The children of Martha ―Mattie‖ Lovelace and Thomas Tucker ―T.T.‖ Alexander:

James William "Bill" Alexander. (MARTHA LOVELACE9, JAMES ALBERT

8, SAMUEL

7, BARTON

6,

BENJAMIN5, JOHN

4, THOMAS

3, WILLIAM

2, UNKNOWN

1). He was born in August, 1869 in Tennessee,

and died some time after 1939. He was called variously by the nicknames "Willie" ―Bill‖

and ―Alec‖. A future project is to try to track down his vital statistics.

He married the former Lula Reed, probably in Cobb County, Georgia, ca. 1890. She was

born in October 1869 in Georgia, a daughter of William and Mary Reed.

―Bill‖ Alexander later (1895) moved with his family to Dallas, Texas, and was a

successful minor-league baseball player, at one time for the "Oil City Oilers", the

Corsicana (Dallas, Texas) team, which was part of the "Texas League". Bill‘s son Walt

Alexander also played baseball, for five years (1912-1917), for the major-league St.Louis

Browns and the New York Yankees [q.v.].

Here follows a reprint of an article from the internet (detailing events of the 1902 season),

which can be found at the site

http://www.attheyard.com/InRetrospect/article_699.shtml :

1902: Corsicana's Finest Hour, by Brad Del Barba

Corsicana's player-manager Big Mike O'Connor.

The details are as fuzzy as the images left behind, but the record stands for

all to admire. The year was 1902 and the Texas league reinvented

itself with six clubs taking stock in the Class D circuit. With the "oil

boom" sweeping through the Longhorn State, J. Doak Roberts saw the

opportunity to bring professional baseball to Corsicana.

Armed with oil money, Roberts enlisted veteran manager Big Mike

O'Connor to guide the Oil City Oilers for their inaugural campaign. The

Oilers would feature future major-league infielders J. Walter Morris and

Hunter Hill, along with the league's top hurler, William "Lucky" Wright.

Texas League veterans from an earlier era, Ike Pendleton and third

baseman George Markey, also graced the roster.

The Oilers grabbed an early lead in the standings, as fans crowded into Oil

City Park, situated on the south side of town. Along the way one

miscalculation on Roberts' behalf arose, as the owner mistakenly

scheduled a game against [the] Texarkana ["Casketmkers"] on Sunday,

June 15 [1902]. Local "blue laws" prohibited most businesses from

operation on Sundays, leaving the owner in a quandary.

After taking inventory of options, Roberts found that Ennis, a town 35

miles to the north, had a ballpark and no blue laws. With the promise of a

split gate, Texarkana and Corsicana played in a ballpark that saw the right-

field foul pole reach a distance reported to be anywhere from 140 feet to

210 feet from the home plate.

Taking the mound for the Casketmakers was a pitcher named DeWitt, who

was either the owner of the Texarkana club or the owner's son, as reports

are sketchy. Nevertheless, DeWitt took the mound in what was to be the

greatest whipping in Texas League history.

The star of the day turned out to be catcher Jay Justin Clarke, a 19-year-

old Canadian who dark complexion led to his un-politically correct

nickname of "Nig." The left-handed swinger found the cozy conditions at

the Ennis ballpark much to his liking, as Clarke enjoyed one of the biggest

offensive days ever in the history of minor league ball.

Clarke's outburst included EIGHT home runs in eight at-bats, as the

catcher drove in anywhere from 16 to 20 runs on the day, according to

various reports. Legend has it that a wealthy cattleman came out of the

stands and pressed a $50 bill into Clarke's hand, while the traditional

passing of the hat which accompanied home runs netted $185 for the

young slugger that day.

Corsicana's Bill Alexander and Pendleton each reportedly collected eight

hits in the game, while Malarkey and player-manager O'Connor both

scored seven runs. At the end of the titanic struggle that lasted a reported

two hours and 10 minutes, Corsicana routed Texarkana, 51-3!

While no box scores can accurately determine the validity of the day,

former Texas League historian William Ruggles substantiated the claims

in a series of interviews. Clarke confirmed the account, as the day was his

greatest of his 25-year playing career, which included nine seasons in the

majors.

Corsicana would proceed to finish the season 86-22, capturing first place

by a whopping 28-1/2 games ahead of the second-place Dallas Griffins.

