I haven't written anything in this journal for some time. I awoke early this morning and remembered that my Fathers birthday was this month. He was born in 1895 - would be 89 had he lived.
I want to write a little about great grandparents and where they are buried.
Your maternal Great Great Grandfathers were named Moses Craft and Elijah Beam - I don't remember their wives names right off hand. I believe Moses wife was named Hannah. I need to look that up. Your great Grandfather Beam was Jesse Franklin. Your Great Grand-Mother was Janie Craft. She died young, right after world war I from kidney disease and also as a result of the spanish flue epidemic. His youngest child a daughter died soon afterwards.
Her name was Betty Wylie Beam. Grandmama - my mama cared for her but as happened so often with bottle fed babies in that time also with the flu she only lived a few months.
Mama also took over the care of Ruby Beam who was 4 or 5. She lived with them for some time before she went back to her father and stepmother. For mama it was like losing her own child. Ruby married David Y Bagley and had 4 daughters and a son. Mary - Ruby - Betty, Ann & David Jr. She and one daughter now live in Charlotte - 2 girls in R[ock] Hill and David lives in Tenn. All were smart and have bee successful. Mary died young, having become an alcholic - after living in Alaska for some years and having her husband die while there.
They are all buried in Bethlehem Methodist Church Cemetery in Chester County except for Moses Craft. I am not sure where he is buried. Some of family is buried at White Oak ARP.
Your Paternal grandparents on were Thomas Mabry McKeown and Margaret Cameron. They also are buried in Bethlehem Cemetery along with many other McKeown relatives.
Bethlehem Church is where I attended as a child and was a member until we moved to Fairfield County in the late 30's and became members of New Hope associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) Church where your grandparents John S McKeown and Emmie Margaret Beam and your uncle Arthur Leroy McKeown are buried.
Bethlehem is a pretty rural Church - white clap board with a porch across the front. I always think of it when I hear the hymn "The Little Church in the Wildwood."
I remember attending Homecoming picnic there until I was grown. There was permanent picnic table built in a grove of woods. It seemed to me as a child to stretch for a mile. At any rate it was spectacular when the Fried Chicken, country Ham - Tomatoes, sandwiches - cakes and pies were spread on it. In addition to the picnic the men always cooked "Hash" - It was beef stew that had been ground up and seasoned with fresh corn, tomatoes and potatoes. It was very good provided the men didn't get carried away and put too much pepper in the pot.
There being no T.V. and very few radios when I was young, people spent more time together. One of the ways a community visited together was to have an ice cream social or to cook a pot of fish stew, chicken stew, Hash or oyster fry and fish frys.
To make ice cream the women saved up milk and eggs for several days. A trip to town for ice was planned, the churns washed and a place to gather decided. The ice was in a big block and had to be chipped by hand - no crushed ice there. We never waited for the ice cream to be packed to harden - as soon as the crank became too difficult to turn we were standing there with a bowl and spoon.
I didn't mention "cooter stew". The men would catch the fish for stew and sometimes enough turtles (cooter) to make stew. I have watched the process of cleaning the cooter but don't think I ever ate any. Some times they would catch fresh water eels and add them to fish stew. Frog legs were sometimes served fried.
My Grandfather, Jesse F Beam, was the chief cook for stews. Sometimes he shook the pepper too liberally (probably had participated a little too much with the local Brew). My Father never drank, for which I am grateful. Not many men I knew drank to excess - only on occasion do I remember hearing about someone having a drinking problem
Posted by Beth McKeown at September 9, 1984 11:08 PM