New picture found...

Lucy Susana Stinson Hendricks

(original belongs to Kathy C. Gornto)

“Days and Ways” Graham County Section of the Eastern Arizona Courier, page 6 – Section A By Wm R Ridgway Wednesday, January 25, 1984

No better time than centennial time to remember precious pioneers such as Lucy Susan Hendricks and James William Hendricks. This worthy couple, along with their descendents, played key roles in Thatcher’s founding.

            At the time of the Hendricks’ June 1885 Thatcher arrival the hamlet was still in its swaddling clothes stage with some eight or nine families busy grubbing mesquite and re-building rock-brush dams. Such work was completely foreign to the Hendricks family when it purchased the 160 acres Andy Carlson Sr. farm located on Thatcher’s western outskirts.

            Being a knowledgeable farmer and indefatigable farmer when living in his former Butler County, Kentucky, residence, newcomer Hendricks quickly adapted to western style farming such as irrigating, cutting and baling alfalfa, etc. This was a far cry from Kentucky type agriculture where Jimmie grew grain aplenty, raised a bumper crops of sugar cane from which he prepared 40-gallon barrels of molasses; also grew such vegetables as turnips, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and other vegetables which he covered with straw after placing them in straw lined trenches.

            Being a border state, Kentucky was caught up in the throes of the Civil War. During the course of this bloody conflict, one which pitted brother against brother, James Hendricks wore the blue uniform as did his brothers Joseph and Wiley. In later years, a grandchild asked Jimmie if he shot anyone whole serving as a solder. His answer: “Not to my knowledge.”

            Earlier on a happier note, James William Hendricks married Lucy Susan Stinson in a January 6, 1857 ceremony. Briefly the young couple lived for a short time in Todd and Logan Counties before establishing themselves on a 175 acre farm near Huntsville, Kentucky. To this union were born the following 14 children; Nancy Elizabeth, Arminda Alice, Amanda Catherine, Willa Belle, David ----, ---na, Martha Susan, James Balus, Dora Edith, Charles McHenry, George Washington, Archibald, Olie and Olien. Only eight of the above children grew to maturity.

            Events of 1882 had a resounding impact upon the Hendricks family and their destiny. It was during this period that two Mormon missionaries, John W Taylor and Jacob G Bigler, preached the Gospel in the Huntsville area to many families including the Hendricks. Teaching Lucy and the girls was no difficult task but Father James was another matter. James didn’t have time to listen as he had work to do that couldn’t wait. But Mormon Missionaries can be ingenious for they devised a plan whereby they took turns plowing for James while the other taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ

            As a result of the missionaries efforts James, Lucy and their daughters Arminda Alice, Armanda Catherine, Willie Belle were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on April 17, 1882. Due to several factors, including a persistent anti-Mormon bias that existed among many of their neighbors, the Hendricks family reached the decision to move to faraway Arizona where they could worship in freedom and among other Saints.

            It was on June 14, 1885 that the Hendricks family entrained for their Arizona destination. On arriving at Bowie the family group was warmly greeted by Jacob Bigler who had played a leading role in the Hendricks’ conversion to the LDS faith. Since, at this period, there were no trains operating between Bowie and Globe, Mr Bigler conveyed the Kentucky family by wagon to his Central home where the Hendricks stayed until a farm was located and purchased. According to family history, Mr Hendricks then erected “the first shingled roof and lumber floor house in the (Thatcher) community, the rest having dirt floors and roofs.” Portions of this home have been re-modeled into the present Harold Reed home located on Palmer Lane.

            During the Hendricks Thatcher years the various members of the transplanted family made many religious and cultural contributions to their adopted community. For instance, it was Nancy, the Hendricks oldest child, who taught Thatcher’s initial school in a chicken coop located on the Rass Carpenter farm. This non-certified school was also non-pretentious with its dirt floor and dirt roof and benches made of rough 1x6 lumber.

            During the latter part of the 1890’s the Model project in the now Franklin areas enticed no few Safford Valley farmers, including James Hendricks, to cast their lots in this ambitious project. Before leaving Thatcher, Lucy and James Hendricks had given each of their married daughters 20 acres of land and other items; the balance of their land holdings were divided among other members of the Hendricks family.

            Both James William and Lucy Hendricks lived out their lives in the Franklin area, James dying February 3, 1908 and Lucy passing away March 21, 1927. Both are buried in the Franklin cemetery. Their legacy to their fellow men – descendants of sterling character and talented skills – was rich indeed.

                POSTSCRIPT: MANY THANKS TO Mrs Ray (Lucille) Morris for providing needed help in the preparation of the above article. And many thanks to Reva Tupen and Joanna Smith Reismann whose Hendricks writings were utilized in the above story.

A small clue...

It is family tradition that James [James William's father] had a rafting business and that one day he went down the river and never came back. I found this clue online but I can't seem to find where I can get a copy of the book. If anyone can access this please let me know the results!

The Fountain, A Welch Surname Newsletter, Welch and Allied Names in America [- 1990-01-01 - A. and B. Mahoney]

"This land was patented in the name of James HENDRICKS and the deed states: ... expense in building boats and setting himself at the Kentucky River on a ..."

Calling All Male Hendricks

Participation in a FREE DNA study to see if we can find a common ancestor and determine where the Hendricks originated from!

Participation in the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation is free, simple and makes an invaluable contribution to future generations with the preservation of your genetic and genealogical information.
Participation in the project is given through three simple steps:
1) a signed consent form,
2) a pedigree chart and
3) a DNA sample obtained through a simple mouthwash swish.

Request a kit online today at www.smgf.org. You may also request additional kits for your friends and family members directly on their website or by contacting an SMGF representative at info@smgf.org.

