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WILLIAM BURTON
BLAYLOCK
by
Stampteach
Becky danced and sang happily around the house where she lived
with her father and six strapping brothers. Her mother had died when
she was young. She had become the chief cook and bottle washer for
the family. Her brothers adored and spoiled her. As she cooked
supper for them this night, her thoughts were miles away. Her family
arrived for supper, and wondered at her merriment. Little did they
know that after tonight, it would be a long time before they saw her
again. All went well. Finally everyone retired for the night...
except Becky. Quickly she made her bed, leaving a note on top of it
which they would surely find, come morning. Stealthily, she let
herself out the door. Trembling, because this was unlike her, she
crept away. If they heard her, they might think it was a bear and
shoot it...asking questions afterward. She stumbled through the
darkness. At last she came to the place where she had secreted a
small packet of clothing. With ease she lifted them and continued
down the path.
Suddenly, he was standing before her, arms outstretched. Becky
ran into his arms, clinging. Now she and Will were safe. They
started down the road together.
Becky and Will had a long walk ahead of them...8 or 10 miles
of wagon roads over the mountain. They had no lights...no torch.
They were traveling by the light of the moon. They held hands, sang.
and giggled as they hurried down the road. Finally, while it was
still the middle of the night, Becky and Will arrived at their
destination. They knocked loudly on the door. A sleepy-headed
gentleman came to the door. After they made their desires known, he
invited them in. Quickly he went to the bedroom, awakened his wife,
and they got dressed. When they came back to the front room, Will
handed the man a piece of paper, which was well scrutinized, and
read as follows: "That whereas there is about to be a Mariage
Contract between William B. Blaylock and Rebecca H. Crudell (should
have been Cordell)now if there is no just cause...."
and they were pronounced man and wife. Well, it was still the
middle of the night. They had no place to go...at least no place
nearby. The minister and his wife, in the spirit of love, offered
them a bedroom for the remainder of the night. This made them happy.
When they got into the bed chamber, they found it to be a bed with
no mattress...and the planks upon which they were to sleep, were far
apart.
The next morning found them traveling again on foot. One
might wonder how they were to live. Will had no formal education.
He was used to living off the land. All of the Blaylock boys were
sharp-shooters. He had no problem with bringing down a deer, rabbit,
squirrel, etc. for a meal, but they did have to settle down quickly.
With Becky by his side and helping every minute, they were happy. It
is possible that they found an abandoned shack, or that they built a
house. There was plenty of lumber to be had. It was wintertime, so
the snakes were in hibernation. They struggled. They lived 40 miles
or so from her nearest relative. They probably were situated on Sand
Mountain, while her folks were next door on Lookout Mountain.
After 2 years, Becky and Will were blessed with a little
daughter, Lucinda, named after his mother, Elizabeth Lucinda Cathey
Blalock. Yes, even in the same families, the name BLALOCK was
spelled different ways. Since Becky had no mother to help her, one
might have expected her mother-in-law to come to help her; however,
this may not have been possible. Her mother-in-law had been married
at the age of thirteen and was at this time pregnant with child
number 13. Riding over those mountain roads would have been unwise
if not impossible for Lucinda at the time. In all, Becky and Will
had seven children.
Here my facts become hazy as to the year of the next episode.
I am unsure of which children had been born by this time, and which
were to be born later. It seems that Will either liked to drink a
lot...or he just liked making booze. Perhaps it was for sale. At
any rate, one day he was at the home of an old man living on Sand
Mountain, (could have been his next door neighbor) when they received
word that the KluKluxKlan was after them and was on the way up the
mountain. One would think that they were on the way up the mountain
to break up the still. At any rate, Will sent back word that he and
his friend had been making bullets all day; that they had 1/2 a
churn full and were still making them. Up came the KKK and perhaps
others. Between 4 and 10 people were killed that day. A ballad was
later written about the event and was sung in the mountains for
many years. Since Will had helped to kill several men that day, he
realized that he would have to escape quickly...or the wrath of the
mountain would be upon him. He sent word to Becky that he was
leaving...and that was that.
Before long, the rainy season was upon them. Becky was taking
care of her family...and several were very young. One night a
tornado ripped the top off their house. A week or so later, some
passer-bys stopped to look at the old house. They were astonished
to find that anyone was still alive in that house. They helped Becky
get together what little she could, and she started walking with her
young family 40 miles to her brother's house. I guess no one was
helping her much because of her husband.
After a few years, Becky received a message from Will telling
her that he wanted her to come across the country, past Texas until
she reached a large green grassy mound. One of her brothers decided
to make the trip with her to protect her. They started out in a
covered wagon. (Remember that cars had not been invented yet.) After
weeks or months of traveling, they thought that they were getting
nearer to their destination. They travelled many miles without
seeing any houses or people. Water was precious. Finally, they saw
the grassy mound. They had notice that behind them, two men on
horseback had been trailing them. Now the men were coming up
rapidly. One had a long black beard. When they were even with the
wagon, the man with the beard jumped into the wagon and grabbed the
reins. Becky screamed. The men started to scuffle. Suddenly, Becky
realized that it was Will, her husband.
How long her brother stayed with them, we do not know. The won-
derful trees, which had been everywhere in Alabama, were nowhere to
be found in New Mexico. The Blaylocks built a sort of leanto against
a cliff. Will had managed to get some sheep. They stayed in that area
until wolves had eaten most of their flock. Finally Will decided
that they would have to move. They loaded the wagon with their
family, and headed back to Texas. On the way back, their horse died,
leaving them stranded. Will remembered that about a day's ride back
there had been a house. Resolutely, he struck out walking. The next
day, he appeared with the man, whose house they had passed. They
were on horseback. Will wanted to trade something to the man for a
horse. The man looked over their meager belongings...and saw nothing
but rags and children. He shook his head NO. Will took him aside. In a
a moment, he came back to the wagon, took the eldest son, who was on
the trip, and placed him on the back of the horse. He whispered to
his son. Suddenly Becky realized what was happening. Her husband
was trading their son for a horse! Quickly she ran to her son,
grabbed him by the leg, screaming, and would not let go. She tried
to pull him off the horse. Actually, Will and the man had made a
deal. He would leave his son there to work for the man in exchange
for the horse, until he could send money to pay for the horse.
Finally, the man felt so sorry for Becky, that he said that she
could keep her son. They were to send the money later.
They arrived in the area of Eden, Texas and settled down. Of
course they had no money. Will dug ditches and any other menial
work available. Becky took in laundry. By hard work, Becky was able
to save money for a farm. Will died in 1894. This left Becky and
some of the older children to make a living. Will had left Becky
with 5 year old Rosa Emma. The family lived in this area until they
died.
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David L. Brown
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