Surls Family Genealogy
"The Legendary Surls Family"
Descendants of Thomas Surls, Sr
Generation No. 1
1. THOMAS1 SURLS, SR was born 1773 in Wake Co, NC. He married RUTHA MAYNARD November 28, 1809 in Wake Co, NC, daughter of WILLIAM MAYNARD and AGATHA UNKNOWN. She was born 1790 in Wake Co, NC.
Children of THOMAS SURLS and RUTHA MAYNARD are:
2. i. FRANK2 SURLS, b. 1812.
ii. THOMAS SURLS, JR, m. PENNY JOHNSON, January 13, 1836, Johnston, NC.
Generation No. 2
2. FRANK2 SURLS (THOMAS1) was born 1812. He married UNKNOWN WIFE.
Children of FRANK SURLS and UNKNOWN WIFE are:
i. MELVINA3 SURLS, b. 1830, Muscogee County Georgia.
3. ii. WILLIAM RUFFIN SURLS, b. 1834, North Carolina.
iii. NANCY SURLS, b. 1837, Muscogee County Georgia.
iv. RUTHA SURLS, b. 1839, Muscogee County Georgia.
v. MARY ELIZABETH SURLS, b. 1842, Muscogee County Georgia.
vi. FRANK N SURLS, b. 1845; d. 1921, Macon, Ga.
Notes for FRANK N SURLS:
He was very fat and had to have a blacksmith make a special chair and bed for him.
More About FRANK N SURLS:
Fact 1: May 26, 1921, buried in Riverdale Cemetery, Macon Ga
Fact 2: 76 yrs old
vii. MARY SURLS, b. 1845, Muscogee County Georgia.
viii. SUSAN CATHERINE SURLS, b. 1850, Muscogee County Georgia.
Generation No. 3
3. WILLIAM RUFFIN3 SURLS (FRANK2, THOMAS1) was born 1834 in North Carolina. He married MATILDA ANN REBECCA ROBERTS March 04, 1873 in Jackson Gap, ALABAMA, daughter of ZIMRI ROBERTS and HARRIET BANKS. She was born November 02, 1849 in Jackson Gap, ALABAMA, and died July 12, 1932 in Cedartown,Georgia.
Notes for WILLIAM RUFFIN SURLS:
He died in a head-on train collision, however the date and place are not known. He left Mammy Surls and the only thing she ever heard about him was that Uncle L.B. talked to the man who was the fireman on the train and he verified that he had been killed. Mammy never got any compensation from the railroad company.
The family never gave him a pet name, they just called him Mr. Surls.
He was married previously in Columbus, Georgia and had several children by his first wife. It is not known whether the marriage ended by divorce or death of his first wife. When Mama and Papa left Jackson Gap, they moved first to Columbus and actually lived on the same street that Mary Surls Cook, one of the children lived on.
The 1880 census for Tallapoosa County , Alabama, lists him as SURELS. It also has his occupation as "mill hand." It also lists him as being born in NC not SC . It is not known if these are errors on the part of the census taker, or fact. It also lists his date of birth as 1834, age 46 at time of census. This also raises the question of whether he served in the Confederacy or not, and where.
More About WILLIAM RUFFIN SURLS:
Fact 1: engineer on Central of Georgia Railroad
Fact 2: killed in head-on train collision?
Notes for MATILDA ANN REBECCA ROBERTS:
She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Cedartown, Georgia.
She liked to read the Bible, preferably aloud.
She stole a horse from the Yankees, plowed with oxen, quilted, liked to travel even when she was elderly.
She was known as "Becky" until she became a grandmother, then was known affectionately as "Mammy".
She was born November 2, 1849 in Jackson Gap, Alabama.
She was married to William Ruffin Surls and lived with him in Jackson Gap for many years. They separated and he left and was killed in a head-on train collision. She was not notified of this but Uncle L.B. talked to the man who was the fireman on the train and he told her it was true.
She had 2 brothers, William Benjamin Roberts, and George Menoey Roberts, and 1 sister, Celia H Roberts Freeman.
She died July 12, 1932 in Cedartown, Ga.
She was a nurse trained by Dr. John Britt.
She was a whiskey taster fro the government.
She split rails.
She had a gold pendant with gold on one side and orange colored stone on the other side, given to Becky Surls by Mildred Surls Barnett.
She had a bone crochet hook which was handed down to Linda Surls Stell.
When she was about 13 years old, during the war, her mother always cooked enough food so that she could send some over to Cecelia Freeman, Mammy's sister. Mammy had to walk across the pastures to take it to her, and there were army deserters from both sides that hid in the woods. They would throw rocks at her and try to get her to leave the food behind. When asked what she did, she replied, " I just stuck out my tongue and kept right on walking!"
The Surls home was located off the dirt road that leads out of Rock Springs Baptist Church in Jackson Gap. The road is off to left right before you get to the Britt family cemetery which is in the woods on the left. The Surls/Roberts farm was covered by Lake Martin but the cemetery is reportedly still above water.
She had a velvet evening bag with a tassel on it. She kept her money in it in a chest and had a change purse that she kept under her pillow that she kept her house money in.
MAMMY SURLS' RECIPE FOR POUND CAKE;
6 medium eggs
2 sticks butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
pinch baking powder
Cream butter and sugar together. Alternate eggs and flour, beating as you add, add pinches of salt and baking powder. Add flour, bake at 350 for about 1 hour. Grease and flour pan.
MAMMY SURLS' TEA CAKE
1 cup sugar
1 egg in self-rising flour
little milk
buttermilk
1/2 cup crisco
Work up, with nutmeg or vanilla, roll out like biscuits and cut. bake.
More About MATILDA ANN REBECCA ROBERTS:
Fact 1: buried Greenwood cemetery, Cedartown, Ga
Fact 2: nicknamed Mandy, Becky, and Mammy Surls
Children of WILLIAM SURLS and MATILDA ROBERTS are:
4. i. ANGIE4 SURLS.
5. ii. ELIZABETH AMANDA SURLS, b. April 1875, Tallapoosa County, Alabama; d. November 1938, Tallapoosa County, Alabama.
6. iii. WILLIAM PLEAS SURLS, b. January 25, 1877, Tallapoosa County ALABAMA; d. April 25, 1945, Cedartown,Georgia.
7. iv. DONNA SURLS, b. September 1879.
v. OMIE SURLS, b. August 1881; m. FRANCIS MARION BRITT; b. May 1878.
More About FRANCIS MARION BRITT:
Fact 1: named after Francis Marion the Swamp Fox
Generation No. 4
4. ANGIE4 SURLS (WILLIAM RUFFIN3, FRANK2, THOMAS1) She met UNKNOWN HOOD.
Child of ANGIE SURLS and UNKNOWN HOOD is:
i. FELIX5 HOOD.
5. ELIZABETH AMANDA4 SURLS (WILLIAM RUFFIN3, FRANK2, THOMAS1) was born April 1875 in Tallapoosa County, Alabama, and died November 1938 in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. She married LARRY BRYANT BRITT III 1894 in Tallapoosa County, Alabama, son of UNKNOWN BRITT and MIDDEBELLE UNKNOWN. He was born November 1873.
Notes for ELIZABETH AMANDA SURLS:
Judge A. Craddock married Aunt Lizzie and Uncle L.B. with Frank Sorrels and Zimri Roberts as witnesses in 1894.
More About ELIZABETH AMANDA SURLS:
Fact 1: nicknamed Lizzie
Children of ELIZABETH SURLS and LARRY BRITT are:
i. WILLIAM BRYANT5 BRITT.
ii. JOSEPH MANNING BRITT.
iii. WILLIS LEE BRITT.
iv. REGINA LOUCIE BRITT.
v. FANNY REBECCA BRITT.
vi. BERTHA MAY BRITT, b. March 1895; m. UNKNOWN STALLINGS.
vii. INDIA OLAR BRITT, b. April 1897; m. BENJAMIN L. KERSEY.
viii. RICHARD RUFFIN BRITT, b. March 1899.
8. ix. ELIZABETH ELAINE BRITT, b. June 28, 1901; d. December 1986, Barnesville, Georgia.
x. REBECCA BRITT.
6. WILLIAM PLEAS4 SURLS (WILLIAM RUFFIN3, FRANK2, THOMAS1) was born January 25, 1877 in Tallapoosa County ALABAMA, and died April 25, 1945 in Cedartown,Georgia. He married EPSIE CORRINE BRITT June 14, 1896 in Jackson Gap, ALABAMA, daughter of RICHARD BRITT and FRANCIS SORRELLS. She was born December 24, 1876 in Tallapoosa County ALABAMA, and died March 10, 1940 in Ceadartown, Georgia.
Notes for WILLIAM PLEAS SURLS:
When Papa and Mama were married, both sets of parents insisted they move from Jackson Gap, as it was a very isolated area and a very poor place to raise a family. They moved to Columbus, Ga. where their infant son Marion died, then they moved to Cedartown in 1904.
He was a Mason.
His nephew Felix Hood, lived with them and is listed on the 1900 census with them.
He did a lot of work on the Turntable located in Cedartown. The turntable is now located at the Tennessee Valley Train Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee where it was moved in the mid '80's. We have pictures of the turntable in Chattanooga.
He loved gardening and children.
TOLD TO CRIS SURLS BY JOE P SURLS SR
"Shorty" Suls, (William Pleas), was a coach for Masonic work. When they advance from one step to another, there is a lot of memory work involved. Sometimes they would practice at the fire station, or the filling station, or somewhere they could be away from everyone, but their favorite place to practice was the cemetery, because they could see if anyone was coming and quit talking. On this particular evening, Shorty was there with several of the candidates and they were up on the hill overlooking the railroad tracks. They were squatting or kneeling down in a circle going over the work. A lady who was one of Shorty's neighbors on Broad St. was looking over the tracks and saw them. She couldn't tell what they were doing but thought they were throwing dice and gambling. She called the sheriff and told him that Shorty and some others were in the cemetery gambling. He told her he would take care of it. He went to the cemetery and when he found out what they were doing, as he was a Mason himself, he joined them. When the lady saw him squatting down and joining them she really got upset, so she called the Mayor and told him that Shorty Surls, the Sheriff, and some others were over in the cemetery gambling. She thought it was disgraceful and he'd better do something about it. He told her he would personally take care of it. It so happened that the Mayor was also a Mason, so when he got there, he joined them. After they finished going over the step, they all went over to the lady's house and explained to her and apologized to her for upsetting her. She was much relieved to find out that Shorty was not a gambler after all.
