Readers, today I can report the discovery of several important answers to key questions in Emmett’s research — and a new mystery to solve.
Image source: http://www.perrymason.wikia.com
Perry Mason, where are you when I need you?
I can’t spill the beans on everything I’ve found (because it would give away some of the book information), but I can tell you a few interesting things: For instance, Emmett’s paternal grandfather, Cephas Love Wilson Sr., was quite the character in his day.
Hellraiser, actually.
Although Cephas Sr. was a successful farmer, his goal was to become a ‘planter’ like his own father — he was someone who probably imagined spending his twilight years sitting on the porch of his grand estate, sipping a mint julep.
The thing was, Cephas Sr. wasn’t a member of ‘elite’ planter society. His father was, but didn’t do much to help this son, who was not first-born — and that irked Cephas Sr. for (probably) most of his life. Cephas Sr. earned everything he had the hard way, after years of work and sacrifice. He was a tough old bird, and not someone you messed with just to be funny.
Just when things seemed to be going well for Cephas Sr., the Civil War broke out. Like most of his neighbors, Cephas Sr. watched helplessly as his property went to hell with marauding troops marching over it, his stock and crops seized and ruined in the process.
Image source: http://www.badfads.com
When the war was over, he and his neighbors were then handed a big tax bill by the Reconstruction government, told to get used to it, oh, and have a good day.
Not something you’d say to Cephas, Sr., especially when he’s pissed off. Good thing the Reconstuctionists didn’t have smiley buttons to wear back then. That really would have been irritating.
So, Cephas Sr. and his neighbors decided to take the law into their own hands. They did something outrageous — and then — he became (allegedly) a fugitive from justice for years.
When he decided it was safe to come home, he was, then, a participant in a murder — not as the perpetrator — as the victim.
Intrigued? Good. Sorry, but you have to wait until the book comes out to read more about it.
Have a good day!
Categories: Book Family Florida History Interesting & Odd
jsmith532
Professor,
Communication, Arts, and the Humanities
The University of Maryland Global Campus
Tell my story. 
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