GeneaBlogs

On 22 Oct 2012 we lost a beloved daughter, sister, mother, wife, aunt, cousin. This is the eulogy that was read at the 3 Nov 2012 memorial service held for her in Coffeyville, KS at the Emmanuel Southern Baptist Church:

EULOGY FOR KAY

The world was a different place in 1939. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president, La Guardia airport opened for business in New York City, the first woman was elected dean of a US graduate school, John Steinbeck’s novel, “The Grapes of Wrath” was published and the “Wizard of Oz” and “Gone With The Wind” premiered. And something else happened. Every now and then God decides to add a little something extra special to the family of humanity and wraps it up in a bundle that we know as a little girl. This little girl was called Barbara Kay and on October 29th of that year, to her mother Lottie Mae’s delight, she was born in a place we know as Walnut Grove, Missouri.

And then in 1946 there was another momentous event that would change Kay’s life, she met her beloved Daddy, Ernest Ray Hayes. During the next several years Ernie and Lottie Mae, with Kay and sisters Blanche and Kathryn, aka Cricket, enjoyed life in Missouri as any family of modest means did. During this time, a fourth sister, Lexie, was born. In August of 1951 the family moved to Coffeyville, Ks and 5 years later the youngest sister, Debby was born.

My sister Kay had many interests: cooking, knitting and a great love of books and could often be found reading. Blanche told me how Kay would make her and Cricket go outside to play while she “mopped the floor”. Being the obedient girls that they were, Blanche and Cricket would go out to play and Kay would then lock the doors so they couldn’t get back in. Kay always told them it was because she didn’t want them walking on the floors until they were dry. After a while Blanche and Cricket would get thirsty and they’d knock on the door for Kay to let them in. But Kay would tell them the floors weren’t dry and they couldn’t come in yet. Blanche said though that when she and Cricket looked through the window, Kay was always sitting down reading a book. After two or three hours she and Cricket would be banging on the door because they had to go to the bathroom. Blanche said they would have to beg to get in before Kay would unlock the door. She adds that they never did wet their pants but they sure came close to it a few times! Now let’s think about this for a moment…. just imagine Blanche and Cricket going to Mom and whining about how Kay locked them out of the house. Then Mom asking them why Kay locked the doors and having to tell her, “Well she said she was mopping the floors”……, pretty hard to justify your complaint, huh? Yes, Kay had a great love for reading! Did I also mention she was very clever? Blanche also said about Kay, “She opened up new worlds for everyone. She is, and always will be, right by my side.”

Lexie was telling me that when she was about 3 years old, Kay, Blanche and Cricket were swinging in the porch swing. Lexie wanted to get up there and swing with them but Kay wouldn’t let her in the swing; therefore, none of the 3 was going to let her in. Lexie tried to climb up into the porch swing anyway, despite Kay telling her no. Lexie got a good whack from the swing for her efforts and ended up with a black eye! But Lexie also said that Kay was the one that taught her all those things that little girls need to know – how to dress herself and tie her shoes and to read.

When I was in grade school I had just finished reading “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott for the first time. It was Thanksgiving Day and Kay called Mom and then spoke to me. She wanted to know what book I was reading and I told her that I had just finished “Little Women”. She asked if I had liked it and I said “Yes, very much.” At Christmas I opened my present from her and it was “Eight Cousins” by the same author. Kay had taken the time to talk to a much younger sister.

Kay and her husband Ed enjoyed a blessed relationship. Shortly after she passed, Ed wrote to Kay….”It seems that you always went out of your way to please me, sometimes to the point of being stubborn. I never knew you to think about yourself first at any time in our life. Just wanted you to know that I am a little upset that you started this adventure without me. You seem to have forgotten that I’m the one who always went first. Just saying. But I will catch up. We were always so good together. If we ever had a serious disagreement, I cannot seem to remember it. You were always so beautiful to me, your looks, actions, thoughts, concern for others, adventurous spirit.”

Kay’s oldest son, Keivan wrote Lexie, “She taught me how to cook and my love for cuisine and cooking my entire life. This is a huge personal priority for me. Travel, cooking, and enjoying a fantastic cup of coffee in any espresso form, all connect me to her and always have. Now I don’t have to text her, I’ll just whisper to her.”