MASONIC HISTORY OF WILLIAM PLEAS SURLS, TAKEN FROM BIBLE OF JOSEPH P SURLS SR
Entered Apprentice April 18, 1921
Fellow Craft May 20, 1921
Master Mason June 17, 1921
Caledonia #121 Faud A.M.
Cedartown, Georgia
Mark Master
Past Master
Most Excellent Master
Royal Arch
Adoniran Chapter
No 41-R.A.M.
Received All Degrees on August 4, 1943
Cedartown, Georgia
His mark is drawn in the Bible.
More About WILLIAM PLEAS SURLS:
Fact 1: Buried Greenwood cemetery, Cedartown, Ga
Fact 2: nicknamed Shorty
Fact 3: called Papa by the family
Fact 4: carpenter for Central of Georgia Railroad
Notes for EPSIE CORRINE BRITT:
She liked gardening, flowers, listening to sports events on radio, particularly boxing. "Young Stribling" was her favorite boxer.
She made knitted lace on very small wire-like needles.
More About EPSIE CORRINE BRITT:
Fact 1: buried Greenwood cemetery, Cedartown, Ga
Fact 2: called Mama
Marriage Notes for WILLIAM SURLS and EPSIE BRITT:
Married on June 14, 1896 at 11 o'clock by Judge A.M. Craddock. We have the original copy of the marriage certificate.
Children of WILLIAM SURLS and EPSIE BRITT are:
i. OLIVE EVA5 SURLS, b. December 17, 1896, Cedartown,Georgia; d. March 22, 1922, Cedartown,Georgia.
Notes for OLIVE EVA SURLS:
She was engaged to a young man that wrote her long love letters, that were poetical and beautifully written. She was very quiet and shy. Daddy always said that Linda looked and acted very much like her.
More About OLIVE EVA SURLS:
Fact 1: died of a cerebreal hemorrhage
Fact 2: buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Cedartown GA
Fact 3: have copy of death certificate
Fact 4: nicknamed Ollie
9. ii. RUFFIN LEWIS SURLS, SR., b. October 06, 1899, Ceadartown, Georgia; d. August 25, 1963, Florence, South Carolina.
iii. FRANCIS REBECCA SURLS, b. December 31, 1902, Cedartown,Georgia1; d. May 29, 1973, Smyrna, Ga1.
Notes for FRANCIS REBECCA SURLS:
She worked for the telephone company as an operator for over 30 years.
She could make exquisite lace tatting and taught Linda and Becky how to do it, but the dummies forgot how.
Crispin Eugene Vessell had a baby gown with some of the tatting sewn on it.
More About FRANCIS REBECCA SURLS:
Fact 1: buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Cedartown GA
Fact 2: nicknamed Mamie
iv. MARION WILLIAM BRYANT SURLS, b. March 03, 1904, Columbus, Georgia; d. March 04, 1905, Columbus, Georgia.
v. CORA LEE SURLS, b. February 13, 1905, Jackson Gap, Alabama; d. February 20, 1995, Marietta, Georgia; m. WILLARD ALLEN KLEIN, September 25, 1944.
Notes for CORA LEE SURLS:
Joe's sister. She was born in Jackson Gap, Alabama in the same house that Papa Surls was born in. When she was born, Epsie only had one name picked out for her-Cora, Grandpa Britt asked her if it would be allright to name her for "The greatest man he ever knew- Robert E. Lee", so that is how she was named Cora Lee Surls.
She lived in Columbus till she was about 2 years old. Mama was sick and couldn't take up much time with her. There were some high school boys that took her out for "walks" each day and they taught her how to walk.
She married Willard Allen "Bill" Klein on _______. She met him in Atlanta just after he got out of the army. He was a railroad man and worked for the Santa Fe, Chicago Burlington and Quincy, and Great Northern Railroads. They went to Galesburg, Ill to get married. They lived in Sheridan, Wyoming, Edgemont , South Dakota, Casper, Wyoming, Gillette, Wyoming, Fort Madison, Iowa, Chicago, Illinoise, and Kansas City, Kansas. They lifed in hotels because they didn't stay in one town long enough to get an apartment. Her best friend in Edgemont, Mabel, went for an interview for a job in a hotel, and she was very shy, and Cora answered most of the questions for her, when the man asked when she could start work, Cora answered that Mabel could start the next day. He said, no, when can YOU start work? Cora said she couldn't , she was going to be leaving town. Mabel did not get the job. She did get a job in another hotel in Edgemont as a receptionist, and even though Cora had never done that type work , she trained her for the job. There was a fire in the hotel in Edgemont and although there wasn't much damage donem Cora had to send her clothes out to be cleaned. Uncle Bill called her and told her to be ready to leave the next day, but she couldn't because of the clothes. She had a job at the Elk's club and told him she just couldn't tell the man she was quitting after such a short time, so Bill went and told him for her. When Mama Surls got sick, she came home to help take care of her. She and Bill separated and she stayed in Cedartown. When JW sold his bakery and moved to Smyrna, Georgia, she and Mamie moved there also, to a house on Love Street. After Mamie died, she moved in with JW and Mildred.
She has never read "Gone With The Wind", but she wrote a book report for Virginia that she had to hve to graduate, she passed with a good grade.
She is tall, with dark hair and eyes. She likes to read and crochet. She worked in a dry cleaners, for Gillette, and in Barnett's Bakery.
The family's pet name for her is "CoCo".
More About CORA LEE SURLS:
Fact 1: nicknamed Coco
10. vi. JOSEPH PLEAS SURLS, SR., b. April 18, 1909, Ceadartown, Georgia; d. January 05, 1980, East point Georgia.
11. vii. MILDRED EPSIE SURLS, b. August 09, 1913; d. March 15, 1991.
7. DONNA4 SURLS (WILLIAM RUFFIN3, FRANK2, THOMAS1) was born September 1879. She married WILLIAM SORRELLS, son of JORDON SORRELLS and SARAH BRITT.
Children of DONNA SURLS and WILLIAM SORRELLS are:
i. CLEMMIE5 SORRELLS, m. UNKNOWN BUSBY.
More About CLEMMIE SORRELLS:
Fact 1: Lived in Norman Park, Georgia
ii. GEORGE SORRELLS, m. ANNIE WHITT HORTON; d. July 26, 1973.
iii. AUDREY SORRELLS, m. UNKNOWN STEVISON.
More About AUDREY SORRELLS:
Fact 1: Lived in Alexander City Alabama
Fact 2: One of the sisters we visited on history trek
iv. WILLIAM SORRELLS, m. AGNES CARROLL.
More About WILLIAM SORRELLS:
Fact 1: painter and photographer
v. ALMA SORRELLS.
More About ALMA SORRELLS:
Fact 1: never married, lived with Audrey,Alexander cty
vi. WILLIS SORRELLS, m. AGNES UNKNOWN.
Generation No. 5
8. ELIZABETH ELAINE5 BRITT (ELIZABETH AMANDA4 SURLS, WILLIAM RUFFIN3, FRANK2, THOMAS1) was born June 28, 1901, and died December 1986 in Barnesville, Georgia. She married LESTER GERDINE LIFSEY, JR, son of GERDINE LIFSEY and DONA BRITT.
Notes for ELIZABETH ELAINE BRITT:
Bessie Lifsey's Rolls
Doodle out a hole in a sifter full of self-rising flour, add 2 heaping tsps sugar, 1 envelope yeast, dissolved in 1 cup warm water, make soft dough with 3 heaping tbsp lard. Put in refrigerator overnight and then knead again. Roll, cut, let rise 1 hour and bake at 350-400 until brown.
More About ELIZABETH ELAINE BRITT:
Fact 1: nicknamed Bessie
Fact 2: lived in Barnesville, Ga
Child of ELIZABETH BRITT and LESTER LIFSEY is:
i. LESTER GERDINE6 LIFSEY III.
9. RUFFIN LEWIS5 SURLS, SR. (WILLIAM PLEAS4, WILLIAM RUFFIN3, FRANK2, THOMAS1) was born October 06, 1899 in Ceadartown, Georgia, and died August 25, 1963 in Florence, South Carolina. He married MARIE THOMPSON November 27, 1920. She was born March 16, 1901 in Cedartown,Georgia2, and died December 10, 1993 in Florence, South Carolina2.
Notes for RUFFIN LEWIS SURLS, SR.:
Obituary Notice from Florence Sc newspaper reads:
R. L. Surls SR.
Florence--Funeral services for Ruffin L. Surls Sr, 63, were conducted today in Waters Funeral Home. Burial with Masonic rites was conducted by Hampton Lodge 204.
He died Monday in a local hospital after several months' illness. He was associated with the ACL Railroad for more than 40 years.
Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Ruffin L. Surls Sr. of Florence, formerly Miss Marie Thompson of Cedartown, Ga.; two daughters, Mrs William E. Rush of Columbia, and Mrs Manning Jolly Jr. of Marion; a son, R. Lewis Surls Jr. of Lancaster; three sisters, Miss Mamie Surls, Mrs J.W. Barnett and Mrs. Cora S. Klein, all of Smyrna, Ga.; a brother, Joe P. Surls of East Point. Ga.; and two grandchildren.
MASONIC HISTORY OF RUFFIN LEWIS SURLS SR, TAKEN FROM BIBLE OF JOSEPH P SURLS SR
Entered Apprentice June 2, 1922
Fellow Craft July 21, 1922
Master Mason June 18, 1923
25 Year Button August 24, 1957
Caledonia #121, F&AM Cedartown, Georgia
Mark Master February 16, 1946
Past Master February 16, 1946
Most Excellent Master February 26, 1946
Royal Arch February 26, 1946
Andoniram Chapter #41, RAM
Cedartown, Georgia demitted
October 14, 1958-Affiliated with Campbell Chapter 31
Florence, South Carolina November 10, 1958
Illustrius Order of Red Cross
And Knights of Malta September 9, 1957 Florence Commandry #10
Order of the Temple September 30, 1957
Florence Commandry #10
Created a Noble of Omar Temple
Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of Mystic Shrine
In Florence, South Carolina October 7, 1957
Omar Temple is located in Charleston, South Carolina
Visited by Black Camel on August 25, 1963
More About RUFFIN LEWIS SURLS, SR.:
Fact 1: Was a Mason
Fact 2: Worked for the ACL Railroad for more than 40 years
Children of RUFFIN SURLS and MARIE THOMPSON are:
i. VIRGINIA MARIE6 SURLS, b. November 18, 1921; m. WILLIAM E. RUSH.
