1.1. Alfred Jackson Worsham b Mar 19, 1819 Jasper Co., GA md Martha Teresa Pittman Feb 18, 1845 of Jackson Co., GA. Martha, d/o James T. Pittman & Caroline, b 30 Apr 1830 AL. Martha's father willed a young slave girl to her who remained with her throughout her life, even after emancipation. (Nancy Phillips, 1999) They are in the 1850 Noxubee Co. MS Census, p 197. He is age 30, Grocer, with $1200 Real Estate & b GA. Martha is age 20 b AL. Jessie Brown, male, age 23 b VA is living with them. He is A. J. Worsham in the 1860 Brooksville, Noxubee Co., MS Census. He is age 34, farmer with Real Estate valued at $1400 & Personal effects worth $3364 b GA. Martha is age 30 b GA. Martha d 23 Jun 1899 & bur New Hope Cem, Dardanelle, Yell, AR. Alfred d 5 Apr 1884 Macon, Noxubee, MS.

The following was in the Memoirs of MS-Goodspeed, pg 211. "The best soldier that ever buckled on the armor of the holy cause was Alfred Jackson Worsham of Co. D. 41st Miss. Infantry. This is saying a heap for a single soldier, but every man of that glorious band of heros was a true and loyal soldier, and did his duty well and nobly. But ‘Worsham,' as he was known all through the brigade to which his regiment was attached, did more than his duty. He was a man of unique character and was endowed with a physical constitution that was as tough as a post oak and with a mental organism and genial personality that was superb. He was entirely original in everything and had as many peculiarities as were ever compressed in mortal form. He was not large of statue and his limbs seemed to have been articulated by Dame Nature when she was in a dreamy mood. In putting all his parts together Nature seemed to be trying to create a masculine curie, and she certainly succeeded. He was box-ankled, knockneed, angular and disjointed all mover. He could not stand up straight and was never in line in the company's formation during the whole time of his service. His energy was wonderful, his will indomitable, his courage superb and his powers of endurance supernatural. He was never on the sick list, was always at roll-call, never shirked any duty and did more extra service than all the rest of the brigade put together. He was never idle, slept but little and was always ready to volunteer for any hazardous work that was wanted. He was truly a wonderful man and seemed to have been made purposely for the place which he filled in the army.

From the outset Worsham was chosen as the ‘head of the mess.' This meant that he was chief cook and bottle-washer. Joe Stokes, John Hodges, Joe Rogers, John Mancers, Jimmy Jones, John S. Jones, Joe Nuckles and Worsham made up the mess. Over it Worsham presided from the beginning and through all its changes of members, he held his place to the entire satisfaction of the entire group. He drew the rations, cooked and washed the dishes for the boys, all of which they let him do willingly, because he liked the job. When the regiment was formed in April, 1862, Worsham was ‘promoted' to company ‘commisary' which he accepted, but held on to his place as head of the mess. He liked the place and kept it until he was disabled and had to leave the army. As company commissary he was always at his post and never failed to get his full share of the best that was to be had. There was never a complaint against him and nobody ever tried to oust him.

In addition to these important posts Worsham became the barber first for the company and then for the regiment. He was so successful in this place that the brigade adopted him and finally the division. Many of the high officers patronized him and he became famous throught the army as a barber. He kept his scissors and razers sharp and his brush and soap always clean.

In battle, Worsham was conspicuously alert and daring. He never quailed under the most terrific fire. At Perryville he fired seventy-two shorts and his gun became so hot that he could not load the barrell. In trying to do so he pushed the ramrod deep into his hand, but he did not mind the pain, and kept right on fighting. When we had fallen back to Knoxville he brought me a certificate written in red ink, covering a whole page of foolscap paper, narrating his exploits in the battle and asked me to sign it. I declined on the grounds that such a certificate would be invidious. He then carried it to Lieut. Yated, who declined on the same plea. One of the boyus asked him what he wanted with it. He replied, ‘I want to have it framed and hung up in my home, so that my boy can see it and when some coward who went after water and did not come back till the battle was over says that his father did not do his full duty in that fight, he can point to it and tell him he is a liar.' This closed the interview.

At the battle of Murfresboro, Worsham's left arm, between the elbow and the wrist, was broken by a Minie ball. The bones pierced the flesh and showed through the skin. Bragg retreated from his position there at night. It was raining heavily and we had to find our way through pitch darkness. My train had been cut in two by another at a crossing of two roads and everything was in confusion. I was giving orders, trying to get out of the disorder and to my great surprise, I heard Worsham calling me. He recognized my voice and I knew his. He told me his condition. I could see, only the outline of his form, but I made him get into one of the wagons and carried him to Shelbyville, which place we reached at daylight the next morning. Capt. Augustus will recall this terrible night and how we, drenched with rain, awakened an old Negro and his wife and jumped into their bed for a little nap. When I could do so, I examined Worsham's wound, which he had bound up with an old piece of tent cloth. I tried to get him to go to the hospital, but he would not do so, and prevailed on me to get Dr. Cain, the surgeon, to send him home, which he did. He never had anything done for his wound but doctored it himself. It got well, but was useless thereafter, and he was never fit for service again.

Worsham was an enigma; in his dealing with men he was brusque, suspicious and wary; he had but few friends, but to these he was loyal and devoted. I chanced to be one of these and always found him true as steel.

I regard him as the best soldier in Bragg's army. If Stonewall Jackson and Forrest had had 100,000 men like him the Confederacy would have gained its independence." (Article by James Kincannon-Macon Beacon, Macon. Children:

1.1.1. Sarah Academia Worsham b May 1849 Macon, Noxubee Co., MS. (1 3/12-1850; 12-1860) md F. C. Hucaby Aug 1870 Macon, Noxubee, MS. In mrg record her name appears to be S. Hardenia Worsham.

