Leila Bailey was born on 23 Feb 1877 in Wilcox County, Alabama. Her
parents were William Britt Bailey and Mary Viola/Rachel Lynam. Leila's
childhood name was "Day Duck" because she awakened so early. She grew up in
Pine Apple, Wilcox County, Alabama, and told stories of a happy childhood on
Pine Barren Creek. She was the fourth of eleven children.
Her older sister, Lula, married Ervin Evander Ward, on 16 Oct 1889. It is
quite possible that she met Richard as a result of her sister's marriage. She
married Richard W Ward on 29 Jun 1897, and they lived in Pine Apple until 1910.
Then they moved to Owassa, Alabama.
Leila wore gold rimmed glasses, was slightly overweight, suffered from
rheumatism, had a widow's hump, usually ate a fried egg, bacon and biscuits and
drank coffee that you could chew almost every day. She could make the best
biscuits and cornpone.
She wore her waist long silver hair in a ball atop her head and a clean
apron (in the pocket of which were her keys since everything was locked up, and
her can of Standard snuff. She dipped snuff and tell-tale rivulets stained the
patina of myriad wrinkles in her smile.
Leila worried herself sick about bad weather. She could hear thunder fifty
miles away. It is not know what caused her fear, but it never left her. She
told a million stories and her grandkids politely listened. She told the story
about Ed Bailey, her favorite, uncle, who was killed in a gunfight with a Mr
Atkins, over and over, and the grandkids indulged her. Even after fifty years,
her eyes would fill with tears.
She loved to fish and eat fish even sardines. When Sidney was a baby,
Leila would take him after dinner with a cane pole and slip off to a creek below
the house in Mal Brown's pasture to catch a few finger-sized fish. She told a
tale of "hooking" a cow that confronted her. She found a tree and kept the cow
on the other side steadily beating the cow over the head with the fishing cane,
all the while holding her baby. The cane wore out and the cow wore out.
Leila was quick to ask about the soda sacks used in fertilizing the crops,
as they would poison her cows. She was frugal and raised chickens, sold eggs in
Owassa, and with her pocket money she purchased her stock and much needed
furniture.
Life was hard, and she was afraid of electricity, and didn't succumb to
modern conveniences until about 1952. She preferred the oil lamp, wood stove,
and fireplace in the winter, and the shade and a palmetto fan in the summer.
In later life, her knees swelled, and she was unable to stand for any
length of time. While her knees had given out, her stubborn determination had
not. She wired a regular dinner spoon to a stick about as long as a walking
cane. Even sprigs of grass in the yard became her sworn enemy, and she wasn't
fond of cats or dogs. However, Dash, Johnny Ward's dog, became her companion
for ten years.
She also spent many hours seated in her heavy oak rocking chair surveying the
red dirt road. She painfully walked about the house from room to room holding
on to the furniture.
She would drag her cane-bottomed chair out under the big pecan tree on the East
side of the house where she would sit in the shade and pick up pecans from the
ground one by one putting them into a bucket. When the circle around her was
cleaned, she would move her chair and begin again.
Around 1946, Clara Viola Ward gave her parents a well-made asbestos lined
strong box to store valuables, deeds, or whatever.
In the middle 1950s, her daughter, Clara Viola, was working hard to convince her
mother of the advantages of a modern gas stove. Leila suffered from rheumatism
and age. It was getting harder to provide stove wood and someone to bring it
inside. The old wood stove had cooked a million meals and heated the kitchen
for untold years. Leila finally agreed; however, she wouldn't agree to give the
old stove away to a black lady named Katherine. No one was going to give away
her stove. She wanted to sell it for $25.00 almost as much as she had paid for
it. In secret, Clara Viola gave Katherine the $25.00. It took three of four
grown men to dismantle and load the old stove on the back of Sidney Oneal's
truck. The old stove had a new home and everyone was happy. Katherine, a
family friend, had a newer stove for her family, Clara Viola had a modern stove
for her mother, and Leila had her $25.00.