Excerpts from missionary journal of Elder Louis Kelsch –

-picture of Elder Louis Kelsch taken in 1901

May 1882

 May 7th: I started for Rochester, Butler  County [Kentucky]to
see the brethren who were laboring there.

May 8th: I arrived in Rochester having walked that day over
28 miles and was kindly received by Mr. and Sister Granville Hunt.
The next night I stopped with Dr. Hunt. I was told on arriving in Rochester that
Bro. Taylor had gone home to Salt Lake City and that a young man by the name of
W. Paul* was laboring with Bro. Bigler. I dreamed that night of seeing him and I
met him alone in the road and knew him. 

 May 10th: After meeting Bro. Paul we proceeded to the house of Bro. A.
Nourse. Sister Nourse told me that she knew me as soon as she saw me coming. "For,"
she said, "I saw you the other night in a dream."

May 12th: We visited Bro. Hendricks. His wife said, "That is the elder
that I saw coming with you Bro. Bigler." On inquiring I found that she dreamed
of seeing me come with Bro. Bigler.

*[Walter George Paul]

February 1883-

We arrived in Cromwell about noon, took boat about 4 o'clock for
Rochester, Butler Co., Kentucky, where we arrived at 12 o'clock at night in
safety. Walked about half a mile to the house of Granville Hunt whose wife
belonged to the church. All were glad to see us and made us welcome to their
hospitality.

February 25th: Went to Dr. Hunt who was not a member of the church but
always had made his house a home for the elders.

February 26th: Went to a protracted meeting. A preacher by the name of P.
Taylor told the people that baptism was not essential to salvation, or he said
that when we got to heaven that we should not be asked whether we were
baptized or not. We stopped at Bro. J. Hendricks.

February 28th: Visited Sister Nourse and daughter, also met several of
the other saints there. Spent a very pleasant day together singing, conversing
and praying. Stopped all night with Dr. Hunt.

James W. Hendricks Diary

This diary belonged to James William Hendricks and also belonged to his brother, K.D. Hendricks and then was given to Arminda Alice Hendricks and was passed down eventually to me. My Mother says that Grandma Alice always cherished the little book as it contained her father's handwriting. [This contradicts a history written about him that says he couldn't write.]

The book contains genealogies [note above entry spells surname as Hendrix and Hendricks], it contains baptismal records, odds and ends as well as biographical information on an Andrew Jemerson Nourse born March 12, 1806 in Logan County, Kentucky died December 21, 1883 in Butler County, Kentucky. Does anyone know the significance of the individual to the Hendricks family?
Note: This name appears in Elder Kelsch's journal entries along with James Hendricks.

Hendricks buried in Franklin City Cemetery [Arizona]

Hendricks, James Balus: February 10, 1880- October 5, 1908

Hendricks, James William: April 15, 1836- February 3, 1908 [Union Army]

Hendricks, Lucy Stinson: November 13, 1846- March 21, 1927

Brother of Lucy Susan Stinson Hendricks History

History of Todd County, Kentucky, ed. J. H. Battle, 1884, F. A. Battey

Publishing Co., 1884, pp. 356-57. [Bivinsville Precinct]

William W. STINSON was born April 23, 1832, in Rutherford County, Tenn.;his parents were Archibald and Elizabeth (Smothers) STINSON. The father was a native of Kentucky, the mother of Tennessee. The father was a blacksmith, and died in 1865, aged seventy years; he was a minister in the Baptist Church for more than thirty years. The mother is still living with her grand-daughter in Logan County at the advance age of eighty-two years. She is a member of the Baptist Church.

William W. was married, December 10, 1851, to Miss Margaret E. Vanderveer, a native of Scott County, Ky. These parents have had seven children, viz.: Joseph P., Sarah J. (deceased), John W. (deceased), Margaret A., Mary A., Robert A. and Richard B. Joseph P. married Anna Turner. Margaret A. married J. W. Whitson. Mary A. married James Moore. After marriage Mr. W. [sic] and wife moved to his present locality. It was then his father-in-law's land; he has since purchased the same. This home and surroundings are the type of neatness, comfort and happiness. His present farm contains sixty acres, and is well improved.

His wife's parents were Peter S. and Sallie (Barrett) Vanderveer. The former was a native of Pennsylvania, the latter of Ohio. Both parents were life-long and devoted members of the Baptist Church. Mr. STINSON was elected Magistrate to fill the vacancy occasioned by the retirement of Squire Mayes. In June last he was regularly elected to fill the office.

Patriarchal Blessing: Lucy Stinson Hendricks

Thatcher, Graham Co., A. T. Dec. 12, 1888

A blessing given by Philemon C. Merrill, Patriarch

upon the head of Lucy Susan Hendricks

daughter of Archibald Stinson and Elizabeth Smothers Stinson

born Logan County, Kentucky Nov. 13, 1846.

Full blessing is available by email to direct descendants. Please request.

Elder John W. Taylor [May 15, 1858 – October 10, 1916]

Elder John W. Taylor son of the prophet, John Taylor served a mission in Kentucky. Lucy Susan Hendricks had dreams of the truthfulness of the gospel as recorded in Elder Taylor's history:

"Elder Taylor was then sent to the State of Kentucky. Here he labored with Jacob G. Bigler with great success, baptizing about eighteen people. He was released in the spring of 1882. During this mission he enjoyed much power in preaching the gospel, and the spirit of prophecy rested upon him to a great extent. Many times when standing before a congregation of people, his countenance was resplendent with the light and inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Many people were impressed with the divinity of the message which he bore, and some honest-in-heart remarked, "Surely you must be inspired, or you could not speak as you do!"


