Beginning March 2nd, 2020 the Mailing Lists functionality on RootsWeb will be discontinued. Users will no longer be able to send outgoing emails or accept incoming emails. Additionally, administration tools will no longer be available to list administrators and mailing lists will be put into an archival state.
Administrators may save the emails in their list prior to March 2nd. After that, mailing list archives will remain available and searchable on RootsWeb
No. But It helps to study if you are going to be a researcher.
The Childress Mail List was formed to distinguish between Childress and
other surnames and to do the careful research necessary to separate and not
commingle gene pools such as
Childress/Childers/Childrey/Childerhouse/Childes/etc
Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: <RW1146(a)aol.com>
To: <CHILDRESS-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 30, 2000 12:43 AM
Subject: Re: [Childress Research] The Long S
In a message dated 09/30/2000 12:54:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
INJACK1(a)aol.com writes:
<< Ya, ain't got's to be no english major to be a county clerk
>>
thank you:)
==== CHILDRESS Mailing List ====
Unsubscribe by writing only one word UNSUBSCRIBE and e-mail to either
Childress-L-request(a)rootsweb.com
or Childress-D-request(a)rootsweb.com
Contact List Owners Mark or Gary C H I L D R E S S at london2000(a)fea.net
==============================
Know the town name but not the county? Look it up at:
http://resources.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/townco.cgi
The Long S would have been seen by those reading a document in the 18th
Century as just another S and pronounced as such. It is the modern eye that
views it incorrectly as a "Y".
I've seen Bible entries circa the Civil War whose authors, schooled in the
early 1800's, were still using the Long S.
----- Original Message -----
From: <RW1146(a)aol.com>
To: <CHILDRESS-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Friday, September 29, 2000 9:22 PM
Subject: Re: [Childress Research] The Long S
In a message dated 09/29/2000 11:41:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
london2000(a)fea.net writes:
<< Congress was not pronounced
"Congreys".
>>
Well, depending where you lived in the US and your accent, it could have
been
pronounced that way:)
You should tell people what year that the long s was stopped being used in
the US.
Bob
==== CHILDRESS Mailing List ====
Unsubscribe by writing only one word UNSUBSCRIBE and e-mail to either
Childress-L-request(a)rootsweb.com
or Childress-D-request(a)rootsweb.com
Contact List Owners Mark or Gary C H I L D R E S S at london2000(a)fea.net
==============================
Check out RootsWeb's new threaded archives!
http://archiver.rootsweb.com/
Looking for more information on Joel Childers born North Carolina ca 1800
and wife Dolly (?) born North Carolina ca 1803. They are shown in Lawrence
Co IN Census of 1850. Their children, all of whom are stated to have been
born in IN are: Betsy J., 20; Mary A., 7; John M., 14; Sarah E., 11; Nancy
J., 9; William M., 6; and Charles C., 4
Any help is greatly appreciated.
----- Original Message -----
From: <RW1146(a)aol.com>
To: <CHILDRESS-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Friday, September 29, 2000 9:22 PM
Subject: Re: [Childress Research] The Long S
In a message dated 09/29/2000 11:41:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
london2000(a)fea.net writes:
<< Congress was not pronounced
"Congreys".
>>
Well, depending where you lived in the US and your accent, it could have
been
pronounced that way:)
You should tell people what year that the long s was stopped being used in
the US.
Bob
==== CHILDRESS Mailing List ====
Unsubscribe by writing only one word UNSUBSCRIBE and e-mail to either
Childress-L-request(a)rootsweb.com
or Childress-D-request(a)rootsweb.com
Contact List Owners Mark or Gary C H I L D R E S S at london2000(a)fea.net
==============================
Check out RootsWeb's new threaded archives!
http://archiver.rootsweb.com/
In 18th century colonial handwriting there was the use of the letter called
the "Long S".
The "Long S" is made much like the pen stroke of a figure "8". The pen
stroke above the line curls left and the pen stroke below the line also
curls left, just like a figure "8". You can see that style of writing at
the site http://www.firstct.com/fv/oldhand.html
The "Long S" was pronounced the same as a modern "s" when it was used by our
forefathers in the 18th Century. The "Long S" was an "s" 200 years ago, and
will be an "s" 200 years from now. The Long S was never anything other than
an "s" when used by our forefathers. The "Long S" was just their preferred
penmanship method of making an "s".
When typesetting printed documents in the 18th Century, a special character
was used to represent the "Long S" that had slight appearance of an "f" but
without the cross bar. Today the "Long S" is sometimes transcribed as "f"
because of the constraint of the modern typewriter and computer keyboard.
There is an interesting site at
http://www.english.upenn.edu/~jlynch/long-s.html that shows how some words
can get mistranslated when the Long S gets typeset as "f".
The word "Congress" in the American Constitution was written using the
handwriting convention of the "Long S". So today if I were trying to get
that point across that I was looking a the document with the Long S, I would
write you an e-mail spelling the word "Congrefs". But the word is not
pronounced with an "eff" sound. "Congress" was pronounced the same 200
years ago as it is today. It was the intention of the 18th Century writer
to scribe and pronounce the equivalent of a modern "s" when they used the
"Long S".
The Long S also can have the appearance of the modern "Y". But the
handwritten word "Congress" in the original text of the Constitution was not
pronounced with a "Y" sound in the 18th Century. Congress was not pronounced
"Congreys".
The "Long S" was NOT a "Y" in the 18th Century, never was a "Y", never will
be a "Y". The name Childrefs, which was written with the Long S in the 18th
Century, was not pronounced Childrey. Childrey is its own surname in
Colonial America and the Childrey surname uses a pen stroke exactly the same
as a modern pen stroke for "Y".
Gary
In a message dated 09/30/2000 12:54:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
INJACK1(a)aol.com writes:
<< Ya, ain't got's to be no english major to be a county clerk
>>
thank you:)
Does any of are group live near Nashville, Tn? I'm seeking information
or possibly a photo from one of the national cemeteries in that area or it
could be a public cemetery. In 1862 a 17 year old boy by the name of John
Childers joined the army, to be specific the 73rd Indiana Infantry
Volunteers. After leaving his mother's farm in Northern Indiana,he sought to
see the world,and to join in that grand aventure of fighting the rebs. Well,
like the majority of casualties in this terrible war , John became ill and
died. Just 3 months after joining up. Far from home and family in an army
camp, all alone, in or about Nashville,John died from the measles, a
childhood illness yes, but a killer just the same in the 1860's. He remains
there today as far as I can find out. I as a relative of his would like to
find his final resting spot the blonde haired boy with the blue eyes that
never came home
INDIANA JACK
In a message dated 09/29/2000 11:41:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
london2000(a)fea.net writes:
<< Congress was not pronounced
"Congreys".
>>
Well, depending where you lived in the US and your accent, it could have been
pronounced that way:)
You should tell people what year that the long s was stopped being used in
the US.
Bob
Permelia Ann Hester Childress d. 5 Nov. 1919, Caldwell Co. Ky
Queener Belle Lester d. 1932, Princeton, Ky
Susan Elizabeth Goodwin, d. 5 Feb. 1935., Caldwell Co. Ky
Felix Grundy Lacy, d.1924, Princeton, Ky
Melissa Ann Clark. d.Aug 1, 1928, Hopkins Co,Ky
John Marion Harkins, d. 26 July, 1929, Hopkins Co. Ky
Thank You, I was trying to find more information, other than death dates
<A HREF="http://www.nacr.net/search.htm">Native American Cemetery Readers -
Quick Search</A>
http://www.nacr.net/search.htm
These records matched your search criteria. Try another search ?
SURNAME FIRST RECORD TYPE COUNTY STATE
CHILDRESS CAPT. HISTORY INDEX 6 BENTON AR
CHILDRESS JAMES P. CEMETERY CHEROKEE OK
CHILDRESS MELBA LOUISE CEMETERY CHEROKEE OK
=========================
These records matched your search criteria. Try another search ?
SURNAME FIRST RECORD TYPE COUNTY STATE
CHILDERS BUSTER TILLMON CEMETERY WASHINGTON AR
CHILDERS CALVIN B. CEMETERY BENTON AR
CHILDERS CELIA M. CEMETERY BENTON AR
CHILDERS QUINTON NEAL CEMETERY WASHINGTON AR
CHILDERS ROBERTSON HISTORY INDEX 3 N. A. AR
CHILDERS VELMA A. CEMETERY BENTON AR
Probably not, but take a look at my CHILDRESSES. My data on individuals with
this surname runs out after the second generation, but there are some lost
descendants.
Descendants of Francis Marion Childress
Generation No. 1
1. FRANCIS MARION1 CHILDRESS1,2 was born Abt. 1825 in GA3,4, and died
January 18, 1888 in TX5. He married (1) SARAH AL. LNU6. He married (2)
MARY A. ECHOLS7,8,9,10 1849, daughter of SAMUEL ECHOLS and SALLY BOOKER.
She was born December 02, 1825 in Ft. Payne, AL, and died January 18, 1890
in Fort Payne, DeKalb County, AL11.
Notes for FRANCIS MARION CHILDRESS:
The DAR application (327865, dated 5/1/1941) of Sarah Alameda
Childress Blackwell shows Franklin Childress born 1820 in England. No
specific source is provided.
1850 DeKalb County, AL Census shows spouse as Sarah A. 1860 Polk
County, GA Census shows spouse as Mary A. Did he marry twice? No source
other than DAR application that he died in TX.