1.1.2. Alfred Jackson Worsham, Jr. b 1850 Macon, Noxubee Co., MS. (10-1860) md Mary Jane Keene 27 Mar 1876 Noxubee, MS & d bef 1880. He may also be the A. J. Worsham who md. Feb 27, 1872 Lauderdale Co, to M. L. Howell.

1.1.3. Carrie Worsham b 1852 Macon, Noxubee Co., MS. (8-1860) md John A. Potts 24 Feb 1881 Macon, Noxubee, MS.

1.1.4. Mordecai Alfred Worsham b 6 Jul 1857 Macon, Noxubee, MS.(6-1860) He graduated from the Memphis Hospital Medical College in 1883. He moved to AR where he practiced under Dr. Alexander McKenzie. Dr. McKenzie served as his proctor. He md Nancy Ann Hovis "Nannie" 23 Sep 1884 Yell Co., AR by J. W. Pendergrass. Nancy b 5 Dec 1866 Yell Co., AR. (Cemetery record has 5 Dec 1868) d/o Jasper Hovis "Jap" & Miriam Delina McKenzie. Nancy d 3 Feb 1941 Centerville, Yell, AR. Her obituary: Mrs. Nannie Worsham. Wife of Dr. M. A. Worsham. Special to the Gazette. Dardanell, Feb 3.--Mrs. Nannie Worsham 74, wife of Dr. M. A. Worsham of Centerville, seven miles south of here died at her home today. She was a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Jasper Hovis, early residents of Yell county. She was a member of the Methodist church. She is survived also by three sons, Ray and Elbert of Centerville and Lester Worsham of Wichita, Kan., five sisters, Mrs. Otho Mims, Mrs. Maude Hudson, Mrs. Will Vandiver and Mrs. Nona McCorkle of Dardanelle and Mrs. Mary Stanley of Brinkley, and two brothers, Will and Alec Hovis of Dardanelle. Funeral services will be held at the Centerville Methodist church at 2 p.m. Tuesday by the Rev. Everett Patton and the Rev. Ethan Dodge."

His obituary was in the Arkansas Gazette, Little Rock, Tuesday, April 8, 1947: "Dr. M. A. Worsham. 90-Year Old Physician. Russellville, April 7. Dr. M. A. Worsham, aged 90, a practicing physician in Centerville from 1881 to 1945, died in Wichita, Kan., Sunday. He had made his home in Russellville recently, and was visiting in Kansas at the time of his death. He was believed to have been the oldest Mason in Yell county. Survivors include: two sons, Lester of Wichita, Kan., and Albert of Centerville. Tentative arrangements have been made for the funeral at the Russellville Methodist church Wednesday afternoon. Burial will be in New Hope cemetery, eight miles southwest of Dardanelle."

He moved to AR where he md Nancy Ann Hovis "Nannie". Nancy b 5 Dec 1866 Yell Co., AR. (Cemetery record has 5 Dec 1868) d/o Jasper Hovis "Jap" & Miriam Delina McKenzie. Nancy d 3 Feb 1941 Centerville, Yell, AR. Mordecai and Nancy spent their entire adult lives in and around Centerville, AR where they also reared their children. Mordecai was known as "Dr. Worsham" throughout Yell County. He d 6 Apr 1947 while visiting relatives in Wichita, KS & bur New Hope Cem, Centerville, Yell, AR.

A biography was written about him: MORDECAI ALFRED WORSHAM, M.D.

Dr. Mordecai Alfred Worsham lived from July 8, 1857 to April 6,1947. The son of Alfred Jackson Worsham and Martha T. Pittman Worsham, he b and reared in Macon, Mississippi. Following completion of the required two years of medical school at University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, he moved to Yell County, Arkansas where he was to practice for the remainder of his long career --office locations changing a few times to meet the needs of the developing communities extending outward from the Arkansas River Valley. Arriving by steamboat at Dardanelle in 1878 or 1879 he opened an office in the nearby village of Chickalah (sha-KEE-la). A short while later he moved to Kenzie (which later became Centerville) to practice with his preceptor, Dr. Alexander McKenzie. In 1882 he received his MD degree from the Memphis Tennessee Hospital Medical College. Married to Nancy Ann Hovis of Yell County in 1884, they were to raise one daughter, Ora, and four sons, Lester, Elbert, Ray and Aubrey. A fifth son, Irby, died in early childhood. For a while he shared offices with another pioneer Yell County physician, Dr. Kirksey in Neely in the Carden's Bottom area of the Arkansas River Valley. For the major portion of his career, his home and primary office was in Centerville, a crossroads community between Dardanelle and Ola north-south and Carden's Bottom and Danville east-west. He became a member of the American Medical Association in 1912. Travel in his earliest days was primarily horseback, and though later supplemented by buggy as trails developed into roads, was soften during rain and snow the only means of reaching some of his patients, particularly home deliveries. His black Kentucky saddle horse, Duke, partially replaced by buggy and later by a Model T Ford, remained for a while longer the best means of reaching some patients in less developed areas. What we now know as obstetrics and pediatrics were of course an essential part of the country doctors' practice. In time, a sizeable number of the younger citizens of that section of Yell County had arrived in this world with his assistance. Some were occasionally in receipt of more than his professional services; as when following the delivery of twin girls to a family of very modest circumstances, he subsequently drove to Dardanelle ("Town," as he termed it) to obtain and deliver to the family a "proper" twin bassinet.