Tombstone Tuesday

 

Aubrey M Drake
1925-1981

buried at

Poplar Springs Methodist Church Cemetery
Adrian, Johnson County, Georgia,  USA

Friday's Faces from the Past

 

Dr. William Jordan Flanders
1860-1936

    Dr. Flanders was a dentist in Wrightsville, Johnson, Georgia, USA.  He was elected temporary chairman of the 16th District Senatorial Convention that met in Dublin, Laurens, Georgia, USA in 1912.

Thriller Thursday - From small town Georgia boy to notorious Texas (and beyond!) con man (Part 1)

    To share a preview of what Elridge Price was about, let me share this opinion column that was published in 2007:

Newspapers.com, "Out Yonder" column by Ross McSwain, Standard-Times,
San Angelo, Texas, Sunday, March 25, 2007, Page 13

"Con men were full of confidence

Ross McSwain Out Yonder

Texas has had many confidence men over the years, and one of the most famous is former Pecos businessman Billie Sol Estes, but he will have to take second or third place to a pair of Ballinger con artists as the most colorful. 

Billie Sol was planning his first deals in cotton allotments and fertilizer tanks that got him into trouble with the law when obscure con man Eldridge Solomon Price of Ballinger went to jail for the last time.

Eldridge Price’s ghost rose from the grave when my longtime friend, Associated Press reporter Mike Cochran, wrote one of his delightful pieces on Billie Sol, a West Texas icon we bought spent time covering for newspapers during the latter part of the 20th century. Over the years I crossed trail a number of times with Estes. He is a gracious man, as any admitted con man should be, but he never granted me an interview. Perhaps it is just as well, since he knew my late mother who lived in Brady at the same time that Estes called the Heart of Texas town home, and at one time he rented a farm near Clyde from my late uncle, Bill Chambers.

Although Estes holds the unofficial title of Texas’ best known con man, some folks believe Price was the kingpin among southwestern confidence men, taking millions of dollars from hundreds of people during the toughest times of the Great Depression. He started serving his last lengthy prison sentence in 1960, a good while before Estes' shadowy deals in anhydrous ammonia tanks became national news.

According to newspaper reports, retired FBI agent Ed Dorris of San Angelo said people were afraid to talk to Price because they were fearful he would sell them something. Early San Angelo Standard-Times files say Price worked his scams from coast to coast. Estes' activities were generally located in Texas.

The smiling, nattily dressed Price was 65 years old when he entered Leavenworth Federal Prison for the last time after being convicted of swindling 36 persons on promises of oil well riches. He was described in court as being "the world's greatest salesman." Price had something in common with Estes besides the middle name of "Sol." He also was pudgy-built, wore expensive clothes and eyeglasses.

Price's troubles centered around the sale of fake oilfield leases in Texas and stocks in a Utah uranium mine. Over his long years of dodging lawmen, tax revenue agents and even fellow thieves, Price reportedly was involved in crimes ranging from stealing gold-filled watches in Florida in 1915 to assault with intent to murder in Texas in 1930. When convicted on 14 counts of fraud involving oil leases and the uranium stock in November 1957, he was released on $10,000 appeal bond. When he failed to appear for the appeal hearing, he was ordered arrested. He was found in El Paso in January 1960. He reportedly died in prison.

Another notable Ballinger con man was B. W. "Chophouse Charlie" Pilcher. He left a mark on the Runnels County town and it wasn't just for selling Bibles.

Pilcher spent most of his nights and days dealing stud and monte, and carried a silver dollar with a diamond embedded in it for marking cards. He was a gambler and opened the first and last gambling hall in Ballinger. Pilcher arrived in Ballinger in 1886. He was 29 years old and looking for work in the town the Santa Fe Railroad promised to make prosperous. Pilcher told Standard-Times reporter Frank Burnett in 1945 that he walked all the way from Abilene to Ballinger. In a few days he had earned enough to allow him to bank his own game, first in a tent and later in a dugout on Main Street.

