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Question:I can only go back to my great-grandfather on my mom's side.

My mom's dad is John Lewis Summerlin (b. 1931 probably in Georgia but definately in the USA) and her mom is Shirley Ann McKenzie (b. 1933 probably in North Carolina but in the USA). I believe John's parents were Herschel Summerlin and Clara. I have nothing on them more than their names. Please help me find some info on them. I can't find any at all and I don't have any family that knows (and I had to fight to find that little bit of info). Thanks.


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I can only go back to my great-grandfather on my mom's side.

My mom's dad is John Lewis Summerlin (b. 1931 probably in Georgia but definately in the USA) and her mom is Shirley Ann McKenzie (b. 1933 probably in North Carolina but in the USA). I believe John's parents were Herschel Summerlin and Clara. I have nothing on them more than their names. Please help me find some info on them. I can't find any at all and I don't have any family that knows (and I had to fight to find that little bit of info). Thanks.

I found this family in Savannah, Chatham, Georgia in the 1930 census.

Name Age
Hershal V Summerlin 36
Clara G Summerlin 30
Hershel Summerlin 12
Catherine Summerlin 9
William B Summerlin 7
Patrica Summerlin 5
Margie Summerlin 3 3/12
Dorothy Summerlin 1 3/12

This proves there was a Hershel Summerlin married to a Clara in Georgia in 1930. It doesn't prove they had John Lewis in 1931.

Have you tried obituaries, funeral home records, death, birth and marriage certificates?

I found this in a Georgia death index:

Herschell V Summerlin
D. 02 Mar 1968
Aged 74 years
Died in Chatham
Lived in Chatham

If you could get his obituary, and the survivors matched the 1930 census entry, you could be reasonably certain the 1930 census entry is his family. If it has John Lewis as well, that would be a clue, not a certainty. A lot of sons were named John Lewis in the 1930's.

From the same source:

Clara N Summerlin
D. 23 Dec 1980
aged 82 years
Chatham

William B Summerlin
D. 13 Apr 1994
Aged 71 years
D. Colquitt
Resided Chatham

Herschel V Summerlin
D. 22 Feb 1984
Aged 66 years
D&R Chatham

http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?o...
Well, you benefit by having some unusual names to work with.
Here is a Summerlin family in Georgia.. this Herschel died in 1968, he may well fit your line.
Do you have some documents on John Lewis, ie birth cert or death cert?
Beginning searches run into memories, sometimes family disagreements. That is common. They usually level off when you get past the point where the emotions play into it.
edit-
there are 2 others in the social security death index.
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