This article appeared in an unknown paper around 1950, when Martha Baxter McIver was 103 years old. "Martha Elizabeth Baxter was born around Tompkinsville, KY, on April 1, 1846. The family lived very near the Cumberland Gap. Here they watched their neighbors who had lived in peace don the blue and the gray and become bitter enemies. Most of the country around them became Southern in its sympathies, and Martha watched her brothers sneak out to join the Union Army. After the boys left, the family was watched constantly by the Southerners, who were trying to capture the boys. The stock was mostly stolen and the big, efficient farm became little more than a shelter. Mrs. McIver laughed when she told that they had some fifty geese when the war started and when it was over they had saved only five. Their terror was complete when the guerillas captured her father and took him off to kill him. The next day they brought him back weak and sore from a grueling ride. He lay on the floor where they left him until he was strong enough to be moved. One night a group came and made her mother cook all night long. While they ate, they pastured their horses in the Baxter garden. There was not much food and the family suffered much discomfort. After the war was over, Abe and Elwood came back. They had been "out" three years, and when they saw the state of affairs at home, they decided to leave. Rioting was at its peak. Neighbors and sometimes even families were still fighting. Guerillas were killing as many as during the war. The night before the family left, two Union men were killed in the woods near the Baxter home. Martha and her sisters, along with some other women, kept vigil at their bodies. The men were afraid because the guerillas were not far away and were watching the bodies. The little cemetery above the house was full of friends and relatives who had fallen. The family moved from the farm to Louisville in a wagon. They came through Tompkinsville, which had been burned the night before. The smoke and rubble were her last recollections of her childhood home. She never returned to the home they left. She was eighteen when they came to Indiana. At Louisville, they boarded the first train Martha had ever ridden. They came to Orleans and rode on the stage to French Lick. Relatives met them and took them to Newton Stewart where they stayed for a week while they looked for a home. She remembers the towns as being very small. The station at Orleans was very little and the town wasn't scattered out so much. The only thing that looks as it does now was the Paoli courthouse. The thing that was strongest to the Baxters was the peacefulness of the country. After the bitterness they had left, the friendly people were a welcome change. The home they found was in the Cane Creek Church vicinity south of French Lick. Here the family worked in the fashion of the pioneers. There were cabin raisings, peach and apple cuttings, and general harvesting of the crops. The church was log then, and many times the whole community met there. There were corn husking bees and if any neighbor was ill, the rest of the community harvested his crops. One of the most valuable crops was flax. This one crop meant most for the physical well-being of the family, and after food, came first. Mrs. McIver remembers with joy the pretty blue flowers of the flax. When it was ready, she helped pull the flax plants from the ground. The stems lay on the ground all winter until the pith was rotten. After the centers rotted, the flax was shocked and then they had a flax-pulling. The neighbors came and everyone hacked. The process was long and it took many hours to spin it into thread. After it was spun, it was spooled and warped, then woven. In the first year of their coming, Martha met Benjamin Franklin McIver, whom she married when she was nineteen. Her wedding present was enough thread to weave twenty-five yards of linen. In their first year together she wove the twenty-five yards of linen and made two sheets, two tablecloths, and four towels. There were countless tasks for the women in the pioneer home. They managed the house, which included making candles, preserving fruit, making bed clothes and clothing for the family, cooking, which was mostly done at the fireplace, and washing, usually done at the spring, far from the house. The woman of the house also milked the cow, tended to the pigs, and usually a large garden. Mrs. McIver made the jeans that the men wore and the linsey dresses worn by the girls. The blue pot which contained dye was often in use. The jeans were made of cotton chain with a wool filling. The last weaving Mrs. McIver did was a carpet which she did about fifty years ago. Mr. McIvers was never very strong and made a living driving ox teams. He hauled timber and anything else which brought them the small amount of money it took to live. There were seven children born to them - Willy, Marion, Kenneth, Silver, Dan, Lillian, and Charlie. There was a new baby often in the early homes, and Mrs. McIver has little tolerance for the new fangled ideas about birth. She proudly assets that she had a doctor only once at her childrens' births and then only because she couldn't find a woman to help her. She remembers two midwives in the district that were more in demand than a doctor. She herself delivered many babies. She helped deliver her own daughter-in-law, with whom she now resides. Thirty-six years ago, her grandson, Charlie McIver, couldn't get a doctor for his wife. It was the Fourth of July and the Paoli doctors were all away. She delivered her great grand-daughter. This was just after her sixty-seventh birthday. There are many things one thinks when talking to Grandma McIver. As she sits, spacing her words with the gentle creak of the rocker, there are many thoughts, but none of the present. A coy bob of the neat gray head and a little laugh takes you far from the things of today. The car, the radio, the movies, and the atomic bomb are gone. Instead, there's a house and laughter and people - a people woven from the fabric of their own making - a homespun folk."
