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MARTHA "Mattie" E. GAITHER, was born on her father's farm near Turnersburg, Iredell Co., NC on 07 Nov 1845, a Friday. Martha was the 7th known child of an estimated 13 born to Ivory "Ivy" M. Gaither and Sabrina F. Holman. James Knox Polk, was the eleventh United States President had been inaugurated just eight months before her birth. Polk at 49, became the youngest President at that time. President Polk strongly supported the annexation of the independent Republic of Texas. Polk signed the legislation making the former Lone Star Republic a state of the Union on December 29, 1845.
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MARTHA "Mattie" E. GAITHER, was born on her father's farm near Turnersburg, Iredell Co., NC on 07 Nov 1845, a Friday. Martha was the 7th known child of an estimated 13 born to Ivory "Ivy" M. Gaither and Sabrina F. Holman. James Knox Polk, was the eleventh United States President had been inaugurated just eight months before her birth. Polk at 49, became the youngest President at that time. President Polk strongly supported the annexation of the independent Republic of Texas. Polk signed the legislation making the former Lone Star Republic a state of the Union on December 29, 1845.
As a farm girl in her era, Martha learned the value of self-sufficiency. Virtually everything eaten or used in the Gaither household was either grown or made on their farm. Her mother taught her how to cook on the hearth of the open fireplace, which was made of slate taken from the creek that ran through the property. He older sisters trained her in how to grow and sustain the vegetable garden. Though some rare cloth was available from the distant dry goods store, the Gaither's were clothed in a fabric called "linsey-woolsey." Martha's mother had two spinning wheels. The first was a flax wheel used spin the fibers from the flax plant into a thread. The second and much larger was a wool wheel which was used to spin wool into yet another thread. After hours and hours of work, the flax and woolen threads would be woven into the linsey-woolsey fabric they all wore. Nothing, absolutely nothing went to waste.
The 1860 Census, was recorded on 26 Jul 1860 at the Gaither household in "Houstonville, South West of Hunting Creek, Iredell Co., NC" by A.S. Fraley, Ass't Marshall, and he wrote, "Ivy Gaither, age 44, Farmer; Value of Real Estate: $1,680, Value of Personal Estate:$6,415, wife Sabrina F. Gaither, age 47." Their children were listed as, "Martha E. Gaither, age 14; Caroline, age 12; David H. Gaither, age 10." All are listed as having been born in North Carolina.
The Home Front during the War
On the eve of the American Civil War the sentiment in Iredell Co., NC was slightly pro-Union and anti-slavery, in part because of the embryonic industrial revolution which was starting to emerge in the county. But once the Tar Heel State succeeded from the Union on 20 May 1861, the last State from the Upper South to do so, patriotic fever swept the region with the realization that allegiance to one's State was of higher importance than to a conglomeration of states.
The initial rush of enlistments for the Confederate States Army was so great and many new soldiers were sent home due to the fact that rifles, uniforms and equipment were not available for their use.
As the war drug on many hardships appeared on the home front that Martha E. Gaither would have experienced. Little cotton or tobacco was raised for sale, and, because of the uncertainty of transportation, prices to farmers were very low. Currency was not available in sufficient amounts for the average family to purchase needed goods. The Gaithers were forced to resort to makeshift ways. Old machinery, looms, spinning wheels, etc., were brought out of storage and put to use. Substitute and homemade articles had to suffice. Old clothes were taken from attics, patches were sewed on top of patches, straw was braided for hats, and wooden soles were used for shoes. Most children went barefoot throughout the war. Blank pages from books and blank sides of old letters were used for paper. Corn bread, cow peas, and sorghum molasses became the primary articles of food. Cholera and other diseases killed much of Iredell County's livestock not already taken by the Confederate army. Leaves of raspberry, blackberry, and holly substituted for tea; and rye, okra seed, parched corn, and dried, roasted sweet potatoes were used instead of coffee. Molasses—"long shortening"—took the place of sugar.
