Grandma Izzy's Tribute to Her Grandchildren

As I was reading back through Grandma's memory journal, I was incredibly touched by her description of each of her grandchildren up to that point. It is a treasure. Enjoy!

late 1989

31 January 1995
Tell about your grandchildren - how many? Names? how you feel about being a grandparent? etc?

This is going to take a while and many pages because we have 25 grandchildren and there are many things I’d like to mention about each one - so I may not be able to do a question a day for a while. I’ll just write on this until I finish, for being a grandparent to our particular grandchildren is one of the choicest experiences of my lifetime. No wonder the scriptures talk so much about posterity. When I look at them and feel their spirits, I don’t mind dying. They are the kind of people who will change this old world for the better.

#1 JC and I traveled to Provo, Utah in August of 1979 to be with Grace when she gave birth to our 1st grandson. The baby did not come & did not come. I found out Grace had one last paper to complete before graduation Aug. 18 so we spent the last week we were there completing that paper on “Yeast”. We attended her graduation on Aug 18 (also her wedding anniversary) & headed back to SC for I had to begin school on Aug. 21 (teaching at CMS - my 1st year there). On Aug 20, we (top margin: Nathan loves computers & their games & is an expert at his age.) drove in and were coming into the house when the phone started ringing. It was Doug calling to let us know that Nathaniel Douglas had been born that day and weighed 7 lbs 19 ½ oz. I was overjoyed but so frustrated we were not there to show Grace our joy and our thankfulness for her. Nathan will be 16 this year and has been a source of great joy & blessings to us.

#2 Judd Ivey was born on 17 Apr. 1980 weighing 7 lbs 13 ½ oz. There was no way we could go at that time (during the school year) So I immediately started planning to go as soon as school was out in June. Lois got her drivers permit at age 15 and went along to help drive. Our niece, Brenda Connell also went with us. We stopped off in Hot Springs, AR and picked up Donna’s Mom: Bertha Satterwhite. What a trip. We were driving an Oldsmobile that had been converted to a diesel engine. We had a time going up those Mts in UT & New Mexico, but it was worth it to see that precious little red-headed boy of Bob’s & Donna’s. We had a very eventful trip back pulling Doug’s & Grace’s belongings in home-made trailer to N. Aug., SC. Another story.

(In Margin: Donna & Bob came to stay w/ us when Judd was about 6 mos until Nov. of 1980 when Bob got his USAF orders to Albuquerque, N.M.)

#3 and #4 Ellen Renee & Laura Kathleen , identical twin girls born on 23 May 1981, @ 5lbs 2 ½ oz and 5 lbs 10 oz respectively gave us a wonderful thrill. Grace did not know until about 2 weeks before their birth she was going to have twins tho’ I’d suggested to her when she was 3 months she looked 6 mos and was maybe going to have twins. Her doctor said ¬– No she felt only one heartbeat. Doug’s mother came and helped her out her 1st week home as she’d had a “C” section and was nursing the two babies. I went down the second week as soon as school was out and stayed a month. JC gave Grace diaper service and that was a lifesaver. I slept on a pallet in the room with the twins and carried them in to their mother for nursing after I changed the baby. I’d bring that one back, and the other one had to be cared for. In a few days I realized Grace was going to have to be fed 5 times a day to meet the demands of 2 babies so I began feeding her 3 meals a day and 2 heavy snacks – one about midnight. I’ll never forget how these little babies would reach around and be touching no matter how I laid them in the crib. They are beautiful 13 yr olds now. (margin: Laura and Ellen sing in the ward choir and both also play the piano. Ellen practices abt 3 hrs a day)

#5 Joe and Kerry had their first son Joseph Benjamin 20 Feb. 1982 weighing in at 8 lbs. At the time they were staying here with us, for Joe was getting ready to go to college. Ben was such a good little baby and we so enjoyed having him close and seeing him change and grow. You could almost see him getting bigger from day to day as Kerry nursed him He would smile and coo and laugh. Soon he was turning over both ways, and you couldn’t leave him on a bed or couch.

Now, at age 12, he is playing football and wrestling in L-E Middle Sch. Wrestling. He is a strong spirit and close to his parents and brothers and sister.

#6 Bob and Donna, on 21 March 1982, (JC’s b’day) had Rachelle Marie in Albuquerque, N.M. weighing 7 lbs. Bob was in the USAF and was also attending graduate school at U.N.M. at Albuquerque in Physics. Rachelle had a beautiful little face and dark hair. We didn’t get to see her until summer. Bob was worried about one of her eyes that turned in. They had it operated on later, and it has been fine. She wore a patch first. That didn’t help much. She is now a brilliant 12 yr old.

#7 Rebecca Lynn (Becky) was born 7 March 1983 (weighing 8 lbs.) in Baltimore, MD. In a short period of time, she was full of dimples – in her cheeks, in her elbows and knees. She was roly-poly and just precious with her blond hair. We didn’t get to see her until summer either. Teaching school doesn’t allow grandparents time off to visit their precious little ones. But, oh, how we enjoyed her tricks when we did see her. She is now a slender, dimple cheeked blond who is very pleasant, deeply loved by animals, (Lucky-Ducky or duck, (in between lines: a duck) thought she was his mama), admired by her family, second-mama to Rachel, and super intelligent. Loves horses.

#8 Christopher Charles 8 lbs 2 ½ oz. 20 ½ ″ long was born 10 June 1982, Foy and Sherri’s first child. Since they were living on-campus @ USC we got a chance to visit him right away and saw him grow and develop from the be- ginning. They brought him over when he was 5 or 6 months old for us to baby-sit one night so they could go out (I think for Foy’s b’day Nov 11). Anyway, I was down in the floor playing peek-a-boo w/ him. He laughed so hard that I got started. I could hardly sit up I laughed so hard at this happy, bright-eyed, intelligent little boy. JC started laughing in his deep ho-ho style and that made me laugh until tears came from my eyes-I’ll never forget this sweet experience. Chris still is such a wonderful boy, now nearly ready to receive the priesthood in June. (in margin: Chris is taking piano lessons and doing well.)

#9 Juli Elizabeth, Bob and Donna’s 2nd dau. was born 4 July 1983, red-headed 8 lbs and 20″ long out in Albuquerque, New Mex. We went out and were there for her blessing for which Donna had a beautifully made blessing dress. Long and ornate. She has been a precious granddaughter, and we’ve only gotten to see him about once a year since her birth. One summer she, Judd and Rachelle spent a month w/ us and I remember this with such joy. She dances and sings beautifully and is coming into her own as a good student and this year.

#10 Only one grandchild came in 1984: Naomi Lynn, born Apr 5, 1984 to Joe and Kerry. She weighed 7 lbs 5 oz. and was 21 ½ ″ long. She was born in Columbia so we saw her fairly often. She had curly dark hair, a beaming smile, and was a loving, cuddly little bundle of life. Since her dad was in school and her mom constantly trying to juggle all her responsibilities and help earn money too, Naomi, Ben and Kerry were inseparable. I almost thought of them as one person. Naomi hard lots of breathing problems and Kerry worried so about her (I know Joe did too but it was such a hectic time for him much had to be left to Kerry.) But Naomi has come through to being a tall, healthy athletic girl who just loves horses, horseback riding, jumping on the trampoline, etc. She also helps so much with her little brothers!

