STORIES OF MY MOTHER….PART 3

A FEW YEARS AGO, MY MOTHER PUT DOWN ON PAPER, STORIES OF HER AND BROTHER ALBERT’S CHILDHOOD.

I am going to write these in her words. She has told me some of these stories, and some I am reading for the first time. My mother and family did not have much growing up in a small town, but, they did have loving parents, good times and stories that will endure.

Before Albert was born, we stayed with Uncle Bill. This would be Bill Harkless. He married Blanche’s sister Catherine. Ruben had been their boarder previous to marrying my grandmother Blanche. His first wife Violet Harkless died in 1930. Our house was on Myrtle St and Sassafras. Lester Baker, Uncle Tom Harkless and Daddy built it. When you walked in the front door, there was a big kitchen, then a doorway to the dining room. We had a gas heater in the dining room and living room. There was also a big gas stove in the kitchen. To the left of the kitchen, you would go upstairs. At the top of the stairs was what Daddy called a cubby hole, where they stored things. After you got up stairs, there was a big bedroom to the left where Uncle Tom, Art and George slept. Al and I had a bed in mom and dad’s room. The later, Al moved into the room with the men. We had a closet in each bedroom. There was no bathroom, we got a bath in a big metal tub in the kitchen. We had an outhouse behind our house. In the winter we used a ” slop jar “, that’s what Daddy called it. I called it a metal bucket. We used it at night and in the winter time, the outhouse wasn’t heated of course.

wringer washer

Mom had a wringer washer with two metal tubs she used to rinse our clothes. In the summer, we would hang them outside. In the winter, Daddy put up  a line across the kitchen so we could dry our clothes.

My thoughts….You can see the wringer washer in this picture. And a large cat in the window.A bathroom was later added on to the house, story later. When I would visit with Mother,  I remember the washer in the large bathroom. Also, the claw foot tub we bathed in, and felt exposed to all because the room was so large.

© FANNIESYOURAUNT

STORIES OF MY MOTHER…..PART 2

A FEW YEARS AGO, MY MOTHER PUT DOWN ON PAPER, STORIES OF HER AND BROTHER ALBERT’S CHILDHOOD.

I am going to write these in her words. She has told me some of these stories, and some I am reading for the first time. My mother and family did not have much growing up in a small town, but, they did have loving parents, good times and stories that will endure.

I was born in Franklin Hospital, October 24, 1938. Dr Cunningham delivered me. But, the date is wrong on the hospital birth record. Mom told me she was in the hospital on Halloween, I guess she ought to know. My parents were Ruben and Blanche Dean. Granddad Ewing wanted a boy, but, to his surprise, he got a granddaughter, so they named me Alberta Louise. Granddad Ewing’s name was Albert. So, mom told him if she had another child, and it was a boy, it would be Albert Louis. On March 12, 1941, my brother was born at Franklin Hospital. Dr. Cunningham also brought him into this world. I was very glad when Daddy came home and told me I had a baby brother.

ALBERT HOSPITAL

Apparently, my Uncle Al cost $38.00. Quite a bargain by today’s standards.

© FANNIESYOURAUNT

TUESDAY TIPS

                                            CREATING YOUR TREE

If you have not already been bitten by the genealogy bug, this is of no use to you. Nor will you even be reading this. But, if you are thinking of starting your family tree, here are some beginning tips on what to do.

1. Start with your parents. What do you know of them, where they met, lived etc.
2. Your grandparents. Now if you are fortunate enough to still have them, ask as many questions as you can, and have a tablet. This is how I started. Learn about their siblings, where the grandparents lived, worked and who their parents were. The great-grandparents are key. This could take you back much further, probably Civil War time depending on your age.
3. Photographs, hopefully mom saved a lot of these, and grandma too. Hope that the photos have names and dates on the back.
4. Resource centers cemeteries in which your ancestors are buried, local LDS centers, death, marriage and birth certificates in your family.
5. Join an online community , such as Rootsweb, Genealogy Wise, FamilySearch, Genforum or Ancestry. This is a great way to network your info.
6. Research on Findagrave, I have found many headstones there, as well as other family buried in the same cemetery. This also gives you locality information on where your family lived.
7. USGenWeb has great information broken down by state and county. There are volunteers there to help.
8. Local libraries/archives has old census records, deeds and abstracts, as well as court records to help you in your search.
9. Visit towns in which your family grew up, I did this recently and discovered a new world.
10. Lastly, try to stick to one family at a time, if you don’t, you may stray and never get back to your original question……

WHERE DO I COME FROM?