"Strong Woman" - Margaret Ida Spain Briggs Henderson

My paternal second great-grandmother, Margaret Ida Spain Briggs, was born to William Thomas Whitaker Briggs, M.D., and Ida Margaret Susan Spain Briggs on 14 March 1863 at Cypress Plantation in Clarendon County, South Carolina.  The 21 July 1870 United States census records seven-year-old Ida living in St. Paul, Clarendon, South Carolina, with her parents and six older siblings - Thomas, Jr., William, Abram, Hartwell, Albertus, Ashley, and Edward.

How I descend from Ida.  My father and I follow afterElizabeth (Betty) Lee Henderson.

My extensive research of Ida paints the picture of a strong and independent woman, especially given the time during which she lived.  On 5 June 1880, 17-year-old Ida was single and “at school” in Charleston, and she was living as a boarder at the Confederate Widows and Orphans Home at 62 Broad Street, which also served as a women’s college.  It was unusual for women to go to college in the late 1800s, and I find it indicative of strong character that Ida chose to pursue her education in a bustling city away from her family.  By the time she married, she already had a career as a teacher (“School, District No. 10.” The Manning Times, 2 Feb. 1887, p. 2.) and had begun establishing her career as a journalist.  Page 3 of the 29 Sep 1886 edition of The Manning (SC) Times indicates that she had recently returned from accompanying the Press Association party to Washington, D.C.  There is also a 17 Jun 1884 account of Miss Ida Briggs of Manning visiting friends in Sumter the previous week.  Single women traveling alone was a fairly uncommon occurrence in the late 1800s, so I believe it shows her sense of adventure and independence.

According to page two of the 26 October 1886 edition of The Watchman and Southron (Sumter, South Carolina) newspaper, Mr. James Rutledge Henderson of Spartanburg, South Carolina, married Ida - “one of the most charming ladies of Clarendon” - at the Presbyterian church near “the Briggs mansion” in Clarendon County on 20 October 1886.

On 9 June 1900, the United States census records Ida living in Spartanburg Township, Ward 4, Spartanburg County, South Carolina, with her husband and five children - Louis, Russell, Margaret, James, and Thomas.  Being a mother seemed not to slow her down too much, as is shown on page three of the 04 June 1902 edition of The Manning Times which records “Mrs. J. R. Henderson, Mrs. W. T. Briggs and Miss Ida Briggs left for Hendersonville, N. C., where they will keep a boarding house.”

On 15 April 1910, the United States census for District 0105 of Ward 4, Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, shows James and Ida living on West Trade Street in Charlotte with their children, Louis, Russell, Margaret, James, Jr., Thomas, and Louise.  A 1912 Charlotte city directory records James and Ida living at 1007 W 5th.

On  4 June 1916, The Charlotte Observer published two articles, taking up almost an entire page (p. 4) by Ida Briggs Henderson.  The first was entitled “Memories of the Old South;” and the title of the second one was “Plantation Tales.”  “Memories of the Old South” seems to have become a somewhat regular column.  Later that same year, on 22 November, the same newspaper published an article stating, “The drama now under way, to be presented at the Academy on the 14th of December is the work of two Charlotte playwrights, Ida Briggs Henderson and Edward Lansing Cowles, whose collaboration is particularly fortunate because of the extensive knowledge of southern lore and negro dialect possessed by Mrs. Henderson., and the comprehensive technical knowledge of the construction of the drama and stage-craft of Mr. Cowles, aided by the expressive pen of both playwrights.”  The name of the play was “Petwen The Lines.”  On 29 April 1917, The Charlotte Observer published (p. 23) another “Memories of the Old South” column by Mrs. Ida Briggs Henderson.

A 1920 Charlotte city directory shows Mr. and Mrs. Henderson living at 120 E. Morehead in Charlotte.  The United States census for that year, taken on January 15 for Charlotte Township, shows the couple living on West Trade Street in Charlotte with their children, James, Thomas, and Ida.  It seems they moved at some point between the times of the census and city directory or vice versa.

In 1927, the Charlotte city directory lists James and Ida Henderson living at 1007 West 5th Street.  The following year, Ida’s husband died in a hotel fire in Shelby, North Carolina, on the 23rd of February.  The 1930 and 1931 Charlotte city directories show her widowed and living at 2309 Charlotte Drive, the home of her youngest child, Ida Louise Henderson Ingram.

