Volume 11 , Issue 15

Them Louthans

Al writes, "Dear Duchess: I'm up here at our house in Rutherford County, NC, relaxing for a week. I was out in my shop and found a box of photographs of my mother's family. She and dad adopted me as a infant, and I absorbed some of the family history and folklore.

Mom's maiden name was Louthan. She grew up in the Short Springs community between Ashley and Ingersol, or north of Ingersol on the highway to Alva. The school house and cemetary were still there, the last time I was through there.

The schoolhouse is now a community center.

Her dad's name was Jessie, and her grandfather was James. He was in the Civil war, though family legend has it that he struck an officer before he was discharged, split for Missouri, and that branch of the family has had sympathies for the Confederate cause ever since.

Mom was the oldest child. Her siblings were Edith, Opal, Reba, Melba, Milton, Lewis and another sister whose name escapes me. Her son was Lynn Austin, and she and her son died in a railroad crossing accident when I was five or six years old.

I'd be happy to share the photos I have here, but don't know exactly how. I'm attaching one of Jessie that I've resampled and resized to a Gif file so you can discuss it with your assistant editor. I'll be back in Florida next week for Easter (first granddaughter's first Easter), so I'll be able to email larger files on my broadband (I'm using an aircard to send this).

As a request, could you tell me which issue/number had the Louthan data? I didn't bookmark it, and have a bunch of references archived. Thanks."
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