Linda's Family Garden

This genealogy website is dedicated to the work of my parents, Sam Houston Graves and Laurie Jeanne Karnes Graves. The foundation of the work presented herein is their work, completed pre-internet days. They collected documents, spent untold hours in libraries and cemeteries and tracking down distant relatives. They produced five main family books (surnames Hanson, McDearman, Karnes, Steward and Graves) chock full of descendant charts, photos, mementoes, letters and other valuable insights into our ancestors. In the beginning of each book, the following statement was inserted:

“This is a short story of our lives and families. I hope that when we are not on earth anymore, we will be remembered by our children with the same love we both now feel for them.

There can only be one book made like this, so please, throughout the years, let someone keep it that will take care of it. With all of our love to all of you and our descendants.”

— Mom, Grandma, NaNa and Peaux-Peaux. June 2, 1987

My message to my parents: Your books are being shared!

As any researcher knows, we trace our families primarily through the males in our lineages. The background on the lineage pages is dedicated to our female ancestors. (Who are they?)