Kay was more than a daughter, more than a wife, more than a mother, more than a sister, more than a relative, more than a friend. She was more than a strong woman who said what she meant and meant what she said. She was Barbara Kay, an individual, unique. Kay was the kind of woman who did what she said she was going to do. Once she made up her mind on something, you could be pretty sure that it was going to get done. When difficult times enter into our lives, we always have the opportunity to choose to become bitter or better. Kay strove to become better. She knew you only get one shot at life, so do your very best with it. As the ones left behind, there are things that we don’t want to happen but have to accept, things we don’t want to know but have to learn, and people we can’t live without but have to let go.

I’d like to read a passage for you from “The Little Prince:”

“All men have stars, but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For many, they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems. But all these stars are silent. You, you alone will have stars as no one else has them. In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars will be laughing when you look at the sky at night. You, only you, will have stars that can laugh! And when your sorrow is comforted (for time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure. It will be as if, in place of the stars, I had given you a great number of little bells that knew how to laugh”

You can shed tears that Kay is gone. It’s okay because our tears comfort us. But please also smile because she lived. You can close your eyes and mourn. But then open your eyes and see all that Kay left us. Be aware that a word someone may say will suddenly recapture a time, an hour, a day that brings her back as clearly as though she were still here. And when you look up into the night sky and see the stars, please blow a kiss and a blessing that way and smile, knowing that Kay is there.

~Written and read by Kay’s sister, Debra Hayes Brodbeck~

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Barbara Kay Vest Crowell,
29 Oct 1939 – 22 Oct 2012

Funeral services for Barbara Kay Vest Crowell, age 73, of Johnson City, Tenn., a former resident of Coffeyville, were held at 2:00 pm Saturday, October 27, 2012 in the chapel of Doak-Howell Funeral Home with Pastor Susan Springer officiating. Burial followed in the Crowell’s Chapel Cemetery in the Hall Mill Community at Shelbyville, Tennessee. Mrs. Crowell passed on Monday Oct. 22, 2012 at Johnson City (TN) Medical Center after a short illness.

Memorial services will be held in Coffeyville, Ks. at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 3, 2012, at Emmanuel Southern Baptist Church.

Born in Walnut Grove, Missouri, October 29, 1939, Kay was the daughter of the late Victor Lowry Vest and Lottie Mae Garrett. After living in Joplin, she moved to Coffeyville at the age of 11 with her mom and dad, Ernie, and sisters, Blanche, Cricket, and Lexie. She attended Field Kindley Memorial High School and Coffeyville Community Junior College. In 1958 she married Firouz Shahrokhi. Of this union two sons were born, Keivan in 1964 and Kimball in 1969. In 1976 she married Douglas “Ed” Crowell. Son, Joseph, was born in 1984 in Saudi Arabia.

Kay loved to do a great job of everything she committed to and enjoyed cooking and taking care of her family and home. Starting from a young age, she always wanted to travel and so she did, seeing many parts of the world with her husband and family. Throughout her full and busy life, she always found time for knitting. She finished a BS in mathematics at Middle Tennessee State University. She helped run and taught at Al Batin Academy in King Khalid Military City, Saudi Arabia, and also taught at Community High School in Unionville, TN, making many great friends and helping many lives as a teacher. She was Vice President and Retirement Plan Adminstrator at Valley Fidelity Bank in Knoxville, TN, worked as Administrative Assistant for Petromin in Riyadh, Saudi, Arabia, and as a real estate agent in Knoxville and Jackson, TN. Kay was founder, owner, and manager of Papillon Bakery in Shelbyville, TN.

Survivors include her husband of 36 years Douglas E. Crowell of Johnson City, TN, sons, Keivan Shahrokhi of Miami, FL, Kimball Shahrokhi of Apex, NC, and Joseph Crowell of Portland, OR; mother, Lottie “Rickey” Hayes of Coffeyville, KS, sisters, Blanche Cunningham and Lexie McCoy, both of Coffeyville, KS; Kathryn Hammer of Pittsburg, KS; and Debra Brodbeck of Galveston, TX; and grandson Aaron Kian Shahrokhi. She was preceded in death by her beloved daddy, Ernest Ray Hayes.

Memorials may be made to the Salvation Army.

