Daughter of Ruby and W.M. Herring. Known as Vance Avenue Alma from the time she was 16 and frequented bars and bordellos along Vance, she outlived all of her husbands and died in 1970 at the age of 74. Her first husband was a gambler named Halprin Cox, whom she married when she was 17. She divorced him and eloped to Little Rock with Roy Calvert, a 24-year-old railroad man. In 1919, she was charged with killing Calvert, but claimed self-defense. The jury returned a verdict of "justifiable homicide." She returned to Memphis and remarried Cox, who was later killed in an automobile accident. In 1926, she married Michael McClavy, a prosperous 56-year-old contractor. In 1927, she and Charles E. Miller a former jockey, were accused of killing McClavy. Miller was convicted of 2nd-degree murder and Alma was convicted of being an accessory. While she was serving 10 years in prison and working in the prison factory, she met William Theede, who was serving 21 years for murder. Alma was paroled in 1931, and married Theede when he was released shortly thereafter, but he divorced her. In 1946, she married Ed Gill, whose body was found a short distance from their shanty in 1949. For his death, she received 10 years, but was paroled after 6 years. She had one more marriage, which ended in divorce.
Daughter of Ruby and W.M. Herring. Known as Vance Avenue Alma from the time she was 16 and frequented bars and bordellos along Vance, she outlived all of her husbands and died in 1970 at the age of 74. Her first husband was a gambler named Halprin Cox, whom she married when she was 17. She divorced him and eloped to Little Rock with Roy Calvert, a 24-year-old railroad man. In 1919, she was charged with killing Calvert, but claimed self-defense. The jury returned a verdict of "justifiable homicide." She returned to Memphis and remarried Cox, who was later killed in an automobile accident. In 1926, she married Michael McClavy, a prosperous 56-year-old contractor. In 1927, she and Charles E. Miller a former jockey, were accused of killing McClavy. Miller was convicted of 2nd-degree murder and Alma was convicted of being an accessory. While she was serving 10 years in prison and working in the prison factory, she met William Theede, who was serving 21 years for murder. Alma was paroled in 1931, and married Theede when he was released shortly thereafter, but he divorced her. In 1946, she married Ed Gill, whose body was found a short distance from their shanty in 1949. For his death, she received 10 years, but was paroled after 6 years. She had one more marriage, which ended in divorce.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
