Parents of John Wesley Boyd (my Great Great Great Grandparents)
John Wesley Boyd (B:1847 Illinois; D: May 24, 1927 Illinois)---my Great Great Grandpa
My Mom, Nora Louise Rich Gagznos (B: 7 jan 1932 Illinois; D: 15 Nov 2000 Dallas, Oregon)
Mom on her high school graduation day
Mom's family the Rich's:
Mom's Dad had 3 brothers: Fred ( had a daughter named Fairy who used to
live in Colo. Spgs. when we did), Charles (I think......I know their
Dad's name was Charles Rich), and Claude who died in infancy. They were
born to Ella Huggins Rich and Charles Rich (Joel Edward Rich according to my family tree chart) in Herrin Illinois where they
all were raised. Granny Ellie was born in Nashville Illinois , I believe
in Sept. just after the end of the Civil War. She was well read and
educated though informally, according to Mom. Grandpa Virgil and his
brothers and Dad were instrumental in the formation of the Coal Mining
Unions that were formed to secure rights and safety for the miners.
There are photos of Grandpa and his Dad and brother on the docks in
Detroit when they went there for labor organizing meetings. There is a
book written about this time and area entitled "Bloody Williamson County"
that details a lot about this period in S. Illinois history around
Grandpa's neck of the woods that though he isn't mentioned by name in it,
I'm sure it details activities he must have had knowledge of and perhaps
involvement in. Grandpa Virgil left school after 6th grade to work in
the mines, which was common for his time and area. Don't know how much
you know about him losing his leg. It happened as a result of an injury
sustained in a mine collapse. He had problems with infections and the
dr. removed his leg in 2 or 3 diff. operations. I remember hearing he
had escaped the collapsing mine alright, but went back in to rescue
friends and was hurt coming back out with other men. A hero! I NEVER
remember hearing Grandpa complain a single time about not feeling well,
but I never remember him being particularly healthy either. He did drink
whiskey (Seagrams 7) and beer....a lot at one point. I wonder now if it
was to ease his pain from his health problems. He was a heavy smoker
(Camel non filter cigarettes, Mom used to send him cigs and long tee
shirts for Xmas!). He had black lung from all his years working in the
mines and smoking. It developed into lung cancer that took his life when
he was about 70 years old around 1971. His birthday was Aug. 27. I
remember going up to the Elks Club with Grandpa to get his paycheck (he
tended bar there after retirement some) and he would lift me up to sit on
the bar and buy me a Hershey with almonds bar that was next to where I
was sitting. His friends would tease me and chat with him a bit. He
used to play cards with his cronies at a big round table next to the bar
while Grandma played bingo. Grandpa was not much of a meat eater. I
think he loved fried bacon, pork chops, and hamburgers best of all along
with Grandma's fried potatoes, navy beans, iced tea, . In the summer he
grew wonderful tomatoes by his driveway. Across the yard he always had a
flower garden complete with roses by the clothesline. He always wore a
fedora and drove a stick shift. I don't recall ever seeing him in a pair
of jeans!
I never knew too much about his father or brothers. I do know he
didn't have anything much to do with the one brother who also lived in W.
Frankfort because of the manner in which he treated their Mother. I
don't recall which one it was. Anyway, the brother would make Granny
Ellie have to ask for the $5 each month from him, (Grandpa and brothers
used to each give Granny Ellie $5@ mo. to help her live) and apparently
was not very kind to her. Nor did he help Grandpa build the little house
in back of his house that Granny Ellie lived in after her husband died. I
think this is the brother who drowned in a fishing/boating accident at
Crab orchard Lake near Carbondale Ill. I believe the other brother died
in World War II.
Granny Ellie and family had lived a block over on the corner of 7th St.
catty corner across the st. from "Bones'" home. This house has since
been torn down. But, I never knew that was her house until about 20
years ago. Her husband died on a Christmas Eve hemorraghing from the
nose and mouth from TB. I think Mom was about 8 or 11 years old then.
Grandma Susie was the oldest of 4. Her sister Peggy died when she was
only 16 years old and Grandma was 19 and pregnant. They were in a car
accident with Grandma's first husband driving drunk. After which Grandma
miscarried and divorced this husband. I don't recall his name. But, I
know Grandma hated him forever for it. It must have been during this
time before she married Grandpa Virgil that she became a Harvey Girl.
