A Little Edwardian Fashion

Lately I've had this fascination with vintage fashion and have been researching some of the trends from the early to mid 1900s when my grandparents were posing for pictures. All four of my grandparents were born within an eight year window, 1901-1909. Many pictures in my collection have no dates, names, or places recorded on them, but, those that do have been helpful in figuring out time periods for the ones that do not, sometimes based on clues taken from the style of dress, a hat the subject is wearing, or a location.  I know that this is definitely not an exact science since I, and I am sure you too, have favorite outfits that are so yesterday but I have to say that generally I don't wear them when I know that I am going to have my picture taken, so I am going to surmise here that I can date (approximately) some pictures based on fashion when weighted against the other clues in a photograph. I've got a grandmother (pictured as a child below) that was always the picture of fashion, you will see more of her and her awesome outfits to come this summer!

I've got a date on the picture of the brothers below, you've seen this one before in The Story of the Peach. The next picture had to have been taken around the same time or just a little earlier based on the birthdate of the subject. So, here are a couple of kids in Edwardian style of dress that was popular in the early 1900s. 

Youngest standing in the front of the picture (my maternal grandfather):
Daniel Claude Thomas
Born October 10, 1905
A note on the back of the picture says Daniel was two years old.

Lena May Stockton (Abbott)
(my paternal grandmother)
Born June 2, 1901

A couple of questions beg answers here:

1. Seriously? My grandfather, in a dress?

First of all, the little boys in dresses question. It was not at all unusual to see the little dudes running around wearing "gowns" until they were potty trained. Yep, it is as easy as that. Families were big, mothers were busy and it was just easier than dealing with all of the clasps and buttons in the pre-snap age of clothing. The bow? Sailor inspired outfits were popular for children during this time period as well. Maybe the bow is a southern Georgia mom's nod to the sailor style? The little guy behind my grandfather is definitely sporting the sailor look as well! A boy's first pair of trousers indicated that he had come of an age where he was considered a man and ready for work, and, that was MUCH younger than today!

2. Black stockings and black shoes with a white/light colored dress?

Yep, as much as we would cringe these days at that combination, it was quite popular to clothe little girls in dresses like these that mimicked adult fashion and to pair them with black woolen stocking and black shoes. Dresses with long sleeves, high necks and lace were the most popular for little girls. This style is definitely not the most comfortable for playing and cavorting about but just perfect for tea parties and the quiet, passive, entertainment expected for young ladies in the early 1900s. The dress, the shoes, and the stockings are all "give aways" for giving this picture a date around 1905 give or take a couple of years.

3. So what exactly is "Edwardian" style and why is it called that?

For those fans of Downton Abbey think back to early episodes, pre-WWI and you've got it, Edwardian style. Named for England's King Edward VII, Edwardian reflects the opulence and optimism of the early 20th century (1901-1910).  The formality of the Victorian era gave way to a more relaxed and carefree time during the reign of King Edward. Styles were just a little more relaxed, especially for women and children. America had turned the corner from the difficult years of reconstruction after the Civil War and there was unbounded hope and a more carefree lifestyle. European country homes were popular for the upper class and in Amercia we see the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, and others building huge empires. Europe was the leader in fashion trends. Even though independence for America from England was one hundred and twenty five years before, the fashion world was still (then and now!) largely influenced by our former homeland from the east.

Sentimental Sunday: Moms and Journeys

I ran across this blog post by Amy Young of The Messy Middle earlier this week (You can read the entire blog post here. ) and it really got me thinking about the women in my family tree. As I read through the post I realized that each woman listed there probably resides somewhere, in some generation, on some branch of my family tree. I know some of their stories, but not all. I know stories of women on our family who were strong towers and stories of those who struggled. I've watched them celebrate new life and mourn the passing of life. Research tells me that some were married with children, some were married without children, and some remained single throughout their lives. There are stories of great loss and stories of grand celebrations. No two are alike. I love that working through genealogy has given me the chance to get to know each of them. 

Mother's Day evokes many different emotions for all of us. In our family, this Mother's Day, we  are celebrating new life as we get ready to welcome our first grandchild to the family and at the same time we grieve the loss of my mom this past year. 

