Wordless Wednesday: Lee Siblings

Siblings
( l to r)  Daisy Lee Long, Linus Virgil Lee, Sidney Orin Lee, Frank Lewis Lee
c. 1905

Wordless Wednesday: Daisy Lee Long

Daisy Lee Long

Return to Trimble County

Trimble County, Kentucky
1950

In August of 1950, my grandfather, Frank Lewis Lee, his sister, Daisy Lee Long, and their brothers, Linus Virgil Lee and Sidney Orin Lee, returned to Trimble County, Kentucky where they spent so much of their childhood.  They visited the places of their youth:  the home of their Gill grandparents where Frank and Daisy were born, the home of their Lee grandparents, the old Jackson School where Frank and Daisy went to class, Wise's Landing, the Bedford Cemetery, and their own homeplace (pictured above).  On this visit, they took a series of wonderful 3 1/2" x 11 1/2" black and white photos.  I have my granddad's copies of these photos, and, what's even better is that Granddad labeled all but one of them!  So, as I promised in yesterday's post, here they are.  Hope you enjoy them.

G. O. & Georgia Gill Lee Home

G. O. & Georgia Gill Lee Home
(if you look closely, on the right you'll see the Lee siblings picnicking in the yard)

J. F. M. (Frank) & Margaret Anderson Lee Farm

John & Sarah Gill Farm

John & Sarah Gill Farm

John & Sarah Gill Farm

Wise Landing along the Ohio River

This is the only photo that wasn't labeled.  Bedford, maybe?

Amanuensis Monday: A Poem by Daisy Lee

Daisy Lee Long

My granddad's sister, Daisy Lee Long, penned the following poem in 1943 when she was about sixty years old.  In the poem, Daisy reflects on the happy times she and her brothers had growing up in rural Trimble County, Kentucky, along the Ohio River.  I believe she is writing/speaking to her brother, Virgil, throughout the piece.  What makes this poem even more meaningful is that Daisy and her three brothers, Frank, Virgil, and Orin, DID go back to Trimble County together in 1950, and they DID revisit all these places of their youth.  Luckily, they documented their visit through photos that I'll share on this blog in the coming days.


Looking Backward In 1943

Dear "Old Pete" of our by-gone days;
Do you remember our funny ways
How we drank from the DEAR OLD GOURD
That laid on the back of the CISTERN board?

Those days have gone but GOURDS have not
For I'm sending you one--the best I've got.
Drink from it often and think of me
For I have not forgotten THOSE DAYS you see!

Maybe some day in time to come
We may go together to THAT OLD HOME
And live over the days of LONG AGO
BUT--would it be fun like the days of yore?

Would the RIVER seem the same as it used to be?
Would the BARNYARD be as interesting to see?
Would the OLD WELL be there to "holler" down?
Would we be able to ride "OLD BUTTERFLY" to town?

Would YOU be able to trot down the lane
On your CORN STALK legs and return again?
Would THE PIGS be there their backs to scratch?
Would we be able to find A WATERMELON PATCH?

Would FRANK be able, on a frosty morn
To get out of bed and cut the corn?
To milk "OLD MAUD," while she ate from the pan
Who annoyed HIM greatly, when her tail she would fan?

Would FRANK go with us to the BACKHOUSE
And stand outside, as scared as a mouse
While you and I told stories of FRIGHT
The whole time HATING US with all his might????

I'm sure we would all be children AGAIN
And "tend like" it was the real thing.
LITTLE OLD ORIN would join in the fun
To keep up with US, he would have to RUN!

If MOTHER were with us--backward she'd look,
Seeing HER CHILDREN--remembering THE NERVE IT TOOK
To keep THEM all happy--carefree and well
Of many FOND STORIES, she MAYBE would tell?

SOME DAY!  SOME DAY! lets go back TOGETHER
When the WAR is OVER, and we have good weather?
In the meantime let us THANK GOD FOR HIS GRACE
And ask HIM to allow us to return to the PLACE.

          A LITTLE OLD GOURD inspired these lines--
                                                               Daisy L. Long

Daisy Lee Long's Poem as she typed it in 1943

Tombstone Tuesday: Another Look at the J. F. M. Lee Monument

As I was scanning some old photos the other night, I came across a print of the Jefferson Francis Marion Lee monument in Bedford  (KY) Cemetery.  The photo was taken in 1950, sixty years earlier than the photos I took and posted in my January 8, 2013, Tombstone Tuesday entry.  The 1950 photo shows a different, or at least partially different monument than the one in the 2010 photo.

