This Week On My Family History Calendar: Remembering Some Greats and a Grandfather.

 

Sept. 24

 Manning David Daughrity, Sr., my 2nd maternal great-grandfather, would be 179 years old. He was born in Sumter County, SC, in 1844. He was the son of William J. Dorrity (1820-1897) and Martha (Mathis) Dorrity (1820-1905).

Sept. 27~

 The 147th anniversary of the death of my paternal 3rd great-grandmother. Matilda Caroline (Splawn) Martin died in Statesville, Iredell, North Carolina in 1876. She is buried in Bethesda Presbyterian Cemetery.

Matilda C. Mathis Headstone
Bethesda Presbyterian Cemetery
Statesville, NC

Sept. 29~

  My maternal Grandfather, Gilbert Ernest Roberts, Sr., died 79 years ago. He was killed in action on the island of Peleliu while serving in the Marines during WWII.  He is buried in Quaker Cemetery, Kershaw, Camden, South Carolina. 

Gilbert Ernest Roberts (1920-1944)

Who are you remembering this week?

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This Week On My Family History Calendar

                       

  

Sept. 24

 Manning David Daughrity, Sr., my 2nd maternal great- grandfather, would be 176 years old. He was born in Sumter County, SC in 1844. He was the son of William J. Dorrity (1820-1897) and Martha (Mathis) Dorrity (1820-1905).

Who are you remembering this week?

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This Week On My Family History Calendar

September 31-September 

Sept. 24
 Manning David Daughrity, Sr., my 2nd maternal great- grandfather, would be 175 years old. He was born in Sumter County, SC in 1844. He was the son of William J. Dorrity (1820-1897) and Martha (Mathis), Dorrity (1820-1905).

Matilda C. Mathis Headstone
Bethesda Presbyterian Cemetery
Statesville, NC

Sept. 27
 The 143rd anniversary of the death of my paternal 3rd great-grandmother. Matilda C. Martin died in Statesville, Iredell, North Carolina in 1876.
She is buried in Bethesda Presbyterian Cemetery.




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This Week On My Family History Calendar

April 15-April 21

April 15~
  Martha Mathis Dorrity (1820-1905), my maternal 3rd great grandmother was born 113 years ago in Sumter District, S.C. She married William J. Dorrity (Abt. 1820-After 1880) in Sumter District, S.C. in about 1836.

Martha Dority
Headstone
St. John's Methodist Cemetery
Spring Hill, Lee, South Carolina

  The 189th birthday of my paternal great great grandfather, Ransom Taylor Early (1829-1888). Ransom was born in N.C., possibly in the Iredell County area. 

Ransom Taylor Early
Headstone
Bethesda Presbyterian Cemetery
Statesville, Iredell, North Carolina

April 19~
   Martha "Mattie" Victoria (Bradford) Baker, my paternal great great grandmother (1862-1947) died 71 years ago in Sumter, Sumter, South Carolina. Mattie was 84 when she died from a case of the flu which turned into pneumonia. She was buried in the Sumter City Cemetery. 

Martha Victoria (Bradford) Baker
Headstone
Sumter Cemetery, Sumter, South Carolina
©Cheri Hudson Passey

Who are you remembering this week?
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Helping you climb your family tree,

This Week On My Family History Calendar

September 18-September 24~

Sept. 24
 Manning David Daughrity, Sr., my 2nd Maternal Great- Grandfather, would be 172 years old on this day. He was born in Sumter County, South Carolina in 1844 to William J. Dorrity (abt. 1829-before 1897) and Martha Mathis (1820-1905).

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Together we can find our people.

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Motivational Monday~Evidence:What's Your Type?

       This month Evidence Analysis was the topic for my Progen Study Group. Our assignment was to take the records gathered for one individual and analyze them using the following criteria:

  A source is either:
      Original- first form
      Derivative-made from the original (index, transcription, abstract etc.
      Authored-Publish works

 The information is either-
      Primary-First hand account
      Secondary-Second hand account
      Undetermined-not known who gave information

The evidence is either:
      Direct-answers the research question itself
      Indirect- implies and answer but more needed
      Negative-absence of information that should have been there
   

   Why should you take the time to look at your sources and determine each of these criteria? Because not all sources are the same. The accuracy of the information contained in them depends on the type of record, who gave the information and how close to the actual time period it was made. A record that has been indexed,  or transcribed can be flawed due to human error. 
  Going through the analysis process will help determine if the information collected provides enough to come to a reasonable conclusion or if more research needs to be done. 
    
My analysis of the records of William J. Dorrity, my maternal 3rd Great Grandfather contains these types of sources. 
   Census Records from 1850-1880 are categorized as Original (digital copies), the information they contain is secondary (taken by the census taker but it's not known who gave the information), and they contain direct answers to the questions (whether they are true or not).  The 1900 census showed negative evidence of William Dorrity. He was not listed in the census and his wife was recorded as a widow. This "negative" evidence helps to pinpoint a year of death.

