LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

 

Gate City, Virginia

 Looking back to the time when my people would have lived in Gate City, it is important to understand the history of that city. All of these places are mentioned in my family history. The below information was taken from Wikipedia. 

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/22/88/34/2288346e179c70894a22631b72793fe5.jpg

Gate City, Virginia - Wikipedia

Gate City is part of the Kingsport–Bristol (TN)–Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA. This combined area – commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.

 In 1771, Silas Engart received a land grant of 200 acres that included the location of the future town. By the time of Scott County's formation in 1815, landowner James Davidson, Sr. donated approximately 13 acres of his plantation for establishing the county seat. The location of the town was such that it would emerge as an important commercial center for people and goods traveling through Big Moccasin Gap and the North Fork of the Holston River.

 In 1817, the town was renamed Estillville (the place where most of my ancestors resided) in honor of Benjamin Estill, a local judge instrumental in the formation of the new county. As a result of the county seat's location near Big Moccasin Gap and the North Fork of the Holston River, the town grew into a commercial center for people passing through on their way westward, for farmers hoping to sell goods, and businessmen in town for legal affairs. A regular wagon train and coach line service conveying people, mail, and commercial goods between Bedford and Estilville.

 Gate City received its present name in 1886, when Attorney General Rufus A. Ayers pointed out that proximity to Big Moccasin Gap marked the town as the "Gate Way to the West." The town was incorporated in 1892.

 By the beginning of the twentieth-century, Gate City was one of several "boom towns" located in southwestern Virginia. Although the streets were little more than dirt byways in the town, the area was a vibrant commercial and transportation center. Up to six daily passenger trains passed through Gate City. The town also had a railroad log yard where logs from all over the county were stored and then loaded to be later transported by train. Iron ore from the Snowflake and Nickelsville areas as well as glass sand from the south of Clinch Mountain were manufactured and shipped from Gate City. In addition, the town had a thriving manufacturing center in the area of Water Street where wood pumps, staves, sleds, and harnesses were built. By 1915, the town supported two livery stables on Willow Street and a blacksmith shop on Jackson Street, as well as a dentist's office, an ice plant, a casket shop, and a furniture manufacturing business.

 

Ira D. Quillin History Sheet

File:Second Battle of Bull Run.jpg - Wikipedia

Ira is from the generation that makes genealogy interesting. Substantiating ties to parents is more difficult since the early U.S. Censuses only have the names of the head of household, followed by the categories of the ages of persons living in that household. Ira was born in 1831 to John W Quillin and Rebecca (Lawson) Quillin. I’ve never seen a complete date for his day of birth. They were residing in Scott County, Virginia, and the 1830 census would match up to the number of people John would have had in his household with his mother Peggy (Nation) Quillin and possibly a sister living with them.

 

In 1850, census takers began to list every member of the family by name and their age. By that time (by only a year), Ira was married and out of the household. I feel certain, though, as to Ira’s family ties because he was included in family history books from that era. He is included in Quillin family history books, Vineyard Family history books, and Lawson Family history. Plus, Ira and his new bride are living next door to his parents in 1850. His story goes as follows:

 

The State of Virginia indexed all marriages from 1740-1850. This index was compiled from the information recorded by Jordan R. Dodd in “Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850. Jordan Dodd is a valid source, as he recorded much of the early history from that area. Dodd listed the marriage date of “Ira Quillin” and “Edna Vineyard” as 18 October 1849 and the marriage place as Scott, Virginia. I, of course, found the information on Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.

 

In 1850, Ira and Edna Quillin lived next door to his parents, John and Rebecca Quillin. Also, next door and quite close in the vicinity are: Thomas Quillin (John’s brother, Ira’s uncle) and wife Polly; Thomas M. Quillin and wife Eleanor (Ira’s brother); Henry S. Quillin and wife Nancy (Ira’s brother). These families all live on nearly 3,000 acres of land. I believe this is the land that Ira’s grandfather, Teague 1772, purchased when he sold his property in NC and moved to VA. Ira and Edna would have had the support of extended family in the area. Their first child, Hannah Melvina Quillin, was an infant. They would eventually have 6 children; my great-grandfather, Beverly Johnson Quillin, was their third child.

 

When I widen the lens in 1860, I see that Edna and Ira live near her extended family, as well. Nearby neighbors include many Vineyards and Harts. Edna’s mother was Hannah Hart. Edna’s father was George Vineyard. But what was to come soon for Edna and Ira was the Civil War, which would change life forever, not only for them but for all the brothers and sisters of so many families. Many times, families found brothers fighting on opposite sides.

 

Ira died during the Civil War and Edna was left alone with 5 children, possibly 6. I have unsubstantiated information about Ira’s service to the Confederate army. It is by word of mouth, and I have yet to find the documentation. Sadly, records were destroyed during this horrendous war between the states, and I may never know Ira’s complete story, but what I DO know is what was told to me by the Quillens who stayed in the Gate City area.

That story is as follows: Please see the attachment about Joel Shelley. These stories were covered in my post on Sept. 15,16,17.

