In my previous post, I introduced Dorothy Estelle Randall, a young woman coming of age in Depression Era Albemarle, North Carolina, living in the nebulous and disreputable neighborhood known as 'Sibleytown'. Dorothy had lost her father, Abram Puett Randall, as an infant. She had been raised near the railroad tracks of the Yadkin Railway, along with her brother Ernest. She had an older half brother and sister, Virgil and Bertha, who were adults most of her life, and there were two sisters who passed away as children before her birth.
Due to its embrace of mills and small business, the small town of Albemarle was not hit quite as hard as most northern and midwest areas during the depression. Most people managed to eke out a living. Dorothy was a good student, achieving Honor Roll every year, and recieving accolades for perfect attendance at school. That is, until adolescence.
Fatherless, with a working mother, and being the youngest child, Dorothy may have become a bit wanton, and unbridled. She went to work in a hosiery mill at the insolent age of 15, and bore a son at the age of 16, marrying twice before the age of 20. Her first husband, one Clarence Frank Burris, was a local young man, 5 years her elder, and the father of her son. They lived together as husband and wife very briefly, a divorce coming less than a year later, and a separation after two weeks of marriage. A document was filed with the Register of Deeds of Stanly County, protecting the property of Frank and Dorothy, as individuals, owned prior to marriage, from any claim by the other. The articles of separation also freed Frank of any and all responsibilities to his wife and son, those duties taken on duly by his bride, and her mother, Emma, as Dorothy was still a child herself.
Two years after her divorce, Dorothy visited the yearly County Fair, where she met David Henry Belcher. Mr. Belcher was from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and had most recently worked as an Automotic Instructor at an institution called Sweeney Automotive School. At the present, he was working as a master mechanic with Krause Greater Shows, in connection with the Stanly County Fair. This was a fancy way of saying she fell for a Carnie. For a young Southern girl, who may not have been far from home in life, the young man from Milwaukee, who had traveled more than she, must have been a very intriguingly different and new bauble.They wed, having known each other a week, and lived, at the time of their marriage in November of 1934, with her mother in Sibleytown on the south side of Albemarle.
During the course of 1935, 20 year old Dorothy was in and out of the hospital three times for unknown reasons. There were also a number of land transfers between she and her mother, and her mother and Dorothy and her new husband, David Belcher, who was also five years her senior. And that is where we left off with Dorothy, in my last post, "
The Belle of Sibleytown"
We pick up with Dorothy 3 years later, in January of 1938.
"Shotgun, Lysol and Two Women", the headlines scandalously proclaimed. One of those two women was Dorothy. The story implied that early in January of 1938, the now 23 year old Dorothy, referred to a "Mrs. Randall", and not by her married name of Belcher, of the notorious Sibleytown, paid a visit to a Mrs. Alvin F. Burris, carrying a shotgun and a bottle of Lysol. The paper incorrectly reported that Alvin F. Burris was Dorothys' first husband. Dorothy was accused of forcing the other woman, for unknown reasons, to drink the Lysol, at gunpoint. Mrs. Burris was rushed for medical treatment, and thankfully survived.
Dorothy left town, but at some point, returned. After her return, she was arrested and released on bond. The charges were dropped after Dorothy promised to pay the medical bills.
A retraction to the previous story was soon printed, stating Dorothy denied all charges, that she had not forced anyone to drink Lysol at the end of any type of firearm. This later article also reported that Mr. Alvin Burris advised that his poor wife was recovering from the effects of Lysol poisoning and was able to return to her wifely duties. If it had not been Dorothy, what were the facts of Mrs. Burris's Lysol poisoning? And who were the Burris's? Mr. Burris also refuted the claim that he had ever married Dorothy, and Dorothy seconded that claim.
Of course, Dorothy's first husband was one Clarence Frank Burris, and there was no more mention of her second, David Henry Belcher.
The Burris Couple
The question remained, who was this unfortunate Burris lady and her husband, who had a newsworthy conflict with the volatile Dorothy Randall? The best fit is one Alva Flave Burris, and his first wife, Ruby Carter Burris.
Alva (not Alvin as incorrectly reported in paper), born in 1904, grew up in Big Lick, Stanly County, a son of Daniel McCoy "Coy" Burris and wife, Eva Cooper Burris. Alva's mother passed away when he was 5 and he was the only child of that marriage. Coy went on to marry Rotha Eudy and have more children, but his oldest son was raised by his parents. In the 1910 and 1920 census, Alva is shown living with his paternal grandparents, Zachariah Ephraim Burris and wife, Margaret Victoria Burris Burris. Ephraim was a grandson of Solomon Burris Jr., one of my ancestors, and yes, he and his wife were cousins. When there is a Burris involved in either Stanly, or Cabarrus County, I'm fairly sure I can tie them back into my own family tree. I know that Zachariah Ephraim Burris was a son of David Green Burris and grandson of Solomon Burris Jr., my 4th Great Grandfather. His wife, Margaret Victoria Burris was the daughter of James Allen Burris and Lucinda Hinson Burris, and the granddaughter of Joshua Christian Burris and Sally Springer Burris, the brother of Solomon Jr, both sons of Solomon Burris Sr., family patriarch, and a Revolutionary War soldier.
