Forget Me Not: S. Rayleen (Brown) Hall, 2006 MS

It wasn’t until the early 1990s that I learned my paternal grandfather, Roy Jessie Brown, had been married before he married my grandmother, Ivy R. (Mark) Brown. My father, Delbert K. Brown, told me he had a half-sister in Mississippi. He visited Rayleen in 1993. After his visit Rayleen & I began a correspondence. In May 1994 Rayleen and her daughter, Bonnie, came to stay at our house in NY. It was wonderful to meet them; to introduce them to the rest of the local Brown family; and to begin a relationship with them. In the summer of 1997 my husband and I and our children visited Rayleen and family in Mississippi. They showed us the famous southern hospitality and introduced us to many family members there. Rayleen and I continued to correspond. We exchanged Christmas cards, birthday cards and letters for many years. We discovered that we both liked to quilt. She was a gracious, funny and loving lady.  

Sylvia Rayleen (Brown) Hall

5 Mar 1924 MS - 15 June 2006 MS

Daughter of Roy Jessie Brown & Mary Thelma Ellzey

Wife of Jessie Miles Hall

 

Sylvia Rayleen Brown Hall, 82, of the Silver Creek community, died June 15, 2006, at Beecham Memorial Hospital in Magnolia. Visitation is 5 to 9 tonight at Silver Creek Baptist Church. Services will be at 10 a. m. Saturday at the church, with the Rev. Jimmy Smith officiating. Burial will be in Silver Creek Cemetery. Capps Funeral Home in Tylertown is in charge of arrangements. Mrs. Hall was born March 5, 1924, in Slidell, La. She was the daughter of Roy Brown and Mary Ellzey Goings. She was retired and was the first woman to serve on the Pike County Board of Supervisors, elected in 1983. She also owned and operated a country store and was a homemaker. For most of her life, she was an active member of Silver Creek Baptist Church, where she served as a Sunday school teacher, vacation Bible school teacher, church hostess and church clerk for many years. Mrs. Hall was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Jesse Miles Hall, a former Pike County supervisor; and a brother. Survivors include a sister and brother-in-law, Jackie and Paul Boatner of Clinton; five children, Sylvia Alford of Abilene, Texas, Billy Hall, Cecil Hall and his wife Barbara, the Rev. Wayne Hall and his wife Jeanette, all of Magnolia and Bonnie Hall of McComb; several grandchildren, Duane and Wade Alford, Deanna Laciura, Diane Welch, Angela McNabb, James Hall and Dr. Stephanie Hall; 12 great – grandchildren and many other relatives and friends. Pallbearers are George Garner, James Hall, Brandon Meyers, Wayne Meyers, Jesse Stitman and Austin Tolar. Honorary pallbearers are deacons of Silver Creek Baptist Church.

 

Source: Rayleen Brown Hall. (McComb, MS: Enterprise – Journal, 16 June 2006) A003; digital image, Newspapers.com: accessed October 2020.

Sylvia Rayleen (Brown) Hall, as a child

Related Posts:

1. Roy Jessie Brown, WWII Draft Registration Card
2. An old Family Tree Sketch

 

Social News: Dinner with L. W. Fortenberry, 1950 MS

Using websites such as Newspapers.com, we researchers can find news of our families. Weddings & Obituaries can often be found. But smaller occasions were also reported in small local newspapers. This brief social clipping describes a Sunday family dinner for the Fortenberry family in November 1950.

Dinner Guests. Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Fortenberry of Progress enjoyed having as their dinner guests Sunday Mrs. Ina Alford, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Fortenberry and children, Billy, Alice and Ray, Mr. and Mrs. John Hall and sons, John and Don, Mr. and Mrs. Thurman Fortenberry, Mr. and Mrs. Wilburn Fortenberry and son, Wilburn.

