William Leman Starr

b. 1 December 1879, d. 13 December 1943
  • William Leman Starr was born on 1 December 1879 in Georgia.
  • He married Rebecca Tinsley Ruan, daughter of John Gibbs Ruan and Rebecca Tinsley, on 1 January 1903 in Bibb County, Georgia.
  • William Leman Starr and Rebecca Tinsley Ruan appeared in the US federal census of 15 April 1910 in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, living at the same [indecipherable] street address as William's brother Homer H. Star and his family.. Other members of the household included Rebecca Ruan Starr, William L. Starr Jr., Mary R. Starr and Dorothy Ruan Starr.
  • He was a commission broker, according to the 1910 census.
  • The following appeared on 28 February 1913 in The Macon Daily Telegraph: W. L. Starr Acquitted. William L. Starr, senior member of Starr Brothers, a brokerage firm that formerly did business in Macon, was vindicated of the charge of larceny after trust when the jury in the superior court returned a verdict of not guilty yesterday morning. The jury was out less than an hour.
    [TAB:] Homer H. Starr, the other member of the firm, who was jointly indicted with his brother, entered a demand yesterday for an immediate trial, but it is probably that the indictment against him will be not pressed, since the same evidence in the case just disposed of would be reviewed again at his trial.
    [TAB:] The indictment against the two brothers grew out of a business transaction they had with the American National Bank in February, 1911. They gave the bank a receipt for a bill of lading for a carload of meat, invoiced at $2,700, and in the alleged agreement the bank had with the Starr Brothers, the latter were to handle the meat in trust, and were to turn enough of the proceeds from the sale of the meat over to the bank to cover the invoice.
    [TAB:] The prosecution charged that the brothers failed to do this and that they appropriated to their own use the proceeds from the sale of the meat.
    [TAB:] The defense admitted that there was a shortage in the firm's accounts with the bank, but denied that they misappropriated any money held by them in trust. It was contended that the Starr Brothers' shortage with the bank was a result of a failure in their business.
    [TAB:] George E. Jones conducted the prosecution of Starr, Solicitor General John P. Rose being disqualified because he previously represented the Messrs. Starr in this case. Guerry and Son represented the defense. Judge Robert Hodges, in the absence of Judge Mathews, presided at the trial.
  • The following appeared on 9 April 1915 in The Macon Daily Telegraph: Mrs. Alice Leman Starr. Mrs. Alice Leman Starr, widow of the late Capt. H. H. Starr, died yesterday morning in Philadelphia, at the age of 65. Her body will be brought to Macon tonight over the Southern railway for burial. She died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Alice L. Webb. /P/ Besides Mrs. Webb, she is survived by Capt. W. L. Starr and Homer Starr. Mrs. Starr was reared in Macon, leaving here about five years ago for Philadelphia. /P/ The funeral will be held Saturday morning at 10:30 o'clock from Christ Episcopal church, with Rev. Mr. Wells, the supply rector, officiating. Interment will follow in Riverside cemetery.
  • William Leman Starr registered for the draft on 14 September 1918 in Fulton County, Georgia, while employed in New York City as a sales manager by Arbuckle Bros. (coffee merchants) at 71 Water Street; his home address, and his wife Reba's, is given as 33 Poplar Circle in Atlanta.
  • William Leman Starr and Rebecca Tinsley Ruan appeared in the US federal census of 1 January 1920 in Flushing, Queens County, New York, at 404 Central. Other members of the household included Rebecca Ruan Starr, William L. Starr Jr., Mary R. Starr, Dorothy Ruan Starr, Alice Leman Starr and Robert Gibbs Starr. Also in the household was his brother Homer H. Starr, identifed as an unemployed single male.
  • He was employed as a coffee sales manager according to the 1920 census.
  • William Leman Starr became a widower at the 23 December 1927 death of his wife Rebecca Tinsley Ruan.
  • William Leman Starr died on 13 December 1943 at age 64 in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina.
  • He was interred at Flushing Cemetery, Flushing, Queens County, New York.
  • Last Edited: 21 Mar 2011

Family: Rebecca Tinsley Ruan b. 26 June 1877, d. 23 December 1927