Samuel Massey and his brother-in-law, Duke William Glenn, first came to this territory in February 1814 with Lt. Col. Reuben Nash's Regt. South Carolina Volunteer Militia to help defeat the Creek Indians in the War of 1812. Samuel Massey returned to settle this land months before Alabama became a state on December 14, 1819. Samuel's son, William Duke Massey, married Ruth Reed, daughter of William 'Silver Billy' Reed. Born October 28, 1817, she was the first white girl born in Jefferson County.