Mary Palmer Palmer — 7/28/1850(51) to 1/25/1915

William Perry Palmer — 3/6/1851 – 10/11/1937

“Well,I did wonder about them some, naturally I would. They were good to me in every way. But the first morning was rather hard, for I was told to get up and fix breakfast for them (Cora was 11).

“Aunt Mary, as I was taught to call her, told me how she wanted everything fixed:
slice the bacon,
make biscuits and use 3 cups of milk for them,
make coffee, and
skim the milk.

“There was no coffee, ready-ground, sold at the grocery store in those days. So, she showed me where everything was and (how) to measure the coffee. After I had ground it in the coffee mill and measured the water also, when I had it about ready, she came into the kitchen and we carried it to the dining room.

“There were seven boys at home then. Two were married and had homes of their own. I cannot remember if I burned the biscuits or how anything tasted, but for several days I was a homesick little girl as I had never been left with so many strangers before. So I had several “weepy” nights. But they were all good to me, and I soon fitted in. They always treated me as one of the family.

“Here are the boys names: Edney, who was the oldest and married . . . Robert, who was also married. Charlie, (Cora spelled his name ‘Charley’ some times), who later became your father. He was 18. Then Rufus (14), Ezra (11), Billie (10), Claude (8), Tony (5), and Shannon (3).

“They were a good-natured group, but as I was not used to a family of boys, they were very noisy. But your grandfather and grandmother had them under control at all times. He would say “boys! boys! and they would quiet down right now. Sometimes they would get noisy and ‘rassel’ about the floor. Uncle Will, as I was taught to call him, would always send them to the wood pile to bring in some wood for the fireplace.”