On the evening of 21 March 1938, Mrs. Margaret Ida Spain Briggs Henderson, age 75, passed away at her Louise’s home.  The 22 March 1938 editions of the Asheville Citizens-Times, The Daily Times-News (Burlington, North Carolina), and The Greensboro Record, note her involvement in strong Daughters of the American Revolution (National # 13020, Chapter: SC, Patriots: John Chambers and William Henry) and American War Mothers, as well as highlight her career as a magazine and newspaper writer.

Following a 3:00 PM memorial service on 22 March 1938, Mrs. Henderson’s family laid her to rest in the historic Elmwood Cemetery in Charlotte.

Twenty-nine of Ida Briggs Henderson’s publications can be found online at North Carolina Periodicals Index, and many more are available in online and microfiche newspapers.

©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 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.

"Where There's a Will" - Transcription of Levin Woollen's Last Will and Testament

How I descend from Levin Woollen. My father and I follow after Betty
Henderson Wood in the lineage shown above.

Levin (a.k.a., Leven, Leavin, and Leaven) Woollen was born in 1744 in Dorchester County, Maryland.  Various records show him living in Maryland up until the time of the 1800 United States Census for Dorchester County, Maryland.  By the time of the enumeration of the 1810 United States Census, Levin had moved about 400 miles southwest of Dorchester County and was residing in Rockingham County, North Carolina.  On 07 August 1820, the United States Census recorded him as living in Guilford County, North Carolina.  Then, on 14 February 1832, Mr. Woollen filed his last will and testament, as follows, with the Guilford County, North Carolina, Clerk of Court.

Last Will and Testament of Leven (sic) Woollen.

Transcription of Levin Woollen's Last Will and Testament

File # 0673

467.

In the Name of God Amen.  I Leven Woollen of the County of Guilford & State of North Carolina, Considering the uncertainty of life being of sound mind & (illegible) Memory.  Do Ordain & disclose this to be my last Will & Testament revoking all others.

Item 1.  I give & bequeath to my beloved wife Rebecca Woollen Our bed & furniture her natural lifetime.

Item 2.  I give & bequeath to my son William B. Woollen all my land which I may disposed & pop??ed of by his paying Five Dollars to each of the rest of the legates that is to say my son Levin Woollen, to my daughter Nancy Woollen, & To. my son Edward Woollen, to my son Benjamin Ellis Woollen, & to my son Charles W. Woollen.

Item 3.  I give and bequeath to my son Benjamin Ellis Woollen, one bed and its common furniture.

Item 4.  My Will is the remaining part of my property not otherwise disposed of to be sold and Equally divided Betwixt my son Leven Woollen, Nancy Woollen, Edward, William, Barns (sic), Benjamin Ellis, of Charles Wesley Woollen.

Item 5.  I do hereby Constitute Ordain, and appoint John A. Smith my executor to this my last Will & Testament.  Duly Executed, I do hereby Confirm the same in the presence of God, and here unto set my hand & Seal After Minute deliberation,

Signed Sealed & delivered in presence of us

this (illegible) 14th day of February in the year of} Leven Woollen {Seal}

our Lord 1832

Martin Weatherby}

Green (his X mark) Gordon} durant?

State of North Carolina

Guilford County} November Term 1832

The Execution of the the within Will was duly proven

in Open Court by the Oathes of Marin Weatherby & Green Gordon

Laboring(?) Witnesses Hereto.

Ordered to be Recorded

Then carrier(?) into Open Court.  John A. Smith Esquire Executor

appointed in said Will of qualified as such Accordingly.

Test(?)

A. E. Hanner(?) c/c


©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 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.

"Heirloom" - The Wood Family Watch

When my dad turned 21 in the mid-1960s, he inherited an heirloom watch from his father.

Dad wrote to his father asking about the watch's history; and my grandfather, John "Johnny" Egbert Wood (02 November 1919 - 29 December 1996), responded with the letter shown below.  The people mentioned in Johnny's letter are:

• My father, the addressee, "Son"
• My paternal grandfather, John "Johnny" Egbert Wood (1919-1996), letter writer
• My paternal great-grandmother, Susan "Susie" Bowers Wood (1860-1933), referred to as "Mother."
• My paternal great-grandfather, Albert Houston Wood, Sr. (1880-1967), referred to as "Daddy."
• My paternal great-great-grandmother, Susan Elizabeth Ford Bowers (1825-1901), mother of Susie Bowers who is shown above.
• Catherine Montye Foster Wood (1883-1965), wife of Albert Houston Wood, Sr. and my grandfather's mother.
• David Trousdale Foster (1880-1949), brother of Montye Foster Wood and Johnny's maternal uncle.

