suppose you will see John while at Marlin. I received a letter from him
this week.
He is good to me and I appreciate the fact.
I suppose you know that Beaulah and Catherine are living in Austin.
Little Beaulah is visiting them now. Henry and Kate Mitchell are grand
parents to Mildred's little son, a month old.
With tender love from
Mother
James Volney Cavitt, son of Volney and grandson of Andrew, lived for the
first eighteen months of his marriage on a ranch in Robertson County,
Texas. In 1888 Texas had the worst blue norther in the history of man
and in that freak weather Jim lost 700 head of cattle, his entire
holdings. At that time he and his wife, with their baby William Taylor
Cavitt, decided to move to Bell County to an 800 acre farm-ranch which
had been a part of the Sparks League, inherited by Jim's mother, Clara
Jane Sparks Cavitt, daughter of Col. William Craine Sparks and his
second wife, Jane Alexander.
Grandmother Clara Sparks Cavitt gave Jim the land and the young couple
with their baby moved,in the early summer, to the virgin timber land and
settled near the everlasting springs in a pecan grove. That summer Jim
and-two hired hands built the home which stands today, a small replica
of the old place in Wheelock. Double front doors open into a long hall
formerly called the "dog-trot". To the right, the parlor opened into a
dining room, which gave on to a wide porch also entered from the back of
the hall. The kitchen which too could be entered from this porch had a
door into the dining room and another into the back yard. A fourth door
of the kitchen entered a room forming the end of the porch which was
once storage for groceries and pots and pans, later the maid's room.
To the left of the dog-trot hall was the master bedroom and two
children's bedrooms. A bedroom for the oldest boys was at the end of
the front porch.
Soon after the family moved into their new home little Volney was born.
The parents were delighted and the name Volney was given new life...for
only a short time, the little boy died at age three..in fact soon after
the third son, Joseph Franklin was born. Volney died of what was called
membraenous croup but is recognized now from the symptoms as diphtheria.
Jim Cavitt was an excellent raconteur of early day stories, of the funny
incidents of the day, quotes from his friends and neighbors. Everyone
loved to listen to Jim and asked for more when he told the ridiculous
and hilarious stories.
One of the renters on his farm had no water for his stock during a dry
summer and the Cavitt springs flowed on as strong as ever. The man came
to Jim and asked, "Mr. Cavitt, since you got plenty water can't you give
me free abscess to that for my stock?" Access was never the same again
to Jim's family.
Two of the renters had fourteen children each in their family.... one of
the men had had two wives. Fach owned a Model T Ford and when they went
to town it was a tight squeeze to get the family into the car. One day
on his way out to the farm Jim saw one of the cars coming with the
father pushed almost over the side, hanging precariously to the steering
wheel... five children doubledecked on the seat beside him, and the "old
lady" with six likewise holding each other in the back seat. Without a
smile Jim looked at the person in the old Chevy coupe with him and
remarked, "Well, Charley almost enjoyed himself right out of a seat in
his own car."
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wishes, Wants, and Dreams...a few poetic illusions
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/7068
**ICQ# 1280761** For Links to All My Sites:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/7068/mylinks.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~