One hundred years ago this year my paternal
grandmother gave birth to twins. One was named Charles (my Father
) the other was named Thomas. The name Thomas means twin. I not
sure that Granny knew that though maybe she did. According to my
Father they each weighed 12 pounds. I challenged him on that weight
many times but he said it was gospel. The babies were born at home
and who had access to scales. But who knows!
Thomas was a boy who loved animals. There were very few pet stores
back then but he found his own. He could always be seen with mice.
He would keep them in his pants pocket and take them out to play
with them. Where did he get them from?
Probably as babies from a nest in the house. That sort of tells
us about the infestation of vermin that they had to deal with.
Thomas was cheated with his life. He died on a hot Down Neck street
in the summer of 1908. He was only 6 years old. How sad!
The cause of death was heat stroke. Very strange? I would like
to see that death certificate. The problem with viewing it is that
it is in Trenton; however, life expectancy in this country in 1900
was 42 years old. At the time of Christ it was 18 years old.
Anyway this year Thomas would have been 100 years old.
|
