Autobiography of Julia Ann Barr Hamilton

Part 7 of 8

Well, we got our house done and stayed there about six months, I was so proud of my home. Papa told me all how he was going to fix to bring the water up to the house on a wire. Not far from the house in the bed of the creek there were two springs opposite each other. He would dig a deep spring and just run the wire down, make it so it would dip up a bucket full and give it a jerk and it would come to the house.

But we didn’t stay there long. Sold out and moved to another place not far off. Stayed there a while.

We left Bosque County and went to Mother’s in Bell County, stayed there a while, then went on to Southern Texas.

Papa got to work for Old Mose, a Negro or Mulatto. He was nearly white, but had been a slave. He had a nice home and a good old woman. Her name was Rhoda. We all called her Aunt Rhoda; She was very kind to me.

I went to make some soap, and it wouldn’t get thick. I got Aunt Rhoda to come up and look at it. She said it was the wrong time of the moon. She said, “Child, just let it get cold, take the grease off and wait till the new moon and run the lye down. I will come up and show you how to do it.”

I have done just like she told me so when the new moon came I ran the lye down and sent her word. She came up, put the grease in, and told me not to stir it only one way. Well, we got good soap now.

For fear some of the ones (that read this may not know what I mean by saying run the lye down, I will tell you how we made soap in those days.

The men got a log, just a small one, and hollowed it out all along but one end. They put blocks or rocks down a little, not as far apart as the trough was long. That made the end that was not hewed out a little higher than the other end. Then they made a frame all around the trough, put a plank on long boards at one end in the trough, the other end on the frame.

Then you put shucks in the bottom, then ashes. Put in a few ashes, wet them, then take a mall and pack them until the hopper was full as we wanted. It made it a little lower in the middle so the water wouldn’t run over, and just poured water every few hours until the lye began to run out at the lower end of the trough.

We put a pot under the end to catch the lye, then poured it in a big pot until we got enough, or as much as we wanted. Then put in the grease and set it to boiling. It didn’t make hard soap, we put salt in some of it before we taken it out of the pot and when it got cold, the lye was in the bottom, soap on top. Just cut it out and lay it on boards until it dried. It was handy to use as hand soap. We were doing very well. Brother Elijah came down to see us and got power of attorney from us on my father’s estate in Illinois. He was going back there to settle it up and sell the place. We had to go several miles to a justice peace. We left Donia with Aunt Rhoda as we went horseback. We got it fixed up and Brother went back. Papa was fixing to build a frame house, had the foundation laid when Bob came and he got after Papa to go to Arkansas. Tore up again. On the road. Traveled through mud. Finally got to Fannin County. Your Aunt Saty was coming to go with us to Arkansas, so we got a little house, and camped in it as we had nothing to keep house with. I sold my bedstead Mother gave me. I think we left the chairs. Guess we left them until we left for California.

Papa got a job, so did Bob. We waited several weeks. I don’t remember how long, but finally we got there.

Sarah’s family consisted of five girls. May, Nan. Donia, Emer, and Genia, and she had a man, Elic Stone, to drive her wagon, or one of them. It had four or six mules to it. She had another wagon with two mares on it. She drove it. Also had several heads of cattle, cows, and calves.

May and Nan rode horses, and drove cattle. After a few days, or weeks, Elic and May went to the county seat, got a license, and engaged a preacher. That was on Saturday, in May, I think. We cooked cakes and pies, baked light bread, fixed everything but meat.

I don’t know what we were going to do for meat, but know what we did do. Late that evening, between sunset and dark, someone heard a turkey. As turkeys fly up to roost in a tree just across the branch from the house. Papa took a gun and said we will have turkey for dinner. He went over and shot it. It was a fine gobbler. We said the Lord sent it to us, and I still think he did as there weren’t many wild turkeys there then. Well, we had turkey and dressing, but no cranberry sauce as we had never heard of that sauce.

Well, Sunday came bright and perfect. Elic, May, Papa and I took a ride out to see if we could get some strawberries. Got a few.

Well, we got back, and the preacher came, the knot was tied, prayer said, dinner eat, and the preacher gone.

Bob had been working for a man over a few miles from where we lived, so he informed us that he was going to get married, too.

He married a girl named Mattie. I have forgot her sir name. She was a nice, sweet girl, but we didn’t wait. We started on, got to Red River, and crossed over into Territory. That was the year 1867.

(To be continued)