Cloud History - Part 2

Cloud Card Game
Grandpa Cloud (John Franklin) , Aunt Ruth, Mom, Aunt Lorene, Allene, Uncle Ray Titus Grandpa & Grandma Cloud

Aunt Ruth

Grandma Cloud (Emma McBride)

Joe & Grandpa Cloud

I never really had a chance to know my Mom's parents. I was born in 1951 and according to the tombstone in Tiptonville, TN: Emma McBride Cloud died in 1952 and John Franklin Cloud died in 1953. But Mama would tell stories from time to time. The comment I remember most is "Your Grandpa would roll over in his grave if he... saw how you're behaving or..could see you wearing that outfit" - you get the idea. I always had the impression he was probably very strict. In fact, seeing the card game picture puzzles me because I thought mama said they weren't allowed to play cards. I do remember her saying they weren't allowed to go swimming so when Grandpa would go off for a day, her mom would let them all go to the pond and swim. Mom use to tell us the story about how a bull gored grandma and made grandpa so mad he killed it. Mom or Nancy told me that Grandpa's father died when he was just a child and at 19 he was expected to take care of himself. I know there were a lot of other stories but these are the ones I most often heard repeated.
When I first had an interest in genealogy, my mom told me to write my Aunt Ruth since she was older and see if she could fill in any details for me. She didn't tell me much about her parents, John & Emma (McBride) Cloud, but she lived some with her grandparents on her mother's side and had a few interesting stories. Their names are Thomas McBride & Elvira (Ward) - they would be my great grandparents. Here is an edited version of her letter:

Grandma Ward married Tom McBride just before the civil war. They were homesteading a farm when the war broke out. Of course, Grandfather had to go. Most of Illinois then was a wilderness around in that part of the state. She and grandfather with the help of neighbors built his log cabin. All the wood came from the trees that were cut down on his farm. It was not a small cabin - it had four bedrooms, living room with a fire place, the kitchen and a dining room were one large room with a large fireplace. They had plenty to eat by growing it themselves and there were no insect to eat it up. Then the Civil War broke out and their troubles started. Grandma used to tell me of how the soldiers used to run away from camp and officers would find them and take them back. Grandfather was left on the field to die when the army moved on to the front. The two soldiers that were left with him in a rail fence corner died. Grandfather got better and returned home. The soldiers tried to find him but he hid out in the woods. Grandmother would take food out to him. She told me about some of the boys that had run away from camp but had been found and were chained and were being taken back. She said the officers used to come to her house at any time of the night and make her get up and cook them some food. She said they usually had a prisoner or two that they were taking back to camp. But they never caught Grandfather.
He recovered and lived to be an old man.