Robert E. Lee Montgomery, the son of William Peter Montgomery III and Martha Ann Carrico, was born September 15, 1865, a few months after the Civil War ended.  There is no question as to which side the Montgomery family favored in the war!  Robert is my great-grandfather – my mother’s mother’s father!  I have heard so many stories about him I feel as if I know him well.  He was rather a crusty old gentleman that liked things his way.  He expected you to drink your milk – which my mom hated! – go sit on the porch with him after dinner, or, if it was winter, sit in a rocker in front of the fire – rock, listen to the fire crackle and pop, rock some more, listen to the tick-tock of the clock on the mantle – but never carry on a conversation.  When he went to bed everybody went to bed, and he expected everyone up at the crack of dawn when he go up!  But in spite of all this my mom loved her grandfather dearly!

He wasn’t an outwardly affectionate man, but mom said when they would go in they would pat him on the cheek and he would have a little smile that played around his lips.

She loved to watch him churn butter – the churn sits beside her fireplace now – and will one day sit beside my buffet – no fireplace here!  He showed her how to churn and helped her move the dash up and down until she was old enough to do it on her own.  The round hole where the handle of the dash goes through is worn into an oval through so much use – and is very smooth.

Being the tomboy, Mom loved to go with him to get the cows, bringing them in to be milked in the morning.  They had to be brought from the field across the road – one son was stationed on either side in the middle of the road to stop any traffic that happened to come by.  Mom can still show me the exact spot.

One April 1st his son Robert came in saying, “Papa, your cow has had her calf!”  Evidently this cow was one of his particular favorites.  “It’s way out next to the far fence!”  Great-grandfather Robert got his hat and his cane and excitedly started out.  People scattered fast when they heard him coming back – he wasn’t much of a jokester!  But Uncle Bob was!

Robert married Frances Barber Linton February 7, 1893, in Washington County, Kentucky.  She was a school teacher before marriage.  They had seven children

• Mary Alice, born December 8, 1893
• Anna Margaret, born September 18, 1895
• Laura Frances, born December 4, 1897
• Lillian Catherine, born March 11, 1900
• Robert Lee , born August 17, 1903
• Edward Linton, born May 17, 1905
• Benjamin , October 21, 1908

This picture was taken in May of 1952.  Aunt Mary Alice Carrico, my mom’s sister, graduated from high school that year.  Great-grandfather Robert would have been 86 – he lived another year after this photo was taken.