Friday Faces from the Past

The Alabama Folks

The Alabama folks were kinfolks who came to Louisiana in the summers when I was growing up in West Carroll Parish. The matriarch of those kinfolks was a great aunt, Dolly (Lee) Edwards. Aunt Dollie and her children were related to me on my paternal Lee line, They came to West Carroll Parish, Louisiana in the early 1940 to 1950s for their annual visit. You are most likely wondering who those Alabama folks were?  Why are they referred to as the Alabama folks? Who are the Alabama folks? 

Alice Lee "Granny Eley" had an older sister named Dollie Ophelia. Aunt Dolly and her family lived in Alabama, and in the summer they came for a visit. The Alabama folks stayed with Aunt Leakie Lee while they were in West Carroll Parish. Aunt Leakie was the widow of Robert E. Lee, brother of Alice and Dollie. He was the younger brother; the older brother James William (Washington) died Jun 27, 1929. My family, aunts and cousins referred to them as the Alabama folks, so I call them the Alabama folks also. It was a tradition and all the aunts, uncles, and cousins new who they were. 

While the Alabama family was in West Carroll Parish the Lee family and cousins gathered for a large family reunion.  There were usually stories shared by the adults; however, we children were not allowed to sit around where the adults were but we usually could eavesdrop and listen to the conversations. This event took place in rural West Carroll Parish on the Lee Farm. All of us children were good at sneaking around so the adults wouldn't see us. And that was a fun pass time, and very entertaining. 

Aunt Dollie and Uncle Johnny had three daughters, Maggie Mae, Retha Cleby "Rethie," Dolly Odessa. and  sons, Tillman, Marvin Alfred Perry, Leman (died at birth),  Leonard, Lawrence, John Emery, and Truman. Patrica, Odessa's daughter was my age, so you can imagine how happy I was to see my cousin Patricia. 

Aunt Dollie Ophelia (Lee) Edwards died in Sylacauga, Talladega County, Alabama 9 Dec 1970. Maggie died in Harpersville 18 Sep 1995, Rethie died 18 Feb 1998 in Harpersville, and Odessa died 30 Nov 2000 in Sylacauga, Alabama.

The memories of the Alabama folks' visits to West Carroll Parish, Louisiana will live on for  years to come. Those were fun times. 

The two cars in the background are unidentified at this time. But I am working to identify the owners of the cars, the models, and the year of the cars. This is a detail in the photo that I would like very much to know. 

Aunt Dolly 2nd from left, and her daughters,
Maggie, Odessa, and Rethie