Thursday, July 12, 2012
WHEN TOMORROW STARTS WITHOUT ME
I found this poem in a newspaper a few months ago and thought I would write it on my blog for everyone to see. It pertains to alot of people that we have lost and I can relate to it. I don't know the author so if anyone knows, please let me know.
"WHEN TOMORROW STARTS WITHOUT ME"
When that tomorrow started without me-and I wasn't there to see-
and when the sun rose and found your eyes all filled with tears for me.
I wished so much you wouldn't have cried, the way ya'll did that day,
while thinking of the many things-we didn't get a chance to say.
I knew how much ya'll loved me just as much as I loved you,
and each time that you thought of me, I knew you would miss me too.
But when those tomorrows start without me-please try to understand
that an angel came and called my name and took me by the hand,
and told me my place was ready, in Heaven far above
and that I'd have to leave behind all those I dearly loved.
But as I turned to walk away, a tear fell from my eye,
for all my life, I'd always thought I didn't want to die.
I had so much to live for, so much left yet to do-
It seemed almost impossible that I was leaving all of you.
I thought of all the yesterdays-the good ones and the bad.
I thought of all the love we shared and all the fun we had.
If I could relive yesterday just even for a while
I'd say good bye and kiss you all 'cause I wanted to see you smile.
But then I fully realized, that this could never be
for all our love and memories would have to take the place of me.
And when I thought of worldly things that I would miss tomorrow,
I thought of you and when I did, my heart just filled with sorrow.
But when I walked thru Heaven's gate, I felt so much at home,
then GOD looked down and smiled at me-from His beautiful golden throne.
He said, "This is eternity, and all I have promised you-
today your life on earth is past, and here life starts anew.
I promise you no tomorrows because a day here will always last
and since each day's the same, there's no longing for the past.
You have been so faithful, so trusting and so true
though there were times you did some things you knew you shouldn't do.
But you have been forgiven and now at last you're free.
So wont you come and take my hand and share my life with me."
So when those tomorrows start without me-don't think we're so far apart-
all of you remember when you think of me, I'm right there in your heart
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Southern and proud of it.
Received an e-mail just the other day asking me if I was a genuine Georgia Peach. Well I recon I am one as I was born and raised in Georgia in a little town of Rome. We rolled up the streets at 6:00 pm and visited our neighbors, made home made ice cream, and watched TV until 11:00 pm and went to bed. I received this message just today and it best describes us Southerners.
Southerners know their summer weather report:
Humidity
Humidity
_____
Southerners know their vacation spots:
The beach
The rivuh
The crick
_____
Southerners know everybody's first name:
Honey
Darlin'
Shugah
_____
Southerners know the movies that speak to their hearts:
Fried Green Tomatoes
Driving Miss Daisy
Steel Magnolias
Gone With The Wind
_____
Southerners know their religions:
Bapdiss
Methdiss
Football
_____
Southerners know their cities dripping with Southern charm:
Chawl'stn
S'vanah
Foat Wuth
N'awlins
Addlanna
_____
Southerners know their elegant gentlemen:
Men in uniform
Men in tuxedos
Rhett Butler
_____
Southern girls know their prime real estate:
The Mall
The Country Club
The Beauty Salon
_____
Southern girls know the 3 deadly sins:
Having bad hair and nails
Having bad manners
Cooking bad food
_____
Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit, and that you don't "HAVE" them,
you "PITCH" them.
_____
Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc., make up "a mess."
_____
Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of "yonder."
_____
Only a Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is, as in: "Going to town, be back directly." (
Correction: directly wasn't in our vocabulary. The correct word is "dreckly!")
_____
Even Southern babies know that "Gimme some sugar" is not a request for the white, granular, sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table.
_____
All Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not use the term, but they know the concept well
_____
Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin'!
_____
Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near" and "a right far piece." They also know that"just down the road" can be 1 mile or 20.
_____
Only a Southerner both knows and understands the difference between a redneck, a good ol' boy, and po' white trash.
_____
No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.
_____
A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.
_____
Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines, ... and when we're "in line,"... we talk to everybody!
_____
Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're related, even if only by marriage.
_____
In the South, "y'all" is singular, "all y'all" is plural.
_____
Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.
_____
Every Southerner knows that tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; that scrambled eggs just ain’t right without Tabasco, and that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.
_____
When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin'," you know you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner!
_____
Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea indicates the need for sugar and lots of it -- we do not like our tea unsweetened. "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.
