Life Skills Through The Generations

Today's post is going to be a mash up of Genealogy Girl's #GenealogyPhotoADay prompt on Instagram for February 07 - #FOOD. As well as Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors prompt #InTheKitchen.

I've blogged a few times about my time spent with my grandmother, Mammy. Every other weekend until age twelve was spent with her from Friday night until late Saturday evening. If I wasn't having to help haul hay or work cattle, I was being groomed for adulthood and many life skills were intentionally taught to me. One of the most important was knowing my way around a kitchen and being taught to never show up to a meal empty handed.

A few things I can remember her teaching me to make was a zucchini cake with cream cheese frosting. The zucchni had come from her garden and on this instance my cousin Jennifer was there too. We each made a cake. I can still remember her telling us the importance of folding and stiring deep into the bowl to make sure there wasn't any dry ingredients hiding down there.

Another thing I remember her teaching me to make was biscuits. I can remember her teaching me to make a well in the center and not to over stir. And then there were homemade rolls. And the time I was taught a rustic dessert; apple dumplings. Everything else is a bit of a blur. For the most part I was her helper and spent so much time with my hands in the sink either washing dishes or rinsing them. For all the time spent in her kitchen though, I don't have a single picture of her in hers. I do have a picture of my aunts in her kitchen though, so I'm going to share it.

Notice all those plates hanging? There were stories behind each one. Unfortunately, I only remember the story behind that black tarnished one on the end. If anyone out there rembembers the significance of the others, I'd really love it if you'd share it with me. Also, see the oil lamp in the right corner? I am so grateful that I now have that!

I'm not sure I was as intentional while raising my kids about the significance of knowing their way around the kitchen, and I know I wasn't as patient but the lessons were taught anyway. Here are a few pictures I have of my babies (who are no longer babies) in my kitchen:

The girls making their Dad his 45th birthday cake

Here's Ashley with a cake she made her Nanny Kay with the miniature cake pan set she bought herself at Hobby Lobby.

Patrick frying deer meat for our supper. Not only did he kill, clean and process his deer, he has always been comfortable cooking in the kitchen!

Laney making green bean casserole for our Thanksgiving.

Ashley making hashbrown casserole for Thanksgiving.

Patrick making Christmas Wreath's from cornflakes, marshmallows a little butter and green food coloring and red hots for the berries. -- This was something Mammy always made.

Laney making Reindeer Tracks for Christmas - we learned how to make these from Nanny K

Ashley's special burger recipe. We still use this!

When I first moved out here to Chigger Haven, I wanted to decorate my kitchen with old black and white photos of our ancestors in their kitchens. I still haven't done that. Maybe this will prompt me to getting some printed off and hung. I would also like to get a glass top cut for my dinning room table and display old family photographs under the glass. Here are a few kitchen pics in my collection:

My Grandma Reba with her birthday cake! One of my all time favorite pictures.

Great Grandma Zula probably making cornbread.

Grandma Nall --  my great grandma Willie Belle serving Thanksgiving 1966

This is my step dad in his Grandma Conklin's house. He believes its the house they had in Creston, CA. Like Patrick, he is also very capable in the kitchen.

I'm still lacking any kitchen pictures from Jared's side of the family. 

*Edit* I found this picture of Mammy and me and Patrick from 1999-2000 standing in her kitchen 

Until next time, 
Becky

Twins

I'm skipping ahead so today's prompt is going to be TWINS

I'm going to start off with the 1860 Rusk County, Texas, census for Beat No. 6. Post office is Minden. For the first set of  NALL TWINS I have come across in my research.

The first family listed on the image below is the family of Thomas J Nawls (NALL). My 4x great grandfather. The second family listed in my 3x great grandfather, John Middleton Nawls (NALL), living in the same household is his sister Margaret SCROGGINS' family. If you look where I've indicated, the two children of J M and Mary are 6 month old twins. In my post about John Middleton's Civil War service, I touched on the illness and poverty that came to this area during the beginning of the war. I believe that illness and poverty could have been what led to the death of baby S. NALL shortly after this census. Baby S. Nall died by 1865 when the family of  three (Mary, David, and my ancestor John Thomas) are on the indignant soldier's families list.

