Wordless Wednesday: Betty Jewel Lane

My Mom
Betty Jewel Lane Lee, daughter of William Bowman Lane & Martha A. Pierce Lane
c. 1943

Family Recipe Friday: "Dang" Good Pie by Mildred Lane Partin

My Papaw, William B. Lane, & his daughter-in-law,
Mildred Wagner Lane Partin
1954

Can't wait to try my Aunt Mildred's "Dang" Good Pie.  Thanks for sharing your mom's recipe with me, Phil!

Recipe from Mildred W. Lane Partin

(click on recipe to enlarge)

Edith Naoma Lane

Edith Naoma Lane

This is my favorite photo of my Aunt Edie. I love the huge smile on her face! Number 3 of William and Martha Pierce Lane's children, Edith Naoma was born on March 24, 1908, in Clairfield, Tennessee. By the time she was two, she and the family were living in nearby Anthras. Papaw was working in the coal mines, and Granny was taking care of three young children.

In 1925, when Edith was only 16 or 17 years old, she eloped with Clarence D. Mayes who was ten years her senior.  They remained in Claiborne County, Tennessee, where both of their families lived.  Clarence worked as a coal miner and Edith was a housewife.  All this information is verified in the 1930 United States Federal Census.  What I can't verify are the elopement stories told my mom, Betty, and my aunt, Ruth, Edith's younger sisters.  My grandmother would have been pregnant with my mom, and Aunt Ruth would have been only eight years old when Edith and Clarence eloped.  Both, however, often told stories about the night Edith snuck out of the house and met Clarence, and of how the two of them ran off through the fields, climbing over fences and rocks while my papaw yelled after them to stop.

Edith Lane with her second husband, Earl

Sisters Ruth and Edith Lane

At some point after 1930, Edith and Clarence divorced, and Aunt Edie moved to Cincinnati.  My mom often talked of visiting her big sister in the city and of what fun that was.  Aunt Edie would marry two more times.  Her second husband, named Earl, I know very little about.  Her third husband was Herbert William (Bill) Janssen who was born in Holland in 1899.  Bill had been married previously as well and had a son, Eric.  Aunt Edith never had any children of her own.

Aunt Edith and Uncle Bill eventually settled in Florida, and Bill passed away there in 1980.  Edith remained in Florida for a while, but shortly after my Uncle Nolan died, she moved to Middlesboro, Kentucky, to be close to her sisters, Betty and Ruth.  My cousin and Edith's niece, Betty Jo McManaway, moved Aunt Edie into her home in Harrogate, Tennessee, and took care of her when it became difficult for Edie to live by herself.  Edith died, according to her death certificate, of an "acute cerebral infection" on June 11, 1992, at age 84.

Edith Lane Janssen

Sources:

1930 United States Federal Census
Tennessee Delayed Birth Records, 1869-1909
New York Naturalization Records, 1897-1944
Commonwealth of Kentucky Certificate of Death #15409

Jessie Bertie Lane

Jessie Bertie Lane

When I was a little girl growing up in Middlesboro, Kentucky, I LOVED going to my Aunt Jessie's house.  At that time (late 1960s and early 1970s), she and her family lived in Middlesboro, too, and only three or four miles from our house.  But while we lived in just a regular old house in a regular old neighborhood, Aunt Jessie lived on a farm.  Not a big farm, maybe not even a farm at all, but she had a barn and all sorts of animals.  Dogs, cats, chickens, a rooster, cows--and even apple trees. I thought it was great!

My Aunt Jessie, full name Jessie Bertie Lane, was the fourth child of William and Martha Pierce Lane.  She was born on September 18, 1909, in Clairfield, Tennessee.  With three older siblings and four younger ones, Jessie grew up as one of the middle children in this big family.

Jessie Lane and Wallace Greene

Jessie Patricia Greene
2 months

Jessie married Wallace Wesley Green on February 23, 1932, in Hickman, Tennessee. At age 22, this was Jessie's first (and only) marriage.  Wallace, 30 years old at the time, had been married before and had two children.  In the early 1940s, Jessie and Wallace had their one and only child together, my sweet cousin, Patsy, or Jessie Patricia Greene.