The Oilers established Texas League team records for most runs (51), hits

(53), singles (26) and home runs (21) in the drubbing. Clarke's records for

home runs and RBIs still stand as individual marks that will most likely

never be equaled.

Though the Corsicana franchise would eventually fold following the 1905

season, history was made on June 15, 1902, enabling the Oilers and Jay

Justin Clarke to live atop the annals in Texas League history.

[emphasis added]

Another web-site, at

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/history/top100.jsp?idx=51

while relating essentially the same account as given above, also provides a little more

biographical detail concerning James William "Bill" Alexander, in addition to a 1902

photograph of him with his team-mates (shown below):

He played second base (mainly) and sometimes doubled

as catcher. He "played 15 seasons with nine teams and

holds the Texas League record for the longest span

between his first and last appearances, 34 years (1895,

1929)." In the 1902 season mentioned above (with the

Oil City Oilers of Corsicana), his stats were as follows:

"position: second base, catcher," "GP: 42," "batting

average: .250" In the 1902 game described above, he

had one home run and eight hits. His team-mates

referred to him as "Alec" Alexander. In the above

photo, we are not yet sure which one of the men is him.

From the above stats, a basic outline of his career is observable: He moved to Texas and

began his career in 1895 at the age of 26 (his last child had been born in Marietta in

April, 1894); His last appearance as a professional ball player in a game was in 1929,

when he was at the astonishing age of 60!

I am in possession of a photograph of him some ten years later, in 1939 (when he would

have been seventy). The occasion was perhaps the death and funeral of his brother Dr.

Omer R. Alexander in Marietta, Georgia. The photograph is a group photo, including the

then-retired Bill Alexander, two unidentified ladies presumed to be his wife and a

daughter, his sister Lillie May (Alexander) McConnell, and his half-sister Hattie

(Alexander) Dobbins. The printed date on the reverse side is "February 28, 1939". In the

photograph, he is tall and lanky, with his hands crossed in front of his belt-line, and bears

more than a passing resemblance to my Dad and even to myself—which is interesting,

considering our rather remote relationship from him. Note also the strong resemblance

he bears both to his late uncle, Evan Loveless, and to his (Bill‘s) nephew Jack G. Kelly.

Nothing of Bill Alexander is known at present after this 1939 photograph was taken.

1902 Corsicana team

James William “Bill” Alexander (born 1869) in the 1939 photo with his siblings.

Though I have not been able to determine when or where he died, an entry in the U.S.

Social Security Death Index may possibly refer to him: ―James Alexander, born 30

August, 1869 [no location listed]; died July 1963 in Dallas, Texas.‖ [This man was

almost 94 years old.] This was the only person by this name listed in this index who was

born in 1869 and who died in Texas. Given the fact that Bill was healthy and fit enough

to still play in a professional ballgame at the age of sixty in 1929, that he may have lived

to the age of 93 is not impossible. (His sister Lillie in fact did live to be 93—and she was

no fit and active ballplayer.)

The April, 1947 obituary for his brother Greer, however, does not list him as a surviving

relative. Only his wife is mentioned: ―Mrs. J.W. Alexander, Dallas, Texas.‖ Unless that

was a mistake, it would seem to indicate that Bill had died prior to April, 1947. Further

research in this area is definitely needed.

Dr. Omer Rocellous Alexander, Sr. (MARTHA LOVELACE9, JAMES ALBERT

8, SAMUEL

7, BARTON

6,

BENJAMIN5, JOHN

4, THOMAS

3, WILLIAM

2, UNKNOWN

1). He was born on 19 November, 1872, in

Cobb County, Georgia, and died on 27 January, 1939, at the Meese Hospital in Dunedin,

Pinellas County, Florida. The Florida Death Records Index confirms that he died in

Pinellas County, Florida. He (like his siblings) was raised in the Fair Oaks section of

Marietta. His father‘s (second) house—in which Omer was raised--was just across the

road on Austell Road from where the Forrest C. Brooks home would later be built (the

home of his half-sister and brother-in-law).

Dr. O. R. Alexander, Sr. graduated in 1891 from the old Atlanta Medical College (which

later became part of Emory University). This is according to his youngest son Henry,

from a telephone conversation I had with him around 1989.

