Walter Lewis Gassaway: Suicide or Natural Causes?

 

Walter Lewis Gassaway, photo from FindAGrave.com, uploaded by McDaniels

 

There appears to be some controversy surrounding the 1930 death of Walter Lewis Gassaway in Greenville, South Carolina.

 

Walter Gassaway was born 19 Jan 1865[1] or 1866[2], (depending on his death certificate or grave marker) in Pickens County, South Carolina to James Gassaway and Mariah Douthit. Upon completion of school, Walter Gassaway moved to Greenville, where he worked in a bank, eventually working his way up to bank President, and later founding the Issaqueena Mill. Along the way, he married Minnie Quinn, and has one daughter, Susan Mariah Gassaway.[3]

 

His wife, Minnie Quinn Gassaway, studied architecture and designed their home, Issaqueena (Gassaway) Mansion. The estate still stands today serving as an event space for weddings, and parties.

 

Issaqueena (Gassaway) Mansion, April 2021, photo by John Stoy

The story goes that the Great Depression got to poor Walter Gassaway and after losing all his money in investments shot himself on the front lawn of their home on 4 June 1930.[4] But is this true and what was is origin of this tale?

 

A 2016 blog post repeats this assertion, and an anonymous commenter posted the following:

 

Anonymous December 6, 2017 at 6:39 PM

My great-great grandfather did NOT shoot himself on the front lawn of this house. In fact, he had already moved out of this house after losing it in 1929. He, his wife Minnie, his sister-in-law Miss Eula Quinn, and his daughter Susan moved into a house near the downtown area, on Ashley Street. Sadly, he was a 65 year old man, and one day he was working in the garden, on an extremely hot day. He went inside and a few minutes later, died of a heart attack in his wife's arms. I have no idea where any of this nonsense about him shooting himself comes from, but my grandfather extremely dislikes it whenever he hears that his grandfather shot himself, which he didn't. More than likely, this was made up to draw in tourism money for the "ghost" tours.

 

A 5 June 1930, obituary in The Greenville News states that Walter was the “victim of a short illness at home”. The article goes on to explain, much like the anonymous commenter, that Walter Gassaway had been “overseeing work on the premises” and he was probably over exerted.[5]

 

The South Carolina Death Certificate lists cause of death as a “cerebral hemorrhage”[6]. While a cerebral hemorrhage can be caused by injury, it is more likely that this was a burst blood vessel.[7]

 

There is no evidence that the family was living on Ashley Street at the time of Walter Gassaway’s death, the location listed as Old Spartanburg Road in the obituary and on the death certificate support that they were still at Issaqueena. The 1930 Census for Greenville, enumerated in April of that year, lists the family on Spartanburg Road.[8] Today, Old Spartanburg Road, runs into Brushy Creek Rd, which becomes E North St. Issaqueena is located directly off E. North St.

 

There were money troubles, however. In July of 1930, the Norwood National Bank, took Minnie Quinn Gassaway to court to foreclose on the home on Old Spartanburg Rd.[9] The court awarded the property to the bank, and Minnie Gassaway was living with her sister in another home by November 1930.[10] Issaqueena eventually became apartments and once housed The Greenville County Museum of Art (1959-1974).

 

The origins of the suicide story are not so clear, the earliest mention found of it is a 1977 Greenville News article where a story is relayed that Walter Gassaway hung himself in the home and his ghost could be heard banging around in the stairwell when the wind blew.[11]

 

Regular reports persist that the ghost of Walter Gassaway haunts the mansion and is often “seen” on the front lawn. Perhaps he is trying to tell us that he died of natural causes, proven by the records, or perhaps it is Minnie Quinn Gassaway, who passed away in 1965, keeping watch over her glamorous design.

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[1] FindAGrave.com, Digital images, (http://findagrave.com/memorial/8481957/walter-lewis-gassaway : accessed 23 April 2021)

[2] South Carolina Deaths, 1915-1965, FamilySearch.org, entry for Walter Lewis Gassaway, digital images

[3] Snowden, Yates, editor, History of South Carolina, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920, FamilySearch.org, 96

[4] Tabler, Dave, “All the Adornments That Taste and Money Can Afford”, appalachainhistory.net, (http://appalachianhistory.net/2017/06/all-the-adornemtns-that-taste-and-money-can-afford.html : accessed 23 April 2021)

