Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Fatal Auto Accident, N E Alford, 1937 MS

This obituary haws lottos information, family & military.

Shock of Accident Fatal to Pike Vet; Daughter is Injured

Rev. N. E. Alford is Eleventh in Year’s Highway Toll
Long Life Ends for Aged Man
Only One Confederate Veteran Left in County



The Rev. N. E. Alford, a Methodist minister for 42 years, and until yesterday one of Pike county’s two surviving Confederate veterans, died at a local hospital last night. Death was due to shock resulting from an automobile accident near Kentwood, La., yesterday, afternoon. Mr. Alford, whose age was 91 years, 9 months and 14 days, was very active notwithstanding. He had been to Baton Rouge for a visit, and was enroute home with members of his family.

Loses control. The automobile, driven by his son, B. P. Alford [Barney Pipkin Alford], Holmesville, met a large truck just south of Kentwood, and the driver lost control. The car swerved into a ditch and ran back onto the road, it was reported, a serious wreck being narrowly avoided. The accident happened at about 3:30 Tuesday afternoon.

Miss Annie Alford, of Kansas City who was here on a visit with her father, sustained a broken arm in the accident. Other members of the party, which included Mrs. B. P. Alford and a granddaughter of the Rev. Mr. Alford, Mrs. Ralph Crisco, of Koselusko. Neither Mrs. Alford or Mrs. Crisco sustained injuries more serious than bruises.

Daughter Resting Well. Mr. Alford and Miss Alford were brought to a local hospital, where the father died at 12:30 this morning. Miss Alford was reported resting as well as could be expected.

The Rev. Mr. Alford was born and reared in Pike county. He was a member of one of the county’s most prominent families, and his life was one of faithful service in the Christian cause. Four of his sons are ministers of the gospel.

Funeral Thursday. Funeral services will be held at Holmesville Church Thursday afternoon at 3 o’clock, with the Rev. W. J. Saunders, of Osyka, and Dr. J. W. Mayfield, McComb, officiating. Internment will be in the family cemetery, eight miles east of Magnolia.

Surviving the Rev. Mr. Alford are seven sons, the Rev. J. M. Alford, Monroe, La.; the Rev. C. W. Alford, Webster, Fla.; the Rev. J. P. Alford, Istrouma, La.; B. P. Alford, Holmesville; H. J. and Lucius H. Alford, San Antonio, Texas; two daughters, Miss Annie Alford, Kansas City; and Mrs. R. T. Hollingsworth, Tutwiler. His wife, one son, T. L. Alford, and one daughter, Miss Dora Alford, preceded him n death. One sister, Mrs. Laura Burch, McComb, a number of grandchildren and great grandchildren also survive.

Last Confederate. The death of Mr. Alford leaves Pike county with only one surviving Confederate veteran, Mr. Joe Berryhill, of Magnolia.

Throughout the years of his life, the Rev. Mr. Alford was recognized as one of the pillars of both his church and his community. His life was one of Christian ministrations, and his influence was consistently on the side of progress and righteousness.

Saturday afternoon Mr. Alford came to McComb. Despite his age he was physically active and mentally alert. His death marks the passing of a stalwart Christian character.

Davis undertaking company in charge.



Source: Shock of Accident Fatal to Pike Vet; Daughter is Injured. (McComb, MS: Enterprise-Journal, 28 July 1937) 1; digital image, Newspapers.com: accessed December 
2018.





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Saturday, February 23, 2019

FAMILY PHOTO, Birthday!




Happy Birthday!

FAMILY PHOTO!

23 February is my mother in law's birthday. This year her family is flying in from several states to Oklahoma to see Ann & celebrate her 95th birthday. This photo came from her 90th birthday celebration in Florida. That birthday included mini golf, swimming, big meals & a crystal tierra for the birthday lady. I gave her a hand sewn quilt which everyone in the family had signed.

 In 2019 the family photo will include: her two children & spouses, her five grandchildren & spouses, and four adorable great grandsons, ages 2 months to 4 years old.  

It has been great to be a part of the Pasquale family. We've had many fun times together since I met them in 1974: enjoying big Italian meals, playing RISK, celebrating holidays & special days,... And the fun times continue!


The birthday lady wearing her Tierra! 



[I won't include any names here to respect everyone's privacy.]

Amy Johnson Crow challenges us to remember our ancestors and their families through this task: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. I completed ’52 Ancestors’ in 2014 & here I go again. This post is in response to that challenge. The topic for this week is FAMILY PHOTO.






Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Civil War Letter, Rimson S. Dillon

This is a heart breaking letter, written concerning Rimon S. Dillon when he was in Confederate service. It talks about the deaths of two of his young sons and the terrible conditions his wife and daughter were enduring. 

This record also shows he was a Private in Company A. He enlisted 8 July 1862. He was discharged 22 November 1862, after the letter was received.


