Autumn came and school started up again, I was in second grade and five years old. We had a hard winter, right after Halloween, we got a big storm that dumped two foot of snow, then it got real cold, they shut down the church because it took too long to get it warm. Christmas came, the school didn’t put on a play, the way they usually did, so on Christmas eve the whole family bundled up warm and walked to Brandonville to see their school play, we didn’t get any gifts at Christmas, we cracked nuts and mother made candy and cookies and roasted a chicken, we trimmed a tree, we didn’t know we were supposed to get gifts, so we were not disappointed.

After Christmas mothers cows were to calve, so she turned them dry and only milked one cow. Dora and I didn’t have to go to the barn every morning which was a relief, as it was so very cold the snow was still very deep but there were shoveled paths everywhere. In the yard beside the house was a large walnut tree, almost three feet of more in diameter, it had long limbs that hung out over the house I used to lay awake in my bed at night listening to the wind howling through the branches, I was always scared stiff, that some night one of them big limbs would come crashing through the roof. Several of the sheep died that winter, the farms animals got real skinny, as the barn is drafty and it was hard for them to keep warm. March came and we got another foot of snow, which left everything paralyzed, the school teacher stayed at uncle Lloyds, father would get up early and go to the schoolhouse and get the fire in the big pot bellied stove going so the school would be warm for the children.

Around the end of march it got warmer, then started to rain, it rained for a week, and melted all the snow, everything was flooded , the cellar was full of water, our supply of food was ruined, the weight of the snow on the chicken house has caused the roof to leak, the chickens were walking around in water, as the barn was on a hill, it stayed dry, as the water ran down the hill flooding the valley below, the school house had a foot of water in it, they shut school down until the water receded.

Finally spring was there, it was good to see the ground again, and to walk barefoot in the grass and to see the birds busy building nests, it was like coming out of a cocoon.

At the end of April school was out and I passed third grade. [April 1928]

Things weren’t good at home, mother had to sell her best cow, to get money to pay the taxes on the farms, father went around talking to himself, he didn’t sing or play music anymore. One day a man came to the house to see father. Father wasn’t home, he was over at grandfather Maust’s, helping to fix the barn roof, the man told Mother he had a search warrant to search the premises for a fish net, Mother told him to go ahead and search, the man went straight to the granary, climbed on top of a grain bin, and got a burlap sack that was hanging from the rafters, he opened up the sack and there was the big fish net, the man told Mother he would have to go and pick Father up and take him to jail. Mother cried, when the man left, she said “Someone had turned Father in for having the net, as the man knew exactly where the net was.”Mother suspected Minnie for turning Father in, as her kids were always around and knew where everything was. Father got thirty days in jail.

I remember the day he came home, it was around supper time, we were sitting on the porch waiting for Mother to holler for us to come eat, I happen to look up at the barn, and I saw him, he was just standing there looking around, then looked down at the house, and came running down through the yard, when he got to the porch he stopped and looked at us, then he slowly walked in the house. Things had been hard for us, Glenn was seventeen then and lazy, he had plowed the crops in but the weeds were taking over. Mother had no money to buy fertilizer, and just manure from the farm wasn’t enough. Father got a barn to build about a month later, lightning had hit a farmers barn, and he needed another before winter, the farmer’s wife was expecting and wasn’t well enough to cook for the men that would be working on the new barn, so mother was hired to do the cooking. It was raining the day mother and father left and I didn’t feel good, and was crying because I couldn’t go along. Mother told me she would get some money and would buy me something, but that didn’t help, Dora played with me, but I just got sicker, and soon she knew that I wasn’t just crying because Mother had left. When morning came I couldn’t get out of bed, I was burning up with fever and my chest felt like it had a rock in it, and then I started coughing, Ethel and Dora did all they could for me but I still kept getting worse, then one of Minnie’s boys came down and said the kids has whooping cough. As it turned out I had it too, I was in bed sick for a week before I began to feel better. I don’t know how we all managed those months without Mother and Father, everything seemed to go wrong.

One night Rover, our brown and white basset hound, started barking, Rover always slept on an old rocking chair on the porch, and every time he jumped off, the back of the chair hit the house making a noise.

This night Rover let out a loud yelp as he jumped off the chair, he ran into the yard, then back upon the porch again, just then, Bob Seese, a neighbor who was walking home from a date, yelled, “Jimmy the Barns on Fire” we all jumped out of bed and looked out the window, it was Minnie and Charley Harshbarger’s barn that was on fire, flames were shooting high in the sky, Glenn said “The wind is blowing this way, if the sparks get to our barn it will go to.” Everyone got their clothes on and ran to the fire, but I was afraid and started to cry, I refused to get out of bed, Dora stayed with me and tried to comfort me, but when the huge barn collapsed into ashes, it made a loud noise and I was scared more, I covered up my head and couldn’t stop shaking. The next day I went to Minnie’s, but I circled around so I wouldn’t have to go past the foundation of the barn. 

September [1928] came and school was about to start, I would be six years old and in third grade. Ruby Wolfe was to be our teacher and she would be staying at uncle Lloyds. I was pulling weeds the day I heard the wagon coming, Rover, the dog heard it first, he started barking and wagging his tail, I knew it was mother and father, Rover and I ran to meet them, they had the wagon loaded with grain, they didn’t seem very happy to see me, I sensed something was wrong. I don’t remember what I did wrong, but I was sent back to pulling weeds again.

Glenn put the horses away and helped father put the grain in the granary, then he got on his bicycle and rode away, I could hear mother and father arguing, the only thing I could understand was that they had not got any money for their summers work.

School started the following week, I was having trouble with third grade work, Dora didn’t have time to help me with my lessons, and I got behind, I was missing most of the spelling words, I kept thinking about mother and father arguing all the time. Then one day at school, we were all outside, it was recess, we were playing drop the handkerchief, that’s a game where all the kids hold hands and form a circle, the one kid takes a handkerchief and runs outside the circle dropping the hanky behind a chosen one, then he takes off running and the chosen one has to catch him.

Well that’s what we were playing when the health doctors came to the school; in West Virginia, once a year a doctor and a nurse visit the schools to check the health of the children and to vaccinate for smallpox, any child that hasn’t been vaccinated. Always before when I saw the doctor coming I would run home, but this time the kids had a hold of my hands and wouldn’t let go. I kicked and screamed and bit a couple kids, they got me down on the ground and held me until the Doctor took a hold of me and dragged me into the school house and set me on a chair, then he got what looked like a piece of glass, out of his black bag and took my arm, and right below the shoulder he cut a hole, then he put some medicine in it, all this time the nurse was holding me down, When the doctor finished he gave me a sucker and the nurse let me go, I grabbed the sucker and threw it across the school room and ran out the door and home.

Clara Bell Maust Guthrie 1889-1965, James Guthrie 1879-1965, Glenn Ralph Guthrie 1910-1986, Ethel Guthrie Ritchey 1914-2008, Dora Guthrie McNair 1916-1982, William Freeman Maust 1864-1929, Minnie Harshabrger 1887-1965, Charles “Charlie” Harshbarger 1868-1956, Ruby Wolfe Thomas 1897, Robert “Bob”Seese 1910, Lloyd Guthrie 1887-1979

My mother had a neighbor, Charles and Minnie Harshbarger. They had the farm next to ours, the houses were close enough that you could hollar and get their attention. Charley was a scraggy little man that said very little, he had three black horses, and down the hill he had a saw mill, in the winter he sawed lumber for the farmers. They would haul the logs to the mill on bobsleds, the saw mill was run by steam, there was a pond between the house and sawmill and water was piped down the hill to the mill.

