HIST 1301

May 2, 2012

John Moses Smith

Several years back, I was informed that I had a family member who was a traitor to the United States. I was told about Smith’s Point, and how it was named after him. At one point, my family even possessed a copy of the article that was written in the newspaper back then. Over time it has been lost, and I was not able to relocate it in my searches to learn more about this piece of my family legacy. I just thought it was a story that involved a person who was jailed for being a traitor. I did not realize it actually involved people like David Burnet, of course before this project I did not know who he was either. Also, it involved Sam Houston pardoning his John Moses’ son William for killing a man because he fought in the battle at San Jacinto, but refusing to do so for John Moses even though there was no evidence that he was there. It is kind of cool that I have relatives that are mentioned in history, even if it is very briefly. I was able to locate some articles online from the Handbook of Texas Online, which is published by the Texas State Historical Association. Below I have provided a they link, and also included a summary of the story passed along to me that my mother’s Uncle Hubert wrote.

Smith’s Point is located south of Anahuac about 70 miles driving distance from Houston. It is situated next to the Trinity Bay and Galveston Bay.

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This is the story passed down to me and also found in Hubert Smith’s book:

John Moses was said to be a tough and colorful character. He first shows up on history’s radar screen in 1803 at the age of 15 or 16. When in Mississippi, he got into a scrape and injured a man severely enough to require medical attention. In 1827 John Moses moved his family and slaves from Louisiana to Texas, and established a plantation in present day Liberty. At the time Texas was still a part of Mexico, and the Mexican government in Mexico City feared that the French or Spanish would force their way into occupy or claim “Tejas.” John Moses was forced to relocate, so he moved his family and property to a point south of Anahuac. The area today is known as Smith Point, named after John Moses Smith.

John Moses’ problems began in Texas around the dispute to those loyal to the Mexican government and those wanting Texas to become independent from Mexico. John Moses chose his loyalty to Mexico. He tried to get in with the Mexican authorities, but was labeled as a traitor by his White neighbors.

William M. Smith, John’s oldest son, murdered Alfred Carroll, his sisters husband, during an argument on the plantation at Smith’s Point in October 7, 1835. There was no indication that John M. Smith had anything to do with the murder, but he was found guilty as an accessory to murder. His attorney, David G. Burnet appealed the conviction of John Moses and his son on March 30, 1836. Burnet had just been elected ad interim president of Texas. The two were to be sent to Washington-on-the-Brazos as directed by the President. While waiting to be taken to Harrisburg, John Moses feigned illness and escaped to Louisiana. On January 29, 1837, President Sam Houston issued William M. Smith a pardon for service at San Jacinto. In December 1836, John Moses and many citizens from Louisiana petitioned Sam Houston for a pardon of John Moses, but he refused.

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I really wish I could have found that article, it would have been awesome to be able to read it. I do remember one of my family members mentioning the article saying was very well known in Texas as a Tory. I was also told by someone in my family that he was hung at Smith’s Point, which I have found to be untrue. He just slipped away into the Louisiana background, and disappeared completely after a census in the 1840’s. Even though the story I learned through word of mouth had only a few more errors (like being hung at Smiths’ Point) in it than the one’s my uncle told, the story that I had learned has been true. I was also able to learn new knowledge like William M. Smith fighting at San Jacinto, and who David Burnet was. Overall, it was a pretty cool assignment, and I hope that one day I will find someone who has a copy of that article.

Robert Wooster, “SMITH POINT, TX,” Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hrs51), accessed May 02, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Jean L. Epperson, “SMITH, JOHN MOSES,” Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsm66), accessed May 02, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Hubert Pickney Smith, “The Genealogy of Smith Family”

April 29, 2012

Jean Baptiste Simon

: A picture we took at the wall of names of my ancestor.

: This is a picture of the ship “La Amistad” (aka L’Amitie) that brought my ancestor Jean Baptiste Simon To the United States from France.

I have always been interested in knowing more about Jean Baptiste Simon Sr. Growing up, my family always had super sized family reunions, catholic mass usually in French, filled with stories that were also often in French, rich with our French heritage, and of course meeting several family members some who did not speak English or barely could. I have been to the Acadian Memorial a few times, got to find my ancestors name on the wall of names, viewed the eternal flame, got to walk along Evangeliene Park, and even went to the Acadian Museum once. The downtown area of St Martinville has several areas preserved from the mid to late 1700’s, and is actually pretty interesting. When you’re done you can walk down the street to eat lunch at Subway.

The history of Cajuns is pretty interesting. I have heard more detailed stories passed down from generations describing how the Acdians were treated, ripped from families, beaten and called stupid for speaking french, and several other instances of mistreatment. While searching for the story of the Acadians in exile, the stories I found are much milder than the ones I have heard from the older people in my family. My grandparents even refused to teach their children French, even though they both spoke it pretty well. They were ashamed to admit the knew French to anyone outside of the family, and never spoke it within the family. Even in Louisiana today, you still find many people of the older generation still speak French, and some of them that is all they know. In my generation, the pride for our French heritage was brought back, and several people actually got to learn a language that their parents were denied. I learned only the proper French (as spoken in France), and not the actual Cajun French. It has many similarities, but also many differences. Somewhere in my parents possession is a book of Cajun French. I was able to go through it once to compare what I learned to the Cajun language.

I was glad to be able to do this project because I was able to look further into the mistreatment of the Acadians, instead of relying solely on what I had heard of by word of mouth. This is the first time I actually was able to learn about the passage of my family into the United States, and about where they came from. I also learned that Jean Baptiste Simon and his fiancee traveled across on La Amistad, which would become a ship famous for a slave revolt that took place fifty years later.

The Jean Baptiste and his family was not involved in “Le Grand Dérangement,” but his soon to be wife Marie Magdeline Aucoin’s family was. I was also to learn about them finding their way in the United States, and setting in their new land. The family members who compiled our genealogy discovered that the Spanish actually changed Jean Baptiste and Marie’s names to Spanish names. They actually left France as Juan Bautista Simon and Maria Ocoin, but arrived in Louisiana under Jean Baptiste and Marie Aucoin. Some of the information I uncovered was old information that I already knew, but even more was new to me. Here is the story of my family who crossed over into a new land.

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Jean Baptiste Simon Sr. was the son of René Simon and Sebastienne Monnier. René was the son of Macé Simon and Olive GrandJouan. Sebastienne was the daughter of Julien Monnier and Michell Bazin of Hede France. Jean Baptiste Sr. was born November 5, 1763 and baptized November 6, 1763 in the Parish of Notre Dame in the town of Hede, France. He left France via La Amistad (L’Amite) traveling under the Spanish form of his name “Juan Bautista Simon”, and arrived in Louisiana November 7, 1785.

