"We are the chosen. In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make them live again, to tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve." ~ Author Unknown
Today marks what would've been my maternal great grandparents Newell and Zula Stepp's 96th Anniversary -- April Fools Day. What an odd day to get married. He was 26. She was 19.
A few years ago I stumbled across an article in the Madison County Record about their Golden Anniversary and as they described what Grandma wore, I knew I had the picture to go with it.
My cousin, Carmel, the Mrs. Vernon Sitton from the article, recalls that the story goes that at this Anniversary celebration is the first time their children saw them kiss.
Marriage often isn't about the mushy displays of affection. It's about having a partner you can depend on in sickness and in health. Who will do the hard part of life with you as well as the easy.
Three years ago my grandmother gave me a letter that Grandma Zula had written to Newell while he was in the VA hospital sick with gall-stones.
I will spell things exactly as she did. As you read it remember her accent. And it will make perfect sense. I love that it is written phonetically or using "dialect writing". It makes it come alive and is much more special.
June 3, 1955
Dear Newell, I will ancher your card we got yesterday. Was Glad to her from you and you war better this leves us all just fine and hope you the same. Wish you could see the chickins som of tham ways over 4 lb Miller said we wood sell tham som tims next week. Well John ploud this corn tuesday and wensday mornin then we went up hom me tooter boby doug and Elzada plowed the corn by the orchid but we hant going to plant the others for we hant got time. John plowed the Big corn up thar with his team while Boby (can't read because of folds and fading) corn grown. John is workin in his hay now me and the kids have been bizy most all the time dug and reba went home to tend the thangs. Me tooter wasked then we hoed peanuts and millans Bobby ploud both the gardens tusday Art said for me to try to get the Acord boys to bale the hay I gess will if I can for John said he sure wood had his hands full with both crops to plow do you have eny idy how long you will haft to stay Joe Wilama and Don come up and stad a while last nite and Jean opal and ther kids come up too we need another rane jjohn throd up 4 sweet potato riges and we put out som but thout we wate for it to ? to set the rest. Did Virgle and Loice come to see you and Sherlie thay sad thay was the kids wants to come down thar to see you but we can't come now till we sell the chickins maby Bill and Argie can brang us when thay come home thay will come after them Will thay let kids come up thar Gye said thay wooden. Reba said 1 of the heffers come in up home with a little calf. I'll try t get john to plow the corn across the creek some time next week. I got (... can't read much of this line because its on a fold....) thay said thay was ame to write you so I gess you herd from them well today hant nothin excite to write about so I hush and got feed the chickens so tack care of your self and we doo the best we can about the crops and rasin chickins. Don't no yet whether I put back or not the kids said Hi Dad and they wood luft to see you that goes for mom to so ancher soon love to you from mama and kids."
The Stepp's observed a total of 64 years of marriage before Grandpa passed in 1987.
They lived a remarkable life and raised six remarkable children to carry on their legacy. May we remember them and in doing so, love each other well in sickeness and in health. In the good times and the bad. When it's easy and most especially when it's not.
When I was growing up I can remember my Mammy making lye soap on one occasion. I wasn't there while she was making it, but I remember her telling me she used lard or suet from McClellan's. And I can remember it sitting in the laundry room curing. I also remember she had a large cast iron scalding pot that stayed outside that she said she used in making it. Maybe rendering the lard? I only ever remember her using that pot one summer to boil beets and then for fun adding in some white laundry to dye it pink.
Fast forward to my mid twenties. I had started breaking out badly--- much worse than my teenage years. Nothing I tried worked. Then in 2009 I ended up purchasing several bars of plain lye soap from Silver Dollar City when we went on vacation that year. It helped tremendously. From then on I would stock up on homemade soaps from The Cats Meow that would frequent our local Dogwood Festival. But in the back of my mind I always wanted to learn how to make my own.
In late 2016, when I moved into our RV at Chigger Haven, there was a lot of downtime. I remember reading an article in Backwoods Home or Mother Earth News about making soap and making your own lye to make soap. I knew right then I wanted to start learning how to master certain 'homesteading' skills that I did not already possess. I had already learned how to make jelly, can vegetables and had started raising chickens. Thanks to a Christmas gift I had learned how to cook on a wood stove. I had been raised bed gardening for a few years. But making soap still scared me a bit. Then, this year (2018) for Christmas, the hubs bought me everything I needed to make my own soap: lye, a mold and cutter, and an immersion blender. I still need to try making lye from scratch!
