Reunion...2011

This article is long overdue. About three months have gone by since I was first charged to write it. But like most modern day Americans I too suffer from the plague of procrastination. And now that all excuses have been sorely made and poorly received, let’s begin!

Our past year's reunion on October 8, 2011, marks the 8^th since the Nethery cousins first attempted to draw all twelve branches back together again.

On our last visit with cousin Dixie Nethery Sparks, she gave me a glimpse into reunions of the past. Then it was far simpler with nearly everyone living so closely together. A reunion then was a visit to “Grandpa and Grandma’s house” for Sunday dinner. In the fall, all the grandchildren would go out to the old pecan tree where Grandpa Nethery instructed them to take off their stockings. They spent the afternoon filling their stockings with pecans and enjoyed being together as a family. Grandpa  Charlie also made sure they each were treated with some candy from the store!

Were my Great-Grandpa C.A.  and Great-Grandma Amanda alive today I wonder what they would think of our reunions? Now instead of filling our stockings with pecans, we have auctions in the church and hayrides to the cemetary and the family store. Two things haven’t changed much I believe, however. One is that we still enjoy being together as a family, albeit distant one. And second, we haven’t lost our affinity for good cooking!

This year’s reunion was hosted by Dot Nethery Spain and her bunch, surrounded by the musical stylings of her children and spouses. (And a special guest appearance by Bob Wood.) Celtic, bluegrass and old hymns brought out our family’s genealogical and spiritual roots. The only thing I would have liked better about it is for the music to last longer and to dance a good jig.

Food changed from bar-be-cue to Texican, in honor of the heritage of the land.

The auction was fabulous as ever with the talents of Gene Nethery and his lovely assistant "Vanna White". Hopefully everyone is enjoying their contributions to the scholarship fund and making this reunion available for years to come.

My mother asked me to do the reunion article this year. I thought of a dozen different ways I could write this. I could go into detail over the atmosphere, sights, taste and sound. But many of you reading this were there to experience it. And those of you who weren’t, know from years past how interesting and fun the Nethery family can be. So instead I want to give you a glimpse into the next Gen’s mind.

From the time I was five years old, my family has been making the long haul back and forth to Milam as we rescued the old family farmhouse from the destruction brought on by the elements, neglect and former "renters".  Each trip for me was magical and a wild adventure. Through these trips I learned how to go for days without a shower, hike miles in the thicket while trying to find old tool shops, how to make the woods your toilet and how to fire an automatic rifle with the boys. Through a child’s eyes each trip down was an adventure unlike anything back home.

I was raised by a mother gifted with a love for genealogy and history and she dutifully imbued this love to me. No one else that I grew up with knew their great-great grandparents’ names and history or where they came from. No one could relate with me in the big city when I tried describing my family in East Texas. Most people don’t bother to keep in touch with their second and third cousins removed. In the fast paced world we live in there is barely enough time to keep in touch with children and siblings and parents. How different a world from the stories I grew up hearing from my Dad around the fireside.

While my Dad and brothers rebuilt the family farmhouse , my mother rebuilt our neglected heritage. It is the place that my Great-grandpa Napoleon Bonaparte Mason, Jr. bought from his brother and worked most of his life. It is the place my Great-Uncles Cleon, Conrad and Roy put their sweat and tested their mettle each grueling year of their youth. It is the place my Nanny, Era Nethery Mason spent hours filled with endless chores, aided by her daughters Louise and Thelma. It is the place we took my Grandma to during her last years to see one last time. Every corner of that farm house, every patch of land holds a memory for us. 

During Grandma Wood’s last visit I sat with her on the front porch and in her mother’s old room staring into the fireplace. I remember her smiling to herself often. I can still hear her laughter as she told me stories of her childhood there. I wonder what memories she recalled as we sat together illuminated by the golden flames.

I was partly named after Louise Mason Wood, her only granddaughter. I wish that I had asked her more stories, even though I was ten when she passed on and little attuned to such matters.

