... starts with the Thomas Family: Lester Robert "Lec" Thomas

The next child of Joseph Andrew and Mary Ellen Callison Thomas was Lester Robert "Lec" Thomas.

Lec was born on 26 May 1902 in Little Sewell, Greenbrier County, WV (see line 180/384, also here on line 19). He passed away on 1 Jul 1978 at the Beckley Hospital in Raleigh County, WV and is buried at Sewell Valley Church Cemetery in Rainelle, Greenbrier County, WV. Lec married Mary Susan "Sudie" Puckett on Christmas Day, 25 Dec 1931 in E. Rainelle, Fayette County, WV. Sudie's parents were William Austin Puckett and Dorcas Crookshanks, Letha lists her as born on 17 Dec 1906. Lec was employed as a woodsman in the marriage record. Sudie died on 15 Apr 1988, and is also buried at Sewell Valley Church Cemetery.

Lec and Sudie

Their children:

• William Andy (1932-2004)
• Evelyn June
• Lester Eugene (1935-2007)  
• L. Eugene Thomas, 72, of Danese died Dec. 2, 2007. Service will be 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, at Wallace & Wallace Funeral Home, Rainelle. Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday. Burial will be in Wallace Memorial Cemetery, Clintonville. 

L. Eugene Thomas

DANESE — L. 

Eugene Thomas, 72, of Danese, passed away Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007, at Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital in Beckley, following a short illness.

Born Nov. 7, 1935, at Oswald, W.Va., he was the son of the late 

Lester Robert and Mary Susan “Sudie” Puckett Thomas.

Mr. 

Thomas was a precision sheet metal assembler in a manufacturing plant.

Other than his parents, he was preceded in death by a stillborn son, Merlin 

Thomas; and a brother, William “Bill” Thomas.

Survivors include two sons, Marvin 

Thomas of Monrovia, Md., and Melvin Thomas of Hagerstown, Md.; two sisters, Evelyn McComb of Danese, and Frances Simms of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio; and two grandsons, Jason and Russell.

Service will be 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 8, at Wallace & Wallace Chapel in Rainelle with Pastor Allen Whitt officiating. Burial will follow at Wallace Memorial Cemetery, Clintonville.

Friends may call 6 to 8 p.m. Friday evening at the funeral home.

Arrangements by Wallace & Wallace of Rainelle.

• Frances Ellen 

Thomas Brothers - Lester Robert, Joseph Berton, and James Elzie -
wonder where "Bert" was headed off to all dressed up and packed... 

Lester Robert "Lec" Thomas

... starts with the Thomas Family: Earl Gilmer Thomas

The eldest child of Joseph Andrew and Mary Ellen Callison Thomas was Earl Gilmer Thomas.

Earl was born 28 Nov 1900 in Crawley (Letha lists Smoot but the birth record states Crawley, line 102), Greenbrier, WV. He died on 23 Jun 1972 at his home in Danese, Fayette County, WV. Earl married Cora May Hoke on 3 Jul 1923 in Lewisburg, Greenbrier County. Cora May was born 21 Feb 1901 in Tincher, Greenbrier County to a W.F. and Sephronia Hoke, and died 19 Jan 1994. They are both buried at Sewell Valley Church Cemetery in Rainelle, Greenbrier County.


Their children* were: 

• Mae Lucille (24 Jan 1924 - 13 Nov 1970, buried at Sewell Valley Church Cemetery), married Raymond Thompson in 1952, they had no children.
• Elmer Roy (1925 - 1999)
• Howard Gilmer 
• Murline Catherine (remember the little girl on the Thomas Home's porch?)
• Robert Earl Thomas (26 May 1932 - 26 Dec 1952, buried at Sewell Valley Church Cemetery) "Crushed to death in car accident" noted on death certificate. Letha's notes say: "Car wreck at Danese, Earl Jr driving, Ellis Wells also killed, Jay Small and Eddie Narren were unhurt." Ellis' death certificate notes that the impression was that the "car missed bridge, hit a large stone." Ellis was taken to Raleigh General Hospital where he passed from a severe contusion of the brain due to a fracture at the base of his skull.

Earl Gilmer Thomas

Earl, Lester, and Elzie Thomas
Howard Gilmer Thomas and May Lucille Thomas (Earl's children). 

*For privacy, unless the child is now deceased, I will only give names.

... starts with the Thomas Family - Children of Sarah Amanda Thomas

I found further information on some of Sarah Amanda Thomas and Edward Preston Sanford's children in Letha's binder, enough to separate it into its own post.


Henry Sanford, born 13 Feb 1891 in Sewell Valley, Greenbrier County, WV, he died on 3 Feb 1969 in an Oak Hill hospital. He is buried in the Sewell Valley Baptist Church Cemetery.

