Grandma Jewell's Crazy Quilts

Grandma Jewell standing in front of her house in Norwood, Missouri

Growing up the one thing I loved about going to Grandma Jewell's house in the country was covering
up with one of her hand-made CRAZY quilts.  She had a upstairs that was totally open and she had three double beds.  They were feather beds with lots of quilts to cover up with.  There was a railroad line about 600 feet from her doorstep and we would listed to the train whistles at night and the clickity clack of  railroad tracks.  To this day the sound of trains make me feel happy and safe.

Grandma's house had two stories and the bottom floor was heated by a wood stove. The upstairs became quite cold in the winter.

Grandma gave me this quilt she made years ago. It's a crazy quilt because all of the pieces are put together with no real design.  She kept a lot of the clothes her kids wore (which she made) and extra fabric and made all of the quilts for her house.  She used pieces of scrap flannel to back them with.

I'm certainly enjoying writing down the memories.


Ann

Laura Jane Bennett (Maternal Great-Grandmother)

Laura Jane Bennett

Born:  September 3, 1882 in McComb, Missouri

Died:  June 14, 1919 in Mcomb, Missouri

My Grandma Jewell told me her mother was a phenomenol seamstress, there was not a stitch she did not know how to make.  She designed her own patterns and used a treddle sewing machine.

Great Grandma made her own herbs for healing--Bamgillion Buds, she made her own salve by adding the herbs to petroleum jelly and Taller (grease from sheep).

She was married to Andrew Hays in Hartville, Missouri  on 7-18-1902

According to 1880 Federal Census Laura had the following siblings:

David Bennett born 1872

Isaac Bennett born 1875

Charles E. Bennett born 1877

Twins

Marve D. Bennett born 1880

Martha A. Bennett  born 1880  

 

We do not know who the lady is with Grandma, could be one of her sisters.

Laura's census can be found on Missouri 1900 census at age 17-Wright County. MO

1920 census at age 37- Wright County, MO

Laura died shortly after this census was taken.

Laura is burried in Ashley Cemetery in McComb, Missouri

Ann

Jewell and her sisters

The four Hays sisters were inseparable their entire lives.  Even if they lived in different cities they talked almost every day. The ones living in the same cities saw each other every day.

From left to right:

Bertha Crystal Jane Hays                     1-23-1912
Jewell Louetta Ann Hays                      8-18-1905
Goldie Opal Melissa Hays                    2-19-1914
Birdie Dorothy Silvesta                        6-14-1918

My Dad used to say if one of the Hays sisters went to the bathroom, they all had to go. And I saw this many times--they all went together.

Three of the sisters married brothers.

Jewell married Alva Raney  -  born 1906

Bertha married Edgar Raney - born 1909

Dorothy married Cecil Raney -born 1914

Goldie married Mac Westbay

From left: Dorothy, Jewell, Bertha

From left: Bertha, Jewell, Dorothy

Ann

Jewell and Alva - the early years

Grandpa Raney was working in Fairfax, Oklahoma.  Jewell left Norwood, Missouri and traveled to Oklahoma and Alva and Jewell were married there. 

My Mother Nellie was born there. Doctors were not too common delivering babies so Grandma put a pallet behind the cook stove and delivered her there by herself.  Grandpa was working out of town and when he came back Grandma had named her baby girl Nellie Louise and Grandpa said "I don't like that name so we'll call her Dorothy".

Nellie Louise (aka Dorothy)          11-8-1926          Fairfax, Oklahoma
Ruby Maria                                  12-23-1928          Norwood, Missouri
Ernest Lee                                    12-19-1931          Tulare, California
Eugene Roy                                   1-28-1935           Tulare, California

Ignore warning

Wanda Lucille                               4-25-1937           Tulare, California

Grandma, Grandpa and Mother left Oklahoma and went back to Norwood, Missouri where Grandpa did farming.  My Aunt Ruby Maria was born in Norwood in 1928. Shortly after Ruby was born they picked up stakes and relocated.


California was the place to live then and jobs were suppose to be a plenty.  At the time Grandpas two brothers and my grandmas two sisters (who were married to each other) lived in Norwood too. My grandparents, mom, aunt and grandma and grandpas siblings and my grandpas parents  all moved to California to start a new life.  They loaded up all of their belongings in what my mom calls touring cars and headed for Tulare, California to work in fruit orchards.  It took around two months to arrive.



They worked at Tagus Ranch as ranch hands pickin cotton and fruit.

Nellie on the left (my Mother) and Ruby

Mom tells me of a time when Aunt Ruby stuck a caster bean up her nose and they worked all day getting it to come out. Again (no doctors).

Jewell, Nellie and Ruby

1939

From left Ernest, Grandma, Wanda, Nellie, Ruby and Eugene

1937

Ruby, Ernest, Wanda, Eugene and Nellie

Ernest, Ruby, Nellie, Baby Eugene

 

Ann

Jewell Louetta Ann Hays

                                                                
My Grandma Jewell  was a keeper of scrapbooks.  She is the reason I started blogging in the first place. She kept stacks of scrapbooks of anything she thought was pretty or interesting- old calendars, price tags, notes, letters.  She gave them to me as a young woman because she knew I had a love of the same thing.  I still have them and they are tattered and torn.




Jewell Louetta Ann Hayes born August 18, 1905 in Macomb, Missouri.  Daughter of Laura Jane Bennett and Andrew Hays.

Circa 1910

Circa 1915

Jewell and sister Goldie

Grandma Jewell's mother died when she was 14 years old. She raised her three younger sisters, her father never remarried.

She tells a story that needs to be written for a remberance.  After her Mothers funeral Grandma tells of arriving back at their farm and in the living room on the wall (the whole area of the wall) was a very large handprint.  She tried to find out where it was coming from, told her father and they moved everything in the room--every coal oil lamp-shut the curtains and it did not move.  The even tried washing the wall down.   It remained there for one week and then faded away. Her father told her it was her Mothers angel protecting them since the girls were so young.

Grandma did all of the cooking of the meals and cleaning of the home, doing the laundry while their father  worked  the farm. He did not hire anyone to come in and help.

Some pics of Grandma Jewell and her guitar. Don't know if this is her sister Bertha or Dorothy with her playing the banjo.

 

Jewell married Alva Raney on July 18, 1925 in  Fairfax, Oklahoma. 

The Family Register