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This story was told to me by Pearl Risner Hopkins, Oct 7th 1994. Pearl was born 1903,
and was the daughter of Lee and his first wife Polly Risner. This story is about Lee and Polly Risner.
Paw and Maw Risner went to Oak. by covered wagon. On the trip they had a barrel of
Molasses. Two to six jiblings (Not sure what jiblings means) crawled under the wagon
and kept it out of the water, and they swam in under it and held it up, and the wagon was
drove to the other...
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This story was told to me by Pearl Risner Hopkins, Oct 7th 1994. Pearl was born 1903,
and was the daughter of Lee and his first wife Polly Risner. This story is about Lee and Polly Risner.
Paw and Maw Risner went to Oak. by covered wagon. On the trip they had a barrel of
Molasses. Two to six jiblings (Not sure what jiblings means) crawled under the wagon
and kept it out of the water, and they swam in under it and held it up, and the wagon was
drove to the other side of the river. Paw told them who ever has got a bucket, bring it to me
and I will give you something good to eat. Paw said everyone of them hollered I've got a
bucket. Paw told the first one that hollered to bring his bucket and I will pour you out a
bucket of Molasses.
Paw and Maw was back from Oak when I was born in 1903. While they were living in Oak.,
Paw got Yellow Jaundice and they had to come back home on a train. They could not
bring their wagon back. Paw and Maw rode the train to Ivington, Ky and got off and
walked to the Jim Howard farm up on Puncheon.
Maw "Polly died of a fever.
When Paw got remarried to Nina Arnett,and before they moved to Ohio, he would plow
and plant big fields of corn, and Maw "Nina" would plant beans in the corn. It was my
sister and brother and my job to hoe the corn and beans. We sure hoed a lot of corn
while we were growing up.
These stories were told by Lee to his grandsons, Craig C Cook, and Mark Bishop in Ohio.
I have traded since I was about 12 years old. I got a pretty good knife and I sold
it for 75 cents. I thought I will never get no place this way, so I bought some sitting
eggs and hatched everyone of them, and sold the chickens for $7.50, and I thought
now I am getting somewhere. I traded a bushel of corn for a pig, to a kid who lived
up the hill, who always went barefooted. I built a trough and fed the pig all the scraps
and green fodder he could eat. The pig had nine piglets. They were the prettiest things
I ever laid my eyes on. They were red, white and black, and I sold them for 40.00.
Now I thought I would get into hoss swapin. I bought a horse with the 40.00.
The horse was a big yaller hoss, but had a knott on his left hind leg, but I knew what to
do about that. I fed the horse for a month, and the day came I was fixin fer. My horse
looked a lot different, and I went hoss swapin. I road the hoss down to Hot Lick as fast
as I could. I swapped that spunky critter for 20.00 and a horse that could run, walk and
pace a streak. She was a dandy mare. I then swapped for another mare and 60.00. I
fed this mare well. In one day I had swapped three horses and made 80.00. Another
hoss swap came, and I bought a gray mare right off the bat. When I took her home, I
worked on her to perfection. When Brock Howard saw the mare, he said what in daggone
nation you got? Then I swapped with him for another horse. Then we met Tank Risner and
I made Brock Howard's horse rare and walk on his two hind legs clear to the barn, then
I climbed off. Tank was pretty impressed. I said do you want to swap. I traded Tank
the horse for a mule, and then sold the mule to Howard for another mule and 125.00.
In one year I had made 225.00 and a right nice mule.
Marriage ceremony took place in home of Gardner Risner, Magoffin Co, to Polly Risner.
1895 I married Polly Risner. I was 15 1/2 years old. Two weeks after we married,
Polly and I, 5 fellas, all about 16 or 17, 35 people in all, left Kentucky with a wagon train
for Oklahoma.
Late in October the train was caught in a blizzard. We came to a brick house,
the only one we had seen that day. I decided to stop and ask if we could spend the night
and wait out the storm. The Wagon Master said it was useless to ask, as people have a
rough time making it on their own.
An old couple lived all alone in the house. They welcomed quests, as long as they
brought their own grub. All 35 stayed two days. The old folks enjoyed us all.
The train left early Oct 20th, a very cold clear day. It turned out that only 6 miles ahead
was as far as we were to go.
The Indians in Oklahoma were a poor lot. A friend, Ed Carr, a Cherokee, worked from
sun-up to sun-down, sawing fire wood for 40 cents a day all winter and spring.
Ed Carr's son contacted TB, and his father took him to the hospital in Hot Springs.
I went and found new work. We spent the summer with Jake Splitlog and his wife.
Jake lived in a cave cut out of the side of a 52 foot cliff, along side of Cowskin River.
We put our things in a very large room.
Jake's wife baked me my first white bread with Syrup.
On a Sat. the first hot day of June in 1896, I took the afternoon off. We went swimming
in the Cowskin River. Jake said he would teach me how to swim, but I knew he would
probably throw me out in the middle and that would be the end of Lee Risner.
Jake said "get on shoulders." I knew this was it for me. Jake waded right to the
middle and threw me kleen in the water. "Well on land or in the water, I worked at living."
I splashed and kicked, finally just as I was sure to drown, Jake put his hand under me,
and I swam right to the other side of the river.
A stand of trees grew on that bank, and hundreds of squirrels lived in those trees, mostly
grey or black squirrels. Jake took his knife and cut two clubs. Before we knew it we had
killed enough meat for the next two or three days meals. The squirrels were awful thick.
