Bio of Will & Lettie Jane Grantham - Geneva Co., AL ----------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with the USGenWeb policy of providing free information on the Internet, this data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other gain. Copying of the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged. ALGenWeb File Manager - Lygia Dawkins Cutts ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Mon, 22 Feb 1999 Contributed by Frances Daly Bio of Will & Lettie Jane Grantham - Geneva Co., AL West/Grantham (Information compiled by Frances West Daly) Mystery and intrigue surround William Henry Moses West AKA Will Grantham probably born 1880 in Geneva County, Alabama. His death certificate indicated that his father was Jack Grantham, mother unknown. From the information that I have gathered, he was raised in Alabama by Jack Grantham who could possibly have been his father. So far I have been unable to determine the circumstances of the timeframe that he was known as William Henry Moses West. 1896 he married Sarah Frances Bellflower (or Belflower) and they lived near Sylvester, Worth County, Georgia. They came to Georgia in 1901. He was listed in the 1910 Census as William Henry West, a farmer, head of household, age 30, married first time for 14 years. They had 9 children, 5 living. They lived in Enumeration District 181, 52, 56. He and both his parents were born in Alabama. If the 1910 census is accurate, he would have been born in Alabama in 1880. He met Sarah Frances Belflower, possibly in Talladega, Alabama, because that was where Sarah Frances had lived while married to Tom Brannan. Sarah Frances and Tom Brannan delivered a son, Waymond Grey Brannan, on July 10, 1894. Tom Brannan left Sarah Frances and their young son by the time he was two years old. When Sarah Frances married William West, she changed her son’s name to Eddie Waymond West. The children of West/Bellflower were: 1. Eddie West (born Eddie Brannan in Taledega, Ala, to Sarah Frances Bellflower and Tom Brannan) born July 10, 1894 died October 13, 1969. His wife was Elizabeth Rebecca Wright (known as Shug). She was born Feb. 10, 1885 and died Oct 6. 1969. They had two daughters (1) Nina Beatrice, pronounced Be-At-Tris, born Dec. 30, 1920, and died 1965; (2) Frances LaTrelle West born Aug. 18, 1923. LaTrelle still lives in Macon, Ga. 2. Estelle, probably born around 1898, choked on a peanut and died around age 2. 3. Mae born 1900. Mae married Cleve Pearson and they raised their children in Tifton, Ga. Their children were Aaron, twins Ruth Owen and Ruby Paulk, Buddy and Morris. Mae died when Morris was a baby by drinking poison. Cleve then married Varola. 4. Charles Ellis West born around 1900 (the 1910 census says 1902). His wife was Gladys Holt and they lived in Holly Hill, Fla. His children were Chester, Charles, Marie West Warren, and Evelyn West Jerkins. Evelyn West Jerkins and Tom Jerkins lived in Geneva, Ala., had two children: Kenneth Jerkins who married Wanda; and Brenda Jerkins Tidwell. Brenda married Nathan Tidwell. Evelyn died January 6, 1995. Her house burned March 1995. Marie West Warren died March 1995. Page 2 West or Grantham (Compiled by Frances W. Daly) Chester and his wife, Oveal, have three children: A son Terry, age 51, born Sept 1946, two daughters, Gail, age 45 and Debbie, age 39. Chester reminded me that Will and Sarah Frances had a daughter, Estelle, who choked on a peanut in Alabama before they moved to Georgia. Charles West lives in Florida. 5. Irene West Wright born May 11, 1903 and died April 26, 1984. She was married at age 12 to Bud Wright (Lamuel Clayton) Nov. 19, 1916 in Vienna, Ga (Dooly County). They lived and raised their family in Vienna, Ga., near Macon. They had 3 children who died at birth or an early age. Their children were: Lamuel Reuben Wright b Jan 19, 1918, died Jan 25, 1918 (6 days) Lamuel Clayton Wright, Jr., b Oct 21, 1923, died Oct 28, 1928 (5 Years) Velma Irene Wright b Aug 18, 1926, died Oct 30, 1928 (2 years) Delma Wright (a daughter) born Sept 27, 1929, died Feb 4, 1981 of cancer. Reuben Clayton (Smoky) Wright born Aug 16, 1932, died in March 20, 1997. Aubrey Lindon Wright born Feb 20, 1935, died June 19, 1994. Royce Wright born March 2, 1939, lives in Memphis, Tenn. Gary Wright born Oct 25, 1944, died Nov 1987. 