The back of the picture postcard

Lizzie Eddins/Edins Pinson to her sister Carrie Eddins/Edins Barkesdale in Bessermer, AL, about 1913 - 1918. 

Lizzie Eddins/Edins Pinson and Mary Ann Jones

Here is an amazing picture postcard that turned up in my aunt's genealogy collection. It was taken in Bessermer, AL, by a traveling photographer. The subject is the family of Thomas James Pinson. It was probably taken in front of the one-room house/shack where they lived because of Thomas's job as a railroad switchman. The younger woman is Lizzie Eddins Pinson, and the older woman is Mary Ann Jones Pinson. 

My aunt thinks that the baby is Gladys Mae Pinson. If so, that would place the photo's date from 1913 to 1914 between the time of Gladys's birth and Mary Ann's death. The baby certainly looks like a girl, but could be a boy. If so, the baby would be Harvey, who was born in 1910; and the picture would be dated 1910 - 1914. 

In this picture Lizzie is between 33 and 37. Mary Ann Jones, Lizzie's mother-in-law, is between 75 and 78. 

Family lore says that Moses D. Pinson returned from Mississippi around 1855 after the death of his first wife in order to marry "that pretty little Mary Ann Jones." You can see why. Despite her advanced age and lack of smile, her cheekbones are gorgeous and her face has great symmetry. 

I'll post the other side of the card in the next blog entry. 

This is the only photo I have ever seen of Mary Ann Jones. Beauty just runs in the family, I guess.  ;-)

Where Britta lived in 1866

In the 1866 State Census for AL, Mrs. Britton McGuire lives in Township 24, Range 12 East in Shelby County. My fragrant cousin and I drove through the area on our recent genealogical forays in AL. State Road 25 goes through that section, which is just outside the town of Wilton before you get to Bibb County. It's pretty country, verdant and teeming with life. 


Along the way is the Brierfield Ironworks. Sadly we decided not to stop this trip. Way too hot—95 degrees—and too much to see at the Brent Centerville Library and Judge of Probate office. The people at these offices are WONDERFUL! Kind and helpful. 


I looked up original ownership of this area in Family Maps of Shelby County at the BPL. Surprise! (Not really). Pleasant Fancher and Jonathan Newton Smith owned most of it. Manus Lemley owned some. 


Britta often lived near Pleasant Fancher and JNS, especially in 1870. Jonathan Smith's third wife was Frances Jane (or Jane Frances) Green, daughter of Joscelin B. Green and granddaughter of Squire John and Jane Kerr Green.  Manus Lemley was grandfather of James Pinkney Lemley, who married Sarah Ellen McKinney (Britta's niece). James and Sarah Ellen are in Leflore County, MS, in 1880 with John P. McKinney and other family. 


More pieces of the puzzle. I haven't figured out how they fit together yet. But I will. 


I look forward to both going back for research at the Courthouse and for visiting the Ironworks. Next year for sure!

Britta in the 1866 Census, Part 1

What hints can the 1866 AL State Census give us about Britta's relatives?
In the 1866 State Census for AL, Mrs. Brittan McGuire is living in Shelby County at Township 24, Range 12 East. This location may be in Shelby County, but it’s right next to Bibb County. It’s just below Montevallo and just above Brierfield. In the household are one female over 20 (Britta, 32), one female 10 - 20 (Ellen), two females under 10 (Mary Drucilla and Unknown), and one male under 10 years (Douglas).

Neighbors in the same township and on the same page are E. M. Carlton, R.D. Campbell, Henry Backus, J.M. Whitfield, T. Hatcher, and Jacob Howser (Hauser). Neighbors on the page before include Robert Dennis, T. P. Merony, James Adams, Willis Woods, L.V. Fancher, A. Woods, James Coshatt, George R. Allen, Mrs. Mary Large, J. B. Broadhead, Mrs. Adaline Holsombeck, Mrs. Ellen Garrett.

