East Bay woman, 106, is Civil War royalty

Tri Valley Herald ^ | October 14, 2002 | Angela Hill

[stainlessbanner]

ON A SUNNY Saturday afternoon amid the slouching pines and old headstones in Evergreen Cemetery in East Oakland, uniformed soldiers -- Confederate and Union both -- stood straight-backed at attention, saluting an approaching dignitary. It was not some president or general, boldly rolling up in a military jeep. Nay, it was the woman of the hour -- Oakland's 106-year-old Alma Grigsby, meekly bumping along on a cemetery lawn mower.

[thescourged1]

Wow.....who would have thought it?

[norraad]

..damn Yankees"

Instantly brings to mind Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies.

[vetvetdoug]

There are several real sons and daughters in North Mississippi. One real son's father served in the same company as a private with my Great Great Grandfather as his sergeant. The last widow of a Confederate Soldier in Mississippi lived two miles from me and passed away in February 1987. The Civil War may be over 140 years ago but here we are reminded of it everyday. My clinic sits beneath Battery Tanrath and across from Battery Phillips and College Hill (Sherman's headquarters). There are plenty of individuals here that had grandparents that served with the Union and Confederacy.

[yarddog]

Several years ago I was camped near Vidalia Georgia and was watching a low powered UHF station. The reason I stayed on the barely watcheable channel was they were interviewing a daughter of a Confederate Soldier. She was in a nursing home and I believe was around 100 years old.

Now comes the surprising part. She was Black and so was her Father. She even remembered her Father attending a Confederate reunion in Chattanooga when she was a little girl.

[CatoRenasci]

It's one word: damnyankees

[stainlessbanner]

Fantastic story! I believe TN had some of the first black enlistments. Very interesting...

[Humal]

The Randolph Relief Fund was especially set up for the Real Daughters of the Confederacy. If there were UDC daughters there, they should be able to help her. Since the number of recpients have so declined in recent years, there is still a good bit in the fund. I wonder if she knows about this?

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

Absolutely amazing. A woman whose father fought for the Confederacy living in Oakland? ...Hard to say which of those facts is more astonishing!

[doglot]

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[doglot]

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[Unknown Freeper]

Little Alma came along in 1896 -- one of twins, but her twin died at birth.

Did this sentence make anyone else pause? Did her twin come, also, after he/she (the twin) died? I know. I know. I'm just pointing out the lack of clarity in the sentence in an otherwise very interesting story.