1860 Beat 6, Rusk County, Texas 

The surviving children of John Middleton and Mary Jane GARNER NALL were:

1. David Harrison (TWIN) 1859
2. John Thomas 1861
3. Sarah 1866
4. Pervelley Ophelia 1869
5. Charles Elexander 1871
6. James Wesley 1874
7. Linnie 1880

As far as I have found, none of the above children had TWINS. And to preserve my sanity, from here I am going to focus only on my ancestor John Thomas NALL's descendants and from there the descendants of his son, my ancestor, Benjamin Rufus NALL.

John Thomas NALL married Optha Ophelia RICH and they had 10 children. They were:

1. Emma Nall 1883
2. James C 1885
3. Minerva Frances 1889
4. Elsie Mae 1892
5. Charles 1894
6. James Arch 1895
7. Mary Ethel 1898
8. Roy 1900
9. Mollie Marzel 1903
10. Benjamin Rufus 1908

Benjamin Rufus NALL married(2) Willie Belle FOSTER. They had seven children, two of which were TWINS

1. Charles Bryant Nall (my ancestor)
2. Female 
3. Male
4. Male
5. Male (TWIN)
6. Wilma Jean (TWIN) died at birth.
7. Rufus Leon Nall died in farming accident.

Their third child would marry and have four children, one girl and three boys. One of these boys would marry and have three children, two of which were TWIN  girls.  

Their fourth child had six children, two of which were TWIN girls. Another one of their daughters would go on to marry and have eight children, two of which were also TWIN girls. Their son would marry and have four children, two girls and two boys. One of those girls would marry and go on to also have TWIN girls.

Not counting the TWINS born to John Middleton NALL and Mary Jane GARNER. There has been five sets of TWINS born in four generations.

.

Until next time,
Becky

Yearbook Memories

I wanted to do a quick post with a few snippets from yearbooks past involving my family.

I'll start you off with this page from the 1975 Prairie Grove Yearbook, mentioning my paternal grandfather, Charles Nall, for being on the school board.



This next one is pretty precious to me, because I don't have many pictures of my dad when he was young. Here he is in his 6th grade photo. The first year he was in Prairie Grove.



Here's another one showing my dad and step-dad both being members of the 1975 Letterman's Club

Another one from 1975. Dad was voted 'Best All Around'

1976 Mom was in FTA (Future Teachers of America) and Library Club






1983 my step mom Dawna was in Drama and Basketball

Until next time,
Becky

It's Blackberry Season

When I was younger, and my weekends were spent with my Mammy, there were several occasions where I was given an old plastic gallon size ice cream pale and sent down the road to my Great Grandma Willie Belle's. The bucket was to be filled will blackberries picked from the side of the road. It was about a 1.5 miles down the dirt road from Mammy's house to hers. Along the way was my Dad's land too and I would often grab a few sand plums from his fence row. Sometimes my berries were given to Grandma Nall and she would make jelly. The rest of the time it was taken back to Mammy and they would be washed and frozen for blackberry cobbler one Sunday after church.



I am lucky enough to be nearly surrounded by blackberries out here at Chigger Haven. This year I, with the help of Jared and Ashley, have harvested our wild blackberries 3 times so far. The first batch we just ate plain. The second I used to make a batch of delicious blackberry breakfast bars. This time I decided to skim some old newspapers for some unique recipes. I found a winner from The Akron Beacon dated 15 July 1939. The recipe was a submission from a local reader, Mrs. Gertrude Hensel. She was the prize winner and for the cost of 6¢ she would receive a Glenna Snow cookbook. She entered several recipes but the one I am making today is her Blackberry Pudding recipe. I added a bit of cinnamon to mine.... and used 1 1/3 cup of sugar.

 

There isn't a temperature or time for her pudding but a quick search online tells me that similar bread pudding recipes bake at 350° for about 40-45 minutes.

I look forward to trying her Blackberry Custard Pie next. The above little snippet is a perfect combination of both of my Dads. My Dad, Johnny, loves custard pie, while my Step-dad, Steve, loves bread pudding.

Here are a few pics from today:







Until next time,
Becky

Thanksgiving Past

Its nearly Thanksgiving and once again as I get ready to prepare my portion of the numerous meals I will be attending over the next few days, my mind always travels back to the food served at my Mammy's house at Thanksgiving. There are a few items I miss dearly every year because they just aren't made or served at other family gatherings. And there are a few items that are served and always take me back and I can remember just the person who brought it when I was growing up.