This blog entry could run really loooooooonnnnnnnnnnnngggg if I put all my notes here. So let's look at just the six people on the same page as Britta for the moment. Here's how each of these people relate to Britta:

I. E. M. CARLETON

A. Edward Moore Carleton was a bigwig in Bibb and Shelby Counties. He performed  the marriage ceremony of Susan Green Stringfellow to Joseph D. Neely in Bibb County in 1853. He was witness and executor of the will of Richard Fancher in 1849.

II. R. D. CAMPBELL

A. In 1850 R. Davis Campbell lived in the same Shelby County neighborhood as Elijah Green, McKeithen, Jesse Coshatt, Joseph Neeley, Phillip Meroney, Broadhead, George Allen, Fredrick Smith, Robert Dennis, Moses Johnson, William Deshayso. Possible connections to Britta:

• Joseph Neeley was married to Susan M. Green, daughter of Joscelin B. Green.

• Frederick Smith lived a few doors from Britta and John McGuire in Jefferson County in 1860.

• Moses Johnson and son Alphonzo were taken to court in Shelby County in 1851 for assault and battery on John L. McGuire.

B. In 1860 R. D. Campbell is living in the same neighborhood as:


• Noah Haggard & his daughter Lucy, who married Willis Wood;


• J. D. Neeley, who married Susan M. Green, daughter of Joscelin B. Green,


C. In 1870 Dennis is living in the same Shelby neighborhood as Alamoth Woods, James M. Whitfield, both in the same township and range as Britta in 1866.

III. DR. HENRY BACKUS

A. Henry Backus was a physician.

B. Henry Backus's daughter Kate married the son of Nancy Ellen Elizabeth Green Garrett.

 

IV. JAMES M. WHITFIELD

 

A. James Whitfield is living in Monevallo in 1860.

B. In 1870 Whitfield is living in the same neighborhood as Alamoth Woods (married to Noah Haggood's daughter) and J. Hatcher.

 

V. T. HATCHER  = J. HATCHER

A. Andrew Jackson Hatcher married Sarah Bisheat May 24, 1866. The marriage certificate is here:

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-9821-37462-15?cc=1743384

Judge Gardner approved the ceremony; F. M. Fancher performed it. The marriage bond shows that Jackson Hatcher married Sarah Reinheart, not Bisheat. James Barnes is the bondsman on May 24, 1866.

V. JACOB HOWSER/HAUSER

A. Was born in Rowan County, NC. The birthplace of Britta's parents is consistently listed as either NC or SC.

 

B. In Shelby County in 1850. In Mapleville, Bibb, East Side Cahaba River in 1860.

The children of Britta Ann Green McGuire Flynn

How many children did Britta Ann have?


That depends on which source you believe. 


We know that Britta had four children who grew up and themselves had offspring. She had three with John L. McGuire:

• Ellen Nora McGuire, born 1857
• 
  
• Mary Drucilla McGuire, born 1858
• 
  
• Stephen Arnold Douglas McGuire, born 1860

After the death of John L., she married Mike Flynn and had:

• Margaret Ann Flynn, born about 1874

These children are well documented and have living descendants. 


However, several censuses suggest that Britta had several other children. The 1900 Federal Census for AL says that she had seven pregnancies, of whom four are still living. The 1910 US Census for AL says that she had six pregnancies, of whom three are still living (Ellen Nora died in 1904).


When were the other children born?


It's possible to identify only one other child, a girl. In the 1866 State Census for AL, Mrs. Brittan McGuire lives in Twp 24, Range 12 East in Shelby County. In the household are one male under 10 (Douglas), two females under 10 (Mary Drucilla and Unknown), one female 10 - 20 (Ellen), and one female over 20 (Britta).


This child was most probably the daughter of John L. McGuire, as he was home in Jefferson County until February 1, 1863, when he joined the Alabama Infantry mustering at Cedar Grove. She was probably born between September 1860, when Douglas was born, and October 1863, nine months after John L. left for war. She had most certainly died by 1870, as she is not listed in the household for Mike and Britta Flynn in the Shelby County Census. 


