Family history:
The Granville and Edna (Bennett) Durham farm was adjacent, corner-to-corner, and southwest of the Abraham and Isabell Bennett farm (from the map the Durham farm appears to be the SE¼ SW fractional ¼ of Sec 11, Twp. 25, Rng. 34, perhaps 20 acres. LSA). In 1989 the common property corner was marked by a large rock cornerstone, but it is not known if it was original. Both the Durham and Bennett houses are gone. The Durham home was destroyed by fire. Their home site was in a clearing on a level area with cedar trees planted by the Durhams still surviving. Down the hill perhaps a quarter of a mile is the Durham well. It is hand-dug with a masonry wall above ground, and still survived in 1989. The Durham children drew buckets of water for the livestock, filling a trough hewn from a log. They also carried all the needed water up the hill to their home, a fairly arduous trek. During the hot summer, butter and cream was kept from spoiling by tying it to the end of a rope and lowering it into the cold well water. Both the Bennetts and Durhams probably raised similar fruit and vegetable crops, and marketed the excess. Some dried beans were sold to a local cannery.
The two families were very close in every way. They attended the nearby Bethel Baptist Church, about a 30 minutes drive in the wagon. They went to church every Sunday, and Grant was a Deacon. Thelma (Durham) Bailey's family went to church with her grandparents Grant and Edna, and she would ride home with her Grandpa Grant in the wagon in which they all went to church. He let her drive the wagon, and "you felt every rock the wheels went over". Thelma's father, Albert, had a car, and he took her Grandma and the other girls on home in it to get dinner started. All of the Durham children went to Huber Center School, walking the three miles each way in all sorts of weather, carrying their lunch in a metal bucket.
Thelma remembers Edna Bennett Durham as "the perfect grandmother, who could do no wrong". She was a good homemaker, who cooked on the wood stove, and ironed clothes with the old type of iron that was heated on the stove. She and her daughters quilted a lot, and "made perfect stitches". Edna kept an immaculate house. They had a regular schedule for housekeeping chores: one day was for taking the mattresses out for beating on the line, another for washing, etc. Everyone loved Edna and always enjoyed visiting their family. Thelma recalls her peeling pears from her orchard, and giving her all that she could eat. Edna died May 6, 1936 of Bright's disease, a now-obsolete term for kidney disease or nephritis. Sometime after Edna died, Grant and his family moved to Carl Junction, northwest of Joplin, MO.
Granville "Grant" Durham was a quiet, reserved, hard-working person. He enjoyed the children and grandchildren, who sat on his lap and loved his stories about the "old days". He worked on the farm from dawn until dusk every day, raised hogs, chickens, likely some cattle, had an orchard and garden, and planted forage crops to feed the livestock.
Grant lived until age 92. He worked hard all his life, and even mowed his yard in Carl Junction, MO with a push-mower through the summer before he died. He made a garden until then too. But finally his body just "gave out". There was no infection or particular disease. He was in bed only a couple of weeks, and then died at home on Jan 15, 1960. The doctor came several times to check on him, but there was nothing that could be done.
The first two Durham children died very shortly after birth of unknown causes, and may not have been named. Ora Durham worked mainly as a cabinet-maker. His first wife, Olive Taylor Durham died when their daughter was two years old. He lived with his parents a couple of years until he married his second wife, Alice, who was a beauty shop operator. Ray Durham married a woman named Mabel, but he died very young, at almost age 27. They had no children. Lester Durham married Pearl Faye Miller, a sister of Ola Esther Miller, wife of Albert Durham. Thus two Durham brothers married two Miller sisters. The two families lived across the highway from each other and were very close. The children were double cousins. Lester had a big farm with lots of land and several implements, raised cattle and sprayed them regularly for parasites. He soon developed Hodgkin's Disease [a lymphoma cancer], diagnosed by an Army doctor, who thought it might have been caused by the sprays he used on the cattle. He died a couple of years later and after several weeks of hospitalization. Jessie Durham, another daughter of Grant and Edna, married Warren S. Miller, brother of Ola and Pearl. So three Durham children married three Miller children, something not that rare back then. Ina Durham never married; she stayed at home and took care of her father as long as he lived. She supported herself by ironing clothes for friends and neighbors in Carl Junction. Laura Durham married Glenn Dixon, who was a Baptist minister, and she was an outstanding pastor's wife, teaching Sunday School and Mission Ladies. She was a good housewife too, doing canning and other domestic things. Laura played the piano, and both of her daughters did also; they became school teachers. Ralph Durham died young, at about 1.5 years old. The last child was Hazel Durham, who married Clyde H. Dixon. She played the organ, and owns the beautiful pump organ that was used at Bethel Baptist Church when she was a small child. Since Clyde died, she has had a hard time. Their son, Archie, travels a lot in his work, and takes care of her now. She divides her time between his home near Tulsa, OK, and her home in Carl Junction, where she has a caretaker when she is home.
