William Jesse Duke

Too many men named William in our family! Most went by their middle names not by William. Our grandfather went by his middle name Jesse. I never knew him as he passed away in 1933 months before our oldest brother was born. I can tell you that my Daddy loved his father & missed him so much and was proud to be his son. At the time of Jesse death it was called "Sleeping Sickness" but a cousin thinks it was "encephalitis lethargica". Grandpa Duke mother & baby sister died in 1900. Jesse & his brother Luther dug the baby sister grave. Someone came & told them their mother died & they needed to dig another grave.(Always made me cry that they had to dig graves)