Thursday, March 24, 2016
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Census Images for Clarence Custer "Cub" Britton (1908-1987)
Cub was born 14 Apr 1908 near Viola in Williams Township, Stone County, Missouri to William Isaac "Ike" Britton and Elizabeth Aletha "Lizzie" Lightle. After a cyclone destroyed their cabin, they rebuilt it before moving to Washington. They then had to leave there on account of Lizzie's health. The doctor thought she had TB, and said that if they did not get her to a high, dry climate she would not live long. They then settled in Colorado. Cub married Ellen Lovicy Waters 16 Apr 1930 in Kim, Las Animas County, Colorado.
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Birth Certificate of Clarence Custer "Cub" Britton, 1908 - Stone County, Missouri
Birth - 14 Apr 1908 (Viola, Stone County, Missouri)
Father - William Isaac Britton (born in Missouri)
Mother - Elizabeth Aletha Lightle (born in Kansas)
As a point of interest, when Cub's mother was in labor with him she was in bed with smallpox. Because of the highly contagious nature of this horrific disease, the traveling doctor would not come into the house to tend to her, so her husband had to deliver the baby. Cub was born broke out with smallpox as well. Though both survived the ordeal, he nearly died later of pneumonia. This information was provided by Cub's wife, Ellen, who is now deceased. She also stated that Cub was born in a log cabin near the little town of Viola. Notice that the birth certificate says that he was born in Viola. However, this might just be where his birth was registered. Or Viola may have been listed because it was the nearest settlement. Notice that this birth certificate was not one issued at the time of his birth, but much later when he had need of one. Perhaps his original, if he'd ever had one, was lost or destroyed.
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| Shared by Ellen Lovicy Waters Britton, Cub's wife |
Monday, March 21, 2016
Will of Samuel Odell Jr, 1788 - Green Co, North Carolina (now in Tennessee)
July the 5th 1788.
In the name of God amen. I, Samuel Odell of the State of North Carolina and Green Co., being infirm in body; but of sound understanding do make and ordain this my last will and Testament in order following that is to say, I give and recommend my soul into the hand of almighty God that gave it and my body I recommend to the Earth to be decently intered at the discresion of my Executrix and touching such worldly Estate which it hath plesed God to bless me with I will and bequeath in the following manner and form.
I give to my dearly and well beloved wife Elizabeth Odell two parts of my estate, and to my beloved sons Enoch Odle, Solomon Odle & Jeremiah Odle, I give and bequeath the Land I am now possesd of lying on Crobeys Creek to equally divided at the decease of my wife Elizabeth Odle and to my beloved Daughters Sarah Odle Ratchel Odle I give and bequeath an equal part of all my movable goods and Chattels and to be ordered at the discresion of my Executors William Whitson and Enoch Job. and I do hereby utterly disallow, revoke and disannul all and every other former Testament and wills in any ways mentioned.
As witness I have here set my hand and Test,
John Denton, Isaac Odle, George Stevins Samuel Odle (his mark is written on either side of the seal)
Transcription source - Rootsweb ➚
FAMILY MEMBERS MENTIONED
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PROPERTY GIVEN TO EACH
|
| Elizabeth Odell (wife) |
• two parts of his estate |
| Enoch Odle Solomon Odle Jeremiah Odle (sons) |
• his land on Crobeys Creek, to be divided among them after their mother's death |
| Sarah Odle Ratchel Odle (daughters) |
• equal parts o fhis movable goods and chattels at the discretion of the executors |
| William Whitson | • co-executor |
| Enoch Job | • co-executor (Elizabeth's brother) |
Background Information:
Samuel Odell, son of Samuel and Elizabeth Odell, was born 16 Jan 1750 in Dunmore (later Shenandoah) County, Virginia. It is suspected that his father, French and Indian War veteran and one of the first settlers of the Shenandoah Valley, came to the area near Powell's Fort in Old Augusta County (later became Dunmore County) because of a land grant received. and died in Greene County, North Carolina (now Greene County, Tennessee). He is believed to be the first settler in the Cosby Creek Valley in what is now Tennessee. Wikipedia ➚ states that he settled at the junction of Pigeon River and Cosby Creek in the 1780's.
This area was in the temporary State of Franklin around the time of his death, although there were parallel governments in operation. Samuel passed away at only about 38 years of age. Perhaps he had participated in the Battle of Franklin in February of 1788, in which a number of men on both sides were injured and three killed. Or, maybe, he fell victim to one of the frontier Indian attacks later that year and was mortally wounded.
Will of William Odell, 1676 - Fairfield, Connecticut Colony
Abstract:
"Will: dated 6 Jun 1676; son William; grandchild Samuel Morehouse, son of dau Rebecca, and brothers Thomas and John Morehouse; grandchild John Odell, son of John; to Goody Knap, four yards of new red cloth; daughter-in-law Mary Odell; son John Odell and dau Rebecca Morehouse; son-in-law Samuel Morehouse and son John Odell, executors. Inventory 12 Jun 1676"
Source location - unknown
The History of Fairfield, Fiarfield County, Connecticut, from the Settlement of the Town in 1639 to 1818: 1639-1700, by Elizabeth Hubbell Godfrey Schenck, 1889 ➚ (pages 399-400) gives the following summary of his will or probate:
"WILLIAM ODELL was at Concord in 1639, & was perhaps from the Parish of Odell in England, which which the Rev. Peter Bulkley came. His s. James was b. in 1640 at Concord, & died the next year; also d. Rebecca b. 17 July 1642. Savage says he removed from Concord to Southampton L. I. in 1642 & soon after settled at Pequonnock, where he occupied a considerable land at Greenlea. He died in 1676; the same year June 6 his will is dated, in which he gave his s. William, who had settled at Greenwich, Connecticut, his horses, cattle, swine & sheep, & 1/3 of his movable estate; to his grand-son Samuel Morehouse, s. of his d. Rebecca, he gave all his land near Uncoway River, called Rossiter's field; 2 acres in the great meadow before the town; land in Concord field called "poor man's lot;" building lot, pasture-lot, long lot, all his land dividends in Compo, all his housing & half of his house lot in F., out of which legacies said Samuel Morehouse was to pay to his brothers Thomas and John 5£ each, when 21 years of age. To his grandson John Odell, all land on the other side of the creek, & the half of his home lot; to Jonathan Morehouse 2 sheep; to Goody Knap 4 yards of red cloth; to daughter in law Mary Odell, his wife's red broadcloth cloak. All remaining estate he gave his s. John Odell, and his daughter Rebecca Morehouse. He made his son in law Samuel Morehouse, & John Odell his executors."