Leila and her husband, Richard W Ward, are both buried in the Brownville
Methodist Church Cemetery. Her "Find A Grave" record has her first name as
"Lela" but direct relatives gave me "Leila". Pat Cronin
parents were William Britt Bailey and Mary Viola/Rachel Lynam. Leila's
childhood name was "Day Duck" because she awakened so early. She grew up in
Pine Apple, Wilcox County, Alabama, and told stories of a happy childhood on
Pine Barren Creek. She was the fourth of eleven children.
Her older sister, Lula, married Ervin Evander Ward, on 16 Oct 1889. It is
quite possible that she met Richard as a result of her sister's marriage. She
married Richard W Ward on 29 Jun 1897, and they lived in Pine Apple until 1910.
Then they moved to Owassa, Alabama.
Leila wore gold rimmed glasses, was slightly overweight, suffered from
rheumatism, had a widow's hump, usually ate a fried egg, bacon and biscuits and
drank coffee that you could chew almost every day. She could make the best
biscuits and cornpone.
She wore her waist long silver hair in a ball atop her head and a clean
apron (in the pocket of which were her keys since everything was locked up, and
her can of Standard snuff. She dipped snuff and tell-tale rivulets stained the
patina of myriad wrinkles in her smile.
Leila worried herself sick about bad weather. She could hear thunder fifty
miles away. It is not know what caused her fear, but it never left her. She
told a million stories and her grandkids politely listened. She told the story
about Ed Bailey, her favorite, uncle, who was killed in a gunfight with a Mr
Atkins, over and over, and the grandkids indulged her. Even after fifty years,
her eyes would fill with tears.
She loved to fish and eat fish even sardines. When Sidney was a baby,
Leila would take him after dinner with a cane pole and slip off to a creek below
the house in Mal Brown's pasture to catch a few finger-sized fish. She told a
tale of "hooking" a cow that confronted her. She found a tree and kept the cow
on the other side steadily beating the cow over the head with the fishing cane,
all the while holding her baby. The cane wore out and the cow wore out.
Leila was quick to ask about the soda sacks used in fertilizing the crops,
as they would poison her cows. She was frugal and raised chickens, sold eggs in
Owassa, and with her pocket money she purchased her stock and much needed
furniture.
Life was hard, and she was afraid of electricity, and didn't succumb to
modern conveniences until about 1952. She preferred the oil lamp, wood stove,
and fireplace in the winter, and the shade and a palmetto fan in the summer.
In later life, her knees swelled, and she was unable to stand for any
length of time. While her knees had given out, her stubborn determination had
not. She wired a regular dinner spoon to a stick about as long as a walking
cane. Even sprigs of grass in the yard became her sworn enemy, and she wasn't
fond of cats or dogs. However, Dash, Johnny Ward's dog, became her companion
for ten years.
She also spent many hours seated in her heavy oak rocking chair surveying the
red dirt road. She painfully walked about the house from room to room holding
on to the furniture.
She would drag her cane-bottomed chair out under the big pecan tree on the East
side of the house where she would sit in the shade and pick up pecans from the
ground one by one putting them into a bucket. When the circle around her was
cleaned, she would move her chair and begin again.
Around 1946, Clara Viola Ward gave her parents a well-made asbestos lined
strong box to store valuables, deeds, or whatever.
In the middle 1950s, her daughter, Clara Viola, was working hard to convince her
mother of the advantages of a modern gas stove. Leila suffered from rheumatism
and age. It was getting harder to provide stove wood and someone to bring it
inside. The old wood stove had cooked a million meals and heated the kitchen
for untold years. Leila finally agreed; however, she wouldn't agree to give the
old stove away to a black lady named Katherine. No one was going to give away
her stove. She wanted to sell it for $25.00 almost as much as she had paid for
it. In secret, Clara Viola gave Katherine the $25.00. It took three of four
grown men to dismantle and load the old stove on the back of Sidney Oneal's
truck. The old stove had a new home and everyone was happy. Katherine, a
family friend, had a newer stove for her family, Clara Viola had a modern stove
for her mother, and Leila had her $25.00.
