Tag: Maryland

March 18, 2012 Dennis Ayers 2 comments

HelenSome things in life you just cannot clearly see or understand while they are happening, but can only fully appreciate in hindsight. This is the case with my mother, Helen Derrie Ayers. Growing up I knew her as a loving and nurturing mother. As an adult I knew her as a God loving and supportive mother and grandmother to my children. Only now looking back on her life, can I better appreciate the depth of her religious faith and her fierce determination to overcome any adversity.

 

Mom was raised in poverty as the ninth of eleven births, and she saw only a bleak world around her. During the 1930s Depression, she had to drop out of school in the eighth grade because she had no shoes to wear. Even though she was only 14 years old, she worked up the courage to get a job at a new shirt factory in town by telling them she was 16. Luckily, they needed women operators. Most of the money she earned doing piecework went to support her father and mother, but she got a first glimpse at how she could earn a better life with a good work ethic. It was about that time also that she first found her faith in God, after being drawn into a church when she heard wonderful music. From that time on she was determined to find a way to escape her unhealthy home environment and even leave her small town of LaFollette, TN.

 

In Jan 1942, Mom married Ira Ayers, Dad, when he returned to LaFollette for Christmas from Baltimore, Maryland where he had gone to find employment. She then  moved back to Baltimore with him for a few months. However, he was soon drafted into WW II leaving her back in LaFollette with an unborn baby (me), while he spent the next 4 years overseas. Knowing that Dad would someday take her away again, Mom began saving some of money that he sent home. She had faith that it would help them find a better life. After the war, they again moved to Baltimore where Dad returned to his job with the B&O Railroad. They also took on the responsibility of supervising two large apartment houses which allowed them to continue saving. Mom was always embarrassed and ashamed of her family background and was determined to provide a solid foundation and better life for her own family. She found a new church in the city, became a born again Christian, and became a Sunday School teacher.

 

In 1947 and again in 1948, she tragically lost babies at birth because her blood type was RH negative and the babies died because her body had developed antibodies against the fetuses. Determined to overcome this medical adversity, she allowed the doctors to experiment with a new drug to counteract the antibodies, and as a result my two sisters, Carol and Annette, survived when they were born. And that experimentation in which she participated, helped cure the RH factor problem for today and future generations.

 

In 1950 Mom and Dad bought a small farm in the country about 20 miles west of Baltimore City. Dad continued working for the railroad, but because of the extra commuting expenses, finances were very tight. Mom often went to God in prayer seeking guidance. The family went to church and tithed faithfully. Her deep faith helped her to remain optimistic. By the mid 1950s they began selling chickens, eggs, strawberries and vegetables produced on the farm. By 1960, their small business had grown to selling 300 dozen eggs per week year round, along with hundreds of bushels of strawberries, tomatoes and corn in the summertime. Between working for the railroad and on the farm, Dad worked 16 hours a day and was always very stressed. However, Mom also did her part as she spent countless hours picking, cleaning, crating and delivering their products by car along a home delivery route they established. This was extremely hard work that produced little profit in return. Mom knew that she had to find a job off the farm for the family to move ahead, but she had no high school diploma.

 

Again, she was very determined and while continuing to work the farm, she started home schooling herself and eventually received a GED diploma. This led to her getting a job in 1965 at a state mental institution where she did on-the-job training and classwork to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). Continuing to push ahead, by 1970 she obtained an Industrial Therapist job at another state mental institution where she helped patients train for job skills before they were released back into the community. She found her niche in helping others, and took great pride in her work before retiring in 1983.

 

Growing up under unfortunate circumstances, Mom always had great empathy for others less fortunate. She applied this empathy in all parts of her lifelong work for the church and her personal life. She often visited, comforted and prayed for sick people. On two separate occasions in the 1950s and 60s, there were large neighboring families who lived in similar households like she had experienced, where the father made bleak living conditions worse by excessive drinking. She reached out and befriended those families and did everything she could for the wives and children. In addition, she and Dad would gather up as many children as would fit in their old car and take them to Sunday School. She was determined to show them that there was a path of hope that eventually could lead them to future security.

 

Mom always looked out for her own family as well. She supported and strengthened Dad whenever his resolve seemed to weaken, or whenever stress caused him to erupt at some family member. She provided constant encouragement and guidance to my sisters and me. She was the bedrock of our family. Thankfully, she motivated me to go to college, although no one knew where the money would come from. But she had faith the answer would be found, and it was found outside the home with a scholarship. She died in 2005, and even though she is no longer with us, Mom will always be our inspiration. Helen Derrie Ayers was indeed a strong woman of faith and determination.

30

 

March 16, 2012 Dennis Ayers No comments exist

Veatta Derrie was married to Marshall Whistleman in 1958. Although he never spoke of it, Marshall was a WW II veteran with horrible memories. Born in Staunton, VA, he was living in Baltimore Maryland when he enlisted in the Army in 1943 at the age of 18. It was during the middle of the war, and Marshall was assigned to the infantry and sent to the European Theater. There he saw action in France and Germany, earning three Bronze stars which are for “heroic or meritorious achievement or service”.

