DELIA HORTENSE GREGORY (20 February 1894), third child of William Harrison and Ada Knowles Gregory, wrote the following:

"I, Hortense Gregory Smith, was born 20 February 1894. I was reared and married from the same home near Okolona, Mississippi. Having been graduated from Okolona High School, I aspired to teaching and, each year, went to teachers' Normal schools in Houston, Clinton, Blue Mountain, etc.

"I had earned my Life Certificate by teaching five years when I was married to Tilmon H. Smith, M.D. Dr. Smith practiced a few years in Calhoun County, then went North to practice. Ohio was the state where he desired to live. For 51 years, I lived there. The Doctor went to his Heavenly Home in 1969. My two sisters wanted me to come back to Mississippi before I would be incapacitated. After a few years, I did come back and was asked to live with my sister, Ida Stone. I consented, which made her very happy. She lived a short five months and died of a sudden heart attack. Her grown children asked me to stay on in the home, which I did for several years.

"My younger sister, Lillian, was not happy to have me live alone, so made arrangements for me to enter Traceway Manor in Tupelo, where I am very well pleased. I miss being in the midst of all the relatives, but my sister is happy to have me near her since she has an apartment in Tupelo.

"I have had a good life; kept very well; traveled extensively the world over; served as Housemother in three Fraternity houses at Ashland, Ohio College and taught private kindergarten twenty years in Ohio.

"My nieces and nephews have loved me as my own might have, had I given birth to any.

"I am ninety-one at this writing and just feel fine!"

NOTE: The above autobiography is by the oldest known living member of the family - ninety-two and going strong in 1986! Hortense gave up living alone just before her ninetieth birthday, as well as her twice-weekly golf game.. She is now into bridge daily.

Hortense died in Tupelo, Ms, on 26 April 1988. She rests in the Gregory plot in Okolona, Ms.

JAMES MURREY GREGORY, fourth child of William Harrison and Ada, died at age six and is buried in the Grange Hall Cemetery west of Okolona, Mississipi.

WALTER STATES GREGORY, the fifth child of William Harrison and Ada, died when he was eighteen months old and is buried in the Grange Hall Cemetery.

IDA MIRIAM GREGORY (27 October 1900-23 May 1976) was the sixth child of William Harrison and Ada Knowles Gregory. She married John Hamilton Stone (6 May 1898-27 November 1965). Their issue: John Norwood, 7 February 1920-8 February 1920; Miriam Yvonne, 29 January 1921-8 May 1927; John H. Jr., 10 November 1923; Richard Eugene, 15 July 1926; and Idanelle, 17 May 1928.

John Junior has written the following eloquent statement, expressing the love of a son for his mother:

"Ida Miriam Gregory was born on 27 October 1900, the second youngest daughter of William Harrison and Ada Knowles Gregory. She grew up on the family farm about five miles southwest of Okolona and, from a pretty, blue-eyed child, she developed into a beautiful young woman. At the age of eighteen, she married John Hamilton Stone, a neighboring farmer's son. Ida and John lived their entire lives on a farm just a few miles from where they both were born. They reared a family of three children: two sons, John Jr. and Richard Eugene; and a daughter, Idanelle.

"They suffered much tragedy in their early married years with the loss of their firstborn son at birth and the accidental death of their oldest daughter, Miriam, at the age of six. Ida was a devoted wife and loving mother who overcame serious illness and personal tragedy as a young woman to provide her husband and children with a wonderful home, filled with love and happiness. She always desired the best for her family and spared no effort to see that they had all of the opportunities and advantages possible. She was a woman of boundless energy and determination, and lived her entire life for her family. Luckily, she married a man who shared her dreams and ambitions because they overcame many obstacles in fulfilling their dream of building a home and rearing a family. Although their faith must have been shaken many times, they never lost sight of that dream.

"Ida cared very deeply for her family and relatives and, at various times, her home was also home to her mother, sisters, nephews and nieces. She could always be counted on when needed by relatives and friends to do whatever was necessary. She was a remarkable woman who, along with many talents, possessed unlimited energy when needed and could do just about anything she tried. Although small in stature, she could hold her own with the very best, and her relatives and neighbors learned to respect her for this. An overbearing neighbor learned not to covet her turkeys and a stubborn school superintendent decided it better to excuse her children from school to attend the circus parade.

