More Than an Heirloom: The Plaque That Tells My Grandmother’s Story

Some family artifacts speak quietly. Others speak with authority.

One of the most meaningful objects in my family history collection is a ceramic plaque presented to my grandmother, Myrtle Hawthorne, in the mid-1950s. It’s decorative, formal, and unmistakably intentional—created not just to commemorate an event, but to preserve a legacy.

The plaque reads:

GOP

PRESENTED - JAN - 6 - 1956

by 

THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

of 

ENCINO REPUBLICAN

WOMAN'S CLUB
To

MYRTLE HAWTHORNE
FIRST PRESIDENT

ORGANIZED 

FEB -15 - 1955

In just a few lines, it captures a moment of leadership, service, and community engagement that might otherwise have faded from memory.

An Object That Anchors a Story

As genealogists, we’re trained to chase records—census schedules, vital records, land deeds. But artifacts like this plaque remind us that not all evidence of a life lived well appears in official documents.

This plaque tells us:

Where Myrtle was active: Encino, California

When she stepped into leadership: the post–World War II era

How she served: through civic and political organization

Why she mattered: she was trusted to lead from the very beginning

She wasn’t simply a member of an organization. She helped build it.

Women’s Organizations and Hidden Histories

Mid-20th-century women’s clubs played a vital role in civic life, especially at a time when women were still fighting for broader recognition and influence. These organizations offered leadership opportunities, social networks, and a public voice.

Yet they are often underrepresented in traditional genealogical research.

This plaque provides a crucial research clue: the exact name of the organization and its founding date. That information opens doors to meeting minutes, newspaper articles, membership rosters, and local histories—records that can illuminate women’s lives in ways standard sources rarely do.

Why This Matters

What I love most about this plaque is its permanence. It was created to endure. Someone believed Myrtle’s contribution was important enough to be preserved in ceramic and gold, meant to last long after the moment passed.

More than seventy years later, it still fulfills that purpose.

For me, this plaque is a reminder that genealogy isn’t only about tracing lineage—it’s about restoring depth and meaning to the lives behind the names. My grandmother wasn’t just an ancestor. She was a founder, a president, and a respected leader in her community.

And thanks to this plaque, her story can still be told.

This post was written by ChatGPT based on GPT-5.2 with information and photos provided by me. 

Leola Judson (Hawthorne) Vann (1867-1945) Biography

I have been having fun (and that’s what it’s all about), incorporating my timeline facts from my Ancestry tree into ChatGPT to write quick and brief biographies for my family members that I manage on Find a Grave. Yes, I double-check what ChatGPT writes to ensure there aren’t mistakes or hallucinations.

   This morning, I also uploaded an image of her obituary and asked ChatGPT to incorporate it into the bio (I wasn’t sure this was possible). Yes, it did! What I was looking for, besides a few extra facts, was who survived her and where they were living at the time.

   I currently manage 209 memorials, and I can’t wait to start making bios for each of them! I am doing this because, hopefully, Find a Grave will be around for decades to come, and both close and extended family will see this as helpful in their research and understanding of the family dynamics. ~ J. Paul Hawthorne.

Leola Judson (Hawthorne) Vann: A. B. Canada Collection

Leola Judson (Hawthorne) Vann
(12 February 1867 – 24 January 1945)

Leola Judson Hawthorne was born on 12 February 1867 in Greenville, Butler County, Alabama, to Adoniram Judson Hawthorne (1834–1877) and Clara Elizabeth Amelia Ford (1835–1908). She was one of eight children, part of a large family whose lives were deeply intertwined with the history of Greenville.

Her siblings were:

• Ida Alice Hawthorne (1858–1912)
• Alexander Travis Hawthorne (1860–1926)
• Sara Ann Hawthorne (1862–1914)
• Robert Lee Hawthorne Sr (1864-1950)
• Emma Edna Hawthorne (1869–1949)
• Etta Mae Hawthorne (1873–1899)
• Ford Judson Hawthorne (1877–1932)

 

Leola’s early childhood was spent in Greenville, where she grew up alongside these brothers and sisters. She was ten years old when her father died in August 1877, leaving her mother to raise the younger children.

