Since the last post was about Dad’s side of the family, this one will be about Moms. A few years back, my Mom was getting cookbooks from one of those mail order book clubs. This one was exclusively for cookbooks. This gem came in the mail at some point. I didn’t think anything of it at first. Then a light bulb went off in my head. Hey, the family name of Rowe!
To know the significance of the name Rowe, you have to be familiar with my family tree. Which you probably aren’t. That’s okay, I’ve done my research and I know my stuff! My mother’s family line is made up 90% of the surname Mays. They liked to have children and they didn’t stop at two or three. One thing I realized when I started trying to research the Mays’ was that they are very difficult to research. The surname can be construed as many different things, and it depends on who was spelling it. They were also spread out over a ton of country. They started in Virginia from what I can find, and they spread eventually to Kentucky. When I say Virginia and Kentucky I mean the whole state. So if your name is Mays and you live in Virginia or Kentucky… Hi, I just might be your cousin!
Back to the point. One of the things I realized was that the Mays family had lots of children, but those children married into the same families. So my Mays ancestors married many people from the Rowe, Whitt, Click, and Slusher. That’s just what I’ve proven. Who knows what else! Not to mention those I’m aware of but haven’t found proof of yet.
So when I sat down one day looking through cookbooks, I finally took a good look at what this one contained.
Do you notice that little nugget? The sister of Mildred Craft-Rowe? Bertha Mays. I have to be up front with you. I do not believe in coincidences. Everything happens for a reason and if something eerie happens, then that means listen up it’s important. So my little mind has been agonizing over this ever since. Not only does the cookbook show that the sisters married into both the Rowe and Mays families, it tells me that they are from an area of Virginia that my Mays line was very prevalent.
Even if I didn’t have a maybe family connection to this cookbook, I would still love this cookbook. It not only has lots of stories and photos from the family, it has great down home recipes. I’m going to try some of them very soon!
Visit Mrs. Rowe’s Restaurant Website
Get your own cookbook at Amazon.com!
I’ll let you guys know if I ever connect the dots on this mystery. 😉
Hi Kathleen,
So glad you’re enjoying my book. Mildred and Bertha grew up in Rich Patch, Va., right outside of Covington. If I can help you out at all, please let me know.
Best Regards,
Mollie Cox Bryan
Great to hear from you Mrs. Bryan,
The book is a real gem. In fact, even my father decided to sit down and look at it this morning after I told him of your comment! He’s very excited about some of those recipes.
I’m actually going to try and research the Mays a little more soon. They are a bit hard to figure sometimes, but I know they were all over Virginia and Kentucky. So we’ll have to see what happens!
Thanks so much for your comment,
Kathleen