DuBois/Stark and Warford/Farris Ancestors

Grandmother (I never called her Grandma or other nickname) lived next door to us in Marshall, MO for a few years. What I can’t work out is exactly when; I’m guessing about 1959 or 1960. My telescoped recollection of my grandparents fits into Before Granddad Died and After Granddad Died And I Stayed With Grandmother From Time to Time. Granddad passed on in 1962, Grandmother in 1965, so I had her undivided attention for about two and a half years. My favorite activity with her was playing Scrabble which we started doing maybe when I was about eight. I will always be grateful for that game, and for Dad and Grandmother prompting us kids to spell or name the continents or point to a place on a map or answer a question about American history. Scrabble gave me a fine appreciation for words. We used an old Webster’s dictionary for challenges which did not have a lot of Scrabble-inspired words in it. We didn’t challenge each other often, because we were both excellent spellers. Oh! How I lived

  My memories of Granddad DuBois are few. I’m sure he was a great man, worthy of a better biography, and I depend upon all my older cousins to fill me in. What I remember of him before he died when I was seven: ·   At their home in Fulton, playing pickup stix or looking at the Viewmaster. ·   Granddad, if I played on the floor, liked poking me in the ribs with his cane. He thought he was tickling me and would laugh jovially. ·   Granddad asked me to spell M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I. Dad did that, too. I never missed that in any spelling bee or quiz. I also knew it was next to Alabama and was where some relatives lived and where he grew up. ·   Granddad repeating the nursery rhyme: Eenie-Meenie-Miny-Moe, with the next line being something I will never fully repeat. It was Grandmother’s gentle correction that endeared me to her. “Catch a N----r by the Toe,” said Slaton. Grandmother intervened with “Catch a Tiger by the Toe. That’s what you say.” I could see by his expression any lack