To further aid in understanding the context of the letter, here is a visual representation of the direct line lineage discussed in the letter:

Shown above the line of descent from my paternal great-grandmother to
my paternal grandfather. My father and I follow below Johnny in this lineage.

Page 1 of Johnny's original letter.

Page 2 of Johnny's original letter.

Transcription of the two-page letter shown in the above two photos.

In addition to the information in this letter, my dad shared with me that he had ascertained that the watch was made about 1903, as my grandfather had guessed.  Dad had to replace the casing of the watch, due to beyond-repair breakage, in the mid- to late-1980s.  The original watch case was circular, and he said it showed off the watch face much better than the current casing.  Also, the watch used to have a gold expansion band.  Dad replaced the expansion band with the leather one pictured after the gold band wore out in the 1980s.  The watch's crown (i.e., winder) has a stone set in it.

This heirloom turns 115 years old this year, and it's still worn almost daily and keeps on ticking.  What a wonderful treasure to have in the family!

Bibliography

• “Old Gold.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Feb. 2018.
• “Elgin National Watch Company.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Feb. 2018.

This blog post is part of +Amy Johnson Crow's 2018 #52Ancestors Challenge, as well as a #TreasureChestThursday post.

©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 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.

"Favorite Name" - Marie Rosalie Seraphina Toups

I have found so many names in my family tree that I could call "favorites" for a variety of reasons.  For this post, I decided to choose a name that I like based solely on the name itself - Marie Rosalie Seraphina Toups.  She is my maternal third great-grandmother.  I particularly like the Seraphina part of her name, as well as that her given and middle names reflect her maternal French heritage.

My mother and I follow after Andrew Pampas
in the above lineage.

Name Information

• Marie is a common French variant of the ancient names Mary and Maria. Its meaning is not clearly defined.
• Rosalie is a French form of Italian and Late Roman name Rosalia.  As one would expect, it means "rose."
• Seraphina is the feminine form of the Late Latin name Seraphinus and is typically spelled as "Séraphina" in French.  The name is derived from the Hebrew word "שרפים" "(anglicized as "seraphim"), which means "burning ones" and is used to identify the angels surrounding the throne of God in the Bible.
• Toups was derived from the surname Dubs and came into its current form in the late 1600s to early 1700s.  Rosalie's paternal ancestors who had this surname lived in Switzerland, except for her third great-grandfather who lived in Germany, before emigrating to Louisiana circa 1724.  The Toups were some of Louisiana's earliest settlers, starting with Casper Dubs/Toups originally of Zurich, Switzerland.(1)

Timeline

• 22 January 1841 - Rosalie, which is the name by which she was called, was born in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana(2), to Drauzin (a.k.a., Drausin) Joseph Toups (Abt. 1812 - Aft. 22 Jun 1880) and Marie Eulalie Stevens (a.k.a., Istiben, Estiben, Estiven, Estievenne, and other variations) Toups (1818 - Aft. 22 Jun 1880).
• 1 August 1850 - She lived with her parents, two older siblings, and two younger siblings in Grand Couteau, Lafource, Louisiana.(3)
• 23 July 1859 - Rosalie married Marcelin (a.k.a., Marcellin) Stevens (a.k.a., Stephens, Estievens, and other variations) in Lafourche Parish.(4)
• 27 July 1860 - The new Mrs. Stevens and her husband lived in Ward 1, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana (Post Office: Thibodaux).(5)
• 01 June 1870 - Rosalie resided with her husband and their four children in Thibodaux, Lafourche, Louisiana.(6)
• 22 June 1880 - The U.S. Census shows Rosalie as widowed and living with her six children at Ellician Toups Plantation(7)(8)(9), now known as Ariel Plantation(10), located about "nine miles below Thibodaux," in the 5th Ward of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.

