Family Tree - Tom & Ada Ferris

Tom Ferris is in the middle. Archie Grey is on the right. Archie is Tom's half brother. Albert Ferris , left, is Tom's brother . Their mother Amanda Jane Stevens Ferris Grey, married Mr. Grey after Tom's father, George Washington Ferris died. Archie came with Tom and Ada on their trip to Okalhoma from Texarkana, as did Ada's younger brother, Scott Spear.

Here is the complete family as of about 1912, with some Grey in-laws. Maude was a Grey. We're now 110 on Ferris Cousins Facebook page, but really in the hundreds. This is the Ferris family home. It burned down and was replaced with the log home for Ada.

This was taken on family portrait day, along with the whole family and the small children in front of the family home in Connerville . All the women’s and children’s clothing were made at home by hand and possibly the men’s. The small children’s clothes look like they were made especially for the event because they are matching. They didn’t have patterns, but copied pictures in style books, like Godey’s Ladies Book. The children’s outfits look European. Ada choose basic black as her best dress because it was appropriate for any occasion for a married woman in the Victorian era. Everything had to be ironed after washing with a cast iron ironing tool heated on the wood burning stove. Two were needed so one could be used while the second heated. I use them as doorstops. Ada did not know how to sew when she married at age 15. This was a neglect of her stepmother. Ada’s neighbor and good friend taught her to sew after the birth of at least three children.

Archie and some of his brothers built this log house for Ada after the family home burned. Ada was widowed in 1919. She and her granddaughters, Ann and Jerie Ferris are with her in front of her home.

The house had a living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom downstairs and a sleeping loft upstairs. Old photos show the logs exposed inside. The loft was full of beds with quilts and no partitions.

Ada always cooked on a wood burning stove. Jerie says she always had beans cooking on the wood stove. I have her black cast iron pot with little feet that can be used over a campfire or on the stove. I also have her iron kettle, flat on the bottom, for the stove top.

Her children bought her a gas stove, but she wouldn't use it. She had a son move it onto the back porch.

After Ada died Geraldine lived in the house. She hosted family reunions in the early 1960s. When we were there the stove was still on the back porch.

Here is a memory from Jerie:

I remember one Christmas all of the Ferris kids spent the night at Grandmas . None of the in-laws or kids were allowed to. The next day they were all laughing about how we acted and Grandma had to get after them the way she did as they were growing up.

Sue and I spent many nights there in the upstairs bed room. I loved the pretty shells that were built in the fire place to hold the matches.

We spent every Holiday at Grandma Ferris' growing up.

She was always cooking something in a big pot over the fireplace. She also was always making something: quilt tops, rag rugs different things. I remember when Mark was about two she sat and put buttons on a string for him to rattle and play with. She was also very strict. We went to her house every Holiday. Fourth of July all the smaller grand kids would have lots of sparklers; we lit up the sky. I don’t remember fire crackers but I am sure there were some.