An obituary (newspaper and date unknown) found in the bible of Clarissa Gass Sparks, now owned by Richard Moore, reported "Orange County's oldest citizen Mrs. Martha McIver died Sunday morning at the age of 105 years and 11 months. A native of Tompkinsville, Ky., Mrs. McIver came to Orange County at the age of eighteen on Feb.1, 1865. Most of her life had been spent here and she had been the county's oldest person for seven years. Funeral services were conducted by elder S. R. Langford Tuesday afternoon from the Ellis Funeral Home. Burial was in Moore's Ridge Cemetery. Mrs. McIver was born April 1, 1846, the daughter of William and Priscilla Baxter. She was the last member of her family of eight brothers and sisters, one of whom reached an age in the late nineties. On October 15, 1865 she was married to Benjamin McIver. the marriage was performed by Rev. Chris Cox of French Lick, who also baptized Mrs. McIver. Mr. McIver died in 1900. The aged Lady had outlived five of her seven children. Surviving her are two sons, Silver, with whom she made her home at Orleans, and Charles of Indianapolis. Preceding her death were four sons and one daughter, Willy, Marion, Kenneth, Dan and Lillynn, who became Mrs. William Lashbrook. Grandchildren and great grandchildren also survive."
An obituary (newspaper and date unknown) found in the bible of Clarissa Gass Sparks, now owned by Richard Moore, reported "Orange County's oldest citizen Mrs. Martha McIver died Sunday morning at the age of 105 years and 11 months. A native of Tompkinsville, Ky., Mrs. McIver came to Orange County at the age of eighteen on Feb.1, 1865. Most of her life had been spent here and she had been the county's oldest person for seven years. Funeral services were conducted by elder S. R. Langford Tuesday afternoon from the Ellis Funeral Home. Burial was in Moore's Ridge Cemetery. Mrs. McIver was born April 1, 1846, the daughter of William and Priscilla Baxter. She was the last member of her family of eight brothers and sisters, one of whom reached an age in the late nineties. On October 15, 1865 she was married to Benjamin McIver. the marriage was performed by Rev. Chris Cox of French Lick, who also baptized Mrs. McIver. Mr. McIver died in 1900. The aged Lady had outlived five of her seven children. Surviving her are two sons, Silver, with whom she made her home at Orleans, and Charles of Indianapolis. Preceding her death were four sons and one daughter, Willy, Marion, Kenneth, Dan and Lillynn, who became Mrs. William Lashbrook. Grandchildren and great grandchildren also survive."
This article appeared in an unknown paper around 1950, when Martha Baxter McIver was 103 years old. "Martha Elizabeth Baxter was born around Tompkinsville, KY, on April 1, 1846. The family lived very near the Cumberland Gap. Here they watched their neighbors who had lived in peace don the blue and the gray and become bitter enemies. Most of the country around them became Southern in its sympathies, and Martha watched her brothers sneak out to join the Union Army. After the boys left, the family was watched constantly by the Southerners, who were trying to capture the boys. The stock was mostly stolen and the big, efficient farm became little more than a shelter. Mrs. McIver laughed when she told that they had some fifty geese when the war started and when it was over they had saved only five. Their terror was complete when the guerillas captured her father and took him off to kill him. The next day they brought him back weak and sore from a grueling ride. He lay on the floor where they left him until he was strong enough to be moved. One night a group came and made her mother cook all night long. While they ate, they pastured their horses in the Baxter garden. There was not much food and the family suffered much discomfort. After the war was over, Abe and Elwood came back. They had been "out" three years, and when they saw the state of affairs at home, they decided to leave. Rioting was at its peak. Neighbors and sometimes even families were still fighting. Guerillas were killing as many as during the war. The night before the family left, two Union men were killed in the woods near the Baxter home. Martha and her sisters, along with some other women, kept vigil at their bodies. The men were afraid because the guerillas were not far away and were watching the bodies. The little cemetery above the house was full of friends and relatives who had fallen. The family moved from the farm to Louisville in a wagon. They came through Tompkinsville, which had been burned the night before. The smoke and rubble were her last recollections of her childhood home. She never returned to the home they left. She was eighteen when they came to Indiana. At Louisville, they boarded the first train Martha had ever ridden. They came to Orleans and rode on the stage to French Lick. Relatives met them and took them to Newton Stewart where they stayed for a week while they looked for a home. She remembers the towns as being very small. The station at Orleans was very little and the town wasn't scattered out so much. The only thing that looks as it does now was the Paoli courthouse. The thing that was strongest to the Baxters was the peacefulness of the country. After the bitterness they had left, the friendly people were a welcome change. The home they found was in the Cane Creek Church vicinity south of French Lick. Here the family worked in the fashion of the pioneers. There were cabin raisings, peach and apple cuttings, and general harvesting of the crops. The church was log then, and many times the whole community met there. There were corn husking bees and if