Bud Allen: Moonshiner and Farmer

My great grandfather, Eugene Narron ALLEN, has always been an enigma to me. His nickname was Bud and I've seen his middle name as Nebron and Newman. From all accounts, he was a rough fellow from a dirt poor family. He surely fit right in with his peers.

Bud was born 03 May 1880 in Wake County, NC. He was the fourth child of parents Henry J ALLEN and Armeda HUSKETH, who have proven to be as much of a mystery as their son.

He was definitely a bad boy, having served time in the joint for making moonshine. By that time, he'd been married to Elizabeth "Sissy" Ray for nearly 23 years and had 7 children. Bud and Sissy must have had quite the farewell just before he reported for 6 months on the road crew in November of 1927, because their last child Marvin was born 18 April 1928. Sadly, Sissy died a day after giving birth to Marvin, her 8th child. Bud must have been out of prison by then because he was the informant on her death certificate. 

He lived another 11 years and did not remarry. He was living with his daughter Mamie in Raleigh, NC when he passed away from pneumonia  and heart disease. 

Bud shows up on the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 census. He was also a registered voter, per the 1902, 1904 and 1906 voter registration records, Wake County, NC. He registered for the draft in 1918 listing Sissy as his next of kin. He was 38 years old at the time of his registration. I cannot find any evidence he was called to serve.

He lists a variety of occupations along the way; farmer, dairyman, laborer.

Bud was buried on 05 Mar 1939 in the cemetery of New Light Baptist Church in New Light, NC in extreme northern Wake County, next to Sissy.

Louisa Davis Allen, 1917 - 2015

Louisa Davis Allen

Louisa Davis Allen passed on July 19, 2015. She was 97 years old. My 1st cousin one time removed, "Liza" was the daughter of Ernest Davis and his wife Evie Allen. She was one of 10 children born in Granville County, NC.

When she was 19, she married Richard Lee Moore, Sr. They had two boys: Vance Julian and Richard, Jr. Vance passed in 2006, and some think he may have had a twin who did not live past birth, Ernest Davis Moore.  

Lisa married Paul Parker Allen when she was 36. I'm not sure what happened to Richard Sr, though he may have been killed in WWII, although I cannot find a death certificate for him. Paul Allen died in 1974.

Liza once showed me a gold wedding band she said belonged to my great great grandmother, Lucinda Davis. Granny Lucinda (Liza's great grandmother) died in a house fire in 1922. I have a grizzly image in my head about that ring on her finger, but aside from that...it made me very happy to be able to see my great great grandmother's wedding ring.

Liza lived all her life in the Granville and Franklin County areas in central North Carolina. 

Edith Davis Gulley, Buss Davis,
Richard Moore, Jr.,
Charlie Davis, Louisa Davis Allen,
Mildred Davis Parrish

Edith, Vera, and Louisa Davis (sisters)

Liza was quite the pickle. She had the reputation for being very opinionated and didn't care who knew it or what they thought of her. 

She was one of a kind, for sure. 

Thomas Johnson and Ann Allen Marriage Bond, 1822

Thomas Johnson and Ann Allen were married October 11, 1822 in Johnston County, NC. 

Bondsman was Benjamin Bell.

Granville County Beaver Dam School Census (NC)

The Granville County Beaver Dam School Census is undated but probably from about 1840. Several of my direct ancestors appear on the census.

Beaver Dam was a rural farming district in very southern Granville County very near the Wake County line. It first came into use about 1778.

I've seen the document when researching at the NC Archives. Sure wish I'd made a copy of it! It's a real treasure to me because it lists three different families in my direct line:

• Israel Dillard (my 3rd great grandfather) had three children enrolled:  Eliza (Elijah?), Narcissa, and Cornelia (my 2nd great grandmother).  
• John Davis (my 3rd great grandfather) had three children enrolled: Sugar, Mary, Johnathan (my 2nd great grand father who married Cornelia, above), Sary, and Precilla
• Nancy Allen (my 4th great grandmother) had two children enrolled: Joseph (my 3rd great grandfather) and Mary
• Sherod Wilson (my 4th great grandfather) had 7 children enrolled: Nancy, Malissa, Sarah, William, John, Betsy, and Amanda. 

I'm pretty sure I can also draw a dotted line to many of the other families on the census.  But it's very cool to see FOUR of my direct lines on this one document.

Just SO cool!