#11 On 31 Jan 1985, Heidi Nicole was born to Grace and Doug in Virginia. She was 7 lbs 5 oz and 20 ″ long. She was a gorgeous baby, looked a lot like Grace as a baby. The four other children in her family played with her like a doll. She came here tough and durable. She was like a Timex “take a lickin’ and keep on tickin.” Not that anyone hurt her. They just loved her hard. She reminds me of myself. Tough, stubborn, happy, intelligent, hard working (if she can’t figure a way to get out of it), loves to read, hear stories, tell stories, be involved, and loves to be off to herself at times. Plus, she loves horseback riding which I never did. She’s an asset to her family and seems to be unafraid.

#12 Our other 1985 baby came to Foy and Sherri 28 April 1985 in Columbia (where Foy was in school at USC) Robin Lynn weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 21 ″ long. Sherri was able to take off from her teaching job at Blaney Elem the last weeks of school so it was a double blessing for Robin to be born at that particular time. We got to see her often. She rarely slept through the night (Like her Daddy before her) and was a challenge to keep up with. She was such a cute, precious little girl whom everyone seemed to love. She works hard in school, acts like a momma to her little sisters and makes her parents proud of her. She’ll soon be 10 years old. She is taking piano lessons and is doing so well.

#13 Catherine (“Katie”) Annette, born 23 Dec 1986, in Virginia, weighed 8 lbs 8 ½ oz. and was 20 ¾″ long and was our only grand-child born in 1986. We were there – arriving that day. Grace went off to her Dr’s appt. and didn’t come back. We finally got a call saying she had to go on to the hospital. She was home the next day. I couldn’t believe it! Katie was accepted as a special Christmas gift from Heavenly Father by her family. On Christmas day, Doug’s sister’s children were also there and I remember Grace (in between lines: and Katie) and all those children all over the couch. What a gathering! Katie has a mind of her own that hears what she wants to hear. She learns by doing and is always working out some problem in her mind by using blocks, “ponies”, “cars”, imagination and time. She reads and enjoys many kinds of books including the scriptures. I see her as a leader in her lifetime. She already plays the piano w/ a little instruction from her older sisters.

#14 Luke Aaron born Sept. 30, 1987 weighing 5 lbs 10 oz and 18″ long is the only gchild born in 1987 to Jean and Bob in Colorado Springs. Jean lost over half her blood volume delivering him and could have lost her life if she hadn’t been in a civilian hospital. The doctors said they were going to have to give her a hysterectomy and were prepping her for it to stop the bleeding. Bob said he suddenly “knew” the bleeding would stop and it did w/out the operation. Luke is our only grandchild not born under the covenant. JC went out when he was small as both of us could not go. He was a beautiful little red headed boy. Bob always cared for him at night and when Jean was away flying. Jean is a good mother and adores Luke, however she still makes him mind and teaches him all he can learn. We have seen him very little in his lifetime. We were there in 1993 for his 6th b’day, got to see him play soccer and score some goals a fine sturdy intelligent little boy who lives with his mom in a big house in Colorado. We took him to the zoo and relished our time w/ him.

#15 Alyssa Marie was born to Karen and Sterling 28 Feb. 1989 weighing 7 lbs 2 oz and 20″ long in Camden, SC. Her mom had been so sick during the 1st months of the pregnancy, I prayed constantly for her. She lost 13 lbs in 2 weeks one time and had to be hospitalized. But she did well and delivered by “C” section this beautiful little girl who, to me, looked just like her g’daddy JC from the beginning. No baby was ever loved more by her mom and dad than this one. Sterling was as worn out (almost) as Karen as he was “coaching” hard. Alyssa is so smart Here at age 5 she can already read, talks like a grown-up using a phenomenal vocab-., is so loved by all her cousins who look so forward to every trip to the South from OR. where she lives now while her dad is in Chiropractic school. She was chosen by Aunt Lisa to care for her “train” to her dress at her wedding Dec 29, 1995. Lisa’s g’ma had suggested Alyssa because she was incredibly still waiting in the temple for the adults to return from the wedding – even tho’ all the other children were well-behaved, g’ma though Alyssa exemplary. None of the girl cousins were jealous because they were so proud of Alyssa.

#16 Hannah Elizabeth was born 12 May 1989 and weighed 8 lbs 9 oz and was 20″ long. Grace and Doug couldn’t decide on a name un-til after she was born. She was a beautiful, dark-haired baby with lovely eyes. Doug said, “She looks like a Hannah to me”. JC and I went over to visit and got to hold her soon after her birth. She has a powerful spirit. As we watch her grow, we see that she is very independent, has her own ideas and opinions. She is struggling to gain control of her body and temper. I see a lot of progress. By the time she was 4, there wasn’t a wall or book or writing space that didn’t have her name written on it in her unique handwriting. Her mind is very creative. She and Katie together will probably write books someday. She is still dark-haired and has beautiful eyes.

#17 Campbell Talbert was born to Joe and Kerry 14 June 1990 and weighed 8 lbs 9 oz and was 21″ what a fine little boy! Before our mission in 1991, Campbell could already throw a ball like a big guy. If you said “ball,” you got it right in the face! He was very accurate! Even JC would duck. He loved to be held and rocked, and I loved to hold him and watch him drift off peacefully to sleep. I probably missed him more than anyone else while we were on our mission to the Germany Munich Mission. Donna Goff loved him too. She wrote me of taking him for a walk back of the church where some city kids were playing soccer. Before she could realize what he was doing, he ran out onto the field and to the amazement of those big kids, this 2 year old kicked that ball flying down the field!

His dad is always telling tales of what he’s said or done. One Sun. morning after Joe was ready to go to church, he picked up Campbell to give him a hug and C sniffed his cologne and said, “Daddy, I love your pollution.”

Campbell travels a foot above the floor most of the time running, leaping, doing karate twirls, chops, turns, etc. He loves the idea that he is very strong and can do so many things (like his Daddy when he was a little boy). Multi-talented and loving.

#18 Sharon Ashley was born 2 Oct 1990 to Foy and Sherri over in Columbia while they were still at Carolina Gardens at USC. She weighed 7lbs 6oz. and was 19“ long. Now she is a tall child. She is so intelligent and has been talking a long time... so close to her mother. She loved her crib more than any baby I’ve ever seen. When she got tired or sleepy after she was big enough, she’d go climb in her crib, pull her blanket up and wiggle in and go to sleep or just rest. She loved to sleep on her daddy’s chest when she was a little baby. Sherri was still teaching so had to get her up and take her to day-care every school morning. There, Sharon loved old Sis. Fish who came and helped out by rocking the babies and just holding them.

Now, Sharon loves books, playing w/ her friend Patrick, watching her “videos” (Disney characters). She likes rice, grits, beans, and other Southern soul food. Quite a g’dau

#19 William Ivey “Will” was born 24 Feb 1992 and was a whopping 9lbs 8 oz and 22 1/4“ long and Kerry had to have a “C” section. He came while we were in Augsburg, Germany and was late. We didn’t get to see him until June of ‘93 so missed a lot of his babyhood. But he filled in the gap for me for he was about the age Campbell was when we left in ‘91. I enjoyed rocking and holding Will because he was a snuggly little boy also. Lois said he taught her to love holding little babies because he was so sweet. Now he moves so fast, he skims just above the ground. He also has a creative mind, getting into more stuff in an hour than his Mom can straighten out in a day. He talks well, speaking his words plainly, asking question about everything, giving opinions freely. His feelings are tender and close to the surface. I have unintentionally hurt his feelings several times and have grieved about it.

