Continued from Part 4 . . .
As Sarah's son Martie McIntyre was entering his mid-teens, World War I began raging in Europe. When the United States joined the war in 1917, Sarah’s family felt the effects. Against his mother’s wishes and desiring to follow in Gould’s footsteps, Martie enlisted in the Navy on August 2, 1918. His military records describe him as 5’9” tall, 153 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair, and ruddy complexion.1 Prior to this time when men enlisted in the Navy, they served four years, but as an incentive to get recruits for the war effort, they were allowed to enlist for the duration of the war. This was Martie’s choice. When Germany signed an armistice with the Allies on November 11, 1918, the war officially ended, but Martie served several more months. By special order of the Secretary of the Navy, he was honorably discharged on April 17, 1919.2
Seven months after Martie returned from the Navy, Sarah made room for a daughter-in-law in the home. On November 15, 1919, Martie married Fannie Mae Myers (1902-1925), daughter of Jacob A. Myers, a magistrate and teacher in Smyth County, and his wife Oma Allen Deal Myers, a teacher and drama coach. Fannie’s dimpled smile and gentle ways added cheer to the McIntyre home. Within a year (August 10, 1920), Fannie gave birth to Sarah’s first grandson, Woodrow Wilson McIntyre, and twenty-three months later (July 16, 1922) to a granddaughter, Norma Lois McIntyre. By this time in her life, Sarah must have learned not to take good times for granted. A year or so after the birth of her second child, Fannie was diagnosed with “consumption,” a term used at that time for tuberculosis, and sent to Catawba, a tuberculosis sanitarium near Roanoke, Virginia.
Fannie’s treatments failed to cure her of the disease. After she returned home, she began to keep a diary. Her first entry was dated Dec. 27, 1924, and the last entry was penned in May 1925. Within the pages of this slim volume, she recorded her hopes and dreams and the events of her life. She often mentioned her mother-in-law, mostly in terms of illness or work: “Mrs. McIntyre is sick today,” or “Mrs. McIntyre is ironing.” Fannie also noted friends and family members who visited her, among them two women evangelists, Mayo Moses and Mabrey Evans. Fannie wrote glowingly of her affection for them.
February [1925], Sunday—1
Mayo has been here I love Mayo. I know she is a good girl. This old world we’re living in is very hard to beat. We get a rose with every thorn, But aren’t the roses sweet. . . .
Monday—16
Mayo has been here. She brought Miss Evans. They are such nice girlies and are doing a good work. . . .
Tuesday—24
It is cloudy to day. I don’t feel good at all. The meeting is still in progress, and will be this week. Mayo has not been here since Sat. I wish she’d come.3
When Fannie died on September 7, 1925, five days before her twenty-third birthday, Martie and Mayo stood on opposite sides of her bed holding her hands.
Once again, motherless children were left in Sarah’s care, but this time at age sixty-five she was suffering from poor health. Unlike John Chapman, who seldom visited Gladys and Lorene, Martie took responsibility for his children. Life went on in the McIntyre household. Martie bought property farther up the hillside in Allison Gap and began construction on a new house. Later, Allie built a barn on the property and continued to keep a large garden.
Though she was just a young teenager, Lorene carried much of the responsibility for the care of Lois and Woodrow. Gladys had moved to Hopewell where her Uncle Gould lived and found a job. Though Sarah’s health began to fail, she kept in touch with her “adopted” children, Gould and Gladys. A few letters to Gladys remain. These letters illustrate Sarah’s devotion to these young people whose lives were entrusted to her care as children. That she often signs her letters “Mother” illustrates the way she regarded them. Though she did not record the year, indications are that these letters were probably written in 1926, about two years before Sarah died.
Saltville Va
January 23
dear daughter
it is with great Pleasure to night that i will try and drop you a few lines to let you
Know that i have not forgotten you gladis they all well here but me and i dont get no better nor never will. . . . hope those few lines will find you all right
Lorene is at home she is lots of help to us thire is a 20 days singing school agoing on here now Lorene is going all the time we don’t want her to miss none of it for it is good well gladis thire is lots of Sickness and deaths here thire was Some one buried nearly every day last week Mr Charley Surber and his brother died at McCrady Gap Mrs lineberry Anie Haynes4 mother and anie die is dead
. . . .
