Willie Ellen Marksberry
Submitted by William Shepard - her grandson




· Figure i Willie and William Patterson



Forward

his document is being written in the year 2000 as a memorial to my grandmother, Willie Ellen Patterson whom I was fortunate to have in my life for about twenty years. Some time ago, my wife Beth found several manuscripts written by my mother, Lydia Belle (Patterson) Shepard. These manuscripts were her attempt to write the life history of Ellen. The manuscripts were written and re-written several times, it became confusing to decipher everything since many passage were written in many different ways. Some of the contents were dictated in Ellen's own words, others were my mother's interpretation of the conversations that lead to these documents. In this document, I will attempt to re-write and edit this information into a concise document that captures the essence and experiences of her childhood and early life. Although her childhood was horrible, she was abused and beaten, she was the most kind and gentle I've ever met. As you will see in these writings, during her work picking tobacco in the fields, she was unable to kill the worms that would eat and destroy the plants that were her livelihood. She was never mean and treated all of her children, friends and relatives with a gentle friendly nature. She went peacefully to her grave in January of 1971 leaving a lasting memory in everyone's mind of this small but tough person. Her name lives on today in her great-granddaughter, Ellen Stevens and her great-great granddaughter Ellen Barbara Woods.

For the remainder of this document, I'll place my words within brackets [], the words of my mother, Lydia Belle Patters will be written in normal text and the words of my Grandmother will be written within quotations " " and italicized. My mother's manuscript was finalized on September 29, 1968.


Introduction
Through the years I have heard the story of my mother's life, and a sad and tragic story it was. While listening to her recall some of the things she had to tell, I realized that many in the family knew so little of her history so I decided to try and write something of her background, if the form of a biography. Her memory is fantastic, as you will realize when you read this for she has related this all to me at the ripe old age of 87. Perhaps because of the kind of life she had, the events of her youth are imprinted on her mind and heart.

On August 12th of this year Mom celebrated her 87th birthday and what a lot has happened to her in that span of time. She if now a great-great grandmother and able to enjoy the cunning little tricks of her great-great granddaughters, along with enjoying the love and affection of all of her children, and their children and their children.

She started life as Willie, and her family and friends knew her only by that name. Her husband knew her as Ellen, and nicknamed her "John" in later years. This was a little joke, shared by the two of them. She is "mom" to her three daughters, and their husbands, though lovingly called "Jeff", by a son-in-law. To her eleven grandchildren she is "Gramma or Gram" and grandma to her nineteen great-grandchildren, at least to those who are old enough to talk. Whether you who read this know her as Mom, or Gram, you each have your own image of her and what she has meant in your individual lives.

Her hair is white, but she still has a gleam in her eye and a pleasant smile on her face. She is not very big; in fact all of her family have passed her in height, for she is only four feet nine inches tall. Her English ancestry shows mostly in her humor, and her southern upbringing is still apparent in her many expressions, though she left the south so long ago that her speech is strictly that of the north. There are few of us who have not known her care during illness, nor her strength and fortitude during our times of stress. Her words of consolation have helped so many of us, and one of her favorite sayings "it is always darkest before the dawn", has proven true time and time again.

She had no chance to be a good daughter to her parents, but to her own children she was and is a wonderful mother, and for the time allowed, she was a good wife to her husband. Perhaps the best indication of her love for her family is the love which is returned to her by her sons-in-law, for they have known her kindness many years, and to them she is more that a mother-in-law, to them she is a real mother, and there is none better.

What better way to start her story, then with a poem she loves? She memorized this when she was in the "third reader", and must have been around nine or ten years old. In those days they did not have grades, as we know them today. She is 87 and yet can still recite this poem as well as she did in front of her class approximately 77 years ago.




Backward turn back, oh time in your flight
Make me a child again, just for tonight.
Mother come back from the echoless shore
Take me to your arms again as of yore.
Never hereafter to wake or to weep
Rock me to sleep mother, rock me to sleep.

Mother, dear Mother, the days have been long
Since I last hushed to your lullaby song.
Sing them, and unto my soul it will seem
Womanhood's years have been but a dream.
Clasp me in your arms, in your loving embrace
Let your long lashes sweep over my face.
Never hereafter to wake or to weep
Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep.

Backward flow backward, oh tide of the year
Toil without recompense, tears all in vain
Take them and give me my childhood again.
I have grown weary of dust and decay
Weary of flaunting my soul wealth away.
Weary of sowing for others to reap
Rock me to sleep Mother, Rock me to sleep.



"As this is being written, in the year of 1964, I, Ellen Patterson, am eighty-three years old. I have had a hard life, sometimes even tragic, and to say the least, it was an unusual life. On these pages to follow, I will try and relate my life, at least as much as memory will allow, for my children and possibly, my grandchildren to read. It will be the history of one who loves them very much."

