Mam-ma's Southern Family

My grandfather, Tom J. Johnston Jr was born one hundred years ago on 7 October 1912 in Gustine, a town in Comanche County, Texas. [1]   His parents were Thomas Newton Johnston and Nell L. Hutson.  He was the third child of five, having two older sisters, Beryl and Mildred, and two younger brothers, Hal and Luther.  His mother, Nell died 14 Jul 1919 at the young age of 31.  Tom was only six and half years old and his youngest brother, Luther, was only eighteen months old.  It must have been very hard on his father to raise five children without a mother. He married my grandmother, Pansy Louise Lancaster, on 15 December 1933 by the Justice of the Peace in Gustine, Comanche County, Texas. [2]   They had one child, Lela Nell Johnston. He served a short time in the United States Navy, leaving after four months with a medical discharge due to an ulcer. [3]   The family was living in Idaho at the US Naval Training Center, Farragut, Idaho.  They spent the rest of the war in constr

Randy Seaver's "Saturday Night Genealogy Fun" is always a blast to read and do.  Today's post is about listing your Matrilineal Lines.  This is my mother, my mother's mother, her mother's mother, etc.  When one has their mtDNA tested, this is the line that is tested and whose genes are passed down to me. Me: Lisa Suzanne Hork My mother: Lea Nell Johnston (1934-1992) My grandmother: Pansy Louise Lancaster - Living My great-grandmother: Lela Ann Loveless (1896-1951) My gg-grandmother: Eliza A. Ro(d)gers (1854-1907) I had my grandmother tested and her halpogroup is U5. My mother's father's matrilineal line is: My grandfather: Tom Johnston Jr (1912-1973) His mother: Nell Hutson (1888-1919) His grandmother: Sarah Helena Selman (1858-1916) His great-grandmother: Amanda Deborah Oldham (1822-1880) I have not had this line tested.  My mother had no brothers, so I need to have one of her male cousins do the y-DNA test. My father's mother

     I could title this post, “On These Days,” and try to post it halfway between the 26 th of September for the anniversary of her death and the 27 th of September for the anniversary of her birth.       Sarah Helena Selman was born on 27 Sep 1858 in Cherokee County, Texas [1] , probably somewhere near Rusk [2] .  Cherokee County is in eastern Texas, two counties away from the Louisiana border.  Her parents were Greenlee Bean Selman and Amanda Deborah Oldham.  She was the youngest of the three children of Greenlee and Amanda.  Both Amanda and Greenlee had previous marriages, resulting in Sarah having four half-siblings.      She married Peter Hayden Hutson in Hood County, Texas on 11 Sep 1879. [3]   They had 8 children, seven girls and one boy.  My great-grandmother, Nell Hutson, was number 4.  Three of her daughters, Lillie Violet, Myrtle, and Winnie Oda, died before reaching adulthood.  They are buried in Union Cemetery in Comanche County, where the family was now living

Mam-ma's Mercury Copyright © 2012 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family

Tom J Johnston at Johnston Bros Billiards in Walnut Creek, California mid 1940s Copyright © 2012 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family

I have been scanning like crazy this past week and found the photograph I took of my maternal grandfather's grave marker.  Since it is flat I find it hard to call it a "tombstone" but it still works for this blogging meme. Oakmont Memorial Park, Lafayette, California After finding the photo, I created a memorial at Find-a-Grave which you can see here .  Seeing the marker back when I took the photo gave me information that I did not know.  Tom-Tom (what us grandkids called him) was in the Navy during World War II.  I have since sent for his Naval Service Record. I also took a photo of my daughters next to the marker.  When I added that photo to their scrapbooks, I would draw a little tree showing the relationship from them to the ancestor. Tom J Johnston's great-granddaughters Copyright © 2012 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family

