Inherit the Land

by Stowe, Gene

• ISBN13: 9781578068647
• ISBN10: 1578068649
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-06-01
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Mississippi

Summary

In the early twentieth century, two wealthy white sisters, cousins to a North Carolina governor, wrote identical wills that left their substantial homeplace to a black man and his daughter.Maggie Ross, whose sister Sallie died in 1909, was the richest woman in Union County, North Carolina. Upon Maggie's death in 1920, her will bequeathed her estate to Bob Ross-who had grown up in the sisters' household-and his daughter Mittie Bell Houston. Mittie had also grown up with the well-to-do women, who had shown their affection for her by building a house for her and her husband. This house, along with eight hundred acres, hundreds of dollars in cash, and two of the white family's three gold watches went to Bob Ross and Houston. As soon as the contents of the will became known, more than one hundred of Maggie Ross's scandalized cousins sued to break the will, claiming that its bequest to black people proved that Maggie Ross was mentally incompetent.Revealing the details of this case and of the lives of the people involved in it, Gene Stowe presents a story that sheds light on and complicates our understanding of the Jim Crow South. Stowe's account of this famous court battle shows how specific individuals, both white and black, labored against the status quo of white superiority and ultimately won. An evocative portrait of an entire generation's sins,Inherit the Land: Jim Crow Meets Miss Maggie's Willhints at the possibility for color-blind justice in small-town North Carolina.Gene Stowe grew up in Monroe, North Carolina, and was a reporter for theCharlotte Observerfor twelve years. He is head of the writing program of Trinity School at Greenlawn in South Bend, Indiana. Carl A. Sergio earned degrees in art design and psychology at the University of Notre Dame. He is currently working in Chicago while preparing to attend graduate school. Learn more about the author at http://genestowe.blogspot.com/ .

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Prologue	3	(4)
PART I: Worlds Apart
1. The Marvin People	7	(10)
2. The White Man's World of Violence	17	(9)
3. The White Man's World of Power	26	(11)
4. The Court	37	(12)
PART II: The Rosses
5. Susan	49	(5)
6. Bob and Dennis	54	(6)
7. Mittie Bell	60	(5)
8. Sallie and Maggie	65	(5)
9. The Neighbors	70	(7)
10. The Tenants	77	(6)
11. The Will	83	(7)
12. The Cousins	90	(9)
PART III: The Trial
13. Jury	99	(6)
14. First Witness	105	(6)
15. George Sutton	111	(6)
16. Witnesses to the Will	117	(9)
17. Preachers	126	(9)
18. Frank Crane	135	(9)
19. Harriet Taylor	144	(9)
20. Cousin Margaret and the Cook	153	(8)
21. Visitors	161	(9)
22. Dr. Potts	170	(5)
23. Boarders	175	(4)
24. Alienists	179	(9)
25. Doctors, Neighbor, and Kin	188	(5)
26. News	193	(5)
27. Caveators Rest	198	(4)
28. Propounders Reply	202	(10)
29. R. A. Hudson	212	(8)
30. Character Witnesses	220	(6)
31. Propounders Rest	226	(4)
32. Sikes and Parker	230	(7)
33. A.M. Stack	237	(5)
34. E.T. Cansler	242	(6)
35. Charge and Verdict	248	(9)
36. Reaction	257	(5)
37. New Trial	262	(7)
PART IV: The Heritage
38. The People	269	(6)
39. The Land	275	(6)
40. The Abundance of Peace	281	(7)
White Ross Genealogy	288	(6)
Black Ross Genealogy	294	(2)
Sources	296	(7)
Index	303