Don't know if you know about the Harvey Girls? There's a movie by that
name that Dad copied that I think I have. They were sort of like flight
attendants on trains. Grandma worked and lived up around Gary Indiana
then for awhile. I'm not sure when she went to LPN training, but I
believe it was at the Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Grandma's birthday
was Jan. 23 (or 26). She was 29 when she had Mom. An interesting
tidbit about Grandma is that she used to write stories and sell them to
the magazine "True Confessions." She also would tell fortunes for pay.
I think in a lot of ways I'm a lot like her.
Grandma's maiden name was Grady. Her Mom was Nora Boyd Grady. She
died at age 36 when grandma was just 12 years old from ? exhaustion
perhaps. Grandma had 2 brothers Kenneth and "Bill" (nickname but not for
William...can't recall his proper name at the moment). Both died young
from TB. One (I think Kenneth) was married unhappily to a woman who all
but abandoned him when he was dying. There's a short sad letter from
Bill in Grandpa's bible at David's house written from the TB sanatarium
stating that if he had more $ he could get better medical care and
perhaps beat the TB.
At some point Grandma had part of her nose reomoved because of cancer.
I don't know when or what kind of cancer.
She LOVED working as an LPN at the Union hospital in W. Frankfort. I
remember her working nights and walking home in the morning bringing us
little bars of soap, individual jams, and 6 oz. cans of apricot nectar.
She always looked so spiffy in her spotless perfectly starched white
nurses cap and uniform. I remember sitting on the bed next to her as she
polished her nursing shoes before going to work. She was proud to be a
nurse.
Grandma taught me her way to make iced tea. You take a small saucepan
with a couple of cups of water and boil 3 tea bags in it, add a cup of
sugar, pour into a pitcher , add cool water and put in the fridge to
chill. She ALWAYS had ice tea in her fridge in the summer.
There were a lot of sultry evenings watching lightnigh bugs while
sitting on the porch swing cuddling with Grandma as she told us stories
of being a member of the 'Black Foot' tribe because she ran around
barefoot in the summer.
And, she loved to play bingo. If we were arriving from out of state on
a Thursday evening we knew exactly where to find her....at the Elks Club
playing "Oh shit" as she liked to call it because one person would
hollar bingo while everyone else said "Oh shit!"
She had a firey temper that didn't discriminate. I remember any and
all of us getting her wrath at times, but especially poor ole Grandpa.
The Gradys:
Grandma Katie was our Great Grandmother by marriage. She was Grandma
Susie's step Mother, Great Grandpa Thomas Grady's 3rd (or possibly 4th?)
wife. He had another wife (whom he divorced for carelessly and
excessively spending money....I don't recall her name or how long they
were married) between Grandma Susie's mother, Nora, and Katie . Katie was
a widow with at least 2 children, Stanley Neal and I forget her
daughter's name. It might have been Stella.
Grandma Katie lived up in the Heights not too far from the city park.
She had a little black & white dog. Her little house was always
spotless. She was a large lady both in weight and height, and she was
diabetic. She used to give herself insulin injections. My first
encounter with saccharin tablets was at her home.
Great Grandpa Thomas Grady was left on the doorstep of an orphanage as
a baby with a note that read "Please look after my baby. My husband has
died of consumption and I'm now dying from it too." He ran away from the
orphanage when he was 12 years old and turned up in the Grady's(?) yard
at dusk. When Mrs. Grady was telling him it was getting dark and that he
should get home before his mother started to worry about him, he told her
of his status and they adopted him. I don't know if it was a formal
adoption. I am not sure if Grady was his adopted or birth name.
I don't know who Louisa was. I remember meeting Grandma Susie's Mom's
sister, Inez Dollarhide, once. She lived across the 'hard' rd. ( Rt
37?). She was pretty old then. I don't remember too much about her tho.
Oh yes! I remember Grandpa Virgil buying Zero candy bars by the boxful.
He also loved 5th Avenues and bought them also by the box.
I am telling what and how I remember things, though they may not all be
100% correct. I always thought granny Ellie's real name was Ella too.
Maybe since it was different than that (I think her headstone says
'Ella') that is why I had no luck finding birth records for her in
Nashville Ill. online. You do know too that Grandma Susie's real name
was "Alice Rado Grady." 'Susie' was a self given nickname that stuck for
life.
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