He married Willie Pearl McAfee in Cobb County, Georgia on 13 November, 1895. She

was born on 3 June, 1878 in District 34 (Lemon‘s), Cobb County, Georgia, a daughter of

Robert Newton McAfee and his wife Armanda Eva Merritt. She died on 19 March, 1973,

in Fulton County, Georgia, long after her late husband‘s passing.

Again according to his son Henry, Dr. O. R. Alexander was a M.D. and a pharmacist,

with an office in Smyrna, Georgia. According to a ‗family legend‘ reported by Jack L.

Alexander, Dr. Alexander also operated as a dentist: ―while [his] brother Greer was

visiting on one occasion, he (Greer) was asked to look after the office while Dr. Omer

went on an errand.‖ A little while later, ―a man came into the office and insisted that his

pain-causing tooth be pulled immediately.‖ So Greer obliged him by pulling the tooth.

But when Dr. Alexander at last returned, it turned out to be the wrong tooth that had been

pulled!

Dr. Alexander moved to Winter Haven, Florida some time prior to 1903, as his son

Robert was born that year in Florida.

Years ago, I remember an Alexander cousin (Charlotte McCoy Earwood) telling me a

story to the effect that one of the children of Thomas Tucker Alexander [1850-1929] used

to bring him citrus fruits from Florida as occasional gifts when he (Thomas) was an

elderly man. It was probably his son Dr. Omer R. Alexander who did this, as he did in

fact live in Florida for a number of years, and Jack Alexander reports that Dr. Alexander

did, in fact, own an orange grove in Florida.

The descendants of Dr. Omer R. Alexander will be listed below.

India Isabel “Izzie” Alexander. (MARTHA LOVELACE9, JAMES ALBERT

8, SAMUEL

7, BARTON

6,

BENJAMIN5, JOHN

4, THOMAS

3, WILLIAM

2, UNKNOWN

1). She was born on 16 June, 1874, in Cobb

County, Georgia. She married Zephediah "Zeph" Hooper on 21 December, 1890

(probably also in Cobb County), who was born in September 1859, in Lemon's District,

Cobb County, Georgia, a son of Hiram W. Hooper and his wife Frances Caroline

Johnson. Izzie had five children, and died young (like her mother) at the age of twenty-

eight, on 26 April, 1903, in Goddard, Marion County, Alabama, about two months after

having given birth to her last child (Hice). Marjorie Brown Morehead, however, insists

that Izzie (her grandmother) died near Kensington, Walker County, Georgia. This town

apparently no longer exists—it is not on any map that I‘ve seen. Marjorie (who is of as

sound a mind as anyone I‘ve ever seen—even in her eighties) seems pretty darned sure of

this statement. I‘m therefore inclined to accept her word.

A rare photograph of India Isabel “Izzie” Alexander, wife of “Zeph” Hooper, with

her eldest child Mattie Lee, ca.1892. Note the strong resemblance to her sister Lillie.

Zephediah “Zeph” Hooper, husband of India Isabel

“Izzie” Alexander.

George T. Alexander. (MARTHA LOVELACE9, JAMES ALBERT

8, SAMUEL

7, BARTON

6, BENJAMIN

5, JOHN

4,

THOMAS3, WILLIAM

2, UNKNOWN

1). He was born on 13 July, 1876, in Cobb County, Georgia,

and died on 10 January, 1878, also in Cobb County. He lies buried beside his parents at

the Milford Church cemetery. One wonders if he died from Leukemia, like his brother

Greer later would. It is so very sad to visit his grave, or view this photo of him, as he was

such a beautiful and promising child. His death must have deeply grieved his parents.

Close-up of the only

known photo of baby

George T. Alexander,

circa December 1876

(note the hole in his

stocking!)

Greer Montgomery Alexander, Sr. (MARTHA LOVELACE9, JAMES ALBERT

8, SAMUEL

7, BARTON

6,

BENJAMIN5, JOHN

4, THOMAS

3, WILLIAM

2, UNKNOWN

1). He was born on 3 November, 1878 in Cobb

County, Georgia, and died on 2 April, 1947, also in Cobb County. He was a carpenter by

profession, and married twice, first to Grace Lizzie Bundt, ca.1898 in Cobb County, and

second to Mary Alva Beatrice Horn Shaw, on 17 April, 1910, in Marietta, Cobb County.