"Ida was a quiet and reserved person who sometimes became moody, particularly when worried or troubled about her family, but she could also be very light hearted and fun loving. She liked family gatherings and cooked many a meal on the spur of the moment when relatives dropped by to visit.

Her death, very suddenly at the age of seventy-five, was a great loss to her children and relatives who, at various times in their lives, received and benefited from her love and strength. Her unselfish devotion as a mother and wife was most certainly a fulfillment of her life's ambition."

Mary Louise Millard Stone has composed a splendid tribute to her father-in-law, John H. Stone, Sr.:

"A little flirtation in church with Ida Miriam brought John Hamilton Stone into the Gregory clan. And always after, one of his favorite pastimes was commiserating with brothers-in-law, Doug and Doc, on being married to one of the Gregory girls! John attended the Buena Vista Academy and Mississippi State College, and was in the Navy during World War I. He was a rural letter carrier for 42 years, spending his off-the-job hours on his farm west of Okolona. Happy and contented by nature, he loved his way of life, his wife and his children. A kind and decent man with a deeply ingrained sense of worth and honor, he drew the respect of people from all walks of life. With his love of life, he had a wonderful sense of humor, and his grandchildren fondly recall the good times they had with Granddaddy. To his children, he left a legacy of love for the land he enjoyed so much and spent his life beautifying. His children have yet to find his equal in goodness and character."

John Hamilton Stone, Jr. (10 November 1923) has fond memories of childhood days roaming the woods and working the fields of his daddy's land. Those childhood days nurtured a love for family and homeplace that shaped his life. He graduated from Okolona High School in 1941. Although a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he decided on going up the corporate ladder with General Motors Acceptance Corporation. Now a regional manager, head-quartered in Dallas, and goals achieved (as far as he is concerned), his next step "up" will be "back" to Okolona, where he and Mary Lou have already built their retirement home overlooking the lake and Piney woods created by his father. Fearing he might run out of retirement projects, he and brother-in-law, Pat, purchased a section of land across the highway from the homeplace.

John Stone, Jr. married Mary Louise Millard (15 December 1922). Her parents were Raymond and Lochie Tucker Millard of West Point, Ms. A summer-time blind date... holiday dances at Annapolis ... graduation festivities ... a June wedding... and Mary Louise Millard of West Point became Mrs. John H. Stone, Jr. of Okolona. From coast to coast with the Navy and from city to city with GMAC, she has happily followed John and created a warm, lovely home wherever they were. Always packed and ready to go, she's prepared for whatever John's itinerary calls for. Her proudest achievement (other than her successful marriage and two lovely daughters) is the house in Okolona she designed and built. The issue of John and Mary are: Susan and Miriam Annette.

Susan Stone (26 November 1950, Tupelo, Miss.) married Nick Miller. A Navy baby and much-traveled GMAC child, she graduated from the University of Minnesota. She lived and worked a number of years in St. Paul, Chicago and Dallas, Texas. She is now single.

Miriam (Mimi) Annette Stone (5 July 1956) married Tommy Studdard. She was named for her grandmothers, but became just "Mimi." Born and educated in Mississippi, she graduated from Mississippi State University for Women with a degree in Education, but chose the business world over teaching. She enjoys working and living in Atlanta, Georgia. She is now single.

Richard Eugene Stone, Sr. (15 July 1926) graduated from Okolona High School. His quarterbacking ability led to a scholarship at Ole Miss, but a knee injury forced him to put his running days aside. Richard was in the United States Navy during World War II, stationed in Puerto Rico. A farmer, skilled mechanic and salesman, he foresaw the success of catfish farming years before it became a reality. He can often be found at the old homeplace, "fixin" something. In 1950, Richard Eugene married Myra Linda Ramsey (20 January 1932). Myra has worked for the State of Mississippi for twenty-plus years in various capacities. To this union were born: Linda Carol; Ladye Jane; and Richard Eugene Jr.

Linda Carol Stone (5 September 1952) graduated from high school in Canton, Mississippi and attended Mississippi State College for Women. She runs an efficient household with husband, Robbie McCollum, and three children, works at a Jackson bank, and helps in the family dry cleaning business. She has a son: Sterling.

Ladye Jane Stone (25 February 1956) majored in Interior Design at Mississippi State University for Women. She currently works for the University of Texas, Houston, as an interior design coordinator.

Richard Eugene Stone, Jr. (15 November 1961) spent his grammar school years in Canton. He played high school football and, after graduating, attended Mississippi State University. He lives in Tupelo, Mississippi and works as a building contractor.

