Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The homestead...

In March 1862, Tandy and Narcissa and their growing family of five children moved to a farm Southeast of the White Hall School. The farm was on the Jerico Road which is now called Hwy 97 and was known as the "old Francis Farm." Here the men farmed and worked in the timber. By this time several of the Pike and Amos' family had left North Mo moving to Cedar County where some spent the remainder of their life while some in later years returned back to North Mo.

Another daughter Christine Narcissia was born in 1864 and my father Franklin Johnson (Johnce) Pike was born on April 11, 1867. At this time in history we find my Grandparents raising their 7 children living on a small farm in rural Cedar County.

In 1869 when my father Johnce was two years old Tandy traded a team of oxen (named Old Buck and Ball) for 40 acres of land. This land was one and one/fourth miles West from where the family was living. On this land was a large one room log house. It had a large attic where the boys slept. It also had a large fireplace and a lean-to kitchen.

This land had been homesteaded and was what was called raw with no fencing. So the first thing Tandy did he and his two sons George and Robert split rails and fenced the farm and Tully Tandy set out an orchard of apples and peaches.

Grandfather Tandy traded another team of oxen (Old Jim and Sam) for another 40 acres about two miles south of their new home. This was also unfenced mostly in timber and it had a large one room house on it.

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