any neighbor was ill, the rest of the community harvested his crops. One of the most valuable crops was flax. This one crop meant most for the physical well-being of the family, and after food, came first. Mrs. McIver remembers with joy the pretty blue flowers of the flax. When it was ready, she helped pull the flax plants from the ground. The stems lay on the ground all winter until the pith was rotten. After the centers rotted, the flax was shocked and then they had a flax-pulling. The neighbors came and everyone hacked. The process was long and it took many hours to spin it into thread. After it was spun, it was spooled and warped, then woven. In the first year of their coming, Martha met Benjamin Franklin McIver, whom she married when she was nineteen. Her wedding present was enough thread to weave twenty-five yards of linen. In their first year together she wove the twenty-five yards of linen and made two sheets, two tablecloths, and four towels. There were countless tasks for the women in the pioneer home. They managed the house, which included making candles, preserving fruit, making bed clothes and clothing for the family, cooking, which was mostly done at the fireplace, and washing, usually done at the spring, far from the house. The woman of the house also milked the cow, tended to the pigs, and usually a large garden. Mrs. McIver made the jeans that the men wore and the linsey dresses worn by the girls. The blue pot which contained dye was often in use. The jeans were made of cotton chain with a wool filling. The last weaving Mrs. McIver did was a carpet which she did about fifty years ago. Mr. McIvers was never very strong and made a living driving ox teams. He hauled timber and anything else which brought them the small amount of money it took to live. There were seven children born to them - Willy, Marion, Kenneth, Silver, Dan, Lillian, and Charlie. There was a new baby often in the early homes, and Mrs. McIver has little tolerance for the new fangled ideas about birth. She proudly assets that she had a doctor only once at her childrens' births and then only because she couldn't find a woman to help her. She remembers two midwives in the district that were more in demand than a doctor. She herself delivered many babies. She helped deliver her own daughter-in-law, with whom she now resides. Thirty-six years ago, her grandson, Charlie McIver, couldn't get a doctor for his wife. It was the Fourth of July and the Paoli doctors were all away. She delivered her great grand-daughter. This was just after her sixty-seventh birthday. There are many things one thinks when talking to Grandma McIver. As she sits, spacing her words with the gentle creak of the rocker, there are many thoughts, but none of the present. A coy bob of the neat gray head and a little laugh takes you far from the things of today. The car, the radio, the movies, and the atomic bomb are gone. Instead, there's a house and laughter and people - a people woven from the fabric of their own making - a homespun folk."
An obituary (newspaper and date unknown) found in the bible of Clarissa Gass Sparks, now owned by Richard Moore, reported "Orange County's oldest citizen Mrs. Martha McIver died Sunday morning at the age of 105 years and 11 months. A native of Tompkinsville, Ky., Mrs. McIver came to Orange County at the age of eighteen on Feb.1, 1865. Most of her life had been spent here and she had been the county's oldest person for seven years. Funeral services were conducted by elder S. R. Langford Tuesday afternoon from the Ellis Funeral Home. Burial was in Moore's Ridge Cemetery. Mrs. McIver was born April 1, 1846, the daughter of William and Priscilla Baxter. She was the last member of her family of eight brothers and sisters, one of whom reached an age in the late nineties. On October 15, 1865 she was married to Benjamin McIver. the marriage was performed by Rev. Chris Cox of French Lick, who also baptized Mrs. McIver. Mr. McIver died in 1900. The aged Lady had outlived five of her seven children. Surviving her are two sons, Silver, with whom she made her home at Orleans, and Charles of Indianapolis. Preceding her death were four sons and one daughter, Willy, Marion, Kenneth, Dan and Lillynn, who became Mrs. William Lashbrook. Grandchildren and great grandchildren also survive."
An obituary (newspaper and date unknown) found in the bible of Clarissa Gass Sparks, now owned by Richard Moore, reported "Orange County's oldest citizen Mrs. Martha McIver died Sunday morning at the age of 105 years and 11 months. A native of Tompkinsville, Ky., Mrs. McIver came to Orange County at the age of eighteen on Feb.1, 1865. Most of her life had been spent here and she had been the county's oldest person for seven years. Funeral services were conducted by elder S. R. Langford Tuesday afternoon from the Ellis Funeral Home. Burial was in Moore's Ridge Cemetery. Mrs. McIver was born April 1, 1846, the daughter of William and Priscilla Baxter. She was the last member of her family of eight brothers and sisters, one of whom reached an age in the late nineties. On October 15, 1865 she was married to Benjamin McIver. the marriage was performed by Rev. Chris Cox of French Lick, who also baptized Mrs. McIver. Mr. McIver died in 1900. The aged Lady had outlived five of her seven children. Surviving her are two sons, Silver, with whom she made her home at Orleans, and Charles of Indianapolis. Preceding her death were four sons and one daughter, Willy, Marion, Kenneth, Dan and Lillynn, who became Mrs. William Lashbrook. Grandchildren and great grandchildren also survive."
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