William Calmes Buck II

William Calmes Buck II, my great grandfather, was born on March 3, 1861 in Newbern, Alabama to Charles Willis Buck and Susan Croom Sparrow Buck.  

In the U. S. census of 1870, nine year old William is shown as living with his parents in Choctaw County, Alabama along with his brother Charles and sisters Susan, Mary and Miriam.  His father, Charles Willis Buck was a minister.  William is listed as “attending school”.

In the U. S. census of 1880, William is again shown as living with his parents but in Lee County, Brownville and Whittens, Alabama.  The family includes his brothers Charles, Robert, John and sisters Susan, Mamie, Belle, Bessie and Katie.  His father’s occupation had changed from minister to farmer and William is shown as working on the farm.

W. C. Buck and Martha Elizabeth Clardy were married on December 1, 1881 in Russell County, Alabama.  His wife’s name is given as Mattie Clarida on the marriage license – perhaps that is why she was so insistent on the proper spelling as “Clardy” in later years.  The marriage was performed by Charles Willis Buck, Sr., father of W. C. Buck II.

Martha Elizabeth Clardy was the daughter of William Clardy and Sarah W. Kelly.  She was born in November 1859 in Georgia.  In the 1880 census, she is shown as living in Beat 1, Gerard, Russell County, Alabama with her parents.  She worked in a cotton mill along with her father and brother, John.

After marriage, W. C. Buck and Mattie Clardy Buck lived in the Columbus, Georgia area for about eight years where he became a prominent businessman and city councilman.  He was an active member of the Missionary Baptist church.

W. C. Buck and Mattie Clardy Buck then moved to the New Decatur, Alabama area about 1888.  W. C. Buck came to Decatur to fulfill two general building contracts he had won.  His winning bid had beat out the two lumber yards in Decatur and the locals refused to sell to him.  He had to find a lumber supplier and found one in the Yancey family, on Brindlee Mountain, south of Huntsville on U S. 231 in eastern Morgan County.  For several years, lumber was shipped by wagon from the Yancey’s in the Union Grove community to Decatur - a trip of almost 40 miles.  His friendship continued with the Yancey’s for many years.  Two of W. C. Buck’s grandsons, Gordon and Nelson, spent several summers working there with the Yanceys.

In New Decatur, W.C. Buck, and his wife, Mattie, were founding members of the First Baptist Church.  This church was organized on October 3, 1889 with fourteen members.  Elder John Speer was the first pastor.  W. C. Buck was the clerk.  J. J. Sawyers and A. M. Lee were deacons.  When New Decatur became Albany, the church changed its name to First Baptist Church of Albany.  In 1923, Albany became part of Decatur and the church was again renamed to become Sixteenth Avenue Baptist Church. 

Sixteenth Avenue Baptist Church prior to 1980

W.C. Buck also was listed on the building committee of the Central Baptist Church about 1894.  In 1903, he was awarded the contract to build a house on Fourth Avenue for its pastor.

In New Decatur, W. C. Buck was primarily a building contractor but in the early 1900s he also owned retail stores.

Advertisement in New Decatur Advertiser 6/12/1903

Advertisement in New Decatur Advertiser 12/2/1904

Unfortunately, his retail businesses must not have worked out well because he declared bankruptcy in May of 1908.  After closing his retail businesses, he opened a saw mill and a lumberyard.  He also owned quite a bit of property including various lots in east Decatur, Alabama. 

In 1900, W. C. and Mattie Buck lived on Grant Street in New Decatur along with their children Carlisle, Helen, Lois, Murray, Hubert and Charles.  His occupation was described as a “house carpenter”.

Sometime before 1910, W. C. and Mattie Buck moved to Wolff, Alabama.  Wolff, now known as Union Hill, is on Brindlee Mountain where W. C. Buck was getting his lumber.  The 1910 census lists the family as including Lois, Murray, Hubert, Charles and David.  (His son, Carlisle, had married Susan Elizabeth Masterson in 1910 and remained in Decatur.  His daughter, Helen, had married Harvey Howard Masterson in 1910 and also was still in Decatur.)  William’s occupation is given as sawyer in a saw mill for which he was an employer.  His house was rented and was on a farm.  Several members of the Yancy family lived nearby.

