Tennessee Life for Robert Fleming Campbell Family

There once was a young man, Robert Fleming Campbell, 

who lived in the beautiful green hills of Tennessee. 

(I will put in italics our GGG...Grandparents.) 

The Campbell family he had relatives all across Tennessee, 

Virginia, and North and South Carolina. Large groups of the

Campbell Clan had emigrated to America by sailing across the

Atlantic Ocean from Scotland and from North Ireland. 

(If you wish to read that post click here.)

The Campbells lived near the French Broad River in Jefferson County, Tennessee. 

  

Both of Robert Fleming’s grandfathers and one of his great-grandfathers 

served in the Revolutionary War and helped this land to become the United States of America. 

Some interesting things about 
Robert Fleming’s grandparents: 

George Washington at Valley Forge

Revolutionary War Soldiers:

His Grandfather Archibald Campbell 

   was a Revolutionary soldier under

   Colonel Campbell; 
His father James Campbell was a
Private in the Revolutionary War
and a Waggoner at Valley Forge;

His Grandfather Robert Means 
was a Revolutionary soldier 

at Guilford House.

This means that you are what is 
known as a Son or Daughter 
of the Revolutionary War.

Pocahontas:

His Grandmother Betsy Robertson Means:

   The legend was that Betsy was a

   descendant of Pocahontas.  

This means that you also could 
be related to Pocahontas.

Childhood home of Jane Means in North Carolina

     In 1796 James and Jane (Means) moved to Jefferson County, Tennessee where they bought 100 acres north of the French Broad River, just over three miles from the town of New Market. On the first day of May, 1804, their youngest child Robert Fleming was born in the story and a half log home they built there. He grew up on the family farm with his brother Archibald and his five sisters Elizabeth, Mary, Nancy, Margaret Emma, Jane. 

     It was to Robert Fleming that their parents would leave this farm as well as “all farming utensils, to be possessed by him and his heirs forever.” 

(If you wish to read their wills, each written in their own beautiful handwriting, along with a transcription click here.)

     On January 25, 1832, Robert Fleming married Jane C. David in Jefferson City. They had six children and made their home on the family farm that Robert Fleming had inherited. There were some years when the crops flourished. But that is not always the case, as the many, many farmers in our family know, and as we shall soon see in this story.

     The couple had been married for nine years when Jane became pregnant with their sixth child. Barely 40 years old, she died eight days after giving birth to Archibald David. We don’t know the details, but pregnancy and childbirth were times of much greater risk than today. And so on November 28, 1841, the six children found themselves without a mother; Robert Fleming began to raise the children and manage their farm as a single parent of William Lafayette (9), Lodemia Ann (8), Serepta Ellen (5), James White (4), Margaret Emma (2), and Archibald David (8 days).

     He was not alone, though, in the household and field work. Children on a farm begin to help in practical ways at an early age, and now they surely took on additional chores. Some of the help came from slaves, including Jake and Aunt Aggie; we shall hear more about them in another blog.

     The days would have been busy for the children.  What chores might they have had? Did they have pets? Did they go to school?  Listed below are some of those activities. Which ones might you enjoy?

     Archibald David was 8 years old in the Spring of 1850.

     Springtimes were busy on the family's farm by the 

French Broad River in Jefferson County, Tennessee.  

So much to do!  

All the children would have helped: 

William (18, an adult now), Lodemia (16), 

Serepta (14), James (12), Margaret (10), 

and even the youngest, Archibald David (8).  

By the time a young man 

was eight or nine years old 

he was plowing fields with a 

walking plow led by one or two mules.

The family vegetable garden had to be planted; 

sheep had to be shorn; 

corn had to be planted 

as well as wheat and oats, 

Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes.  

This hand held garden plow belonged to your Great-great-grandmother Hattie Campbell

     How do we know that the family planted corn? It would be a good educated guess since corn is easily grown. Corn was as helpful for farmers as it had been for the Indians; it provides more nourishment per acre than most any other crop, stores well over winter months, can be used in a wide variety of tasty recipes, and can also serve as animal feed.

     And we actually know that 1000 bushels of Corn were produced on the Robert Fleming Campbell farm “in the year ending June 1, 1850.” Again: How do we know that?  From a special census: The 1850 United States Agricultural Census.  

Line 34, 1850 Agricultural Census: 13th District, Jefferson County, Robert Campbell 

Can you find the column for corn? Mules? Sheep? What else?

Since the chart is difficult to read, here is a transcription (full census page at the bottom of this post): 

  125 Acres of Land Improved
   100 Acres of Land Unimproved
 $160 Cash Value of Farm
 $180 Value of Farming Implements and Machinery
       6 Horses
      11 Asses and Mules
        5 Milch Cows
        2 Working Oxen
        2 Other Cattle
       50 Sheep
       35 Swine
 $1031 Value of Live Stock
     100 Bushels Wheat
            Rye
   1000 Bushels Indian Corn
     600 Bushels Oats
            Rice
            Tobacco

     What questions do you have when exploring the census?  Here are a few I had and some of what I learned.

