Kentucky Skinners

Surnames/tags: skinner Kentucky

Welcome to the Kentucky Skinners page. The goal of this project is to bring together information relating to the large Skinner family of early Kentucky. This is a work in progress... with many interruptions...so please bear with us if you encounter incomplete paragraphs or sentences that end abruptly... information is being added as time allows!

Boonesborough Fort

Many Skinners were on the first tax lists and census records of Kentucky, and (so far) it appears that most of them came from the New Jersey family line that descended from Richard Skinner, and his wife Susanna Poulain. However, there is some confusion in the various family lines in Kentucky, so it is hoped that by putting records and family stories together, a coherent narrative and well sourced tree can be achieved.

Working with what has already begun on the Skinner genealogies, it is also a goal to add names to this database, as they are sourced, and profiles are made.

Here is the link to the Skinner Research Pages. You'll notice, when there, the Skinner descendants have been sorted into the following groups:

• Space:Descendant_of_Thomas_Skinner_of_Malden,_MA
• Space:Descendant_of_John_Skinner_of_Hartford,_CT
• Space:Descendant_of_Britton_Skinner_of_Marblehead,_MA
• Space:Descendant_of_Richard_Skinner_of_Woodbridge,_NJ

This page will primarily focus on the Richard Skinner of Woodbridge, NJ family line, but others will be included, as well. As far as I know, this page is the first attempt to focus on the Kentucky branch of the Skinner family.

Contents 1 Acknowledgements 2 A Note on Sources: 3 From An Island To a Revolution To Kentucky 4 The First Skinner to Kentucky 5 1800 KY Tax List 6 1810 KY Census 7 Where Did They Come From? 8 Too Many John Skinners! 8.1 'Here lies ye body'... 9 Another John of Woodbridge 10 On to Kentucky, and More John Skinners 10.1 Madison County John Skinner: 10.2 1810 10.3 Clark County John Skinner 10.4 1810 10.5 Estill County John Skinner 10.6 1810 11 Associated Families: 12 The Cornelison Family 13 A Good Story From 'Aunt Jane of Kentucky'

Acknowledgements

I know this section is usually at the bottom of the material, but I feel it is important to express appreciation in advance for all the work that has been done in piecing together this line. Being new to the Skinner research, the help provided by the source materials of wonderful researchers ahead of me has been of vital importance. I've relied heavily on ancestry for sources and documents, but that would still count for little if I didn't know the stories that have been shared by generous family members of the last decades. This is a work in progress, obviously, and thank you for the help.

Right now this project just has one member, me. I am Rebecca, descended from Cortland Skinner through his daughter, Keziah.

Here are some of the tasks that I think need to be done. I'll be working on them as I can. If you have some ideas to improve this effort, please let me know!

• I'm putting a list together of all the Skinner names who were in Kentucky pre-1800.
• I'll be adding sources as I can, (to appropriate profiles) and adopting profiles that need help, or creating profiles that need to exist
• I plan to add names to the pertinent Skinner categories and the One Name Study that already exists, and if there is a need for a 'Kentucky Skinners' category to help with this study, I would like to achieve that.
• And probably lots of stuff I haven't thought of, yet!

If this sounds of interest to your own family search, or you have information to contribute, please post a comment here on this page, in G2G using the project tag, or send me a private message. Thanks!

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A Note on Sources:

Information is given here that is backed by sources, and (hopefully) those sources can be found on the profile links that I've provided. At the moment, I'm working on the stream of narrative, with links provided to the profiles. These can be checked for the actual sources that substantiate what you'll see here. When the profile lacks sources (or is possibly reading them incorrectly) then I will have those sources here.

The go-to sources are listed here: (note, some come with caveats because of inaccuracies, which can happen to the most well-intentioned researcher!)

From An Island To a Revolution To Kentucky

One branch of the Skinner family traces its line through to Richard and Susanna of Elizabeth, New Jersey. They have a double connection to New Jersey, in a sense, because Richard and Susanna actually emigrated to this country from the Isle of Jersey, (Britain) and were first colonists to that little lush strip of land in the colonies they would soon call New Jersey. A fuller version of this story can be found online; this is just a brief summation of the history.

