Hickman Family Tree

Peter Lightner Hickman, born at Mountain Grove, February 23, 1858, youngest son of the late Roger and Margaret Campbell Hickman, died in the Community House at Hot Springs on Tuesday night, April 20th. He had been a patient there for two weeks, suffering from an infection which caused his death. His home at Sunrise was near the Highland-Bath line, where he had lived during the greater part of his life, and was a prominent citizen, farmer, and churchman. His ancestors were pioneers of this section and were of Scotch descent, all prominent in their day and generation. He was educated at Roller's school, now the Augusta Military Academy at Fort Defiance. For a number of years he served his county as a justice of the peace. In 1895 he was happily married to Miss Ollie Gertrude Lockridge, of Columbus, Ohio, where they lived for two years, returning to his native state and county, and establishing a home at Sunrise. To this union seven children were born, all of whom survive, as does his widow. He lived an exemplary Christian life, and was honest and upright in all his dealings; devoted to his home, family, and friends; modest and unassuming, yet strong and firm in his convictions; always standing for that which was right and noble.

Dear Roger, Forrest, Virginia, Clare, Ruth, and Harry: Don't laugh at the heading of this letter because you will receive many from me like this. I qualified as Administrator on the 13th of May, and there came into my hands as such, cash in the amount of two hundred and thirteen dollars. I hope to goodness that you all fully realize what a job I have on my hands in attempting to get seven people to agree to the same thing with regard to the personal property. And I hope you further realize that lifelong enemies can be, and often are, made of brothers and sisters when they refuse to consider personal opinions and dwell only upon the thoughts of a few dollars. In view of the fact that we are so scattered, it is going to be a terrible job to come to any decision pertaining to the real estate. Just how long will it take you to answer this letter? Sincerely your brother, Julian.

Dear Squire, I received your letter last evening. You have not fully understood my meaning in my former letter to you. I did not mean that I never expected to marry, neither did I mean that I would not marry you. But as you do not seem to look at this matter the same as I do, it seems almost useless to try to explain my meaning. By Hamp's marriage you perhaps see the position it places me in: the main support of my mother and sister. And so long as I am sure of this position, I would not care to give it up for something uncertain. In other words, until we could see what you would be able to do and make a success of it, then I should be willing to make the change. For I am getting about tired of this way of living, and feel as though I would like a home of my own to take care of. I am sorry to be obliged to write you on the machine, but I started it with pen and ink, and there were so many around that I could do no good at it. This way is but little better, for I am writing in the room where there is the book-keeper, telegraph operator, and several others, and have to be very careful, and not let any one see what I am writing. I have not the time to write you any more at present. So will have to quit before they get after me. With love, Ollie.

Dear Ruth, How are you all tonight? We are well. We had a nice drive this afternoon, went out to see Mister and Mrs. Angus Wood and Bobby, who made me think so much of Billie. It does seem about time for Harry and me to return to Sunrise, but Harry isn't ready to go. He's still with the Electrolux but hasn't met with much success as yet. Here's hoping! I've been chief cook here this week. Frances is taking a leave of absence. I'm getting along very well but can't come up to Frances. I got me a pretty black dress since Christmas. Getting ready to go to Ohio soon as Doc gets my pass. Want to go along? I mailed Clare a birthday card today for the 12th. Had a letter from the Franson girls yesterday saying everything is all right. Virginia and Doc were out last night. I stayed with Harry this time. Love and kisses to Billie and Henmar. Mother.

Dear Mister Moore, I am indeed sorry to have been so long in replying to your letter of May 14th, but after hearing from you I communicated with each of my children, one being in the Pacific, and have just received a reply from him. We have come to the following agreement: The sale price, sixty-five hundred dollars, of which the sum of fifteen hundred dollars shall be paid in cash. I have written my son, Julian, with reference to the plot plan and trust he will be able to send one to you. Thanking you to let me hear from you, I am, Very truly yours, Mrs. P. L. Hickman.

As an experienced daydreamer with a long personal history of visual imagery, my thoughts on this subject may be worthy of pondering. As a lad each evening as I walked and listened for the tinkle of the cow bell, I became Napoleon and talked with enemy generals. When the few cows were found on some rocky hillside they were driven towards the barn as I continued my reverie. At about 8 years of age, I acquired a faithful hound dog who was named for my heroic figure, Napoleon. Later his name was shortened to just “Nap.” If we, both as individuals and nations, are to survive we must learn to live in harmony, with no ethnic group outside this long dreamed of Utopian structure. May I continue to daydream of Universal Brotherhood until my respiration ceases.