Henry was married to Anna Rose Hunter on 16 Jun 1926. They had 5 known children:

1. Gloria E, b abt 1927 and d 30 Apr 1936 of Uremia and Acute Nephritis, she is buried at Sewell Valley Baptist Church Cemetery.
2. Neville Edgar, b 13 Oct 1929 d 29 May 1984 Humana Hospital in Greenbrier County, WV. He is entombed at the Wallace Memorial Mausoleum at Clintonville. Neville married Irma Haynes and, according to his obituary, had 2 daughters: Kathy Sue (Clark) and Ronda Ann (Neal). Neville was the mayor of Rainelle from 1973-1978 and a 30-year employee of the town. Served as constable of the First Baptist Church of Rainelle from 1973-1977. 
3. Eleanor married a Skidmore
4. Dorothea married a Grennan
5. Gayle married a Kashola   

Maggie Sanford, b 21 Apr 1902 d 18 Aug 1983. Maggie married McKinley Osborne on 29 May 1918 at the home of the officiant Abraham Frantz in Greenbrier, WV, and according to an article Letha has in her binder ("Osborne Family Tree Completed" written by Ludella Seabolt in an undated, undisclosed newpaper):  

 "McKinley marred Marrie (Maggie) Sanford and to them were born four children, Hobert, Margie, Melvin and Devlin. Melvin and his wife, Charlotte Tuck Osborne are the parents of Mr. Jerry Osborne of Flint's Hardware in Rainelle, for whom we have been doing this Osborne family history. Jerry is marrie dto the former Patty Cox and they have two children, Regina Kay and Brian Lee. Jerry furnished the picture of his grandparents."

What a handsome couple!

... starts with the Thomas Family - Sarah Amanda Thomas

I introduced Edward and Sarah Lucas Thomas a few posts ago, their children are: William Alexander, Elizabeth Margaret, James Franklin, Rachel Jane, Sarah Amanda, Edward Daniel, Joseph Andrew, Martha Alice, Adam Henry, Lucy Ellen, Mary Emma, and Angeline.

Sarah Amanda "Mandy" Thomas was born 24 Nov 1860 in Rockbridge County, Virginia and died 1 Mar 1939 in Meadow Bluff, Greenbrier County, at the age of 79 of "old age and senile dementia," she is buried at Sewell Valley Baptist Church Cemetery. She married Edward Preston Sanford (1860-1942) on 20 Mar 1886 (see line 4 in 1886) in Greenbrier County. They had 6 known children:

1. Hattie, b 24 Apr 1888 in Sewell Valley, Greenbrier County, WV. She died at age 18 (see line 33) of Typhoid Fever on 27 Oct 1906, and is listed in Letha's work as buried at Sewell Valley Baptist Church Cemetery.
2. Henry, b 13 Feb 1891 in Sewell Valley, Greenbrier County, WV, d 3 Feb 1969, buried at Sewell Valley Baptist Church Cemetery. He married Anna Rose Hunter 16 June 1926 in Lewisburg, by a Methodist Preacher N.W. Russell, her father (R.A. Hunter) present and giving consent. Her mother is listed as Eliza C Hunter, and Annie's birthdate was recorded as 17 as of Aug 1925). Henry is listed by Letha as having served in WWI, but I have no further details. 
3. Fonda (Fondie), b 22 Jun 1892 (line 41) in Greenbrier County, WV, d 18 Nov 1973 in FayetteCounty, WV. Letha notes that Fondy had a child before she married, a daughter named Violet Lou, with a man by the name of John Fleshman. Violet is listed as Violet L Loudermilk in the 1920 census with Fonda and her husband Joseph Elmer Loudermilk (married 31 Jul 1918 in Lewisburg), Violet listed as 6 years old in 1920. See Joseph's obit below.
4. Preston, b 4 Jun 1896 in Sewell Valley, Greenbrier County, WV, d 12 Jul 1977 in Hyde Park, Westmorleand County, PA. He served in WWI from 23 Sep 1917-13 Mar 1919. He was married to Violet Mae Henry on 6 Jul 1917 (possibly in Pennsylvania), their first child, Lucille, born 4 Jan 1919 in Pennsylvania. By the 1920 census they are living in Meadow Bluff, Greenbrier County, Preston's brother Henry is living with them. They are in  Leechburg, Armstrong, Pennsylvania, for the 1930 census with 2 more children, Roy (8) and Edward (6).
5. Walker Edward, b Sep 1898 (see line 10) in Sewell Valley, Greenbrier County, WV, d 28 Jul 1971, and is buried in the Sewell Valley Baptist Church Cemetery. Walker married Flora Dell Hanna 16 Oct 1942 in East Rainelle, Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Letha notes 2 children: Lacy and Darrell. Further research using Ancestry.com indicates that Walker married a Clara Agnes Chisolm prior to his marriage to Flora Dell Hanna. Walker and Clara were married 9 Dec 1927 in Lewisburg, her parents listed as S.R. and Tinie (?) Chisolm, Clara was 16 as of 12 April 1927, her father listed as present and giving his consent. In the (April) 1930 census, Walker and Clara have a 3 year old daughter, Rosa L , and a son, Lacy, who was 1 year and 7 months old; residing with them is Clara's father Ruthford Chisolm, widowed. 
6. Maggie, b 21 Apr 1902 (line 7) in Sewell Valley, Greenbrier County, WV,  d 18 Aug 1983 at Beckley Hospital in Raleigh County, WV, buried at Sewell Valley Baptist Church Cemetery. She married McKinley Osborne on 29 May 1918, by Abraham Frantz (we've seen him before!). Children: Hobart, Delvin, Melvin, and Margie. 

Preston Sanford with cousin Willie Thomas
(Willie's parents were James Franklin and
Minerva Kate Woolwine Thomas). They were
both born June 1896.

Preston Sanford, WWI

OBIT of Walker Sanford 

OBIT of Joseph Loudermilk, husband of Fonda Sanford. 

OBIT of Henry Sanford