In missionary labor Bro. Taylor in a happy manner always adapted himself to the circumstances of the people with whom he labored. He would help them plow the corn, work in the cotton or tobacco fields, and while side by side with the farm laborers he was equal or superior to them in speed and endurance; while thus working in the field he would preach the gospel to those about him. He had great faith in administering to the sick, and many were healed under his administration. The spirit of prophecy was enjoyed to a marked extent by Elder Taylor.

The following occurrences will serve to bear out his statement: When he read the inaugural address of President James A. Garfield, a spirit of inspiration came upon him and he remarked, "Something will happen to that man!" On learning of the assassination of the President, some months later, Elder Taylor's missionary companion, to whom the prophetic utterance was made, recalled the prediction While laboring with Elder Bigler, the two approached a house one evening and applied for entertainment Filled with the gift of inspiration Brother Taylor, in his characteristic manner, said, "We have a message for you from heaven; and if you will entertain us, it shall be made known to you by dreams this very night that we are the true servants of the Lord." They were invited in and their wants provided for. That night the father of the household as well as some of the children had dreams that were satisfying to them that the Elders they were entertaining were servants of the Lord.

The mother [Lucy] also had a dream or vision which was most assuring to her mind that these men were sent of God. In this dream a heavenly messenger appeared to her. She had been for some time in a quandary about which of the religions she was acquainted with was the right one So she enquired of this messenger concerning the matter. Thereupon there passed before her all the preachers she was acquainted with or had ever seen in the neighborhood. Then the messenger asked if she was satisfied with either of them. She replied that she was not. She was next carried away in a vision to a steep cliff the top of which she was trying to reach. One of the sectarian preachers whom she had before met appeared above her and offered her something to grasp and thereby draw herself up to the summit of the rock. What he held out to her proved to be nothing but a straw, and it snapped in two the moment she caught hold of it. He next offered a stick, but this too proved to be useless as it was rotten. Presently Elder Taylor appeared on the top of the cliff. He offered his hand to help her up, and she at once gained the desired footing upon the rock. Still she was not entirely satisfied as to who had the truth.

Another scene then presented itself to view. An open field spread out before her in which appeared all the preachers she previously saw in vision. In a moment they all vanished from her sight and directly before her there stood the two "Mormon" Elders who had received shelter under her roof. Upon being asked again by the messenger if she was satisfied, she replied that she was. The family was afterwards baptized into the Church. Some time later Elder Taylor, on leaving the house, one very clear, bright morning, said to a little girl, belonging to this same family, whom he saw in the front yard, "My little girl, a storm is coming here today." The child told her parents what the Elder had said, and they in their honest confidence in the word of Bro. Taylor, without waiting for further indications of a storm, housed themselves up and waited for its approach. Sure enough in the afternoon the howling tornado came and did considerable damage. But the family who believed in a living Prophet prepared for the predicted event and escaped all harm."

Elder Jacob G. Bigler, Jr. 1848-1914

The missionary who baptized most of the James Hendricks Family in April of 1882 in Rochester, Butler County, Kentucky. He also confirmed James and Lucy while Elder John W. Taylor confirmed Arminda Alice.

James William Hendricks

[As compiled by his Great Granddaughter, Reva Tupen]

"I hesitate to write about great grandfather Hendricks because we really know so little about him. On the other hand, if what is now known is not recorded, that too will soon be lost to memory. Following is the best record available at this time and has been gleaned from older members of the family as well as research in public and private records.

According to my grandmother, Amanda Catherine Hendricks, rural 19^th century Kentucky was a beautiful place. Numerous creeks and waterways kept it green and growing and it still retained much of its primitive beauty. Nut and fruit trees of many varieties grew wild. In her opinion, the Garden of Eden must have been like that. However, the economy left something to be desired. Our people were farmers and it required many hours of hard labor to wrest a living from the soil by methods we would now consider quite primitive. Families supplied most of their own needs, raised their food, spun, wove and sewed or knit their clothing from wool supplied by their own sheep, made soap, candles, etc.

This is the setting into which our great grandfather, James William Hendricks, (Jimmie to his family) was born on 15 April 1836. The home of his parents, James and Elizabeth (Whitaker) Hendricks, appears to have been located on Drakes Creek near the little town of Franklin in Simpson County, Kentucky.

Little is known of the father, James Hendricks. According to some sources he was a native of Kentucky. Other records state he was from Tennessee. Elizabeth Whitaker came to Kentucky as a small child with her parents, Thomas and Mary (Coon) Whitaker from Rowan County, North Carolina.

No record has been found of the marriage of James Hendricks and Elizabeth Whitaker. It probably took place about 1825-1828. Their son, Joseph, was born 9 August 1829. The other children, as listed in family records, were John, Susan Jane, Wylie Jones, born about 1837, Sarah Margaret, Mary Catherine, David R. and McHenry.

Elizabeth appears on the tax records in 1844 indicating she was a widow. According to family tradition her husband, James, ran rafts down the river to Tennessee. He had gone with a load of produce when one night Elizabeth heard his team, went to the window and saw him coming down the road but when she went out to open the gate for him, there was no one. He never returned, but she felt this was a manifestation to her that his absence was not voluntary. However, it is not known for sure whether he was the victim of foul play, became ill and died, or simply deserted his family.

It was the general practice for fatherless children to be “bound out,” mothers generally having no choice in the matter. This was a legal procedure by which the child was under the custody and control of a substantial citizen. The court specified the conditions, i.e., the trade to be learned, education if any, and duration (usually until a boy reached the age of 21). Settlement at the end of the period could be a horse, saddle and bridle, the value specified. Sometimes a new suit of clothes was included, etc.

