Photo Graciously Submitted by Janis GarciaComments or Questions Click Here
H. C. Chaffin was the son of Robert Lee & Dora Barton White Chaffin
H. C. Chaffin was born in Smith County in 1916 and died in 1982.
Go To Robert Chaffin Family
Pictures
Geraldine “Jerri” Gillespie
was the daughter of James and Margaret Jane
Henry Gillaspie. Jerri was born Oct. 14, 1916 died Aug. 4 2004.
Go To James Gillespie Family
Pictures
The Obituary of Geraldine
Gillespie Chaffin can be found on this website
Go To Geraldine Gillespie
Chaffin Obituary
"Grandmother Remembers"
Transcribed from a book that was filled in by Geraldine "Jerri" Chaffin in 1990 (in the possession of her granddaughter, Janis Garcia).
My
name is GERALDINE GILLESPIE CHAFFIN
My
parents were MARGARET & JIMMIE GILLESPIE
My
ancestors were Irish & Dutch.
My
mother was born on October 5, 1886.
After
my parents were married, they lived in Smith County, Tennessee.
For
a living, my father farmed.
My
mother was a homemaker.
The
thing I remember most about my father is [that he was] nice, a very loving father.
He always would wind the mantle clock on Sunday morning, [which was] fun to
watch.
The
thing I remember most about my mother is that she worked so hard. She took in
washing and ironing to buy clothes for us.
I
was born on 10-14-15 [wrong, it's 1916] in Horse Shoe Bend in Smith County,
Tenn.
I
was named Geraldine Gillespie because I guess that is what my parents wanted.
My
family at the time consisted of Benton Gibbs (half brother), Lum, Elisha,
Henrietta, a few died before and then along come me.
My
happiest childhood memory is when someone would give me some clothes that they
didn't want any more.
When
I was little I wanted to become a missionary all my life. I have wanted to be a
missionary and go to the foreign field and help others.
Some
of the things I remember about school are playing outside and kicking cans, and
I had a very nice teacher, Miss Era Allen.
We
studied the 3 R's.
In
school, I liked helping to dust the erasers and go to the spring and get water
to drink and build a fire in the stove.
On
Saturdays, I liked to help clean up the house or go and pick up walnuts,
hickory nuts and wild grapes.
In
the summer, when I wasn't in school, I helped my mother shell beans and can,
wash clothes on a wash board, or make lye soap or hominy.
The
house I lived in as a child was an old house. The cats come in any time they
wanted to, and when it snowed in the winter it would snow through the cracks
onto our bed.
My
chores included: before we went to school we milked the cows, brought water
from a spring, carried in wood for that day, fed the chickens, put a fire
around the kettle to heat water to wash.
Before
we had television for entertainment, we beat on a tub, sang and blowed in a
bottle.
For
snacks, I ate whatever I could eat.
I didn't
have any money when I was growing up. My Daddy worked very hard for us to
survive.
My
parents were very strict about swearing, alcohol and cigarettes, and who we run
around with.
The
oldest relative I remember knowing was my mother's brother, Silas Henry [born
in Monoville]. When he was born, my mother said you could put him in a coffee
pot and close the lid [he was so small. They kept him in a small box on the
open oven door, to keep him warm, until his body could keep itself warm].
Some
of the games I played with my friends when I was little were:
Hide
& Seek
Ball
Played
house with broken pieces of old dishes.
I
had only one doll; my half brother would buy me a china doll every Christmas;
he had a job in Nashville.
Vernice
and I would climb trees and throw corn cobs at one another.
Mostly,
we had to work on the farm.
Some
of the ways we celebrated holidays were:
Mostly
we rested, for we had to work in the tobacco field and that was very hard work.
On Thanksgiving we had a feast fit for a king.
The
most exciting present I ever got was my first pair of slippers (I was 13 yrs.)
that had a 1/2" heel. They were patent leather. I would shine them with a
biscuit. I got a string of beads I liked very much.
A
trip I'll always remember was a wagon trip we all took to go up to my mother's
brothers. They had tall chestnut trees, and they had a persimmon tree that was
just loaded. I ate so many of them and got so sick. The trip took a half day to
go.
The
funniest thing that ever happened to me was my uncle [Grover Henry] caught me
once when I kept on teasing him and there was a rain barrel filled with water.
He stuck my head down in the barrel.
When
I was sick, my parents used to use all the old remedies on us. Castor oil
(ick). I got the lice once in school and also the itch. My mother said
"starve a fever and feed a cold" and that we did.
Something
I'm really glad I did as a child is obey my parents, respect them and love
them. I had a hard childhood but I enjoyed it very much.
The day
I remember best from my childhood was the first day I went to school because
there were things to do and little girls to play with.
I
remember when:
a
good salary was "zip"
an
ice-cream cone cost .05
a pound of sugar cost .07/lb.
a
candy bar cost .05
a
gallon of gas cost .12
a
movie cost (had no movie)
a
newspaper cost (had no newspaper)
a
bus ride cost (had no buses)
a
pair of shoes cost $1.98 (in 1920-21)
a
dress cost (I never had a bought dress.)
a
house cost $1,100
a
car cost $1,000
My
first date was 1930 with H.C. Chaffin but my brother Vernice went along also.
We walked and went to town, 5 miles one way.
My
first kiss was 1931 with your Grandpa.
My
first "big" purchased with my own money was:
II
don't remember. I never had much money.
My
first time away from home was at my uncle's house.
The
first person I voted for in a presidential election was President [FD]
Roosevelt.
My
favorite toy as a child was a doll.
My
favorite entertainment was whistling.
My
favorite song was "Amazing Grace".
My
favorite dessert was banana pudding.
My
favorite outfit was: My husband bought the first new coat I ever owned.
My
favorite book was "The Baby Ray Primer".
Your
grandfather [H.C. Chaffin] was born in Monoville, Tenn.
We
met as children and neighbors.
When
I first saw him I thought "he is for me" and he was.
For
dates, we used to just stay around the house or take a walk, we walked
everywhere we went.
When
we got married, I was 19 yrs. old and he was 19 yrs. old
We
were married on 12-21-1934 in Kentucky.
The
ceremony was performed before a justice of the peace with two witnesses.
After
we married, we lived with my mother and dad for 3 months and then with his dad
for a month and his dad died and we lived on there for a year and then moved to
Bethpage, Tenn.
For
a living your grandfather farmed a few years and then we moved to Nashville and
on to Ohio on December 8, 1942.
I
was a housewife when we moved to Ohio. I worked in a factory.
I'll
never forget the time our house burned to the ground, July 15, 1938. We wasn't
at home. Everything we owned burned up.
When
I was little we didn't have some of the things we had today, such as drugs, bad
water, cars, TV, telephone, killings, robberies, rude kids.
However,
some of the things we had then which we don't have today were respect, manners,
love.
Some
of the things that only women used to do were:
quilt,
make hominy and lye soap
Some
of the things that only men used to do were:
build
houses and barns, go hunting
Your
grandfather would want you to remember him as a loving grandfather. He loved
all of you kids very much. He wanted you to have a good life.
I
hope you'll always remember me as a loving Grandma. I do love all of you all. I
hope you can say I did a few things to help you along the way.