Greer Montgomery Alexander (1878-1947)

Circa 1897 (?)

Approximately age nineteen.

Greer had several children, and many of his descendants still live in Cobb County. His

youngest (and last-surviving) child Jack will be 90 years old in the year 2012—should

God grant him to live that long.

Grace Lizzie Bundt was born in 1878 in Cobb County, and died in 1907 in Cobb County.

Mary Alva Beatrice Horn, a daughter of Van Vert Horn II and his wife Hettie Parizade

Duckett, was born 25 December, 1880, in De Kalb County, Alabama, and died 18

August, 1966, in New Orleans, Louisiana. She lies buried in Kennesaw Memorial Park,

Marietta, Georgia.

In 1923 Greer and Mary moved from the Horn farm on Austell Road in

Cobb County to Atlanta, where they lived until 1935 when they returned

to care for her mother. Greer died in 1947, [in] Marietta, Cobb County,

Georgia, [and is] buried [at] Milford [Baptist] Church, Cobb County,

Georgia. While there is no tombstone to mark his grave, Greer is known

to be buried in the Milford cemetery, and it is thought that his grave is just

outside and beside the long cement curbed plot of [his father] T.T.

Alexander. (per Jack Alexander)

Greer Montgomery Alexander (1878-1947)

circa 1897 (age nineteen?)

His widow Mary later lived with a daughter in New Orleans.

While Mary was with her daughter in Louisiana, the [Greer Alexander]

home place remained unoccupied until her death in 1966, at which time

her oldest son [from a previous marriage] Charles Shaw inherited the

property. (ibid.)

Greer Montgomery Alexander (1878-1947),

circa 1889, at the approximate age of eleven.

Greer worked at his carpenter‘s profession until about the end of World War II, at which

time he gradually became sick. He began to be unsteady on his feet, and subject to

passing out, so his wife Mary made him stop working, according to their son Jack,

because his profession required him to be up on ladders, high off the ground at times, and

his wife didn‘t want him to have a bad fall. At the time, no one knew what was wrong

with him, and according to his son Jack, no doctor in Cobb County was then capable of

diagnosing what was wrong with him. So Greer‘s oldest daughter Fay, who then lived in

California and whose husband was in the U.S. Army, got him admitted to an Army

hospital out in California for tests. The family back in Cobb County put Greer on a plane

to California for this purpose—probably the only time in Greer‘s life he had ever flown

on an airplane. The result of the tests confirmed that Greer had Leukemia.

Greer’s boarding pass

for his flight to

California in 1946, so he

could be examined at the

Army hospital.

Greer’s 1937 Social

Security card.

Greer’s 1942 Draft

Registration card

(front).

(rear).

(following page) Letter from the Army staff doctor who examined Greer in 1946:

The bill for Greer’s funeral and burial in 1947. Albert M. Dobbins was, of course,

Greer’s brother-in-law.

In happier times: Greer with his second wife Mary in 1929 at the occasion of the

wedding of their daughter Mary Frances to Albert A. Guest.

Greer and second wife Mary with granddaughter Judy in 1945.

Lillie May Alexander. (MARTHA LOVELACE9, JAMES ALBERT

8, SAMUEL

7, BARTON

6, BENJAMIN

5, JOHN

4,

THOMAS3, WILLIAM

2, UNKNOWN

1). She was born on 24 April, 1881, in Marietta, Cobb County,

Georgia, and died on 7 August, 1974, in East Point, Fulton County, Georgia. Without a

single exception, the people who remembered her in the decades after her death spoke of

her as a tall, graceful, elegant, and stunningly beautiful lady: ―It‘s a good thing she was a

Christian. …‖ said her granddaughter Barbara Newton once. And a Christian she was,

indeed: a fine, graceful, beautiful Christian lady.

Lillie May Alexander (1881-1974)

Circa 1897 (?) Approximately age sixteen.

