Dear Folks,
That's a neat idea, but, knowing me, I never was very good at following
instructions. I will, however, share one of my father's Christmas stories.
My earliest known was Jesse, Sr. and then, further down the line came my
grandfather Amma Bass Carroll. My father, Festus Royal, was the youngest of
the extensive brood, 13, if I remember correctly, and he was born in a hole
in the ground up in Indian Territory, about 35 miles SW of where Enid,
Oklahoma, is today. The "hole in the ground" that Daddy always referred to
was what they called a "soddy". You dug square blocks of the prairie sod and
set it aside to dry. Then you dug the rest of the house. When the sod
blocks were dry, you stacked them like bricks around the top of the hole to
make part of the wall. On top of that you laid out any poles you could find
in that barren landscape and then, on top of that, stretched a wagon sheet.
More sod went on top of the poles and wagon sheet to form the roof.
Well, despite the fact that some of the older children had already left
home, the hole in the ground was getting pretty crowded, so Grandpa decided
early in the Fall to expand the house by digging another adjacent hole. Fall
is a busy time for a dirt farmer and, what with one thing and another, the
hole got dug but the walls hadn't been stacked as Christmas approached.
Even so, about a half dozen of the kids were sleeping in the new annex,
which was only about four feet deep, and the wagon sheet was stretched over
the poles at ground level and pegged down at the corners.
We've been having some rather strange weather most everywhere lately and, as
I understand it, Oklahoma has always had strange weather. A Blue Norther
rolled in, complete with thunder and lightening and freezing rain. One
lightening bolt apparently struck pretty close because the old brood sow and
her swarm of half-grown progeny broke out of their pen and ran right into
the half-flooded wagon sheet. Down came the wagon sheet, the poles, the
pigs and the freezing rain on top of the kids in what became a tangled mass
of frightened pigs, frightened kids, torn wagon sheet, broken poles and
about a foot of freezing slush. Luckily, no one was badly hurt, although
Addie and Bonnie got stomped on pretty heavily. The only way to untangle
the mess was to run the pigs through the rest of the house and out of the
front door and then count noses to make sure all of the kids were out from
under the wreckage. As far as Daddy was concerned (he was about five at the
time), it was his first memorable Christmas and he loved to trot out the
story every time someone began talking about reindeer on the roof.
Merry Christmas to All!
Jeff Carroll
Bryan, Texas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Emmy and Frank Edwards" <frankedwards(a)frontiernet.net>
To: <carroll-dna(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 3:48 PM
Subject: Re: [CARROLL-DNA] Off Topic - A gift to your Carroll Ancestor
Lura, a neat idea. Frank
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lura" <luraj(a)triad.rr.com>
To: <CARROLL-DNA(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2007 10:36 PM
Subject: [CARROLL-DNA] Off Topic - A gift to your Carroll Ancestor
> Right now most of you are wrapping gifts, putting together the
> things that must be assembled in less than a week, or cooking
> fruit cake. You don't have much time for genealogy! However, if
> you are like me, thoughts of those by-gone relatives drift
> through your mind occasionally while you are preparing for
> "family times" with your current family. You wonder just how
> they celebrated Christmas.
>
> I have a suggestion for you to think about and share with us if
> you wish and you have the time! Think of your earliest known
> CARROLL ancestor (or one of the earliest) and then decide on a
> gift you would like to give him or a member of his family.
>
> Right now, my earliest ancestor is Dempsey Carrol/Carrell (?)
> Senior. I see him the first time in 1752 living in Halifax
> County, NC before his move to Duplin, which became Sampson
> County, NC.
>
> I would like to give Dempsey, Sr. a family BIBLE - one with lots
> of pages for recording births, marriages, and deaths. I would
> also give him a pen and an ink well. I know that he could write
> at least a little, because he signed his name on his son
> Alexander's marriage bond on April 7, 1783. He also may have
> taught his son how to write, because Alexander apparently wrote
> his own will in 1827.
>
> I read one interesting story about a young couple (not my family)
> in those very early days preparing to move on their covered wagon
> to land newly opened for settlement. The young wife was to give
> birth soon to their first child. She became very angry at her
> husband, because he had spent the almost last 50 cents they had.
> They had many needs, but he had spent the money on a BIBLE. He
> said when his son was born, he deserved to have his name written
> down. I wish more of my ancestors had felt that way.
>
> Merry Christmas to all,
> Lura
>
>
>
> -------------------------------
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