Bachelor Uncle (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 10)

Marion Skipworth Lemman, Jr. (Big Unk)

I don’t have a bachelor uncle, but there was a man in our lives whom we called “Big Unk” and who was most certainly a lifelong bachelor.

Big Unk was Marion Lemmon, a confirmed bachelor who was a friend and companion of my Mother’s for about 10 or 15 years. My Mother never remarried after her divorce in the early 1950s, and truly only dated one or two men whom I remember. She devoted herself to her work and making sure that she was able to provide for her two children.

She worked for many years in the jewelry business, first at Munford’s Jewelers in downtown Memphis and then as the bookkeeper for the old George T. Roy’s Jewelers located in the 100 block of Madison between Front Street and Main Street. She would go on to serve as District Manager for Sarah Coventry Jewelry.

Marion (or Big Unk) was also in the jewelry business, and she had known him for a number of years as an acquaintance. I honestly have no idea when they began dating, but it was probably sometime when I was in high school or college. After my brother and I both married and had small children, he was always around for them. He doted on our children as if they were his own grandsons. They loved him, too, and still fondly remember their Big Unk.

Marion Skipworth Lemmon, Jr. was born 15 August 1907 in Memphis, Shelby County, TN to Eva Blocker and Marion Skipworth Lemmon, Sr. He had one sister, Katherine, who had two sons. Those sons were the originators of the name “Big Unk.”

Marion joined the Army during WWII even though he was 35 years old at the time. He was always proud of his service, but returned to the world of retail jewelry after his discharge.

He was a resident of the Peabody Hotel and a longtime employee at Brodnax Jewelers, working as a diamond expert.

Big Unk left us too soon. He passed away on 7 November 1974 in Memphis. He was 67 years old.

I’m happy to write about Marion Skipworth Lemman, Jr., since he had no children of his own to carry on his story, and I’m not sure if his nephews research their family’s history.

I’m happy to include him in ours!

(Sources for military service, birth and death: U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010. Ancestry.com)

@2019 Copyright by Carla Love Maitland

At the Courthouse (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 9)

 Shelby County Courthouse in Memphis, TN       

(Source: shelbycountytn.gov)

The courthouse was huge. I remember standing outside staring at the statues. They appeared to be giants. The steps were steep and hard to climb. The benches inside were too high to sit on and the deep, dark wood made them completely intimidating. The windows were enormous. I had never seen such big windows in my life. 

I was six years old and my parents were getting divorced. It was the early 1950s and people just didn’t get divorced that often back then. None of my friends had divorced parents. At least none that I knew of at the time. The fact that I had to go to the courthouse at all was traumatic in itself. My brother and I had to be ‘on call’ for at least a couple of days because the judge wanted to visit with us. I didn’t know why at the time, but of course, I know now that custody was an issue. He wanted to get to know us so that he could make the decision as to which parent should have custody. 

The beautiful, stately Shelby County Courthouse, that I’ve since come to love, was so frightening to me back then. Everything seemed so vast and so solemn. My brother managed to bring some fun to our visits there by teaching me how to run along the benches and climb up the windows. Needless to say, we eventually got caught, and the fun ended quickly. Very quickly.  

Over the years, I visited that courthouse as little as possible. But now I go frequently, mainly to participate in lineage society events held there. It’s funny how small those benches seem to me now. 

The records for Shelby County are now located in our archives and not in the courthouse. I’ve visited many small-town courthouses over the years searching for treasures in my family’s history. None of them are as beautiful as the one we have here in Memphis…and none have as many memories as that one does for me. Memories filled with nightmares from my childhood. It took a long time for me to be able to go into any courthouse at all. 

Thankfully, I’ve gotten over those nightmares. I’ve got research to do!

@2019 Copyright by Carla Love Maitland