As inflation soared, prices rose to unbelievable heights. In Iredell County beef, priced at 3½ cents per pound in 1860, cost $1.50 per pound in late 1864. Flour rose to $1.50 per barrel. Firewood priced at 50 cents per cord in 1863 was $20 in late 1864. Hay was an amazing $50 per load near the end of the war. Bacon rose from 10 cents per pound in 1860 was $5 a pound in 1864. Corn, which had been 80 cents per bushel in 1860, rose to $20 by wars end. Molasses rose from 50 cents per gallon in 1860 to $10 in late 1864. Shoes which sold for 50 cents to $1.25 per pair just prior to the war, cost up to $175 by late 1864.
The final blow for the county came in Mar and Apr of 1865, just prior to Gen. Lee's surrender. Union Major General George Stoneman's cavalry, based in Tennessee staged a lightening raid running through the northern counties of North Carolina, to include Iredell. Though his stated goal was to destroy Confederate Army supplies and stockpiles the raiders burnt and looted many small towns and industries. One of his detachments rode into southern Yadkin and northern Iredell counties between March 31 and April 1 to burn the many factories along the Hunting Creek. This was the industrial center of the region. Several cotton factories and grist mills, including the Eagle Mills, Buck Shoals, Troy facilities, went up in smoke, along with eight hundred bales of cotton and one thousand bushels of wheat at Eagle Mills alone, this being just 5 miles from the Gaither household. It was a lightning attack; the machines at Buck Shoals were still running when the match was applied. Only Turner's Turnersburg cotton mill escaped, even though the Federal cavalry rode within a half-mile of it.
Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia on 9 Apr 1865 to Federal Gen. U. S. Grant on Sunday, 9 Apr 1865, effectively ending the American Civil War. As his defeated Carolinians walked back to Iredell Co. in the spring of 1865, they found they found farm equipment in such disrepair that the same could not be used; fields and towns had been burned to the ground; and villages standing in ruins.
A new life: Moving to Iowa
It was in these environs that Martha E. Gaither met returning Capt. John Burgess Forcum. Then on 25 Oct 1866, Martha E. "Mattie" Gaither married John Burgess Forcum. The wedding took place either in Martha's home or the Clarksbury Methodist Church in Iredell Co. The newlyweds wanted to leave the devastation of the South, so on 31 Oct 1866 they arrived in hamlet of Montezuma, Poweshiek Co., IA, a tiny town of less than 500 souls.
The big cities of the mid-19th century were breeding places for diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, and yellow fever. The open air and clean water of Montezuma was an ideal place to raise a family.
As Montezuma grew, so too did Martha's family. Her eldest son, Eugene Durant Forcum, had been born 03 Aug 1867 and Lucian Albert Forcum arrived in 1879. William "Willie" Theophilus Forcum was born 09 Dec 1869. Preston "Peck" Lewis Forcum came in Sep 1873. John Burgess' first daughter, Mary "Mamie" R. Forcum was born on 06 Jun 1874, and was followed by another daughter, Laura Jane Forcum on 28 Nov 1876. Another son, Charles "Charlie" Nelson Forcum was delivered on 19 Jun 1881, with his last child, Thomas Clyde Forcum, being born on 28 Aug 1885. All would be born in Montezuma. John Burgess and his wife Martha were blessed, and they knew it, because this was a time when infant mortality often approached 50%, all of their children lived to be adults.
Martha's husband became a successful "Carpenter and contractor" in Montezuma over the decades, erecting many of the structures in the town. Though not wealthy, the family prospered.
Entering the 1880's in Montezuma, Iowa
When the Census was recorded on 23 Jun 1880, the population of Montezuma had increased to 921 souls and the Forcum's were living on 8th Street in Montezuma, Poweshiek Co., IA. The Census enumerator recorded that 6 of Martha's eventual children had been now born.
In mid-1885, her second eldest son Lucian Albert Forcum, whom she called "Bertie", decided to leave home to see the Wild West. Martha, and her husband were not happy about this. Bert wandered across the southwest often herding cattle from Texas to the railheads in Kansas.
