[basham.ged]
1840 Census Morgan County Alabama Page 24 10001 1001
1850 Census Morgan County Alabama Page 204 Family 125
1860 Census Morgan County Alabama Page 398 Family 196
Death Valley Leaves Sept 77 Page 121
Postmaster Basham Gap Alabama 1847 To 1866
Land Records In Delores King Correspondence
Hanged As Conspirator With Horse Stealers
From "Outlaws In North Alabama" By Lizzie Reed Penn
Above Article In Alabama Files
James H. Basham homesteaded in the same vicinity (Winston) County Alab
am a) at the same time, and the locality was known as Basham's Gap. The
re w as later a post office established in the general vicinity, with J
am es H. Basham as the postmaster. There was also a Methodist Church, k
no wn as Bashams Chapel, which met in the settlement. The two were lat
er in t he boundary of Morgan County. BASHAM'S GAP A Brief Episode in Morg
an Coun ty History In the early days of American history, when the white s
ettle rs began pushing the Indians further and further west, many schem
es were d eveloped to encourage colonization of the vast new territory ope
ning up th rough western migration. The so-called "Bit-Law" of Thomas Jeff
erson's ad ministration was one of these methods of bringing settlers do
wn through t he fertile Tennessee Valley region. A quarter, often referr
ed to as "two b its", was supposedly cut in half pieces equal to twelve a
nd one-half cent s; and land was offered for sale in the valley at "one bi
t" per acre. Amo ng the many names connected with these easy land sales we
re those of Jess ee Garth, Daniel Gilchrist, and William E. Baker. These m
en bought land fr om the Bond Brothers Lumber Company, bought their sto
ck with them, and beg an settlements along the Tennessee River, not far fr
om the present si te of Decatur. A horde of men, both good and bad, flood
ed the region. Do wn in the extreme southwestern corner of Morgan Count
y, in northern Alabam a, was begun a small settlement which had much color
ful tradition of the e arly days of the Civil War period centered around i
ts activities. About th irty miles southwest of Decatur, a little gap in t
he mountains led on do wn to Jasper, Alabama, some forty miles further sou
thwest.
To this mountain gap come many early settlers, who built homes and b
eg an farming, hunting and "settling up" the region. The settlement to
ok i ts name from a family by the name of Basham, who built the last ho
me in t he edge of the mountain gap leading into the wilderness between t
he gap a nd Jasper. Jim Basham and his family were connected with a sto
ry of ear ly pioneer lawlessness, and tragedy that is still told with viv
id remembra nce by some of the present inhabitants as an account handed do
wn from fath er to son in the Gap.
A notorious outlaw, by the name of John A Murrell, is reported to ha
ve or ganized an extensive network of horse and slave thieves from Kentuck
y, thr ough Tennessee and on down through the North Alabama territory, fin
ally en ding in operations around Vicksburg, Mississippi, and even on to N
ew Orlea ns. Murrell posed as a traveling preacher, holding revival camp m
eetin gs up and down the Valley. When the settlers flocked in to camp meet
in gs to hear Murrell preach, he secretly looked over the crowds, spott
ed t he finest horses and slaves, and instructed his men to steal and se
ll the m. Gullible Negro slaves were often offered bribes of a part of the
ir sa le price if they would assist in the theft by running away to join t
he gan g. A trade often offered to them was that they would be sold, stol
en agai n, and resold until their bribes would amount to sufficient s
um to enab le them to buy their own freedom. Usually three auction sales w
ere promis ed them with a third of the sale price as a bride to run away f
rom each n ew master. Murrell's henchmen were settled about thirty miles a
part and we re supposed to operate a sort of loosely connected relay syst
em of passi n