In the winter when the pond was frozen over we used to skate on the ice. Minnie was different, she was six feet four inches tall and weighted around 400 pounds, she never took a bath and smelled so bad she stunk up the whole church, she never wore any shoes, her hair was long, she pulled it back and rolled it into a bun on top of her head. Charley and Minnie’s house was a 2 story with 6 bedrooms it always smelled just like her they never had any carpet or floor covering of any kind on the floor, they had a small wood stove in the kitchen where Minnie cooked buckwheat cakes 3 times a day I don’t think she could cook anything else, she cooked mush one time, and the lumps were as big as walnuts, she used to cook wild game, head and all, didn’t even take the eyeballs out.

Charley and Minnie had 11 kids, Bill, Walter, Albert, Harry, Elizabeth, Reuben, Pearl, Violet, Grace, Daisy, Goldie. Violet was the same age as me, then grace. I’ll never forget the day daisy was born. When I came down to breakfast that morning, mother said, “Minnie has a new baby girl,” I couldn’t wait to go see Minnie’s new baby, I swallowed my breakfast real fast and washed it down with a glass of milk. We had to eat all our food, we weren’t allowed to leave any on our plate. Mother and Father were talking, I had to wait, to ask to be excused, I wasn’t allowed to interrupt while they were talking, when I finally was given a chance to ask, he took a long time answering. 

I knew, I had to fill the wood box with fire wood and go to the barn and milk, before anything else, so I hurried and filled the wood box, and got my little bucket and was ready to go to the barn. As soon as the milking was finished, I ran up to Minnie’s to see her new baby. The bedroom was dark, and I tiptoed quietly, Elizabeth lifted the baby up so I could see it, I was amazed at how tiny it was, I wanted to touch it; but I didn’t, I asked “whats its name was” and Minnie said “Daisy Bell”, I couldn’t get my breathe for a while, and when I did I ran out of the house crying, slamming the door behind me, I saw mother at the sink doing something and I yelled at her, “I HATE YOU, YOU GAVE MY NAME TO MINNIE’S BABY, NOW I DON´T HAVE ANY MIDDLE NAME.” Before mother could answer I ran out the door to the barn, where I stayed until dark, then I crept into the house and up to bed. The next morning I didn’t waste any time getting down to breakfast, as I had, had nothing to eat the day before; I knew I would get punished for my actions, the day before so I didn’t say anything. Father was at the head of the table, as soon as he had said grace, he said, “Ada Bell,” I want to explain something to you, “your mother did not give your name to Minnie’s baby, a lot of people have the same the name, once you have a name, no one can take it away from you.””you were named after aunt Ada, she still has her name.” Now go to the garden and pull weeds until you learn how to talk to your mother. It was always the same, every time I did something wrong, I had to pull weeds, it wasn’t long until I was back at Minnie’s playing with her kids, but I never did like Daisy Bell.

I had a habit of sneaking off to Minnie’s, as mother always had something for me to do. This one time she was getting ready to churn the butter, I knew what that meant, I would have to turn the crank on the churn so, I slipped away, thinking of going to Minnie’s by the way of the schoolhouse, but as I came around the turn, there was mother, with a stick, she whipped me till there were welts on my legs, I was sent back to the house crying as if she had killed me, after the butter was churned, I was sent back to pulling weeds again, but that didn’t stop me from sneaking off to Minnie’s. One time I was at Minnie’s playing with her kids, she told the kids it was time to go for the cows, which were in the pasture in the vale, we took off running, soon we found the cows and headed them towards home, we saw this pretty white sand under a huge tree, kids can’t resist sand, so like all kids we stopped to play, I don’t know how long we played, when we happen to notice that the sky was real black, we knew what that meant, a storm was coming, we took off running, we were half way up the hill when the first thunder came, then it came closer one right after the other as we reached the hilltop, we stopped to catch our breath, and in doing so, we looked back down the hill, just then lightening struck the huge tree that we were playing under, the whole tree burst into fire, limbs were flying in every direction lightening was running along the ground toward us splitting the earth open like a plow, we didn’t wait to see anymore, we took off screaming and running as fast as our legs could carry us. When we got to Minnie’s house, the rain had soaked us, we were out of breathe and still scared so bad we couldn’t stop shaking. Minnie put a dirty blanket around me, then her son Bill picked me up, put me in his car and took me home. Mother took me out on the back porch, stripped off my wet clothes, the poured a bucket of warm water over me, then wrapped me in a clean blanket and gave me a warm glass of milk, soon the milk made me sleepy, and I curled down behind the stove, someone put me to bed, because when I awoke I was in bed. The sun was shining it was the next day, we went back to the pasture field to see what the lighting had done, all that was left of the big tree was a charred stump about 20 feet high, and the ground had looked like someone had plowed it up with a plow.

Minnie May Thomas Harshbarger 1887-1965, Charles Anderson Harshbarger 1868-1956, Albert Richard Harshbarger 1909-1973, William Ralph Harshbarger 1904-1988, Walter David Harshbarger 1907-1968, Elizabeth Ellen Harshbarger Fresh 1913-1957, Charles Rubin Harshbarger 1917-2005, Pearl Katherine 1919-1984, Violet May 1921-2002, Myrtle Grace 1923-2006, Daisy Bell Harshbarger Rude 1925-2016, Goldie Irene Harshbarger Sager 1927- 2007

School started in the fall, I was to be four years old in September. I watched Dora wash up again, after we came from the barn. She would comb her hair, and wash the cow dung from her shoes, as she got ready for school. As soon as she was finished, I would wash up and comb my hair like she did, then I would walk with her to school, when the schoolbell rang, I would go home. I could easily see the schoolhouse from the front porch of our home. So I would watch for the kids to come out to play at recess, as soon as I saw them I would run to play with them. After a while, when recess was over, and the kids were once again inside, I would sit on the schoolhouse porch, and throw small stones into the schoolhouse distracting the kids from their studying. I made such a nuisance of myself, that one day the teacher asked my mother if I could come to school. So I started to school at the age of four. I went to school everyday, barefooted, wearing my good dress. Dora helped me with my abc’s and numbers and it wasn’t long before I could read the book that had been Dora’s first book.

In West Virginia, the state does not buy the schoolbooks, you have to buy them yourself, also paper and pencils. The schoolhouse was a one room with two big windows on each side, it had a big porch that was almost level with the ground, it had a tin roof that really made a loud noise when it rained. The playground that surrounded the schoolhouse was just big enough to play ball, There was two wooden lopsided outhouses, one for girls, and one for boys. I was never in the one for the boys, but the one for girls, had two holes, a big one, and a smaller one, the floor slanted on a downhill angle, so if you missed the hole it would run off, it was always full of spiders and cobwebs. After visiting the outhouse, you always went back to the schoolhouse with cobwebs in your hair. There was two sets of swings, the swings were made of heavy log chains, they were wrapped around huge logs that were loosely planted in the ground, thus when we would swing, the logs would sway back and forth. There was also a seesaw made of a long plank and laid across a huge rock that just happened to be in the schoolyard. This seesaw was everybody’s favorite, we would sit on the end of the rock and wait our turn. I remember one time I got too close to the plank, and got my finger smashed, the end of my finger turned black and my finger nail came off.

