The Lord School was one of the many community schools that operated throughout Covington County during the early 1900s.

It was named for the Lord family which resided primarily in that community located just northeast of Rose Hill.

It stood near Mt. Gilead Baptist Church on the landline between the property of Frank Lord and M.R. Moore.

It was a one-room building that served the students of that community as so many of the early schools did.

When it was closed the school was consolidated into the Campbell Chapel School, which served a wider area.

After the school was discontinued, Lawson H. “Los” Wiggins purchased the building and renovated it for a general store.

Some years later it was further updated and purchased by Robert Mathews to become his store.

Even later it was owned and operated by Price Wise.

This is an example of how a building can be saved and utilized over a long period of time.

In Gus and Ruby Bryan’s Covington County History, 1821-1976 is a picture of a group of about 30 young people who resided in the local community and attended Lord School.

It is believed to be a special occasion during the early 1900s with everyone dressed well and the men wearing hats.

Those pictured include the following: Mr. and Mrs. Frank Howell, Mattie (Howell) Barfoot, Janie Harper, Leon and Margie Lord, Virgie Stewart, Jim Lord, Morgan Howell, Minnie Howell, Elbert Moore, Gus Osteen, Coston Lord, Worrier Stewart, Ellisaw Lord, Eula Moore, Effie Carter, Sallie Lord, Rufus Lord, Walton Howell, Pauline Carter, Pearl Lord, Ivy Carter, Grover Howell, and J.M. Moore.

Upon looking at the genealogy of this Lord family, the earliest ancestor found by this writer was Thomas Lord who had a son named James Madison Lord. James was born in 1818 in Georgia and was married in 1843 to Rebecca Ann Morris (1828-1901).

Among James and Rebecca Ann’s children was a son named Vining Franklin “Frank” Lord who was born in 1859 in Pike County, Ala.

Frank was married in 1880 to Mary Annice Sweatt, daughter of William Collin Sweatt (1827-1863) and Mary Ann L. (Milligan) (1831-1910). Mary’s paternal grandparents were Whittington Sweatt Jr. (1804-1886) and Clara (?) Sweatt.

About the time Frank was born in Pike County, there were a few members of the Lord or Loard families who were living in Covington County, Ala. An F.C. Loard represented the Chapel Hill Missionary Baptist Church at the Zion Association meetings. Samuel E. and Thomas Lord served as privates in Company I, 40th Alabama Infantry Regiment of the Confederate Army.

In 1864, an L. Loard, 35 years old, served as a private in Company C, Covington County Reserves, He was later dismissed by the medical board. In 1867, following the end of the war, there was a J.T. Lord listed as a registered voter in Beat Number Six and a F.L. Loard, in Beat Number Nine.

Vining Frank Lord homesteaded 161.50 acres of land in the Dozier/Rose Hill Township during 1889, so he would have migrated from Pike to Covington County at least by the early 1880s.

He and his family resided in the Lord community, which was near the Mt. Gilead Baptist Church where he and many of his family were buried.

Frank and Mary Annice Lord reared the following nine children: Leon Franklin, b. 1881, d. 1945, m. Margie A. Hudson (1886-1971); Mary Pearl, b. 1883, m. James M. Joyner; James Collins “Jim,” b. 1885, d. 1962, m. 1911 Eunice Mae Parish (1895-1982); Rufus B., b. 1887, d. 1949, m. Lela Ovie (1891-1928); Sarah Rebecca, b. 1890; Henry Costen, b. 1893, d. 1918, m. Margie A. ?; Virgil Elesaw, b. 1895, d. 1950, m. Birdie Mae ?; Annie Myrtle, b. 1897; and Lila M., b. 1900.

The second oldest son, James Collins “Jim” Lord, was well known in the Rose Hill community.

In his later years he and his neighbor, Loss Wiggins, were dedicated checker players.

It is told that they played every afternoon alternating every other day at each other’s house.

Upon meeting they would greet each other, but there was no further conversation between them while they played the game with focused attention for two or three hours.

(Loss Wiggins is the man who purchased the old Lord Schoolhouse and converted it into the Wiggins general store.)

James C. “Jim” Lord was married in 1911 to Eunice Mae Parish, daughter of William Ivey Parish and Delany Ann (Bowden). They resided in the Hallton, Copperas Head and Williams Precincts of Covington County and reared the following children: Wade Collins, b. 1912, d. 1997, m. 1942 Martha Lee Denney; Herman Douglas, b. 1915, m. 1937 Bertha Boncile Frazier; Henry Tobe, b. 1918, m. 1942 Florine Bryant; Sara Frances, b. 1921, m. 1941 Joseph Willard Morgan; Delana Opal, b. 1923, m. 1946 Percy Benjamin Faircloth; and Mary Vernon, b. 1926, m. 1950 Roy Reeves.

Jim and Eunice Mae Lord reared the following four children: Sharon Ann, b. 1943, m. Milton Herman Giddens and had three children: Wendy Ann, Brenda Kaye and Milton Kerry; James Wade, deceased; William Wade, b. 1948, m. Patricia Ann Dixon and had two children: Bradley and Jennifer Nicole; and Mary Lynn, b. 1951, m. Ernest L. Respress Jr. and had three children: Melissa Dawn, Ernest Patton and Delana Danielle.

Jim and Eunice’s second son, Herman Douglas Lord, and his wife, Bertha, reared two children: Donald Russell, b. 1938, m. Wilma Jean Boothe and had two children: Shayne Russell and Pamela; and Donna Megans, b. 1947, m. Michael Alexander Crew and had two children: Amy Clarissa and Michael Kevin.

Jim and Eunice’s third son, Henry Tobe Lord, and his wife, Florine, reared three children: Sandra Tobe, b. 1944, m. Joseph Holley Proctor and had three children: Sharri Kaye, Bryan Joseph and William Tobe; Angela Florine, b. 1946, m. Winfred Mason Dollar and had three children: Melissa Dawn, Christine Michelle and Dustin Mason; and David Bryant, b. 1952, m. Patricia Duos and had two sons: Matthew Bryant and Justin David.

Jim and Eunice’s oldest daughter, Sara Frances Lord, and her husband, Joseph W. Morgan, reared two sons: Jerry, b. 1943; and Jimmy Collins, b. 1947, m. (1) Gwen Smith and had three children: Jason Collins, Donald Chad and Katherine Rebecca, and m. (2) 1989 Jean Pitts.

The daughter, Delana Opal Lord, did not have any children. The youngest daughter, Mary Vernon Lord, and her husband, Roy Reeves, reared two daughters: Sabra Lane, b. 1954, m. John Steven Burns and had two children: Meredith Leigh and Steven Luke; and Mary Katina, b. 1957, m. Kern Dale Walker and had two children: Tia Michelle and Seth Reeves.

The sources for this writing include a family story in The Heritage of Covington County, Alabama written by Mary (Lord) Reeves, Wyley Ward’s Early History of Covington County, Alabama, 1821-1871 and Original Land Sales and Grants in Covington County, Alabama, and Ancestry.com.

Anyone who might have a correction to the above or additional genealogy on the Lord family is requested to contact Curtis Thomasson at 20357 Blake Pruitt Road, Andalusia 36420; 334-804-1442; or Email: cthomasson@centurytel.net.