Britta's sixth/seventh child could have been with either John McGuire or Mike Flynn. Britta married John L. on January 24, 1854, but Ellen wasn't born until May 4, 1857. In those three years Britta and John could easily have had a child—even two—who died. Mike Flynn married Britta on December 19, 1868, but Margaret (Maggie) wasn't born until May 24, 1873. In the intervening three years Mike & Britta could have had a child who died, too. 


When you look at the Mortality Schedules for that time, you see dozens of children who died of diphtheria, typhoid fever, teething, and other causes. Makes you happy that anyone at all survived. And it REALLY makes you happy for the modern medicine that keeps our children alive and spares us the sorrow Britta must have felt at the deaths of at least two and maybe three children. 

Drucilla/Drusilla/Druscilla/Drusillar

Britta Ann Green McGuire Flynn's second daughter was named Mary Drusilla. Often she went only by the name Drucilla, Drucillar, or Drusillar. The spellings are not consistent from record to record, so forgive me if I'm not too careful about spelling the name with an "s," a "c," or an "sc."


The name has come down in the family. Which family members carried the name through the generations, and where did it come from? 

The first question is much easier to answer than the second question. 

Here is a list of women who carried "Drucilla" or a variation (Drusilla, Druscilla, Drusillar, etc).

• Mary Drucilla McGuire Eddins/Edins, Britta's second daughter

• Minnie Drusilla Hill, daughter of Britta's first daughter Ellen Nora McGuire Hill

• Mary Drusilla Edins/Eddins, daughter of Jessie Douglas, Mary's son. 

• Carrie Drusilla Edins Barksdale, daughter of Mary Drucilla McGuire Edins. 

• My sister Druscilla

There are probably more. I just discovered that Carrie Edins's middle name was Drusilla. 

----

The first question is much, much harder to answer. But I have two theories. 

Theory #1:

One of Britta's direct or close ancestors or relatives was named Drucilla. Names in our family get passed down a lot, so it's a viable theory. The theory leads one to consider: 

• Drucilla Jensy Crump (wife of Burwell Green)

• Elizabeth Drucilla Williamson and 

• Drucille Howard (who both lived in Shelby around the same time as Britta)

• Drucille Dearman (related to Roadlander, Jourdan, Dill, and Green families in St. Clair County)

• Mary Drucilla Sawyer from Talledega County who married Nunley and Rushing

And so on. 

Theory #2:

What I consider the more plausible of the two.

• In the 1860 US Census for AL, Britta and John McGuire lived in Jefferson County next to Dr. James M. Ragsdale and his wife Drucilla. Britta named her second daughter for sister Mary (Ann Green McKinney) and great friend Drusilla (maiden name unknown) Ragsdale. 

Conclusion: 

While I may never know why Britta and John named their second daughter Mary Drusilla, it could be an important clue in breaking down the brick wall of Britta Ann Green McGuire Flynn.

Martha Isabelor McKinney Dailey Lawley

I first started investigating Isabella McKinney as listed in the 1850 Census. Slim pickins! Next I noticed that a Martha I. McKinney got married in Bibb County about the right age and time for this woman. Better. Then I found Martha living with John in Shelby in 1860. Great! And then -- she disappeared...until by chance or luck misspelled her name as "Isabelor." WHAM!!! A whole new line of inquiry! Yippee!!

Here's the scoop:

Martha Isabelor (or Isabella) McKinney was the first daughter of John P. McKinney and Mary Ann Green/e. Her parents were married Thursday, April 8, 1841, in Shelby County, AL. A source on Shelby County burials that I have not seen yet lists her birth as November 5, 1842; November 1842 is confirmed by the 1900 Census. She was most likely born in Shelby County, as her parents were married in there, and the family was still living there in 1850.

In the 1850 US Census for AL, Isabella McKinnie, nine, born AL, is living in the household of John and Mary Ann McKinnie in Shelby County.

