The History of Andy Taylor (Before the Show)

A few hints were given here and there about the life the character of Andy Taylor led before the show started. Let's see if we can't sift through a few (although "history" never really meant much on the show as it was constantly changing).

In the first episode it is mentioned that Aunt Bee raised Andy (and being that Aunt Bee's last name is Taylor, one would think that she must be Andy's father's sister). Andy also spoke of his father a few times, mentioning that he would strike matches on the bottom of his daddy's shoe and how his father taken the title of "Keeper of the Flame" from him and made him the keeper of the flash light instead.

I believe that Andy's wife (Opie's mother) was mentioned once when discussing "that deep down kinda love" that they had for each other. I guess a lot of the fun of the show is in using your own imagination and filling in the blanks as you thought it might have been.