This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Keenum Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/5519/pR.2ADE/102.109.120 Message Board Post: Hey Lanelle, I know your post is a few years old, but in case you haven't found anything regarding your maternal grandfather, James Willis Keenum, you can now say "eureka." I have at least SOME information for you. First of all, James Willis Keenum is my great-uncle. I think he was the eldest of the family and my grandmother (Hazel Keenum Hedgcoth, 1910-1984) was the youngest of the bunch. (I think the family had about 10 kids or so altogether.) I think my grandma even had some pictures of your grandpa's family (I'd have to check when I get back home; I'm on a business trip at the moment). I do have a beautiful family portrait of the Keenums (our great-grandfather's family) taken around the turn of the century. They were really a beautiful family. We can scan a copy and send it to you if you'd like. I don't think your grandfather is in the picture since he was older and probably wasn't living at home anymore. I knew several of your grandfather's younger siblings before they died: Aunt Pat, Uncle George, Aunt Becky, Aunt Ethel. I think those were all I met. I have all of the family's names, kids names, etc. (from my grandmother's recollection before she died). The other siblings (as I recall) were Ada, Nancy, Carl. Two of the kids (Bethel and Elizabeth) died when they were still kids. Your great-grandparents were named James (or John?) W. Keenum and Dollie Frances Osborn. I think both of them were born in Alabama (Tuscumbia?) around 1870 or so (again, I don't have their exact birth dates on me, but I can get them for you). I'm still researching them, so I can't give you absolutely certain information yet. However, I have found Dollie's parents on the census in Alabama. Her father's name was John J. Osborn and her mother was Arlee (?) Osborn. I remember my grandma saying that her grandmother's name was Arlee, so I'm confident that this is the correct family. One other thing you may or may not know... Our great-grandfather had a sister named Molly (or "Mollie"?) Keenum Bryant. I think she was a widow and lived with the family for quite some time. I think my grandma said her husband had been a preacher or missionary. I noticed in one of the later censuses in Texas that it looked like Molly was living with your grandfather's family at one point. When the Keenums came from Alabama to Texas, they settled in Longview, Gregg County in East Texas. I think some of the older children stayed there (like your grandfather I think) while the parents and the younger children moved to the city of Fort Worth in the 1920s or so. One anecdote that my grandma told me regarding your father was that, when she came to his cotton farm to visit, he didn't like her to help pick cotton. When I asked why he didn't like her to help pick cotton, she replied, "Because I'd pick just enough to sit on." I'd love to find out what you know about the Keenums and swap information, pictures, etc. We have a small family reunion every year that you may be interested in (comprised of Becky's descendants and my grandmother's). My email is [email protected] or feel free to call anytime at 817 239 6774. Is your family still in Texas? Thanks. Todd