The following story was told by Felicia to her grand daughter of her early life in AR, life in TX as a young girl, move to NM to homestead, and move to Calif and marriage to Jacob Earl Morgan:
--------------------------------------------
Felicia's Story
She mentioned living in a little place called Rison though this was not their postal address. She said the family was from Virginia originally and that the Gunns were English. Her grandpa Cash died in her early childhood perhaps before the big move from Ark. to Texas. She remembered Uncle Billy Cash, a doctor, and his wife Susan. (Other records show that this must be William Henry Cash, a Baptist minister and brother of their mother that ministered in Ark. His wife was Rebecca Sarah Overton). There was also a Dr. England married to a sister of their mother Mary Frances Cash England. Her dad never talked about his deceased wife or his own parental family.
Charlie was 3 yrs. older than Felicia and they did a lot of scrapping. Pink was 5 years older than she. Some of the boys were grown and out of the home by the time the mother died. Tommy died young but after having been married.
When the big brothers would start teasing the little girls, dad put a quick stop to that. The big brothers were proud of the two little sisters. They would brag about being 11 older brothers and then two little sisters. Nola liked to romp with the boys outside and Felicia liked to play with dolls inside.
Her father Nathaniel remarried (about 9 mo. after the death of Pherlishea Jane to a woman by the name of Susan) but the woman didn't care well for the children. They separated and she went to live/visit with a grown daughter, her only child, and soon after died. When she made a trip to visit her daughter in Missouri (According to Alice, perhaps TN according to grandma's fragile memory), grandpa packed up his things and apparently moved at that time to Texas. where the oldest married son lived. Grandma remembered having grown up in Texas. At first their dad rented a place and farmed for an old man in Bartlett. Later he bought a farm of his own in the area. Their dad was a cotton farmer. They lived in a big white house with 2 rooms upstairs and 2 rooms downstairs.
Her dad would hire a couple to live with them for the woman to cook and keep house and for the man to help the boys in the cotton fields. He also grew Sorghum to make syrup that was used on pancakes. The boys would split logs for firewood for the cook stove. They grew up eating biscuits and cornbread, never "light" bread. Pink turned out to be the best household help. He taught grandma to make a bed , to wash dishes and to cook. The family always had a garden and Felicia did her fair share of the garden work.
A sister-in-law helped Felicia learn to sew. She had a china doll that she sewed for. The china doll's head got smashed and she cried and cried. Her brothers felt sorry for her and bought her another. She started making doll clothes around 10 yrs. old. When her dad saw that she could sew so well, he bought her a Singer sewing machine when she was about 14 yrs. old and she started sewing for herself and Nola.
The children that were still at home had to walk a little over a mile to a country school. Their dad always said that a good education would help the kids do well in life and that he wanted them to be better educated than he was. The young lady teachers would ring a hand bell to signal the start of classes. They were pretty good at most subjects and often her brothers Pink or Charlie had to help the teachers with the math problems. Felicia went to about the 5th (in another recording she said she started but didn't finish the 8th grade) grade going to school several months each year. In school kids would say about her—Careful with that Gunn. You might get shot.
She dropped out of school to keep house and sew. Bartlett, the nearest town, was too far away to be able to continue her schooling.
When Felicia visited friends she was very blue about not having a mother to teach her things as the friends' mothers did. But her brothers treated her very well. She had some very nice sister-in-laws that helped fill the mother role until they got too busy with their own children.
Nola had beautiful brown eyes, just like her mother, was pleasantly plump and had a beautiful complexion. She was almost blond. When the big brothers came home after being away for a year or so they always marveled at how much Nola looked like their mother. As she grew older she was even more like her in looks and build. Felicia had sandy colored hair, was freckled and thin. She was jealous of Nola's good looks and wished that she could have been like her mother. Her father consoled her telling her that she was just like his mother. The two sisters didn't look like they were from the same family.
Felicia never knew either set of grandparents, but Billy Cash (Rev. William Henry Cash) her mother's brother lived near them for a while. She couldn't remember the names of either set of grandparents and never saw photos of them.
Felicia remembered being the sickly one of the family having a lot of illnesses in her childhood, but remarked how she had outlived all the other 12. At 7 or 8 years of age she nearly died of typhoid fever.