Lois Jean Allen, 1911 - 1918

Lois Jean Allen Gravestone

Lois Jean ALLEN, my great aunt, was born on 27 Jan 1911 in the Brassfield area of Granville County, North Carolina. She was the third child of Eugene Narron ALLEN and Elizabeth RAY. 

Lois had seven siblings: Vada Atlas (my maternal grandmother), Mamie, Henrietta, Lacie, Elsie, John Benjamin, and Marvin Eugene. 

Lois was only 6 years old when she died of "exhaustion" brought on by Typhoid Fever on 05 Jan 1918 in Brassville Township.  She is buried at New Light Baptist Church the New Light area of extreme northern Wake County, NC. 

Lois Jean Allen Death Certificate

Ester Allen, born 1762 in Bladen County, NC

My 4th great grandma, Esther ALLEN was born about 1762 in Bladen County, North Carolina.  She was the first child of James ALLEN and wife Elizabeth Nancy UNKNOWN. 

Ester had eleven siblings!  They were: Nathan T., Nancy Ann, Mary Polly, Josiah, Rebecca, Gideon, Sarah, William, Thomas, Edith, and Anna. 

When she was 33, Ester married Jesse MORGAN on 02 Jan 1795 in Johnston County, North Carolina, per their marriage bond.

Ester and Jesse had one daughter I know of, Elizabeth Sallie, who was born in 1808 in Johnston County, North Carolina. 

Elizabeth died in 1880 in Johnston County, North Carolina. She married William Young STANCIL before 1835 in Johnston County, North Carolina.

Caraleigh Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC

Caraleigh Baptist Church began holding church services in 1898 in a brick dwelling house at 413 Montose Avenue in Raleigh. They were received into the Raleigh Association in 1904, which is the official date of their founding. 

Their next building - occupied from 1898 until 1924 - was a one room structure built on land donated by the Caraleigh Mill Company on Park Avenue (now Gilbert Street). 

In 1924, they moved into their present home which has a main auditorium, 13 Sunday School rooms, beautiful hammered glass windows, a belfry and bell, and a heating plant in the basement. The church sits at the corner of Summitt Avenue and Greene Street in the Caraleigh neighborhood just south of downtown Raleigh. This new church was built on land donated by Mr. Linneham and was officially dedicated in 1929. 

My grandparents, Atlas Allen and wife Ethel Davis, and their daughters Gladys, Lib, and Mary Joyce were devoted members of the church. Atlas and Ethel had bought their first home at 117 Summitt Avenue in July of 1938 in the heart of Caraleigh. The church was within easy walking distance of their new home, although I'm sure there were plenty of Sundays when the family headed north to Franklin County to attend services at Good Home Baptist Church in Youngsville.

Atlas and Ethel Davis Allen

Marriage Bond for JB Allen and Miss Julia Morgan, Nov. 25, 1844

This way not that way: Henry Allen and Armeda Husketh

Just when I thought I had a solid line of evidence supporting the Allen branch of my family tree, I learned I had it all wrong. Hate that!

For years I thought I had the right Henry Allen. I chased Henry's family tree and collected documentation only to learn I had the wrong Henry Allen of Granville County. It happens. Especially in a world where "Henry" and "Allen" are common names. Shucks.

The result was a fairly extensive and well-documented Allen family tree. Except it was someone else's Allen family tree. Not mine. 

But thanks to my genealogy cousins (literally, cousins somewhere down the line), I am now on the right path. And as often happens, the right path leads to some amazing discoveries. Those brick walls came crumbling down.

Oh, Henry Allen, I'm so glad I finally found you and your elusive wife of many names:  Armeda, Aemecia, Mezie. Huskey, Husketh, Husky. I've discovered it really helps to have the right name when researching! Duh!

Family has told me again and again and again that my great great grandmother was Mezie Huskey Allen. So naturally, I set in search of Grandma Mezie. Except her real name was Armeda Husketh. Not even close to "Mezie". Argh!

Such is the nature of genealogy. You have to be flexible and willing to consider alternatives, even after you've spent years barking up the wrong tree!

In Celebration of Mother's Day....

Mom's High School Yearbook Pic

I've written plenty about my mom on this blog, but since today is Mother's Day, I thought it fitting to pay tribute to her. 

