Francis' birth father, George Franklin Hand, was accused of murder and sent to prison when Francis was very young. She was adopted by a family of Blankenships who raised her. Later, G. F. Hand was acquitted of his crime, and was released from prison. He remarried, (don't know what happened to his first wife), and had other children. Albert Hand was a half brother of Francis from this second union, and he lived in Geneva, Alabama, for several years, maybe decades, before his death. Francis' full name at her death, according to some information from her daughter, Lurie Mae, seems to have been Francis LouJeannie Hand Blankenship Strickland. (Unsure of LouJeannie spelling)

Francis' birth father, G. F. Hand, moved to their area and was living near them when he passed away in 1942.

Francis married Franklin Andrew Strickland on Dec 8, 1907. For a wedding gift, her father (don't know which one) sent her a reed organ, which remains in the family. She passed it on to her oldest daughter, Lurie Mae Radford, who passed it on to one of her daughters, Foye Gillis.

Francis and Franklin had 10 children, the youngest of which is buried near them, Myrtle Julie Vaughan.

Entered Into Eternal Rest
Wednesday, June 25, 1969

MRS. JENNIE B. STRICKLAND

Mrs. Jennie B. Strickland, age 78, Route 1, DeFuniak Springs, died Wednesday morning in a Pensacola hospital.

Mrs. Strickland was a native of Abbyville, Alabama, and had lived here for 49 years. She was a member of the Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church and a member of the DeFuniak Chapter 115, Order of the Eastern Star.

Surviving are four daughters, Mrs. Lurie Mae Radford, Gainesville, Florida; Mrs. Ruby Jones, Milton, Florida; and Mrs. Myrtle Winters, Fort Walton Beach, Florida; five sons, Silas Strickland, Pensacola, Florida; David Strickland Milton, Florida; Mixon Strickland, F. A. Strickland, Jr., and Aaron Strickland, all of DeFuniak Springs, Florida; 30 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandchildren.

Services: 3pm Thursday at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church with the Rev. Aubrey Hobbs officiating. Eastern Star graveside services by the DeFuniak Chapter 115 in the church cemetery. Clary Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Obituary courtesy of Clary-Glenn Funeral Homes; DeFuniak Springs, Florida; used by permission.

Her full name at time of death was: Francis LouJeannie Hand Blankenship Strickland.