Historical society was gathering information about Sam Dale in 1937

Sam Dale at famous 'Canoe Fight'

(The following article was published on the front page of the June 24, 1937 edition of The Evergreen Courant newspaper in Evergreen, Ala. I’m passing it along today in its entirety because it contains some information about the family of Sam Dale that I’d never encountered before. Enjoy.)

Col. Walton Gathering History of Sam Dale

Col. Jim Walton, Meridian, Miss., secretary-director of the General Sam Dale Historical Society, is in Conecuh County this week checking records and unraveling the ancient history of Sam Dale and his connection with history of the county, especially the Battle of Burnt Corn.

The history of the Dale family goes back to the old Viking sea rovers who came to England long before the advent of the Angles. Dales fought at Acre, Tyre and Jerusalem under Richard in 1180, according to Col. Walton. They played an important part in the wars of Cromwell, fleeing to Ireland after the Restoration. The father and mother of Sam Dale, Samuel and Mary O’Brian Dale, were married in Loughbricklen, County Down, Ireland October 1770, and emigrated to Pennsylvania, landing there in March 1771.

From Philadelphia, they moved to Washington County, Georgia in 1775. Sam Dale and his brother James moved to Clarke County, Alabama about the year 1808. They moved to Monroe the next year.

Captain Sam Dale, wounded at the Battle of Burnt Corn in Conecuh County, shed the first blood of the most atrocious and bloody Indian war in the Southwest. He took part in all the principal battles, Talladega, Horseshoe Bend, the Holy Ground and fought the most memorable one fought on Alabama soil, the Canoe Fight.

Dale is buried in Lauderdale County, Miss., on a gullied hillside in a pine thicket 10 miles from Meridian. His grave is one of the most neglected in the country. A pilgrimage of soldiers, Indians and citizens will be made to the grave Oct. 15-16.

Dr. S.A. Gordon, Marion, Ala. is president of the Dale Historical Society and Mrs. B.J. Carter, Meridian, Miss. is vice president.