My maternal grandmother, Alice Elizabeth McNair Robinson (the one perched on the car) has two birthdays. Officially, we celebrate it today, October 22nd. However, her mother always told her she was born October 16th. I obtained a copy of her birth certificate last year and guess what? It has October 16th too! I’m not sure how the family came to celebrate her birthday on the 22nd, but we always knew that she has two birthdays. A similar situation also exists for her brother Fred – his birth certificate says one day, but the family celebrates it a different day. What was going on 🙂
Today, my grandmother is 83 years old. She is the only girl surviving to adulthood of Abraham Lincoln McNair Sr. and Martha Jane “Mattie” Walker. Alice was born in Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina, but grew up in neighboring Plymouth, Washington County. Apparently, the family was temporarily living in Tarboro when she was born, then afterwards, they moved back to Plymouth. Alice had four children, and married Herman Robinson on September 22, 1950 in New York, NY. The story of how they met is a fun one, but I’ll reserve that for a later post 🙂
My grandmother Alice is the reason I am as interested in my family history as much as I am. One day about 10 years ago, I interviewed her and over the course of several hours she gave me so many details about the family tree that I still find myself trying to document some of the things she told me about and I often refer to those notes. What I need to do however is type them all up so I have them electronically too, just in case something happens to them. But, Alice knows her family. My mother says they could go anywhere and she would know family there. It was always important to Alice for her to know the goings on of the family. It is my goal to be like her in that respect.
Now, my grandmother has Alzheimers , so the memories she’s able to share come and go, but I am so glad I did have that opportunity years ago. This picture was taken in the mid 1950’s in New York. The little boy is my uncle Stanley and we are not sure who the other woman is. That is a mystery for another day….
Alice has two birthdays