Here's the part of Amy's post that stirred my heart this week:

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you

To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you

To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you

To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.

To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you

To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you

To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you

To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience

To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst

To those who have aborted children – we remember them and you on this day

To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children – we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be

To those who step-parent – we walk with you on these complex paths

To those who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren -yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you

To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you

And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you

This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.

Our journeys are different, our families might get messy, but, indeed, there are real warriors in our midst!

Remembering Mom today!
Eucebia Jane Thomas Abbate
1937-2012

Celebrating new life today!
Precious grandchild due September 2013.

                                                                       

Sentimental Sunday: The Story of the Peach

Sentimental Sunday, a Geneabloggers blog prompt...

This story has been told over and over again to my generation by those of us whose fathers and mothers are descendants of Mary Jane Shepherd Thomas and John Griffin Thomas. Here's my mother's version. Thomas descendants, how does this match up with the version you've been told?

The Story of the Peach, as told by Eucebia Jane Thomas:

"At the home of Big Mother and Pap (John Griffin Thomas), there was a peach tree just beginning to bear fruit and there was one peach that was almost ready but still hanging on the tree. Well.......all of a sudden it was discovered that someone had taken a bite out of the peach while it still clung to the tree.  At that point, Big Mother called all the children out into the yard, lined them up and holding a flat iron in her hand declared that she was going to throw the iron up in the air and the Lord would let it fall on the head of the guilty one.  With that, Lois stepped forward and said she was not going to get her brains knocked out over a peach, so she had to take the punishment.  It was not until years later that Daniel Claude (D.C., my father) confessed to having climbed the tree and taken a bite out of the luscious, ripening peach!"

The players: 

The Mom, Mary Jane Shepherd Thomas

Some of the Thomas boys:
Jim (17), Dessie (15), Fisher (11), Charlie (9), John Roy (4), Daniel  (2)

The Culprit

The Fall Girl

Mary Jane Shepherd Thomas and her children.

Fearless Females: Searching for Mary

Women's History Month Fearless Females blog prompts: Is there a female ancestor who is your brick wall? Why? List possible sources for finding more information.

Mary Elizabeth Heath (Thomas) a.k.a. Polly, she's a brick wall alright. I think the wall must be "higher than all the worms!" "Higher than all the worms" is how much we love each other in our family, nobody knows how high that is but I can tell you that it is pretty high!

One of the tough things about Mary is that she is the wife of my other huge brick wall, Jonathan S. Thomas. Jonathan and Mary are my great great-grandparents on my mom's paternal side of the family. I can pretty confidently trace ancestors back several generations on all sides of my family but these two just don't give a clue. Maybe because they had such common names, maybe because they lived in a very rural area, maybe, maybe, maybe....

It appears from US Census records that Mary had two brothers, two half brothers, and one sister. Three of her brothers (including both of her half brothers) were killed in the American Civil War. Her widowed sister, Elizabeth, lived with Johnathan and Mary most of her adult life. It appears, also, that Mary's mother died when Mary was very young, possibly when she was only two or three years old.

Mary was born sometime during 1829, most likely in Johnson County, Georgia. I have traced her in US Census records every ten years from 1830 to 1880, living in Emanuel, Pulaski, and Appling Counties in Georgia. How it is that someone who regularly shows up every ten years in the census is considered a brick wall? Well, I don't know her mother's name, when Mary died, or where she was buried. Just a few pretty important facts to help wrap up her story.

Possible sources for more information? Ummm...good question! I'll have to think about that some more...actually, I think about that a lot! Like great great-granddaddy Jonathan, we'll find your story Mary, we won't give up until we do!

The researcher, the family historian, and the photographer,
searching for Mary (and Jonathan) in Dexter, Georgia, February 2013
Angie Abbate Mood, James Earl Thomas, Vicky Abbate Johnson

Fearless Females: Social Butterfly

Women's History Month fearless Females blog prompt: Social Butterfly? What social organizations or groups did your mother or grandmother belong to? Sewing circle, church group, fraternal benefit society or lodge? Describe her role in the group.

