I am really excited about the proposed reunion in DeFuniak Springs, FL on October 18th, 2003. Thanks, Foye, for setting that up for us; we look forward to hearing the details. Now, I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea for each of us to tell how we're related to the Givens Family. Or what our interest is in the Givens Family. Kind of introduce ourselves to each other. I can give a brief rundown on each of the ones I've invited but I'm sure that a more accurate description could be given by the persons involved in this blog.

There is one person who I would like to introduce that doesn't have e-mail. Her name is Christine Clary Givens and she just called me from her home near Florala, yesterday. Christine is the widow of William Edward Givens, b. 1925, and William Edward is the son of William Edward Givens, born 1891 in Muscogee (AL, I believe)! William Edward, Senior was the brother of my grandfather, Richard Lud (Ludlow?) Givens. When W.E. Givens, Senior died, his son changed his name to William Edw. to honor his father. William Edward, Jr. was actually born and raised as Virl Quinton Givens. Anyway, Christine is a wonderful lady and when I went to visit her in February, we traveled to the nearby Red Oak Cemetery where Bertha Mae Leonard Givens, wife of W.E. Givens, Sr., is buried. We also went to lunch in Andalusia and visited the house where Rose Emma Henley Givens raised her family after the death of her husband, James Alexander Givens. I am in touch with Carl Palmer who now owns that house and is in the process of renovating it. We hope that he will keep us in the loop as to his progress (or lack thereof) and come to the reunion in October to share with us what he has discovered about the Givens family of that time and place.

Now, as to my own origins and connection to the Givens Family. My mother was the daughter of Alice Settles, who eventually did marry Richard Lud Givens, (when my mom was about eight years old). My grandmother Alice married several people, but it was my mother's story that she loved Lud Givens long before she was able to marry him. At the very least, my mother, Opal, considered Lud to be her father and they had a very close relationship. Like all families they had their share of trials. Before I was born, my mother and her husband, Dewey Winters, had a little boy named James Richard Winters. They called him "Pelo". When he was about two he got run over by his granddaddy, Lud Givens. Pelo had run out after his grandpa as Lud was backing up the truck and gotten caught under the wheels. My grandfather, Lud, never got over the death of this little grandson.

What's your story? Richard Lud Givens was the son of William Sherman Givens who was the son of John Witherspoon Givens. How are you connected?