Married Hartfields · Moore Family Stories

December 18, 1895, Joseph Mote Gill, married Julia Emily Hess
Her people were French. They moved from Illinois, in 1877, Gills arrived from Alabama
in 1875. They had a big wedding at her home, one mile southwest from his.
There was a big supper and they danced all night.
Every one in the community came and brought gifts. Old Man Oaks gave a red heifer.
She claimed it, she was going to start her a 'herd'. That heifer had a calf every year
But it was years before her 'Big Red', had a heifer calf. By then she forgot her herd.

Mote gave Julia a big gold watch with a long pretty chain. She pinned the end of the
chain up near her collar. The watch fit in a little pocket, at her waist.
That was the way that women wore watches. There were no wrist-watches then.
(That's the only thing that we remember him ever giving her.)

Hartfield Place
They lived with Grandad and Granmama for seven months. Dad worked and they
saved their money and bought the Hartfield place, across the road. It had a good house.

The Hartfield woman and four kids all died of consumption.
Their bodies just wasted away---consumed by tuberculosis, TB.
Mr. Hartfields' two brothers died later, after they moved away.
There was no medicine for it-- They knew it was contagious some way.

They sterilized the house. It was all wood, nothing in it but wood--- bare wood.
Strong lye water was thrown up on the walls, and poured on the floors.
The wash pot was filled with water and a fire was built around it.
When the water was boiling, they splashed it all over the walls, again and again.

Dad dug a new well, closer to the house.
The well the Hartsfield's used was kinda down the slope, by the garden.
Mama would work in the garden. Us kids would lay on a quilt under a big oak tree.
She and Dad told us, "The old Devil lives in that old well."
We always tried to get up courage to peep in and see him.
We stayed away from it----They made cowards out of us.

Mr. Hartfield would come back for two weeks, every summer. Mama would always
take him in. I remember the little bag of peppermint candy that he would bring her.
Our family lived and grew for 11 years, at the Hartfield place.

I, Anne Minerva was 10.

Cam James was 8, he was named after a man that Mama knew from Alabama.

Dock Rains, 7 was named after the Doctor. He was born at the wrong time of the year.
That throwed him to be cutting teeth, in the hot summer, when he was a baby.
He couldn't keep anything down. He was so poor. He was so weak and sick.

Doctor Rains, the doctor, said he had done all he could do for him.
"Dink, Dink", Mama would draw a fresh bucket of water and set it on the back porch.
She would wrap a wet rag around it to keep it cool, and bathe him and feed him.
Mama kept on until she raised him.
He turned out to be the biggest of my five brothers.

Theodore Roosevelt 4, was named after the President.
We called him T or Black.

George Hess Gill---"Hanner", was the nickname that Dad gave him.
The next morning after Hanner was born--- Mama's brother,
George Hess come to see her. She said, "Let's name him George Hess Gill."
When Hanner was little, his legs hurt. The doctors called it 'growing pains'.
Mama never knew anything, but to rub them.
Anytime Mama was in a chair--Hanner was in her lap and she was rubbing his legs.
Until he was to big to get in her lap.

My four brothers liked to tease me about liking dolls. They would grab a doll dress,
and run around the house. Me right behind them---bawling and squalling.

Old Slick
He was a little Mexican hairless dog. His skin was wrinkled, more like an elephant.
Right down his back, he had a little line of hair. His tail was heavy, with a
tuft of hair right out on the end. He was getting old.
He belonged to Grandad, but he was getting old and cranky too.
Just had to let Slick inside, during the winter.
He would get close to the fire, and in Grandad's way.
Grandad would get mad and put him out sometimes.
We lived less than a mile away. He would tare out--- to our house.
Mama would let him in and warm him up.
She made him a cushion and put it on the hearth of the fireplace. Just for Slick.

One day Mama went to hoe in the garden.
She put us kids on a pallet under the big oak tree.
Slick kept running to Mama, and then start back to the house.
Finally, Mama realized that he wanted her to go to the house. She went.
Slick's cushion was on fire. He had kept getting too close to the fire.
So he probably saved the house from burning.

Another time, Mama put clothes on Old Slick. He got away from her and run home,
all dressed up in boy clothes. Dogs didn't have clothes in those days.
When Grandad opened the door and saw him in baby boy clothes--- -
He said, "That's Julia".