[The above is excerpted from my book, Family History of William Alford and Leona Houk Bennett, 2005. All rights reserved. LSA]
The Granville and Edna (Bennett) Durham farm was adjacent, corner-to-corner, and southwest of the Abraham and Isabell Bennett farm (from the map the Durham farm appears to be the SE¼ SW fractional ¼ of Sec 11, Twp. 25, Rng. 34, perhaps 20 acres. LSA). In 1989 the common property corner was marked by a large rock cornerstone, but it is not known if it was original. Both the Durham and Bennett houses are gone. The Durham home was destroyed by fire. Their home site was in a clearing on a level area with cedar trees planted by the Durhams still surviving. Down the hill perhaps a quarter of a mile is the Durham well. It is hand-dug with a masonry wall above ground, and still survived in 1989. The Durham children drew buckets of water for the livestock, filling a trough hewn from a log. They also carried all the needed water up the hill to their home, a fairly arduous trek. During the hot summer, butter and cream was kept from spoiling by tying it to the end of a rope and lowering it into the cold well water. Both the Bennetts and Durhams probably raised similar fruit and vegetable crops, and marketed the excess. Some dried beans were sold to a local cannery.
The two families were very close in every way. They attended the nearby Bethel Baptist Church, about a 30 minutes drive in the wagon. They went to church every Sunday, and Grant was a Deacon. Thelma (Durham) Bailey's family went to church with her grandparents Grant and Edna, and she would ride home with her Grandpa Grant in the wagon in which they all went to church. He let her drive the wagon, and "you felt every rock the wheels went over". Thelma's father, Albert, had a car, and he took her Grandma and the other girls on home in it to get dinner started. All of the Durham children went to Huber Center School, walking the three miles each way in all sorts of weather, carrying their lunch in a metal bucket.
Thelma remembers Edna Bennett Durham as "the perfect grandmother, who could do no wrong". She was a good homemaker, who cooked on the wood stove, and ironed clothes with the old type of iron that was heated on the stove. She and her daughters quilted a lot, and "made perfect stitches". Edna kept an immaculate house. They had a regular schedule for housekeeping chores: one day was for taking the mattresses out for beating on the line, another for washing, etc. Everyone loved Edna and always enjoyed visiting their family. Thelma recalls her peeling pears from her orchard, and giving her all that she could eat. Edna died May 6, 1936 of Bright's disease, a now-obsolete term for kidney disease or nephritis. Sometime after Edna died, Grant and his family moved to Carl Junction, northwest of Joplin, MO.
Granville "Grant" Durham was a quiet, reserved, hard-working person. He enjoyed the children and grandchildren, who sat on his lap and loved his stories about the "old days". He worked on the farm from dawn until dusk every day, raised hogs, chickens, likely some cattle, had an orchard and garden, and planted forage crops to feed the livestock.
Grant lived until age 92. He worked hard all his life, and even mowed his yard in Carl Junction, MO with a push-mower through the summer before he died. He made a garden until then too. But finally his body just "gave out". There was no infection or particular disease. He was in bed only a couple of weeks, and then died at home on Jan 15, 1960. The doctor came several times to check on him, but there was nothing that could be done.
