Road Trip - Tyrrell County, NC

One week ago, today, I traveled to Columbia, NC, to give a talk to the Tyrrell County Genealogical and Historical Society. I was honored to have been invited to speak to this organization, particularly since, through my research, I've uncovered a direct ancestral link to this county, through my mother's father. (My Tyrrell County surnames are HILL, BRYANT, and DAVENPORT.) Although I made an immediate post about my experience on Facebook, I also want to document it, here, on my blog.

The Ride
Tyrrell County North Carolina is located just over two hours away from my home in Newport News, Virginia. Prior to this excursion, I'd only visited the area once, and I was thinking that the drive had been longer than that. So, when I put the address for the Columbia Senior Citizens Center, where the meeting was to be held, into my GPS I was quite surprised to see that the distance was only 120 miles, and the length of the drive was estimated to only be 2 hours and 5 minutes. At that moment, I began to chastise myself for not having gone down, again, for research purposes (because I was thinking it was further). Now that I know, I'll be heading back to Tyrrell County "on the regular". :)

My talk was scheduled for 2:30, but I wanted to go down earlier, so that I could do a bit of exploring. Therefore, I left home at about 9:30 a.m., to head on down. The drive was lovely; it was a bright, sun-shiny day, and I was accompanied by the soothing sounds of gospel radio, followed by a little NPR, as I made my way out of Hampton Roads toward my destination.  My route provided a mostly uninterrupted rural scene all the way down 17S to 32 to 94, and then Highway 64 into Tyrrell County, and the quaint little town of Columbia.

These silos represent one of the few breaks in my beautifully monotonous drive .

Upon arriving in the county, I first went to scope out the meeting location, so I'd know how long it would take me to get there. Next, I went to the Tyrrell County Visitors Center, a very well-appointed rest area,with extremely clean bathrooms (yay!). As an added treat, this rest area is home to the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Center. I didn't go in, but I can just imagine what a treat that would be, especially for people traveling with children. I did, however, follow the outdoor walkway around to the back of the (closed) Visitor Center, to take in the beautiful view of the Scuppernong River, the bridge into Columbia, and I took note of the walking trail and the nice setup of benches and rockers on the back porch of the facility. Next time I go back (in warmer weather), I definitely plan to go back and spend some time in this serene setting.

          

Wildlife Center

Visitors Center (not open until 1 p.m. on Sundays)

                               

Exploring Tyrrell County
With about two hours to spare, and no real agenda, I decided to first head to the one place I'd already been on my previous visit to Tyrrell County, and that was to Chapel Hill Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, where many HILL and BRYANT family members are interred. These are two of the Tyrrell County families from which I descend, both being recorded as Free People of Color, as early as the late 1700's, and also both known to be of Native ancestry, before intermarrying and/or procreating with blacks. I headed towards the church, hoping that perhaps, since it was close to 12:00 noon, I might catch service in session, or perhaps wrapping up, and that maybe I could introduce myself to some folk, and encourage them to come to the meeting to hear me speak. However, when I got to the church, the parking lot was empty. It didn't appear that a service had been held there, that day.

I turned into the cemetery, which is directly across the street from the church. (There is another larger part right behind the church.)

Chapel Hill Missionary Bapist Church

I hadn't originally planned to get out, because I had photographed most of the graves on my first visit there; but it looked like maybe there were some that I'd missed, so I couldn't resist the urge, and out I went. (Of course.) I quickly walked through the graves, snapping photos of almost every one in the area I'd chosen, and trying to step carefully on the soft turf, so as not to dirty myself before my presentation. I'd almost made it without incident, until I decided to try to get to one of the furthest back graves. While trying get close enough to brush away some leaves, I took one step too close and down went my foot and part of my leg... into the mud! Well, that was enough of a sign to me that it was time to go. After all, in just a short time, I'd be standing in front of an audience. I needed to keep myself presentable!  Anyway, I took the long way (lol) around to get back to my car, still snapping pictures as I went. Once in the car, I was grateful for my handy-dandy pack of wet wipes, which I used to clean off my leg and shoe, before I headed off to explore some more of Tyrrell County.

