Marion Lynn Laster

• Born in Obion County, Tennessee.
• Married Betty Jeannine Carey in 1955.
• Reside at 709 Holt Lane, Tullahoma, Tennessee, in north Franklin County, Tennessee, near Tullahoma.
• Attended:
  • Auburn University
  • Georgia Tech
  • University of Tennessee
• Work at Arnold Engineering Development Center.
• Worship at Wilson Avenue Church of Christ, Tullahoma, Tennessee.

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Lynn's Family Background

Lynn was born in 1935, in Obion County, Tennessee, where his father, Marion Preston Laster (1909-1959), and grandfather Virgil Henry Laster (1878-1967) were also born. Lynn's mother, Nina Faye Lynn (1912-1980), was born in Fayette County, Tennessee. Lynn's parents and grandparents were all born and raised in Tennessee and so were six of his great-grandparents. Several of Lynn's second and third great-grandparents were early settlers in Tennessee, being part of the country's westward expansion after the American Revolutionary War. They migrated from North and South Carolina and Virginia, and prior to that primarily from England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Thomas Lassiter (Leicester) is the first known ancestor that settled in the New World. He arrived at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1620 (just 12 years after the Jamestown settlement) on the ship Abigail.

The Lynns are believed to have come from Ireland just prior to the American revolution. The Lynns migrated to Shelby County, Tennessee, from York County, South Carolina in 1830. Prior to migrating to Tennessee, the Lasters (Lassiters) lived in North Carolina and in Virginia. The Jones (grandmother Lynn line) migrated to Shelby County, TN from England via Halifax County, Virginia in 1835. The Forresters (grandmother Laster line) came to Hickman County, TN in 1815 from Scotland via North and South Carolina. Great-grandmother Lynn was a Dandridge whose second great-grandfather, Capt. Nathaniel West Dandridge, was a first cousin to Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, President Georgia Washington's wife. His mother, Unity West, was a descendant of John West, Governor of Virginia in the 1600s, and Thomas West, Lord Delaware, who had responsibilities in the establishment of the Jamestown colony in Virginia. His wife was Dorothea Spotswood whose father was Alexander Spotswood, from a family prominent in Colonial Virginia politics. A daughter was the wife of Patrick Henry, also prominent in Colonial Virginia politics.

Three of Lynn's four great-grandfathers were Confederate soldiers. They were Elias Laster (Lassiter), Nathaniel Gold Jones, and Francis Marion Forrester. Lt. General Nathan Bedfort Forrest, the famous "Wizard of the Saddle" for the Confederacy, was a fourth cousin to Lynn's grandmother Laster, Docia Pauline Forrester.

Lynn's great-grandmother Laster, Mary War Nan Johnson, was said to be of Creole and American Indian descent. She was born in Louisiana, and her father was a physician.

Lynn's parents were educators. His grandparents and great-grandparents were farmers. His grandfather Lynn was also a railroad telegraph operator. Most of the prior ancestors were farmers who also served their country as soldiers. Some were active in political life and some were merchants.