The first two Durham children died very shortly after birth of unknown causes, and may not have been named. Ora Durham worked mainly as a cabinet-maker. His first wife, Olive Taylor Durham died when their daughter was two years old. He lived with his parents a couple of years until he married his second wife, Alice, who was a beauty shop operator. Ray Durham married a woman named Mabel, but he died very young, at almost age 27. They had no children. Lester Durham married Pearl Faye Miller, a sister of Ola Esther Miller, wife of Albert Durham. Thus two Durham brothers married two Miller sisters. The two families lived across the highway from each other and were very close. The children were double cousins. Lester had a big farm with lots of land and several implements, raised cattle and sprayed them regularly for parasites. He soon developed Hodgkin's Disease [a lymphoma cancer], diagnosed by an Army doctor, who thought it might have been caused by the sprays he used on the cattle. He died a couple of years later and after several weeks of hospitalization. Jessie Durham, another daughter of Grant and Edna, married Warren S. Miller, brother of Ola and Pearl. So three Durham children married three Miller children, something not that rare back then. Ina Durham never married; she stayed at home and took care of her father as long as he lived. She supported herself by ironing clothes for friends and neighbors in Carl Junction. Laura Durham married Glenn Dixon, who was a Baptist minister, and she was an outstanding pastor's wife, teaching Sunday School and Mission Ladies. She was a good housewife too, doing canning and other domestic things. Laura played the piano, and both of her daughters did also; they became school teachers. Ralph Durham died young, at about 1.5 years old. The last child was Hazel Durham, who married Clyde H. Dixon. She played the organ, and owns the beautiful pump organ that was used at Bethel Baptist Church when she was a small child. Since Clyde died, she has had a hard time. Their son, Archie, travels a lot in his work, and takes care of her now. She divides her time between his home near Tulsa, OK, and her home in Carl Junction, where she has a caretaker when she is home.
[The above is excerpted from my book, Family History of William Alford and Leona Houk Bennett, 2005. All rights reserved. LSA]
Family history:
The Granville and Edna (Bennett) Durham farm was adjacent, corner-to-corner, and southwest of the Abraham and Isabell Bennett farm (from the map the Durham farm appears to be the SE¼ SW fractional ¼ of Sec 11, Twp. 25, Rng. 34, perhaps 20 acres. LSA). In 1989 the common property corner was marked by a large rock cornerstone, but it is not known if it was original. Both the Durham and Bennett houses are gone. The Durham home was destroyed by fire. Their home site was in a clearing on a level area with cedar trees planted by the Durhams still surviving. Down the hill perhaps a quarter of a mile is the Durham well. It is hand-dug with a masonry wall above ground, and still survived in 1989. The Durham children drew buckets of water for the livestock, filling a trough hewn from a log. They also carried all the needed water up the hill to their home, a fairly arduous trek. During the hot summer, butter and cream was kept from spoiling by tying it to the end of a rope and lowering it into the cold well water. Both the Bennetts and Durhams probably raised similar fruit and vegetable crops, and marketed the excess. Some dried beans were sold to a local cannery.
The two families were very close in every way. They attended the nearby Bethel Baptist Church, about a 30 minutes drive in the wagon. They went to church every Sunday, and Grant was a Deacon. Thelma (Durham) Bailey's family went to church with her grandparents Grant and Edna, and she would ride home with her Grandpa Grant in the wagon in which they all went to church. He let her drive the wagon, and "you felt every rock the wheels went over". Thelma's father, Albert, had a car, and he took her Grandma and the other girls on home in it to get dinner started. All of the Durham children went to Huber Center School, walking the three miles each way in all sorts of weather, carrying their lunch in a metal bucket.
