Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of John Comer

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Descendants of John Comer

36. MARTHA⁴ COMER (HUGH MOSS³, SAMUEL², JOHN¹) She married ELBERT HUTCHINGS July 11, 1832 in Elbert County, Georgia.

More About ELBERT HUTCHINGS and MARTHA COMER:
Marriage: July 11, 1832, Elbert County, Georgia

Child of MARTHA COMER and ELBERT HUTCHINGS is:

66.

ANN⁵ HUTCHINGS.

37. ALZADA T.⁴ COMER (HUGH MOSS³, SAMUEL², JOHN¹) was born 1807. She married WILLIAM T. KLOB February 24, 1822 in Jones County, Georgia.

Notes for ALZADA T. COMER:
After her marriage they moved to Texas. After the death of Martin Kolb she may have remarried to a Methodist preacher named Arnold. [Braxton Bragg Comer, His Family Tree From Virginia's Colonial Days, by Anne Kendrick Walker, 1947, page 47]

More About WILLIAM KLOB and ALZADA COMER:
Marriage: February 24, 1822, Jones County, Georgia

Children of ALZADA COMER and WILLIAM KLOB are:

	i.		WILLIAM⁵ KLOB.
	ii.		MARTIN KLOB.

38. JOHN FLETCHER⁴ COMER (HUGH MOSS³, SAMUEL², JOHN¹) was born 1811 in Clinton, Jones County, Georgia, and died April 27, 1858 in Old Spring Hill, Barbour County, Alabama. He married CATHARINE LUCINDA DREWRY November 11, 1841 in Jones County, Georgia, daughter of JOHN DREWRY and ELIZABETH PITTS. She died 1898 in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia.

Notes for JOHN FLETCHER COMER:
After getting married he and his new bride left Jones County, Georgia and settled in Barbour County, Alabama. [Braxton Bragg Comer, His Family Tree From Virginia's Colonial Days, by Anne Kendrick Walker, 1947, page 46]

More About JOHN FLETCHER COMER:
Occupation: Planter, Alabama Senate

Notes for CATHARINE LUCINDA DREWRY:
After the early death of her husband she took on the responsibilities of raising six minor boys and their land holdings. She erected a monument to the memory of John Fletcher Comer in the Old Spring Hill Cemetary that reads as follows:

John Fletcher Comer
Died
In Barbour County, Alabama
April 27th, 1858
Aged 47 Years
Erected By His Wife
Catherine L.

The path of this just and pious man was like a
shining light, clearer as he approached and
walked in the meridian of his days. His wife,
children, home and friends were cherished
treasures. Moved by the generous impulses of
an honest heart, controlled by a will, yielding
to no opposition, in defence of firm principles,
he left a name radiant with those virtues that
make up the full measure of a reliable friend,
valued neighbor and influential citizen, and
now my beloved is with Christ in God, the spirit's
home.

More About CATHARINE LUCINDA DREWRY:
Education: 1841, Wesleyan College, Macon, Georgia

More About JOHN COMER and CATHARINE DREWRY:
Marriage: November 11, 1841, Jones County, Georgia

Children of JOHN COMER and CATHARINE DREWRY are:

67.	i.		HUGH MOSS⁵ COMER, b. Old Spring Hill, Barbour County, Alabama; d. February 26, 1900, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia.
	ii.		ELIZABETH COMER, b. Old Spring Hill, Barbour County, Alabama.

More About ELIZABETH COMER:
Cause of Death: Infancy

iii.

ELIZABETH COMER, b. Old Spring Hill, Barbour County, Alabama.

More About ELIZABETH COMER:
Cause of Death: Infancy

iv.

JOHN WALLACE COMER, b. June 13, 1845, Old Spring Hill, Barbour County, Alabama; d. September 20, 1919, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia; m. CARRIE GERTRUDE SEAY, November 28, 1866, Barbour County, Alabama; b. November 11, 1847; d. April 16, 1898.

