Winston Family

The Winston Family

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By Bobbye C. Winston

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For research on the Winston family done by Rodney Veitschegger click here
Jordan Winston (additional information) by Rodney Veitschegger  click here

Jordan Winston
Jordan Winston married Delaney Walker on Dec. 12, 1832 in Franklin County, NC. Bondsman was Isaac Winston. The couple came to Pickens County, AL between 1839 and 1843. In the 1850 Pickens Co. census Jordan was 41 years old and his wife was 37 and could not read or write. Jordan was a farmer and they had six children:

Susanna Winston, born ca. 1834 in NC. Was about 16 years old when she moved to AL.
William Cage Winston, born ca. 1835 in NC.
Nicajob Winston, born ca. 1836 in NC
Nathaniel Meekin, Winston born Oct. 2, 1839 in NC and died July 5, 1925. Buried at Forest Cemetery in Benevola.
Anne Winston, born ca. 1843
John T. Winston, born ca. 1846

Nathaniel Meekin Winston

Born Oct. 2, 1839 in NC and died July 5, 1925 in Benevola where he is buried at Forest Church Cemetery. He was a farmer and served in the Army of the Confederacy. He married Sarah Elizabeth Cole on Jan. 1, 1872, the daughter of John Russell Cole and Elizabeth Thomas Cole. They were parents of eleven children:

1. Baxter Winston, born Dec. 12, 1872 in Bethany and died Aug. 6, 1948. He married Lucinda Sherrod.

2. Mary Winston, born Feb. 22, 1874 and died Sept. 25, 1936. Married Will Colson. They had two children: Lillie Estelle Colson and Clifton Horton Colson.

3. George Winston, born Sept. 2, 1875 and died Feb. 16, 1959. Married Lealia Deese. They had two children: Raymond, born 1908 and Ruthie that died at 14 years old of typhoid fever.

From the local newspaper:
In the morning at 8:00 o'clock, May 27, 1925 God in His infinite mercy, saw fit to remove from this world of care and responsibility Dear Ruth Winston, the beautiful fourteen year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Winston. and great was the rejoicing among the angels when the soul of this dear girl, as fragile and as fair as the rarest flower entered into eternal rest.
Ruth was loved by her school mates and admired by the older people. Unusually smart in her school work, made her favorite with her teachers. She was adored by her father and mother she being the only girl. Hers was a joyous fourteen years here on this earth, so full of hope and joy. After three weeks suffering with the dreaded disease of typhoid fever, she was carried to that home where suffering and sorrow are not anymore. Her place is with the angels and the memory of her will linger always.
Then trust in God through all thy days;
Fear not for He doth hold thy hand;
Though dark thy way, still sing and praise;
Sometime, sometime, we'll understand.
Somewhere the sun shines always and there the soul of Ruth awaits her loved ones.Tis only a little while at best when they shall be united and heaven seems the nearer with Ruth there. She united with the Baptist church a few months before her death.
Mr. and Mrs. Winston are so grateful to their friends for each and every though and deed of kindness and with resigned fortitude they say, Thy Will be done.

4. John Winston, born Dec. 22, 1876, twin of Jim. Died June 17, 1935. Never married.

5. Jim Winston, born Dec. 22, 1876, twin of John. Died Sept. 16, 1953. Wife named Ollie.

Jim Winston, Martin and Zora Bridges with Jim's daughter, Annie Pearl Winston

6. Thomas Winston, born June 26, 1880, died 1884 of chinquapin in lungs.

7. Andrew Winston, born Aug. 15, 1883 and died Nov. 12, 1964. Never married.

8. Laura Winston, born June 13, 1886 and died Feb. 28, 1969. Married John Colson.They had one son: John

9. William Winston, born 1908.

10. Martha Winston died Dec. 2, 1922 at age 34. Married Bert Colson. No children.

11. William Arch Winston, born Aug. 13, 1890 and died June 5, 1949. Married Martha Pearce

12. Rosa Winston, born March 29, 1893 and died 1964.Married Revis Pierce. No children

William Arch Winston ca 1914 Rosa Winston Pierce 1920's George Winston ca 1949

Nathaniel Meekin Winston

Sally Cole Winston

Children of William Arch Winston and Martha Pearce Winston are:

1. Lucile Winston, born June 14, 1923 and died July 1, 2008. Married T. V. Hamlin, deceased. They lived in Aliceville, AL.