More About VIRGINIA MARIE SURLS:
Fact 1: lived in Columbia, Sc
Fact 2: 1146 Libby Arialil Cir
Fact 3: Chapin, Sc 29036
ii. RUFFIN LEWIS SURLS, JR., b. May 20, 1924; m. CAROLYN VAUGHN.
More About RUFFIN LEWIS SURLS, JR.:
Fact 1: resides in Lancaster, SC
iii. LINA CLAIRE SURLS, b. November 14, 1931; m. MANNING JOLLY, JR..
More About LINA CLAIRE SURLS:
Fact 1: Lived in Marion, SC
Fact 2: 219 N Main St
Fact 3: Marion, SC
10. JOSEPH PLEAS5 SURLS, SR. (WILLIAM PLEAS4, WILLIAM RUFFIN3, FRANK2, THOMAS1) was born April 18, 1909 in Ceadartown, Georgia3, and died January 05, 1980 in East point Georgia3. He married (1) BLANCHE COX January 01, 1930. He married (2) WILMA ELIZABETH LOWENTHAL April 11, 1937 in Centre, ALABAMA, daughter of SAMUEL LOWENTHAL and ROSAMUND HARBIN. She was born October 19, 1914 in Chattanooga,Tennessee4, and died February 20, 1987 in Atlanta,Ga4.
Notes for JOSEPH PLEAS SURLS, SR.:
He was born in a railroad section house, then lived in the old family house at 115 Broad St., then on the corner of Fletcher St. for years.
When he married Wilma, they lived with Mamaw from April 1939 to September 1939 on Westview Dr in Atlanta, then bought the house at 430 Kimmeridge Dr, East Point, Ga. Now numbered 2918 this remained the Surls residence until 1995.
He was baptised in 1925.
He graduated from Cedartown Highschool in 1928, then did odd jobs, hoboed, operated an ice plant, was a short order cook in a cafe, worked in a grocery store, worked in a dye mill (United States Finishing Company), worked in a filling station, delivered groceries, was in the National Guard for 7 years, went to work for Motor Parts & Supply Co on Octobeer 3, 1933, worked there until 1961 when they were bought out by Perrin Auto Supply, continued in same job until June 1975, retired because of age and health, kept grandson, Gene, at home while Becky worked.
Service Record: serial number 34832892, classification job 1736 heavy tank crewman, served cadre armor instructor on all track laying vehicles and all wheel vehicles and taught concurrent subjects. Contributed to the tank training manuals. Held rank of Sargeant 2 years. Had 7 1/2 years National Guard service, earned rank of Sargeant at end of each 3 years term. Inducted into Army December 1943 and discharged Nov 22, 1945. Training camp was at Ft Knox, Kentucky Armored School. He was in the largest company in history of US Army, designated as "Service Company C", 2nd Regiment Tank Training Battalion averaged 725 enlisted men and 45 officers. There was no immediate commanding officer, it operated as an individual unit, responsible only to Plans and Training. He had 2 promotions in same number of months, from Private to Corporal to Sargeant. He was discharged at Ft Knox, Kentucky.
INFORMATION FROM BECKY VESSELL AS TOLD TO HER BY JOE P SURLS SR
When I was little, Daddy used to tell me stories of when he was little, and Papa and Mama would take them on the train over to Alabama to see their grandparents. He spoke of Grandpa Britt who was tall and quiet, with ice-blue eyes. Daddy said that all the cousins would be running around yelling and cutting up. The women would try to make them behave, but as with most kids, they ignored them. He said Grandpa Britt would sit on the porch and watch them awhile, and then when they finally got out of hand, he would get up, walk down the steps and just LOOK at them. IMMEDIATELY everyone would stop, shut up, and start behaving. Daddy said he never remembered Grandpa Britt striking anyone, that just seeing him stare at you with those ice-blue eyes was enough. I asked him why he had that effect when all the kids knew he wouldn't hurt them? He thought a minute, and said he wasn't really sure, except that you knew you wanted that man to think well of you, and more than anything else, you didn't want him mad at you. He said the girls wore feed sacks with only slits cut in the sides and top for arms and neck, maybe a rope for a belt, and no underwear, and of course, no shoes. He said Uncle Marion would usually take the older boys squirrel hunting for stew for supper, but the middle group of kids would run off in the woods to go "flying". When I asked him what he meant by going "flying", Daddy just laughed and with a sparkle in his eye, he told me about "flying." He said what you did was look for a sapling that was not too big, but not too small. Then, several of the kids would climb up the tree to the top, then another would climb up, then another, and so on until the tree was weighted down at the top and bent over to the ground. The kids on the ground would grab hold of the tree and help hold it down while the foolhardy soul who was to "fly" would grab hold of the tree trunk and hold on with a bear hug. The others would let go and POW! Of course, the tree would flip back and forth before it would finally straighten out and whoever was "flying" looked a lot like Olive Oyle in the cartoons, but it sure was fun!! And Daddy would laught until tears rolled down his cheeks. I, of course, never really believed him, because I could never quite see my Daddy pulling such a stunt, he was always so very careful of our safety, he would certainly never let any of us do anything like that. Then Mother, Mildred, Cora, Gene and I went to Alabama, to Jackson Gap, in search of family history. We went to Rock Springs Church and cemetery, and in an old house behind the cemetery, we met Jessie Milner Vines, Aunt Lula's daughter. She was so excited to see us, she grabbed me by the arm and said over and over, "Oh, you're Joe P's daughter! Oh, you're Joe P's daughter!" Then she grinned and said "I well remember him visiting, and we'd all go "a'flying" in the trees!" Well, it's a good thing I didn't have false teeth, because I'd have dropped them then and there. When we got home and I told Daddy about it, he just laughed and said, "Of course we did! Would I tell you a lie?", and laughed some more.
MASONIC HISTORY OF JOSEPH PLEAS SURLS SR, INFO TAKEN FROM HIS BIBLE
Entered Apprentice October 18, 1935
Fellow Craft December 20, 1935
Master Mason February 6, 1936
Caledonia #121 F&AM
Cedartown, Georgia Raised by W P Surls
Mark Master
Paster Master
Most Excellent Master
Royal Arch Mason Thanksgiving Day 1943
Courtesy of East Point Royal Arch Chapter
Located at Hapeville, Georgia
Adoniram Chapter #41 Cedartown, Georgia
Knight of Red Cross March 14, 1946
Knights of Malta March 21, 1946
Knights Templar April 11, 1946
Rome Commandry #8 Rome, Georgia
Created a Noble of Ancient Arabic Order
Nobles of Mystic Shrine in Yaarab Temple
Atlanta, Georgia May 15, 1946
Raised William J Surls to Master Mason January 13, 1962 in
Blue Mountain Lodge #38 Faud A M, Dahlonega, Georgia
Certificate of Good Standing to East Point Lodge #288
With Dues Paid to December 31, 1977 on March 1, 1977 for
Purpose of Transfer of Membership
Dated March 10, 1977 Petition to East Point Lodge #288
F&AM on March 15, 1977 and Affiliated with
East Point Lodge #288 on April 19, 1977
Crispin Surls acted as Senior Deacon at this Affiliation.
SURLS HISTORY TOLD TO BECKY SURLS VESSELL, BY JOE P SURLS, SR, MAY 1978
transcribed from cassette tape
BECKY-Tell me the story of the powder horn,
DADDY- The powder horn or the charger?
Becky- Both,
DADDY- Well, the hunting horn was used by my Great grandfather Zimri Roberts, to hunt and call in the hunting dogs with, to signal from one hunter to another, and to signal from one farm to another in case there was some kind of emergency. They had an agreement as to how many blasts of the hunting horn that would denote a fire, rabid dog, posinous snake, or somebody that was ill or injured, and they could come and help each other. That was the horn that dates back in the early 1800's.
Becky- That's the bone colored one?
Daddy- That's the hunting horn. Now the powder charger, there's two powder chargers. One is made out of pewter that was used in the War of the Revolution by some of Zimri Roberts' ancestors. That was used to charge the muzzle loading rifles that were used to fight the British in the War of The Revolution in 1776, and the other powder charger is cut and sized from a deer antler that was used in a hunting rifle and was also used in a muzzle loading rifle that was used in the War Between the States 1861-1865. Now, who used it in the War Between the States, I don't know whether it was brother George or brother Will, but one of them used it to load his rifle in the War Between the States, and that is called a "powder charger" and it measured the amount of powder that went into the rifle to make the muzzle loading rifle shoot.
Becky- That's the one that looks like a deer antler?
Daddy- Made from a deer antler with a rawhide thong on it.
Becky- Tell me about the Masonic Ring you handmade for your Daddy.
Daddy- Well, the Atlantic Coastline Railroad scraped some locomotives that were obsolete, and on these locomotives that were to be scrapped was a instrument called a dynamo, that was operated by steam and the steam boiler. Inside this dynamo was a piece of Mormel Steel, which is very much like white gold and is very dense like platinum, and it's impervious to acids and the things that corrode ordinary metal. And at that time, which was in the early 1900's, it was a new metal that was being used for practical purposes. It had qualities that were good enough for jewelry and ornamental work. And so, Ruffin made the ring by hand for Daddy and gave it to my Daddy and he kept it and highly prized it for years and years, up until now and I got from Mamie and Mamie had kept it through until after her death and Mildred gave it to me. And I in turn gave it to Cris.
Becky- What about the ring you made your Mother?
Daddy- Well, I made it out of silver coin. When I was a young boy, it was fashionable to make jewelry for people that you liked and loved, so I wanted to make my Mother a ring, so I made her one by beating it out of a silver coin by hand and gave it to her.
Becky- Tell me about the "Pirate Pistol." Where did it come from?