Many Acadian families after being exiled from their home by the English in 1755 during “Le Grand Dérangement“, and after 28 years of miserable treatment by the French people, they didn’t feel at home anywhere. Under King Charles the III, Spain offered to pay for about Acadians to travel from France to help settle their land in Louisiana, which was a Spanish colony at the time. Many of these families were living in various towns of Brittany and some were located in the town of Rennes, France. Jean Baptiste Simon Sr. and his wife to be, Marie Madeline Aucoin, were from Rennes, France.

Spain wanted to protect their land against English invasion, so from 1785 to early 1786, Spain sent seven ships carrying almost 1600 Acadian settlers to Louisiana. These ships were called “Le Bon Papa“, “La Bergere“, “Le Beaumont“, “Le Saint Remi“, “L’Amitie“, “La Ville d’Archangel” and “La Caroline“. Jean Baptiste Simon Sr. and Marie Madeleine Aucoin joined many of the other families at Opelousas/Attakapas.

-Research was gathered from:

the Acadian Cultural Museum (http://www.acadian-cajun.com/musee.htm)

and the book of Simon Family Genealogy.

Here you can locate the names of the people aboard L’Amitie (and where the picture came from):

http://www.acadian-cajun.com/ship5.htm

or visit the memorial of these men in exile

http://acadianmemorial.org/

April 26, 2012

Smith & Simon Genealogy

I have many people in my family to thank for helping me with my genealogy project. Them have done a lot of the leg work, spent their time, and money on searching for relatives. It is the combined efforts of several people on both sides of my family that was able to piece together and publish my family tree. I was able to interview my Pat and read a bit of my great uncle Hubert’s introduction of his book to get information on how they found these names. Speaking with my aunt, she told me how hard and time consuming finding all these names were. At the time of speaking with her, she was working on my grandmothers side as well. On the Smith side she came across several bumps, but was able to contact other family members to get information. She found most of her information in the genealogy section at her local library in Sulphur, Louisiana. My aunt was able to also share with me the article of John Moses Smith’s Texas legacy which I will include later.

As for the Simon family, no one was able to interview personally, but have heard through the grapevine that it took a long time to finish. I found several stories of members who were not directly related to me, but still very interesting as it was Simon history. My favorite story to read was a story I heard when I was 15. I was told in Cajun French, so I did not understand every part of the story. The parts I did understand was that there was buried treasure, a fire, and a murder. Many of the older members of my family do not speak English, and I never knew enough french to be able to communicate with any of them. When they published the book, the story was published in English, and it was pretty interesting in English as it was in French. I also learned that the parents of my ancestor Marie Magdeleine Aucoin, wife of Jean-Baptiste Simon, Sr., were prisoners during the “Grand Dérangement.” I also was able to read how the Acadian men were ordered to arrive at the Catholic Church September 5, 1785 and were locked in. They told the men that their wives and children would be killed if they did not go willingly. As their ships left, women hopelessly threw themselves on the ships to be with their husband and children. The book was published by Mertie Simon Melancon, and she provided several letters and sources for her information:

Family History Library – Salt Lake City, Utah

Archives Département D’Ille-et-Vilaine, France

Notarial Archives, New Orleans

Southwest Louisiana Records By Rev. Donal Hebert

Crowley Court house

Lafayette Court House

Opelousas Court House

St. Martinville Court House

St. Martinville Library

USL Library

Lake Charles Library

Acadian Odyssey By Rev. Oscar William Winzerling

Charles C. Trahan

Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records

Beloved Acadia of My Ancestors by Yvon Leger

The Opelousas Post by Gladys Devillier.

April 26, 2012

Smith Family

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Pedigree

Christopher Smith, Sr.
born: 3/28/1592 (Devon, England)
married:

Died: 1638
first wife unknown

children
(1) John Smith
born: 1624

(2) Christopher Smith Jr.

Born: 1631

(3) Thomas Smith

Born: 1637
second wife Elizabeth Townley Halsted d/o Lawrence Townley & Jennett Halsted
born: 5/3/1614

Died: 1679
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Christopher Smith Jr . s/o Christopher Jr. & unknown
born: 1631 (Burnley Parish, Lancashire)
died: 1716
Unkown First Wife
born: unknown
children:
(1) John Smith
(2) Christopher Smith III

(3) Charles Smith

Second wife Lydia Broadribb widow of William Broadribb

No known children from this marriage

* Christopher Jr. was an apprentice or an indenture servant before 1706. He was a teacher of Indian Children at the College of William and Mary in 1706, and a Clerk of Jamestown Church.

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Christopher Smith III s/o Christopher Jr. & unknown
born: unknown (Hanover County, VA)
died: 1730
Catherine Snelson d/o Charles Snelson and wife
born: unknown
children:
(1) John Smith
(2) Ann Smith

(3) Charles Smith IV

(4) Ambrose Joshua Smith

Born: 1700

(5) Charles Smith

Born: 9/22/1729

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Ambrose Joshua Smith s/o Christopher III & Catherine Snelson
born: 1700 (Kent County, VA)
married: 1749
died: 1759
Judith Ann Spann d/o John Spann & ? Parks
born: unknown
children:
(1) John “Little River” Smith
(2) Francis Smith

(3) Nicholas Smith

(4) Zacheriah Smith

Born: 8/19/1734

(5) Catherine Smith (the only daughter)

(6) Charles H. Smith

(7) Christopher Smith V

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Zacheriah Smith Sr.                                   s/o Ambrose Joshua & Judith Ann Spann
born: 8/19/1734
married: 9/10/1756
died: 1812
Frances Prestwood                                d/o Alexandre & Elizabeth Duhon
born: 3/27/1741
died: 1809
children:
(1) William Moses Smith                                     Prudence Bonner (d/o Jean-Baptiste & Susanne Cormier)
born: 9/16/1757

