Ms. Alberta's Memories: Verbal Historian Remembers

 Finally! I have published mothers memories as she told them on tape.

So if you have enjoyed reading them on this blog, here is the link to the book.....

Ms Alberta's Memories: Verbal Historian Remembers

https://www.amazon.com › Ms-Albertas-Memories-Hist...

. ... Alberta Anne Thomas is a Harlan County, Kentucky native, she is the oldest of four ...

Dimensions: ‎8.5 x 0.38 x 11 inches

Item Weight: ‎1.11 pounds

Publisher: ‎Independently published (July 9, 20...

2006 - April 23 Genealogy Search, The Beginning Reposted 27 November 2021

2006 April 23

Ann and I are sitting at the kitchen table having coffee. I didn’t know that she didn’t know who her ancestors are; so I am going to tell her.

I am the oldest daughter of Leonard and Myrtle Shoupe. My mother’s mother and father were Albert and Bettie Lanter Vaughn. On dad’s side, his parents were Florence and Henry Shoupe. I was born in  Cincinnati, Ohio, and came to Harlan at the age of 6. Because my dad was prejudice, we moved to Yancy where we lived above the colored camp. There is a story there about how I met my best friend, Annalee, in Yancy, Harlan County, Kentucky. A best friend who taught me how to cook and clean; a friend who taught me to look beyond the color of the skin.

Since then I have traced my "roots" on both sides of my "tree" back more than ten generations. I know that:  I am Alberta Ann Thomas, daughter of Harold Lee Thomas and Edith Alberta Shoupe Thomas. My siblings are: Harold Danny, Clara Jean, and Sharon Gail (deceased).

My father was Harold Lee Thomas, 8/4/1924 – 1/14/1968 (Born in Gatliff, Kentucky; died in Elizabethtown, Hardin County, Kentucky).

                His Father was: Finley Thomas, who was the son of Sampson, who was the son of Daniel, who was the son of Robin, who was the son of Stephen, who was the son of Stephen, who was the son of Tristram born in Sundridge, Kent, England and Judith Clayland born in Talbot, Maryland, USA

                His Mother was Rachel Elizabeth Powers, 10/31/1905 – 4/25/1999, Rachel was the daughter of Jesse LaMance Powers and Susie Campbell.

                My father’s siblings were: Arville, Ruth, Henrietta, Robert, Wilma, Nell, Kenneth, Marvin and Jimmy, also Charles and Eula both deceased; Charles from cat scratch fever and Eula Nadine lived only one day..

My mother was Edith Alberta Shoupe (Thomas Brandon), 8/1/1926 – 5/4/2011, who was the daughter of Leonard Edgar Shoupe, 9/22/1901 – 6/14/1978 and Myrtle Evabelle Vaughn, 5/5/1909 – 12/1/1989. Alberta’s Siblings were : Ardith Faye, Willis Ray, and Dessie Sue Shoupe

Leonard Edgar Shoupe was the son of Henry Shoupe, 8/4/1877 – 8/9/1955 (died in Evarts, Harlan County Kentucky) and Rachel Florence Trosper, 1/14/1877 – 8/10/1949 (died Evarts, Harlan County, Kentucky).

Are You Tired and Weary

Are you tired and struggling through your day? There is help if you want to ask for it.

That help comes from Jesus Christ, Son of God.

Matthew 11:28-30   King James Version

28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and lean on me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.


Jesus loves you and wants you to come to the Father through Him. Jesus died for our sins so that we would be cleansed and able to go into the presence of God.

Follow HIm! Give your life to Him! Receive the Holy Spirit who will make it easier for you to stay on the path that God wants you to stay on. 

Armour of God - April 1, 2020

Armour of God 

Ephesians 6:10-20 King James Version (KJV)

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Don't Forget - Original Post Monday, July 23, 2012

Don't Forget

The alarm didn’t go off, I got up late,
My feet hit the floor on the run.
Wouldn’t you know that’d be my fate?
Today was a terrible date,
A big shindig at the store.
No time for quiet or to pray;
That’d have to wait for later today.

“Get up children we have to run,”
Still sleepy they want to debate,
“Just five more minutes to snore”
“No,” I said, “We should be out the door.”

Not really liking what life had dealt.
With unbent knee and hasty breath,
I quickly mumble to myself,
“Help me Lord - they worry me to death,”
I still remember when they were born and how my heart did melt.
It’s not been that long since they were first held.

At the end of a long stressful day, I finally knelt.
God where were you today?
It was a really rotten day.

The thought entered my over strained brain;
I knew why I felt so drained.
I had not done my part,
This whole long day I had forgotten to pray.

Like sunshine after a sudden rain,
His love filled my wounded heart.
All I had to do was do my part;
So He could take away the pain.

When you are having a really hard time and nothing seems to go right; pause a moment and see if you have forgotten one of the most important things in life - Don't let your day start without communication with Our Lord. No matter how things are rushing at you, the day will go better if you pause for prayer. God Bless you.

Remember

9/2002 Remember by Alberta Anne Thomas

Remember it is not a game;
When the demon, drink, calls your name.
This demon wants you to fall and fail,
He wants your soul to go to hell.

Remember this, when all have gone,
You never, ever walk alone!
Even in your loneliest hour,
God is near, He is always there.

He will always hold your hand,
He will always help you to stand.
Call upon His name, and pray,
With Him, you can survive another day.

Comparing Fathers

Just like most children, I always thought that my father, Harold Lee Thomas, was a wise man.

He was not a tall man. He stood about five feet eight inches tall and weighed one hundred sixty five pounds. He was a soft spoken person, always kind to animals and people.

When I did something wrong I would rather have gotten a “switching” from Ms Alberta than a “talking to” from my father.

The switching from Ms Alberta was over and done with fast. The wrong doing paid for and a few sore spots from the switch for a reminder not to be bad again.

But that talking to from Dad tended to stay with me and make me think and keep on thinking about what had been done wrong.

For example, Dad heard someone saying something unkind to another person. Not me! Not that time! But the words that he told that person have stayed with me for more than sixty years!

Dad told that person, “Words are just like bullets. Once you let them go, there is no recalling them. They enter your target and do damage; sometimes unseen damage. So, we should always think twice before we speak, and think what words we are “shooting". We should walk a mile inside that persons shoes and try to understand just where they are coming from”.

Those were wise words sixty years ago. They are even wiser now than they were then.

We are all brothers and sisters. The color of our skin does not, should not, matter.

We were formed and shaped with the breath of life, by a loving God; who sent His only Son to hang and die on a cross for all of our sins. That Son stretched out His arms, with love and understanding, to die for us. After three days He arose from the tomb where He was laid.

Jesus still has open arms. He wants to give eternal life to those who will only believe, then follow the guidelines that were given by the Heavenly Father.

Believe in Jesus! He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the only way to be able to stand in the presence of the living God.

Answer anger with kindness and soft spoken words. Love one another!

John 14:6       King James Version

⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 13:34     King James Version

³⁴ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.