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Note: e girls. Mary also lost her father when she was nine years old. I have no knowledge for the cause of his death at fifty-six but clues lead us to believe that he was in poor health for a long time. Estelle Holt, Mary's daughter, tells of the family farming after James' death. Mary's two half brothers, migrated West. It is reported that William B Jackson moved to the upper North West corner of Louisiana but he and his family have not been located. David Y Jackson moved to Cullman county Alabama where he had a large family. Mary's older brother, Jeptha, moved to Morgan county Alabama, where he married and raised his family. It is known that Mary received, at least, parts of her name from a friend of her parents. It is not known who this friend was. James and Barbara's family all remained in Fayette county, marrying, farming and raising children, until some of them sought work in Atlanta. A trend started during The Great Depression with mass exodus during World War II. From Estelle Holt McCleskey's oral history we know that Mary was "a good cook." What was a young woman to do when she married in 1898? She had been trained all her life for the duties of a wife and mother. Estelle, on other occasions, told how her mother would work all day and then sew by the light from a kerosene lamp at night. This would not be by machine but hand sewn. She told of the beautiful slips and dresses that were hand tucked and decorated. There are several pictures of the children that show examples of her beautiful work. My grandmother and grandfather or as we called them, Grandma and Grandpa helped their children as parents do today. They took, as small children, Glen and Horace, the oldest children of my uncle Hubert and raised them. Their mother died of tuberculosis and Hubert had to work. I do remember going to their home on Tanner Rd. This was not the home that my grandfather built but an older home that they rented. My Dad was a big prankster. Once when we were visiting he put the ironing board in their bed. At dusk, my grandfather walked through the bed room and saw the form in their bed. His excited response was exactly what my Dad desired. I was six years old when Mary Holt died in November 1945 from Parkinson's disease at age six-five. She had lived long enough to see the end of World War II and her five grandsons and many nephews return safely home.
Note: Mary Jackson was also born into a Fayette county pioneer family. Her grandfather settled the land where she was born in the 1830s. Her father had two sons when he married Barbara Cleveland and they had eight children, three boys and fiv
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