THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of Union
County, Georgia
John Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Federal
Investigator Frank Loransey Souther
Frank Loransey
Souther
(04/30/1881
- 07/13/1937)
U. S. Marshall
- 1920-1937
The career Frank Loransey
Souther chose was
fraught with danger and he eventually lost his life in the line of duty. Maybe he thought, “Somebody has to do this;
why not I?” He no doubt was propelled by
a sense of duty to stop some of the illicit manufacture and trade of
alcohol in
the mountain counties of Georgia
and thereby prevent some of the suffering alcoholism brought to
innocent
victims.
He
was an investigator from 1920 until his death in 1937 for the U. S.
Treasury
Department’s Alcohol and Tax Unit. The
common name mountaineers used for Ransey Souther’s job was “Revenue
Officer,”
and his aim was to find moonshine stills and bring their owners to
justice.
Born April 30, 1881 and reared in
the Choestoe
District of Union County, Frank Loransey Souther was the first child of
seven
born to William Albert Souther (1856-1945) and Elizabeth Dyer Souther
(1859-1902). Soon this son’s name was
shortened to Ransey. The family lived in
the Town Creek section of Choestoe District.
The highest mountain in Georgia, Brasstown Bald, towered in the
distance
above the “Bill Albert” Souther family farm where Ransey grew up. As a lad, he would have learned of the
moonshine stills hidden away in coves and hollows beside mountain
creeks. He could have seen the smoke
rising slowly
from a hidden still as the moonshiners plied their trade.
But a sad impression grew as he saw the devastation
that over-use of the moonshine could bring to families as men became
addicted
to its use and women and children suffered abuse.
On December 15, 1904, Frank
Loransey
Souther married Nancy Elizabeth Johnson (1886-1969).
To them were born three children. Ethel
Lee Souther (1907-1998) married John
Prescott Davenport (1901-1949); Evia Mae Souther (1911-1997) married
Charles
Swinfield Jenkins (1904-1993); and Rudolph Souther who lived only from October 15, 1915
to January 16, 1916.
|
Frank Loransey Souther,
US Marshall, is pictured front center beside a copper moonshine still
he took as evidence in a case against "moonshiners." To his right
is Jake Burton Kelly, a deputy marshall, and seated at the wheel of the
car is Grayson Souther, brother to Frank Loransey Souther. The
other men in the picture are unidentified. Frank Loransey Souther
was a revenue officer from 1920 until his death in 1937.
|
Frank Loransey Souther began his
work with
the U. S. Treasury’s Department Alcohol and Tax Unit on December 20, 1920. Before he took the job, he knew that he
might have to report some neighbors or even kin who plied their trade
deep
within the ivy hollows of the north Georgia mountains. He soon gained the reputation of being a
“fearless, fair and square lawman,”
Well known over the counties assigned to him, he had an easy,
friendly
way with people and soon gained their confidence. It
was said that he never carried a gun on
his raids of a moonshine still. Strong and agile, he depended on his
physical
prowess to out-run and catch the distiller as he tried to escape
through the
mountains. Had he kept a journal or if
the records of his “finds” and “break-ups” could be added to this
story, it
would give insight into his seventeen years as a respected lawman. He met his death in the line of duty on July 13, 1937. His wife, daughters, their families, his
father William Albert and scores of relatives and friends were left to
mourn
his passing.
A resolution by the Federal
Grand Jury in Atlanta
on August 23, 1937,
Honorable
Marvin Underwood, Judge, was passed and a copy sent to the family. The statement shows the regard in which Mr.
Souther was held:
“We have learned of the passing
of Mr. F.
L. Souther, investigator of the Tax Alcohol Unit.
“Whereas: By his great courage,
his clear
wisdom and his remarkable patience and unusual thoroughness, he
established a
fine reputation among his fellow officers and was held in high esteem
by the
citizens of Union and surrounding
counties. Those whom he arrested respected
him and
placed implicit confidence in his statements to them concerning their
guilt or
innocence.
“He died in the line of duty.
“Therefore, be it resolved, that
the
deepest sympathy of every member of the Federal Grand Jury be extended
to his
family.”
The document was signed by
George West,
Foreman, Benjamin S. Barker, Secretary, and eighteen members of the
Federal
Grand Jury.
Another letter of significance
was from R.
E. Tuttle of the U. S. Treasury Department, addressed to the Honorable
Tom
Candler, U. S.
Commissioner at Blairsville, (later judge) dated July 14, 1937 and shared with
the family. This letter is reproduced on
page 56 of The Heritage of Union County,
1832-1994. Those with the county
history book may read the letter in its entirety there.
I quote from the letter:
“The nemesis of the moonshiner
and a friend
of all law-abiding people who knew him, he cannot be replaced in the
territory
which he served. The hills and valleys
of White, Rabun and Habersham will see his coming no more and be the
sadder for
his absence. His feet have trod every
path known to the human habitants of that section.
He had explored every branch from mouth to
source until he knew his bearings in the night time as well as in the
day -
could sense the location of a moonshine still with greater ease than
any
officer I ever saw in action.”
The letter also noted: “Souther
derived his
greatest pleasure in the performance of his duty and did not relinquish
the
pursuit of that duty as long as his body held out.
I know, of my personal knowledge, that for
the last year of his service his fast-weakening body was driven and
motivated
by an untiring and unrelenting spirit.”
Frank Loransey Souther was
buried at Old
Liberty Baptist Church
Cemetery, Town
Creek, in
the community he called home during his earthly life.
His beloved wife, Nancy Elizabeth, better
known as “Doan”, lived for thirty-two more years after Ransey’s death. She died June 4, 1969 and was interred beside
her
husband. Descendants of this couple are still making their distinctive
contributions as solid, contributing citizens, “motivated by an
untiring and
unrelenting spirit” as was their ancestor, Frank Loransey Souther.
The life and times of Ransey
Souther who
died at age 56 were challenging. He
bravely did his part to implement law and order and bring justice to
those
whose way of life infringed upon the laws of the land.
c2004 by
Ethelene Dyer
Jones; published Jan. 8, 2004 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville,
GA.
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
[Ethelene
Dyer Jones is a retired educator, freelance writer, poet, and historian.
She may be reached at e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708
Cedarwood Road,
Milledgeville,
GA
31061-2411.]
Updated May 22, 2018
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