Ingram – Page 2 – Opening Doors in Brick Walls

52 Ancestors: #34 James INGRAM, Where Did You Hide the Key?

52ancestors “The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”

This is entry #34 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

52 Ancestors: #34 James INGRAM, Where Did You Hide the Key?

Oral tradition, passed on through the generations, can help our genealogy research but it can also be a hinderance. When I started my Facebook page, more than a year before I started blogging, I wrote short summaries about my brick walls. My 4-times great-grandfather James INGRAM, born between 1771-1774 in Virginia and died fall of 1865 in West Virginia, was the subject of the post I wrote in December 2012. Unfortunately no headway has been made on his parentage. One of these days I’ll find the key to open the door in the Ingram brick wall.

Speculation

Ester INGRAM (also seen as Esther and Easter) may have been the mother of my James INGRAM. She is the first INGRAM to be found in Greenbrier County Personal Property Tax Lists in 1792 suggesting that she was a widow by this time. She sold a 95 acres land grant received in 1795 in 1800 and had at least two daughters who married in Greenbrier with her permission.

Patience INGRAM and David STAY
Jim Talbert of the Greenbrier Historical Society confirmed on 8 Aug 2006 there is a marriage permission slip for Patience INGRAM in the Greenbrier records. Easter INGRAM signed for “my daughter” on 19 May 1790. David STAY and John KING went bond. There was no husband of Easter named in any of these records.
Elizabeth INGRAM and Francis STORY
Nancy C. Story Adkins obtained a photocopy of the original marriage bond from the Greenbrier Historical Society. Elizabeth’s mother Esther INGRAM gave permission. The couple married on 20 December 1798.

I had a slight panic attack when I was pulling this together and realized that Ester could have been the first name for a male. I checked the original land grant for the 95 acres that she sold in 1800 at the Library of Virginia and it shows that she was a female.

Virginia State Land Office. Grants A-Z, 1-124, reels 42-190; Virginia State Land Office. Grants 125- , reels 369-. Mentions: Ester Ingram (grantee) assignee of James Dyche; land near Richard Humphries, John Viney and Thomas Cooper 1795. Library of Virginia. Archives.

Was Ester INGRAM the mother of our James INGRAM? Who was the husband of Ester INGRAM? Was James the brother of Nancy INGRAM (md. 1787 William SLAVEN) and Parnal INGRAM (md. 1793 Eliza Carmons) who also married in Greenbrier? Note: Nancy has been listed as the daughter of Abraham INGRAM and but without supporting evidence.

Speculation Aside, Let’s Have a Look His Life

James INGRAM is first found in Greenbrier County on a list of rangers in 1793. The Rangers militia was organized to protect the frontier and its settlers from Indians attacks. On 27 May 1793 Captain Hugh CAPERTON’s company of rangers were at Fort Lee on the Elk and Kanawha Rivers guarding the Kanawha Valley settlers near what is now Charleston, West Virginia. “Mad Anthony” WAYNE’s victory over the Indians in 1794 ended the Indian threat in what is now West Virginia.

roster — Virgil A. Lewis, M.A., State Historian and Archivist; “The Soldiery of West Virginia”, originally published 1911, reprinted for Clearfield Co.,Inc. by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, Maryland 1991, 1996, 1998; pg. 131.

James INGRAM was not with rangers on 6 May 1792. Was he too young at the time?

In 1795 and 1797 James is seen in the Greenbrier County court orders:

31 March 1795 – John MATHEWS vs. James INGRAM in debt
1 April 1797 – Jonathan MATHEWS assee of James INGRAM vs. William GILLILAND in debt

James was on a Personal Property Tax List on 16 April 1799 in Greenbrier County with 1 tithable and 2 horses. This was the first time he was on a list. His surname was spelled INGRIM. Also on this list was a John INGRIM with 1 tithable and 1 horse. No further trace of him has been found. Was he a brother?

Taxation: Virginia began keeping records of residents’ payments of personal property and land taxes in 1782. The Library of Virginia has these on microfilm. Published abstracts of some of these can be found online. I am convinced that this may be the key to opening the doors in many of my brick walls in Virginia. Living overseas I can only hope that the full collection will someday be found on the internet. I want to be able to look at each year, study the neighbors of each ancestor, and see the things that may not have been included in the abstracts.

A month later, on 28 May 1799, James was “on jury” in Greenbrier. He was next seen on the 1803 (below) and 1805 tax lists of Greenbrier County, both times with 1 titable and 1 horse.

1803tax — Source: http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses/Greenbrier/1803PersonalB/10.jpg

On 28 February 1809 John CONNER and wife Mary sold 120 acres for $1.00 to James INGRAM on Meadow River and Sewel on the ridge opposite Buffalow Lick in Greenbrier County.

Later in the year James INGRAM married Margaret KINCAID, daughter of John KINCAID and Elizabeth GILLESPIE, on 24 October 1809 in Greenbrier County. They were married by Rev. Josiah OSBURN of the Baptist church.[1]

James and Margaret were not found on the 1810 census as Greenbrier was one of the “lost” counties. He was still in the county as he is on the 1810 Personal Property List B with 1 titable:

1810tax — 1810 Personal Property List B > Greenbrier County, Virginia. Source: http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/FreeSample/CDR-000484/1810/1810PersonalB/06.pdf

James and Margaret’s first child, a son James Jr., was born about 1811 most likely on the land in Greenbrier County that James bought from the CONNERs in 1809.

On 25 February 1812 James and wife Margaret sold the 120 acres that James bought in 1809 for $1.00 to Newbury STOCKTON. The land, conveyed to James INGRAM by John CONNER in 1809, was “on point of ridge that leads to Buffaloe Lick in Greenbrier County.”

During the War of 1812 (18 Jun 1812-24 Dec 1814) James and Margaret’s second son, Joshua (1813-ca.1861) was born. His birth has been estimated at about 1813 in Greenbrier. In 1815 James was on the Personal Property Tax Lists of Greenbrier with 1 tithable, 3 horses, and 5 cows. The next child, a daughter, born during the 1810s, was followed by my 3-times great-grandfather Robert (1819-1902) born about 1819 in Greenbrier.

1820censusingram — 1820 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Greenbrier [ancestry.com]

James was listed in the 1820 census of Greenbrier County with the following persons in his household: 3 males under 10 yo (James Jr., Joshua, Robert), 1 male over 45 yo (James), 1 female under 10 yo (unknown daughter), 1 female over 45 yo (Margaret, her age would be ca. 26 per 1850 census), 1 person engaged in agriculture, 6 persons in household.

Three more children were born during the 1820s: John about 1820, Matthew on 9 January 1824, and Cynthia on 25 March 1828.

Ingram Cabin

“A century and a half ago, a pioneer cabin stood in a little valley drained by a branch that flows down from cotton Hill to New River at the Narrow Falls, opposite and slightly above the mouth of Cane Branch. The little stream was known as Ingram Branch, from the name of the family that lived in the cabin. Two surveys made there in 1829 refer to Ingram’s house, to his road leading down to the river, and to Ingram Branch, the tiny tributary of New River. Though the first name of the settler is not given, it may be suspected that this was James Ingram who married Margaret (Peggy) Kincaid, daughter of John and Elizabeth Kincaid, who settled on the opposite side of the river at Cane Branch as early as 1811, and who patented land there and at the mouth of Gauley.
Ingram apparently took no steps to secure formal title to his improvement, however, and in 1829 two residents of Kanawha Falls set up rival claims to Ingram’s improvement and to some hundreds of acres surrounding it, by reason of entries and surveys made for them in that year. The map accompanying these surveys shows the location of the Ingram house to be on the branch approximately one hundred thirty poles above its mouth. This was doubtless the first cabin in that little nook of the hills. Ingram was not a permanent settler, however. He was succeeded there by Andrew and Mary Blake, and soon after the above date, James and Margaret Ingram appeared as settlers on the upper part of Loup Creek at a branch which also came to be called Ingram Branch. There they were permanent settlers and the name has survived both as a place name and family.
Ingram, also written as Inghram and Ingraham, was originally Ingelram, a Norman-French personal name.”[2]

It is said that James probably settled on Loup Creek/Loop Creek about the same time as James KINCAID (1792-1852), brother of Margaret, or soon after. The place he selected was at the mouth of a branch three miles farther up Loup Creek/Loop Creek than Kincaid’s cabin. The branch is now called Ingram Branch. The 120-acre tract, including Ingram’s improvement, was patented by his sons, Robert and Matthew, in 1843, several years after the settlement. The move may have been in the 1820s. Ingram Branch become part of Fayette County in 1831 when the county was formed. At the time of the 1830 census it was most likely part of Kanawha County as the family was on the census of that county.

120acres — a certain Tract of Land, containing one hundred and twenty acres: lying and being in Fayette County on Loop creek and bounded as follow, towit Beginning at a white oak and gum corner to John Kincaid, on the Left hand side of the creek & with crossing the same S6W54 poles to a sugar tree & beech corner to same and leaving S67W60 poles to two chestnut oaks on a point S88W106 poles to a white oak North 48 poles to a white oak on a ridge N19W66 poles to a maple and hickory N48 W24 poles to a maple and beech N8W (crossing the creek) 34 poles to two chestnuts on a South hillside S69E230 poles to the beginning with its appurtenances. [Virginia State Land Office. Library of Virginia. Archives]

First Ingram Child Married in 1829?

During this period of time James INGRAM and his family were the only family of this name in the area of Greenbrier, Kanawha, Monroe and Nicholas counties. I have not done a complete study of all Ingram, Ingrum, Inghram, Ingharam in the early censuses of Virginia. There were Inghram and Ingharam individuals in Lewis, Wood, Tyler, and Ohio counties. Lewis and Wood bordered on Kanawha County in 1829 (see Interactive Map of West Virginia County Formation History).

Charles WALKER married Elizabeth INGRAM on 4 August 1829 in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia. No further information has been found on this marriage or couple. Was Elizabeth the unknown daughter listed in the 1820 census?

1830censusingram — 1830 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Kanawha [ancestry.com]

James was listed in the 1830 census of Kanawha County with the following persons in his household: 1 male under 5 (Matthew), 1 male 5-10 (John), 2 males 10-15 (Joshua & Robert), 1 male 15-20 (James Jr.), 1 male 50-60 (James), 1 female under 5 (Cynthia), and
1 female 40-50 (Margaret), 8 persons in household.

James and Margaret’s youngest child Ruth was born about 1832 in Fayette County. Between 1831 and 1835, the oldest son, James Jr., died in early manhood without marrying. He is buried in the Kincaid Cemetery in Kincaid, Fayette County, West Virginia.

In 1834 James was listed as having an account with Mr. LANDCRAFT, a store owner. I discovered the September 1834 inventory and appraisement of the estate of Melitus J. Landcraft while searching through the early Will Books for Fayette County. Mr. LANDCRAFT appears to have been a merchant (goods are listed) and many of my Fayette County relatives had accounts on his books and/or notes of debts. Very helpful are several “son of” mentions following the names.

In an election held 1 April 1835 in Fayette County to determine the location of the new Court House and County Seat, “James INGRAHM” and his son “Joshua INGRAHAM” voted for Kanawha Falls.

In 1839 James INGRAM’s name appears on the Fayette County jury list.

1840censusingram — 1840 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Fayett [ancestry.com]

James was listed in the 1840 census of Fayette County with the following persons in his household: 2 males 10-15 (Matthew & John), 1 male 15-20 (Robert), 1 male 60-70 (James), 1 female 5-10 (Ruth), 1 female 10-15 (Cynthia), 1 female 50-60 (Margaret), 7 persons in household, 2 engaged in agriculture. James’ oldest living child Joshua had his own household nearby.

Following the 1840 census James’ sons began to marry. Geraldine Dempsey Workman wrote, “….pages are missing from the Marriage book at the courthouse.” We can only assume that Robert married Huldah JOHNSON (1817-1880) about 1841 and Joshua married Mahala C. STEELE (1823-1888) bet. 1841-1845 and that their marriage records may have been on these missing pages.

According to family tradition James’ son John was the first to leave the area. He moved to the Poca River in Kanawha County before the 1850 census.

In 1850 James, age 70, a laborer, unable to read or write, is in the household of John TINCHER, a widower with three young children and his widowed mother. At the same time, Margaret INGRAM, 56, is with her/their children Ruth, 18, Matthew, 25, and Cynthia, 23 living next door to her/their son Robert. Was James boarding with the family while working aways from home? Or were James and Margaret separated?

1850censusingram — 1850 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Fayette [ancestry.com]

In 1851 James INGRAM and his wife Margaret saw three of their children marrying and setting up housekeeping. On January 9, Ruth was married to John DARLINGTON, youngest son of Benjamin DARLINGTON and Mary JOHNSON, and lived at various places on Loup Creek/Loop Creek. On February 13, John married Lucy Jane SKAGGS, daughter of Joseph Preston SKAGGS and Mary LEWIS in Fayette County. On March 23, Cynthia INGRAM married John “Johnny” TINCHER, son of William and Patsy TINCHER of Loup Creek/Loop Creek.

