Individual Details

U.S. Congressman, Alabama Governor. In 1846, he moved with his parents to Alabama, was educated at East Alabama Male College and the University of Georgia. During the Civil War, he served as a First Lieutenant in command of a company in the 46th Alabama Regiment, Confederate Army. After the war, he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1867 and commenced to practice law in Opelika, Alabama. He also was president of the board of trustees of the University of Alabama and a licensed Methodist preacher. Entering politics, he was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-sixth Congress, serving 1879-81. Not a candidate for re-nomination, he was a member of the Alabama State House of Representatives in 1882 and served in the Alabama State Senate (1884-86, 92). In 1901, he was elected as a Democrat the 31st Governor of Alabama, serving until his death. During his short term, the Alabama Department of Archives and History was created.

Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith

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Birth	16 Sep 1844	Greenville, Meriwether County, Georgia
Census (family)-shared	10 Aug 1860	(William Flewellen Samford and Susan Lewis Dowdell) Macon County, Alabama
Marriage	31 Oct 1865	Auburn, Lee County, Alabama - Caroline Elizabeth L Drake
Death	11 Jun 1901	Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama
Burial		Rosemere Cemetery, Lee County, Alabama

Spouse	Caroline Elizabeth L Drake (1847 - 1940)
Child	William Hodges Samford (1866 - 1940)
Child	Thomas Drake Samford Sr. (1868 - 1947)
Child	W. M. Jamie Samford (1870 - 1902)
Child	Richard Lewis Samford (1872 - 1947)
Child	Susan George Samford (1875 - 1965)
Child	Caroline Elizabeth Samford (1879 - 1984)
Child	Crawford Alexander Samford (1884 - 1885)
Child	Walter Robert Samford (1886 - 1948)
Child	Mary Katherine Samford (1890 - 1962)

Father	William Flewellen Samford (1817 - 1894)
Mother	Susan Lewis Dowdell (1822 - 1897)
Sibling	Elizabeth Jane Samford (1838 - 1925)
Sibling	Thomas Lewis Samford (1843 - 1900)
Sibling	Katherine Frances Samford (1846 - 1928)
Sibling	Susan George Samford (1847 - 1923)
Sibling	Walter Clifton Samford (1850 - 1935)
Sibling	Dowdell Turbeville Samford (1852 - 1855)
Sibling	Randolph Macon Samford (1854 - 1943)
Sibling	Mary Caroline Samford (1854 - 1929)
Sibling	Annie Laurie Samford (1856 - 1916)
Sibling	Crawford Alexander Lipscomb Samford (1857 - 1934)
Sibling	Yancey Fullilove Samford (1861 - )
Sibling	Rev. Norris Preston Dowdell Samford (1863 - 1888)

Notes