These excerpts come from memories of Joseph Franklin Stokes (brother to my James H. Stokes. Written down by Joseph's daughter, Mary Ann.

"My father emigrated to Georgia thense to north Alabama where i was Borned on cattato Creek Morgan County near Blue Springs february the 2nd 1827.." "there me and Jacob and James were borned, in Morgan county... " "my father and sister Nancy and brother Richard died there when I was 5 years old. 4 years after the death of my father my mother married a man by the name of stephen Baley."

From my mother Lois Patterson Barnett Passed on to me Of Morgan County Alabama.

My mother was born in Lacy Springs. Alabama in 1904 to Mr. & Mrs. J.H. Patterson, whom were cotton mill workers when they first met. Later as the family grew my grand-mother Minnie and grand-father became farmers of the land in Lacy Springs. Grand-mother Minnie named most of the children from the bible. The oldest girl was named Lucile. Mom was named Lois (next to the oldest). This was about l9l5 when Grand-father Henry was farming and my mother and grand-mother liked to tell the story of the favorite mule that somehow fell or jumped off of a ferry boat in the Tenneesee river, and how Grand-father like to have not been able to get the mule to shore that day. There was also a very mean man living about a mile or so from one of the places they lived at in Morgan County, who killed his entire family one night and burned the house down. My mother often spoke of a place in Lacy Springs or Valhermosa Springs where after heavy rain silver and gold coins washed up out of the sand. This was one of the faviorite places to go for children when she was a child to find lost coins by a creek.

When my grand-mother was a young married lady and later on, she often went to sit with married ladies in Morgan County, Alabama, who were going to give birth soon or right after the baby was born, my Grand-mother Minnie Lenox Patterson would go sit with them, as most wives in those days, had their babies at home. Grand-mother used to tell me about the mid-wives of those days going to deliver a baby. Grand-mother said not many doctors were around when she was a young wife and a mid-wife came to deliver her babies. Grand-mother had seven children. Three boys and four girls. (Over the years.) They were born in Morgan County,Alabama. Everything was different in those days when most people raised just about everything they used on their farms from chickens, ducks, pigs, hogs, cows and various other animals on the farm. Grand-mother and other ladies quilted, canned, made their own clothing as well as the children's clothing and some of the head of the house'es clothing also. Grand-mother and her neighbors all pitched in to-geather at hog killing time, also in times of stress and trouble they always depended on church and the worship of God. These ladies in grand-mother's day in Morgan County, Alabama made their own feather beds from goose down or chicken feathers and what ever else was clean and available to stuff the ticking for a mattress and pillows. All the children had their own chores to do from the smallest one on up to the older children. Girls learned to cook early, by watching Grand-mother cook. Boys learned about the work on the farm while they were still young. Grand-mother always seemed to have a supply of ghost stories or a true event she would recall from her growing up days and sitting with sick people in Morgan County Alabama. One of the stories was about a lady whom had a little baby, and one year when she was sleeping with the infant beside of her, the lady felt something cold creeping up her leg. It turned out to be a large snake that smelled or sensed the tiny baby nursing in the bed. Of course the ladies' es husband came running and killed the snake. Grand-mother's dad was John Lenox. Her mom was Lucinda Givens Lenox. The two of them had four girls and two boys. Grand-mother met my Grand-father in one of the cotton mills in Alabama where they both worked. In later years my Grand-father and Grand-mother moved to Memphis,Tenneesee. They are both buried in a church yard, near Lucy, Tenneesee.