Ann Gladys Allen Stancil was born on July 1, 1929 in rural Franklin County, NC to Atlas Allen and wife Ethel Davis. She was is the oldest of 3 daughters and by all accounts, the most, ummm...spirited. 

Gladys had a mind of her own. She had a sometimes difficult relationship with her mother. I get that, because Mom was not always the easiest person to live with. She was highly opinionated, extremely stubborn, and beyond determined. It was often her way or the highway. 

In spite of her personality "quirks", she had a heart of gold and enough love to fill the oceans. She was generous with what little she had and always ready to listen...so long as you were ready to hear what she had to say.

In mid-life, mom struggled with depression and alcoholism. She came by it honestly as she came from a very long line of alcoholics. She tried many times to stop drinking but there was just ONE thing that finally made her successful. That was her grandson, Cameron. She stopped drinking cold turkey when he was born. 

I did not realize when she passed in April of 1997 how much I would miss her every single day. I still hear her voice in my head and often I think I see her in a crowd.  Wishful thinking. I wish I could have just 10 more minutes with her to tell her how much I love her and to bring her up to date on how her beloved grandson is doing. 

But I suspect she already knows that. 

Where in the world is Mezie Huskey?

My great great grandmother is a mystery to me. Mezie HUSKEY was born about 1860 in Granville County, NC. She died about 1910. 

When she was 20, she married Henry A. ALLEN, son of George Benjamin ALLEN and Mary THOMPSON, about 1880. Henry would have been about 40 years old. An older man.

Henry and Mezie had four children, best as I can tell. 

Their son Eugene (nickname Bud) was my great grandfather. He was born on 03 May 1880 in Wake County, NC. He had 3 sisters Adie, Ester, and Iowa.  Eugene's death certificate lists Mezie and Henry as his parents. 

I've found tons of information on Henry. Not so much on Mezie. I've heard her last name could be Husketh, Huskie, or Husky. Mezie may be a nickname. Perhaps her real name is Lauronieca, Armeda or Arillda. 

I'll continue to search for Grandma Mezie, but in the meantime, if you see her please let me know!  Tell her I love her and I'd like to meet her.

Smile!

Marriage Bond for George Benjamin Allen and Mary Thompson, 1832

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA 
Wake County 

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS That we George B. Allen, Benjamin Allen are held and firmly bound unto Montfort Stokes Esquire, Governor &c. his Successors in Office, in the full sum of Five Hundred Pounds, current Money, to be paid to the said Governor, his Successors or Assigns, for which payment well and truly to be made and done, we
bind ourselves, our Heirs, Executors and Administrators, jointly and severally, firmly by these presents, sealed with our Seals, and dated the 20th day of November Anno Domini 1832.

THE condition of the above Obligation is such, that whereas the above bounden George B. Allen hath made application for a License for Marriage to be celebrated between him and Mary Thompson of the County aforesaid; Now, in Case it shall not appear hereafter, that there is any lawful Cause or Impediment to obstruct the said Marriage, then the above obligation to be void otherwise to remain in full force and virtue.

Signed, Sealed and Delivered
in Presence of                           For George B. Allen (seal) 
Todd Kingdele
Hand                                     Benjamin Allen {seal}

New Light

My family has a rich and long history in the New Light area of northern Wake County, NC.  New Light is Wake County's northern most township and is just a hop, skip, and jump to Granville County. 

Many of my Allen and Ray family members are from New Light. It is an area that was long known for it's moonshiners and is now just a few miles from Raleigh city limits. My great grand parents Eugene Allen and Elizabeth Ray lived and are buried at New Light, as are a multitude of other related family members.

The area grew to have a mysterious nature and natives nurtured the "stay out" attitude. They did not like outsiders and they especially didn't like "revenuers" as moonshining was a powerful economic force.  

Elizabeth Murray's book on Wake County says "...the New Light (now Baptist) church in northern Wake County, was organized in 1775 and is repeatedly referred to in court records as "New Light Meeting House". It's name derives from a mid-eighteenth-century movement, away from established churches, by people who were called "New Lights". Subsequently in New Light Township(earlier, "District") in which the church is located took its name from the religious group, as had a creek in the same area."

From research and conversation, I've gleaned that New Light was named for the rebellious Baptist/Moravian "common man" Christians who migrated to the area in the mid-1700s. Check out what Charles Woodmason had to say about the "New Light Infestations".  Woodmason rebuked locals for "spitting tobacco, leaving the service during Prayer, whispering during the sermon, and not controlling unruly children."

