Thomas Jordan

Thomas S. Jordan was born on 3 January, 1832 in Macon, Bibb county, GA (according to family history, and his obit).   Both of his parents were born in GA (according to his census info).
In 1847, he began apprenticeship as a printer in "the Advertiser" office (this is from his newspaper obit in Ashland, AL - I am assuming that this means the "Advertiser" newspaper in Montgomery, AL, given that, according to that same obit, in 1852 he was in Montgomery and was foreman of the job office that printed the Code of Alabama - Brittan and DeWolf, State Printers, Montgomery, AL).

(Note: I can not find him anywhere on the 1850 census.   I have attempted to go through the Montgomery, AL census line by line, but have not found him there, though if he was working there in 1847 and 1852, would expect him to be there in 1850 also.)

On the 10th of October, 1859, at Wedowee, Alabama, Thomas married Mary Creel, who was born in Carroll county, GA; she was the daughter of Jordan Creel and Mary (Polly) White, both of Carroll county.

(Note: Thomas S. Jordan is NOT one of the two Thomas Jordan/Jourdans in Carroll county, GA. (1)Thomas Jordan, son of Samuel and Martha, was born on the very same day as Thomas S, but that Thomas married "Fannie" and died in 1911 in Haralson Co., GA. (2) Thomas A. Jordan, b. 1836, s/o William Tadford and Agnes Blair Jordan, married Sarah E..Dyer, and died in Carroll county after the 1920 census.)

The 1860 Randolph Co., AL, census, Wedowee, Dwelling 17, has:
T.G.W. Jourdan (28, male, printer, born in GA, married within the yr)
Mary Jourdan (22, female, HW, born in GA, married within the yr)
Cinthia Jourdan (38, female, HW, born in SC)

T.G.W. Jordan married Cynthia Smith in Harris County, GA, July 14, 1853.   Thomas S. Jordan and Mary Creel married in 1859.   The only additional mention of T.G.W. is on a muster of the Camp of Instruction in Talladega during the Civil War.

(Note: Cinthia died very shortly after the 1860 census was taken and is listed in the 1860 mortality index. Apparently, the man listed in the 1860 Randolph county census is Thomas S., not T.G.W.    Where was T.G.W., and what relationship is he to Thomas S.?    Was TGW in fact 10 years younger than Cinthia, or did the census taker make an error when writing?   Might he be Thomas' father?)

By family history, Thomas S. was a courier for the C. S. A. between West Point, GA and Talladega, AL during the Civil War.

(Note: I can not find him on a muster roll, but am told couriers were often not listed on a muster.)

On July 21, 1860, Thomas and Mary's first son, Joseph Wiley Jordan, was born. This son later practiced medicine in Ashland, Clay county, Alabama until his death in 1951. He also was elected to serve in the state legislature in 1930s. In 1862, a second son, William Dotson Jordan, was born to Thomas and Mary.   As an adult, he owned a drug store in Ashland, Alabama. In 1864, a daughter, Mary, was born.

After the war, Thomas farmed for a while near Opelika, AL , then worked as a printer until starting his own newspaper, The Opelika Reformer.

(Note: there is mention that he "returned" to that area, but I have no idea when he lived there, and no documentation of that at all)

The 1870 census shows:
Girard Beat No. 1, County of Russell, AL, Post Office Columbus, GA, 27th day of June 1870
Jourden, Thomas 38 M W Farmer GA
Mary 32 F W KH GA
Joseph 10 M W GA
William 8 M W GA
Mary 6 F W AL

Little Mary died at age 7, and is buried in Girard.

Thomas and Mary later adopted Mary Dyson/Dison, b. 1876.   Apparently they did not legally adopt her, since she kept the surname Dyson.   She m. Robert L. Thurman in 1893 in Clay county, AL.

In 1876, Thomas moved from Opelika to Coosa county, AL, where he and his sons published The Coosa News.   In 1878, he moved to Ashland, AL, in Clay county, where he began publishing another newspaper.

The 1880 census for Ashland, Clay Co AL; Stamped page 69; 03 Jun 1880; Asst Marshall J F Cole; Dwelling #58; Family #58:
JORDAN Thomas W M 48 married Printer GA GA GA
Mary W F 42 wife married KH GA GA GA
Joseph W. W M 20 son printer AL GA GA
Willis D W M 18 son printer AL GA GA
DISON Mary J W F 4 adopted AL AL AL

At 9:15 PM, 6 May, 1894. Thomas S. Jordan died in Ashland, AL.   He had been a Baptist, a Mason (he had a Mason's funeral), and he was active in politics.

Any assistance in finding ANYTHING more about this most frustrating brick wall would be much appreciated!!

1 **Thomas S. Jordan b: January.03.1832 d: May.06.1894

2 *Joseph Wiley Jordan b: July.21.1860 d: July.18.1951

___ 3 Joseph Dotson Jordan b: September.24.1881 d: October.14.1963

___ 3 Florence Aryadney Jordan b: January.23.1883 d: June.12.1952

___ 3 Thomas Wiley Jordan b: June.05.1885 d: October.17.1959

___ 3 *Lula Elizabeth Jordan b: February.22.1887 d: September.06.1989

___ 3 Minnie Iola Jordan b: August.09.1889 d: June.20.1981

___ 3 Lidia Isabella Jordan b: April.27.1891 d: January.27.1892

___ 3 Mary Beatrice Jordan b: December.10.1892

___ 3 Jesse Alonza Jordan b: March.24.1895

___ 3 Urial Lavert Jordan b: May.31.1900

___ 3 Otis Leon Jordan b: August.28.1907

___ 3 Katie Dell Jordan b: February.15.1910 d: July.10.1999

2 William D. Jordan b: 1862 d: January.30.1914

___ 3 Lester L. Jordan b: 1882

___ 3 Thomas Bennett Jordan b: 1884 d: 1929

___ 3 William Ambrose Jordan b: October.18.1889

___ 3 Mittice Jordan b: Abt. 1891

___ 3 Alma Jordan b: Abt. 1892

___ 3 Mollie Jordan b: 1894

___ 3 Payton Howard Jordan b: 1896

___ 3 Willie Bell Jordan

___ 3 Fannie May Jordan

___ 3 __?__ Jordan b: 1908

___ 3 __?__ Jordan b: 1908

2 Mary L. C. Jordan b: March.04.1864 d: August.29.1871

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