Joseph Linyer Bedsole was known for his resourcefulness and keen business skills.
As a merchant in the New South, Bedsole was partly responsible for salvaging two Alabama cities. Educated at South Alabama Bible Institute and a small business college in Montgomery, Bedsole began work at his father’s store in Thomasville. In 1910, he married Phala Bradford. By 1913, the store had become a department store, and the volume of business had increased dramatically. Bedsole initiated three dramatic steps to change the economic base of Thomasville. He established a factory and a scrap iron yard and introduced citizens to the hog and sheep industry. As a result of Bedsole’s dedication and innovation, the area and community prospered along with the Bedsole firms. In 1919, Bedsole moved to Mobile where he organized and became president of Bedsole-Colvin Drug Company. Bedsole also founded Bedsole Investment Company, Mobile Fixture and Equipment Company, Bedsole Trading Company, and Bedsole Surgical Supply Company. Due to his extraordinary success, Bedsole was called to aid the city of Mobile in recovering from $1.5 million in indebtedness on its municipal bonds. After three grueling years, the committee on which Bedsole served devised a plan that saved the city. Bedsole served as director of First National Bank of Mobile and Alabama Power Company. In his lifetime, he contributed more than $1.5 million for the improvement of the state. He was named Mobile Man of the Year in 1951.