Summary:
Summary:
FAMILY MEMBERS MENTIONED
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PROPERTY GIVEN TO EACH
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| William Odell (son) |
• his horses, cattle, swine & sheep • 1/3 of his movable estate |
| Samuel Morehouse (grandon, son of Rebecca) |
• all his land near Uncoway River, called Rossiter's field • 2 acres in the great meadow before the town • land in Concord field called "poor man's lot" • building lot, pasture lot, long lot • all his land dividends in Compo • all his housing & half of his house lot in F [sic Fairfield] • had to pay brothers money from this when they turned 21 |
| Thomas/John Morehouse (grandsons) |
• 5£ each when 21 years old age, paid from what was given to Samuel Morehouse |
| John Odell (grandson) |
• all land on the other ide of the creek • half of his home lot |
| Jonathan Morehouse | • 2 sheep |
| Goody Knap | • 4 years of red cloth • She might have been a relation of the Goody Knapp that was hung as a witch. William Odell's wife, Rebecca, was one of the judges. |
| Mary Odell (daughter-in-law) |
• his wife's red broadcloth cloak |
| John Odell (son) Rebecca Morehouse (daughter) |
• remainder of his estate, John made co-executor |
| Samuel Morehouse (son-in-law) |
• made co-executor |
Will of Richard Odell, 1636 - Buckinghamshire, England
Will of Richard Odell of Newport Pagnell, (Bucks.) miller, dated 21 November, 1636:
To William Odell my eldest son, my freehold land in Cranfield, co. Beds. Mary Odell my daughter £20 at marriage or 21. Elizabeth Odell, daughter of John Odell my brother, 10 shillings. Residue to Martha my wife, whom Extrx. and John Odell and Robert Markes of Newport Pagnell, blacksmith, Overseers.
To William Odell my eldest son, my freehold land in Cranfield, co. Beds. Mary Odell my daughter £20 at marriage or 21. Elizabeth Odell, daughter of John Odell my brother, 10 shillings. Residue to Martha my wife, whom Extrx. and John Odell and Robert Markes of Newport Pagnell, blacksmith, Overseers.
Witnesses:
Richard Hull
Thomas King
Robert Bitchnoe
Proved 10 January, 1636/7, by the Extrx. named
(Source - Arch: Buckinghamshire Will Book 36, folio 80)
| Family Members Mentioned | Property Listed |
| Martha Odell (wife) | • residue of estate • made co-executor |
| William Odell (eldest son) | • freehold land in Cranfield, Bedfordshire England |
| Mary Odell (daughter) | • £20 when she marries or turns 21 |
| John Odell (brother) | • made co-executor |
| Elizabeth Odell (niece) *daughter of brother, John |
• 10 shillings |
Background Information:
Richard Odell was born 1576 in Pagnall, Buckinghamshire, England. He married Martha Nicholls in about 1601 in Pagnall and died there in 1637. Richard might have been the son of Richard Odell (born ca. 1540 in Bedfordshire, England and died 31 Mar 1611 in Salford, Bedforedshire, England) and Elizabeth Perst/Pierce/Pierde (1550-1580), who were married 12 Sep 1565 in Bedfordshire.
My direct ancestor, William Odell (1602-1676), might have been the above mentioned "eldest son" of Richard Odell (1576-1637), who was willed the land in Bedfordshire. My William Odell was christened in the Cranfield Parish Church in Bedfordshire, England 24 Feb 1602. Note that Cranfield is the very place in which the land was located. He is believed to be a direct descendant of Walter Flanrencis, the Count of Flanders, who may have fought alongside William the Conqueror in 1066.
William Odell immigrated to America in the 1630's from England. William, a Puritan, was a Concord Planter who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony with Winthrop's Fleet on a ship called the Susan and Ellen, likely with the congregation of Reverend Peter Bulkeley's All Saints Church. Concord was the first inland settlement in what was then Massachusetts, and William purchased land there from the Indians.
Richard Odell was born 1576 in Pagnall, Buckinghamshire, England. He married Martha Nicholls in about 1601 in Pagnall and died there in 1637. Richard might have been the son of Richard Odell (born ca. 1540 in Bedfordshire, England and died 31 Mar 1611 in Salford, Bedforedshire, England) and Elizabeth Perst/Pierce/Pierde (1550-1580), who were married 12 Sep 1565 in Bedfordshire.
My direct ancestor, William Odell (1602-1676), might have been the above mentioned "eldest son" of Richard Odell (1576-1637), who was willed the land in Bedfordshire. My William Odell was christened in the Cranfield Parish Church in Bedfordshire, England 24 Feb 1602. Note that Cranfield is the very place in which the land was located. He is believed to be a direct descendant of Walter Flanrencis, the Count of Flanders, who may have fought alongside William the Conqueror in 1066.
William Odell immigrated to America in the 1630's from England. William, a Puritan, was a Concord Planter who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony with Winthrop's Fleet on a ship called the Susan and Ellen, likely with the congregation of Reverend Peter Bulkeley's All Saints Church. Concord was the first inland settlement in what was then Massachusetts, and William purchased land there from the Indians.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Marriage of Abraham Odle and Cynthia Ann Smith - 1840, Polk Co, Missouri
Abraham Odle/Odell was born 26 May 1814 in White County, Tennessee to Enoch Odell and Catherine Pryor. He married Cynthia Ann Smith, a young woman from Illinois, in Polk County, Missouri 19 Jan 1840. He died 30 Apr 1899 in Randolph County, Arkansas and she passed on sometime after 1900, likely in the vicinity of Elm Store Township, Randolph County, Arkansas, where she is found living that year, with the family of her daughter, Sarah.
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| Marriage of Abraham Odle and Cynthia Smith, 1840 Source - ancestry.com ➚ |
Marriage of Enoch Odle to Catharine Pryor - 1799, Greene County, Tennessee
Enoch Odle/Odell was born 19 Mar 1776 in the Shenandoah Valley of Colonial Virginia to Samuel Odell and Elizabeth Job. Enoch's father is believed to have been one of the first settlers of the Cosby Creek Valley in the 1780's, an area that lies against the mountain range that became the western border of North Carolina and the eastern border of Tennessee. The region was originally a part of North Carolina, but later became Greene County, Tennessee. It was here that the famous frontiersman, Davy Crockett, was born in 1786, around the time that Samuel Odell arrived.
Enoch married Catherine Pryor, likely a daughter of Joseph Pryor, 22 Aug 1799 in Greene County, Tennessee. Enoch later served in the War of 1812 with Andrew Jackson. He moved to White County, near Green Spring on the Caney Fork of the Cumberland River, possibly on bounty land given to him after the war. Enoch eventually moved their family to Macoupin County, Illinois and later to Wright County, Missouri.
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| Marriage of Enoch Odle and Catharine Pryor, 1799 Source - ancestry.com ➚ |
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Sale of Reuben Pound's Bounty Land in 1797 - Oconee River, Greene Co, Georgia
For his service as a Patriot in the Revolutionary War, Reuben Pound (1730-1797) was granted 230 acres of land along the Oconee River in what was then Washington County, Georgia 10 October 1784 and was included in survey number 487. Note that Reuben was the father of Francis "Frankey" Pound (1779-1850) that later married James Brittain (1769-1828).
The year before Reuben's land grant, treaties had been signed with the Creek Indians which extended Georgia Territory northward to the mountains. In 1784 there were only two counties, Washington and Franklin, which were very large geographic areas. Washington County was divided about 2 years later and Reuben’s land was then within the boundaries of Greene County. He resided there and likely farmed until his death, about 13 years later. After his death 13 Nov 1797, his land passed to his heirs. They chose to sell the parcel to Stephen Bishop for $1000.