Jimmie Hendricks was “bound out” at an early age, probably about the time he was eight years old, to David Huffiness, for in the 1850 census of Simpson County we find a James Hendricks, age 13, listed with this family. Huffiness was a farmer and Jimmie learned the business of farming. He never learned to read and write and always signed his name with an X. However, he did calculate, was a shrewd businessman and was never “out foxed” in a business deal.

In the 1860 census of Simpson County we find James, age 23, living with his mother and the other children, except Joseph and John who were older. The family was very poor. Jimmie and his brother sometimes plowed all day for twenty-five cents.

By 1861 the clouds of war were dark over Kentucky. The following are extracts from a letter written from Logan County, Kentucky, 2 August 1862 by Elizabeth (Whitaker) Thompson and her husband, William Thompson, to their brother Ephraim Henry Whitaker in Point Douglas, Minnesota. The words are written exactly as they were in the letters, misspelled words, etc., are the same as the spelling in the original letters):

“There has a great many important things transpired in our government, a home Revolution with all its terrors has spred its dark curtain over our wonce happy land its terrific influence has caused a great deal of trouble in our country and the people has become divided and thereby destroyed the friendship of not only the state but neighborhoods. Some declared themselves in favor of the so-called Southern Confederacy while the balance for the union. This thing in itself causes a coldness between friends and neighbors and even between persons of the same family this state of course is bad but still worse, the immense loss of life occasioned by camp life caused by contageous deseases the destruction on the battlefield all this together looks like we are to be almost if quite exterminated, not taking into consideration the vast amount of suffering occasioned by the rebellion. It will leave many widows and orphans on the lap of this unfriendly world and very many of them will be doomed to suffer for the nessacerys of life and to add to this calamity our country is infested with guerilla bands whose burning is to steal and pilfer all they can and kill all who resist their thieving operations. Upon mature consideration, I think we are ruined people and that without a remedy.”

“The connecion some of them have volunteered and gone into the united states services. Old brother Jesse Whitaker, Brother Richmond Whitaker, Brother Willis Whitaker, he is the youngest one of the last children, Brother George’s oldest son Abraham Whitaker. They were all allive at the last accounts. Jesse is at home at present he has been in hospital with rheumatism and dispepsy. Richmond is reported to be sick and sent to some hospital but we have not learnt whare. Willis and George’s son was well at last accounts. Our Country town, Russelville, is a perfect sink of the darker die with the foulest grade. The place is now under guard.”

Conditions being what they were and the eminent induction of her boys into the service, it appears that Elizabeth and her children determined to move from their home near Franklin, Simpson County, to Logan County near the Muhlenberg County Line to be near her family, the Whitakers, as indicated by the following extract from the same letter cited above:

“Sister Elizabeth Hendricks is still living in Simpson county but will move down in a few days. Three of her boys, Joseph, James and Wiley has been down here ever since early this spring. Joseph and James has made a crop here this summer.”

Joseph entered the service 10 August 1862 in Co. K, 8 Ky. Cavalry. Wiley mustered in 6 September 1862 as a private in Capt. Hudspith’s Co., 8 Reg., Ky. Cavalry and James a year later, 10 September 1863, private in Capt. George W. Hay’s Co. D, 52 Regiment, Ky. Mounted Infantry. He wasn’t really a fighting man. Years later a grandchild asked if he shot anyone in the war. His reply was, “Not to my knowledge.”

During the first winter, while on a scouting expedition at night, his horse ran against a snag with him and injured his left leg below the knee. It did not appear at the time to be very badly hurt but later broke out in blisters and commenced “eating in and spreading.” He served at Franklin, Irvine and Mount Sterling where he was captured by John H. Morgan and kept four and a half days. He “contracted fever from exposure” and was sent to the hospital in Bowling Green where he remained for 25 days, then rejoined his regiment in Hopkinsville, Ky. There he went into the field hospital as a nurse. It was here that his injured leg really began to give him trouble. It never healed. Each day the remainder of his life, it had to be salved and bandaged. Because of it, he was unable to do heavy farm work such as clearing the land and making rails.

The war left many people in Kentucky financially devastated. For example (Extract from a letter from Richmond Whitaker, James Wm. Hendricks’ uncle, in Hopkinsville, Logan County, Ky. to his brother in Point Douglas, Minn.): “I searved 3 years in the Sirvest I was well to do when the ware commenced but when I came out I was worse than nothing. I lost all together 8 and 9 thousand dollars. My children was small and my wife had to sell furniture and bed clothes to live until I was out. I lost everything I had. Brother, you may imagine how it hirt for a man to live at the top of the Pot and then fall Right at wonce and siping the very Drugt of the Same Pot, if you can you can simathse with me.”

Some time about this period, Jimmie married Elsie Finn. She was probably from Simpson County as a number of Finn families were living there. There are no known children by this marriage. After her death he married, 6 January 1857, Lucy Susan Stinson, daughter of Archibald and Elizabeth (Smothers) Stinson, at Elkton, Todd County, Kentucky. They set up housekeeping in Clifty, Todd County, but moved to Baughs Station, Logan County, about 1872. Then in 1875 they traded their 169-acre farm on Clifty Creek in Logan County for 175 acres on Muddy River near Huntsville, Butler County. To them were born 14 children - Nancy Elizabeth, Arminda Alice, Amanda Catherine, Willa Belle, David Carlee, Joanna, Martha Susan, James Balus, Dora Edith, Charles McHenry, George Washington, Archibald, Ollie and Olin. Only eight grew to maturity. David Carle, Dora Edith, George Washington, Archibald, Ollie and Olin all died in infancy.