Felicia recalled going to the Baptist church regularly on Sunday's during her growing up years. Their father was quite strict about "Sabbath" keeping, but she remembered playing some on Sun. afternoon. On Sun. evenings their father would read the Bible to them. Their dad was quite strict. He would teach his children how to do a thing, and then he expected them to do it right from then on.
After her father died Felicia followed her brother Pink to Roy, New Mexico to homestead. She was about 27. They had adjoining claims of 320 acres each. Pink's plan was to raise cattle on the two properties. They raised cattle keeping the heifers. When they had bull calves they either traded them off or ate them. Their property was prairie. There was one low place with a few trees. Pink lived in a tent while he built Felicia's one room cabin of abode blocks where they all lived while Pink built his own house. Felicia spent periods of time on her claim, but Pink and Ella were afraid for her to be alone. Charlie was there part of the time also. She often would go to spend time with different families to sew their clothes for the year or for a bridal party, and then they would take her back to Pink's house. One of those families was the Roys. Things were a bit crowded at Pink's with just 2 rooms and two kids.
One night when she was alone in her cabin she heard a mountain lion prowling and then heard her pony Nellie, that she had bought from and Indian, screeching from the shed where he was tied. In the morning she was missing and so grandma went down into the canyon to the Indian camp with her bridle in hand. She found the Indians having breakfast and there was her Nellie well clawed and tied up waiting for her.
Another memory was the morning she woke up in her cabin to see that snow had blown in under the rafters. A rug that was used as a ceiling was sagging with the weight. Even her bed that she had tried to protect with newspapers spread out over it was covered.
It was in Roy that she saw her first motor car. The proud owners offered her a ride. Roy was a small town with a store where the Gunns bought essentials. It would later have a real Baptist church that Pink and Charlie built. One year Felicia was elected the "most eligible bachelorette of Roy.
One day Grandma was driving a team of horses that pulled a wagon as she carried a load of water. They bolted and the tongue of the wagon stuck in the ground and she lost the water as it spilled all over the ground. She declared in her distress, "I'll marry the first man that comes along that can drive a team of horses.
On day Pink met Earl Morgan who had a homestead some way out of Roy and invited him to join them the next Sunday for dinner. Though Earl was a Methodist he joined the Gunns at the school house for the Baptist Sunday service. He often commented that the first thing he noticed were those long, slim legs getting out of the wagon. Felicia admitted that they took a liking to each other right away. Earl started coming around frequently to visit Felicia. When the relationship was cemented, he took off to make a place for them in Imperial Valley, Calif. When he had things set up, he wrote for her to come. But first Felicia would return to Texas to see her brothers and their families before boarding a train bound for southern Calif. They couldn't be married until the next day after her arrival. The lady manager of the hotel where Felicia stayed that first night sent Earl out for a ring and flowers. The hotel occupants were the wedding guests. The hotel had a lovely winding staircase for the bride to make her entrance. And thus Earl and Felicia were married. They started married life living for a time in Brawley.
--------------------------------------------
Felicia's Story
She mentioned living in a little place called Rison though this was not their postal address. She said the family was from Virginia originally and that the Gunns were English. Her grandpa Cash died in her early childhood perhaps before the big move from Ark. to Texas. She remembered Uncle Billy Cash, a doctor, and his wife Susan. (Other records show that this must be William Henry Cash, a Baptist minister and brother of their mother that ministered in Ark. His wife was Rebecca Sarah Overton). There was also a Dr. England married to a sister of their mother Mary Frances Cash England. Her dad never talked about his deceased wife or his own parental family.
Charlie was 3 yrs. older than Felicia and they did a lot of scrapping. Pink was 5 years older than she. Some of the boys were grown and out of the home by the time the mother died. Tommy died young but after having been married.
When the big brothers would start teasing the little girls, dad put a quick stop to that. The big brothers were proud of the two little sisters. They would brag about being 11 older brothers and then two little sisters. Nola liked to romp with the boys outside and Felicia liked to play with dolls inside.
