GARNET COMMODORE and ORPHA ELIZABETH CRISP MCCLANAHAN - Chapter 3

 

GOLDEN YEARS

Garnet and Orpha 

Orpha doted on her grandchildren and was a big “hugger.” Every Christmas, Orpha gave all her granddaughters a very nice glass tea set. The sets even had a platter and casserole dish with a lid. Roy’s daughters, Charleen and Kathaleen, cherished their sets and kept them in perfect condition. William’s daughters, Jane and Bessie, always broke their dishes, so Grandma gave everyone a new set every year. It became a bit of a joke that the girls expected a new tea set from her each Christmas. She also gave them very nice Easter baskets.

Orpha circa 1920 with the Studebaker

Garnet and Orpha owned a shiny 1919 Studebaker car which Orpha drove to Purcell to buy groceries. She was a pioneer among women drivers. Most women her age in rural communities did not drive. She took granddaughters, Charleen and Kathaleen, to Purcell to the grocery store in the Studebaker. She would encourage the girls to “sample grapes, an apple, pear, etc.” without paying for them!

Great Grandma Orpha McClanahan and Me, Cindy Cruz

WIDOWED

Garnet was a thin man whose posture became stooped over time. His hair remained thick as he aged but tuned white as snow. He was quite a dancer and delighted in teaching his “moves” to several of his grandchildren. His favorite phrase was “Hellohowareyou?” spoken as if it was all one word. As was the custom in Garnet’s lifetime, he was known to friends by his initials, “G.C,” rather than his full name.

Garnet suffered from stomach problems in his later years and ate raw eggs as a home remedy to relieve his digestive distress. He still craved and enjoyed his favorite foods, however. His son, Roy’s family went to see him on a Sunday not long before he passed away and he asked Roy’s wife Lela to make some homemade bread for him. He eventually succumbed to stomach and liver cancer on 22 December 1942. He died at home at age 68. He was buried in Ozark Memorial Cemetery in Joplin on Christmas Eve.

Garnet's Obituary from the Joplin Globe Newspaper

Garnet's Grave Marker
"Gone But Not Forgotton"

Orpha sold the farm implements, livestock, grain, and hay at auction on Thursday, 7 January 1943, sixteen days after Garnet died. Roy had all the money from the farm sale in his possession overnight following the auction. His flock of sheep slept close to the house every night in his barnyard. That night the sheep went wild during the early hours of the morning and made all kinds of noise. Roy was sure someone had come to rob them of the money from the auction! All four members of the family jumped into the car, still dressed in their pajamas, and spent the rest of the night with the cash in hand at his sister-in-law, Lida Smith Hodson’s home!

Roy drove Orpha about ten miles to the First National Bank of Jasper the next day to safely secure the proceeds of the auction. She deposited over $5000.00 and wrote several checks that day. $5000.00 would be equivalent to about $77,000.00 in 2021. Her cancelled checks for that date included $357.20 to Knell Mortuary for Garnet’s funeral expenses and $76.00 to H.S. Berry in payment for the memorial service. She later paid $49.00 to Carthage Marble Works for Garnet’s headstone.

Orpha and Garnet enjoyed forty-three and a half years of marital bliss. She was only 59 years old when Garnet passed and she lived a full life over the next nineteen years, even though she must have sorely missed Garnet’s company and affection.

Orpha at Her Home in Carterville

She moved away from the farm to a cozy little house on two lots at 219 West Hannum Street in Carterville, Missouri, which she purchased on 28 August 1944. It was insured for $2000. in the 1960s. Her policy also protected $500 in personal property.

Orpha’s day-to-day expenses, reflected in her bank statements, gave considerable insight into her daily life as a widow. A few scraps of paper kept safely in a small cedar box since the 1940s, and a few more from the 1960s, revealed that she used coal for heating, bought groceries on a “tab” kept at Karl’s Market at 130 East Main in Carterville, and that she liked to shop at Sears and Pennys in Carthage. She drank coffee and orange juice and bought merchandise from the traveling door-to-door Watkins and Jewel Tea salesmen. An office visit with Dr. McNew (the doctor who delivered me!) cost $4.00 in 1961.

The groceries she purchased in May 1961 included “lunch meat, dark bread, rolls, potato chips, strawberries, prunes, oleo, lettuce, oats, canned peaches, and tuna, canned Milnot, flour, orange and tomato juice, and Luden’s cough drops.

