Critz Family History HAMON CRITZ AND HIS DESCENDANTS, CONTINUED
By Christine Critz Ayers

2002-2003 Henry H. George

Page XVII

Around 1883, Grandma Kitty took a little girl (at the age of 18 months) into her home and raised her. She was Aunt Lillie Walker DUDLEY, McLean, VA. Aunt Lillie's uncle was depot agent at Critz and engaged to Aunt Cora and he asked Grandma to take Aunt Lillie, whose parents were dead. At Papa's funeral Aunt Lillie said "he was her favorite and the best man who ever lived and took her part always." Papa hauled logs from the mountain and she went along for the ride, a wagon pulled by oxen. She rode, Papa walked. Aunt Lillie and Russell CRITZ are nearly the same age, and used to fight occasionally. They tell of a fight at a Tobacco Barn. Uncle Joe was on the ground, "he never liked to work", Papa was up in the barn hanging tobacco. Russell and Aunt Lillie got in a fight. Uncle Joe was going to whip Aunt Lillie. Papa dropped from the tiers, confronted Uncle Joe and said "Don't touch her unless you whip Russell." That ended it.

Aunt Lillie also said Grandpa never turned anybody away from the door. He quoted Bible, "Do ye even so to them", and took them in. So they had so many tramps sleep in the attic bed room that they called it the "even so" room. That is the room Susan, Paul and Steven have now.

On each Sunday Aunt Isabella, the colored lady who lived in the last slave cabin, cooked dinner. She always kept a good piece of chicken hidden away for her and Aunt Lillie.

Seth BARBOUR was overseer of slaves for Gabriel CRITZ. His home was the small white house, standing by the creek, on the mountain road to Patrick Springs, on the left going to Patrick Springs. Told to me by a Barbour relative named Dean (new home of Marshall Brown).

Critz Post Office was first Rock Springs. Russell CRITZ gave an interview to a Winston-Salem paper in which he said "Critz was named for the spring at the Reynold's Place. This is incorrect. Rock Spring was located in a valley or ravine just beyond thew George SPENCER Place, above the church, now owned by Moir and Louise SPENCER HALL, on the left. The next house on the right was the Tommy DALTON Place. Kathleen DALTON said that when she was growing up, her family got water from that spring. She said it was good size, round and the shape of a bowl, with a hole in the bottom, where the water bubbled through. Cousin Tommy was elected Sheriff and they moved to Stuart, and rented the place to Jim WRAY. He attempted to enlarge the hole in the rock and broke it. The spring sank. In 1969 some bull-dozing was done at that location, and the rock was unearthed. I would like to have seen it and preserved it. Its very unusual.

Aunt Nannie said when Great Grandmother Nancy died, that Grandpa, William DALTON, rode horseback to Mayo Church in Mayo, Henry County--a very old church still standing, to get the Baptist Pastor to conduct services. He charged $25.00, an exorbitant price, it seems to me now. She did not know if Grandpa accepted, since she was quite young.

Children of William Dalton CRITZ and his wife, Christine Elizabeth Kitty FLIPPIN
A] Joseph Taylor, bd-Feb 24, 1860, dd-Mar 7, 1946, married Betty Brown GRIGGS, daughter of Joe H BROWN.
The Taylor part of Joseph's name was for Grandma's father, Taylor FLIPPIN. Joseph and betty lived in the little house by the Post Office given him by his father. The family said he drank it up and Grandpa gave him his present place and put it in Aunt Betty's name. Incidentally, they said the little house by the Post Office was built from one Poplar Tree. One daughter, A1] Mary, died when a baby.

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One son, A2] Russell, who married Madaline PENN. She died of Flu in 1918 and he then married Ruth TATUM, daughter of Nora KOGER's Mama's sister, in the early 1920s. They had one daughter, A2a] Betty Ruth, who married Hayne DOMINICK. Their children were Betty, Joe and Janet.

One son, A3] Clarence, married Betty in Roanoke. Their children: Sharon, David and Ricky.