After a few years in Wolff, W. C. and Mattie Buck moved to Birmingham.  His occupation was given as contractor/builder in his own business.  They must have moved to Birmingham before 1913 since the Birmingham City Directory for 1913 includes them as living on North 49 Street.

Sometime between 1920 and 1924, W. C. Buck moved to Florence, Alabama where he continued to be a building contractor.  In the early 1920s, the W. C. Buck house in Florence burned and all of his personal effects, records and photographs were lost.  Knowing that he was dying of cancer, he purchased an annuity for his wife, Mattie, from Metropolitan Life. This was her income during the depression.   W. C. Buck died of cancer on January 28, 1924 in Florence, Alabama.  He was buried in Decatur.

Mattie must have remained in Birmingham when W. C. Buck moved to Florence because she is included in the 1925 City Directory as the widow of W. C. Buck.  However she apparently moved to North 42 Drive.  Her name is also in the 1928 Directory. 

Sometime in the early 1930s, Mattie Buck moved in with her son, Hubert N. Buck.  According to the 1940 census, she lived with his family in 1935 and 1940.

Martha Elizabeth Clardy Buck died on January 12, 1950 in Decatur, Alabama. 

William Calmes Buck and Martha Elizabeth Clardy had the following children:

• William Calmes Buck III (1884-1888)
•  Carlisle Lamar Buck (1887 -1959) ; married Susan Elizabeth Masterson
•  Charles Clardy Buck (1900-1993) ; married Hilda C. Girten
•  Helen Dooley Buck (1891-1958); Harvey Howard Masterson
• David Edgar Buck (1902-1919); died in a boating accident
• Lois Buck (1893-1929)
• Murray Sandlin Buck (1896-1982); married Thelma Black
• Hubert Nelson Buck (1897-1974); married Vivian Eileen Watson. He drew a Buck Family Tree which is still widely used.
• Inez Buck (1890-1890)
• Two unnamed infants.

(to be continued)

William Calmes Buck's Children: Charles Willis Buck (1835-1900) (continued)

continued ...

Charles Willis Buck was

A Baptist minister, like his father.  He served as chaplain to various Alabama regiments during the Civil War, and later as pastor of a number of churches in central Alabama, his eleven children being born in eight different locations.  Most of his descendants reside (or did) in Alabama and Georgia.
                                         -- notes of Hubert Nelson Buck, 1965

Susan Croom Sparrow was a reigning belle of her day.  "A very lovely woman." - (Emma Virginia Buck)                              

Family lore is that C. W. Buck was a dentist.  His tombstone reads "Dr. C. W. Buck".  My dad remembers his father (C. L. Buck) saying that his grandfather pulled teeth.  Miriam Quarles remembered hearing that C. W. Buck developed procedures for "painless" dentistry.

Charles Willis Buck

Susan Croom Sparrow Buck

A letter from Charles Willis Buck to his wife during the Civil War.

Near 2hr Stewarts Div Hospital (Marietta, GA)

June 29, 1864

My Dear Precious Wife

I write again not because I have any news but because I know that you will wish to hear from me.  I wrote on Saturday and again on Sunday but this is Wednesday.  This morning as I was walking through town I saw a man whose face seemed familiar but I could not place him.  I went up to a gentleman who seemed to be acquainted with him and inquired his name and was told that it was Lewis Craig.  I called to him and after teasing him awhile as to myself I made myself known and you may be sure it was a pleasant meeting.  Lewis is the oldest living child of my mother’s sister Ann.  He and his brother Willis, Gid and myself were raised together and our attachment for sure awhile was as strong as brother’s love.   He informed us of the death of ….

