Thomas Willis Farley was born in Buckingham County, Virginia in 1841. Having three older sisters, he was the first son and youngest child when he lost his mother around six months of age. His father remarried and two more children were born to the family. He is my 2nd great grandfather.
Story
Death of Lowell Sedgwick Brown
Lowell Sedgwick Brown was born 29 October 1896 in Morris County, New Jersey. His sister, Mazie Tremaine Brown Bryan, was my husband’s great-grandmother. I have not heard any family stories about Lowell, so what is pieced together here is only from government and personal documents. He died in the Second Battle of the Marne in France on 18 July 1918. He lived a short 21 ½ years.
Potato Soup
I actually know nothing about the history this recipe, but I can tell you that it is fabulous. My mother-in-law, Geraldine Parker Jones Bryan, has been making this soup forever. She’ll make it in batches, and freeze it in old sherbet containers. Even the slightest case of sniffles is almost welcome as it can result in one or two of those beloved containers (that have a strip of masking tape on top with the words “Pot Soup”) dispensed with lots of love.
Pasty
Although this recipe originates with Mazie Tremaine Brown Bryan (and her grandmother, Eliza Toy Prisque, who was born in England in 1827 and emigrated to the U. S. around 1865), it’s famous in the Bryan clan because of Mazie’s daughter-in-law, Geraldine Parker Jones. The story below was written by one of Geraldine’s grandchildren for a school project several years back and does a nice job to set the stage for this fabulous meal.