W.W. Brakefield 
PORTRAIT OF A RAILROADER, PART I
By Evamaria Krischell
(Published in the Cowan Bell, Vol. II, No. 3, February 6, 1975)
As a substitute for our “Local Representatives” series, the next three articles will attempt to describe a person of long ago: one W.W. Brakefield, a conductor for the NC & St L R.R. Line and of Cowan, Tennessee.
Personal letters and newspaper clippings scarcely need an explanation in order to give a clear picture of this man’s loyalty, strict adherence to the law and rules, and a genuine belief in the Christian faith.
On his retirement in 1920, after 40 years of service, a newspaper described him as “…one of the oldest passenger conductors on the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis railway in point of service….Railroad officials speak in the highest terms of his service and loyalty to the company and but for his application for relief he would still be running the road.
“Mr. Brakefield lives at Cowan, Tenn., and for forty-six years has been in the service, most of the time as a conductor. He entered the service as a brakeman in October, 1873, and was shortly thereafter promoted to conductor. He has handled freight runs as well as passenger runs, his last service being on the Old Hickory branch between Nashville and the powder plant.”
He was evidently given a generous pension and certificate of performance, for he sends his letter on January 3, 1920. The letter is copied verbatim and the spelling is original:
“Cowan Station
Jan. 3, 1920
W.P. Bruce G.M.
F.W. Kelsey G. Supt. and all conserned
T.A. Cakeson
"My Dear sirs
"In anser to your most welcom and valuable Faiver of the 30th I wil say that I can not find wordes to Explayne to you how I appreciat it, and as I Penn this my Eyes is Dimes with moistur to no that you have agreed to Provide Temperal Blessings that wil Protect me and my companion (Lik Eliza of olde) the Remainder of naturall Day.
“Rockfeller is no Prouder of his Fortune to Day than I am mine whitch has fell to my fate that has caused me to have & go through maney Hair Raising Exesiences [experiences]. but by being Faithfull to my Trust & Living up to the Golden Rule I am now Reeping what I hav sowne – now all that I can say in your behalf is that I hope and Trust tht your Hastes [hearts] & mindes may be Divinley Guided & Directed Like the Lonsom Finger Board that makes no mistakes allways Pointing in the Right Direction for Ever Ready to assist those that needes assistance for whitch you wil Reape spiritual Blessings Ten Foldes moore than you have sown. Isah 30 – 15. 16
"I remain as Ever yours
WWBrakefield”
(Underlined Brackets, Editor’s interpretation.)
We would like to express our gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. James Cantrell for the loan of several letters, newspaper cliplings and pictures, which will make up this trilogy. (E.K.)
PORTRAIT OF A RAILROADER, PART II
(Published in the Cowan Bell, Vol. II, No. 4, February 20, 1975)
The portrayal of a railroad employee of a century ago becomes clearer as the following two letters reveal W.W. Brakefield’s loyalty and reverence to the company.
On the death of the president of the NC & St L R.R. he writes this letter on Dec. 23, 1913 from the Nashville Station to the former assistant and newly appointed President and General Manager of N C & St L R.R., a Mr. Jno. Howe Peyton: (sic)
“Mr. J. H. Payton President and Generall maniger NC & St L R.R.
“My Dear sir
“Having Recently Red the announcement of your apointment to the Highest office of the NC & St L. R.R. Permit me to say no one is Delited any more than I to no that we Employes of this company wil have a Christian God Fearing man to stand at the Head of our Hole Enier [entire] system of RR.
“Having spent 43 years as a Faith full servent contunuely whitch brings me fair Dow the shady side Life no one has Tryed to Walk the straight and narrow Path any more than I. I no that Have had many mistakes but it has allways benn the Head and not the Haste.
“While no one Lament any more than I the Loss of our President but the good Lord Giveth and taketh and no man can Hender and we must worship and serve him jest the same whenn upon my bended nees offering up my Devotions I have allways (in the Past and wil continue to do so In the Futur) asked for Divine Gu8dence to be given to my superior officers so that they may meet our Justice between man and man. Hoping to meet you some Futur Day Face to Face
“Respectfuly yours
WWBrakefield
only a Conductor”
(Underlined parenthesis, Editor’s interpretation.)
W.W. Brakefield, who humbly signs his letter “only a conductor”, actually received an answer, dated four days later, Dec. 27, 1913. He must have been very proud of it and saved it, ---perhaps for the day when he would actually meet this man face to face?
Mr. Peyton answers:
“Your letter of the 23rd instant has just been received and read with much interest and appreciation. I shall hope to have the pleasure of meeting you frequently after I assume my new duties
“I fully concur in the sentiments expressed in your letter. I have not the shadow of a doubt that if I have the guidance that you are asking for me that all will be well while I am the Executive Officer of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. With earnest desire that such will be the case, I remain,
Yours truly,
Jno. Howe Peyton”
(E.K.)
