Memories of Frances Roberts Miller from Malakoff, Texas
Frances Roberts Miller in her late teens..
Papa Pettigrew
Caption On Picture: Grandma & Grandpa Roberts Mother’s Comments: All I know is that’s Grandma & Grandpa Roberts, and I don’t know who that man is. The picture looks just like Grandpa. He always had a big old handlebar mustache. Grandma always had a grin. I don’t know how she put up with all she did. They had Aunt Johnnie & her kids most of the time as Uncle Jim worked out in the oil fields. Grandpa would bust out and say “I gray you’d better close that door.” I don’t know whether he ever said anything at all to me, but he never said anything like that to me because Mother saw to it. I never gave them any trouble at all. Mac: Mother ment the man and women on the left side were grandma and Grandpa. the man on the far right she didn't name.
WMP180
Caption on picture: Miss Dora & Papa
Caption on picture: Miss Dora & Papa Mother’s comments: That’s Papa and Miss Dora standing in the shade. I wonder whose car that was. Looks kind of like the one Buddy & I went on our honeymoon in. Mots wrote that on the picture.
Caption On Picture: Uncle John & Aunt Nora Locklar, Miss Dora, Papa Pettigrew
Caption On Picture: Uncle John & Aunt Nora Locklar, Miss Dora, Papa Pettigrew Mother’s comments: I guess that was probably when they brought her (Grandma Pettigrew) down to live with Papa and Miss Dora because Uncle John didn’t want to keep Grandma Pettigrew any longer. She was driving them crazy I guess. There was Papa, a widower, and they brought her down to live with him. She was something else. There’s a picture in here of her somewhere. The picture looks like it was made in front of Mother and Daddy’s house; there’s Mr. Chapman’s barn.
Mother, Francis Roberts Miller, in middle of photo; Mommy, Mildred Pettigrew Roberts, back on left side; Carol Miller Hudson and Bryan in foreground left side. Location is our family house o England street off hwy 175 East in Athens. Mac: Christmas of 1969 was the first year after I (Mac) had come home from Japan and the U.S. Air Force. I was so glad to be home and the family was glad to have me back. The Christmas was almost like I had never left home. The tree, the family, the presents, the love, were all alive and well just where I had left them when I went to Japan. I doubt anyone who has never been overseas can appreciate the feeling. Anyway, this group of photos was taken Christmas morning December 25, 1969.
This would be Bryan Hudson, Carol, my sister's son.
This is "Mamadaddy", Elmer Roberts, my grandfather. He loved Christmas almost as much as us kids. He and Mommy, Mildred Pettigrew Roberts, would get up early Christmas morning and drive over to our house in Athens from Malakoff so they could be there when we opened the presents.
Left to right is Jim Hudson, Carol Miller Hudson, Bryan Hudson, Buddy Miller, Francis Miller, Jim Miller, Mommy (Mildred Roberts), and Mammadaddy (Elmer Roberts). I took the photo.
Left to right, this is Mac K. (Buddy) Miller, Jr.. may dad together with Bryan Hudson and Jim Hudson his father.
The youngest child always gets the most attention at Christmas and our house was no exception. This is Bryan Hudson.
I'm sure I took this shot even on black and white film because of how much I miss the fireplace while I was in Japan. The fireplace was always a triditional part of our Christmas.
Caption On picture: Granny Peggy (Pettigrew), Elma Frances, Polly Maguire. The side of our house. Mother’s comments: All I know about this photograph is that’s Granny Peggy and Polly Maguire at the side of my house and that was a canvas we could let up or down; that was an open porch at the time. We looked like sweet little angels.
Caption On picture: Granny Peggy ,my grandmother..(Francis Roberts Miller)
Caption On picture: Granny Peggy ,my grandmother..(Francis Roberts Miller) Mother’s comments: That’s my grandmother. I don’t remember her real name. Before she married it was Bogan. Bless her heart, she died in her 40s; she had an enlarged thyroid tumor; a goiter? The other girls came down here and took her to Dallas and had her operated on; she didn’t even know she was going to have it; they said she lived for a year choking and finally choked to death. They said they did something they weren’t supposed to or did something wrong. I remember asking Mother one time—Mother, wasn’t there a casket in our parlor one time? She said, yes, Granny Peggy was here when she died. I was 4 years old when she died. One time when Granny Peggy was at our house, I did something I wasn’t supposed to do and Mother said come on, I’m going to take you to the bathroom. Granny Peggy spoke up and said—Oh please, don’t spank her!
Caption On picture: Daddy (Elmer Roberts), Aunt Hattie, Grandpa (Daddy’s Daddy), Grandma (Daddy’s Mother), Aunt Johnnie, Uncle Edgar, Aunt Grace. Mother’s comments: Aunt Johnnie, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Hattie (Grandpa’s sister), Daddy (Elmer), Uncle Edgar, unidentified girl, and Aunt Grace. I don’t know when it was taken, but Daddy was pretty young. I guess that was the part of the Roberts family that was there that day. I guess they’re all dead now.
Caption On Picture: The Roberts—October, 1960
Caption On Picture: The Roberts—October, 1960 Mother’s comments: Uncle Edgar & Aunt Daisy, his wife, Mother & Daddy, Uncle Dunn & his wife Lizzie Belle, Aunt Grace in front of Uncle Dunn and Aunt Johnnie. Uncle Dunn’s real name is D. A. Roberts. He was a “ring, tale, tooter.” That means the girls were always after him, or vice versa, or both. He always had a nice-looking car. He went overseas in the oil fields or somewhere and worked and made lots of money. He came back and married, I think H. L. Hunt’s daughter, or whatever Hunt it was that had all the money. He lived in Minden, Louisiana later, but this was earlier. Anyhow, they didn’t live together too long and they divorced and he married Lizzie Belle Rhodes, I think her name was. They had a daughter named Phyllis. Aunt Daisy and Uncle Edgar had 3 daughters, Lois, Mildred, and Elizabeth. Elmer and Mildred had one daughter. Aunt Grace had a daughter and 2 sons and a grandson she raised. Aunt Johnnie had 6 children I think—Velma Grace, James, Edgar Owen, Gary, Janine, and Velma Grace. Those were some good times.
Caption On Picture: Papa. I don’t know where. It might have been where he and Granny Peggy Lived.
Caption On Picture: Papa. I don’t know where. It might have been where he and Granny Peggy Lived. Mother’s comments: Presley Eugene Pettigrew sitting on his porch, I supposed, but I’m not sure where it was. It may have been up on the hill by Grandma & Grandpa Roberts’. Then again, it may have been out by where Cedar Creek is now. They lived two places out there—across from Martha Grace’s house was and also up on the hill beyond the ravine where you went to Cedar Creek. Up on the hill is where Grandma Pettigrew died, Papa’s Mama. It could have been either one of those. Mac: I believe this photo was taken at Papa's house on the hwy south of Malakoff near what we always called the "white lick". I use to visit there when I was a small boy, and I remember the porch and the storm celler in the background.
Caption On Picture: April, 1938
Caption On Picture: April, 1938 Mother’s comments: That’s a cutout of Frances Miller, and I think I must have cut that out to put in a locket or something. The others are Velma Grace Jackson, Martha Grace Henderson, Joe Faulk, and Lizzie Belle Roberts. Mac: The date is April, 1938—could that have been on your birthday? Mother: I doubt they would have been celebrating my birthday. Mac: As you can see, he face of the girl on the far left of the photo has been cut out. Mother now tells me that she cut out the photo of herself to put into a locket of some king.
Caption On Picture: Grandma & Grandpa Roberts and Aunt Hattie, Grandpa’s sister.
Caption On Picture: Grandma & Grandpa Roberts and Aunt Hattie, Grandpa’s sister. Mother’s comments: This is Grandma & Grandpa Roberts and Aunt Hattie. Grandma Roberts’ real name was Martha Ann Durrett or Durett. Grandpa’s real name was Andrew M. Roberts. This picture is unusual in that Grandpa is showing affection—he has his arm around Aunt Hattie. Grandma always looked just like that, no matter whether she was in the kitchen or what—she always had on those long dresses that made them look old. They probably weren’t real old then. It’s funny—I don’t think I ever remember Grandpa without a coat on. Grandma always had her yard full of all the flowers she could—Holly Hocks, pretty flowers. I can remember her coming to our house one night to spend the night, and why she came I don’t know. I can’t imagine her leaving the country to come up there and spend the night. I don’t know if Mother was sick—she just came to spend the night seemed like. And, I can remember them coming up there in the wagon—they would go to town in the wagon to get the groceries. Grandpa was always very frugal. When he got ready to go to town, he didn’t say Mattie, (he called her Mattie) what do you want; he said Mattie, what do you need? Mac: I thought you said one time he used to say what can you not live without? Mother: Well, that’s the same thing—not what you want but what do you need. Daddy was like her in a way I guess. She could make the best meals you ever tasted out of just nothing. She’d have berry pies, and she’d have chicken and dressing, etc. They had chickens and cows, milk—I remember everybody drank out of the same ole bucket—do you remember that? Mac: I remember that, just barely, but I remember. It had a dipper to it, and I didn’t want to drink after everybody else—I don’t remember whether Mother got me a glass or what, but I didn’t want to drink after everybody else, and they thought I was smarter than everybody else—the kids did I mean.
Caption On Picture: Daddy (Elmer Roberts) and Louise Mother’s comments: This is Daddy and Louise Vandagriff. Now that is made, I think, down at the brick yard where we lived—in the southwest corner of Malakoff—just a little way from the railroad tracks. One night, Papa was working at the brickyard and he was working at night and Ray, Jr. and I wanted to spend the night. We slept in wheel barrows, and that broke me from ever wanting to sleep out in a wheel barrow. It was so fun—we had a good time. I don’t know whether Daddy was married in this picture or not. I guess Louise was already born when they married. See, Uncle Ray and Aunt Hester built that house where we lived all the time I was growing up. I was born about 2 houses down in a little house down there, and Uncle Ray and Aunt Hester built that house brand new. They must not have lived there but a little while and then Daddy bought it and we lived there until I married.
Unknown,
Caption On picture: Nothing. Mother’s comments: I think that’s Aunt Nez on the right, and I think that was a trip she and Uncle Claude and another couple took to San Antonio and all down there in the Hill Country. Her real name was Inez Pettigrew Bankston.