At 97, last known Civil War widow is living link to history

Associated Press ^ | 4/12/03 | PHILLIP RAWLS

[Jaysun]

That should make her about negative 43 years old when she married.

HAHA!!
From the article:
"William Jasper Martin was nearly 82 and she was barely 21."

[Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh]

Alone and living with her father, she began to notice "the old man" who walked by her house on his way to play dominoes with friends. William Jasper Martin was nearly 82 and she was barely 21. Their courting consisted of a few conversations. "He asked my daddy if he could let him have me. My daddy told him that he didn't care if I didn't," she recalled.

creepy

[Axenolith]

Damn straight, and they are a precious investment. A lot of people, especially the youngest, don't like to listen to them go on about stuff but I for one can listen all day to an old timer telling it how it was. It's gold mine to find a guy who sailed old battle wagons, or worked on some of the epic structures of the country, or heard Flak patter off the sides of a piston engined bomber over occupied Europe.

One day they won't be there and before we know it, we'll have lost something irretrievable if we never listened...

[Jaysun]

creepy

You aren't kidding! Creepy as it may be, I may feel differntly should I ever find myself to be an 82 year old man who frequently walks past some 21 year old vixen's porch. :o)

[Van Jenerette]

Deo Vindice!

[Thinkin' Gal]

Two months later, his widow married his grandson by a previous marriage.

The marriage of Alberta and Charlie Martin caused the gossip to fly. They got kicked out of their church. People gave them funny looks.

Well no wonder. He married his grandma.

[ThanhPhero]

I used to know an ancient lady in St. Petersburg who talked about crossing Canada in a covered wagon wwhen she was a little girl.

[Jaysun]

Deo Vindice!

God Will Prove Us Right!

[The Mayor]

Wow!

[xJones]

Get with the program, won't yuu? She later married her STEP-grandson, so that makes it all better.

There's one point I'm wondering about, though:

Their wedding night was spent in her half-brother's crowded house with lots of other family. "When we went to bed, we had the baby in between us and he went to crying," she said.

Who was crying, the baby or the ancient husband?

[Kozak]

Gee. I wouldn't think 50 bucks a month in Confederate money would go very far after Richmond fell... (:D

[Lucy Lake]

Thanks for the offer; the letters were vetted by the man who found the knapsack, who coincidentally was a history professor at a large college.

A story based on the letters was written, (not by the Professor) and in the process, angered our family, as lots of embellishment/lies were added to make the story more interesting.

The letters are preserved but not available online.

[Just mythoughts]

I don't have a clue what you are talking about.

I didn't say anything about Confederate money of any amount.

[Old Professer]

I read somewhere once that the Frenchwoman of whom you speak owned a house coveted by a local man who made a contract with her when she was in late years thinking she would soon die and he could then move in and own the desired house; if I remember correctly she was to live there rent-free until her death when the property would pass to him.

It seems she outlived him and there was a court battle over who was to get the property.

[Kozak]

I the subject of the article was the widow of a CONFEDERATE soldier. "Yes, former Confederate soldier William Jasper Martin was old, but his $50-a.m.onth pension as a Civil War veteran . Get it? It's my feeble attempt at humor.

[Just mythoughts]

Ok now I do, sorry.

[BradyLS]

A couple of years ago I asked my 96 year old uncle what he thought was the most important invention or advancement during his lifetime. He thought for a minute and said, "Good roads."

The Romans knew a good road when they made one. A few were still in use in Europe at the start of THIS century! But when you compare the roads of 1904 against the roads 2004 and the commerce it carries, it's not a bad choice to credit good roads for something!

[AuH2ORepublican]

"Gee. I wouldn't think 50 bucks a month in Confederate money would go very far after Richmond fell... (:D"

---

ROTFL!

[LowOiL]

That should make her about negative 43 years old when she married.

Time to start back your one tagline of "proudly posting without reading the article since 98".

Smile

LowOiL

[LowOiL]

Make that 99 not 98.