 

He was taken prisoner by the Germans near Strasburg, France on Nov 25, 1944. He was first taken to the Stalag 12A POW transition camp near Weisbaden and later transferred to the Stalag 9B work camp near Bad Orb. Thankfully, Marshall was freed May 8, 1945 when the Germans surrendered. The living conditions were especially awful at Stalag 12A and on the transfer trains. About half of all POWs died, but Marshall was one of the lucky ones.

 

After the war ended, he completed his service in the Army at Fort Myer, VA, where he served as a guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.  He left the Army in 1947 at the rank of Corporal.

 

May 9, 2011 Dennis Ayers No comments exist

This is a short biographical sketch of the lives of Ira Ayers and his wife Helen Derrie. It very briefly describes where they lived, worked and worshipped during their lifetimes. Since they are my mother and father, I call them Mom and Dad in this post. I realize that I have already described some of Dad’s and Mom’s early days in previous posts, but I want to include some of that same information again in this post to have a complete summary for both Mom and Dad.

 

 

Walnut Mountain, Pioneer, TN

Ira ca 1915

Ira Ayers (Dad) was born in a log house similar to the one shown on Walnut Mountain, in Campbell County, TN on November 14, 1913, and was raised there on a 42 acre farm. The property was located off Adam Hollow Rd off Stinking Creek Rd. The mailing address was RFD #1, Pioneer, TN. It was about 25 miles to LaFollette, TN by road, but less than half that across the mountains on foot or horseback.

 

As the oldest child, he worked many long hard days on the farm alongside his Father, and shouldered many other family responsibilities.

 

 

Seveirville, TN

Dad enlisted into the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCCs) in his early 20s. He was first stationed at the CCC camp in the Smoky Mountains National Park where he helped clear land for roads and campgrounds. He stayed at that camp from June 18, 1935 until March 16, 1936.

Norris, TN

After being in the CCCs for 9 months, Dad was transferred to the camp at Norris, TN which was much closer to home. At this location, he helped clear land for roads and recreation areas around the newly constructed Norris Dam. He worked there from March 16, 1936 until September 30, 1937 when he was discharged from the CCCs. During this period he was hospitalized for 3 months at Ft. Oglethorpe, GA due to a serious accident in which he almost cut off the front of his left foot with an axe.

Charlie Hollow, Stinking Creek, TN

After returning from the CCCs, Dad moved back home to the farm and worked with his brother Addison at the Charlie Hollow Coal Mines. He did not like the work.

Jacksboro, TN

Helen Derrie, (Mom) was born in Jacksboro, TN on March 7, 1923.  She was a middle child in a large family. Jacksboro is the Seat of Campbell County.

LaFollette, TN

Helen Derrie age 17
Helen Derrie age 17

Mom moved with her family to LaFollette, TN when she was only 6 months

Tom Derrie ca 1940
Tom Derrie ca 1940

old. When she was 14, the family moved to a house on Hwy 25W at Coke Oven Hill.  Part of the unpainted house can be seen in the picture of her father.  They were extremely poor and Mom had to drop out of school and lie about her age so she could get a job in the local shirt factory.

 

As a young teenager, Mom worked in the shirt factory in Lafollette. There she was paid by the number of pieces sewed in a day.  It was called “piecework”.

Helen & Ira Ayers Apr 1942

She met Dad at a square dance.  They got married on January 2, 1942 and moved to Baltimore, MD for only a few months until Dad was drafted in the Army.  When he went into the service, Mom moved back home with her family in LaFollette, TN.  She continued to live there until their first child, Dennis Ira Ayers (me), was born on December 28, 1942.

2112 Coker Ave., Knoxville, TN

Helen and Dennis 1943

After I was born, Mom soon moved with me to live with her older sister, Lillian, at her house at 2112 Coker Ave. in Knoxville, TN. Aunt Lilley had made the invitation to make sure that Mom and I had better living conditions while I was still a baby. Mom lived there from about January 1943 for a year.

911 N. Calvert St, Baltimore, MD

Before the War, Dad had actually moved to Baltimore with his cousin Leonard Ferguson in May 1941, and worked in a body and fender shop. (Don’t know where he lived during that time.)

2009 View

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941, he returned to LaFollette and married Mom on Jan 2, 1942. Together they returned to Baltimore for a short time in early 1942 and he got a job with the B&O Railroad. When he was drafted in April, he and Mom traveled back to LaFollette.  After the War, they again moved back to Baltimore where the B&O had held his job for him. They first lived in an apartment at 911 N. Calvert Street from January 1946 to March 1948, and acted as superintendents for apartments in two large 3 Story townhouses. Mom collected rents and Dad kept the coal furnaces fired up for heat to all the apartments. They received a reduction in the rent of their own apartment for their efforts.-

107 N. Carey St., Baltimore, MD

They rented an apartment at 107 N. Carey Street from March 1948 to May 1948. The townhouse was2nd 107 N. Carey St 2009 across the street from a small park and was the first and only house they ever lived in that had a bathroom shower. Not sure why they lived here only two months except perhaps it was the opportunity to buy their own house which caused them to move again quickly.

