Carvell History Books III, Cora and Ammett Carvell

Ammett & Cora Carvell: A Legacy of Labor, Laughter and Love Carvell Family History, Book III

The Carvell Homeplace Minnow Branch Giles County, Tenn.

Carvell Family History, Book II, was researched and compiled by its publisher, Daphene Carvell Cope, who also wrote much of the manuscript. Daphene is the daughter of RA Carvell and granddaughter of Cora and Ammett Carvell. Photos, additional written contributions and oral materials were contributed by numerous Carvell family members, both credited and uncredited herein. The book was edited and designed by Claudia Kay Johnson. This book may be downloaded and printed for educational, genealogical or family history use only. Permission is expressly denied by the publisher as to reproduction for sale. For questions, additions, corrections or dialogue, please contact dejavu159@gmail.com.

Copyright 2014 by Daphene Carvell Cope for the Carvell Family, all rights reserved.

Robert Ammett & Cora Lee Ball Carvell Cora Lee Ball and Robert Ammett Carvell were married Jan. 4, 1900.

They were photographed with their older children (below) in the fall/winter 1912-13. Daughter Vera, b. June 1912, is in Cora’s arms. The other children, from left, are Grady, b. 1900, Dewey, b. 1909, Dana, b. 1903, and Tonnie, b. 1905.

Robert Harvey was born on Nov. 11, 1908, and died on Aug. 9, 1909, before this picture was taken. Cora was pregnant with Dewey when Harvey died. Sadie, Annie Cora, CL and RA were not born when this picture was made in front of their home on Minnow Branch that was destroyed by fire.

This house was located at GPS coordinates 35.341025, -87.095718.

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Robert Ammett and Cora Lee Carvell: A Legacy of Love & Work

By Daphene Carvell Cope, granddaughter of Cora and Ammett Carvell Robert Ammett Carvell was the Carvell Family, ca. 1940 son of Robert James Carvell and Julie Ann Joines Carvell. He was born on Nov. 25, 1876. Cora Lee Ball Carvell was the daughter of Leander Broomfield Ball and Sallie Indiana Hayes Ball. Cora was born Feb. 23, 1881. Both grew up in the Campbellsville area of Giles County, Tenn., in the rural area between Campbellsville and Old Lynnville.

B o t h w e re d e s c e n d e d f ro m families that had been in Giles County since its earliest days of settlement.

Ammett was descended through the Carvell, Joines, Wilson and Keltner families, while Cora was descended through the Ball, Carpenter, Puryear Back: Ammett, CL, Cora, RA; Front: Grady, Tonnie, Dewey, Vera and Hayes families.

Robert Ammett married Cora Lee Ball on Jan. 4, 1900, in Giles County, Tenn. Buford Short served as bondsman when they applied for their marriage license two days earlier at the Giles County Courthouse. John M. Paisley, a Minister of the Gospel performed the ceremony. The young couple possessed very few worldly goods, but by the grace of God and hard work, they managed to survive.

Between 1900 and 1922 Ammett and Cora became parents to 11 children, nine of those surviving to adulthood: Grady, 1900, Dana, 1903, Tonnie, 1905, Dewey, 1909, Vera, 1912, Sadie, 1914, RA, 1917, Annie Cora, 1920, and CL, 1922. An unnamed child was born and died on Sept. 7, 1902. Another child, Robert Harvey, remembered by the family Back: Tonnie, Annie Cora, Sadie, Grady, Dana, Dewey as “Little Harvey,� was born Nov. 11, 1908, and Front: CL, Cora, Ammett, RA, 1950s died Aug. 9, 1909, according to his State of Tennessee death certificate.

Childhood days for Cora and Ammett, like those of other children in rural areas of Giles County, were spent in a primitive manner. Each day was an adventure. Life was serious, and there was little time for unnecessary things. The day began at sunrise performing farm duties and continued until sunset. Children were taught to read and write by their mother and grandmother. During the winter months, the children were permitted to attend school.

The school they attended consisted of one room with many age levels. A schoolmarm was frequently brought into the community and paid very little for her teaching services but was provided room and board. The children rarely obtained high levels of education.

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Ammett told the story that when he was a young lad he embarked on a journey to Brownsville, Texas, to find work. The route that he traveled was the Natchez trace. Since the territory had not been developed, it was very dangerous and travelers often simply vanished, having encountered wild animals, robbers and other perils of the times.

Houses were old and drafty, often not much more than a shack. However, some homes were made of logs cut and hand hewn from the farm. Nearby neighbors and family members helped clear ground to build family dwellings for young couples. They also pitched in to build barns for livestock.

They had to prevent wind and snow from blowing through the walls in the winter. Mud was used to seal the cracks. Most houses had front and back porches.

Roofs were hand made of wooden shingles that were replaced with sheets of tin. When it rained, noise on the tin roof would be very loud, but it was great for sleeping. Rainwater was caught in barrels off the roof, recycled and used for many purposes.

The women washed their hair with lye soap as it was said to make the hair clean and shiny. Cedar water buckets were kept on the back porch, and a gourd dipper hung nearby to drink from the bucket. They also had a wash pan for hand washing. The slop bucket with table scraps was usually nearby. Dogs slept on the porch or under the house. Some homes had cellars for cool storage and to provide safety during storms. Outhouses and slop jars provided bathroom necessities.

Carvell Family Reunion held at the home of Ammett and Cora ca. 1940 with Dana, Sadie and Annie Cora missing. Reunions were held at the homeplace for many years, extending into the 1960s.

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Taking a bath was a major ordeal. Water was heated on top of a wood stove. Washtubs were filled by using buckets of cold water, hot water added. The tub was placed in front of an open fire or a wood cook stove. In the summer, tubs were placed on the back porch, and baths were taken after dark. The entire family took turns bathing usually in the same water!

Mattresses were made of straw, corn shucks, cotton and sometimes of goose and chicken feathers.

This made for fluffy pillows and mattresses and provided warmth in winter. Several children would occupy the same bed because of bed shortage and crowded sleep space. For economy, they would sleep across the bed. Quilt racks hung from the ceiling of the rooms to make quilts for winter cover. In summer months, the children slept on the floor to keep cool.

Lanterns were used outside, while kerosene and oil lamps were used inside to provide light at night. Wood stoves, coal burning fireplaces and cast iron stoves that burned wood heated the houses.

Most homes did not have screens on the doors or windows, and insects were such a nuisance that the women would stand and swat flies as the men ate their meals.

The boys worked in the fields and handled other farm chores. Animals had to be fed, cows milked, wood cut and fencing constructed. Fields were plowed by horses using a single or doubletree plow. Horses and mules were used for working the land. The horses provided transportation and labor, so they were well attended. Like his grandfathers on both sides before him, Ammett had a small blacksmith shop and shod his own animals. A horse drawn cycle bar mower was used to cut hay.

Loose hay was hauled to the barn on wagons with wider frames than the wagon bed. When the barns were full, the hay was stacked outside in large haystacks. The cotton, corn, and wheat were gathered by hand. The corn was ground to make corn meal, and the wheat was ground to make flour.

The cotton was weighed and packed in wagons and Carvell siblings, 1963, Carvell Homeplace transported to cotton gins. The ladies used a spinning wheel to spin and make yarn for clothing. Corn was gathered and stored in corncribs in the barns to feed the pigs and chickens. An ear of corn was shelled by hand or a corn sheller. Cowhide was used for making shoes and belts, saddles, bridles, etc.

The hens were provided for in the barns or chicken houses for laying eggs. Sometimes glass door knobs were placed in the nest of an old setting hen so she would lay more eggs. The hens usually provided more than enough eggs for the family. When a chicken was needed for a meal, the women would go to the barnyard and catch a chicken by feeding them shelled corn.

They would ring off the neck of the chicken and watch it flop around. The chicken then would be Front: Grady, Sadie, CL; Back:Tonnie, Dewey, placed in boiling water and the feathers were Annie Cora, RA (Dana & Vera absent) plucked. The chicken would be placed in salt water if for frying or boiling whole. Brooder houses were used for the baby chicks to hatch.

Young chickens (pullets) were used for breakfast foods. If they were going to attend a church dinner and planned to take food, the day before they would say “We’re going to kill some chickens today.” Breakfast foods also included squirrel and rabbit.

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People did not have many clothes, as they did not need them. They seldom went places outside of church on Sunday, a visit to a neighbor’s house or a rare trip to town. Events like the 4th of July, all-day singings with dinner on the ground or tent revivals were special occasions. Visitors or family would drop by and spend the night if they were traveling through. The family gathered on the front porch or under the shade trees in the late evenings and swapped stories. There was not a need for a lawn mower. The many trees surrounding the home, and the heavy root system did not allow for much grass. Shade protected homes from the hot sun and helped to cool during the hot summer months. The children would sweep the yards clean with a brush broom. They seized every opportunity to play.

Most sickness called for homemade remedies such as sugar mixed with tiny drops of kerosene for cough and colds. Fatback meat was used on cuts to draw out infection. Caster oil and black drought was used for constipation.

Preventive medicine was cod liver oil. Children were wormed whether they needed it or not. A concoction made of grease, kerosene and turpentine, was used to rub on the chest and warm wool cloth was placed there to relieve Ammett Carvell, 1957 croups and asthma. Tobacco juice was used on wasp and bee stings. Doctors were not called out unless someone was extremely ill. Midwives were used to deliver babies.

In the early years when people died, they were not embalmed. Graves were dug by hand. The body was left at home. Friends and relatives set up around the clock until they were buried. The reason for this act was out of respect for the deceased and partly to be certain the person was dead.

Silver dollars were placed on the eyelids and a mirror was sometimes used to check for breathing.

Since screen windows and doors were not available, this also prevented small animals from disturbing the corpse.

In time, travel by horses and buggies gave away to automobiles. A milk truck ran a regular route to collect milk for the Lynnville Milk Plant. Farmers sold the excess milk not used by the family.

Women churned milk to make butter. The milk was cooled and stored in a nearby springhouse until the milk truck ran. Iceboxes were becoming available. Ice was bought by the block and placed in the box to keep perishable items from spoiling. An ice dial was placed on the front porch of the home along with money.

The ice truck left ice in big barrels on the front porch. The dial had four different gages, 25-50-75-100 pounds for the ice blocks.

Sometimes they would catch the milk truck in the morning and go to town. In the evening they would catch a ride or walk home. The peddler came once a week. The traveling store provided supplies and many times chickens and eggs were traded for merchandise. The peddling truck had chicken coops built around the base of the vehicle to house the chickens. Women bought thread and yards of material off bolts to make garments. As time passed, flour was being sacked in printed material. A jobber – traveling salesman – made house calls. He carried a large leather case containing items such as flavoring, liniment, ointments, herbs, tea and more.

Ammett, Cora, Okaleen, Frank & Dana The women bought flour in beautiful printed sacks and used the sacks to sew new garments. Aprons, pillowcases, underwear, children’s clothes, dishtowels, were also made from the popular sacks. Items sold for a penny or a nickel and sometimes as much as a quarter. Shoe-lasts were used to make shoes mostly worn in the winter or to church. Grindstones were used to sharpen knives, axes and other farm tools.

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In autumn large pumpkin patches were grown. Pumpkins were canned and used to make such favorites as pumpkin pies and breads.

They also fed pumpkins to the hogs. When cold weather set in, hogs were killed. The pork was salted and stored in nearby smokehouses. Lard or fat was rendered and stored in large containers and used to cook and season food. Hams were smoked and cured with salt.

The sausages were ground and seasoned and sacked in cloth or canned. The cracklings were cooked off from the pigskins. Hominy was made in a black wash pot using lye. Everything was salvaged. Pig and chicken feet are a real delicacy in today’s society.

All food used by the family was home grown.

Onions were planted and hung to dry. Turnip greens, sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes were dug by hand. Beans, peas, watermelons, cantaloupe and peanuts were planted. Peaches, pears, plums, apples, wild blackberries and raspberries were gathered. Apples and peaches were dried in the sun.

The dried fruit was sacked up, hung on a nail and placed in the pantry to be used to make fried pies.

Apple, pears, and green tomatoes were individually wrapped and placed in barrels. They were stored in a cool dark place to keep them preserved until Christmas.

The women spent the entire summer gathering food to can in glass jars. Jellies, jams and juices from grapes were preserved. Pickles were made in large crock containers. Beehives were robbed to collect honeycomb and honey. A pot of honey always graced the table or a nearby pie safe. Sorghum was made in the fall when the sugar cane was gathered.

Everyone looked forward to popcorn balls made from the syrup. The only exception made were items they could not make, such as sugar, coffee, and salt, and they had to be purchased at a dry goods store. Dinner bells were used to call farm workers to lunch and dinner. They were also used in case of an emergency to sound an alarm.

The morning wake up call was from a rooster crowing at daybreak. The chores for the girls ranged from working in the fields to canning, cooking and minding the small children.

Washing clothes was very difficult. The clothes were washed in large black wash pots over an open flame using homemade lye soap. Paddles were used to stir the clothes around.

Water was obtained from a Sadie & Pat, Grady & Nina, CL & Marguerette, Dewey & Eula, Tonnie & Clara, RA & Nora, Annie & Bascom nearby spring, creek or drawn from wells or from rainwater barrels. Black smoothing irons were used for ironing. The irons were placed on the wood stoves until they were very hot.

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Ammett and his son, Tonnie, are reported to have possessed the ability to touch warts and make them go away. They told you, “Now you have to believe,� and (amazingly) the warts did go away.

They were in constant demand by family and friends.

Ammett kept several beehives, and at all times a honey stand filled with golden honey graced the dining table. He had a large orchard where apples and peaches were grown. He spent many hours maintaining the orchard and harvesting the fruit. The Carvells heated their home with a coal-burning fireplace. When Cora sat down, she never stopped rocking along with kicking her foot. She could spit (country gentleman) from five feet away and never miss her target, the center of the fireplace.

Ammett donated the property to build the Minnow Branch Church, which he, his sons, sons-inlaw and members of the local community erected on property across the road from the Carvell home place. Many of the family members attended church and were baptized in the creek behind the church.

Ammett told of the last hanging in Pulaski. He said people came from miles to see the hanging.

Although he was unable to report ownership of a radio in 1930, he soon owned one, which was quite a luxury by Depression-era Cora Lee and Robert Ammett standards. On Saturday night, the neighbors and the family gathered to listen to the Grand Ole Opry. The radio was turned up very loud.

Ammett spoke of providing teams of horses to drag logs on the famous Milky Way Farm near Lynnville, Tenn. They dug stumps and kept up a burn pile. He and the sons that were residing at home at the time also worked laying rock fences. They helped with the construction of the palatial manor house occupied by Chicago businessman Frank Mars, whose fortune was made in candy manufacturing.

Ammett was called on to size the huge dining table in the manor. He said the table was built elsewhere and they could not get it into the dining hall. He and his brother David Alexander (Alex) worked on the beautiful barns. When Mr. Mars announced that the work was complete at Milky Way, the brothers boarded the train at Wales Station and went to Nashville to work on Vanderbilt University and Hospital.

Ammett was a man of strong character. He exercised good judgment and he accepted responsibility. He taught each child values and self-discipline to the best of his ability. This is how he was raised, to obey one’s parents and God without question. He expected children to be seen and not heard. They were expected to play when the family gathered. The children were not permitted to eat until the adults were finished. They ate what was left over without complaint. Recreation was simple.

Children had little to play with so, they played with a sock, a rag doll or playhouses made from stones.

They swung from ropes or grapevines. Children spent hours sliding down a dirt bank, playing in the branch or creek. They played ball using sticks for bats. An unraveled sock made a nice ball or a hedge apple, and they would sting when they hit you. Games were kick the can, red rover, little white house on the hill, hide and go seek and I spy.

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Boys played marbles. Everyone enjoyed playing Jacob’s ladder and crows feet with a string. After hard playing kids got hungry during the afternoon, and they would sneak in the house and get cornbread out of the oven or off the dining room table covered over with a tablecloth. They pulled green onions from the garden to eat with cold cornbread. On special occasions, watermelons and homemade ice cream were served with an assortment of beautiful homemade cakes. Sometimes the older kids slipped off and rolled rabbit tobacco and smoked it. If you were caught, the consequence could be rough. Through the week, permission was granted to use the fishpond early morning or late afternoon. The catch was cleaned and had to be eaten soon. This was due to not having a proper method of preservation. Sunday fishing was never allowed. That was considered the Lord’s Day. The Carvell children began to leave home for various reasons such as marriage and to find work.

Families could no longer depend on farming as a primary source of income. The Carvell family suffered much heartache. They lived in the Great Depression and felt the effects of World War II. They experienced the newness of the automobile, moon landing, the invention of the television and the computer. However, nothing could destroy the camaraderie of this strong family or their love and respect for each other, a trait instilled in them by their parents. The information recorded in these pages has been committed to memory by family members. The legacy of hard work and love has profoundly affected generations of members of the Carvell family and will continue to do so.

Baptism at Minnow Branch

Rev. Grady Coston, Ammett Carvell, Dorothy Allen, Martha Carvell Russell, Nancy Fry King, Pauline Fry, Frankie Jean Hargrove Russell, Nora Burdick Carvell, Dana Carvell Hargrove, Eula Mae Owen Carvell (Back) Joan Russell Dickey, Geraldleen Carvell Walls, Okaleen Carvell Johnson, Dewey Carvell, Grady Carvell, Richard Russell, Thomas Fry, Frank Hargrove, Carvell Dean Hargrove, Mrs. Coston.

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As the 20th century progressed, the more affluent began to purchase a Victrola for playing musical recordings or even a radio for listening to broadcasts. The 1930 U.S. Federal Census asked whether the household had a radio set, and the Carvell home did not at that point but did later.

Electricity was generated by gas-powered engines. It was in 1934 that Pulaski, the county seat of Giles County where the Carvells lived, contracted with TVA to furnish electric power for the city. It was several years before the rural areas were served. Cars were becoming more frequent. When the children heard a car coming down the road, they ran to the road to watch it go by. No one felt deprived since most people were in the same economic condition.

The Sears and Roebuck catalog became very popular.

Many people shopped by mail order. They could hardly wait to receive the new catalog. The company introduced an unfathomable number Ammett was a man with a large frame as he was about five of items and even foot eight in height. He worked very hard most of his adult offering the first prefab home that could be life. In his later years, he had arthritis and used crutches. delivered by rail and assembled on site. Mail order was big business. When the catalog became outdated children cut paper dolls from the pages. It was also used in the outhouse for toilet paper. The mail carrier delivered all kinds of items, even baby chickens.

Ammett smoked a pipe, kept sacks of tobacco and was constantly filling and lighting his pipe.

His fingers were always burned as was his chair and clothes. He was a no-nonsense person. He had big bushy eyebrows and white hair. He wore a big black hat and never a crease in it. His favorite saying was “Ah Shaw.” He had a little coin purse to hold his change. He died July 9, 1960, at the Florida home of his daughter Dana.

Cora Lee was about five feet tall and petite. She was very neat and wore an apron. She was extremely clean. She purchased a linoleum rug with big red flowers that she mopped so many times the flower design wore off. She did not permit anyone to play or sit on her bed.

“I do not want to place my head where you sat,” she would say.

When she died July 2, 1956, her viewing was held in the front parlor of her home on Minnow Branch. Gynnath Ford, minister of the Lynnville Church of Christ, and the Rev. Mack Pinkelton, Baptist minister, conducted services from the front porch, while friends and family gathered on the lawn.

Ammett and Cora are buried at Maplewood Cemetery in Pulaski, Tenn.

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Cora and Ammett Carvell’s Children

Tennessee State death certificate of Robert Harvey Carvell, known to the family as “Little Harvey.” His death from membranous cough was recorded on Aug. 9, 1909. His birthdate is given as Nov. 11, 1908, but the doctor’s miscalculation that he was 1 year old is incorrect.

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Grady Dean Carvell

By Judy Parker Eubank, daughter of Mildred Carvell Parker, granddaughter of Grady Carvell

Grady Dean Carvell, the oldest child of Robert Ammett and Cora Lee Ball Carvell, was born Nov. 24, 1900, at Minnow Branch, Giles County, Tenn., where the family lived on a farm.

Grady grew up working in the fields, plowing with mules, helping to gather corn, planting crops and caring for livestock.

He became skilled at trapping and providing food for the table as well as tanning and selling the hides. As a young man Grady enjoyed hunting, fishing and repairing automobiles.

He remembered seeing one of the first automobiles in Campbellsville, Tenn., and it was a wonder to all who were there. Grady bought a small trunk to hide his money. He wanted the trunk to keep his things away from the younger brothers and sisters. Granddaughter Judy Parker Eubank owns the trunk today.

Grady went only to elementary school on Minnow Branch, but he could figure numbers in his head faster than some men could using pencil and paper. This math skill was extremely important in his carpentry work. His Grandfather Carvell (Robert James “Bob”) taught him carpentry, and he used that as means of supporting his family. That skill was taught to his son-in-law, Victor H. Parker, and his son, Terry Carvell.

Grady as a child At 21, Grady married Nina Marie Ashton of Maury County, Tenn. They rode a His son Terry recalls some buggy to the home of J. A. of the favorite sayings of Grady – Dugger, Justice of the Peace, in Culleoka, Tenn., on July Con sound it (confounded) Dad gummett 24, 1921. Mr. Dugger came Dog gone it out to the buggy and Moffet (Martha) married them. Mr. Gill Make do (substitute) Hope you (for help you) Parker and Miss Carrie Murdock went with them as Grady, Nina and Terry witnesses.

The young couple lived with his parents on Minnow Branch for a short time before they moved to Nashville to share an apartment with his cousin, Gilbert Carvell, and his wife, Roberta.

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It was a one-bedroom so they hung a blanket down the center from a wire to divide the space. Both men worked as carpenters, and the couples shared living expenses. It was a fun time, according to Nina and Grady, but the young couple returned to Minnow Branch before the birth of their first child, Mildred Marie Carvell, made her entrance on Sept. 30, 1922. A son, Terry Dean, was born June 11, 1938. At the time of his birth, the family was living on Kerr Hill Road, and Mildred was about to get married.

Grady and Nina lived in both Waco and Lynnville, Tenn., over the years. Grady ran a mechanic shop and did carpentry work. Nina ran a small store and even had a restaurant in back at one point.

In 1940 they bought property at Pigeon Roost in Giles County. He built and rented several houses on the property. He suffered a fall from a ladder, seriously injuring his ankle, and limped for the rest of his life.

In the 1950s Grady, Nina and Terry moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Grady was going to work

Grady exercised every morning, He d r a n k h ea v y l em on w a t er . H e worked hard. He was the oldest child of eight children. He only attended school to the third grade. He had to help make a living for the family.

– Terry Carvell, about his father

at McArthur Dairy with his brother-in-law Frank Hargrove (Dana’s husband). Too much sun and sand brought them back to Giles County near Lynnville, where Terry graduated high school. In the 1960s they bought a small farm off Highway 166 outside of Pulaski. It was here they lived the rest of their lives. Grady raised and traded some livestock – calves and goats mostly.

In the early 1980s their home burned on a cold Mildred, first Carvell grandchild

April morning. A few of their possessions were saved, but Grady stood there in his long handles

and coat, crying and said, “Everything I’ve worked all of my life for is gone.”

They moved in with Terry and his wife, Martha, where Grady died quietly in his sleep on Jan. 18, 1987.

Grady as a student 46

Dana Mai Carvell Hargrove

By Frankie Jean Hargrove Russell, daughter, who was was born Jan. 2, 1939, and is 74 years of age at this writing.

Dana Mai Carvell Hargrove was born Sept. 29, 1903, in Giles County, Tenn., to Robert Ammett and Cora Lee Ball Carvell.

