Amanda Reiter

June 1904 "Sister Amanda Ingalls called for letter from Bethlehem Church which was granted.  Also Ada Robinson called for letter which was granted.  The Clerk was ordered to write same.  Meeting then elected delegates to attend Jefferson County Baptist Association as follows:  Bro. James G. McCulloch, J.P. McKay and George W. Harrison. . ." Bro. E.J. Hemrick, Moderator; George W. Harrison, Church Clerk.

Amanda Reiter Ingalls is one of the women right above the fence post in the group photo.  She was also one of my great-grandmother's sisters.  I am not sure why they left Bethlehem Baptist Church where my great grandmother, one sister and two brothers and her parents are buried.  But, she did leave an infant daughter behind in Bethlehem Cemetery--Rowena.  For more information on the Ingalls' Family and photos of their children, click here. Amanda's granddaughter has since contacted me and sent this photo of Amanda and her daughter Gertrude from about the 1920's.  For the information Marge sent me, click here.

Annie Reiter

 Annie Reiter Phenty (1876-1935)

Annie Reiter Phenty was one of my great-grandmother's (Mary Celecy Reiter Long) sisters.  Annie married rather late in life at 35 (1911) to Vincenty Phenty and had no children. Her sister Elizabeth (Betty) Reiter had held an office at Bethlehem Baptist as had her brother Louis H. Reiter (Clerk and Collector) before he left for Montana (see below)

 July 1903 ". . .Historical Committee not ready to report. 4th L. H. Reiter and wife called from letters for our Bethlehem Church which was granted. . . ."

But, I was a little surprised to see that Annie Josephine Reiter had also been elected to an office.   By all accounts "she was wierd" "she was odd".  Although her nieces and nephew might not have appreciated all of her qualities, I was very pleased to see that she was recognized and appreciated by her church.

 Aug. 1903 ". . .1st Church proceeded to elect pastor for ensuing year which resulted in re-electing E. J. Hemrick. 2nd. by motion Sister Annie Reiter [photo at the top of the page] and Bro. W.W. Powers was appointed Solicitors. . ." E.J. Hemrick mod. Geo. W. Harrison CC

Bethlehem Baptist

I was able to photograph all of these wonderful documents from Bethlehem Baptist Church near Grubville, Mo. BUT, they were taking over my family blog.  Pictured below are cousins Rick and  Ada who had located the documents.  The pages were all in a box with some pages missing and disintegrated and some written in pencil so very hard to read.  But, we feel fortunate to have located documents from about 80 years of the church's history.

Granted, I was related to someone on all of the posts, but I've now created a whole new blog just for the Bethlehem Baptist Church.   I will still have some information here, but they will have information on one of my ancestors or their siblings.

Double click on this if you want to enlarge it.

p. 28
Nov. 1900 Sat before second Sunday in Nov. Church was in regular session after sermon by Pastor.  Door of church was opened for membership.  None rec'd.  L. H. Reiter appointed Clerk Protem.  Minutes of October read and approved on motion church agree to pay Pastor $75 for ensuing year.  L. H. Reiter and Anna McKay appointed to collector.  Church adjorned to meet on Sat. before second Sun in Dec.
N. M. Pierce, Mod; L. H. Reiter Clerk Protem.

L. H. Reiter was probably Louis H. Reiter, my great-grandmother's (Mary Reiter Long) brother and not her father who was also Louis (Lewis, Ludwig) Reiter.

Sometime between 1900 and 1920, Louis and his family relocated to Montana. For more information about his family, click here.

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

Macy's Children: Clara and Obie

Obie Palmer Hall (1906-1971) and Clara Belle Hall Stephens (1902-1982) pictured above were probably the most reserved of Macy Williams' children. Click here to see more photos of them as children.

(Obie and Georgia, his sister)

Obie was a Pentecostal preacher who came to St. Louis for revivals at least once a year. Although he and his brother Ray were both preachers about the best I can say about my grandfather (below) and Georgia (above) is that they attended church. They laughed that they were the "black sheep" in the family, but we all loved them despite their flaws.(Obie Hall with his brother Wes Wicker in St. Louis)

At Christmas, my sister and I recall Obie always giving us "books" of Lifesaver candies. Even today, I see them and think of Obie. He was so calm and warm---I loved when he visited and wanted to go to his revivals, but Mother never took me. My sister Jane remembers,"Uncle Obie was my favorite. He would write me letters all the time. He would send me a dollar or so for my birthday. He was such a small man. I love his smile. He always seemed happy"

(Obie with Mother, Louise Wicker Long)

Many years later Mother told me she wouldn't take me to Obie's revivals because she thought a revival would frighten me who was more accustomed to a serene Methodist worship experience. Obie lived in Rock Island or Moline, Illinois just up the Mississippi from St. Louis (at the border of Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin). Although he and his wife Wanda Morgan Hall had 7 children, only three lived to maturity: Joseph Clenno Hall, Alice Hall Washburn and Titus Obie Hall.(L-R: Louise Wicker Long, James Wesley Wicker, Naomi Ruth Hall, me, Obie Palmer Hall)

Here is a photo of myself as a baby with Naomi who died at about 16 years old of kidney disease if I am not mistaken. Alice and I corresponded with genealogy for many years before her death. Titus, in his later years, was a frequent visitor at Mother and Dad's after his military retirement. But, I never met Joe.

Clara and Obie in late 1940's or early 1950's

The two eldest in the family: Clara and James Wesley Wicker, my grandfather.

Clara lived in Michigan, so we didn't see her often. I can recall only meeting her one time. She never talked much about her family and when I asked her for information, she said, "I never knew much about my family tree and I have forgotten all I ever knew. And I don't know why you. . .want to trace it, but you may find out a lot of things you had rather not know. Hope all are well and enjoying your life. God Bless you."
Her niece Alice wrote, "She told me when she was a little girl she could not walk.  It wasn't that she didn't know how to walk, she had a rare blood disease that would not allow her to stand on her feet without terrific pain.  She used to use a high back chair to rest a knee and hop the chair around the house. . .The family farmed a few years then moved to Detroit, Michigan.  They bought their home and Aunt Clara's backyard was fence to fence flowers.  She had roses of every hue.  Her bird bath was a whit porcelain bathtub sunk in the ground. . .Aunt Clara worked as a seamstress in a local laundry and dry cleaning business. .."

Clara had 4 sons (Fred P. Stephens, Charles H. Stephens, Jimmie F. Stephens, Billy Ray Stephens) and one daughter---Bertie Lee pictured above with her aunts Georgia and Vennie and below at Clara's 80th birthday party (Bingo)