Biography of Daniel Cilvester Nix
Daniel Cylvester Nix is my grandfather. He was another of the six sons of Harrison Jennings Nix and Louiza Penitas (Netie) Conn. He was the grandson of Daniel, and the great grandson of Jennings. He was born in Warrior Valley, Etowah County, Alabama and lived in that area for 88Y 9M 11D. When I was a young boy he was my friend, my companion and my grandfather. We spent a lot of time together and I enjoyed the stories he would tell about the early times. I would like to share one: His father had returned from town and one of his purchases was a supply of five matches. You know those things we use to start a fire. In the early times it was necessary to keep a fire going in the house day and night, year around, even in the summer. Without that it was not possible to cook a meal. And should the fire go out it was necessary for someone to o to a neighbors house to borrow a bucket of coals. No such thing as just turning on the electricity or the gas. So a match was a big thing. All the boys wanted their dad to strike a match for them. And they pestered him until he agreed. But he noted that one of the boys was in the fields plowing, and they must wait until he comes in. My granddaddy volunteered to go to the field and bring the brother home. He ran all the way, and when they returned their farther, true to his promise, struck a match for the assembled sons.
Daniel married Margaret Frances Foster. It was her sister Martha Jane Foster's husband James David Silvey that filled out the registration card and made the error in the spelling of Dan's middle name. Daniel and Margaret had six children, five sons and one daughter. With five sons that reached marriage age and had families it would seem reasonable to assume that there was no danger in that Nix line terminating. But it came close, all my first cousins were girls. Grandaddy was a small man, maybe 5' 9" and 150 pounds. I never saw him mad at anyone, except maybe his old mule "Beck". Margaret died when he was 70 and he spent the next 18 years living with his oldest son. His physical features listed on the card was; Height - Medium, Build - Medium, Eyes - Blue , Hair - Brown.
Information submitted by his relative, Dalton Nix.