On the other side of the schoolhouse was a small building where the coal for the heating stove was kept. Out farther in the woods was a stable, where the teacher kept their horse, if they had one, usually the stable was empty. The stable had a good floor, so on rainy days, us kids would square dance, everyone humming a song to the music. Across the road from the schoolhouse was a small creek, about for feet wide, we would bring magazines from home, then tearing out the pages we made paper boats, then at recess we would sail our boats down the creek. Up the road from the schoolhouse was a small hill and then a sharp turn, on this turn was a big flat rock that was level with the road on one side and about a foot high on the other; from where I sat in school, I could look out the window and see the hill and the rock, I used to watch the cars or trucks come down the hill, if the driver didn’t know the rock was there, wham-o, the front end of the vehicle went down over the rock and it was stuck there. I think Charlie Harshbarger made alot of money pulling automobiles off that rock with his team of horses.

The inside of the schoolhouse had a water cooler in it, it was made of crock, it had a pushbutton spigot on the bottom and a lid on top. Beside the water cooler was a small sink for washing hands. There was a row of nails on the wall next to the door where we all hung our coats. In the corner was a huge cupboard, that was full of books, there was two rows of desks, each row had eight desks, the desks were four feet wide, that had a lid, under the lid was a shelf where we kept our books, when the lid was down the desk was closed, when the lid was up it served as a writing desk. There was a pot-bellied stove in the center of the schoolroom between the two rows of desks, behind the stove was two huge posts that supported the ceiling and roof. Up front was a slate blackboard that went the length of the room, above the blackboard was a row of maps, that was on window blinds. The teachers desk was modern, wide with alot of drawers. Over in the corner was the  organ, every morning whoever could play the organ, would play, and we would song, “My Country Tis of Thee,” and then we would sing “Oh Those West Virginia hills,” And then we said our pledge of allegiance to the flag.

I’ve went everyday to school, that first year, the teacher said, the ones that went to school everyday, would get a silver dollar, I thought for sure, I was going to get the dollar. On the last day of school, I got sick and started throwing up, and Dora had to take me home. I cried and cried, but I only got sicker, I’ve started running a fever and mother put me to bed and gave me some medicine; a couple days later, I was still in bed, the teacher Ward Thomas came to see me, he had my report card and a big rag doll, the doll had a painted face, hair, arms, and legs, it was just two pieces of material sewn together. Anyhow, I thought it was just great, the teacher also gave me fifty cents, he said since I only missed one half a day, I was entitled to half a dollar.

I named the doll flapper fanny and played with it all the time. Mostly I would tie a string around its neck and drag it through the mud. I had another doll, named Peg, she was a big doll, and when I turned her over she cried. I never played with Peg much, I would just look at her, one year for my birthday, mom made Peg a new dress and put some pink lozengers candy in her lap. Mom got me another doll, she sent in a box of coco wheat and got two pieces of material, she sewed them together and then stuffed it, it had a face, arms, legs, and hair painted on it, I called it “Snooks.” My favorite play things was a play horse, I would go down into the woods, and pick out a straight sapling about eight feet long, then I would take fathers eighteen inch handsaw, and saw it down, trim the limbs off it, and then tie a string around the big end, Now I have a horse, I would get a straddle this make belief horse and go galloping all over the farm.

One time my mother was spring cleaning the house, she had taken the curtains down, and laid the curtain rods outside to dry, as she had washed them, they were two wooden poles, painted white, and they got dirty over the winter. I got some binder twine from the granary, and made each a brindle for my imaginary horses. I rode those horses all over the farm, jumping everything that was in our path. I tried jumping over a pile of fence posts, tripped and fell, hurting my leg, so I could hardly walk, my white horse, lie on the ground, I no longer wanted them, so I pretended they died, I took them and buried them inside the straw stack behind the barn.

Mother couldn find her curtain rods, she looked everywhere, she finally gave up and used a string to put her curtains up. One day I was playing with the paper dolls that I had cut from the sears roebuck catalog, I don’t remember who all was in the room, but Dora asked why I wasn’t out playing with my horses, I thought she meant the white horses, so I said “my white horse died, so I buried them in the straw stack.” My mother let out a scream and said, “my curtain rods, her white horses!” Well mother didn’t spank me, but I was pulling weeds for days, my hands were green and sore, I think mother finally felt sorry for me, and told me to never take anything again without asking first, then she put some horse salve on my hands.

Ethel went to work for a Charles Kelly’s, a neighbor farmer. She tried to help out at home, by buying us things, she bought me a sweater and a toothbrush, the first I ever had. We all hoped the depression would soon be over. Then one day mother was hurrying around, gathering eggs and getting them ready for the huckster, (a man that traveled from farm to farm buying up as many things as they had to sell). Mother didnẗ have her shoes on, but a pair of rubbers that she wore in the morning outside to keep her feet dry. I don’t know why she didn”t put the rubbers on over her shoes as she was supposed to, she just put them on and tied a string around her foot to keep the rubber on. I don’t know how it happened , but she fell down the porch step and broke her leg in two places.

Father was away building a barn, there were just my sister Dora and I at home. I ran to the neighbors for help, while Dora tried to help mother. The huckster came along with the neighbor, they got mother in the house, as all the beds were upstairs, she had to lay on the floor. While door called the doctor, mother told me to hitch up the horse and buggy and go get Ethel, I had never hitched up the horse to the buggy, but I had helped mother and Dora do it many times. I ran to the barn, thinking only of mothers broken leg, I don’t remember to this day hitching up the horse to the buggy, but I remember running the horse down the road, the buggy bouncing over the stones on my way to get Ethel. 

Ethel, Dora, and I got mothers bed downstairs, they put mother to bed and gave her some ether to put her to sleep. So they could set her leg, the smell of that ether made us all sick on our stomach.

They sent word to father to come home, but he only stayed a few days. This was early spring, and alot of work on the farm. The sow had pigs and she laid on one crippling it, so Ethel put the baby pig in a box, and brung it to the house, I went to the store and got a baby nipple, we bottle fed little Porky, as we named him, then one of the ewe’s (female) sheep, had twin lambs, but she would only claim one, as often happens with sheep, so little Molly, as we named her, came into the box with Porky and they both got bottle fed. As if things wernt bad enough, mother had a sitting hen that had four peepie’s, a fox got the hen, leaving the peepies motherless. Another box was placed in the kitchen for the peepies.

Mother was in alot of pain, and started running a fever, Ethel called the doctor, he said mothers leg wasn’t healing. They would have to take her to the hospital. They called Glenn, but Glenn’s car was too old, but he got a friend of his that had a new car to come take mother to the hospital. While mother was in hospital, it rained, and rained, the roof on the peepies house leaked real bad, mother had near a hundred, month old chicks in the peephouse. We always put the chicks in boxes at night, because they hadn’t learned to go on the roost yet, and they would all pile in one corner and would suffocate. One night the roof was leaking so bad, Ethel and Dora decided to take the boxes of chicks in the house. This was well and good, but the didn’t hear the alarm clock go off, when they awakened, it was daylight, we hurried downstairs, the chicks had got out of the boxes, and were everywhere. There was chicken dung all over everything. What a mess, it was a good thing, the rain barrel was full or we wouldn’t have any water to clean up the mess. Mother came home, everything was just fine, the farm was running smoothly, the crops were all planted; by putting her knee on a chair, mother was able to get around and do the cooking. 

