Sarah Melissa McClendon

I just received the following from Mom. Apparently, this was transcribed into an e-mail that was sent to Sandie about 10 years ago. It was written by our great-uncle, (Warner Russell Watkin's brother) Joseph Heber, who was the 5th of the 8 sons from Thomas Russell Watkins and Julia Allen (our Grandpa Watkins was the 3rd son) was known as "Uncle Heber" to most of us. This is perfect for our website...

12 March 1947 – I, Joseph Heber Watkins, grandson of John Hatch Watkins and Sarah Melissa McClendon, would like to relate some of the faith promoting incidents that were told to me by my Grandmother while I was a small boy. I am completely relying upon my memory of the following incidents as I have written no history or journal or known of any daily journal that was kept of the following incidents. If I error in any of the following statements, I do so innocently as it has been almost fourteen years that my grandmother has died.
Grandmother was raised in the deep south in the state of Mississippi. She had only three years of schooling and taught herself to read and write. She was the oldest of a family of four girls and three boys, and had to accept the responsibility of raising her younger ones as their mother died when grandmother was only nine years old. The Civil War had left the family in poverty so the family had to labor in the fields picking cotton from early I the morning until late at night as that was the only employment that they could get. The deserters of the army would frequently loot their small home and keep them in poverty. Their garden would be destroyed and their livestock would be driven away. Their clothes were sometimes taken from their backs.
There is a space in my grandmother’s life that I cannot fill in. I will skip many years and start my story again at the time she was converted to the Church. I am not sure as the name of the Elder who brought the Gospel to her, but I think that his name was Elder George Louis. Grandmother was married and now a widow and had two small children. (Thomas Russell and Henry Cobb Watkins) Because of her early responsibilities, she had learned how to work at many trades. One of her abilities was that of farming. Her fingers seemed to have that magic touch to make anything grow. One of her abilities was that of building. Without the aid of anyone, she built her own house. She also built much of the furniture. Wherever she lived, even until she died, her home was made more beautiful by the flowers that seemed to bloom the year round. After grandmother joined the church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), persecutions were heaped upon her. The grocery stores refused to sell her anything. Her cow was found poisoned and she was threatened many times. Finally she decided to move west. She had no money and could get no cotton seed to plant on her small farm because of her religion. She almost felt the Lord had forgotten her. She felt impressed to go to the cotton gin and try to get some seed there. All they would give her was the seed that was considered not worth planting. She took the seed home and planted it, having faith that the Lord would help her. As grandmother has often said, “It seemed as though every seed I planted came up.” There was a large cotton boat that would come down the Mississippi River and buy the cotton from the local people and would take it on to New Orleans to the manufacturing center. When grandmother’s cotton was matured, it was the finest in the county. She received the highest price and had enough money to get her ticket on the river boat to come west. She decided not to go immediately as she wanted to sell her home and livestock. One evening after she put her two small sons to bed, (Tom and Henry), she retired to her bedroom and prayed to Heavenly Father for protection for herself and her two sons. She went to bed and in the night she was warned in a dream that she and her sons should leave immediately or their life would be in danger. Grandmother awoke, but thought that it was just a nightmare and went back to sleep. Again the warning came that she must leave immediately. Grandmother awoke and got out of bed and walked around the room and decided a second time that it was just a nightmare. This time with such force, that she awoke with a start. All sleep had left her and she knew that it was a warning from the Lord. Immediately, she packed a few clothes and awoke her two sons and dressed them hurriedly and was in a short time on the river bank waiting for the boat. Soon the boat came, they hurriedly went aboard. As the river boat slowly pulled away from the shore, Grandmother saw her home burning in the distance. Even though she had sacrificed her home and all her possessions, she was happy that she was going where she could worship our Heavenly Father in peace.
— J. Heber Watkins 12 March 1947

Thanks to Mom for sending this to us. (I should point out that the Grandma Watkins - or Sarah McClendon - that J. Heber speaks about also had a third son, Mason, who was born on 10 May, 1880 but died in June of that same year. Uncle Heber only mentions the two brothers that survived.)

I would like to have our next article on our great grandmother Watkins, Heber's and Grandpa Warner Watkins's mother, Julia Allen Watkins. Remember, she was the grandma that we always called, "Grandma Watkins with the figs" - as she had a wonderful fig tree in the front of her house. She is also the grandma who was famous for cooking all of her toast on Monday for the whole week - and for diluting the root beer that she gave to us boys on hot afternoons, "It's too strong if you don't add water," she would say.
Send your recollections of Grandma Julia Allen Watkins to me at NorthShoreHI@gmail.com as soon as you can.
- Craig