William Marion Rainey, the maternal grandfather of my mother, began life on July 15, 1868, in Stoddard County, Missouri. The family history states “Bill” was the only son of Andrew J. and Mary Rainey. In the 1910 Census, Bill listed his father’s birthplace as Kentucky with Tennessee as his mother’s birthplace.
According to his youngest daughter, Emma, this
fun-loving man could dance a rousing Irish jig. Bill would become the patriarch
of the Rainey family who eventually settled in the Big Bend area west of
Ralston, Oklahoma.
He and his fine-looking horse caught the eye of
Rosa Jarrell, an impoverished young woman. Rosa, who became his wife, first
recalled seeing him riding a horse before even meeting him. Given her meager
upbringing, it seemed Rosa had encountered her knight on his charger.*
After their marriage, Bill and Rosa accompanied
his parents to Texas and Indian Territory as Bill and his dad worked on the
crews that built the railroads north.
Their first daughter, Daisy Dean Rainey Rice,
was born in Tyler, Texas, in 1893. Lewis Elbert Rainey, their older son,
entered their family at Terral, Indian Territory, in 1894, shortly after Rosa
and Baby Daisy forded the Red River to meet Bill.
Bill and Rosa buried their precious
three-year-old, Della in Dale Cemetery in Shawnee, Oklahoma Territory in 1899.
Then the daughter who loved to tag along with her dad was born. My grandmother,
Gladys Vivian, came into his life in 1900, while they lived in a tent, as he
helped build the railroad.
Bill’s little spitfire whom he loved to tease,
Alice Vertle was born in 1902 but suffered a horrible case of measles,
rendering her visually impaired but never lacking in spiritedness.
Bill’s youngest daughter, Emma Maryann Rainey
Buckley, wrapped her father around her finger from the moment she was born on
the last day of 1903.
According to my grandmother, 1905 brought the
last baby and her mother’s favorite, Eugene Robert Rainey, who shared his
father’s love of fun.
My mother recalls him as a fun-loving, jovial man. This probably attracted Rosa to him since Mother remembers her beloved grandmother as serious, one who could laugh and enjoy herself but never the “prankster” that Bill was. How frequently do opposites attract!
 |
| Grandma only had this photograph of her father in her album. Mother is seated between her grandparents. She recalled one time as a little one that all other family members were upset with her grandpa for some reason. She was the only one who would talk with him which pleased him very much! photo was given to Grandma by Aunt Emma Buckley. |
One of the more memorable pranks that my mother recalls from her parents involved a night when they were spending the night with her grandparents. Her Aunt Alice and Uncle Gene were also living there. Thinking it would be grand fun, Grandpa and Gene planned and staged an elaborate ruse. The two of them sneaked outside and began throwing stove wood from the woodpile at each other, raising their voices, and using “colorful” language. They came into the house, with their battle scars, and told their wide-eyed guests that they had been attack outside of the house. Their guests, as well as Grandma and Alice, were terrified and sat up all night talking about what had happened—not daring to close their eyes for a wink of sleep lest the intruders that terrified Grandpa and Gene would return to break into the house and harm all of them. However, Grandpa and Gene slipped off to bed stifling their giggles. The next morning, their laughter could no longer be contained, and they spilled the beans to their weary family that they had faked the whole thing. Unfortunately, no one appreciated the antics they staged and the lengths to which they had gone to entertain themselves: in fact, let's just say, the women folk were downright ticked off!
My grandma’s little well-worn booklet entitled in her handwriting A Record of All Our Relatives noted her father died of Bright’s Disease, now known as nephritis. This kidney inflammation can lead to the need for dialysis. Her father’s death occurred before dialysis had been perfected.
Grandma found herself jolted by her father’s death in 1931, at only age 63. She had never thought about death, yet on her 31st birthday, she attended the funeral of her beloved father at her parents’ home following his death the previous day. Her father’s passing always loomed as a turning point in Grandma’s own spiritual awakening that eventually led to her wholeheartedly receiving Jesus and committing her life to follow Him.
No comments :
Post a Comment