Another homesteading skill I conquered back in 2015 was rendering lard (the easy way) in my crockpot and putting it in mason jars to freeze for later use. My Dad is always good to give me some pork or beef when he has one slaughtered and I asked for the lard so I could try this. It was really easy -- though it does tend to make your house smell a bit.
The hubs and I watched several videos on YouTube on how to make your own soap and ironically we felt like the video from Becky's Homestead (posted below) was the easiest to follow. Here is her recipe:
40 oz. lard
5.4 oz lye
13.5 oz water
.33 oz or 10 ml of essential oil *optional* --- I later discovered this is a bit misleading since most essential oil bottles are 10 ml bottles. When making soap ALL MEASUREMENTS ARE BY WEIGHT NOT VOLUME. I have also started learning how to use SoapCalc -- an online calculator that lets you make your own recipe and tells you how much lye you should use and how much of each oil and how much fragrance . For Becky's recipe it recommends using .5oz WEIGHT fragrance.
Now for the steps:
For safety use gloves and goggles
Measure out all your ingredients first.
The lye always goes into the water, not the other way around. This solution will be VERY hot. And the fumes will knock you down. I always do this step outside.
You should also keep vinegar around in case of spills or contact to skin.
Warm lard to room temperature about 80° F. Before adding the lye solution to the liquid lard wait until the solution has cooled to 100° F The cooling process can take forever so it's best to mix the lye and water first and then you can measure and melt your lard and gather anything else you might need while waiting for it to cool down. Like I said, I do this step outside and its been in the 30's each time and it still takes about 30 - 45 minutes, if not longer.
Once the lye solution is cooled and the lard is warmed, *read this article* add lard to plastic or stainless steel bowl and then add the lye solution. Mix with spoon until thoroughly mixed then use your immersion blender beating in 20 second spurts until you see a "trace" or it looks a bit like pudding.
At this point add essential oil if you're using it. Mixing it in well. Then, pour into molds, cover with lid and wrap in towels. Leave it alone for 24 hours. Then you can cut into bars and let cure for 3 weeks.
This was my first batch -- Patchouli Sage. I sprinkled the top with dried sage from my herb garden.
There's a learning curve to cutting straight bars.
I didn't have enough lard from the hog Dad gave me to make another batch. So we contacted two of our local slaughter houses and were told they couldn't give or sell us unwanted lard because they weren't licensed to do so. So I learned another homesteading skill -- bartering. My husband belongs to several Facebook groups and posted in a few local homesteading groups that we were wanting lard/suet to make soap. Several people were willing to sell it to me, most often for more than I could buy already rendered at Walmart, but then one lady said she would gladly give me hers for a bar of soap. I gave her a bar of my patchouli sage and threw in a jar of honeysuckle jelly I had made. She sent me a message later telling me how much she loved my soap and couldn't wait to try the jelly. And then later that day her nephew contacted me to give me his lard. I think I'll be set to make at least 4 more batches of soap.
Becky's video:
There is a Soap calculator that lets you plug in what kind and amount of oils you will be using in your soap and it will tell you how much lye and water to use. I've made the above recipe 3x without much issue other than inconsistent gel phase on the last two batches (I wonder if I even had gel phase at all on the first batch). When I put it into the calculator it tells me to use 15.2 oz water and 5.36 oz of lye. I've also joined a group on Facebook for beginner soap making and was informed that less water makes it harden faster, quicker to cut, easier to unmold, and gives less soda ash.
To combat the gel phase issues I was advised to set my oven to 170* and to set my soap once in the mold into the oven. Wrap it in a towel like normal, shut the door, and turn off the heat. Leave it overnight -- I plan on trying this method soon. The last 3 batches I didn't wrap it in a towel at all. I just set it inside a small cardboard box, set another piece of cardboard on top for a makeshift lid and closed the box. I haven't had any inconsistent gel phase doing this method.