The following can be found in the Greene County, Georgia Deed Book B, page 227:
“Richard Pounds, Newman Pounds, Merryman Pounds, Clary Pounds, Peggy Pounds, Mary Pounds, Julius and Katy Sanders, James and Franky Britton sell to Stephen Bishop 230 acres on the south side of the Oconee River. Consideration $1,000.00, lying in Green County. Test: Frances Hough, James Hough - Greene County Record November 13, 1797.”
Below is a similar record:
“November 13, 1797 State of Georgia, Hancock County
This indenture made 13th day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety seven between Richard Pounds, Newman Pounds, Meriman Pound, Julius Sanders and James Britton of the one part and Stephen Bishop of the county and state aforesaid of the other part. Witnesseth that the said Richard Pounds, Newman Pounds, Meriman Pounds, Julius Sanders and James Britton for and in consideration of the sum of one thousand dollars to him in hand paid before the sealing and delivery of this indenture the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged hath bargained and sold unto the said Stephen Bishop one certain tract or parcel of land containing two hundred and thirty acres be the same more or less lying on the Oconee River in the County of Greene. Beginning on the bank of said river at a stake X running thence North sixty five east forty seven chains and ninety six links to a dogwood X thence south twenty east to a hickory X thence South 3”.
Residence Summary of the Louis Cass Britton and Hannah Catherine Odell Families
Year
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James/Frankey
Brittain
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Riley/Julia
Britton
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Louis/Hannah
Britton
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Abraham/Cynthia
Odell
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Enoch/Catherine
Odell
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1800
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m. 1794
Richmond Co, Georgia |
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1810
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St. Louis Dist.
Louisiana/ Missouri Territory (Missouri) Moved there in 1805 Names on Memorial James Britten Jr and Sr Reconstructed Census |
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1820
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Surely lived
in Missouri. Can't find census. |
Riley b. 1814
Crawford Co Missouri |
Abraham b. 1814
White Co, TN Living w/ parents in 1820 White Co, TN male: 0-10 |
Enoch/Catherine White Co Tennessee
males: 0-10 (1)
10-15 (1)
16-25 (1)
26-44 (1)
females: 0-10 (3)
10-15 (2)
16-25 (1)
26-44 (1)
2 in agriculture
no slaves
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1830
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*James died
before 1828 in Missouri |
Julia b. 1824
Davidson Co Tennessee |
*Cynthia b. 1822
Illinois |
Tennessee? Illinois? |
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1840
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Frankey
Merrimac, Crawford Co, Missouri likely w/ son, Bedford
B B Britton
Male: 30-39 (1)
Female: 60-69 (1)
Slave: 0-10 (1)
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Abraham/Cynthia
Pulaski Co Missouri
male: 20-30 (1)
female: 15-20 (1)
Next door:
Samuel Odle
Same page:
Elijah Bohannon
Wm Bohannon
Enoch Odle (father)
*married 1840 Polk Co, Missouri |
Enoch/Catherine Pulaski Co Missouri
males: 60-69 (1)
females:15-19 (1)
20-29 (1)
1 in agriculture
no slaves
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1850
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Frankey
Crawford Co,
Missouri
*James d. 1828
153/153
JW 48 GA
Susan 30 KY
NR 10 MO
BB 8 MO
Mary 12 MO
Vienna 12 MO
Wilbern 2 MO
Green 6m MO
BB 46 GA
Frankey 70 GA
Other Brittons
on same page
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Riley/Julia
Crawford Co
Missouri
150/150
Riley 36 MO
Julian 26 TN
Vienna 9 MO
FA 4 MO
GO 2 MO
Louis not
born yet
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*Catherine
b. 1849 Living w/ parents in 1850 |
Abraham/Cynthia
Laclede Co,
(formed from Pulaski / Wright)
Missouri
332/332
Abraham 35 TN
Cyntha Ann 26 IL
Evan 9 MO
Samuel 7 AR
James 4 AR
Hannah 3 MO
Enoch 1m MO
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Enoch
Wright Co,
(formed from Pulaski)
Missouri
*wife d. bef 1825
Other Odells
333
Enoch 23 TN
334
Samuel 51 TN |
1860
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*Louis b. 1851
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*Enoch d. 1858
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1870
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Riley/Julia
Wright Co
Missouri
312/312
Riley 51 MO
Julia 47 TN
(Louis 311
others w/
Fannie 313)
Riley sick?
Contageous?
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Louis/Hannah
Wright Co,
Missouri
311/311
Hanah 22 MO
Louis 20 MO
w/ Odell family
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Abraham/Cynthia
Wright Co,
Missouri
311/311
Abraham 57 TN
Cynthia 49 IL
Enoch 20 MO
Sarah 15 MO
Martha 11 MO
Louis/Hannah
(married 1870)
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1880
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Julia
Richland,
Crawford Co
Missouri?
Remarried (Eads) |
Louis/Hannah
White River,
Barry Co,
Missouri
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Abraham/Cynthia
Union,
Wright Co,
Missouri
119/123
Abraham 66 TN
Ann 58 IL
Martha 21 IL
Servant:
Sarah Smith 25 IL
Nathan Smith 2 IL
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1900
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Louis/Hannah
Williams,
Stone Co,
Missouri
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Cynthia
Elm Store,
Randolph Co,
Arkansas
*Abraham d. 1899
w/Birchett family
(son-in-law)
Rite S 39 MO
Sarah M 41 MO
Virginia V 13 AR
John L 11 AR
Thomas L 6 AR
Jessie 4 AR
Charly 1 AR
Cintha Odell 77 IL
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1910
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Louis/Hannah
Williams,
Stone Co,
Missouri
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*Cynthia died
before 1910? |
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1920
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Louis
Williams,
Stone Co,
Missouri
*wife d. 1919
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1930
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Louis
Ruth,
Stone Co,
Missouri
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1940
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Louis d. 1832
Oklahoma
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Monday, March 14, 2016
Death Certificate for Hannah Catherine Odell Britton, 1919
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| Shared by Ellen Britton |
Hannah Britton, white, married
Born - 3 Sep 1849 in Missouri (Hartsville, Wright County, Missouri)
Died - 15 Jun 1919 in Williams Twp, Stone County, Missouri at 9 am, aged 69
Informant - L C Britton (her husband, Louis Cass Britton), of Nauvoo, Missouri
Parents - Abraham Odell and Synthia Smith, both born in Missouri
Cause of death - Extensive paralysis of the eye... (unreadable)... senility
Burial - 16 Jun 1919, McCullough Cemetery (Lampe, Stone Co, Missouri)
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| Source - Missouri Digital Heritage ➚ Missouri Death Certificates 1910-1964 |
Death Certificate for Louis Cass Britton, 1932
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| Shared by Ellen Britton |
Louis C Britton, white widower
Born - 15 May 1851 in Missouri
Died - 6 Aug 1932 in Mayes County, Oklahoma at 7:30 pm, at the age of 81
Informant - Sherman Lynes (Louis' son-in-law), of Chateau, Oklahoma
Parents (Riley Britton and Julia Ann Strong) not known by informant
Cause of death - Lobar Pneumonia
Doctor attended him from 28 Jul -7 Aug 1932 (last saw him alive 3 Aug)
Doctor attended him from 28 Jul -7 Aug 1932 (last saw him alive 3 Aug)
Burial - 7 Aug 1932 in the Bethany Cemetery
I think that his headstone is actually in the Alberty Cemetery, Sportsmen Acres, Mayes County, Oklahoma, as per the headstone photo on findagrave ➚ (descendant walked through the cemetery, found his headstone and took a picture, then send it to my sister, Peggy). It is possible that Bethany is the name of an old church beside the cemetery, perhaps, or that the name of the cemetery has changed since the creation of this death certificate.
