Parrott ~ Blanton ~ Wesson ~ Ellis ~

Labels

Amberson Ancestors angels Annie Neil Anthony Sarratt Atlanta Constitution Barber Barrett Beersheba Bessie Maude Parrott Beth Shiloh Bethany ARP Bethel Blanton Broad River Buffalo Baptist Church Camps Creek Baptist Carrie Parrott Catherine Hoyle Catherine Mull cemeteries Census Charles Heberton Ellis Christmas Christopher McCarter Civil War Cleveland County Clover Cocker Machine Cookies Craton Craton Rone Blanton Dallas David McSwain David Ross Ellis DNA Ebenezer Presbyterian Church Edith "Edy" Jane Sarratt Edward McKinley Parrott Elijah Turner Ellis Ellis/Turner Cemetery Ethel Blanton Parrott Family Fannie Fannie Crouch Blanton Ferry Fewell Gaffney Gaston County Gastonia George Barber George Huffstetler George Washington Blanton Georgia Grandma Grandpa Hannah McCarter Happy New Year Harvey L. Barber Hattie Parrott Helms Henry Weidner Hero Quitman Blanton Hollywood Cemetery Horses Isaac Whitman Blanton Jackson Jesse Parrott John Barber John Fewell John S. Hager Johnny Parrott Judith Moore Greene Letitia Ellis Sarratt Lizzie Ellis Lost Souls Lynn Mabel Hager Reynolds MacArthur Margaret Ann McCarter Margaret Dellinger Mary Barber mary elizabeth greene Mary Nichols Matthew Nichols McAdenville McCarter McCurry Memoriam Memories Michael Hoyle Minor McCarter Mountain Rest Cemetery Nancy Turner Nannie Barber Parrott NC Nichols Noah Tyre Parrott Nobel John Sarratt North Carolina Old Timey Parrott Peter Hoyle Rachel Gaston Blanton Reuben Blanton Rhyne Richard Perrott roadside scenes Robert Samuel Parrott Sarah Parrott Sarratt Searching Sentimental Saturday Sentimental Sunday Shelby Snow South Carolina Summer Thanksgiving The Search Thoughtful Thursday Turner Unknown Ancestor Valentines Wesson Why? Wilburn Larry Parrott William Barber William J. Parrott William McSwain Woodside Cemetery York County

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Lizzie & John S. Hager ~ Mabel Hager Reynolds



John Sidney Hager was born in Iredell County, North Carolina in the year 1876. He married a girl named Sarah "Sallie" B. Harvell. She bore at least four children during this union. She passed away at age 34, sadly, on October 21, 1918.

Ethel Leigh Blanton
Age 15


Elizabeth Leigh "Lizzie" Ellis Blanton was widowed on September 25, 1915, when Craton Rone Blanton, my great grandfather was killed in a motorcycle accident .

Elizabeth, widowed for three years, and struggling to make it alone, somehow found John Sidney and together they decided to raise the children from both marriages.  They had six children, total.  Jesse William Blanton and my grandmother, Ethel Leigh Blanton, were Lizzie's.  Mabel , Sloan, Clay, and Ray Hager were from John's marriage.

Gastonia City Directory 1921-1922

John Hager and Lizzie are listed on top of page.

Mabel and Ethel were both 13 years old on October 12, 1919, when Lizzie and John Hager wed in Gastonia, North Carolina.

From my grandmother's many stories, those times spent in a blended household were not the best of times.

Apparently John grew to dislike Lizzie's children and Ethel and Jesse were subject to different rules than his own children.  I am not wanting to be disrespectful of the man, I only know what my grandmother told me, and apparently she was very miserable living in the Hager house.

Her only refuge from the hurt, was her deep and quickly forming bond with her step-sister, Mabel.  They grew to be inseparable and remained close friends until Mabel's death in 1974.

I remember making the trip to see Mabel and her husband Frank Reynolds, many times during my summer's spent with my Grandparents.

Mabel Hager Reynolds
1906 ~ 1974


One story remains vivid,  among my many memories of grandma's sweet story telling. 

Mabel and my grandmother, Ethel, went for a ride on a train, not sure if was just for the thrill of a train ride or if they had a real destination. At every turn,  the smoke and debris from the engine would practically engulf  the train cars, all open cars. All of the train riders were soon speckled and dotted with the flecks of soot that were blowing back from the engine. By the time they arrived at their destination, Ethel and Mabel were laughing hysterically at each other's sooted up and  dotted, comical faces. The new hats that they had bought just for the train ride were completely ruined. They had been so proud of the hats, only to emerge from the train looking totally ridiculous.  My grandmother giggled all through the telling of that story, her mind taken back in time, to a time of cherished girlhood.

My grandmother never had a  real sister to bond with, but Mabel came along and became that true sister.



Mabel's Funeral Memorial ~

God Bless you for that, Mabel.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Grandpa and the 58 Metropolitan ~


Wilburn Larry Parrott,  son of Nannie Jane Barber Parrott and Robert Samuel Parrott.
This 1958 Metropolitan was bought from Cline Motors of Shelby, NC in Sept. of 1962.
Price paid was $650.00.
12 Easy Monthly payments of $47.11.
Quite snazzy!