Storyteller (#52Ancestors Week 25)

#52Ancestors, Week 25 "Storyteller"

I have really fallen off the wagon, but I'm trying to get going again.

These two stories were told by my great-grandmother, Minnie Loftis Williams (1883-1977), and included in a book on Loftis descendants. I can remember hearing her tell the second story, and it gave me the creeps. I would dearly love to know the identity and back-story of the poor woman who was considered a witch!

When "Aunt Pop" was a small child she was playing in her yard one day. An old woman, regarded by all as a "witch" passed by and as the "witch" crossed over the creek on a foot log, she almost fell off and Aunt Pop started laughing. As the "witch" went her way, shortly thereafter Aunt Pop started having convulsions. No one could
stop them and she almost died. That same afternoon, as the old "witch" returned, she saw the crowd gathered around the house and asked what the trouble was. On being told, she said "well she won't have them any more" and Aunt Pop did not. After that time whenever Aunt Pop saw the old woman coming, she would run and hide and she never laughed at her ever again. (Aunt Pop referred to here was Polly Martelia Loftis [born 1846], sister to Labin Jasper Loftis.)

This same "witch" went to Grandmother Chaffin's house to buy some goose eggs for setting, but Grandmother told her she had only enough for her own use. The "witch" said, "You had just as well let me have them for they will never hatch for you." and do you know, the eggs never did hatch!! (Grandmother Chaffin referred to here was Elizabeth Young Chaffin, mother of Louisa Chaffin Loftis).

Family Gathering (#52Ancestors Week 26)

 #52Ancestors Week 26 - Family Gathering

My 5th-great grandmother, Margareth "Peggy" Crose Fite (1761-1864), lived to be 103. For her 100th birthday, her son Jacob had a family birthday party for her.

(from The biographical and Genealogical Records of the Fite Families in the United States by Elizabeth Mitchell Stephenson Fite, page 46):

"At the celebration of her one hundredth birthday the tables were run the length of the dining room, out across the porch and down on the lawn under the trees. "Granny Fite" was seated at the head of the table in the dining-room, and her descendants were placed according to descent, the small children being seated at the far end of the table under the trees."

Nashville Banner (Apr 1, 1861); image via Find-a-Grave

A BIRTH DAY CELEBRATION. -- On the 12th inst. the birth day of Mrs. PEGGY FITE was celebrated at the residence of her son, JACOB FITE, in Wilson county. A large number of her descendants, including the fifth generation, were present, on this interesting occasion. Mrs. Fite that day entered upon her second century, having the previous day completed her hundredth year. She was in excellent health for one of her age, and greatly enjoyed this reunion of a portion of her descendants. She is the mother of twelve children, one of whom died in infancy; the remainder are still living. Her oldest son is 80 years of age; her youngest child, (a daughter) 56 years of age. Her living descendants number 464, as follows:

11 children

76 grand children,

305 great grand children,

71 gr. gr. grand children,

1 (perhaps 2) gr. gr. gr. grand children

When she died in 1864, news of her death was carried in newspapers in at least 15 states, plus multiple locations in England, Scotland, and Wales.

School Days (#52ancestors Week 15)

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Week 15 -- School Days

For this post, I'm going to let my great-uncle, Dick Williams, tell the story (copied from his autobiography, courtesy of Marr Temples)

Photo of Uncle Tyne (1856-1947)

Father and Uncle Tyne's Education Ends Abruptly

Uncle Tyne (Constantine) was a person who could say more curse words a minute than most people could all words in two minutes. He may not have used as many curse words while in school, but he was not past using a few.

His family was determined to make him a polished gentleman, so they sent him off to Bell Buckle, Tennessee, to attend the famous Soney Webb School. Their polisher must have fallen apart when they reached him.