1850 DeKalb County, AL Census, District 25, Page 341
#203-203 F.M. Childress 24 Male Farmer RE Value
$150.00 born: GA
Sarah, Al. 20 Female
GA
John T. 1 Male
AL
William F. 3 1/2 Male
AL
A.J. King 30 Male
SC
(Note that in 1882, Minnie Beauregard Childress married Lilburn Henderson
King, whose father was born in SC in 1811. The Kings came to DeKalb County
from Hall County and Forsyth County, GA, in the mid 1850's. A.J. King would
have been born in 1820 - perhaps a relative of James R. King?)
1860 Polk County, GA Census, Township Cedartown
#115-115 Francis M. Childress 34 Male Hotel R 2000 PerP
1700 GA
Mary A. 33 Female Domestic
GA
John T. 11 Male
AL
William F. 9 Male
AL
Adela A. 7 Female
AL
Seaborn A. 5 Male
AL
Sarah A. 3 1/2 Female
GA
F. (Franklin or Francis?) M. Childress must have first married Sarah
Al. (ameda?), possibly in GA since they were both born there, then may have
moved with her to DeKalb County, AL (1850 Census). Then he married second
Mary A. Echols, with whom he lived in Polk County, GA in 1860 (1860 census).
Sarah Alameda Childress was born in Cedartown, Polk County, GA in 1860, but
Minnie Beauregard Childress was born in DeKalb County, AL one year later in
1861, so the family must have moved back to AL between 1860 and 1861.
___________________
There is a FRANCIS M. CHILDRESS in the 52nd inf. , co. a, Vurginia in the
Civil War. (INJACK1(a)aol.com)
______________________
1. MARTIN1 CHILDRESS was born Abt. 1826 in NC. He married (MARTHA)
FRANCES BOWMAN.
Children of MARTIN CHILDRESS and (MARTHA) BOWMAN are:
i. CORNELIA "ANNIE"2 CHILDRESS, b. Abt. 1849; d. 07 September
18651.
ii. JOHN W CHILDRESS, b. Abt. 1851; m. RUTH M.
iii. OSBORNE FRANKLIN CHILDRESS, b. 23 October 1853, Patrick Co.,
VA; d.
11 September 1918; m.
ELIZA JANE GWYN, 06 January 1873, Patrick Co., VA
iv. JAMES ANDERSON "BABE" CHILDRESS, b. 1855; d. 1907, Patrick
Co., VA; m.
FRANCIS COLUMBIA
"LUM" SMITH, 15 February 1875.
v. FRANCIS M CHILDRESS, b. 06 March 1860, Patrick Co., VA; d.
07 December
1862, Patrick Co., VA.
vi. ELIZABETH "FANNIE" M CHILDRESS, b. Abt. 1861; d. 04 January
1890,
Patrick Co., VA; m. J L
MANKINS. (Joyce Shelton Bunch <rosejoy(a)mindspring.com>)
__________________
Looking for info on Martin Childress, b. abt 1826 in NC, married Martha or
Frances, b. VA. Their children were born in Patrick Co, Va as far as I
know. They were:
Cornelia A Childress, b. abt 1849
John W Childress, b. abt 1851, married R V?
Osborne Franklin Childress, b 23 Oct 1853, d. 11 Sept 1918, m. Eliza Jane
Gwyn 6 Jan 1873 (my great grandparents)
James A Childress, b. abt 1854
Annie Childress, b. abt 1855
Francis M Childress, b. abt 1860, d. 7 Dec 1862
Elizabeth "Fannie" M Childress, b. abt 1861, d. 4 JaN 1890, married J L
Mankins.
I would love to have information on any of the above people. ((Joyce Shelton
Bunch <rosejoy(a)mindspring.com>))
_________________________
Re: Do I have F. M. Childres?
I have Francis Marrion Childres
Born 1842 - Tenn.
Married oct 28, 1876
Died 1910
John (JChild3823(a)aol.com
____________________________
Francis Marion Childress
Birth:1 MAR 1847 -- Alabama
Death:15 FEB 1938 -- Confederate Home Austin, Texas
Father:Abram Childress
Mother:Judia Anderson
Wife: Samatha Miller (Mollie)
Holley
Marriage Date:27 MAY 1867
Children:
Katie Childress
Jordan Holley
Mary Jane Holley
Julie Childress
William Riley (Rile) Childress
Alice Childress
Louis
Childress
Willie Frances Childress
Oliver Childress
Twins Childress
Lula Childress
Nora Childress (KAY nomoney6(a)bellsouth.net)
_______________________
Abram Childress
Birth:11-00-1812 -- South Carolina
Death:27 MAY 1877 -- Avery, Texas
fATHER:DOUGLAS CHILDESS
Spouse:Judia Anderson
Children:
George Washington Childress
Martha
Childress
Mary
Childres
Franklin Alexander Childress
Margaret Childress
Francis Marion Childress
Amanda Childress
Henry Pierson Childress
George Childress
SIBLING OF
Abram
Desdemona Childress(KAY nomoney6(a)bellsouth.net)
_____________________
ii. JOHN W CHILDRESS, b. Abt. 1851; m. RODA (RUTH M?) VIHANA2; b. 07 March
1853; d. 11 September 1895, Patrick Co, VA.
iii. OSBORNE FRANKLIN CHILDRESS, b. 23 October 1853, Patrick Co., VA; d. 11
September 1918, Patrick Co., VA; m. ELIZA JANE GWYN, 06 January 1873,
Patrick Co., VA3; b. 03 August 1849, Patrick Co., VA; d. 01 April 1931,
Patrick Co., VA.
Notes for OSBORNE FRANKLIN CHILDRESS:
iv. JAMES ANDERSON "BABE" CHILDRESS4, b. 1855; d. 1907, Patrick Co., VA; m.
COLUMBIA FRANCIS "LUM" SMITH4, 15 February 1875; b. Abt. 1854; d. 1920,
Patrick Co., VA.
v. FRANCIS M CHILDRESS, b. 06 March 1860, Patrick Co., VA; d. 07 December
1862, Patrick Co., VA5.
Notes for FRANCIS M CHILDRESS:
Patrick Co Death Records
Francis M Childres dod 12-7-1865 age 2 s m cod diptheria p Martin & Frances
Childres pob PCVA pod PCVA
vi. ELIZABETH "FANNIE" M CHILDRESS, b. Abt. 1864; d. 04 January 1890,
Patrick Co., VA; m. JOEL LEE MANKINS6, 11 September 1882, Patrick Co., VA;
b. Abt. 1861, Patrick Co., VA.
vii. CHARLES R CHILDRESS, b. Abt. 1866; m. SARAH E HARROLD?.
Endnotes
1. David Connor (davidcon(a)microsoft.com).
2. Cemeteries of Patrick County, VA by O. E. Pilson.
3. Patrick Co, VA Marriages 1854-1874 by Jimmie M Steele.
4. Cemeteries of Patrick County, VA by O. E. Pilson.
5. Patrick Co Death Records-1853-1870. (Joyce Bunch"
<rosejoy(a)mindspring.com>)
_____________________
Patrick County Death Records 1853-1870
N Childress,Annie DOD 7 Sep 1865 A 10 s F
COD Fever P Martin and Frances Childre
POB PCVA POD PCVA
H W I
N Childress,Francis M. DOD 7 Dec 1862 A 2 s M
COD Diptheria P Martin and Frances Childre
POB PCVA POD PCVA
____________________
Union County Marriage Records - Grooms
by Ley O'Connor, CASHEL3776(a)aol.com
Last first Last First year book page
Childress Francis M Bourne Sarah 1856 B 162B
________________________
Hi, I am a descendant of the CHILDRESS clan. This is my lineage as far
as I can get. I am lost in the Childress web.
LULA CHILDRESS-1869 ALA Creek /Cherokee mix>>>>>>>>ABRIAM W.?or M OR
ANDERSON W. CHILDRESS born 1844 ALA, Abriam's name changes in every
piece of information that I have. His father was born in NC, his
mother in SC . Abriam was married to SUSAN WHITAKER (Cherokee or Creek
Indian) this was Abriam's second marriage. Susan's father was STEPHEN
WHITAKER Cherokee or Creek mix and his mother was ELIZABETH ROBBINS
Cherokee mix . Her parents were JOHNSON ROBBINS Cherokee mix and SARA
HUMMINGBIRD full Cherokee or Creek Indian.
I think that F.M.(FRANCIS MARION) CHILDRESS-1795 NC AND first wife
HARRIET JONES
born 1820 SC are Abriam's parents. F.M. CHILDRESS' parents were JOHN
CHILDRESS-1774 SC and???. F.M's parents were THOMAS CHILDRESS and
LOTTIE BREWER. Lula Childress
and her parents AW Childress and Susan Whitaker have been verified, the
rest is just supported by census and history. Does anyone have these
Childresses in their tree? Any and all information, a lot or a little
is greatly appreciated. (KAY <nomoney6(a)bellsouth.net>)
__________________
Mississippi Civil War Roster: FRANCIS M.CHILDRESS 20th Inf. Co.D (:
<INJACK1(a)aol.com>)
____________________
Francis M.Childress=Martha J McCrow 26 Dec 1850 Lauderdale County, AL
(Subject: [Childress Research] CHILDRESS AND CHILDERS MARRIAGE RECORDS)
______________________
CENSUS INDEX-ALA-CHILDRESS Census_Year 1850, Microfilm # M432-6, State AL,
County Greene
(KAY <nomoney6(a)bellsouth.net>
276B 7 Childress,Francis M. 55 SC pg0267a.txt
_________________________
GOOD MORNING LISTERS,
I HAVE HAD THIS PEDIGREE FOR A LONG TIME NOW AND I WONDER WHAT THE
MEMBERS OF THIS LIST HAVE TO SAY ABOUT. DOES ANYONE HAVE PROOF THAT IT
IS WRONG AND CAN SAY DEFINITELY THAT TO BE THE CASE? I HAVE NO PROOF
THAT IT IS RIGHT OR WRONG. CAN ANYONE ADD TO IT? ANY AND ALL POSITIVE
COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS WILL BE RECEIVED GRACIOUSLY AND I THANK YOU IN
ADVANCE FOR ALL YOUR GREAT HELP. PS I AM STILL LOOKING FOR LULA
CHILDRESS' ANCESTRY OR AT LEAST SOME CLUES IF ANY OF YOU HAVE THEM. I AM
ABOUT TO CONCLUDE THAT HER FATHER WAS ANDERSON W CHILDRESS SON OF MARION
FRANCIS CHILDERS AND HARRIET JONES. ANY SUGGESTIONS ON THIS?