Then on 26 Dec 1886 Bert wrote his mother, Martha, from Dodge City, Kansas saying:
"Dear Mother,
I have just got back from the Arizona Territory. Since I left home I have been in Missouri, Kansas, New Mexico, California, Utah Territory, Wyoming and Colorado. I was just starting down into Indian Territory when I got your letter. I have got good clothes and underwear and everything else. I had a Winchester [rifle] and two double action Colt revolvers too, but I have sold them. This leaves me with $7.50 in money, but I am not [currently] working. I have been herding cattle most of the time. It will cost me $22 to get home s if you can sent it I will tell you all about my travels when I get home.
Your Son,
Bertie."
As Bert travelled though the Wild West he keep the letters his Ma and Pa had sent him. One loving, caring letter from Martha survives which shows her concern for her son and is full of family news, but is almost illegible. It read, in part:
"Dear Son,
I had put off writing you for a week. I had a [illegible] last Sunday and could not write and I have so much to do, I do not have time. The baby is cross and I [illegible] of the work to do. Mamie and Press and Charlie all go to school. Willie has not started yet. I don't know as we can get him to go [since] he has not went for so long. He got behind. Mamie is in the fifth room (fifth grade). Bert, I am sorry that you did not go to school more [and] I am afraid you will wish you had. Well Bert I guessed from your letter that you were herding cattle again. How much do you get a month and what do you have to pay for Board [?] Don't expose yourself in cold weather. I am afraid you will get sick. I am so messy a writer. Write me of [the] temperature so I can hear from you. Hope all is well. It would not hurt you to sit down once a week and write me a few lines and it only cost two cents. Mr. John Wilson and his wife and Mamie was here. Today we had a good dinner. I wish you could had been here [!]. I thought of you and nobody else. Your mother and nobody else [illegible]. I will send you Charlie and Clyde's pictures. I will only send you one at a time [and] maybe you will write oftener. I think the baby is good [illegible]. Genie told John Anderson to send you the [news] paper all the time. You will get [to] share with the [other] men, but I don't want [it] to keep you from writing. I want to hear how you are Bert. Maybe you think I am foolish, but I can't help it. I will have to close. I have got the blues [without you] tonight and can't think of anything else to write. Answer soon.
Good Bye,
Mother."
Then in late Oct 1886, her husband received a letter from Mr. Mack Skinner a cattle ranch foreman in Mobeetie, Wheeler Co., TX. He explained that Bert had drowned on the Canadian River in Indian Territory on 15 Sep 1886. The day after the John Burgess Forcum household received Skinner's letter an article appeared in the Montezuma newspaper which said: "A SAD CASE -- Mr. J. B. Forcum yesterday morning received a letter which freighted with the deepest sorrow. The letter was written by Mr. Mack Skinner, of Mobeetie, Wheeler county, Texas, and was dated September 28, 1886. It conveyed the sad intelligence that Albert Forcum, the second son of Mr. and Mrs. Forcum, who left here about fourteen months ago, and has been in the southwest during the time, drowned in the Canadian river in the Indian Territory. The details are meager. He was engaged in driving cattle and was going from Mobeetie to Dodge City, Kansas, with a man by the name of L. B. Anderson. It appears that the river was flooded and that his horse got into the quicksand and deep water, in which he floundered and sank, falling upon Bert, who went down and whose body was not seen to emerge from the waters. Other parties barely escaped with their lives and every effort was made to find the body, but without avail. The letter states that Bert left Mobeetie about September 7 or 8 and it is difficult to determine when he drowned. According to the map the place where he was drowned was remote and unsettled and communications either by telegraph or letter was quite impossible. The only information that Mr. Skinner had of the drowned boy's connections was through a letter to Bert, written by his mother which was sent to Mobeetie and contained pictures of his little brothers here at home. The envelope had Mr. Forcum's card on it and was returned with the letter which Mr. Skinner wrote. The case is a distressingly sad one and overwhelm the family and friends with grief. The poor boy, in the line of duty, distant from home and friends, unwarned and heedless of the messenger that comes when least expected, went down in the turbulent waters and was buried we trust with God. Mr. Forcum is making an effort to learn more of the details of the sad occurrence. "
Not isolated.
Being in Iowa, did not mean the Martha was totally cut off from her large group of relatives and friends in Iredell Co., NC. The 29 Sep 1887 edition of the Statesville (Iredell Co., NC) newspaper "The Landmark", reported that, "Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Blaylock of Cool Springs township, who have been on a three month visit to relatives in Iowa, returned a few days ago and are glad to be home. Their kinswoman, Mrs. J. B. (Martha) Forcum, Montezuma, Iowa, came back with them to visit her relatives in Iredell County."
Over the years and miles Martha keep up with her Iredell Co., NC family with many with routine letters and one has survived. Martha, called "Mattie" by her parents, received a letter from her mother Sabrina F. (Holman) Gather, which read in part:
"Turnersburg, Iredell Co., NC
Dec 17, 1889
Dear Daughter,
I seat my self to answer your most welcome letter I receive[d the] 13 [th] of this inst. Was glad to hear you was all well. Those lines leaves me as well as Common. I am pestered with rheumatism all the time. I hope when these lines come to [your] hand they find you & family all doing well. Your aunt Rachel is about like she has been for 12 months. I do not see any change or but very little. Callas was all as well as Common last Thursday week Mattie. Husband brought Bitha up hear. She went to Holman's last Sunday. They have been having chills. Bitha looks very bad. Salmon & family are as well as Common. Ellie [illegible] …love to you all & would be glad to see you. Your aunt Betsy Bell is very low with dropsy. They do not think she can live. The rest of the relatives are well as far as I know. Uncle Mark Martins and Al Gaither are about the same as the[y] was when I wrote before. We have had a very pretty fall almost like summer time. Crops was good in this country only on the rivers & creeks. The water destroyed the corn. Corn is 50 cents per bushel, wheat 85 & 90 cents per bushel, pork from 5 to 6 cents a pound. There is the most deaths & marriages I ever heard tell of in the same length of time. Mr. [Nelson} Forcum & family was well the last I heard. Aunt Rachel sends her love to you & family. I send my love & best wishes also to you and Burges [sic] & family & if we never see each other I this world I want to meet you in heaven where there [is] not parting. I would be glad to see you all. So I will close for this time. I remain your affectionate mother till death. Write soon.
Sabrina Gaither to Mattie Forcum & family"
On 02 Feb 1899, Martha's husband, John Burgess Forcum received a telegram saying his father Nelson Forcum, age 89, had passed away in Turnersburg, Iredell Co., NC. Nelson had lived through 89 of the first 123 years of his country's history. John Burgess took the train from Montezuma back to Turnersburg, NC for his father's funeral.
Moving to Sheldon, IA
At the very end of the 19th century, John Burgess and Martha, moved their remaining family from Montezuma to Sheldon, O'Brien Co., IA, a distance of 282 miles. The 1900 Census, enumerated at the Forcum home in Sheldon on 07 Jun 1900, shows John, recorded as 64 years old, remained in the "construction business," and his wife Martha E. Gaither, age 54, was a "homemaker." Of John's 8 children, 5 still lived with their parents. These were Eugene "Gene" Durant Forcum, age 32; William "Willie" Theophilus Forcum, age 30; Mary "Mame" Robena Forcum, age 25, Charles "Charlie" Nelson Forcum, age 18; and Thomas Clyde Forcum, age 14. The older boys, Gene, Willie and Charlie worked in their father's construction business.
Moving to Chico, CA
In 1905 Martha and John Burgess moved again, this time to Chico, Butte Co., CA and son Charlie with his sister Mame went with them. This may have been when John retired and the family may have moved to Chico to live near one of their grown children.
During the evening of 28 Jul 1913 Martha and John Burgess's received a telegram saying, "Peck killed today." Her son, Preston "Peck" Lewis Forcum, had married Mamie Pauline Esklund in 1901. And moved to Whitefish, Flathead Co., Montana where he started a career with the Great Northern Railway and by 1910 had worked his way up to "Locomotive Engineer" by 1910. On 28 Jul 1913 Peck was killed in a horrific train wreck. Martha boarded the train in Chico and arrived in Whitefish on 30 Jul 1913. The "Whitefish Pilot," dated 31 Jul 1913, reported in part, "... Mrs. [Martha] Forcum, mother of the deceased, arrived last evening from Chico, Cal., and a brother, E. D. Forcum, of St. Joe Mo., and relatives of Mrs. Forcum from Duluth, Minn., and other eastern points, arrived yesterday to be in attendance at the last sad rites and assist in comforting those who are left to mourn. Many beautiful floral tributes were presented by the railway orders to grace the caskets of the unfortunates, as emblems of the high esteem in which both were held by the big hearted railroad boys, as well as others. Several handsome floral pieces were presented by personal friends." Martha stayed with Peck's widow Mamie, and her two grandchildren, Redman Lewis P. Forcum, age 10, and Mary Elizabeth Forcum, age 1 ½. Martha's daughter-in-law was pregnant at the time of Peck's death, so she stayed with Mamie in Whitefish until after Preston Everita Forcum, a girl, was born on 16 Feb 1914.
Including William "Will" Theophilus Forcum, who had passed away on 11 Nov 1908, in Chico, three of Martha's boys were now gone.
In Chico, Martha and her husband John lived in the home at 1505 Citrus Ave. With them lived their daughter Mary Robena Forcum, whom they called "Mame."
The 1920's
On 20 Sep 1920, John Burgess Forcum, Martha's husband of almost 54 years, passed away in their Citrus Ave. home at 11:15 pm having reached the age of 84 years, 9 months, and 2 days. He was interred in the Masonic section of the Chico Cemetery, Chico City, 881 Mangrove Ave., Butte Co., CA on 24 Sep 1920.
The next two decades were fairly quiet for Martha. Her daughter, "Mame," never married and continued to live with her mother. "Mame" had graduated from Montezuma High School, Montezuma, IA in 1892. In 1920 the Census of that year reflects her occupation as, "Nursery Company Bookkeeper." After 1920, she and Mrs. Eleanor Stilson opened the Chico Flower Shop, 2nd and Salem St. in Chico. After Mrs. Stilson passed away, "Mame" formed a partnership with Mrs. Helene Guynnand and continued to manage that business until it 1947 when they sold their interest to Mrs. Lilliam Reed.
When the 1930 Census was recorded on 5 Apr 1930 at her Citrus Ave., home in Chico, Martha was recorded as 84 years old, of course her daughter "Mame," age 55 still lived with her, but additionally her son, Eugene Durant Forcum age 62, resided there also. Her home was recorded as having a value of $3,000, not an inconsequential amount in 1930.
When the 1940 Census was again taken on Citrus Ave., Martha is listed as 94 years old, and "Mame" is shown as 64. "Mame" is correctly listed as having graduated from high school, but very interestingly, Martha is shown as having completed the 8th grade, which was uncommon for her youth of her era. "Mame's" occupation is correctly listed as "Floral Show owner."
Then on Sunday, Mar. 23, 1941, Martha "Mattie" E. (Gaither) Forcum, passed away in her own bedroom in her Citrus Ave. home at the advanced age of 95 years, 4 months and 16 days. Martha was laid to rest next to her late husband John Burgess Forcum.
The Chico Daily Enterprise, Chico, CA, Monday Evening, March 24, 1941 reported: "DEATH SUMMONS MRS. M. E. FORCUM. Mrs. Martha E. Forcum, 95, resident of Chico since 1904 passed away yesterday morning at the family home at 1505 Citrus Ave. Mrs. Forcum was born on a plantation November 7, 1845, at Statesville, North Carolina where she resided until her marriage to John B[urges]. Forcum, October 25, 1866. He was a Captain in the Civil War. They made their home at Montezuma, Iowa, where they stayed until 1904, when they came west and settled in Chico. Mr. Forcum was a carpenter by trade and passed away in 1920. She is survived by four children: Charles N. Forcum and Mame R. Forcum both of Chico; E.D. Forcum of St. Joseph, Missouri; and T.C. Forcum of San Jose, Calif. Five grandchildren survive and also three great grandchildren. Friends are invited to attend the funeral services Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 o'clock at the Nugent funeral chapel. Interment will follow in the family plot of the Masonic section of the Chico cemetery." (Obituary courtesy of Carolyn Hackett Dowd). |
