Aunt Nina

Nina Josephine Watson, the daughter and eldest child of Eli Jasper Watson, Jr. and Malinda Josephine Nations Watson, was born on July 10, 1885 at Kilmichael, Mississippi. She married John Wesley Pearson on January 30, 1907. He was born on October 29, 1875 also at Kilmichael. Uncle John died at a Vicksburg hospital on July 6, 1933. I attended the funeral at the Poplar Creek Nations Cemetery. It was the most heavily mourned death that I have ever witnessed. You must remember that not only was he the relatively young father of a young family, it was also the depth of the depression. The whole family wept uncontrollably in the church building alongside the opened casket and at the graveside. This then boy of eight years could hardly believe it and much less understood. Aunt Nina and Uncle John had three children. The first was Nina Mae born on November 26, 1907 at Stewart, Mississippi. The second was Bessie Louise born November 13, 1910 at Stewart, Mississippi. The third was Woodard Wesley born on February 18, 1922 also at Stewart.

Nina Mae never married. She was somewhat slow and had health problems. My dad used to say that some of her mental problem was due to the severity of punishment doled out by Aunt Nina. I never agreed with the observation. She died on December 27, 1962 at Hollandale, Mississippi. Nell and I attended the funeral at the Hollandale Baptist Church, Hollandale, Mississippi. However, since we lived in Greenville, Mississippi at the time we did not attend the interment at the Poplar Creek Nations Cemetery the same day.

Bessie Louise was very bright and charming. She was of the flapper generation. Bessie attended and finished the work for a bachelor’s degree at the Delta State Teachers College, now Delta State University, at Cleveland, Mississippi. Bessie taught school and eventually earned the master’s degree. Bessie married a Baptist preacher by the name of Sanford Elyhue Swan, at Hollandale on June 3, 1937. Swan was born on June 20, 1906 at Shady Grove, Tennessee. They had four children–Sarah Louise, born August 5, 1942 at Ducktown, Tennessee; Allen David, born March 19, 1945 also at Ducktown; Roger Lamar, born July 7, 1946 at Knoxville, Tennessee; and Sanford Earl, born February 18, 1951 also at Knoxville. Bessie and Sanford visited the Charley James Watson family during their honeymoon for a night. I remember how proud I was of the new radio powered by a battery pack that my folks had just ordered from Sears. On that visit, Bessie impressed me as being extremely outgoing and bright and Sanford impressed me as being very reserved and bright. Nell and I visited Bessie and family (including Aunt Nina who was then old and staying with Bessie) in 1967 at Bull’s Gap, Tennessee for an afternoon. Bessie was still teaching school. Upon that visit I asked Aunt Nina how she liked Tennessee. She drew up in a knot and replied, “I don’t like it, it’s too cold.” Bessie died with cancer in Florida, near her Registered Nurse daughter, in about 1980. I did not get to go to the funeral. The last I heard, Sanford had married again and lives in Tennessee.

Woodard was a smart person. He did not earn a degree. He was educated through a business course and considerable private study and experience. He married Edna Mae Matthews on February 18, 1944 at Greenville, South Carolina. Woodard was in the military service at the time and the proposal was by mail. Edna travelled from Jackson, Mississippi to Greenville by bus for the wedding. They had one child, Mary Ann, who was born on December 10, 1944 at Montgomery, Alabama. Woodard worked for the Veteran’s Administration for about 20 years. After retiring from the V. A. he worked as the veteran’s service officer in Rankin County for several years. At the time of his death he had almost completed a course in tax preparation to work for the public. I was close to Woodard from the mid 1960’s until his death in 1981. His family asked me and I served as an active pallbearer. The last time I saw any of the family, except Edna, was at a meeting of the family at Woodard’s house in Richland, Mississippi after the funeral.

This story of Aunt Nina would not be complete without some rundown on her activities. She was a kind woman. Her sister, my Aunt Virginia, lost her husband in a wagon and mule accident while she was carrying twin girls. Aunt Virginia already had one daughter before the twins. So she was left with three baby girls in the early 1920’s. Aunt Nina used to bring very nice clothes from Hollandale by the car load to these fatherless girls. Uncle John was a mail carrier and had a good income during the depression. This made those nieces some of the best dressed little girls south of Kilmichael.

Dad and I spent a night with Aunt Nina in 1943. It was in January and we were on our way to Greenville, Mississippi to get some tires recapped on the farm truck at the England Motor Co. We reached Aunt Nina’s place in Hollandale in the afternoon. She fed us supper and breakfast the following morning. I do not remember all about what she served us to eat. But I do remember that she served me the first oleomargarine that I ever ate. It was not very good. It tasted like ants’ bodies had been put in the mixture and it had the consistency of lard. I thought it would never be a viable substitute for the real butter that was produced from our dairy herd.

The happy memories that I have of the Pearsons were their arrivals at our home south of Kilmichael in their Model A Ford laden with all kinds of things especially paper shell pecans. They always brought those nice large pecans from their backyard trees. The other happy memories are of the times that I went to visit Aunt Nina at Hollandale. Aunt Nina was a gracious host and loving aunt.

This was written by Roy C. Watson on December 7, 1986 at Jackson, Mississippi.