Berry, George Leonard
(12 September 1882–04 December 1948)
- Sandra Opdycke
Extract
Berry, George Leonard (12 September 1882–04 December 1948), labor leader, was born in Lee Valley, Tennessee, the son of Thomas Jefferson Berry and Cornelia Trent. Berry claimed that his father was a judge and legislator, but this is not confirmed by state records. His father died when Berry was very young (some accounts indicate 1884, some 1888). Unable to support the family, his mother placed the boy in an orphan asylum; he was later moved to a foster home in Mississippi. Berry said that when he was only nine years old he ran away and began working as a newsboy for the Jackson, Mississippi, ...