Fragrances
I'm still learning how to combine the right essential oils for the best scents. I've learned that
30% of a blend should be Top Notes
60% of a blend should be Middle Notes
10% of a blend should be Base Notes
That means if I stick to my recipe above using 10mL that means
3 ml should be Top Notes
6 ml should be Middle Notes
1 ml should be Base Notes
Top Notes
Middle Notes
Base Notes
Basil
Bay
Peru Balsam
Bergamot
Black Pepper
Cassia
Cinnamon
Cardamom
Cedarwood
Clary Sage
Chamomile
Cinnamon
Eucalyptus
Cypress
Clove
Grapefruit
Fennel
Frankincense
Lemon
Geranium
Ginger
Lemongrass
Hyssop
Jasmine
Lime
Juniper
Myrrh
Mandarin
Lavender
Neroli
Neroli
Majoram
Oakmoss
Verbena
Melissa
Patchouli
Orange
Myrtle
Rose
Peppermint
Nutmeg
Rosewood
Sage
Palma Rosa
Sandalwood
Spearmint
Pine
Valerian
Tangerin
Rosemary
Vanilla
Tea Tree
Spinenard
Vetiver
Thyme
Yarrow
Ylang Ylang
This is a great free EO blend resource where others share their blends: EOCalc
Below are a few scents I want to try based on diffuser blends.
Scents (repeat combinations until you have at least reached 10 mL )
Take A Hike: (5) Cypress (2) Tea Tree (2) Cedarwood (1) Bergamot *Made 2/25/2019*
The silly things you keep when you're a sentimental person. I could have used this on the #occupation prompt but I didn't know I still had it. I'm the daughter of a #butcher
McClellan's Processing Co. was the family business. Many of us worked there through the years -- Great grandparents, grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins... some more than others but we all spent some time there. It's an interesting way to spend your youth, that's for sure.
I was really young when they still killed poultry on Fridays. I remember getting up extra early on those days. It was still dark by the time we'd make it over the plant. And I woud climb those tall narrow concrete stairs. I'd be given a broom to start sweeping the porch while Dad starting setting up and we'd wait for our first customers. Later, when everything got under way I helped my Mammy band the bags of finished product (chickens and turkeys). I , with my trusty Australian Shepherd, rounded up strays, I unloaded cages (I hated that - I was a bigger chicken than the chickens - probably why there were so many strays!). The few times I made it to the 'line' Grandma Nall taught me not to bust the gall-bladder lest you turn green. I don't remember the year they quit doing poultry but I think I was still in single digits.
When you're as young as I was, there wasn't a whole lot to do while waiting for age appropriate tasks. It was often cold and I can remember sitting close to the room heater and touching the bottom of my shoes to the glass panels and it melting the bottom of my shoes (yes, on purpose -- boredom is a terrible thing.). The heater looked something like this:
One of my age appropriate tasks was helping Grandma Nall wrap and stamp the meat and I also got to shove the meat down the grinder to make hamburger. When I grew up I had to help on the boning table. Curse that stupid boning table. I HATED that job. HATED it. I didn't mind grinding the hamburger, or tenderizing the steaks or rubbing the hams down with cure. I did hate that stupid white towel I had to wear on my head to keep my hair back but I hated hair nets worse so I wore the kerchief.
My dad lived next door and I loved the days Uncle Mike would fire up the smoker for the cured meat. It smelled so amazing outside.
I remember we were occasionally able to quit cutting meat early, but we still had to wait until 5 o'clock for customers. Those times were often filled sitting in the office and reading The Reader's Digest out loud with my dad.
I remember long time employees, Opal and Belva. And lunch time when it was a pot-luck.
I remember Tyson hogs. They would bring in a HUGE trailer full of hogs and we'd do pork for weeks.
There was one customer who would bring in his beefalo (the offspring of a cow and American Bison). He would often like to come and watch us cut his meat.
Another thing I remember is certain smells. Sometimes cookies or cake will take you back in time to a grandmother. The smell that will take me back to my time spent at the locker plant every time, is the smell of bleach and blue dawn dish soap. That is what we used to clean the tables and equipment and was a signal to the end of the day.
These are a few of my memories of my time spent working at the family business.
I hope the rest of my family will weigh in with some of their memories.
Today I had the most wonderful surprise waiting for me in my Facebook messages. A cousin, Diane, sent me snapshots of pictures belonging to her grandfather, "Bill" Jones, the youngest son of my 2nd great grandfather, John Calvin Jones. I love that she has these treasures and that she has shared them with me! Not all the photographs are labeled. If anyone knows who the unmarked photos are of, please speak up!
I haven't blogged along with Amy Crooks and the 52 Ancestor prompts very consistently this year. This week though, a prompt caught my attention and prompted me to write about my HORNER family. The prompt was cause of death.