• In February of 1665, Berkeley and Carteret commissioned Carteret's distant cousin, Philip Carteret, to govern their province of New Jersey. Philip Carteret left English waters in the ship 'Philip' in April, 1665. accompanied by some thirty colonists.... One of those thirty colonists was Richard Skinner 'a joiner', or carpenter. The British government wanted this new colony to be peopled by those were skilled in the various trades that would be needed to help a colony thrive. Also on board were five French maids (apparently to serve in the household of the Carterets) and one of those maids--Susannah Poulain--would become Richard Skinner's wife.

Carteret Ship List

If we speed read through history we find ourselves moving quickly from the settling at New Jersey to the Revolutionary War, in which descendants of this first Richard Skinner fought. (There were a few New Jersey Skinners who maintained their loyalty to the British government.)

By the efforts of Skinner men who were Patriots, they won for themselves rights to new lands, new frontiers, and the Skinner adventure continued to the south and west. As it turned out, some of the most enticing new land was beginning to be made available in a region soon to be called Kentucky.

The First Skinner to Kentucky

As in the case of Richard Skinner of Jersey (whom I like to call The Original Richard) this family line is not squeamish when it comes to exploring new frontiers. Over and over we see that, when territories were opened up, no matter how dangerous or difficult the challenge, there Skinners were to be found.

When it comes to Kentucky, there are many legends and stories about the settling of this unique land, and it is clear that it was not a task for the faint-hearted.

But here we find Skinners again. Determining exactly who was at Boonesborough (fighting with Daniel Boone) is not a concise matter. There is a list of the first Boonesborough inhabitants, but it's admitted that it is not complete. So while we find no Skinners mentioned at Boonesborough, we do find them appearing on tax lists and early census records as soon as these began to be recorded.

There are Skinner military land grants that date as early as 1784. There seems to be a difference between names on land grants (earliest records of Kentucky) and names on Tax Lists. Recipients of Revolutionary War land grants did not always claim their property. So, in light of current evidence, the first resident in Kentucky, with his name on a tax list for Madison Cty. 1792, would seem to be Joseph Skinner. He is not taxed for land but for horses and property. Since there is a military land grant dated 1787 to Cornelius Skinner for 300 acres, it may be that this is why so many Skinners moved to Kentucky about the same time, and it may be that Joseph Skinner is living on this land owned by Cornelius. (Needs more research.) Whereas most of the other Skinners are on records by the 1800 tax list, Joseph Skinner is earlier.

Joseph Skinner signs a petition to form Madison County KY in 1786, (this is where Boonesborough is) and he is married from this new county in 1787. He is on the aforementioned tax list for Madison County in 1792. Joseph's new wife, Mary, is the daughter of one of the famed Boonesboro alumni, a pioneer settler named Henry Noland. Joseph is also listed as (in some family trees) Joseph Richard Skinner, or, Richard Joseph Skinner. I haven't seen this on a source record, so I haven't included the full name in his profile. Some trees have his father as Richard Skinner. Would like more information about Joseph, as Madison county soon became divided into Estill and Clark counties where John Skinner and Cortland Skinner would be living in 1810. This suggests they are part of the same nuclear family group as Joseph.

As to Cornelius Skinner, just mentioned: He was the recipient of a military grant for 300 acres of land in 1787. Since records are scarce for this period, it is difficult to be sure of which Skinners were given a portion of this land, and the Rev War Cornelius seems to have lived out his life in Loudon, VA. Still, it is evident that several sons of Cornelius (and Richard Alexander Skinner) made the move to Kentucky. The name Cornelius was a popular one in this family, and there are two men of that name on both the 1800 tax list, and the 1810 census.

Old Kentucky Cabin

• These will hopefully all be linked to profiles in time; if your ancestor is here and you would like me to add his profile link, please let me know.