_____
And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say,"Bless her sweet little heart"... and go your own way.
_____
To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southernness: Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the morning. Bless your little heart!
_____
And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all this Southern stuff....bless your hearts, I hear they’re fixin' to have classes on Southernness as a second language!
_____
Southern girls know men may come and go, but friends are fah-evah !
There ain't no magazine named "Northern Living" for good reason. There ain't nobody interested in livin' up north, nobody would buy the magazine!
Now Shugah If you're a Northern transplant, bless your little heart, fake it. We know you got here as fast as you could.
Humidity
Saturday, May 19, 2012
CELEBRATING MOTHER'S DAY
In 1870, Juliet Ward Howe, author of "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic", was the first in America to want to honor the mother's that had lost sons in the civil war. She was so tired of all the carnage and called on mother's to come to her aid. She wanted an international Mother's day celebrating peace and motherhood. It never came to fruitation but the seed had been planted. A West Virginia women's group led by Anna Reeves Jarvis began to celebrate an adaptation of Howe's holiday. It was to observe and re-unite families and neighbors that had been divided between the Union and Confederate sides of the war. After Mrs. Reeves death, her daughter campaigned for the creation of an official Mother's Day in remembrance of her mother and in honor of peace. But it wasn't until 1914 that Woodrow Wilson signed it into observance. The second Sunday in May was decided on for the day to honor all mothers and has remained to this day.
"A MOTHER'S LOVE"
~based on I Corinthians 13~
A Mother's love is patient, through all her daily work and care.
A Mother's love is kind to all whether great or small in God's Kingdom.
A Mother's love is not jealous, but rejoices in all good things.
A Mother's love is not arrogant or rude, but is humble, mild and modest.
A Mother's love doesn't focus on self, but gives herself to others.
A Mother's love is not irritable, even when frustrations overwhelm.
A Mother's love does not keep track of wrongs; she thinks of doing good.
A Mother's love is happy with the truth, and seeks to share truth with her children.
Never stops being, patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.
A Mother's love never comes to an end.
Mother's Day has just passed and I was fortunate enough for all my children to attend my home for a impromptu supper. Although I did most of the cooking, and my husband stated that it should be cooked for me, I think Mother's Day should be for what you want to do. So while I am still able, I will cook. There may come a day when I am not able and the children have to cook for me. Besides, if I do the cooking, it will suit my taste buds and I can do without all the sugar. I still surprise them with what has sugar and what does not.
I was lucky enough to have 3 mothers in my life time. My biological mother, I had for 15 years and then she was killed in an automobile accident. But while her time here on earth, I was loved just like a little girl and treated as such. All the frilly dresses and fancy shoes, taking dancing lessons and piano lessons, taught to cook fancy and sew a straight seam, even crocheting, came from my mom. My mom was a very talented woman. She could make any sort of dress just by looking at a picture. She was a great hairdresser. She drew pictures, with colored pencils or charcoal. She played the piano. She was a great chef and cake decorator. And flowers, she could make beautiful arrangements as well grow the flowers that she put in the vase. I was never that lucky. I really thought my mom could do anything. Except die. That was the shock of my life, learning to live without her. But I did and survived with the help of 2 other women. Ruby Franks Dean and Evelyn Johnson Dudley Beall
I married in 1962 and met Granny Ruby. She sort of adopted me since my mom was dead. I had been so spoiled that I didn't really know how to do alot of things in the kitchen. Especially make biscuits. She could make the best biscuits that I ever tasted. It is no wonder that I gained so much weight. This was a home where biscuits were cooked every morning and sometimes for dinner. No cold cereal here. I guess that is why Marvin does not eat cold cereal now. Mostly it was gravy and biscuits, with 2 kinds of meat. Eggs, grits or oatmeal, and sometimes creamed corn with sliced tomatoes. I had never eaten those 2 foods for breakfast. I thought they were crazy. Well I set about to learn how to make these biscuits. I thought the task would be easy since it looked so simple. Little did I know. The first ones, I was told that they had to much powder on the faces. Really hurt my feelings, but they tasted good. After about 2 years, I had accomplished the task. Then she set to teaching me how to make quilts. On a treadle sewing machine, no less. I couldn't sew a very good, tight seam by hand. There was alot more to it than I thought. I knew how to sew, and that helped a little. It takes some time to cut enough pieces to make a quilt top. The first one, I was lucky in that Ruby had a top ready. Since it was cold weather and we needed it in a hurry, she decided to hand turf the quilt. A turfing needle is not like a regular needle. It is about 3 inches long and has a larger eye to put in larger thread. This was cotton thread that she got at a chenille bedspread factory. So to start, you have to have a lining and filler, then the top. For this particular quilt, she didn't use batting but an old threadbare blanket. She said it would work better in a hand turfed quilt. It wouldn't bunch up after washing. The process is this: with a long thread, you sew a seam through all layers. Each stitch is about 3 to 4 inches apart. After the whole thing is done, you go back and clip between each stitch and tie the ends in a knot. This makes knots all over the top. You then hem around the edges and you have a very warm quilt. After I finished, I was thrilled that I had made this project. So I decided to make a smaller one for my baby, Jimmy. I later learned to make a quilt by the process of a quilting frame. But it never thrilled me as much as the first one because the top was made by Ruby's mother, Katie Eller.
