ColumbiaMagazine.com
Printed from:

Welcome to Columbia Magazine  
 



































 
LETTER: Kinsman of Cortez Sanders inquires about Sanders' banking career

History mystery: Frank Dickerson, a Sanders kinsman, sends family photograph of one time Adair Sheriff who was killed in plane accident in Louisville; wants information about his connection with banks at Dunnville, Cane Valley, and Campbellsville.
Update Jan 8, 2006: Balance of evidence in comments is that Mr. Sanders was hero, led exemplary life.

Daguerreotype of Cortez, Patra, Effie, and Mattie Sanders with this letter
Ed:

Thanks for your kind letter of 12 Oct 2005, and your excellent web site that is rapidly becoming a great repository for Adair County historical data. Almost every time I visit your site I find something or someone that I know or know about.


I am an amateur genealogist and have been researching my family and many other families of Adair and surrounding counties for many years. As you are probably aware, just about everyone for miles around are related in one way or another with intermarriage being very common.

Read with interest article on Cortez Sanders by "the mysterious Cyrus"

I read with interest your publication of 26 Aug 2005, by the mysterious Cyrus, about "The tragic death of Cortez Sanders, 1944." Attached is a photograph of Cortez and his sisters Effie, Patra and Mattie. The photograph is from an old Daguerreotype (in bad shape) that was provided by Carol L. Sanders, who compiled a history of the Sanders, Dickerson and Burchett families of Adair County. The picture is submitted with her permission and she has related a family story about Cortez that leaves some interesting questions about his banking career.

Cortez had problems with banks in Dunnville and Campbellsville

The story has it that Cortez and an accomplice (unknown) were convicted of an embezzlement scheme at the bank in Dunnville and Campbellsville. It is said that they were convicted and served some time for their misdeeds.

Since Cyrus seems to have free access to the old newspapers in the vicinity, we wonder if he can produce any material that will corroborate this family oral history? If Cortez was once Sheriff of the County and Cashier at the Cane Valley Bank, it would seem to follow that the alleged misdeed occurred after, or during the time he held those positions of high trust.

Cortez Sanders was born in 1879

Cortez was born in June of 1879 and was the son of William Francis Sanders and Joann Powell-Sanders. William Francis Sanders was the son of Thompson Sanders, I and Nancy Fox-Sanders. Thompson, I had a son Thompson, II (Thomas) Sanders, who married my grandfather's sister Susan Caroline Dickerson, who was a daughter of Jesse Millard Dickerson and Elizabeth Cabell; and that's my connection to the Sanders clan.

If Cyrus can come up with any document that sheds light on the Cortez story we will have to induct him into the Varmintology Hall of Fame!

And yes, you may publish anything I send that you think will NOT get me arrested.

I have some other old photographs which I will send that should be of interest to some of your readers.

Thanks again for your kind invitation to visit, but I probably will not come your way again. I'm so old that travel is no longer a good experience for me, but let's keep in touch.

All good wishes for the New Year!

Frank Dickerson
San Mateo, CA
Click here for related story, "Memories of Jamestown Hill," by Martha Barnes Martin
Mr. Dickerson, thanks so much for this interesting letter. I'm sharing it all with our readers, one or more of whom may be able to help us out.

As for the Phantom of the Internet, the Mysterious Cyrus, I will appeal to his sense of Honor and Dedication to a Higher Duty, but I will admit to little say or prospect of successful suasion with the scholar on my own. On the other hand, if his kinsman "Lefty" tells him to work on the problem, I think he will. And on another hand, I'm pretty sure this problem is raw bait for the man, and he couldn't resist finding the answer even if it causes a hernia.

Regardless of the findings in this history mystery, I will continue to maintain Cortez Sanders in the Hero Category. He may have been wrongfully charged, and if so, wrongfully convicted, or if not that, I'll hold he must have had damned good reason to embezzle the banks money!

Thanks, too, for the photograph. It will be here shortly

The invitation stands. We'd like to have you come to Adair County.

Best.

Ed


This story was posted on 2006-01-05 13:31:30
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.


(AD) - Many Reunion organizing efforts are also advertised in our REUNIONS category in our CM Classifeds. These are posted at a very low cost. See RATES & TERMS


Daguerrotype photo: Cortez Sanders and sisters



2006-01-05 - Olden Days, Adair CO, KY - Photo courtesy Carol L. Sanders collection. This is a photograph of Cortez and his sisters Effie, Patra and Mattie. The photograph is from an old Daguerreotype (in bad shape) that was provided by Carol L. Sanders, who compiled a history of the Sanders, Dickerson and Burchett families of Adair County. The picture is submitted with her permission and she has related a family story about Cortez that leaves some interesting questions about his banking career. Thanks to Frank Dickerson, Cupertino, CA, for the caption and the photo.
Read More... | Comments? | Click here to share, print, or bookmark this photo.



 

































 
 
Quick Links to Popular Features


Looking for a story or picture?
Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com.

 

Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728.
Phone: 270.403.0017


Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.