The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-18
The Boyhood Of General
 WoodlUard As An Orphan

many to have performed the trip would have taken much fof the route to have been pretty rough.
 But in order to account to you for there being doubt about the true date of my birth. must go into few par ricuiars of what I think was the cause. No doubt 1t win prove very uninter- esting to you: but in times past 1t was of great importance to me and others. As this may be published I go into these details for two reasons: The first ts that It will do Justice to one of the purest and best men that ever lived. The second is that if was dealt un- ono individual at least. if no more. who is now living, that was not so ignor- ant as not to know 1t.
 My father was possessed for the time and country In which he lived of . very pretty piece of property He made . will the purport of which was about this: That his property should be kept tcEether until his son Thomas tnyselfl should become n years of age, and then to be divided among the heirs equally. And in the eyent should die before was 2I years old. the property, should be kept together and until the time when I would have been zl years old and then to be equally divided among the surviving heirs.
 At the time of my fathers death the heirs were: My mother, a sister, two years older than myself, and brother three years, to day. younger than, myself, or at least I have been informed so by 8 Mrs. Black, whose authority. l presume. was better than any other, as she was present at both the birth of myself and brother. Mrs. Black will be remembered as a very intelligent woman by some In South Carolina. Georgia and Alabama. She was the mother of Major James Black. who, once was and may be yet a citi- zen Of Alabama He resided either in Wilcox or Monroe County and Blacks BfR took it's name from James Black. visited the old lady at her sons in Alabama many years after I was grown. She seemed to have . more distinct recollection of my brothers age than she had of mine. and said he was born in February, iT97.
 r Not long after my father died, my brother died, also my mother soon foi- lowed. leaving. an only sister and my self About this time the settlement of Mfliedgesille. Ga, commenced. A sister of my mother, who was as good ps God ever makes people. took my bister and raised her, and was left ''to run the range" But not long af- tor my sister was taken to Milledge- vile a brother of my mother had me caught and taken there aiso-and if there was ever better man than he, he lived before my time or In some country with which I am not familiar. He tried to tame me; he sent me to a school taught by one John, Posey in the state House. then an unoccupied building. But I had been so neglected eand had grown to such a stze, and md ing many boys under my age and size, farther advanced than I was. it embarrassed me. and every opportunity I could get to go into the country and get with boysFsI looked upon as being more rny equals would do SO. The older members of my uncles family could sec that snotwithstanding my rough ana coarse manners. that I had sense enough to know my true situa- tion and know my own inferiortty.
 My uncle. his wife, whom loved as mother, and down to the youngest child who could talk. treated me with the utmost kindness and tried to make
 me feel their equal. but knew too well what I was to be satisfied. would play and froiick with the boys h whom I became very much attached --an fact, loved them like brothers and today that branch of my mothers Yamily feel nearer to me than any re- affons II have on earth--ny niece. Mary walker. excepted.