Lucy was the youngest of a large family. Her father had died shortly before her marriage. Her mother was old and blind so made her home with the young couple. Their home was small and congested as children came along. Sleeping accommodations were crowded and “doubling up” was necessary. A child slept at the foot of grandma’s bed. This kept her feet warm in winter.

Fortunately, Jimmie was patient with his aged and ailing mother-in-law. To her oft repeated, petulant inquiry, “Jimmie, did you feed and water the animals?” when she heard them restless at night. He always answered kindly, “Yes, I fed and watered them.”

In 1882 Mormon missionaries John W. Taylor and Jacob G. Bigler came to their community preaching the Gospel. Teaching Lucy and the girls was not difficult, but James was another matter. It was spring and time to plow the fields. James didn’t have time to listen; he had work to do that couldn’t wait. But Mormon missionaries can be ingenious. They devised a plan whereby they took turns plowing for James while the other taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The result was that James, Lucy and their daughters Arminda Alice, Amanda Catherine and Willa Belle were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on 17 April 1882. This step made a great change in their lives. For one thing, they wished to join the Saints in the west. For another, Mormons were not well accepted in the community and were looked down upon. One fellow, who had worked for James for some time, considered it beneath his dignity to work for a Mormon. That is, he refused to work for him until he found he could not find work elsewhere.

In preparation for the trip west, the farm was sold but it was necessary to remain in Kentucky until full payment had been received. During this period he worked out as opportunity afforded. One thing that he refused to do, however, was to work in the mines, saying, “I’ll be underground soon enough.” Grandma Stinson, Lucy’s mother, decided not to go west with them (a decision which she later regretted) and went to live with one of her sons.

Finally, 14 June 1885, the family boarded the train for Arizona to join a group of L.D.S. settlers there. Lucy and the older girls had worked several days cooking a huge basket of food to supply the family’s needs during the trip. As they were traveling through Texas, a group of “rowdy” men got on the train and took over the car where the Hendricks family was sitting. Fearing for the safety of his daughters, James took his family to another car until the “rowdies” left the train. When they returned to their own seats they found all the food gone! The men had eaten everything! So he had to get off at the next station and buy what food he could for his family.

Upon arrival in Arizona they were warmly greeted by Jacob Bigler, one of the elders who had converted them, who took them to his home in Central, Arizona. They stayed with the Biglers several days while they decided exactly what to do. Hot, arid Arizona, one of the last frontiers, was a sharp contrast to their native Kentucky. Nevertheless, they set about making a new life for themselves, settling in Thatcher, Graham County, and sharing the hardships of the early settlement. There were not more than eight or nine families there at the time.

James took up a 160-acre homestead and later purchased another 160 acres from a disenchanted homesteader. He bought the first shingled roof and lumber floor house in the community, the rest having dirt floors and roofs. His eldest daughter, Nancy, at the age of seventeen and with an eighth grade education, became the first schoolteacher in Thatcher. She didn’t pretend to be a teacher, but they needed her in order to establish a school district. As there was no house available to hold classes, an old stockade that had been built for a chicken coop was cleaned out. It had a dirt floor and a dirt roof. Benches made of rough 1 x 6 lumber were installed and that was their schoolhouse.

The Hendricks’ were members of the Thatcher Ward, St. Joseph Stake. Upon arrival, local church leaders felt they should be baptized into the Ward. Other members of the family complied but James refused, insisting he had been baptized once and that was sufficient. He lived by his convictions and was an honest hard working man. He did not believe in card playing and refused to have a deck of cards in his house - that is, if he knew it. However, this did not prevent his sons from spending many an afternoon playing cards while their father and mother went to town, some distance by horse and wagon.

Sometime between 1890 and 1895 he ran a general merchandise store in Pima a few miles from Thatcher but, preferring farming, he soon gave up the store and devoted all his time to farming. As his daughters married, though he would rather have had them remain single, he gave each 20 acres of land, a cow, a hive of bees and other necessities for starting married life, except Willa Belle who received 40 acres because her land was not as good as that of her sisters. The balance of his property he divided between his two boys who were the youngest of his surviving children.

As a young man, James William Hendricks stood 5'11", was dark complexioned with black eyes and dark hair and beard which in later life turned to gray. He was kind, gentle and considerate, justifiably much loved by his grandchildren who he was wont to humor. Typical was the occasion three grandchildren, Katie, Mamie (Mary Susan) and Artie (Artemesia) Price were staying at his home. Artie, the youngest, insisted upon sitting on a certain box to eat. One evening it was late and dark when he came in from work for the evening meal. As they gathered around the table, it was found that Artie’s box was missing. She would not consider a substitute so Grandpa, tired and hungry though he was, went out some distance to the barn to find the missing box.

Not only was he considerate of his family and associates, but of all creatures. His daughter, Alice, recalled that the most severe discipline she received was for tying a string to a June bug and allowing it to become entangled in tree branches.

On 3 February 1908, this much loved grandfather died of “heart failure due to debility” at Franklin, Graham County, Arizona where they had moved sometime before his death, and he is buried there."

I Remember Grandma

[Related by Granddaughter Joanna Smith Reismann]

"LUCY SUSAN STINSON was born November 13, 1846, in Henrysville, Logan County, Kentucky. She was the fourteenth child of Archibald Stinson and Elizabeth Smothers. I never heard her talk of her childhood except to say that her father was a Baptist minister and the family was conscientious in their religion, attending religious services on Sundays, and prayer meetings on Wednesdays. Grandma Hendricks taught Sunday School in the Baptist Church when her father was a minister and she knew her Bible really well. She also said Bible stories were fine but the Bible wasn’t fit for children to read. Her favorite song was “Oh, Beulah Land,” which I heard her sing often. In my mind I can still hear her singing:

“Oh, Beulah land, sweet Beulah land

Upon thy highest mount I stand.

