#52Ancestors: WK 10: Grace, wife of Isaac

** cross posted to Lass Chronicles **
While looking at information on David Edwin GREEN, I found his brother: John William Bartow Green.

I have always found the naming of children fascinating. Generally, there is a U.S. trend to name at least one child with the mother's or grandmother's maiden name.¹

John and David are the sons of David Green and Elizabeth REYNOLDS.  David Edward Green is the son of Isaac Green and Grace B __.

Funny fact I've been tracking. A lot of my female ancestors used the first letter of their maiden names as their middle initial.

Enter my most recent research on the Green family.

In 1850, Isaac and his wife Grace B. Green are enumerated in Georgia with four children.²

Family Detail - Isaac and Grace Green, 1850 U.S. Census

In 1860, Mrs. Green and son James are enumerated in Georgia.³

Family Detail - Mrs. Green, 1860 U.S. Census

She is missing in 1870 (so far).

In 1880, Gracy Green, her daughter, and two grandchildren are enumerated in Georgia.⁴

Family Detail - Gracy Green, 1880 U.S. Census

I have looked for hours this week for a marriage record for Isaac Green.  I'm currently running on the assumption that Grace's maiden name is Bartow.

Now, this is a wild guess. It's one I'm willing to run with for now. Maybe "Bartow" is misspelled? Maybe Bartow isn't even her name. Whatever the case, I need to pick a starting place on learning more about Grace, the wife of Isaac -- my 4th great grandmother.

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1. Maybe this is dying out? Is this common other countries? Sometimes I yearn for the Spanish and Mexican convention of adding the mother's maiden name to the child's name.

2. Grace B Green in the 1850 United States Federal Census. Year: 1850; Census Place: Division 90, Warren, Georgia; Roll: M432_86; Page: 150B; Image: 308

3. Grace Green in the 1860 United States Federal Census. Year: 1860; Census Place: Goose Ponds District, Warren, Georgia; Roll: M653_140; Page: 17; Image: 17; Family History Library Film: 803140

4. Gracy Green in the 1880 United States Federal Census. Year: 1880; Census Place: Goose Pond, Warren, Georgia; Roll: 170; Family History Film: 1254170; Page: 104C; Enumeration District: 120; Image: 0409

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Optional Theme: Week 10 (March 5-11) – Stormy Weather. This is the time of year that the northern hemisphere starts to see severe storms. (As if the blizzards in New England this winter haven’t been bad enough!) What ancestor endured a particularly severe storm? It could be something like a tornado or blizzard or it could be a “storm” of bad things.

#52Ancestors: WK 6: GREEN, David Edwin

** cross posted to Lass Chronicles **
This week, I grudgingly write a short entry about my second great grandfather.

David Edwin GREEN was born 07 Oct 1864^[1] in Georgia^[2]. He is the younger of two boys. His parents are David Edward and Elizabeth Ann (REYNOLDS) Green. Sadly, David Edward (the father) died just before the end of the American Civil War. His mother never remarried. His wife, Bessie, was the subject of Week Three. He and Bessie had thirteen children. He died 23 Sep 1943.

Obit: David Edwin Green
Panama City News-Herald, 28 September 1943, Page 3

I write this week so briefly because David seems like a solved mystery. I feel no connection to him at all. Most of the people I research, I want to know more. There's usually a spark of interest. In David Edwin Green, there's just a gulf of disinterest. My goal for David Edwin Green is to reevaluate the records I have on him. Did he own property? If so, he should be in tax rolls. Did he service in a military unit? Is there more to him that I should know?

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[1] Based on his headstone
[2] Based on multiple U.S. Census records

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Optional Theme: Week 6 (Feb 5-11) – So Far Away. Which ancestor is the farthest from you, either in distance or in time/generations? Which ancestor have you had to go the farthest away to research?

#52Ancestors: WK 3: STEVENS, Elizabeth Lou

** cross posted to Lass Chronicles **
Theme: Tough woman — Who is a tough, strong woman in your family tree? Or what woman has been tough to research?

I mentioned in my first post for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks that I have two brick walls: Sallie Lou Green and Mary Frances Cornstuble.

This week, I've picked Sallie's mother, Elizabeth Lou STEVENS as my focus for this week.  I have a feeling this is going to be a short post.

Bessie (as she preferred) is my 2nd great grandmother.  Family lore says Bessie was a redhead (as was her daughter Minnie), she and her husband (David Edwin GREEN) met in an orphanage, she had a passel of children, her daughter Anna Belle was lost in the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, David deafened his own son, Joseph Clyde, with a slap or punch to the side of his head, and one of the daughters suffered from Bright's Disease.

I won't kid you. Bessie may always be a mystery.  There's a lot of family lore and no one to confirm or deny the accuracy of that information.  Public records can debunk some of the lore.

Anna Belle was lost in the 1900 Galveston Hurricane

I found Anna Belle in the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Census.  The 1900 census was enumerated in June of that year.  The hurricane hit Galveston on 8 Sep 1900.  Anna Belle's sister Ella was born Feb 1900.

Detail of David Green family - 1900

The 1910 census clearly shows Anna Belle as 13 and living with her family in Juniper Creek, Calhoun, Florida.

Detail of David Green family - 1910

Bessie had a passel of kids

If 13 kids makes a passel, this part of our family oral history is accurate.  Between 1897 and 1918, Bessie gave birth to eight daughters and five sons.  All of them lived to adulthood, as far as I have been able to confirm.

Clyde was deafened by his father

I have not found any proof that Joseph Clyde was deaf or partially deaf.  Even if I did, I doubt there would be evidence that his father was the cause.

Bessie and Minnie were redheads; one daughter had Bright's Disease

Sadly, there's no written record of what the women in the family looked like.  I can find some descriptions of men based on the WWI and WWII draft cards.

I have not had much luck tracking all of Bessie's children...the daughters in particular.  I can't confirm or debunk that one of the daughters suffered from Bright's Disease.

Love in an orphanage

Finally, the orphanage story.  It is possible Bessie was an orphan. It is possible David was given to an orphanage for a short time.  However, based on census records and the probable date that Bessie and David married, this orphanage story is probably just that...a story.

Bessie's story (or lack thereof) proves to me the importance of accurately and deliberately passing down family history.