THANKS A BUNCH ( KAY <nomoney6(a)bellsouth.net>)
-__________________
GREENE COUNTY, AL MARRIAGES 1823 - 1860
CHILDERS,Francis Marion=JONES,Harriet Sep 06 1841
______________________
From: <JustGranni(a)aol.com>
Subject: [CHILDRESS] Childress :cemetery.Texas state
Childress Francis M.
<A
HREF="http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp">http://www.cemete
ry.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp</A>
Headstone Text
Francis M. Childress 16 Mo. Inf. C. S. A. Full Name: Francis M. Childress
Location:
Section:Confederate Field, Section 3
Row:B Number:52
Reason for Eligibility: CONFEDERATE VETERAN
Birth Date:
Died: Feb-15-1938
Buried: Feb-16-1938
_______________
Francis Marion Childress (M)
Birth: 1 MAR 1847 -- Alabama
Death:
15 FEB 1938 -- Confederate Home Austin, Texas
Spouse: , Samatha Miller (Mollie) Holley
Parents: Abram Childress, Judia Anderson (ancestry.com)(submitter:
hhhthecamp(a)aepnet.com )
___________________
1850 CHILDRESS FRANCIS M. Greene County AL 276 No Township Listed Federal
Population Schedule AL 1850 Federal Census Index ALS5a314409
_____________________
Database: Full Context of Alabama Marriages, 1800-1920
Spouse 1: Francis M. Childress
Spouse 2: Martha Jane McCrow
Marriage Date: 26 Dec 1850
Marriage Place: Lauderdale
Surety/Bond Date:
Performed By: J. P.
OSPage: 63
_______________
Search Terms: CHILDRESS (704), FRANCIS (39624)
Database: Civil War Muster Rolls
Childress F. M. D 46 Batt'n Virginia Cavalry. 3 Lieutenant 3 Lieutenant
Childress Francis 000382 0010 00003971
Childress Francis M. D 1 Batt'n Arkansas Infantry. Corpl Corpl 000383 0001
00002113
Childress Francis M. A 52 Virginia Infantry. Private Private 000382 0010
00003973
Childress Francis M. D 20 Mississippi Infantry. Private Private 000232
0007 0000309
________________
I am a descendant of Franklin Marion Childress and Mary Echols. They had
Sarah Childress, who married Bazzly (aka Bagley or Bazley} Blackwell, and
they had John Henry Blackwell, my grandfather. I have plenty of info on the
Echols line, but have reached a dead end with Franklin Childress (Diane
Spitzer, caelimane(a)hotmail.com)
_________________
1880 Census of Tulare County, California - Township No. 1, Childers,
Francis, WM 47, laborer, NO.CAROLINA. (Childress), 1-10-153, with D.E.
Cason., Ref: H/1162, Francis Marion Childress?-X/231, Childress, see,
Childers.
__________________
Oliver Childress, the sixth child of Francis Marion and Mollie Childress
from Red River Co,Texas. Oliver was born September 26, 1879. Oliver never
married. He liked to roam the country. He would leave home without telling
anyone where he was going and would be gone for various lengths of time. As
he got older he would be gone for longer periods of time. At times he would
send a card to his brother Rile to let him know where he was. It is know
that he was in Woods Co, Texas to visit an uncle, Henry Pierson Childress.
Eventually he vanished and no one ever knew what happened to him.
I have been trying to unravel this mystery.
There is some speculation that he might have been in prison somewhere. Is
there anyone out there that can help??? Any info would be greatly
appreciated.
Francis Marion Childress' parents were Abram Childress and Juda Anderson. I
have alot of info for this line. I have some mysteries to solve too. I have
a few colorful stories too. Let me know if I can hlep.
Annette (ascalone(a)aol.com)
___________________
My great grandfathers name was Francis Marion Childress. I'm sure he was
from S.E. Missouri. His dad's name was Jack Childress. I have just started
looking for tree. Kinda foreign to me. LOL (Larry Childress, Jr.
childresrock(a)ims-1.com)
____________
Notes for MARY A. ECHOLS:
Living with mother in 1850 Cherokee County, AL Census. Listed as Mary
Mackey. (Cindy Stamps)
An elderly family member said that Mary A. Echols first married a Mackey in
Cherokee, AL, who died young and that they had one daughter named Emily (Jan
Blackwell)
Married W.H. Mackey 5/8/1845? (Jan Blackwell)
More About MARY A. ECHOLS:
Burial: Little Sulphur Springs Cemetery, Ft Payne, AL12
More About FRANCIS CHILDRESS and MARY ECHOLS:
Marriage: 1849
Children of FRANCIS CHILDRESS and SARAH LNU are:
i. JOHN T.2 CHILDRESS13,14, b. Abt. 1849, AL.
ii. WILLIAM F. CHILDRESS15,16, b. Abt. 1851, AL.
Children of FRANCIS CHILDRESS and MARY ECHOLS are:
iii. DANDRIDGE2 CHILDRESS, m. WALTER COOK17.
Notes for DANDRIDGE CHILDRESS:
MY AUNT DAN
Dandridge Childress Cook was a sister to my grandmother, Minnie Childress
King (Mrs. Lilburn H. King). 'Though my parents had known her in earlier
years, rny first meeting with her was when she came to Batesville to visit
Grandmother King in 1945. She was a large, yet gentle, cheerful woman who
happily and quickly took over the often troubling periods with my
Grandmother King, who was fairly senile at the tire and very determined in
her ways.
Great Aunt Dan was energetic, well-informed on all matters, it seemed to me.
She brought her typewriter with her and every day used it to inform her
California and United States government officials of her opinion on matters.
She knew all about tapeworms in humans from firsthand experience and related
her information in graphic and shocking description to her unschooled
audience: we who were not even permitted to say aloud when we had the "itch"
or admit that the children had pinworms, and all children had both of those.
She had the healing hands of the Rosicrucians, of which she was a member.
She gave visually vivid tales of their psychic treatment roams where, amidst
purple velvet draperies and rugs and on purple velvet couches, patients
listened to prescribed music which b t their souls into harmony with their
own bodies, and both became attuned to the music of the universe. She knew
where to put a finger on a person to make a severe headache vanish
instantly. And I was totally in awe of her and loved her right away.
She lived in California then, had an almond farm, an adopted son and a
husband who -- at the time -- must have been deceased. According to family
lore, she was named after the Dandridge in Martha Dandridge Washington's
family. One daughter or son in each family of direct descent thereafter
carried the name of Dandridge.
She, Minnie, and a third sister, Sarah Childress (Blackwell) grew up in
Attalla, Alabama. Their father, Franklin Marion Childress, had come to
America from England. Apparently their mother was widowed before the girls
were grown and made a living for her family by teaching school and also
furnishing board and room for another female teacher who was young and
single.
A certain young man came to the house to call frequently, supposedly
"courting" the teacher-boarder. However, one day at the local male
gathering place where gossip, news and heroic stories were spun to impress
the gathering (the "spitting stave" in the back of the general store), he
bragged gleefully about going to the Childress house to visit "the girls."
He told how Dan (Dandridge) herself had sat on his lap lovingly and kissed
him.
Unfortunately for him, this bit of false braggadocio reached Dan soon after,
and when the young Romeo next came calling at the Childress house he was
greeted at the front door by Dan who was holding a shotgun aimed directly at
him. She then marched him downtown, with the shotgun held close and pointed
at him en route, and into the men's gossip corner where he had related her
"courting" story. Upon arrival in their midst, he was ordered to explain to
them all that he was a dreadful liar and had made up the entire story.
Which he did. Next, he was directed to kneel down in front of Dan to
apologize to her and say that he was not only a liar, that he was a "damned"
liar." Which he did.
News traveled swiftly, not only in small Alabama towns, but reached and took
the fancy of a newspaper feature writer who sent it over national news
circuits, along with a fabricated photo of a young lady with shotgun herding
a young man through the street, with the gun pointed at his head.
In St. Louis, Walter Cook, a bachelor engineer, staying overnight at a hotel
there, joined the other men in the row of rockers on the front porch at
day's end for rest, company and whatever cooling breeze was present (most
hotels then had porches with rockers). He picked up the daily paper to
scan, and his eyes came to fall on the picture of "Girl with Gun"-- the
fabricated picture of Dan. He read the story of her action in bringing the
young man "to account." Completely enthralled with the story of the episode,
he turned to a friend sitting nearby, pointed to the picture and said, "I'm
going to marry that girl!"
He did write to her, as did many others. Out of all the comments,
correspondence, offers of courtship and would-be visitors and suitors, only
one letter was answered and one visitor admitted. It was Walter Cook.
