Matthew & Amret (Bass) Girlinghouse Family ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Matthew ("Matt") Joshua Girlinghouse was the first child born to Christian Henry Girlinghouse and Joanna Croom. He was born on Wednesday, January 22, 1862 in Manifest, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. Christian died when Matt was only about five or six years old, leaving Matt and his brothers without a father. Joanna Girlinghouse raised her four boys at Manifest, Louisiana on the land that their father had inherited from his uncle, Christian Rosbeck. At the age of 22, on Thursday, February 7, 1884, Matthew J. Girlinghouse married his neighbor, fifteen year-old Amret Bass. Matt and Amret were married at her home. Amret Bass was born on January 14, 1866 at Jonesville, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. She was the eldest daughter of Esaw Bass and Margaret McCarthy. Amret was called "Ammie" by many of her relatives. Matt's difficult upbringing without a father probably played a large part in his psychological makeup, for as an adult Matthew was reported to have been a cruel, short tempered alcoholic with a chip on his shoulder. Matt was very headstrong and independent, as well as resourceful, having high ideals. One had to be careful around him not to say the wrong thing, as he was quick to snap back, taking offense. Like his mother, and for that matter many of the residents of rural Catahoula Parish were rough characters. Matt's father, like Amret's father, had fought in the Battle of Vicksburg during the Civil War. In fact, the company in which Christian Girlinghouse was inlisted and the company in which Esaw Bass was inlisted merged together into one company at that battle. Christian and Esaw met each other at the Battle of Vicksburg, not knowing, of course, that someday they would be in- laws. Christian apparently invited Esaw to move from Mississippi to Catahoula Parish, Louisiana after they finished their service in the war. It's a safe bet to say that had it not been for the Civil War, our branch of the Girlinghouse family wouldn't exist! On September 25, 1885, Carrie Ella Girlinghouse was born to Matt and Amret. She was their first child, born at their home in Manifest. Matt's mother, Joanna, who was a mid-wife, delivered Carrie, as well as most, if not all of the others that were to follow. Nearly two years later, on June 21, 1887, Matt and Amret's first son was born whom they named Judge Newman Girlinghouse. Then nearly two and one half years later, on November 30, 1889, Matthew Joshua Girlinghouse, Junior was born. They called him "Mattie." Matt and Amret's first house was on a slight hill in Manifest, not far from the cemetery in which Matt's father had been buried. On March 15, 1890, Matthew and two of his brothers, Newman and Christian, Jr., bought two tracts of land containing 160 acres and 80 acres from James M. Kirby, Sr. for $1000.00. The land was located just Southwest of Jonesville, Louisiana off of what is now Highway 84 (Section 7). Then four years later on October 11, 1895, Matthew, Newman and Christian sold both tracts of land to John A. Hudspeth for $700.00. Nearly two years after Mattie was born, almost like clockwork, Matt and Amret's fourth child, Mellisa ("Mallisie") Girlinghouse, was born. She was named after a Choctow Indian woman who was a friend of the family. Her name was originally spelled "Molisa." After Mellisa's birth, Amret contracted erysipelas, an acute, infectuous skin disease. The rapidly spreading red inflamation started in her feet, spread to her hips, and then jumped to her breasts. Amret's breasts had to be lanced, so she was unable to breast-feed Mellisa and the children that followed. Just thirteen months elapsed between Mellisa's birth and the birth of Matt and Amret's fifth child, Lizzie Girlinghouse, who was born on October 12, 1892. Nearly three years later, Amret gave birth to William Ezekiel Girlinghouse on August 12, 1895. He was called "Zeke" for short. Zeke was the only one of Matt and Amret's children who was not delivered by Matt's mother, as Joanna was sick at the time of Zeke's birth. About a year and a half later, on March 7, 1897, John Christopher Girlinghouse was born. In about 1898, they sold their first house and moved a short distance down and across the road. Their house was quite spacious, with a large porch all across the front of the house. The Girlinghouses also owned an upright piano, which they kept in the living room. Matt and Amret each had their own separate bedrooms on either end of their rectangular shaped house. Both of their end bedrooms had fireplaces in them. Later in her life, Mellisa joked about how her parents had somehow managed to rendezvous regularly in one of their two bedrooms, because they wound up with a houseful of children. Matt Girlinghouse and two of his brothers, Newman and Christian, worked together most of the time, cutting timber and making staves for barrels and kegs. Newman owned and operated the stave mill where they would make the staves which they joined together to make large kegs, mostly used for storing whiskey. This stave making business of theirs kept them away from home some of