 

My notes on the dinner guests:

 

Mr. and Mrs. L. W. = Lucius Wilburn Fortenberry (c 1888 MS – 1964 MS) & wife Rosa

 

Ray Luther Fortenberry, son of Lucius & Rosa, (1909 MS – 1989) & wife, Zelda Marie Alford (1915 LA – 2005 MS) & children Billy Joe, Alice Darrel and Ray Luther

 

Mrs. Ina Alford = Ina Lucille Brown Alford (1890 – 1922), mother of Zelda Marie Alford

 

Thurman Fortenberry, son of Lucius & Rosa & wife 

 

Wilburn Fortenberry, son of Lucius & Rosa & wife & son, Wilburn

 

John Hall & wife (daughter of Lucius & Rosa) & and sons, John and Don

 

Source: Dinner Guests (McComb, MS: Enterprise Journal, 8 Nov 1950) 8; digital image, Newspapers.com: accessed January 2021.

Alphabetical Ancestors H

A, B, C,… Working my way through the alphabet and taking another look at the surnames linked to my various trees. Some are branches with very few leaves and others are quite full. I post them in hopes of discovering new contacts to expand my knowledge of these names. If you see some leaves & branches from your trees, let’s share & compare.

H is for these Surnames…

Hall

My connection to the Hall family comes through Sylvia Rayleen Brown who married Jessie Miles Hall on 14 February 1942 in MS. They had five children, born in MS.

Harpster

This family is based in Ohio. My third cousin, Sharon Marie Purdy, married Richard Bruce Harpster. They were both born in Ohio and married in Ohio. They have three children.

Hartsel

Margaretha Ritter, my third great grand aunt, married Peter Hartsel [b 1819] in 1840. They had seven children, born in Ohio. By 1860 Peter had died and Margaretha was running the farm and raising her children.      

Hawk

William Hawk [1847 – 1915 OH] married Elizabeth Ritter [1860 OH – 1950] in 1880. In 1900 he was a carpenter. In 1910 he was a laborer at odd jobs. Their 6 children were born in Ohio: Gertrude, Forest, Lulu, William, John and Ruth.

Heffelfinger

Mary Isabella Heffelfinger b in 1819 in Cumberland, PA was my third great grandmother. She may have been the daughter of Philip Heffelfinger [1787 – 1877]. Mary married Abraham Mark in 1839 in Ohio. I would love more information on these Heffelfingers.

Heigle

Henry Heigle married Carrie Belle Wolf. They had four children: Lloyd, Marshal, Anna Belle and Agnes.

Hixon

Howard Wendal Hixon [b 1929 PA] married Margaret Louise Good [b 1928 OH]. They had four children: Howard, Harold, Patricia & Kathleen.

Hollis

Jemimah Hollis married JeremiahSmith, Sr. [1755 – after 1827 MS]. Their children were: Jeremiah, George, Daniel and Mary. I would love to learn more about the Hollis name.

Holmes

My records show an assortment of Holmes, unrelated as far as I know. Cynthia Holmes married David Brumfield [1795 SC – 1863] in 1823. Dorothy Holmes married Eddie Jasper Pierce [b1931 MS] and had three children. Elisha Holmes, Sr. married Sarah Stovall. Their daughter, Nancy, was born in Georgia. Elizabeth Holmes [bc 1807 GA] married Isaac Brumfield [1801 SC – 1862 MS] and had 8 children born in MS. Mary Holmes [c 1837 MS] married Jasper R Smith [1828 MS]. Nancy Jane Holmes married Benjamin Franklin Ellzey [1826 MS – 1904 MS] and had three children.

Hubanks

Hannah Hubanks was my 4^th great grandmother but I know almost nothing about her or her surname. She married John Faulkenberry [b 1740]. Their 6 children were born in South Carolina: Robert, William Jasper, Lee, Jacob, Israel and Nathaniel.

