From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

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Here is a photo of my youngest son,
James William Warner West.

James got 3 given names since his two older brothers got my middle name (Phillip Gregory West) and my first name (John Jefferson West). I ran out of names to give a third son from me, so we just ended up naming him after all of my other ancestors: (Warner West... my grandfather); (William Wood, William Ellis West, William Huff, William Allen Kimble, William Allen, William Lewis, William Haynes, William Gardner, William H. Woodis, William Allen Long [this William was my Uncle Bill, Mom's brother, who died not long before James was born]) and (James Tobias Long & James Henry Wood).

Interestingly, the lady in the oval frame over James' right shoulder (left side in this photo) is Donna Isabelle Mayes who married James Henry Wood. James Henry Wood is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in Evansville and except for my mother & father is the only ancestor buried in Evansville and in Indiana!

- Photo taken on James' 32nd. Birthday - 2010 by JGWest

Happy Mother's Day 2010

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Happy Mother's Day to Mom & her mothers!


How should a genealogist remember Mom on Mother's Day? Well, in my case, Mom is not with me any longer - she died on 01 Oct 1997 with me and my two brothers watching her heart monitor in the hospital. It was a very important moment in my life, a life in which she gave me! She was very important to me in my development growing up. She gave me courage and confidence in myself when I was scared and so unsure of my abilities or what I wanted to do. I think most mom's are like my Mom was to me. Her name was Bernadine Long, the daughter of Mary Myrtle Wood (my grandmother).

I am not sure exactly how my Mom felt about her mother, but I know that grandma was there when Mom needed love and encouragement. Mom loved and respected her mother through the many great stories Mom told me about her mother. Grandma's mother was Donna Isabella Mays. Donna died when Grandma was just a little over 10 years old (Donna was only 33 when she died). My Great Grandmother Donna Isabella Mays' mother was Susan Apalone Lewis who lived to be 83 years old! Susan's mother, sadly died from complications from giving birth to Susan. This mother gave the ultimate for her child and her name was Margaret Mattingly. I have not, yet, learned what her mother's name was. So, that is the end, for now, of the mothers of my Mom. Without these generations of mothers my Mom would not have been born (nor would I) and I would have never known the greatest Mom in the world! Happy Mother's Day Mom. I love you and miss you, Mom!

- Written by JGWest in memory of my Mom