(the back of the page was not available)

I consoled several and dressed some of their wounded.  We have been blessed in the last month of fighting as have lost only those killed in the present month, several wounded but none mortally.  I hope Pa and Silas write.  I must again say farewell for the moment.  Kiss my pretty boys for me and tell them Papa says “Howdy”.  Remember me kindly to all friends.  And for yourself my Darling, I send my heart it is ever missing you.  Sleeping or waking my dreams are ever of you and my heart responses only to one sweet face and name.  I sometimes feel that I can bear our separation no longer and must return to my Darling but then duty says “stop” and I obey.  Our meeting will be but sweeter for our long separation and I look forward to the day when in the mercy of God we shall be separated no more in life.  God grant that the day may be near when this dreadful war will be over and the poor soldier be permitted to return to his home again.  My God bless and protect you and our children.  May Angels watch over our family and may your life be as happy as my absence will allow.

Your Aff. Husband,

C. W. Buck

William Calmes Buck's Children: Charles Willis Buck (1835 -1900) continued

continued from previous post ...

In the summer of 1858, C. W. Buck and others met in the Methodist Church to discuss forming a Young Men's Christian Association in Selma, Alabama.  This was the first YMCA in the state of Alabama.

In 1858, C. W. Buck and his brother Giddings attempted to open a school in Sumterville as indicated by their advertisement in the Independent of Gainesville Alabama newspaper of December 12, 1857.  Apparently, this school was not successful as no further mention of it is available.

C. W. Buck and Susan Croom Sparrow Buck must have moved from the Greene county area in late 1859 because "sister Susan Buck" was granted a letter of dismissal the Saturday before the second Sunday of October, 1859.

In the 1860 census, C. W. Buck is shown as a Baptist Minister living in Marion, Perry County, Alabama with his wife.  They appear to be living in a boarding house or hotel.

In lists of Confederate soldiers, Charles W. Buck is shown to be a Chaplain in the 42^nd regiment of the Alabama Infantry.  The 42^nd was organized at Columbus, Mississippi in May 1862.  It participated in the siege of Corinth and the garrison at Vicksburg.

In 1870, Charles and Susan Buck lived in the town of Butler in Choctaw County, Alabama with their young family. Again, he is shown as being a Minister.

An advertisement in the Livingston Journal of September 29, 1871 indicates that C. W. Buck was an agent for the Mississippi Valley Life Insurance Company.

In 1872, the "Tuscaloosa Times", listing the death of his daughter, Mary Emma, referred to Rev. and Mrs. C. W. Buck.

In 1873, C. W. Buck was "Editor and Proprietor" of the "Crystal Fount" a newspaper "Devoted to Temperance, Morality, Literature and General Intelligence -- Neutral in Religion and Politics".  This "Family Paper", published in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, cost two dollars per year. In the November 3 issue for 1873, C. W. Buck's column (dated October 3) was in favor of prohibition, closing with "Destroy it from the land by forbidding it made and sold; and we shall soon have no drunkards to convert and save."   His column of October 7 was "We make Ourselves" in which he said that God's works are perfect and "man made himself what he is".  This issue also noted publication of the paper would be suspended for one month due in part to "failure of subscribers to pay up" and pleaded for financial support.  "We have done wrong in sending out the paper without the money, and will hereafter strictly abide by the cash system."  The Crystal Fount was published for only about two years.

From 1879 to 1881, C. W. Buck served as pastor at the Girard Baptist Church in Russell County, Alabama.

In 1880, He lived in Brownville and Whittens in Lee County, Alabama.  In this census, Charles is shown as being a farmer.  In addition to his family, now numbering nine children, the household includes Lucy Parker as a (white) servant along with her two young children.

By 1884, C. W. Buck had changed his profession from minister to farmer and then to dentistry.  He practiced a form of “painless” dentistry which he called “Electrodentis”.  An advertisement in the Tuskegee News dated October 2, 1884 seems to indicate that he was travelling from town to town and pulling teeth.

In 1897, the Montgomery, Alabama City Directory includes Charles W. Buck as a dentist.