In 1887, at the age of 20, Leola married Asa Hunter Vann (1867–1948) in Greenville. They had four children: Fred Lee Vann (1887–1972), Clarence Eugene Vann (1890–1972), Perry Leslie Vann (1898–1991), and Edith Mae Vann (1900–1993).

A gentle and quiet woman by nature, Leola found her greatest joy in her home and its duties. She was described as a faithful and devoted wife and mother, whose love for Greenville never wavered.

Leola lived to see her children and grandchildren thrive. Surviving her at the time of her death were her husband Asa; three sons—Fred and Perry of Greenville, and Clarence of Chicago; her daughter Edith, known as Mrs. Melvin Weldon, of Montgomery; a sister, Emma Edna Hawthorne Lewis of Attapulgus, Georgia; a brother, R. L. Hawthorne of Camden; one grandson, William H. Weldon of Great Lakes, Illinois; and two granddaughters, Mrs. Emmett Rodgers of Montgomery and Valerie Vann of Greenville.

Leola passed away peacefully on 24 January 1945 in Greenville after a long illness. Funeral services were held from her home, led by Rev. Andrew Turnipseed and Rev. Joseph Avery, with burial in Magnolia Cemetery under the direction of Dunklin-Johnson. Her funeral was attended by many from near and far, a testament to her lasting impact on the community.

She was remembered not only as a devoted wife and mother but also as a woman whose life reflected a steadfast commitment to family, faith, and the town she called home for nearly eight decades.

Written from facts provided by J. Paul Hawthorne (great-grandnephew), her obituary, and help from AI by ChatGPT on 15 August 2025.

Obituary from the Greenville Advocate

Photo by J. Paul Hawthorne

Photo by J. Paul Hawthorne

Obituary source citation:

"Mrs. Hunter Vann Claimed By Death," Greenville [AL] Greenville Advocate, Thursday, 1 February 1945, page 6, column 4, Leola Judson Vann death notice; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 15 August 2025).

On the 125th. Anniversary of my Grandfather’s Birth - James Boardman Hawthorne

On the 125th. Anniversary of my Grandfather’s Birth - James Boardman Hawthorne 

On a cold Thursday, 12 days after the New Year, in 1899, my grandfather was born in Greenville, Alabama. His mother, Kathryn Ann (Albertson) Hawthorne, was the daughter of a Danish immigrant. His father, Alexander Travis Hawthorne, was the son of a Major in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Boardman, as his family called him, was named after his father’s uncle, Rev. Dr. J. B. Hawthorne, a famous Baptist preacher in the South. 

Boardman with his mother Kathryn
Greenville, Alabama ca. 1900

Boardman's father, Alex Hawthorne

   When I asked him about his birth, he said that it was snowing, and the snow would blow into the house from the cracks in the shutters. His mother had to make sure he was covered up with blankets. Decades later, I researched old weather maps and news articles to see if this happened… and sure enough, it did!  The blizzard of 1899 started in February 1899 (a month after he was born) and covered all of Alabama and down into Florida.

Temperature map of the United States during the storm

   According to the 1900 US Federal Census, his father was a farmer, and his mother was at home with the children: Boardman 1, Etta Mae 4, and Travis 8. Another child who was born in 1889, named Ethel, did not survive past that year. 

  Boardman had many aunts, uncles, and cousins who lived in Greenville as a child, and more in nearby Camden. His Danish grandfather lived in Manhattan, New York at the time, and his 64-year-old grandmother, Clara (Ford) Hawthorne, was living in Greenville. 

Boardman's grandmother, Clara (Ford) Hawthorne

   My grandfather instilled love and compassion in his own family, which has been carried down through the generations. Boardman has 42 living descendants as of January 2024, with more on the way. 

Boardman with wife Myrtle and their children.

Boardman's legacy lives on...