Rev. Isaac Grindstaff and Mary Jane Woody

Reverend Isaac Grindstaff and Mary Jane Woody are my second great-grandparents. I have written previously about their daughter, and my great-grandmother, Della Winnie Grindstaff McNeill.

Isaac Grindstaff was born about May 1852 in formerly Yancey Co, now Mitchell Co, North Carolina. He was the second of twelve children to Henry Grindstaff and Bedie Buchanan. Mary Jane Woody was born 11 Jan 1853 in formerly Yancey Co, now Mitchell Co, North Carolina. She was the second of five children to William Woody and Marginia (or Margie) M. Thomas. When Mary was only about 9, her father died from measles while serving in the Confederate Army near Ashland, Virginia.

Isaac and Mary were married 9 Dec 1872 in Mitchell Co, North Carolina. The couple had 12 children, two of which are unknown at this time. I suspect they likely were lost in infancy or between the periods of the 1880 and 1900 census. The known children are as follows:

• Docia born abt 1874
• Emeline born abt 1876
• Willoughby James born 30 Jul 1879 and died Jan 1960 in Avery Co, North Carolina. He married Mattie Buchanan and had three daughters. I have alternately seen his name as William James, but do not know which may be correct.
• Nathan A. born 14 Mar 1883 and may have died in Norfolk, Virginia. He married 1) Martha Sherrill and 2) Edna. Nathan registered for WWI in Colorado and later lived in Chicago.
• Hoy Gilbert born 15 Jun 1884 and died 8 Apr 1956 in Buncombe Co, North Carolina. He married Mary Jane Thomas and had at least six children.
• George A. born 18 Mar 1889. He registered for WWI in Boulder, Colorado in 1917.
• Alfonze (spelling uncertain) born Jan 1890.
• Della Winnie born 1893 and died 1979. She is my great-grandmother.
• Walter C. born 5 Jan 1897 and died 28 Apr 1970 in Toledo, Ohio. He married Myrtle and had two children.
• Etta (or perhaps Etter) born 2 Feb 1901 and died tragically 10 Aug 1940 as a result of a homicide. She married Pat Thomas and had three children.

Isaac and Mary lived in or near the town of Bakersville, Mitchell Co, North Carolina. In 1900, Isaac was listed as a farmer, but by 1910 he was listed as a pastor of a church. A relative has told me that Isaac was the pastor at the Mine Creek Baptist Church in Mitchell Co, where both he and Mary are buried. Another relative described Isaac as a "hellfire and brimstone preacher." From everything I have heard, Isaac and Mary were good, kind people. Apparently after Isaac's death, Mary would come stay at another relative's house because she didn't like to sleep at home alone. She was remembered for devoutly praying each night before bed.

Isaac died 4 Apr 1936 in Mitchell Co. Mary died 26 Jan 1946. Both Isaac and Mary are buried at Mine Creek Baptist Church, Mitchell Co, North Carolina. A photo of their headstone can be found here.

Please contact me if you are related to Isaac and Mary or have further information. I would be thrilled to find other descendants of this couple. I would be very grateful if anyone had photos they would be willing to share.

Advent Calendar Dec 24th - Christmas Eve

As a child, Christmas Eve was simply the day before we got to open presents. It was so hard to settle down at bedtime, but before we did we always set out sugar cookies and a glass of milk for Santa. My sister and I would head off to bed and whisper for a long time about Santa coming, how was he going to get in (we had no fireplace or chimney) and what he would leave for us.

As a parent, Christmas Eve has turned into a busy day of getting the house ready for family to come over, preparations for the Christmas meal and trying to keep the kids out of the presents already under the tree. As in years past, we attend the early Christmas Eve service at our church filled with wonderful carols and the children's pageant depicting the story of the birth of Jesus. We always manage to be home right about bedtime, so we get out cookies and milk for Santa as well as carrots for the reindeer (my husband's tradition), then we read either a story about the nativity or The Night Before Christmas or both. It is so much fun to see the delight and anticipation in our children's faces. It brings back fond memories of our own childhood.

After the kids are in bed, there is something very peaceful about the quiet. It is a time for us to relax for the busy day to come and to reflect upon the miracle that occurred over 2000 years ago.

On behalf of my family, we send good tidings to you at Christmas and the whole year through.

