John Greenberry Nolen was born in 1794 in Maryland and died in 1869 in Indian Creek, Missouri. He married Mary Miller on the 21st of August in 1819 in Nelson County Kentucky. Mary died in 1867, also in Indian Creek.
John Greenberry and Mary Miller Nolen had ten children, Elizabeth, Olivia, John L. Mary, Lucinda, Nancy, Francis, Harrison, James, and William Cecil Nolen.
William Cecil Nolen, the youngest of John Greenberry's children, was born August 31, 1842 and died in 1900 in Louise, Texas. He married Mollie Leachman on Jun 19, 1860. Mollie died on September 25, 1892. William Cecil and Mollie Leachman Nolen had three children, George Green, William L, and Robert Nolen.
Warren Lancaster Nolen, always called "Tiny" was born on December 8, 1893 in Dallas, Texas and died on July 19, 1964 in San Antonio, Texas. He married Eva Loudell Davidson on November 21, 1920 in Louise, Texas. Eva died on June 18, 1977 also in Louise, Texas. "Tiny" and Eva Davidson Nolen had seven children, George Warren, Helen Florine, Beatrice, Dorothy "Dot," Melvin, William Fred "Bill," and Donald Wayne Nolen.
Of Tiny and Eva's children, only Bill and Dot are alive today. Bill is your great grandpa and Dot is your great-great aunt. She is also, at this time, the family matriarch and shared some of the family history with us at the reunion. She's the one who told me about "Aunt Sis." I also know from talking to your great grandparents, that Aunt Florine, the eldest girl, was bossy and liked to be in charge, but she also was the one who took in her mother when she needed to and after Eva's death, Aunt Florine took care of Uncle Don, who Great Grandpa Nolen would tell you was "mongoloid" and I would explain that folks used to say that about people with Down's Syndrome. I also know that during Hurricane Rita in 2005, when folks in El Campo and Louise were worried about the storm coming, they all went to Aunt Florine's house. Aunt Florine and Aunt Beatrice married two brothers, the Hollan boys and many of their grandchildren and great grandchildren were at the reunion as well.
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| John Patrick Nolen with Dorothy Nolen Billington |
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| John Patrick and Sydney Nolen with William Fred and Doris Hanson Nolen |
Walter Scott Nolen, your grandpa, was born on December 2, 1955 in Newfoundland, Canada (see, I told you Great Grandpa and Great Grandma lived all over). He married Kim Ann Roberts on June 21, 1979 in Alvin, Texas. They had three sons, Jeremy, James, and Jonathan Nolen. Notice that your grandpa and your great grandfather have the same birthdate. That's part of what makes it so special that your dad and sister also shared a birthday. And just as a random fact, Great Grandma Nolen and her mother also shared a birthday. It's a Nolen thing.
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| Four Generations of Nolens |
Your daddy, Jeremy Scott Nolen, was born on November 2, 1979 and he married me, Rebecca Cathleen Wilson, on July 19, 2003. We have two children, you and your sister, John Patrick and Sydney Marie Nolen.
All of the Nolens worked together to put together this history for you. They gave me a treasure in the form of a print out of all of this information and so much more. All of the descendants of John Greenberry Nolen are listed out by generation. Your Great Grandpa is the 5th generation from John Greenberry, your grandpa is 6th, your daddy 7th, and you are the 8th generation from John Greenberry Nolen. And in all of the listing of the 8th generation, you are the only boy with the Nolen name. The only one.
Several young men (and some older men) in the 7th generation... your Uncle Jonathan being one of them... have the Nolen name and the chance to pass it along. But so far none of them have. Looking at George Green's sons, the Benjamin Nolen line seems to have ended with a Ben Nolen in his forties who never married. Oran's grandson Levi is thirty-two and unmarried. George Green Jr. died in infancy. Jack Nolen's grandson Robert Nolen Jr. is forty and as far I know has no children. Tiny's great grandsons include your Uncle Jon and his cousin Joshua, neither of whom are married, yet. There must be a few the compilers missed (or I missed) because I saw a Mark Nolen at the reunion who looked to be in his thirties or forties and I can't find him in the paperwork. I think some of the lines, like those for George Green's brothers, weren't researched at all. Regardless, it was a startling revelation to be at the Nolen family reunion and realizing I have the only Nolen great-great-great grandson.
I am working on my own genealogy in order to get into the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. I know their are comparable organizations for men and that you could join those one day through my line, but I think of DAR and DRT as something I am doing for your sister. She will be able to join these two organizations, if she wants to, and be able to claim that heritage. For her, I focus on her grandmothers and great grandmothers, looking for pictures and stories of the women who came before her, the men they married and the children they bore. For you, I am keeping the Nolen history. I want you to know these names and I want to have stories and pictures to go with them for you. Your sister will always have this family and she will always have a place in with the Nolens, but she may not always be a Nolen and she won't pass the name along to her sons and daughters.
That's your job, and I guess I'm telling you that if you don't want all the pressure, you need to have a serious chat with your Uncle Jonathan before it's too late.
But mostly, I hope you love this family and love being a Nolen. I hope you are proud to be "the last Nolen" and enjoy learning about your father's family. I hope you look at these pictures of four generations of Nolens and want to take other pictures, sometime in the far future, where you are the grandpa with the boy on your shoulders and you can say that you continued the Nolen line.
That is my wish for you.
Love,
Mom
LOL, nothing like that have children pressure a bit early.
ReplyDeleteI do love how happy John looks in most all of the photos from the reunion.