Selma Purgohn Bankhead – 1865-1953 - The Share Cropper's Daughter

The bewitching Sharecropper's Daughter, Selma was only fifteen when she won the heart of John Warren Bankhead, the direct Grandson, three generations removed of Thomas Jefferson, and Mary Chambers first born. The story goes that this emigrant child from Prussia was working in the fields, on the Bankhead lands, with her spectacular mane of copper gold locks flowing, when John happened by and was soundly smitten.

The Bankhead family farms where now connected on hundreds of acres with three graciously constructed estate houses. Only Selma's home, that sat on a tree-shaded bank overlooking Buffalo Creek, some twenty miles from the Mississippi, has survived. The family fortunes suffered greatly under reconstruction when land was absconded and a voice in government was blocked. A general contentious attitude marred the prevailing mood, but not at Selma's house where the heart of the home was her magnetic, lively kitchen with a monumental wood burning stove that acted like a stage for all her delectable dishes.

At this time it is remarkable how much of Monticello's kitchen and garden practices still prevailed. The art of the smokehouse was the same and still produced the extraordinary hams and all manner of fowl and beef that made Virginia famous. The garden was all important and brought forth a broad variety of vegetables and fruits to put into glass jars, sealed with wax, and then into the deep cellar right next to the root vegetables only to be brought out at the perfect moment during the harsh winter months.
True, the enormous garden collection amassed by Jefferson had dwindled down to a more practical selection but there was a talented team of descendants from Monticello, working hard, including the now free enslaved families who made the journey to Missouri and lived on the Bankhead farms. All together they still created the same celebration of all the traditions that remained alive and well in their memories. I did know my great Grandmother Bankhead, Selma, and remember the huge Christmas dinner that was her famous grand spread.



Country Christmas Dinner

On Christmas Day, the family would come from miles around to see the old cherry wood sideboard groaning with the weight of her famous spread that is presented here. Blue Willow Plates with gold borders graced the long dining table as the guests all sipped Gramma's luscious Blackberry Cordial and Elderberry Wine, selected from sparkling cut-crystal decanters. A huge turkey and a goose, lovingly fattened up all fall for the holiday festivities, lay baking in the mammoth oven. When each bird was perfectly baked, crispy skin outside , moist and succulent inside, reverently all the side dishes formed a profound display, each one served up in one of the lovely pieces of china or silver that survived the years.
Menu

Roasted Turkey & Oyster dressing
Spinach and Mustard Greens
Whipped Potatoes – Roasted Sweet Potatoes
German Red Cabbage - Crab Apple Pickles
Country Biscuits – Honey Butter – Wine Jelly
Selma's White Charlotte Russe