the time. Mellisa recalled that they chopped the trees down with axes rather than using a cross saw. Matt's sons helped in the timber business when they were old enough. While away from home, Matt kept in contact with Amret and his family by mail. Two hand- written letters have survived which give us clues to what it was like for Matt and his brothers while working out of town. In a letter dated November 18, 1893, Matt wrote, "We are having bad weather now for hauling. We have 2000 staves to haul out yet and when we get them hauled we will start for home. We have lost all our work and labor on that stave company. I went to Monroe but I could not find the devil; he scip out from Monroe the morning I got there. The staves was throwed in the yard and I could not swear to my staves. So I then waited for the evening train. Coming south there was a wreck above Monroe and I had to wait till 12 o'clock at night. Got to Alexandria 4 o'clock." Then in a letter dated December 5, 1893, Matt wrote: "We are try[ing] to get through this week and will start for home next week. We only have two men in camp now. I had a lawsuit and it was decided last Saturday and I won it and got damages from Mike Swanson so I will close. We can't possibly get home before the 18th or 20th; we will be there by that time." At home the Girlinghouse family also farmed their land. They grew cotton, sugar cane, corn, potatoes, peanuts, watermelons, etc. They raised cattle, and had as many as fifteen cows to milk every morning and evening. They also raised chickens, hogs and other livestock. The Girlinghouse family always had plenty to eat. They were somewhat self-sufficient, growing and raising all the food that they needed, as most people in rural areas did in those days. Matt made syrup from the sugar cane they grew, and Amret would often make syrup cake, which she would take out into the field for the children to eat during their break. The children worked in the field all morning, took a break around 10:00 or 11:00 when they would usually have some syrup cake and something to drink. Then at noon they would go in for lunch. They would take just enough time to eat their food and wash the dishes, and they would return to the field. The Girlinghouse children spent most of their time working in the field. Matt did most of the tilling, plowing, and planting while most of the children harvested. When the boys were old enough, they helped Matt with the plowing and planting. Mellisa recalled how the cotton bushes got so tall that the children could virtually hide in the cotton field. In the yard by their house was a well with a small rooftop over it, and a wheel on it with which to lower and raise the bucket. On the north side of the house they had three persimmon trees, and in back of the house, down a little walkway toward the marshy lowland, they had a little "refrigeration" house. A thick layer of sawdust, used as insulation, completely lined the inside walls and floor of this little building, which helped to maintain a fairly cool temperature inside. Upon opening the door, even in the hot summertime, a cool fog was visible inside. Their milk and other perishable foods were stored in there. Matt and his family shared this little sawdust house with William, Emma and Joanna Girlinghouse, who lived next door. The containers of milk that were kept in the refrigeration house were topped with large wooden lids. Amret also kept her butter churn in the little house. Nearby they had a smokehouse in which they would store their meats. When they would kill a calf to eat, they would pickle the meat that they wanted to store and they would hang it in the smokehouse. Saturdays were special because after a hard morning's work in the field, they would all take the afternoon off to go fishing in a nearby creek. The Girlinghouses loved to fish, and they enjoyed their frequent fish fries. Matt and Amret's eighth son, Rodney Girlinghouse, was born just over two years after John, on July 29, 1899. According to the 1900 Federal Census of Catahoula Parish, Amret had given birth to ten children, but only eight were living by 1900. This indicates that Amret had apparently given birth to two stillborn infants prior to the turn of the century, although this was not commonly known in the family. Two years after Rodney was born another son was born, and he was named Quitman Esau Girlinghouse, born on October 14, 1901. A little over two years later, on January 1, 1904, Matt and Amret's tenth child was born. He was named Tollie Girlinghouse. Fairly consistently, Amret gave birth to a baby about every two years. Having separate bedrooms did not slow them down in the least! Especially around the turn of the century, Matt was often away from home and ran around with a Choctow Indian friend of his. They went everywhere by horseback, and it was common in those days for men to carry a pistol. It is said that Matt and his friend had a secret whiskey still in the area. Matt would often come home drunk. Matt's children feared him, especially when he was drunk. He was a very strict man and had a terrible temper. Matt's children actually avoided him because on many occasions they would unsuspectingly