They were married by J.S. Ryland.

The Biography of Absalom Waller Wiglesworth

"Papa and Home"

Absalom Waller Wiglesworth was born Jan. 14, 1867, the second son of Bennett and Jane Wiglesworth. The Children were in this order: Johnny, Absalom, Onie, Ed, Willie, and Mattie. Johnny, the oldest son, and Willie, the youngest, must have died at a young age.

As anyone can note by the above date, Papa was born during the reconstruction days following the Civil War. In addition to that, his father had lost one of his legs as a result of an accident as a young man which made it difficult to support a family. Before the birth of his only
sister, his father was sold a plot of land in the state of Arkansas. He got a covered wagon, loaded into it, with the family, what personal goods they could take with them and with what money he had and two oxen pulling the wagon, they started the long journey to make his dream come true. We might call it the search for the "Pot of gold at the foot of the rainbow." They arrived at their destination, tired almost to the state of exhaustion, to find there was only one thing left to do - make the long tiresome journey back to the place from which they started. It was almost a miracle that they survived. This brings the family back to the neighborhood of his birth, in the area of Marye, Spotsylvania County, in the state of Virginia. Because of extremely hard times, and perhaps other family problems, it seems that the family had to split up, his mother and the children, with the exception of papa, went to live with her mother, and Grandpap, as we always called him, and papa went to live with Grandpap's brother Absalom for whom papa had been named. Soon after this, his sister Mattie was born and his mother died, leaving him a semi-orphan. Much of the above was supplied by my sister Thelma, since I didn't know of the trip to Arkansas.

Papa's mother died when he was eight years old. He spent all the rest of his young life, past his marriage at age twenty-eight, with his Uncle Absalom and Aunt Bela who also shared the home. I know little of these years of his life for I don't remember that he ever talked very much about them. He likely fished and hunted especially as in those days, as true later, that was a part of every boy's life. He did tell that he bought a gun, or more correctly traded for it a bull and several sheep. I don't remember the exact number of sheep. I have the gun in my possession now and no amount of money could buy it from me. He also told of a black horse named Prince. He must have been a beautiful animal and intelligent for he said that when the dinner bell rang for lunch and someone was working him in the field he would lower himself as close to the ground as possible for you to get on his back to ride to the house and if you failed to jump on his back with the first try you walked instead of riding.

Papa must have attended school, which was something not afforded every growing child of that day, as it is today, because he had sufficient training to serve him adequately through his life. He must have gone quite a distance in order to secure it since there doesn't seem to have been a public school in that immediate area until a later date.

He was married to Maggie May Jerrell Dec. 25, 1895 in the bride's home. They went to live with Papa's Uncle Ap. (This was the way he was generally referred to.) It seems that his Aunt must have died sometime before this and mama would become the woman of the house. Five of their fifteen children were born on this farm. Since all of their births are recorded elsewhere, I will not list them here.

Something like four years later, papa went into the sawmill business with N. L. Mills, a neighbor. The arrangement seems to have been that papa managed the mill operation and Mr. Mills managed the business which meant, among other things, the sale of sawed lumber. They bought plots of woods, moved the mill into it, cutting all trees of lumber size and hauling it to the railroad. It took a number of employees, as well as mules, for the operation of the mill and the hauling of the lumber to the railroad. There were nothing but dirt roads then, or mud, and they used four mules to each wagon and a driver. It took all day to make a trip. I think they had to have forty or fifty head to do the job. They were successful in the business in spite of two tragedies that occurred. They used a steam engine to run the saw and other moving parts and one day the engine blew up, killing one man and injuring others. Papa escaped injury of any consequence at this time but did get one of his legs broken at a later date. On another occasion, the temporary barn where the animals were kept, during the lunch hour caught fire and burned and some of the animals were lost as well as other property. We will want to remember these things happened when properties were not insured as they are today and losses were your losses. I don't care to mention the different versions as to the cause of above tragedies, but they do fall in the range of my memory, as well as the rest of what I shall write. After some years of the sawmill operation, the two parties decided to discontinue the partnership for reasons I do not know, so I don't care to include them. Mr. Mills offered to buy or sell so papa decided to sell. Papa ended up with a bank account that enabled him to start farming on his own which forms my next chapter of his life.

