Where's Letsy?

George Campbell sent this picture of James Madison Pearson and family standing in front of a two-story Cape Cod house. This got all the grandkids wondering who, what, when and where.

Lots of guesses went back and forth on text messages. The consensus is that James Madison Pearson and his wife Marguerite are standing behind daughters Elmire (center) and Marguerite (Titten, left). Where is young Letsy (age 3 or 4) is is anyone's guess.

Where is 6300 Offutt Road, Chevy Chase, Maryland.

When, circa 1932. Women's hair was short, necklines modest, and dresses were below the knee.

Granny kept as a souvenir an invitation to Major and Mrs. Pearson for a White House reception. The President and Mrs. Hoover were in residence. This was in the midst of the Great Depression.

In February of 1932, the capital was the scene of the Bonus March when some 15,000 veterans of WWI marched on the capital demanding bonuses promised them by Congress. That November, President Hoover would be soundly defeated for reelection by Franklin Roosevelt.

Life moves on. By 1938, the family would be in Hawaii, returning just before the start of World War II. Daddy Matt, which is what his grandchildren called him (Granny called him Matt), served as the commander of Ft. Dix during the Second World War.

The house is still there, in Chevy Chase, a bit more unkempt than the neighboring houses, and, as Joni Mitchell would agree, not the same.

James Madison Pearson, Sr.

My grandfather was named after his grandfather, James Madison Pearson (1817 - 1891).

The Pearsons, their relatives the Whites, and the Brown families all came from Georgia. One county where they took up residence was Madison County, so I wonder if that is where the connection to James Madison came from. There are other possibilities. Pearsons also came from Jasper County, Georgia and the small community of Monticello. Monticello is named after the home of Thomas Jefferson, friend to James Madison. Both Jefferson and Madison were critical in the formation of our country. One was responsible for the Declaration of Independence the other is called Father of the Constitution. So, could it be that there is a remote family connection to one or the other? One cousin thinks so and I remember as a small child, my grandfather weaving tales that connected our families with those of James Madison and Benjamin Rush.

James Madison Pearson, Sr. left Georgia for new land in Alabama. It was land that became available after the War of 1812 and the bloody battles with Creek Indians. James Madison Pearson and his wife Elizabeth Brown, settled in Tallapoosa County in the 1830's. Tallapoosa County is in northeastern Alabama, about half way between Birmingham and Auburn. Once upon a time "Cotton was King". James Madison Pearson and his son Charles Lafayette Pearson, brother to my great grandfather Benjamin Rush Pearson, built up a land holding in Tallapoosa County that grew to 42,000 acres.

James Madison Pearson farmed and practiced law. He married, had 9 children, and lived a long and happy life. He is buried along with his wife Elizabeth Brown and his son Charles Lafayette Pearson in a small family cemetery in Tallapoosa County.

James Madison Pearson, Jr.

I don't have an image of my great great grandfather, but I do have images of my grandfather and his father.

James Madison Pearson, Jr. in Army Uniform

We, the grandchildren affectionately called our grandfather Daddy Matt. With all of us he stressed education as the means to a happy life. It is an ideal he passed down to his children and grandchildren. It was something that was passed down to him by his father, Benjamin Rush Pearson (1849 - 1906), graduate of Virginia Military Institute, and a doctor in Birmingham, Alabama, and his grandfather, James Madison Pearson.

Benjamin Rush Pearson at VMI

Misc. Notes..................................

I came across this scrap of information while googling various topics.

Alexander City, Tallapoosa Co., pop. 1,500. City Superintendent J. M. Pearson 

PATTERSON'S AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL DIRECTORY  1916

Alexander City is just down the road from Dadeville. It has an elementary school named Jim Pearson, but I don't know the significance of the name.

Pearson's Dragoons

Note. I have no information to directly connect Pearson's Dragoons with my family. I just wanted to get this down in case some information should turn up.

The Civil War impacted every corner of the South and Tallapoosa County was no exception. One estimate is that small rural Tallapoosa County contributed almost 3,000 soldiers to the war effort on the Confederate side, and of these almost a third perished. A Few Soldiers of Old Tallapoosa.

Campaign Flag First Alabama Cavalry Regiment

Pearson's Dragoons 

The First Alabama Cavalry Regiment was organized at Montgomery, November, 1861 under the command of Colonel James H. Clanton.

The First Alabama Cavalry Regiment fought at the battles of Shiloh and Murfreesboro. It was also part of the rear guard which protected the retreat from Tullahoma and Chattanooga, losing severely at Duck river; fought at Chickamauga, Clinton and Knoxville, and took a brilliant part in the Sequatchee raid. It was engaged in retarding Sherman's advance on Atlanta.

Read more.

Company D of the First Alabama was also known as Pearson's Dragoons. It is also called Company C and may have had other designations due to reorganizations. It was formed in Tallapoosa County. Its regimental commanders included: John G. Stokes (resigned, 25 Oct 62); Jesse W. Fitzpatrick (resigned, 26 Nov 64); Henry C. Washburn (1st Lt., paroled as Capt., Co. "D").

The company designation changed during the war due to reorganizations. Other designations include: "Co. C, 1st Alabama Cavalry; Co. D, 12th Alabama Cavalry, later 2nd Co. C". I have also seen reference to Companies C, D, and F. See following.

The 1st Alabama Cavalry Regiment surrendered at Charlotte, North Carolina, May 3, 1865. Pearson's Dragoons was then under the command of Henry C. Washburn, and designated as Company D. Seventy-two officers and men of the Alabama First Cavalry signed paroles. Re: James Henry Pitts.

Lost in all of this is the explanation for the name Pearson's Dragoons. The Pearson family lived in Tallapoosa County from shortly after the War of 1812 and the Battle with the Creeks. They owned a significant amount of land in the county. That land was located off modern Highway 280 and up Slaughter’s Crossing Road. Today, the land is owned by Kimberly Clark.

The land was passed down to General Charles Lafayette Pearson, but he was born in 1854, and would have been only six or seven at the outbreak of the Civil War. His father James Madison Pearson, born Monticello, Jasper Co., Georgia in 1817 is the more likely connection, if any, to the company name. He was an attorney and farmer, who passed the farm down to his son Charles. Family cemetery of Charles Lafayette Pearson, including his father James Madison Pearson.

There were nine children born to James Madison Pearson and his wife Mary White. My connection is to older son, Benjamin Rush Pearson, my great-grandfather, who became a doctor and practiced in Birmingham. His son, my grandfather, was also named James Madison Pearson.

My grandfather often spoke about his adventures in and around Dadeville and Tallopoosa County.