Thoroughly Modern Minerva

I love the old poetic names that arrived in style in the later part of the 19th century. As the population grew, people became tired, and aware, of an ignoble repetition of certain names, that confused one person with another. So middle names, even two middle names, became more common. Some families even became creative and melodic in their choices of names in their growing families.

Instead of  John Smith, Mary Johnson, William Carter and Nancy Jones, we begin seeing John Beuaregard Horatio Smith, America Euphemia Johnson, Winston Zebedee Carter and Thomasina Belladona Jones. Of course, in the way of the nickname obsessed South, those would end up as Ratio Smith, Uma Johnson, Zeb Carter and Bell Jones.

During my recent study of the Smith and Bunnel families of East Montgomery County, North Carolina, I made the acquaintance of one Lucinda Minerva Bunnel whose personality seemed to just pop right out of the pages.






She had one of those lovely "Not another Mary" names that were the trend of the times. Sadly, those names would not remain the trend, but parents today are seeking more creative and unique options to baby names. And Minerva was not a typical Victorian Bess.

Name:	Lucinda Bunnel
Age in 1870:	5
Birth Year:	abt 1865
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	55
Home in 1870:	Hollings Worth, Montgomery, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Troy
Inferred Father:	Thos Bunnel
Inferred Mother:	Sarah Bunnel
Household Members:	Name Age Thos Bunnel 51 Sarah Bunnel 50 Robt Bunnel 18 James Bunnel 16 Catherine Bunnel 14 Ellen Bunnel 12 Sarah Bunnel 10 Lucinda Bunnel 5

Born in 1866, Lucinda Minerva Bunnel was the last of the 8 children of Thomas and Sarah Smith Bunnel of Montgomery County, North Carolina. Her grandfather, Asa Bunnel had came to the area as a young man with his family, from Connecticut, so every Bunnel was related. It wasn't a Carolina name.

She arrived at the close of the Civil War, and although neighboring counties and families had suffered fairly badly, hers had not. Her father was too old to serve, and the one brother she had, that did,made it home in one piece, although there are signs it may have affected his mental state.

Minerva was a full 5 or 6 years younger than her youngest sister, Sarah, known as Duck. I wonder how she had gotten that nickname.

Name:	Lucind M. Bundle
Age:	18
Birth Date:	Abt 1862
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Hollingsworth, Montgomery, North Carolina, USA
House Number:	49
Dwelling Number:	57
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Daughter
Marital status:	Single
Father's name:	Thomas Bundle
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's name:	Sarah A. Bundle
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Attended School:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Thomas Bundle 61 Sarah A. Bundle 58 D. R. Bundle 29 T. C. Bundle 25 Lula E. Bundle 22 Sarah C. Bundle 21 Lucind M. Bundle 18

The first 20 years of her life went spent safely and quietly in the area of Montomgery County near the Moore County line, in the general vicinity of the little town of Star.

Name:	Thomas J Hicks
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Age:	21
Birth Year:	abt 1865
Marriage Date:	3 Nov 1886
Marriage Place:	Montgomery, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Manerva L Bunnell
Spouse Gender:	Female
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	21
Event Type:	Marriage

In November of 1886, Minerva would marry one Thomas Jefferson Hicks, son of Littleberry and Lucinda Hicks of the Pekin area. He had lost his father to the war. The marriage license said that Sarah Bunnel was living, but she supposedly died sometime that year.

They settled in housekeeping as would be expected and Minerva began having children. Nothing unexpected there. But if one compares the birthdate of the oldest child on a great number of these old documents with the marriage license, something becomes evident.



Annie Bell Hicks arrived on September 17, 1886. Her parents were married about 6 weeks later .

Annie Bell was followed by 3 little sisters;

Willie Lou in 1890
Mary Bessie in 1893
Lillie Esther in 1895

Then Tom Hicks died, on March 4, 1896. He was only 34 years old.






