Hope you find the following interesting.

Albert H. Spinks
November 29, 2001

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Albert H. Spinks
3129 Sutton Place
Burlington, NC 27215
October 27, 1995

Dear Steve, Laurie, and Helen,

After my cousin Dorothy Green Shearard passed away, I was fortunate enough to receive some Fox family papers found in her home. Among the material was an envelop marked "Property of D. B. Fox-Alabama Property." It was composed of deeds, maps, letters, notes, and other records associated with some timber that your great-grandfather (my mother's father) bought in the late 1920's in Monroe County, Alabama. I found this material quite interesting and of such family historical significance that I thought it would be worthwhile to document it with this letter and to write down some of the associated stories that the members of the family passed down to me.

I want to point out that it is not my intention to publish, or to make public, any of this material. I just feel that it is worthwhile your knowing some of the trial, tribulations, etc., that your ancestors went through. It also is of interest because this is a graphic, close at hand, example what happened just before, and during the depression of the 30's. Even though I lived through the effects of that depression, that continued even up to the mid '50's, I find it hard to understand how our society got itself into the fix it did that caused all the hardships that I remember existed and that my parents and uncles and aunts told about, sometimes bitterly. When one reads over the deeds, letters, etc., of the Alabama property, one can almost feel the frustrations and stresses that most certainly must have been felt by D. B. Fox and his family.

I'm not sure what I will do with this material. Chances are I will wrap a copy of this letter around it and you three will find it among some of my genealogical material one day. Don't throw it away. Maybe, at that time, it will be appropriate to give it to the Mississippi Archives in Jackson. There is already some Fox material placed there by me, and I have been led to believe that some of D. B. Fox's records that Dotty gave to a library in Laurel have been sent there. Anyway, I feel that it is too early for me to send it there now because there are some of us still living who remember some of the principal players in the story I am about to tell.

Even though my main aim is to tell the Alabama story, I must back up and give some background in the lives of David Burney Fox and Mary Helen Hand. Steve, you will probably vaguely remember your great-grandmother Fox, Mary Helen Hand Fox. She lived until 1962, when you were five yrs old and she spent some of her last years in the Delta with Mother, Daddy, and Estelle. And both you and Laurie may remember her son Francis O'Ferrall Fox, who lived until 1968, and visited on occasion at Dry Bayou. None of us, including myself, can remember David Burney Fox who passed away in 1931. I was only one yr old then.

David Burney Fox was born in 1865 in Louisville, Miss., the son of a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, Nathan Jackson Fox, and, his wife, Eliza Lavisa Love. Both Nathan Jackson Fox and Eliza were well educated for their day. He had a degree from Cumberland University in Lebanan, Tenn., and she graduated from the Nashville (Tenn.) Female Academy and taught there for a while. After The Civil War they ran a boarding school for both boys and girls in their home in Louisville. So I am sure David Burney Fox received a good educational background from his parents at that school. I have been unable to ascertain if David Burney Fox went to any other school even though there were some in the area. I do know his good education showed up in his life. For example, he was noted for his penmanship. Among my material are some letters that he wrote to Helen Hand before they married. The envelops are beautifully and carefully addressed, and the letters themselves are very well written. Burney's first employment was for his brother's (William) mercantile business in Enterprise Miss. where one of his responsibilities was keeping books. The name of the business was Gaston & Fox. Mr. Gaston was William's wife's father. Laurie, the wardrobe you have has a penciled notation on the vertical separator board "G and F, Enterprise, Miss." The 'G and F' would be Gaston and Fox. So the wardrobe came from the Gaston and Fox store in the late 1880's to early 1890's. I can remember having seen it in the guest bed room in Grandmother's home near Ovett. After Grandmother passed away, Stell brought it up to Dry Bayou and had it refinished.

