Harrison Genealogy Repository

Notes

Obituary:

Mrs. Minnie M. Porter

BLANEY, Feb. 20, 1950 -- Mrs. Minnie May Martin Porter, 71, died at her residence four miles east of Blaney after an illness of two days.

The widow of John M. Porter, she had resided all of her life in this community. She was born July 20, 1878, the daughter of the late Halkard A. and Charlotte Harrison Martin.

Funeral services will be conducted at 4 o'clock Tuesday afternoon from the residence at Porter's Crossroads by the Rev. Herbert Spell and the Rev. Mr. Smith. Interment will follow in the Porter burial grounds.

She is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Thelma P. Bryant, Columbia; two sons, H. W. and A. M. Porter of Blaney; 13 grandchildren and a number of nieces and nephews.

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On her tombstone, her name is spelled MAE, not May.

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IN THE PROBATE COURT

PETITION FOR LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION

AND ORDER FOR CITATION FOR ISSUE

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Co. of Kershaw

Ex Parte: A. M. Porter, petitioner

In Re Estate of: Mae M. Porter, deceased

To N. C. Arnett, Probate Judge of said Co.:

The petition of the undersigned respectfully represents:

1. That Mae M. Porter, who last dwelt in Blaney R-2 in said Co. of Kershaw, state aforesaid, died intestate on the 19th day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and fifty possessed of goods and estate remaining to be administered, leaving as her only heirs at law and next of kin, the persons whose names, residence, age and relationship to the deceased are as follows, viz:

Thelma P. Bryant, age 43, 306 South Harden St., Columbia, SC daughter

H. W. Porter, 38, Blaney, SC son

A. M. Porter, 36, Blaney, SC son

Lula Mae Anderson, deceased, children of:

William Anderson, age 16, 2525 Blossom St. Columbia, SC, grandson

Sybil Anderson, age 14, 2525 Blossom St. Columbia, SC, granddaughter

Leroy Porter, deceased, children of:

Marion Porte,r age 20, 2525 Blossom St., Columbia, SC, granddaughter

(Mae M. Porter is one and the same as May M. Porter)

2. That the intestate died seized and possessed of a personal estate of about the value of $1287.00, consisting of the following money, goods and chattels:

(a) Cash on hand and in banks: Commercial Bank $537

First National Bank of Columbia, $350

(b) Open accounts due intestate: $100

(c) Goods, wares, merchandise, furniture, machinery and equipment used in profession, trade or business (stock of merchandise and fixtures of general store/gasoline station): $300

(3) That the intestate died seized and possessed of real estate of about the value of: none ($3350) as follows:

1/3 interest in 90 acres; value of land $1350; 4 buildings; value of buildings $2000; total value of each lot and tract including buildings: $3350; exact location: School district 12, Wateree Township, Kershaw Co., SC

(4) That the intestate made transfers which may, upon investigation, be adjudged to have been in contemplation of death as follows: On Sept. 1, 1948 the deceased deeded to heirs at law shown on page 1, item 1, 150 acres of land divided more or less equally between them per stirpis of about the value of $2,500.00 in the total amount.

(5) That your petitioner, who is a resident and citizen of Kershaw Co., in the state aforesaid, is advised that an administration of said estate is necessary.

WHEREFORE he prays that the Letters of Administration on the estate of the within named deceased be granted by this Court to him Feb. 20, 1950.

(Signed) A. M. Porter, petitioner, Blaney, SC

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Co. of Kershaw

Personally appeared A. M. Porter, who being duly sworn, says that to the best of his knowledge, information and belief, the statements contained in the foregoing petition are true and complete.

(Signed) A. M. Porter

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 20 day of February 1950 (signed) N. C. Arnett, Judge of Probate.

Qualification of Administrator

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Co. of Kershaw

I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR or affirm that deceased died without any Will, as far as I know or believe, and that I will well and truly administer all and singular the goods and chattels, rights and credits of the said deceased, and pay all her just debts, as far as the same will extend and the law require me, and that I will make a true, exact and perfect inventory of all said goods and chattels, rights and credits, and return a just account thereof when required. So help me, God.

Sworn to before me, this 9th day of March, A. D. 1950

(signed) A. M. Porter

(signed) N. C. Arnett, Judge of Probate, Blaney, SC

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I REMEMBER GRANDMOTHER'S

By

SYBIL ANDERSON PIERMAN

I remember Sundays.

I remember arriving at Grandmother's and seeing all the ladies sitting on the porch cleaning the chickens. Sometimes we arrived early enough to see the chickens dance -- without their heads.

I remember the adults eating at the large dining room table while some cousins, a brother and I sat at a card table by the fireplace.

I remember drumsticks, fruit salad, rice and gravy and macaroni pie.

I remember the cheerfulness of Christmas, the Japanese fruit cake and the old fashioned fruit cake baked and nurtured for weeks before and carefully wrapped in cheese cloth.

I remember soup and cornbread.

I remember Easter and the challenge of the Easter egg hunts. Then the finale -- eating lots and lots of dyed eggs.

I remember church on Sunday afternoons after dinner.

I remember the clean new smell of the church and the squeakiness of the pews. Sometimes it was so hot we would use two hand fans simultaneously to survive. We entertained each other with that noise and grinned around a lot. There was also the elbow, hand or foot nudge and many other childish activities.

I remember Uncle Ben's prayers, Mrs. Grigsby's Sunday School class, Margie and Sedarus Ross teaming up to play the piano and sing "I come to the Garden Alone" and the congregating outside the church after the service.

