Larry Jordan, a native of Covington County, wrote and submitted an informative story of his family in Covington County. His ancestors settled in the area south of Opp, Ala., in the Blue Springs and Green Bay communities.

The family ancestor to first migrate to Covington County was William Enoch Jordan, Sr. He used the name Enoch Jordan and added the Sr. after naming a son Enoch and one William. He pronounced his name as Gher-den. One can imagine the different spellings as census takers made their recordings: Jurdin, Jorden, Jordaine, Jourdan, or Jourdain.

Larry offered the following: “Genealogy history texts indicate early members of the Crusades took the name Jordan from the River Jordan during their journey to the Holy Land. Some of these Crusaders were French and used the spelling Jourdain (pronunciation Ghor-don). The English Anglicized the name to Jordaine and the pronunciation to Gher-den. The pronunciation stuck for many generations even though the spelling changed to Jordan when part of the family emigrated to America.”

Larry further wrote, “The first Jordans to come to America were part of the Jamestown colony in 1610. Captain Samuel Jordan, a descendant of a wealthy Jordaine family in Dorsetshire, England, built a plantation on the James River in Virginia. Many of the Jordans in the Southeast are descendants of this family. My ancestors, William Enoch Jordan Sr. is a descendant of this family. The migration path for my Jordan ancestors was from Albemarle County, Va., to Montgomery County, N.C., to Laurens County, S.C., to Wilkes County, Ga., to Heard/Carrol County, Ga., and finally to Autauga County, Ala. From Autauga County, the descendants fanned out across the South and West as those frontiers opened up for settlement.”

According to Ancestry.com, the earliest ancestors of this family to be identified are Thomas Jordan (1634-1699) and his wife, Margaret Brasseur (1642-1708). The next generation was Thomas Jordan (1660-1699) and Elizabeth Burgh (1660-1684). Their son, William Jordan (1681-1759), was married to Rachael Meador (1686-1768). All of these families were listed as residing in the Chuckatuck, Nasemond, Va., area.

William and Rachael’s son, Jonas Jordan, was born in 1725 in Essex, Va., and died in Bedford County, Va. He was married to Winifred Morris. They had a son named Thomas Jordan who was born in 1769 in Bedford and was married to Priscilla Applewhite (1771-1850). This couple made the migration to Madison, Ga. They died there, but their son, William Enoch Jordan, moved on to Alabama and settled in Autauga County for a time. William Enoch was born in 1803 in Sampson County, N.C., and was married circa 1826 in Darlington County, S.C., to Jamima/Jemimah “Tackey” Reynolds (1810-1855), daughter of Jeremiah Reynolds (1787-1842) and Susanna Chamness (1789-1862). Some family trees on Ancestry.com show that Thomas and Priscilla were not his parents, but most indicate that they were.

By 1840, William Enoch and his family were living in the Houston Military District of Heard County, GA. Before 1858, the family migrated to Covington County, Ala., since William Enoch bought property in the New Hope/Clear Creek community, which is about 10 miles south of Opp, Ala. He and Jamima are listed in the records of the Clear Creek Missionary Baptist Church. He was listed as church clerk when the church reopened its doors after the end of the War Between the States. The church’s name was changed to New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. It is probably significant that two of their sons, Nicholas and William, fought in the New Hope Church Battle in Georgia during the war.

William Enoch has been described as being very mechanically-minded. With this interest and skills, he became a regular mechanic for cotton gins. In fact, as he made his trip south, he went from one cotton gin to another working for them as he traveled. He was also a farmer and was living in his homestead with son, George Fenel Jordan, in 1870 at the age of 67. He continued farming his property near Clear Creek until his death in 1873.

William Enoch and Jamima Jordan were the parents of the following children: Susan A.J., b. 1827, d. 1880, m. Alexander J. McLeod Jr. (1827-1861); Robert, b. ca 1882; Nicholas “Nick” Enoch, b. 1833, d. 1902, m. Elizabeth Batson (1836-1909); Henry, b. 1834; William (Henry ?), b. 1842, d. 1921, m. (1) Martha Ann Thames (1843-1863) (2) Sarah A. Smith (1841-1881); James “Jim” M., b. 1845, d. 1918, m. Henrietta Caroline ?; George Fenel, b. 1847, d. 1904, m. Theodocia Carroll; Martha, b. 1851; and Andrews, b. 1855, d. 1869.

The oldest daughter, Sarah A.J. Jordan, was married to Alexander J. McLeod Jr., son of Alexander J. McLeod Sr. (1770-1854) and Margaret McGillivray. In 1850, the family was residing in Coffee County, but they had moved into Covington County by 1870. They were the parents of the following children: George Washington, b. 1848, d. 1937, m. America Ann Martin (1856-1913); Benjamin F., b. 1849, m. Martha ?; Isaiah G., b. 1853, d. 1879, m. Mary “Polly” Ann Burkelew; John Henry, b. 1854, d. 1941, m. Mary Jane Fleming (1863-1941); and Thomas A., b. 1862, d. 1937.

The oldest son, Nicholas “Nick” Enoch Jordan, was married to Elizabeth Batson, and they reared their family in Covington County. They were the parents of the following children: Martha Ann, b. 1853, d. 1909, m. Benjamin Franklin Harbuck (or Harris Franklin Adams); Robert, b. 1862; Mary Elizabeth, b. 1864, m. Joseph Enoch Hutto Sr. (1846-1926); Henrietta E., b. 1865, d. 1943, m. Alonzo White (1859-1929); Zelphia, b. 1870, d. 1953; William “Bill” Enoch, b. 1871, d. 1955, m. Roxie Clio Shepard (1894-1979); Caroline “Callie,” b. 1872; Henry F., b. 1876; and Susan M., b. 1879.

Son William Jordan is probably the one listed at times as William Henry Jordan. In 1892, he homesteaded 160 acres of land in the Horn Hill Township, which is southeast of Opp. Family reports say that when one of his wives was expecting twins, he just knew they were boys, so he chose the names of George and Bill. When the babies were born as girls, he still stuck with the chosen names. Neither of the daughters ever married. The only other child found for him was listed as S.E, a son, b. 1877.

The son, George Fenel Jordan, resided in the Green Bay community. The name of his wife was not found, but they were the parents of at least the following three children: Dora E. b. 1900; James M., b. 1902; and William H, b. 1905.

There are currently many descendants of this family residing in the area.

The primary source for this writing was the family story written by Larry E. Jordan for publication in 2003 in The Heritage History of Covington County, Alabama. Larry is a second great grandson of William Enoch Jordan. The early generations and some of the families were found on Ancestry.com.

Anyone who might find an error in the above is requested to contact this writer, Curtis Thomasson, at 20357 Blake Pruitt Road, Andalusia, AL 36420; 334-804-1442; or Email: cthomasson@centurytel.net.