William Horace Perkinson
1 June 1899 to 6 April 1962
William Horace Perkinson, Daddy, was the eighth of eleven children Born to John Travis Perkinson and Tabitha Cora Hudson Perkinson. He married Lora Gladys Myrick 22 December 1933 in Warren County, North Carolina.
William “Bill” H. and Gladys Perkinson were the Parent’s of the following: children:
(1) John Linwood Perkinson
(2) William David Perkinson
One of the things that I remember as a child, probably about age 10, is a whipping daddy gave me. One of our neighbor’s, Reuben Clark, owned a lot that joined our lot. The northwest corner of our lot joined the southeast corner of his lot. Mr. Clark had and out building on his lot. I believe the building was a stable that he kept a mule in at one time. I guess he had gotten rid of the mule and sometimes Dee Draffin, some of my other friend’s and I would climb on top of this shed and play. Daddy had told me not to play on Mr. Clarks shed. One day I was playing on top of the shed and Daddy came out of the house. It seemed to me that he broke of most of a peach tree that we had in the back yard, rather than a limb, off the peach tree and gave me a whipping.
Daddy did not like to throw things away. I remember him telling me. If you have something you don’t need put it in the garage and keep it for seven years. If you don’t need it then turn it over and keep it for seven more years.
Daddy would tell me thing's that happened when he was a child.
He told me that at one time he and his family were at Wise, probably on horse and buggy, as they were returning home and getting to Paschall Station Road 13 confederate soldiers road out of the cemetery and crossed the road in front of them.
Another story that he told me was when the Buffalo Bill show was in the area, they were having revival at the Jerusalem Methodist Church. In the preacher's sermon he said that anyone's that ready to die and go to heaven stand up. Every one stood up except one person. The preacher then said again that he was sorry but one person was not ready to die and go to heaven so he announced again that every one that is ready to die and go to heaven stand up. Again every one stood up except one person. At that point the cowboy with the Buffalo Bill show walked up to the Pull Pit and pulled out his pistols and said, any one that is ready to die and go to heaven stand up. No one stood up so the cowboy told the preacher they reall don't want to die.
Daddy also told me that some body, maybe a relative, saw a ghost in the orchard at the home place on the farm. Two weeks later that person died. Daddy said that they were telling the Doctor about this and the Doctor said that a little piece of death hit him.
Daddy would tell me thing's that happened when he was a child.
He told me that at one time he and his family were at Wise, probably on horse and buggy, as they were returning home and getting to Paschall Station Road 13 confederate soldiers road out of the cemetery and crossed the road in front of them.
Another story that he told me was when the Buffalo Bill show was in the area, they were having revival at the Jerusalem Methodist Church. In the preacher's sermon he said that anyone's that ready to die and go to heaven stand up. Every one stood up except one person. The preacher then said again that he was sorry but one person was not ready to die and go to heaven so he announced again that every one that is ready to die and go to heaven stand up. Again every one stood up except one person. At that point the cowboy with the Buffalo Bill show walked up to the Pull Pit and pulled out his pistols and said, any one that is ready to die and go to heaven stand up. No one stood up so the cowboy told the preacher they reall don't want to die.
Daddy also told me that some body, maybe a relative, saw a ghost in the orchard at the home place on the farm. Two weeks later that person died. Daddy said that they were telling the Doctor about this and the Doctor said that a little piece of death hit him.
Bessie and Clyde Dalton lived across the street from our house. In the late 1940’S and early 1950’S we had a garden on part of their lot. The garden was in two different parts of their lot. One part would be about seven rows about 150 feet long and the other part would be 25 rows about 40 feet long. We would have corn, butterbean’s, tomatos, snap beans, turnip salad etc in the garden. I can remember when I was in elementary school of going to the garden and picking turnip salad and maybe some other vegetables and taking them to the school to be cooked for student’s to eat. I do not remember if we were paid for the vegetables or if we were allowed to eat free for a period of time, or if were a donation to the school.
Daddy was a fireman with Seaboard Airline Railroad and I do not recall him being employed by anyone else.
One of the jobs that Daddy did was working the night switcher at Norlina. On that job Daddy would go to work about five or six o'clock PM. One of the things the night switcher did was take passenger cars from a train that came to Norlina from Norfolk, Virginia and put then on a train that came into Norlina from Richmond, Virginia at about the same time so the passengers would continue their southward journey.
That job also involved taking gravel from graystone and carrying it to Roanoke Rapids.
The job also involved delivering pulp wood to a paper mill in Roanoke Rapids, NC.
Sometimes if Mama had a meeting I would go to work with Daddy and watch him start the train, diesel engine and I believe steam engine. Daddy may have put me off the engine before others came to work. But I think that sometimes I stayed on the engine untill about eight or nine PM. and then went home.
Another job that Daddy liked was train's 16, 17, 18, and 19. The even numbered trains would leave Norlina in the morning going to Norfolk, Va and the odd numbered trains would leave Norfolk in the PM going to Norlina. The passenger trains were day time jobs and the night switcher was a night job. Sometimes when Daddy was working the passenger trains I would ride to my Myrick grandparents house and the train would stop and let me off and in the afternoon I would go to the railroad tract and flag the train to pick me up and go back to Norlina. My Myrick grandparents house is about 150 yards from the railroad tract. Sometimes I would ride the train to Norfolk and come back later that day.
One of the jobs that Daddy did was working the night switcher at Norlina. On that job Daddy would go to work about five or six o'clock PM. One of the things the night switcher did was take passenger cars from a train that came to Norlina from Norfolk, Virginia and put then on a train that came into Norlina from Richmond, Virginia at about the same time so the passengers would continue their southward journey.
That job also involved taking gravel from graystone and carrying it to Roanoke Rapids.
The job also involved delivering pulp wood to a paper mill in Roanoke Rapids, NC.
Sometimes if Mama had a meeting I would go to work with Daddy and watch him start the train, diesel engine and I believe steam engine. Daddy may have put me off the engine before others came to work. But I think that sometimes I stayed on the engine untill about eight or nine PM. and then went home.
Another job that Daddy liked was train's 16, 17, 18, and 19. The even numbered trains would leave Norlina in the morning going to Norfolk, Va and the odd numbered trains would leave Norfolk in the PM going to Norlina. The passenger trains were day time jobs and the night switcher was a night job. Sometimes when Daddy was working the passenger trains I would ride to my Myrick grandparents house and the train would stop and let me off and in the afternoon I would go to the railroad tract and flag the train to pick me up and go back to Norlina. My Myrick grandparents house is about 150 yards from the railroad tract. Sometimes I would ride the train to Norfolk and come back later that day.
My Perkinson grandparents died before I was born. I remember going with daddy to the farm and visiting someone that was sick and living in the old home place. I do not remember who this person was. I visited Julian Felts 24 July 2004 and discussed the farm history with him. Julian told me that daddy’s brother Edwin Joseph Perkinson was the sick person I visited. According to Julian, Edwin lived in the old home place and died in 1946. According to Julian, Edwin’s son James also lived in the old home place.
It is my understanding that daddy took care of his parents in their later years.
Daddy purchased the farm, on which he was raised, from his parents over a period of years. The first part of the farm he purchased was a fifty five (55) acre tract lying along the south property line of the farm. He purchased this tract on 30 July 1930. The deed for this tract is recorded in book 132 page 12 at the Warren County, NC Registry.
Daddy and mama purchased the remaining part of the farm (about 100 acres) from John Travis Perkinson on 17 July 1934. The deed for this purchase is recorded in book 128 page 208 of the Warren County Registry.
I remember daddy as being left handed. He was 40 years older than me but he could throw a baseball quite well for a 50 year old.
Daddy wanted to move back to the farm near Paschall where he was raised. I can remember, probably in the mid 1950’s going with daddy to the farm to clean up a place that he was going to build a house on. That spot would have been on the left side of the gate as you go onto the farm an about 200 to 300 yards south of the gate. There are some oak trees in that area. I don’t know for sure but I suspect Mama was not in favor of that plan to move.
I remember daddy telling me that the Parkinson’s and the Talley’s feuded with one another. It surprises me that in doing genealogy that I see so many marriages between the Parkinson’s and Talley’s. I have no idea as to why they may have feuded.
Daddy became disabled when I was in about the 8th grade. At that time there was a hospital in Warrenton, NC. The name of the hospital was Warren General Hospital. Daddy was a patient there. I remember coming home and saying that Daddy was bad off and they were moving him to Duke Hospital in Durham, NC. Mama was upset. I think Daddy was having a problem with his kidneys. Daddy survived this but was unable to return to work.
No comments:
Post a Comment