Leila and her husband, Richard W Ward, are both buried in the Brownville
Methodist Church Cemetery. Her "Find A Grave" record has her first name as
"Lela" but direct relatives gave me "Leila". Pat Cronin
Leila Bailey was born on 23 Feb 1877 in Wilcox County, Alabama. Her
parents were William Britt Bailey and Mary Viola/Rachel Lynam. Leila's
childhood name was "Day Duck" because she awakened so early. She grew up in
Pine Apple, Wilcox County, Alabama, and told stories of a happy childhood on
Pine Barren Creek. She was the fourth of eleven children.
Her older sister, Lula, married Ervin Evander Ward, on 16 Oct 1889. It is
quite possible that she met Richard as a result of her sister's marriage. She
married Richard W Ward on 29 Jun 1897, and they lived in Pine Apple until 1910.
Then they moved to Owassa, Alabama.
Leila wore gold rimmed glasses, was slightly overweight, suffered from
rheumatism, had a widow's hump, usually ate a fried egg, bacon and biscuits and
drank coffee that you could chew almost every day. She could make the best
biscuits and cornpone.
She wore her waist long silver hair in a ball atop her head and a clean
apron (in the pocket of which were her keys since everything was locked up, and
her can of Standard snuff. She dipped snuff and tell-tale rivulets stained the
patina of myriad wrinkles in her smile.
Leila worried herself sick about bad weather. She could hear thunder fifty
miles away. It is not know what caused her fear, but it never left her. She
told a million stories and her grandkids politely listened. She told the story
about Ed Bailey, her favorite, uncle, who was killed in a gunfight with a Mr
Atkins, over and over, and the grandkids indulged her. Even after fifty years,
her eyes would fill with tears.
She loved to fish and eat fish even sardines. When Sidney was a baby,
Leila would take him after dinner with a cane pole and slip off to a creek below
the house in Mal Brown's pasture to catch a few finger-sized fish. She told a
tale of "hooking" a cow that confronted her. She found a tree and kept the cow
on the other side steadily beating the cow over the head with the fishing cane,
all the while holding her baby. The cane wore out and the cow wore out.
Leila was quick to ask about the soda sacks used in fertilizing the crops,
as they would poison her cows. She was frugal and raised chickens, sold eggs in
Owassa, and with her pocket money she purchased her stock and much needed
furniture.
Life was hard, and she was afraid of electricity, and didn't succumb to
modern conveniences until about 1952. She preferred the oil lamp, wood stove,
and fireplace in the winter, and the shade and a palmetto fan in the summer.
In later life, her knees swelled, and she was unable to stand for any
length of time. While her knees had given out, her stubborn determination had
not. She wired a regular dinner spoon to a stick about as long as a walking
cane. Even sprigs of grass in the yard became her sworn enemy, and she wasn't
fond of cats or dogs. However, Dash, Johnny Ward's dog, became her companion
for ten years.
She also spent many hours seated in her heavy oak rocking chair surveying the
red dirt road. She painfully walked about the house from room to room holding
on to the furniture.
She would drag her cane-bottomed chair out under the big pecan tree on the East
side of the house where she would sit in the shade and pick up pecans from the
ground one by one putting them into a bucket. When the circle around her was
cleaned, she would move her chair and begin again.
Around 1946, Clara Viola Ward gave her parents a well-made asbestos lined
strong box to store valuables, deeds, or whatever.
In the middle 1950s, her daughter, Clara Viola, was working hard to convince her
mother of the advantages of a modern gas stove. Leila suffered from rheumatism
and age. It was getting harder to provide stove wood and someone to bring it
inside. The old wood stove had cooked a million meals and heated the kitchen
for untold years. Leila finally agreed; however, she wouldn't agree to give the
old stove away to a black lady named Katherine. No one was going to give away
her stove. She wanted to sell it for $25.00 almost as much as she had paid for
it. In secret, Clara Viola gave Katherine the $25.00. It took three of four
grown men to dismantle and load the old stove on the back of Sidney Oneal's
truck. The old stove had a new home and everyone was happy. Katherine, a
family friend, had a newer stove for her family, Clara Viola had a modern stove
for her mother, and Leila had her $25.00.
