From Paradise to Hell

By Marjorie Ann Reeves

It is 1844 when Alabama-born Rose begins writing a journal. She has just reluctantly agreed to marry Nathan Flowers. The years pass, and together Rose and Nathan have five children. A Chickasaw couple, kin to Nathan by marriage, lives with them and helps Rose settle in and raise a family.

Rose, Nathan, and their five children could have lived happily ever afterbut then came the War Between the States. The North and South found themselves divided and Rose is pained when two of her children join the Union, while two others join the Confederacy. Her journal keeps her grounded; if she continues to write, perhaps she can make sense of whats happening.

Living a normal life during the Civil War is impossible, but Rose does her best to keep calm and care for the remaining members of her family. When the war is over America must rebuild and life is still not easy in the South. The war was difficult for the nation, but it was also hard on individual families. This is the story of one such family, who struggled to love each other despite differing beliefs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491714133

Marjorie Ann Reeves

Marjorie Ann Reeves was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. She attended the University of Washington, where she earned a master’s degree in Library and Information Science. During her time in Seattle, she became an expert on Confederate veterans who settled in Washington after the War Between the States.

Book preview

FROM PARADISE TO HELL

Copyright © 2013, 2014 Marjorie Ann Reeves.

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-1411-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-1412-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-1413-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013919691