Pilcher made lots of money gambling, but he changed his ways in 1893 when "he heard the gospel" at a church meeting. He told Burnett his life changed and he became a "new man."

Pilcher was to become a constable, and started selling Bibles all over the Concho Country. He later served as chief of police, justice of the peace and operated a café. His last card game was in 1926 on a trip to Mexico. He made enough to pay all the travel expenses before his wife caught him and made him quit the game.

I would have loved to have crossed trails with Chophouse Charlie and ol' Eldridge. What a pair.

I'll be seeing you Out Yonder.  Transcription provided by Google Gemini.

    Points to remember about cousin Elridge:  Nothing is ever as it seems; there are no clear cut answers or information - as a matter of fact there are at least two answers for every fact; and very little is the truth from his side of things.  As far as con men and swindlers go, Elridge was evidently one of the best, if not THE best.  

    Elridge (The vast majority of newspapers referred to him as Eldridge, but that was not his name. I think the first misprint was copied from then on out.) Solomon Price was born on July 2nd or 4th, 1893 in either Emanuel or Johnson County, Georgia.  He always told people he was born in Wrightsville in Johnson County.  He was the second child and first son born to Solomon 'Solie' Price (1868-1929) and Jemsie Ann Missoura Hatcher or Hadden (1871-1919).  

    At the age of 17, he married Anna Morgan Outlaw on February 19, 1911 in Johnson County.  They had one child together, Annie Evelyn Price, born December 4, 1913 in Wrightsville.  I have found no divorce record for them.  This will become an important point soon.

   From 1915, I found the following article.  I wasn't sure it was the same Elridge Price.

     JAX GIRL WEDS IN THE NORTH DESPITE PARENTS

Miss Lillion King and Eldridge Price Marry After Being Separated.

Outwitting every effort of the bride's parents in Jacksonville and her relatives in New York to break off their engagement, Miss Lillian King and Mr. Eldridge Price, both of this city, were married Tuesday by the Rev. Dr. Henry T. Beattle, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, of Hoboken, N. J. The marriage was performed at the parsonage at a time that corresponded exactly with the time the marriage license was issued, twenty-four hours earlier.

The story of the elopement became known when an aunt of the bride, a Miss McRae, who lives in New York, went to Hoboken to make inquiries about the marriage. She was surprised to learn that neither distance nor parental determination had prevented the marriage of her niece to Mr. Price.

Miss McRae told Dr. Beattle that Miss King's parents in this city strongly objected to their daughter's marriage to Mr. Price. Both are twenty-one years old. In order to break off the match, the bride's mother, Miss Ethel McRae King, sent her to New York and tried to keep her whereabouts a secret from Mr. Price. This was ten days ago.

Mr. Price, after spending considerable money in telegraph and telephone tolls, located Miss King and the marriage was arranged. And now that it's all over they will leave shortly, it is understood, for Panama on their honeymoon.

Newspapers.com, Jacksonville Journal, Jacksonville, Florida, Wednesday, June 23, 1915, Page 9. Transcription by Google Gemini.  

 

 

Newspapers.com, The Jersey Journal, Jersey City, New Jersey, Monday, June 21, 1915, Page 5

 

"COUPLE WEDDED ON AN ALTERED CERTIFICATE

Time of Issuance Changed in Attempt to Comply With Twenty-four Hour Law—Clergyman Says He Didn’t Notice It.

CLERK TUCKER NOT RESPONSIBLE

Rev. Henry T. Beatty, D. D., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Hoboken, to-day denied that he had observed any alteration in the marriage license issued by Elridge S. Price and Lillian King, a runaway couple from Jacksonville, Fla., who were wedded by him at 2:45 o'clock last Wednesday morning. Dr. Beatty declares that he believed the license to have been issued at 2 o'clock the preceding morning and had no idea the provision of the law requiring 24 hours to elapse between the time of issuance of the license and the ceremony was being evaded.