2. Joyce Winston, Married a Mr. Glass and lives in Gardendale, AL.

3. Patricia "Pat" Winston, married Barry Shuttlesworth. They live in Tuscaloosa, AL.

4. Maude Winston. Lives in Akron, AL.

5. Martha Winston, Married Jim Button. They live in Cle Elum, Washington.

6. Ed Winston. Lives in Baton Rouge, LA.


Children of Baxter Winston and Lucinda Sherrod are:


1. William Winston, born Oct. 3, 1896 and died up north in Army Hospital of pneumonia on Oct. 12, 1918. He was a soldier in World War I. Never married. Buried at Forest Church in Benevola.

2. Zora Winston, born Nov. 28, 1893. Died Dec. 10, 1961. Married Martin Bridges. No children.

3. Nannie Mae Winston, born May 16, 1895. Married Milton Mills.

4. Maggie Winston, born Jan. 4, 1898.Married Joseph Gray.

5. Eula Jeanette Winston, born May 28, 1902. Died Jan. 9, 1972. Buried in Bethel Cemetery at Stancel. Married William Preston Spain, born Jan. 291884 and died May 21, 1966.

6. John Thomas Winston, born Oct. 29, 1904 and died May 30, 1965. Buried in Aliceville Memorial Gardens. Married Effie Mae Wilson on July 30, 1925 in Benevola Community in Pickens County.

7. Birtie Lee Winston, born March 30, 1908 and died April 19, 1909. Buried at Forest Church Cemetery.

8. Henry Howard Winston, born May 1, 1906. Married (1) Ida Mae Watley and (2) Louise Wilson.

Lucinda Sherrod Winston

Children of Nannie Mae Winston and Milton Mills are:

1. Woodrow Mills

2. Lois Mills

Lois and Woodrow Mills

Lois Mills

3. Ola Mae Mills

Children of Maggie Winston and Joseph Gray are:

1. Vera Gray. She died young. She had one son. Vernon (Bunky) Williams. He lives in Tuscaloosa.

2. Cecil Gray, married Gladys Eatman.Both deceased. They lived in Greensboro, AL.

3. Edward Gray, married Doris Eatman. Both deceased. They had one daughter, Judy Gray. Judy married Davis

Owen. They live in Dahlgren, VA.

4. Gladys Gray born May 17, 1926. Married (1) Buford Pate and (2)John A.(Jack) Somerville III.All deceased.

Child of Gladys Gray and Buford Pate is:

John Kirk Pate Married Joanne Lancaster, born June 8, 1945 and died Feb. 19, 2006. She was the daughter of Burton and Eula Belle Craft Lancaster. John Kirk still lives in Carrollton, AL. John Kirk and Joanne have two children:

a. Lynnette Pate, born March 10, 1966 She married Keith Franks and they live in Tuscaloosa

b. John Kirk Pate, Jr. born May 17, 1971 and lives in Carrollton.

Child of Gladys Gray and John A. Somerville III is:

John A. (Jack) Somerville IV born Jan 23, 1956. Jack is Revenue Commissioner for Pickens Co. AL . Married Alma Ford , born Dec. 22, 1955. Alma works as a Vocational Counselor for Pickens Co.

Children of Jack and Alma:

a. Mary Frances Somerville, born June 5, 1980. Mary graduated from Samford and got her Masters from U. of A. in Tax Accounting. She married John Pickett and they live in Birmingham. Mary Frances is a CPA for Vulcan Materials and John Pickett is in insurance.

b. Robert Ford (Bob) Somerville, born Dec. 15, 1982. Bob graduated from U. of Al. and is a Second Lt. in the Army.

5. Eunice Gray, born May 17, 1926. Married (1) Malcus L. C. Howard and (2) Jimmy Wilkins.

Children of Eunice are:

a. Marguerite Howard, born May 3, 1944. Married James Franklin Seymer. Marguerite works as a secretary at the Pickens Co. Health Dept.

b. Brenda Joyce Howard, born Oct. 29, 1946. Married James Freddie Oglesby. Brenda works for Lowes in Columbus, MS.

c. Bruce Ellis Howard, born June 3, 1948. Married Mary Ann Thomas. Bruce works for Lavender Machine Shop in Aliceville, AL.

d. Rufus Edward Wilkins, born Married (1) Kay Junkin and (2) Denise Brown. Rufus works for Pickens County Schools in maintenance. He lives in Hebron Community near Carrollton.

