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From: "Carter L Combs" <>
Subject: Re: [EastKyGenealogy] Fw: The Census Taker's Home!
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 19:06:49 -0500
References: <004c01c5267a$de14ae10$90ecfea9@pavilion>


The following was posted to the Eastern Kentucky Mail List. Some of you may
have seen this before but if not enjoy.

Carter

> >> The Census Taker's Home!
> (from the Sunday Afternoon Rocking series)
>
> Well, I'm surely glad to be home, that I am. I tell you another day
> like this one and I'am good mind just to fill them papers out on memory
and
> be done with it. Here, put these socks over there next to the fire to dry
> out, will you? Got down yonder this mornin' and everyone in Household 451
> through 486 was gone. Some big shindig goin' on down there. Good thing
the
> folks in 441 could tell me who they all was. Here, reckon you could go
over
> some of the writin' on this here page? Got smeared a bit in the rain. I
> think you can 'cipher most of it out.
>
> Then them folks down in the holler got suspicious over a census. Said,
and
> derned if they had a point, what difference did it make who they was? Was
> them guvment folks up in Warshington going to come down here to say howdy
do?
> So they finally let me write down they last name and first initial, but I
> think they wuz havin' a bit of fun with me when they listed who lived in
the
> house. Saw some winkin' goin' on and I believe I got the same house a
> youngins in two or three places. It been a day, woman. Honey, git that
paper
> out of Johnny's mouth, will ya? I worked all day on that thing, and no
call
> to let him go chewin' it up.
>
> Went up the river a piece and tried to get that done 'fore it come a
> downpour, but run into trouble there, too. Ole Man Jenkins' cur dog run me
> off and I tell you, ain't no call to get eat up over such a thing as this.
> They ort to be a limit what a man does for his country. Was lucky a man
down
> the road mostly knew Jenkins was nigh on sixty years old and was living
there
> with his woman and five youngins from his first marriage plus a passel
from
> the second. We give em good Christian names.
>
> Best be doin' something 'bout this pen. It give out on me halfway
> through. See you havin' trouble, too. Johnny! Hand that here, boy!
>
> And I tell you I would ruther fight grandpap's British than mess with that
> feller out on the ridge. He got out his shotgun soon as he seen me
comin'
> and I went t'other direction. Had Jones tell me about him instead, and he
> didn't rightly know the feller's first name. Said they called him
"Squirrel",
> and it was ok just to put that cause wasn't nobody around here claimin'
him
> no how, and they for sure didn't want the guvment knowin' there was any
> relationship. That coffee done?
>
> Then got over to Smiths, and ole Hoss was in a nervous fit so wasn't no
> getting information there. His woman havin' another youngin and he looked
> like he could run right through me when I went to askin' how many
youngins
> he had now. Hightailed it out of there, and Miz Hart helped me straighten
> that household out. Think we got most of the names straight, and as he has
> had a youngin a year for the last ten, ages purty close too. Now look what
> Johnny went and done!
>
> I tell you, next time this come around I ain't gonna be no where in
> sight. Farmin's a heap easier, and I figger they're folks 'round here
what
> can read and write and 'cipher and ain't no good fer nothing else ...

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