Wake County Townships

Today, New Light is rural yet new subdivisions are popping up at an alarming rate. It has a population of about 7600 souls and covers about 50 square miles. It sits right on the Wake/Granville county lines on Falls Lake. It's a beautiful area and I frequently enjoy Sunday afternoon drives in the area checking out cemeteries and thinking about my family's connection with the land. 

Working Girls

In celebration of National Women's History Month, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what my female ancestors did for a living. 

I'll start with myself. I work for a software company. Yawn. But in past lives I've been a writer, editor, paralegal, department store detective, and skating rink DJ. I've also worked in a Waffle Shop, libraries, and a group home. 

My mother, Gladys ALLEN STANCIL, taught 6th grade special education at a time when teachers were not required to have college degrees. She loved it. She taught at Summersill Elementary School in Jacksonville, NC. She also worked in the accounting office at Sears, as a bank teller, in a Five and Dime, and the hardest job of all - homemaker and mother. My mom was a pretty smart gal.

My Aunt Lib (Grace Elizabeth ALLEN LEE) worked most of her life for the State of NC as a clerk. In her retirement years, she worked for Rex Hospital in Raleigh as a liaison between families and nurses/docs. 

My cousin Teresa is a Physician's Assistant.  Her sister Deborah works in a hospital. Both are very loving caring women, so no surprise they wound up in healthcare. Another cousin Donna is also a nurse. 

My maternal grandmother, Ethel DAVIS ALLEN, worked at Dix Hospital in Raleigh, NC for a time and at Caraleigh Cotton Mill, also in Raleigh.

My great aunts Meona DAVIS, Cora DAVIS FINCH, Ovie DAVIS LOWERY, and Mary DAVIS ALLEN all worked at Dix Hospital as well. They worked in the hospital laundry and on the wards. Dix was a state mental hospital. I'm sure they had stories to tell!

My great grand aunt Sallie STANCIL worked for a newspaper in Morehead City, NC.

My other great grand aunt Mamie ALLEN worked as a seamstress. She could sew like nobody's business.

I don't know that my paternal grandmother, Ada Lou JOHNSON STANCIL, worked outside the home. But I betcha she worked her fingers to the bone INside the home.

The same can be said for all the rest of my female ancestors. In general, both sides of my family were poor and extremely hardworking people. No one ever handed us anything. If hard work builds character, then my family has it in spades. 

Grace Elizabeth Allen Lee, 1931 - 2006

Grace Elizabeth Lee (Aunt Lib to the family) was my mother's middle sister. She passed away in 2006 and is buried at Good Hope Baptist Church in Youngsville, NC. I have many many fond memories of Aunt Lib and spent many holidays in her home. I wrote a tribute to her for the funeral. It goes like this:

Seventy-some years ago, Grace Elizabeth (Lib) Lee entered this world as the beloved middle daughter of Atlas Allen and his wife Ethel Davis Allen. Born in Granville County, “Gracie” lived her life in Granville and Wake County, leaving only long enough to pay her own tribute to her favorite country music stars. John Henry Lee may have been her husband and the love of her life, but Elvis Presley and Conway Twitty were her boyfriends!

Grace had two beautiful and bright children: Donnie and Brenda. She had five adoring grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren along with a host of other family and friends. She was an excellent seamstress and an awesome cook. She made the best biscuits ever but her fried chicken was surely the best in the world! Her home was her pride and her family was her joy.

Gracie held a true beauty – both inside and out. A dedicated public servant, Grace worked for the State of North Carolina for many years. After she retired from the State, she used her gift of grace and kindness in the family waiting area of Rex Hospital comforting waiting families and dispensing information. You could always count on her to visit when you were sick, cook for you when you were hungry, and gallivant when the gallivanting was good.

So today while we share our sorrow, let’s also celebrate a life well-lived, filled with the joy of a loving family and with friends who held fast through the good times and the bad. A life of courage, a life of grace, and a life devoted to the happiness of others.

Gracie was the woman all parents hope their daughters grow to be – kind, selfless, giving. Her spirit has touched each one of us and encourages us to spend our time and energies on that which is most important…family. One sure thing about Gracie…she always knew what was important.

                       

William Young Stancil and Sallie Morgan

My great, great, great grandparents are William Young STANCIL and his bride Sallie MORGAN. William's middle name "Young" shows up a number of times in the family tree. I'd love to know more about that name!