6. Travis West born July 27, 1909, in Sylvester, Worth County, Georgia, and died March 1978 in Fulton County, Ga. Travis married Aurelle Corbitt West on August 3, 1941. Aurelle was born October, 24, 1917, in Atkinson County, Georgia, to Lester and Mattie Douglass Corbitt. Aurelle died January 8, 1986, in Fulton County, Georgia. Travis and Aurelle had two daughters: (1) Frances Travine West Daly born January 11, 1943. She married Paul David Daly on Nov. 21, 1964. They have 4 children and live in Maryland. Their children are: Paul Theodore (Ted) Daly born April 8, 1967. Ted married November 7, 1998 to Erin Newman of Cape St. Clair, MD. Jeffrey Travis Daly born September 4, 1970. Jeff married October 6, 1996 to Erin Talbert of Prince Georges Co, MD. Carolyn Rose (Carrie) Daly born May 22, 1976 in Magnolia (Columbia Co), Ark. and adopted April 23, 1978 through Arkansas Social Services. Carrie is married to Rob Smith and they have two young sons (Jacob b 1/28/96 and Robert b 1/23/98). Erin Maureen Daly born June 28, 1978 in Little Rock, Ark. Yes, there are now three Erin Dalys in this family. Page 3 West or Grantham (Compiled by Frances W. Daly) (2) Martha Dean West born October 30, 1945. She married Thomas Alan Hammond and they have 4 children. They were divorced in 1986. Mot lives in Riverdale, GA. Their children are: Kathryn Aurelle Hammond born March 23, 1967. Kathy is married to Thomas Blalock and they have one daughter, Katy Alexa b Sept 29, 1996. Scott Allan Hammond born June 7, 1969. Scott has one son Blake Alexander b December 2, 1993. Dian Travine Hammond born May 8, 1971. Dian married Richard Chamberlain Shaw on July 12, 1997. Ashley Ruth Hammond born May 6, 1978. 7. Clemmie was born to Sarah Frances and William West but Sarah Frances changed his name to Clemmie Wright when she married John Wright. Clemmie lived and raised his family in Texas. He is buried in Hebron Cemetery, Coffee County, Ga. After leaving his family in Georgia, probably around 1912 or 1915, William West went to Ohio looking for work. He rented a room from Jennie Knesabeck. They married and had two children: (1) Paul William West born October 12, 1921. Paul married Anna Mae from Indiana. They lived in Cleveland, Ohio. Anna Mae was a WAC. Paul died 6 years ago (1992). (2) Hazel “Jean” West born December 25, 1923, married Lawrence Otto Kaiser who was born May 18, 1924. Jean and Lawrence were married April 10, 1948, in Cleveland, Ohio. Aunt Jean died October 14, 1998. Jean’s two children are: a. David Lawrence Kaiser born June 19, 1956. b. Jeannie Diane Kaiser-Vilagi, born July 26, 1959. She is married to John Vilagi who was born December 11, 1956. They have two children from John’s previous marriage -- Amanda and Nicole. Will Grantham (West) returned to Alabama, probably around 1924, and operated a store/filling station in Oak Grove in Geneva County. Oak Grove is about halfway between Hartford and Geneva. A marriage certificate in Geneva County Courthouse shows that he and Lettie Jane Grantham were married October 23, 1925. Apparently, she had been married to a Grantham before because, in a warranty deed from her father, W. R. Palmer, in 1921, she was listed as his daughter, Lettie Jane Grantham. W. R. Palmer is listed in the 1870 census for Geneva County, age 35 Farmer, born in Georgia. His wife is Mary A. E., age 35 “keeping house”, born in Georgia. Their children listed are Frances M, age 15, female at home, John H., age 12, male at home, Mary A. E., age 10, female at home, William D., age 8, male at home, and Levi M., age 2, male at home. Page 4 West or Grantham (Compiled by Frances W. Daly) On September 4, 1935, Will Grantham and his wife, Lettie Jane, were brutally and gruesomely murdered in their store/home. Lettie Jane was from Samson. They are buried at Travelers’ Rest Cemetery just outside Samson. There were three colored men who confessed to the murder and were “tried and convicted”. Two were sentenced to the electric chair but their sentence was commuted to life in prison by the Governor by 1937. The third man originally was sentenced to life in prison because he waited outside while the other two beat their victims to death. All three men died in prison within a very few years. The Geneva Reaper very generously published by “request for help”. People who responded to my request: Betty Van Landingham. Betty told me that her father-in-law remembered that the Granthams owned a store in Oak Grove. They drove a Model A Roadster -- one of the very few in the area at that time. Brenda Jerkins Tidwell and her husband Nathan Tidwell. Evelyn West Jerkins died Jan. 6, 1995 and her house burned in March. She had much information regarding family history, including a family Bible, that was destroyed in the fire. Marie West Warren (Evelyn’s sister) died in March 1995, two months after Evelyn. Chester West . Charles West . Four ladies from the Geneva County Courthouse faxed me the original articles from 1935 and 1936 regarding the murder, arrest and trial. Courthouse # 334-684-2494. Carolyn Holloway, Sarah