Albert & Cornelia
- Nov 23, 2025
- 8 min read
Updated: Mar 8
Albert's Story
My great grandfather Albert Almerine Thomas was the first born child of John and Martha Jane Marshall Thomas. He was said to be born in December 1849 in Rising Fawn, Dade County, Georgia.
Rising Fawn is an interesting name for a town, and you might have guessed it was due to the Indian custom of naming a child after the first thing seen. Apparently, a Cherokee Indian chieftain saw a fawn rise from its bed the morning after his child was born. Thinking this was the most beautiful thing he had seen, he named his child Rising Fawn. The town is located in a valley near Lookout Mountain. You will see this mountain name appear often in our family history. A beautiful area to be born or live.
However, I have not seen a document that verifies a birth in Rising Fawn! On his Alabama death record, his birth year is estimated as 1850 and birthplace is Alabama, which is probably incorrect. Additionally, since his parent's were married in Murray, Georgia on February 11, 1849, we might think Rising Fawn is incorrect. These two towns were not very close so it would not be just an issue of a boundary change.
On the 1850 U.S. Census enumerated in August, the family was to report the age of everyone living in the household as of the first day of June. Albert's father John was 20, born in Virginia, and his mother Jane was 19, born in Georgia. Albert's age was reported as 11/12, which should mean he was born in May 1849. However, people were not precise with birthdates, and we don't know who was reporting this information. It does list his birthplace as Georgia, which is generally believed to be correct after examining documents. They are living in Murray, Georgia with Jane's parents Richard and Edna Marshall.
In 1860, the census lists them as living in Dade County, Georgia with the post office in Trenton. He is 10 and now has a brother William C. Both children were born in Georgia. His grandparents are living in the same area but they are not living with them. His father, 30, is a stone cutter and his personal estate is valued at $50 and he doesn't own any real estate. Looking at others nearby, he seems not to be as wealthy. Albert's grandfather, age 65, is a carpenter and has a personal estate of $200 and owns real estate valued at $200. For comparison, this is about the equivalent to about $7,800 today. With a few hundred dollars, a person could buy a home in a rural area. A few thousand dollars could buy a home in an urban area.
From December 1861 through May 1865. Albert's father was away, fighting in the Civil War. Albert was 12 years old when his father went off to war. Fortunately, he was a survivor and returned to his family. I am working on a story about Albert's parents and will include more about his time in the war.
In 1870, when he is 20, his family is living in Sulpher Springs, DeKalb County, Alabama and has added 3 more sons: Wilburn E., 9, Charles A., 4, and Eugene, 2. They were all born in Georgia with Eugene born in 1868, so the move to Alabama was fairly recent. His father's occupation is stone mason. His Marshall grandparents are also living in the same area so they all probably moved together from Georgia. The enumerator did not record anyone's values of real estate or personal estate.
In 1871, Albert's parents had their last child, giving him his first and only sister, Alice Lucinda.
Cornelia's Story
Cornelia Josephine Elvina Brown was also the first child born to her parents William Erby (Irby) and Margarete Evelyn Blake Brown. Her father had been born on April 28, 1835. By age 14, his family was living in DeKalb County, Alabama. Her mother had been born in Franklin County, Tennessee and her family moved to Cherokee County, Alabama sometime before 1850. From there they had moved to DeKalb County. It was there that William met Margarete. They married on September 16, 1855, when he was 20 and she was 17.
Cornelia was born the following year on August 6, 1856. By May 1872, Cornelia had 5 living siblings, James K. Perry, Sarah Lucinda Emmaline, William J. G., Joseph Baxter, and baby Lafayette Russell. Sarah's twin sister died at birth or soon after.
By 1880, Cornelia had 3 more siblings, Mary Edna, Erby Monroe, and Arthur James.
Their Story
While living in Sulpher Springs, Albert met the love of his life, Miss Cornelia Brown. She was a beautiful young lady with presence and an independent spirit. Her parents wanted her to continue her schooling to get a college degree like her sisters later did, but that wasn't for her. Instead, she and Albert eloped and married on August 8, 1872, when she was just barely 16 and Albert was 22. By 1886, she and Albert had 6 children, Edger Davont, Della "Dellie" Alene, Elbert Marshall, Dora Celestial, Henry Douglas, and Jessie Green. The family moved to Dade County, Georgia where their family grew to include Albert Ross, Willie Olive, and Paul Brown.
When Cornelia became pregnant with her last child, Paul, she was upset and embarrassed because she was 43 and her last child was born about 10 years before. Her children were excited to have a baby in the house and told her they would help her raise the child. So, my grandfather Paul Brown Thomas entered the family with lots of love and eagerness upon his arrival on September 20, 1899.
Most of the years of their marriage, Albert worked in the milling business as a stone mason or stone cutter. He owned his home on a farm, free of any mortage. After he retired about age 65, he was listed as a farmer. In a 1916 City Directory, he was working as a clerk at the grocery AR Thomas & Company owned by his sons Albert Ross and Elbert M Thomas. He was 67 then. On the 1920 census, he was listed as a merchant. This could be that he was still working in his sons' store or maybe he started his own. We don't know. On the 1930 census, his daughter Dora owned a grocery store in Bessemer, Alabama. Could this be one she inherited from her father or did she start a store of her own? Maybe one day the answer will be learned. My mom had told me about Dora's store. She said that it didn't have a name, and that Dora had allowed people to obtain groceries on credit when the Depression hit. Sometimes, they would give her their jewels in return for goods. Eventually, she had to close the store.
