The following history on William Guttery, father of Robert Guttery, below, was taken from Dombhar's History of Walker County, Alabama [FHL Call No. 976.176 H2d, pages 212-217; and from Northern Alabama; Arm's Story of Coal and Iron, and from Owen's Alabama, Volume III, page 717: William Guttery came from Scotland and first settled in Pennsylvania. William Guttery, a descendant of an old pioneer family that settled near Charleston, South Carolina, he moved with his wife, Hannah Guttery, from his home in Georgia, to Lincoln County, Tennessee and later came to Walker County, Alabama shortly before 1820 settling near the present site of Holly Grove. Little is known of William Guttery since he died on July 7, 1825, just a few years after coming to the county. He is believed to have been among the very first settlers, if not the first, in this section of the county. That he was a farmer is a self-evident fact. The later accomplishment of his sons would indicate that their parents were exceptional people for their day and time and environment, and afforded their children the education and training that permitted them to become outstanding citizens and leaders in religious, political, and economic life of the country. William Guttery and his three sons were perhaps the first settlers in Holly Grove, coming there in the early 1800's. Holly Grove was the community center and post office for all these early settlers. The Bethel Primitive Baptist Church was established there before 1824, for it was during that year that Robert Guttery joined the church. Holly Grove continued to be the trading center and in an old business directory for 1854 one finds Robert Guttery as the leading merchant. However the community never grew, and its final doom came with the building of the San Francisco railroad in 1886. With the building of the railroad, Townley was founded and named after the Townley family. The town grew and was incorporated on June 16, 1895 with John W. Guttery elected as its first mayor. The following history is taken from Dombhar's History of Walker County, Alabama [FHL Call No. 976.176 H2d, pages 212-217: Robert Guttery, the eldest son of William and Hannah Guttery, was born in Georgia on February 26, 1801, and was brought by his parents, first to Lincoln County, Tennessee, and later to Walker County, in his young manhood, his father having settled near Holly Grove shortly before 1802. He was reared on a wilderness farm, where opportunities for education and other advantages were sadly lacking. However, through training and precept Robert Guttery was deeply religious. In 1824 he joined the Primitive Baptist Church at Holly Grove, and in 1826 he was ordained a minister of that faith, serving as such for fifty-one years. Colonel E. A. Powell, in his Fifty-five Years in West Alabama, says of him: "Robert Guttery may be justly considered the father of the Primitive Baptist denomination in Walker County. He and his brothers were the first settlers on Wolf and Lost Creeks. There were three of them preachers in that denomination. They were all true and upright men - good citizens. Robert Guttery was considered the leading character in his neighborhood. No man occupied a higher position in the community than he did. He never sought public office, but in 1860 he was brought out by the Conservative Party to represent Walker County in the convention of that year, known as the Secession Convention, which assembled early in January, 1861. In that convention he sided with the anti-secession party and voted first to submit the ordinance to the people for ratification. That proposition failing, he voted against the passage of the ordinance and refused to sign the same after it was passed. (A total of twenty-four representatives refused to sign the ordinance.) But after the thing was done and resulted in war, no one was truer to the South than he was. After the close of the war he took the true conservative ground, and his entire influence was on the side of a restoration of civil authority and the peace and quiet of the country." Robert Guttery was too old for military service, but several of his sons fought valiantly for the Confederacy. Aside from his religious and political activities, Robert Guttery was a successful farmer and merchant, and engaged in the mercantile business both at Holly Grove and Jasper. He spent his entire life in the vicinity of Holly Grove. He died on April 6, 1877, and is buried in the Boshell Graveyard near Townley. On November 11, 1821, he was married to Sarah Ann Williams, the daughter of Robert Williams, a pioneer settler near Townley. She was born May 8, 1804, and died February 8, 1881, and is buried in the Boshell Graveyard near Townley. Their children are: John Guttery, born August 30, 1822, died January 30, 1883, and buried in the Guttery Graveyard at Townley. Catherine Guttery, born March 22, 1824. William Guttery, born December 12, 1825; died in Texas on April 6, 1890. Isham Guttery, born September 30, 1827, and was married to Nancy Romine on October 29, 1848; died January 4, 1922. B. F. Guttery, born December 8, 1829; died in infancy. Elizabeth Guttery, married and moved to Luling, Texas. J. Russell Guttery, born December 12, 1833. Martha Ann Guttery, born December 24, 1834. A. J. Guttery, born May 19, 1837; died August 4, 1889. He married Araminta Ann Miller, the daughter of Dr. L. C. Miller, on October 10, 1861. L. J. Guttery, born March 27, 1839; died a soldier at Okolona, Mississippi, on August 13, 1862 and is buried in the Boshell Graveyard at Townley. Robert M. Guttery, born March 29, 