Ethel went to live with Ruth, where she got a job working in a boarding house, boarding men that worked for the lumber company. There she met and married George Ritchey. Finally the timber was all cut and George was out of work, he went to Akron, Ohio. Where his brother was and got a job with firestone rubber company. Ethel sold all her furniture (she had three kids by this time) and went to join her husband in Ohio. There she raised seven children. George Ritchey died in 1971 at the age of fifty seven.

My sister Dora Guthrie McNair.

My sister Dora was two years younger than Ethel, and five and one half years older than me. I was the baby of the family, so Dora and I grew up together, not like my other two sisters, Ethel and Ruth, but together, we slept together, eat together, went to the barn together, school together, we worked the farm together, everything we did was together, it was always Dora and I together. 

I’ll tell you about Dora as I tell you about me. Dora was always short and chubby, when she was full grown, she was five feet four inches tall, and weighed over a hundred pounds, she had brown eyes, and brown hair.

When I was three years old, mother asked me to help her pull weeds in the garden. She told me to pull every weed, well I did, including the tomato plants, mother was so angry she made me get the hoe, dig a hole and plant them back again, every day she made me get a bucket and water the tomato plants. I watered those tomato plants until they had tomatoes on them. That same summer, mother had four little ducks, they kept picking at my toes, one day I picked one up by the neck until he stopped kicking, mother came around the corner, just then, and seen what I did, she was so angry, she got a stick and hit me on the legs, then made me get the hoe and dig a hole and bury the little duck behind the granary. 

Even at the age of three, I was made to get out of bed at 6 Oclock in the morning. Dora and I slept together, as soon as we got out of bed, we made our bed, got dressed, went downstairs, where we washed our face and hands and combed our hair. Mother had a good breakfast on the table. Father was there waiting for us to be seated. Father always said grace, at mealtime, so we folded our hands in our lap, and listened to his words. As soon as breakfast was over, we got the milk buckets, and went to the barn to milk the cows. Mother, Ethel, and Dora, would milk the cows, and I would wait along aside until mother was finished with her cow, then with a tin cup, I would finish milking her cow. She always saved my milk separate from the rest, she always said it had more cream on it.

Farmer Charles Kelly, Clara Bell Maust Guthrie 1889-1965, James Guthrie 1879-1965, Glenn Ralph Guthrie 1910-1986, Dora Guthrie McNair 1916-1982, Ruth Guthrie Seese 1912-2007, Ethel Guthrie Ritchey 1914-2008, George Ritchey 1911-1970.

As I said in the beginning I was born in those West Virginia hills, northern Preston County, two miles south of Brandonville, on a farm of one hundred and fifty acres. My father owned this farm, it was once owned by my father and uncle Norton, and it was three hundred acres. Then Uncle Norton wanted to sell so they divided the farm in half. 

On my father’s farm, there was an old log barn, the house was a two story, with a porch on top of a porch, the upstairs porch was screened in and was used as a bedroom in summer. There were two bedrooms upstairs on the first floor was a kitchen and living room. Outside the house was a tall pine tree and some maple trees at the corner of the house, was a well, which had a wooden floor and wench with a rope and a bucket for getting the water out of the well. I was born on this farm, but when I was seven months old my father moved us to the small farm (52 acres) that Grandfather Guthrie had given him. 

I’ll tell you about my family now.

My father, James Guthrie, was born February 2 (Groundhogs Day) 1879, he was five feet seven inches tall and weighed around one hundred and sixty pounds. I never knew him to shave, he always had a beard, altho, he usually kept it short by about half an inch. He was bowed legged, and in winter, he wore knee high rubber boots, in summer he wore tennis shoes, I never saw him wear leather shoes. Father was also a carpenter, every summer he had a farm to build,  he could take a large piece of paper, and a ruler, sit down and draw a blueprint of the barn he was to build, he could tell you to the exact, how much lumber was needed, he supervised the building of the farm by marking each piece of lumber. Back in them days we didn’t have electric saws and drills, everything was done the hand way. All his barns were put together with wooden pins. He had a big drill, that had a seat and two cranks, with the bit in the center, you sat this drill on the end of a twelve by twelve inch square log, then you sat on the seat of the drill and with a hand on each crank you drilled two inch holes then you took a chisel and made square holes,then on the end of another log you sawed a square to fit in the square hole of the other log, than you drilled a one and one half inch hole, through which would be driven the long wooden pin, that would hold the barn together. I helped father many times to make these holes, and I have the scars on my knees to prove it. My father never got much money for building a barn, the people he would build for, were poor, so he usually would take a cow or grain, I know of somewhere he never got anything, they still owe him, period. Father wasn’t much of a farmer he liked to read, and spent most of his time doing so, many times we worked the farm after dark because he laid in the shade reading, his excuse always was it was cooler in the evening. 

Father was very religious, and swearing was a NO, NO, in our family. He loved people, parties and music, he played the harmonica at square dances, of which there were many among the farmers, every time we went to a dance, everyone would be standing around until father got there, he would take out his long Hohner harmonica and blow on it, it just seemed everyone became alive with excitement, then he would start to play and the dancing would begin, he never tired of playing and would play far into the night. 

Father was well educated and could talk to anyone, which he did if given the chance, he never met a stranger, when he met a person, he talked to them as if he knew them all his life, he always had something to talk about. He trusted everyone, which was his downfall, people took advantage of him, he was generous to a fault, that’s why he never had any money, but he had a lot of friends that loved him. 

My mother was Carrie Bell Maust Guthrie, she was five feet four inches tall, long brown hair, blue eyes, big breasts, and was a lot overweight. Mother was a hard worker; she always kept a lot of chickens, which supported the family. She always had a big garden and preserved everything she could. They always kept four or five cows. She would always save the heifer calves, so she could have another cow, but she always ended up selling it so she would have money to pay the taxes on the farm. Mother always kept sheep, but I don’t think she ever made any money with them, sheep take a tighter fence than cows, so she spent a lot of time fixing fence. Mother wasn’t musically inclined, she didnt play anything and I never heard her sing, altho father was always singing or playing. Mother never talked to me much, she never taught me to do anything except plant a garden.

She loved me, but she never kissed me, she showed her love by caring, making sure her family was well fed and clothed. I dont know why, but father decided, he wanted to live on the little farm Grandfather Guthrie had given him. There were no buildings on the little farm, so father built what was needed. He built the house in the dell, because there was a big spring of water, he built the house on a big rock foundation, thus making a huge cellar, this cellar had the drain from the spring running through it, he built a cement trough through which the water flowed, the water was always cool and clean. Mother kept her milk, cream, and butter in crocks that sit in the cool water, keeping it fresh. On one side was a row of cider and vinegar barrels on the back was shelves, where she put all her canned vegetables, on the other side were bins, one for apples, one for potatoes, one for turnips, cabbage, onions.

