Lou Ella was the daughter of Monroe Markham and his wife Mary. Louella was born 16 Aug 1885 during the presidential administration of Grover Cleveland. She was seen in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 federal censuses in the household of her parents with a large number of siblings, living in rural Caseyville, Lincoln County, Mississippi. Lou Ella could read and write and worked as a farm laborer during this time.
She married Elijah Howard 14 May 1924 at the age of 38 years, The couple was missed in the 1930 census but reappeared in the 1940 and 1950 census, living in Brookhaven, Lincoln County, Mississippi, with just the two of them in the household. They lived in the same home in both censuses. The 1940 census shows that Lou Ella did not work any in 1939 but in 1950 she is listed as working as a babysitter.
I remember Lou Ella as a tall, lanky woman who wore thick cotton stockings and an apron with her clothing. She was friendly and gave warm hugs. Her husband Elijah wore a dark suit with a tie. His shirt was white and he wore suspenders. I remember he loved ice cream and when we would visit he would go to the store and get ice cream. He would buy each of us children a small cup of Borden's vanilla ice cream that came with a flat wooden spoon. We would sit on the back porch with our legs dangling over the porch enjoying every spoonful.
Elijah died in 1964.
Aunt Lou Ella moved in with her sister Aunt Bee (Beatrice) who was already taking care of another sister, my grandmother Alice. Lou Ella died May 1966 in Brookhaven.
I followed all the links in this post and the linked ones. I particularly enjoyed the story of the women purchasing the land and building the house. I can remember when women wore aprons all the time. I still wear mine when cooking. Sometimes my grandmother's apron would be a dish towel (we called them "cup towels") tied around her waist.
ReplyDeleteWearing an apron was just a part of a woman's outfit. Every kitchen had an apron or two hanging on a nail. I was pleasantly surprised with the discovery that the four women, great grandma Mary and her three single daughters purchased the white house on Washington Street. Thank you for stopping by.
DeleteI always enjoy your posts. That was very impressive.
DeleteMy grandmother's always wore aprons too, except when they were going to church and when they got back, the aprons went on again. I remember those ice cream cups with the wooden spoons too.
ReplyDeleteI read the post about the house. You really conveyed the warm, comfortable, family feeling when you visited.
My mother also wore aprons but by the time I left home in 1979, she had stopped wearing aprons. I have fond memories of my visits and the house is still and has always been in ownership by a woman.
DeleteThank you for writiing this
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