The Luxapallila Chapter of
the Daughters of the American Revolution was
organized on October 30, 1952, by Mrs. Alva McGriff Grimsley, Sr. Mrs. Grimsley was
well-known in the community for her love of
history and community service. She took
a lot of pride in her ancestors and was very
active in other lineage organizations such as
the United Daughters of the Confederacy and
the Colonial Dames. She was born Adylise
Sherrod on July 27, 1891, at Moulton, Alabama,
to Charles Morgan Sherrod and Mary Helen
Gates. She married Alva McGriff Grimsley,
Sr., on May 10, 1916, at Courtland, Alabama.
Their descendants still live in Fayette
County. Mrs. Grimsley's Revolutionary
Ancestors were Gideon Morgan, II, and John
Foster, among others.
Gideon Morgan, II, was a
Corporal in Captain Crouch's Co., Col. Andrew
Ward's Reg. of Connecticut. He enlisted
from New Mulford, Connecticut.
John Foster was a Sergeant
from Virginia. According to "The History
of Alabama and Her People," John served
with his father in several difficult campaigns
in the Revolutionary War. He soon
distinguished himself by his cool and intrepid
bravery and his striking fidelity to every
trust reposed in him. He was in the
detachment that so successfully surprised and
captured "The Holland Settlement of Tories."
These prisoners were marched at night to a
county jail where, for easier and surer
safety, they were incarcerated. Each
prisoner walked before an armed man, who was
expected to guard him. The others were
imprisoned and John was appointed Sergeant of
the Guard detailed to keep them secure.
While he had charge, the daily efforts to
escape were all detected in time to render
them futile. But he was soon sent in
command of a detachment to re-capture "Big
Jimmy." His successor was not so
vigilant and the prisoners escaped.
Later John and his brother, James, were on a
small colonial vessel under command of Capt.
Olney. Suddenly a large British ship
appeared, bore down upon them, and ordered
their surrender. They could neither
escape nor resist and were all captured.
They were transported to one of the Islands of
Bermuda, where after long detention, they were
regularly exchanged. They reached home
just in time to find their father and their
brother, Sterling, in Washington's army, at
the siege of "Little York" (Yorktown), engaged
in that hard and decisive struggle which
resulted in the capture of Cornwallis and the
termination of hostilities.
Alabama was
established in 1819, and settlers rushed in to
claim lands. The name Luxapallila is Choctaw
Indian. It is from "Luksi," and "a," and
"balali," and means "turtle there crawls."
This locality is as old as Alabama history.
Black bears roamed the forests and the Indian
name "Luxapallila" was given to the "creek
where the terrapin crawls." It is said that
DeSoto's expedition passed this way in late
November of 1540. The chroniclers speak
of a small river on the journey and a short
distance before they reached the "river of the
Chicasas" (Chickasaws), meaning the Tombigbee,
which they called the "Pafalaya," and
sometimes "Apafalaya." This term means
"long haired." The Spaniards called the
Choctaw Indians "long-haired people." So
they were still in the country of the Choctaws
and had not arrived at the Tombigbee where
they shortly thereafter encountered some
Alabamos and next arrived among the
Chickasaws. The Fayette, Marion, and
Lamar area of the state is largely in the
Choctaw Country closely contiguous to the
Chickasaw Nation, but there is no evidence of
any fact that either of these peoples lived
there at least for any length of time.
It is more probable that the area was a
hunting ground a frequented as such.
White people settled in the area between
the Luxapallila and Sipsey Rivers in Northwest
Alabama. So many settlers came
that it became necessary to establish a local
government. Fayette County
was created December 20, 1824, from portions of
Tuscaloosa and Marion counties. It is located
in the northwest-central section of the state. On December 24, 1824, the Alabama General
Assembly passed a joint resolution praising
General Marquis de LaFayette and inviting him
to visit Alabama. In 1825 Lafayette entered
Alabama from Georgia, traveled through Creek
Indian territory along the Federal Road to
Montgomery, to the state capital in Cahaba,
and down the Alabama River to Mobile.
Fayette County
was named for General Lafayette who was
touring Alabama at the time of the county's
formation.
