Family History, continued

"in the 1902 strike we were living at what they called Sugar Creek. it is now Stadium Terrace now. but when we lived there it was just an old mining camp. Well when the men came out on strike. the company gave us a house notice to vacate at once which we did. my dad rented a three room house over on packs branch. you could throw a cat through the cracks. we all almost froze that winter. and while we were there my Dad had a little extra trouble. he drank at that time so he took his shot gun and started hunting. but in the mean time he went over to the saloon in Mt. Hope. and got drunk of course he still had that old shot gun. so the company had up no Trespassing notices. so my Dad walked in to the Boiler Room there at Sugar Creek. and pointed his gun at one of them mens feet and told him to dance. so about that time one of the guards blowed the whistle and they picked him up and sent him to Huntington Jail for Trespassing on their property so he had to reside in jail over two weeks then the union men got him out. so he was home again. Then he went down on Cabin Creek. to Red Warriors. and got a job in the mines there. he worked a long time there. but something happened at the mines there all the mines came out on strike so. we were notified to vacate our house when one day 27 armed guards with thier Winchesters rifels came in and set evry thing we had out in the road. and it happened it started raining that day and all night. so all of our household goods took all that rain. My Dad went to Dry Branch and rented a place to store our things. un-til he could find another job and another house for us to live in. so the family all scattered out some to one place and and some to another un-til Dad got another place to live. he got a job at McDonald and we moved there. and the family all got back to-gether again. we lived there awhile then. they wanted him to come to Turkey Knob . and be Stable Boss. there at that time they used lots of mine mules so we lived there for a good while then my mother took a notion she wanted to move to the country. so my Dad rented a log house high up on the mountain above Price Hill. and we lived there for about two years. Dad worked in the Price Hill Mines. so Mother took a notion to move down off the mountain. so Dad rented a house at Sherwood WVa so we moved there. my Dad worked in the Sherwood Shaft Mines. which has long been abandoned. we lived in that house for a while. and Mother decided she would like to move up on top of the hill so Dad rented a nice five roomed house on top of the hill. we moved up there. but she decided she wanted a house on the other end of the other row of houses. so it was move again. and it was the last house we had moved into. was where I was married 1908. My sister Minnie also. so we had our own houses then. but don't think for one moment that Mother stopped moving she moved many more times after this. I still hate to think of all them old dirty houses I have had to scrub and clean. back in those days we just had bare floors to scrub with a brush or broom. we never had it quiet as easy as we have it now. Wash on the washboard all day. then iron with irons you heat on the stove. use oil lamps. this was my job to clean those lamp chimneys and fill the lamps up with oil so we would have a good light for night time. real sharp. Oh well as I said we were all very happy together. Cook up a big black pot of beans and a pan of corn bread or biscuits. fry up a big skillit of beef steak. and make some of that good old mommy made gravy. some country butter and milk it was real good to set your feet under the table. Well so much for that."

'Family', continued (again, as written)

