December 31

 Lora Gibson Burford died 31 December 1970, age 93

Lora Gibson Burford was my great-grandmother.

Lora was the daughter of Asa Gibson and Adaline Lucretia Gard Gibson

Lora married Alexander Oscar Burford, Jr.

Alexander and Lora had ten children: Deb, Helen, Ishmael, George, Killough, Bernice, Lester (my grandfather), Neil, Juanita, and Judy

PHOTO: Lora, center, with her children (L-R) Lester, Juanita, George, Deb, Bernice, Judy, and Helen

I only remember meeting Grandma Burford once.

PHOTO: Lora Burford, John Thomas, Wathada Burford Thomas

PHOTO: Back - Wathada, Juanita, Dianne (me). Front - Judy, Lora, Helen.

Even though I only met her once, I feel that I know a lot about her because I've heard my mother talk about her so often. Grandma Burford was a big influence in my mother's life. Here's what Wathada wrote in her memoirs:

I'm so glad I had the Burford family... and especially Grandma Burford, who tried very hard to teach me how to be a lady, bless her heart... Nobody who knows the Burfords ever accuses me of being like Mama's family because it's very obvious which side of the family I take after.  All my life, Mama has told me frequently that I was ‘just like them Burfords’, and she meant it as an insult.  Lots of times she would say, ‘If you ain't one of them Burfords!!!!  I'm telling you!!!!’  Personally, I feel like I got the good traits of the Burfords and avoided the other traits and I turned out to be just about right!

Wathada’s notes: I knew my grandma about as well as Frances did.  But maybe she had a side to her character that neither Frances nor I ever suspected.  If she did, how dare her to poke our elbows with a fork if we got them onto the table.  And how dare her to make me wear shoes and socks all the time when all the other kids went barefooted.  And made us use the English language the way it's supposed to be, good grammar and all.  And made me stay in the house and embroider pillow cases when the boys were outside playing, and told me I didn't want to be outside playing with "those old boys", and me saying all the time that yes, I did too.  Made me set the table properly - I still do that to this day and cannot do it any other way.  Shoot, I even set our TV trays that way!  I still am haunted by her when I do something the wrong way - like using my bare hands to put a dish into the cupboard.  (You're supposed to hold it with one end of the dish towel as you put it away - when you dry the dishes you never touch them with your bare hands. ) When I do that, what runs through my mind is "ooooh, Grandma will get me for that!" That also runs through my mind at various other times too, but it doesn't bother me - it just seems kind of amusing.  Well, she tried to turn me into a lady. Didn't work real well, but I'm sure I'm better than I would have been without her influence.    Mama always said that Grandma liked me.  Well, I guess it's a good thing because since I've been talking to all my Burford cousins, I've heard some pretty hairy stories about her and the ones in the family that she didn't like.  

Wathada’s notes: Grandma loved her stepchildren. When I talked to Hazel's (Daddy's half-sister) daughter-in-law, she said Hazel had told her that they loved their stepmother.   She said she didn't have a lot of clothes when she was growing up, but that what she had was beautiful - much nicer than most little girls have.  She said Hazel specifically mentioned a beautiful skirt and a satin blouse she had when she was growing up.  I guess it must have been her favorite.  She said it was beautiful.  I know Grandma made the clothes she had and she was a very good seamstress and was famous for her quilting.  She was actually an artist at whatever kind of needlework she did. 

[Note: Alexander Burford had three children from his first marriage when he married Lora. His first wife died when the children were still young.]

PHOTO: Alexander and Helen Virginia Burford with their children Raymond, Edith, and Hazel.

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The anecdotes in this post are from my book When We Were Irish, which is available in paperback and Kindle (ebook) versions on Amazon.