B] Mary CRITZ, bd Aug. 15,1862, daughter of William and Kitty Flippin CRITZ, married Bill Abe MARTIN. He was married twice and his first children were Edd, Bonce, Jim, John, Fletcher and Lena. Lena married Tom AYERS and was my Mother-in-law. Of the second marriage there were three children; Kitty Mae, Georgia and Frank.
1] Kitty May was never married. She was studious and quiet, pretty, and when she finished school, she accepted a job with a textile mill in Leaksville, NC as a secretary and remained there until her death around 1970 at age 75.
2] Georgia was the opposite of Kitty. She married Hassel SHEPPARD and had two children, Mary Ruth and Jimmy. Mary Ruth lives in Willmington, NC and Jimmy at the old Home Place on the NC line.
3] Frank lives in Roanoke. He married Elizabeth _______ , such an attractive woman. They have no children. Frank evidently had an inventive mind. I doubt if he wend beyond 4th or 5th grade in school. But he built airplanes in his garage in Roanoke. One of his planes flew the oil pipe line in Alaska.

Tommy, bd 1864, died an infant.

C] Cora Lee, bd May 14,1866, married William D. GREY. They had one child,Critz Dalton GREY. He married Doshie HEATH. Mr. Grey had three children when he married Aunt Cora; Willie, Bessie and Brockley. Willie married Lottie MARTIN, Brockley married Fannie HEATH, sister of Doshie. Bessie was never married, and died of T.B. around 1924. I boarded with Aunt Cora and taught the Grey School in 1923. Aunt Cora was a lovely woman, friendly, out going and always wrote to Grandma Kitty on a leaf of the calendar or back of a business letter, and always started the letters, "My Dear, Sweet, Pretty Mammy." She died of cancer in 1931 and is buried at Critz Baptist Church. Critz Dalton GREY had one daughter, (Living) who married (Living) STOVALL (job description). They now have a little daughter, (living) who was 4 months old in Sept 1974. Critz was named after Grandpa and when asked his name, until he was nearly grown he would say "Critz Dalton Grey named after Grandpa."

D] Susan Mattie, bd Nov.12, 1868, was never married, and probably had more suiters than any of the girls. She had a marriage proposal during her 50s which she turned down. He was a Mr. Fulcher from WVA. I think. She always wore a wide wedding band which was given her by a Mr. McELROY, I think when she was young. Erna Martin NANCE lost it. Aunt Susie was born Nov 11, 1869, and died Aug 19, 1950.

She lived with Grandma and Grandpa in this house and I stayed with them and went to high school. Many of my best character traits come from her. Always tell the truth and keep your promises. Take care of what you have. To this day, when I walk across the lawn, I pick up every fallen twig and take care of my shoes.

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E] William Gabriel CRITZ, son of William D. and Kitty Flippin CRITZ was born on Nov. 21, 1871 in the Critz Homestead. He died Jan. 23, 1953 in his home at Critz. On Sept. 9, 1903 he married Mary Lou KOGER of Stella VA. She died July 16, 1962. She was a daughter of William Lee KOGER and Mary Elizabeth (Betty) INGRAM. William and Mary had six children:


E1] Christine, bd June 17, 1904, dd , married Linwood AYERS on Nov. 1923 at Stuart, VA. They lived at Critz Aug. 3, 1944, moved to Norfolk, came back to Critz June 1, 1966, lived at Mama's house while the Homestead was being restored, and moved in on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 1968. They had two children, ______, _______.
E2] Ruby Lucille, bd Dec. 25, 1906 at the Critz Homestead, dd July 1972 in Roanoke Hospital. She married Towler Benton TATUM, son of Dr. Benton TATUM, and Pearl FOWLER of near Danville, VA, on Sept 1928. She was named after Aunt Ruby CRITZ and her daughter, Hazel of Winston-Salem, NC. Ruby had such a pleasing personality and was a joy to see. They had 3 children.
E3] Nancy, bd Sept. 3 1909, married John R. LEGG from Louisiana. He died from drowning on April 24, 1950. They had 2 children.
E4] James William, bd Jan. 10 1912, dd June 21 1979. He was paralized on the right side due to a birth injury. He attended school and completed the sixth grade before dropping out because of seizures. James never married.
E5] Fred Hampton, bd Jan. 15, 1914, married Theresa MOTLEY. They have no children.
E6] Mary Frances was born April 20, 1921. on the farm, beyond Salem Methodist Church. She was a baby when Papa built at Critz, and we moved back on Oct. 7, 1921. She married Robert Tobe SMITH, a relative on the Shelton-Dalton side of the family. They have two sons.

