Charles Melvin Wilson was born in Meridian, Mississippi on 19 January 1922. His father, Jack, was 31 and his mother, Evie, was 30. He had one brother, John, my grandfather, who was 2 years older. His sister, Mary, was born when Chuckie was two.
Both of his parents came from very large Southern farming families, each had many brothers and sisters. They were always surrounded by family. They were living in Mississippi around the time the Great Mississippi River flooded in 1927 and forced hundreds of thousands to flee.
Chuckie on the right front row seated with his arm around his grandmother Mary.
His parents are behind him and his brother John is standing second from left in the top row.
While we don’t know with any certainty, the U.S. government programs started by the first “New Deal” in 1933 may have assisted Chuckie and his family to travel up North for new opportunities. They eventually settled in Beaver, Pennsylvania. US Census data show him residing there with his family by the age of 13.
Unforgotten Glory 