Most of what I wrote are the memories that Gertie's children shared.
She suffered from migraine headaches and was also kicked by a horse.
Connie Street
ckcasey(a)louisacomm.net
Website coordinator for Winneshiek County, Iowa at
----- Original Message -----
From: "Helen" <hgdonald(a)knology.net>
To: <CAVITT-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 8:17 PM
Subject: Re: [CAVITT] Cavitt Mothers
Connie,
To have such memories is wonderful. You reminded
me of my grandmother making hominy the same way.
I always loved it.
Thanks so much,
Helen
----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith/Connie Street" <ckcasey(a)louisacomm.net>
To: <CAVITT-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 8:32 PM
Subject: Re: [CAVITT] Cavitt Mothers
> My grandmother was Gertie Cavitt, 1876-1941. She died before I was born.
> She married Emery Alexander and they raised 11 children who are all dead
> now. Several died at age 72. You can imagine how each one felt when they
> had their 72nd birthday.
>
> Emery and Gertie made their home in Van Buren County, Iowa and became
> members of the Cantril Methodist Church. Their first home was forty rods
> from the Des Moines Township Hall. Sons, Arthur and Wiley, were born in
> that house. The family then rented another farm house where Edna was
> born. After this, they bought a farm about six miles northeast of Cantril
> and had eight more children. They remained on this farm about thirty
> years, farming and raising their family.
> The entire family loved animals and each child had at least one pet.
> At one time, Emery traveled to Oklahoma to visit his brother, Grant.
> Emery was thinking about moving his large family west, but reconsidered
> after the visit and the family stayed put. No one remembered the real
> reason they didn't move, but they did remember teasing their dad that he
> must have been scared by Indians!
> The family worked hard to survive. Each child had his or her own chores
> both inside and out. They included tending the garden, hand washing
> clothes and hanging them out to dry, washing dishes, cleaning house,
> cooking and helping with the farm work.
> They saved ashes from the fire to make lye soap. They soaked corn in
> lye water to make hominy. Meat was "fried out" and stored in large
> crocks and covered with lard.
> Fruits and vegetables were grown, preserved and stored in the fruit
> cellar, an underground storage area near the house. The family raised all
> their own food and never went hungry. Twice a week Gertie baked a dozen
> loaves of bread and every weekend she baked ten pies.
> Farm work was tedious. Everyone looked forward to the weekend's
> pleasures. One form of entertainment was the "play party." Neighbors
> would take turns hosting the gatherings where everyone played games,
> danced, and generally had a good time. The Alexander home was the scene
> of many of these get togethers. As the children grew up, many hearts were
> won and lost at play parties.
> Emery was a Democrat. Although he was active in local politics and
> worked a the polls, he never discussed politics at home.
> He was a member of the Wiley School board of education.
> The children walked to Wiley School, a one-room school house not far
> from their farm.
> The Depression took its toll on the Alexanders and forced Emery and
> Gertie and children Roy and Mae to move to a farm near Fairfield in
> Jefferson County, Iowa, in 1936. About three years later, they moved to a
> farm near Salem in Henry County, Iowa. It was there where they celebrated
> their 40th wedding anniversary. Stan had the mumps in February, so the
> anniversary was celebrated in combination with Emery's birthday May 8,
> 1939. It was the last time the entire family was together. Photographs
> taken that day of the couple and their children are extant.
> On a cold January day the following year, Emery was walking along a
> country road near Salem. He may have been rabbit hunting or on his way to
> town to buy shells, when he was felled by a heart attack. He was
> discovered along the road and taken to a doctor's office by a passer-by.
> He died there soon after. Roy and Mae were still living at home at the
> time.
> His daughters, Grace and Letha remembered the day of his funeral being
> what seemed like the coldest day of the year. Cars at that time had no
> heaters.
> Emery and Gertie were both buried at Maple Grove Cemetery, Cantril,
> Iowa.
>
> Gertie's parents were William Cass Cavitt and Mary Jane Wiley. William
> Cass "Bill" was the son of William C. Cavitt and Judicia Misor. William
> C. was the son of James Forster and Rebecca (possibly Applegate). James
> Forster's father was James Cavet.
>
> James Cavet was well respected. In the book "Old Westmoreland" by Edgar
> W. Hassler, he was described on page 10 as one of the most prominent
> representatives of the Pennsylvania interest in old Westmoreland. It says
> he was "of the Sewickley settlement."
> Records of the Rev. John Elder recorded James' first marriage but did
> not fill in the wife's name. A grave for Sarah Cavet, age 22 when she
> died in 1770, in the Old Paxtang Graveyard makes one think she might have
> been James' wife. There is no proof for this statement. A record in the
> LDS records names Sarah ___ as his wife, with no documentation.
> James was named Bedford County Assessor April 1, 1771.
> James and his brother, John, were among those on the tax list for
> Bedford County in 1772. The next year, Westmoreland County was formed
> from the western portion of Bedford County. In 1773, there were only 79
> families living in Pitt Township, including those of John and James.
> Gov. Penn of Pennsylvania nominated James Cavitt as justice of the
> county court February 27, 1773. He was a member of the Board of Trustees
> appointed to select a county seat and was elected as one of the county's
> first county commissioners October 1, 1773.
> On July 11, 1774, James and Robert Hanna were chosen to represent
> Westmoreland County as delegates to the First Continental Congress in
> Philadelphia, which convened July 15. The Continental Congress resolved
> to raise an army, of which George Washington was chosen as
> commander-in-chief.
>
> Connie Street
> ckcasey(a)louisacomm.net
>
> Website coordinator for Winneshiek County, Iowa at
>
http://iagenweb.org/winneshiek/
> Louisa County, Iowa at
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ialouisa/
> Alexanders of Van Buren County, Iowa at
>
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~conniesfamily/
> Keith Street's Family Page at
>
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~conniesfamily/keith.html
> and SAPIC
http://www.rootsweb.com/~iasapc/
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Helen" <hgdonald(a)knology.net>
> To: <CAVITT-L(a)rootsweb.com>
> Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 5:14 PM
> Subject: [CAVITT] Cavitt Mothers
>
>
>>
>> As Mother's Day Tribute to Cavitt Mothers, let's all post something
>> about our closest Cavitt Mother.
>>
>> My closest Cavitt mother was Mary Cavitt (b.1777),
>> daughter of Richard Cavitt. Mary married William
>> Lapsley Armstrong, son of Revolutionary War patriot
>> William Armstrong and his wife Jane Lapsley.
>>
>> Of course, I knew nothing of her personally, but I know that she raised
>> ten children in a log cabin, without Gerbers OR Pampers, so she must
>> have been very dedicated to her role as Mother.
>>
>> At least three of her children migrated, as adults, to
>> Robertson County, Texas, and one of them became
>> a delegate to the Texas Constitutional Convention,
>> and hence, was among those who carved a state out
>> of a land that was, at the time, largely prairie.
>>
>> Helen
>>
>>
>> ==============================
>> Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the
>> last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more:
>>
http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> ==============================
> Census images 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871, plus so much more.
> Ancestry.com's United Kingdom & Ireland Collection. Learn more:
>
http://www.ancestry.com/s13968/rd.ashx
>
>
>
>
> --
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.5.6/337 - Release Date: 5/11/2006
>
>
==============================
Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for
ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more:
http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx