Family Tree

Ralph Graham married Ora Webber. It must have been in the last decade of the 1800’s or very early 1900’s based on birthdates of their nine children.

Their children, spouses, and children are:

• Ora, married Joe Thompson. Children: Frank and Ann.
• Joe, married Nancy Abbay, married in 1940. Children: Joe, Nancy, William, Irwin, Mildred
• Ralph, married Edith but were later divorced. Children: Ralph, Jr.
• Emma, married George Dillon. Children: Joan, Margaret
• Mary, married Barton Schultz. Children: Bart, Kay, David
• Martha, married Joe Gilley. Children: George, Kyle, Janice, Francis, Martin, Marianne
• Elizabeth, married Stanly Viner. Children: Mary
• Lorena (Nena), married John Hurst in 1946. Children: John, Jr., James (died at birth), Richard, Carol
• Edgar, married Joan. No children.

At this writing, only Uncle Edgar is still alive.

 

Reunion Narrative

Lorena (Nena) and her siblings were very close, especially the sisters. They grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. Their parents died when Nena and Edgar were young. Nena was six. Nena and Edgar went to live with relatives. The other seven children were old enough to take care of themselves or at least with little supervision.

Even as adults, Nena and her siblings stayed in contact. Visits to and fro over holidays and summers were the norm. Nena and her sisters used to have “hen” parties. Sometimes the “roosters” were included and sometimes they were not. They laughed as well as shared bad times.

In the early 1970’s, Nena started talking up the idea of a Graham Reunion. In 1972, the first one was held at Henry Horton State Park in Chapel Hill, TN. Nena and John would fix breakfast for the entire family over an open fire! For many years, Henry Horton State Park (named for a former governor of Tennessee) was the geographic center of the family. One of the early activities was for all the aunts and uncles to line up in the swimming pool, spread their legs, and let the first cousins take turns seeing how many pairs of legs we could swim through. (One year, the reunion was held in Memphis and in recent years has been held at other Middle Tennessee locations, Gatlinburg, and South Carolina.)

Cookouts, a business meeting (to settle up the finances), and a prayer service were mainstays. Nena’s husband, John, led these services for many years. The flea market activity was established. Nena and her sisters loved to play canasta and each were good. Sometimes they would play with multiple decks of cards at the same time! But activities were not the main thing. Being with and getting to know family was the primary goal. As a result, the first cousins are close to this day. The reunions were the highlight of the summer.

 

written by John Hurst