EXTRA: Janie Forbes
Courtesy The Times-Dispatch
By October of 1904, Janie Forbes had secured an appointment as a teacher at the Malone public school in Buckingham County. She frequently visited her brother, Charlie Forbes, in Buckingham County’s jail, and one of the boardinghouse keepers in Maysville offered her room and board free of charge when she was visiting. Her devotion would inspire and attract many compliments. She was John S. Forbes only daughter and viewed as a heroine the night of the fires.
According to The Times-Dispatch:
She is pretty, brilliant and bares her trouble heroically, and greets you with a pleasant smile. She is twenty-three years of age and is one of the best public school teachers in the county. By the destruction wrought by the firebug and the sacrifice she has made for the defense of her brother, she is now without a home of her own. She is a devout Christian and to some extent a Sanctificationist.
slate river ramblings . . . . 
The name of the jury member that I recognized was B. L. Apperson. According to his granddaughter (my cousin), he would have been 36 in 1904. He lived to be in his 90s.
Thanks. Can you tell us anything else about Mr. Apperson’s life at the time of the trial. Church affiliation? Family? Occupation? Stay tuned. On Monday, 9/18/16 we will know how Mr. Apperson voted! Joanne
Hi Joanne. Nancy is my cousin on my Mom’s side of the family.
Braxton Lee Apperson was my paternal Grandfather. He was born in April 1868 to Samuel Wesley Apperson and Sarah R. Clarke (she was called Sallie) on a farm near the Female Collegiate Ins. in Buckingham. His Grandfather, Sterling Guthrie Apperson, owned a large farm at Alpha (on Rt. 15).
Braxton Apperson left home as a teenager (in 1884), moved to New Canton to apprentice in Mr. Kidd’s store. Some years later, after Mr. Kidd’s death, Mrs. Kidd and my Grandfather married. She was older and did not have children. After her death my Grandfather married another widow in New Canton, also childless. In 1928, at age 60, my Grandfather married my Grandmother, 20 year old Ruby Boatwright Apperson. She and my Grandfather were 5th cousins. At age 62 my Grandfather became a father for the first time. My Dad, Braxton L. Apperson, Jr. was born in Jan. 1930. Two other children would follow, Samuel in 1931 and Ruby Pearl in 1933.
So, in 1904 during the Forbes trial, my Grandfather B.L. Apperson would have been living in New Canton, running the store. He was a member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church. He passed away in Nov. 1963. My Grandmother, his 3 children and 8 (of 10) grandchildren survived him.
Diane, Many thanks for this fascinating biography of Braxton Apperson. It would be wonderful to identify everyone on the jury in such detail! Joanne
When I was a student at Buckingham Central High School (now Buckingham County High School), there was a teacher on the faculty named Elizabeth Forbes. I can’t remember if she was married or not. I was wondering if she was connected to the Forbes you have been writing about recently. She would have been somewhere around retirement age in 1957. I have already seen a name on the jury of someone I knew when I was a child.
Nancy, Thanks for your comment. I don’t know if your teacher, Elizabeth Forbes, is connected to this family. It is a large group in Buckingham. Was the jury member you recognized identified correctly in the Times-Dispatch or the Appomattox & Buckingham Times? Joanne