The Cole Family of Clayton, Alabama
In the center, Georgia Tompkins Cole, pictured lower left, her granddaughter, fashion designer Ann Lowe, upper left, Georgia's son, Lewis Cole, seated upper right, Mae Bell Cole, wife of Lewis
"Distant moons ago," General Cole, a freedman and carpenter by trade came to Clayton, Alabama to help build the county courthouse. There he fell in love with a slave named Georgia Tompkins. He bought her freedom for her and they were subsequently married. After the courthouse was completed, the Coles remained in Clayton. Georgia worked as a seamstress and General continued to work as a carpenter, He built many homes in the city including one for his family which grew to include eight children: Floyd, Lewis, Stratton, Luke, Lenora, Tommy, Janie and Huey. General and Georgia's granddaughter, Ann Lowe, was also born their Parish Avenue home in 1896.
Shortly after Ann's birth, Jack and Janie Lowe moved to Montgomery, Alabama. Janie Lowe, was also a talented seamstress. As she made clothing for her primarily wealthy clientele, which included the first lady of Alabama, she taught young Ann to sew as well. The child has a natural flair for design and was inspired by flowers. As she practiced at her mother's knee, Ann perfected embroidering them onto fabric. She would later use this technique in many of her designs.
At the height of her career, Ann's clients included celebrities and members of high society the Rockefellers, Roosevelt's, Bouviers and duPonts. In 1947, she designed the gown Olivia DeHavilland wore to the Academy Awards. Ann however, is most noted for designing Jacqueline Bouvier's wedding gown, which featured a portrait neckline, and a bouffant skirt that required fifty yards of fabric to make. A few weeks before the wedding, Ms Bouvier's gown as well as the gowns of the entire bridal party were ruined, when the basement in which they were being stored in flooded. Remarkably, Ms Lowe and her staff remade not only Ms Bouvier's gown, which alone had taken two months to make, but also the dresses of her twelve attendants in approximately three weeks
General and Georgia Cole began their lives together, as well as their family legacy in Clayton, Alabama. A legacy built on a foundation of love, faith, talent and determination. On September 12, 1953, Jacqueline Bouvier married Senator John F. Kennedy wearing the exquisite silk taffeta
gown designed by their granddaughter, Ann Lowe who continued the family legacy in Camelot.
Marriage Records of former slaves 1865 - 1869
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Alabama Freedman marriages will seek to make available online, marriage records and other historical information about African Americans. The index of marriages recorded in Barbour County, Alabama are listed alphabetically by the surnames of the grooms. We hope to add records from other counties soon.
Clayton and Camelot
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