6. Mattie Lou Gray married Oris Pate (deceased).

They have one son:

a. James Oris Pate, Jr.

Children of Eula Jeanette Winston and Preston Spain are:

1. Eula Jeanette Spain, born Aug. 8, 1922. Died April 2002. Married J. P. O'Briant.

2. William Eugene Spain, born July 20, 1925. Wife named Hazel. They live in Ft Walton Beach, FL.

3. Phillip Wayne Spain, born July 24, 1927. Died May 27, 2003 and buried at Antioch Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Pickens Co., AL. Married Bobbie Jo Huff.

Children of Philip and Bobbie Spain are:
(1) Phyllis Layne Spain b. Aug. 30, 1966. Married (1) Richard Burl Richardson and (2) William David Hughes.
Children of Phyllis Lane Spain are:
(1) Alicia Lee Richardson, born March 4, 1984. Married Bobby Lee Reece. Alicia is a LPN at DCH in Fayette,AL
(2) Hannah Jo Hughes, born May 30, 2003

4. Robert Lee Spain, born March 4, 1929. Died Sept. 23, 1951 in Korea.

5. Mary Ann Spain, born July 18, 1931. (1) Married Roy Tait , b. May 3, 1926 d. Aug. 26, 1987 and (2) George E. Koon, Jr. b. Dec. 23, 1923.

Children of Roy Tait and Mary Ann Spain are:

(1) William (Billy) Roy Tait born Aug. 19, 1948

(2) Robert Earl Tait born July 15, 1957

6. Joe Winston Spain, Oct. 23, 1933. Died July 8, 1999. Married Mary Lou Hardy.

7. Johnny Earl Spain, born June 12, 1926. Married Helen McDaniel. They live in Reform, AL.

8. Boyd Spain, born April 24, 1939. Died Dec. 13, 2000. He married Faye McCafferty.

9.Floyd Spain, born April 24, 1939. He married Bobbie Jo Mullins. They live in Reform, AL.

10. Annie Louise Spain, born Dec. 20, 1940. She married Herbert Oglesby. Louise lives in Reform. Herbert died Jan. 21, 1993.

Eula Jeanette Spain at her home in Benevola

Children of John Thomas Winston and Effie Mae Wilson are:

A. Rubye Irene Winston, born Dec. 4, 1926. Married (1) James Lester Skelton and (2) Madison Shackelford (Bill) Blakney.

Children of Irene are:

(1) Carolyn Irene Skelton, born July 17, 1947. She is married to Frederic Gary Achterhof, born Feb. 28, 1947. They live in Tuscaloosa, AL. Carolyn and Gary are retired. Carolyn has one step-daughter, Angela Jo (Angie) Achterhof of Tuscaloosa.

(2) Joyce Anne Skelton , born July 1, 1950. She is married to William Alan (Bill) Hamilton, born July 2, 1953. They live in Weaverville, NC where Bill is a professor at Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, NC and Joyce works for the University of North Carolina-Asheville in the Counseling Center as office manager. They have one son, William Alan Hamilton (adopted).

(3) James Alvin Blakney, step-son, born July 20, 1947. Married Sandra Gail Taylor. Al They live in Tuscaloosa.They have one daughter, Jessica Margaret Blakney, born Feb. 1, 1977.

(B) Bertie Mae Winston, born July 14, 1928. Married (1) Samuel Ernest (Bill) Fason (1926-1975) and (2) Billy H. Phillips.

Children of Bertie are:

3. Elizabeth Fason was born Jan. 23, 1952. Married (1) Roger Dale Foley (divorced) and (2) Carl Jones Varnon, born Jan. 16, 1944 and died Dec. 6, 2004. Elizabeth lives in Spring Hill Community in Pickens County and works at CEP Products in Tuscaloosa.