2235 Guilford Ave., Baltimore, MD

2235 Guilford Ave in 2009 Rebuilt After A Fire

They bought a 3 story townhouse at 2235 Guilford Avenue in May 1948, and lived there until March 1950. They rented out an apartment on the top floor. On Saturdays, I was allowed to go with some older kids to the movies several blocks away on Greenmount Ave. They were comfortable in this house, but Dad yearned to move to the country.

This is where their second child, Helen Carol Ayers, was born on February 18, 1950.

First Car

 

During the years they lived in the city, they always used public transportation. They bought their first car, a 1947 Gray Pymouth, when they got ready to move to the country in 1950.

                                        

Baltimore City Church

2009 View
2009

In the 1940s, Mom and Dad became devout Christians. They attended the Christian & Missionary Alliance church for most of the time they lived in Baltimore City, and for several more years even after moving to the country.  It was located at the corner of Guilford Ave and Lanvale Street. I remember many long rides on Sundays to this church, sometimes twice a day from out in the country.  Mom always liked to round up as many neighbor children as possible and take them to Sunday School.

 

 

1676 Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, MD

In November 1949. they bought a 7.5 acre farm on Old Court Rd, Woodstock, in Howard County MD.

Woodstock House ca 1975
Woodstock House ca 1975

The property contained a small three bedroom, one bath house with a coal fired furnace. The house had been built in the late 1920s where an old one room schoolhouse once stood.  A flagpole in the front yard and and remnants of an old seesaw in the side yard were reminders of an earlier era. However, Mom was pregnant with Carol and needed frequent attention at Lutheran Hospital in the city. So, they didn’t move to this property until April 1950, after Carol was born and the weather had begun warming.

This is the house where their third child, Annette Arlene Ayers, was born on January 11, 1959.

The mailing address was at first just Rt #1, Woodstock, MD, but it was changed around 1970 to 1676 Woodstock Rd. After living there for 53 years they were forced to move for health reasons in April 2003.

Ellicott City Church

Seven years after moving to Howard County, Mom and Dad finally transferredMom ca 1970s to the First Church of God in Ellicott City.  They attended church there from around 1957 until the mid 1980s, over 25 years. Attending church functions was their primary social outlet, and they continued taking neighborhood children to Sunday School.

Rogers Avenue Church

Ira and Helen ca 1989

In the mid 1980s, Mom and Dad left the small church in downtown Ellicott City to join the much larger Crossroads Church of the Nazarene located closer to home on Rogers Avenue. This church offered them many more opportunities for fellowship in their older years. They really enjoyed being in the Primetimers senior’s group.

Camden Yards Rail Yard, Baltimore, MD

Dad first went to work for the B&O Railroad on March 5, 1942, but after only one month of service he was drafted into the Army. The B&O held his job for him until he could resume work as a Brakeman after the war was over. His primary base of work was the Camden Rail Yard in Baltimore City. This site is where the Oriole Baseball Park at Camden Yards is located today.

 

 

Locust Point Rail Yard, Baltimore, MD

Dad also worked months at a time at the B&O Locust Point Rail Yard located near Ft. McHenry in Baltimore. He was a member of the Railroad Workers Union and over the years gained considerable seniority in the Union. As a result, his job was secure and he always was able to “bump” workers with less seniority to work shifts and locations which he preferred. For example, he almost always worked the 3:00PM to 11:30PM second shift which allowed him to do farm work in the mornings.

Dad retired in August 1978 with 36 years and 5 months service. His last position was Yard Foreman. He was 65 years old.

Spring Grove State Hosptial, Catonsville, MD

After working at home to pass her GED test, Mom took a job with the State of MD in a nurses training program at the Spring Grove State Hospital located in Catonsville, MD in 1965. Under this program she eventually became a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), and worked with mentally handicapped patients. She worked at this hospital until about 1970.

Springfield State Hospital, Sykesville, MD

Sometime around 1970, Mom transferred to the Springfield State Hospital in Sykesville, MD which was an easier commute from home. At this facility she was trained and assumed the duties of an Industrial Therapist. In this job she assigned handicapped patients to various jobs around the hospital campus to develop skills for employment after leaving the hospital. She really liked this job and took great pride in her work.

Mom retired from the state of MD in June 1983 after 18 years of service. She was 60 years old.

 

 

LifeSpring Assisted Living Home, Catonsville, MD

Ira’s 90th Birthday

Over the years, Dad developed severe arthritis in his hips and ankles and had a hip replaced in his early 80s. Mom had a severe hearing problem and developed Parkinson’s Disease in her 70s.  So, in April 2003, due to failing health, Mom and Dad moved together into the LifeSpring Assisted Living Home in Catonsville, MD. At first they were very apprehensive, but they soon learned to like the facility, which was a converted old mansion. They were able to share a large bedroom together. Their strong faith always remained and strengthened them.

Helen’s 81st Birthday

 

However, In the following months, Dad’s health took a turn for the worse, and it was necessary for him to move to a Nursing Home in November 2003. In addition to dementia, Dad suffered from mini-strokes that caused trouble swallowing. This led to severe malnutrition.

