The Life of Me: An AutobiographyJohnson, Clarence Edgar
History
The Life of Me: An Autobiography
Johnson, Clarence Edgar
Fisher County (Tex.) -- Biography; Fisher County (Tex.) -- History; Johnson family; Johnson, Clarence Edgar, 1906-1994
Grandpa had bought the l,000 acres for all the family. Andrew
and Will were the first ones to buy their portions of 100 acres
each. The raw land had cost $3 an acre. Papa's farm cost him
$300.
Papa was fast becoming a good carpenter and he did his part in
helping build a two-story house on Grandpa's portion of the land.
The house is still in good shape and has a family living in it 77
years later.
Andrew first lived in a dugout on his 100 acres. They used the
dugout for a kitchen and storm cellar many years after they built
a house beside it.
Papa's land was in the southeast corner of the 1,000 acre tract.
He built his house about a quarter-mile south of Grandpa's house.
It is still standing also. Since that time some of the Johnson
boys and girls have bought and sold and swapped portions of the
land. But most of it is still in the hands of the Johnson boys
and girls or their sons and daughters.
After farming in Fisher County in the year of 1898, Papa moved to
a farm in Jones County, a mile northeast of Neinda, and farmed
there in 1899. And there, in a half-dugout, my sister, Susie,
was born.
Many years later as we would drive by the farm in our hack, on
our way to church at Neinda, our parents would point out the old
dugout and explain, "There is where we used to live." Year after
year as the old dugout deteriorated and began caving in, we still
went by it on our way to church and there was always something
fascinating about it to us kids as one or more of us would point
to the old dwelling and say, "There's where Mama and Papa used to
live."
During the two years my parents farmed away from their own farm,
they spent many days of hard work driving back and forth,
building a house, clearing some of the land, and building fences
on their land. And of course they had to have a well drilled and
put up a windmill and water tank.
At the end of that two years, they took their two children and
moved into their new house on the first farm they had ever owned.
And Papa, with the aid of an efficient helpmate, continued to
improve the farm. They built a big barn and shelters for cows,
hogs, horses, poultry, a hack, buggy, harness, and other things.
And the family continued to grow. George was born in 1900 and a
daughter in 1901. George lived 26 months and died with the
croup. The daughter lived only two weeks. Earl was born in 1902
and Joel in 1904. This was the state of the family in 1906, the
year Grandpa died in his home, and the year I was born. Aunts,
Uncles, and cousins lived on three sides of us, and Grandma lived
in the big house a quarter-mile north of us.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account