There followed a proper courtship and a happy marriage between Dandridge and
Walter.
The young couple headed west where Walter was working as an engineer with
the Santa Fe Railroad, as the laying of the rails progressed into and
through New Mexico. She stayed with him in whatever wilderness area his
work took him. Doubtless some of the places were even more bleak and
isolated than the day when I first saw Socorro in 1944; and it seemed
frighteningly wild and barren to me then.
About 75 miles south of Albuquerque was the old town where an ancient and
noble Spanish family still held sway over the land, the economy and social
life of Socorro and its surroundings. It was to here, Socorro, that
ranchers, railroad people and other scattered inhabitants traveled,
overnight sometimes, for weekends of visiting, frolic, dancing and
fellowship together, and where Dan and Walter frequently went to join
friends and acquaintances. Dan always especially cherished those visits
with her good friend, Senora Baca.
This, too, I first heard about in 1945 from her, when I had just ridden the
Santa Fe Chieftain from Socorro to Little Rock with my mother and
three-week-old baby, Thomas King Butt. We were returning to BatesviIle,
where baby Tom and I would spend two years awaiting the return of father,
Tom, from the European theater. The new orders for overseas duty had
arrived the day after the baby's arrival in hospital at Albuquerque.
The then Capt. Butt had received army orders in 1943 to go to Socorro where
he would work in an army officers training program at the School of Mines
there. We made the long trip out slowly as I was about seven months
pregnant. Upon arrival, we went to a little old hotel (the town's only) at
the end of the road, staying there for a few days while looking for housing.
We eventually moved into an adobe duplex which had originally been a
one-family house, the home-place of a ranch complex. It was a dreary vista
for any eyes and a difficult one for a pregnant, sickly female. Shopping
was traumatic, with only naked, cold rabbit offered in the grocery meat
counters, or fried, the only meat on the menu in the two town restaurants.
Overly hot Mexican food was an alternative. There being no doctors or
hospital in Socorro, our frequent weekends to Albuquerque to see the
obstetrician offered a chance to enjoy the hospitality of the lovely
Alvarado Hotel there. The Santa Fe charged right up to the doorway of the
hotel where Indians in native garb waited to show and sell their arts to
incoming tourists. Literally, it was a "Gateway to the West" as the sign
over the entrance gate stated.
There was a splendid dining room with waitresses in Spanish costumes and
very much an atmosphere of the grand hotels that railroads built as major
show places and resorts around the turn of the century.
To return to our arrival in Socorro, and the little hotel there where we
went on our arrival night, there was much scurrying about as a large party
was to be held that evening. Since visitors at the hotel were few and Tom's
position at the local college made him already known, we were invited to
join in the festivities. The party was a birthday celebration to honor the
grand dame of Socorro, the beloved Senora Baca. All the town seemed to be
there to pay tribute to the tiny little lady of 90, beautifully dressed in
an ankle length black silk of an earlier day, with lace and jewels to make a
picture perfect image. She and her family were among the earliest, and
surely the most distinguished, of the Socorro citizens and one of the few
aristocratic Spanish families to still be social, political and economic
leaders. Her late husband, El Fago Baca, bad been their sheriff in
territorial days, as well as U.S. Marshall and legislator.
The senora reigned that evening as a queen might, graciously greeting all
well-wishers from her throne-like seat in the large hall. We were
enchanted.
It was nearly a year later, back in Batesville, that I learned from Aunt Dan
that the same Senora Baca had been her dearest friend in those much earlier
days when they were frontier wives together at Socorro, the senora of landed
Spanish gentry and Aunt Dan, who followed the Santa Fe through the
wilderness of New Mexico. Time and the world become swiftly small for us.
After several months in Batesville, she had lightened our lives a great deal
and brought much comfort to my grandmother, her sister.
Always helpful, entertaining, daring and accomplished -- an unusual lady and
a new kinswoman who had enriched my life and broadened my horizons.
Cecilia King Butt
1988
Notes on Elfego Baca (By Phyllis Eileen Banks):
Silver was discovered in the Magdalena Mountains west of Socorro in 1867,
creating growth in that army town. (Ft. Craig was 20 miles to the south.) By
1890, Socorro was the largest city in New Mexico. Reportedly 3,000 miners
made it their home and their trading, gambling, and drinking center. Between
thirty and forty saloons were built to accommodate their demands. It became
evident before long that law and order were unknown qualities.
Enter Elfego Baca. Born in 1865, his arrival into the world was dramatic.
His mother was pregnant at 19 and, so the story goes, was playing baseball.
She jumped for the ball, came down with a thump, and "Elfego entered the
ball game!"
His legendary fame was similar to that of Billy the Kid, except he was on
the side of the law as sheriff, marshal, district attorney, school
superintendent, and mayor. At age nineteen, he established his reputation as
a quick draw with a deadly aim when he held 80 Texas cowboys at bay for
thirty-six hours, killing four and wounding eight.
His goal in life was to be an A-1 peace officer. He wanted, he said, "the
outlaws to hear my steps a block away." After he became sheriff of Socorro
County, indictments were handed down for the arrests of many of the county's
criminals. When his deputies began to arm themselves, Baca stopped their
pursuit of lawbreakers. Instead, he sent a letter to each of the accused,
saying, "I have a warrant here for your arrest. Please come in by March 15
and give yourself up. If you don't, I'll know you intend to resist arrest,
and I will feel justified in shooting you on sight when I come after you."
One by one, they arrived and laid down their guns.
Baca reportedly stole a gun from Pancho Villa, and Villa retaliated by
offering a $30,000 reward for Baca, dead or alive. Baca did die in 1945 at
the age of 80. In 1958, Walt Disney released a movie titled "Nine Lives of
Elfego Baca."
Socorro suffered reverses with silver losing its value. There were droughts
and floods. The mines and smelter shut down as did the Crown Flour Mill.
However, Socorro's mining glory lives on in the New Mexico Institute of
Mining and Technology that opened in 1893 under the name "New Mexico School
of Mines." The Magdalena Mountains, with the remaining shafts and tunnels of
the mines, are its laboratory.
1 Resource: Roadside History of New Mexico, Francis L. and Roberta B.
Fugate, 1989
iv. ADELA CHILDRESS18, b. Abt. 1853, AL.
v. SEABORN CHILDRESS18, b. Abt. 1855.
2. vi. SARAH ALAMEDA CHILDRESS, b. February 25, 1860, Cedartown,
Polk County, GA; d. December 17, 1942, El Paso, El Paso County, TX.
3. vii. MINNIE BEAUREGARD CHILDRESS, b. July 13, 1861, DeKalb
County, AL; d. April 12, 1948, El Paso, TX.
Generation No. 2
2. SARAH ALAMEDA2 CHILDRESS (FRANCIS MARION1)19 was born February 25, 1860
in Cedartown, Polk County, GA20, and died December 17, 1942 in El Paso, El
Paso County, TX. She married BAZZLY HENRY BLACKWELL21,22 December 26, 1877
in Fort Payne, DeKalb County, AL, son of THOMAS BLACKWELL and NANCY WOMACK.
He was born October 20, 1847 in DeKalb County, AL22, and died July 28, 1894
in Fort Payne, ,DeKalb County, AL22.
More About SARAH ALAMEDA CHILDRESS:
Burial: Masonic Cemetery, Silver City, Grant County, NM
vocation: Miliner23
Notes for BAZZLY HENRY BLACKWELL:
Mrs. W.E.Blackwell 7012 Aztec Road N.E., Albuquerque NM 87110 is looking for
the origin of her husbands ancester Thomas J. Blackwell:
Thomas J. Blackwell m 1831 Caswell Co. NC, d.ca.1850 DeKalb Co. AL. Married
1800 Nancy Slade Womack, dau. of David Delilah (Graves) Womack, in Caswell
Co. Issue:
· Bazzly H. Blackwell b.1847 Oct. 20 Ft.Payne DeKalb Co.AL, d.1894 July 28
DeKalb Co. Married 1877 Dec.26 Sarah Alameda Childress dau. of Franklin
Marion Childress. Issue:
· Walter Thomas Blackwell b.1888 Mar.30 DeKalb Co. AL,d.1960 Feb.1 El Paso
Texas. Married 1916 June 21 Silver City NM Ina Lynd Marriott.Issue:
· William Edward Blackwell b.1927 June 7 El Paso TX. Married Jan Boyd.
This ancestor chart is dated 1981 and was printed in the Blackwell
Researcher 1991 Q4 p11.
http://genweb.net/~blackwell/blql/blknc1.htm
More About BAZZLY HENRY BLACKWELL:
Burial: Little Sulphur Springs Cemetery, Fort Payne, AL
military: Civil War, volunteered at age of 17 in 186524
vocation: Dentist25
More About BAZZLY BLACKWELL and SARAH CHILDRESS:
Marriage: December 26, 1877, Fort Payne, DeKalb County, AL
Children of SARAH CHILDRESS and BAZZLY BLACKWELL are:
i. LULA ADLINE3 BLACKWELL26, b. March 22, 1879, Fort Payne,
,DeKalb County, AL; d. Abt. 1935; m. JOHN D. DWYER26.
More About LULA ADLINE BLACKWELL:
Burial: Springfield, MO
ii. MINNIE E. BLACKWELL26, b. February 1884, Fort Payne, ,DeKalb
County, AL; d. 1951, El Paso, El Paso County, TX; m. EDWARD D. MCADAMS.