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Mrs. Pauline Keck, 91, of Ash Grove passed away in her home October 4, 2012. Services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Monday, October 8, 2012 in Birch Funeral Home. Visitation will be one hour before the service. Burial will be in the Ash Grove Cemetery under the direction of Birch Funeral Home of Ash Grove.
Memorial donations in Pauline’s name can be made to the Compassus Hospice, Springfield or the SW Office on Aging, Springfield.

Published in the News-Leader on October 7, 2012

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   Peter was born on Sturgeon’s Run, now Sturgeon Creek, near the border between Brunswick and Dinwiddie Counties and believed to be the son of William Stroud and Margaret Rose. As a boy he moved with his father and brothers to the Edgecombe/Granville/Orange County North Carolina area around 1741.

   According to some old research, Peter Stroud was married twice, first to Naomi and second to Rebecca. There are records proving Rebecca, but no primary records showing his first wife was named “Naomi”. However, this must have been based on some old family document or family tradition for the name “Naomi” did get used a lot among the Stroud family in later generations.

   In 1758 Peter’s father William gave him and his brother each a deed of gift of 158 acres in Orange County. Peter and his family lived on a plantation on Terrell’s Creek, on the county line between Orange and Chatham Counties, southeast of Durham. They probably grew tobacco.

   Peter had numerous children per the early census records. In an old 1922 letter from Ed Anderson to John G. Stroud, he (Anderson) stated that Jesse was a son of Peter. Anderson was a grandson of Jesse, and the addressee (John G. Stroud) was a grandson of William Stroud (Jesse’s brother). We can probably safely assume that Ed Anderson was personally acquainted with the structure of the early family. Anderson referred to “your grandfather William Stroud, you know was a brother to old Uncle Peter and so was our Jesse Stroud”. Unfortunately he didn’t mention anything about the rest of the family. Peter first married Naomi and had Jesse, Susanna, and Peter Jr. He married Rebecah around 1770 and had William and possibly Fanny and Joyce. Per census records Peter had other children but none are proven. In 1789 Peter and Rebecah sold their Terrells Creek plantation of 800 acres for 500 pounds to someone back in Brunswick County. Rebecah signed with an X. The family moved to what is now the Marion, McDowell Co., NC area. They are listed in the 1790 census in the Morgan District and they lived on Bucks Creek.

   Peter Stroud made a Will, but unfortunately it was lost with most of the other early Burke County records. We know of its existence for it was mentioned in the Court Minutes as being recorded in July 1827 by Thomas Raburn “and wife”. This record means that Peter Stroud Sr was dead by July 1827. Presumably, widow Rebecca was the one mentioned as “and wife” in 1827, so she survived Peter. She was considerably younger than him, so she may have lived many years more but no record of her beyond 1827 has been found. She was not listed on the 1830 or 1840 census, though if living, she may have been with a married son or daughter.

   It is unknown if Peter owned slaves but William Stroud Jr, his brother, left several slaves to his children in his will.

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State of North Carolina No 946

Know ye that we for and in consideration of the Sum of 16 Dollars and 50 cents paid in to our Treasury  by Archibald Morisson have Given and Granted unto Andrew Presley assignee of Archibald Morrisson a tract of Land containing fifty acres lying and being in the County of Macon Section No 59 in District No 7 it being part of the Land lately acquired by treaty from the Cherokee Indians and Sold in obedience to an act of the General Assembly of this State Bounded as follows viz Beginning at a Chestnut South East Corner of No 58 and runs South Seventy East eighty poles to a hickory, thence South fifteen West thirty poles to a Spanish oak thence North twenty five West twenty poles to a Stake thence South fifteen West thirty six poles to a Black oak thence North Seventy five West eleven poles to a post oak thence South eighty five West ninety poles to a hickory thence North twenty poles to a Chestnut bush thence thirty eight West forty one poles to black walnut Corner of No 58 thence North Seventy two East ninety Six poles with the line of No 58 to the Beginning as by the plat here unto annext doth appear together with all woods waters mines Minerals hereditaments and appurtenances to the Said land belonging or appertaining to hold to the Said Andrew Presley his heirs and assigns for ever yielding and paying to us such sums of money yearly or otherwise as our General Assembly from time to time may direct provided always that the Said grantee Shall cause his Grant to be Registered in the Registers office of our Said County of Macon within twelve months from the date hereof other wise the Same Shall be void in testimony whereof we have caused these our letters to be made pattent and our Great Seal to be here unto affixed

