French/Davis Family

Cousin Gussie"s story

Our family, the Smiths, as we know them, goes back seven generations. Henry Smith, the great grandfather of the fourth generation, my generation, was born during the early 1840's. There were a number of children born to him and his wife, the former Sallie Hedgeman. great Uncle John, who married Aunt Sarah was one of them. I always remember Aunt Sarah saying that she was polishing silver when Grant took Richmond, in April of 1855. another son, Reuben, married Rosina Lomax on March 24, 1881. The are the grandparents of the fourth generation of the Smiths, Davises and Pages.
Reuben and Rosina were the parents of Rufus Henry, Charles Warson, Hugh C., Andrew Jackson, Lorenzo, Thomas, Junius, Julia, Cornelia Sue, and Mary Eliza. Our grandparents encouraged their children to seek an education. They attended the so-called 'Normal schools in Hampton, Lawernceville and other locations. Uncle Andrew and Uncle Hugh also served in World War I. Later, the children married Cornelia Sue was married to George L. Davis and Mary Eliza was married to Bernard Plutz' Page. My father, Lorenzo, married Josephine Foster. They were married in a beautiful church wedding on February 23, 1924. The late Reverend S.B. Holmes officiated.
My parents lived with Mama Rose and Papa in a big white house that was filled with love and surrounded by flowers and fruit trees. For this reason, our farm was called 'Cherry Lane' . We were fortunate that our land was our own and our farm self-supporting.
On January 16, 1925, my parents had their first child, Rosina Lomax, named for our grandmother, Mama Rose. She was the third grandchild and the first girl. Aunt Mary had two older boys, Bernard and Reuben. Less than two weeks after Rosina's birth, Aunt Cornelia or Aunt 'Neely' , as we called her, had her first chid, Elizabeth and then there were four cousins. The next September, Aunt Mary had her third child, another son, Junius. On March 21, 1927, my parents had me, Augusta Julia. Everyone called me Gussie except Papa, who always called me Julia after his own little Julia who died at an early age. Two weeks later, Aunt Neely had her second child, Azelea Mae. Then, in May, Aunt Mary had her fourth child, Miles O'Connor. Then , there were eight. Aunt Neely had a third Mattie Rose and the following July, Aunt Mary had her first little girl, Caroline Beatrice. In February, 1931, Aunt Neely had a four daughter, Mary Anna and a month later, on March 25, the night after our grandparents' Golden wedding anniversary, my baby sister Mattie Emily was born. Now, there were a dozen little cousins. Aunt Mary soon had another little girl, Mary Gladys LaVerne. Papa always called her 'Aunt Patsy' after his sister Patsy, so we all started to call her Pat. We still do today. Two more sons, Millard Filmore and George Hugh Carroll were born to Aunt Mary. Aunt Neely also had two more sons, George Junior and Little Jimmy. Now, there were seventeen cousins.
On Thanksgiving night of 1937, Papa passed away. This was our first encounter with the loss of a loved one, even though we had always walked through the family cemetery and heard about family members who had gone home to be with Jesus. I'll always remember Reverend Holmes' eulogy, in which he said 'Let not your heart be troubled.' Papa had been active in religious, as well as civic affair
In the summer of 1939, there was a lot of whispering going on. So, when Daddy told Mama Rose that he was going to get Miss Bessie, the midwife, some light was shed on all of the whispering. And on Thursday, March 7, 1940, the word came: Josie and Lorenzo Smith had had a baby boy, Foster Lorenzo, the only little Smith boy. I was so proud to have my own little brother. Now, there were eighteen little cousins to share joys and sorrows with.
We spent some very special times together. Sunday afternoons were the times that we were usually together. Aunt Neely would come with the homemade ice cream and Mama and Aunt Mary would furnish the cake and lemonade.
When Aunt Neely would go to 'Summer Normal, her girls stayed with us. We all shared one big bed, some at the head and some at the foot. We had so much fun playing in the trees and making mud pies. Our playing made us very hungry for supper. There were always plenty of hot biscuits, lima beans, stewed tomatoes and for dessert, there was always some kind of sweet.
On warm summer evenings, we had vespers, led by Mama Rose. I remember her favorite scripture, Psalm 71, In Thee, oh Lord, will I put my trust. Sometimes, she would reminisce about her missionary circle. They would only put in a few pennies each, but they were able to help the sick and shut in.
Mama Rose made the prettiest quilts and starched our dresses so smoothly that they shined. Nothing ever wore out. She could patch a patch. She believed that everyone should work to support themselves and was fond of saying that no one in our family had ever been on relief, which was welfare back then. She also reminded us to make up our beds before we left in the morning because we didn't know who might to bring us back that evening.
