Crumpton brothers penned 1912 book about their many adventures

Alabama history buff Cecil Walston of Bermuda, a small community on the Monroe-Conecuh county line, recently presented me with a copy of the Spring 1980 edition of “Alabama Life” magazine. “Alabama Life” was published between 1978 and 1982, and it was a treasure trove of information about Alabama history. The Spring 1980 edition was dedicated almost entirely to Monroe County history, but it also contained an interesting item related to early Wilcox County history.

In a short article titled “A Wandering Book Returns Home,” editor Jerry Roden Jr. discusses a 1912 book called “The Adventures of Two Alabama Boys” by Dr. Hezekiah John Crumpton and the Rev. Washington Bryan Crumpton, who both lived in Camden in the early 1800s. Published by Paragon Press in Montgomery, this book tells of how the two brothers spent their early years at Fort Rascal and Cahaba in Dallas County before they moved to Camden when they were young.

At the time they moved to Camden, the town was called Barboursville, which the Crumpton brothers spelled “Barbersville.” Roden’s article mentioned that popular legend says that “citizens of Barbersville changed the name of their fair city primarily because they became weary of having their offspring referred to as little shavers.” (The truth is that Camden was originally named Barboursville in honor of Virginia Congressman Philip Barbour, but was renamed Camden in 1841 in honor of Dr. John D. Caldwell’s hometown of Camden, South Carolina.)

Roden told “Alabama Life” readers that “The Adventures of Two Alabama Boys” is divided into three sections. The first section, written by Dr. Crumpton, describes their family history and details his early life in Dallas and Wilcox counties, which I think would be of especial interest to local history buffs. This section also details Dr. Crumpton’s travels to California during the “Gold Rush” of 1849.

The book’s second section, which was written by the Rev. Crumpton, tells of how the two brothers reunited in California in the days before the Civil War. This section also relates how the Rev. Crumpton made his was back home through “Yankee territory” to join the Confederate army. The third section, also written by the Rev. Crumpton, describes how the two brothers reunited in Piedmont, California after being separated for 40 years.

Research reveals that Dr. Crumpton died one year after the publication of “The Adventures of Two Alabama Boys,” passing away on April 8, 1913 at the ripe old age of 84 in Piedmont, Calif. Today, you can visit his grave in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, Calif. The Rev. Crumpton, who was wounded at Vicksburg and Atlanta during the Civil War, passed away on March 9, 1926 and is buried in the Marion Cemetery in Perry County, Alabama.

In his “Alabama Life” article, Roden noted that “The Adventures of Two Alabama Boys” was considered a “rare” book by 1935 and could only be found in a handful of libraries and in a few private collections. In the end, it would be interesting to know if anyone in the reading audience has a copy of this book and what the book has to say about life in antebellum Wilcox County.