 

Mom continued to live at LifeSpring for almost another year until she fell and broke her pelvis in October 2004.  Already suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, the use of morphine to relieve the pelvic pain at the hospital caused her to slip into a semi-conscious state from which she never recovered. At that time she too needed to move to a Nursing Home.

 

 

St. Elizabeths Nursing Facility, Baltimore, MD

Dad went first to St. Elizabeths Nursing Home in November 2003 and was well cared for until he died on December 31, 2003 at age 90.

 

Mom went to St. Elizabeths in October 2004 and was well cared for until she died on January 12, 2005, a little over a year later than Dad. She was 81 years old.

 

 

Crestlawn Memorial Gardens, Ellicott City, MD

2005
                           2005

Mom and Dad are both laid to rest at Crestlawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery on Sand Hill Road in Ellicott City. This is the final resting place for their tired bodies as I know their spirits are at home in Heaven.

May 9, 2011 Dennis No comments exist

This is a short biographical sketch of the lives of Ira Ayers and his wife Helen Derrie. It very briefly describes where they lived, worked and worshipped during their lifetimes. Since they are my mother and father, I call them Mom and Dad in this post. I realize that I have already described some of Dad’s and Mom’s early days in previous posts, but I want to include some of that same information again in this post to have a complete summary for both Mom and Dad.

 

Walnut Mountain, Pioneer, TN

Ira Ayers (Dad) was born in a log house similar to the one shown on Walnut

Ira Ayers ca 1915
Ira Ayers ca 1915

Mountain, in Campbell County, TN on November 14, 1913, and was raised there on a 42 acre farm. The property was located off Adam Hollow Rd off Stinking Creek Rd. The mailing address was RFD #1, Pioneer, TN. It was about 25 miles to LaFollette, TN by road, but less than half that across the mountains on foot or horseback.

 

As the oldest child, he worked many long hard days on the farm alongside his Father, and shouldered many other family responsibilities.

 

 Seveirville, TN

Dad enlisted into the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCCs) in his early 20s. He was first stationed at the CCC camp in the Smoky Mountains National Park where he helped clear land for roads and campgrounds. He stayed at that camp from June 18, 1935 until March 16, 1936.

Norris, TN

After being in the CCCs for 9 months, Dad was transferred to the camp at Norris, TN which was much closer to home. At this location, he helped clear land for roads and recreation areas around the newly constructed Norris Dam. He worked there from March 16, 1936 until September 30, 1937 when he was discharged from the CCCs. During this period he was hospitalized for 3 months at Ft. Oglethorpe, GA due to a serious accident in which he almost cut off the front of his left foot with an axe.

Charlie Hollow, Stinking Creek, TN

After returning from the CCCs, Dad moved back home to the farm and worked with his brother Addison at the Charlie Hollow Coal Mines. He did not like the work.

Jacksboro, TN

Helen Derrie, (Mom) was born in Jacksboro, TN on March 7, 1923.  She was a middle child in a large family. Jacksboro is the Seat of Campbell County.

LaFollette, TN

Helen at about 17

Mom moved with her family to LaFollette, TN when she was only 6 monthsTom Derrie ca 1949 old. When she was 14, the family moved to a house on Hwy 25W at Coke Oven Hill.  Part of the unpainted house can be seen in the picture of her father.  They were extremely poor and Mom had to drop out of school and lie about her age so she could get a job in the local shirt factory.

As a young teenager, Mom worked in the shirt factory in Lafollette. There she was paid by the number of pieces sewed in a day.  It was called “piecework”.

 

Helen & Ira Ayers Apr 1942

She met Dad at a square dance.  They got married on January 2, 1942 and moved to Baltimore, MD for only a few months until Dad was drafted in the Army.  When he went into the service, Mom moved back home with her family in LaFollette, TN.  She continued to live there until their first child, Dennis Ira Ayers (me), was born on December 28, 1942.

2112 Coker Ave., Knoxville, TN

Helen and Dennis 1943

After I was born, Mom soon moved with me to live with her older sister, Lillian, at her house at 2112 Coker Ave. in Knoxville, TN. Aunt Lilley had made the invitation to make sure that Mom and I had better living conditions while I was still a baby. Mom lived there from about January 1943 for a year.

911 N. Calvert St, Baltimore, MD

Before the War, Dad had actually moved to Baltimore with his cousin Leonard Ferguson in May 1941, and worked in a body and fender shop. (Don’t know where he lived during that time.)

2009 View

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941, he returned to LaFollette and married Mom on Jan 2, 1942. Together they returned to Baltimore for a short time in early 1942 and he got a job with the B&O Railroad. When he was drafted in April, he and Mom traveled back to LaFollette.  After the War, they again moved back to Baltimore where the B&O had held his job for him. They first lived in an apartment at 911 N. Calvert Street from January 1946 to March 1948, and acted as superintendents for apartments in two large 3 Story townhouses. Mom collected rents and Dad kept the coal furnaces fired up for heat to all the apartments. They received a reduction in the rent of their own apartment for their efforts.-

107 N. Carey St., Baltimore, MD

They rented an apartment at 107 N. Carey Street from March 1948 to May 1948. The townhouse was2nd 107 N. Carey St 2009 across the street from a small park and was the first and only house they ever lived in that had a bathroom shower. Not sure why they lived here only two months except perhaps it was the opportunity to buy their own house which caused them to move again quickly.