become the victims on whom he would vent his rage. But if he called for one of them, they were quick to respond. Obviously he was a cruel tyrrant who demanded his way. He would often sit on the front porch of the house, twisting his handlebar mustache, reading and rereading a newspaper while the children were out in the field working. One day in about 1904, Matt's oldest son, Judge, who was seventeen years old, unintentional damaged a flower bush by their house, and Matt came unglued. Reacting like a madman, Matt began to beat Judge until he was bloody. Judge had worked side by side with his father for several years, plowing the fields and making barrel staves, trying to do his best, but Matt apparently could not be pleased. This time Judge had finally had enough and decided to leave home. He did not really have anywhere to go, but he knew he had to leave. He first went to his uncle Newman Girlinghouse's place at Sandy Lake to seek refuge. Newman told him that he would not be able to stay there because Matt would surely come after him. Judge still insisted on leaving home, stating that if he returned home, Matt would kill him, or he himself would wind up killing Matt. So Judge went out into the work world to make it on his own. In the early 1900's there were many Choctow Native Americans living in Catahoula Parish. The Girlinghouse children were afraid of them because they had been told that Indians would chase them, catch them and bite their fingers off. Children will believe almost whatever they are told, so when they saw an Indian, they would run and hide! Although the Girlinghouse children generally had a difficult upbringing, they did have times of having fun together. One of Mellisa's granddaughters recalled her telling of an occasion when the Girlinghouses bought some fireworks. After lighting a few roman candles and watching them shoot into the sky, something got into them and they began to chase each other around the yard, firing roman candles at each other! Occationally, Matt and his family would take a trip to visit Amret's parents, Esaw and Margaret Bass, who lived near Jonesville. It was about a 15 to 20 mile ride which they travelled by ox cart. It took several hours to get there, and they had to cross a river on the way. Esaw and Margaret Bass had raised a houseful of children themselves, but by this time most of their children were grown and had families of their own. In April of 1903, Carrie Girlinghouse married John Brannon at Matt and Amret's home, out in the yard. John and Carrie started their home in the town of Jena. In about 1905, Matt and Amret sold their property in Manifest and the Girlinghouse family moved to Eden, Louisiana (now known as Belah), about 20 miles away, but they didn't stay there long. It was there, on March 15, 1906, that Matt and Amret's eleventh child was born. She was named Emma Katy Girlinghouse, and she went by the name "Katy." Mellisa recalled the day that Katy was born. Apparently, Amret was down by a small creek on their property and she was crying. Mellisa and the others were out in the field working, and Mellisa spotted her mother. Mellisa told her brothers and sisters that there was something wrong with their mother. She had never seen her cry before. They did not realize that their mother was about to have a baby. Amret was always such a large woman, that it was not obvious to them that she was nine months pregnant. As Mellisa later put it, "If you heared it, you overheard it," refering to finding out about a pregnancy. So, Mellisa went to see what was wrong with her mother, and Amret began to explain to her what to do. Matt was gone, as usual. Joanna Girlinghouse was there and she took charge, instructing the girls in what to do, getting ready for the birth. Before too long the baby was born. Mellisa attended to the needs of her mother, helping in whatever way she could. She recalled her grandmother Joanna explaining to her to keep the slop jar hidden when she would empty it so that the children would not see it. Like most women in that time period, Amret would stay in bed for nine days after the baby was born. The older girls did all of the housework then, and took care of their mother while she was bedridden. In 1907, the Girlinghouse family moved a few miles away to Nebo, Louisiana, in the newly formed adjacent Parish of La Salle. That year three of the oldest Girlinghouse children married and moved away from home, leaving seven children in the Girlinghouse household. Judge married Pinkie Francis in February, Mattie married Mary Gallup in July, and Mellisa married Leonard Frazier in September. On October 22, 1908, Archie Brannon Girlinghouse was born to Matt and Amret. He was named after John Brannon's brother, Archie. Then almost three years later, on August 21, 1911, their thirteenth and last child was born. He was named Guvie Emmitt Girlinghouse. The Girlinghouse children had just enough education to be able to read and write. Mellisa, for instance, only had a third grade education. There was too much work to be done in the fields and there were so many children to help tend to, that education was a luxury. While living in Nebo, Matt Girlinghouse owned and