The Andress name is well known in the Andalusia area due to a number of local residents. One of these was Oscar W. Andress, manager along with Jessie Sharp of the local Sherwin Williams Company, which has been in operation in Andalusia since circa 1952. When the store was opened, it was an investment venture in that the owners did not normally place their retail stores in towns of this size. The business was located on the south side of East Three Notch Street about where Cagle’s Jewelry is today. Andress retired after 26 and half years, and the business continues to be sound.

Looking into the Andress family genealogy, several records and publications were found, which provide excellent history. The earliest information on this family is of two brothers, Joseph and Stephen Andress, migrating to America from England in 1754. Upon arrival, they settled first in Roberson County, N.C. Family legend claims that later Stephen moved north, and Joseph moved south. Their name may be found as Andres, Anders or Andress as it was “Americanized.”

Both brothers were members of the North Carolina State Militia during the Revolutionary War period. In fact, Stephen served as a First Major of Bladen Regiment, and Joseph was Captain of the same regiment. Both received land grants for acreage in Bladen County, the portion that later became Roberson County. They only lived there for a few years before selling it and moving to South Carolina.

Joseph who was identified as a planter was granted two tracts of land in 1802 in Georgetown District, S.C. The next year, Stephen purchased 300 acres near his brother’s land in Conway, Horry District, S.C.

Joseph Andress was married to a young lady named Ann, but her maiden name was not identified. They reared the following children: Susannah, m. William Sloan; Ann, m. ? Giles; Joseph Jr.; Isaac; Sarah, m. John Ragan; John; Judith, m. ? Davis; Stephen; and William, b. 1778, d. 1841, m. Anne Rhame. Joseph and Ann were buried in Sumter, S.C.

For this narrative, the lineage of the above son, William, and his wife, Anne Rhame, daughter of Jeremiah Rhame, will be followed. William and his brother Stephen migrated to Monroe County. In 1819, Stephen later moved north to Wilcox County.

William Andress and his wife, Anne, reared the following children: Jeremiah, b. 1809, m. (1) Sarah Ann Bannister (2) Mary Ann (Foster) Gilbert; Joseph, probably died young; John N., b. 1811, m. Mary Tinsley; Sarah Ann, b. 1813, m. John Moseley; William James, b. 1819, d. 1897, m. Harriett Catherine McKenzie; Susannah; Martha, b. 1820, m. (1) ? Williamson (2) Charles McKenzie; Stephen Francis, b. 1824, m. Sarah

J. East; and Mary.

The line of William’s oldest son, Jeremiah Andress, will be followed from this generation. Jeremiah came to Alabama with his parents in 1819. He became a large landowner and farmer in the Mt. Zion Community of Butler County. He was married first circa 1832 to Sarah Ann Bannister, and they reared the following 16 children: Susannah, b. 1833, d. 1924, m. Mack Pollard; John James, b. 1834, d. 1862 in Battle of Nashville, m. Julia Mosley; Marion Jeremiah, b. 1836, d. 1861; William S., b. 1839, d. during

W.B.T.S., m. Rebecca Sims; Sarah Ann, b. 1840, m. Thomas B. Anthony; General Jackson, b. 1842, d. 1937, m. 1880 Hattie Day (1860-1936); Mary Frances, b. 1842, d. 1847; Joseph S., b. 1844, d. 1870, m. Rebecca Sims, widow of his brother, William; Lanora Catherine, b. 1847, d. 1863; Thomas Jefferson, b. 1849, m. (1) Manerva McQueen (2) Frances Safrena Howell; Dorcas, b. 1850, d. 1851; Nancy, b. 1854, d.

1855; Samuel Bannister, b. 1856, d. 1861; George H., b. 1859, d. 1973; Martha E., b. 1861, m. Ned Lett; and Samuel Bannister, b. 1863, m. (1) Mrs. Cowan, widow (2) Emma Virginia Bartlett (3) Septra Jane Burt.