I don’t know much about my mother during her young life. As the third child and oldest daughter, I understand she had to help with her smaller brothers and sisters. Mama and Uncle Tonnie were partners in crime. He called her "Day." She called him "Man," and the nicknames continued even after they were grown. She said they had little to play with. Once she was given a China doll, but one of the boys broke it. She had only a few other cherished items such as a collection of “Campfire” books. When their house burned, her wonderful books perished in the fire.

Once, Dana and Tonnie took the hinges off the back of Uncle Grady’s little trunk where he kept his love letters from Aunt Nina. They read them all. To add insult to injury, they teased him about them. Day and Man were in a heap of trouble! Needless to say, Uncle Grady wasn’t a happy camper. All of Mama's life people were amazed at the white streak that ran through her hair. You pay big money to achieve that look today. It had been present since she was six years old. Uncle Grady, Little Harvey and Dana all had diphtheria. The boys lost all of their hair, and Dana’s hair came out with the exception of that one streak.

When Dana and Grady became teenagers, they once asked if they could attend an ice cream supper. If you can believe it, at that time ice cream sold for 1¢ cent a cup.

Grandpa (Ammett) told them he would let them go and gave them permission to use the surrey, a beautiful rig with (fringe and all). They were riding in style. Well, Uncle Grady didn’t hear his dad tell him, "Don’t get old Bell. She is about ready to foal (have a baby) just use old Sue." You guessed it, THE TEENAGERS DIDN’T LISTEN A 100 YEARS AGO EITHER. Like I said, they were teenagers. Grady and Dana were too excited and were not listening. He got old Bell, WRONG HORSE. On the way home something spooked her, and she ran away. Grady and Dana were holding on for dear life, and the surrey was wrecked. As a result of the catastrophe sister Dana had a broken arm. They had to tell Grandpa. Sure glad I didn’t hear that news! Grandpa and Dana went by train to Nashville to get her arm fixed, and she stayed in Vanderbilt Hospital for several days. That was the longest distance she had ever traveled from home. Grandpa stayed with his brother, Alex, and visited Dana once a day. By the way – no telephone…no cell phone. One morning during her recovery the nurse brought her breakfast in a bowl. It was a shredded wheat pillow! Dana, had no idea what it was, and she wasn’t about to eat it. It looked to her like something they fed the horses. All ended well.

Dana married Frank Justice Hargrove, from Nashville Tenn., on Aug. 3, 1925. One of Dana’s cousins knew one of Frank’s cousins, and I don’t know anything about how long the courtship was. They married sitting in the back of Daddy’s cousin’s car in front of the Giles County Courthouse. They were married by Judge Hannah.

The newlyweds traveled by train to Nashville to live for a while.

Eventually they moved to Minnow Branch and lived in an old house as you travel north before you reach the fork where one of the roads leads toward Petty Hollow and the other one toward Apple Hill Road and Ball Hollow. A sawmill was near by. The old house was surrounded by woods and didn’t have a front porch. During the day Dana was so afraid to stay there alone, she would sit in the door way with her back up against the frame of the door waiting for Frank to come home.

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Frank bought 40 acres of farmland from his father-inlaw, Ammett, and built a new house below the Minnow Branch Baptist church. He worked on the farm and did carpentry for the public. The couple was married for 58 years. Together they had two children – a son Carvell Dean, or "CD," as most people called him. He had Mama and Daddy’s young years. Mama would go rabbit hunting and fishing with him. They were always doing things together.

Thirteen years was the age difference between my brother and me. By the time I got big enough to do things, she did the same by me as my brother. She would go fishing. She taught me to sew, can, freeze vegetables, make green tomato catsup and even how to make lye soap. She also taught me how to use it. She let me wash clothes using the wash board (which I still have). Whatever, Mama did, I was right with her.

Daddy was a carpenter, so we were the farm hands. She taught me how to milk cows by hand.

Oh boy! In the garden I would pull the plow while she pushed it. We said and did crazy things and laughed so hard we would fall down in the dirt. She was lots of fun. Dana loved working in the church. She enjoyed her flowers and fruit trees. She loved to sew and cook, and she kept her house just so-so.

Dana didn’t hold back. She would surely tell you just what she was thinking, take it or leave it!

My mother was a great mother. She impressed on me that your character and your morals were the only things that you own, so never let go of them. She was a good Christian woman. My parents didn’t send me to church. We all went together. My home with Mama and Daddy was the best any child could ever have wished for. They were older parents, but they never missed anything I was playing at school. When the class was going on a field trip, they would always ask for Mr. and Mrs. Hargrove to chaperone. As for me I’m saying, "No! No!" The Tennessee winters were difficult, so we sold the farm and came to Florida to be near CD. Dad worked at the McAuthor Dairy, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., as a carpenter and maintenance man for the dairy. We lived in Brentwood Estates for a long time about five miles from the dairy. Grandpa Carvell came for a stay at our home, but he was in failing health and passed away during this period. Our family later transferred to Loxahatchee, Fla. This is where we resided until Daddy’s death. We had some wonderful times living here, and it made things not as difficult for Daddy.

Mama lived with me for 20 years after Daddy died Jan. 23, 1983. Some days she was fun. Some days I went into the closet and did a silent scream. Most of all she was a great mother, wife and grandmother. At the time of her death she had nine great-great grandchildren. Dana never abused her body, except for hard work, and she always said, "Hard work won’t kill you, but running from it will." At the age of 97, I don’t think hard work killed her!

She died on Jan. 22, 2000, and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Okeechobee, Fla. Dana, Frank and Frankie Jean

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dy Gra Dan

a

ey Dew onnie T

Grady, Dana, Tonnie and Dewey are pictured in a newspaper photo that appeared in The Daily Herald, Columbia, Tenn., July 1, 1966. The photo (top), made in 1915 at the school, identified other students in addition to the Carvell children.

As did most schools at the time, the Minnow Branch School consisted of one room and was located approximately three miles from the Carvell home. Students walked to school and carried a lunch pail. During this time it is believed they traveled by a path along the creek, and the road may have also been located by the creek. The school was on the right side of the road, traveling up Apple Hill toward Lynnville, Tenn. The school building is no longer in existence, but the remains of the steps are visible today.

Photo taken a few years later at Minnow Branch School.

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Tonnie Lee Carvell

By Wanda Carvell Maib, daughter of Garfield Carvell, Granddaughter of Tonnie Carvell Tonnie was born Aug. 15, 1905, in Giles County, Tenn. As a boy, Tonnie helped on the farm.

Everyone pitched in regardless of age. One of his jobs was building chicken coops. He also minded the chickens, feeding them, gathering the eggs and looking out for their wellbeing. He was expected to work on the farm building barns, sheds and anything else that was needed. The experience became very important to his livelihood.

He only attended a few years of school but had a good memory of figures. When the opportunity arose, he helped his brothers build houses.

The siblings worked very hard. When Clara Bell Walls met Tonnie, she thought he was the most handsome and debonair person she had ever seen. She fell madly in love. She was in the eighth grade when they decided to get married. She went to school one morning wearing two sets of clothes and a broad brim hat, cramming the hat underneath her desk.

Later in day, the teacher asked her why she brought her hat to school. At that very moment, she heard Tonnie pull up with a team of horses.

“I jumped up, socked that hat on my head and hurried up the aisle toward the door,” she recalled.

“Clara,” her teacher called, “Where are you going?”

“Going to get married!” she replied as she climbed in beside Tonnie.

He whipped up the horses, and they disappeared in a cloud of dust.

They had to hide out to keep her daddy from finding them before the train pulled out.

Tonnie, not unlike other young men of that time, had great difficulty finding employment. Fortunately, he and his other siblings worked for Frank Mars building the Milky Way Farm during the depression. Everyone said if it had not been for the work constructing Milky Way Farm, they did not know how they could have survived.

Later on, the young couple milked cows on a large dairy farm and raised chickens to sell to markets in Pulaski. They always maintained a large garden. They had to be resourceful and do what was necessary. At some point Tonnie worked for his brother Grady when needed at his gas station near Wales Station. During a brief period, he also worked for Hubert Abernathy at a gas/service station as a mechanic.

