Rita Ownby Holcomb's Blog, page 2
August 18, 2016
Civil War Questionaire
I met with a distant cousin yesterday who had some interesting information for me. (Incidentally I had a couple of surprises for me.)
First but not least in the info was a transcription of The Tennessee Civil War Veterans Questionnaire, Confederate Soldiers compiled by Gustaus W. Dyer and John Trotwood. They sent the questionnaire to both Confederate and Union soldier and compiled the study around 1920.
I found the questions condescending and the answers very enlightening. (misspellings are as originally written)
These excerpt were from the form filled out by Samuel Mortimer Ownby, Woodbury, TN.
State your full name. Samuel Mortimore Ownby.
State your age. 76
In what state and county were you born.? Tenn. Marshall Co
Were you confederate or federal soldier? Confederate
Name of your company: Company I Reg 14 nixon's Cavlary
What was the occupation of your father? Farming
Give full name of your father. Ely Craeg Ownby
Maiden name in full of your mother. Nancy Winstead she was daughter of Samuel Winstead and his wife Fannie Winstead who lived at Bedford Co.
If you owned land or other property at the opening of the war, state what kind of property you owned, and state the value of your property. I did not own any property
Did you or your parents own slaves? No
What kind of house did your parents occupy? Log, two rooms.
As a boy, state what kind of work you did. If you worked on a farm, state to what extent you plowed, worked with a hoe and did other kinds of similar work. Labored on the farm, plowed, hoed, in fact general farm work up to entering the war between the states.
State clearly what kind of work your father did, and what the duties of your mother were. State all the kinds of work done in the house as well as you can remember--that is cooking, spinning, weaving, etc. Father did general farm work and between crops chimney & don other stone mason work and mother don all kinds of housework cooking sewin carding speneng weaving & raised children (11)
Did your parents keep any servants? If so how many? No servants.
How was honest toil - as plowing, hauling and other sorts of honest work of this class - regarded in your community? Was such work considered as respectable and honorable? Yes, wholy so.
Did the white men in your community generally engage in such work? Yes
To what extent were there white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others do their work for them? None live in idleness in way that you would lead others to idleness.
Did the men who owned slaves mingle freely with those who did not own slaves, or did slaveholders in any way show by their actions that they felt themselves better than respectable, honorable men who did not own slaves? With few exceptions the people mixed and mingled freely, the wealthy with the poor. They married and intermarried without regard to financial standing.
At churches, at schools, at public gatherings in general, did slaveholders and non-slaveholders mingle on a footing of equality? With few exceptions they did.
Was there a friendly feeling between slaveholders and non-slaveholders in your community, or were they antagonistic to each other? Yes, there was little antagonism.
Were the opportunities good in your community for a poor young man, honest and industrious, to save up enough to buy a small farm or go in business for himself? Yes, a man of industry and thrift had good opportunity to gain wealth.
Were poor, honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slaveholders? As I remember, they were encouraged as much by the slaveholder as they were by the non-slaveholder.
What kind of school or schools did you attend? Free, or public schools
About how long did you go to school altogether? Nine months, about.
How far was the nearest school? About 2 miles.
About how many months in the year did it run? Two and one half or three months.
Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly? Yes.
Was the teacher of the school you attended a man or a woman? Two terms were taught by men, and one by a woman, of mature years.
In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the service of the Confederacy or of the Federal Government? I enlisted in the Confederate Army Novem 1863 in Cannon County.
After enlistment, where was your Company sent first? To different places in Tenn
How long after enlistment before your company engaged in battle? In my 1st company we did not engage in any kind of battle. Was captured.
What was the first battle you engaged in? No regular battle but in a number of scurmishes.
State in your own way your experience in the War from this time on to it's close. State where you went after first battle--what you did and what other battles you engaged in, how long they lasted, what the results were; state how you lived in camp, how you were clothed, how you slept, what you had to eat, how you were exposed to the cold, hunger and disease. If you were in the hospital or prison, state your experience there. Nov 1863 I enlisted in a company of Johnson's Scouts and remained with it until about the 1st of Sept 1864, then fell in with Gen Wheelers command on his raid in Tenn at that time and was captured and sent to Camp Chase prison Ohio where I exposed to cold hungry and all kinds of disease and without clothing and beding while with the company of scouts had clothing and were fed by good citizens of Tenn.
Tell something about your trip home. I got on a boat on Tenn rivr to Johnsvill * by rail to Nashville then to Murfreesboro & then walked 18 mile home.