Lillie May was raised in the Fair Oaks

section of Marietta, and lived in her father‘s

household there until her first marriage in

1902. Thereafter, Lillie lived in Carrollton,

Georgia (where her first husband was from,

and where her son Jack would be born in

1905). By 1915, Lillie May was residing in

Haleyville, Alabama (where her daughter

Martha would be born that year). In the

1920s, Lillie and family were residing at a

home in Atlanta, at 246 Stewart Avenue

SW (until at least 1925, when her first

husband died there). Lillie had moved back

to Haleyville, Alabama for several years,

about 1929—she and daughter Martha were

in the 1930 census there, and Martha

graduated from the high school there in

1933, and in the later 1930s and 1940s,

Lillie resided in various homes back in Atlanta, first at 1440 Lakewood Avenue SW (in

1937), then at 922 Stewart Avenue SW, then at 556 Grant Street SE, and finally at 989

Deckner Avenue SW. It was in this final residence that I remember seeing her, when I

was a small boy in the 1960s.

Lillie May married first, on 26 October 1902, in Cobb County, Georgia, Henry Persons

"Top" Kelly (1876-1925), a printer and newspaper editor who was born in Carrollton,

Georgia, the youngest son of John McPherson Berrien Kelly and his wife Sarena Ann

Gilbert. ―Top‖ Kelly died of Cancer in his home on Stewart Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia, at

the age of forty-eight (perhaps due to his heavy cigar-smoking). I do not yet know how

or where Lillie first met him.

Lillie May remarried ca.1930 to Kendred Balatka

"Mr.K.B." McConnell, of Haleyville, Alabama. He was

born in May of 1867, and was perhaps a friend or

associate of her late first husband, as they had resided in

Haleyville while he (―Top‖ Kelly) was still living.

Kendred B. McConnell and his wife Lillie May appear in

the old Atlanta City Directories as follows: in 1937, he

was listed as a ―clerk‖ working for Southern Feed Stores,

and was residing at 1440 Lakewood Avenue SW,

Atlanta—possibly the same house where Lillie‘s son Jack

Kelly was residing at the time. By 1940, Kendred and

Lillie were living at 922 Stewart Avenue SW, in the

household of Lillie‘s daughter Martha and son-in-law

Homer. There, they continued to reside until after 1941.

Kendred‘s occupation in 1940 was given as ―salesman‖,

whereas in 1941 he was a clerk again. In 1942, with a

new job (at the age of seventy-five) with a company

called Kitchens Feed Store, Kendred apparently felt

secure enough to move himself

and Lillie back out on their own—this time to a house at

556 Grant Street SE, Atlanta. My Dad has told me that

Lillie May ca. 1900 this was a rented duplex apartment.

There they continued to reside until about the early part of 1949, at which time—perhaps

due to loss of his job—they moved back in with Lillie‘s daughter Martha—this time with

her new husband, Ralph Bunn. Kendred‘s job description changed rapidly during those

(apparently troubled) years: he appeared variously as a driver, helper, clerk, and

salesman.

Lillie May with four-year-old daughter Martha

in 1919 at Atlanta’s Grant Park.

Evidently, ―Mr. K.B.‖ was bothered by some

things which troubled his peace of mind, as he

(sadly) committed suicide in Atlanta's Grant

Park (where the Zoo now is) on 20 December,

1949, causing much silent, unspoken tragedy in

his family for many years. My Dad Frank has

told me several times how, on the day ―Mr.

K.B.‖ shot himself, he first spoke to Frank‘s

mother Martha (Kendred‘s daughter-in-law),

who then came into twelve-year-old Frank‘s

sick-room (he was home from school that day

due to illness) and informed him: ―Mr. K.B.

wants to say good-bye to you.‖ And then

(according to my Dad) Kendred slowly came

into the room—like a ghost, and said, in a flat,

emotionless voice: ―Good-bye, Frank.‖ My Dad

said that, although he didn‘t realize at the time

what was about to happen, he could easily tell

that his step-grandfather Kendred‘s thoughts on

that brief occasion seemed a thousand miles

away. Obviously, he was looking directly into

eternity at that moment. Had he perhaps intimat-

Lillie May with daughter Martha, ed to his daughter-in-law Martha what he was

ca 1916. about to do?