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

Bibliography

1. Deiler, John Hanno. The Settlement of the German Coast of Louisiana and the Creoles of German Descent. vol. 8, American Germanica Press, 1909. pp. 31, 77, 82, 83, 95, 103, 124.
2. Toups, Neil J. The Toups Clan and How It All Began. Neilson, 1969. p. 98.
3. "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCJW-1MC : 12 April 2016), Rosala Toups in household of Dransin Toups, Grand Coteau, Lafourche, Louisiana, United States; citing family 37, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
4. Toups, Neil J. The Toups Clan and How It All Began. Neilson, 1969. p. 98.
5. "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFPD-WLW : 12 December 2017), Rosela Stevens in entry for Marcellin Stevens, 1860.
6. "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M87Q-Z2V : 12 April 2016), Rolelia Stephens in household of Marcelin Stephens, Louisiana, United States; citing p. 7, family 47, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 552,015.
7. Louisiana Sugar Planters' Association, Lousiana Sugar Chemists' Association, American Cane Growers' Association. The Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer. vol. 1, Lousiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer Company, 1888. p. 198.
8. "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MD6T-1R9 : 15 August 2017), Rosalie Eliza Esteven, 5th Ward, Lafourche, Louisiana, United States; citing enumeration district ED 131, sheet 641C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0455; FHL microfilm 1,254,455.
9. Louisiana Sugar Planters' Association, Lousiana Sugar Chemists' Association, American Cane Growers' Association. The Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer. vol. 15, Lousiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer Company, 1895. p. 198.
10. French, Benjamin Franklin, and Joh Gilmary Shea. Biographical and Historical Memories of Louisiana. Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1892. pp. 424-425.

©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 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.

"Invite to Dinner" - Family Recipes

For this post based on the "Invite to Dinner" prompt, I'm sharing a few recipes that have been passed along in my family and are perennial favorites.

My paternal grandfather, John "Johnny" Egbert Wood, made this delicious caramel cake
whenever we visited.  It was always one of the highlights of our times together.

This side dish has been a staple at my family's holiday dinners for many years.
(We went through an egg substitute phase, but now we just use a regular egg.)

My mom makes excellent bread dressing, and this is her recipe.  Her father,
Andrew Joseph Pampas, Jr., was from New Orleans and would always add
oysters (before cooking) to the dressing he made.

This casserole has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember.
It's delicious right out of the over or as leftovers.  Mom is more
ambitious than I am with the chicken.☺  I use chopped rotisserie chicken.

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

©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 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.

Transcription of the Last Will and Testament of John "The Clothier" Wood

John "The Clothier" Wood is my paternal 12th great-grandfather.  I previously posted about him in relation to his occupation. Recently, I've been researching him more extensively, and I wanted to share a transcription of his last will and testament (which I found here).

"John Wood of Dedham, Essex, clothier, 8 March 19th Elizabeth, proved 2 April 1577.  To eldest son Richard my tenement and grounds called Stevens in Dedham and twenty acres called Dawes and Bromeleye in Lawford, Essex.  My houses and lands in Carsey and Lynseye, Suffolk, both free and copy, to be sold within four years and the money divided between my two sons Henry and George Woodd, part and part alike, to be paid at their several ages of twenty and five years.  To wife Mary my tenement called Pidgewells, with all the grounds, being about ten acres, in Dedham, and all my lands called Foexes Pigtells in Lawford, an acre of free hold meadows in Stratford, holden of Sir John Syllyard, and one free meadow in Stratford, holden of the Earl of Oxenford and three Roodes of free meadow holden of Stratford Hall and one acre of copyhold meadows in Stratford holden of the said Sir John Sylliard, to have and to hold the above-said premisses during the time of her natural life; and after that to my son Robert, provided that if my said son Robert at the death of his mother be not then of the full age of twenty and five years, the above premises to be let and the rent &c. to be equally divided betwixt all the rest of my children then living until the said Robert do accomplish his said age.  And, if Robert die before that then these lands &c. shall be and remain unto my son John.  To my son John my farm house &c. with lands &c. in Starthford in the Co. of Hertford, he to enter at twenty-five.  If Richard died before my son Henry shall have all the said lands &c. next my son George.  To wife Mary my little meadow called Crab tree meadow in Stratford, Suffolk, for life, paying to the churchwardens of Dedham for the poor there twenty shillings at two several terms in the year.  After her decease the Governors of the Free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth in Dedham shall have the meadow for ever, paying yearly the said twenty shillings &c.  To daughter Mary my warehouse or salt house in Harwich (at twenty one), remainder to daughter Frances.  To the latter ten pounds at twenty one.  If my said son Richard shall go about to trouble or otherwise deal with Mary my wife and Henry Sherman, my only executors, to the intent that this is my last will and testament cannot nor may not take effect then I will that the said Richard shall take no benefit of any of my lands &c. unto him bequeathed.  And the said Richard shall suffer my wife to carry away all such goods &c. as I have given unto her.  To my brother Thomas Wood ten shillings.  My wife May and my cousins Henry Sherman the younger of Dedham, over and besides his ordinary charges about this my last will &c. I give three pounds.  I make John Lucas of Manyngtree my supervisor, bequeathing him twenty shillings.  Among the witnesses was Henry Sherman the elder (by mark)."