Charles Willis Buck died in Montgomery, Alabama on April 8, 1900 of pneumonia brought on by influenza.

In the 1900 census, Susan C. Buck is shown as a widow and living in Glennville, Russell County, Alabama with her son-in-law A. D. Quarles and his wife Belle Sparrow Buck Quarles.  A. D. Quarles is shown as being a farmer and blacksmith.

Susan Croom Sparrow Buck died in Phenix City, Alabama April 26, 1906 apparently as the result of being thrown from a carriage.

... to be continued

William Calmes Buck's Children: Charles Willis Buck (1835-1900)

Charles Willis Buck was the third son born to William CalmesBuck and his second wife Isabella Miriam Field Buck. He was born on September 26, 1835 in Woodford County, Kentucky "at 5 min. past 7 a.m." according to the memoirs of his father, William Calmes Buck (I).  He was named in honor of his grandfathers Charles Buck and Willis Field.

According to the U. S. Census of 1850, Charles Willis Buck, age 14, was living with his parents and siblings in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky.  His father, William C. Buck, is shown as being a Baptist Minister.  Charles was attending school.

Although his father was largely self-educated (but even so, referred to as “Dr. Buck” later in his life), Charles Willis received a formal education.  His early school years were in Louisville, Kentucky.  At about age 14, Charles and his younger brother Giddings were enrolled and boarded at Georgetown College in Kentucky.  Georgetown College was chartered in 1829 and was the first Baptist college west of the Allegheny Mountains.  After a few years at Georgetown, Charles and Giddings were enrolled and boarded at Union University in Tennessee after their mother died in 1852.   In fact, they boarded at the home of the president of Union College, Dr. Joseph Eaton.  Charles and his younger brother Giddings attended Union College whereas their sister Emma attended the Female Academy.  Giddings graduated in 1857 and, perhaps, Charles did as well. 

On October 21, 1857, Charles’s sister, Emma, while visiting in Front Royal, Virginia, noted in her diary “Hope Brother Charlie will succeed in getting a situation very soon.”  He was 22 years old.  On November 21, Charles visited Front Royal and the surrounding area.  Charles and Emma left Front Royal on December 9 for Washington D.C. where they visited the Capitol, Rotunda, Library, Senate Chamber and House of Representatives.  They departed for Baltimore on December 11 to visit relatives.  On December 18, they departed for Norfolk, Virginia on the steamer George.  They used railroad and other steamers to travel to Selma, Alabama where their father was living.  In Selma, Emma noted that she met Mrs. Croom (who would become Charles' mother-in-law).

Charles Willis Buck and Susan Croom Sparrow were married on September 13, 1857 in Greene County, Alabama. Susan Croom Sparrow, daughter of Robert J. Sparrow and Nancy E. Croom, was born on July 13, 1838 in Greene County, Alabama. The Sparrows were a well-to-do farming family in Greene County, Alabama.  In the census of 1860, the Sparrow farm, run by her mother, Nancy, after the death of her father, appears to be relatively valuable and in near proximity to other valuable farms.

Charles Willis Buck and Susan Croom Sparrow had the following children:

• William Calmes Buck II (1861-1924); married Martha Elizabeth Clardy, December 1, 1881.  As my great grandfather, he gets his own post in this blog as well as this short summary. 
•  Frances Buck (1862-1863)
•  Charles Willis Buck Jr. (1863-1883); married Martha Mahalia Clay
•  Susan Croom Buck (1866-1906); married William Thomas Quarles
•  Mary Emma Buck (1867-1872)
•  Miriam Field Buck (1869-1936); married Charles Davis Stringer
•  Robert Sparrow Buck (1870-1930); married Lenna Adams
•  John Hickman Buck (1872-1956); married Annie Zerada Johnson
•  Belle Sparrow Buck (1874-1964); married Abram David Quarles
•  Katie Steiner Buck (1878-1957); married Haywood Johnson 
• Elizabeth Davidge "Bessie" Buck (1876-1965) 

(to be continued)

William Calmes Buck's Children: Willis Field Buck (1845-1888)

Willis Field Buck was a son of William Calmes Buck and Isabella Miriam Field.  He was born June 26, 1845 at “11 ½ pm” in Louisville, Kentucky according to the notes of his father.  He was usually called “Field”.