In 1852 Matthew followed his brother John to Sissonville on the Poca River in Kanawha County. Robert bought Matthew’s interests in the 120-acre grant and became the sole owner. Matthew was the last of James’ children to marry on 20 August 1854 in Meigs County, Ohio, to Sarah Francis MARTIN, daughter of Dio Clesian MARTIN and Catherine KIDD.

James’ son John, who was widowed in the 1850s, married Delilah CRAIG (1826-1869) on 12 July 1860 in Kanawha County.

1860census — 1860 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > District 4 > Rock Hill > Page 126/422 > HH # 917-864 [ancestry.com]

In 1860 James is, once again, not living with his wife Margaret. He is listed as 86 years old and a laborer living alone in between James and Eleanor BERRY and John and Lovina GODDARD in the Rocky Hill P.O. district. Margaret may have been living at the home of her nephew James Gillespie KINCAID Jr. in Kincaid as this is where she died about 1865 according to family tradition.

James’ son Joshua died between 1860-1862. The death record has not been found however his widow Mahala C. INGRAHAM remarried on 23 August 1862 in Meigs County, Ohio, to Isaac E. LEWIS, a veteran of the Mexican War.

According to family tradition in the summer of 1865, after the death of his wife, James went to live with his son Matthew in Sissonville in Kanawha County. James may have held his youngest grandchild Absolam, son of Matthew, born 30 September 1865, in his arms before the child died on 3 October 1865. James died in the fall of 1865 at the home of his son Matthew. He is estimated to have been about 90 years old and may be buried near the Methodist Church in Sissonville but this has not been proven.

James INGRAM was survived by his sons Robert, John, and Matthew; his daughters Cynthia TINCHER and Ruth DARLINGTON, and at least 30 grandchildren and possibly a great-grandchild through his son Joshua’s eldest daughter Mary.

The family would continue to grow with a total of 42 grandchildren. Son John, once again widowed, married a third time to Mary F. LEGG (1843-1870) on 1 December 1869 in Kanawha County. He died before 1880. Daughter Ruth died before 1900. Son Matthew died on 12 July 1900 in Sissonville and was buried in Pauley Cemetery on Little Sandy in Elk Distrist in Kanawha County. Son Robert died about 1902 at the home of his cousin Preston KINCAID. And finally daughter Cynthia died on 3 May 1910 and was buried in the Carter Cemetery in Dempsey, Fayette County.

Sources:
[1] J.R. Cole, History of Greenbrier County (published 1917 in Lewisburg, West Virginia) pg. 35
[2] L. Neil Darlington, Cabins of the Loop and Environs of the Southern Half of Fayette County Virginia (Now West Virginia)” (December 1987, McClain Printing Company, Parsons, West Virginia, 1988) pg. 222-223

52 Ancestors: #20 Seaton Y. DEMPSEY abt. 1803-bet. 1880-1890

“The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor.”

This is entry #20 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

52 Ancestors: #20 Seaton Y. DEMPSEY abt. 1803-bet. 1880-1890

It is my belief that my third great-grandfather Seaton Y. DEMPSEY’s middle name was Younger after his [grand-uncle] Captain Younger LANDRUM, who served during the American Revolutionary War. This is supported by the fact that a great-grandson Edgar Younger DEMPSEY also had this unusual middle name. But, until I find proof, he is Seaton Y. DEMPSEY.

Martha “Patsy” LANDRUM (1778-1834) and William DEMPSEY (1779-bef. 1836) were married in 1799 in Amherst County, Virginia. Seaton was their second child born abt. 1803 in the same county. He had the following siblings:

Sib 1: Wilson M. DEMPSEY (1802-1883) born abt. 1802; married(1) Evalina Carolyn RHODES ( -1848) on 30 December 1839 in Amherst County, Virginia; married(2) Paulina [–?–] Dempsey (1815-1881) abt. 1848
Sib 3: Isham Coleman DEMPSEY (1806-1854) born abt. 1806; married Sarah Elvira THOMAS (1809-1879) on 5 March 1827 in Rockbridge County, Virginia
Sib 4: Wesley G. DEMPSEY (1808-1890) born abt. 1808; married Mary HUGHES (1823-1889) on 6 May 1856 in Rockbridge County, Virginia
Sib 5: Louisa J. DEMPSEY (1812-1888) born abt. 1812; married Simeon A. BURCH (1790-1870) on 8 October 1840 in Amherst County, Virginia, at the residence of S. Y. DEMPSEY
Sib 6: Eliza DEMPSEY (1815-aft. 1860) born bet. 1815-1820; married Patrick H. ROWSEY (1814-1858) on 4 February 1843 in Amherst County, Virginia

Seaton and his family were neighbors of Benjamin SANDIDGE who first exploited Buffalo Springs, the sulphur springs situated in the foothills of northern Amherst County, near Allwood. “In an 1820 tavern bond, Sandidge pledged to provide a wholesome diet, clean lodging and stabling, no unlawful gaming, and no more drinking than was necessary on Sunday.” [Source: Sherrie McLeRoy and William McLeRoy, More Passages: A New History of Amherst County, Virginia, Heritage Books, 1995, page 77]

Seaton Y. DEMPSEY and Landon S. GOWING, father of Clementine, went bond on 3 January 1829 for the marriage of Seaton and Clementine.

1829bond — 1829 Marriage Bond (photocopy courtesy of Geraldine Dempsey Workman)

In the Register of Marriages for Amherst County, Virginia, we see that Landon S. GOWING was security witness and Phillip SMITH Sr. and Robert TINSLEY were witnesses for the marriage of Seaton Y. DEMPSEY and Clementine GOWING on 3 January 1829.

1829marriage — Register of Marriages, Amherst County, Virginia (LDS Film 30273, pg. 301)

Following his marriage, Seaton was seen with his young wife Clementine and a male age 10 and under 15 years in the 1830 census. This young man was most likely his brother Wesley. Their mother, not their father, was enumerated with her two daughters. The 1810 through 1830 census listings and their complications will be discussed when I do Seaton’s parents’ stories.

1830censusdempsey — 1830 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Amherst> Sheet 519 (left) [ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2013]

1830censusdempsey2 — 1830 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Amherst> Sheet 519 (right) [ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2013]

Three children were born between 1830 and 1840: George W. abt. 1831, Geneva Elizabeth abt. 1836, and William S. abt 1839. These children are reflected in the 1840 census. Also in Seaton’s household was a young lady 20 and under 30 years old, most likely his sister Louisa who married later in the year at his residence.

1840censusdempsey — 1840 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Amherst > Sheet 214 (left) [ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2013]

1840censusdempsey2 — 1840 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Amherst > Sheet 214 (right)[ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2013]

Seaton’s mother died on 27 September 1834. Her death notice was published in the Lynchburg Virginian along with a request for papers in the state of Ohio to publish the same for the information of Mr. William DEMPSEY who was supposed to be somewhere in that state. Apparently, her husband did not see the notice and in June 1836, a year after publication, their son Wilson M. DEMPSEY was made administrator of the estate of William DEMPSEY. It took a dozen years to settle the estate. Deeds found by Norma Barnett Dempsey prove that Wilson M., Seaton Y., Isham Coleman, Wesley G., Louisa J. and Eliza were the children of William DEMPSEY and Martha LANDRUM.

In 1842 Seaton sold his interest in the estate of William DEMPSEY dec’d, 1/6th of 330 acres, to John J. Morgan. His brother Wilson bought the rest of his siblings’ share, 220 acres, in 1845. Wilson had quite a head for business, or profited from his first marriage, while Seaton did not appear to do as well. However, in 1850 we see Seaton, a farmer, with real estate valued at $500 while Wilson had no real estate and was an overseer. It is not known how Wilson disposed of the 275 acres that he had from his father’s estate.

In the 1840s four more children were born to Seaton and Clementine: Thomas G. abt. 1840, John J. abt. 1843, Mary M. abt. 1845, and Martha Ann abt. 1847.

1850censusdempsey — 1850 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Amherst > Sheet 76 > HH#40 [ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2013]

Before his last child was born Seaton saw his oldest son George W. marrying Rhoda A. STATON on 20 December 1852 in Amherst County, Virginia. The following year Julia Victoria, the baby of the family, was born. Seaton’s second oldest son William S. married Mary Elenor CLEMENTS on 26 April 1857 in Amherst County, Virginia. Seaton’s first grandchild Clementine was born abt. 1857 to his unmarried daughter Geneva Elizabeth.

Sometime following the above events Seaton and his brother Wilson moved their families from Amherst to Fayette County in western Virginia. This was the late 1850s and tension over slavery had begun to disrupt Virginia. Was this the reason that they moved farther west or was it because land was cheap? They established their homes in the Laurel Creek area. Later the place would be known as Dempsey, a quiet little community situated in a valley just five miles west of Fayetteville, called Laurel Creek by some of the residents from the stream of water which flows through it.

In 1860 Seaton had only $100 of personal estate while his brother Wilson is seen with real estate valued at $1000 and personal estate valued at $8000. Wilson may have used his personal funds to set up the country store operated by his only son John Edward “Ed”. The store, one of two in the area, was the location of the first post office established in 1865 giving the community its name – Dempsey.

1860censusdempsey — 1860 U.S. Federal Census > VA > Fayette > Fayetteville > HH#687&688 [ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2013]

The 1860 census listing is a bit confusing. Seaton is seen with his wife Clementine and in the next household, his oldest son George is with his wife Rhoda, their son Seaton A. and his siblings Thomas G., John J., Mary M., Martha A. and “Juda” V. I believe that George was living on his father’s farm.

Two of Seaton’s sons died during the Civil War or immediately following the war: William S. bet. 1864-1869 and Thomas G. bet. 1865-1870. Also following the war Seaton’s daughters began to marry:

Martha Ann “Matties” married George L. “Little George” JOHNSON (1846-1874) on 20 September 1866 in Fayette County, West Virginia
Geneva Elizabeth “Jennie” “Janie” married Marshall S. TERRY (1843-1920) bet. 1866-1869 in Virginia
Mary M. DEMPSEY married Irvin Lewis INGRAM (1846-1910) on 23 May 1867 in Fayette County, West Virginia

This left only Julia Victoria, age 16, at home with her parents in 1870. Seaton had acquired real estate valued at $500 and had $130 in personal property. Also in his household was a man named Joseph Hardy, a farmer with real estate valued at $1500 and personal property valued at $180. Could the enumerator have forgotten to fill in the household number which would have made this man the head of his own household?

1870censusdempsey — 1870 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > Fayetteville > Page 39 > HH #257-256 [ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2013]

Seaton’s youngest daughter Julia Victoria married Joseph Henry PRESSON (1850-1934) on 3 June 1872 in Fayette County, West Virginia.

Seaton, his wife Clementine, their daughter Mary and her husband Irvin INGRAM were on the church rolls of Loop Creek Baptist Church in 1875. The church was located in the Wriston community area on the south bank of Loop Creek at the mouth of Carter’s Branch. M. Bibb, W. P. Walker, Eli Wood and Washington McGraw were the brethren of the fourth oldest Baptist church in Fayette County when it was formed. The Loop Creek Baptist Church of Christ was constituted in August 1865 by a presbytery appointed by the Hopewell Baptist Church. The church was organized with a membership of 19. Religious services were held in the homes of the faithful until a church could be built.

1880censusdempsey — 1880 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > ED 27 Sheet HH # [ancestry.com : accessed 19 Feb 2013]

In 1880 Seaton and his wife Clementine were alone, all living children being married and on their own. Victoria, as she was usually known, was living next door to her parents. She was with her husband Joseph Henry PRESSON and their children. Martha Ann “Matties” was widowed and remarried on 18 July 1880 to Joseph Henry ARBAUGH (1853-1927) in Ansted, Fayette County, West Virginia.

No death record has been found for Seaton Y. DEMPSEY. I believe that due to the fact that he was not mentioned in the chancery records concerning the estate of his brother Wesley G. DEMPSEY he may have died before 1890. There is a possibility that Seaton and/or Clementine were living at the time of the 1900 census but were not enumerated as was the case of their daughters Mary (Irvin INGRAM) and Victoria (Joseph PRESSON).

I am very grateful to Norma Barnett Dempsey who shared all of her DEMPSEY research with me after I first contacted her in April 2000. Not only did she research the DEMPSEYs in Amherst, she also looked into other DEMPSEY families in Virginia and West Virginia in hopes of finding a connection. Norma’s husband descends from Seaton Y. DEMPSEY through his oldest son George W. DEMPSEY and then through three generations of strong DEMPSEY women who passed on the DEMPSEY name to their children.

52 Ancestors: #19 Huldah JOHNSON abt. 1818-bet. 1880-1900

This is entry #19 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

52 Ancestors: #19 Huldah JOHNSON abt. 1817-aft. 1880

I can hear her say, “Be sure to spell my name right!” Well Huldah if you’d have left a few more records . . . . at least they got it right on the 1850 to 1880 census.

The second child of Nancy Ann SIMS (1793-aft. 1860) and William JOHNSON Jr. (1793-1845) was born in Kanawha County in Virginia abt. 1817, a year before Nicholas County was created from Kanawha, Greenbrier and Randolph Counties. This child, a daughter, was my 3rd great-grandmother Huldah JOHNSON.

