Stephen A Scott
The Western Enterprise Newspaper in Jones Co., TX, dated August 31, 1933, gives an account by Edith Elizabeth Scott on the type of house they built after arriving in TX. She stated they rode to Texas in wagons pulled by mules and took several head of cattle, chickens and enough provisions to last two years.
"Father put up an adobe building. It was shinnery logs and dirt. Mortar was made of clay. We had a stick and dirt chimney. The fireplace was of shinnery logs, plastered inside and out with clay. Mother looked up the chimney every night to see if it was afire. It did catch fire several times but it was easily put out. Maybe I should tell more about how the dug-out was built. They dug down four or five feet in the ground making nice walls on either side for a good-sized room. It must have been a good-sized room because it was our living room, dining room and kitchen, and though we were a large family, I do not remember that we seemed crowded. Well, after the dirt walls were finished, the dug-out was lined with shinnery or black-jack logs. These were built up above the ground for several feet, and the roof was put on. This roof was of split logs, with the smooth side down for a ceiling. The cracks were chinked with grass and mortar. Dirt was put over the roof also, about 6 to 12 inches.
Database created and maintained by Ryan Dupree.
Service records compiled by Glenda Todd and used with her permission. This and other information about the history of the First and the men who fought with the unit
can be found in her book, First Alabama Cavalry, USA: Homage to Patriotism.
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