It was mating season. They chased each other right around our ankles. With 14
squirrels tied to Jake's back, we swam back across the river to the Indians house.
I recall that river was so clear, you could see every mineral in it, even a pin head.
When Ed Carr 's son turned sixteen, Ed and him built a railroad They split logs and
used them for tracks. All of Mr Carr's children received 160 acres of Oklahoma farm
land the day of their birth.
I got sick with Malaria fever, and Polly and I had to leave our wagon and most of our
things and return to Kentucky by train.
After our third child was born in 1907, Polly got a fever and died.
I married in 1913 to Nina Arnett. In 1913 Drury and Betty Risner and Nina and I were
living on the Flat Bank of a river that was a tributary of the Ohio River, near Mcguffey
Ohio, when we had a big flood.
We had rain for three days and nights. We had water for as far as you could see, and
it was up to the windows. Duruy thought Betty was going to drown, but Betty and Nina
were sitting high and dry on two wooden crates they had brought in from the barn just
in case the water did rise. I crawled through a window and down a ledge along the
side of the house to the roof. I tried signaling for help. No one came. Hours later
a large boat picked us four up and took us to the city to Sperbeck's House. The
house had two floors, and 33 people lived on the second floor for 3 days. Some
government boats then took us to to a Grange Hall up on a hill, a few miles east.
All we had to drink was two cups of coffee, and no one had anything to eat since
we first climbed into the boat. On the 6th day we were taken to a large cellar with
beds and tables and food. The ordeal lasted 13 days.
The house back in McGuffey had to be scrubbed 3 times with a scrub broom and a
bucket. The muck was 3 inches thick, soft and mushy. We shoveled it out the
windows.
With no food in the house, Nina and I went, or I should say floated to McGuffey. The
water in Flat Branch was still high. When we returned hours later the water had
receded. I had to carry Nina and the food half a mile to the house. Sometimes the
muck came up to my knees. Two days later the boat was right out in the middle of
our field.
Five years later I built a summer house. That same summer the onions grew large and
sweet, but so did those gray clouds. It had been a rainy week. The creek was high.
It was raining and thundering. Early the next Morning I gazed out the open window,
and what do you think I saw? All those beautiful onions floating past the porch down
by the big maple and away. That beautiful rain left Nina and I , our four children, Harold,
Cap, Jay and Jeggs almost broke. After returning from McGuffey where I bought
food, my Budget amounted to 73 cents. I owed the farmer down the road 75 cents,
and payed that. I then sent Nina and the children by train to Catlitsburg, Ky. The
conductor had read the papers and knew our trouble. I followed them down.
I was 350 miles from where I was born and not a cent to my name. Because I
was so sick, the trip on foot, from Catlitsburg to my parents, who lived in Salyersville
was rough. A stop at Tom Howard's helped me make the four hills between Redwins
and home.
In 1922 we moved to Cary, Seneca County Ohio. Earl was 3 months old. I started
planting onions when we lived on Greely Marshall's place, near the muck plant. We
then lived on a farm owned by Mr Newcomer for 11 years. I then bought John Kendricks
farm, and then 3 years later, Nina took sick and died in 1940.
Some of the family moved to Albion, Michigan.
I then worked for the railroad for 1 1/2 years and raised onion crops. The last crop
was partly rained out but still brought 668.00. Quite a lot.
Eaton Rapids was my next home and not a prosperous one. Both crops were no count.
My children, Earl, Sylvia, Roween and I moved back to Ohio and I lived there for
three years.
After Earls accident, I went to help Earl on his farm and lived there for 15 years.
I have been over a lot of ground.
My best memories are spending Christmas and other holidays with family.
Lee "Scott" Risner
Lee told his grandson, Jim Risner, that one time when he was living in Kentucky,
he was on his way home, going over a mountain. He was walking and very
tired. He seen this man riding a mule, and he shot the man and took his
mule. We don't know for sure if this really happened, or if he was just trying
to impress his grandson. Jim said when he used to go to Ohio and visit,
after his grandmother Nina died, that Lee was very popular with the ladies,
even after he got on in years. Jim also remembers Lee always singing
Pretty Polly all the time.
Lee Risner was married first to Polly Risner and second to Nina Arnett.
LEE RISNER
Lee Risner, 95, Route 1, Bloomdale, died at 11:15 A.M. Monday in Mercy
Hospital,Tiffin, Ohio. He had been a patient since Oct.14. He had resided
in the home of son earl, for the past 21 years.
He was born May 10,1880 to Johnston and Sue ( Howard) Risner. On June
15,1910, he married Nina Arnett, and she preceded Nov.5,1940.
Surviving are children, Johnson "Jay" Findley, John "Cap" Parma, MI., Graydon,
Jackson, Mi. Jackson, Arcadia, William and Clayton, both from Fostoria; Mrs
Jennie Cook and Mrs Rowena Lowery, both of Fostoria; Earl, Bloomdale; Mrs.
Sylvia Bishop, Alvada; Pearl Hopkins, Claypool, IN.; Mrs Julia Hicks, California;
Willie, Silver Lake, In; 59 grandchildren, 72 great grandchildren 25 great
great grandchildren.
He was a retired farmer and a member of the Church of Christ, Tiffin, Ohio.
Services will be Wednesday at 2 P.M. in the Bristoll Funeral Home, Carey,
the Rev. John Bowling officiating. Burial will be in Hickory Grove Cemetery.
Friends may call after 2 P.M. today in the funeral home. |