Married: 6/2/1807
(2) John Smith
born: 11/30/1759

(3) Elizabeth Smith
born: 12/25/1761
(4) James Smith
born: 2/16/1764

(5) Peter Smith
born: 9/18/1766

(6) Sarah Smith
born: 6/22/1768

(7) Zacheriah Smith Jr.
born:1/16/1770

(8) Mary Smith
born: 1772

(9) Barbra Smith
born: 3/20/1774

(10) Martha Smith

Born: 3/11/1776

(11) Frances Smith

Born: 6/15/1779

(12) David Smith

Born: unknown

(13) Nancy Smith

Born: 12/17/1781

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William Moses Smith s/o Zacheriah Smith Sr. & Frances Prestwood
born: 9/16/1757
married: 6/2/1807
died: 3/18/1811
Prudence Bonner
children
(1) John Moses Smith. Nancy Ann Smith (d/o James & Sarah Phipps)
born: 1787

married: 4/21/1812

died: before 1850
(2) Elizabeth Smith
born: 1791
(3) Augustine Matilda Smith John Forbes Jackson
born: 11/1797

married: 8/1811
(4) William Henry Smith
born: 11/26/1800
(5) Adolphus Frederick Smith
born: unknown

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John Moses Smith s/o William Moses & Prudence Bonner
born: 1787
married: 4/21/1812

died: before 1850
Nancy Ann Smith d/o James & Sarah Phipps
born: 1791

died: after 1860
children:
(1) William Moses Smith
born:1811
(2) Caroline B. Smith Charles Wilcox
born: 1841
(3) Adeline Louise Smith Alexander McDonald
born: 1822

married: 4/2/1841
(4) Rosy (Rosie) Ann Smith 1^st– Peter Schmidt
born: 1823

married: before 1846

married: after 1850 2^nd– Armstrong
(5) Lucy Ann Amanda Smith Jacob Vaughn (may have been her maternal grandfather)
born: 1826

married: 1849-50
(6) Teran Smith Elisee Leger (s/o Michel IV & Marguerite Leblanc)
born:

Married: 5/13/1861

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Rosie Ann Smith d/o John Moses Smith & Nancy Ann Smith
born: 1823
married: before 1846
Peter Schmit (changed his name from Schmidt to Smith in fit in with American culture)
born: unknown
* A German immigrant so tired of American customs, his wife, Rosie Ann said that “one day he got on his horse and rode away”

children
(1) John Moses Smith II
born: unknown
(2) Pickney Cotesworth Smith Hortnese Courts (d/o Armand & Marguerite Celine Dupuis)
born: 1848

Second Marriage: Armstrong ?
married: after 1850
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Pickney Cotesworth (P.C.) Smith s/o Rosie Ann Smith & Peter Schmit
born: 1848

married: 3/5/1874
died: 1924
Hortense Courts d/o Armand Courts (Courtz) & Marguerite Celine Dupuis
born: 1/8/1856
died: 2/5/1943
children
(1) O’Neal Smith Euchariste Landry (d/o Oneil & Philomene Landry)
born: 2/7/1875

Married: 9/24/1896
died: 1/29/1943
(2) Emile Smith Eumeah Benoit
born: 11/20/1877

Married: 1/11/1897

Died: 1/17/1929
(3) Emanuel Courtney Smith Frances LeBlanc (d/o Emile & Celeste East)
born: 8/17/1879

Married: 2/9/1903

Died: 1935

(4) Emma Smith Louis Henry Jr. (s/o Louis Henry Sr. & Elizabeth Richard)
born: 5/13/1881

Married: 11/30/1903

(5) Eumeah Smith Ozene Benoit (s/o Pierre Ophelias & Marciline Cashaw)
born: 1884

Married: 9/29/1919

(died during childbirth)
(6) Raymond Smith Cecilia Duhon (d/o Lezime Duhon & Ernestine Moore)
born: 2/17/1888

Married: 12/20/1911

Died: 2/28/1956
(7) Alice Smith Curley Mires
born: 9/25/1890

Married: 4/1/1913

Died: 12/30/1966
(8) Armond Smith Cora Mertia Harrington (d/o Valentine & Anaise Linscombe)
born 2/21/1892

Married: 11/20/1912

Married: 12/24/1922 Emma Sarver (d/o Henry & Mary Morgan)
(9) Ida Smith James Corbett Foreman (s/o John & Nancy Spell)
born: 5/24/1895

Married: 6/28/1923

Died: 1/1/1971
(10) Leone Smith
born: 1903
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Armond Smith s/o Pickney Cotesworth Smith & Hortense Courts
born: 2/21/1892

Married: 11/ 20/1912
died: 6/15/1980
Cora Mertia Harrington d/o Valentine & Anaise Linscombe
born: 12/8/1893
died: 9/5/1921
children
(1) Ruby Evelyn Smith Theophile Stanley Robichaux ( s/o Pierre Elphege &Marie Eugenie Bellanger)
born: 9/28/913

married: 9/24/1982

died: 9/20/1997

second wife Emma Sarver

married: December 24, 1922

died: November 15, 1968

children:
(1) Renn Avril Smith Lora Marie Tabitha Hebert (d/o Ameday & Edith Ledoux)
born: April 4, 1924

Married: March 25, 1946

Died: September 11, 2010
(2) Hubert Pickney Smith 1^st– Mary Ann Darsey ( d/o Speer Darsey & Ora Gainey)
born: 8/6/1927

Married: 10/19/1951

Married: 7/19/1964 2^nd– Lee Ona Moffett (d/o Bryan & Cynthia Wade)

Married: 7/6/1999 3^rd– Doris LaRue Mauritzen (d/o Floyd & Fanalou Pippen)
(3) Donald Lee Smith Louella Mae Schlopia (d/o Austin & Bertha Fertig)
born: 9/10/1932

Married: 6/1/1953

Died: 2/15/2000

(4) Huey Long Smith Myrtle Lee Young
born: 7/29/1932

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Renn Avril Smith s/o Armond & Emma Sarver
born: April 4, 1924 (Abbeville, La.)

married: March 25, 1946
died: September 11, 2010
Lora Marie Tabitha Hebert d/o Ameday & Edith Ledoux
born: August 18, 1928
children
(1) Patricia Ann Smith Jerry Prestridge
born: July 18, 1947

Married: 1965 – divorced
(2) Brenda Gayle Smith 1st- Billy Wade
born: April 4, 1952

Married: divorced

Married: September 1, 1982 2nd- Alan Keith Thingpen

(3) Debra Lynn Smith Timothy Simon (s/o Whitney & Elsie Doucet)
born: August 18, 1959

Married: 8/29/1976
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Debra Lynn Simon d/o Renn & Lora Marie Hebert
born: 9/18/1959

married: 8/29/1976

Timothy Wayne Simon s/o Whitney & Elsie Doucet
born: 4/4/1957
children
(1) Craig Simon Rebecca Swank (d/o James & Gloria Swank)
born: 2/10/1976