I remember some visits to Uncle Mordecai's house and hoping I would be allowed to stay outside and play preferring not to see him in bed and so ill.

I remember how hot the sand was on bare feet from the house to the store and how refreshing the cool sand felt in the late afternoon and evening.

I remember toad frogs that could give you warts, if you touched them so it was said.

I remember the mailman, the candy man, the drink man and the gas man. I remember the mail box and Porter Crossroads.

I remember the cemetery and the wrought iron fence.

I remember eating grits, bacon, eggs, ham and red gravy and butter beans and okra and rice.

I remember guinea hens (I was afraid of them, I think) grandmother feeding the chickens and all the stir the hens made when she went inside the hen house, the feathers flew, the wings flapped and the noise was alarming. I preferred to watch all this through the fence.

I remember brown eggs, incubators and the excitement of a new order of chicks. I remember the hogs at mealtime and how I enjoyed watching them "slop it up."

I remember visiting the barn and the hayloft and the mean look of a pitchfork.

I remember lizards cropping up in unlikely places.

I remember liking to go along to take food to the fields for dinner and watching them eat and drink iced tea under a shade tree.

I remember checking the progress of the crops and hearing it all discussed.

I remember going to Blaney and talk of going or having been to Camden and Winnsboro.

I remember the lumber being cut and hauled.

I remember the German prisoners and getting to ride to take the hands home. Sometimes we were invited inside at Bill Grant's house and his wife would stop her supper preparation to visit a bit and ask after everyone's health.

I remember Saturday night at the store, the grand 'Ole Opry' and Minnie Pearl.

I remember eyeing the candy counter and going close to smell the blend of all the good things there.

I remember penny kisses.

I remember the scales, the jar of pickled pigs feet, fat back and sardines and soda crackers bought and often enjoyed on the premises.

I remember the charge book.

I remember grandmother opening her trunk to put things away at the end of the day when the store closed.

I remember that the store never really closed and I would see grandmother take her key and open the store at odd hours to answer human need or want.

I remember "one" soft drink on Sunday and choosing carefully and sometimes the disappointment of shaking it up in opening and losing so much of the "good stuff" in foam.

I remember the ice-box with its huge block of ice. Chipping ice with the ice-pick was a task reserved for older hands.

I don't remember any toys but I don't remember ever being bored there. Being part of that "gang" offered a multitude of resourceful ways to pass the time.

I remember the front parlor, the organ and the family Bible on the table in the center of the room. I remember the "delivery bedroom" across the hall. I remember Dr. Grigsby.

I remember sleeping in the dark room with several of us there. The more of us there were the safer I felt. I was afraid there. I can remember listening carefully while trying to go to sleep to be sure I did not hear a rattle. Someone might possibly have suggested one could get out of bed and bump into a rattlesnake. I remember how high that bed was and how I had to slide down to touch the floor.

I remember the bookshelves that lined two walls of the dark room, and the childish marking in the school books. I did not really believe that Mother, Aunt Thelma, Herbert and Arnold were ever young enough to do that.

I remember our wanting to go swimming and taking turns begging our elders and Herbert being as likely as anyone to come through, in fact I'd say you could count on him.

I can remember the fun of swimming in the creek, how cold it was at first and having to scramble out because a water moccasin was swimming nearby and -- getting right back in again.

I remember heavy rainfall, lightning and thunder and Elizabeth moaning the world was coming to an end.

I remember Elizabeth's log cabin and Dootsie and hauling pails of water and the pump.

I remember Uncle Ben's house he built and Rev. Roundtree.

I remember the burlap sacks and grandmother sewing and sewing and sometimes sewing for me.

I remember grandmother on a ladder painting walls.

I remember the quilting frames at the ceiling and being fascinated by the activity of quilting.

I remember new babies and the many lessons in mothering I took at Mildred's elbow, on bathing, feeding and nurturing.

I remember being so excited when summer would come and Aunt Thelma, Uncle Robert and Glenna would visit and about that time wishing I had red hair.

I remember a bath or two in the tub in grandmother's bedroom and being cold, very cold from the waist up. I can still smell the odor of the soap she used. I can visualize the excitement of the new bathroom.

I remember reading Ina's first and second grade readers and thinking how smart I thought she was.

I remember the smell of gardenia bushes and bees and grandmother's plants on the front porch.

I remember the wood pile and the black washing pots and lye soap.

I remember watching the stove being lighted and poked and supper being cooked and how good left-over biscuits from the cupboard could taste.

I remember REAL butter.

I remember the warmth of toasting beside the open fireplace. There was an art to turning around at the right moment.

I remember shots ringing out in the middle of the night from grandmother's gun. That spelled DANGER for I knew she might be frightening an intruder -- perhaps human, perhaps animal and sometimes the next morning there could be a dead reptile. The big conversation that day would be the number of feet long.

I can remember talk of a wolf once and hearing a story about rabies.

I remember the fun of wandering around Mildred and Arnold's new house while it was under construction.

I remember being very tired and happy (having had lots of fun) at the end of the day on Sundays when we said our good-byes and started for home.

Most of all I remember being liked and loved and welcome and I now understand that is the richest heritage any human being can be blessed with. There are many of you here today I have to thank for that.

(The above remembrance was read by Sybil Anderson Pierman at the Porter Family Reunion, July 17, 1977 at Legion Lake, near Pontiac, SC)