A Family Keepsake, Handed Down
After our grandfather Leon Harman Grayson passed away, our widowed grandmother gave me a keepsake. “He wanted you to have it,” she told me. It was a cane given to Leon’s father William L. Grayson (1870-1941) many years before. William was a remarkable man, the only child of homemaker Laura Patterson and railroad machinist and electrician Edward F.R. Grayson.
Family Man
William married Lillian Turner in 1893, and together they raised seven children in Savannah, Georgia, though their eldest son Willie died of dysentery prior to his second birthday in 1899. Leon was the third of their four boys, born in 1906.
Produce Clerk and Businessman
William was an energetic and gregarious man, determined to succeed in whatever he did. As a teenager he worked as a produce clerk before entering into partnership with his employer. According to a 1901 advertisement, Collins, Grayson & Co. sold “fruits, produce, hay, grain, and commercial merchandise” from their storefront on Barnard and Bay Streets on the Savannah riverfront, while the 1903 city directory also listed them as proprietors of the Savannah Candy Company on E. Broad Street. William later became a life insurance agent.
Militiaman and Veterans Commander
In addition to his full-time employment, William was heavily involved in the Georgia state militia from age 16, receiving a 2nd Lieutenant’s commission by age 26. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, William was elected Captain of the Georgia Republican Blues, Company “M” of the 1st Georgia Volunteer Regiment. The Georgia Volunteers apparently never left the state during the conflict. Nevertheless, William was later twice elected National Commander (1928-1929) of the United Spanish War Veterans (USWV). He attained the rank of Colonel before retiring from his military duties sometime before 1920.
Fraternal and Political Career
William served as Savannah City Alderman for at least two terms, 1903-1907, and took on leadership positions in fraternal organizations. He was an active Odd-Fellow, served as Grand Master of a Masonic lodge, and in 1915 was elected national “Grand Worthy President” of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. His fraternal and political connections led to his appointment to the prominent position of Clerk of the Superior Court of Chatham County, an office he held for much of the rest of his life. He was named Chief of Staff to Georgia Governor (later U.S. Senator) Richard Russell (namesake of the Russell Senate Office Building) in 1931, which brought William into the highest circles of the national Democratic Party, including a friendship with Franklin Roosevelt. William was also elevated to the militia rank of General, probably by Gov. Russell somewhere around this time.
The Cane
The cane was the favorite of Leon. It is about 3-feet tall, hand-carved and clear-coated, with a brown varnish on the curved handle. A spread eagle with a blue and red shield on its breast adorns the front, with what looks like it could be olive branches in one talon and stalks of wheat in the other. On the back side is carved U.S.W.V. in 1″ square block letters, thus apparently a gift to William from this veteran’s group. Though I am Leon’s oldest male grandchild, he was not William’s oldest son. I thus felt particularly honored to be gifted it.
The Newspaper Article
Imagine my surprise when I came upon an old newspaper article on the gifting of a cane to William Grayson! Dated January 3, 1932, it reads he was the “proud possessor” and the cane was “presented to him on New Year’s Day by his comrades in the local camp of the Spanish-American War Veterans.” My cane was famous, and the pride of my remarkable great-grandfather. No wonder my grandfather made it his favorite, and carefully chose me, his responsible and deserving grandson, to carry the on legacy. Or maybe not. Here is the article:
In 1932 William was gifted “a gold-headed cane,” not my keepsake. The gold-headed cane probably went to his oldest son Spence’s family at his death, while Leon was given the carved wooden cane, also gifted by his USWV colleagues at an earlier date. No matter. The fact remains I am the “proud possessor” of my great-grandfather’s (less noteworthy) walking cane. It is an honor.
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