My
nephew Christopher's great grandfather was Alva Grant Keyser who married Leona
Amanda Jefferson in West Virginia on Sept. 15, 1898. Alva and Leona began their life together as a hardworking farming
family in Limestone, WV. Alva believed
in the simple ways of doing things and had a stubborn streak. Their first
child, a girl named Eula was born, followed by Carrie and Martha.
Most
of Alva's farm equipment was operated by his own hands or by animals. He used horse drawn equipment and would not
purchase his first Ford truck until 1927 and his first old tractor in the
1930s.
Alva working his horse-drawn farm equipment:
The
family had a friend, Lemuel Leach, who moved to Northampton Ohio and
encouraged the Keyser family to join him there. In the same year that Martha was born, 1904, Alva traveled to
Ohio to see the area for himself and he ended up purchasing the Wiolland
property which was close to the area's school and church. He knew they would be sending their children
to the church but he and his wife would likely not attend as the preacher
hollered too much! His purchase
included 75.96 acres on R.D. 10 valued at $3500.
Alva
returned to his family in West Virginia and they began packing. The moving truck for them was a railroad
boxcar into which they packed their tools, non-motorized farm equipment, bales
of hay, water for the animals, ropes,
canning goods, livestock such as chickens, pigs, horses, cows, and much more
... and Alva. The train headed towards the depot station in Cuyahoga Falls. What should have been a fairly short journey
went well beyond the anticipated arrival date.
An
accident in Uhrichsville Ohio forced the conductor to move the Keyser boxcar
off the main tracks. So close, yet so
far. Although the railroad folks knew
he was on board the boxcar with livestock, they were not able to return to pick
up his boxcar for several days. During
this sit-and-wait time Alva tended to his livestock. The livestock dined on the
baled hay, while Alva dined on raw eggs
from the chickens, and some canned fruit that the family had packed. He warded off hunger for all of them and
waited and waited and waited for three days.
As a hard working farmer, this had to be a very boring time for Alva
with concerns about when they would be traveling again.
Imagine
being in this boxcar with doors only.
Smelly, dirty, tight quarters.
Finally,
the railroad company returned his boxcar to the main tracks and headed to the
depot. His family joined him within a
week and their life together in Ohio began.
This
is a photo of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton wreck ,
2-21-1904, which could be the wreck but is more likely just a fairly clear picture of
boxcars in the early 1900s. We have no
idea from which railroad company he bought his boxcar ticket. If it were in February, add cold to Alva's
miseries.
My nephew's great grandparents at home on the Keyser Farm in Ohio
