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Archiver > NYOTSEGO > 2002-06 > 1023233897


From: "Betty Cary" <>
Subject: Re: [NYOTSEGO] Old Stories Of Consumption and Hard Times
Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2002 19:38:59 -0400
References: <fe.18ea9803.2a2ea36f@cs.com>


Hi, My dad was born in 1903 and his mother died in 1906 leaving two sons.
My grandfather "farmed" the three year old out. As soon as possible Dad had
to earn his keep. He told of always being hungry and never having seconds
at the table but the son of the family about the same age had as much as he
wanted. Finally a neighbor contacted my grandfather and told him if he
wanted to see his son alive he had better remove him from that place. The
other "farms" weren't much better. Even in Anne of the Green Gables, Miranda
plans to have the boy they adopt sleep in the small room off the kitchen and
the second best preserves are good enough for him. Orphan children were a
dime a dozen and valued as such. Even today no doubt some foster homes
aren't that good to a child. My dad's grandfather was 57 and he had a second
wife with a 14 year old daughter. For some reason he could not take in his
two half-orphaned children. I never knew him but I have never really
forgiven him for allowing my dad to be so misused.
----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 7:12 PM
Subject: Re: [NYOTSEGO] Old Stories Of Consumption and Hard Times


> In a message dated 6/4/02 11:06:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> writes:
>
> << you know... that struck me too. and speculating the hardship it
> meant. i remember a recent year about a man who'd died at about
> 29 i think... leaving a family (wife, kids) and that's when it hit me
> me the cumulative impact this had on him, his family, the community....
>>
>
> My grandfather, William Ezra Decker, died of consumption (TB) in 1919.
There
> were six kids, my Aunt Anna-a baby. They were well of financially until
he
> died. My Dad, who was 14 years old hired himself out to farmers and did
odd
> jobs for everyone in the town of New Berlin, Chenango County. He had two
> sets of clothes and one pair of boots and took his baths in the river. He
> lived in a barn on the farm of one of the farmers he worked for. He told
a
> story of how one night he went hunting for frogs so he could have frog's
legs
> for supper. He came back to the barn with his bucket and the farmer took
> them away from him and said, "I see you caught our supper", and walked
into
> his nice, warm house with them, leaving my Dad out in the barn to go
hungry.
> Nice way to treat a kid. After my grandfather died one of my aunt's ended
up
> with TB and lived in a sanitarium in Sherburne for a year. She survived.
> With all the hardships my family went through, they were all fabulous
people.
> They remembered the hard times, gave thanks for what they had and
> shared...and loved. The last of the siblings died in 1996. I wish I had
> asked more questions.
> Elaine
>
>
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