For as long as I can remember I've always been intrigued by the Civil War. I think it may have stemmed from growing up in Prairie Grove where there was a Battlefield Park. My maternal grandfather worked there for 15 years and it was where I square danced every August from 1984-1988.
Researching genealogy, I have come across many ancestors who fought in the Civil War. There are many stories, but none have given me such strong sympathetic feelings of anger, sorrow and desperation as those stories coming from my Johnson County, AR, families.
My Johnson County lines easily cross and double back. It was a tight knit community where neighbors married neighbors, siblings married siblings, and people remained for generations --communities were literally family! You really have to stay on your toes when entering names and families into your family tree or you'll have double entries.
Getting back to my prompt.
My 3rd great grandmother, Oma BOEN, was the daughter of James BOEN and Zilpha HORNER. In the cemetery book my grandmother loaned me this past summer is a little snippet about James Boen's death:
"James M. Boen was in the Confederate army and was killed. One story was that he was working in a field near Fallsville, Arkansas, and the bushwhackers came through. Supposedly, they beat him to death and Zilpha was said to have held his head in her lap as his brains oozed out into her lap."
This is just one horrific story to come from the BOEN/HORNER line. I do want to say though, that James M. Boen's military records state he died in a Hospital at Crystal Hill 12 Aug '62.
CSA Camp Crystal Hill was located on Crystal Hill, northwest of present-day Burns Park (near I-40 and I-430 interchange).
Zilpha's parents were Spencer HORNER and Permelia TURNER. James's parents were William BOEN and Narissa FARMER
The TURNER and BOEN families had 3 siblings that married.
James BOEN and Zilpha HORNER Mary Ann "Polly" BOEN and William Riley HORNER Jesse BOEN and Mary Ann "Polly" HORNER
Two HORNER sisters also married the same man, a John BOWEN name later becomes BOWMAN. Oma HORNER married him first, after her death, her sister Kissiah married him.
Spencer and Permelia had the following children:
John Turner married Susanna BOEN (daughter of Lewis BOEN and Mary HODGE)
Zilpha married James M. BOEN
William Riley married Mary Ann "Polly" BOEN
Elizabeth married Francis Marion Acord (his brother William is another ancestor of mine)
Oma married John BOWEN
Mary Ann "Polly" married Jesse BOEN
Andrew
Pleasant
Kissiah married John BOWEN/BOWMAN and later a William H. BOEN
James married Lucy RAY
Sarah married George VAUGHT
John Turner survived the Civil War and became a well known doctor in Missouri. Zilpha's husband, as previously mentioned, did not. He died either from a beating, wounds from war or illness Aug 1862. William Riley died a horrific death at the hands of bushwhackers in Aug 1864, Elizabeth died from pneumonia in March of 1864 and her husband Francis a month later in April. Oma died from causes unknown sometime before 1873 when her sister Kissiah married her widow. Mary "Polly" died in 1868, her husband died in 62 just weeks after his brother James M. BOEN.
Andrew and Pleasant both died in the war in July and Aug of '64, respectively.
Below is a story I found on Ancestry. I'm not certain who the original author is as the website it was attributed to is no longer in operation:
The Civil War was devastating to the Horner family. Spencer Horner was very much opposed to secession which made him and his sons very unpopular with their neighbors. All of Spencer's sons except young James and possibly his eldest, John, served in the Union Army. Several sons-in-law served the Confederacy. Their losses during the war were not limited to the death of their daughter Elizabeth. In 1862 son-in-law Jesse Boen, husband of Mary Ann Horner, died only four days after enlisting in the Confederate Army. On 31 July 1864 son Andrew Jackson Horner died of measles in camp at Lewisburg Ridge with the 2nd Arkansas Infantry. Before 1864 daughter Oma passed away. In August 1864, Spencer's son William R. Horner, went AWOL from the Union 2nd Arkansas Infantry and returned home. He was at his father's house along with most of the Horner family, including Spencer's recently orphaned grandsons John Samuel Acord and Christopher Columbus Acord, on 2 August 1864. The family was enjoying a fried chicken dinner but were concerned about bushwhackers so they sent some of the children out to watch the road. Several men appeared coming off the mountain and the children ran into the house yelling "Here they come Grandpap!" William bolted out the back door hoping to cross the potato field and disappear into the woods. Spencer recognized the men as neighbors and went