THIS BEAUTIFUL ROARING ’20s BRIDE, NELL BRINSON LUMPKIN, WAS MY FIRST COUSIN ONCE REMOVED, AS WE BOTH DESCENDED FROM ADAM WASHINGTON BRINSON.
Prior to Nell’s wedding on August 8, 1929, her mother, Mary Lilly Huffman Brinson, wrote a humorous poem to commemorate her daughter’s marriage to John William Lumpkin.
The poem and photo were provided by Becky Lumpkin Stowe. She wrote this introduction: “Written by Mrs. Mary Lilly Brinson before the marriage of her youngest daughter, Mrs. Nell Brinson Lumpkin (My Grandmother).”
Here it is. Enjoy!
Nell’s Wedding Poem
Soon Nell will be a blushing bride
And to the altar will go
But when she thinks of beaus
Left behind, she will blush I know.
There’s Smith, whom she motored with
And James with whom she swam.
There’s Jack, she used to walk with him
And Floyd, who called her ‘lamb”.
There’s Billy, the basketball man she owned,
And C. B. of tennis days –
There’s Clifford and Alonzo, too,
They took her to the plays.
And there is Ralph, a High School beau
With whom she used to rush.
No wonder she is a blushing bride –
Gee whiz, she ought to blush!
Just to make it clear, the Ralph that is referenced in the poem could not have been my daddy, as he would have been only seven years old at the time Nell got married.
Here is some genealogy to show how Nell and I are related, and how you may be able to call her cousin, too!
Adam Brinson (born about 1709 in Princess Anne, Virginia / died July 11, 1769 in Onslow, North Carolina) married (about 1742) Sarah Stirling (daughter of John Stirling and his wife Judith of Princess Anne County, Virginia). In some places, Sarah’s surname is listed as Stiring, or sometimes Sterling, but because I’ve seen it spelled “Stirling” my whole life, I’ll stick with that for now.
I’ve got a lot of genealogical information on Adam Brinson, which I’ll share some other time. And there are even more layers of Brinsons above Adam, which I’ll put into our genealogy book that will contain all the charts.
Adam and Sarah’s children:
- Stirling Brinson (born about 1743 / died about October 1778)
- Nancy Brinson (Shepard) (born about 1746 / died 1785)
- Sarah Brinson (1749)
- Adam Brinson II (born about 1751 / died January 6, 1808)
- Isaac Brinson (born about 1753 / died December 3, 1800)
- Pherabe Brinson (Wallace) (born about 1753 / died after 1820)
- Aspilla Brinson (Wheeler) (born about 1756)
- Matthew Brinson (born September 16, 1763)
- John Brinson (born about 1767 / died July 4, 1835)
Matthew Brinson married (about 1784) Sabra Heidelberg (born December 4, 1760 / died January 10, 1828).
Matthew and Sabra’s children:
- Gathara Brinson (Sheppard) (born September 3, 1785 / died April 7, 1856)
- Catharine Brinson (Stringer) (born February 12, 1787 / died about 1840)
- Adam Brinson (born August 6, 1789 / died about 1840)
- Thomas Heidelberg Brinson (born January 9, 1792 / died January 10, 1828)
- Rebecca Brinson (Perkins) (born January 31, 1794 / died September 5, 1859)
- Sabra Brinson (Braswell) (born January 30, 1796 / died April 29, 1864)
- Matthew Brinson (born March 27, 1798)
- Sarah Brinson (born September 16, 1800)
- Nancy Brinson (born August 21, 1803)
Adam Brinson married Delilah Slater (born October 14, 1798 / died November 17, 1877).
Adam and Delilah’s children:
- Martha E. Brinson (Walker) (born December 29, 1815 / died 1847)
- Thomas Brinson (born 1818 / died after 1880)
- Rhoda Ann Brinson (Daniel) (born June 24, 1827 / died July 26, 1866)
- Adam Washington Brinson ( born January 21, 1832 / died January 5, 1910)
- Elizabeth D. Brinson (McInnis) (born December 17, 1833 / died July 31, 1902)
Adam Washington Brinson married (1860) Sarah Susanna Holloway (born November 29, 1837/ died June 23, 1919)
Adam and Sarah’s children:
- Anna Brinson (born 1865 / died 1916)
- Ida Brinson (born 1866 / died 1921)
- John Fielding Brinson (born 1867 / died 1939)
- Lena Brinson (born 1869 / died 1927)
- Ella M. Brinson (born 1871 / died 1943)
- Mattie Brinson (born 1873 / died 1911)
- William Adam Brinson (born 1873 / died 1936)
- Virginia Brinson (born 1876 / died 1918)
- Henry Hector Brinson (born March 28, 1877 / died February 26, 1938)
- Alonzo Crook Brinson (born 1878 / died 1939)
- Stanley Brinson (born 1880 / died 1980)
John Fielding Brinson married (October 12, 1904) Mary Lilly Huffman (born about 1867 / died about 1940). I don’t know at this time how many children they had (possibly 4), but their youngest daughter was Nell Brinson Lumpkin (born December 14, 1905 in Monticello, Lawrence County, Mississippi / died June 19, 1998), and was the young woman for whom this poem was written.
John’s younger brother, Henry Hector Brinson, married (March 28, 1901) Edna Eudora Terrell.
Hector and Edna’s children:
- Hazel Alva Brinson (born 1902 / died 1990 )
- Alton Clarence Brinson (born 1904 / died 1984)
- Jasper Terrell Brinson (born 1906 / died 1990)
- Earl Needham Brinson (born 1909 / died 1979)
- Sarah Louise Brinson (born 1912 / died 2001)
- Henry Orville Brinson (born June 2, 1913 / died January 2, 1968)
- Ralph Cranford Brinson (born 1922 / died 1998)
I am the daughter of Ralph Cranford Brinson.
Therefore, Nell Brinson Lumpkin, the bride in the picture, is my first cousin once removed.
After she married John William Lumpkin on August 8, 1929 in George County, Mississippi, she became a 5th grade teacher in the town of Lucedale, Mississippi. Nell and John lived on a farm, and local lore says that John taught Nell’s students how to call in the hogs!
She is buried in Magnolia Garden Cemetery in Lucedale, George County, Mississippi.
