Does anyone from Jefferson county have any advice on how to track down a birth that occured before 1908?

My great grand father, John Walter Lawlor, has "Pratt City, Alabama" listed on several documents as his place of birth in April of 1874.

I can't find any census information showing him being in Alabama at all, in fact, the first census hit comes in 1900 when he was in the military in the Philippines.

His father's name was also John, probably John W, and I can't find anything on him being in Alabama either but he was most likely a soldier in the Confederate Army in Mississippi 1861-1863.

Are there specific churches in or around "Pratt City" that would have existed in 1874 that might have records?

Thank in advance for any replies.

Andrew

It is very unlikely that he was born in "Pratt City" as the Pratt Coal & Coke Company and the Pratt Mines were not established until 1878. Pratt City was formed later than this - I don't have the exact date handy. Circa 1910 Pratt City was made a part of the city of Birmingham. Pre-1908 birth records are going to be hard to come by... Birmingham itself was "born" in 1871 and still growing in 1874... there are histories of the early days of Birmingham that would give you insight as to what churches, etc. were in the area... try searching Google books, BYU Family History archive and the text collection at Archive.org... not sure what they have that might be full-view, but they could at least give you some leads on what resources are out there you could request via inter-library loan.

Also there are several "Lawlar" families in Jefferson County in 1880 .. one with father John and a son David J age 2 ... have you explored this family? Ages can be off by several years.. and I have seen given names have fluidity throughout time... also don't forget the variation of Lollar...

Good luck!

Melissa

I've been pounding away with searches using 'lawlor' 'lawler' and other spelling variations. I have no information about siblings for John W and a vague reference to his father also being John W, with a mother Mary (Morand).

I do understand about Pratt City, but it's clearly written by him on several documents so, for what it's worth, at least he believed that he was born there.

I've been scouring 1860 and 1880 census records for Jefferson county to see if there are any Lawlor's that fit his family description.

I've recently discovered that he has a living daughter (91) and I've sent her a letter introducing myself to her and I'm hopeful that I might be able to learn something from her.

She was just a young girl when her father died in an accident so she may have no memory of him directly.

Anyway, thanks for your reply, I appreciate your advice.

Regards,

Andrew

I will pull my Pratt City information tonight and give you more firm dates... he probably did live in the area where Pratt City was later formed... I am sure you have seen his information from the register of enlistments:


U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914
about John W Lawlor
Name: John W Lawlor
Birthyear: abt 1875
Birthplace: Alabama, United States
Enlistment Date: 6 Jul 1899
Enlistment Age: 24 3/12

Based on this, his birthdate is most likely in March or April of 1875 rather than 1874.

Melissa

Andrew

I checked. The Pratt Mines City Council was formed on January 7, 1890 and organized the "City of Pratt Mines". Here's what I had forgotten, prior to this time the city was known as "Coketown" or "Coketon" - there is a "Coketon" township in Jefferson County for the 1880 census.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Melissa

Thanks very much!

I actually found an 'exact' date of birth on a few documents and it's listed as 19 Apr 1874.

He served in the Army some time before 1900 until possibly as late as 1915. In 1900 he was in the Philippines and was not yet married. He moved around quite a bit with the military and was in Guam, Colorado, Montana and Minnesota before settling in Brooklyn, NY around the time of WWI.

Thanks again, appreciate your efforts!

Hi! I've found 4 'hits' on this person.
1) 1900 Census puts him in the 3rd Reserve Hospital Manila, Philippines and lists "Bratt City, Al." and says his father was born in Ireland, as well as his mother.
2)1910 Bent, Colorado listing: John W. 36; Susie M. 22; Richard W.2; John W. 7/12
3) US Army Reg. of Enrollments Philadelphia, Penn says that he's a Fireman, has Blue eyes, Lt. Brown hair, a ruddy complexion and 5' 6 3/4" height & his father John W and mother Mary Morand.
4) 1920 Brookhaven, Suffolk, NY with same names listed as #2 but adding Harold E. 8; Gerald 6; & May E. 2.
Need more info, date of death? One of the hits said his mother was born in Alabama

Thanks for the reply. I've found much the same info but nothing regarding his time as a youth in Alabama nor anything on his mother and father.

One of my cousins recently told me that she actually visited the area a few years ago to try to find information about John Walter but came back empty handed.

I'm not willing to say that I've given up but I have to admit that I've turned my focus on other ancestors who lived in more developed areas during that time.

Thanks again,

Andrew

Don't know the religion of lawlor but one church in "Pratt City" was St. Catherine's. It was located at the end of Hibernia st. It had a cemetery attached to it and even tho it is now closed the records were transferred to a Catholic church in, I think, Graysville, AL.
If you can contact the chancery office of the Diocese of Birmingham in the city they may be able to give you info about where the records were transferred.
Good luck
nhsjcurran@yahoo.com

Thank you very much. I'll follow up on that.