So many to thank! This compilation of information is a shared project which includes the efforts of many relatives. Beginning with my Momma, Mary Frances Parsons-Mayo, and my Grandmother, Pearl Margaret Van Horn, who was married to John Napoleon Parsons; they started the love of genealogy and family history in my heart.
Then that shot-in-the-dark telephone call to Falmouth, Kentucky, and finding a long-lost cousin, Anna Elizabeth Parsons-Klaber. Next came a trip to those beautiful knobs of Kentucky, and having time to spend with Elizabeth and her sister, Clara Virginia "Jenny" Parsons-Rawlings. They shared history, photographs, tidbits and tall tales! What a blessing!
A cousin in Texas, LaVerne Parsons-Remmert, shares and continues to share. Thank you, LaVerne! Roy and Darlene Parsons in Georgia, and Mamie Parsons-Hatley (now living with Jesus) have been so helpful! Carol Rawlings has been a pivotal factor in not only sharing her extensive research but also in helping me to correct some major errors.
So with my deepest thanks and gratitude, I happily present to you:
THE PARSONS FAMILY, true mountain people from the beginning of their new lives in a new country -- America. No matter how far they migrated or what the size of the cities they found themselves in, the mountains were never far from their hearts.
The PARSONS settled in the Colony of Virginia . . . mostly around Lee County. There they established themselves as citizens with a loyalty to country and a heart for family. There are still Parsons in that area today who are direct descendants of those first brave family members who crossed the ocean from England to begin a new life in a new world.
During the 1780s, conflict in the new colonies of America brought rise to dissatisfaction within the area of Virginia where the Parsons dwelt. Consequently, they were involved in the move to form a new state of the Union, called "Franklin" (or "Frankland"). Some of our early Parsons ancestors were born in Franklin. John Napoleon Parsons, my maternal grandfather, used to say: "My ancestors were born in a state that doesn't exist!" In case you are not familiar with this bit of history, we have posted a brief summary of what happened in our country during that era.
The Willis Parsons family migrated into the Eastern part of Kentucky through the Cumberland Gap sometime before 1870. There they established their home is what was then Rockcastle County and is now Lincoln County. Crab Orchard was the village closest to their farm. There is where my Grandfather and all of his siblings were born.
From Kentucky, at an early age, John Napoleon Parsons decided to take his dreams to Texas and he arrived in the Lone Star State in about 1910. And the Texas Parsons Family Tree Branch began!
And now we are everywhere! We live in hills and hollers. We make our homes in the plains and deserts. We inhabit the largest cities, the tiniest towns and the peaceful countryside. But one thing is certain: we are PARSONS . . . through and through!
* * * A QMS Deezyne * * *