"Although I was given the name Willie, I dropped this name as I grew to girlhood, and used my middle name of Ellen, by which my immediate family has known me. Only the older members of my family knew me as Willie, and so called me."

"From infancy to eighty-three years of age, seems like a long long time, at least while looking ahead, but looking back from the eighty-three, it doesn't seem long to me at all. The years have gone by so very fast, sometimes it is hard to remember that it has been so long ago. It seems only yesterday, that I was getting my little ones off to school, tying hair ribbons, combing out snarls in their hair, and watching for them to come home from school, being there always ready when and if they needed me."

"There have been happy days in the past, along with those which were far from happy. I have lived through flood, and have seen men go off to war two different times in my young life, I have lived through depressions and know hunger and many times I have faced death and the loss of my loved ones. I have shed many tears over the tragic happenings of my life, but somehow managed to gather the strength to go on holding always to the thought that it is darkest just before the dawn. As I learned, these days did pass, but the memories are still as strong as eve. These I shall always have."


The early years
She was born on August 12, 1881 in a log cabin, in Keifer, Grant County, Kentucky. Her mother's name was Sueellen Worman Marksberry, and her father's name was Willam Patterson Marksberry, though he had died about three months before her birth. She had two brothers, James Patterson, and Henry Edward, and one sister, Nancy Jane. Her mother christened her Willie Ellen, and though the name Willie followed her through her young life, she herself dropped it later, and used her middle name of Ellen. She was named Willie, after her father William Patterson Marksberry, and Ellen after her mother, whose name was Susellen Worman Marksberry. She grew up as Willie Marksberry, and was called that name by all of her relatives and friends, but as she grew older the name displeased her so she took her middle name of Ellen. For such a little and very femine person, she seemed always to be dubbed with very masculine names all through her life, for her husband nicknamed her John, as a result of a little family joke, and her son-in-law lovingly tagged her "Jeff".



"My father had died of Typhoid Fever just about three months before I was born, so I never saw him but had to depend on others to tell me what he looked like, and what kind of a man he was. He was quite a bit older than my mother, about twenty years her senior, a short stocky man and dark complected. He was a farmer, and had provided a nice home for his wife and three children, James Patterson, Henry Edward, and Nancy Jane. At the time he took ill, he was in the process of building a new home on the hill for my mother, as living in the country and away from so many of her friends was a very lonely life for such a young woman. Unfortunately, this home was never finished, for while working on this home he began having terrific headaches, and told a neighbor that he feared he would never be able to finish. Perhaps he ha some sort of warning, as he didn't finish it, but died of Typhoid Fever leaving my mother a widow with three small children and pregnant with her fourth. Thus, tragedy had already entered into my home, even before my birth, and seemed to follow me through many years of my life. Tragedy was an emotion that I knew early in life, long before many children are forced to become acquainted with it."

"On August 12, 1881, the date of my birth, there was already sadness in my home. My mother was widowed at the age of twenty-one, and not only had me, a new born babe to care for, but three little children whose ages range from two years (Nancy), to three years (Henry), and the oldest, close to five years of age (James). Her life was no longer merely lonely simply because she lived in the country, but also lonely due to the death of her husband, and a future which looked bleak. Upon her shoulders would rest the responsibility of raising her family to the best of her ability. My father must have left her well provided for, so money was not a worry she had, but the thought of the long years ahead of her was more than she could stand. She was young, lonely, and no way of knowing what the future held for her. "

"The house where I was born, as I said before, was located on a farm. Later on in my life I visited this cabin, so I am able to describe it. It was partly made of logs, at least the front room was, and from this large front room three steps led down to the two bedrooms and two more steps led down to the kitchen. My father had cattle and horses, and farmed this land."

'I was raised in the country. My life was so very different than the youngsters of today, it will be hard for the real youngsters to understand my way of life".

"When I was a little girl there was no electricity, so no radio, television or any of the automatic devices of today. We wore long dresses, and had long hair. Only boys and men had haircuts. Our means of transportation was horse and buggy or horse back. For lights we used coal oil lamps. Our heating was one coal stove that heated the entire home. We did our cooking on wood stoves and our washing was done using a washboard was done by hand. We had irons but used the on the wood fire stoves. For entertainment, we went to church, had quilting bees, went to county fairs, went to dances and had box suppers. We had no streets or avenues; we lived in widely separated farmhouse, on dirt roads. Uncle Tom had a little country or general store.


