Mama’s legendary biscuits

The 52 Ancestors theme this week is “legend.”

I’ve spent a good part of June thinking about what I’d write for this week’s theme. There have been a few stories handed down in our families that I would consider to be legends—ancestors at Appomattox Courthouse at the end of the Civil War; a town named for an ancestor; Indian ancestry; and an alleged rape are a few examples. But I’ve either already written about them or haven’t done enough research to write their story yet. So instead, I decided to write about a “thing” rather than a “person” and tell a few family stories in the process.

Mama’s biscuits are legendary in our family. All I have to do is mention I’m going home to Georgia and someone will say “time for biscuits and gravy.” I look forward to them every time I go home.

Growing up in Atlanta, Mama always cooked a big hearty breakfast for us. Daddy was a plumber and worked out in the elements so Mama made sure she sent him off to work with a full belly. Breakfast usually consisted of eggs, some kind of meat (bacon, ham, streak o’ lean, pork chops, or even brains and eggs), grits, maybe some stewed apples, and of course biscuits and gravy. All good stuff (well maybe not the brains and eggs). She made biscuits for dinner too. We usually had cornbread with dinner but every now and then she’d make a pan of biscuits instead. Sometimes when she had to work the evening shift, she’d make a pan of biscuits before she left for work and leave them for us to bake with dinner. They were basically a staple in our house.

Michael, me, Jennifer, Mama, and Vanessa in Daytona Beach
(photo from Newcomer family collection)

We even got her biscuits on our yearly Daytona Beach, Florida vacations. We stayed at motels that had kitchenettes so we ate breakfast and lunch at the motel and then went out for dinner. Weeks before vacation, Mama started filling a box with grocery staples—mayonnaise, ketchup, peanut butter, etc. Things she could buy at home on sale vs. waiting until we got to the beach and had to pay full price. I think she enjoyed the thrill of the hunt in finding items on sale, anything to help the budget. There was always a sack of self-rising flour and a can of Crisco in the box by the time we left for the beach. The morning we left for Daytona, Mama got up extra early and cooked sausage patties and biscuits. We left home well before daylight so as soon as we got in the car, us kids would go back to sleep. A couple of hours down the road, we’d all wake up. Mama would break out the sack of sausage biscuits and we’d pig out. There was no stopping at McDonald’s or Hardee’s for us in those days. Who would want to when we had Mama’s biscuits?

The motel we stayed at served free donuts made on the premises. We always made our way to the office for some donuts, but still looked forward to biscuits a couple of mornings that week. I remember staying at the Treasure Island Motel. The back side of the room was a small kitchen. If you looked out the window, you saw the parking lot. The rest of the room was a combined bedroom/living room space with two double beds, a sofa bed, probably a roll away bed, and a large picture window facing the ocean. Mama got up early and cooked breakfast while we slept in. When breakfast was ready, she would open the picture window curtains. We were on the second level and the bright Florida sun came shining in—blinding us awake. But once we saw the pan of biscuits, we didn’t care.

Have you ever mixed sorghum syrup and butter together, then spread it over a hot biscuit? You don’t know what you’re missing if you haven’t. I always enjoyed Mama’s homemade pear preserves with a hot biscuit as well. Last fall, my son stopped in South Carolina on his way to Georgia and bought some peach preserves. They were a perfect complement to Mama’s biscuits.

Mama never measures anything. She used to always use the same bowl, one that she’s had for 60+ years, but she’s moved on to other bowls now. After pouring flour in the bowl, she uses her fingers to swirl the flour around until she has a well in the middle of the flour. Then, using her fingers, she scoops Crisco out of the can, drops it in the well, and squishes the Crisco and flour together with one hand. Once the flour and Crisco are mixed, she pours in buttermilk, swirls it around in the flour mixture, and then continues squishing and kneading. This process continues until all the flour and buttermilk have been incorporated and she has the consistency she’s looking for. By now, the flour has formed a ball, which she flips over so she has a smooth surface. Then she pats the ball of flour a couple of times and starts to squeeze out a biscuit with her messy hand and places the biscuit on the greased pan with her clean hand.

