Reuben Blankenship, Revolutionary War Soldier

Tohopeka Chapter NSDAR Dedicates Grave Marker

          On May 10, 1997, the Tohopeka Chapter NSDAR sponsored a dedication program at Poplar Springs Baptist Church in honor of Reuben Blankenship (1765-1850) for his role in the Virginia Militia during the Revolutionary War.  A new granite marker was unveiled by a family member, and Mrs. Douglas Berry, ASDAR Historian and member of the Tohopeka Chapter gave a statement of acceptance of the marker.

          Mrs. Vaughn Stewart, a member of the ASDAR Hunt’s Spring Chapter in Huntsville, Alabama, gave a summary of the soldier’s background. The DAR marker was dedicated by Mrs. William Segraves, first vice regent of the ASDAR.

 

Matthew Harris, Revolutionary War Soldier

Grave Marked by Tohopeka Chapter NSDAR

Revolutionary War soldier, Matthew Harris, was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in 1755, and died in Tallapoosa County, Alabama, on May 12, 1845. Family records show that he was buried with military honors.  He served three years as a regular in the Continental Army, and also in several battles against the Indians. His two brothers, James and Robert Harris, were signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

In 1976, members of the Tohopeka Chapter NSDAR, the Martha Laird Chapter, Mt. Pleasant, Texas, and the Martha McGraw Chapter, Ferrson, Texas, gathered for a special ceremony at Tallapoosa Academy, Dadeville, Alabama, and dedicated a marker. The chapter regent, Miss Mary Alice Tucker presided, and introduced the descendants of Matthew Harris who were present. Former Regent, Mrs. Betty Strother, expressed thanks to the county officials who worked to make the cemetery accessible.

 

James Langley, Revolutionary War Soldier

Grave Marked by Tohopeka Chapter NSDAR

On January 8, 1978, the Tohopeka Chapter NSDAR placed a bronze marker on the grave of Private James Langley at the Mt. Pisgah Primitive Baptist Church, located about 35 miles outside of Opelika in the Stroud community.

 

Abraham M. Mordecai, Revolutionary War Soldier

Grave Marked by Tohopeka Chapter NSDAR

On July 4, 1933, the Tohopeka Chapter NSDAR marked the grave of Abraham M. Mordecai with a boulder of native stone in the Dudleyville Cemetery at Dudleyville, Alabama.

Abraham M. Mordecai was a wanderer in the Alabama wilderness who left behind him a trail of history and legend. He first operated a trading post on the Alabama River just below the junction of Coosa and Tallapoosa. On March 8, 1803, he erected the first cotton gin in Alabama. By 1816, he had established his trading post at Dudleyville, where he lived until his death in 1850.

 

To the Memory of

ABRAHAM MORDECAI

First permanent settler

in Montgomery County.

Born in Penn. 1752;

Died in Dudleyville about 1850.

Soldier in Revolutionary

and Creek Indian Wars.

Trader and authority

on pioneer history.

____________________________

Erected by Tohopeka Chapter, D. A. R.

July 4, 1933

 

 

 

Major Lemuel P. Montgomery Commemoration

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park

Sunday June 11, 1972

According to a compilation by Peter A. Brannon, Major Lemuel P. Montgomery, a 28 year old Tennessean, distinguished lawyer, and hero of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, “…was shot in the mouth by an Indian…,” on March 27, 1814, at Cholocco Litabixee (the Horseshoe Bend)…,” located in present day Tallapoosa County, Alabama. His body was laid to rest “…some 50 yards back from the breast-works….” Years later, in 1839, “…a committee from Dudleyville, Alabama, was dispatched to discover the major’s grave….” After spending nearly an entire day searching, the committee found the spot and located the body, and his remains were moved to Dudleyville, the county seat of Tallapoosa.

In 1933, following an inauguration of a movement to mark officially and appropriately the grave of Major Lemuel P. Montgomery, in whose honor the county of Montgomery, Alabama, was named, the Tohopeka Chapter NSDAR placed a simple marker, a little over two feet in height, on his grave, one-half mile off Tallapoosa Highway 44, at Dudleyville, Alabama. The marker was inscribed, “Lemuel Purnell Montgomery, Alabama Major, 39 U.S. Inf. March 27, 1814.  Placed by Tohopeka Chapter DAR 1933.”

 Early correspondence between Tohopeka Chapter’s charter member Mary B. Acree and State Historian Peter A. Brannon was instrumental in once again having the major’s remains disinterred for reburial at a spot overlooking the battlefield at Horseshoe Bend Military Park, where history records his valiant deeds.

On June 11, 1972, a crowd of over 2,200 people witnessed a Commemorative Service at the park honoring the memory and valor of Major Lemuel P. Montgomery, hero of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.  The service was planned and made possible by a commemorative committee that included Tohopeka Chapter NSDAR members, Mrs. James H. Strother and Mrs. Marian A. Tucker, chairman. A highlight of the service was the placing of a wreath and unveiling of a plaque by members of the Tohopeka Chapter NSDAR, in Dadeville, Alabama.