Mary Pillans Van Antwerp, 95, widow of Alabama state senator Garet Van Antwerp III, died November 22nd. Funeral today. She was a 4th-great-granddaughter of William Isbell (b. c1724) and Ann Dillard of Goochland, Virginia, and interested in ancestral research most of her life. She was a wonderful friend and distant cousin, and always generous in sharing from her vast archives of documents and photographs. Online guest books are here: http://www.wolfefuneralhomes.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=3389126&fh_id=12248 and http://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/tuscaloosa/mary-elizabeth-van-antwerp-pillans-condolences/176610535?&eid=sp_gbapprove Mary Pillans grew up in her grandparents' home at 908 Government Street, Mobile, next door neighbors to her great-grandparents' home on one side and her great-great-uncle's on the other. Her earliest surroundings included numerous family heirlooms and artifacts handed down including ancestral oil paintings (a couple by Thomas Sully), a foot-stool belonging to President John Adams, a close relative, and Chief Geronimo's leather cape which then hung on a wall of her grandmothers' parlor and now in the Mobile city museum. Also an oil painting of Geronimo painted during his imprisonment at Fort St. Stephens which I now have. Her father-in-law had Alabama's first "skyscraper," the Van Antwerp Building, built in 1907. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Antwerp_Building Mary was a wonderful woman and popular with all. She enjoyed exceptional health for her age prior to a massive stroke on November 11, 2015. She died November 22nd and November 26 will mark her 96th birthday. Isbell Lineage: 1 John Isbell (England to Gloucester County, Virginia by 1664), presumptive father of 2 William Isbell Sr. of Isbell Spring, St. John's Parish, King William County + wife unknown, probable parents of 3 Henry Isbell b.c1690 of Orange Co.; constable of Caroline Co., d. c1760 + daughter of "James Cox, Gent.," d c1739 St. Mark's Parish, Orange Co. (July 25, 1733; Spots Orders, 7 Aug, p.240) William Isbell + Ann Dillard John Lewis Isbell of Virginia + Ann Hannah Anderson Elizabeth Isbell d. in Alabama + Andrew Henshaw Elizabeth Sargent Henshaw + Hon. Rufus Campbell Torrey Elizabeth Henshaw (Daisy) Torrey 1855-1946 + Harry Pillans, mayor of Mobile, Ala. Hal Torrey Pillans + Rosalia Navarro Mary Elizabeth Pillans + Garet Van Antwerp III Mary's great-grandfather Judge Torrey lost his first wife Elizabeth Henshaw and then married his widowed sister-in-law, Mary Anderson (Isbell) Henshaw. Mary's first husband was Elizabeth's brother Andrew Isbell Henshaw (1825-65), a Harvard graduate (where he studied Latin under William Wordsworth Longfellow) and member of the Alabama legislature. Mary Anderson Isbell Henshaw Torrey was the daughter of James Isbell and Mary Daniel Montague Isbell; Granddaughter of John Lewis Isbell and Ann Hannah (Anderson) Isbell; Thomas and Sarah (Daniel) Montague; Great-granddaughter of William Isbell and Ann (Dillard) Isbell. Mary Anderson Isbell Henshaw Torrey was also a second cousin of William Latane Montague, the father of Alice Montague Warfield and grandfather of Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson who married Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor and formerly King Edward VIII. Mary Anderson Isbell Henshaw Torrey was born at Willow Bank Plantation, Cumberland County, Virginia, and died in Alabama. She was a sister of Senator Thomas Montague Isbell who was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates for the Secession of 1861. Mary Anderson Isbell Henshaw Torrey and her first husband Andrew Isbell Henshaw had one daughter, Mary Montague Henshaw, who married federal judge Harry T. Toulmin of Toulminville, Mobile County, grandson and namesake of the first federal judge in Alabama. The first Harry Toulmin was the first Secretary of State of Kentucky and author of The Laws of Alabama. Mary Montague Henshaw Toulmin grew up with her stepsister Elizabeth Henshaw "Daisy" Torrey Pillans (who was also her first cousin) and died in her home at 908 Government Street when Daisy's 12-year-old granddaughter Mary Pillans was also living there. Mary told me she had fond memories of "Aunt Mollie" (Mrs. Toulmin), who was a Colonial Dame of genteel manners and slight dementia. ("She would stop suddenly and say something like, 'Get that 3-cornered man out! This is a four-cornered room.'") "Treasures from Puck," by Sue Brannan Walker, Mobile Bay Monthly, Sept. 17, 2013, described Mary Pillans Van Antwerp as "a photographer, a writer and was active for many years in the Pensters, a Baldwin