 

I can’t tell you how many times I sat on the kitchen counter when I was younger watching her make biscuits. And do you know, I still can’t make them myself! I tried making them once for my family. After they told me there were like hockey pucks, I never made them again. I guess I could use my usual excuse for everything—the recipe must be a right-handed recipe and I’m left-handed.

Mama was about 16 or 17 when she learned to make biscuits from her step-brother W. L. Holland’s wife Betty. She learned to squeeze the biscuits by hand vs. rolling them out and using a biscuit cutter from her grandmother Hattie Rhinehart Shields when she and my sister Bonita lived with her for a while. She’s still making her legendary biscuits for us when we go home. She says she out of practice but they still taste delicious to me!

Pearl’s story—a life cut short

Pearl Lewcrilly Shields

The 52 Ancestors theme this week is “earliest.”

One of the earliest families I did a deep dive on was my maternal Shields line. With the help of my sister Jennifer, we corresponded with family members via old-fashioned mail, email, and telephone to compile whatever they were willing to share with us. Jennifer took the lead in connecting with our extended families. She worked the phone and sent a lot of emails. She’d forward information and photos to me as she received them. I took care of the research and compiled everything into a book format.

Tonight's blog post is about Pearl Lewcrilly Shields. Pearl’s life was a tragic one and with the help of three particular contributors, I’m able to tell some of her story. Tommy Denzil Shields, my first cousin, 2x removed, was the son of Pearl’s brother, William Elmer Shields. Tommy lived in California and didn’t have email. Jennifer lived in Georgia and I lived in Virginia, so we corresponded with him via telephone and letters. Tommy felt it was important to tell the stories so put pen to paper and started writing. He grew up surrounded by the previous generation so had a lot of information and photos. Besides Tommy, Jennifer corresponded with Billy Gene Hester and his sister, Mary Kathryn Hester Cunningham, Pearl’s son and daughter and also our first cousins, 2x removed. Both were very generous with sharing their memories and photos. Memories from all three are included in this blog post. My great aunt Regina Sauer Shields was also a big help. She put us in touch with family members, shared information and photos, and even organized a family reunion at her north Georgia home to culminate all the work everyone did. It was a wonder project and I thank everyone for so generously sharing with us.

Pearl Lewcrilly Shields, daughter of Samuel Cas Shields and Martha Ann Ogle, was born in Birds Creek, Sevier County, Tennessee on August 17, 1909. She was delivered by a midwife named Rosa Ogle, most likely at home. Pearl was the 9th child of 10—James Stewart Shields, Milas Odell Shields, William Elmer Shields, Walter C. Brown Shields, Sallie Addice Shields, Albert Conley Shields, Blaine Arthur Shields, Melona Jane Shields, Pearl Lewcrilly Shields, and Maude Maree Shields. She is the sister of my great grandfather, James Stewart Shields, so would be my great grand aunt.

Front: Melona Jane Shields in father Samuel Cas Shields' lap, Albert Conley Shields, Pearl Lewcrilly Shields in mother Martha Ogle Shields' lap, Blaine Arthur Shields, Sallie Addice Shields. Back: Milas Odell Shields, William Elmer Shields, Walter C. Brown Shields. My great grandfather and oldest son James Stewart Shields is not in the photo.

On May 3, 1910, Pearl and her family lived in the 13th Civil District of Sevier County. She was enumerated as Perlie and was 11 months old. Her father was a farmer on a general farm and brothers Milas, Elmer, and Walter were farm laborers. My great grandfather was no longer living in the home having married my great grandmother Hattie Rhinehart in March 1909. Sometime between 1910 and 1913, the Shields family moved to Georgia, looking for better and cheaper farm land. Cas bought land between Prater’s Mill and Deep Springs before bringing the family from Sevierville to Georgia.

