Few if any residential streets in Alabama have produced more distinguished Alabamians than Troy’s College Street. Also, local soccer teams excel at state tourneys.
Here's some of the College Street families and houses Dad mentioned in a piece he wrote for the original Troy Citizen:
"College Street itself has a story, but the homes along this street and its past residents make the best story. Some homes had multiple dwellers of significance.
"Along this street we discover where Jere Clemons Henderson, Leo and Elizabeth Bashinksy, Oliver Cisero Wiley, Frank Staunton Wood, Graph Hubbard, Charles Henderson, Jeremiah Augustus Henderson, Thomas Eugene Murphree, Bailey Talbot, William Hilliard Murphree, Lucien Gardner and William Samford all lived.
"This list of characters includes a governor, an adjutant general, a United States Congressman, financiers of magnitude, a chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, a legacy of a War Between the States hero, a historian of national importance and an ultra-successful cotton broker.
From this heritage, College Street became one of the most significant streets in the state of Alabama."
Dad didn't mention that the Folmar family and Trotman family also once lived on this street. Those families produced two of Montgomery and Alabama's best-known citizens - John "Bubba" Trotman and Mayor Emory Folmar.
I have now added that the author of the story, Kassey, is married to Michael O'Hara, who works for the Troy Police Department. The couple are members of First Baptist Church of Troy - one of the beautiful and historic landmarks of ... College Street.
In my recent article on “Famous people from Troy,” I should have also mentioned Steve Flowers, a former state representative who became the state’s best-known political columnist and TV political analyst.
Steve wrote an article in 2015 that tells us more about the significant life of Mr. Samford:
“Liberty National Life Insurance was founded in Birmingham in 1900. During the next 60 years, it became the greatest business success story in Alabama insurance lore. As late as the 1960’s, Liberty National had more life insurance policies on Alabamians than every other company in the world combined.
“It became one of Birmingham’s biggest businesses. It had a dominating presence on 20th Street with a gigantic bronze replica of the statue of liberty on top of their distinguished building. The company had so many Alabamians insured for their burials, they figured they might as well own the funeral homes too. So in 1944 the company formed Brown Service and established ownership in most of the funeral homes in the state. In the 1970’s Liberty National acquired Globe Life and created Torchmark Corporation as a holding company.
“Liberty National was founded by Frank P. Samford. Mr. Samford was born in Troy in 1893.
"Mr. Samford gave so much of his wealth to Howard College in Birmingham that the school he endowed moved to the beautiful campus in suburban Homewood. The school Samford University is named in his honor and rightfully so. He and Liberty National stock paid for the gorgeous elite private college in Homewood.”
Ms. O’Hara’s original article mentions that Troy is “the hometown of civil rights leader and former U.S. Representative John Lewis.” Lewis and his family lived in a rural section of the county a few miles outside of Troy proper and Lewis did not attend school in Troy. Still, Lewis might be the best-known citizen to have ever come from Pike County.
Ms. O’Hara’s article also notes that Clarence “Pine Top” Smith, a talented African-American pianist “who invented the boogie-woogie style of music,” is from Troy. Mr. Smith deserves a mention in my recent article about the “most famous people to ever live in Troy.”
Mrs. O’Hara notes that such citizens “demonstrate how people who do big things can come from small places.”
hmmmm...life insurance company owns funeral home
kinda like dentist owns candy company?
Here's some of the College Street families and houses Dad mentioned in a piece he wrote for the original Troy Citizen:
"College Street itself has a story, but the homes along this street and its past residents make the best story. Some homes had multiple dwellers of significance.
"Along this street we discover where Jere Clemons Henderson, Leo and Elizabeth Bashinksy, Oliver Cisero Wiley, Frank Staunton Wood, Graph Hubbard, Charles Henderson, Jeremiah Augustus Henderson, Thomas Eugene Murphree, Bailey Talbot, William Hilliard Murphree, Lucien Gardner and William Samford all lived.
"This list of characters includes a governor, an adjutant general, a United States Congressman, financiers of magnitude, a chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, a legacy of a War Between the States hero, a historian of national importance and an ultra-successful cotton broker.
From this heritage, College Street became one of the most significant streets in the state of Alabama."
Dad didn't mention that the Folmar family and Trotman family also once lived on this street. Those families produced two of Montgomery and Alabama's best-known citizens - John "Bubba" Trotman and Mayor Emory Folmar.
I have now added that the author of the story, Kassey, is married to Michael O'Hara, who works for the Troy Police Department. The couple are members of First Baptist Church of Troy - one of the beautiful and historic landmarks of ... College Street.
In my recent article on “Famous people from Troy,” I should have also mentioned Steve Flowers, a former state representative who became the state’s best-known political columnist and TV political analyst.
Steve wrote an article in 2015 that tells us more about the significant life of Mr. Samford:
“Liberty National Life Insurance was founded in Birmingham in 1900. During the next 60 years, it became the greatest business success story in Alabama insurance lore. As late as the 1960’s, Liberty National had more life insurance policies on Alabamians than every other company in the world combined.
“It became one of Birmingham’s biggest businesses. It had a dominating presence on 20th Street with a gigantic bronze replica of the statue of liberty on top of their distinguished building. The company had so many Alabamians insured for their burials, they figured they might as well own the funeral homes too. So in 1944 the company formed Brown Service and established ownership in most of the funeral homes in the state. In the 1970’s Liberty National acquired Globe Life and created Torchmark Corporation as a holding company.
“Liberty National was founded by Frank P. Samford. Mr. Samford was born in Troy in 1893.
"Mr. Samford gave so much of his wealth to Howard College in Birmingham that the school he endowed moved to the beautiful campus in suburban Homewood. The school Samford University is named in his honor and rightfully so. He and Liberty National stock paid for the gorgeous elite private college in Homewood.”
Ms. O’Hara’s original article mentions that Troy is “the hometown of civil rights leader and former U.S. Representative John Lewis.” Lewis and his family lived in a rural section of the county a few miles outside of Troy proper and Lewis did not attend school in Troy. Still, Lewis might be the best-known citizen to have ever come from Pike County.
Ms. O’Hara’s article also notes that Clarence “Pine Top” Smith, a talented African-American pianist “who invented the boogie-woogie style of music,” is from Troy. Mr. Smith deserves a mention in my recent article about the “most famous people to ever live in Troy.”
Mrs. O’Hara notes that such citizens “demonstrate how people who do big things can come from small places.”