Did Jordon Really have a Foreign Accent?

     This is my great grandfather on my father's paternal side.  Here is an article written about him:

Taken from, The 1904 Biography and Achievements of the Colored Citizens of Chattanooga. Compiled by: J. Bliss White.

Mr. J. L. Zuber was born in Floyd County, near Rome, GA., June 18, 1866.  He lived there until he was nineteen years old, and then came to Chattanooga, where he learned the moulders trade, and worked at it for twelve years.  He decided to go into business, and opened a grocery store at 416 Whiteside Street.  He has steadily increased his stock of goods and has now one of the most complete businesses of its kind in the city.  He has purchased property on West Montgomery Avenue, and is now erecting a two-story building which he intends to occupy when completed.  He is successful, energetic, and a thorough business man.. He says that it is his intention to live up to the Golden Rule as near as possible.

According to family stories, Jordan had a foreign accent, several members of my family thought he was from South America, or that he might have been part Chinese, even Jewish.  My father and his brother use to frequent their grandfathers grocery store and he would give them peanut butter and crackers but since Jordon didn't speak English very well they never stayed around to visit him. I had visions of Jordon looking either part Asian or Spanish. Through DNA testing for myself, I do have some Asian and some Jewish.  However the story got started, as far as I know through documentation, Jordon was born in Georgia.
The 1940 census shows Jordon's grocery store still in business, and from city directories the store was still open in 1941 after Jordon's death, and his daughter was running it. Jordon married, Susan L. Love in 1895 they had 6 children, Garnett, Shantung, James, Cephus, Alberta and Elbyra.

Jordon, b: 6/18/1866 - d:7/26/1941
 Susan, b:4/1876 - d:7/31/1939

 Jordon, Susan, Shantung, James, Cephus and Elbyra are all buried in  "Highland Memorial Gardens Cemetery". Chattanooga, Tennessee.

I'll never know if Jordon had a foreign accent but it's been fun thinking about if he did or not and what he sounded like.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Zuber&GSfn=Jordon&GSmn=L&GSby=1865&GSbyrel=in&GSdy=1941&GSdyrel=in&GSst=45&GScnty=2457&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=110883713&df=all&





Source Citations:
Find a Grave, (on-line)
J. Bliss White