Phyllis Margaret Thomas
(Pinder/Branton)
1926-1999

I think that if I took a family vote the overwhelming response would be that my Aunt Phyllis (Margaret Thomas) would definitely be our family's social butterfly! Aunt Phyllis had friends everywhere she went. I can't say that she participated in any formal clubs or societies necessarily but she radiated on the dance floor and her enthusiasm was contagious. As teens, my brother and sister loved to hang out with her and our cousins and dance the night away! Me, nope, I might be named for her but I, unfortunately, did not inherit the fun side of her personality. I was probably at home reading yet another book!

As a young child we loved to go to her house. There were always people around and she was the mom of our really cool older cousins, Claudia and Tommy We were allowed to stay up as late as we wanted (we always fell asleep long before "late" came around!), we could drink Pepsi with our breakfast, and she often showed up with a whole box of chocolate covered donuts that we would devour. . Yep, she was the aunt, not the mom, so she could pretty much let us run amok, it was awesome!

I thought of her immediately when this blog prompt was proposed because even when she was much older and living at Epworth Village, a retirement and nursing community, she still loved to be around people and people loved to be around her. Proof of that? She was voted "Miss Susanna Wesley," to represent her section of the Village. But that's not all! Phyllis went on to win it all against the ladies from the other areas of the Village, or as we say in the family, Aunt Phyllis was "The Queen of the Nursing Home!"

More about Aunt Phyllis will come in later posts but for today, enjoy these photographs of a special lady being honored because she made people feel special!

Fearless Females: She's Newsworthy

Women's History Month Fearless Females blog prompt: Newsmakers? Did you have a female ancestor who made the news? Why? Was she famous or notorious? Did she appear in the social column?

Mary Anna Ruth Harvey Shepard
January 7, 1847-September 10, 1936

My great great-grandmother, Mary Anna Ruth Harvey Shepard (Granny Shepard) had her "moment in the spotlight" when she was interviewed by a reporter from the Macon Telegraph in the early 1930s. I would think that it would have been pretty unusual that the Macon newspaper would be interested in a story about a woman who lived in the little town of Dexter, Georgia that was some 60 or so miles away. The interesting thing about her, and what sparked the article, was that, at the time, she had 105 descendants. Mary was born in 1847 so she would have been in her mid-80s when this interview took place. She had been a widow for almost 20 years.



Here are a few interesting excerpts about life in the late 1800s:

...."I had a hard time raising my children, too, she said. They're living in paradise and don't know it. I came along just after the war (To Mrs. Shepard there has been but one war, that between the North and the South) and I know about hard times. I raised my family right down here in the 'Piney Woods,' when the nearest store was at Cochran or Dublin. There was no such town as Dexter then. All this country was wild.

"We never knew what it was to buy a pair of stockings. I knitted all my husband and children had. And I spun and wove the cloth to make their clothes, too." "And dyed it, too, ma," interrupted her daughter. I can remember helping to beat up walnut hulls and hunt for gall berries to make their clothes, too."

"We raised sheep and cut the wool off them and wove the cloth, and dyed it and I made all my husband's clothes and my boys', too. We would beat up walnut hulls and boil them and strain them to dye brown with. And we would go down to the branch and break off the gall berry bushes and boil them to make a black dye. The gall berries were gathered in the spring, when they were green."

"There was plenty of wild indigo, growing in the woods in those days. Some folks raised it at home to dye things with, but we got ours from the woods. It dyed blue. And sometimes I would but a little copperas and it dyed a sort of golden brown. Pine bark would make a sort of purple dye.

"Law me alive!" she sighed, "Some of my grandchildren think it is terrible because they have their wages cut. But they don't know anything."

"That they don't!" agreed Mrs. Shepard, "Too much money is not good for anybody. I never had much of it, but I have been blessed to raise such good children and to have so few deaths in the grandchildren, there have only been six deaths.

Not only is the mortality rate low in the Shepard family, the longevity of the family is remarkable. Octogenarians predominate. Mrs. Shepard's mother, Mrs. Jane Harvey, lived to be 86 and most of the members of the past generations lived for more than their allotted three-score and ten years. *

Mary Anna Ruth Harvey Shepard was married to Thomas Hansel Shepard and they were the parents of nine children including my great grandmother, Mary Jane Shepard Thomas. Mary Anna Ruth, too, lived beyond her "allotted three-score and ten years," having passed away on September 10, 1936 at the age of 89.