Rimon S. Dillon
b c 1825 MS

son of Willis D. Dillon & Mary Jane Smith
Husband of Elizabeth
Father of James, Candace & Franklin




Magnolia, Miss.
November 5th, 1862

Lieutenant Genl. Pemberton
Commanding Department

Dear Sir,

Some two weeks ago, one Mr. R. S. Dillon had his two sons to die, the only support of their mother and sister, as Mr. Dillon is a member of Major Garland Rangers, and now in camp. Mr. Dillon, is 48 years of age and not able to endure the hardship of camp life and has been on sick furlough nearly half of the time he has been in service. The family are extremely poor, and have not twenty five dollars to buy provisions for themselves, and the two boys, before their death, had made a small crop, which is now unattended.

Application was made to Major Garland for the discharge of Mr. Dillon but he said he had not the power, and referred to Hereford and he had not the power, and referred to Hereford and he refers him to you.

Now, General, we the citizens of this village, do beg of you as an act of great charity to grant, or order the discharge of Mr. Dillon, as his wife and daughter, are now alone, perfectly unprotected, with no provisions, or money, and the greater part of their crop still in the field.

Very Respectfully Yours,
Eugene M. Bee



Source: Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Mississippi; NARA catalog #586957, Record Group 109; digital image, Fold 3 (fold3.com: May 2028) Rimson Dillon.


Saturday, February 16, 2019

LOVE of family





I found LOVE to be a difficult topic to write about. My first thought was about romantic LOVE. I thought I might select a couple and write about their courtship & marriage; their enduring LOVE. But it was difficult to select just one couple. Should I write about my parents who met as teenagers when they went to a square dance? Should I write about my mother’s parents who were married twice, to each other? Or should I write about my father’s grandparents who wrote love letters to each other? There are quite a few LOVE stories to chose from and I cannot select just one.

Then I thought about my parents and what they taught us about LOVE. They taught my brothers & I to LOVE our family. They taught us through their actions. Every happy occasion in the family was shared with grandmothers, uncle & aunts, and cousins. We shared birthdays, holidays and graduations. But we did not need big occasions to share our time together. 

A beautiful autumn day was a good occasion to have a barbeque. Once a thunderstorm rolled through during a family barbeque. My father and our Uncle Leo stood outside at the grill, flipping hamburgers. They wore ponchos in the downpour and never stopped cooking for us.  Why? Because they loved our family. 

A warm summer day was a good occasion to go swimming. I remember many times my mother and our aunts cooked up and packed up big bowls of salads to take to a park or campground where we could spend the day together. They spread tablecloths on picnic tables and unpacked piles of food. We had a wonderful time as a result of all their hard work. Why? Because they loved our family.

In both happy times & hard times our family stuck together. My parents did not give us big lectures on the importance of family. Their actions showed us how much they loved our family. Today we still band together to celebrate happy occasions & lend a hand when needed. 

It is that LOVE of family that motivates me to spend hours and hours on genealogy. Learning about our family helps me to feel connected to those who are no longer with us and to those are. Learning and sharing helps me feel connected to those family members who are spread across the country and to those who are close by. To me, genealogy is about LOVE of family. 

Amy Johnson Crow challenges us to remember our ancestors and their families through this task: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. I completed ’52 Ancestors’ in 2014 & here I go again. This post is in response to that challenge. The topic for this week is ‘LOVE'.






Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Valentine Day Anniversary Celebration, Alford, 1926 MS

Aged Couple Celebrate Sixtieth Anniversary

Barney Seaborn Alford
& Anna Rebecca Norman



Presiding Elder L. E. Alford and family left Friday for their former home at McComb City, where they went to attend the sixtieth anniversary of the marriage of Mr. Alford’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Barney S. Alford, which was celebrated on St. Valentine’s day, at the home of the aged couple’s son, J. B. Alford.

Mr. and Mrs. Barney Alford have five sons and one daughter, all of whom were expected to be in McComb that day. They are:

·     J. B. Alford [James Barney Alford], wholesale Dry Goods Merchant of McComb
·     L. W. Alford [Lewis Wesley Alford], retail jeweler of McComb
·     Rev. L. E. Alford [Lucius Edwin Alford], presiding elder of Newton District of the Mississippi Conference of the southern Methodist Church
·     Norman Alford, retail furniture dealer of McComb
·     Louis Alford [There was a Lewis & Lucius. I don’t have a Louis in my records. I do have Homer Alford.], mechanic of Yazoo City
·     Mrs. Carrie Hays [Carrie Mabel Alford], wife of a wholesale furniture dealer of New Orleans, Louisiana
·     [Daughter Eunice Lillian Alford died c 1884]

Many grandchildren were also present to make the happy young couple even more happy and also a large number of good neighbors who have known them for all these years gathered in the afternoon to do them honor.

The occasion was one long to be remembered.


  • [Notes in Green are my notes.]

  Source: Aged Couple Celebrate Sixtieth Anniversary. (Newton, MS: The Newton Record, 18 Feb. 1926) 2; digital image, Newspapers.com: accessed January 2019.



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Saturday, February 9, 2019

SURPRISE, Quakers in the Family




During the years I have researched my various family leaves & branches I have uncovered relatives with various religious beliefs. Considering the wide range of people and places that is not surprising but I was surprised to find Quakers in the family. Why was this a SURPRISE to me? I suppose I have thought of Quakers as a relatively small group of people, primarily in rural Pennsylvania and Maryland. I did not know there were Quakers in the early southern colonies.