A real opportunity arose when Tonnie went to work for International Mines a phosphate company located at Wales Station, Tenn., and eventually was elected as a Union representative in the company. This was a real honor. When he had to deliver a speech and due to his limited education, he related to Clara what he wanted to convey, and she wrote his speeches and read them to him repeatedly until he had the speech memorized.

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The employees said he was one of the best representatives they had at the mines. Eventually the phosphate mines closed.

The family opened a business known as the Carvell Market in Pulaski. They operated the business for a number of years. Garfield became the proprietor of the Middle Tennessee Butane Company.

Tonnie went to work in the maintenance department of the company. He also continued to work with his brothers building houses, restaurants and barns. They delighted in being together on projects and helped each other in any way.

As time passed he was blessed with grandchildren, a beautiful boy came into the family. He was referred to as a “golden boy” with his blond curls and bright, happy disposition. In 1950, the little boy became critically ill and died. Tonnie was devastated at the loss of the child and grieved profoundly.

Shortly afterwards another baby boy was born. His name was Alan Kent Carvell. Tonnie informed the family he was never again going to become attached to another child, and he wasn’t even going to pay the baby any attention. It wasn’t long until Kent became Tonnie’s shadow.

Kent adored his grandfather, and as soon as he could pick up a hammer, he had him lining up nails. He was no older than three. Today Tonnie’s influence and that of his brothers can be Tonnie and Clara had two boys and one girl: Tillman, Garfield & seen as Kent Carvell Construction flourishes.

Alma Lee. Tonnie loved a joke when it was on someone else. Tillman and Garfield really pulled one over him. Tonnie was complaining about the government and having to pay so many taxes. They solicited a cousin to help with a prank. This resulted in Tonnie receiving a letter from a lawyer in Texas.

The letter informed him he had inherited a part of a large estate from a long-lost relative. The inheritance caused him to fall in a very large tax bracket, and due to these circumstances, the taxes were to be collected immediately and paid before the inheritance. They let him stomp and fume and fuss. They finally told him it was a joke. They said, he was really mad at first, and then he got tickled.

Tonnie, like his brothers, was a very strong man. He always worked hard and stayed physically fit. One Sunday night the boys had teased him to his limit. He ordered them to leave or he would throw them out. They were both still laughing when he rose from his chair, grabbed them in a bear hug and threw them out the front door. They rolled around the yard like children laughing and hollering.

When we traveled to the Bar X, Papa stopped at Stapp’s Market for soft drinks and Moon Pies.

When I was with him, he bought one RC Cola, one orange and one grape Nehi.

I could never decide on the drink I wanted, so he let me have a sip out of each one.

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When he retired from the gas company, he worked on the renovation of houses as rental property.

He also refinished antique furniture. They owned one old house in particular that always had something that needed to be repaired. One night it caught fire.

When the firefighter arrived, he asked, “Mr. Carvell by any chance did you set this fire?” He replied, “No but I sure am fanning the flames!”

Speaking of renovating houses, Alma and Papa were working on a house getting it ready for occupancy. Ms. Clara drove up in her big Cadillac. She was the project and site manager and conducted the inspections. An elderly Negro man who assisted the family by doing various jobs accompanied her that day as he also drove Ms. Daisy… I mean Ms. Clara. She had struck a deal with Tonnie that if he quit smoking cigars, she would buy him a new suit of clothes. If he did not keep his end of the bargain, she would give the suit to their assistant.

Alma said, “I warned Daddy of Ms. Clara’s arrival. She said, just in a nick of time, he threw that cigar under the porch and proceeded into the house with them. I was down on the ground scrambling around under the porch trying to retrieve the cigar to prevent the house from catching fire. I could just see that man wearing Daddy’s new suit.

The time had arrived for Ms. Clara to trade her Cadillac. She and Tonnie traveled to Lawrenceburg to make a purchase at Lloyd Carroll Motors. This is Kent’s wife, Jane Gay’s, dad. They negotiated for a long time, and Tonnie would not budge on the price. They were within $500 dollars of reaching an agreement. Clara asked Tonnie to go out to the car and get her something. When he left the room, she directed Lloyd to make the trade and promised to mail him a check for the difference the next day. Tonnie never knew about the deal.

Every Sunday Papa “spiffed up.” He combed his hair with Vitalis and patted his just-shaven face with Old Spice. Any time I smell either of them, I think of him. He was all slicked up for my wedding. One of the cousins explained to him to just walk up the isle behind Clara. He replied, “Yeah, I know. Just follow her like a dog on a leash. In the end, women make errand boys of us all.”

Every Sunday night family members were expected to show up at Papa Carvell’s home for an evening meal. The entire family, including friends and anyone else that wanted to come, were welcome. Clara never wanted anyone to bring a dish, so she spent hours cooking, icing cakes, seasoning the pots till she could spread food all over the countertops and tables. Everyone ate until they could hardly move. Then Tonnie held court regaling everyone with stories and jokes and reminiscences.

Tonnie had a soft side and a sweet nature. I was at their house paying a visit once on Valentine's Day. He eased up to Clara and said, “Honey, I got you a little something.” He produced a small box of heart shaped candy. Right at the time when he didn’t think I was watching, he pinched her on the bottom.

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When I decided to attend Martin College, he suggested I occupy a room at their home. Papa told Clara I wasn’t accustomed to not having carpet to walk on so he took remnants of carpet and installed in my room. He said, I needed an air conditioner, and he installed a window unit. I also discovered he washed up my pizza pans and cleaned up my messes so I didn’t get in trouble with my landlady.

He taught many life lessons, like how to drive in the snow and how to shoo the chickens, but the most valuable is how important family ties are.

He was proud of his family, and you had better not mess with them. He and Mama Carvell worked hard to have family suppers and holiday meals. He made everyone feel welcome. He never complained about the cost of feeding so many or eating leftovers the next week.

Papa suffered from hypertension and his health began to decline.

He suffered several strokes and had to go to physical therapy. One morning I found him in the kitchen washing dishes. When I asked him about washing the dishes he said, “It is just like that old therapy I take. At least here I am actually accomplishing something.”

Out of sheer determination (a Carvell trait) and exercise he was able to eliminate his walker, replacing it with canes and eventually abandoning them.

Papa Carvell was still standing in the yard pulling leaves off a little tree branch he held on a clear October day in 1971 when my husband and I left for Texas. We had all said our goodbyes earlier and packed a shoe box full of Sun Drop cake and yeast rolls stuffed with ham. Our car was loaded down with luggage, and we pulled away only to discover I had left my wallet. We turned around at Powder Mill Hill to go back. Papa was just standing waiting when I came out of the house. “Bye,” he simply said, as I put my hand on the car door. That is when I turned and wrapped my arms around him. He squeezed me tight and I whispered “love you.” He whispered the same, and I left.

He was not from a demonstrative family. I don’t ever remember hugging him before that day. That is my last memory of Papa.

My husband and I drove all night getting back to the little Army town in Texas. Around eight in the morning the phone woke me.

“Your Papa had a spell, and he is real bad. Get a plane home as soon as possible.”

Papa died Oct. 19, 1971, and is buried in Maplewood Cemetery, Pulaski, Tenn.

What a legacy, and what a great man.

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Dewey

Carvell

By Martha Rebecca Carvell Russell, daughter of Dewey and Eula Mae Owen Carvell. Martha was born May 21, 1937, at the time of this writing she is 76 years of age.

Dewey grew up helping his father and brothers do just anything they could to make a living. They raised pigs and beef cattle, milked cows and sowed and harvested crops. I remember Daddy telling about bringing wagonloads of corn and putting it in the corncribs. He plowed ground and helped smoke bees to get the honey for the family. Daddy was “well-read” to not have a formal education.

I remember hearing Daddy say he was sent to school but played along the creek bank during the day and went home when his siblings did. He was sickly and small and had to miss school to get well, and he did not want to go back. They did not make him. He was a wiz when it came to figures.

