The Farris Girls, Three Letters from 1905 - 1932

The Farris Girls are my grandmother and her sister

Mellie is my grandmother and Bertie is her sister. In 1905, my grandmother was 25 and Bertie would have been 18. Both of the Farris Girls were living with other families as hired help. Their step-mother was the original evil one as depicted in the movie Cinderella (probably based on my grandma's step-mother) but that's a different story. I have copied the letters here.

None of the spelling or grammar has been corrected. I do have the original letters in my possession. The Gene in the letter is their brother who also lived in Missouri and would have been 20.

Letter from Bertie to Mellie. Postage stamped on envelope, Russelville, MO - June 25, 1905 - 8 am.

Letter and envelope to faded and fragile to scan

Miss Mellie Farris.

Dear sister

I will try to write you a few lines this evening as I have nothing to do. You must forgive me for not writing sooner but I dont think you would be mad if you know how much work I have to do. I will try to give you a list of what I done this week. I made me a blue lawn dress for the fourth washed and ironed done the housework picked awful big patch of raspberries every other day. besides I have went to meetings the last three nights at the Christian Church went to Sunday school this morning and to meeting at the Baptist church. Mrs and Mr Short are camellights or Christians. I dont think they like for me to go to any other church but I am going to any church I want to. Mrs. Short is always talking about religion, She said she believed the Christian church was nearer right than any other. I told her yes everybody thought their own church was the best. She has been trying to get me to join. The preacher has been here two nights and two days he give me a good talk this morning. I dont think it is any better than some others.

When are you and Mollie coming down. I can meet you at the depot any time you get ready to come. You must come for I want to see you both. Cant you both got to Olean with me for the fourth. You can get on at Enon. Me and Daisy Musick are going on the train together. I have me a blue lawn dress to wear trimmed in lace insertion a new corset and corset cover embroidery and insertion and trimmed in blue ribbon a new underskirt to tom in embroidery white ribbon for my hair neck and waist 2 new handkerchiefs am going to get me some white gloves and some slippers. You and Mollie mus be sure and go with us. Daisy is an awful pretty girl. She is as good as can be. We are big chums. She just lives a few steps away from here.

i got a letter from Gene did you. He said he was going to write to you. he said he wanted to come to the fourth. It would be nice if we could all go together. Write and tell me if you can go. There is not going to be any here. Papa was here to see me Thursday. he done the only bragging on me I ever heard him do. He said I was always good when I was at home and minded him well. I was awful glad to see him. I got letters from Maggie and Beulah. Well I must close and tell you the rest when I see you.

Write soon.

From your loving sister B

Letter from Mellie to Bertie. Postmarked stamped on envelope, Van Buren, Arkansas (registered letter) April 6, 1912

Mrs. Bertie Enloe

Bagnell, Mo

Van Buren Ark

March 6, 1912

Dear Sister Bertie

How are you. I am well. I read your card you wrote to Maude Allard. Would not give Maude the money to send for you. So Maude said I don't think she wants him to, you know how they are. Do you sill want to come down here if I was not here. I would not come. I may go to Cal next week. Write and tell us if you still want to come. If I were you, I would not say another word to Maude about coming nor mother either. They think they are smart but don't say anything. Me and Gene will try to send for you after awhile if I don't go off sometimes. I just think I wont stay in this town.

I may come back to Mo after strawberrie time. I have been working for a woman here, worked eight weeks but I am through now. I am going to send you two dollars and want you to get on the train and go down to Enloes and stay till you can hear from me again or you can go to uncle Enoch and stay. Aunt wrote to me and told me she would give me two dollars a week and you need not be afraid to go the Enloes for he told me you are welcome any time you wanted to come. If they have someone it no difference you can go there and you go say I wrote to you two letters you never got. I sent you a valentine and a letter and you never said anything about it and ask why I did not answer your letter.

Gene and Delia and my self are going to move this week. Be sure and write to me as soon as you receive this. I will send envelope and stamp and tell us all about it. Don't stay any longer if you are in trouble. You wont get any better and I would go if I was aiming to soon. Do just as you please about coming here but mother is not able to do nothing but if you had the money to come or was here you could make a living this summer.