This post is going to be my attempt at preserving my memory of my childhood (think pre-teen) Thanksgivings. The morning would be early. Dad and I would get up and bottle feed any calves he may of had at the house. Then we would head to "the mountain" where he owned land and kept his cattle herd. We may have needed to put out hay depending on the weather or just drive through and do a head count and check on any new or expectant mothers. Then I would be dropped off to the busy scene taking place at my Mammy's (his mom), while he would go about tending to any other chores.

As I've written before, before age 12, I spent every other weekend with my Mammy. I was dropped off Friday night and would stay all day Saturday and then would be taken back early Sunday morning for church and would stay for lunch and a few hours afterwards. When I would walk in her door it was often pretty quiet. You might hear the radio coming from the kitchen or the hiss and bobble of her pressure cooker, and maybe, just maybe, her singing along with that radio when you first came in. But on Thanksgiving there was much more noise going on. The TV would be on getting ready for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, younger kids would be scattered, and Mammy, Aunt Cathy and Aunt Jeannie would be busy bees in the kitchen. The house was WARM and overtaken with smells of food. So much food.

There were 9 grandkids when I was growing up: Mitch, Amie, Jennifer, Me, Jeff, Jeremy, Mandi, April and Matt.  And in my mind we were "grouped" like this. Mitch was the oldest and separated from any other boys by at least 7 years. He was usually with his Dad or Bampy doing chores. Then there was "the girls" Amie, Jen, and myself who would help out setting the table, fixing glasses, things like these. Then there were "the boys" Jeff and Jeremy (brothers) who were often hunting with their Dad, Uncle Tom. Then there were the young ones - Mandi, April and Matty Pat, playing and occupying themselves in the back part of the house. [This is how I remember it-- Of course things change as we age and start having jobs, and boyfriends and girlfriends. But this is my default memory - probably late 80's early 90's]

When you entered Mammy's house you were in her 'dining room' where she had her large oval table often covered in a white lace table cloth. She had a china cabinet that housed her special dishes. I'm trying to get a picture from Aunt Jeannie, of the pattern. Until then, I think these are what they looked like. Johnson Brother's Heritage Hall Collection.

I was close in the image above. Here are the pictures sent by Aunt Jeannie


These dishes were only used on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was also able to find this add in the 1982 Sears and Roebuck Spring Catalog:





 She also had a special silverware set we used on these holidays. They were kept in the original wooden box similar to the one pictured below:

And we used red drinking glasses like these (red was one of her favorite colors - her carpet was also red).



Then the long buffet tables were brought out (sometimes set up in the middle of the living room -- sometimes in the dining room against the sliding glass door). They were draped with a flat sheet that had a pretty pattern and is where the grandchildren sat. There were usually 18-20 of us total. We required lots of room.

Now for the meal and who I remember making it. I hope someone corrects me if I'm wrong. Some I am dead certain of - others not so much:

The Turkey and Ham - Mammy, Cathy, or Jeannie. It seems like Cathy made at least one of them (I think the Ham) it may have changed from year to year.

Then there was giblet gravy, and glaze for the ham (Aunt Jeannie made the glaze - and is hand down one of the things I miss every year - I've asked for her recipe and am patiently waiting..... I know it had pineapple juice, brown sugar, and mustard -- I was right minus one thing. Vinegar. And just like many of us she doesn't measure she just mixes and tastes til it's just right ). I'm not sure who made the gravy.

The dressing - Mammy or Cathy(?) -- I hope someone chimes in and helps me out here. Then there was the typical stuff-- we had mashed potatoes, corn (mixed cans of regular corn and creamed corn), green beans (not the casserole). Rolls (sometimes homemade - most often just the brown and serve rolls)

Then there was Aunt Lynn's Sweet Potato Casserole (another favorite):

Mix together:

• 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 egg; slightly beaten

• 1/2 stick butter; soft

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1 tsp vanilla

Topping: Melt one stick butter. Add one cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup chopped pecans. Mix together and sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake in 350° oven for 30- 35 minutes.

[Now whenever my brother-in-law's parent's join us at the Drake Thanksgiving, his mom Joyce makes this and hers is nearly the same thing -- if not exactly.] 

There was always a pickle tray with both black and green olives (Jenny loved the black olives and would put them on her fingers.), sweet and baby dills, sometimes mammy's mock apple rings, and there were always pickled beets (another favorite of mine).

Below is a recipe I have used from a cookbook Mammy gave me one year or Christmas.





