We know very little more about Lenora.

She likely died sometime between 1920 and 1926 in Donalsonville, Georgia.

The last record we have for her is the 1920 census, which shows her living in Donalsonville with her daughter Mary.

By that time, her son Walter would've been 40 years old.

Think about this, Walter died in March, 1986 at the age of 105.

The family story is that Lenora left him with the Taggers when he was about five years old, which means he lived 100 years, 100 years.

without ever seeing his mother again.

Yep, yep, yep, yep.

What do you think he would've felt learning what you've learned today?

He would have longed to see her again, longed for the possibility of seeing her again, because what child doesn't wanna see their mother?

You're always your mother's child.

He would've been pleased that she was being taken care of.

You know, she's with her daughter who must be caring for her.

I think that what he would've wanted most was to know that she was okay.

You know, here's 1920, he's building a family 'cause at this point, my grandmother's born, so he's building his own family.

I would think maybe the desire to present his family may have been within him, "These are mine."

Mm-hmm.

But I think that he would've been most happy to know that she was being taken care of.

There is a final beat to this story.

According to her descendants, Lenora's daughter, Mary, had a cerebral hemorrhage and passed away around 1926, roughly the same time as Lenora, throwing her family into chaos.

Indeed, Mary's daughter Dee ended up in an orphanage following her mother's death.

No.

Oh my goodness.

That's terrible.

What's it like to know that Lenora's other family had such a tough going?

It was hard for everybody.

I mean, it was hard.

It was hard for her, for choices that she made, but it was hard for everybody.

But an orphanage?

Boy.

Unfortunately, remember there's another sib.

We don't know what became of Walter's half brother, John Chambers.

He disappeared from records after the 1910 census.

Not only Black people disappear.

Now, I know it's a lot to process, but does what you've learned change how you feel about Lenora and about her decision to abandon your great-grandfather?

I think it makes me appreciate her more.

You don't get to be on this earth and not make mistakes.

You don't get to be on this earth and not make some bad decisions.

Mm-hmm.

But the fact that other people could sit in judgment of you, does not change the decision.

It just changes what other people think.

Right.

She made a choice.

She made a choice that was a difficult choice to make.

I mean, how many of us could make the choice?

What do you do?

You know, you've got this kid, you love this kid, obviously, what do you do?

Right.

So she made a choice that, at the time, she thought was the best choice for him, for her.

And so to know that, and especially when you take into consideration, which I do, but sitting here with you makes me really think about the times.

The times were so terrible.

And this was before anybody would dare to think that you could make it out alive.

Right.

You wouldn't dare to think you could make it out alive of this situation.

And so she gave him a chance too.

Right.

She gave him a chance.

She made a choice, that no doubt broke her heart, because you can't leave your child and not grieve it.

Grieve that loss, but- And guilt and suffer guilt.

And even with the guilt, that's something she had to live with.

And I don't, you know, I don't charge her as guilty.

I charge her as a mother who had to make an impossible choice.

Right.

And what she did, she made a choice that saved her life, saved his life, and brought me into the world.

That's a lovely way to put it.

She made the choice and I can honestly say I appreciate the choice that she made.