JAMES
MADISON McKEE (3/12/1848-10/30/1918)
Researching Cousin Anna Margaret's great grandfather
His obituary has a lengthy eulogy by Rev DeWitt Tucker stating in part
"James
M McKee was born March 12, 1848 near Peach Tree Village in Tyler County, Texas
and died at his home at Kiam, Polk County, Texas, October 30, 1918.
On April 7, 1870 he was happily married to Miss Martha Catherine
Nicholson, of the same community, who lived a happy life with him until death
parted them on the above date. To this union twelve children were born, two having died in
infancy and a son Webster McKee having died in 1907. The other nine children survive with the widowed mother to
mourn the death of a faithful father and husband.
The children are Rev. W.A. McKee pastor of Henderson Circuit at
Henderson; J.T. and J.H. McKee of Leggett; Meadams J.S. Tucker of Cleveland; R.E.
Galloway of Livingston; J.N. Young of Kiam; J.H. David of Ollie; A.W. Harrison
and J.B. Best of Woodville. His
remains were laid to rest in the Midway Cemetery October 31, 1918.
Rev W.C. Mann and Rev. R.R. Smith conducted the service
....."he
was as faithful and loyal to his church as a man could be.
I remember on one occasion getting a letter from Brother E.M. Wisdom who
made this statement: 'If it had not been for Brother and Sister McKee holding me
up in the beginning of my ministry on the Midway charge I sometimes think that I
would have never succeeded'"
(following = merged notes from PAF)
30. James Madison. MCKEE (Andrew Addison, John) was born 12 Mar 1848 in Kiam, Polk, TX. He died 3 Oct 1918 in Kiam, Polk, TX and was buried in Midway Cemetery.
..Grandfather of "researching cousin" Joanne Westmoreland, and gr-grandfather of Anna Margaret Stroud (although Anna Margaret is 16 years the older of the two). He was also the grandfather of Wilbyrn McKee who compiled the 1975 McKee family history. His obituary has a lengthy eulogy by Rev DeWitt Tucker (Anna Margaret's father) stating in part
"James M McKee was born March 12, 1848 near
Peach Tree Village in Tyler County, Texas and
died at his home at Kiam, Polk County,
Texas, October 30, 1918. On April
7, 1870 he was
happily married to Miss Martha Catherine
Nicholson, of the same community, who lived a happy
life with him until death parted them on the
above date. To this union twelve
children were born,
two having died in infancy and a son Webster
McKee having died in 1907. The
other nine
children survive with the widowed mother to
mourn the death of a faithful father and husband.
The children are Rev. W.A. McKee pastor of Henderson Circuit at
Henderson; J.T. and J.H.
McKee of Leggett; Meadams J.S. Tucker of
Cleveland; R.E. Galloway of Livingston; J.N. Young
of Kiam; J.H. David of Ollie; A.W. Harrison
and J.B. Best of Woodville. His remains were laid to
rest in the Midway Cemetery October 31,
1918. Rev W.C. Mann and Rev. R.R.
Smith conducted
the service
....."he was as faithful and loyal to
his church as a man could be. I
remember on one occasion
getting a letter from Brother E.M. Wisdom
who made this statement: 'If it had not been for
Brother and Sister McKee holding me up in
the beginning of my ministry on the Midway charge I
sometimes think that I would have never
succeeded'"
.. A newspaper article on the history of Midway and the church features a picture of Matt and his wife and tells of his role in construction of the church.
(Wilbyrn McKee in his 1975 family history shared
memories and stories of his grandfather)
When Jim and Martha McKee married they packed what
personal belongings they had into a wagon and moved to Kiam in the Midway
Community where they began farming and rearing their family. Subsequently Jim operated a water=powered mill for grinding
corn. He also operated a general
mercantile store which supplied the essentials for the settlers as well as the
Indians from the village. The sons
hauled supplies for the store in wagons from Livingston which was then a two-day
trip. They told a humorous story
about taking an old colored man on one of the trips who had never been into
Livingston before, to assist with the loading and unloading.
That night they camped not far from the railroad yard.
During the night a freight train came in and began switching.
The first time the engine slammed the freight cars together the old
fellow jumped up and hollered, "Uh, oh! Dat train done run into a house and
broke all de dishes." "My
father told the story of how he and his father, James Madison McKee, were
hunting and killed a deer. Grandfather
cooked a large venison roast to take over to the Indian village for the Chief
who had been ill. He said he had
never seen a person eat as much as the Chief did.
On the way home he expressed to his father the fear that he may have
eaten enough to kill himself, to which grandfather replied "If he does he
will die full."
A wonderful sense of humor was a trademark
throughout the James Madison McKee family.. They looked forward to periodic family camping trips to
nearby streams where they loved to fish and hunt.
There was a chore for everyone around camp. The highlight of the day was the evening meal around the fire
where all indulged hearily in fun, food and laughter. At home, after the work was done, swimming in the old mill
pond was a favorite diversion. James
McKee helped construct the Midway Methodist Church building which is still in
use as a place of worship and a gathering point for community activities.
His daughter, Zula McKee Harrison, told how her father tied two cows
behind his wagon and drove down the country to a sawmill where he traded the
cows for a load of lumber which he brought back and put into he church
building.t
The
Nicholsons --
Martha C. Nicholson (2/27/1851-5/2/1929) was
a daughter of Daniel and Martha Catherine (McMillan) Nicholson.
Following is an excerpt from a genealogical magazine about her father
The story is that Daniel Nicholson was too
old at fifty years to go to war in 1861, but he helped the women and children of
the Midway and Morganville Communities with their farmwork while their menfolk
were gone to war. He plowed their
land, repaired their fences, helped to butcher their hogs and beeves and did
other heavy tasks for them. He also
sought to protect fhem from "jay-hawkers"
and "bushwhackers". In the fall of 1864 when people felt the
South was losing, Nicholson hid cotton for helpless families, as well as his own
cotton, to keep the enemy from finding it, and again in 1865.
After the Union soldiers were stationed in Polk County and there was much
hunger and distress, Nicholson said "The Yankee scalawags didn't make the
county a happy place. They were
very hard to get along with." He
vowed they wouldn't find cotton raised by women and children and they didn't. When the husbands who escaped the Yankee bullets came home
from the war and the Union men were boote4d out of the county, there was cotton
to sell, thanks to Nicholson's sucess in hiding the cotton."
(Following
= 1966 interview with Mrs Sarah C. McKee Galloway by (?).
Sarah was "89 years and a few days" old -- the interview took
place at her home in Livingston, TX.)
James Madison McKee (1848-1918) of Midway, married
Martha C. Nicholson (1851-1929) also of Midway and they settled in that
community where they raised a large family.
He was a farmer and raised cotton and corn
and a garden of beans, peas, squash, radishes, turnips and peanuts; also some
peaches and plums for home use and sugar cane.
He had a sugar cane mill and made his own syrup and some for other
people. Mrs. McKee and daughters
dried some of the fruit, but did not can food until about 1890.
Mrs. Galloway remembers the first cans they used, which were much
different from those used today - A kind of glue was sold with the cans, with
which they were to be sealed.
The family put away two or three barrels of
dried peas for food. Corn was taken
to a gristmill to be ground into meal. They raised hogs and cows and butchered plenty of meat.
They were obliged to buy only flour, coffee and sugar at a store.
About 1910 James McKee bought a gin and
gristmill from the Gibsons on Mill Creek and he owned a store near the mill.
These were about a mile from his home.
Some time later he obtained a post office.
When he applied for the post office he was sent a list of available names
by the Post Office Department and from this list he chose KIAM.
His daughter, Zula, helped in the post office and store. After McKee acquired the store, post office, gin and
gristmill, he rented his land to tenants and quit doing the farm work.
Mrs. McKee and the daughters churned milk
and produced firm, yellow butter. They
put cold water in tubs and set a churn full of milk in the water to keep it
cool.
The family was healthy and happy.
They attended church regularly and a camp meeting at Big Spring two weeks
each summer. They carried beds,
food, lanterns, a hymn book and a Bible. They
camped for two weeks near the Big Spring, where preaching and singing services
were held. A number of families
camped out. The McKee family also
attended singings in homes and at the church in the community.
None of the family danced.
Candy pullings were held at different homes
in the neighborhood. Several
families furnished syrup which was cooked in the family washpot. It
was dipped into plates, and when it cooled enough to be handled they put butter
on their hands to keep the candy from sticking to the hands, and the race was on
to see who could make the whitest twist of candy first.
Couples pulled a bit of candy together.
Mrs Galloway remembers that she was a tiny
girl when her mother bought her first stove and she was nearly grown when she
bought her firsrt sewing machine.
The James McKee house was built of logs and
the kitchen was separate from the big house, with two planks forming a walk
between them. One fireplace in the
kitchen served to heat it and for cooking purposes too, until the stove was
purchased. There were two
fireplaces in the big house.
McKee bought an organ when Mrs. Galloway was
a girl. Large pictures of poth of
Ms. Galloway's grandfathers stood on the wall of the parlor.
The family had a pretty yard of roses, cape jasmines, jonquils and other
flowers and shade trees. They kept the yard swept clean.
When Mrs. Galloway was nine years old, she
started to school. This was the
first year they had a school in the community. Classes were taught through the seventh reader.
At recess and at noon the pupils played stealing goods and snap.