· Figure ii Uncle Tom's Store

Believe me it was nothing like the air-conditioned stores where you shop. This was a one-room affair with a porch. Old barrels were on the porch and were used as seats by the farmers who came to buy, sell, or trade their product for money. There were barrels of coffee, sugar, calico, flannel, shoes and candy. Uncle Tom could not read or write. There was a bedroom in the left attic with a feather and straw bed, no heat; it was cool in the summer".

"We had to make our own soap in those days. We would burn wood and soda ash in the springtime and put this into barrels. We'd run water off, and then add lye. We'd boil the lye, add meat rind, hog entrails, and cook until thick. We'd let this cool until hard and then cut it into pieces of soap."


Living with Uncle Jeff

"Mama decided that she would like to go to the city and see if she could find work and so she decided to leave us back in the country until she could make arrangements to have her with us again, Her brother Jeff Worman, was married to a woman by the name of Emma, so she made arrangement with them that they could come to this house, and have all they needed in the way of land, home and cattle, and in return for this, they would care for us children. This seemed a good idea to her at the time, I guess, as she was paying for our care and leaving us with her own brother to look out for our interests. My Uncle Jeff, however was not an ambitious man, and had no intention of farming the land. He accepted the care of us, but after my mother had gone to Cincinnati and left us, he did not live up to his part of this bargain. Mama got a job, and sent money to Uncle Jeff for us, and also clothes as she thought we were being taken care of, properly. We were all to you to do anything but live as best we could."

"We lived here for a couple of years, as well as I can remember, but life was not good. We were treated, rather mistreated by these relatives; they seemed to have no concern for our well being, they kept a home there for us, as it suited them, and for no other reason. Whenever Uncle Jeff and Aunt Emma had to go away, we would be left alone, and many times, the house would be locked and we would be left to fend for ourselves outside, until they came home. My brother, Henry could go to my grandmothers, but Nannie and I were too little."

"My uncle, being on the lazy side, would not even go out to feed the hogs. This chore he put on my brother Henry, who was much too little for such a chore. The slop had to be heated and carried in a big kettle, so one day while carrying this kettle of hot slot to feed the hogs, Henry caught the kettle on the step and it turned over on him, scalding his leg, and for a while it looked as thought his leg was permanently damaged. Being such a little fellow, he could not help crying from pain, and for this Aunt Emma decided he deserved a good licking, which she proceeded to give him. Another time, Nannie was taking care of Aunt Emma's baby, Pearlie, and the baby started crying. To try and quiet her, Nannie called a white horse over to take the baby's mind off herself, not knowing the horse was mean and dangerous. The horse reared and kicked Nannie in the head, and I guess it must have knocked her unconscious. The doctor was called as she was hurt badly, and while there became very angry with Aunt Emma, as she was more concerned about her Pearlie's crying (though she was unhurt), than she was about Nannie laying there so still."

"During this time, my grandfather and uncles had finished the house my father had started. I think it was almost completed, except for the roof, so they finished it, and all moved there. Our life did not improve by any chance, it just continued in the same way. My grandfather would bring fried apple pies and cookies, which my grandmother made, to our house, give them to my aunt, and she would tell him we had just eaten, but that she would give them to us later. These goodies would be stored away, and used for any company that came or for other relatives, but none of us ever go to eat any of them. One time, Henry went to Grandfather's house and he asked Henry how he liked the cookies he had taken over. Henry although young, was not afraid to tell him the truth, and that was that we never got them. My grandfather was surprised; I guess he meant to do right by us. He told my grandmother to make up another batch of cookies."

They were evidently only fed enough to keep them alive, there were no extra goodies for them, and anything in that line was put away for "company". The children were either too young or too frightened to say anything, and perhaps there were none around there to care that much about them. The grandparents lived some ways away, and when they did come to visit, everything seemed to be all right. I guess that the first they noticed was when they took cookies and fried apple pies down for the children to eat. Usually, Emma put these away, as she would say they had just eaten and would get them later, but the children never saw any of this food after the grandparents left. It was only brought out for company. One day when Henry had gone to his grandfather's house for a visit, he was asked by his grandfather how he liked the cookies he had taken over for them. Henry was not afraid to tell him that they were never allowed to eat any of the stuff they had sent over. The grandfather was surprised, and angry too, so he had his wife make some cookies, which he, himself took over for the children to eat. Emma told him she would put them up, and they had just eaten, but he was a little smarter than she figured, for he insisted they eat them right then, for he had no intention of leaving until he saw them doing just that. That was one time they did get something extra to eat, and Mom can still remember how very good those cookies tasted.

Mom's mother had found work in Cincinnati, and during this time she would send money and clothes for the children, and as far as she knew they were well taken care of. She married a man she met in the city, Dan Taylor, and they had four children, Elmer, Eddie, Walter, and George, but only Eddie and Walter survived.


