My Gramma – Luie Bessie Butrick

The following was written by Glynis Anne Marshall, d/o Robert & Nina Jean Marshall, gr/d of Luie Bessie Butrick Marshall.   Descendants from the Louden Jarrell lines.   This was written as a class assignment, 22 February 1977, Fort Hunt High School, for Mrs. Babcock.

Have you ever met someone as soft as cotton and hard as a nail?   Well you probably have never met my grandmother.   Born in the hills of West Virginia, one had to keep the fires going in order to fix breakfast for coal miners who happen to be boarders.   As the oldest of her siblings, Bessie had more responsibilities than any of them.   She was responsible for bring water up to the house from the well, doing most of the cooking and washing, and looking after the younger children.   She was a great believer in the saying "hard work never hurt anyone."

At the age of sixteen, Bessie eloped with the one and only love of her life, a Scottish boy, Tom Marshall.   This started the beginning of more difficult times.   During the Depression, Bessie had children of her own to raise.   Her children were too young to help on the farm, and taking in washings did not bring in enough money especially since her husband was a coal miners strike.

Bessie was to face further hardships; her young husband died unexpectedly and she had to leave West Virginia with her four children and find work elsewhere.   She found work in Michigan in a gun factory, but it was still not enough to keep her family together.   The two oldest children were left with relatives while she kept the two youngest ones.   This hurt her more when the youngest child died.   She never again had her family together.

Bessie had to be economical throughout her life.   She counted every penny before deciding how much she could afford to give to the church and when there was a doubt in her mind, she would trust in God to help her.   Honesty was also a very important part of her make up.   If she owed you a dollar, she would always pay it back and expected other to do the same.   One of her most prominent characteristics was determination.   One could see this when it came to playing games.   She always played as if her life depended upon it.   She would laugh as say "that's the luck of the Irish."

Bessie had more love in her than anyone could ever imagine.   She visited her children as often as possible, especially when she grew older, always making sure she did not wear out her welcome.   She always stood by her family when times were hard, or in times of need.   If someone were ill she would come and take care of them and their children.   Bessie always gave to other never asking for   anything in return, except for them to be happy.   She left few possessions but that of a rich heritage of honesty and integrity.   In the lives that she had touched she will always be remembered as a loving mother, grandmother, friend and counselor.


Note:   I wanted to add an example to Glynis' recount of my Aunt Bessie.   When my maternal grandfather, Charles A Cecil, left my grandmother, Bessie's younger sister, it was Bessie who came to her aid.   She drove to West Virginia, convinced my grandmother to go back to Michigan with her and get a job.   My Grandmother, Hally Evelyn Butrick Cecil, left her five children with 'Granny Baldsley', a neighbor, and headed for Michigan.   There with the help of her older sister she was able to find a job and eventually return to retrieve her children and move them all to Michigan.   Barbara Custer Vaillancourt.

Family Stories