Uncle Bluitt

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Lori Crane

The Rev. Andrew Bluitt Culpepper was my grandfather’s uncle (little brother of Aunt Dora in THIS blog). He died in 1952, so I never met him, but I remember the family bringing his name up on occasion, and he was always referred to as Uncle Bluitt. The name came from his great grandmother, Elizabeth “Betty” Bluett or Bluitt. The spelling changed with each generation, and every generation has at least one male with Bluett in his name.

Uncle Bluitt was the youngest of 6 children of Joel Bluett Culpepper and Mary E “Mollie” McFarland. He was born in Alabama in 1882. Before 1890, the family moved to Kemper County, Mississippi.

When he was 21, he married Ollie Mae Kitrell.

A year later, they had a son, Louis Curtis Culpepper, and three years later, another son, William Obie Culpepper.

Uncle Bluitt died at the age of 71, and his obit claims he was the pastor of more rural churches than any preacher in Mississippi, and his death certificate states he was also a barber. He died following a stroke, which is not an unusual thing with the males of my family. One of his uncles, (I can’t remember which one off the top of my head) was said to have died of a stroke while preaching in the pulpit. Pastors and strokes run in the clan. Uncle Bluitt is laid to rest with his wife and sons at Pine Grove Baptist Church and Cemetery in Lauderdale County, Mississippi.

Andrew Bluitt Culpepper obituary

Rev. A. B. Culpepper, 71, Martin community, Lauderdale County, passed away Wednesday, Feb. 24. he had been a Baptist minister for 40 years. It was claimed that he had been pastor of more rural churches than any preacher in Mississippi.

Burial was in Pine Grove Cemetery. The Rev. Edward McKeithen, pastor of the Pine Grove Church, officiated, assisted by Rev. Ed Grayson and Rev Truly Reynolds.

He was a member of the Pine Grove Church. Survivors include his widow, Mrs. Ollie Kittrell Culpepper, two sons, Curtis and Obbie Culpepper, 8 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren.

National “I Am In Control” Day – No, really.

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Lori Crane

It’s coming quick. Do something. March 30th is National “I am in Control” Day.

It commemorates the date in 1981 when Secretary of State Alexander Haig said, “I am in control here,” in response to an interview regarding the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

Take control. Put your foot down. Show people you mean business.

Well, how in the world can I do that, you ask? Let’s start with the outside stuff.

1. Make sure your clocks are set accurately.

2. Replace the batteries in your smoke detectors, flashlights, remotes, clocks.

3. Fix those dumb things in your life that you tend to ignore – the burnt out lightbulb in the closet, the loose doorknob in the garage, the broken tile in the kitchen, the non-working blinker on your car.

4. Make appointments for those things you neglect – the dentist, the financial planner, the mammogram.

5. Organize those little places that never get organized – the medicine cabinet, the glove box, the junk drawer.

6. Call the people who are important to you and schedule time to see them. It doesn’t need to be a 10-day vacation together. Everyone eats dinner. Eat at the same place.

7. Finish this list. Only you know what things in your life need attention.

Now, let’s move on to inside stuff.

1. People can insult, belittle, upset, offend you ONLY if you allow them to. Their actions and words say a lot more about them than about you. You are an amazing child of the universe and you ROCK! Blow it off, let it go, pay no attention.

2. If there is something bothering you, fix it. Do you need to apologize? Do it. Do you need to set some boundaries? Set them. (Realize you’ll probably need to set them over and over because not everyone will like your new rules, but they’ll get used to it. Stick to your guns. You’re in control, remember?)

3. If you can’t fix it, search your soul to find a way to be at peace with it. People live happy lives despite their circumstances. Be one of those people.

4. Only you know what number 4 is. Do that.

It’s YOUR life! Do what you need to do to be able to say “I am in control.” March 30th is coming up fast!

#Civil War Journal on Special #Sale

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Lori Crane

A RARE PIECE OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Check out this amazing book by author PC Zick! It’s a journal of a real Civil War soldier, and fortunately for us, he was also a great writer. It’s on sale right now for $0.99, so forward this info to your Civil War buff friends. They’ll love it! Where else can you get a real piece of history for that price?

Living Lightly

Civil War Journal of a Union Soldier , the memoir of my great grandfather, is on a Kindle Countdown deal this week. March 22 and 23, the Kindle version is only .99 cents. On March 24, it goes up to $1.99 for four days, before reverting back to its original price. If you haven’t downloaded the journal yet, here’s your change to take advantage of this special offer. The book is also available in paperback for $6.93.

Here’s an excerpt from 152 years ago this week. Harmon Camburn brings the sights, sounds, and sensibilities of the regular infantry soldier to light with his riveting prose.

Click on cover for Amazon page

March 21, 1862 – The bugle sounded “Strike Tents.” Taking the road up Hampton Creek a mile or so, we crossed the bridge and passed through the ruins of Hampton. This was the oldest town and had the oldest…

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Saturday Snippet – Okatibbee Creek

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Lori Crane

It’s been a while since I posted a snippet. The following is from my book Okatibbee Creek. The heroine of the story is my 3rd great grandmother. She barely survived the Civil War and typhoid running rampant through her family. In this scene, the war is over and disease has passed, she is older and having a discussion with the slave who raised her.

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I look up and see Bertie slowly walking up the road toward daddy’s house. She’s wearing a dark blue dress and a floppy straw hat covering her eyes.

“Hi, Miss Bertie,” I yell to her as I wipe away my tears and put a smile on my face.

“Hi, baby girl.” She waves back.

“What brings you out on this lovely morning?” I ask when she finally reaches the porch and plops down on the step. She takes off her hat and reveals her gray hair tied in a bun. She sets her hat next to her and wipes beads of sweat off her forehead with her handkerchief.

“I was just on my way to your house to see the babies and to see how you are doing,” she says as she tucks her handkerchief back into her sleeve.

I can tell by her demeanor that there is something more on her mind, but I figure she will tell me when she is ready.

“Well, it’s nice to see you. We are all doing fine at home,” I reply.

“That’s good to hear, baby girl.”

“Bertie, I’m forty-one years old. How long are you going to call me baby girl?” I tease her.

She laughs. “You have been my baby girl since I came to your daddy’s house when you were six years old. You will always be my baby girl.”

“Aw, you know I love you, Miss Bertie.” I reach over and pat her bony hand.

“And I love you, too, baby girl. You know, you have always been the smartest and most beautiful of your momma’s children. And with everything you have been through, you have become the strongest and most courageous woman I have ever known.”

She pauses and looks out across the yard as her mind wanders to another time and place. After a moment she adds, “Your momma and daddy would be very proud of you, but it was a blessing they were not around to witness all the pain and loss we went through.” She pauses again and looks out across the yard. “You’re also a wonderful mother.”

I can tell she’s leading up to something.

“I don’t know what I would have done without you, Bertie. You helped me through so much.”

“I know what you went through, baby girl. I witnessed it all. I have seen you stand strong in the face of disaster and death and sickness and hunger. You have faced every adversity with courage and every defeat with dignity and grace. I’m very proud of you, more than you’ll ever know.”

My eyes well up with tears as I feel a mixture of being touched by her kind words, and trepidation that she is going somewhere awful with this talk.

“Bertie, your love has been one of the reasons I have been able to be strong and steadfast. Together, we have laughed and cried through so much,” I say as I stare straight ahead at the field.

Memories come flooding back, along with the sadness and the happiness. Rice, Daddy, Momma, Monroe Franklin. I shake the memories off and look back at Bertie.

“I have the feeling you weren’t headed all the way to my house just to tell me you’re proud of me.” I stop and wait for her to speak.

“Well, baby girl, like I said, you have always been the smartest of your momma’s children.” She takes a deep breath and exhales. I wait patiently as I watch her build up her courage. “Well, I have not been feeling very well lately and I saw the doctor. He said he can’t do much for me and I may not be around much longer. You know I have raised Tony as my own since his parents died of the fever. He’s only thirteen and not quite ready to face the world on his own just yet.” She looks away. I can tell she is trying to get through this speech without crying. Finally, she turns to me and looks me straight in the eye. “I want to ask you to take care of Tony when my time comes. I can rest easy if I know you will do that for me.”

“What? Bertie, of course I will take care of Tony. But I don’t want to hear anything about you being gone. We’ve been through too much together and everything finally seems to be turning around for the better.” I pause, wondering if that is really true. Is everything going to be all right?

I continue, “We’ve walked straight through the midst of hell and we are just now starting to find our way back.”

“I hope you’re right, baby girl, but we can’t control what the good Lord wants to do. We just have to handle it the best we can when it comes.”

I nod and quietly say, “Bertie, I will do whatever you need me to do.”

“I know you will, baby girl. I just thought it would be nice to ask.” She winks at me.

Using both arms to lift herself, Bertie slowly rises from the step. I stand up, too, and she gives me a long hug. She puts her hat on and carefully steps away from the porch, heading toward the dirt road. I yell “goodbye” to her and she waves her hand behind her head without turning around. She walks very, very slowly, favoring one leg more than the other, and I watch her until she shuffles out of sight.

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Lori Crane Books at Amazon and on audiobook at Audible.

Frogs, Frogs, Everywhere!