After leaving the cemetery, I decided to just explore a little of the area around it, so I headed back down Chapel Hill Rd., and turned right onto Travis Rd. After driving about 4 miles down that road, and seeing nothing (save a house or two and a little bit of industry), I turned around and headed back to the town of Columbia to check out some of the neighborhoods. First, on the same side of town as the Visitors Center, I found a neighborhood which was (very sadly) filled with deteriorated, falling-down homes. Upon stopping to chat with a kind young man, who was parked in front of one house, I learned that this had been (or still was) a black neighborhood, but that many of the original owners had passed and/or moved away, and that the children/grandchildren, etc. had no interest in living there, so the homes were just abandoned. As I shared with this young man, I see this often in my travels in more rural areas, but this was the first time I'd seen an actual neighborhood, in which so many homes were in that condition right next to each other. The example in this picture is located facing Rowson Street. This saddened me so, but I love how this home seems to be fighting against the inevitable; it seems to almost be saying, "But, still I stand."

                                         

This photo doesn't fully capture the degree to which
this house is leaning back.

                                 

I asked the young man about churches in the area, and he pointed me to the end of the road, saying that the church there should be about to let out. I followed the road to it's end, and sure enough, the congregants of what appeared to be a black church were just getting into their cars. I stopped in the middle of the road to greet two ladies who were chatting, and invited them to come to the meeting at 2:30. I was pleasantly surprised when one responded that she'd "read about that in the paper", and was planning to be there! I introduced myself as the speaker, told her I was a Hill-Bryant descendant, and asked her if she knew where those families might have lived. She pointed me in the direction of "Alligator", and told me how to get there. I thanked her and bid her farewell (until the meeting), and off I went.

With just a little over an hour to go before I needed to be at the Center, I decided to ride off down Highway 64 in the direction of Alligator. I drove for miles and miles and miles, seeing nothing but a pattern of fields, then trees (in swamps). Finally, I arrived in the general area of Alligator. I rode all around this mostly unspoiled area, passing field after field, and seeing only the occasional home and a couple of small churches. The area was beautiful, though, and filled with so much of nature's goodness. I felt a true peacefulness, as I traveled the unknown roads. I honestly can't tell you where I turned or how I got to where I ended up, but I'll just show you a few photos.

When I first passed this log, there were about 6 or 7 turtles sunning on it, but when I stopped my car and backed up to take this picture, the smaller ones just into the water.

This Methodist Church sits along
Dock Landing Rd., in Alligator.

Fields, fields, and more fields... That's what Tyrrell County
 seems made of!                                                

The Meeting
With it being after 1:30, I knew I had to head back to town,  so I did. On my way back in, I snapped a few photos. (Unfortunately, my iPad case got a little in the way.)

Tyrrell County Courthouse

Main Street - Columbia

Cooper House

  

Winery

I wondered if this was the original school house. It is on the high school property.

When I arrived at the Senior Citizens Center, I was greeted by Cathy Roberts, President of the TCGHS, and Lamb Basnight, the gentleman who'd originally contacted me about speaking. Lamb, was dressed in period costume, which kind of threw me off, at first; but I soon learned that he volunteers Several other members, and a few guests arrived, including author of Somerset Homecoming, Dorothy "Dot" Spruill Redford (which really took me by surprise)! After a short wait outside, we all proceeded in and prepared for the  start of the meeting, which had a great turn out, indeed. :)

It was so nice to meet Lamb Basnight. He is so cool! :)

I was honored to meet Dorothy Spruill Redford!

Following the business meeting, came my time to speak. My presentation, "Researching Ancestors of Color - It Takes a Village" is one that I've prepared to not only discuss first steps and resources for researching ancestors of color (whether free or formerly enslaved), but also to share with descendants of white, slave-owning (or not) ancestors how they can help to further the research of those who descend from ancestors of color.

The talk ran about an hour, and was very well received. Audience members were quite complimentary, and seemed genuinely moved and interested in looking back into their families' records and artifacts, to see if they might have any information related to connections of their ancestors with people of color. (This is the goal of the workshop!) One participant has actually already emailed me with information about an ancestor's "body servant" (from the Civil War), whom she has been seeking more information about, the details of which she'd like to share with the larger community!

The meeting was followed by close to an hour of chatting with attendees - answering questions and sharing information. As an added bonus, I met two people who are (apparently) my cousins! One was a Bryant descendant (pictured), and the other (who was camera shy) was a Hill-Bryant descendant, just like me! That was so exciting! I look forward to communicating with these two, to confirm our connections and share information!

This is Otis. His (known) cousin has confirmed our BRYANT connection via DNA.
Since he lives locally, he came out to hear my talk and to meet me! That's my cousin, ya'll! :)

Finally, at about 5:00, it was time to say my last goodbyes, and get on the road to head home. I had such a fulfilling day in Tyrrell County, and I can't wait to go back!

This picture doesn't do it justice, but on the way I passed this beautiful field of windmills, near Elizabeth City, NC.
They went on for at least 7-8 miles. Amazing!

