Document text
1—t
AccAosion no.
11054
Date received
Consignment no.
Shipped from
Label
Amount
WPA L. C. PROJECT UNIT
Form -3
Collection (or Type)
Title
geo
Place of originA5/..i-ev--..2—' Date 40,07
Project worker
Project editor
Remarks
Project #1655
W. W. Dixon,
Winnsboro, S. C.
KATE FLENNIKEN
(white)
80 YEARS OLD.
My parents were Col. A. K. Patton and Ansley Patton of the Long
Cane section, Abbeville County, South Carolina, but I was born while my
mother was on a visit to relatives in Haversham County in the State of
Georgia. My father was a brother of the late Prof. E. L. Patton of the
South Carolina College, now University of South Carolina. I attended
Woodlawn Academy, and was taught by my uncle, Edward L. Patton.
There were many Union men in our settlement opposed to nullifi-
cation and secession. A tragedy in our family grew out of these politi-
cal issues. My grandfather had bean selected by a group of families
opposed to nullification to go to Tennessee with the idea of looking
about for lands to purchase, so they could move there in a body. On the
way, he was ambushed and killed by the Murray gang, as they were known in
those days. The murderer, a man named Dooley, was caught, tried, con-
victed, and hanged for the deed.
I heard my husband, Mr. Flenniken, talking to you about the blue
back speller for beginners. Well, I remember there was a reading lesson
in that book at the end of each spelling lesson, and some of the sentences
were full of wisdom and knowledge. As examples, I give theses
1. Visitors should not make their visits too long.
2. A judge must not be a bad man.
3. The first joint of a man's thumb is one inch long.
40 A gambler vents to get money without earning it.
W1.105i
2.
5. There is a near intimacy between drunkenness and poverty.
6. A virago is a turbulent, masculine woman.
7. Pompions are now commonly called pumpkins.
8. One good action is worth many good thoughts.
I remember the quilting parties in our neighborhood. When the
crops were laid by in the summer, quilting parties would begin, and they
were held at different plantation homes in the community until late in
the fall of the year. Generally each home had one frame of slats. To
the hone where the party took place, neighbors would bring their frames,
and sometimes as many as four quilts were being made at the same time.
The quilt frames were arranged an the floor of the room in a rectangle
the size of the quilt to be made. A narrow strip of cloth was tacked to
the frames all around and the lining of the quilt was sewed to this strip.
The frames were then lifted up about the height of a table and rested on
their backs. Then the cotton or wool was carded and spread in uniform
layers on the lining between the frames. The top of the quilt was as-
signed to individuals. For instance, each lady would undertake to sew
and make a number of squares from the material; another, so many, and so
on. As the squares were finished, these were sewed together by others in
attendance, until the top of the quilt was completed as a whole. Then the
top was placed on the cotton, and the stitching began, from right to left
of the frame, the thread going through the bottom lining, cotton, and top
covering. The folds could be rolled back as the work went on.
On some occasions a 'crazy quilt' would be made out of the scraps
of satin, silk, and bright colored material. No cotton was used in making
the 'crazy quilt'. Some colored cotton cloth was generally used for the
3.
lining or under part of these quilts. They were made for beauty and dhow,
instead of warmth and comfort. Every bride in those days was presented
with one of such quilts.
In connection with one of the quiltings, a party was given at the
home of the quilting, and,out of this social festivity, I opine that some
boy was inspired, by a girl named Nellie, to write the song, 'Aunt Dinah's
Quilting Party.'
My father, Col. A. Y. Patton was killed at the first battle of
Shiloh. He was an attorney at law, at Abbeville, before the Civil War.
I was brought up from childhood in the Associate Reformed rresbyterian
faith and doctrine. Every Sabbath morning the slaves were congregated
in the dining room of our home and taught the Shorter Catechism.
I was married to my husband, Warren H. Flenniken, at Abbeville,
in 1381, and came as a bride to Winnsboro.
Outside of our church work and immediate family welfare, I have
been deeply interested in the erection of the Confederate Monument in
Winnsboro, and in the observance of Memorial Day.
Shortly after our marriage in the early eighties, the women of
Fairfield County organized the Ladies Memorial Association. This, by
the way, was the virtual beginning of the present U.D.C. Chapter, which
came into existence twenty years later. We ladies worked with one end
in view, that of erecting a suitable memorial to the brave men of Fair-
field who fought and sacrificed so much for a cause they believed was
right. After years of planning and hard work, in the way of entertain-
ments, such as strawberry and ice cream parties and festival suppers,
enough money was on hand to build a monument of our own Fairfield granite.
But it was not until the Memorial Association was merged into the United
4.
Daughters of the Confederacy that the monument was placed and dedicated
in the public square at the intersection of Washington and Congress
Streets in Winnsboro.
In those days an outstanding occasion of the whole year was Me-
morial Day. An eleborate program was arranged and carried out. Pride
and pleasure thrilled the hearts of the young girls of the town, as they
took part in the parade, all dressed alike in costumes made especially for
the occasion. The procession marched up Congress Street, headed by the
Gordon Light Infantry, with the old veterans bringing up the rear, all
keeping step to the music of our own brass band. Mrs. W. R. Robertson was
the first president of the association; Mrs. H. A. Gaillard succeeded her
and served a number of years; and she was followed by Mrs. Sailing Wolfe,
who I think was the grandmother of Bernard Baruch, now a great financier
in New York.
When the merger took place, the U.D.C. Chapter was named for General
John Bratton, the highest ranking officer living in the county at the time.
A great dinner was given in honor of the veterans, and barrels of lemonade
were on the picnic grounds for their refreshment every Memorial Day.
The ranks of veterans grew thinner and thinner as the years rolled
by, and now there ic only one left, my husband, Warren. Our Chapter once
honored me with the presidoncy. We contributed funds to the erection of
the Jefferson Davis Memorial, the Arlington Monument, the Shiloh Monument,
and others. At present, the chapter is subscribing and maintaining scholar-
ships in different institutions of learning; namely, Winthrop, the Univer-
sity of South Carolina, and the Confederate Home College.
Now I recall a sentence in the blue -back speller,
Visitors should not make their visits too long'