Married: 11/17/2001

(2) Jenifer Simon Paul Billy Mbah (s/o Tezock & Grace Mbah)

born: 9/24/1982

Married: 1/22/2010
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Jenifer Marie Simon d/o Timothy & Debbie Smith
born: 9/24/1982 — married: 1/22/2010
Paul Billy Tinong Mbah s/o Tezock & Grace Mbah
born: 11/21/1976
children
(1) Miles Mbah
born: 7/19/2010

April 25, 2012

Simon Family

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Pedigree

René Simon                                                      s/o Macé & Olive Grandjouan
born 1726 (Bretagne, France)
married: 2/3/1763 Hedé, Ille-et-Vilaine, France
Sebastienne Monnier                                      d/o Julien & Michelle Bazin
born: unkown
children
(1) Jean Baptiste Simon                                    Madeleine Aucoin
born: 11/6/1763                                               d/o Alexandre & Elizabeth Duhon
(Bretagne, France)

Married: 11/13/1785

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Jean-Baptiste Simon Sr.                                   s/o Rene’ & Sebastienne Monnier
baptized: 11/6/1763 in Hedé Ille-et-Vilaine, France
married: 11/13/1785 St. Louis Cathedral – New Orleans, La.
died: 11/4/1836
Magdeleine Marie Aucoin                                d/o Alexandre & Elizabeth Duhon
born: 1/8/1768 in Belle-ile-en-Mer, France
died: 3/28/1823
children:
(1) Charles Simon Sr.                                     Magdeleine Helene Granger (d/o Jean-Baptiste & Susanne Cormier)
born: 5/17/1786

Married: 6/2/1807
(2) Jean-Baptist Simon Jr. 1st-Francoise Trahan(d/o Jean-Baptiste & Marie Trahan)
born: ca 1788

Married: 1/13/1810
married: 4/17/1817 2nd- Celeste Granger (d/o Magdeleine Granger)

(3) Louis Simon Sr. Marie Louise Trahan (d/o Jean-Baptiste & Marie Trahan)
born: 1789

Married: 8/20/1811
(4) Marie Felonise Simon Frederick Hebert (s/o Joseph & Marguerite Trahan)
born: 1/11/1795

Married: 11/23/1815
(5) Beloni Simon Pelagie Boudreau (d/o Joseph & Elizabeth Apoline Trahan)
born: 10/13/1797

Married: 7/8/1817
(6) Marie-Urazie Simon Louis Broussard (s/o Claude & Catherine Trahan)
born: 12/26/1799

Married: 4/30/1818
(7) Eloi Simon Adelaide Boudreau (d/o Joseph & Elizabeth Apoline Trahan)
born: 3/1/1802

Married: 4/15/1821
(8) Isabelle Simon Edmond Philmon Boudreau (s/o Joseph & Elizabeth Apoline Trahan)
born: 7/18/1804

Married: 1/14/1821
(9) Marguerite Simon Francois Boudreau (s/o Joseph & Elizabeth Apoline Trahan)
born: 5/7/1807

Married: 12/13/1824

*Jean-Baptiste Sr. arrived in Louisiana 11/7/1785 aboard the ship L’Amite. Jean-Baptiste & Madeleine settled in the Attakapas District where they both died.
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Charles Simon, Sr.                          s/o Jean Baptiste Simon Sr. & Magdeleine Aucoin
born: 5/17/1786
married: 6/2/1807
died: 3/3/1842
Magdeleine “Helen” Granger           d/o Jean-Baptiste Granger & Susanne Cormier
bapized: 7/9/1780 ( age 6 wks)
died: 12/5/1852
child of Magdeleine “Helen” Granger
(1) Celestine Granger                                      Jean-Baptiste Simon, Jr. (s/o Jean-Baptiste Sr. & Marie Magdeleine Aucoin)

born: 6/25/1803

married: 4/7/1817
children of Chalres Simon Sr. & Magdeleine “Helen” Granger
(1) Charles Simon Jr. Perosine (Caroline) Leger (d/o Julien Leger & Marie Duhon)
born: 5/5/1809

married: 10/31/1831
(2) Josephine Simon
born: 1/1/1808
(3) Augustine Treville Simon Arsene Leger (d/o Julien Leger & Marie Duhon)
born: 12/1/1812

married: 12/31/1833
(4) Marie Carmelite Simon Joseph Abshire (s/o Jacob & Mary Crawford)
born: 12/25/1825

married: 4/26/1841
(5) Francoise-Fanelie Simon Dositee Meau (s/o Francois & Constance Broussard)
born: 12/24/1818

married: 4/8/1833
(6) Marguerite Simon
born: 8/20/1823
died: 9/15/1824
(7) Marie Uranie Simon Onesime Meau ( s/o Francois & Constance Broussard)
born: 1/6/1815

married: 5/7/1830
(8) Rosemond Simon
born: 5/12/1811
died: 4/14/1812 (age 1 yr)
(9) Sylvian Simon
born: 1819
died: 1/26/1829   (age 10)
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Charles Simon Jr.                                    s/o Charles Sr. & Madeleine Granger
born: 5/5/1809
married: 10/31/1831
Perosine Leger                                         d/o Julien Leger & Marie Duhon
born: 5/20/1817
children:
(1) child girl – born: 10/3/1832 – died: 10/21/1832 (age 18 days)
(2) Eugenie Simon                                         Francois Broussard (s/o Jean & Hortence Broussard)
baptized:1/13/1834

married: 2/4/1850
died: 1/19/1851 (age 35)
(3) Azelie Simon
born: 11/21/1835
(4) Eugene Simon Arsene Abshire (d/o Theophile & Adelaide Stelly)
baptized: 3/18/1838 (age 3 mo.)

married: 2/26/1870
(5) Theodule Simon
born: 9/28/1839
(6) Charles Simon III Nathalie Leger (d/o Michel IV & Marguerite Leblanc)
born: 5/26/1841

married: 4/27/1862
married: 9/19/1889 2nd: Lucia Hebert
(7) Scholastique Simon Elisee Leger (s/o Michel IV & Marguerite Leblanc)
bapt.: 2/17/1848

Married: 5/13/1861
(8) Theoville Simon 1st- Marie Leblanc (d/o Onezime & Marie Leger)
born: 3/25/1848

Married: 8/13/1866
married: 4/14/1895 2nd- Augustine Richard
(9) Louise Simon Edward Martin (s/o Michel & Pauline Thibodeau)
born: 6/15/1850

Married: unknown
(10) Francois Simon Marie Albertine Allemand (d/o Louis Omer & Octavie Lopez)
born: 4/16/1852

Married: 1/21/1878
(11) Jean Numa Simon Marie Sylvonie Leger (d/o Michel IV & Marguerite Leblanc)
born: 10/17/1856

