Andress Family History & Genealogy

Andress Pioneer Families

William Andress’ ancestors came from England in 1754 and settled in Maryland, South Carolina then Alabama. William and his wife, Anne Rhame, left South Carolina in 1819 and came to Alabama, settling in Butler County in 1836.
They were the parents of nine children, Joseph, Susannah, Jeremiah, John N., Sarah Ann, William James, Martha, Mary Ann and Stephen Francis. Six of the children lived to share in his estate. William died in 1841 and Anne died in 1870 and both are buried in the Andress Family Cemetery in Butler County. Many of their descendants still live in Butler County.

His youngest son, Stephen Francis, purchased the shares of his remaining brothers and sisters in 1870 and became a large landowner in Butler County. Stephen and his wife, Sarah Jane East, were the parents of eleven children, all born in Butler County. Stephen
was the Clerk of the Damascus Baptist Church for fifty years. He enlisted in the Civil War as a First Sergeant in Company B, 6th Regiment, at Greenville on February 12, 1863 and was honorably discharged on May 6, 1865.

John Lee, youngest son of Stephen and Sarah, was born on January 3, 1870 in Pigeon Creek. He attended Salem School and also night school where he obtained a Degree in Music for the violin. He married Linnie Elmetta Lester, born October 5, 1875 in Butler County. She was the daughter of Eli Lester and Caroline Jane Day. Eli was also a
pioneer in Butler County, having moved there from South Carolina in 1857. Eli owned a Country Store and lived in Daisy Community until he died in 1920.

John Lee and Linnie were the parents of twelve children, eleven living to adulthood. John Lee served Alabama and Butler County as a farmer, Justice of the Peace, Lawyer, County Commissioner, State Fertilizer Inspector, Mapmaker for the Butler County School District, State Soil Surveyor, State Tax Commission License Inspector,
Superintendent of Convicts for Kilby Prison and Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor. He died on April 10, 1947 and Linnie died on February 24, 1964.

All of their children were born in Beat 5, Butler County and attended Daisy Schoolhouse as did their mother. Only two of the children remained in the area to raise their families. Claude Ethel, second born child, married James Henry Perdue in 1919. James Henry
Perdue’s first ancestors, John Perdue and Elizabeth Hitch, came to Alabama before Alabama was a State in early 1819.

Stephen Eli, third born child, married Mayne Fail in 1920, of the Fail and Herlong families, other long time Butler County residents. They were the parents of nine children and their descendants are still in the area today.

John Lester, fifth born child, married Ethyland Judith Bishop in 1924. The Bishop’s are another pioneer family coming to Butler County in 1850. Her grandfather, Matthew Bishop, was a circuit rider for the Alabama Baptist Association and helped to establish
some fifteen Baptist Churches in Dallas, Lowndes, Montgomery, Butler, Crenshaw and Pike County backwoods. Notably, Damascus, Friendship and Spring Creek Churches in Butler County. He settled his home and farm in Butler County, near Damascus, where he and Mary Denice Borom raised their three children.

Eva Victoria, ninth born and last surviving child turned ninety-two this year and celebrated her sixty-sixth wedding anniversary with her husband, Byron Raike. They now reside in Florida.

Nell Andress, eleventh born and my mother, married Lloyd Benjamin Kendrick in 1936. They were the parents of two children, Vance Wayne and Sara Alyce Kendrick. I remember her talking about her happy childhood in Butler County. She was a lifelong, avid fisherman and her fondest memories were of fishing with her father, John Lee, at Pigeon Creek.


The other children, Maude Lee, Sallie Elmetta, Callie Lucille, Mary Alice,
Joe Frank, and Emma Ruth Andress, lived long and productive lives.


Word Count 641

Sources:

Andress Family Bible

Ancestry and Descendants of Joseph Andress 1734-1805 by Hannibal Guy and Mary F. Andress

Birth, Marriage, Church and Probate Records

Matthew Bishop – Man On A Horse – by Gene Bishop Andress, Sr.