That the license was altered, however, an examination of the blank in the office of Registrar of Vital Statistics Joseph S. Tucker shows. The license was issued at 7 o'clock p. m. on Tuesday, June 15. The figure "7" had been scratched out with a knife, rubbing the surface off the blue paper and the word "two," in a handwriting very different from Mr. Tucker's, written in the space before the printed letters "a. m.".

Mr. Tucker stated to-day that when he issued the license at 7 o'clock last Tuesday evening Price, the bridegroom, asked him if he could not "fix it" so that the twenty-four hour law might be evaded, saying that he and wife-to-be wanted to start for Panama. Tucker declares he positively refused to be a party to any such violation.

"The license appeared perfectly regular to me," Dr. Beatty explained to-day. "I did not notice anything that looked like an alteration."

The document plainly shows, however, that it was altered. The handwriting of the word "two" is similar to that in which the names of the witnesses to the marriage, Mrs. Edith Beatty and Homer Price, are written.

Dr. Beatty said to-day that his wife, Mrs. Beatty, was one of the witnesses. On the certificate her name is spelled incorrectly, having but one "t" in it instead of two.

"Who wrote in the names of the witnesses to the marriage?" Dr. Beatty was asked.

"I did," he replied.

There has been a disposition in some quarters to throw blame on Mr. Tucker for issuing a license at 2 o'clock in the morning. He naturally resents this, declaring that he never issued a license at such an hour. There is nothing in the law, however, to prevent him doing so if he so desired.

Be that as it may, it is quite plain that the time of the issuance of the license was altered so as to comply with the twenty-four hour law. Health Commissioner Dr. J. F. X. Stack, head of the Vital Statistics Department, stated to-day that he proposed to have the license, showing the alteration, photographed in readiness for any eventuality that might arise."  Transcription by Google Gemini.

Newspapers.com, The Montgomery Times, Montgomery, Alabama, Wednesday, September 01, 1915, Page 1

"Chicago Police After Pair Wanted in South

CHICAGO, ILL., September 1—The Chicago police yesterday were asked by telegraph to search for Eldridge S. Price, wanted in Georgia and Florida and New Jersey on several charges. The message came from Sheriff G. M. Grier, of Dublin Ga., and stated that Price is wanted there on a charge of bigamy, on complaint of his 16-yearold wife, Lillian Price. The telegram described Price at 23 years old. He is said to be an automobile salesman.

A telegram received yesterday from Montgomery, Ala., asked that the police here arrest Homer Billingsley, a graduate of Auburn college, who was employed as a chemist in the Alabama state food department. He is said to have embezzled several hundred dollars. A reward of $250 is offered for his arrest."  Transcription by Google Gemini.

    I now knew these articles about this marriage to "Lillian" was MY Elridge Price because of several points, i.e., the time frame fits.  Elridge would have been 22-23 at this time. The first article, however, was wrong that both he and Lillian were 21.  Her being 16 would explain why her parents were so against the marriage. The mention of New Jersey... that was where he and Lillian married.  I guess you should always combine business with pleasure on your travels.  The third article states that he is said to be an automobile salesman, and Elridge was - among other things.  Last but not least, the man that stood up for Elridge at the marriage... Homer Price... that is Elridge's brother. So it appears he married another woman while he was still married to his first wife.  

    Sometime between 1915 and 1917, Elridge and Anna must have divorced, though as I said, I have not found a record of that.  

    It was around this time that Elridge began to move westward.  He married Edith Shanklyn Wynn from Virginia on February 9, 1917 in Jackson, Madison County, Mississippi.  Then when their first child was born, they were in Dallas, Texas.  They had 4 children in less than 10 years:

        * Alsace Lorraine Price on January 19, 1919 in Dallas, Texas

        * Eldridge Solomon Price, Jr on November 5, 1921 in Dallas.  (Junior changed his legal name to Bradford 'Brad' Fulford once he was an adult.)

