Marita Janet Meyers Douglas was the youngest granddaughter of my great-grandparents John C. and Mary Agnes Holmes Allen. She passed unexpectedly, but peacefully, at her home in Maryland on July 9. My deepest condolences to her closest family and to all who loved her.
Louise Holt Tisdale (27 April 1925-5 April 2018)
My great-aunt Mamie‘s eldest daughter, Louise Holt Tisdale, passed peacefully earlier this month after a short illness. Her memorial was held yesterday, on what would have been her 93rd birthday. The family’s great beauty, “Sister” was as lovely within as without, always ready with a warm smile, a hearty laugh and an open door.
High school graduation, circa 1943.
My favorite photo of Sister.
Unless it’s this one.
Sister with her mother, left, and aunt, my grandmother.
💔
Hayden Bently “Benny” Renwick was my great-aunt Louise Colvert Renwick‘s middle son and my mother’s favorite childhood cousin. He was a beloved and well-respected dean at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and kept an avuncular eye over me during my four years there. His death was sudden and unexpected, and I miss him.
Hayden B. Renwick (10 February 1935-2 September 2009)
I broke my drive home for the holidays with a stop near Greensboro, North Carolina. It rained much of the day, I was exhausted, and I sank gratefully onto the couch at Sister’s. At 88, she’s one of two surviving daughters of my great-aunt, Mamie Henderson Holt (1907-2000). She was the only girl to migrate North and that, plus her enduring beauty, gave her an alluring aura. Here’s one of my favorite photos of her:
Jack Henderson and Daniel Simmons, first cousins.
Jack (1893-1970) was the son of Loudie Henderson. Daniel (1895-1964) was the son of her sister Ann Elizabeth Henderson Simmons. Both were born and grew up in Dudley, Wayne County.
A Social Note: Miss Florence [sic: should read “Frances”] Ann Henderson married her first cousin, Israel H. Wynn. This relationship was very common in her youth, perhaps even the custom, she believes. Rev. R.B. Johns officiated at her marriage on December 12, 1908 in her parents’ home. Many friends and relatives attended including Val Simmons, Milford and Freddie Carter, Mrs. Eva Kornegay, and Mrs. Tina Hagans. In fact, there were so many guests that the floor of the house gave way under the weight of the people.
— from the souvenir booklet commemorating the 100th anniversary of the First Congregational Church, United States of Christ, Dudley NC, 1870-1970.
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Frances Ann “Frankie” Henderson was the daughter of John H. and Sarah Simmons Henderson. Israel Henderson Wynn was the son of John’s sister Hepsie Henderson and her husband, Washington F. “Frank” Wynn. Marriages among descendants of Wayne County’s free families of color were certainly the custom in the 50 years or so after the Civil War, and cousin marriages (if not first cousin) were concomitantly common.
Copy of photograph in possession of Lisa Y. Henderson.
Scuffalong: Genealogy. 