Wow! I wanted to share with everyone this terrific experience I had last week. This is what it is all about! For some time now I have been driving through a little town called Yantis, Wood County, Texas in hopes of someday getting up the courage to ask if I could go into my Great Great Grandfather's old house. On Memorial Day I drove to Yantis from our farm to put flowers on all the graves and low and behold, my Great Great Grandfather's house had been turned into an antique store. So I turned to my husband and said "sorry hun, but I have to go in. I promise not to stay long!" He knew how important this was to me, so said okay I'll just sit in the car and wait. Well five hours later and two trips later, I finally came home to Colorado, but not without finding lots of neat things! The couple who currently own the house, Jo An and Noble Coker, said that Noble's parents bought the house from my Great Grandmother back in 1943 and it has been in the family ever since. In fact, when they got the house they were told to never sell it. My good fortune! The house is still pretty much intact the way it was when my Dad was a little boy. Same hardwood floors and basically the same rooms (other than a screened in porch had been walled in and a closet made a bathroom). Jo An also does research and she was elated! We talked and talked about the two families. By the way, the gold mine was that Jo An had the original deed which she made a copy of for me. It turns out that when my Great Great Grandfather got out of the Conferderate Army he packed up everything in Tennessee and travelled as far as the train would take him. This ended up being Yantis. He orginally had 10 acres which became his wifes upon his death. In 1914 M E deeded the land to her son, James Harrison Floyd and his wife Ella Americas Lunsford Floyd. In 1916 he bought some more acreage from a neighbor and in 1917 he bought more from a relative, Mr. Pepper. Jo An says that when Ella sold the property to Nobles' parents, Ella and her daughter Maude were living there alone and they had to wait for them to find another place to live before they could take possession (almost a year). I know to some of you this may not seem like much, but my Great Grandfather was actually laid to rest in the living room of that home. It gave me goose bumps just to stand there and take it all in! The extra bonus for me is that I now have a new friend with whom I can share lots of memories! Too bad it doesn't always turn out this way for everyone! Anyway, just wanted to share this with the group. Thanks Sandie Floyd Kane