©Amy Wood Kelly, 2017 - 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.

Transcription of the 02 Oct 1872 Last Will and Testament of Mathias John Winecoff, Jr. (1805-1876), My Maternal 4th Great-Grandfather

Transcription of Mathias John Winecoff Jr.'s Last Will and Testament

I Mathias Winecoff of the County of Cabarrus and state of North Carolina being of sound mind and memory and being aware of the uncertainty of life do make my last will and testament as follows viz:

Item 1^st I wish my executors herein after appointed to pay all my just debts.

Item 2^nd I devise and bequeath to my beloved wife Elizabeth one hundred acres of land including my dwelling and outhouses.  The miles and bounds to be selected by her to have and to hold so long as she remains my widow.  I further give and bequeath to my wife all the household and kitchen furniture which she owned previous to our marriage and all the personal property of every kind which she had before our marriage.  I further give and bequeath to my wife one years support (not to exceed the allowance made by law) and three hundred dollars in cash.

Item 3. I devise and bequeath to my son M. H. Winecoff the parcel or tract of land on which he now lives containing one hundred and two acres.  The miles and bounds of which are marked to have and to hold to him and his heirs forever.

Item 4^th I devise that my executors shall sell the balance of my personal property not given to my widow and I devise and bequeath to my grand child Josephine Winecoff five hundred dollars in cash to be paid to my executors and I devise and bequeath to my grand son Joseph N. Winecoff five hundred dollars in cash provided the settlement which I have made of his father’s estate as administrator shall not be interfered with.  I mean by this bequest to Joseph N. Winecoff that as I was Administrator of his father’s estate and the guardian of said Joseph during the war and owing to the troubles and difficulties the became mixed up with Confederate money and liner the war some of the notes have become worthlys and on the 20^th Sept 1871 I charged myself in the return as his guardian with the sum of two hundred and eighty  four 69/100 dollars in good money.  Now if said settlement and return shall stand and if myself or my executors shall not be held to account for any greater sum than two hundred and eight four 69/100 dollars due said Joseph on the 20 Sept 1871.  Then I desire that he the said Joseph shall have five hundred dollars in addition there to from my estate but if any greater sum than two hundred and eighty-four 69/100 shall be claimed on account of my said guardianship then it is my will and desire that that the said Joseph N. Winecoff shall have nothing whatever from my estate.

Item 5^th I devise and bequeath to my children  M. H. Margaret I. Sarah Ann. Harriet M. Layton M. and Jane Elizabeth. the balance of all my real and personal estate to be divided equally between them and in order that the division may be equal it is my will that my son M. H. shall account for the value of the tract of land which I have given him above but in the account he is not to be charged with the value of any improvements he may put on said land.

Item 6^th If my wife shall marry then it is my will and desire that the real estate which I have desired to her in the 2^nd Item shall be divided equally between my children mentioned in the 5^th Item, and if she never marries then at her death the said real estate shall be divided equally among my children mentioned in said 5^th Item.

Item 7^th I constitute and appoint my M. H. and L. M. Winecoff my executors to execute and carry out this my last will and testament.  This 2^nd day of October 1872.

Mathias Winecoff (seal)

Signed and sealed and published as the last will and testament of Mathias Winecoff in our presence and at his request and in his presence he have subscribed our names as witness thereto.

Joseph Louny(?)

J. N. Brown(?)

 Mathias Winecoff Last Will and Testament - page 1 -
North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 on Ancestry.com

 Mathias Winecoff Last Will and Testament - page 2 -
North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 on Ancestry.com

 Mathias Winecoff Last Will and Testament - page 3 -
North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 on Ancestry.com

Depiction of How I Descend from Mathias John Winecoff, Jr. (Note: Below Murl, Sr.,
the pedigree chart would show my maternal grandmother, my mother, and me (all living).)