What kind of work did you take up when you came back home? My business that of farming. Sick at close of war. I have lived 56 years where I now live in Cannon Conty 8 miles east of Woodbury. I was babtised into the church and Kingdem of Christ Aug 1867. Marred Dec 1867. Father of 6 children, have raised 15 children card for widows and orphans and old afflicted persons; had my own place 12 years now old and have retired from business.
I hope you find this as interesting as I did. Both the questions and the responses.
First but not least in the info was a transcription of The Tennessee Civil War Veterans Questionnaire, Confederate Soldiers compiled by Gustaus W. Dyer and John Trotwood. They sent the questionnaire to both Confederate and Union soldier and compiled the study around 1920.
I found the questions condescending and the answers very enlightening. (misspellings are as originally written)
These excerpt were from the form filled out by Samuel Mortimer Ownby, Woodbury, TN.
State your full name. Samuel Mortimore Ownby.
State your age. 76
In what state and county were you born.? Tenn. Marshall Co
Were you confederate or federal soldier? Confederate
Name of your company: Company I Reg 14 nixon's Cavlary
What was the occupation of your father? Farming
Give full name of your father. Ely Craeg Ownby
Maiden name in full of your mother. Nancy Winstead she was daughter of Samuel Winstead and his wife Fannie Winstead who lived at Bedford Co.
If you owned land or other property at the opening of the war, state what kind of property you owned, and state the value of your property. I did not own any property
Did you or your parents own slaves? No
What kind of house did your parents occupy? Log, two rooms.
As a boy, state what kind of work you did. If you worked on a farm, state to what extent you plowed, worked with a hoe and did other kinds of similar work. Labored on the farm, plowed, hoed, in fact general farm work up to entering the war between the states.
State clearly what kind of work your father did, and what the duties of your mother were. State all the kinds of work done in the house as well as you can remember--that is cooking, spinning, weaving, etc. Father did general farm work and between crops chimney & don other stone mason work and mother don all kinds of housework cooking sewin carding speneng weaving & raised children (11)
Did your parents keep any servants? If so how many? No servants.
How was honest toil - as plowing, hauling and other sorts of honest work of this class - regarded in your community? Was such work considered as respectable and honorable? Yes, wholy so.
Did the white men in your community generally engage in such work? Yes
To what extent were there white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others do their work for them? None live in idleness in way that you would lead others to idleness.
Did the men who owned slaves mingle freely with those who did not own slaves, or did slaveholders in any way show by their actions that they felt themselves better than respectable, honorable men who did not own slaves? With few exceptions the people mixed and mingled freely, the wealthy with the poor. They married and intermarried without regard to financial standing.
At churches, at schools, at public gatherings in general, did slaveholders and non-slaveholders mingle on a footing of equality? With few exceptions they did.
Was there a friendly feeling between slaveholders and non-slaveholders in your community, or were they antagonistic to each other? Yes, there was little antagonism.
Were the opportunities good in your community for a poor young man, honest and industrious, to save up enough to buy a small farm or go in business for himself? Yes, a man of industry and thrift had good opportunity to gain wealth.
Were poor, honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slaveholders? As I remember, they were encouraged as much by the slaveholder as they were by the non-slaveholder.
What kind of school or schools did you attend? Free, or public schools
About how long did you go to school altogether? Nine months, about.
How far was the nearest school? About 2 miles.
About how many months in the year did it run? Two and one half or three months.
Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly? Yes.
Was the teacher of the school you attended a man or a woman? Two terms were taught by men, and one by a woman, of mature years.
In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the service of the Confederacy or of the Federal Government? I enlisted in the Confederate Army Novem 1863 in Cannon County.
After enlistment, where was your Company sent first? To different places in Tenn
How long after enlistment before your company engaged in battle? In my 1st company we did not engage in any kind of battle. Was captured.
What was the first battle you engaged in? No regular battle but in a number of scurmishes.
State in your own way your experience in the War from this time on to it's close. State where you went after first battle--what you did and what other battles you engaged in, how long they lasted, what the results were; state how you lived in camp, how you were clothed, how you slept, what you had to eat, how you were exposed to the cold, hunger and disease. If you were in the hospital or prison, state your experience there. Nov 1863 I enlisted in a company of Johnson's Scouts and remained with it until about the 1st of Sept 1864, then fell in with Gen Wheelers command on his raid in Tenn at that time and was captured and sent to Camp Chase prison Ohio where I exposed to cold hungry and all kinds of disease and without clothing and beding while with the company of scouts had clothing and were fed by good citizens of Tenn.
