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| L to R: Mama and Papa Wilson, Mother holding Chris, Daddy and Nell |
We lived with Mama and Papa Wilson until about 1945. Papa Wilson's family lived in Bulloch, near Brantley in Crenshaw Co. They came to Curtis in the early 1900's when his mother Sophie died and his father Henry brought Papa, his twin brother and sister, Mattie and Frank, and bought a house and some land from Crawford Rowell. When Papa Wilson was young he worked for the railroad that hauled the pine trees to sawmills. He purchased a gold railroad watch which was a prize possession. He passed it on to our dad and he kept it in a box in the dresser drawer. After his death, his 2nd wife Frances, gave it to our only brother, Perry, to keep it in the Wilson family. Maybe Brad's son Bradley Wilson will inherit it someday.
Papa met my Mama Wilson (Fannie Melissa Grimes) and they were married. His father Henry gave him the house after he remarried and he moved to Opp, where Frank was a pharmacist and Mattie married Perry Danley who had a furniture store.
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| Papa and Mama Wilson (Jim and Fannie) |
Papa had cataracts and was almost blind in his later years. He suffered with asthma and had great difficulty sleeping. He liked to carve with his pocket knife; he called it whittling. He worked hard on the farm, helping my dad.
Papa Wilson had to go to the nursing home when I was living in Texas. I did not get to go to his funeral. I can't remember what caused his death.
