52 Ancestors Week 26-Who's Taking Up My Time?

 Since we are Halfway through the year for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2015 Edition, a blog prompt series by Amy Johnson Crow, I decided to share information on some of my family lines that I have been researching since the early 1980's.
 Amy asks in this week's prompt:
 " What ancestor takes up half of your research time?"

These South Carolina (and a couple of North Carolina) families take up all of mine~

   John McSwain Hudson (1880-1961) married 1st. Louvinia Blanche Thames (1886-1918) and 2nd her sister Margaret Anne Thames (1875-1960). They lived in Clarendon County.      
   John's parents were Ezra Ashby Hudson (1821-1882) and Sarah Rebecca (Smith) Flemming Hudson (1835-1916). Ezra and Sarah lived in Darlington and Florence Counties.  
 Blanche and Annie were the daughter's of Benjamin Thomas Thames (1854-1931) and Margaret Francis (Gibson) Thames (1854-1929), also from Clarendon County.

Thames Sisters
Left- Louvinia Blanche Thames (1886-1918)
Right-Margaret Anne Thames (1875-1960)
©Cheri Hudson Passey

   Jubal Ransom Early (1888-1964) was born in Statesville, North Carolina. Moving to South Carolina, he married Emma Ruth Baker Early (1901-1993). They made their home in Richland County. 
 Jubal's parents were Ransom Taylor Early (1829-1888) and Ellen Caroline (Martin) Early (1850-1926) from Statesburg, North Carolina. 
  Ruth grew up in Sumter County and was the daughter of Arthur Wellington Baker (1857-1940) and Martha "Mattie" Victoria (Bradford) Baker (1862-1947). 

Arthur Wellington Baker (1857-1940)
1911
©Cheri Hudson Passey

William Treadford Roberts (1894-1959) was the son of George Phillip Roberts (1856-1930)  and Hattie (Brazell) Roberts (1870-1927).  Both the Roberts and Brazell families  
lived in Richland County for many generations.  
  William married Beulah Mae Price in 1914.  She was the daughter of Bertran Campbell Price (1876-after 1922) and Elizabeth "Bessie" Mae (Eargle) Price (1878-1943).
 The Eargle and Price families were from Aiken and Edgefield Counties. 

George Phillip Roberts and Hattie (Brazell) Roberts family
About 1907
©Cheri Hudson Passey

   Manning David Daughrity, Jr. (1889-1931) married Loretta "Etta" McManus (1894-1936) in Sumter County in 1912. He was the son of Manning David Dority, Sr.(1844-1918) and Mary Elizabeth (Stafford) Dority (1843-1930).

  Family stories say the name Dority was changed to Daughrity by David, Jr. 

  Etta was the daughter of William A. McManus (1854-1914) and Frances "Fanny" Virgina (McRady) McManus (1856-1903). 

These families all have roots in the Sumter County area. 

Mary Elizabeth Stafford (1843-1930)
Sitting in chair
 Sons and grandchildren enjoying time on the porch
©Cheri Hudson Passey

  Francis "Frank" Emerson Sullivan, Sr. (1880-1925) was a soldier who served in WWI and was assigned to  Camp Jackson, South Carolina after the war. Conflicting information has his birth place as Pensylvania or Indiana.
 He married Mary Christine Williams (1896-1930) in Camden, Kershaw County in 1921. Frank's parents are unknown. 
 Christine was the daughter of James Lewis Williams (1873-1937) and Lizzie (Pettigrew) Williams of Kershaw County. Lizzie's birth and death are unknown, but she most likely died between 1895-1900. 

Francis "Frank" Emerson Sullivan. Sr. (1880-1925)
Headstone
Quaker Cemetery, Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina
©Cheri Hudson Passey

  Many years of research have provided this and much more on these families. It has also produced many questions still needing answers. 

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!

This Week On My Family Calendar

Sept. 22-Sept. 28

Sept. 24
 Manning David Daughrity, Sr., my 2nd Maternal Great- Grandfather, would be 169 years old . He was born in Sumter County, SC in 1844.

Sept. 27
 The 137th anniversary of the death of my Paternal 3rd Great-Grandmother. Matilda C. Martin died in Statesville, Iredell, NC. in 1876.

©Cheri Hudson Passey

National Volunteer Week-Thanks Find a Grave Volunteers!

   In a post from Jen Baldwin at Ancestral Breezes  I learned that it was National Volunteer Week. Jen suggested that we remember to thank those that have helped us on our genealogy journey.

 I want to thank all the many who volunteer at Find A Grave.  For those who may not be familiar with the site, Findagrave.com is a virtual cemetery where volunteers collect and add information from cemeteries from around the world.
 It is a free site and easy to search.

 In the last few months I have been the recipient of  some of the fine work that these volunteers do.