Ausley, Sandy Reagan, Shirley Skinner. They have been invaluable in my quest for knowledge. Sarah Lindsey Collins . When she was a little girl, they lived about a mile from the store. Every day her father went to the store in a mule and wagon. The children would run to the end of the lane to meet their father for a ride home. The day of the murder, her father returned home “white as a sheet” and did not stop for the children. He went straight home to tell his wife what he saw. Sarah didn’t know if he was the one who found them or if he just saw them. Her son, Franklin Lindsey, is the chief of police. Pastor Bernard Strickland, her brother. Buck Newsom called and shared his remembrances. Buck said he lives in Hartford about 20 miles from Traveler’s Rest at Samson. He offered to go to the cemetery and take a picture for me. Buck is 74 years old. Max Grantham told me that his grandfather “Pap” Grantham raised Will Grantham. He thought Will’s mother may have been a “Wood’s Colt.” Max was only 8 years old at Page 5 West or Grantham (Compiled by Frances W. Daly) the time of the murder. He is now 70 years old. Max’ father was George Grantham. Grace Wills Brannan mailed me an article from the Opp Ed newspaper from 1986 reviewing the 1935 murder. She told me that Will and Lettie Jane spent almost all their time in their store/home. They looked older than their years. He wore suspenders; she wore long dresses and her hair in a bun. They didn’t attend church. Harlan Booth called and passed along the name and telephone # of Neil Jerkins. Horace & Pamela Newman wrote me and telephoned me. Ben Davis told me that Pete Brooks had worked for his father as a handyman and lived on their property. Ben served in the USAF as a pilot. Now that he has retired from the Air Force, he is a cattle farmer in Geneva. Rev. Bernard Strickland phoned and mailed me the article requesting information. On September 5, he and his father arose very early to take a load of cotton to Geneva. As they passed the store, there was a large crowd so they stopped to see what was going on. Rev Strickland was 15 years old at the time. He did see the bodies and the inside of the store. He said the blood had run 25 feet or so across the room and down the steps. It was a horrible sight! So many people generously offered their assistance to me in my research that my husband, Paul, suggested we make a trip to Alabama which we did February 9 and 10, 1998. Monday, Feb. 9, we picked up Wanda and Kenneth Jerkins and went to Travelers’ Rest Cemetery where we were able to locate the two unmarked graves from my 40-45 year old memory. We did locate them but wanted “assurance.” Then we met Eldon Merritt, Samson Chief of Police, who took us directly to the graves. Chief Merritt is a retired Alabama State Patrolman who is very knowledgable in Alabama history and also interested in family history. He had been concerned for these two people and was pleased that they do have family who have an interest in them. He told us that in 1935 the Division of Law Enforcement would have been the investigators. The State Patrol was formed in 1937. He suggested that we visit “Jiggs” Coleman who still lives at Oak Grove. Tuesday, February 10, 1998, we visited Ernest L. (Jiggs) Coleman. My only regret here is that I didn’t take a tape recorder. Jiggs had many memories of “Uncle” Will and “Aunt” Lettie. While I took notes and listened, I cannot possibly repeat the stories with the affection and humor that emanated from Jiggs Coleman. The store was a regular daily event for the farmers in the surrounding area. On the morning of the murder, their father had arisen around 3 am and took a load of cotton to Geneva. Bill Farmer had been at their house helping them to pick cotton. It was the last day that Bill Farmer would be working for them and he was leaving that Page 6 West or Grantham (Compiled by Frances W. Daly) day. Before Jiggs and his brother, Dupree, began their chores; Dupree went to the store for some cigarettes. There was a window in back with a curtain. The Granthams would look out the curtain when they weren’t open. If they knew the customer, they would let them in; if they didn’t, they ignored them. That morning the curtain was pulled back and Dupree was the first to look in and find them on the floor. The door was not open at that time so he did not go in. The Granthams operated both stores. The older store was used for storage and living quarters. There was a school house located behind the store and there was a dirt road that went between the two stores. After the murder, no one would admit being related to them. Not the Palmers or the Granthams so Jigg’s mother, Mrs. Coleman, went in