The name game

            P. Allen Motes was born in Alabama’s Pike County on September 14, 1832 and started along his way to success.

            Whatever his first name was.  

A farmer, Motes married Mary Alice Godwin on March 12, 1854 and life went along. Things changed when Alabama joined the Confederacy. Presly enlisted in 1862, becoming a member of the 4^th Battalion of Hilliard’s Legion. He originally enlisted in the 4^th Battalion’s Company A, but later transferred to Company D.

            The Legion did not see combat action until September 20, 1863 when the Legion played a central role in the Confederate victory in the battle of Chickamauga. Motes, who was six days beyond his 31^st birthday at the time, was wounded in his left leg. One report has Motes breaking his leg, another says Motes was “shot through,” his left leg.

            Motes’ military career ended with the injury. He returned to Alabama and resumed farming. But Mary Alice died of the measles on May 6, 1870, leaving Presly with four children. No slacker, Presly married again on February 19, 1871. His second bride was Mary Elizabeth Head and she eventually out-lived her husband, although Presly and Mary Elizabeth did manage to have a child together.

            The Motes holdings grew to include 395 acres (200 improved, 195 wooded) with a cash value of $2,000. They had farm equipment valued at $50 and livestock worth $400 (1 horse, 2 mules, 2 milch cows, 2 working oxen, 3 other cattle and 15 swine).

            Presly Motes died October 30, 1908 at age 76 in Crenshaw County, Alabama. He was probably unaware that his name would one day leave researchers confused.

            Motes’ military service cards list his first name as Presly, but a report from the Adjutant General’s office decades after the war mentions in passing that some muster rolls for the Legion also have Motes’ first name spelled ‘Prisly.’

            It appears neither spelling was accurate. His tombstone spells his name ‘Presley.’

            No matter how his name was properly spelled, you’d have to agree that P.A. Motes had a busy life. And just think: He did it all without the internet.

 

            Thanks for reading.