By: Benjamine Riley, Orig. Pub. 1881, Reprinted 2017, 246 pages, New Index, ISBN #0-89308-692-4.
This excellent history of this early county begins with its earlies times and settlers, the Creek Indians. This is follow by the early settlement of Conecuh by the whites in 1815 at a place called Bellville. Early in 1817 more people moved from North Carolina and Chester District, SC. Great difficult befell those early emigrants especially in 1816 as they attempted to obtain food from long distances, with their lives always endangered through perilous travels in Indian Territory. This was followed by more Indian hostilities from scattered Indian bands whose main body had been defeated at the Battle of Horse Shoe Bend by Andrew Jackson.
Finally in Janurary 1818, Conecuh became an organized county bounded on the north by Monroe and Montgomery counties, on the west by Clarke and Mobile counties, on the east by Georgia and on the south by Florida. This book continues with the continual growth of the county, in the areas of transportation, mail service, formation of towns and communities and growth in general unyil the book ends in 1881 at the time of publication.
The author gives much biography of early families and citizens namely: Amos, Ashley, Autrey, Bell, Bolling, Burnett, Cary, Crosby, Crosley, Cunningham, Donald, Etheridge, Forbes, Gray, Greene, Grace, Martin, McCreary, Morrow, Oliver, Perryman, Rabb, Sampey, Shaw, Simpson, Stallworth, Stearns, Straughn, Travis, Warren, and Watkins.
Other surnames mentioned profusely throughout the book are those such as: Allen, Betts, Bowles, Boykin, Brantley, Burson, Cook, Copsey, Dean, Farnham, Feagin, Folks, Halstead, Hart, Hodge, Horton, Johnston, Keyser, Manning, McCaskill, Meeks, Mendenhall, Robinson, Roebuck, Slaughter, Starke, Turk, Walls, and many, mnay others….