The Neighbors Notice A Problem
The neglect of the children must have been noticed by some of the neighbors, but a teacher named Green Osborne was evidently the cause of bringing all of it out into the open, for one day Emma and Jeff had gone to church, and as was their custom, they locked the house and turned the children outside. A big white dog started towards Mom, and frightened her. Nannie tried to comfort her, but her crying brought Green to the rescue, as it were, and he discovered they had been locked out, and also found out they had had nothing to eat that day. He took them with him to the schoolhouse and shared his lunch with them, and always after that Mrs. Osborne would pack extra food in his lunch, and he shared this with the children.

Although the neighbors were finally becoming aware of the way these children were being treated, the grandparents knew little of it. Perhaps they trusted their son, and depended on him to take care of his own flesh and blood, for whenever they were around, the treatment the children received was not too bad, but they were not there all the time.



Pop Taylor (Mom's step-father) had a sister living in the country, and she was the one who finally decided to write and tell Mom's mother just what was going on as far as her children were concerned. Everyone knew that money was sent for their care, and also knew the Worman's were living on the farm in return for caring for the children. This was the beginning of a lot more trouble, for when Mom's mother received this letter; she came down to the farm to see just what was going on. She went to her brother, Jeff, and told him what she had heard and that she intended taking her children back to Cincinnati with her. Mom can still remember the terrible fight that followed, for Uncle Jeff, as she calls him, did not want to lose the home, and he denied everything, she accused him of. She could see the neglect in the land and buildings, for the place needed paint, and the fences were falling down, the place had been neglected, and as soon as she saw it, she realized the bargain she had made was a poor one. When this Uncle Jeff realized Mom's mother was serious, he threatened to go to the court to keep her from taking the children from him. They did go to the court and many of the neighbors testified against Jeff Worman, so he lost the case and the children, too. This also caused trouble in the family for Mom's Grandfather Worman had testified for his daughter, Nellie, as her family called her, and the Grandmother Worman took Jeff's side.

"The neighbors who had seen so many things going on behind my mother's back went to court and testified for her. There was Annie Simpson, a schoolteacher, Green Osborne, Another schoolteacher, Betty Taylor, Pop's sister, and my grandfather. Mama won the fight and got her children away from Uncle Jeff. This meant that he had to leave the farm and go live with his mother (my grandmother), and it wasn't until grandfather became ill and insisted that Nellie be notified, that she went back to her mother's home. For a long time grandmother would not have anything to do with mama, and it wasn't easy for her because of the ill feeling there, but grandfather and them all make up, and for his sake, and because he was ill, I guess they did. He was unhappy to have his son Jeff and daughter Nellie not speaking to each other, but he did think that mama had a good reason for being angry. "

As a result of the court fight, Jeff and Emma had to leave the home they had lived in, free, and moved in with their partner, Mom's grandparents, the Worman's. As a result of the family trouble, Mom's grandmother turned against her mother and the ill feelings lasted until the grandfather became ill and insisted the his daughter be notified and come home. It was also through him that any peace was again restored in that family. He had always been unhappy over the fact that his son and daughter were enemies, but he always felt that his daughter (Mom's mother) was justified in her feelings.

"About two weeks after we left Uncle Jeff's home, he had a serious accident. He was cleaning his shotgun and shot himself. As a result he was blinded for life. Many of the folks around there felt he was being punished. I hated to see him blind and was sorry for him."




The family partially reunited
Mom and Nannie and Henry went back to Cincinnati with their mother, and Jimmy stayed in the country with his grandparents. Their home was on Price Hill, and they were all happy for they had a normal home life for a while. With the two half-brothers, they finally knew a little happiness. There was always a hired girl to help with the housework, and Henry got a job first delivering papers, and then in a pottery factory. He carried a scar for life as a memento of that job, received from a cut on his hand.

When Grandfather Worman took sick, he had asked that Jimmy be allowed to stay on with the grandmother when he died. He did stay, but after his grandfather's death, his life was not too happy for his grandmother was mean to him, so he finally ran away and went to Cincinnati to join the rest of his family.


· Figure iii Jimmy Patterson Marksberry


Jane Russel, Mon's stepsister moved in with the family, as Mom's mother's health began to get bad, and she needed care. The hired girl was let go and Jane took over. According to Mom, her mother would rally, feel some better for a while, then get worse and would be back in bed again. They moved out to the country to her grandmother's home for a while, thinking the change would help her, but it didn't so once again they moved back to Cincinnati, in a house on Freeman Street, she continued to worsen.

Mom has such vivid memories of her mother; she especially remembers that her mother was a soft-spoken woman, who never laughed her laugh out loud. Also, she recalls that her mother had very long dark hair and her step-father bought her a "tucking comb", and Mom enjoyed watching her mother comb her hair and wind it up on the top of her head, tucking this comb in to hold it up.


