Abner Killough

Abner Killough (born March 25, 1813 in Kentucky, died July 3, 1893) was twice the Sheriff of Jefferson County, from 1850-1852 and 1862-1865. His relatives, Isaac Killough and Charles Killough had served previously as county constables.

Abner was the son of Allen and Margaret Wallace Killough who had migrated to Kentucky from Mecklenberg, North Carolina. The Killough family were early settlers in Alabama, arriving in Jefferson County by 1820. Abner married the former Angelina Lacey, also of Kentucky, in Jefferson County on May 29, 1839.

The Killoughs had a home with a veranda perched on top of the hill next to an apple orchard in what is now Avondale Park. It was here that Mrs Killough became the only victim of Civil War hostilities in the county during the brief skirmish jucularly known as the Battle of Avondale.

In the spring of 1865 Mrs Killough was knitting on the front porch when a group of U. S. Army officers who had been camped on the ridge of Red Mountain stopped by to pass the time. Captain James Truss

References

• "Battle of Avondale, 1865" (September 3, 1885) Weekly Iron Age.