iUniverse rev. date: 03/21/2014

Contents

April 6, 1844

April 18, 1844

May 1, 1844

May 3, 1844

May 5, 1844

May 6, 1844

May 10, 1844

May 15, 1844

May 18, 1844

May 19, 1844

May 20, 1844

May 22, 1844

May 25, 1844

May 30, 1844

June 4, 1844

June 30, 1844

July 1, 1844

July 15, 1844

July 30, 1844

August 1, 1844

August 15, 1844

August 16, 1844

August 17, 1844

August 22, 1844

August 23, 1844

August 24, 1844

August 25, 1844

August 27, 1844

August 28, 1844

September 4, 1844

September 5, 1844

October 4, 1844

November 18, 1844

December 20, 1844

January 4, 1845

February 23, 1845

March 18, 1845

April 6, 1845

April 30, 1845

May 10, 1845

May 30, 1845

June 25, 1845

July 24, 1845

August 1, 1845

August 10, 1845

August 15, 1845

September 21, 1845

October 8, 1845

November 20, 1845

December 18, 1845

March 3, 1846

July 21, 1846

September 7, 1846

November 16, 1846

December 30, 1846

January 10, 1847

January 30, 1847

February 8, 1847

March 5, 1847

May 10, 1847

June 25, 1847

June 30, 1847

September 7, 1847

October 9, 1847

January 26, 1848

March 15, 1848

May 23, 1848

August 28, 1848

October 23, 1848

January 4, 1849

May 15, 1849

June 25, 1849

August 25, 1849

December 30, 1849

May 15, 1850

August 30, 1850

November 23, 1850

December 3, 1850

January 4, 1851

February 21, 1851

June 25, 1851

September 21, 1851

October 9, 1851

November 8, 1851

February 16, 1852

May 13, 1852

July 7, 1852

September 29, 1852

January 30, 1853

July 21, 1853

January 4, 1854

April 6, 1854

July 15, 1854

October 20, 1854

November 8, 1854

August 28, 1855

May 10, 1856

September 7, 1856

December 30, 1856

March 13, 1857

July 21, 1857

November 8, 1857

May 10, 1858

July 21, 1858

November 24, 1858

December 30, 1858

April 10, 1859

June 25, 1859

August 28, 1859

January 18, 1860

July 2, 1860

August 1, 1860

August 28, 1860

November 7, 1860

December 3, 1860

January 10, 1861

January 15, 1861

January 25, 1861

February 25, 1861

March 1, 1861

March 6, 1861

March 10, 1861

March 25, 1861

April 6, 1861

May 3, 1861

May 24, 1861

June 10, 1861

June 18, 1861

June 30, 1861

July 5, 1861

August 15, 1861

September 30, 1861

October 1, 1861

November 8, 1861

November 15, 1861

November 21, 1861

November 28, 1861

December 3, 1861

December 15, 1861

December 24, 1861

December 30, 1861

January 8, 1862

February 18, 1862

February 20, 1862

March 24, 1862

April 13, 1862

April 30, 1862

May 5, 1862

May 21, 1862

May 30, 1862

June 10, 1862

June 30, 1862

July 3, 1862

July 7, 1862

July 15, 1862

August 1, 1862

August 5, 1862

August 8, 1862

August 10, 1862

August 13, 1862

August 18, 1862

August 28, 1862

September 1, 1862

September 3, 1862

September 5, 1862

September 16, 1862

September 18, 1862

September 19, 1862

September 21, 1862

September 24, 1862

September 26, 1862

September 28, 1862

October 9, 1862

October 11, 1862

October 14, 1862

October 18, 1862

October 30, 1862

November 1, 1862

November 8, 1862

November 11, 1862

November 25, 1862

December 1, 1862

December 3, 1862

December 9, 1862

December 15, 1862

December 26, 1862

January 4, 1863

January 21, 1863

January 30, 1863

February 27, 1863

April 1, 1863

May 5, 1863

May 15, 1863

June 2, 1863

June 20, 1863

Another day of war

July 1, 1863

July 4, 1863

August 13, 1863

September 20, 1863

October 3, 1863

October 5, 1863

October 6, 1863

November 11, 1863

December 1, 1863

December 12, 1863

December 15, 1863

January 31, 1864

February 27, 1864

March 15, 1864

April 6, 1864

April 30, 1864

May 15, 1864

June 1, 1864

June 30, 1864

July 5, 1864

September 1, 1864

October 12, 1864

October 25, 1864

October 27, 1864

November 5, 1864

November 10, 1864

November 30, 1864

December 10, 1864

December 27, 1864

January 4, 1865

January 25, 1865

February 10, 1865

April 23, 1865

April 25, 1865

April 29, 1865

May 2, 1865

May 13, 1865

May 15, 1865

May 20, 1865

May 28, 1865

July 24, 1865

August 15, 1865

August 28, 1865

September 3, 1865

September 21, 1865

September 29, 1865

October 9, 1865

November 8, 1865

December 30, 1865

January 31, 1866

February 24, 1866

March 18, 1866

March 23, 1866

April 6, 1866

April 25, 1866

April 30, 1866

May 5, 1866

June 15, 1866

June 22, 1866

June 25, 1866

June 29, 1866

July 1, 1866

July 2, 1866

July 4, 1866

July 7, 1866

July 10, 1866

July 25, 1866

August 13, 1866

September 17, 1866

October 10, 1866

November 8, 1866

January 1, 1867

March 16, 1867

June 15, 1867

November 5, 1867

November 26, 1867

December 28, 1867

January 13, 1868

March 10, 1868

April 30, 1868

May 23, 1868

July 5, 1868

August 15, 1868

August 30, 1868

September 1, 1868

September 8, 1868

September 20, 1868

September 23, 1868

September 24, 1868

September 25, 1868

September 27, 1868

September 29, 1868

October 9, 1868

October 10, 1868

October 15, 1868

October 20, 1868

October 21, 1868

October 30, 1868

November 15, 1868

December 6, 1868

March 3, 1869

June 30, 1869

August 28, 1869

December 30, 1869

