My grandmother used to tell me the story about how when her parents worked, she would stay at her grandmother’s, Annie Isbell Johnson’s house. Annie Johnson’s son, my grandmother’s uncle was in WWII and when the news would come on the radio she would require the kids to be quiet. When they wouldn’t she would lock them in another room while the news was on. My grandmother is still not happy about that and described her as a”tough old woman”. The more I learn about Annie Isbell Johnson the more I understand that she had an excuse to be tough.
Annie Blanche Isbell was born on the 26 September 1885 in Underwood, Clark County, Indiana. Her family was living in Marshall County, Tennessee, and moved to Indiana sometime before 1885. Annie Blanche’s mother’s family was in Indiana. Her parents are James Redman Isbell and Helen Missouri Lee whose families both lived in Alabama. The Lee family moved to Indiana near the time of the Civil War. Helen’s brother fought with James Isbell in the Confederate Army from Alabama. That is probably how James found out about Missouri Lee. He went to Indiana perhaps to meet her and they were soon married in Underwood, Indiana. James was 25, Missouri was 14. The girls on that side of the family mature young and age well.
The couple soon settled in Marshall County, Tennessee because their eldest daughter, Mary, was born there in 1866.
After Mary they had William Thomas, Joseph Newton, Lillie Fair, James Lawson, and Robert Edward born 1868, 1870, 1874, 1876, and 1879. They were into farming though I cannot find them in the census. There is a huge gap in children. Perhaps the family hit difficult times. Missouri was in Indiana when she had Annie Blanche, the baby of the family. It is not known when Annie’s family moved back to Tennessee but by the 1900 census the family is in Dyer, Gibson, Tennessee.
Annie went to school probably up to the 8th grade which was common in those days. When she was 13, she married the 25 year old John Fred Johnson. He was a farmer and probably helped grow tomatoes, strawberries, cotton, or corn who also lived in Gibson County. Maybe he helped to grow strawberries that taste so delicious there. It is unknown how they met. Perhaps they met at church. Did they meet at a social gathering like a wedding or a funeral? What is interesting is that on the marriage certificate it states “husband says that she is 16 years old”. They applied for a license on 1 May 1899. They were married on 20 May 1899.
The next year she gave birth to Mary Frances. She was very young and having children that young could not have been easy on her. It was more common in those days, of course, and she was married and responsible, however, the physical toll must have been immense. It is unknown if she had any problems.
Missouri, stayed with Annie a little bit to help her out. Missouri is listed with Annie and John Fred in the 1900 census. Missouri lived the rest of her life in Gibson County, Tennessee. Her husband James Redman Isbell died there in 1907. Before he died, Mary Elizabeth met with her parents and they had their pictures made.
This is what their homes looked like. This is Mary Elizabeth’s family.
They had a photographer come in and Mary (Warman) and Missouri shared the same scarf. Sometimes a photographer would have clothes for his clients to borrow.
Annie needed as much help as possible. She could not afford luxuries like baby nurses or housekeepers. There was only cloth diapers. The poor could not afford many cloth diapers. They had to do laundry by hand daily. There was always a worry that a child would die. Babies were solely nursed at least the first year. No solid foods were given at all. We now know the benefits of that because of the possibility of allergies. Nursing a baby also acts as a natural birth control. (not always!) Annie must have nursed her children up to two years since there is a three year gap between her children.
Annie had her son, Odel, in 1903. Not long after, the family moved to Texas. Since so few had cars they probably had to travel with a horse and wagon. It is possible they could have taken a train, but I doubt that. The trip was difficult. John Fred Johnson worked in Denton, Texas near Dallas. I cannot find any records stating what job he had there or if he was there with a family member. Annie became pregnant again while raising two small children.
Theodore Roosevelt was the president. The Wright Brothers were getting ready to have the first flight. The average wage was 22 cents an hour. Most homes did not have an indoor bathroom. Most people had no refrigeration. The most common causes of death were pneumonia and tuberculosis.
Annie gave birth, more than likely at home, to Elvine Gerene in Denton, Texas. Around the same time, little Mary Frances, Annie’s only daughter passed away. The family decided not to stay in Texas. Perhaps Annie wanted to be near her mother. She must have felt alone in Texas dealing with the death of her only baby girl and having to raise two baby boys without much support. I can’t imagine her pain and she probably never got over her sad time in Texas.
They returned back to Tennessee. In 1907, Annie had Thelbert Venise. That was the year her father passed away. Ishamel Rudolph was born in 1910. Vilous Wayne (my great grandfather) was born in 1912. John Fred Junior was born in 1924. She gave all of her boys unusual names. They became known by their nicknames, Slim, Shag, Odel, Peck, Pill, and Junior.
Between the time that “Pill” and Junior were born, Annie and John Fred lived separate. So, Annie raised those boys mostly by herself. I could not imagine raising 6 boys with the lack of technology that they had. I struggle with two boys! As I said before, my grandmother doesn’t remember having an indoor bathroom until sometime in the 1940s. Most houses didn’t have electricity or indoor plumbing either. They traveled by horse or walked and were lucky to bathe once a week for church.I couldn’t imagine bathing six boys and making sure they had clean clothes for the Sunday Service.
They had picture shows you could see for a dime and at least by the 1930s they had a radio. Her boys went to school and found work on farms. They would hang out at dances where they would listen to locals play music. This is how Vilous, “Pill”, met his wife Mildred. Mildred played the mandolin at those parties with her brothers and sisters. The Depression soon hit and her sons moved from farm to farm looking for work. I do not know where Annie lived at this time. Her mother, Missouri passed away in 1936. She would tell her grandkids that she was kin to Robert E. Lee and that he bounced her on his knee when she was a baby. (of course it was not true!!)
Annie had to have a radio by the time of World War II. Her sons worked along with some of their wives at the Arsenal in Milan, Tennessee. The Arsenal provided a lot of jobs and saved many from the poverty of the Depression. Annie watched the grandkids. I think (please help me) that it was Junior who was fighting in World War II. That is when the story my grandmother told of her being locked in the room would happen.
Her husband died in 1947 of heart trouble. She lived with her sons.
Annie Blanche Isbell Johnson grew ill and became senile. She died in 1959 in Kentucky at the age of 73.
I read an epitaph for an woman in Pembroke, Massachusetts and though it might fit Annie Blanche Isbell as well:
“Here lies a poor woman who always was tired
She lived in a house where help wasn’t hired
The last words she said were “Dear friends, I am going
Where washing ain’t wanted, nor mending, nor sewing
There all things is done exactly to my wishes
For where folks don’t eat there’s no washing of dishes
in heaven loud anthems forever are ringing
But having no voice, I’ll keep clear of the singing
Don’t mourn for me now, don’t mourn for me never
I’m going to do nothing, forever and ever
(From the book Tombstones of Your Ancestors by Louis S. Schafer, Heritage Books 1991)
