What Makes a Man

I recently wrote a letter to my paternal grandfather's brother, Bo.  I asked him about his memories of my grandfather, Charles Bryant Nall, who died when I was 20 years old. Today I received a letter back, written by Bo's wife Bette, relaying Bo's recollections:

...Since Bo was 4 years younger than Charles and the fact that Charles married so young, Bo doesn't seem to remember very many specific incidents while Charles was still at home. 

It seemed to Bo that when Bo was around 6 years old and Charles was 10 years old that Charles was already doing the work of a grown man. At this early age Charles worked in the fields planting and chopping cotton, cutting and bundling maize (milo) by hand, and helping tend the cows and hogs. By age 12 he was driving the family pickup wherever they needed to go. When he was 12, Dena was 10, Bo 8, George 6, and Larry, 4. Since he was the oldest he received the brunt of the workload. But back then everyone in the family did have to help out to survive. Anyway, his younger siblings were probably a nuisance to him. Many years this family didn't start their school year until after Thanksgiving.

Bo does recall that Charles was the only one old enough to go hunting and traping with Rufus and Uncle John Wheeler.

Farmers and Ranchers in the area said they would rather have Charles work for them than any grown man available. He was responsible and hard working. Some of the jobs he was hired to do included fence building and running farm equipment. Pay was $6/day. 

Charles did play football in high school. He was a valuable star player for the Benjamin 6 man team. But he played against his Dad's wishes. If he had an after school practice or was late getting in from a game, someone had to bring him home or he had to walk home (8 miles). And he also had to keep up with his home chores. It was such a hassle that it was shored lived. 

Sue and Charles were 16 and 17 (sept 18, 1952) when they married so neither completed school. After they were married Charles worked as a ranch/farmhand on a ranch north of Benjamin on the Little Wichita River. Part of his job included checking miles and miles of fences on horseback. For this job he was furnished his own string of horses. He would need a different horse each day. Bo remembered that Charles really liked that part of his job and that he earned $125/month and was paid once a month. He and Sue had a hard time living out there and making ends meet. So he and a family friend (E.J. Ward) started roofing houses together. One aspect of their roofing houses together included tar foofing using hot pots. Because of this enterprise it was necessary to move to Childress, Texas for a time. 

During this time the rest of the family moved from the farm into Seymour (1953). Charles and Sue then also moved to Seymour where they were able to buy a small house. Willie Belle and Rufus had acquired one also, across the street. 

This is when Charles went to work for John M. Edwards at the M System grocery store there in Seymour. He soon became manager. Bo worked for him after school and on weekends while he was in high school. After some time passed Charles became the manager for several M System stores. During this time he also trained and became a licensed pilot so he could check on the stores. 

Charles was a really good brother and a respected upstanding man! We both loved and looked up to him. 

I really appreciate the time taken to answer my questions. I loved learning about my Bampy's younger years.

Until next time,
Becky Drake

Charles, Dena, Bo, George and Larry

Looking Back

I have another letter themed blog post for you today. My youngest daughter wrote to my step-dad, her Papa Steve. She asked him a few questions and I was able to get some pictures from Mom to go with his answers. I will transcribe most of his answers so that it has flow included with pictures but his original letter will be attached at the bottom of this post.

Question one: What was your favorite year? Your favorite age?

Papa wrote: The favorite year of my life, very difficult to answer as I have had many but after a lot of thought I would have to say 1981.

Mom and Dad got married 9 Jan 1981. I wasn't quite one year old yet. 

My favorite age, I would have to say my twenties because I became all grown up and became a husband and a father and I very much enjoyed my little family unit. It just seemed like everything in my life came together during that time.

Question two: What is the most important date in your life?

Papa's answer: Most important date in my life, again many to choose from but I would have to say Aug 20th 1976. This was the date I started bootcamp in the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps helped me grow up and taught me the discipline I needed to be successful as an adult.

Question three: What fads have you seen come and go?

Papa's answer: Fad's I've seen come and go:

• Bell Bottom pants

• Super Balls
• Turtle-neck shirts
• 8 track tape players
• Long hair

• Hippies
• Drive-in Theaters
• sit-ins (protests)
• "Have a nice day" Smiley faces
• Water beds
• Cruising the sonic.