Burney Fox was good in math, and it showed in some of the Alabama documents. For example, I challenge you to calculate, by hand with pencil and paper, no calculator or computer, the interest on $1,000 for 103 days at 6% per annum interest. This Burney did with apparent ease on a small piece of paper I found. Mary Helen Hand was well educated, including capabilities in piano and art. She went to school in Minnesota while living with her mother's brother and his wife. Her early life is quite interesting and covered well by her autobiography. If you are interested in reading it, just ask and I'll give you a copy.

David Burney Fox and Mary Helen Hand were married 9 FEB 1891 in a small Episcopal Church in Enterprise, Miss. This church is still standing. Enterprise is just off Interstate 55 between Laurel and Meridian, Miss. The church is on the east side of the railroad track on a dirt road that runs parallel with the tracks. In my D. B. Fox folder in my genealogy file cabinet is their wedding invitation and a write-up of their wedding/reception.

After their marriage, Burney and Helen lived in Enterprise with his brother William Love Fox and his wife, Blanche Gaston Fox. Burney worked for his brother and Helen taught piano. After a year or two, it appeared that the mercantile business was not prosperous and Burney decided to look around for other employment. He first took a survey trip to Texas, but no luck there. Around 1893 Burney took a job as bookkeeper for a lumber company in Stateline, Miss., near the Miss.-Ala. border. By 1897, the family was in Yellowpine, Ala., which is near Stateline, where Burney continued working for the lumber industry. This is where your grandmother, Helen Bernice Fox (Spinks) was born.

In the early 1900's Burney decided to go into the lumbermill business with a Mr. Dunn in the virgin longleaf pine forest of Jones County, Miss., near the community of Ovett. There the family moved and several years later, Burney bought out Mr. Dunn's interest. Sometimes around 1910 or so, Helen convinced Burney that they should move to Laurel so that the children could get a better education than they were able to get in the small Ovett school. They moved first to a home that they rented just north of the Laurel business district. Later they bought a beautiful multiple story home on the Laurel to Ellisville Boulevard plus the whole block of land around it. I remember this home. Mother and I lived there (with her parents) for a short period of time while Daddy (your grandfather) was at Sanatorium being cured of TB. There are many pictures of that home in my files. It was impressive and the family had many fond memories of it. It does not stand today. The family lived in that home during the winter school month, but moved back to their country home during the summer so that Burney could be closer to his business. I remember stories of the boys (mother's brothers) driving the milk cows the 20 miles or so between the city and country homes when they would make those twice a year moves.

David Burney Fox became relatively wealthy during the 19 teens and early 1920's. He accumulated some 7000 acres of land in Jones County and was noted not only for his timber/sawmill business but also for his fine cattle (thoroughbred Shorthorn), other livestock, and row crops. There is a nice write-up about him on p. 23 of a pamphlet "Along the Line of the New Orleans, Mobile and Chicago Railroad" by The Southern Manufacturer, New Orleans. A copy of the pamphlet is suppose to be in the Lauren Rogers Memorial Library in Laurel. There is a typewritten transcription in my D. B. Fox genealogy folder.

Your grandmother, Helen Bernice Fox, was fortunate to be able to take advantage of the family's income during her college years. She graduated in chemistry from Mississippi State College for Women and then found that she needed to take additional liberal arts courses to be eligible for a teacher's license or to enter a graduate program. Records seem to indicate she enjoyed herself in this task. She seemed to feel that she had paid her academic dues in studying hard for the chemistry degree and took it easy on the "underwater basketweaving" courses she chose for post graduate study. She took courses at Colorado State U. (and saw Pikes Peak, Colorado Springs and the Colorado mountains), she took courses in Chicago and later at Cornell in upper New York State, and saw that part of the country. Then finally in the mid 1920's she went to Columbia University in New York City to get her master's degree in science. After Mother passed away in 1972, I received a real nice letter from a lady that lived on Staten Island and went to Columbia when Mother did. This lady told me how she and Mother enjoyed taking in all the Broadway shows when not in class. Anyway, David Burney Fox surely supported his daughter in these endeavors. His letters that have survived to his children indicate that he had a good relationship with all of them and was proud of their accomplishments.

