Easter Memories

As I reflect upon this Easter Sunday, I can't help but remember those that have gone on before me. When I was young, my grandmother used to tell me wonderful stories of her childhood. She talked about growing up in church and living a "good life." She didn't just talk the talk, she walked the walk. Oh, she made mistakes, as we all do, but she loved God and was a faithful servant to Him. Of all the people I have known, I know she is in Heaven waiting for me.

I remember a conversation I had with my grandmother, back in the '80s. I thought she grew up Pentecostal, but she told me that she nor my grandfather had grown up Pentecostal. She had been Methodist and he was Lutheran, and when they got married they couldn't decide where to attend church. They compromised and joined the Pentecostal church. They raised their children in that faith and later, her grandchildren.

My fondest memory of Easter as a child, was my grandmother making pretty Easter dresses for my two sisters and me. We were close in age, and my grandmother would always make our dresses the same, with only one little thing different; maybe a little trim around the sleeves on one, around the hem on the other, and around the collar on the third. People would say we looked like triplets. I loved my new dress each year and it made me feel special.

Another memory I recall with fondness is the Easter egg hunts we had immediately following Easter church service. All the parents brought the boiled and dyed eggs to church and the Sunday school teachers usually hid them during the Church service. It was so fun to learn about Christ and Resurrection Sunday and then find the eggs that symbolized renewal and rebirth.

As I remember the Easters of my youth, I am filled with love. Love for my family, young and old, past and present. This Easter, I got the news that I am to be a grandmother again. This will be grandchild number nine and I am tickled pink! More love to go around.

(Not so) Wordless Wednesday - Clay Ford Visits Grandchildren

I'm posting old family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they won't be wordless posts like others do. 

Here is one of my favorite images from my collection:

 This picture was taken in 1994. My dad, Clay Ford, is spending time with his grandsons, Terry and Elisha. He would always sing songs and play with them like he did with my sisters and me when we were little. His favorite song to sing was "And the Green Grass Grew All Around." He would sing it until he became out of breath. The boys would always beg for that song when he came for a visit.

(Not so) Wordless Wednesday - Clay Ford - Air Force, circa 1955

I'm posting old family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they won't be wordless posts like others do - I simply am incapable of having a wordless post.

Here is one of my dad from my family collection:

I don't know much about this photo. Maybe some of you out there can help. My dad, Clay Ford, is on the left. This picture was taken about 1955-1957. Not sure where it was taken. Does anyone know who the two men are with him? 

Tombstone Tuesday - William Ezra Ford

William Ezra Ford was the son of Arthur Elisha Ford and Ethel Wickliffe Ford. He was born June 11, 1922 in Quinlan, Hunt County, Texas. He moved with his family to South Texas after his younger brother, Clayton Richard Ford died in 1941. 

William enlisted in the service on 09 Nov 1942. He was living in George West, Texas at the time. After only a few months, he became ill and was honorably discharged on 30 Oct 1943. He later became a truck driver. He was driving a rig through the Valley in South Texas, when his rig jackknifed and killed him instantly. His brother-in-law, Jimmy Elmer Green had been driving a rig behind him and witnessed the accident.  Although William never married, he was loved by all who met him. 

The military erroneously inscribed Exra instead of Ezra on the headstone and refused to fix the problem. He is buried in George West, Texas.

Census Sunday: Arthur Elisha Ford, 1930 Hunt County, Texas

It's Census Sunday - time to look in my digital image files to see what treasures I can find for my family history and genealogy musings.

The census today is the 1930 U.S. Census for my grandparents, Arthur Elisha Ford and Ethel (Wickliffe) Ford, in Quinlan, Hunt County, Texas:

Figure 1: The 1930 U.S. Census page for Hunt County, Texas featuring Elisa [Elisha] Ford and family.

The Arthur Elisha Ford family entry is:

Figure 2: Close-up snippet of the Elisha Ford family census entry on lines 32-35.

The extracted information for this census is:

• Elisa Ford: Head, 33, married (age 24 at first marriage), can read/write, farmer renting farm, born in Arkansas.
• Ethel Ford: Wife, 28, married (age 19 at first marriage), can read/write, keeping house, born in Arkansas, parents born in Missouri.
• Ezra W. Ford: Son, 7, single, in school, born in Texas, parents born in Arkansas.
• Daisy R. Ford: Daughter, 5, single, at home, born in Texas, parents born in Arkansas.

The citation for this census is:

1930 United States Census, Hunt County, Texas, population schedule, Justice Precinct #7, enumeration district (ED) 116-38, sheet 7A, line 32, dwelling 137, family #137, Elisa [Elisha] Ford household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 08 Aug 2012); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication T626, roll 2360.

(Not so) Wordless Wednesday - Visit With Dad, 2010

I'm posting old family photographs from my collection on Wednesdays, but they won't be wordless posts like others do. 

Here is one of my favorite images from my collection:

This photo is so very special to me. It is one of the last ones with my dad. This picture is of my sister, Lisa, my dad, and me. It was taken in June 2010 at a Chinese restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas, just two months after discovering he had pancreatic cancer. He passed away that August. I am deeply grateful for the time I had to visit with him and say good-bye. We are not always so fortunate to have that time with our loved ones before they pass away.

Census Sunday: Arthur Elisha Ford, 1940 Hunt County, Texas

It's Census Sunday - time to look in my digital image files to see what treasures I can find for my family history and genealogy musings.

The census today is the 1940 U.S. Census for my grandparents, Arthur Elisha Ford and Ethel (Wickliffe) Ford, in Quinlan, Hunt County, Texas:

Figure 1: The 1940 U.S. Census page for Quinlan, Hunt County, Texas, featuring the Arthur Elisha Ford household.

The Arthur Elisha Ford family entry:

Figure 2: Close-up snippet of the Arthur Elisha Ford family census entry on lines 18–24.

The extracted information from this census record is:

• Line 18: Renting for $4/month, not a farm.
• A. Elisha Ford: Head, 43, married, 4 years education, laborer, PW farm work.
• Ethel Ford: Wife, 36, seamstress for the WPA.
• Ezra Ford: Son, 16, 4 years education, new worker seeking employment.
• Dasie R. Ford: Daughter, 14, 5 years education, keeping house.
• Clay Ford (twin): Son, 5, born in Texas.
• Claton Ford (twin): Son, 5, born in Texas.

It appears that Arthur Elisha Ford gave the information for the census. I have found several errors in the census. Ethel left school in third grade to pick cotton in the fields. This information came from Ethel in an interview in 1985. Elisha and Ethel were both born in Arkansas, not Texas. This evidence comes from other census records found in Arkansas and from the interview with Ethel.

The citation for this census is:

1940 United States Census, Hunt County, Texas, population schedule, Quinlan, Justice Precinct #7, enumeration district (ED) 116-36, sheet 5A, dwelling 98, family #98, A, Eligh [Elisha] Ford household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 07 Apr 2013); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication T627, Roll 4072.