Family Is Family

 

https://dpsayings.com/wp-content/uploads/family-quotes-and-sayings-68.jpg?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb3

Top 85 Inspirational Family Quotes And Sayings - DP Sayings

Granny Hart Holding Me

 1956

Granny Hart (Merphia Ewing Quillin Hart) came over often to hold me.

Be The Bridge Between Them

 FAMILY HISTORY

builds bridges between

the generations of our 

families.

Bridges between generations are not built by accident.

If I want my children and grandchildren to know

those who still live in my memory, then

I MUST BUILD 

the bridge

BETWEEN THEM.

I alone am the link to the generations that stand

on either side of me. It is my responsibility to

knit their hearts together

through love and respect. 

~ Dennis B. Neuenschwander

Edna (Vineyard) Quillin's Potbelly Stove

 The Greatest Gift Turned Out To Be Robert "Bob" Haskell Quillen

Being an older person now myself, I can better understand why Bob always wanted to meet me. In our later years, there are things we say that we are ‘going’ to do…and then it becomes too late. He urged me so many times, and in every Christmas card, he reiterated how important it was for me to come to Bristol so that he could show me around the ‘old’ homestead. I could never visualize that as a young person…going to see what seemed to be a stranger. But Bob had already embraced me as family. He wanted VERY much for Derek and me to come for a visit.

Then one day, Bob totally surprised me. He phoned and said that he and Barbara, his wife, were coming on a tour through the Hill Country of Texas. I was shocked and didn’t know exactly what to do or how I would arrange a visit with him. Since he was touring with a company, we decided that Derek and I would go out on a Saturday morning to the hotel where they would be lodging for a couple of nights.

He embraced me from the ‘get-go’. He was an example of kindness and acceptance. It was a great lesson in humility for me, learning how to accept others. I totally misjudged him, viewing him more as a stranger than as a cousin. I practiced too much caution and less acceptance. I knew immediately when I laid eyes on him and Barbara how badly I missed the mark.  

Bob was so excited about his trip to Texas. It felt as though the trip was centered around the opportunity to meet me, as he would later say, “Where are the hills?” Being from Bristol, Virginia, bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains on one side and the Appalachians on the other, these were not even hills. He presented me with a gift. I was stunned! Bob had gone out to the old homestead and picked up the door of Edna’s potbelly stove. He had mounted it on wood to hang on the wall. This symbolic gesture serves as a reminder to me of how to accept others. I cherish the little time I had with Bob and Barbara, and yes, I look back and wish that I had taken the time to journey back to the old homestead.

Robert Quillen's letter 1995

 

Gate City Article from 14 July 1904

Robert Haskell Quillen sent me this article. 

It was disappointing that this did not reveal Ira D Quillin's name.

 

Robert Spoke of Joel Shelley - Civil War Informaion

Joel Shelley (1842 – 1929)          

The man who said he knew Ira D Quillin

Compiled by Nancy Quillin Long  

Nov 8, 2020

 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178569758/joel-shelley
Joel Shelley b. 14 Oct 1842 Scott Co VA  d. 7 March 1929 Scott Co VA buried in the Shelley Cemetery, Bristol City VA
 
Joel Shelley wrote a newspaper article for the Gate City Herald dated July 14, 1904 (1901?)
Mr. Shelley is the man who told William Isaac Quillen, grandson of Ira D Quillen, that he (Joel Shelley) was with Ira D when Ira died. The article details how Company H came to be and listed the names of those he could remember. (see attached photo copy of the Gate City Herald article)
 
In June 1861, Mr. Shelley was a volunteer that helped form Company B, 48^th Virginia Volunteers. They were reorganized in 1862 as Company H, 48^th Virginia Volunteers and remained as Company H until Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Mr. Shelley wrote an article for the Gate City Herald, the local newspaper, published in the July 17 1904 (1901?) edition.  Shelley commemorated the men who served in the Company for the Confederate Army.  Shelley states that “it is difficult to remember distinctly the things of forty years ago.”  In the article, Mr. Shelley listed the Christian names of those who served in this company. 
 
Mr. Joel Shelley enlisted 11 Aug 1861 when he was about 18 years old. He was a private from Pocahontas WV.  Company H, Virginia, 48 Infantry Regiment
Possible source: The Virginia Regimental Histories Series
 
My Bristol VA contact Robert Haskell Quillen, keeper of the Ira Quillin cemetery, found this article for me in the Scott County Public Library. (see attached doc titled Important Source) Robert corresponded with me during the 1990s in order to help me document Ira D Quillin and Edna Vineyard Quillin Barker
 
Robert was sorely disappointed that Ira D Quillin’s name was not on the list in the 1904 article.  Robert recalls that his father, William Isaac Quillen (brother to my great grandfather, Beverly Johnson Quillin) had personally spoken with Joel Shelley many years ago and that Mr. Shelley had told him that he was with Ira D when he died.
 
Robert Haskell Quillen < Willie Quillen < Patton Presley < Ira D Quillin
(Patton Presley Quillen was the brother of my great grandfather, Beverly J Quillin.)

Robert's Letter 1993

 Though Robert never did family research, he was willing to at least try to find some things for me.