As the story goes, the cafeteria kept serving some butter that had long passed its peak of freshness; in other words, it was very rank. All the boys kept wondering how they were going to get rid of the butter, since it was too rank to eat. Uncle Tyne, as usual, had a solution. As they were leaving the cafeteria he rolled the butter into a napkin and as he left the building he turned and slung the butter from the napkin, splattering it all over the door.

It appeared that they knew who did it, because they brought all the boys in and put them in a circle. Starting with the boy next to Uncle Tyne, they asked each if they had put the butter on the door. They continued this until they reached Uncle Tyne, who told them they had better ask the damn butter as it's old enough to answer for itself, thus ending his formal education.

My grandparents did not want to give up on having a well polished gentleman as a son. So when my father reached the age to send off to school they sent him to Bell Buckle, also. His experience at Webb School wasn't much better. As he relates it, while running in a race, he passed a boy standing along the track. The boy stuck his leg out and tripped him. Father may not have used the same kind of language as his brother, but he was known to have a sharp temper. He was also known as a good wrestler in his youth. I remember his remark when he saw his first football game. "I wish they had played this game when I was younger."

With these facts in mind, you can guess his reaction when he was tripped. After completely clobbering the boy, his formal education was also ended.

Favorite Recipe (#52Ancestors Week 14)

 

Week 14 -- Favorite Recipe

Since I’m trying to play catch-up after being out of town, this post will be fairly brief.

Recipe #1 is from my grandmother, Lillian Williams, based on what she told me when I (as a newly-wed) asked her for her chili recipe.  Recipe #2 is from my great-grandmother, Minnie Loftis Williams, via my grandmother.  Recipe #3 is also from my grandmother.

Grandmother’s Chili

First you cook your beans (any kind you want, as many as you need).

Cook your meat (amount depends on how many beans you cooked).

Season it until it tastes right, and that’s all there is to it!

Grandma’s Chess Pie

Barely beat 4 whole eggs and add 2 cups sugar, 1 stick butter (not margarine), 4 Tbsp. cream or milk, 1 tsp. vanilla, pinch salt.  Pour into pie shell, bake at 400 or 375 for 30 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Grandmother's Rolls
1 cup Crisco
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup lukewarm water
1 egg, beaten
6 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
1 yeast cake or pkg.

Mix Crisco, sugar, salt, and boiling water, dissolve and cool.
Put yeast in lukewarm water and dissolve.
When first mixture is cool, add egg and yeast. Stir well and add flour all at once. Place in large greased bowl for a few hours. Knead, then roll as desired (at least 1/2" thick). Let rise till double (about 2 hours). Brush tops with melted butter, then bake at 400 for 5-6 minutes till brown.

Achievement (#52ancestors) Week 11

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Week 11: Achievement

I had always thought of my grandfather, Dennis McDonald (1903-2004), as a lifelong farmer, just like his father and grandfather and great-grandfather before him. But it turns out that he had another achievement that he seldom talked about. The most tangible clue was on the living room wall above his cot: a cracked (and hideously-glued) 3D model of Tower Bridge in London (that I wish I had kept or had at least taken a good picture of).

When I did a tape-recorded interview with him for family history in 1999 (yes, I’ve been doing this for a long time!), this is what he told me:

“I worked for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. I went to London, England, for Firestone. And I was over there when they started a factory over there.” He was one of 16 (two from each department) selected “to break in labor over there in the new factory. And I went over there [in 1928] and stayed a year.”

When I asked how he ended up in Akron, Ohio, from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, this was his response:

“Well, when I couldn’t make a living here and I decided I was going to go work for the public, I went and got on a train in Nashville and went to Akron, Ohio” (he was “just past 20” at the time). He first worked at Quaker Oats, then the freight depot, and then Goodyear for about a year. “Then I went to Firestone, and I stayed there five years, and I went over to London for them. I worked here at home on the farm, and I said, ‘I can’t make a living here’ and so I just got out and got me a job.”

He came back to Tennessee in time for the 1930 census (leaving no "official" record of his time away) and farmed for the rest of his life.