One of Orpha's Cancelled Checks for Jewel Tea Merchandise

Many of her checks were written with a pencil, rather than in ink. This was a solemn reminder that life was very different in her small Missouri town in the mid-1900s than it is for us in our world filled with all sorts of precautions against identity theft.

While living in Carterville, Orpha made the acquaintance of retired widower, Clem Lee CHRISMAN. He was a former fireman in Joplin and later worked in an area rock quarry. One thing must have led to another and they were married on 30 July 1952 in Bentonville, Arkansas. Orpha was 68 years old and Clem was 71. It is interesting that Orpha chose July 30, the same month and day, fifty-two years after her marriage to Garnet. However, her decision to marry Clem may have been the biggest mistake of her life. He must have concealed several unsavory aspects of his personality from Orpha until after they exchanged marriage vows.

The Chrisman Family.
Clem is in the center of the photo.

Clem was a man with a volatile nature. Only five months into their marriage, on 2 January 1953, Orpha filed a petition for divorce from Clem. She stated that he had “high and ungovernable temper,” subjected her to verbal and physical abuse, and “threatened her life.” Clem did not contest the divorce and her plea was granted. As part of the agreement, she asked that her former name of Orpha Elizabeth McClanahan be restored to her. It was obvious that Clem’s behavior was not limited to his dealings with Orpha. He filed for divorce from three other women in Jasper County in 1952, 1955, and 1962.

Orpha’s oldest son Curly vehemently opposed Orpha’s remarriage. Apparently, he considered it to be an insult to his father’s memory. He was so upset that he broke all ties with Orpha while she was married to Clem. After her divorce, Curly made up with her and sent her an electric blanket as a reconciliation gift!

By July of 1961, Orpha’s health was failing. Her cancelled checks were all written to Elmhurst Care Home, Dr. McNew, and Bennet Pharmacy. She was no longer able to live alone and took up residence at Elmhurst, a care home in Carterville, for the last six months of her life. She passed away on 1 December 1961 at age 78. She died of hypostatic pneumonia, but suffered from Parkinson’s, hypertensive cardiovascular disease, and cerebral arteriosclerosis, which contributed to her demise.

Orpha's Obituary from the Joplin Globe Newspaper

Orpha's Grave Marker

Sons Roy and Rure were appointed administrators of her estate one week after her death. Funeral costs had nearly doubled between Garnet and Orpha’s dates of death. Her funeral expenses totaled $1184.14 and her headstone was priced at $88.91. After the sale of her property and payment of her expenses, each of her children received an inheritance of $164.47. Each share of the estate would be equivalent to $1434.00 in 2021 dollars.

GARNET COMMODORE and ORPHA ELIZABETH CRISP MCCLANAHAN - Chapter 2

 

Back row - Sons Curly, Roy, Rure, and William
Front row, Daughter Mae, Orpha, Garnet, and Daughter Bessie

SIX SIBLINGS

The McClanahan siblings were very close-knit throughout their lives. Twins Roy and Rure lived about a mile apart and spent significant amounts of time together. They both married Smith girls, who were first cousins, and enjoyed spending time together as couples. Bessie lived close by and they visited with her frequently, especially after she was widowed at age 41. Even though the other “kids” were separated by distance, they regularly wrote letters, phoned, and drove to visit one another as often as possible. William lived in Olathe, Kansas, Curly lived in Des Moines, Iowa, and Mae lived in Chicago and later spent winters in Arizona.

All of Garnet and Orpha’s children became successful, well-respected members of their communities. Each of them married, had a family and lived long, full lives devoted to their spouses and offspring. 

Garnett Commodore "Curly" McClanahan Jr.

Garnet Commodore Jr. was born 23 June 1900 in Jasper County, MO. Known as Curly, he was the first child to leave home when he joined the Army in 1919. He was stationed in Texas and Iowa during most of his term of service, but he served six months in Europe. Garnet and Orpha worried about his safety and waited impatiently for letters from him while he was away. Orpha rushed down the driveway every day when the mail came, in hopes that she would have word from him. Fortunately, he arrived home safe and sound in 1921. After his service, he married Eldora “Dorothy” Huxford on 23 April 1921 in Polk County, IA. They had one daughter, Elinor. They made their home in Des Moines where Curly worked for the Iowa Transfer Railway Company. He was a member of Grace Lutheran Church and was an active member of Daylight Masonic Lodge. He died at age 69 from cancer on 31 July 1961. He was buried in Masonic Cemetery in Des Moines.

