Complex sentence: A maternal great-great-grandfather had served as the first Baptist minister in Montgomery, and both sides of his family had operated large plantations using enslaved labor before the American Civil War.
Split into simpler sentences: A maternal great-great-grandfather had served as the first Baptist minister in Montgomery. Sons of American Revolution application of Thom Christopher Rives in 1941 Both sides of his family had operated large plantations using enslaved labor before the American Civil War.