Daddy- Well, I had a friend in Rockmart, Georgia that about 30 years ago that I helped him in his business a little bit. I gave him some advice and told him how to do some things that he didn't know about. And so he came by that pistol from an old lady that liked him and he had done her a favor and disposed of an old automobile for her and she told him he could have that old muzzle loading pistol, horse pistol, or boarding pistol that was used on some Navy ships if he wanted it. He told her he didn't want it, but he'd get it for me. So he bought it from the old lady for fifteen dollars and sold it to me for fifteen dollars. The gun is of a manufacture about 1835 and it has a barrel on it similar to a shotgun and it can shoot a handful of slugs or bolts, nuts, or rocks or whatever you want to pour in it and it has a spreading effect of whatever you want to shoot in it. That's why they used it on a horse so you'd be sure of hitting what you were shooting at. Or as a boarding pistol off of a ship to make sure you could shoot good every time you climbed up on a ship and hit them.
Becky- Tell me about the Grandmother Clock.
Daddy- Well, that clock was smuggled into the state of Alabama about 1824. At that time to raise taxes to operate the various government agencies and so forth and pay salaries and all that sort of thing, they placed heavy taxes on clocks which were begining to be a luxury item. So, the clockmakers up in Connecticut had the New England states in order to sell their merchandise, they resorted to smuggling. And they smuggled clocks in from up in the east in Alabama and some of the southeastern states to avoid paying the heavy tax. This clock was smuggled into Alabama and sold for at that time was twentyfour dollars, chich was a real fortune at that time. Twentyfour dollars was a magnificent sum, and that;s what the clock cost. It was smuggled into the State of Alabama about 1824.
Becky- Well, who bought it?
Daddy- I don't know who bought it. I imagine Zimri Robert's family, some member of that family bought it, but my Grandmother told me the story of it, that's what she told me.
Becky- Who was it that was the Indian Fighter?
Daddy- Well, the applications for pensions from the people that fought in the Indian Wars were Zimri Roberts and C N Freeman and they applied for pensions. Now, the others, I don't know who they were. But you do have the applications for their pensions.
Becky- C N Freeman fought in the Indian Wars?
Daddy- Yes.
Becky- Now tell me about when you were little and going to Alabama on the train to see your Grandfather Britt.
Daddy- What do you mean?
Becky- When you "played in the trees."
Daddy- Oh well, we went to Alabama to visit my Grandaddy Britt when he was sick. We rode on a pass on the Central of Georgia Railroad. We didn't go direct, because we had passes that carried us to Montgomery and then to Alexander City, and Dadeville and to Jackson Gap. One of the trains we rode on was the Cherokee Limited, a luxury passenger train operated by the Central of Georgia. In order to get on the train when we left, Jackson Gap was a flag stop and my Daddy, being a railroad man, he flagged the train at Jackson Gap and we got on the train there. When the train came around the curve, it was late in the evening and it had an enormous steam locomotive with high driving wheels, and the engineer say my Daddy flag him. When he put on the brakes, and the sparks from the brakes on the wheels was like and electric grinding wheel, throwing off big showers of sparks and it was like a Fourth of July fireworks exhibit. It scared me. I hid behind my Mama. We got on the train and came back home. On the Cherokee Limited partway.
Becky- Now tell me about your visit.
Daddy- Well it was out in the woods. They had everything that was necessary to operate a farm of about 180 acres. They had a smokehouse that had meat in it and they had "hills", where they had potatoes stored against the weather, that was built like an Indian tepee, built out of dried cornstalks and that was covered up with thick layers of earth and even though it rained on it, it wouldn't go through the cornstalks. It was perfect insulation and it kept the potatoes. They had pumpkins and cashaws and watermelon and various things kept in sand right on up to Christmas. They had a cottonseed house. They had turkeys, ducks, guineas, and a big old white mule that was very old and he was sick with old age and they gave him to me. I petted him while I was there and I owned a mule for that time. A big old white mule. They played some strange games of all kinds. They made their own bows and arrows and tipped them with rocks. They'd shoot at the chickens and different things like that. They'd throw corn cobbs at chickens and hit them and make the chickens flop around. The one I think you're talking about is the trees, being a stranger and a city boy, they wanted to play a trick on me. So, they took me out and some of the girls talked me into holding to a tree and they got a tree, climbed up and bent it over, and told me to hold onto it and wrap my legs around it. I did and they turned it aloose and the tree whipped me back and forth and they thought that was great fun. I thought it was too, when they got somebody else on it. It wasn't funny when I was on it., cause I didn't know if I was going to land in the next county or in the Tallapoosa River, five miles distant. But it was a big adventure. And then they had mules they were not being used because Grandpa was sick, we had to take the mules to water them, so they'd get a sting of them mules, each boy and girl would get on a mule and ride it to the spring and water them. I was on a mule and he stepped on a yellowjacket. The yellowjacket stung him on the ear, and I had a time getting that mule stopped before he got to the spring. He jolted me up pretty good. Mules are not easy to ride, they have a gait all their own, their back and bodies are built different from a horse. They're not too comfortable to ride on bareback. If one has got a hornet or a yellowjacket in his ear, why, he's hard to control. But we had fun. We dug up sugar cane that they had stored. Blue Ribbon sugar cane, and chewed that. But it was great. My Uncle took me squirrel hunting one morning, right at daybreak and shot squirrels and then on the way home he carried me to some of the neighbors to introduce me to them. He stopped in front of their house and waited a good ways our and hollered "hello". They cane out and this man came out first and my Uncle told him that he wanted him to come down there and see my Daddy's boy. He called him "Shorty." He said come and see "Shorty's" youngest boy. So he came out and he called his wife and they were backwoods people, so he came out and his wife came out behind him and stood about three or four feet behind him, and the two girls came out and stood behind them. The ground was spewed up about three inches in ice on the ground and they were all barefooted. They stood there and talked and then introduced me to all of them. The two girls were about twelve and fifteen years old. They only had one garment and it was made like a pillowcase. It had three holes cut in the top of it. One for the head and one for each arm. You could easily see that was the only garment they had on and they were barefooted. They had haircuts that looked like they had bowls put down over their heads and scissors run around to trim it off. But they were well fed and healthy looking. These people were prominent people, leaders in the community, but that's how they lived. My Greatgrandaddy had bought land from them. These people were names White. The head of the household was named Mally White. He was a well respected man in the neighborhood, people thought a great deal of him. He was friends and his family was friends to our family for generations back, but I've never seen any people like that before. It was quite an adventure to see those people. Especially the way they were dressed, how they talked, and how they acted, but they were great people. Good people.
Becky- Which Uncle was it?
Daddy- My Uncle Marion, Mamma's brother.
Becky- He was the one that lived there?
Daddy-Yes, he lived there with them. It was my Grandfather Britt's place.
Becky- Richard Lewis, right?, your Grandaddy Britt.
Daddy-That's right, Mamma's Daddy.
Becky- Tell me about him.
Daddy- Well he was the one fought in the Alabama infantry and he acted as a scout for General Robert E Lee. He wasn't a general or nothing like that. He was a scout. They called them sharpshooters. He did scouting, which was considered to be the same as a spy, and they had a rifle and a little bag like a schoolbook satchel. In that they carried what they called their "possibles." It was called a "possible bag". It had parched corn and whenever they could get it a little piece of dried side meat or other meat and nuts if they could get them. Hickory nuts, peanuts, peanuts or whatever they could get, and parched corn. And they had a belt knife and powder and shot. He went and spied on the enemy and counted them, found out how many there were, where their supplies were, what direction they were going and then reported it back to whoever was in charge of them. But the general consensus was, if you caught an enemy sharpshooter, or scout, he was considered a spy and you shot him right on the spot. Instant death. That's how they ran it and that's what he was. When he was discharged from the army, he was discharged at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia and he walked home from Appomattox, Virginia and brought one of his buddies along with him who was wounded in the side of the head. He brought him to his house and treated him and he stayed there until he got well. He went on to his house in Mississippi. And you oftentimes, hear people, say about, "oh, he's a brave man, he's got fortitude, he's got guts", and I just wondered if people really know what it is to have determination and fortitude, to be able to do that. That's not unusual with people of that sort, because we have an uncle that WALKED to the Petrified Forrest.
END OF TAPE
More About JOSEPH PLEAS SURLS, SR.:
Fact 1: buried Greenwood cemetery, Cedartown, Ga
Fact 2: copy of death certificate
Fact 3: May 1925, Baptised East View Baptist Church, Cedartown
Fact 4: Dr. K. C. Baker Pastor
Fact 5: called Pop by grandchildren
Notes for WILMA ELIZABETH LOWENTHAL:
She had dark brown hair, that turned grey, then white, at an early age. She was medium height and had blue eyes.
Mother's father died when she and Aunt Lillian were young. Rose traveled and remarried a man named Hezekiah_______. He was an alcoholic and after he went through her inheritence he treated her badly. Wilma and Lillian finally took it on themselves to call the police and have him thrown out of the house. Rose was not in good health and after she died Wilma and Lillian went to live with Mammaw and Taddy. Lillian married first and while Wilma was visiting her and Uncle Horace in Cedartown, she met Joe at a basketball game. They were married in Centre, Alabama on April 11, 1939. Mammaw went with them and when they returned to Atlanta they stayed awhile with her. Evidently Mammaw fully intended to stay in the same room as she had with Wilma, but Joe put his foot down and told her, "Now Mrs. Harbin, Wilma and I are married now and I'm going to sleep with her," With that he shut the door and so began 43 years of marriage.
Wilma and Lillian were brought up in the Methodist Church but when she married and they bought the house in East Point, she was baptized in the Baptist Church, First Baptist Church of East Point.
She worked for 5 years for Belk-Gallant, then worked for 27 years at Merritt's Drug Store in East Point.
She loved to travel, liked to read, sew, and crochet. She made most of Linda and Becky's clothes when they were little, and she and Cora made extensive wardrobes for the "Toni" dolls Santa brought them.
She was most happy when the family was gathered together.
More About WILMA ELIZABETH LOWENTHAL:
Fact 1: February 22, 1987, buried Greenwood cemetery, Cedartown, Ga
Fact 2: copy of death certificate
Fact 3: December 14, 1952, Baptised 1st Baptist East Point Ga
Fact 4: Dr. W. A. Duncan baptised her
Fact 5: called Nana by grandchildren
Child of JOSEPH SURLS and BLANCHE COX is:
i. JOSEPH PLEAS6 SURLS, JR., b. November 13, 1930, Ceadartown, Georgia; m. JOAN ELLEN BAKER, December 27, 1952, Las Vegas Nevada; b. November 23.
More About JOSEPH PLEAS SURLS, JR.:
Fact 1: Born 115 Broad St. Cedartown, Ga.