And maybe that is why the Nethery family has been so important to me ever since her death in ’98.  Because visiting all of you makes me feel like I know her a little better. Knowing even an evolved version of her world helps me to better see her and Grandpa Mason and Nanny better in my heart.

I was raised in the metroplex of  North Texas, but for all those special times of every year, those visits to Milam will always make me claim my East Texan heritage. Ask anyone who knows me well and they’ll tell you just how important my Nethery cousins are to me. They understand immediately why I’m so excited every time I announce we’re “going to the land!”. For me there’s no place on earth where I sleep better , breathe fresher air and feel free from the stresses of city life than Milam, TX.

From our very first visits down to work on the farm house we made frequent treks into town to see the “old folks”. I recall Uncle Buddy’s coveralls and the single light bulb hanging in his store. I miss Aunt Bun’s fluffy bits of perfection that were her tea cakes. I found Cousin Doyle’s cigar and the men’s domino game something of a curiosity. I smile to think of Uncle Loy’s smile on seeing “Louise’s granddaughter” on a visit to Beaumont. I’ll never forget Aunt Marguriete sitting on her porch swing by my side, surrounded by her sweet flowers. I’ll always remember Uncle Wendall’s laughter over my Daddy’s stories.

That’s what Nethery Reunions are all about for me. Not just remembering the ones who have already gone before us, but celebrating the fact we’re still together.

My story is unique I know. Not every one of my generation has the same experience with our clan and the town our great’s helped build up. Most of us are scattered to the five corners of Texas and beyond and only make it to the reunion once a year. Some have never been and do not know much about where we came from or who we were.

But I wouldn’t be who I am, if East Texas were not a part of it. And I believe secretly, we all have that under-layer of red mud-stained skin that calls us back to it.

If you want to share your own story about the family please send it to us and we will be happy to post!-the editors

Nethery Brothers in the Civil War Part 2

For the surviving Nethery family, William and family in Texas and William, Jr. and Alexander Matthew in Mississippi, the year of 1862 had been a dismal one. The deaths of brothers Thomas and James and the seperation from family, especially the absence of A.M. from the birth of daughter Rachel on July 19, were undoubtedly taking their toll.

Recent military losses and serving as dismounted Cavalry only added to the discontent of the Texas troops as a whole. According to Griscom's reports, "Oct.6th- ...the men all worn down and all pretty well discouraged at our late ill success."(1)  Another source reports, "they deplored the infantry. Every mounted officer reminded them how much easier life had been on horseback. While they sulked around camp, officers began reorganizing the reduced commands." (2)

As October came to a close, the brothers found themselves serving in the newly reorganized Texas Cavalry Brigade, combining the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 27th Cavalry units under the command of Col. John W. Whitfield who was recovering from wounds suffered at Corinth. Col. L.S. Ross temporarily commanded the new Brigade in his absence.(1)

An early snow arrived on Oct. 25 dumping 3 inches on the ill-equipped men adding to their hardships. Finally much needed good news arrived in early November as the horses were returned. The men immediately began retraining as cavalry units and were soon ordered to protect a Confederate supply train from Federal capture. On Dec.3, the 27th Cavalry leading the way, the Texas Brigade attacked the Yankees near Oakland, Mississippi. Although a complete victory was prevented due to a communication error, the enemy retreated and the train was saved. (3)

Within two weeks, the Texas Brigade was joined by brigades from Mississippi and Missouri, creating a force of 3500 men under the leadership of Gen. Earl Van Dorn, and were on their way to raid Grant's Federal Supply Depot at Holly Springs, Mississippi. As they rode through the town of Pontotoc, "the good ladies stood in the street with dishes and baskets filled with all manner of good things to eat, which we grabbed in our hands as we passed rapidly through the town"(4)

Arriving at Holly Springs in the early morning hours of December 20th, the Brigades were divided and  attacked the unsuspecting town, "from the east, northeast and north...Most of the Union troops were surprised out of their sleep...Van Dorn's men routed them and the vital supply depot, with it's tons of medical, quartermaster, ordnance and commissary stores fell quickly into Confederate hands.