The poor woman ill-fated to have drank Lysol, would have been Ruby M. Carter Burris, first wife of Alva. Ruby was born in Stanly County in 1911, and her family were found in Furr Township in 1910, however, her parents, Noah Jerome Carter and wife, Carrie Teeter, were from Rowan County. They would end up in Cabarrus. Alva F. Burris and Sarah Carter Burris would have one son, John Alva Burris, and the marriage would be brief, but not as brief as that of Frank Burris and Dorothy Randall. There's no tale that remains of the cause of animosity between the capricious and temperamental Dorothy and Ruby Burris.
Dorothy was on a streak. Sometimes, in the lives of people involved in criminal activities, they seem to come in like a storm, and you will see their names in the paper time after time, for awhile, until the law stops it, or they emerge from whatever fit or self-destructive catharsis they are in.
Dorothy Randall was no different. Just a month after Dorothy's episode, whatever it may have been, with the Burris family, she was back in the headlines, this time stealing chickens with Marvin Calloway. Dorothy claimed she had been at the movies, and got up with Marvin Calloway after he had abscombed with 20 chickens in his trunk, thinking them to be a payment for services of some kind. In other words, she had turned on her feminine wiles and pleaded Ignorance. She got by with it, sort of.
The case attracted a mentionable amount of attention, as the local busybodies came to see the the dramadey of the trial of the young chicken theives. Marvin recieved 150 days on the roads, or chain gang. Dorothy was sentenced to a total of 90 days in jail, but the sentence was suspended for 12 months if she could avoid trouble and stay out of court. Did she wise up?
And who was Marvin Calloway? Was Dorothy grooming him to be her next brief marital conquest?
In 1938, Marvin Calloway was a 37 year old divorced man. Born August 5, 1901, he was the son of John Pinkney Calloway and Elizabeth "Lizzie Bell" Clayton Calloway, the third of 8 children. He grew up in Albemarle, or near it, his family being listed as "near Pennington Ferry Road" in 1920. His father, John Pinkney, a son of old Agrippa Galamiel "A. G." Calloway, passed away in 1917, and divisions of property, and dispursements of shares between siblings, of his fathers property, and also that of a few siblings who died young, show that Marvin was married to a girl named "Ruby" by as early as 1924. This Ruby was born in 1903 and was not the same Ruby who drank the Lysol, as that one was born in 1911. I don't know Ruby Calloway's maiden name, but she was a different Ruby, as she is living with Marvin in 1930.
| Name | Marvin Calaway |
|---|
| Birth Year | abt 1900 |
|---|
| Gender | Male |
|---|
| Race | White |
|---|
| Age in 1930 | 30 |
|---|
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
|---|
| Marital Status | Married |
|---|
| Relation to Head of House | Head |
|---|
| Home in 1930 | Harris, Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
|---|
| Map of Home | Harris,Stanly,North Carolina |
|---|
| Dwelling Number | 165 |
|---|
| Family Number | 169 |
|---|
| Home Owned or Rented | Owned |
|---|
| Home Value | 700 |
|---|
| Radio Set | No |
|---|
| Lives on Farm | No |
|---|
| Age at First Marriage | 21 |
|---|
| Attended School | No |
|---|
| Able to Read and Write | Yes |
|---|
| Father's Birthplace | North Carolina |
|---|
| Mother's Birthplace | North Carolina |
|---|
| Able to Speak English | Yes |
|---|
| Occupation | Painter |
|---|
| Industry | g |
|---|
| Class of Worker | Wage or salary worker |
|---|
| Employment | Yes |
|---|
| Neighbors | View others on page |
|---|
Household members| Name | Age |
|---|
| Marvin Calaway | 30 |
|---|
| Ruby Calaway | 27 |
|---|
Marvin and Ruby were divorced in 1937.