Mae Esthlee McClanahan Bennett

Mae Esthlee was born 1 March 1903 in Jasper County, MO. She married Charles E. Bennett on 19 February 1921 in Webb City, MO. They had three children, Dorothy Mae, Garnett Evelyn, and Charles E. “Chuck” Jr. Mae and Charley lived most of their lives in Chicago where he worked as a machinist. She died at age 93 on 11 March 1996 in Joliet, Will County, IL.

Roy Calvin McClanahan 

Roy Calvin was born 14 November 1904, in Jasper County, MO. He married Lela Ruhama Smith in 1928 and married Gladys Ruth Bennet Shaffer in 1960, a few years after Lela’s death. Lela and Roy had two daughters, Kathaleen June and Charleen LaVerne.  Roy lived about two miles north of Alba, MO and was employed as a farmer and stockman. He moved to Carthage, MO, after he retired and passed away there on 7 April 1987 at age 82. He is buried in Friends Cemetery in Purcell, MO.

Rure Alvin McClanahan 

Rure Alvin, Roy’s twin, was born 14 November 1904. He married Annabell Smith on 24 October 1925 in Webb City, MO. He and Annabell had two sons, Robert Lee and Jerry Alvin. Rure and Annabell lived just north of Alba on a farm that had been owned by her family for many years. Rure and Roy often worked together in their farming duties and shared machinery and equipment. Rure and Annabell moved to Carthage when he retired. He died on 13 July 1977 and is buried in Friends Cemetery, Purcell, MO.

Bessie LaVerne McClanahan Mayes

Bessie LaVerne was born 8 January 1907 in Jasper County, MO. She married Donald Henry Mayes on 8 December 1935. She and Don operated Belmont grocery store and filling station, four miles west of Carthage, MO. During the depression, their business did not suffer as deeply as did many other less essential businesses and services. Family lore claims that many of Bessie’s fine furniture, lamps and glassware were given as payment in lieu of cash during the 1930s when money was scarce. Her opulent home was filled with gorgeous antiques. Bessie and Don had no children, but she doted on her nieces and nephews, remembering them on every birthday and holiday. Bessie lived in her home in Brooklyn Heights, a “suburb” of Carthage, after Don died at age 48 in 1941. She married Harrison H. Harper in January 1951, but the ill-fated union ended in divorce seven months later. She passed away on 10 November 1980 at age 73 and is buried in Ozark Memoria Cemetery in Joplin, MO.

William Robert "Bill" McClanahan 

William Robert was born 10 January 1912 in Webb City, MO. He married Clarice Marcella Collier in 1930 in Webb City and they were the parents of seven children, Bessie L., E. Jane, William Robert Jr. “Billy,” Richard Lee, Marcella Mae, Sharon K., and Patsy L. He sold and serviced vacuum cleaners in the Joplin area before moving to Olathe, KS, where he worked as a cabinetmaker for 32 years.  He died on 17 April 1995 in Olathe, KS. He is buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Kansas City, Jackson County, MO.

Ruth, Roy, Mae, Charlie, Bessie, Annabell, Marcella, Bill & Rure

THE MCCLANAHAN FARM

Rure’s dog Jack, Son Roy, Brother-in-law George Gibson, Garnet, 
Son Rure, and brother-in-law Francis Barr with the 1919 Studebaker 

Garnett and Orpha moved their family to a farm 2 ½ miles north and ¾ mile east of Alba in 1918. They rented the property for 24 years and it came to be known as the “McClanahan Farm” to their neighbors. In 1940, they paid monthly rent of $20.

Garnet was a farmer who took great pride in his handsome Belgian work horses. Teams of large, powerful horses were a necessity for pulling farm implements in the fields before tractors and other farm machinery came into use. They provided the labor for operating Garnet’s plow, harrow, disc, seeder, drill, cultivator, mower, binder, and wagon to plant, cultivate, and harvest his crops. He grew wheat, oats, and corn, and baled clover hay and wheat straw as fodder for his livestock.

Besides his horses, Garnet also kept over a dozen hogs, more than forty beef and dairy cattle, and a flock of beautiful Dominicker chickens. The distinctive dark and light gray “barred” Dominicker was considered America’s oldest breed of chicken. They were prized for both their brown eggs and their delicious meat. In addition, their feathers were perfect for stuffing pillows and other bedding.