1800 KY Tax List

Name	County	Year	Notes
Skinner, Leonard	KY Bourbon Co.	1800 Tax List	Have not found any further info on Leonard
Skinner, Amos	KY Bourbon Co.	1800 Tax list	possibly a brother to Cornelius and Isaac; does not seem to have stayed in KY
Skinner, Cornelius	Ky Bullitt Co.	1800 Tax list	info?
Skinner, Isaac	KY Bullitt Co.	1800 Tax list	Son of Richard Alexander Skinner and Ada van Deventer Skinner; Isaac stayed in Kentucky the rest of his life
Skinner, John	KY Bullitt Co.	1800 Tax List	info?
Skinner, Cornelius	KY Clark Co.	1800 Tax List	info?
Skinner, John	KY Clark Co.	1800 Tax List	John Skinner of Clark Cty. was born 1763 and had lived in Clark Co. 'for thirty years'; as per his 1832 Rev War declaration for Charles Lander :
Skinner, Richard	KY Fleming Co.	1800 Tax List	Married Elizabeth Jones; lived in KY until his death in Fleming Co. about 1832
Skinner, Frederick	KY Harrison Co.	1800 Tax List	likely the same Frederick who was later living in Union County, KY; of the Darlington SC Skinners
Skinner, Samuel	KY Logan Co.	1800 Tax List	'Five Skinner brothers came from somewhere in NC... in 1802-03 they were in Christian co, KY. The brothers were Samuel, William, Joseph, Theophilus, and Wiley.' Also note these were all sons of a Samuel Skinner, but he died in 1798, so this Samuel must be a son.
Skinner, Cortland	KY Madison Co.	1800 Tax List	b. 1771, Rowan NC
Skinner, John	KY Madison Co.	1800 Tax List	info?
Skinner, Joseph	KY Madison Co.	1800 Tax List	He is mentioned above, not one of the "Five Sons of Samuel Skinner". This Joseph was born in New Jersey, (as per his 1850 census) which would indicate he is related to the Richard NJ Skinner line.
Skinner, Jonathan	KY Montgomery Co.	1800 Tax List	Believe this to be the son of Samuel Skinner of Perquimans NC (the Samuel who died in 1781 and left a will naming his children); there is no further record (that I can find of this Jonathan in KY but MIGHT have moved to Stewart TN? Need more info

1810 KY Census

Name	County	Number in H/H	Notes
Skinner, Cornelius	KY BULLITT CO. 184	20100-2001000	info?
Skinner, Theophilas	KY CHRISTIAN CO. 97	40010-1001003	'Five Skinner brothers came from somewhere in NC... in 1802-03 they were in Christian co, KY. The brothers were Samuel, William, Joseph, Theophilus, and Wiley.' ; likely this Theophilas Skinner; he later moved to Alabama about 1818
Skinner, William	KY CHRISTIAN CO. 105	01110-2011000	info?
Skinner, William	KY CHRISTIAN CO. 98	02010-2101000	info?
Skinner, Wily	KY CHRISTIAN CO. 97	20010-1101002	'Five Skinner brothers came from somewhere in NC... in 1802-03 they were in Christian co, KY. The brothers were Samuel, William, Joseph, Theophilus, and Wiley.' The father is Samuel Skinner. Wiley moved to Alabama.
Skinner, Cornelius	KY CLARK CO. 141	22010-2111000	Cornelius continued to live in Clark Cty. Ky until his death in 1848
Skinner, John	KY CLARK CO. 141	01010-5000100	John lived out his life in Kentucky and was buried there. For more, see his profile, and a few remarks below.
Skinner, Clarke	KY ESTILL CO. 8	10100-1001000	b.1779 in New Jersey, according to 1850 census; Clark moved to MO by 1830
Skinner, Cortland	KY ESTILL CO. 8	00210-4101000	A work in progress; see below. Cortland stayed in Kentucky until his death.
Skinner, John	KY ESTILL CO. 8	00001-0001000	info?
Skinner, Richard	KY FLEMING CO. 78 1810	20010-2211000	Married Elizabeth Jones, died in Fleming Co. KY
Skinner, Richard	KY FLEMING CO. 83 1810	10010-2211000	possibly a son of the above?
Skinner, John	KY FLOYD CO. 102 1810	10010-1011000	info?
Skimer, William	KY HARRISON CO. 320 1810	32010-1101000	info?
Skinner, William	KY HARRISON CO. 322 1810	23010-2001000	info?
Skinner, Isaac	KY JEFFERSON CO. 16 1810	22010-1010100	info?
Skinner, Joseph	KY MADISON CO. 226 1810	21001-0110100	same Joseph as above in 1800
Skinnor, John	KY MADISON CO. 221 1810	51210-0110100	info?
Skinner, Richard	KY NELSON CO. 27 1810	10010-2001003	Came to Kentucky and stayed, but died about 1823. Son of Richard Alexander Skinner and Ada Van Deventer Skinner. Married to Mary Bodine.
Skinner, Leonard	KY OHIO CO. 78 1810	00000-0000100	info?

Cumberland River

Where Did They Come From?

The short answer is: either Virginia by way of New Jersey, or Massachusetts by way of Virginia. Or North Carolina, by way of all of the above. (more to be added here)

Too Many John Skinners!

