I have a letter from my Aunt Plura (my father's sister) that she wrote me in 1984. I had asked her to tell me about my grandparents different locations while they were all growing up. They made many moves from Crawford, Co., MO to Depew, Oklahoma during the early 1900's by covered wagon. The letter is

rather long but my Aunt Plura passed away last September at the age of 94 and this is a wonderful tribute to her and my family. It covers 1901 to 1920. It may not be your Missouri line but I thought it would be a little bit of history for some of us that have Skaggs in Missouri...it is also a less complicated time.. ( I will write it exactly as she wrote it, spelling and all. None of it is meant to offend anyone.) Her parents were Milford Cornelius Skaggs married to Catherine Elizabeth (Bethie) Martin. Milford comes from Thomas Jefferson Skaggs and his 2nd wife, Sarah Jane Mallow. Thomas was a son of James and Celia Skaggs from Greene Co., Ky. The letter is as follows:

Days Before Mom and Dad Came to Okla-I mean moving back and forth. They were married September 1, 1901. This is the article on their reception that appeared in the Steelville, MO paper.

"Married at the home of the bride's mother, Mrs. Eliza Martin, by Esq.Parrott on Sept 1 at 4 o'clock p.m. Mr. Milford C. Skaggs and Miss Bethie Martin. After the marriage ceremony all repaired to the dining room where before them was a table burdened with a load of eatables, which all seemed to eat with

great relish. The following day all were invited to the infair dinner where they injoyed another bountiful feast after which all returned home wishing the young couple a success through life."

After the wedding, Dad and Mom went to Iowa. Dad worked in a packing plant for a while. I dont know how long they staid in Iowa. Then from there they went to St. Louis MO. They staid awhile, Dad still worked in the packing house. From there they moved back to Cherryville after that time until 1908.

I dont no where they lived in Cherryville. I mean the places they lived.

It is now 1908.

We moved to Depew, Okla 1908 for the first time. We lived in a house in Depew down by the Depot as we called it then, not a train station. This is the house where Ecy was borned in 1909. We lived by the railroad tracks. One day a bum came to the door and was molesting mom. Dad just happened to come in at the right time. "Hear This". Dad stomped that man so hard he stomped one of his ears off. (This is the truth.) Dad worked on the section at the time repairing railroad tracks. When Ecy was borned an old Darkie they called black people then, her name was Mrs. Timmons, staid with us when

Ecy was borned. We lived there until 1910.

We moved on a farm east of Depew on Kirby Arnetts farm. We lived there until we went back to MO again.

1911 or 1912

I cant remember the exact date. Anyway between these dates and 1913 we moved to Flatriver, MO in a covered wagon so Dad could work in the lead mines with Uncle Osa. It seemed it taken days. We stopped at Uncle Henry and Aunt Mattie's house and stayed all night. The horses needed the rest. I dont remember how long we staid in Flat River. I remember it had a wood shed. I mean the house where we lived. Mom wouldnt let us kids play in it. The neighbors said a mad dog had been killed in the shed. Our mom was very protective of us kids when we were little.

1912

We went back to Cherryville and moved in the house in the hollow. It was a log house. Dad farmed.

1913

Seldon was borned Sept 1913 in this log house. I remember we older kids walked over to Aunt Etta's house. It had the most beautiful spring where we got our water and it had peppermint growing in it. Back of the barn was the loveliest and clearest creek you ever saw. We kids always waded and swimmed

in it and us kids had to walk quite away to school. But we didn't mind.

1914

One day dad said I'm going back (west). Mom was always scared to move back. She thought there was a lot of storms. She was really scared of storms. So we moved back to Depew fall of 1914. Dad rented a house under the hill down by John Hills big barn. He was a contractor, had many teams of the most

beautiful horses. Dad got a job hauling oilfield pipe to Shamrock. (Oklahoma) We used to just sit outside and watch for the string of wagons coming in from Shamrock to see if dad was one of them. These horses wore harnesses that was covered with celleloid rings that made them look like a circus seeing them all coming in. In this house Fannie was borned January 6, 1915. We lived here when Dad bought the little chair for Seldon's second birthday. He gave 50 cents for it. And this is the place where Thurston

lost his eye. A boy hit him in the eye with a bean shooter. They built a railroad spur to Shamrock and they hauled the pipe by rail so Dad got a job roustabouting at Hill Camp..a oil field camp. So we moved up there. We moved in a 2 bedroom box car house. The rooms were big so we could have plenty of beds. In that house is where I learned to crochet. We got our water at a company well. We had to carry our water and as we came back it was up hill, hard to carry. There was a little neighbor boy, every time he

could, he would throw sand in our water and we had to throw it out and go back for more. One day I was carrying water, and he threw sand it it, instead of thowing it out, I threw it on him. That really cured him forever.