No exact date of birth is known for Huldah. She was seen as age 32, 42, 52, and 63 in the 1850-1880 census – each taken on the 1st of June. If she was born before 30 January 1818, the date of the formation of Nicholas County, then she was born in Kanawha County. However if she was born after this date, Nicholas County would have been her place of birth.

Nancy Ann and William married on 15 October 1814 in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia, and were the parents of 11 children. Huldah’s siblings, three of whom died young, were:

Sib 1: Nelson (1815-1855) b. abt. 1815 md. Elizabeth Hughes 14 Sep 1837
Sib 3: Alexander (1819-1887) b. 10 Jun 1819 md. Isabella Hughes bef. 1850
Sib 4: Mary (1820-1898) b. 20 Aug 1820 md. David Alexander Miller 13 Dec 1839
Sib 5: John Brown (1823-1902) b. 23 Dec 1823 md. Mary Ann Settle 14 Jul 1846
Sib 6: Amy (1825-1904) b. 4 Nov 1825 md. Charles McClung Huffman in 1849
Sib 7: Lewis (1828-1845) b. 6 Mar 1828
Sib 8: Elizabeth (1829-1833) b. Abt 1829
Sib 9: William Hunter (1832-1899) b. 27 Jul 1832 md. Louisa Lavinia Samuels 26 Oct 1856
Sib 10: Nancy (1835-1915) b. Aug 1835 md. William B. Martin 7 Sep 1853
Sib 11: Morris Houston (1839-1845) b. 21 Jan 1839

William JOHNSON Jr. and his family originally lived at the mouth of Laurel Creek, a tributary of the Gauley River which empties about one mile above Swiss. In 1810 the JOHNSON and SIMS families were neighbors and it is known that James SIMS, father of Nancy Ann SIMS, made his home at Swiss. Huldah’s brother John Brown JOHNSON was born at the mouth of Rich Creek on Gauley in 1823 per the 1911 biography of his son Julian M. Johnson. This would have been in the area of Swiss. Later, most likely after 1823, the JOHNSON family moved to a place on Loop Creek (Loup Creek) in the area of what is known as Robson in present-day Fayette County, West Virginia.

“Loop Creek flows for its entire length in western Fayette County. It rises in the city of Oak Hill and flows initially west-northwestward through the unincorporated communities of Lick Fork, Wriston, Ingram Branch, and Hamilton; then northward through the unincorporated communities of Kincaid, Page, North Page, and Robson, to Deep Water, where it flows into the Kanawha River.” [Source: Wikipedia]

The 1820 and 1830 census were enumerated in alphabetical order rather than in order of household visitation. This makes it less useful for locating the actual place that the family lived. The pre-1850 census listings will be discussed in William Johnson Jr.’s story at a later date.

The family was in Nicholas County in 1820 and then next seen in Kanawha County in the 1830 census which supports the theory that their move to Loop Creek was in the 1820s, most likely between 1824-1830. Robson is 10 miles south of present-day Gauley Bridge. Fayette County was created on 28 February 1831 from parts of Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas, and Logan counties. From then on Huldah’s siblings were born on Loop Creek in Fayette County where they were seen in the 1840 census.

Huldah JOHNSON met Robert INGRAM (1819-1902) who also lived on Loop Creek at Ingram Branch about 5 miles from Robson. Both were living at home with their respective parents per the 1840 census listings. They married after the enumeration and before the birth of their first son Vincent about 1841. Geraldine Dempsey Workman, who did much of the early work on our families, wrote, “Robert and Hulda’s (sic) marriage record cannot be found since pages are missing from the Marriage book at the courthouse.” Death records of their children Mary Elizabeth (Ingram) BLAKE and Richard Edward INGRAM list the mother as Hulda (sic, Huldah) Johnson.

I’m sorry Huldah but it looks like your descendants dropped an h off of your name.

Huldah’s father William JOHNSON Jr. died on 18 December 1845 on Loop Creek in Fayette County, (West) Virginia. Following his death, her mother Nancy moved to the Sissonville area of Kanawha County with Huldah’s siblings Alexander, William, and Nancy.

Following the birth of Vincent abt. 1841, Huldah and Robert had two more sons before the 1850 census. Irvin Lewis was born abt. 1846 and William Preston was born abt. 1847 on Ingram Branch of Loop Creek.

1850censusingram2 — 1850 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > Sheet 366A [online https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu0943unix#page/n335/mode/1up : accessed 3 March 2014]

Three daughters were born in the 1850s: Amy b. abt. 1852, Nancy Margaret b. 15 January 1853 and Mary Elizabeth b. 26 October 1855.

1860censusingram — 1860 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > Page 45 > Sheet 355 [online https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu1344unix#page/n341/mode/1up : accessed 3 March 2014]

Note: Amanda Blake seen with the Ingram family was the daughter of John Blake and Malinda Johnson. Malinda has been seen as the daughter of Israel Johnson, however, I believe that this may not be the case. Israel Johnson’s last will and testament written 24 October 1850, proven March 1852, does not mention Malinda. Further research to determine the relationship between Amanda Blake and the Ingram and/or Johnson family is planned.

Huldah’s oldest son Vincent gave evidence on 28 May 1862 about an event that took place in the fall of 1861. This is the last mention of this child and it is believed that he died between 1862-1870.

Huldah’s mother Nancy Ann SIMS died sometime after the 1860 census was enumerated. She was last seen in Sissonville District of Kanawha County in the household of her son William Hunter JOHNSON.

Richard Edward, Huldah’s youngest son, was born during the Civil War in March 1862 at Ingram Branch.

Two of Huldah’s’s children married in the late 1860s in Fayette County. Irvin Lewis married Mary M. DEMPSEY (1845-1888) on 23 May 1867. William Preston married Minerva LIGHT (1849-1920) on 8 April 1869.

1870censusingram — 1870 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > Falls of Kanawha >Page No. 2, Sheet 95B > HH #13-13 [https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu1686unit#page/n192/mode/1up : accessed 5 May 2014]

Two of Huldah’s daughters married in Fayette County the 1870s. Nancy Margaret “Maggie” married Marion L. BOWLING (1836-1900) on 2 February 1872 and Mary Elizabeth married Martin Van Buren BLAKE (1846-aft. 1900) on 22 Oct 1874.

1880ingramcensus — 1880 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > Kanawha > ED 28, Sheet 59D > HH #329-330 [https://archive.org/stream/populationsc18801402unit#page/n121/mode/1up : accessed 6 May 2014]

Huldah JOHNSON died sometime after the 1880 and before the 1900 census. She may have lived to see her youngest son Richard marry first in 1883 and second in 1888. It is my belief that she was not living when her daughter Amy finally married in 1895 at the age of 45.

Huldah was buried in a cemetery at the mouth of the Ingram Branch of Loop Creek, Fayette County, West Virginia, according to Luella Loving Lowther.

This entry is especially for Luella who first introduced me to this branch of the family. She is a very dear friend, 3rd cousin once removed, and a great-granddaughter of Huldah’s son William Preston INGRAM. William and his wife Minerva LIGHT named their daughter after Huldah JOHNSON in December 1880. Only they spelled her name without an H at the end. I wonder if my Huldah was still living when Luella’s grandmother Hulda Margaret INGRAM was named after her.

52 Ancestors: #18 Robert INGRAM 1819-abt. 1902

This is entry #18 in Amy Johnson Crow’s Challenge: 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

52 Ancestors: #18 Robert INGRAM 1819-abt. 1902

My 3rd great-grandfather Robert INGRAM was born in 1819 in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia. He was the son of James INGRAM and Margaret “Peggy” KINCAID. He had two older brothers, James Jr. b. abt. 1811 and Joshua b. abt. 1813. He may have had an older sister, as seen in the 1820 census, but no further information has been found for her.

1820 U.S. Federal Census
Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia
James Ingram
3 males under 10 yo (James Jr., Joshua, Robert)
1 male over 45 yo (James)
1 female under 10 yo (unknown daughter?)
1 female over 45 yo (Margaret, age should be ca. 26)
1 person engaged in agriculture
6 persons in household

Robert’s parents continued to have children in the 1820s: John was born abt. 1820, Matthew on 9 January 1824, and Cynthia on 25 March 1828. The female in the under 10 years age group in 1820 was not with the family in 1830. She may have died or was old enough to marry by 1830.

1830 U.S. Federal Census
Kanawha County, (West) Virginia
James Ingram
1 male under 5 yo (Matthew)
1 male 5-10 yo (John)
2 males 10-15 yo (Joshua & Robert)
1 male 15-20 yo (James Jr.)
1 male 50-60 yo (James)
1 female under 5 yo (Cynthia)
1 female 40-50 yo (Margaret)
Note: Fayette County was not formed until 1831 and included parts of Kanawha, Nicholas, Greenbrier, & Logan counties

In an election held 1 April 1835 in Fayette County to determine the location of the new Court House and County Seat, “James Ingrahm” and “Joshua Ingraham” voted for Kanawha Falls. James’ oldest son James Jr. is not mentioned and it is assumed that he died before this date. Robert INGRAM was not old enough to vote.
[Source: History of Fayette County, West Virginia 1993; Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, 310 Oyler Avenue, Oak Hill, WV 25901, 1993; pg. 21]

1840 U.S. Federal Census
Fayette County, (West) Virginia
James Ingram
2 males 10-15 yo (Matthew & John)
1 male 15-20 yo (Robert)
1 male 60-70 yo (James)
1 female 5-10 yo (Ruth)
1 female 10-15 yo (Cynthia)
1 female 50-60 yo (Margaret)

No marriage record has been found for Robert INGRAM. He was most likely with his father in the 1840 census as he is not seen with his own household. I assume that he married Huldah JOHNSON after the enumeration and before the birth of their son Vincent abt. 1841. Geraldine Dempsey Workman, who did much of the early work on our families, wrote, “Robert and Hulda’s (sic) marriage record cannot be found since pages are missing from the Marriage book at the courthouse.” Death records of their children Mary Elizabeth (Ingram) BLAKE and Richard Edward INGRAM list the mother as Hulda (sic, Huldah) Johnson.

In 1843 Robert patented 120 acres at Ingram Branch with his brother Matthew.

MRIN01994 1843 Ingram Land Grant 31 August 1843
Location: Fayette County (W. Va.).
Grantee(s): Ingram, Robert and Mathew.
Description: 120 acres on Loop Creek. .
[Source: Library of Virginia, Land Office Grants No. 94, 1842-1843, p. 507 (Reel 160)]

21 October 1842
Robert & Mathew Ingram
120 acres
Fayette County
Delivered to Col. Tyree ?th February 1844
James M. Dowell, Esquire, Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia:
To all to whom these Presents shall come-Greeting: KNOW YE, That in
conformity with a Survey, made on the 21st day of October, one thousand eight hundred and
forty two By virtue of Land Office Treasury warrant N. 14756
there is granted by the said Commonwealth, unto Robert and Mathew Ingram
a certain Tract of Land, containing one hundred and twenty acres: lying and
being in Fayette County on Loop creek and bounded as follow, towit
Beginning at a white oak and gum corner to John Kincaid, on
the Left hand side of the creek & with crossing the same S6W54 poles
to a sugar tree & beech corner to same and leaving S67W60 poles to two
chestnut oaks on a point S88W106 poles to a white oak North 48 poles
to a white oak on a ridge N19W66 poles to a maple and hickory N48
W24 poles to a maple and beech N8W (crossing the creek) 34 poles to
two chestnuts on a South hillside S69E230 poles to the beginning
with its appurtenances.

To have and to hold the Tract or Parcel of Land, with its appurtenances, to the said
Robert and Mathew Ingram
and their heirs forever.

In witness whereof, the said James M. Dowell Esquire, Governor
of the Commonwealth of Virginia, hath hereunto set his Hand, and caused the Lesser Seal of the said Commonwealth to be affixed, at Richmond, on the thirty first day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty three and of the Commonwealth the sixty eighth.

Jas. M. Dowell

Following the birth of Vincent abt. 1841, Robert and Huldah had two more sons before the 1850 census. Irvin Lewis was born abt. 1846 and William Preston was born abt. 1847 on Ingram Branch of Loop Creek. Robert and Huldah are seen with these sons in the 1850 census.

Three of Robert’s siblings married in the first three months of 1851 in Fayette County. Ruth married John Johnson DARLINGTON (1826-1900) on 9 January 1851, John married Lucy Jane SKAGGS (1824-1853) on 13 Feb 1851, and Cynthia married John B. “Johnny” TINCHER (1815-1890) on 23 Mar 1851.

Robert INGRAM was one of the appraisers of his uncle James G. KINCAID’s estate in August 1852. He bought a MaComic (sic, McCormick) plow for 3 dollars 12 1/2 cents. at the estate sale. In the 1800s, farming was largely done by hand, with animals assisting in plowing, breaking up the soil, and transporting crops.

Robert’s brother Matthew who had patented land with him in 1843 married on 20 August 1854 in Meigs County, Ohio, to Sarah Francis MARTIN (1834-1906).

Three daughters were born in the 1850s: Amy b. abt. 1852, Nancy Margaret b. 15 January 1853 and Mary Elizabeth b. 26 October 1855.

