I have just acquired some new information which identifies circa 1860 era Birmingham, Jefferson Co, Alabama siblings of Violet (HOOD) SILK, my great-great grandmother. There 'may' also be a connection to some HOOD families in Blount Co, AL or possibly, Lowndes Co, AL. William HOOD, Sarah (HOOD) O'NEAL, Mary Jane (HOOD) MAY, 'Elex' HOOD and Violet (HOOD) SILK were sisters/brothers. If anyone has information or directions for research on any of the these people, I would appreciate your help. In an October 8, 1931 phone call to Oak Hill Cemetery in Birmingham, AL, Mrs. F. M. Oden, [Lucille (Ketchum) Oden] identified the following HOODs as sisters/brothers. Mrs. Oden was a granddaughter of Violet HOOD/John SILK. The information from the phone call was recorded on paper in records of Oak Hill Cemetery. I have combined Mrs. Oden's short statement of sibling relationships with information from burial records of Oak Hill Cemetery and some marriage records already on hand, to come up with the following info rmation: 1] William HOOD. Buried in Oak Hill, Jan 1928, age 78 [indicating b. ca 1850] This William Hood was noted on the Oak Hill phone call paperwork as buried in Oak Hill in "Lot 4, block 32". In Oak Hill records, recorded with a notation that she was Mrs. William HOOD, is Vilanta (YIELDING) Hood, buried May 1947, age 89 [indicating b. ca 1858]. On-line marriage record shows that 'a' William HOOD married Violante YIELDING, on 9 Jan 1875 in Blount Co, AL. In 1888 Birmingham City Directory, Wm. Hood works for Drennen Bros, possibly as a bookkeeper and probably lives in the 2100 block of 5th Avenue in Birmingham. In the same directory, 'a' Francis Yielding and Wm. J. Yielding are shown as employed by or somehow associated with William HOOD and reside in the 2500 block of 5th Avenue in Birmingham. I am not 'absolutely' certain if Vilante (Yielding) Hood was the wife of the William Hood identified as a brother of Violet Hood Silk, but she is the only one to die in the same time period and appears to be buried in the same plot as the above William Hood. In the same time frame as Wm. Hood/Vilanta Yielding burials in Oak Hill were burials in plots owned by Julius Alvin HOOD, but Mrs. Oden did not mention this name as a sibling of her grandmother, Violet (Hood) Silk. There are later 1950s era burials in plots owned by W. A. Hood and a W. M. Hood. 2] Mrs. Sarah O'NEAL. At the time of the 1931 phone call, Mrs. Oden stated that Sarah (Hood) O'NEAL was "living in Woodlawn, 90 years old". This would indicate that Sarah Hood O'Neal was born circa 1841. An on-line marriage index for Alabama shows the following marriage: Sarah E. Hood m. A. P. O'Neal 12 Jan 1870 in Jefferson Co, AL. There are some O'NEALs in on-line Oak Hill burial records, but none that match Sarah or A. P. O'Neal. Is Woodlawn near Birmingham? 3] Mrs. M. A. MAY. Buried in "lot 3, block 32" is Mary Jane MAY was buried at Oak Hill, Dec 1920, age 81 [born circa 1839]. Her husband, Marion A. May, was buried in Oak Hill, age 72 [born circa 1836]. LDS Microfilm shows Marion A. MAY m. Mary J. HOOD on 18 Oct 1860 in Jefferson Co, AL at the home of M. HOOD. The 1870 US Census, Jefferson Co, AL, Jonesborough, shows the following for the MAY family: M. A. MAY, age 34, b. South Carolina, grocer, M. J. May, age 30, six children under 8 with initials J. A., L. A., J. A., S. H., M. W., E and William Hood, age 22, b. Alabama [b. ca 1848], clerk, in the same household. I am presuming this is the William HOOD shown above. In the 1888 Birmingham City Directory, Marion A. May lives on 24th between 18th and 19th avenues in Birmingham. 4] "Elex" HOOD. Mrs. Oden states this sibling "was buried elsewhere". Could his name be Alexander HOOD?? There is 'a' Alexander Hood on 1870 census in Blount Co, AL and also 'a' Alex J. HOOD marriage to Louisa A. BROWN in 1880 in Blount Co, AL. There is a marriage in Blount Co, AL in 1843 for 'a' Alexander HOOD and Sarah PULLEN Do not know if there is ANY connection to the 'Elex' Hood identified by Mrs. Oden, but thought the fact that William HOOD married Vilente YIELDING in Blount Co, AL might be significant. 5] Mrs. Violet SILK. Violet (HOOD) SILK was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in June 1911. Her husband, John Silk, died in 1893 [according to tombstone] but was buried in Oak Hill in October, 1911. Both are buried in plots owned by H. B. Ketchum, who was the father of Lucille (Ketchum) Oden, the woman who identified these HOOD siblings. Violet HOOD married John SILK on 18 Oct 1866 in Birmingham "at home of bride's mother." On the 1870 census, Violet Hood Silk reports her birthplace as South Carolina. I have been unable to verify if she reports S.C. on later census' as yet. In 1888 Birmingham City Directory, John Silk, miner, lived in 1600 block of 7th Avenue in Birmingham. John SILK/Violet HOOD had the following children: John L. Silk, buried at Oak Hill in Oct 1930; Miss Margaret Silk, buried at Oak Hill in Jan 1936, Patrick H. Silk, buried at Oak Hill in Oct 1913; Mrs. Mary (Silk) Ketchum, buried at Oak Hill in Jan, 1930; William W. Silk, who moved to Wichita Falls, Texas; and Annie Lee (Silk) Alexander, buried at Oak Hill in August 1925. Annie (Silk) Alexander and her husband, George A. Alexander, buried at Oak Hill in April, 1940 were my great grandparents. Names associated with their own children's marriages were: ROSSER, MARCUS, GAMMILL, JENNINGS, STEPHENSON, and HEARN. Lucille (Ketchum) ODEN's daughter Elizabeth ODEN married Ed GOODMAN. [George A. Alexander's parents were Zeno ALEXANDER, d. July 1876 in Birmingham, burial unknown, and Lucy Ann (NIXON) Martin McCaskill Alexander. Lucy Anne (Nixon) Alexander was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Dec 1894. Zeno ALEXANDER and Lucy Ann NIXON were married in Lowndes Co, Alabama in 1863 -- her third marriage. I have a lot of information on the ALEXANDER line going back into Mecklenburg and Cabarrua counties, North Carolina. I have no further information on the NIXON line. Annie (Silk) Alexander/George A. Alexander had a son named Horace Hood Alexander, buried in Oak Hill Feb. 1830. There is 'a' Horace HOOD in 1870 Lowndes Co, AL, age 17, 'farming', living in household of Emma M. McCord. I have no proof of any HOOD conection in Lowndes Co, AL, but have made note of the name similarity. Would appreciate any and all information or direction for futher research to connect these five HOOD siblings to their parents and/or other siblings. Thanks! Carol Vass