Ira Quillin Cemetery

 https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2679389/ira-quillin-cemetery

 I will always want to know about the last person on this list for Mrs. Wright. Supposedly Polly Sprowls (who married B.J. Quillin) mother's name was Millie Wright. The Sprowls have been a dead end for me.
IRA QUILLIN CEMETERY
Find a Grave Cemetery: #2679389
The Information about this cemetery was added on 25 Jan 2019  by:
Phyllis Peterson
MEMBER of Find a Graver for 10 years · 17 days
Phyllis Peterson’s FIND A GRAVE ID   is:   47360019
 
Ira Quillin Cemetery #2679389
LOCATION: West End of CR 697
Hiltons, Scott County, Virginia, USA
 
“This cemetery is located slightly to the west of due north of Herman Chap Methodists Church, on the old QUILLIN farm on Fowlers Branch. It is located on the hillside a few hundred yards past the end of the maintained Route 697. The cemetery is unfenced and clean. It is marked by two large cedar trees which were placed at the head and foot of CICERO QUILLIN's grave. TROY DORAN took GUY SANDERS and me (Phyllis Peterson) to the cemetery and gave us a list of six of the eleven or more persons buried there. Troy made the list by discussing it with his mother, AUDREY QUILLEN DORAN. TROY presently leases the farm from his uncle, ROBERT QUILLEN, who owns it. ROBERT said that his father gave him a list of eleven people who were buried there, but the list was lost long ago. IRA QUILLIN SR died during the Civil War and is thought to have been buried near Manassas, VA. [From Donald W. Lane, Jan 2003]
 
8 people were added to Find A Grave by Phyllis Peterson which included the following:
All were buried in the Ira Quillin Cemetery at Hiltons, Scott County, Virginia.
 
Cicero Columbus Quillin
BIRTH  1855
Scott County, Virginia, USA
DEATH 4 Apr 1890 (aged 34–35)
Scott County, Virginia, USA
Drowned in the Clinch River. (Marked by two large cedar trees at head and foot of the grave)
MEMORIAL ID 196357272 ·
 
Patton Presley Quillin
BIRTH  10 Jan 1860
DEATH 10 Mar 1933 (aged 73)
Find a Grave Memorial 196357210
 
Elizabeth Isabell Reynolds Quillin  (wife of Patton Presley Quillin)
BIRTH  16 Apr 1871
DEATH unknown
Find a Grave Memorial 196357688
Martha Virginia Hart Quillin  (wife of Patton Presley Quillin)
Gravesite Details Marked with a fieldstone
BIRTH  11 Sep 1863
DEATH Dec 1896 (aged 33)
Find a Grave Memorial 196357220
 
Ira D. Quillin Jr.
BIRTH  14 May 1863
DEATH 11 Sep 1928 (aged 65)
Find a Grave Memorial 196357184
 
Henry Clay Quillin
Not on Audrey Quillen's list, but known to be buried here according to his grandchildren
BIRTH  1868
DEATH 1894 (aged 25–26)
Find a Grave Memorial 196357596
 
Billy Vineyard   A Baby
BIRTH  unknown
DEATH unknown
Find a Grave Memorial 196357368 
 
Mrs Wright
BIRTH  unknown
DEATH unknown
BURIAL
Ira Quillin Cemetery
Find a Grave Memorial 196357317

My Sister's 4th Birthday

 1954

This is my older sister, Paula Fae Quillin Ford. She is pictured here with another wonderful cake made by our grandmother, Ava Ella Jones. 

My sister was 6 years older than me, and she watched over me pretty well back then. I think she has always had that protective older sibling feeling towards me. 

1957

Looks like we all needed a nap!

Robert Haskell Quillen Continued

 

Back to Robert Quillin…his efforts to prove Ira D’s service during the Civil War fell short. See Robert’s letter and the xerox copy of the article for the Gate City Herald written by Joel Shelley on 14 July 1904.  Robert and his cousin contacted a Civil War writer in Roanoke, VA, who said he would investigate. To my knowledge they never heard anything back from him; therefore, leaving us with the unknown about Ira D Quillin’s Civil War service. Only spoken words.
Possible source: The Virginia Regimental Histories Series
 
Robert never really researched family lines. He lived so close to the Quillin heritage in the area that I’m sure the Quillin name was taken for granted.  In fact, in one of Robert’s letters he said that we had conflicting parents for Edna Vineyard Quillin.  It has been substantiated that her parents were George and Hannah Vineyard, though he stated they were Elisha Vineyard and Polly Agner.
 
I very much appreciated that Robert quickly ‘hit the streets’ for me and visited the courthouse and the Public library uncovering the newspaper article and a few census sheets, even though we came up a bit short. I still have the article and the words that Robert remembers his grandfather saying about Ira D Quillin and Beverly Johnson Quillin
 
I continued to have contact with Robert off and on for several years. He begged me to come to Bristol so that he could show me all the Quillin places, which included the place where Beverly Johnson and Edna lived.  He even went to the old homestead and found an old stove front from Edna’s stove and mounted it on wood for me.  Robert and his wife Barbara signed up for a tour of the Hill Country and came to the Austin area. I went out to visit with them and it was then that he presented the ‘gift’ to me.  He was a kind, gentle hearted man….my kind of people and I do regret, as he told me I would, that I never made it to VA to visit him in his home and see for myself the Quillin homestead.
 