Charles Manly Esquire our Governor Captain General Commander in Chief at Raleigh this Sixth December in the 79th year of our Independence and in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty

By command W. Hill Secretary of State

Charles Manly

The foregoing Grant was duely in the Registers office of Macon County N. Carolina the 9th day of June 1857     Witness            J.S. Keener  R M C

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William is one of the more colorful Strouds in our line. Although he was illiterate, William bought and sold a great deal of land in Virginia and North Carolina. He appears to have been somewhat of a land speculator and he didn’t remain in any one place for long. He was arrested twice, the first time in Virginia about the same time as his brother Joshua, and on similar charges, and for breaking out of jail the second time.

He was born about 1700 in Bristol Parish, Prince George County, Virgina. He lived on the south side of the Meherrin River, Surry County, Virginia between 1721-1723. He received a grant of 100 acres on the south side of Meherrin River in Surry (probably now Mecklenburg) County, Virginia, in 1721; he sold it in 1723. This was the first recorded of many land transactions that William would engage in. He was married to Margaret, maiden name unproven but often given as “Rose”.

In 1738 John Sr. died leaving half of his land on Sturgeon Run in Brunswick County, 196 acres, to William and the other half to John Jr. This was in St. Andrew’s Parish on the line between Dinwiddie and Brunswick County, Virginia.

By late summer of 1739 William purchased 1,000 acres on the south side of the Roanoke River, in Brunswick County, Virginia. He was sued for adultery by the church wardens of the parish, for trespass, assault, and also for debt. On 7 Aug 1740 it was reported that he was not in the county.

In 1741, as in Brunswick County, Virginia, Deed Book 2, page 107, there is a “Lease and Release”, from William Stroud, Sr., of Edgecombe Precinct, North Carolina, to John Shearman of Brunswick, for a 100 acre tract in Brunswick, bounded by Robert Ferington and Lewis Parham. It was signed, William X Stroud, and witnessed by Andrew Hampton, Susanna King and George King and recorded 1 October, 1741. On 27 Jun 1741 both William and his brother John Stroud Jr sold Drury Stith the 196 acres on Sturgeon Run where he was living at the time. Brunswick County Deed Book 2, page 125, 27 June, 1741, shows that William Stroud, “Planter, of the Parish of St. Andrew’s”, a mortgage held by Drury Stith, Gent., on 196 acres on both sides Sturgeon Run, where Stroud now lives, it being part of tract surveyed for John Stoud in 1729, and having been part of a larger tract containing 392 acres. William made his mark, thereby agreeing to pay off the mortgage, plus interest and expenses, by 27 June, 1742, or lose the property.

He then moved his family to Edgecombe Precinct (now Warren County), North Carolina. His brothers Joshua (who had been arrested for adultery about the same time William had and who had abandoned his wife) and John Jr and his family came with him. In 1742 he received a grant of several hundred acres on Cabin Branch of Smith’s Creek and several years later received another 500 acre grant for more Cabin Branch land. Over the next twenty years he proceeded to purchase more land here and to sell it to several others, including his son John, who continued to buy land along the creek.

15 March, 1742/3 he acquired 400 acres in Edgecombe, on Powell’s branch. Other locations were Cabin Branch, Smith’s Creek and Little Creek. During this period of time William Stroud, Jr. met his wife to be, Elizabeth Estridge, as William, Sr. sold to her father, Ephraim Estridge, 100 acres.

On 22 February, 1743, William Stroud, county not identified, sold to Ephraim Estridge, county not identified, for 4 pds 10 shill, 100 acres on Cabbin Branch, all houses, etc., “part of grant to ye sd Stroud, 15 Mar 1742″.

On 1 December, 1747, William Stroud, Jr. sold 100 acres on the east side of Powell’s Creek at Ephraim Estridge’s SW corner. On 5 March, 1754, William Stroud received a license in Granville County to keep and Ordinary at his dwelling.