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| Shared by Peggy Boone |
Obituary of John Albert Strong (1831-1915)
June 19, 1915- Mansfield Mirror
Pioneer Resident Dead
In the passing away Monday of John Strong, Wright county lost one of her pioneers – a citizen who was held in the highest esteem by all who knew him, and his circle of acquaintances was a large one.
John Strong was born September 17, 1831 in Roane county, Tenn. and died May 30, 1915, at the home of his son, Isaac Strong near Mansfield, aged 83 years, 8 months and 17 days.
When a very small boy he came to Missouri. When he was 9 years old his parents died, and ten years later he came to Wright county, where an older brother had previously located.
December 31, 1850, he married Miss Winnie Rogers, to which union were born 16 children, 8 of whom survive: Isaac Strong, of Mansfield; Rev. James Strong, of Helena, Okla; Albert Strong, Mrs. Louisa Smith and Mrs. Frances Thomas, of Hutchinson, Kansas; Mrs. Martha Buffalo of Nickerson, Kansas; Mrs. Dora Young of Shawnee, Okla.; and Mrs. Sallie Young, of Paragould, Ark.
For forty years Mr. Strong resided on a farm north of Hartville. Upon the death of his wife in 1898 he sold his farm, and has since that time resided with his children.
In 1858 he was converted and became a member of the M. E. church, of which he remained until called to the church triumphant. Rev. L. W. Hensley conducted the funeral services from the Free Will Baptist church at Pleasant Hill cemetery.
Only three of his children Isaac and Rev. James Strong and Mrs. Dora Young were present at the funeral, the others being unable to attend on account of the high water prevailing between their homes and Mansfield.
Mr. Strong was one of those early pioneers who did so much in the earlier days to bring our country to its present high state of advancement. He was a hard worker and a great hunter, but never neglected the farm work to hunt. In the three years following the close of the civil war he killed over 300 deer, besides wild turkeys and other game galore. Although not a large man, physically, it is related that on one occasion when hunting he killed two deer and started homeward carrying them a considerable distance. Being closely pursued by wolves he placed one of the deer in a tree beyond the reach of the wolves, and carried the other home. He returned the next day and got the one left behind.
Source -
Note -
John Albert Strong might have been the brother or step-brother of Julia Ann Strong (1824-1898), the 1/2 Cherokee Indian woman that married Riley Britton (1814-1873).
Photos of him and his family can be found here ➚.
Photos of him and his family can be found here ➚.
Violet Lorraine Britton (1931-1932)
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| Ellen, Violet and Cub Britton ca. 1931 in Colorado Courtesy of Ellen Britton |
She was named for Ellen's sister "Violet", and "Lorraine" is for a very pretty, sweet girl, that went to parties in the same crowd that Cub and Ellen did before they were married.
She, unlike others in the family, had blonde hair and blue eyes. She died of a nasty variety of the flu at the age of 20 months, which was the same time that Cub (Clarence) almost died of a type of flu.
The type of flu Violet had, caused a brain hemorrhage, which caused her to have convulsions every few minutes from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. When the last convulsion occurred, the spinal column was filled with blood.
One cute thing Ellen remembers about Violet Lorraine: When she was about a year old, she and Ellen went to Missouri to visit Ellen's Reno kin. Ellen had made her a cute dress out of the sash from a dress she had worn while she and Cub were dating.
Violet's new dress was white satin with a lavender bow on the front. She wore lavender socks. She was so proud of her new dress, and went out into the middle of the living room, in front of all the people, and modeled the dress, like a professional model.
She held the skirt out and said, "See? Pretty!"
This story was told to my sister, Kathy, by Violet's mother (our grandmother), Ellen Lovicy Waters Britton.
Kathy added the following:
Cub hemorrhaged at the nose and it was days before he understood, when they told him, that their baby daughter was gone. Some local people laid hands on Cub and prayed for him and, within hours, he was better. When his doctor saw him, he was so much better that the doctor thought Cub was his brother, Walt, because they looked so much alike and the doctor didn't expect him to be better.
Marriage Certificate of Cub and Ellen Britton 1930
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| Cub, Ellen and Violet Britton ca. 1931 in Colorado Courtesy of Ellen Britton |
I don't know if a wedding picture exists, but below is a photo of them, taken about a year after their marriage. I would guess that it is also one of the few, of not the only, photo of their first child, Violet Lorraine, who died as a baby of a very severe flu.
Obituary of Elizabeth Aletha "Lizzie" Lightle Britton (1874-1932)
Mrs. E. A. Britton was born in Bellville, Kansas, Feb 27, 1874 and died Wed Jul 13th at 6:30 a.m., at the age of 58 years 4 months and 16 days. She was raised in Kansas and Missouri and on the 10th day of March 1894 she was married to W. I. Britton with whom she lived about 39 years. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lightle. She leaves a husband and six children, 2 girls and four boys all living in the state of Colorado and also two sisters and 3 brothers survive her.
She was a devoted Christian having gave her life to God when a young woman. This lady leaves a host of friends besides the following relations to morn her loss: Two sisters, Sarah M. Cox, Spokane, Washington and Mrs. Murton Craine of Hunter, Washington and three brothers, William Lightle, Nauvoe, MO, John Lightle, Baxter, MO and Wesley Lightle, Mt Bourne, Washington. Her children: Mrs. B. W. Foreman, Mrs. G. L. Francoeur of Trinidad and Lewis Britton, Walter Britton, Custer Britton, Homer Britton and one daughter in law, Mrs. Custer Britton all of Andrix.
The funeral was conducted at the Long Ridge School House at 2 p.m. July 14th by Rev. C. R. Fosnight and Rev. E. N. Guthrie. she was laid to rest in the Kim cemetery.
The Record wishes to join with the friends in extending its sympathy to the bereaved relatives.
Notes -
The Record, probably refers to the family run Kim Country Record. Elizabeth, or "Lizzie" as she was known, was born to Henry Lightle and Nancy Lucinda Brewer. I would assume that she died as a consequence to her severe lung problems. She was diagnosed, years before, with TB. However, her daughter-in-law, Ellen, stated that TB was a very contagious disease, yet no one else in the household contracted it. She, therefore, surmised that Lizzie actually had Emphysema, which several family members were later diagnosed with in the latter years of their lives. Lizzie was only 58 when she died and, according to her doctor back in Washington, she would have died much sooner if Ike had not moved the family to the high, dry climate of southern Colorado.
