This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7).
Snapshot: | committed numerous crimes; served several prison sentences |
Parents: | 28Hiram Wesley Brown 29Mary Lee Parlier |
Born: | 16 April 1910 almost certainly Carroll County, Georgia, although there are some contradictory records |
Died: | 23 February 1990 at 1:30 PM Ashburn Health Care (now PruittHealth Ashburn) nursing home, Turner County, Georgia |
Buried: | Wrights Chapel Cemetery, Worth County, Georgia Coordinates: N31.37163 W83.75391 |
I have several photos that include
This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7).
He had a stepmother, which was not, from what [[7]'s older sister Doris] said, was not that nice to the stepchildren. Now her own children, you know, she was, but not the stepchildren.To protect my privacy and security, the names of certain close relatives have been redacted.This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7).
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Although I haven't found their marriage certificate,
This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7).
This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7).
I remember going to Reidsville prison to see him. I was little. She got somebody, a neighbor, friend, whoever you want to call it to drive us there one time. And so anyway I can still remember the drive, the driveway to, and the prison I guess the main, probably the main part. The big old white building there.12
This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7).
We had gardens, and Mama canned a lot. You know, she canned tomatoes and beans and all that.
So [the sense of general community safety and trust around that time] was good, but anything else was bad because I mean, there was a shortage of everything.
We lived in old wooden houses with nothing, no heat except the fireplace, no running water, no electric.
Well, we went to school. Yeah, we rode the school bus, of course. And for the most part, I guess it was alright. But you know, the people with the little money was treated better than the poor people, of course. [...] And I was the poor one. [...] I went through high school all the way. And Mama would tell you just before school would start, she would sit us down, get a piece of paper and a pencil, and she would draw our foot on a piece of paper, take it into the store, buy our shoes. We never went to ___ [unclear] for shoes. [...] And so that's how she measured our foot for a shoe. [...] Well, you had to purchase your own supplies. Of course we didn't have no money. So, I mean, every time I'd run out of paper, I'd always hate it because I had to borrow it. It was embarrassing. It was awful. So, mainly paper, not so much pencils. Of course, we didn't use anything else. You know, paper and pencils, that was what we worked with.
And a lot of our clothes was made... back then they had huge, I don't know, maybe 25, 50 pound flour sacks that flour came in, you know, but they was pretty sacks. They had flowers on them. And so that one was emptied, well, the next in line would get the flower sacks, so they'd be made a dress. And so Mama would make us a dress out of them. [...] But anyway, so that's what our clothes were made out of, was flour sacks. Of course, they faded easy, you know.
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This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7).
I can remember him beating [[7]'s brother] James one time with a hickory switch, and he had strips of blood across his back. And do you know that Momma never the first time come in there to make him stop. She never the first time come in there when he got through beating him and checked on him. Me and Joel took care of him, took care of all those bloody strips. Can you believe it? That a woman would let a man do that to their kid? She never, ever defended us against him. Never. Never.To protect my privacy and security, the names of certain close relatives have been redacted.This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7).
Put me in the bed. Well, he'd start beating on me, and I was just a baby in the bed. Faye'd come in there and get me, take me, and put me in the bed. Of course they didn't have rubber diapers or stuff like that to wear. So when I peed, I'd just pee on the mattress. I'd pee and move over in the dress box, and she'd get in my pee. That's a hard one. That was so sweet. She was ten and a half years older than me. Yeah. So she was young. She was real young to do that, you know.
But that's why I say mama was so much like him because he did the mean things mostly, but she never defended her kids whatsoever. Right. None. None.
[When asked whether 15Evelyn failed to intervene simply because she feared
14 Fred:] She could beat the shit out of him. She was strong. She had muscles. She's the one that went and collected the wood up for the stove in the fireplace. Not him. She was strong. She had muscles. Not him.And then every night, her and him both would roll five cigarettes up and lay them beside the bed so they could smoke through the night. It's a wonder the house hadn't burned down. Really, I mean this is five cigarettes each. They smoked through the night. This is these old strong tobacco. You know, he smoked Country Gentleman, she smoked Prince Albert. But yeah, they'd get that old little tissue paper and roll them cigarettes up.
When I was little, every weekend, every weekend from Friday to Sunday he was drunk. And every time he drank he was that much meaner. Daddy always drank that mean whiskey. [...] he was always drunk. I mean he'd pile up in the bed and cuss and carry on. He had the little man syndrome. He did. He did, made him feel powerful. One time... Oh, he was short.
One time when I was probably seven or eight, I don't really know that age, but anyways I was old enough to remember it. We didn't have anything at all to play with except a ball, an old hollow ball. If you got a hole in it, you might as well throw it away because you couldn't pump it up; you didn't have a pump. So we was throwing it up against the chimney, playing. And I guess he was in bed trying to sleep through the daytime. "Y'all don't quit hitting that ball up against the chimney, I'm gon' cut it in two." Well, we didn't stop. He cut it in two. That was our last toy.
Well, Daddy always threatens everybody with the knife. He always kept the knife in his pocket.
