BROOKS
CURTIS
MASON
TWYMAN
WHITE
The Brooks, Curtis, Twyman & White Families are hosting a Family Cookout
FAMILY COOKOUT
FOOD - FAMILY - FUN
Date
Saturday, August 2, 2025
Time
1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Location
Washington Park near 55th & Payne Drive
(Near Ball Field 14)
5430 South Payne Drive
Chicago, IL 60615
Cost
FREE TO ATTEND
What to Bring
- • Stories and memories to share
- • Good vibes
Family History
Origins
Before we had names, before we bore the beauty of our own reflection, we were carried in the hearts of those who survived the impossible. Pleas Mason, born January 9, 1882 in Natchez, Mississippi, came from a line carved from resilience. His father, Pleasant Mason, and his mother, Irene Taylor, were born in the 1850s—presumably into slavery—and lived to see their son enter the world as a free man. Pleas became a tailor, trained by the Belisle brothers in Natchez—skilled with his hands and sharp with his eye. He married Maggie Netter Robinson in 1902, the same year their only child, Mamie Mason, was born.
Matriarch
They say her name in pieces now—Mamie. Mamie Mason. Mamie Epps. Mamie Twyman. Mamie White.
The Children
These are Mamie's children. After settling in Chicago around 1924, Mamie—along with her mother Maggie—built a life at 556 Browning Avenue. That house saw everything: births and heartbreak, late-night laughter, neighborhood kids trying Southwestern tacos, and the kind of discipline that came with open hands and open hearts. It was a home.
Coming Together
We've always found our way back to each other. Even when distance stretched between us. Even when if it wasn't always for happy celebrations. "They're trying to put something together."
Family Tree Explorer
Relationship Calculator
Mamie's Family Tree
View the family tree of our family's matriarch Mamie.