The best place in the entire world to read is on the upper deck of a freighter in mid-ocean. There are no telephones to ring, no conferences to meet, no appointments to make and definitely no chatter of neighborhood children. Again it is certain that the firmament can be viewed best on a clear mid-night, while sailing west on a tranquil Indian ocean. It was no accident that Galen, a physician who lived two centuries before Christ, on the shores of the Mediterranean, advised a sea voyage for those of physical and mental indisposition. Fall into line, live joyous and enchanted days aboard a ship with no definite arrival date. Let fate, luck or chance play a part in your previously over-planned life. Become a modern day, maritime Marco Polo, following the sun, north to south, east and west — always reading, concentrating, meditating and contemplating.

One who has lived approximately 29.5 percent of the time since the United States became an independent nation is certainly entitled to disclose a few observations on change in attitudes. My struggle began in childhood and continued on through manhood. Old age has been somewhat less of a competitive hassle. As a “kid,” I was amazed by the pleasures of the printed page. This incessant urge to read remains unabated. Most of my happy moments have been, as my dear mother would say, “I knew I would find you with your face in a book.” Real life is something that flows by unknown to us and possibly foreign to us. I want to assure you, as almost all of my useful years are over, that my greatest pleasure, enjoyment, happiness and satisfaction was found in routine work in my fields, and by reading about far-away places, then years later, in visiting such places as Fiji or Samoa.

Just a note to say what a swell job you did in handling all the details in connection with Si’s illness and death. I still can not realize that he is no longer here. At first one is numbed by the shock but after you recover from that it becomes quite clear that one is absent from the group. My mind constantly returns to him and his work in Elkton. Together the many friends he left there. I shall never forget how considerate Carl and his wife were. Mother has been awfully tired as we all have been. She is one marvelous person, with her philosophical attitude. Rog. took the 950 flight yesterday morning. He is really some boy.

I have purposely delayed in replying to your letter because I wanted time to think. My feeling of loyalty and brotherly love toward each other outweighs all emotions or apprehensions regarding honesty in settling the affairs of a deceased brother. Si did not slave seven days per week — hours on end — to accumulate money for the rest of his brothers to wrangle over. I am indeed grateful for any portion I receive from this source. As I told you I do not measure success or happiness by the dollar sign. Mother is taking Si’s going very hard and when she knows there is dissention among us that adds to her sorrow. Let there be no bitterness or harsh words at this time in our lives.

My sister and I have been grieved over the destruction of the very intimate possessions of our mother, Mrs. P. L. Hickman. As for her clothes, robes, gowns, underwear and shoes we are more than happy for the Home to use them in any way they see fit, but when it comes to her letters, pictures, books, hankies, scarves and her keepsakes — who was to know the value of these items? No one but a member of the family. I had attended a family reunion near Hot Springs, Virginia, on July 11th at which time a great tribute was paid to my mother as the oldest member of the clan and a card was signed by old and young who had attended. That card was among the things that were destroyed. Truthfully, we don’t know exactly what she did have there as there has always existed in my family a respect for the privacy of others and I never thought of rummaging through her possessions.

I am in full accord to selling the farm to Mrs. Shifflett for the sum of $7,500.00. In fact, I am somewhat relieved that it will be sold rather than have you and Clare try to carry on. I am also rather pleased that the farm will be sold to someone who will have a community interest in the activities of the valley rather than someone who will buy it for its commercial value.

Your case vs. Brigham’s Gardens, Inc. is set for 11/2/56. It is a very doubtful account as to collecting it and if you like will get Abstract and have it recorded. Enclosed is a clipping from the Staunton Leader in reply to your letter in the paper. The cost of the suit including Abstract will be $3.25 — have not cashed check since thought it better to wait and see about Abstract. Hope you and family are well, we are fine. LETS ALL VOTE — Your Bro. Clare.

Virge, I am going to confide something in you which I hope you will keep confidential. I am making a most drastic change in my life… Doc and I are separating. It is not a rash decision, I’ve been struggling with myself for the past several weeks and I’ve finally decided that a separation is inevitable. I therefore want to go to Richmond and see what luck I have at finding work as I simply have to occupy my mind or I’ll go mad. I am pretty much of a nervous wreck now. I am going to see if Fred and Marian will take Henmar for me for a period of a few weeks, until I can get myself adjusted. Bill I’ll keep with me as he would suffer too much from being away from me. It distresses me to have to write my troubles to you but I’ve kept it to myself as long as I possibly can.