County writers’ group that meets the second Saturday of every month. Van Antwerp’s photographs were featured in “Out On The Porch,” edited by the late Reynolds Price. One of her portraits was displayed in a museum in Russia. Poetry is also one of Van Antwerp’s specialties. Some of her verses were recently published in the Birmingham Arts Journal. These lovely haiku express her appreciation of nature and of this subtropical Bay area that she loves." See: http://www.mobilebaymag.com/Mobile-Bay/September-2013/Treasures-from-Puck/ In 2005 Mary stated, “Well, I dabbled in everything. I became a pretty well known photographer. I’m in four books and a museum in Russia.” (Interview with Corinne Toft, Aug. 8, 2005.) See: http://joelrobertsninde.blogspot.com/2008/02/photography-painting-some-of_09.html She credited Mobile arts patron Tut Riddick with mentoring her artistic endeavors and her interest in photography, as well as her friend, the late writer Eugene Walter. Mayflower lineage: John Alden + Priscilla Mullins Ruth Alden + John Bass Joseph Bass + Mary Belcher Elizabeth Bass + Daniel Henshaw David Henshaw + Mary Sargent Andrew Henshaw + Elizabeth Isbell Elizabeth S. Henshaw + Rufus C. Torrey Elizabeth Henshaw Torrey + Harry Pillans Harry Torrey Pillans + Rosalia Navarro Mary Elizabeth Pillans + Garet Van Antwerp III Obituary FAIRHOPE | Mary Elizabeth Pillans Van Antwerp, age 95, died Sunday, November 22, 2015, at her home in Fairhope, Ala. Visitation will be held at Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home, Fairhope, Ala., on Tuesday, November 24, 2015, from 1 to 2 p.m., followed by graveside service at 3 p.m. at Montrose Cemetery (7370 Sibley St., Montrose, Ala.), with Rev. Dennis Brown officiating and Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home directing. Mrs. Van Antwerp was preceded in death by her parents, Harry Torrey Pillans and Rosalia Navarro Pillans of Mobile; by her husband of 44 years, Garet Van Antwerp, III; and by her sister Patricia Anne Pillans Johnson of Daphne, Ala. Survivors include her son, Garet "Skip" Van Antwerp, IV of Fairhope; daughters Mary Alden Van Antwerp (Jack Korfhage) of Daphne, Ala. and Baton Rouge, La., Anne Torrey Van Antwerp DeKeyser (Armand) of Birmingham, Ala. and Point Clear, Ala., Nancy Lesesne Van Antwerp Shaneyfelt (Randy) of Mobile; granddaughter Catherine Laine Hannon of Houston, Tx.; grandsons and step grandsons David Van Antwerp Smitherman (Olivia) of Birmingham, Garet Patton Smitherman of Birmingham, Ala.; Phillip Armand DeKeyser of Mobile and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; and David Prescott DeKeyser of Brooklyn, NY; and great-granddaughter Mary Mead Smitherman of Birmingham, Ala.; and several nieces and nephews. Mrs. Van Antwerp was a lifelong resident of Mobile and the Eastern Shore, having lived in Fairhope since 1984. She graduated from Murphy High School in 1936, and from the University of Alabama in 1940, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma social sorority. She also earned a master's degree in counseling from the University of South Alabama. Mrs. Van Antwerp spent some years as a teacher of handicapped children at the Russell School and later became a rehabilitation counselor working primarily with the mentally ill. She was involved in numerous volunteer and civic activities, including the Mobile Symphony, Mobile Opera Guild and the Junior League of Mobile. She was a lifelong Episcopalian and also attended the Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship. Mrs. Van Antwerp was perhaps best known in the arts community, where she enjoyed working as an award-winning photographer, potter, and poet. Her works have been featured in numerous publications and are housed in museums and private collections across the region. A master storyteller, Mrs. Van Antwerp also was an astute listener and brilliant conversationalist, known for her quick wit and sense of humor. Her compassionate heart, kindness to others, and unwavering love for her family and friends touched countless many who remain devoted to her memory. Mrs. Van Antwerp's family would like to thank the staff of Homestead Village for the many years of support and friendship they provided and to the wonderful nurses, aides and sitters from Covenant Hospice and Synergy Home Care for the wonderful care and comfort they gave in her final days. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to the Eastern Shore Art Center (401 Oak St., Fairhope, AL 36532), Mobile Historic Preservation Society (300 Oakleigh Pl, Mobile, AL 36604), Wilmer Hall Children's Home (3811 Old Shell Rd, Mobile, AL 36608) or the donor's favorite charity.