The house was a two story, two bedroom upstairs, two bedroom living room, kitchen on the first floor, the kitchen was a shed type, that ran the whole length of the house, father built a big porch that went the length of the house in front and the length of the house on one side, at the end of the porch was the spring of water. Altho the water wasn’t in the house it was handy. Father put a sink in the kitchen which made my mother happy. Father built a barn across the road on the hill. The way this little barn laid it was more convenient than the bigger barn. We could see the Guthrie school house a quarter mile down the road, it was closer to church, altho farther away from the store and post office.

There were five of us kids. Four girls, one boy. My brother Glenn, was the oldest. My first recollection of him was the day he brung my shoes to the schoolhouse. I had gone to school barefooted as I always did, it started to snow, early in the afternoon, by the time school let out, there was a couple of inches of snow. I was worried, because I had no shoes to wear home, but as school let out, there stood my brother with my shoes, I was so happy to see my shoes, I could have kissed him for bringing them to me. Glenn had a bicycle, he used to let me ride on the handle bars. But mostly i remember other things, that wasn’t so nice, like the time he put my mothers wash tub over me, as I sat playing in the sand, he sat on the tub so I couldn’t get out, I couldn’t get any air, and I almost suffocated, if my mother hadn’t caught him, I would have. Glenn used to scare me all the time, making me afraid of the dark, one time he beat me up, I was cutting paper dolls from a catalog, I had a pair of scissors that an old neighbor woman had given me, for that purpose, my brother had his banjo, and was swinging it like a bat a t me, each time, getting closer to my head, finally it came too close, and I through up my arms for protection, and the point of the scissors went through the skin of his banjo, he got so mad, he grabbed me and started hitting me and kicking me. My mother was down at the chicken house and didn’t see what happened. My sister Dora or I didn’t tell on him, because we knew mother or father wouldnt do anything to him. Finally Glenn went over to Grandmother Maust, to stay, he got a job cutting timber, he bought himself a car and started going out with girls, after a few years, he met Charley Seeses cousin Grace Sisler, he started dating her and after a while got married. Mother and Father helped him fix up one end of the granary for him and grace to live in; they lived there a couple years then moved to fox hollow West Virginia, where he became sawyer for the summit lumber company. Glenn and Grace had fourteen kids, one set of twins.

He later moved with the lumber company to Grantsville Maryland, where later he got a job as a welder. Glenn was real lazy when he was young, we always said we pitied the woman that got him. But he turned out to be a good worker and a good father. Glenn died of heart trouble at the age of seventy six.

My sister Ruth Guthrie Seese, I never got to know Ruth very well, when I was growing up Ruth worked for Aunt Minnie Guthrie. I remember her being home one night, it was winter, we were sitting around the pot bellied heating stove, singing, I was sitting on Ruth’s lap we were singing a new song out, the death of Floyd Collins, it was a song about a prospector that was killed in a sandstone cave.

I remember when her husband Charles Seese started dating her, he came every Saturday night, he always had the funny papers, and a big bag of candy bars. Ruth and Charlie got married when Ruth was sixteen, mother had a wedding supper for them, and than later that night all the neighbors quietly came with, cow bells, horns, sleigh bells, honk shells, somebody went onto the hill and put off six sticks of dynamite, than everyone started ringing bells, and yelling, making the hills ring, this was called serenade, than afterward everyone came into the house and were given a piece of wedding cake, than everyone went to the washhouse for a good old square dance. I never saw much of Ruth after that, Charlie was working for the lumber company cutting timber at elliotsville, Pennsylvania. Ruth went to live there with him. Later they returned to West Virginia to live on my father’s farm, where they raised their six children. By this time, I had gotten married and moved from West Virginia.

My Sister Ethel Guthrie Ritchey. Ethel was two years younger than Ruth, she was always playing jokes on people, especially me. In the winter it was out job, twice a day, before and after school, to take the farm animals to the water trough, which was a good distance down the road from the barn, the horses and cows usually went themselves, but the sheep always went somewhere else instead of coming back to the barn, so someone had to go with them. One time I was taking the sheep to the water, and the (buck) male sheep decided he wasn’t going to go back to the barn, I got a long stick and went after him, well he turned around real quick and started for me, well I know that if I provoked he would butt me, so I turned and started to run, Ethel started hollering “run Ada heś after you, run run,” I ran as fast as I could up and into the barn and up the ladder into the haymow. Ethel came and hollered, “heś waiting for you,” I stayed in the haymow for over an hour before I realized the bucksheep wasn’t waiting for me. When I got back to the house, Ethel laughed and said “the bucksheep hadn’t chased me.” Another time we were milking the cows, and I threw a cow chip at the cow, Ethel was milking, it bounced off the cow and hit her, she threw one back at me, and it went into my milk bucket, i reached into the milk, got the chip and threw it back at her, well half an hour later, we were still throwing chips, by now the chips were getting bigger and fresher. One of the cows decided to empty it’s bowel, I found a shingle and scooped up the hot cow manure, as I raised the shingle, Ethel started to run, but she wasn’t fast enough, the cow dung hit her in the back and went all over her backside. We went to the house (minus half the milk), mother took one look at us and handed us the water buckets, we went to the well, got the water, on our way back to the house, Ethel’s boyfriend was there, he started laughing and never did let Ethel forget the cow chips.

Ruth Guthrie Seese 1912-2007, Charles “Charlie” Seese 1905-1988, Minnie Guthrie 1902-1986, Glenn Ralph Guthrie 1910-1986, Ethel Guthrie Ritchey 1914-2008, Norton Guthrie 1884-1966, James Guthrie 1978-1965, Jeremiah “Jerry” Guthrie 1952-1918, Caroline “Carrie” Clara Bell Maust Guthrie 1889-1965.

The upstairs in grandmother’s house was two bedrooms separated by a hallway, the bedroom over the living room was where Lucy and Bertha slept, it had two double beds two dressers and two chest of drawers and a trunk, the house didn’t have a chimney, a stove pipe came up through the bedroom floor and up through the ceiling and out the roof, as the stove pipe came through [the] floor of the upstairs bedroom, there was a square piece of tin with a hole in the middle which the stove pipe went through, this tin was nailed to the floor and held the stove pipe in place and away from any danger of fire. The hole in this tin wasn’t exactly round and was bigger than the stove pipe, and anyone laying on the floor could look through the crooked hole and see what was going on below. I remember one time my sister and I were laying on the floor listening to a conversation between grandfather and a neighbor, this neighbor was a bachelor of about forty years old. Aunt Lucy liked this bachelor, when she found us listening, she wanted to listen also, she leaned over so she could hear what was said below but aunt Lucy started laughing, well grandmother had, had beans for supper, and apparently aunt Lucy hadn’t chewed her food very well because suddenly she started to throw up the beans. They bounced around and went down the hole beside the stove pipe, the stove had a rim around the top that resembled the rim of a hat, well the beans hit that rim and bounced off onto the neighbor that sat near the stove, Well he got so mad he swore and ran from the room, in his haste to get away, he jerked the kitchen door open, and fell head first over old Shep that was laying on a rug in front of the door. Well this neighbor ran off into the night, and I never saw him at grandmothers again. 

