| Grandpa ( Benj. Paul) Atkins |
 Benjamin
Paul Atkins, with grand-daughter, Betty Ellen, and grandson, Robert
Lee. The horse is our draft horse Major. The photo was taken by my mother
in 1947 with her Kodak Brownie Camera. Originally in black and white. |
 
Background:
Robert
Gordon Atkins listed his birthplace as Birmingham, Alabama on his
children's birth certificates, however, there are no records of him in
any documents in the Alabama archives. He is not listed in the Indian Rolls
either. This would lead one to believe that he is of Native American heritage
and simply never applied for any allotments from the Indian Agencies, as
many did. Rumor is he was of Cherokee heritage.
Gordon is not listed in the 1880 Texas Census, but since he married
Tabitha
Cassandra Gaskill in 1887, we know that he moved to Texas sometime
between 1880 and 1887. He owned 212 acres of land in Montague County where
he farmed and raised horses. He was a teacher at Long Branch School.
From descriptions, Gordon was six foot five or six with a thin, rangy
build. His children said he looked like Abraham Lincoln, whom he was supposedly
related to, with the dark hair, craggy face and beard. Tabitha was small,
about five feet two. She was also part Native American, possibly Choctaw,
Cherokee or Chickasaw, through the Tatums.
Their children were:
Estes Lona
Mar. 1888 F
Benjamin
Paul Feb. 1891
M
Reba
July 1895 F
Lowell (Wyatt) Nov.
1898 M
Mary Virginia
May 1903 F
Lois
after 1900 F
Benjamin Paul was the second child and first son of Gordon and Cassie.
He lived on the family farm (in Long Branch community, Montague Co. Texas)
and raised horses until the Great Depression of the 1930's, when he lost
all his property. Paul married Ida
Lura Harper around 1910. Her sister Dovie Harper Treadwell related
her memories of Lura to me when I was in my twenties. Dovie spent summers
with Lura and Paul. My favorite story is about the day they were doing
laundry.
They had a big black cast iron pot simmering over a fire where they
scrubbed the clothes on a washboard. Lura was hanging clothes on
the line when Paul rode up on his horse, jumped off and grabbed Lura around
the waist to kiss her. Dovie and Leon giggled, Lura started to pull away,
but then shrugged at the kids and kissed Paul back. This was about a year
before Lura died.
Paul stood about five feet five, in his boots, that is. I never
knew him when his hair wasn't gray. Growing up, it never hit me what a
special relationship we had. He was just 'Grandpa.'
Until my parents divorced, Grandpa was as regular a part of my life
as Mama and Daddy. I never missed him like I missed Mama's mother, because
he was there. You can't miss someone you see just about every day. He wasn't
the kind of Grandpa who just came to discuss business with his son. He'd
take me for walks or we'd go visit the horses and he'd give me tips on
riding and raising them. When he sat, it was always with me on his lap.
I liked that. Liked the closeness.
From the tales he told me about his childhood, I can understand his
love of closeness, too. Some of this was imparted to him via his own Grandpa,
his mother's father. He once told me that when he was about nine years
old, he came into the house and his Grandpa Jeff was sitting in the rocker.
Paul ran over and climbed up in his Grandpa's lap and was messing around
with his long white beard. Everyone in the room started giggling. Paul
looked up and did a double take. 'His' Grandpa was standing in the doorway.
They had a hard time convincing him he wasn't seeing double. It seems his
Grandpa was an identical twin. Paul was sitting in his great-uncle Frank's
lap.
Jeff and Frank Gaskill hadn't seen each other since before the Civil
war, yet they were dressed alike, wore their hair the same and had the
same long white beards. I was told that everyone had trouble telling them
apart. They grew up in one of the border states where everyone was
split between the North and the South. Grandpa Jeff fought for the South
and Frank joined the Union Army. After the war, Jeff immigrated to Texas,
where he met his wife. Frank went home.
My Grandpa said his mother (Tabitha Cassandra) was one of the sweetest
people he ever knew. She was short like him. Grandpa's Dad was tall...
very tall, about six feet five. The one picture I have seen of Gordon Atkins,
he looked like Abraham Lincoln. My Aunt Lona, Paul's sister, said that
she'd been told as a child that Gordon's mother ( ? Mann ) was somehow
related to Abe. So far, I haven't found the connection, although several
of my ancestors came from the same county where Abe was born.
continuing...
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