Garnet worked long hours every day of the year caring for his livestock and crops. Farming was a full-time job that made no allowances for vacation days. He worked 60 hours per week in all 52 weeks of the year. Even in 1940, when he was 66 years old, he reported that he worked 60 hours in a typical week.

McClanahan Kids and Grandkids after Gigging Fish in Buck Branch 

Garnet, his sons Roy and Rure and their wives’ families, the Smith’s, got together and butchered beef and pork to supply their homes with meat. When the river would get “high”, they would put fences across the creek and gig the fish they captured. A big fish fry would follow. Vegetables were grown in a garden and stored by canning or keeping in the cellar. Garnet and Orpha must have enjoyed dogs as pets because they appeared in several photographs with them.

Roy’s wife Lela, Cynthia McClanahan Cruz, Norma Jean Smith,
Rure’s wife Annabell, and Orpha Elizabeth Crisp McClanahan in 1955 

Their four-room house contained two bedrooms. The exterior was covered in locally quarried rock and mortar. Orpha cooked on a wood stove and would sometimes burn a large log by gradually pushing it into the stove as it burned. This was Orpha’s silent “protest” when Garnet did not split the wood into smaller pieces for her. They had an underground root cellar where they stored vegetables, fruits and homemade wine. The cellar was off-limits to the grandkids!

Next - Chapter 3: Golden Years

GARNET COMMODORE and ORPHA ELIZABETH CRISP MCCLANAHAN - Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

I was lucky to know my great-grandmother Orpha McClanahan when I was a little girl. She passed away when I was eight years old, but I remember her being present at family gatherings. I didn't know great-grandpa, but my dad's cousin, Charleen McClanahan Varner, shared her memories of her grandparents, Orpha and Garnet, with me. Charleen was also able to give lots of little details about other family members and life in the community where the McClanahans lived. This narrative is based on written documents and records, as well as Charleen's firsthand accounts of the lives of Orpha and Garnet. 

Orpha & Garnet circa 1941

SUNNYSIDE UP!

Garnet* Commodore McCLANAHAN grew up in the Ozark hills in Wright County, Missouri, on a large farm located on Beaver Creek, near the village of Sunnyside. His parents, Joseph and Nancy Catherine HENDERSON McCLANAHAN, owned 160 acres of land endowed with rich river-bottom soil, abundant timber and plenty of wildlife to entertain a young man interested in fishing and hunting. 

*Garnet signed his name with one “t,” but it is found spelled as “Garnett,” in several records. His son, Garnett Jr. always signed his name as “Garnett.” 

He was the sixth of eleven children born to the McClanahans, but had the distinction of being the first son. As the oldest boy in the family, he probably began doing farm work as soon as he was able to cultivate crops, care for livestock, cut firewood and complete other necessary chores. Although he was surely needed to supply farm labor to help support the growing McClanahan family, he attended school through eighth grade and could read and write.  

When Garnet reached adulthood, he shouldered responsibilities to support his parents and siblings in times of sorrow. He signed as the informant on the death certificates of his two youngest sisters who died in their twenties. Ida Catherine GIBSON passed away on 21 February 1911, at age 24, after a series of ailments following the birth of her third child on 19 December 1910. Tragically, her baby son died from acute enteritis less than four months later. She left behind two older children. Thruley died from pulmonary tuberculosis on 16 June 1912 at age 29. She was single and lived at home with Nancy and Joseph.  

Garnet cut a handsome figure, even when dressed in his work clothes. His light brown eyes were deep-set and his cheekbones and nose were strongly chiseled. He had thick black eyebrows and hair, and he sported a mustache in his younger years.  The physical demands of his work as a farmer, cutting wood and cultivating crops, and walking behind the horse-drawn plow, harrow, and planter, helped him maintain a slim, muscular physique. 

Orpha Elizabeth CRISP, who also lived in Montgomery Township, must have been smitten with Garnet’s good looks and she was certainly a natural beauty. She wore her long dark hair pinned up, accentuating her porcelain complexion and fine features. 

Like Garnet, Orpha came from a large family. She was the fifth child of twelve born to William Rufus Washington and Ollie Isabelle SHULTZ CRISP. Unlike many young girls who were raised in the Ozark hills, she too, had gone to school and had an eighth-grade education.  