#20 One day after Will was delivered by “C” section, Rachel Marie was born to Grace and Doug. She weighed 8 lbs 9 oz and was 21 inches long -- She is their 7th daughter. She is a beautiful, precious little girl who is strongly finding her place and developing her personality in that large family. (I feel a great kinship with her as I am also the 8th child in my family) Seeing Grace’s love enjoyment and understanding of Rachel has helped me feel the love my mother must have had for me. I always doubted deep in my mind because she was so devoted to my younger sister. (Rachel is coping with this also as she has a younger brother.) Rachel has a sweet, gentle face, with a little voice (until she gets upset). She is well-loved by the Nursery leaders at church... Sis Barton and Sis Hilton... she is quiet and usually very cooperative. She doesn’t talk much there, but she can talk very well. Her sentences are well-formed, simple, direct comments. She speaks plainly and I feel deeply attached to her and do so enjoy her twinkly eyes and mischevous smile. I also enjoy how seriously she works at getting attention in Sacrament mtg and how kindly her parents give her the attention she needs yet keep bringing her back into the service.

#21 Jessica Erin was born to Sherri and Foy 25 July 1993 weighing in at 7 lbs 5 oz and was 21 inches long. JC and I had gone up when Foy let us know Sherri was in labor. We went on up and relieved the babysitter and were able to see Jessica not long after her birth. She, too, was beautiful. It was so good to hold her close and be aware of this powerful spirit joining our family here on earth. She was our first grandchild born after our mission. This past weekend, we kept her (and Chris, Robin, and Sharon) so Foy and Sherri could go to Myrtle Beach for a long weekend Thurs night, Fri, Sat, and Sunday. (Foy to a medical Seminar, Sherri to shop) Jessica is 18 months old, saying many words as plainly as I. She moves non-stop until you stop her and at great speeds. We walked back and forth to Grace’s several times. She literally ran most of the way, falling flat numerous times, picking herself up, slapping her hands together to knock off the sand, and running on again. I was amazed. She wouldn’t hold my hand or Sharon’s. She got very upset when we got there and I wouldn’t let her play outside with Bear (huge dog) and Beethoven (puppy). She had no fear!

She’d wake up in the night but after a hug, she’d say nite-nite and fall back in the playpen to sleep. She’d climb out of that and hit the floor in the mornings. She calls all liquids “juice” - rain, milk, water, and juice. She says “Daddee” so sweetly it grips your heart. We loved having her and the others here.

#22 Chelsea Marie actually should have been #21 because we got her “readymade” when Lois married Rick Moss 2 July 1993. She was born 20 Jan 1989. Lois loves her very much & Chelsea loves Lois. They have a lot of fun together. Chelsea looks so very much like her daddy. She has a precious personality, infectious laugh & sweet smile. We don’t get to see her much - May/June & December usually.

#23 Zachary Nolan was born to Kerry & Joe 7 Sept 1993. He weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 21 inches long. He had such big eyes and was very alert from the beginning. Coming as he did as the 4th son and the third in a row after Campbell & Will, Zack had to be strong! He is a beautiful little boy; tough yet tender hearted and loving. He and his Mom have a special bond. I’ve enjoyed watching him grow & develop. At Kerry’s & Joe’s the other day, Jessica was there with me visiting. She got in one of Zack & Will’s cars that you drive by propelling with your feet. Zack jumped out of his & ran over to push Jessica. He pushed her in that car all over the yard. The he started out toward the trampoline and looked back to see if Jessica was following. She wasn’t coming fast enough to suit him. He took off running back, got her by the hand & they toddled on out to the trampoline. It was a sweet “picture” my eyes snapped of these 18-month old grandchildren. Just a few months ago they were driving each other crazy. When one would pick up a toy the other would try to get it back, scream & scream if they couldn’t. Now: best friends.

#24 Seth Daniel was born 9 Aug 1994 at 8 lbs 10 oz and 21” long to Grace and Doug. He’ll always be special in my life for I will never forget the events that transpired at our house the day he was born. His older brother & 7 sisters were staying here - Lois & Donna G. were keeping them while JC & I did our Tues. work at the Bishops Storehouse. We came by the hospital to see Grace & they told us it’d be a while before she had the baby. We came on home & I started supper for the troops. The phone call came telling us the baby was a boy. When the girls heard it, they started running & jumping thru the house saying “It’s a BOY, It’s A boy, IT’s a boy! It’s A BOY! Doesn’t that sound good? BOY! BOY! BOY!” This went on ad infinitum. But Nathan, the big brother, simply said, “AT LAST”. I took all the children up to see Grace & the baby after supper. People up there at the hosp. couldn’t believe Grace & Doug who look so young could have all those children from age 15 down. The children were amazed at Seth - His head was 15” around - biggest head we ever saw. Nathan said he had to be a genius w/ a head that big … said his brain would be huge

Seth is now 6 mos, crawling, saying Mom, Dadee, & is precious with a very sweet smile. His family thinks he is the best thing since the baby Jesus (and he played that part also at Christmas - Ben, Nathan, & Chris played the 3 wise men. They brought gifts of (Ben) a cap, (Nathan) a teddy bear and (Chris) a little airplane.)

#25 Elizabeth Annette was born 14 Sept 1994, the first child of Lois & Rick Moss. I was able to be with Lois & Rick and assist in the birthing process. Elizabeth weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and was 21” long. She has red hair and blue eyes and also had a “genius” size head - 14”. JC & Dick, the granddads, waited in the waiting room. Dixie & I the grandmoms, worked in the birthing room. It was a wonderful experience. I’d been present at other births but Elizabeth was the first of our g’children I saw born. I will never forget the spiritual feelings that I felt as Elizabeth joined us here on earth. Dick was holder her later that day she seemed to be looking directly into his eyes. I got the distinct impression she & he knew each other well in the pre-mortal world and wote my feelings on this to Lois & Rick.

I was able to go over and spend a week with Lois & Eliz. after they came home from the hospital. It was a sweet time. As I helped do the little tasks to help out, my heart and soul expanded thanking my Heavenly Father for his great love for JC & me and our children, for hearing and answering our prayers that Lois’s true companion would appear and marry her and share her life, give her children, love and cherish her as she deserved. (This we did on our mission). Seeing Rick and getting to know him so much more intimately as he fearlessly helped Lois have Eliz. there in the birthing room & seeing how marvellously perfect Eliz. came into this world was such a direct answer to prayer that I was overwhelmed with my gratitude for these blessings. Elizabeth is now 6 months old (or will be tomorrow). She is such a smiling, bright-eyed happy little girl. Her grandmom Dixie dresses her like a princess/queen! (she also does the same for Lois who adores Dixie and is amazed she has such good taste in clothes for her as well as Eliz.) Eliz. is crawling and cutting teeth. One of my great happinesses is to see Eliz. and Seth playing here together on my living room floor. They are both so beautiful and happy.

c. 1993 or 94

Granddad JC and his parents

So what kinds of things did you do with your parents?


I took care of the cows; [Mom] did the milking. I helped her make the beds sometimes. That’s about what she did in the mornings. I really wasn’t home that much. I was out in the fields--we were--after we ate breakfast in the mornings, if we weren’t going to school, we were out in the fields somewhere, chopping cotton or that kind of stuff.


What made you love your mom?


Well, she was my mother. She used to always read the scriptures, every evening. She could prepare any kind of food and make it taste good. She was nice to everybody, and she was just a nice person. She didn’t have--I think she had a 3rd grade education. She went to the 3rd reader; I guess they called it that. My dad went to the 2nd reader. But he was working on the farm all the time.