While about 1500 (Union) prisoners were being paroled, the Confederate raiders plundered warehouses, cut telegraph lines and tore up track ." After burning what they couldn't carry, the men mounted up and left Holly Springs, having destroyed an estimated $1,500,000  in Union supplies.(5) "Grant was so chagrined that no mention is ever made of Van Dorn's raid in the official records or his memoirs. With all his supplies gone, Grant told his men to live off the land and this they did hereafter. The fall of Vicksburg was delayed six months because of it."(6) It's not surprising that A.M. proudly mentioned his participation in the Holly Springs raid when he wrote to his cousin in 1870. (see last issue)
After the victory at Holly Springs, Van Dorn's troops headed north into Tennessee, facing the enemy in daily skirmishes. After going as far as Dancyville, they headed south, back to Mississippi. Arriving in Ripley, around noon on Christmas Day, they were soon exchanging gunfire again. (1) Some time during this skirmish, William Nethery was captured while on a scouting assignment. His records report that he was paroled by the next day, December 26, and there is no mention of injury. Overall it was an unusual Christmas and ending to the year of 1862.

January 1863 started off with excessively wet and often extremely cold weather.  Just imagine being on horseback and always on the move with no real shelter and often very little food for men and horses. Griscom's diary gives us an insight into the hardships they faced for the first five weeks of 1863.

"2nd--- Move out at sunrise through Carrolton & 10 M(iles) south & stop to feed & camp--heavy rain 23M
3rd--- Being water bound we move 2M to feed in the rain & camp again in a tremendous storm
4th--- Rained hard all night & it is so muddy that we have to leave the trains (wagon trains) except one wagon with the best teams to carry Cooking utensils-- proceed through Black Hawk & after a terrible time crossing creeks fixing bridges & c(?) arrived within 2M of Lexington & camped.
8th--Move at 4AM to the Tuscahoma ferry (21M) on Yallabusha riv(er) where we ferry across the main river & have to swim 3 big Sloughs (swamp/bayou) which takes us until night but have to go 7M to get forage...
9th-- Move 10M to Preston & camp near  in a tremendous rain Storm ...
13th--in camp Rains hard--warm
14th--Rains hard & turns very cold at night-- sleets & freezes
15th--Snows, Sleets & freezes
16th--Still Snowing but move through Oakland & beyond 4M & camp-- only a small portion of our train gets in & we suffer much from cold both on the march & at night--the snow lies 2 in. deep & no tents to protect us-- make log fires & sleep by them
18th--Rains hard & the mud is a foot to 3 deep all over camp......"
The following weeks have very similar reports until the first week of February. Altough the weather remains bad, the orders for the Texas Cavalry Brigade take a significant turn, as Griscom records:
"9th--...Van Dorn's whole Cavalry corps are with us & we are off for Tennessee.
10 th-- March 25 Miles through a poor hilly boggy country through the rain--the trains fail to come up & we camp tired & hungry no forage for horses 25M "

Hardships of weather and little or no forage, continued as they made their way across the statelines of Alabama and Tennessee. Although foraging did improve in the Tennessee Valley, it would take four more weeks of rainy weather, sometimes bitter cold and flooded river crossings to make their final destination of Thompson's Station, south of Nashville, where they would fight their next decisive battle on March 5, 1863.(1)      

The Battle at Thompson's Station began when Union General John Coburn's reconnaisance forces marching south from Nashville, collided with a similar expediton led by Confederate General Earl Van Dorn, heading north from Spring Hill. Colburn's command consisted of 2837 troops, 600 of them cavalry, and a battery of six long-ranged cannons. Van Dorn's was made up of twice as many men, all cavalry and also included six pieces of artillery. The bloody five hour battle came to a close when Forrest's men were able to get to the rear of the enemy and effectively box them in, leading to an immediate surrender. Accoring to the report of S.B. Barron, 3rd Texas, "Our loss was 56 killed, 289 wounded and 12 missing; total 357. The enemy's loss was 48 killed, 247 wounded and 1151 captured ; total 1446" (4)