Then there was Mammy's stuffed celery sticks. Man I loved those. I've never had them anywhere other than her house except for two maybe three occasions where Dawna made them for me. They're a unique item and are nearly impossible to find a recipe that mimics hers online. I've never felt like many would enjoy them or be adventurous enough to try them to find out so I haven't ever made them myself to take places. But this year I am taking them and one other Mammy item - for the sheer reason that I'm nostalgic and get a terrible "homesick" feeling every year around this time. If nobody likes them but me - that's okay. Because I love them.

Now this recipe may or may not be hers - it is the best I have come up with:

Mammy's Stuffed Celery

• 4 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese

• 5 Tbsp mayo (heaping)

• 1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix together and stuff into cleaned prepared 3" lengths of celery.

Then there were her Ham and Cream Cheese Pickle Wraps

All she did to make those was take a slice of wafer meat (ham) and add a bit of cream cheese down the center. She then would place a pickle spear on top and roll. Voila!

And funny enough while scrolling through my Facebook feed the other day, a souped up version of her little appetizer came up. I plan on trying the new version this year simply because I made a batch of jalapeno jelly and need ways to use it. Here it is from Better Homes & Gardens.





And then finally there was dessert. I will never be able to list all the desserts. I'm sure I will forget some. I know we had pecan, pumpkin, and chocolate pies, banana pudding, a jello salad (with marshmallows and nuts, maybe cottage cheese). Mammy LOVED that kind of salad. Here is my maternal great grandmother Bondell's recipe in her own handwriting on the back of an envelope:

Below is a recipe Mammy circled in one of her old cook books she gave me. She may have used this one:



I think Amie would make a chocolate cake, and sometimes made an apple pie. I think there was cherry as well and a cheese cake too. But my all time favorite was Grandma Nall's mincemeat pie. I think she and I were the only one's that liked it. But I'm glad she brought it because it was great. That pie filling was one of the first things I made when I started canning.

Pear Mincemeat
by Willie Nall (pg 31 of "Cook Book; Favorite Recipes From Our Best Cooks")
Fun Fact: This is a pie filling - a dessert. Because of the name 'mincemeat' the people who put the cook book together placed it under the heading: Main dishes - Egg, Casserole, Cheese, Pasta. Since I'm the only one in my family who cares for this, and while I'm not above doing so, I don't usually make entire pies just for myself; I have used it as an add-in to a warm bowl of oatmeal or on my pancakes.

7lbs pears, cut up, not peeled
1 orange, not peeled, cut up
2 lemons, not peeled, cut up
2lb raisins, 1/2 ground, 1/2 whole
5 c. sugar
3/4 c. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
2 lb oleo (this must be a typo - I think it should read 2 Tbsp)
Cook 30 minutes and seal in hot jars.

I have two jars left from that batch and guess what... I'm making this - even if I have to eat the entire thing myself.

This is the best I can do at recreating the memories that flood back to me this time of year. In raising my kids it sometimes seems like we haven't really had much in the way of tradition when it comes to Thanksgiving. They aren't all 3 at the same place at the same time year after year. But maybe they will remember it differently. I have asked them to list their favorite food items and who makes them in hopes that they can get the recipes for when they become older and make Thanksgiving their own.


Hashbrown Casserole, Broccoli and Cheese Casserole and Sister Schubert's Parker Rolls from Nanny Nay Nay's,  Buttermilk Pie from Grandma Reba, Aunt Lisa's cream corn, Nan's leftover turkey salad for sandwiches, Nan's coleslaw, Grandma Marilyn's Possom Pie and Minnie's Oreo Pie.

This is all they could come up with in the hussle and bussle of getting ready before school while their mom peppers them with questions about things they don't really care about or understand in the moment. We have recipes for several of the items but if you made the list and haven't already hand written them, I would appreciate that. I think Grandma Reba's Buttermilk Pie is the only one I have that's hand written.

Do you have any favorite recipes that are unique only to your family? If so, I encourage you to snag up those recipes from those who make them, if they're willing to share, because some day you will want to recreate memories and serve certain foods and you will really wish you had that recipe.

Until next time,
Becky

John R. Garner, DNA, A Nephew And an Unkown Man

Sometime ago I wrote about my 3rd great grandfather, John Middleton Nall and in the process I was able to figure out who his wife's family was. I had been searching for years and the answer was right under my nose.

