Today`s 52 Ancestors post is about my Maternal Uncle Everett. Everett was my mothers older brother. Grandma and Grandpa had ten children, out of the ten I only got to know two of my uncles and three of my aunts, the rest had died by the time I was born. My mother was the baby of the family her mother was 45 when she was born and I in turn was her baby, she was 36 when she gave birth to me. That should give you some idea of the differences in ages within our family. My siblings were much older than me, the youngest, my brother was 11 when I was born. So they all grew up and left home and it was almost as though I was an only child. I grew up with cousins all around me. Actually my 1st cousins, once removed were more my age than my actual cousins. Uncle Everetts kids were more my own age than any of my actual cousins were.
I remember Uncle Everett very vividly. He was somewhat of a prankster, much like his mother, my Grandma. The Uncle Everett I remember loved to go to the Flea Markets in fact he had one of his own for a time. He lived up in the hills around Caufield, Missouri. My family came from a long line of Mountain Folks, we love to live in the Country in the backwoods and enjoy nature. The quite and the solitude is peaceful. I guess you could say its in our blood and has been for many generations.
Uncle Everett was born 23 of December, 1918, just two days before Christmas that year. He was the son of Grover Cleveland "Cleve" ESTERLINE and Cora Mae WILKEY.
Uncle Everett was married a total of three times. His first wife was Iretta HUNTER. Iretta died early on in the marriage. He married for the second time to a Wilamette KRAGEL and to that union was one son born: Leo Carl ESTERLINE, he died 28 Nov 1943 in Pulaski County, Arkansas.
Uncle Everett married for the third time to one Mary Ramona WHITEHEAD and to this union were three children born: Mary we called her "Sissy" and her sister Carlene and one son Johnny.
My mother recalls a lot of stories of pranks that Uncle Everett played on various members of the family. I can recall in particular the first time he met my husband, shortly after we had married. He was a colorful character, and so one day he asked my husband if we were coming to Dinner over at my Aunts house and my husband told him "Yeah, as soon as I change my clothes" Uncle Everett tortly replied: "Why, did you mess in them?" Colorful indeed! I think my husband must have blushed for a few minutes after that comment.
My mothers siblings were as common as old shoes, they all grew up dirt poor and they knew the value of a hard earned dollar. I remember momma telling me that one Christmas they had used the last of the sugar they had and made some Divinity, they evidently had poured it into a pan to cool and harden somehow and she said the next morning there were mice foot prints across the snowy white divinity, and do you know what they did? They scraped them off and ate it anyhow! That is something I could never bring myself to do, it would have went straight into the waste basket were it me. But times were different back then and poor people did what they could to survive. Momma would probably ream me up one side and down the other if she knew I told ya`ll about this. But that is part of sharing your family history, you cant always tell the good stuff, sometimes you have to season it with some of the bad to. If nothing else it makes for an interesting read.
Until next week, I hope you are enjoying my additions to the 52 Ancestors Series. Check back next Wednesday for another story.
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