     Why so many more pigs than cows? Pigs, or swine, took little care. They were generally left loose to wander in nearby forests where they foraged roots, fruits, and nuts.

     Sheep? The 30 sheep on the farm produced 60 pounds
of wool in 1849. They would be sheared again this Spring, and any wool that was not used by the family could be bartered or sold at nearby town markets or could be shipped along one of the many Tennessee rivers as trade had continued to increase in other states and even Europe.

     Milch Cows? Any kind of dairy cow.

     Why so many mules? Mules work better in hot weather than other draft animals: they do not overeat or over-drink, have fewer digestive problems and can eat cheaper, coarse
food. They accept hard work easily, are less nervous than horses, and do not need an experienced person to guide them.

Would you enjoy guiding mules as they pull a field plow?

1850 US Agricultural Census: 13th District, Jefferson County, 
Page 2 Line 34, Robert Campbell 

Transcription:

       Ginned Cotton
  60 lbs Wool
       Peas and Beans

100(?) Bushels Irish Potatoes
 60(?) Bushels Sweet Potatoes 

     Barley

     Buckwheat
     Value of Orchard Products 

     Wine

     Value of Market Gardens 

20 lbs Butter
     Cheese

13 Tons Hay

     Clover Seed
     Other Grass Seeds
     Hops
     Hemp Dew Rotted
     Hemp Water Rotted
     Flax
     Flaxseed
     Silk Cocoons
     Maple Sugar
     Cane Sugar
     Molasses
     Beeswax
$  20 Value of Homemade Manufactures 

$140 Value of Animals Slaughtered 

     But even the family’s 11 hard working mules could not help the family farm through weather disasters. It was flooding that would destroy the family’s crops that year. Such is part of the rhythm of farming life; times would be hard, but not impossible.

     That year also brought a series of family changes. Robert Fleming married Mary Ann Hoffer on June 19, 1850, and the children went home to a new mother. Just after Christmas and New Years they welcomed a seventh child; on January 2, 1851 Henry was born.  

And perhaps the biggest change of all:

in late spring of 1852 

the Robert Fleming Campbell family 

decided to move to Texas.

1850 US Agricultural Census

13th District, Jefferson County, Tennessee

Census taken 11 November 1850

Year ending 1 June 1850

Page 1, Robert Campbell, line 34

1850 US Agricultural Census

13th District, Jefferson County, Tennessee

Census taken 11 November 1850

Year ending 1 June 1850

Page 2, Robert Campbell, line 34

This is your great great grandad Dwight Campbell
(Hattie’s husband) standing in a field of their wheat.
Doris (Gigi), their daughter, recalls another such crop:
“One year when I was in elementary school I walked out
into a field with dad, so excited that the wheat was up
over my head. Even dad thought it was amazing.”


Thanks for visiting! See you next time.

© 2017 Copyright by Ginny Bettendorf, All Rights Reserved

Model T Fun with Dwight and Hattie Campbell

Dwight Lowell Campbell and Hattie Evelyn Rader 

were sweethearts in Foard County, TX.

Hattie lived with her family on a farm 

near the town of Crowell, where Dwight lived.

This photograph was taken before they were married 

in the summer of 1923.

     If you love early automobiles like Model T Fords, this is a fun photo to explore. 

     Did you notice how the windshield is hinged with the top lying down? This provided ventilation when the roof was on. But more importantly, when mud or even rain (there are no wipers on this windshield) obscured the view, a driver could tip down the top portion to see better. 

     Of course the driver and passenger might get wet or splashed with mud, but one could see. Goggles, of course, were also handy in such situations.

     Hanging from the driver's door are two spare tires. There were a great many hazards along the dirt roads; horseshoe nails were among the most common. Most people still traveled by horseback or horse-drawn vehicle. By the time of this model, two spare tires were hung on the driver's door.

     Although the photograph is damaged on the upper right, we can still see two parts of the soft-top roof. Above the windshield we can see one section, including a lever on the passenger side that fastens the roof onto the windshield. The other section we can see is toward the back of the driver's door; this was probably a 2-seater vehicle.

     When Dwight and Hattie wanted to drive in the open, the roof was lowered by fanning back the soft top and metal hinges to rest on the rear of the auto where they were securely fastened.

     How did you start the auto? With a hand crank located on the front fender. It was quite a process, one that brought great pleasure or consternation.  My favorite description is by E. B. White, beloved author of the children's book Charlotte's Web. 

