52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 1: "Start"

I am pleased to be participating in Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" initiative. The way it works is that Amy will provide a theme or prompt each week, to get us thinking about how to present something about an ancestor. That's it; it's just that simple. There are no rules about where or how the information is to be shared. It can be a blog post, tweet, Facebook post... whatever. The goal is just to get the information we've discovered about our ancestors into the public domain! To quote Amy, "The point is to get you to take that knowledge that you have and the discoveries that you've made and get them out of the filing cabinet/computer/pile of papers and do something with it."

The theme for week one is "START". When I first read this, so many things came to my mind, but the recurring thought was of my great-grandfather, Calvin Yarborough, who is the reason I started my research, over 20 years ago. After attending a (first) family gathering, in 1993, I learned of Calvin's existence, and realized that I knew nothing, at all, of my ancestors. That started me on a quest to learn of them, which began with just asking lots of questions of my elders (who knew little to nothing of our history). It wasn't until 1997, when I got my first computer and became a member of AOL, that I realized that there was a "thing" called genealogy research. I began to participate in some of the chat groups, there, and learned what I needed to do to start researching my people (in person, of course); and that was all she wrote! 

So, for this first installment of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, I present my great-grandfather, Calvin Yarborough, the ancestor with whom my research began. Unfortunately, I have no photo of him, but that just reminds me that the work of genealogical research is never done; there is always something more to hope for, to seek out and pray for. One day, I believe I'll see his (and my great-grandmother's) likeness captured on film.

Calvin Roy Yarborough, Sr.

b. March 1839 in TN or NC (most likely NC); d. btw 1910-1919

My great-grandfather, Calvin, was born a slave in 1839 or 1840.  It appears that he belonged to the NEAL family, a slave of Chloe Neal, whose husband, John, died shortly before Calvin was born. The Neals owned a large family plantation in Franklin County, NC, from which they expanded westward to lands in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. Slaves, as well as many of the family members moved between these properties throughout their lives.  Thus, it is quite possible that Calvin could have been born in TN, as indicated on his 1880 Census record, although all other records indicate that he was born in NC. 

Here follows a timeline of Calvin’s life and relevant connections, as revealed during my years of research:

1838 – John NEAL, originally of Franklin County, NC dies in Tennessee, where he and his wife, Chloe, were living.  His slaves become the property of his wife, Chloe.  Presumably, Calvin’s mother was one of those slaves. 

1838-39 – Chloe Neal returns to Franklin County, NC with her three children, John, Leonidas, and Elizabeth Temperance

1839-1840 – March - Calvin is born in either TN or NC on a NEAL plantation – There is further support here for the confusion about Calvin being born in TN, since John NEAL and his brother, James were settled there during the 1830’s.  However, John NEAL died in 1838, and his widow, Chloe Crudop Perry NEAL returned to Franklin County with her children (and presumably her slaves) soon after that. If Calvin’s mother (name unknown) had been pregnant during that transition, it’s easy to see how and why perhaps someone may have told him he was born in TN, only for him to find out later that they were actually in NC at the time of his birth, or she may have even given birth to him on the way!

1851 – Chloe NEAL dies.  Her slaves are divided into 3 lots, for her three children.  12 year old Calvin, valued at $620, is in the lot that goes to Elizabeth T NEAL. 

1853 – November 28 - Elizabeth T. NEAL marries James H. YARBOROUGH

1855 – Feb. 6 – Birth of Herbert Neal YARBOROUGH, son of James H. and Elizabeth YARBOROUGH

1855 – April 10 – Elizabeth T. Neal YARBOROUGH dies.  Under NC common law, her slaves become the property of her husband, James H. YARBOROUGH. 

1855 – July 8 – Death of infant, Herbert N. Yarborough

1859 – June 8 - James H. Yarborough marries Arete E. Johnson, daughter of Wood T. and Josephine Johnson.

1860 – August - James H. Yarborough dies.  In a division of James' slaves, Calvin now becomes the property of his wife, Arete.  (James and Arete had only been married for 14 months.) 

1860 - December 27 – Calvin (enslave)d marries Precilla (enslaved) – The cohabitation record gives Precilla’s “maiden” name as SHAW.  