I will close. Write soon, kiss Jewell for me. Your sister, Mellie

Mellie with Ralph 1918

Bertie with Eugene 1911

Letter from Mellie to Bertie, Postmarked December 22, 1932 

Wm Rhea, RR2, Billings, Mont

Mrs. Bertie Rasmusson

Metzger, Oregon

Dear Sister Bertie and family

After a long time I will write you a few lines. Well here it is Xmas again how time flies why dont you write. I was sure I wrote after I was up there in June but now I am not so sure. It is almost as easy for me to take a trip to Portland as to write a letter and you know how hard it is to take a trip. How are you all by now. We have colds so much flu here now. The weather has been very cold but is warmer now. What are you all doing by now. Wm still works be we cant sell anything we raised. Have so many squash here just shriveling. I have been render lard today. We killed a hog have three more to kill, they are sure cheap. I am getting about a dozen eggs a day. They are thirty cents per dozen now.

How is times there? Now we had quite a political change in (unknown). Did Eugene vote? How is all the children. Now is Soren still planning to go to Alaska? Have you heard from Genes, what are you planning for Xmas? Guess we will stay at home may go to the show or to church. We have a nice car and plenty to eat and a warm fire for which I am thankful. With you could be with us Xmas. I am sending you a dollar buy something you want. Wish I had more to send but we still have to put our middleboard up and the floors are not all down. Well I must close. Hope to hear from you all soon. Love and best wishes for a merry Xmas.

Your sister,

Mellie Rhea

PS there is a dime for the three little folks.

Mellie and Bertie, Billings, Montana 1950's

My grandpa has a voice – Day 20 of the Family History Writing Challenge

We have been blessed this week with a second cousin in Tennessee who found a treasure trove of documents. A big thank you goes to Sheldon Livesay for his time and willingness to join in our search. I now have copies of deeds for property bought and sold in the 1800’s. This is interesting because although I don’t have any clue about plot lines and boundaries, I can find out. For instance, Sheldon found the deed where John Carter Rhea bought 75 acres on April 19, 1883.

However, the most exciting find was the letter my grandparents wrote to Victor Rhea on May 30, 1929. What tugged at my heart was the reference to Martha’s death on March 22, 1929.

My grandparents (as far as I know) never went back to Missouri or Tennessee. They were unhappy places for her. We wondered if my grandfather had even been back to see his mother. He left in 1914 so it would have been 14 years. We still don’t know the answer. What we do know is Grandpa traveled without my grandmother. When we were children, we used to visit him in Mesa, Arizona while Granny stayed home to tend to business. Grandpa had tuberculosis and the desert air was better for him than the long cold Montana winters.

In discussing my grandfather with my cousin Patty, we discovered we don’t know much about him. She has a few memories and I have some but it doesn’t tell us who he was. He was a very quiet man, not given to long speeches or idle chat. He was very tall and very trim, hence his nickname “Slim”. My grandmother was the driving force. She was an astute businesswoman and had several business interests.

The letter is the first we’ve seen in his handwriting. My grandmother wrote all the letters to my parents. This is the first time that Patty and I have heard from him in his own words.

He starts his portion of the letter talking about the farm. While we visited them in the house they built in 1932, in 1929, they were still living on the farm away from downtown Billings. Grandpa was employed full time by the railroad so the workload he carried would be staggering today.

He had just planted 600 pounds of potatoes, over an acre with Bantam Sweet Corn, and still had an acre to plant with miscellaneous vegetables like carrots and onions. He talks about taking care of the chickens. Then he writes,

“It was very depressing news of Mother being dead. Yet, we all must answer the Summons when it comes.”

We were shocked that of all the letters that must have been written, this is the one that survived. It answers some questions and provides very real emotions, which can’t be gleaned from the drier facts.

William goes on to ask,

“What did they do with Dow Arnold for killing James Willis?”

I have no idea what that’s about but because my grandfather wanted to know, so do I. It will not make any difference in my family history but it just adds flavor and texture to the story.

