From Bank President to Farmer

J.H.Moran III
President, Bank of Dresden

Prior to the depression the Moran family owned the Bank of Dresden and Jim Moran III was the president while Harrell (Uncle Brud) Moran was the chief bank clerk. Jim was the youngest bank president in the State of Tennessee.  He invested heavily in the Dresden bank and other banks too.  

Brud diversified his interests and one way he did that was buying land.   Sharecroppers worked the land owned by Brud.   We don't know what he drove prior to 1929 but many people remembered Brud driving his 1929 Dodge to check on the land and the sharecroppers.   

When the Bank of Dresden failed in 1927 Jim was devastated financially and while Brud was hit hard it didn't wipe him out.  Due to Brud's financial savvy the Moran's were able to keep Moran Place and all of the property together but not enough money to maintain it forever.

One of the family stories about Jim and his "good time attitude" is that prior to the bank failing he had the opportunity to buy a beautiful house on Linden Street that eventually was purchase by Ned Ray McWherter.  But he didn't.  He chose to buy a sports car to the deep disappointment of the family.  

So what happened after the bank failed? They did whatever they had to, to survive.  Jim, who had been elected to the state legislature in 1925, probably used his political connections to secure a position as a bank examiner for the Federal Housing Authority.  He worked in Memphis and would commute back to Dresden on the weekends.  He also spent time in Little Rock for the FHA.  Brud continued taking care of the land holdings.  Most of the servants and workers were let go but a few were retained.  Kitty was the cook and housekeeper and we think she may have been an Irvine.  Some of the other Irvine's were retained and there are memories of one of the Irvine's visiting Moran Place in the 1980's to visit Nathan Moran prior to his death.    Jim's wife, Virginia, began canning the crops that were raised in the garden.  Their sons Jim the IV and Nathan were put to work farming as well.  Nathan continued having a rather large garden up until his death in 1982 and Kent remembers working that garden as well as canning.

This photograph was taken in the 1930's and shows Jim plowing the Moran Place garden.  The small out building behind him is the old smokehouse which was originally an ice house or storage building, it's been called both through the years.  It was built using soft bricks, the same bricks used in Moran Place which would cause problems throughout the years because they crumbled.  The white on the smokehouse is where Nathan Moran had begun stuccoing the building in an attempt to keep the bricks from deteriorating further.  The ice house was converted to a smokehouse after the depression so that they could smoke their own hams.  In addition to growing their own food they also had cows and pigs.  They also were given the occasional pig by some of the sharecroppers.

Jim Moran III, plowing at Moran Place ca 1930's

Everyone settled into their new way of life.  They may not have been rich in money but they were rich in family and friends.  And of course, they still had Moran Place. 

The Yellow Kid, A Lock of Hair & Minnie Cowden Yowell - 1897

Today I dug into a box and picked up an envelope from Yowell & Williams, State Agents, Union Central Life Insurance Company, Under Capitol Hotel, Little Rock, Ark.  It wasn't addressed to anyone but it had a few things inside which means to me it was personally hand carried and hand delivered to the recipient.

The Yellow Kid

On the back of the envelope is an odd little metal figure who Kent immediately identified as  "The Yellow Kid".   Kent's a fountain of trivia like that but for me, I had to google it and discovered he was a cartoon character that ran from 1895 - 1898 in the New York World and later in the New York Journal.  I don't know if he was supposed to be stuck to the back of the envelope or if it was put on later or perhaps it was something that just accidentally stuck to the paper. I do think he's ugly!

Inside the envelope I found a calling card, a train ticket, and a lock of hair.

The calling card reads "Miss Minnie Cowden Yowell" and on the back is written:

Back side of Minnie's
calling card

"Do you remember the 5 July 1897?  I do.  Dream of the girl that's still in the swing/ring.  You ought to have been here at the wedding."

I don't know what happened July 5 1897 but I know that Fannie Moran and  James Ezzell were married on Oct. 19, 1897 and that the train ticket for Minnie Yowell  expired October 30, 1897 and it's a ticket going from Nashville to Dresden.  Perhaps Minnie was attending Fannie's wedding.

Minnie's Train Ticket

Back of Minnie's train ticket.

This is the backside of the envelope and you can see where the Yellow Kid is attached.  I also used the envelope as the backdrop for the enclosed lock of hair tied with a pale pink or lavender ribbon.







I don't know if Minnie was a distant cousin or just a close friend but I did a bit of research and found the following information.

Minnie Cowden Yowell was born in 1876 to Joel George Washington Yowell and Elizabeth Prudence Rector.  Minnie Cowden Yowell married Robert Leathan Lund August 16 1899 in Washington County Arkansas. They had at least four children: Robert Leathan Lund Jr., Jowel Yowell Lund, William Rector Lund and Dorothy Talbot Lund.  Minnie and Robert moved to St. Louis and are listed in the 1933 city directory where Robert was the executive vice president/treasurer of the Lambert Pharmaceutical Company.

Minnie died in 1953 and Robert followed her to the grave in 1957.  According to family tree's they both died in St. Louis Missouri.

If you're really interested in Minnie's lineage I found her sister, Mamie Snow Yowell Ledbetter, listed in volume 46 of the Lineage Book- National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Updated September 19, 2013
I came across another letter today from Minnie Yowell to Harrell Moran.

The envelope is dated June 16 1897:
My dear Mr. Moran:  Ida asked me to let you know when I passed through Nashville.  She thought that perhaps you would like to go down to Dresden as I do.  I arrived last evening and will leave to-morrow (17th) at 3 o'clock.

I am stopping at Mrs. Matthews no. 400 Belmont ave.  would be glad to see you sometime.  Perhaps we ?could table? it over and you will go down to Dresden as I do.

In haste
Your friend
Minnie Yowell

Dr. and Mrs. Shobe Smith Sr.

I came across an envelope that contained a small piece of stationery engraved with the name Mrs. Shobe Smith, Sr.  

On the inside the following note is written:

This was written by Miss Ida Moran. President of Dresden Music Club.  Reading it at Club meeting in Her Home- Dresden

Maybe some day I'll come across what was read at the meeting!

In the meantime I was curious about the Smith's and who they were.

Before she married Dr. Shobe Smith, Sr. she was Mattie David Wooldridge, daughter of  David Hinds Wooldridge and Martha Jane Senter.  According to the death certificate David Wooldridge died in Nashville and was buried in Gleason, Tn.  

Shobe Smith was the son of Rebecca Shobe and Alexander Hannibal Smith of Smiths Grove, Warren County, Kentucky.  A good biographical profile of A.H. Smith can be found at Rootsweb.  According to Census records Shobe was born Moses Shobe Smith.  He and Mattie were married September 26, 1894 in Weakley County.  James A."Bump" Irvine was a witness and bondsman for the marriage.  He is also our 1st cousin twice removed!   A picture of  "Bump" can be found on an earlier blog post.  The 1910 Census shows the following children of Shobe and Mattie: Raymond age 13, Wooldridge age 10, Frank G. age 7, Shobe Jr age 3 and Clarence was under the age of 1.

Dr. Shobe Smith was a dentist in Dresden.  Here's a scan of an advertisement from the Dresden Enterprise dated October 11, 1895 for his dental practice:

Shobe Smith,
Dentist.
Office in rear John R.
Thomason's law Office.
All Kinds of
DENTAL WORK
Done in first-class Style, and at
reasonable prices.
Oct 11 1 y.