More About JOHN WALLACE COMER:
Burial: Eufalua, Barbour County, Alabama
Cemetery: Fairview Cemetery, Eufaula, Alabama
Medical Information: He was wounded in the Battle of Atlanta
Military service: April 01, 1863, 57th Alabama Infantry Regiment
Occupation: Cowikee Mills, Eulaula, Alabama

More About CARRIE GERTRUDE SEAY:
Burial: Eufalua, Barbour County, Alabama
Cemetery: Fairview Cemetery, Eufaula, Alabama

More About JOHN COMER and CARRIE SEAY:
Marriage: November 28, 1866, Barbour County, Alabama

68.	v.	ST. GEORGE LEGARE' COMER, b. January 01, 1847, Old Spring Hill, Barbour County, Alabama; d. September 19, 1933, Eufaula, Barbour County, Alabama.
69.	vi.	BRAXTON BRAGG COMER, b. November 07, 1848, Old Spring Hill, Barbour County, Alabama; d. August 15, 1927.
70.	vii.	JOHN FLETCHER COMER, JR., b. January 05, 1854, Old Spring Hill, Barbour County, Alabama; d. February 22, 1927.
	viii.	EDWARD TRIPPE COMER, b. August 01, 1856, Old Spring Hill, Barbour County, Alabama; d. March 31, 1927, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia; m. GEORGIE SHACKELFORD COLLIER, February 08, 1888; b. July 1865, Camden, Kershaw County, South Carolina.

More About EDWARD TRIPPE COMER:
Associations: Oglethorpe Savannah Yatch Club
Burial: Old Spring Hill, Barbour County, Alabama
Cemetery: Old Spring Hill Cemetery, Old Spring Hill, Alabama
Education: University of Alabama
Occupation: Cotton Factor, Cattle Farmer

More About EDWARD COMER and GEORGIE COLLIER:
Marriage: February 08, 1888

39. CLEMENT COMER⁴ CLAY (REBECCA³ COMER, SAMUEL², JOHN¹) was born December 17, 1789 in Halifax County, Virginia, and died September 07, 1866 in Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama. He married SUSANNA CLAIBORNE WITHERS 1815 in Near Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama, daughter of JOHN WITHERS and MARY JONES. She was born 1798 in Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama, and died 1866.

Notes for CLEMENT COMER CLAY:
Clement Comer Clay was the first of the Comer family to migrate to Alabama from Virginia. He arrived near Huntsville in 1811. The few people on Huntsville's main street one December afternoon little thought as they saw a frail, delicate young man, not quite 22 years old, ride horse-back into the town, that the future first chief justice of Alabama and the future drafter of the State's first constitution had arrived. But the young rider, viewing the town with dark and restless eyes, was Clement Comer Clay, destined to become the most popular statesman of his period, and to hold the people's confidence during a singurly long period and brilliant public career.

He had a home in Huntsville called "Castle Clay" and entertained President Monroe just before Alabama was admitted into the Union in 1819. In 1835 he was elected Governor of Alabama during the Creek Indian uprising. He took the field personally and won the confidence of the principal chiefs. He resigned to take a United States Senate seat before the expiration of his term as governor.

[Braxton Bragg Comer, His Family Tree From Virginia's Colonial Days, by Anne Kendrick Walker, 1947]

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Clement Comer Clay was born in Halifax County, Virginia in 1789. He moved to Tennessee as a child and attended East Tennessee College and graduated in 1807. He was admitted to the bar in 1809 and moved to Huntsville, Mississippi Territory, in 1811. Clay fought in the 1813 Creek War and served in the Territorial legislature from 1817-1819. Clay was a member of the Alabama Constitutional Convention which created the state of Alabama and served on the state Supreme Court from 1820-1823. In 1823 Clay fought a duel with Dr. Waddy Tate of Limestone County and temporarily resigned from public service.

In 1827 Clay resumed his political career. Running unsuccessfully for a place in the US Congress, he lost the race to John Murphy. Later in 1827 Clay was elected to the Alabama state legislature and two years later was successful in his bid for the US Congress. As a US Representative Clay was a Jacksonian, though he did oppose Jackson in the nullification crisis, particularly in regard to the Force Act. While in Congress Clay also helped arrange Francis Scott Key's 1833 visit to Alabama to negotiate with Governor Gayle concerning Creek Indian removal.

In 1835 Clement Comer Clay was elected the eighth governor of Alabama. As the democratic candidate Clay received 23,297 votes, beating Enoch Persons, a states' rights Whig, who received 12,209 votes.

Clay's term as governor was dominated by the Creek Indian War of 1836. This war was caused by the removal of the Creek Indians from Southeastern Alabama under the terms of the 1832 Treaty of Cusseta. The US Army began rounding up Indians to send to their new homeland west of the Mississippi during the summer of 1836 and numerous disturbances resulted. Skirmishes between Indians and white settlers were reported. Adding to the problem was widespread land speculation and fraud practiced by the Columbus (Georgia) Land Company which attempted to illegally obtain land from the Indians before their relocation. Some Alabama Creeks fled to Florida and joined the Seminoles in the Seminole War of 1837. The US Army and volunteer units of the Alabama Militia attempted to suppress hostile actions by the Creeks and the Seminoles. Some Creek Indians remaining in Alabama were persuaded, with promises of concessions and preferential treatment, to join the Alabama Militia and US Army in their fight against the Seminoles.