The next ten or more weeks were spent in a cat and mouse strategy with the enemy. One account describes it like this," Like two boxers, Confederate and Federal Calvary detachments stalked each other warily, jabbed, feinted, and parried, and then fell to pummeling each other until one adversary or the other backed off to gather strength, await a point of vantage, and begin probing the opponent's defenses all over again. Though much blood flowed, and the punishment sustained on both sides was painful and severe, neither side could score a knock-out."(8)

One such incident, on April 27th, is recorded in Griscom's diary," The 27th Tex (Whitfield's Legion)...are charged at light by 2 Regiments of Fedl Cav & their Camp Completely Stampeded, 9 officers & 111 men Captured & their train burned & 1 man (mere boy) brutally murdered after he was taken because he was a cripple--The men are scattered to "the four winds" those that came by our camp being minus hat, coats, blankets, & in many instances even saddles & bridles...The Brigade was promptly in pursuit but only came out in time to fire on their retreating rear guard." (1)

Another blow to the Texas Cavalry Brigade came on May 7th, not by the enemy, but at the hand of an assassin. General Earl Van Dorn, age 42, was killed by a bullet to the back of his head. The killer was an alleged jealous husband, Dr.George Peters. Ten days later, they were ordered to return to Mississippi under the command of Brigadier General John Whitfield.(1)
The march back took only ten days at an average of 22.3 miles a day. Taking a southerly route, they headed down the Tuscaloosa Road  in Alabama before going over mountainous roads to Columbus, Mississippi. Interestingly, A.M. is listed as AWOL on May 25, during the Tuscaloosa portion of their trip. Perhaps he was hunting for relatives who might still reside in the county of his birth. It would not be that unusual according to my sources. He did return to duty.  (1),(4)

Souces for Nethery Brothers in the Civil War, part 2:
1. George L Griscom, Fighting With Ross' Texas Cavalry Brigade,C.S.A.: The Diary of George L. Griscom , ed. Homer L Kerr (Hillsboro, Texas: Hill Junior College Press,1976)
2.Martha L. Crabbe, All Afire to Fight:The Untold Tale of the Civil War's Ninth Texas Cavalry,(Post Road Press,Avon Books, Winter 2000)
3.Allen G. Hately, The First Texas Legion During The American Civil War, (Centex Press, Eagle Pass,Texas, 2004)
4.Samuel L Barron, The Lone Star Defenders: A Chronicle of the Third Texas Cavalry, Ross' Brigade (New York: Neale, 1908)
5. www.mycivilwar.com/campaigns/621220R.htm - no author given
6. http/marshallcountyms.org/military/vandorn.php ,"Van Dorn's Historic Raid on Holly Springs" , by Lois Swanee, Museum Curator
7.Douglas Hale, The Third Texas Cavalry in the Civil War (University of Oklahoma Press, Norman and London)
Civil War records for the brothers were obtained at the Historical Research Center, Texas Heritage Museum , Hill College, Hillsboro, Texas. Thanks again to Anita Tufts, Archivist and Librarian ,one of the most helpful persons I've ever had the pleasure to meet.

                                                                                                                         

Nethery Branches: Charles O'Neil Nethery



O'Neil on sister Era's front porch in the late 60's

The third son and fifth surviving child of Amanda and Charles Nethery was born on February 29, 1896, a leap year baby. He was called O'Neil by most and "Chick" by some.

