The Families That Play Together, Stay Together...
Part IV
The Helms/ Presley connection from
NC to MS - Recent Links -
Articles by Barbara Lee Rowe
From President
James K. Polk to Senator Jesse Helms and President Jimmy Carter,to
TheKin of Rock and Roll,the Helms/ Presley family connection is one
of the strongest links to the Presley clan. The Helms familyof NC
are descendants of Thomas Presley of North Carolina. Two descending
families of the original NC clan were known to have headed South.
Jonathan Helms and William Helmes (often variant spellings as is Preslar/Presley)
were living amid the Presleys in Pontotonoc and Itawamba Counties
in Mississippi, as was Allen Helms and his wife who were close friends
with Gladys and Vernon. Allen was a grandson of Joel Helms and Sarah
Hargett and cousin to
Barbara Lee Rowe on her grandmother's side, and related to Maude King
Helms, through her grandfather's side.
Elvis in his sixth grade class picture
at Milam Jr. High School, Tupelo, Ms 1947-1948, his classmate, Evelyn
Carter Helms, a cousin, is mid row 2nd from left. Betcha can't guess
where Elvis is!!)
Elvis' mom and Evelyn's mom worked together at Reed's Manufacturing,a
Tupelo shirt factory. The two classmates, and others, walked to
the factory everyday after school.
During Christmas break after the 7th grade, Elvis
and family moved away the rest is history.
Touching Briefly
on Helms, Hargett, King, and Mansell
Allen Helms, descendant from the family of Joel Helms and Sarah
Hargett, my 4th ggrandparents, was married to Maude King, daughter
of Ida Mansell and John D. King. Helms, Mansell, King, and Hargett
connect NC down to MS. Allen and Maude are buried in St. Andrews
Chapel Cemetery along with Gladys family and Presley family members.
Allen and Maude remembered watching Elvis on Ed Sullivan with
other family members because they didn't have a television, and
they wanted to see Gladys' boy.
Facinating Fact:
Elvis wasn't the only celebrity in the family!
Don
Helms, "Drifting Cowboy,"
played steel guitar for Hank Williams, Sr. |
Elvis was living amongst many cousins he never
knew! At the time Elvis was becoming friendly with President
Jimmy Carter, neither had any idea that they were related.
Neither did Elvis know he was related to Sen. Jesse Helms and
to Oliver Winchester, {Elvis loved the rifle} of the Winchester
Rifle fame.
The most awesome surprise comse with a family of kin and one
of the largest intermarriages into the Presley family from NC
origins is the Helms family. The Helms not only introduced many
brave men to the service of our country, many, many noted polititians
and presidents, but they also produced some multi-talented,
musical inspirations as legendary as cousin Elvis. Bobby Helms,
a distant cousin, and then there is the "steel guitar legand"
from our own Helms line of kin from Southern Alabama,
Don Helms
Don was the first steel guitar player for Hank
Williams, Sr., a member of Hank's legendary Drifting
Cowboys. "Your Cheatin' Heart," Cold, Cold, Heart,"
are just a couple of the songs that highlight the magic of that
Helms steel guitar.
Had Elvis only known this! Elvis knew Bernice Turner, a truly
wonderful, gifted lady of Memphis who replaced Helms as Williams
steel guitarist when Helms was called to the service of his
country.
Kin founder, Barbara Lee, got to meet
and talk with the lovely Bernice at Marlowe's Barbeque in Memphis.
She not only is a devout fan of Elvis and knew him, but also
had quite a collection of Elvis' personal furnishings which
she just recently sold. Bernice told Barbara Lee that she {Bernice}
is lucky to be alive after her near fatal bus collision. Nowadays,
she has God foremost on her mind, thanking Him everyday for
her life.
Today, Don Helms is 80 years old, married to Hazel,
a doting family man, and is still going strong. You can view
his MY SPACE page. Sadly, Don passed away in August of 2008.
He was 81 years young. Don
Helm's Obituary>>
You tube presentation above
showing one of the last public
appearances of Don Helms playing his original- styled version
of "Half
As Much" from his days with Hank Williams, Sr. and
the Drifting Cowboys.
FAMOUS
NAMES CONNECTED TO PRESLEY
Patrick Swayze -
ggrandmother's 1st husband was a Presley
Cecelia deMille Presley - daughter
of movie director, Cecil B. deMille, married a Presley. Her daughter
is also named Cecelia deMille Presley.
