Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Extreme Weather or Natural Disaster Experiences

 From Randy (my cousin) over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  Did extreme weather or a natural disaster ever affect you or your ancestor(s)? In what way(s)? How did you find this out? Describe one or more of the extreme weather experiences in your own life or in your ancestors' lives.

2) Please share!

(Thank you to Marian B. Wood for this SNGF idea.)

Here's mine:

Living in Georgia and North Carolina most of my life, I have always just been hurricane-adjacent.  The hurricanes would hit but I lived too far away from the coast to get more than rain from them. 

We have tornados in Georgia, but I have been fortunate to never have one come through my home.

My mother grew up in California and while she remembers they had earthquakes, none of them were severe enough to cause damage.  

I have heard no stories from any of our family lines about a weather event or natural disaster anyone lived through.  

However, just a couple of years ago, Mom and I lived through something neither one of had every experienced or ever thought would happen.  Something I never want to experience again.  A hurricane came through Augusta.  We are 2.5-3 hours from the coast (130-165 miles approximately). However Hurricane Helene in September 2024 came right over us and continued up to Cherokee, Lake Lure, and other mountainous areas of North Carolina which are over 250-300 miles from the coast.  

I had literally just moved here 2.5 days before Helene hit.  In August 2024, I quit my job and made the decision to move back to Georgia to take care of my mom.  She had been through cancer treatment, a cat bite that almost cost her her legs, and just needed someone here to help.  I packed up my house, gave away or sold as much as I could, paid a moving company an obscene amount of money to move what was left here, and drove down the night of Tuesday, September 24.  I arrived about 11 pm and went straight to bed.  Wednesday was beautiful and full of sunshine.  Weather reports nor the news seemed concerned about this hurricane that was stirring.  It was in the Gulf.  So Mom and I were not even thinking about the weather.  We ran around that day, and I didn't even think about filling my car with gas.  

We woke Thursday morning, and it was pouring rain.  No biggie... we frequently get rain from the outer bands of hurricanes.  Except this was the day my movers chose to deliver my belongings.  Because of the rain, they were rushing to get done, so they threw my belongings in this house any old way.  It was a mess.  Boxes stacked 3-4 high in the living room.  Cubes that I use in my scrapbook room were stacked in the office upside down and to the ceiling.  Several things were broken.  Money went missing from our purses... In other words, my mind was on other things rather than a hurricane.

I am sure mom and I went to bed that night utterly exhausted.  I am a heavy sleeper, but the wind woke me Friday morning, September 27, about 4-5 a.m.  It was the strongest wind I had ever heard.  Trees were swaying and creaking, the power went out, and we were praying. 

I don't recall what time it was over, but the hellish aftermath was just beginning.  The next few days are mostly a blur of no power, no water, almost unbearable heat, and realizing how fragile we humans are without the basic necessities of life.  We couldn't get out of the neighborhood for a day or two; trees were down everywhere.  We were fortunate in that we had some large limbs down in our backyard, but nothing hit the house and nothing was damaged. A house across the street from us had a tree fall right through the house.  (They ended up tearing that house down and are just now in the midst of building another.) We tried to drive somewhere every day because that was the only way we could charge our phones.  Driving anywhere was an adventure in itself as you had to detour around trees everywhere.  Roads were blocked, and you would have to figure out another way to go. After the first day of driving, I had to park my car because I had not filled up after driving down from North Carolina, and gas stations were impossible the first couple of weeks after the storm.  Long lines, people fighting; it was nuts.  (Luckily, Mom had filled her car up before I arrived.) Stores were closed.  Convenience stores were not always open their usual hours.  The thing I remember being most difficult was getting ice.  It was sold out most everywhere.

Nights were the worst.  (Aren't they always?!)  We had no power so we would literally have to go to bed at dark.  It was so hot in the house which made it almost impossible to sleep. We couldn't open windows because the former owner had them painted shut. We couldn't open doors because of the cats.  We just had to deal with it.  

The one bright spot in all of the chaos was a friend of my mom's who cleaned out her freezer or take whatever her neighbors and friends brought from theirs, and cook for everyone.  She did that for several nights that first week.  I don't recall how she was able to do it powerwise, but she made it happen.  We would get hot food at least on those evenings.  Sallie is still a blessing in our lives.  

