My paternal grandfather. According to my Dad, we had met, but he died before I was old enough to remember him. I think he worked for the railroad most of his life. He (like my grandmother) was married twice, the second time to a lady who was simply referred to among my family as, "Preston". I believe this was actually her middle name; and as the pictures show, they are buried adjacent to one another in the same cemetery. Many of our family's genealogical information and records were unfortunately lost when my father's older cousin Harry (of Norfolk, Virginia) and my brother Dave passed away.
**A note on the names: Since originally creating this memorial, it has been brought to my attention that my grandfather's birth certificate lists his middle name as "Willie". As long as I can remember, however, his eldest son (my father) always went by "James W. McMillion Jr.". Likewise his grandson often signed his name as "James W. McMillion III"; although their middle names were actually "William".
It has not been determined for certain (at this time) whether my grandfather may have legally changed (or intended to change) his middle name sometime during the latter part of his life. Further complicating the issue was the frequent confusion between my father and his eldest son's identities (re legal and financial affairs) even within our local community (where they were both well-known) and my father's obituary originally being published as James W. McMillion Sr. -- perhaps due to a custom (I understand) of dropping the "Jr." designation once the original namesake has passed away.
Given the abovementioned situations, I felt it best to leave their name suffixes on their Find A Grave profiles as they originally were when first created. My father's customary preferred choice of signature, I believe (although I cannot be certain) was partly an expression of his desire to identify more with and give recognition to his father, as he seldom opted to use his name in full (i.e., without the "Jr." designation), and seemed (upon recollection) to discourage others from doing so. I note it here only as I wished to avoid confusion among any potential distant relations who may be researching their own genealogical connections.
**A note on the names: Since originally creating this memorial, it has been brought to my attention that my grandfather's birth certificate lists his middle name as "Willie". As long as I can remember, however, his eldest son (my father) always went by "James W. McMillion Jr.". Likewise his grandson often signed his name as "James W. McMillion III"; although their middle names were actually "William".
It has not been determined for certain (at this time) whether my grandfather may have legally changed (or intended to change) his middle name sometime during the latter part of his life. Further complicating the issue was the frequent confusion between my father and his eldest son's identities (re legal and financial affairs) even within our local community (where they were both well-known) and my father's obituary originally being published as James W. McMillion Sr. -- perhaps due to a custom (I understand) of dropping the "Jr." designation once the original namesake has passed away.
Given the abovementioned situations, I felt it best to leave their name suffixes on their Find A Grave profiles as they originally were when first created. My father's customary preferred choice of signature, I believe (although I cannot be certain) was partly an expression of his desire to identify more with and give recognition to his father, as he seldom opted to use his name in full (i.e., without the "Jr." designation), and seemed (upon recollection) to discourage others from doing so. I note it here only as I wished to avoid confusion among any potential distant relations who may be researching their own genealogical connections.
My paternal grandfather. According to my Dad, we had met, but he died before I was old enough to remember him. I think he worked for the railroad most of his life. He (like my grandmother) was married twice, the second time to a lady who was simply referred to among my family as, "Preston". I believe this was actually her middle name; and as the pictures show, they are buried adjacent to one another in the same cemetery. Many of our family's genealogical information and records were unfortunately lost when my father's older cousin Harry (of Norfolk, Virginia) and my brother Dave passed away.
**A note on the names: Since originally creating this memorial, it has been brought to my attention that my grandfather's birth certificate lists his middle name as "Willie". As long as I can remember, however, his eldest son (my father) always went by "James W. McMillion Jr.". Likewise his grandson often signed his name as "James W. McMillion III"; although their middle names were actually "William".
It has not been determined for certain (at this time) whether my grandfather may have legally changed (or intended to change) his middle name sometime during the latter part of his life. Further complicating the issue was the frequent confusion between my father and his eldest son's identities (re legal and financial affairs) even within our local community (where they were both well-known) and my father's obituary originally being published as James W. McMillion Sr. -- perhaps due to a custom (I understand) of dropping the "Jr." designation once the original namesake has passed away.
Given the abovementioned situations, I felt it best to leave their name suffixes on their Find A Grave profiles as they originally were when first created. My father's customary preferred choice of signature, I believe (although I cannot be certain) was partly an expression of his desire to identify more with and give recognition to his father, as he seldom opted to use his name in full (i.e., without the "Jr." designation), and seemed (upon recollection) to discourage others from doing so. I note it here only as I wished to avoid confusion among any potential distant relations who may be researching their own genealogical connections.
**A note on the names: Since originally creating this memorial, it has been brought to my attention that my grandfather's birth certificate lists his middle name as "Willie". As long as I can remember, however, his eldest son (my father) always went by "James W. McMillion Jr.". Likewise his grandson often signed his name as "James W. McMillion III"; although their middle names were actually "William".
It has not been determined for certain (at this time) whether my grandfather may have legally changed (or intended to change) his middle name sometime during the latter part of his life. Further complicating the issue was the frequent confusion between my father and his eldest son's identities (re legal and financial affairs) even within our local community (where they were both well-known) and my father's obituary originally being published as James W. McMillion Sr. -- perhaps due to a custom (I understand) of dropping the "Jr." designation once the original namesake has passed away.
Given the abovementioned situations, I felt it best to leave their name suffixes on their Find A Grave profiles as they originally were when first created. My father's customary preferred choice of signature, I believe (although I cannot be certain) was partly an expression of his desire to identify more with and give recognition to his father, as he seldom opted to use his name in full (i.e., without the "Jr." designation), and seemed (upon recollection) to discourage others from doing so. I note it here only as I wished to avoid confusion among any potential distant relations who may be researching their own genealogical connections.
