If you thought part 1 was interesting, you are in for a treat. After the death of her husband and only son, Ada is on her own and left to figure out what comes next. While we’re certain Ada was devastated over her loss, she pushes through. She takes over business affairs, stands strong, and maintains that “steel magnolia” attitude. As fate would have it, 5 years after the death of her husband and son, John Slater enters the picture.
John Raymond Slater, born on January 9, 1892 in Valdosta, was a WWI veteran and lawyer. After Slater graduated from Valdosta High School, he set off to Vanderbilt University for undergrad school. He then transferred to the University of Georgia in 1917 to finish up law school. However, it wasn’t long after beginning his studies at UGA when war was declared on Germany. This led John Slater to serve in the U.S. Army where he would train in upstate New York before heading to France as the captain for the 321st Field Artillery. John Slater’s unit would be one of the first to reach battle on the western front of WWI. In 1919, he returned to the United States from France to pick back up where he left off with his law studies at UGA.
John Slater completed his law degree with honors in just one year. It was this outstanding academic record that landed him a position in Washington as Assistant Attorney General of the United States. He later returned back to his hometown of Valdosta to practice under his father’s law firm of Patterson, Copeland, and Slater.
This brings us to the fall of 1921 when Slater meets Ada while she was visiting in Valdosta. It’s said that he was immediately intrigued by Ada and very persistent in pursuing her.
After John Ashley’s passing, Ada kept her distance from the men who would pursue her in hopes of gaining her hand in marriage. Nonetheless, John Slater caught her attention with no intention of losing it. Ada and John Slater would then be married by the end of 1921. Just like her first marriage, Ada and John Slater had a rather lengthy honeymoon. The Slater honeymoon however, is considered to be rather interesting to some. Slater took his wife to travel the battlefields in Europe that he had previously fought on. After their eventful honeymoon, they returned to Douglas where the beautiful Ashley home would now take on a whole new era of history.
Not long after their return home, Slater’s appealing personality and outstanding academic achievements would lead him to be elected as the president of the Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis Club, the Union Banking Company, and Mayor of Douglas in 1924. He was again elected mayor in 1927-1928.
From the outside looking in, John Slater’s life looked to be one that people would envy. He had a beautiful wife, a stunning home, and a prosperous career. What you didn’t see from outside those walls was the PTSD and the haunting memories of war that seemed to follow him. It has been told that after running Alfred E. Smith’s presidential campaign in Georgia and failing to win, Slater endured some sort of mental breakdown. Sources have said it was this breakdown that led him to spend time away to receive help for the issues he was facing.
After this time away, John Slater returned home to Ada during the summer of 1930. Little did they know, just a few short months later, the story of Ada and John Slater would come to a tragic end. On Sunday, September 7, 1930, Ada returned home after church to find the house just as she had left it. However, one thing was noticeably different. She couldn’t find her husband.
After hearing her calls for Slater, neighbors joined in on the search. Soon after, she found his body hanging by a noose from the stairway that leads to the attic. Some have said that a couple weeks before his suicide, Ada was told that Slater was allegedly mishandling their money and negatively affecting their businesses. As this version of the story goes, Ada confronted him with the issue and made him aware she was taking over all of their finances and business affairs. We can only imagine the small town gossip that took place back then, so some have said this was John Slater’s breaking point. Even if that tale holds true, we do know he suffered from PTSD and mental health issues. As some have said, Slater more than likely did his best to avoid these issues, ultimately leading him to take his own life.
Once again, Ada was left alone in her dream house. The same woman who once hired a muralist from England to paint the family’s murals for a year was now left to paint herself a new future. Staying true to her strong will, she learned to push on after losing John. She submerged herself in business affairs, church, and most importantly, her family.
Since Ada had no children of her own after the passing of her only son, she took to her nieces and nephews. She would often loan them money for college with the agreement that they would pay her back over time. One story goes, a niece that was living with her while attending South Georgia College sat Ada down one night after dinner and said she no longer wanted to go to school. She wanted to make her dreams a reality and move to New York. It’s said that Ada silently stood and walked away, returned with a cigar box, and slid it across the table to her niece. To her niece’s surprise, it was not at all a box of cigars. Taking the place of the stogies, was all of the money she had paid back to her Aunt Ada during those years in college. This was Ada’s way of saying, “Not only can you move to New York, but I’m going to help you do it.”
You may be thinking to yourself that this must be the end, but what transpires over the next several years is definitely a story worth telling. To find out, join us next week for part 3.