Uncle Sammy never said very much. (he was crippled also) I guess it was because it embarrassed him that people couldn’t understand him. Grandfather got Uncle Sammy some white rabbits and he played with them all day long, the rabbits ran free so everywhere Uncle Sammy went the rabbits followed. Grandfather never built any fences on his farm so the cows had to be watched constantly , this was Uncle Sammy’s job watching the cows, and when they went to far Old Shep would bring them back. I’ll never forget Uncle Sammy. Old Shep and the rabbits up in the pasture field, from sunup to sundown; when it rained he sat under a big umbrella.

Grandmother Maust, took care of them until she died. Nobody ever knew why these four children were crippled, they weren’t born that way. One winter when they were little, they got sick. The doctor gave them some medicine, when they got over the illness they were crippled. Grandmother had spilled some medicine on the floor, it eat a hole in the rug, we don’t know if it was the medicine or what, that was in the late 18th century, so nobody knew much about medicine or sickness then. Uncle Harvey was younger than the crippled ones, he was alright he worked hard farming. After grandfather died, Uncle Harvey just seemed to give up trying to support grandmother, Uncle Sammy and Aunt Lucy and Bertha, he knew he would be supporting them for the rest of his life, so one day he just up and left. Uncle Harvey came back one year later, with a pregnant wife, she was Edith Cupp, we all knew her, as she lived close by. Edith came from a very poor family and she didn’t have all her marbles, she talked simple, but Uncle Harvey loved her and they ended up having twelve kids.

The state of West Virginia finally took the farm from Grandmother, and moved her into a log house that was on the farm next door. The state supported Grandmother, Uncle Sammy, Aunts Lucy and Bertha, when Grandmother died the state came and got Uncle Sammy, Aunt Lucy and Bertha, and put them in a home, where they lived to an age of seventy, seventy three, and sixty eight. I am thankful the state never separated them, they were together and happy, (always.)

Then there was Aunt Millie Maust Hoover, she was the youngest of my Grandmothers children. Aunt Millie was a little like Grandmother, , when she finished grade school she went to live with aunt Ada, where she got a job as telephone operator, she married Arthur Hoover a big man, six feet four inches tall and weighed over 200 pounds, and he never worked a day in his life, after aunt Millie and Art got married they got on welfare and stayed on it till the day he died. Aunt Millie had ten kids, one; Mildred was killed by a car when she got off a school bus.

Well that was my Mother’s family.

Arthur Sulvanius Hoover 1905-1965, Mildred Hoover 1937-1941, Edith Cupp 1909-2000, William Freeman Maust 1864-1929, Effie Amanda Ditmore 1868-1946, Ada Mae Maust Kingan 1893-1967, Harvey Earl Maust 1899-1988, Lucy Maust 1898-1972, Millie Maust 1908-1992, Samuel Maust 1905-1954,Bertha Marie Maust 1904-1973 [ALL BOLD ITALIC MENTIONED IN A PRIOR MEMOIR AS WELL]

Well that was my dad’s family, Now I’ll tell you about my mother’s family.

My grandfather was Freeman Maust, he was a tall slim man, clean shave, he always wore felt boots and a suit coat, he had blue eyes and was Dutch, he lived on a small farm seven miles from my dad’s farm. Grandpaw wasn’t much of a farmer, although he made a good living, his main work was making shoes, which he sold, I remember the high tops, thick leather soles. He tanned the leather from horse, cow, pig hide, whatever was available, he didn’t use nails for the sole of the shoes, he made wooden pegs and drove them into the sole of the shoe. Grandpop also made fiddles, from wooden cheese boxes, he made the strings from fine wire, and rabbit gut, which he dried in the sun, he made a banjo once, he put a hog bladder on it, it sounded real good. Grandfather was a real musician, he played his fiddle for hours and I never tired of listening to him, I think he also made harness and saddles, although I never saw him working on these.

My grandfather Maust was married to Effie Ditmore Maust, my grandmother. Grandmother was a little woman, about five feet, she had long brown hair that touched the floor, when she sat on a chair. It seems that all Grandmother ever done was cook, she had a big garden, with all kind of berries and herbs. There was a small building in the corner of the yard, where she kept her bread, pies, cookies, plus hams, dried beef, green beans, corn, spices from the garden. I used to love going into this building, it smelled so good and made me hungry.

Grandfather’s house was a small two story, with two bedrooms upstairs. The living room served as a living room and bedroom, it had a pot bellied stove, dresser and organ, a record player that had a big horn, and you had to crank it continuously for it to play a record , then there was Grandfather and Grandmothers big brass bed, several rocking chairs, and a stand with huge house flowers on it. Between the living room and kitchen was a hallway  and stairway going up to second floor, under the stairway was a closet, where grandmother kept a flour barrel, and a box for shoes, and a rack for winter coats. They didn’t have water in the house like Grandfather Guthrie had, they had to carry water from a spring that was up the hill above the house. Across the road from the house was a creek, where grandmother got water for laundry. My cousin and I used to spend a lot of time playing in that creek when we visited Grandmother. 

Grandmothers Kitchen had a big black cooking stove  that sat in front of a window, then a big wood box that someone was always sitting on, then a dry sink where they set the water bucket, then a stand where house flowers were growing, next was a sewing machine, on the other side was a big long table with a bench behind, in the corner was a big corner cupboard, between the cupboard and stove was a wooden medicine cabinet with a mirror, below the cabinet was a small stand with a wash basin on it, Grandfather always kept his razor strap hanging by this stand, although I never saw Grandfather use this razor strap for anything but sharpening his razor, I was always conscious of it being there, and I know he wouldn’t hesitate to use it, If I got out of line.

Grandfather and Grandmother Maust had seven daughters and two sons.

Aunt Florence Maust Kingan , was the oldest, she lived at Smithfield, Pennsylvania, about thirty miles from Grandfather and Grandmother. I didn’t get to know her very well , she had had two children and a husband but they were dead. Her husband’s nephew which was as old as her, lived with her,  he was a big man and always had a big wad of tobacco in his mouth. We, my cousin and I, watched him one time to see if he took the tobacco out of his mouth, when he ate ice cream, he didn’t.

Next was my mother Carrie Bell Maust Guthrie, I’ll tell you about her later.

Next was Aunt Mary Elizabeth Maust Guthrie, aunt Lizzy, I’ve already told you about her, she was married to my father’s brother, Uncle Norton Guthrie.

Then was Aunt Ada Maust Kingan, she was married to James Kingan, I don’t know if he was any relation to Aunt Florence’s husband or not, as they both had the same name. Aunt Ada lived next door to Aunt Florence at Smithfield, Pennsylvania. Aunt Ada had long hair like Grandmother, except her hair was a blondish brown, she had a daughter named Helen. Each summer Aunt Ada and Helen would come to Grandmothers for a visit, they always came when the church was having revival, I would go to visit Grandmother at the same time. During this time Helen and I were together constantly, playing with the animals. Playing in the creek, jumping on the beds and having a pillow fight, when evening came we all walked to Grandmothers church which was different, but all the same denomination. Aunt Ada’s husband James Kingan worked in the coal mines, he never came to Grandmothers with Aunt Ada.

Then there was Aunt Berdie Maust, she was crippled, she sat in a rocking chair all the time, she was very small and they carried her from place to place. Aunt Berdie died when I was about five years old.

