A Hill Country Family: Ben and Dovie Greenwood, George, Tom and Kate of Nettleton, Mississippi, 1944

by Terry Thornton
email: hillcountrymonroecounty@gmail.com

Nettleton, Mississippi. March 16, 1944

Sometime during the late afternoon or early evening of Thursday March 16, 1944, farmer Ben Greenwood and his wife Dovie prepared for a trip to town. Once those preparations were made, they climbed into their wagon and left their home between Nettleton and Shannon and headed to Nettleton on Highway 45.

Ben Greenwood was 46 years old.

At that time, Highway 45 was a concrete road, 22 feet wide but in places had little shoulder because of barriers erected along the sides of the roadway.

Ben Greenwood was a farmer, and, as he described it, he "farmed on the thirds and fourths" for B.G. Coggins of Nettleton, renting about 55 acres of farm land. Corn was grown on the thirds and cotton was grown on the fourths. Because Ben had his own mules and equipment, he was able to rent the land for either a third or a fourth of the profits going to the landowner.

Ben went to his barn and got the harnesses and tack necessary to hitch his matched pair of black mules, George and Tom, to the wagon. George was seven years old and weighed about 1,030 pounds and Tom was eight years old and weighed about 1,000 pounds. Ben's third mule, Kate, a ten year old smooth-mouthed black mare weighing about 1,050 pounds was haltered up and she was tied to walk behind the wagon.

Ben and Dovie drove a "Dixie" wagon. Across the front was a bench seat. Ben got in on the right side and Dovie sat to his left. Ben and Dovie had no children.

It was a clear and dry evening.

As night was coming they had brought their kerosene lantern to provide light and to warn others they were on the road.

Ben drove the team of George and Tom. Dovie sat beside Ben on the bench. Kate walked along behind the wagon. Slowly the Dixie wagon made its way down the lane from the Greenwood residence several hundred yards and then the animal-powered vehicle turned east on Highway 45 towards Nettleton. They were about three miles west of town --- and that is where they were headed on Thursday evening.

Night overtook them about two miles outside of town. Along the road there were no shoulders except for about two feet because barriers were up to prevent cars from running off the roadway. The Greenwood's kerosene lantern was lit.

When Ben noticed headlights of cars approaching him and headlights of cars coming up behind him, he told Dovie to hold the lantern high so that the traffic could see them. And he guided the team over to the extreme side of the roadway.

Dovie may have stood up to hold the lantern to warn the cars of their presence.

Ben stated later that the last thing he remembered after telling Dovie to hold the lantern high was the car approaching him getting about even with the wagon and lights coming upon them fast from the rear --- then Ben remembers returning to consciousness. He was down off the wagon lying on the concrete road.

A military sedan, a five-passenger car, had rear-ended the Greenwoods. Kate was killed outright and George and Tom's injuries were so severe that they were destroyed by a veterinarian. The Dixie wagon-bed was reduced to "kindling wood." Even the harnesses on George and Tom were destroyed by the impact of the military vehicle.

Ben's new $ 2.50 hat was ruined in the accident.

Dovie's new $ 20.00 eye glasses were destroyed in the accident.

Through a double miracle, however, both Dovie and Ben Greenwood survived the accident although both received major injuries. A passing motorist, Andy Reese of Tupelo, gathered up Dovie and Ben and the driver of the military sedan and rushed them on to the hospital which was also located on Highway 45 between Verona and Tupelo.

The claim report upon which the above is based includes affidavits by the Greenwoods notarized by Bryon Long, Chancery Clerk, Lee County; one notarized by Guy C. Wood of Monroe County; affidavits by Dr. V.B. Philpot, Tupelo, as well as a letter of July 13, 1945 from Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War, to the Honorable Dan R. McGehee, Chairman, Committee on Claims, U.S. House of Representatives; Bill H.R. 2686; and of course, the Senate Report No. 711 from Calendar No. 714 generated from the first session of the 79th Congress. The Committee on Claims recommended that the bill be amended and passed --- it provided the sum of $1,200 to Ben Greenwood and the sum of $500 to Dovie Greenwood, of Nettleton, Mississippi, in full settlement of all claims against the United States for personal injuries and losses.

One of the affidavits establishes that Ben and Dovie Greenwood were of the "white race."

It is interesting to note that one of the affidavits signed by the Greenwoods asserted that the driver of the military sedan was intoxicated; no other mention of that assertion is found within the report.

Secretary of War Stimson's letter makes it clear that the War Department had already settled with the Greenwoods their claim for property damage, medical and incidental expenses incurred as a result of the wreck. Those expenses are interesting if for no other reason than to compare with today's costs.

Ben Greenwood's claim of property, medical and incidental expenses:

Value of 3 mules, George, Tom, and Kate .............$ 515.00

Wagon ..............................................................................60.00

Harness.............................................................................40.00

Dr. J.T. Alston, Veterinarian, Tupelo

who destroyed George and Tom ..................................7.50

Clothing (Ben's suit of clothing and hat were destroyed)..15.00

North Mississippi Community Hospital...............................2.50

Dr. V.P. Philpot, Tupelo ...................................................15.00

Taxi fare from Tupelo to residence in Nettleton................5.00

Total ...........................................................$ 660.00

Dovie Greenwood's claim of property, medical and incidental expenses:

Dr. V.P. Philpot, Tupelo......................................................$ 5.00

Damage to clothing..............................................................15.00

Replacement of eye glasses

destroyed in accident......................................................20.00

Total ..................................................................$ 40.00

Because both the Greenwoods had lasting injuries which prevented them from earning their normal living through farming, they asked for damages beyond personal property, medical and incidental expenses.

They received $ 1,200.00 for Ben Greenwood and $ 500 for Dovie Greenwood through this special claim bill passed by the 79th Congress of the United States.

Source:

BEN GREENWOOD AND DOVIE GREENWOOD. Report to accompany H.R. 2686. U.S. Senate Report No. 711, Calendar No. 714, First Session, 79th Congress. November 8 (legislative day, October 29), 1945. Washington, D.C. as published in U.S. Serial Sets, Memorials, Petitions and Private Relief Action of the U.S. Congress, LexisNexis, available online through Heritage Quest. Accessed through the Lee-Itawamba County Mississippi Library, October 6, 2009. Nine pages.