We were out of power for 5 or 6 days.  It came back on once just to go back out again for another day or so.  That was hard to take.  

However, we were blessed.  We had it so much better than a lot of people.  Many people in the area lost their homes or their cars from falling trees. Some people were without power a lot longer than we were. 

Eventually, roads got cleared and we could ride around and see how widespread the destruction was.  There are roads that don't even look the same anymore because so many trees were lost.  It literally changed the landscape of Augusta and the surrounding area.  

Things slowly got back to normal.  Life went on.  Now we have a story to tell.  

Oh, and I tell folks that's how Georgia welcomed me back home.  

Tombstone Tuesday

 

James Rufus Wheeler Sr
1919-2008

along with his wife

Nellie Mae Shaw Wheeler
1920-2012

West View Cemetery
Augusta, Georgia

Sunday's Obituary

Randel Gorden Wheeler

July 3, 1956-January 17, 2026

Kite, GA

Kite, GA- Randel Gorden Wheeler, 69, entered into rest January 17, 2026.

Randel was the son of the late Dudley and Sara “Liz” Wheeler and graduated from Butler High School. He enjoyed all types of racing from dirt track, drag racing, and NASCAR. He was an accomplished bowler who had over two 300 games and competed in leagues for many years. He also enjoyed hunting and fishing but most of all he loved his family.

Family members include his children: Tracy Stubblefield and Randy Wheeler (April); grandchildren: Macie Barela (Paul), Shawn Ford, Wyatt Wheeler, Ellie Kate Wheeler, and Gordon Wheeler; brother: Ronnie Wheeler (Wanda); longtime partner and friend: Maye Lowers; and numerous extended family members.

The family will receive friends on Monday, February 2, 2026 from 5:00 until 7:00 P.M. at Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at www.thomaspoteet.com.  Obituary courtesy of Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, www.thomaspoteet.com/obituaries/randel-wheeler

    Nowadays, a LOT of the obituaries I find in my research are online from the funeral homes' sites, especially recent obituaries.  I always check Newspapers.com (a paid site that I have a subscription to) first, but if the obituary is from the last, I don't know, 10 years or so OR it's in a newspaper that is not on Newspapers.com, like the Augusta newspaper, I will not find it.  

    That's when I do a general Google search with the person's name, indicate it's an obituary I am looking for, the year and the state when and where the person died. Most of the time, if nothing else comes up in my results, Legacy.com will.  

    I also have an automatic Google search that goes out and searches for the Tapley and other family names daily and sends me the results.  I am signed up with several funeral homes to receive obituaries every day.  So it is rare that an obituary gets by me.  Oh, it happens, but I catch most of them.  

    I do not recall how I found out about Randy Wheeler passing away.  I did not know Randy, but he was my cousin, and when I found they were having a visitation here in Augusta, I decided to attend.  That's actually a bold move for me.  I don't usually "crash" funerals or visitations, but something told me this was the time.  I enlisted my cousin, Keith, to go with me.  He is always up for meeting people.

    And... it turned out to be a great experience.  We met Randy's son and his wife, his daughter, his grandson, and his brother and sister-in-law.  They were all so gracious and seemed genuinely glad we came.  As soon as we said we were family, we were welcomed.  I am grateful for that reaction and so glad we decided to go.  

    The lesson for me that I have to keep re-learning?  Push myself out of my comfort zone and good things can happen.

Tombstone Tuesday

 

Teresa Marie Price Lynn

b 24 Dec 1929 in Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia, USA

d 15 Jan 1999 in Pembroke Pines, Broward, Florida, USA

laid to rest at

Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery

Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, USA

buried beside Teresa is her husband,

 Marion Eleatus Lynn
b 26 Sep 1924 in Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, USA
d 20 Nov 1989 in Richmond County, Georgia, USA

Teresa is my 5th cousin, 3x removed.  

Our common ancestors are

John Moore and Sarah Norris.

Tombstone Tuesday - Hidden in Plain Site

 

Etta Fleming Hubbard

b. 06 Aug 1890 in Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, USA
d. 19 Oct 1979 in Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA

laid to rest at
Summerville Cemetery
Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, USA

    Etta was married to my 3rd cousin 3x removed, Ralph Hustace Hubbard.  Our common ancestors are Thomas Hubbard II and Sarah Boardman.  These are lines you don't see me writing about often, since these are my Northern (Yankee) ancestors, and I do not know as much about them.  What is ironic is that Ralph was raised in Manhattan, New York and Etta was from right here in Augusta.  I do not know how they met, but Etta lived in the Northeast most of her adult life.  It appears that when she passed, she wanted to come home to Georgia.

        

     Summerville Cemetery is not far from where I now live.  It is a lovely, old cemetery, with lots of ornate headstones and the graves of several famous Georgians.  Cousin Keith and I went there last week, and Etta's was the only grave I was in search of there. We probably walked past her headstone a hundred times, but didn't see it.  It was only after we left for a bit, did some research on our phones, found out she was on the same headstone with her parents, and saw a picture of it that we went back, determined not to leave until we found it.  It still took us awhile.  There is no large Fleming Grave marker.  There is not even a small one.  Just this headstone with the words hard to read.  But find it we did!  

Thriller Thursday

    Slydell Kitchens (1923-1953) was 30 years old and seemingly living the American dream.  He had been married for 3-4 years, he had a roof over his head (probably a rental house), and he was working as a crane operator.  However, life can turn on a dime, and unfortunately, that is what happened to Slydell late one night in 1953 in Augusta.

    It was late at night/early in the morning when Slydell was driving on Lumpkin Road near Highway 25 (Peach Orchard Road) here in Augusta. We don't know where he was coming from that late, maybe it was his job, maybe not. For whatever reason (it was a different time in 1953), Slydell stopped two men he saw walking on Lumpkin Road and asked them for a match.  In turned, they asked for a ride.  Slydell obliged. After he had driven a short distance, the two men began beating Slydell, and then left him along the highway after taking his clothes and automobile.  

    Not sure how long Slydell lay bleeding on the side of the road, but he was able to flag down a passing car. A man and a women picked him up and took him home.  

    A neighbor called the sheriff's office at 4:25 am on this Friday morning, September 18, 1953.  Deputies and a criminal investigator arrived, finding Slydell badly beaten.  He told them the story, but they were dubious because Slydell's condition prevented him from being coherent.  

    Deputies did finally take him to University Hospital.  I don't know if it was before, during the trip, or after he arrived at the hospital, but Slydell lapsed into a coma and was unable to answer any more questions.

    Now, I will be the first to admit that I was dubious of Slydell's story at first.  Here's why:

    - Why stop and ask strangers for matches in the middle of the night?

    - Where was Slydell coming from when this happened? Was it somewhere he didn't want his wife or anyone to know?

    - Why would the assailants steal his clothes and leave him naked?  It was determined that the motive for the crime was robbery.  Slydell did have some money on him, plus they took the car, but why strip him?

    - Why would two strangers stop in the middle of the night and pick up a bleeding, naked man?

    - Why did it take so long for anyone to contact law enforcement... and why did it end up being a neighbor who made the call?

    The criminal investigator did put out a plea for the people who picked Slydell up that night to contact him or come down to the sheriff's office to answer questions.  

    While Slydell was fighting for his life, the investigators had very little to go on to find the men who beat him. Then on Wednesday afternoon (September 23rd) at 3:50 p.m., Slydell died from internal injuries.

    Disclaimer regarding the following news articles.  I do not personally condone the description of the hitch-hikers.  Just consider the time (early 1950's) and the place (the South). 

Transcription by Claude:

Man, 30, dies of beating inflicted by hitch-hikers

A 30-year-old man who had been severely beaten early Friday morning, died yesterday at University hospital, and county deputies last night were probing every possible clue in an attempt to find his assailants.  

Slydell Kitchens, 30, of 2400 Danville street, died at 3:50 p.m., apparently from internal injuries, hospital authorities said. An autopsy will be held to determine the exact cause of death.

Chief Criminal Investigator C. M. Pond said he has been able to obtain little information to help solve the case.

He said Deputies Johnny Wilkinson and W. E. Simmons answered a call at 4:25 a. m. Friday to Kitchens’ home where they found him badly beaten.

