Descendants of George French - Frenchfamilyassoc.com

Generation 4 (con't)through 1924, he was a farmer in Randolph County,Alabama. The 1920 Census indicates he could read andwrite and rented a farm in High Shoals. In a 2004interview, daughter Doris recalled that they had abeautiful Pierce Arrow automobile. However, in the1920s, the post-war depression in agriculture, deepenedby a glutted market and a continuing slump in cropprices, created havoc for farmers throughout the nation.When hard times came, the family had to sell the car andcould not maintain their farm. They moved across theriver to LaGrange, Troup County, Georgia from 1925 to1934 where Monroe worked at Callaway Mills.In 1934 and 1935, Callaway Mills suffered two employeestrikes. Eventually management won out and strikers leftthe area, but the economic stresses of the decade tookits toll. Monroe French was an independent "cuss" whostrongly disliked unions. He took his family back toWedowee where they built a new house and barn,according to daughters Mary Jim and Helen in 2004. Heagain farmed and ran a country store with a "fillingstation" until his death in 1947.Notes for Mary Ella Sikes:"Ella" was a member of the Noon Day CongregationalChurch. After the death of her husband in 1947, shewas a very independent woman, living alone in the NewHope Community until her death in 1962.James Monroe French and Mary Ella Sikes had thefollowing children:i. BERNICE WALKER 5 FRENCH was born on 10Aug 1905 in Wedowee, Randolph Co, AL.He died on 19 Dec 1981 in Wedowee,Randolph Co, AL. He married VERDIEELIZABETH WILDER on 25 Jul 1925 inWedowee, Randolph Co, AL, daughter ofJohn Wilder and Ellen Elizabeth "Betty"Page 36 of 45Sunday, 06 March 2011