Posted By: Dreama Baker
Date Posted: Jun 4, 2009
Description: On the left is my father, Joseph Robert Baker (1892 - 1982). On the right is Balaam Eugene Lewallen (who assumed his mother's surname, Morris, in 1911). Eugene (1872 - 1952) was a son of Robert H. Lewallen and his wife, Martha Ann Morris.
From the britches, I'd say Grandpa was all about comfort!
Date Taken:
Place Taken: Fayette County, West Virginia
Owner:
Billie Harris - Jun 4, 2009
Why did he assume his mother's surname?
Your dad looks much like mine did. And we have some Bakers in our family, too. They were from Arkansas.
I love looking at this because it reminds me so much of the corn fields when I was growing up. It was really high.
Dreama Baker - May 8, 2013
As you know, Balam Eugene Lewallen's parents were Robert H. Lewallen and Martha Ann Morris Lewallen. He left Tennessee and assumed the surname of his mother, becoming Balam Eugene Morris.
This was related to a sad and tragic event. I have sought information about the situation for decades, and at last my sister-in-law obtained information from my first cousin which offers some clarification. Tragic, yes, terrible, yes. The matter haunted Eugene the rest of his days. He never recovered and he never forgave himself. I share with you the article below:
It is from the Cumberland Chronicle (Huntsville, Tennessee) August 26, 1911.
"The citizens of this place were shocked to learn of the murder of Samuel Shelly at the hands of Baalam E. Lewallen, brother of Dep. U.S. Marshall Geo. T. Lewallen, last Sunday morning just beyond the Glen Mary school house, in the county road leading to Coal Hill. Only a few words were spoken until Lewallen fired a pistol shot into Shelly's body, killing him instantly. Upon examination of the dead man's person no weapon could be found. Lewallen was arrested and the trial was held here Tuesday afternoon. He was bound to circuit court and his bond fixed at $8000.00, which he failed to make that night. He was being guarded by Eck Wright on Tuesday night after his trial and made his escape and has not been seen nor heard of since by the people of this town. The deceased leaves a widow and two children."
Another submittal in the same paper reads, "Jeff Strunk was brought to the Huntsville jail Wednesday by C.E. Nethery. Stunk is charged with being implicated in the killing of Samual Shelly at Glen Mary last Sunday morning, an account of which appears in our Glen Mary letter. His bond was fixed at $8000, which he has yet failed to give."
That is so much, after so long, to learn; and still there is much I want to know.
Billie Harris - May 9, 2013
Then he escaped and was never found, right? Where did he live?
Dreama Baker - May 9, 2013
He lived in Fayette County, West Virginia. Ida Belle Miller, his wife, was liked and respected by everyone who knew her. She always lamented that she never saw her family again. She died in 1938. In West Virginia, Eugene worked in the coal mines, bought a farm, introduced one of his daughters to Joseph Robert Baker who married her. He never again behaved in such a way as to be arrested.
I once asked my father if Eugene had killed a man and he said, seriously and reflectively, "Yes. And maybe he had a right to." He said that it "involved a woman" but I never knew what happened. The animosity between Eugene and Mr. Shelly had festered for some time before the shooting.
When Eugene was old, he had someone take him to Tennessee "to face the charges" before he died. When he got there, there was no available record of the incident because there had been a courthouse fire a few years before and no charges were then brought.
Billie Harris - May 10, 2013
Dreama, that's really an interesting story. Then he's your grandfather, right? It sounds as though he had that on his conscious all those years. I really feel for the torment he must have gone through. He was an honorable man to finally want to go back and face the charges. I recall reading about something very similar on one of my other genealogical sites.
Dreama Baker - May 11, 2013
He was my grandfather. His daughter Gertrude was my mother. I was born on the farm that he bought, which he later sold to my brother Ellis Adrian Baker. He continued living on the farm, however.
Dorothy Campbell - May 10, 2013
Seems to me he really paid for the crime by having to live with it each day. Seemed only right in the end when he wanted to face it, that there was no record. He must have already paid enough for it.
Billie Harris - May 10, 2013
I definitely agree, Dorothy.