Now many years later, I found that his sister Audrey Faye Quillen Doran and her son, Willie Troy Doran must have taken up the responsibility and pridefully took care of the Quillin cemetery.  As of 25 Jan 2019, the Ira Quillin Cemetery is listed on Find A Grave.
 
Sadly, as I began to finalize my documentation of this line, I learned that Robert Haskell Quillen passed away on 15 Jan 2010 Scott County Virginia.

Paula's 6th Birthday

 1956

Just days after I came home, my sister turned 6 years old. Once again, Mimi made the cake and Paula was so proud of her new TV pillow. 

Important Source - Robert Haskell Quillen

 

IMPORTANT SOURCE: IRA D. QUILLIN & EDNA VINEYARD

Correspondence with Robert Haskell Quillen

During the early 1990s

Written and documented by Nancy Quillin Long  

Nov. 8, 2020

  

After I exhausted the information that I gathered from B.M “Buster” Quillin concerning Beverly Johnson Quillin, I knew that in order to prove that his father was Ira D. Quillin born in Scott County, Virginia, that I needed a contact in that area.
 
Back in the day, the only way to research was to hit the streets, making visits to courthouses, cemeteries, State record offices, State Archives, etc. Another valuable source was to make contact with older living people in your tree. One of my favored sources for Ira and Edna was a man named Robert Haskell Quillen. (Spelling of Quillin in various ways is accepted/expected among kin).
 
I can’t remember after all of these years what constituted my desire to contact Robert Quillen, but I feel certain it was to obtain cemetery records once I learned there was a Quillin Cemetery near Bristol, TN.  Keep in mind that many branches of the Quillins lived on, near, around Bristol. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundary between the two cities is also the state line, which runs along State Street in their common downtown district. Many Quillins have lived or still live in this area of Virginia since the beginning of our nation.
 
With that said, I proceeded to call a complete stranger about cemetery records.  What I encountered was a family member and friend. He welcomed me and readily took my cause under his wing and went straight to the courthouse and public library to pursue records for me. 
Here’s how we match up on the family tree:
Ira D > Patton Presley > William Isaac “Willie” > Robert Haskell Quillen & Audrey Faye Quillen
Ira D > Beverly Johnson > Paul Bryan > Truman Bryan Quillin > Nancy Quillin Long
 
I wrote Robert a thank you note and he promptly responded with an envelope of xerox copies that he had found at The Scott County Public Library.  I’m attaching said copies. It was through Robert that I learned that Ira D. Quillin fought in the Civil War and that a Mr. Shelley claimed that he died of a fever and his body was covered with his coat and left somewhere in Virginia.  
 
Now many years later, I uncovered a census with an unknown Henry born 1868 living with Edna. A line of Quillins claim him as their ancestor (Henry Clay) under Ira D and Edna. If Ira died during the Civil War that would have been in 1862-1863. Edna remarried in 1870 to Wilson Barker. This Henry is still a mystery to me though it does not affect my lineage through B.J. Quillin.

Ira D Quillin Family Group Sheet

 

Big Sister Plays House

 1956

My Sources for Ira D. Quillin (great-great grandfather)

 
Source Sheet : Ira D. Quillin
Compiled by Nancy Quillin Long
Nov 11, 2020

 

Robert Haskell Quillen. Personal correspondence. Bristol VA. See attached sheets.

Robert H & Barbara J Quillen, 22333 Ivanhoe Rd, Bristol VA 24202. Deceased 15 Jan 2010.

 

1850 United States Federal Census. Year: 1850; Census Place: Western District, Scott, Virginia; Roll: 975; Page: 428b

 

1860 United States Federal Census. Year: 1860; Census Place: Scott, Virginia; Page: 231; Family History Library Film: 805376

 

Dodd, Jordan R., et al.. Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850. Bountiful, UT, USA: Precision Indexing Publishers. (found on Ancestry.com. Virginia, Compiled Marriages, 1740-1850)

 

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2679389/ira-quillin-cemetery

This is a new listing 2019. See the attached documents about my family contact, Robert. He is mentioned in this listing.

 

https://wc.rootsweb.com/trees/619268/I86/william-lawson/individual?_gl=1*vaxz6z*_gcl_dc*R0NMLjE2MDM1NDAzNDUuQ1AydmdhT1Z6ZXdDRlRTVXhRSWRtMllPeUE.&_ga=2.174682529.2033392750.1604482940-437862632.1556611828

Long story. But these are excellent genealogist. They gained trust in me and added our Quillins to the Lawson story. Rebecca Lawson married John Quillin, Ira’s dad. Originally, they had Rebecca linked to The Scottish Rebel. One family researcher spent days in Scotland and uncovered actual documents detailing our ‘true’ William Lawson.

 

https://www.newrivernotes.com/neighboring_scott_vital_statistics_death_records.htm

Death notice of Ira’s daughter, Polly Darnell.  Many other family names

 

http://www.reocities.com/heartland/cabin/3843/Relatedfamilies/quillin/d9.htm#c5689

now defunct, was a huge database of Quillin family tree, my family included

An original database called geocities couldn’t make the transition to new technology. Reocities tried to save many of the large databases, now defunct also.

