Individual Details

James Hester’s middle name is uncertain. The middle initial N appears in the census of 1850, no initial is given in the census of 1860 and 1870, middle initial M appears in the 1880 census, and the death certificate of his son, John Hollie Hester, states that John’s father was James M. Hester. The only one of these records that is a primary source is the marriage license, which was obtained by James Hester himself and clearly has his name written as James H. Hester.

James H. Hester, son of George Washington Hester and Frances Greer, was born about 1848 in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. He was reported to be 2 years old in the 1850 census, 12 in 1860, and 21 in 1870. He married Mollie Goodwin on 25 June 1871 in Tallapoosa County, Alabama.

Consent for Mollie Goodwin to marry James H. Hester was granted in writing on 23 June 1871 by her guardian, A. J. Grimmett, so Mollie must have been under the age of 18 and thus born no earlier than 1854. A bond for $200 was signed on 24 June 1871 by James H. Hester and his brother-in-law, Jeremiah H. Lovejoy, the husband of his sister, Mary Etta Hester. The marriage license was issued on 24 June 1871 by Allen D. Sturdivant, Judge of Probate. The couple was married on 25 June 1871 by Henry P. Smith, J.P.

James H. Hester is sometimes confused with James Madison Hester, who was born to Robert and Susan Hester in Randolph County, Alabama, and died in Summerfield, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, in 1882.

James Hester, son of George Washington Hester & Frances Greer, did not die 2 May 1926. That death record is for James M. Robinson, son of Wm. E. Robinson & Francis E. Wood.

Birth	1848	Tallapoosa County, Alabama
Census (family)-shared	22 Oct 1850	(George Washington Hester and Frances Greer) Tallapoosa County, Alabama
Census (family)-shared	31 Jul 1860	(Allen Lane Bailey and Frances Greer) Ridge Grove, Chambers County, Alabama
Census-shared	8 Jun 1870	(Frances Greer) Rome, Tallapoosa County, Alabama
Marriage Bond	24 Jun 1871	Tallapoosa County, Alabama - Mary Elizabeth "Mollie" Goodwin
Marriage	25 Jun 1871	Tallapoosa County, Alabama - Mary Elizabeth "Mollie" Goodwin
Census (family)	26 Jun 1880	Claiborne Parish, Louisiana - Mary Elizabeth "Mollie" Goodwin

Spouse	Mary Elizabeth "Mollie" Goodwin (1854 - 1922)
Child	John Hollie Hester (1876 - 1934)
Child	Orrie Page Hester (1879 - 1952)

Father	George Washington Hester (1810 - 1853)
Mother	Frances Greer (1815 - 1903)
Sibling	Thomas Oliver Hester (1839 - 1910)
Sibling	Mary Etta Mollie Hester (1846 - 1926)
Sibling	John Jefferson Hester (1852 - 1917)

Notes