Notes for MINNIE E. BLACKWELL:
I knew "Janie," continue to wonder why two daughters were named Minnie. She
died shortly after Bill and I were married, had cancer. We moved her from
Silver City to El Paso so that the Blackwells could care for her. She died
in the hospital. They had at least one daughter whom I met in the early days
of our marriage. (Jan Blackwell)
More About MINNIE E. BLACKWELL:
Burial: Silver City, Grant County, NM
iii. WALTER THOMAS BLACKWELL26, b. March 30, 1888, Fort Payne,
DeKalb County, AL26; d. February 01, 1960, El Paso, El Paso County, TX; m.
INA LYND MARRIOT26, June 21, 1916, Silver City, NM26; b. September 21, 1891,
Silver City, Grant County, NM; d. October 04, 1959, El Paso, El Paso County,
TX.
Notes for WALTER THOMAS BLACKWELL:
Walter Blackwell was a merchant, owned the first music store of note in El
Paso called Tri-State Music Co., and started the first radio station, still
called KTSM for his store. Walter and John opened a store in Silver in the
early years, and to this day there is a Blackwell's Jewelers in Silver City,
NM.
More About WALTER THOMAS BLACKWELL:
Burial: Restlawn Memorial Park, El Paso, TX26
More About INA LYND MARRIOT:
Burial: Restlawn Memorial Park, El Paso, TX26
More About WALTER BLACKWELL and INA MARRIOT:
Marriage: June 21, 1916, Silver City, NM26
iv. WILLIE BLACKWELL26, b. August 20, 1890, Fort Payne, ,DeKalb
County, AL; d. November 19, 1890, Fort Payne, ,DeKalb County, AL.
More About WILLIE BLACKWELL:
Burial: Little Sulphur Springs Cemetery, Fort Payne, AL
v. MINNIE J. BLACKWELL26, b. August 28, 1891, Fort Payne,
,DeKalb County, AL; d. June 28, 1893, Fort Payne, ,DeKalb County, AL.
More About MINNIE J. BLACKWELL:
Burial: Little Sulphur Springs Cemetery, Fort Payne, AL
vi. JOHN HENRY BLACKWELL26, b. October 13, 1892, Fort Payne,
,DeKalb County, AL; d. 1957; m. MARGARET DEWITT26, 1920, El Paso, TX.
More About JOHN BLACKWELL and MARGARET DEWITT:
Marriage: 1920, El Paso, TX
3. MINNIE BEAUREGARD2 CHILDRESS (FRANCIS MARION1)27,28,29 was born July 13,
1861 in DeKalb County, AL30, and died April 12, 1948 in El Paso, TX31. She
married LILBURN HENDERSON KING32,33 December 24, 1882 in Fort Payne, DeKalb
County, AL34, son of JAMES KING and PARMELIA MATHENY. He was born August
14, 1859 in Ft. Payne, DeKalb County, AL35, and died November 13, 1925 in
Batesville, Independence County, AR36.
More About MINNIE BEAUREGARD CHILDRESS:
Burial: From Attala, AL37
Notes for LILBURN HENDERSON KING:
"Lilburn Henderson King of Ft. Payne, Alabama and Minnie Beauregard
Childress of Attalla, Alabama were married 24 December 1882 in presence of
G.W. Webb and wife: Thos. Hollera, (orman). John Franklin, Judge of Probate"
Decorated in the style of the time. Only the wedding and birth pages from
the family bible are intact. (Compiled by Cecilia King Butt, 1990. Now in
the files of William Jackson Butt II, Fayetteville, AR, 501/443-3707)
More About LILBURN HENDERSON KING:
Burial: From Ft, Payne, AL37
christened: 1925, Buried Oaklawn Cem., Batesville, AR37
More About LILBURN KING and MINNIE CHILDRESS:
Marriage: December 24, 1882, Fort Payne, DeKalb County, AL38
Children of MINNIE CHILDRESS and LILBURN KING are:
i. HARRY3 KING39, b. September 06, 1886, Van Buren, AR40; d.
June 22, 1971, Batesville, AR41; m. HELEN CHRISTINE MARTIN41, December 31,
1916, batesville, AR; b. September 20, 1895, Powhatan, AR41; d. December 11,
1988, Fayetteville, AR41.
Notes for HELEN CHRISTINE MARTIN:
HELEN MARTIN KING
In 1933 the King family (Helen and Harry) bought a very old (past the
century mark) house in Searcy, Arkansas. It was a great challenge to turn
this crazy quilt of a house into the first real home of their own. The
central hall had once been a long, slanting front porch, with two rooms
added along the outer side later. With each new addition, floors and
foundations had to be leveled and then steps added at new doorways. In the
center of the house stood a two-story, very thick brick "cooling house" for
milk and other refrigeration needs. A true relic of earlier times.
Needing rugs to match the period of the old house, and to decorate the wide
plank floors held together by wooden pins, Helen recalled the hooked rugs
she had seen in pictures and uses of early American home furnishings. Those
rugs had been made from scraps of wool, a fabric, which not only wore well,
but held fast the dye colors. Old sewing scraps, worn out blankets and
clothing could be salvaged for a second life: an appealing consideration in
those mid-depression days. She decided to make and use hand-hooked rugs
throughout the house.
A base fabric for the rug had to be selected, a design decided on and drawn
onto the base fabric (burlap). A quick-drying but permanent paint and one
which would not smear onto the wool hooking material was necessary. A
hooking tool had to be found or designed and made. Woolens must be dyed to
the desired colors, as colors in hooking were to be blended as were
paintings in oil or water color; shadings were to be delicate and graduated.
They would be the palette of the artist.
As these problems were worked out, friends and neighbors became interested
in the project as an art exercise, a congenial pastime (hookers clubs and
groups) and a means of self-expression in the production of something
beautiful for their homes.
The first rug pattern, drawn directly onto the burlap, went to an eager
neighbor; the next to a friend, and a line of waiting "hookers" grabbed
patterns, as they were ready. It was quickly evident that it would be
necessary to use a stencil to reproduce the same pattern rather than
transfer by tracing or free hand drawing. Stencil board the proper weight
must be located, cutting tools for the stencils found, and skill acquired in
using the cutting tools to reproduce enough of the pattern to be painted
through the openings, but not so delicately cut that it could not withstand
the heavy crushing on of paint without breaking.
Eventually Helen was working on her own first rug for her new home but was
also busy filling the growing demand for new pattern designs as well as the
original ones. Groups of hooking artists were formed for fun and learning.
She was asked to instruct, to show finished rugs, to share the hard-learned
secrets of dying cloth to achieve gradations of color and shading, and to
plan entire color schemes for rugs and the rooms they would decorate.
Within two years, this newly discovered art occupied enthusiastic homemakers
throughout Arkansas and into surrounding states.
Four years later she was creating custom designs on 9' X 12' patterns, as
well as hall runners. She was teaching technicians to help operate a
full-time, stencil-stamping workshop. There were stencilers, burlap
checkers-menders-hemmers, touch-up artists to connect the unfinished stencil
lines, a secretary to help answer inquiries, a mail clerk to package and
mail patterns ordered from a color brochure or price list. Making hooks was
a full time local cottage industry by itself. She was dealing directly with
importers to acquire the finest and best of burlap for patterns and buying
in multi-bolt quantities. Putnam Dye Co. had their chemist work with her to
analyze her dye formulas and achieve blends of color she had laboriously
created from their basic dyes. Then they marketed "Mahogany Rose" and other
new colors for home use. They worked with the Dor Woolen Mills in New
England so six different shadings of that and other color groups could be
vat dyed at the mills and shipped by bolts to Arkansas. Here they were cut
into about 4" x 12" strips, and then the five to eight shades needed for a
single flower, leaf or scroll would be bound together for a "swatch," ready
for customer use. A refined version of turning an old pink robe into green
for leaves, in the kitchen dye pot.
By shaded drawings and numbered directions Helen compiled a book, How To
Hook Rugs, for far-away rug makers needing instructions.
Beginning hookers were becoming experts and forming classes (in which they
were teachers) themselves; they also acted as representatives for the "Mrs.
Harry King Hooked Rug Patterns," as well as for woolens, cutting machines
(which cut the wool into multiple uniform strips), and hooking needles and
her books.
Bus was booming. LIFE magazine sent a writer and photographer to get
material for the feature article they printed about Helen and her hooked
rugs. National Geographic featured her in an article about Arkansas. This
additional publicity resulted in immediate invitations to New York,
Chicago and other cities of the South, East and Central United States to put
on rug shows, sell patterns, and to give instructions.
Museums, department store needlework departments, ladies' clubs, church
groups and other associations vied for a place on her calendar.
Helen's older daughter Carol King Reid was a skilled, artistic and capable
partner in all these developing events. A silk screening process she had
seen at the Art Department of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville led
to the application of this method in stamping patterns. It was much faster
and better than hand-stenciled stamping, but required that every stencil had
to be redrawn on a different material, and the new stencils cut on a special
machine, the cutting lines guided by hand. Billy Hill of Pine Bluff,
who had used silk screening in his advertising business, was soon turning
out patterns for her in 100-count lots of each design, and the number of
different patterns regularly produced had grown to 50 or more.
Special orders were continuously arriving for custom designs, which she
created. The mother of a Naval Academy student wanted the Naval Academy
seal drawn on a round rug into which she planned to hook the materials of
his Midshipman uniforms. Rug designing turned from roses to eagle feathers.
The director of one of the United States armed forces bands (Navy or Marine)
wanted a runner for a long stairway with a different musical instrument on
each upright section.