I look away across the sea

Where mansions are prepared for me

And view the shining Glory shore

My heaven, my home forevermore.”

Grandma must have had the opportunity of going to school because she could read and write, and in her later years was a dedicated Genealogist.

In her day, girls did not work away from home. In order to earn a little “pin money,” she had a patch of tobacco to raise. The sphinx moth larvae (tomato worms to us) is a pest which damaged the tobacco plants just as they do tomato vines. The only means of control was to go through the patch, pick off the worms and destroy them. Most girls picked them off by hand and broke off their heads, but not Grandma. She abhorred worms and was not about to touch one. She used the fireplace tongs to pick off the worms.

During the Civil War she was a teenager, 15-18 years old. Her brothers were in the Union Army and she was obliged to help her father in the fields. The area was sometimes in control of the Union Army, sometimes the confederates, and at times they were within sound of the conflict. Before leaving, her married brothers had settled their wives near her father for protection. When they heard the cannon and sounds of battle they would all gather at her father’s home and cry together.

Grandma Hendricks had a strong dislike for the Confederacy. A group of rebels had shot a man for just crossing the road. When they came to the house and demanded to be fed she threw the metal plates on the table and treated them with such exaggerated, sarcastic courtesy that they called her a little hussy.

At the age of 20 she married James William Hendricks, son of James Hendricks and Elizabeth Whitaker, probably at Elkton, Todd County, Kentucky. Their first home was in Clifty, Todd County, Kentucky where their first three children were born; Nancy Elizabeth, Arminda Alice, and Amanda Catherine. They had moved to Logan County, Kentucky before April 1873 when Willa Belle was born and later David Carlee, who lived just eight days. By 1876 they were living in Huntsville, Butler county, Kentucky where the next five children were born; Joanna, Martha Susan, James Balus, Dora Edith (who lived only five months), and Charles McHenry. They owned a farm near Huntsville.

It was the custom in that area for the women to do the milking. I remember Grandma telling how they helped her to the kitchen doorstep where she sat and milked the cow even when was too sick to sit up. Even when her babies were born she had to be helped to the door so she could milk the cow. I asked why her husband didn’t do that chore while she was ill, and she replied: “He didn’t know how. Besides, men didn’t do women’s work in those days.

While Grandma was raising her children in Kentucky she cooked over an old fashioned fireplace. No kitchen stove. She had hooks which she could swing out and in to hang her cooking pots on while they heated. The hearthstone was kept clean and scrubbed because that is where she baked her “Corn pone,” a sort of thick corn pancake. There was an oven in one side of the fireplace where they baked their “light bread.” As with most southerners at that time, “bread” was baking powder biscuits, and then there was corn bread, corn pone, and light bread. Grandma had an odd notion about her bread, she left out the salt. With buttermilk or clabbered milk, she put the salt in. “You don’t ever use salt when you are having sweet milk, “ she used to say. The corn pone tasted rather blah to me without salt, but she thought it was just right. With salt it was very good. Nancy, Alice and Mandy helped Grandma with the cooking and the housework. Willa Belle and Joanna helped their father in the fields.

Living in rural Kentucky in the 1860's-70's was not easy. Grandma had to help shear the sheep, wash the wool, card it, and then spin the thread. She also had to card and spin the cotton thread. She then had to weave the cloth and make the family clothing by hand. She never had a sewing machine. As you can see, the clothing had to last a long time. One “Sunday” dress and one, or at most two, dresses for every day. She also had to knit all the stockings. The tree older girls were taught to knit and to darn hose. Nancy did a lot of the cooking rather than do the knitting.

All was not drudgery. In the fall the family took time out for outings in the “woods” where they would gather the hickory and hazel nuts which crew in abundance there, gathering enough for their year’s needs. Many wild fruit and nut trees grew on their farm. One day while they were playing along the creek, Nan, Alice and Mandy found a cherry tree. The berries were ripe but too high for the girls to reach. The older girls sent Mandy back to the house for an axe. They then proceeded to chop down the tree so they could get the cherries. What did their mother do? She simply said, “Now, what are you going to do for cherries next year?”

Grandma had nicknames for all her living children except Balus and Alice. Nancy was

Nan, Amanda was Mandy or Kate, Willa Belle was Willer, Joanna was Annie, Martha Susan was Susie, and Charles McHenry was Charley. For years I thought I had two aunts living in Gridley because Grandma would sometimes call her Mandy and sometimes Kate.

Grandma Hendricks adored her mother and made a home for her when she married James Hendricks. Grandmother Elizabeth lived with her daughter and family until the family moved to Arizona. She then moved in with one of her sons. I think all of them, including Elizabeth, regretted this decision and wished she had gone along with them. My mother kept a picture of Granny Elizabeth in a prominent place in her home as long as I can remember.

Grandpa and a friend heard about the Mormon missionaries preaching and decided to see what it was all about. He came home and told Grandma all about it. She is the one who really believed. The Baptist minister had told them to stay away and not let the womenfolk go to the meetings. Grandpa decided if there was a reason to stay away, he wanted to find out why. The missionaries contacted the James Hendricks family and found them friendly and interested. Their home was always open for a meal and a place to sleep. Finally in 1882, Elders John W, Taylor and Jacob G. Bigler converted the family to the L.D.S. church and baptized the parents, Alice, Amanda and Willa Belle. The oldest daughter, Nancy Elizabeth, was not yet ready and the other children were too young. Being “Mormon” was not the accepted thing to do in a predominantly Baptist community, so the family decided to move west where the Mormons were concentrated. It took some doing to get their farm sold and the money in hand, but the time finally came. Grandma and her older daughters cooked and baked for several days to prepare enough food to last them on the long train trip to Arizona. They packed all this food in a large basket arranged so they would have some for each day of the trip. Grandma had a colored man and wife; the woman was Nanny to all the children. When Grandma and Grandpa left to come west they deeded five acres to them where their cabin was, and they cried like babies when Grandma told them they were free people and couldn’t go with them to Arizona. Annie had a fit because Grandma let the Nanny kiss her goodbye.