I got a real shock when I walked into the Infirmary yesterday afternoon and found mother’s bed made up. Mary spied me in a few seconds and told me mother had been moved into one of the private rooms just outside the Infirmary. When I went in she said a few words to me but was too tired and sleepy to stay awake long. I sat there and every once in awhile she would say, Honey you go on home. I waited until I saw that she was made comfortable — by putting a rubber ring under her as her back is getting sore. Mrs. Doak just told me also that mother does not ask for the bed pan now and that with great difficulty she was able to get her to take a little liquid this morning.

As a special tribute to your upcoming birthday I had hoped to be able to write a letter of at least some reasonable level of thankfulness for a life well spent. I am not this morning in a very philosophical mood, and my efforts will not be fruitful of any tribute commensurate to the importance and magnitude of the occasion. There have been problems, anxieties and difficulties to which we should not close our eyes, but he who sees only with his eyes sees seldom more than the gloss, or dross of the exterior, but he who sees with his heart sees as much as faith in God has given the will to see. I am convinced that you produced seven children who see primarily from the heart.

There are many philosophical questions which we have not been able to resolve and which I hope we can never resolve. Unresolved philosophical questions add spice to life and point up man’s individuality. A lawyer’s life must be vicarious as well as episodical. I have learned to some extent through the years that a lawyer cannot become too deeply involved emotionally with the problems of the client because when and if he does he cannot view the problem with the objectivity that is essential. Of all the Hickman clan, I think it is generally conceded by all that the elder has the more repentive mind. Mother is looking forward to getting back to Virginia for a while in June. Never have I seen a person of ninety years of age who has the keen interest in life and people that mother has.

Yes it truly joyous news that the war is ending. However when all of the celebrating was in progress back there it didn’t seem here as if any war was over. We were having air raids. At the present I have no idea of my next move. I’m only hoping it will be home, but am not placing too much credence in that hope. To be home by Xmas with Danny would far surpass all expectations. Did you hear the broadcast from here on the day the Jap envoys arrived? I was on the field and saw the activities. I wish Billy would write me. Come, Billy, write “Uncle” a letter. He would like it very much. That goes for you also Henmar. I will show you how to live in a fox-hole, eat out of cans, wash and bathe in a helmet, also laundry.

Say kid, what is this I’m being led to believe about you being in the hospital for an old operation? I’m sorry sis. How are you progressing? Tip top, I’m hoping, and thinking. The sixty pointers, presumably will be leaving Ie Shima on the 5th of Nov. going to Okinawa to a staging area. I as of now have 58 points. The chances of my getting home for Xmas are very good. I hope by Mon. that I can write, “I’M COMING HOME, DO NOT WRITE ME ANY LONGER.” I am going to have all of my jaw teeth X-rayed, having all of those pulled that look on the verge of going bad. The few remaining jaw teeth are nothing but huge fillings, so I will be removing possible trouble if I have them all pulled. I hope our children don’t inherit our miserable teeth conditions.

I am pressing on with the Hickman family history and am about to start on the third volume of letters. It will begin with the oldest letters written in the 1830’s, and some deeds that are even older. There is no Hickman family history in this book. So — I am awaiting your stories, anecdotes, and clarification of the points raised in my earlier lists of questions. What I thought, last Christmas, would be a fairly simple task has turned into a multi-year project. And that is fine with me, because I am project-oriented. Instead of a routine, go-to-the-office and shuffle-the-papers job, I always worked on projects that could be defined, measured, and had definite products marking their completion. In 1988 Henmar and I floated the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. In 1989 I floated the Salmon River in April; Henmar and I hiked and camped with llamas in Hell’s Canyon in May; and I canoed the Missouri River in July.

I seem to have been in a winter-long funk during which I got little of anything worthwhile accomplished but now the sun has returned, comet Hale-Bop is bright in the evening sky, and I have come out of hibernation. One of the really neat things this winter was how there were predators in the yard catching the smaller birds here to use the feeders. There was a northern pygmy owl here for about ten days. This tiny guy was exceptionally tame, roosted in the wood pile next to my front door, and was little bothered by my coming and going. On the other hand, I hated to see the dwindling size of the covey of gray partridge. It started with twelve birds in the fall. There were nine of the birds in my yard almost every day during the worst of the winter to get the cracked corn and millet I put out for them, and I was beginning to believe they would make it through the winter. Then, with the thaw and declining snow cover, I began to see one fewer birds every couple days. Two weeks ago there were only three, and now there are none.