James, your stories are soooo interesting! If you've not written that book yet, you should! Have you? Barbara Byrd JAMES O BRASHER <jims505@msn.com> wrote: Genesis Betty Mae Brown was born April 6, 1899 in Ellsinore, Missouri to Sarah Josephine (Roper) Brown and Septimus (something) Brown down in Carter County in the Missouri Ozark Mountains. This piece of beautiful real estate is about fifty miles west of Poplar Bluff, Missouri on the edge of the Mark Twain National Forrest and even today it's not much bigger than a toadstool. Betty Mae was to be born an orphan for all intents and purposes. Her mother Josie would die during childbirth and her father Septimus would loose interest in his first born after Josie passed on. Septimus was not a complete ass, he was only half assed; the reason I say this is because, Septimus saw at an early age that to go through life being called Septimus was not an easy thing to bear and so he was called, "Seth Brown," just not on official papers; on those he would remain, "Septimus." Septimus is a word meaning, "Seventh Son," in a language I haven't the slightest clue as to what it is. The one thing I know for sure is that Septimus was the first born child of Harriet and Edward Brown. A Missouri born gal and an English immigrant from Manchester, England who came to America in 1865 and first settled in Silver Mines, Missouri straight south of St Louis. Septimus first wife, Sarah Josie Roper was the granddaughter of a Baptist preacher named, David Sheets and the daughter of James L. Roper and Sarah E. Sheets of North Carolina. The Roper and Sheets families would move to Missouri from NC to Missouri around 1872 and settle in Wayne County, Missouri where David Sheets would become the owner of the County Poor Farm. Lest the reader think all the family were scoundrels I thought I would jot this piece of information down: I am Jim Brasher a native of St Louis who was raised in an innocent environment beginning back in the 1930s, whose great-great-great grandfather, David Sheets, was a well known Baptist preacher down in Patterson, Missouri. "Patterson, Missouri," the skeptic will ask, "where the Heck is Patterson Missouri?" My reply: "Well, I'm not sure, but its somewhere West of Poplar Bluff somewhere out in those Beautiful Hills of the Missouri Ozarks." "Then what the heck makes your gr-gr-gr-grandfather so important?" My reply: "My gr-gr-gr-grandfather, David Sheets, had the bone crushing responsibility of being the head of the Wayne County Poor Farm." "Baloney, that ain't so important." My reply: "Oh yeah? He was a big Frog in a small pond, its true, but he was sure important to those seven paupers the 1880 census shows living with him and his family down there in Wayne County." Little is known about the years between 1900 and 1910 where Betty Mae is concerned and most of what I know about her is word of mouth from Ralph, her first husband and my grandfather. Then she re-appears in the 1910 census living with her maternal grandfather, James W. Roper, and uncle, James C. Roper. The census shows the three living in Butler County, Blackriver TWP. This would be part of the town of Poplar Bluff, MO. The Census reads: Roper James W.-Head-age: 69-wid.-NC-occ: grist mill Roper James C.-Son-age: 39-single.-NC-occ: grist mill Brown Josie M.-granddaughter.-age: 11-single.-MO-occ: none I believe that Betty Mae's grandfather was giving the census taker the information and inadvertently gave the census taker Betty's mother's name of "Josie." Five years later, 1915, Betty Mae Brown would meet Ralph Waldo Brasher in Cape Girardeau, MO where the two would marry. Betty is sixteen now and someone needs to sign for her. On the marriage license application is Ralph's mother's signature as the consenting adult, "Laura Alice McClard." ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MO-STLOUIS-METRO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message --------------------------------- Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.