Cousin Edgar, Uncle Harmon and the USAF

Cousin Edgar recently sent me two emails regarding my "Veterans Day 11/11/11" post about family members in the service. I updated that post with the corrected information. I wanted to add his own words with more details and a wonderful story about Uncle Harmon.

Edgar wrote: "Just wanted to say thanks for the tribute to those of us in the family who served in the armed forces.  You may are may not know that our cousins Buford Wooten (US Marines, Viet Nam) and Jim Singletary (USAF, Iraq and Afganistan).  Jim recently retired with 20+ years in the USAF."

His second follow-up about Uncle Harmon:  "Uncle Harmon was a 20+ year veteran of the USAF and very proud of it.  He retired as a Technical Sergeant (E-7).  As a matter of fact he had great influence on me joining the USAF and strongly encouraged me to attend the USAF Office Training School, which I did.  As a matter of additional information trivia, he made sure he met me with Dad at the Pensacola airport after my graduation and commissioning.  He insisted I give him a dollar for his salute to a newly minted Second Lieutenant.  It is Air Force tradition for a new 2nd Lt. to give the first non-comissioned officer who salutes him a dollar.  He wasn't really the first, but I had to give him the dollar anyway."

I so appreciate Cousin Edgar's story and information. To all my family  . . .  sisters, brothers, cousins and others . . . I welcome any stories you have about our family. Send them to me. The more we know about our family, the richer we are.

Thomas Gilley, Jr.

Last week I was looking in Google Books for anything I could find about my family. I looked up Jowers first, as I usually do, and ended up with nothing, as I usually do. Then I tried Gilley. Jackpot! I found several things about Thomas Gilley, Jr.

Thomas Gilley, Jr. is my great-grandfather, the father of my grandmother, Annie Gilley Jowers. He seems to have been an interesting person. In Aunt Nita and Uncle Henry's research, I found he owned a lumber business with his brother, Jere (Jeremiah). He was the Superintendent of Education for Dale County, AL in the 1890's (according to a piece of stationery). I haven't found the exact years yet. There's also a story in my family that he was a doctor. My cousin, Edgar, said he'd heard that TG, Jr. was an optometrist. He was also an ordained minister in the Church of Christ at Goodwater in Dale County, AL.

That brings me back to my Google Books search. I found several interesting pieces of information about Thomas Gilley, Jr.  At the meeting of the Medical Association of Alabama in 1894 it was recorded in the section of the county medical associations reports:  "Examinations -- for the study of medicine, John A. Steed and Thomas Gilley; Gilley was rejected."

Thomas Gilley, Jr. was about 36 years old at the time, and Annie Gilley was about 2 years old.

Then, in the Journal of the House of Representatives, State of Alabama, 1896-97, on the 39th day of the session, Thursday, February 4, 1897, I found this:

Introduction of Bills.

"On a call of the counties, bills were introduced, severally read one time, and referred to appropriate committees, as follows:
By Mr. Killebrew -- [W. B. Killebrew, representative of Dale County]
H. 1129.   To authorize and empower Dr. Thos. Gilley, Jr., to practice physic within a radius of ten miles of Wicksburg, and to make charges for service and collect the same."

I couldn't locate within the book (journal), what happened to this bill. I'm not sure why he was referred to as Dr. Thos. Gilley, Jr. I'll be looking into both issues at a later time to see if I can find some answers.

I wanted to put copies of the actual pages here, but I don't know how at this time. It's SO exciting to me to see our family's ancestors' names in documents.