F] Samuel Nicholas, bd May 9, 1873, dd July 19, 1926, son of William and Kitty CRITZ, was born on the Critz Homestead. He married Maggie WILLIAMS of Peters Creek. They had several children that died at birth, and 2 living.

G] James Lyon, Son of William and Kitty, bd Oct. 29, 1875, dd Aug. 16, 1916, married Ruby BLUM of Winston-Salem. He went to W-S as a young man and joined the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. He was sent to Chicago to learn the manufacture of the flat red Prince Albert Tobacco tin. He had built a new home on N. Liberty St. in W-S. He was operated on for Appendicitis. He had a kidney condition,they gave him the wrong anesthetic and caused it to become Brights Disease. He died here in the old Homestead on Aug. 16, 1916 and is buried at Critz Baptist Church. His grave has a "Woodmen Of The World" marker.

Family mills at that time were quite common, and Grandpa had one about a mile and a quarter below Critz on the Stella Road. It seems that walking down to the mill and bringing back an arm load of meal was a common occurence. On one trip, Uncle Jim, then a child, walked up to a shaft or axel that turned the machinery when the water gate was open, and clasped his arms around it. The mill started, he did not let go and as it gained speed, his feet extended straight out, struck the grain box and broke his legs. I heard Grandma tell how long she had to sleep on a quilt on the floor with him, trying to keep his legs straight and of the pain he suffered. One of his legs was always stiff. I've heard of them speak of one doctor at that time, but don't know if she had one.

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When he got grown, he went to work for Reynolds Tobacco and sent her many nice gifts that meant so much. One of them was the set of knives and forks I now have. He carpeted the parlor room floor and we children thought it was to roll around and play on. Any way, we did. When he came home they prepared feast and entertained a lot. When he died, much of the joy of life left them. It was never the same. They had one child.

H] Robert Edgar, son of William and Kitty, bd May 23, 1877, dd Nov. 3, 1940, married May CUNNINGHAM. Aunt May's parents had died and Dr. Martin of Stuart, who owned and ran the first hospital in this area, took some of the children, Aunt May was one, and reared them. His hospital was called "Mothers Home". Little "snatches" of this training stayed with Aunt May all of her life, tho with so many children and a small house it was hard to put into practice. She did try to take a walk every afternoon and invited Mama. But Mama said after doing her work she wasn't able to walk. Aunt May never had any thing to do...always drank coffee with little finger poked up.

Uncle Bob drank heavily and was always in trouble and losing jobs. My father, who lived at home (Grandma's), and kept the family going, was continuously hauling him by wagon from one job to another, or back to Critz. I think it was when he lost his job at Fayerdale, now Fairy Stone Park, that Papa hauled them back to Critz, and Grandpa built the house next door for them. At that time there was an iron mine at Fayerdale. Living a hard life in its self doesn't kill one. Aunt May, bd June 13, 1881, died Jan. 5, 1973 at the age of 92 years. They had several children.

I] Nannie Ware, daughter of William and Kitty, bd June 11, 1881, married Bahnson Franklin MARTIN, son of her sister Mary's Husband Bill. He was killed at a railroad crossing around 1924, and left 5 girls.

I REMEMBER

During my fifty-five years of research I have learned that the Homestead at Critz had two rooms, upstairs and down, on the east end in the beginning. As the family grew, two rooms were added on the west, three feet between them. Later on, this space was enclosed and the north end became the first post office in this area. It had one half window in the end, that looked out on the Blue Ridge. Grandmother told us the mail was brought up from Danville on horseback. My father was water boy for the railroad builders.