Over the years, Granny Ruby was there for me in so many ways. She never forgot my birthday and would bring me some little something even if it was a candy bar to let me know she remembered. She watched my children while I worked at night. I never had to have a babysitter. When ever we would have a dinner, Rhonda had to make the slaw. I still make it today, the same way that she liked it. She died in 2006 and I miss her.
Miss Evelyn, I met at the Krystal before she ever married my dad. When I stayed with her, we would get up at 4:30 in the morning to be at work by 6 am. She called me her personal beautician. If ever a little grey started showing, we would put on the auburn. French twist hairstyles were popular at that time so this is how it would be fixed. Everyone bragged on her hairstyle. I can recall her saying," I have a personal beautician." I also remember one Christmas when I sat up just about all night so that the Barbie Dream house would be ready for Deborah when she woke up the next morning. Evelyn had given out of energy by the time we got to that project. After she married my dad, she did not show the least bit of difference between the children. They were all hers and she would fight for you in more ways that one. I remember once when I lived in Rome, Jeff was playing in the backyard and the neighborhood children started throwing things at each other. One boy threw a piece of glass and hit Jeff right between the eyes. He needed stitches so I called Evelyn. She came right over and took him to the emergency room. When she came back, she proceeded to go and talk to the child and his mother. Well an argument erupted from this and I thought it would become a fight. Evelyn told her right quick that they better not mess with her grand babies again or she would call the police to take care of the matter. She was intolerant of injustice in any form. We lost her in March of 2011 and I miss her so much. I still remember the trip she made to my house once to bring my children some clothes. I wasn't at home, and the door was locked. I had gone to the store for some reason but I was cooking pinto beans for supper. Evelyn said the smell was so good, that she almost tried to climb through a window. She said the only thing that stopped her was a police car rode by. I would sometimes cook her beans when I visited her. And she would make egg salad when she knew that I was coming to her house. David went hiking one summer with his son so I went to Evelyn's house to stay all night. She thought that she still had to wait on me and I could walk better that her. She loved her family more than anything except my dad. I will see you again in the hereafter. You filled a void in my life when I really needed a mom.
"A MOTHER'S LOVE"
~based on I Corinthians 13~
A Mother's love is patient, through all her daily work and care.
A Mother's love is kind to all whether great or small in God's Kingdom.
A Mother's love is not jealous, but rejoices in all good things.
A Mother's love is not arrogant or rude, but is humble, mild and modest.
A Mother's love doesn't focus on self, but gives herself to others.
A Mother's love is not irritable, even when frustrations overwhelm.
A Mother's love does not keep track of wrongs; she thinks of doing good.
A Mother's love is happy with the truth, and seeks to share truth with her children.
Never stops being, patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.
A Mother's love never comes to an end.
Mother's Day has just passed and I was fortunate enough for all my children to attend my home for a impromptu supper. Although I did most of the cooking, and my husband stated that it should be cooked for me, I think Mother's Day should be for what you want to do. So while I am still able, I will cook. There may come a day when I am not able and the children have to cook for me. Besides, if I do the cooking, it will suit my taste buds and I can do without all the sugar. I still surprise them with what has sugar and what does not.
