A Home Four Generations in the Making

The Family Puts Down Roots

In 1938, Al’s great-grandparents bought a house and 35 acres of land for $1,200, never imagining they were planting roots that would hold four generations. There, they raised six children and built a life grounded in faith, family and hard work. Nearly 90 years later, that same home is ready for its next chapter.

Yancey, Al’s grandfather, still remembers the property the day it was purchased. He recalled:

“My daddy was a farmer who worked hard to farm the land. When the property was purchased, there was only one small field. As a child, I remember watching my dad clear the land using dynamite and a mule while I hid under the wagon.”

Yancey and his five brothers and sisters shared countless childhood memories in the home, from hiding under the house from his big brother to building roads in the dirt with a brick and a spoon he snuck out of his mom's kitchen.

Life was not always easy, but the house was always full of love. Yancey explained, “Life was sometimes hard in those days, but Mama always made sure that we were taken care of and somehow, we always had enough. She made the house a home.” And as Yancey grew up, those lessons stayed with him, shaping the man, father and grandfather he would become.

A Son Follows in His Father's Footsteps

Like his father before him, Yancey grew up with a deep respect for the land, and in time, he made it his life's work. He became a farmer and tended the very same fields his father had once cleared.

The lessons he learned as a boy stayed with him, and even his simplest childhood pastimes left their mark. Those afternoons spent building roads in the dirt with nothing but a brick and a borrowed spoon became the foundation for a lifelong trade, where he built roads, bridges and ponds for a living. As the years passed, his family grew and soon, he was a grandfather.

The Family Tree Grows

Yancey’s grandson, Al, enjoyed listening to the stories his grandfather would tell him about his childhood in the house, and Al began building memories of his own within the same walls. 

When he was a young child, he sat on the porch with his great-grandmother, swinging for hours. 

Throughout the years the home was a place for large family reunions and fish fries. “Our family has always been close. The home was always full of laughter and love,” he shared.

Those memories stayed with Al as he grew, and in time, they would help him understand just how much the home was worth holding on to.

The Legacy Continues

When Al and his wife, Megan, had the chance to purchase the home, they understood they were stepping into something greater than a real estate transaction.

They were preserving a piece of their family's history. This was the place where his great-grandparents got their start and his grandfather grew up, a steadfast landmark where decades of stories and memories lived.

Now, that same home would become the place where Al and Megan started their married life and imagined the traditions they would one day create: “We hope to make new memories and continue building on its family legacy,” Al explained.

Closing day brought together relatives who understood exactly how much the moment meant. Their mortgage banker, Karol Atkinson, described it as one of the most emotional closings she had ever been part of: “Everyone in the room knew the history of the home. Memories were shared, future plans were discussed, and you could feel that a new chapter was beginning,” shared Karol.

More Than a House

For the Ameris mortgage team, helping Al and Megan preserve their family home was especially meaningful.

Karol understood that a generational home carries a value no price can capture. She explained, “A home is different than a house. The real value is in the heart of the family that lives in the home.”

She shared that helping a family purchase a generational home requires a special kind of care, because the process involves so much more than a property. It involves childhood memories, family bonds and hopes for the future. “We all knew and felt that this home was special. Helping this family preserve its history was one of the greatest rewards of my career,” she said.

From the very beginning, she could see how much the home meant to Yancey, and how deeply he hoped that Al would begin his married life in the same place where their family had grown for generations.

The Next Chapter Begins

Today, the house remains part of the family, ready to welcome another generation of memories.

For Yancey, knowing the home will stay in the family is a source of pride and comfort.

“That home is where I learned the value of hard work and how important family is. I'm proud to know that future generations will continue to make this house their home,” he said.

For four generations, this home has been a place of love, laughter and legacy. At Ameris Bank, we believe those stories are worth preserving. Our mortgage team is dedicated to helping families keep their most treasured homes in the family, so the memories made within them can live on for generations. No matter where you're starting from, we're here to help you plant roots of your own. Find a mortgage banker near you!