View From the Courthouse
by Judy K.

Great-granny was acquitted!
(She thought those sheep were hers.)
If the livestock ain’t been branded
Who can tell if they are yers?

Great-granpa went a’gamblin’
With his little brother, John.
Their pa would go and bail ‘em out,
But his patience was soon gone.

Great-granny never married.
(I’ve got bare branches on my tree.)
Great-gramps was thought a no-account.
Where does this leave me?

A floozy and blow-hard?
The records tell it pat.
If I met ‘em, could I love ‘em?
I’d bet my genes on that.

Sarah Smith (maternal great-grandmother)
State of Missouri vs Sarah Smith, #120

William Perry Johnson (paternal great-grandfather)
State of Missouri vs William Johnson and John Johnson, #171 and #184.

Bundle #120 and bundles #171 & #184 refer to location of these records in Lawrence County Circuit Court documents abstracted in View From the Courthouse located at Lawrence County's genealogy and history pages on Rootsweb.

Back to: Lawrence County Resources