Blind Tigers: The Simpsons Part II

In this post I will examind the children of Laura Jane Simpson, the  notorious 'Blind Tigress' of southern Stanly County. Laura, herself an illegitimate child, was the mother of 4 illegitimate children. She made money as a prostitute, then later a madam, by running a club, or outlet for illicit drugs and alchohol in Cottonville, NC. 

Her place was supposed to be on 3 acres owned by William R. Krider of Spencer, Rowan County and located north of Cottonville and south of Rocky River Springs, which I imagine to be near old Rehobeth Church and around the intersections of Aldridge and Old Davis Road to Plank Road. 

Tales of her malefaction spread far and wide. 


Laura's 4 children came into her life at four disparate stages. Each has their own unique story and led their own unique lives based upon their differing circumstances. This is their tale.



The Evening Chronicle
(Charlotte, North Carolina)5 January 1910 • Page 1


Mamie Simpson

Mamie's days were numbered after that. Her children still young and Mamie. by no measure an old woman, had come to the end of her road, just one short year later. Mamie passed away on August 10, 1921 of a septic infection from an abscess on her leg. Her reported age was 44 and Laura Simpson was reported as her mother. Again, Furniture Store owner G. W. Stinson was the Undertaker and apparent informant, as he was for her mother, Laura. Mr. Stinson seemed to know the family pretty well. The death certificate reported that Maimie was to be buried at Cedar Grove, but she wasn't . She was buried at Rehobeth, just like her mother.

Also like Laura, her tombstone simply stated "At Rest", with the incorrect year of death, 1920. Her Death Certificate was dated 1921.

Mamie children were ages 15 thru 1 when she died, so what happened to them?

It appears they went to live with her sister, Daisy, where the youngest are found in 1930.

I do not know who the father of fathers were of Mamie's children, but it was not that many generations  ago. Her children lived and died in fairly modern times, and most of their children are still living. My advice to Mamie's descendants is to take a DNA test and familiarize yourself with the family names of those in Southern Stanly and Uppper Anson Counties during the time she lived there.

Through the process of elimination, take out those second and third cousins that  you know how they connect out of the picture. Take the remainder and weed through, try to find which branch on your family tree that they connect to. Then when you get a group that just don't seem to fit anywhere, look at their trees carefully and see if there is a common thread. Do they have a common ancestry among themselves? And by that process, you might be able to figure out who was the father of the child of Mamie you descend from.

Mamie Simpsons children were: 

1) C? Mae born about 1906. She was Mamie's firstborn and shows up in the 1910 and 1920 census records. I don't know any more about her at this time.

2) Hugh Robert Simpson was born on October 14, 1907. He, as with the older 3 children, were not to be found in 1930.  In 1934, however, he married Mary Frone Burris, daughter of  Rufus and Mollie Howell Burris. They settled around Aquadale and Hugh was the first of the known siblings to pass away. He and his wife are buried at the old Harward's Chapel Primitive Baptist Church.

3) Bill Simpson was born about 1909. Like his older sister, he only appeared in the 1910 and 1920 census records with his mother and siblings.

As both Laura, who died in 1917 and Mamie, who did in 1921, both have Death Ceritficates, and their gravesites are marked and known, I don't believe Mae or Bill died in those early years, especially since Hugh Robert, who lived until 1984, can't be found in those later census records either. I believe they probably relocated and married, perhaps, but died before Hugh did in 1984, because they aren't listed in his death certificate. It seems odd, but just because someone lived into the 20th Century, into the years of better record-keeping, doesn't mean they can be found.

4) Dallie Lee Simpson was born on September 27, 1910. In 1930, following her mother's death, she was living with Mamie's sister, Daisy Simpson Aldridge and family. In 1933, she married Aaon  G. Clar, son of Titus and Rosanna Burris Clark. Their wedding announcement was even printed in the Charlotte papers.

Very odd, as she followed siblings that could not be found at all. The couple made their home in Big Lick and Dallie passed away in 2008, and is buried at Liberty Hill Primitive Baptist Church. 2008?, yes, Mamie's children lived into modern times. As I said, not that many generations ago. DNA could solve the mystery of who their father or fathers were.

