I found the following article at Ancestry.com in a collection called Alabama, Surname Files Expanded, 1702–1981. It was compiled by the Alabama Department of Archives and History and includes “a variety of items and record types, from newspaper clippings to local and family histories.” I don’t know the original newspaper of publication, but the year calculates out to 1929 based on the dates within.

State’s Oldest Wedded Couple Weather 62 Years

sixty-second year

HEFLIN, Ala., Feb. 17–The oldest married couple in Alabama is the title claimed by Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Scott, of Route 1, Muscadine, this county[1], who recently celebrated their sixty-second wedding anniversary.

Uncle John[2] and Aunt Sarah[3], as they are called, were married at Muscadine late in 1867[4]. She was the daughter of a pioneer settler of Cleburne County, while he was born in Georgia but was brought to this section when a boy[5].

Mr. Scott entered the Confederate Army in 1861 and served until he was seriously wounded at the Second Battle of Manassas[6].

The couple have 30 grandchildren and 61 great-grandchildren, all living in Cleburne County. The oldest son, Judge Virgil Scott, is still living at Muscadine. Mr. Scott is 90 years old while his wife is 89.

Notes

  1. This county is Cleburne County. Heflin, in the article’s byline, is the county seat.
  2. John Henry Scott, the son of Jesse M Scott and Senia P Malone. John’s sister Sarah married Jesse F Graham, which gives us our Graham connection. Jesse and Sarah named one of their sons John Henry Graham, perhaps after Sarah’s brother.
  3. Sarah Brown, the daughter of William Riley Brown and Elizabeth Hooper.
  4. Late in 1867? I would not call 21 February late in 1867. The previous paragraph says they “recently celebrated” their anniversary but the article is dated four days prior to it, 17 February.
  5. John was born in Carroll County, Georgia, which lies directly east of Cleburne County, and came to Alabama in 1849 when he was about ten years old.
  6. John was a sergeant in Company I, 48th Alabama Infantry Regiment. He was shot in the right leg below the knee on 30 August 1862, the last day of the Manassas battle. The wound was permanently disabling and he returned to his farm in Muscadine until he was paroled at the end of the war.

Bibliography

Ancestry.com. Alabama, Census of Confederate Soldiers, 1907, 1921 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Alabama Department of Archives & History; Montgomery, Alabama; Alabama Census of Confederate Soldiers, 1907 and 1921; Roll: 48th Alabama Infantry Regiment; Roll Number: 54

Ancestry.com. Alabama, County Marriage Records, 1805-1967 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.

Ancestry.com. Alabama, Texas and Virginia, Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Roll Description: Scogin, A· J· – Seals, Thomas J. Original data: Texas, Confederate Pension Applications, 1899-1975. Vol. 1–646 & 1–283. Austin, Texas: Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Confederate Pension Rolls, Veterans and Widows. Richmond, Virginia: Library of VirginiaConfederate Pension Applications, 1880-1940. Montgomery, Alabama: Alabama Department of Archives and History.