- Written by Anna Belle Gray Wilson in her early 90s (ca. 2001).
- The aunt she refers to could be her mother’s younger sister, Myrtle Thompson Holleman, who had three sons.
- The grandmother she mentions must be her mother’s mother, Anna Gordon Thompson. As an infant and until she was 7 years old, Anna Belle lived with her maternal grandparents. Her father’s parents both died before she was born.
- For history on and to see the beautiful Hoyt’s Cologne labels, go to this website.
- Click on the photo below to see it full screen.
[Updates are in blue – 3/24/2011]
Anna Belle Gray Wilson — Anna was her maternal grandmother’s name; Belle was her father’s sister (Belle Houston). He must have been close to her; after his wife Alice died, Lott and his two older children, Tip and Edna) went to live with Belle and her family. Infant Anna Belle went to live with her mother’s parents.
Nancy Edna Gray Trussell – Nancy was her paternal grandmother’s name (Nancy Morehead Gray), who died a few years before she was born. Edna might have been one of her great aunts (Edna Jane Gray).
Thompson (Tip) Everett Gray — Thompson was his mother’s maiden name.
Lott Dulin Gray — Father of Anna, Edna and Tip, he was likely named for his father’s younger brother, Lott Dulin Gray. Dulin was their mother’s maiden name (Demaris Dulin Gray).
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Lemuel Albert Wilson (Sr.)— Born July 29, 1890, L.A. was named for his father’s youngest brother Lemuel who had died at age 19 a few months before (April 17, 1890; buried near his father in the Kosciusko City Cemetery). Albert was his maternal grandfather’s name (Albert Pierce Mitchell, a Confederate veteran) and his also great-grandfather’s (Albert Washington Mitchell) name.
Frank Mitchell Wilson — Haven’t found a connection to Frank. Mitchell was his mother’s maiden name.
Roy Leon Wilson (Sr.)— Haven’t found a connection to Roy. Leon is perhaps short for Leona, his mother’s name.
Willie Arnold Wilson (Sr.) — Willie was what his father was sometimes listed as in census records. Haven’t yet found a connection to Arnold.
Possibly Anna Belle Gray (ca. 1908)
1902: Willie Arnold Wilson born to William Ransom Wilson and Leona Mitchell Wilson in Minden, Louisiana. (December 13, 1902)
1907: Anna Belle Gray born to Lott Dulin Gray and Alice Madora Thompson in Chickasaw County, Mississippi.(February 20, 1907). Alice died in the fall of ‘slow fever’.
1910: U.S. Federal Census (Chickasaw County, MS) shows Anna Belle as a resident of her grandparents’ household (Civil War veteran John F. Thompson, pictured here). Her widowed father and siblings are shown as living with Archie and Belle (Gray) Houston, Lott’s older sister.
1910 Census: 3 year old Anna Belle Gray lives with her grandparents
1920: U.S. Federal Census (Chickasaw County, MS) lists Anna Belle as a resident of her father’s household, along with older siblings Tip (Thompson Everett Gray) and Edna (Nancy Edna Gray). Edna married James Earl Trussell the next fall (October 15, 1921).
1920 Census: The Gray family together again...with a stepmother.
1926: Anna Belle Gray married Willie Arnold Wilson. (June 6, 1926) Like his father and his older brothers, Willie worked in the newspaper industry.
Marriage license of Willie & Anna Belle Wilson
1929: Their first child (Billy) is born in late February.
1930: U.S. Federal Census (Greenville, MS) shows Willie, Anna Belle and their baby boy, Billy. Willie’s mother, Leona, died in March. Anna Belle’s father, Lott Dulin, had a heart attack and died in July. Anna Belle was in the late stages of pregnancy and unable to attend the funeral.
1930 Census: Willie, Anna Belle and Billy Wilson
193o: Their second child (Barbara Ann) is born in September.
1948: Willie’s death in Clarksdale, MS. Buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Clarksdale, MS. (August 22, 1948)
2002: Anna Belle‘s death in Memphis, TN. Buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Clarksdale, MS. (June 12, 2002).
Wilson-Gray Family History 