His sister, Emma, wrote in her diary of February 14, 1862 that Field and Silas were in school at Carrolton (probably Alabama).  A few days later, she wrote that Field was begging for his father’s permission to join the army which “Pa does not intend to give.”  On July 23, she wrote that Field had joined the 36^th Mississippi Regiment.  He was 17 years old.  Emma often wrote of making clothes, socks and gloves for Field.  On November 1, she wrote of Field “Poor boy, he must have suffered during his imprisonment.  I hope the Yankees won’t get him again.”  Apparently, Field was captured at the Battle of Corinth.  On December 30, she wrote that Field had been sick.  Field had applied for the rank of lieutenant but was denied because he was not yet 18 years old.  Field was stationed at Vicksburg, Mississippi in May, 1863 when it fell to the Union army.  In 1864, Emma wrote that Field had arrived on July 24^th on his way to the Parole Camp at Demopolis, Alabama.  She visited him several times at that camp.  After Field was “exchanged” he was sent to Tennessee and fought in the Battle of Missionary Ridge.  He was then hospitalized for several weeks in Montgomery before returning to his regiment just before Christmas.

After the Civil War, Field entered Louisville Medical College and graduated in 1867.   He then joined his father in Waco, Texas and began his medical practice. 

In 1868, Field and his brother Giddings visited their sister Mary and her husband Rezin Davidge in Staton Island, New York.  Apparently, they were attempting (unsuccessfully) to find a publisher for a book by their father, William Calmes Buck, and they stayed in New York for several months.  In a letter to his wife, Giddings wrote “Field is not much of a stroller and sight seer, loves to sit in the house, read and smoke.”

In Texas, Field married Anna William Harrison, daughter of Richard Harrison and Mary Ragsdale on October 27, 1872, in Waco.  She was called “Nannie”.

Sometime in 1879, Field and his family moved to Stephenville, Texas.  His brother, Silas, also lived in Stephenville.  Apparently, Field was not in good health and hoped that his health would improve in Stephenville.  He lived in Stephenville at the time of the 1880 census and gave his occupation as “M.D.”. 

Field’s health did not improve in Stephenville and he moved to Pecos in Reeves County.  Pecos was said to be truly the “wild west”.  Field built up a large practice in Pecos but was so isolated that he had to be his own druggist, surgeon, obstetrician and oculist.  He even furnished a charity ward.

Willis Field Buck and Anna William Harrison had four children:

• ·        Mary Ragsdale Buck (1874-1875)
• ·        Margaret Earle Buck (1875-1887)
• ·        Richard H. Buck (1878-1879), said to have died of croup in Comanche, Texas.
• ·        Miriam Field Buck (1881-1887).

All of their children died young.  It seems that some sort of epidemic must have been active in 1887 and into 1888.  Anna William Harrison Buck died on March 11, 1888 in Waco, Texas.  Field committed suicide a few months after the death of his wife and died August 14, 1888 in Baird, Texas.  At the time of his death, Field was said to be about 5’8” tall and weigh about 130 pounds.  He was reported to use alcohol and opiates regularly and was writing about spiritualism as he imagined that evil spirits were after him.  Both Field and Nannie are buried in the old First Street Cemetery of Waco, Texas.

William Calmes Buck: Precepts for My Son

(Continuing posts about William Calmes Buck)

In late November of 1856, Wm. C. Buck gave his son Charles Willis Buck his "Precepts for My Son".  Charles Willis Buck's twenty-first birthday was September 26, 1856 and I've always wondered if the Precepts was perhaps a birthday gift.  I don't have the original but typed the Precepts in a sort of script, added the photo of Wm. C. Buck and also added his signature from another document.