HOW LONG HAVE WE HAD DAISY AND MOWBRAY MOUNTAIN ROOTS?

My Daddy's maternal side of the family mostly lived on Mowbray and Daisy Mountains, but he must have lived for a short time on Flattop Mountain, too.  Daddy told a story of how, sometime in the mid-1940's, he and his brother, my Uncle Buddy, went to the little white building that served as a school and Flattop Church.  My Uncle Buddy used to climb out the window and skip school. Uncle Buddy pointed the window out to me many years ago when we were at a service there. :-) The church still owns the building, but it is no longer used as the main meeting place. 

1910 CENSUS 

Daddy's mother, my Granmaw Mamie, was born in 1906 to Alonzo and Missouri (Patterson) Redden.  It is unsure whether Mamie had a middle name, but Daddy insisted she did, and it was Marie. Mamie appeared on the 1910 census with her parents, Alonzo, who was 28, and Missouri, who was 27.  Alonzo worked as a coalminer, as did most of their neighbors. Coal was a booming industry. Her siblings included Della (8), Carl (5), Mamie (4), Dora (2) and Walter, (2 months) Both Alonzo and Missouri were born in Tennessee, as were their parents. 

Their neighbors were the Pattersons (kinfolk), Hatfields, Bowers, Conners, Lewis, Millsaps, Crows and Grants. Most of the men worked as coalminers. The women stayed home and cared for their children.  

1920 CENSUS

Granmaw Mamie was 13 years old at the time of the 1920 census. Her parents are listed as being 37 years old.  Dora is 17 years old, and Carl is 15. Neither go to school at this time, but Carl is working as a driver in the coal mines.  Ethel is 6 years old; Lawrence is 5, Mary is 3 and Opal is 6 months. Where's Walter? 

Alonzo still worked in the coal mines, as did most of his neighbors, the roll call of which didn't change much in the ten years between censuses. Millsaps, Patterson, Millsaps, Crow, Millsaps, Grant. Millsaps. :-) 

1930 CENSUS

Granmaw Mamie was 23 years old by this time. In 1925 she married Lorenzo (Len) Parker. By 1930 they have two daughters, Glenna (5) and Robbie (1), my two sweet aunts. Lorenzo worked for the state road crew. 

They were listed as living on a gravel road and their neighbors included Parkers, Livelys (kinfolk), Housley's, and Ricketts (kinfolk). I recognize these as Soddy names, so they lived somewhere in Soddy. Another clue that they lived in Soddy is that their neighbors not only worked as coal miners, but in the hotel and in the textile mill, both located in Soddy.  People could not easily travel off the mountain in 1930 for these vocations, so they had to live close to work. 

1940 CENSUS 

Granmaw Mamie was 30 years old in 1940. (Census age records can differ 5+ or 5- years in between censuses.)  The census states she completed the 8th grade.  Lorenzo (Len) was doing road work for the WPA.  They added to their family and along with Glenna (13) and Robbie (11), they were the parents of Imogene (9), Buddy (7) and my dear Daddy, Lawrence (4).  All of the children went to school at this time, except Daddy, who was too young. 

Granmaw Mamie gave birth to two more daughters, Mary Lynn and Carolyn Sue in 1941 and 1944. Carolyn Sue was an infant when her mother died in 1944.  My Daddy was eight and when I was a little girl he talked about her sometimes. I know she had a big singing voice (she was a Redden and Reddens are musical; it is born in them) and she loved to go to church. She was also very small woman.  I inherited her big singing voice and her dark, straight hair. 

NOTE: My 2nd great grandaunt on my mother's side was Luretta Varner, who was born in 1854 and married Thomas Rahn Grant . She is the matriarch of all the Mowbray/Daisy Mountain Grants, so "Hey Grant cousins". 

HOW LONG HAVE WE HAD DAISY AND MOWBRAY MOUNTAIN ROOTS?  

Mamie was born in the year 1906 in Hamilton County, and more than likely it was a home birth on Daisy/Mowbray Mountain. Her father, Alonzo, was from Polk County, but according to the 1900 census, he was living on Mowbray/Daisy Mountain. So, that's at least 123 years. I suspect a bit longer, but the 1890 census was destroyed by fire, so I've had to dig through other records. We shall see! 