Married: 6/26/1870
(12) Narbal Simon Edmonia Judson (d/o Carmelite Sarver)
born: 9/12/1859

Married: 8/5/1878
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Charles Simon III                                  s/o Charles Jr & Perosine Leger
born: 5/26/1841
married: 4/47/1862
Anastasie Nathalie Leger                           d/o Michel IV & Marguerite Leblanc
born: 12/25/1846
children:
(1) Marie Useide Simon                              Alcide Guidry (s/o Pierre & Marie Catherine Broussard)
born: 2/2/1864

Married: 2/19/1881
(2) Oneil Simon Marie Euchariste Guidry (d/o Charles Dupre & Emelissa Breaux)
born: 12/12/1865

Married: 1/4/1886
(3) Emma Simon Valsin (Marcel) Stutes Jr (s/o Valsin & Marie Louise Broussard)
born: 8/31/1867

Married: 8/19/1889
(4) Dema Simon
born: 11/19/1869
(5) Camille Simon Carline Faulk (d/o Alexandre & Marie Regina Saunier)
born: 3/31/1874

Married: 1/9/1892
(6) Jean-Duplessair Simon 1st- Ezilda Lege
born: 1/29/1872

Married: 11/28/1894

Married: unknown 2nd- Emethilde Cormier
d/o Okeli & Azelia Hanks
(7) Ophelia Simon Joseph Cormier (s/o unkown)

born: 3/27 1876

married: 12/28/1891
(8) Marguerite E. Simon Thomas Istre (s/o Celestin & Marie Roy)
born: 1/3/1863

married: 10/10/1879
Second Marriage: Lucia Hebert
married: 9/19/1889
children:
(1) Leandre (Leon) Simon Celestine Bourgue
born: 7/17/1890
(2) Charles Simon IV Lelia Penz
born: 12/17/1893
———————————————————————————————————————

Oneil Simon                                                         s/o Charles III & Nathalie Leger
born: 12/12/1865 — married: 1/4/1886
died: 3/30/1941
Marie Euchariste Guidry                                 d/o Charles Dupre & Marie Emelissa Breaux
born: 10/6/1870
died: 3/28/1941 Crowley, La.
children
(1) Celima Simon                                            Frank Clement (s/o Adam & Pollie Benoit)
born: 8/18/1886

Married: 8/13/1919
died: 2/13/1942
(2) Sydney Simon
born: 12/4/1888
(3) Armenta (Amytha) Simon Joseph (Dede) Richard (s/o Alexon & Ameline Sonnier)
born: 7/19/1890

Married: 10/21/1917
(4) Andre (Andrew) Simon Marie Adonia Leger (d/o Hubertie & Marcelite Trahan)
born: 6/25/1893

Married: 1/15/1917
(5) Joseph Wesley Simon 1st- Corinne Stutes (d/o Aladin & Lea Leger)
born: 3/31/1896

Married: 10/20/1917
Married: 11/10/1922 2nd- Agnes Delzin Leger
d/o Hubertie & Marcelite Trahan
(6) Mary Lodeisea Simon Thellis Richard (s/o Felix Sr. & Eva Duhon)
born: 10/2/1898

Married: 7/18/1914
(7) Nola Simon James Mires (s/o Theophile)
born: 9/27/1901

Married: 5/28/1921
(8) Michel Lozine Simon Gladys (unknown)
born 1/8/1904

Married: unknown
(9) Eva Simon Edward Vigee
born: 1910

Married: 4/14/1928
(10) Aimee Simon
born: 8/17/1906
———————————————————————————————————————
Andrew Simon                                                                      s/o Oniel & Marie Euchariste Guidry
born: 6/29/1893 — married 1/15/1917
died: 9/6/1979 @ 4:30AM
Marie Adonia Leger                                                              d/o Hubertie & Marcelite Trahan
born: 11/21/1894
died: 7/13/1983@9:30AM
children
(1) Marie Beulah Simon
born: 9/17/1917
(2) Sydney Thomas Simon         Mabel Guidry (d/o Bertrand & Elita Castille)
born: 11/18/1919

Married: unknown
(3)Whitney Simon Elsie Lou Doucet (d/o Essie & Nedia Stutes)
born: 10/27/1921

Married: 4/17/1946
(4) Agnes Simon Vernice Simon (s/o Alcide & Laura Landry)
born: 12/9/1923

Married: 11/28/1943
(5) Evelyn Simon 1st- John MB Guidry (s/o Bertrand & Elita Castille)
born: 3/10/1926

Married: 8/11/1944

Married: unknown 2nd- Pierre JB Trahan
s/o Opha & Edia Guillet
(6) Bernice Simon Inson Simon (s/o Leodise & Rose Thibodeau)
born: 11/27/1927

Married: 7/7/1946
(7) Veda Mae Simon 1st- Walter Constantin (s/o Maurice & Etta Mae Melancon)
born: 3/15/1930

Married: 11/5/1952
Married: unknown 2nd- John Thomas Davis (s/o John Thomas Sr. & Ana Bruzoni)
(8) Paul Andrus Simon Velma Jean Breaux (d/o Eli & Claudia Simon)
born: 3/15/1930

Married: 8/26/1961
———————————————————————————————————————
Whitney Simon                                                s/o Andrew & Marie Adonia Leger
born: 10/27/1921–married:4/7/1946
died:
Elsie Lou Doucet                                              d/o Essie & Nedia Stutes
born: 3/19/1931
children
(1) Terry Simon                                          Nettie Richard (d/o Louis & Ezel Richard)
born: 5/25/1949

Married: 1980
(2) Sheila Simon 1st- Jerry Lynn Couvillion ( s/o unknown)
born: 5/19/1953

Married: unknown

Married: 1/26/1982 2nd- Jeffery Olivier (s/o Charles & Lisa Olivier)
Married: unknown 3rd- Alan King

(3) Timothy Simon Debbie Smith (d/o Renn & Marie Hebert)
born: 4/4/1957

Married: 8/29/1976
(4) Teddy Simon 1st- Cynthia Marie Guillory
born: 2/8/1959

Married: unknown

Married: unknown                                 2nd- Jamie Guidry (d/o Jimmie & Emma Guidry)
———————————————————————————————————————
Timothy Wayne Simon                               s/o Whitney & Elsie Doucet
born: 4/4/1957 — married: 8/29/1976
Debra Lynn Simon                                d/o Renn & Lora Marie Hebert
born: 9/18/1959
children
(1) Craig Simon                                               Rebecca Swank (d/o James & Gloria Swank)
born: 2/10/1976

Married: 11/17/2001

(2) Jenifer Simon Paul Billy Mbah (s/o Tezock & Grace Mbah)

born: 9/24/1982

April 19, 2012

Whitney Simon

: My grandfather

: My grandfather and his crew. Their plane was shot down August 17, 1943.

