In the mid 1970's my dad traveled to Scotland while serving in the Air National Guard. When he returned home, I remember him telling me that while he was there, he visited Edinburgh Castle and found a book that contained the names of those who had served in the Scottish military hundreds of years ago... And much to his surprise, there were many named "Somers" listed in the book. Dad also tells the story of a bed and breakfast owner who spelled the Somers name correctly when he first checked in. He was surprised because most folks want to add an extra "m" or spell it like the season. He complimented her for getting the spelling correct, to which she replied "Is there any other way to spell it?" These two events prompted him to do some family research while in Scotland and when he returned home, he was convinced the Somers family had roots there. Yesterday while researching the Somers family from Caswell, County, NC, I came across information ...
William Henry and Lillian May (Weaver) Somers Family
Family Folklore: Lillian (16 yrs.) eloped with my grandfather (25 yrs.) after he had recently been released from the army when WWI ended. The story is that when he asked my grandmother's parents for permission to marry their daughter, they said "Absolutely not!" So, while my great grandfather was repairing a roof he saw two people running across a muddy field hand-in-hand and remarked how silly they were to be out in the mud. Well, it turned out to be his daughter and my grandfather rushing off to the justice of the peace. Grandma (a good Christian girl) wrote "18" on a piece of paper, stuck it in her shoe and when asked if she was over 18 by the justice, she replied "Yes, I'm over 18."
ReplyDeleteAfter the elopement, they went back to Lillian's parents home and grandpa fearfully stayed in the wagon while grandma went in to break the news. My great grandmother marched up to him and said "Rascal! Come on inside." I believe she continued to call him "rascal" as a nickname from that time forward.
[…] The family story is that my grandparents requested permission from Maggie and William to be married. Their response was “Absolutely not!” Maggie and William probably thought this would end the couple’s relationship. But, instead of putting a damper on the young couple’s feelings, it appears they became stronger and the two hatched a plan to elope. Now mind you, grandmother was only 16 years of age and grandfather was probably 26 years old at the time of their elopement. […]
ReplyDelete[…] The family story is that my grandparents requested permission from Maggie and William to be married. Their response was “Absolutely not!” Maggie and William probably thought this would end the couple’s relationship. But, instead of putting a damper on the young couple’s feelings, it appears they became stronger and the two hatched a plan to elope. Now mind you, grandmother was only 16 years of age and grandfather was probably 26 years old at the time of their elopement. […]
ReplyDelete[…] at the end of the war, returned to Butler County, Missouri and began his civilian life with marriage to my grandmother, Lillian Mae […]
ReplyDelete