Historical Sketches of Dickson Co, Tennessee, Jill Knight Garrett
Dickson County Herald 27 May 1938
"...I was born on April 7, 1858, on the very farm where we are living now, the daughter of Lewis and Annie Tidwell Richardson, both Dickson countians. I had three sisters and one brother. Two of my sisters, Mrs. Lucinda Thompson, of near Fort Smith, Ark., and Mrs. Jane Brown, who lives just across the creek from me, and myself are the only ones living.
My husband was born on February 24, 1856, on a farm in Rutherford county, the son of Presley Ward and Mary Fitchu Oliphant, both of Tennessee. He had seven brothers, five sisters, and three half-sisters. A brother four years younger than he is, Silas Oliphant of Burns, is still living. When Ben was fourteen years old, his family moved to another farm in Williamson county.
He was living and working on the farm in Williamson county when we met each other. I think the first time I ever saw him was at Old Turnbull Church on the second Sunday in May. I could think back and remember exactly, but I have had so many ups and downs since then. We didn't court long, about two years, and were married by a Methodist preacher, Parson White. We were married sixty-one years ago on the 16th of February.
After our marriage we lived on this farm. We had twelve children, the first on dying in infancy. Wesley, a twin to Presley, died when the flu was so bad here, and Turner was working on an L&N bridge and got knocked off and killed. Our other children are Tommy Oliphant, Nashville; Ernest, Dickson; Presley, Burns; Alfred, Nashville; Herschel, Burns; Mrs. Era Chandler, Mrs. Thurman Brown, Mrs. W. O. Brown, and Mrs. Wallace Baker, all of Nashville. There are thirty-four grand-children and five great grandchildren in the family.
We can remember the Civil War, I recall when the Yankees were foraging everybody's places and took all they had. Ben can even remember when they were getting up volunteers when the war broke out.
Neither of us went to school very much. There was only about three months of school each year then and during the war there was hardly any.
We both belong to the Church of Christ. I obeyed the gospel a year after my husband did. I reckon he has belonged to the church for forty-four years and I for forty-three.
We have never taken any long trips-not any further than to Nashville, where we have spent the past three winters. Last winter we had rooms at Tommy's house. We had a heap rather live in the country, but are willing to do what's right about it. They can all see how to look after us better during the winter-time if we're up there.
We are about "tucked out" of late, but have been tolerable stout to wait on ourselves this long. We lived pretty good until our house burned down and we lost everything. That was in 1926. We had a big two-story house. That's a pretty sad feeling you get when you see your house burning up. No one knows until it happens to them. I can tell you that, to see everything burn to ashes. It just broke us down and then I had a nervous breakdown, but we are still here and don't know for how long-you never can tell...
MARY RICHARDSON OLIPHANT
BENJAMIN MILERD OLIPHANT
Route 1, Burns, Tenn."
Dickson County Herald - 7 July 1939
"...I was born June 30, 1859, in Rutherford county at a place call La Verne about fifteen miles south of Nashville, which makes me eighty years old my last birthday. I am a son of Presley Ward Oliphant, whose father came from Scotland and settled in Rutherford county when my father was about two years old. My mother was before her marriage to my father, Mary Fitzhugh, who was born in Davidson county on the Nolensville Pike. My father was a carpenter by trade, but later took up farming as his occupation.
I don't remember but very little about the beginning of the Civil War, except the last two years. My father was too old for service in the War. He was gray as far back as I can remember. About that time I remember seeing the Yankees having six wagons in our field gathering our corn. Three years after the War we moved to the First District in Williamson county.
In regard to my father's family, there were 13 children born, seven boys and six girls. All lived to be grown except the youngest boy, who died at fourteen years of age. There were six boys and three girls older than myself. I have outlived all of then except my brother B.M. Oliphant who has lived on Beaverdam Creek about sixty-two years. He and also his wife are members of the Over-eighty Club.
From the time I was nine years old to fifteen years I got what little schooling I have, which is very limited. At about that time, I bagan to have, as I thought the best time of my life. I would ride as far as anyone to a night dance. Would dance and court all night and work all next day. It was very common for a boy of this age to love the last girl he is with the best, until he meets the right one, which, on the Christmas following, 1877, I met the right one on the ballroom floor where the Rev. J. O. Reavis now lives, which was known as the "Mason Hall." On entering the Mason ballroom, Jim Hall came to me and I noticed Lundy White, a friend of mine, was dancing with a girl who attracted my attention, and I turned to Jim and asked him who Lundy was dancing with, and he said she was his sister-"hacked again." I asked Lundy to make me acquainted with Miss Hall, which he did, and I asked her to dance with me the next set, which was accepted. I was in her company all the time I could be from the time I met her in the latter part of 1877 until September 1878. We were at the Bill Austin old place sitting under the old weeping willow, and there it was I asked her to be my wife. She asked for time to make me an answer as she was very young. Her father took sick and died before I saw her again. We were together often during the fall and winter of 1879, so in April of that year at her home I asked her what she thought about the question I asked her under the willow tree. She told me she hadn't thought anything about it but at this time we became engaged and were married October 16th of that year.
We began keeping house the following Christmas at the Ben Hall place, one and a half miles north of Burns. We were the parents of six children. Two died in infancy and the other four include: Leonard Oliphant, of Marietta, Ga.; Maggie Walp, deceased, of Burns; Rose Dunn of Burns, and Beulah Jones, deceased, of Burns. Eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren are living.
We moved withour family to Burns in February 1896 and were united with the old Baptist Church at Burns the Fourth Sunday in August 1903. On Saturday before the fourth Sunday in May 1904, we were ordained to the office of Deacon. My wife served as Deacon's Wife 32 years, she having much better qualifications than I had. The good Lord saw fit to call her home June 5, 1936, making our wedded life sixty years...
SILAS OLIPHANT
Burns, Tenn."
© 2005 John Scott , 305 Murphy Court , Macon , GA 31216 , jsscott@tennesseeheritage.com. Permission is granted to copy portions of this document for personal use only. May not be published in paper form, electronically, or by any other means without permission.