|
|
||
|
|
|
|
       |
|
|
|
..
Preface Introduction Table of Contents
Mary Denman Hankins was born in Oliver Springs, Roane County, Tennessee, on January 31, 1930. She grew up in Middle and East Tennessee, and has lived in Greeneville, Tennessee, since her marriage in 1951, with the exception of eight years, from 1987 to 1995, when she lived in Cedar Hill, Texas. Her parents were Lela Emaline Cox and
Elmer Hoyle Denman. Lela Emaline Cox, b. May 1, 1904, died June 12, 1972;
Elmer Hoyle Denman, b. July 21, 1903, died March 27, 1991.
" Out, out, brief candle! Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player thatstruts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more." William Shakespeare, "Macbeth", Act V, Scene 5.
Mary Denman Hankins Double click photo for larger image. Volume I of this story began with the lives of my father, Elmer Hoyle Denman, born in 1903, my mother, Lela Emaline Cox, who was born the following year, and their parents; it continued through the years until 1951. Volume II of the story begins in 1951, at the time I left home to marry Charles Russell Hankins. It continues my family story through the years I lived with my husband in Greeneville, Greene County, Tennessee, 1951-1978. After this volume is published, I plan to finish the story through the year 2003 in Volume III, to complete one century in the lives of our extended families. I wish to thank those who encouraged me to write this book, especially my son, Charles Thomas, who first suggested it some years ago. My daughter, Amy, has been of great help in the editing and publication of this manuscript. Without her help, I could not have finished the project. I appreciate the revival of memories which I obtained from some of my brothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews. My aunts, Cora Lou Bishop and Stella Cox, who have both died since November of 2003, related some early incidents in the Cox home. Cousins Lesley Cox, his daughter Amy, Glenda Wood, Patricia Cox, Arnold Cox, Mary Jane May, Carol Little, Kelly Cox Smith, Janice Patterson, and all of my brothers and sisters: Carolyn Leonard, Elmer Hoyle (Denny), Leland, Rachel, Roselyn Witherspoon, David, Jim, and Kay Payne, have helped jog my memories. In the Hankins family, Gypsy Norton, Pam Benko, Karen Baylor, Mary Ellen Honeycutt, Kathy McInturff, Betty Gott, and Donna Parrack have helped provide essential information, as well as my children, Susan Giraldo, Jennifer Haag, Charles Hankins, and Amy Griffith. I deeply appreciate all the help I have received in collecting some of the family genealogy, history, stories, and pictures. I also want to express my gratitude to the staff at HistoryPreserved.com, a division of Agreka History Publishing. They have been so friendly and helpful in advising Amy in the preparation of the manuscript and in producing a high-quality finished product. References and samples of my books are included on their website, which also enables internet search engines to access the site for those who might be working on genealogies or have interest in learning more about someone in my family. The stories and incidents in the book are related as I remember them and from my perspective; some of your recollections may be different, but I have told them to the best of my ability. Therefore I apologize if I have made mistakes or recorded some information incorrectly.
Golden Wedding Anniversary, July 30, 1961,
Greeneville Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Double click photo for larger
image. My wish remains that some descendants of the Denman, Cox, Hope, and Hankins families will continue the story of our lives into the future, so that those coming after us will know more about their ancestors, and also will have a record of their family connections that they can carry into future generations. Mary Denman Hankins
In the Elmer Hoyle Denman household in early 1951, the number of children living at home was decreasing. Rachel, Jim, David, Roselyn, and Kay were still at home. Leland joined the U.S. Navy that year and left for his basic training, after which he ended up in the Korean area of the seas during our war with North Korea. Carolyn, who had married in 1946, was living in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with her husband, Scott Leonard, Jr., and their two children, young Scott III and a new baby girl, Stephanie Carol. Scott had reenlisted in the U.S. Air Force, from which he later retired as a Master Sergeant after twenty years of service. Denny had remained in Greeneville when the Denman family moved from there to Cleveland at the end of December, 1949. However, when he could no longer get the courses he needed at Tusculum College, Denny had accepted the pastorate of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Oliver Springs, Tennessee. That was the same church that Daddy had pastored, in the little town where I was born on January 31, 1930. Denny had moved, in the spring of 1951, into the manse where we had lived when I was an infant. It was next door to the small, ivy-covered, brick church. On March 23, 1951, I became the fourth child to leave the nest. That was the date of my marriage to Charles Russell Hankins (Hank). This book opens to many changes in our lives, with us poor players strutting and fretting our ways through many different roles on many scattered stages of the world. Our little candles continued to help lighten our paths, but we were guided by "the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." (John 1: 9).
Charles, Mary Ruth, Amy
Beth, Jennifer, Charles Thomas, Susan; 1965
PART ONE The Hankins Family PART TWO Life in Greeneville, 1951-1965 PART THREE Denman Family Happenings, 1951-1969 PART FOUR Life in the Country, 1965-1978 EPILOGUE APPENDIX I Family Genealogies Elmer Hoyle Denman’s Ancestors and Descendants Lela Cox’s Ancestors and Descendants Charlie Lee Hankins’ and Kitty Clyde Hankins’ Ancestors and Descendants APPENDIX II American Cultural History The 1950s The 1960s The 1970s
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||