Nor was rug hooking restricted to ladies only; her most frequent orders for
8' x 10' or 9' x 12' room-sized rugs came from an active surgeon who found
pleasure in the hand work and felt that the exercise helped hone the agility
and skill of his hands.
Throughout this period of explosive growth in the hooked rug world, Carol
continued to be her talented right hand, and her husband Harry was her
loving strength, support, anchor, and bookkeeper! All this, while he still
gave full time to his job as pastor in a community or dean of Arkansas
College.
Helen's scrapbooks contain hundreds of pictures and articles reporting her
rug exhibits, newspaper interviews, radio talk and show reviews which
announced her arrival and activities in different cities.
The full blossoming and bloom of her artistic talent and ability had, during
these years, been shared with thousands as they, too, found satisfaction and
beauty in the creation of lovely and loved objects for their homes and
families; it provided a happy communion with friends who worked and learned
together.
She was a Cinderella who had overcome great personal grief and tragedy,
later emotional and physical hardships; she had mastered technicalities, and
other seemingly impossible barriers to find, to give, to share the joy of
creating beauty.
Helen Martin was born September 20, 1895 in Powatan, Arkansas, a small
community in Lawrence County on the Black River where lumbering, mill work
and fertile farm land formed the hub of business. Her father was a
successful businessman who manufactured wagons and wagon parts from the fine
hardwoods along the river at nearby Black Rock. He had invested wisely and
heavily in farm lands and later in other real estate-a long leap from his
penniless departure from home at age 16 to be a "man on his own." He had a
fine tenor voice and loved to sing shaped-note harmony; he had a devilish
sense of humor, yet a deep and ever-present, active concern for his family
and anyone who was in need in any way.
In about 1903 he brought his family to Batesville to live. Their household
goods, his wife "Belle" and daughter Helen made the move in two covered
wagons, two days to make the 80-mile trek. By 1905 their new home was
completed at 225 North 8th Street in Batesville, though he kept expanding
for the next few years. The only child of "Belle and Johnny" (Isabell
Norment Martin and John William Martin) was Helen. She was adored and
indulged by a generous father but kept in line by a stern, firm, sensible
mother. After a paddling in the public school administered as punishment in
grade for talking out of turn, her father indignantly withdrew her from the
vulgarities of public school, and she thereafter attended the academy of
Arkansas College. His break with the public school system was not
permanent, as he served on the board in later years. The 1916 edition of
the school yearbook was dedicated to him.
The day in 1905 the Martins moved into their new home on 8th Street across
from the Hail family one of the Hail sons, Fitzhugh, fell in love with the
little 10-year-old Helen. He was then 27 years old but vowed to wait for a
wife until she was grown and could become his wife. Seven years later they
were married. He built her a lovely cottage home next door to her parents,
took her to St. Louis to select everything beautiful her heart desired to
furnish their home. She was loved and adored and lavishly provided for in
every way possible. A full-time housekeeper was hired to care for the
couple's needs so no work could disturb the throne, the loving pedestal upon
which Fitzhugh had placed his bride.
And only powers beyond those of man could and did leave heartbreaking
disaster and a crumbled life and dream in its path. A ruptured appendix
claimed the life of the new husband, Fitzhugh, within the year, and a son
was stillborn, thought to have been caused by the anesthetic.
Again, an indulgent father and loving mother nurtured Helen's strengths and
talents to lead her toward a new life. She had had her grand piano for
several years and played and sang well (she never knew whether her father or
Fitzhugh had bought it, as it was just announced as "paid in full" when she
went to make a second payment on it). It was agreed that she should pursue
musical studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where she could
also have access to the fine musical productions of opera, concert and
theater that the city offered. She did this to the fullest. And a little
more, perhaps. At 93, it still brings a spirited twinkle to her eye to tell
of some of the girlish skylarks she indulged in while a student away from
parental eye and hand for the first time, and in concert with her young girl
roommates at the dormitory.
The following year she determined to go southward toward the part of the
country where her mother had grown up and her forbears had lived in
Louisiana -- to Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans for the study of art.
This experience provided great growth, satisfaction and inspiration, which
would be more fully developed in years to come.
Soon after her year at Newcomb, a second great love entered her life--a
recently graduated divinity student from Vanderbilt University where he had
prepared himself for the ministry and led the entire school in grades for
which he had received the Founders Medal, a highly coveted award. This
followed his undergraduate degree earned at the University of Arkansas where
he had been prepared as a teacher and had graduated as valedictorian of his
class. Harry King's career would follow both of these directions, teaching
and the ministry. However, both were delayed by World War I, during which
he served as Christian advisor and recreational director for the YMCA at
Camp Seville near Greenville, South Carolina. Helen and Harry King were
married December 31, 1916. Helen was a willing camp follower, bearing her
first daughter Carol at Atlanta, Georgia. Later she was the popular and
able pianist and song leader for the troops at the YMCA recreational hall
where Harry was assigned. Her thick portfolio of popular sheet music of the
time remains a favorite family heirloom from which great granddaughter Katie
(age 6 in 1988) has learned to sing "K-K-K-Katy, beautiful Katy, you're the
g-g-g-girl that I adore . . . " And from which, the week of September 20th,
1988, Helen sang, at the end of a happy celebration of her 93rd birthday,
"When you come to the end of a perfect day . . . "
A faculty position at Galloway Methodist College for Women in Searcy,
Arkansas followed the end of the war and the YMCA work. Harry had the title
there of "Dean," but he also held chapel every day, taught one course in
history, was scholastic advisor and acting parental advisor for all
students. Part of his duties might now be entitled father-confessor,
psychological counseling and Christian leadership director.
Helen, again, entered school as a Galloway student, taking all the Home
Economics courses offered and becoming an excellent seamstress for her two
little girls (Cecilia being born at Galloway)-and a splendid home manager.
In the role of Dean's wife she also gave "little teas" frequently to
demonstrate to the young lady students the finer points of preparation,
table setting, and serving as a cordial, refined and gracious hostess.
Next she entered the college art department, where she took every course
offered, covering oil and water color painting, drawing and design, china
painting, interior design and others. And all of these came into full play
eventually enriching her ever-changing life and the lives of those she
touched.
Returning to the --Hooked Rug designed by Mrs. Harry King" theme, as well as
the rugs she not only designed for others but made into beautiful finished
rugs of her own . . .
With the termination of World War II in the 1940s and the return of our
armed forces from all around the globe, the country's population went
through an entirely new mixing, mingling, moving, shifting, resettling of
homes. She and Harry had spent two of the war years (as had many Americans)
harboring children and grandchildren while young husbands and fathers were
serving overseas. Both daughters, each with a baby boy, were added to the
King household at Batesville. Their home then was again at 255 North 8th
Street as Helen's had been in 1905, in the very same home, and Harry was
dean at Arkansas College.
By the late fifties and early sixties, the hooked rug venture had almost
come to a halt, though Helen still held classes for a new generation of rug
makers until 1977. It had been a magnificent experience, but with Harry's
illness and many more new, growing grandchildren begging for time with them,
it was perhaps a good time to wind down. Even so, in the summer of 1988, I
received two orders for her rug patterns, 44 years after the first one was
conceived and created. There was somewhat of a continuation of the business
with Ann Lacey of Searcy still supplying existing patterns but doing no
designing.
However, Helen's eye and appreciation of beauty and her ability to create
beauty continue to remind all who have known her of her touch as an artist
as she has advised, approved, and taught. Each who entered her sphere has
experienced the gift and joy of art, which she has so generously shared.
Harry died in 1971, and Carol in 1972. These losses took away her drive and
desire to continue the hooked rug work in any way. A door had closed on a
vast and beautiful segment of her life. Though it would never close on the
continued ties of family and friends and her ever-giving love and the
sharing of herself with them. Her own rugs, which she considered her most
beautiful, she gave to two state museums: the Daisy Scroll to the Arkansas
Arts Center and the Broken Wreath to the Powatan Court House (now a state
park) and another to the Arkansas College museum.
In 1988 she is at Butterfield Trail Village in Fayetteville, a retirement
community where she first had an apartment and later moved into the Health
Care Center where she has the good care that her increased immobility
requires. Her daughter Cecilia Butt and a grandson Jack Butt live in the
same town with their families.
1990 Addendum: Helen Martin King died December 12, 1988 at Fayetteville.
She is buried in Oaklawn Cemetery in Batesville, Arkansas. Her own
grandsons and the "boys" (students who stayed at her house after Harry's
death) were there to serve as pallbearers. She would have been so proud of
the two former college boys who are now ministers who shared in her funeral
service with music and prayer.
Cecilia King Butt 1988; 1990 addendum
Life Magazine, January 29, 1940
National Geographic, 1944
This was written in answer to Nancy Britton's request for information about
how the hooked rug business started and for a bit of biographical
information on Helen King.
PART 2
Summers at Batesville from 1946 on were to be shared with and devoted to the
three grandsons and one granddaughter. Each child had his own special time
with Murt and Ha-Ha (the family names for Helen and Harry). There were
daily outings in the family jeep -- a thrilling ride for small children, and
the same vehicle in which they all had their first driving lesson later.
Now, in the autumn of 1990, the same jeep is being restored to pristine
original condition, a joint effort of two of those grandsons, Thomas King
Butt and William Jackson Butt II.
