James Blunt Clopton of Alabama

Born January 12, 1878 in Huntsville, Alabama, James Blunt Clopton was the son of John Walter Clopton and Laura Blunt. He was a direct descendant of the first William Clopton, Gentleman, and his wife, Ann (Booth) Dennett Clopton. He married Anne Bradshaw, the daughter of Robert Samuel Bradshaw and Sarah Coldwell on February 12, 1906. Anne was born July 22, 1878 near Shelbyville, Tennessee. James died December 17, 1962, and Anne, February 4, 1956. They had four children: Robert Walter Clopton, Mary Coldwell Clopton Kring, Olive Elizabeth Clopton Barnard, James Malvern Clopton, and Ruth Clopton Jackson.

The children were born on a small farm in an area now called Huntsville Park. It was built before the turn of the century by the Merrimack Manufacturing Company of Massachusetts, which erected the largest cotton mills in the South. They built a village and named it Merrimack Village. They always kept it in the best repair. The mills and the village were sold in 1933. The homes were sold to individuals and the area renamed Huntsville Park.

James Blunt Clopton ran a grocery store on the edge of the little village and his bookkeeper was the beautiful and talented Anne Bradshaw. She worked with him from 1902 until 1911. Anne retired to raise her growing family and James became an agent for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, with Merrimack-Huntsville Park as his agency. He endeared himself to the majority of the people living there at that time. In 1929 he led all company salesmen in the United States and Canada. He loved his work and his policy holders. He retired in 1943.

Ann gained international recognition for her art. She perfected a method of painting with oil on cobwebs, resulting in ethereal, elegant works. Her paintings were exhibited at the New York World's Fair, the Robert Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, and numerous other museums. She also appeared on a number of television programs of the early 1950's. She willed her large art collection to the Barrett Museum in Huntsville. She taught Latin, math and art from 1921 to 1943 at Joe Bradley High School. She formed the first Girl Scout troop in Alabama.

When Merrimack Village was sold, the city changed the names of all the streets and named Clopton Street in honor of James Blunt Clopton and Anne Bradshaw Clopton.

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Based on An Article by :

James Malvern Clopton
Originally Appearing In The April 1992 Issue of the Clopton Newsletter