Ancestor Archives: Etta Orvilla Griffith (1873-1950)

by Rocky Macy

Etta Orvilla GRIFFITH was born on August 17, 1873, in Sarcoxie, Jasper County, Missouri, to Orville and Lucinda M. (JONES) GRIFFITH.   She married Thomas Franklin NUTT in Neosho, Newton County, Missouri, on March 31, 1893.  Etta passed away in Neosho on June 13, 1950.

Etta Orvilla GRIFFITH was my great-grandmother.
 
Although Etta (Griffith) NUTT was born in Jasper County, Missouri, she and her family were residing in Van Buren Township of Newton County, Missouri, by the time the 1880 census was taken, and in each of the censuses from 1900 through 1940 she was a resident of Neosho in Newton County, though she did spend time residing in Florida and California between some of those census years.
 
Etta and Tom had eight children:  Claude Franklin (September 7, 1893-July 19, 1980), Mable May (September 20, 1896-January 7, 1979), Ethel Blanche (June 3, 1898-May 3, 1968), Ina Eskil (August 21, 1900 – September 18, 1980), Hazel Josephine (July 28, 1902-October 29, 1975), Daisy Orvilla (February 13, 1904-March 5, 1963), Robert Eugene (February 19, 1908-April 14, 1998) and Lawrence “Earl” (August 27, 1911-March 21, 1973).
 
Spouses of the children of Etta and Tom were as follows:  Claude (Jeanette A. CUSHMAN), Mable (Charles SOUR), Ethel (Walter “Jack” MACY), Ina (Lewis Eggleston JOHNSTON), Hazel (Charles Eugene MACY), Daisy (1.) V. Desmond WHEELER,  2.) E.T. LINDBLAD), Robert (1.) Verna Unknown,  2.)  Gladys Unknown), and L. Earl (1.) Isabel WOODWARD,  2.) Ruthella M. WADE).  Robert divorced his first wife, and L. Earl’s first wife died at a young age in Riverside, California.
 
There was a “news stand” on the south side of the Neosho Square up at least through the 1960’s, and probably beyond that, which sold a variety of newspapers, magazines, and paperback books.  I remember making several trips through that small building when I was in high school and would occasionally purchase a magazine or book while I was there.  I heard a few years ago that the news stand had been operated by Etta NUTT at one time, and while researching her, I found several mentions of the news stand which, it turns out, was the property of her and Tom’s oldest son, Claude.
 
Claude NUTT appears to have been the quintessential all-American boy.  He served in the US military on three separate occasions – with the Army along the Mexican border in 1915, with the Army in France during World War I, and a third stint with the Army during World War II.   Between his service along the Mexican border and his enlistment to fight in World War I, young Mr. NUTT made a name for himself in the Neosho business community.  A notice on page one in “The Neosho Daily Democrat” on November 26, 1915 informed the public that F.C. ARMSTRONG had sold the “Neosho News Stand” to Claude NUTT.  
 
Two days later, on November 27, 1915, the following notice ran on page four of the same newspaper:
 

“Notice!
 
“All accounts on papers due the Neosho News Co. should be paid either at the news stand or to Mrs. Etta Nutt, collector.  Phone No. 2.  Claude Nutt.
 
“Will move Monday to South Side Square, 2^nd door east of McGinty Bros.”

(Telephone No. 2 – how cool is that!  Who had Telephone No.1?  The mayor?  The president of the bank?)

The following month, on December 29^th, 1915, Claude NUTT ran an advertisement in the same newspaper which listed the names of the newspapers that his business sold.   They included:  “The St. Louis Republic,” “The St. Louis Globe Democrat,” “The St. Louis Post Dispatch,” “The St. Louis Times,” “The Kansas City Post,” and “other Kansas City papers”  that could be purchased as single copies or by the week or month.  The advertisement also mentioned that the business sold magazines.  It was signed by Claude Nutt, Agent.
 
Over the next year there were other advertisements for Claude’s news business in the “The Neosho Daily Democrat” and also in “The Neosho Times.”   Finally on March 25, 1917, after Claude was making plans to rejoin the Army  or possibly had already rejoined, this very short notice ran in “The Neosho Times”:
 

“News Stand for sale or trade.  See Mrs. Thos. Nutt.”

