For several years, I’ve been sitting on a bit of a mystery regarding my grand uncle, John L. Jakes. I had found an earlier article detailing an auto accident he was involved in, which ended with him being arrested and scheduled to appear before the Justice of the Peace the following day. Despite searching, I had never been able to locate a record which detailed the outcome.
With The Home Journal (Murfreesboro, TN) now available on FamilySearch, I finally located a follow-up piece that fills in the blanks. While both articles refer to him as "Johnny Jakes," I’m certain it’s my John L. because the reports mention his occupation as a local barber in Murfreesboro.The two articles tell a very different story when read together. In the first, Johnny claimed he wasn't the driver, alleging that another man had been behind the wheel and fled the scene immediately after the crash. However, the second article, which was published after his court appearance which suggests the judge didn't buy that story. It appears there was no mystery driver after all; it was Johnny behind the wheel, and he had been driving while under the influence. Thankfully there were no injuries. I’m glad I located the second article. It gives me some idea of what really happened.