Albert and Cornelia celebrated their Golden Anniversary with a family reunion in August 1923. It was a large gathering of family and friends and an article appeared in The Birmingham News on August 15. Shown to the left is a photo of the two of them with their anniversary cake. Below is the newspaper article, and a transcription of the article with the names and relationships noted after that.
People who attended the Golden Anniversary Party of Albert and Cornelia Brown Thomas
(The son that was a deputy, who was killed and not in attendance was Jesse Green.)
Daughter Dora Thomas.
Daughter Della “Dellie” Alene Thomas and husband James William Frye, Sr.
Son Paul Brown Thomas and wife Annie Watson.
Son Edger Davont Thomas and wife Amanda Walter Reavis.
Daughter Willie Olive Thomas and husband Rufus Bell Norton, Sr.
Son Albert Ross Thomas and wife Winnie Castleberry.
Son Henry Douglas Thomas and wife Ethel Metcalf.
Cornelia’s Siblings:
Brother Arthur James Brown and wife Thelma Johnson.
Sister Emma Brown Kaiser.
Brother Lafayette Russell Brown.
Grandchildren:
Linda Bell Thomas, daughter of son Edger Thomas.
Thelma Thomas, daughter of son Elbert Marshall Thomas.
Ethel Ross & Cornelia Norton, daughters of Willie Olive.
William Russell Thomas, not sure who are his parents.
Elbert Marshall Thomas, Jr., son of son Elbert Marshall Thomas.
Nephews:
Donald Brown was son of Cornelia’s brother Arthur Brown
Howard Norton was son of Willie Olive.
Others:
Ida Watson was Annie Watson Thomas’s mother and Donald was her brother.
Alice Long was the widow of their son Jessie Green and Margaret and J.G, Jr. her children so they were also grandchildren.
I think the last Mr. & Mrs. Albert Thomas were actually Albert and Cornelia.
Just a few years later, Albert made a will on November 2, 1925. In it, he left everything to his wife Cornelia until her death. The only child that would inherit upon Cornelia's death would be their daughter Dora. His words were:
I don't know if he was ill when he prepared the will, but he died five months later on March 2, 1926 at their home in Bessemer and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery. His will was not filed for probate until August 30, 1926 by Dora as the Executrix. All the other children and the wives of deceased sons signed waivers to any claims of inheritance.
Cornelia's Life After Albert's Death
In 1930, Cornelia was living with her daughter Dora in McCalla, Alabama. They lived next door to Cornelia's son Paul and his wife Annie and children Ella Jeanne, Ida Mae, and John Paul. Cornelia was 74 and not employed, Dora owned a grocery store, and Paul owned a loan company, among other businesses.
When the depression hit, the family slowly lost their businesses and homes. Cornelia and Dora moved to a home in Georgia owned by Cornelia's son Elbert. It didn't have electricity or running water and was very rustic. Elbert had another brick home in Birmingham, Alabama where he lived so he offered to let them live there. After a while, Cornelia invited her son Paul and his family to live there also since they had been moving from place to place. Cornelia's granddaughter Mae said they loved living there and Cornelia had a garden with vegetables and lots of flowers. They would bring water in buckets to the house from a cold spring. They also had a fire pit in the yard with a large pot to boil water for washing clothes.
By 1930, they had moved back to Alabama. Their homes were in Glenn Hills in Bessemer. Cornelia and Dora's home was next door to Paul and Annie's home.
On March 13, 1933, Cornelia wrote her letter to Judge Grubbs asking him to release her son Paul from jail. (See separate story) He had started a new venture--bootlegging, which led to his arrest!
When pregnant with her last child, Charles Watson Thomas, born on September 27, 1932, Annie was diagnosed with TB. Despite all attempts to cure her, Annie died in 1938. Cornelia and her daughter Dora had moved in with Paul to take care of his children at some point during her illness. Cornelia and Dora served very important roles in these four children's lives. Charles was only six when his mother died, and he began to think of his Aunt Dora as his second mother.
On February 22, 1945, Cornelia had a heart attack while her granddaughter Mae and daughter Dora were with her. Mae ran next door to ask the neighbors to call a doctor. Unfortunately, even though she had pills to take, Cornelia did not survive. She was 88 years old. She was buried next to her husband Albert at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham.
Some Additional Photos
The photo on the staircase is one of my favorite photos of Cornelia. I think it captures her confident and sassy attitude.
The second photo is of Cornelia and a child. No one has been able to identify the child's name.
The third photo is a tintype that my mom and I both believe is Cornelia as a young girl. When I compare it to the photo of her holding the child, I can definitely see the same person. Tintypes were often made as souveniers at events like carnivals and fairs. Cornelia's family went to several world fairs where they could have purchased this. I repeated it here so you can compare photos as well.
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