Animals at Moran Place

In addition to interest in their own ancestry the Moran's were interested in animal breeding and champion lines.  After all they did have a working farm!  We've come across pedigree's for horses, cows, and dogs.  There are ledger pages recording when pigs "dropped" and were bred. And documents recording who they sold to and purchased from.   I would imagine that Brud was the one interested in the pigs and cows while the hunter of the family, Jim Moran, was interested in dogs and horses.

The open book in the picture shoes the pedigree of a dog named Monie Moran.  Her dam was Lionsheart Bluestone and the sire was Laddie Rodstone.  The breeder was Mrs. L.T. Holliday of Montana.  The year was 1921.

 And here you can see where "Old White Spot Sow dropped 10 pigs" and other assorted pig tales.

Louise Moran Formal Attire, ca 1940

Louise Moran was the youngest child and only daughter of Jim and Virginia Moran.  She was born in 1923.  One of Louise's legs is a bit shorter than the other, a condition that shows up in the Moran family from time to time.  

Louise attended University and majored in Nursing.  She moved to New York to pursue her career and met her future husband, Dr. Robert Atkins, at work. She and Bob didn't marry until 1961 and they had no children.

The photograph was taken by Linton Godown, a professional photographer living in Memphis.  He was married to Carolyn Cobb, Louise's cousin.

The dress on the right was still packed away in a trunk in Louise's bedroom at Moran Place.  It's definitely seen better days with some staining and small tears in the fabric but it survived and so does Louise.  She is the last surviving member of the "older" generation of Morans. 

For the Scamp in us All ca 1921

I liked this picture when I first saw it but I loved it when I noticed that Jim Moran seems to have a child in a headlock while holding a cigarette casually in the other hand.   That blonde haired little boy is his son Nathan "Bub" Moran.  I don't know whose house this is or who the friends are but I love how everyone takes no note of the play between father and son.  

Kent said he had always heard stories that his dad (Bub) was a scamp and a handful for his dad (Jim) but for his mother, Virginia Moran, he was a sweetheart.  Yesterday was the 32nd anniversary of Bub's death.  This picture is dedicated to him and the scamp in all of us.