Milton Long

I don't really have many stories about these great-great grandparents---Milton Long and Catherine Brown Long. One story that I recall was my dad's uncles saying how much he looked like their grandfather Milton. I always thought dad looked like their father, but they insisted he looked more like their grandfather and I can actually see it, now. (Double-click on any of the documents to see more clearly---use the back arrow to come back)

While going through my files looking for something on Milton, I found this from the Pierce Mothershead web site showing what happened to Milton and his siblings when their parents died.The 1850 census confirms that Milton was living with the Pounds family (along with some Mothersheads).

Louise Wicker Long ID crisis--- Post 9-11

Every thing went fine with Mom's identification until 9-11. With the Homeland Security Act, a person needed more than just an affadavit from her mother and an inaccurate birth certificate. Mother started worrying about how she was going to re-new her driver's license which didn't match the name or birth date on her birth certificate. So, she decided to hire a lawyer to correct her birth certificate. She got new documents in addition to the ones she had had. She now had documents from cousins to add to her portfolio of proving who she was. Notice she had her name listed as "Louise Alice".

Her cousin Verna McCaleb was 93 and had had a similar problem (her mother was Mary Ann Williams b.Oct 1891 Tennessee, one of the James B Williams kids---so, I think Verna was really my grandfather's first cousin).Verna says "It took me almost a year getting mine corrected. . .what I hated most I had to go to court and pay a lawyer to prove I was living. Silly, but I had to do it. The Dr. and My Dad both must have been drunk. "
Undoubtedly they had the same doctor---there weren't that many in the bootheel of Missouri in the early 1900's. When I saw the name, I laughed. So, mine isn't the only family that has a long history of substance abuse. And, yes, that's the same Limbaugh family---probably a great uncle of Rush.
Mom thought she was finally going to have it all settled after 80 years of inaccuracy when. . . the lawyer died. You would have thought he did it to spite her. She fretted that she would not be able to re-new her driver's license---there were lots of stories of people being denied because the license information didn't match the birth certificates. As I was re-newing mine, I noticed that she could get a passport with the documents she had. So, we got her a passport which matched perfectly with her driver's license and she was able to re-new her driver's license. It was cheaper than hiring another lawyer (that she was afraid would die). I think by this time she had thought getting an accurate birth certificate was jinxed---maybe she was right, but we got around it.

Louise Wicker Long Identity Crisis 1970's

In the 1970's Mom needed to "get her Social Security in order". I think she needed a new card but also knew she would need a birth certificate to claim Social Security in the future. Mother had never had a birth certificate, but had carried this affidavit (above) all of these years.
So, Mother sent off for her birth certificate. Although she went by the name Louise, her name "at birth" was "Alice Louise". (See above)The state returned her money and said it wasn't on file. She tried again driving to Jefferson City, but still they couldn't find her birth certificate. Finally, she contacted her state representative (whom she'd known since the 1940's) to see if he could "pull some strings." He was able to locate her birth certificate, but it had two problems---first, there was no name other than "Baby Girl"; second the birthdate was wrong.
Mother found out she could correct one thing on her birth certificate, but to correct two things would require a lawyer. Even to correct her name, she needed to get certain documents.
First, she needed a certified copy of the census.
Then she needed school records---check
and check.
Finally, she needed an affidavit from a relative who was alive when she was born---her aunt Ruth Williams Ezell and her uncle James Ezell. They also told her that the reason she had no name was my grandparents were fighting over her name. Grandpa wanted to name her Catherine and Grandma would not have it----that was his old girlfriend's name. The only explanation Ruth could give on the birthdate being wrong, was that the doctor was a lazy drunk who had failed to register the birth. So, to save his butt, he made the date July 20.
So, she had her birth certificate corrected with the name---she didn't think the birthdate was that important. Actually, several members of the family preferred July 20 because July 1 was too soon in the month. But, for the rest of her life, individuals referred to her inaccurate birth certificate---if a birthday card was late, "Well, no one really knows when your birthday is anyway."
It's unfortunate that someone chose to put "Alice Louise" on her birth certificate---the documents she submitted clearly indicated she went by Louise, but I think Mom wanted it to match with Social Security so there would be "no problem." Guess again---the same situation happened again after 2001!

Fry Genealogy

Thanks to Suzy and Buddy Fry for bringing this information to the reunion last week. Double click on the pages below in order to enlarge them. This first page begins with William Fry b. 1528 in Corston, Wiltshire England and 12 generations later there's Isaac Henry Fry b. 1877 in Peterstown, WV.

Elderberry Wine, Dried Peach Wine and Blackberry Wine

For a prominent Baptist family, I was a little surprised to see these recipes---on G.H. Alderson's letterhead, no less. I've transcribed some of these in case you have 2 lbs. of dried peaches or 8 qts. of Elderberries that you don't know what to do with. Thank you Buddy and Suzy for sharing these recipes.

Elderberry Wine
8 qt. berries, 4 qts. boiling water poured over the berries. Let stand 12 hours stirring occasionally then strain well pressing out all the juice. Add 3 lb. sugar and 4 qt. juice, 1 oz powdered cinnamon 1/4 oz. powdered cloves. Boil 5 min. and set away to ferment in stone jar with cloth thrown over it. When done fermenting, rack off carefully as not to disturb the lees (?lus?). Bottle and cork well.

Dried Peach Wine
2lbs. dried peaches, pour 4 gallon of hot water over them, add 5 lb. sugar and 1 yeast cake, stir well and ferment in a stone jar. When through working, rack off into clean bottles or jars and cork for 10 days before using.

Blackberry Wine
Add 1 qt boiling water to each gallon mashed berries. Let stand 24 hours stirring occasionally, train and add 2 lbs. sugar to each gallon. Cork tightly pressing cork in cask tighten each few days until tight. Then let stand till Oct. then bottle.