operated a general store, where he sold various items, tools, medicines, foods, etc. He had a leger book in which he kept all the bookkeeping records for the store, as well as the charge accounts of different people in the community. Rodney's grown children recalled having read through the leger book when they were children, noticing the inventory of goods that Matt kept in his store. In June of 1910, Mellisa's husband, a lumberjack, was killed by a falling tree in Poluck, Louisiana where they were living. Mellisa, pregnant with their second child, moved to Jena and lived with John & Carrie Brannon. In about 1911, they all moved to Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, where John Brannon had been raised. John, Carrie, their children, Mellisa and her children all lived near Choupique Bayou. The next year, Mellisa met and married Lazime Daigle, a south Louisiana Cajun. Matt and Amret's marriage was not a good one, but they somehow stuck with it. They were both tough, rugged and strong-willed people. As an adult, Amret was a large, heavy set woman, much like her own mother, Margaret (McCarthy) Bass. Amret was nearly six feet tall, and had long dark hair which she usually pinned up or tied in the back. She had a mean disposition, as had many other members of the Bass family. Amret was a very serious person, in contrast to her daughter, Mellisa, who loved to laugh, have fun and tell jokes. Amret could not tolerate too much of that kind of spirit. When Matt was about 51 years old he began having problems with his equilibrium and was losing his balance a lot. Of course, being an alcoholic, his inebriation may have been the principal cause. One day Matt fell and broke his leg. For some reason, Amret refused to let a doctor set Matt's broken leg. Mellisa had a hunch that Amret now had him at home where he belonged, and he would no longer be able to go get drunk. Matt got weaker and weaker and it was not long before he died. He died at his home in Nebo, Louisiana at the age of 51 on February 13, 1913, and was buried at the Girlinghouse Family Cemetery in Manifest. His mother had preceeded him in death the previous year. Amret Girlinghouse was left to raise the rest of the children that still lived at home. Amret had been through a lot with Matt. They had a rough life together. After Matt's death, Amret and her younger children lived with Rodney and his family in Nebo. World War I began in 1914. Mattie, Zeke and Johnny Girlinghouse enlisted in the Army. The brothers trained at Camp Beauregard in Alexandria, Louisiana. In a postcard written to his mother on September 25, 1918, Zeke wrote: "[I'm] leaving Camp Beauregard today and I am going [to] New Orleans, La. and will drop you a letter just as soon as I arrive." Apparently Zeke, and presumably Mattie and Johnny, set sail to Germany from New Orleans and fought in the war there until the end. Mattie, however, did not return alive, for he was killed near the end of the war. He was apparently buried in Germany and his body was later returned to Manifest for permanent burial. After the war, Zeke returned to Nebo, and in March of 1920 he married Mattie's widow, Naomi (Kees) Girlinghouse. In December of 1917, just prior to enlisting in the Army, Johnny had married Naomi's sister, Blanche Kees, whom he returned to after the war had ended. The Girlinghouse family attended Nebo Baptist Church. They were what is commonly known as "Primitive" or "Hardshell Baptists." Over the years, several of the Girlinghouses were baptized in a nearby creek, ironically called Devil's Creek. In about 1926, Nebo Baptist Church was having a fund raiser in order to build an addition to their little church house. Amret, along with several other ladies of the church, volunteered to give their time to piece together some quilts which they later raffled off. Amret would go to the church in the morning, taking a sack lunch with her for lunch, and would spend much of the day piecing together the quilts. They charged ten cents to have people's names embroidered on each square. When the quilts were completed, they had a big raffle day. A large raffle wheel was constructed and the donors' names were written in sections around the wheel. Rodney Girlinghouse had the honor of shooting the spinning raffle wheel with his gun, and whichever name was hit by the bullet determined who the winners were. Among other animals on their farm at Nebo, the Girlinghouses had pigs. One day one of their sows had some baby pigs, and before the Girlinghouse's realized it, the sow had eaten her little ones. Amret was furious when she found out about it! She told her grandchildren to stay inside, and she marched outside to the pig pin. She grabbed a fense post, and proceeded to literally beat the sow to death! The children watched from inside the house. Amret's granddaughter, Elsie Girlinghouse, recalled the unforgettable sight of her grandmother swinging the fense post, as her long dress swished back and forth with every blow! Undoubtedly, they had ham on their table shortly thereafter. One day, Amret was out in the chicken coop, collecting eggs from the nests. She came upon one particular laying hen, and slipped her hand