I was lucky enough to have 3 mothers in my life time. My biological mother, I had for 15 years and then she was killed in an automobile accident. But while her time here on earth, I was loved just like a little girl and treated as such. All the frilly dresses and fancy shoes, taking dancing lessons and piano lessons, taught to cook fancy and sew a straight seam, even crocheting, came from my mom. My mom was a very talented woman. She could make any sort of dress just by looking at a picture. She was a great hairdresser. She drew pictures, with colored pencils or charcoal. She played the piano. She was a great chef and cake decorator. And flowers, she could make beautiful arrangements as well grow the flowers that she put in the vase. I was never that lucky. I really thought my mom could do anything. Except die. That was the shock of my life, learning to live without her. But I did and survived with the help of 2 other women. Ruby Franks Dean and Evelyn Johnson Dudley Beall
I married in 1962 and met Granny Ruby. She sort of adopted me since my mom was dead. I had been so spoiled that I didn't really know how to do alot of things in the kitchen. Especially make biscuits. She could make the best biscuits that I ever tasted. It is no wonder that I gained so much weight. This was a home where biscuits were cooked every morning and sometimes for dinner. No cold cereal here. I guess that is why Marvin does not eat cold cereal now. Mostly it was gravy and biscuits, with 2 kinds of meat. Eggs, grits or oatmeal, and sometimes creamed corn with sliced tomatoes. I had never eaten those 2 foods for breakfast. I thought they were crazy. Well I set about to learn how to make these biscuits. I thought the task would be easy since it looked so simple. Little did I know. The first ones, I was told that they had to much powder on the faces. Really hurt my feelings, but they tasted good. After about 2 years, I had accomplished the task. Then she set to teaching me how to make quilts. On a treadle sewing machine, no less. I couldn't sew a very good, tight seam by hand. There was alot more to it than I thought. I knew how to sew, and that helped a little. It takes some time to cut enough pieces to make a quilt top. The first one, I was lucky in that Ruby had a top ready. Since it was cold weather and we needed it in a hurry, she decided to hand turf the quilt. A turfing needle is not like a regular needle. It is about 3 inches long and has a larger eye to put in larger thread. This was cotton thread that she got at a chenille bedspread factory. So to start, you have to have a lining and filler, then the top. For this particular quilt, she didn't use batting but an old threadbare blanket. She said it would work better in a hand turfed quilt. It wouldn't bunch up after washing. The process is this: with a long thread, you sew a seam through all layers. Each stitch is about 3 to 4 inches apart. After the whole thing is done, you go back and clip between each stitch and tie the ends in a knot. This makes knots all over the top. You then hem around the edges and you have a very warm quilt. After I finished, I was thrilled that I had made this project. So I decided to make a smaller one for my baby, Jimmy. I later learned to make a quilt by the process of a quilting frame. But it never thrilled me as much as the first one because the top was made by Ruby's mother, Katie Eller.
Over the years, Granny Ruby was there for me in so many ways. She never forgot my birthday and would bring me some little something even if it was a candy bar to let me know she remembered. She watched my children while I worked at night. I never had to have a babysitter. When ever we would have a dinner, Rhonda had to make the slaw. I still make it today, the same way that she liked it. She died in 2006 and I miss her.
Miss Evelyn, I met at the Krystal before she ever married my dad. When I stayed with her, we would get up at 4:30 in the morning to be at work by 6 am. She called me her personal beautician. If ever a little grey started showing, we would put on the auburn. French twist hairstyles were popular at that time so this is how it would be fixed. Everyone bragged on her hairstyle. I can recall her saying," I have a personal beautician." I also remember one Christmas when I sat up just about all night so that the Barbie Dream house would be ready for Deborah when she woke up the next morning. Evelyn had given out of energy by the time we got to that project. After she married my dad, she did not show the least bit of difference between the children. They were all hers and she would fight for you in more ways that one. I remember once when I lived in Rome, Jeff was playing in the backyard and the neighborhood children started throwing things at each other. One boy threw a piece of glass and hit Jeff right between the eyes. He needed stitches so I called Evelyn. She came right over and took him to the emergency room. When she came back, she proceeded to go and talk to the child and his mother. Well an argument erupted from this and I thought it would become a fight. Evelyn told her right quick that they better not mess with her grand babies again or she would call the police to take care of the matter. She was intolerant of injustice in any form. We lost her in March of 2011 and I miss her so much. I still remember the trip she made to my house once to bring my children some clothes. I wasn't at home, and the door was locked. I had gone to the store for some reason but I was cooking pinto beans for supper. Evelyn said the smell was so good, that she almost tried to climb through a window. She said the only thing that stopped her was a police car rode by. I would sometimes cook her beans when I visited her. And she would make egg salad when she knew that I was coming to her house. David went hiking one summer with his son so I went to Evelyn's house to stay all night. She thought that she still had to wait on me and I could walk better that her. She loved her family more than anything except my dad. I will see you again in the hereafter. You filled a void in my life when I really needed a mom.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
MY STORY OF JOHN YATES BEALL
I have started this story many time with no results. Just can't get all my facts together. I have been fascinated with this subject since I found it on the internet about 1998. "The Hanging of John Yates Beall." First of all, let us find out about the name Beall. It is based on the ancient Celtic god "Bel" who was by some accounts similar in nature and function to the Greek god "Apollo." The best known patriarch, Ninian Beall, came to this country as a slave more or less. He was an indentured servant and as he worked, he accumulated land in the Maryland area. He originally spelled his name "Bell" but he was commanded to change it to the older spelling, Beall, when he was sent to the New World in 1653. This was to politically disassociate the members of the clan who supported the Stuarts from the parts of the clan that remained loyal to the Crown.
