Last updated: November 26, 2023
Person
William Boss Ramsey
Jonnie Ramsey Brown
Quick Facts
Significance:
Mississippi Homesteader
Place of Birth:
Lauderdale County, Mississippi
Date of Birth:
25 December 1880
Place of Death:
Toomsuba, Lauderdale County, Mississippi
Date of Death:
25 June 1933
Place of Burial:
Toomsuba, Lauderdale County, Mississippi
Cemetery Name:
Pleasant Grove Cemetery
William (Willie) “Boss” Ramsey, the youngest son of Jacob and Leanna Ramsey, was born on December 25, 1880, in Lauderdale County, Mississippi. According to Boss’s only son, Alfred Alphonso Ramsey, William was called “Boss” because everyone in the community greatly respected him.
Boss was an entrepreneur. He constructed many of the homes for the residents of Toomsuba, and some churches in the area. By Toomsuba standards, he was considered well-to-do, being one of the first residents to own an automobile. Boss quickly filled a community need by establishing his own version of today’s Uber, where he would give residents rides into Meridian, the county seat of Lauderdale County. This ride service transformed a nearly all day, 12-mile trip on treacherous dirt roads by horse or oxen and buggy, into a ride that was completed in less than an hour. During the hot and humid summers, the ride service evolved into a necessity. Still another one of Boss’s business ventures was that of a private money lender. Alfred Ramsey recalled as a little boy, Boss would loan money to family and friends, and collect weekly payments when in Meridian.
Like his father Jacob Ramsey, Boss homesteaded land in Toomsuba, Lauderdale County, Mississippi. But unlike Jacob who had many difficulties and took additional years to finalize his land patent, Boss systemically accomplished all patent requirements in a very timely manner. On January 2, 1903, Boss’s application was officially filed at the Jackson, Mississippi Land Office, Application #38313, for 40.01 acres—the NE ¼ of the SE ¼ of Section 19, Township 7-N, Range 18-E of the Choctaw Principal Meridian.
Boss paid a $6 filing fee and signed his homestead application document with his “X”. Boss signed his own signature "Willie Ramsey" on all other land documents.
Boss paid $4.25 for A Notice for Publication, indicating his intention to make final commutation proof in support of his claim, Homestead Entry No. 38313, appeared in the Meridian Sun for five consecutive weeks, beginning March 23, 1907 through April 21, 1907.
Four neighbors names were provided as potential witnesses for the final proof: George Smith, E. A. Smith, Bill Howell and Dave Bramlett, all of Toomsuba, Mississippi.
Boss made the following statements at his final homestead proof, taken before Mr. S. B. Watts, U.S. Commissioner at Meridian, Mississippi on April 26, 1907:
- Stated that he was 27 years old, resided in Toomsuba, Mississippi and was born in Mississippi
- Confirmed the description of the land
- Confirmed he was the same person who filed the original homestead application on January 2, 1903
- Stated that in January 1902 (Was this an error? Should the year be 1903?), improvements made consisted of a 3-room frame house with brick chimney, corn crib, smoke house, fowl house, well, cotton house and stable, for a total value of $500
- Stated that he lived with his wife and two children
- Confirmed that he had not been absent from the land since making settlement
- Stated that he raised crops for five seasons on about 15 acres
- Confirmed the claim was not within the limits of an incorporated town or used for a trade or business
- Described the land as ordinary farming, sandy land most valuable for farming
- Confirmed that there are no indications of coal, salines or minerals of any kind on the land
- Confirmed that he never made any other homestead entry
- Confirmed he never sold, conveyed or mortgaged any portion of the land
Boss then signed the FINAL AFFIDAVIT REQUIRED OF HOMESTEAD CLAIMANTS and paid $1.60 in commissions and fees at the final proof. His homestead was approved on April 30, 1907.
On September 27, 1907, Willie Ramsey received his land patent, Final Certificate No. 20127.
William (Willie) “Boss” Ramsey suddenly died intestate on June 25, 1933. His wife, Delia McPherson Ramsey, continued to live on the land until her death on January 24, 1957.
My father managed the property during the 20 years after Mother Delia’s death, renting it out to tenants and paying taxes. My father and mother, Alfred and Catherine Horne Ramsey, had migrated to Detroit, Michigan in the late 1930s and then to Los Angeles, California in the early 1950s, joining millions of other African Americans who left the South during the Great Migration for better economic opportunities.
Patent Details - BLM GLO Records
~ Contributed by Ms. Jonnie Ramsey Brown
Jonnie Ramsey Brown
More from the contributor: William "Boss" Ramsey was my paternal grandfather. Everyone, black or white, held Boss in very high esteem. My father, Alfred Alphonso Ramsey, recalled when he was hopping trains in the 1930s to visit relatives around the country, that he was allowed to sit in the engine car, while hobos riding the rails rode in boxcars. Daddy was afforded this special treatment because everyone knew he was Boss’s boy.
Boss had verbally stated on many occasions that he wanted his son to inherit his land. In the late 1970s ownership disputes were resolved between descendants as they agreed that Alfred should receive a 50% undivided interest in the land at the time of Boss’s death, and the remaining undivided 50% interest was given to Mother Delia’s descendants. The Lauderdale Chancery Court Petition for Letters of Administration and Prayer to Waive Inventory and Appraisal filed November 7, 1977, details the relevant family relationships and this settlement. This is an extraordinarily important legal and genealogical document because it discusses the familial relationships of three generations of the Ramsey and McPherson families.
When my father despondently shared with me the history of Boss’s homestead and the division of the land, I encouraged him to buy back his father’s land that was in the hands of distant relatives. Over a 10-year period, my father and I were able to acquire 100% interest in the original 40 acres.
The ownership of Boss’s land remains with our Ramsey Family today. The younger generations have been educated about the fascinating story behind Boss’s land and have been charged with preserving our legacy by keeping the property in the family forever.
About the contributor: Jonnie Ramsey Brown descends from William Ramsey, her paternal grandfather. A genealogist since 1994, Jonnie is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Sons & Daughters of the United States Middle Passage, First Families of Alabama and other genealogical and historical societies. In 2017, Jonnie compiled and published multiple stories about her maternal family entitled Horne, Halsell, Holsey Family Stories – 3 Generations After Emancipation, winning a book award and medal from the African-American Historical & Genealogical Society, in the Non-Fictional/Regional category. Jonnie’s story about her maternal grandfather and his family lineage is part of the marketing campaign for one of the major DNA testing companies. Jonnie, a Certified Public Accountant, is now retired in Metro Atlanta, enjoying traveling and conducting genealogy research for lineage documentation for herself and others.