· Figure iv Walter Taylor
The day her mother died, Mom remembers that Jane had her take the smaller children out of the bedroom where her mother was, and though she didn't quite realize what was happening, she knew she had to care for the little ones, so she gave her little brother, Walter some change to go out and buy the some candy. He wanted her to watch him out the window, and she did, though she didn't see him pass by the window and went looking for him and found him in their mother's room, kneeling beside her bed, crying. (Mom's own words describe this sad time so much better than any I can write).

"Mama called to me and said, Come here, Willie, I am tired and am going home. I want you to be a good girl for me. I remember crying and begging her not to leave us, but she reached up and removed her comb from her hair, let it fall down over her shoulders, clasped her hands and peacefully passed away." (Mom must have been around nine years old at this time.) Although this happened so many years ago, I can still recall it as if it were yesterday. I remember Mama so well. She was tall with dark hair, real dark, soft-spoken, and she never laughed out loud. If something amused her, she would laugh to herself, but I never heard her laugh aloud".

Mom not only lost a much-loved mother at this time, but also any chance for a happy childhood. The few years living in Cincinnati with her own family, and her half-brothers had been happy ones, and Pop Taylor had not been a mean man, but evidently he had only accepted these children as a duty to care for while his wife lived, for at her death, he sent them to live with relatives, splitting them up at a time when they needed someone close to care for them. [I remember one of my grandmother's favorite songs that I played on the accordion when I was young was "Going Home". She would sing this song constantly and would request I play it whenever I practiced my accordion. This must have been a tragic event for her. I also remember, in her final years in this life, she contracted what we think was Dementia. She seemed ok during the daylight hours, but would have a terribly time at night. I remember the night she relived this very scene in her life, the death of her mother. Unfortunately, she re-lived it several times during this period. It's one thing to read about this, its another to hear the screams and cry's coming from my grandmother as her mind lead her to believe she was back at her mother's bedside.]

They all went back to Kiefer for the funeral. Reverend Nix preached the service in the church and her mother was buried beside her father in a little cemetery alongside the church.


After her mother's death
Immediately after the funeral, Pop Taylor took the children out of the church and put them in homes. He must have made these arrangements ahead of time, though the children did not know anything about it. He seemed in a hurry to get rid of them. A Dr. Alexander was appointed their guardian and Nannie went to live with him Mom's father's brother, Uncle Tom Marksberry and his wife, Addie took Mom. Henry went to live with a Mr. And Mrs. Poole and Pop Taylor took his own two boys, Eddie and Walter back to Cincinnati with him, and it was several years before the three children saw their half-brothers again. Though Mom had seen her Uncle Tom before, she had never met his wife Aunt Addie, so had no way then to know just what her life with her would be, and of course she was so upset over having lost her mother, and seeing the rest of her family taken away from her so suddenly, she had to go where she was sent but her heart was broken. At the time, Aunt Addie made quite a fuss over Mom, but it was so short lived. There was no sympathy or love in her heart for the child she seemed to want, she was a mean and cold woman and life with her, for Mom, was sheer torture. Uncle Tom seemed a kindly man, but must have had no way of spreading any of that kindness to his wife, for he tried to be good to Mom but he never stepped in to put a stop to the treatment she received at his wife's hands. She made his life miserable; too, he was evidently not strong enough to cope with her.


Marksbury women are back row Emma Marksberry and Barbara Simpson
Marksberry, front row is Belle (Pamelia) Marksberry Acres and Hanna
Elizabeth Marksberry Robinson.

About three weeks after she first went there to live, someone brought a bundle of her mother's clothes things there and when Mom opened them, she found a dress of her mother's, the one she had last seen her in. Naturally this brought back so many memories and she sat down and started to cry for all she had lost, her heart was broken and her life ahead looked so bleak, she just couldn't control her feelings and couldn't stop crying. Aunt Addie would not allow this, she had no compassion for the child in her misery, so Mom was punished for crying, instead of giving her any pity, and she gave her a beating with a big stick. This was the first of many beatings to come. Many times when things became so bad for her, she would go out into the orchard and sit under a tree and pray to die, wondering why she couldn't have gone with her mother.

Although she was just a small child, she was made to work very hard. The beatings continued and many times for reasons she was unaware of. Whenever company came to the house, Aunt Addie would act nice, but only while they were there. When the company brought small children and they would misbehave, Aunt Addie said nothing nor did nothing, until they left, then, she would send Mom out into the yard telling her to bring in a switch, a big one, and proceed to lick her for allowing the children to be bad, thought she wouldn't have dared open her mouth to say anything to the children, she was punished for their actions.