Variations on the spelling include Bell, Beal, Belle, Bel, and of course Beall-but these are all related families. In fact there can be various spellings of the name in the same family. Much research has been done to prove that all the Bealls and different spellings are one and the same.
My tale begins with John Yates Beall, a distant relative of mine. He was born at Walnut Grove, Jefferson County, Virginia on January 1, 1834. His parents were George Brooke Beall and Janet Yates. He was studying for the law at the time of his father's death in 1855. So he came home and farmed for the family until the outbreak of the Civil war when he volunteered for the "Botts Greys" and mustered into Company G, 2nd Virginia infantry. After being incapacitated by a wound, he went west and then moved into Canada. While in the latter country, he contrived a plan to liberate the Confederate prisoners at Johnson's Island prison. With this plan in mind, he returned South and solicited the approval of the Confederate authorities. He was commissioned as acting master in the Confederate navy, but was not assigned to command. On his own initiative, he began a series of exciting privateering enterprises along the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay, but he was captured in November, 1863, and confined in irons at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland. until he was exchanged on May 5, 1864. Unable to secure the approval of the government, he went to Canada without orders to carry out his favorite plan of liberating the prisoners on Johnson's Island. On Sept. 18, 1864, with a small band of picked men, he captured the "Philo Parsons" and "The Island Queen" and would probably have reached Johnson's Island, but for a mutiny in his crew and the miscarriage of other plans. He was forced to abandon his project and was captured in citizens clothing at Niagara, NY on Dec. 16, 1864. He was hurried to New York. General John Adams Dix ordered a military commission for Beall's trial, which began on January 17, 1865. He was represented by James T. Brady. The arrest of Beall had not been published in the newspapers and Confederate authorities were unaware of his status. On February 8, the commission found him guilty on all charges and sentenced him to death.
The story of Beall's arrest and trial then appeared in the newspapers, and efforts were made to save him. Appeals were made by many prominent people, including six Senators and ninety one members of Congress, but President Lincoln refused to intervene and Beall was executed on February 24, 1865.
There is a legend discussed by Lloyd Lewis that Lincoln was approached by John Wilkes Booth who was a friend of Beall's to save his life, and that the President agreed to do so. But Lincoln changed his mind (the legend goes) when he was approached by his friend and Secretary of State, William Henry Seward, who insisted that Beall's activities had been dangerous to the citizen's of New York State (Seward's state). Supposedly a furious Booth determined to kill Lincoln and Seward for this betrayal after Beall was executed.
Variations on the spelling include Bell, Beal, Belle, Bel, and of course Beall-but these are all related families. In fact there can be various spellings of the name in the same family. Much research has been done to prove that all the Bealls and different spellings are one and the same.
My tale begins with John Yates Beall, a distant relative of mine. He was born at Walnut Grove, Jefferson County, Virginia on January 1, 1834. His parents were George Brooke Beall and Janet Yates. He was studying for the law at the time of his father's death in 1855. So he came home and farmed for the family until the outbreak of the Civil war when he volunteered for the "Botts Greys" and mustered into Company G, 2nd Virginia infantry. After being incapacitated by a wound, he went west and then moved into Canada. While in the latter country, he contrived a plan to liberate the Confederate prisoners at Johnson's Island prison. With this plan in mind, he returned South and solicited the approval of the Confederate authorities. He was commissioned as acting master in the Confederate navy, but was not assigned to command. On his own initiative, he began a series of exciting privateering enterprises along the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay, but he was captured in November, 1863, and confined in irons at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland. until he was exchanged on May 5, 1864. Unable to secure the approval of the government, he went to Canada without orders to carry out his favorite plan of liberating the prisoners on Johnson's Island. On Sept. 18, 1864, with a small band of picked men, he captured the "Philo Parsons" and "The Island Queen" and would probably have reached Johnson's Island, but for a mutiny in his crew and the miscarriage of other plans. He was forced to abandon his project and was captured in citizens clothing at Niagara, NY on Dec. 16, 1864. He was hurried to New York. General John Adams Dix ordered a military commission for Beall's trial, which began on January 17, 1865. He was represented by James T. Brady. The arrest of Beall had not been published in the newspapers and Confederate authorities were unaware of his status. On February 8, the commission found him guilty on all charges and sentenced him to death.
