A Seasoned Run (poem written in 1983)

A SEASONED RUN

Shoes laced; body protected.
Discipline thrusts into steeled hardness of frozen air.
Sparta withdraws-but,
Only for a moment,

Shoes crunch
Leaving familiar tracks on plowed, scraped, streets of snow.
Fleece freezes to fleece as
Frost forms from warm nostril fans.

Rolling hills crest over snow-fused fields of
Sleeping wheat tucked beneath
Blankets of wintry sand
To be awakened on a sunny, spring day.

Hoarfrost crusts roadside weeds, stubby stalks, and leafless limbs.
All crystallized with sequined flakes of whiteness.
Trees, swayback from northern blasts,
Sparkle in form-frozen boundaries.

No warmth in sunlight.
Only inward pumping supplies life in this lifeless glaze.
An extra mile, now,
To savor this seasoned run.

©1983 Ronald Evan Davis

Part III: Pictures of Evelyn Elliott Davis' Mother and Grandmother

Here are some pictures that Kerry Barksdale (my cousin) sent to me. They are pictures of Mary (Mae) Earline Neighbors Elliott as a youth and a young woman. In addition, there is one picture of Mae Neighbors' mother (Mary Etta Staggers Elliott with one of her sons).

Here is Kerry Barksdale's comment on these pictures:

I can't remember if I have shared these photos with you or not. They were small photos that are in a locket that belonged to our grandmother Neighbors when she was a young lady. Later, after Pauline was born, Mae was holding her and Pauline picked up the locket that her mother was wearing, put it in her mouth and bit down on it leaving the dent that is still there today. I enlarged the photos and restored them except for the one of Mary Etta Staggers and one of her sons that I have not gotten around to yet. Oh yes, Mary Emil has the locket.

Kerry

Evelyn Elliott Davis Part Two

Part II
The Life and Times
of
Evelyn Elliott Davis
Born: March 8, 1915 Died: August 17, 1991

My cousin Mary Emil Rushing who is the daughter of Pauline Elliott Rushing, my mother’s older sister, has related the following information regarding the birthplace of Pauline (aka Tutti) and a couple of short items regarding Pauline and Evelyn. She writes,

“[regarding] the location of the Mitchell Place where mother, (Evelyn and Annie Lou?) were born. It was in Tuscaloosa County… In fact I have been there. Mother had Uncle Jim take us there so I could see where she was born. It was an old "sharecropper" type unpainted house out in a field. As I recall, we went just past Hinton's Store and the house where our Elliott great-grandparents lived on the Old Greensboro Road and turned right just before reaching Little Sandy Creek. We wound through cotton fields but it was not very far back in there. I drove down that way three or four years ago in hopes that I could locate the spot but there are houses everywhere so it would be impossible to find now. I also have mother's birth certificate stating that she was born in Tuscaloosa County.

Have you heard how mother got to be "Tutti" or "Tootie"? As I recall, Evelyn and mother both got dolls for Christmas and named them "Tootie" and "Tooter"(I think). After a while they began calling each other "Tootie" and "Tooter". Some family member became annoyed by the practice and offered a bribe to induce them to stop the habit. Mother quit but Evelyn would not and "Tootie" stuck.

When mother was old enough to go to school, the family was living near where Annie Lou and Bill (Seales) lived in Hale Co. The school had two rooms. Evelyn cried so much when mother left for school that after several days they let her go too even though she was not old enough and did not get credit for attending. I wonder what the teacher thought of that!”

Mary Emil concludes and I agree, “It is a shame we did not preserve all the stories that our parents related.”

One summer day when the family was away from the home place and Evelyn’s father was out in the fields farming, Charlie Elliott stirred up a hornet’s nest and was mercilessly stung all over his body. Somehow he made it back to the home place and collapsed in the front room. Much later the family came home and discovered their father unconscious on the floor. After seeking medical help, Charlie recovered. My mother related how upsetting it was to see her father in this state and was thankful and much comforted when he returned to stable health. I don’t know the time frame of these events but can only assume that our grandmother Mae Neighbors Elliott was still alive at this time.

