Trinnie Ward
An Early, Longtime Resident of McDowell Co, WV
My grandmother was born
Serena Trinville Ward in Johnson Co, KY on 26 Nov 1893 to Elzie Edmund Ward and
Mary Jane Scarberry/Lyons Castle.
Trinnie was named after her aunt Serena Trinville Ward, the sister of
Trinnie’s father Elzie Ward, but she did not like the name Serena and changed
it, on her own, to Irene Trinville. My
sister “Tiny” Eleanor Irene Stanley was named after our grandmother and Eleanor
Roosevelt.
Trinnie married in 1907 at
age 14 to Charlie Dollarhide who was a descendant of Mary Boone, the sister of
Daniel Boone. To this union was born one
daughter whose family history is the most compelling of any of Trinnie’s
children. Trinnie’s life took many turns
in her early years as evidenced by her enumeration on the 1910 Rural
Paintsville, Johnson Co, KY census, living back in the home of her parents
Elzie and Mary Ward with a five months old baby, her
first born, my mother, Goldie May Boling b. 28 Nov 1909, the issue of forty two
year old Horatio Seymour Boling who was married to Sarah Blevins. My mother’s only full sibling, “Frankie”
Sarah Francis Boling, was born
Trinnie had a daughter with
Charlie Dollarhide in 1915, after which Charlie died, and then a son with James
Preston Jennings in 1918 Mingo Co, WV.
Press
Trinnie was known all over
McDowell Co for her culinary and sewing skills.
She made clothes for people to make money to help support her children
after Press Jennings died, among other jobs she did over the years. I’m sure Trinnie did what she had to do to
survive, being widowed twice and having all those children depending on her; it
is not for us to judge. She cleaned
houses and cooked for people in exchange for hand-me-down clothing, left over
food, and last year’s school books, which had to be purchased at that
time. She, and some of the kids, worked
in harvest fields for fifty cents a day.
During the depression Trinnie made moonshine and, again, did whatever
she had to do to make ends meet. The
picture below is of Trinnie and two moonshine customers, with my mother’s
sister Frankie on the left, and my mother, who was a teetotaler, standing off
to herself on the right. Trinnie has her money roll from moonshine sales
toward the bottom of her stocking where it was less likely to be taken from
her.
My most prominent memory of
Trinnie was going to her house one time to visit; she was making noodles. She mixed the noodle dough in a teacup with a
teaspoon! There were mounds of noodles
in various stages of production on the table, some rolled out ready to cut into
strings, some strings laying flat to dry, other noodles in piles ready to be
bagged, and among all this business, Trinnie managed to wring a chicken’s neck,
pluck it, singe it, cut it up and make chicken and dumplings, using her
just-made homemade noodles in the dumpling gravy. Lordy mercy!
My Mom once paid me the high compliment that I made the best biscuits
she had ever eaten, but I have never been able to duplicate Trinnie’s dumpling
gravy. I still get cravings for it to
this day.
Trinnie was a devout
Christian in her later years. She was
married to Aldie Steel and lived at
Aldie Steel
Trinnie died
If anyone remembers Trinnie,
or any of her children, I would love to hear from you. Any remembrances or pictures of them would be
very much appreciated. I am happy to
share any documents and pictures I have.
christine
hayes
(micky