Of course Grandma Eaton died in 1915. ( I will add here that after Thomas Skaggs died, Sarah Jane remarried to Sam Eaton.) Dad went to her funeral. We all settled down again, us kids in school. The school is where we learned to say the multiplication tables backwards. One weekend our school burned.

They never did build it back. Dollie, Ecy, Thurston and I went to that school. I remember the teacher spanking Thurston because he wanted to go to the bathroom. Its where Ecy started to school. We staid thru 1916.

1917

Then Grandma Martin got sick. She had strokes. So Dad quit his job and in Jan 1917 we moved back to MO. once more. Grandma was living with Aunt Stella and U. Charlie at the time because she couldnt help her self after so many strokes. But we weren't there long until Grandma passed away March 1917. I

remember they had her casket in a middle room at my aunts house. A cat got in the room where Grandma was. They sent me in there to run the cat out and it was up on the casket. I ran it out finally. So the next day we buried her. All of us got in wagons with Grandma's in the lead,as we didnt have a funeral home and beautiful cars like they do now. We always put hay in the wagon bed and put quilts over it so us kids would have a place to sit and sleep if we were late. She is buried in the Freeman graveyard not far from

Cherryville. This little place was always called a village not a town. Then after Grandma died, we, our family moved into Grandma's house on the farm. It had a beautiful stream we called it a slough. It had beautiful rocks. They shined like diamonds were embedded in them.

Dad farmed the land, he planted wheat and corn mostly. We raised our own sugar cane for syrup. When it was time to harvest the wheat the thrashers and men would come with their big machines to thrash the wheat. Mom had to cook for all the thrashers as we called them. Everyone exchanged work with each other and wasn't any cost except to feed them. We used Grandma's furniture. We left all of ours back in Okla when we left. Bureaus with marble tops and big wooden head boards on the beds. One thing I remember was when Dad put a thimble on an old clock on the "pendlan" so it would keep time. In the meantime Dad had to register for World War I. But he didnt have to go because he had 7 children which made us all happy. But then came the flu. People died..whole families over night. Our mom put a terrible

substance called (asafetida) in little bags and put it around our necks. We, didnt have the flu. But one of our cousins died with it..Ruth Eaton. She was 13 years . Her brother Clifford died with the dropsy. He was about 15 or 16. He used to come visit us a lot. World War I was over. We still lived on the farm. Dad had bought all the heir's out. So again Dad wanted to come back to Oklahoma.

It is now 1919

One day Dad and Uncle Seldon got together and decided to drive through to Okla. Dad sold the farm, loaded the wagon with bedding and provisions. So did Uncle Seldon. Uncle Seldon taken 2 of his boys and Dad taken Thurston and Seldon. Mom didn't want Seldon to go he was so little. One September

morning they left Mom and the rest of us kids behind. After 6 weeks they got to Depew, OK. They had quite a time getting there. Somewhere on the road it had rained so hard they were stranded for awhile on account of high water. So, Mom got all the necessary things together and we had an auction

sale. I can remember how it hurt Mom to sell Grandmas furniture, but we did... Raymond was borned in this house.

So one day in November Aunt Etta and Uncle Frank taken us to Steelville to catch the train for Oklahoma. Mom and Aunt Etta fixed us a basket of food to eat on the train. We rode all night finally we got to Depew. Dad and the boys met us at the train and taken us to the little house he had rented. Dad

worked that fall in the cotton gin. Then he bought the yellow house in the hollow at Depew. Mom and Dad never did have any elaborate houses to live in but anyone was welcome in their home anytime. I remember one time a black man came to the door and was hungry. We were having dinner. He came in and sat down at the table with us. That was a time no one ever did that. Color meant nothing to our dad at the time of his death in 1968. He still had a wonderful friend who was a black man always brought him big watermelons and cantaloupes. They were the best of friends. After all God made us all!

It is now 1920

Dad lived in Depew for the rest of his life only leaving a couple of times for a little while...

Etta, hope this tells you a few things...

Love, Aunt Plura

My aunt stopped at 1920. My father, Johnnie Franklin, was born in the little

yellow house in 1921.