Officials are trying to figure out where the unemployed military veteran got the cash to run for office.

Greene, who lives with his father and waged no visible campaign, says he saved up the money to pay the $10,000 filing fee, but many in the Democratic Party aren't so sure about that.

Greene stunned the party establishment June 8 when he defeated Vic Rawl in the primary -- 59% to 41% -- to see who would face Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, the heavy favorite in the fall. Rawl contended he lost because of problems with electronic voting machines, including people who tried to vote for Rawl but whose ballots showed Greene's name checked instead.

Features: Cream of the Crop

The days of the milkman may be over, but this restored 1956 Detroit Industrial Vehicle Co. truck still makes the rounds -- at car and truck shows. Owners Barbara and George R. Parmelee [Ralph Walds, James Thompson, Cornelius C., Timothy Judson, Lyman, Amos, Nehemiah, Nathaniel, Nathaniel, John, John] are part of a Bethlehem, Conn., institution that began in 1922. At one time the family dairy had four routes and served more than 600 customers.

You really don't know what treasures are still hiding out there until something truly amazing like this happens: Kathy Janke of Winnemucca, Nev., emailed me a few months ago that she'd found some old family letters in this box she'd bought at a garage sale. Would I like to have them on behalf of the family? Sure! ... But I never expected this: Fifteen unstamped, wax-sealed letters written by Dr. Francis "Frank" Burdette Parmele [1815-1883; Henry, Joel, Nehemiah, Nathaniel, Nathaniel, John, John] and his family -- the loss of a baby, doubts about becoming a physician, the sorrow of separation -- between 1828 and 1840! Look for additional family letters in Mail Call.

Didn't WWII fly boy Lt. Parmalee (on the right) always remind you of actor Tom Skerritt from "Picket Fences"? Did you hear that "cousin" Reginal was bitten by a vampire? Or realize that two of our "brothers" were once pursued by a one-eyed John Wayne? Or know that President Truman's novelist daughter Margaret had "cousin" Adam seated behind that big desk in the Oval Office? From the big (and silent) screen to the flat screen -- and the pages of novels -- "we" are there.

You still can find their items at online auction sites. But a century ago, the best in tabletop finery was sold at this store in Los Angeles (part of the name is on a building on the right). Brothers Zelotes Larkin [1851-1926] and Charles A. Parmelee [1865-1960; James, James (?), James, Moses, Hezekiah, Joel, John, John] founded what became a small chain of houseware stores that lasted for decades in Southern California.

New York City's Park Avenue Christian Church will be celebrating its 200th anniversary in October 2010, and would love the family's participation -- in person. In 1837, Dr. Eleazer Parmley [1797-1874; Eleazer, Jehiel, Stephen, Stephen, John, John] built the Primitive Christian Church of Disciples building. That congregation continues to meet today on the property he owned on Greene Street in Manhattan. For details on the celebration, contact the church at 1010 Park Ave., New York, NY 10028 (at 85th Street, two blocks east of Grand Central Park).

Celebrating its centennial this year is the Bethel Baptist Church near Parmleysville, Ky. Among the first nine members were John Parmley [1762-1848; Giles, Hiel, Nathaniel, Nathaniel, John, John] and his wife, Rebecca (Cross). For more information, contact the church at 3734 Bethel Ridge Road, Pine Knot, KY 42635.

Kenneth Parmelee [Kenneth Abner, Abner Augustus, Rufus Electus, Rufus Clark, Ebenezer, Oliver, Jonathan, Joshua, John, John] of Santa Fe, N.M., says he does not know how his father's World War I dog tags ended up at a woman's Texas home, but he is glad to have the items back. The tags were found while Jim Woods was cleaning out the Big Spring, Texas, estate of his maiden aunt. And the connection was made through our Web site!

Here we honor those family members in uniform, from Colonial times to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. More details are being added to those on the rosters for the Revolutionary and Civil wars. Pictures of Revolutionary War soldiers' headstones are also being added. And we're thankful for your submissions, like this one from Allan Ray Parmley [Randolph Hay, Roland Duvall, Miles, Emerson Bell, Garner, John, Giles, Hiel, Nathaniel, Nathaniel, John, John], who stands at the headstone of great-great-great-great-grandfather John Parmley (1762-1848), who fought in the Revolution.

UPDATED: April 1, 2010

Almost 100 years ago, 24 million American men filled cards in a nationwide conscription program. Those cards -- all 688 under our families' name -- have been made public and I'm willing to share our family's with you. The data provide a nice snapshot of the family in 1917-18. You can check out great-grandpa's signature, learn how "your" spelling of the family name stacks up with the rest and find out just where your kids may have inherited those gray eyes.

We're pretty sure that one of the photos in this album is that of Robert Parmley (1789-1875), who was the father of 24 -- count 'em, 24 -- children! But just who the rest of these folks are has us stumped. Can you help us identify any of these people?

Who was Dr. John Parmele (ca1801-1844) -- and why is his tombstone sitting with another in the basement of a Milwaukee church?

Visit the Features page and Features Archives for other family stories, mysteries and legends.

The pieces are slowly coming together on the first generations to live in America and the last to live in England and continental Europe. The vast majority of the North American Parmelee families of all spellings trace their roots back to Johns Sr. and Jr. who arrived in Connecticut in the 1630s. These families helped found Guilford, where the Congressional Church now sits on the site of our family's first home. The rest of the families are related to those who came to Pennsylvania in the 1840s.

UPDATED: Dec. 1, 2007