: My grandparents.

While growing up I knew that my grandfather was a prisoner of war during World War II. I had seen the letter the Army had sent his parents informing them of his disappearance, I had seen the articles about his returning home, and receiving a purple heart. I also knew that he was terrified of dogs and that it was war related, but not much else was known. He would never talk about it, not to his wife, not to his children, and definitely not to his grandchildren. It was a past that he wanted to forget and never think about. I am not completely sure how the written story came about, but a few years before his death, someone convinced him to write down his story of the war. I had never known of its existence until now, and after reading it, I now know why my grandfather never spoke of the war. Even in the journal, you could see it was hard for him to write, and several times he admitted that he omitted details because they were too hard to speak of.

Here is a little bit of his story.

Born October 21, 1921, the third oldest of eight children. He was born and raised on a cotton and rice farm, and grew up working on the field. During the fall and winter he would go to work cutting sugar cane and working in a sugar mill. He grew up during the depression, so his family could not afford many luxuries. He graduated from Judice High in 1938.

After Pearl Harbor, he considered going into the service. Many of his older friends were being drafted or volunteered. On a Monday morning in June 1942, instead of going out to pull weeds in the rice fields, he surprised everyone by telling them he was going to join the service. So he traveled the fifteen miles to Lafayette by wagon and bus. He joined the Air Corps and was sworn in June 6th, 1942. After six weeks of basic training, he went to radio school, then gunnery school. After finishing gunnery school he was promoted to Staff Sergeant and assigned to fly a B-17 as an armored waist gunner. In May of 1943, he was sent off to be stationed in Chelverston, England.

He noted one mission he was on was a rather long mission, and low on fuel. The pilot thought they were not going to make it to the base, so he ordered them to throw out anything that could be discarded. Everyone thought they were going to land in the English Channel, which was said that no one could live in the frigid water longer than 30 minutes. Finally the pilot spotted land, the crew braced themselves for a rough landing. The pilot managed to hind a small airfield at the last moment and made a smooth landing. They tanked up and went back to base. When they finally arrived, the ground crew chief gave them a hard time about trashing his plane.

August 17th, a day he will never forget. Hm and his crew went to the briefing room to find out their new mission. The briefing officers told them they were not going on a “milk run” this time, and most of them were not coming back. They were informed that if the mission was a success, the war would be shortened by at least six months. The target was Schweinfurt, a ball bearing factory, the deepest penetration in Germany by allied planes so far. It was a foggy morning, and they were late getting started. They began on their way to what was to be my grandfather’s last mission.

My grandfather’s plane had a fighter escorter with them, and the German’s left them alone. Finally the fighter plane had to turn back because it was limited on fuel, and they were left to fend for themselves. As soon as they were alone, the enemies attacked with everything they could put in the skies. They were able to hold their own and get through, but the exploding balls left heavy smoke in the air. Shell fragments went through the shell of the plane causing bodily harm (my grandfather had the scars to prove it). They made it to their target, dropped the bombs and peeled off the target run, but they were too late. One engine had to be shut down, slowing the plane down. Enemy fighters were waiting, they were busy shooting at fighters when they heard the pilot say “Lost another engine.” Then the dreaded words “Prepare to bail out.” He tried to open the door, but it was stuck. He went to kick it out when something hit him on the back and shoulders and knocked him out.

When he came to, he found that he was going down at a fast rate of speed. He thought he was already dead and heading in the wrong direction. He finally realized he was alive and pulled the rip cord. When the cord came out in his hand he thought he was going to splatter into the ground. He decided he was dead when all of a sudden his chute opened up. As he was floating down a fighter kept circling him. He had heard of fighters shooting holes in parachutes and killing airmen, but the fighter was not shooting at him.

Him and another man landed in a plowed field, and they both knelt and thanked God for sparing their lives. Then after their prayers, they began tearing up their chutes as they were taught so the enemy could not reuse them. A German solider started coming towards them yelling in a foreign tongue they did not understand. A young lady nearby very slowly asked them if they spoke French. My grandfather replied that he did, and she told them “the soldier says ‘Raise your hands above your head or he will shoot.'” He raised his hands quickly and told the other man to do the same. After the crew had been accounted for, three had been killed. The pilot and copilot had died in the plane, and an engineer who had the back of his head blown off before he made it to the ground. Two men were put in the hospital, and my grandfather was treated for superficial wounds. Later the men got together to figure out how the got out, but no one knew. One man said he thought someone pushed him out, but the figured they must have all just been blown out.One gunner, Baker, said he saw daylight and jumped.

They were taken to a Belgian prison, and on the way is where my grandfather saw his first of many encounters with German brutality. A man had given a victory sign to the prisoners, my grandfather and the other men. The German officer say this, stopped the car and kicked the man until he was unconscious. He was placed in a cell, and one of them men was dressed in civilian clothes telling a story about how he hid his uniform and how the German’s were threatening to kill him if he did not tell them where his uniform was. My grandfather believed this man to be a German spy placed there to get information out of the men. He only spoke of the present situation and how he wished God had let him died.

The next morning he was given one-sixteenth of a loaf of bread which was thirty percent sawdust. He ate this bread for the next two years. There was also red herring that he did not eat and threw away. When he finished, the guard indicated that he bring his bread with him, and he sound found out that was the only thing he would be given to eat that day. They then sent him on to Frankfurt. The Germans gave him a suit of English clothes and shoes. They took his expensive wristwatch, and told him to remove his class ring. He could not take it off because his fingers had grown since graduating and was stuck. One guard looked at his finger and made a motion like he was going to cut it off, and then walked away. He explained that Germans had a very warped sense of humor.

They put him in solitary confinement in an underground concrete cell, six by six by eight feet tall. Only one foot was above ground, it had a small window that the Germans would feed him though. Britons waling above ground would slip him cigarettes and matches. Once a day they would take him to a German who spoke English very well for questioning. After several days of interrogation, they finally let him out of his dungeon. After only a few days, all the Air Force men were marched to a train depot loaded in and shipped to Munich.

After arriving at Munich, his clothes were taken from him and they issued him a pair of pants made of grass or wood, but was given a GI suit after a while. The compound was an encampment encircled with a barbed wire fence about eight feet high. About ten feet inside of that fence was another identical fence, and twenty to thirty feet inside of that was another strand of wire. If the so much as touched the wire, the gaurds in the towers at the four corners of camp had orders to shoot and ask questions later.