Pearl, Amos, and Jack

On January 3, 1920, Pearl and her family lived on Lower Varnell Road in Varnell, Whitfield County, Georgia. Little sister Maude was born in 1913 so Pearl was no longer the baby of the family. Brothers Elmer and Milas had gotten married and left the home. Her father and brother Walter were both still farming. Pearl married Oscar Hester about 1927 or 1928, most likely in Whitfield County. Together they had five children—Jack William Hester, Amos Hester, Billy Gene Hester, Raymond Hester, and Mary Kathryn Hester.

Pearl’s sister Maude Shields Horrell died on February 10, 1930. I haven’t found a death record yet but it’s believed that she died in childbirth. Maude was buried at Grove Level Community Cemetery in Dalton. She was still a child—only 15 years old at the time of her death. On April 16, 1930, Pearl, Oscar, and Jack lived off Deep Springs Road in Whitfield County. Oscar was a farmer on a general farm. Jack was just over one year old.

Four of the Hester children standing in
front of the Vining's barn

On April 4, 1940, Pearl and her family lived in Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia. Oscar’s occupation was enumerated as farmer but the census record shows that he was not working at the time. Pearl had gone to work at a bedspread factory named Mt. Craft Spread Company, working as a machine operator. According to Wikipedia, Dalton is known as the Bedspread Capital of the World so there would have been plenty of work for women there. As a machine operator, she may have been sitting at a sewing machine for hours on end making bedspreads and then having to go home to cook and clean for her family. The census enumerator noted that Pearl had worked 32 hours the week before the census was taken and worked 50 weeks in 1939. Oscar must have been out of work all of 1939 as the census enumerator did not enter anything for “weeks worked in 1939.” Pearl and Oscar’s oldest child, Jack, was now 11 years old and youngest child Mary was one year old. The highest grade completed by both Pearl and Oscar was the fourth grade. None of the children had attended school at all. Oscar’s October 1940 World War II draft card showed that Pearl and Oscar lived at Route 4 in Dalton. Oscar worked for a Mr. Coy Lotspeich at that time. I looked Mr. Lotspeich up in census records and found that he was in the saw milling business.

Tommy had personal memories of Pearl and her family, which he shared with Jennifer in a letter on May 12, 2001. In the letter, Tommy recalled that Pearl “worked hard in a bedspread plant and stayed pregnant.” He said that “Oscar drank up her paycheck … he could not control his drinking.” Sometime in 1941, Pearl contracted tuberculosis, a life threatening and debilitating disease, and was soon unable to work. As they had no money, Pearl, Oscar, and the children moved in with Pearl’s parents on their farm. Tommy said that Pearl and Oscar were not able to pay rent as “this was during the depression and no one had any money.” Tommy remembers that Pearl was his father Elmer’s “favorite sister” and that he visited her every day. Elmer owned a small grocery store and took food when he visited. You see, his parents didn’t have any money either and were unable to feed the seven additional people living in their home. Tommy remembered Pearl in her deathbed. He said you could “hear her breath outside on the porch.” Pearl died at 4:15 p.m. at her parent’s farm near Deep Springs in rural Whitfield County on July 26, 1941. She was far too young—31 years—and left her five young children behind ranging in ages from 2 to 11. Elmer was the informant on her death certificate. After Pearl died, her brothers Elmer, Milas, Stewart, sister Addice, and husband Oscar made a pledge to Kennemer Brothers Funeral Home to pay the $500 needed for her funeral. As it turned out, no one but Elmer had the money so he ended up paying most of it. Pearl was buried beside her sister Maude at Grove Level Community Cemetery in Dalton.

The Hester family standing in front of Pearl's coffin. Pearl's mother, Martha Ogle Shields,
is the woman in the background holding the flowers.

