I was watching Barack Obama deliver his speech for re-election at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, and found myself randomly looking at various information about his family and genealogy. I noticed an article in a 2008 Duvall family newsletter that described President Obama’s ancestor Mareen Duvall; this caught my eye as I remember Mareen Duvall in … Read more
1931-2007 Alice and I, twins of course, were born in Winding Gulf, West Virginia on September 1, 1931. I’ve written about Alice in other pieces, and will take this space to tell you a little about her adult years. But before that, this: We were what you’d expect from twins: played together, walked to school … Read more
1927-2002 David was born in 1927, his parents, Willis and Audrey, up against it in the oncoming Great Depression. I don’t know much about David’s early years except his brief recounts to me of those times. His earliest years were neither happy nor otherwise; he was a child of the down times. I have no … Read more
“Dad”, “Grandaddy”, “Big Bear” – 1906-1983 Willis was born at Kanawha Falls, West Virginia, a small town on the Kanawha River about 50 miles east of Charleston. He grew up in Alderson, West Virginia, another small town — with an estimated population of about 1,500 at that time — in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, on … Read more
“Nanny Farley” – 1884-1955 Lelia Farley (my paternal grandmother) was born in 1884 and died in 1945. Although I spent a lot of days and years with her close by, we were never close — that is, we never shared ideas or personal thoughts. While she was always a little aloof, and had a limited … Read more