Person:Wesley Delony (2)

Wesley G Delony was born on 18 May 1819 in Virginia to Edward Delony and Elizabeth W Lucas. The family moved to North Alabama between 1820 and 1832. In 1832 he attended LaGrange College near Muscle Shoals while his mother and 4 siblings lived in “Cottage Hill”, (probably near Athens, Limestone County), Alabama. Founded and chartered by the state legislature in 1830 by the Methodist Church, LaGrange was the first all-male college in the state of Alabama. A letter from his sister, Francis Ann, indicated that he was a fast learner and was studying grammar, arithmetic and geography.

He married Nancy E Cox, daughter of Charles Cox, Sr and Mary O’Neal 9 November 1843 in Russell County, Alabama. By 1850, they had 3 children, Mary Elizabeth, Pauline and Rufus. His occupation was farmer and he owned real estate valued at $600 and 3 slaves. By 1856 Wesley and his in-laws had relocated to Coosa County, Alabama in the vicinity of the Buyck community. Two more children were born: Irena Sarah and Annie before Nancy died in June 1859. In November, he married Eliza Swindall. In 1860, occupation is listed as “merchant” but he also owned large farm lands (valued at $1000) as well as 8 slaves.

In April 1862, Wesley enlisted in the CSA with Hilliard’s Legion, 2nd Battalion, as the first lieutenant of Company B. However by August, he had injured himself and resigned from the service. When he returned home, he served as acting Justice of the Piece for Coosa County and sold corn and hay to the Confederacy.

The History of Coosa County by George Brewer has a reference to a diary entry of Joel Spigener about a mysterious incident involving a shooting between Wesley and a Moses Clipper that occurred in January 1866 in Buyck. Both survived the shooting. There is a court record of a conviction for assault and battery for Moses Clipper in 1868 which may be unrelated. In this case, he was only fined one cent plus court costs. By 1870 he had removed to Florida.

We may never know what the dispute was about, but it is clear that Wesley took an unpopular path in politics. Brewer noted that “from some cause his life was revolutionized much for the worse… He became a leader of the Republicans of the section after the war, drank and was quarrelsome…” (Or what the Democrats of the Reconstruction Era called a “Scalawag.”)

By 1868, he was a lawyer and the Solicitor for Elmore County (created in 1866 from parts of Coosa County). He and his family moved to a house on a hilltop overlooking the town of Wetumpka, the county seat. William and Elizabeth deeded property to the Mount Pisgah Baptist Church for $1 so long as the property is used as "a colored school house or missionary Baptist Church." (The church is still there.) His life ended tragically on 31 January 1872 when, after visiting a judge’s office in Coosa Hall, he stumbled over a low railing and fell to his death in a cellar that was used as a residence and barbershop.