Note: Amanda Blake seen with the Ingram family was the daughter of John Blake and Malinda Johnson. Malinda has been seen as the daughter of Israel Johnson however I believe that this may not be the case. Israel Johnson’s last will and testament written 24 October 1850, proven March 1852, does not mention Malinda. Further research to determine the relationship between Amanda Blake and the Ingram family is planned.

Robert’s brother Joshua died bet. 1860-1862. The death record has not been found however his widow was seen remarrying on 23 August 1862 in Meigs County, Ohio, to Isaac E. Lewis, a veteran of the Mexican War.

Robert’s brother John who had been widowed in the 1850s married Delilah CRAIG (1826-1869) on 12 July 1860 in Kanawha County, (West) Virginia.

In 1861 Robert INGRAM was one of the signers who endorsed James S. Cassady as a delegate for Fayette County during the debates and proceedings of the First Constitutional Convention of West Virginia.

Richard Edward, the youngest child of Robert and Huldah, was born during the Civil War in March 1862 at Ingram Branch.

Robert’s oldest son Vincent gave evidence on 28 May 1862 about an event that took place in the fall of 1861. This is the last mention of this child and it is believed that he died between 1862-1870.

Robert’s mother Margaret “Peggy” KINCAID died about 1865 at the home of her nephew James Gillespie KINCAID Jr. and his father James INGRAM died between September and December 1865 in Sissonville in Kanawha County while living with his son Matthew.

Two of Robert’s children married in the late 1860s in Fayette County. Irvin Lewis married Mary M. DEMPSEY (1845-1888) on 23 May 1867. William Preston married Minerva LIGHT (1849-1920) on 8 April 1869.

Robert’s brother John married a third time to Mary F. LEGG (1843-1870) on 1 December 1869 in Kanawha County. He was seen with her in the 1870 census and both died before 1880.

Two of Robert’s daughters married in Fayette County the 1870s. Nancy Margaret “Maggie” married Marion L. BOWLING (1836-1900) on 2 February 1872 and Mary Elizabeth married Martin Van Buren BLAKE (1846-aft. 1900) on 22 Oct 1874.

Robert’s wife Huldah JOHNSON and his sister Ruth INGRAM died between 1880-1900. This twenty-year gap in the census is a hurdle all genealogists have to take. Hopefully, one day documents will come to light and help close this gap. Several of Robert’s children married in Fayette County during this time as seen in marriage records:

Richard Edward married Lucy F. HAMILTON (1856-1884) on 21 March 1883. Following her death, he married Rebecca Wilmuth RINEHART (1856-1909) on 27 May 1888. Irvin Lewis married Octava Susan “Susie” ALIFF (1865-1932) on 11 February 1888. Finally “old maid” Amy married James B. PAYNE (1846-1916) on 23 October 1895 at the age of 43.

1900ingramcensus — 1900 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > Kanawha > ED 16, Sheet 11A > HH #190-190 [https://archive.org/stream/12thcensusofpopu1758unit#page/n105/mode/1up : accessed 6 May 2014]

In 1900 Robert is seen for the last time in the census. He is living with the family of William Edward HAMILTON and is listed as a boarder. There is no known relationship to the Hamilton family who took in two other boarders. His surname is seen as INGHRAM, a spelling that he did not use. He was widowed and did not work. He was incorrectly listed as being 89 years old, born in May 1811. He may have been born in May but in all previous census listings, he was seen with an age that calculated to his being born in 1819.

Robert’s brother Matthew died 12 July 1900 in Sissonville in Kanawha County and was buried in Pauley Cemetery on Little Sandy in Elk District.

Robert INGRAM died abt. 1902 at the home of his cousin Preston KINCAID. He had one surviving sibling, Cynthia TINCHER who died in 1910.

52 Ancestors: #11 Mary M. DEMPSEY abt. 1845-bet. 1880-1888

This is my 11th contribution to Amy Johnson Crow’s challenge 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Shona Duit!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

A Small Explanation Up Front

I have two DEMPSEY lines in my paternal family tree. My entries for this challenge have included my father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather, all with the surname DEMPSEY:

#1 Fred Roosevelt DEMPSEY 1935-1974
#2 Fred Rothwell DEMPSEY 1899-1975
#4 William Henderson DEMPSEY 1860-1941
#8 William A. W. DEMPSEY 1822-1867

chart — Screenshot of five-generation pedigree generated by Ancestral Quest 14

Mary M. DEMPSEY, one of my 4 paternal great-great-grandmothers, is from the other DEMPSEY line in my family tree. The lines are connected as Mary’s daughters Octava and Laura INGRAM married sons of William A. W. DEMPSEY. However a common DEMPSEY ancestor has not been found to connect the two DEMPSEY lines.

52 Ancestors: #11 Mary M. DEMPSEY abt. 1845-bet. 1880-1888

Mary M. DEMPSEY was born about 1845 to Seaton Y. DEMPSEY and Clementine M. GOWING who were married on 3 January 1829. They had 5 children before Mary was born and then two more bringing the total to eight children. All of these events took place in Amherst County, Virginia.

Sib 1: George W. Dempsey (1831-aft. 1870)
Sib 2: Geneva Elizabeth “Jennie” Dempsey (1836-aft. 1910)
Sib 3: William S. Dempsey (1839-1860s)
Sib 4: Thomas G. Dempsey (1840-1860s)
Sib 5: John J. Dempsey (1843-1860s)
Sib 7: Martha Ann “Matties” Dempsey (1847-1909)
Sib 8: Julia Victoria Dempsey (1853-1926)

1850censusAmherst — 1850 U.S. Federal Census > Virginia > Amherst > Eastern District > Sheet 76A > HH #40 [online https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu0933unix#page/n149/mode/1up : accessed 11 March 2014]

1850 U.S. Federal Census
Amherst County, Virginia
Eastern District
HH #40-40
Dempsey, C. Y. 47 M Farmer 500 Virginia
Dempsey, C. M. 35 F
Dempsey, Geo W. 19 M
Dempsey, Elizabeth 14 F
Dempsey, Wm S. 11 M
Dempsey, Thomas G. 10 M
Dempsey, John J. 7 M
Dempsey, Mary M. 5 F
Dempsey, Martha A. 2 F

Following the 1850 census Mary’s older siblings began to marry and have children. Her sister Jennie had illegitimate children, a daughter about 1857 and twin daughters about 1859. Her brother George married Rhoda A. STATON (1825-aft. 1870?) on 20 December 1852 and her brother William married Mary Eliza CLEMENTS (1839-?) on 26 April 1857, both in Amherst County.

The family moved to Fayette County, (West) Virginia

Mary’s father Seaton and her uncle Wilson M. DEMPSEY moved their families to Fayette County, (West) Virginia, in the late 1850’s. Mary’s brother William and sister Jennie remained in Amherst County with their young families.

The 1860 census listing shows Mary’s parents in one household followed by her brother George’s household. Mary and and her siblings Thomas, John, Martha, and Julia were listed in George’s household. Normally Mary and her siblings would have been listed in her parents household. I suspect that the entire family group was living together and George was given a household and family number making it look like his siblings were living in his household.

1860censusseaton — 1860 U.S. Federal Census > Virginia > Fayette > District 2 > Sheet 304 [online https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu1344unix#page/n310/mode/1up : accessed 11 March 2014]

1860 U.S. Federal Census
Fayette County, (West) Virginia
Fayetteville Twp
HH #1352-687
Dempsey Ceton Y. 57 M W farmer Virginia
Clementine M. 47 F W wife Virginia
HH #1353-688
George 28 M W farm labor Virginia
Rhoda 35 F W wife Virginia
Ceton A. 5 M W Virginia
Thomas G. 18 M W farm labor Virginia
John J. 15 M W farm labor Virginia
Mary M. 13 F W Virginia
Martha A. 10 F W Virginia
Juda V. 7 F W Virginia

Older siblings returned to eastern Virginia in the 1860s

Following the 1860 census Mary’s brother Thomas returned to eastern Virginia and joined the 58th Virginia Infantry in August 1861 in Amherst County. It is possible that her brother John also went east and joined up in Rockbridge County where their brother William was living. There is no trace of William, Thomas, or John in 1870 or later. Mary’s brother George and his wife disappear after the 1870 census. Their sons remained in Fayette County while a daughter went back to Amherst and later lived in Rockbridge County.

Mary’s sister Jennie had more illegitimate children and married Marshall S. TERRY (1843-aft. 1920) about 1866-1869 (per 1900 and 1910 census). She died between 1910-1920 in Rockbridge County, Virginia. No marriage record has been found for Jennie and Marshall Terry. In 1895 Chancery Records found in Rockbridge County concerning the estate of her uncle Wesley G. DEMPSEY, one of Seaton and Wilson’s brothers, Jennie was seen as Wesley’s niece Jennie TERRY (née DEMPSEY) wife of Marshall TERRY. Prior to finding the chancery records it had been assumed that the daughter seen only as Elizabeth in 1850 had died by 1860. Finding her as Jennie Terry, wife of a man who was seen as a mulatto in the earlier census listings, has brought up a whole bunch of questions that need to be answered. This discovery also gives me faith in the documents that are going to help open the doors in the DEMPSEY brick walls!

Back in Fayette County, West Virginia

Mary’s parents Seaton and Clementine remained in Fayette County with the three youngest daughters Mary M., Martha A., and Julia V. By 1870 Mary and her sister Martha had married and only Julia was living at home with her parents.

Mary’s sisters Martha and Julia marry

Martha Ann “Matties” DEMPSEY married George L. “Little George” JOHNSON (1846-bef 1880) on 20 September 1866. They had four children before Little George left her a widow. She married second Joseph Henry ARBAUGH (1853-1927) on 18 July 1880 in Ansted, Fayette County, West Virginia. They were the parents of three children. “Matties” died on 11 March 1909.

Julia Victoria DEMPSEY married Joseph Henry PRESSON (1850-1934) on 3 June 1872. They were the parents of 7 children. Julia died 1 May 1926 in Ansted.

What became of Mary M. Dempsey?

On 23 May 1867 Eli WOOD, Minister of the Gospel, performed the marriage ceremony in Fayette County, West Virginia, for Mary M. DEMPSEY and her groom Irvin Lewis INGRAM, son of Robert INGRAM and Huldah JOHNSON. [line 37]

The 1870 census listing for Mary and her young family has not been located. I suspect that the family may have been missed. From later records we know that Mary’s first daughter Octavia Dell INGRAM (1866-1923) was born 14 March 1866 Fayette County, West Virginia. This was a year prior to Mary’s marriage to Irvin Lewis INGRAM on 23 May 1867. Following the marriage their second daughter Laura Belle INGRAM (1868-1940) was born 24 April 1868 at Ingram Branch on Loop Creek in Fayette County. There are no birth records for Octava and Laura and we must rely on the information passed on to descendants, in Octava’s case, and given on Laura’s death certificate.

Mary and Irvin’s third daughter’s birth was entered in the register of births: Harriet F. Ingram (1871- ) born 8 March 1871 at Loup Creek, Fayette County, West Virginia. This daughter most likely died before 1900 as she has not been found in the 1900 census nor has a marriage record been found for her at WVCulture.org. Note that her father Irvin was missed in the 1900 census and it is possible that Harriet may have also been missed.

1880censusingram — 1880 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > ED #27 Sheet #17A [online https://archive.org/stream/populationsc18801402unit#page/n36/mode/1up : accessed 8 Mar 2014]

In 1880 we see Mary age 31 with her husband Irvin age 35 and their three daughters, Octavi D. age 14; Laura B. age 12 and Harriet F. age 9. This is the last record we find to document Mary’s life.

Was Mary still living when her daughters married in the early 1880’s? Octavia Dell married Elijah Lewis DEMPSEY (1862-1943) on 19 October 1882 and Laura Belle married William Henderson DEMPSEY (1860-1941) on 1 October 1884. Both marriages were performed by I. C. Cavendish.

Mary’s husband Irvin Lewis INGRAM’s marital status was widower when he married Susie Aliff on 11 February 1888 therefore Mary must have died after the 1880 census and prior to Irvin’s marriage in February 1888. She would have been 43 years old in 1888.

I planned out my 52 Ancestors in January and only noticed today that I would be blogging about the same ancestral line as I did last year on St. Patrick’s Day.
Lá Fhéile Pádraig Shona Duit!

52 Ancestors: #10 Irvin Lewis INGRAM 1846-1910

Irvin Lewis INGRAM, my 2nd great-grandfather, died in 1910. I don’t have access to West Virginia newspapers for that time period and do not even know if an obituary was printed for him. I’ve used the information in my genealogy database to write this impromptu obituary in honor of him.