In 1940, Marvin was listed as 'Divorced' in the census and living with his brother, Raymond.
| Name | Marvin Callaway |
|---|
| Age | 38 |
|---|
| Estimated Birth Year | abt 1902 |
|---|
| Gender | Male |
|---|
| Race | White |
|---|
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
|---|
| Marital Status | Divorced |
|---|
| Relation to Head of House | Brother |
|---|
| Home in 1940 | West and North Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina |
|---|
| Map of Home in 1940 | West and North Albemarle,Stanly,North Carolina |
|---|
| Inferred Residence in 1935 | Rural, Stanly, North Carolina |
|---|
| Residence in 1935 | Rural, Stanly, North Carolina |
|---|
| Sheet Number | 18B |
|---|
| Occupation | Painter |
|---|
| Attended School or College | No |
|---|
| Highest Grade Completed | Elementary school, 8th grade |
|---|
| Hours Worked Week Prior to Census | 36 |
|---|
| Class of Worker | Wage or salary worker in private work |
|---|
| Weeks Worked in 1939 | 36 |
|---|
| Income | 600 |
|---|
| Income Other Sources | No |
|---|
| Neighbors | View others on page |
|---|
Household members| Name | Age |
|---|
| Raymond L Callaway | 28 |
|---|
| Louise Callaway | 24 |
|---|
| Carol Gwendolyn Callaway | 6/12 |
|---|
| Mary Lee Clayton | 49 |
|---|
| Marvin Callaway | 38 |
|---|
The relationship between Marvin and Dorothy must have been an entente, they don't seem to have married or carried on further. Marvin would remarry, however,on June 8, 1940, not long after the above census, to a Miss Odessa Freeman. They would remain married until his passing in Candor in 1978 at the age of 77. There were no children from either marriage.
Remains of a section of Huckabee Street.
As for Dorothy Randall, the erudite young woman evaded the 1940 census, but the most likely scenario was that she lived somewhere in Albemarle still, and most probably on Huckabee Street, due to a few items that happened in 1942.
On October 6, 1942, Emma, Dorothy's mother, sold a lot in South Albemarle to Dorothy and her little boy, David, for $10 and 'love and affection '. This may have been because Emma was ailing, and uncertain of her own recovery, she was concerned about the future welfare of her daughter and grandson.
Shortly after, Emma Caroline Mabry Randall would pass away at the age of 54. The SNAP reported she had succumbed to an illness of 12 weeks. She was survived by two children. Her son Ernest, was reported as living in Washington DC, but her daughter, Dorothy was living in Albemarle. The article mentioned her two stepchildren, Bertha Swanner of Graham and D.P. Randall of Elizabeth City. She also had two brothers, James and Murphy, living, and two unmarried sisters, Misses Isabelle and Rebecca Mabry living.
This is important, because that same autumn, Dorothy and her brother, Ernest, sold the 58 and 1/2 acres that their mother had inherited to their two maiden aunts.
Events around Dorothy, thereafter, grew silent, which could be interpreted as staying out of trouble, but was followed by turbid times. We here nothing of her for six years, until it's printed that she was facing foreclosure.
Dorothy and her son were now facing homelessness. She couldn't make the loan payments the property that she had apparently mortgaged. The land was being sold in February of 1948.
The description of the lot was given as bordering the business properties of E. C. Miller, Sibley Manufacturing and the Right of Way of the Yadkin Railroad. It contained two and 45/100 acres, except for a small lot deeded to E.C. Miller. What did the doughty and resourceful Dorothy do after that? She found herself a husband, of course, and said goodbye to Sibleytown.
In the 1950 census, Dorothy is 35, sporting the surname "Cole" and working in a Cotton Mill in Salisbury, NC as a Roving Hauler. Her son, David, now 18, is working at the Cotton Mill with her, his job description given as "blows off". Dorothy's marital status is given as "Divorced". I can't say who Mr. Cole was, but the relationship was obviously as brief as the first two.
Interestingly, mother and son were not the only ones sharing the abode, although Dorothy was the Head of Household. They had a 34 year old plumber named Robert L. Althey boarding with them. Who was he, and what role did he play in their lives? We would find out soon.
In the meantime, a ray of sunshine must have enlightened Dorothy's life with pride when it was announced that her beloved only child, David, was joining the Marines.
The article also revealed that the family had been living in Kannapolis and working at Cannon Mills. Kannapolis is a town that straddles two counties, Cabarrus and Rowan. Dorothy and David must have lived on the Rowan side.
This sole fact betokened Davids bright future, but shadowed the plight of his mother's lability.
Just a year after casting off her only child to the Marines, Dorothy, now 37, was wounded in a knife fight with a man named Lewis Althey. Recall, her boarder in 1950 was a plumber named Robert Althey. Had Dorothy caused a fight between brothers? Was she romanticly involved with any of them? Was alcohol involved?
The Altheys
In 1950, Dorothy had a boarder, a man her own age, named Robert A they, whose occupation was a plumber. Two years later, she was "knifed", which I take to mean stabbed or cut up, by a man named Lewis Athey, who also stabbed his brother, 'Richard'.