Clarence Custer "Cub" Britton (1908-1987)
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| "Cub" Britton (1908-1987) Shared by Ellen Britton |
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The following was written by Cub's wife, Ellen Lovicy Waters Britton. Notes were inserted by myself, as learned from Ellen, and from my father and sisters.
Cub was born to William Isaac and Elizabeth Aletha (Lightle) Britton, delivered by Dad Britton and Mother's youngest sister. The doctor wouldn't go, because Mother was in bed with smallpox. They were living in a log cabin in Stone County Missouri, near the little town of Viola. Cub was the 5th of 6 kids. [William often went by "Ike" and Ellen refers to him herein as Dad or Dad Britton. Mom (Elizabeth) was also known as"Lizzie" and Cub was the nickname of Clarence Custer Britton. Given that Lizzie had smallpox during the birth, which must have been nearly unbearable I might add, Cub was born broke out in smallpox. He survived though, but nearly died later, when still an infant, of pneumonia.]
Cub was born to William Isaac and Elizabeth Aletha (Lightle) Britton, delivered by Dad Britton and Mother's youngest sister. The doctor wouldn't go, because Mother was in bed with smallpox. They were living in a log cabin in Stone County Missouri, near the little town of Viola. Cub was the 5th of 6 kids. [William often went by "Ike" and Ellen refers to him herein as Dad or Dad Britton. Mom (Elizabeth) was also known as"Lizzie" and Cub was the nickname of Clarence Custer Britton. Given that Lizzie had smallpox during the birth, which must have been nearly unbearable I might add, Cub was born broke out in smallpox. He survived though, but nearly died later, when still an infant, of pneumonia.]
The family had been instructed that in case of a cyclone, to get out in the brush, lay flat on the ground, “hug” a bunch of brush and hang on. Well, while Cub was still a baby, there was a cyclone in that area. Dad got Cub under him, with Dad down on his hands and knees. Something knocked Dad out. When he came to, he didn't have Cub, but he wasn't hard to find. He had been rolled into the edge of an old tree top. His dress tail was up over his head and he was plenty mad and letting anyone in hearing distance know it.
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| Ike and Lizzie in front of the cabin that replaced the one destroyed in the cyclone in Stone County, Missouri Shared by Ellen Britton |
Their cabin was destroyed by the cyclone, with only the fireplace and chimney still standing. Dad built another cabin, where they lived (and Homer was born) until they moved to Washington, when Homer was a tiny baby and Cub 2 years old. [Cub's son stated, many years later, that "during this cyclone the stove was circling around their heads. Grandad (Ike) grabbed Daddy (Cub) and held him to the ground till the wind stopped. It was all he could do to keep hold of Daddy." Cub's wife, Ellen, captioned the picture as follows: "Cabin in Stone County, Missouri. This cabin replaced the one that blew away in a cyclone when Cub (Clarence) was a baby. Homer was born in this cabin." According to my sister, Peggy, the people in this picture are Ike and Lizzie.]
They went to Big Lake, Washington [when Cub was 2], where Dad and Lewis [Cub's older brother] worked in the timber and in the saw mill [and remained there for 3 1/2 years before moving to eastern Washington]. They had relatives already in Washington, before they went. Uncle Will (Columbus Wesley Lightle) and Aunt Dora Lightle; Aunt Cord and Uncle Mert Crain, and I think one other sister were out there. [Peggy thinks that this older sister might have been Sara Malinda Lightle Cox.]
It was while they lived in Big Lake, that Cub had his first girl friend. She was about his age, and lived across the street. One day, she was playing with another little boy and Cub was jealous. The next morning, he didn't get up and go out to play with her. She came over after him. He told her she played with the other boy, he wasn't interested. She promised that she would not play with the other boy, so he told her to bring him his pants and he would get up and go play. So that settled that. I don't know just how old Cub was when they moved to eastern Washington, up on the Columbia River, above Spokane. They lived up there several years, farming, though I don't think they were on the same place all the time.
Cub started to school at Daisy, Washington. (Site of Daisy is under water in the lake above Coulee Dam now.) I am quite sure it was there at Daisy, that Cub got in fights, with his chum, to side him. They discovered that the 2 of them could whip a bigger boy, that was a bully. One day, when the other boy wasn't there, Cub picked a fight out of the bigger kid and got whipped good. He said, that he never thought about that the other kid had been there helping him and right there. He learned his lesson, not to start a fight with a bigger kid, unless it was absolutely necessary.
He did get into at least one other fight while they lived up there, but I think another fight he told about was after they had moved and he was in another school, likely Rice, Washington. That time, a bigger kid was picking on Oscar, a smaller cousin of Cub's. Cub told him to leave Oscar alone. He told Cub, he would meet him at recess (bell had just run). When Cub went outside, the kid was waiting for him on the porch. Well, they went at it right there. Cub said that he didn't even know the other kid had hit him, till the teacher called him off and told them to go to the pump and get cleaned up. Of course, both were bloody. Walt told Cub afterward that the teacher had stood and watched the whole fight (maybe thought the bully needed it). Anyway, when the teacher called Cub off, he had the other kid bent backward over the porch railing, and thought one more punch would do it, but it was about 6 feet to the ground and maybe the teacher thought that might hurt the bully bad, or kill him. Something like that seemed to be the reason for his fights, mostly. He wasn't naturally “scrappy.”
[The nickname, Cub, evolved while they were Washington because, when he was little, he was chubby like a cub bear. His brothers started calling him Cub Bear, and it just gradually got shortened to Cub. Most people called him that for the rest of his life. I've also seen his name written as C C Britton. My father thinks that Ellen told him that Ike was rather impressed with General Custer and wanted the name to be bestowed upon one of their children. Lizzie hated the idea, but finally relented and allowed Cub's middle name to be Custer. Cub absolutely hated the name. As he was growing up, boys soon learned that, if they wanted to start a fight with him, all they had to do was call him Custer. Cub said he got into more fights over that, than all other reasons combined.]
He did get into at least one other fight while they lived up there, but I think another fight he told about was after they had moved and he was in another school, likely Rice, Washington. That time, a bigger kid was picking on Oscar, a smaller cousin of Cub's. Cub told him to leave Oscar alone. He told Cub, he would meet him at recess (bell had just run). When Cub went outside, the kid was waiting for him on the porch. Well, they went at it right there. Cub said that he didn't even know the other kid had hit him, till the teacher called him off and told them to go to the pump and get cleaned up. Of course, both were bloody. Walt told Cub afterward that the teacher had stood and watched the whole fight (maybe thought the bully needed it). Anyway, when the teacher called Cub off, he had the other kid bent backward over the porch railing, and thought one more punch would do it, but it was about 6 feet to the ground and maybe the teacher thought that might hurt the bully bad, or kill him. Something like that seemed to be the reason for his fights, mostly. He wasn't naturally “scrappy.”
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| L-R: Cub, Walt, Homer Shared by Peggy Boone |
Another thing, that happened to Cub while they lived in Washington was when the fence “threw him away.” He and Walt [his next older brother] were up on the mountain side, when Walt saw a hornets nest in a tree. Well, Walt just couldn't resist a hornets nest. He told Cub to head down the trail and run as fast as he could, to get a head start before Walt threw a rock through the nest. Cub was running down the trail and forgot that they had stretched a wire up across the trail till he hit it. (Wire was to turn cows back.) Well, Cub picked himself up and ran again, but was already far enough away that he didn't get stung.