Etta NUTT who had a taste of managing a business was not destined to stay at home mothering and grand-mothering her large family.  By mid-March of 1920 she was managing another business, this time on the West Side of the Neosho Square.  The following ran in “The Neosho Times” on March 16, 1920:

 

“Ladies, you are invited to inspect our stock of ladies’ and children’s hats before buying elsewhere.  Royal Millinery.  Mrs. Thos. Nutt, Manager.  West Side Square.”

The hat business did not last long either because by 1923 Tom and Etta had packed up their younger children and moved to Florida to pick fruit in the groves.  They were listed in the Orlando City Directory of 1923 where Tom’s profession was given as that of a carpenter. 
 
The family excursion to Florida did not last long and soon Tom and Etta were back at home in Neosho.   Ina had met a young man by the name of Lewis Eggleston JOHNSTON while they were in Florida, and he followed the family back to Neosho where he and Ina were soon married.  She then returned to Florida with her new husaband where they raised a family and spent the rest of their lives.  

A couple of years later Etta was back at work at the news stand which had been renamed “The Southand News Stand. "  An article in the local newspaper on December 29^th of 1928, reported that Mrs. Thomas Nutt, an employee of the news stand, had been confined to her home by illness for the past two days.

By the mid-1920’s all of their children were grown and out on their own except for the two youngest boys, Robert and Earl, who were teenagers.  That gave Etta some time to begin concentrating on her grandchildren.   On September 3, 1926, “The Neosho Daily Democrat” ran this brief story about a party that Etta hosted  for one of her granddaughters:
 

“Small Guest Entertained
 
“Mrs. T.F. Nutt entertained for her granddaughter, Mary Ruth Nutt of Wichita, Kansas, yesterday evening, inviting several of Mary Ruth’s cousins to spend the evening with her.
 
“Joy Cushman of Neosho, and Mildred Nadine and Lynn Earl Sour of Joplin, were among the small cousins who enjoyed the time, and the ice cream and cake which were served late in the evening.”

 
The next mention of Etta NUTT in the local press – “The Neosho Times” – was on March 12, 1936 when it was reported that she had just returned to Neosho following a stay of almost a year in Los Angeles, California, where she had been visiting her son, Robert, and her daughter, Daisy.   Five years later, on April 4, 1941, “The Neosho Democrat” carried a report that Etta and Tom had sold their property in Neosho and had moved to Corona, California, to be near a number of relatives.  (At least three of their children were living in southern California at that time:  Daisy, Robert, and Earl.)
 
Etta and Tom eventually returned to Missouri, and she passed away that their Neosho home on June 13, 1950.  Her death certificate listed congestive heart failure as the cause of death with “senile dementia” as a contributing factor.   The document also stated that she had been bed-ridden for several years.

My father, Garland Eugene MACY left handwritten family notes in which he described his Grandmother Etta this way:  

"My Grandmother Nutt (Etta) died when I was 26.  She was irritable and cranky with us kids, probably (because) she was sick.  We stayed with them so (often) when I was small (that) she was probably sick of us.  We would stay with anyone that would have us.  We were hungry.  We liked to eat."

 
Etta’s obituary ran in “The Neosho Daily Democrat” on the day of her death:
 

“Mrs. Etta O. Nutt Dies This Morning
 
“Mrs. Etta O. Nutt, 76 years old, died at 4:15 o’clock this morning at her home on Neosho, Rt. 4, following a week’s illness.
 
“Mrs. Nutt, the wife of Thomas S. (sic) Nutt, was born in Sarcoxie  and had lived in the Neosho area since she was three years old.
 
“Surviving besides her husband are three sons:  Claude F. Nutt of Wichita, Kans,, Robert E. Nutt of San Diego, Calif., and Earl Nutt of Riverside, Calif.  Five daughters:  Mrs. Jack Macy and Mrs. C.E. Macy both of Neosho, Rt. 4, Mrs. Charles Sour, Joplin, Mrs. Lewis Johnston of Winter Garden, Florida, and Mrs. E.T. Lindblad of El Monte, Calif.
 
“Mrs. Nutt was a member of the Baptist Church and the Royal Neighbors Lodge.
 
“Funeral arrangements will be announced by Clark-Bigham Mortuary.”

I was just two-years-old when my great-grandmother, Etta Orvilla NUTT, passed away, and I have no memories of her.  She does seem to have been an ambitious person who successfully raised a large family, held down a variety of jobs, and liked to travel.   Etta seems to have been the type of person who was driven to experience what life had to offer – and she did it well.