March 30, 1870

June 30, 1870

October 9, 1870

November 11, 1870

May 1, 1871

June 25, 1871

July 16, 1871

August 28, 1871

September 15, 1871

February 20, 1872

March 15, 1872

June 30, 1872

August 23, 1872

October 1, 1872

December 20, 1872

December 26, 1872

February 26, 1873

April 24, 1873

July 22, 1873

November 2, 1873

October 30, 1874

December 10, 1874

January 1, 1875

May 10, 1875

December 1, 1875

February 21, 1876

March 30, 1876

May 24, 1876

June 25, 1877

November 8, 1877

October 1, 1878

November 8, 1880

June 30, 1881

August 28, 1881

October 1, 1881

January 1, 1882

July 8, 1883

May 1, 1884

May 8, 1885

August 28, 1886

June 5, 1887

September 21, 1888

December 10, 1889

May 1, 1891

An historical fiction of a journal by Rose about her personal growth in 19th century Alabama; during the 1800s—the state went through many changes, as did Rose, and both were deeply affected by this period in time.

written by Marjorie Ann Reeves

© 2013

The cover page portrait is provided by the Alabama department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama.

Much Gratitude

goes to:

Gary S. Grimes, Kevin C. Balazs,

Dr. Timothy J. White, Joanne Taylor Moore,

DiaFelice Slogga Smith,

Michael F. Clark, and Robert W. Colwell

April 6, 1844

A soft spring breeze with a hint of warmth came through the open window of my room rustling stray pieces of Mother’s glistening brown hair around her youthful face. The one who has given me so much is now sending me out into the world to make a life of my own. I am not ready to leave the nest and spread my wings.

Struggling with how to convey my feelings to Mother on the pending matrimony I am being forced to accept, to express my exasperation, my refusal to be made to leave my home, and with my reluctance to grow up, I tried again to express myself to my Mother today.

Please Mother, folding my arms defiantly, do not make me marry old man Flowers. There I said it!.

Rose Elizabeth, he is not yet out of his twenties. He is not old, Mother replied without inflection as she brushed my thick sorrel hair.

Was Father as old as Mr. Flowers when you married? I craned my neck to look at the lovely Madona who had given me passage into this world. It looked as if she was concentrating on brushing my hair, but the reflection I saw in the mirror was visiting her youth. Her wedding day brought the union with the one person she wanted to spend her life with. It took her a few moments to pull herself back to respond.

No, Nathan Flowers works as a surveyor and has built a nice house. When I married your father, we had to live with his parents until he built up his law practice, Mother softly replied. I could tell she had returned to the past as she placed a green plaid ribbon in my hair.

The ribbon was saved from the first plaid dress I loved wearing. At the age of five after I had grown out of it, Mother cut it up in ribbon strips so I would always have a plaid ribbon to place in my hair from that dress. I attributed the love of the green plaid to my Scot-Irish blood, but this is only a guess that it might be the family clan’s tartan.

Mother, I’m too young to get married. I don’t want to do the things you do! I tenaciously stated.

Rose Elizabeth, you will be well into your eighteenth year by the time you and Nathan are wed. You’re as old as I when I married your father. It is settled. You will marry Nathan Flowers this summer. He will make a good husband for you.

It was plain that no more words should be said. I have to approach this subject more cautiously to appeal to Mother’s sensitivity in some way. Why does she not understand?

You are lucky he is willing to put up with your stubbornness, Mother sighed as she swayed by me leaving the room and me alone with my thoughts. Looking in the mirror, I stuck my tongue out at Mother’s back. My silent protest. To her face, I could never be so disrespectful.

April 18, 1844

This beautiful spring day could not make the situation improve with my parents. At breakfast they talked about wedding plans and cost. I walked down town to enjoy time sitting by the spring, watching the people of the city, and thinking of an escape route. As determined as they are that I marry Nathan Flowers, my stubbornness drives me in the opposite direction.

The first discussion at dinner with Father was about the Rhode Island protest against Congress having the right to interfere in state’s rights. The state government felt strongly that it knew what was best for its people, better than the federal government. According to Father most states think the state law makers understand their citizens better than the federal government.

After wedding discussion during dinner, I went to my room to sulk. I still have plenty of time to marry. Why now? Do they think I am so unruly that no one else would ever consider marrying me? I admit that grace and sweetness are not strong characteristics of my disposition, but it does not mean that there is no one in my future if I do not marry their choice right now.