        * Alvin Armington 'Al' Price was born January 31, 1924 in Dallas.

        * Sterling Woodrow Price was born in Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto County, Texas on October 19, 1928.

    Then it appears that Elridge and Edith divorced.  They were married again in Gregg County, Texas on May 16, 1929.

    Their 5th child, Jeamisean Edith Price, was born sometime between 1935-1936 in Alaska.

    Alaska? You ask.  Well, it seems Elridge had fled there to avoid tax evasion charges. 

    Then in 1940, Elridge and Edith are estranged again. He was trying to gain custody of their youngest daughter, who was 4 years old at the time.  Elridge filed a sanity complaint against Edith.  After being interviewed by two physicians, they found that Edith was in fact not insane so the custody trial could continue. During the case, Jeamisean had been put in the custody of her older sister, Lorraine. I have been unable thus far to find out the verdict in this case or whether it was dropped because the couple reconciled. Because obviously, they did reconcile...

    However, Edith filed for divorce in Austin, Texas in late 1943 or 1944.  Edith filed an injunction against Elridge and the judge restrained Elridge from interfering and annoying his wife and their two minor children, Jeamisean, age 9, and Sterling, age 15. However, he was acquitted on a lunacy complaint Edith had filed against him. 

    In her petition for divorce, Edith alleged cruel treatment. She sought monthly support of $100 for the two children until they reach the age of 16. She also stated in the petition that she and Elridge were married in Jackson, Mississippi on February 19, 1917, and that they lived together intermittently as husband and wife until December 5, 1944.

    The couple filed for yet another marriage license in 1947. So what is that? 3 divorces and 4 marriages just with each other?!!

    This blog post is just part 1 of probably at least a 3 part series.  In the next post, I will share Elridge's criminal exploits between 1915-1940.  

Elridge Solomon Price Sr, his wife, Edith Shaklyn Wynn
with their two oldest children, Alsace Lorraine and Elridge Solomon Jr

Elridge and Edith
ride or die

Tombstone Tuesday

 

Elizabeth Dora "Lizzie" Morris Campbell

04 Mar 1928 - 23 May 1972

and her husband,

George P. Campbell

14 Jun 1922 - 20 May 1972

West View Cemetery,

Wrightsville, Johnson, Georgia, USA

photo taken by Liz Tapley, 08 Sep 2013

Mappy Monday

 

Johnson County Highway Map, 1932, State Highway Board of Georgia, Held by Georgia Archives, Morrow, Georgia, Digital Collection: County Maps, Surveyor General, RG 3-9-66

    My family's roots run deep in Johnson County, Georgia.  Since it's Monday, I thought I would try to show a map of  the general areas where three of my ancestral families settled.

    My branch of the Tapley family lived near Fortner Mill Pond which is near Powell's Chapel United Methodist Church. As a matter of fact, that area was named Powell on census records.  This area is between Kite and Bartow (Jefferson County) off Highway 221.  The land had originally belonged to the Solomon Page family but when my great-grandparents married - Jim Tapley and Becky Page, it became Tapley land.  Each one of their married children was given a plot of land so they were all neighbors.  

    My Drake family was from Adrian. Now Adrian straddles the Johnson and Emanuel County lines.  Some Drakes lived in each county, but my line - the children of James William Drake and Mary Ann Brantley - were born and spent their childhoods in Emanuel County.  Unfortunately, I do not know where their land was exactly.  They attended Poplar Springs Church which is in Johnson County.  

    George Schwalls settled outside of Kite near the Tom community.  He and his family attended Minton Chapel church and many are buried there. I do not know the location of their homeplace. Since George is my biggest brick wall, and my friend says he was a spy, I guess way out in the country in Johnson  County is as good a place as any to hide.  