Idanelle Stone (17 May 1928) was the youngest child of Ida Miriam Gregory and John H. Stone, Sr. She graduated from Okolona High School. After graduating from Ole Miss, in 1949, she decided to go with Mary Lou to California. A desire to be closer to home resulted in a move to Dallas, where she worked in advertising. She married, first: Earl Jones. She married, second: Pat Paternostro (10 October 1919), which led to a career in real estate and home construction in the Pilot Point (north Dallas), Texas area. Pat served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II as a pilot in the South Pacific, including New Guinea, the Phillippines and Japan. After the war, he attended Southern Methodist University, then owned a paper and chemical business which he sold and became a building contractor. Idanelle and Earl Jones' issue: Jeffrey Eugene.

Jeffrey Eugene Jones (13 January 1951, Long Beach, Cal.) was transplanted to Texas at age four. He attended the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas, spending a year there. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas. Jeffrey has worked in the furniture business with his father.

LILLIAN VAUGHAN GREGORY (15 February 1909), seventh and youngest child of Ada and William Harrison Gregory, lived in or near Okolona until her marriage. She attended high schools in Okolona and Memphis, Tennessee, and graduated in New London, Ohio. In 1930, she married George Douglas Renshaw, who was born and grew up in the Shannon, Mississippi area, and attended public schools there. To their union were born two daughters: Joanne and Mary.

It was during the children's growing up years - through the Great Depression and World War II - that Douglas was employed with the Federal Land Bank of Mississippi and Silas Mason Construction Company, where he remained until 1956. They lived in many states in the North, South and Midwest, and the girls attended many schools, enjoying the experience of new places and friends. They never regretted not having roots in childhood.

After the girls finished their school, married and were gone from home, the Renshaws moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where Douglas was employed as Maintenance Superintendent for Ben Pearson Company (the largest manu-facturer of bows and arrows in the world) for seventeen years. They lived on their beautiful twenty acres, thirteen miles west of Pine Bluff, and raised everything that walked, swam, barked, breathed or ate. Their children and four grandchildren, friends and relatives, spent many happy times there until Douglas died in 1975. Since that time, Lillian has lived in Tupelo, Mississippi, spending time with her daughters and their families in addition to traveling.

Joanne Renshaw (5 July 1931) graduated from high school in Ravenna, Ohio and attended Ohio State University. She married Edward Jackson Smith on 15 April 1955 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Jackson grew up in Texarkana, Arkansas, served as a bomber pilot in World War II in Europe, and graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1949. He began a banking career immediately after graduation. The Smiths lived in Shreveport, Louisiana and Pine Bluff, Arkansas during the early years of their marriage. They moved to Jacksonville, Florida (Ponte Vedra Beach) in 1960. Jackson worked in the Barnett and Atlantic banks in Jacksonville. Joanne returned to a career in real estate from 1972 to 1985. They retired to the mountains of western North Carolina in 1986. Their daughters: Lisa Adele; and Anne Lauren, were born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

Lisa Adele Smith (9 February 1958) graduated from Florida Junior College with an Associate Degree in Respiratory Therapy. She was divorced from Telfair Stockton Rogers, Jr. in 1982, after six years of marriage. She lives in Athens, Georgia.

Ann Lauren Smith (30 June 1959) attended the Florida Stenotype Institute for two years and married James Randall McNeal in 1979. They live on Marco Island, Florida with daughter: Brooke Allison, 18 April 1982.

Mary Douglas Renshaw (23 October 1939) graduated from Marshall, Texas High School (the same school Lady Bird Johnson attended). She attended college at North Texas State, Denton, and continued her education at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, where she met Richard Kyle Haynes, a native of Fort Smith and graduate of the University of Arkansas. She and Dick were married, 5 June 1960, in Fayetteville. Dick served several years in the military and was stationed in Germany. On returning to the States, he taught school in Colorado and Texas. Mary and Dick live in Alexandria, Louisiana, where he is superintendent of the State Farm Claim Office. Their children: David Douglas; and Paula Carol.

David Douglas Haynes finished school in Slidell, Louisiana, at Holy Redeemer High School, and spent five years in the United States Coast Guard. He now lives in Memphis, Tennessee.

Paula Carol Haynes (17 June 1966) attends Louisiana Tech in Ruston, majoring in journalism.