General Notes

[basham.ged]
1880 Census Kanawha County West Virginia
Info From William Basham Jr Correspondence
Information From Barbara Basham Archer Letter
Copy Of Her Picture In Barbara Basham Archer Letter
"Good biscuits and plenty of honor - both kinds" is the recipe giv
en by M rs. William Poff, for a happy marriage. The wedding of Marth Bash
am and Wi lliam Poff, now familiarly known as "Grandma and Daddy Poff", to
ok pla ce in the home of a sister at East Banks, West Virginia 63 years a
go toda y. "It was a case of love at first sight", Billy admitted, b
ut if it had n ot been the real thing there was plenty of time for th
em to change their m ind because, in his words "We would be celebrating o
ur 65th anniversary to day if she hadn't put me off for nearly three yea
rs after their first meet ing in a friends home." "Now Daddy," Grandma rep
roved, "After all, I wasn 't quite 18 when we were married." She might ha
ve added in that time she h ad been caring for an invalid mother who di
ed when she was 17, and "looki ng after" her father and brothers, her sist
ers all having married previous ly.
It was then that she learned the fine points of cooking, cleaning a
nd t he general "Jack of all trade" of housekeeping. Not "bride's biscuit
s" b ut the tender, melt-in-your-mouth kind were made for that very fir
st break fast. "I don't know but what I spoiled him a little, for after th
at I ma de hot biscuits for breakfast every day for 60 years except a f
ew times wh en I was sick." She has not been able to keep up the traditi
on for the pa st three years. "We decided right at the first that there wo
uld be no quar reling," both vouched. But lest anyone should think th
at it was all coasti ng down hill with no bumps, both hasten to explain. N
ot that there were n ot plenty of times we were displeased with each oth
er - but we just didn 't quarrel". Here he interposed, "I said 'If you ev
er nag me I'll pa ck my old Blue John and Leave and she said, 'It won
't do you any good - I' ll just run right after you." Both chuckl
ed as he told of the many movin gs of their early married life. "Mattie li
ke to move and we lived in abo ut every house in East Banks. It got so b
ad I never knew where I was goi ng to eat supper when I started out in t
he morning." This remark was bas ed on a move made one time when she fou
nd out a more desirable company hou se was being vacated, made arrangemen
ts to rent it and by the time he g ot home from work she and the childr
en had moved everything but the kitch en stove and a few very heavy piece
s. Quoted from the Shadyside Newspaper.