What kinds of things did your mom do for other people?



She helped Aunt Julia--that was her aunt, my great-aunt. We’d always have dinners and all like that and she would go over there and work with them. That’s all we did, was just family. Course, after I went in the military, she was always sick when I came home. She used to have mini strokes all the time. She’d be sitting at the table, and she’d start moving her hand or something like that. Then she was having a mini stroke; then it would go away. She wouldn’t say anything during that time.


She was strong-willed. Yeah, she was tough. She liked to have things looking nice. I remember we had yellow roses and rows of flowers around the yard. Course you know back then we didn’t have any grass in the yard, you never had a lawn. Your yard was completely sand. Our yard was. A blade of grass grew, you’d chop that up quick!

These roses grow close to where Granddad JC grew up. They could have been planted by Grandma Laura. 

Grandma Laura had roses like this in her yard 

Me: You didn’t want critters!


[laughs] I remember one time I was out there doing something there was a stick laying there and I went up to that stick, and it wasn’t a stick--it was a snake!


But Mom, she really worked hard.


Grandma: Women worked hard. They had to take care of the cow, I remember I would help my mom with the cow, you’d have to take her out to where the grass was good and stake her out.


Granddad: Our cows were really gentle. I just took them out in the morning, out of the cow pen, we’d head out across the field to the pasture. I took them up to the pasture every day and take them back in the evening. I’d go and call, “Hey-oh, hey-oh!” you know, and the cows would come to the gate you know and I’d let them out.
How did your parents discipline you?

They used little switches. I remember one time, it was really--Dad didn’t understand it. I was riding a bicycle, and the road coming up to our house was two ruts. I was coming down in a rut, and Doug was walking in the rut, and Dad was on the other side coming up. Doug did like this, and I pulled to the right, between the two ruts, and he jumped to his left and I ran right over him. And my dad tore me up! *whew!* He reached around and he pulled up a big weed--I mean it was a long one, with leaves on it, and where the leaves were were little knots. He wore me out with that. Man. I broke loose running, and I didn’t think he could run so fast. I started running and slowed down but heard him behind me and said, “whoa! I gotta start running down faster now!” I ran down here to where the Cleve’s house is here. It was dug out. It was a big open pit. The county came and got some clay that they used on the road somewhere and I just jumped off of that, down there and up the other side. I turned around and he didn’t go down there. I mean, that was uncalled for, but it wasn’t my fault, because he jumped right in front of the bicycle, I was moving to bypass him and I ran right into him. I didn’t want to do that. It’s tough.

Description of Broadus R. Connell by his son JC

He was about 6’1”. He had a normal Caucasian face, straight nose. I guess he was a pretty handsome
fella’. He told me one time he went to a square dance out here. He was havin’ a lot of fun and he was
dancing with these girls and all. Got ready to leave, and this girl was waitin’ there and he picked up 2
kids. He had Roddy and Norman picked him up and went with him. I guess Mama was there too.
He was a frank fellow. I never heard him swear or curse. Only one time. He was doing something, he  hit his hand with a hammer or something… Anyway. He really hit his hand. I think I would’ve said a lot more than he did. You never heard a swear word from him.

He could do most anything. He could butcher a cow, take it and hung it in a freezer locker down town and made hamburger out of a lot of it. We used to ride to town on the wagon without a body on it. Just sit on the tongue. The tongue is the one that goes all the way through and all the way out the front. We’d go to town and I’d be sitting up there to ride down there. He owned a store, 2 houses, you know where the creek is, over by the mill – little store restaurant there. Well he owned one store there and two houses right there.

He sold those to pay for Norman’s tuition to Clemson. So Norman graduated from Clemson. Ivy got a year or two years and he went to OCS. He was an officer. And the 505th airborne infantry division. I’ve got two pictures of him. One where he was a Sargent and when he was 2nd lieutenant. Dad worked all the time, but he liked to read the paper and joke. He was just an ordinary guy. Liked to fox hunt. He would take the dogs. A lot of mornings he’d get up and go and go fox hunting. He’d leave the dogs and come back home and go to work. And the dogs would come in and Mom always fixed some cornbread. And something else she’d put on cornbread to feed the dogs. That was the most things he do was fox hunt with some of the guys. They would go out. Said they were fox hunting one night they got this tree of ‘coons. And somebody was going to go up and try to knock him out. There was an old grey-headed man standing there looking up and that coon jumped right out on top of that guy’s head. He probably thought that was sand. You know white beard shinin’, probably thought that was sand and He was surprised I guess. Just a little hunting things. Dad watched his money and he took care of our family well.

Click to get audio from interview

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From an interview of JC Connell  by Katie on 2/10/2015
Thanks again to Mary Ann for transcribing this interview!

Granddad JC and vehicles

From an interview with Granddad JC:

My Dad and his dad both had cars, Model Ts, way back. They parked it at the old mulberry tree back at his house and uh we'd go out and play in it. See, our house was right over here, and we had a road that came and our driveway went straight up to our house, on the right side. That's where they had the barns, and the car shed, and the corral, and the pump. That was all on the far side--the east of the house. We had barn full of corn, and full of fodder and hay, and the stables.

I learned to drive on that little A Model convertible. They had a beautiful buggy and a horse when I was a little baby. They were going to church and I wanted to go but they wouldn't let me go. They'd keep me at home. I remember raising Sam because they wouldn't let me go to church. It was a real nice black buggy, then they started getting cars. He used to work on the roads here. He ran the road machines--my dad. That was the last job he had. First they had a tractor, like a D8, big tractor, pulling the road machine with a blade and Dad would drive the tractor. He had a prisoner that would operate the road machine that turned the blades and worked the sides of the roads.

They did all the roads back here, they were mostly--why, McRae road was a dirt road back then! Yep.

Izzy: They were terrible dirt roads!

JC: They were muddy, slick. I remember one time I was working for quality cleaners on a delivery truck. We got down to the country--paint hill, I think they called it that, with the red clay and all. We turned the corner and had to go up just a little incline and dad gummit the back end of the car started to slide over because of the crown in the road and it was so slick and all. It started sliding over I jumped out and took the side of the car--we had like a station wagon; they called it a suburban, the back doors would open up like that. Anyway, I took the side of it and I pushed it into the center of the road. I was about 14. I kept it from sliding into the ditch. That was really an experience!

Granddad JC and time with cousins

Here's Granddad JC talking about his time with cousins

It was a stupid thing. I was wanting to go to visit my cousins in North Carolina. But I was the only one wanting to do it. I don’t know what happened, but I put on a raincoat, I was barefooted and was wearing short pants and all.

I went down to Aunt Docia’s. She lived on Fair Street on the corner right there by the school and she was a nurse. And I was going to see if she was going to North Carolina – I might have asked her for money to ride the bus up there. I dunno, it was crazy--it never materialized – she said oh yeah, so she put me in a car and brought me back home. <chuckles> so this was the end of my trip to North Carolina.

My cousins always came down here. We all had so much fun. When they came down here we all got out of the beds and let the older people use on the beds and we slept the floor. That was fun. We’d sleep there and then get up in the morning and we’d go out and play, hide in the hay stack and all this stuff. That was fun. All this was open land around here – farmland. We played like Blind Man Buff or you cover your head and everyone goes and hide and you go out and try to find them. Mostly Red Rover Red Rover. You ever play that? <chuckles> We’d do that. Crazy.

They’d come at Christmas time; maybe Thanksgiving. Not really other times.