Fun loving and a prankster, O'Neil, began his "life of crime" while in school at Milam. As shared in the first issue of this newsletter in 2005, his sister Era recalled the "sneezing powder" incident in a taped conversation made in the 70's. It seems that O'Neil ordered the powders from a catalogue without his father's knowledge.  Along with co-horts Murray Maund and Ney Runnels, he released the powder in the classroom where the unsuspecting classmates, working "examples" on the blackboard, began uncontrolled fits of sneezing! Although his sister knew he was responsible, she said she would have never told on him.

Grandson Patrick Nethery recalled another story told to him by Uncle Loy regarding the "dinner bell"  incident. "Uncle Charlie (C.A.) had a bell that was rung to call everyone to meals. One day when someone went to ring the bell, it wouldn't ring. It seems that somebody had climbed up the pole and tied a cloth around the clapper! Upon investigation it was discovered that O'Neil was the guilty party. Needless to say that trick wasn't tried again."



O'Neil Nethery (far left)

World War I came along and like his older brothers, O'Neil registered for the draft, but unlike his brothers, soon found himself, at age 21, a private in the U.S. Army. He served at the front in France, from 1918-1919. Great-nephew Bob Wood remembers him telling about the long trip by ship, that took forever, with everyone on board seasick. He also said the war was not like the movies, "We all stayed down in the trenches and every so often would stick our rifles over the top and pull the trigger. We didn't stick out our heads to get them shot off!" He said the war was almost over by the time they got there and he was surely glad to get back to Milam and had no intention of ever leaving again!

On December 23, 1935, O'Neil married a young widow, Virgie Halbert Russell. Virgie was the baby daughter of William Washington Halbert and his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Smith. William, the only son of Joel Halbert, fathered 19 children, 13 boys and 6 girls. The home of Virgie and O'neil was blessed with the birth of their only child, Julius Neil, on December 16, 1937. Julius married Shirley Warr on January 7, 1967 and two sons, Michael, born 1969 and Patrick, born 1972, would complete the family.



O'Neil, Virgie with son Julius and grandsons Michael & Patrick



O'Neil was an avid hunter and grandson Patick recalls a story he told him about a time when the deer were scarce. "Pa and some friends decided to go down to the river to camp and hunt a few days. They always hunted with a dog and made a deer drive, and everyone would pick a spot to wait for them to come by. Pa said he sat at this hollow log everyday for 3 or 4 days and nothing came by. He decided to move to a 'better location' the last day and still came up empty handed. Walking back to the camp he came by his previous spot and saw deer and dog tracks and they had all jumped over the log where he had been the previous days!"

Uncle O'Neil thought very highly of his hunting dogs, calling them his "boys". His opinion of doctors on the other hand was not so warm. Nephew Bob Wood remembers asking him what he thought about doctors, "He gave a quick laugh, spit tobacco off his front porch, and told how the doctors would come calling on horseback with an old black bag on the saddle horn. 'This little red pill, or a white pill or a yellow pill, all the same....sugar pills...didn't amount to nothing. Doctors will kill you!'"

O'Neil managed to avoid doctors for most of his life,experiencing ill health in his latter years, but living to the remarkable age of ninety-four, dying September 18,1990. He is buried in the Milam Cemetary.



O'Neil with his son Julius

written by,

Judy Wood & Patrick Nethery



Nethery Branches: Era Amanda Nethery Mason

Era, age 16

Era Amanda Nethery was born June 22, 1893, the fifth child and second surviving daughter of Charles and Amanda Nethery. The third child and first daughter, Dollye Helena, only lived five days after her birth on February 3, 1890.

Era attended the Milam school all ten years required in those days. In a taped conversation with grandson Bob Wood, when asked what her favorite subject was she replied, "I always liked geometry pretty good." It was during this conversation that she related the "sneezing powder" incident instigated by her younger brother Oneil. Recalling the incident, all those years later, brought out her infectious laugh that I remember to this day.

Another memory shared from her teen years was a trip to Beaumont with her Daddy and sister Carrie and cousin Annie Speights, to see a circus. She remembered seeing "a three legged man, a little man and the tallest man in the world". When asked what her father thought about it she said, "He thought it was something. He really did enjoy it!"