According to Tommy, “Oscar abandoned the children after Pearl’s death” joining the military. The five children stayed with Pearl’s parents (their grandparents) for a while but Cas and Martha couldn’t afford to keep them. Tommy said the entire Hester and Shields families had to be tested for tuberculosis for six months after Pearl’s death. It was thought that Pearl’s daughter Mary had it but she didn’t. Elmer did have it and was sent “to Alto for six months” before it cleared up. Alto is a town 112 miles from Dalton so I imagine that was hard on the Shields family. Tommy said “they thought his father would lose a lung but he didn’t.” Before Elmer left for Alto, Cas and Martha “asked him to find a home for Pearl’s children.” Tommy said “none of the brothers and sisters could take in five more children, we were all poor. Any one of them would take Mary but not all five.” Elmer and his wife Lela had heard of the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home in Hapeville, Fulton County, Georgia through their church. Cas and Martha had been given legal authority over the children so they signed the papers to send four of the five children to the home in Hapeville, just outside of Atlanta. The oldest, Jack, was “big enough to work in the fields so he was kept home.” Tommy’s parents, Elmer and Lela, “took the children to Hapeville, made a small donation to the orphanage, stayed overnight with the children,” and then headed back home. They brought the children back to Dalton a few times for visits but otherwise there was not much contact.

Children and woman from the Georgia Baptist Children's Home

Amos, Billy, Raymond, and Mary stayed at the children’s home until they were 18. Oscar remarried a woman named Ruby and is believed to have had five children by her (four boys and a girl). Tommy said that “Jack lived with Elmer for a short time after the other Hester children were sent to the orphanage. Elmer was fairly strict. The family was poor and everyone had chores to do after school.” He said “Jack had moved around so much he was behind in school and didn’t want to go to school but Elmer insisted on the children getting a better education than he had.” Elmer’s sister “Addice came and took Jack on a picnic. He was to return on Sunday so he would be able to be in school the next day but he did not return.” Instead, “he went to live with Addice and Elmer had arranged a welfare check for Jack. Addice said she would keep Jack for that check.” Jack told Tommy that “Addice was not going to make him go to school and that he could smoke at her house.” Jack also said “a neighbor was going to give him a job for 35 cents an hour so he wanted to live with Addice.”

Elmer and Lela moved to Florida. Tommy went to the children’s home, got the four Hester children, and “took them to Florida for a visit after Elmer and Lela moved there.” Tommy felt “it was a sad state of affairs, but had they stayed in Dalton it would have been worse. They at least had a home and got an education.”

Martha, Amos, Billy, and Jack

Billy shared that his mother “was just too young to go, but we don’t have any control over that. We were also too young to be without a mother. We should have known we had people that cared and would take care of us. Grandpa and Granny took us in for a while. Then Uncle Elmer and Aunt Lela showed us the best way, when they placed us in Georgia Baptist Children’s Home at Hapeville, Georgia. I know it was hard for them to do that but I’m so happy they did. We were there for a while then people would come to see us and take us on a visit for a while. Uncle Ben and Aunt Addice, I remember them taking us out for visits. They were so good to us we really enjoyed ourselves. Uncle Elmer and Aunt Lela took us out for a visit many times.” Billy shared a story about his parents …“when the Hester family lived in a place called Crow Valley, out from Dalton off Highway 41, Pearl could not drive. Oscar was going to give her a lesson in driving he thought. We got in the car, a 4 door, don’t remember the make. We pulled out on the dirt-gravel road from the old frame house going toward Dalton, with Pearl behind the wheel. Up ahead, about a half mile or so, there was an old iron bridge crossing over a railroad track to Highway 41. Pearl got just past the bridge and slammed on the brakes on the edge of a slope, railroad track below, and all of the doors came open. And you know that was a high bank. Another foot closer to the edge and we would have been on the tracks. Another time at the same house, we were on the porch. Oscar came out of the house and said let’s go for a ride. I think it was late in the afternoon, so we all got in the car. All but Pearl, she was at work as always. We went out the dirt drive and just as we got on the dirt road in the ditch we went. Then I, Billy, said ‘Daddy no use getting out, we will get right back in.’ We all got out of the car which was a 4 door. Billy, Ray and Amos was in the back seat. I was the first one out of the back and Ray right behind me. Ray put his left hand on the car and the door slammed to on his middle finger. I know he was in pain. A logging truck came along and pulled us out, but like I said, right back in the ditch we went. That is how people are in the country. They will surely help you out when in trouble.”

