1985 John Morgan [Jack] Clayton memories of his Grandma Mellie Morgan.

  Helen Melvina "Mellie" Groesbeck Morgan abt. 1925

The following is from a 1985 interview with John Morgan [Jack] Clayton, son of Gail Morgan Clayton. His mother, Gail was born in 1888, the 8th child of John Hamilton and Helen Melvina "Mellie" Groesbeck Morgan. Jack was answering questions asked by his cousins, about his memories of his Grandma Mellie Morgan.

Jack said: “The way she did her hair up in that knot. And beautiful hair!

“She was a very interesting person. She tried to keep up on things that were going on in the world all the time. I mean, she wasn’t just way back there, she was up here. As a matter of fact, when you would do something, she would try to kind of interview you. Every time I’d come back from Randolph from spendin’ the summer up there, she would sit me down and say,’Now tell me everything you did—don’t just say you went swimming in the river and that you went to church once. Tell us about it.’

“Going back to my first recollection of Grandma was really on a trip to Randolph. And we were little. And it took you all day to get to Randolph. My father had an old touring car—I don’t know if it was the old Columbia, or when I had a Lap, I don’t remember. But we were going up there, and all of us kids, and Mother and Grandma. And it was lousy weather. As a matter of fact, the car spun around—all the way around—and the women screamed and hollered, but Dad said, “Don’t worry about it!” I am sure he was a surprised as she, but I didn’t notice. As we were driving along, Grandma looked, and there was a herd of cattle down there with the snow, and she said, “Oh, look at the sheep.” And us kids laughed and said, “Grandma, they are cattle!” And my Mother said, “You shouldn’t laugh at Grandma, because at her age maybe they do look like sheep, and the day will come when you’ll have a little trouble with your eyes too—when you get as old as she is.”

Written on the back in Winifred Rex Andrus' hand:

 Uncle Jack & Aunt Gail & family

I recently understood whose family is in this picture. It is the very family and car Jack is referring to in the interview above. The John Morgan [Jack] and Gail Morgan Clayton family. The family members according to New Family Search are:

John [Jack] (1882-1974)and Gail Morgan Clayton (1888-1984)

Berenice Clayton Purchase (1912-1992)

John [Jack] Morgan Clayton (1914-1995)

Gail Clayton (1919-1968)

Darwin Spencer Clayton Sr (1921-1997)

Richard William Clayton (1925-)

Find an old Columbia touring car by searching for "Columbia" here.
An account of the Clayton cousins' trip to Randolph, and vacation with their Rex cousins at Bear Lake, is written here in Helen Rex Frazier's autobiography.

A special thank you to cousin Karen M. for transcribing and sharing early family interview tapes.