In another story, my mother related a sad and very tragic event in her father’s life. In the segregated South of that era, a black woman had conceived a child by a white man whether by rape or consensual sex my mother did not know. The woman gave birth to the child and she lived with her son in “The Quarters” where the black community of that day lived. As the boy grew, it became known to the white community that there was a child who had “white” blood living amongst the black community. A vigilante group was formed to go and extricate the boy from the situation and have him placed in a state-run home since the white community (at least some in the white community) could not abide the idea of having someone with “white blood” living in a black community. To give credence to the dastardly deed, prominent members of the white community were “encouraged” to go with the vigilante group. Charlie Elliott must have had some prominence in the community since my mother remembers the group coming by the home place to fetch her Daddy. When Charlie returned home later that evening, my mother said he was visibly sick and emotional to tears. As he explained to his family what had taken place, Charlie sobbed that what had taken place was dead wrong. He said it would take him a long time if ever to get the sounds of the screaming boy being ripped from his family as he cried out for his Mama. Charlie said the sounds could be heard echoing all throughout the “holler” of The Quarters. My mother said that her Daddy was so sick over the event that he vomited to dry heaves even hours after he had shared with his family.

Not too many years later, Charlie Elliott had an opportunity to help a young black family in need. I only know the family as being the Prince family. Besides the parents, there were three boys named Robert Lee, Willie C. and Nunnie. Apparently, the parents worked for Charlie Elliott and his farming endeavors. Mr. & Mrs. Prince were tragically killed in an accident, perhaps an automobile accident. I don’t recall exactly how they died. This left the three boys as orphans and the State was going to place them in a state run facility. Charlie intervened and asked for custody of the three brothers with the intent of raising them himself even though he had his own grief since he had been widowed not too long ago himself. The State granted his request and the boys were able to stay together as a family. Charlie maintained a small house out from his own family’s home where the cook who worked for the family lived. I don’t remember the cook’s name but she watched after the boys and cooked for both families. Robert Lee, Willie C. and Nunnie eventually worked with Charlie Elliott in his farming business. The boys were always grateful to Mr. Charlie for rescuing them. When I was a kid, I remember walking the streets of Moundville, Alabama, and one of these boys now a grown man would come up to me or one of my brothers and say, “You must be Miss Evelyn’s and Mr. Cronin’s son (s). You look just like them. The last time I remember seeing one of these men was at my mother’s funeral visitation in 1991.

An addendum to this story comes from my brother Cronin. After my brother Cronin retired from the logging business he worked at a sawmill in the north part of Tuscaloosa County. One day a young black man came into a store near the sawmill. My brother started a conversation with the young man and discovered that the man’s name was Ronald Elliott Prince. Immediately, Cronin knew that the man had to be a descendant of one of the Prince boys who had been raised by our grandfather Charlie Elliott. Sure enough, Ronald Elliott Prince was the grandson of one of the three boys. My brother asked Mr. Prince if he knew the origin of his middle name Elliott. He didn’t know. Cronin was able to relate the story and pass on to him a piece of family history.

Evelyn Elliott Davis

Part I
The Life and Times
of
Evelyn Elliott Davis
Born: March 8, 1915 Died: August 17, 1991

As I begin this short biography of my mother, Evelyn Elliott Davis, I am keenly aware that one can only really scratch the surface of a person’s life even if one knew them well. How does one put down the countless details that shaped and contributed to the essence of the person? At the same time these details fleshed out the multi-faceted complexities which gave expression to that person’s unique individuality. Where does one begin? One has to be selective and pray that the right choices of memories will paint the broad strokes of who the person really was but not fall into the trap of making the person bigger than life. One’s character is made up of strengths and weaknesses, perfections and flaws, friends and enemies. Do we dare approach this with anything but fear and trepidation as well as gut-level truthfulness? May it be so!