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Lori Crane

I was reading a blog by NIKIMARIE about what she carries in her purse, and it got me thinking about the quirky things we carry around with us. Do you have some strange thing in your purse or your wallet that you couldn’t part with? My trophy husband carries a torn piece of his friend’s underwear from twenty-five years ago. Don’t ask. Just do what I do, shake your head and quietly back out of the room.

Well, I have one of those quirky things, too! I carry a carved, soap-stone frog!

The frog thing started a while back.

I read somewhere that it’s good Feng Shui to place a frog by your front door. It attracts money. Well, who wouldn’t want that? So, I put a little frog by my front door and sure enough, I instantly got more money.

If you know me, you know how obsessive I can be. So, I figured if one frog was good, more frogs would be better. Don’t laugh. It’s logical, no? My trophy husband didn’t think so either. But let me tell you, we always have the money we need. Nine years of putting children through college, new homes, family emergencies, we always have it, no matter how much.

So, where else would you put a “money frog” except where you keep your money? I placed this little one in my change purse, and my change purse is always full of money. I will keep it there forever and ever!

Here ends our Feng Shui reading for the day. So, give it up, what’s your quirky thing?

Happy 143rd Birthday, Aunt Dora!

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Lori Crane

Mary Eudora Culpepper Saterfiel Watson was born March 31, 1871.

She is pictured here in the center with her husband WB Saterfiel to the left, her father JB Culpepper to the right, and her children from left to right in front Dewey Oliver Saterfiel and baby Alma. In the back row, left to right, Evie Mae Saterfiel Hodges, Indeola “Necie” Saterfiel Byrd, Willie Carlos Saterfiel, Adie Joseph Saterfiel.

Side note: I ordered my grandparent’s marriage license and the witness was D.O. Saterfiel, the little guy. He was my grandpa’s cousin. I sometimes forget these people knew each other. 🙂

She was my grandpa’s aunt Dora. She was born to Joel B Culpepper and Mary E “Mollie” McFarland in Sumter County, Alabama, as the only girl with five brothers. There was another girl born to the union, but she died at birth. Aunt Dora was the eldest of the children, so I imagine she was the caregiver to her little brothers. At some point when the children were little, the family moved to Kemper County, MS. After her mother’s death in 1908, her father moved in with her for a short time. That’s when this photo was taken. Shortly after this, he was placed in a soldier’s home in Biloxi, MS, where he died less than a year later, on Nov. 11, 1911. Dora was 40.

When she was about 19, she married William Bartley Saterfiel around 1890 and had six children. Three of her children married into the Hodges family. Mr. Hodges married three times, and with each union came more children. The three Saterfiel children married a Hodges child from each of the three wives. The Hodges/Saterfiel family reunion must be confusing.

She lost her youngest child in 1912. Baby Alma was only five years old when she died, not very long after the top photo was taken.

Following her husband’s death in 1925, she married GW Watson in 1929. Though she was married to Mr. Watson for 21 years, her headstone reads Eudora Saterfiel and her obit says nothing of Mr. Watson’s children. She died at the age of 78. Her obit is as follows:

Friday, January 6, 1950

Mrs. G. W. Watson

Mrs. G. W. Watson of Collinsville died Friday at St. Joseph Hospital, following a heart attack. Funeral will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. from the Union Funeral Home. The Rev. Edward McKeithen officiating. Interment will be in Union. Survivors include three sons: A. J. and D. O., Collinsville, and W. C. Saterfiel, Causeyville: Two daughters, Mesdames Joe Byrd and George Hodges, Collinsville: several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Her father, husband, and baby Alma are buried at Zion Cemetery, Kemper Co, MS. She and her other children are buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in Lauderdale Co, MS. Mr. Watson and his first wife are buried at Memorial Park in Newton Co, MS.

To be inspiring!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Lori Crane

Being inspiring for other’s creativity is so awesome… as I usually struggle with my own.

Here are a couple nuggets inspired by my book The Legend of Stuckey’s Bridge. Granted, I didn’t create the legend, but I’m happy to have brought it back to life and more than thrilled that others have been touch by the book enough to put their time and talents to it.

The first is a folk song written by Kris Carmichael.

The second is a blog post at Lowry Wilson’s page along with his conceptual photography you just have to check out.

It’s a little creep, no? 🙂

My Grandmah – the Doctah

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Lori Crane

In the early 1900s, my great grandmother, Nancy Didama Spencer Burke (Grandma Damie) was a doctor. She rode around the back hills of Newton County, Mississippi, taking care of the sick. She didn’t ride in a car. She rode side-saddle, and a woman doctor was a rare thing.

Many moons ago, women were the caretakers and caregivers, but at some point the medical power was given over to men. Gaining that power back was a hard door to open.