My grandmother wrote the second half of the letter. Her handwriting is instantly recognizable. She starts with the pleasantries and then says,

“It made us sad to hear of Mother’s death and what hurt most was that Wm had neglected to go to see her. I often urged him to go but he always said it hurt his mother so to have him leave her again. He would have gone if he had knew she would lived as long after Leona wrote him but it is always like that. Something to regret.”

Apparently, they, (Victor and Cornie) offered her the robe she had sent. She writes,

“No I don’t want the bathrobe. You do what you want to with it. I think Victor is entitled to the corn and what ever else they give him. He has been faithful to his mother.”

She then goes on to talk about the chickens she is raising and working in the garden. That is something else to research. If they were planting acres, what was in the garden?

The best thing about the letter is that for the first time, we know the emotions behind the facts. Grandpa was sad. Grandpa had regrets. Grandpa believed that everyone’s time on this earth was limited and accepted the death as a larger part of the universe. It was nice to hear from Grandpa. It was nice to hear Grandpa’s voice.

Yippee! Day 17 of the Family History Writing Challenge

If I had a tail, it would be wagging! My second cousin Sheldon, who I just recently had the pleasure of meeting on-line, found a treasure. He found a metal box with wills and receipts from the mid 1880's. He says they are fragile and some have come apart at the fold lines but he will check out how to salvage these precious artifacts. He also found some letters that my grandmother wrote to Martha. This is the other side of the coin so to speak.

I have been writing based on Martha's letters. To have my grandmother's letters would provide her viewpoint. I don't think I'm too far off because I knew my grandmother but to have here actual thoughts would be amazing.

I woke up this morning thinking I had come to an end on my research. That in itself would not stop me from continuing with writing the family history. I am good at creative writing and I am leaning towards that style anyway. But hearing that there are more documents to review sets my head spinning. What a treat.

Today, I will not make my word count. It's baseball season and today is my day for registration. I will be spending a good portion of my day at the local pizza joint. Baseball is my child's passion. He eventually hopes to own the Dodgers but he is 12, so that might change. It doesn't seem likely. That has been his goal since he was six.

When I post this, it will go out into cyberspace. Future generations will not have to wonder what my child was like. As a writer on Squidoo, there are lots of pages about him. His adoption is well documented. He is really my grandson but on paper, he is my son. The Internet, for all it's faults, will make family history research much easier. I sort of wish it had been available in the 1800's. Oh well, I am good at research too.

Ready, Set, Go - Day 1 of the Family History Writing Challenge

That is the title of the post for the 1st day of the Family History Writing Challenge hosted by The Armchair Genealogist. The challenge runs 28 days, all through February 2013. Each writer pledges to write a certain amount of word daily towards a family history. Since I am wordy, I set my goal at 1000 a day but know I will eventually have to edit out a lot of words. Still, the exercise is to write a comprehensive account of a family member, event, or timeline. I will be doing the writing as blog posts as I think I have greater accountability towards the challenge on something I publish.

My subject – Martha Jane McColloam (McCollom, McCollum), my great grandmother.

Steps for preparing for this challenge:
Note cards – Actual index cards in a file. It took a lot of time to list everything I had about Martha, her life, her family, and events that happened during her lifetime.
Timeline - I created a butcher paper timeline stretching across the closet doors. It begins in 1820 with the birth of her father to 1929, the date of her death.
Phone calls – I contacted two of my 2nd cousins living in Tennessee. While they don’t have much about Martha herself, they do have information on their grandparents who were Martha’s children. Sheldon sent me lots of pictures of his parents and grandparents. They were a real treat. Bill has a copy of the original warrant for the arrest of the man who murdered my great grandfather, Martha’s husband.
Ancestry.com – is current with the information I have so far.
Lots of research – Internet sources on the times.
The Armchair Genealogist – I read every post and all the comments.

I have five letters Martha Jane wrote to my grandparents in 1918 and 1919. They are what drew me to Martha Jane. A strong woman who raised eight children alone and yet, the letters show she was very human and at times wistful.

The best part about this whole process is the more information I write down, the bigger the holes I find in the research. I would not have ever considered calling the two cousins in Tennessee if I hadn’t need info. While I know they are family, they are strangers I have never met. What a treat to find them not only open to my request but also willing to be active partners in my research. The lesson here – is not to be afraid to contact people. The worst they can say is no.

