This past Sunday (18 March) was Ervin Alonzo DRAKE’s birthday. He was better known as Poppy, or Lon.
Above is a photo of Poppy and Annie with three of their children.
It seems Poppy was named after his grandfather, Ervin Alonzo DRAKE. I used to think Poppy’s name was Alonzo Ervin since he was sometimes called Poppy Lon but I’ve since come to think his name really is Ervin Alonzo and he was, perhaps, called Poppy or Lon to distinguish him from his grandfather. Poppy Lon was born in 1875 in McDonald County, Missouri, to William and Hester Ann Eglentine (MITCHELL) DRAKE. He was the first of 10 siblings. It was a known fact that back in the day the DRAKE’s liked to drink and fight. If you want to know just how rough some of them were, take a look at my series about his brother, “Red”, starting with part one. It’s quite a story!
I’ve written about Ervin, or Poppy Lon, here: Poppy Makes a Comebackand mentioned him here Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword, Part 4- The Finale. Today I’m going to highlight the most recent released census that includes Poppy.
Screenshot from Ancestry.
The year was 1940. Poppy was living in Beaty Township in Delaware County, Oklahoma. Beaty Township includes the area of Delaware County East of Jay, Southeast of Grove, West of South West City, McDonald County, Missouri, and Northwest of Maysville, Benton County, Arkansas – exactly the area I would expect him to live at. It’s a rural area with no present-day towns. You can find it on this map.
The original of the above map was found at OKGenWeb.
I’ve circled the name Beaty in red to make it easier to find. Also notice in the upper left corner of the map I’ve circled (in green) the town of Echo in Bernice Township. This is where Poppy Lon’s grandfather, Ervin Alonzo, lived before that area was flooded to make Grand Lake. I’ve written a little about that in this blog post. (This was one of my earliest blog posts about my family so it will be a little different than what you might read from me currently.)
In 1940, Poppy Lon was listed as the head of household. He is listed as Ervin L. Drake. Living with him were his wife, Annie (Mary Anne BAKER), his married son Roscoe, and Poppy’s grandchildren (Roscoe’s children) – Lulla Bell (age 14) and James E. (age 12). (Note: Even though he is listed as “married son”, the same entry says he is a widower.) I’m not sure where Roscoe’s wife was at the time. Just a quick glance at records looks like possibly the wife left Roscoe and the children and moved to California and remarried but I’m not certain and I haven’t asked. Interestingly, Nancy wasn’t living with Roscoe in the 1930 census either.
I did find this photo (sorry for the quality) of Nancy and hers and Roscoe’s children. Lulla Bell and James Ervin William are both in the photo. James is on the back row and Lulla Bell is the girl with the darker hair and white blouse on the far right next to her mother. The other girl in the photo is identified as Jolene Lavinia DRAKE (her middle name probably being given in honor of Poppy Lon’s grandmother, Lavina (PILGRIM) DRAKE) and the young boy is James Woodrow LANG and he looks to be from mom Nancy’s second marriage (after Roscoe). Additionally, Lulla Bell’s name is spelled “Lulu Belle”, contrary to the 1940 census.
This photo was shared publicly on Ancestry by Tori Hobbs. I have tried over the years to get in touch with Tori without success.
This is what the 1940 census tells us about Poppy Lon. He was the 79th (and last) family to be censused on 15 April 1940 by enumerator Ben F. Ryburn. Poppy Lon owned his home. When asked the value of the home, the response recorded was “3.50”. I don’t think that meant $3.50- possibly $3500 instead? I’m not sure. Poppy Lon’s place was a farm. His race was listed as “White” and he was 65 years old at the time of this census. He was born in Missouri. He completed 4th grade in school. He was farming that year as his employment and was working 40 hours a week on the farm. He worked 45 weeks out of the year. He earned more than $50 but an amount was not specified. He is person #68 on the farm schedule. Unfortunately, I have not located the farm schedule and it may not exist anymore. In 1940, Roscoe was a laborer with WPA. About this time last year I wrote for WPA records for my grandpa, Troy BATES, and their response was that there was no employment record for Troy even though I know he was hired by WPA. I may decide to write for Roscoe’s employment records to see what type of work he did but I haven’t done that yet. Roscoe was unemployed 20 weeks in the year preceding the census before he gained employment with WPA. That’s almost half the year so I’m sure he was very happy to get a job with WPA given he had a couple of children to support and was living with his parents.
