Elijah Bobbitt was a friendly person with a good sense of humor and a cheerful disposition. He was religious and active in the

The Bobbitt Family In America

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Elijah Bobbitt was a friendly person with a good sense of humor and a cheerful disposition. He was religious and active in the affairs of the church and the community. He knew and was related one way or another to most of the people who lived in the community. If he met a stranger, he introduced himself, told who he was and expected the stranger to do likewise. His home was open to guests and his table never lacked an abundance of fresh wholesome food.

Physically, he was an extremely strong man, developed from long hours of hard work. His hands were unusually large which is said to be characteristic of Welsh farmers. His strength has become legendary and there are many stories. Once when Aunt Flo and several of the grandchildren were driving one of the early Ford cars over the muddy roads, the car got stuck. Elijah got out of the car left the occupants seated, picked up the front end of the car and lifted it out of the ditch, then he lifted the rear of the car out of the ditch. He got back in the car and continued talking as if he had been interrupted only temporarily.

Like many of the men of his generation he believed that success in life depended only on two things, faith in God, and hard work. Six days a week he worked from sun rise to sun set, and expected his wife and children to do likewise. He thoroughly enjoyed two pleasures, his relatives and good food.

Elijah and Rowena enjoyed their children and had them wi th them for twenty five to thirty years. When the mother of Lee Otis Junior died, it was not long before they took Lee Otis Junior and reared him as their seventh child. He is said to have given Elijah and Rowena much pleasure and comfort in their middle years. Elijah provided for Lee Otis Junior in his will.

When Elijah became ill and had a stroke, all of his children went to visit him. His daughter, Virginia, came from Minnesota and when she approached his bed, he looked up and although he was not able to speak, tears of the love he had for his daughter steamed down his face. When Elijah died his eldest son cried uncontrollably, and the news caused his youngest son to faint.

The obituary published in the Nicholas Chronicle we believe was partly written by his son, Lee Otis Bobbitt Senior. His eight year old grandson, John William Bobbitt, who had spent a week with him in the fall of 1930, purchased an everlasting rose, which was put in his suit lapel after he was prepared for burial. His children selected a silver plated casket for the burial of the simple farmer, loyal husband, loving father. The Summersville Baptist church was not large enough to hold the crowd that gathered to pay tribute to the life of the man. He was buried in what was to become the community cemetery where in later years many of his relatives and friends would mark the end of their lives.

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