Mama Rose passed away on March 7, 1943; she'd suffered a stroke a few years before. World War II was now in its' second year. Aunt Mary's three oldest sons, Bernard, Reuben and Junius, went into the armed forces. The older girls went off to college. Soon, the wedding bells began to ring and so began a fifth generation of Smiths. Mattie married George Morton, Foster married Hattie Monroe, Bernard married Mary Larry, Miles married Dicey, Caroline married John Williams, Pat married Gerald Morgan, George married Emmaline Manning, Liz married James Boyd, Azelea married Clarence French, Mattie Rose married Louis Wannamaker, Mary Anna married Kirk Gaskins and James married Cora Payne. On April 13, 1957, I married Harry G. Brookens.
There was so much happiness in the Spring, but the Fall brought saddness. On Labor Day, September 2, 1957, my mother left us.
I remember her as a quiet but one who was firm in her dealings. She taught us to keep not only our bodies, but our hearts clean. We always went to church. She would always tell us to listen to what Reverend Holmes said on Sunday mornings. She told us that if we listened, he would say one thing that we would remember. Mama always helped people and did so with a smile.
If there are any of my relatives that I would choose to emulate, they would be my Mom, my Aunt Neely and my Uncle Andrew. I can hear my Mom in that garden on the hottest day picking vegetables and singing -- 'I Come To The Garden Alone' and see Aunt Neely coming late, but always smiling and bringing us a present. Uncle Andrew was SO quiet. He was always grateful to Mom for helping out with Mama Rose and Papa that every week, for as long as he lived, he wrote to Mom and sent her money. He never raised his voice; all of his nieces and nephews adored him. Uncle Andrew died on June 7, 1949, the day I graduated from college. I'd wanted him to be there, because when the going was rough, he was always there to see me through. Aunt Cornelia died in November, 1957. Ten years later, in 1967, we lost Uncle Rufus, my Daddy, Lorenzo, and Uncle Hugh. This was the end of the Smith brothers of the third generation.
As snow fell softly on January 29, 1986, we laid our last aunt, Mary 'Liza' to rest. Aunt Mary always had a word of wisdom to pass on to us. She loved us all dearly. Her arms were always stretched out to give us a big hug and kiss. Then, to the kitchen we vent, for that delicious food. Her pound cake was the best.
We were very close to our cousins. Cousin Lovelene, Mama Rose's niece, was a home economics teacher in Winchester, Va. We always looked forward to her coming home during the summers. She would always fix foods that we'd never tasted. The first tuna fish salad and sherbet we had, Cousin Love made. When we would see her coming down the path, we knew that we were in for a treat. Not only could she cook, she could sew beautifully. She once made me a sixteen gored dress that would put the department stores to shame. We called her Cousin Love because she was born on a special day, Valentine's Day. All through the years, we always kept in touch. I received my last letter from her after the last family reunion.
Then, less than a month before her 89th birthday, she passed away and the book of her life was completed.
In August of 1960, Rosina and Cousin Lomax went in search of Aunt Patsy's Children, Papa's niece and nephew. They found our cousin Reuben and Clara living in Newark, N.J., not very many miles from where my family lives. To my children, Cousin Clara was very special. We always celebrated holidays together. We went to her house on Thanksgiving. This was when we also celebrate her late November birthday. On Christmas, she would come to our home, loaded with gifts for everyone. She would sit and Smile as Glynis and Matt tore into those packages. She was a faithful worker at church; she sang in the choir and belonged to many of the auxiliaries. Cousin Clara gave her best, financially and spiritually. She passed away in October of 1982.
In Ecciesiastes 3:1 you will read 'There is a time to weep and a time to laugh.' We have enjoyed family get-togethers, weddings and new babies, but we have also shared the loss of loved cnes. I, Gussie Smith, lost my husband, Harry Brookens, father of Glynis and Matthew. Caroline page lost her husband, John R. Williams, father of John and L. Bernard. Mattie Davis lost her husband, Reverend Louis Wannamaker, father of Cynthia, Louis, Jr. and Henry. We also lost several of our cousins: Reuben Paige, Bernard Paige, father of Brenda, Millard Paige and most recently, Mary Anna Davis Gaskins, mother of Kirk, Jr. and Monique.
Our children, the fifth generation, are now grown up. As in my generation, most of our children attended and/or graduated from college and some have even pursued further studies. We, as their parents are very proud of their achievements.
Our children are now married and are star the sixth generation of Smiths. We are as proud of our grandchildren as Mama Rose and Papa were of us. A new group of little cousins will continue in the Smith tradition.
Most of the fourth generation of Smiths have now reached the age of retirement. In keeping with the Smith tradition, we all are engaged in some activity that will help others. If we have done something to help others along the way, then our living has not been in vain.
The Broken Circle
Fourth Generation

Reuben Paige
Bernard Paige
Millard F. Paige
Mary Anna is Gaskins