"Her language was just as abusive as her hand. She must have been filled with so much hatred that she got it out of her system by taking it out on me knowing there was nothing that I could do about it. There were no laws in those days to keep people from being cruel to children as there are today".

"We lived across the road from the church, and I used to attend the services whenever I could. I don't know why she let me, she pretended to be a Christian, but never lived the life of one. She wouldn't let me go down the road to visit Nannie for months at a time, I missed my sister, and this was just another form of punishment I had to bear."

"I finally decided that I would like to join the church, so I did. I felt so good about it, and some friend of Aunt Addies came to tell me how happy she was that I had joined. My Aunt for some reason or other went into a rage over this, yelled at me, called me filthy names, and at the time she had a broomstick in her hands, this I'll never forget, and she began to beat me. She beat me so hard across the back that for days I couldn't lay on my sore back at all. This was beginning to be more than I could take. I knew that no matter how hard I tried I could never please Aunt Addie, and that my life with her would continue to be a living hell, so on the promise of worse beatings to come, I finally left her home and went to my grandmother's. I must have been around thirteen then, I was growing up".

"Grandmother, after hearing my story, sent me to live with my Aunt Ruth Cambell, mama's sister, who at that time was living in Corrinth Kentucky. Life there was not too much better, I worked hard and long. Before I could leave for school in the morning, I would have to get up at 4a.m., go way down the way to the barn, there I would get big milk buckets and milk the cows. These were so heavy I had to strap them on to hold them, then carry them back up the hill. Often I was late for school, and I remember the teacher asking why I couldn't get there on time. She didn't know all I had to do until someone told her. Aunt Ruth was too miserly to hire a man to do the work, especially as long as she had me there to do it. Nannie had married Jed Rodgers a few years back, and as she knew what a hard time I was having, she and Jed asked me to come and stay with them."


Living with Nannie and Jeff
"They were living on the Mason Road, which was about six or seven miles from Aunt Ruth's. I liked Nanny's husband, and he always treated me good. I liked him and while I stayed there I enjoyed myself. Henry and Jim would come and visit us whenever they wanted to".

"They moved to Moxley, Owen County, and I went with them. We had some happy times then. Friends would stop by of an evening for a chat, and my brothers Henry and Jim would often come to visit us too. I remember these times as happy ones"."

"Nanny and I would go out into the fields and work, to help Jed. We usually worked in the tobacco patch. There was a lot of work to this, setting it out, then hoeing and suckering the tobacco plants. The only part of this I didn't like was killing the big worms that were found on the leaves. I was supposed to snap them in two and kill them to keep them from ruining the plants, but I just couldn't do it. Instead I would use a bit stick to knock them to the ground, and let them live. Jed used to get mad, but I couldn't help it".

"In those days, girls used to hire out to help in homes, and they would live in the home as one of the family. I wanted to find a place like this to work, and make my own way. So I finally left Nanny and Jed's and went to Grant County. Dr. Alexander's wife was looking for a girl, as she was expecting her second baby, and needed someone to help her around the house, so I went there to work and live".

"I stayed with the Alexander’s for a couple of years, Mrs. Alexander and I got along fine. She liked to go to church on Sunday morning, and I like to go in the afternoon or evening. We made an agreement, I would watch the children in the morning, so she could go, and then I would be free to go later in the day, or night. This satisfied both of us, but the Doctor, for some reason or other, got cranky and stopped me from going when my turn came. We had quite an argument, so I decided I wouldn’t stay there any longer. I didn’t have to put up with his crankiness, so I didn’t. One day when I started out of the house to go to church, Dr. and Mrs. Alexander grabbed me and wouldn't let me out, I screamed for Jeff Louis. He came, but Dr. Alexander wouldn't let him in. I told him I was all right, and was still alive and would see him tomorrow. All the neighbors heard the screaming. They would give me no reason for this behavior, but Mrs. Alexander really hurt me, when she double-crossed me like this. The next day, Mrs. Alexander and I had to tend to the garden and when she went to the log cabin, I ran off for Aunt Addie's. I could never live with them again"

"Aunt Addie had been after me for a long time, pleading with me to come back and work for her. She always promised she would pay me every week, but she never kept her promises, at least not longer than the first couple of weeks."

"She hadn’t changed any, she was still as mean to live with as ever, but she didn’t dare hit me any more, as I was older and not afraid of her. I’d warned her never to hit me again, and she knew I meant it. Uncle Tom said she was crazy, and I believe he was right. "


Marriage to Walter Parson
"It was while living here at this time that I met Walter Parson at a friend’s house. We went out a few times, and he asked me to marry him, and I did. He was thin and dark complected, with dark eyes. "

"We got married and went to Ludlow, KY. to live. His parents had a couple of rooms upstairs, so we started housekeeping there. Both of his parents were good to us, in fact Mrs. Parsons was a wonderful mother-in-law to me."