Conrad Mason, 1940, New Mexico



When she was 18 years old Era married Napolean Bonaparte Mason, Jr. on December 18, 1911. Their first son Cleon Napolean was born a year later on December 10, 1912. Two years later Charles Conrad was born on November 6, 1914. Their first daughter, Dollie Louise arrived February 3, 1917. Second daughter, Thelma O'Neil was added to the family on November 27, 1919. Seven years later, youngest son , Roy Hugh was born on April 26, 1926.



Thelma Mason Ware



The family lived on a farm purchased from Pole's brother Robert Mason, when he moved his family to West Texas in 1913. It was a true family farm with little outside help. Cotton and field corn were their main crops. Cleon recalled his mother getting a "big bang  from hatching baby chicks in an incubator.

    Like her mother and sisters, Era was an extraordinary cook. I can recall a table full of delicious food always awaiting our arrival, even if it was only the two of us coming for a visit!





Tragedy visited the Mason home in the late 30's when son Conrad contracted tuberculosis. After a

short stay in a sanitarium in Southwest Texas, he was moved to another in New Mexico. He finally died from his disease in 1945, at the age of  31.

Pole and Era
Roy, Louise and Cleon, early 40's

The other children married and gave Era and Pole a total of 11 grandchildren, 3 girls and 8 boys. Grandson Paul Mason remembers always looking forward to visiting his Grandma Mason from Topeka, Kansas, and remembers her always calling everyone "Sugar". He also remembers all the wonderful  food she cooked for  everyone.

Era was widowed on April 3, 1959 and continued to live in the house that had been her home more than forty years. My husband Bob, "Bobby", spent three summers with his grandmother, "Nannie", so I asked him to share one of his favorite stories told to him during those days.

My grandmother and I were in her kitchen one morning. She walked over and looked out the window and laughed out loud.
"What's so funny, Nannie?", I said.
"When your PaPa and I were early married, my Daddy would drive his cows down the old road riding his mule and stop by for coffee most mornings. One morning, a woman, from Cat Holler stopped to visit with me while I was by the road washing sheets in the big washpots."
"The woman said she had a bad pain in her mouth and could I look and see what's the matter. It was a bad jaw tooth and I asked her what she wanted me to do and she said, 'Take it out!' So I got a pair of pliers and proceeded to pull the tooth!"
Nannie then told me how she got a piece of wood and carved a false tooth to fill in the hole! She said the woman left for town with a big smile on her face and said, 'Thank you so much, Miz Era!'
She laughed and laughed about that story.




"Nannie" in her kitchen, 1970

Sadly a stroke robbed Era of that memorable  laugh and  her speech in 1973. She passed away on October 26, 1974, at the age of 81. She is buried in the Milam Cemetary next to Pole and Conrad.



2010 Reunion Reflections- by Linda Nethery

Nethery cousins admiring family quilts sewn by Amanda Nethery and other Nethery family members.

The 7th Annual Nethery Reunion started for Bill and me with the beautiful, winding drive to Friday's dinner destination---Willow Bend Resort. There we joined our hostesses Kay and Carol, and others getting an early start on the weekend., to enjoy a fine meal and to start catching up on family news. Open hearted personalities and elephantine memories are apparently standard issue in the Nethery clan!

 



Saturday's gathering was once more at the Bethany Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, where we were met on arrival by the intoxicating aroma of BBQ, being prepared by David and Denice Eddings. Items for the auction covered tables lining the room and were being examined by many in preparation for what I knew from experience would be some very competitive bidding.

A side room contained a display of quilts handmade through the years by various women in the family. It's hard to imagine the time that went into creating these fabric masterpieces, but the love that went into them could be felt in the soft touch of the fabric and seen in the eyes of those who so generously shared them.