While he was overseas, he and a group of friends made the trip across the English Channel to Paris, France. He found the grave of his cousin Landon, who was killed in “the War” (World War I) and took a picture of the grave marker to take back to Landon’s father. They also engaged in a bit of sight-seeing, including the Eiffel Tower.

While this adventure might not sound like much in today’s world, in 1928 it was a pretty impressive achievement for a Tennessee farm boy!

at the Eiffel Tower -- Pap is second from left

on the Eiffel Tower -- Pap is second from left

Pap is on the left

probably crossing the English Channel to France

Language (#52ancestors Week 10)

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Week 10: Language

Back to David’s family for this one.  His maternal great-grandfather, Frank Finc (pronounced Finch or Fince), has been a bit challenging.  Depending on the source and time, his birthplace was listed as Austria or Yugoslavia, but he was Slovenian.  It’s amazing how much geography and history you learn while doing genealogy!

His 1904 marriage license says he was born in Austria; his 1907 Declaration of Intention (for citizenship) says he was born in St. Ved Austria.  The 1910 census says he was born in Aust. Slovenian; 1920 census says he was born in Austria.  His birthplace is listed as Letia, Austrilick, on his daughter’s birth certificate and Letia, Austria, on his son’s birth certificate; his son’s death certificate gives his birthplace as Austria Sentwood.  His daughter (David’s grandmother) said he was born in Yugoslavia but it was Austria at the time of his birth.  Whew!  When I did a search for Saint Ved, Google suggested Sankt Veit (there was more than one), but it had nothing for Letia, Austrilick, or Sentwood, so I was still stumped.

 His brother John’s birth info was a little more straight-forward but still no real leads:  Aust (Slovenian) (1910 census), Austria (1913 marriage license), Yugo-Slov (1920 census), Czechoslavakia (1930 census), and Austria (1940 census).

 I joined an Austrian Genealogy group on Facebook and dumped all this info in their laps and begged for help to figure out the birthplace.  They suggested Šentvid (which would explain “Sentwood”) but said there were several places with that name (like saying Columbia, USA, which could mean any one of 27 states!).  One researcher suggested Šentvid pri Stični in Slovenia.  I looked it up in Wikipedia and the German name for it is Sankt Veit (which matches “St Ved”).  The church there is dedicated to Saint Vitus (Slovene sveti Vid).  The researcher actually managed to find the birth records for both Frank (1880) and his brother John (1869), but the church register is in German, so their names are given as Franz and Johann.

 The Austrian group suggested that I join the Slovenian Genealogy group since they have more resources.  There are instructions on how to use the church parish records for birth, marriage, and death, but there is a bit of a learning curve, so I haven’t tackled it yet (website is in Slovenian and must be translated, and the records are in German).  But I know that Frank and John’s parents, Bernard / Bernhard Finc and Maria Kolisa or Kalesa have a marriage record there somewhere, just waiting to be found.  And their own birth records.  And death records.  And Frank’s wife was also from Austria / Slovenia.  A genealogist is never satisfied! :-)

(John's 1869 birth record)

(Frank's 1880 birth record)

Changing Names (#52Ancestors Week 9)

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(Still trying to play catch-up on #52ancestors writing prompts, so here's one I wrote in Feb. 2000):

Why we have trouble finding our ancestors!

(sent to Burgess email list Saturday, February 12, 2000 11:58 PM)

 

Thought I would share a little humor with other frustrated searchers.  My grandmother (born a Burgess), now age 91, has been very helpful and patient with all my family history questions.  However, doing census searches in between asking her questions sheds some light on why we have trouble finding those elusive ancestors:

 

Armed with a list of her daddy’s siblings in random order, I began my search.  Very few of the names matched those on the census, so I went back to ask her more questions:

 

“Do you think ‘Mary J’ in the census could be your aunt Mae?”  “I don’t know – her name was Mary, but we always called her Mae.”  Score 1!

