"Going down the hill"

Wm Peake Jr (1837-1920) father of 17

In Owensville, people used to say “You can always tell a Peake”. 
Curly dark hair, dark brows, and dark eyes were a give-away.

William Peake, Sr had 13 children. 
His son William Peake, Jr had 17 more.

Sallie Peake, one of the 13, married Summerfield Chew in 1867.  In 1901 Howard Peake, one of the  17, married Sallie’s daughter Mary Chew.  By the third generation of intermarriage, the recessive blue eyes of the Chews had all but disappeared.  

Cousins Elizabeth Peake and Kate Chew were 3rd generation.  They traded memories of Tamarack Hill, the farm of their grandparents Sallie & Summerfield Chew.

Summerfield Chew 1840-1921

Elizabeth:  “Grandpa Chew was an amateur horticulturalist.  His whole front field was planted in vegetables and watermelons, and his orchard boasted every kind of apple.”

Kate:  “On hot days a ripe watermelon would be brought from the ice house.  When the sharp knife halved it, you could hear the satisfying crack.  In melon season there was always a platter on the table with a dozen cut cantaloupes filled with ice.”

Kate:  “In Grandpa’s meadow, Gott’s Branch ran slow and smooth.  It was delightful to wade in and perfectly safe.  We fished in the lower pool, about 3 ft deep.  Small catfish and minnows lived there and were very gullible.  They loved the worms we dangled in the water on safety pins.”

Eliz:  “Tamarack Hill got indoor plumbing in the 1940's.  Before that we used a privy in back, below the dairy.  When you went to the privy, you said ‘I’m going down the hill’.  You never said the word ‘privy’.”

Kate:  “In 1921 there was a bad ice storm.  Grandpa went down the hill early and couldn’t make it back up.  Grandma missed him, and then heard him calling.  They helped him up, but he was chilled from contact with the cold ground.  He went to bed and never recovered."  
He was 80.

Tamarack Hill c1939.  Elizabeth's mother Mary Peake, 3rd fr right.  Kate's mother Liza Chew, far left.