On the piano was a collection of a different sort of family history, collected by Jim and Susan Nethery on their recent trip to Scotland and Netherby Hall. For me, and our son Michael as well, the old newspaper articles of a jewel robbery there and the picture of Jim and Susan in front of the old Netherby hall connected those at the reunion to their Scottish roots more concretely than a line up a genealogy chart ever could.



Scholarship recipients, Devin Eddings (left), Christ James (right) with Gene (this picture is from 2009)



After the exceptional meal, Gene Nethery stepped up once more to serve as master of ceremonies, a role

he does both graciously and well. Gene first intoduced the two recipients of the Nethery Scholarship, Devin Eddings and Chris James, and announced that due to the success of last year's auction, these rewards were increased from $500 to $1000. Chris is the son of Kathie and Mike James and is a student at Lamar University studying for a nursing degree. Devin is the son of Don and Sherri Eddings and is also a student at Lamar. He is a prepharmacy major and plans on returning to Hemphill to serve his community as a pharmacist upon completion of his studies.  Both of these young men are a credit to their families and it was good to see the fruit of the previous auctions.

This year's auction contained  prior year's hits, Aunt Atrelle's fig preserves and "Amanda's tea cakes" and exciting new items, family tartans brought from Scotland by Jim and Susan and an intricately quilted pillow made by Aunt Marguerite.

I believe I speak for most in saying that Dot Spain's reading of the story of a child's life changed irrevocably by the Civil War, was a high point of the reunion. The story of C.A. Nethery, as related by his son Loy, had an effect I can only describe as "stunning". The beauty with which Loy told his father's story gave us more than just a glimpse into the heart of his father, but his as well. I encourage any of you who haven't read this story to do so and share it with your children. ( I will run a copy in the next issue if you missed it.)

  
This year's reunion concluded with another competition, I can only describe as Nethery Trivial Pusuit. I was surprised by the detailed questions asked and impressed that family members knew the answers. I've never met a family with such respect for their family's place in history. The last question I found to be most telling, "What characteristic are Nethery family members most noted for?" The answer given was, they were always willing to give you something, to share what they had with you. It's a true generosity of spirit, a sharing of the very essence of their family --- the pictures of a grand old hall, the story of a child's love,and the quilts that told stories no words could.   
My thanks to all who gave so generously.

Linda Nethery                                                 



Children enjoying the newest hayride attraction, the historic "Lawyer Tree", located behind the old store.




Patrick pulling the hayride with Uncle O'Neil's retored tractor.



     

A Note From The Editor

Judy’s Word

"At a young age I developed a love of reading and later research from my Dad, Ed Baker. One of my favorite childhood memories is of making trips to the Downtown Ft. Worth Library to check out books with my Dad.

He instilled the love of research by never ‘giving’ me answers to my questions but always instructing me to ‘look it up!’ I’m sure the first time or two I was probably a little irritated by that answer but it quickly became a habit to want to ‘look up’ anything I didn’t know.

In his retirement years my Dad got very involved in researching his family’s genealogy. At the time my husband’s mother didn’t have much recorded genealogy that I was aware of, so I caught the genealogy ‘bug’ and began researching, many times going along with my parents to various libraries and county genealogy centers with a very young Jennifer tagging along.

When my husband Bob’s Nethery branch of his maternal grand-mother’s family began having reunions around eight years ago, I volunteered to publish a family newsletter in order to share family history among its members.

Now the next chapter is here with this blog which will get the newsletter out electronically, saving print & postage costs which continue to rise.
I want to thank Jennifer for suggesting this option & making it possible as my ‘tech expert.’

Judy



The Techie's Musings

I will take the compliment 'tech expert' but you should know this is describing the gal who failed her college Computer class.

Nevertheless, I'll be the one posting all future articles written by Judy, myself and other members of the family.

Rather than posting the entire Spring/Summer Newsletter at once here we'll be showing you one article a week instead.

So hope you enjoy!

And if there's any other family reading this who happen to be descended from Charles Alexander Nethery and Amanda Speights Nethery and would like to contribute, please let us know!

Jenn :)