A final note about the 1940 census. Living near Poppy Lon was Raymond Hubbard. Raymond was the brother of Edith (HUBBARD) DRAKE. Edith was married to Mark DRAKE- Poppy Lon’s son and my great-grandfather. So while Raymond wasn’t technically a relative, I’m sure Poppy and Raymond knew each other and had visited each other at Edith’s and Mark’s home. Living next door to Poppy Lon was Poppy’s brother, Henry Arthur (who went by “Ned”) and Henry’s family. You can find a photo of Ned in one of my blog posts here.
I’m going to leave Poppy Lon right here in 1940, farming and taking care of his family. He has another 24 years of life ahead of him. I think that’s a good spot to leave him in.
Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog
Well, I was one for three last week but at least I blogged. This week will be busy but nothing like last week when I had Freshman pre-enrollment and book fair all in one week. I’m so glad my mom came and helped me out with book fair!
Make a note that Alonzo Ervin DRAKE’s birthday is actually today (Sunday, 18 March) but I try not to do anything on Sunday other than the schedule so I’ll be blogging about Alonzo tomorrow. Here’s this week’s schedule:
Monday – Alonzo Ervin DRAKE’s birthday was 18 March 1875. Monday I’ll honor that birthday with a blog post.
Tuesday – William WOLF died on this date (20 March) in 1980. I’ll celebrate his life with a blog post on Tuesday.
That’s it for the scheduled blog posts this week. I am hoping to do some research this week so there may be an extra blog post or two if I find out anything exciting. Additionally, I still need to catch up on John BATES’ blog posts and I need to finish the story about Quincy BELL. This may be a good week to do those posts since things will only get busier at work until the school year ends. Not to mention, this is the last big break I’ll get until then.
Until tomorrow,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog
This post has been updated as of 2 August 2022. I’ve been able to decipher some more of the content of the second newspaper article and have updated the text portions that I’ve figured out. Additionally, if you’ll scroll to the bottom you will find Update, Final Thoughts, & Resources sections with new information.
I hope you read part 1 because we’re jumping right into part 2, no introduction!
Transcription of the first newspaper article:
From Texas County. Still Another Spurious Delegate at Marshfield – A Fugitive from Justice turns up in a Representative Capacity. Houston, Texas Co., Aug. 4. To the Editor of the Daily Leader: Springfield papers, containing an account of the Marshfield convention, have just been received here. From them we learn that one Q. A. Bell was in that convention as a delegate from Texas County. No Radical convention has been held in this county to appoint delegates to the Marshfield convention, nor for any other purpose. Mr. Q. A. Bell got into a scrape here, and left the county to avoid being arrested by the officers of the law. He ran away from Texas county- a fugitive from justice- went into Webster county and stayed with some relatives until the Marshfield convention came off. He has just got back, and I understand he says he is ashamed of what he did, and would not have gone into the convention but that some of Havens’ friends at Marshfield “fixed up his papers,” and insisted that he act as a delegate – that they assured him “it was all right enough, and nobody would ever find it out. Suffrage Radical
It was alright enough. You ever told yourself that about something? Maybe next time, just say no! I wish I could tell you that I understand everything that happened but I don’t. I’ve sat on this story for about a year, maybe a little longer, because I was trying to figure out the whole story. I’m not going to hold out any longer. In trying to figure it all out there is another article we need to read but it is in such poor shape that it’s nearly impossible to read. I’ve transcribed as much of the article as possible, and as well as possible, below.