J. F. M. Lee Monument
Bedford (KY) Cemetery, 1950

J. F. M. Lee Monument
Bedford (KY) Cemetery, 2010

Written by Daisy Lee Long, J. F. M. Lee's granddaughter, on the back of the 1950 photo is the following:  "Large monument-grandfather's.  Diamond shape monument in the rear is Aunt Sidney's at Bedford Ky"

So, what happened to the Lee monument during those sixty years?  Vandalism?  Ravages of time and weather?  I love a good mystery!  I'm anxious to return to Bedford and investigate.  Also, I'd love to hear from anyone who has some answers or even theories about this.  Thanks!

Amanuensis Monday: Eight-Year Old Frank L. Lee's Letter to His Family

In September of 1889, my granddad, Frank Lewis Lee, was eight years old and staying with his grandparents in Trimble County, Kentucky.  His parents and younger siblings were elsewhere--maybe still in Albany, Missouri, where the family had moved a few years earlier.  During this time, young Frank wrote a letter to his family.  It's obvious from  the different, more mature handwriting at the beginning and the end of the letter that he had a bit of help.  Following is my attempt at transcribing the letter.

Letter written by 8-year old Frank L. Lee, page 1
Trimble County, Kentucky, 1889

Page 2 of  Frank L. Lee letter
Trimble County, Kentucky, 1889

Sunday 1:00 (?) Sep 22d 1889

Dear Mama, Bro & Sisters  I have just got home from sun day school.  I started to school mondy  we went to sun day school in the sur rey this morning  we got a letter from you last night  we just had dinner and grand-ma has just got through the dishes  I have been up the hill to pack peaches  I will make boxes for them  we will pack peaches this week
     I'm sor ry I cant go.  I get to ticket a day  sometimes I make one ticket to keep from whispering all day and one for a head mark.  I am going to keep Aunt Effie's horse till she come back to ride to the post office  I went to the post office on bonny  (?) but I went with one of the darkey and we had lots of fun  I wish Daisie and Pete was here to play with me.
I wish you would kiss them all for me and kiss the baby six times and I want you to go to the locking glass and kiss your self for me to.
bye bye

Your Son
Frank Lee Jr.












What a gift it is to have original family documents and letters such as this!  I think it's our responsibility to preserve and share them, too. Thanks to Geneabloggers for the Amanuensis Monday and other blog prompts.  For a great explanation of amanuensis, check out this link to the blog Transylvanian Dutch.

Introducing Fridays With Frank: A Weekly Series About Frank Lewis Lee

"Our Boy" c. 1883
Frank Lewis Lee, Age 6 Months

Since his file cabinet of family memorabilia so inspired me to unravel the Lee family history, I've decided to devote my Friday blog posts to my granddad, Frank Lewis Lee.  Though  I never knew him, my research about him is revealing quite a remarkable man and an interesting character.  I hope you'll enjoy reading this series as much as I know I'll enjoy writing it.

Let's begin at the beginning.  Frank Lewis Lee was the first of four children born to Gilbert Oliver Lee (1858-1923) and Georgia Ella Gill (1860-1949), both of Trimble County, Kentucky.  Frank was born on April 16, 1881, and his sister, Daisy, joined the family on February 11, 1883.  Both Frank and Daisy were born on Gill Ridge in Trimble County, Kentucky, at the home of their maternal grandparents,  John Lewis Gill and Sarah Shirley Gill.

Frank and Daisy lived with their parents on a farm that fronted the Ohio River.  According to the 1880 U.S. Census, Gilbert Lee was a farmer then and Georgia, or Georgie as some called her, kept house.  Both sets of grandparents, plus several aunts, uncles, and cousins all lived close by in Trimble County.  The Gills had a farm on Gill Ridge, while paternal grandparents, J. F. M. "Frank" Lee and Margaret S. A. Lee, had a farm only a few miles away which also fronted the Ohio River.

Birthplace of Frank L. Lee and Daisy Lee
Home of John L. Gill & Sarah Shirley Gill
Gill Ridge, Trimble County, Kentucky
Pictured in photo are Frank L. Lee (right) & younger brothers,
Sidney Orin Lee (left) & Linus Virgil Lee (center)
Photo taken in August, 1950

Georgia Gill Lee, Gilbert O. Lee,
Daisy Lee, & Frank Lewis Lee
c. 1884

Home of Gilbert O. Lee & Georgia Gill Lee in 1880s and 1890s
Trimble County, Kentucky
Photo taken in August 1950

I hope you'll check back next Friday for more of Frank Lewis Lee's story and throughout the week for more discoveries about my Lee family!