One place they lived in Eastern Washington, they were close enough to the Columbia river, that they could see the Blackfoot Indian Reservation on the other side of the river and see them stirring around, cooking over camp fires, etc.
It was while they were up there, when Cub was about 6, I think Cub said, when he learned to swim, or rather discovered that he could swim. He had gone to a big pond or small lake with the older boys. The older boys were diving off of the dam and swimming, while Cub played along the ditch, leaning over, trying to catch an eel, when he fell in. He just struck out and swam to the other side. He was so excited about it, that he just jumped back in and swam back across. So he was a natural swimmer.
When the kids were in school years ago, and our washings were done the hard way, school kids changed into everyday clothes when they got home from school. One evening when Cub and Homer got home from school and Mother told them to change their clothes, they “sassed” her, told her they didn't have to. Then they ran to their bedroom upstairs and locked the door so she couldn't spank them, but when Dad got home he called them out and they got it anyway.
Cub said that when they lived close to Daisy, there was an old Chinaman living alone, up the mountain from them. He looked enough different and talked enough different, that Cub was afraid of him at first. He soon got to know the old man and then liked him. The old man liked to stop and visit with Dad and rest awhile, before he went on home. He walked, so climbing the mountain was tiring.
Cub said the first job with any pay that he had, was herding sheep. I can't remember whether it was the old Chinaman or some other neighbor that had a little bunch of sheep, and hired Cub and Homer [his younger brother] to herd them for him. One of the things they did to pass the time while they were herding sheep, was to eat pine nuts. (Cub said they are pretty much like pinon nuts.)
There was a deserted place between where the Brittons lived, and Daisy. Cub said if for any reason he was alone when he passed that place, he ran past it. It seemed “spooky” to him.
After the Brittons had been to the Palouse country, south of Spokane, they went back up on the Columbia. Larry [probably Cub and Ellen's son] says he thinks Cub said “just for the winter.” (Nora [Norine Haggar Britton, Cub's oldest sister] homesteaded the place that you kids knew as Dad's old place, where the big square house was. Dad bought it from her. [Peggy said that she has the land sale deed, and that this is in Las Animas County, Colorado.] Anyway, Nina [another sister, Nancy Catherine Britton] was out there with Nora, and Dad came out there too, but I don't know how long Dad was there before the rest of the family moved there. They had a farm sale and sold stock, farm machinery, etc. [Peggy figures the sale took place in Washington, before they moved to southeastern Colorado by train.] Dad was to have met them [Peggy says "them" referred to Lizzie and the kids] in La Junta [Colorado] with team and wagon, but wasn't there when they got there, so Mother Britton hired a man with a truck to take them and their stuff out there. They met Dad about half way and transferred the stuff and them into wagon or wagons. [Cub was 11 when they moved there from Washington.]
Once when we were at Homer's and Jessie's in Pritchett [Jessica Bernice "Jessie" Guthrie was Homer's wife], and Nina was there with them, I mentioned the letter Cub had written Peggy about the covered wagon trip. Nina spoke up and said, “Yes, they started to Colorado with the covered wagons, got as far as the Palouse County and decide Mother wasn't able to make such a long trip in a wagon, so they went back north. [Lizzie had a severe lung problem. The doctor thought it to be TB, but no one else in the household got it, though that disease was highly contagious. Ellen later said she figure Lizzie actually had Emphysema. The doctor advised Ike to find Lizzie a high and dry climate, or she would not live much longer. That is one of the reasons they left Washington for the high desert country of southern Colorado. She lived quite a while after moving there, but still died pretty young.]
When they got to Colorado, Nora was living in a half dugout on the homestead (relinquishment bout from Ted Lawrence, who then went back to Missouri). Cub learned to milk before they left Washington and was doing quite a bit of it. Right after they got to Nora's dugout they had a bad blizzard. Cub wasn't experienced with such, of course, and almost lost his life in that one. He was going to milk the cow. They told him the storm was too bad, but he thought he could make it. He just got out where the wind got full force at him and he went down. Storm was so bad he could see very little and was confused as to directions. He saw little streaks of light from the dugout door, crawled to it and beat on the door and they opened it and let him in.
I don't know how long they were in the dugout, but I think not long, till they built the shack on the place that Lewis had bought relinquishment on, joining Nora's place. The shack was big enough for 2 nice sized rooms, but they never did partition it. Floor was also of unmatched lumber. They put rubberoid on the roof and sides on outside, and Mother (Elizabeth Aletha) papered the inside with newspaper later. (Cub and I lived in that old house from the first part of June [1930], till the middle of December, the first year we were married.)
When the Brittons got to Colorado, Cub and Homer were still in school. They didn't have the grade Cub should have been in and the teacher didn't want to bother to add in another grade that late in the year, so she (or he) just put him back a couple of grades with Homer and the class he was in. So they were together and graduated at the same time. [Ellen wrote that Cub "finished his grade school education at Long Ridge school. (It was a one room country school about a mile from where they lived.) While he was in school he got into a few fist fights, always for the same reason, taking up for a smaller kid that was being "run over" by a "bully". As I have known him he is even tempered and easy to get along with, but he still takes up for the "under dog".]
Their main way to make any extra money, was to go over into Baca County Colorado or into the edge of Kansas for harvest [each fall]. I think their first harvest was maize harvest [when Cub was 13 or 14, though big for his age, according to Ellen. Cub and two of his brothers would normally go together]. Then they cut it one head at a time with a hoof knife, throwing each handful into the header barge, till they got a load, hauled it to the stack yard and unloaded it, where the threshing machine would come to thresh it. A header barge was a wagon box about twice as wide as a regular box and longer. It had low sides (maybe 24 inches) and high sides on the other side. That way, they didn't have to throw it so high, yet could get pretty big load on. The team was trained to follow the row and walk right along beside them, so they could throw the maize in. Their first maize harvest was while they were in school, yet.
Cub and Homer also went to wheat harvest over in Kansas several years. Then the wheat was cut with a binder, bundles shocked, then when the threshing machine came to their place (whoever they were) men hauled the bundled wheat in the big header barges, to the threshing machine and pitched them into the threshing machine with pitch forks. Hard job and HOT! They went to wheat harvest the year they were in Oklahoma, when Cub was 16. At wheat harvest, was where Cub and Homer earned the money to buy their first car.
Cub was always good at figuring out how to make things. They bought a little homemade broom corn seeder. I don't know how much Cub changed it, but they run it with the old stripped down Model T. The first year we were married, we seeded the broom corn with just the Britton crew, consisting of Dad, Lewis, Walt, Nina, Cub, Homer and I. That is really an ORNERY job. The lint from it makes a person itch worse than anything I know of. Later when we raised bigger crops, we had the bigger seeder come and seed it, trading work with the neighbors, for the crew. It took 20 men for that job. We never did have big enough crop that I had that crew to cook for more than one or two times. Cutting the broom corn was a BAD job. It was itchy and so hard, working all day with your hands as high above your head as you could reach, with load of those heavy heads in one hand, while you cut with the other. Cub and Homer had it a bit easier than most of us, since they learned to cut it walking on stilts. They strapped them to their legs, raising their feet 18 inches or so up from the ground. That way they didn't have to reach so high, and being up higher, they got the breeze better as well as less itchy lint down their shirt collars.
