I go through the documents and realize I’ve never heard these names. Well, then, I’m not from around here, what do I expect? I find birth announcements, report cards, a death certificate dated April 3, 1929, and another dated April 7, 1927. The bank statements bear the name Theodore McDaniel. I open a marriage license between a Mattie McDaniel and N.L. Walker, dated 1954. Don’t tell me there isn’t a story here!
I enlist Ma’s help. She’s lived in this area over 40 years. She confirms that the last person to live in the old house was Theodore (or Buck, as he was called) and he died more than 20 years ago from a tree that fell on him a few hundred yards away.
Well, I’m bound to learn more. It will take time to sort out the letters by date and read them. There’s also two more old houses to search.