By Staff
Wrapping up information on the Liles family
By LYDIA GRIMES - Features Writer
Another child of John Madison Liles was Ephriam Sherod Liles (18 May 1866-28 Nov. 1945) who married 5 June 1890 to Ada Franklin (24 Dec. 1872-30 Aug. 1957). He lived in Brewton and later in Atmore. He was a builder and one of a group of men who organized the Farmers Merchants Bank. He was a leading builder and contractor in the area, building many of the homes and businesses in Brewton. He organized the Brewton Veneer Company, served on the board of education, was a county commissioner and served on the Brewton City Council.
He and Ada were the parents of an infant (b &d 5 Oct. 1891), Esther Ruth Liles (27 Nov. 1892-16 March 1980) who married William Martin Williams, Owen Mahone Liles (1 Dec. 1894-14 Feb. 1983) who married Ruth Ester Satchell, Jennings Bryan Liles (26 March 1896-23 March 1953) and Cecil Irvin Liles (17 Nov. 1898-3 Sept. 1979) who married Ava Boyd.
George Laborn Liles was a machinist. He and Orie May were the parents of Regina Juett Liles (12 Sept. 1895-8 Jan. 1971) who married Earl Weaver Harold, and Emile Elliott Liles (4 Nov. 1897-5 May 1964) who married Kate Douglas. Their children were Juett Earline Harold (31 May 1914) who married Abram Garfield Weaver Jr., Earl Kenneth Harold (17 Aug. 1920) who married Ethelene Baggett and Juanita Maxine Harold (18 July 1925) who married Roxie B. Humberson.
Emile Elliott Liles and Kate Douglas (25 Oct. 1894-10 Feb. 1958) lived in Brewton where he was the distributor of Standard Oil Products.
I want to backtrack a little bit and use the rest of my space to tell you a little bit more about the family of Beulah Benton Liles and Robert Lee Sowell and their three children.
Chester Luttrell Sowell (4 Aug. 1900-19 Dec. 1958) married 17 July 1929 to Mary Ellen Spinks (8 June 1905). He had the Gulf Oil franchise for many years and she was a school teacher teaching home economics in the public schools of Brewton and nearby Florida. They had three children, Chester Luttrell Sowell Jr. (14 May 1930) who married Alice Nicolene Harris, Jane Spinks Sowell (6 Nov. 1933) who married Julius Patrick Maxwell Jr. and Mary Ellen Sowell (9 Aug. 1944) who married David Louis Avant.
William Benton Sowell (3 Nov. 1902) married 22 Dec. 1926 to Helen Louis Smartt (30 Nov. 1897-10 May 1976). He attended the University of Alabama. He was a salesman in Alex City when World War II started and he volunteered his service on the condition that he be made a major. After much discussion with the Army, he was commissioned as a major and continued in that rank for the remainder of the war. After the war he was a vice-president in Liberty National Life Insurance Company. He and his wife had no children.
Marvin Liles Sowell (19 Oct. 1906-20 June 1989) married first to Agnes Schad. They were divorced and he married 20 July 1935 to Elizabeth Lee Bradshaw Albritton. He worked at T.R. Miller Mill Company in the Creosote Plant for a number of years before moving to Logansport, La. where he was a salesman for a veterinarian supply company. He and his wife were the parents of Robert Lee Sowell II (twin-22 July 1937) who married Carol Boswell and Roy Bradshaw Sowell (twin-22 July 1937) who married Evangelina Gwardado.
This is as much information that I will give on the Liles family. There is more, but even though I have mentioned people who are still living, I always hesitate to say more than I need to do for privacy reasons. There are many people who descend from this family and I thought some of them might be interested. Happy hunting!