"I was almost 22 years old when I met my husband Frank M. Tucker we went together six months. and were married. in the mean time his younger brother Silas was dateing my younger sister Minnie. soon they were married. in July 2nd 1908. in August 27 1908 Frank and I were married. [2] Brothers married [2] sisters. this makes our children double first cousins. some mixup. just one of those things. Well Frank and I had two children. my first was a girl we named her Florence Louise. then we had our boy. we named him Gilman Emeory. Louise grew up and married Elmie W. Hill. they have three children two girls and one boy. His name is William Clegg Hill. the oldest girl Freda May married Don C. Lilly. and Hazle married L. D. Hartwell. William married Jo Richards. of Beckley WV. a very sweet girl. and of course the girls got fine men too. My son Gilman met and married a very sweet Scotch Lassie by the name of Hellan. We called her Pat frome patrick she was working in a sweet shop when he met her. to this union is one fine GrandSon Frank Matthew Tucker. we are very proud of him. he has been serving his country for almost four years. his time will be out in March. we sure will be glad to see him home again. In the mean time. he was dating a very sweet girl by the name of Shirley Jackson of Mt. Hope W.V. they have been married over three years now so it will mean a lot to all when he gets home once more. we are going through a very trying time just now. Gilman has been sick for most three months and at present is in the Oak Hill Hospital he has a virus of some kind. Pat that is his wife goes to the hospital every day. will I have been going like a house on fire. and haven't got very far but I hope I have got a few things off my chest. I forgot to say much about my own family. I will say a few words about my brothers and sisters of which some is very sad.
My oldest Brother. William Fanning Cheek. was electrocuted accidentally and my youngest brother Victor Gay Cheek died of T.B. I only have one living brother at present. Walter H. Cheek. he lives here in Mt. Hope WVa. he works for the Blackburn Patterson Co. and my oldest sister Minnie Lee Cheek Tucker she died with Cancer my next Sister Ella Cheek Thompson who lives here in Mt. Hope at present she is a widow now. I have another sister Nell Cheek Stevens. she lives in Williamington Del. and I have another sister Gussie Rea Cheek Perry she and her husband Ronald live here in Mt. Hope WVa too. my youngest sister Agnes Cheek Batten. She died with Cancer also. My Father died in 1918 with Flue. My Mother died with cancer also. so it seems I am left here for some-thing. I do love to help other people and do what I can do for them. I am glad I have the Lord in my life. he helps me through so many trials and dark places. It has not been a bed of roses but you know we all have to take the bitter with the sweet. well getting back to my earlier days. I told you about my Father being a coal miner. he was a very devout union man. he held an office in the Local. and they sent him two different times to the miners convention in Indianapolis Ind. but you can just bet your bottom dollar. that as soon as there was any trouble about the miners. they always picked on my Dad." To be continued.

Family

"The Name of This is The Last Move

I have had an inspiration to write a book about my self and relatetions so here I go: I don't know what I will do with it. or what it will be like. As my age is creeping up on me, it seemed it would be good to leave a few words be-hind about my folks and my life. If I live to see March 20th/57, I will be 70 years old you might think this is funny that I would have a desire to write like this. As to my family, My Father Charles Fanning Cheek. was born and reared in Weaverville North Carlonia Bunscomb Co. he came to W.Va. and met my mother Sara Jane Wees. Through my uncle Charles Sink, he had married my mothers Sister Anna. So the love bug got them too. My mother was born and reared in Raleigh Co. W.Va. her Father was George Wees. And my Grandmother was Clementine Jane Godbey before she married my grandfather. he was in the Cival war. 4 years and 6 moths. and was home only twice in that time. he was wounded in the hip and was never able to get around very well after he came home. they bought land and built them a log house two big rooms. a large fireplace in each room. they reared their family there. the family consist of Rhoda E. Walthall Wees, Will Wees, John Wees, Susan Wees Holt, Jimmie Wees. Biggs. Jones. she was married twice. my mother Sarah Jane Wees Cheek, Anna Wees Sink. then Robert Wees was the youngest child - All of these have deceased now. my mother was the mother of 13 children of which she reared 9 of us I am the oldest one. When I was born they thought they would name me good. they named me Sarah. after my mother Olivia after my grandmother Cheek. Elizabeth after Aunt Rhoda E. Wees Walthall. Jane after my grandmother Wees. so after they gave me all these names I married twice so you see my name is Sarah Olivia Elizabeth Jane Cheek Then I married Frank McGee Tucker. We were married twenty nine years. then he took Broncal Asthma. and died. then I later married John W. Perry I was 51. he was 79. he lived 10 years and he died they were both good Husbands and I miss them both, it just fell my lot I guess to end that way - well as I started off with all them names. They made a short name for me and called me Ollie. I always have despised my name. but what could any one do with so much name hung to them. they should have saved some of my names for some of the balance of the other 12 children oh well enough for the names. I sure got mine. as I said be fore My Dad was reared in Weaverville N.C. his father run a Tan Yard. Tanned bark and animal skins and such also they made crockery Jugs Bottles Bowls and dishes - but when Dad came out to W.Va. he earned his living by working in the Coal Mines. So you can see we all had a very hard time getting along. but let me tell you we made it. I look back to those days some time. and think how happy we all were to-geather. we were poor but we were happy. I had a good Father and Mother. They were Christians and they taught us to live right of which I am thankful."

To be continued...