They quoted Kitchens as saying he stopped two Negro men walking on Lumpkin road near Highway 25 and asked them for a match. In turn, they asked for a ride. After he had driven a short distance, Kitchens told the officers, the two men began beating him, and then left him along the highway after taking his pants, shorts and automobile.

The officers quoted Kitchens as saying he hailed a passing car and was picked up by an unidentified white man and woman, who drove him to his home.

(Deputy Pond said that if either of these two persons read this story to contact him at the sheriff’s office.)

Deputies called to Kitchens' home by a neighbor took the injured man to University Hospital, where they were joined by Deputies Pond and Jesse Redd and City Detective B. J. Cheek.

Officers said Kitchens lapsed into a coma and was unable, thereafter, to give a coherent statement.

Kitchens' automobile was found abandoned Sunday at Taylor and Eighth streets.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Myra Mae Kitchens; mother, Mrs. Janie Williams of Augusta; three brothers, Hoyt Kitchens of Gibson, Ga., Wesley Kitchens of Washington, D.C., and Harris Kitchens of Gibson; four sisters, Mrs. Asa McCoy of Gibson, Mrs. W. S. Williams of Winter Haven, Fla., Mrs. D. H. Hardin of Augusta and Mrs. Cleo Chalker of Augusta. 

He was born in Gibson and was employed as a crane operator at the time of his death.

Funeral services will be announced later by Elliott Sons.

Handwritten by a librarian at the Augusta Library who printed this for me: “Augusta Chronicle, Thursday, September 24, 1953, Page C7.”

    Then lo and behold, three days after Slydell passed away, the woman from the mystery couple came forward and visited the sheriff's office.  She told Investigator Pond that she and a man were the ones "who found the bloody and nude victim on Lumpkin road and gave him a ride home."  She wished to remain unidentified, but her story confirmed what Slydell had told the deputies.  

    Deputy Pond said the sheriff's office was still a long way from identifying the attackers.  However, the woman's story established that Slydell had received the beating on Lumpkin road, and that the rest of his story was probably true. 

Augusta Chronicle, Augusta, Georgia - September 26, 1953, page 2 via NewsBank

Transcription by Claude:

"Murder case clue

Woman admits aiding hitch-hikers' victim

The voluntary appearance of a woman in the sheriff's office has lent impetus to the investigation into the fatal beating of an Augusta man by two hitch-hikers last week.

Slydell Kitchens, 30, of 2406 Danville street, died Wednesday at University hospital from injuries inflicted the previous Friday morning on Lumpkin road.

A woman, who wished to remain unidentified, came to the sheriff's office and told Chief Criminal Investigator C. M. Pond she and a man were the ones who found the bloody and nude victim on Lumpkin road and gave him a ride home after he had been beaten and robbed by two Negroes.

Confirmation

Her story confirmed that of Kitchens, who told county deputies before he died he had been beaten and robbed of his clothing and automobile, and that two unidentified persons had given him a lift home.

Kitchens' car was found later abandoned at Taylor and Eighth streets.

The woman said she had worried about the man since they left him at his home but didn't know what to do until she read a story in Thursday's Chronicle about Kitchens' death. The story also contained a plea by Deputy Pond, requesting the persons who helped Kitchens to contact him at the sheriff's office.

Solution uncertain

This established the fact that Kitchens received the beating on Lumpkin road, and that the rest of his story was probably true, Deputy Pond said. Previously, the officers said they were dubious of some of the things he said because his condition prevented all he told to be coherent.

Deputy Pond said they are still far from establishing the identity of Kitchens' assailants, but the motive has now been fixed as robbery. Kitchens had some money on the night of the robbery, but it has not been determined how much."

    Three days after Slydell's death, an article was printed in the local paper entitled "Three inquests held by coroner's jury..." One of the inquests was about Slydell and the article states, "Continued investigation by the sheriff's department was recommended in the death of Slydell Kitchens, who was beaten and fatally injured by unknown parties on Lumpkin road."   - Augusta Chronicle, 29 Sept 1953, p. 3

    Of course, that is all the information I could locate about this case.  I personally doubt they ever found the people involved. I also believe there is more to the story. One great big mystery never to be solved. 

