The Downings of Choccolocco, Calhoun County, Alabama Volume 2: The Cane Creek Letters of John E. Downing and Adeline E. Morris (1873-1877) Paperback – March 3, 2025

Here at last… the long-awaited second volume of The Downings of Choccolocco, Calhoun County, Alabama.From 1873 to 1877, John E. “Jack” Downing and Adeline E. “Addie” Morris of Cane Creek, Alabama, exchanged more than 50 letters before their eventual marriage. Some letters are lost. In other cases, only tantalizing envelopes remain. But through the efforts of the Downing daughters and their descendents, many of the letters have been preserved as cherished family heirlooms.The letters date from Addie’s time as a student at Oxford College, Jack’s time in Atlanta, and later, Jack’s time teaching school in Coldwater. Accompanying Jack’s letters is a list of the Coldwater school’s patrons demonstrating the complexity and interconnectedness of the people of Coldwater and the surrounding communities in the 1870s.This volume includes scans and transcriptions of each letter and envelope, plus nearly a thousand footnotes, as well as photos and documents placing the letters in a wider context.Included here, as well, is an examination of the 1876 murder of Lewis Turner—mentioned in the letters—and the people involved, from witnesses to possible perpetrators. Read more