Evelyn Elliott was born on Monday, March 8, 1915. She was only 21 days, a mere three weeks, younger than her future husband (Cronin Davis, Sr.) I assume she was born in Hale or Tuscaloosa County, Alabama since her parents were from that area and farmed in both counties. The history of her mother and father are beyond the scope of the biography, but let it suffice to say that her father was Charles David Elliott, Sr. and her mother was Mae Neighbors Elliott. Evelyn was the second child in a family that would eventually count nine siblings that survived infancy. Charlie Elliott and Mae Neighbors Elliott had a stillborn child on April 9, 1926. Their last child was born the next year on June 20, 1927. Evelyn’s oldest sister, Pauline, was born exactly a year before Evelyn on March 8, 1914.

Evelyn’s sisters and brother would sustain a tragic loss in 1929 when their mother died at age 39. The names of the children follow in chronological order. Thanks to my cousin Kerry Barksdale of Tuscaloosa, Alabama for supplying the following information. Mr. Barksdale is more than our family resident genealogists. He is The Genealogist par excellence!

Parents and Family of Evelyn Elliott Davis

Father: Charles David (Charlie) Elliott, Sr. died at age: 60
Born: 10 Oct 1885 in Hale Co., Alabama
Died: 1 May 1946 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama
Buried: in Big Sandy Baptist Cemetery, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama

Paternal Grandfather: John James Elliott
Paternal Grandmother: Mary Margaret Beckham

Mother: Mary Earline (Mae) Neighbors died at age: 39
Married: 20 Jan 1913 in Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama his age: 27 her age: 23
Born: 21 Aug 1889 in Hulls, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama
Died: 12 Jun 1929 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama
Buried: in Big Sandy Baptist Cemetery, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama

Maternal Grandfather: John Henry Neighbors
Maternal Grandmother: Mary Etta Staggers

Evelyn Elliott Davis' Siblings and Evelyn's pertinent information

Child 1: Mary Pauline (Tuttie) Elliott died at age: 51
Born: 8 Mar 1914 in Hale Co., Alabama, at The Mitchell Place
Died: 30 May 1965 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama
Buried: in Williamson Cemetery, Northport, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama
Spouse: John Emil Rushing b. 2 Mar 1913 d. 20 Jun 1993
Married: 5 Sep 1940 in Northport, Alabama

Child 2: Evelyn Elliott died at age: 76
Born: 8 Mar 1915 in Hale Co., Alabama, at The Mitchell Place
Died: 17 Aug 1991 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama at her home
Buried: 20 Aug 1991 in Tuscaloosa Memorial Park, Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama
Spouse: John Cronin Russell Davis, Sr. b. 14 Feb 1915 d. 11 Jul 1985
Married: 9 Sep 1936 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama

Child 3: Annie Lou Elliott died at age: 82
Born: 8 Feb 1916 in Hale Co., Alabama, at The Mitchell Place
Died: 10 Apr 1998 in Northport, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama
Buried: 12 Apr 1998 in Mt. Hebron Baptist Cemetery, Hale Co., Alabama
Spouse: William Jarvis (Bill) Seale b. 10 Sep 1915 d. 3 Jan 1999
Married: 22 Sep 1938 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama

Child 4: Charles David Elliott, Jr. died at age: 69
Born: 12 Nov 1917 in Englewood, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama
Died: 3 Apr 1987 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama
Buried: in Oak Hill Cemetery, Moundville, Hale Co., Alabama
Spouse: Thelma Louise Colvin b. 25 Apr 1918
Married: 25 Dec 1940 in Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama

Child 5: Mabel Elliott died at age: 77
Born: 19 Oct 1918 in Hale Co., Alabama, at The Powers Place
Died: 21 Feb 1996 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama
Buried: in Tuscaloosa Memorial Park, Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama
Spouse: Jesse Burns Wiggins b. 4 Nov 1916
Married: 12 Oct 1940 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama

Child 6: Opal Neighbors Elliott died at age: 81
Born: 13 Aug 1920 in Hale Co., Alabama, at The Powers Place
Died: 17 Jan 2002 in Montgomery, Alabama at her home
Buried: in Oak Hill Cemetery, Moundville, Hale Co., Alabama
Spouse: Patrick Webster Davis, Jr. b. 12 Apr 1921
Married: 8 Jan 1988 in Montgomery, Alabama

