Judge Jonathan N. Stanford was one of Wilcox County, Alabama's most remarkable and respected men

I received a nice e-mail earlier this week from Susan Stanford Jemison, who is seeking more information about her great-great-grandfather, Jonathan Newberry Stanford. While most likely faded from the memories of most Wilcox County residents today, Stanford was one of the most remarkable and respected men that the county has ever produced.

Born at Allenton on June 21, 1845, Stanford was named Jonathan Newberry after his grandfather, who settled at Oak Hill in 1818. In February 1861, at the age of 15, he enlisted in Co. B of the 1st Alabama Artillery and went on to serve throughout the rest of the War Between the States. Records reflect that he also served with the Wilcox True Blues and Co. D of the 3^rd Alabama Cavalry.

After the war, he served as Wilcox County Tax Collector for 12 years and as Wilcox County Probate Judge for 11 years. For many years, he also served as a trustee of the Camden Baptist Church. He was also an active member of the Masonic lodge.

Stanford was married twice. He married Mary Melton Seales in 1865, and they had nine children. Mary passed away at Pine Apple in 1896 at the age of 51. Over a year later, in October 1897, Stanford married Alma Packer, and they went on to have three children.

Stanford passed away on Jan. 28, 1918 at the age of 72 and, wearing his old Confederate uniform, he was buried in the Camden Cemetery. Newspaper accounts said that the attendance at his funeral was “said to have been perhaps the largest at any funeral ever held in Camden. Many beautiful floral offerings from far and near testified to the high esteem in which he was held.”

His obituary was published in the Feb. 7, 1918 edition of The Wilcox Progressive Era, and it testifies to Stanford’s esteemed reputation. The newspaper described him as “an honored and useful citizen,” who was a “true representative of the chivalry, hospitality and gentility of the Old South, and a leader of the reconstructive forces of the New South, set for the restoration of the broken fortunes and devastations wrought by the horrors of war.”

The newspaper noted that, “as a soldier, (Stanford) was brave, gallant and loyal, loved and honored by his comrades.” For many years, Stanford enjoyed attending reunions of Confederate veterans, “taking his place in the ranks of gray, fond as a boy of his soldier’s uniform, with the soldierly bearing, erect, manly and dignified.”

Stanford was described as “a man of sterling worth and character,” who administered the offices of tax collector and probate judge “with credit and honor to himself and the county. In public, as in private life, he was loyal and true to his friends, fair and courteous to his opponents, standing firmly for his principles and convictions of right and duty. He stood for the best things in public and social life, was on the right side of moral questions and was a positive force for the public welfare, hence his going is a distinct community loss.”

In the end, there is no doubt that Mrs. Jemison is directly descended from an ancestor that she can be rightfully proud of. If anyone in the reading audience has any additional historical information about Stanford, please let me know. I’ll be happy to pass it along to Mrs. Jemison.