William was born on 10 May 1803 in Cumberland County, NC. I believe he was born in the part of Cumberland County that later became Harnett County.  He was the third child of  parents William STANCIL and Edney MOORE. His siblings were Wealthy Jane, Alexander, and John. 

When he was 31, William married Sallie MORGAN, daughter of Jesse MORGAN and Esther ALLEN, around 1835. Sallie may have been born in Buncombe or Transylvania County, NC. I need to do a lot more work on her family.

William Young STANCIL shows up in Johnston County, NC in the 1850 census at age 44. 

William and wife Sallie had a whopping 9 children: 

1. Elizabeth STANCIL was born about 1834.
2. Young Allen STANCIL was born on 14 Apr 1833 and died on 03 Sep 1923 in Johnston County, NC at age 91. He married Susan Creech GODWIN on 22 Aug 1858 and another unknown spouse on 22 Aug 1858 in Johnston County, NC. Young served in the Civil War with the NC 24th Infantry.  
3. Seviah STANCIL was born about 1837.
4. Joseph STANCIL was born in 1840 and died about Jul 1889 in Johnston County, North Carolina, USA. He married Sarah E GODWIN on 15 Mar 1867. Sarah was the sister of his bother Young's wife, Susan.  
5. Prudia STANCIL was born about 1841.
6. Moses STANCIL was born on 29 Aug 1842 and died on 02 Sep 1923 in Johnston County, NC. He married Emily MASSENGILL on 11 Dec 1866. Moses was apparently a colorful character and was married 4 times. He served in the Confederate Army AND the Confederate Navy.
7. Edney STANCIL was born about 1845.
8. Aaron STANCIL was born about 1848.
9. William STANCIL was the baby of the family born in Feb 1849 and died on 23 Oct 1916 in Johnston County, NC at age 68. He married Mary Ann Rebecca MASSENGILL on 05 Jan 1873. These were my great great grand parents.

William died in 1880 in Johnston County, NC. Would love to know where he is buried!  Working on that...

Allen H. Ray, 1859 - 1936, Wake County, NC

My 2nd great grandfather on my maternal side, Allen H. RAY was born on 11 Nov 1859 in Johnston County, North Carolina, as the fifth child of James A. RAY and Martha Sarah (Sallie) GREEN. I'm curious to know how be got from Johnston County to the north end of Wake County in New Light, NC.

He had at least six siblings:

1. Sadus/Sardi
2. John
3. Wesley G
4. James Wiley
5. William Aaron
6. Sarah A.

When he was 26, Allen married Martha Hawkins PEARCE,daughter of George Wesley PEARCE and Elizabeth Caroline PERRY, on 03 Dec 1885 in Wake County, North Carolina. Their first child, Elizabeth, was born about a year later.

Allen shows up on all the right census records:

• 1860: North Western District, Wake County, age 9 months.
• 1870: New Light, NC at age 10 
• 1880: New Light, NC at age 20. He was still single and living with his parents.  
• 1890:  Census burned. Bummer.
• 1900:  New Light, NC at age 40. This time he shows up with a wife and kids.  
• 1910: New Light, NC at age 50. 
• 1920: Apparently the family moved on down the road to Brassfield in Granville County, NC. He was 62. 
• 1930: He had moved back to New Light, age 70. 

Allen H. RAY and Martha Hawkins PEARCE had five children:

1. Elizabeth RAY, born  24 Dec 1886 in Wake County. She died on 18 Apr 1928 in New Light at age 40 in childbirth. She married Eugene Narron ALLEN on 02 Jul 1904 in Wake County. These were my great grandparents. 
2. Mary Frances RAY born 13 May 1889 in Wake County. She died 14 Dec 1939 in Youngsville, Franklin County, NC. She married Johnnie O'NEAL in 1908 at her father's home.
3. James Arthur RAY born 11 Oct 1893 in Wake County. He died on 22 Jan 1957 in Wake County.
4. Arthur I RAY born about 1895 in Granville County. He died on 22 Jan 1957 in Wake County.
5. Loretta Jessie RAY born on 30 May 1907 in Wake County. She died on 07 Feb 1992 in Wake County at the age of 84. She married William Graham O'NEAL on 11 Jan 1926. 

