Robert S. Jemison, Jr., was born in Tuscaloosa but moved to Birmingham with his parents when he was about 6 years old. His father, Robert S. Jemison, Sr., was born in Tuscaloosa's Jemison-Brandon-Waugh House (circa 1840) at 1005 17th Avenue just off Bryant Drive. Mr. Jemison, Sr., is considered the most influential individual in the early development of Birmingham. Robert Jemison, Jr. developed Mountain Brook. When he was a student at the University, Jemison, Jr., and a classmate, Champ Pickens, stole the white elephant sign from downtown Tuscaloosa's WHITE ELEPHANT SALOON and hauled it to campus. This incident may have been the origin of BAMA's  elephant mascot. Champ Pickens was responsible for many Alabama football traditions.(image from the 1908 COROLLA, yearbook for the University of Alabama)