From: U.V. Waldrop
To: Patrick Hogue (Samples), Weed, California
Date: 12 Oct 2000
Subject: Simeon (Sim) Newton Waldrop
Simeon Newton Waldrop was the son of James Lewis Waldrop Sr. and his second wife Susan Parolee Campbell. She was half Creek Indian. Simeon Newton Waldrop married when he was 19 to Sarah J. Houldritch. They had five children. Newton Waldrop who died when he was about 5 years of age, then Joseph (Joe) Franklin Waldrop, Bama Drucilla Waldrop, Maude Elizabeth Waldrop. The fifth child died with the mother during birth. They lived in the Providence Community.
His parents took care of his three children for 18 months when he married Pedelia Ann Smith August 16, 1888, in Bibb County, Alabama, at the home of her parents – Joseph Smith and Sarah Elizabeth Martin. They bought a farm in Chilton County, Alabama, near Macedonia Baptist Church. They became active in the Macedonia Baptist Church. They had nine children. Simeon Waldrop became interested in locating water for his farm. He first used a stick then a wire. He soon was recognized by that community as the person to help you locate water on your farm. Then he became interested in locating oil, gold and coal. He was so wrapped up in this he went to Rusk County, Texas in the early 1890’s to visit an Uncle of his wife, Lee Smith. He wanted to see if his oil finding method would work in Texas. They had informed Uncle Lee Smith they would arrive at 4:00 PM. They were mistaken. They arrived at 4:00 AM. Simeon left his wife at the train Station with his three children by his first wife and two of their children. She was expecting a third child in a few months. He told her he was going to walk around for a few minutes to use his wire to see if he could locate oil. He was gone all day. He arrived back at the train Station at 3:00 PM. Pedelia Ann was so mad with him she had made reservations to go back home on the 4:00 PM train. She told him there was no way she would live out there and have to take care of five children while he walked the oil fields. She already had all their baggage checked back to Randolph, Alabama. He couldn’t do anything with her. Uncle Lee Smith arrived at 3:45 PM and was surprised to find Pedelia Ann was going home. He couldn’t talk her into staying a few days. The train stopped and she and the children boarded the train. She handed Simeon a ticket and said you can come with us or stay here without us. He stood by the train with Uncle Lee Smith until the train started to pull off. He ran and jumped on the step to get on the train. He was very mad and so was she.
The had planned to stay in Texas for one year and had leased out their farm and home to Pedelia Ann’s sister and her husband, Henry Armstrong and Adaline. They refused to let them out of the lease. They couldn’t find a house. Aunt Adaline and Uncle Henry Armstrong told them they could live in the new barn he had built before going to Texas which they did. Simeon became more interested in Church. He was ordained as a Deacon in the Macedonia Baptist Church. He soon became a Baptist Minister. He was Pastor of four churches at the same time. He spent one weekend with each Church. They were Providence Baptist Church ten miles from his home. Macedonia Baptist Church, two miles from his home. Rehoboth Baptist Church, eight miles from his home, and Antioch Baptist Church, ten miles from his home. He used his horse and buggy to go to these churches.
Simeon Newton Waldrop became interested in Education and talked his father, brothers and sisters to build a SchoolHouse for their children. The Waldrop School House was built in the mid 1890’s. My father Benjamin LeRoy (Roy) Waldrop attended this school. He was by Simeon Newton’s marriage to Pedelia Ann Smith.
Simeon Newton Waldrop and his father James Lewis Waldrop Sr. began looking into the Jehovah Witness Religion. The Baptist Church found out about it and Simeon Newton Waldrop resigned from his Baptist Churches as Pastor and became active in the Jehovah Witness Religion. He was a very strong and good witness for his religion.
The Waldrop School House was closed down around 1905, when the Macedonia Community built a SchoolHouse for the County to run. All students from the Waldrop School House moved to this School.
Simeon Newton Waldrop was still interested on locating water, coal, oil and gold. He was more successful in locating water. He would make short trips to try to locate any of these items he thought could be in any place.
Pedelia Ann died in 1908, in childbirth with the ninth child. The child also died. His daughter Maude Elizabeth helped him raise the children. Even Maude was disgruntled at Simeon roaming the county trying out his methods of locating different minerals.
Simeon Newton Waldrop’s father had a Cancer treatment. Simeon began using this on skin cancers and was successful with this treatment. He had to stop in the use of these treatments in the mid 1940’s because he didn’t have a license.
He met Susie Hines at one of his meetings and they were married in 1913. She became pregnant the first three months they were married. She wanted an abortion as she said she wasn’t raising all those children. He refused and she divorced him. She had a daughter and put her up for adoption. Simeon never saw his wife again, and had never seen his child.
Simeon Newton and his daughter Maude Elizabeth opened a restaurant in Centerville, Alabama, about 1918. Maude met Leon Cleveland and married him. Simeon and his daughter Bessie continued to run the restaurant for a year. He then decided to open a restaurant in Jemison. He had a good restaurant there until Bessie married in 1926. Simeon went back to locating water, coal, gold and oil. He wasn’t successful in anything but water. The depression came in 1929. He opened a peanut stand on the street in Centerville, Alabama.
In 1930, he informed his children he was retiring, and they were to take care of him. My father agreed for him to move in with us in 1930, as none of the other children would take him. Daddy had just bought a farm and was having a hard time making his payment. He asked Grandpa to loan him his 1930 payment on the farm. He told him no, to forget the payment, the end time was here and it would soon be his for “free” in the New World. Daddy borrowed the interest from a friend and the mortgage was extended another year.
In 1931, Grandpa informed us he had bought 20 acres of land from Mr. Tobe Posey and he and Aunt Maude were opening a grocery store. She was leaving her husband. Mama asked what happened to the World coming to an end. He didn’t answer.
The Grocery Store was successful and I worked for him on the weekends from time to time. I was seven years of age. Later, I went into the Army. The Grocery Store paid me $1.00 per day when everyone else was getting .50 cents per day to work. I was allowed to eat two candy bars each day, one in the morning, and one in the evening. Aunt Maude would fix me a nice lunch for school each day. I liked to have a light bread sandwich instead of ham and biscuits that Mama would fix for me. He paid me two dollars a day when I became thirteen years of age. He was always very good to me.
Aunt Maude taught me how to count to 100 with pennies. Then she taught me my multiplication with nickels, dimes, and quarters. She taught me how to make change from a sale in the store with this money. We had lessons each night until she trusted me to make change from the cash register.
Simeon Newton married Hattie Bell, his fourth wife, in 1935. Aunt Maude went back to her husband. This didn’t last long. Aunt Maude was back in a year, as her marriage didn’t work out. She saw to it that Simeon’s marriage didn’t work out and Mrs. Hattie left. Aunt Maude died suddenly in 1941. Mrs. Hattie was back in three months. They sold the store in 1945 to Allen Posey. They realized they couldn’t keep up the pace.
Grandpa moved in with Mama and Daddy in 1945, as he was sick. Mrs. Hattie went to stay with her children. In 1948 they decided to live together again. Daddy put them in Mama’s home place. That lasted six months and Grandpa was sick again. He was moved back to our home with Mrs. Hattie. He lived six weeks. He died at 89 years of age, and was buried in the Waldrop Cemetery, Chilton County, Alabama, on the farm where he grew up. Mrs. Hattie went to live with her children and died in 1950.
We all grew up on part of this farm that David Waldrop bought in 1840. Daddy bought 69 acres in 1928 from Mr. Lon Brown. Mr. Brown had purchased this from Daddy’s grandfather, James Lewis Waldrop Sr.
By U.V. Waldrop
Simeon (Sim) Newton Waldrop
