Hudson Family Reunion

 The Hudson family has not really had a chance to get together since Great-Grandpa died in 2018.  All of the grandchildren are so spread apart and stay so busy with so many great-grandchildren to care for.  This family really exploded since the first great-grandchild, Evan, was born in 2007.  Sadly, Evan could not attend the reunion because he was at the U.S. Naval Academy.  We all enjoyed reminiscing about old times and catching up on new times. Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Hudson really influenced all of their children and grandchildren and taught them the importance of family.  Blood is thicker than water, you know! 

Getting this large crew in one picture was no easy feat.  Great-Grandpa and Grandma were smiling down from heaven, I know. 

The Hudson Grandchildren minus one (Aaron). 

The Hudson Great-Grandchildren, minus 3 (Evan, Luke & Lydia). 

Just a little flashback to how these Hudson grandkids have grown over the years.  This picture was taken shortly before Grandma Mattie passed away. 

Rowena with her children

Rowena with her children and grandchildren (minus Evan)

Aunt Dava with her family

Aunt Homa is always so happy when she can get her family all together.  They all live so far apart. 

Uncle Matthew's wife and children

Uncle Matthew's whole big family

Aunt Homa's big family

These two cousins and best buds really missed one another.  They are so much alike and both love gaming and wrestling. 

Cousins Brody and Grady

Eddie and his cousin Marian.  We don't get to see Marian very often because she live in New York with her family. 

Me and cousin Jason.  Jason is like a brother to Eddie and was in our wedding and there for some of our kids' births. He's a special dude. 

He always loved teasing and making his younger cousin Cecilia laugh. 

Maggie and her little cousin Abigail were like twins.  They both have soft fine blondish red curls, petite little figures, and snaggle tooth little smiles. 

Eddie and cousin David have a lot in common too. 

Hudson is always a fun cousin to have around.  He is a lot like our oldest son, Evan.  He also changed his mind about going to a military academy and majored in engineering. 

Me and Aunt Homa are kind of like mother and daughter.  I have loved her since I first met her in the summer of 2000. 

The girls...Naomi, me and Christy. 

Eddie was entertaining the family with some of his many stories. He definitely got Great-Grandpa's gift of gab.  Haha!  I guess he should have been a preacher. 

My Maternal Great-Grandmother

Do you ever feel a deep connection to an ancestor that you never met and only know from genealogy research and stories?  As an adopted child who knew very few members of her biological family, I have found a great curiosity in knowing my ancestors, and one in particular has captured my heart.  She's the one I most want to know and hug.  I feel that she would understand so much about me and my losses because of her own life experiences.  I want to try to tell some of her story here. 

Frances Arbella Howell
Born:  June 21, 1888
Birthplace:  Ashe County, NC

Husband:  Dell Mack McGuire (1880-1956)

Children:  Verna Lee McGuire Cline (1909-1995)

Mack Howell McGuire (1911-1956)

Anna Laura McGuire (1914-1978)

Idella Mae McGuire (1916-1993)

Claude Allen McGuire (1918-1996)

Robert R. McGuire (1922-1992)

James Monroe McGuire (1924-1978)

William Howard McGuire (1927-2010)

Parents:  Felix Howell and Rachel Narcissus Adams

Siblings:  Amos Wellington Howell (1880-1902)

Martha Naomi Howell Church (1882-1928)

Wiley Columbus Howell (1884-1945)

William Lee Howell (1885-1962)

Polly Anna Howell Waddell (1890-1966)

David Winston Howell (1892-1908)

Walter Raleigh Howell (1894-1897)

Winford Bryan Howell (1896-1910)

Willard Blair Howell (1899-1977)

Frances Arbella Howell McGuire was born on June 21, 1888 in Ashe County, NC.  Her birthday alone is already special to me as my husband and I were married on that date.  I was not aware of her birthday at the time of our marriage, but I hope she knows.  While I am the most sad that I have no pictures of Frances herself, I know that she loved her family because she preserved photos of her parents and siblings and children.  I also regret not naming a daughter after her.  I think Arbella is a lovely old English name meaning "yielding to prayer" and also has some sweet historical value as the name of the 12th Century granddaughter of William the Lion, King of Scotland, Arbella Stuart who was an English noblewoman once considered a possible successor to Elizabeth I, and the name of the flagship that carried Puritan settlers like Governor John Winthrop and poet Anne Bradstreet to Salem, Massachusetts in 1630.  

Frances was the daughter of Felix Howell and Rachel Narcissus Adams of Watauga County, NC.  She kept pictures of her parents and grandparents which are a treasure to have.  I do wonder if I have any of her characteristics because I know I look like my mother and my mother's mother who was Frances's daughter, Anna.  She may have also looked like her beautiful daughter, Idella.  Frances was the 5th of 10 children.  Frances’s younger brother Walter died on March 27, 1897 at not quite 3 years old.  He is buried in the Amos Wellington Howell Family Cemetery in Ashe County, NC.  In 1900, Frances was 11 years old living in Pine Swamp, Ashe County, NC with her parents and siblings Martha, Wiley, William, Polly Anna, David, Winford, and Willard.  In 1902, tragedy struck the family again when the oldest son Amos Wellington was shot and killed on November 6, 1902 while working as a Watauga County Sheriff’s Office.  He had attempted to arrest a man for murdering his father, and he was fatally wounded when the suspect opened fire.  Although the shooter fled to Wyoming, he was eventually apprehended in August 1903 and extradited back to North Carolina, but he escaped the Caldwell County jail and fled into the mountains.  On April 22, 1904, the suspect was shot and killed by a Watauga County Deputy Sheriff.  Amos was buried in the Amos Wellington Howell Family Cemetery alongside his younger brother Walter.  Frances's sister, Martha Naomi (Naomi is a family name on my husband's side with his Grandmother and sister carrying the name) married Allen Hamilton Church and raised five children before she died young at 45.  Her brother, Wiley Columbus, married Lula Sophiona Greene, and they had 11 children and lived in Montana.  Her brother William Lee married Sarah Fannie Goodman, and they had 6 children.  Her sister Polly Anna married Walter Guy Waddell, and they had 8 children together.  Her brother David Winston died at 16 on August 20, 1908 in Ashe County, NC although I do not know how he died.  He is also buried in the cemetery named after his brother Amos.  Brother Winford Bryan was a cute little guy and also sadly died young at 14 of unknown causes.   I just feel like this family suffered so much loss.  Brother Willard Blair was also a cute little guy and did live a long life.  He married Octavia Virginia Gobble, and they had two children together.  

On March 29, 1908, Frances married Dell Mack McGuire in Ashe County, NC, and the two raised their 8 children.  In 1920, Frances was 30 years old living with her husband Dell and children Verna, Mack, Anna, Idella, and Claude.  On July 31, 1929, Frances passed away at 41 years old from heart failure leaving her beloved husband and 8 children behind. Her youngest son, William, was only 2 years old and was lying beside her in the bed when she died.  Thankfully, once her husband had grieved for over six years, he remarried a wonderful woman named Ada who became a loving wife and mother to their children.  

The oldest daughter, Verna Lee, married Otha Hartsell "Hart" Cline, and they settled in Rowan and Cabarrus Counties and had two children, Charles Ray and Barbara Ann.  Sadly, Charles Ray passed away at only a few months old.  Their son, Mack Howell, joined the army in World War II in 1941.  He came home to marry Mae Mary Dancy and helped raise her 4 children from a previous marriage.  Daughter Anna Laura was my grandmother and probably stayed closest to her parents as she lived with them most of her life.  She did marry Barner James Allman when she was 27 and had two children, Ronald Dell and Connie Nell, although she and her husband divorced shortly after Connie was born.  She lived with her daughter Connie and Step-Mother Ada until her death in 1978 at 64 years old.  Daughter Idella Mae was a beautiful young woman who took on the primary role of caring for her father and younger siblings after their mother's death as her father did not remarry for over 6 years.  After talking to a McGuire cousin recently, I think Idella chose to commit herself to her family instead of settling down with a family of her own. I do have some memories of Idella coming to visit us and bringing me sweet gifts like a talking doll.  She aged gracefully, and I think I have some of her physical traits.  I love the picture of her surrounded by her young nieces and nephews and just looking so elegant and motherly.  I think she was a mother to many. She lived to be 77 years old.  Son Claude Allen shares a birthday, June 30th, with my daughter Mattie.  He married Ruby Faye Elder and raised six beautiful children, Frances Laura Neal, Steve Allen, Ruby Lavaughn, Gary Elder, Sharon Elaine, and Thomas.  I think my twin in life is his daughter Sharon as her picture as a child looks so much like me.  Son Robert R. married Ruby Phyllis Stancil and had four children, Robert W., Vicki Dianne, Danny L., and Richard E.  Son James Monroe married Clara Macie, and they had 3 children, James Anthony, Donna, and Carla.  He also joined the army to serve in World War II.   The youngest son William Howard married Katherine Elizabeth Tutterow, and they made a beautiful couple.  I also do remember them visiting me as a child.  They raised Katherine's children from a previous marriage.  

If there is one thing I will learn from my precious great-grandmother's too short life, it is to never take a moment for granted.  She died at the age I am now with young children like mine.  I want my children to remember me.  I want them to have lots of pictures to help them remember and treasure.  I hope that Frances is watching over us from heaven and smiles knowing we are remembering her.  I love you, Great-Grandmother Frances!  

My Maternal Grandfathers

In continuing this project I started with my grandmothers, I will try to do justice to my grandfathers although I never knew any of them.  The lack of older male role models in my life did always leave a empty place in my heart as I knew friends and relatives who had wonderful relationships with grandfathers.  My husband, especially, had some pretty special grandfathers.  Although I never had the opportunity to know mine, I did get to know one of my husband's pretty well for at least the last almost 20 years.  What I have learned from watching my husband's relationship with his grandfather and also from watching how he has been a father to our children has taught me a few things about some of the men who I missed out on knowing.  

My Biological Maternal Grandfather

Barner "Barney" James Allman

Born:  June 30, 1908

Mecklenburg County, NC

Died:  September 1, 1968

Mooresville, IN

Parents:  James Garner Allman & Carrie I. Mason

Siblings:  Flora Margaret, John Adam, Myrtle Mae, William Lee, Della Ruth, Ethel Ruby, Mary Lucille & Eunice Frances

Children:  Betty Allman, James Allman, Ronald Dell Allman & Connie Nell Allman

Although I never actually knew my grandfather as he had passed away more than a decade before my birth and had moved to Indiana and remarried before that.  It is understandable that my biological grandmother kept very few pictures to remember him, but I did find a few that depicted him as a loving father to my mother.  

Barney with daughter, Connie

My Adopted Maternal Grandfather

General Jasper Ginn (yes, General was his actual first name)

Born:  September 30, 1918

Wayne County, NC

Died:  January 25, 1986

At home in Pikeville, NC

Parents:  General Jackson Ginn & Sallie Ann Howell

Siblings:  Beulah E., George Roy, Lonnie Jackson, Theodore Leslie, Eschol D., Ezekiel, Annie Bell, Eula Mae, Mary Lee, Carl D. & John Coy

Wife:  Glady Aileen Sullivan

Children:  Lena Gray, Mary Lindora, Sandra, Baby Boy, Jackie Carol & Henry Shelton

I won't re-tell the sad story of his passing again since I did that in my last post.  Instead, I will tell what I know of him from my mother.  My mother almost worshipped her father.  I could imagine from her stories and from his loving wife that he was a man worthy of knowing.  He was very well-known and well-loved in his community.  He was a faithful Christian who led my adopted father, his son-in-law, to become a Christian and later become a minister.  When my father was dating my mother, they would visit with my mom's parents on Sunday afternoons.  Apparently nothing stood in the way of my grandfather and going to church.  No matter who was visiting in his home, when it was church time, he would tell them he was leaving for church and if they wanted to stay, he would see them when he returned.  I also learned that my mother had been a daddy's girl since she was an infant.  My mother was actually what I call a "rainbow baby" as she was the fourth girl but fifth child after the loss of her older brother at birth.  I know that my grandfather particularly wanted a son so this loss was felt deeply.  Now that I have felt this kind of heartbreaking loss, I can appreciate what he probably felt.  I also had longed for a daughter after two sons, and I lost that beloved daughter.  My first rainbow was another son, and although it hurts a little to admit that I felt the tiniest pang of disappointment when hearing that my rainbow was another boy, I also know that the joy and love I felt when I finally got that sweet baby boy and held him in my arms was like no other joy I have felt.  I know that I have been specially bonded to my sweet Mattox since he was born.  He is just such a precious gift.  So I know that although my grandfather did feel a slight pang of disappointment when his "rainbow baby" was another girl, and he jokingly wanted to call her a boy name, he settled on the name Jackie and he babied her and spoiled her.  When her younger brother did arrive, she was so distraught with jealousy that she flung herself on the bed where he laid with her mother and was probably going to do something drastic when her father caught her and carried her away.  I know he gave her a lot of special attention growing up and that she often got herself out of the heavier outdoor farm chores because of that attention.  She was the most attached to her parents and did not want to leave home like her siblings.  She did finally venture out on her own to work in Washington, D.C. as a government civil employee and later met her husband, but after living abroad and in other parts of the country while in the military, they later settled on land gifted to them by her parents so she could live close to them again.  The hardest loss of my mother's life hit shortly after when her father suddenly and unexpectedly passed away.  I don't think my mother ever got over her grief.  She was already grieving the fact that she could not bear children.  Thankfully, God blessed her and her husband with the gift of an opportunity to serve at a Children's Home which I believe saved my mother from being permanently stricken with grief and depression.  She became a mother to a household of young girls, and she was a very loving and hardworking mother making that house into a beautiful home for everyone.  

You can also read about my husband's wonderful maternal grandfather here.