He finally outgrew his sickness. He worked, slept and ate and worked some more. I think Daddy enjoyed that, to hear him tell it.

Too bad it is not like that today. That was about all they knew. They all did well in life..

Daddy married my mother, Eula Mae Owen, when he was 21 and she was 20. They rented a small house and started housekeeping with nearly nothing. They had only the bare essentials. He sharecropped some, and he walked to work at the Milky Way Farm where he sat out trees along the entrance and anything else he was asked to do for wages of 50¢ a day.

He decided to go into the trucking business. He built a bed for his truck and began to haul for people. The family traveled with him some when we were small. I remember when he finished the trucking business, he made a smoke house out of the bed of the truck, and it sat behind our house.

The mines at Wales, Tenn., called him to drive a truck for them and haul muck.

He had his chauffeur’s license and was ready to go. That job really helped my parents move up the ladder a little.

Daddy made the money, and Mother saved it. Our mother was a perfect helpmate. They worked together to raise their little girls, and they sacrificed to do it. Daddy had milk cows, mules and hogs and raised tobacco.

He loved to talk and met no strangers.

Dewey with Martha, Okaleen and Geraldleen Our entertainment for the week was going to town, grocery shopping and visiting the 5 & 10¢ store for extras. If you can believe it, we paid 5¢ for a single cone of ice cream or 10¢ for a double dip.

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Daddy always saw to it we had what we needed. I remember Mother and Daddy telling us girls that times were tough for everyone. People were going broke, and they were jumping off buildings, killing themselves. They said a person came to them one time and told them if they were having a hard time that they could ship us girls off to New York, to sell us on the black market. My mother cried and cried to even hear such a thing. Daddy sent him packing.

One thing I do remember was Daddy sold a Holstein cow and her baby calf to an uncle living in Cornersville, Tenn. We all got ready and went with him to deliver it. We took the back seat out of the car loaded the cow and calf with the cow’s "I have had a rich, full head sticking out the window. We laughed all the way there and got life and been blessed in every way." – Dewey Carvell laughed at!

We always worked as a family to get things done. Daddy and I put in six tenths of tobacco on top of a steep hill. This was my senior year of high school. When time came to cut it and bring it to the barn, he strutted a wire and braced it at the top of the hill in the edge of the field. He sent the tobacco on the wire down through the woods, across a public road, over a field and anchored the wire after crossing the branch with a huge log. We cut the tobacco, and when he sent a stub of the tobacco to the barn, Mother would take it off the wire. We came to the house and would hang it in the five-tiered barn. People came from all over to see how Daddy did that.

He and his brothers tried anything to make an honest dollar. They were not afraid to work. Daddy enjoyed telling stories of experiences they had out in the working world. Uncle R. A., Uncle C. L. and Uncle Frank Hargrove worked together quite a bit. They were all very close and enjoyed each others' company. Daddy loved his parents and his siblings. If anyone of them needed anything, he was right there to help.

Mealtime at our house was family time. That’s when we all shared what our day might have in store for us or what we did during the day. Daddy always had time to play a game or something at the end of the day.

We were loved, and we knew it. Daddy knew our mother would take care of our needs with what he brought in. He could put all three of us girls outside to play a game with one arm behind his back and still win. We gave him a fit, and he’d let us know. It was always in fun.

He finally became a contract carpenter and always stayed busy building houses, doing repair work, plumbing, etc. He could do it all.

He loved serving the Lord in his later years after he became a Christian.

Dad was always a believer, and his profession of faith gave him an opportunity to exercise his convections.

His father, Robert Ammett, gave the land to build the Minnow Branch Baptist Church. Daddy served as a deacon in the church for many years.

Mother played the piano. It was a wonderful time in life. Things were simple and people had time for each other. Those were some of the happiest times of our lives.

Dewey grew up on Minnow Branch and stayed there all of his life. Only for a short time was he away, and that was the time when he lived on Wilkerson Lane in Giles County. He worked sharecropping to make a living. He also lived in Pulaski for a short time. His heart was always on Minnow Branch.

He built a new house in 1961 before Mother passed away on Jan. 28, 1972. He lived there until his health declined, and sad to say he left his home and he Dewey with Martha, Geraldleen & moved in the house with his daughter, Geraldleen. During that period, he Okaleen, 1938 suffered a stroke and was moved to NHC Healthcare facility in Pulaski for nine months until his death on Nov. 7, 1998. He and my mother are buried side-by-side at Lynnwood Cemetery in Lynnville, Tenn.

When you try to describe Daddy – well, he was definitely a unique character! And I feel he was a product of his rearing. He was an example before us, and he had high standards. He set goals for himself and his family. He was well-respected in the community by friends and family, and he expected you to do what was right. He had the ability to laugh at himself. He accepted his responsibilities with joy.

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Vera Carvell Cross

By Daphene Carvell Cope, niece of Vera Carvell Cross

By the time Vera was born on June 9, 1912, Cora and Ammett’s family had expanded to six children. Each time a child was born, more responsibility was placed on the older siblings. Living in the rural Minnow Branch community in Giles County, Tenn., families were dependent on one another.

There were occasional events at church and visits from extended family, but the children rarely were away from home. These were not bad or unhappy times because they were like every other family, and they didn’t really know the difference since transportation and communication were limited.

As soon as Vera was old enough, she stood on a stool to reach the tabletop and helped her mother in preparation of the family meals. Like other young girls of her time, Vera helped with the preparation and the gathering of vegetables from the garden.

She learned to can foods, make brooms from sagebrush, mops from willow trees and make mattresses from straw. She assisted with washing clothes in an old black wash pot. Girls were not excluded from working in the fields, especially during harvest times.

Vera married Walter Reabon Cross on Oct. 10, 1926, making her just over 14 when she wed. Walter was a Giles County native born in 1908.

The couple reared six children Dorothy, Barbara Ann, Jackie, Cathy, Charles Reabon and Edward (Smokie). They lived in Giles County most of their early married life, but they were residents of Marshall County, Tenn., by 1944.

The family later moved to Bowling Green, Ky., where RA’s family once visited.

“The first thing Aunt Vera did upon entering her house was to kick off her shoes,” Daphene recalled, adding, “and so do I. She had bunions on her feet. and so do I…a Carvell trait. Kicking off shoes provided instant relief.”

She kept an immaculate house, and the floors were polished beautifully. She was a fabulous cook preparing foods the old-fashioned way with lots of grease. She loved flowers. She was soft spoken and kind. She had a wonderful sense of humor.

Okaleen, Dewey’s daughter, visited with Vera when she operated the gift shop at Beach Bend Park in Kentucky. Vera’s son, Smokie, and his family occasionally brought Vera to visit her Tennessee relatives. She stayed in Lawrence County with RA and Nora when she came. RA then summoned his family and siblings together at his home for a visit.

She suffered from diabetes and passed away at age 59 on May 1, 1972. Her place of burial is Fairview Cemetery, Bowling Green, Ky. 56

Sadie Rebecca Carvell Morgan

By Daphene Carvell Cope, niece of Sadie Rebecca Carvell Morgan

Sadie Rebecca Carvell, whose nickname was “Beck,” was born Sept. 29, 1914, in Giles County, Tenn. Like the other children born to Robert Ammett and Cora Lee Ball Carvell, Sadie was not allowed "foolishness." Her father was especially strict on his four girls. Cora, like most mothers, allowed them to get by with a few things and even laughed and played with them. The females of the family had limited finances and often told the story of having just one pair of pearls, which they took turns wearing. They also shared their wardrobe.

When Sadie became a young lady she went to work at Johnson Shoe Factory in Pulaski. Most of her wages helped to support the family.

Sadie married Ham Patterson Morgan Nov. 1, 1935, in Pulaski, where they resided for a short time before moving to Columbia, Tenn.

The couple lived in an upstairs apartment on West Seventh Sadie and Pat were married Nov. 1, 1935 Street, which was near the main shopping district, making most of the couple's needs accessible within a short walking distance…a perfect solution since she never learned to drive. Pat worked for the railroad and was away all week. Provision were made by the rail company for the employees to reside through the week in the railcars outfitted with sleeping quarters and supplied by a meal car parked alongside the sleeping car.