Jeremiah’s wife, Sarah Ann, died in 1863, and he then married a widow, Mary Ann Foster) Gilbert, in 1866 at the home of his son, Joseph S. Andress. The following five children were born to this union: Janie Elizabeth, b. 1867, d. 1935, m. John W. Manning; John William, b. 1869, d. 1885; Della Caroline “Dolly,” b. 1877, m. Bryant Arnold; Alice, b. 1873, d. 1920, m. John Roper; and Robert Frank, b. 1865, d. 1956, m. (1) Annie Lee Mosley (2) ?. Jeremiah and both wives were buried in the William Andress Cemetery, which is a private one in Butler County.

The son, General Jackson Andress, was married to Hattie Day in 1880, and they reared the following children: Sarah Elizabeth, b. 1881, d. 1885; Minnie, b. 1883, m. Albert Holland; George Freeman, b. 1885, d. 1957, m. Corry Norsworthy; William Jeremiah, b. 1887, d. 1983, m. Lassie Lee Barrow (1895-1980); Emma, b. 1841, m. Mark Potts; twin, Cleveland, b. 1891, m. (1) Annie Tucker (2) Edith Walker; Neppie C., b. 1893, d. 1894; Alice Buna, b. 1895, d. 1951, m. Jim Tucker; John Frank, b. 1897, m. Mamie Mills; and Hubert Eugene, b. 1901, m. (1) Addie Lowman (2) Lydia Koehn. Many of these families resided in the Pleasant Home Community of Crenshaw County near Brantley.

The son, William Jeremiah Andress, was commonly known as Will Anders/Andress, and he was an avid fisherman. He and Lassie Lee Barrow were married in 1913 in Luverne. They were in Covington County soon after their marriage. The family resided in the Straughn School community at one time. He and his wife, Lassie Lee Barrow, reared the following children: Oscar Wilson, b. 1914, d. 1983, m. Wanda Janice King; Ruby Alice, b. 1917, d. 1973, m. Andrew Nathaniel Cranford; Grace Lee, b. 1917, m. Joseph Howard

Blanton; Grover Jackson, b. 1919, m. Maxine Stewart Kirkham; Willie Ray, b. 1921, m. Erma Allene White; J.W., b. 1924, m. (1) Catharine Murphy (2) Sally Lou Magee; and Ila Mae, b. 1927, m. Joe Cooper Wallace.

The oldest son, Oscar Wilson Andress, was the one who was a manager of the local Sherwin Williams Company. He and his wife, Janice King, reared the following four children: Betty Janice, b. 1942, m. John Paul Roblin; Nita Ellen, b. 1943, m. William C. Ward; Oscar Wilson Jr., b. 1945, m. Michelle Gisriel; and David S., b. 1953, m. Deborah Watson.

The oldest daughter, Ruby Alice Andress, and her husband, Andrew Nathaniel Cranford, had three daughters: Wanda Faye, b. 1939, m. William Hobson Lewis III; Hazel Joan, b. 1941, m. (1) James Henry Dunn (2) Douglas Harold Snell; Syble, b. 1944, m. (1) Forest Warren Wood (2) Jack T. McCloud.

The second daughter, Grace Lee Andress, and her husband, Joseph Howard Blanton, reared the following four children: Alice Jeanette, b. 1942, m. Roy Wayne Kessinger; Patricia Ann, b. 1944, m. Chester Burah Driskell; William Henry, b. 1946, m. Freida Jean Norsworthy; and Jimmy Wayne, b. 1947, m. Patricia Diane ?.

The second son, Grover Jackson, chose Andrews for the spelling of his last name. He and his wife, Maxine Stewart Kirkham, reared two children: Karen, b. 1943, m. Charles Raymond Tate; and Gerald Jackson, b. 1945, m. Betty Joyce Nall.

Information as to the families of the other three children in this family was not available at this time. It is hoped that another line of this family may be featured in next week’s column.

Appreciation is expressed to David Andress of Andalusia for sharing his Andress family records, which included a book entitled Ancestry and Descendants of Joseph Andress, 1734-1805. The book was compiled by two descendants, Hannibal Guy and Mary F. Andress.

Anyone who might have a correction to any of the above information or additional information on the Andress family is requested to contact Curtis Thomasson at 20357 Blake Pruitt Road, Andalusia, AL 36420; 334-222-6467; or email: thomasson@centurytel.net.

HISTORICAL MEETING: The Covington Historical Society will hold its annual seasonal covered dish dinner on Thurs., Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Dixon Memorial Room of the Andalusia Public Library.