Just yesterday we were throwing our hands up in the air ready to quit and then today Jim remembered we were housing several tubs of his mother's things in his shop. After a quick sling fest, we found six letters from two different women. The writers were Berlie, and Annie. Immediately, Jim knew Annie was the half sister, and Berlie was the sister-in-law. He recalled Allie Mae telling his mother she had a sister in Michigan and two brothers in Chattanooga.
Are you confused yet? Keep in my mind Allie Mae Machen Nowlin told Stella they shared the same father but not the same mother. The above mentioned sister and brothers were Goins, the children by her mother. Both my husband and I feel strongly after reviewing the census information and snippets he recalled as a child, Stella's mother was Fanny Goins. Well, one of the letters we found today supported our theory.
In a 1971 letter from Berlie, the sister-in-law, it was stated Fannie was Stella's mother. Berlie's source was someone named Bruce. We haven't confirmed the names of the Goins brothers, but assumed Bruce was Berlie's husband. To add to the confusion, in one letter Berlie made reference to Bruce going to school as if he was a son. We hope there were two Bruces-the father and the son.
On the 1920 census William, Paul, Nellie A. and Bee M. were listed as the children of Fannie Goins. We have requested a copy of Berlie's obituary. Hopefully, it will shed light on which Goin brother Berlie married as well as the names of their children.
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