Let's Go to the Picture Show

A few years ago my family visited a thrift shop called Potters House. While there my oldest daughter found a book and eagerly brought it to me because she knows how much I love genealogy. The book was titled To Our Children's Children; Preserving Family Histories for Generations to Come  It's basically a book of well thought out questions to ask your parents/grandparents to gain more insight into their lives. I loved it. And it was a steal for only $.25

Later that day we ate at Pizza Hut and while we waited on our food the hubs and I went through and answered a few of the questions for our girls. As we answered these questions I knew the girls wouldn't remember them years down the road when things like that seem a bit more important. I've also pulled this book out once as we sat around the dinner table at my in-laws and we asked my Father-in-law several questions from the Military section. That was only a year or so ago and I can't remember three quarters of his answers.

Fast forward to last month, and the fact that it was National Letter Writing month. I've been having the kids sit down with my book and pick out questions to write their grandparents. This has been the perfect opportunity to have some questions answered and preserved in their own handwriting so we can come back to it, time and time again, when our memory fades.

My youngest daughter wrote to her paternal grandfather and asked the following questions:

What's your favorite movie? How old were you when you saw it? At what theater? Who did you go with?

Ozark Theater at Noel, Missouri

Her Papa's arthritis was acting up so he wasn't able to answer her right away. Her Nanny knew she would be eager to get a letter back in the mail, so we were lucky enough to end up with two letters-- one from each of them.

Her Nanny wrote and told her of the theaters she and Roy went to when they were dating. Most often the theater in Noel Missouri and occasionally the one in Neosho.

Her Papa wrote about the first movie he ever saw and how he typically wasn't even allowed to go to the movie theater because of his family's strict religious beliefs. He also listed his favorite movies and why he enjoyed them so much.

Here is page one of his letter....




To read the letters in their entirety click here.

As we read these letters my girls couldn't believe that their grandpa would be able to remember the first movie he saw and they tried their best to remember their first movie. I explained to them that they grew up with television and movies but their grandparents did not. It may be similar to them trying to remember their first cell phone.

I hope I will be able to publish a few more posts like this one. The kids are still sending letters in the mail and I have written a few myself. I really do hope they will cherish these treasures when they are older.

Until next time,
Becky

Georgia's Land Lottery

Today's prompt hosted by Genealogy Girl is #land and has lead me to research more about Georgia's Land Lottery. I'm having great difficulty finding actual records. But I still wanted to write about at least two of my ancestors who were winners of the 1827 Land Lottery; William P Newell and Thomas J Nall - both on my paternal side. Their names are listed in the Reprint of official register of land lottery of Georgia, 1827  comp. by Martha Lou Houston; index prepared by Silas Emmett Lucas Jr.. (Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1986). In fact, in my search for actual records for Thomas J. Nall in this lottery, lead me to an exchange between William P Newell and his brother-in-law, Clemmon Jones in some miscellaneous files from Troup County, GA,  and that in turn lead me to discover William had also won land in this lottery. I have written briefly about William P Newell here.

Georgia actually held eight land lotteries between the years 1805 - 1833. They each followed this pattern:

1. The General Assembly passed an act that authorized the lottery and spelled out who would be eligible to participate and the grant fees that would apply.
2. The land to be distributed was surveyed and laid out in districts and lots. The surveyors sent the district and lot numbers to the governor’s office.
3. Eligible citizens registered their names in their county of residence. The names were sent to the governor’s office at the state capital. Beginning with the second lottery the names were copied onto slips of paper called “tickets” and placed in a large drum called a “wheel.”
4. District and lot numbers were placed in a separate wheel. (At first, blank tickets were added to this wheel, so that the number of tickets would equal the number of persons drawing.)
5. Commissioners appointed by the governor drew a name ticket from one wheel and a district/lot ticket from the other wheel. If the district/lot ticket was blank, the person received nothing. If the ticket contained a district/lot number, the person received a prize of that parcel of land. A ticket that contained a number was called a “Fortunate Draw.” With later lotteries (after 1820), when blank tickets were not added to the prize wheel, individuals whose names remained in the second wheel were considered to have drawn blanks.
6. Anyone who received a Fortunate Draw could take out a grant for the lot he drew, after paying the grant fee. If he did not take out a grant, the lot reverted back to the state to be sold to the highest bidder.

The eight land lotteries were held on the following years:
1805 (first)
1807 (second)
1820 (third)
1821 (fourth)
1827 (fifth)
1832 (sixth)
1832 (seventh or gold lottery)
1833 (eighth)

My ancestors took part in the 1827 Land Lottery

Five Counties were created and 202.5 acre lots were surveyed off.