Garnet & Orpha's Marriage Record

No doubt, they were a handsome couple when they exchanged marriage vows before a Justice of the Peace in Manes on 30 July 1899. Since Orpha was only sixteen, the marriage license contained a note stating that her father, “W.R.W. Crisp has given his assent in writing to the above marriage.”  Garnet was twenty-five years old and prepared to establish his own household and support his wife.

CHANGE WAS IN THE AIR

The young couple thrived even though they experienced several monumental changes in their lives in their first year of marriage. Not only did they face the adjustment of living together as husband and wife, they moved almost one hundred and fifty miles away from the only community they had ever known. The Twentieth Century, a new era in technological and scientific progress for mankind, began only six months after their wedding.  And, to top it all off, they had their first child, Garnett Commodore Jr. less than eleven months after their wedding day.  

The newlyweds were settled in the Porto Rico community in Jasper County, Missouri, before the 1900 census was taken in June. (Porto Rico was the namesake of a lead and zinc mine in Section 34 of Jackson Township, 28 North, Range 32 West, about five miles east of Joplin.) They were not on their own, however, and benefited from the support of Garnet’s parents and siblings. Joseph’s entire family appears to have relocated together, as the households of Joseph, Garnet, and his brother John were recorded on adjacent lines in Jackson Township. According to the enumeration, all three men owned their farms and stated their occupation as “wood choppers.”  Orpha’s family had also moved to Jasper County and was living in nearby Joplin Township, where her father worked as a blacksmith.  

The population of southwest Missouri was booming at the turn of the century and there were plenty of jobs for able-bodied young men in the burgeoning lead and zinc mines. There was also plenty of rich farmland available for rent or sale in the area. Most of the early settlers in the region had been driven away by devastation incurred during the Civil War. Their farms were on the border between the North and South and had been overrun as trampling soldiers from both sides confiscated supplies or engaged in battle. Whatever was left was burned in their wake. The natural resources which originally drew antebellum pioneers had been replenished over the years after the war and were being rediscovered by new families pouring into Jasper County.  

Curly, Garnet, Roy, Orpha, Rure, and Mae McClanahan in 1905

FOUR UNDER FOUR IN 1904

Garnet and Orpha both came from large families, so they likely expected to have several children. Their oldest son, born on 23 June 1900, was named after Garnet, but seldom answered to his legal name. The McClanahans liked to give their kids nicknames and he was initially called “Theodore,” but soon became known as “Curly.”  When Curly was nearly two, a daughter, Mae Esthlee, was born on 1 March 1903. On 14 November 1904, four-year-old Curly and 20-month-old Mae were joined by twins Roy Calvin and (my grandfather) Rure Alvin. The twins were very likely an unexpected surprise! Without modern medical tests and procedures to identify twins before birth, Orpha probably had no idea she was carrying twins until they were born. 

Twins Roy and Rure McClanahan in 1905

It must have been quite a challenge to care for four under four in 1904! There were few conveniences available for new mothers at the turn of the century and Orpha must have been exhausted after providing food, clothing, and childcare for her family. Most women grew their own vegetables in gardens, prepared all their food from scratch, did laundry on a washboard and sewed their own clothes. In addition, twin Roy was born small and sickly. He also contracted a childhood disease which resulted in him having to relearn how to speak. The nearby extended family probably enjoyed the blessing of the twins and helped keep the household running smoothly with their assistance.

AND TWO MORE

Another daughter, Bessie LaVerne, was born on 8 January 1907, when the twins were just over two years old. On 10 January 1912, the family was complete with the birth of William Robert, who suffered a debilitating mishap during his childhood. He fell on a slick, freshly-mopped kitchen floor and broke his leg. It healed improperly, causing him to limp for the rest of his life.

Jasper County school records indicate that the McClanahan children attended Underwood School in 1909. The location of the school was described in the Carthage Evening Press in 1906, when a new building was being constructed to replace the original one that was destroyed by fire. Garnet and Orpha lived about a half-mile east of the school.

“A new school building is to be erected in the Underwood district, eight miles southwest of Carthage and two miles east of Porto Rico.  It is to cost $1200 and will begin next week. It will be a one room structure with two cloak closets, porch, belfry, etc., with modern appliances for heating, ventilation, etc.  It will probably be the best one-room school building in the county when done.  The former building in this district was burned down last April and school had to be dismissed before the term was out, because of the fire. Insurance to the amount of $600 was secured on account of the loss and now with the equipment of the new building the district will be in much better shape for educational advantages than ever before.”