Billy remembers Tommy “coming to the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home in Hapeville, Georgia in the 40’s and taking the Hester’s to Florida on a vacation. Here I was on a work truck with other boys getting ready to go clear the fields. The next thing I saw was Tommy coming from the main building with someone to get all the Hester kids ready for the trip to Florida. Out the driveway we went with about four other boys running right behind us, wishing they could go. We got to Florida in the night. Tommy’s ‘41 Chevrolet went out on him. I think it was the lights. We sure had a good time while we were in Florida. I think Uncle Elmer took us back to Hapeville, Georgia in his ‘37 Ford. Then later on Uncle Elmer moved Grandpa, Blaine and Granny to Florida. On their way down to Florida they stopped by the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home to see the Hester’s for a visit. Granny did not want to leave us. As time went on at the Home, one day I saw an ad in a book about a jacket for sale. I just had to have the jacket. I wrote Aunt Lela about it and the next thing I knew I was wearing the jacket and everybody wanted it. Also, they sent other things at different times.” When Billy turned 18, he left the children’s home and headed to Florida to live with Elmer and Lela for a while. He eventually moved back to Georgia, first to Hapeville then to Dalton where he lived with Addice for a while before joining the Navy. After the Navy, Billy moved to the Atlanta area where he met his wife Betty. They had a son Jeff and have had a good life.

Mary, her husband Vince Cunningham, my sister Jennifer, and Mama met for dinner on June 1, 2001. Mary told Jennifer the following about her early years: Mary was one year old when her Mother Pearl died. Mary and three of her brothers were sent to the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home. The oldest brother, Jack, didn’t go to the orphanage as he was too old. Mary was sent to the Hapeville, Georgia location. The three boys were sent to another location. No one told Mary about her brothers. She was 10 years old before she was told she had brothers. Mary has no personal memories of her family life, only memories of what she was told. Her father didn’t work, but her Mother did. The family had to move every month when the rent came due as they couldn’t pay the bills. Once Pearl became very sick, a family named Vining’s took care of the children. The Vining’s family had basically raised Oscar as a child. He apparently ran wild in the neighborhood and was taken in by the Vining’s family. The Hester family would live in the Vining’s barn.

The Vining's barn years later

Mary remembers that she called her parents “Pearl” and “that Oscar.” After graduating high school, Mary went to work at Arrow Shirt factory where Vince’s mother worked. His mother brought Mary home for supper. After supper, Vince took Mary home. Six months later they were married.” From all I heard, Mary and Vince had a family and a happy life as well.

Pearl’s story is a tragic one but I’m sure she would be happy to know that people cared about and made sure her children were taken care of and that for the most part, they’ve lived productive, happy lives.

References

• Dalton, Georgia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalton,_Georgia.
• Jack W. Hester, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007.
• Obituary for Mrs. Pearl Hester.
• Oscar Hester, U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1898-1929.
• Pearl Hester, Certificate of Death no. 321157, George Department of Public Health.
• Pearl Hester, Georgia Deaths, 1919-98.
• Pearlie Shields birth record no. 166715, Sevier County, Tennessee.
• Personal memories and photos shared by Tommy Shields, Billy Hester, and Mary Cunningham.
• S .Coy Lotspeich, U.S. Federal Census, Militia District 631 Ninth, Whitfield County, Georgia, 1940.
• Tuberculosis, Tulane National Primate Research Center; https://www2.tulane.edu/tnprc/diseases/tuberculosis/.
• U.S. Federal Census, Civil District 13, Sevier County, Tennessee, 1910.
• U.S. Federal Census, Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia, 1940.
• U.S. Federal Census, Militia District 631, Whitfield County, Georgia, 1930.
• U.S. Federal Census, Varnell, Whitfield County, Georgia, 1920.

