I really don't know the most shock or surprising news I've found. There was Ma Varner, Lillian Stafford & Dr. Dean. I guess Lillian's case made me want to find out who her family was, but when I did, I put a stop on nosing around. Another surprising story was in the Winona Times on Machine Gun Kelly. He was arrested in Memphis. I read more on him & found out that he could have robbed some banks in Miss. I guess I love history, & when it here in Miss. or around Montgomery Co. my ears purk up. What is surprising is that Ma Varner & Lillian Stafford lived in the same community of Scotland. I really having found where Ma Varner lived but know she lived in that community & both lady's are buried at Scotland. I know that some of the Palmertree's & the Walker's loved to make "moonshine" & some folks don't want to let you forget but who know what I'm going to dig up in the paper. I've tried to find some stories on the P'tree's & Walker's but haven't as of yet. Oh, there was back in the 30's, J.L. - Johnnie & Tom who was before a judge for making the "shine". Johnnie & Tom went to the pen. J.L left the courtroom to go get a lawyer & never was seen again. THE END!!! Peggy , > > Now that's an interesting find. You just never know what you'll dig up in > old newspapers when you go searching. Thanks for sharing that little bit of > historical news with us. That was 2 years before he married Francine. > > Tell us - what would you say was the most startling or surprising thing you > just happened across in all these years of scavenging through these old news > papers? I'd love to know. > > Ken > > -----Original Message----- > > O.D. McElroy Trains in Texas > > Oliver D. McElroy, 20, son of Mr. & Mrs. O.H. McElroy, of Poplar Creek, is > completing his AF basic airman indoctrination course at Lackland Air Force > Base , the "Gateway to the Air Force" in Texas.......... > > ------------------------------- > Visit the Palmertree Family History website at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~palmrtre/index.htm > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PALMERTREE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Peggy et al, Machine Gun Kelly was born and raised in Memphis. His real name was George Kelly Barnes. While sort of "hiding out' in Oklahoma City, he changed his name to George R. Kelly. During this period he became a well-known bootlegger. The Kelly comes from his mother's maiden name. He was from a well-to-do family in Memphis and was sent to Mississippi A&M where he lasted less than an academic year. His college career was cut short by his many demerits. Of all the well known gangsters of the era he was the only one to have gone to college ... a fact of which he was very proud. He returned to Memphis where he soon married Geneva Ramsey; also from a prominent and connected family. A house they stayed at was the home of the governor of Mississippi. He apparently tried to be a straight shooter for a while, but soon supplemented their income with a little, then a lot ... bootlegging. Geneva left him. They had one son, George Kelly Barnes, Jr. While in Oklahoma he met Lera Cleo Brooks, who was born in Saltillo, Lee County, Mississippi. She called herself "Kathryn" by which name most of the world knows her. By the time she and George married she had been married three times before. She had a daughter, Pauline Frye, by her husband #1, Lonnie Frye. Next she was briefly married to Allie (Husband #2), I think in Enid, Oklahoma. Her mother had married a Texas rancher who lived near where she found her third husband, Charlie Thorne. Charlie cheated on her and soon was shot to death. Speculation was that Kathryn did it, but nothing was ever done. Then Kathryn met and married George Kelly. It is said she invented much of the legend of Machine Gun Kelly including his moniker; sort of acting as the PR portion of the two. The two proceeded to rob their way to gangster stardom. It has been said that George or Kathryn first used the term g-men although that is disputed. In 1933 George and Albert Bates kidnapped an Oklahoma City oilman, Charles F. Urschel. They did collect a $200,000 ransom. However this proved to be the couple's undoing. Arrested in Memphis, George and Kathryn were tried and convicted in Federal court in OKC. This was the first federal kidnapping case tried using the so-called "Lindbergh" law. So, Peggy, there is your background for the Mississippi connection just up the Trace in Saltillo, birthplace of Lera Cleo "Kathryn Kelly. Now let me tell you about Nova and my connections stetched as they are. Nova's Palmertrees lived in Wynnewood, Garvin County, Oklahoma. The larger town, Pauls Valley, is the county seat. Kathryn's second husband, Allie (Husband #2), had remarried and moved his family to Pauls Valley. They owned a local movie, which is still going strong in the hands of his son, Mike. I came on to the story while working for the Pauls Valley Democrat. My editor told me a little and the next time Mike came to buy advertising, I asked him. He told me it was true although the family had tried to keep it private, His mother was embarressed by even this flimsy past of her husband. I agreed to keep it out of the news columns, but not before Mike told me about George and Kathryn's visit to Pauls Valley to see his Dad. They checked into a hotel and I guess had conversations with Allie (Husband #2). They weren't there long before the Sheriff visited them a suggested they move on. The fact that they were wanted was ignored. They moved on to notoriety and the second husband's family thrived and still is. I imagine this incident really tilted their desire to not be connected. Kathryn and her mother are buried at Tecumseh, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. Her mother aoso had been sent to jail for some of her involvement in the escapades. Both were released before they died. I noticed that the Wikipedia site for Saltillo has a couple of local famous persons noted. I guess Kathryn isn't claimed by them. Must be her reputation ... you think? This little history is mostly via internet sources. I made a little tree to make sense of the Kellys. Jim Hood A little Learning is a dang'rous Thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring. "An Essay on Criticism: Part II" by Alexander Pope > From: psmpalmertree@bellsouth.net > To: palmertree@rootsweb.com > Date: Sun, 17 May 2009 09:15:51 -0500 > Subject: Re: [PTREE] news message > > > I really don't know the most shock or surprising news I've found. There > was Ma Varner, Lillian Stafford & Dr. Dean. I guess Lillian's case made me > want to find out who her family was, but when I did, I put a stop on nosing > around. Another surprising story was in the Winona Times on Machine Gun > Kelly. He was arrested in Memphis. I read more on him & found out that he > could have robbed some banks in Miss. I guess I love history, & when it > here in Miss. or around Montgomery Co. my ears purk up. What is surprising > is that Ma Varner & Lillian Stafford lived in the same community of > Scotland. I really having found where Ma Varner lived but know she lived in > that community & both lady's are buried at Scotland. > > I know that some of the Palmertree's & the Walker's loved to make > "moonshine" & some folks don't want to let you forget but who know what I'm > going to dig up in the paper. I've tried to find some stories on the > P'tree's & Walker's but haven't as of yet. Oh, there was back in the 30's, > J.L. - Johnnie & Tom who was before a judge for making the "shine". Johnnie > & Tom went to the pen. J.L left the courtroom to go get a lawyer & never > was seen again. THE END!!! Peggy > > , > > > > Now that's an interesting find. You just never know what you'll dig up in > > old newspapers when you go searching. Thanks for sharing that little bit > of > > historical news with us. That was 2 years before he married Francine. > > > > Tell us - what would you say was the most startling or surprising thing > you > > just happened across in all these years of scavenging through these old > news > > papers? I'd love to know. > > > > Ken > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > O.D. McElroy Trains in Texas > > > > Oliver D. McElroy, 20, son of Mr. & Mrs. O.H. McElroy, of Poplar Creek, is > > completing his AF basic airman indoctrination course at Lackland Air > Force > > Base , the "Gateway to the Air Force" in Texas.......... > > > > ------------------------------- > > Visit the Palmertree Family History website at > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~palmrtre/index.htm > > > > > > ------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > PALMERTREE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > ------------------------------- > Visit the Palmertree Family History website at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~palmrtre/index.htm > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PALMERTREE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message