5) Velma Ruth Simpson was born on August 26, 1912. Like Dallie, she was living with the Aldridges in 1930. Later that same year, on August 27, 1930, she married John Cull Preslar in Anson County, son of  Elias Darling and Mary Susan "Mittie" Newton Preslar. He was a widower, a few years older than she. 

Velma Ruth died on January 29, 1987 and is buried at Jerusalem Baptist Church Cemetery in Anson County, near the Union County line. 

6) Margie Marie Simpson was born on July 14, 1915. She was not living with her Aunt Daisy in 1930, but instead was boarding with a John E. Love, an elderly man, near Locust.

Margie married Clifford Monk Taylor in 1938 in Chesterfield County, SC, a common wedding destination due to the lax marriage laws,  and they settled in the Newsome area of Davidson County, where he was from. Newsome was a town on the Yadkin River that was mostly flooded out during the building of the dams. 

Margie died in 1993 and is buried at Taylors Grove Church at the intersection of Blaine Road, Hwy 49 and Hwy 8, near the Davidson County and Montgomery County border.

7) Lane Benton Simpson was the youngest of Mamie's children. He was born on April 25, 1919. Lane served in World War II.  He had also lived with the Aldridges in 1930. His draft card states he was from Oakboro, NC, but in 1940, he was living in Tarboro. The year prior, he had married Miss Emma Louise Hyde of Tarboro, Edgecomb County, and that is where he raised his family. Lane, the youngest, was also the  last one living. He died in 2013 and is buried at Edgecomb Park in Tarboro. Below is his Obituray from Find-A- Grave.

If anyone reading this thinks Mae or Bill could be someone you knew, a grandparent or great-grandparent, please contact me so I can add them in the family tree. 

Below the article describes "Three women of questionable character"selling whiskey. One was of course, Laur, the other two, all signs point to being Terzah, her cousin, and Mamie, her daughter. 

Daisy, being born in 1882, first shows up in the 1900 census, the year her mother is not to be found.

While her older sister Mamie, and her brother, Bud are living in Rowan County with W. R. Krider, Daisy is working as a servant for Charles J. Blalock and his second wife, Louisa. What was the Blalock connection? Well, Daisy's older sister, if you recall, was the daughter of a Richmond Blalock. Charles J. Blalock, the son of  Maston and Sarah McSwain Blalock, had a twin brother named Richmond, he also had a 1st cousin named Richmond Blalock, son of Maston's brother Jordan, and the all had a Grandfather named Richomond Blalock Suffice to say friends of the family.

Another connection in this household could be a clue to Daisy's marriage. Louisa Arena Davis, was the youngest daughter of James and Rowena Lee Davis. James was the brother of my ancestor, Henry Davis and had moved from the southern part of Stanly County, below Cottonville, across the Rocky River into Anson to run a mill on Richardson Creek. Lou, as she was  more commonly called, married Charles Blalock after the death of his first wife, Judith Catherine McSwain, who had died childless less than a decade after the marriage. 

It may have been through this Davis connection that Daisy Simpson met and married Jesse Filmore  Aldridge, who was the stepson of  James' nephew and Lou's 1st cousin, Horton H. Davis.

Daisy and Filmore were married the next spring, on April 10, 1901. She only gave her mother as Laura and no father, although the bond existed naming her father as well as her Death Certificate , which also names George Andrews as her father. She knew who he was.

Fillmore gave his father's name as H. H. Davis and his mother as Julina Davis. H. H. Davis and Julina Davis. They had married in 1891. H. H. Davis was his stepfather. His actual father was Ephraim Whitley.

