Introduction
Greetings to all national and international readers. I trust that you are each doing well.
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman is about to get over the “CHV” (Children's Home Virus) that she contracted on 11/16/2022. She still has a little cough. My wife was laid up sickly until 11/22/2022, when she went back to work. The Children's Home does not need to send sick children to school! I had only mild symptoms of the “CHV,” which my wife tried not to give me. To those who are still obsessed with “Corona Myopia Psychosis,” no, my wife did not contract the China virus again! She did not take a made-in-China test to see if she had contracted the China virus again! (See my first 5/1/2022 article under the section “3/28, Monday: China Test Kits for China Virus.”)
This article is about family heritage on November 24th for three selected years. It highlights Thanksgiving 2022, Granny and Papaw Ferrell's marriage license in 1908, and Mom's birthday in 1932.
First, however, I have to share my power outage restoration “murakle” of Sunday morning! It's funny! By the way, “murakle” is how many Appalachians from this area pronounce “miracle.”
My Gift of Restoring a Power Outage
To readers in northeast Tennessee, did you survive the heavy rain overnight Saturday into Sunday? On Sunday, our power went off at 4:58 AM. I called the power company at 7:23 AM to check the status of the outage. I could only speak with a robot, which is the “new normal” of “outstanding” customer service. While on the phone, answering “yes” or “no” to the robot's questions, the power came back on at exactly 7:25 AM!
It was a “KUB reboot 'murakle'!” As an aside, a “miracle” is God's action that sets aside natural law, such as raising the dead. A “murakle” is my way to describe a serendipitous coincidence.
So, when any reader in the Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) service area has power go off, just call me! I'll call the KUB robot for you. Your power will be back on while I am on the phone with the robot! I “promise,” believe me or not!
Now, let's get back to family heritage on November 24th for three select years.
Thanksgiving, Thursday, 11/24/2022
For recent Thanksgivings, either my youngest brother and his family came down here, or we drove up there. At times, other family members have joined us. On this Thanksgiving, my youngest brother and his family visited his wife's brother and his new bride. They spent time with them. My brother and his family didn't have time to stop by here on their way to or from west Knoxville. I think that I heard him honk his horn on I-640.
Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I had a good Thanksgiving gathering with her folks—her father, two sisters, our niece, and her good first cousin. After the fixins were ready, I led a prayer to the Good Lord, and we sat down to eat. My “favorite” sister-in-law was sickly and stayed in bed. She rendered a “no good deed goes unpunished” assistance a few days before and was “rewarded” by coming down with a case of the snots. We all talked and joked about several topics. Pepper, our niece's “old puppy,” enjoyed the food droppings that I gave her.
My youngest sister-in-law (who is also my “favorite”) had recently traded cars. She needed to swap out the temporary license plate for the permanent plate. She now has a nice-looking, silver 2019 KIA Niro (not Nero) hybrid SUV. After the Thanksgiving meal, my youngest sister-in-law, our niece, and I went outside to change the tag.
It should have been a one-man job that took about three minutes. Wrong! The rear bumper at the plate attachment must have been designed by an alien from outer space! What should be a simple design requires an advanced degree in engineering to figure out!
Over the course of about twenty minutes or so, my father-in-law, my wife's cousin, and my wife came outside to check on the progress that the three of us were making and to offer “insightful tips and suggestions.” At one point, all six of us were at the rear end of the car! Yes, it took six people to change one license plate on one KIA.
To make a long story a little shorter, eventually, we got the permanent plate on the car. The right-side screw holds tightly enough if it doesn't wiggle loose, but the left-side screw is holding firmly. Just don't hit too many potholes on the interstate, sister-in-law! I would take that KIA back to the dealer and have them fix the right-side “intricate fastening device!” The left-side device is holding.
Tuesday, 11/24/1908
Let's go back “through the mists of time,” 114 years ago, to Tuesday, November 24th, 1908. Thanksgiving was two days later, on the 26th, that year. (KIA vehicles didn't exist then.)
As the image below shows, on 11/24/1908, Papaw Marion Ferrell (4/13/1880–11/21/1970), at age 28, obtained the marriage license. Eli Jones, the minister, performed the wedding ceremony the next day on 11/25/1908.