Advent Calendar Dec 23rd - Christmas Sweetheart Memories

My husband and I met in college. We had known each other for a short period of time before we actually started dating. It started around Thanksgiving and I wasn't sure what would come of it, if anything. By Christmas, things were progressing well and we decided to exchange gifts after our Christmas break. That gave me a reprieve to go home and be able to shop for something at a major mall rather than the few shops in our small college town.

I remember the anxiety of trying to pick out the perfect gift. Something that was nice but that didn't say too much. He was close to graduation so I finally settled on a nice tie tack, thinking he would need that in his chosen career. I had no idea what to expect from him but felt this was appropriate given the brief period we'd really known each other. He gave me a very nice watch which I still have but no longer wear. I think he still has that tie tack, too.

That was 16 years ago. We have been married for 12 years and have two beautiful children. At the time I had no idea where it would lead, but am now so happy where it has gone and look forward to what the future may hold.

Advent Calendar Dec 22nd - Christmas and Deceased Relatives

While I have a pretty large extended family, most of whom I don't know, my immediate world growing up consisted of my maternal grandparents, my mom and my sister. There were no other family members that we saw at the holidays so there was never any real discussion about remembering those family members who had passed away.

However, all of that changed for the Christmas of 1993. That year was the first Christmas without my grandfather, my father figure. I was home for break from college and it was very surreal to not have him be there to do the whole "bah humbug" thing even though I think he secretly enjoyed having "the kids" around. I recall it being a very quiet day with some tears that were shed. Even though we were all still grieving his loss, we also tried to remember some good things about him that made us laugh.

Every holiday after that got easier, but there was, and still is, a definite profound loss by not having him around. I wish he were here to enjoy my girls as they marvel at the sights and sounds of Christmas. I know he would have loved them.

Advent Calendar Dec 21st - Christmas Music

I remember having the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas record as a child and it could only be played once and while Grandpa wasn't in the house. {smile} Otherwise, our Christmas music was whatever played on the radio, which was usually tuned to a country station. I do recall the year that "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" came out as my grandfather thought it was absolutely hysterical. Grandma, on the other hand, not so much!

After I moved away from home, I slowly started collecting Christmas music cd's. I am a huge country music fan so it includes Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley and Garth Brooks. But we also listen to the big band era including a Glenn Miller Christmas album as well as Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. It just wouldn't be Christmas without listening to "White Christmas" as well as watching him sing it in the movie of the same name.

Over the years we have amassed quite a collection of Christmas music which is enough to load into the 10-disc changer and set it to random. I can listen to a variety of songs for hours on end. This year I did that while decorating the tree and then another full afternoon of music while baking and cleaning.

Advent Calendar Dec 20th - Religious Services

As a child, we never attended church at Christmas, Easter or any other time of the year. A few years after we married, my husband and I started attending a local Episcopal church which is the denomination he was raised in. Before children we attended the 11 p.m. service, but now we always attend the early service on Christmas Eve. Our oldest daughter was able to participate in the pageant last year and will reprise her role as one of the angels this year. Both our girls love music and we love to sing (off-key, of course) the Christmas carols. One of my favorites of the evening is Silent Night as I wrote about for footnoteMaven's blog caroling.

Advent Calendar Dec 19th - Christmas Shopping

Shopping was a distinct part of my childhood, no matter the time of the year. Once a week, my mother, grandmother, my sister and I would head to the local shopping areas followed by a trip to the grocery store. My mother has worked in retail most of my life so she always did a lot of our Christmas shopping at her store after her shift was over, rather than at the times we were with her. As we got older, I was given a small bit of money to buy my sister something and vice versa. When I got to high school and had my own job, I was able to buy something for my mom and sister with my own money.

I am usually good about starting in October and controlling the spending and making it all manageable. It's hard with two children to not go overboard when we know that each of the four grandparents are going to do something as well. I have even ventured out on a few Black Fridays primarily looking for great toy bargains that I donated to Toys For Tots.

In recent years, my husband and I will make a list of a few items we would like and go our separate shopping ways. We also will jointly discuss and shop for gifts for our parents, which usually includes photos or those great photo calendars filled with pictures of our girls.

I like to be done early with shopping so I can get it wrapped and shipped. Alas, that just did not happen this year.