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I was born down in Pickens County, Alabama in the year of 1837.   My Pa was Benjamin Littleberry Bolton.  Is it any wonder everyone just called him Berry?  My Ma was Emaline Elizabeth Jones.  Our family came to Franklin County when I was just a young boy.  Pa got us a place over on Cedar Creek and I worked as hard as most men to help Pa clear that land.

When I was twenty two years old I went over to Tishomingo County, Mississippi and married Mary Emeline Lindsey.  Her father, William Carroll Lindsey, had a ferry across Big Bear Creek on what was the new road at that time from Frankfort, Alabama, to Carrollville, Mississippi.  The ferry was named Pittsburg Ferry.  For a man and his horse to ride the ferry the charge was ten cents.

After our marriage we lived in Tishomingo County for sometime and then we moved over here to Franklin County.  We had our son Will while living there in Tishomingo County.  After we moved to Franklin County we had a baby girl who was born in August of 1862.

A dark cloud was hanging over our country at that time, as that terrible war they called the Civil War had been going on for sometime.  By 1862 the people on Franklin County began to be deeply involved in this war as it had come to our homeland.

When my baby girl was one month old, me and a bunch of the Franklin County boys, kin and boyhood friends, went over to Spencer Bell's Blacksmith Shop in Rockwood and enlisted our services to defend our homes and family.  Two of my cousins, Joseph and Daniel Bolton were in our group as well as my cousin Wash Jones and two brothers-in-law, William Carroll Hester and M. A. Hamilton.

We didn't want to leave our homes and family but we knew it was our duty to go.  There were many hardships and we never knew if any of us would ever see our homes and families again.

The war lasted another three years and when it was over it was so wonderful to set our feet back on this good Frankln County soil, but it was sad as well, as there were many who did not return home.  Some were killed in battle and others died in prison camps.  At times there was even a feeling of guilt that we had come home when others so close to us did not.

We came home to find many of our homes and farms in ruins, and some of our family had passed on while we were away.  We knew we had to start all over and rebuild our lives and try and leave the war years behind us.  However, for many families the war never really ended, as some had a son fighting for the Confederacy and another son fighting for the Union.  For these families their homes were forever divided.  No matter what we had been through we had families who were depending on us to make a living for them.  With the help of God we over came the best we could and started rebuilding our lives.

At that time Franklin County was a large county.  Later it was divided up with the northern part to be formed into Colbert County.  Frankfort was the County Seat, and after Colbert County was formed, it left Frankfort in the far north part of the county.

In the 1870's many of the county fathers wanted a more central location in the county for the Courthouse to be placed.  After much studying a place was chosen for a new town to be laid out.

I was the surveyor who laid out the town that was to be named Belgreen, Alabama.  Main street ran north and south.  Franklin, Washington and Jefferson Streets ran east and west.  The Courthouse was built in block 6 on the northeast corner of Main and Washington Street.

Belgreen was a bustling little town with many business establishments.  My brother-in-law, James Wesley Hooper was the Circuit Clerk.   Augustus Petree who was married to my cousin Susannah Bonds, was the jailer.   James W. Bolton, my cousin was one of the young lawyers in Belgreen.

The courthouse remained in Belgreen for several years.  Then some of the people decided they wanted the courthouse moved to Russellville, but the people voted to have it remain in Belgreen.

Talk began to spread that a threat had been made to burn the Courthouse.   A guard was placed to stand watch.  He remained there for three weeks and no attempt was ever made to burn the courthouse.  Thinking the threat was only an idle threat, the guard was removed.

The first night the guard was removed the courthouse was burned, losing many of Franklin County's old records.  Men began to argue again that the courthouse should be moved to Russellville, and this time they won the argument.  Russellville became the new County seat for Franklin County.

Yes, I've seen lots of changes here in Franklin County.   Some good changes and some not so good.  I am thankful for the happy memories I have, especially my boyhood days when I could go down on Cedar Creek and fish as long as I wanted to, and I have hunted all over this part of Franklin County.

Some of my most cherished memories are when I would be nearing home after hunting all day and could smell my Ma's cooking.  I could hardly wait to get home.

I wish sometimes I could go back to those good old days.  I know things can never be the same again, but memories of the past keeps me reminiscing much of the time now.

Yes, I wish each one of you could have seen and have known my Franklin County as I remember it.

Jesse Amos Bolton was born February 28, 1837, died October 7, 1924.  He was buried in the Jones (later called Ezzell) Cemetery in Franklin County, Alabama.  This cemetery was on land owned by his grandfather Jesse Jones.  In 1979 his grave was removed to the Greenhill Cemetery which is now called the Greenhill-Ezzell Cemetery.

Betty (Bolton) Starnes, author of this article,
is a direct descendant of Jesse Amos Bolton.

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