1862 – Louis (or Lewis) NEAL YARBOROUGH, Calvin and Precilla’s first child, is born. (Notice the middle name, Neal.  This researcher believes that Calvin maintained an emotional (and/or perhaps more) attachment to the Neal family, into which he was born, and thus he wanted to give his son that name.  Also, this is the first indicator that my great-grandparents wanted me to find and figure out some things about their/our history!  I believe that all, or at least most of their 11 children were given middle names that connected Calvin and Precilla to their former owners, or perhaps maybe in some cases to people who had been kind to them.  Here are the remaining children and their approximate dates of birth:

1864 - Samuel E. (possibly Eaton)

1866 – Sarah H. (I’m not sure about the H, but the person I believe to have been Precilla’s main owner, was Sarah H. Shaw.  I’ve been in touch with some of her family members, and it seems, according to the records they have, that she was "much loved by her slaves."  I also am suspecting a Neal slave, named Sarah (whose husband was named, Lewis), as the possible mother of Calvin, but I have nothing to verify that – it’s just a hunch.

1867 – Thomas W. (WHITE?)

1872 – Henry KING

1874 – Quinea A.

1876 – Caroline B.

1878 – Josephine I.

1879 – Mattie Louise

1882 – Calvin Roy ( my grandfather)

1884 – Eugene Carter

1863 – January 1 – Abraham Lincoln, in his EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION declares that all slaves are to be permanently freed in all areas of the Confederacy that had not already returned to federal control.

1865 – July – Final freeing of the majority of slaves under the Emancipation Proclamation. Calvin would have had at least four different owners during his life.

Post-Slavery Life:

I do not know exactly when or how Calvin and Precilla gained their freedom, so I go with the assumption that they were held in bondage by Arete Yarborough (widow of James H.) until 1865.  My guess is that Calvin regarded her (and James H.) well, since he chose to take the Yarborough surname for his family, and since he and Precilla were married under her watch.  I continue to press forward to find out as much as I can about this period in Calvin’s life. 

1870 – (Census) Calvin, a farmer, and Precilla, keeping house, are living in Louisburg.  They have 3 children (Louis, Sam, and Thomas) living. Their daughter, Sarah, was “burned” and died that year, at age four, according to the 1870 Mortality Schedule.

1872 – Calvin is named as one of the trustees of the “Colored Presbyterian Church” in Franklin County on a Deed of Indenture between the church and J.C. Wynne (and wife).  The church was buying land in Louisburg. (This is Saint Paul's United Presbyterian Church.)  My grandfather, Calvin, Jr., with the help of his brother, Sam, later built his house directly across the street from this church.)

1872-1888 - Calvin is elected several times to serve as a "poll holder" in Franklin County. 

1872 - November - Calvin was paid $7.50 for services as a Deputy Sheriff. 

1877 – August - Calvin purchases land in Franklin County near the grave yard on the Louisburg and Newport Road for $75.00. (This is now Mineral Springs Rd.)

1880 – (Census) Calvin, a farmer, but listed as a “RETIRED TEACHER”, and Precilla now have eight children living (Louis, Samuel, Thomas, Henry, Quinea, Caroline, Josephine, and Mattie).  Just a few doors down lives the renowned, John H. Williamson, with whom Calvin is connected via the church, and who was a pioneer in Negro education in the Franklin County area.  I have yet to confirm where Calvin taught, but his circle of friends and fellow trustees included several educators, such as Williamson, Moses Hopkins, and George C. Shaw, so my guess is that he taught with, or for, one of them. I do know that he was hired by the Freedmen's Bureau, and that he taught "two miles outside of Louisburg". 

1888 – September 15 - Calvin is again named as a trustee on a Deed of Indenture between E.N. Dent and the Colored Presbyterian Church, this time for $100.00.

1890 – GRRRRRRRR….akdfnasdfinaksdfasdfand!!!

1896 - I have a handwritten receipt, which was in the Yarborough Family Bible at my grandparents' house, which states, "Recd of Calvin Yarborough 38.63 for a pymt for Mr. Levitt from the colored union (or mission) meeting this the 21st day of December 1896." I know that Calvin was a member of "The Pride of Louisburg" chapter of FAAM, but I don't know if this receipt is connected with that, or if it is from another organization.

1900 – Calvin and Precilla, now enumerated as 61 and 56, respectively, have been married for 40 years.  Several of their adult children live in the home with them.  Sam, Quinea, Carrie, Jacqueline, Mattie, Calvin (18), and Eugene (16) are all still single.  Sam is a carpenter, and both Quinea and Josephine are school teachers (which explains why they weren’t married).

1910 – 71 year-old Calvin is now widowed. (Precilla died sometime before October of 1903, when Mattie got married.)  Sam, also widowed, lives with his father, as do Quinea (Clennie in the census), Caroline, and Josephine (“Joe”), who is also widowed, although her married name (Lane) is not noted in the census.  Neither Josephine, nor Quinea are still teaching.  Most likely, Jo had to stop when she married, since teachers back then were required to be single.  Caroline is a cook for a private family.  Sam is still a carpenter, his trade until he died in 1922.