2235 Guilford Ave., Baltimore, MD

2235 Guilford Ave in 2009 Rebuilt After A Fire

They bought a 3 story townhouse at 2235 Guilford Avenue in May 1948, and lived there until March 1950. They rented out an apartment on the top floor. On Saturdays, I was allowed to go with some older kids to the movies several blocks away on Greenmount Ave. They were comfortable in this house, but Dad yearned to move to the country.

This is where their second child, Helen Carol Ayers, was born on February 18, 1950.

First Car

During the years they lived in the city, they always used public transportation. They bought their first car, a 1947 Gray Pymouth, when they got ready to move to the country in 1950.

 

                                         Baltimore City Church

2009 View
2009 View

In the 1940s, Mom and Dad became devout Christians. They attended the Christian & Missionary Alliance church for most of the time they lived in Baltimore City, and for several more years even after moving to the country.  It was located at the corner of Guilford Ave and Lanvale Street. I remember many long rides on Sundays to this church, sometimes twice a day from out in the country.  Mom always liked to round up as many neighbor children as possible and take them to Sunday School.

 

1676 Woodstock Rd., Woodstock, MD

In November 1949. they bought a 7.5 acre farm on Old Court Rd, Woodstock, in Howard County MD.

Woodstock House ca 1975
Woodstock House ca 1975

The property contained a small three bedroom, one bath house with a coal fired furnace. The house had been built in the late 1920s where an old one room schoolhouse once stood.  A flagpole in the front yard and and remnants of an old seesaw in the side yard were reminders of an earlier era. However, Mom was pregnant with Carol and needed frequent attention at Lutheran Hospital in the city. So, they didn’t move to this property until April 1950, after Carol was born and the weather had begun warming.

This is the house where their third child, Annette Arlene Ayers, was born on January 11, 1959.

The mailing address was at first just Rt #1, Woodstock, MD, but it was changed around 1970 to 1676 Woodstock Rd. After living there for 53 years they were forced to move for health reasons in April 2003.

Ellicott City Church

Seven years after moving to Howard County, Mom and Dad finally transferredMom ca 1970s to the First Church of God in Ellicott City.  They attended church there from around 1957 until the mid 1980s, over 25 years. Attending church functions was their primary social outlet, and they continued taking neighborhood children to Sunday School.

Rogers Avenue Church

Ira and Helen ca 1989

In the mid 1980s, Mom and Dad left the small church in downtown Ellicott City to join the much larger Crossroads Church of the Nazarene located closer to home on Rogers Avenue. This church offered them many more opportunities for fellowship in their older years. They really enjoyed being in the Primetimers senior’s group.

Camden Yards Rail Yard, Baltimore, MD

Dad first went to work for the B&O Railroad on March 5, 1942, but after only one month of service he was drafted into the Army. The B&O held his job for him until he could resume work as a Brakeman after the war was over. His primary base of work was the Camden Rail Yard in Baltimore City. This site is where the Oriole Baseball Park at Camden Yards is located today.

 

Locust Point Rail Yard, Baltimore, MD

Dad also worked months at a time at the B&O Locust Point Rail Yard located near Ft. McHenry in Baltimore. He was a member of the Railroad Workers Union and over the years gained considerable seniority in the Union. As a result, his job was secure and he always was able to “bump” workers with less seniority to work shifts and locations which he preferred. For example, he almost always worked the 3:00PM to 11:30PM second shift which allowed him to do farm work in the mornings.

Dad retired in August 1978 with 36 years and 5 months service. His last position was Yard Foreman. He was 65 years old.

Spring Grove State Hosptial, Catonsville, MD

After working at home to pass her GED test, Mom took a job with the State of MD in a nurses training program at the Spring Grove State Hospital located in Catonsville, MD in 1965. Under this program she eventually became a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), and worked with mentally handicapped patients. She worked at this hospital until about 1970.

Springfield State Hospital, Sykesville, MD

Sometime around 1970, Mom transferred to the Springfield State Hospital in Sykesville, MD which was an easier commute from home. At this facility she was trained and assumed the duties of an Industrial Therapist. In this job she assigned handicapped patients to various jobs around the hospital campus to develop skills for employment after leaving the hospital. She really liked this job and took great pride in her work.

Mom retired from the state of MD in June 1983 after 18 years of service. She was 60 years old.

 

LifeSpring Assisted Living Home, Catonsville, MD

Ira’s 90th Birthday

Over the years, Dad developed severe arthritis in his hips and ankles and had a hip replaced in his early 80s. Mom had a severe hearing problem and developed Parkinson’s Disease in her 70s.  So, in April 2003, due to failing health, Mom and Dad moved together into the LifeSpring Assisted Living Home in Catonsville, MD. At first they were very apprehensive, but they soon learned to like the facility, which was a converted old mansion. They were able to share a large bedroom together. Their strong faith always remained and strengthened them.