Family Group Sheets for B.J.'s daughter Cathleen "Corintha" Melvina Quillin

Many genealogists confuse Cathleen's situation, and many trees reflect incorrect information. I have FIRSTHAND CORRECT KNOWLEDGE of this daughter from her illegitimate son, B. M. Quillin. He was a loving kind man that was raised by B.J. and Polly Quillin. (see my earlier tribute to B.M.) They are the ones that gave B. M. the Quillin name. Since Cathleen's first two children lived with B.J., many people think they are B.J.'s biological children. Cathleen did later marry a man named Thomas Bagby. Therefore, there are two group sheets for Cathleen. 

Pedigree Chart for my Great Great Grandfather Ira D. Quillin

 I'm a descendant of Ira's son, Beverly Johnson Quillin. 

Family group for B.J.'s daughter, Margaret "Maggie" Edna Quillin

 Maggie and Joel Moses had 10 children. My folks often referred to them fondly as 'the Moses Clan'. They lived for a while in B.J.'s hotel in 1910 in Haskell, Texas. After the Moses clan moved to Pampa, Texas, in the 1930s, Daddy (Truman B Quillin, Sr.) and his dad (Paul Bryan Quillin) lived with them for a while in order to find work. It was a happy time for Daddy as he remembers the "pickin' and grinin'" as people would gather on the Moses's porch to sing and pick guitars. Daddy remembers Bob Wills joining them on occasion. There are so many members of the family that the group sheet had to condense in size to print. I apologize for the blurred image. 

Family Group Sheet Beverly Johnson Quillin

At this point, I have worked my way through my 4 great grandparents. I'm sure there will be additional pieces of their history that I will find and will certainly post more about them, as I have amassed a huge amount of information in my genealogy files. But for now, I will begin again at the top of my pedigree chart with Ira D. Quillin. 

Before I leave Beverly Johnson Quillin, I will post several family group sheets for his family.

The Enlightenment

 The American Tradition in Literature Vol. 1  4^th ed.  By Bradley, Beatty, Long, Perkins, 1974.

A growing sense of unity and independence characterized the second great period of American cultural history, beginning about 1725.  Politically, this spirit encouraged the growth of a loose confederation, disturbed by the British colonial wars on the frontier and by “intolerable’ British trade and taxation policies.  Eventually, this produced the Revolution.  The Enlightenment and rational thinking infused the minds and acts of American leaders.   Earlier religious mysticisms, local in character, were now overlaid by larger concerns for the general toleration, civil rights, and a more comprehensive democracy in government.  The last member of the Puritan hierarchy, Cotton Mather, had met fundamental and final opposition.  The secular spirit, the immigration of a new population, and the development of enterprise and commerce doomed the Puritan commonwealth, even if the Puritans themselves had not outgrown it. 

The Age of Reason manifested a rational concept of man in his relations with nature and God, suggested the extension of principles and equality and social justice, and encouraged the belief that man might assume greater control of nature without offending God.

Middle Colonies

 

The American Tradition in Literature Vol. 1  4^th ed.  By Bradley, Beatty, Long, Perkins, 1974.

The seed of American toleration was produced here in the melting pot of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.  The Dutch, Swedes, Germans, French-Huguenot refugees and the Jewish merchants settled here.  Of all the colonies, the middle colonies enjoyed the best geographical location, easy access with the great inland waterways.  By 1750, the Quaker city of Philadelphia had become the unofficial colonial capital.   Their basic conditions and ideas were important aspects for building our national character and framing a democratic government.  These people were from the humbler ranks of the English middle classes – artisans, tradesman, farmers- and their leader, William Penn was one of the best-trained men in the colonies and one of the greatest.  The early Quakers’ were fundamentally closer to Luther’s theology than to Calvin’s.  It was less concerned with the original depravity of man than with the abounding grace of God.  William Penn exercised great powers by writing his famous “Frame of Government” which ordained a free commonwealth, bestowing wide privileges of self-government upon the people.  Like the Puritans, the Quakers provided education: Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, Columbia (King’s College), Rutgers (Queen’s College).  The energy of these mixed cultures fostered the development of science and medicine, technical enterprise and commerce, journalism and government.  Penn made the first proposal for a union of the colonies. 

My Recollections of Mama & Papa (part 2)

 

The Garden Plow like Papa would use for his massive garden.

My Daddy- Truman Quillen Sr.   Mama-Ella Vermell King   Papa-Charles Franklin McNair

 In 1990, I returned home (Vernon) so that Daddy could drive me around the county to revisit all of the old homesteads. On our visit to Lockett, the Baptist Church was still standing strong, but the little green brick house was abandoned and mostly in a dilapidated state.  It was actually open and we were able to peak in. There was an old wooden chair that I picked up and brought home, but there is no certainty that it belonged to Mama and Papa. It is identical to another chair that I have that I am certain belonged to Papa.  Daddy explained to me that somewhere in the time frame of 1923, he and Papa built two homes, one on the farmland east of town (that mother and daddy moved into) and the other was the little green house in Lockett where Mama and Papa lived. This makes sense because Papa listed his profession in 1910 as a carpenter. Daddy explained how they even made the bricks (and sun dried them) that were used on the exterior walls. Papa did the framing.