Next was Aunt Bertha, Aunt Lucy, and Uncle Sammy, I don’t know which of these were the oldest, they were also crippled although not as bad as aunt Berdie. They walked on tip toe and leaned forward, An was always running to catch up with their body, when they walked they couldn’t talk very well and unless you were around them alot you couldn’t understand them. There was nothing wrong with their minds, they went to school an got an education, as an education went in those days they could sew, crochet, and knit and was always making beautiful things for the family. They had a bladder problem.That every time they laughed, they would wet themselves, my sister and I used to tell them jokes so they would laugh and wet themselves. I know now, what it was like because now I have the same bladder problem. The Lord is getting back at me for making them laugh.

Mentioned in this memoir are, William Freeman Maust 1864-1929, Effie Amanda Ditmore 1868-1946, Florence Maust Kingan 1887-1950, Caroline Clara Bell “Carrie” Maust Guthrie 1889-1965, Mary Elizabeth Maust Guthrie 1891-1973, Ada Mae Maust Kingan 1893-1967, James “Jim” Kingan 1884-1972, Helen Kingan 1922-1992, Berdie Alice Maust 1896-1927, Harvey Earl Maust 1899-1988, Lucy Maust 1898-1972, Millie Maust 1908-1992, Samuel Maust 1905-1954,Bertha Marie Maust 1904-1973

Then there was Uncle Ray Guthrie, he was also a school teacher and farmer, he married Rea Frankhouser, I liked her, she was short and fat, and laughed a lot, she wasn’t a very good cook or housekeeper, she did what she had to do, as quickly as possible, we had a lot of fun with Aunt Reav. She played the piano at church.

Aunt Rea and her brother Oak Frankhouser owned the farm, which was next to my dad’s farm. When Uncle Ray and Aunt Rea got married Uncle Ray moved in with Rea and her brother, and took over the farming, as Aunt Reas brother Oak was so fat he couldn’t get around very well, although he did his share of work. Uncle Ray taught school in Winter and farmed in summer, he had a car and a radio, we used to go over to Uncle Rays and listen to Amos and Andy on the radio, Uncle Rays radio was thirty inches long had six or eight knobs on it that had to be adjusted just right, it had a twenty inch speaker that looked like Gabriel’s horn, and the radio operated on a car battery.

The news always came on the radio at seven oclock, and Amos and Andy at seven thirty, Uncle Ray always liked for us to be at his house and seated in the living room before seven oclock, he always made a big deal out of turning the radio on, it had to be just right, and NO one was allowed to speak once the radio was on, this nearly killed Aunt Rea, as she talked all the time.

I remember Uncle Ray built an ice house, that is a big building, with the door high up from the ground, it had steps inside and outside up to the door. The icehouse was filled with sawdust, every winter the neighbors would get together at the creek , they would cut the ice in big squares, load it on a sled and haul it to the icehouse, where they buried the ice in the sawdust, where it would keep all through the next summer. My dad always helped put the ice away, but we seldom used any, in fact the only time we got ice was when my mother made ice cream, which was about once a year.

My sister Dora and I, always rode to church with Uncle Ray as it was too far to walk, I remember one evening, I went to Uncle Rays to go to Church, he had a big brown crock setting on the porch, I noticed it had ice floating in some brown liquid, he asked me if I wanted some iced tea, I said yes as I was curious about the tea, the only tea I had ever drank was penny loyal or sassafras and it was always hot, I had never drank it cold. When I tasted the tea, I discovered it was neither of those teas, but a different, When I ask Uncle Ray what kind of tea it was, he said it came from China. When I went home, I looked it up in a book and read all about the black tea that grew in China. I’m sure I drove everyone nuts talking about Uncle Ray’s black tea. I still can’t understand why my mother never bought any black tea it wasnt expensive, maybe she didn’t know about the tea either.

Then there was Aunt Dessie Guthrie Matholthmew, she was also a school teacher, she was married to Cloyde Matholthmew, he was lazy, I never saw him do anything but sit on the porch swing, and smoke his pipe, Aunt Dessie would sit on his lap, and he would blow smoke in her face, she had two daughters, Agnes and Evelyn, Aunt Dessie moved to Seattle Washington, when I was about four years old, there she had six or seven more kids. She never came back to West Virginia until she was a senior citizen.

Grandpop Guthrie had one brother Harry Guthrie, he lived on a big farm next to Grandpop Guthrie and Uncle Ray.Uncle Harry had four sons, Ray, Lester, Walter, Hozia, and four daughters Effie, Laura, Alcinda, and Cora who died when she was young. Uncle Harry’s family were all grown up when I was a kid. Uncle Harry’s kids never got married except Effie who married Hock Frankhouser, a farmer Uncle Harry liked Hock Frankhouser because he was just like him, had a big farm and was greedy. Laura ran off and married Clark Spiker, who had a strong back and nothing else, she ended up with six kids and nothing, Uncle Harry never forgave her, for marrying Clark Spiker. Alcinda was tall, skinny, I never saw her wear shoes, she never got married, Uncle Harry’s four sons were weird, they never spent any money, their clothes were patch upon patch , and I don’t think any one of them ever had a bath. They were hard workers on the farm, in the winter they would build rail fences, they would make them sixteen rails high, why they did this I don’t know, as eight rails was all that was needed. Each son had their own farm animals, cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens, they all worked together for feed for their animals, which they sold, after Uncle Harry died, Roy and Alcinda  bought a car so their mother could ride in style to church. The other sons of Uncle Harry wouldn’t give any money for the car so they were never allowed to ride in it. Uncle Ray taught Roy how to drive the car, that was a sight to behold, Roy ran over a gate, a fence, down over an embankment, it kept stopping, then would start out with a leap and then stop again.

Those discussed in this memoir, Rhuie Lena Frankhouser 1891-1944, Oak Fuller Frankhouser 1877-1937, Dora Guthrie McNair 1916-1982, Dessie Guthrie Bartholomew 1899-1986, Cloyde Bartholomew 1890-1968, Agnes Bartholomew 1924-2005, Evelyn Bartholomew 1927, Harrison “Harry” Guthrie 1858-1937, Lydia Faucett 1858-1938, Roy Guthrie 1892-1978, Lester Guthrie 1890-1974, Hozia Guthrie 1887-1954, Walter Guthrie 1896-1959, Effie Guthrie Frankhouser 1886-1958, Harrison “Hock” Frankhouser 1883-1966, Laura Guthrie Spiker 1889-1944, Clark Spiker 1886-1974, Alcinda Guthrie 1884-1962,Cora Guthrie 1883-1924

Oh those West Virginia hills, how majestic and how grand, with its summits pointed skyward to the great almighty land, is it any wonder than that my heart with rapture fills as I stand once more with loved ones in those West Virginia hills.

That’s, the song we used to sing, when I went to school. That’s the way I feel about those West Virginia hills not so much the people but the hills themselves, majestic and grand.

I was born in those West Virginia hills; Northern part of Preston County twenty six miles from Pennsylvania line, two miles south of Brandonville, my father had a three hundred acre farm that he and uncle Norton had bought before they were married. I come from a long line of Guthries.

According to a diary that has been handed down from one generation to the next, the first Guthries left Ierland in the year 1745, there were five brothers. James, Jacob, John, Jerimiah and Abraham. Two brothers Jerimiah and John got sick at sea and died.