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Road Trip - Fun in North Carolina!

I don’t know why I never thought of this, before, but since magical things seem to happen every time I go to North Carolina, I am going to start a little series that I’ll just call, “Road Trip”. (Hee hee) J I’ve just returned home from an 11-hour day of travel to NC and back, and I’d like to share some of my experiences.

TARBORO

My first destination was to Tarboro, NC to meet my 89 year-old cousin, Jessie YARBOROUGH Clemmons and her son, Rev. Samuel Clemmons, Jr. I also had the pleasure of meeting Sam’s wife, Rosa. The purpose of this visit was not only for me to meet my cousins, but also to obtain a saliva sample from Cousin Jessie to be sent off to FTDNA for autosomal testing.  I was so glad that Jessie seemed to understand what I was asking of her, and she willingly allowed her son to do the first cheek scraping, and me to do the second!

My beautiful cousin, Jessie YARBOROUGH Clemmons

Sam gets the first swab

In addition to the success of obtaining the DNA sample, I’d also brought along a photo album, which had belonged to my aunt, Susie YARBOROUGH Hawkins (1920-2013), of Louisburg. The album is filled with photos of family members, but several have subjects I haven’t been able to identify. Before Sam and Rosa arrived, I’d already shown Jessie a few of the pictures. She recognized my dad (Arthur), his sister, Susie, and brother, Calvin III and also our cousin, Geral YARBORO Sargent. All of these were Jessie’s first cousins, and I knew them all. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to recognize any of the “unknown” people, even the one that I thought may have been her, when she was younger. But, when Sam and his wife came, they were actually able to identify the folks in many of the photos, and, without me saying anything at all, Sam exclaimed that the photo I’d suspected may have been Jessie was her!

As soon as Cousin Sam saw this photo, exclaimed, "That looks like my mama!" And after looking at it, again, he added, "She looks just like my sister, Eunice!" 

Sam and Rosa identified several of the other photos as being pictures of Jessie’s siblings, so now I’ve been able to label those, and decrease the number of “mystery photos” in this album!

Before I knew it,  my visit was approaching the two-hour mark, and it was time for me to head to my next destination – Louisburg – where I had an appointment with a contractor. The timing was good though, because Cousin Jessie was getting hungry, and the dining room (where we were) at her facility was beginning to fill with residents ready for lunch. We said our goodbyes, and off I went to my next destination, which was exactly one hour away. I loved meeting my cousins! :)

LOUISBURG

As most of my readers know, I now own our ancestral home in Louisburg, North Carolina. Some months ago, I had some work done on the property, and I was not satisfied with the workmanship, at all. I’ve been trying to get the contractor to revisit his work, and complete it, according to contract, as well as to put a more professional touch on the work that he did do. Although I’ve sent photos and emails, expressing my concerns, this contractor, Freddie White, insisted that I come and meet with him, in person, to discuss it. So, that is why I went to Louisburg, today.  There is no need to dwell on this part of my trip, but suffice it to say that I did not leave this meeting satisfied, and will never use Mr. White’s services, nor recommend him to anyone, again. He tried to deny that he’d even done some of the work, and refused to take responsibility to the shabby job he did do. He was defensive and argumentative, and was being totally unreasonable.  I have seen his work, elsewhere, and know he could have and should have done a better job than what he did for me, but I chose not to stand in the cold and argue with him for longer than the 30 minutes already wasted, so that was that.

On the upside, though, my visit to Louisburg was not in vain! First of all, while at the house, before the contractor came, I was (of course) continuing my work of going ever-so-carefully through the things left behind from all who’ve lived there. Today, I went back to a particular bookshelf I’ve been working on, which is filled mostly with church-related papers, magazines, bulletins, and books. It is my habit to flip through the pages of every single thing, because I learned, early on, that there could be treasures found between the leaves. I pick up every item, flip through it two or three times, and examine anything that’s found between the leaves. Well, today I didn’t find anything of sentimental value inside of anything, but I DID find great treasure, in the form of a manila envelope, stuck between a set of Sunday School booklets from the 1980s.  Here’s what I saw on the outside of the envelope.

This list served as an exact "table of contents" for what was in the envelope!  Check out this video: 

Well, that was exciting (at least for me)! And, now, I have a new mystery on my hands. Who was "Aunt Rose"?  You KNOW I'm going to find out! :)

Anyway, I actually found the envelope just before the arrival of the contractor, but before that, I'd realized something. I'm a dues-paying member of the Heritage Society of Franklin County, but because they meet on Thursdays at 1:00 (when I'm usually at work), I've never attended a meeting, except for the one where I was their featured speaker in July of 2014. What I realized was that I was actually in Louisburg on the day and at the time of the Society's monthly meeting! Therefore, the second I was finished with the contractor fiasco, I rushed right over to Johnny Bull's to try to catch the end of the meeting, and that I did!