Thelma remembers Edna Bennett Durham as "the perfect grandmother, who could do no wrong". She was a good homemaker, who cooked on the wood stove, and ironed clothes with the old type of iron that was heated on the stove. She and her daughters quilted a lot, and "made perfect stitches". Edna kept an immaculate house. They had a regular schedule for housekeeping chores: one day was for taking the mattresses out for beating on the line, another for washing, etc. Everyone loved Edna and always enjoyed visiting their family. Thelma recalls her peeling pears from her orchard, and giving her all that she could eat. Edna died May 6, 1936 of Bright's disease, a now-obsolete term for kidney disease or nephritis. Sometime after Edna died, Grant and his family moved to Carl Junction, northwest of Joplin, MO.
Granville "Grant" Durham was a quiet, reserved, hard-working person. He enjoyed the children and grandchildren, who sat on his lap and loved his stories about the "old days". He worked on the farm from dawn until dusk every day, raised hogs, chickens, likely some cattle, had an orchard and garden, and planted forage crops to feed the livestock.
Grant lived until age 92. He worked hard all his life, and even mowed his yard in Carl Junction, MO with a push-mower through the summer before he died. He made a garden until then too. But finally his body just "gave out". There was no infection or particular disease. He was in bed only a couple of weeks, and then died at home on Jan 15, 1960. The doctor came several times to check on him, but there was nothing that could be done.
The first two Durham children died very shortly after birth of unknown causes, and may not have been named. Ora Durham worked mainly as a cabinet-maker. His first wife, Olive Taylor Durham died when their daughter was two years old. He lived with his parents a couple of years until he married his second wife, Alice, who was a beauty shop operator. Ray Durham married a woman named Mabel, but he died very young, at almost age 27. They had no children. Lester Durham married Pearl Faye Miller, a sister of Ola Esther Miller, wife of Albert Durham. Thus two Durham brothers married two Miller sisters. The two families lived across the highway from each other and were very close. The children were double cousins. Lester had a big farm with lots of land and several implements, raised cattle and sprayed them regularly for parasites. He soon developed Hodgkin's Disease [a lymphoma cancer], diagnosed by an Army doctor, who thought it might have been caused by the sprays he used on the cattle. He died a couple of years later and after several weeks of hospitalization. Jessie Durham, another daughter of Grant and Edna, married Warren S. Miller, brother of Ola and Pearl. So three Durham children married three Miller children, something not that rare back then. Ina Durham never married; she stayed at home and took care of her father as long as he lived. She supported herself by ironing clothes for friends and neighbors in Carl Junction. Laura Durham married Glenn Dixon, who was a Baptist minister, and she was an outstanding pastor's wife, teaching Sunday School and Mission Ladies. She was a good housewife too, doing canning and other domestic things. Laura played the piano, and both of her daughters did also; they became school teachers. Ralph Durham died young, at about 1.5 years old. The last child was Hazel Durham, who married Clyde H. Dixon. She played the organ, and owns the beautiful pump organ that was used at Bethel Baptist Church when she was a small child. Since Clyde died, she has had a hard time. Their son, Archie, travels a lot in his work, and takes care of her now. She divides her time between his home near Tulsa, OK, and her home in Carl Junction, where she has a caretaker when she is home.
[The above is excerpted from my book, Family History of William Alford and Leona Houk Bennett, 2005. All rights reserved. LSA]
The Granville and Edna (Bennett) Durham farm was adjacent, corner-to-corner, and southwest of the Abraham and Isabell Bennett farm (from the map the Durham farm appears to be the SE¼ SW fractional ¼ of Sec 11, Twp. 25, Rng. 34, perhaps 20 acres. LSA). In 1989 the common property corner was marked by a large rock cornerstone, but it is not known if it was original. Both the Durham and Bennett houses are gone. The Durham home was destroyed by fire. Their home site was in a clearing on a level area with cedar trees planted by the Durhams still surviving. Down the hill perhaps a quarter of a mile is the Durham well. It is hand-dug with a masonry wall above ground, and still survived in 1989. The Durham children drew buckets of water for the livestock, filling a trough hewn from a log. They also carried all the needed water up the hill to their home, a fairly arduous trek. During the hot summer, butter and cream was kept from spoiling by tying it to the end of a rope and lowering it into the cold well water. Both the Bennetts and Durhams probably raised similar fruit and vegetable crops, and marketed the excess. Some dried beans were sold to a local cannery.