What was Johnnie doing on D-Day, June 6, 1944?

Into the Jaws of Death. Men of the 16th Infantry Regiment,
US 1st Infantry Division wade ashore on Omaha Beach on the morning
of 6 June 1944 (Wikipedia, see below).

The 52 Ancestors theme this week is “Dear Diary.”

The closest thing I have to a diary in my genealogy research are actually letters that my brother-in-law Randy Marston generously shared with me last year. His father, Johnnie Marston, served in the U.S. Army during World War II and religiously wrote Randy’s mother, Lucile Stacks Marston, during that time. Johnnie tried to write Lucile every day but training and the war often got in the way. He was still able to write 340 letters and postcards to Lucile beginning in July 1939 and ending in October 1945. Earlier this year, Randy found another group of letters that Johnnie wrote to Lucile’s parents—44 in all. It’s an impressive collection.

D-Day is described by Wikipedia as “The Normandy landings were the landing operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of German-occupied France (and later Europe) from Nazi control, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.”

Johnnie Marston

Since June 6, 2019 marked the 75th anniversary of D-Day, last week I decided to look through Johnnie’s letters to see if he had written to Lucile on June 6, 1944. I wondered what was on his mind? What was he doing at the time? He didn’t share much about the war in his letters to Lucile—it was mostly about family, daily routine stuff, and his missing her. But every now and then you find a piece of information that reminds you why they weren’t together. Johnnie was stationed in Italy at the time so was not part of the invasion, but you know the events of that day would have affected him. As it turns out, he hadn’t written Lucile that day. He did write her a V-mail letter the day before (June 5) but there were no hints as to what was coming on June 6.

V-mail 

June 5, 1944 

My Dearest Darling, 

Just a few lines to let you know I am well and OK and hope that this finds you the same. I received a letter from you a couple of days ago. It sure made me feel good to hear from you. I don’t hear from you as often as I need to. I guess they are holding most of the mail up here lately. I am glad to hear you have a little money saved up. You are doing alright Baby. That’s one of the things I like about you. I hope all the folks are well and Grandma is lots better. I wrote her a letter. Well Darling, I will have to close for this time. I miss you a lot and I love you a million. 

Always, Johnnie

Johnnie didn’t write a letter on June 7 or 8 either. On June 9, his photo appeared in The Atlanta Constitution, recognizing troops from the Atlanta area who were serving in the Army, Navy, and Marines. But still no letter.

Johnnie finally wrote Lucile on June 10 and there were only two vague sentences that gave a hint of what had been going on with the war.

Saturday = Noon

June 10, 1944 

My Dearest Darling,

Just a few lines to let you know I am well and ok and hope that this finds you the same. I received the writing paper and the pen and pencil set from you today. Boy was I glad to get them. I also received a letter from you, Dot, and sister Evelyn. Not bad at all, do you think. Evelyn wrote and said she was expecting again in September. In this letter and the one I received from you was telling me about her also. Gee I sure am sorry to hear about Dot being sick; also, the baby too. I hope they are much better by now. You say Drextel got rejected? The lucky stiff. In a way though, I didn’t think he would go in. Well I guess Cecil is doing his training now. Has Jennie heard from him yet? How is she taking it? Darn I almost forgot to tell you I received a letter from your Mother the other day. I am going to try and write to her as soon as I finish this to you. As you can read by the paper’s lately, I haven’t had time to do much of anything. I hope you see things that way and understand just why I haven’t been writing to you much here lately. Say this pen don’t write bad at all. It just needs broke in a little bit, you know. Just like a lots of other things need to be, Ha Ha. Honey, I am not going to tell you what to do about going down and staying with Evelyn. Just you and her staying together, I don’t like that. If Louise was going to be with you down there, I wouldn’t care but the way they have things planned, that’s no good. You better just wait and let them come up to see you, ok? Well Baby, I will have to close for this time so keep your chin up and keep smiling. Also, tell all the folks hello for me. I miss you a lot Darling and I Love you a Million.

