Our Life & Our World

Great Grandma

Introduction-Part 2                                

Born in 1861, Grandma lived in the modest manner of a “share cropper’s” child and yes even later, wife. The Mobile, Alabama area would be her home for awhile and on to Georgia, then Texas, as they family moved along to have better resources to survive. I guess they followed the other families that migrated to Texas in search of jobs.

Grandma, was a small girl and even later a small built woman. I don’t believe she stood more than, 4′ 11″ during my time with her. If she weighed 100 lbs. I would have been surprised.

As a young girl she, played with her brothers and sisters, while her mom, sat in the house in the loom weaving cloth for clothes. Her father would work for other farmers in their field’s for a days wages, and a portion of the crops available. He worked the fields at home and raised as much food as he was able to each year. Thirteen kids plus a wife, was a large job to maintain. Each year they had to salvage as much food as they could, to make it through the winter and into the next spring. They raised cows, chickens, pigs, goats, & sheep to slaughter for meat, milk, eggs, lard and use other portions of the animals, for hides, wool and you name it. They canned what they could, smoked the meat in a smokehouse, where it hung until used. Put the other food in a cellar or under the house, to save for later. The older children assisted in these chores, while the smaller children pacified themselves, with the home made toys they had. Nothing was ever store bought, unless it was “staples”, and that wasn’t very often.

They would dress up, hitch up the team(mules or horses) to the wagon, put the children in and go 30 or 40 miles to the nearest town, to get the supplies needed for 6 months or more. If they ran out before then, they just did without. Money had to be made in the other man’s fields, to buy things, so it wasn’t too often, they could get it.

More on my grandma soon………