It’s Sentimental Sunday and this daily blogging prompt allows genealogy bloggers a chance to focus on a sentimental story or memory about an ancestor, or a wonderful family tradition. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and this month I also wear pink in honor of my paternal grandmother — Louise Newsome Hubbard!
Louise Newsome was born April 7, 1909 in Washington County, Texas to Henry Newsome and Olivia Moten.
As an only child, Louise was vivacious and full of energy. She was truly a smart woman. And if she’d had a formal education, she would have been a force to reckon with! She was fondly called by family and friends throughout the Washington County countryside — “Baby Lou.” But those who knew her best, such as her children, called her “Momma Lou!”
According to the 1940 census, she was living and working in Brenham, Washington County, Texas. So I’m not sure when she moved to Austin, Travis County, Texas, but that became the city she loved and called home!
Thinking the lump on her breast was an abscesses or boil, with the aid of her cousin (Lillian Bell Joyner), they applied some old home remedies on the lump and drew it to a head. When it finally burst, it drained blood and would not heal. When all else failed, she finally went to the doctor about her condition and learned that the lump was a cancerous tumor. Once her doctor learned that both of her sons (John Willie Taylor & Timothy Isaac Branford) and their families lived in Houston, he recommended that she transfer to M.D. Anderson Hospital where she would have a strong support system with her through the surgery and chemotherapy.
Louise Newsome Hubbard lived a full life 5+ years after her mastectomy and chemo. She died July 4, 1975 at 10:35 a.m. from carcinoma of the breasts at the Holy Cross Hospital, 2600 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Austin, TX 78702 (you can learn more about her burial at FindAGrave).
Claiming Kin Genealogy 
Pingback: Louise Newsome
Very nice blog post and lovely pictures. Was she your aunt?
LikeLike
Thank you so much. No, this feature is about my grandmother. My Wordless Wednesday feature and Breast Cancer Awareness tribute was about my aunt, Ella Louse. Again, thank you!
LikeLike
What a wonderful story. Its a reminder as to how the ancestors coped with health issues. I just lost my dear cousin a known “Naturalist” to breast cancer this year, who never went to a doctor and used home/herbal remedies.
I suppose in the last 3 to 4 years of her life she too had a lump and was determine that she would use the home remedies and would not visit a doctor.
My dear cousin died at the age of 88 peacefully in her own bed. Everyone body make-up is very different. Let us take a moment and get tested because early detection is the best protection.thank you for sharing.
LikeLike
Hi Shelley, THANK YOU so much for stopping by and sharing in this tribute to my grandmother and sharing with me about your cousin who died of breast cancer too; I truly appreciate you! I agree, getting tested and detecting this disease early is the only way we can survive. Again, thank you!
LikeLike
What a beautiful woman and a touching story. Mama Lou looks like a friendly, open, and fun person. Thank you for sharing your family stories
Alice Keesey Mecoy
LikeLike
Alice, it is so wonderful for you to stop by and leave such a lovely post about my grandmother. She was indeed a lot of fun and very much missed through the years. THANK YOU!
LikeLike