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Lineage of Dicie M. Cummings Shockley
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Transcription of a letter written
by William E. Shockley
Page 1
What I know and was told to me
by Grandmother Dicie. From my youth up, I was about 5 years old when
she began to teach me this; that our
Grandfather Essix was a Chactau
Indian. She never told me anything about his father nor his mother,
nor where he was raised. Vanburen County, Tennessee was where they
lived and raised their family. They had four boys and four girls.
Their names, the boys: Mattison,
Issac, John, and Marion. The girls
were; Vira, Randy, Linda and Martha.
Grand Dad Essix had 3 brothers
and 3 sisters; General, Clobe and Jim were the boys; Eva, Liddie and
Mannervie wer the girls. Eva was Pete Cummings' wife - that was Jim,
Peter, Clobe and Gabe's mother. Also, Liddie Shockley's, Ben
Shockley's wife.
Two of his sisters lived near
Chattanooga. Manervie married Jack Simpson. Liddie married Jack
Green. Grand Dad Essix and Grandmother Dicie lived in what was called
the Cummings Cave in Vanburen County. When their youngest child was
12 years old, they separated and he left that part of the country. He
was gone for years. Our brother Grant was a baby, and when he came
back to that part of the country, Grant was grown. He had been living
in Missouri, Jefferson City, and Sadalya, Missouri.
When he came back, they had a
Family Reunion for him, and they counted all the people that was
related to him and it was 200 and more. Sister Mattie was our
mother's baby. Ava (Ova) Bell was Aunt Lindy's baby. Flossie was
Idella's baby, Vercie Henderson was Lee and Lind Henderson's baby.
Aunt Linda got angry at him because he noticed Idella's baby too much,
because it was White. That was Flossie, my children's mother. That
was the first time I ever saw him. They had a shooting match out in
the back lot at our house. He was dark but he had real straight
hair. I do not remember his age then. He was active and straight
like all Indians.
Page 2
He loved a horse, a dog and gun
and he kept that as long as he lived. After the Family Reunion, I
never heard of him for some time. He went back to Missouri. I do not
know how long he stayed, but the next time I knew of him, he was
living in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, and that was where he lived the
remainder of his life. He farmed and made a crop every year. He had
14 acres of land on the Tennessee River. He planted corn on it every
year. the last year that he planted it was 13 years, he had planted
corn on the same plot of ground. The year he got sick, he had planted
his crop and worked it over one time, and he did not feel like working
his crop, so Aunt Linda and Martha went to South Pittsburgh and
brought him over to Aunt Martha Sims in June. I don't remember the
year - he stayed there until he died, that was in September. He was
94 years of age. He was 94 and Grandmother was 96 years old when she
died.
Grandmother told me about Grand
Dad Essix and her oldest son by her first husband, Uncle Neal - they
broke up a KKK gang that was in the country then. There was something
the KKK was after them about. They would hide in the woods and when
they would come riding by, they would shoot into the gang and kill tow
or three at a time, until they went to an old empty house out in a
field to stay there at night. The KKK found out where they were
staying. They would not bother them in the day time. This old house
had a cellar under the floor and a door in the floor that you raise up
to go in the cellar. Right in front of the door as you come in, they
raised that door, they had one of those old cradle blades, those
things they cut wheat with, then they wrapped something around the
blade where it would not cut their hands. They had one each. When
the KKK came there, Grand Dad stood on one side of the door and Uncle
Neal on the other and as they came in, they chopped them and let them
fall in the cellar. She said they like to have filled that cellar
full before the others knew what was happening, and broke up the KKK
gang in that part of the country.
Page 3
I met two (2) other people in my
traveling around that was his sons. I met one in Camp Meade,
Maryland. He said that Grand Dad Essix was his father. When I met
him, he said heard the name William Shockley every time they call the
roll, but he could not see who it was; so, he got another soldier to
help him watch for that name. When he saw who it was, he kept his eye
on me, he said. He asked me if I knew Essix Shockley. I told him I
knew two (2); a young man and an elderly man. He said, "the elderly
one," I said, did he have a scar on his face, the right side? He
said, "yes, you do know him." I said, that is my Grand Father. He
said, "That is my Father." I asked him where do you live? "He said,
South Pittsburg, Tennessee." I said, that's where my Grand Father
lives. He said, "well, that's my father.
Then, once I was in the train
station in Chattanooga, I met another Shockley, his name was Walter
Fred Shockley. He lived, I think, it was New Jersey. He tole me he
was Ha half brother to Mat Shockley. I told him I was his son. The
scar Grand Dad had on his face was caused by a fight. This fight was
a fight Grand Mother said he got into at a corn shucking, as they
called it, then. Everyone in the neighborhood would come and help
shuck corn and have a big dinner. The woman that cook the dinner had
Grand Dad to stay at the house and help them around the kitchen.
After they all got through eating, the women ate last and Grand Dad
ate with them. Bill Roberts came in the Dining Room, saw Grand Dad
eating with the White man, he pulled a knife, grabbed Grand Dad and
cut him down across the face. That's what caused the scar across his
face. Grand Dad caught him some how and cut this man until they got
out in the yard. Out of the house, they fought one another until they
both gave out and they just lay there on the ground and thump chips of
wood at each other. All this, our Grand Mother tole me, and I have
not forgotten it yet.
page 4
I went to South Pittsburg in
1947 or 1949, and a lot of people that knew Grand Dad when the news
got out that one of Essix Shockley's grand sons was there, and it was
a sight to see the number of people come looking for me.
Neither of our Grand Parents was
Slaver Grand Mother's Father owned Slaver. She was raised in his home
as his daughter, that was what she was. She was a Haston. Haston,
her Grand Father came from
Scottland and her father was named
Issac
Haston, they called him "Big Issac Haston." He was a brother to Isom
Haston's Grand Father. There was Ison, Van and Bill Haston, they were
all brothers. Ison Haston lived across the field from us. His
children were Art, Isa, Della, Ira, Bettie and Ray. They taught their
children that we were kin to them. They never denied being related to
Uncle Matt as they call him.
Marie, all this is what was told
to me and I remembered it. I hope you can get something out of this -
now, what I have told you is true, don't let no one try to change any
of this.
Your brother,
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1851 Sep 01 - Van
Buren Co, TN - Court Order Bk 2:-352-3:
To the Worshipful County Court of Van
Buren County, the
Petition of
John Denney
this advantage to
have the lands sold for division: The above petitioners further show
that the FAN & her child FRANK, DICE & ROSE and that said Slaves are not subject to division.
To sell said
Slaves for division which they may. JOHN DENNEY and other heirs of
WILLIAM DENNEY SR, dec'd Petition to sell land & Slaves. The above
petition was heard by the Court and it appear to the satisfaction of
the Court for the lands and Slaves first given days notice of the
time and place to be sold at the late residence of William Denney,
dec'd.. The lands to be sold on a credit of 1, 2 & 3 years with Bond
& good security from the purchaser and retain a Lien on said land
until paid... and the Slaves to be sold on credit of one year Bond
and Security & report same at November Term of Court ... It is
further ordered that a minimum price of the lands to be at $6.00 per
acre and the mountain lands mentioned at 1 cent per acre and the
slaves: FAN & her child FRANK to be at $650.00..
DICE at $600.. ROSE
at $600 and that $25.00 out of the |
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