[Ellen also wrote, "The summer of 1924, when Cub was 16, was a dry year, so very little crop. that fall they moved to Oklahoma. They picked cotton near Kenute, then over by Bristow, for Uncle Emery. They farmed raising cotton, in Oklahoma 2 years, then came back to Colorado early enough in the spring that they were in a snow storm, with teams and wagons, as they moved back. They put in a crop there, then left Homer and dad to tend to that and the stock, while Lewis, Walt and Cub went to Idaho where they worked in spud harvest and in grain harvest and threshing. They worked in Idaho till almost Christmas, then went back home. He worked on the farm, (was the "mainstay") until he married on April 16, 1930."
[Note that when they were in Oklahoma in 1924, Cub had to deal with a tragic situation. He was at his Aunt Cora's, and his Aunt Stella was there visiting. Stella had had a child out of wedlock some years before in about 1905 or 1906, so he was two or three years older than Cub. His name was Vernie Blue or Blyeu, and was Cub's 1st cousin. While Cub was in Oklahoma, Vernie and two of his buddies walked into a country store and stole tire patching material. The drunk lawman appeared on the scene. The boys got scared and ran for the brush. The lawman shot at them and missed the other two, but got Vernie in the head. Cub came upon the scene and saw his cousin lying in a pool of blood. When he headed toward him, the lawman hollered for him to stop. Always ready to help those who were being treated unfairly, Cub ignored the lawman and risked his own life to drag his cousin into the shade.
[He went to fetch his grandpa, Louis Cass Britton, who was then living at Cora's. Louis, a former sheriff himself, was prepared to shoot the lawman, but a friend talked him out of it saying, "Don't do it Louis. You'll just get yourself in trouble." They loaded the poor boy up in the wagon and headed for town to get him medical attention, but he died on the way. I'm sure the memory of this event was not soon forgotten by Cub, or by any others that were there.
[Stella was married by then, to a man by the name of Sherman Franklyn Lynes. Sherman was, in Ellen's words "a little scary to look at, because he was blind in one eye, that had been shot out during the Civil War. The bullet went clear through his head, but, as his brother-in-law, William Isaac Britton said, 'Nothing was in there anyway.' Sherman stole a team, then traded them for a car, and then moved to California. I assume with Stella and any children they might have had." I don't know when this occurred. However, surely Cub was around the man while he was there in 1924.]
[Ellen also wrote, "The summer of 1924, when Cub was 16, was a dry year, so very little crop. that fall they moved to Oklahoma. They picked cotton near Kenute, then over by Bristow, for Uncle Emery. They farmed raising cotton, in Oklahoma 2 years, then came back to Colorado early enough in the spring that they were in a snow storm, with teams and wagons, as they moved back. They put in a crop there, then left Homer and dad to tend to that and the stock, while Lewis, Walt and Cub went to Idaho where they worked in spud harvest and in grain harvest and threshing. They worked in Idaho till almost Christmas, then went back home. He worked on the farm, (was the "mainstay") until he married on April 16, 1930."
[Note that when they were in Oklahoma in 1924, Cub had to deal with a tragic situation. He was at his Aunt Cora's, and his Aunt Stella was there visiting. Stella had had a child out of wedlock some years before in about 1905 or 1906, so he was two or three years older than Cub. His name was Vernie Blue or Blyeu, and was Cub's 1st cousin. While Cub was in Oklahoma, Vernie and two of his buddies walked into a country store and stole tire patching material. The drunk lawman appeared on the scene. The boys got scared and ran for the brush. The lawman shot at them and missed the other two, but got Vernie in the head. Cub came upon the scene and saw his cousin lying in a pool of blood. When he headed toward him, the lawman hollered for him to stop. Always ready to help those who were being treated unfairly, Cub ignored the lawman and risked his own life to drag his cousin into the shade.
[He went to fetch his grandpa, Louis Cass Britton, who was then living at Cora's. Louis, a former sheriff himself, was prepared to shoot the lawman, but a friend talked him out of it saying, "Don't do it Louis. You'll just get yourself in trouble." They loaded the poor boy up in the wagon and headed for town to get him medical attention, but he died on the way. I'm sure the memory of this event was not soon forgotten by Cub, or by any others that were there.
[Stella was married by then, to a man by the name of Sherman Franklyn Lynes. Sherman was, in Ellen's words "a little scary to look at, because he was blind in one eye, that had been shot out during the Civil War. The bullet went clear through his head, but, as his brother-in-law, William Isaac Britton said, 'Nothing was in there anyway.' Sherman stole a team, then traded them for a car, and then moved to California. I assume with Stella and any children they might have had." I don't know when this occurred. However, surely Cub was around the man while he was there in 1924.]
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| Brothers, left to right: Homer, Lewis, Walt and Cub Britton Shared by Ellen Britton |
One year Cub, Walt and Lewis went to Idaho for spud harvest. That is also very hard work, especially for tall people, like Cub was. Spuds were picked up by hand then, of course. On the way up there, the old Model T got to making a noise, not running quite right, so they drove off at the side of the road and tipped it up on its side, so they could work on it without crawling under it. While they were working on it, someone came along and stopped and asked if there was anyone hurt in the wreck, of course, not knowing why it was on it's side. While they were in Idaho, some of the men decided to go over to the Snake River, I think and go swimming. On the way over there, someone asked Cub if he could swim. He said, “Oh, a little bit.” When they got there, where they stopped, there was a big rock reaching out into the river. Cub made a run and then dived off of the rock. He said just before he went under the water, he heard one of the men yell, “Hey, that's deep, you fool.” Of course he had known it was deep, but he was a good swimmer.
[In another, much shorter write up about Cub's life, Ellen recalled, "He has been a very devoted husband and father, and then grandfather. He thinks there are just no kids like his grandkids." She also told my sister, Kathy, that Cub would defend Ellen no matter what, even if she was in the wrong, because she was his wife. My father said that Grandpa called his boys Peanuts and his girls Toots. This is also what his grandfather, Louis Cass Britton, called his grandkids, so Cub was probably called this. Perhaps he was fond of the nickname and chose to pass it along to his own descendants.]
[In another, much shorter write up about Cub's life, Ellen recalled, "He has been a very devoted husband and father, and then grandfather. He thinks there are just no kids like his grandkids." She also told my sister, Kathy, that Cub would defend Ellen no matter what, even if she was in the wrong, because she was his wife. My father said that Grandpa called his boys Peanuts and his girls Toots. This is also what his grandfather, Louis Cass Britton, called his grandkids, so Cub was probably called this. Perhaps he was fond of the nickname and chose to pass it along to his own descendants.]