The clouds over the wedding did not lift. Their lack of understanding and my resistance to cave to their wishes made for a very dark overcast evening. The day has been long and I am glad to be at home and warm in my bed.

May 1, 1844

After another disagreement with Mother this morning, I thought it best to hide out in my room, reading and writing. In summing up my life to date, I never considered myself to be as pretty or graceful as Mother or anyone else for that matter. My older brother, Jamison Edward, shows more charm than I could ever think to feign. Being tall for a girl, I feel out of place at socials unable to sit posed like a lady for any length of time. I would rather be outdoors riding a horse than indoors attending a social or being a hostess. I cannot imagine my antecedents. I am sure the Alabama blood pumping through my veins could largely be blamed for making me so naturally stubborn.

If one looked only at my habits, one would think I was the male child of the family, because I am always outdoors.

Brother Edward prefers to stay inside and read. He loves stormy weather because he can sit comfortably inside without having to make excuses about his choice of activity to Father. Mother is always looking for new books to bring home for our library and, in particular, Edward. The two of them sat for hours reading or discussing their present book while he lived at home. On trips now she still carries a large trunk of books to swap with relatives. My parents’ push for education made learning an avocation for my brother and me. We look for information that challenges our thoughts making the conversations at supper lively, especially when one of us comes across new knowledge to share. We look for ways to stump our Father on subjects, but he stumps us with his answers.

What excitement is waiting for me tomorrow?

May 3, 1844

Uncle Homer walked with me to the square today so we could watch the Thirty-Third Regiment of the Alabama Militia parade down the street. What a fine looking parade of uniforms to watch! I spied several cousins and acquaintances marching in the parade. Parades bring out the town people providing plenty to visit with for Uncle Homer and me. Rarely does a parade last any length of time yet the crowds are slow to dissipate because of the socializing. There is so much gossip to catch up on in town. Uncle Homer talks all the way home about what he has heard. He gets more interesting tidbits on families in Huntsville because his information comes from house servants. I enjoy listening to all the tales he fainly expounds. I wonder about some of the things said, but let it go without questioning him about his sources. Auntie Claire gets on Uncle Homer about repeating gossip he has heard. He loves to talk and she gives little credibility to what he says. He puffs up so easily when questioned by anyone on what he says. Auntie Claire’s efforts to explicate the truth only ruffle his feathers.

Uncle Homer carried the conversation at dinner entertaining us all with the latest town gossip he learned this morning.

May 5, 1844

I wish we were off on a trip and leaving this deplorable idea of marriage behind. Being the oldest child, Edward was Mother’s traveling companion until I became old enough to handle the long trips with her. From the time I could walk and even after I entered the Nashville Female Academy, Mother and I traveled to family all across the South. Either Father or Edward takes time off from the business to escort us on our long trips and stays for a few days to catch up on family matters and then returns home.

On our return, a relative or one of their servants from the last home we visited was our escort. My travels with Mother are often adventurous with many relatives being interesting in their own ways. Some relatives I like visiting for only a short while, and others I began missing as soon as we packed to leave. The relatives we visit always make us feel welcomed and loved. Most have large homes with plenty of land to roam giving me the opportunity to use up my energy outdoors.

If we were traveling now, it would be impossible for her to be planning a wedding. I need to talk to her about taking a trip to get her away from thinking about a wedding. Wonder if the wedding planning is brought on because so many of my cousins are marrying and she does not want me to be left out. How would Mother explain to her family that her daughter is not interested in marriage?

May 6, 1844

Dear Uncle James came over to visit with the family this afternoon. Though he is one of Father’s brothers, he is totally opposite. Father is professional and serious with a sly sense of humor but Uncle James is jovial and the center of entertainment. He is a delightful chatterbox, going on about nothing important, but always entertaining. He can imitate accents and dialect of others, which he uses playfully at parties. He frequently attends political parties with Mother and Father.