I know one time when, and I can remember this still to this day, and I had to have been, I had to have been really little. Him and mom was fighting, beating each other, they was on the floor fighting, I mean, going at it. Faye, the oldest one, ten and a half years older than me, she goes in the kitchen, and she gets the butcher knife, and she comes back in there, and she stabs him in the back. And so I can remember I can remember Mama laying him on the floor and getting a pillow and puttin' under his head, had Doris walk to the—This was in Eason Hill—had Doris walk to the store to call the ambulance. And they came back and got him in the ambulance. I can't remember that part really. But I remember after it happened I went, we went to bed after it happened. And I can remember, I can remember off in the waaaay distance of hearing this train whistle. [...] He left her [Faye] alone after that. [...] She said something just snapped in her, and she just went in there. Had had enough. [...] And, you know, of course, the thing is, here all the little kids was terrified, screaming, you know, because they're so scared, and them two rolling on the floor.
My whole life, my whole life, I never, my Mama never told me she loved me. Never. Never. My whole life. Daddy only told me probably within maybe six months to eight months before he died, he told me, because he called me on the phone one day, and then he told me. But she never, to my knowledge she never did [tell] any of us. [...] Well, she didn't care about any of us really. She was not an affectionate person at all. I can put it like that. I think the only one she ever cared about was him. I really did. He come first and foremost, and that was it.
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This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7).
And then we moved from Cave Spring, all this area up in here, down to Sylvester. [...] and Daddy did pulpwood. [...] And so we moved down there, which I realize now was probably a big mistake. He should have stayed up in this area, but he had to make a living, I guess. So anyway, that's why we moved from up here down there was on account of the job, and it wasn't any better down there. In fact, it was probably worse down there because it was hotter, too. Yeah. I mean, we lived in virtual shacks really. It really is.I can remember moving from up here down to South Georgia, and everything's loaded in the back of this big truck, and we standing in the back of it, and the wind a-blowin' and I'm like ... the... the knots and stuff won't ever get out of my hair from all the wind tossing around. [...] Well, obviously he got somebody to move it because we didn't have a truck.
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In 1954
In 1955 he was sentenced to 8 months (or a $175 fine, which he apparently couldn't pay) for driving under the influence. When he arrived to jail on 17 December 1955, he was noted to be 5 feet 11 inches (six inches taller than his 1940 prison record
In September 1956 he was fined $17 for being drunk and disorderly.
In 1965 he was caught with 9 gallons of moonshine
This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7).
[7]: Cause they got divorced, and then they remarried. Oh yeah, she didn't want us to know it, but of course we found out. Never could figure out why, but I think she was just crazy about him. She married him when she was 13.
Me: So why'd they get divorced, just 'cause they were fighting and stuff all the time, and—or something specific?
[7]: I guess. I guess. I wasn't around at that time, so I don't know, but I guess it was just so traumatic. I don't know. I don't know what the reason was.
[7]: I was probably about 16, 15, 16, maybe, somewhere around there, when they divorced.
Me: So about when did they get remarried, or do you know? Did they get remarried pretty quickly or quite a while? Was it quite a long gap. or when did they?
I don't remember, and I don't think it was a long gap, but I couldn't swear to it. I don't think so. And then they got divorced again.
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This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7).
[7]: And then he remarried just, oh God this is, just talk about a grungy woman. Nasty. [...] Oh Lord, that was a nasty woman.
Me: Just personal hygiene or just attitude or something?
[7]: No, not attitude. Oh no, she was very nice to us always. Always very nice to us. [...] She was very nice, but she was just a... Well, I mean a couple times I would go down there and visit him and to show you how bad it was, I wouldn't even sit down. I mean, that's how bad it was. [...] Well, I think it was roaches. Probably rats, that I never saw, but it was just nasty.
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1: | Several photos that include [redacted, 7]
in August 2021. You can see the raw scans here
. As of this writing (in October 2021), I am in possession of the original prints of these photographs. Labels on the backs of some of the photos identify the individuals shown, but I have decided not to provide copies of those labels (since some of the individuals are close relatives). One photo—the one that shows To protect my privacy and security, the names of certain close relatives have been redacted.
This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7). |
2: Turner County, Georgia death certificate 006159 for George F. Brown, who died 23 February 1990.
3: Social Security Death Index entry for George F. Brown; SSN 257-40-8786; last residence Poulan, Worth County, Georgia 31781; born 16 April 1910, died 15 February 1990. Ancestry.com, accessed 20 February 2010.
4: The tombstone of George Frederick Brown (16 April 1910 - 23 February 1990), Wrights Chapel Cemetery, Worth County, Georgia at coordinates N31.37163 W83.75391. Photograph taken by
5: Ancestry.com ("U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 / entry for F. Brown [Fred Brown] [George Brown], SSN 257408786, born 16 April 1910, died 15 February 1990). You can see a copy of Ancestry's entry here.
6: "Fred Brown," Sylvester Local News (Worth County, Georgia), Thursday 1 March 1990, page 14. You can see a digital scan of this page here.
