After reviewing this page, you might want to consider going to my other family history web sites:
My other family history web sites/pages
Gay, Anna
In parts one and two, we find Anna Gay Hooper down in Houston writing a letter to Annie Broiles back in Waco (remember, their names are similar - Anna is writing Annie). Anna has left Waco without telling anyone and has moved to Houston so her son can take care of her. I believe she is depressed for a number of reasons. First, she has no friends in Houston. Secondly, she has been sick and realizes she hasn't long to live. And thirdly, she wishes she had been closer to her sister during her lifetime.
In part three, we find Annie Broiles writing a post card to her Aunt Mary saying that Anna Gay Hooper has passed away. On this post card, Annie has taped the obituary for Anna.
In part four, I have enlarged the obit so it can be read. It states that Anna only lived with her son, Alex, a few months in Houston before she died. So, her plans in her letter to return to Waco and eventually visit her sister never came to pass.
The letter and post card described above were still in the possession of Mary when she died in 1959. They were both sent to Mary by Annie Broiles. Mary was known by many names. Annie Broiles called her Aunt Mary. Anna Gay Hooper called her "sister" as can be seen in her letter. Mary's maiden name was Mary Montgomery. And my mother called her Grandma McLennan. In other words, Mary was my great-grandmother.
The descendants of Grandma McLennan reading this may be saying that she had no sister. And others may be asking how Mary Montgomery and Anna Gay could be sisters when they have different last names. To understand this, we have to go back a few years.
In the 1870 United States Census, we find four year old Mary Montgomery living with her parents, William and Annette Montgomery. Also in the household is two year old sister, Emily Montgomery. However, soon after 1870, Annette dies, and William "gives" these two girls away to relatives.
So, in the 1880 Census, we find thirteen year old Mary Montgomery living with her cousin, Jefferson Gay, who is married to Josephine. In this census, they refer to Mary Montgomery as their "adopted child". I guess we can say that it was an informal adoption, since Mary retained Montgomery as her last name.
Very soon after this 1880 census was taken, Jefferson and Josephine Gay loaded up Mary Montgomery and moved from Louisiana to Texas. Specifically, they joined Josephine's parents on their farm just east of Lorena, Texas. And Lorena is just south of Waco, in McLennan County.
On September 9, 1882, in McLennan County, Anna was born to Jefferson and Josephine Gay. On January 17, 1886, when Anna was about three and a half years old, Mary Montgomery married Alexander McLennan, a neighbor on a nearby farm.
Hang on and I'll tie up a few loose ends. Annie Broiles was the daughter of Alexander McLennan's sister, Maggie McLennan Downey. That's why she called Grandma McLennan by the name Aunt Mary. Now, I know Anna talks in her letter about Annie Broiles' mother. But to be perfectly correctly, Anna is talking about Annie's step mother. Annie's natural mother died when Annie was three, and Annie's father remarried.
Lottie also mentioned in the letter was Alexander McLennan's sister-in-law. Lottie was married to Donald McLennan. I hope I have included enough so that all things mentioned make sense now.
And now a few concluding thoughts. When I ask Grandma McLennan's grandchildren about Anna Gay Hooper, a puzzled look comes over their faces. I conclude that Anna seldom visited Mary and Lottie (Mary and Lottie both lived in Haskell County, Texas). Notice that in her letter Anna mentions that she doesn't know Mary's address! I can understand why they were not close, since Mary married and left the household before Anna was even four.
I present this Anna Gay Hooper report in four parts at my genealogy web site. It includes a letter, a post card, and an obituary. It can be found alphabetically under Gay, Anna. This is a sad story about the end of her life. What follows is a brief explanation of what's contained in these four parts.
Click here to see first document
Click here to see second document
Click here to see third document
Click here to see fourth document
What follows is two links. One is to her pictures described above. The other is to a book that she wrote.
Click here to read book
Ivy, Sidney and Bettie
These are two "snapshots" of Lemuel Sidney Ivy with his second wife, Bettie Davis "Frazier" Ivy. Since he died in 1922 and she died in 1924, perhaps the picture was taken about 1920?
Click here to see picture
McLennan, Alexander (my great grandfather)
I have pictures of Alexander taken in his youth back in Scotland. And I have pictures of him in his elderly years taken on his farm in Haskell County, Texas. But this is the only picture of him I have taken in his middle years when he lived in McLennan County near Waco. This pictures was positively identified as Alexander by Ruby Ekdahl.