In the wintertime, we’d set trout lines down right down there in the pond and catch catfish. And we’d have catfish stew. Every-well we'd need some more so we would go down there and run the line.

Somebody said they were down there runnin' the trout line and they got the boat on top of a stump when there was an alligator, comin' around there. It was on the stump, so they couldn't move the boat to get away from the alligator! They must've hit it on the head with a paddle or something to get away; I dunno exactly how they got away.

That was over at Aunt Julia’s over the top of the hill up there. It’s all grown up now. The house is gone now, I don't know what happened.

Yeah, those were fun times. Fun times for the kids.

Aunt Docia on right as a recent nursing school grad

Note: I assume that the cousins in NC were Cora Lawrence (nee Connell)'s children. Does anyone know?

Granddad JC Serving in the Church

I did some interviews with Granddad JC over a year ago, and never got around to transcribing them. Mary Ann was amazing and did them all for me! Here's the first one, Granddad talking about serving in the Church:

Oh-gahlee. You know we came back to Camden and we were members of the church and so they called me as Elders Quorum President. There was nothing going on. I said what’s goin’ on? There ain’t nothing goin’ on. So I said shoot, let’s go on and do something. And so we started going on fishing trips. We’d go down and set up appointments and we’d go down and go deep sea fishing. We’d catch a bunch of these big groupers, you know. Some of these beautiful red colored fish. I can’t think of the name right off. We’d catch a bunch of fish and bring ‘em back. We’d spit ‘em up or something like that. That was good.

We had a good active elders quorum by the end. Then they called me as bishop.

I can’t think of the president that called me as bishop. Now who was that? Anyway. He was the stake  president and he called me as bishop. So I started as a Bishop and that was really - from going from a sergeant to a bishop. I had some interviews and I must’ve been kinda curt with some of the people. But we had a good ward and it grew.

Actually when we joined the church there was only 4 or 5 families coming to church and then after I was bishop for a year or so. We started working every Friday night and all day Saturday, we would cut wood for the building fund. And we raised a lot of money cutting fire wood and stove wood and selling them by the pickup loads. We did that all day. The was a Okelberry* family here and he was a woodsman. He had a chainsaw, and he had - they called it a go-getter – his wife would drive it and she would go out and catch the logs from the trees that he’d cut down, and pull ‘em up. And their son was a big guy too and he would trim ‘em up and throw them in too. And then we would - all the members - would split ‘em up into small pieces. We would load the truck and so many truckloads of firewood.

What years were you Bishop?

From 1976 to 1982.

So your Mom [Grace] was in college for a lot of that time and then married. But things were moving in the church. We built the church and everybody worked on it. We did the lawn, we did the sprinkler system, and I put up the satellite dish. We just, everybody pitched in. We also had a farm out there to work, but we sold the farm. We had a well drilled out there and we had a shed to park the tractor or so out there.

The farm was on a road 5 miles out of town towards Bishopville of Hwy 34. But we did a lot of work. Going and doing all the time. I bought a truck, got a brand new truck, that we were throwing these rolls of hogfencing on there about 4 ft. high. It scarred that truck all up. I had it about a year, it was beautiful, and it was all scuffed up. But it ran good – I kept it a long time. In fact I think Nathan – White Datsun – used it.

The white Datsun

*Corrected from Huckleberry

Conversion

Recently, Grandma Izzy's personal history was transcribed. Shortly after that, I interviewed Granddad JC and asked him some of the same questions. Here's a set about their conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Grandma Izzy:

Describe your conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ:

In June of 1956, Bob (5 ½ mos) and I (24 yrs) traveled to Germany (Augsburg) to join JC who had been there since January 1956. Bob, who’d been born 29 Dec 1955, was not yet 6 months old. I was pretty nervous traveling by airplane to New York from Charlotte, N.C. and then on to Paris, France and on to Munich, Germany where JC would meet us.

I would then and I will now do anything, swallow all fear, overcome any obstacles to be with him.

During the 5 months we were saving the money to pay for this flight, JC had become acquainted with two excellent young men: Ronald Ercanbrack and “Sam” Leroy Bolinder who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Their lives and healthy outlook plus their fun-loving spirits caused JC to want me to meet them.

Shortly after I met Ron & his beautiful blonde wife, Annette, and their friend Sam Bolinder, Sam gave me (and JC) a gift of the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price (3 books!) He told me since I had such a great (p.2) interest in the American Indians he wanted me to read the real history of the Am. Indians.

Now, since the childhood I had was in a home which boasted only one real book, the Holy Bible, I had a thing about books. If anyone ever gave me the gift of a book, I would read it.

JC was due to go out into “the field” for 10 days training in a few days, I determined I would get our apartment cleaned up, all my work done, and then I would just have to take care of Bob and read, read, read. I knew I could read this book in 10 days. It was only around 500 pages long. Sam said this was a true book – not fiction. He gave me a certain reference that would tell me how I could know for myself if the book were true.

JC went to the field, and I followed my plan. It took 3 days to get all my work done. For the next 7 days I was enthralled with this book. I took care of Bob, ate a bit when he ate, and read. I did not bathe; I slept in my clothes reading under the covers until I fell asleep (It was cold & there was no heat in my bedroom) (p.3)

JC arrived back and was appalled (mostly my body odor & scruffy appearance). I told him excitedly about the book. He said, as he pulled off my sweat shirt, “Honey a bath comes first!” But I’ve never forgotten kneeling on an icy hardwood floor in an equally icy bedroom with my breath visible in the air, putting Moroni’s promise to the test and feeling a warmth pour over me from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet. It was like warm water yet it was inside me as well as out.

I knew the book to be true, and I have never been the same since. It took me until Nov. 27, 1958 to be baptized, but my conversion began as I have described it. My conversion continues day by day all these years later as I serve my beloved Savior Jesus Christ by loving, caring for and serving those around me.

I continue trying to overcome my faults and leave sin behind, but I am far, far from perfect and struggle to stay true & faithful. I’ve learned a lot about endurance and faith. I’ve gained more & more confidence in my Savior and in the strength that comes from being in a strong loyal family who loves the Lord.

Grandma and Bob before leaving Germany

What can you remember about the day you were baptized?

The Elder (Hovey) who had taught us the discussions had been transferred the week before, and Brother Clemmie Dabney, the Camden Branch Pres. was going to baptize us. The font was under a hinged part of the stage and was about the size of & looked like just like a concrete grave. It was late November and already cold out. Pres. Dabney had some kind of heating element warming the water. When he got ready to baptize us, I assumed “Ladies first” & headed for the font. Pres Dabney said, “No, Sis. Connell (p.68) in this church, it’s priesthood first.” JC went in and was baptized. Then it was my turn. I stepped into the water & it took my breath away it was so cold - like ice. Pres Dabney grinned and baptized me quickly. The feeling of warmth that flowed over and around me as he put me under & drew me out of the water filled me with joy and I quietly said “Hallelujah” (and in my heart and soul shouted Praise the Lord Jesus. My sins are forgiven and now I have a chance to serve Him in my life.) Elder Carlos Cardon confirmed me and gave me the gift of the Holy Ghost. This day changed my life. The feelings I had that day were a key to letting me know when the Spirit is with me: those feelings are: warmth spreading over me, joy, happiness, fulfillment, enlightenment, learning, heightened awareness, pure knowledge flowing into me (like that day, I knew that Jesus Christ lives, loves me, gave his life for me & was resurrected from the dead.), feelings of expanding my horizons, desires to serve, love for those around me, feelings of forgiveness for those around who have offended, lack of fear, feeling I can accomplish anything with God’s help.

