Family History

Yesterday I led the funeral for my Aunt Helen. She was my Dad's oldest sister and she died at the age of 81. Although funerals are not fun times they do provide opportunities to see relatives either you have not seen in many years or meet for the first time. I experienced both of these situations this week.
One relative I saw for the first time in many years was my Great Aunt's daughter, Shirley Henry, from Chattanooga Tennessee. Her Mother , Elsie, was the sister to my Grandmother (Alice Henley Garner). I never met my Grandmother or Grandfather on my Dad's side of the family because they both died when my Dad was just a young boy. My dad and his two brothers and two sisters were raised by their Aunt Neomi and Aunt Elsie.
I asked Shirley many questions about my Dad's side of the family and discovered some information I never knew. For instance my Grandmother was the youngest of eleven children. I also learned the names (or initials )of most of my Great Aunts and Uncles. A.Z. was the oldest boy then came Elsie and Neomi(I always thought her name was Naomi). Then there was Arthur, Howard, and Bessy. Shirley could not remember the rest but told me she would look them up and send them to me. Also two nicknames came up but she was not sure if the nicknames went with the ones listed or the others. The nicknames were Pinky and Toot!
I also learned what I had thought was true, that being my grandmother died from complications of childbirth. I also learned that she lost a set of twins before later giving birth to her last child.
Shirley told me my Grandfather died just a couple of years later of TB at the Pine Bluff Sanitarium. He like many of my other relatives during that time worked for the Railroad.
I now have a picture of my Grandparents that I do not ever remember seeing before and I posted it on this blog.
Family is a wonderful gift that God has given us. I am thankful for the family God has allowed me to have, even the ones I never got to meet here in this world.