Obituary of Irvin L. Ingram
Irvin Lewis Ingram, 64, passed away at his home in Turkey Creek near Ansted, Thursday, March 4, 1910, as a result of kidney trouble.
He was a blacksmith and a member of the Loop Creek Baptist Church in the early days of its formation.
Irvin was born about 1846 to Robert Ingram and Huldah Johnson on land patented by his father Robert and uncle Matthew in 1843 on Ingram Branch of Loup Creek (also seen as Loop Creek) in Fayette County, Virginia (now West Virginia).
He was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife Mary M. Dempsey Ingram; daughter Harriet F. Ingram; granddaughters, Lillie Dempsey (1908), Cora Dempsey (1887), Victoria Dempsey (1896), Viola Dempsey (1887), and Pearl Dempsey (1898); great-granddaughter Olive Dempsey (12 Jan 1910); sister Amy Ingram Payne and brother Vincent Ingram.
Survivors include three daughters Octavia Dell (Elijah L.) Dempsey of Turkey Creek, Laura Belle (Fred R.) Dempsey of Victor, and Ocie Ola (Michael C.) Watts of South Caperton; 18 grandchildren Edward Dempsey, Hallie Dempsey, Walt Dempsey, Ada Dempsey, Clara Dempsey, Bert Dempsey, Henrietta Dempsey, Carl Dempsey, Willie Dempsey, Ernest Dempsey, Oscar Dempsey, Roy Dempsey, Fred Dempsey, Clyde Dempsey, Hester Dempsey, Homer Watts, Arizona Watts and Myrtle Watts; two sisters, Maggie Bowling and Mary E. Blake; two brothers, William P. Ingram and Richard E. Ingram; an aunt, Cynthia Ingram Tincher; many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
He was also survived by his former wife Octava Susan “Susie” Aliff Walk and her children Thomas Holstein, Julian Lee Walk, Mary Ann Walk, and Joseph Walk.
His 24th grandchild is expected in November.
Funeral arrangements are unknown. Burial may have been in Hendrick’s Cemetery, Turkey Creek.

The Details of Irvin’s Life

Irvin Lewis INGRAM was the second son of Huldah JOHNSON (1818-aft.1880) and Robert INGRAM (1819-1902). The family of five was seen on the 1850 census in Fayette County, Virginia. Vincent was born abt. 1841, Irvin abt. 1846 and William in 1848.

1850 U.S. Federal Census
Fayette County, (West) Virginia
Enumerated on 27 August 1850
HH #461-461
Robert Ingram 31 M W Farmer $100 VA
Huldah Ingram 32 F W Virginia
Vincent Ingram 9 M W Virginia
Irvin L. Ingram 4 M W Virginia
Wm. P. Ingram 2 M W Virginia

The next door household was that of Irvin’s grandmother Margaret Ingram, née KINCAID. Her three youngest children were living at home.

During the 1850’s the family grew with the births of Irvin’s three sisters: Amy, Nancy Margaret “Maggie”, and Mary Elizabeth INGRAM.

1860 U.S. Federal Census
Fayette County, (West) Virginia
District No. 1, Page No. 25, Sheet No. 335
Enumerated the 20th day of June 1860,
P. Morton, Ass’t Marshall
Gauley Bridge Post Office
HH # 183-161
Robert Ingram 41 M W Farmer $1000 $200 Virginia
Huldah Ingram 42 F W Virginia
Vincent Ingram 19 M W Farm Laborer Virginia
Ervin L. Ingram 14 M W Virginia
William P. Ingram 12 M W Virginia
Amy Ingram 8 F W Virginia
Nancy M. Ingram 7 F W Virginia
Mary E. Ingram 3 F W Virginia
Amanda Blake 20 F W day laborer Virginia
John A. Blake 1 M W illegitimate Virginia

It is believed that Irvin’s oldest brother Vincent INGRAM died during the 1860’s as no further records are found for him following this census. Did he serve in the Union or Confederate army during the Civil War (1861-1865)? Did he have a middle name that he was known by after the 1860 census?

In 1862 the family was complete with the birth of Irvin’s youngest brother Richard Edward INGRAM.

Irvin was a Baptist

The Loop Creek Baptist Church of Christ was constituted in August 1865 by a presbytery appointed by the Hopewell Baptist Church. The church was organized with a membership of 19. Religious services were held in the homes of the faithful until a church could be built. The Methodists also allowed the Baptists to use their Lincoln Chapel, a small log building constructed about the time the Civil War ended. The first house of worship owned by Loop Creek Baptist Church built in 1874 was used only a brief time before it was destroyed by fire. Once again Lincoln Chapel was used until 1892.

Irvin and Mary Ingram as well as Mary’s parents, Seaton and Clementine Dempsey, were on the church rolls of Loop Creek Baptist Church in 1875. The church was located in the Wriston community area on the south bank of Loop Creek at the mouth of Carter’s Branch. M. BIBB, W. P. WALKER, Eli WOOD and Washington McGRAW were the brethen of the fourth oldest Baptist church in Fayette County when it was formed.

Irvin was the first of the Ingram children to marry. On 23 May 1867 Eli WOOD, Minister of the Gospel, performed the marriage ceremony for Irvin L. INGRAM and his bride Mary M. DEMPSEY, daughter of Seaton Y. DEMPSEY and Clementine GOWING. [line 37]

Irvin marries and becomes a father (maybe not in that order)

Irvin and Mary’s first daughter Octavia Dell INGRAM was born in March 1866 per the 1900 census. The age calculation is consistent in census listings. However, this was over a year prior to the marriage. Their second daughter Laura Belle INGRAM was born 24 April 1868 at Ingram Branch per her death record. I had hopes of clearing up the confusion with the 1870 census but the small family of four appears to have been missed.

Irvin’s parents and four youngest siblings were found in HH #13-13 in the Falls of Kanawha Township (Fayette County) followed several households later, in HH #16-16, by his brother William Preston, his wife Minerva LIGHT (1849-1920) whom he married 8 April 1869, and their son.

Could Irvin’s absence in the 1870 census mean that he was not in Fayette County? Was his brother Vincent with him and his family? By 1871 we see Irvin and Mary living in Loup Creek at the time of the birth of their third daughter Harriet F. INGRAM (1871-bef. 1900) born 10 March 1871. [line 83]

Irvin’s younger siblings began to marry in the 1870’s: Nancy Margaret “Maggie” INGRAM married 2 February 1872 Marion L. BOWLING (1836-1900) and Mary Elizabeth INGRAM married 22 October 1874 Martin Van Buren BLAKE (1846-1900).

In 1880 we see Irvin and Mary with their three daughters. No other children are known to have been born to this couple.

1880 U.S. Federal Census
Fayette County, West Virginia
Fayetteville District
ED No. 27, Sheet No. 17A
Enumerated the 8th day of June 1880, John T. Smith, enumerator
HH #53
Ingram, Irvin W M 35 married Blacksmith WV WV WV
Ingram, Mary M. W F 31 Wife married Keeping house VA VA VA
Ingram, Octavi D. W F 14 Dau single At home attended school WV WV WV (sic, VA)
Ingram, Laura B. W F 12 Dau single At home attended school WV WV WV (sic, VA)
Ingram, Harriet F. W F 9 Dau single attended school WV WV WV (sic, VA)

The mystery years between 1880-1910 (due to missing census)

The absence of the 1890 census makes it difficult to determine when Irvin’s mother Huldah JOHNSON died. No death record was recorded in West Virginia and by 1900 her husband Robert was seen as widowed, therefore she died between 1880-1900.

Irvin’s oldest daughter Octavia Dell INGRAM married Elijah Lewis DEMPSEY (1862-1943) on 19 October 1882. Nearly two years later his daughter Laura Belle INGRAM married William Henderson DEMPSEY (1860-1941), the brother of Elijah, on 1 October 1884. Both marriages took place in Fayette County, West Virginia.

Irvin remarries after his wife’s death

Irvin’s wife Mary M. died after the 1880 census and before 1888. We see Irvin, a widower, marrying Octava Susan “Susie” ALIFF (1865-1932), a widow, on 11 February 1888 in Fayetteville. They were married by Irvin’s double second cousin Rev. Henry LIGHT. On the marriage certificate, Susie was listed as Mrs. HOLSTEIN and more research was done to determine her maiden name. [marriage license and return; left page]

Susie brought a son, Thomas Holstein, from her first marriage into the union. Irvin and Susie had a daughter Ocie Ola INGRAM (1889-1949) born 8 July 1889 in Fayette County, West Virginia. [line 185]

His second union is a troubled marriage….

I suspect that Irvin and his second wife Susie were living a troubled marriage long before they were divorced in 1904. In 1897 the birth of a son was recorded twice with similar information. Julian Lee INGRAM (1897-1960) born 9 July 1897 in Star, Fayette County, West Virginia, was the third child of the mother Susie. [page 414, entry 2] and [page 406, entry 4]. The age of the mother is seen as 23 but should be 32. In both records, Irvin age 52 is listed as the father. However, the child is seen as Julian Lee WALK in 1910 to 1940 census records and his 1960 death record. Julian is listed as a half-brother in the obituary of Ocie Ola Ingram Davis Watts. This would suggest that Julian’s father was not Irvin INGRAM. Samuel Russell WALK, whose obituary listed Julian as his son, gave him his surname and raised him. Note that Thomas Holstein, Susie’s son from her first marriage, is also listed as a son of Mr. Walk in the obituary. Susie INGRAM had two children with Samuel Russell WALK before they were married in 1905.

The 1900 census might have shed more light on the number of children that Irvin and his second wife Susie had. Unfortunately, there are several families in my family tree who were missed in Fayette County enumeration including Irvin and his second family (Susie Ingram, Thomas Holstein, Ocie Ola Ingram, and Julian Lee Ingram aka Julian Lee Walk) as well as his brother William P. Ingram and his family. I did locate Samuel Russell WALK, single, with his mother, stepfather, and half-siblings.

….ends in divorce….

The divorce of Irvin Lewis INGRAM and Octava Susan ALIFF was recorded at Fayette County courthouse on 15 December 1904. [Note: copy of this record needs to be obtained; would cause for divorce be included in the entry?]

Susan INGRAM did not wait long to remarry. She married Samuel Russell WALK on 23 April 1905 [9th entry from bottom] in Fayette County. As it turns out, Sam Walk was the father of three of the children Susie gave birth to while married to Irvin. I have always suspected this and finally found the records to prove it.

….and three children born during his 2nd marriage were another man’s

A new search on WVCulture turned up a delayed birth certificate (1952) for Julian Lee WALK naming Samuel WALK and Susie ALIFF as his parents. Further, a delayed birth certificate (1958) was found for Joseph WALK who was born 22 October 1904, several weeks before Susie’s marriage to Irvin was dissolved. The third child that Susie gave birth to while she was still the wife of Irvin INGRAM was Mary Ann WALK who killed herself in 1918 at the age of nearly 17 years. Her certificate of death shows that Samuel Russell WALK was her father.

While Irvin was having his difficulties with his second wife, his siblings continued to marry. His youngest brother Richard Edward INGRAM married Lucy F. HAMILTON (1856-1884) on 21 March 1883. Lucy died in February 1884 two weeks after the birth of their child from a deep cold. The child died about the same time at age 2 weeks. Richard then married Rebecca Wilmuth RINEHART (1856-1909) on 27 May 1888. Irvin and Richard’s “old maid” sister Amy INGRAM married James B. PAYNE (1846-1916) on 23 October 1895 and both died between 1900-1910.

Irvin’s father Robert INGRAM died about 1902 at the home of his cousin Preston KINCAID.

Irvin’s daughter Ocie Ola INGRAM married Clay DAVIS (1883-1906) on 2 February 1906 at Coal Run in Fayette County. The marriage lasted less than three weeks as the young groom was killed in a mine accident on 21 February 1906. Ocie Ola then married Michael Curtis WATTS (1879-1948) on 5 June 1906 at Coal Run.

Irvin Lewis INGRAM died 4 March 1910 at Turkey Creek, Fayette County, West Virginia. His daughter Octava DEMPSEY was the informant on his death record where his marital status is listed as single. [fourth entry from bottom]

Addendum: Irvin died 104 years ago. It is not likely that his obituary would have been written the way I wrote it. I wanted it to show all of the people who were in his life: parents, siblings, spouses, children, grandchildren, stepchildren, and, yes, even the children he did not father but were born to his second wife while they were still legally married.

If anyone reading this has more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

52 Ancestors: #9 Sarah Ann WOOD 1827-1887 – Her Husband Came From Outer Space

52ancestors Hope that caught your eye! No, I’m not convinced that one of my ancestors was an alien from another world. After last week’s entry about my most frustrating brick wall, William A. W. DEMPSEY, I had to do something to lighten things up before I go on with his wife Sarah’s story.

This is my 9th contribution to Amy Johnson Crow’s challenge 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

52 Ancestors: #9 Sarah Ann WOOD 1827-1887

Sarah Ann WOOD was born about 1827 in (present day) Fayette County, West Virginia, the third child of Elijah WOOD and Rachel HONAKER who were married in 1825 in Nicholas County, (West) Virginia.

In 1885 Elijah WOOD named his nine living children in order of birth in his last will and testament. Sarah was named third after Allen Alexander and Amanda Jane; Mary Salina was named fourth. Allen, Amanda, Sarah, and Mary were born between 1825-1830 per the 1830 census when the family was living in Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia. Allen was their first child born nine months after the marriage in October 1825 per the 1900 census. The 1840 census numbers are consistent with the 1830. There are no birth records for this time period so I have to trust the census for an estimate of when the children were born.

