Gus Franklin, Sheriff, Bartow County, Georgia: a Fall and a Wedding

Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall...

In 1874, Gus Franklin, the sheriff of Bartow County, had a great fall. Could there be more?

The Standard and Express 

Cartersville, Bartow County, Georgia

Untitled, 21 October 1874, page 3 

"We learn that Gus. Franklin, a very worthy citizen, fell from his door, last night, and was very seriously hurt. We are glad to learn, however, that his injuries are not mortal." 

For a genealogist, this tidbit from a Cartersville newspaper tantalizes the imagination. It hints at a great story--but alas, the true story may never be known. 

At face value, the story is simple: a man fell and got hurt. The end. The intrigue is in some other known facts, that may or may not have some bearing on the story. 

"Gus" Franklin is Augustus Montgomery Franklin, a long-time sheriff of Bartow County, Georgia. On the same day that he fell, A. M. Franklin's daughter, Alice, married a mystery man, James M. Cook. There was no prior marriage announcement in any local papers, as far as we could find. 

Since A. M. Franklin fell on the night of his daughter's marriage, the opportunity for speculation is rich. Did the sheriff partake of one too many cups of wedding punch? Did a violent scrap take place at the wedding? Was there, perhaps, a shotgun wedding? Or did Daddy discover an elopement in progress, and half break his neck running to catch the fleeing lovers?

The intrigue is only deepened by events that occurred later on; for, in 1877, James M. Cook sued for divorce from Alice Cook. Without any further insight into the court case, we only have some dry, terse Superior Court minutes to go by. Three brief items were published in the paper--the 1877 complaint by James (denied; that verdict went in favor of Alice); and two 1879 items, in which Alice herself sued for, and was granted, a divorce from her husband. 

Thinking back to the wedding-night accident--did Alice's father know then that the groom was an unsuitable fellow, that the marriage would be an unhappy one? And in 1877, when James's suit for divorce apparently failed, did James run off anyhow, leaving Alice to struggle on her own, give up, and eventually sue for desertion? Or did the couple bear with it, stumbling along unhappily for two more years until Alice finally agreed to go to court? It will forever remain an enigma. 

In 1880, Alice Cook, divorced, is back at home with Dad. James, her ex-husband, is nowhere to be found--or at least, no longer seems to be in Cartersville and is unidentifiable in census. It doesn't appear that any children were born to the couple. 

James M. Cook has a common name, so identifying him in census is so far impossible. The ones who seem to fit best are either married to someone else when James should be single; had already moved to a faraway state by 1874; or are living in some other county and don't have any characteristics to distinguish them from all the other eligible James Cooks.

[Source for Quote]: 

Gus. Franklin (untitled item) in "City and County," The Standard and Express (Cartersville, Bartow, Georgia) 1871-1875, 21 October 1874, page 3 (digital image 3), Georgia Historic Newspapers, Digital Library of Georgia (GALILEO). https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn85034018/1874-10-21/ed-1/seq-3/print/image_647x817_from_204,6363_to_1047,7427/ (accessed 10 November 2020 by D.K. Pritchett). 

Alice Cook vs. James M. Cook, Bartow County, Georgia, Divorce Final, 1879

Alice Cook vs. James M. Cook, Bartow County, Georgia, Divorce, 1879

[Research Note from External Sources]: Alice Franklin, daughter of Augustus Montgomery Frankin, married James M. Cook in Bartow County, Georgia, in 1874. In the 1880 US Census, Alice Cook, divorced, lives in her father's household in Cartersville. 

Alice Cook vs. James M. Cook, The Cartersville Express

25 July 1879, page 3

[Quote]: 

"Alice Cook vs. Jas. M. Cook, libel for divorce; plaintiff divorced."

[Source]: 

Alice Cook (untitled item) in "Doings of Bartow Superior Court," The Cartersville Express (Cartersville, Bartow, Georgia) 1875-18??, Friday, 25 July 1879, page 8 (digital image 8), Georgia Historic Newspapers, Digital Library of Georgia (GALILEO). https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn85027043/1879-07-25/ed-1/seq-8/print/image_532x817_from_1624,7279_to_2746,8999/ (accessed 10 November 2020 by D.K. Pritchett). 

Alice Cook vs. James M. Cook, Libel for Divorce, Bartow County, Georgia, 1879

Quote from The Free Press 
Cartersville, Bartow County, Georgia

16 January 1879, page 3

"Alice Cook vs. James M. Cook. Libel for divorce. Divorce allowed." 

[Research Reference, external source: James M. Cook married Alice A. Franklin (daughter of Augustus Montgomery Franklin) in 1874 in Bartow County, Georgia. In the 1880 US census, Alice Cook, divorced, is loving in the household of her father, A. M. Franklin, in Bartow County, Georgia. The first known mention of divorce appeared in a Cartersville paper in 1877, and was apparently a suit (or a legal point in the divorce) initiated by the husband, but denied--that is, the verdict went in favor of the wife. However, in this current item, the wife is the plaintiff and the verdict is "allowed."]

[Source]: 

Alice Cook (untitled, libel for divorce) in "Bartow Superior Court," The Free Press (Cartersville, Bartow, Georgia) 1878-1883, Thursday, 16 January 1879, page 3 (digital image 3), Georgia Historic Newspapers, Digital Library of Georgia (GALILEO). https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn88061099/1879-01-16/ed-1/seq-3/print/image_617x817_from_1382,3978_to_2466,5413/ (accessed 10 November 2020 by D.K. Pritchett). 

James M. Cook vs. Alice Cook, Libel for Divorce, Bartow County, Georgia, 1877

James M. Cook vs. Alice Cook, Libel for Divorce, 1877

Bartow County, Georgia

Research Note: Alice Cook's maiden name is Alice Franklin. She was the daughter of Augustus Montgomery Franklin, a long-time sheriff of Bartow County, Georgia. Alice married James M. Cook in 1874 in Bartow County, Georgia. 

Three items found in newspapers in Cartersville, Georgia, show that James M. and Alice Cook divorced. The first known item appeared in The Cartersville Express in 1877: James M. Cook vs. Alice Cook, Libel for Divorce. 

This item indicates that divorce proceedings were initiated by the husband--or at least, that this particular instance in the Superior court proceedings was initiated by him. Here, the finding is in favor of Alice. Perhaps this means that she objected to the divorce and it was not granted, for in 1879, at least two more items are found, in which Alice is the plaintiff. In those items, the divorce suit is granted, and then performed or finalized. 

Possibly, there are other related items in the papers. The search process is slow and difficult, so items may have been missed.

Here is the 1877 notice:

[Quote from The Cartersville Express, 02 August 1877, page 3]: 

"James M. Cook vs. Alice Cook. Libel for divorce. Verdict for Defendant."

[Source]: 

James M. Cook and Alice Cook (untitled, libel for divorce) in "Bartow Superior Court," The Cartersville Express (Cartersville, Bartow, Georgia) 1875-18??, Thurs. morn., 02 August 1877, page 3 (digital image 3), Georgia Historic Newspapers, Digital Library of Georgia (GALILEO). https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn85027043/1877-08-02/ed-1/seq-3/print/image_627x817_from_1271,2839_to_2243,4105/ (accessed 10 November 2020 by D.K. Pritchett).