Daily Leader Thursday, August 11, 1870 Was the nomination of the ten dollar, hundred day hero* by the Marshfield convention a cut-and-dried affair or was it not? Was the convention which made the nomination a body representative of the real contingent of the Radical party in the district, or did it represent only that Eternal Hateite(?)** “ring” in that party? It now appears that the two individuals admitted to the convention as delegates authorized to cast the vote of Ozark county, were not only spurious and self-constituted, but in no manner reflected the sentiment or wishes of the majority of the party in that ???. One of them, in fact, had not been in the county or the State three months, and was not therefore a qualified voter. It appears that McDonald county, which no primary convention was held and no expression whatever of choice as to candidates was had, was in like manner misrepresented in the person of W. H. Goody ????. And now it further appears that Texas county, failing to send a delegation found herself honored in the convention by being accredited in that body with a fugitive from justice, Q. A. Bell, who was picked up in the streets of Marshfield and clothed with representative honors by an agent of the Havens clique. Here, then, we have three ??? casting their votes at Marshfield for a candidate and the representative of principles notoriously ignored by a large majority of the party whose views they assumed to represent. Add to these Christian county, in which the friends of the amendment outnumber the malignants(?) two to one, and also add Greene, the ac??? to ??? from hold(?) of suffrage, and does not the question become one worthy of the party whether they have not been imposed on, their real sentiments misrepresented, and their wishes overridden in the action of the Marshfield meeting! Does it not become even a more serious question whether they will abide by and submit to the usurpations of a mere clique, bent upon carrying out the will and the wishes, not of the majority, but the barest minority of the party?
That’s where the article ends. I can hardly make heads or tails of it other than Quincy wasn’t alone in this mess and there was a clique known as the Havens clique that was a minority in the Radical Party of 1870. So I Googled it, of course! Apparently, in the five years following the Civil War, Missouri was deeply divided. The conservatives had split into several factions over a variety of issues and they couldn’t seem to agree on anything. In this void rose up the Radical Union Party (aka Radical Republican Party)***. They wanted to get rid of slavery as well as Missouri’s reputation of being a state overcome with guerilla warfare. The party was progressive in their thinking. You can learn more here.
Suffice it to say, Quincy got sucked into all this- whether willingly or through cajoling- and it didn’t end well for him. I really can’t tell you much more than that right now but there is at least one more article I need to transcribe. Unfortunately, it’s taking a lot longer than I thought it would. So, over the next week or two I’m going to be transcribing and reporting to you about the Marshfield Convention and the craziness that went on there and maybe when I’m done we’ll have this all figured out. So enjoy your stay right here in the middle of a big old political, legal mess for Quincy. I’ll catch up with you soon with the rest of the story.
Until then, Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog Clippings are from Newspapers.com
UPDATE:
*”Ten dollar hundred day hero” refers to Captain Harrison HAVENS. The Hundred-Day portion is sort of explained with this political cartoon:
Political Cartoon from the Springfield Leader and Press, 26 July 1870.6
The Ten-Dollar portion is explained in this short article:
Springfield Leader Press, 31 July 1870. Newspapers.com.7
**Eternal Hateites was a name given to the Radical Republicans by the mainstream media of the day and by their political opponents. Interchangeable terms include “eternal haters”, “eternal hate-ring”, and “eternal hateism”.1, 4 This sect apparently included supporters of Captain HAVENS and Governor McCLURG.2 I’m not knowledgeable enough on the subject to say this was undeserved but from what I’ve read up to this point, it certainly seems like the Radical Republicans’ opponents were using the media as an arm of destruction to do their bidding against the Radicals.3 In fact, at this point, I’m not even certain I believe that Quincy was a “fugitive from justice”. The Radical Republicans were being called “anti-constitutional” and I certainly don’t see anything in their platform or in the newspapers that leans toward anti-constitutional. It seems their opponents had no problem conducting an effective smear campaign. Again, after the last few years I can certainly see that going on today in politics and in the media.
*** The Radical Union Party is synonymous with the Radical Republican Party. There were many, many small and very short-lived political parties that sprang up between the midterms in 1870 and the presidential election of 1870. This included the Liberal Republican Party (which was not the same as the Radical Republicans or State Republicans (which would become what we know as the Republican Party of today). The Liberal Republicans would later be known as Rockefeller Republicans and would eventually merge with the Democrat Party as we know it today. Quincy was not affiliated with this party. The Radical Republicans would eventually merge with the Republican Party. This is, in part, why it has been so difficult to parse out what really happened. Despite the Radical Republican Party affiliating as Republican, they could expect no help at all from the mainstream Republicans. In fact, the Radical Republicans received the name-calling, etc. from all sides including the “friendlies”. The last third party president was President Millard Fillmore in 1850-1853. By 1870, I’m sure it was much like today where people were harassed and discouraged from voting third party.
