Hannah Lucille Gulley was born August 3rd, 1934, to my great-grandma and great-grandpa, Bessie and Clayborn Gulley.
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| Bessie and Clayborn Gulley (late 1960s or early 1970s) |
Grandma Hannah was born the 5th of 9 kids.
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| Hannah as a baby |
The Gulley kids grew up in a small house in rural southern Illinois. The old farmhouse where they grew up was at a placed called Gulley Ridge. Around the 1950s, the Gulley family moved to what I know as great-grandma Gulley’s house, on G&G Road.
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| Clayborn and Bessie Gulley homestead on G&G Rd. |
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| Clayborn and Bessie Gulley back porch, circa 2000 |
There was also a big barn on the Gulley property.
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| Barn at Gulley homestead |
As a kid when visiting great-grandma Gulley, I was always scared to go to the outhouse by myself!
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| Outhouse at Gulley homestead |
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| Hannah with her mom, Bessie |
When Grandma Hannah was little, she looked a lot like Shirley Temple. I remember watching lots of Shirley Temple movies at grandma’s house when I was young. Only now after going through old photos do I realize the resemblance. 🙂
Having 8 siblings, there were a lot of mouths to feed. Hannah learned early on the value of hard work. All of the children kept up with their chores around the family farm to help make ends meet.
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| Grandma Hannah with her brother Jack |
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| Brother Jack, Hannah, and their bird dog, Ellie. |
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| Hannah looking gorgeous at age 14 |
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| Wearing a beautiful smile at age 16 |
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| Hannah left age 21, and her sister-in-law Jane on right |
She was always a woman of faith, and was an active member at a little country church called Walnut Grove Baptist.
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| Hannah with friends at church (she is at the front right) |
At the age of 19, she married my grandpa, Glen Oglesby.
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| Hannah and Glen at their wedding shower, 1953 |
The first born of Hannah and Glen was my mom.
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| Grandma Hannah with baby Melinda, 1950s |
After having 3 kids, Hannah and Glen moved to “the little house”, a small rent house on the Kane farm property which only recently became known as Hannah’s Hill. The rent house was the smaller of the two houses on the property, and they always hoped to be able to buy the bigger house someday. While renting this little house, grandma and grandpa had their 4th child.
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“the little house” is shown behind the Oglesby kids, 1960s
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| Hannah with some of her children on the farm |
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Hannah’s Hill, circa 1980s.
The tip of the red arrow shows where the little rent house once stood. |
Around 1963, Glen and Hannah were able to purchase the “big house” on the property when the owner, WC Kane, had passed away. Their 5th child was born soon after moving into the “big house”. And the little house was demolished after their move.
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| The little rent house, 1950s or 60s |
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| Glen and Hannah with their 5 children |
Hannah adored the property and maintained the grounds nicely.
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| Me and grandma Hannah in one of her gardens, Christmas 1990s. Notice the angels in the background – I still have those! 🙂 |
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| Grandma Hannah with grandpa Oglesby, early 1970s dancing in the main house |
Hannah and Glen divorced in the mid-1970s and Hannah married Dale. My step-grandpa Dale loved animals and kept us grand-kids entertained. He passed away in the mid 1990s at the main house.
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| Dale at Hannah’s Hill, 1970s or 80s |
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| Dale with some of Hannah’s grandkids, 1990s |
We had lots of family gatherings and celebrations at Hannah’s Hill throughout the years.
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| Christmas brunch, early 2000s |
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| Another Christmas brunch, late 90s |
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| Hannah surrounded by grandkids at her farmhouse, around 2010 |
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| Hannah with her first great-grandchild, Samuel |
On a cold January morning of 2016, at the age of 81, the Lord called Hannah home.
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| A poem read by my cousin Amy at grandma Hannah’s burial |
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| Notice, a drawing of the house she so adored was etched into the headstone 🙂 |
She is buried next to grandpa Oglesby at Raleigh Masonic Cemetery.
Aunt Hannah would love what you have written,it brought back alot of fond memories
Thanks for the feedback, Jim 🙂
Wow. This was so cool.
Aunt Hannah will be so happy that her legacy lives on. Thanks for sharing.
This was the loveliest of stories. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!!
Good luck with your new home, I will be following that saga as it continues.
Blessings to you,
J
PS: the second little town over from where I live is Oglesby. I will think of you as I drive through it!
How neat! Thanks! 🙂