Upon arriving in America they each bought one thousand acres of land, for one dollar an acre. Abraham Guthrie bought one thousand acres along the middle Atlantic sea shore twenty five miles north of the fork in two great rivers. This brother married and had one daughter named Sarah, later it was learned Abraham and his wife were killed and until recently no one knew what became of his daughter.

Not knowing of any heirs , the government resold the land. Jacob and James Guthrie went west to the great Ohio river, Jacob crossed the river and was never heard from again.

James Guthrie bought one thousand acres in what is now Preston County West Virginia. This land is still owned in part by the Guthrie clan.

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

Sorry! This product is not available for purchase at this time.

Log in

My grandfather , who lived on part of this land, was a big man, he had a long black beard, brown eyes, was bald headed, and bow-legged; he always wore gum boots and smelled of cow manure. Being very religious he was a deacon in the Church of the Brethren. Besides farming, he was county commissioner. My grandfather was married to Nancy Nicola, (my grandmother) and they had twelve children. He died three years before I was born, all I know about him is what was told to me.

I don’t remember much about my grandmother Nancy Nicola Guthrie, except that she was a big woman, with big bosoms, thin hair that she pulled back tight against her head. I remember her being sick in bed and of her funeral, the horse and buggies lined up at her house, of Aunt Minnie running around the crowded kitchen with a small chamber pot in her hand, trying to find her son Clarence so he could go before they left for the church.

My Grandpop and Grandmaws first baby died. So my father was the oldest living, his name James Guthrie born February 2, 1879 and died April 29, 1965 at the age of 86. I’ll tell you about my father later.

Next was aunt Susan Guthrie Faulkner born January 1880, there was only eleven months between her and my dad. Aunt Susie was a school teacher, she was married to Marcellis Faulkner, who was lazy, the only thing I ever see him do was the usher at the church on Sunday, they lived about a half mile from my dad, on the small farm of 52 acres that grandpop Guthrie gave Aunt Susie when he died.

Then was aunt Stella Guthrie Moyers, she was a school teacher also, she was married to Charles Moyer a farmer, he had a big farm and worked hard, he was tight fisted with money, the only time they eat an egg was on easter, they only eat wild meat and vegetables raised on the farm, they never spent any money on groceries, there donation to the church was keeping it clean. Aunt Stella had four children Beatrice, Alma, Pauline, and Charles. Beatrice was the same age as me, and I never liked her, she always made better grades than I did, (her mother was a school teacher, she had lots of help). Aunt Susie always bought her clothes, everytime she got something new she would say ¨look what aunt Susie bought me, she likes me better than you.” For that Beatrice usually got a bloody nose and a black eye from me. Aunt Stella sent all her children to college in Virginia.

Then there was Uncle Norton Guthrie, he was six feet four inches tall and skinny, he and my dad bought a three hundred acre farm before they were married, but Uncle Norton didnt like to work so he sold his half of the farm, Uncle Norton married my mother’s sister Mary Elizabeth Maust, we called her aunt Lizzie.

Aunt Lizzie was a worker, she always had a big garden, and kept a huge flock of chickens. Uncle Norton worked for Uncle Ray enough to get grain to feed the chickens, they sold enough eggs to support them both. They didn’t have much, just the bare necessities, they walked everywhere they went. They never had any children.

Then was Della Guthrie, I don’t know anything about her except she died when she was very young.

Uncle Troy Guthrie was next, he farmed his part of the farm that Grandpop Guthrie gave him, he married Eula Shafer and together they managed to scratch a living out of the farm. They never had any children, but aunt Eula fooled around with a neighbor and had four kids, the first one died, then there was Thelma, Dwight, and Alice. Uncle Troy was a big hearted man, he forgave Aunt Eula and raised them kids as his own.

Next was Aunt Hadia Guthrie Harshbarger, she was also a school teacher; but she got pregnant and had to marry Joe Harshbarger. Joe didn’t want to marry Aunt Hattie but Grandpop Guthrie made him.

Joe and Aunt Hadia never got along, he always said Homer (the baby) didnt belong to him. They say he beat her something awful. Joe and Aunt Hadia had three other kids Emma, Jerimiah, and David. Aunt Hadia died at the age of twenty eight leaving four small children. Joe Harshbarger raised Jerry and David his small sons, but Homer and Emma were shifted around the family, Homer was killed when he was twenty five, he was cutting timber.

Grandpop Guthrie never forgave Aunt Hadia for getting pregnant, she died without ever seeing him again after she got married.

Uncle Lloyd Guthrie was next, he was a good man, and a hard worker; he was in World War one, , he was a carpenter building expensive houses. Uncle Lloyd inherited the home place from Grandpop Guthrie, I don’t know why this was, as Grandpops house was worth a lot more than the 52 acres of land the rest received. Grandpops house was huge, it had seven bedrooms, two kitchens,one for preparing meals, the other for preparing food for storage, it had a bathroom with hot and cold water, a coal furnace that heated the whole house, plus the water. There was a big deep spring up the hill above the house that supplied the water for the house, the water was piped into the house in big pipes. There was a big outhose that set across a small creek just below the house, this outhose had six holes of different sizes, there was never very much water in the small creek, so when someone had to go to the outhouse the chickens would help themselves to whatever came from above. Us grandchildren had to use this outhouse, because Aunt Minnie didn’t want us tracking dirt into the house. Aunt Minnie was Uncle Lloyds wife, they had one son Clarence Guthrie. My sister Ruth worked for Aunt Minnie helping her keep the big house clean. We would go there to visit her.

Those discussed in this memoir, Jeremiah Guthrie 1852- 1918, Nancy Nicola 1859-1926, Minnie Catherine Thomas Guthrie (nee:teets) 1902-1986, Clarence Edward Guthrie 1925-2011, James Guthrie 1879- 1965, Susan Guthrie Faulkner (susanna¨Suzie¨)1880-1961, Marcellus Faulkner 1880-1967, Stella Guthrie Moyers 1889-1960, Charles Moyers 1889-1956, Beatrice Mae Moyers Baysinger 1889-1956, Alma Maxine Moyerlong 1925-2012; husband Urbanb 1929-?, Pauline Grace Moyers Sines 1927-1981, Charles Ray Moyers 1931-2018, Norton Guthrie 1884-1966, Mary Elizabeth Maust 1891-1973, Hadia Guthrie Harshbarger 1881-1925, Joseph Henry Harshbarger 1874-1938,  Homer Harshbarger 1902-1927, Emma Harshbarger, Jeremiah Joseph Harshbarger 1912-2002, David Harshbarger 1913-1987, Ray Guthrie 1895-1976, Della Guthrie 1892-1895, Troy Guthrie 1891-1966, Eula Estafike Guthrie 1901-1998, Thelma 1930-2004, Dwight 1935-?, Alice 1932-2015, Lloyd Guthrie 1887-1979.

September 27, 1921 – September 17, 2005

When Ada Guthrie was born on September 27, 1921, in Brandonville, West Virginia, her father, James, was 42, and her mother, Carrie, was 32. She had one son and five daughters with John W. Boyd. She died on September 17, 2005, in Pittsgrove, New Jersey, at the age of 83, and was buried there.

Before she died she documented her thrilling life in Brandonville, West Virginia. Ada had ability to notice details and remember events. Her skill in story telling and writing shows in the memoirs she left, and that I share through this blog to you. It took me and my wife Valarie some time just to have everything copyrighted. Now, we have been transcribing her memoirs.