"Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful and answer me. My heart says to you, "Seek His face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek. Teach me your way, O Lord; Lead me in a straight path...." Psalms 27: 7-8, 11.
Did I say, "I am tired!"???So tired I can hardly function, also nauseated? I think this is the "same song, tenth verse!" Tomorrow is radiation # 13. I really can barely eat anything, food "turns my stomach". I wonder what the Dr will say tomorrow! Enough about me! We are trying to function somewhat normally hence the lunch today where I tried to find something I could get down!
John and I had lunch today with one of his first cousins. We found out lots of family information from John's maternal grandfather's family. When we first married, I would ask John's Mother things about her family because I have always loved to search family history. She was always very vague and now I know why! Her grandfather named Francoise Strother McCabe, came from Ireland to West Virginia with his wife and eventually 10 children, in the early 1800's. Somewhere in this transition he killed a man and his wife suggested he leave, which he did, changing his name to his Mother's maiden name, "Gray".
He ended up in Ohio and later joined the Union Army. (I do not know of anyone else in our families who was in the Union Army!) During the Civil War, great-grandfather Gray, ran a prison boat on the Ohio River, and was in the Ohio 35th Infantry. After the Civil War, he remarried and his first son was John Houston Gray, John's grandfather. This is also John's name and one of his uncles. No one knows where the name "Houston" came from...Sam Houston perhaps? He moved to Gallatin, TN and lived there and later in what is now the Rivergate area.
Lots more on this branch of the family next.
Meantime, I range feelings from optimism to discouragement. Above all, I KNOW God will be merciful, and will take care of me and us. Praying this will be a wonderful, blessed and exciting year for all!
Change After 30 Years
4 weeks ago
Happy New Year Bev and John!
ReplyDeleteAs you can see, I'm a bit behind. It's now January 3, and I'm just now catching up on my reading of your blogs. Wow, this historical portion was fantastic. I cannot wait to hear more. I want to know when the -son got added to Gray! In my family our name was Tomlinson, a really nice old English name, till my Granddaddy (I guess it was him) decided the name was too long and sliced off the beginning to make it Linson. I still have relatives going by that name, but most of us claim the original. People are so funny! I want to know which house or where the John Houston Gray lived in Rivergate. Was it near that corner where the gorgeous old yellow mansion sat till "progress" leveled it? Don't you wish sometimes we could go back and claim all those beautiful old houses that sat along Gallatin Road in the Madison/Goodlettsville/Hendersonville area. I can hardly remember what it used to look like. Now they are doing the same thing to Gallatin in Sumner County. Phooey on the "money grabbers"! I want my history!
You must have word to share with us by now from the oncologist. I so hope we hear something very promising. We know the Lord is full of miracles, and we are only asking for one miracle for you. My prayers continue dear friend.
Blessed New Year to John and you,
Barbara and Alan