It was so great to see my Heritage Society friends, and they seemed to be happy to see me, also!  I was fortunate to arrive in time to hear Diane Taylor Torrent finishing up a talk about the Louisburg Dispensary. She also shared a newspaper article (from the Charlotte, NC newspaper) about a huge fire that took place in Louisburg in the early 1900's, which started at the C.B. Cheatham Tobacco Warehouse, and burned all the way down to the Edgerton home on "Happy Hill".

Diane Taylor Torrent presenting at the meeting

Here's an article from the Franklin Times about the fire:

                             

Found on Newspapers.com powered by Newspapers.com

After a few minutes of fellowship, it was time for me to get on the road to head back to Virginia. It was so great to end my visit to Louisburg this way. Even though I am not a local person, this group has accepted me with open arms, and I feel a true bond with them. Oh! And, I even got to meet a new online friend (and possible Hawkins kin), Jackie McNamara! That just put the icing on the cake!

So, until my next (genealogy related) road trip.... 

Permalink to this post: http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2017/02/road-trip-fun-in-north-carolina.html

The "Jim Crow Bible" - Did you know?

While reading this post, please click on each of the articles to enlarge and isolate them. All articles are sourced by hovering over the title bar at the top of each one.

Last night, I participated (via live feed), as an audience member, in a wonderful talk, given by author Isabel Wilkerson (The Warmth of Other Suns) at the University of Richmond. During her engaging lecture, Ms. Wilkerson mentioned something that I'd never heard of - the "Jim Crow Bible". Curious, I decided to look up the term, to learn more about it. The closest thing to an actual definition I found was in this somewhat satirical little snippet posted in The Albuquerque Journal, in 1903.

Found on Newspapers.com

As was shared during the talk, the Jim Crow Bible was a term used to describe the separate bible that was used to swear in blacks, in a court of law, during the Jim Crow years - roughly 1877 to the beginning of the 1950s, when the Civil Rights era began.1

In my quest to learn more about this oddity, I discovered several newspaper articles, most of which made reference to the same (apparently) monumental event which occurred in Raleigh, NC in 1906.

First there was this, from The Raleigh Times, in March 1906.

Found on Newspapers.com

By August of that same year, apparently folks were still talking about this judge's horrible mistake, only now, as often happens when stories are passed down and around over time, the tale has grown to include a bible-tainting kiss. Read about it from the Rochester, NY Democrat and Chronicle. No worries though. A new (replacement) bible could be purchased for just fifty cents.

Found on Newspapers.com

Now, before you go thinking that the whole kissing the bible thing was an embellishment, take a look at this article from a November, 1947 edition of The Pittsburg Courier.⁵  Yes, that's right. I said 1947. 

Found on Newspapers.com

Well, folks, I think you get the picture. I have to say that I've been educated, yet again. Little did I know that Jim Crow stretched its racist, segregationist hand even to the touching (or kissing) of the Holy Book. What baffles me most about this is that those same black hands that weren't supposed to grace the same bibles, were holding, loving, raising the children, preparing the food, washing the clothes, and even changing the very sheets of the folks who dared not place a hand on this sacred implement during a seconds-long courthouse ritual.

Go figure...

1 Melvin I. Urofsky https://www.britannica.com/event/Jim-Crow-law

Permalink: http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-jim-crow-bible-did-you-know.html

Louisburg Parade Threatened By KKK

As we all know, our country has a horrible history of racism. That history, which began with the introduction of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the Americas, is still being written, today.

Louisburg, North Carolina, one of my ancestral home places, is located just 29 miles from Raleigh, the state capital. The area was a Confederate stronghold, and to this day boasts many a proud descendant of the Gray. Indeed, just north of the town center, there is erected a monument to the original Confederate Flag (not the battle flag), which stands in the midst of the road on what is part of Louisburg College's campus. And, being a southern city, it shouldn't be surprising to learn of the presence of one of our country's best-known, overtly racist organizations - the Ku Klux Klan - in Louisburg's story. That said, realizing the depth of activity that was taking place in the town, while I, as a toddler, was spending time there (with my grandmother), still gave me pause.

