Re: Opitz Family in Saline Co, AR
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In reply to:
Re: Opitz Family in Saline Co, AR
11/28/01
Lisa,
Yes, My grandfather was Grady Harris. I think he was 8 or 9 when he came to live with the Opitz Family. This would have been around 1900 as Grady was born in 1892.His family had moved from Sherman, Texas and either during the move or shortly thereafter, his mother died. His father, Green(e) Harris, farmed the younger children out to families in the community. I know that Grady had a couple of sisters, Lola and Lula, and one or two brothers. I don't believe anyof them are now living. They all wound up either in Bentonor Little Rock.
Grady related how he was always treated fairly by the Opitz, and that Mr. Opitz would have paid for him to attend college; but Grady chose not to go. One of this responsibilities on the farm was helping out in the kitchen, and he learned to be a pretty good cook, as my mother recalls, and handy around the kitchen---except that she didn't like him telling her how to do things (like wash dishes!)
Grady met my Grandmother, Willie Emma Fennell, at the Scotland Presbyterian Church west of Junction City when he was working at the Corny Creek sawmll. They eloped in 1915. Later he worked at the Bauxite Mining Company and eventually wound up in El Dorado where he remained the rest of his life. He & Willie divorced in 1933 and he married Grace Shirey. He passed away in 1975 and retired from the Rock Island Railroad as a Conductor. He liked to fish and also raised worms in wormbeds under his house!
I grew up in El Dorado and now live in Santa Fe, Texas. My mother lives with me.
I would be interested in any information that your aunt might remember about Grady and his years with the Opitz family, and I would love to know more about your grandparents since they figured so strongly in Grady's life. Does someone still live in the old home place? I would love to bring my mother there, perhaps next spring, to see the place.
Thank you so much for responding.
Martha Berlin
More Replies:
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Re: Opitz Family in Saline Co, AR
12/04/01