On early visits to the jeep and its family in Batesville, there were caves
to be explored, woods to walk through, fishing and swimming expeditions, and
picnics were frequent affairs. Storytelling during quiet hours was a
special time. Ha-Ha effortlessly spun tales for hours from the world of
"Mr. Coon," "Sly Fox," and all their friends and enemies from the woods,
though all the seemingly bad guys finally become good. Murt was ever ready
with tales of her childhood and family lore that went back generations into
Louisiana and Mississippi. The stories were repeated joyfully for all who
shared those happy hours. The devotion of the grandchildren to grandparents
grew into mature and deep understanding, admiration and lave as they became
older. And ties became strengthened with each passing year.
Nor was the sharing of home and love limited only to family and close
friends. Both sad and happy times were part of later, newer friendships and
experiences. For 16 years after Harry's death in 1971, Helen gave a room to
a college boy, or sometimes two, from Arkansas College. They prepared,
planned, and served the evening meal together or turned about as chef and
dishwasher. However, a constant standard was dictated that the dining room
table was prettily and properly set for every meal; that the requirement of
good etiquette be practiced at mealtime (and that sometimes needed to be
first taught and then learned); and that a beginning blessing of the
occasion was to be given.
Many boys learned proper eating habits and the use of eating tools they had
never seen before. They all experienced a gracious way of life frequently
strange and new to them at the time, but it became a continuing part of
their lives when they left. They often had fraternity
More About HARRY KING and HELEN MARTIN:
Marriage: December 31, 1916, batesville, AR
ii. EDGAR KING42,43, b. August 01, 1884, Van Buren, AR44; d.
October 197045; m. SUSAN NICKERSON MOODY46,47, January 29, 1910, San
Francisco, CA48.
Notes for EDGAR KING:
Graduated from the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas
School of Medicine. He was a career officer in the Army Medical Corps.
"He was a pioneer in the field of psychiatry. His entire household staff at
Ft. Leavenworth were prisoners whom he had rehabilitated. During his time in
the Canal Zone, he probably did more regarding the fevers 'get screens,'
than others. He later worked in the pentagon with some doctors who had
served with him in the Canal Zone, and they told me that Granddaddy King had
done all of this. He was 6' 9'' tall and a commanding presence." (from Susan
Dau Fannon, 1989)
At Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, Edgar King was Chief Surgeon - he handled
all the casualties (for all service branches). He was [prepared - highly
decorated - he had known months in advance of a Japanese attack that Hawaii
was vulnerable and had requisitioned adequate medical supplies." He was
later cited for outstanding service, promoted to brigadier general, head of
the Medical Department of Hawaiian Islands (then a U.S. Territory). He
retired from there and with his wife Susan lived in Kerrville and El Paso,
TX - later in Reno, NV.
(All of above from Cecilia King Butt, 1990)
[Butt2.FTW]
Graduated from the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas
School of Medicine. He was a career officer in the Army Medical Corps.
"He was a pioneer in the field of psychiatry. His entire household staff at
Ft. Leavenworth were prisoners whom he had rehabilitated. During his time in
the Canal Zone, he probably did more regarding the fevers 'get screens,'
than others. He later worked in the pentagon with some doctors who had
served with him in the Canal Zone, and they told me that Granddaddy King had
done all of this. He was 6' 9'' tall and a commanding presence." (from Susan
Dau Fannon, 1989)
At Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, Edgar King was Chief Surgeon - he handled
all the casualties (for all service branches). He was [prepared - highly
decorated - he had known months in advance of a Japanese attack that Hawaii
was vulnerable and had requisitioned adequate medical supplies." He was
later cited for outstanding service, promoted to brigadier general, head of
the Medical Department of Hawaiian Islands (then a U.S. Territory). He
retired from there and with his wife Susan lived in Kerrville and El Paso,
TX - later in Reno, NV.
(All of above from Cecilia King Butt, 1990)
[Butt2.FTW]
Graduated from the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas
School of Medicine. He was a career officer in the Army Medical Corps.
"He was a pioneer in the field of psychiatry. His entire household staff at
Ft. Leavenworth were prisoners whom he had rehabilitated. During his time in
the Canal Zone, he probably did more regarding the fevers 'get screens,'
than others. He later worked in the pentagon with some doctors who had
served with him in the Canal Zone, and they told me that Granddaddy King had
done all of this. He was 6' 9'' tall and a commanding presence." (from Susan
Dau Fannon, 1989)
At Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, Edgar King was Chief Surgeon - he handled
all the casualties (for all service branches). He was [prepared - highly
decorated - he had known months in advance of a Japanese attack that Hawaii
was vulnerable and had requisitioned adequate medical supplies." He was
later cited for outstanding service, promoted to brigadier general, head of
the Medical Department of Hawaiian Islands (then a U.S. Territory). He
retired from there and with his wife Susan lived in Kerrville and El Paso,
TX - later in Reno, NV.
(All of above from Cecilia King Butt, 1990)
[Butt2.FTW]
Graduated from the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas
School of Medicine. He was a career officer in the Army Medical Corps.
"He was a pioneer in the field of psychiatry. His entire household staff at
Ft. Leavenworth were prisoners whom he had rehabilitated. During his time in
the Canal Zone, he probably did more regarding the fevers 'get screens,'
than others. He later worked in the pentagon with some doctors who had
served with him in the Canal Zone, and they told me that Granddaddy King had
done all of this. He was 6' 9'' tall and a commanding presence." (from Susan
Dau Fannon, 1989)
At Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, Edgar King was Chief Surgeon - he handled
all the casualties (for all service branches). He was [prepared - highly
decorated - he had known months in advance of a Japanese attack that Hawaii
was vulnerable and had requisitioned adequate medical supplies." He was
later cited for outstanding service, promoted to brigadier general, head of
the Medical Department of Hawaiian Islands (then a U.S. Territory). He
retired from there and with his wife Susan lived in Kerrville and El Paso,
TX - later in Reno, NV.
(All of above from Cecilia King Butt, 1990)
More About EDGAR KING:
Burial: Ft. Leavenworth, KS48,49
More About EDGAR KING and SUSAN MOODY:
Marriage: January 29, 1910, San Francisco, CA50
iii. WALTER COOK KING50,51, b. May 17, 1888, Van Buren, AR52; d.
April 27, 1910, Fayetteville, AR52.
Notes for WALTER COOK KING:
Died while a student at the University of Arkansas of spinal meningitis. he
was named after the husband, Walter Cook, of his aunt Dandridge. (Cecilia
King Butt, 1990)
More About WALTER COOK KING:
Burial: Evergreen Cemetery, Fayetteville, AR53
iv. ARTHUR KING54,55, b. November 20, 1890, Van Buren, AR56.
Notes for ARTHUR KING:
Graduated from University of Arkansas with a degree in Civil Engineering.
Served in France during World War I as an officer in the 14th Engineer
Regiment. After the war, he became a doctor of optometry and was practicing
that profession in El Paso at the time of his death from a heart attack
(Cecilia King Butt, 1990)[Butt2.FTW]
Graduated from University of Arkansas with a degree in Civil Engineering.
Served in France during World War I as an officer in the 14th Engineer
Regiment. After the war, he became a doctor of optometry and was practicing
that profession in El Paso at the time of his death from a heart attack
(Cecilia King Butt, 1990)[Butt2.FTW]
Graduated from University of Arkansas with a degree in Civil Engineering.
Served in France during World War I as an officer in the 14th Engineer
Regiment. After the war, he became a doctor of optometry and was practicing
that profession in El Paso at the time of his death from a heart attack
(Cecilia King Butt, 1990)[Butt2.FTW]
Graduated from University of Arkansas with a degree in Civil Engineering.
Served in France during World War I as an officer in the 14th Engineer
Regiment. After the war, he became a doctor of optometry and was practicing
that profession in El Paso at the time of his death from a heart attack
(Cecilia King Butt, 1990)
Endnotes
1. Butt, Cecilia King, deceased, researcher. Files now in possession of
William Jackson Butt, II, Fayetteville, AR (501/443-3707).
2. Penn, Judge J.W., Family Bible, Gadsen, AL (From Butt, Cecilia King,
Researcher).
3. 1860 Census, Rawlingsville (P.O.) DeKalb County, AL.
4. 1850 Census, DeKalb County, AL.
5. DAR National Number 327865, Sarah Childress (Blackwell), Widow of Bazzey
H. Blackwell, 412 Bayard, Silver City, NM, 6/4/1941..
6. 1850 Census, DeKalb County, AL.
7. Brøderbund Software, Inc., World Family Tree Vol. 7, Ed. 1, (Release
date: October 17, 1996), "CD-ROM," Tree #1913, Date of Import: Jan 11, 1999.
8. Butt, Cecilia King, deceased, researcher. Files now in possession of
William Jackson Butt, II, Fayetteville, AR (501/443-3707).
9. Penn, Judge J.W., Family Bible, Gadsen, AL (From Butt, Cecilia King,
Researcher).
10. 1860 Census, Polk County, GA.
11. Brøderbund Software, Inc., World Family Tree Vol. 7, Ed. 1, (Release
date: October 17, 1996), "CD-ROM," Tree #1913, Date of Import: Jan 11, 1999.
12. Butt, Cecilia King, deceased, researcher. Files now in possession of
William Jackson Butt, II, Fayetteville, AR (501/443-3707).
13. 1860 Census, Polk County, GA.
14. 1850 Census, DeKalb County, AL.
15. 1860 Census, Polk County, GA.
16. 1850 Census, DeKalb County, AL.
17. Butt, Cecilia King, deceased, researcher. Files now in possession of
William Jackson Butt, II, Fayetteville, AR (501/443-3707).
18. 1860 Census, Polk County, GA.
19. Blackwell, Mrs. W.E.(Jan), 7012 Aztec Road, N.E., Albuquerque, NM
87110, 505/884-4129 JanBigRed(a)aol.com.
