Our Lawson Family Heritage

  Remembering my mother, Marsha (Lawson) Somers on her birthday today. She passed away Dec. 31, 1995. This photo was taken in 1954 at the Bothwell Hotel Coffee Shop in Sedalia, Mo. She is the third waitress from the left. I think that mom would want to be remembered as a former sinner who was saved by grace. When she was young, she was lovely in appearance, but as a mature woman in her 60's she received Christ as her savior and she became very zealous for the things of God. Her greatest concern was for her children and grandchildren to come to know Christ.

This is a church directory photo of Marsha Lawson Somers taken in the late 1970's or early 1980's. This is a photo of my mother who went to be with the Lord on New Year's Eve, 1995. This time of the year is bitter sweet as we remember her fight with cancer and know it is good she has been with Lord Jesus these many years, but we still miss her.

Photo of my parents, Jess and Marsha (Lawson) Somers, with brothers Terry, Kenny and me (1958 ?). I don't remember ever seeing this family photo before, but after receiving it in the mail from my cousin yesterday, many fond memories have been going through my mind... I remember as a child thinking my father was the most handsome man in the world and my mother the kindest woman on earth. I also remember crawling over pillows my mother had placed around me (as a barricade?) to get to my brothers who were playing with toy army men. Sadly, they didn't appreciate my company as I remember knocking over their battle scene. :) I love my parents - mom went to be with the Lord in 1995 and Dad is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. A few months ago he told me I worried about him too much and that he has lived a good life. He then assured me he is in the Lord's care... I truly hope so. Thank You, dear Lord, for the family I was born into. Please watch over my brothers and...

Please click image for larger view. This picture was probably taken around 1910. I remember my Great Grandmother telling me she traveled in a covered wagon. This picture certainly looks as though it could've been taken from a scene in the "Little House on the Prairie" series!

Mother and Father (Jess Somers) on their Wedding Day (March 26, 1957) with my brothers Kenny and Terry Davidson

John McNeal Simmons (1861 to 1951)  and Margaret Matilda Handlin Simmons (1867-1947).

Queen Victoria Lawson Pettis is the younger sister of my grandfather, Ace Levi Lawson. I remember my mother always speaking most lovingly of her "Aunt Vic" and "Uncle Jess" Pettis. Much gratitude to Find A Grave  and Diana for making this information available: Birth: 1897 Death: 1968 Family links:  Parents: Joseph Reece Lawson (1856 - 1909) Margrette Elizabeth Combs Lawson (1866 - 1929) Spouse: Jess Samuel Pettis (1891 - 1984) Children: Artie N Pettis Blakely (1913 - 1996) * Jessie Mae Pettis Savage (1915 - 2011) * Margaret E. Pettis Derkum (1918 - 2008) * Eddie S Pettis (1920 - 1999) * Mildred Louise Pettis Hargrave (1923 - 2008) * Phillip Wayne Pettis (1925 - 2000) * Elizabeth N. Pettis North (1930 - 2009) * Georgia E Pettis McLaughlin (1932 - 1992) * Donald L Pettis (1935 - 2002) * Geneva Ellen Pettis Dunn (1940 - 2007) * Siblings: Rose Ann Lawson Curry (1883 - 1949) ** Mary Alice Lawson Thurman (1888 - 1934) * Wi...

My Grandparents Ace and Anna Lawson with children  (left to right) Charles, Ethel, Martha (my mother) and Russell. 

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord : we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord . (Psalm 118:26, KJV) How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! (Isaiah 52:7 KJV) Anna Lawson (Ester Anna Stone) is my maternal grandmother. My earliest memory is of her telling me about the Lord Jesus and teaching me to pray. I can truly say that it was Grandma who first told me about Jesus Christ and who gave me my first Bible. Grandmother married Grandpa (Ace Levi Lawson) when she was approximately 21 years old. My mother, Martha, was their first child. They then had 11 more children (Russell, Ethel, Charles, Viola, Mary, Bertha, and James) with four babies dying in infancy (Ace Lester, William Joseph, Samuel David and George Thomas). May the good Lord bless her memory. Amen. Grandma and me (1958)

My mother and her younger sister Ethel Geraldine