It was opened by Elizabeth Blackwell (pictured left) in the mid-1800s. Miss Blackwell was born in England, but raised in America. A dying female friend told her she would have suffered far less if her physician had been a woman. This statement encouraged Elizabeth to pursue a career in medicine. She was told she would never become a doctor, because there was no schooling available for a woman, but that didn’t stop her from applying to every medical school in the country. Finally, as a joke, she was voted into Geneva Medical College in New York. I can only imagine the ridicule she received at the all-male school. But she showed them. She graduated first in her class in 1849 and later studied surgery, midwifery, and obstetrics. One can imagine she had very few patients and no camaraderie, but she persevered. Keep in mind this was 100 years before women even got the right to vote. She was a strong and intelligent woman.

She paved the path for many women in the field of medicine – even Grandma Damie.

186 years doesn’t make any difference

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Lori Crane

186 years doesn’t make any difference

March 17th is my 3rd great grandmother’s birthday. She was born in 1828. Her name was Mary Ann. In 1862/63 during the Civil War, she lost her husband and three brothers to war, both her parents and her 1-year-old son to typhoid, and a host of other family members to one or the other. The total death count in the family over a one-year period was seventeen. She was 35.

In 1923, my great grandmother, Eula, lost her baby girl to pneumonia. That was the same year she lost her father and her sister, and the same year her husband was sent to prison for shooting down a man in a gunfight over a moonshine still. She was 25.

February 24, 2014, after a four-year battle, my daughter lost her fiancé to cancer. She’s 28.

Driving back and forth to the hospital, we spoke about Mary Ann and Eula and their ages during those horrific times, and she said it must be some kind of curse on the women of our family.

I don’t think so.

As her fiancé took his last breath, it was only she, I, and his mother at his bedside. As usual, it was the women who held the dying and kept the rest of the world from caving in. When Mary Ann’s brother died of typhoid, it was she who took in his children and raised them. She was a women who remained steadfast in the face of despair. When Eula’s husband was sent to prison, it was she who raised the other children and took care of the farm. She was a woman who stood strong in the eye of the storm and saw the family through.

I think the women of our family are the rocks. We are the ones who carry the weight for everyone else. There is no curse. There are only miracles, and we are the ones who perform them.

Happy birthday to our grandma Mary Ann. Thank you for teaching us to be strong.

5-star review for ELLY HAYS!

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Lori Crane

Readers’ Favorite is one of my favorite sites. Click HERE to visit them. If you look down the left side of their page, you will find the genre of books you like and can spend hours and hours looking at great reviews of books. The site is a gem! One of their reviewers, Brenda Casto, gave my book ELLY HAYS a 5-star review! I’m tickled!! Here’s the LINK if you’d like to read it on their site or it is copied and pasted below. ELLY HAYS is the third book in the Okatibbee Creek series, but the books do not need to be experienced in order. Writing about Elly was very dear to me as she is my 5th great grandmother. She was one amazing woman! ♥

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Reviewed by Brenda Casto for Readers’ Favorite

Elly Hays is a story that takes place in the early 1800s. The book opens with a speech from Tecumseh urging the Creek Village that lives in the Mississippi Territory where Tafv and his son live to join forces and go to war against the white man. But many of the Creek have started adopting the white man’s ways, even marrying their women, so Tafv is torn about how to handle the problem. Meanwhile in Tennessee, James Rodgers has heard about cheap government land in Creek territory and convinces his wife Elly to move their eleven children there. When they arrive, they are faced with aggravation from the Creek, because Tafv’s plan is to run them off instead of killing them, hoping that they will go away and tell other whites how difficult it is to live on Creek land. The Rodgers are a tenacious bunch, though, and don’t go easily. But when Tafv’s only son is killed, he vows to seek revenge against the Rodgers.

Elly Hays by Lori Crane is a rare gem because it’s a fictionalized story based on a real family that lived during the 1800s. What makes it so unique is the way Ms. Crane portrayed the Indians in this story. Instead of portraying them as savages, she allows us to glimpse them as real people with real feelings, who grieve over losses just as the white man did. Tafv was a brave warrior, but more than that he was a caring individual that felt hurt and grieved deeply for those he lost. She provides insight into the plight that the Native Americans must have felt during this time period as they desperately tried to figure out a way to hold onto their way of life. Unfortunately, the Rodgers family found themselves in the middle of this struggle. Smoothly written, the chapters easily transition between Elly and her family and the issues with Tafv and his clan. Ms. Crane really did her research because she provides rich detail that truly allows the reader to feel as if they are part of the time she is describing. A historically rich tale where there are really no bad guys. Instead the author allowed me to see both sides. The epilogue and author notes added to this story in my opinion because it allowed me to learn what happened after the story. Historical fiction where there is plenty of truth woven in made Elly Hays a page-turning read for me.

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Lori Crane Books at Amazon