And so, in 1926, at the age of 61 when most of us are slowing down toward retirement, David Burney Fox decided to expand his lumbering operation into Alabama. He began by purchasing standing timber (no land) from one Dr. J. W. Rutherford and family in Monroe County, Alabama. Monroe County is almost due east from Laurel and 3 counties in from the Western Alabama line. It is southwest of Montgomery. Even today it is a rural county containing many small communities. The timber was located primarily northwest of the community of Fountain, AL, and Burney chose to center his operation in Fountain. Fox records indicate that it was 234 miles to Fountain from Laurel by Moselle (In Jones Co. where one of the Fox mills was located). And I am sure most, if not all, of that was by gravel roads. Burney purchased smaller tracts of timber from other people in Monroe County. It was not a small purchase, some 30 MILLION board feet of standing timber covering what appeared to be parts of or all of approximately 20 square miles. This would cover about 13,000 acres. Burney agreed to pay the Rutherfords $154,530 for their timber, $25,000 up front, $25,000 in 4 months and the rest over a 3 year period with the Rutherfords maintaining a lean on the timber. Burney signed notes for $7,500 each, one due every 2 months with interest at 6% per annum. It is obvious that he expected to move in and start cutting, milling, and selling lumber immediately. The boom of the 1920's brought a demand for lumber that he expected to continue.

In December of 1928, Burney Fox expanded his Alabama operation by long term leasing 60 acres from one S. P Hetherington in the town of Fountain, AL, on which to construct a large sawmill operation (with planer mill and all the trimmings) next to a railroad that appeared to run from Montgomery to Mobile. Records indicate that he had his own railroad in Monroe County with engine, track and other equipment for hauling timber from the woods to the mill.

The expansion into the new mill at Fountain seems strange, looking now at things in retrospect. There are several indications that the economy was beginning to slow down (for the lumber industry anyway) a full year and a half before the stock market crash of October 1929. Burney Fox began to default on his notes to Rutherford starting in May 1928; he evidently was not selling lumber.

During this period, smaller lumber mills were shutting down, and Burney took advantage of the lower equipment prices. In July 1929, he purchased from Bentley and Pope of Ovett a complete saw mill, including a Shay Locomotive and a Delco Light Plant for $6,700, part down and a note for the rest. It is my guess he wanted to use this equipment for his expansion in Fountain. He also began to borrow money for working capital from The First National Bank of Laurel. At first it was around $50,000 backed up by some stock certificates. In July, 1929, Burney needed $15,000 more. To extend his current loan and provide another $15K, the bank wanted mortgage on all his Alabama operations, timber, mill and everything except livestock. Burney agreed and the mortgage was signed by both Burney and wife, Helen. Unfortunately, there was no market for lumber and in a few months it was obvious that Burney was not going to be able to meet his financial obligations to the bank. The First National Bank put Burney under pressure and he sold the entirety of his Alabama holding to W. T. Smith Lumber Co. on January 15, 1931, for $125,000. This included everything, standing timber, sawmill and equipment, a railroad and equipment, and leases. Burney and Helen were fortunate in being able to back out of their Alabama commitments; however, I am sure it was at a serious loss.

Meanwhile, back in Mississippi things were little better than they were in Alabama. The main sawmill was at Alene, a community located in southern Jones County along the railroad that ran through Jones County from Hattiesburg to Laurel. There was a sawmill, a planer mill, a company store, and a timber railroad that included a Lima-Shay locomotive. I have gotten the impression that Francis Fox ran this mill while his daddy handled the Alabama problems. Family tradition has it that there was no sale for the Mississippi lumber either and the Foxes ran the mill only enough to give the employees a little income and the lumber was stored for sale at a later date.

