I am Hattie Rellie (Smith) Ellerd Hammond. My birthday in 1999 brought me to the age of 100 years. I was born to Jacob Smith and Nettie Teloula (Moon) Smith in November of 1899 in Huckaby, Texas near Stephenville. When I was just a baby of 17 months my mother fell from a wagon and died of her injuries. My father loaded us five children, me being the youngest, into a covered wagon and left Stephenville for Nashville, Arkansas. This being where his mother and father lived and he needed help with us kids. It was quite an experience traveling in a covered wagon. We would, when in a town at nightfall, find a wagon yard and rent a space inside the big building to sleep. When we were not near a town, we would camp beside the road side.

Pa remarried when I was five years old and when I was eight we moved back to Texas. Where at the age of 10, I first met later to be husband, Henry Charles Ellerd. We were married in 1916. My husband's father owned land in Abernathy, TX. and we went to farm with him. We had three children while living on the South Plains. Leona, Arlon and Walter. When Walter was just a baby, we moved back to Dunn, TX. to farm with my father. This is where our youngest son Waymond was born. All were delivered at home, there was always a Doctor in attendance. We later bought a farm Southeast of Snyder. Henry was the sheriff of Scurry county and later County Commissioner. Henry passed away in 1950 and in 1951 I left my housewife job and went to work outside the home for the first time. I worked at Anthonys in Snyder, until I met my second husband to be, Julian Hammond.

I have 10 grandchildren, several great grandchildren, several great great grandchildren and am expecting a great great great grandchild 1/23/2000 which they tell me is a girl.

I lived in Colorado City, Texas for a good many years, where my husband was a building contractor, After my husband Julian Hammond passed away, I lived alone for a good number of years. In 1988 I needed assisted living and moved to Lubbock to the Frontier Living Center where I celebrated my 9Oth birthday. I celebrated my 100th in Ralls. There were six generations represented at the party (this included the baby to be).

I worked the fields along side my husband. We canned food that was grown on the farm. Remembering canning in tin cans and putting them in the water tank to cool. We canned beef, pork, vegetables, catsup, fruit from our orchard. We grew peanuts. I have only a ninth grade formal education, but I can tell you that I had a very well rounded education, in the subject of good living.