©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.

Charles Edward "Ed" Ashby (1887-1930), 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 20, "Black Sheep"

 Week 20's theme for +Amy Johnson Crow and NoStoryTooSmall.com's 52 Ancestors in 52 Week is "Black Sheep."  As one pursues building a family tree, it does not take long for the so-called black sheep to start appearing throughout one's tree.  My tree, like everyone else's, has its fair share of such individuals.  For this post, I have chosen to write about my maternal second great grand uncle, Ed Ashby, who was a violent individual.

Relationship between Ed Ashby and me.  My grandmother and mother,
both living, and I would be listed after Murl Sanders Litaker, Sr.

James Ashby and Angeline Thomas Poteet Ashby of North Carolina welcomed a son, Charles Edward "Ed" Ashby, in June 1887.1  (Note: I wrote a post about Angeline's father, Thomas Jefferson Poteet, Jr., in early February of this year.)  The first record available for Ed is the 1900 U.S. Census in which he is residing in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, with his parents, four siblings, and two servants.2

He next appears at age 15 in a 03 April 1903 article entitled, "Boy Shoots His Father."3 According to the article, James "Jim" Ashby, the father, was punishing his daughter for not getting up early enough that morning, and Ed intervened in an attempt to protect his sister from their father.  At some point, the interaction escalated, James threatened to kill Ed, and Ed "sent a load shot into his father's abdomen."4  An article from the 08 April 1903 Concord Times indicates that, just before James died on 04 April 1903, he expressed that his son was justified in killing him.5  The article goes on to say that it is the general impression that this is "a case of justifiable homicide."6  Another 08 April 1903 article from the Charlotte Observer indicated that the jury deliberated for less than an hour before coming back with a not guilty verdict in the case against Ed Ashby.7

On 16 June 1907, Ed committed murder a second time.  This time, he killed his brother-in-law, Daniel "Dan" S. Overcash, for allegedly having an intimate relationship with his neighbor's wife, Mrs. Reece Pethel.8  After 13½ hours of debate, the jury convicted him on 31 August 1907 of second degree murder and perjury and then sentenced him to ten years in the North Carolina state penitentiary in Raleigh.9

To date, I have not been able to find any type of death record for Ed Ashby.  In the 1930 U.S. Federal Census taken in Kannapolis, North Carolina, on 04 April 1930, his wife, Margaret (a.k.a., "Maggie) Overcash (née Pethel), is recorded as being widowed.10  Based on records found thus far, I must make the assumption that he died prior to the aforementioned 1930 census date.



     1  James A. Ashby household, 1900 U.S. census, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, population schedule, township No. 4 Cooks Cross Roads, enumeration district [ED] 0016, sheet 9B, family 159; National Archives micro publication T623, roll 1185.
     2  1900 U.S. census, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, population schedule, No. 4 Cooks Cross Roads, ED 0016, sheet 9B, family 159.
     3  "Boy Shoots His Father," the Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.), 03 April 1903, transcription; GenealogyBank (http://www.GenealogyBank.com : online search, 23 May 2015), Newspaper Archives collection.
     4  "Boy Shoots His Father," the Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.), 03 April 1903.
     5  "James Ashby Killed by His Son," the Concord Times (Concord, N.C.), 08 April 1903, transcription; Ancestry.com (http://www.Ancestry.com : online search, 24 May 2015.
     6  "James Asby Killed by His Son," the Concord Times (Concord, N.C.), 08 April 1903.
     7 "Ed. Ashby Not Guilty," the Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.), 08 April 1903, transcription; GenealogyBank (http://www.GenealogyBank.com : online search 25 May 2015, Newspaper Archives collection.
     8 "Ed Ashby Kills Dan Overcash," Greensboro Record (Greensboro, NC), 17 June 1907, transcription, GenealogyBank ((http://www.GenealogyBank.com : online search 26 May 2015, Newspaper Archives collection.
     9 "Murder in Second Degree. Ten Years Given Ed Ashby,” the Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.), 01 September 1907, transcription, GenealogyBank ((http://www.GenealogyBank.com : online search 26 May 2015, Newspaper Archives collection.
     10 Margaret Ashby household, 1930 U.S. census, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, population schedule, township No. 4 unincorporated Kannapolis town, enumeration district [ED] 0009, sheet 6A,   family 98; National Archives micro publication T626, roll 1677.


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