Wednesday, January 26, 2022

from Ellen Dawson:

"I neglected to give you my grandfathers name, Thomas Eugene Buntin. His mother was Eugenia Baker. Who married W.T. Buntin. Eugenia is Buck Bakers sister."

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35010217/eleanor-buntin


"As Requested, I have thumbed through the book my father has and has pulled excerpts written in the margins by my grandmother.

These are all the notes that Eleanor Neely Buntin (1904-1989) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35010217/eleanor-buntin
wrote in the margins of her copy of DEVIL MAKE A THIRD. I have added links and information concerning each of her comments. Mrs. Buntin grew up in Montgomery and married T.E. Buntin (1896-1958) in 1926 so she never had the chance to meet many of the Dothan people who served as  models for characters in DEVIL MAKE A THIRD but she was well acquainted with many of Dothan's citizens whose lives were used by author Dougie Bailey to shape the characters in his fictional Southeast Alabama town of Aven. Her husband,  Thomas Eugene Buntin, was used as a model for the character of the
small red headed boy, Earnestine's oldest boy on page 171 of DEVIL MAKE A THIRD.
page 11
third paragraph." 'His mother' is under lined and in the margin reads 'Jane Baker.' "
Model for the character of JANE MCPHERSON BANNON:
from the October 27, 1953 DOTHAN EAGLE
from the May 9, 1918 WIREGRASS FARMER (Headland)



PAGE 13
last paragraph 'Coke" is underlined in in the margin is written:
"Uncle Coley (sic) whom I remember and gave me 1/2 stick of juicy fruit gum which he would cut with his pocket knife."
Model for the character of "Coke Bannon": 
from the September 24, 1937 DOTHAN EAGLE


PAGE 14, 
5th paragraph, 3rd sentence: Jeff and Hearn
In the margin reads:"Uncle Dan and Doug Baker"

A "Silent Northern" Motor Car in front of the Hotel Martin
 (model for THE HARRISON HOUSE), 1909. From left: Joe
 "Buck" Baker (model for the character of BUCK BANNON) ; C.
 F. "Doug" Baker (model for the character of HEARN
 BANNON); Eugene Lauck, a drug salesman from Montgomery;
 Byron Trammell, Post Master; Ed Winters, US Deputy
Marshall; Dan W. Baker (model for the character of JEFF
 BANNON). Courtesy Frank Gaines 

C.F. "Doug" Baker  from the October 28, 1930 Montgomery Advertiser
HEARN BANNON ~  based upon C.F. "Dug" Baker, circa 1882-1930. (FINDAGRAVE misspells Doug's name. It should read CYRUS FIELDS BAKER.) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31762160/cyrus-field-baker

JEFF BANNON ~ based upon Daniel William Baker 1879-1954 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25979489/daniel-william-baker
D.W. "Dan" Baker from the December 7, 1954 DOTHAN EAGLE



PAGE 14
7th paragraph: Joe Bannon
In the Margin: "Grandfather Joe Baker"
from the December 13, 1900 COLUMBIA BREEZE


The artist for the DOTHAN OPERA HOUSE MURAL mistakenly painted Joe Baker, Sr. instead of his son, Buck Baker.  

Joe Bannon (Joe Baker, Sr. 1836-1900, buried in the Baker plot of the Dothan City Cemetery)
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Baker&GSfn=Joe&GSby=1836&GSbyrel=in&GSdy=1900&GSdyrel=in&GSst=3&GScnty=60&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=31762170&df=all&
"The Joe Baker family came from near Abbeville. Mr. Buck Baker was a big stockholder in Houston National Bank. The Baker brothers built and operated the Martin Hotel, and dealt in real estate. Mr. Dan Baker, of the brothers is the only one living now." from Mrs. A.D. Whiddon's HISTORY OF DOTHAN published in 1945 in the DOTHAN EAGLE

PAGE 14
Last sentence:
You Kin see the McPherson stock...
Underlined McPherson and in the margin is written 'Sanders'
"McPherson" was character Jeanie Bannon's maiden name, "Sanders" was Jane Baker's maiden name. "McPherson" is also the name of the saloon below the room where Buck first plays poker on page 98 of Chapter 10. This may have been related to the Sanders family owning a saloon in old Dothan.

Page 50, last paragraph "Myrt and Nance,"
Written in the margin 'Maggie and Nanny?' There is a question mark after "Nanny."
This may refer to Maggie Baker and Nannie Baker or possibly Minnie Baker.  Minnie Baker Shadgett may be the model because in that passage of the novel, Buck was talking about his two older sisters and  Minnie was four years older than Maggie. 
from the March 26, 1920 MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER


Findagrave link for Nannie E. Baker (1872-1917) Cheek  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31762401/nannie-e.-cheek          )
from the January 20, 1917 DOTHAN EAGLE

Minnie Baker Shadgett (1870-1932)
from the September 9, 1932 DOTHAN EAGLE



Chapter 6, PAGE 59, 1st paragraph 4th line. "the block of land"
In the margin is written N. Foster, Newton, N St. Andrews, Powell
from the October 23, 1926 DOTHAN EAGLE


from the October 27, 1953 DOTHAN EAGLE


PAGE 64
8th paragraph, the whole paragraph is in parenthesis and it begins with "She's a schoolteacher," and beside it in the margin is written 'Music Teacher'


PAGE 73, right above the INTERLUDE is written: ' The teachers name was Ida and Ghastie was named Ida after her and christened later when she was 2 - 3, she was renamed Ghastie.
It is not until Chapter 16 that more is written in the margins.
from the July 28, 1898 COLUMBIA BREEZE  

"Ghastie" was Ghastie Baker Miller (1884-1944) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26015465/ghastie-miller
 who was the model for "Victoria Bannon." Victoria was renamed "Christina" on page 73 of DEVIL MAKE A THIRD after the scandal with "Big Vic." Ghastie Baker was originally named "Ida Baker" after the "Ida Clark" scandal, she was renamed "Ghastie." Ida Clark had sued Ghastie's brother, Buck Baker, for breach of promise in 1898. 
Mrs. M.A. "Ghastie" Miller owned 504 North Foster, one of the three "gift houses" from page 173 of DEVIL MAKE A THIRD. Mrs. Willie Bailey, mother of the author of Devil Make A Third, owned 500 North Foster and her sister, Mrs. Vera Lane owned 502 North Foster.
PAGE 171 , this page is about Thomas Eugene Buntin Sr. (1896-1958), Buck's Nephew.
3rd Paragraph -"He (Buck) was near the door when a small boy came slowly down the hall. Syrup dripped from a soggy hole in a biscuit held just above his mouth and the boy licked gravely at the bottom. He had bright red curly hair and his nose looked like all the Bannons."
In the Margins reads "Tom Sr."



Also on PAGE 171, next to the last paragraph, last sentence:
"then he reached out and knuckled the red head, hard," 
This is underlined and in the margin is written a single word. 'Tom.'
Chapter 19, Page 195
At the top of this page is written
'Tom was hired by Buck as "water boy" at 5 cents a week.'

PAGE 196
In the center of the page where the dialog reads:
"Had it Long?"
"Ten Years,"
In the margin is written "Martin Hotel"
images from HOUSTON COUNTY: The First 100 years


from the January 4, 1908 DOTHAN EAGLE
The Hotel Martin was the model for the "Harrison House" in DEVIL MAKE A THIRD.
PAGE 202
5th Paragraph
"Tobe? I didn't ...."
Tobe is underlined and written 'Dominque' over his name.
 The character of "Tobe Parody" is modeled after former Dothan police chief, Tobe Domingus (1860-1942) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31762560/james-lewis_jefferson-domingus
from the October 27, 1953 DOTHAN EAGLE
"35 yards" should read 35 YEARS.

 
PAGE 204, last paragraph
"I'm Lota Kyle,"
In the margin reads:
'Lota was the name of one of Buck's nieces, Lota B. Cheek'
Lota B. Cheek was the daughter of Baker daughter, Nannie E. Baker Cheek (1872-1917).https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31762401/nannie-e-cheek
 In 1922 she was awarded the title "AMERICA'S MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL" in a New York beauty contest and went on to work as a model and performed on stage and the movies. (from the June 9, 1922 WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL [Madison])


And Finally the last few written words.
Chapter 21, 4th paragraph,
"Laughing" Bell right in front...
Right over Bells name is written "Bush"
A "laughing Clem Bush" is mentioned in this June 13, 1913 DOTHAN EAGLE describing an excursion train from Dothan to Macon. 

from the May 15, 1929 DOTHAN EAGLE


Page 289, talks about the farm Buck bought his mother.
In the Margin in written 'Landmark'
Grandmother had underlined in the center of the page "I've got a thousand acres and a big white house ..."
In about 1981, acreage from the Baker Estate was donated to build the Landmark Park in Dothan. This property was the model for the property Buck buys his mother on Page 286 of DEVIL MAKE A THIRD.
 
Also on this page in the first line is the name "Myrt", over it is written 'Maggie'.
Maggie Baker  Dowling (1874-1920)  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9451982/maggie-dowling
PAGE 299 1st full paragraph, half way down is the name "Carmen".
In the margin is written 'Aunt Jessie'.

And Last on page 300, at the bottom of the page is underlined "the boys".
In the Margin is written 'Tommy, Otis and Joe.' 
 in 1898 and her husband's death in 1900 made her children orphans. They were adopted by the Baker family. In the novel, Eugenia Buntin is the model for "Ernestine" and her children are referred to as  "Carmen" and the boys. Carmen, the girl, was modeled after Jessie Buntin Morgan https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82029621/jessie-morgan
and "the boys" are modeled after her brothers, Tommy https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35010203/thomas-eugene-buntin

posted by robertoreg at 8:05 AM

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