What Secrets are in her Death?

The wind is blowing as I sit and watch the beautiful day unfold before me.  As the branches on the trees sway, the leaves fall.  In addition to the leaves, the nuts are also falling.  Now, these nuts are big and can cause one to slip if they get underfoot.

Just like genealogy.  Shake the trees and see what falls that can trip you up in your research. 

I have a handwritten note by my grandmother which gives a little information about my grandfather's family.  The note tells us that my grandfather's grandparents, Robert Coleman POSTON and Hester Leggette COX, were rice planters and lived in Georgetown.  Grandmother also names six children of the couple with names of the females who did not marry.

Like every good genealogist, I now have to confirm all these leaves falling into my lap. It's rather easy to trace the location of the farm and document some of the children through the census records.  The first moment of a stray nut is the 1910 census which says the couple had ten children but only six were living.  I've been able to document nine of them who also have some mysteries of their own.

What is more interesting is how some marriage stats change with the census records.  While my grandmother said two of the girls did not marry, there is evidence that makes me scratch my head.  One example is Aunt Wash.  Grandmother said she did not marry, and I would tend to think that Grandmother knew if she was or not.   Aunt Wash's death certificate suggests otherwise.

The 1910 census also shows Aunt Wash as being single at the ripe old age of 39 with no children of her own, and living with her widowed mother.

I have found a JW POSTON with wife, Martha, in the 1930 census in Chesterfield Co, SC.  However, this census indicates they married around 1890, and they have several children.

According to the death certificate, Martha Washington POSTON was born November 1, 1870, in Florence Co, SC.  She dies five days after her 71st birthday in 1941.  The parents listed are what I suspected, but the surprise is that she is listed as a widow of James POSTON.  Who?  How?  When?  The informant is listed as Mrs. R C WHITE of Charleston.  Who?

I have seen a photo of her grave at Riverview Memorial Park in Charleston which says she was a loving mother.  Hmmm. When did that happen?  Did she marry late in life?  Did she raise children for a widower?

I'll be interested in seeing the 1940 census when it becomes available.  Perhaps, I will be able to trace who this Mrs WHITE is.  Perhaps, that will lead me in another direction.

Maybe I can get to Charleston and find her obituary.  Perhaps, that would help to clear the path.  In the meantime, watching the trees sway on this cool day seems just the perfect way to reflect on the past.

Ahh, genealogy.  Those unexpected secrets in the family tree are just so, well, gone with the wind. Eh?

©2011 AS Eldredge

Treasures Await Your Online Pleasure in South Carolina

Many public libraries across South Carolina have given us all a great big gift in the form of an online index to obituaries. While not complete, it can make a huge difference as you search for your genealogy treasure in South Carolina.

I spent a few minutes in the Florence Library site and found the index was decent for recent years, but way too scant for the early years in the 1900s. Both Greenville and York County searches were also not to my satisfaction due to either the time contstraints of the obituaries listed or due to having to know more details. Richland and Newberry Counties have some obits as well, but I didn't search those as my family is not known to have deep roots there.

I'll keep checking off and on to see how much progress is being made on the index Please note that if you find your treasure, you will have to contact the library to have a copy made.

But, as we know in genealogy, you have to keep on the hunt for those treasures. Sometimes, they show up years later. When they do, the feeling, well, the feeling is like finding the proverbial pot of gold under the rainbow.

Here are the sites I checked for an index:

South Carolina United Methodist Advocate
York County History
South Carolina Death Index 1915-1958 - appears to require Windows only
Florence Library
Greenville County Library

Her Laugh Lives On

In my last post, we were chatting about how some researchers take census info and people with same initials and just kind of "make it work." Well, I contacted the gent to ask him some questions about what I knew to be true. To my delight, my mom's first cousin is still alive and well at the ripe old age of 87.

I got her phone number and just called. I spent time listening to her tell me stories of my great grandmother Poston nee Coward, my Poston grandparents and other family members. These beloved family members are all gone- or so I thought.

You see, Henrietta laughed and I started to tear up. Her laugh is the laugh of my mother and my aunt. What joy for me to hear that familiar laugh again.

Henrietta told me of her mother who died of tuberculosis at the age of 34. She only has one memory of her mother standing. So, today, Henrietta has not only given me more of a sense of family, she has given me back my mom - if only in her laugh.

Family. Ain't it just grand!