Huffman

Warren M. Huffman [1835 – 1905] married Narcissa Izela Fortenberry [1835 MS – 1902]. In 1900 Warren was a farmer in Pike Co, MS. Their son, Jeptha [b 1867], married Emma M Cutrer [b 1876]. They had six children: Ora, Lillie, Clinton, Blanche, Pierce & Coneda. In 1910, 1920 & 1930 Jeptha was a farmer in LA.

Hurd

Roy Hurd [1878 MI – 1940 MI] married Mona D Morrison [1881 MI – 1968 MI]. They had six children: Howard, Nina, Clyde, Claude, Vera & Ruth.

Other ‘H’ Surnames in my tree: Harrison,Hasseman, Hathaway, Herbert, Hertz, Hines, Hollander, Homer, Hoover, Hope, Horgan, Hoverstock, Hunt & Hutchinson

Ancestor Anniversaries, February 1 - 14

2 February 1898       Isaac Omer Cutrer, 1871 – 1941 [son of Hiram & Sarah Jane (Fortenberry) Cutrer] & Fannie Rebecca Smith, 1881 – 1923 [daughter of Wyatt Rankin & Irene (Bankston) Smith]. 6 children. Isaac & Fannie were both my 2^nd cousins, 3 times removed.

2 February 1914       Thomas Joseph Brady [son of Patrick & Ellen (Reilly) Brady] & Catherine Lynch. Married in New Jersey. 4 children.

2 February 1936       Herbert Phillip Mullen, Jr. [son of Herbert Phillip & Ruth Geneva (Jolliff) Mullen, Sr.] & Margaret Delores Engle. 2 children.

8 February 1964       Robert M. Beriswell, 1932 – 1986, & Francis Edith Brophy [daughter of Glen Ralph & Eileen Mae (Reis) Brophy]. Married in Ohio. 4 children.

9 February 1905       Walter Lee Blades, 1883 – 1959 [son of William Ephraim & Morgana J. (McDaniel) Blades] & Addie Angeline Cutrer. 2 children.

11 February 1870     Patrick Coyle, 1841 – 1925 [son of Michael & Mary (Cunningham) Coyle] & Margaret Brady, c. 1855 – 1934 [daughter of Thomas & Catherine (Gibney) Brady]. Married in County Cavan, Ireland. 11 children. Patrick & Margaret were my 2^nd great grandparents.

12 February 1901     Arthur Spice [son of Robert Anson & Emma Catherine (Gordon) Spice]  & Emaline Floy Moore, 1883 – 1942 [daughter of Peter Jonathan & Caroline Louise (Gruissy) Moore]. Married in Michigan. 5 children.

13 February 1825     Frederick Wolf , 1804 – 1891 [son of John Frederick & Esther Barbara (Schaffer) Wolf] & Louisa C. Goetz [daughter of John Goetz]. Married in Pennsylvania. 8 children. Frederick Wolf was my 3^rd great grand uncle.

14 February 1942     Jessie Miles Hall, 1921 – 1983, & Sylvia Rayleen Brown, 1924 – 2006 [daughter of Roy Jesse & Mary Thelma (Ellzey) Brown]. Married in Mississippi. 5 children.

14 February 1953     William Thomas Zengler[son of Urban Robert & Mildred Mae (Wolf) Zengler]  & Kathryn Isabel Waidman

Do you connect with any of these couples? Do you have a marriage certificate or wedding photo for any of them?  Contact me to share & compare.

January Family Birthdays, January 1 - 15

Is your birthday coming soon? Maybe you share your special day with someone in our family who came before. Look below and see. Happy Birthday!

1 January 

  

 1796    Charles BRUMFIELD in South Carolina
 1800    Mary Polly SPURLOCK was born in Georgia. She married Edward S. Brown & had 5  children.  She died 12 January 1888 in Pike Co., Mississippi. She was my 3rd great grandmother.

