The following is a letter written by Norris Torner to Marlene Adams Morris. It is dated October 5, 1975. He mailed a spoon from the silver set of Isaac and Sarah Adkins.
Dear Marlene,
As I have a little time this p.m., I will try and fill you in on the old spoon's history.
It seems that after Grandmother Adkins died her silver set was divided among her heirs. Here is the way it goes:
Isaac Adkins 1817-1905 married Sarah Jane Buckbee 1818-1903 some time in the 1830s at Grimsby Ontario Canada. For their honeymoon, they rode horse back from Grimsby to Newport and purchased the brick house which is now Dr. Gale's home and 150 acres of land.
Grandmother rode on a side saddle and I was told her skirt came nearly to the ground when she was mounted.
Their daughter--married 1861.
Mary Rebecca Adkins 1840-1929.
Their daughter married 1882
Jennie Greene 1863-1937 married Wm. V. Torner 1859-1941
Their daughter married 1919
Florence M. Torner 1886-1966
Their son Jack A. Adams married Betty Shupe
Their daughter Marlene...
You will have to fill in the dates. I do not remember.
So this figures out that your Sarah J. Adkins was your Great-Great-Great Grandmother. The Adkins, Greenes, and Torners are all buried in the Newport Cemetery.
Marjorie continues to lose both weight and strength. She is very thin and quite forgetful also too weak to be up anymore. She sleeps much of the time which helps her to pass the long hours of being bedfast.
I keep as usual.
We hope you are all settled in and enjoying your apartment.
Kive from both of us.
M-N
Note: A heartfelt thank-you to the owners of the Adkins home. They opened their doors and invited strangers in for a tour. I understand this house was known as Temperance House and that William Henry Harrison delivered a campaign speech on its lawn. It's a beautiful home situated near the Ohio River.
Norris Greene Torner and Marjorie Torner on their weddiing day:
The following relates to the Adkins family:
BURY ME ON THE HILL-TOP
Bury my body on the hill-top high
Under the blue and starlit sky,
Placing my feet towards Sun Rise street
Placing my head where the sun sets meet
Leaving one hand next the Northern Light
Placing the right towards the Southland bright.
Leave my soul in the care of God,
Bury my hopes where Christ has trod,
Think of the Christ who died for me,
Think of the Christ who made men free,
Give to the world the best of will
Render to no man ill for ill.
Forget me not in life’s long years
When Time has dried your loving tears.
Enrich the land that gave us birth.
Make more happy this home on earth.
Honor the God whose land ye till,
Seeking the best – your mission fulfill.
But when you bury my body on the hill-top high
Under the blue and starlit sky,
Bury my love in the love of my friends,
Letting it live there till time shall end,
Let it grow there till Christ descends
Let it grow through Eternity’s trend.
--
Alvin Adkins
Editor’s Note –
This poem was written by Mr. Adkins on his sixty-ninth birthday, October
9, 1922, and came
to light after his death on January 25, 1926. The
above was copied from a clipping found in the Family Record Book of James B.
Greene and family. Alvin Adkins was the
brother of Mary R. Adkins, the second wife of James B. Greene. James B Greene and Mary R. Adkins Greene were
my grandparents who were the parents of my mother Jennie Greene Torner. The
above poem copied, July 6, 1954 by J. V. H. Torner