Always, Johnnie 

P.S. Are you sure you sent me a watch? I am still looking for it.

So, no diary, but I feel the letters are just as good as they give a glimpse into Johnnie's life during a critical time in history, often on a daily basis as you would write in a diary.

You can read more of Johnnie's letters here.

Johnnie made it home from the war but many others didn’t. I thank him and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country so that we are able to enjoy our freedom.

References

• Normandy landings; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings.
• Into the Jaws of Death photo, by Chief Photographer’s Mate (CPHoM) Robert F. Sargent. This media is available in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 195515, public domain; https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17040973.
• With the Army-Navy, and Marines, “The Atlanta Constitution,” Atlanta, Georgia, June 9, 1944.
• Personal collection of letters written by Johnnie Marston to Lucile Stacks Marston dating 1939 to 1945.

What’s in a name?

The 52 Ancestors theme this week is “namesake.”

Who were we named after? Lucky for me, that’s a question I’ve already asked my Mama. Over the last few years, Mama has been patiently answering my questions about our family and this was one of them. Here’s what I learned about how the five of us were named.

Mother's Day (ca. 1962)

Bonita Carol Lankford: My oldest sister, Bonita, is the namesake of two people—a movie star and my Grandpa. Her first name comes from an actress popular in the 1930s and 1940s, Bonita Granville. Her middle name honors my paternal grandfather, Carroll Harvey Lankford, who himself may have been named after his grandmother, Caroline Hobbs Lankford. Daddy selected both of Bonita’s names.

Bonita

Jennifer Gale Lankford: My second sister, Jennifer, is the namesake of Academy Award winning actress Jennifer Jones, who was popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Her middle name, Gale, was a random pick.

Jennifer

Susan Denise Lankford: My namesake is another Academy Award winning actress popular in the 1940s and 1950s, Susan Hayward. My middle name was also a random pick. I’m the only one of the five that goes by a middle name.

Denise

Michael Anthony Lankford: In the late 1950s, Mama watched a television show called “The Millionaire.” Mama remembers the show being about a millionaire who gave his executive secretary, who was named Michael Anthony, one million dollars to give to someone. If that person revealed where they got the money, the money was taken away. The identity of the millionaire was never revealed. Mama loved the name so that’s the name she chose for her only son.

Michael

Vanessa Leigh Lankford: Mama’s grandmother, Hattie Rhinehart Shields, thought TV was the devil’s instrument. In the late 1950s, it was thought that Hattie had cancer so she was sent to a cancer hospital in Rome, Georgia where she stayed for a year. They eventually determined that Hattie didn’t have cancer after all and she was sent home. While she was gone, Mama’s grandfather, James Stewart Shields, bought a TV. Hattie saw it when she returned and made him put the TV in the back room. But then she started watching the TV and found a soap opera she liked called Love of Life. Hattie loved one of the actresses on the soap opera who was named Vanessa. When Mama gave birth to her fifth child, Hattie asked her to name her Vanessa. For Vanessa’s middle name, Mama honored her mother, Daisy Lee Shields, however, she felt “Lee” was too masculine so she spelled it Leigh instead. Vanessa carried on the tradition by giving her second daughter the same middle name—Jennah Leigh Marston.

Vanessa

So, movie stars, TV stars, and a little bit of family thrown in is the answer to the question. I think they are all classic names and I can’t imagine us having been named anything else!

References

• Bonita Granville; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonita_Granville.
• Jennifer Jones; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Jones.
• Susan Hayward; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Hayward.
• The Millionaire (TV series); https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Millionaire_(TV_series). 
• Love of Life; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_of_Life.
• Personal memories of Fay Lankford.