Jessie and Patsy Greene

For a while, Aunt Jessie and her family lived in Cambria, Virginia, and then they came to live for a while in Middlesboro on that wonderful farm that I loved to visit. Sometime in the 1970s, the Greens moved back to Virginia, settling in the town of Rocky Mount in Franklin County.  Wallace died in 1975, and Aunt Jessie died in 1982 at age 72.  Both are buried in Rocky Mount.

Nolan Andrew Lane

Nolan Andrew Lane
c. 1916

My Granny and Papaw Lane had their fifth child, Nolan Andrew Lane, on July 22, 1911, in Clairfield, Tennessee.  He was named in part after Papaw's older and much admired brother, Andrew Lane. Nolan spent most of his childhood moving with the family from one mining town to another throughout Claiborne County, Tennessee.  I know very little else about his early life, but by age nineteen he was working as a baker in Lafollette, Campbell County, Tennessee.

Nolan A. Lane (right)
c. 1930

He met his first wife, Mildred Rhea Jacobs, in Lafollette, and they married there on April 26, 1935.  They had their first and only child, a daughter, in 1939.  Rosemary Lane was a beautiful little blonde, and by all accounts was the apple of her daddy's eye.

Mildred Jacobs Lane and Nolan Lane
c. 1937

Nolan Lane and daughter Rosemary Lane
c. 1941

Some time before 1943, Nolan received vocational training and became an electrician.  As I mentioned in my recent Miltary Monday post, he enlisted in the United States Navy on October 15, 1943.  He became one of the Navy's Fighting Seabees and saw active military duty in the Pacific during WWII, mostly in Okinawa, Japan.  Uncle Nolan was honorably discharged from the Navy on November 27, 1945.

Naval Service Card of Nolan A. Lane

At some point after returning home from the war, Uncle Nolan and Mildred divorced.  Rosemary continued to live with her mom in Lafollette, while Uncle Nolan took a job with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and moved to Lenoir City, Tennessee.  For reasons that I don't know, Uncle Nolan sadly would never see or speak to his daughter Rosemary again.  He attempted to do so, but Mildred first and then Rosemary herself chose to break all ties to him and eventually to the Lane family.

In 1956 on October third, Uncle Nolan married Martha Marie Sims in Cumberland, Tennessee.  Uncle Nolan and Aunt Marie lived in Lenoir City where Uncle Nolan continued to work for the TVA for about the next twenty years.

Nolan and Marie Lane
1961

After he retired from TVA, the two of them moved to Brooksville, Florida, where they lived the rest of their lives.  They never had children of their own.  Marie died in Florida on November 29, 1982, and Uncle Nolan passed away soon after on March 17, 1983.  Uncle Nolan had battled heart problems for a number of years, and his death was due to a massive heart attack.

Nolan and Marie Lane
c. 1980

I remember my Uncle Nolan well as a tall (about 6' 4"), rather quiet, and gentle man. He was an animal lover who always had a cat or dog as a pet, and he would often send us photos of them and talk of their antics.  Fishing was his favorite pastime, and he pursued this diligently especially during his retirement years in Florida. He was adored by his family, and as I was growing up I heard countless wonderful stories about him from his sisters, Betty (my mom), Ruth, Gladys, and Edith.  I remember his deep, gruff voice and a sweet, slight smile which crossed his face only occasionally. Spending time with Uncle Nolan was always a joy.

Big Catch
Nolan Lane
c. 1980

Nolan Lane and best buddy
1958

A Visit to Florida
Nolan Lane, Beth  Lee, Marie Lane
1978

Sources:

1920 U. S. Federal Census
1930 U. S. Federal Census
1940 U. S. Federal Census
Tennessee State Marriages 1780-2002
Florida Death Index, 1877-1998
U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010

Military Monday: Nolan Andrew Lane

Nolan Andrew Lane
c. 1943

My uncle, Nolan Andrew Lane, was the fifth child of William B. Lane and Martha A. Pierce.  He was born in Clairfield, Tennessee, on July 22, 1911, and died at age 72 on March 17, 1983, in Brooksville, Florida.  Today, I remember Uncle Nolan's military service during World War II.  He served in the Pacific Theatre as a Chief Electrician's Mate in the United States Navy Seabees, enlisting on October 23, 1943, and being honorably discharged on November 27, 1945.  Thank you, Uncle Nolan.

