Parnell Family
The Parnell family is a proud American family with its roots in the southeastern United States—South Carolina and Burke County, Georgia. Descendants of African slaves, we have called this country our home since at least the late nineteenth century. Knowledge of our past before this point remains limited (for now), but all can tie their ancestry back to the progenitors of the family, Sidney Albert and Bertha Ellison Parnell.
Unfortunately, little seems clear about the parents or family of Sidney Albert John Crawford Parnell. Much information that may have existed was apparently lost when the family home was destroyed by Hurricane Alma in 1966. Still, we know that Sidney, affectionately known as "Big Papa," was born a free citizen on January 30, 1893—30 years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves, and 25 after the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which granted full citizenship to Black (male) Americans. As such, the legacy of slavery and Reconstruction had a powerful effect on the young Sidney. It accounted for his industrious work ethic and his high regard for Benjamin Franklin Wardlow, the white landowner for whom he sharecropped until his death.
(A little-known fact: Big Papa’s family owned land in Ellington, South Carolina until the county “bought” their land and built a bomb plant on the site. Aunt Winnie Cohen and the family then moved to New Ellington, SC.)
Big Papa met and married Bertha Ellison of Girard, Georgia—later known affectionately as "Big Mama"—and together they had five children: Willie Hazel, Albert, Phendell, Amy and Drexel. Big Papa was a homebody known for his blackberry and blueberry wine, which he shared with family and neighbors. Big Mama canned fruits and vegetables and was known for her homemade jams. Both were deeply devout, committed members of Smith Chapel A.M.E. Church in Girard, GA, the family church, where Sidney served on the Steward’s Board and Bertha served on the Stewardess Board (and where several Parnells have since served as ministers).
Today the Parnell family boasts six generations, stretching to nearly all regions of the country. Our oldest living descendant is Katie Belle Johnson Malone, daughter of Willie Hazel and Robert Johnson, Sr.; and our youngest is Marlee Wren Thomas, daughter of Marcus Thomas and his wife Ashlee. Among our ranks we count dedicated servicemen and women, physicians, distinguished reverends, entrepreneurs and Ivy League graduates—but just as importantly, devoted husbands and fathers, devoted wives and mothers, farmers, homemakers and faithful Christians, just like our forebears, Big Mama and Big Papa.
May their legacy of family first, self-sufficiency, and resilience continue onward into the future.
Inspired by 2004, 2010 & 2018 Reunion Journals
Parnell Family Crest
For the 2016 Reunion, inspired by the examples of our forebears Sidney Albert and Bertha Ellison Parnell, along with the loyalty, hope, and resolve of their eldest daughter, Willie Hazel Parnell Johnson, the Reunion Committee decided to adopt an official Parnell Family Crest.
The goal was to celebrate our heritage that derives not only from America but our pre-slavery traditions as well. Hence they chose to use Swahili, the de facto lingua franca of Africa. The illustration below depicts the Family Crest. Though simple in design, each part embodies a significant symbolic meaning that helps to define the character and moral fiber of this family. You will notice the Crest front and center in all official Parnell Family communications, as well as each Reunion t-shirt.
