A NEW LAND - A NEW HOME

Written by Jo Lyon Autrey
June, 1999

This was written shortly after the 150th Autrey and Friends Reunion which I was not able to attend. I had been thinking about it for weeks before the reunion and afterwards. I often thought what Elizabeth would think if she knew how many descendants she and Absalom Autrey would have by 1999. I wondered how she would feel to know so many strangers would be walking her yard, standing in her home, gathering on her porch, and sitting under the tall tress in her back yard......I can see her now......

The children are loudly calling to each other, darting in and out among the tall trees surrounding the house. The youngest children play while the older ones perform various duties or help their father, friends and other family members work in the fields, preparing the land for the new crops. She stopped her work for a moment as she listens to the many voices, and she remembers.

It all began twenty-five years ago with a simple wedding with friends and family members as witnesses and guests. She and her young husband soon hear of the new lands which were said to be cheap and of the finest farming quality. Wild life was abundant, the creeks and rivers filled with fish, and the land was rich for growing anything they would need. The more this opportunity was discussed and all it's possibilities explored, the more other family members became excited and wanted to join the couple to journey west.

It was late summer before preparations could be finalized: land, homes, and businesses  had to be sold and what was not sold or taken with them was given to those staying behind. They had to hurry as the summer's heat would too soon turn to the bitter coldness of winter. The journey lasted six weeks from  their departure to their arrival in the new land which would become their home. The trail was long and difficult, filled with dangers: dusty heat, worrisome insects, flooded rivers, stormy weather, sickness among the animals as well as the families, broken wagons and others traveling the trail who preyed on unsuspecting travelers. They stopped only to feed the livestock and prepare a large meal at the end of the day. Mornings began long before daybreak, breakfast eaten by the fire; they were well on their way when the sun began to appear at the horizon. Including among the adults moving west were nineteen children under the age of ten years.

The years passed quickly as they carved a living from the new land. The giant trees became a part of their home. Tents were set up until the house could be completed and various buildings constructed to shelter the animals and their feed. Fences were built from their own timber, and life finally became routine. They hurried to finish the house as the hot days were becoming shorter and cooler. A relative became the first person laid to rest on the land, which later became a cemetery for the family, including the young couple.

The large family began to change as the children became adults, married and started their own families. Talk once again began about the new lands to be found farther west, and much speculation was made about the new opportunities for the young families in a place called Texas. Once again, preparations were made and a new journey west began. They watched the departing families  the same way earlier family and friends had watched them leave for the new western lands of Louisiana and the unknown future.

The house seemed so lonely after the family had left, perhaps never to return. The yard was silent now, silence echoing through the tall pines and oaks which filled the favorite play areas of the departing children. She watched the road until the outlines of the family members could no longer be seen. She stood firm, lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. With a deep breath, she slowly exhaled and returned to her work.

The laughter of the children, continual arrival of cars, chattering adults, and the ringing of mobile telephones made the woman aware of their surroundings as the memories quickly faded. There was much work to do, a family and friends reunion was in progress.

The local newspaper and guests from across the country had come to celebrate the 150th year of the life of the old house: The Absalom and Elizabeth Autrey home place had become The Autrey House Museum, 1848 to 1999, Dubach, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana.