Monday, January 19th, 1953 was the last time Willie Torrence saw his wife, Rose. On Tuesday, Willie called the police and learned that a body of a woman matching Rose’s description had been found. Join us as we try to make heads or tails of a case fraught with racial tension and sparse news coverage.
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Sources:
- By William A Fowlkes, “Woman’s Slayer Still Free.” New Pittsburgh Courier, Sat, Feb 07, 1953, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/40111565/
- Obituary, Mrs. Rosa Bradley Torrence, The Atlanta Constitution, Thu, Jan 22, 1953, Page 28, https://www.newspapers.com/image/398007330/
- Obituary, Torrence, The Atlanta Constitution, Fri, Jan 23, 1953, Page 23, https://www.newspapers.com/image/398007574/
- By George Coleman, “Torrence Case Suspect is Indicted on Murder Charge.” Alabama Tribune, Fri, Feb 27, 1953, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/554730305/
- “City Orders Family Vacate Bombed House.” The Atlanta Constitution, Thu, Apr 28, 1949, Page 10, https://www.newspapers.com/image/397759629/
- Department of Commerce - Bureau of the Census: Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930 Population Schedule, Retrieved June 29th, 2024 from https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2298451:6224
- Department of Commerce - Bureau of the Census: Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1940 Population Schedule, Retrieved June 29th, 2024 from https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/50802384:2442
- “Negro Tenants Guarded in Rubble.” The Atlanta Constitution, Wed, Apr 27, 1949, Page 20, https://www.newspapers.com/image/397759553/
- “Atlanta Woman Beaten to Death.” California Eagle, Thu, Jan 29, 1953 ·Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/693598503/
- “Wealthy Woman Beaten to Death.” Spokane Chronicle, Sat, Jan 24, 1953, Page 2, https://www.newspapers.com/image/566321803/
- “Rich Negro Woman Found Beat to Death in Atlanta.” Alabama Journal, Sat, Jan 24, 1953 ·Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/457048878/
- “Suspect Indicted in Sewer Death.” The Atlanta Journal, Sat, Feb 21, 1953, Page 7, https://www.newspapers.com/image/968741277/
- “Negro Lady Killed, Stuffed into Sewer.” Beatrice Daily Sun, Sun, Jan 25, 1953 ·Page 8, https://www.newspapers.com/image/507433478/
- “Mistrial Declared in Murder Trial of Major Bailey.” The Black Dispatch, Sat, Apr 18, 1953 ·Page 6, https://www.newspapers.com/image/872012484/
- “Atlanta Woman Who Moved into White Neighborhood is Found Dead in City Sewer.” The Black Dispatch, Sat, Jan 31, 1953, Page 5, https://www.newspapers.com/image/872011484/
- “Bailey Case Winds Up in Mistrial as Atlanta Jury Hangs.” New Pittsburgh Courier, Sat, May 23, 1953, Page 10, https://www.newspapers.com/image/40111880/
- “Seeks Hole in Murder Confession.” The New York Age, Sat, May 23, 1953, Page 12, https://www.newspapers.com/image/40477532/
- “ Bailey Case Declared Mistrial By Judge As Jury Panel is “Hopelessly Deadlocked.”” Alabama Tribune, Fri, May 22, 1953, Page 1, https://www.newspapers.com/image/554731109/
- Atlanta Scene by Alyce Martin Ware, and “Willena Torrence Allen Selected English Ave Teacher of the Year.” The Atlanta Voice, Sat, May 13, 1978 ·Page 4, https://www.newspapers.com/image/519871810/
- Obituaries - Torrence, The Atlanta Constitution, Fri, Nov 02, 1956, Page 18, https://www.newspapers.com/image/397505884/
- Obituaries - Mrs. Willena T. Allen, The Atlanta Constitution, Wed, Aug 27, 1997 ·Page 82, https://www.newspapers.com/image/403353798/
- National Archives at Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Applications for Headstones For U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941; Retrieved on June 29th, 2024 at https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/821686:2375
- Georgia Department of Health and Vital Statistics, 1914 - 1940; Retrieved on June 29th, 2024 at https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/60041277:2562
- “Seeking to Tell a Story: Political action from slavery to civil rights.” Archives Research Center at AUC Robert W. Woodruff, https://digitalexhibits.auctr.edu/exhibits/show/seekingtotell/segregation
- “This Day in History.” By History.Com Editors https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/kkk-founded
- “Ku Klux Klan in the Twentieth Century.” New Georgia Encyclopedia, Published July 7th, 2005 and edited Aug 12, 2020, https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/ku-klux-klan-in-the-twentieth-century/
- A 'Forgotten History' Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America : NPR, MAY 3, 201712:47, HEARD ON FRESH AIR hosted by Terry Gross with guest Richard Rothstein author of “The Color of Law.”
