#15 of 52...Letha Hazel Marlow

Letha Hazel Marlow is my great grandmother.  She is my Papaw on my paternal side's mother.
I've always liked the name Letha and if we were to have another daughter I would have championed for her name to include Letha; alas though there will be no more babies for me.

Letha Hazel Marlow was born 1 April 1905 in Walker, Wood County, West Virginia to George Monroe Marlow and Bertha May Day. Her known siblings are:

1). Carl Edward Marlow (1906-1976)
2). Cecil Hardwick Marlow (1909-1984)
3). Infant son Marlow (1912-1912)
4). Justine Marlow (1918-1961)

Letha married Lewis Wade Curran 12 Aug 1922 in Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia. Lewis had a sister named Letha Curran and she married Letha Marlow's brother Carl Marlow!  So Letha Marlow became Letha Curran and Letha Curran became Letha Marlow and each couples children became double first cousins!

Letha Hazel Marlow and Lewis Wade Curran had the following known children:

1). Leonard Leroy Curran (1922-1922) stillborn
2). Paul Edward Curran (1924-2002)
3). Homer Carl Curran (1925-2001)
4). Lewis Wade Curran JR (still living)
5). Russell C. Curran (1930-2005)
6). Donald Vearl Curran (still living) **this is my Papaw
7). Hazel Marie Curran (1936-2013)

As you can see Letha was a strong woman!  She was the mother to five living boys and one daughter.  Can you imagine all those boys running about?  And then that baby girl?

Grandma Curran, as she is called by our family, had the opportunity to see me when I was but a wee little one.  I do not recall her at all, but they said they took me up to see her in West Virginia.  She passed away 29 Sep 1979; I had just turned 2 years old 11 days prior.  She was 74 years old.  I wish I would have had a chance to get to know her.

#14 of 52...Troy Eugene Waller...My Mawmaw

UPDATED: December 20, 2020; edited spelling errors, to add links, and to add documentation snips. 

I'm back after a wonderful Spring Break road trip and then a subsequent week of illness. Back to my female ancestors.  This week I want to take a look at one of my paternal great-grandmothers.

Troy Eugene Waller.  Yes, that is actually a female name.  She once told me that she was named after the doctor that helped deliver her.  I don't know if that is true or if I heard the story right or not, but the fact is that her name was Troy Eugene, however, I've seen Eugenia as well.  

Troy Eugene Waller was born 2 Dec 1909 in Campbell County, Georgia to Charlie Henry Waller and Ina Myrtle Brown.

Troy was the second child, oldest daughter of the couple.  Other known children are:

1). William Henry Waller (1908-1986)
2). Troy Eugene Waller (1909-1991)
3). Bobby Gladys Waller (1911-1980)
4). Estelle Waller (1913-1942)
5). Lois Waller (1916-1979)
6). Clara May Waller (1917-1995)
7). Josie Lee Waller (1920-1995)
8). Herbert Albert Waller (1922-1995)
9). Ina Myrtle Waller (1924-1997)

That's 7 girls and 2 boys if you are keeping track. Troy's father Charlie was involved in moon-shining during Prohibition.  I will tell that story one day but not today. Troy helped with the younger children when her father was incarcerated and her mother had to go to work to support the family.

Troy married John Henry Waller (he's related somehow, but I have not pieced together the relationship as of yet) sometime before 1928. He was 17 years older than her. She moved to Alabama with him where he was a brick layer.  She gave birth to a daughter named Cora.  In 1929, John was killed in an accident at the work-site where he was employed.  Troy was a widow with an infant daughter at the age of 20.

 

The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) 10 Oct 1929, Thur Page 3, Accessed Dec 20, 2020

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) · 10 Oct 1929, Thu · Page 26 Downloaded on Dec 20, 2020

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) , Fri 11 Oct 1929,•  Page 32 Downloaded on Dec 20, 2020

Below is Troy E. Waller listed in the 1930 Census.  Along with Troy is daughter Cora and "cousin" Louise.  It is my understanding that Louise is her cousin as well as her step-daughter.  Louise's father was Troy's deceased husband, John Henry Waller. 

Year: 1930; Census Place: Militia District 1348, Fulton, Georgia; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 0162; FHL microfilm: 2340093; Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
Original data:United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. [accessed Dec 20, 2020]

Troy married John Colvin Bussey 17 Aug 1934 in Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia.  He too was 17 years older than her.  Together they had two children.  John Bussey also adopted Troy's daughter Cora as his own.

• Cora Mae Waller Bussey (1928-2017)
• Ella Alice Bussey (still living)  **my grandmother
• Colvin Troy Bussey (still living)

Troy Eugene Waller and John Colvin Bussey
photo owned by Alice Bussey Curran

My Mawmaw was a tough lady.  I knew her and she made a huge impression on me. I have many, many memories of her that I cherish.  She lived in Fulton County, Georgia not far from the Federal Prison and the Lakewood Fairgrounds.  When I was little, around 4 or 5 I spent the night with her and she took me on my first bus ride.  We caught the bus right up from her house and went to Candler Drug Store for ice cream.  She was proud of me, telling everyone I was her great-granddaughter.

She passed away 2 Oct 1991.  The time leading up to her death was trying.  Alzheimer's Disease is devastating for everyone involved.

#13 of 52...Shirley Lucille Ivey

Shirley Lucille Ivey was my maternal grandmother.  I never got the opportunity to know her.  I was born in Sept and she passed the following Feb.  I grew up referring to her as Grandmother Shirley.

Shirley was born in Cleborne, Alabama to Robert E. Lee Ivey and Tishie Stapler. I'm named for Tishie sort-of.  My middle name is Latisha because Mama said "Sarah Tishie is just way too country".  My mama always called them Papa and Granny.  Robert E. Lee and Tishie had the following known children:

1).  Fred V. Ivey (1926-1981)
2).  John William Ivey (1926-1969)
3).  Charles Mayern Ivey (1930--)
4).  Leonard W Ivey (1934-1972)
5).  Shirley Lucille Ivey (1936-1978) **my maternal grandmother
6).  Robert Ivey (1938-)
7).  Gene Ivey (1941-)
8).  Imagene Ivey  (living) twin to Gene
9).  Carolyn Sue Ivey (living)
10). Mary Alice Ivey (unknown-passed in childhood)

Shirely Lucille Ivey & Berney Jack Thomason, SR
28 Feb 1954
Wedding Day

Shirley married my grandfather Berney Jack Thomason SR on 28 Feb 1954 in Porterdale, Newton County, Georgia.  They had the following children.

1).   Berney Jack Thomason (1955-2003)
2).   Donna Jane Thomason (1957-2006) My mama
3).  Janet Elaine Thomason  (living)
4).  Beverly June Thomason (living)
5).  Julie Shirlene Thomason (living)

My grandmother Shirley was a stay at home mother most of her life, but did spend time working in a school cafeteria for a while.

She's one of the women I wonder about.  I didn't have the opportunity to know her.  My other grandmother spent some time with her when Shirley was ill with cancer and taking treatments.  My Nana tells me that she made a good pot roast and that she enjoyed eating french bread with cheese slices.  Grandmother Shirley was a beautiful woman.  She had beautiful eyes and long hair.  She was ordinary in that she didn't hold a fantastic position as a career nor did she go to fantastic locations; but she was special and vitally important!  Without her there would not be a me.  She was important to her family; her children.  Even though through out history we mostly hear about the extraordinary, the ordinary are the ones that actually perpetuate our world; make our lives worth living day to day.

Jane Thomason Curran (my mother), Shirley Ivey Thomason, Janet Thomason