Dear Descendants

Columbia J. Mankin was born in Ava MO when the town founded in 1871 was only two years old. Essentially Columbia Lum grew up with Ava. As a keen observer and good listener she retained much about Ava and Douglas County. In the 1950s Mrs. Mankin began dictating the stories to her youngest daughter Orla (Mankin) Vaughan. Then Mrs. Vaughan typed them into what became a 373-page book titled Dear Descendants. They finished just a few months before Columbia died in November 1958. In 2008 modern scanning and computer technology were used to copy and preserve the original work. Now in 2019 this 500-page book has been created that includes (1) Mrs. Mankin's original book (2) an introduction by Douglas County native and historian Cinita (Davis) Brown and (3) over 80 pages of old family photos collected by Orla (Mankin) Vaughan herself. Those familiar with Mrs. Mankin's book all agree-Dear Descendants is the most significant Douglas County history book ever written.