In the latter 1920's the Jones County property was also heavily mortgaged. Though it is not clearly stated in the records, I believe these Jones County mortgages were primarily undertaken in an attempt to save the Alabama investments. The Commercial National Bank and Trust Company held a mortgage on the Jones County property, the Alene mill and equipment, and all of the Laurel Fox property along the Ellisville Boulevard except a 500' x 190' rectangular piece of land that the two story house was on. This piece of land and the house was mortgaged separately-to the Equitable Life Insurance Company for $7,500. In addition D. B. Fox owed money to several smaller Jones Co. Banks.

On September 4, 1931, David Burney Fox passed away. I have been told that his death was caused by pneumonia, that he just didn't take care of himself following a bronchial infection. However, It is my belief that the root cause of his illness was concern about his business affairs.

Almost immediately after D. B. Fox passed away, the Commercial National Bank and Trust Company foreclosed on the mortgage they held on the Miss. property. I have been told that the bank held an auction of the property on the county courthouse steps, choosing to break the property for sale into small parts. At the auction only one person was bidding and after a bit it was obvious that person was bidding on only the best pieces of the auction and rejecting the 'trash.' That person was D. B. Fox's son, Francis. He knew what parts up for auction were of value and what was not; and the bank knew virtually nothing about what they were selling. So as the story goes, the bank asked the auction be brought to a stop, and asked Francis if he could really purchase what he was bidding on. The answer was 'Yes.' After some conferences, the bank officials asked Francis if it was possible they could get together on a purchase\sale of the whole thing. And they reached an agreement. However, the bank came back to Francis with concern about him being able to handle the whole property by himself and insisted that he bring his brother, Burney, Jr., into the agreement with him. This he did; and per Jones County deed book 16, page 401, dated March 15, 1932, the two brothers purchased approx. 3200 acres of county property, some lots in Ovett, the sawmill at Alene, and the Laurel Boulevard property minus the Fox home, all for $21,000. They put $4,000 down and signed notes for the remainder. It turned out to be a real bargain. The two brothers carried on their business as 'Fox Brothers' for a number of years, but Francis gradually bought Burney out, and finally operated by himself. To my knowledge the brothers together never operated the mill again. However, in the late 1940's Burney Fox did gather together enough of the old equipment to operate a mill for several years at the old mill site near Ovett. I can remember that mill. It ran on steam, and I can remember hearing the stationary steam engine popping away when my parents and I would visit Grandmother and Francis at their country home.

In March, 1934, Grandmother and her children decided to let Equitable Life have the Fox boulevard home for the mortgage. Per Jones Co. Courthouse in Laurel, Deed book Z, page 423, they determined that the house was not worth the $7,500 that was owed on it. Estelle Fox White told me that Francis contacted them all asking if they would like to put up a little money each month to keep the house. The way Stell expressed it, it was all they could do to keep food on the table at that stage of the depression much less come up with mortgage money. So they let it go. The deed was interesting in that all of the children and even their spouses had to sign the agreement. So both Mother's and Daddy's (your grandparents') signatures are on the document. I was especially interested in the date of the deed because one of my earliest memories takes place when the family moved out of that house. Mother, Daddy, and I moved to a house on 7th Avenue in Laurel; and Francis and Grandmother moved to the country home. Anyway, they evidently let me keep my toys in an entrance hall closet. I can remember getting my toys out of that closet into the hallway and announcing to everyone that I was ready to move. Daddy then told me I was a little early, that we were not moving until the next day. So they put all of my toys back into the closet. The old Fox home was eventually torn down and a Coke-a-Cola facility is on the lot today. Both Mother and my Aunt Dorothy have commented to me that they recognize an old magnolia tree that is near one of the Coke buildings as having been on the old Fox lawn.

David Burney Fox passed away without a will; and his son (mother's brother), Francis O'Ferrall Fox, was appointed administrator of the estate. Over the next 7 years or so, he worked to settle the estate and finally did so in such a way that the estate debt was paid. Per court papers (estate # 6064), in the basement of the Laurel courthouse, Francis was worried for a while that he would be unable to clear the estate debt, but he finally did so by shear determination and was able to distribute a little money to the heirs.