Confederate Monument - North Main Street, Louisburg, North Carolina
Erected May, 1914

I recently found the following newspaper clippings while cleaning out my family home in Louisburg. They are about threats that were made by the KKK to the 1964 Christmas Parade. They were located at the bottom of a box of other artifacts from the 50's and 60's, along with several family letters. I've decided to share them on my blog for a couple of reasons: my family members would have been affected by these events, and, as already stated, I was actually staying in Louisburg with my grandmother when these things took place.

I will let these articles speak for themselves, but I do want to mention one thing. There must be something about the date December 6th, and Louisburg. As I was preparing this post, I realized that the first article about the Christmas Parade, of which these articles speak, was published on that date - the same date as another fateful event in this town. Sadly, December 6th (2013) was the date of the removal and burning of historical documents from the Franklin County Courthouse (in Louisburg). If you aren't aware of that sad story, dear reader, click here.

Here follow the clippings I found. Click on each article to enlarge it.


Article 1:

Source: News and Observer, Raleigh, NC, December 6, 1964   

Article 2 (3 pieces - I believe this to be from The Franklin Times, Louisburg, NC)

      

                    

 Article 3 (Appears to be an editorial: author and date unknown)

Sometimes, reading the ugly truth of our times (then and now) can be disturbing. That's why I'm so glad that my grandmother, or whoever clipped these, included this closing article. I agree with the sentiment of its writer, and reading it gave me a sense of hope and peace.

Source unknown

As always, comments are welcome. If you happen to have been a resident of Louisburg at this time, and you have personal memories of this event, I'd love to hear from you. :)

Renate

Permalink to this post: http://justthinking130.blogspot.com/2016/10/louisburg-parade-threatened-by-kkk.html

19 Years Without My Daddy - I Wish I'd Known

This tribute started off as a very long, loving Facebook post about my father. However, just after I uploaded the first photo to go with the post, my computer froze, and I spent over and hour, trying to get it to unfreeze, so that I wouldn’t lose the post. Nothing worked, so I had to turn it off and back on again, losing (of course) my thoughtful and well-written tribute to my father. Now the hour is late, and I know I can’t get it all back, so here’s just a little of what I wanted to say (greatly paraphrased).

That's me with my dad on his 65th birthday.

Before this day comes to an end, I want to share that today marks 19 years since my father left this earth. I love and miss him, immensely. Before his death in 1997, I’d dibbled and dabbled a bit in genealogy, however, it was when faced with the task of writing my dad’s obituary that I realized how little I knew about him and his life “pre-Renate”, and I certainly didn’t know of his family history. And, so it was then that I consider my real beginning as a genealogical researcher, as I started my quest to learn as much as possible about my father, and subsequently my YARBOROUGH ancestry, which was soon followed by all of my other family lines.

There was so much I didn’t know about my father before I became a researcher. I didn’t know that about his distinguished military career – about all of the honors and recognitions he’d received, as he worked his way to the rank of Army Major, before he retired in 1964, or of the racism he faced while on that journey.  I didn’t know anything about the Montford Point Marines, or of the two-plus years my father spent as one of the first to integrate the US Marine Corps, at the beginning of his military service.

I still don't know what's going on here, but what I do know is that everyone's attention is on my Daddy!

 I didn't know that, before he joined the military, my father spent a year at NC A&T; nor did I know that he continued to complete college coursework while in the Army, excelling in all of his coursework, and stopping just short of earning his degree.  I didn't know what a fantastic writer my father was, until I happened upon love letters he'd written to my mother before they were married, and editorials he'd written to an Ohio newspaper, when he was stationed outside of Cleveland (where I was born).

I didn't know that my father had 2 half-sisters and a half-brother, all of whom were deceased before I was born, and that I had a first cousin, born the same year as my dad, who lives in the Bronx. I didn’t know that my father played basketball in high school, and was the quarterback of his football team at Nash County Training School. I didn’t know that the reason my father had to move to Nash County to live with his uncle (the principal of Nash County Training School) was because he was acting up in school, and his mother (widowed since my dad was 4) needed some help with him!

That's my daddy - #10! Where are his kneepads?

These are just a few things I didn't know about my father, but my quest to learn more about him, led to my now 19+ year journey as a genealogist. So, on this day, I choose to remember my father, not with tears, but with a smile. Thank you, Daddy, for inspiring me to do this work. I only wish you were here so I could CELEBRATE all of your magnificent achievements with you, and so that I could ask you the questions I didn't know to ask, and hear some of the stories you probably didn't want to tell when you were here.

Arthur P. Yarborough
June 21, 1924 - October 4, 1997

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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