HOW LONG HAVE WE LIVED IN BIG SODDY? Part Two

 My maternal grandfather, my Papaw, Thurston Claude Burchard (Pete), was born on October 17, 1913.  His family lived in Big Soddy Gulf (now a Soddy-Daisy city park) where his Daddy was a coal miner. There was a settlement called Burchardville somewhere at the end of the gulf and Flattop Mountain. Papaw walked out of the gulf every morning to go to school and walked back in every afternoon. 

1920 Census 

In 1920 Papaw's Daddy, Grant, was 26 years old, and his mother, Rachel, was 27 years old. Their family consisted of Papaw (6), Ruth (4) and Lucille (1). There was another daughter who died young. She might have been born between Lucille and Ruth. Her name was Vivian.

Grant was working as a coal-miner in the Soddy coal mines. He was born in Tennessee, his father was born in Tennessee and his mother in Georgia.  Rachel was born in Tennessee, and both of her parents were born in Georgia. 

Neighbors included: Burchard, Morgan, Wilson, Brackett (all kinfolk), Welch, Hughes, Bowman, Cranmore, Coleman and Lynch.  I recognize all of these names from my childhood and many of their descendants still live in Soddy and Flattop Mountain. People worked as miners, farmers, textile workers and in the school. 

1930 Census 

Papaw was 16 years old in 1930. Grant was 36 and Rachel was 37. The enumerator listed them as living on Back Valley Road.  *My son, Andy, bought their old homeplace on Back Valley Road just a few years ago.  Their cabin is gone, but it's the same property.* 

The family had grown and in addition to Papaw (16), Ruth (14), Lucille (11) there were brothers Archie (9), Warren (6), and a sister, Mildred (4).  All of the children but Warren and Mildred went to school. Grant was still working in the coal mines. 

Neighbors included: Sims, Morgan, Penny, Burchard, Brackett, Morgan, Coleman, Varner and they worked as truck drivers, in a sawmill, as miners, and in the schools. 

1940 Census 

By 1940 Papaw had married my Mamaw, Ruth Faith Graham, and they were the parents of my Sweet Little Mama, Alyne.  Papaw was age 26 and Mamaw was 22. He owned his own home and his occupation was a farmer. 

My Sweet Little Mama told me this story: 

In 1933 my Mamaw's brother died in an accident and as a result Mamaw was given ten acres of land by her Daddy (George Graham).  Papaw built a house on that land and Mama said Papaw and Mamaw loaded up all their belongings in a wheelbarrow and moved to the new house on Graham Road, where my Mama now lives.  The little house they moved from is either covered by Highway 111 (going up Flattop Mountain), or somewhere behind Varner Cemetery. 

1950 Census 

Papaw was 36 years old, he and his family lived on Graham Road, and he worked as a machinist at Sherman and Reilly, Inc., in Chattanooga.  Mamaw was 32 years old, my Sweet Little Mama was 15, and my aunts, Trudy and Martha, were ages 5 and 6. 

So, now, what is the answer to Andy's question "How long have we lived in Big Soddy"?  

My Papaw, your great-grandfather, was born 110 years ago in a settlement called Burchardville located somewhere back in Soddy Gulf. That's close enough to say "We've lived in Big Soddy for 110 years. 

Census and other records only show information and nothing about people's character or lives.  My Papaw and Mamaw were wonderful people, and the best grandparents a girl could have. They've been gone for many years, but I still love them and think about them. 

 

  

"HOW LONG HAVE WE LIVED IN BIG SODDY"? 

We celebrated Andy's forty-sixth birthday today. Jamie, Chuck and I went to my Sweet Little Mama's house this afternoon to sing happy birthday and eat cake, and eventually our conversation got around to "how long have we been living in Big Soddy"?  Mama told stories as far back as she could remember, I told of people I'd been digging up in my 30-year genealogy quest, and Andy shared stories as far back as his forty-six years could remember. 

This might be a good time to record these things. I have totes and files and notebooks of genealogy records, pictures and papers, but it might be interesting to record those things in cyberspace. So, here goes. 

1920 Census

My maternal grandmother was born Ruth Faith Graham on August 8, 1917, in Perry County, Kentucky.  She was the only one of seven children born in Kentucky to George (Pappy) and Ida Emmerling (Mommy) Graham. Pappy was a coal miner, and for this reason they moved to Kentucky sometime between 1913 and 1917. Ruth's siblings, all born in the state of Tennessee, were Ethel, (21), Lester (17), Alice (14), Granville (11), Trewhitt (8), Georgia (6).  All of these children were born in Southeast Tennessee. George and Ida were age 46 and 40, respectively. They were also born in Southeast Tennessee.  Pappy's brother, Joe (44) was living with them during this time. 