PORTRAIT OF A RAILROADER, PART III
(Published in the Cowan Bell, Vol. II, No. 5, March 6, 1975)
In the conclusion of the portrayal of one conductor, W.W. Brakefield, who started his career in 1873 here in Cowan, we will let two “men of the cloth” give their impression of this man’s strict adherence to railroad rules.
It seems that the crowning experience of Mr. Brakefield’s career was a clash with two lady passengers on keeping their pet cat with them in the passenger car. The incident obviously had it repercussions in the form of a complaint by these two ladies to the Superintendent of Transportation, M.J.C. Wrenne.
To get to the bottom of the disturbance, inquiries were made about Mr. Brakefield’s conduct on this memorable day,
July 31, 1911.
One reply, dated Aug. 10, 1911, from a Rev. J.A. Whitener, is quite clear: “I was a passenger on train No. 94 July 31st, 1911 and saw all that took place between Mr. Brakefield and two lady passengers in reference to a cat. The conductor did his duty and did in it explain in a gentlemanly way. The ladies were to blame for all the trouble.”
However, a more explicit letter, dated August 2, 1911, from Rev. Troy Beatly, describes the situation so well, that we will let it speak for itself:
“Replying to yours of yesterday in re conduct of the conductor on train Chattanooga to Nashville July 30th (31st?). Am Sorry to write by hand, but am away from home and haven’t my typewriter with me.
“Yes, I saw the entire transaction from start to finish so far as the cat being carried from the car was concerned. I left the train at Cowan and up to that time the only possible adverse criticism of the conductor was that he was far too considerate and patient with a most annoying and vulgarly self asserting passenger in skirts. He explained time and time again in a most courteous and gentlemanly manner that her cat would be perfectly safe in the baggage car and that he has no option but to carry out orders. Both women abused him, the road, the state and the entire south for objecting to her cat traveling in the coach. It had far more sense than he did and lots of sort of disgusting talk. I was seated just opposite them and so had the full benefit of it. When he finally took the cat and cage both women clinging to it so that he was compelled to loosen their fingers as he did gently as he could; the younger of the two women, probably well in the forties, followed him to the baggage car to be with and comfort her dear cat leaving the mother apparently past eight to shift for herself as best she could. This will give you some idea of the sort of people your conductor was dealing with.
“As a clergyman, or as a gentleman, I stepped across the aisle to try and comfort the old lady and to assure her that her pet would be in no danger. Much to the amusement of the other passengers she mistook me for a railroad man and threatened to box my ears, break my head, and several other terrible things unless I attended to my own business. On account of her age I persisted and did finally convince her that my intentions were good and was then able to quiet her some what.
“There was not one word of criticism of the conductor from any passenger on the train except the two owners of the cat. His conduct was in every way courteous, and such as might be expected from one in the employ of such a splendid Company. When I tell you that I gave him my card and address unsolicited in case these people tried to make trouble for him you can understand how his manner impressed me.
“You may feel at liberty to use this letter as you please but am sorry that it is not typewritten.”
Mr. Brakefield has long since past away; it is safe to assume that the two helpful pastors are also no longer with us. But the letters and documents in this three part series remain to give us a vivid picture of the character of one railroader. More important, they describe an era that will probably never return.
We are most grateful to Mr. and Mrs. James Cantrell for the loan of the documents used to make up “Portrait of a Railroader”. (E.K.)
“GRANDPA”
By Agnes Pearson
(Published in the Cowan Bell, Vol. II, No. 18, September 18, 1975)
The memory of my grandfather, W.W. Brakefield, is a small but important segment of the story I’d love to write someday, depicting life and our daily living in Cowan before it was all geared to automobiles and TV.
Grandpa was a real patriarch if one ever lived. His word was law in his household. He rarely ever smiled, showed enthusiasm or talked in general conversation, but made blunt statements that usually ended the subject. He was about 6’4” tall, wore a white mustache and, to cover his bald head, he was rarely ever seen without the wide brimmed black felt hat that was worn at all seasons. The white shirt and black string necktie added to his dignity. We grandchildren would almost freeze when he’d peek from under that hat to us when we were boisterous. Though grandpa was stern, uncommunicative and often glum, there was indeed another side to his nature.
Grandpa was a very religious man, as witness, the well work Bible that lay on a chair beside his bed each night. He was a devout member of the Masonic Lodge and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Many can remember at the Sunday Service as he brought the little twig of boxwood from his yard and gently laid it on the window sill below his dear wife’s name in the stained glass memorial window. The twig of boxwood brings memories of a story that will be of interest to the latecomers to Cowan and one I’ve heard many times over.