There were two sides of the barracks with a washroom in the middle. The only things in the washroom were sixteen spigots of ice cold mountain water that emptied into a horse trough. The water ran for thirty minutes in the morning and at noon, and then from eight to ten in the evening. Although sometimes they had no water at all. He describe being shoved in a delouser completely naked, prodded on with the riffle butts of the German soldiers. Then a concrete door was slammed shut. He was scared out of his mind because they were not sure whether they were being executed in a gas chamber or not. (He learned years later in 1998 when he returned to Austria that the only difference between his bath house and the gas rooms were that gas was piped into the shower lines).

In the winter of 1943-1944 was terribly cold in Europe.. The Germans would make the prisoners stand in roll call two to four times a day, and the prisoners did not get much to eat. They had no fat left on their bodies. At this point, the Germans were still pretty confident that the would win the war. That December the prisoners at the camp were at an all time low. My grandfather described hearing the song “White Christmas” for the first time, and the Germans would play it on the intercom in camp. Some of these prisoners could not take it. One jumped through a window, and the Germans put him in a straight jacket and carried him away to the hospital. One guy had gone crazy and made a break for the fence, the tower guard shot and killed him. My grandfather felt he had hit rock bottom, and he thought there was not much of a chance of him ever seeing USA again for a long time, if ever.

The SS were Hitler’s elite troops, very mean and had no problems shooting you. They had German Shepherds and Dobermans on leashes. One day a Frenchman upset one of the guards, so the guard released the dog, and it went straight for the mans crotch. This led to my grandfather’s fear of dogs for the rest of his life. The SS guards would often tear through the barracks and bunk beds. Sometimes they were looking for someone, and sometimes they were looking for things like radios, materials to escape with, and food. The soldiers would save their headsets.

On October 12th, my grandfather and several other men were loaded into a boxcar and shipped to a new camp. They were unloaded at Krems, Austria which was six kilometer from the camp they would stay at. My grandfather accidentally bumped into a German soldier sitting on a stump. The guard wanting to make a point started beating him the the butt of his riffle, hitting him in the right kidney a few times and knocked him to the ground. An officer said something to the man and quit. The prisoners continued on, finally arriving at a big double gate made with barbed wire, eight feet tall, and chained and padlocked. The knew barracks were infested with lice a bed bugs, and even though they were tired no one could sleep.The risk of contagious disease was always on their mind because of the vermin and lack of water to bathe in. At one point a bunch of Americans began digging tunnels under the barracks closest to the fence. One instance, the guys had dug all the way out of the camp and were ready to go. The problem was that the Germans caught on and had a soldier waiting on the other end of the tunnel with a machine gun.

Their daily ration was one-eighth of a loaf a bread split among five people. The bread was half sawdust, and was very heavy and sour. At least it was something to put in their stomachs though, so they ate it anyway. They would receive three potatoes the size of large marbles. There was also a half-cup of soup made with wormy cabbage a day. At first the would push the worms aside and eat the watery broth, but after a while they would eat the worms and all. The would heat up things on their homemade oven made of a empty powdered milk can. It had an opening on the side to put in small sticks and a grill to hold the pot. They used this “oven” to mostly heat up water for their instant coffee.

During the winter of 1943, they were issued to blankets the size of baby blankets and very threadbare. The barracks had large cracks and their was no heat. The food was also getting scarce. The prisoners were becoming thinner and not very strong because of the lack of food. One of the guards’ dogs disappeared. My grandfather said he did not know what happened to it, but some of the prisoners had fresh meat in their stomachs. The Germans were even more cocky because the war was going in their favor. The future looked bleak for the prisoners, and suicide was on most of their minds. They were given shovels to dig their own trenches which they used when planes flew overhead.

They had a few visitors during the summer of 1944. One of them was Max Schmeling, a heavy weight boxing champion until he was defeated by Joe Louis. He told the prisoners that they should switch sides because the Germans were going to win the way, and got several boos. They were also visited by some of Hitler’s youth. They boys were about twelve to fourteen years old, too young for the regular army. They carried no guns, but had a dagger in their belt. The prisoners had to stand at attention for the young men as they inspected each man one by one. One spit of my grandfather’s shoes, and all he could do was just stand there. What little self-respect the had left was being hurt by the humiliation they faced from their enemies.

They were able to send letters home with a special form from the Germans, but the forms were very scarce. In one of the letters, my grandfather wrote “Pray for me.” His mother said she knew he was in trouble because he had not been a very religious man when he left for the service.

The had homemade radios consisting of a crystal, a coil of wire and a pair of earphones. June of 1944, the men got word over their radios that the invasion of Normandy was finally taking place. They began noticing changes in the German guards. They became much more serious, and much more on edge. The Red Cross parcels became even more rare, and the prisoners had used up their reserve. No dogs were coming into the camp for them to eat. The hardest part that my grandfather would never talk about he decided to put in writing, but to forget about and never think of again. There was a cat who had come into the camp and the men had took care of it and it’s kittens. They decided they needed the food, and butchered the cat and cooked it. A friend of his brought him back a hind legs, which he ate and enjoyed. It was the first time he had fresh meat in over a year.

During the winter,they listened to the BBC and heard the war was turning in their favor. They started making plans to escape. They began hearing rumors of the Germans killing prisoners or taking them to the gas chambers down the road. They decided they would put up a fight, they had chosen leaders and has spies. Planning seemed to bolster their moral, and perked them up even though they were hungry and losing both their weight and strength. In March they began hearing a rumor that Hitler ordered every foreigner on German soil killed. He later found out that this rumor was true, but many top officers did not pass the orders down to their subordinates.

On April 8th, the Germans told the men to get ready and bring all their belongings. Rumors spread that they were heading for a gas chamber. The SS troop, Hitler’s hand-picked soldiers, were going to be traveling with them, so the men knew something was not right. The marched for ten hours, and stopped on the side of a hill. The next day they marched for another four hours and camped outside a monastery. They were still twenty miles from Krems. The Germans were having troubles of their owns. The guards’ food was being rationed, and there was a lot of grumbling.

On April 11th, they traveled another eleven hours. On the 15th of April, the SS soldiers disappeared, and several men were getting sick with dysentery, and the next day all food supply had been exhausted. At one point during their march, an American fighter plane roared over them. Some of the men had made an American flag, and quickly spread it out on the road. The pilot pulled up abruptly, waved his wings and took off. They continued to march every day until they reached their destination April 25th, which was Braunau, the birthplace of Hitler. There was shooting going on inside the city, so they men camp outside in a nearby forest.

