• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Book Tells Story of Race Relations in the 1920s: 2 White Sisters From Marvin Left Estate to Black Man, Daughter

Posted on: Sunday, 11 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Chuck Mcshane, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Jun. 11--A newly published book tells an unusual story of race relations in 1920s Union County, and the author is visiting this week to greet readers.

Former Observer reporter Gene Stowe will sign copies of "Inherit the Land: Jim Crow Meets Miss Maggie's Will" at four locations in the Charlotte region.

The book tells the story of two white sisters from Marvin, Maggie and Sallie Ross, distant cousins of then-N.C. Gov. Walter Bickett. The sisters left a house and 800 acres to a black man and his daughter, rare in the racially divided South of the day.

Bob Ross had grown up in the sisters' house. He sent his daughter Mitte Bell to live with the Ross sisters as well. According to Stowe, the unmarried sisters considered Bob and Mitte Bell relatives, and left them most of their estate when Maggie Ross died in 1921. A group of the sisters' white cousins challenged the will in court, but an all-white jury awarded the land to the black family after deliberating less than an hour.

The book weaves the story of the trial with background about race and family relations in Marvin.

When Stowe first found the story, court documents were hard to come by and he didn't have enough information to write it as nonfiction.

"I tried to fictionalize it, but I couldn't figure out how to write it," Stowe said.

Five years ago, Stowe searched for the case on the Internet and found it had been appealed to the N.C. Supreme Court.

A few weeks and $68 in copying fees later, Stowe had the 300-page trial transcript.

He said the transcript, more than anything else, helped him write the book, which was published by the University Press of Mississippi this month.

Stowe is now a teacher at Trinity School in South Bend, Ind. His former student Carl Sergio drew illustrations for the book, many of which came from old photographs.

"I wanted people to know that not all Southerners were violent bigots," Stowe said. "That doesn't excuse the ones who were. In fact, it shows they could have known better -- these women and this jury did.

"It would have been interesting if this part of our history had been well known....maybe we could have avoided the strife in a lot of places."

Gene Stowe Book Signings

-- 4-5:50 p.m. Wednesday, Old Courthouse, Monroe.

-- 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Banks Presbyterian Church, Marvin.

-- 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Mooresville Public Library.

-- 3 p.m. Saturday, Park Road Books, Charlotte.

Where to Pick Up a Copy

Copies of "Inherit the Land" are available at Park Road Books in Charlotte and through amazon.com.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

More News in this Category