into the yard to talk to them as the family watched from the house. They were in no mood to talk, they shot and killed Spencer where he stood then chased down William. They caught him in the potato field, pistol whipped him and, according to Spencer's daughter Sarah, "crushed his privates," then left him for dead. The women were afraid that if they took him back to the house, the bushwhackers would come back to finish the job so they took him into the woods and hid him in a cave or overhang. Each day they would take him food and care for home as best they could. They were afraid that if the bushwhackers saw them going into the woods with supplies, that they would realize William was alive so they wrapped their supplies into bundles to resemble a baby. Unfortunately, William died eight days later on 10 August 1864. The epitaph on William's tombstone reads, "Wm. R. Homer Born Aug. 1, 1834 Killed Aug. 10, 1864 by parties known to his family." It is generally believed that one of the Stewarts from Yale participated in these killings, probably Henry Stewart who is buried in Yale Cemetery. Just two days after this incident Spencer's son Pleasant Horner died in camp at Lewisburg Ridge with the 2nd Arkansas Infantry. Family lore states that after Spencer and William's death, all the buildings and fences were torn down and Permelia was unable to make repairs so she sold the property for a chunk of a mare and a old wagon. She loaded up the wagon and was seen leaving town, perhaps joining some of her family in Webster County, Missouri. Another account states that son John Turner Horner organized a wagon train of Union sympathizers and moved the remainder of the Horners to Webster County, Missouri. Permelia and some of the other Horners returned after the war. Spencer's estate was settled in 1865.
A family history was told in 1942 by Professor John Turner Horner, to Eva Horner, his daughter, about Dr. John Turner Horner of Cassville, Missouri. "His dad (Spencer Horner) was a slave owner, but he was a Union man. When war came up all his boys joined the Union Army except Dad (Dr. John Turner Horner). The Confederates conscripted him, so he was on one side, and his three brothers were on the other side. His (Dr. John Turner Horner) younger brother was Will. He (John Turner Horner) managed to get away, slipped out on them and joined the Union Army. His oldest boy, Louis, was 15; he was afraid Louis would be conscripted too, so he took Louis with him. He recruited one whole company in the federal army, Company K. Bill Mullen, Cassville, was one of the men he recruited. His son Louis got a pension. Now then the lines were drawn. Most of Arkansas was rebel. Dad (Dr. John Turner Horner) and his brother got a furlough to go home to visit their folks. He would dodge around through the mountains to go to the house at night, etc. Dad (Dr. John Turner Horner) said his horse needed shoeing and he had to go out on the mountain 5 miles to get it shod. He told his brother, Will, and his father Spencer Horner that whatever they did, never go to the house in the daytime. But the mother (Permelia Turner Horner) was killing a chicken so the father Spencer Horner and Will went to the house. Wasn't long till about 20 rebels came riding up. Grandfather (Spencer Horner) went out into the potato patch and said, 'I surrender!' and they shot him down. Will ran through the lot and up on the mountain side and was shot in the head. He lived several days in a cave.
Dad (Dr. John Turner Horner) had a squad of men, including Wash Middleton and Fate Arnold, desperate men, to go back into the hills and clean out that bunch. They killed 17 out of the 20 bushwhackers.
Dr. John Turner Horner knew that after he was conscripted and deserted the Rebel Army, if he ever became a prisoner, they'd shoot him. That's why he never got on the Union Army record. He was either afraid, or too careless to get an honorable discharge. Dad's (Dr. John Turner Horner) squad was equal in number to the other squads. One day they met in a corn field and each man picked out his man. Dad picked out the leader; couldn't shoot him, threw his pistol at him. They caught one man walking between his wife and his mother. Wash Middleton shot him down. One night they surrounded a house where the bushwhackers were having a dance. Wash Middleton took the man who killed grandfather (Spencer Horner) by the hair and dragged him out, 'Now you'll kill a helpless old man' and killed him. Fate Arnold didn't know what fear was. 'I (Prof. John Turner Horner) heard so much about him that I expected to see a wonderful man. When I got a certificate in Stone County, his son-in-law was a County School Commissioner, and I told him I wanted to see Fate Arnold.' He was a little wizened old man.
