She fashioned the first Texas Flag from her silk petticoats. Photo- Rome Tribune Rome, GA 

Mamie Artie Lyles
my greatgrandmother

Miss Lissia's Plantation Bed & Breakfast showcases a special mini-archives," Silk Petticoats, Pantaloons & Pinafores," a collection of precious family heirlooms, photographs and memoirs from the plantation. ( Also included in the plantation cottage are turn of the century pantaloons and petticoats.) Take a poignant and heart-warming look into the past and a romantic look at yesteryear. Take a peek into our scrapbooks and learn the historical saga of prominent southern families and one's connection to Texas Independence. It is our fondest hope that you will experience the graciousness of the antebellum plantation life, by enjoying the stories passed along through our family, through the generations. 

Michelle has done extensive genealogy. She is related to Laura Ingalls Wilder, John Wayne, Jane Austen, Laura Bush, Emily Dickenson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, George Bush, Norman Rockwell, John Hancock, Theodore Roosevelt, Ladybird Johnson, Helen Keller, Queen Elizabeth, Audrey Hepburn, Chester Arthur, and the 'Betsy Ross of Texas,' Joanna Troutman Pope. All through her maternal and paternal lines. Michelle is a 6th generation Texan, her Lunsford side of the family coming to TX, while Texas was the Republic of Texas in 1845.

Through Derek's paternal side he is related to Jimmy Hoffa, Jane Austen, Woodrow Wilson, Robert Frost, Wm. Taft, Gerald Ford, Louisa May Alcott, Bette Davis, Doc Holliday, and Lucille Ball.

~Looking up at the heavenly stars in the beautiful north Georgia sky, it reminded her of the plight of the young Texans.
Miss Joanna Troutman fashioned together the first Texas flag from her silk petticoats...

Paraphrased from Robert Rakestraws article on Miss Joanna Troutman Pope -  published in the Rome News Tribune, Rome, GA

For more info on Miss Joanna see links and attractions.