The Life of Me: An Autobiography

nts reared nine chil

lf brother to the o

, second was my fath

lived and thrived

have dozens

were ranchers and owned a bunch of cattle. Some 20 years later we find the family in Concho County

others on their ranch. I have heard Papa tell of breaking saddle

ns drove their cattle to Indian Territory, (Oklahoma) looking for grass in

neighbor boy to go with him back to their place in Texas to bring an

, so he saddled his horse and slipped away back to Melvin's ranch, to be with his brother Joe. He said he got tired of riding but not nearly as tired as his horse. The journey was about 300 miles. He was on the trail three da

was born the family lived in Larue County, Kentucky, near Hodgensville. Their farm joined the Lincoln farm. She and Abraham Lincoln drew water from the same

rted to school at age seven. When she was nine they moved back to their old home place in Kentucky. Again, when she was

leaving Texas where the weather turned dry and the grass became scarce and the Johnsons drove th

were busy at things other than sitting around watching cattle grow. Andrew had married

is is where a schoolteaching cowboy named Will met a country farmer's daughter named Emma Lee. This is where the falling

and to buy. He found what he wanted and bought 1,000 acres of unimproved land in Jones Cou

two grandchildren. Will and Emma had a son, Frank, six weeks old. Andrew and Mary had a daughter, Ruth, only three weeks old. Some thought that

th if it had not been for Frank in her lap to help keep her warm. The tri

med one year in Fisher County. Much of the well water in that county tastes so strongly of gypsum that people have to haul their drinking water from the bette

u are still about

tell when we

rs hauling water in

had to haul water

idn't have to haul it so far. The flood

unty. They tell me that Ed, one of the younger boys,

d Will were the first ones to buy their portions of 100 acres ea

g build a two-story house on Grandpa's portion of the land. The house

They used the dugout for a kitchen and storm cell

pa's house. It is still standing also. Since that time some of the Johnson boys and girls have bought and sold and swap

a farm in Jones County, a mile northeast of Neinda, and farmed the

e is where we used to live." Year after year as the old dugout deteriorated and began caving in, we still went by it on our way to church and there was a

ork driving back and forth, building a house, clearing some of the land, and building fences on

cows, hogs, horses, poultry, a hack, buggy, harness, and other things. And the family continued to grow. George was born in 1900 and a daughter in 1901. George lived 26 months and died with the croup. The daughter lived only two weeks. Earl was b

ent but they came back with what I have always thought was a "far out" name, Clarence Edgar, and they pinned it on me. I was born January 11, 1906, in Jones County, West Texas, in the middle of a large family. Frank was eight years old when I was born, Susie was se

nd William Robert was born at the second farm. I know Ollie Mae was born sometime in between those two boys, but I don't kn

id Grandpa for the farm was the ha

e by for a young coup

to Dallas County, Texas, then again to Grayson County, then back

200 acres in the farm, and these two kids had four years in which to explore the meadows, the hills, the streams, and the woodlands. There were three springs of water, acres and acres of

r I was a grown man, she told in detail how she and Hugh had roamed together over the old farm during those four years, how th

ome but he was older than Emma and too busy at other things to be interested in that kid stuff. No wonde

ere living in Kentucky, Texas, or Oklahoma when he got shot. When I heard how Hugh had died, I was old enough to know about Kentucky moonshine

ad gotten his pay and was riding home when a

y I had ev

blacks held hands and formed a human chain across the road to keep Henry from coming by. But Henry whipped up his horses and dro

u might include clabber if you like. But then, clabber was more of an "eat" than a drink. Soda pop was for the wealthy and foolhardy, and coffee was not permitted for t

ng of sin and dishonor. Whiskey without drunkenness was impro

However, there was always a jug of it under her father's bed-for medical use only. An

fond of whiskey. As he lay in bed, a few friends and kinfolks stopped by t

one time made the man forget he was sick on disease and it mad

y, Mama's people lived so far away

to Duncan one time to visit some of them. It seems that the trip wa

abbits and prairie dogs they had for pets. They were running all over the place. I suppose it was Uncle Henry's plac

her, Will, a time or two; I'm not sure. But He

couple of times after I was married. Then, when I was attending college in Arkansas, my wife

k. The book was similar to a ledger, about seven inches wide and ten inches long, with a flexible cover. In the

in Oklahoma. When he heard a song he liked, he would write the words in his book o

n-law-to-be-who gave him trouble at times. One time she got mad at him for

make a 400 mile round trip in a covered wagon just to return a borrowed book. So he didn't return it right away. He put it

ok the book from the old trunk and asked me to

re is a copy of them filed away at the

n the Oklahoma land rush. That took place in 1889,

assed away in Oklahoma in 1912. She suffe

but he passed away while we were living on the Exum place, and we moved from there in 1917. He seemed quit

tside chores to be done. We kids were glad to have him help us do them.

e lived only a half-mile away; we grew up with her. But I guess we hadn't

idn't take much to feed him. We raised almost everything we ate and he brought plenty of clothing with

He had a room and a bed of his own in our home and he soon

one had noticed him out anywhere. This was unusual for Grandpa. He was usually there on time for meals so the rest of us wouldn't h

er. As Mama and Papa opened the door to his room, there he was, still in bed, still asle

in his best suit. Some men went to the graveyard and dug a grave. Others went to tell the preache

k we drove him to the Neinda graveyard where the preacher and other friends were

t in the west room of our home, the room usually referred to as "the boys room." We boys were getting out of bed and getting dressed when Frank said, "Well, Grandpa's in heaven by now." That was all he said. That was enough. After that, an air of reverence filled

er's people. But as I began digging into census records, I soon found that Grandma Gaddie had a first cousin by the name of