Granddad JC:

"Well, we were in the army and we were in Germany and these friends of mine from Salt Lake--two of them, one was from Salt Lake, the other was from a little town just outside of Salt Lake. Anyway, they were in the G-2 section that I was in in the 11th airborne division. We used to go in the evenings we would go over to this one's house he was married, his wife came over and Izzy came over (to Germany). We would go over there maybe weekend evenings and we would play Monopoly. We would play it all night. and that was fun. They always won. 'Cause that's what they did. I guess they did a lot of that when they were kids. We didn't,  We played Monopoly and I was smokin'. Izzy was smoking then, too, at that time. They said when we left, they'd open up the window and they'd fan all the smoke out. They were really nice folks. She still lives in Salt Lake. His wife. He passed away--Ron did.

We joined the Church when we got back to Camden. I didn't want to join over there so we were baptized right here in Camden. Bishop baptized us--He baptize you? 'Yeah.' [from Grandma]--Both of us. Bishop Dabney."

R-L: Granddad, Grandma, Grace, Bob, and aunt Betty Joyce (nee Connell)'s family. The two kids are Barbara Ann and Tony.
This is probably in Camden around the time Grandma and Granddad joined the Church.

How did you know the Church was true? "It was just naturally true. I just--it was common sense, really, with the Church. Joseph Smith, and the vision that he had, and all."

So your friends just invited you to church? "Oh yeah. We went to church with them in the army. Our kids--the thing about it, Izzy loved it so because Bob was our baby. and he would walk around to everybody and they'd pick him up, play with him and put him back down. and he'd go around to somebody else'd pick him up, talk to him, and put him down."

And here's the sound clip!

JC's careers

Last time I visited SC, I asked Granddad JC about his different jobs and schooling. I learned some neat things and put others into place. This is what I learned:

After learning to work hard on the farm as a child, Granddad's first job was at a dry cleaner's. He helped clean the clothes and he also made deliveries.

Next, I can't remember if he enlisted first or attended school first, but Granddad attended Clemson University for 1 year. He studied mechanical engineering.

He was stationed in Italy when he found out that his mother's health was failing. He returned to South Carolina just in time to be with her before she passed away. While at home, he met and courted Izzy Thompson. They married about a year later. Granddad mentioned that this was probably the best decision he'd ever made in his life! After a short pause and a look at Grandma, he said it was probably Grandma's, too.

JC & Izzy

JC's next job was in Tampa, FL. He worked for a surveying company. Before marrying Grandma, he lived with his sister June. After they were married, Grandma found a job teaching at a local elementary school and they moved to an apartment of their own.

Later, Granddad re-enlisted and they moved around, living in several different places, including Virginia, Germany, and Puerto Rico, among others. Granddad also was stationed in Thailand for a while during the Vietnam war while Grandma and the kids stayed in South Carolina.

Grace, Bob, JC

Granddad retired from the military in the early 1970s. After retiring, he attended Columbia College (a women's college) on the GI bill. There were several other men there, but they were all veterans. It was something special about the GI bill; I don't remember exactly what. He majored in art education. He made several clay pots and painted various things for projects, including a portrait of my mom.

After graduating, Granddad taught art in Kershaw County schools for one school year. His most memorable experience was teaching in a room just below the gym at the elementary school in Bethune. Needless to say, it was hard to teach with all the noise of basketball and other sports going on just above him.

At the end of the school year, Granddad interviewed at Wateree Textiles, and got a job as a warehouse manager. He organized it and made it run like a well-oiled machine. The company liked his work so much that they had him organize another department.

JC, circa 1991

After retiring from that position, Granddad didn't work for money anymore, but he has worn out his life working for the Lord. He and Grandma have served more than 7 church missions, including a proselyting mission to Germany, several missions from home, and a family history mission in Salt Lake City at the Family History Library there.

Southern 4th of July traditions

This past weekend, I had the privilege of spending some time celebrating the most recent holiday with family in South Carolina. My maternal grandparents came to the cookout that we had to celebrate the Fourth. While visiting with them, my mom asked what a Fourth of July celebration was like when they were young. My grandfather explained his experience, starting by saying that the time around the Fourth of July was a pretty relaxed time on the farm, since the rush and busyness of Spring planting had been completed but the work of harvest had not yet started.

Next he talked about the food at the family's celebration, starting with the kids' job of churning home made ice cream.

"We'd get a piece of ice from the ice house down town and pack it in around the churn. It was the kids' job to churn it. We put some of the sacks for packing cotton in on top of the ice and churn to keep it insulated. One of my most common jobs was to sit on top of it while another kid turned the crank to churn the ice cream."

He also listed some of the things they'd eat to celebrate the Fouth--none of it involving hot dogs or hamburgers, pasta salad or potato chips.

Chicken and dumplings
Fried chicken
Corn on the cob
Fresh vegetables from the garden such as beans, okra, cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes
Watermelon
Pecan pie

Granddad said that there was always a lot of food and he always had a really good time. Grandma added in that her mom always made a coconut cake to go along with the celebrations she experienced growing up. Granddad also got a really big smile on his face when he remembered the pecan pie--it was probably a real treat! Also, I wouldn't be surprised if there was more variety served at their celebration that either I don't remember Granddad mentioning or that he didn't think to list. I'd think corn bread would be a given.

Wouldn't it be fun to try a Fourth of July celebration like this?

Pictures of Robert Jackson Connell's chimney!

Ever since Granddad told me that his grandfather Robert Jackson Connell and grandmother Matilda Bowers lived near the corner of Canada Drive and Rowe Street, I have been itching to walk through the woods around there and see what I could find. My recent stay in Camden offered me the golden opportunity!

My husband and my brother were kind enough to accompany me on the walk through the woods. We walked around for a while before finally finding some ruins of what I'm guessing was a chimney. I felt kind of silly for walking around so long because I think you might even be able to see some of the bricks from the road! (I'll have to go back to double check) The bricks and mortar were almost literally at the corner of the two roads. It was hard to get a good picture because of the dappled sunlight and shadow in the area; I'm hoping to come by at a time better for taking pictures so you all can get a better idea of what it looks like.

The bricks and mortar had fallen into a wide (about 7 or 8 feet) trench and blackberries and wild cherry trees were growing nearby. It was truly picturesque.

I asked Granddad about the trench and if it was man-made or not. He said no, it wasn't man-made and that it was where the water went when it rained; the trench was made completely by erosion. Hearing that reminded me of how all that land used to be cleared of trees and was all farm land, with corn, cotton, or oats growing as far as you could see. I imagine that wasn't as good for preventing erosion as trees and the leaves and pine straw that come from them. Granddad told me that the runoff trench was close to the house, but not right next to it. He also reminded me that all the wood that made up the house had been taken for firewood, so there wouldn't be much to see. He had forgotten about the chimney and told us to look for the old pump that was connected to a well there but was a short distance from the house (that's why we didn't find the old chimney right away). We couldn't locate the pump but we're thinking about going again sometime when the leaves have fallen off of the trees because it might be easier to spot it then.

Ivey Kibben Connell

Ivey Kibben Connell was one of Granddad J.C.'s brothers who fought in WWII. He was the only one that didn't come back from the war. After he died, he was buried in Italy, "70 miles from Rome", and then his body was brought back a couple of years later so he could be buried in Camden, close to his family.

