Honoring the writings of May Wrenn Martin
There is a long and winding road
Along which each must go,
It leads beyond the hills of time
Into the sunset glow.
But only for a little while
Our loved ones leave our sight,
For just beyond the hills they wait
In God’s eternal light.
~~~
May Wrenn was born July 29, 1883, in Fleming County, the only daughter of Silas and Hattie Wrenn.
She attended grade school in Flemingsburg, the A&M College in Alabama, where she taught two terms in the spring and summer and two terms at Mt. Carmel School in Fleming County.
Miss Wrenn became united with the Strawberry Methodist Church under Rev. D.E. Skelton in 1900.
On Aug. 5, 1903, she became the bride of Andrew Martin and to this union, they were blessed with two wonderful daughters, Frances and Blossom Martin.
She spent the majority of her life in Flemingsburg and was an active member of the Women for Christian Service when first organized.
She received much joy, pleasure and happiness in contributing to the health and well being of her relatives, friends and loved ones.
A few of her favorite songs were, “Beyond the Sunset,” “He’ll Understand and say Well Done,” “The Old Rugged Cross” and “How Great Tho Art.”
Loved and admired by everyone who knew her she had gained the respect of countless people during her life span.
May Wrenn Martin departed this life Jan. 14, 1976, at the age of 92.
The following words are the personal recollections written for the Times Democrat in 1952.
My Memories; Dedicated to my daughters, Frances and Blossom
“My good friend, the late Mrs. Iolene A. Hawkins, asked me to write about the Negro people of Flemingsburg, Ky., that have passed. She knew them all and thought they were worthy of being mentioned since they played an important, if small, part in the growth of Flemingsburg.
So I will try to resurrect the ghost of those men and women who lived here when the town was young.
As I look down the dim corridors of forgotten years, I see the mist forming.
Out of it emerges the ghosts of men and women long gone, but who have left their enduring marks on the sands of time.
Marks that will never be effaced. Marks of good deeds and workmenship.
There are only a few in town today who remember these people, but you can see their handiwork in the stone fences, houses and public buildings.
As the mist clears I see the bent forms of Bill and Hannah Beadle, grandparents of Andrew Martin. They were slaves, but like the rest of the race loved and served the Lord.
Out of bondage into freedom they emerged and prospered. “Aunt Hannah” as she was affectionately called, worked for Mr. David Wilson, the grandfather of Mrs. Lizzie Steel Armstrong.
Her son, Dudley Martin, worked with her in the same family as a houseman.
He stayed with them for over forty years, having gone there as a small boy.
There were the Bradley and the Buck Jackson families. “Uncle Buck” was employed for many years by the grandparents of Mrs. Edward Kelley and the Joseph and Ellen Crump family. These were good, honest, hard working people.
The Crump heirs own most of Newtown, that section of town which has always been owned by Negroes.
Alfred Shepherd, Reece Boyd and Robert Carr were rock and mortar men.
Robert Carr was a relative of the late Bob Carr who at the time of his death was employed at City Hall and the grandfather of Harry and Joe Taylor.
Charley Riley was engaged in plastering.
Billy Flynn, his son Joseph, Henry Cochran and Alex Wesley were the oldest carpenters.
The Flynn’s worked for the late W.S. Fant, the miller.
Some of the buildings they erected are still standing.
Billy Owens, Claude Fox and George Williams followed the trade of painting.
The oldest blacksmiths were Isaac Byrd, Henry Blow, Nathan Parker and Pete Jones.
The barbers were Luther Cash, father of Eugene Cash Sr. and John Haney, father of the late Mrs. Patsy Whyte.
These two men worked as partners. Another was Alex Williams and in later years John “Did” Harrison.
We had hotel chefs.
Matthew Lawson worked for Mr. Stitt when he operated the hotel in the building now occupied by the Farmers Bank.
Daniel Fant was employed by the Judge Harberson family for many years as a cook.
Our best hotel waiter was Lee Runyon, a cripple on crutches. He could balance a well filled tray on one hand.
I am sure there are a few persons now living who remember Joe Cash.
He might be referred to as the town “crier” since he not only stood in front of the former Bright’s Hotel and the Rhyan House ringing a bell at the noon hour but also up and down the streets on sale days and other occasions.
Tom Lacy was for years a railroad section boss over the C.F and A. His nephew, Tom Jackson worked for him.
The first laundry was run by the late Tennyson Fletcher. He owned and operated his business on Fox Spring Avenue where Allie Carr now lives.
Next come the tillers of the soil. Alfred Warner, the wheat man.
He owned his own threshing outfit. His three sons worked with him.
There was Silas Wrenn who raised the stand up burly tobacco and was said to have raised more per acre than any other during his time.
He also grew and marketed strawberries all over town.
Buck Young, Frank Story, William Smith, Milton Williams and Dudley Murphy, were all farmers.
We did not have a “sand man” but we did have an ice man.
William Ecton hauled ice from Maysville, and peddled it from door to door. His two sons William and Steele worked with him.
Andrew Martin, the late husband of the author, had a milk route which he walked, carrying a rack of bottles in each hand.
This was before delivery by milk wagons. He also butchered hogs for people, making lard, sausage and curing hams. He loved bird dogs and spent a great deal of time training them.
In writing these articles a lot of the credit goes to my husband. Since he was four years my senior he was able to fill me in on a lot of the data.
The mist is forming again, and the ghosts are fading away, but their good deeds live on in the work they left behind and in the hearts of all who remember.
~~~
We would like to thank Brenda Plummer for allowing us to share these memories with our readers in celebration of Black History Month.
Copies of the typed manuscripts were taken from the originals in possession of Carolyn Sauer and can be seen at the Fleming County Covered Bridge Museum.
Next week we will have more of Mrs. May Wrenn Martins memories to share.
