Susan (Williamson) Ransom (1829 - 1916)

Born 29 Oct 1829 in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, USA

Ancestors

Wife of Abner J. R. Ransom — married 30 Aug 1849 in Brown County, IL

Descendants

Died 22 Feb 1916 at age 86 in Versailles, Brown County, Illinois, USA

Biography

Susan was born in 1829. Susan was the child of David Williamson and Lourena Masters. Susan passed away in 1916. She is buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery, Versailles, Brown County, IL

Personal Recollections

[Letter addressed to the editors of the Versailles Enterprise] November 22, 1915, Versailles, Illinois

Dear Editors:

I notice in your interesting paper in whose coming I look forward to each week, you ask "Who has been here the longest?" inviting the older residents of the country to write of facts concerning the earlier days. I wish to write you as I am one of those who passed through the privations of those days. I am now 87 years old and was born in Louisiana in 1829, coming to what is now Brown County in 1836, with my parents, Mr. and Mrs. David WILLIAMSON, and settled on a farm about 8 miles north east of Versailles, which is now know as the WATTS farm, and I have continued to live in Brown County ever since.

In early life we all lived in log houses and cooked by fire places. I was 21 years of age before I saw a cook stove. A sewing machine we had never heard of. We spun and wove our homemade clothing, making our linsey dresses with our hands. Some of us had calico dresses that we wore on Sunday when we went to some good old neighbors (houses) to church, as we had no meeting houses in those days, but oh' what good meetings we did have in those days at old uncle Hiram BARKERS and Grandpa LANGDONS. That was the old time religion that I regret to say I have lived to see go out of fashion.

The nearest mill where we got our grinding done was about eight miles from us and well do I remember when father would say "now we must shell a sack of corn and go to the mill tomorrow," and the next morning he or my elder brother would take the sack of corn and go to the mill horseback and maybe it would be a day or two before they would return with the meal, as they had to wait their turn, and if there were many ahead of them and the water was low, they would have to wait longer. If we run out of meal during his absence, we should substitute potatoes for bread or grate corn on a "gritter" to make bread. There wasn't such a thing as a buggy in those days. Nothing but ox wagons and the people, men and women went horse back or on foot. We would walk for miles to a meeting, or visit the sick, or to a quilting, or a wool picking. The latter were our socials. We had no socials in them days, but we had preaching every Sunday and prayer meeting through the week at some neighbors home. The men's enjoyments were horse racing, log rolling, gander pulling, and shooting matches, but the men were big-hearted if the work and living was hard.

We didn't have much fruit in them times and knew nothing about canning fruit. Our living was principally pork, beef, mutton, potatoes, corn bread and coffee. There wasn't much wheat raised, and what little was raised was cut with sickle at first, later with a cradle, and then tramped out with horses, then cleaned with a fanning mill. I remember turning the fanning mill many a time for father. There wasn't many horses in the country. Farmers broke their ground with oxen and laid it off both ways then dropped the corn by hand, covering it with a hoe. This entire country was covered with fine timber and the whole face of the earth in the spring was covered with beautiful flowers like those old early days to me, so sweet and beautiful. So sweet to my memory that I almost wish that I could be permitted to live them over again, but I feel that my race is almost run, although I enjoy very good health for one of my age, but I can say, "God's will be done."

I have always had a warm spot in my heart for Versailles. It was the first town started close to us and I grew up with it. I have been told that my father, David WILLIAMSON, and "Uncle" Henry CASTEEN gave the town its name, for Versailles in Kentucky.

Mrs. Susan RANSON

Burial

Mount Zion Cemetery Versailles, Brown County, Illinois, USA

Sources

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119212944/susan-ransom

"United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX4B-PDC : accessed 15 April 2016), Abner Ransom, 1860.

"United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M64Z-FDT : accessed 15 April 2016), Abner Ransom, Illinois, United States; citing p. 20, family 141, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 545,688.