   One hundred and thirty-nine years ago, William Carl Lancaster was born on July 21, 1873 to parents George Wilson Lancaster and Martha Jane Polly.  He was the oldest child of six and was born in Rockwall, Rockwall county, Texas.  The first census he appears in is the 1880 Rockwall county, Texas. Texas, Rockwall, 1880 U.S. census, Ancestry.com , Digital images (http://www.ancestry.com: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), T9, Rockwall Village, enumeration district (ED) 30, George W. Lancaster, accessed 13 Jul 1995.    He was just seven years old.  He is living also with two of his siblings, Lonnie and Maggie, and his paternal grandmother, Elizabeth S. Lancaster.  His father is a farmer.  His mother is listed as housekeeper, but this is the term used back then for the census to denote that she took care of their home.  The census also listed that William Carl could not read or write, so it is likely he had not yet attended school.   He married Martha Jane Coo

Copyright © 2012 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family

Lela Nell with cousin and grandfather Copyright © 2012 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family

This is a blogging theme for the month of March which is Women's History Month. I'm a bit behind but do want to participate in the daily blogging posts. These 31 posts will be posted between my two blogs " My Trails Into the Past " and " Mam-ma's Southern Family ." March 20 — Is there a female ancestor who is your brick wall? Why? List possible sources for finding more information. One of my brick wall female ancestor is Eliza A. Rogers.  She is my 2nd great grandmother.  Eliza was born in 1854 in South Carolina.  I do not know who her parents are.  She married Ebenezer Loveless on 18 Mar 1871 in Chattooga Co, Georgia.  They had ten children.  She died in Faulkner Co, Arkansas on 27 Aug 1907 and is buried at Spring Hill Cemetery. I have not worked on this line in ages.  Just reviewing this now I see some things I should do: Find out when death certificates became mandatory in Arkansas and try to obtain one for her. Find a tombstone on

This is a blogging theme for the month of March which is Women's History Month. I'm a bit behind but do want to participate in the daily blogging posts. These 31 posts will be posted between my two blogs " My Trails Into the Past " and " Mam-ma's Southern Family ." March 16 — If you could have lunch with any female family member (living or dead) or any famous female who would it be and why? Where would you go? What would you eat? My 2nd great grandmother was Martha J Coor.  I would love to have lunch with her and eat some good southern food.  I'd want to eat right in her kitchen so I can watch her fix the meal. At the meal I'd ask about the possible Native American ancestry we might have.  She seems like the most likely candidate but all records I find about her family do not point to any Native American ancestry.  So why does my grandmother think that her grandmother was half Indian? A puzzle we may never solve...... Copyright © 2

This is a blogging theme for the month of March which is Women's History Month. I'm a bit behind but do want to participate in the daily blogging posts. These 31 posts will be posted between my two blogs " My Trails Into the Past " and " Mam-ma's Southern Family ." March 12 — Working girl: Did your mother or grandmother work outside the home? What did she do? Describe her occupation. My grandmother worked outside the home most of her life. She was a great seamstress and could always get a job in alterations, working in both men's and women's stores. She told me her mother was good at sewing and made all of my grandmother's clothes.  My grandmother's favorite class at Stephenville High School was Home Ec. She worked several stores in downtown Walnut Creek, California. Celeata's was a men's store where she did alterations. She also worked at the Clothes Horse, a women's store. She would take clothes home each night to do

This is a blogging theme for the month of March which is Women's History Month. I'm a bit behind but do want to participate in the daily blogging posts. These 31 posts will be posted between my two blogs " My Trails Into the Past " and " Mam-ma's Southern Family ." March 8 — Did one of your female ancestors leave a diary, journal, or collection of letters? Share an entry or excerpt. Poems written by Lea N Hork, 1954 I do not have a collection of letters, a diary, or journal that any of my female ancestors left.  However, I have some typed stories and poems my mother, Lela Nell Johnston, wrote.  They were simple stories, told by a young author.  I imagine my mother wanted to write more but with six young children, I doubt she could find the time. Her favorite time of the day to do things for herself was between 4 and 6 AM.  She would get up with my father who had to be at work by 4:30 and then would have all that quiet time alone until us kids

This is a blogging theme for the month of March which is Women's History Month. I'm a bit behind but do want to participate in the daily blogging posts. These 31 posts will be posted between my two blogs " My Trails Into the Past " and " Mam-ma's Southern Family ."  March 7 — Share a favorite recipe from your mother or grandmother’s kitchen. Why is this dish your favorite? If you don’t have one that’s been passed down, describe a favorite holiday or other meal you shared with your family. When I was married, my mother, Lea Hork, made a recipe-photo album for me.  She typed up her favorite recipes, added personal comments about the recipe, and then clipped them.  She then made a scrapbook full of photos from my childhood and included the favorite recipes.  As each of us kids were married, she'd make another album for them.  My youngest sister was married after my mother passed away, so I carefully made an album for her, copying what my mother ha