Click here to see picture one
McLennan, Alexander and Mary (my great grandparents)
This is a picture of Alexander and Mary McLennan in their elderly years, taken on their farm in Haskell County, Texas. I suppose it was taken between 1930 and 1935 (the year Alexander died)
Click here to see picture one
McLennan, Donald (my great grandfather's brother)
I have four pictures that I believe are of Donald McLennan by himself. This first one was taken in Columbus, Mississippi. We have recorded information that the McLennans lived in Sumter County, Alabama. And Columbus, Mississippi is only about 40 miles from the Sumter County line. We also have it recorded that Kenneth McLennan hurt his leg while working in the woods in Mississippi. I mention these details in order to establish a McLennan - Mississippi connection. I believe this to specifically be a picture of Donald because of the way his hair is parted and how it is receding and his facial shape. I am comparing this picture to the standard accepted one of Donald as appearing in the book, "Putting Paint Creek on the Map".
Click here to see picture one
McLennan, Family Travels
This is a story about the travels of the McLennans. I will start with the family on their farm in Logie Easter, Rosshire, Scotland and end with their various departures from McLennan County, Texas.
Click here to see story
McLennan, Family 5 in Scotland
This is a picture of William and Margaret McLennan, my great-great
grandparents, and some of their children. Standing in the back row, from left to right, is Donald and Ellen (Helen). The little boy in the center is William. And seated are the parents, Margaret and William McLennan.
I have encluded the back side of this photo to show that it was taken in Inverness. The front side also says that it was taken at the John Collier Studio in Inverness.
As for the girl in the picture, some called her Ellen while others called her Helen, according to my Great Aunt Vera. Ellen (Helen) is the one who stayed in Scotland and married soon after her parents and siblings went to America. I do have a picture of her, her husband, and their little girl, Tina Bell. I remember my Aunt Peggy saying that Tina Bell did correspond with us. The girl/woman in the two photos resemble is why I think it's Ellen.
As I say with all of these pictures, this is my best guess as to who everyone is. Often I have other pictures for comparison, which helps.
Click here to see picture
McLennan, Family 6 in Scotland
This is a picture of William and Margaret McLennan, my great-great grandparents, and some of their family. Standing in the back row, from left to right, is Annie, William's brother, and Donald. Seated in the middle is William and Margaret McLennan. In front of them is their youngest son, William. The two middle brothers, Kenneth and Alexander, were in the service together, and I would guess that's why they were not in the picture. The bottom of the picture tells us it was taken in the J. Munro Studio in Dingwall Scotland. The family farm would have been nearby. As you can see, there is a brown stain over much of the bottom of the picture, as the writing (Dingwall and J. Munro) was originally on a white background. The picture was probably taken around 1865.
I can't be positive that I have identified all the Scotland pictures correctly and am certainly interested in discussing the identities. Someone said William McLennan had a crippled brother, so that's why I think he is the stooped over man with the cane. I have another sharper picture of him in my collection and would guess his age at over 30.
I have other pictures that look like the girl, and one has "Anner" written on the back of it. So, that's why I am guessing the girl is Annie. In conclusion, William and Margaret McLennan had 7 children. They were Donald, Eleanor, Kenneth, Alexander, William, Annie, and Margaret. Only 3 of these 7 children are in this picture.
Click here to see picture
McLennan, Kenneth (my great grandfather's brother)
The next three pictures to follow have been identified as Kenneth McLennan by more than one source. Ruby Bean Ekdahl, his great niece, told me that these were pictures of Uncle Kenny (or Uncle Kenney). The second picture has his name on the back along with the mailing address for Alexander McLennan. I feel certain that this identification is correct.
The third picture is much more recent (in the late 1920's or early 1930's). It is of Kenneth with his much taller brother, Alexander. I was told that this was a picture of Alexander and Kenneth McLennan from my childhood on. On the same day, in the same back yard, we have a picture of Alexander with his wife, Mary. Although Alexander died about five years before I was born, I knew my great-grandmother, Mary, and can positively identify her in a picture taken that day. In other words, the short man in picture three is definitely Kenneth McLennan.
Click here to see picture one
Click here to see picture two
Click here to see picture three
McLennans, Their Travels
Click here to read their story
McLennan, William and Margaret (my great-great grandparents)
I have included two copies of the same picture of William and Margaret McLennan. One is a full body shot, while the other has been reduced to just the upper portion of their bodies. To distinguish the two, I call them William and Margaret McLennan and William and Margaret MacLennan respectively. The full body picture reveals more detail, while the upper body picture appears more sharper.
The upper body picture comes from my great grandparents� collection. They had a number of these large pictures, suitable for hanging on the wall. I indeed do recall their pictures on the walls.
The full body picture comes from Linda Wolf. She identifies the picture as being taken at the Presbyterian Church in Edinburgh, Scotland.
