Arthur Edward Carlisle, Sr.

I was looking at some files the other day, and noticed the date of September 8th.  It was my Grandpa's birthday.  Therefore...today I will blog about him.

Arthur Edward Carlisle, Sr. was born on September 8, 1904, in Rosiclare, IL.  That is in Hardin County, in extreme Southern Illinois, on the banks of the Ohio River.  His parents were Charles Edward Carlisle and Mary Louise Miles.

In the 1910 census, the Carlisle's were still living in Rosiclare.  There is a mention of them in the Hardin County  Newspaper from 1907.  It reads, "Charles Carlisle's little three year old child swallowed a silver quarter last week, and incident caused considerable confusion and alarm among relatives.  We hope no serious result will follow."  Imagine...he swallowed a QUARTER!

In 1920, they have moved up to Herrin, in Williamson County.  By the 1930 census, they were living in Franklin County.  Arthur was still living with his parents at the time the census was taken that year, and listed as being a Manager of a grocery store.  However, things would change shortly after that information was taken by the census taker.

In the book that Grandma filled out it asked..  "When did you first meet Grandfather?"  She wrote... "At a Rebekah Lodge meeting in Christopher, in June 1930.  I had seen him earlier at church.  He thought he was going to the Christian Church, which was a block down the street from the Baptist Church."  That's fate for ya...  :)

The book then asks, "What first attracted you to him?"  Grandma writes... "He was a new guy in town.  He was older than I and was manager at a new grocery store in town."

What memory stands out about your courtship?  How long did it last?...  "The thing I remember most was that it was a whirlwind courtship.  We met in June, were engaged in three weeks and married the next October."

What kinds of things did you do together while dating?...  "He worked six days a week, but he had a new car, so we did a lot of driving around in the evenings and took several longer trips on Sundays."

How did you become engaged? ...  "We were sitting in the porch swing on our front porch, when he asked me if I would marry him.  After he left, I went in the house and woke up my Mother and told her what had happened.  She told me later that she cried the rest of the night.  She also told me that the first time he came to pick me up for our first date, after we left, she went out to the outhouse and cried and cried, because she intuitionally knew he was the one who would take me away."

Where and when did you get married?  How old were you? ... "We were married at my parents' home on October 5, 1930.  I was 19 years old."  (So Grandpa was 26)  "The only people present were my parents, Grandfather's parents, Nolan and Eva Rosan.  I had a navy blue dress and Grandfather wore a brown tweed suit, neither of them were new."

this was taken shortly after their wedding

Tell me your favorite story about Grandfather...  "I was very proud of him when he was ordained a Deacon about 1942 or 1943.  A little funny story... At one time there was a lady attending our church who had a mental problem.  One Sunday, right in the middle of the sermon, she got up, went to the basement, came back with a glass of water.  She handed the water to Grandfather and said, 'Take this to the preacher.'  Without realizing what was happening, he got up from his seat, took the water and handed it to the preacher.  Everyone started laughing, and his friends didn't let him forget it for a long time."

In the 1940 census, they were living in town, in Herrin.  And in 1949, they moved to Ferges.

Then on July 22, 1951... Grandpa passed away.  

The above obituary reads...

Arthur Edward Carlisle, 46, manager of the Bracy Food store, 210 North Park Avenue, Herrin, died at his farm home at Ferges, Marion Route 3, Sunday about 6:30AM of coronary thrombosis.

His attending physician said he first began treating Mr. Carlisle for the heart condition about two years ago.  After seeming to improve, his condition became worse about two months ago and since then he had been checked by his doctor once a week.

The physician said Mr. Carlisle was already dead when he arrived.  The store manager drove to Herrin yesterday morning to see if everything was all right at the store.

On returning home, he went out to feed his hogs on his farm.  The attack evidently occurred while he was feeding the hogs and Mr. Carlisle fell on the fence that surrounds the hog pen.

Mr. Carlisle, well-known and well-liked in Herrin, had been manager of the Bracy store since it opened four years ago in Herrin.  Before he became manager of the Bracy store, he worked for the Kroger Co. for about 20 years, 11 of which were spent in Herrin.

He and his family had lived in Herrin until two years ago when they moved to the farm home at Ferges.

Mr. Carlisle was born in Rosiclare, Sept. 8, 1904, the son of Charles and Mary Miles Carlisle.  He married the former Flossine Rosan.

Besides his wife he leaves four children, Arthur Edward Jr, John Charles, Nolan Norton and Clara Louise, all at home.  He also leaves his parents who live in Johnston City.

Mr. Carlisle was a member of the Herrin First Baptist Church, where funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday with the pastor, Rev. W.A. Shoopman officiating. Burial will be in Herrin City Cemetery.

My mom doesn't remember anything about him, since she was so young when he died (she was almost 6 years old at the time).  She says that the only thing she can really remember growing up, was that a lot of "older" people would always come up to her and say, "Oh, you must be Arthur's daughter."  :)

There really aren't many photos of my grandfather.  So here are just a few more that I do have available to me...

Holding my mom

By the river at Cairo, IL...with mom and Nolan.  This picture was on a roll of film that wasn't developed until after Grandpa passed away.

with Grandma and Uncle Arthur

with some cousins, looks like the 1920's

with some cousins, looks like the 1920's