 Stories that I heard about them that I remember most:

 When my grandmother (Ava) gave birth to her first child, Jo, it was a difficult labor. Jo was stuck in the birth canal. It was a home birth, and when Jo finally made her way into the world, all hope was given up that she would live through the night. Ella stayed up all night extracting mucus/debris from Jo’s airways. Jo survived, though she was deformed from being in the birth canal too long. I was blessed to grow up knowing Jo as I learned how to see her as a person, rather than seeing her as a deformed person.

 Papa was always dedicated to preaching the gospel. He was a ‘hell, fire and brimstone’ preacher. I was able to secure some of his thoughts in letters that he wrote to his son and grandson. I have pictures of him baptizing people in the river.

 Mama and Papa were the ones that took in Mother’s (Carolita Jones Quillin) family,  (J.C. Jones and Ava and FIVE children) when their home was destroyed by fire. They had nothing but the shirts on their backs, and Mama and Papa took them and bought clothes and shoes.  They provided shelter for the Jones family until J.C. could secure another dwelling.

 Possession from Mama and Papa that I have – bible, Hull vase, iron skillet

Puritanism

Wording taken from my textbook

The American Tradition in Literature Vol. 1  4^th ed.  By Bradley, Beatty, Long, Perkins, 1974.

The earliest English Puritans were devout members of the Church of England wishing to simplify the creeds and rituals of the bishops, but still no official break was intended.  But in 1633, Archbishop Laud became the tyrant determined to root out “Calvinist” dissenters, both Presbyterians and Puritans.  The Puritans carried the tenets of John Calvin (1509-1564) most closely, but were unwilling to submit to the abusive and cruel laws.  The ideas of Martin Luther (1483-1546) the earlier reformer, later became a permanent influence on American democracy.  However, Luther’s authority was shattered wherever his words were received.  The Calvin doctrine believed, like the Catholics, that the church should be independent.  The state should be its servant.  So in early New England the leading clergymen, powerful and well-trained were for a time the dominating authority, but by 1700 their civil powers were crumbling under new secular influence.  Calvin and the Puritans put emphasis on man’s original sin, with Adam’s fall from grace, and nothing could mitigate the original sinfulness of his nature.  This gave the Puritan stereotype the dour, prudish standards for which they are known.  Yet the Puritans in general were lovers of life, their clergy were well educated scholars, they did not forbid gaily colored clothes (they were just not available), they developed pleasing architecture and good arts and crafts, they like the drink even if they despised the drunkard, and they made religious thought a rigorous intellectual discipline.  They were the colonists to insist on common schools, they had the first college (Harvard 1636), the first printing press (Cambridge 1638), and they were responsible for the abundant literature created in the colonies before 1740.   In their influence on American life, there is more to bless them for than to condemn.  They DID have extreme zealots among them, over-interpreting their dogmas and despising this mortal life in contrast to the next.  The same zealots, during an outbreak of hysterical superstition, persecuted the “witches.” 

My Recollections of Mama & Papa McNair

Recollections from a Great-Great Granddaughter

They were Mama and Papa to me.

By Nancy Quillin Long

I recorded these memories in February 2020

As I grew up in Vernon, Texas, I was fortunate to live near extended family. This allowed me the opportunity to know personally the parents (Ella Vermell King and Charles Franklin McNair) of my grandmother (Ava Ella King Jones, Mimi to me).

 

Though my recollections of them are from the perspective of an 8-12 year old child, I can still see them clearly in my mind’s eye. These recollections are limited but valuable to me. I am thankful that on occasion my mother would take me to see her elderly grandparents in their home in the small community of Lockett, Texas.

 

Of course, I didn’t know them very well, but my impression was that they were serious minded, straight forward, children of God, educated and kind. I hold them in great esteem from hearing the stories of their lives as spoken by my mother and my grandmother. (see those interviews)

Mama McNair had very long hair that she wore in a bun just above the collar line. Papa McNair had a round belly. They both wore spectacles.  They used home remedies, and as a child, I often had sore throats. Papa always said that grape juice would cure a sore throat. After I learned that, many times I could ward off illness by drinking grape juice made from concentrate.

 

The fact that today I can sit at my computer and use Google Earth to see Lockett, Texas, is nothing less that amazing. As I pull up that map, there is a pin designated as the Lockett Baptist Church which my great-great grandfather established in 1924, along with 11 other members. Charles Franklin McNair pastored there for 12 years. I’m pleased to see that the building is still standing in 2022 in good shape, with an additional wing added. Lockett, as of today, has all but dried up.

 

I remember my visits to their home in the early 1960s. I don’t remember much about their home, except that it was always painted green and it was small and humble. There was a piano in the living room. What I remember most is the property out back. It seemed so large to me, as if I was looking out on a small pasture. Mama and Papa had a very large garden. Papa would plow the land with a hand plow.  It was well tended, and they devoted much time to growing vegetables which they would can and preserve. I was most fascinated with their vegetable cellar. It was partially underground with lattice work around the top to ventilate and to offer some light. This was a wonderful place to preserve their food.

