History From the Minds of the Living
I come before you to share something I know little about. However various members of the McPhatter family has shared glimpses of family history as they recall it. However, as you know sometimes when you grow old, you simply do not remember things accurately or you sometimes embellish them as you desire. So forgive us if some of the info seems not so true or tainted because we just do not know the history and the trailblazers have moved to a new home.
What we learned about this family is subject to change:
The Patriarch
Will McPhatter (ancestry.com & Findagrave.com)
Family members remembered we called Will McPhatter, Papa. Some shared that his father was George and Mother named Effie. His spouse was Rosa McPhatter. Could it be that he was raised by two sets of parents? We all may recall that he was a short, short, dark and some say knot of a Black man, with slick black hair(some suggest he may have been Black and may be migrant from Africa), had a sister name Catherine , a twin brother and had the ability and liked to eat fire. What manner of man was this? Mr. Will married Miss Rose and they started the business of making children alot of them. The children kept a coming so I don't know when they had time to work the farm because they enjoyed making babies.
My mind tells me when he died they brought his body to the house, wearing a black suit and lying in a casket. I remember us children creeping in the room to see him and then running ou quickly because we thought he was going to get up out of that casket. The grown ups' would say you children better get out that room then we run and scatter.
Fact Check: That he had 8 siblings: Cornelia, Wash and 6 others, married Rosetta McPhatte born in Circa), lived in N.C. In 1930, passed away at 75 years)
The Matriarch
Rose McKenzie McPhatter (ancestry.com & Findagrave.com)
Grandma Rose was a beautiful woman. Although classified as Black, we know she was a mixture. Her skin was a light golden tone with slanted eyes and thin lips not indicative of the Black race but characteristic of Indian decent. She maintained black long, flowing hair that needed little care. Papa knew to get a pretty women to make beautiful children. Papa and Grandma Rose married and were living in Bomore Community in Hoke County, Raeford area raising a brood of children. The broo consisted of:
While walking to the store in the Bomore Community, frisky Annie Mae at an early age met her a man to marry, Spence McGirt, and the beat continued to roll. They too breeded a nest of children. Actually, Grandma Rose and daughter Annie Mae were pregnant at the same time. Aunt Arlia (Ollie) and nephew Joe were the same age.
How you like those cookies? Grandma Rose taught her children to be fast and accurate in al walks of life. About 1918 the family moved to Laurinburg, NC on the McKenzie farm in. John Station Area of Scotland County not too far from the Old Spring Hill Baptist Church, now Jones Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. They lived in a wooden board house with a front porch. Pap and Annie Mae left a legacy of sitting on that porch and eating beans from the field while the shared passed memories and fantasized about the future. Per Hazel, Rosa and some others grandma Rose was a well established bootlegger making corn whiskey and homebrew. Soldier and community people would come over to drink and listen to music. Floretta use to come dow to the house and dance for the soldiers. Ros shared that she also danced and they gave money to daddy and he gave it to Floretta. Whe Grandma Rose found out about it, the dancing for money ceased. Well Floretta is still doing that same dance, rolling on the river and Rose Lee is doing a semi holy dance as her body ages.
After Papa's death, Grandma Rose moved to the big city of Laurinburg, NC, residing on McQirt Bridge Road near Cedar Grove Cemetery. She lived a quiet life raising grand children Tommy and Ralph. Tommy had been hit by a car, walking the road, kicking a can and Grandma took special effort protecting him. I can see he now walking to Annie Mae's house around the corner with a bonnet on her head and sometimes and apron with a home made toothpick in her mouth. She often broke a tender, tiny piece of a branch from a tree and chewed on it consistently
Although, I never saw her make it, even in this location I could smell the sweet smell of that good old homebrew. Yea, I know how it smells and taste. It is good to the last drop. If you have the recipe, pass it on.