Their children are:

Beverly Annette Foley, stillborn Sept. 7, 1972

Jennifer Lynn Varnon, born Aug. 28, 1973.Adopted by Carl Jones Varnon. She is married to Landon Clark. Jennifer works for Dr. Landreth in Reform, AL. Landon makes eye glasses for Dr. Upton in Columbus.

Douglas Jones Varnon, born Sept. 22, 1976. He graduated from University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa with a degree in Civil Engineering and works for Almon Associates in Tuscaloosa.

1. Ernest Baxter Fason, born Aug. 6, 1953. Married Sandra Jean Owens born Nov. 18, 1954. Ernie is self-employed at Carrollton and works for Jim Burke. Sandra is retired from State of AL Health Dept. as a registered nurse. They have two children:

William Ernest (Bill) Fason, born Oct. 22, 1979. He is married to Lesli Ryann Davis, born Nov. 2, 1982. Bill graduated from Auburn with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. Also has a B.S. degree from Birmingham Southern. They live in Birmingham where Bill is a Architectual Engineer.

b. Misty Deanna Fason, born Nov. 26, 1984. She is employed as a beautician at Annette's Beauty Shop in Carrollton, AL.Married Dusty Ezell of Pickensville, AL.

2. John Thomas Fason, was born Nov 8, 1955. Married Debbie Cameron. (Divorced). Remarried Michelle Holcombe.

Children are:

a. Cheryl Lynn Fason, born Sept. 25, 1978. Married Philip Hewitt, born June 24, 1978. They live in Aliceville, AL and are the parents of:

1. Taylor Grace Hewitt, born April 18, 2005

2. Thomas Ford Hewitt, born June 4, 2008 (twin)

3. Peyton Colvin Hewitt, born June 4, 2008 (twin)

b. Joseph Bradford (Brad) Fason, born Jan. 23, 1984

(C) Tommy Wilson Winston, born Dec. 3, 1938. Married Bobbye Gayle Craft. They live in Benevola. Tommy retired from Huyck Felt Co. in Aliceville and Wanger Corp. in Greenville, SC. Bobbye retired from the State of Alabama where she worked for the Conservation Dept. and Dept. of Human Resources.

Tommy and Bobbye have one daughter:

1. Kimberly Faith Winston Criswell, born May 19, 1962. She is married to Andrew Dewey (Andy) Criswell. Kim is Director of Social Services at Baptist Hospital in Columbus, MS. They live on the river in Pickensville, AL. Andy is a Civil Engineer in Columbus MS.

They have two daughters:

a. Haley Michelle Criswell, born April 17, 1989. Haley is a student at the University of Alabama.

b. Robin Leigh Criswell, born May 8, 1991. A senior at New Hope (MS) High School.

(D) Hubert Earl Winston, born Aug. 15, 1944. Married Ethel Joan Middleton, born July 14, 1946. They live in Aliceville, AL. Hubert has retired from Omnova in Columbus, MS.

Their children are:

(1) Rhonda Dawn Winston, born July 8, 1966.  Children are:

a. Jessica Ruth Gates, born Sept. 13, 1989. A student at the University of Alabama.

b. Erica Lauren Gates, born July 25, 1991.

c. Clayton James Gates, born March 10, 1993.

d. Kayla Dawn Gates, born Nov. 11, 1995

e. Kendall Madelyn Gates, born March 30, 1998

f. Taylor Nicole Gates, born Feb. 4, 2004

(2) Shawn Keith Winston, born Aug. 9, 1968. Married (1)Sandra Faye Schultzback and (2) Kerri Brock

Children of Keith Winston are:

a. Jarrett Keith Winston, born March 2, 1996

b. Riley Winston (adopted)

Tommy, Bertie, Hubert, Irene Nov. 27, 2005

Dawn, Kim, Elizabeth,Carolyn Nov. 27, 2005

The Thomas Winston Family Home in 1946. The home was located in Benevola Community inPickens County,AL

Hubert Winston, Irene Blakney, Tommy Winston, Bertie Phillips  Nov. 28, 2009

Children of Henry Howard Winston and Louise Wilson Winston are:

1. Johnny Lee Winston, born Aug. 27, 1948 Married Deloris Ann Hawthorne.

2. Robert Edward Winston, born July 16, 1951. Married Cynthia Ann (Cindy) Leavens