I'll give a brief  recap. John Middleton Nall married a Mary Jane Garner on 6 Aug 1857, in Rusk County. In John Middleton's civil war pension application it was signed by a J J Garner and T L Nix. J J Garner was John Josiah Garner b. 1836 in GA who married a Mary A Nix.  T L Nix was Mary A Nix's half-sibling Thomas Little Nix. b. 1842 in GA. After searching the 1850 census I was able found the John R. Garner family living in the next county over, Panola County. Head of household was Jno R. Garner b. 1818 GA, Elizabeth b. 1820 GA, Josiah b. 1837 GA, Mary b. 1840 GA, Ann b. 1842 AL, John b. 1846 TX and Wiley b. 1849 TX.

This is Mary Jane Garner/Nall's family. DNA verifies it. Most of her siblings are well documented but her parents are a different story. This blog post will be my attempt at piecing together the information I have in hopes of finding something new and also hoping other John R. Garner descendants will see it so that together we can find some answers. I had my Dad's DNA tested and its linked on Ancestry. He matches the descendants of several of Mary Jane's siblings. Specifically John Josiah, Ann Eliza, Andrew Jackson and Sophrona Catherine Garner.

Let me begin with the 1850 census. This tells me the approximate age and birthplace so that I can begin searching for an earlier census. Keeping in mind that all censuses earlier than 1850 only list the head of household and age ranges. If the oldest two children were born between 1836-1840 in GA that tells me that this family should be somewhere in the state of Georgia during the 1840 census. A quick search gives me a John R Garner family living in  District 788, Heard County, Georgia. There is one male child under the age of 5 - that will be Josiah, one male between the ages of 20-30 - that will be John R. , and one female in the same age range - that will be his wife Elizabeth. Also living in the same district and county is a William M. Garner.

Going off of Josiah's birth date (1818) we can assume that John and Elizabeth were married about 1835; give or take a few years. Heard County Georgia is right on the Georgia/Alabama line so both states should be searched. There are a few options but none that I'm certain are them. Quite a few online trees say that her maiden name was Rosser/Russer and there is a marriage record for a John Garner Jr. married 1839 in Henry County Georgia. I don't believe this to be them. First, the marriage is after the birth of Josiah and second, it seems that this marriage can be attributed to a John H. Garner who died in 1911 and is buried in Burnet, Texas. There is one marriage record that I think is worth looking into and that is of a J "G" Garner and an A E Harbin who were married 17 July 1832 in Hall County, Georgia. The only image of this record that I have found seems to have been hand transcribed much later in time. I wonder if the "G" could've been an "R". And Elizabeth's middle initial is given as A in at least one record. For now this piece of the puzzle will have to remain unsolved.

Sometime in the late 1840's John and his family migrated to Texas. He can be found in the Tax Rolls of Shelby County, TX, for the year 1846 as well as a William Garner. Are they brothers?  In the next county over in Panola you can find John's land record here. They even include his signature from 1851. He claimed 320 acres of land that was situated on the Irons Bayou, a tributary of the Sabine River, about 5 1/2 miles North of Carthage.




I was actually able to find a map that has his name showing exactly where his land was located.

In the above land record you will find that John dies not long after his claim on the land and it then becomes the property of his heirs.


In the Texas Probate Records, 1800-1990, of Panola County  you can find in Final Records Book C page 609 and Minutes Book B page 333 records pertaining to John R Garner's Estate. Two names will come up. Thomas J. Garner who is referred to as a nephew, and is applying to be the administrator of John's estate. and a John W (?) Williams that objects and wishes himself to be the administrator.

There is no Thomas J. Garner in any census records for Panola or surrounding counties in the years 1850 or 1860. So this leaves me searching elsewhere for his connection to John. After John R. Garner dies, his widow, Elizabeth, marries an Irishman by the name of Thomas Shannon in 1858. They have one son named John Thomas "Jack" Shannon. I find his name a bit odd considering he has a half sibling named John Thomas Garner, but maybe that's why he went by "Jack"? Elizabeth then marries another Irishman named Cornelius 'Neal' Logue in 1866. Now all of this was going on during the Civil War. So I turn to Fold3 to browse their records hoping for some clue that will help in my search. In the same unit as Neal Logue, the 28th Calvary Randal's Regiment, there is a service record for both a T J Garner and a T L Garner. No identifiable information is given.

