"Longevity" - The Litaker Sisters

When I think about my family tree and longevity, my maternal great-grandmother, “Nanny,” and her sisters immediately come to mind:

Full Sisters (daughters of George Franklin Litaker, Sr. and Molsie Jane Talbirt(a.k.a., Talbert) Litaker), including Nanny, in birth order:

• Ola Lenetta Litaker McBride (14 May 1898 – 18 Aug 1991), who died at the age of 93.

• Faye Elizabeth “Nanny” Litaker Litaker (28 Aug 1901 – 26 Oct 1995), who died at the age of 94.

• Blanche Lucille Litaker Faggart (22 Aug 1906 – 12 Jul 2007), who died at the age of 100.

• Mary Elva Litaker Weddington (24 Mar 1911 – 20 Dec 1998), who died at the age of 87.

Half Sisters* (daughters of George Franklin Litaker, Sr. and Carrie White Dove Litaker) in birth order:

• Margaret Mae Litaker Swarigen (16 May 1891 – 09 Mar 1982), who died at the age of 90.

• Lacie Carrie Litaker Cox Harris (16 Jul 1896 – 11 Oct 1981), who died at the age of 85.

I grew up around Nanny, Aunt Blanche, and Aunt Mary; and they were all kind, loving, funny, and generous women.  I feel so lucky that I was able to know them.

All of the sisters except Lacie, who move to South Carolina circa 1913, lived their entire lives in Cabarrus County; so they were surrounded throughout their lives with close and extended family and lifelong friends.

I'll share some pictures of the sisters, as well as of a couple of places that were significant in their youth.  I don't have a photo of Mae, so I'm including her husband's obituary, which mentions her, instead.

The Litaker Farm House on South Union Street in what was then
Township #11, Cabarrus County, North Carolina.  This is where the
Litaker sisters grew up.

The Litaker School in Township #11, Cabarrus County,
North Carolina.  It was built by George F. Litaker, Sr.; and it is where his youngest
 four daughters attended primary school.

Aunt Ola and her
daughter, Nancy Elizabeth, circa 1921. 

Nanny with my cousin, Heather, on her left and me on her right.
Concord, Cabarrus, North Carolina. About 1973/1974.

Aunt Blanche - late 1960s/early 1970s.

Aunt Mary (far right) with her daughter,
Marian Young Weddington (far left).

Obituary for Aunt Mae's husband,
Harrison Brack Swaringen.

Aunt Lacie in Lakeland, Florida.
February 1960.

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* Nanny had one other half-sister, Nellie Gray Litaker Smith (1890-1907), who lived into early adulthood.  Nellie suffered from mental illness, which was prominent throughout her mother's family.  From news reports, it seems she most likely committed suicide.

©Amy Wood Kelly, 2018 - I am happy to share my genealogical research and writing with others, as well as to help others with their research efforts.  However, please do not reprint or repost this post in full or in part or use excerpts from it without giving full credit to me, Amy Wood Kelly, as the researcher and author as well as providing the permalink to this post.  Thank you, in advance, for showing respect for my request and the work I put creating this.

This post is part of +Amy Johnson Crow's 2018 52 Ancestors Challenge.

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"Favorite Photograph" - Molsie Jane Talbirt (Talbert) Litaker

Molsie Jane Talbirt (a.k.a., Talbert) Litaker - circa 1900

Like most genealogists, I can't say that I have one favorite photograph.  However, this one of my maternal second great-grandmother definitely ranks in my top ten.

The main reasons I treasure this particular photograph are:

• My great-grandmother, Faye Elizabeth Litaker, gave me the original tintype picture in its original frame.  That makes it special to me because it was a gift from her and because she trusted me to preserve a special photo of her mother.
• This photo is the only existing one of Molsie of which I am currently aware.

About Molsie

Molsie was born on 09 March 1875 in Kershaw County, South Carolina, to Reverend William Thomas Talbirt (1840-1913) and Mary Ann Elizabeth West Talbirt (1843-1927).  She married George Franklin Litaker, Sr. (1868-1939) in Concord, Cabarrus, North Carolina, on 07 July 1897.  George and Molsie had six children of their own, five of whom lived past infancy.  They also raised the three living daughters from George's first married to Carrie White Dove.  Molsie passed away on 19 March 1939 in Concord and is buried in Center United Methodist Cemetery.

©Amy Wood Kelly, 2018 - I am happy to share my genealogical research and writing with others, as well as to help others with their research efforts.  However, please do not reprint this post in full or in part or use excerpts from this post without giving full credit to me, Amy Wood Kelly, as the researcher and author as well as providing the permalink to this post.  Thank you, in advance, for showing respect for my request and the work I put into creating this post.

This post is part of +Amy Johnson Crow's 2018 52 Ancestors Challenge.