Fact 2: nicknamed Sonny
Fact 3: nicknamed Joe
Children of JOSEPH SURLS and WILMA LOWENTHAL are:
ii. WILLIAM JOSEPH6 SURLS, b. June 19, 1940, Ceadartown, Georgia; m. MARIAN KAREN WEAVER, June 17, 1962, Armuchee,GA; b. January 15, 1942.
More About WILLIAM JOSEPH SURLS:
Fact 1: December 14, 1952, Baptised First Baptist Church East Point Ga
Fact 2: Dr. W. A. Duncan Pastor
Fact 3: Born Goods Hospital, Cedartown Ga
Fact 4: Nicknamed Bill
iii. LINDA LEE SURLS, b. October 30, 1943, Atlanta,Ga; m. RUFUS EUGENE STELL, JR, March 21, 1959, Douglasville,GA; b. December 12, 1938, Fayetteville, Georgia.
More About LINDA LEE SURLS:
Fact 1: December 14, 1952, Baptised First Baptist Church East Point Ga
Fact 2: Dr. W. A. Duncan Pastor
Fact 3: Born Piedmont Hospital , Atlanta Ga
Fact 4: called Mimi by grandchildren
More About RUFUS EUGENE STELL, JR:
Fact 1: Baptised Jefferson Ave Baptist, East Point, Ga
Fact 2: nicknamed Papa Gene
Fact 3: called Eugene by family
iv. WILMA REBECCA SURLS, b. October 11, 1946, Atlanta,Georgia; m. BURNARD VESSELL, March 31, 1973, Riverdale, Georgia; b. September 02, 1937, Riverdale, Georgia.
Notes for WILMA REBECCA SURLS:
In 1979, I began my family history research in earnest and carried on a correspondence with Clyde R. Surls, a "cousin" whom we were at that time unable to find the connection. Hopefully, we will be able to recontact his family and add to the connections.
Becky Surls Vessell September 1, 1998
**********************************************
COPY OF LETTER FROM CLYDE R SURLS TO BILL SURLS
Clyde R Surls
6938 E Willeta St
Scottsdale, Az 85257
Dear Bill,
I must say I was pleasantly surprised to get your letter a few days ago. No, I hadn't given up on hearing from you: I never give up on any mail I send out. I know how easy it is to lay a letter aside and discover it months later. I've done it too.
Thanks so much for the chart and for the interesting sidelights regarding some of your ancestors. True, there aren't many places and dates after the first couple of generations, but it's a start.
With the chart which you sent, I now have seven Surls branches, with just one connection between two of them. So far I have been unable to trace far enough in any branch to find an immigrant.
I am quite interested in your Surls line because of it's proximity to another that was sent to me about three years ago. In that family, the earliest ancestor was born in Tennessee about 1794-5. He was 55 in the 1850 census. Three subsequent generations lived near Pulaski, Tn and I notice that Pulaski is not too far from your area. Perhaps there could be some connection between that line and yours.
During the past several years I have discovered some 32 different listings for Surls in the telephone directories across the country, not including my own relatives. I have written to 22 of them and had replies from 6 of them. I am convinced of one thing: there are not many of us in captivity. We have a very rare surname, and I would certainly like to find out whence we came.
Something else interests me. In my list of 32 Surls families, I have a Joseph P Surls of Atlanta. Is he your father? Also, I discovered a few years ago in "Who's Who in Science", a Dr. Joseph P. Surls, Jr, of Walnut Creek, Ca. would he be your brother? And is Mamie Surls of Smyrna and aunt or sister? Is Russell G Surls of Atlanta a relative of yours?
Do you think it would be possible, Bill, that some elderly relative might be able to furnish places and dates for some of your earlier generations?
Would you be at all interested in seeing charts for the seven Surls families that I mentioned? I could xerox them and send you copies, if you would like them.
Bill, I was in the service in WWII, but in the Navy, so it was not I that your father met at Ft Knox.
One of my correspondents, Dr Joseph K Surls, of St Petersburg, Fl (who before his retirement, was the only Surls listed in Metropolitan New York City) told me that he had met, during WWII, Maj Gen Alexander D Surles, then in charge of special services. They apparently resembled one another and were descended from ancestors from the same area of Ohio, although they apparently did not establish a very firm connection.
I have not heard from Dr Joe for nearly two years, perhaps he is deceased, he was over 80 yrs old when last I heard from him.
Perhaps those of us who spell our name Surls are somehow related to those who use Surles. The "E" was probably added or subtracted somewhere alone the line.
Do you have the problem of having your name misspelled by nearly everyone? I make it a point to spell it out whenever I have to give it to someone.
Dr Joe told me that those who spell their names Searls or Searles were Scottish and migrated through Nova Scotia.
Bill, if you find any new info, please let me know, and if I can send you somthing, let me know that too.
I guess that is about all that I have to say for now. Again, let me say how glad I was to get your letter. Even if we are in no way related, there is still something special about sharing a rare surname.
I hope to hear from you again soon.
Sincerely,
Clyde
(Bill passed the letter on to me and I contacted Clyde- the beginning of a very fruitful corresponcence)
LETTER FROM CLYDE R SURLS TO BECKY VESSELL;
Thursday, May 24, 1979
Dear Potential Cousin,
I'll start this reply to your letter this evening, but I suspect it will have to be continued and undoubtfully by the time I'm finished, it will be a tome.
First, I want to express my appreciation for your very most informative letter. It's so gratifying to discover someone who seems to be as interested as I am in tracking down that elusive common immigrant ancestor. Also, many thanks for filling in some of the blanks in your family chart which Bill had sent to me earlier.
My interest in genealogy was triggered some twelve years ago when our eldest son, Ray, was a highschool sophomore. He was given a "family tree" assignment by his American History teacher and at that time we barely knew a few basic statistics about our grandparents. With a little we were able come up with a rather amateurish chart for several ancestral lines and the boy received a good mark for his work.
I have access to the LDS Library in nearby Mesa, and was able to trace the Surls line to Pennsylvania where I hit the pervervial blank wall.
My maternal lines went much better, and they turned out to be very rewarding. My given name comes from my mother's maiden name, and the Clydes came through New Englandm where of course, there are countless town histories and other valuable records.
The Clydes line intersected a Pierce line (related to our 14th President), and the Pierce line intersected a Whitney line (related to Eli), and the Whitney line was traceable to England where it tied into royalty and the whole thing explodeed into more information than I can chart in a lifetime.
But all that certainly didn't do anything to solve the problem of whence came G Surls of Pennsylvania! As I mentioned in our telephone conversation, the response to my mailings to phone books Surlses was disappointing. Two or three people sent what little they had. A couple of folks answered an ad which I had placed in the "Helper" asking to hear from any Surls anywhere.
From these meager replies came the information which appears on the enclosed sheets. I hope you will find these charts interesting and please accept them with my compliments. One big plus in this whole enterprise is being able to share with others. I have also enclosed a copy of my letter to Dr Joseph Kiddoo Surls and his reply. I hope that Bob of Pittsburgh will be able to supply us more on his particular line.
Carol and I were both born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana. We left there in 1958 with four little kids and relocated in Scottsdale, where we gained two native Arizonians.
We had lived here about two years when we recieved several long distance telephone calls for a Surls whom we did not know, and we even received a piece of mail for him in error, since he lived on Willetta St, but in Phoenix. Anyway, old "dummie" Clyde didn't pursue this person and by the time I became interested in our scarce surname, the individual had left the valley. Your half-brother Joe didn't happen to pass through here on his way to California did he? I don't even remember the given name of the person. Dumb. Dumb.
As of June 4th I will have worked as a design draftsman for Airseach Mfg. Co. of Phoenix for twenty years. I have done some work on hardware for the C141 and C5A aircraft which Bill has probably been involved with at Lockheed, Marietta.
Carol has sold Tupperware and toys at home parties, worked at our grammar school cafeteria, at a local supermarket, at a local motel and is currently employed in the cafeteria of one of our Morotola plants.
Ray graduated from Arizona State with a degree in theater arts and works for films throughout the Southwest.
Jacquie has been married for nearly six years and lived in Bellevue, Washington, where her husband is in the construction business with his father. She has given us a granddaughter and has a brother or sister on order for June 22.
Rick graduated from Los Angeles Baptist College with a degree in Physical Education. He is now athletic director at Woodland Christian School in Woodland, California where his wife Becky teaches third grade.
Randy was married last month in Montana adn he and his bride live just a few blocks from Rick and Becky. Randy works in construction and does part time short order cooking at a restaurant and Helen is a waitress at another establishment.
Janet is in Singapore for two years.
Ron will graduate from high school next week and when he goes away to college next fall, we will be alone.
Well, Becky, that should be enough rambling for this time. Please keep me informed if you learn anything new concerning our mutual endeavor.
Sincerely,
Clyde Surls
P. S. I just learned from a telephone conversation with my mother this morning that my first cousin, once removed, Fred Surls , who is a specialist in the Chinese language with the State Department is interestedin genealogy. They live in Virginia near Washington D.C. and should be in a good position to visit the National Archives and the library of Congress, etc. Here's the clincher: the daughter's name is BECKY.
"THE BOX OF RELICS FROM DR JOSEPH KIDDOO SURLS"
Glenda McCoy advertised in the "Genealogical Helper" that she had come across a box of "relics" from a Dr Joseph Kiddoo Surls in an auction. She felt that someone with a Surls surname would possibly find the pictures , letters, postcards, etc. helpful in tracing their family history, so she offered this box to whoever seemed to be the closest relative or had the closest tie to him. Daddy wrote to her and she picked us out as having the closest tie. Although we have not been able to positively tie into this linem it does give us some interesting clues, and eventually we will be able to connect everyone.
LETTER FROM GLENDA MCCOY TO JOSEPH P SURLS SR:
July 13, 1978
Glenda E McCoy
4291 Vincente St
Fremont, Ca 94536
Dear Mr Surls:
Needless to say I was pleased to hear from a Surls descendant, whether directly related to my Joseph Surls or not. I have received two other replys to my ad in the "Helper" but at this time feel you are the most closely related.
I plan to pack the materials I have in my possession for shipment as soon as I can determine the best method of shipment at the least cost. (I just realized the spelling errors, it's late and we've just come home from vacation. Please just bear with me!)