William and Margaret McLennan are buried in the Fletcher Cemetery just south of Waco, Texas. Last time I was there, I drove through the gate, up the hill, and almost up to their grave. There are many McLennans and Eubanks buried in this cemetery.
For us McLennans, these are our immigrant ancestors. They are the ones who loaded up the kids and brought them across the ocean. Here�s how my grandmother said it, �From a boat to the ship in the night.� So, they boarded a small boat after dark, which took them to the ship that left Scotland and came to America.
Click here to see first picture
Click here to see second picture
McLennan, William and Mary (my great grandfather's brother)
The identifications below pertains to the corresponding picture at my genealogy web site. It was supplied to me by Bill McLennan. Of course, the web page picture can be viewed by clicking on the name, "McLennan, William and Mary (my great grandfather's brother)" at my genealogy web site. The picture was supplied by Peggy June Cox.
Dolin, Sorry to take so long on this. I wanted to take time to compare with some pix I have. This photo was probably taken about 1909 (+ - 2 yrs.). Does it possibly have a post mark. I have one which is post marked Port O'Connor, Texas April 24, 1911 and several of those hats appear in it. I can't ID all of them and not all of Wm., Jr.'s children are present.
Back row standing left to right:
Unknown. adult male (his last name maybe Noah Cisco) he is probably holding Donald (Donald Alexander McLennan - the baby of this tribe). Next to him is Florence McLennan, Clara (Sally Clara McLennan), Mary Seldon Eubanks McLennan (Wm.s wife), William McLennan, Jr., unknown (the face is obliterated - could be Major), the next is William Burton McLennan.
Front row sitting: Mrs. Noah Cisco (she a friend and I don't know anything else about her), the next two children who are standing I don't know, the girl in the white dress Macie (Helen Macie McLennan), then probably Ed (Edmond Kenneth McLennan), the Dave (David Eubanks McLennan), unknown (the face is obliterated but could be Major), the last one in the black hat absolutely no doubt is Ike (Issac Vance McLennan). By deduction one of those obliterated faces is not a family member - he could be Arthur Langford a friend of Burt's and Major's, he was always around and is in pixs I have. Those two little ones on the left front row which I can't ID probably aren't McLennans. I don't know if Mrs. Cicso had children.
Lizzie (Elizabeth Mae McLennan), Maggie (Margaret Album McLennan) are not present. Lizzie was married in 1903 and Maggie in 1909 which is about the date of your photo, I think, so explains why they aren't there. Charles Roderick McLennan died in 1909 and could be one of those small ones. The only photo I have of him, he is about 2 yrs. - still wearing a dressing gown. Robert Bruce died in 1895, the other two died in 1883 and 1908-died at 2 days old.
I looked at these with 16X magnifier and I'm pretty sure. I came up with the Mrs. Noah Cisco by comparing your pix with mine (aforementioned), her facials are very close and the hat and posture are the same.
Sorry I can't be positive on all of them. We'll have to make some copies of some of our pixs and trade sometime.
be in touch,
Bill
Click here to see picture
I have color coded some of my ancestral surnames as follows:
Hughes (Blue),
Mosley (Bluegray),
Masters (Red),
Stephens (Maroon),
Ivy (Fuchsia),
Frazier (Dark Orchid),
McLennan (Green),
Montgomery (Olive),
Gay (Olive)
All the above buttons (links) and even more can be found in one place by clicking on the button below:
Pictures and text about above information (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dolinhughes.htm)
(1). Homepage of Dolin Hughes (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~dolinhughes)
The web host for this site is RootsWeb.
(2). rootsweb database (http:// worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=dolinfhughes)
After you link to this web page, enter a surname in the box near the middle of this page. Keep going to new screens until you narrow down your search to a particular person.
(3). my-ged.com/hughes4 database (http://www.my-ged.com/hughes4/)
After you click on the above link and arrive at this web site (www.my-ged.com), go to the bottom of the page. Here click on the "Surnames" link. This takes you to another screen where you can choose a particular surname. Click on a particular surname and keep going to new screens until you narrow your search down to a particular person. This service is provided by Dave Wilks. As far as databases explaining who is kin to whom, I recommend this site, because my information is not censored or edited here.
Dave Wilks also supplies my database to Gene Stark's GENDEX. I have no separate URL (address) for GENDEX.
(4). Ancestry.com database (http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=dolinfhughes)
My database was supplied to Ancestry.com by Rootsweb. They both "clean" my data of all names and notes of people born after 1930, unless I have indicated that the said person is deceased. Ancestry.com refers to my database as being part of their Ancestry World Tree Project.
Back to the top of this page, where you started.
This page belongs to Dolin Frazier Hughes.