Her father Nathaniel remarried (about 9 mo. after the death of Pherlishea Jane to a woman by the name of Susan) but the woman didn't care well for the children. They separated and she went to live/visit with a grown daughter, her only child, and soon after died. When she made a trip to visit her daughter in Missouri (According to Alice, perhaps TN according to grandma's fragile memory), grandpa packed up his things and apparently moved at that time to Texas. where the oldest married son lived. Grandma remembered having grown up in Texas. At first their dad rented a place and farmed for an old man in Bartlett. Later he bought a farm of his own in the area. Their dad was a cotton farmer. They lived in a big white house with 2 rooms upstairs and 2 rooms downstairs.
Her dad would hire a couple to live with them for the woman to cook and keep house and for the man to help the boys in the cotton fields. He also grew Sorghum to make syrup that was used on pancakes. The boys would split logs for firewood for the cook stove. They grew up eating biscuits and cornbread, never "light" bread. Pink turned out to be the best household help. He taught grandma to make a bed , to wash dishes and to cook. The family always had a garden and Felicia did her fair share of the garden work.
A sister-in-law helped Felicia learn to sew. She had a china doll that she sewed for. The china doll's head got smashed and she cried and cried. Her brothers felt sorry for her and bought her another. She started making doll clothes around 10 yrs. old. When her dad saw that she could sew so well, he bought her a Singer sewing machine when she was about 14 yrs. old and she started sewing for herself and Nola.
The children that were still at home had to walk a little over a mile to a country school. Their dad always said that a good education would help the kids do well in life and that he wanted them to be better educated than he was. The young lady teachers would ring a hand bell to signal the start of classes. They were pretty good at most subjects and often her brothers Pink or Charlie had to help the teachers with the math problems. Felicia went to about the 5th (in another recording she said she started but didn't finish the 8th grade) grade going to school several months each year. In school kids would say about her—Careful with that Gunn. You might get shot.
She dropped out of school to keep house and sew. Bartlett, the nearest town, was too far away to be able to continue her schooling.
When Felicia visited friends she was very blue about not having a mother to teach her things as the friends' mothers did. But her brothers treated her very well. She had some very nice sister-in-laws that helped fill the mother role until they got too busy with their own children.
Nola had beautiful brown eyes, just like her mother, was pleasantly plump and had a beautiful complexion. She was almost blond. When the big brothers came home after being away for a year or so they always marveled at how much Nola looked like their mother. As she grew older she was even more like her in looks and build. Felicia had sandy colored hair, was freckled and thin. She was jealous of Nola's good looks and wished that she could have been like her mother. Her father consoled her telling her that she was just like his mother. The two sisters didn't look like they were from the same family.
Felicia never knew either set of grandparents, but Billy Cash (Rev. William Henry Cash) her mother's brother lived near them for a while. She couldn't remember the names of either set of grandparents and never saw photos of them.
Felicia remembered being the sickly one of the family having a lot of illnesses in her childhood, but remarked how she had outlived all the other 12. At 7 or 8 years of age she nearly died of typhoid fever.
Felicia recalled going to the Baptist church regularly on Sunday's during her growing up years. Their father was quite strict about "Sabbath" keeping, but she remembered playing some on Sun. afternoon. On Sun. evenings their father would read the Bible to them. Their dad was quite strict. He would teach his children how to do a thing, and then he expected them to do it right from then on.
After her father died Felicia followed her brother Pink to Roy, New Mexico to homestead. She was about 27. They had adjoining claims of 320 acres each. Pink's plan was to raise cattle on the two properties. They raised cattle keeping the heifers. When they had bull calves they either traded them off or ate them. Their property was prairie. There was one low place with a few trees. Pink lived in a tent while he built Felicia's one room cabin of abode blocks where they all lived while Pink built his own house. Felicia spent periods of time on her claim, but Pink and Ella were afraid for her to be alone. Charlie was there part of the time also. She often would go to spend time with different families to sew their clothes for the year or for a bridal party, and then they would take her back to Pink's house. One of those families was the Roys. Things were a bit crowded at Pink's with just 2 rooms and two kids.
One night when she was alone in her cabin she heard a mountain lion prowling and then heard her pony Nellie, that she had bought from and Indian, screeching from the shed where he was tied. In the morning she was missing and so grandma went down into the canyon to the Indian camp with her bridle in hand. She found the Indians having breakfast and there was her Nellie well clawed and tied up waiting for her.
