Person:Francis Mullies (1)

From the hand written notes of Mildred Christine Farrell Querry:

Fanny Bethany Mullis was the youngest daughter of Thomas and Mary Louisa Jefferson. She was born in Wilkes couty, North Carolina in Sep. 1858. Little is know of her childhood years Her father was killed in 1863 in the Civil War. She was only 5 years old. She married Melvin Arel Queen on December 8, 1878 at age 20. They had 6 children 5 of whom lived to adulthood. Dola May, Ida FiDelia, Coral Luellen, Viola Louisa, Ortha Clinton, Roy Arel. Dola and Ida were born in North Carolina. In 1882 Melvin and Bethany moved their girls to Foster, Bates County, Missouri. In the Summer of 1894, Melvin became ill. Our record is not clear wheather he had heat stroke or typhoid fever, but on August 5, 1894 he died and was buried in Woodfin Cemetery in Foster. This left Bethany with 5 children to care for. The youngest only 3 years old. Bethany's mother Louisa lived with her which must have been of great comfort to her.

After her husband's early death, she moved to the place where she was to spend the rest of her life, except for the later years she spent with her children because of loneliness. In 1897 she purchased 10 acres one mile west of Foster. The sequemce of these event aren't clear. It isn't known if she bought the land and either built a house on it or if the land joined the house that was already there. She fed and clothed her family by growing anything she could and canning, drying, and preserving. She kept boarders for a time. She wove rugs and raised turkeys. Each granchild except maybe the youngest has happy memories of the times and Grandma's smokehouse where she kept her loom and the treks intoo the woods area behind the house to hunt for turkey nests.

By the year 1920 all her children had established homes of their own, leaving her alone. When Cora and her husband Raleigh moved to Hume, Missouri, she rented out her home and moved with them. She spent a part of her time with the other children also.

In 1926 she suffered a stroke from which she never completely recovered. She wasn't invaled just slower in mind and body. In 1929 Viola's husband passed away, leaving her with 2 children, the youngest only 2 years of age. This sparked a feeling of need in Bethany and the next few years, she spent with her daughter and grandchildren helping in any way she could. In the spring of 1935 Cora and Raleigh moved back to the old home place and she made her home with them until she passed away in 1937.

Added note told to Ronda Querry by Mildred:

As a child, Mildred remembered her grandmother smoking a corn cob pipe with the tobacco she grew. She remembered her grandmother being a very kind person.