The boring part – The Begats

Parents
John Elijah Rhea Jr 1804 – 1859
Lucy Anderson 1808 – 1995

Child
John Carter Rhea
2 Mar 1842 - 21 Sep 1884
Sneedville, Tennessee

Parents
James N. McColloam 1820 – 1898
Mary Polly Gray 1825 – 1888

Child
Martha Jane McCollum
1 Jan 1848 – 22 Mar 1929
Sneedville, Tennessee

John and Martha married on 4 Mar 1865

Children
Joseph Andrew Rhea - 20 Jun 1866 – no death date
Mary Leoni Rhea – 18 Mar 1868 – 26 Feb 1940
Laura Tisabel Rhea – 15 Feb 1870 – after 1965
Washington Floyd Rhea – 2 Jan 1873 – 3 Feb 1929
Luvena Finetta Rhea – 19 Dec 1875 – 24 Apr 1913
Fidello (Fidelia) Florence Rhea – 11 Aug 1877 – 31 May 1961
Victor Edwin Rhea – 13 Jul 1880 – Apr 1973
William Ogden Rhea – 15 Sep 1882 – 1 Jul 1962 (my grandfather)
Lillie Bower Rhea – 5 Nov 1884 – 1952

The opening:

“Jan 1, 1919

She sat at the desk in her upstairs bedroom watching. It was raining and the Clinch River was higher than normal. She kept her eye on it praying it wouldn’t flood again. The river ruined last year’s corn crop. They’d been safe; river people always built their houses high. Looking at the paper, she continued to write.

“Wm, I am 71-yrs-old this morning and I want to talk to my absent children.”
She stopped writing, lost in thought. Only Victor and his family lived in the old home now. For a one-year-old who was just walking, Little Jewell could make an awful racket but she was grateful for the noise. She could hear the echoes of the absent children as if they were still home, eight of them slamming doors and hollering at each other. She picked up her pen again.

“What I can and truly hope that when the end of their road is as near in sight as mine, they can rejoice as I can, that rest is near.”

She put the pen down again and slowly pushed herself out of the chair. “I’ll finish later,” she told herself and little by little made her way down the stairs.”

The story

Martha Jane McColloam was born on January 1, 1848 in Sneedville, Tennessee. There is no birth certificate; the information comes from family records. She does confirm the date in her letter dated January 1, 1919.

She was one of three girls born to Mary Polly Gray and James Northcross McCollum. James and Polly had a farm that bordered the Clinch River. Their closest neighbors were the Rhea’s. She knew John Carter Rhea all her life so it was no surprise she married him at the age of 17 in 1865. John was 23-years-old and had just returned home as a veteran of the Civil War.

Ending day one here

There is more research needed on weddings of the time. Reviewing the records will show family members who would have attended the wedding. There was family around. Given there were no stores or large towns nearby, what would the couple wear? What kind of gifts would they receive? Where would they live considering the house wasn’t built yet? They did have land to farm. Where did they get it? This information may not be important or used in a final draft but it will form a framework for later stories.

Word count 970, 30 short of the goal.

Martha Jane McColloam

The Armchair Genealogist is starting their Family History Writing Challenge for the month of February. I am joining in with Martha as my topic. I have the five letters and with the recently unearthed photo, I feel like I have a good starting place.

New direction

I am taking this blog in a different direction. It has been a hodge-podge of all the families that intersect with mine. I have information on my husband's adoptive family and now have written a small book on his biological family. That story now has its own blog and it can be accessed as "The Gaulthair Children" page.
It is incredibly difficult to find information that is personal in nature and gives us insight into what people were doing and thinking in the past. We tend to focus on our family but the letters from Martha Jane McCollum share not only family details but those of her neighbors and friends.

I am going to tag all the families that were involved with Martha Jane McCollum. While we are not related to these families, in her letters, Jane shares daily details for other families that my grandfather knew and wanted to know about.

It is my hope that those families will find these details and use them to understand more about their families and how they lived.