Nolan Andrew Lane
c. 1943

Roy B. Lane (Uncle B)

When I began this blog, I really didn't know where or how to start.  I knew, however, that if I didn't just jump right in and do it, I would worry myself to death trying to plan and make everything perfect--and the blog would never have come to life.  So I began with one of my favorite photos of my mom and that led to some recollections and details about her life.  Thus, my first blog post.  Since then, the blog has just evolved, and I guess it will continue to do so.  That's what's working for me, and I hope it will work for my readers, too.

Roy B. Lane

So, it seems I'm working my way back, youngest to oldest, through the eight children of William B. Lane and Martha Ann Pierce.

8.  Betty Jewel Lane--check

7. Myrtle Ruth Lane--check

Today, let me introduce you to #6. Roy B. Lane, my Uncle B.

Betty and Ruth's older brother, Roy, or "B" as he was always called, was born on October 20, 1914, in Anthras, Tennessee.  Yes, Anthras was yet another coal mining community my grandparents settled in so my papaw could find work.

Roy B. Lane
c. 1915

Growing up, B moved with the family from Anthras to Eagan to Pruden, and then finally into "town" in Lafollette, Claiborne County, Tennessee.

Roy B. Lane with baby sister, Betty Jewel
Pruden, Tennessee, c. 1926

As a young man, B went to work in a steel mill, and he married the beautiful Mildred L. Wagner (1921-2000).  B and "Millie" had their first son, Richard M. Lane on August 27, 1939, in Middlesboro, Kentucky.  By 1940, according to the U. S. Federal Census, B, Millie, and baby Richard were living with B's parents in Middlesboro.  Uncle B had developed tuberculosis, and he and Millie were expecting their second child.  Phillip David Lane was born in Middlesboro on October 1, 1941.  Sadly, B died only a few weeks later on November 26.  He was buried in the Lafollete (TN) Cemetery.

Roy B. Lane and son Richard
c. 1940

Mildred Wagner Lane
c. 1935

Tombstone Tuesday: M. Ruth Lane Williamson

Gravestone of Ruth Lane Williamson
Hurst Cemetery, Middlesboro, Kentucky
Photo taken c. 2004

As I'm sure you've guessed by now, the focus of my blog this week is my wonderful Aunt Ruth.  She developed Alzheimer's Disease in her later years, and her daughter, Betty Jo Williamson McManaway, brought  her to live with her at her home in Harrogate, Tennessee.  Aunt Ruth died on July 11, 1997, due to complications from Alzheimer's.  She is buried in the William B. Lane family plot in Hurst Cemetery in Middlesboro, Kentucky.

Remembering Aunt Ruth

Love at first sight for both of us
Middlesboro, Kentucky, 1961

When I was a little girl, some of the neighborhood kids had come over to play.  While swinging in the backyard, one little girl began to make fun of me because I didn't have any grandparents.  Unlike most of the other kids, all my grandparents had passed away, you see.  I was hurt, but I said nothing.  However, my friend, Susan, who became a hero to me that day, immediately piped up and said:  "Well, she may not have any grandparents, but she has an Aunt Ruth!"  Yes, I had an Aunt Ruth, and she was a treasure.

Myrtle Ruth Lane was her full given name, though I didn't know that until I was a teenager.  (Aunt Ruth hated the name "Myrtle," and she never wanted my mom to tell me that was her name.)  Ruth Lane was the seventh of  William and Martha Lane's children, and was nine years older than my mom, Betty.  Ruth was born on January 25, 1917, in Eagan, Tennessee, another small coal mining community close to the Tennessee-Kentucky border.

M.yrtle Ruth Williamson

After graduating from Lafollette (TN) High School,  Aunt Ruth attended Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, for a couple of years.  She played basketball while at LMU and this was when women were only allowed to play half-court.  They played only offense or defense and only on one end of the court.  At the time, full court play was considered too taxing for women.

In 1940, according to the U. S. Federal Census, Ruth, then age 24, was living at her parents' home in Middlesboro, Kentucky, and working as an assistant photographer.