The Religious Society of Friends, also referred to as the Quaker Movement, was founded in England in the 17th century by George Fox. He and other early Quakers, or Friends, were persecuted for their beliefs, which included the idea that the presence of God exists in every person. Quakers rejected elaborate religious ceremonies, didn’t have official clergy and believed in spiritual equality for men and women. Quaker missionaries first arrived in America in the mid-1650s. Quakers, who practice pacifism, played a key role in both the abolition and women’s rights movements. Many, but not all, Quakers consider themselves Christians.[1]

In 1657 Josiah Coale and Thomas Thurston arrived in Virginia and were successful in reaching out to the people and sharing their Quaker beliefs which spread steadily. The Colony had no tolerance for the Quakers. They had previously enacted anti tolerance laws against Roman Catholics and did the same in an attempt to prevent Quakers from thriving because they were considered a menace to the stability of social life in the colony. A fine of 5,000 pounds of tobacco was imposed for ‘entertaining Quakers to teach or preach’.[2]

I found that my Lawrence family in Nansemond, Virginia appeared in Quaker Records as early as 1683. Brothers Robert Lawrence and John Lawrence, sons of Robert and Elizabeth Lawrence, and their wives, Mary and Joane, were members of the Society of Friends. Those records continue until 1707.[3]Further research may find more Quaker records for the family.

SURPRISINGLY, I discovered my Brown family in North Carolina also belonged to the Quaker society. Edward Brown [c1730 – c1797], my 5thgreat grandfather, was a Quaker.[4]There is evidence of the Edward Brown family in Jones County as related to the Quaker meetings. Oldest sons, John and Aaron, were old enough to join on their own. John Brown was a member in 1788 and Aaron in 1789. Edward, Moses, Daniel and Hardy were brought along by their father in 1789 to become members.[5]This later caused a division in the Brown family. The Quakers were opposed to slavery. They moved north to Ohio. The Browns who were not Quakers lived in Mississippi and owned slaves. Eventually, when the Civil War began, the Browns fought against each other.

Despite attempts by government bodies to halt the spread of the religion branches of our family embraced the Quaker beliefs. 

We never know where our genealogy research will lead us but we can be sure it will be filled with SURPRISES.

Amy Johnson Crow challenges us to remember our ancestors and their families through this task: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. I completed ’52 Ancestors’ in 2014 & here I go again. This post is in response to that challenge. The topic for this week is ‘SURPRISE.


[1]Quakers. Digital image, History Channel (history.com: accessed January 2019) 268 – 272; digital image, archive.org: accessed January 2019.
[2]The Quakers in the American Colonies (London:Macmillan, 1911) 
[3]White, Miles Jr. Early Quaker Records in Virginia (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1977).
[5]North Carolina Quaker Meeting; ancestry.com; Edward Brown and sons.


Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Promotion for Major P. K. Alford, 1945


Percy Knapp Alford
b 25 June 1911
My 3rd cousin, 1x removed


Major Percy K. Alford has been selected for promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel with the U. S. Marine. Mr. Alford is presently at home with his family in McComb, and will soon again be detached for foreign service. His service with the Marines began about fourteen years ago when he became a member of the Marine Corps, and he was in active service when World War Two was declared.

Major Alford was awarded the Purple heart, for service on Guadalcanal; he has received the Presidential citation for meritorious service; the Nicaraguan Second campaign ribbon, and a number of other awards of recognition for overseas services. He has seen service in China, in New Zealand, and, last year, came home after 29 months service in the South Pacific theatre of war.

Mrs. Alford and their two sons, Keith and Gary, are residing in McComb. Major Alford’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Alford, reside in Jackson. He has a brother, George H. Alford, Jr., in overseas service. 

Source: Major P. K. Alford Chosen for Promotion to Lieut. Colonelcy. (McComb, MS: Enterprise-Journal, 22 May 1945) 1; digital image, Newspapers.com: accessed December 2018.





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Saturday, February 2, 2019

AT THE LIBRARY




Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah


This is a great topic! I am often AT THE LIBRARY. I find it much more satisfying to find evidences of my family in a library than on line. For me, being able to hold a book with my family information printed on its pages, gives me a more concrete link to those people from times past. Here are a few libraries I have visited & links to the posts I have written about those visits:

Ansonia Library                                   Ansonia, CT

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library           Charlotte, NC

Derby Public Library                           Derby, CT

Family History Library                        Salt Lake City, UT

Franklinton Library                             Franklinton, LA

Lancaster Library                                 Lancaster, SC

Orangeburg County Library                Orangeburg, SC

Pike-Amite-Walthall Library               McComb, MS

Rappahannock Library                      Washington, VA

There are many more libraries I’d like to visit and I’d like to return to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City where I can search for many family lines all in one place.

Don't delay. Find yourself AT THE LIBRARY today!

Amy Johnson Crow challenges us to remember our ancestors and their families through this task: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.  I completed '52 Ancestors' in 2014 & here I go again. This post is in response to that challenge. The topic for this week is ‘AT THE LIBRARY.