The couple had no children, but Sadie loved and adored RA’s children. Troy and Daphene boarded the train in Lynnville under the care of the conductor and were met by Pat and Sadie in Columbia. The children spent summers and many weeks in Columbia. No one could fry a chicken any better than Sadie. She was the best. Her brothers, Grady and RA, traveled to Columbia and built Sadie and Pat a new home located in Westover Park behind Maury County Hospital. It was one of the earliest developments in Columbia. Pat worked as a dragline operator for Farmers Construction until his retirement. Young people in Westover Park loved Sadie and Pat and often came by to visit, especially when the kids from Lynnville visited. Sadie lived there 54 years.

Her "children" were two dogs, Bugsy and Wiggles. A social outing for Sadie was going to the grocery store and nothing – absolutely nothing – interfered with this weekly visit. She bought chicken and steak and cut it up for her precious dogs. If you are a dog lover, well, it is in your genes. Robert Ammett did not like Sadie’s dogs at all. He would take his crutch and poke at them when they came close.

Sadie was a "girly-girl" and very attractive. She was always most fashionable and dressed beautifully.

She was adorned with jewelry, rarely going out without her accessories, such as her scarf, hat and gloves. She had a beautiful complexion She admitted that while growing up, she had used lard on her face until cold cream replaced the lard. She always kept a Toni home permanent in her hair, she would let anyone – anyone – give her a perm.

Sadie and Pat attended West Seventh Street Church of Christ. He always wore a hat, and it had become rather worn and tattered. He did not see the need to purchase a new one. Sadie, was very disturbed about Pat being so adamant and not willing to part with his old hat. Finally after much persuasion, he went to Pig & Parsons in Columbia and bought a really expensive pretty hat. Sunday came and Pat was all decked out and wore his nice new hat. He left it in the foyer, of the church. After services he went to collect his hat. To his dismay every hat was gone. Someone had made an exchange, and he was left with an old one. You can guess the rest of the story.

Sadie struggled with health issues most of her life. She moved to Pulaski after Pat's death for a very short time, then to Lawrenceburg. She was diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away Aug. 25, 1989. She and Pat are buried at Polk Memorial Gardens in Columbia.She was kind to others and loved being with her family. The world is a better place having had Sadie pass through it.

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RA Carvell

By Daphene Carvell Cope, daughter of RA Carvell

RA, born Sept. 5, 1917, in Giles County Tenn., was the ninth child born to Robert Ammett and Cora Lee Ball Carvell.

RA spent his entire life explaining he did not have a name, only initials.

He had such a sense of humor most people thought he was teasing. He told everyone his parents ran out of names when they got to him. His brother, Grady, was 17 when he was born, and his sister, Dana, was 14.

The older children were responsible to help with the younger ones, so among their many daily chores another infant, RA, was added to the list of things to care for.

RA had little education. He attended school through the third grade but missed most of those final year days. However, RA was brilliant in math.

Life was difficult and it was essential to be resourceful. The days were long and tiring. Household and farm work were done in a primitive manner.

They had little or no time for recreation. Sunday after church, the family gathered for lunch and a long visit. Many times neighbors, along with the preacher, joined the family.

The children played, and at these gatherings, many stories were told. Some were accurate, while others were rather embellished to say the least. They were able to laugh at themselves and each other.

RA and his brothers were very physical. They had to be tough to do the work and keep the long hours. As a result of this upbringing, they all had strong work ethics. During the Great Depression, the Carvells were fortunate to have a job and work on the Milky Way Farm laying rock fences and many other things. RA worked with his father and his brothers. His wages were 50 cents a day.

According to the girls in the family, RA teased them. He annoyed the older children especially when they courted. Dewey, Sadie, Vera, Annie and CL were closer in age and had lots in common.

RA met and married Nora Burdick from Lawrence County, Tenn., on May 21, 1939. Nora was a very beautiful, sweet and a shy lady. They say opposites attract. The newlyweds settled between Minnow Branch and Kerr Hill in a very small house. After two years a son, Troy, was born. RA told of the extremely hot day, July 19, 1941, he caught a fish in Big Creek early that morning. The fish was so large that it did not fit in a lard can. For everyone that passed by during the day he told them about his boy and gave them a mess of the big fish.

Times were very difficult following the crash of the stock market in 1929 and the Great Depression. This was followed by World War II. Jobs were hard to come by. RA and his nephew, Carvell Dean Hargrove, left for California to find employment.

Brother CL and wife Louise were already there.

The pair got jobs in a defense plant. The job they performed was boring holes in pipes to make gun barrels. Nora, Troy and six-week-old Daphene, along with Nellie Stofel, boarded the train and joined them in California. They resided there until the war ended and then returned to Minnow Branch. Following their return, RA had various occupations. He hauled muck for the phosphate mines at Wells Station. To make provisions for his family, he performed a number of different, but necessary jobs. In the 1950s, RA built a house on a small farm in Smith Hollow between Campbellsville and Minnow Branch.

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Saturday was town day and the family often traveled to Pulaski. The adults purchased their weekly items, attended to business, such as banking, and the children were permitted to go to the Sam Davis Theatre to see a movie – usually Roy Rogers & Gene Autry. They each had fifty cents allowance. The cost of admission was ten cents; popcorn and soft drinks were five cents. Many other items were a penny.

He sold the farm after several years and relocated to Lynnville, Tenn. The family spent many winters in Florida due to a lack of local work. RA worked on the beach with contractors developing beachfront property. He also worked at McArthur Dairy. He was affectionately known as "Tennessee."

In early spring, the family would return to Lynnville and reopen their home, and he resumed working as a building contractor. In many joint efforts, the brothers CL, Grady and Dewey occasionally working with brothers-in-law, Bascom Capley and Frank Hargrove, built countless dwellings. They constructed numerous commercial buildings in Giles County and bordering counties.

They also dismantled buildings, as their services were in great demand. During the summer months RA’s son, Troy, and Grady’s son, Terry, worked with this dynamic group. They worked very hard, but they had a great time just being together.

The opportunity arose for him to own and operate a very successful building and supply store located on the public square in Lynnville. RA was one of the first economic and community developers for Lynnville.

RA’s family was in transit to visit relatives in Michigan when they were involved in an automobile accident in Nashville. RA sustained a broken back and had a very difficult recovery. He, ultimately, was left with repercussions that lasted for the remainder of his life. A few years after this accident, RA built a community swimming pool. Son Troy was the lifeguard and Daphene was grounds and operations director. The youth from the local neighborhood had little recreation, so the pool became the local hangout. The Carvell family joined in the fun. During this seven-year period in Lynnville, children Luthene and Tammy were born. RA’s mother, Cora, later passed, and due to the failing health of Papa Carvell, he moved in with RA and Nora, sharing quarters with Troy. Troy can recollect and relay many stories told by Papa Carvell.

In 1962, the RA Carvell family moved from the Lynnville area to Nora’s family farm in Lawrence County and cared for Nora’s aging parents. At the young age of 42, Nora was surprised to learn she was expecting twins. In 1965, Michael and Monica were born. Michael only lived a few short hours.

Monica then became the aunt to all of her nieces and nephews with only minimal year age differences.

A few years later, RA bought a farm near Marcella Falls, and to everyone’s amazement, he built a log house. This motivated him to embark on a new adventure. He became a consultant to local and state officials in the surrounding areas on the construction of log dwellings. He is credited with constructing local commercial structures such as the current Lawrence County, Tenn., Chamber of Commerce and the historic David Crockett Cabin. The other commercial log structures built by RA include a cabin for the City of Florence, Ala., and one for Columbia, Tenn. All the surrounding counties have numerous residential log dwellings. He was asked to consult on the restoration of the historic Rattle and Snap plantation mansion in Mt. Pleasant, Tenn.