They camped there for nine days. On the third day a Red Cross parcels caught up with them. They had to share a parcel among three or four people, but at the point it did not matter. They were just trying to survive until the Allied troops were able to reach them. By the end of April every one had dysentery. On May 2nd, only being guarded by a few Germans, they surrendered to an American captain. The mean guards had already left for the countryside. They left out what little food they had left for Russian POWs that were in worse shape than they were. They knew food was not too far away. They were sent to an aluminum factory on May 5th, and then left in army trucks to an airfield. May 9th they left Germany and landed somewhere in France, but everyone was to sick to know or care where they were.

They took GI trucks to Camp Lucky Strike where they sere stripped and their clothes were burned. They sprayed the men with DDT and then sent to the showers. They had plenty of hot water and soap, something he had not experienced in nearly two years. Some guys passed out from being so weak, and the hot water made them even weaker. They were given new clothes and food, but they wouldn’t allow them to have too much food at once. He stayed in this makeshift hospital until May 18th, and then left for La Harve where they stayed for three days. They then boarded a liberty ship to South Hampton and stayed there overnight., the next morning they set sail for the USA. It took nine days to travel back to the United States, and when they arrived in New Jersey on June 3rd, they kissed the ground and waved to the Statue of Liberty. There were able to eat whatever food they wanted, and even got to go to a beer garden.

He wanted to go home so bad, he did not even tell the doctors that he was very sick and hurting. He took a train from New Jersey to Camp Shelby, Mississippi. There he received money for his ribbons and stripes of Technical Sergeant, and a couple of summer uniforms. He then took a bus to his hometown Rayne, Louisiana. He arrived on a Sunday morning, and the whole town was empty because everyone was at church. He was lost, and two men took him to his uncle’s house, which was two miles from his parent’s house. One of those men he later found out was the mayor.

When he arrived home, his legs gave out. He burst out crying uncontrollably, something he had not done since he was a baby. He became reacquainted with the family. He went out on the town, but felt out of sync. Everyone wanted to talk with him about his experiences, but he did not want to talk about his POW days. So he started drinking. He spent sixty days trying to get adjusted, but he could not. He was able to gain weight though. After his leave, he was assigned to Miami, and then Selman Field in Monroe, Louisiana. He put in for a fifteen-day leave, and went home to buy a car. This was not an easy task because manufactures had not started building cars since the war started, and those who had cars were not selling them. This is where he met Elsie Lou, my grandmother.

He reported back to base, where they told him to get ready to be processed for discharge. He had to go to a physical, which consisted of him saying that he was OK to a physician. There were two lines one to be processed, and the other to check into the hospital is you felt ill. The line to the hospital was of course empty, and many like my grandfather wanted to go home so badly they were not going to admit to any pains or illnesses.

After he got out, he drank so much he said he must have been trying to kill himself. Even his family realized this, but felt there was nothing the could do to help. At the beginning of 1946, he asked Elsie to marry him, and they were married April, 7th, 1946. He straightened out, and began working at an oil refinery. He fought his nerves for most of his life, nightmares, and even rushing to the hospital because of a panic attack.

Whitney S Simon

Army Air Corp, 8th Air Force Unit

WWII: captured in Belgium 8/17/1943 (age 21) liberated 5/5/1945

He passed away at the age of 82 on March 11, 2003.

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April 14, 2012

Miles’ Archive

I decided to do my archive on the greatest joy of my life, my son! Miles Tezock Mbah was born July 19, 2010 at 6:18 pm. He was 7 pounds 11 ounces, and was 20 1/4 inches long. He was the perfect combination of my husband and I, and had a head full of hair! I keep going back and looking at old photos of him, and it is amazing how much he was grown and learned in only two years! I never really thought someone walking backwards and jumping with both feet off the ground would be amazing until you see your child do it for the first time. I will still never forget his first smile at the doctors office, my heart instantly melted and I started crying! As he grew he hit motor milestones very early. He held his own head up at birth, rolled over at two weeks, sat up and starting crawling at 4 months, standing by 7 months, and walked by 9 months. He is now almost two and can do flips on his own, jump with both feet of the ground, and of course climbs higher and higher. He is learning more and more words every day.

He is almost always a very happy child, and he loves to sing and dance. He also likes to play guitar on anything that looks like it could be an imaginary guitar (which is anything by the way). His favorite person, besides his mommy and daddy of course, is his big cousin Elliott who is 3 1/2 months older. He recently went from an obsession with Elmo (he still runs around the house singing the tune to Elmo’s world) to an obsession with Caillou (yes he kind of knows that theme song too). He is funny, creative, loving, tenderhearted and caring. He is definitely fits the traits a cancer, he is also kind of crabby at times.

: My little baby boy before he was born.

: My little squishy faced boy.

: Miles’ day of birth!

: Miles telling his big cousin secrets. He’s only a week or two old.

: My sweet little Angel sleeping, only 1 month.

: Miles and his greatgrandparents, he was only 1 month old. This was taken a month before my grandfather passed away.

: Mys just chilling in his swing. He liked to sit in it, but not when it was actually moving.

: Miles 2 months old

: My handsome little man at about 3 months old

: No pictures please! No pictures!

: Miles practicing his “How you doin’?” face.

: Miles at a pumpkin patch 2010. He loved playing with the pumpkins, even tried to eat a few.

: Miles’ and Elliott’s first Halloween.

: Me and miles as a bumblebee his first halloween 2010. (3 months)

: Miles first trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival. He was making growling noises at The Cannibal Tudors show (you should check them out if you haven’t already)!

: Miles 6 months old. He was mad that I was taking pictures.

: Destroying the house is very tiring work! Miles at 6 months.

: Miles practicing his salesman pose for future advertisements.

: Miles showing off his cool outfit.

: Miles, Elliott and Grandma on Easter 2011

: Miles has a thing for putting buckets and baskets on his head. He loves to try and make people laugh.

: Miles’ first birthday party with his cousin Elliott.

: Miles showing off his awesome singing and dance skills. Look out Fred Astaire!

: Miles at the Cy-Fest 2011

: The boys and my mom at Cy-Fest 2011. Miles didn’t want to be on the hay and was begging to be picked up. Shortly after we got him settled down, Elliott no longer wanted to sit on the pumpkin…

: Miles as Elmo on Halloween 2011. You can see the excitement in his face. Actually he did enjoy the Elmo costume, he just didn’t want me taking pictures.