It is not yet known when Alexander LAWRENCE moved to Fayette County.  He possibly could have arrived before the county was even formed, although he does not appear by name in the records there until 1837.  In November of that year, he received a federal land patent for 80 acres in Section 6, Township 16 South, Range 10 West.  He later was recorded on the 1840 U.S. census of Fayette County with a wife and five children. 

By 1850, the family had drifted a short distance north.  That year's census lists Alexander as a farmer in Township 15 [p. 59].  In June 1858, he received a patent for 120 acres of federal land in Sec. 9, Twp. 15S, Range 10W.  This property was located about two miles northwest of present-day Pearidge (Pea Ridge). 

The 1860 census of Fayette County shows Alex LAWRENCE with real property valued at $1,200 and personal property worth $1,875 [p. 404].  His occupation was now listed as "Botanic Doctor" (herbalist).  His wife Nancy is believed to have died soon thereafter, and he quickly remarried.

Military records suggest that the LAWRENCE family supported the North during the Civil War.  At least three of Alexander's sons (William, Jesse and Alexander Jr.) and two sons-in-law (Henry and Wade TREAD(A)WAY) served in the 1st Alabama Cavalry, U.S.A., from 1862 to 1863.  Fayette County at this time was a dangerous place for so-called "Tories" (Yankee sympathizers), so the family left Alabama and made their way north.  They spent the remainder of the war safely ensconced in the southern tip of Illinois.  Alexander LAWRENCE Jr. was residing in Mound City, Pulaski Co., IL, when he enlisted in the 144th Illinois Infantry, Co. F, U.S.A., in September 1864. 

Most of the family had returned to Fayette County before the elder Alexander's death in 1866.  He and his first wife are presumed to be buried in the Old Lawrence Cemetery on or near the family homestead.

The probate record establishes that Alexander LAWRENCE Sr. had a second wife named Lettie and at least one child (Benjamin) who had moved to Mississippi by September 1866.  Indeed, the 1870 U.S. census finds a widow named Lettie LAWRENCE living in Lee Co., MS, with a 7-year-old son named Benjamin [p. 448].  Although this woman also had four older children and one younger child named Georgia, the only personal property reported in the household belonged to young Benjamin.  Later census records prove that the surname of Lettie's older children was actually BYNUM.  The younger child was not mentioned in the probate record apparently because she had not yet been born.  Based on Georgia's reported date of birth, Alexander LAWRENCE Sr. could not have died any earlier than March 1866 — which is precisely when his estate was filed for probate.

~ EPILOGUE ~

Mrs. Lettie BYNUM was the apparent widow of Elijah BYNUM of Blount Co., AL [1].  She was recorded as Letta PINYON [sic] on the 1860 U.S. census of Fayette County, just six households away from Alexander's son Jesse [p. 398].  Enumerated with Lettie were her five children: Isabella, William Cobb, Eli G., Ara Elizabeth and Calvin (Franklin) BYNUM.  Isabella apparently had married and left the household before the next census of 1870.

Lettie remained in Lee Co., MS, and married at least two more times — to Mabry BALDWIN (1811-1890), whom she later divorced, and to Lafayette LONG (1824-1912).  Mrs. Lettie LONG was living with her son, Eli BYNUM, at the 1920 U.S. census of Lee Co., MS [p. 53].  Nothing more is known of her.

Little is known about the husband of Mary LAWRENCE.  Even his name is shrouded in mystery.  Census records consistently show that the family surname was GILLION, yet it was listed as GILLIARD in the probate record of Mary's father (see above).  His given name also was spelled variously as Herbert/Harbed (per census records) and Harvey/Harry (per the aforementioned probate record).  He is supposed to be the identical H.A. GILLION who served in the Civil War in the 2nd Mississippi Cavalry, C.S.A., and the same H.A. GILLION (age 25, b. MS) who was recorded on the 1870 U.S. census of Alexander Co., IL [p. 105].  His wife's name, age and place of birth on the 1870 census are consistent with those of Mary LAWRENCE.  In addition, Alexander County adjoins Pulaski Co., IL, where Mary's brother Alexander was living in 1864.  The couple had no children, even though the probate record indicates that they had been married at least four years.

Mary returned to Fayette County by 1880.  That year's census lists her as a widow with four children between the ages of 9 and 1 [p. 466].  While this enumeraton appears to place Mr. GILLION's death at about 1879, tradition says that he died when his son John was 16 years old (1887/1888).  He reportedly was shot by a KIMBRELL man in a hollow on Pearidge.  The mortally wounded GILLION died in front of the family fireplace and was buried probably in the unmarked grave beside his wife's marker at Pea Ridge cemetery.

Mary (LAWRENCE) GILLION is said to have been a small-built woman.  She loved to go walking in the woods and always carried a walking stick with her.  She often was accompanied by her grandchildren and would tell them to find the prettiest rocks they could to decorate the graves in the cemetery (Old Lawrence Cemetery).