 

“Do you think ‘Nancy M’ could be your Aunt Minnie?”  “Could be.  I was named after her.”  Score?

 

“Was Uncle Lee’s first name Walter?  There is a Walter L in the census.”  “I don’t know.  I never saw him but once or twice.  He lived in McKinney, TX.”  (Info from another researcher showed a Walter L in McKinney, TX)  Score 1!

 

“I haven’t been able to find Sam, Arlene, and John Haley in any of the censuses.”  “Oh!  They were my daddy’s half-siblings!  His second wife was named Ella, Pappy called her Miss Ella, and she out-lived Pa Burgess.”  (They apparently married in late 1890’s and were never in a census together; Pa Burgess died in Jan. of 1900, before Ella & the 3 children were counted in the census in April; she was 37 years younger than him, so I never would have guessed her to be his wife!)  Score 3!

 

“I can’t find your Uncle Jack in any census, but there is a Millard living with your daddy who is listed as his brother.”  “Uncle Jack didn’t like his name, so he changed it.  He moved to Amarillo, TX.”  Score 1!

 

“In the 1910, census, there is a 5-month-old named Margrette, but that’s how old your sister Ellen should have been.”  “Pappy wanted to name her Margrette, but Mama wanted to name her Ellen Rose.  Her name really is Ellen Rose, but Pappy called her Margrette most of the time, and we all just called her Baby.”  (Guess who answered the census-taker’s questions?)  Score 1!

 

These are just a few of the examples.  Is it any wonder we can’t find our ancestors?  What a blessing it is to still have my grandparents to ask.  Be sure to ask questions of your living relatives – when they’re gone, so much information is gone with them.

Heirlooms (#52Ancestors Week 8)

 Week 8:  Heirlooms

 

Since I’m way behind on posting, this will be brief.  

The Barbie clothes were mostly made by my great-grandmother, Minnie Loftis Williams, with at least one of them (the gold dress) made by my mother.

 

The sewing ruler belonged to my great-great-grandmother, Louisa Chaffin Loftis.  I’m not sure where it ended up after Aunt Marr died, but it’s such a cool thing!

 

The buttercups came from both of my grandmothers.

Immigration (#52ancestors Week 7)

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Week 7:  Immigration

(this one is about David's great-grandfather)

On a spring day in 1906, 24-year-old Adam Smygelski said good-bye to his family and left his home village of Zaromb (Zareby Koscielne), about 60 miles northeast of Warsaw, Poland.  He traveled about 500-600 miles to Hamburg, Germany, where he boarded the S.S. Amerika on May 23, ready to begin a new life in America.  After a journey of more than 4000 miles, he arrived in New York on June 4, 1906.  His final destination was Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, possibly to the home of Frank Paczewski, his mother’s half-brother. 

By 1910, Adam was married and their first son was born in September in New Jersey.  Their next four children were born in New York between 1911 and 1919, and the last two children were born in New Jersey in 1921.  Adam lived in New Jersey until his death in 1974 at age 91.

Adam had two younger sisters who also immigrated – Pauline about 1909-1910 and Genevieve in 1914.  They had a brother, Boleslaw, who married in Poland in 1906, so I think it is likely that he remained in Poland, but more research would be necessary to prove it.

The coolest thing about visiting Ellis Island was being in the main processing room and knowing that David’s ancestors had been in this exact place!

Earning a Living (#52Ancestors Week 6)

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Week 6: Earning a Living

 The vast majority of my ancestors were farmers.  My father, however, took a slightly different path.  After being raised with farming and being active in 4-H Club and FFA (Future Farmers of America), he graduated from Murfreesboro’s Central High School in May 1950, where he was the winner of the Agriculture medal his senior year.  

