BERTHA’S STORY
Her father, Beverly Burton
Linhart, was born on March 3, 1875 I am not sure where he was
born.
Her mother, Hattie Bell
Issacs,was born on December 4, 1881 at Van Buren,
Arkansas,
To Edward Issacs and
Henrietta Qualls.
Hattie and “Bev” were married when Granny was a very
young teenager because they had a
son born before Mama who’s name
was Charles, who died as an infant,( the name of our sister, CHARLENE ,was in
honor of her only full brother). Granny was just shy of 17 years old when Mama
was born.
Mama was born on November
3, 1898, near Ardmore , at Marietta, Indian Territory,
which is now Oklahoma.
Granny and Grandpa Linhart
had lived with her parents, the Issacs all of their married life because Granny
refused to leave her mother. The day that Mama (Bertha) was three days old,
Grandpa told Granny that he was
going away with a friend to look for work . He
Told her they were a family
now and they need to get out on their own. Granny cried and begged him not to
leave her now and that she needed her mother. But, he was determined to try to
find work and a home of there own, so when Mama was three days old he
put
three silver dollars under
her pillow and started to leave. Granny told him, “Bev, if you go away now,
don’t you ever come back.
Grandpa wrote to her and
sent money when he found a job, she refused to answer his letters and refused to
join him, finally he started getting his letters back, unopened , with
“Return to Sender” wrote on them.
After a while he decided they were dead or moved to parts unknown, but he never
quit loving his Hattie and Little Bertha.
Mama said she loved her
Grandma , Henrietta more than anyone in the world, and felt
more safe and comfortable with her than anyone. Her Grandma told her the
story of her
Daddy.
Sad to say Grandma Henrietta died when Mama was four years old and left
my Mama a very sad and forlorn little girl. She said she never felt safe
and loved again as a
child. And always longed
for the Daddy that she never knew.
Granny married
Benjamen Franklin Young who was much older than she was, he
had
3 sons by a previous
marriage, Bill, Sam, and Jim, Uncle Jim was about eight years
old
at the time and Mama was
only about 18 months old. Granny and Grandpa young had
2 sons, Bob and Oscar. Grandpa Young
farmed and raised race
horses . Mama talked about her favorite was a horse called MONKEY and she kept
on of his little horse shoes
hanging over the door for good luck as long as I can
remember.
After Mama married she
advertised in the “Kansas City
Star” newspaper to anyone who might know the “where-abouts” of
Beverly Burton Linhart, to please get in touch with her and gave her
address, before long someone did write to her or the newspaper and
gave an address where he might be reached.
She wrote to him and they corresponded
for
several years, she had just found out that she had a sister ( something she had
never had before) a little while before Sang was born, and that
her name was Gladys,
so her second daughter’s
name was GLADYS Louise.
Many years passed and Mama
and Daddy were “poor folks” with a large family.
Grandpa Linhart was also
“poor folks” with a large family so neither of them could make the trip to see
each other because Grandpa lived in Missouri and Mama lived in the south east
corner of Arkansas. Daddy and Mama finally were able to buy their own farm about
the year of 1945, and in 1948 Daddy told Mama if they made a good cucumber crop
that year he would take her to see her daddy. Mama said that she never prayed so
hard for a good cucumber crop in all her life. The Lord blessed them with a
really good crop that year and, Daddy, true to his word planned a trip to
Missouri. Mama was almost fifty years old when she finally got to see her real
father.
Such a gathering that was
too! I was there! We drove up to his house late at night, Grandpa came out on
the porch in his underwear. Daddy got out of the car and
asked,
“Can you tell me where Mr.
B.B. Linhart lives?” Grandpa said, “You have the right
place
and I’m Bev Linhart.” Daddy
said, “ I have a woman named Bertha out here that wants to see you.” Boy, that
old man jumped of that porch, and Mama went to fumbling with the car door, and
when they got together they were hugging and crying and laughing all at
once.
Grandpa got every one up, I
don’t know if anyone besides me slept that night or not.
But I know that Grandpa
sent word to all the friends and relatives, who could be
there,
To come to see his Bertha,
and the next night there was a party you wouldn’t believe.
All of her brothers that
were anywhere near came and brought their fiddles and
guitars.
And there was some big time
dancing going on. Right away I fell in love with Uncle
T.J.
because, he danced with me.
We met Uncle Son (Beverly Burton Jr.) and his wife Mary ,
and children, Uncle T.J.,
Uncle Paul, Aunt Gladys and Aunt Edna. Aunt Edna had twin
boys named Jackie and
Johnny, that was the first identical twins I had ever seen. Then there was
another “Granny”, a little round black eyed , black haired lady
we called
Ma,
but my Grandpa was the star
of the show to me , I never got to see him but twice in my life, the last time I
saw him, he asked me when was my birthday and I told him March
3rd.
He just started laughing
and hugging me and said that I was the only grandchild of his who had his
birthday, he gave me fifty cents, I wish I had never spent that half dollar, at
that time I was 11 years old.
In the summer of 1954 Mama
got a telegram that her daddy was dying, so she and Daddy
went
rushing to Missouri once more, I did not go that time, but she arrived
too late he
had passed away but she did
get to attend his funeral .
Beverly Burton Linhart left
a large family to cherish his memory including my Mama,
Four sons Ed Linhart,
Beverly Burton (Son) Linhart, Paul Linhart, and T.J.
Linhart.
Four daughters, Bertha Maud
Beatrice (my Mom) Celia _______, Gladys Harmon, and
Edna Powell. I think all of
his children had fairly large
families except Uncle T.J. and he never married. From the stories Uncle T. J.
Told me my Grandpa found another little
dark haired brown eyed
woman and loved her and she loved him and was good to him,
but he never stopped loving
his Hattie. Uncle T.J. said when he spoke of her, he
always
called her “MY HATTIE”
.
I could tell a few more
stories that Aunt Edna Powell told me about my Mama’s real
Dad , but maybe in another
story.