Though I will ship this material to you, I hope you will be willing to share with the others who have written me about this information. It is difficult to decide who should receive what when you have more than one response! Mrs Henry Chancy, 811 N 7th St, Mary's Kansas, 66536 has a William and Joseph Surls in her husband's line and would like information to compile a book. I am sending her a copy of this letter in the hopes that perhaps you may share in this wonderful endeavor.
I received a letter from Mrs Olive O'Neal, Box 237, Westmorland, Ca 92281 inquiring about the Kiddoo line. Since Joseph Kiddoo Surls in the material I have might tie into her research I am making copies of the pertinent material to send to her. Perhaps you may wish to correspond further with her.
The cartons for shipment are heavy and if you have preference as to how they arrive, please write with your instructions and how you care to arrange for reimbursement of costs ($10.00 plus shipment cost).
I did receive a phone call from Mrs Marshall Brucer, 5334 Via Celeste, Tucson, Arizona 85718 regarding the Leavengood surname found in some of this material. She indicated that if I/we couldn't determine wherre this information should be sent she could help us with it's distribution to the closest relative or organization.
Hoping to hear from you soon,
Sincerely,
Glenda E McCoy
COPY OF LETTER FROM CLYDE R SURLS TO DR JOSEPH KIDDOO SURLS:
6938 Willetta St
Scottsdale, Arizona 85257
November 16, 1972
Doctor Joseph K Surls
2209 Quincy St, S
St Petersburg, Fl 33711
Dear Dr Surls:
I have been recent correspondence with your cousin Bob Surls, of Pittsburgh, and he has suggested that I contact you regarding our common surname.
My interest in the Surls name has caused me to become self-appointed family historian for my particular branch of the family tree. Research into family records and investigations into federal census returns have led me to a George Surls, who appeared in Tyrbot Twp Northumberland Co, Pennsylvania, prior to 1800. I believe him to be my great-great-grandfather. At about the same period in history, there appeared in Dublin Twp, Bedford Co, Pennsylvania, a John Surls, whom I believe to have been George's brother. Both Christian names, George and John, recurred in later generations in my ancestry.
Do you have any records of your branch of the family which tie in with either of the above mentioned gentlemen, or do you have any information that would indicate who the immigrant ancestor of the Surls people of America might have been?
Several years ago I saw your name in the Manhattan telephone directory, and was surprised you were the only Surls listed in the New York area. Then I realized just how scarce we are.
My goal is to trace the Surls name as far back as feasible. I assume that the spelling has been revised many times, and have often wondered if those who spell their names Surlesm Searles, or Searls are all descended from a common ancestor.
Please write to me at your convenience, Doctor. I shall be most anxious to hear from you.
With best wishes,
Clyde R Surls
LETTER FROM DR SURLS TO CLYDE SURLS:
Dr Surls
2209 Quincy S
St Pete, Fla 33711
November 24, 1972
Dear Cousin Clyde,
Please excuse my using the back of your letter. I can't get any proper paper right now.
Yes, I am sure all the Surls or Surles people are cousins. The Searles people are not. They came from Nova Scotia to Massachusetts, I believe. In the Second World War, people began to ask whether Major General Allen Surls was a cousin, so I stopped to ask him, in Washington.
We even looked alike, so it was not necessary to ask. He said, "My family came from East Liverpool, Ohio" . I said. "so does mine." He said, "And we got a Congressional Medal in the Civil War." I said, "so did we."
I'll write you more at a later date.
With thanks for your trouble and my best regards, I remain,
Your Cousin,
Joe Surls
BECKY'S FAMILY MEMORIES
I guess the most remarkable thing about our family is exactly that---FAMILY. We've always been extremely close.
Daddy was a "traveling salesman", working for Motor Parts & Supply Company. He drove a truck and Mother always said she could hear the truck when it turned onto Kimmeridge. He was always gone overnight on Monday, usually staying with JW and Mildred, but sometimes with Aunt Lillian and Uncle Horace. Sometimes in the summer we would go to the drive-in when he was gone, but it wasn't unusual for us to all pile in the car and drive to Cedartown for the night too.
We had the first television in our neighborhood. A ten inch black and white Zenith. On Saturday morning all the neighborhood kids would come over and watch the serials like "Flash Gordon", or "Tim Tyler's Luck" or cartoons at our house.
For a long time we didn't have a car, only Daddy's company truck. The first vacation we had, Daddy borrowed a car from his boss, Charlie Chumskie, and we went to Florence, South Carolina, to visit Uncle Ruffin. Mildred, JW, Cora, and Mamie, Charles, and Ray went in their car. We went to Myrtle Beach and had a great time. Uncle Ruffin, and Aunt Marie didn't go, but our cousins Virginia, and Lina Claire went.
Then Daddy bought a green '49 Chevy and we went to Myrtle Beach for a week. We stayed at the Lucky Strike Hotel on the beach. It was marvelous. We had to come home a day or two early because a big hurricane was coming in. It was exciting, but scary. The surf was terrible. When we got home we learned that the pier and boardwalk where we had so much fun was totally destroyed.
In 1955, on a Friday night, we were at a school carnival where we were to meet Daddy when he got off work. When he came to pick us up, he had traded cars and had a blue and white '55 Chevrolet stationwagon.
Our next big excursion was a week-long camping trip to Lake Blue Ridge. We parked the car and packed our gear into a fishing boat and went five miles up the lake to a beautiful spot in the woods. We fished and sat aroung the campfire, roasted marshmellows, and sang, and had a big time. In order to keep us from straying too far, Daddy told us to be careful, that he had seen some bear tracks close by. Of course, that did the trick and we never went out of sight of the camp (except for Bill, who was "practically grown" and a Boy Scout to boot). It wasn't until much, much later that he told us the tracks he saw were not "bear" tracks, but "bare" tracks. It worked.
In 1957 Daddy won three prizes in a contest sponsored by Fram Oil Filters. He had to guess the number of oil filters sold the previous year, which he submitted for himself and his customers. He won first, second, and fifth prize. He and his customers won duplicate prizes. First prize was a Lincoln green Lincoln Continental Mark V. On the day that he and Mother picked it up, we all stayed home from school and when they got home, we rode by the schools just when everybody was getting out. We thought we were something. We kept it for a few days and Daddy sold it.
Second prize was a Packard Clipper. It was red and cream colored and we kept it for a week and then sold it to Uncle Horace and Aunt Lillian.
As God has a way of looking out for you, it worked out that it was about this time that Cris was hurt by an aerial bomb type firecracker that blew up in his face. He was in the hospital for a long time and had to have plastic surgery. If it had not been for the sale of the two cars and insurance, we would never have had enough money to pay for it.
The thing that really had the most impact was the fifth prize. It was a color tv, but they had just come out at that time and were still pretty much experimental. There weren't many shows in color, so Daddy traded it in for a fourteen foot Kris Kraft boat kit.
That winter and spring, Daddy and his friends, Pat Murphy, "Dink" Hornesby, Lefty Youmans, "Shorty" Powell, and the older boys built the boat in the garage. Mother and the ladies sat on the porch, (and "ran and fetched"), and us smaller kids played chase and caught lightning bugs. Mother and Linda made the cushions for the boat.
I'll never forget the first time we put the boat in the water at Victoria Landing on Lake Alatoona. We had only a 15 hp motor and no windshield, but the "Little Darling" was the prettiest boat on the lake. Daddy got the windshield and a 30 hp Mercury Motor and our lives changed forever.
We went camping at Alatoona as often as possible. The Hornesbys, Murphys, and Powells together. We skied, fished and had a great time.
Also began our 27 year tradition of going to Lake Chatugue, at Hiawassee, in the North Georgia mountains. The whole family went, friends too. It was nothing for us to have 6 or 7 cabins in a row. We make lots of friends too, with other families that went up the same time each year. We always had church service on Sunday morning usually with Pop preaching, but in later years, Keith preached also. Mike played bagpipes, Mother or Linda played the "tote-a-tune", and everybody sang. It was beautiful to hear Mike play "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes and hear it echoing through the mountains.
Mother taught Linda how to drive while we were at the lake, on a straight-shift, on mountain roads, in the rain. It was a religious experience.
One year, it rained almost constantly and every time we got down to the dock and got the cover off the boat, it would start raining again and we'd have to put the cover back on and go back up to the cabin. But that was the week of the "tomato sandwiches". Our cousin, Ruth Ellen, was with us that year. We ate tomato sandwiches and played Hearts and Spades and still had a great time. I still think about it everytime I eat a tomato sandwich. Such fun.
Then there was the "Year of the White Bass". Cris, Brian, and I had gone out early fishing and hadn't had too much luck. It was getting about time to head in for breakfast and I was a little tired and disgusted so I was flipping my rod around and generally acting obnoxious. We were near "Grassy Island", a very small island with just grass on it. Just barely sticking out of the water. Cris told me to cast off the point, he was sure there was a fish there.( Daddy, Cris, Bill, and Eugene were always good at that.) So I did and told him I was caught on a rock. He was just starting to turn the boat around when I realized that I was "caught" on a smallmouth bass! Of course, that just set me on fire and I was ready to stay for the duration. We had just got the boat back away from the idland and were finishing getting our rods set up and were pretty much just sitting there for a minute, when suddenly, a huge circle formed around the boat. It was really weird, there were fish jumping and flipping and going crazy all around us! Cris yelled out "Oh my gosh!, It's White Bass! Cast in!" We could have just put a sign on the boat----"Fish Jump in Boat Here!" It was a blast.
The big schools of fish only lasted a few years and then began to taper off, but while they lasted they sure were exciting.
Mother and I had a "White Bass Experience". One evening we wanted to go out fishing but everybody else was too tired so we went out together. We went down to the dock and were getting our things ready to leave and talked to some college boys for a few minutes. They were going fishing later and seemed very amused to see two women going out alone. It was fairly obvious that they didn't think too much of our chances of catching fish. They helped us untie the boat and pushed us out from the dock and wished us luck. We were gone about 45 minutes. We went down to Big Island near the dam and were just casting out and talking, when the biggest school I've ever seen came up around us. We were both catching fish so fast, I couldn't get them on the stringer fast enough and had them flipping around on the floor (deck) of the boat. Finally I just sat in the back seat and took them off of one rod while Mother was catching one on the other one. One bass boat with two men in it came flying up, but when they saw us, they just stopped a ways out and watched. Another one came up too, but the guys in the first boat waved them back and they all just sat and watched. When the school went away finally and we sat back to get our breath, the guys in both boats got up and saluted us and left. We had at least two fish on each hook of the stringer and three on some of them. If there was a limit on them we had probably gone way over. We got everything in order and headed on back to the dock, where the college boys were just fixing to leave. They laughed and came over to help us tie up the boat and one of them asked why we came back so quick, "didn't we have any luck?" Their eyes almost popped out of their heads when it took both of us to pick up the stringer. Then we had to show them what kind of lures to use ("little cleos"), how to cast out, and what to look for. It was the "two women's" turn to laugh.