My paternal grandmother, Molly Gertrude Archer Ferrell (11/30/1892–6/11/1971), was five days away from turning 16 when she married Papaw. My 6/13/2021 article includes the image below, explains the Ferrell, Lype, Archer, and Carter family connections, and shares three memories of Granny Ferrell.
Granny and Papaw Ferrell were blessed with eight children. Listed in birth order, their children were Carrie E. Ferrell Davis (12/5/1909–1/28/2000), Lula Mae Ferrell Absher (1/14/1912–10/9/1995), James William “Bill” Ferrell (8/20/1914–6/21/1999), Roy Palmer Ferrell (6/9/1917–9/13/1991), George Charles Ferrell (1/14/1920–12/1/1995), Paul Edward Ferrell (3/16/1922–12/4/1983), Robert Carson Ferrell (4/30/1925–12/1/1999), and my father, Earl H. Ferrell (9/17/1927–1/25/2008).
I have records for the parents and siblings of both Granny and Papaw Ferrell. I may write an article or two eventually about the Ferrell and Archer ancestral lines. Papaw Ferrell's line is more detailed.
Thanksgiving in 1908 was the day after Granny and Papaw Ferrell were married. Oral tradition has not passed down how Granny and Papaw spent their first Thanksgiving together. I can only imagine the joys that they must have shared.
Thanksgiving, Thursday, 11/24/1932
Going back 90 years ago, my mother, Betty Lou Wood Ferrell (11/24/1932–12/27/2000), was born on Thanksgiving Day in 1932. Her parents were Aby William Wood (9/4/1901–3/14/1983) and Lula Frank Amos Wood (6/16/1901–8/12/1991). Her younger brother, Robert Allen Wood (5/14/1939–1/18/1941), lived only a year and eight months.
Searching this website by “Mom,” “Granny and Papaw Wood,” and “Uncle Bobby” finds several articles that I have published over the years to honor them. I look forward to meeting Uncle Bobby.
I scanned the above photograph on 1/3/2021. The original photograph is still in one of my mother's photograph albums, which I have. The photograph is not dated, but it had to have been taken around the time that my mother graduated from high school.
Mom was born in Indiana, but she grew up in Morristown, Tennessee. As a boy, I remember humoring my mother by calling her a Yankee. Her usual reply was that she was a “southern transplant.”
My mother and father were wed on 9/3/1959. They were blessed with four sons. Well, as boys, we aggravated our parents enough. I am the oldest of us four brothers. Searching my website by “Mom and Dad,” “Mom,” and “Dad” will open articles that I have written over the years.
Growing up, with my mother's birthday falling on or near Thanksgiving, Dad sometimes did not remember Mom's birthday on time. I must admit, as a boy, that I had the same failure a few times. Mom, in her grace, never did let on that we had forgotten her birthday. Granny and Papaw Wood usually drove up from Bean Station, Tennessee, to spend Thanksgiving with us. Sometimes, we would drive down there. Granny and Papaw Wood always remembered Mom's birthday! Dad would say, “We let your mother's birthday slip this year, boys!” Dad would find his wife a birthday present, often a box of chocolate-covered cherries, which she loved. Mom would always have a birthday celebration, even if it might have been a few days late! Mom's graciousness always forgave us. Thanks, Mom!
Conclusion
I am publishing this article on Granny Ferrell's birthday, in 1892. It is fitting. This is another article about family heritage. Before this entry, 111 previous articles have been on or included the topic. Eighty-six articles have been about or included the heritage topic.
Earlier today, I looked through Granny and Papaw Wood's Bibles, which are kept safely in our home. Granny Wood wrote ancestral records for Papaw and her in Papaw's Bible. I know the oral family tradition. The records in Papaw's Bible may inspire future articles about Granny and Papaw Wood and their ancestors. I pondered a while about what life was like for all my ancestors.
My eyes of faith see several generations of ancestors gathered together in heaven, where the circle is unbroken. Those of us here who are ready will join them in the blink of an eye when it is our turn to go to our everlasting home. Our ancestors will not even know that time has passed, awaiting us, once we join them.
I hope that future generations of Ferrells will keep the family heritage going in the right way. That's how I was raised. I honor the biblically based heritage of the Ferrell and Wood families. Happy birthday in heaven, Granny Ferrell!
No comments:
Post a Comment