My great-grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Sisk, was born on December 24, in1878 according to the Sisk family Bible. He, his wife Alma Osborn Fry Sisk, son Clarence Edgar Sisk and step son Stephen Fry lived in Benton County, Arkansas when the 1910 federal census was recorded.
According to family stories, Alma died as a result of injuries she sustained when she kept a large black (laundry) kettle full of beets from falling off an open fire when Clarence had just turned 12 years old. After her death, the household was an all male enclave ... until Clarence married Ruby Jewel Carter on December 17, 1924. It must have been a tough transition for Ruby into the long settled household. They probably all lived in the old wooden two story farmhouse I remember. By the time my sister and I were old enough to visit, the house was in such poor condition that we were not allowed past the front porch ... and I don't think anyone went upstairs anymore.
From the time I knew him, everyone called him "Fox" ... but no one seemed to know why for sure. Clarence and Ruby thought it was because the front 40 of his 80 acres was once owned by a family with surname Fox, but that is just a guess. According to Eva, lots of people had nicknames back then, Neighbor Russell Layne always called Clarence "Harry". The name "Daddy Fox" came about because he didn't want to be called grandpa
and Ruby and Clarence didn't want Eva to call him Fox like everyone else, so he
became Daddy Fox to to his granddaughter and eventually his great-granddaughters.
and Ruby and Clarence didn't want Eva to call him Fox like everyone else, so he
became Daddy Fox to to his granddaughter and eventually his great-granddaughters.
My memories of my great-grandfather, Daddy Fox often involve watching him walk. He walked everywhere! He lived on a farm about half a mile up the road from my grandparent's farm. I seem to recall that he usually ate lunch and dinner at my grandparent's house. Since he didn't have a telephone, and I'm not sure he was the type of person to call to warn you he was coming ... first warning was when we'd see him walking on the north side of the house on a well worn path.
His farm was about 12 miles from Siloam Springs, Arkansas, but he regularly walked up to highway 16, hitched a ride with someone heading to Siloam, and then would come back later that day, usually with the same person.
From stories I've heard, I would guess he wasn't the easiest person to get along with ... but he adored his great-granddaughters. Initially I've been told he favored his first great-granddaughter (me) over the my sister, but after the day he accidentally picked up Judy to take her out to show her the animals when he meant to take me, he stopped showing favoritism.
One of the things he often did to show his love, was to buy pieces of fabric to be used to sew clothes for my sister and me. He tended toward brightly colored designs and wasn't very good at selecting quality fabrics, so for years the material sat in storage. When my kids were young, I used some of the material to make stars for our Christmas tree.
My final memories of Daddy Fox were of the night he died. He died during the night of December 24, 1966. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to the phone ringing. Back then, a phone call in the middle of the night meant trouble. The telephone was in the kitchen/dining room of my grandparent's house ... and as soon as we got to the phone we could see Daddy Fox's house in flames. He apparently got up in the middle of the night to build up the fire in his wood burning stove, leaving it open until the fire got bigger, but fell asleep.
He is buried in Weddington Cemetery, in Washington County, Arkansas, next to his wife and close to his son, his parents, and several other relatives.
1 comment:
This is a nice write-up. It captures my memories well also. The only thing you left out was that yucky orange spongy candy he loved that was sickeningly sweet. Judy.
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