The family boarded the train in Kentucky, and as they were going through a town in Texas a crowd of “ruffians” (as my mother called them) got on the train and proceeded to take over the car the Hendricks family was in. Grandfather, being concerned for the safety of his large family, took them to another car where they stayed until the rowdies left at another station a little further on. When the family returned to their seats they found all the food gone! The men had eaten everything! Nothing left for the family’s needs on the journey. That was the one thing that little Annie remembered about the train ride.

Arriving at Bowie, Arizona, the family was met by Elder Bigler who took them to his home in Central, Arizona where they stayed for several days while Grandpa looked for a farm to buy. He finally bought some acreage in Thatcher and moved there to learn a new way of farming. Irrigation was new to him, but he did well and even bought more land.

Two more babies were born to them in Thatcher. George Washington, who lived only five days, and Archibald, who lived four months. Not all was sadness, however, because in 1886 the second daughter, Alice, was married to William P. Asay, a widower with a son almost as old as Alice. In 1888 the oldest daughter, Nancy, was married to James Andrew Smith.

For some reason the family moved to Pima and opened a general store there. One of the stories Grandma liked to tell was about an old man called “Uncle Peter” McBride. One day his wife came in the store and asked Grandpa, “Have you seen my Peter today?” Then Grandma would laugh until she shook. In 1889, shortly after they moved to Pima, the third daughter, Amanda Catherine, was married to William Price.

While they were living in Pima, Grandma became seriously ill with a high fever. She was about seven months pregnant and was watching herself very carefully because she had lost so many babies. Her fever became so high she became delirious. One of the ladies in the town (who was supposed to be so very good in the sick room) came to help out. She proceeded to pack Grandma in turpentine-soaked towels. Well, it brought the fever down alright, but it also brought the twin boys prematurely. With no facilities to care for preemies, both babies died. The old lady named them Olie and Olien while Grandma was too sick to protest. Grandma was furious. I remember her still fuming over the ignorance of that old lady even after I was a good-sized child.

The family moved back to Thatcher and the farm soon after losing the babies. Katie says when she was a child Grandma liked and kept canaries. She hung the cages from hooks in the ceiling so cats couldn’t come in through the open windows and molest them. They didn’t have screens on the windows. They were living in Thatcher during the courtship of the two youngest daughters who were married in a double ceremony in the family home there. Joanna married Mitchel M. Smith, a brother of James Andrew Smith, and Martha Susan married Thomas S. Merrill. Grandpa gave each of his daughters twenty acres of land as a wedding gift.

Some years before I was born, Grandpa and Grandma moved to Franklin, Arizona, right on the New Mexico line. Grandfather died there in 1908. Grandma then moved in with Aunt Susie, but spent much of her time visiting her other children. They were all married now. Balus married Margaret Merill in 1902, and Charles married Ella Brown in 1906. When Grandma would come to see us she would have an entire trunk just for her feather bed and her pillows, another trunk for her clothes, and so on. Then she had what she called her “grip” for food along the way. It was a high point in our young lives to watch Grandma fluff up her feather bed and get it ready for sleeping. She always had two or three huge feather pillows on top. Every morning she would fluff up her pillows and her bed. I can still remember her saying “Feathers have to breathe! You never leave a pillow mashed down!” Every day as I fluff up my own pillows, I think of Grandma and her pillows.

When Grandma came to visit, she always brought little glass containers full of candies for the younger children. Once I got a little glass lantern. Another time Ralph got a little glass pistol. But when we turned six, we no longer received the candy gifts. According to Grandma, when you started school you were too old for presents.

Before Grandma’s visits Mama would get busy with her “rug rags.” We would dye old sheets bright colors and rip them up into strips, then sew the strips together and wind them into balls. All the old dresses and shirts and socks became rug rags, because Grandma would stay only as long as there was something for her to do. Out of the many balls of colored rags, Grandma would crochet rugs for the house. She made her own hook out of a piece of axe handle. All of Grandma’s children had beautiful crocheted rugs for their homes. She spent much of her time piecing crazy-patch quilts out of pieces of silk and velvet. Each block was beautifully embroidered at the seams of each piece of material. She had a large pincushion with many needles, each threaded with a different color of embroidery floss. Each of her children received one of these beautiful quilts as a gift from Grandma. How I wish the silk pieces could have been preserved, because the quilts were really a work of art.

Every time there was a baby due, Grandma was there to take over. When Paul Hendricks was born and Aunt Ella was so very sick, Grandma was there. The baby was premature and so very tiny. The doctor handed her the baby and asked, “Do you think you can keep this baby alive?” Grandma just snorted. The doctor had his hands full trying to keep Aunt Ella alive, but Grandma kept that room warm enough for a preemie and kept both of them alive. No one was allowed in the room except the doctor. Even Uncle Charlie was not allowed to bring “germs” in to the baby. It was such a rare thing for a baby to live in those circumstances that it was written up in a medical journal by Dr. Maude Callison.