So be good and take good care of your Self for thire is so many girls kidnapped i am uneasy about you so be carful this from your Mother to her daughther
So good night Sarah McIntyre
________
April the 5, [1926]5
dear gladis
ithought i would try and drop you a few lines i would have rote sooner but have not been able . . . . the children got thir baskets was well Please gladis if i could get out of the house i would have sent you a Ester Preasant but just as soon as i can get out i will send you something nice
Well gladis we had a surprise Party Come in on us last Friday night at Eleven oclock i know you cant guess so i will tell you your aunt dealy and and uncle billy and Ribern Arnell and Earnest and his wife6 they Stayed all night and went on the first train they come to See your aunt Em7 and then come to See me i Sure was glad to see them all when you come home Marti Said that he would take us all down there
Well Lorene has not missed a day in school. . . . Gould has got a big boy8 they call him junior i forgot to tell you that Dell and Hugh and francis was here last Saturday9 they come and we was not looking for them well the old Gap is just the same only worse there is moore meanness than ever was Know before i Sure was glad that you got out i am a going to try and get Loren out just as soon as we can This is no fitten place for a deacent girl to Stay i am so sorry that Marti come back if i could get out to night i sure would go10 i am well Pleased with you that you are holding yourself up. . . . well I will close now will rite more next time don’t fail to rite to me i will rite just as often as i can
this from Mother
so good by my little girl be a good girl
_______
August the 5
dear daughter
After a long delay I thought i would drop you just a few lines to let you Know
how we all are all well as comen but me i have not been able to do nothing sience you was here well i Seen fransias batten11 She Said to tell you to come back just as soon as you can for She Shur did enjoy you company while you was up at her home you Said that you was coming home in September hop you will come well Mrs. Myers and Charles and fred12 is all down with tyfoied fevor. . . .
Allie said for you to go and send her them samples of t woolen dress goods and she will Pick her out one and Send the mony . . . for it so dont fail to do that the children13 has gon to bed Marti is down at times has just come in from the store so I so I don’t know of any thing more to rite at Preasant will give you all the news next time
Hope to hear from you soon gladis don’t fail to rite to me often for Part of the time I can rite to you and you must not fail to rit often so I will close
for to night so be good
and take good care of your Self
So good night my little daughter
this from Mother
rite soon
________
Oct 25 [1927]
Dear daughter
ithought i would drop you a few lines this morning as aunt Marry Collins is
waiting on me to take it to the Post office i would have rote sooner but have not been able to go half my time gladis what has become of Lorene don’t hear from her Gladis Hizzie14 was awful Proud of her dress it Sure is nice goods well Virgie Tallor15 run of the other day and got married India Haynes16 is Married they both married men from Marion I don’t know know their names well I have not time to rite mutch will give you all the news next time when do you think you are coming . . . I sure do want to see you
So I will close for this time this leaves all well as comen hope this will find you the Same
So good by for this time
be a good little girl
this from Mama
to her daughter
rite soon
________
The next year, Sarah learned, inadvertently, that on August 24, 1927, Martie had secretly married Mayo Moses (1898-1988), the lady preacher and Fannie’s friend. They slipped off from a Church of God camp meeting at Christiansburg and were married at Appomattox. As a featured evangelist at the camp meeting, Mayo was afraid her marriage would divert attention from the purpose of the camp meeting—to win souls for Christ—hence the secret ceremony. The couple planned to hand out marriage announcements after the last service, but Martie’s mother discovered one of the announcements as she searched Martie’s pockets preparing to launder his clothes. The secret was out.
Mayo was a Tennessee girl, the daughter of a tenant farmer, William Moses, and his wife, Martha Oody Moses. At age sixteen, she had been converted during a revival meeting near Loudon, Tennessee, by Church of God evangelist, the Reverend A. G. Riddle. So impressed were the Riddles by Mayo’s zeal for the Lord that they took her into their home at Atkins, Virginia, to tutor her in Bible study and Church of God teachings.17 After her education with the Riddles and a time at Berea College in Kentucky, Mayo began a preaching ministry with another woman evangelist, Mabrey Evans. Mayo and Mabrey held revivals in communities throughout Southwest Virginia, including Atkins, Marion, Christiansburg, and Saltville. Mayo also took interim pastorates at Elliston and Chatham Hill, and for a few years she pastored the new congregation at Allison Gap. Mayo’s strong voice carried across the congregation and out through the windows to the surrounding hillside homes in powerful prayers and sermons, and she ministered in many homes praying for the sick.
In contrast to Mayo’s strong voice, Martie was soft spoken and modest. He had learned compassion and generosity from his mother. By this time, he was working in the Matheson company store as a grocery clerk. The Matheson Alkali Works had come to Saltville in 1893, and the company owned much of the town. Martie often helped the poor by giving them goods they needed and charging his own bill.
When Mayo joined the McIntyre family, she gained not only a husband, but also two small children (Lois and Woodrow), a teenager (Lorene), a mother-in-law (Sarah), and “Aunt Allie.” She ran an organized and efficient household and continued Sarah’s tradition of housing and feeding guest preachers.
