In 1928 my maternal great grandmother Ola Mae Webb Rivers (b. 1891)died at the age of 37. She was married to Robert Rivers. Family folklore tells us she and her husband and children (Josephine, Bertha, Buddy, Ben and baby Hazel) were driving in their car on their way home from Church, presumably, as it was a Sunday. My great grandfather had some sort of dispute with the local sheriff (speculation it was over land, timber rights, possible bootleg whiskey/moonshine) and the Sheriff began to follow them and pursue them at high speed. The sheriff fired at their vehicle and my great grandfather attempted to get his shotgun from the burlap sack under his seat. My great grandmother stopped him because of the kids and told him to stop. It was then that my grandmother, Bertha (a.k.a "Big Mama") noticed her mother had been shot, just above her heart and the head of her infant daughter, Hazel Ola. Well, Ola Mae died and I have not been able to find anything about this incident in newspaper archives etc. I am seeking any information about this event in the Rivers Family and whether or not my great grandfather was arrested; whether the Sheriff was arrested; if there was a trial, etc. I know these were lawless times, but I would love to get this documented for posterity. Thank you!
Sonny Taylor (daughter of Charlotte Sandra Livingston, grand daughter of Bertha Ethel Rivers Livingston)