The story of the Rev. John Lloyd Owen Skinner and his wife Elizabeth Cutter being the parents of so many of the Kentucky Skinners surely made its way into the family trees likely before most of us were born. And now it's as difficult to remove as a berry stain on a shirt. That's not to say that somewhere there was a John and Elizabeth Skinner parenting that happened, and it is clear that most of the Kentucky Skinner families have New Jersey origins. But the particular couple that keeps getting routinely added in as parents of a large tribe of Skinners is a well documented couple of New Jersey, and in terms of lineage, the family stories are well known. In addition, both Rev. John Skinner and Elizabeth Cutter Skinner of Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey, had the good sense to leave a will before they died, clearly outlining their family. It is simply a head scratcher that they are added in to family trees as the parents of children they could not have had--being deceased at the time.

Still, (at least in my case, regarding my own ancestor) removing this worthy couple as the parents leaves a brick wall in its place. Who, then, fathered all these sons and daughters that came to Kentucky?

Let's see if the various John Skinners can be sorted out.

We'll start with the greatly respected presumed ancestor. Much of the following is found from John's will.

'Here lies ye body'...

John Skinner was deceased by 1749, and buried at Woodbridge, NJ. His wife Elizabeth Cutter Skinner died in 1750, her will was proved April 13, 1750. (Source: New Jersey: Calendar of Wills) Both of these wills mention their five daughters, 'all under age'. Unfortunately, poor John's wikitree is a mess, and there are three profiles of John Skinners attached to Elizabeth Cutter. She only married ONE, and the most accurate profile attached to her as her husband is John Skinner, as it is well sourced with the details that are actually pertinent to this particular John Skinner.

Important details to repeat: They were both deceased by 1750, and they had only five daughters. No sons. One more note: John is always referred to as simply 'John'. He is never mentioned in documents as having any more names than John. It is not clear where the 'John Lloyd Owen' came from. Would love to know.

JOHN SKINNER, JR. (grandson of The Original Richard Skinner)

RESIDENCE - Woodbridge, Middlesex Co. (will-10)

OCCUPATION - yeoman (will-10)

Presbyterian Minister of the Gospel in Woodbridge, NJ in 1748 (Hude will)

LAND OWNERSHIP - none (will)

b. alive and 'of age', 1725 (will)

d. Feb 14, 1749; buried First Presby. Church Cemetery, Woodbridge, NJ

Tombstone Inscription - "Here lyes ye Body of JOHN SKINNER decd Feby ye 14th 1748-9.

Buried next to his uncle - Deacon Richard Skinner

Buried near his mother-in-law Mary Cutter

Will written Feb 14, 1749; Proved Mar 9, 1749; Inventory made Mar 10, 1749; Inventory modified Jul 29, 1751 (will-10)

m. Mar 20, 1736

w. ELIZABETH CUTTER

daughter of Major Richard and Mary (Pike) Cutter (Cutter-1)

sisters included Esther Marsh and Sarah Jacquish (Cutter-1, will-10)

b.

d. Apr __, 1750 Woodbridge, NJ (will)

Will written Apr 7, 1750; Proved Apr 13, 1750 more information provided here

• Interesting side trip: If you follow the links for Elizabeth Cutter Skinner you'll find she is related to a who's who of New Jersey genealogy-- the Pikes and Cutters. Her grandfather, John Pike, who is considered the founder of Woodbridge, NJ, among other things. Also, Zebulon Montgomery Pike, a Brigadier General, and explorer, who might have more counties and landmarks named for him than any other early American. Moving on to another famous general in Elizabeth's family--or perhaps we should say infamous--there is the larger than life Albert Pike, who is the only Confederate General to have a statue in Washington D.C. (until 2020).

But all of this leads us to no continuation of the Skinner line, because--keeping in mind those two wills--this couple only had daughters.

So back to John's will. There is an interesting feature regarding money owed the estate. About two years after his death, in 1751, there was an additional legality that needed to be settled. Notice was given, through the courts, of the cash due the estate that was ' being in the hands of Wright Skinner '. Sworn to by the same relatives that had witnessed John's will-- David Donham, Richard Skinner, William Cutter.

More on Wright Skinner later, as he shows great potential to be the progenitor of many Skinners. And we can only hope he paid back the money.

