52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 27 – Henry Carroll/Cal Jr.
Henry
Carroll was born on the 24 September 1894 in Town Creek, Alabama and appears to
be the seventh son of Henry Carroll/Cal and Celia Sherrod. The date of birth changes depending on the
documents found. I’ve decided to use the
military records for his birth. The
Carroll/Cal line is designated like this for in the early records, the last
name is recorded as Carroll and evolves to Cal.
Henry,
along with his brothers, Dallas, Charles, John, Robert and Earnest worked on
their father, Henry Carroll/Cal Sr.’s farm and registered for the World War I
draft as required by the government around June 1917. Henry Jr. appears to be the only brother the
records show enlisted in the army on 12 December 1917. The army was still segregated under the
command of President Wilson. Henry
became a Private in Company A, Unit 308 SV, BN in the military and served
throughout the war receiving an Honorable discharge on 25 July 1919. Verbal history from his niece, Dorothy is
that he peeled potatoes and performed prepping work for the cook and was
stationed in France. I’m still looking
for records that would support Co. A,
Unit 308.
Henry
Jr. had a child named Henry Jr. that was born in 1913 before he entered the
military. The Alabama Death Index shows
that child died 13 June 1914 at 18 months old in Lawrence County, Alabama. The record also lists the child’s mother as
unknown, which is rather puzzling. On 5
June 1917, when Henry Jr. registered for World War I draft he is listed as
farming and being single living in Colbert County, Alabama. This was on land his father, Henry
Carroll/Cal Sr. own.
Henry
Jr. married Georgia Bell Hampton on 6 April 1924 in Lawrence County,
Alabama. The US Census records for Town
Creek, Lawrence County, Alabama show he lived in Town Creek in 1930 and 1940
with his wife, Georgia Belle Hampton. Georgia Belle’s nickname was
“Sugarbabe”. Henry Jr. and Sugarbabe had
one son, Lennis (1903-2003). This
appears to be before they married in 1924.
Lennis Cal had a son, Lennis Cal Jr., born 17 March 1955 and died 21 Nov
1976 at about twenty-one years old.
Georgia
Belle applied for the application for a military headstone and received it
after his death in 1959. Henry Jr.
died on the 11 June 1985 and is buried in the Cal Family Cemetery in Colbert
County, Alabama. So while I’ve never
known my great uncle, Henry Carroll/Cal Jr., he participated in World War I and
made a contribution to World War I. He
also had what my cousin calls an “outside child” Emmett Cal. Emmitt was born in December 1913 in Alabama
and I’ve yet to find out his mother’s name.
Emmitt married in 1938 and lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee most of his
life. He had at less one son, Emmitt
Jr. Following Henry Jr.’s descendants
open doors to the Cal Family in Chattanooga, specifically John Henry Cal and
his wife, Hannah Napier both born in Town Creek, Alabama that relocated to
Chattanooga. Always, wondered if there
is a connection. They lived with Emmitt
according to the Chattanooga Directory so who knows. Hopefully, it will lead to solving the
mystery.
There
is much to be discovered about family on this family journey.