"Funeral notices

KITCHENS – Died September 23, 1953, at 3:50 p.m., Mr. Slydell Kitchens, husband of Mrs. Myra Mae Tapley Kitchens. Funeral services will be conducted at Bethel Methodist Church, Stapleton, Ga., this (Friday) afternoon at 3 o'clock, the Rev. J. W. Brinkley officiating. Funeral cortege will leave the funeral home at 2 o'clock. Interment, churchyard cemetery. Elliott Sons." - Transcription by ChatGPT

Slydell was married to my 2nd cousin, Myra Mae Tapley.  Our common ancestors are James Madison "Jim" Tapley and Elizabeth Rebecca "Becky" Page Tapley.

Tombstone Tuesday

 

Flossie L Edwards Price

b 11 Aug 1909 in Richmond County, Georgia, USA

d 31 Dec 1976 in Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, USA

laid to rest at

Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery

Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, USA

    Flossie was the wife of my half 2nd cousin, 1x removed, James Irvin Price Sr.  Our common ancestor is Lincelia E 'Celia' Claxton Price Schwalls.

    

    Funny story of how I found Flossie's headstone. The other day, my cousin, Keith, and I went out to the cemetery. I had a list of graves I wanted pictures of, and Keith was basically keeping me company and looking for graves or other items of interest to him. Hillcrest is not the easiest cemetery in which to locate a grave. It is divided into sections; for example, Flossie's grave is located in Peace (D). I have a map so the section themselves are not hard to find. However there are NO lot or space numbers marked. So you literally have to walk the entire section to find the grave site(s) you are looking for. Even with Keith's help, it sometimes took a long time and a lot of crisscrossing the section to find.

    So Flossie was the only grave site in this section that I was trying to find. We walked up and down and across with no luck. Keith finally found a group of Prices, but Flossie was not among them. So we walked some more. Finally we met up, and I said let's just go to the next section. I'll just come back another day and get assistance from the office to locate it. So I turned to my left to head to the next section, instinctively looked down to make sure I wouldn't step on a headstone, and there was Flossie. Not six inches from my foot. To me, it was like she wanted me to find her!

    You'll be seeing more tombstones from our visit to Hillcrest in the coming weeks. Here's the map of the cemetery (forgive the bad photo - my printer would not scan the image no matter what I tried!):

Thriller Thursday - A Spectacular Truck-Train Collision in Augusta

   On Friday morning, February 19, 1958, at about 7:45 a.m., Penton Wilson Allen, Sr., a truck driver from Savannah, was driving through Augusta.  Penton was driving a giant tractor-trailer gasoline truck. He came up to the railroad tracks on Tobacco Road - directly in front of the entrance to the airport.  He kept driving - apparently at a high rate of speed - and hit the second locomotive of a Central of Georgia Railroad freight train. Penton's truck immediately burst into flame. Penton was pinned in the cab of the truck and was unable to escape.  He was burned to death at the scene.  

   On the morning of the accident, it was a record 16 degrees in Augusta. This was part of a cold spell that had brought 10 degrees and 12 degrees the previous two mornings.  Witnesses stated that Penton had his windows rolled up probably due to the cold.  So even though the engineer on the train sounded the locomotive's warning bell and had given the standard whistle signal, Penton evidently heard none of it. (This train crossing had stop signs, but no flashing lights or bells.)

  Penton hit the second locomotive on the train, which was unmanned.  This locomotive and 13 cars behind it were derailed. Flames from the burning oil truck ignited at lease seven of the train cars which had jackknifed and turned over. 

  Several fire departments responded and fought the blaze, but their efforts were hampered by lack of water supply.

  There were no fatalities and only one injury on the train. 

  It took hours to put out the fire, and a Central of Georgia Railroad wrecking crew had to work through the night clearing the scene. One of the train cars, containing a load of plywood, was still smoldering more than 12 hours after the accident.  So the scene also had to be monitored for any additional fires that might develop. The railroad said they hoped to have the train track back in service by noon the day after the accident. 

  Tobacco Road, the main artery out of the airport, was not cleared for automobile traffic until nearly 8 p.m. - 12 hours after the accident occurred.  

  Penton's body was identified by his employers at Walker Hauling Company of Savannah and then sent to Swainsboro for burial.  He was 38 years old and left behind his wife and four children.