Calvin (Roy) Yarborough, Sr. died sometime after 1910, but before 1919, when his son (my grandfather), Calvin Roy Yarborough, Jr. married my grandmother, Anna Beatrice Green. I have never seen the middle name "Roy" in any documents pertaining to Calvin Sr. but both his son and grandson used it, so I include it as an assumed middle name for Calvin.

Thanks for reading!

Renate

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Mysterious Monday - Are You My Great-Grandfather?

A few days ago, I posted a photo on Facebook, along with the following message:

HELP WANTED! HELP NEEDED!!!
Gen-friends, this photo is one of many that I got today on a loan from a cousin. I need to hear any and all observations that you might be able to make about this photograph – about the subjects, their possible/probable relationship, as well as the photograph, itself. Physically this is a 3.5 X 5 carded frame, which is layered. The oval-shaped photograph appears to be glued onto the card stock, but it seems to be professionally cut, so it probably came that way. Notice the scallop design around the edge of the frame, as well as around the rectangular box that the picture sits inside of. Also, take note of the black edges on each side of the photo.
Please share your thoughts/knowledge regarding approximate time frame based on clothing hairstyle, etc. Please offer any ideas or suggestions about the picture in general. I really need you to be as objective as possible, so I don't want to give any clues or hints about what I know and/or suspect about the picture. James Morgan III, I'd especially like to hear from you. I think you'll know why. :)Maureen Taylor, your expert opinion is also invited. :)

The back of the frame is blank. It is not a post card, and there are no markings.

Unless you ask me a question, I will probably stay silent until I have come to some kind of conclusions. Thank you in advance for your help, and please feel free to tag anyone you know who might be "expert" in this type of work.

Thank you, in advance! I can wait to read your input!

Here's the picture. (One is close up, and the other a bit further away, so that everything I described can be seen.)

As I'd hoped, the photograph generated a lot of interest. Many who commented wanted me to tell what I knew about the photo, but if I had, it would have biased the perception of others, so I refrained. But, now the time has come for me to reveal what I (kind of) know, and to share my wonderings and newly-developed theories about the photograph.

So, for starters, the only thing I know for sure about the photo is that the female, who has an "x" marked under her likeness, is said to be "Blonnie Green", according to the penciled notation on the back of the photo. (Okay, I know I said there was nothing on the back, but I was trying to get viewers to understand that there was no information that would help us to know more about the when/where/how the photo was taken. I didn't want to give the name, because I didn't want folks to set off researching my grandaunt - my grandmother's oldest sister - which is who Blonnie Green was. My goal here was to try to determine who the man in the photo was, what the relationship was between him and Blonnie, and what the circumstances of the photo may have been. So, to those folks who asked, in one way or the other, if I knew anything about the photo, I apologize for not sharing that I did, indeed, have a name and that I knew exactly who the female was said to be. 

So, here's the big "reveal" of the back of the photo. Other than some stains, it only has my great-aunt's name - Blonnie Green.

As I've said, Blonnie Green was my grandmother's oldest sister. She was born in 1887, probably in Wake County (Rolesville), NC to my great-grandparents, John Wesley GREEN and Susan DUNSTON. I know that Blonnie existed because she's shown in the 1900 Census with the family, who then lived in Franklin County - Harris Township.

In 1900, John, Susan, and the children

I find the family, again, in 1910, and I'm very sure it's them, even though the enumeration details are way off. Blonnie is listed as a male, "Lonnie", and all of the children's ages are wrong. Still, in all my years of searching, I've never found another family that even comes close to matching theirs; all of the children's names are listed, and in the correct order. Also, John is reported to have been married for 20 years, but is now widowed, which is exactly in line with my research. (I'm thinking that someone else probably gave the info to the enumerator.) The family is now living in Rolesville, which is where, according to family tradition, all of the children were born.  The whole family is noted to be white, for which I have no explanation. I'm told that Great-grandpa John looked white, and I've always assumed that Susan was darker, since some of their children had a bit more melanin than others.

Here we see John (widowed) with all of the children - Blonnie ("Lonnie"), Mabel, Annie, William, and John. (Notice that Joseph is no longer there. I don't know what happened to him, but I'm assuming he died. This was before NC began mandated death certificates. I haven't been able to find any other mention of Joseph in almost 20 years of research, and there is no family knowledge of him.

There are a lot of reasons why this photo has raised my curiosity so, and why it's really important for me to attempt to positively identify the male in the photo. What I really want to know is this: Is the man in the photo my great-grandfather, John Wesley Green? (And if not, who could he be?)