Joe and Ruth Lane Williamson
c. 1940

Aunt Ruth married Joe Williamson and they settled down in a log house on Pinnacle Road just outside of Middlesboro, Kentucky.  Their first child, Betty Jo, was born in 1942.  Joe enlisted in the U. S. Army in 1943 and fought in World War II, while Aunt Ruth continued to work and raise her daughter.  In 1949, a second daughter, Cynthia Ann, was stillborn.  Joe and Aunt Ruth divorced soon after.

Ruth Lane Williamson and
Betty Jo Williamson
c. 1947

Aunt Ruth and Betty Jo moved into Middlesboro, and this is where Aunt Ruth would live for most of the rest of her life.  She worked for many years as a social worker for the Department of Human Resources in Pineville, Kentucky, which is a short distance from Middlesboro.  After leaving this job, she became the first Director of the newly formed Cooperative Christian Ministries (CCM) in Middlesboro.  CCM was a combined effort of several area churches to aid disadvantaged people in the community.  Persistent health problems, however, forced Aunt Ruth to soon retire.

Me and my Aunt Ruth
Christmas Morning, c. 1978

Aunt Ruth's daughter, Betty Jo, and her children, Joy and Joe Goins, lived in Middlesboro for many years, as well, and were a huge part of Ruth's life.  Her grandchildren were her treasures.  Somehow she also found time for me.  My parents, Betty Lane and Frank W. Lee, and I lived in Middlesboro, too, and Aunt Ruth was a frequent and favorite visitor to our house.  She often took me for drives, and we would sing whatever songs we knew while cruising around town.  Throughout the year, she and I would regularly crouch down in front of our fireplace, look up the chimney, and yell for Santa Claus--just in case he might have stopped by for a surprise visit.  She was always at our house early on Christmas morning to watch me open presents and to see what Santa had delivered.  She was there, too, for every birthday, Easter, and other special day for me, and I loved her more than I can say.

Ruth Lane Williamson

Although I've always missed having my grandparents around, my friend, Susan, was right.  I had an Aunt Ruth--and she was enough.  

Family Recipe Friday: Joyce Schooler Reedy's Buttermilk Pie

Joyce Schooler, c. 1944

When I got married in 1990, my first cousin, Joyce Schooler Reedy, gave me a copy of a cookbook she contributed to and helped assemble.  Joyce is a grandchild of William and Martha Lane, the oldest child of Gladys M. Lane and James Schooler, and the mother of Terry Keith Reedy, Pamela B. Reedy, and Rolf  Reedy.  AND she's a wonderful cook!  Below is her recipe for Buttermilk Pie taken from page 75 of the cookbook Oak Ridge Woman's Club Recipes.  Thank you, Joyce!

Buttermilk Pie 

(No Crust)

1 C. buttermilk

1 1/2 C. sugar

1/2 C. Bisquick

1/2 C. melted margarine

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

Mix in blender on high for 30 seconds.  Grease pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Joyce Schooler Reedy (right) with her sister, M. Anne Schooler Derksen,
and their precious mom & my aunt, Gladys M. Lane Schooler
c.  1995

Remembering Betty Jo Williamson McManaway

Betty Jo Williamson, c. 1947

Today my beautiful first cousin, Betty Jo Williamson McManaway, would have turned 71.  Like me, Betty Jo is the granddaughter of William B. and Martha Pierce Lane.  She's the daughter of M. Ruth Lane and Joe Williamson, the mother of Joy J. Goins Lewis and L. Joe Goins, and the grandmother of Megan Goins, Matthew Goins, and Olivia Johnson.

Born in Middlesboro, Kentucky, on January 13, 1942, Betty Jo spent most of her life in Bell County, Kentucky, and just over the mountain in Claiborne County, Tennessee.  Growing up, I always envied her gorgeous dark hair and lovely blue eyes.  It was always a joy to hear her laugh or to eat a meal that she cooked, and she was one of the hardest-working people I've known.  More than anything, though, I think Betty Jo loved being a mom to her two children and a grandmother to their children.  She died of a massive stroke on November 15, 2006, and is buried in the William B. Lane family plot in Middlesboro's Hurst Cemetery.