RA had a very charismatic personality. It was quite common to see him holding court to an audience listening to his tall tales. He was told many times that he missed his calling, as he should have been a stand up comedian. He was always in such fine spirits, with that cap cocked at a jaunty angle and always ready to either tell or listen to a funny story. He, too, was a musician in his own mind. He mostly strummed the same tune. His choir included, but was not limited to his wife, daughters and anyone else he could solicit. He rather frequently joined in other bands to their dismay during his musical career. He would occasionally entertain with buck dancing.

RA made mistakes in life, but there was never a doubt that he loved all his family. To say he was unique was an understatement. What a guy. RA died Dec. 7, 1993, and is buried in John Lay Cemetery, Ethridge, Tenn.

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Annie Cora Carvell Capley

By Tammy Carvell Pierce, niece of Annie Cora Carvell Capley

Annie Cora Carvell was born Jan. 3, 1920, in the Minnow Branch community. Her double name encompasses her mother’s name, Cora. Being next to the youngest child and the youngest of the four girls, she spent a great deal of time with her mother and was not required to work in the fields as often as the other children but tended mostly to household chores. Later in life when her siblings accused her of being petted, she’d just smile and offer no denials.

Annie Cora had a very serious nature. Many times the remark was made that her husband, Bascom Capley, whom she married in 1943 in Sarasota, Fla, had the patience of Job. While Bascom, who was born April 8, 1913, was in service and stationed in Sarasota, Fla., the couple lived near the naval base. During one trip to the beach, Annie Cora nearly drowned, resulting in horrific fear of water for herself and a constant fretting when her beloved nieces and nephews where swimming. Following Bascom’s stint in the military, the Capleys returned to Minnow Branch where they bought a small farm. He dug wells for an occupation and was considered a great carpenter.

Annie was a homemaker, as were most ladies of the time, and, as Bascom worked long hours, she had quite a bit of free time. When party telephone lines shared among eight neighboring families became available in rural communities, a favorite pastime was to eavesdrop on the other parties. As soon as Bascom went to work, Annie Cora began her day of listening in, spending hours learning about the goings on of her neighbors.

Annie Cora leaned to drive a straight shift car, though not very well, but she was nonetheless able to travel one mile for a daily visit with her aging parents. After a number of years on the farm, the Capleys relocated to Lynnville. Their new home was one block from her brother, RA and his large family. Annie loved being in the small town of Lynnville, where she met and made many new friends and could be close to her family. Her mother had passed, and her father was now living with RA. Helping with RA and Nora’s small children and with her father gave her purpose. She had no children of her own, so she “adopted” two of RA’s girls, Luthene and Tammy.

Annie continued to live in Lynnville after Bascom’s death on Jan. 21, 1990. She visited Nora and her children on weekends and holidays. She lived to see RA and Nora’s grandchildren and loved them dearly. She was not a person to seek center stage, but she preferred to stay in the background and observe. She had an unusual sense of humor, with just a little mischievous nature. She was very loyal, protective of her family and influenced more than she knew.

When you think of and describe Annie you can say, “She was a real nice person.” She died Nov. 24, 2003, and is buried by her husband at Lynnwood Cemetery in Lynnville, Tenn.

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By Daphene Carvell Cope, niece of CL Carvell

CL Carvell

CL Carvell was born May 5, 1922, in Giles County, Tenn., and is the youngest of Robert Ammett and Cora Lee Ball Carvell’s 11 children.

CL like his brother, RA, only had initials as his name. CL was taken from his mother’s name Cora Lee. He was the last child born, so he assumed the nickname “Baby.” All of his siblings took care of “Baby.” Life was not as difficult for CL as was in previous years of his other family members.

However, he was expected to do his part of the work even at an early age. CL was seven years old when the Great Depression hit.

Everyone was affected by this disaster. Most families went into a survival mode. The rural areas got by better because they had always been resourceful and worked on farms to provide for family needs. They were not dependent like people living in the cities.

He was 19 years old when World War II began. He was drafted by the Army, but he was rejected due to a heart valve problem.

CL married Louise Brown of Beech Hill in rural Giles County. Shortly thereafter, the couple moved to California to seek employment and have regular income. They were both hired to work at the Douglas Aircraft Plant. His brother RA and nephew Carvell Dean also went to California to find work. They all loved the California climate and were happy to find jobs, yet they were always disturbed when the earthquake tremors occurred.

When the war ended, they returned to Minnow Branch where CL had been raised. With the help of his brothers, he built a very nice house beside his parents.

He worked with his brothers as a carpenter. In 1957, he and Louise relocated to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where he worked for McArthur Dairy. They had no children, and they ultimately divorced. CL returned to Tennessee, residing for a short time in Lawrence County.

In August of 1965 he Dana, Carvell Dean, CL, Frankie Jean m a r r i e d M a r g u e r e t t e Stewart from Columbia, Tenn., who had six children from her previous marriage. C. L. loved children and was delighted to become the father of his new brood.

The couple moved to Giles County and lived on Kerr Hill Road. They later moved to Richland Trace, west of Pulaski, where CL had built a house on a small track of land. They lived at that location until their death.

He died Feb. 23, 2010, and is buried at Mt. Moriah Cemetery, near Pulaski Tenn., alongside his wife, who died only 10 days earlier.

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Robert Ammett & Cora Lee Ball Carvell

Cora Lee Ball Carvell

Robert Ammett Carvell

Funeral services for Mrs. Cora Bell Ball Carvell, 75, Lynnville resident, were held at 2:30 o'clock Tuesday afternoon at the home with the rites conducted by Gynnath Ford, minister of the Lynnville Church of Christ, and the Rev. Mack Pinkelton, Baptist minister.

Burial took place in Maplewood Cemetery.

Mrs. Carvell died at 6:30 o'clock Monday morning at the home after a long illness.

A member of the Church of Christ, she was born Feb., 23, 1881, in Giles County, the daughter of the late Leander Ball and Sallie Hayes Ball. Mrs. Carvell is survived by her husband, Robert Ammett Carvell, Sr.; four daughters, Mrs. Frank Hargrove and Mrs. Bascom Capley, both of Lynnville, Mrs. Pat Morgan, Columbia, and Mrs. Walter Cross, Bowling Green, Ky.; five sons, Grady Carvell, Dewey Carvell, and RA Carvell, all of Lynnville, and Tonnie Carvell and CL Carvell, both of Pulaski; nineteen grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren; one sister, Mrs. Anna Green, Nashville; and one brother, B. T. Ball, Lynnville. – The Pulaski Citizen, 4 Jul 1956

Funeral services for Robert Ammett Carvell, Sr., 83, retired farmer, were held at 3 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon at Minnow Branch Baptist Church. Rites were conducted by the Rev. H. G. Coston and the Rev. Mr. Miller. Burial took place in Maplewood Cemetery. Mr. Carvell died at 8 o'clock on Saturday morning, July 9, at the home of his daughter in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A native of Giles County, he lived in the Minnow Branch Community until two years ago when he moved to Fort Lauderdale. He was the son of the late Robert James Carvell and Julia Ann Joines Carvell.

His wife, Mrs. Cora Lee Ball Carvell, died July 2, 1956. Mr. Carvell is survived by four daughters, Mrs. Dana Hargrove, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Mrs. Sadie Morgan, Columbia, Mrs. Vera Cross, Bowling Green, Ky., and Mrs. Ann Capley, Lynnville; five sons, Grady Carvell, Tonnie Carvell, Dewey Carvell, and RA Carvell, all of Giles County, and CL Carvell, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; 19 grandchildren and several greatgrandchildren; and one sister, Mrs. John Morgan, Pulaski. – The Pulaski Citizen 13 Jul 1960

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This photograph of Campbellsville, Tenn., Methodist Church under construction ca. 1915 has been passed down through the Carvell family. At left is Robert Ammett Carvell. His brother, Alex, is in the center.

Robert Ammett registered for the World War I service but was not called to serve. Below is his official military registration card.

Robert Ammett Carvell 63

Ammett Carvell

Ammett and Cora Carvell with Clara and Alma Lee at the homeplace

Ammett Carvell

Memories

Ammett Carvell with Daphene, Luthene and Tammy Carvell

Ammett Carvell

Cora and Siblings

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