LeRoy Pope (January 30, 1765 – June 17, 1844) was an American planter, lawyer, and early settler of
Madison County, Alabama
Madison County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 388,153, making it the third-most populous county in Alabama. Its county seat is Huntsville. Since the mid-20th centu ...
. He purchased much of the land on which downtown
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...
now stands, and for his role in the establishment and early growth of that city, has been called the "Father of Huntsville."
Early life
Pope was born on January 30, 1765 in
Northumberland County, Virginia, the son of LeRoy Pope, Sr. and Elizabeth Mitchell. He was educated in his home state, and moved with his parents to
Amherst County, Virginia. He is said to have served in the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, and was present at the siege and battle of
Yorktown, but no official documentation of this service exists.
Moving South
In 1790, Pope and a host of friends and relatives removed to the town of
Petersburg
Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to:
Places Australia
*Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia
Canada
* Petersburg, Ontario
Russia
*Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg
United States
*Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...
, in
Elbert County,
Georgia, where he was a tobacco planter. In 1809, was among the first wave of wealthy settlers to Madison County,
Mississippi Territory
The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Mississippi. T ...
(now Alabama). He acquired a large tract of land which included the highly sought-after Big Spring, where pioneer
John Hunt had settled in 1805. Hunt, like many other squatters, could not afford to purchase his land.
Pope was successful in petitioning the territorial legislature to select his land as the site of Madison County's seat of government. He named the new town Twickenham after the home in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
of his distant relative
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
. In 1811, the town was renamed Huntsville in honor of the pioneer Hunt.
LeRoy Pope's mansion, called Poplar Grove, was erected in 1814, in time to entertain General
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
on his return home from the
Battle of Horseshoe Bend
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend (also known as ''Tohopeka'', ''Cholocco Litabixbee'', or ''The Horseshoe''), was fought during the War of 1812 in the Mississippi Territory, now central Alabama. On March 27, 1814, United States forces and Indian a ...
. It was one of the earliest brick structures in Alabama, and remains a prominent Huntsville landmark atop Echols Hill in the
Twickenham Historic District
Twickenham Historic District was the first historic district designated in Huntsville, Alabama, USA. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 4, 1973, with a boundary increase on May 26, 2015. The name derives from an ...
. It was restored in the early 21st century.
Public life and civic leadership
Pope was a wealthy and successful planter, and was active in the early government and civic leadership of Huntsville and Madison County. He presided as chief justice of the first county court, and was among the founders of the first
Episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
church in Huntsville, organized in 1830. He was named by the legislature as a commissioner for the Planters' and Merchants' Bank of Huntsville, Alabama's first banking corporation, and for the Indian Creek Navigation Company.
[Owen, 1375.]
He was married to Judith Sale, daughter of Cornelius Sale and Jane Dawson of
Amherst County, Virginia. His daughter Matilda Pope married
John Williams Walker, who became Alabama's first
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, and was the mother of
LeRoy Pope Walker
LeRoy Pope Walker (February 7, 1817 – August 23, 1884) was the first Confederate States Secretary of War.
Early life and career
Walker was born near Huntsville, Alabama in 1817, the son of John Williams Walker and Matilda Pope, and a grand ...
,
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...
secretary of war and
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
;
Richard Wilde Walker,
Confederate States senator;
Percy Walker,
United States representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
; and several other children. Another daughter, Maria Pope, married
Thomas George Percy, Sr., and was the ancestor of such notables as Senator
LeRoy Percy of
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, the poet
William Alexander Percy, Senator
Charles H. Percy
Charles Harting Percy (September 27, 1919 – September 17, 2011) was an American businessman and politician. He was president of the Bell & Howell Corporation from 1949 to 1964, and served as a Republican U.S. senator from Illinois from 1967 ...
of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, and the author
Walker Percy.
[Owen, 1375; Owen, 1717; Robey et al., 119.]
Pope died in Huntsville on June 17, 1844, and is buried in
Maple Hill Cemetery.
References
Secondary sources
*
Owen, Thomas McAdory, ''History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography''. Vol. IV. Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1921. Reprinted with an introduction by Milo B. Howard, Jr. Spartanburg, SC: Reprint Company, 1978.
* Robey, Diane, Dorothy Scott Johnson, John Rison Jones, Jr., and Frances C. Roberts. ''Maple Hill Cemetery: Phase One''. Huntsville: Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society, 1995.
* Alabama Historical Association. "The LeRoy Pope Mansion, 1814." Historical marker. 1997.
*Le Roy Pope Obituary, - -Southern Advocate, Huntsville, June 21, 1844.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Leroy
Alabama state court judges
Alabama lawyers
Farmers from Alabama
1765 births
1844 deaths
Lawyers from Huntsville, Alabama
American planters
19th-century American lawyers