Betty Jo & Ruth Williamson
c. 1952

Betty Jo Williamson
c. 1960

Betty Jo W. McManaway & Joy Goins Lewis
2006

  

Family Group Sheet for William Bowman Lane

Today I want to share the Family Group Sheet that I've created for the William Bowman Lane family in Family Tree Maker 2012 software.  One of my favorite things about this software is the way it syncs with my Ancestry.com account.  Each time I open my Family Tree Maker, all the research I've saved on Ancestry automatically downloads and organizes itself onto my Family Tree Maker.  Sources, photos, information--everything can be shared between these two sites.  These have been really helpful tools for me as I research my family history.  Also, I LOVE the options on Family Tree Maker that allow users to create various genealogy reports such as the following family group sheet about my mom, her parents, and her siblings.

Tombstone Tuesday: William and Martha Lane

My grandparents, William Bowman Lane and Martha Ann Pierce Lane, are buried in Hurst Cemetery in my hometown of Middlesboro, Kentucky.  My mom, Betty Jewel Lane, the focus of my first couple of blog posts, was their youngest child.

Lane Family Tombstone, 2004

My grandmother died of a massive stroke in 1954, and was the first to be buried in this family plot.  My grandfather died in 1964 and was buried beside his wife of more than 50 years.

Martha Ann Lane's Headstone

My grandmother was seventy years old when she passed away.  Her children chose to have a verse from the 23rd Psalm (Granny's favorite) inscribed on her headstone:  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

William B. Lane's Headstone

I'm not exactly sure how old my grandfather was when he died, but I'm fairly certain the birth date on his headstone is incorrect.  My Papaw, you see, was so eager to be like his big brother, Andy, and join the Army, that he lied about his age when he signed up for service.  He served proudly in the Spanish American War, and he would have been so pleased with his army-issued headstone.

To find out more about Hurst Cemetery, go to http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=74540.  Hurst Cemetery is located in front of and adjacent to the larger Middlesboro Cemetery.

Betty Jewel Lane (1926-1992)

Red hair, blue eyes, an easy laugh, and sometimes a fiery temper, Betty Jewel Lane was the youngest of William Bowman Lane and Martha Pierce Lane's eight children.  My mom was born in Pruden, Tennessee, where her daddy worked as a coal miner and where the family lived in a company-owned house beside the railroad tracks.

Betty Jewel Lane (r) and her nephew Billy Schooler
Pruden, Tennessee, c. 1932

Her siblings were Gladys, Leland, Edith, Jessie, Nolan, Roy, and Ruth.  Mom always said that even though they were a poor family, they were happy.  Mom adored her parents and her brothers and sisters, and she was especially close to Gladys, who helped raise her, and to Nolan and Ruth.  With her family, she later moved to Lafollette, Tennessee, where she graduated from high school, and then to Middlesboro, Kentucky.

Betty Jewel Lane, c. 1945
Lafollette (TN) High School

In Middlesboro, Mom worked as a clerk in Lee's Drug Store where she met my dad, Frank Welch Lee.  They married in 1959, and I came along in 1961.  They also had another child, my little brother, Frank Lewis Lee II, who was born in 1962.  It was a difficult birth and my brother died when he was only two days old.  I don't think Mom ever really got over the loss of my brother, but I do think she loved being my mom.





1959 Marriage Announcement of
Betty Jewel Lane and Frank Welch Lee



Just Married, August 5, 1959
Betty Jewel Lane and Frank Welch Lee
Rose Hill, Virginia

When I started first grade, Mom, at the age of 40, started college.  Four years later, she graduated magna cum laude from Lincoln Memorial University with a major in sociology.  She worked for a number of years as a social worker in Bell County, Kentucky.  Mom passed away much too soon in 1992 from acute plasma cell leukemia.

Betty Lane Lee, 1971
Graduation from Lincoln Memorial University
Harrogate, Tennessee

Mom was a voracious reader, she loved to play golf, and she was an avid Tennessee Vols fan.  She liked to talk, she laughed until she cried when watching Steve Martin's movie The Jerk, and she hated people who acted as if they were better than others. What I remember most about Mom, however, is how much she genuinely liked people.  She especially loved being around young people, always welcoming my friends and our neighbors into our home.  She was fiercely loyal to her family and her friends, and she was so proud of her heritage.  So I dedicate this blog to my beautiful mother, and I look forward finding out about my Lane family roots.  I also look forward to hearing from anyone who wants to connect and share information about our family.

Betty Jewell Lane, c. 1945