You know how I always say that everything “comes back around full circle”? While researching all the players and events connected to the Marshfield Convention, I came across this article that was written a little over one year ago referencing the 1870 Missouri events stemming from the Marshfield Convention. The headline and sub-headline read, “Missouri Democrats Brace for Electoral Disaster Not Seen in 150+ Years: Republicans will be favored to hold all statewide offices in Missouri after the 2022 midterms for the first time since 1870”.5 Like I always say, it all comes back around eventually. This is, in part, why I write this blog – so my grandsons can see how cyclical life is and how resilient their ancestors were (and maybe so they’ll see where bad decisions will take them in life).
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind that, just like today, the newspaper articles seem to be very slanted toward one side or the other. The most neutral paper I found (in regard to their reporting on the Radical Republican Party) was the Buffalo Reflex, a small paper out of Buffalo, Missouri. In 1870, Buffalo had a population of 278 people. Like today, the majority of newspaper articles about politics included name-calling and libelous-sounding statements. Just like today, emotions were high, opinions were plentiful, and everyone believed they were right. Tensions were so high and the articles were biased enough that at this point I’m even questioning whether Quincy really did anything wrong. I’m wondering if the people in control of media just didn’t like the side he chose. This tactic is so prevalent today and it gives me a whole new perspective on the situation for Quincy. I do wonder if he was doing a favor for an old military friend (John PHELPS, from part 1 of this story) or if a group of people perhaps coerced Quincy to do this. I say this because I’ve never found any other stories of Quincy being in legal or criminal trouble. In any case, I may never know the truth but I keep searching. To my boys (and my new granddaughter that will arrive in the Spring!) I say, be careful with whom you associate. Your friends matter. Be careful when making decisions in haste. Always try to take time to think through the consequences of your decisions and actions. And, always keep your behavior above board so no one can coerce you to do something by saying they’re going to tell things about you that you don’t want others to know.
One more note: I used a political cartoon as the new featured image for this post. It’s the only derogatory cartoon I found on the Liberal Republican candidate while researching this post. (I didn’t look too hard but most of the newspapers were left-leaning and were attacking HAVENS and MCCLURG rather than SCHURZ. This cartoon didn’t come out until 1872, the year of the presidential election. I found the image at Wikipedia.8 It’s a public domain image and originally appeared in Harper’s Weekly. The artist/creator was Thomas NAST.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the update. Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives
Resources
Newspapers.com. Warrenton Banner, 6 September 1870, Vol. 6, #3, Page 4; Warrenton, Missouri. Accessed on 1 August 2022.
Newspapers.com. Nodaway Democrat, 12 October 1870, Vol. 1, #48, Page 2; Maryville, Missouri. Accessed on 1 August 2022.
Newspapers.com. Buffalo Reflex, 24 September 1870, Vol. 2, #4, Page 4; Buffalo, Missouri. Accessed on 1 August 2022.
Newspapers.com. Buffalo Reflex, 8 October 1870, Vol. 2, #6, Page 5; Buffalo, Missouri. Accessed on 1 August 2022.
Ostermeier, Dr. Eric. “Missouri Democrats Brace for Electoral Disaster Not Seen in 150+ Years”. 7 June 2021. Smart Politics, University of Minnesota. Accessed 1 August 2022.
Newspapers.com. Springfield Leader and Press, Vol. 1, #73, Page 4; Springfield, Missouri. Accessed on 2 August 2022.
Newspapers.com. Springfield Leader and Press, Vol. 1, #77, Page 2; Springfield, Missouri. Accessed on 2 August 2022.