This is a blogging theme for the month of March which is Women's History Month. I'm a bit behind but do want to participate in the daily blogging posts. These 31 posts will be posted between my two blogs " My Trails Into the Past " and " Mam-ma's Southern Family ." March 3 — Do you share a first name with one of your female ancestors? Perhaps you were named for your great-grandmother, or your name follows a particular naming pattern. If not, then list the most unique or unusual female first name you’ve come across in your family tree. I do not share a first name with any of my ancestors, but my mother, Lela Nell, was named after her grandmother, Lela Ann Loveless Lancaster. Later my mother went by Lea instead, I guess because it didn't sound so Texan. My mother's Texas accent was gone, too. Above is a photo of my great grandmother, Lela Ann, great grandfather Warren, my mother Lela Nell, my grandmother, Pansy Louise, and her brother,

This is a blogging theme for the month of March which is Women's History Month.  I'm a bit behind but do want to participate in the daily blogging posts. Day 1:  Do you have a favorite female ancestor? One you are drawn to or want to learn more about? Write down some key facts you have already learned or what you would like to learn and outline your goals and potential sources you plan to check. I would like to know more about my grandmother's mother, Lela Ann (Loveless) Lancaster.  She was born 2 April 1895 in Conway, Faulkner Co, Arkansas to Ebenezer Loveless & Eliza A Rogers.  She married George Warren Lancaster 15 Dec 1912 in Stephenville, Erath Co, Texas.  They had four children; my grandmother was the oldest. My grandmother told me her mother was ill most of my grandmother's young life and that my grandmother had extra chores around the house and she took care of her brothers.  What was wrong with Lela Ann?  She did live until she was 57 years old, dying

Pansy Louise Lancaster Johnston holding daughter, Lela Nell Copyright © 2011 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family

1954 Copyright © 2011 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family

Funeral Card for Tom J Johnston Jr, Oakmont Memorial Park, Lafayette, Calfornia Wednesday, I posted a photo of Tom J Johnston's grave site and today I have a photo of his funeral card.  I remember it was supposed to be a closed casket but when we got there, it was open.  It was my first funeral and the first time I saw someone who was dead.  He just looked asleep and very peaceful. Copyright © 2011 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family

Oakmont Memorial Park, Lafayette, Contra Costa Co, California This is my grandfather, Tom J Johnston, born 7 Oct 1912 in Comanche County, Texas to Thomas Newton Johnston & Nell Hutson, and died at home on 11 Jul 1973.  I was 19 went he died and his was the first funeral I had attended.  He was a quiet man and us kids were a bit afraid of him.  We called him Tom-Tom instead of grandfather or grandpa.  He married Pansy Louise Lancaster 15 Dec 1933 and they had one daughter, Lela Nell, born 21 Aug 1934.  He served a short time in the Seebees during World War II until he was medically discharged.  He last worked as a carpenter at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. Tom J Johnston Jr. Copyright © 2011 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family

Lela Ann (Loveless) Lancaster - Mam-ma's mother Copyright © 2011 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family

One year ago today, I attended a class on creating a blog at the California Genealogical Society.  It was taught by  Craig Siulinski.  I was unsure at first.  What could I write about that anyone would want to read?  At the time, I thought I would write about my research as it pertained to my grandmother, Mam-ma's ancestors.  I have done that.  In the past year, I have created 22 posts.  Some are strictly photos for "Wordless Wednesday."  Most of the blogs have met a blogging meme.   This next year, I hope to write more.  My grandmother is 98 years young and I hope to glean as much as I can from her life while I still can.  She's pretty sharp.  I find using photos as a good starting point for story-telling.  My goal is to get a good time-line of her life.  Wish me luck! Copyright © 2011 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family

Tom & Pansy in Matching Outfits Copyright © 2011 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family