Howard Herron Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield
Howard Herron Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield Howard Herron Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield
Howard Herron 3 Q: I see. A: And he got my uncles and my father to come up here looking for greener pastures and he came and my uncle got him a job at the mine. Q: Oh, your father worked in the mine? A: On top, he was into firing the boilers. Made the steam that hoisted the coal. Q: And your mother's side of the family. Do you remember anything about them? A: They were Surgeons, Surgeon was the name for them. They also were pioneers, but I don't know how they got here or where but there was just two boys, John--William and John. Q: And your mother? A: And my mother and her sister, Maggie and a sister Madie. Q: And a sister? Q: Madie? Q: And your mother's name is? A: Sarah Elizabeth. Q: What nationality were they? A: They were Irish, Scotch Irish. Q: And do you know whether they came over from the Old Country? A: No, I don't know. I know my uncles always were so proud of the Irish but I didn't care much about it. Didn't pay much attention to it. My Uncle Bill was always proud of being an Irish. Q: What kind of religion did they have? A: Protestant. Q: On both sides of your family, Protestant, okay. When were you born again, 18901 A: Eighteen hundred ninety-seven, March 28, 1897. Q: March 28?
Howard Hexron 4 A: Eighteen hundred ninety-seven. Q: Yes. A: Eighty-three years old now. I'll be 84 this coming March. Q: Was your father in Auburn at the time that he met your mother? A: No, they were all, I remember them telling me, us boys, the stories when they, my father and his brothers, two or three of them would put in the crops, help their father put in the crops. They'd get their horses ready and they would take off for Kansas and they were cowboys. They would meet--I remember them going into Dodge City, I'm talking about Dodge City where they would have a cattle drive and drive their cattle from Texas up to Dodge City where they had--there was no railroads then. I can remember that they would swim their horses across the Mississippi River and they would always be sure that they took a title for their horse because if you didn't have a title to your horse and they caught you with a horse, they would string you up on a tree. Q: Oh, dear. A: Oh, that was the days they did that to stop the thieving and stealing of horses. That's the way they told that to me. we'd sit around and eat popcorn and they'd eat half of it and they'd tell us all their experiences. That was all the entertainment we had in the wintertime. Q: What was Dodge City like in those days? A: Oh, I wouldn't know. Q: Did they tell about any barroom fights or any shootouts or anything like that? A: Oh, I suppose they did but they didn't tell us. Q: Did they meet any famous sheriff? A: Well, I remember one time they was, word got out that in Hamburg, Illinois that Jesse James amd his gang were there and that they were going to head south, just north of my aunt's house, my Aunt Maggie's. There was a road there going from their home to what they called Red's Landing on the Mississippi River to a big cutaway in the road and a big bank on each side. Several of Charlie ~c~ab's boys and a lot of them got up on this bank and they were laying for Jesse James. And they all had their guns and they was ready to kill him, but they all got chicken and they didn't, none of them would shoot. So Jesse James and his gang passed on and went an around to Red's Landing, that's on the Mississippi River. And there was a poor guy that lived along the--he was a River Rat you might say that lived on there and he never had anything. But he took his boat and he hauled the James boys across the river and they swam their horses across. And from that time on this man and his wife and family had all the clothes and food and everything they ever wanted. I
- Page 1: University of Illinois at Springfie
- Page 5 and 6: Table of Contents (cont.) Auburn Bu
- Page 7: Howard Berron 2 A: I wouldn't know
- Page 11 and 12: Howard Herron 6 b- it's a fact beca
- Page 13 and 14: Howard Herron 8 started in and I ha
- Page 15 and 16: Howard Herron 10 Q: When you were a
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- Page 19 and 20: Howard Herron 14 always been gratef
- Page 21 and 22: Howard Herron 16 A: Oh, pumpkin pie
- Page 23 and 24: Howard Berron 18 father bought this
- Page 25 and 26: Howard Herron 20 eleven inches in c
- Page 27 and 28: Howard Herron 2 2 Q: A rod or a gui
- Page 29 and 30: Howard Herron and he had these pink
- Page 31 and 32: Howard Herron 2 6 A: Oh, about ten,
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- Page 39 and 40: Howard Berron 3 4 about 8:00 in the
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- Page 45 and 46: 1 Howard Herron 40 Q: Did you read
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- Page 49 and 50: Howard Herron 44 It was below zero
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<strong>Howard</strong> <strong>Herron</strong> 3<br />
Q: I see.<br />
A: And he got my uncles and my father to come up here looking for<br />
greener pastures and he came and my uncle got him a job at the mine.<br />
Q: Oh, your father worked in the mine?<br />
A: On top, he was into firing the boilers. Made the steam that hoisted<br />
the coal.<br />
Q: And your mother's side <strong>of</strong> the family. Do you remember anything about<br />
them?<br />
A: They were Surgeons, Surgeon was the name for them. They also were<br />
pioneers, but I don't know how they got here or where but there was just<br />
two boys, John--William and John.<br />
Q: And your mother?<br />
A: And my mother and her sister, Maggie and a sister Madie.<br />
Q: And a sister?<br />
Q: Madie?<br />
Q: And your mother's name is?<br />
A: Sarah Elizabeth.<br />
Q: What nationality were they?<br />
A: They were Irish, Scotch Irish.<br />
Q: And do you know whether they came over from the Old Country?<br />
A: No, I don't know. I know my uncles always were so proud <strong>of</strong> the Irish<br />
but I didn't care much about it. Didn't pay much attention to it. My<br />
Uncle Bill was always proud <strong>of</strong> being an Irish.<br />
Q: What kind <strong>of</strong> religion did they have?<br />
A: Protestant.<br />
Q: On both sides <strong>of</strong> your family, Protestant, okay. When were you born<br />
again, 18901<br />
A: Eighteen hundred ninety-seven, March 28, 1897.<br />
Q: March 28?
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