Father (Dr. John Turner Horner) helped to take a refugee train of Union people out of Clarksville, Arkansas, to Marshfield, Webster County, Missouri. That was where dad met mother (Mary Gillian Dunlap) and her two girls, in that refugee train. Fate Arnold would volunteer to go through 20 miles of Rebel lines to get ammunition, and he'd always come back. Once he jerked his horse's head up, and the horse got shot in the head. Arnold got wounded. He stayed with my father (Dr. John Turner Horner) in Marshfield, Missouri until he got well. Mother (Mary Gillian Dunlap) said there'd be a pool of blood under his chair. In Marshfield the folks were suspicious of the Union soldiers who came up from Arkansas. Fate Arnold and dad (Dr. John Turner Horner) passed a saloon one day and heard some man say, he didn't believe there ever was a Union soldier who came up from Arkansas. Fate Arnold says, 'Did you hear that?' 'Yes, but there's just two of us. We'd better let it pass.' 'No, I'll not.' They went back, ordered drinks, dared the man to repeat it, and they let it pass. Dad's name was always on the list of GAR at the Cassville Reunion.
Grandfather, Spencer Horner, had a pot of gold and silver and paper money, but they never did find it after he was killed. Louis had a dream about 'a black gum tree in the middle of a field - put my back to the tree, took ten steps toward the house, dug down, and found the pot of gold.' Dad's, (Dr. John Turner Horner) brothers and sisters were Will, and two who died in the Union Army, Sarah and Jim Vaught Eva Horner saw Sarah near Oark. Arkansas one time, Zilphie and Bob Mooney. Bob Mooney, after his wife died, went to live with one of his girls, and said she objected to his spitting in the fire. He say's 'I went and found me a woman and now I've got a place to spit.' Dad (Dr. John Turner Horner) said Jess Wilson was a brave man too. One time they left Jess Wilson to hold their horses when they went to fight. Jess was another little measley, looked like he wouldn't fight a chicken.
You and I spent so many moments together during my younger years when you kept me every other weekend while Dad worked at the Sale Barn. There were chores. So many chores. But there was also rest. You would spread out your old jean quilt on that red carpet in the living room and I'd lay down for a 'nap'. During that time we would often watch Wild America while you would crochet or mend jeans. But there was also this show that would come on on PBS that stuck a cord with you, Anne of Green Gables. You saw me in a little red headed orphan girl named Anne and you saw yourself and Bampy as the Cuthberts, much too old to raise a young girl.
Bampy called me Becky-two-shoes. You called me your Anne with an E.
Like Anne, I had lots of outbursts and temper fits. And like Marilla you remained calm and always pointed me in the right direction.
There's a famous quote from our PBS special that always makes it's way around this time of year:
"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill--several thrills? ~- Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery
There's the irony. October. The month you left this world. Can't we skip it? It's fitting I suppose. The cold, grey days. This month is always heavy with memories of you -- maybe that's where I can find a thrill? Imagine me having outbursts of sadness in my heart and you calmly saying October is the perfect month for you to remember me.
Let's start with all branches lying around on the ground and crispness in the air. Build a fire, Anne, and remember me.....
I look through my Facebook memories and there you are:
10/25/2011 Making some apple dumplings today. Takes me back to when I was younger and Mammy & Grandma Nall were sitting on the back patio. They had me gather all the apples that had fallen to the ground then we peeled them and made apple dumplings on the fire we had started earlier from picking up sticks out of the yard. We picked up the apples that had fallen to the ground so that they didn't go to waste... cut and peeled them, cut out the bad spots, added sugar and cinnamon set them to boil and then dropped in dumplings. Uncle Mike came in from working and was the first to sample them.....
11/6/2010 Its been two weeks since I was able to wrap my arms around your neck and feel your gentle touch. I miss you. I have all this hurt inside and just as its about to surface with great force it fades away. Why? I don't want it to fade away. I want to cry and cry and sob until I make a complete fool of myself. I'm not sure how much of my day is actually spent thinking in the present...it seems most of it is spent watching a projector in my head with these quick erratic snippets of my time spent with you. There's the goose Mitch killed and you taught me how to pluck it, there's all the time spent picking up sticks out of the yard and burning them. You hung Mitch's goose over the fire to give it a smoked flavor.....