The story of Beall's arrest and trial then appeared in the newspapers, and efforts were made to save him. Appeals were made by many prominent people, including six Senators and ninety one members of Congress, but President Lincoln refused to intervene and Beall was executed on February 24, 1865.
There is a legend discussed by Lloyd Lewis that Lincoln was approached by John Wilkes Booth who was a friend of Beall's to save his life, and that the President agreed to do so. But Lincoln changed his mind (the legend goes) when he was approached by his friend and Secretary of State, William Henry Seward, who insisted that Beall's activities had been dangerous to the citizen's of New York State (Seward's state). Supposedly a furious Booth determined to kill Lincoln and Seward for this betrayal after Beall was executed.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
PELLAGRA
While I have been working on my family tree, I came across something that puzzled me. A disease called Pellagra. My grandmother on the Beall side died from this in 1924. As I ran across this on some other death certificates, I decided to find out what were the causes. Definition:
"Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease most commonly caused by a chronic lack of niacin (vitamin B3) in the diet." I found this disease mostly occurred in women from about 1910 thru 1930. In the early 1900's, pellagra reached epidemic proportions in the American South. There were 1,306 reported pellagra deaths in South Carolina during the first ten months of 1915. At first, the scientific community held that pellagra was probably caused by a germ or some unknown toxin in corn. Primary research was set up to study this disease in prisoners and they determined a certain diet could cause the condition. By 1926, Dr. Goldberger established that a balanced diet or a small amount of brewer's yeast prevented pellagra. It was also determined that women died more often than men due to the fact that men were the breadwinners of the family and were given preference and consideration at the dinner table. They also had pocket money to buy food outside the household. Women often gave protein foods to their children first. The women would eat what was left, and I had a first hand view of this when I first married as my mother-in-law would always cook for her husband and son the choice foods. Even at breakfast, eggs were given to the men first and if any were left, then the children were feed. Women would eat gravy and biscuits with maybe a piece of fatback. And at other meals, meat parts and choice vegetables were given to the men first, and then the children. Often many families lived in one house and ate together, so the men and older boys ate and the children were feed in the kitchen. The women were always left behind.
Pellagra no longer stalks the nation as it once did. But during the early part of the 20th-century, pellagra, a disease that results from niacin deficiency killed many poor Southerners. Dr Joseph Goldberger discovered the cause of pellagra and stepped on a number of medical toes when his research experiments showed that diet and not germs caused the disease. He also stepped on Southern pride when he linked the poverty of Southern sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and mill workers to the deficient diet that caused pellagra.
I wish this research had taken place sooner that that era. Then I could have known my grandmother. My dad had to grow up without his mother. How many other children in the South were in this same situation. My dad always told me that his mom died from pellagra, an iodine deficiency, but this was not the case. Since he was from a family of 7 children, then this mother was often last at the table and would probably eat any leftovers. This is hard to fathom in this day and age but we don't know what took place in that era. It was hard for farmers to make a living unless they had children to work the acres. And after this, the depression of the 30's. We are fortunate to have food today, with access to a store to buy the things we need. We don't have to grow anything except for pleasure. Plus, we have plenty of vitamins and minerals that sold over the counter. Thank goodness for the doctors who took the time to discover and find cures for these diseases.
"Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease most commonly caused by a chronic lack of niacin (vitamin B3) in the diet." I found this disease mostly occurred in women from about 1910 thru 1930. In the early 1900's, pellagra reached epidemic proportions in the American South. There were 1,306 reported pellagra deaths in South Carolina during the first ten months of 1915. At first, the scientific community held that pellagra was probably caused by a germ or some unknown toxin in corn. Primary research was set up to study this disease in prisoners and they determined a certain diet could cause the condition. By 1926, Dr. Goldberger established that a balanced diet or a small amount of brewer's yeast prevented pellagra. It was also determined that women died more often than men due to the fact that men were the breadwinners of the family and were given preference and consideration at the dinner table. They also had pocket money to buy food outside the household. Women often gave protein foods to their children first. The women would eat what was left, and I had a first hand view of this when I first married as my mother-in-law would always cook for her husband and son the choice foods. Even at breakfast, eggs were given to the men first and if any were left, then the children were feed. Women would eat gravy and biscuits with maybe a piece of fatback. And at other meals, meat parts and choice vegetables were given to the men first, and then the children. Often many families lived in one house and ate together, so the men and older boys ate and the children were feed in the kitchen. The women were always left behind.
Pellagra no longer stalks the nation as it once did. But during the early part of the 20th-century, pellagra, a disease that results from niacin deficiency killed many poor Southerners. Dr Joseph Goldberger discovered the cause of pellagra and stepped on a number of medical toes when his research experiments showed that diet and not germs caused the disease. He also stepped on Southern pride when he linked the poverty of Southern sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and mill workers to the deficient diet that caused pellagra.
I wish this research had taken place sooner that that era. Then I could have known my grandmother. My dad had to grow up without his mother. How many other children in the South were in this same situation. My dad always told me that his mom died from pellagra, an iodine deficiency, but this was not the case. Since he was from a family of 7 children, then this mother was often last at the table and would probably eat any leftovers. This is hard to fathom in this day and age but we don't know what took place in that era. It was hard for farmers to make a living unless they had children to work the acres. And after this, the depression of the 30's. We are fortunate to have food today, with access to a store to buy the things we need. We don't have to grow anything except for pleasure. Plus, we have plenty of vitamins and minerals that sold over the counter. Thank goodness for the doctors who took the time to discover and find cures for these diseases.
Friday, March 23, 2012
MARY "MOLLIE" O'CONNER FOX
This is a story about my 5th great grandmother, Mary "Mollie" O'Conner.
She live in a coastal town in Ireland with her parents. A large ship was anchored on the coast and the men on the ship put up a big swing and invited the girls to come aboard to swing. The next thing the girls knew, the ship with them on board was way out on the ocean. They were to far to swim back to shore. All these boys and girls were to be sold as indentured servants in America.
While they were on the ship, Mollie got awfully sick and they thought at one time that she was dead. She was tied on a plank and they were fixing to throw her overboard but there was a man on the ship who had known her father in Ireland and he would not let them because he did not think she was dead. She really did revive in time to keep from being buried alive at sea.
This man who saved her life got her a job at a hotel as a chamber maid after they landed in America. The port where they landed was possibly Charleston where Charles Fox's father, Henry Fox III had a law office.. Mollie wrote back to her mother and told her where she was and asked for a passport so she could return home. Her mother was afraid that she might really die if she tried to cross the ocean again so she wrote Mollie that she had rather know that she was alive and be where she could write to her than to risk crossing the ocean again. Mollie is said to have come from a very good family and she was educated. They have proof of this as she could sign her name instead of making an "X" on legal documents in 1785. South Carolina census records suggest that Mollie was most likely born in 1740 to 1750 time period.
One night John Charles Fox spent the night at the hotel where Mollie O'Conner worked. He left his pocketbook at the hotel and Mollie found it the next morning and gave it to him when he came back. Their courtship began then and there. They were married and had three daughters named Nellie, Betsy and Katy and a son named Matthew was born in about 1766 in Abbeville, South Carolina. Their father fought in the Indian War and was captured by the Indians. The family learned afterwards that he was brought to Alabama and tortured to death. They supposed that it was at the Flat Rock in Clay County, Alabama.
Their daughter, Betsy, never married and after her parents death, she went to live with a nephew. One day she was left at this home with a little boy while they went to town. While they were gone the boy went to a neighbor's house crying and saying his Aunt Betsy was asleep and would not wake up. When they got there, they found that she had dropped dead.
In the days of Mollie and Charles Fox, the white people were divided into Whigs and Tories. The Whigs were the better class. The Tories were friendly with the Indians and they went about raiding the cribs and smokehouses of the Whigs. One day they went to the Fox home while Charles was about a mile away from home. They ordered Grandma Fox to fry all the ham and then they started throwing out the corn to the horses. Betsy and Katy would throw it right back into the crib and fought the men until the Indian Chief made the men leave the corn alone, saying the little girls were very brave, and that they needed their corn for bread. One of the Indians picked up little Agnes Ables, who was the daughter of Nellie Fox Ables and marked around her hair with his knife as if to scalp her. Betsy ran for her father and he followed them and killed fourteen Indians. Later, as was told before, the Indians caught him and tortured him to death. The torture was done with pine splinters under his fingernails and setting them on fire.
