Joseph Strahan Francis Family

Joseph R. Francis was born in Concordia Parish in 1829.  On January 2, 1851, he married Huldah Strahan Masters who was born in Mississippi in 1832.  Joseph died between 1860 and 1870.  The location of his burial is unknown at this time.  Huldah died on October 3, 1903 in Catahoula Parish.  She is buried in the Old Pine Hill Cemetery in Sicily Island.

Three children were born to the marriage of Joseph and Huldah:

Rose (m. Yancey Miles)
Sallie (m. Lanningham)
Joseph Strahan

Joseph Strahan Francis was born on September 7, 1857 near Jena, Louisiana.  On September 17, 1885, Joseph married Mary Etta Renfrow who was born in Mississippi on March 11, 1867. 

Joseph and Etta came to the Pine Hill community in 1904 along with his widowed mother, Huldah.  Joseph served as the School Board Member from Ward 2 from 1912-1918 and again from 1924-1936.  He was a member of Pine Hill Methodist Church as long as the church was in existence.

Etta was known for her good cooking.  Some of her specialties were chicken soup, chicken pie, and big fluffy biscuits.  She made the clothing for her family by hand, even her husband's shirts.  She also made many lovely quilts and in later years, tatting.  Every grandchild was sure to get a tatted cap.  Etta's funeral was the last to be held in the old Pine Hill Methodist Church. (Reference:  Our Island Heritage, Vol. 3, 1978, compiled by Sophie Haley and Mickie Smith)

Joseph Strahan Francis died on April 14, 1947 and Mary Etta Renfrow Francis died on March 26, 1948.  Both are buried in the Old Pine Hill Cemetery in Sicily Island.

The following children were born to the marriage of Joseph and Etta Francis:

Oscar Renfrow, 1887-1974 (m. Lula Elise White, 1892-1963)  They had the following children:

Marguerite, 1914
Oscar Renfrow, Jr., 1915-1965 (m. Helen ?)
Joseph S., 1918-1989 (m. Mary Elizabeth Edwards)
Clista, 1923 (m. Wells)
Melvin, 1925
Cary Leslie, 1927-2004 (m. Madge Gordy)

Record of birth for Cary Leslie:

Oscar Renfrow Francis and Lula Elise White Francis are both buried in the Old Pine Hill Cemetery in Sicily Island.  (Editor's note:  tombstone photographs are courtesy of Karen Klemm Pinckard at FindAGrave.com)

Eunice, 1888-1962 (m. Dalton Faircloth)  Eunice and Dalton had one son, Dalton Jr.  Eunice is buried in the Jena Cemetery, Jena, LaSalle, Louisiana.  Date of death and location of burial for Dalton, Sr. is unknown at this time.  (Editor's note:  tombstone photograph is courtesy of Patricia Adams Guillory at FindAGrave.com)

Huldah Annie, 1890-1976 (m. Edgar Eugene Garrison, Sr., 1886-1976)  Edgar and Annie were married on March 25, 1908.  They lived to celebrate their 67th wedding anniversary.

Annie attended many church singing schools and meets, learning to sing by shaped notes.  Throughout her life she took part in duets, quartets and choirs.  Her hobbies included raising Blue-Ribbon Rhode Island Red chickens and winning many ribbons in canning, but her greatest hobby was fishing.

Edgar came to Sicily Island by boat at a very young age.  He worked for Billy and Herbert Hobgood as a clerk in the commissary and post office at Peck. Throughout his years, he pursued many interesting hobbies.  He collected Indian relics and rocks, trained squirrel dogs, was an avid hunter, and an accomplished woodcarver.  From the hardwoods near his home he made tool handles, baseball bats, and walking canes.  He also did basket weaving and made woven chair seats.  From the cypress knees which grew nearby he fashioned vases and table lamps of interesting designs.  His own brand of seed corn, which he kept up for many years, was prized, as were his Duroc Jersey hogs.  Youngsters in the community eagerly waited to raid his ripening peaches and watermelons.  Along with all of these hobbies, Edgar Garrison carried on a very successful farming operation. (Reference:  Our Island Heritage, Vol. 3, 1978, compiled by Sophie Haley and Mickie Smith)

Annie and Edgar had the following children:

Eunice A, 1911-2005 (m. John Sorg Enright)
Mary Artie, 1913-2008 (m. Byron Kingston Miller, Sr., 1907-1986)
Annie Lee, 1921 (m. Laffler)
Edgar Eugene, Jr., 1924-2010 (m. Augustine Angeline Guice, 1923-1997)
Josephine Francis, 1926
Cecil / Clarence Alexander, 1931-1996

Records of birth for Josephine and Cecil:

Annie and Edgar Garrison, Sr. are both buried in the Old Pine Hill Cemetery in Sicily Island.

Joseph Strahan, Jr., 1892-1903

Marshall Mason "Marcy", 1894-1953 (m. Nettie Blackmon Smith, 1898-1990)  Marcy and Nettie had the following children:

Mary E, 1916-?
Marcia Elaine, 1918-2002 (m. Willard Moran Richards)
Laura, ?
Marshall Mason, Jr., 1922-1945
John C, 1924-1989 (m. Eunice Geraldine Saunders)
Gus, 1930-   (m. Loraine)

Marshall Mason "Marcy" Francis and Nettie Smith Francis are both buried in the Old Pine Hill Cemetery in Sicily Island.

Mary Jane, 1895-1896; buried in the Old Pine Hill Cemetery in Sicily Island.

Dalbert R., 1896-1900; the location of burial is unknown at this time.