Papa acquired a tract of land joining the farm on which he had grown up. If there were any buildings on it they must have been of little worth as he had to have buildings built. Since he was still running the sawmill, lumber didn't cost him much, I would assume. He had a dwelling house built, a barn to house livestock used in business, a building we used to refer to as the shanty for hired help to sleep in who were mostly colored. When he began farming later other buildings were added as needed, I believe twelve in all, counting the cattle shed. There was little cleared land on the farm when he acquired it so with an increasing family he would have to clear more. For this he bought a stump puller, the only one I ever saw. With the use of a horse and some ingenuity some very large stumps could be pulled from the ground. He was a constant reader of the "Progressive Farmer" and seemed ready to adopt any advanced farm ideas. He, with his former partner, Mr. Mills, bought a gasoline engine and buzz saw to saw wood for fuel which was a real labor-saver. It was portable but later he bought Mr. Mill's half and installed it permanently, adding a burr chop mill to grind grain for cattle. Ground feed for the neighbors as well. He bought the first wheat binder in the community and in addition to harvesting his own crops it was used to harvest crops in the
neighborhood. All in all, he built up the farm to the point of being equal, or in many cases superior, to any in the community. One of the things that added as much or more to our enjoyment than anything else was; he dammed up a stream and made a small lake or, as we called it, the ice pond. He dug a large hole in the ground, put a roof over it and when the ice got thick enough on the pond we would have enough of it to fill up the large hole, cover the ice with leaves and saw dust and generally it would last most of the summer to keep ice in the refrigerator and make a freezer of ice cream on sundays or other important occasions.

Papa took a keen interest in community affairs and betterment. Our parents, with a few others, established the first public school in the community. The first one that I remember was in the summer kitchen at grandpap's store where I started to school. Later a one room school was built close by on land donated by Mr. Hough Hockaday. Later still, it was decided to make it into a two room school so to do this it was decided to move the one room some distance. I remember helping with it as papa, Berkley, and I took the stump puller there and with the help of some others, (I don't remember who they were) moved it. Later, after I had left home, it was made still larger and into a High School. I wouldn't care to leave the impression that our parents did it all but I am sure they did their part and perhaps more. It is no longer used as a public school as there, as elsewhere, the educational process has undergone great changes. Pupils are bussed to other schools.

He also took a very keen interest in politics, both local and national, and on one occasion was a candidate for a local office. His brother-in-law, Jimmy Turnley, became a candidate for County Treasurer. (Thelma says Sheriff, but I feel it was the other office.) He asked papa to run as his deputy which he did. Their opposing candidates were Wallace Massey and N. L. Mills. Papa and Uncle Jimmy had a strike against them because they ran on the Republican ticket, the others on the Democratic. At that time to win the nomination of the Democratic Party almost assured being elected. Papa and Uncle Jimmy lost. How badly, I do not know. They say, "It isn't whether you win or lose that counts, but how you play the game," and knowing papa as I think I do, he played it fairly. He was a great admirer of Teddy Roosevelt and supported him every time he ran for office.

He joined the Patriotic Sons of America. I remember when two men were there to organize the local chapter. They stayed at our home while they as many others did when they needed a home away from home. He must have been a charter member and as far as I know he remained a member the rest of his life. It was a secret organization but we would hear of some of the stunts they would pull on the new members when they would be initiated into the lodge. It sounded like they really had a ball.

He and our mother were members of Bethany Baptist Church as far back as I can remember. When or under what circumstance he became a member there I have never known. As I knew the church there were times when support was good and times when it was pretty poor but good or bad they kept up their support in attendance and financially. He was elected to the office of deacon and since the practice there made it for life time duration he served the rest of his life.

He spent much time reading of a wide variety of literature as time and availability afforded which in turn made him a good conversationalist and when visitors were in the home I used to like to sit and listen to them talk. I wish I could have been endowed with such an attainment since I would rate myself low on it.

I left home just before New Years Day, Jan. 1, 1921 and went with brother Berkley to Akron, Ohio to start to make a life of my own. I was to be 21 my next birthday. There were younger brothers to replace me just as I had replaced, I hope, my older brother Berkley. I didn't realize at the time that papa's health was failing and he had only a few more years to live. Down by what we used to call the big spring there stood a very large white oak tree. I never measured its size, which I wish I had, but I believe it would have measured fifteen or twenty feet in circumference. It was the largest white oak I ever saw. It had stood there for centuries but one day a storm took it down and it was gone. On Sept. 1, 1925 our father was taken and he too would be gone. As his health failed so did the farm he had built. Today only the house stands of the buildings he built and practically all the fields he cleared are overgrown with trees again. In just six feet of that farm he lies resting, along with his father, our mother and three of his children awaiting the "Master's call." Borrowing some words from Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech: We would like to dedicate that ground but cannot dedicate it for they have already dedicated it with their good deeds of loving kindness and helpfulness.

In loving memory - submitted by his son.
William Wallace Wigglesworth - Feb. 15, 1973

Absalom Waller died of cancer.