Then there's Mr. John Williams. Before writing this post, I had only searched and found a match in census records. But now, after reading through John R. Garner's land records I found that John K(?) Williams  and Mills L. Higgins signed as witnesses, testifying that John had indeed lived and made improvements on his land for at least 3 years.

Is there a connection to John with these men other than grit and determination to settle a new land? Were they just neighbors?

Mills Higgins dies in 1860 from pneumonia. He was born about 1813 in KY and married Martha Helen Young in Marshall County AL.

John K Williams was born about 1823 in KY, serves in the CSA during the Civil War and dies in 1898

I  have great difficulty finding much for a John W Williams other than one tax record for the year 1846 in Panola County, Texas.

I've never been able to find any record for John's widow Elizabeth after her marriage to Neal Logue. She and her son "Jack" Shannon aren't listed in the 1870 census. If it is the same man, there is a Cornelius Logue enumerated in the neighboring county of Cherokee, but Elizabeth and Jack aren't with him. He is living with the Odum family.

At this point, I think I will try researching more on the nephew Thomas J Garner from the Estate records. He may be able to point me to his parents, which in turn may provide clues to John's earlier history.

Until next week,
Becky

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

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

Grandma's House

We are finally moved out of our first house. We bought it in May/June of 2006 and officially close today, November 29, 2016. We lived there for 10 years. That house will hold a lot of special memories and thankfully due to social media and smart phones, most of them are well documented.

Today I posted a picture of my paternal Great Grandmother's dining room table full of guests. I asked if anyone knew more about the occasion and her house in general,  like who built it and when. My Great Aunt Bette commented with wonderful detail. Her parents were guests at that table.

"Bo or I took the photo on Thanksgiving 1966. The housebuilding was a family affair. It was built approx.1962-63.Willie Belle and Rufus tore down and salvaged lumber from Larence Phillip's old house. Charles (Nall) hauled framing lumber from Seymour,Tx. to get it started. Rufus and Bo handmixed cement for the footing Bo laid the blocks and did most of the work in building it (on weekends) as he worked fulltime at Safeway. Charles built the cabinets in a shop in Seymour and hauled them up. Bo installed them. I'm sure George helped hang sheetrock and did other jobs as he could Bo remembers when it was finished that the only bill was $600 at Jones Lumber."

In the photo: My great grandmother, Willie Belle, is standing, my great grandpa, Rufus, is seated at the head of the table, my great uncle Larry is seated with his back to camera, to his right is my great uncle George, and across the table are Mr. and Mrs. Brock (the in-laws of my great uncle Bo and parents of Bette.)

 Charles was my grandfather,  the eldest son of Rufus and Willie Belle. For more about this family's transition from Texas to Arkansas  (where this house was built) check out my earlier post The Big Move. 

Weathered Memories

I am still working on the post to go with yesterday's Instagram challenge but I thought I'd take a quick break to work on today's. It should be short and sweet.

Today the prompt set out by Genealogy Girl Talks is weathered and I have the perfect thing for this.




In 2014 my Uncle Mike and Aunt Lynn gifted me one of my most treasured heirlooms. My great grandfather's old wood cook stove. And for Christmas that  year, my husband had it restored. It sits on my back porch and I use it often. Turns out, according to my great aunt Dena, her dad purchased it from a store still in Farmington today, called Chicken Hollar, in the 70's because he didn't like the way gas made his biscuits taste. He passed away when I was only 4 and I don't have many memories of him at all. In fact, I really only have one, and I'm not sure if it's a real memory or something I think I remember because I was told about it so often. But I think I remember him being really sick with oxygen on and sitting in a chair as soon as you walk in the door. When I walked in he would invite me to come sit on his lap and he would say "There's my girl with the golden curls."

I was able to find the specs for his little stove online here. I really need to find a way to print this off.

Anyway - I have one specific memory attached this little wood stove and I tell it often, but just in case my children are anything like me, and end up forgetting my little repeated stories, I thought I'd write it down for them.

My grandmother, Mammy, wanted to start a tradition of having back-to-school camp outs with all nine of her grandchildren. I'm not sure we ever did it more than once. But regardless that one time was really fun and a memory I cherish.

My Mammy's house sat on the top of a hill and below it to the East they had a pond that I would fish in every chance I got and below the pond was the field where we set up camp. My grandpa, Bampy, brought in the flat bed semi trucks we used for hauling hay so we wouldn't have to sleep on the ground that most likely would've been covered in cow patties. They also brought in this wood cook stove. That night we had fried taters, and in the morning Mammy and my great grandmother, Grandma Nall, made us biscuits, sausage, eggs, hot chocolate and chocolate gravy.