Another John of Woodbridge

Another John Skinner who left a will in Woodbridge, Middlesex, Co., New Jersey, is the son of 'the Original Richard', and the father of the above Rev. John Skinner. This elder John had several children (whew!) and there is a lot to learn about them, as not all are documented on wikitree, yet. His will was proved 1749, and his children listed are:

• Catte
• John
• Daniel
• Richard
• Benjamin
• Ann
• Mary

(Last five under age).

On to Kentucky, and More John Skinners

As of this writing I have found no land grants for a John Skinner in Kentucky. But there are three John Skinners on the 1800 Tax List-- in Bullitt, Clark, and Madison counties, respectively.

Since Madison is almost the oldest county, and the one where the famous station of Boonesborough was built, let's start there.

Madison County John Skinner:

1810

John is over 45, oldest female is in the 26-45 group twelve people in total in h/h; only two young boys; several daughters; This is the John Skinner whose son John b. 1797 married Ann South,^[1], a daughter of William South. (Descended from John South, early Kentucky pioneer; the Souths were residents of Boonesborough, and William South was a near neighbor to John of Madison Cty.;) This John later moved to MO [note: this John's wife was NOT Susan Storey]

Madison John Skinner is in the 1820 census, but after this it appears he and his family moved to MO.

Clark County John Skinner

1810

Gotta love this John Skinner because he gave us a wonderful gift--the gift of details in his own words! In 1832 John testified for his friend and relation, Charles Lander, who was applying for his Rev War pension. (link to source above)

In this John Skinner states he was 69 and "had lived in Clark Co. for 30 years". Clark County was formed in 1792, and later Estill County came to be. These three counties--Madison, Estill, Clark-- were all very close, and suggests that these early family groups of Skinners were related. Clark John Skinner is well attested to in many family trees as the son of Richard Alexander Skinner. He has several siblings that came to Kentucky, with one of them--Susannah--marrying into the Cornelison family. She is discussed further down the page.

Estill County John Skinner

1810

This is a most interesting census, for this is where we find what I like to call a Skinner Cluster--meaning a group living on what might be the same large amount of property, or near to each other, and all of the same age, suggesting siblings. The John Skinner of this county is likely of the next generation of younger Skinners than Clark John and Madison John. Estill John Skinner is in the 26-44 age group. But here is what is interesting about his household--there are only two people in the house. Estill John lives with no young family, only an older woman in the age 45 and older category. This suggests that John is living with his elderly widowed mother.

The other members of this Skinner Cluster are of interest personally because this is where I feel my own family group is to be found. The list so far:

• Estill John Skinner and Mysterious Older Woman
• Clark Skinner (married to Ann Turner)
• Cortland Skinner (married to Hannah Reed)
• Rebecca Skinner (married to Abraham Warford)
• Keziah Anna Skinner (married to Jacob Hockensmith)
• Charlotte Skinner (married to Jesse Pitman)

If we look for this same group in the 1820 Estill census, we find it altered, but Estill John is still there, now living completely alone. Abraham Warford and Rebecca Skinner Warford are still neighbors, and my research so far shows that the Warfords stayed on the same property throughout their long life in Estill. A Benjamin Skinner--young married with small children--is now living where I might have put Cortland's household. (more on Cortland later)

More later....

Associated Families:

Some random notes. Finding out information on related families to the Skinners can help to track migratory patterns.

Lander	Several Lander/Skinner marriages; Charles Lander mentioned in Rev War application for pension along with John Skinner. The Landers family also provides us with 'clues' that help us track the associated Skinners; New Jersey to Loudon VA to NC to Kentucky. Charles Lander is the son of Hannah Skinner Lander and Henry Lander. She is from the Cornelius, Sr. family line, thus the Original Richard Skinner line. Family history says that the Landers and some of the Skinner families came to Kentucky together about 1794.
Pullen	Movement of NJ Families to Loudoun Co., VA per freepages.Genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bodine, 2003: "In a query on the Burlington County or Hunterdon County web sites, David J. O'Connor said that the families of Cornelius Slacht, Charles Pullen, Cornelius Bodine, Nicholas Wyckoff and Cornelius Skinner supposedly moved from Hunterdon County to Loudoun County about 1770...." (' 'Isaac Skinner married Margaret 'Peggy' Pullenshe was the daughter of Charles Pullen; As well, Richard Skinner's wife Mary Bodine Skinner was a granddaughter of both Charles Pullen and Cornelius Bodine))
Noland	Henry Noland, one of the first Boonesborough settlers, had a daughter who married Joseph Skinner.
Reed	Hannah Reed married Cortland Skinner; the Reed (and associated Davis) family also provides a trail of clues that help us find possibly similar migration patterns. The Reed and Davis families came from New Jersey, and were part of the Jersey Settlement, in NC. Later Rowan county, NC, which is where Cortland Skinner and Hannah Reed were married.
Cornelison	Conrad Cornelison married Susannah Skinner. For more on Conrad and interesting Cornelison connection, there are further details added below.