Leila and her husband, Richard W Ward, are both buried in the Brownville
Methodist Church Cemetery. Her "Find A Grave" record has her first name as
"Lela" but direct relatives gave me "Leila". Pat Cronin
parents were William Britt Bailey and Mary Viola/Rachel Lynam. Leila's
childhood name was "Day Duck" because she awakened so early. She grew up in
Pine Apple, Wilcox County, Alabama, and told stories of a happy childhood on
Pine Barren Creek. She was the fourth of eleven children.
Her older sister, Lula, married Ervin Evander Ward, on 16 Oct 1889. It is
quite possible that she met Richard as a result of her sister's marriage. She
married Richard W Ward on 29 Jun 1897, and they lived in Pine Apple until 1910.
Then they moved to Owassa, Alabama.
Leila wore gold rimmed glasses, was slightly overweight, suffered from
rheumatism, had a widow's hump, usually ate a fried egg, bacon and biscuits and
drank coffee that you could chew almost every day. She could make the best
biscuits and cornpone.
She wore her waist long silver hair in a ball atop her head and a clean
apron (in the pocket of which were her keys since everything was locked up, and
her can of Standard snuff. She dipped snuff and tell-tale rivulets stained the
patina of myriad wrinkles in her smile.
Leila worried herself sick about bad weather. She could hear thunder fifty
miles away. It is not know what caused her fear, but it never left her. She
told a million stories and her grandkids politely listened. She told the story
about Ed Bailey, her favorite, uncle, who was killed in a gunfight with a Mr
Atkins, over and over, and the grandkids indulged her. Even after fifty years,
her eyes would fill with tears.
She loved to fish and eat fish even sardines. When Sidney was a baby,
Leila would take him after dinner with a cane pole and slip off to a creek below
the house in Mal Brown's pasture to catch a few finger-sized fish. She told a
tale of "hooking" a cow that confronted her. She found a tree and kept the cow
on the other side steadily beating the cow over the head with the fishing cane,
all the while holding her baby. The cane wore out and the cow wore out.
Leila was quick to ask about the soda sacks used in fertilizing the crops,
as they would poison her cows. She was frugal and raised chickens, sold eggs in
Owassa, and with her pocket money she purchased her stock and much needed
furniture.
Life was hard, and she was afraid of electricity, and didn't succumb to
modern conveniences until about 1952. She preferred the oil lamp, wood stove,
and fireplace in the winter, and the shade and a palmetto fan in the summer.
In later life, her knees swelled, and she was unable to stand for any
length of time. While her knees had given out, her stubborn determination had
not. She wired a regular dinner spoon to a stick about as long as a walking
cane. Even sprigs of grass in the yard became her sworn enemy, and she wasn't
fond of cats or dogs. However, Dash, Johnny Ward's dog, became her companion
for ten years.
She also spent many hours seated in her heavy oak rocking chair surveying the
red dirt road. She painfully walked about the house from room to room holding
on to the furniture.
She would drag her cane-bottomed chair out under the big pecan tree on the East
side of the house where she would sit in the shade and pick up pecans from the
ground one by one putting them into a bucket. When the circle around her was
cleaned, she would move her chair and begin again.
Around 1946, Clara Viola Ward gave her parents a well-made asbestos lined
strong box to store valuables, deeds, or whatever.
In the middle 1950s, her daughter, Clara Viola, was working hard to convince her
mother of the advantages of a modern gas stove. Leila suffered from rheumatism
and age. It was getting harder to provide stove wood and someone to bring it
inside. The old wood stove had cooked a million meals and heated the kitchen
for untold years. Leila finally agreed; however, she wouldn't agree to give the
old stove away to a black lady named Katherine. No one was going to give away
her stove. She wanted to sell it for $25.00 almost as much as she had paid for
it. In secret, Clara Viola gave Katherine the $25.00. It took three of four
grown men to dismantle and load the old stove on the back of Sidney Oneal's
truck. The old stove had a new home and everyone was happy. Katherine, a
family friend, had a newer stove for her family, Clara Viola had a modern stove
for her mother, and Leila had her $25.00.
Leila and her husband, Richard W Ward, are both buried in the Brownville
Methodist Church Cemetery. Her "Find A Grave" record has her first name as
"Lela" but direct relatives gave me "Leila". Pat Cronin
Gravesite Details
Wife of: Richard Ward
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