At some point his first wife Margaret died, and he married Elizabeth. In 1755 he was imprisoned in Granville County, North Carolina but escaped aided by his wife Elizabeth, his son William Jr, his daughter-in-law Elizabeth, and others. William Jr. was later indicted for assisting in the escape. We are left to wonder the cause of his incarceration. Perhaps the “Crown” was displeased with William, as his family did not appear to be. There are records regarding his neighbors having covered the roadway with limbs and brush so as to deter agents of the King, but we will never know whether William was arrested for so honorable a cause. William and his family locate next in Orange County where, in 1756, he purchased 315 acres and immediately gave half to William Jr. and half to Peter. He then moved up to Lunenberg County, Virginia, by 1759, as Granville County Deed Book C notes that “William Stroud of Lunenberg County, Virginia”, sold 100 acres on Dodson’s Branch in Granville, to William Woodward.

The last known mention of William Stroud Sr. was on 1 Feb 1783 when he acknowledged in Lincoln County that John Stroud of that county was his eldest son by his first wife Margaret. At this time he would have been around 83.

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• ID: I649291648
• Name: Emma Frances POST
• Given Name: Emma Frances
• Surname: Post
• Sex: F
• Birth: 4 Jul 1848 in Kane, Green Co, IL
• Death: 1926 in Larned, Pawnee Co, KS

• Note: “Ancestors Robert Kitchell, Rev. Abraham Pierson, John Cory, Obadiah Bruen, Jean Genung, Edward Ball came to America over 300 years ago. Her grandfather Jacob Post, and a great grandfather Joseph Wood, were born in New Jersey and fought in the Revolutionary War. ”

Mrs. Leasure was born in Illinois and came out to Larned, Kansas, in 1873. She had the spirit and enterprise of the true pioneer and before her first marriage she took up a pre-emption, plowed the furrows for setting out a row of hedge, and built a shack. She was the first woman married in Pawnee County after its organization. She was married in 1873, at Larned to Capt. Daniel Bright. The license for her marriage was issued by Captain Bright himself, who was then serving as probate judge. Mrs. Leasure and Mrs. Tompkins, wife of the first newspaper man of Larned, made the first flag which was raised in the new county to celebrate the Fourth of July celebration in 1873. This flag was made of strips of red, white and blue torn from old clothing.

Transcribed from A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, written and compiled by William E. Connelley, Secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka. [Revised ed.] Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1919, c1918. 5 v. (xlviii, 2530 p., [155] leaves of plates): ill., maps (some fold.), ports.; 27.

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Born: 27 May 1672 in Skelton, York, England
Married: Jane Worrilaw on 10 Oct 1696
Died: 1749 in West Town, Chester, Co., PA
Buried: Edgemont Township, Chester Co., PA

Daniel Hoopes fought in the war with Cromwell. In company with an unmarried brother he came to this country in the year 1683 on the Ship Providence. The brother, soon tiring of the pioneer life, returned to his home in England. Therefore, Daniel and family were the first of the name in America. Daniel Hoopes first settled farther north in this State [PA] but soon after procuring the right of 64 acres from William Penn in what is now Chester and Delaware Counties and in the township of Westtown, made that his home. It is related that some of the older children were born in a cave, which was the first home of the family and, in those primitive times, not an exceptional case. The line of Delaware county runs through the lower portion of the estate. On the main portion of the land there was built in 1723 what at that time was considered an elegant mansion. It contained about twelve rooms and has its secret closet, etc. This house has quite a history. The old homestead is still standing and looks as though it would for several years to come.

Of interest is the obituary of Joshua Hoopes, grandson of Daniel:
“Joshua Hoopes, aged 88 years and 7 months; the oldest of the name of Hoopes in the country. At Downingtown, on the evening of the 11th of same, granddaughter of the above; aged between 3 and 4 years. In Sadsbury, on the 25th of the same Francis W. Hoopes, grandson of the above Joshua; age near thirty years (not 40 as stated) He has left a widow and three small children.
As instances of longevity are occasionally noticed, the following may not be uninteresting. Daniel Hoopes, grandfather of the above named Joshua Hoopes, was married in 1696. The issue of that marriage was seventeen children; nine of whose ages averaged more than 84 years; and seven of the nine were living about 100 years after the union of their parents. The last of them died about 120 years after her parents marriage. The sum of the ages amounts to about 1036 years. If we add the ages of Daniel and his wife, we have about 1200 years. There are probably very few instances in modern times of the immediate issue of a single marriage enjoying 1036 years of life.
When a boy Daniel came into this country with his father Joshua Hoopes, in company with William Penn. Joshua took an active part in the Government; it also appears that Daniel was a member of the Legislature in the years 1708-9; since which the family seem not to have engaged much in public business. From Daniel are descended all the Hoopes of America.”