Ivey was awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. The State (SC) newspaper said of him on April 27, 1944:

"With utter disregard for his personal safety he continued into the city ... which was still under intense enemy artillery and small arms fire and established an observation post and mortar position from which controlled fire was delivered. At this post he was killed by an enemy mortar shell which landed in his position. His courageous action contributed to the successful withdrawal of our forces and is a credit to the services."

I found several newspaper articles about his service as part of a website commemorating Clemson University alumni. My cousin Alyssa posted a link to the website, which she found because of another relative sharing it on Facebook. Thanks so much!

*Pictures are from an album on Facebook by Aunt Lois. Thanks to her, too!

Hog killing time

Hog killing time came to Camden when the cold settled in. Granddad J.C. loved it because they'd have fresh pork, ham, side meat, and sausage. They used everything they could; even the fat was 'rendered' to get out bits of lean meat in the middle of the fat for eating and to prepare the fat for other use. Granddad said they'd render the fat by putting it in a big black washpot with a fire underneath it. It would melt and be like grease, and they'd get cracklins out of it, which they mostly put in corn bread. The cracklins were the bits of lean meat they got out of the fat. They also ate fatback from slaughtering the hogs, and Grandma Laura would slice it up in thin pieces, fry it, then they'd eat it with veggies and seasonings. Granddad J.C. loved eating fatback with the skin still attached because it was nice and crunchy. Fatback is different from bacon, which was made out of the lean side of the pork. Granddad said that the pig might have 2-3 inches of fat on the outside of the body, and that it protected them from snakes. I had no idea that pigs were so fatty!

June Lucile Connell: Military Nurse

Granddad J.C. volunteered some information about his sister June the other day when I was talking with him. He said that several of his older siblings went to serve their country during WWII--three of his older brothers and his older sister June. When he said that, my curiosity was piqued. Women didn't usually go overseas to war in that era, did they?

Well, this one did.

June signed up to volunteer her services to her country as a nurse when she was about 21, and was assigned to the USAHS Marigold (United States Army Hospital Ship Marigold). This was the first Allied ship to reach Japan (according to Wikipedia :P, but also according to Granddad) after the Hiroshima bombings in 1945. June eventually became a nurse lieutenant, and when she came home was a nurse in Charleston. Later, she transferred to the VA hospital in Tampa, Florida where she met a man "by the name of Reynolds," as Granddad put it. They had one child together in addition to the two he had from a previous marriage. June later graduated from the University of Tampa and taught elementary school in Florida for the rest of her working life. Granddad said sometimes he'd go down to Florida to spend Christmas with her family.

The USAHS Marigold (picture found here)

Family neighborhood

When Granddad J.C. was a kid, they had a little neighborhood of family members living nearby. It looked something like this:

I don't remember if Granddad said that his aunt's house was his great-aunt's or if it was just his aunt, but he said it's where Lena (a cousin of ours) and her family lived when I was growing up. Granddad said that it was like a small neighborhood with all of the family so close by. I'm sure they could see each other's houses from their own homes because Granddad said there were no trees around when he was a young boy -- all the land was used for farming crops like cotton, corn, pea vine hay, and oats for the mules.

The roses that grow along some parts of McRae Rd. and Canada Drive were planted by Granddad JC's grandfather Robert Jackson Connell. Evidently Granddad JC's mother Laura really liked the roses as well, because she planted some next to her house. Granddad said that Robert Connell's house was situated in the bend of Canada Dr., smack dab in the middle. He had crab apple and mulberry trees near his house, as well as an old Model T car that Granddad JC would play in as a boy. Granddad said that the house was nice, but that after Great-great-granddad Connell passed away it fell into disrepair and eventually couldn't be used because his family took wood from it for fuel in the winter.

Bird Brushing and Broadus Connell

I asked Granddad J.C. if his parents did anything with him and his siblings at bedtime. I wasn't sure what I'd get since there were so many kids, but I thought I'd ask. It turns out that his parents did do special things with their children at night. Laura would make sure her children said their prayers at night, and Broadus (pronounced "Broad [as in Broad Street] - us") would tell them stories from his childhood. I asked Granddad if he remembered any of the stories, and this is the first that he told me:

They would go bird brushing on the farm -- you probably don't know what that is; let me explain. They cleared a lot of land to make room for plowing and farming. When they cut down the trees, they made piles of brush. Birds would settle in the brush at night. In the morning, Broadus and 3 or 4 other kids would ease up to the brush pile. One kid was on one side while the others waited on the other side with big limbs. The kid with the side to himself would make a lot of noise, and the birds would fly out on the other side where the other kids waited with their clubs. The children would hit some of the birds out of the air and bring them home to be prepared for eating. I asked Granddad what kind of birds they were, and he said they were birds like robins and jays. Then he said that there were hard times in those days. I guess even fairly well-off farmers with a lot of land still had hungry times in those days.

Source: Granddad J.C.

Docia Connell

Docia L. Connell was born on February 14, 1886 and was the oldest child of Robert Jackson Connell, and was thus Granddad JC's aunt. As the oldest child, I'm guessing that she felt a lot of responsibility for her younger siblings and their children. I also guess that she liked young people, and I'm basing these two facts on the 1940 census record that shows her younger brother Ralph along with her nephews Norman and Wilbur living with her. According to the census record, these boys had been living with her for at least 5 years, as it shows "same house" for residence in 1935. My mom also mentioned that Docia's brother Luther also lived with Docia at one point (source: Granddad JC). The 1930 census also shows that he lived with her, along with his 3-year-old son, also named Luther. They were probably living at 1214 Fair St. at the time.

In her early 20's, Docia was a nurse and lived in Columbia, SC. She lived with many other nurses, as you can see in the 1910 census shown below.

Docia maintained her tie with nursing, even after changing her profession (to seamstress) and becoming a widow, as you can see that she had two nurses lodging with her at the 1940 census. The census indicates that she lived at 216 Haile St. in Camden, SC. That's so cool to me because I'm sure I've driven by that spot  scores (if not hundreds) of times coming home from school.

1910 Census for Columbia, Richland County, SC
1930 Census for Camden, Kershaw County, SC
1940 Census for Camden, Kershaw County, SC

I'm pretty certain that the Norman listed as living with Docia during the 1940 census was Granddad J.C.'s brother, even though his age is wrong and he's listed as living with his parents on their family's recording in the census. I couldn't find any other Norman Connells in South Carolina that were born around the same time, and I think that's pretty good evidence. I don't know which of Docia's brothers is Wilbur's father, though, and I'm not interested in doing the research (at least not right now) to find out.

Docia's death certificate has some really good information on it: her date of birth (which can help us pinpoint the date of her parents' marriage) and her mother's name: Mildred Bowers. With all the names listed for her on FamilyTree, I was kind of confused.

There's also a death certificate for Docia's husband, Stephen M. McCaskill. Stephen was a doctor, and I imagine that Docia got to know him while working in the hospital with him.

There was another woman the family called "Aunt Docia" because she looked just like the real Aunt Docia. However, the other woman was actually a cousin of some sort and her name was Gladys -G'dad JC

"Nurse's class of 1908
SC State Hospital"
Docia Connell is on the right.
Also pictured: Minnie Stevenson, Minnie Caskey

More records for Robert J. Connell

I found Robert Jackson Connell's death certificate!

The certificate lists some useful information: First, it is the only source I've found so far with his full name (Robert Jackson Connell). Also Robert's father is listed as Col. S.J. Connell; his mother as Mary Stevens--this is valuable because it contains his mother's maiden name. It's also valuable because we learn that S.J. Connell was a colonel and therefore served in the military at some point (probably during the Civil War). It shows that he was buried in the "Malvin Hill" Cemetery (I'm guessing it was actually Malvern Hill and someone just didn't understand the accent when they were writing up the certificate). Because of where he was buried, I'm guessing that he was a Baptist. Malvern Hill Baptist church is close enough to Robert's farm that he could have easily attended every Sunday.

