Few people are recognized world wide by their first name only. A small town  country boy from Northeast Mississippi happens to be one, who, for the last 60  years has been instantly recognizable all over the world by his first name.  Interest in Elvis has grown every year since he rocked onto the public stage  with his first recording. Many books have been written about Elvis, and much  research has been done into every area of his life. The fact that there could  still be something interesting to discover about Elvis might come as a  surprise to some. Many people have conducted research into the family tree of  Elvis. Much of the work is good, some of it is bad, many errors have been  made, and too much has been left unanswered. Our intention is to fill in the  pieces of the puzzle, answer the questions, and correct the errors that we  find. We hope to explain what was happening without making judgments or trying  to sensationalize events or people.

The story of Elvis Presley's roots is a story of hardships and survival of  rural Mississippi people. We have attempted to do as complete a research into  the roots of Elvis as can be achieved. We have an advantage in that by living  in Lee County, Mississippi, we are close to much of the information that needs  to be researched. It would be difficult to do this research from any other  location. We have a disadvantage in that many of the people with first hand  knowledge have died. Without the research done by others, the family tree we  have created would not have been possible. The family bibles, the marriage  records at many courthouses, the cemetery records accumulated by local  historic societies, the census records taken by the various governments, the  family trees and old pictures saved by interested family members, and the  local libraries have made this work possible. We have tried to use some form  of public record, and when none can be found we state that we could not find  it. Many people have invited us into their homes and made us feel welcome.  This would be expected of Southern people in Mississippi. We would like to  thank all of the many people who have been a tremendous help in this project.

We intend to continue this project, and welcome any information that should be  included in this family tree. You may call us at 662-213-4297.

Copyright 2007 Julian Carl Riley