Raising Canes

 While at a family gathering, I noticed that my Aunt Mary and Uncle Ron both had old canes.

 Mary's cane, which is hand-carved was from her grandfather Thomas Henry Long.

 Her husband Bill said she left it in a shopping cart recently, and he had to go back to Walmart to retrieve it---I totally understand.

Her grandfather is seated on the left.  He died in 1940's so the cane is at least 70 years old.

Not to be outdone by his sister, Ron said his cane was from their father Roy Long.

I wish had photos of Roy and Thomas with their canes. . .I will keep looking.  But, this is grandpa about at the age when he would have used that cane.

I do have a photo of my other grandfather, Wes Wicker, with a cane on the far left of the photo.  He was injured as a young man in a horse riding accident and walked with a cane on and off for the rest of his life.

Mother used her father's cane, and we inherited it from her.

That cane meant a lot to her, too, but she put an address label on it so she'd be sure to get it back. . .maybe Aunt Mary should do that, too.

Macy's Children: Ruth and Wes

James Wesley Wicker (1898-1965) was the oldest of Macy's children and my grandfather. Ruth Agnes Hall Ezell (1908-1989) was always his baby sister (Georgia was born after he'd left home) whom he loved very much.
I had a special relationship with Ruth because she had a daughter, Kay, who was my age. So, I often went with my grandparents visiting Ruth and Everette in Memphis.
Ruth and Everette were married in 1926 but had been together since 1918 when their parents married. They were step siblings before marrying and having four lovely daughters: Merlene, Ann, Dorthy and Kay.
They were often referred to as "Ruth's girls".

Several years ago, my brother, husband, parents and I met with the surviving "girls", their daughters, husband and granddaughter at IHOP in Memphis.
Kay Ezell Walters, Dorthy Ezell Dent, Louise Wicker Long, Ann Ezell Crook (with my Dad LeRoy Long peaking over them)
But, as Georgia notes in this letter---Ruth was very special to all of us. Some might say she was the best of them all. She was friendly, loving, kind and a good Baptist. . . .excepting when her big brother Wes visited. Ruth's daughter Kay confided in me, "The only time Mother allowed beer in the house was when Uncle Wes came to visit."
I have done several blogs on Grandpa---he was my Mr. Wonderful.
We lived next door so I had plenty of opportunities to get to know my grandparents often choosing to stay with them for dinner rather than going home.
My mother once told me that the grandfather I adored was not the same man who was her father. Click here for Mother's memories.
It is amazing how a few years of maturity, a comfortable home can turn a stern father into a very loving grandfather.
The reason I started this series of blogs was to show other distant relatives how small the Williams family members were. But, with them always photographed with each other, it was hard to see. This photo is my grandfather James Wesley Wicker with my dad LeRoy Long and his father Roy Long

Valentines from Grandparents

This Valentine, from the 1940's, is from my grandparents Roy Long and Vivian Maupin Long.
It just reminds me of the art in so many books of my childhood and uses the slang of that era.
This Valentine is also from my Long Grandparents: Roy and Lena Long. Vivian had died and Roy had re-married Lena who was the grandmother most of us remember. They sent this to me while I was in college in 1964. So, Lena included a letter:
In the letter, she relates that they'd been to my mother and dad's house where Grandpa Wicker (whose wife Vennie had died) had brought his "Lady friend". The Longs had been invited to the wedding March 7 and "we are sure going hope your mother have tould you about this."
She then says, "Know you would like her. I think it wonderful for both of them. . .I know it hurts your mother for someone to take her mother's place but it is hard to understand till you get in a place like that. I know how it was with me, but Mother was taking it real good."
This Valentine is from my Grandpa Wicker inviting me to his wedding on March 7th. Note that he says, "Are you proud to get another grandma. . . you will just love her Jannie does and I know you will too."

Well, Janie may have loved her, but Mother never did really "take to" Mae, my grandfather's second wife. It's funny because Dave's dad, Grover was a widower for almost 20 years---I think we would have welcomed a second wife because we hated that he seemed so lonely, but he wouldn't even consider it. I think men often remarried years ago because they didn't know how to cook, clean, do laundry just as the women didn't know how to write checks or pump gas. But, today, we've learned to share household jobs and it seems less important to re-marry. . . and yet with this independence, the companionship is missing.

So, this is a Valentine to my step-grandmothers who provided my grandfathers with love and companionship (and meals) even though the grown children might not have appreciated them at the time. Thanks Lena and Mae.

Searching for Wicker Roots, Part One

Wes Wicker and Vennie Watson Wicker, 1920's

My mother grew up with two young parents who didn't know much about their family history. Vennie's father died when she was very young and Wes's died before he was born---both from horse-back riding accidents. So, my bicentennial birthday gift for my mother Louise Wicker Long was some information about her family.

First, I wrote letters to family members to try to get some information (double click to read Peck's notes, then use the back arrow to return).

Then, we took our young daughter Rebecca to Mom's house for a few days, told her we were going on our "second honeymoon" but didn't really tell Mom where we were going---to Hornersville, Mo, Obion County, Tennessee and Hickman County, Kentucky to find her roots.

In Hornersville, we interviewed Peck Wicker (of Bar-B-Q Fame, above)and then headed to the courthouse in Obion County. Peck had told us his father was one of three brothers: Con (Hugh Cornelius), Johnny B.(John Bedford), and Walker (Marion Walker) Wicker who were born in Missouri. I later found out they had a sister, too. Click here for more photos and information about them.