Faye Elizabeth (Nanny) Litaker (1901-1995), 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 16, "Live Long"

Me (left) - Nanny (center) - Heather, my cousin (right).
Photo taken in the living room of my grandparents' home
in Concord, Cabarrus, North Carolina, circa 1975.
(Photo given to me by my maternal grandmother.)

The Week 16 theme of +Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is "Live Long."  Faye Elizabeth Litaker, my maternal great-grandmother whom I (and most everyone else) called "Nanny," lived a long life and is the perfect subject for this week's post.  I was blessed enough to grow up around and truly know my great-grandmother who lived until just after I turned 26.

Nanny was born on 28 August 1901 in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, the first-born child of George Franklin Litaker, Sr. (1868-1939) and Molsie Jane Talbert Litaker (1875-1933).

State of North Carolina Delayed Certificate of Birth for Faye Elizabeth Litaker, born 28 August 1901.

George had three older children - Nellie, Margaret Mae, and Carrie Lacie - from his first marriage to Carrie White Dove Litaker who died, tragically, on 09 April 1897 by her own hand.  George and Molsie had four more children - Ola May, Blanche Lucille, Mary Elva, George Franklin Jr. - in addition to Faye.  All of Nanny's full sisters lived to age 90 or older.  The Litaker children, except for Nellie who died before 28 April 1910, maintained close relationships with one another throughout adulthood.

The 21-22 January 1920 US Census for Township #11, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, lists Nanny as working as a saleswoman in a department store.  She worked on and off at J.C. Penney, likely the department store referenced in the 1920 census, for about 30 years.

On 11 November 1920, at the age of 19, Faye married Murl Sanders Litaker (1896-1955) who had returned home within the previous year after serving abroad during World War I.  (I wrote about Murl Sr. last week for my "How Do You Spell That?" post.)  Though I do not think they were aware of it at the time since many Litakers lived in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, Faye and Murl were second cousins.  That means that they shared the same paternal great-grandparents, George E. Lytaker/Litaker/Lyteker (1812-1862) and Elizabeth McCoy (circa 1815-unknown).

11 November 1920 North Carolina Marriage Certificate
for Murl S. Litaker and Faye Litaker.

Murl Sanders Litaker, Sr. and with Faye Elizabeth Litaker with their grandson,
Andrew Joseph Pampas III (1944-1985).
(Photo given to me by my maternal grandmother.)

Murl and Faye welcomed their first child, a son, in July 1925.  Just under two years later, a younger sister joined him in July 1927.  (My grand uncle and grandmother both are living, so I am omitting their names and exact dates of birth here for privacy.)

My maternal grand uncle and grandmother circa 1929.
(Photo given to me by my grandmother.) 

According to the 1940 Baldwin's City Directory for Concord, Cabarrus, North Carolina, my great-grandparents owned and operated a restaurant named Murl's Café.  Additionally, the 1940 U.S. Census for Township 12 in Concord lists Nanny working as a waitress at a/her café.

Nanny's husband passed away on 12 Oct 1955 at only 59 years old.  After his death, she moved in with my grandmother and her family, who also made their home in Concord, and lived there for the rest of her life.  Since she lived with my grandparents, my mom and her siblings, as well all of Nanny's great-grandchildren on my mom's side, spent a lot of time around her and got to really know her.

On 26 October 1995, Faye Elizabeth Litaker passed away at the age of 94 years and almost 2 months old.  She was laid to rest in Concord's historic Oakwood Cemetery (Section W, Plot 133) beside her husband who predeceased her by just over 40 years.

Murl S Litaker and Faye L. Litaker grave markers in Oakwood Cemetery,
471 Church Street, North, Concord, North Carolina, 28025.

Close-up of Nanny's grave marker.

Of course, I do not think of Nanny in death; rather, I remember her life.  When I think of her, many pleasant memories come to mind.  So, to end this post in her honor, I will share some of those fond, and sometimes funny, memories I have of her:

• Nanny always had a smile, hug, and a kiss for me every time I saw her.  Family was very important to her.
• She had a kind, loving spirit, and everyone seemed to adore her.
• She wore White Shoulders dusting powder, and the smell of it reminds me of her to this day.
• I never saw her wear anything except dresses or housecoats.  I don't think she ever wore a pair of pants.
• She liked to wear long strands of beads (and her great-granddaughters loved to look through all of them).
• Nanny always wore rouge (note that it was rouge, not just blush).
• She was an excellent seamstress, as was her mom.
• She made the sweetest sweet tea I have ever drunk to this day.
• I loved her fried fruit pies that she made on her cast iron griddle.
• Nanny was an excellent, Southern cook who was not afraid to cook with lard.
• Whenever my family was about to leave my grandparents' house, she would sneak some money to me and tell me to get myself a little something.
• I remember her swinging on the bench swing in my grandparents' backyard.
• Nanny sent me cards for all kinds of occasions and also wrote many notes and letters to my family and me.
• She quit smoking cold turkey after about 50 years of being a smoker.  I remembered being floored that anyone could quit like that!
• I fondly remember spending time with her at my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary celebration.  (Can you imagine getting to be at your child's 50th wedding anniversary party?)
• Whenever my grandmama, mom, aunt, and I went shopping, Nanny always wanted to go with us.  Then, as soon as we got to the store, she would be ready to go home.  She never shopped that I remember.  I only remember her waiting on us to be done.
• I still can picture Nanny sitting in her chair, between the closet and big window, in her bedroom at my grandparents' house.  She spent a lot of time contentedly sitting there.

