Mollie Gabe

PROFILES Mollie Gabe Ancilla Bickley For many of us, history is simply a cluster of dates and facts about exploration , land acquisition, wars, and political activities and personages. As useful as such information is, it offers little commentary about life at the local level where most of us exist physically and socially, nor does it take note of the ordinary people who faced day-to-day challenges in the best way they knew how, serving their families and their communities with honor and earning the high regard of many who knew them. Such a person was the former slave, Mary Elizabeth Johnson, who was known around Falls Mill in Braxton County, West Virginia, as "Mollie Gabe.' She had married Alexander ("Gabe") Johnson in 1871, and thereafter was called Mollie Gabe. Living the life of a mountain woman in a rural Appalachian setting, she had strong family and community connections ; a hard worker, she was apparently well versed in the art of survival under difficult economic circumstances; she was also a practitioner of the traditional Appalachian arts of storytelling, food preparation and preservation, quiltmaking , and home remedies. One community resident recalled stopping by Mollie Gabe's home on the way back from a fishing trip and eating hoecake which Mollie had baked in the ashes, and Mollie Gabe's step-granddaughter remembers the doses of turpentine on sugar given as a cure for worms and the catnip tea, poultices, and balms made from local herbs and used by Mollie Gabe for medicinal purposes. Although Mollie Gabe often worked as an itinerant laborer, traveling from farm to farm or house to house to perform weekly tasks such as washing, or helping with seasonal tasks such as butchering, she is particularly remembered as a midwife who delivered many babies in the community, sometimes braving snowstorms or other hazardous conditions to reach her patients. Even after a doctor was available in Braxton County, Mollie continued her work as a midwife, often being sent by the doctor to tend expectant mothers. Through her friendliness, hard work, and willingness to aid others, she earned the respect of local citizens, many of whom saw her as an integral part of the life of Braxton County. The dates of the events of Mollie Gabe's life are hard to determine precisely , but it is known that she was born a slave in Flatwoods, Braxton County, probably about 1853; she died in 1957, reputedly at 104 years of age. Her mother was Jane Rhea, a slave of Dr. John Rhea, a doctor and minister who had migrated from old Virginia bringing Jane and his other slaves with him. When Mollie was still a child, Dr. Rhea sold her, supposedly to a family in Clay County, which adjoins Braxton County. Accounts of the sale differ. In the stories , her age at the time of the sale ranges from four to thirteen. Some say that Mollie was offered for purchase at auction . Others say the sale took place at the Rhea home where the children were lined up in order that a single prospective buyer could look them over and make his choice. An older sister was reportedly withheld from the sale because she was needed by the Rheas; a younger brother was rejected because of speech difficulties. 34 From Mollie's own testimony, however, it is well established that she was, indeed, transferred to another owner and worked in that family's home and fields. When the Civil War ended, the family which had bought Mollie Gabe did not tell her that she was free. It is not known how long she was held, but her mother, Jane Rhea, aware that the war had ended and that slaves could no longer be retained , sent Mollie's uncle, Momen Rhea, to fetch her. He brought Mollie back to the Falls Mill area where she spent the rest of her life. In her early years Mollie Gabe was probably called simply Mary or Mollie, until she married. Her husband, Gabe, and his brothers, Tom and Granville, had been slaves of the William Haymond family in Braxton County. Neither Mollie nor Gabe seemed to have any animosity toward Dr. Rhea, who sold her...