My Father and Atticus Finch (23 page)

As for the mention in the
Messenger
that after the trial Mr. Yarbrough announced there would be an appeal, it is possible, given other conflicting press details about the case, that the reporter read the defense firm name Yarbrough and Beck and merely cited the first name in the firm. But it is also possible (though I never heard this)
that Mr. Yarbrough actually came, if not to the trial, then the following day to the sentencing, and—perhaps influenced by his young partner's passion and determination—said there would be an appeal. On the other hand, even though I don't think he played any significant role in the case, the fact that he did not terminate the partnership as a result of my father's agreement to represent Charles White speaks well of him.

Finally, as noted in the text, neither of the Enterprise lawyers who remembered the firm of Yarbrough and Beck knew anything about the Charles White case or believed that any of the files would have been retained. And inquiries I published in the
Enterprise Ledger
, a paid circulation daily, and in the local free paper, asking if anyone remembered my father or his law firm, produced no responses.

So that is the combination of plenitude and dearth in which I composed.

T
HE
B
ECK AND
S
TEWART
family names—even the name Abraham Lincoln Stewart, an unusual name, to say the least, for an Alabama boy in the early 1900s—are all the real names of those family members. My mother's father really did send the socialist Eugene Debs, being held in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, a pillow. Foster, Bertha, and Mr. M. L.—whose pictures are included in this appendix—are as true to their characters as I could make them. The newspaper articles mentioned are all from the Alabama Archives and are quoted or summarized accurately. The quotations from the Alabama Supreme Court are verbatim, from the opinion in the case; and the report of the testimony in the trial of Charles White comes directly from the transcript, also verbatim except for the redaction
of some redundancies and the rephrasing or summarizations of some evidentiary objections in the interest of clarity and brevity.

A photocopy of the handwritten letter from Dr. George Washington Carver to Mr. M. L., and one of the letter about the other charges against Charles White, are also included here, as is a photograph of the Pike County Courthouse, courtesy of the Troy City Library, as it existed around the time of the trial.

I hope you have enjoyed joining my father and mother on their adventure at least half as much as I have enjoyed spending time in their company again.

Letter from Dr. George Washington Carver to Madison L. Beck
(courtesy of Tuskegee University)

Charles White's prior arrests (courtesy of Pike County Courthouse)

Foster C. Beck

Madison L. Beck (Mr. M. L.)

Bertha Stewart

Two views of Pike County Courthouse (courtesy of the Holman Johnson Collection, Troy Public Library)

   Acknowledgments

F
IRST AND FOREMOST
, I thank my wife and daughters for their interest, encouragement, guidance, criticisms, and unflagging support. There were times when I only persevered with this endeavor in order that my children might have a record of their paternal grandfather and great-grandfather, both of whom were dead before their births. (Happily, they knew my mother, who lived long enough to meet and love my daughters and to bring them tins of homemade chocolate chip cookies from Montgomery. I owe my family more than I can ever repay.)

I gratefully acknowledge my debt to my friend and terrific literary agent, Wendy Strothman, who patiently and professionally read and commented on an earlier draft, guided me to the right publisher, and supported me throughout the process of editing and eventual publication. I also want to thank Wendy's associate, Lauren Macleod, for her able assistance throughout.

Starling (Star) Lawrence at W. W. Norton, a legendary editor with whom I am honored to work, acquired the manuscript, gave it a careful reading that improved it substantially—not least by
restraining my litigation lawyer's propensity to overuse italics—and, with others at Norton, came up with the title. Star's assistant, Ryan Harrington, provided expert help in tracking edits and in the many unfamiliar (for this previously unpublished book author) ins and outs of publishing. Thanks also to Allegra Huston, Elizabeth Riley, Louise Mattarelliano, and Anna Mageras.

Some or all of a draft of the manuscript was read or commented on by my friends (in alphabetical order) Nancy Abrams, Elaine Alexander, Miles Alexander, Esq., Ellen Emerson, Nancy Grote, Jane Hawkins (besides being a friend, Jane is my cousin and the younger daughter of my father's sister, the wonderful and beloved Frances), Dr. Mel Konner, Dr. Ann Kruger, Dr. Maryann McGuire, Dr. Peter Mcguire, Sam Rosen, Esq., Noel L. Silverman, Esq., Dr. John Sitter, Michael W. Tyler, Esq., and Arthur York, Esq. I am indebted and sincerely grateful to each of them for their time and encouragement. Special additional thanks to Kate Ravin, a professional technical editor, for offering helpful suggestions throughout the draft, and to Troy Hendrick, Esq., an expert criminal defense lawyer, for assisting this civil litigator with questions about criminal procedure.

Dr. Norwood Kerr of the Alabama Department of Archives and History was—as noted in the appendix—very helpful in locating the transcript and newspaper articles, confirming I had everything pertaining to the case, and in verifying my memory of such details as Hank Aaron's first game against the Montgomery Rebels.

Special thanks also to Donna Rizzo, who was willing, after hours from her regular job, to help me with research and typing; to Karen Bullard at the Troy City Library, for the photographs of the courthouse that are included and for suggesting that I purchase the Troy and Pike County history mentioned in the narrative; and to
Jo Ann Messick, at the Pike County Clerk's Office, who forwarded me a copy of the record of prior convictions of Charles White, alias C. W. White, alias Herbert Wm. White, and who confirmed that I had a copy of everything in the courthouse file (I had visited the courthouse earlier and conducted my own search).

Thanks to Joe Cassady, Sr., a prominent Enterprise lawyer who practiced for a while with Mr. Yarbrough after my father left the firm. Mr. Cassady (whose distinguished father was a friend of Mr. M. L. in Glenwood) kindly spoke with me to confirm that Mr. Yarbrough's son, daughters, and other family members had all passed away, making it impossible for me to talk to any of them, and also to confirm that he had no knowledge of
State of Alabama v. Charles White, Alias
and that the files on cases from the 1930s had not been retained by the firm. Thanks also to Mr. Cassady's respected former law partner and friend, Dale Marsh, a distinguished Enterprise attorney with an interest in history and the law profession, for forwarding a 1948 letter from my father to Mr. Yarbrough, thanking him for visiting him in Montgomery and asking for a description of his work in Enterprise as a lawyer and reference to support a job application to the Veterans Administration. Thanks also to prominent Troy attorney Joseph Faulk, who wrote that although he practiced law with E. C. Orme, he had no information about
State of Alabama v. Charles White, Alias
, noting that the case was appealed six years prior to Mr. Faulk's birth. He did not think that Mr. Orme's daughter would know anything about the case.