Photo: Mable Marbury Jackson, Sarah Evalena “Lena” Booth Marbury and Allie Marbury Brantley /
I have been researching the Booth family and preparing to upload what I have learned to my site. Christmas at my mother’s house gave me a good excuse to look for an interesting “Booth” document I thought I remembered among the things my grandmother, Virginia Brantley Lovelace (1917-2007), saved.
It only took a few minutes to find exactly what I wanted: the guest book from the Oct. 8, 1949, funeral of my second great-grandmother, Sarah Evelena “Lena” Booth Marbury (1868-1949). Lena died at 81. She was my grandmother’s maternal grandmother.
Lena’s daughter, Allie Ern Marbury Brantley (1898-1995), was the mother of Virginia Brantley Lovelace (1917-2007). Virginia’s daughter, Shirley Lovelace Williams (1939-present), is my mother.
I like knowing the names families give their grandmothers. They make the women on a family tree feel less like census entries and more like real people. My children call my mother “Name.” My grandmother, Virginia, was “Grandmama.” Her mother, Allie, was “Mama Allie.” My mother says the family called Lena “Gran-may-mee.”
This article from the Brownsville States Graphic identifies Dennis, Price, Ally, Mabel and Carl Marbury.
Lena outlived her husband and three of her four children. Her husband, Hardy Joyner Marbury (1872-1932), died in 1932 at 59. Her son Dennis Love Marbury (1892-1927) died of cancer in 1927 at 34. Her daughter Maggie Price Marbury (1895-1933) died of cancer in 1933 at 38. Her daughter Mable Clara Marbury Jackson (1901-1942) died of ovarian cancer in 1942 at 41.
Only my great-grandmother, Allie, survived her mother. Lena spent her later years in Allie’s household.
Four Generations: l to r: Guy Lovelace, Virginia Brantley Lovelace holding Bobby Lovelace, Dennis Marbury, Dorothy Cordelia Brantley Jacocks, Betty Brantley Sullivan, Lena Booth Marbury, Allie Marbury Brantley and William Day “Willie” Brantley.
According to her death certificate, Lena died of “myocardial degeneration due to interstitial nephritis.” In plain English, kidney disease contributed to heart failure.
The record places Lena in District 5 of Haywood County, Tennessee, in the Holly Grove community. It records her “length of stay in this place” as “life,” which says a lot in one little word.
Lena’s grandson Hardy Bedford Marbury (1914-1999) was the informant. He was the son of Maggie Price Marbury. He knew Lena’s father was William G. “Billy” Booth (1816-1892), but, since she had died 60 years earlier, he only knew her mother had the last name of “White.” Today, we know her mother was Mary Elizabeth “Eliza” White Booth (about 1825-1889).
Dr. Hess signed off on Lena’s death certificate, which makes sense because he seems to have provided every aspect of healthcare for everyone in that part of Haywood County at the time. American Funeral Home in Brownsville directed the service. Her family buried her at Holly Grove Baptist Church Cemetery on Oct. 8, 1949.
| Obituary of Lena Marbury Mrs. Lena Marbury Services to be held today for Holly Grove Resident Brownsville, Tenn., Oct 7 Services will be held Saturday morning at Holly Grove Baptist Church for Mrs. Lena Booth Marbury, who died Friday morning at her residence in the Holly Grove community. Mrs. Marbury was 81. Burial will be in Holly Grove Cemetery, with American Funeral Home in charge. She had spent her entire life in the Holly Grove community. She was the daughter of the late Billy and Lena White Booth. She was a member of Allen Baptist Church. She leaves a daughter, Mrs. Willie Brantley of Holly Grove, 10 grandchildren and a number of great-grandchildren. She was also buried at Holly Grove Baptist Church cemetery. |
The guest book from Lena’s funeral fascinates me. It reads like a 1940s version of her Facebook friends list. It also offers a glimpse into funerals of the rural south in the 1940s. Her funeral was at 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 9, 1949 at Holly Grove Baptist Church. The Rev. R. E. Presley officiated and Mrs. Ovid Lovelace played the organ. The hymns at her funeral were “Old Rugged Cross,” “Rock of Ages,” and “Nearer my God to Thee.” Her pallbearers were Albert Booth, Bryant Booth, Doris Booth, John Marbury, Lake Marbury and Martin Thomas.
The people who came to say goodbye carried names that run all through my Haywood County genealogy research: Williams, Lovelace, Castellaw, Watridge, Joyner, Cobb, Brantley, Marbury, Overton, Outlaw, White, Williamson and, of course, Booth.
Lena Booth Marbury with daughters Allie (left) and Mable Marbury Jackson (right).
That little funeral book does more than list names. It captures the community around Lena at the end of her life. These were the people who knew her, worshiped with her, farmed near her, married into her family, sat with her in hard times and showed up when her long life in Holly Grove came to an end.
For more of my genealogy research, visit rscottwilliams.info.
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