The death certificate also shows that the undertaker was C.G. Kornegay. That is just really neat to me because I know the son of one of the Kornegays that runs the funeral home, and he's a nice guy. It also gives me that nice feeling of small-town-ness that I love about Camden.

Robert Jackson Connell

Robert Jackson Connell was born 5 years before the Civil War broke out. He moved his family from Lancaster, SC to Camden, SC. He also lived through the turn of the century, WWI, and passed on shortly before World War II.

Parents: Stephen Jackson Connell, Mary Jane Graham Stevens
Birth: April 1856 in Lancaster, SC.
Marriages:

1. Around 1882? in Lancaster, SC to Matilda Bowers, my great-great grandmother. Robert was about 26 and Mathilda was about 23. They had 5 children: Docia, Broadus Robert, Luther Wilburn, Charlie Lee and Cora Lee. Charlie and Cora were twins.
2. Around 1900 to Laura Rowe. Robert was about 44 years old at the time, and Laura was about 27. I haven't seen any record of children that the two of them had, but Laura helped raise the children that were still at home from Robert's previous marriage.
3. Around 1927 to Maggie Dabney. Robert had adopted Ralph Leon Connell who was left on his doorstep when Ralph was just a baby and married Maggie when Ralph was about 5 years old. Robert was 71 and Maggie was only 25 when they married.

Death: August 3, 1934. Robert was about 78 years old.

I didn't find as many records for Robert as I did for Broadus and my other great-grandparents; I think it's because any records of Robert are older and thus less likely to be extant than records of Broadus. This is what I did find:

1870 Census:

Click to enlarge

Robert's family was living in Flat Creek, Lancaster County, South Carolina when this census was taken. You can see that Robert is the oldest child in his family. He was 13 years old and helped on the farm. He had not attended school in the last year, even though two of his siblings had. I'm sure it was because his father needed help on the farm. You can also see that his mother went by Mary Jane. The two numbers in the middle on the same line as his father are the value of the real estate they lived on and the value of Stephen's personal estate. I think that Stephen owned his land--there are other people who didn't have a value in the box for the value of their real estate, so I think those other people must have been renting. Anyway, the next highest value for real estate on this page was $514. His personal estate was not valued as highly as some of the others on the page, though.

1880 Census:

Click to enlarge

This one's interesting. Robert is working as a farm laborer with the Belk family. His name is on the bottom line. There's no irrefutable proof that this is the Robert Connell that's related to us, but he's about the same age and still in Lancaster County, SC. This is a different town than he grew up in--Gills Creek--but I think that the chances of this being a different Robert Connell are very low, especially considering that I didn't find any other Robert Connells living in Lancaster County at the time. I'm guessing that the person the census taker was speaking to didn't know Robert's exact age because this lists him as being 21 here when he was 24 according to the birth date on his death record and 23 according to the last census. Other details fit, though, because Robert didn't marry until about 1882 or later, and this 1880 census lists him as single.

1920 Census:

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30 years passed between the last census I found Robet in and this one. As you can see, Robert is in his 60's (according to the birth date I have, he's 64, but this census lists him as 62). He married, had children, and then remarried. He owns his own farm near DeKalb township (DeKalb is north of Camden, on the way to Lancaster but in Kershaw County, but I think this is probably near Canada Dr. on the east side of Camden because Broadus is settled nearby), but it has a mortgage on it. All of his children have grown up and moved out except his two youngest sons, who help him on the farm.

1930 Census:

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In this census we see that Robert has married again. According to our records, he's around 72 or 74 by this time, but he told the census taker he was only 67. I think it was probably more that he lost track of his age than that he was ashamed of it. He also has a very young child, Ralph. I couldn't find any other information on Ralph, so I asked Granddad J.C. for information about him, and I wrote a post about him.

There's a column on this census that lists the age at first marriage that I forgot to label. It lists Robert as being 21 when he first married (probably another memory lapse. It HAD been a very long time since then) and Maggie as 25. Since Maggie was only 28 when this census was taken, I assumed that her first marriage was to Robert. I wish I had more records because this is such a mystery! I wonder if Laura (Robert's second wife) was alive when they adopted Ralph and if Robert married Maggie because he needed help with Ralph. If Laura wasn't still alive when the boy was adopted, I have no idea how Robert thought he was going to be able to take care of a little boy. It is a puzzle.

We also see from this that Robert still worked as a farmer. Since he lived so close to his children--Broadus's family was on the census just a few lines up from Robert and Robert's son Charlie's family is listed on the very next line after Robert's family--I'm guessing that they all worked together on their farms. On this census, I included Great-Great-Uncle Charlie Connell just so you could see a little about him. The census says that he worked as a bus driver for the public schools and was a veteran of WWI (it just says WW here because WWII hadn't happened yet). Even though he worked as a bus driver, he's listed as living on a farm, so I'm sure he did both.

Great-Great Uncle Ralph Connell

Ralph Leon Connell was found on Great-great-granddaddy Robert J. Connell’s doorstep. Robert J. was 66 years old. I don’t know when exactly Ralph was left on their doorstep or how old he was, but Ralph was living with Robert J. and his young wife Maggie in 1930 when the US census was taken.  That census is actually how I learned about Uncle Ralph.

At first I thought Robert J. and Maggie were his parents, but I noticed from the census that Maggie and Robert J. were married about 3 years after Ralph was born.  Another thing is that Ralph was living with his sister (our Aunt Docia) when the 1940 census was taken, and not with Maggie (Robert J. had passed away). I thought, “Well, maybe Ralph was from Robert J.’s second marriage,” but I couldn’t find anything that supported that hypothesis. I thought Granddad JC would probably know something about it, so I sent Mom a quick e-mail asking if she’d ask Granddad about his Uncle Ralph. And that’s how I learned this intriguing information about him!

So Granddad said that he’s pretty certain that Uncle Ralph is related to us somehow, but doesn’t know exactly how. He said that Ralph moved in with Aunt Docia when he was 9 or 10. That was a year or two before Robert J. passed on. Some of Granddad’s older siblings were also living with Docia when the 1940 census was taken, so I think she must have liked having her younger brother and nephews around. 

Ralph enlisted in the army and fought in WWII. When he was on an R&R (rest and relaxation) break in New Zealand, he met and married his wife. Their son was born soon after, but unfortunately, Ralph had already been called back to active duty. As far as Granddad knows, Ralph never married again. Granddad didn’t know any of the details, but Ralph came back to South Carolina after the war and eventually moved out West, where he passed away. I found a record showing his date of birth, the date he passed away, and that he passed away in Los Angeles, California. He was only 57 when he died.

New information on Broadus Connell!

I was playing around with search parameters in FamilySearch, and I found a new record for Broadus Connell! The new record I found for Broadus is his WWI draft card:

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You can see his signatureat the bottom of side one. His handwriting wasn't that great, but I think it's awesome that I have seen something written by his own hand! Other important information here is that he was living in Camden, but was born in Lancaster, SC. This is the first record I've seen with his date of birth on it, too (March 31, 1891). There's also a (short) physical description of him! He was "stout" with blue eyes and dark brown hair. From the picture we have of him, you didn't have to have much extra padding to be considered "stout!"