This original story was by Kaye Stoneking and revised by Frances Parris.
Parts of this story is from Bertie Maude Hayes, the great, great, great, granddaughter of Mary "Mollie" O'Conner and was handed down through the family.
She live in a coastal town in Ireland with her parents. A large ship was anchored on the coast and the men on the ship put up a big swing and invited the girls to come aboard to swing. The next thing the girls knew, the ship with them on board was way out on the ocean. They were to far to swim back to shore. All these boys and girls were to be sold as indentured servants in America.
While they were on the ship, Mollie got awfully sick and they thought at one time that she was dead. She was tied on a plank and they were fixing to throw her overboard but there was a man on the ship who had known her father in Ireland and he would not let them because he did not think she was dead. She really did revive in time to keep from being buried alive at sea.
This man who saved her life got her a job at a hotel as a chamber maid after they landed in America. The port where they landed was possibly Charleston where Charles Fox's father, Henry Fox III had a law office.. Mollie wrote back to her mother and told her where she was and asked for a passport so she could return home. Her mother was afraid that she might really die if she tried to cross the ocean again so she wrote Mollie that she had rather know that she was alive and be where she could write to her than to risk crossing the ocean again. Mollie is said to have come from a very good family and she was educated. They have proof of this as she could sign her name instead of making an "X" on legal documents in 1785. South Carolina census records suggest that Mollie was most likely born in 1740 to 1750 time period.
One night John Charles Fox spent the night at the hotel where Mollie O'Conner worked. He left his pocketbook at the hotel and Mollie found it the next morning and gave it to him when he came back. Their courtship began then and there. They were married and had three daughters named Nellie, Betsy and Katy and a son named Matthew was born in about 1766 in Abbeville, South Carolina. Their father fought in the Indian War and was captured by the Indians. The family learned afterwards that he was brought to Alabama and tortured to death. They supposed that it was at the Flat Rock in Clay County, Alabama.
Their daughter, Betsy, never married and after her parents death, she went to live with a nephew. One day she was left at this home with a little boy while they went to town. While they were gone the boy went to a neighbor's house crying and saying his Aunt Betsy was asleep and would not wake up. When they got there, they found that she had dropped dead.
In the days of Mollie and Charles Fox, the white people were divided into Whigs and Tories. The Whigs were the better class. The Tories were friendly with the Indians and they went about raiding the cribs and smokehouses of the Whigs. One day they went to the Fox home while Charles was about a mile away from home. They ordered Grandma Fox to fry all the ham and then they started throwing out the corn to the horses. Betsy and Katy would throw it right back into the crib and fought the men until the Indian Chief made the men leave the corn alone, saying the little girls were very brave, and that they needed their corn for bread. One of the Indians picked up little Agnes Ables, who was the daughter of Nellie Fox Ables and marked around her hair with his knife as if to scalp her. Betsy ran for her father and he followed them and killed fourteen Indians. Later, as was told before, the Indians caught him and tortured him to death. The torture was done with pine splinters under his fingernails and setting them on fire.
This original story was by Kaye Stoneking and revised by Frances Parris.
Parts of this story is from Bertie Maude Hayes, the great, great, great, granddaughter of Mary "Mollie" O'Conner and was handed down through the family.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
GRANDMA'S APRON
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few and it was easier to wash aprons than dresses cause aprons required less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids. And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees along with peaches. I was ready to help gather nuts for candy. Ma Jones made the best hickory nut candy ever. And pecan pies, can't match that taste to anything today. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds. When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.
REMEMBER:
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.
And in this day and age, they would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. But I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron-but LOVE...... and I miss all those hugs and teacakes that grandma made and all the tea parties.
My grandmother who I called Ma Jones had 2 dresses, 1 for Sunday and 1 for everyday. But she had quite a few aprons that I dearly loved and she made them out of flour sacks. The first project that I learned to sew in Home Economics was an apron and I never forgot how proud I was when it was finished. My grandma was not around to see it and neither was my mom so I had to show it off to my Aunt Josie and she loved it and gave me some material to make her one. She knew how to sew, but she just wanted to help me learn different ways. I miss her.
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