Grandpa was a passenger railroad conductor for more than 40 years before his retirement. Once, many years ago, maybe 65 or 70, he punched the ticket of a passenger who needed some information concerning his travel plan. A conversation ensued, that turned out to be very fruitful to both passenger and conductor, for the passenger was a man who had recently arrived by boat from England and was on his way to St. Louis to visit his daughter. As a token of thanks to Mr. Brakefield for helping advise and direct he gave a bundle of little boxwood sprouts from the carton of greenery that he was taking to his daughter – boxwood plants from her home in England.
From the few plants of boxwood grew all the boxwoods that were in Cowan for a great many years, before nurseries and greenhouses came into prominence. Grandpa took the scripture literally as in James 1:27: “True religion is visiting the widows and orphans in their afflictions.” As soon as ladies in Cowan became widows you could spot grandpa planting boxwoods down their entrance walks. The last ones I remember were for Mrs. Nan Hawkins, long deceased. The Joe McBee family now lives there. Many homes in Cowan still have the boxwoods that grandpa planted. I have silently grieved when I noticed that some have been destroyed. It will no doubt be of interest to some Cowan citizens to know that all the boxwoods in the Cowan cemetery were planted by grandpa from cuttings he rooted from the original plants. Grandpa also planted the long lane of cedar trees in the cemetery. Some folks can remember him carrying the huge pails of water regularly during the dry summer months to keep the little sprouts alive. He took great interest in beautifying the cemetery. He built a seat near the grave of his dear wife, my grandmother, and could often be seen sitting there hours at a time, reflecting, remembering and meditating on years of happiness with her.
Despite his gruffness and idiosyncrasies he was a devout Christian man and left many visible reminders for us all to see.
Tractor seat at the Brakefield gravesite.
GRANDPA – PART II
(Published in the Cowan Bell, Vol. II, no. 19, October 2, 1975.)
A deep feeling of nostalgia comes over me when I delve into the scraps and remnants of my memory, recalling some of the everyday commonplace things that my grandfather said and did. They were of little consequence at the time, but through the years they have gained importance, often being embellished with the telling.
Grandpa, though stern, relentless and firm in his manner, also had a ludicrous side to his nature. Most of the time the humorous things that he did were never meant to be and he never knew they were different or exceptional in any way.
For instance, Grandpa never thought to clean the dead leaves from the rain gutters until it started raining. It was a common sight to see him on a tall stepladder during a near monsoon throwing trash out of the gutters.
My grandfather was almost totally deaf. He never wore a hearing aid but would cup his ear and think he heard every word you said. He had a very close friend, Mr. Tobe Stewart (Mrs. Myra Evan’s grandfather) who differed with him in many ways, particularly on politics. Mr. Stewart was a republican and Grandpa was a Democrat. Once a heated argument took place and because of their deafness they went far up the street so no one could hear their discussion.
Needless to say, everybody in town and in the stores came out and heard it all. Then Grandpa would write his notes on his political views to Mr. Stewart and post them on the telephone post beside the old Presbyterian Church for him to pick off and read while he was home for lunch. Mr. Stewart tacked his answer on the same post as he returned to his office. Grandpa got so fired up over it all he addressed his last few notes to “Old Tobe Stewart”. Mr. Stewart would retaliate by addressing his notes to “Old Bill Brakefield”.
Another funny thing I can well remember was the time Grandpa set the mouse trap on top of the keg of sweet pickles back in the dark kitchen pantry. The delicious sweet pickles were vanishing far too fast. He told Grandma to listen for the culprit who turned out to be the faithful cook, Aunt Harriet, who had served them for many long years. Grandpa meant for that to be a joke for his household as all were very fond of Aunt Harriet.
Being a devout railroad man, Grandpa took the horn off his car and devised a whistle in its stead. He set that whistle blowing at every intersection just like a train at a R.R. crossing. Grandma wasn’t too anxious to ride with him in the little Buick roadster. I can picture her now with one foot on the running board, her hand holding the door slightly open and the other hand holding her bonnet. When the trip was completed Grandma only said, “Phew, I’m glad that’s over.”
In talking with my cousin, Avalin Forgy, we had many laughs remembering some of the events from so long ago. Some aren’t printable. Space requires that I close this episode of incidents, but with a memory that is dear to us all. It concerns how the long blessings that we bowed our heads and listened to before meals at Grandpa’s table all our young lives. And we never heard but two words of it: “Lord” at the beginning and “Amen” at the end. Then he opened his eyes and pointed the tall glass covered bowl of pickled beets that was always at the center of the table. I used to wonder is they had two such glass bowls for there was preserves or honey in one just like it, always on the breakfast table.
My Grandpa was quite a man.
Photo of the Brakefield children, left to right:
Lula Williams, Alice Williams, Crawford Brakefield, Betty Cowan, Willie Sikes, Lillie Looney, and Maude Aldridge.
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