We can all be different people at different times. No one is static. So can someone be both a hero and a thug in different circumstances? I’m going to explore that question today in the life of my paternal 3rd great-grandfather, Quincy Adam BELL. He was married to Elizabeth Emoline STEPHENSON (possibly spelled STEVESON, STEPHESON or STEVENSON). The line of descent is from Quincy through his daughter Eliza, and Eliza’s daughter Bess WILLIAMS who was my great grandmother. Quincy was born on this date (13 March) in 1825. I have not written about Quincy before. Normally I would take the time to introduce him to you but today I have a story to tell you that my sister-in-law has been asking me to tell for over a year. (By the way, you should visit her blog over at Down in the Root Cellar.) I will give you an abbreviated introduction but mostly I want to get right into his story.
Quincy was born in Tennessee but he lived the majority of his life in Missouri. He came to Missouri with his parents and siblings sometime around 1836. I want to skip ahead, though, to Quincy at age 36. The year was 1861 and America was barreling toward a civil war. Quincy volunteered to serve for the Union. On 28 August 1861, Quincy enrolled as a Private in Captain Coleman’s Company, Missouri Infantry for a period of 6 months. One of his fellow Privates was John Smith PHELPS who had served both in the Missouri House of Representatives and in Congress (including serving on the House Ways and Means Committee) since 1840. (I think it was this connection with PHELPS that caused Quincy to end up in a situation that got him in trouble later in his life.) They fought in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek after which the company retreated to Rolla, Phelps County, Missouri (which was named after John Smith Phelps when it was created).
It was during this time that, in a special arrangement with President Abraham LINCOLN, John Smith PHELPS organized an infantry regiment – Phelps’ Infantry Regiment. By November of 1861, Quincy had enrolled as a Private in Company A, Phelps’ Infantry Regiment in Rolla, Phelps County, Missouri. They spent most of the winter of 1861-1862 at Fort Wyman in Rolla, Phelps County, Missouri. In March of 1862, the Company fought a fierce battle at Pea Ridge, Benton County, Arkansas. The battle lasted two days. Pea Ridge Battlefield maps found on Wikipedia. Sketch of the Last Hour of the Battle of Pea Ridge found on Wikipedia.
Quincy’s muster-out date from Company A, Phelps’ Infantry was 11 April 1862. He mustered out in Springfield, Greene County, Missouri and was given $26.62 for “clothing in kind or money advanced”. He was marked as Present. I don’t know the succession of events but I have found an index card showing that Quincy mustered in to Company M of the 16th Missouri Cavalry as a Private and before he mustered out he had been promoted to Quartermaster Sergeant. A Quartermaster Sergeant is in charge of supplies, as I understand it. I know that he was in this company in 1863 but that’s as close as I’ve gotten so far.
You can read a short couple of paragraphs about the 16th Missouri at NPS.gov. One thing I know this company was doing in 1863 other than fighting in skirmishes was fighting Confederate Guerillas in the Springfield, Greene County, Missouri area. You can read a short snippet about Phelps’ Regiment also at NPS.gov.
Other researchers have listed him as being in Berry’s Battalion Cavalry, Cass County Home Guards Cavalry, Stewart’s Battalion Cavalry, and Van Horn’s Battalion Cavalry during 1863. I have not found documentation to support these claims yet.
Now, I want to skip ahead a little. The year is 1870 and very politically charged- much like the current political climate. It’s 11 August in Missouri- hot, humid, nearly unbearable. Quincy is 45 years old. I’m going to leave you right here for the night and finish the story tomorrow. Be sure you come back because this is where he runs into trouble!
Welcome to week 11! I’m still blogging so I consider that a success. This week is book fair AND Freshmen pre-enrollment so I’ll do my best to stick to the schedule but if I miss a day at least you’ll know why. Tuesday- I will blog about my paternal 3rd great grandfather Quincy Adam BELL. Quincy was born on this date (13 March) in 1825. Exciting fact: I have found a potential DNA connection to the Bell family. Thursday- I will blog about my paternal 4th great grandmother Sarah HARDEN (possibly spelled HARDIN) BELL. She is Quincy BELL’s mom. Sarah died in 1896 in Missouri. Exciting fact: I have found a possible DNA connection to the Hardin/Harden family. Saturday- I will blog about my paternal 5th great grandfather John WEDDING. John died on this date (17 March) in 1864. I have only found one DNA match with the surname Wedding in their family tree, however many people don’t put up a family tree so it’s sometimes difficult to tell how you are related to someone on the DNA websites.