We went shooting up on the mountain side, we drove over to Gatlingburg, we climbed Brasstowne Bald Mountain, we went ruby mining in Franklin, North Carolina, and we went over to Helen, Georgia on the other side of the mountain. When we first started going to Chatugue, we stopped at Robertstown, by the Chattahoochee River. We went wading and played on the swinging bridge, then we'd go over to Unicoi State Park and walk up to the falls. When we first went there, there were only foot trails up to the falls, but after several years the Park Service really improved the trails, putting benches, bridges and overlooks along the way.
When we went by Mount Yonah, Daddy always had to tell us the story of the Indian Princess and the young brave from another tribe that fell in love and when they were not allowed to marry. they jumped off the side of the mountain together.
One of the best times at the lake was at night, down on the dock. Everybody would get down on the dock and fish, but mostly we cut up and told jokes and acted crazy. We's stay out late on the dock and then sit on the porch and rock and drink coffee.
But back to being little again. For a long time I was the baby and was very spoiled. I had a long white satin nightgown that I called by "angel gown," and I was Daddy's angel. I would stand behind his rocking chair and brush his hair for what seemed like hours. Then Cris came along and I was so jealous it was pitiful. There aren't many pictures of Cris as a baby that didn't have some part of my body sticking out in it. It probably wasn't until Cris got hurt that I actually got over being jealous of him and went to the other extreme and started spoiling him rotten.
I don't remember too much about Sonny getting married. Suddenly he was. The first I was really aware of it was when he was bringing her home to meet us. When I was little, he was so tall, he was like and idol that your watched go by in total awe. I knew that anybody he picked out would be special and she was. After all, she was from somplace far away-California. She talked different from us and her mannerisms were different. I was totally fascinated. She was the perfect match for an "idol." Enter Joan Ellen Baker Surls.
We didn't get to see much of Sonny and Joan for a long time. Sonny is a nuclear physicist for Dow Chemical Company and stayed very busy. It seems that every time we talked about driving our to see them, something happened and we didn't have enough money to go. But then I went to work for Southern Airways and things changed. We flew out to see them several times, and if I never got anything else from the 17 1/2 years I worked there, it was worth it for Mother and Daddy to get to make those trips.
I remember when Linda and I were little, playing dressup. She was Mrs Jones and lived upstairs, and I was Mrs Smith, and lived downstairs. Then suddenly she was Mrs Stell, and lived away. I missed her so much I cried for days. When she and Eugene told Mother and Daddy they had gotten married, Mother just sat and cried too. Daddy talked to them for a long time, and then Mother asked "Aren't you going on a honeymoon?" They went to Chattanooga and then Eugene had to report back to the Saratoga. He was in the Navy. Linda was 15 and Eugene was 21. It seems like one minute we were little and playing and the next minute she was grown and married. Enter Rufus Eugene Stell, Jr. Another brother!
Mother was always kind of funny about what we called her. The only one of us that ever got away with calling her anything else but "Mother" was Cris, and sometimes he called her "Momma." She couldn't stand "Mommy." When Brian was born and started talking, she was determined not to be "Mammaw" or "Granny" or anything remotely like that. I remember her sitting with Brian on her knee and she would very seriously look him hin the eye and say "Brian, say GRANDMOTHER." Brian would just as seriously look her in the eye and say, "NA-NA." So, "Nana" it was and "Nana" it stayed.
Bill didn't date a lot of different girls and only went steady with one that I remember, Trina Christian, who lived across the street. He was awfully picky (thank goodness). When he went away to college and came home on weekends, he began to mention on girl in particular, her nickname was "Miss Legs." We went up to North Georgia for Parent's Day and to meet her. Bill told us that we would know her as soon as we saw her, she was the prettiest girl there and had the smallest waist of any girl he'd ever known. When we saw her walking across the field we knew immediately it was her. Daddy grinned, patted Mother on the shoulder, and said, "Sweet, I think that's our new daughter, don't you?" Tears came up in Mother's eyes and she smiled and said yes. Enter Marian Karen Weaver Surls, my quiet, softspoken, gentle, graceful, sister-in-law.
Cris dated several girls, none of which I liked except Peggy and when he took me aside and asked to borrow the money for an engagement ring, I jumped on it. Her name being Peggy Anne Clack, Daddy promptly nicknamed her "Clickety." Unfortunately, Cris and Peggy broke up and he dated a real witch for a time. I really hated her, fortunately they broke up and for a time, Cris was the loneliest guy in town. He played his guitar, sang and just sat around and moped. Peggy had stayed close to me and Mother and so one weekend we planned a trip to Gatlingburg. Mother, Linda, and Peggy drove to Knoxville and Kathy Burke and I flew up and met them there when we got off work. Then we all drove over to Gatlinburg. We were all pretty tired when we got there, so Mother and Linda went to sleep, but Kathy, Peggy, and I sat in the floor of the bathroom and talked for hours. Mostly we talked about Cris. We convinced her to call him even if it was 3 am. She did and they talked for a long time and made a date with him as soon as we got back. They went to Stone Mountain and when they got back they were engaged again. Enter my boistrous, fun-loving, pretty, sister-in-law, Peggy Anne Clack Surls.
End of Part One- Part Two is under Burnard Vessell- it has nothing to do with him, but I need the space, guess he was good for something after all.
More About WILMA REBECCA SURLS:
Fact 1: copy of birth cirtificate
Fact 2: Born Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta GA
Fact 3: nicknamed Becky
Notes for BURNARD VESSELL:
This is part two of Becky's family memories-NOT anything about Burnard Vessell
PART TWO:
One big plus from working for the airlines was that I was able to fulfill one of my dreams and go to Paris. As it turns out, I was able to go twice. The first time on a tour and the second time with my friend Kathy. We also went to Mexico City, and to London. The best part, however, was being able to take Mother to Europe. Another friend of mine, Jan Boyea, Mother and I went on a tour of Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, and Rome. It was marvelous. Mother had more fun than either of us and NEVER got tired. She was always ready to see something or someplace new. Her only regret was that Daddy wasn't with us to see it too. Daddy wouldn't go that far away. He said he traveled enough to last a life time. He was quite content with going to San Francisco every now and then. I think secretly he felt the same way about flying that I came to feel in later years. Only seeing Sonny, Joan and the kids made it worth it to him. He just enjoyed the fact that Mother got to travel and see the world.
Growing up in our house was fun. There was always something going on, somthing to do, and somebody to play with. I was blessed not only with a big family, but also with the very best friend ever. Our next-door neighbor, Flo Johnson, told Mother one day that she was pregnant. Mother told her she sure was glad it was Flo and not her. Rita Kaye Johnson was born on September 6, 1946, six weeks later, October 11, 1946, I was born. She's been my "other sister" ever since. Flo and Wilma were best friends, so it just naturally followed that Rita and I would be too. And we were, and are, and ever shall be. She was and is part of our family.
Our family's time together isn't just on vacation, bur also birthdays and holidays. A birthday party was always a family time, and Christmas was wild. Even after everybody got married, Christmas night was family night. We never needed much of an excuse to get together, everybody loved it. Even Jan Boyea, who came from a very wealthy family, was always telling me how jealous she was of my family because we were so close. Just goes to show you, you can't buy everything.
With the family odds of good mate choosing running 4 out of 4, I should have known that I was going to be the one to bomb out. John Vessell was the exact opposite of me and so, of course, I fell for him. The year and a half we were married doesn't even rank as being fit for this book. Suffice it to say the only good part came on the day after I left him. I left him one night, went home, got up the next day and filed for divorce, and Gene was born that night. The year and a half of misery was worth it, the joy came back a million times over.
I'm sitting on the screen porch writing this and remembering a time when I was little, the screens were all out and we used the porch to skate on. Mother was always afraid we would fall off, but I don't think we ever did. Most of us, except Cris, never got hurt seriously. That doesn't mean we never did stupid things that could have gotten us hurt.
Flo and Guy raised chickens in their back yard and one day Mother went out on the back porch and saw Rita's brothers, Robert and Wendell, and Bill each holding onto a chicken in each hand by it's feet. They were on top of their garage, fixing to jump off. They wanted to see if they could fly!
Flo also had feather mattresses she had gotten from the farm, and periodically she would put them out on quilts in the sunshine to air out. She usually put them out on the side yard next to our driveway, right under the upstairs window. Mother was in the kitchen and looked out just as the same three culprits were going to jump out of the window onto the mattress. Can you say splat?
We used to go up to Rita's grandparent's farm in Cummings, Georgia for the weekend. One weekend in particular, George, Robert, and Wendell were camping out at the big lake and Rita and I were playing down by the little lake. The creek coming out of the dam behind the little lake ran through some really fine-grained sand. If you stomped around in it the sand got really squishy and mushy. Rita and I got a brilliant idea to trick the boys, and got the whole creekside really mushy. Then we covered it up with pine straw and leaves and washed all the mud off our legs. We waited on the other side of the creek until we heard the boys coming through the woods. We started yelling and screaming "snake!! help!!" The boys came running and fell headfirst into that beautiful slimy mud. We ran. Fast. We made it up to the house and hid behind Grandmother Johnson, who very sternly told them it wasn't nice to chase little girls and to go wash off the mud they were tracking in her kitchen. For such a tiny little person, not even five feet tall, she could be mighty scary. After they stomped out, we all three had a good laugh. She was great fun. We stuck very close to her for the rest of the weekend.
When we went to Cedartown and stayed at Aunt Lillian's house, I know Linda and Ruth Ellen hated me. I was always the odd one out, they were the same age. Bill and Roy were close, and there was me, then Cris. Uncle Horace took up a lot of time with us and we went for long walks with him. We loved going to the Ten Cent Store that Uncle Horace owned. We always got candy and games. Linda and Ruth Ellen played dolls and always stuck me with the ones they didn't like. But I got even with them, I went whining to Roy and he would make them play with me. Ruth Ellen and Linda being the same age were also close to the same size, so when Ruth Ellen outgrew her clothes, she handed them down to me, so I always had the clothes that Mother made me, plus the ones that Linda and Ruth Ellen both outgrew. Ruth Ellen went to the lake with us many time, most memorable, of course, was the "tomato sandwich" year. She was a very good swimmer and helped me a lot. To this day, I can't swim, only dog-paddle, but at least I'm not scared to get out in the water and have fun. Just give me a good ski belt and I'm good to go.