Tell something about your trip home. I got on a boat on Tenn rivr to Johnsvill * by rail to Nashville then to Murfreesboro & then walked 18 mile home.
What kind of work did you take up when you came back home? My business that of farming. Sick at close of war. I have lived 56 years where I now live in Cannon Conty 8 miles east of Woodbury. I was babtised into the church and Kingdem of Christ Aug 1867. Marred Dec 1867. Father of 6 children, have raised 15 children card for widows and orphans and old afflicted persons; had my own place 12 years now old and have retired from business.
I hope you find this as interesting as I did. Both the questions and the responses.
August 9, 2016
Dressing Miss Molly
I received the sweetest letter yesterday from the kids at the Parkside Baptist Churches summer camp program.
I had presented a program on antebellum dress during their lunch period. They were engaged and curious and we had so much fun as I stood there in 14 layers of clothing while they were all wearing shorts and t-shirts LOL
Even the boys enjoyed the program. One youngster texted his mother and said, "We're watching a lady take her clothes off."
As Art Linkletter said "Kids say the darnedest things!"
I had presented a program on antebellum dress during their lunch period. They were engaged and curious and we had so much fun as I stood there in 14 layers of clothing while they were all wearing shorts and t-shirts LOL
Even the boys enjoyed the program. One youngster texted his mother and said, "We're watching a lady take her clothes off."
As Art Linkletter said "Kids say the darnedest things!"
July 24, 2016
Symbolism in Display
When you are one of many at a convention, Sales show or multi book signing you want something to grab the casual lookers attention.
But ... it also needs to relate to your product. In my case, these days that product is my book series "A Twist of Tobacco" .
Last week I spent four days at the Sons of Confederate Veterans National Reunion and knew that I would be competing for the attention of the attendees. There were antique arms dealers, reenactment clothing dealers, and more books about the civil war than you could shake a stick at.
I really needed something to draw attention to my fact based historical novel.
Here's what I came up with....
Of course the eye catcher is the red white and blue quilt which was made by my great-grandmother who is also featured in my book series.
Then people notice the display board. It contains photos of my ancestors; newspaper clipping of thre brothers who fought for the confederacy in the Civil War; The United Daughters of the Confederacy certificates for 6 of my ancestors and of course the books themselves.
You may wonder about the cluster of non-related objects in the center.
They are significant only on a subliminal level.The Bonnie Blue Flag of course symbolizes the war.The wooden spoon denotes so many things for the home front; cooking being the major chore but also (as every southern child knows) a disciplinarian tool.The brass hames handle represents the farm which sustains not only a way of life but life itself.And the peach blossoms? Peaches were a staple food. Sweetened as jam, cooked in pies, eaten fresh for much valued vitamin C. If the peach crop didn't make meals suffered for a year. So the peach blossoms also signify the home front but also the Battle of Shiloh where a major portion of the battle took place amid a blooming Peach Orchard.
Watch the video to hear a great team on banjo and to see some of the happy buyers of A Twist of Tobacco and A Vow Unbroken
CSABanjo.com
But ... it also needs to relate to your product. In my case, these days that product is my book series "A Twist of Tobacco" .
Last week I spent four days at the Sons of Confederate Veterans National Reunion and knew that I would be competing for the attention of the attendees. There were antique arms dealers, reenactment clothing dealers, and more books about the civil war than you could shake a stick at.
I really needed something to draw attention to my fact based historical novel.
Here's what I came up with....
Of course the eye catcher is the red white and blue quilt which was made by my great-grandmother who is also featured in my book series.
Then people notice the display board. It contains photos of my ancestors; newspaper clipping of thre brothers who fought for the confederacy in the Civil War; The United Daughters of the Confederacy certificates for 6 of my ancestors and of course the books themselves.
You may wonder about the cluster of non-related objects in the center.
They are significant only on a subliminal level.The Bonnie Blue Flag of course symbolizes the war.The wooden spoon denotes so many things for the home front; cooking being the major chore but also (as every southern child knows) a disciplinarian tool.The brass hames handle represents the farm which sustains not only a way of life but life itself.And the peach blossoms? Peaches were a staple food. Sweetened as jam, cooked in pies, eaten fresh for much valued vitamin C. If the peach crop didn't make meals suffered for a year. So the peach blossoms also signify the home front but also the Battle of Shiloh where a major portion of the battle took place amid a blooming Peach Orchard.Watch the video to hear a great team on banjo and to see some of the happy buyers of A Twist of Tobacco and A Vow Unbroken
CSABanjo.com
July 19, 2016
And the Winner Is.......
