Guide to the Martha E. Carlile Collection, 1800s - 1986

Record Group 214

 Description: 25 digital images, 600 dpi TIFs, full color

Biographical Sketch: Martha E. Carlile (nee Wright) was born in Ashford, Houston County, Alabama, in 1926, to John r. and Susie Wright (nee Davis). She and her identical twin sister, Mary Deyhle (nee Wright) were the youngest of seven children. A brother, Henry, was a soldier in the US Army who was killed in action during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.

Carlile married James Earl Carlile in 1947. They had three daughters: Sherri Ann, Mary Ellen, and Kimberly.

Carlile worked as a professional business accountant beginning in 1945, and in the later 1950s partnered with Charles Adams to purchase Segrest Cotton Gin (Dothan, Alabama) and Malvern Cotton Gin companies. The Segrest Gin was at the corner of Fortner Street and South Park Avenue. She and Adams sold both gin companies between 1966 and 1969 after a reduction in US cotton tariffs made it more profitable for brokers to buy Egyptian cotton than Wiregrass cotton.

In 1972, she obtained her real estate broker's license and joined her husband, Earl, at Carlile Realty. She retired ca. 1980. As of 2016, Mrs. Carlile lives in Dothan where she celebrated her ninetieth birthday.

Ms. Carlile supplied these family photographs and documents to be scanned as part of the NEH- funded "Wiregrass Common Heritage Project" of the Wiregrass Archives and Troy University Dothan Campus History Department. The Project held two Community Scanning Days, June 18 and 25, 2016. Ms. Carlile was part-owner of the Segrest Gin Company in Dothan.

Scope / Content Note: Photographs concerning Ms. Carlile and her family through 1960. Many show her family members working at the Segrest Gin Company of Dothan or doing road or train work in the Dothan area. Others show her great-grandmother and many of her paternal relatives. Also contains photos and newspaper ads concerning the Segrest Gin Company of Dothan. One image (1976) notes Ms. Carlile won a prize at the National Peanut Festival for her pine-straw basket entry; another is of a National Peanut Festival parade. Mrs. Carlile and her daughter Mary Ellen selected these images from the family's larger collection to contribute to the Wiregrass Common Heritage Project. Received in two accessions, 213-16-0618, and 213-16-0625.

Processing Notes: Image 214-16-0625-005, the advertisement from the Dothan Eagle concerning Segrest Gin Co., was so large the WCHP volunteer scanned it in thirds. Olliff reconnected the images into a single JPG for display. The original TIFs remain.

Preferred Citation: Martha E. Carlile Collection, RG 214, Wiregrass Archives, Troy University Dothan Campus, Dothan, AL.

Acquisition Method: Gift

Access/User Limits? Open per gift agreement

Proc Date: 6/27/2016 Processor: MTO 

CALENDAR

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Wiregrass Archives
Troy University Dothan Campus
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Dothan, AL  36303

Phone: 334-983-6556 x21327
Email: wiregrassarchives@troy.edu