7: 1920 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Precinct 8, Cleburne County, Alabama. Enumeration district 62, sheet 11A, dwelling 188, family 188, Hiram W. Brown household. NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 7. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRJM-68?i=20&cc=1488411&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMXZS-29W>, accessed 25 February 2021.
8: 1930 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). District 10, Lawrence County, Tennessee. Enumeration district 18, sheet 9A, dwelling 155, family 157, Hiram W. Brown household. NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 2261. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRZZ-3YX?i=16&wc=QZFW-3FJ%3A648806201%2C649951601%2C648839001%2C1589282404&cc=1810731&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3ASP4B-WRJ>, accessed 1 March 2021.
9: 1940 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia district 1426, Haralson County, Georgia. Enumeration district 71-14, sheet 5B, family 78, Fred Brown household. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9M1-HCKB?i=9&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AK7GD-SH8>, accessed 4 October 2021.
10: 1910 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Smithfield (militia district 1006), Carroll County, Georgia. Enumeration district 12, sheet 1A, dwelling [not provided], family [not provided], Wesley H. Brown household. NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 176. FamilySearch, <https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RJZ-KL?cc=1727033&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMLG3-BCN>, accessed 1 March 2021.
11: Tombstones of Mary Lee (1887-1918) and Hiram Wesley (1884-1942) Brown, Antioch Cemetery, Cleburne County, Alabama at coordinates N33.6402 W85.3966
12: | An interview with 7 [7]
in her home (15 Craven Street, Cave Spring, Georgia; coordinates N34.0382 W85.3433) on 10 and 11 January 2025.To protect my privacy and security, the names of certain close relatives have been redacted.
This individual is my maternal grandmother (ahnentafel #7). |
13: "Evelyn D. Brown," The Macon Telegraph (Bibb County, Georgia), Saturday 14 March 1992, page 3B. You can see a scan of the obituary here.
14: Georgia Archives / Prisons / Inmate Administration / Central Register of Convicts (identifier 021-03-027) / registers for the years 1924-1951 (identifier VOL2 12967) / a book covering the years 1938-1942 and file numbers A6903-A13999 / entry for Fred Brown, file A11143. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, U.S., Central Register of Convicts, 1817-1976" / Central Register of Convicts, 1838-1942; Felonies / images 482 and 483 of 812).
14: Wikimedia user Bubba73, "Georgia State Prison, Reidsville, GA, US (07).jpg" (photograph taken on 20 June 2019), Wikimedia, <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Georgia_State_Prison,_Reidsville,_GA,_US_(07).jpg>. Bubba73 has released this image under a Creative Commons "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en">BY-SA 3.0 license.
16: "Knives and Gun Used in Brawl," The Sylvester Local (Sylvester, Georgia), Thursday 8 April 1954, page 1, column 3, about 80% of the way down the page. Advantage-Preservation.com, <https://worthcounty.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?t=31052&i=t&d=01011943-12311959&e=george%20brown&m=between&ord=e1&fn=sylvester_local_usa_georgia_sylvester_19540408_english_1&df=1&dt=10>, accessed 11 January 2025.
17: Georgia Archives / Prisons / Inmate Administration / Central Register of Convicts (identifier 021-03-027) / register for the years 1955-1956, M66336-M75107; FM15215-FM16137 (identifier VOL2 12980) / entry for Fred Brown, file 71073. Ancestry.com ("Georgia, U.S., Central Register of Convicts, 1817-1976" / Central Register of Convicts, 1955-1956; Misdemeanors and Fulton County Misdemeanors / images 520 and 521 of 1136).
18: "Recorder's Court," The Sylvester Local (Sylvester, Georgia), Thursday 13 September 1956, page 3, column 3, near the bottom of the page. Advantage-Preservation.com, <https://worthcounty.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?t=31052&i=t&d=01011943-12311959&m=between&ord=e1&fn=sylvester_local_usa_georgia_sylvester_19560913_english_3&df=1&dt=10>, accessed 11 January 2025.
19: "Worth Man Arrested on Liquor Charges," The Sylvester Local (Sylvester, Georgia), Thursday 1 July 1956, page 1, column 1, about halfway down the page. Advantage-Preservation.com, <https://worthcounty.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?t=31052&i=t&by=1965&bdd=1960&d=01011965-12311965&e=lawhorne&m=between&ord=e1&fn=sylvester_local_usa_georgia_sylvester_19650701_english_1&df=11&dt=16>, accessed 11 January 2025.
20: "Superior Court Ends Only in Guilty Pleas," The Sylvester Local (Sylvester, Georgia), Thursday 28 January 1965, page 5, column 6, near the top of the page. Advantage-Preservation.com, <https://worthcounty.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?t=31052&i=t&by=1965&bdd=1960&d=01011965-12311965&e=causey&m=between&ord=e1&fn=sylvester_local_usa_georgia_sylvester_19650128_english_5&df=1&dt=10>, accessed 11 January 2025.
21: Georgia death certificate of Evelyn Brown, who died 13 March 1992 in Jones County, Georgia, certificate 010120. You can see a scan of the certificate here. As you can see, the certificate lists her marital status as divorced.