NATCHEZ &045; The news that one of the South’s most ardent segregationists was father to a mixed-race illegitimate daughter was not big news to Cliff Robinson of Natchez.

The owner of Williams and Williams Funeral Home, Robinson was not surprised at the announcement by Essie Mae Washington-Williams that long-time South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond, who died in June at 100, was her father.

&uot;I knew that was not an isolated case,&uot; Robinson said. &uot;It’s all over the place.&uot;

A phone call from his daughter in Georgia, however, turned his attention to the story. &uot;Daddy, the lady grew up in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, where you are from,&uot; Robinson said his daughter told him.

&uot;My daughter had done a little research, and she knew Essie Mae and I would have been there about the same time,&uot; Robinson said.

Robinson was born and reared in Coatesville, a steel mill town, where his father worked at the mill for more than 30 years. A suburb of Philadelphia, the town, like most in those days, had a mostly black section.

&uot;We attended James Adams Junior High School, where Essie came when we were in the ninth grade,&uot; Robinson said. &uot;She went on with us to high school and graduated with us. She was a quiet, reserved girl and very pretty.&uot;

Robinson left Coatesville after high school and entered military service. He remained in military and civilian government service until 1952, when he went to Xavier University in New Orleans and met Marvilea Williams, the Natchez girl he married.

There is no connection between the Natchez Williams family and Mrs. Washington-Williams’ family.

In about 1970, Robinson purchased the funeral home and has operated it since that time.

&uot;We had a 50-year class reunion in Coatesville in 1995,&uot; he said, pulling out a photo album to show some of the several hundred who attended. &uot;Essie Mae was there, just as pretty as ever.&uot;

Waiting until after her father’s death to confirm the relationship was a choice Essie Mae Washington-Williams made.

Rumors and reports of the relationship had surfaced in news reports in recent years. Both Thurmond and his daughter denied the relationship.

&uot;My children convinced me to tell the truth. I want to finally answer all of these questions Š that have been following me for 50 or 60 years,&uot; she said in making the announcement and confirming her father’s identity.

Her mother, Carrie Butler, was a housekeeper in the home of Thurmond’s parents in Edgefield, S.C., when she became pregnant and gave birth to the daughter in October 1925. The mother was 16.

Butler’s sister took the baby girl to live with a married aunt, Mary Washington, who lived in Coatesville.

&uot;She lived on the outskirts of town,&uot; Robinson said. &uot;We saw her only in school.&uot;

Many people attended the reunion in 1995. &uot;I didn’t talk to her, but I said to someone, ‘there is Essie Mae, pretty as ever. Can you believe it’s been 50 years?&uot;

Her decision to wait until after Thurmond’s death to make the announcement was the right thing to do, Robinson said. &uot;I appreciate her doing that. He supported her, and there was no animosity.&uot;

A 78-year-old retired school teacher, Washington-Williams said she simply wanted to &uot;bring closure to this. It is a part of history.&uot;

Robinson agreed. &uot;That is history, and you can’t turn the clock back.&uot;