I am puzzled by the fact that the family was enumerated in Greenbrier County in 1830 as the area that they lived in was part of Nicholas County at that time. Or did they move out of that area for a short time? Sarah’s great-grandfather Bailey WOOD first settled in Woodville (also known as New Haven, Westlake and now Ansted) in the 1790’s when the area was part of Greenbrier County. Due to the changing county lines it fell to Nicholas County in 1818 and then Fayette County in 1831.
[See this nifty interactive map on the formation of the Virginia counties.]

I’m multi-lingual and sometimes the right term in English just doesn’t want to come to me when I need it. There is a wonderful German word to describe the vital records for the time period that my Sarah lived in: lückenhaft (incomplete, sketchy, fragmentary, scrappy, gappy). When documentation is “lückenhaft” and your ancestor fits into the gaps found between the records it’s disappointing. Looking on the bright side, it is encouraging to find records for siblings and other relatives to put things into perspective.

Sarah marries and begins having children

When Sarah was about 16 years old her sister Amanda Jane married Joshua J. PARRISH on 1 June 1843 in Fayette County. The marriage record [right page, entry 8] was found at West Virginia Vital Research Records (my #1 favorite free site).

Sarah was most likely the next of Elijah and Rachel’s children to marry. She married William A. W. DEMPSEY about 1846 as we see Wm. A. W. age 28 and Sarah A. age 22 in the 1850 census with their oldest child Elizabeth Rachel age 3 and James Alexander age 1. The young family was living in HH#85, in the immediate area of Sarah’s parents in HH#94, in Fayette County.

1850census — 1850 U.S. Federal Census > Virginia > Fayette > 14th District >Sheet 336B
[online https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu0943unix#page/n275/mode/2up%5D

In the 1850’s Sarah gave birth to three more children: Mary Virginia in June 1854, Eunice J. on 1 May 1855, and John Henry on 7 November 1857. The closeness of these births makes me wonder if she may have had more pregnancies between 1849-1854, children who did not survive.

1860census1 — 1860 U.S. Federal Census > Virginia > Fayette > Sheet No. 365
[online https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu1344unix#page/n371/mode/2up%5D

1860census2 — 1860 U.S. Federal Census > Virginia > Fayette > Sheet No. 365
[online https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu1344unix#page/n371/mode/2up%5D

In 1860 the family was living in the household of the widower John A. McGRAW and his three motherless children. John’s deceased wife Nancy M. McGRAW (maiden name McGRAW) was Sarah’s double first cousin once removed. I would like to think that the families were living together because Sarah was helping with the care of the widower’s children who had lost their mother in 1855. I believe that the families may have been living together for several years. Both families had sons named James. Sarah’s son James was seen with only his middle name, Alexander, possibly an attempt to avoid confusion as the boys were close in age. That same year Sarah gave birth to her sixth child, my great-grandfather, William Henderson DEMPSEY, born on 14 September 1860.

Sarah’s husband is arrested as a rebel

During the Civil War while pregnant with her youngest child Elijah Lewis (b. 19 October 1862), Sarah’s husband William A. W. DEMPSEY, a farmer and citizen residing on Dogwood Ridge, was arrested as a rebel by the Union army. He had left home on the 18th of May 1862 to get work in the valley when he heard firing at the Court House. He gave the names of his brothers-in-law Simpson Wood, Styris Wood, and G. W. McVay of the Oil Works as references as well as saying he knew Hamilton of Hawks Nest. James B. Hamilton was well known and his marriage linked him to the large WOOD family. He had married Sarah’s first cousin Matilda Wood in 1853.

The Difficult Years Following The Civil War

Times were hard for Sarah and her family following the Civil War. Sarah’s mother Rachel died in the 1860’s and her father Elijah remarried. About 1867 Sarah’s husband William was killed in a logging accident leaving her with a passel of children aged between twenty-one and five. Her oldest child Elizabeth Rachel “Lizzie” DEMPSEY married Robert HUGHES, a widower, in 1868.

The family is dispersed

Sarah still had six children to feed and raise. The extended WOOD family came to her rescue. The family was scattered at the time of the 1870 census. James was living with his Aunt Amanda Jane (WOOD) PARRISH:

1870censusjames — 1870 U.S. Federal Census > West Virginia > Fayette > Mountain Cove > Sheet No. 147B
[online https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu1686unit#page/n296/mode/1up : accessed 3 Mar 2014]

Eunice and John were with their grandfather Elijah WOOD:

1870censusjohn — 1870 U.S. Federal Census > West Virginia > Fayette > Mountain Cove > Sheet No. 144A
[online https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu1686unit#page/n289/mode/1up : accessed 3 Mar 2014]

Elijah, the youngest, and his mother Sarah were with his aunt Turzey (WOOD) NEAL:

1870censussarah — 1870 U.S. Federal Census > West Virginia > Fayette > Mountain Cove > Sheet No. 148A
[online https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu1686unit#page/n297/mode/1up : accessed 3 Mar 2014]

William, age 10 at the time and working as a farm laborer, was living with the Abraham “Abram” FORSYTHE family. Mr. FORSYTHE was first married to Sarah HENDRICK (d. 1859) and second to Mary WESTLAKE in 1862. Both Abram’s brother Samuel and Mary’s sister Mathilda were married into the large WOOD family.

1870censuswm — 1870 U.S. Federal Census > West Virginia > Fayette > Mountain Cove > Sheet No. 147A
[online https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu1686unit#page/n295/mode/1up : accessed 3 Mar 2014]

Lizzie was with her husband, raising his two motherless boys from his first marriage and their own son.

1870censushughes — 1870 U.S. Federal Census > West Virginia > Fayette > Falls of Kanawha > Sheet No. 111A
[online https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu1686unit#page/n223/mode/1up : accessed 3 Mar 2014]

Sarah’s daughter Mary Virginia, about 16 years old at the time, was not found. She was in the area as she was the next of Sarah’s children to marry. She married John A. SNELL (1850-1897) on 16 September 1872 in Fayette County.

Two marriage licenses found for Sarah

A few months later Sarah had an offer to marry as a marriage license was taken out on 27 November 1872 in Fayette County, West Virginia, for James B. REID born in Scotland, widowed, son of Wm & Mary, and Sarah Ann DEMPSEY, widowed, daughter of Elijah WOOD. Geraldine Dempsey Workman believed that this marriage did not take place as there was no minister’s return. This would make sense as several weeks later, on 14 January 1873, Sarah married John M. FOX. The marriage licenses were found on the same page of the marriage register. [Reid line 17; Fox line 32]

Sarah’s children were growing and coming of age to marry. Eunice J. DEMPSEY married John Isaac SCAGGS (1841-1903) on 11 May 1873 and James Alexander “Buck” DEMPSEY married Mary E. SADDLER (1855-1920) on 25 December 1874, both marriages in Fayette County. This left her with her three youngest sons still unmarried in 1880. John and Elijah were living with their grandfather Elijah WOOD:

1880censusjohn — 1880 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > Mountain Cove > Sheet No. 104A
[online https://archive.org/stream/populationsc18801402unit#page/n209/mode/2up : acccessed 3 Mar 2014]

and my great-grandfather William, adopted, was with the John CAMPBELL family. No record has been found to show that this was a legal adoption.

1880censuswm — 1880 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > Mountain Cove > Sheet No. 114A
[online https://archive.org/stream/populationsc18801402unit#page/n229/mode/2up : accessed 3 Mar 2014]

In earlier research some confusion was caused by the presence of a grandson named Charles A. DEMPSEY in the 1880 household of John Fox and his second wife Sarah. Since Sarah first marriage was to a Dempsey one could assume that the grandson was the son of one of her children. But he was not. This is a lesson to those who do not look at all the persons involved in their ancestors lives. Charles was the son of John Fox’s eldest daughter Mary and her husband Seton B. DEMPSEY. To date no relationship has been found between the families of Sarah’s first husband William DEMPSEY and Seton B. DEMPSEY.

1880censussarah — 1880 U.S. Federal Census > WV > Fayette > Mountain Cove > 105C
[online https://archive.org/stream/populationsc18801402unit#page/n211/mode/2up : accessed 3 Mar 2014]

Sarah’s son James Alexander was living next door to her in the above.

Sarah’s youngest sons marry in the early 1880’s

Following the 1880 census Sarah saw her youngest sons marry their life partners. John Henry DEMPSEY married Amanda Ann “Mandy” McCLUNG (1864-1938) on 22 February 1882; Elijah Lewis DEMPSEY married Octavia Dell INGRAM (1866-1923) on 19 October 1882; and my great-grandfather William Henderson DEMPSEY married my great-grandmother Laura Belle INGRAM (1868-1940) on 1 October 1884.

Sarah and her father Elijah die a year and half apart

In 1885 Sarah’s father Elijah WOOD passed away. Sarah followed him a year and a half later on 1 April 1887 [2nd entry]. It is believed that she is buried in Good Luck Cemetery also known as Fox-Wood Cemery on Chestnutburg, Ames Hgts Rd. 1.75 mi. off Rt. 19, Fayette County, West Virginia. She was survived by six or seven children, about 20 grandchildren, and her second husband John M. FOX who died 12 January 1896. Sarah’s seven children gave her a total at least fifty grandchildren, although about seven did not live to adulthood, and nearly 180 great-grandchildren.

Flat rock tombstone may be Sarah’s

MRIN08669 S C Fox Stone at Fox Cemetery — Fox tombstone courtesy of Becky Fox

Lyle LeMasters wrote in December 2000 that he believed that my great-great-grandmother Sarah Ann Wood Dempsey Fox is buried in the old cemetery on the old Chestnutburg Road now known as the Old Mill Creek Road. The Foxes are buried at the very top of the hill and different families are buried in lines coming down the hill. The Wood family graves are about the 3rd or 4th row down the hill. The graves are all facing east to meet the rising sun. He further said that her stone is like the old Fox stones, a rock tombstone in the ground and roughly carved initials and years in the stone. She is not buried with the Foxes but is buried down along the line of the Woods graves. The reason that he believes that this is her stone is that she was the only one that came close enough to fit. His aunt Becky Fox shared a photo of the marker with me.

52 Ancestors: #5 Laura Belle INGRAM 1868-1940

52ancestors Writing for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is making me take a closer look at the who, what, when, where, why and how for each ancestor.

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When I lived with my paternal grandmother Myrtle Hazel ROOP in 1976-1977 she gave me an old book that had belonged to her mother-in-law, my great-grandmother Laura Belle INGRAM. It has that unique old book smell and is missing the cover. The pages have a yellowish stain and brown spots. The binding is cracked and the book opens to what I think might have been a page that Laura referred to often.

009 — *Morning Sickness & Relation of Husband and Wife*

Search Lights on Health (short title) was sold only by subscription. I was surprised to find that it has been included in the Project Gutenberg as an eBook. The Internet Archive has images of the book online. It is public domain so I am using images that I photographed from the book to illustrate Laura’s story.

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My great-grandparents William Henderson DEMPSEY and Laura Belle INGRAM

I love this picture!
In their faces I see my father, my uncles, my aunts.

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Family on Ingram Branch of Loup Creek Grows

Following the Civil War a little family of three, Irvin Lewis INGRAM, his wife Mary M. DEMPSEY, and their daughter Octavia Dell born in March 1866 [per 1900 census], was living on Ingram Branch of Loup Creek in Fayette County in the newly formed state of West Virginia. Irvin and Mary married on May 23, 1867. The family grew when their second daughter Laura Belle was born on April 24, 1868. Neither Octavia’s nor Laura’s births were recorded in the birth register of the county. The family of four was not enumerated on the 1870 census. The year after the census on March 6 a third daughter Harriet F. was born on Loup Creek.

1880 U.S. Federal Census
Fayette County, West Virginia
Fayetteville District
Enumeration District No. 27, Sheet No. 17A
Enumerated the 8th day of June 1880, John T. Smith, enumerator
HH #53
Ingram, Irvin W M 35 married Blacksmith WV WV WV
Ingram, Mary M. W F 31 Wife married Keeping house VA VA VA
Ingram, Octavi D. W F 14 Dau single At home attended school WV WV WV
Ingram, Laura B. W F 12 Dau single At home attended school WV WV WV
Ingram, Harriet F. W F 9 Dau single attended school WV WV WV

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Dempsey Boys Court and Marry Ingram Girls

courtship Octavia INGRAM married Elijah Lewis DEMPSEY on October 19, 1882. It is not known how Octavia and Elijah came to meet and court. She lived in the Fayetteville District and he lived in the Mountain Cove District.

Laura, 14 years old at the time, most likely had finished her eight years of education that spring.

We can assume that the INGRAM and DEMPSEY families must have gotten along as two years later Laura Belle INGRAM and William Henderson DEMPSEY, brother of Elijah, were married.

wedding On Wednesday the 1st of October 1884, I. C. Cavendish performed the marriage of W. H. Dempsey, 24, and Laura B. Ingram, 16, in Fayette County. The bride and groom were both born and residing in that county at the time of marriage. William was a miner.

Mrs. Ingram, the mother of the bride, appears to have died before February 11, 1888, as Mr. Ingram, widowed, is seen marrying on that day. Two children were born to this marriage although little is known about this second family. But I am getting sidetracked and that is a story for another time.

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Family Life

Laura gave birth to her first child Viola in 1885 and carried her to her grave in 1887 after the child died of comsumption. A year later we see William and Laura living at Keeneys Creek where sons Willie and Ernest were born in 1888 and 1890.

