| Notes |
- I believe that Virginia explained to me that her father's birth name was Jesse James Lee Trollinger and that he was born 23 Jul 1902. However, she said he hated the name and chose to go by James Leo Trollinger and adopted his younger brother, John's birth date of 23 Jul 1898 as his own. John died young. I need to have Virginia re-explain these details to me. (David H. Drollinger 27 Jun 2014)
extract RO Hessler email Mar 2015
born Jesse Lee Trollinger, assumed name James Leo Trollinger prior to marriage to Claudia Woodham in 1927.
Roscoe Trollinger is delightful informant ...Trollinger brother were loggers in north GA. They sold timber to the Brumbrey Lumber Co., in Calhoun, GA .. also built houses. When lumber Co receivable and lost their logging business.
He recalls his bedridden paternal grandmother, Mary, lived with them in Egan Park, GA (near the present site of the Atlanta airport) when he was a child. One-legged uncle, Albert did, too.
Roscoe independently corroborated Louise Trollinger Mitchell Miller's tale of Jesse Lee Trollinger and Roscoe's father, Thomas Benjamin Trollinger breaking out of jail: His father spent four or five years in prison for shooting a man in self-defense about 1927. (He referenced Charles Lindbergh's recent flight and how much he had been impressed at the time)
They lived off Simpson Street in Atlanta, GA ... near Maddox Park. His family took in boarders. A young girl staying with them at the Thomas Benjamin Trollinger house was accosted by a local ne'er-do-well ... in the head and to have begun to bury it in his yard when told by the police he must dispose of it otherwise. Roscoe himself had seen the man kill a dog for spite. At any rate, the man accosted the young girl, Thomas Benjamin Trollinger told him to release her. The man
refused and threatened Mr Trollinger with a knife. Mr Trollinger went inside and got his 32/20 hunting rifle, the altercation escalated, Mr Trollinger shot the man five times and killed him. Roscoe was an eyewitness.
He attended his father's trial at which he was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison. He was sent to a prison on the south side of Atlanta near Dixie Flats. Roscoe said he saw men locked in cages and chained together in chain gangs once when he visited his father. Roscoe used the term "vivid recollection". Quite a lot for boy of ten!
His father worked his way up to trusty status. One day, he walked (or more likely ran away) from prison. Later, he turned up in Dalton, GA at his half brother's house, John Marcus Trollinger. He asked over the garden fence to young Louise, Virginia, and Effie Mae Trollinger if their momma was home. Not having met him before, or not remembering him, they at first thought he was their father.
He explained to their mother Ellen Trollinger that he and Jesse Lee Trollinger had broken out of prison, that Jesse had been shot in the knee, Jesse needed a doctor, and a place to hid out while recovering. She agreed. Thomas Benjamin Trollinger disappeared. Late the next night a taxicab arrived bearing Jesse Lee Trollinger. The cab fare was $22 ... and extravagant sum in those Depression years. Ellen and John Marcus Trollinger paid the fare and found medical help for Jesse Lee Trollinger.
Jesse Lee Trollinger recovered and regaled his family with tales of his wife, Claudia Woodham and young daughter, Kathleen (Kitty) from whom he had been long separated. He has their picture and spoke of them
constantly.
He left the picture of them that he had carried since leaving them and while in prison. He struck off to find them and to rejoin them. Ellen and John Marcus Trollinger mourned his departure until their last days. They sought news of him through all channels .. to no avail.
Jesse Lee Trollinger always used birthdate 23 Jul 1898 born Jesse Lee Trollinger-assumed name James Leo Trollinger prior to marriage to Claudia Woodham in 1927 & after military service in 1919 Many inconsistencies in records: DOB probably should be 1902 according to most other family oral accounts.
1902 birthdate according to family bible of Louise Trollinger Mitchell Miller
U.S. City Directories
Name: James L Trollinger
Gender: Male
Residence Year: 1941
Street address: 03l Kings av SJ
Residence Place: Jacksonville, Florida
Occupation: Printer
Spouse: Claudia Trollinger
Publication Title: Jacksonville, Florida, City Directory, 1941
1940 United States Federal Census
Name: James L Trollinger
Age: 41
Estimated birth year: abt 1899
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birthplace: Georgia
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Head
Home in 1940: Jacksonville, Duval, Florida
Map of Home in 1940: View map
Street: Kings Avenue
House Number: 1051
Farm: No
Inferred Residence in 1935: Jacksonville, Duval, Florida
Residence in 1935: Same Place
Sheet Number: 5A
Number of Household in Order of Visitation: 103
Occupation: Painter
House Owned or Rented: Rented
Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented: 12
Attended School or College: No
Highest Grade Completed: High School, 3rd year
Hours Worked Week Prior to Census: 50
Weeks Worked in 1939: 0
Income: 0
Income Other Sources: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
James L Trollinger 41
Claudia Trollinger 31
Kathleen Trollinger 11
James Trollinger 6
Virginia Trollinger 4
Dorothy Trollinger 2
1935 Florida, State Census
Name: J. L. Trolbuger
[J. L. Trollinger]
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birth Place: Georgia
Est. Birth Year: abt 1903
Relationship to Head: Head
Spouse Name: Claudia Trolbuger
Census Year: 1935
Locality: Precinct 1
County: Bay
Page: 23
LINE: 10
Archive Series #: S5, Roll 2
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1898 - 1980 (82 years)