The Charlotte News
(Charlotte, North Carolina)16 November 1910 • Page 4

Jesse Filmore Aldridge was my Great Grandfather's half-brother. Obviously named for Julina's Grandfather, Jesse Murray, he was born in 1879.  Daisy and Filmore had something in common, both were grass orphans, children of the dust, illegitimate. I've seen this sort of situation before. Fatherless children were placed among the lowest shelves of society, belittled and ostracized their entire lives. Parents of  'proper', intact families, no matter the social class, often would not let their children socialize with, neverthe less marry, them. So it was common for one illegitimate child to marry another, either that or move away and lie. Sometimes, just to the next county would do that's where also these nonexistent "Johns" came from. Actual orphans and half-orphans were common and respectable, so the fathers name on documents became John (insert persons last name here). A few people got creative, using another name, and that name might have been the actul first name of their actual father, if they knew who he was, but the surname would be theri own, wihich actually came from their mother. Thats why the child of Docie Springer and David McSwain might name their father on their marriage certificate as 'David Springer'. 

As with the children of Laura Simpson's cousin, Tirzah, one named their father as John Simpson, another as Ben Simpson and yet another as George Simpson, while most of the time, father was left blank, or labeled 'Unknown'. As tumbleweed George W. Andrews had such a long relationship with Laura Simpson and her mother Nancy, fathering a child with each of them, I wonder if he might aslo be the "George" for one of Tirzy's children. Shrug, but back to Filmore.

In the above photo of the H. H and Julina Davis family, Jesse Filmore Aldridge is the tallest boy (man) in the back. To the right of Fillmore are George, Titus, Rebecca "Becky", Martha "Mattie", Carrie, William "Will", Tom (leaning on his father's knee, H. H., Julina holding Cora and Ritchie beside of her. Ritchie would die at age 3 and is buried at Rehobeth, all of the others grew up and had families of their own. The only one missing is Mollie, Julina's oldest daughter, who was married by then.

Julina's story was sad, but typical of female Civil War orphans in the South. Her father, Henry Garner Aldridge, died from disease while surving as a substitute. Some of her teenaged sisters were married off, nearly immediately to old men. The younger children were placed around with 'intact' families, families with fathers. Her younger brother , John Adam Aldridge, was fortunate in that he was placed with his Uncle Josiah Aldridge, Garner's younger brother. But Julina was not so fortunate. Julina, and perhaps her sister Rosetta, were placed with the Benjamin Lindsay Whitley family, a large family with lots of teenaged sons. 

Her sister, at 17, married George Lindsay Whitley in a short-lived marriage and died within two years later. Julina ended up having at least four children, with probably the same father, George's brother Ephraim Whitley.

My mother remembered her "Uncle Fillmore", actually a Great Uncle. Filmore told of a small gravesite off of Adridge Road, between Aquadale and Cottonville, that Julina had buried two daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth, who had died as infants. Not knowing who came first, that leaves Molly as being the oldest child of Julina to survive to adulthood, and Filmore second.

Mollie listed Ephraim Whitley as her father on her marriage License to John Frank Boone in 1895.  Around the same time, Filmore listed Benjamin L. Whitley, his grandfather, as his ancestor in the Permanent Voting records. A part of the John Crow Laws inacted to prevent African American men from voting, it was required of voters to be able to read, however, a grandfather clause was included if a man, or his father or grandfather, had been a 'permanent voter' , proir to a certain date. It was a listing of all of the men of the area over 21 who had been a permanent voter themsleves, or was the son or grandson of one. In genealogy, it can lend an aid in determining who was the father of someone, especially if there were multiple men in the same area with the same name. So Filmore was the Grandson of Benjmain L. Whitley, probably through Ephraim, like his sister, but not necessarily. 

But back to Daisy. So Daisy Simpson, 19, married Filmore Aldridge, 22, on April 10, 1901. Filmore was said to be a big handsome guy, with a reknowned mean streak, that he likely inherited from his Murray blood, as every generation seemed to produce a rather evil or angry man in the Murray bloodlines. This 'bad blood' was fueled. no doubt, by his status as a 'bastard;' , a status I am sure he was chided about his entire life. 

He got in trouble often, mostly for fighting, and quickly gained a reputaiton for it  in the Aquadale area. There were rumours that he even beat his wife and children. Yet, the rumours do not hold out within the records of the times. If he was a 'bad' man, he was not all bad. My mother only remembered a very old man when she was a very young girl, quiet and smiling. 

