William O. Townsend.
Born 1874, Died 1954
Elizabeth Stone Townsend.
Born 1875, Died 1966
Will and Elizabeth had 7 children:
Bertha
Claude
Loyd
Ruth
Willie Lee
Carrie D.
Alice B.
Bertha was born in Alabama , and the family of five moved to Louisiana about 1902. Will farmed and had a mercantile store in Coushatta with Peyton and Lawson Carter. Over the years Will had several mercantile endeavors. Four additional children were born to the family. As the oldest, Bertha had a very close relationship with each of her siblings that lasted through her lifetime. The Townsends were a close knit, prosperous, hard working, Christian family. Through the years their large home, built next to Coushatta High School, welcomed children, grandchildren, and friends to rocking on their huge front porch, sleeping in feather beds, and eating delicious meals prepared in their big kitchen. Specialties were tea cakes and fried apple pies.
Bertha married Hugh Ratcliff
Bertha ( B 1895, D 1966) and Hugh Ratcliff (B 1888, D 1916) had 2 daughters: Annie Lee (B 1911, D 1996) and Jewel (B 1914, D 1933)
Bertha was widowed and remarried Joseph Ernest Brown
A widow at age 21 with 2 little girls, Bertha became a strong, independent woman. She remarried Joseph Ernest Brown,(B 1888, D 1962) and they had two daughters: Blanche (B 1919, D. 2014) and Kathleen Sylvia (B. 1923, D. 2003)
Bertha was “ahead of her time”, unlike most women of her generation, she was a very successful business woman while also being a wonderful mother and housewife. She owned a successful millinery store, and she and Ernest ran Browns Variety Store, started a Dry Cleaners, and even had a thriving furniture business for many years. Bertha was also faithfully active in her beloved First Baptist Church of Coushatta, and she was legendary for her generosity and charity.
Bertha and Ernest and their 4 girls enjoyed many happy years in Coushatta surrounded by lots of family and good friends.
Except for Jewel ,who died in 1933, their daughters married and brought them beloved grandchildren.
Anne (Annie Lee) married Don Carter
Anne (Annie Lee) and Don Carter had 2 children: Hugh Lawson (B 1932, D 1934) and Donna Anne (B 1937)
Blanche married Len Stephens
Blanche and Len Stephens had 3 children: Rebecca Lynn (B 1939), Antoinette “Toni” (B 1946), and Susan (B 1952)
Kathleen (“Kat”) married Tandy Jackson
Kathleen (“Kat”) and Tandy Jackson had 4 children: Tandy Ealon “Tej” (B 1944), Kathleen “Kathy” (B 1946), Jannah “Jan” (B. 1948, D. 1983), and Rachel (B. 1953, D. 2012)
Bertha and Ernest (affectionately called Ma-Ma and Ga-Ga) had their children and grandchildren gather at their beautiful country home every Sunday after church for a delicious meal. Ma-Ma was famous for her fried chicken (she killed and prepared the day of cooking) and her yeast rolls. The adults sat for the meals, we called the noonday meal “dinner”, in the dining room, and the grandchildren sat in the breakfast room. Bertha’s grandchildren made many memories watching her riding her horses (she was quite an equestrian), milking cows, feed the chickens, churning butter, picking strawberries in her garden. She planted pansies every year! She often remarked to her grandchildren that they had “little faces”. Although Bertha had only a junior high school education, she was highly intelligent, self taught, and had a remarkable memory. She could name the botanical names for many plants and flowers. She loved playing hymns on her piano. The children would gather around Ga-Ga on the brick patio steps behind the house and sing songs while he told stories and turned the crank to make homemade ice cream. Together with Ma Ma they built little fires in the yard to roast marshmallows on sticks. Bertha loved her large screen porch where she taught the grandchildren about lizards, tree frogs, and lightening bugs. A lot of fun was had in the big barn rolling in the hay, riding horses around the place through wood trails, and skimming stones in the nearby pond.
Those were the best of times!