How we got here, Part I

My grandmother was Addie Lee Robinson, who was born in London, England, on Jan. 2, 1898. Her mother died at a young age, and Addie was raised by her father, Lee Robinson, an Irish fellow who eventually moved his small family to Liverpool. Addie was a hard working woman, who raised four children herself -- three boys and a girl. Her oldest son, William Franklin Ranew Sr., was my father.

Addie lived in Liverpool she was about 15 years old. In the early 1900s, Liverpool was one of the largest shipbuilding ports in the world. More so, it was known for its textile industry, and it was in textiles that Lee Robinson plied his trade, as a mill supervisor. Being Irish and being very big, Lee was fond of his ale, and was known to visit the public house on the way home from work in the evenings. Addie told me the story once of her looking out the window of their flat down the road watching for her father as he returned from work. When she saws him, he was swinging his lunch bucket full of brew, heading home singing Irish tunes.

It was on one of these nights in the hard winter of 1913 that Addie fell asleep in the front parlor waiting on her Da'. He stormed in near midnight, beseeching her to "pack a single bag, Addie Lee, for we're a heading off to America."

Addie wondered aloud as to why this sudden sojourn, but Lee refused to tell her until they were safely on board a freighter heading for Savannah. The journey was rough, with the ship tossed all over creation by the stormy winter seas. But they finally made it to Savannah, and eventually settled on living in a town called Quitman.

Addie once told me that her English accent was lost pretty quickly amongst the Georgia twang of her schoolmates. She has lost any vestige of it by the time I was born.

Lee died not long after Addie was married to my grandfather, John Ranew, a printer who lived in Quitman. They'd been married about 10 years and had all of their four kids by then when a letter arrived from a barrister (attorney) in England. The letter stated that it's intent was of a legal nature and requested that Addie provide, by return mail, proof of her identity as the only child of Mr. Robinson.

"Don't you go doing that, woman," John said. "They're just trying to lure you back to pay for the sins of your father."

With the letter came the story of why Lee and Addie made their way to the U.S. so suddenly. Addie told my father that the night they left Liverpool, Lee had stopped off at his pub for a beer or two with friends. Somehow the conversation with one of them turned nasty and led to a fight. Lee apparently took the better of the fellow, pounding him to a pulp, in fact. So bad were the gent's injuries at the hand of Lee Robinson that his death seemed imminent. Lee's friends hurried him from the pub and told him to get out of town to avoid what was sure to be a murder prosecution.

And so, the Robinsons came to the U.S.

Addie never answered the lawyer's letter. But years later, it was learned that the barrister was seeking her information as part of the execution of her uncle's will. He had owned a small department store chain in Western England and died, leaving each of his children, nieces and nephews a small inheritance.

Addie grew up and raised her kids, and eventually took a job as a projectionist at the Ilex theatre in Quitman. She saw every movie many times, and became quite a movie buff. Her favorite movies were "Gone with the Wind," "Peyton Place" and "The Three Faces of Eve."

She also attended the First Baptist Church in Quitman and always sat on the last pew.

She lived with her oldest son in her last years of life, even though she had maintained her own house for 50 years. Not too long before leaving her house, she mowed her lawn one last time on a hot August afternoon, with a push mower.

She was a strong willed lady and strong of body and spirit. She was very opinionated and had a quick and, at times, sharp wit. She loved her grandchildren, and I was lucky to have spent so much time with her. Addie Lee died in January 1989, not long after her 91st birthday. She is buried in Quitman.

On the other side of our family, we were Rich in love, if nothing else. The Riches came over from England in the late 1700s and farmed for generations in Southwest Georgia, near Donalsonville and Bainbridge. They eventually found they way into the sawmill business in a small town called Climax. And with that, the story only begins... (Watch for more)