Annals of our ancestors; one hundred and fifty years of history in the ...

OUR SPRINGTIME 117
they gathered in our best room, with father as host and mother
as caterer, wliilc the savory odor of ham and eggs pervaded
the air and perhaps a warm stirred cake, turned out of its pan
to cool, added its good fragrance.
Araminta had been carefully reared and was a young lady
of education and refinement, whose husband was devotion
itself to her. She was sweet and pretty and had some nice
clothes. I recall that she had a black silk dress such as matrons
wore in those days upon dress occasions. This good
gown was brought out upon Sunday morning, when her doctor
husband decided that it was too tight and needed the seams
to be let out. Later we heard that when she reached their
more fastidious relatives in Kentucky the black silk was pronounced
too loose to suit the closely fitting fashion of the day.
This was the last visit our relatives made to us during
grandfather's life. We found Dr. Butterfield fine company,
and many a merry romp we had with him. He and Cousin
Araminta were devout members of the Christian Church.
Dr. Butterfield wrote a number of poems, which he had published.
When they visited us Miss Nailer, a bright young
teacher, boarded with us. She had an accordion, an instrument
then much in vogue and upon which she played nicely.
One evening Miss Nailer and Dr. Butterfield sang, she accompanying
upon the accordion. Our evident good time aroused
grandfather's curiosity, and he asked that they play and sing
for him. Doctor raised the bass notes on the instrument, and
oh, such a horrid growl as issued, making the most striking
discord. Of course we all laughed immoderately, and grandfather
was pleased with the results upon us, although he could
not hear a single sound.
I am glad that I can present in this history a picture of one
who was a member of our pioneer party that came over the
mountains so long ago. W^e have no likeness of either our
grandfather or grandmother, but one of his grandchildren has
furnished me a copy of a picture of Uncle Robert Utter. I
am surprised to find that it has a real resemblance to our
father, they both seeming to have inherited the looks of their
Badgley ancestors.