James Walter Etheridge (1855 - 1931)

Was born at the family plantation on the Conecuh River near Brooklyn, AL. When he became of age each family member was given 160 acres of land by his father. James Walter liked the outdoors and timber was in great demand therefore he quit farming and begin timbering. He hired a crew of men and they would cut logs and send the logs down the river to Mobile or Pensacola. They would cut logs all summer and pile them up near the riverbanks and wait for the fall and winter rain to carry them down river. One particular year it did not rain enough to send the long down river and the timber boars got into the logs and they were not useable. One year when James Walter and his crew were on a log ramp during the winter the raft got caught in the ice and froze tight.

They could have swum to some place but one of the black men could not swim so they stayed all night and their clothes froze on them. The only thing that saved their lives is that they constantly kept beating their hands on their chest to keep circulation within their bodies. This led to James Walter getting out of the timber business.

James Walter's health was never as good after that night on the river. He contracted asthma and in those days, there was no medical for it. James Walter and his brother John established a store in Evergreen, Al. John stayed in the store while James Walter cared for the plantation. As luck would have it one night the store burned down and James Walter lost everything again, since there was no such thing as insurance companies in those days.

One of grandfather "Etheridge" decedent of a former slave owned by John Wheatley said that once James Walter was five cents short in having enough money to pay him for farm work and later Mr. Jimmy walked five miles to bring Duke the five cents.

By about that time James Walter became interested in a very young girl, a neighbor of the Burnetts family who lived on the adjoining lands. This girl Margaret Donald Burnett was about 18 years old, and James Walter about 41 at the time in 1895 planned to marry and James Walter began cutting trees to build a house. The marriage took place on December 30, 1896, at the home of Hezekiah and Emma Burnett.

He was a member of Belleville Methodist Church and was buried in that church cemetery when he passed away on October 27, 1931, at the age of 76. Those that knew him best could say he was a man of integrity and high morals a "Country Gentleman" in those days

Margaret’s father was Hezekiah Burnett, and his father was John Harrison Burnett and his father was Samuel Burnett. Hezikiah Burnett brother was John D. Burnett a Attorney in Evergreen, AL. Margaret mother was Emma Troutman. Written by Frances Etheridge Beasley January 1987