- I don’t know for sure, but I think papa lived in the first house you came to on the Howell Place (from 101), when he and mama married. Dr. and Mrs. Howell still lived in the big house. There were 4 houses on the Howell Place. Sometime later mama and papa moved into the big house. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Downey lived in the house where Gurney used to live, between the cemetery and the crossroads. The Landerses and the Downeys became fast friends, which lasted all their lives.
- After Uncle Alvis and Aunt Versey married they lived in one of the other houses. At sometime papa lived on and worked the old Love Place which is closer to Masterson community, where papa grew up.
- On Nov. 27, 1918, papa bought 106 acres of land from J.W. Harris and paid $2500.00 for it. On July 26, 1919 he bought 10 acres from Mr. L.J. Craig for $200.00, then 10 acres more from Mr. Harris on January 10, 1920.. Mother said that Mr. Harris called papa, Uncle Granville. I don’t know if they were related or that was just a term of respect. After the purchase of the land, papa stayed on the Howell place renting it, while renting his land out. One of the people he rented to was Charnel Reddin. He may have been the only one.
- The land was first entered by William Davis, ancestor of the Craigs. The original house was one room made of logs. At sometime later there was added another log room and large open hall called a dogtrot. That is what was standing when papa bought it, with another smaller house down the road. Before they could move with their large family, they had to build more on the house. They cut trees from land that had never been cleared. They closed the dogtrot making 3 rooms straight back, the last one being the kitchen. To the east- side of this they added another hall, lg. Room, side room and small back porch. The house was white washed with a lime solution inside and out. I can remember when it was white washed every spring. The rain washed the white off during the winter, so it had to be replaced every year. When mother and Aunt Gladys decided that they had all they wanted of that, they put up brick siding. When I say they, I mean mother and Aunt Gladys, no one helped them, not even Uncle Hezy, that would have been beneath his dignity. At the time they put up the siding they also enclosed the hall. The large room was called the front-room. It was the best room. I guess you could call it a parlor. It was where the girls received friends, especially their “beaus”. That means “boyfriends” to you young folks.
- During the depression, papa sold Mr. Norris Craig 4 acres. He had a deal with Uncle Hezy where by Uncle Hezy worked the whole year on the farm for papa for a set amount. ( I don’t remember the exact amount but I think it was $100.00) Times were so hard that papa got behind several years to Uncle Hezy, so he gave him 20 acres in payment in 1933, then in 1936 he gave him 5 more acres. The deed for the 20 acres shows a price of $500.00 total and the one for 5 acres shows $100.00 total. Papa also sold Uncle Nathan 46 acres, so that when he died he still possessed 51 of the original acres he had bought. Uncle Hezy bought the shares of the heirs, making him own 76 acres, which I received at his death.
- Now back to the NEW GROUND. I think the people who lived here prior to our family had cut wood for heating and cooking from the same place where papa cut the logs for the house . When they started to use this ground for farming they plowed around the stumps. Mother, Aunt Gladys and Aunt Jennie had to cut the sprouts that would come up every year around these stumps, until the roots would die which took several years. There were still a few rotted stumps there when I was a child. I can remember gathering pumpkins that were planted in the corn in that field.
- When they started cutting trees there, it was just like the Indians left it in 1815. At one time, every time the hill behind the house was plowed and it rained, you could find arrow heads but we haven’t found any in a long time.
- Papa’s children called it “the NEW GROUND’ as long as they lived. My family calls it the “ 6 acre patch”,. When I occasionally say “New Ground” they look at me as if they think that I am losing my marbles. Our laying houses now stand in the NEW GROUND.
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- After Uncle Alvis and Aunt Versey married they lived in one of the other houses. At sometime papa lived on and worked the old Love Place which is closer to Masterson community, where papa grew up.