1842; died April 25, 1803. He married Lucinda King, daughter of John and Lucinda King, who was born August 6, 1849 and died June 4, 1881. Newton W. Guttery, born March 6, 1844. Sarah Guttery, born April 6, 1846; died in infancy. George Houston Guttery, born September 15, 1847; died December 5, 1911; sketch given below. Johnson Guttery, born July 15, 1850; died October 16, 1881. Sources: Northern Alabama; Armes' Story of Coal and Iron; Mountain Eagle, October 14, 1887; Robert Guttery's Bible; Gravestones. . . . . . . . . . . Johnson Guttery, a son of William and Hannah Guttery, was born in Georgia on March 12, 1806, and was brought to Walker County by his parents when he was still a young boy. Reared on his father's farm near Holly Grove, he underwent all the hardships of a pioneer life. Coming from a deeply religious family, he followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Robert, and joined the Primitive Baptist Church in 1826. In 1839 he was ordained a minister of that denomination, and faithfully served as such for thirty-seven years. He never sought and was never elected to public office, but he wielded considerable influence and was ever supporting his brother Robert in his public utterances. He was a successful farmer and spent his entire life in the vicinity of Holly Grove. He died May 23, 1876, and is buried in the Boshell Graveyard at Townley. On November 24, 1824, he married Mary Wilson, who was born July 22, 1807 and died October 13, 1885. Sources: Mountain Eagle, December 9, 1885; Gravestones. . . . . . . . . . . . Isham Guttery, a son of William and Hannah Guttery, was born in Georgia on January 6, 1813. Brought to Walker County by his parents while still a boy, he was reared on his father's farm near Holly Grove. He was a prominent minister in the Primitive Baptist Church, along with his brothers Robert and Johnson; had much to do with the establishment of that denomination in Walker County. He died August 17, 1882 and is buried in New Prospect. He was married to Sarah Ann Brown, a daughter of John Brown and Martha Clark, who was born at Chester, South Carolina on April 27, 1832 and died October 1, 1896. Source: Gravestones . . . . . . . . . . . Joseph G. Guttery was born near Holly Grove on May 14, 1836. On September 6, 1862, he enlisted at Holly Grove as a private in Company A, Fifty-sixth Alabama Cavalry, under Captain A. J. Guttery. Source: Census of Confederate Soldiers, 1907. . . . . . . . . . . . Captain A. J. Guttery, a son of Robert Guttery and Sarah Ann Williams, was born at Holly Grove on May 19, 1837. In 1862 he enlisted and was elected captain of Company A, Fifty-sixth Alabama Cavalry, which was a part of Hewlett's Battalion of Cavalry. Captain Guttery was captured at Resaca, Georgia, and was imprisoned at Johnson's Island for the balance of the war. After the close of hostilities he returned to Walker County, and lived at Townley until his death on August 4, 1889. He is buried in Holly Grove. On October 10, 1861, he was married to Araminta Ann Miller, a daughter of Dr. Lucius C. Miller and Mary Jane Leith, who was born November 18, 1844 and who died October 19, 1900. Their children: Alabama Guttery, who married W. H. Garrison, of Carbon Hill; Mary Lula Guttery; Alicia Aurora Guttery; Lucius Curtis Guttery; John T. Morgan Guttery; and Mae Guttery. Source: Genealogy of the Branner Family. . . . . . . . . . . . John Willis Guttery was born at Pontotoc, Mississippi, on February 24, 1838. He served throughout the Civil War as a private in Company H, twenty-second Alabama Infantry. He died on June 20, 1926, and is buried in the Guttery Graveyard, near Townley. His wife Sarah Elizabeth Guttery was born June 2, 1844 and died Februaray 5, 1921. Sources: Census of Confederate Soldiers, 1907; Gravestones. . . . . . . . . . . . Martin VanBuren Guttery was born at Holly Grove on September 6, 1842. On September 6, 1862 he enlisted at Holly Grove as a private in Company A, fifty-sixth Alabama Cavalry, under Captain A. J. Guttery. He died on October 22, 1916, and is buried in the Guttery Graveyard at Townley. His wife, Mary E. Guttery, was born February 8, 1844, and died October 22, 1816. Sources: Census of Confederate Soldiers, 1907; Gravestones. . . . . . . . . . . . George Houston Guttery, a son of Robert Guttery and Sarah Ann Williams, was born on a farm on Lost Creek, near Holly Grove, on September 15, 1847. He was reared on a farm, educated at Holly Grove and Jasper, and farmed until the outbreak of the Civil War. In April, 1863, he enlisted at Jasper as a private in Company A, fifty-sixth Alabama Cavalry, under his brother, Captain A. J. Guttery. He served with Forrest's command in Mississippi, with Johnson's army from Dalton to Atlanta, and was engaged in all the battles in which it participated until and including Peach Tree Creek. In 1866 Mr. Guttery moved from Holly Grove to Jasper and opened a mercantile business which he conducted until 1874, when he was elected sheriff of the county, and served as such until 1877. In the following year Mr. Guttery re-entered the mercantile business. The town of Jasper was incorporated on December 22, 1887, and Mr. Guttery was elected the first mayor, which office he held for several terms. He died in 1911, and is buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery at Jasper. He was married to Alice C. Stanley, a daughter of W. L. and Mary P. Stanley. Children: Claud Guttery, Paul Guttery, and John McQueen Guttery. Sources: Census of Confederate Soldiers, 1907; Northern Alabama, page 177; Owns' Alabama, Volume III, page 717; Gravestones.