2019-GM-Nannie-Mae-McComber-300x272

2019 Grand Marshal
Nannie Mae Belvin Jenkins McComber

Our 2019 Guinea Jubilee Grand Marshal was born Nannie Mae Belvin in Guinea on January 15, 1940, and grew up on Belvin’s Farm, about 48 acres of land in Guinea near the water situated between Severn and Maryus. One of her earliest memories is sitting in her yard, gazing across the field and marshes towards the distant Mobjack Bay and wondering what was beyond those marshes and creek.

Nannie Mae was always a hard worker. At age 11 she picked crabs at York River Seafood; she waited tables at a restaurant in Yorktown most summers in high school and was the Hayes Pharmacy bookkeeper for a while until she got her first Civil Service job at Cheatham Annex. She retired at the end of 2017 as one of the Directors for the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, DC.

After she graduated from high school in 1958, she married a local Guineaman, Stanley Elbert Jenkins, Jr. That marriage gave her two wonderful daughters, Angie and Gina.

Later she married an Army Officer, Clarence Albert “Mac” McComber, and was blessed with a son, Sean. She lived in Falls Church, VA, for 30 years and then moved to Fredericksburg about 15 years ago.

Her interest in researching her family’s history began after her father’s passing in 1985. She first began looking at the old Gloucester Courthouse records. She soon discovered she had a passion for family research and that research led her all over the U.S and even to Canada. Along the way, she collected old photographs, maps, deeds, correspondence, newspaper clippings, school and church photos – all of which helped flesh out her family histories and that of Guinea, itself.

The unparalleled work of our Grand Marshal of 2019 preserves for us the Guinea we know and love, the Guinea families and individuals now long passed from the stage of life and the history of our proud Guinea community. Her work assures us that ‘our’ Guinea will never be forgotten but will be remembered and preserved for future generations as long as written records remain.

Nannie Mae is now recognized as the premiere Guinea historian and genealogist and has agreed to work with the Guinea Heritage Association to have her information available and accessible at our Buck’s Store Museum.

With the passing of her beloved husband, Mac, in February, 2017, and some serious family deliberations, Nannie Mae decided to move back to Gloucester and is currently settling in. With some modifications and touch-ups, she is making her new home ‘Nan’s Home’, complete with a ‘Guineaology Room’.

With our deepest appreciation for all you’ve done and do to preserve the history and flavor of our beloved Guinea, Nannie Mae, we thank you.