On June 6, 1860 in Martha I. McKinney marries John Dailey in Bibb County. Indeed, we know that this is the right Martha because her father's name is on the marriage license. John W. Dailey was the son of Jane Caroline Smith and Owen A. Dailey. In 1850 John was living with his father and mother in Bibb County.

In the 1860 Census she is living with John Dailey in Bibb County, Centerville P.O. She is 18, born AL; he is 22, born AL and has money: $1000 in real estate and $400 in his personal estate. Neighbors include Pratt, Champion, Cleveland, Loveless, Langston, Nolen, Rogers.

Between 1860 and 1865 they have two children: Marion J. Dailey, born about 1862, and Mary Jane Dailey, born 26 May 1865.

Several public trees list John as dying at Vickburg during the Civil War in October 1864. There's a discrepancy here, because Vicksburg was fought in 1863. In addition, the Civil War Soldiers List at the Alabama Archives lists John as being a private when mustered out of the AL 20th Infantry. So my guess is that John died of wounds received at Vicksburg, but not actually at the battle. Either way, he likely died before 1866 because it looks like Martha, Marion, and Mary Jane are living with in-laws Owen and Jane Caroline in the 1866 AL State Census; only one male over 20 in the household (Owen). In 1870 Martha, Marion, and Mary Jane are still living with in-laws Owen and Jane at Beat 2 of Shelby County. But maybe not too happily...

Down the street from them in 1870 just happens to be the household of Newton J. Lawley, 24, his mother Mary, 60, Mary 16, and Doctor, 14.

Even more interesting:

Samuel Lawley, listed as Newton's son in later years, is a bun in Martha's oven at that time, because the census date is July, and Samuel was born in November 1870 (1900 Census). Proof: the AL Deaths 1908 - 1974 database at FamilySearch.org lists his parents as Newt Lawley and Martha Dailey. 

With John dead, Martha marries Newton Jasper Lawley/Lolly on November 23, 1873, in Shelby County (Shelby County Historical Society webpage. Bless 'em!).

In the 1880 US Census for AL, Jasper N. Lawley is living on Beat 4, Montevallo, Shelby County. He is 37, a farmer, born AL, father born AL, mother born SC. Also in the household are wife Martha, 39, born AL, father born SC, mother born NC. This jives completely with what we know about John P. and Mary Ann. In addition we find daughter Mary Jane, 16, who is actually the daughter of John Dailey, at home, born AL, parents born AL. Then there is a big gap in the ages of the children: from Mary Jane, 16, to Samuel, 10 (November 1870), then again to Susan, 5, John J or T, 3, and Lucy, 10 months, born August. Mary Jane is misidentified as Newton's daughter and not his step-daughter.

In the 1900 US Census for AL, Newton J. and Martha are in Montevallo with children Charles, Emma, Barney, Horace D. and Willie. She's had eight live births and eight are still living. Samuel lives down the street. The census taker got the number of live births wrong (Marion, Mary Jane, Samuel, Susan, John, Lucy, Charles, Emma, Barney, Horace, Willie.)  Or, if you consider that they've been married 28 years, and you count ONLY the children from within this marriage and not Martha's first marriage to John Dailey and subsequent pregnancy with Samuel, then the number fits. (Susan, John, Lucy, Charles, Emma, Barney, Horace D., and Willie.)

In the 1910 US Census for AL, Newton J. and Martha L. are still in Montevallo. Only now she's had seven live births, of who six are living. Crazy census takers. 

Several Member Public Trees on Ancestry.com show Martha's death date as 7 November 1911 and her burial place as Macedonia Cemetery, Pearidge, AL. While this may be true, as yet I have been unable to prove it from online resources. Hopefully Findagrave.com or another cemetery census site will soon publish a listing so we can tick off proof for that fact. Or I can check it when I get to AL this year.

It's really amazing how one small piece of serendipity -- the spelling of "Isabella" as "Isabelor" can open a whole new avenue of investigation and facts. Thanks, RELS!