There is nation-wide interest in the unusual announcement that an Iredell county man, John Speaks, has refused to accept $5,000 insurance which the government has offered and is ready to pay on the life of his son, Thomas Speaks, who was killed in overseas service during the World war.
Another peculiarity about this citizen is that he refuses to bury the body of his son. The remains of Thomas Speaks arrived in Statesville in August, 1921, and were immediately taken to the home of his parents near Jennings post office, about 22 miles north of Statesville.
In September following, the writer made a special visit to the Speaks home and found the casket of the dead soldier boy resting on two chairs in the best room in the house. Mr. Speaks stated that he did not want to bury his boy and would not do so unless he was forced to do so by law, adding that he meant to build a little house nearby in which to keep the body until his own death, and then he wanted the remains of his boy be placed beside is own. Latest reports indicate that the young soldier’s body still rested undisturbed in the home of his parents, eight months after its arrival.
Another peculiarity about Mr. Speaks is that he reads his Bible regularly and claims to be deeply religious, still he is at variance with the churches and will not attend a church or Sunday school and not permit a member of his family to attend public religious services of any kind.
Local authorities would have forced Speaks to bury the body of his son if it had been shown to be unsanitary, but the remains have been reduced to a skeleton and the county health officials could not say that it was dangerous to the health of the family, and therefore were powerless to enforce burial.
From the front page of The Davie Record, Mocksville, N.C., Wednesday, May 10, 1922. $5,000 would be worth $85,566.67 today, according to the online Inflation Calculator.
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