When we are at home, time is spent with family at many social activities. Until I went off to school, Mother was either with Father at his social events or with family. After I left the house for school, Mother became more involved with church and community activities which kept her busy and out of my life for a time. She is such a delightful lady to everyone except me. She is always directing and telling me what I should do and how to act in public which is pretty much how she relates to us all in her household. She is so beautiful and loving making us want to do the best for her.

Even though I am a young lady now, I am so use to going to bed around eight all my life, I still do. Even if I do not go straight to bed, I retreat to the solitary of my room to end the busy days in silence.

May 10, 1844

The roses are beautiful today. In the cool of the morning, I cut the loveliest roses for the house and filled the vases in almost every room. I miss their fragrance when we are traveling. None of our relatives have rose gardens like Mother and me.

Education and travel have given me the advantage of experience over many of the hometown girls who have not passed the boundary of Madison County. I have sat at church socials with girls my age, talking and laughing but never becoming close to anyone. There are many Huntsvillians that I enjoy and look forward to visiting with but traveling so often has prevented me from developing close friendships at home.

It seems I am always packing my trunk to go to school or travel with Mother. She plans her adventures to coincide when I can be away from school. Every trip provides novelty to our days. We frequently meet new people on each trip, making the journey rewarding in unexpected ways. When we arrive home, our supper conversations for weeks are about our adventures. Edward loves to hear about everything: who we saw, what we did, and what was the most fun. He misses traveling with Mother. He was either in school or working with Father and not given the time to travel with us unless there was no other way we could journey without his escort. Then Father would allow him to travel with us. With Edward, our journeys are much more fun. He has such a witty outlook on life. He keeps us giggling while others wonder what we are talking about.

Travel itself is an adventure with bad roads and weather. The weather is too challenging during winter according to Father, so Mother and I travel from April to November, depending on the storms. If we are not already on the road when hurricanes blow in, our travel is cut down in summers Otherwise we are often gone somewhere. I love seeing different regions in different seasons, but during the winter I do not mind staying home in the warm indoors, wrapped up in my favorite quilt that Aunt Nellie made just for me.

There was only one family member who we females disliked. He was a great uncle in Georgia that we female cousins tried to stay away from because his ways scared us. His excessive friendliness made us all uncomfortable. His hands seemed to roam too much and his kisses were too friendly. Mother, as with most of the other mothers, understood when we girls wiggled away and avoided him during visits to his house. He, of course, could not understand why his young nieces and grandnieces did not spend time with him. As I grew, Mother made fewer trips to his plantation, and most of us felt his passing was a blessing to the family.

May 15, 1844

I am still enjoying my youth and the trips, looking forward to my next horseback ride without thinking about boys or marriage or any of those grown-up things. Being around cousins my age can be very trying. The female cousins talk about their main interest, which are usually the young gentlemen presently in their lives. I listen while they talk about their romances, as if I am interested, for as long as I can tolerate it, but the topic is a bore to me. After a few sentences, I conjure up ways to change the subject.

My male cousins are more enjoyable because they like horseback riding and talking politics. Father being associated with and very active in politics, I was raised around political conversations as the main topics in our household, making politics a more favorable subject than courtship for me. My mind is usually wandering down different avenues while many of my cousins are still at the starting gate.

Many of my cousins are entertaining in their mindless ways. I often wonder what plans God has for them and if they will be able to achieve their destination. Cousin Victoria is a delightful girl but so svelte that her mother has assigned a servant to feed her something throughout the day so she does not shrivel up and disappear. I cannot imagine not being hungry but Victoria never has hunger pains. She is known to have been born with a caul over her head. She complains about family members occasionally asking her about their future even though she does not feel like she has any special talents. We all know that she is very special. She is the most beautiful of all the females in the extended family. She is the reason I feel like the ugly duckling of the family. How could I not? When the family talks about Victoria, it is always how beautiful she is, how lovely she is, how charming. She says she sees herself as very plain and dull. It is as Auntie Claire says, How much does the bucket understand the well. We all see ourselves differently than others see us.

