Nannie Florence Wallace Morphis was the last-born child of WW (Wes) Wallace and Louise (Lou) Seawell. Although her grave stone shows year of birth to be 1896 both her birth cert & that of her twin show 1897. She and her twin sister, Hattie were raised in Moore County NC until their late teens. For a while Nannie lived with and cared for her aunt Nannie Williams who was her mother's widowed sister. After their father's death Lou and the girls moved to Greensboro, NC where Nannie (Nan) met her future husband Robert Morphis. They soon married and had their first two children, Rebecca and Wallace. Wallace died in the flu epidemic of 1917 and was buried at the Wentworth Presbyterian Church along with his grandfather & great- grandparents. Nannie had two more children in 1918 (Beatrice) and 1923 (Donald) and raised them to adulthood. About 1918 her Aunt Nannie Williams died and left her property on the Plank Road near Robbins to Nan and about 1920 or so the family moved to "the farm" where they built a nice log home, barn, smokehouse and corn-crib. They farmed the land and Bob worked at the mill in Robbins. During the depression the farm sustained them. After WWII they moved to Asheboro where Nan became well known as a super sales lady at the Glamor Shop on Sunset Avenue. She specialized in helping the "older" ladies with their selections and was much in demand from her customers. After Bob retired they stayed in Asheboro for a while as Nan was not ready to retire back to her 5 rooms and a "path" in the country. However in the late 50's she did consent and they moved back to Robbins. Improvements to the house like running water and a bath helped the living conditions at the farm and except for her last few months when she lived with her daughter in Greensboro she remained at the farm tending her kitchen garden and canning food.
One somewhat tragic and still amusing story must be told. In the late 60's when Nan was in her early 70's she slipped on ice on the back porch and fell about 6 feet onto a concrete pad breaking her nose, a number of ribs and both wrists. The doctors told us they had set her wrists but she would never have full use of them again. Her son and grandson asked the doctor not to tell her, as we feared the disappointment might be the end of her. The doctor complied. About 18 months later we showed up for a visit one Sunday and she insisted on fixing us lunch. She reached under the counter and one handed pulled out a 12 inch cast iron skillet and swung it up on the stove – so much for how much that doctor knew about perseverance.
One somewhat tragic and still amusing story must be told. In the late 60's when Nan was in her early 70's she slipped on ice on the back porch and fell about 6 feet onto a concrete pad breaking her nose, a number of ribs and both wrists. The doctors told us they had set her wrists but she would never have full use of them again. Her son and grandson asked the doctor not to tell her, as we feared the disappointment might be the end of her. The doctor complied. About 18 months later we showed up for a visit one Sunday and she insisted on fixing us lunch. She reached under the counter and one handed pulled out a 12 inch cast iron skillet and swung it up on the stove – so much for how much that doctor knew about perseverance.
Nannie Florence Wallace Morphis was the last-born child of WW (Wes) Wallace and Louise (Lou) Seawell. Although her grave stone shows year of birth to be 1896 both her birth cert & that of her twin show 1897. She and her twin sister, Hattie were raised in Moore County NC until their late teens. For a while Nannie lived with and cared for her aunt Nannie Williams who was her mother's widowed sister. After their father's death Lou and the girls moved to Greensboro, NC where Nannie (Nan) met her future husband Robert Morphis. They soon married and had their first two children, Rebecca and Wallace. Wallace died in the flu epidemic of 1917 and was buried at the Wentworth Presbyterian Church along with his grandfather & great- grandparents. Nannie had two more children in 1918 (Beatrice) and 1923 (Donald) and raised them to adulthood. About 1918 her Aunt Nannie Williams died and left her property on the Plank Road near Robbins to Nan and about 1920 or so the family moved to "the farm" where they built a nice log home, barn, smokehouse and corn-crib. They farmed the land and Bob worked at the mill in Robbins. During the depression the farm sustained them. After WWII they moved to Asheboro where Nan became well known as a super sales lady at the Glamor Shop on Sunset Avenue. She specialized in helping the "older" ladies with their selections and was much in demand from her customers. After Bob retired they stayed in Asheboro for a while as Nan was not ready to retire back to her 5 rooms and a "path" in the country. However in the late 50's she did consent and they moved back to Robbins. Improvements to the house like running water and a bath helped the living conditions at the farm and except for her last few months when she lived with her daughter in Greensboro she remained at the farm tending her kitchen garden and canning food.
One somewhat tragic and still amusing story must be told. In the late 60's when Nan was in her early 70's she slipped on ice on the back porch and fell about 6 feet onto a concrete pad breaking her nose, a number of ribs and both wrists. The doctors told us they had set her wrists but she would never have full use of them again. Her son and grandson asked the doctor not to tell her, as we feared the disappointment might be the end of her. The doctor complied. About 18 months later we showed up for a visit one Sunday and she insisted on fixing us lunch. She reached under the counter and one handed pulled out a 12 inch cast iron skillet and swung it up on the stove – so much for how much that doctor knew about perseverance.
One somewhat tragic and still amusing story must be told. In the late 60's when Nan was in her early 70's she slipped on ice on the back porch and fell about 6 feet onto a concrete pad breaking her nose, a number of ribs and both wrists. The doctors told us they had set her wrists but she would never have full use of them again. Her son and grandson asked the doctor not to tell her, as we feared the disappointment might be the end of her. The doctor complied. About 18 months later we showed up for a visit one Sunday and she insisted on fixing us lunch. She reached under the counter and one handed pulled out a 12 inch cast iron skillet and swung it up on the stove – so much for how much that doctor knew about perseverance.
Gravesite Details
Wife of Robert Cummings Morphis; daughter of William Wesley and Margaret Louise (Seawell) Wallace
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
