Bill Text: TX SR1182 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Recognizing the members of the Williams-Livingston family on the occasion of their family reunion.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-05-25 - Reported enrolled [SR1182 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-SR1182-Enrolled.html
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WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to | ||
recognize the members of the Williams-Livingston family on the | ||
grand occasion of their family reunion, which is being held | ||
June 3 through 5, 2011, in Kirvin; and | ||
WHEREAS, Every year on the first Saturday in June, members | ||
of the Williams-Livingston family hold a reunion to celebrate | ||
their heritage and to commemorate the birth of Mamie Elizabeth | ||
"Mama Mae" Williams; they invite friends from across Texas and | ||
the United States and share their celebration of family love and | ||
unity, religious roots, and community; and | ||
WHEREAS, Family history reveals that the Charles | ||
Livingston family moved from Virginia as freed slaves and arrived | ||
in the Freestone County area in the early 1800s; the family | ||
settled in the area known as Cotton Gin and sharecropped on | ||
various local farms; and | ||
WHEREAS, Caroline Livingston's family moved from Alabama to | ||
Kirvin in Freestone County, arriving in covered wagons, on foot, | ||
and on horseback; they settled on the Alfred Carter farm and worked | ||
his land; and | ||
WHEREAS, Caroline and Charles Livingston's children, Elbert | ||
Jefferson, Fannie, Foster, Elizabeth, and Callie, supported their | ||
community and were instrumental in establishing Woods Chapel | ||
Primitive Baptist Church, which is still an active church today; | ||
they also helped create a public school system for their children | ||
and for the children from surrounding communities; and | ||
WHEREAS, The members of the Williams-Livingston family who | ||
host the annual reunion are the descendants of Caroline and | ||
Charles Livingston's daughter Elizabeth Livingston; born July 2, | ||
1866, she married Austin Williams, a freed slave from Tennessee, | ||
and the couple had 10 children, one of whom was Mamie Elizabeth | ||
"Mama Mae" Williams, who was born June 1, 1889; and | ||
WHEREAS, Over the course of her long life, Mamie Elizabeth | ||
"Mama Mae" Williams became the matriarch of the Williams-Livingston | ||
family; she died in 1987 at the age of 98; two of her children, | ||
Johnnie Lucille Evans Wallace and Cathelyn Francis Dawson Butcher, | ||
remain as her living legacy; and | ||
WHEREAS, Other strong women who have taken on the mantle of | ||
matriarch are Lura Bess Garrett Douglas, Annie Laura Blaine | ||
Pelton, and Ethelyn DeLon Washington Oliver; the patriarch of the | ||
family is Johnnie Franklin Carter, with Charles Barton, Robert | ||
Powers, and Gary Pelton sharing their wisdom and support; Joe | ||
Rogers, Kenneth Payne, Joe Fletcher, David Hill, and Archie | ||
Pelton, Jr., also unselfishly serve the family; and | ||
WHEREAS, The branch of the family extending from Mama Mae | ||
has successfully worked to reconnect with other branches of the | ||
family from across the state and nation, and today, more new | ||
family members attend each reunion; and | ||
WHEREAS, Williams-Livingston family members are | ||
successful men and women who have contributed greatly to their | ||
communities though their leadership, their professionalism and | ||
entrepreneurial spirit, and their concern for others; they are | ||
exemplary citizens who believe strongly in traditional values | ||
and who instill in their children the virtues of love, family, | ||
and hard work; and | ||
WHEREAS, The annual Williams-Livingston reunion is the | ||
manifestation of the family's belief in unity, loyalty, and pride | ||
in one's heritage; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 82nd | ||
Legislature, hereby extend to the members of the Williams-Livingston | ||
family best wishes for a joyous and memorable family reunion and | ||
recognize June 4, 2011, as Williams-Livingston Day in this state; | ||
and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for the | ||
family as a memento of this special occasion. | ||
West | ||
________________________________ | ||
President of the Senate | ||
I hereby certify that the | ||
above Resolution was adopted by | ||
the Senate on May 25, 2011. | ||
________________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
________________________________ | ||
Member, Texas Senate |