Daniel Hoopes’ signature on a land deed dated 5 Dec 1730. He transferred 200 acres to his son of the same name.

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Will of Henry Hayes
The first day of Aprile in the Year of our Lord one Thousand seven hundred and fourty five

I Henry Hayes of East Marlborough in the County of Chester and Province of Pensilvania Husbandman Do Make Constitute and ordain This my Last will and Testament that is to Say: I Give dispose and bequeath as in forme and Manner folloing: Imprimis. I give Unto My Son Joseph Hayes & my son James Hayes Whome I Likewise Constitute Make and Ordain My only and Sole Excetors of this My Last Will and Testament of all and Singular my Goods And Chattels Whatsoever that are or Shall bee found belonging or appertaining to Mee Except what Shall bee hearafter Excepted and Specefyed to bee Given.

Item. I give to my son John Twenty pounds: I give to my son William one shilling. I give to my son Stephen ten pounds to be paid att any time when my Executors thinks proper. I give to My Daughter Mary one Shilling. I give to my Daughter Joanna one shilling and I also Give to my Executors five pounds apiece: And all the remaining part of my Rail and personal Estate after Just Debts and funerall Expenses bee paid Except What is before Expresed too bee Given I Give to be Equally Divided between my Daughter Margaret & my Daughter Elizabeth: & my Daughter Anne & my Daughter Rachel and my Daughter Ruth and my Daughter Lydia and I also Give to my Daughter Margaret Twenty Pounds More than Either of my Daughters above Mentioned and my Daughter Rachel have had Seventeen pounds Twelve shillings and sixpence which I order to bee Deducted out of her share: & my Daughter Lidia have had fifty pounds which I order to bee Deducted out of her share: and I also order my personal and Real Estate to bee Sold by my Executors att any time after my Deceas: and the money of all my Personall and Real Estate to bee Immediately paid According to the Derection of this my Last Will and Testament. And I Do Impower my Executors to Defend my Estate by Law or otherways and the Cost to bee paid out of my Estate and further more I Do alow this and no other to bee my last Will and Testament in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal the Day and Year above Written.
[signed]
HENRY HAYES (Seal)
Signed published Delivered and pronounced by the afforesaid Henery Hayes to bee his Last Will and Testament in the Presence of us the Subscribing Witnesses Viz
Jonathan Jackson
George Carson

   The will of Henry Hayes, which was probably written by Jonathan Jackson, was duly proved by the witnesses on the 30th of December, 1745. An inventory of the estate was taken on the 5th of 11th Mo. 1745-6, by Aaron Baker and William Harlan, and amounted to 726 pounds, 7 s[hillings], including the plantation of 177 acres, valued at 250 pounds. There is reason to believe that the last wife of Henry Hayes was a comparatively young woman. One Isabella Hayes, widow, purchased 208 acres of land in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, March 8, 1746-7. She married Andrew Caldwell, of Leacock, and by him had sons Andrew, Robert, Charles and John Caldwell. Andrew, the father, was a widower in Londongrove Township in 1760, married a second wife, Jane, and died in Lancaster County in 1768.

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Alexa Sevilla Evans

    Alexa Sevilla Evans was born in Nantahala Township, Macon County, North Carolina on 19 April 1889 to a farmer and his wife who eventually had 16 children, 13 of which lived to adulthood. She grew up in the Deep South, in and around the Macon County area. By the time she was three she was picking cotton and working in the fields. She told of backbreaking work, the constant bending over, the heat and humidity. Of how heavy her long skirt and petticoat were, adding that she would lift them up and tuck them in at the waist so she could get a little breeze on her legs. When she grew into woman- hood many heard of Alexa Evans and how pretty she was with her long, black hair and beautiful blue eyes.