*The article ran in the Macon Telegraph circa 1931-1933 and was titled, "Dexter Woman had 105 Descendants, All But 12 Living in Same Locality". It was written by Susan Myrick. The excerpts in this post were copied from a reprinting of the the article in the book Dexter, by Amy Holland Alderman.

Fearless Females: Working Girls!

Women's History Month Fearless Females blog prompt: Did your mother or grandmother work outside the home? What did she do? Describe her occupation.

We Abbate siblings were fortunate to have our mom, Jane Thomas Abbate, at home during our "growing up" years. In the 1950s, before children, she worked at the Dade County Courthouse in the evidence department. She always told us the most graphic (and awful, for me, the squeamish child!) stories about the morbid pictures and items that she catalogued and stored for future court proceedings. She loved that job and I am pretty sure that started her love for reading murder mysteries too!

My paternal grandmother, May L. Abbott, was a stenographer and worked at the Department of Immigration in Miami. This is a photo of a page in one of her course books. The book, titled, Expert Shorthand Speed Course, was printed in 1945 and featured the "Gregg" method of shorthand. Interestingly, all of the pictures in the book feature men working in offices and demonstrating the proper posture, etc. for taking dictation. I suppose that it was not as common for women to work in those days, but then, my grandmother was no ordinary young lady!

My maternal grandmother, Mildred Silas Thomas, worked in the "Infants Department" at Jackson's/Byrons Department Store in downtown Miami after our grandfather passed away. She spent many years working there and I remember that she always rode the bus, come to think of it, I don't ever remember her having a car! I searched all over the internet for a picture of the Jackson's/Byrons logo but found nothing but this more current picture of the building where the department store was located. I did find several articles recounting the Jackson's/Byrons lunch counter and its role as a "ground zero" location during the Civil Rights demonstrations in Miami in the 1950s. Fortunately times have changed a lot since then!

Fearless Females: Religion and Faith

Women's History Month Fearless Females blog prompt: What role did religion play in your family? How did your female ancestors practice their faith? If they did not, why didn’t they? Did you have any female ancestors who served their churches in some capacity

Each of the Bibles pictured here belonged to a female ancestor and/or were given to me by one. They represent a heritage of faith, generations of women who loved, served, and lived for Jesus. Some have verses marked or underlined and others have messages of inspiration or love on the dedication pages. These ladies passed on a pretty amazing heritage and I, for one, am grateful for a mom, grandmothers, and aunts who were examples of authentic faith. 

Here's a story about some of my ancestors, including two women who helped start a church in Dexter, Georgia:

Summer, 1893...the south was still rebuilding after the Civil War. The economy had been in shambles but the railroad was beginning to bring prosperity to a small town in middle Georgia called Dexter. In July, 1893, just before the official incorporation of their town, a group of residents presented "letters from other churches" as a request for their membership to be transferred to form the new Dexter Baptist Church. They met in the local school building until a permanent building was erected in 1903. Check out this link to the Laurens Baptist Association which lists the founding members of the Dexter Baptist Church. You will have to scroll down a little to find Dexter. The listing contains four family members: J. (Jonathan) S. Thomas, J. (John) G. (Griffin) Thomas, Mary J. (Jane) Shepherd, and Mary E. (Elizabeth) Mullis. Jonathan S. Thomas is my great-great grandfather, John Griffin and Mary Jane Thomas are my great grandparents and Mary Elizabeth Mullis is an aunt (Sister of John Griffin, daughter of Jonathan S.) Almost one hundred and twenty years later, Dexter Baptist Church is still there, a newer building, and a congregation with history.

Fearless Females: Diary, Journal or Letters?

Women's History Month Fearless Females blog prompt: Did one of your female ancestors leave a diary, journal, or collection of letters? Share an entry or excerpt.

Here's a photo of just a small portion of the collection of family photos, letters, and information that was compiled by my mom, Eucebia Jane Thomas Abbate. Yep, she's the one who started this whole "family history" thing I've got going here. She and I made some pretty interesting discoveries about her family over the years.