Helen’s 81st Birthday

However, In the following months, Dad’s health took a turn for the worse, and it was necessary for him to move to a Nursing Home in November 2003. In addition to dementia, Dad suffered from mini-strokes that caused trouble swallowing. This led to severe malnutrition.

 

Mom continued to live at LifeSpring for almost another year until she fell and broke her pelvis in October 2004.  Already suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, the use of morphine to relieve the pelvic pain at the hospital caused her to slip into a semi-conscious state from which she never recovered. At that time she too needed to move to a Nursing Home.

 

St. Elizabeths Nursing Facility, Baltimore, MD

Dad went first to St. Elizabeths Nursing Home in November 2003 and was well cared for until he died on December 31, 2003 at age 90.

 

Mom went to St. Elizabeths in October 2004 and was well cared for until she died on January 12, 2005, a little over a year later than Dad. She was 81 years old.

 

Crestlawn Memorial Gardens, Ellicott City, MD

Mom and Dad are both laid to rest at Crestlawn Memorial Gardens Cemetery on Sand Hill Road in Ellicott City. This is the final resting place for their tired bodies as I know their spirits are at home in Heaven.

2005
2005
May 2, 2011 Dennis Ayers 2 comments

As mentioned before, Martin Ayers had four children with his first wife, Hannah, and five children with his second wife, Eullalia.  I’ve never seen a picture of the whole group all together. The picture below is the closest with all the offspring present except Addison who had joined the CCCs, and Geneva who was not yet born.  It must have been at a special family gathering, since Rose and Mary were already married and living away.

Martin Ayers Family 1938
Martin Ayers Family 1938

Although growing up they lived in an isolated mountain environment with few material possessions and with no transportation and none of today’s conveniences, the children had normal childhoods, and were close to one another.  They had pet dogs and cats, went to school and church, and grew up like everyone else in the mountains…strong and independent. They attended the Flat Rock School located about 3 miles away, which meant a lot of walking. It was a one room schoolhouse with a big pot-bellied stove for heat and a long coatroom in the back. The teacher taught all grades 1 through 12. One side of the big room was for the higher grades and the other side was for the lower grades. They attended church at the Broyles Church of God near Adam Hollow, with the whole family sometimes walking to service. Then as they got older, some ventured off the mountain to find jobs elsewhere.

 

Unfortunately, due to overall poor economic conditions in the county, in the 1940s Ira, Rose, Addison, Aileen, Bill and Hannah left Tennessee for better opportunities in the North, as Mary, Tom and Geneva stayed behind.  While relocating proved to be the right thing for those individuals that left, the result was a fractured family with members living far apart in four different states. Family love was always still there, but opportunities for the brothers and sisters to be together grew fewer and fewer over the years. Now 65 years later only Aileen and Geneva remain. For the benefit of those who didn’t know them, below is an introduction and short summary of how each of the brothers and sisters’ lives evolved from the oldest to the youngest, with some old pictures thrown in for fun. Remember to click the photos to enlarge them. All facts may not be totally correct, so readers please let me know when I need to make corrections.

Ira Lawson Ayers (1913 – 2003)

Ira, born in 1913, married Helen Derrie in 1942 and they moved to Baltimore, MD in early 1946. He worked for the B&O railroad as a brakeman, but he also worked just as hard as a part-time farmer. He and his wife had three children: Dennis, Carol, and Annette.  Ira had a serious and stern disposition along with a short temper, probably like his great-grandfather, Elihu. He worked very hard for his family. Only after retirement, did he mellow and become more relaxed. Ira died in 2003 at age 90 after suffering several mini-strokes.  See more about his life with Helen in a following post.

 

                                Rose Elizabeth Ayers Jordan (1915 – 2001)

Rose, born in 1915, married Vurl Jordan in 1937. She was working as a housekeeper in LaFollette, and she and some other young women like to go watch the men in the CCCs  constructing Cove Lake. There she met Vurl who was a bulldozer driver. Rose and Vurl had three children: Jack, Bob, and Carolyn. They moved to Baltimore in the late 1930s where Vurl got a job at the Baltimore Shipyards, and where he continued working during WWII. After the war, he became a partner in a sawmill operation, and later owned a successful hardware & lumber store in Glen Burnie, MD. Rose had a sweet and gentle disposition and always wore a smile. She was a homemaker and the family attended the Nazarene Church. In the 1970s, Rose and Vurl moved to Florida, first to Homestead and then to North Ft Myers, where they spent the rest of their years. Vurl died in 1988 at age 71 and Rose died in 2001 at age 85.

Mary Lou Ayers Myers (1918 – 2007)

Mary, born in 1918, married John Myers in 1935. She was working as a housekeeper in LaFollette, when she met John who lived on a farm nearby.  Mary and John had four children: Sue, Janice, Glenn, and Joan. John also came to Baltimore for a time in the 1940s to work in the shipyards, and brought his family to live in Glen Burnie, MD from about 1948 to 1950. Then they returned to live in Tennessee, and never moved again from their farm in LaFollette.  In addition to farming, JoJohn & Mary Myers with Sue 1938hn worked as a carpenter for many years at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories established during WWII in adjacent Anderson County, TN, as part of the effort to produce materials for a nuclear bomb. Mary was a homemaker and was a very quiet spoken lady with a quick smile. The family attended the Independent Baptist Church in LaFollette. John died in 1992 and Mary died in 2007 at age 88.