Grandpa Allen worked all his life as a farmer. He probably spent a life time farming someone else's land however, I can't find any record that he ever owned land in Granville or Wake County.

Allen died on 26 Oct 1936 in New Light at the age of 76 of heart failure. His wife was 64 when Allen died. She lived another 17 years without him.

Allen is buried in the Smith-Perry Cemetery (also called the Smith Family Cemetery) in Wake Forest, NC. It is located at the corner of Purnell Road (SR 1909) and Hinton Road (SR 1916).  His son James and wife Beulah are also buried there with their son Woodrow, who died in infancy in 1918. 

Ernest Foster Davis Obituary

News and Observer, Sept. 29, 1955- Obituary
Ernest F. Davis

Wake Forest. Ernest F. Davis, 65, of Route 3, Wake Forest, died Wednesday morning at his home. He was a farmer and life long resident of Granville County,, North Carolina. He was a deacon in the Good Hope Christian Church where funeral services will be held Friday at 3:00 pm. Officiating will be the Rev. E. M. Carter and the Rev. M. Hollifield. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Evie Davis; three sons, William of Route 1, Youngsville, Almus and Charlie Davis of the home; seven daughters, Mrs. Vera Davis of the home, Mts. Tom Gulley of Franklinton, Mts. Paul Allen of Wake Forest, Mts. L. F. Parrish of Richmond, Virginia, Mts. C. E. Parrish of Morrisville, Mts. J. W. Thompson of Charleston, W. Va., and Miss Ruth Davis of Richmond, Va; five sisters, Miss Meona Davis, Mrs. Mary Allen, Mrs. Atlas Allen, Mrs. Cora Perry, all of Raleigh, and Mrs. J. Q. Lowery of Youngsville; three brothers, Bruce Davis of Wake Forest, Roland Davis and Otis Davis of Youngsville, 12 grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.

Miss Meona Davis, 1888 - 1964

Ms. Meona DAVIS was born in the Brassfield area of Granville County, NC April 24, 1888 to parents Sidney and Cordelia DAVIS. She never married but she was an integral part of the family and was always spoken of with love. In fact, her gravestone reads "A true friend to everyone".

She was my maternal grandmother's beloved sister, making her my grand aunt. I recall my mother always speaking of her with great respect. 


Meona worked at Dorthea Dix mental hospital in Raleigh, NC for many years and eventually retired from the State of NC. I've heard stories about her walking many miles to and from work along railroad tracks. She worked for years in the Dix laundry and then as a worker on a ward.

For a single woman from a poor family, it is surprising that she dabbled in Granville County real estate. She purchased 26.75 acres of farm land to re-sell to her brother Earnest DAVIS and his wife Evie ALLEN, because she felt they were the only family members who would work hard enough to farm the land. 

She died from thyriod cancer at age 75 on April 15, 1964. She was a life long member of Good Hope Christian Church which is where she was buried. 

Her obituary from Raleigh's News and Observer:

Miss Meona Davis

Wake Forest. Miss Meona Davis, 76, of Franklinton, Rt. 1 died Wednesday. She was a native of Granville County, North Carolina and was a retired State employee. She was a member of Good Hope Christian Church. Funeral services  will be held Friday at 3:00 pm at Good Hope Christian Church. The Rev. T. N. Daughtery, pastor, will officiate, assisted by the Rev. E. M. Carter of Youngsville. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Surviving are four sisters, Mrs. Mary Allen, Mrs. Cora Finch, Mrs. Ethel Allen, and Ovie Lowery, all of Raleigh; two brothers, Bruce Davis of Wake Forest Rt. 3 and Otis Davis of Youngsville, Route 1.

Good Hope Baptist Church, Youngsville, NC

Allen Funeral Cards

I've always been interested in traditions surrounding southern funerals. While I still find it odd that we like to photograph the deceased, or family members at a funeral, I'm intrigued with the old tradition of funeral cards and mourning jewelry. I've a friend who collects mourning jewelry and each piece is both haunting and beautiful.

Here are the funeral cards for my maternal grandparents, Ethel DAVIS ALLEN and Vada Atlas ALLEN. They died within a year of one another and these plastic laminated cards were provided to the family by the funeral home.

My mother kept them in my father's Bible, almost like bookmarks. I don't know if one was provided to each family member, but that would have been a lovely idea. These seem much more celebratory of a life than a picture of the deceased lying in their coffin. 

Vada Atlas Allen