Block 17. A Stitch in Time

by Terry Thornton
email: hillcountrymonroecounty@gmail.com

A stitch in time. . . Block 17 of the circa 1931 Friendship Quilt in the Museum of the Itawamba County Historical Society

GRISSOM, A.P., Block 17

Al P. Grissom 36, RFD Mail Carrier, Mantachie, is listed on the 1920 census. In the household with Al Grissom are wife Donie, daughter Pauline, and sons Horace, Morris E., and James W. Grissom.

Kermit McFerren states that Mr. Grissom was the mail carrier on the Dorsey and Ratliff routes. When those routes were started, the mail was delivered by horse and buggy.

The 1930 census of Mantachie lists Mr. Grissom, 46, as the RFD Mail Carrier. His household consisted of wife Donie, 47, sons Horace W., 16, Morris E., 13, James W., 10, Al J., 8, and a boarder, Clide Turner, 24.

Al P. Grissom is buried at Mantachie Cemetery.

GRISSOM, Donie, Block 17. Surname provided by IHS Board Member Kermit McFerrin.

Wife of Al P. Grissom, Donie is listed as 37 years old on the 1920 census of Mantachie. Included with her and Al are daughter Pauline, sons Morris E. and James W. Grissom.

See additional information from the 1930 census at A.P. Grissom.

Mrs. Grissom is buried in Mantachie Cemetery according to Kermit McFerrin.

GRISSOM, Morris E., Block 17

Thanks to IHS member Joe Sheffield for his help transcribing Block 17.

Son of Al and Donie Grissom, Morris E. Grissom was listed as 3 years 2 months old on the 1920 census of Mantachie. Included with Morris and his parents are sister Pauline and brothers Horace and James W. Grissom.

According to the SSI Death Index, Morris E. Grissom, a Mantachie resident, was born October 27, 1916 and died July 3, 2002. He is buried in the Mantachie Cemetery.

Kermit McFerrin remembers Morris E. Grissom as a World War 2 veteran, husband of Burnette McFerrin, State Highway Department employee, and as a member of the Mantachie Methodist Church.

See additional information at A.P. Grissom.

GRISSOM, Al Jr., Block 17.

Al Grissom Jr. was the son of A. P. Grissom and Donie Grissom of Mantachie. He is listed as an 8 year-old on the 1930 census with his parents.

Kermit McFerrin states that A.P. Grissom Jr. was born in Mantachie, served in World War 2, was a career Air Force member, and retired to Mantachie where he as an active member of the First Mantachie Baptist Church. Mr. Grissom is buried in Mantachie Cemetery.

If you have additional information about any of the names on this quilt square, please post a comment below. Your help is needed to "write" the story of this almost eighty-year old quilt.

A stitch in time . . . The 2010 Friendship-Memory Quilt

Volunteer to piece a square for the 2010 Friendshid-Memory Quilt, a project of the Itawamba Historical Society. The squares are cut and volunteers are needed to appliqué a fabric bird to the square. Names will be embroidered around the square and the square incorporated into a king-sized memory quilt to be raffled later in 2010 as a fund-raiser for the Society. Your help is needed; your donations are most appreciated; and you are cordially invited to become a member of the Itawamba Historical Society.

Telephone 662-282-7664 for information or visit the Society at the Corner of Church Street and Museum Drive in Mantachie, Mississippi.

SOURCES:

Family information from Memories from Itawamba County: A Friendship Quilt circa 1931 --- A Stitch in Time by Terry Thornton with assistance from Members of the Itawamba Historical Society, Itawamba Settlers, Quarterly Journal of the Itawamba County, Mississippi, History and Genealogy. Winter 2009, Pages 143-61.

Square from 1931 Friendship Quilt photographed by Terry Thornton, September 3, 2009, Bond's House Museum, Itawamba Historical Society, Mantachie, Mississippi.