Sunday's Obituary

Newspapers.com, The Macon Telegraph,
Macon, Georgia, Saturday, July 07, 1956, Page 9

Tabitha "Bosh" Tapley Lampp

b. 10 Mar 1875 in Johnson County, Georgia, USA

d. 03 July 1956 in Louisville, Jefferson, Georgia, USA

Friday's Faces from the Past

 

Tabitha "Bosh" Tapley Lampp

b. 10 Mar 1875 in Johnson County, Georgia, USA

d. 03 July 1956 in Louisville, Jefferson, Georgia, USA

Aunt Bosh married 

Benjamin Allen "Ben" or "Mann" Lampp (1866-1938)

in 1895.  

They had 5 children together:

Benjamin James "BJ" Lampp (1896-1965)

Sidney Jackson "Sid" Lampp (1901-1970)

Mozelle Elizabeth Lampp Kniphfer (1903-1993)

Walter Donald "Shot" Lampp Sr (1906-1981)

Lila Lee "Bouquet" Lampp Newsome (1913-1977)

Recently, I decided to go back to basics and research using Ancestry Hints, Find-a-Grave, and obituaries from newspapers and funeral homes on the children of my great-grandparents, James M "Jim" Tapley 1847-1912 and Elizabeth Rebecca "Becky" Page 1844-1924.  I have learned so many tidbits that I had never heard of before!  Would highly recommend!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Your Ancestors in the 1930s Great Depression

  From Randy (my cousin) over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  What did your ancestral families do during the Great Depression (1930-1940)?  Did they keep their jobs and standard of living?  Did they suffer personally or economically?  

2)  Share your information about your ancestors in the Great Depression in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook or other social media post.  Please leave a link to your post on this blog post to help us find your post.

Here's mine:

My paternal grandparents, Lusion Keman 'Loosh' Tapley (1870-1935) and Nealie Vermell Drake Tapley (1895-1970) resided in Johnson County, Georgia, between Kite and Bartow during the 1920's and early 1930's.  They had six children at home (5 boys and 1 girl), including my father, the youngest.  They were farmers and things got hard after the 1930 census.  They lost their home and had to move into a rental house in Wadley.  I believe this is what led to Loosh's passing in 1935.  He was a broken man after he lost the farm.  

In the 1930 census, they owned their own home.  There is no value listed on the census, but they owned it.  Papa was 57 and Grandma Nealie was 35 years old.  

I asked Gemini about the conditions for farmers in Georgia after the stock market crash.  Here is its reply:

    "Following the 1929 stock market crash, the condition for farmers in Georgia was already dire, as the state had been struggling with agricultural decline for most of the 1920s.  The crash served as a catalyst that intensified these existing hardships into a full-scale catastrophe."

    "Even before 1929, Georgia farmers faced significant obstacles:

    *    The Boll Weevil: Arriving in Georgia around 1915, this pest ravaged cotton crops, causing a massive decline in production and profitability.

    *    Soil Depletion: Decades of "cash-crop" agriculture (focusing almost exclusively on cotton) exhausted the soil. Practices like intertilling and poor contour plowing led to severe erosion and reduced land productivity.

    *    Economic Pressures: Farmers were struggling with falling cotton prices, high debt from purchasing new machinery they could barely afford, and a major three-year drought that began in 1925.

    When the stock market crashed, the situation for the state's predominantly rural population (69% in 1930) deteriorated further:

    *    Widespread Poverty: The typical farm family lived without electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing. Diets were poor, often consisting only of molasses, fatback, and cornbread.

    *    Foreclosures and Sharecropping: As bank failures spread and loans dried up, many farmers could not pay their debts and were forced off their land. By the onset of the Great Depression, approximately 2/3 of Georgia's farmland rather than owners.

    *    The 1930-1931 Drought: To make matters worse, the state experienced its worst drought on record shortly after the crash, which decimated what little production remained."

