A Farmer's Life 1891

I start this tale with Scripture because the verse,

must have seemingly come to life on

that fateful day back in May

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A lowly farmer,

A preacher's son...

All he wanted was a happy life and happy wife.

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He was nearly forty-seven years of age,

and much too old to start anew.

But a farmer somehow finds the strength.

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He had survived the Civil War

and served his state in its Militia.

Loved his farm, his state, & country.

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He could neither read nor write,

but marked his "X"

to take his Reconstruction oath.

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After that, he married Kate,

had a daughter,

then had a son.

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From all appearances, he did very well

because he was blessed with

248 acres valued at $200 U.S. dollars.

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His children had grown,

and he gave the hand of his daughter away

to a worthy gentleman for matrimony.

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The hailstorm came,

and he could do nothing to save the crop.

The reporter took the notes and assessed the damage.

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His son did not marry

until eight years later,

so grateful to have a stronger set of hands and back.

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That is why for those who followed,

who farmed for their family,

from hence became a believer in following the weather in the Almanac!

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I can't be sure when this picture was taken,

but it looks like a man whose world had been shaken.

This is my maternal great-grandfather, Perry!

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Footnote:

Kate would die in 1907. Apparently, the farm life did not stick with Perry's son. By 1911, he (my grandfather, James) packed up his father, (Perry) along with his first wife, and his children and moved them all to north Florida. He became a "logger" rather a farmer. Maybe they sold the farm at that time or lost it to the bank? I don't know. Maybe they just left it.

By 1913, James left his family in care of his father after moving them back to Georgia. They relied on Perry's pension from the Militia/proceeds from selling the farm?

My grandfather moved to Mississippi, assumed a new identity, and married my grandmother, (but that is another story to tell.) To be fair, James included his first set of children with his second, so they did visit one another.

In 1916, Perry was laid to rest beside his beloved Kate.

I wish I had more information. I would have liked to know the character of Perry (and Kate Youmans.) His life reflected a simple man who was devoted to his family, served his home state, had devastatingly bad luck, and from all that I can gather, was a fractured person after losing his farm, his wife, and basically, his son. I wish I knew if he was a kind man or a jaded and mean soul? My thoughts are up to my discretion, so I choose to believe the best.

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References & Timeline:

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William "Perry" Youmans was born in June of 1844 in Wayne County, Georgia.

Civil War: served in Georgia Militia

Married November 16, 1865, Wayne Co. GA to Arcada "Kate" Herrin

1867: Reconstruction Oath (could not read or write...signed an X)

1874: daughter, Viola born

1876: son, James born

In Georgia Militia Records Property Tax Digest, states that he owned 245 acres of land in Pierce County with estimated property value at $200.00. It also stated that he had 2 children between ages 6 and 18.

1890: daughter married

1891: hailstorm

1898: son married first wife

1907: Arcada "Kate" (wife) died at age 63 and was buried in Pierce Co in Pierce-Davis Cemetary

1913: son married second wife

1916: Perry dies, age of 72. Buried in Pierce-Davis Cemetary