Another memory was the morning she woke up in her cabin to see that snow had blown in under the rafters. A rug that was used as a ceiling was sagging with the weight. Even her bed that she had tried to protect with newspapers spread out over it was covered.
It was in Roy that she saw her first motor car. The proud owners offered her a ride. Roy was a small town with a store where the Gunns bought essentials. It would later have a real Baptist church that Pink and Charlie built. One year Felicia was elected the "most eligible bachelorette of Roy.
One day Grandma was driving a team of horses that pulled a wagon as she carried a load of water. They bolted and the tongue of the wagon stuck in the ground and she lost the water as it spilled all over the ground. She declared in her distress, "I'll marry the first man that comes along that can drive a team of horses.
On day Pink met Earl Morgan who had a homestead some way out of Roy and invited him to join them the next Sunday for dinner. Though Earl was a Methodist he joined the Gunns at the school house for the Baptist Sunday service. He often commented that the first thing he noticed were those long, slim legs getting out of the wagon. Felicia admitted that they took a liking to each other right away. Earl started coming around frequently to visit Felicia. When the relationship was cemented, he took off to make a place for them in Imperial Valley, Calif. When he had things set up, he wrote for her to come. But first Felicia would return to Texas to see her brothers and their families before boarding a train bound for southern Calif. They couldn't be married until the next day after her arrival. The lady manager of the hotel where Felicia stayed that first night sent Earl out for a ring and flowers. The hotel occupants were the wedding guests. The hotel had a lovely winding staircase for the bride to make her entrance. And thus Earl and Felicia were married. They started married life living for a time in Brawley.
The following story was told by Felicia to her grand daughter of her early life in AR, life in TX as a young girl, move to NM to homestead, and move to Calif and marriage to Jacob Earl Morgan:
--------------------------------------------
Felicia's Story
She mentioned living in a little place called Rison though this was not their postal address. She said the family was from Virginia originally and that the Gunns were English. Her grandpa Cash died in her early childhood perhaps before the big move from Ark. to Texas. She remembered Uncle Billy Cash, a doctor, and his wife Susan. (Other records show that this must be William Henry Cash, a Baptist minister and brother of their mother that ministered in Ark. His wife was Rebecca Sarah Overton). There was also a Dr. England married to a sister of their mother Mary Frances Cash England. Her dad never talked about his deceased wife or his own parental family.
Charlie was 3 yrs. older than Felicia and they did a lot of scrapping. Pink was 5 years older than she. Some of the boys were grown and out of the home by the time the mother died. Tommy died young but after having been married.
When the big brothers would start teasing the little girls, dad put a quick stop to that. The big brothers were proud of the two little sisters. They would brag about being 11 older brothers and then two little sisters. Nola liked to romp with the boys outside and Felicia liked to play with dolls inside.
Her father Nathaniel remarried (about 9 mo. after the death of Pherlishea Jane to a woman by the name of Susan) but the woman didn't care well for the children. They separated and she went to live/visit with a grown daughter, her only child, and soon after died. When she made a trip to visit her daughter in Missouri (According to Alice, perhaps TN according to grandma's fragile memory), grandpa packed up his things and apparently moved at that time to Texas. where the oldest married son lived. Grandma remembered having grown up in Texas. At first their dad rented a place and farmed for an old man in Bartlett. Later he bought a farm of his own in the area. Their dad was a cotton farmer. They lived in a big white house with 2 rooms upstairs and 2 rooms downstairs.
Her dad would hire a couple to live with them for the woman to cook and keep house and for the man to help the boys in the cotton fields. He also grew Sorghum to make syrup that was used on pancakes. The boys would split logs for firewood for the cook stove. They grew up eating biscuits and cornbread, never "light" bread. Pink turned out to be the best household help. He taught grandma to make a bed , to wash dishes and to cook. The family always had a garden and Felicia did her fair share of the garden work.
