William Otho Farrington (1916 - 1958)

Born 16 Jun 1916 in Delmar, Winston, Alabama, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Josephine Elizabeth (Bruton) Farrington — married 1 Mar 1945 (to before 1951) in Election Precinct 29 Alabama City, Etowah, Alabama, United States

Descendants

Died 18 Dec 1958 at age 42 in Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

Early Life

William Otho Farrington was born on June 16, 1916, in Delmar, Winston County, Alabama.^[1] He was the son of Addie Farrington and Rhoda King. He moved to rural Lawrence County, Tennessee, during his childhood, living on a farm on Fall River Road in the 1930 census.^[2] He attended school up until the fourth year of high school.

His father worked as a farmer and, once old enough, Otho and his siblings assisted as laborers.

Marriages & Family

During the early 1930s, he married Ola Lois Aldridge. They had at least four children: Bruce, Margaret, Ellen, and Maude. The family moved to Sheffield, Alabama, and then to Columbia, Tennessee in the late 1930s where Otho was employed in sanding work for a cement company. He, along with Ola who worked as a seamstress at an overall factory, earned a combined income of $950 in 1940. They rented their home at 119 West 12th Street for $13 monthly.^[3]

Otho and Ola divorced in the early 1940s and on March 1, 1945, he married Josephine Elizabeth Bruton in Alabama.^[4] They had two children together: Linda and Mark.

Otho and Josephine later divorced prior to the early 1950s. In about 1951, he moved in with Mrs. Ruth Gardner of 222 Woodland Ave., Nashville.

Crime

Warning! This profile contains information about people or events that some readers may find upsetting

Otho worked on and off as a general repairman for Mr. Claude W. Nichols since 1939. In the latter part of August 1953, the pair had been plotting to kill Mr. William Sailer Anderson, Jr. in order to acquire his Brookwood Farm estate in Columbia. Otho was promised the less valuable properties already owned by Claude. Claude served as the brains while Otho served as the brawn. In the early morning of October 10, 1953, Otho and Claude drowned Anderson in Kentucky Lake near Waverly, Tennessee.

William Sailer Anderson Jr.'s murder case made national news. Otho confessed to the murder a year later, on October 19, 1954, which finally cracked the case. Otho later claimed the confession was forced because of torture inflicted by Johnson and John Cribbs, agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Criminal Identification, and ex-TBI chief James Thompson.

It was during this time Otho also partook in a romantic relationship with Mrs. Janelle Brown, who was said to have kissed him after he told her he confessed to the murder and 'smooched' in a car while Claude set Anderson up for the murder.

Otho attempted to escape from his cell with Claude on March 31, 1955, but failed and was found guilty of first-degree murder on May 2, 1955, and was sentenced to 30 years in the state prison in Nashville. Claude was sentenced to 99 years in prison on January 11, 1955.

Murder & Burial

Otho was described as a mild-mannered and a steady worker in prison. On the morning of December 18, 1958, Otho was murdered in prison by John Taylor Aldridge, assisted by Gardner Walter, following an argument over Aldridge being allowed to leave his cell 15 minutes early for breakfast. He died on his way to the prison hospital, five minutes after the assault, at 7 p.m.^[5]

He was buried on December 20, 1958, in the Gum Springs Cemetery. ^[6]

Notes

• Newspaper clippings state that he was the father of five children, yet six children carry the Farrington name. They are:
  • Bruce, Margaret, Ellen, and Maude (children of Ola Aldridge, all listed in the 1940 census).
  • Linda Jo & Mark Steven (children of Josephine Bruton. Linda's obituary lists her father as William Otho Farrington and states Mark Steven Farrington to be her brother. None of the children of Ola are included).

Sources

1. ↑ "Alabama, County Birth Registers, 1881-1930," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WF78-2RZM : 12 December 2019), Wm Autho Farrington, 16 Jun 1916; citing Birth, Delmar, Winston, Alabama, United States, multiple county Probate Judges, Alabama; FHL microfilm 007897777.
2. ↑ Year: 1930; Census Place: District 8, Lawrence, Tennessee; Page: 18B; Enumeration District: 0015; FHL microfilm: 2341995; Description: CIVIL DISTRICT 8 EXCLUDING LAWRENCEBURG CITY; Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
3. ↑ Year: 1940; Census Place: Columbia, Maury, Tennessee; Roll: m-t0627-03920; Page: 61A; Enumeration District: 60-25; Description: CIVIL DISTRICT 9, COLUMBIA CITY WARD 3 BOUNDED BY (N) E 10TH, GLADE, E 11TH; (E) CITY LIMITS; (S) CITY LIMITS, NASHVILLE, CHATTANOOGA & ST. LOUIS RAILWAY, MCKAY; (W) PULASKI PIKE, EMBREY, S MAIN; Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
4. ↑ "Alabama County Marriages, 1809-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q21X-5XGH : 19 February 2021), William Otho Farrington and Josephine Elizabeth Bruton, 01 Mar 1945; citing Election Precinct 29 Alabama City, Etowah, Alabama, United States, County Probate Courts, Alabama; FHL microfilm 1,892,295.
5. ↑ "Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKM9-BZ1L : 1 March 2021), William Otho Farrington, 18 Dec 1958; Death, Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.
6. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16193909/otho-william-farrington : accessed 9 February 2022), memorial page for Otho William Farrington (16 Jun 1916–18 Dec 1958), Find a Grave Memorial ID 16193909, citing Gum Springs Cemetery, Gum Springs, Lawrence County, Tennessee, USA ; Maintained by Paula McCarter (contributor 47529173) .