Minerva, only 30 herself, wasted no time. She knew she would suffer a great deal of hardship trying to raise 4 little girls on her own.


William Gaston Kelley was born in Anson County about 1859 to Lattimore Kelley and wife Nancy. He had one brother, Roland. Their father was killed in the Civil War, and his mother, Nancy, would move the family to the community of Williamson in Richmond County and put her boys to work.

Name:	Gaston Kelly
Age:	20
Birth Date:	Abt 1860
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Lilesville, Anson, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	148
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Son
Marital status:	Single
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's name:	Nancy Kelly
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	Farm Laborer
Cannot Read:	Yes
Cannot Write:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Nancy Kelly 60 Gaston Kelly 20 Lilly Kelly 4

Gaston and his mother are found there in 1880, with his brothers little daughter, Lillie. In 1885, Gaston would marry Henrietta Townsend. She was the daughter of Elijah C Townsend and wife, Elizabeth Boggan Townsend. It appears that her father took off right after she was born, and left her with relatives in Anson County, but he kept up. He went to Texas to make his fortune and never returned.

Lockhart, Texas

Elijah Townsend settled in Caldwell County, Texas,and there married a widow named Catherine Jane McKellar New, the widow of William Robert New from Duplin County, NC who died in Texas. Catie was from Alabama. Elijah helped raise her children.

Gaston Kelly and Henrietta Townsend Kelly had two daughters, Elizabeth, named for her mother, and Nora, born in 1886 and 1890. Henrietta died when they were still small, living Gaston a widower. Then he met Minerva.

Name

Catherine J New

Gender

Female

Marriage Date

1878

Marriage Place

Caldwell, Texas, USA

Spouse

E C Townsend

CLIPPED FROM

The Messenger and Intelligencer
Wadesboro, North Carolina28 Feb 1901, Thu  •  Page 3

Gaston and Minerva were married in 1897. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but over time, Minerva would change her mind.

Name:	Gaston Kelly
Gender:	Male
Marriage Date:	25 Nov 1897
Marriage Place:	Montgomery, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Elina Hicks
Spouse Gender:	Female
Event Type:	Marriage

But in the beginning, they appeared to be a happy family. Gastons two daughters by Henrietta had inherited property in Lockhart, Texas from their Grandfather. Minerva began giving him sons. Below is the family in 1900.

Name:	William Kelly
Age:	40
Birth Date:	Sep 1859
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1900:	Rockingham, Richmond, North Carolina
Sheet Number:	1
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:	15
Family Number:	16
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital status:	Married
Spouse's name:	Monerva Kelly
Marriage Year:	1886
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's name:	Nancy Kelly
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	Day Laborer
Months Not Employed:	0
Can Read:	Yes
Can Write:	Yes
Can Speak English:	Yes
House Owned or Rented:	R
Farm or House:	H
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age William Kelly 40 Monerva Kelly 34 Bettie Kelly 13 Nora Kelly 10 Leslie Kelly 3 Daniel D Kelly 1 Annie Hicks 13 Willie Hicks 10 Mary Hicks 9 Ester Hicks 6 Nancy Kelly 70

They had a his, hers, and theirs family. Bettie and Nora were Gaston's daughters with Henrietta. Leslie and Daniel were the sons of Gaston and Minerva together. Annie, Willie, Mary and Esther were Minerva's daughters with Tom Hicks. Nancy Kelly was Gaston's mother.

CLIPPED FROM

The News and Observer
Raleigh, North Carolina30 May 1907, Thu  •  Page 5

Gaston had some good luck farming, as was reported in the papers a few times, but he also had a tendency to keep rough company. In 1907 he had to testify in the trial of some bootleggers, who had ended up in a gunfight, and people had died.