Martha Doherty
Recorded as Widowed
1900 Sumter County Census
Image from ancesty.com

 Military Records from the Civil War are Derivative (records made from copies other records), with primary information (made at the time of the event), and Direct evidence of military service and other information provided by the record.
     

W.J. Dority
Co. G, SC 20th Infantry
Muster Roll
Image from Fold3.com

  Newspapers provide Original (digital copies) information. Usually, a newspaper article was written about an event that recently happened and it can be classified as primary. This was the case with the newspaper accounts of William J. Dorrity's land being adjacent to another piece of land in a legal notice and the listing of his wife Martha in a Widow's Pension list. The legal notice is direct evidence that William owned land and where it was, and the Widow's Pension list is indirect evidence of the year of his death. 
           

Martha Dority
Widow's Pension List
Watchman and Southron
26 May 1897 pg. 7
Image from Newspapers.com

     Records can have more than one type of evidence. Usually, a death certificate is primary information of a person's death, cause, and burial, with the birth date and place being secondary. This is due to the fact that the death information is recorded near the time of death but the birth information is supplied many years after the fact and depending on the informant, it is at best secondary and often not reliable. 
  A family Bible can be primary information if each event recorded was done at the time it happened. It can also contain secondary information if births, marriages and deaths were written years after the fact. 

  If you haven't done so, take a look at your documents and other records. Analyzing the types of information they contain will help  determine whether you have good solid evidence or if you need to continue searching. 
 For more information go to: Cindy's List-Evidence Analysis
And for software that can help put it all together, I recommend using Evidentia.

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Surname Saturday~Daughrity

Manning David Daughrity, Jr.
(1889-1931)
Copy of original picture owned by
 Mildred Chrystanella (Daughrity) Jolly Finfrock (1914-2006)

   My maternal Grandmother was a Daughrity from Sumter County, South Carolina. The name is found spelled many different ways even among those in the same generation. While her father, Manning David Daughrity, Jr. used this spelling, his brother Charles Edward (1880-1957) used Daugherty. The surname in records varies from Dority, Dorrity, Doherty, Doty and Dougherty.  
       Azile Juanita (Daughrity)Roberts Sullivan (1921-2009)

                 her father:

                    Manning David Daughrity, Jr. (1889-1931)
                 his father:
                    Manning David Daughrity, Sr. (1844-1918)
                 his father:
                   William J. Dorrity (born abt. 1816-died before 1897).

 These families lived in the Spring Hill area of Sumter County that became part of Lee County in 1902. 

             The place of birth for William on the Sumter County census records is South Carolina. Different candidates suggested as the father of William include a John and an Alexander Dorrity. Both lived in the Sumter County/District area. Those who have these men on their family trees have not provided the sources needed to determine who is indeed the father. At this point, I have not been able to locate documentation to support a conclusion of paternity.
        The surname is said to be of Irish origin and that "three brothers came from Ireland during the potato famine." While this line of the Daughrity family appears to have been in South Carolina well before the famine, the surname is a typical Irish one and brothers may have immigrated together at some point. Finding a correct link to William J. Dorrity's father would help move back a generation and perhaps answer the question as to when, and why this family came to South Carolina as well as from where.
     Can you shed some light on the Daughrity/Dorrity family of Sumter County/District, South Carolina? 

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
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52 Ancestors Week 30-The William J. Dority Challenge

Time to look at a challenging to research ancestor for Week 30 of Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2015 Edition.
  
William J. Dority, my maternal 3rd great grandfather has been one of my challenges for several years.
 Born in about 1820 , most likely in the Sumter District area of South Carolina, William's parentage is still unknown to me.
 Several researchers have parents recorded for him, but none have been able to prove with any type of document why they feel that they have found his parents. One researcher felt that a certain person was William's father simply because he lived next to him in the census.
  The Dority name has been found spelled many different ways. Dorrity, Darity, and Darrity to list a few, as well as the modern Daughrity. This has lead to challenges in researching the family.
William married Martha Mathis (1820-1905) in about 1836 and together they had at least 12 children. He served during the civil war with his sons in the 20th South Carolina Infantry.
The 1880 Sumter County census reports that William had consumption and by 1897 Martha is listed as receiving a Widow's Pension in a Sumter County newspaper.
While wife Martha (Mathis) Dority's grave can be found in the St. John's Methodist Cemetery in Springhill, Lee, South Carolina, If Williams is buried near her, his grave is unmarked. 

Martha (Mathis) Dority
Headstone
St. John's Methodist Cemetery
Springhill, Lee, South Carolina

 Land, probate and church records have not produced information leading to his death date or the names of his parents. Researching his children has not helped either. Currently, I am working on the FAN principle. Researching his friends, associates, and neighbors to see if those that he knew from his community can lead me to the answers.
   William J. Dority remains a challenge.

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Helping you climb your family tree,

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun--A 100 Word Genealogy Challenge

Randy Seaver from Genea-Musing issued this challenge:

Your mission this week, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  This SNGF is based on the 100 Word Challenge (http://100wc.net/) that school children are participating in around the world.  They are given a word or phrase to write a story about in one hundred words.