    According to the Mortgage Default filed by the The Federal Land Bank of Columbia (South Carolina), my grandparents borrowed $1,000 to buy their home and land in May of 1924.  There were two parcels of land; one was 58 1/2 acres and the other was 142 acres. By March of 1932, they were behind three payments in the total amount of $97.50.  So their home was foreclosed and sold "at public outcry before the courthouse door" on March 1, 1932 for $750 cash.  I am betting that my grandparents owed the bank the other $250 plus interest and fees after the sale.  

    My grandparents moved into rental housing. They and their older sons because sharecroppers.  My grandfather died in 1935, probably from a broken heart. My grandmother was left with six children from ages 19 down to 7 to support on her own.  They moved around a lot, probably following the jobs.  

    My maternal grandparents, Charles Morgan Tapley (1907-1973) and Ethel Irene Ranney Tapley (1913-1973) were not married to each other until the late 1930s.  My grandfather lived with his first wife and her parents in Covina, California on the 1930 census.  He was listed as a Preacher.  

    My maternal grandmother was 16 years old and lived in Redlands, California according to the 1930 census. Her parents owned their home and its value was $6,000. They also owned a radio, whereas my paternal grandparents did not. Her father (Luther Boardman Ranney [1870-1943]) is listed as a Pruner for private families.  Grandma Ethel mentions in her diary from that time that her father (age 60 in 1930) did work for the WPA (Works Progress Administration) during the 1930's.  The family seemed to survive the Great Depression well because she doesn't mention any hardships.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- What Was the Great Love Story in Your Family Tree?

  From Randy (my cousin) over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  It's Valentine's Day - a day for lovers!  We all have hundreds of love stories in our ancestry.

2) What was the great love story of the ancestors in your family tree? What wedding had a great story in it? Choose one ancestral couple. Share how they met (if known), when and where they married. Note how long they were married. Highlight something that suggests affection or partnership.

3)  Share your great love story in your family tree in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook or other social media post.  Please leave a link to your post on this blog post to help us find your post.

Here's mine:

Lusion Keman "Loosh" Tapley 1870-1935
and
Mattie Schwalls 1877-1912

Lusion Tapley was my "Papa," my paternal grandfather.  Mattie Schwalls was his second wife, but she was  undoubtedly the love of his life.  Or at the very least he was the love of hers.    

While I do not know how they met, the story is that Papa and Mattie were engaged in 1897-1898 or so.  However, before they could marry, a wrench got thrown into the works.  A wrench that I believe shows what a good, honorable man my Papa must have been.

Papa's first cousin, 1x removed, Martha "Jane" Page (1875-1899), came to him with a problem.  Her father was going to force her (or had promised her) to marry a much older man.  She did not want to do that.  So to help her, Papa agreed to marry her.  They were married January 28, 1898 in Johnson County, Georgia.

And Mattie Schwalls waited.  

Papa and Jane's baby, Annie, was born on March 15, 1899.  Jane passed away on May 31 of the same year.  So they were only married 16 months.  Papa was left with a newborn, and he needed to work the fields in order to support himself and that baby.  So Lusion's parents, Jim and Becky Page Tapley, raised Annie.  

Time passed and Mattie Schwalls still had not moved on.  I don't know if they had to wait a respectable amount of time after Jane passed before they married or if Papa had some talking to do to get back in Mattie's good graces, but it was November 18, 1903 before Lusion and Mattie married in Johnson County, Georgia.  Almost 6 years after Lusion had married Jane Page.  

Mattie had waited, and they were finally together.  

Unfortunately, the union only lasted 8 1/2 years.  On April 26, 1912, Mattie and their 4th son died during childbirth.  

My father always said that his father loved Mattie Schwalls.  He felt the ornate monument (headstone) that Papa put on Mattie's grave was a symbol of that love and devotion.  So much so that when a storm came through Kite several years ago and that headstone was sheared in half, my father paid to have it repaired.  Mattie was not even his mother, but he respected the love his father had for her.