Merry Christmas to All

The Umbrella Tree and The South

Hello and hope you are cooling it inside during the hottest summer on record for North Carolina.  Do you ever wonder how in the world our ancestors stood this kind of heat without air conditioning, only a fan (after the invention of electricity that is!) and a shady tree for cooling off?

How many of you remember going outside in the heat of the day to sit under a shade tree with a "palette" or a quilt and some lemonade, cookies a pillow and the hopes of a cool breeze?

Leave a message if you do!  I remember those days well.  The umbrella tree as my Grandmother Brooks called it.  She didn't have one - but we had them in our neighborhoods everywhere.  Where have all the umbrella trees gone?

Jeanne and Bill Diffee (my parents) on their wedding day.  Jeanne is the daughter of Garland and Belva Brooks

A picture of Fern Shepherd Tillman

Fern Shepherd Tillman

Please leave a comment when you visit so that I know who has visited!  You are important!!

Belva Brooks and her father Lonnie E. Shepherd

Belva Shepherd Brooks and her Dad, Lonnie Shepherd Sr. when she was about 16 years old

Welcome to Everyone!!

Welcome all my relatives!!

This beautiful welcome picture is of Ruth Shepherd Gurkin and her mother, Maggie Terrell Shepherd.

I am Denise Diffee Hall, of Burlington, Alamance County, NC.  My mother is Jeanne Brooks Diffee, a descendant of James M Terrell and Lula Morgan Terrell of Alamance County and John R Shepherd and Susan Kinney Shepherd of Alamance as well, maternal side.  She is descended on her paternal side from Joseph Samuel Brooks' and Sarah Catherine Sharp Brooks (this is the grandparents of Jeanne instead of Great Grandparents because I have not found the Great Grandparents yet), William G. Sharp, Jr.and Emily Isely Sharp.

Belva Shepherd Brooks was Mom's mother and she was the daughter of Maggie Terrell and Lonnie Edwin Shepherd Sr.

I have been working on Ancestry.com for a few months trying to trace our heritage.  Some of you may have already done this.  If you have - let me know so I can add the information you have found.  It's quite an adventure trying to trace all these people.

Here are some pictures I have scanned from our collection.  If you have some you would like to share  here that would be awesome!  We can make this our home base and I will give out the password so everyone can upload information as well as pictures.  That is my intention by creating this blog.

Email me if you would like to upload a story, info or picture to this site.  If you don't know how to upload - I can upload from an email you send me.

The email you can write to is :  denisedh22@yahoo.com

Jeanne and Denise

Peggy and Otis Bright

Jeanne and daughter, Denise

Billy, Garland and Ronnie Brooks

Grandmother Brooks, Vergie Brooks Mitchell, Kit Brooks

More pictures from 1955 Grandma Sallie Brooks' birthday party

Billy, Kit (his first wife) and Ronnie Brooks

Grandma

Ronnie and Grandma holding a pic of a beautiful girl?

Happy Birthday with the whole gang
from left to right (our left)
Dee in probably Tom's arms
Doris,Billy,Kit,Vergie,Belva,Grandma,Katherine Brooks Halfpenny
Leigh Brooks, Papa Garland, Danny Brooks,
with Doris is June Brooks Flynn and hiding below Vergie is Debbie Brooks Foote

Katherine and Sallie Brooks

Grandmother Sallie Brooks

Katherine Brooks Halfpenny and Bettie Lou Gurken on the big bike (thanks for the identification, Peggy Brooks Moore~) and the little girl is probably a neighbor friend.  Kat says that this house is on Kime Street.

Billy and Jeanette

Jeanette, Billy and Billy Boy Brooks

Garland Brooks and brother in law, Kenny Tillman (wife was Fern Shepherd Tillman)

Peggy Lee Brooks Moore

Tom and Doris Brooks at Belva's house

Tom and Doris Brooks, Belva Brooks

Belva and Garland Brooks - year unknown

Thomas Catawba Brooks