True Love or Great Sex? Part Two

So, Bill and Sadie had two children together -- my Grandfather and his sister, Nancy (who died when she was only a year old).   They lived in Greensburg, Indiana, for a few years before finally moving to the Kalamazoo area in Michigan.  I suspect that Steve Jones and Bill may have had a few brawls, but who knows.   They lived in Michigan for several years before moving to Anderson, Indiana, where Bill went to work for Delco-Remy, part of General Motors.

Throughout the 1930s, I found it very interesting that the Anderson City Directories lists Bill and Sadie in one part of town, while Steve and Sadie lived in another part of town.   I wonder if she had to take care of two households?  I also just can't help to ask what was it?

Years later, Steve died, allowing Sadie to finally marry the man she had spent a large part of her life with.  I know for some this news came as a shock, but I always knew something was amiss, since no one seemed "to know" when they got married.  Regardless, I have lots of great photographs of them, looking happy and enjoying life.   Later, Bill would take "a preaching course" via mail and have his own church and congregation.   By the sounds of it, Bill and Sadie got religion which only makes me wonder what else they might have done that no one knew about.

But no matter what, I admire them.   It had to have been true love.   To seek out divorces when they were frowned upon and basically made you an outcast, despite the social structure, the legalities, the paperwork with signatures,  they didn't really care what anyone thought.  A trait that runs on the Marshall side of the family.  Isn't that right, JD, Robin, Tim... and even myself?  For 30 years, they lived together, raising two children, and enjoying life.  They made the family history a little more interesting.  I also feel a little more free in my life.  In other words, there is no straight and narrow path to follow.  I think it's good to venture off it for a while, otherwise, you may live a very boring life.

CSM

The First Anniversary of the Day My Father Died.

It's been one year since my Father died.   It seems like ages since that day.   Funny how I can still remember the last few minutes of his life.

My Father was still breathing, but barely, and shallow.  Ever so often, he made a couple of bodily noises.  Stretched out in his lazy boy, just like he wanted to be, and had been for three days.   I can still see him laying there, covered with his favorite stripped afghan in brown, black and white.   I looked at him.  This shell of an old man housed the soul of the father I once knew. 

The house was quite.  The television was off.  The doors were open since the weather was nice.   The sun shined. We just waited. My Father's girlfriend, Dorothy, was pacing, looking for something. Maybe she was in heavy denial of what was happening. My Sister, Robin, went about her business, keeping busy with housework.  The house was quite, except for a stir now and then from him.

The clock read two, in the afternoon.  A typical Monday afternoon for most of the world.  I had called work to say I wouldn't be in and that the end was near.   We just waited.

There was a tap at the kitchen screen door.  Our cousin, Cathy, had stopped by to check in.  She had two of her grand-kids with her.  We hugged as was the custom with her. She came in and sat down on the couch across from my Father.  Plain old beige couch with speckled upholstery of tan.

We were talking about what was going on -- my work, her kids, Robin's kids, Aunt Carolyn, what's going to happen next.  She wanted our addresses, so I sat down at the counter that separated the living room and kitchen.   Dorothy came in and lost it next to my Father.  Robin took her to the back bedroom and put her to bed.  I was writing my address.  Cathy stopped talking.  And then there was total silence.

Cathy said one word.   "Chris."  She looked at me and pointed at my Father.   Robin had just stepped back into the room.   It was a moment when it felt like time had came to a standstill.  For just a brief moment, the clocks stopped ticking.   Everyone in the world stood motionless.  I felt like a slow-motion figure.   He was gone.  In an instance.   One moment, then the next.  At 2:30 in the afternoon.

Moments like these stick with you, no matter what you do to rid your mind of them.  Like my Mother's final moments, my Father's will too.   And I will treasure them because I was one of the lucky ones to be there to see them off to new adventures.

CSM

True Love or Great Sex? Part One

While in middle school, I started researching my family and interviewing the older generations. I now realize I made a great decision since they are all, but a few, gone.  However, there were stories we didn't know and I had the great fun of piecing them together, one sliver of information at a time.   Over the years, I've recorded many stories in my head about my family's past.  They are a writer's pool of wealth. So here's one...

(Side note to the audience:  Before I even dive into this story, I just know that a few people are spinning in their graves at this moment. They know I am about to spill the family gossip for the whole world to read!)

This story involves my Great Grandparents -- Bill and Sadie Marshall.  I never met them.  My Father always said that they had a life before they had a life. This is one it took years to dig out of the closet, despite the fact, my research had already given me a clear picture.  You can run, but you can't hide.

Bill was born in 1886 in a log cabin owned by his Grandfather, a proud member of the Underground Railroad movement in southern Indiana.  The family also formed a baptist church in the area and, today, a state marker honors their work.  From what I have gathered, Bill must have been the lady's man.   He traveled about and eventually made his way to Greensburg, Indiana, around 1915.

Sarah was born in 1879, somehow along the way she gained the nickname "Sadie."  She would live with that name right up to the end.  In fact, that's what is engraved on the headstone.  Anyway, Sadie was born in Indiana, lived in Illinois, and "may have been raised along the Ohio River."  In other words, little is known about her vagabond childhood.   Rumor has it that she had an affair with a river boat gambler, who was reported to have been "of dark skin."  Well now!  Regardless, she married a guy named Steve and they had three children -- Rose Ethel, George Herman, and Rebecca Jane.   It is with Rebecca (a.k.a. Becky) where the fun really begins.

Becky, as she was called in her youth, was born in Columbus in 1910.  However, according to the official census, Steve was a grieving widower with no Sadie or Becky in sight.   As it turns out, Sadie had left Steve for Ohio where she left Becky to be put up for adoption.  This never happened.  Eventually, Sadie turned up in Greensburg, about 1915.  She lived in one part of town, while Bill lived in another.   I'm not sure what exactly was going on.   I can only guess.  But I do know this, in 1915, they year my Grandpa Marshall was born... in Greensburg...  there are no birth records for a Marshall.   But there is one for a Jones...  On the same day.   Grandpa Marshall was, without a doubt, Bill's son; and later, a sister, Nancy, came along in 1917.

The Marshall side of the family always seemed to me... well...  to put it bluntly, to be a little on the wild side.. and, well, maybe the horny side.

CSM