He attended Middle Tennessee State College (now MTSU) for two years. In September 1952, he joined the army and went through basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; then, in May 1953, he went to Korea as a carpenter with Company A of the 378^th Engineer Combat Battalion, where he helped to build bridges and an orphanage.  He went in as a Private, was promoted to Corporal and then squad leader, and then was promoted to Sergeant in May 1954.  He returned stateside in the fall of 1954 and was transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas, early in 1955.

After his discharge in 1956, he and an army buddy named Jack went to Elk Creek, California, to manage the ranch of his cousin, Enon Maddux.  In the summer of 1957, his cousin Donald McDonald worked with him there.

While back in Tennessee for a visit, he met his future bride on a blind date, introduced by his cousin Bobby Hayes and wife Amelia (“Sis”).  They married in February 1959 and returned to California, this time to Willows, where he worked independently on a ranch there.  His cousin Ernest Burgess worked with him in 1959, and his cousin Gerald Lee worked with him in 1960. 

In the fall of 1960, he returned to Murfreesboro and began driving his own trailer truck, hauling produce.  It was this career that led to his early death in December 1965.  He was overnight at a truck stop in Leesburg, Florida, when his heater malfunctioned and he died of asphyxiation in his sleep.

Influencer(s) (#52Ancestors Week 5)

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Week 5 - Influencer(s)

Most people probably consider an “influencer” someone who has an influence on a large number of people.  I am going to write instead about several people who have had a large influence on me in the area of hospitality.

First up is my mother.  She has hosted countless people for meals.  We once had a chalkboard on the wall by the back door that became something of a guest book that everyone signed.  It was quite full.  We had a neighbor whose parents worked full-time, so when he got home from school, he knocked once on the back door, opened it, announced “I’m home!” and came on in.  We had teens and young adults who considered our house a second home.  My mother welcomed a young lady who needed a place to stay for a while.  She hosted several of her young-adult grandchildren at various times.  She learned from the best, her mother.

Grandmother told me her house was never perfectly clean, but that certainly didn’t stop people from coming.  She and Papa hosted family reunions, church picnics, hay rides, extended-family Thanksgiving dinners, Christmases, weddings, and watermelon feasts.  As children, we spent part of most summers there, and she kept a list inside the cabinet door of what each of us preferred for breakfast.  She packed sack lunches for us when we wanted to go exploring on the farm.  She welcomed my college friends and me, and she, too, had some of her young-adult grandchildren live with her while in transition.  She told me that her mother-in-law told her, “If there’s room in your heart, there’s room in your home.”

Grandma (my great-grandmother) was beyond the age of preparing meals when I knew her, so I don’t remember her for hospitality as I do for the things she made for us as children.  Her taking time to sew and crochet special things for us made a big impression on me.  But obviously she had a heart for hospitality because of what she taught her daughter-in-law.

Grandma (Minnie Loftis Williams) told a story about her mother, Louisa Chaffin Loftis, who was on her knees scrubbing clothes on a washboard when she got word that a neighbor had lost a child. She got up, left her laundry, dried her hands, and immediately went to offer what comfort she could.

My paternal grandmother’s home was a second home to me, especially when I was younger and Mama went back to school.  She did her best to instill in me a love of nature, even though I’ve never had a green thumb.  Many visitors left with flower cuttings or bulbs that she shared.  My yard has buttercups, irises, four o’clocks, arrowhead plants, surprise lilies, and day lilies from her yard, as well as a bridal wreath bush, hawthorn bush and burning bush.  When I went to visit with my children when they were small, she would fix a “goodie bag” for each child to take home, with various kinds of treats (especially Reese’s peanut butter cups).

I never met my great-grandparents, Ernest and Fannie McAbee Burgess, but Grandma Mac told me that some of her early memories were of her mother and father putting the children to bed and then heading off across the field by lantern with a tin pail of food for neighbors who were going through hard times.

None of these godly ladies will ever be famous, but each of them has had a profound influence on me, and for that I am very grateful.