In 1881 the railroad was built from Danville to Stuart and called the D and W. We had four trains a day. The mail train went "up" around 10:20 and came back around 12 Noon. When it went up, to Stuart that is, it was time for Grandma to "put on" the corn bread. When it came back we were eating lunch.

The mail train carried a coach and a baggage car. The freight train came late in the evening, after dark in the winter, carried a long train of freight cars. It was romantic to see them unload the freight, and the flash of the lantern lights they carried. It came down before daylight and I can still hear the long blasts of the train whistle as it came down the valley above Critz. I was still in bed. In 1944 trucks took over and the railroad was removed.

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In the meantime the family was growing and a kitchen was added to the house with a dog-trot between. It was stylish to have a kitchen join the house. Later this was enclosed and became a dining room with a door in each end and no windows. My father was born in 1871 and he did not remember the kitchen being built. He did remember the old kitchen at the back of the house, also a long room where they did the laundry and spun and wove the wool and cotton for clothes, also a long log house that housed the bees they worked in and out between the logs. This was to prevent stealing.

I can remember when Grandmother and Aunt Susie "dripped the lye" and made their soap. A 25 gallon barrel was set on an incline frame about 18 inches high. A crack was in the lower side of the bottom. Ashes were put in The barrel and water poured over the ashes. An iron roaster sat under and caught the lye as it dripped. This cooked with meat scraps made soap. They made dye out of Sumac berries and Walnut hulls. I've seen them spin thread to knit socks and gloves.

My Grandmother's children were born during the war between the states. My family and neighbors never talked about the war. The north was there but ignored. There seemed to be no ill will and I never heard dam yankee. But one could never in his wildest imagining know the suffering, privation and hardship the south suffered during and following. Much of the war was fought on Virginia soil but that was not as bad as what followed from the north.

[*These last paragraphs of these notes are a quote copied from the book "Weep No More My Lady", written by W. B. Debnam. I think most southerners of the 40s & 50s are familiar with that book. I remember my mother talking about it. HG]

"The south was the richest part of the country. Mississippi was the richest state in the union. Cotton was king. The north was cold, hilly, rocky, poor soil. Manufacturing had not grown to what it is today in the north. They tried to have slaves but they would not live in such a cold climate. It has been proved that the north could not care less whether the slaves were freed. We think it was jealousy.

The south was whipped and they accepted it and were ready to rebuild, but the north came demanding tribute. They burned, murdered, stole and slaughtered their way across the rich south. They were quartered in the southern mansions while the owners lived in the brush, and when they left they burned them.

Sherman said after one of his raids, 'a crow flying over the beautiful valley of Virginia will have to carry its own rations."
(On one of their raids through Patrick County, word went ahead and Grandmother said they hid their horses and cows in the lower end of the big gulley that runs back of my house. One neighbor had jewelry and she sewed it in the petti-coat of one of the slaves, Aunt Mary Anne.)

"Perhaps the worst was putting negros in Government offices. While they sat with their feet on the desk, drank liquor and smoked cigars, the south starved. The Ku-Klux-Klan freightened them out." By W. B. Debnam in answer to Mrs. Roosevelt's comments about the south.

The End of Christine Critz Ayers' Notes

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2002-2003 Henry H. George

Page XXII

FOOTNOTES, ADDITIONS & CORRECTIONS

Note 1.(ref: pg 3, para. 8) Hamon CRITZ, Sr. Was married to Elizabeth (UNKNOWN). Dinah was likely his daughter.

Note 2. (ref: pg. 5, par. 4) Nancy FRANS, wife of Frederick CRITZ, was not the daughter of Carter FRANS. She was the daughter of Peter and Susanna Carter FRANS. Reference "The History Of Patrick and Henry Counties, Virginia", by Pedigo. Also the will of Peter Frans.

2002-2003 Henry H. George

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