A sister-in-law helped Felicia learn to sew. She had a china doll that she sewed for. The china doll's head got smashed and she cried and cried. Her brothers felt sorry for her and bought her another. She started making doll clothes around 10 yrs. old. When her dad saw that she could sew so well, he bought her a Singer sewing machine when she was about 14 yrs. old and she started sewing for herself and Nola.
The children that were still at home had to walk a little over a mile to a country school. Their dad always said that a good education would help the kids do well in life and that he wanted them to be better educated than he was. The young lady teachers would ring a hand bell to signal the start of classes. They were pretty good at most subjects and often her brothers Pink or Charlie had to help the teachers with the math problems. Felicia went to about the 5th (in another recording she said she started but didn't finish the 8th grade) grade going to school several months each year. In school kids would say about her—Careful with that Gunn. You might get shot.
She dropped out of school to keep house and sew. Bartlett, the nearest town, was too far away to be able to continue her schooling.
When Felicia visited friends she was very blue about not having a mother to teach her things as the friends' mothers did. But her brothers treated her very well. She had some very nice sister-in-laws that helped fill the mother role until they got too busy with their own children.
Nola had beautiful brown eyes, just like her mother, was pleasantly plump and had a beautiful complexion. She was almost blond. When the big brothers came home after being away for a year or so they always marveled at how much Nola looked like their mother. As she grew older she was even more like her in looks and build. Felicia had sandy colored hair, was freckled and thin. She was jealous of Nola's good looks and wished that she could have been like her mother. Her father consoled her telling her that she was just like his mother. The two sisters didn't look like they were from the same family.
Felicia never knew either set of grandparents, but Billy Cash (Rev. William Henry Cash) her mother's brother lived near them for a while. She couldn't remember the names of either set of grandparents and never saw photos of them.
Felicia remembered being the sickly one of the family having a lot of illnesses in her childhood, but remarked how she had outlived all the other 12. At 7 or 8 years of age she nearly died of typhoid fever.
Felicia recalled going to the Baptist church regularly on Sunday's during her growing up years. Their father was quite strict about "Sabbath" keeping, but she remembered playing some on Sun. afternoon. On Sun. evenings their father would read the Bible to them. Their dad was quite strict. He would teach his children how to do a thing, and then he expected them to do it right from then on.
After her father died Felicia followed her brother Pink to Roy, New Mexico to homestead. She was about 27. They had adjoining claims of 320 acres each. Pink's plan was to raise cattle on the two properties. They raised cattle keeping the heifers. When they had bull calves they either traded them off or ate them. Their property was prairie. There was one low place with a few trees. Pink lived in a tent while he built Felicia's one room cabin of abode blocks where they all lived while Pink built his own house. Felicia spent periods of time on her claim, but Pink and Ella were afraid for her to be alone. Charlie was there part of the time also. She often would go to spend time with different families to sew their clothes for the year or for a bridal party, and then they would take her back to Pink's house. One of those families was the Roys. Things were a bit crowded at Pink's with just 2 rooms and two kids.
One night when she was alone in her cabin she heard a mountain lion prowling and then heard her pony Nellie, that she had bought from and Indian, screeching from the shed where he was tied. In the morning she was missing and so grandma went down into the canyon to the Indian camp with her bridle in hand. She found the Indians having breakfast and there was her Nellie well clawed and tied up waiting for her.
Another memory was the morning she woke up in her cabin to see that snow had blown in under the rafters. A rug that was used as a ceiling was sagging with the weight. Even her bed that she had tried to protect with newspapers spread out over it was covered.
It was in Roy that she saw her first motor car. The proud owners offered her a ride. Roy was a small town with a store where the Gunns bought essentials. It would later have a real Baptist church that Pink and Charlie built. One year Felicia was elected the "most eligible bachelorette of Roy.
One day Grandma was driving a team of horses that pulled a wagon as she carried a load of water. They bolted and the tongue of the wagon stuck in the ground and she lost the water as it spilled all over the ground. She declared in her distress, "I'll marry the first man that comes along that can drive a team of horses.