One time Grandma was at our house for Christmas. My sister, Lucille, was due to be born at any time. Grandma was 69 years old at the time so Mama had asked my cousin Norma to come and take care of the house. Norma was 17 or 18. After we had all hung up our stockings, Grandma put out a milk pan instead of a stocking, so Norma put out a milk pan, too. Papa quietly slipped a silver dollar into Grandma’s pan along with the apple, nuts, candy, etc. Old eagle-eyed Norma saw him, so she slyly slipped it out and put it in her own pan. Of course Grandma saw her, so back it went. Several times during the night one or the other was up to see where the dollar was. I really don’t know who ended up with the dollar, but those two crazies had a lot more than a dollar’s worth of fun out of it.

Grandma Hendricks always traveled by train when going to visit her children. All the money she had was a twenty-dollar Civil War pension, but she managed to save up enough for her train fare. She even managed to save up enough for a visit to her two daughters in Florida. She made several trips to Salt Lake to do temple work for her people. She also traveled to Gridley, California to visit her daughter, Amanda, and her family. One summer on one of her visits with Mandy she camped out with the older girls while they worked in the peach cannery. Their mother thought they were too young to be camping out alone, so Grandma went along as cook and chaperone. Katie was 15 and Mamie was 13, but they were both good workers. Working conditions in the canneries were nothing like they are today. Everyone worked on a “piece work” basis, so Grandma would go over and help the girls some of the time. When she got tired she would go back to the tent and rest.

In between Grandma’s visits to Thatcher, where her daughter, Joanna, and her son, Charley, lived, we would occasionally take several days to visit the relatives in Franklin. We would visit Grandma and Aunt Susie and her daughter, Zylpha Gale. One time we all piled in buggies and went across the river to Virden, New Mexico, to visit Grandma’s brother, Thomas Brown Stinson. He had a farm almost directly across the river from Aunt Susie. He was tall and lean, just like Grandma. We also visited Uncle Tom’s son, George Stinson, who lived near Duncan.

Grandma always carried peppermints in her pocket. She had the idea that the strong peppermint flavor would kill the odor of her snuff, which she had chewed since she was a child. She would cut a young shoot from a black-willow tree, peel it and pound one end of it until it made a little brush. This is what she used to dip her snuff. She would then put it in her cheek with the end of the stick sticking out of the corner of her mouth. It seemed to give her great comfort, but she wasn’t fooling anyone. The distinctive odor of the snuff stayed with her no matter how much she rinsed her mouth, or how many peppermints she used. She was generous with the children who could count on a peppermint from her for doing little favors for her. When the children would ask Grandma to come play, or sit on the floor with them, she would say, “I can’t do that, I have a bone in my leg.” We felt so sorry that Grandma had a bone in her leg. She was good to the children but would allow no “backtalk.” One day she asked Eva to do something and, instead of minding, Eva came back with a sassy remark. Immediately Grandma’s arm flew out with a backhand to Eva’s mouth, and before Eva had time to recover from the shock Grandma was saying, “You have to watch out for this arm, there is a spring in there that flies out any time anyone sasses Grandma.” You may be sure no one ever sassed Grandma again.

One of the things I remember about Grandma was the way she ground just enough coffee beans each morning to make just one cup of coffee. I had watched her drink her one cup each morning for years. Never having coffee around except when Grandma was there, I became curious as to how it would taste. One morning as I was clearing up the breakfast dishes, I noticed that Grandma had left about a third of her coffee so I decided to see what it tasted like. One sip was enough! Stone cold and very black – even a coffee lover would have shuddered. Needless to say, coffee was never a temptation to me again. But Grandma chewed her snuff and drank her black coffee until the day she died.

Grandma was tall and lean; she never had an ounce of fat. Her complexion was olive and she had dark brown eyes. Her hair was dark brown, luxurious and long. Truly a crowning glory, beautiful hair that she wore slicked back with a big bun in the back. From the front you would think she had very little hair. When she brushed her hair she would bring it all forward and brush down from her head in front of her body. The hair was so long it would reach the floor while she brushed it this way. She couldn’t reach the ends unless she took hold of her hair with her left hand and lifted it so she could finish brushing to the ends with her right hand. As a small child I would sneak under her hair and look up at her face to see if she would let me stay. Sometimes she would. She never washed her hair during the cold months of the winter, but she brushed it religiously and washed her comb and brush every day. Several times during the cold months she would put corn meal all through her hair and all over her scalp, then she would brush it till all the corn meal was gone and her hair shone like satin. Her hair never turned gray, much to her disgust. She was a firm believer that older women should have gray hair. She also had the odd notion that a woman with brown hair should never wear lavender, light blue, or pink. Those were colors for gray or white hair. Because of this opinion she never wore those lovely colors but stayed with black, brown and gray. No one could make her change her mind on this.

Aunt Nan and Aunt Susie had moved to Hayden where there was work in the mills there. Uncle Charlie had moved to Miami some time before. Then in January of 1926 my father decided to take his family to Hayden where he could get work. I was going to college at the time. In March of 1927 Aunt Susie had gone to visit her daughter and left Grandma to look after Uncle Tom. One day when he came home from work, he found Grandma crumpled up on a pile of rocks at the base of the steep outside stairs. These steps were very steep, straight down the middle of the front of the house, and no handrails. Grandma had remarked earlier that those steps would be the death of her, and they were. Soon after her death Uncle Tom moved the steps to go down the side of the house from the yard and also made a handrail. At least it was over quickly and she didn’t have to suffer. So on March 21, 1927 we lost our Grandma. The man at the mortuary said he couldn’t believe she was 81 years old. She had the firm young body of a sixteen-year-old, with not a mark anywhere except the bruises where she fell. I didn’t get to go home for the funeral so my memory of Grandma is of a very live, vigorous, lean, healthy, energetic, determined woman, with a definite mind of her own. "