Published in the
Augusta Chronicle
Augusta, Georgia
February 20, 1958, page 22
courtesy of Newspapers.com

"Driver dies in collision

Crew works through night to clear wreckage of train

A Central of Georgia Railroad wrecking crew worked through the night last night clearing the wreckage of a spectacular truck-train collision near the Municipal Airport here. Officials at the scene said they hoped to have the single-track mainline from Macon back in service by noon today.

The driver of a giant tractor-trailer gasoline truck was pinned in the cab of the vehicle and burned to death after he drove, apparently at high speed, into the second locomotive of the freight train at a Tobacco Road crossing directly in front of the entrance of the airport.

Sheriff’s deputies Ervin Clack Jr. and J. E. Pearson identified the truck driver as Penton W. Allen, 37, of 1117 E. Anderson St., Savannah. Allen was the first traffic fatality in Richmond County for 1958.

The deputies said Allen’s truck struck Central of Georgia freight No. 47 at about 7:45 a.m. yesterday and immediately burst into flames. The unmanned second locomotive of the train and 13 cars behind it were derailed. Flames from the burning oil truck ignited at least seven of the cars, which had jackknifed and turned over.

Fire apparatus from the Suburban Fire Dept., the Richmond County Forestry unit, Ft. Gordon, and the Georgia Training School at Gracewood rushed to the scene and fought the blaze, but were greatly hampered by lack of water supply.

One car, containing a load of plywood, was still smoldering more than 12 hours after the accident, and Forest Ranger T. M. Strickland said he would stand by with a crew throughout the night to help put down any additional fires that might develop.

Central of Georgia officials said last night it would be impossible to make a reasonable estimate of damage for several days. However, they said an early estimate of $500,000 was "way out of line."

"Damage won’t amount to nearly that much," one official declared.

Tobacco Road, the main artery out of the airport, was not cleared for automobile traffic until nearly 8 p.m.

The deputies said Allen apparently was using a detour to New Savannah Road at the time of the accident. The rail crossing is unprotected by flashing lights or bells, but the train’s engineer, Carl C. Coleman of Rocky Ford, Ga., said he was sounding the locomotive’s warning bell and had given the standard whistle signal as he approached the crossing.

Observers said Allen had the windows to the big truck’s cab closed against the cold weather and probably had not heard the whistle until too late. The crossing is equipped with "stop" signs, required by Georgia law.

G. C. Williams, conductor of the train, suffered a laceration of the head when he was thrown against the door of a caboose by the impact of the crash. None of the others in the train crew was hurt.

Allen’s charred body was identified by officials of the Walker Hauling Co. of Savannah, by whom he was employed. Elliott’s Sons said his body would be sent home to Swainsboro, where he was to be buried.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Lois Lively Allen of Savannah; two daughters, Miss Ann Allen of Swainsboro and Miss Sherry Allen of Savannah; two sons, Peyton W. Allen and John Allen, both of Swainsboro; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Allen; a brother, Edward Allen and a sister, Mrs. J. W. Bishop, all of Swainsboro." Transcription by ChatGPT.

  

  Penton Wilson Allen, Sr. (1920-1958) was the husband of my 2nd cousin, Lois Louise Lively Allen (1924-2006). Our common ancestors are James Madison "Jim" Tapley and Elizabeth Rebecca "Becky" Page Tapley.

Friday's Faces from the Past - Who is this little girl?

 These photos were in some items I "inherited" from my Grandmother Nealie Drake Tapley (1895-1970). I have had these photos for years, have shared them here before, and asked some family members, but no one seems to be able to identify this cute little girl.  (The first photo might be a different person; I'm not sure.) I would guess it would be one of Grandma Nealie's grandchildren, but there are so many to choose from.  Could it be Mary Ann Tapley (1941-) or Betty Jean Weaver (1946-2015)?? Or someone else entirely???

If locations could help, Mary Ann was born in Sandersville, Georgia and has lived in Florida most of her life.  Betty Jean was born and raised in Macon.  Grandma lived in Kite and Augusta, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida, but she also stayed in Macon, Georgia at her daughter's, Irene Tapley Weaver Thomas (1925-2004) often.  Irene was Betty Jean's mother.  

I will keep sharing in the hope that this time will be the time someone will say, "Hey, wait a minute.  That's ___________  ________________!"  This genealogist lives on hope!