On day Pink met Earl Morgan who had a homestead some way out of Roy and invited him to join them the next Sunday for dinner. Though Earl was a Methodist he joined the Gunns at the school house for the Baptist Sunday service. He often commented that the first thing he noticed were those long, slim legs getting out of the wagon. Felicia admitted that they took a liking to each other right away. Earl started coming around frequently to visit Felicia. When the relationship was cemented, he took off to make a place for them in Imperial Valley, Calif. When he had things set up, he wrote for her to come. But first Felicia would return to Texas to see her brothers and their families before boarding a train bound for southern Calif. They couldn't be married until the next day after her arrival. The lady manager of the hotel where Felicia stayed that first night sent Earl out for a ring and flowers. The hotel occupants were the wedding guests. The hotel had a lovely winding staircase for the bride to make her entrance. And thus Earl and Felicia were married. They started married life living for a time in Brawley.
--------------------------------------------
Felicia's Story
She mentioned living in a little place called Rison though this was not their postal address. She said the family was from Virginia originally and that the Gunns were English. Her grandpa Cash died in her early childhood perhaps before the big move from Ark. to Texas. She remembered Uncle Billy Cash, a doctor, and his wife Susan. (Other records show that this must be William Henry Cash, a Baptist minister and brother of their mother that ministered in Ark. His wife was Rebecca Sarah Overton). There was also a Dr. England married to a sister of their mother Mary Frances Cash England. Her dad never talked about his deceased wife or his own parental family.
Charlie was 3 yrs. older than Felicia and they did a lot of scrapping. Pink was 5 years older than she. Some of the boys were grown and out of the home by the time the mother died. Tommy died young but after having been married.
When the big brothers would start teasing the little girls, dad put a quick stop to that. The big brothers were proud of the two little sisters. They would brag about being 11 older brothers and then two little sisters. Nola liked to romp with the boys outside and Felicia liked to play with dolls inside.
Her father Nathaniel remarried (about 9 mo. after the death of Pherlishea Jane to a woman by the name of Susan) but the woman didn't care well for the children. They separated and she went to live/visit with a grown daughter, her only child, and soon after died. When she made a trip to visit her daughter in Missouri (According to Alice, perhaps TN according to grandma's fragile memory), grandpa packed up his things and apparently moved at that time to Texas. where the oldest married son lived. Grandma remembered having grown up in Texas. At first their dad rented a place and farmed for an old man in Bartlett. Later he bought a farm of his own in the area. Their dad was a cotton farmer. They lived in a big white house with 2 rooms upstairs and 2 rooms downstairs.
Her dad would hire a couple to live with them for the woman to cook and keep house and for the man to help the boys in the cotton fields. He also grew Sorghum to make syrup that was used on pancakes. The boys would split logs for firewood for the cook stove. They grew up eating biscuits and cornbread, never "light" bread. Pink turned out to be the best household help. He taught grandma to make a bed , to wash dishes and to cook. The family always had a garden and Felicia did her fair share of the garden work.
A sister-in-law helped Felicia learn to sew. She had a china doll that she sewed for. The china doll's head got smashed and she cried and cried. Her brothers felt sorry for her and bought her another. She started making doll clothes around 10 yrs. old. When her dad saw that she could sew so well, he bought her a Singer sewing machine when she was about 14 yrs. old and she started sewing for herself and Nola.
The children that were still at home had to walk a little over a mile to a country school. Their dad always said that a good education would help the kids do well in life and that he wanted them to be better educated than he was. The young lady teachers would ring a hand bell to signal the start of classes. They were pretty good at most subjects and often her brothers Pink or Charlie had to help the teachers with the math problems. Felicia went to about the 5th (in another recording she said she started but didn't finish the 8th grade) grade going to school several months each year. In school kids would say about her—Careful with that Gunn. You might get shot.
She dropped out of school to keep house and sew. Bartlett, the nearest town, was too far away to be able to continue her schooling.
When Felicia visited friends she was very blue about not having a mother to teach her things as the friends' mothers did. But her brothers treated her very well. She had some very nice sister-in-laws that helped fill the mother role until they got too busy with their own children.
Nola had beautiful brown eyes, just like her mother, was pleasantly plump and had a beautiful complexion. She was almost blond. When the big brothers came home after being away for a year or so they always marveled at how much Nola looked like their mother. As she grew older she was even more like her in looks and build. Felicia had sandy colored hair, was freckled and thin. She was jealous of Nola's good looks and wished that she could have been like her mother. Her father consoled her telling her that she was just like his mother. The two sisters didn't look like they were from the same family.