Martha‘s comment to her son Frank about ―Mr. K.B.‖ wanting to say ―good-bye‖

opens an uncomfortably great, wide space for a number of troubling questions—

questions I personally would rather not even consider. I will only say that I feel only

the utmost compassion and sorrow for this poor man who was obviously chased by some

sort of demons to the point of deciding to take his own life, thereby causing much pain

for those who loved him and whom he left behind. He was eighty-two years old. He

should have lived out his last years in peace and happiness. What went wrong?

My Dad‘s first cousin Barbara Newton (daughter of Jack Kelly and granddaughter of

Lillie) provided the answer to this puzzle:

It seems that sometime during the year 1949, Lillie had what appeared to be a ‗psychotic‘

episode: Barbara‘s father Jack received a telephone call one evening from ―Mr. K.B.‖

(his step-father), informing him that his (Jack‘s) mother Lillie was lying on her bed

saying that she was ―flying in Heaven with the Angels‖ and not otherwise normally

responding to people around her, or to questions put to her. In other words, she appeared

to be ―out of it‖. An Ambulance was called, and Lillie was taken out of the house

(perhaps her daughter Martha‘s house—where she was staying about that time), in a

catatonic state. Lillie ended up not recovering from her psychotic, delusional state for

some time (about a year), and ended up being committed ―for about a year,‖ according to

Barbara, in the State Mental Hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia. It was while housed

there (and still in a state of psychosis) that Lillie received a visit from her husband, ―Mr.

K.B.‖. According to Barbara Newton, when ―Mr. K.B.‖ walked into his wife‘s room, the

only thing she said to him was ―Who are you, and why are you here?‖ Barbara said that

this broke Mr. McConnell‘s heart—evidently he loved his wife very much, and was

devastated to see her in this state. Barbara believes that ―Mr. K.B.‖ was of the opinion

that his wife was never coming back to sanity at that point, for only a few days after that

ill-fated visit (and only a few days before Christmas), he went out to Grant Park, sat

down on a park bench, placed a loaded revolver in his mouth, and pulled the trigger.*

Barbara told me recently that she has always been sad at Christmastime, and she now

realizes it was because of this sad event which happened just before Christmas, 1949,

when she would have been about ten years old.

Kendred‘s step-daughter Martha (Kelly) Bunn wanted the grandchildren to attend his

funeral, but (according to Barbara) her father Jack--normally a quiet, unassuming man--

―put his foot down‖ and said an emphatic ―No!‖ He felt that it would be a very sad

occasion, and not suitable for young children. He did not want to run the risk of scarring

them for life by allowing them to witness something like that. And—in one of the rare

times in her life when she actually listened to and obeyed her brother—Martha

acquiesced.

My father Frank has also said of Kendred that he was the best story-teller for young

children that he (Frank) could remember. Frank said that Kendred could take a child

into his lap and literally keep him enthralled for hours with tales of Jesse James and other

outlaws and bandits, some of whom Kendred claimed (perhaps with a little exaggeration)

to have known personally.

Many centuries ago, the wise Roman sage Seneca once wrote words to the effect that no

man can rightly judge his neighbor, because none of us is ever in the position to be able

to see into that person‘s heart, to know all the pains and sorrows, tragedies and triumphs,

which motivate men to their actions. How can any of us judge or condemn Kendred for

what he did? We do not know how much pain and suffering that man might have had to

endure. We really and truly have no idea. We can only agree that it was a tragedy for all

involved.

* My father Frank has told me that many years after this tragedy (sometime in the late

1960s or early 1970s), Ralph Bunn gave this cursed revolver to Frank for Frank to

dispose of as he saw fit, which thing my Dad (Frank) says he promptly did.

A rare photograph of the young Kendred Balatka “K.B.” McConnell.

Lillie May Alexander (1881-1974)

Photographed circa the 1940s

We know at the very least that Kendred cannot have been a bad person deep inside, given

the fact that he inspired love and devotion among those who knew and remembered him:

my Dad Frank is now nearly seventy years old himself, yet still struggles to hold back

tears whenever he talks about his step-grandfather Kendred McConnell.

After this terrible tragedy (and after her release from confinement), Kendred‘s widow

Lillie May continued to reside with her daughter and son-in-law Martha and Ralph Bunn,

at their former residence at 989 Deckner Avenue SW, Atlanta, Georgia. She was never

told why her husband really died. I guess the family felt her mind was too fragile to

handle the truth. She was told he had died of a ―heart attack‖.

