Guy Warren McBride, (Maude's brother and only son of Sophronia and James McBride,) never married and was offered a Chair in Mathematics at USC Instead, he returned to Rip Raps to help his mother, Sophronia McBride. This is a trend that repeats itself in the history of the family. Not only has much land been inherited by men through women, (From the Widow James to Samuel McBride, and from Maude McBride to Eugene Dabbs) but several sons have dutifully left other careers to return to the farm and help their parents. Often, this was not in their own best interest since other occupations appealed to them more than farming.
By all accounts, more a poet-philosopher than a businessman, Guy McBride and his mother were unable to resolve the massive debts that continued to accumulate around Rip Raps Plantation. In addition, Guy had bouts with depression and alcohol. At the same time, in his book, The Road Home, James McBride Dabbs describes his Uncle Guy as one of the finest men he’d ever known; a kindly humorous man and a true Southern gentleman. He quotes, Aunt Caroline Muldrow as saying that when she got to
heaven the first person she’d see would be Jesus and then Marse Guy.