Mamaw Ruth's seventeen-year-old brother, Lester, is listed in this census as working in the coal mines. Alice, Georgia, Trewhitt and Georgia all go to school, and everyone living in Pappy's household can read and write. 

There are no recognizable names among their neighbors, so I believe Pappy and Mommy moved to Kentucky on their own, with no other relatives other than Brother Joe. 

1930 Census

Mamaw Ruth was age 14 at this time, and the Graham family was living on "River Road" in District Three, Hamilton County, Tennessee. I'm certain this is a road in Big Soddy close to Soddy Creek.  Pappy and Mommy were both working, Pappy in the coal mines, and Mommy is an inspector in a textile mill. Mamaw's brother Trewhitt was 20 years old, and still living at home. Sister Georgia was 17 and working in a textile mill. The other siblings had left to marry and make their own homes.

Their neighbor's names are familiar to me because we still live, almost 100 years later, in the same area. Parrott, Coleman, Woosman, Hughes, Daughtrey, Leming.  Jobs and vocations listed on the census include coal miner, textile mill worker, mail carrier, teacher, stone mason, carpenter, sawmill operator. 

1933 - Christmas Eve 

On December 24, 1933 Mamaw Ruth's brother, Granville, who worked for the small southern-based Home Store grocery chain, was making a delivery in Alabama. His truck slid off the road and Granville, 24 years old, died a few hours later. Mr. McDonald, owner of the grocery store chain, felt so bad about Granville's death that he gave Pappy and Mommy sixty-two acres of land in what would become Big Soddy. He portioned the land out to his remaining children; each child received ten acres, and Pappy and Mommy kept two acres for themselves. I was born in 1958 and I remember the house Pappy built and the well in their front yard. He passed away in 1958 when I was three months old. 

1940 Census 

My Mamaw Ruth was 22 years old at the time of the 1940 census. She married my Papaw, Thurston (Pete) Burchard, and they had a five-year-old daughter, Alyne (my Sweet Little Mama). Papaw's name is misspelled as Thurman, and my Mama's name is misspelled as Eileen. Papaw is listed as owning a farm, and my Mamaw didn't work outside the home. Papaw's income is listed as $240 for the previous year, with other unlisted income. 

Their neighbors were mostly Mamaw's siblings, all making a home on the ten acres of land given to them by Pappy and Mommy. Varner, Posey, Penny, Sims, Morgan, Wilson were some of the names, and jobs include mail carrier, miner, farmer, and strawboss. 

Pappy and Mommy were still living on their two acres. Both are in their mid-sixties (same age as I am at this time). There is no job listed for Pappy, and Mommy is working as a seamstress. 

1950 Census 

In 1950 Mamaw Ruth was thirty-two years old. She was keeping house, and my Papaw Pete is thirty-six and worked as a machinist at Sherman and Reilly, Inc. a machine shop in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He had a brilliant mind, and developed products for the company that should have been patented to his name. My Sweet Little Mama was fifteen years old, and her two sisters, my dear aunts Trudy and Martha, were ages five and three. 

Neighbors include Brackett (my Papaw's maternal grandparents), Irwin, Skiles, Dill, more Burchards, Clements, Daughtrey, Cranmore. Jobs include coal mining, farming, machinist and oil station manager. 

That's where the census records end. The 1960 census will not be released until April 2032.  My Mamaw Ruth's siblings eventually sold their portions of land, but my grandparent's held on to their ten acres like a bulldog. My parents bought a little house on a hill, just across the pasture from my grandparent's house and that's where I grew up. I would look out of my bedroom window to a field below, and say to myself, "That's where I want to live someday." And that's where I am now, answering the question my son asked today, on his forty-sixth birthday "How long have we been living in Big Soddy"? 

And so far, we can go back to sometime in 1934, when Mr. McDonald gave Pappy and Mommy, my great-grandparents, sixty-two acres as a death settlement. 

NOTE: The Home Store grocery chain was owned by Roy McDonald, founder of the Chattanooga News-Free Press, and member of the McDonald's Farm family in Sale Creek. 

Local history: Old mcDonald had a farm | Chattanooga Times Free Press