During the 2016 SCV National Reunion held in Richardson, Tx last week, I offered a drawing for a free copy of "Heaven's Promise-A Final Twist" which is scheduled to be released in November.
The drawing was held at 1:00 Saturday afternoon.
DRUM ROLL PLEASE...............
And
The
Winner
is
Roy D. King of Rogersville, Tennessee
The drawing was held at 1:00 Saturday afternoon.
DRUM ROLL PLEASE...............
And
The
Winner
is
Roy D. King of Rogersville, Tennessee
July 17, 2016
Civil War Era Quilt Family Heirloom
Exciting news........ or at least for me it is exciting.As I was getting ready for the Sons of Confederate Reunion last week I wanted a table covering that was indicative of the Civil War era. I dug through my old family quilts to see if there was anything that would work. I saw this red, white and blue that satisfied my needs.It was from my fathers family, on which the "A Twist of Tobacco" series is based. All of the years I have assumed my grandmother made the quilt. She married in 1913 and died in 1959.
It looked really nice and distinguished my display from others.
As I sat there for 4 days I became fascinated by the blue print. Now, I have bought and sold vintage and antique fabrics for more than 15 years but I just couldn't place any of these prints.
I took these photos while I was sitting there and posted them to one of my vintage and antique chat boards and can you imagine my surprise when they told me this is a 1860-1880 Victorian indigo cotton.The response was based on the tiny size of the print. Apparently after 1880 the prints got larger.So, even though I can't definitively prove who made the quilt and when, I can safely assume it was crafted from craps of clothing that were made during the Civil War-Reconstruction era.I'm now calling it Marthey's quilt and it will be featured in Heaven's Promise-A Final Twist, the third book in A Twist of Tobacco Series due to be released in November 2016.
It looked really nice and distinguished my display from others.
As I sat there for 4 days I became fascinated by the blue print. Now, I have bought and sold vintage and antique fabrics for more than 15 years but I just couldn't place any of these prints.
I took these photos while I was sitting there and posted them to one of my vintage and antique chat boards and can you imagine my surprise when they told me this is a 1860-1880 Victorian indigo cotton.The response was based on the tiny size of the print. Apparently after 1880 the prints got larger.So, even though I can't definitively prove who made the quilt and when, I can safely assume it was crafted from craps of clothing that were made during the Civil War-Reconstruction era.I'm now calling it Marthey's quilt and it will be featured in Heaven's Promise-A Final Twist, the third book in A Twist of Tobacco Series due to be released in November 2016.
July 5, 2016
I will remember them!
Newest 5 star review:
Rita Ownby Holcomb uses the history of her family to weave a wonderful historical story. The author did her research, and having family from that area of Tennessee, I can relate to some of the places in the book. I love stories told at a family table. The author has brought to life her family's stories in this heartwarming labor of love.
A Twist of Tobacco
A Vow Unbroken
July 3, 2016
June 25, 2016
Read a Preview from your Desktop
Now you can read a preview of A Twist of Tobacco right from your desktop or any where.
No need to download a app.
Just click the link and get the first few chapters free.
Preview A Twist of Tobacco NOW!
No need to download a app.
Just click the link and get the first few chapters free.
Preview A Twist of Tobacco NOW!
June 11, 2016
Rewrites--The process
Each writer has a different process to get words on a page.
Some type directly into a word processor, some write in long hand and some dictate into a machine. There are even a few who still use a typewriter.
I start in longhand, then type and print, then read aloud and make notes and adjustments, then print again. RINSE and REPEAT.
From the soon to be launched A Vow Unbroken, here is an example of a 3rd rewrite and the longhand edits and hopefully (but no promises) the final draft.
Some type directly into a word processor, some write in long hand and some dictate into a machine. There are even a few who still use a typewriter.
I start in longhand, then type and print, then read aloud and make notes and adjustments, then print again. RINSE and REPEAT.
From the soon to be launched A Vow Unbroken, here is an example of a 3rd rewrite and the longhand edits and hopefully (but no promises) the final draft.
May 9, 2016
Authorfest 2016
My first but definitely not my last Author event. As a new author I went in blind and came out with so many promotion ideas that this old head is still spinning. Made many new friends, and renewed some long ago acquaintances. We both decided it was college just 2 years ago. (add 40 years to that and it'll be accurate.) I'm ready for the next one, Bring it on.
