AUGUSTUS D. SPRADLEY
GUS & MARTHA RUTHERFORD SPRADLEY
Augustus "Gus" D. Spradley
was born September 26, 1861 in Collirene Co.,
Alabama and died January
21, 1954 in Turnersville, Coryell Co., Texas. Augustus
was a son of Bryant Eugene
Spradley. In the fall of 1872 it seems that Bryant Eugene
and his immediate family,
and many of his wife's sisters and brothers (and several
others of the family) decided
to migrate to Texas. Augustus Spradley was 11 years
old at the time. They left
by wagon for Selma, AL, then down the Alabama River to
Mobile, thence to New Orleans,
thence to Galveston on the ship "The Mary
Susan", of the Morgan line,
arriving on Christmas Eve, 1872. The number of people
in this migration has been
said to be 28. They then traveled by by ox wagon to meet
up with some others of the
family that had migrated to Milam Co., TX a few years
earlier and had convinced
the rest of the family to follow. "Gus" moved to
Coryell County, Texas and
married Hannah Minerva Maxwell in 1884. They had
five children - Alice, Floyd,
Edna, Claude and Myrtle. Hannah died in 1895
and Gus married Martha Rutherford
on December 15, 1897. Gus and Martha
had twelve children....Edwin,
Fieldon, Luster, Nora, Adella, Cordie, Lois, Ernest
"Tom", Thelma, Anna Mae,
Earline and Louise. The family moved away from Coryell
County and eventually returned.
Some children were born in Coryell County and
others were born in other
Texas counties. Augustus D. Spradley died in Turnersville,
Coryell County, Tx in 1954.
Martha Rutherford Spradley died in Turnersville in
1972, after living for several
years in Gatesville. Both are buried in Turnersville. This
family comes from strong
stock. Bryant Spradley, born 1737, is the known ancestor
of this Coryell family.
Printed in the CAMDEN (South Carolina) GAZETTE - Oct.
13, 1817 - "Departed this
life on Wednesday last, Mr. Bryant Spradley, Senr. in the
eightieth year of his age.
Mr. Spradley was born and always lived this town or its
neighborhood, and during
his life never took a dose of medicine or lost a drop of
blood by the lancet. He
never was confined a day by sickness until a week before
his death". A son of Bryant
Spradley was James Spradley. James was killed in
a hunting accident in Camden,
Kershaw County, South Carolina. The accident
happened when several men
went hunting and during the course of the hunting
trip the dogs got into a
fight and a young man swung his shotgun at the dogs
and the gun went off and
killed James on August 13, 1808. Reported in local
newspaper. James Spradley's
son was Bryant Spradley, named after his grandfather.
He served in the military
during War of 1812 as Briant Spradley in Capt.
Chapman Levy's Company,
2nd regiment (McWillies) from 10/6/1814 - 3/5/1815.
Resided 1820-30 Kershaw
Dist. SC, In 1850 he was in Montgomery AL, 1860 in
Butler Co, AL and in 1870
Lowndes Co., AL. Bryant (Briant) Spradley had a son
named Bryant Eugene Spradley,
and he was the father of the subject of this
biography, Augustus D. Spradley.
Bryant Eugene Spradley served bravely and
honorably in the Civil War.
Records show him in the 58th regiment 2nd batallion,
13th brigade, 11th division,
Alabama Militia. A letter from Department of the
Army, Office of the Adjutant
General, Washington, D.C. 29 Oct. 1952 confirmed
that the records show that
Bryant E. Spradley, a private of Company A 4th Battalion,
Hilliard's Alabama Artillery,
enlisted 11 May 1862 at Greenville, Alabama. He was
elected 2nd Lieutenant on
Feb. 19, 1864. Union Prisoner of War Records show that
he was captured April 3,
1865 at Amelia Court House, VA and was held
prisoner at Maryland, Old
Capitol Prison, Washinbgton, D.C. and Johnson's Island,
Ohio where he was released
June 20, 1865. He told his children about this capture,
and the prisons that he
was in, and how it snowed in the Johnson's Island, Ohio
prison in June prior to
his release. Bryant Eugene was wounded and received
the Iron Cross Honor for
bravery under fire. He told his children the following story.
He was hit with a muzzle
load miniball bullet and no one believed that the ball was
still in his head. He received
first aid the first time he went to the hospital, and was
sent back to camp. He later
went AWOL so that he could go back to the hospital.
The hospital authorities
refused him at first but he told them to take him or they
could haul him off because
he wasn't going anywhere else. After convincing a doctor
to probe for a bullet, one
half of a mini ball was found and the doctor was amazed.
Bryant Eugene Spradley died
March 11, 1908 in Burnett County,
Texas and is buried in Milam
County, Texas.
By Berry Spradley