The first census of the couple as a married family shows them with 5 children and a 20 year old Servant named Ginnie Simpson. So, they rented a farm, but were wealthy enough to have a servant? No, notice that the last name was Simpson. Ginnie (aka Jenny) was actually Daisy's half-sister. So, why did they call her a servant to the census taker? Probably beccause Ginnie was not white, she was racially mixed. Still a daughter of Laura Simpson, Filmore and Daisy had taken her in , but were probably embarrassed about the relationship. It was 1910, 2021's colorblind mindset did not exist.  A white woman having a mixed child in the late 1800's, early 1900's just did not happen, except that  it did. It just was not socially acceptable to the point of ostracization. To avoid an unpleasant explantion to the census taker, they just called her a servant, and I am sure she helped take care of the children,  household chores and gardening.

Unfortunately, just 4 short years later, Daisy's life would end tragically. On October 16, 1934, the Aldridge home caught fire and Daisy was caught in it. Her Death Certificate stated that she was burned from the hips up, with practically all skin burned from the hips up. She was 53 years old. The informant on the certificate was her husband, Filmore. He gave her father as George Andrews and her mother as Laura Simpson. Daisy was buried at Rehobeth Church below Aquadale.

Five years later, Filmore, now 60, would remarry to Martha Hudson Huneycutt, a widow. There would be no children of this marriage, as both were mature. Six years later, Filmore would join Daisy in the cold ground at Rehobeth and lie beside her forever. 

The 10 children of Daisy Simpson Aldridge were: 

1902-1979 Beulah Lee Aldridge. Married  twice; Thomas Lee Broadway & Torrence Homer Almond;

2 children.

1913-1943 Horace Augustus Aldridge, Married Bronnie Smith, 4 children. Horace was the first of the four children to pass away.

CLIPPED FROM The Charlotte Observer Charlotte, North Carolina 21 Jul 1943, Wed  •  Page 10

1905-1967 Marvin Lotto Aldridge, Married  Gertie Ruth Honeycutt; 3 children.

1907-1987 George Nissen Aldridge, Married Lucille Carrelle, Moved to Lenoir, One child.

1910-1990 Lillian Sade Aldridge, Married twice, Wade Fonzo Lambert & Milas Burris; 3 chldren.

1911-1977 Joe Claude Aldridge, Married Estelle Huneycutt, 1 child.

1913-1997 Edna Rosetta Aldridge, Married John P. Hamman, 2 children.

1916-2002 Jesse Filmore Aldridge, Jr. Married Bertie M. Morton, 2 children, lived in Charlotte.

1919-2015 Thomas Victor Aldridge, married Joan Purnell; 3 children, Married Franicis Morgan, 1 stepchild. Vic was the last living child of Daisy. He settled in Siler City, NC.

1922-2003 Mildred Louise Aldridge, Married Robert L. Funderburk, 1 child, moved around a bit before settling in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Laura Simpson would go on to have 2 more children after Mamie and Daisy; Bud, her only son, and Jenny. I've decide to tell thier stories separately and also to elaborate on Daisy's tragic death in a separate post.

In the meantime, I've included a few obituaries of Daisys children who lived well into the 21st Century. Marvel with me at the manifestation of the American dream, where one can be born into modest and even tragic beginings and through hard work and perserverance, pursue ones dreams. Let's treasure this fact of our wonderful nation and never loose sight of it.

These are followed by more of the many clippings of the escapades of Laura and her crew. What an extraordinary character she was.  

The News and Observer Raleigh, North Carolina 18 Jun 2015, Thu  •  Page A11

Victor lived the longest of Daisy's children. He was the youngest son.

CLIPPED FROM The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City, Utah 07 Sep 2003, Sun  •  Page 30

Mildred was the youngest child. She looked a great deal like her mother, whom I have seen photos of, but do not have in my possession.



The Monroe Journal
(Monroe, North Carolina)14 February 1911 • Page 1



The Dispatch
(Lexington, North Carolina)12 January 1910 • Page 7





The Raleigh Times
(Raleigh, North Carolina)16 November 1910 • Page 3



The Monroe Journal
(Monroe, North Carolina)25 January 1910 • Page 1


The Concord Times
(Concord, North Carolina)24 January 1910 • Page 4