    When she was eighteen she met and married Michael Ghormley, always affectionately referred to by Lexie as “Mikey”. Neither Lexie nor Mike liked her given name so she changed it, and from then on was known as “Lexie Willie”. She and Mike had two children, a son, Jesse Bernard, and a daughter Loise; the daughter would die young of pneumonia, as would Mike. Lexie always spoke highly of her “Mikey” stating, “He was always good to me.” Sometime after the death of Loise and her beloved Mikey, about 1912, she and Bernard moved to Georgia where her parents had already relocated a few years before. She began to work in a mill and she spoke of taking homemade pickles and crackers for her lunch everyday; life was hard for a widow with a young son to support.

    About 1913 she met, probably at the mill she was working in, and married Ellis Garrett. They had two sons and a daughter and then, in 1921, the couple decided to move to Missouri, possibly because Ellis had family there, or maybe for better employment opportunities. For whatever reason, they packed up what belongings could be put on a covered farm wagon, and the kids, and set off for the long hard journey to Missouri. Rush, Lexie’s brother, accompanied them to help with the move, later returning to Georgia. Lexie walked most of the journey from Georgia to Missouri behind the wagon, carrying baby Lottie Mae and tending her three sons, Bernard, Sherman, and Coleman. Shortly after arriving in Missouri, Pauline was born in October of the same year so Lexie must have been pregnant when she walked those many miles. Ellis and Lexie would have three more daughters, Mary Belle, Willie, and Lucille.

    Life wasn’t easy for Lexie; Ellis was a drinker and abusive, especially to his stepson Bernard. He would hang around long enough to get her pregnant, grab what money he could, and then he would disappear for long periods of time. Lexie continued to work out in the fields of their farm, taking in extra work as she could, in order to support the family. Lottie Mae tells of her mother working long, hard hours and coming into the house every evening exhausted. One of the kids would always run and get a pan of warm water for her so she could soak her feet. Lottie Mae said there were many times her mother would have her get a pen and paper and Lexie would dictate letters to her while she soaked, many to her father and to her Aunt Bunie. The last child, Lucille, was born in 1929; soon after that Ellis left for the last time and never returned. Years ago Coleman and his wife, June Baker Garrett, were staying with Lexie and June spent many afternoons talking with her. June asked Lexie why, when Ellis had been so abusive, she had stayed with him. Lexie told her that she had left Ellis three times but that each time she left him, her family, most notably her father, made her go back to him. Most likely the thought of her father’s censure would have been more difficult and painful for her to face than Ellis’ abuse.

    After Ellis left for the last time, Lexie bought a cafe in Willard, Missouri and it became known as “Garrett’s Cafe.” Lexie worked long hours in the cafe, as did the children. The kids would get out of school and go to the cafe to help out; Lexie had indeed taught her children the meaning of “good work ethics”, which stayed with all of them throughout their lives. About 1944 or 1945, before WWII ended, Lexie sold the cafe and moved to Springfield. All of the family remember well the big, two story house on Robberson Street. By this time Lexie had many grandchildren, and as the years went by there would be great, as well as great-great-grandchildren and many family get-togethers in the house on Robberson Street.

    In Feb 1982, at the age of 92, Lexie broke her hip. While in the hospital she was told by the doctors that she could not return home until she could walk and that usually took about 6 months (medical science, of course, not being like it is today). Lexie walked out of the hospital in 27 days. Soon after, the house on Robberson Street was sold and she moved into a mobile home behind her daughter Pauline’s house. About six months after she left the hospital, Lexie suffered a stroke which paralyzed her left side and affected her speech. The next few years must have been torture for a woman who had always been so independent. But Lexie, as she had always done, met this challenge and coped with her disabilities with grace and dignity.

    Lexie Evans Ghormley Garrett passed away 3 Sep 1986, leaving behind a loving family and a legacy that will not be forgotten. During her lifetime, she saw 17 United States presidents take the Oath of Office, her country involved in 5 wars – not counting the “Cold War”, man’s first flight in an airplane and his first steps on the moon, the sinking of the Titanic and the Lusitania, the discovery of antibiotics, diseases such as polio and smallpox eradicated, and the introduction of AIDS. She was a strong woman with true, pioneering grit and an indomitable spirit.

~ written by granddaughter Debra Hayes Brodbeck ~

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