Next - Chapter 2: McClanahan Family and Farm 

William and Fannie Knauss McWilliams - Chapter 3

 William McWilliams and Fannie Knauss were my maternal great-great-grandparents. William was the son and grandson of John and William McWilliams whose family histories are also posted here. William and Fannie spent most of their lives in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, but traveled west a few times. Their oldest son, Benjamin, wrote a memoir in his eighties and left behind many stories about his family and his imprisonment in Confederate prison camps, including Andersonville, during the Civil War. 

(Note - Click on the photos to open them in a new larger window.)

                 The Enterprise Colliery Coal Breaker in 1874

SETBACKS AND SORROWS

After William’s father, John, died in the summer of 1849, William was documented in Chillisquaque Township in the 1850 census on September 7 as the head of household on John’s property. The McWilliams had four children at this enumeration and a fourteen-year-old neighbor girl also lived with them. William’s sister, Sarah, was listed as the head of household on the next line in the census and Williams’ younger siblings lived with her. It is almost certain that both houses were on John’s land. William’s real estate was valued at $8400 in the census, but he probably did not legally own the property because John’s estate had not yet been settled. 

William bought his father’s land at public auction in 1852 but sold it to his brother-in-law and executor of John’s estate, William Follmer, the next day.  Perhaps he financed the land with cash given to him by Mr. Follmer and then transferred the purchase back to him. William’s place of residence in the property deed was stated as Liberty Township in Montour County. His ill-fated trip to Iowa was made almost immediately after the sale. 

On June 22, 1860, the federal census taker for Chillisquaque Township recorded William as a laborer with a personal estate valued at $300, but owning no real estate. The family may have fallen upon hard times. William was a farmer, and it was probably difficult to provide for the family without land of his own. In addition, they may have endured illness. Three McWilliams infants perished between April 1858 and May 1860. The older children were not marked as attending school. It is possible that William may have worked for the Follmer family, most likely for his sister Eleanor’s husband, William Follmer. At this time, the McWilliams had five living sons; Ben 17, John 14, Francis Marion 9, James 7, and William Jr. 5. 

Ben, the McWilliams’ eldest son, enlisted in the Union Army in 1863. According to the memoirs he wrote late in his life, William opposed Ben going to war, even though he and almost everyone in their part of Pennsylvania were in favor of the downfall of slavery. William was a Republican and both his and Fannie’s families were old Whigs. It is likely that William and Fannie feared terribly for their oldest son’s safety in the brutal Civil War and had suffered greatly after the deaths of their other children. Fannie was quoted as lamenting to her father, Ben Knauss, “Poor Ben had gone to war and would be killed.” He replied, “Tut, tut, don’t come around here crying. I am glad I have a grandson in the war. My father fought in the Revolution and I in the War of 1812; and now I am glad Ben has gone.” 

Fortunately for Fannie, Ben survived the Civil War but spent months in deplorable conditions in Confederate prisons. Waiting for word from him must have been unbearable for the whole family. They heard nothing from Ben for more than a year while he was confined. How Fannie and William must have rejoiced when their firstborn son reappeared at their threshold! 

Slate pickers at work in the late 1800s before child labor laws were instated. 

WORKIN’ IN THE COAL MINES

William moved to Shamokin in Coal Township sometime between 1863 and 1865, while Ben was away in the Union Army. He probably relocated to obtain work connected with the newly opened anthracite coal mines in the area. The family resided about one-half mile from the train station, and they lived close to the “meeting house” (the Excelsior Methodist Episcopal Church.) William and one of his sons worked for the railroad, and two other sons worked in the coal breakers. When Ben returned from service in the Civil War in 1865, he took a job as a rail car loader at the Enterprise Colliery four miles east of Shamokin. 

William moved to another location in the Shamokin area in the spring of 1866 and was hired as a slate picker boss at the Enterprise Colliery where he was probably paid about $6.48 for working a sixty-hour week.  The village occupied by the coal miners was divided by the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. The area north of the tracks was known as Excelsior and the settlement on the south side was Enterprise.  The family lived in housing in Excelsior, a “patch town” owned by the colliery. The coal mining companies provided housing for their workers and entire little towns sprang up around the residences. There were company stores in the village that supplied the workers with essentials and often charged prices that took advantage of the families that labored for them. 