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| Courtesy of Ellen Britton Cub would have been 31 years old in this picture. |
Just to add a bit of background to the life story that Grandma wrote about Cub, I would like to contribute some additional information. Cub was born 14 Apr 1908 near Viola, Williams Township, Stone County, Missouri. His Britton ancestors had come to Missouri from Georgia in 1805, shortly after the Louisiana Purchase. His Lightle ancestors were, as far as I understand, of Irish descent. They came to Virginia before 1790, and then to Ohio before 1809. His maternal grandmother, Nancy Lucinda Brewer (1848-1925) was from Kentucky, and her Brewer ancestors came to Jamestowne, Virginia, possibly by 1616, and eventually migrated to North Carolina, Georgia and other areas throughout The South.
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| Ellen, Violet, and Cub |
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| Hazel (standing), Ruth holding a sibling that is still living - Pinyon Ridge farm |
The following are a few random tidbits that I have been told over the years about my grandfather, Cub:
One of his sons said the following at Cub's funeral: "While in Washington, Daddy snuck out before daylight one morning and went deer hunting. Just as it was getting light, he saw up in a tree, what he thought was a cougar. He made a mad dash for home. Jumped a log or fence, hung his toe, fell, and broke the stock out of the rifle. Later in the day, Uncle Lewis and Daddy went back to see and it was a big bird nest up in a tree. About that same time, Daddy would have been 8 or 9 years old, they rode a horse over the end of a mountain to the little town where they got their mail, once or twice a month. On one such a trip, Daddy was going by himself, riding bareback, and there was snow on the ground, when in the trail ahead, a big white timber wolf appeared. His horse stopped dead, and shook like a leaf until such time as Mr. Wolf walked off into the timber and disappeard. Daddy said he expected the horse to bolt at any moment, and he didn't want to be left sitting in the trail to be made a lunch of. So he held on tight...
"Daddy was in charge of getting the work stock in each morning during the farming seasn, as he was the best rider in the family. He did enough hard riding bareback, and following a plow afoot, that his legs were strong enough, that he could squeeze a horse with his knees hard enough to make it grunt. They didn't have a saddle until Daddy was 16. At one point, Uncle Walt had a pair of mules that would run off while he was working them. they would run until they could straddle a tree or post, where they would very effectively leave the harness, machine, and Uncle Walt. The first time they did it with Daddy, he had a good strong halter on each, with a piece of chain between them. They ran off, straddled a cedar, and about knocked their brains out, when their heads came together on the far side of the tree."
One of Cub's favorite snacks back in Missouri were frog legs, from big bull frogs that had legs almost as large as a chicken's legs. My father and one of his brothers decided one day that they would catch some frogs as a treat for their dad. He can't remember whether they thought to kill the frogs before removing their legs and bringing them home, as the boys were rather young at the time. Cub must have found it amusing, and commented that the legs were hardly big enough to bother with, since they had capture regular frogs rather than bull frogs.
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| Cub and Ellen Britton Photo courtesy of Ellen |
His speech was sometimes colorful, but he was genuine and thoughtful. He was among the kindest of souls that ever walked this earth. He was a good, Christian man with a good heart. At his funeral, it was said of him that he was "a lifelong Bible student and loved nothing more than a good gospel discussion." My dad said that he never knew anyone that read the Bible as much as Grandpa did. I don't think he identified with any particular denomination. I remember hearing that he and Ellen attended random churches, whichever one they felt like at the time, gradually making their rounds to various ones in the area.
My father said that Cub only had an 8th grade education and seldom wrote letters. When he did, he really had to struggle and concentrate because he couldn't remember how to spell a lot of words. He often had to ask Ellen for spellings and for what words he should write in order to say what he was trying to say. Often, in the evenings, if the family was not visiting or busy with something, some of them would work out math problems for fun. Cub's father subscribed to a magazine that had problem solving in the back, and the solution to each problem in the following issue. Dad and his brother would also bring Algebra problems, etc. home from school and challenge Cub to solve them. Though he'd never taken such things in school, they never found a problem that Cub could not solve in his own way, with the well-used sense of logic he possessed.
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| Cub and Ellen, later in life This photo was sent to us by them, years ago. |
My father speaks of when Grandpa used to pretend he didn't know how to do something, just so that it would make Dad feel special and needed when he figured it out. Grandpa let my dad drive the team of horses from a very young age. I think he was about 4 years old. One time my dad decided to hitch up the team by himself, thinking he was big enough to do so, and have the wagon ready before Grandpa came outside. With great effort, Dad accomplished this, and even was able to get the rig turned around without hitting any stumps. Dad was afraid he might get in trouble, but figured it would be worth it. One of the horses was young still, and reared up. Dad swung the end of the lines over his head and slapped the horse on the rump. Come to find out Grandma and Grandpa were watching, scared to say anything for fear there would be a runaway. Surprisingly, the horse settled right down and Dad proceeded to turn the wagon around. Grandpa nonchalantly climbed up into the wagon. Dad tried to hand him the reins. Instead of taking them, Grandpa suggested that Dad continue to drive the team to where they were getting firewood, while he "rolled a smoke". This made Dad feel pretty grown up. That's just the kind of man that Grandpa was. He made people feel special and built their confidence, and was very easy going for the most part.
Grandpa died 29 Dec 1987 in Cortez, Montezuma County, Colorado at the age of 79 after suffering from Emphysema and a stroke. We went down to see him a while before he died. He had a hospital bed at home in the living room and had to be hooked up to oxygen; he also needed assistance to eat. But, even in such a trying state, he was pleasant and patient, and so thankful to see us. Grandpa was buried in the Summit Ridge Cemetery in Dolores, Colorado. Ellen was buried there about 12 years later. Both of them will be fondly remembered for many years to come.
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| Cub and Ellen in front of what was left of their cabin in the Durango, Colorado area Photo courtesy of Cub and Ellen |
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Festus and Matt on Gunsmoke
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I am not sure exactly when the following occurred, so I will just add this at the end here. The man who played Festus in the series, Gunsmoke, also lived in southeastern Colorado. My father said that Cub worked on a haying crew on what they knew as Mormon Mesa, which was south of Breen. Cub worked with this man, while there. This was before his acting career on the TV series. When Cub first saw him on Gunsmoke, as Matt Dillon's deputy, he instantly recognized him and said that he acted just the same in regular life. There was no acting really, in this case, as he only had to just be himself. My sister, Kathy, recalled being told that Cub said, "Hey! I know that guy! And he's not acting either. That's the way he was." She went on to explain that they had to keep the man away from the other guys, or he'd keep them all laughing and no work would get done.
Another point of interest is that Grandpa almost met the former outlaw, Jesse James! Now, some of you will say that this is impossible, for it is widely accepted that Jessie was shot and killed as a young man. However, this is false. The reason I say that is because the father of a neighbor of Grandpa's had a farm on which Jesse used to hide out, back when the gang would split up after a raid to avoid the law. This neighbor was a little at the time, but I guess Jesse kept acquainted with the boy's father, and later the boy when he was older. As the story goes, Jesse's "death" was staged, another man being killed in his stead. Jesse escaped into Canada and remained there until he was a very old man. Toward the end of his life, he ventured back into the States to visit old acquaintances, one of which was this neighbor of Grandpa's. Grandpa missed seeing Jesse James by only a few hours, when he went to go visit this same neighbor in Colorado!
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