Sometimes the little bit you do know makes you want to cry…

about someone.

This is the emotion evoked when one thinks back on Fannie Tolbert. Fannie Tolbert was born 2 March 1908. On the 1910 census her age is given as 6; there are other discrepancies in the birth year of other children on the same census record. The information on official documents is only as accurate as the person giving the information.

Fannie Tolbert was the eighth child of nine known children born to Elizabeth Anna Garth Rachel Matilda Terry Tolbert and husband Joseph Calvin Tolbert. The Tolbert name was originally spelled Talbert, which would denote tallow or candle maker. Over the decades it has many variant spellings to include Tabutt, Talbot, Tolbut, Talburt, etc.

After so many years researching and trying to locate Fannie, her whereabouts is now known. And I ponder as to whether the family ever knew what became of her.  I am pretty sure that my grandmother Drue Tolbert Peebles, her sister, never knew and that fact might have brought her comfort now. She always called her Sister Fannie.

Fannie Tolbert married first to William POLK Peebles. Polk Peebles was a brother to my granddaddy, Robert Duncan Peebles. Tolbert sisters married Peebles brothers.  Polk and Fannie had two girls. Mother talked of them often and had a high regard for the two sisters. She called them Red and Bobbie. Their names were actually Pauline and Louise Tolbert. At some point Fannie and Polk Peebles divorced, but no record has been found to date, but had to be prior to 1920.

Polk Peebles married a second time to Hortensia “Teanie” Terry. That marriage took place 21 November 1927 at Leighton, Colbert County, Alabama. They had several children: Dorothy Jean, Dwight,  Linda, Lou Ella, William Thomas, Cleora “Cleeter”,  Linnie Dee, Coleman Lee, Floyd, Doris Ann, and Beverly Joan.

It seems that no one today can add any info on Fannie or what became of her.  Both of her daughters have passed on. Fannie married a Henry Chastain the second time. Her death came at a tender age. She was just 30 years 8 months and 16 days old at her death on 18 Nov 1938. Her death certificate proves a heartache for family and friends.

Fannie Tolbert Peebles Chastain died at Lookout Hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee of her own hand. She was poisoned with bichloride. Verification that it is Fannie Tolbert Chastain comes from information extracted from her death certificate:

Name:Fannie Chastain

Spouse:Henery Chastain

Father:J C Tolbert, born Alabama

Mother: Lizzie Terry, born Alabama

Birth:abt 1908

Death:18 Nov 1938 in Chattanooga, Hamilton, Tennessee; she died in the am

Death: suicide in the city at a hotel

She was under a doctor’s care from 2 November to 18 November 1938. That brings to mind, was she suffering from a terminal disease or other ailment? She was buried 20 November 1938 in Memorial Cemetery in Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee. The only Memorial cemetery found in Chattanooga was Chattanooga Memorial Cemetery. A memorial in her honor has been placed on Find-A-Grave online.

Tennessee, Deaths and Burials Index, 1874-1955 verifies the info give in the death death certificate in Tennessee.

Name:	Fannie Chastain [Fannie Tolbert]
Birth Date:	abt 1908
Age:	30
Death Date:	18 Nov 1938
Death Place:	Chattanooga, Hamilton, Tennessee
Gender:	Female
Marital Status:	Married
Father’s Name:	J C Tolbert
Mother’s name:	Lizzie Terry
Spouse’s Name:	HeneryChastain
FHL Film Number:	1876868