1833    Eliza A. SMITH
1894    Euna Clarabelle FORTENBERRY
1873    William Isaac MILLER
1906    Robert Rugh HILE in Ohio
1909    Bartholomew Anthony BRADY in NJ
1926    William Alered HUFF

2 January    

1740    Christian DICK was born in Pennsylvania, the son of Johan Adam Dick & Ottilla Knack. He married Catherine Naugle. Christian & his wife both died on 4 May 1800.
1823    Edwin B. RITTER
1844    Cynthia Elizabeth ALFORD
1898    William Bryan SMITH
1899    Walter L. FORTENBERRY
1923     Wesley PIERCE in Mississippi

3 January    

1910    Twins: Claude & Clyde HURD were born in Michigan, children of Roy Hurd & Mona D. Morrison.  The twins died the day they were born.
1914    Helen Pearl RITTER

4 January    

1867    Tholomiah Rhodes WOLF was born in Iowa and died 28 September 1933 in Kansas. He married Elizabeth Willis.
1885    Luella May WOLF

5 January

1786    Anna Margaret BOGERT
1829    William BRUMFIELD was born in Washington Parish, Louisiana, son of Willis Brumfield & Nancy Virginia Holmes. William married Sarah Lewis.
1850    Lovina B. RITTER in Ohio
1867    James Hollis FORTENBERRY
1869    John G. HUFFMAN

6 January    

1835    Narcissa Izela FORTENBERRY was born in Mississippi, daughter of Gasua C. Fortenberry & Sarah B. Narcissa married Warren M. Huffman and had three children. She died in 1902.
1881    Margaret Maude MARK
1845    Cecil Earl HALL

7 January    

1767    Maria Magdelena RITTER was born in Pennsylvania, daughter of Johannes Ritter, Sr. & Maria Elisabeth Keck. She married John Stumpf.
1869    John T. RITTER
1914    Richard F. WOLFF in Connecticut

8 January    

1903    Karl Jackson MILLER was born in Ohio and married Mellie Arlene Jolliff, daughter of Samuel Martin Jolliff & Margaret Maude Mark.
1910    Lillian FORTENBERRY

9 January    

1884    Annie Elizabeth OTT
1897    Helen Frances COYLE was born in New York City, the oldest child of Michael Coyle & Mary Jospehine Mullane. Helen was my maternal grandmother, Nana. She married Nathaniel Gardner. They had one child, Alberta Joy Gardner Brown.
1906    Ira Evie BLADES

10 January    

1894    Charles Spurgeon ELLZEY was born in Mississippi, son of William S. Ellzey & Amanda A. Fortenberry. Charles married Mae McMillan.

11 January    

1752    Anna Margaret STEININGER married Martin Ritter, son of Heinrich Ritter & Maria Elizabeth Tutt. Anna & Martin had seven children.
1768    John RITTER
1850    William Ephraim BLADES
1876    Julia Mae SMITH

12 January    

1733    Maria Christiana WOLF was born in Germany, daughter of Johan Jacob Wolf & Anna Barbara Orth.
1911    Frank William RITTER
1926    Willie Jean FORTENBERRY
1929    Thiry Yvonne BROWN

13 January    

1880    Samuel Harvey WOLF
1924    Fred Allen BROWN was the son of Hubert Allen Brown & Freddie Smith.  He died 13 July 1932.

14 January    

1807    Margretha RITTER
1818    William Dorten SMITH
1883    Albert Edward GOOD was the son of Joel H Good & Margaret C Brown. He married Elizabeth L Moore. They had six children. Albert lived his life in Ohio.
1885    Tate Edward FORTENBERRY
1885    George F. LOBAUGH
1896    Velma Odene SMITH
1923    Thomas Clarence WILSON Jr.

15 January    

1819    Mary MARCKS

1820    Moses BROWN Jr. was born in Mississippi, son of Moses Brown and Nancy Perkins.
1826    Elizabeth HOPE
1876    Samuel Omelia BRUMFIELD
1915     Edwin MINTER
1937    James Neron SMITH