Addison Lee Ayers (1919 – 1986)

Addison, born in 1919, married Doris Rauhoff in 1940.  Addison met her when she was working in a small grocery store in the Stinking Creek area.  According to their daughter, Wanda, they were married by a preacher, who was also a postman. One day Addison and Doris were waiting by the mailbox and asked him to marry them!  They moved to Milford, Ohio, near Cincinnati in the 1940s. Addison and Doris had six children: Troy, Glenna Faye, Don, Wanda, Ricky, and Debbie. Addison worked at a paper mill where he fed the pulp beaters. He and Doris also liked to build houses, sell them, and then move on to the next house project. Addison was a quiet man, with good humor and a twinkle in his eye.  He died in 1986 from cancer at age 66.  Doris later moved back to LaFollette, TN where she remarried an old acquaintance. She died in 1994.

Barbara Aileen Ayers Huckelby (1930 – present)

Aileen as she is called was born in 1930. She married Gene Huckelby in 1947 and they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, soon afterwards. Aileen and Gene had two daughters: Brenda and Marsha. Aileen was always a homemaker while Gene worked in the same paper mill as Addison Ayers. He drove a fork lift.  After being married for 62 years, Gene died in 2010. He was a quiet, gentle man, and had a strong religious faith. Aileen is very talkative and has a wonderful sense of humor, and she too is very religious. She has a strong memory and has been a great resource of family information. Aileen and Gene liked to spend winters in Florida, and Aileen still returns there with her daughter, Brenda.

William Riley Ayers (1933 – 2003)

Bill was born in 1933 and named after his grandfather. He married Rose Bill & Rose Ayers ca 1947Sharp in 1952 and they moved to Milford, Ohio also. He worked for a company that makes heaters.  He and Rose had two sons: William and Timothy. Bill was a prankster and a cutup, and always liked to have fun. He loved bluegrass music and played the guitar and banjo as much as he could. He died of cancer in 2003 at age 70. Rose continued to live in Milford, but later died in December 2012.

Hannie Evelyn Ayers Chadwell (1935 – 1993)

Hannie Ayers 1948Hannie, born in 1935, married Henry Chadwell.  They moved to Indianapolis, Indiana in the 1950s.  Henry worked for the railroad while Hannie was a homemaker. They had four children: Angie, Paul, Terry, and Tony.  Hannie loved music and loved to laugh. She too died of cancer in 1993 at age of 57. Henry also died in 1996.

Aaron Tommy Ayers (1937 – 2008)

Hannie (L), tom & Geneva ca 1955
Hannie (L), tom & Geneva ca 1955

Tom, as he was called, was born in 1937. He never married and always stayed close to home, except for a tour in the Army in the 1950s when he was stationed in Maryland and in Germany. He was an MP in the service. Back home in LaFollette, Tom had a variety of jobs over the years including working at a shirt factory and working at a food store. He tended to have various physical ailments that mostly kept him from full-time work, and he continued to live with his mother until she died in 1994. He then continued to live in her house until heart trouble caused him to move in with his sister, Geneva in 2006. Tom was a laid back, easy-going individual who liked to read books. He was a great storyteller, and enjoyed watching television. He died of a heart condition in 2008 at age 71.

Alice Geneva Ayers Collingsworth (1941 – present)

Geneva, born in 1941 was the last child of Martin Ayers and Eullalia Hatmaker. She Married Frank Collingsworth, Jr. in 1959, and she always calls him Junior. Geneva and Junior have lived in LaFollette ever since they were married. They do not have any children. Geneva is a homemaker and Junior worked in construction and also later as a school janitor and maintenance man. Geneva is quiet, soft-spoken, and has an infectious laugh.  They attend the Independent Baptist Church in LaFollette.


March 31, 2011 Dennis No comments exist

Colonial families migrating to the Southern Virginia and North Carolina Piedmont area had to traverse rutted dirt wagon roads no more than 10 feet wide with very few routes to follow.  Before the French and Indian War in the 1750s, the preferred route going south first took them across the Potomac river via Noland’s Ferry, near what is now Point of Rocks, MD. The Carolina Road then took them east of the Blue Ridge Mountain along a trail which essentially followed Routes 15 and 29 in present day Virginia straight to the Piedmont area. The road was favored by Colonists – as it had been favored by their predecessors, the Algonquin and Iroquois Indians – because of numerous springs along its route, milder temperatures east of the mountains and relatively safe fords across major rivers and streams.

March 31, 2011 Dennis Ayers No comments exist
Colonial Wagon Road

In 1746 Nathaniel Ayers began selling his land in Baltimore County, Maryland.  By about 1755, he and his wife, Rhoda, and family had migrated to Halifax County in southern Virginia (near Danville today), on the border of North Carolina.  Why did they leave what appeared to be a prosperous livelihood in MD?   Why did they undertake such an arduous journey which took them over 300 miles to the south?  The answers are not known for sure, but it is believed that religion was a primary factor along with a desire for more land, and perhaps opposition to slavery.