 

They were not overly affectionate people, but their love for each other and God was evident. When Mama (Ella Vermell) suffered a stroke, the news was dire. It was a severe stroke, and she would never be the same. She was placed in a nursing home on Texas Street in Vernon, Texas. I remember visiting her. At first, she recognized us, but as time wore on, she was no longer cognizant of those around her. At that point, I was no longer allowed to go with Mimi (Ava) on her visits to Mama (Ella).

Change Your Lens

The crested butte on the backside of our property. It stands high above the canyon below. 

 Our experiences and the people we have known create who we are. Those experiences are welded into our being. Not much can change that. Sometimes we have to step back and see things through a different lens. We are all different people and bring different things together to form relationships. There is a “give and take” to any relationship. And it’s not all about you. 

Nature and the land have much to offer about different perspectives if you only take time to observe it. On our mountain property, we have a grassy knoll. As I approach it, the road narrows and the forest closes in a bit, but I can still see the grassy knoll. My vision is limited, but once I reach the top of the knoll, my perspective broadens with the wide expanse of a grand landscape that is now in view. Do I have to change my lens? Most definitely! 

Laid out before me is a vast landscape of open park meadows in the midst of aspen stands and lodgepole pines. The scene is breathtaking, as I can see the road meandering across the open meadows miles away. Off to one side is the majestic mountain top and the view to the other side is of a crested butte that stands high above the canyon below. 

Life is like that. In my world, I have a limited view, much like the approach to that grassy knoll. The expanse of the horizon broadens at the top causing me to change my lens to see near and far and beyond. Relationships are like that.  In order to have a good relationship with others, you have to broaden your perspective and see things through their lens. This is a hard thing to do. But shifting your vision gives you countless opportunities to see the goodness and fullness of others. It’s not about you when you change your lens. 

Early American Settlements

 The American Tradition in Literature Vol. 1  4^th ed.  By Bradley, Beatty, Long, Perkins, 1974.

VIRGINIA
The first permanent English settlement  at Jamestown, (1607) as you know, was wrought with many problems but the colony increased and a colonial capital was established in 1693 at Williamsburg where William and Mary was founded as the 2^nd college in N. America.  During the 17^th c. the south was not a land of large plantations, yet it fell victim to British mercantilism, an abusive system which compelled the colonists to sell to the mother country.  The southern wealth grew and was composed of a few privileged aristocrats, thousands of slaves and a white middle class of frontiersmen and farmers.  They added little to the creative literature of the colonies, but produced some great leaders and statesmen like Jefferson and Madison.
 
NEW ENGLAND
In the northern colonies, where natural conditions favored manufacturing and commerce, a considerable number of people were learned, especially the Puritan clergymen and governors.  They produced a considerable body of writing; yet, they were not literary people.  They were intent upon subduing a wilderness, making homes, and building a new civil society.  The Massachusetts Bay colony under the leadership of John Winthrop, a strong Puritan, became a colony with limited, but then quite unprecedented, powers of self-government.  They became the model of democracy.

My Sources for Ella Vermell (King) McNair

 I knew her personally. I grew up not far from where Mama and Papa lived. 

Year: 1900; Census Place: Moody, McLennan, Texas; Roll: T623_1658; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 89.
 
Year: 1910; Census Place: Abilene Ward 4, Taylor, Texas; Roll: ; Page: ; Enumeration District: ; Image: .
 
Year: 1920; Census Place: Justice Precinct 6, Wilbarger, Texas; Roll: T625_1855; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 141; Image: .
 
Year: 1930; Census Place: Precinct 2, Wilbarger, Texas; Roll: ; Page: ; Enumeration District: ; Image: .
 
Year: 1940; Census Place: Electra, Wichita, Texas; Roll: T627_4164; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 243-53.
 
Texas, Death Certificates, 1903–1982, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Provo, UT, USA, 2013.
 
Texas, U.S., Select County Marriage Index, 1837-1965. FHL Film Number 988614. McLennan, Texas.
 
Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current. The Vernon Daily Record.

The Importance of Literature in Colonial America

il_1588xN.3269674162_d599.jpg (1588×1833) (etsystatic.com)

My previous post was of my lineage and how deeply rooted my family history is in American history. I graduated from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and majored in literature and journalism. I can understand now why I had such a love for the early American literature. Genealogy and the history of literature are interconnected. It is through the early literature that we have knowledge of what the life was like in early America under British rule. I revisited one of my favorite college textbooks to understand what living in early America was like. The following information is taken from:

The American Tradition in Literature Vol. 1  4^th ed.  By Bradley, Beatty, Long, Perkins, 1974.

**This book “represents the range and power of our literature…” “While we have made literary merit our criterion…, we attempted…to emphasize the relations between literary work and general movements in American civilization and intellectual history.”

“Our colonial literature became a great reservoir of material and inspiration…and provides an understanding of those bedrock American experiences which developed national character…”

 America was El Dorado, the golden west, the promise land for those fleeing the Protestant Reformation.  America held the promise of new freedom and new hope.**

The likes of William Bradford, Samuel Sewall and Cotton Mather shed light on early American life in real time. The following was taken word by word from the book listed above.