Here is the recipe in Grandma Nall's handwriting. She gave this to me one year as a Christmas gift, taped to a little plate she had picked up at  Life Ministries, in Prairie Grove, where she volunteered. In case you have trouble with that first measurement it reads: 3 cups milk.

During that camping trip I remember when the sun started to set you could hear the big bull frog at the pond and how the boys went to catch it hoping for frog-legs. We sat around the fire, sang songs, told stories. I remember how cold it got at night despite the fact that it was August and how I loved falling asleep under the stars.

I would love it if my cousins would share their memories of this trip or any other memories they have.

Below are a few pictures of the cook stove after it was refurbished and a few of the meals I've cooked on it.

Even though I think there's room for improvement, I really do enjoy Facebook's feature to search through your old posts. In going back trying to find pictures to share I was able to come across the status updates that display the learning curve involved when obtaining the skill to cook on one of these things!

January 6, 2015

Goodness me, who knew there was such an art to getting a hot fire burning in a wood cook stove!! I've spent the past hour or so trying get a good fire going to no avail.... then I finally found my damper and I made a make shift chimney out of Laney's old dry erase board.... the white board is actually thin sheet metal. Now maybe with any luck I'll get this baby hot enough to cook a meatloaf in for supper. Maybe even boil the potatoes on it for our mashed potatoes. Wish me luck!

Same day, different post:

After fiddling with my stove all day without it getting hot enough to boil a pot of water, I think the consensus is that it's too cold outside to get my stove hot enough and my wood may be damp. It feels dry because it's so cold, but it may have moisture locked in it. I'm getting far too much smoke and not enough heat. I'm getting good coals and the occasional steady flame but its just not heating it all around. I'm nearly certain I'm burning oak, so the type of wood I'm using shouldn't be the problem. Also my flue may not be tall enough to draw the smoke.
Trial error, live and learn. I look forward to trying again on a warmer day.

Feb 15, 2015

Since I've been having so much trouble sleeping through the night... this time when I woke up, I decided to start a fire in the old wood cook stove. It feels pretty HOT... so hot it burns my hands to open/close the oven door... so I whipped up some drop biscuits in my old muffin tin and put Mam's cast iron skillet on the burners to warm up... fixing to head outside to make sausage gravy to go with those biscuits... wish me luck!

Feb 16, 2015

I think I decided my wood-stove problem was impatience. I don't think I let the fire burn long enough to burn the cold off the stove and I wasn't confident enough in my fire to close off the fire box door and keep all the burners on. Once I did that it got good and warm/hot - even on really cold days. I think I'm still going to look at Lowes for a better flu to draw the smoke up over the house, if for no other reason than I'm tired of smelling and breathing in smoke.

I eventually got the hang of it, but it does produce quite a bit of smoke at first before the fire really catches.

Anyway - I hope you've enjoyed this little part if my history. If you're a Nall cousin and  you have a memory associated with this stove, please oh please share it. Or any memory of Grandpa Nall. I've heard he was a gruff man.

If you're just stopping by  - I'd love to hear from you.

Until next time,
Becky.

P.S. Don't forget to stop by Days of Our Lives where my sister-in-law is blogging along side me.

Again - I have to love FB. Today in my "memories" a post showed up that had a few memories of Grandpa Nall. I'm going to place them here so they're easier accessed:

My Uncle Mike remembers, when he was 11 grandpa had him digging up stumps and Mike kept breaking the handle's so grandpa got Mike a rock bar said you can't tear this up well guess want he bent it in two days. He still has it to this day.

My dad's first cousin Angie shared this memory: Becky, I was pretty young when he passed. Not as young as you, I think I was 11. Most of my memories include watching the men working cows while we sat on the fence. One memory I have makes me laugh now but it wasn't funny then for me or Tracie. We were spending the night, and I think I was 4 or 5. We were getting ready for bed and I thought Tracie tripped me. (I now realize that I tripped on the bed but geez I was 4!) I cried and told on her. Papa spanked her. (Justice in my mind at the time) But hey, just proves Tracie McCoy is tough-she took a spanking from the Nall patriarch! It was the razor strap that used to hang in the bathroom. I don't think she stayed over there with me much after that!! I don't blame her.