Suggested bio:
Alice Watkins, youngest daughter of Henry and Martha Watkins married into the same Gouner (aka Gounin) family as her sister Mary and her father Henry. They were a close-knit group due to family ties and as demonstrated by their homes in Berwick over the years that were either next-door or across-the-street from each other.
In September 1891, Mary Watkins Gouner (Alice's sister) died, leaving behind 6 sons and a 3-month old daughter named Mattie. It was decided that Mattie would be raised by her Aunt Alice and Uncle Leonidas, a generous gesture since they had five children of their own. Alice would then face her own crisis some four years later when Leonidas died, only three months after the birth of another child of their own. She essentially raised six children of her own and her niece Mattie to adulthood.
The late descendant Michael Talbot shared an anecdote about how Alice acquired the nickname Lily. When Mattie was a toddler just learning to talk, her father Alphonse who spoke with a strong French Cajun accent instructed her to call her aunt "Tante Alice" (pronounced "Tahnte Ah-lease"). When the child Mattie attempted to say this, it came out as "Lee-Lee." From that time forward, Alice was called Lily.
Late in life, Alice moved to Beaumont, Texas to be near her grown children and grandchildren. She died and was buried there at age 79.
Alice Watkins, youngest daughter of Henry and Martha Watkins married into the same Gouner (aka Gounin) family as her sister Mary and her father Henry. They were a close-knit group due to family ties and as demonstrated by their homes in Berwick over the years that were either next-door or across-the-street from each other.
In September 1891, Mary Watkins Gouner (Alice's sister) died, leaving behind 6 sons and a 3-month old daughter named Mattie. It was decided that Mattie would be raised by her Aunt Alice and Uncle Leonidas, a generous gesture since they had five children of their own. Alice would then face her own crisis some four years later when Leonidas died, only three months after the birth of another child of their own. She essentially raised six children of her own and her niece Mattie to adulthood.
The late descendant Michael Talbot shared an anecdote about how Alice acquired the nickname Lily. When Mattie was a toddler just learning to talk, her father Alphonse who spoke with a strong French Cajun accent instructed her to call her aunt "Tante Alice" (pronounced "Tahnte Ah-lease"). When the child Mattie attempted to say this, it came out as "Lee-Lee." From that time forward, Alice was called Lily.
Late in life, Alice moved to Beaumont, Texas to be near her grown children and grandchildren. She died and was buried there at age 79.
Suggested bio:
Alice Watkins, youngest daughter of Henry and Martha Watkins married into the same Gouner (aka Gounin) family as her sister Mary and her father Henry. They were a close-knit group due to family ties and as demonstrated by their homes in Berwick over the years that were either next-door or across-the-street from each other.
In September 1891, Mary Watkins Gouner (Alice's sister) died, leaving behind 6 sons and a 3-month old daughter named Mattie. It was decided that Mattie would be raised by her Aunt Alice and Uncle Leonidas, a generous gesture since they had five children of their own. Alice would then face her own crisis some four years later when Leonidas died, only three months after the birth of another child of their own. She essentially raised six children of her own and her niece Mattie to adulthood.
The late descendant Michael Talbot shared an anecdote about how Alice acquired the nickname Lily. When Mattie was a toddler just learning to talk, her father Alphonse who spoke with a strong French Cajun accent instructed her to call her aunt "Tante Alice" (pronounced "Tahnte Ah-lease"). When the child Mattie attempted to say this, it came out as "Lee-Lee." From that time forward, Alice was called Lily.
Late in life, Alice moved to Beaumont, Texas to be near her grown children and grandchildren. She died and was buried there at age 79.
Alice Watkins, youngest daughter of Henry and Martha Watkins married into the same Gouner (aka Gounin) family as her sister Mary and her father Henry. They were a close-knit group due to family ties and as demonstrated by their homes in Berwick over the years that were either next-door or across-the-street from each other.
In September 1891, Mary Watkins Gouner (Alice's sister) died, leaving behind 6 sons and a 3-month old daughter named Mattie. It was decided that Mattie would be raised by her Aunt Alice and Uncle Leonidas, a generous gesture since they had five children of their own. Alice would then face her own crisis some four years later when Leonidas died, only three months after the birth of another child of their own. She essentially raised six children of her own and her niece Mattie to adulthood.
The late descendant Michael Talbot shared an anecdote about how Alice acquired the nickname Lily. When Mattie was a toddler just learning to talk, her father Alphonse who spoke with a strong French Cajun accent instructed her to call her aunt "Tante Alice" (pronounced "Tahnte Ah-lease"). When the child Mattie attempted to say this, it came out as "Lee-Lee." From that time forward, Alice was called Lily.
Late in life, Alice moved to Beaumont, Texas to be near her grown children and grandchildren. She died and was buried there at age 79.
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