1)  Write a short 100 word story using the phrase ",,,the most interesting ancestor I have..." in 100 words.  [Hint:  If you write it in a word processor, you can use Tools > Word Count (or similar) to count words]

2)  Share the story with all of us by writing your own blog post, writing a comment on this blog post, or put it in a Google Plus Stream or Facebook Status or Note.  Please leave a comment on this post so others can find it.

I  chose to write about my Maternal 3^rd Great Grandfather for this challenge because he is the one I am currently researching-that makes him the most interesting ancestor I have....at least for now!

The most interesting ancestor I have is William J. Dorrity.

 William was born in South Carolina about 1820 and married Martha Mathis, the girl-next-door. Together they had at least 12 children and possibly as many as 16!

William was a planter with a farm in Sumter County, SC. where he grew corn, cotton, sweet potatoes and had an orchard with fruit trees.  

 He served in Company G. of the SC 20^th Infantry during the Civil War.

 The 1880 Census reports William Dority as being bedridden with consumption. In 1897 his wife was listed as a widow on the pension roll.

© Cheri Hudson Passey

  

Celebrating Women's History Month-My Favorite Female Ancestor-At Least For Today!

It's Women's History Month and Lisa Alzo is helping us once again with these fantastic blogging prompts for the month of March. Check out her web site for all the details!

Back For A Fourth Year: Fearless Females:31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women's History Month

Today the prompt from Lisa is:

Do you have a favorite female ancestor? One you are drawn to or want to learn more about? Write down some key facts you have already learned or what you would like to learn and outline your goals and potential sources you plan to check.

  My favorite woman ancestor tends to be which ever one I am researching at the time.
I have been doing a lot of work on Find A Grave the last couple of weeks either adding memorials for my people or asking kindly for those already made to be transferred to me  (May I say that so far the folks who I have had contact with have been fabulous and are more than willing to transfer memorials to me.)
 Yesterday I received this picture from a volunteer who had traveled quite a distance from his home to fulfill picture requests at St. John's Methodist Cemetery in Lee County, SC.
 

Martha Dorrity Headstone
St. John's Methodist Church Cemetery
Lee County, SC
Find A Grave Memorial Picture
© Michael Dillingham
2/24/2013

          Martha  Dorrity was my Great Great Great Grandmother. She was born on June 13,1820 and .died April 14, 1905. She married William J. Dorrity and was the mother of at least 12 children.  From what I have been able to find out about her, she lived all of her life in the Springhill area of Sumter County, SC. Springhill became part of Lee County, SC after her death.
 
Notice the spelling of her last name. The stone days Dorraty. I have also found the family under the name Dorrity, Dority, Daugherty, and Daughrity as my Grandmother spelled it. Most consistent at this time period was Dorrity. Another interesting find was that the date of her death was recorded differently in a  book called  The Cemetery Surveys of Old Sumter County, South Carolina  Volume III, Lee County, SC. In it on page 37, under the St. John's Methodist Church section, her birth is recorded as June 19, 1820. Her stone actually says June 13, 1820.  Another in many examples I have of making sure to check originals.


  Martha's maiden name was most likely Mathis. I have death certificates from her children naming her as Martha Mathis, although one says Martha Stafford. She is buried in the Mathis plot of the cemetery.
 Martha lived her life on a rented farm where she is recorded  in several censuses as "Keeping House". There are several Mathis families recorded before and after the Dorrity family on these censuses.
 The 1880 Agricultural Census of Sumter County shows that the property was 22 acres with an orchard of peach and apples trees. They had only 1 ox. but many chickens that produced over 1,000 eggs that year.
 Some of their other crops were Cow Peas, Indian Corn and Sweet Potatoes.

  Martha lived through the hardship of the Civil War and sent not only her husband off to war, but her three sons as well.  All returned to live and work in rural Sumter County.

William J. Dorrity, Martha's husband, died sometime before 1897. He is listed in the 1880 census as being bed ridden with consumption.  By 1897, according to newspaper listings, Martha was receiving a widow's pension for her husband's service in the Civil War.  I have not been able to locate his actual death date or place of burial.

   By the 1900 Census, Martha was 83 and listed as the widowed head of household. She was living with her 55 year old single daughter Mary. Since they were listed as having no occupation I would like to believe that they were being cared for by her sons and members of the Mathis family who lived by.
  My next step will be to continue searching for information on Martha's many daughters. I have been able to find out who three of them married and have been able to trace their descendants.. Some I have been in contact with. There are several more daughters and families to find.
 I also will be contacting the church in whose cemetery she was buried  to see if they have any information on the family.
 A trip to the SC Archives in Columbia is on my list too! They have some Civil War Pension Records on line, but not Martha Dorrity's. I will need to look through their microfilmed records to see if there is a record for her there.

 So for today and several more, Martha Dorrity is my favorite female ancestor! Thanks Lisa Alzo for providing this great series of blogging prompts.