My main interest during travel is to find a horse to ride. Only having the necessary number of horses for our carriages at home, I spend most of my visit in the stables or riding horses while at a relative’s home. Up before breakfast, I take every opportunity throughout the day for horseback riding. A morning ride with mist still in the air provides the opportunity to listen to the awakening sounds of the earth. This is truly the best way to start a day! Horseback riding in the countryside, discovering the area we are visiting, getting familiar with different flora and fauna indigenous to the land are joys of discovery for me. Sometimes my cousins will ride with me, bringing a basket full of food for a picnic in the meadow. I enjoy these times outdoors with my cousins most because they talk more about the history of the area with its changes over time and less about themselves and family gossip.

May 18, 1844

I received a letter yesterday from my cousin Tessie Bates. She is my favorite of all the cousins because she is the one I see most often. The Bates live in Alexander City, and with them living in the same state, we visit often. Our mothers, Eleanor and Delsie, are sisters close in age and temperament, so Tessie and I spend more time together than any other cousins. In our younger days, we were mistaken for sisters when we were out together because our features are so similar, like our mothers.

They have a summer home in the country where we take off to the pastures for bird watching and listening to sounds the birds make. The turtle doves are my favorite with their mournful sound. In our youth during the summer, we chased the beautiful butterflies by day and lightening bugs at dusk. She loves the outdoors as much as I do, but I cannot relate to her need to keep everything clean and in its place. As soon as we enter her home, she runs to the bowl and washes up. I often lose count how many times she changes her garments during the day which irritates the household over the amount of clothing she goes through.

Uncle Ellis, Tessie’s father, invested in gold fields around Tallapoosa County in his early years and did quite well. The county contains four major gold areas. The Goldville district is closest to the family; being seventeen miles from Alexander City and where Uncle Ellis put most of his investments. It had many gold bearing prospects, placers, and lode mines throughout the district. Uncle Ellis says gold is found in the veins running through Tallapoosa County making Alabama a golden state.

Hog Mountain’s gold was found in granite making it the first place in the country where cyanide process was used to extract gold. Uncle Ellis talked Father into investing in the gold fields in Cleburne County and in the Anna Howe Mines in Arbacocchee.

When I became old enough, Uncle Ellis allowed me to go to the gold fields with him where he spent hours explaining to me about the process of finding gold, what gold is, and why it is found in this area. He speaks to me as an adult who understands everything he says. Most of the time I do, but a few times I ask questions, which enabled him to expand upon what interested him most in life – gold.

Over time we became close, talking to each other about geology and archeology. It was like an open classroom when Tessie and I went to the gold fields with Uncle Ellis. On occasion when Tessie would become bored, Uncle Ellis would try extra hard to draw her into our conversations, but she really had no interest in geology. Sometimes she would tell me how jealous she was of her father spending so much time with me.

Uncle Ellis’s hobby is lost gold in the gulf around Baldwin County from Spaniards and pirates. He often rides with us down to the gulf on our annual pilgrimage to Florida to learn about treasures recently discovered. He has financed several expeditions supporting the adventures of looking for lost Spanish gold. He entertains us along the way to the gulf with tales about legends of lost gold buried by pirates of long ago.

Once a year in the early part of summer, Mother, Aunt Delsie, Tessie, and I travel together to visit relatives in parts of Florida and come back up through Georgia visiting more relatives. Mother’s cousin George owns a cattle ranch in Florida that we enjoy visiting. The ranch is located close to the center of Florida, so we traveled down the gulf side of the state to wade in the gulf waters and return up on the ocean side.

Every afternoon we purchase dinner from Indian camps because of their abundance of seafood. Mother loves seafood especially oysters. She is in heaven when she is eating seafood as we travel through Florida. After we reach the ranch, our