I find myself wondering if our descendants will get as much enjoyment reading back over our emails and text messages as we get reading over our ancestors letters? Hmmm, there's something about the handwriting, the old stamps, the kitschy stationery...

Here's an excerpt from a note my mom received from an aunt in 1989. Her aunt would have been about 70 years old at the time. The handwriting is perfect but she must have been having a rough week:

"I got these right away (copies of an obituary) and lost them even faster. I found them in this very envelope. Yesterday Grace brought some chicken and dressing for my lunch. Fifteen minutes later I couldn't find it. How would you feel if you walked into the bedroom and found your food sitting on an old hassock? That's exactly how I felt. Love you, Henrietta"

I think that rather than complaining, knowing this aunt, she was probably laughing at herself as she wrote because I remember that she had quite a sense of humor. I am not sure her age had everything to do with losing her lunch...I bet many of us who younger than she was will admit that we have walked out of a room wondering where we left something too!

P.S. The cute little girl in the picture above is my mom and the aunt was the wife of my mom's uncle, John Owen (Pap) Silas.

Fearless Females: My First Heirloom

Women's History Month...Fearless Females blog prompt of the day: Describe an heirloom you inherited from a female ancestor.  

This lovely Old Colony/Open Lace depression glass butter dish is the first family heirloom I remember receiving. Funny how something once considered a low quality item that was given away with food or gasoline purchases has become so collectible! My aunt, Phyllis Margaret Thomas (Pinder) gave me the dish one year for my birthday. Aunt Phyllis had been given the dish by her aunt (her mother's sister), Winnie Estelle Silas (Lowrance). I did not know Aunt Winnie but I sure did know my Aunt Phyllis, there will be more about her in a post later this month...she's my "social butterfly!"

Winnie Estelle Silas (Lowrance)
1899-1982

Tombstone Tuesday - Jonathan S. Thomas

Here lies the man who genealogists would call my "brick wall," Jonathan S. Thomas, my great-great grandfather.  Years of "on again, off again" research by several family members have gone into finding who he was, who his parents were, and where they came from before living in the United States.  We've learned a good bit about his life but still have not figured out anything about the generation before him.

We believe that Jonathan was born in Hawkinsville, Georgia (Pulaski County) about 1836.  He married Mary Elizabeth Heath November 30, 1853 and they were the parents of four children, of which two lived to adulthood. The eldest child, Mary Anne Elizabeth Thomas (Mullis) lived in Dexter and raised her family there.  John Griffin Thomas lived there as well and was a widow when he married my great grandmother, Mary Jane Shepherd.

Jonathan owned, farmed, and leased almost 900 acres in Dexter at the time of his death.  He was a founding member of the Dexter Baptist Church and the Dexter Masonic Lodge.  We don't know what happened to his first wife, Mary, but we do know that he remarried in 1891 and had two more children, Grover Cleveland Thomas and Juliana May Thomas.  Juliana died in infancy just days before her mother, Mary Etta McKay (Thomas) died.  Jonathan died on May 18, 1900 at the age of 64.  His grave, pictured above, is located on property he owned and that is currently owned by (James) Earl Thomas, his great grandson.

Angie Mood and Earl Thomas at
 the Thomas property
 in Dexter, Georgia.

My sister and I recently spent a couple of days in Dexter talking to our Mom's first cousin, (James) Earl Thomas, about the family and searching through his box of family papers to see if we could come up with anything on this elusive ancestor.  It was so cool to get the tour of the family land and to see this grave site for myself.  It is located just where Jonathan wanted to be buried, under his oak tree.  Well, the tree has seen better days, but the site is still special! We might have narrowed down just a little on his life in the late 1800s and when he actually moved to this property, but nothing that would help us answer the most important questions. We won't give up on you great great granddaddy, I know the clues are out there somewhere.  Earl and I are determined!

John Griffin Thomas, (James) Earl Thomas, Vicky Abbate Johnson
February 2013 in Dexter, Georgia

Jonathan S. Thomas
1836-1900

Fearless Females: Names and Naming Patterns

So, that was quick, I am officially "caught up" with the Fearless Females blog prompts!