On a more positive note: Lillie May Alexander, besides being a beautiful Christian lady,

was also a gifted writer, and composed several poems, short, pithy anecdotes, kept a diary

(which I now possess) and wrote at least one religious tract entitled "In Green Pastures",

which was actually printed and published (I possess several original copies of it). She

also possessed a fine intellect and a mechanical

aptitude, which she passed on to several of her

descendants. Her granddaughter Dianne Byrd

has told me that on occasions when Lillie's

sewing machine might happen to quit working,

Lillie would simply take it apart, down to "nuts

and bolts", fix what was wrong, and then re-

assemble the whole thing.

Here‘s another short anecdote of hers:

―Well, now I want to tell you something

that will give you the ‗horse-

laugh‘—just a short time ago, my Missionary

Pres. Tried to prove by a room full of other

members right in my presence that I was the

prettiest woman that ever walked down the

aisle of our church. –―Just look at that face,‖

she said, and there I was, in a cheap

dress of the past, cheap shoes of other days that

were slightly [worn] down sideways at the heel;

fingers, eye-brows, and hair just like God made

them. All eyes flashed on me. No! It didn‘t

make me feel big; a rat-hole was all I needed.‖

This event perhaps took place in the 1930s or

Lillie May, ca. the 1940s. 1940s (see photo, next page).

Lillie May Alexander, alas, also had a life filled with much sorrow and suffering—some

of which has been mentioned above. Some of this is reflected in a few of her writings.

Her final, very senile years (after she fell and broke her hip) were spent in much squalor

and misery (mostly due to loneliness, senility, and physical infirmity) in a "nursing

home" in East Point, Georgia, which is where she finally, mercifully, passed away at the

age of ninety-three.

I remember all the ―old people‖ (surviving half-sisters and brothers-in-law) and all the

many cousins who attended her funeral in Atlanta in 1974 when I was an eleven-year-old

boy. I wonder now how many of them knew about her earlier ―problems‖. Her grandson-

in-law (at that time) the Rev. Kenny Fuller Sr. sang a solo rendition of ―Going Home‖. I

remember riding in the limousine with my parents and grandparents, following the

mighty black funeral hearse from the funeral chapel to the cemetery in Atlanta

(Westview). I was mightily impressed that my "Ban" (the nickname we called her by)

would have drawn such a large and impressive crowd, since her last years had been spent

largely in isolation, comforted only occasionally by visits from her daughter and

grandson "Frank" (my Dad). To his great credit, my Dad took my sister and I to see our

great-grandmother frequently in her final years, and I can truly appreciate it now. A

small boy at the time, I used to always hug her, tell her I loved her, and say (with childish

naïveté), ―I will always remember you.‖

This is how I remember her. Circa 1956 (?)

And indeed I have truly never forgotten her: she and her beautiful, sweet, gentle and

graceful spirit which influences me still. When I see tall, stately, and graceful trees—

especially oaks, her favorites, I feel her presence again. She used to take us children on

walks up the street from her house as far as the train tracks at the top of the hill on

Deckner Avenue. And then we would turn around and walk back home, she talking to us

and telling us stories the whole time. How I wish I could remember them now! Very

often, she would stop, pick up an acorn from the ground, remove the top of the acorn, and

tell us that this was ‗Jack‘, taking off his hat to the ladies! It was she who first taught me

the song ―Yankee Doodle‖, though I doubt I could now remember very many of the

words. Some of her pet phrases included ―tee-hee‖ whenever she felt like teasing

anyone, or the ancient English phrase ―la, la, la‖ whenever she wished to express

clucking dismay or regret. As mentioned below, whenever one of the baby great-

grandchildren might happen to choke and splutter momentarily while bottle-drinking,

Lillie would humorously and sardonically (but also gently and lovingly) comment,

―What‘s the matter? Did it have bones in it?‖

Close-up of the full-length

photo

(see succeeding pages)

taken around 1905. Here

she looks very much like

one of the so-called

“Gibson Girls” of the early

Twentieth Century (and

astonishingly lovely and

beautiful).

Photo of Lillie with her son Jack Kelly, ca. 1956, Atlanta, Georgia.

This is my favorite picture of both of them.