To help determine if the male subject could be my ggf, I put out the query (above) to get opinions about the type, time period, and content of the photo. I wanted to see if the observations of others would support, or deflate my suspicion that this man might be John W. Green. Right away, those who chose to comment began to suggest an approximate timeline for the photo. Everyone was in agreement that it was most likely taken at the very end of the 19th century, or the first decade or so of the 20th. Most people also thought the female looked to be in her early to mid 20's. Since Blonnie Green was born in 1887, both of those observations are in line with her age, and helped to confirm that she was the female subject, as noted (by someone) on the back of the photo.

Once I established that I believed the female was Blonnie, it was time to figure out who the man was. Readers of the post seemed just as baffled as I about some of the observations. Was this a wedding photo? What was going on with the man's tie? Did these two sit for the photo together, or were two photos put together somehow. And then came the ringer that I came up with on the second day of the post -- Was this a postmortem photo, taken after Blonnie died???? In trying to answer some of these questions (with the help of my readers), I hoped to come to a conclusion about whether or not I was looking at my great-grandfather.

Obviously, I've never seen a photo of my great-grandfather before, but I have been told by two family members that he was said to have "looked white", and that he had white hair and blue eyes. Having carried that description in my mind for at least 20 years, it was hard for me to immediately accept this younger, dark-haired man (with undetermined eye color) as John Green. So, what clues might there be? I asked my Facebook community to suggest ages for the pair, and most respondents indicated that they thought he was in his 40s. Well, John was born in 1864, so he would have been in his forties in the period 1904-1914. Since there is no death certificate for Blonnie, but she was enumerated in the 1910 census, I've ascertained that she died sometime between 1910-1913, probably between ages 23 to 26, since the 1913 is the year NC began mandated use of death certificates. During that time, John would have been "in his forties", and certainly, if my suspicion of this being a postmortem (for Blonnie) photo turns out to be correct, the timing seems right. (More on that, in a future post. This one is already going to be long!)

So, we know that the man is about the right age to be John W. Green, and the woman is his daughter, Blonnie. What other clues could help to determine if this is my ggf?  Well, the gentleman is wearing a pin of some type, and all of us seem to agree that it's probably a Masonic pin (although someone did suggest a church pin). This was actually the first thing that stood out and made me wonder if I was finally looking into the eyes of my great-grandfather, because I'd uncovered his Masonic membership years ago. John (along with my other paternal great-grandfather and a great uncle) was a member of "The Pride of Louisburg", a fraternal lodge that was part of the F.A.A.M.

I found this document many years ago in the record of the Proceedings of the fifty--fifth communication of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, F.A.A.M., showing several of my ancestors as members.

In addition to knowing that John Green was a Mason, I remembered that in the one picture I have of my paternal grandfather, Calvin Yarborough, he is wearing a similar pin, which I'd always assumed to be a Masonic emblem. This helped to further support the idea that John's pin is a masonic one.

This is my grandfather (my father's father), Calvin R. Yarborough (C.R. Yarboro in the document above). I've always believed that my ggf John's relationship as a lodge brother to the younger Calvin, was how he ended up marrying my grandmother (John's daughter). But, that's another story for another post. :)

Okay. So, now we have ages (check), time period (check), Masonic connection (check). What else could help me to confirm, 100 years later, the probability that this man is most likely Blonnie's father, my great-grandfather, John Wesley Green?

Well, there was one little detail that no one (except me) seemed to notice on the photo. If you look verrrrry closely at the top of the man's necktie, you will see a letter. For two days, I thought the letter was a "C", and because of that, I was leaning away from thinking this could be John Wesley, since he had no C in his name. But, late last night (Monday), while looking at the photo again, and discussing it with my cousin, Betsy, it hit me. What if it's not a C???? I blew up the photo, and looked closely at the letter. And, then I had it. (And, I hollered it in her ear.) "IT'S A G!!!!!!! G is for GREEN!!!! 

With that final observation, I made a decision. 

This man has to be my great-grandfather, John Wesley Green, son of Nathaniel Hawkins and Anna Green! Perhaps someday I'll find a later photo, showing him with white hair and blue eyes, but for now, I'm glad to "meet" this dark-haired offspring of my 2x great-grandparents, and to gaze into his (likely grieving) eyes, saying, "Hello, 'Papa John'!" :)

To learn more about John Wesley Green, please visit this post I wrote about him, back in December 2015.

I hope I'm right. For now, I'm going with it, but unless/until I find a confirming photo I know I'll always have that little wisp of doubt. This photo invites so many more questions, many of which were brought out in the Facebook comments, but I'll have to save that subject matter for future posts.