Today, The Accidental Genealogist asks: 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.

Well, I am named for a guy so I am not thinking that I will be the subject here today!  No naming pattern for me either although both of my given names are family names.

BUT! Today's prompt is particularly interesting because last night I realized, for the first time ever, that my mom's name is actually a combination of her grandmothers' middle names.  I NEVER noticed that before, probably because she had such an unusual first name and I have always focused on how in the world they came up with that name. (Not just for her but for the two other female ancestors with the same name as well.)  Her name was Eucebia Jane.  Her grandmothers were Minnie Eucebia Alligood (Silas) and Mary Jane Shepherd (Thomas). Mom always used the name "Jane" and was often called "Janie" by family and close friends. She lived in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood later in life and she loved telling her Hispanic friends that her name was actually Eucebia, she had the "Spanish" pronunciation down just right. She always made them laugh!

My beautiful mom Eucebia Jane Thomas (Abbate) at age 19.
The photograph on the television is her mom,
Mildred Arlene Silas Thomas.

Carefree Days in Miamuh!

Mildred and D.C. Thomas
Miami Beach, FL 

"Miamuh," if you've got any history there then you will recognize that pronunciation of the word Miami, the crown jewel of South Florida in the 1920s and 30s. That's how the old-timers and natives (not many left I'm afraid) still pronounce it. All four of my grandparents were transplants to the Magic City. On the maternal side, a young couple from rural south Georgia who, in the mid-1920s wanted to leave the farming communities of their ancestors behind for life in the "big city."  On the paternal side, around 1935, the striking Sicilian whose family had settled in New York after arriving at Ellis Island and his wife, the fashionable young lady from Ohio, along with their two children. Both couples moved to Miami to establish their homes which, in the end, happened to be just one block from each other.

These photos of carefree days in Miami Beach were taken during the days after the 1926 hurricane, after the bursting of the real estate bubble in Miami, and after the Great Depression. These were fun times when dreams for young people like my grandparents were beginning to come true again!

Daniel Claude Thomas
Bayshore Confectionery
Miami Beach, FL
circa 1934

Daniel Claude Thomas
Miami Beach, FL

Lena May Stockton (Abbate) on right
Miami Beach, FL

Lena May Stockton (Abbate) (top right)
Miami Beach, FL

L to R:
Victor James Abbate
Victor Carmello Abbate
Virginia Lee Abbate (Thompson)
Miami Beach, FL

Ida Pearl Thomas

The glass dresser set pictured here belonged to Ida Pearl Thomas. Pearl, as she was known, was the first daughter born to John Griffin and Mary Jane Thomas, on November 19, 1892. Just days before, Grover Cleveland had been elected President of the United States. Pearl never married but she was her mom's right hand in raising the nine younger children in the family. Pearl lived her whole life in Dexter, Georgia and is buried at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Dexter. She died at age 83 on May 25, 1976.

Pearl was my mom's aunt, her father's sister. I am not sure who gave the set to my mom and trusted her to keep it safe but I will never forget the day I found it, safely stashed away on a shelf, wrapped in tissue paper in a Tupperware container with this note on the top. Finding the note in my mom's handwriting brought tears to my eyes again that week as we were clearing out her apartment after her death. I brought the set home with me along with many of my mom's other possessions and it is now displayed on her antique dresser in our home.  I am so grateful that my mom was careful to note important family treasures, without her attention to detail we would not have known the origin of this special family heirloom.

This picture of Pearl was taken at a family reunion that we attended in the late 1960's in Dexter. I believe it was taken on the lawn in front of the home she lived in with Lois Thomas Daniel, her sister, and Lois' husband Eason Daniel. This home is still located on the Thomas family property that is owned by Pearl's nephew James Earl Thomas.

So, here's my memory of Aunt Pearl...she had a bowl of Circus Peanuts on the table by her chair in the house. I remember eating those delicious orange, marshmallow-y treats during that visit to Dexter. I also remember (Uncle) Eason telling us kids to stay away from a certain part of the property because there was an alligator in the well.  Not necessarily a deep or profound memory but it was a grand day of fun for a little girl, her siblings, and a bunch of cousins!