 I was able to find out where my Third Great Grandparents, William A. and Matilda Martin were buried from a volunteer who photographed and made memorial pages for those buried in Bethesda Presbyterian Cemetery, Statesville, Iredell County, NC.
  All I had was a clue that they may have been buried in Statesville, NC.
 A search on Find A Grave led me right to them.
 Now I not only have where my Marin's are buried but where several other of the family members are buried  as well, including their daughter, my Great Great Grandmother Ellen Caroline Martin Early.
 The only information I had on Ellen Caroline Martin Early was that " it was thought that burial would take place in Statesville".
From the burials recorded on Find A Grave from this cemetery I learned that my Great Grandfather, Jubal Ransom Early, had been married before he married my Great Grandmother, Emma Ruth Baker, and had at least one child from that marriage.

Find A Grave Memorial
William A. Martin
1813-1887
Bethesda Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Statesville, Iredell, NC

 The Memorial pages for this family and Memorials for other family lines I have found on this great website were graciously transferred over to me by those that had been maintaining them.
 I have made Memorial Pages for my family members who did not have one. In doing so I have come across wonderful photo volunteers.
 I now have pictures of many headstones that I did not have before.

One volunteer even was brave enough to patiently explain the importance of photographing headstones to a family who owned property where some of my family are buried. I have heard others have tried to get onto the private property that the Dargan Family Cemetery is on.Several have been told they could not have entrance in order to take pictures of the remaining headstones. I don't know what this particular volunteer did or what changed, but he was able to get the owners to let him gain access to the small cemetery. The photo's are now added to the Memorials on Find A Grave!

William Vaughn 1764-1857
Dargan Family Cemetery, Sumter, SC
Picture Courtesy Michael Dillingham,  FAG

 I have many similar stories of great volunteers who have helped me on Find A Grave.  From traveling many miles, taking pictures, transferring Memorials, photographing and making Memorials for whole cemeteries, to checking the cemetery office for me for available records, these are incredible people who are a true help to those of us who can't always travel to where our ancestors are buried.

  Now I want to pay if forward. I have signed up on Find A Grave to be a volunteer photographer for the cemeteries in my community.

 Thanks so much Find A Grave Volunteers and thanks Jen for making me aware of National Volunteer Month!


© Cheri Hudson Passey

Celebrating Women's History: And The Wall Came-A-Tumblin' Down!

The Accidental Genealogist suggests this topic for Day 20 :
 Is there a female ancestor who is your brick wall? Why? List possible sources for finding more information.

   What had started to become a brick wall for me recently came-a-tumblin' down!
 For years I was looking for anything I could find about my great great grandmother Ellen Caroline Martin Early (1850-1926). I had her Obituary that told me that she died in Columbia, SC, but it said that "it was thought that she would be buried in Statesville, NC".  No information was given about her parents or her maiden name.

 Ellen's Death Certificate was no help. Other than confirming that she was buried in Statesville, NC, it had no information on her family or what cemetery. I discovered Ellen's maiden name, Martin, when I found the Death Certificate for her son, my great grandfather, Jubal Ransom Early (1888-1964).

   Several census records in Iredell County, NC showed an E.C , Ellen C, or other variations of her name, as a child, living in the household of a William and Matilda Martin. 
 This looked pretty promising but I had no actual proof as to whether or not this was the right family. 
Then, I got an email about a possible record match for a Family Tree that I had placed online. The link took me to Find A Grave where I was thrilled to find a memorial for
Ellen Caroline Martin Early!

Find a Grave Memorial Page
Ellen Caroline Martin Early
Bethesda Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Statesville, Iredell, NC

    
Ellen is buried in Bethesda Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Statesville, NC, and her parents were- William A. Martin (1813-1887) and Matilda C. Martin (1812-1876)! 
  The family in the Census Records I had found were indeed hers.
 There is no stone marking Ellen's grave. The information on the Memorial was found in the Church Records of Bethesda Presbyterian Church. I am in the process of trying to locate those records to see what else I may be able to find.
 I added her death certificate and obituary to the memorial and, as you can see at the bottom of the page, the original creator was kind enough to transfer this memorial and others in the Martin family to me. He is not related so I am very grateful that he took the time to add the information from this cemetery to Find A Grave.
 From Ellen's memorial page I was able to locate a memorial for her mother,
Matilda C. Martin.

Find A Grave Memorial Page
Matilda C. Martin
Bethesda Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Statesville, Iredell, NC

  I love what is engraved on Matilda's headstone: "Her last words to her husband and children and friends were "Meet me in Heaven with Jesus"

 Also buried in the same cemetery with memorial pages are Ellen's father, William A. Martin, two brothers, and other members of the Martin family. There are also pages for Ellen's in-laws that provided several pieces of the puzzle of the Early family as well.

Thanks to the help of volunteers and record matching, I was able to remove the bricks from the wall that was starting to form.

Now to find information on William and Matilda and move on up the tree!

Thanks for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,