WILLIAM BRADFORD  (1590-1657)
William Bradford was one of the greatest colonial Americans.  He was large in spirit and wisdom and believed that he was an instrument of God.  Despite the fact that Bradford was self-taught, and without training, his manuscript “Of Plimoth Plantaion” is a classic among literary annals.  Five important colonial historians quoted from it before 1730.  At 16, he joined the Separatist group, and at 18, he escaped with the group to Holland to avoid persecution. There he became a wealthy weaver, and at age 27 as the leader of a committee, he arranged their pilgrimage on the Mayflower to America. On Nov 11, 1620, he signed the Mayflower compact after making landfall at Cape Cod.  John Carver was elected governor but died during the first year.  Bradford was elected to succeed him.  From 1621 until his death, Bradford possessed more power than any other colonial governor, yet he refused to become the sole proprietor and maintained the democratic principles of the Mayflower Compact.  He was re-elected 30 times for 33 years (elections were not held for 2 of those years). Transcribing his writing was difficult because he did not use traditional spelling and punctuation. In Vol I, Bradford documents their voyage and arrival at Cape Cod.  In Vol. 2, he recounts the Mayflower Compact, the compact with the Indians, the first Thanksgiving, among other challenges.

SAMUEL SEWALL (1652-1730)
Samuel represents the 2^nd and 3^rd generation of a fading Puritanism.  Devoutly religious in private and public life, Sewall resisted an early religious vocation in favor of wealth, public office and pursuit of his hobbies.  Shortly after graduating from Harvard in 1671, he married Hannah Hull the daughter of John Hull, Master of the Mint and the wealthiest person in Massachusetts.  Samuel came to Boston at the age of nine with his father to avoid the Restoration of 1660.  His DIARY is a social history of that city during that time.  He began his public service in his late twenties managing the colony’s printing press, acting as deputy of the general court in 1683 and later as a member of the Council 1684-1686.  In England on business in 1688, he assisted Increase Mather, the appointed envoy of the Massachusetts churches, in an unsuccessful effort to secure the restoration of the charter of the colony.  Under the new charter of 1692, Sewall again became a member of the Council and served for 33 years.  In that same year, 1692, Sewall was appointed as justice of the Superior Court and rose in the ranks until he was chief justice of Massachusetts from 1718-1728.  His most memorable judicial act was being a member of the special court of 3 which condemned the witches of Salem in 1692. That the blood of these innocents rested heavily on his soul is shown by his public confession of error 5 years later recorded in the text of his diary. The fervid dedication of the Puritan Fathers was doomed and this is depicted in his diary.  His other writings have little merit.

COTTON MATHER  ( 1663-1728)
His critics cannot express any enthusiasm for him as a man or a writer, yet his influence on his contemporaries is undeniable.  He had a colossal mass of work, dull and full of personal bias, but it was a valuable source of knowledge for the history and the men of colonial New England.  Mather was viewed as an egotist, a reactionary, and a bigoted witch-hunter.  Yet now we see that he was fighting a losing battle for his theology.  He was facing a new age of secular and materialistic ideas.  He was the last in succession to his grandfather, Richard and his father, Increase.  This priesthood had represented the dominant hierarchy of New England during more than a half century.  Cotton enrolled in Harvard at 11, already fluent in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.  He became saturated with piety and learning.  Receiving his Master of Arts degree at 18, he entered the ministry at the Second Church in Boston. There he spent his life in a superhuman ferment of activity and publication which carried far beyond his parish duties into public issues as well as theological dogma.  He had an unfavorable personality and Boston was no longer the Puritan community of his father’s youth.  He amassed 2,000  books, the largest of the colonial libraries.  He wrote 444 bound volumes.  It is reported that he kept 450 fasts during his life, and once publicly humiliated himself for his sins.  He survived 3 wives, the last died insane.  He outlived all but 2 of his 15 children.  His book Wonders of the Invisible World in 1693 was an analysis of the evidence against witches, evoking the morbid fascination of reasoned error.  Mather had not participated in the bloody Salem trials, but his influence was undeniably on the side of the prosecution.  In 1700, he questioned some of the evidence as invalid. 
 His Bonifacius: Essays to Do Good in 1710 (what’s in my book) quite remarkably established a practical system for daily good deeds.  It delighted Benjamin Franklin’s rationalistic mind. 

Mama McNair's Hull Vase

 
This a vase very close to the one that I have in my possession. It is a Hull vase and is vintage from the 1940s-1950s. My aunt Faye gifted it to me in the early 2020s. Faye had several of Mama's Hull pieces. When Mother and I met her one Saturday for the Wimberly Saturday market days, I kept looking at pieces like these. Fay told me that she would love to give me one of Mama's Hull vases. She made good on her word, and she also went on a hunt for the other pieces which to her dismay had disappeared, probably in the midst of a son's divorce. 

I treasure this item and it sits proudly on my shelf with an arrangement in it. I also have Pap's old Bible. It is priceless. I also have Papa and Mama's old Iron skillet. Those items came from Mother's home when she passed away in 2007.