Elegance and Grace

April 6, 2020

The Ultimate Blog Challenge

The year was 1917 in West, Texas. My Great Grandfather, Robert Gordy, and his family lived here. My great grandfather worked for the Katy Railroad while my great grandmother tended to the children and worked in the fields.

My great grandfather is pictured here with two of my Great Aunts. Minnie "Dolly" and Sarah Catherine Hillman. They are sisters of my Great Grandmother, Nancy Elizabeth. Also pictured are three of seven children born to the union of Robert and Nancy Hillman Gordy. They are Lucinda, sitting on the lap of her father; Joseph being held by Dolly on the right, and Sarah standing in the back is holding Sarah Rissa. The picture was taken circa 1897. 

from the personal photo collection of H2HSC2020

According to family legend, while he worked for the railroad in West, Texas; some of his coworkers played a joke on him and gave him a 'loaded' cigar. While he was smoking, it exploded in his face, blinding him. He subsequently always wore a rag tied around his head to hide his eyes. After the incident, the toxins went to his brain and was never the same. The family could no longer take care of him and they sent him away to Austin State Hospital (A.S.H.) where he later died. He is buried in the A.S.H. Cemetery.  

from the personal photo collection of H2HSC2020

After Robert passed away, Nancy Elizabeth was trying to raise a family and tend to the family's needs alone. Realizing she could no longer make ends meet, sometime after September 1917 and early 1918, my great grandmother loaded up a covered wagon with her family and a few of their worldly possessions and began making their way towards the Texas Panhandle looking for work. Imagine with me, if you will - the time it took for her to travel in a covered wagon with her children on dirt roads if there were even any dirt roads to travel. The Texas Panhandle today by car from West, Texas is at least a six-seven hour drive and that's going 65 mph. 

During this time, several of the children became quite ill. Lucinda cared for them while their mother worked. This had to be a great responsibility for Ms. Lucinda. (I can't even begin to fathom - the last few months of their life *father passed, *family moved*her siblings are ill* her mother is working in the fields to make ends meet.)

circa 1915, from the personal photo collection of H2HSC2020

Lucinda was the eldest child of this union. She is named after my 2nd Great Grandmother, Lucinda Perkins Hillman. She is the young lady in the white dress in the photo above. 

Lucinda is about 21- 22 years of age give or take right now. I'm sure the burden she carried on her shoulders was quite heavy - wanting to help her mother in any way she can.  

With Nancy Elizabeth's family so ill, she decided to make her way back towards West, Texas. From what I can gather in my research, this had to be sometime in the fall of 1918. As they traveled by covered wagon, sick children, extremely harsh weather conditions I'm sure (knowing the Texas Panhandle), my great grandmother more than likely was very weighed down by the family situation. I could imagine she was extremely exhausted on all levels. I know I would be...

Making their way through a town called, Dickens, TX. Lucinda became gravely ill with pneumonia. Family stories say Lucinda's body was so worn down due to helping her mother care for the other children that when she herself became ill, she could not overcome. On top of pneumonia, Lucinda also had influenza. This was the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. (the Coronavirus is being compared the Flu of 1918 because of the number of deaths that were associated with it). 

With a team of horses pulling the covered wagon with the family, they were on the outskirts of Dickens, Texas. Lucinda gracefully passed away. Being in Dickens, Texas - not knowing anyone, Nancy Elizabeth buried her oldest child Lucinda who carried herself with elegance and grace in an empty field. 

It's ironic that Lucinda's story is very similar to those we hear about in the news today regarding the Coronavirus. The church wasn't filled with people remembering her life. There weren't friends and family in the empty field to pay their respects. There was no pomp and circumstance in her honor. There were no last goodbyes. Only her mother, and her 5 siblings present - I'm sure they wept.   

My heart hurts as I write this story, thinking about the grief my great grandmother felt during this time. It had to be immense. Leaving her oldest daughter behind, sickly children, the family continued making their way towards, Stamford, Texas where they settled down and made their home. 

The Cemetery is in Dickens, Dickens County, Texas. Lucinda is buried on Row 17, Grave 24.

Lucinda's photo has resonated with my family for years. If I could turn back the hands of time, she would be someone I would enjoy visiting with. When I look at Lucinda's baby photo above, the one with her mother and siblings, then this one - I see a young, vibrant lady full of grace and elegance.

Rest in peace Aunt Lucinda and know that your memory and life story will continue for generations to come.  

Lucinda, 1918
 from the personal photo collection of H2HSC2020

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