Our Lawson Family Heritage

The Battle of Culloden (Wikipedia) Excerpt from Lawson, William - A Scottish Rebel by Bill Porter and posted online at Electric Scotland : William Lawson was born 26 June 1731 at Montrose, Scotland. He was the only son of a widow lady (1). No information is available on his father. Some believe his name was Robert and may have been killed during the Scottish uprising which culminated in the fatal route and dispersion of the followers of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, "the Pretender" to the throne of Great Britain at the Battle of Culloden on 16 April 1746.  At this battle the British army, under the command of the Duke of Cumberland, killed 1000 of the 5000 Scottish troops in less than an hour and pursued the fleeing rebels, persecuting and prosecuting them and members of their families (2). William Lawson was one of many young Scotsmen arrested and placed in prisons in northern England.  Confined at Chester and Carlisle, the Scottish rebels became a threat to

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

Parents: John McNeal Simmons (1861 to 1951) and Margaret Matilda Handlin (1867-1947) Bertha Ann Simmons Stone 3/27/1884 to May 1972  William Edward Stone 9/29/1867 to 1951  Their children: 1. Harvey DOB 3/29/1903  2. Charles Jerry (8/17/1904 to October 1979)  3. Ethel Matilda Hannah (9/28/1906 to June 1974)  4. Ester Anna Lawson ( June 23, 1908 - Dec. 1998)   5. Charles Henry (2/3/1910 to 12/1982)  6. Rueben Carl "Doc" DOB 6/16/1913  7. Leonard Edward. DOB 6/7/1915  8. John Thomas DOB 8/26/1917  9. Jenny Catherine Hensgen DOB 6/3/1919  10. Mary Elizabeth Pannell Renno (7/26/1921 - 9/14/2005)  11. Margaret Ardelia Gardner (2/15/1923 - 8/17/2013)  12. (With 2nd husband William Lawson) Rosa Elizabeth Simmons Shirley DOB 3/27/1927 William Lawson, Sam Simmons and Bertha Stone Lawson *Information compiled by Diane Renno Jarvis and Angela Somers Wittman. Photo provided by Bertha Lawson Dixon.

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. 

Peony (Wikipedia) As a child I would often sit in Grandma and Grandpa Lawson's front yard during the day with them and they would tell me stories. Many of the stories have faded from memory, but sitting near Grandpa's much loved and cared for peonies and roses has not. I can still feel the warm sun and remember the fragrance of the roses in bloom. Rose (Wikipedia) One afternoon when I was in my early teens, Grandma and I were alone in the yard, sitting near the pink roses. She must have been feeling nostalgic that day and I remember her telling me that young women were like the rose. They began as the bud and as they grew they bloomed in their youth and were beautiful, but eventually the flower fades - just as a woman's outer beauty will eventually fade as she grows older. I remember being very surprised at Grandma's analogy - she had always been Grandma to me (she was approximately 50 years old when I was born and probably was in her early 60's at this