

Mrs. Sampey’s oldest daughter, the late Mrs. W.P. McConaughy, possessed the rare gift of absolute pitch. She could determine the vibration of any sound and strike the matching note on the piano or violin. Her younger sisters felt like she was seeing inside of them when she called from another room something like: “You are playing G and you should be playing G sharp!” And “Why don’t you play that C sharp.” They were always wondering if she could read their mind. She is thought of as playing beautiful music, especially on her violin.

Mrs. Sampey believes that in her family she has been blessed with riches greater than money; and now when there are only two children left, Mrs. G.C. Dean of Montgomery and Mrs. A.D.S. Dean of Evergreen, she derives untold pleasure from her great-grandchildren, her grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins! She keeps up a lively correspondence with many of them, and to them. They keep her busy with attractive hand work. Within the past two years she has crocheted a half dozen elaborate afghans and just as many rugs.

Always abreast with the times, the Montgomery Advertiser and the Evergreen Courant are a part of her daily life. She casts her vote at the polls, likes a good movie, and one of sweetest experiences is to attend church with Miss Ethel and Miss Pauline King.

She is ever eager for a good game. Spelling games are a specialty, for she is past master in the art of words. Her memory is unusual.

Last winter she heard in a conversation the word “segregate.” She smiled and said: “When have I ever heard that word before? It takes me back to my childhood and a book I read during the war when I was about 10 years old. I can’t recall the name of the book now,” she said. “But I do remember the description of the sunset, and I am sure I haven’t thought of it before in all these years.”

She half closed her eyes and looking intently and nothing in particular, she went back to old Sparta and a sunset or was it her yen for words! Anyway these are the words she said: “Perish the microcosm in the limitless microcosm and sink the feeble earthly segregate on the boundless rushing coral aggregation.” Early the next morning she said “I’ve got it; the name of the book with the sunset was ‘Macaria.’”

Like most of the old New England families, Mrs. Sampey has plenty of ancestors with their coat of arms and all the trimmings. We cannot mention them here though it is interesting to note from a recent issue the Hartford, Conn. Courant, that in 1776 her great-grandfather, John Robbins, Esquire, famous sea captain and sage of the town, Rocky Hill, Conn., built the historic Duke of Cumberland Inn, which is of royal origin.

King George II granted 2,000 acres of land to his son, the Duke of Cumberland, who in turn sold this parcel to John Robbins. The building now standing on this plot of ground holds the distinction of being the first in Conn., to be built of native brick. Fifty panes of glass went into the making of the front middle window, and a single panel five feet high and six feet long, over a fireplace is one of the largest in existence.

The building is three stories and an attic. This was a favorite stopping place for George Washington. In recent years it has been closed to the public, for souvenir hunters chipped off pieces of the paneled stairway and anything they could get away with.

Rocky Hill, now Weathersfield, is one of Connecticut’s old historic towns. It was from here that the Demings came to Alabama and Conecuh County. They have been our most successful industrial leaders for many years.

And from up in this section of the New England states, Mr. and Mrs. Hickox came south and to Evergreen. To the children of the gay 90s, Mr. Hickox was truly Santa Claus. His store was the delight of young and old.

Who could ever forget those “jewel caskets” all covered with tiny opalescent shells, and the mirror embedded in the top. Sometimes the mirror was inside on the lid, where gorgeous shirred satin was the last word! And then the candy hearts with “I love you,” “Be mine,” “Forgive me,” “Broken hearted” and on and on.

There were pink candy hearts as big as a saucer with significant verses. And the valentines with the lace paper that stood up from the main picture and trembled with your touch! Somewhere there would be in the picture two turtle doves.

Miss Lydie Henderson says: “Mr. Hickox’s store had a little bit of everything in it.”

Mrs. Sampey attributes her remarkable vitality and good health to simple living; a daily nap and a walk in the open. She rises with the sun, puts on the kettle and goes for a walk around the block. Before she reaches home she stops in to pass the time of day with her longtime neighbor, Miss Lydie Henderson, and is regaled with cheerful wit and humor of which Miss Lydie has no equal in Evergreen.

Usually she arrives just when Miss Lydie and Mrs. Oswald are having their cup of coffee and always a chair is waiting. When she gets back home, the kettle is boiling, and her old costume is to sing the 23rd Psalm while her coffee brews. She uses a variety of tunes, anywhere from the Rosary to chants. She says morning is the most wonderful time of day; and when she steps out to greet the sun and passes gently through our midst surely we all receive a special blessing, as she passes gently through our midst.

When shadows fall and day is done you can see the cheery light in her window and hear her play the songs of yesteryear – one of her favorites being the song her mother sang every Saturday night when her children were gathered at her knee. “Safely Through Another Week, God Has Brought Us On Our Way.”

Her rare and lovely personality, her fortitude and courage, through many adversities, and her abiding and unwavering faith in God and her fellow man, will ever be an inspiration to those who come after.