Another Great-Grandmother Mystery

M is for Martha Jones, one of my paternal great grandmothers. 

I've not done much research on my great grandmother of late. This was the very first post I did on my great grandmother back in 2009. 

Another Great-Grandmother Mystery

Just like my great-grandmother Fannie on my maternal side, one of my great grandmother’s on my paternal side has haunted me for years.

She’s the one that seems to push me the most amongst my North Carolina ancestors and yet she’s the one I know the least about. She’s the one that I always felt like was denied her rightful place amongst the ancestors, and that’s it always been up to me to tell the world about her.

Unlike like my maternal side, very few stories or information about the ancestors were handed down on my paternal side. So it’s been dogged determination with the few snippets I did get that have allowed me to even get a small glimpse of her.

And so here is what I knew when I begin this search

1. My aunt, Martha Edith Jones, was named after both of her grandmothers.
2. My dad always said that Mary Williams, who he and my aunts and uncles called grandmother wasn’t really my granddad’s Mom. Dad always suspected that Mary Williams was my granddad’s aunt.
3. On occasion, dad mentions that he thinks granddad had some siblings.

What I know and have discovered through the years

1. On my grandparents’ marriage license, granddad lists his mother as Martha and she was still living when my grandparents were married (Dec. 27 1914).
2. On the 1900 census, Hamilton, Martin, North Carolina, there are three families listed for dwelling, 110.

• Family 121, General Williams and his wife, Mary E.


• Family 122, Je* Williams (female), age 70, is listed as head. With her is Joseph Williams, age 16, listed as her son and Clansy Jones, boarder, and Leter Jones, boarder.


• Family 123, Martha Jones, head

3. I’m fairly confident in stating that (1) this is the Mary E Williams that reared my granddad (granddad’s death certificate list General Williams as his father and Mary Elizabeth Jones as his mother. My grandmother was the informant on granddad’s death certificate), (2) Clansy is my granddad, Claudius, and (3) the Martha listed is my great-grandmother.

And now, the headaches, frustrations and questions

1. Where were Mary and Martha between 1880 and 1900? Based on the 1900 census, Mary was been born abt. 1872 and Martha was born abt. 1877. To date, I’ve not been able to locate either of them on the 1880 census. I've also never been able to locate them or granddad on the 1910 census.
2. What happened to my great-grandmother after 1914? I’ve not located her on the 1920 or 1930 census. Did she marry?
3. Who is Leter Jones? Is it possible that my grandfather had a twin? On the 1900 census both are listed as being born in 1892 with granddad being born in July and Leter being born in August.

Madness Monday – Looking for Ewell Slave Owners

What They Say

They say you shouldn’t try to find more than one slave owner at the same time. They say you should follow one line through to completion. They say. Who is this they? And why do I have to follow what They say?

Conventional Thought - Not

There is nothing conventional about African-American Genealogy. I should follow the rules THEY hand out, but both my ancestors and I say screw it. So it’s that attitude that says, yes, I will follow both my Ewell ancestors and my Pierce Ancestor,  Georgia Black Crackers at the same time into slavery.

They don’t realize that my Georgia Ancestors and my North Carolina Ancestors seem to feed off of each other. By researching in two different states, I get ideas from one to facilitate the research of the other and vice versa.

Slam Dunk – I don’t think so

As I’ve matured in my genealogical research, I’ve learned that there is often no rhyme or reason in trying to determine the last slave owner. I learned early on, through reading Black Southerners 1619 – 1869 by John B. Boles that what history had always taught us, that former slaves always took the last owners name, simply was not true. Sometimes, a family’s surname is a clue, especially if former slaves were within a given family throughout slavery, but often times the surname is not a clue at all. Could this possibly be the case with my Ewell ancestors?

1870

In 1870, in Martin County, NC, there were all of 27 people with the surname Ewell. My family accounts for 18.5% of those Ewells. The majority of the Ewells are Black. However, there is no cluster of Black Ewells around a White Ewell. In fact, the Black Ewells are not even clustered around each other. And interestingly enough, it rather seems to be that way with the Black families of Martin County regardless of surname.

Although there is no clustering, the possibility still exists that my Ewell family might have been owned by a Ewell, so I will still check the 1860 slave schedule for slave owners with the last name Ewell.

More so than with my maternal Pierce ancestors, I canvassed the neighborhood looking for someone with enough wealth that may point toward them being a former slave owner. By doing this, I’ve come up with 13 candidates. These candidates will be evaluated in future posts.

Might My Ewell Ancestors Have Been Free?

I first check the 1860 census to determine if there were any free persons of color with the Ewell Surname. In 1860, there are very few White Ewells in Martin County or North Carolina for that matter and no Black Ewells are enumerated.

Ewell Slave Owners

The 1860 slave schedule for Martin County, North Carolina, indicates there were two slave owners with the surname Ewell.

Comparing their slaves against Grandpa Isaac and Grandma Penny’s 1870 enumeration and assuming that both of my 2nd great grandparents were owned by the same person, neither listing provides a good match. J. M. Ewell’s slave holdings show a female that could possibly be Grandma Penny but no male that might be Grandpa Isaac. J. L.’s Ewell’s holdings are just the opposite.

I do wonder if these two Ewell owners might be related. Could it be possible that one owned Grandpa Isaac and the other owned Grandma Penny? Should I do further exploration with these two Ewells, first, or should I finish my evaluation of the other candidates?

To be Continued

Madness Monday

Following the high of Thursday, I have to report that I've not heard back from Isabella. What's even more frustrating is that after the initial contact, I saw where she saved more information from my tree, including pictures, to her "private" tree. This certainly creates a dilemma now doesn't it.

There is the side of me that wants to keep my tree public because I have had some good experiences. After all I did meet two almost cousins (we share a branch of our trees) on my maternal side, and mom and I have even been invited to go on their family reunion cruise next year. We've even shared pictures of  our common line and both of us have had contact with newly found cousins from the shared line. And thus it's the mutual sharing of information that says leave it public.

But then there is the other side of me that thinks I should tightly guard everything for a host a reasons.

Decisions, decisions.

Geneafamily, what's your thoughts?

Until next time!