to clean up the store. While she was cleaning Mrs. Coleman said, “ we might as well clean around those syrup buckets hanging on the wall.” As she moved the buckets, one was especially heavy. When they opened the bucket, they found $1700. All of a sudden everyone was related to them -- the Dosiers, Cobbs, Phelps, Carters, Palmers and Granthams. When the children Ellis, Travis and Irene arrived for the funeral; the local “relatives” said “Where in the hell did they come from!!!!” Jiggs was born Jan. 14, 1917. He and Evelyn Jerkins had the same birthdate. His brother, Dupree, was born in 1913. His father was William Duncan Coleman. At the time of the murder, Travis was 26 years old, Jiggs was 18 years old and Dupree was 22 years old. He said Travis drove the roadster up and down the roads. I can picture Daddy sporting around the roadster as they were scarce at that time and he did like to “ride around”. Jiggs said that Aunt Irene was a pretty little thing. Uncle Will and Aunt Lettie were really nice people unless you owed them money; then they’d cuss you. Frank Hall, deputy sheriff, was instrumental in the investigation. He lay under the suspects’ house for 3 weeks trying to hear incriminating evidence. One night they were drunk and started to brag about the murder. Frank Hall overheard it and it gave them the evidence they needed to catch them. They had been questioned before and had “alibis”. Harrison Brooks was in jail and bragged to other inmates, then he confessed. Elisha (Pete) Brooks and Booker T. Washington finally admitted their parts after Frank Hall “camped” under their house. At one time Palmer was pronounced Pal-mer and Grantham was pronounced Grant-ham. Oscar and Coot Grantham lived across the dirt road in a square block building. Oscar Grant-ham (they called him Possee) said, you know that I’m the only Grant-ham left. All the rest are Grantham, even my brother Coot is a Grantham. Jean Broxson and her daughter now operate Oak Grove Mall Restaurant in a new building directly on the site of the old store/living quarters. Mrs. Broxson gave Page 7 West or Grantham (Compiled by Frances W. Daly) some interesting analogies as she read the account of the murder. For example: It was a farming community so it would be easy to tell that the photo was taken the day of the murder. Farmers would be wearing overalls and would not be wearing shirts and ties; so most of the people in the photo were from out of town. As for his not using banks, many people at that time did not trust banks because of the losses many had suffered when banks closed during the Depression. Regarding him carrying rolls of large bills -- most of the money you get is in small bills or change so you go to the bank and exchange them for large bills if you don’t have a checking account. You must keep money on hand to pay your salesmen or suppliers. If you don’t have a checking account, then you must have cash. Sarah Frances Bellflower West Wright was born Dec 13, 1876 to John Bart Bellflower and Mary Jane Dupree in Georgia (probably Worth County). She died March 6, 1936. She was married to William West in 1896. He was her second husband. Then she married John Arthur Wright and, between them, they had 11 children. Her brother Jesse Belflower married Aunt Shug’s sister Smantha Wright. Aunt Shug and Smantha were cousins to John Wright. The parents of Lamuel Clayton (Bud), Evona Deloney, Aunt Shug and Samantha Wright were Reuben Evans and Samantha Rebecca Yawn. When Uncle Eddie was around 16 years old, he went to live with his grandparents Belflower. John Bart Belflower, father of Sarah Frances, was born in Leon County, Fla., in 1844. Died in Dooly County, GA on Jan 4, 1918. He was listed in the “Roster of Confederate Soldiers in Georgia”, Vol. IV on page 757. Enlisted as a private in Co. A, 7th Regiment Ga. State Troops, Nov. 16, 1861. Mustered out May 1862. Enlisted as a private in Co. C, 55th Regt Ga. Inf May 3, 1862. Captured at Cumberland Gap, Tenn. Sept 9, 1863. Released at Camp Douglas, Ill. June 13, 1865. He received a pension for infirmity and poverty 1908 and 1909 in Worth County. His pension was transferred to Dooly County in 1909. John B. Belflower was married Dec. 20, 1866 in Dooly Co, Ga., to Mary Jane Elizabeth Dupree. Mary Jane Dupree Belflower was born c1845 and died April 15, 1921. Their children were: Mary Eletha Bellflower (Leithie) born c 1870 Missouri Bellflower b c1868 Jesse Dary (JD) Bellflower, m Samantha Wright Sara Frances Bellflower b Dec 13, 1876 and died March 6, 1936. She was married 1st to Tom Brannan and had one son who was raised as Eddie Waymond West. 2nd to William Henry Moses West (Grantham) 3rd to John Arthur Wright.