Child 7: Katherine Elliott age: 87
Born: 19 Jan 1922 in Moundville, Hale Co., Alabama
Died: 11 Feb 2010
Spouse: James Melton (Billy) Barksdale b. 16 Jul 1921 d. 20 Mar 1978
Married: 2 Aug 1941 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama

Child 8: Dorothy Maxwell Elliott died at age: 72
Born: 30 Aug 1924 in Tuscaloosa Co., AL, at The Leland Place
Died: 6 Sep 1996 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama
Buried: in Oak Hill Cemetery, Moundville, Hale Co., Alabama
Spouse: Hugh Eugene Lewis b. 16 Oct 1922
Married: 24 Dec 1944 in Moundville, Hale Co., Alabama

Child 9: Imogene Elliott died at age: 53
Born: 20 Jun 1927 in Tuscaloosa Co., AL, at The Ross Place
Died: 20 Mar 1981 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Co., Alabama
Buried: in Oak Hill Cemetery, Moundville, Hale Co., Alabama


The early years are somewhat of a mystery since there were few stories recounted to me. One or two come to mind that were humorous. The first story recounts a situation regarding Evelyn’s summer time visit to a cousin in Tuscaloosa County. She would have been of an age to travel by train by herself and would have made stops along the way at other homes in order to visit with family friends. Stops that would have been sanctioned by her parents On her way home from her cousin’s house she stopped in Tuscaloosa to stay over overnight with family friends who lived on 8th Street just west of St. John’s Catholic Church. This was NOT a sanctioned stop. Evelyn’s relative whom she had visited sent a gift of fresh figs to Evelyn’s family. The relative carefully packed the figs and put them in her suitcase with strict instructions not to dally on the way home and open the suitcase immediately when she got home. Of course, the stop over at the 8th Street house in Tuscaloosa was not part of the itinerary. In the excitement of the reunion with friends on 8th Street, the figs in the suitcase were promptly forgotten. A couple of days go by without opening the suitcase, and the two days away without leave catch up with Evelyn when her father finds out that she had extended her “leave” without permission. By the time she was fetched home, the figs in the suitcase had more than fermented in the hot, oppressive heat of an Alabama summer. Whatever punishment was meted out has long been forgotten, but the suitcase with the oozing figs was irreparably damaged and had to be thrown out including its contents of clothing and personal item. Nonetheless, the sociability of Evelyn Elliott was on its way to being a legendary characteristic of this amazing woman.

The second story depicts her “entrepreneurial” as well as her “can do” spirit which would again be more than embryonic in development by the early age of 14. Evelyn’s father Charlie Elliott had bought a Ford Model T sometime in the late 1920’s. He could have purchased it before his wife died but I don’t know that for sure. But, Pawpaw would have had it by 1929 when Evelyn was 14 years old. The interesting fact was that Pawpaw didn’t know how to drive the vehicle! He must have owned it for “keeping up with the Joneses” or had it for someone else to drive him into town when he needed to go to town. Whatever the reason, the automobile was parked out in the yard most of the time and was available for some free fun to whoever could come up with an idea, especially when Daddy was in the fields farming most of the day. Charlie Elliott never wanted his daughters (8 of them) to do field work. His son Charles David was expected to be in the fields but not the daughters. These motherless girls must have been a handful. Evelyn decided to entertain her siblings by learning to drive the Model T. She used a metal fingernail file as a key to start the ignition and then commenced a self-taught program to learn to drive. And, she did. With chilluns packed into the Model T and hanging out every available opening, they all had a merry time being chauffeured all around the large yard of the home place. No one breathed a word to Daddy about their illicit excursions until one day when there was a need for Charlie to go into town but he didn’t have his regular driver available. Evelyn offered her services to him as chauffeur to drive him to town. After much questioning and then verification of her ability by the siblings, Charlie agreed to allow Evelyn to drive him to town. Thus was born the “lead-foot” and “pedal-to-the-metal” automobile capers that were also legendary throughout Evelyn’s lifetime to which her children could readily attest to from their own experience riding with a speed demon. (To be continued)