When news that Union Gen. J.H. Wilson's troops were headed to Selma back in the spring of 1865, Mrs. Frances John Hobbs set about to save the fine jewelry from her Confederate soldier husband's jewelry store. First, she hid silver in the walls of their house. Then, she stayed up late at night sewing the best pieces of jewelry in her petticoat. She deposited the least expensive pieces in the family safe. When Union soldiers knocked on her door, she welcomed them inside and pretended to be very reluctant about opening the safe. Of course, the Yankees took the jewelry, thinking they had made a great haul. They thanked her for her cooperation and did not burn the house.
Here, the "ghost" of Mrs. Hobbs returned from the grave last Friday to tell her story at Selma's Historic Pilgrimage.
