James Gaston Lassiter |
Mary Eliza Smith |
Born in Whiteville, NC, April 4, 1864 ? Died in Georgetown County, SC, October 5, 1943. |
Born in Whiteville, NC, on January
18, 1870. Died in Georgetown County, SC, May 2, 1956. |
| They were married on Sunday, January 31, 1886. He was 21 years old; she was just sixteen. | |
These pictures were taken in the winter of 1942. Aunt Marjorie writes, "Mother and I went to Georgetown and spent a month with Bessie and her dad and mother. We took the train from Cass, WV. I went on the insurance route with Bessie."
Her grandfather is in a wheelchair in this photo. He had fallen from the porch and broken his hip. While in the hospital, he cut the cast from his leg. They took him home and he finished his days in a wheelchair !
He had some interest in the Truth. The special pioneers parked their trailer in his yard, and a Watchtower study was held at his house. Dad said that, as far as he knew, his father and his grandfather came in contact with the Truth independently.
This photo of James Gaston Lassiter is the only one I know of. The photographer was standing in the yard at one end of the porch. Great grandfather Lassiter is sitting in a wheelchair, behind a line of firewood. In the original photo, several sets of antlers are visible. Marjorie said that the house had a breezeway all the way through it from the front to the back, with rooms on either side.
Marjorie said she thought there were about a hundred acres out back. The house, located 'out Pennyroyal Road', burned after our great grandparents were dead. Bessie sold the land to the utility company and there is an electric plant there now.
Birthdate of JGL