Was Billy Briles a bootlegger?

Doris Christensen/Find a Grave

I spotted this image of a familiar house yesterday morning while sorting vintage postcards in the Gary Tharp collection. Built soon after 1921, it still stands in good repair on the east side of the Oakley Road northwest of Chariton.

So I turned it over and found, neatly written in pencil on the back, "William Briles Residence (Druggist & Bootlegger), NW of Chariton, Iowa." 

There's no way of telling who wrote the note --- Gary collected Lucas County-related postcards from all over, but it's an interesting piece of intelligence to share on the back of a postcard. It's possible Gary wrote the note himself since the Tharp family farm was just down the road.

The hope then became that something sensational could be found in old newspapers to confirm the allegation. No luck

The best I could do were brief mentions during August of 1912 and November of 1913 in district court news. Briles and Edward S. Jones were in partnership at the time in the Jones & Briles Drug Store on the west side of the square. During 1912, unspecified state charges were pending against them; during November of 1913, they were indicted for "maintaining a nuisance" --- selling liquor illegally (at the time, druggists were licensed to sell hard liquor, sales that otherwise were prohibited, when prescribed for medicinal purposes).

Unfortunately, I could find no reports regarding resolution of either case. Whatever the outcomes, it did not affect the flourishing business that Mr. Jones and Mr. Briles enjoyed.

+++

Mr. Briles, always known familiarly as Billy, was born during 1870 in Indiana to Louis and Martha Briles and came west with them to Whitebreast Township, Lucas County, during 1881. The house in question here is located on what was their farm.

According to his obituary (Herald-Patriot, March 29, 1951), Billy learned the pharmacy trade from Dr. William H. Gibbon, whose store was in the Gibbon Building on the northeast corner of the square. After Dr. Gibbon's death, he continued to manage the store for his widow until moving to Melrose to open a drug store of his own.

While living and working in Melrose, Billy met Mary Lucinda Smith and they were married in Des Moines on Feb. 19, 1897. Their son, Emmet James, was born in Melrose on the 12th of November that year.

This marriage does not seem to have been made in heaven, however. They were separated by 1900, Billy identifying himself as divorced and living again in Chariton when the 1900 federal census was taken; Mary and Emmet, living with her parents in Melrose. There's no sign that Billy had much to do with his son thereafter. Mary did not remarry and generally identified herself as the widow of William Briles while living in Colorado and California with Emmett during later years.

+++

During 1912, while working as a druggist in Greenfield, Billy purchased half interest in a Chariton drug store previously operated by Edward S. Jones in partnership with Charles Kirk. The firm became Jones & Briles --- and from all appearances (and despite a couple of missteps involving liquor) prospered.

During September of 1916, Billy married Cora Tacker, of Chariton. He was 46 at the time and she, age 45, apparently had been married previously. There was a son named Floyd Salisbury.

During September of 1921, Ed Jones and Billy Briles sold their drug store and he, more or less retired, age 51. His mother died that same year and Billy bought his two siblings' interests in the family farm, built the new house on it and he and Cora moved there.

They lived there together until her death, from cancer, on Oct. 3, 1934.

Billy continued to live on the farm alone until his own death, as the result of a heart attack, at the age of 80 on March 18, 1951. "Billy Briles, as he was known by a host of friends, was very quiet and unassuming, and will be sadly missed by all who knew him," his obituary stated.

Although his son, Emmett, then of Chino, California, was listed as a survivor, Billy's principal heir seems to have been a nephew of Cora, Leslie Britt, who also was administrator of his estate.

+++

The Britts moved to the Briles farm, which he had inherited, and while updating the plumbing discovered Billy's final surprise, as reported upon in The Herald-Patriot of Feb. 14, 1952, under the headline, "Discover securities as new sink is installed."

"A cache with securities totaling about $29,000 was discovered one day last month when plumbers were installing a new kitchen sink. This took place on the farm of the late Billy Briles northwest of Chariton.

"The place is now being occupied by Briles' heirs, Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Britt, and they decided to have some new plumbing. The old kitchen sink was removed and behind it was the hiding place for the securities, all in government bonds.

"Attorney Joe Kridelbaugh, who is handling the probate of the estate, said that it was known the late Mr. Briles owned the bonds, but that a diligent search had failed to unearth them following his death. In fact, Kridelbaugh had serial numbers of all the bonds and had made a trip to Chicago to have duplicates made. Now, he said, all this will have to be reversed due to the discovery of the original bonds and the duplicates will have to be cancelled."