Interview One

The Abernathy lineage that begins in Virginia and continues in Arkansas was related to Dr. Thomas in March, 2006, by Ms. Pat Abernathy at her Texarkana home in the presence and at the invitation of her son, Richard (Ric) Abernathy.

1890s-1990s 

As our Pat recalls it, the Abernathy family story begins with the Ralphs, Pat's grandfather, George Bonnell Ralph and his wife, Ora Bonnell (nee Walker)q otherwise known as Maw-maw, a woman of short stature at 4-feet tall, and a force to reckon with at 4-foot 'round. Now, the Ralphs came to Texarkana, Arkansas, on or about 1898 from Missouri by way of a covered wagon with George's brother Will and sister Mary.

They trekked over 400 hundred miles of dirt roads and open counry from the site of George and Ora's wedding along the banks of the Osage River in order to pursue opportunties in Texarkana, an original American railroad town on the edge of the West. A newspaper of the day recorded their arrival.* And, later, our Pat wrote an article about her grandmother living along the banks of the Osage.**

Then, to settle in, they opened Ralph Brothers, a laundry service. <<<DETAILS FROM Dr. ROWE's ARTICLE>>> George operated the laundry proper; Will and Mary ran the front sales and delivery office.

<Will's hopusing> <Mary lived in a house along Ninth Street near the present-day KFC>. Will's story is largely unknown. Aunt Mary's story*** is one of deliverance and legacy - liberation from a life of solitude and mental distrubances; and, a legacy to our Pat by way of leaving all her possessions, upon her death, to Ora and George, who later bequeath everything to Pat.

The Ralphs lived on farmland just outside of town for a while. There, in 1900, a daughter, Bonnell Ralph was born. The family moved into a rented corner house at 12th Street and Locust in ..., a parcel then located on the outskirts of an emerging city. Miss Bonnell, at age 6, was said to have seen her first aeroplane from a corner of that house. In 19..., the Ralphs purchased 918 Grand, a parcel at the northeast slope of what is today known as Quality Hill. Miss Bonnell married Ralph Ray, a railroad employee, in the living room at 918 Grand and settled into married life on the right half of the lodge-like structure soon thereafter.

After being born at..., our Pat lived all her maiden days on those Grand grounds. She vividly recalls the plowed vegetable garden in the back, the fountains, fish ponds, arches and flower gardens. Her mother, Ora, worked those furrows and yards sun-up to sun-down. Her accomplished gardening and landscaping touch won praise from modest tours of 'pilgrims' making their way around sumptuous plots of needed foodstuffs and satisfying blankets of wanted beauty. Her father, George, slipped away from the back of the laundry as often as possible to work the back of the Grand property's fenced vegetable plot.

Our Pat learned the value of giving back to her community. Running to help the packs of garden 'pilgrims' get around the grounds was one joy. Making sure the 'hobos' and other souls arriving by nearby railcar had food and drink became part of a bi-weekly childhood routine of charity. Of course, mother Ora always expected her rail 'guests' to offer to do some light work around the yards - sweeping, raking, weeding; the Ralphs had that familiar yellow-striped post of welcome that came with a warrant to eat in return for a token job done cheerfully. She recalls the family always had enough for the many who sat at their tables in the then open back porch - 'hobos' everywhere was her memory of those hard times, eating cornbread with milk or whatever was on hand...

Kate, the mule, had a little house on an east corner of the grounds; and a pony even made a brief stay at the Abernathy's when Pat's grandfather decided she needed a horse. Animals, hunting dogs in particular, hold a special place in Abernathy lore. More about that, later.

Pat remembers upwards of 4 'black' houses right across the street with another 4-8 'black' houses sitting behind them. To the east of the grounds were more tiny houses on plots that went back as far as the current location for the water works.

Pat attended B... College in Bristol, VA. After coming home to be with her dying Grandfather, she then attends the University of Arkansas.

Our Pat was married to Buddy Abernathy in the same living room as her parents. They moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, for a year so Buddy could pursue work as an electrician. Buddy and Pat move back to Texarkana, settling into the Broadmore Apartments on County Road before moving into another apartment at Stuart Courts (now destroyed by fire), on Hickory Street. Their first son Ray is born. Thereafter, they purchase the house at 2302 Hickory Street that had belonged to her father's step-mother and father. For Ralph Ray had died, Maw-Maw Ray had moved elsewhere in Arkansas; and, the Hickory Street house had become available.**** Their second son, Richard, is born. Nine years later, they would purchase Jim and Nora Robertston's house at 1223 Locust. <Nora, sister to Ora?>

 NOTES

• q      Ora Walker's sisters were named, Cora, Nora and Ollie
• *      See pdf file copy of newspaper article 
• **    See pdf copy of Dr. Beverly Rowe's article, copyright 2006 - Texarkana Gazzette
• *** Mary died across the street from 918 Grand in the home of the family's longtime babysitter after suffering dementia punctuated with bouts associated with hardening of the arteries and an eating disorder that included consuming parts of mattresses
• ****Buddy and Pat purchased the house for $12,000, with the terms being $100 per month sans interest for 10 years - all while Buddy made $19 a week at Ralph Brothers and "Daddy helped from time to time..."

RALPHS to RAYS to ABERNATHYS 

George Bonnell Ralph m. Ora Walker, their issue = Bonnell Ralph (1900)... Ralph Ray m. Bonnell Ralph, their issue = Pat Ray... Buddy Abernathy m. Patricia Ray, their issue = Ray Abernathy, Richard Abernathy... Ray Abernathy m. Judy ??, their issue = Todd, Phillip, and Richard... Todd Abernathy m. ??, their issue = Carly Abernathy (as of 14VI06)

Searching additional data/links on Will and Mary... the Ralph and Walker ancestry... information on Ray County, MO... public records for Ralph Brothers...

UPDATES UNDERWAY

TBA