Enterprise Coal Company Patch Town circa 1960

William, age 60, and four of his sons were working in the coal mines when the 1870 census was taken in Coal Township (Post Office in Shamokin) on August 24. His oldest son, Ben, had bought land in Missouri and had settled there. Sons John 20, Francis Marion 18, James 17, and William Jr. 15 had joined their father as employees in the Enterprise Colliery. Wife Fannie, age 55, was “keeping house” and daughters Mary 10 and Margaret 5 were “at home.” None of the children were marked as “attended school” in the past year. The family lived among a sea of immigrants from European countries—primarily Ireland, Scotland, Germany, England, Deutschland, and Wales. Everyone who worked in the mines lived in company housing and almost none of the men were documented as owning personal property.   

Coal miners faced constant danger as they toiled at tedious and mindless labors. William’s job as a slate picker boss required working ten-hour days during the week and eight hours on Saturday.  He supervised the labors of the boys who separated slag rock from the coal. Older youths like William’s sons worked inside the mine shafts. All the boys in the patch town worked as slate pickers in the coal mines when they attained the age of about ten years old. Some as young as six to nine years old were identified as slate pickers in the 1870 census of Coal Township. The process of the cleaning of slate from the coal was described by William’s son Ben in his memoirs.

“The coal as it came from the mines, went through rollers and was broken up and run through screens which sorted it out into different sizes and dropped out into chutes which run down past the boy “Slatepickers,” who picked out the slate as the coal passed in front of them.” 

Slate pickers at work in the late 1800s before child labor laws were instated. 

Slate picking was dirty, hazardous work. The breakers were freezing cold in the winter and sweltering hot in the summer. The boys’ hands continually bled from cuts sustained on the sharp slate. Accidental falls into the machinery often resulted in or maiming, crushing, or death in the gears and rapidly moving conveyor belts, or in suffocation in a coal chute.  Many suffered from asthma or black lung disease from the ever-present coal dust. 

William and Fannie in the Excelsior Methodist Church Records

KEEPING THE SABBATH

The McWilliams family attended Excelsior Methodist Episcopal Church while they lived in the Enterprise Coal Company patch town. Fannie’s obituary states that she “was converted at Excelsior about 1869.” The Excelsior church was formed from a division of the Centralia Methodist Episcopal Church in Columbia County. Worship was held in the public school building in the village. William, Fannie and their younger children were listed from 1870 until 1881 on the Sunday school class rolls that met on “Sunday forenoon” in the church. Their residence was stated as Excelsior. The McWilliam’s children John, James and Mary were married in this church and at least four of their grandchildren were baptized there. Son John was listed as a leader, class leader and exhorter (lay speaker) in the church records. 

Wm McWilliams

 Born at Chillisquaque, Northumberland Co. Pa.

                          March 17, 1821

 Died at Verdella, Barton Co. Mo. Feb. 28, 1883

                           OUR FATHER

 

THE FINAL JOURNEY 

Fannie visited their son Ben in Missouri for three weeks in 1870. She took along her two youngest daughters Mary and Margaret and her son James. James stayed with Ben for three years, helping him cut timber and dig coal that they sold in Lamar.

William went to visit his son Ben in Verdella, Missouri, for the summer in 1880. Life on the farm may have brought up pleasant memories from his youth and he enjoyed working with the livestock. He returned to Pennsylvania in the fall, but was dissatisfied and returned to Missouri where he remained until his death on February 28, 1883. Fannie joined him in Missouri in 1882.  Ben planned to build a house for his parents on his property, but William died before construction began. He passed away less than one month short of his 62th birthday. William was buried in Barton City Cemetery near Liberal in Barton County, Missouri. 

Fannie was stricken with paralysis before her death. She spent the last ten years of her life dividing her time living with her sons John, James, Francis Marion and Ben. In the 1900 census taken on June 25, she was enumerated in James’ household in Moundville Township in Vernon County, Missouri. She was 77 years old and notated as able to read and write. She had borne twelve children with six still living. She died two weeks later on July 8. Brother W. J. Wilson presided over her funeral service held in the Barton City School house. He quoted 1st Corinthians, 15th chapter, scripture for the message. She was buried next to William in Barton City Cemetery.

Her obituary states that Fannie “lived a consistent Christian life. Her Bible was her most constant companion. She was given to hospitality and did all in her power to alleviate the sufferings and wants of the poor and sick. She was loved by all, —to know her was to love her.”

A TRIBUTE published in the pages of YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER July 8 1900

FANNIE KNAUSS McWILLIAMS

Memorial Obituary

Entered Into Eternal Rest

Sunday, July 8, 1900

At Rest.