By 1892 the family of four had moved on to live in Prince (Fayette County) or across the New River in Royal (Raleigh County). Royal Coal and Coke Company, the first coal mine in Raleigh County was opened at Royal in 1891. Necessary company buildings were constucted and workers commuted from Prince or nearby farms on the Royal side of the river until accomodations were available. At this time it is only an assumption on my part that Laura’s husband William, who worked as a miner, was employed at the Royal Coal Co. when son Oscar was born in September 1892. The fact that Oscar’s birthplace has been seen as Prince and Royal points to this possibility.

Two years later Laura’s fourth son Roy was born in Victor, a mile east of Ansted. The family continued to grow with five more children being born in Victor where the family had set up their permanent residence when William bought a piece of land in 1899.

Six months prior to this land purchase Laura and William had lost another child Pearl at the age of 1 year 7 months 2 days to diptheria. Laura gave birth to 10 children over a period of 25 years and raised 8 of them to adulthood. All of her children attended at least 8 years of school. Son Clyde finished 10 years. Daughter Hester attended two years of college and became a school teacher. Son Roy may have also attended 2 years of high school — it is unlikely that he only had a second grade education as indicated on the 1940 census.

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Laura Gives Birth To Her Youngest

In January of 1910 Laura’s first grandchild Olive, daughter of son Willie, died at age 3 months 15 days. She must have felt the loss of her own first child all over again. While mourning the loss of her first granddaughter she lost her father Irvin Lewis INGRAM who died on March 4, 1910, in Turkey Creek, Fayette County. This was about the same time that Laura became pregnant with her 10th child at the age of 42.

B reading y this time Laura’s husband William was no longer working as a miner. William and their oldest son Willie (22) were working as carpenters while Ernest (20), Oscar (17), and Roy (15) were coal miners. While the men were at work Laura was caring for Fred (10), Clyde (8), and Hester (5) and pregnant with Earl who was born in November 1910.

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The Family Worshipped & Served Their Lord at Hopewell Baptist Church

Laura and William and their children attended Hopewell Baptist Church in the early 1900’s.

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Changing Times

Times were changing when World War I began on June 28, 1914. Before the end of the war on November 11, 1918, Laura and William lost their oldest son Willie, killed on October 5, 1915. He had gone into a small mine at his home, accompanied by his wife and little son Gordon, to mine some coal for home use. While his wife was watching him a heavy fall of slate came in on him, killing him instantly.

By 1920 Laura’s three oldest living sons and her daughter-in-law Mallie, Willie’s widow, had married. She was the grandmother of 10. Fred and Clyde were still living at home, working as miners. Hester (15) and Earl (9) were attending school. In 1923 Laura’s sister Octavia died at age 57. No trace has been found of their younger sister Harriet who may have died in the 1880’s or 1890’s.

By 1930 Laura and William’s seven living children were married and raising their own families. They would have ten more years together before their son Fred, his wife Myrtle, and their children would come to live with them and care for them until their deaths.

Laura died on Tuesday, October 8, 1940, of myocardial degeneration following a cerebral hemorrhage in August. Her husband William Henderson DEMPSEY joined her in their heavenly home on January 24, 1941.

MRIN08552 Laura Dempsey obit — Charleston Gazette (Charleston, West Virginia)
Wednesday, October 09, 1940, Page 13

Mrs. Laura Dempsey
Mrs. Laura Ingram Dempsey, 72, of Victor died yesterday at her home after an illness of 12 days. The body was removed to the Thomas mortuary, Ansted. Services will be held tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Hopewell Baptist church with Rev. George B. Deaver officiating. Burial will be in McVey cemetery on Shade creek.
Survivors include her husband, William H. Dempsey; a daughter, Mrs. Hester Skaggs of Ansted, and five sons, Ernest Dempsey of Ansted, Roy Dempsey of Fayetteville, Clyde Dempsey of Kaymoor, Fred Dempsey of Victor and Earl Dempsey of Lansing.

MRIN08552 Wm H and Laura Dempsey gravemarker — Laura B. and William H. Dempsey
Oscar L. Dempsey, in background, left, with flag
Gravemarkers in McVey-Skaggs Cemetery in Victor
Courtesy of Vernon Fox, photo received 2000

52 Ancestors: #4 William Henderson DEMPSEY 1860-1941

I spent the last weekend moving 52 Ancestors #1, #2, and #3 to my blog. Rewriting, formatting and adding images took longer than expected. 52 Ancestors #4 is a bit late getting published but I am now back on schedule to post on Mondays starting next week.

52ancestors

Proving Parentage of Wm H. DEMPSEY in a Roundabout Way

In 1995 I received a package from my aunt Lois Dempsey Lee containing family group sheets, marriage certificates, other misc. notes were written by her first cousin Geraldine Dempsey Workman. Included was a letter written by Geraldine explaining how she had gotten started with this hobby. In the late 1970’s her younger daughter had taken a mini-course in high school and passed her work on to her older sister who soon tired of the project. Geraldine picked it up as a hobby, took a night class in genealogy, and began searching at the local courthouse, then ventured on to other courthouses in other states.

She wrote that William Henderson DEMPSEY was the son of Wm A. Dempsey and Sarah Wood. I believed this to be true however I was only able to “prove” this in a roundabout way.

William Henderson DEMPSEY was never seen with his parents on a census.
1870 census: with a Forsythe family, no relationship listed.
1880 census: with a Campbell family, listed as adopted.
1884 marriage record: listed his parents as W. & S. Dempsey.
1941 death record: father Wood Dempsey and mother as unknown.
1941 obituary: mentioned a brother Elijah L. Dempsey.
1885 will of Elijah Wood: “bequeath to my grandson Elijah Lewis Dempsey”.
1943 death record for Elijah Lewis Dempsey has not been found at WVCulture.
1850 and 1860 census found for Wm. A. W. and Sarah
pre-1850 marriage record for Wm. A. W. Dempsey and Sarah A. Wood not found.
All marriage records for children of this couple were found, parents were listed as Wm and Sarah.
1930 death record of John Henry Dempsey: father seen as Wm Dempsey BUT instead of his mother’s name, John’s wife’s name was listed under the maiden name of mother.
No death records were found for the other siblings.
1870 census: Elijah and his mother Sarah Dempsey were found together in a household but no relationship is listed.
Recent find: Provost Marshal File. 1862 “William A. W. Dempsey – citizen residing on Dogwood Ridge, Fayette Co., farmer, left home on the 18″ [May 1862]. Started when they heard firing at the Court House, came down to get work in the Valley, refers to Simpson Wood, Styris Wood, and G. W. McVay, of the Oil Works, (brothers-in-law of his). Knows Hamilton as Hamilton of Hawks Nest.”

After analyzing all records found, this is the story I would like to tell about my great-grandfather William Henderson DEMPSEY.

A Family Continues to Grow

William Henderson DEMPSEY was born in Clifty, Fayette County, West Virginia, on 14 September 1860, a few months after the enumeration of the 1860 census. He was the sixth child of William A. W. DEMPSEY (1860 age 40) and his wife Sarah Ann WOOD (1860 age 36). William’s older siblings were Elizabeth Rachel “Lizzie” (1846-1880), James Alexander “Buck” (1848-1909), Mary Virginia (1854-1900), Eunice V. (1855-1940), and John Henry (1857-1930).

The Civil War Years

The American Civil War began 4 February 1861. In that year a separate government for the western section of Virginia was organized under the name of Kanawha. In 1862 Virginia separated from western Virginia. The DEMPSEY family continued to grow with the birth of William’s youngest brother Elijah Lewis (1862-1943) during the war. West Virginia was admitted into the union as the thirty-fifth state on 20 June 1863. The American Civil War ended 23 June 1865.

A Family Is Split Up

William’s father died soon after the end of the war (abt. 1867). In 1868 his sister Lizzie married Robert J. HUGHES. By 1870 the family had split up and the children were living with different WOOD relatives. James was living with his Aunt Amanda Jane (WOOD) PARRISH; Eunice and John were with their grandfather Elijah WOOD; Elijah, the youngest, and his mother Sarah were with his aunt Turzey (WOOD) NEAL; and Mary Virginia age abt. 16 was not found.

1870census — Year: 1870; Census Place: Mountain Cove, Fayette, West Virginia; Roll: M593_1686; Page: 147A; Image: 297; Family History Library Film: 553185.

Siblings Began To Marry

In the 1870’s three of his older siblings married:
Mary V. married John A. SNELL in 1872
Eunice married John Isaac SCAGGS in 1874
James A. “Buck” married Mary E. SADDLER in 1874

Adoption of William H. DEMPSEY

1880census — “United States Census, 1880,” images; Internet Archives (https://archive.org/stream/populationsc18801402unit#page/n230/mode/1up : accessed 27 Jan 2014) West Virginia > Fayette > Mountain Cove ED 30 Sheet 114A, citing NARA microfilm publication T9-1402

William is seen with the John CAMPBELL family in 1880. He is listed as “adopted” however no record has been found to show that this was a legal adoption. It is not known how long he lived with this family before or after the 1880 census. John CAMPBELL was first married to Mary KESLER (the mother of Nancy seen in census) and second to Amanda Francis ALDERSON (mother of Joseph and Fanny seen in census). John CAMPBELL died in 1895 leaving a will. William H. DEMPSEY was not mentioned.

Two of William’s brothers married in 1882: John Henry married Amanda Ann McCLUNG and Elijah Lewis married Octavia Dell INGRAM.

Life as a Married Man and Father

1884marriage — 1884 marriage register entry for W. H. Dempsey and Laura B. Ingram

William, at the age of 24, was the last of the DEMPSEY children to marry. He was joined in matrimony with Laura Belle INGRAM age 16 on 1 October 1884
[line 6 from bottom], nearly two years after his brother Elijah and her sister Octavia married.

William and Laura’s first child Viola was born in 1885 and died in 1887. Three months prior to the death of his first child, William’s mother Sarah Ann WOOD died on 1 April 1887.

Five more children were born before 1899: William W. “Willie” in 1888 and Ernest Rupert in 1890, both in Keeneys Creek; Oscar Lawrence in 1892 in Prince or across New River in Royal, now a ghost town; Roy Lee in 1894 and Pearl in 1897, both in Victor.

From the places of birth of the children, we know that William and Laura lived in Keeneys Creek in 1888 and 1890, in Royal (Raleigh) or in Prince (Fayette) in 1892, and in Victor from 1894. There is conflicting information on the residence in 1892. No birth record has been found for son Oscar whose WWI Draft Card shows his place of birth as Royal. When he entered the V.A. Facility in Huntington as a patient in 1940 he gave information used for his 1940 death record including Royal as the place of birth. Both records were produced with the information given by Oscar. On his record of marriage in 1914 the place of birth is seen as Prince.

This conflicting information on the place of birth for Oscar made me look more closely into the area since one place was in Raleigh County and the other in Fayette County. I learned that the first coal mine in Raleigh County was opened at Royal in 1891. Royal Coal and Coke Company used Prince as their post office address. A unique suspended cable system was used to transport the coal down the mountain and across New River to the railroad at Prince. William H. Dempsey may have been a miner at the Royal Coal Mine at the time of Oscar’s birth.

“Royal was once a booming coal town. Now it’s just some metal artifacts, stone walls, and gravestones.” Ghost Town: Royal, WV

William Becomes A Land Owner

MRIN08552 William Henderson Dempsey — William Henderson Dempsey (1860-1941)

On February 25, 1899, W. H. DEMPSEY bought a parcel of land in Victor, Fayette County, West Virginia, for the sum of $225. In later years the home was passed on to his son Fred and was sold in 1998 after the death of Fred’s widow Myrtle Hazel ROOP DEMPSEY BOLES.

Deed:
R. W. Coleman To W. H. Dempsey
This Deed, made the 25th day of February 1899, between R. W. Coleman, party of the first part, and W. H. Dempsey, party of the second part, both of the county of Fayette, and State of West Virginia, Witnesseth, That for and in consideration of the sum of Two Hundred and Twenty-Five Dollars, ($225.00), payable as follows to-wit: Fifty Dollars, ($50.00), cash in hand before the delivery of this deed, Fifty Dollars ($50.00), in six months from this date with interest from date, Fifty Dollars, ($50.00), in twelve months from this date, with interest from date, and the residue, to-wit, Seventy Five Dollars, ($75.00), in two years from this date, with interest from date, for which defered payments the said W. H. Dempsey has this day executed his promisory notes to the said R. W. Coleman; the said R. W. Coleman has bargained and sold, and by these presents doth grant and convey unto the said W. H. Dempsey, a certain parcel or tract of land, situated on the North side of The James River and Kanawha Turnpike, East of Victor, in Mountain Cove District, in Fayette county, West Virginia, adjoining the land of H. Nunnery, Ed. Legg and others and bounded and described as follows, to-wit: Beginning at a bunch of maples on the North bank of the said turnpike; thence, N. 59‘ E. 52 poles, to a stake on Nunnery’s line; thence, with Nunnery, N. 4‘ E. 10 poles, to a stake East of a small pine, thence leaving Nunnery, S. 81‘ W. 32 poles, to a hickory, corner to Ed. Legg; thence, with Legg, N. 73 W. 19 poles to the S.E. corner of the School-House lot, thence, with the turnpike, S. 6‘ E. 20 poles, to a stake; thence S. 36‘ E. 28 poles to the beginning, containing Eight and one-fourth acres, Being a part of a 47 acres tract heretofore conveyed to the said R.W . Coleman by John A. Hawver, Trustee. To have and to hold to the said W. H. Dempsey, his heirs and assigns, forever, with covenants of general warranty. And the vendor’s kin is hereby specially reserved to secure the defered payments above described. Witness the following signatures and seals.
R. W. Coleman -Seal
State of West Virginia, County of Fayette, to-wit:
I, J. R. Koontz, a notary public of the said county of Fayette, do certify that R. W. Coleman, whose name is signed to the writing above, bearing date on the 25th day of February, 1899, has this day acknowledged the same before me in my said county. Given under my hand this 25th day of February, 1899.
J. R. Koontz, N. P. Fayette County, West Virginia
West Virginia, Fayette County Court Clerk’s Office, July 26, 1899.