I feel very lucky to have these and other memories from the time I was able to spend with my great-grandmother.  She is missed.

Nanny having punch at my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary celebration.

©Amy Wood Kelly, 2015 - I am happy to share my genealogical research and writing with others, as well as to help others with their research efforts.  However, please do not reprint this post in full or in part or use excerpts from this post without giving full credit to me, Amy Wood Kelly, as the researcher and author as well as providing the permalink to this post.  Thank you, in advance, for showing respect for my request and the work I put into creating this post.

Murl Sanders Litaker, Sr. (1896-1955), 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 15, "How Do You Spell That?"

My maternal great-grandfather, Murl Sanders Litaker, Sr. (1896-1955), in his World War I uniform.
(Photo given to me by his daughter, my maternal grandmother.)

When I saw this week's theme of "How Do You Spell That?" for +Amy Johnson Crow and NoStoryTooSmall.com's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, I did not have to think twice about my subject. (Okay, I did think exactly twice, because only one other ancestor jumped immediately to mind.  However, I decided not to write about Molsie Jane Talbert Litaker again since I just posted about her last week!)

My maternal great-grandfather's name was Murl Sanders Litaker, Sr.  ("Murl" rhymes with "pearl," in case the reader is not quite sure how to pronounce it.) I did some research on this given name, and it is derived from French and means "falcon."1 It peaked in popularity as a boy's name in 1924 when 0.0056% of American boys had this name bestowed upon them; and, since 1983, there have not been five or more children of either gender named Murl according to Social Security Administration data.2

As one may imagine from the statistics given above, census enumerators, draft registrars, and, surely, many others frequently must have asked my great-grandfather and his parents, "How do you spell that?" It seems that, even if those individuals asked, they still often got the spelling wrong:

• In the 1900 U.S. Census, the census enumerator recorded his given name as "Mearl."3
• In the 1910 U.S. Census, the census enumerator recorded his given name as "Mirl."4
• On his World War I draft registration card, the registrar recorded his given name as "Muerl."5
• In the 1920 U.S. Census, the census enumerator recorded his given name as "Merl."6

On 17 July 1925, Murl and his wife, Faye Elizabeth Litaker, had their first child, a son they named Murl Sanders Litaker, Jr.  The North Carolina, Birth Indexes, 1800-2000 incorrectly recorded both son and father's given names as "Merle."7  I feel certain that my grand uncle still often gets asked, "How do you spell that?"

(For those that may be interested, I wrote an Amanuensis Monday post earlier this year in which I transcribed a World War I [circa April 1919] postcard from Murl, Sr. to his mother.)
__________
1Murl Meaning. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.ourbabynamer.com/meaning-of-Murl.html.
2Murl Name Popularity. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.ourbabynamer.com/Murl-name-popularity.html.
31900 U.S. Census, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, population schedule, Cooks Cross Roads, enumeration district (ED) 0016, p. 8A (handwritten), dwelling -, family 134; Mearl [sic] S. Litaker; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 April 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 1185.
41910 U.S. Census, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, population schedule, Township 4, enumeration district (ED) 0038, p. 22B (handwritten), dwelling -, family 111; Mirl [sic] Litaker; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 April 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 1100.
5"U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com, : accessed 12 April 2015); Cabarrus County, North Carolina, Township 4, Muerl [sic] S. Litaker entry, dated 05 June 1917.
61920 U.S. Census, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, population schedule, Cooks Cross, enumeration district (ED) 44, p. 6A (handwritten), dwelling Fm., family 97; Merl [sic] Litake [sic]; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 April 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 1288.
7Merle [sic] Sanders Litaker, Jr.; from " North Carolina, Birth Indexes, 1800-2000" database online, Ancestry.com (http://interactive.ancestry.com/8783/NCVR_B_C016_66001-0256/1243211 : accessed 12 April 2015), imaged from Register of Deeds, North Carolina Birth Indexes; citing "North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh."


©Amy Wood Kelly, 2015 - I am happy to share my genealogical research and writing with others, as well as to help others with their research efforts.  However, please do not reprint this post in full or in part or use excerpts from this post without giving full credit to me, Amy Wood Kelly, as the researcher and author as well as providing the permalink to this post.  Thank you, in advance, for showing respect for my request and the work I put into creating this post.