St. Patrick’s Day is also on Saturday. Don’t forget to celebrate your Irish heritage!
Until Tuesday,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog
Today’s blog post is about my paternal 3rd great grandfather, Jehue BAKER. Jehue died on this date in (10 March) in 1924. I have mentioned Jehue before in a blog post about his daughter but I haven’t specifically blogged about him so today I just want to introduce him to you. The line of descent is through Jehue’s first child Mary Anne (who went by Annie), Annie’s son Mark DRAKE, and Mark’s son Eugene who was my grandpa.
Jehue Baker was born on 27 September 1850 in Bolivar, Polk County, Missouri. According to his death certificate his parents were Bets BAKER and his mother’s last name was BAIR but her first name was unknown. I have never been able to find either of his parents. Some researchers have speculated that her name was Judy or Judith. The children I know that belong to this couple are Mary Anne, Cora Belle, Jesse Washington, Myrtle, John Henry (who died as a toddler). Jehue’s siblings were Martha (who married a POWERS) and Thomas. I haven’t found any census records for Jehue prior to 1900.
Jehue and Annie
Jehue married Mary Jane LITTRELL in 1876 in Jasper County, Missouri. I’m assuming she died around 1890 due to Jehue’s remarriage in 1891. I have not found an 1880 census record for them.
Jehue and Lillie
STOP THE PRESSES!! It’s 3:45 a.m. on Sunday March 11th. Yeah- I’ve been up all night. And yes- I’m still hoping to make it to church. But I have to tell you- I think I’ve made a breakthrough on Jehue!! I now believe I know who his parents are and if I’m correct, we’ve found a whole slew of new siblings. Folks, it’s been a few decades since my Mam first told me about Jehue. That’s a long time to search and never find anything. This is one reason I love this blog so much! But I digress….
I now believe Jehue’s parents are Jesse BAKER and Mary BAIR (possibly spelled BEAR). Many researchers still maintain that Mary is Native American and while I would believe that, I can’t prove that yet. Here’s what I know about his parents.
In 1850 they were living in District 47, Lawrence County, Missouri at census time. This does NOT match the fact that on Jehue’s death certificate his birthplace is given as Bolivar, Polk County, Missouri. I can’t explain that but bear with me. In 1850 the family consisted of Jesse, his wife called Polley in 1850, and children: William, Ellen (first name is Sarah), Robert N., (later called Newton), Daniel, and James. There was also a woman named Judith Newlis living in the home and I have not been able to place her yet.
In 1860 the family is living at Dunkles Store (later known as Lawrenceburg), Ozark Township, Lawrence County, Missouri. At that time the family consisted of Jesse, his wife now called Mary, and their children: William, Sarah E., Newton, Daniel, James, John (later called Jahue), Thomas, and Judy (whom I believe to be Jahue’s sister, Martha Judith).
In 1870 the family is living in Lostine (later called Petersville and now no longer in existence), Cherokee County, Kansas. The family consisted of Jesse, Mary, Sarah E., Newton, Daniel, James, Jahue, Thomas, and Martha.
I believe this is the correct family due to the ages and successive birth order of Jahue, Thomas, and Judy. I’ve searched so many families over the years and this is the only family that fits. I’m going to continue my research and hopefully have updates but I couldn’t wait to tell you.
I know I don’t have any photos in this blog post so I’m going to include one here of my Mam and Pa- Audrey and Eugene Drake. Eugene is in my direct line back to Jehue BAKER.
Jehue will have a birthday coming around later this year so I’ll finish telling you about him then but for now, I need to get to bed!!
Until tomorrow (um…I mean later today),
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog
I truly will get back to blogging about John BATES. It’s crazy busy right now with my job though. I had an after-school meeting today and then went to a school board meeting tonight pertaining to the upcoming teacher walkout. Important stuff!! In the next two weeks I’ll be doing parent-teacher conferences, helping Freshman enroll in next year’s classes, holding a book fair, etc. I WILL get back to it though, I promise!
I love working in a place where administration and the community supports you!
Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog
Sometimes life doesn’t go quite the way we want it to. It happens to all of us. Life throws you a completely unexpected curveball or the plan you so carefully worked out had completely the opposite outcome from what you anticipated and planned. Step back, take a minute to relax. Pray, take deep breaths, think happy thoughts. It’s going to turn out okay. It may not seem like it now or even a year from now but overall, it will be okay. I’ve lived it. This concept is found in the Bible, too. We can find our example in Joseph. Before Joseph’s dad died he made Joseph promise to forgive his brothers for what they’d done to him when he was a child. Joseph had already forgiven them years ago. I think that because of how he responded to them when God brought his brothers back into his life. He accepted them and made sure they were taken care of. In this particular instance though, he doesn’t just tell them they’re forgiven. He credits God for taking care of him.
Genesis 50:19-20
“19But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
They meant it for evil but God meant it for good. God can turn around so many situations in our lives. And when He does it in your life, it will be pretty amazing. So take heart. I know how faithful you are. God will keep you and take care of you. I know sometimes it’s hard to have faith, but I know you can do this.
Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives
Albert BATES was my maternal great grandfather. I’ve written about him several times. You can find those posts here: Looking for Land in All the Wrong Places I Know What You Did That Day Dettie Louisa GIBSON BATES and the Sibling Melting Pot (Although this one is about Dettie, you will find a photograph of a young Albert BATES included in the post.) Not Breaking, But Succeeding- Lum’s Apple Orchard (You can find a photo of Albert as a child here.)
Albert was born 1 February 1881 in Hiwasse, Benton County, Arkansas to George and Mary (SEELY) BATES. He was the first of four children- 3 boys and a girl. When Albert was born, the family lived in Hiwasse, Benton County, Arkansas. He was 6 years old before his little brother Charlie came into the world. He was 10 when his brother Herman was born and 13 when his sister Vesta was born. As far as I know, Albert lived in the same area for these first 13 years. Because the 1890 census was destroyed, the first record I’ve found for Albert is the 1900 census. The census enumerator came by the BATES’ home on 5 June 1900. Albert was 19 years old and single. He was living at home with his parents and siblings. He was working as a photographer. This information about his job supports family stories that he worked as an itinerant photographer when he was young. I would absolutely love to have a photograph he took although I’m not sure how I would identify his photographs.
Family stories say that he would travel around, take photographs and play his fiddle at barn dances. It was on one of these “fiddle and photograph” trips that he met his future wife, Dettie Louisa GIBSON. Dettie was living in Dickson Township, Benton County, Arkansas in 1900 so maybe Albert didn’t venture out too far to do his job. My mom and granny used to tell me that after Albert and Dettie met they wrote letters back and forth to each other until they married.
By 1900, photography had been in existence for about 60-70 years or so. Even so, in the early 1900’s photographers were still trying to legitimize photography as an art form. Also in 1900, the Kodak Brownie camera was finally reaching the middle class in America. Kodak had been a brand name for 13 years and the x-ray was only 5 years old. Tintypes were still prevalent in those days and along with developing tintypes came the use of extremely hazardous chemicals like mercury chloride. I don’t know what types of photos Albert took nor do I know if he would have had to use mercury chloride but the possibility was there.
ca. 1900 photographer (not Albert) with a folding plate camera; photo found at Antiquecameras.net.
Now back to that fiddle…I wish I had a picture of it. Sadly, I don’t. Like I said before, Albert played at barn dances. The purpose of a barn dance was to get people together and have fun dancing, of course! It was a social gathering for people in the community. A way to spend the evening with friends and meet new people. Just like dances of today. The Library of Congress website has a great page where you can listen to old fiddle songs being played. Here is one from their page: Arkansas Traveler
I definitely recommend you take some time and visit their site and listen to a few of the songs. Close your eyes and imagine them there- Albert playing, Dettie dancing. And then, maybe, let someone else take over the fiddle playing and imagine them dancing together. Two people, falling in love, before you were ever even a thought in someone’s mind. I think that’s where I want to leave my great grandparents today. Dancing the night away in someone’s Arkansas barn, just happy to spend a little time together, long before I was ever a thought in their minds.
Love,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog
