Beulah Hopps Watson
Caring, soft spoken, devoted, loving. These are some of the words that come to mind when describing this wonderful woman.
Beulah was the 4th child of Alfred Hopps and Nancy Lee.
Her father Alfred was born in Durham, England and at the age of 22 married Mary Jane Boddy in Durham. There are no records of any children of this union.
About 20 years later Alfred decided to immigrate to America. We don’t know what motivated him to make such a dramatic life change, but we do know that he became a coal minor when he settled first in Kentucky and later in southeast Ohio. England in the 19th century had a large coal mining industry so it’s not a stretch to assume he learned his trade in his home country. Alfred died in 1905 of pneumonia.
Beulah’s mother Nancy came from a long line of early settlers dating back as early as 1670 Virginia beginning with George Henry Lee (1825-1910) and ending with Hugh Lee (1670-1730). This may be the origin of the family story that we were somewhere related to the famous general Robert E. Lee. Well, until proven otherwise, we’ll assume the story is true. After all, Robert E. Lee was from Virginia.
But, let’s not stop with a famous general. We love our folklure. Growing up I can remember hearing the story of how grandma Beulah was related to a famous indian princess or something along those lines. The story has been embellished so may times that nobody knows the true story. Again, until proven otherwise . . .
At least one Lee left his mark in Knox county, Kentucky. His name
was Sam Lee (1830-1917). From all accounts he was a very colorful personality with a long white beard. Then there was Permit Lee (1717-1826) who lived to be 109. We definitely have longevity in our genes.
Let’s look a little closer at her grandfather George Lee. We know he lived to be 85 and was born and raised in Tennessee. He was a farmer and during the civil war, he joined Company F of the 1st Tennessee Infantry. Yes, he joined the union army in Tennessee, a state usually associated with the confederacy. He lost an eye during the war and was mustered out in 1865.
Beulah would have been 5 or 6 years old when her father died. So her mother would have raised eight children with the oldest being 12 years.
Nancy must have been a remarkable woman to successfully raise a large family. I’m sure the children were kept busy with chores and the older girls would have helped raise the younger children. Church was a very important part of the family's life. The Ireland Methodist Church is off Pipa Road in NW Noble County. Their farm was a mile northwest of the church. The church quit having services in the '60's, but the building is still there.
Nancy would marry a Henry Flippen in 1908, but the marriage would not last and she would continue raising her family.
We do know a few things about grandma Beulah from stories passed down from her children. She must have been a tomboy. Check out the picture below. That’s her with the hat.
Then there’s the story about her skill as a marble shooting master. She was so good that none of the boys would challenge her at a game. I’ve seen my father play marbles and there’s no doubt who taught him to play. He was very good. I suspect she had a slingshot and a pocket knife at the ready.
Grandma Beulah as an adult loved to take pictures with her little
Brownie camera. She would appear out of nowhere and Zap, she would steal your picture. And she loved to have her picture taken. She was a Worthy Matron of the Eastern Stars and she liked to crochet.
Once a year our family would make the pilgrimage to visit grandma and grandpa Watson in Summerfield, Ohio. It was a wonderful week spent visiting cousins, aunts and uncles. We found time to make friends and spend the days and nights playing games like Kick the Can, Tag or just hanging out under the corner lights. But the best time was mealtime. Oh, could grandma cook. Everything in those
days was garden fresh or canned. Nothing was closer to heaven than to walk into her kitchen and allowing the aromas to pass over and thru your senses. Those sweet cakes were to die for and the fried chicken was the best I’ve ever eaten. Ever.
I would like to think that her cooking was learned from her Kentucky mother and we all benefited. I can still see my grandfather spreading homemade apple butter on a slice of bread. I have tried it myself and can tell you it is tasty. I learned that they kept a meat grinder in the basement of their first home in Summerfield and would can the meat. A side-note: my grandfather kept a black snake in the basement to control the rodents. Yikes!
She was a very thoughtful person, for sure. Kids would come to her house expecting a handout and she would not disappoint them. In the 1930's there were many men out of work. They were referred to as bums, but today they would be called homeless. Well, whenever they came to town, they were told to go to Beulah's house. She would always give them something to eat. It was a very different world.