"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11931-68695-71?cc=1325221&wc=M94B-XQX:n435351443 : accessed 24 Jan 2014), West Virginia > Fayette > ED 17 Mountain Cove district (north side) Ansted & Hawks Nest towns; citing NARA microfilm publication T623 — “United States Census, 1900,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11931-68695-71?cc=1325221&wc=M94B-XQX:n435351443 : accessed 24 Jan 2014), West Virginia > Fayette > ED 17 Mountain Cove district (north side) Ansted & Hawks Nest towns; citing NARA microfilm publication T623

On the 1st of June 1900, William was listed on the census as owning a mortgage-free farm. From the deed above we know how payment was arranged. The farm was not fully paid for at the time and the deed had not yet been recorded in the County Court Clerk’s Office. The important thing was that the family had their own home. William H. was working as a coal miner and had been employed during the past 12 months.

Following the purchase of their home four more children were born in Victor: Fred Rothwell in 1899, Clyde Lewis in 1902, Hester Ethel in 1904 and Earl Stanley in 1910.

1910 census — “United States Census, 1910,” images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/stream/13thcensus1910po1680unit#page/n246/mode/1up : accessed 24 Jan 2014) West Virginia > Fayette > ED 20 Mountain Cove district; citing NARA microfilm publication T624, FHL microfilm 1375693.

By 1910 William had changed occupations and was now a carpenter doing housework for a wage. Three sons ages 15, 17, and 25 were working as miners in the coal mines.

Tragedy Strikes the Dempsey Family

William’s oldest son Willie married Mallie Lee GRAY. Their first two children, William’s first grandchildren, Olive (1909-1910) and Herbert (1911-1911) both died young. Willie was killed on October 5, 1915. He had gone into a small mine at his home, accompanied by his wife and little son Gordon, to mine some coal for home use. While his wife was watching him a heavy fall of slate came in on him, killing him instantly.

Three more children married shortly before and after the beginning of World War I in 1914: Oscar Lawrence married Fannie Belle Noble, Roy Lee married Liliane Madelene Nunnery, and Ernest Rupert married Virginia Lenora “Lee” Wills.

1920 census 2 — “United States Census, 1920,” images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/stream/14thcensusofpopu1948unit#page/n332/mode/1up : accessed 24 Jan 2014) West Virginia > Fayette > ED 33 Mountain Cove District, Victor Precinct; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, FHL microfilm 1821948

On the 1920 census, we see that William is now a self-employed carpenter doing housework.

By 1930 all children had left home and William age 69 and Laura age 61 were living alone in their home valued at $3000.

1940census — “United States Census, 1940,” images, Family Search (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-27896-14870-71?cc=2000219&wc=M9QD-FXP:264584504)

In 1940 their divorced son Oscar had come back home to live. By this time both William and Oscar were unable to work and no longer working. The 1940 census was enumerated as of the 1st of April and the page was dated May 7 while May 20 was written in the margin showing the date of visit. Oscar was admitted to the V.A. Facility in Huntington on May 8 and died on May 14. Therefore by the time, the enumerator came around to the Dempsey place Oscar had died but was included in the count as he was living on April 1st. William’s wife Laura Belle died about five months later on October 8, 1940, in Victor.

William H. Dempsey Dies After a Short Illness

MRIN08552 William Henderson Dempsey death — http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=1067455&Type=Death

William Henderson Dempsey died Friday, January 24, 1941, after a short illness. His daughter Hester SKAGGS was the informant. Not all information that she gave was correct on the death certificate. The father’s name was given as Wood Dempsey and mother’s maiden name as Unknown.

Obituary of William H. DEMPSEY

MRIN08552 William Henderson Dempsey obit — The Charleston Gazette, January 26, 1941

Publication: The Charleston Gazette
Published: January 26, 1941
Headline: William H. Dempsey
Services for William Henderson Dempsey, 80, of Victor, retired carpenter, who died Friday after a short illness, will be held today at 2 p.m. at the Hopewell Baptist church, Victor. Rev. George B. Denver of Lansing will officiate.
Burial will be in the McVey cemetery on Shady creek in charge of the Thomas mortuary, Ansted.
Survivors include a brother, Elijah L. Dempsey of Ansted; five sons, E.R. Dempsey of Ansted, R. L. Dempsey of Fayetteville, Fred Dempsey of Victor, Clyde Dempsey of Garten and Earl Dempsey of Lansing; and a daughter, Mrs. William R. Skaggs of Ansted.

52 Ancestors: #2 Fred Rothwell DEMPSEY 1899-1975

52ancestors This is my second post in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. I’m still experimenting with how I want these write ups to look. This time, I tried working with a timeline generated by my genealogy program Ancestral Quest 14.

Fred Rothwell DEMPSEY with his son Fred Roosevelt DEMPSEY (abt. 1973)

Fred Rothwell DEMPSEY was born October 30, 1899, in Victor, Fayette County, West Virginia, to William Henderson DEMPSEY, a coalminer, and his wife Laura Belle INGRAM. The Register of Births [line 4 from bottom] for Fayette County lists his mother Laura as the informant. Fred was their 5th son and 7th child. He applied for his Social Security Number before 1951 and most likely this was when he applied for his delayed certificate of birth which was signed by his older brother Ernest R. DEMPSEY. On the certificate, his father was listed as 38 years old and his mother as 31 years old at the time of his birth. Two children born to the mother had died before Fred’s birth. These angels were his sisters Viola (1885-1887) and Pearl (1897-1898).

Delayed Certificate of Birth No. 1368 [Source: “West Virginia Births, 1853-1930,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KSG5-DXF : accessed 24 Jan 2014), Fred Rothwell Dempsey, 1899. Image, West Virginia Division of Culture and History (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view2.aspx?FilmNumber=4017243&ImageNumber=365 : accessed 24 Jan 2014)]

In 1900 we see Fred enumerated for the first time on the United States Federal Census:

1900 U.S. Federal Census, Mountain Cove District, Fayette County, West Virginia.

1902 – birth of brother Clyde Lewis (1902-1974). [line 15]

1904 – birth of sister Hester Ethel (1904-2001).

1907 – marriage of his oldest brother William W. “Willie” (1888-1915) to Mallie Lee GRAY. [line 7 from bottom]

In 1910 we see Fred for the second time in a census:

1910 – birth of brother Earl Stanley (1910-1968).

1914 – World War I began and his three older brothers married:
Oscar Lawrence (1892-1940) md. Fannie Belle NOBLE [line 37]
Roy Lee (1894-1947) md. Liliane Madelene NUNNERY [line 43]
Ernest Rupert (1890-1955) md. Virginia Lenora “Lee” WILLS. [line 14]

Fred, who attended 8 years of school, most likely began working at around the age of 15.

Fred’s oldest brother Willie was killed on October 5, 1915 (left page, line 39). He had gone into a small mine at his home, accompanied by his wife and little son Gordon, to mine some coal for home use. While his wife was watching him a heavy fall of slate came in on him, killing him instantly.

On September 12, 1918, Fred filled out his World War I Draft Registration Card. He was 18 years old, of medium height, medium weight, with black hair and black eyes. His middle name was written correctly (Rothwell) on the card but then corrected to match the spelling he used in his signature. He was working as a miner for Edward MORRIS in Jodie. Per 1920 census Edward L. MORRIS was the representative of Gauley Mountain Coal. At about the same time in 1917-1918 Fred’s brothers Roy and Ernest were working for the Signal Knob Coal Co. in Ansted and Oscar was working at Pemberton C & C Co. in Affinity.

1918 – end of World War I

In 1920 Fred was enumerated twice on the census. On the 13-14th of January, he was living at home in Victor with his parents and three youngest siblings: Clyde, Hester, and Earl.

Then on the 22nd of January, he was living in Jodie, same county, in his brother Roy’s household. Fred may have just moved in with his brother’s family or he could have been living at both places, spending working days in Jodie and free time at home.

“United States Census, 1920,” images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/stream/14thcensusofpopu1947unit#page/n589/mode/1up : accessed 24 Jan 2014) West Virginia > Fayette > ED 11 Jodie Falls Magisterial District; citing NARA microfilm publication T625, FHL microfilm 1821947.

1921 – brother Clyde Lewis married Mary Etta “Marietta” HOLLY. [line 40]

Fred, 23, and Myrtle Hazel ROOP, 17, both of Jodie, were married on January 20, 1923, in Fayetteville by A. H. Perkins. [line 4]

1923 – daughter Thelma Louise (d. 1991) was born on August 11.

1925 – daughter Lois Emma (d. 2006) was born on April 24.

1926 – sister Hester Ethel (d. 2001) married James Arthur GROSE. [line 31]

1927 – daughter Leona Mae was born.

In 1930 Fred, a coal miner, is seen for the first time as the head of household on the census. The family of 5 was living in Jodie, paying $8 a month rent, and owned a radio set.

1930 census — “United States Census, 1930,” images, Archive Internet ( https://archive.org/stream/15thcensus2531unit#page/n174/mode/1up : accessed 24 Jan 2014) West Virginia > Fayette > ED 10-5 Falls; citing NARA microfilm publication

1931 – son Doyle Stanley (d. 1990) was born May 20 .

1935 – son Fred Roosevelt (d. 1974) was born November 3.

1937 – sister Hester Ethel married William R. “Bill” SKAGGS.

On Sunday, September 12, 1937, the sixth reunion of the Dempsey family was held near Lover’s Leap.

The Charleston Gazette Saturday, September 18, 1937 — The Charleston Gazette published Saturday, September 18, 1937

1939 – World War II began; son Oscar and his wife Fannie divorced about this time.

On the 1940 census Fred is the head of a household with his wife and 5 children. He had 8 years of schooling and was a coal loader in the coal mines. He worked 35 hours a week and had worked 44 weeks in 1939 with an income of $1,451. They rented their home which was not a farm for $8 a month.

1940 – daughter Thelma married Fred Lawrence “Freddie” FITZWATER in Kentucky.

Fred’s brother Oscar die in May and his mother Laura in October 1940. His father followed in January 1941. Fred and Myrtle who were living in Jodie at the time of the census moved to Victor during the year. Their youngest son confirmed that they moved to Victor to take care of Fred’s Mom and Dad in 1940. Fred bought out his brothers and sisters — there was not so much a transfer of money but an agreement that he would inherit the house and property for taking care of his parents.

1941 – son Walter Leland (d. 1993) was born April 15.

1941 – Daughter Lois married Nathan B. LEE [left page].

1942 – first grandchild was born

Fred was too young for the “old man’s registration” conducted on 27 April 1942. It was for men not already in the military and born on or between 28 April 1877 and 16 February 1897 – men who were between 45 and 64 years old.

1944 – son Lloyd Allen was born.

1945 – World War II ended in August and daughter Leona married Frank J. “Buck” MULLINS in November. [line 24]

1952 – son Doyle married Mavis Ivalene WOOD. [line 29]

1957 – son Fred married Catherine Josette WILDINGER.

1957 021 visiting in WV — Fred and his wife Myrtle at their home in Victor.

1958 – son Leland married Nancy Lou ZICKAFOOSE. [line 33]

1959 – brother Earl married Mabel Lucille WILKERSON. [line 24]

1961 – Fred, a member of the United Mine Workers, retired the end of October at the age of 62. Fred and his wife began spending the winters at their home in Masaryktown, Florida.

1966 – son Lloyd married Anndra Kay McCLUNG.

Between 1942 and 1971 twenty-four grandchildren were born.

[Source: Raleigh Register (Beckley), Wednesday Afternoon, January 10, 1973] — Raleigh Register (Beckley), Wednesday Afternoon, January 10, 1973

January 21, 1973, Fred and his wife Myrtle celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Their seven children and spouses were present with most of the grandchildren.

Golden Wedding Anniversary - 20 January 1973 — Golden Wedding Anniversary – January 20, 1973 – Celebrated on January 21, 1973

Fred was Sunday School assistant superintendent at Hopewell Baptist Church and a teacher for the men’s Bible class. He died at home after a short illness on Monday, Feburary 3, 1975.

Charleston Gazette, Wednesday February 5, 1973

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