McCLURE to GRAY
Randolph McCLURE – to his oldest daughter Winnie McClure Yokum Gray about a month before he died.
Bradford, Tenn R1 8-23-33. – Wel Winnie il state you a letter i got your letter & i am so nerveless i cant hardly rite and i never feel wel i hope irmer (Irma, her daughter-RM) is wel by now Winnie i left Mayfield 16 months ago to day and it seams like 5 years iv not enjoyed myself one our since i ben in tenn i wish i had wint to the co house (Poor House-RM) the day i left thare i got a letter from Katy(another daughter-married to Roy Hendrix, Vernon’s brother, both buried at Oak Grove-RM) last week but i dident rite eny its bin 2 or 3 weeks since i herd from Bettie(my dear Grandmother-RM) Winnie the rain damaged lots of corn & cotton but tha is lots of good corn & cotton yet Tollie (his son, with whom he lived-RM) has got some very good corn and cotton Tollie got 4 very good shotes to kill . Winnie if you can finde out eny way where Tellies( I dont know who this is-RM) address is do so and let me no in your nextletter be sure too if something dont turn up so i can go to mayfield mabe i can go and stay with tellie some Winnie you no its a hell of a life to live and haft to stay where you no you are not welcom and not wanted and i no im not welcom or not wanted hear id be willing to go enywhere i could feel welcom for im nearly naked and bairfooted and no chance to get enything and winter nearly hear dont no what il do iv ben hear 13 months sunday the 27th and i drothur be in mayfield jail as to be hear tha are having a big meeting at the baptist church this week you bet we are havin some dam primping hear this week it makes me sick ….(Better left out!!-RM)
Winnie did u no that Burt Harden(Burt Hardin, a neighbor of theirs in the 5th dist of Weakley Co-RM) was ded is crops good over thare what watts family is that over thare do tha no me what is tha names i just got a letter from bettie tha wasent very wel wel this is sunday morning the 27 im up but im so nerveless i cant hardly rite i got the blues so bad the hoal world looks blue winnie i ben hear 13 months today i drother be in mayfield jail all this time as to ben hear…. (again, better left out!! -RM) iv not eat a good biscuit nor had a cup of coffee fit to since i left betties(she was a good cook!!-RM) …well winnie the tent meeting is over(Mt. Pleasant Baptist at Skullbone-RM) and im glad of it we sure did have some dam primpin hear i sure wish i had some one to patch my cloths that would last longer i soe them up but tha soon split again … il finish this in the morning this is old blue monday im at the mail box wev all got mighty bad coles and im so blue the hoal world is blue so rite when you can god by….Jeff McClure
Notes: This letter is from Jefferson Randolph McClure, my Great-Grandfather. He lived in Weakley Co. TN and Graves Co. KY most of his life. After his wife, Hannah Huggins McClure died, he lived off and on with his children. Not long before this letter was written, he lived at Palmersville with his daughter, my grandmother Bettie McClure Hendrix Pollock. His oldest son, Tollie McClure, married Naomi Dowland from Skullbone and he moved there with them, where he lived until his death. This letter is written about a month before his death to his oldest daughter, Winnie McClure Yokum Gray. Her story is interesting, too. She was married to Emery Yokum, and they ran a store almost on the Henry/Weakley County line. Some people were distrustful of him, and he was murdered by three young men in 1929, leaving her a widow with three small children. My grandfather, Vernon Hendrix, had just died in February of the same year, leaving her a widow with four small children, ages 7, 5, 3, and 1. The store was later known as Burton’s Store and Walker’s Store, and the building is still there, converted into a house. It is directly adjacent to the Hendrix land grant homeplace, where the Hendrixes and descendants lived and some were buried there. This letter is postmarked August 28, 1933. I will also type it just as it is written R.M.
Winnie, her new husband Westley Gray, and her children were in Dorena MO where they worked in cotton and picked up pecans for a living. Remember, the Great Depression was on and everyone had it tough. R.M.
Jeff died on September 22, 1933 of a perforated duodinal ulcer. He was buried the next day at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in an unmarked grave-and he finally had a new suit of clothes. He was a big man, and according to my mother, could “throw” his voice, which amused them greatly. What a legacy we have from the suffering of others- pioneers, soldiers, nomads through wars and depressions!! To GOD be the glory!! Submitted By Ron Mason