under it to check for eggs. Suddenly, she jerked her hand back, realizing that the chicken was sitting on a coiled up snake. Her heart beating ninety-to-nothing, Amret stood back as the snake quickly slithered away. Somewhat stunned, Amret looked at the hen for a moment and then reacted in anger. She grabbed the hen, and immediately wrang it's neck! "If that chicken is stupid enough to sit on a snake," Amret said, "it doesn't deserve to live!" Amret was sometimes a rather mean woman, and when she would become impatient with her youngest son Guvie, she would tend to go a bit too far. Once, when Guvie was a young boy, Amret threatened to kill him for misbehaving. Amret tricked him, telling him that she was going to hang him and slit his throat, and she began making a noose with some cord string. She tied the string around his neck and tossed it over a rafter as if she was going to raise him off the floor to hang him, and she held a Case knife in her hand. This obviously got Guvie's attention. He was terrified and began to beg her not to kill him. He, of course, did not realize that a noose made of string could never hold him, but he was afraid nonetheless. Amret agreed not to hang him if he would behave himself. Amret was a strict disciplinarian, and wouldn't put up with her children's misbehavior or foolishness. She used anything she could get her hands on --a board, a shingle, a stick, or any other object within reaching distance that would do the trick -- to whip her misbehaving children. One day her son Johnny did something that apparently merited a whipping, and Amret promised him one. He told his brother Rodney that he was going to shorten his whipping by faking his own death after a couple of blows. Rodney spoiled it for him though, and told Amret about John's plan. This knowledge made Amret even more angry, and when John fell down as dead, she just kept hitting him with the board, until John quickly realized that his trick wasn't working, prompting him to attempt an escape! At times, Amret was mistreaded by her youngest son, Guvie. It is reported that he would sometimes get mad at her and beat her, threatening to kill her. Amret was often afraid to be alone for fear that he would show up and kill her. On a few ocassions she would go outside to the garden which was between her place and Rodney's place, and holler for Elsie (Rodney's oldest daughter) to come spend the night with her, as she was afraid that he would return to kill her. One time Guvie even beat up Amret's favorite white horse to spite her. When Rodney heard about him beating up Amret and the horse, he decided to take matters into his own hands and discipline Guvie, so he got a board and beat him with it. Amret knew that Guvie would try to kill Rodney, so she and Bertha (Rodney's wife) hid the gun under the bed mattress. Before long, Guvie stormed into the house, cursing and full of hatred, searching for the gun. When he couldn't find it, he realized that they had hidden the gun from him, so he left in a fury. Perhaps the Biblical admonition to parents not to provoke their children to wrath may have been one of Amret's shortcomings, as Guvie's behavior toward his mother may have been a reaction to her provocations. In January of 1933, Amret became very ill with Influenza. Rodney and Bertha Girlinghouse took care of her, but she worsened by the day, and then on January 22, 1933, Amret Girlinghouse died at the age of 67. Amret died on the very day on which her late husband would have turned 71 years of age. Most of the children, who were grown up by then, returned to Nebo for the funeral. Mellisa helped to dress her deceased mother for the funeral and noticed that there was a large black spot on her back. At the time, she assumed that it was a cancer of some sort, although it was never confirmed. It was probably a large mole. Some of her decendants have had similar moles, including Mellisa in her old age, and it has since been recognized as a hereditary condition. Amret's body was buried next to Matt's, at the Girlinghouse Family Cemetery in Manifest, Louisiana, the day after her death, January 23, 1933. A yearly family reunion began and continued in the years following Amret's death. They had a yearly fish-fry in Nebo near a creek, where the children could swim and have fun together. During the 1960s the reunion dissolved, but in 1987 it was started up again, this time at the Parish Barn in Jena, Louisiana, on the last Sunday of each October. Most recently it has been held at the VFW building by the Townsman Inn. This text was taken with permission from Mr. Heddins's web site, http://heddins.com Compiled and written by Roland J. Heddins, copyright 2001. Much of the information in this biography was obtained from his grandmother, Mellisa (Girlinghouse) Broussard, and other Girlinghouse relatives including Judge N. Girlinghouse, Bertha (Barron) Girlinghouse, Elsie (Girlinghouse) Young, etc. As further details come to light, this biography will be updated and expanded. If you have any details to add or correct, please email Roland at rjheddins@mail.com. No part of this biography may be published (in print or on the internet) without permission. Thank you.