Book on Grac Jones murder published
Published 9:11 pm Wednesday, October 7, 2015
You asked for it, and it’s here. The Kermit Hobbs masterpiece about the 1908 murder of Tiberius Gracchus “Grac” Jones in Holland, serialized in the Suffolk News-Herald this summer, has been published in book form.
Author Kermit Hobbs shows off a copy of his book, “The Murder of Tiberius Gracchus Jones,” on Wednesday. He will be at the Suffolk News-Herald booth at Peanut Fest Friday and Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. to sign copies.
The book will be for sale at the Suffolk News-Herald booth at the Peanut Festival on Friday and Saturday this weekend. Hobbs will be there from 2 to 5 p.m. both days to sign copies.
Hobbs has been fascinated by the case since about 1980, when he first became aware of it.
“Even at that time, it was kind of hush-hush,” Hobbs said. “People didn’t talk about it.”
His father, Oliver K. Hobbs Sr., told him about it and also said he had heard a book had been written about it at the time by Bunyan Jones, the brother of the victim. But supporters of the man accused in the murder, Sam Hardy, bought as many copies as they could and destroyed them, making it a rare book today.
Hobbs came across a copy of the book in an antiques store a few years later and bought it as a gift for his father.
“He went wild over it,” Hobbs said.
About a year ago, Hobbs ran across the book and read it, newly fascinated by the case. It’s truly a case of “truth is stranger than fiction,” Hobbs said. “So many little incidents all contributed to a complex story. If one of them hadn’t happened, the whole thing wouldn’t have happened.”
He decided to bring the story to the public.
“By this time, there aren’t that many people left that would be taking sides,” Hobbs said. “At long last, I think it’s time to put it out to the public.”
Hobbs won’t give his opinion — if he has one — on whether the right man was convicted for Jones’ death.
“The beauty of it is the uncertainty,” Hobbs said. “I’d say there’s very legitimate evidence for either side.”
The 52-page book includes lots of features not printed in the newspaper, including photographs, maps, trivia, author’s commentary, newspaper clippings, a list of sources and the full text of a letter Hardy wrote from prison in February 1918.
The book also will be for sale at the Suffolk News-Herald office, 130 S. Saratoga St., until it is sold out. Each copy is $10 plus tax. A mailed copy is $12.90, which includes tax and shipping. Call 934-9604 to order a mailed copy.
Hobbs also has copies to sell.
