Alfred Peach Family Genealogy

ALFRED PEACH was born December 26, 1822 in Kershaw County, South Carolina. The 1850 Pickens County, Alabama census shows him living with the William Sanders family near his future wife SARAH ELIZABETH LAYTON. She lived with her brother/family and near her parents, Patrick and Deliah (Drakeford) Layton. SARAH was born January 16, 1834 in Kershaw County and migrated with her parents to Pickens County, Alabama. They were married November 20, 1855 in Olney - Pickens County by the Rev. A. M. Hanks, a Baptist clergyman. The marriage produced three sons born in Pickens County:

JOSEPH ANDERSON PEACH born August 7, 1855.

CHARLES LAYTON PEACH born July 19, 1857.

JAMES MONROE PEACH born January 5, 1860 (or 1858 according to tombstone).

The 1860 census finds the family in Ittawamba County, Mississippi in the Mooresville post office district where ALFRED is a farmer with $400 real estate and $200 personal estate. Two daughters were born in Mississippi:

REBECCA JANE PEACH born September 15, 1861 and d. Feb. 5, 1939 in Burkburnett, TX (Wichita Co.).  She married Samuel Andrew Bryant on Sept. 7, 1879.  For more information click here.

FRANCES CAROLINE PEACH born January 31, 1863.


The Civil War (War of Northern Aggression) was occurring in full force and ALFRED felt responsible to join the effort. His activities in the War have been detailed and ended with his death in a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania hospital January 19, 1864. SARAH ELIZABETH and the family located to Lee County, Mississippi in the 1870 census in the Guntown post office area with only a $20 personal estate living near her sister, Susanna Caroline Gardner (Lewis Kent)/family. She lived with her three sons and daughter FANNIE in the 1880 Lee County census and died in Saltillo September 6, 1886. SARAH is buried at Springhill Cemetery in Tupelo (Auburn) in Lee County.
 

Frances Caroline Peach Roper

FRANCIS CAROLINE (born January 31, 1863) married JAMES LONZO ROPER (born February 12, 1854 in Georgia) on December 13, 1881 in Lee County, Mississippi. The marriage produced the following children, all born in Lee County.

THOMAS LUTHER ROPER born September 24, 1882.

ADA MYRTLE ROPER (my grandmother) born August 23, 1884.

WILLIAM ALFRED ROPER born September 13, 1886.

URSA CLIFFORD ROPER born February 7, 1888 and died in September of the same year.

FIELDS WATSON ROPER born July 15, 1890.

EDNA LORETTA ROPER born August 8, 1896.

JAMES BRYANT ROPER born October 9, 1901.

ELMER KATHLEEN ROPER born June 4, 1904.

JOHN ANDERSON ROPER born July 10, 1906.

JAMES LONZO farmed all his life in the Saltillo//Guntown area and died August 11, 1932. FRANCIS CAROLINE continued to live in the area but always alone (she was an independent little lady who didn’t want to live with her children) until her death in Tupelo February 9, 1964. Both are buried at Saltillo Cemetery in Lee County.

James Lonzo Roper b. 1854, Luther Roper b. 1882, Edna Roper b. 1896, Ada Roper b. 1884  Frances Caroline Peach Roper b. 1863, and Kathleen Roper b. 1904

THOMAS LUTHER (born September 24, 1882) married ROSSIE E. HOWERTON (born October 24, 1882 in Lee County, Mississippi) February 9, 1908 in Lee County. She died December 13, 1918 and is buried in Friendship Baptist Church Cemetery near Guntown/Baldwyn in Lee County. He worked as a prison driver at the Mississippi State Penitentary (1920 Rankin County census) after her death and married KATE FULGHUM (born 1890 in Ohio) sometime before the 1930 census when they lived in Coahoma County, Mississippi. He died in February 1948 and she in 1949 and both are buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Tupelo. No children were born to either marriage.

ADA MYRTLE (born August 23, 1884) married JOSEPH MATTHEW ANDERSON (born December 25, 1881 in Florence - Lauderdale County, Alabama) on December 20, 1906 in Lee County and the following children, all born in Lee County, resulted from this marriage::

ALICE CLIFFORD ANDERSON born January 16, 1908.

CLARA CAVALIERI ANDERSON born September 15, 1910.