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Somehave discounted Sen. Jesse Helms family
connection to Elvis. Sen. Jesse Alexander Helms is, indeed, a cousin
of Elvis as is President Jimmy Carter, 9th President William Henry
Harrison, President James K. Polk and more ..
Helms lineage charts still to come...
AVery
Special Lady, Chris Noel
Another possible kin,yet still in
the early stages of research, was one of Elvis' very own "girls"from
Hollywood, Chris Noel.
The Kin of Rock and Roll will
help Chris discover her Culpepper family roots. Thomas Presley was
married to Elizabeth Culpepper. Alas! Chris Noel could have been
that "kissin' cousin" Elvis sang to! Also this would bring
Chris into the extensive Helms family line.
 Chris
Noel is a very special
person whose devotion and
loyalty to veterans everywhere is highly regarded. She left Hollywood
to go to Vietnam to entertain our boys and became a soldier, herself.
The Veterans community loves Chris Noel. She especially devotes
her time to helping homeless veterans.
The Kin of Rock and Roll
founder,
Barbara Lee, has had the good fortune to work alongside Chris, both
as members of The National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition.
Chris kindly shared with Barbara Lee some personal
memories of Elvis for whom she still has a great deal of respect.
According to Chris, Elvis spoke about serving in the military and
being patriotic, and he also loved to sing to her, singing her name
"Noel" in reverse! Ever the humorist was he.
Thanks, Chris! Love ya!
A special
message from Chris
Families
That Connect to Elvis!
 The
Hood/Gambrell Family Line
{prepared and submitted by Sam Gambrell}
The Jasper Hood
Line
(submitted by Barbara Lee Rowe and
Sheila Brown)
The Capt. Teunis
Hood Line
The
Henry Hargett Line
(prepared and submitted by Barbara Lee}
The Rowe Family Connections
(prepared and submitted by Barbara Lee Rowe)
The Palmer/Edwards/Mansell/King Connection
(to be submitted by Barbara Lee Rowe
- under construction
Question: Elvis
designed his on-stage jumpsuits with capes after which favorite
cartoon hero? The answer is;
Captain
Marvel. Elvis,
since childhood, loved to read comic books and Captain Marvel was
a particular favorite. Elvis had his costume capes designed from
the idea originated by this caped-crusader.
Connecting
Family Tidbits
Elvis' Aunt Lillian Smith Mann Fortenberry
This is a quote from a very special lady: "Take care of my
boy." Gladys Love Smith Presley. According to family members,
Gladys had a strong premonition that she would not live to see her
son come home from the service. She was not well for a while before
her passing. Her oldest sister, Lillian, came around to look after
Gladys. After Glady's passing, Lillian, I was told, looked after
Elvis for awhile at the request of her younger sister. Elvis remained
close for a time to his Aunt Lillian, a very religious woman. Lillian
Smith Mann's second husband was James Thomas Fortenberry, a cousin
also descended from the family of Isaac Fortenberry, my 7th ggrandfather.
James predeceased Lillian who died in 1990. The Fortenberrys originally
spelled their name Faukenberg, which is how James Thomas spelled
it on his first marriage certificate. The Fortenberrys go back to
NC with the Presleys, Helms and other allied families, but they
probably were not on speaking terms with the Presleys, Hoods, and
Helms for a time when the American Revolution broke out because
Henry, Isaac and Jacob Faulkenburg were loyalists to the crown and
left NC for SC. It was at that time the original spelling of the
name was changed to Fortenberry. From SC the family spread to TN,
AL and finally to MS. James Thomas and Lillian are buried in Forest
Hills Cemetery in Memphis where there is a large monument erected
to him there.
MACKEY HARGETT
Elvis with cousin, Mackey Hargett. It was Mackey who told the true
story about Rosella Pressley and her family. Mackey finally tells
the story his way, as it was intended, in a new book. More information
available soon. Mackey has cleared up the long mysterious Rosella
Pressley, the strong little woman who has stumped every Elvis' biographer
to date. Rosella deserves the truth to be told, as does her family,
and Mackey has certainly done a fantastic job of debunking all the
myths and mis-information centered around Rosella.
John Helms, now a Tennessee artist, knew Elvis' and his mom and
dad from when his (Helms) father owned a store not far from Graceland.®
He remembered Gladys as a sweet, Christian woman. Helms was very
good friends with Billy Mann, his hair stylist and a cousin of Elvis.
Mann passed away in a truck accident some time after he had taken
the last photo of Elvis (in his coffin) and, despite the families
request for privacy, sold the photo to the National Enquirer for
$10,000
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