Picking up rocks in the garden, the crazy mean rooster, the chickens I was afraid of and how you clipped their wings so they couldn't fly away. The rabbits you used to keep. Your little dog, Missy and how she grieved herself to death when you went to be with Grandma Jones. The old blue heeler that went blind -Blue. The tires swing in front of the house that the other grandkids and I played on. Fish fry's and how you and g'ma Nall ate the fins and all. Drama with me being afraid of heights and bugs and how I couldn't start the fire in the trash barrel with only two matches. There's the time you took a picture of me having a fit trying to sweep under the bed. I remember sleeping between you and Bampy. On hot nights rubbing his back down with rubbing alcohol. Tightly holding your gown at bedtime. McClellan cheese. Hee-Haw. Brushing your hair on Friday nights watching Dallas & Falcon Crest. Saturday mornings spent cleaning and how you would tell me to look at the picture you had of Jesus knocking on a door and remind me to clean like He was coming to visit. Rainy day. Sunday mornings..."I can't find my slip" Sunday afternoon dinners. My favorite was your BBQ brisket you made in the electric skillet. I have so many memories and I'm so afraid I'm going to forget some of them. I can't lose my memories of you. I miss you. I love you....
11/3/2012 Its finally getting pretty chilly out. I'm reminded of all the times we gathered wood. I can remember all of us grandkids going out to load it up after Bampy cut it and then using the tractor and splitter at the house. I can also remember a specific time when Jen and I didn't have warm enough clothes so you had us wear some panty hose under our pants to help keep us warm. The only thing was, they kept falling down and every time we would pick up a piece of wood we'd have to stop and pull up our britches. You also taught me how to start a fire in the fire place. Not very often, very few times, I was actually the first one up on Saturday and I was always so proud of myself to be able to have the fire started before you and Bampy were up. You two & Grandma Nall taught me so much. I miss you all.
Three more days. 28 October 2010. The day you left. I need to empty out the ashes in my fire-pit that Patty-wagon made me. It's cold. There are lots of sticks to be picked up. I guess I need to build a fire....
Today while taking it easy (all I seem to do anymore) I came across another record collection on Family Search; North Carolina Revolutionary Pay Vouchers 1779-1782 (Remember these records are free. All you have to do is create an account- for free).
I thought I would do a quick post sharing what I found on my North Carolina Revolutionary War Ancestors -- I have a ton.
*Remeber to click on links for more information where I have blogged about them before.
I'll start with my Irish ancestor General Griffith Rutherford and also his son James Rutherford who died in the Battle of Eutaw Springs. This is a paternal ancestor that I get to from my Mammy's side. Her mother was Lurie Myrtle Rutherford. From there you can trace a straight paternal line back to James and then his father Griffith. (James Walter, Thomas Franklin, Thomas, David, James, Griffith).
Bradbury Teal is another ancestor stemming from my Mammy's side. Her father was John Arthur Jones. His Father was John Calvin Jones. His mother was Mattie Teel and from here you go two more generations to get to her grandfather Bradberry Teel who ended up getting into severe legal troubles over counterfeit money.
Robert Lemond/Lemmond/Lemmon also on my Mammy's side. Thomas Rutherford (from above) married Margaret Adaline Lemmond. She was the daughter of James McCullough Lemond who was the son of Robert Lemmon.
I couldn't find a single record for my maternal line ancestor George Upton in these records but he was a Revolutionary War Veteran from Alabama (not North Carolina).
George Horner is on my maternal side. My great grandfather Obie Zearl Melson, his mother Julia Bohannon, her mother Oma Boen, her mother Zilpha Horner, her father Spencer and his father George.
James Stepp is a maternal ancestor going four generations back from my great grandfather Newell Stepp. His father was James Jonathan, his father William and his father James and his father was James (this line has several James Stepps going even further back).
Thomas McKie/Mackey/ is another Irish ancestor, on my mother's side. My great great grandmother, Rebeccca Merrill Stepp, her mother Martha Young, her father William Young, his mother Rosanna Hemphill, her mother Mary McKey, her father Thomas Mckie/Mackie/Mackey.
Thomas Hemphill was the above Thomas Mackie's son-in-law, married to his daughter Mary. He was also a Captain in the Revolutionary War.
Robert Patton is my 6th great grandfather on my maternal side. My great great grandmother Rebecca Matilda Merrill's mother, Martha Young, her mother, Rebecca Edmondson, her mother Sarah Patton and her father Robert.
And last but not least, another Irishman, George Cathey, the father-in-law of the above Robert Patton.
** Interesting Tidbitt on my PATTON line** I can trace my maternal and paternal lines back to Robert's grandfather William. And I have copies of records where my paternal ancestor Griffith Rutherford gave testimony on a land survey belonging to my maternal ancestor George Cathey.