Within a year of Martie’s marriage to Mayo, Sarah died on 23 May 1928.18 And so the earthly life of an ordinary woman of Southwest Virginia came to an end. Her life exhibits traits upon which communities thrive. She overcame many tragedies: early loss of both her parents, the stigma of her father’s defection from the Confederate army, early loss of her husband, loss of two stepchildren and a daughter-in-law as young adults, and more. With dignity and with her friend Allie by her side, she used what little resources she had to make a living for herself and for the children entrusted to her care. With her modest resources, she helped establish the Church of God in the area by housing and feeding visiting evangelists. Beyond her own neighborhood, Sarah McIntyre was unknown. However, in her determined and humble way, she represents many women who faced the hardships of life with determination and courage. They taught their children to honor God and country, to continue the work ethic modeled for them, and to be compassionate, contributing citizens. Thus Sarah Geer McIntyre and countless women like her helped to weave the social an economic fabric of their communities for the good.
 s |
| John Martin "Martie" McIntyre, U. S. Navy 1918. |
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| Fannie McIntyre, her son Woodrow (r) and bother Charles (l), c. 1921. |
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| L. to r. back: Mr. Moore (a cousin of Sarah's), Sarah McIntyre, Charles Myers (Fannie's youngest brother); l to r. front: Woodrow McIntyre, Lois McIntyre, and the little blondie is an unknown granddaughter of Mr. Moore's, c. 1925 or '26. |
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| The lady preacher, Mary Mayo Moses, c. 1925. |
Acknowledgments
Thanks to my mother, Lois McIntyre Troutman, for telling me stories and for saving all the letters and photos. Thanks to Harry Haynes at the Museum of the Middle Appalachians for introducing me to The Smithfield Review and for answering my many questions about Saltville, Allison Gap, and the people who lived there long ago. Thanks to Hugh Campbell and others at The Smithfield Review for their comments and suggestions to improve the clarity of this manuscript, which was originally published in that journal in 2007, Vol. 11. (As I adapted the article to this blog, I corrected a few errors I found. Nothing is perfect.) From readers, I welcome any additional information that might shed light on the life of Sarah McIntyre and her family and the people she knew.
1 Enlistment papers are in the possession of the author.
2 Discharge papers are in the possession of the author. The family story about Martie’s WWI service is that he was underage when he enlisted, and Sarah was able to get him discharged for that reason. However, on finding Martie’s enlistment papers, I discovered this not to be the case. He was 20 years old when he enlisted. The only possible reason for this story that I can think of is that maybe Martie tired to enlist in the Navy at age 17, and Sarah was able to get him out at that time, but there is no record of such an event.
3 Fannie Myers McIntyre. Unpublished diary. 1925. This book is in the possession of the author.
4 Annie Haynes was the wife of David Haynes and the mother of India Haynes mentioned in Sarah’s Oct. 25th letter. Annie’s mother had died.
5 The year can be inferred from the reference to the birth of Gould C. McIntyre, Jr., born in 28 Feb 1926.
6 Aunt Dealy was Cordelia McIntyre Arnold, sister to Martin McIntyre (Sarah’s husband); Uncle Billy was William Ector McIntyre, of Abingdon, brother to Martin McIntyre; Ryburn and Earnest Arnold, were sons of Cordelia McIntyre Arnold.
7 Aunt Em refers to Emmaline McIntyre Stanfield, sister to Martin McIntyre.
8 This would be Gould C. McIntyre, Jr., born in 28 Feb 1926.
9 Adelle (Stanfield) Bolton, her husband Hugh and daughter Frances. Adelle was daughter of Martin McIntyre’s sister Emmaline who married James M. Stanfield.
10 Whatever was going on in the “Gap” that caused Sarah’s desire to see the family leave there is not certain. Despite this, the family stayed in Allison Gap home until 1992, when Gerald McIntyre died and the house was sold. Martie believed in the people of Allison Gap; he rejoiced whenever a “Gap boy” made good. He encouraged children to do well in school; he gave to the poor. At his funeral in 1966, his good deeds, stories the family didn’t know, were told repeatedly by people of the Gap, people who had been recipients of Martie McIntyre’s compassion and generosity.
11 This refers to Frances Bateman who was principal of the Allison Gap School at one time.
12 These people are the mother and brothers of Fannie Myers McIntyre, Martie’s deceased wife.
13 “The children” are Martie’s children, Lois and Woodrow.
14 Hizzie is a nickname for Allie Rumbley.
15 Virgie Taylor, daughter of Rush Taylor, married John Mays.
16 At age 17, India Haynes married Lynn Wassum, as noted in the 1930 Census, Smyth, Virginia; Roll: 2461; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 3; Image: 627.0. Ancestry. She was 20 years old at the time the census was taken on April 30, 1930. One can infer, then, that this letter was written in 1927.
17 My mother, Lois McIntyre Troutman, often told me this story, but it is also recorded in the following book: Berny Berquist and Maxine McCall. Posthumorously, Berk (Drexel, NC: C & M Resources, 2000), 77.
18 Virginia, U.S., Death Records, 1912-2014, citing Sarah A. McIntire, 23 May 1928; Ancestry.
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