Robert Lee Athey, born December 13, 1915, was an unassuming chap who grew up in Rowan County. He was the son of John Franklin Athey and Mary A. Yost Athey Crider. At 20, he married in Cabarrus County, one Mildred Keever, who seemed to be much like Dorothy, a very modern, independent woman. She was 18 at the time and the marriage didn't last long and did not result in any children. Roberts marital status in 1950 was divorced and Mildred was back with her parents. It seems most likely that he and Dorothy were more than friends, as they were still in association two years later.
Robert wasn't one to make waves. He seemed more a peace keeper. He was one of six children: John, Mamie, Lewis, Mary, Carl, David and himself. There was no Richard. The newspapers seem to have gotten gotten Roberts name wrong.
Lewis, who was three years older than Robert, was a troubled man. He served in WWIII and came back damaged. His first marriage, to a Helen, lasted less than four years. His second marriage was fraught with abuse and violence. He made the papers several times for being drunk and disorderly. He broke a bottle over the head of his poor wife on one occasion, nearly killing her, and some time later, was arrested for assaulting her with his fists in front of the courthouse.
It can be assumed Lewis was probably the aggressor in the knifing incident of Dorothy and Robert may have made moves to protect her. Dorothy's life was no less dramatic although she was closing in on 40.
Robert married again and moved to Baltimore, where he passed away at age 50.
A year later, Dorothy is mentioned in Albemarle, selling a lot of less than two acres, to the Stanly Lumber Company, in 1953, in conjunction with her son, David. She is named as Dorothy Randall Belcher, here, probably because that may have been her name when she acquired the property. She was living in Rowan, however, at this time.
Not one to stay single, Dorothy married for the fourth time to Marvin Richard Morris on May 22, 1954, in Rowan County.
Marvin, seven years her senior, was also born and raised in Stanly County. The oldest of the seven children of George Hiram and Dora Lee Henley Morris, he was a two year old living on the Old Salisbury Rd in Albemarle, in 1910, living on the Albemarle Road in Norwood in 1920. By 1930, he was married to his first wife, Annie Bell, and the young couple were living with, his mother and her new husband.
Interesting situation, Marvin's parents split up sometime in the early 1920's. His father, George Hiram Morris, lived until 1956 and his mother until 1968. She was not a widow. On April 24, 1926, Dora Henley Morris, Marvin's mother, married Ernest Nickdalton Haynes. She was not his first wife. He was also, we can assume, divorced, as his first wife was also living. In addition to her 8 Morris children, Dora, still in her 30's, would have one more child, with Ernest, Dovie Irene.
At some point between 1926 and 1930, Marvin would marry Annabelle Morris. She's with him, age 17, in 1930, living with his mother, stepfather, and a mix of siblings and step siblings.
In 1940, the couple, now 32 and 27, were living in Landis. Marvins younger brother, Homer Eugene "Pete" Morris was living with them, as was his four oldest children. His wife Hazel is missing, but it was likely an error, as she's not found anywhere else, they had two more children together, and she's with him in 1950.
Marvin and Annabelle would both answer the call to service during WWII.
The distance between them grew greater with the miles between them.
Marvin apparently was unfaithful to Annabelle, and a divorce was decried in 1945. On February 9th, 1946, Marvin married Marie Katherine Chaney in Danville, Virginia. On June 16, 1947, his only child, a son named Terry, was born, in Rowan County, North Carolina.
This relationship was also doomed. The 1950 census finds Marie and her two year old son, lodging with a family in Princess Anne, Virginia, in an apartment over a store. Still holding the Morris name, Marie's marital status is given as "Divorced", and she's working 48 hours a week as a waitress in a restaurant with an income of $200 a month. Her previous residence was given as Salisbury.
In contrast, Marvin was back in Rowan, working in textiles and living with his brother.
Marvin and Dorothy Randall were married on May 22, 1954 and Marvin died after a heart attack on August 2, 1956. Another brief marriage for both, his third, at minimum, her fourth. There may have been another between Mr. Belcher and Mr. Cole, explaining why I've not been able to solve the mystery of who Mr. Cole was. Marvin was just 49 up on his departure into the great unknown. Dorothy was a true widow at 41. She would not remarry.
The next notable event in her life was the loss of her whole brother, Ernest, in 1964.
Dorothy would live the remainder of her life in Rowan Count, parting ways with this old earth at the age of 69.
There were several stories of girls like her, and the men around them, that could have given Sibleytown, a small, industrial neighborhood in the very heart of modern Albemarle, NC, the bad reputation that cast shadows well into modern times.
A 1977 article in the Stanly News and Press, told of several houses being moved from Sibleytown, out near Red Cross in the Western part of the county. The houses Dorothy lived in on Huckabee Street and Railroad Street, probably looked a lot like this one.
Her one child, born when she was a child, herself, outlived her by 9 years. She has no living descendants to carry on her memory. This is my memorial to the Belle of Sibleytown.
