This photo was submitted
to The Kin of Rock and Roll by
Sheila Brown, 6th ggrandchild
of Jasper Hoed and Catrina. It is of
Sheila's uncle, Mike Willis, as a youth. Note the uncanny resemblance to this young fellow and a very young Elvis.

Barbara Lee, Kin founder, has often
said that Elvis took after the Hood
side when it came to looks. General John's features as well can sometimes be noted in some of Elvis' photos.

There is no denying that Elvis Presley
was a true Hood!


THE WILLIS FAMILY GENEALOGY

The Hood Connections~
NC to Kentucky...

The Story of General John Bell Hood

General John Bell Hood's fate had gone from worse to worst after his fall at the Battle of Franklin, TN. The story of Hood trying to overcome the tradgedy of continuous loss was perpetuated by those friends and foe alike who carried on after his death to help the Hood orphans and to keep alive the General's memory.

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Family members of Genl. John Bell Hood and his wife,
Anna Maria Hennen. {click photo to enlarge}

General John Bell Hood
General John Bell Hood was, perhaps, the most misunderstood officer in the War Between States. He was a tall, handsome man who attended West Point and who possessed all the qualifications a worthy general might have. After his most severe woundings, stories, myths rather, had come about that the general had lost his ability to command and that he was heavily subdued with laudnum.
Both are untrue, and during his last campaign at the Battle of Franklin, General John Bell Hood behaved in a most professional and qualified manner. Under construction now, is the true story of
General Hood at the Battle of Franklin. Overlooked also for his most important role at the Battle of Gettysburg, we inquired about placing a monument to General Hood there in the area where he fell wounded but were told it was not allowed. There is a moritorium on monuments at Gettysburg. Sadly, General Hood is probably one of the foremost commanders who participated there for the South but the only one to be so unrecognized appropriately. We will continue to press the NPS for some type of recognition for this brave commander.

It is with great pride that his page appears, and we have been honored to receive new information from Holly Hennen Hood, great granddaughter of the General who has given the following statement:

"Thank you for the lovely tribute to my great-grandfather General John Bell Hood."

and further submitted to us her family information as follows:

"General Hood's son Duncan Norbert Hood (my grandfather) was the only one of his children to go into the military. He attended West Point, rose to the rank of Colonel serving nobly during the Spanish-American War, and later became a mining engineer. He married Donna Wilson (whose father had served under General Hood and who was also the Attorney General of Arizona and that state’s first Representative to US Congress).

They had one son, John Wilson Hood, who married Adele "Deer" Jelonek. They had three girls:

Donna, Holly, and Victoria.

Donna married John Davis Pointer and they have three children:

Desiree Hood Pointer
John Davis Pointer, Jr., a brilliant musician, and
Dawn Adele Pointer.

Desiree married Michael Mace and they have two children:
Simone and Myles.

Dawn is married to Matt McCleskey and they have one son, JJ..."

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The following is from an article by Kent Biffle in the Dallas News, 01-07-2001 | The war behind him in 1866, General Hood married for the first time. He was 35. His wife, Anna Marie Hennen, was the daughter of a prominent Creole family. While he dabbled in business, the Hoods lived with her parents. A yellow fever outbreak in 1868 spared merchant Hood but the resulting quarantine cut his trade.

The much mutilated general remained much a man. In his first decade as a husband, he sired 11 children - among them three sets of twins. Old foe General Sherman helped him sell his military papers. But in 1879, yellow fever again stalked the canals and back alleys of New Orleans. The virus killed the general, his wife, and their oldest daughter. Historian T. Lindsey Baker, director of the Texas Heritage Museum at Hill College, has assembled a touching exhibit recalling a time when the orphan children of General Hood were a favorite charity. As a philanthropic venture, Hood's Orphans became a favorite, a sort of old-timey March of Dimes.

"Throughout the U.S., generous friends and former battlefield enemies, as well as veterans of the Hood's Texas Brigade Association, contributed to the support of the orphans. Donors bought mass-produced pictures of the youngsters," said Dr. Baker. Former CSA General Pierre T. Beauregard organized a campaign that at last led to the adoption of all the children.

Other links to information on General John Bell Hood:

General John Bell Hood Biography

The Ghost of Anne Mitchell
Haunts the Hood Home in Kentucky

General John Bell Hood Historical Society

Kind permission has been granted by the President of the Museum of the Confederacy in New Orleans, Sam Hood, for use of the information and photos herein. Sam, through his beautiful website:
http://www.johnbellhood.org/index.htm
is striving to perpetuate the memory of Gen. Hood. The Kin of Rock and Roll wishes to thank Sam and his organization for the beautiful tribute to this gallant leader. Please check out the website above for further information on the General's life and times.




Family and extended family members of
General John Bell Hood