Bess and Jury

Ellis Jury Pennington
1898-1979

Mary Elizabeth "Bess" Patterson
1901-1986

Uncle Jury and Aunt Bess were beloved residents of Peaceful Valley. They married in December 1919, and as far as I know, lived their entire married life in Itawamba County. Aunt Bess was the daughter of John Lindsey Patterson and Alice Rebecca Bourland. Both of these families were early pioneers of Itawamba County. Greenberry Patterson, John's father, was born about 1820 in Georgia, lived to be 91 years old, and was buried Bourland Cemetery when he died in 1912.

Wasn't Bess a beautiful young woman! I bet Jury had some stiff competition when it came to courting Bess! Of course, he was quite a looker himself. Notice the intricate detail on the dress she is wearing? Bess's mother made the dress.

Uncle Jury was Fessie's uncle, so that makes him my great-great uncle. You may remember reading about Uncle Jury in these earlier posts here and here. He was the son of James J. Pennington and Laura Stewart. Oh, and like most Penningtons, Uncle Jury was Primitive Baptist. He attended church at Enon, just up the road from where he lived and where he is buried, and I remember that he particularly loved the singing portion of the church service.

The last photograph was taken by me last fall. This is the house in Peaceful Valley where Jury and Bess lived for several years before their deaths. The other photos were provided to me by Garry Morris McFerrin, grandson of Jury and Bess. Thanks for sharing!