Franklin County TN Archives History .....Taylor-cabin December 14, 2010 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tn/tnfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Don Hill dhill@mail.dopm.uab.edu December 14, 2010, 5:33 am The Joe Taylor Cabin - Updated For some time, I thought Joe Taylor was a black man, primarily because he lived across the fence from a small community of black folks. Although, in census data, I found one or two black men with that name, I was unable to locate a Joe Taylor in the 1910, 1920, or 1930 censuses of southern middle Tennessee. His cabin, perhaps better described as a shack, was located at 35.3017N, 85.9534W, which is near the Elk River in northern Franklin County. It was sheltered in the shade of a large oak tree, which in the 1950s was about four feet in diameter. Apparently, Joe was allowed to live there and to farm about two acres to the south of this site by Will Oliver (1877-1954) in exchange for his help on Will’s farm. This area is still known as the “Joe Taylor place.” In 1930, Joe Carlton (July 18, 1901-May 13, 1933) and his bride, Margaret Henley (1910-?), were living in the cabin. They were married on October 10, 1926, in Grundy County. I have now learned that Joe Carlton, a white man, and Joe Taylor were the same person. The death certificate for Joe Carlton shows that his mother was Emma Taylor and his father was Alex Carlton. In those days, it was not unusual for children to be called by their mothers’ surnames, if their father had died or disappeared. Thus, Joe Carlton was called Joe Taylor. As shown below, in 1910, Joe Carlton was living with (James) Allen Hill, (1863- ca1930). In 1920, he was with his brother Will, and, in 1930, he was with his wife and son. 1910 Census (Franklin County, 9th District) The categories are: dwelling, name, relationship, sex, race, and place of birth. 158 Hill, Allen Head M W 50 TN Salley Wife F W 51 TN James Son M W 25 TN Rebeca Dau-in-law F W 29 TN James A. Grandson M W 1 TN Carlton, Joe Lodger M W 10 TN 1920 Census (Franklin County, 9th District) The categories are: dwelling, name, relationship, sex, race, marital status, and place of birth. 230 Carlton, Will Head M W 21 M TN Clemmie Wife F W 20 M TN Tressie M. F W 2 S TN Carlton, Joe Bro M W 14 S TN Joe’s brother, Will (1897-?), married Clemmie Lindsey (1898-?) on August 6, 1916. They later moved to Memphis. 1930 Census (Franklin County, 9th District) The categories are: dwelling, name, relationship, sex, race, and place of birth. 56 Carlton, Joe Head M W 28 TN Margaret Wife F W 20 TN Hulen Son M W 2 TN A daughter, Tennessee, was born about 1932. When Alzura Rutledge died on April 1, 1927, Joe notified Henry Brannon (1892- 1966) of her death (see http://files.usgwarchives.org/tn/franklin/bios/rutlege- alzura.txt). Joe and Margaret had two children, Hulen (1927-1997) and Tennessee (ca1931-?), before Joe died of tuberculosis. Joe was buried in the Hill Cemetery (35.295°N, 85.949°W). His casket was made of beaverboard, a cheap compressed wood. After the grave was dug, the workers were faced with the problem of lowering the casket into the hole. (Jess Hill, 1897-1968) removed the harness traces from his wagon, and these were placed under the casket. With four men holding the ends of the traces, the casket was moved over the hole. As they were lowering the casket, however, one of the traces broke, causing that end of the casket to plunge to the bottom and break open. The men, exhausted from digging the hole, now faced a more difficult problem. They could think of no reasonable way to pull the casket, with Joe’s remains, from the hole so that it could be repaired. Further, since Joe had died of tuberculosis, they did not want to handle the body. They made quick repairs and simply covered the casket with dirt and went home. His tombstone, recently uncovered, has the name “Joe Taylor.” No black person could have been buried in the Hill Cemetery. Margaret left the cabin, moved in with her mother, Tennessee Hill Henley (1878- 1936), and later married Alvin Coker (1909-1982). She and Alvin lived near Manchester and had one child, Wanda Lee (ca1936-?), who died young. Hulen and Tennessee died before 2005. After it was abandoned, the cabin was used by Will Oliver to store fodder. At times, Roosevelt Rankin stayed there, hiding in the fodder, to avoid the sheriff (see http://files.usgwarchives.org/tn/franklin/bios/rankin51gbs.txt). It burned about 1940. At present, there is no trace of the cabin; a small brier thicket covers the site. A few years ago, the giant oak tree fell, and William Henley (1926-present) cut it up for firewood. Where the tree stood, there is now only a depression about one foot deep and six feet across. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/franklin/history/other/taylorca39ms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/tnfiles/ File size: 5.1 Kb