Hugh Cornelius, Marion Walker, Francis, Jasper and John Bedford were all the children of John W. Wicker and Virginia Sampson. Click here for a blog and photos. Obion County, Tennessee had two Wicker families: John and Naomi Wicker who didn't live too far from Hugh M. and Sarah Wicker. The hard part was their children often had the same or similar names. (Two with the names John W., Sarah, William, Mary) The two deeds above are for J.W.Wicker. I'm sure the second one is our family because it mentions his siblings and their spouses' names, but I don't know about the first one. Below shows the marriages of the Wicker children in Obion County. As you can tell by the page numbers, they were all within about 20 years.
I spent hours trying to figure out who was who. I finally concluded with the help of the census that we belonged to Hugh and Sarah Wicker's family. After Hugh Wicker's death all of his children moved to Missouri and that helped me separate the two families. Click here for the blog about this. So, I had the Wicker family traced back to Hugh M. Wicker, but there I was stuck. The 1860 Census was the source of a lot of confusion. The census taker had poor handwriting and only used initials. My notes indicate that he was born in NORTH Carolina. But, the 1850 census is the one which has caused the most headaches. In that Lincoln County Tennessee census, the census taker wrote that Hugh M. Wicker was born in SOUTH Carolina which in Wicker World is a big deal. I felt pretty sure the two Wicker families in Lincoln County and Obion County Tennessee were brothers because the names of their children were so similar and they lived close to each other, but I couldn't prove it.
This began 10 years of letter writing to Wickers everywhere. I learned that there were two Wicker families---some from North Carolina and some from South Carolina.
I learned that a book was being written about the Wickers but R. Fenton Wicker believed we were Newberry Wickers because of that ONE census. I bought a "rough draft" of the book for $10, tried to convince Fenton that we belonged there, but with no real proof. .. . When he didn't include us in the final copy, I didn't buy the book.
Note on the family tree above, I have a dotted line for Hugh where I thought he should be. Also, note the name Ambrose. I was so convinced that we belonged there that when we went to England in 1987, we visited where the North Carolina Wicker's ancestors were from.

Louise's memories: her early years

The photo above clockwise beginning left: Clara Hall, Macy Williams Wicker Hall (Louise Wicker Long's grandmother), James Wesley Wicker (Louise's father), Obie Hall, Ruth Hall, George Henry Hall.

No one seems to know why my grandmother Vennie Watson Wicker went to Hornersville to live with Maggie Williams (wife of Luther Williams). Helen, Maggie's daughter, said, "Mom just heard that your grandmother was living with someone down at Coldwater." So, we don't know how Maggie knew Vennie. But, my grandparents (Vennie and Wes) met while living at Maggie's house. Her family has remained close to ours even now.

After mother was born, Vennie and Wes were "sent" to Arkansas to keep Wes out of trouble. Some of Macy's family were not a good influence on Wes, so Vennie, Wes and Mom (Louise Wicker Long) moved to Arkansas around 1921.
It was there, they met the Everette Family: Big Mama, Big Daddy (neither were 5' tall), Pearl, Molly, Annie and "Brother".

Annie, Wes Wicker, Vennie and Louise Wicker, Molly @1923

Annie and Jim Spence, Vennie and Louise Wicker
Pearl and Louise Wicker

Although most of Mother's friends went to Memphis after high school, Mother came to St. Louis because the Everettes were all up here. My grandparents also moved up to St. Louis after my parents were married.Back row: Wes Wicker, Jim Spence, Bud Hughes Front row: Vennie Wicker, Pearl Hughes, Annie Spence (St. Louis, 1950's)
Jane and I (pictured above with Barbara, "Brother's" daughter, and Big Daddy) also grew up with the Everettes. I can even remember getting in a fight with Barbara over her aunts and grandparents. I insisted they were my aunts and grandparents, too. I, often, stayed with each of them several days at a time. Annie and Jim had a small house in Wellston, Pearl and her parents lived in Richmond Heights on Hoover, Mollie and Henry Haverstick lived in an apartment across the street from the zoo. They were wonderful, loving people. It's a shame that Barbara was the only grandchild---if you didn't count me, Jane, Mom and Billie (Mom's sister)!

Wes Wicker--fisherman

Last week when we were in Alabama, we saw fishermen everywhere--for some it was a family event that reminded me of the times I went fishing with my grandfather Wes Wicker. Although I don't have a photo of me and Grandpa fishing, here's one of my grandmother who accompanied him on many fishing trips to Bull Shoals, Table Rock Lake, Lake Wappapello, Kentucky Lake.
I went with him frequently on "local" fishing trips---sometime just across the river in Illinois, sometimes ponds on a farm. I don't think my mother ever let me go fishing on the river with him. I can't imagine why he would take me---I talked and asked questions all of the time---so, it couldn't have been relaxing or peaceful. But, he did take me and called me his "Fishing Buddy"---I cherish those times.
I'm not sure who the gentleman on the left is. It's clear that Grandpa caught "a mess of fish." But I did find these cards in his wallet and wonder if there were times he just stopped by a fish market when the fish weren't biting.
When we were in Alabama, we noticed a sign that said "Salt Water Fishing License Required". It hadn't occurred to us that there would be a difference. Here are Grandpa's last fishing license---frankly I think he fudged on the height and weight just a little.