"I was expecting my first child, and it was so hot in the city, we went to the log cabin in Keifer. The cabin belonged to Aunt Addie, but I could live there without paying anything, whenever I wanted to. It was out in the country, and so nice and cool in the summer. I planted a garden each year we were there, and I always had plenty of fruit and vegetables to can so when we did go back into the city, I took all of my canned goods with me, and the family enjoyed eating these during the winter months."


Willie Ellen Starts Her Family

"It was here in this log cabin that my first child, Irene, was born. In fact all three of my girls were born in this same cabin. Irene was my first, Bertha, my second, and Mattie, my third. Irene was born February 25, 1901, Bertha Ellen on August 20th, 1905, and Mattie Lavere, April 2, 1908. Dr. Robinson delivered Irene and Dr. Abernathy delivered Bertha and Mattie. Irene was a good healthy baby and we were happy with our family."

I was happy with my three little girls. They had their dolls and toys to play with and got along good together. Taking care of them kept me busy. They had pets, kittens and little chicks and also a pet turkey. We had one goose, but they all claimed him for their pet too. When I had to kill the old goose, I broke their little hearts. They cried and cried.

"The next few years I was kept busy taking care of my family. The girls were pretty healthy but did manager to have some of the children’s diseases. Before Bertha was born, Irene took sick with Black Diphtheria. We never knew where she got it, as she hadn’t been around any children, but the Dr. said she could have picked the germs from a pet. I do know that she was a mighty sick little girl. Our house was put under quarantine, and that lasted for about twenty-five days. Neddie Osborne, Aunt Addie’s daughter, came to stay with me and help out. Irene’s face and body were covered with black blotches, and her throat was all black. Dr. Robinson said that her insides would be black too. For about two weeks, she just lay in her bed, and the doctor would come in and look at her and say “Well, she’s still alive,” and that was about all she was. For a long time I wasn’t sure if she would be able to live or not, I prayed for God to save her life, and he must have heard my prayers, for she did get well."


· Figure v Left to Right Mattie, Irene, Bertha


"I think Bertha broke all records for having measles so many times, as she had them about six different times. I never knew this was possible but she did have them, one time right after another. The last time it went into pneumonia. Mattie and Irene also had measles, but not so often. Irene and Bertha had malaria, but Mattie was fortunate not to get it. The all three had chicken pox, and mumps, so I guess they didn’t miss any of the children’s diseases."

"When Mattie was about two years old, we moved to Dayton. We lived there quite a long time; in fact we were there during the Flood of 1913. Our house was near the Soldier’s home, up on a hill, so the flood didn’t damage our home, but it was terrible in the city. Men were picked up to do volunteer work, helping clean up the debris, and Walter was one of the men who worked. I also did some volunteer work; everybody did everything that they could to help in any way."

"I remember that we took the children in to see the town, people were allowed to go through, but were not allowed to stop nor even stoop to pick anything up. If you would happen to drop even a handkerchief on the street, you had to just leave it there. If you tried to pick it up, a soldier would come up and stop you. There were soldiers patrolling the streets, and there was also a curfew. Everyone had to be off the streets at a certain time. Bertha knew this, and when a soldier came up to us, to speak to us, she got scared and started crying and wanted to go home. The soldier told her everything was al right, and that he wouldn’t hurt her, but she was still frightened."

"For some reason or other, my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law Matt, started talking about getting a job. Hey seemed to think that I had a lot of time on my hands, but I really didn’t. Taking care of my family kept me busy. I always think that Matt, who was a friend of Mrs. Anderson who ran the White House Restaurant, put pressure on me to go to work there, more to help Mrs. Anderson out, than to help me. I was happy and contented as I was, but after so much talk on their part, I finally agreed, and went there to work."

"Irene worked at the White House restaurant when she fell and sprained her ankle, and as a result, was in a cast for about six weeks. In the meantime, I went to the Soldiers Home to work for Mrs. Anderson. When Irene had recovered, Mrs. Flanary asked her to come and work in the Soldiers Home. I didn't think she would be able to since she was so young, but Mrs. Anderson had seen her at the restaurant, and wanted her to come there which she did, so for a while we were all together there."


Divorce and Marriage to William Patterson
"During this time, I divorced Walter Parsons, and determined to keep my children together. So many advised me to put them in a home, but I knew what that kind of a life was, and I decided against having my children to grow up like that".

