Primrose of the Prairie: Murder, Accident or Suicide. Part 1

When your name is Ernest Primrose Perry you are tough and not to be messed with, and you go by E.P. or Ernie. He was my great grandfather, and I can only can assume he was tough since he died early and I was born late. E.P. was born on August 1, 1888, in Arkansas, only because it was on the way to Texas from Tennessee. His parents, with his father's siblings and elderly mother were moving west for a better life when his mother went into labor. They made it to Texas and settled in south Taylor County raising livestock. E.P.'s parents, Willis Commodore and Martha Denton Perry homesteaded 360 acres close to what is now known as Coronado's Camp. They built a small dugout in the side of a mountain for their family, that included three more boys. Just west of the dugout was a canyon or deep gully with a spring fed pool of water at one end. Ferns grew naturally on the side of the steep cliffs. This area was nicknamed "God's Creation". Eventually, Willis C. built a large "L" shaped house between the dugout and the canyon. E.P. married Willie Newton Reynolds in April of 1907, and my grandfather, Loyd came along the next year. They all still lived in the "L" shaped house together until E.P. took a job as foreman for the Stoker Ranch. In 1929, E.P. and Willie decided to move their family to Dora and then Divide, just over the Taylor County line in Nolan County. When he was not ranching he was a jack of all trades. During the 30's he had a small store near their house where he would sell gasoline, and repair leather and wood items. Late one night Bonnie and Clyde came through and he sold them gasoline. He did not realize it at the time though.

Just about every picture of E.P. shows his character loud and clear, or what I have imagined his personality to have been. He is either playing a ukulele or smoking a cigarette, and always has his gun on display in some wild west cowboy way. Looked like he was having a good time. It is said he was extremely well liked and always telling a good story. My kind of person.

Eighty Seven years ago yesterday, E.P. met his fate in Divide, TX by his own gun, a 38 pistol. The next part of this story involves a well known Taylor County deputy sheriff, a Texas Ranger, and a grand jury. Possibly some lies and a cover up, but definitely a mystery. To be continued...