The Cornelison Family

There are at least two marriages between the Cornelisons and the Skinners that we know of, and possibly more, considering the popularity of the name 'Cornelius' amongst the Skinners. Cornelius is a named used in the Cornelison family, and it is also considered a name familiar in the 'Low Dutch' communities. Conrad Cornelison's story also provides another link in the 'New Jersey to Loudon Va to Rowan County NC' migration, and thus suggesting that the Richard Alexander Skinner family and the Cornelisons moved together as associated families.

Conrad was born in Loudon VA, moved to Rowan NC, where he and Susannah were married. Then, by 1800, they were on the tax list for Madison, KY, where other Skinners had also settled. This is stated, in part, in his pension application, which I include here. You can read it in full here.

• ' He was born in Loudoun County in Virginia as he was informed by his Parents and when young taken to Rowan County in North Carolina that he remained there till after the War of the Revolution & shortly afterwards removed to Wilkes County in Georgia and lived there about six years and then moved to Laurens District in South Carolina and lived there about one year & then moved to Rowan County in North Carolina & after remaining there about five years moved to Madison County in the State of Kentucky where he has resided ever since.'

If we look at the birthplace of their daughters Jane and Phoebe, (and if these are correct as given) then Jane's birthplace in 1790 is in Georgia, and Phoebe's birthplace in 1792 is in Kentucky. Since records in Kentucky are scarce during this period, as counties were just beginning to form, this provides the clearest indication of when the Cornelisons, and likely most of the Skinners, first migrated to Kentucky.

A Good Story From 'Aunt Jane of Kentucky'

The following is from a book written by acclaimed Kentucky author Eliza Jane Calvert Hall. It's not a 'Skinner story' but very well could describe, in a similar way, some of the journey the family took to reach Kentucky. The 'Aunt Jane' series was quite popular in the early 1900's. Although fictional, it it considered to be an accurate representation of stories from Eliza's own family, their migration from Virginia to Kentucky, and their life in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Aunt Jane of Kentucky

' My grandfather and grandmother was amongst the first settlers of Kentucky. They come from the Old Dominion over the Wilderness Road way back yonder, goodness knows when. Did you ever think, child, how curious it was for them men to leave their homes and risk their own lives and the lives of their little children and their wives jest to git to a new country? It appears to me they must 'a' been led jest like Columbus was when he crossed the big ocean in his little ships. I reckon if the women and children had had their way about it, the bears and wildcats and Indians would be here yet. But a man goes where he pleases, and a woman's got to foller, and that's the way it was with grandfather and grandmother. I've heard mother say that grandmother cried for a week when she found she had to go, and every now and then she'd sob out, 'I wouldn't mind it so much if I could take my gyarden. '

' When they began packin' up their things, grandmother took up this rose and put it in an iron kittle and laid plenty of good rich earth around the roots. Grandfather said the load they had to carry was heavy enough without puttin' in any useless things. But grandmother says, says she: 'If you leave this rose behind, you can leave me, too.' So the kittle and the rose went. Four weeks they was on their way, and every time they come to a creek or a river or a spring, grandmother'd water her rose, and when they got to their journey's end, before they'd ever chopped a tree or laid a stone or broke ground, she cut the sod with an axe, and then she took grandfather's huntin' knife and dug a hole and planted her rose. Grandfather cut some limbs off a beech tree and drove 'em into the ground all around it to keep it from bein' tramped down, and when that was done, grandmother says: 'Now build the house so's this rose'll stand on the right-hand side o' the front walk. Maybe I won't die of homesickness if I can set on my front door-step and see one flower from my old Virginia gyarden. '

' Well, grandmother didn't die of homesickness, nor the rose either. The transplantin' was good for both of 'em. She lived to be ninety years old, and when she died the house wouldn't hold the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren that come to the funeral. And here's her rose growin' and bloomin' yet, like there wasn't any such things in the world as old age and death. And every spring I gether a basketful o' these pink roses and lay 'em on her grave over yonder in the old buryin'-ground. '

(more to come)