Chester Flanagin
(b. 1 Jun 1869)
What happened to Chester? Based on the census data Chester and
Florence were divorced, but the divorce record has yet to be found
in Knox, Blount, Sevier, or Roane County. The name Chester Flanagin
cannot be found in any data base after the marriage record of
Chester and Florence. The 1890 U.S. Census was basically destroyed
with only partial entries recovered from various States - Tennessee
was not one of those States.
Family stories from the descendants of Chester's brothers are all
that we have to go by. It seems that Chester was considered to be
the smartest of the five children. It has been said that he had
beautiful handwriting and was extremely smart. The problem was that
he was always in trouble with the law. Not that he was a mean, or
vicious person, just that he stayed in trouble all of the time.
Supposedly Chester was sent to prison and escaped, never to be heard
from again. Until recently it was assumed that Chester was sent to
Brushy Mountain Prison and made his escape from there. Fact: Chester
was never imprisoned in the Tennessee State Prison System.
Documentation is in hand indicating that he was never on the books of
the State of Tennessee as a prisoner. The State has suggested
checking local sheriff departments and county penal farms. This is
being done, but it takes several months to get an answer from those
agencies. It took nine months to get a response from the State.
The prison, or penal system, that Chester was in was located in an
area where coal mining was done, and prisoners worked in those mines.
It is told that Chester had learned that the large stream which ran
through the mine, and disappeared in the mine, exited on the other
side of the mountain. One day, it is said, Chester dove into the
stream and was never heard of again. There is more to the story. It
has been told that Chester's brothers and sister, once each year,
would each put in $250.00 ($1000 total) and send it somewhere. Their
spouses were not supposed to know about it but they did. It was
always assumed that the money was being sent to Chester. No one
knows, or has a memory of the name that was on the envelope, but
seeing Texas on the envelope is remembered.
The final chapter to this story occurs at the funeral of Houston
Flanagin (Chester's younger brother) in November 1946. It was common
practice for the body of the deceased to be brought to their house
for family and friends to come by, pay their last respects, and visit
with the family and friends of the deceased. Several of the
grandchildren, nephews and nieces were in the front yard when a large
black sedan pulled up to the house. Three men got out of the car. All
were in dark suits; two younger men and an older gentleman. The three
men walked to the house, opened the screen door, went over to the
casket, and then exited the house returning to their car and driving
off. Not one word was spoken to them or by them. As the car drove
away one of the children commented to the other kids that the car was
from Texas.
There is one reference to Chester regarding Logan, West Virginia.
Logan is a coal mining area, deep in the WV mountains, and there is a
prison located there too. That information is still being pursued.
--Phil Flanagan
