GENEALOGY ACHIEVERS
Many of us have ‘achievers’ (including ourselves) of whom we can proudly say, “I AM BLACK HISTORY”!!! Our ‘family trees’ usually be traced to 3 generations. I want to share the following 5 generations of my friend, PAT along with 2 of her aunts with you.
LEWIS McALPINE (1849 – 1912), Pat’s great, great grandfather…a sharecropper, learned to survey land by accompanying his landowner on various projects; became a landowner, using his hands-on experience as a surveyor to ensure that his property and land owned by “coloreds” in Greene and Hale counties was properly assessed during the Reconstruction Era: his ledgers were used as source material in publications by Carter G. Woodson, the “Father of Negro History.”
JERRY Y. McALPIN (1875-1954), Pat’s great grandfather; followed in the footsteps of his cousin, W. H. McALPINE (founder of the National Baptist Convention), becoming a minister in the Baptist Church; served as pastor of several churches in Hale County; chaired various committees of the National Baptist Convention; served as assistant pastor of our local Friendship Baptist Church until he retired; was an insurance salesman in the Gadsden community.
JERRY McALPIN (1902-1984), Pat’s grandfather; local Gadsden business owner and community activist for over 50 years; attended Tuskegee Institute, where he mastered the trade of shoe making and repair; engaged in various business ventures, including a thriving shoe repair shop; played a leading role in facilitating the relocation process for black residents who were forced to migrate from the southside of Gadsden to the northside during the late 1950s.
JERRY LaMAR McALPIN (1927-2020), Pat’s father; professional musician; became the youngest member of the Professional Musicians Union in Philadelphia, PA, where he was given the name “Schoolboy” by Ella Fitzgerald; used his talents with the likes of Duke Ellington, Cannonball Adderley and QunicyJones; served in the ARMY for two years; traveled the country as a clarinet and saxophone player in the U.S.Army Band.
OPHELIA McALPIN IRVING, Pat’s aunt (1929-2020), graduated from Carver High School; attended Clark College, Atlanta, GA. where she majored in Library Science; earned a MS at Syracuse University; recipient of a fellowship to study libraries throughout Europe; became the first black employed by the North Carolina State Library; a recipient of the Black Caucus Award for Distinguished Service; served as a consultant to EBONY and JET magazines, owned by her cousin, Eunice McAlpin Johnson; two-time recipient of the North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine, awarded by two governors; co-founder of the McAlpin(e) Family Genealogical Society.
CLARETHA McALPIN (1933-1956), Pat’s aunt; Valedictorian of the class of 1951 Carver High School (Gadsden, AL); received a Rotary Club Scholarship for academic excellence and leadership; attended Clark College, was crowned ‘Miss Clark College; served as President of the English Honor Society and Vice-President of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; maintained the second highest overall grade point average (GPA) in the student body during her collegiate journey, which was sadly shortened due to illness and her premature passing.
PATRICIA (McALPIN) KIMBLE was the first black Valedictorian at Emma Samson High School (Gadsden, AL) in 1970- there were 257 students of which had only 6 black students; President of the French Club, member of the National Honor Society; member of Mu Alpha Theta, National Math Honorary Club; her GPA was 98.7 which tied with the highest in E.S.H.S.’S history. Pat wants to salute Ms. GENEVA McKEE, a high school white French language teacher who took her under her wing. Both relationships began over Pat’s Methodist beliefs. Also, she, Danny Kimble (whom she later married…along with Jimmy Connell were the 3 black students who integrated General Forrest School in 1966. Pat’s mother, OPAL LOVELADY McALPIN was the first Black teacher at Gadsden High School. Pat is a graduate of the University of Alabama.
Note: I will be doing ‘Black History’ articles for the remainder of 2025.
Brenda M. Jelks Hutchinson,
A ‘sharing/caring’ (Child of GOD and His beautiful Creations