A Wilson Family Tree
Notes for Lillie Belle Paine
From Sorrells Genealogy:
Madison County, N.C. 1880 census lists Lilly Payne in the household of Smith F. "Pain" Payne along with Ambrose, Isaac Newton, Charles M. and Mary V. Payne. She was shown as (8) eight years old.
"She only took 1 car ride in her life. It was to the doctor, and it made her so sick she said she would never ride again." (Emma Deane Clark)
"She moved to Sevier County, TN with her parents when she was a young girl. Her ancestors, were of Dutch Hollander, Swiss and Irish origins.
Mother was about 5 feet 7 inches in height, weighed between 125 and 135 pounds, had long silky dark hair, fair complexion, which remained smooth until her death, and brown eyes. Mother liked to have her hair combed and many was the time when I was a young boy have I stood on a chair combing it for her liking to feel the softness of it. She was a strong woman, both physically and in will power. She was seldom ill, and I cannot recall a time until the weight of years began to tell on her that she was ever ill. She was troubled all her life with motion sickness, but that was about the only thing that seemed to bother Mother.
Mother loved beauty. She loved flowers of which she had a profusion and would work for hours in them. She always had lovely flowers, even in her last years she still worked with her flowers.
Mother was always busy, very energetic, she could not tolerate any kind of uncleanliness, neither in her house, clothing or her children, and every spring she moved everything from its place in the house and gave a general cleaning to the house, furniture, and everything. She was an excellent cook, and always prepared good food for her children or company as well. She insisted on cleanliness in her kitchen, in the utensils she used, and in the preparation of the food. When a meal was over no matter how rushed, Mother always cleaned the refuse from the table, washed the dishes and the silverware, the utensils, and saw that her kitchen was clean before she left it. She tolerated no accumulation of dirty dishes.
Mother loved her home and her children, with a love unsurpassed. Her thoughts were ever of her children, and if one of the children would call and required attention, she could go for days without sleep or rest. She seemed to have a tireless amount of energy. Her children always came first, their cares, and their comfort and well being.
Mother's children could always go to her, with their troubles, their hurts and problems, and always be sure of sympathy and understanding.
She made her children's clothes and bought one of the first Singer sewing machines to come to Sevier County. I have often known her after working in the garden or field all day, to spin and card far into the night, in order that her children might have proper clothing, which she always kept clean and neat.
Mother had a wonderful sense of humor and liked to tease. She also had a nice voice for singing and liked to gather the children around her and sing. Mother joined the Baptist church sometime in her early girlhood and later transferred her letter to the Zion's Grove Baptist Church, of which she remained a member until her death.
Mother, was a very profuse reader, she read all kinds of books. The Bible, novels, romance, fiction, detective, all kinds of books seemed to interest her. I have often waked up far into the night and saw a light in Mother's room-she would be reading. She had a wonderul retentive memory. I have asked her long after she had read a book what the book was about and she could quote word for word almost everything about the book.
After father died, Mother began to be bothered with high blood pressure, and her health began to fail. She was fairly healthy on the whole, still looked after her garden and her flowers, but her health began to gradually decline. In November of 1951, she went to the Baptist Hospital in Knoxville, TN and the doctor's having discovered that she had colon cancer, operated on her. She was operated on by a specialist from the Mayo Clinic. She went to the operating room cheerful, thinking that they could relieve and help her. The doctors reported to her children that there was no hope, that her cancer was the fast-acting type and that there was nothing else that they could do, but make her comfortable the few remaining days that she had to live. Mother recovered from the shock of the operation, and wanted to leave the hospital. She went to Deane's with 24 hour nursing care, and died May 1952." (Newton B. Clark)
I have 2 photographs of her. (Sherry S. Finchum)
Note: Some of the information in these pages is uncertain. Please let me know of errors or omissions using the email link above. ...Mike Wilson
Page generated on 31 October 2023