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<p>Elizabeth was left a widow with three small children to raise, Mattie, Luther and John (ages 12, 10, 5 in the 1870 Census, Tippah Co., MS).  Betty writes, "After his death, she stayed for approximately 3 years.  Then her father, John W. Crowder sold out and moved to Rusk Co., TX."  Elizabeth followed and married George Hays, a Methodist minister.   They had a daughter, Georgia, and George Hays died.  Family lore says he preached a sermon on Sunday, ate dinner, put his feet up for a nap and died.  Georgia was a small child when he died and Elizabeth was once again a widow and with 4 children to raise.</p>
<p>This remarkable Southern lady lived to be 100 years old.  There are pictures of her with her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren around her.  She filed for a Confederate widows pension in 1933.  She was denied a pension because she had not been married to Robert Silas White for ten years before his death.  That was the law!  She received no public assistance and depended upon her children to take care of her needs.  When Georgia was ill, Elizabeth was there to take care of her and her family and remained with them for a time after her daughter's death.</p>
<p>Elizabeth enjoyed fishing, just holding the cane and resting.  She knew how to card, spin and weave both wool and cotton to make their clothing.  Her dyes were from the woods; black walnut for black, wild indigo for blue.  Other dyes were made from the blackjack, white oak and black oak trees.  She cooked on the hearth of the fireplace.  She quilted their coverlets.  She was a small person, according to her 100th birthday story in the San Angelo Standard-Times.</p>
<p>She died before her 101st birthday could come around.  She was survived by her son John and her daughter Mattie.  She survived the Civil War, looting by both Confederate and Union troops, and a steamboat wreck on the Red River.  She was an amazing woman and I stand in awe of her.</p>
<p><a href="index.php?option=com_tng&amp;gofile=getperson&amp;indi=I708&amp;tree=CN" target="_self" title="Elizabeth Ann Crowder">Genealogy</a></p>
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