Fannie McWilliams was born in Northumberland Co., Penn., on Dec. 12, 1822, and passed away July 8, 1900, being 77 years, 6 months and 26 days of age. 

She came to Barton Co., Mo., in 1883, at which place she has since resided most of the time. She was the mother of twelve children. Six have passed on before and six survive her. B.C., John, F.M., J.A., W.H., and Mrs. Maggie Vickrey. 

Sister McWilliams was converted at Excelsior, Northumberland Co., Penn., about 1869. She lived a consistent Christian life. Her Bible was her most constant companion. She was given to hospitality, and did all in her power to alleviate the sufferings and wants of the poor and sick. She was loved by all, to know her was but to love her. 

She was stricken by paralysis. She bore her sufferings with Christian patience and endurance; was never heard to murmur. During her last illness kind and loving hands did all in their power to cheer and help her, but Father saw fit to call her home. She would often ask her friends and children to pray and sit with her, and she seemed to wonderfully enjoy this, and would frequently raise her hand heavenward and say she could hear angels singing. She always attended meetings when she was able, and never failed to testify to the saving power of God, and rejoiced in His salvation, and of being ready to go when called. “How precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”

The funeral was preached at Barton City school house to a large concourse of sorrowing neighbors, friends and relatives, which showed the esteem and great respect they held for her. The funeral services were conducted by Bro. W.J. Wilson from 1 Cor. 15th chapter, after which the remains were interred in the Barton City Cemetery.

William and Fannie's Headstone in Barton City Cemetery
Barton County, Missouri

Sources:

1850 U.S. census, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Chillisquaque Township, population schedule, page 101B, William McWilliams; NARA microfilm publication M432, roll M432-804; accessed www.ancestry.com, image 30

Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Recorder of Deeds, Deed Book Volume JJ 1829-1853, p. 440, William McWilliams (1853), Land Deed, March 5, 1853, Register and Recorder’s Office, Northumberland County Courthouse, Sunbury; accessed www.familysearch.org, Deeds 1772-1914, Deed Book, vol. JJ, 1829-1853, p. 440, microfilm 961211, DGS 8086003, image248

1860 U.S. census, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Chillisquaque Township, population schedule, p. 165, William McWilliams; NARA microfilm publication M653-1149, roll 1149, image 169, Family History Library Film 805149; accessed www.ancestry.com, image 33 

McWilliams, Benjamin Cruiser, B.C. McWilliams Prison Diary, Copied from the original by Georgia Mathews Wood and Walter H. Wood, Son of Lena Query Wood, Granddaughter of B.C. McWilliams, Distributed at the Annual Reunion at the Buck Run Community Center, Ft. Scott, Bourbon County, Kansas, August 1995, War History, page 2-3; accessed copy owned by Cynthia L. Cruz

McWilliams, page 24

Wolfgang, Thomas A. Jr., Northumberland County and Shamokin Region 1615-2000, Northumberland County Historical Society, Sunbury, PA, page 107; accessed Northumberland Genealogical Society, Sunbury, PA

Bell, Herbert C., History of Northumberland County..., Chicago, IL., Brown, Runk & Co., Chicago, 1891, page 750, Villages, Enterprise and Excelsior, page 750; accessed https://play.google.com/books 

1870 U.S. census, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Coal Township, population schedule, p. 81A, William McWilliams; NARA microfilm publication M593-1384, roll 1384, Family History Library Film 552883; accessed www.ancestry.com, image 55 

Library of Congress, Boys picking slate in coal breaker at anthracite mine in Pennsylvania, 1913; explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php?imgId=1-2-1796

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell, Kids on Strike, Houghton Mifflin, Boston 1999, no page noted, Wyoming Historical and Geological Society photo, The breaker boss often found it difficult to manage the spirited breaker boys, Archaeolibris Blog; accessed: archaeolibris.blogspot.com/2009/04/kids-on-strike.html

McWilliams, The Spring, page 25

Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Methodist Church Records, Valley Forge PA, Eastern Pennsylvania United Methodist Church Commission on Archives and History; Ancestry.com, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1669-2013, Columbia County, Centralia Methodist Episcopal Church; accessed www.ancestry.com,  images 14, 15, 21, 27,  32, 37, 54, 79, 80, 81, 112, 163 

McWilliams, front material, Fannie McWilliams Obituary