There were other important military and Indian related events which occurred during Clay's term of office. Many Alabamians volunteered for the 1836 Texas War and a number were massacred by the Mexicans at Goliad. On December 29, 1835 the Cherokee Indians signed the Treaty of New Echota, ceding their rights to lands east of the Mississippi River. The new Alabama counties of Marshall, Dekalb, and Cherokee were created from the former Indian Territory.

Financial affairs were also important during Clay's term as governor. In January 1836 the state General Assembly abolished direct taxation, hoping to pay the costs of state government with the proceeds from the Bank of the State of Alabama. The national financial crisis of 1837 caused a panic and a run on the state bank which suspended specie payment. Governor Clay called a special session of the legislature to deal with the state's financial problems. Clay also ordered the bank to make a detailed report of its finances. The bank's inadequate record keeping practices made the report an impossibility.

In 1837 Clay was appointed to the US Senate and resigned as governor effective July 16, 1837. He served in Congress until 1841. He introduced a land graduation bill which was eventually passed as the Benton Bill in 1854. Clay resigned from the Senate in 1841 when he was commissioned by the Alabama General Assembly to prepare a digest of state laws. After Clay's Digest was completed in 1843, Clay was appointed to the State Supreme Court. In 1846 Clay served on a committee to settle the affairs of the Bank of the State of Alabama and then he retired to his private law practice. During the Civil War Clay was arrested by US Troops and his property was seized. Clay died in 1866.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authorities:
Owen, Thomas, M. History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, 1921.
Stewart, John Craig. The Governors of Alabama, 1975
Young, Mary Elizabeth. Redskins, Ruffleshirts and Rednecks: Indian Allotments in Alabama and Mississippi, 1830-1860, 1961.

More About CLEMENT COMER CLAY:
Education: 1807, East Tennessee College
Military service: 1813, Creek Indian War
Occupation: Lawyer, Alabama Supreme Court Justice, Governor of Alabama, US Senator

More About CLEMENT CLAY and SUSANNA WITHERS:
Marriage: 1815, Near Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama

Children of CLEMENT CLAY and SUSANNA WITHERS are:

CLEMENT CLAIBORNE⁵ CLAY, b. December 1817, Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama; d. January 03, 1882, Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama; m. VIRGINIA CAROLINE TUNSTALL, February 01, 1843, Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama; b. 1825; d. 1919.

Notes for CLEMENT CLAIBORNE CLAY:
He lived at "Castle Clay" in Huntsville, Alabama.

He was a U. S. Senator at the point of secession and made a withdrawal speech for the State of Alabama. "Mr. President, I rise to announce that the people of Alabama have adopted an ordinance whereby they withdraw from the Union, formed under a compact styled the United States, resume the powers delegated to it, and assume their separate station as a sovereign and independent people."

His likeness was used on the Confederate one dollar bill from 1862 to 1863. After the death of Lincoln he was accused of complicity and was hunted by the Union Army. He rode 150 miles to turn himself in and was imprisoned with Jefferson Davis at Fortress Moultrie for one year after the war.

Duke University purchased the entire collection of letters of the Clay family.

[Braxton Bragg Comer, His Family Tree From Virginia's Colonial Days, by Anne Kendrick Walker, 1947]

More About CLEMENT CLAIBORNE CLAY:
Education: Bet. 1834 - 1837, University of Alabama and University of Virginia
Occupation 1: US Senator, Newspaper Editor, Lawyer, CSA Senator
Occupation 2: CSA Agent in Canada
Occupation 3: Bet. 1853 - 1860, U S Senator
Occupation 4: 1861, CSA Senator

More About CLEMENT CLAY and VIRGINIA TUNSTALL:
Marriage: February 01, 1843, Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama

71.	ii.		JOHN WITHERS CLAY, b. January 11, 1820, Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama; d. March 29, 1896, Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama.
	iii.		HUGH LAWSON CLAY, b. January 24, 1823; d. 1890; m. HARRIET CELESTIA COMER, May 31, 1855, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia; b. March 28, 1836.

More About HUGH LAWSON CLAY:
Burial: Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama
Cemetery: Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, Alabama
Military service 1: Mexican War
Military service 2: CSA
Occupation: Lawyer

More About HARRIET CELESTIA COMER:
Burial: Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama
Cemetery: Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville, Alabama

More About HUGH CLAY and HARRIET COMER:
Marriage: May 31, 1855, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia
Marriage Location: May 31, 1855, Home of Major Anderson Comer, Jr.

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