"I earned a small salary a week, plus room and board. I did fourteen pieces of laundry a week for the Anderson's and made their dinner and supper. Irene made $17.50/wk and I made $16.50, and we managed to live on this. Mrs. Anderson was good to me, and gave me many things which helped me through this time".

"After the Dayton Flood, Will [William Patterson] had come to Dayton and came tot he restaurant where I worked. I met him only casually. He had his dad with him, but one day his dad disappeared, and he looked all over for him. He was old, and had dizzy spells, and Will was afraid he might have an accident. Some fellows overheard Will talking about his father, and asked him to describe him. After hearing the description, he told Will where was a fellow like that at the Soldiers Home. Will went there and saw enough. There was hid dad, in uniform, and happy. He said he had come there to see what the uniform was like again. He was having trouble with his legs and called them his "Puff Balls", as they were swelling so. Will contacted his cousin Miriam in Pittsburgh and she came to Dayton and they took Will's dad back to her home, which was his home also. They (these cousins at the Ward), kept his room for him always exactly after his death, that room was left as his dad last used it. Will's father died in May, I believe, and he stayed with him in Pittsburgh till he passed away. Then after the funeral he came back to Dayton".

"He met Irene and asked how we all were doing back in Dayton. She told him about my divorce, then came home and said, Mom, guess who I saw in the restaurant? It was Mr. Patterson. She told me he had lost his father. Irene had been working as the matchmaker. He (Will) always called me "stranger". Mary Ramsey came to live with me".

"On the 2nd of September, my divorce came through. Aunt Addie wanted Irene to come stay with her, as she had fallen and hurt her self. Irene took Bertha with her and went to take care of her".

While staying with Aunt Addie, Irene met Irving Agee at the local railroad office; it was love at first sight. Irving Agee was the grandson of Rev. Nix, the man who buried Susellen Worman. They decided to marry. Later that year, they were planning to have a baby around Easter. Willie Ellen received a telegram announcing the birth of her first grandchild, a baby boy. Unfortunately, later that same day, she received another telegram informing her of Irene's death. Willie Ellen then took a train to Dry Ridge and had to change trains along the way. They called the trains then by time of arrival and somehow missed their connecting train. They telegrammed ahead and were told the funeral was to go on with or without them. Somehow they made it to Irene's funeral.

"Frank and Lil were friends of Wills's, so Frank and Lill were going to Alabama, and Will wanted to go to. Frank and Will Went to Birmingham, and about three week later, Lil and I went down to".

"My first impression of Birmingham was not a good one. Will and I got married there, and we stayed there for about a year. Irene and Bertha came down about two months later and Irene got a job here. There was a terrible depression there and I hated the whole time spent there. We knew hunger and although Will would have accepted a good job, there just wasn't any to be had".

"Lydia was born there, and I was hungry so much before she was born". [This was during the depression days.]


· Figure vi L-R Leonard Puma, Lillian Puma, Nannie,
Bertha, Willie Ellen, Lydia Patterson

[My mother's story of my grandmother seems to end at this point with only a few sketchy details remaining. I'll fill in as best I can from this point. After having Lydia, the family moved to Fort Thomas Kentucky. There, Willie and William gave birth to a little boy, William who was stillborn, this was in 1918. From there the family moved to Warren Ohio. About this time Irene who had married Irving Agee in Kentucky, also gave birth to a little boy who was Willie Ellen's first grandson. Unfortunately, Irene died in childbirth. While in Warren Ohio, Willie Ellen gave birth to a girl, Ellen. The baby was described as pretty, like a baby doll. Baby Ellen died at about 1 1/2 years old.]

[Willie Ellen then moved to Lorain Ohio, then Vermillion Ohio during the great tornado of Lorain County, Back to Lorain and then to Cleveland. Lydia met and married Milo Shepard in 1935. In 1942, when Milo enlisted in the Navy, Willie Ellen and William were asked to come and live in Lorain with Lydia. Milo and Lydia knew that they could not ask someone to live with them and then turn them away someday. Milo returned from the war in 1944. William Patterson lived with this family until he passed in January of 1960. Willie Ellen lived a happy and peaceful life surrounded by friends, family and a variety of pets, mostly birds. Holidays were special times as most of the family would come to visit and spend time with her. She spent her remaining days quilting, singing, humming, and telling me stories of her childhood. Everyone who knew her, knew of her gently nature. Not many knew of her tragic childhood. I still have some of the quilts she made; they sit on a special bookshelf and even today are used by my kids on cold evenings.]


[Perhaps by sharing this story of her and her childhood, more members of her family both old, new and those yet to come, will know what a wonderful person went before them. I myself will never forget the sounds of her signing, smell of her baking, and warmth of her quilts. Mostly I'll remember her love and gentle smile.]