Felicia never knew either set of grandparents, but Billy Cash (Rev. William Henry Cash) her mother's brother lived near them for a while. She couldn't remember the names of either set of grandparents and never saw photos of them.
Felicia remembered being the sickly one of the family having a lot of illnesses in her childhood, but remarked how she had outlived all the other 12. At 7 or 8 years of age she nearly died of typhoid fever.
Felicia recalled going to the Baptist church regularly on Sunday's during her growing up years. Their father was quite strict about "Sabbath" keeping, but she remembered playing some on Sun. afternoon. On Sun. evenings their father would read the Bible to them. Their dad was quite strict. He would teach his children how to do a thing, and then he expected them to do it right from then on.
After her father died Felicia followed her brother Pink to Roy, New Mexico to homestead. She was about 27. They had adjoining claims of 320 acres each. Pink's plan was to raise cattle on the two properties. They raised cattle keeping the heifers. When they had bull calves they either traded them off or ate them. Their property was prairie. There was one low place with a few trees. Pink lived in a tent while he built Felicia's one room cabin of abode blocks where they all lived while Pink built his own house. Felicia spent periods of time on her claim, but Pink and Ella were afraid for her to be alone. Charlie was there part of the time also. She often would go to spend time with different families to sew their clothes for the year or for a bridal party, and then they would take her back to Pink's house. One of those families was the Roys. Things were a bit crowded at Pink's with just 2 rooms and two kids.
One night when she was alone in her cabin she heard a mountain lion prowling and then heard her pony Nellie, that she had bought from and Indian, screeching from the shed where he was tied. In the morning she was missing and so grandma went down into the canyon to the Indian camp with her bridle in hand. She found the Indians having breakfast and there was her Nellie well clawed and tied up waiting for her.
Another memory was the morning she woke up in her cabin to see that snow had blown in under the rafters. A rug that was used as a ceiling was sagging with the weight. Even her bed that she had tried to protect with newspapers spread out over it was covered.
It was in Roy that she saw her first motor car. The proud owners offered her a ride. Roy was a small town with a store where the Gunns bought essentials. It would later have a real Baptist church that Pink and Charlie built. One year Felicia was elected the "most eligible bachelorette of Roy.
One day Grandma was driving a team of horses that pulled a wagon as she carried a load of water. They bolted and the tongue of the wagon stuck in the ground and she lost the water as it spilled all over the ground. She declared in her distress, "I'll marry the first man that comes along that can drive a team of horses.
On day Pink met Earl Morgan who had a homestead some way out of Roy and invited him to join them the next Sunday for dinner. Though Earl was a Methodist he joined the Gunns at the school house for the Baptist Sunday service. He often commented that the first thing he noticed were those long, slim legs getting out of the wagon. Felicia admitted that they took a liking to each other right away. Earl started coming around frequently to visit Felicia. When the relationship was cemented, he took off to make a place for them in Imperial Valley, Calif. When he had things set up, he wrote for her to come. But first Felicia would return to Texas to see her brothers and their families before boarding a train bound for southern Calif. They couldn't be married until the next day after her arrival. The lady manager of the hotel where Felicia stayed that first night sent Earl out for a ring and flowers. The hotel occupants were the wedding guests. The hotel had a lovely winding staircase for the bride to make her entrance. And thus Earl and Felicia were married. They started married life living for a time in Brawley.
Family Members
Spouse
Siblings
-
William Thomas Gunn
1862–1889
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Albert Alexander Gunn
1866–1935
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Reuben Gillespie Gunn
1868–1949
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James Nathanial "Jim" Gunn
1869–1949
-
![]()
George Washington Gunn
1872–1939
-
![]()
Joseph Henry Blackwell "Joe" Gunn
1874–1949
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![]()
Edison Haywood Gunn
1876–1945
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John Overton Gunn
1878–1900
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![]()
Pinkney Lafayette Gunn
1880–1949
-
![]()
Charles Wesley Gunn
1882–1956
-
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Susan Phernolia Gunn Ray
1887–1960
Sponsored by Ancestry
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