Mississippi, Texas, California

Henry Lawson and Emma GOINGS, 
ca. 1897, San Antonio, Texas

1875 · Mississippi

(Henry) Lawson GOINGS was born circa 1875, somewhere in Mississippi to unknown parents. I have not been able to find him in the 1880 census. Although Henry was his given name, he seems to have preferred using Lawson or H. Lawson.

H. Lawson GOINGS is listed in the San Antonio city directory for the years 1896-97, 1900 and 1901-1902. He was employed as a driver at the George C. Saur throughout most of that time.

On July 11, 1896, he married my great-grandmother Emma KING (b. 1872, Miss.) in San Antonio, Texas. They had two children:

Jennie and Raymond GOINGS, 
ca. 1900, San Antonio, Texas

Jennie (Geneva) GOINGS b. June 30, 1897; m. Clayborne Cooksey, 1918; m. Columbus MORRIS, 1926; d. 1983

Raymond GOINGS b. November 13, 1899, San Antonio, Texas; m. Vestula LEWIS, Los Angeles, CA 

This is how the GOINGS family looked in the 1900 Census:

Federal Census, June 7^th 1900, 339 Virginia St., San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

The family appears to be fairly comfortable: Lawson owned his home, and his wife did not work outside the home.

According to the death certificate I obtained from the Bexar County department of health, Lawson GOINGS died of tuberculosis on March 24, 1901. He was buried in city cemetery #2, San Antonio, Texas.

Shortly after his death Emma moved her family to California where she had relatives: her  sister Jennie (KING) McGEE, and also I believe her cousins, the BRIGHTs.

Jennie (KING) McGEE and Emma (KING, GOINGS) SAMPLE 
 1920's, Los Angeles

Emma worked at various occupations. She and Jennie ran a restaurant in Long Beach for awhile.  By 1920, according to the census, she was retired and living in Glendale with her sister Jennie.

Long Beach, California 1909

My grandmother attended elementary school in Long Beach, but had to leave school to work when she was 16, something she always regretted. By 1916, she had changed her name to Geneva J. GOINGS. According to the city directory, she, her mother Emma, her brother Raymond and her widowed Aunt Jennie McGEE are all living at 1163 W. 11^th Street in Los Angeles. In 1917 her occupation is listed as domestic, in 1918 she is a seamstress. By December 1918 the family was definitely living in Glendale at 610 W. Vine, which is the address shown on her marriage application. On December 30, 1918 she married Clayborne D. Cooksey (b. September 5, 1899, Dallas, TX - d. February 16, 1983, CA). Her occupation was listed as waitress, so she may have still been working at the Long Beach restaurant. Geneva and Clayborne had one child:

Carol COOKSEY; m. Comma Lee McNEAL

Unfortunately, Geneva and Clayborne's marriage did not work out and they were divorced in 1923.

Geneva L. , Geneva J. MORRIS,
and Carol G. COOKSEY: "summer, 1945"

On November 24, 1926 in Los Angeles, under the name Geneva J. COOKSEY, my grandmother married my grandfather, Columbus Franklin MORRIS. They had two children:

Mignon Emma MORRIS (b. August 22, 1927 - d. March 27, 1932 in Los Angeles, California)

Geneva L. MORRIS m. Charles H. WADE

After their marriage my grandparents lived in the "courts" on Ascot St. that had been built by Emma and Jennie in the early 20's. They later moved to Monrovia to a large two-story house on a quarter acre of land - room for my grandfather's chickens and my grandmother's roses. In the mid-1960's they moved again, to Altadena where they had a house with a huge yard with more than 10 fruit trees to be closer to their daughter and her family. My memories of my grandmother are that she was always busy. She took classes in upholstering and refinishing furniture, put up preserves, collected antiques and kept a huge garden of flowers and vegetables.  Grandmother died in 1983.