20. 1850 Census, DeKalb County, AL.
21. Butt, Cecilia King, deceased, researcher. Files now in possession of
William Jackson Butt, II, Fayetteville, AR (501/443-3707).
22. Blackwell, Mrs. W.E.(Jan), 7012 Aztec Road, N.E., Albuquerque, NM
87110, 505/884-4129 JanBigRed(a)aol.com.
23. 1900 DeKalb County Census.
24. Blackwell, Mrs. W.E.(Jan), 7012 Aztec Road, N.E., Albuquerque, NM
87110, 505/884-4129 JanBigRed(a)aol.com, Letter from Sarah Alameda Childress
Blackwell 3/10/1938.
25. Blackwell, Mrs. W.E.(Jan), 7012 Aztec Road, N.E., Albuquerque, NM
87110, 505/884-4129 JanBigRed(a)aol.com, Letter from Sarah Alameda Childress
Blackwell 3/10/ 1938.
26. Blackwell, Mrs. W.E.(Jan), 7012 Aztec Road, N.E., Albuquerque, NM
87110, 505/884-4129 JanBigRed(a)aol.com.
27. Butt, Cecilia King, deceased, researcher. Files now in possession of
William Jackson Butt, II, Fayetteville, AR (501/443-3707).
28. Penn, Judge J.W., Family Bible, Gadsen, AL (From Butt, Cecilia King,
Researcher).
29. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
30. King Family Bible, Jack Butt, Fayetteville, AR.
31. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
32. Butt, Cecilia King, deceased, researcher. Files now in possession of
William Jackson Butt, II, Fayetteville, AR (501/443-3707).
33. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
34. DeKalb County Record Book, Mariage Records, Book C, Page 219, mariage
license dated 12/21/1882
35. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
36. King Family Bible, Jack Butt, Fayetteville, AR.
37. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
38. DeKalb County Record Book, Mariage Records, Book C, Page 219, mariage
license dated 12/21/1882
39. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
40. King Family Bible, Jack Butt, Fayetteville, AR.
41. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
42. Butt, Cecilia King, deceased, researcher. Files now in possession of
William Jackson Butt, II, Fayetteville, AR (501/443-3707).
43. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
44. King Family Bible, Jack Butt, Fayetteville, AR.
45. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
46. Butt, Cecilia King, deceased, researcher. Files now in possession of
William Jackson Butt, II, Fayetteville, AR (501/443-3707).
47. Butt2.FTW, Tree #0080, Date of Import: Sep 19, 1998.
48. Butt, Cecilia King, deceased, researcher. Files now in possession of
William Jackson Butt, II, Fayetteville, AR (501/443-3707).
49. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
50. Butt, Cecilia King, deceased, researcher. Files now in possession of
William Jackson Butt, II, Fayetteville, AR (501/443-3707).
51. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
52. King Family Bible, Jack Butt, Fayetteville, AR.
53. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
54. Butt, Cecilia King, deceased, researcher. Files now in possession of
William Jackson Butt, II, Fayetteville, AR (501/443-3707).
55. Butt2.FTW, Date of Import: Nov 6, 1998.
56. King Family Bible, Jack Butt, Fayetteville, AR.
-----Original Message-----
From: S. Childress [mailto:sjwchildress@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2000 8:27 AM
To: CHILDRESS-L(a)rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: [Childress Research] Dandridge CHILDRESS (King)
Are you related to the Childress family in Marshall Co. Al.? Shirley
>From: "Butt, Thomas" <tom.butt(a)intres.com>
>Reply-To: CHILDRESS-L(a)rootsweb.com
>To: CHILDRESS-L(a)rootsweb.com
>Subject: [Childress Research] Dandridge CHILDRESS (King)
>Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 09:47:29 -0700
>
>MY AUNT DAN
>
>Dandridge Childress Cook was a sister to my grandmother, Minnie Childress
>King (Mrs. Lilburn H. King). 'Though my parents had known her in earlier
>years, rny first meeting with her was when she came to Batesville to visit
>Grandmother King in 1945. She was a large, yet gentle, cheerful woman who
>happily and quickly took over the often troubling periods with my
>Grandmother King, who was fairly senile at the tire and very determined in
>her ways.
>Great Aunt Dan was energetic, well-informed on all matters, it seemed to
>me.
>She brought her typewriter with her and every day used it to inform her
>California and United States government officials of her opinion on
>matters.
>She knew all about tapeworms in humans from firsthand experience and
>related
>her information in graphic and shocking description to her unschooled
>audience: we who were not even permitted to say aloud when we had the
>"itch"
>or admit that the children had pinworms, and all children had both of
>those.
>She had the healing hands of the Rosicrucians, of which she was a member.
>She gave visually vivid tales of their psychic treatment roams where,
>amidst
>purple velvet draperies and rugs and on purple velvet couches, patients
>listened to prescribed music which b t their souls into harmony with their
>own bodies, and both became attuned to the music of the universe. She knew
>where to put a finger on a person to make a severe headache vanish
>instantly. And I was totally in awe of her and loved her right away.
>She lived in California then, had an almond farm, an adopted son and a
>husband who -- at the time -- must have been deceased. According to family
>lore, she was named after the Dandridge in Martha Dandridge Washington's
>family. One daughter or son in each family of direct descent thereafter
>carried the name of Dandridge.
>She, Minnie, and a third sister, Sarah Childress (Blackwell) grew up in
>Attalla, Alabama. Their father, Franklin Marion Childress, had come to
>America from England. Apparently their mother was widowed before the girls
>were grown and made a living for her family by teaching school and also
>furnishing board and room for another female teacher who was young and
>single.
>A certain young man came to the house to call frequently, supposedly
>"courting" the teacher-boarder. However, one day at the local male
>gathering place where gossip, news and heroic stories were spun to impress
>the gathering (the "spitting stave" in the back of the general store), he
>bragged gleefully about going to the Childress house to visit "the girls."
>He told how Dan (Dandridge) herself had sat on his lap lovingly and kissed
>him.
>Unfortunately for him, this bit of false braggadocio reached Dan soon
>after,
>and when the young Romeo next came calling at the Childress house he was
>greeted at the front door by Dan who was holding a shotgun aimed directly
>at
>him. She then marched him downtown, with the shotgun held close and
>pointed
>at him en route, and into the men's gossip corner where he had related her
>"courting" story. Upon arrival in their midst, he was ordered to explain
>to
>them all that he was a dreadful liar and had made up the entire story.
>Which he did. Next, he was directed to kneel down in front of Dan to
>apologize to her and say that he was not only a liar, that he was a
>"damned"
>liar." Which he did.
>News traveled swiftly, not only in small Alabama towns, but reached and
>took
>the fancy of a newspaper feature writer who sent it over national news
>circuits, along with a fabricated photo of a young lady with shotgun
>herding
>a young man through the street, with the gun pointed at his head.
>In St. Louis, Walter Cook, a bachelor engineer, staying overnight at a
>hotel
>there, joined the other men in the row of rockers on the front porch at
>day's end for rest, company and whatever cooling breeze was present (most
>hotels then had porches with rockers). He picked up the daily paper to
>scan, and his eyes came to fall on the picture of "Girl with Gun"-- the
>fabricated picture of Dan. He read the story of her action in bringing the
>young man "to account." Completely enthralled with the story of the
>episode,
>he turned to a friend sitting nearby, pointed to the picture and said, "I'm
>going to marry that girl!"
>He did write to her, as did many others. Out of all the comments,
>correspondence, offers of courtship and would-be visitors and suitors, only
>one letter was answered and one visitor admitted. It was Walter Cook.
>There followed a proper courtship and a happy marriage between Dandridge
>and
>Walter.
>The young couple headed west where Walter was working as an engineer with
>the Santa Fe Railroad, as the laying of the rails progressed into and
>through New Mexico. She stayed with him in whatever wilderness area his
>work took him. Doubtless some of the places were even more bleak and
>isolated than the day when I first saw Socorro in 1944; and it seemed
>frighteningly wild and barren to me then.
>About 75 miles south of Albuquerque was the old town where an ancient and
>noble Spanish family still held sway over the land, the economy and social
>life of Socorro and its surroundings. It was to here, Socorro, that
>ranchers, railroad people and other scattered inhabitants traveled,
>overnight sometimes, for weekends of visiting, frolic, dancing and
>fellowship together, and where Dan and Walter frequently went to join
>friends and acquaintances. Dan always especially cherished those visits
>with her good friend, Senora Baca.
>Always helpful, entertaining, daring and accomplished -- an unusual lady
>and
>a new kinswoman who had enriched my life and broadened my horizons.
>
>Cecilia King Butt
>1988
>
>
>==== CHILDRESS Mailing List ====
>Unsubscribe by writing only one word UNSUBSCRIBE and e-mail to either
> Childress-L-request(a)rootsweb.com
>or Childress-D-request(a)rootsweb.com
>Contact List Owners Mark or Gary C H I L D R E S S at london2000(a)fea.net
>
>==============================
>Check out RootsWeb's new threaded archives!
>http://archiver.rootsweb.com/
>
_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.
Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at
http://profiles.msn.com.
==== CHILDRESS Mailing List ====
Unsubscribe by writing only one word UNSUBSCRIBE and e-mail to either
Childress-L-request(a)rootsweb.com
or Childress-D-request(a)rootsweb.com
Contact List Owners Mark or Gary C H I L D R E S S at london2000(a)fea.net
==============================
http://www.ancestry.com/dailynews
Free e-zine with helpful articles, news, and tips