Three of the children of John Wesley Green and Susie Dunston
(L-R: Anna (my grandmother), William, and Mabel)

Before I close, I want to sincerely thank my cousin, Gail Fain Tyler, who is also John Green's great-granddaughter, Blonnie's great-niece, and granddaughter of Mabel Green (pictured above), for sharing this photo with me, and for now allowing me to keep it. I believe this is our ancestor, and I am eternally grateful to you for entrusting me with this photo, and the many others that you allowed me to bring home to digitize and research. 

Update 4/24/2020 - I'm second-guessing myself on this, again. I think what bothers me about this the most is the man's nose. No one in my family line has had that thin, narrow nose. Yep. That's the problem...lol. This photo is driving me nuts!

The photos in the post are the property of Renate Yarborough Sanders, and are not to be used, apart from the sharing of this post, without express permission of the owner.

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John Wesley Green

I was looking something up about my great-grandfather, John Wesley Green, and I realized that today marks exactly 88 years since his death on December 6, 1927 so I decided to do a post about him. I wish so much that I had a picture to share, but I've never seen his likeness. I'm still hoping and praying that perhaps someone will discover a (verified) picture of him, and share it with me. :)

Here's a little about John Wesley Green. 

John Wesley GREEN was born in July 1864 , to Nathaniel Hawkins (white) and Anna Green (mulatto). He married Susan Georgiana DUNSTON on January 23, 1886, Franklin County (Louisburg), NC. John and Susan lived Franklin and Wake Counties, and had six children over 18 years. He was a barber, who owned his own business (possibly with a partner). He died on December 6, 1927, in Louisburg, at the age of 63, and was buried there in the Louisburg City Cemetery, or what we know today as "The Cemetery on the Hill".

I'm including a few of the documents I've have uncovered over the years, which have helped me to learn more about my great-grandfather, and to further my research. The first is from a 1925 publication, put out by the Masons, called, "Proceedings of the Fifty Fifth Communication of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge F.A.A.M". It shows John as a dues-paid member of the lodge. (This document was an enlightening find for me, because it also shows my grandfather, Calvin R. Yarborough, and his brother, Eugene, as members of the lodge. It allowed me to see that there was a relationship between my grandmother's father, and her husband, Calvin. I wondered if maybe Grandpa John introduced the two of them, since my grandfather had been widowed, and was raising three children alone. It's just a hunch, but it does seem likely, since they were "brothers" and my grandmother was already 28 years old when they married, indicating that perhaps her father was afraid she was going to become an "old maid".)

The next document is the marriage application and license for John Green and Susan Dunston. The application was made on January 23, 1886, and they were married two days later, on the 25th. As is typical of these documents, there are errors in spelling, etc., but it is rich in genealogical information, and helped to confirm parentage and ages for both of my great-grandparents, early in my research. (The NB Hawkins is an error: It should be NM Hawkins.)

The third document is from the 1899-1900 Raleigh City Directory. It shows John W Green (colored) of "Green & Matthews" living at 9 McKee Dr. I haven't yet confirmed that this is my ancestor, but I believe it to be. I just haven't ever heard the Matthews name, in connection with him, nor did I know of him having a partner. I'll be doing more work on this. :)

The last document I'll attach here is Grandpa John's 1927 Death Certificate, showing that he died at home (my grandmother's house in Louisburg) of "cerebritis", which is an infection of the brain that leads to deadly inflammation. Thanks to the letters from John's son, WL to his wife, Georgia (which were shared with me by my cousin, Kelly), we know that Grandpa John was losing his ability to care for himself in the period before his death, and that he may have been having trouble recognizing his family members. When I was reading the letters, I thought it sounded like Alzheimer's; but this document gives a more direct diagnosis,although it probably wasn't clinically determined, since the doctor states that he'd only attended to John Green on the day of his death. Also, although we can't always read too much into these documents (because there is almost always human error), it struck me that William didn't know, or maybe wasn't able to recall the name of John's father, Nathaniel Hawkins, who would have been his own grandfather. This let me see that (sadly) the trend of not sharing family history/stories started from the beginning in our family.

I will close with this picture of the only three children of John and Susan's children who lived to adulthood. I've been told that John Green was a stocky man with white hair and blue eyes, and that he looked like a white man; however, until we see pictures of him, or of Susan, we can only try to imagine what they may have looked like, as we gaze at the faces of these three, Anna (my grandmother), William, and Mabel.

Thanks for reading!  As always, I welcome your comments, questions, suggestions, and ideas. Please do share this post with your networks. Perhaps someone will read it who knows something about my people! :)

Renate

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