[5] “Walter L. Gassaway Victim of Short Illness”, The Greenville News, 5 June 1930, newspapers.com, (http://newspares.com/clip/26416828/wlg-obituary/ : accessed 23 April 2021)

[6] South Carolina Deaths, entry for Walter Lewis Gassaway

[7] “Cerebral Hemorrhage”, HealthGrades.com, entry for What is Cerebral Hemorrhage, accessed 23 April 2021

[8] “United States Census, 1930”, for Greenville,  Greenville County, South Carolina, database with images, FamilySearch.org, entry for Walter L. Gassaway

[9] “Claim of Norwood Against Mrs. Gassaway is Confirmed”, The Greenville News, 12 July 1930, newspapers.com, (http://newspapers.com/iamge/191634944/?terms+Walter%20Gassaway&match=1 : accessed 23 April 2021)

[10] “Portion of Testimony in Gassaway Hearing Finished”, The Greenville News, 26 November, 1930, newspapers.com, (http://newspapers.com/image/191658302/?terms=Walter%20Gassaway&match=1 : accessed 23 April 2021)

[11] Richardson, Deb, “As Ghost Town, Greenville’s Dead”, The Greenville News, 13 April 1977, newspapers.com, (http:// https://www.newspapers.com/image/188463719/?terms=Walter%20Gassaway&match=1 : accessed 27 April 2021)

What Lies Beneath: The Cemeteries Under Lake Murray

In the 1920's the Lexington Water Power Company purchased properties from residents of Lexington County, S.C., to create Lake Murray. Many of these residents were descendants of people that had lived in in the Saxe-Gotha and Dutch Fork communities, during the Revolution and Civil War eras.

Below the murky waters of the 50,000 acre lake, lie the remains of these towns along with several graveyards and cemeteries.

I recently discovered Lake Murray Records at the Greenville Library. These records were found by an SCE&G employee in the late nineties, and turned over to the Columbia Chapter of the South Carolina Genealogical Society. The Society agreed to handle the fragile documents only once, and created transcriptions into a book.

Most of the entries concerning the graveyards and cemeteries were in the form of letters written by family members requesting that their loved ones remain undisturbed and impounded by the waters of the lake, while others requested their removal.

Here are several interesting entries contained in Lake Murray Records:

Letter Nov. 15th 1928: Mr. H.L. Lankford being interviewed stated that he had known this place all his life and had never known any connections of anyone buried at this place; that his grandfather had said they were people of a lost name, no more of them to be found. There are no marked stones at this graveyard.

Presumably no one will object to this plat being covered by the waters of Lake Murray.

C.G. Guignard, C.K. Son

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Mrs. Margaret M. - March 31, 1866 48 years and 3 days

Consort of Michael Shealy

My flesh shall slumber in the ground,

'Til the last trumpet's joyful sound,

Then burst the bands with sweet surprise,

And in my Saviour's [sic] image rise.

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These two graveyards located on my place below the water line are old slavery graveyards I believe; and I don't know of any living relations. no one has been buried in either of these graveyards since the Civil War.

M.D. Derrick

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One lone grave said by tradition to be that of a deserter from the Confederate Army who was killed and buried there. No relatives of connections can be found.

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Juliana-Dec 9, 1825 Age 20 years, 7 months, 21 days. Wife of John George Haltiwanger and daughter of John Frederick Kelly

She was a child of misfortune in this world, but the Lord saw her affliction as she died with the full assurance of entering into that rest was promissed [sic] to the people of God. let stresses like mild deluge come. Let storms of sorrow fall, so I but safely reach my home, my God, my heaven, my all.

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This was a burying ground for slaves and so far as I know, there are no living relatives. No one has been buried there within the last thirty-five years to my certain knowledge.

John Green Hiller of Chapin, S.C.

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Negro buried in the woods. tradition as given by Mrs. Justus Wingard and Mrs. J.L. Cannon tells that an unknown negro years ago committed suicide and was buried in the woods where he was found.

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John A. Epting - Dec. 17, 1829-Aug. 22, 1858 Age 28 years, 8 months and 5 days

Remember man as you pass by,

As you are now so once was I,

As I am now, so you must be

Prepare for death and follow me.

Divers from South Carolina Scuba Diving, have made regular dives down to the "lost city". Here is a video of a cemetery dive:

If you have family members buried underneath the waters of Lake Murray, please comment below! I am happy to do look-ups in the book as well. I can be contacted at jenealogist355@gmail.com