 

After 1735, as the supply of land grew short in colonies farther north, numerous farmers from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and northern Virginia began packing their possessions and making the long journey to the Southern Piedmont in the Virginia colony.

Quaker Man

 

In addition, it seems that Nathaniel converted to the Quaker religion in Maryland, perhaps when he married Rhoda.  The Quakers were one of the first groups to oppose slavery, which was heavily employed by most tobacco farmers. In the 1750s, there was a large Quaker migration to the frontier areas of Virginia and North Carolina, and Nathaniel’s family probably joined in with others from Pennsylvania and Maryland moving southward. The proceedings of the Quaker South River Monthly Meeting (held near what is today Lynchburg, VA) show that Nathaniel  Ayers was accepted into membership in 1758. This Quaker Meeting covered many of the southern VA counties including Halifax County.

 

Also, in 1758, Nathaniel purchased 116 acres of land on Little Double Creek. In 1767, the western part of Halifax County where Nathaniel and his family lived became Pittsylvania County, and not long after that he was granted 200 acres on branches of the Dan River.  Before he died, he also acquired another 600 acres of adjoining land. In 1760, Nathaniel and several of his neighbors are credited with “laying a road”.

 

Nathaniel Ayers died in early 1777, and his will was probated at the courthouse in Chatham, in Pittsylvania County.  His oldest living sons, Thomas and Moses were the executors.  Mentioned in the will were his wife Rhoda and 5 surviving children.

Nathaniel Ayers in Pittsylvania County, VA

The map above shows the general Piedmont area where Nathaniel settled.  I have been to this area on a research trip in 2006.  Pittsylvania County and the surrounding counties in both VA and NC contain beautiful gently rolling farmland as far as the eye can see.  One can certainly understand why northern colonists migrated to this area.

 

March 29, 2011 Dennis 1 comment

John Ayers of New Jersey died in 1732.  He left no will but did record the births of his nine children, including a son named Nathaniel born in 1700.  Unfortunately, no other records are available to help define Nathaniel’s life in NJ.

 

Instead, in 1723, a young man by the name of Nathaniel Ayers appears in Maryland where he is named in Baltimore County court records.  He is about the right age to have been the Nathaniel born in NJ, but is he in fact the same person?  The DNA test results previously mentioned indicate this is highly probable.  Although Nathaniel is listed as an immigrant in one reference book, I believe it was because he came to Maryland by sailing ship from NJ. He probably sailed up the Chesapeake Bay into the Patapsco River and disembarked at Elk Ridge Landing.  At that time, the Maryland colony had about 70 thousand residents, but Baltimore City would not be founded at the mouth of the Patapsco until 1729.

 

By about 1729, Nathaniel Ayers is married to Rhoda, last name unknown, and by 1733 they have three children, Ruth, John and Thomas who are registered in St. Paul’s Parish, one of 30 such territorial units established in colonial Maryland associated with the Anglican (later Episcopal) Church.

 

In the new colony of Maryland, all land was originally owned by Lord Baltimore and only at his discretion or his representatives could it be assigned to any tenant. Between 1663 and 1683, every adventurer who could claim to have brought five persons to settle in Maryland became entitled to a grant of 2000 acres.  After 1683, however, land patents (titles) were issued only against payment of money or tobacco.  At first the rate charged was 200 lbs. of tobacco for every 100 acres granted, but that rate increased with time.

 

Three separate documentary processes were required to authenticate new grants of land: (1) warrants, which were instructions to lay out a specified number of acres for a named person, (2) certificates of survey, which stated the exact location and boundaries of the new tract, and (3) patents, or essentially titles of ownership.

 

It appears that Nathaniel was actually in Baltimore County several years before he initiated the process for obtaining land.  Perhaps he didn’t have enough money when he first arrived.  Then between 1727 and 1745, Nathaniel obtained 4 separate grants of land on the north side of the Patapsco River in Baltimore County, and he is listed as a farmer and a carpenter in the records.  Since tobacco was the primary medium of exchange, it appears Nathaniel was farming successfully on his early land acquisitions and using his extra tobacco to add to his land holdings.  It is not known if he employed the use of slaves or not.

 

In those days, it was customary to name tracts of land after the owner or with whimsical names.  Nathaniel’s purchases, two of which are shown in the map below, were called:

Ayers Lott – 100 acres – 1727                    Ayers Desire – 28 acres – 1734
Bucks Range – 45 acres – 1745                 Nathaniel’s Hope – 15 acres – 1745

Nathaniel Ayers’ Land in Baltimore County

As can be seen, the land purchases of Nathaniel in Baltimore County were all near the Patapsco River not far from where the Ellicott brothers would later establish the new town of Ellicott Mills in 1772.

 

My father, Ira Ayers, knew nothing about his ancestors beyond his grandfather.  It is an ironic twist that in 1950 he purchased land only 4 miles upriver from where Nathaniel, his 6th great grandfather, purchased and farmed land 200 years earlier!!