Anyone who chooses not to have a will should read the court papers associated with the D. B. Fox estate. It is unbelievable how difficult the administration of that estate was just because there was no will. For one thing, a bond was required for Francis Fox which caused additional expense. But most importantly, Francis was unable to do anything without applying for permission to the court judge. Any request had to be composed, written, and presented to the court by a lawyer, all of which required extra legal expenses. In addition, it was necessary to provide details that were essentially family matters all included today in two estate manila folders marked #6064 available for public scrutiny in the courthouse archives for ever and ever. Much of this would not have been required If a will had existed, specifying that no bond or public accounting was required, which can be done in Mississippi.

Next I would like to put my spin, or interpretation, on these events in the Fox family in the late 1920's and early 1930's. Now please understand that in my interpretation I am not being critical because any one of us in the same situation would probably do the same things our ancestor did. So first and foremost, why in the world did D. B. Fox at the age of 61 choose to put his family's finances in jeopardy by going out on a new business adventure over 200 miles from home? I can think of at least four possible reasons:

First, the timber business was probably playing out in Jones County, Miss., by 1925. D. B. Fox himself had been cutting timber in the same county for 20 years or so. I have gotten the impression that the timber he bought in Monroe Co., Ala., was prime first class timber, and maybe virgin.

Second, D. B. Fox had four sons of whom he probably hoped most would eventually go into the lumber business and he needed to expand to provide a place for them. Francis already was involved in the operation, and maybe Burney too (I am not sure). Lester's interest was electrical engineering and by the early 1930's he was teaching at Mississippi A & M. He probably would never have come back to the lumber business. But there was a possibility that Bill would, though he was only 17 yrs old in 1926.

Third, there was probably peer pressure. Some of Burney's competitors, and friends, were big lumber operators in Laurel, and he may have felt the need to expand to keep up with 'the Joneses.'

And finally, the Foxes had seen recessions before but nothing like what occurred in the 1930's. I remember stories of how the mill would shut down when there was no market for lumber, and the Foxes would just tough it out for a few month until things picked up again. Obviously, this is what D. B. Fox thought was happening.

So, what can we learn from all of this. First, if at all possible, keep business ventures separate. Don't set up your affairs in such a way that a setback in one venture can bring all your affairs down like the proverbial 'stack of dominoes.' Second, don't continue to put more money into a bad investment, especially a large amount. And finally, HAVE A PERSONAL WILL, properly signed, witnessed, and kept in a safe place. This last point cannot be stressed enough.

In October, 1995, after a trip to Laurel, I chose to come back to North Carolina by way of Monroe County, Alabama, to see what I could find in the courthouse there. I did find a number of items of interest some of which I drew on for parts of this letter. Monroe County, Ala., appears to be prosperous and growing, especially the county seat, Monroeville, where I spent the night. I saw much lumbering and associated activity and an active oil field business. I drove out to Fountain just to see what was there. There wasn't much. There were about a dozen scattered houses, and a small whistle stop next to the railroad that comes thru the community. It appeared to be nothing where my grandfather's Fountain mill was, or was going to be. Per my interpretation of the records, it was just to the north on the west side of the Fountain railroad crossing. At that location was an dirt road going past a house. The mill would have been within several hundred yards past the house. Since it didn't look as if there was anything down the dirt road, and it looked as if it were a private road, I just did my looking from the vicinity of the railroad crossing. I saw nothing that would indicate there were remnants of a mill there.

One more little story. After I was born, May 7, 1930, Francis Fox wrote Mother, congratulating her on my successful birth. I have that letter in my genealogy files. Anyway in that letter Francis mentioned that his father was on a business trip to Fountain. It is probably that letter that first got me interested in the Monroe County, Ala., story.

With much love,

Dad