Chambers County AlArchives Obituaries.....McGinty, Douglas Clairfield June 15, 2006 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Gerald K. McGinty, Sr. http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00021.html#0005198 June 21, 2006, 10:23 am Newspaper The McGinty Family 170 Years In The Valley I am sad to say that the last male to carry the McGinty name in River View, Douglas Clairfield McGinty, passed away on June 15, 2006. He is survived by his daughter, Teresa, and no sons. He was an energetic eighty-three. Doug was the son of William Grover and Era Waller McGinty. He was born in River View October 22, 1922. Doug was the last McGinty in the area, from a line that began when his great, great grandfather, George Washington McGinty moved to the area from Pike Co., Georgia in 1835. This direct McGinty line in the River View area, lasted over 170 years! Doug’s great, great grandfather, Geo. Washington McGinty, was born in Wilkes Co., Georgia in 1786. He was the son of Rev. Robert McGinty, pioneer Baptist minister in Georgia for over fifty years. Robert’s father, John McGinty, arrived in America from Ireland before 1750. Washington served in the Georgia Militia in 1818, under the command of then General Andrew Jackson in the first Seminole War in Florida. He had four wives and thirteen children and raised most of them in what is now Valley. He moved to the area in 1835, with the first wave of settlers into “New Alabama” after Chambers Co. was formed from Creek Indian lands in 1832. At this time in history, none of the towns were named. The lands were described in sections, ranges and townships. He was a successful planter, and shows in the 1840 census of Chambers Co., living in the Osanippa area, with seven white males, nine white females and ten slaves. He was also said to have been a cancer doctor of some fame and very successful in the treatment of the disease. There are several records of his land transactions in the Valley area, including one in old Bluffton in 1842. He purchased 160 acres here. Bluffton was the old name for today’s Lanett. He was a charter member of the Ephesus Baptist Church in 1846. He shows in all the Chambers Co. census records thru 1870. He died in 1874, and is buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Valley. One of Washington’s sons was William Pitts McGinty, who once owned the land surrounding the current Fairview Cemetery. He moved from Georgia to Chambers Co., with his father and lived his entire adult life as a farmer with several hundred acres in what is now the McGinty, Alabama area in Valley. He shows there in all the census records from 1840 thru 1900. Between 1855-1860, he moved to Randolph Co., and farmed there. He shows in the 1860 census of Randolph Co., pg. 156. In 1863, he purchased 275 acres in Chambers Co., AL, possibly with Confederate money, and moved back to the Valley. His land was very close to the Parnell peach farm. Five acres of this land was already being used by the Bethlehem Baptist Church (founded in 1835) and later became the Fairview Cemetery. Part of his land was later owned by his grandson, Rev. Basil B. McGinty. He also had a large family of twelve, all raised in McGinty. Because of advanced age, he served in Co. E, 4th Alabama Reserves, joining in 1864. He shows in all the Chambers Co. census records thru 1900, and died there in 1901. One of his sons was William Levin McGinty (1859-1937), who was Doug’s grandfather. Wm. Levin was also the brother of my grandfather, Wiley Patterson McGinty, Sr., who was born here in 1865. As we know, River View came into existence after the Civil War, when the Alabama-Georgia Manufacturing Co., later named the Riverdale Mill, was built by George and Amos Huguley. Doug McGinty worked in this mill for eighteen years. My grandfather, Wiley McGinty wrote an article on the history of this area that was published in 1941, titled, “76 Years in the Valley.” He recalls that when he was born in 1865, this area was a farming community with all of the land in the hands of a few large landowners. “The land where the River View village is now located was owned by Jim Campbell. The Riverdale mill was built here in 1866. Prior to this, the Campbell gristmill was on the site, about 100 yards from where the mill is located. Adjacent to this farm on the northwest was the Tyre Freeman place; and to the north was the Holly Weaver land. To the west of the Campbell place was the land owned by his grandfather, Levin Moore. Farther west in the direction of Fairfax, was the farm of his father, William Pitts McGinty. It is there that he was born. It is there that the McGinty cemetery (Fairview) is located. The next plot of land was owned by the famous Irish peach grower, John Parnell. F. W. Shank(s) owned the next farm, and it is on this land that the Fairfax mill is located. This mill was built in 1915. Just east of the land where the mill is located was the Alex Jarrell (or Jarrett) property. Next was the Elisha Trammel farm, on which the Langdale mill is located. This mill began operations in 1867. Prior to this, Trammel's gristmill was located on this property. Then came the Todd farm. Next to it was the Sharp land. Adjoining was the Tom Nolan place, and it is on this land that the Shawmut mill is located. This mill was built in 1908. In front of the Shawmut property was the Dave Robinson farm. Next was the Calloway farm, on which a large part of the Lanett mill was built in 1894. At the time, there was only one house in Lanett. Wiley was standing on this property, observing the initial grading for this new mill.” William Levin McGinty had a son, George Carlton McGinty who was Doug’s father. George was killed at age 52, in a motor scooter accident in River View. McGinty, Alabama, sometime called McGinty Crossing or just McGinty, is adjacent to River View, located at the intersection of River and Columbus Road. The old CV Railroad track passed thru this intersection, and a spur track off the main line led to the Riverdale Mill. It was named for the McGintys that lived in the area for so many years. Wiley Patterson McGinty, Sr., built a home on the corner of this intersection in 1893, and it still stands today. He was Justice- of-the-Peace in River View for forty-eight years, and was known by many as “Mister Wiley.” He also operated a general store on one of the other corners where a small store is still operating today. After his first wife Mollie died, he married Tinnie Mae Hunt, who was the postmistress in River View from 1943 until 1962. Doug’s home was very close to them, just around the corner on California St. Doug worked at the Riverdale Mill in River View for eighteen years. He also repaired watches and operated a radio and television repair shop, McGinty TV Repair, for forty-five years. He was a member of the River View Baptist Church, where Wiley McGinty had been a charter member. His obituary follows: VALLEY —Mr. Douglas McGinty, 83, of Valley died Thursday, June 15, 2006 at Beverly Health Care in Lanett. Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 17 at 11 a.m. at Johnson Brown- Service Funeral Home Chapel in Valley with the Revs. Fred Buchanan and Darren White officiating. Burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery. Mr. McGinty is survived by his daughter, Teresa M. (Denny) Williams of Valley; a nephew, Cecil McGinty of Camp Hill; three sisters-in-law, Gloria McGinty of Lanett, Lois Tyson of Huguley and Evelyn Hinkle of Valley; and two brothers-in- law, Jack Morris of Midland, Ga., and James Morris of Gadsden, Ala. Mr. McGinty was born Oct. 2, 1922 in Chambers County. He worked for 18 years at Riverdale Mill and also worked as a TV repairman for 45 years. He was a member of Riverview Baptist Church. Mr. McGinty was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy McGinty. The family will receive friends Friday, June 16 from 6 until 8 p.m. at Johnson Brown-Service Funeral Home in Valley. Johnson Brown-Service Funeral Home of Valley is in charge of arrangements. Submitted by Gerald K. "Jerry" McGinty This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/alfiles/ File size: 8.4 Kb