The two families were very close in every way. They attended the nearby Bethel Baptist Church, about a 30 minutes drive in the wagon. They went to church every Sunday, and Grant was a Deacon. Thelma (Durham) Bailey's family went to church with her grandparents Grant and Edna, and she would ride home with her Grandpa Grant in the wagon in which they all went to church. He let her drive the wagon, and "you felt every rock the wheels went over". Thelma's father, Albert, had a car, and he took her Grandma and the other girls on home in it to get dinner started. All of the Durham children went to Huber Center School, walking the three miles each way in all sorts of weather, carrying their lunch in a metal bucket.
Thelma remembers Edna Bennett Durham as "the perfect grandmother, who could do no wrong". She was a good homemaker, who cooked on the wood stove, and ironed clothes with the old type of iron that was heated on the stove. She and her daughters quilted a lot, and "made perfect stitches". Edna kept an immaculate house. They had a regular schedule for housekeeping chores: one day was for taking the mattresses out for beating on the line, another for washing, etc. Everyone loved Edna and always enjoyed visiting their family. Thelma recalls her peeling pears from her orchard, and giving her all that she could eat. Edna died May 6, 1936 of Bright's disease, a now-obsolete term for kidney disease or nephritis. Sometime after Edna died, Grant and his family moved to Carl Junction, northwest of Joplin, MO.
Granville "Grant" Durham was a quiet, reserved, hard-working person. He enjoyed the children and grandchildren, who sat on his lap and loved his stories about the "old days". He worked on the farm from dawn until dusk every day, raised hogs, chickens, likely some cattle, had an orchard and garden, and planted forage crops to feed the livestock.
Grant lived until age 92. He worked hard all his life, and even mowed his yard in Carl Junction, MO with a push-mower through the summer before he died. He made a garden until then too. But finally his body just "gave out". There was no infection or particular disease. He was in bed only a couple of weeks, and then died at home on Jan 15, 1960. The doctor came several times to check on him, but there was nothing that could be done.
The first two Durham children died very shortly after birth of unknown causes, and may not have been named. Ora Durham worked mainly as a cabinet-maker. His first wife, Olive Taylor Durham died when their daughter was two years old. He lived with his parents a couple of years until he married his second wife, Alice, who was a beauty shop operator. Ray Durham married a woman named Mabel, but he died very young, at almost age 27. They had no children. Lester Durham married Pearl Faye Miller, a sister of Ola Esther Miller, wife of Albert Durham. Thus two Durham brothers married two Miller sisters. The two families lived across the highway from each other and were very close. The children were double cousins. Lester had a big farm with lots of land and several implements, raised cattle and sprayed them regularly for parasites. He soon developed Hodgkin's Disease [a lymphoma cancer], diagnosed by an Army doctor, who thought it might have been caused by the sprays he used on the cattle. He died a couple of years later and after several weeks of hospitalization. Jessie Durham, another daughter of Grant and Edna, married Warren S. Miller, brother of Ola and Pearl. So three Durham children married three Miller children, something not that rare back then. Ina Durham never married; she stayed at home and took care of her father as long as he lived. She supported herself by ironing clothes for friends and neighbors in Carl Junction. Laura Durham married Glenn Dixon, who was a Baptist minister, and she was an outstanding pastor's wife, teaching Sunday School and Mission Ladies. She was a good housewife too, doing canning and other domestic things. Laura played the piano, and both of her daughters did also; they became school teachers. Ralph Durham died young, at about 1.5 years old. The last child was Hazel Durham, who married Clyde H. Dixon. She played the organ, and owns the beautiful pump organ that was used at Bethel Baptist Church when she was a small child. Since Clyde died, she has had a hard time. Their son, Archie, travels a lot in his work, and takes care of her now. She divides her time between his home near Tulsa, OK, and her home in Carl Junction, where she has a caretaker when she is home.
[The above is excerpted from my book, Family History of William Alford and Leona Houk Bennett, 2005. All rights reserved. LSA]
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