Family history in Ashe County, North Carolina
George Cecil Bower (back row, third from right) with siblings and parents. I knew my great-grandfather, George Cecil Bower. He was already 74 years old when I was born in 1967, so my memories of him are of a man well into his 80s. Nevertheless, I do have some prominent memories of him. First, for … Continue reading George Cecil Bower, 1893-1987, great-grandfather
The holler where my great-grandfather Joseph Conley Houck and great-grandmother Pearl Houck lived. I knew my great-grandfather, Joseph Conley Houck, who I called Great-Grandpa Houck. I have one predominate visual--if not visceral--memory of my great-grandfather: that of his--at age 90!--climbing into the ancient cherry tree that grew at the end of his and Great-Grandma's porch. … Continue reading Joseph Conley Houck, 1888-1983, great-grandfather
Hattie with her mother, grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter. This photograph (circa 1940) is a five-generation photo, which I'm told is fairly rare. The baby is Monte Ann (Little) DeBoard. Monte Anne is sitting in the lap of her mother, Ruby Helen (Bower) Little. Behind Ruby is her mother, Hattie (Bare) Bower, at the upper-right. To … Continue reading Hattie Almedia Bare, 1895-1975, great-grandmother
I didn't know my namesake, Joe Little, my great-grandfather. But my Dad did. On a snowy Christmas Day in 1951, when my Dad was eight years old, he was walking with his grandfather in wooded hills when Joe Little had a heart attack. For a long time my Dad blamed himself for his grandfather's death … Continue reading Jethro “Joe” Wilson Little, 1874–1951, great-grandfather
This year I'll be posting about a different ancestor each week.