Counties
Carroll: 16 districts (1-16)
Coweta: 9 districts (1-9)
Lee: 13 districts (1-13)
Muscogee: 24 districts (1-24)
Troup: 12 districts (1-12)

William Paul Newell won twice, one in district 9 and the other in district 3 of Carroll County. And Thomas J. Nall won his lot in district 10 of Troup County. During the time of the drawing, according to the above reprint, William was living in Henry County and Thomas was living in Clark County.

Here is an 1830 map of Georgia so that you can see where they were during the drawing in comparison to where their winning draw was located.



Yet, in 1830 William was enumerated in Capt Britain C Tyars District, Troup, Georgia. Thomas was enumerated in Henry County, Georgia. By 1840 Thomas has migrated to Merriwether and William was living across the state line in Chambers County, AL. My Thomas eventually migrates all the way to Texas where later died, presumably in Rusk County. It sure makes me wonder why they didn't stay on the land they won. Did they ever make a homestead there? Did they sell it? Or abandon it?

Here is a bit of information about how a person was eligible to participate in the Georgia Land Lottery.

There was an $18.00 grant fee to participate in the drawing. As well as other regulations that had to be met. Each condition or regulation could entitle you to 1 or 2 draws.

In order to be entitled to draw a person had to be:

• Bachelor, 18 years or over, 3-year residence in Georgia, citizen of United States - 1 draw
• Married man with wife or son under 18 years or unmarried daughter, 3-year residence in Georgia, citizen of United States – 2 draws
• Widow, 3-year residence in Georgia – 1 draw
• Wife and/or child, 3-year residence in Georgia, husband and/or father absent from state for 3 years – 1 draw
• Family (one or two ) of orphans under 18 years whose father is dead, 3-year residence in state or since birth – 1 draw
• Family (three or more) of orphans under 18 years, 3-year residence in state or since birth – 2 draws
• Widow, husband killed in Revolutionary War, War of 1812, or Indian War, 3-year residence in Georgia – 2 draws
• Orphan, father killed in Revolutionary War, War of 1812 or Indian War - 2 draws
• Wounded or disabled veteran of War of 1812 or Indian War, unable to work - 2 draws
• Veteran of Revolutionary War – 2 draws
• Veteran of Revolutionary War who had been a fortunate drawer in any previous Lottery – 1 draw
• Child or children of convict, 3-year residence in Georgia – 1 draw
• Male idiots, lunatics or insane, deaf and dumb, or blind, over 10 years and under 18 years, 3-year residence in Georgia – 1 draw
• Female idiots, insane or lunatics, deaf and dumb, or blind, over 10 years, 3-year residence in Georgia – 1 draw
• Family (one or two) of illegitimates under 18 years, residence since birth in Georgia – 1 draw
• Family (three or more) of illegitimates under 18 years, residence since birth in Georgia – 2 draws
• Child or children of a convict whose father had not drawn in any of the former land lotteries – entitled to a draw or draws in the same manner they would be entitled if they were orphans

Reasons you were not eligible to draw:

• Any fortunate drawer in any previous Land Lottery.
• Citizens who volunteered or were legally drafted in the War of 1812 or the Indian War and who refused to serve a tour of duty in person or by substitute.
• Anyone who may have deserted from military service.
• Any tax defaulter or absconded for debt.
• Any convict in the penitentiary.

In my search for actual records, I ended up on the Georgia State Archives website. Due to funding, and resources they will not look up or mail you records, even for a fee. They do however provide of list of professional genealogist in their area who will do this for you. I contacted a Mr. Evans who did a fantastic job of provided me with copies of the surveys and grants for each of my ancestors. I will attach two of the six records in this post so you can see for yourself what they looked like, and the information they contained.

Sometimes, in doing research I end up with more questions than I do answers. Census records don't indicate that these two ancestors ever lived on the land they won. But that doesn't mean they didn't. I have read a book about a family I am connected to, not related to, that lived in Spadra Township, Johnson County, AR. They traveled to California and back between census years. If that book had not been published, I doubt anyone would have guessed at the amount of land they covered in a short 10 years.I hope this post encourages you to take a little time to research this part of American History.

Until next time,
Becky

To see all six records in PDF format click here.

Georgia, Surveyor General, Plats, Land Lottery, 1827, Book JJJJ, Troup County,  Districts 6‐11, GRG 2‐2252, Microfilm Drawer 51, Box 52, Georgia State Archives

Georgia, Surveyor General, Plats, Land Lottery, 1827, Book OOOO, Districts 2‐9,  GRG 2‐2254, Microfilm Drawer 51, Box 54, Georgia State Archives