MARY MOZELLE ANDERSON (my mother) born 17, 1912.

JOSEPH MATTHEW was a road superintendent in Lee County and often took the girls on inspection trips with him. The family lived in a house built during the Civil War on the outskirts of Guntown and the girls were known as the "little slick, black-headed Anderson girls". The family moved to Jackson - Madison County, Tennessee by 1926 and opened a profitable "pig stand" (barbeque). He sold this venture and managed the first drive-in restaurant in Jackson - the Duck's Quack advertised in the newspaper as "Ducky Eats-Ducky Drinks - A Place to Park and Everything" and "Wabble-Fly-Swim, Come in any manner you choose - but Come". The entry//exit signs said "Duck-In//Duck-out". He also managed, along with CLARA and help from my mother, a restaurant in one of the first motels in Tennessee - George-Anna Motel in Jackson. JOSEPH left Jackson in 1929 for Arkansas (drinking and affairs took their effect) and there was very little communication with the family until his death on February 2, 1970 in Prarie County, Arkansas. He is buried in the Hazen Cemetery with a U.S. Marine Corps marker.
ADA worked as a seamstress in a tie factory in the 1930 census and I remember her working in the alteration department of J.C. Penny in downtown Jackson.
ADA remarried in 1955 to an old friend, Don F. McLeary and lived happily in his house in Jackson. We played Rook with them many Saturday nights and Mamaw would keep bidding if she had the Rook card, usually going “set” and losing. He fell out of tree, trying to saw off a limb at the age of 88 on March 24, 1967 and is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Jackson. ADA died at my parents house on August 27, 1975 and is buried close to her daughters//husbands in Hollywood Cemetery.

WILLIAM ALFRED (born September 13, 1886) married LELIA ALINE HOWERTON (born October 28, 1891 in Lee County, Mississippi) on December 24, 1908 in Lee County and five daughters were born to this marriage. LELIA died April 23, 1959 and in 1961, he remarried her sister ETHEL HOWERTON (born December 22, 1895 in Lee County. WILLIAM was a farmer in the Guntown/Saltillo area and served Lee County as Superintendent of Education in Tupelo. He was also a census enumerator during the taking of the 1930 census. He died August 14, 1971 and is buried in Friendship Baptist Church Cemetery in Guntown/Baldwyn. ETHEL died January 20, 1988

FIELDS WATSON (born July 15, 1890) married BESSIE MEARS (born September 8, 1897 in Mississippi) January 5, 1915 in Lee County and their marriage produced a son and a daughter. FIELDS farmed with his brother WILLIAM ALFRED. He died in an automobile accident January 3, 1974 in Baldwyn and BESSIE died November 2, 1975. They are both buried in the Friendship Baptist Church Cemetery.

EDNA LORETTA (born August 8, 1896) married CHARLES BOLEN (born December 28, 1891 in Mississippi) January 20, 1916 in Lee County and their marriage resulted in the birth of one son. Uncle Charley farmed all his life just outside New Albany in Union County, Mississippi. We visited several times and noticed how dark it gets in the “country” when the house lights are turned off – city dwellers always have street lights. Aunt Edna often visited ADA in Jackson and I remember how they used to giggle telling stories after they went to bed. CHARLES died June 29, 1986 and EDNA on October 21, 1988. Both are buried in New Albany at Glenfield Memorial Cemetery.

JAMES BRYANT (born October 9, 1901) married KATHLENE N. HOPKINS (born October 12, 1909 in Mississippi) October 19, 1927 in Lee County and their marriage produced one daughter. He was a farmer and also served two terms as Justice of the Peace in Lee County. He died March 2, 1971 at home in Guntown and is buried in the Friendship Baptist Church Cametery. KATHLENE’s death date is unknown.

ELMER KATHALEEN (born June 4, 1904) married PETER LAWRENCE COMPAGNA (born October 26, 1893) June 4, 1930 and two sons resulted from the marriage. No further information is available but still searching.

JOHN ANDERSON (born July 10, 1906) married REBA HOPKINS (born April 26, 1907 in Lee County – sister to KATHLENE who married JAMES BRYANT) December 25, 1927 in Lee County and one son was produced from the marriage. He farmed in Lee County and died July 13, 1968. REBA died March 23, 1983 and both are buried in the Tupelo Memorial Cemetery.