The trick was to leave the ignition switch off, proceed to the animal’s head, pull the choke (which was a little wire protruding through the radiator), and give the crank two or three nonchalant upward lifts. Then, whistling as though thinking about something else, you would saunter back to the driver’s cabin, turn the ignition on, return to the crank, and this time, catching it on the down stroke, give it a quick spin with plenty of That. If this procedure was followed, the engine almost always responded—first with a few scattered explosions, then with a tumultuous gunfire, which you checked by racing around to the driver’s seat and retarding the throttle. Often, if the emergency brake hadn’t been pulled all the way back, the car advanced on you the instant the first explosion occurred and you would hold it back by leaning your weight against it. I can still feel my old Ford nuzzling me at the curb, as though looking for an apple in my pocket.

Click here to read"Farewell, My Lovely!" by E. B. White in The New Yorker, May 16, 1936.

     There is one important tip E. B. White doesn't mention. You might proceed through the first several steps with either your right or left hand. But when it came time to start the engine with a full spin of the crank, one best remember to use the left arm; when the engine backfired and the lever swung backwards one's right arm was easily broken. You can see how to properly start and operate a Model T on this video. Mitch Taylor will fascinate you, whether a rookie or expert, as he shows us the engine, gears, and all sorts of particulars.

     And what about the engine? 4 Cylinders. Top Speed? Almost 45 mph. Gears? There were three; reverse was the most powerful. That's why a Model T was often seen driving uphill -- backwards. This side view of a Model T was drawn in 1916 for The Model T Ford car, its construction, operation and repair.    

 Back to our photograph. Ford added louvers to hoods in 1915, and in 1917 a curved hood replaced the flat topped five-sized design. If you look below the louvers in our family photo, you can see how the base of the hood is hinged; it opened side to side. And until 1923 the hood flowed smoothly into the cowl panel below the windshield, as in our photo. All of this helps date the automobile: between 1917 and 1923. 

     And What color?  Black.  Early Model Ts were gray, green, blue, or red. But after 1914, "Any customer can have a car painted any color he wants, so long as it is black," Henry Ford said. Black paint was durable, inexpensive, and dried faster than other colors. This was just one of the factors that lowered prices from $850 in 1908 to a very affordable $260 by 1925.

     In all, over 15 million Model Ts were sold. About half were similar to the one in our family photo and sold between 1917 and 1923. During those years the basic design contributed to their mass production. (It wasn't until the early 1970s that another make of automobile was so popular. Can you guess what it was?  The Volkswagen Beetle.) But don't expect those Model T Fords to look alike. There were a wide variety of body styles.

     Also, there was the Sears Roebuck catalogue, in which there were more pages for Ford auto parts and accessories than pages for men's clothing. An auto parts pamphlet inserted into the 1919 Sears Roebuck Catalogue includes over half a dozen pages just for Ford.

     One could purchase practical items such as a rear-view mirror or windshield wipers. But speedometers, hood ornaments, and rear reflectors prized for their red glow were far more popular, as well as all kinds of headlights, spot lights, and dash lamps.

     There was also a combination cap and gauge for the gasoline tank. For years the tank was located under the driver's seat; to refuel everyone had to disembark while the seat was lifted, the cap unscrewed, and tank refilled.

     Some purchased a foot accelerator, but the original hand-throttle accelerator, about the size of a pencil and placed to the right of the steering wheel, was preferable. So was a large horn with a resounding blast--rather than a small one with a discreet sound.

     Without a doubt, people were enjoying their Model T Fords.

     Thanks for visiting!  See you next time.

          Ginny


© 2017 Copyright by Ginny Bettendorf, All Rights Reserved

Flowers and More Flowers with Sissy and Charley-man Sandifer

This is Bud, CD, and Doris Campbell

sitting in the midst of lush blooms
on a late-summer day in 1930. 
How do we know the date?
CD is just a few months old, and 
Bud remembers that Doris' hair was 
cut this way just before her first year in school.

The children lived on a farm outside of 
Crowell, Texas that we shall explore in other posts, 
and loved when they came to town where they could
visit Aunt Sissy and Uncle Charley-man.

In shade alongside the house, they are lying on a rug Sissy has spread out; 
the grass could be quite scratchy as many of us recall.
Bud's face is charming in the light, CD examines his right fist, 
and Doris lazes with her ankles lifted toward the sky.

   Sissy often hid little presents for them inside the Sitting Room. Playing in the yard was also a delight, and we have several more family photos of Bud and Doris playing amidst the flowers.

   The yard was filled -- absolutely filled -- with flowers all the time. Here, Sissy and Charley-man stand near their house behind a sea of flowers. We all recognize what a gift it is to have such a green thumb, particularly in the dry heat of Foard County.

    CD recalls that many of the flowers were larkspur, such as we see in the foreground. Below are some varieties of larkspur that he emailed to me; you might notice the resemblance to delphiniums. Larkspur are smaller and a bit more delicate than their stately-tall elegant cousins.

Here are Sissy and Charley-man many years later; 

we still see evidence of those abundant flowers.

And don't you just love the suspenders and neck-tie 

that Charley-man sports? 

Thanks for visiting! See you next time.

    Ginny


© 2017 Copyright by Ginny Bettendorf, All Rights Reserved