We never had a lot of money so we made up for it by having a lot of family get togethers. I can only remember one birthday party with just friends, and it wasn't as much fun as a family party. Linda and I had a Halloween Birthday party together when I was about seven or eight. It was a costume party and lots of fun. We have several pictures of it. The family party was better.
When I was in high school in my junior year, Headland was in the state AAA basketball championships, in fact, we won that year. We played down at Tech's Colliseum. Mini skirts had just come in style, but were called "knee ticklers" ( they came to the middle of the kneecap). The group of girls I ran around with were all going to go to the game together and wear knee ticklers. I didn't have the money to go out and buy one, so I made one. It was green and black herringbone pleated wool. I was very proud of it and when it came time to leave I started out the door and Daddy called me back inside and wanted to know "where do you think you're going dressed like that 'Little Lady?'" Of course that was like the kiss of death, you just didn't argue with Daddy. However, I went upstairs and changed into a "respectable" skirt, stuffed the knee tickler into a big pocketbook, showed Daddy I looked decent, and went out the door. I changed in the back of Rita's stationwagon going down the expressway. Later I asked Mother if they ever found out what I did. She laughed and said of course, Flo told her about it the next day. I never did hear anything about it from Daddy, I guess he thought if I was crazy enough to change clothes in the car I deserved to wear the skirt.
There were fourteen girls that ran around together in school. We called ourselved the "Dodos." A lot of them were pretty well-off even if we weren't. We always had a spend-the-night party on Friday night, and strangely enough, they all preferred to come to mine and Rita's house. Our basement has always flooded when it rained heavily and before Daddy put the electric pump in it could get pretty hectic. One night in particular, it was raining like crazy and the water was coming in faster than the little hose could get it out. Mother and Daddy finally had to ask us to help. We were sitting around listening to records and were a little bored, so they all jumped to it. Even though I knew it was winter and if the water got up past the pilot light, the furnace would shut off, I didn't want to let the girls know we had a basement that flooded. They didn't. They all had full daylight basements with playrooms and dens in them. Never leaked a drop. None ever flooded. But they never thought a thing about it. We formed a bucket brigade up the steps and dipped out the basement and poured the water in the tub. They sang and told jokes and had a marvelous time. I kept my mouth shut, and was mortified. HOWEVER, whenever I see any of the old gang, the first thing they say is "Hey, remember the night we dipped out your basement? That was the best time we ever had!" And after all these years, I have to admit, it was fun.
For a long time I was jealous of Daddy. That sounds a little strange, I know, but Daddy had a habit of "capturing" my friends. Or so I thought, they always seemed to get in long conversations with him and I got a little (a lot) jealous. It took me a while to realize that they enjoyed his stories and experiences just as much as I did. Daddy never talked down to them, he treated them like they were adults and they loved it. I was always being told what fun it was to come to my house, because their parents just ignored them. I guess it never dawned on me because Mother and Daddy may have made me mad or frustrated, but they certainly never ignored me. We always had somebody to talk or argue with or just be with.
We always had pets of some type or another. We had a beautiful gold cocker spaniel named "Prissy." Somebody stole her and she tried to run away and got killed. We had one of her puppies, "Pepper", that liked to eat morning glories. At that time, Daddy wouldn't let us have dogs in the house, except to stay in the basement when it got very cold in the winter. But after Pepper died, I decided I wanted a poodle. I went to get her, and Rita, Linda, Clif, and Eugene went with me. When we broughther back to the house, we decided the best thing to do was to just put her inside the house and then I could take them home. When I went in with her, Daddy was laying on the sofa watching TV. I put "Inky" inside the door and left. When I got home, Daddy was still on the sofa, the only difference was, Inky was on the sofa with him, and from then on, she was his dog, not mine.
When I married, I left Inky with Mother and Daddy and I was given a Lhasa Apso, named "Keta." I kept her until we had to have her put to sleep. She was diabetic, and I had to give her insulin shots. Then we got parakeets. We ended up with six of them. Complete with nests. They layed a lot of eggs but none ever hatched. It sounded like a jungle when you called our house. Then Gene decided he was tired of them, so we gave them away and got a kitten, "Rufus", named after Eugene. Rufus is the only cat in the world with a tell-tale-tail. He will sit perfectly still and ignore you, except for his tail. The more you talk to him, the wilder he thrashes his tail. We decided he needed a wife, so we got "Roxie." Of course, very soon after we got Roxie, we also got "Magic", "Snowflake", "Louie", and "Silk." Six must be our lucky number.
One year on vacation at the lake, the "kids", Gene, Allen, and Mark, had not been catching any fish and were pretty disappointed, so Mother and I decided it would be fun to take them over to the trout farm. It was just after lunch and all the SERIOUS fishermen were resting from their morning excursions and making plans for their evening trips. When they heard what was being planned, they decided it would be fun to go along and WATCH. We had to go in several cars. The trout farm was located way back off the road in a secluded little shady valley. We got the cane poles and cans of corn and proceeded to let the kids fish. Everybody else was sitting in the shade watching. Pretty soon, Cris, Peggy, and Pop got up and started walking round the pond, JUST LOOKING. Then Mike, David, Christie, and Bill got in the act. They started pointing out the bigger fish to try for, and shortly the GROWNUPS had the poles and were just SHOWING THEM HOW TO CATCH THE FISH. Gene. Allen, and Mark ended up sitting in the shade watching everbody else catch fish. Unfortunately, when you fish at the trout farm, they charge by the pound, and the fishing trip for the KIDS cost over $25.00!
Our family has grown up and grown to the point that only three of our houses are big enough to gather in. We still like to have big parties, although it is begining to get a little difficult to get everybody there. Families and jobs keep expanding and moving and enlargeing but that just makes it a bigger and BETTER family.
I remember one of the big ice and snow storms we had. I', not sure what year it was, but it was after Daddy died and Gene was still little. I still worked at Republic and was working a 5 am shift. We had gotten weather reports periodically and knew that a front was coming in from the west. Birmingham had already gotten three inches of snow, but the weathermen still were saying that Atlanta was going to miss it.
More About BURNARD VESSELL:
Fact 1: Liked to Hunt and Fish
Fact 2: Had False Teethe
Fact 3: Ice Blue eues
v. BRIAN CRISPIN SURLS, b. September 10, 1951, Atlanta,Ga5; d. November 30, 1995, Roswell, Georgia5; m. PEGGY ANNE CLACK, November 19, 1972, East Point Georgia; b. August 05, 1951, Atlanta,Ga.
Notes for BRIAN CRISPIN SURLS:
INFO ON FAMILY HEIRLOOMS
The French Caalvary Pistol handed down to Cris Surls by Joe P. Surls-1775 model, converted from a flintlock to percussion by the French Arsonel in 1835. The assessed condition is very good. Caliber is .62. 1981 current value is $600.00. Researched by Atlanta Firearms Inc.
The Grandmother clock handed down to Cris Surls by Joe P. Surls is a Seth Thomas. Made either by him or one of his apprentices. It has his mark on it.
PARTIAL MASONIC HISTORY OF BRIAN CRISPIN SURLS, INFO TAKEN FROM JOE P SURLS SR BIBLE
Entered Apprentice Jul 17, 1973
Fellow Craft Aug 7, 1973
Master Mason Aug 23, 1973
Raised by his brother William J Surls
East Point Lodge #288 F & AM
Served as Master Candidate for Solomons #1 Savanah
Awarded East Point's Commemorative Coin and Holy Bible Sept 22, 1973
First Seven Degrees of Scottish Rite May 31, 1974
Finished 32nd Degree in Consistory of Valley of Atlanta Orient of Georgia June 1, 1974
Junior Steward East Point #288 Dec 3, 1974
Senior Steward East Point #288 Dec 2, 1975
Junior Deacon East Point #288 Dec 7, 1976
Acted as Senior Deacon Affiliation of Joe P Surls April 19, 1977
Appointed Senior Deacon Jun 21, 1977 to fill vacancy of Ray Wofford
Junior Warden East Point #288 Dec 6, 1977
Senior Warden East Point #288 Dec 5, 1978
He went on to attain the highest rank in the Lodge before his death. His mark is recorded in the Bible
More About BRIAN CRISPIN SURLS:
Fact 1: November 06, 1960, Baptised First Baptist Church East Point Ga
Fact 2: Dr. W. A. Duncan Pastor
Fact 3: Born Piedmont Hospital
Fact 4: nicknamed Cris
More About PEGGY ANNE CLACK:
Fact 1: Baptised Jefferson Ave Baptist, East Point, Ga
11. MILDRED EPSIE5 SURLS (WILLIAM PLEAS4, WILLIAM RUFFIN3, FRANK2, THOMAS1) was born August 09, 1913, and died March 15, 1991. She married JACKSON WARREN BARNETT September 30, 1934.
More About MILDRED EPSIE SURLS:
Fact 1: Charles and Ray are adopted sons
Fact 2: Charles and Ray are actually nephews of J.W.
Notes for JACKSON WARREN BARNETT:
History of Jackson Warren Barnett's nicknames. Adults always called him J.W. (except for Mildred who called him "Monkey"). When Bill Surls was a baby, Mildred and J. W. were staying with us. When J.W. came home from work, he would come in to see Bill and say "Hi Bo!" Bill, being small, knew that the grownups called him J.W. and so he put the two together and called him "Jaybo."
More About JACKSON WARREN BARNETT:
Fact 1: nicknamed JW or Jaybo
Children of MILDRED SURLS and JACKSON BARNETT are:
i. CHARLES THOMAS6 BARNETT, b. August 12, 1941.
ii. WARREN RAY BARNETT, b. September 1942.
Sources:
Information for the Surls family has come from Family Bible's, Surls Family Stories told by older family members, US Census records, Social Security information, Cemetery Data, Old written letters, Marriage and Birth Certificates, Death index information, County Marriage books pertaining to individual states and Counties. Oral records recorded on audiotape. Old family pictures and finally Newspaper articles.