Name:	Gaston Kelley
Age in 1910:	50
Birth Year:	abt 1860
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1910:	Biscoe, Montgomery, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital status:	Married
Spouse's name:	Minerva Kelley
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Native Tongue:	English
Occupation:	Farmer
Industry:	Farm
Employer, Employee or Other:	Own Account
Home Owned or Rented:	Own
Home Free or Mortgaged:	Free
Farm or House:	Farm
Able to Read:	Yes
Able to Write:	Yes
Years Married:	12
Out of Work:	N
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Gaston Kelley 50 Minerva Kelley 45 Mary Kelley 16 Esther Kelley 14 Leslie Kelley 13 Dewey Kelley 11 Lola Kelley 7

They were still making a go of it in 1910, although things were getting a little tense. Mary and Esther Hicks were still at home, the older two girls had married. Robert Leslie Kelley and Dewey Daniel Kelley had been joined by a little sister, Sarah Lola Kelley, named for her grandmother. She was her mother's last child.

Gaston contined to spiral downhill due to alchohol and wild living, making the papers on a regular basis, nothing major, but more than Minerva could handle.

The straw that broke the camel's back was a woman named Sisely Elizabeth Lammonds Bailey Green. Sisely was twice married  and the daughter of John Lammonds and Loretta Hicks Lammonds of Montgomery County. She had married Newitt Green and had 5 children by him. Newitt died in 1901 and then she married James Daniel Bailey in 1909 and had one son with him 6 months later.  That relationship ended, I might guess in divorce, as he did not die until 1925. Sisely was a party animal, like Gaston, and liked to 'live up the town'.



That partying would result in the birth of Pearline Kelley in 1912.


 Minerva divorced Gaston due to abandonment and infidelity.




Gaston remarried in 1915 to Sicily Elizabeth Lammonds Bailey Green.

Name:	W G Kelly
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Age:	55
Birth Year:	abt 1860
Marriage Date:	17 Apr 1915
Marriage Place:	Montgomery, North Carolina, USA
Father:	Latama Kelly
Mother:	Nancy Kelly
Spouse:	Sisily E Green
Spouse Gender:	Female
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	40
Spouse Father:	John Lammonds
Spouse Mother:	Ritta Lammonds
Event Type:	Marriage

Sicily died in 1937 of pnuemonia and Gaston in 1939.

The following is Minerva and her younger children in 1920.

Name:	Menerva Kelley [Menewa Kelley]
Age:	52
Birth Year:	abt 1868
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1920:	Biscoe, Montgomery, North Carolina
House Number:	X
Residence Date:	1920
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital status:	Divorced
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Able to Speak English:	Yes
Home Owned or Rented:	Owned
Home Free or Mortgaged:	Free
Able to Read:	Yes
Able to Write:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Menerva Kelley 52 Dewey Kelley 20 Lola Kelley 15 Lewis Wallace 28

She is living in Biscoe. She is divorced and living with Dewey and Lola. She has a hired hand named Lewis living with them.

This is Gaston and Siseley in 1920. Their daughter, Pearline, is living with them and Siseley's son, Victor Bailey, by her second and brief husband, has been given the wrong name. Or perhaps he went by his stepfathers name as a child.

ame:	W G Kelly [W G Rolly]
Age:	60
Birth Year:	abt 1860
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1920:	Bensalem, Moore, North Carolina
Residence Date:	1920
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital status:	Married
Spouse's name:	S E Kelly
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Able to Speak English:	Yes
Occupation:	Farmer
Industry:	General Farm
Employment Field:	Own Account
Home Owned or Rented:	Rented
Able to Read:	Yes
Able to Write:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age W G Kelly 60 S E Kelly 45 Pearline Kelly 8 Viclor Kelly 10

The 20th century was in full swing and things were getting complicated.

And then came Ben Lewis.

Benjamin Franklin Lewis was a Montgomery County boy and a good sort. He was born in Capelsie, in the middle of the county, in 1852, to Calvin and Sydney (or Cyndey) Lewis. He married a Lucinda Maner, daughter of Amos and Catherine of Diffies. They had 7 children.

Now, here is where it gets a little murky:

Name:	Benjamin F Lewis
Age:	61
Birth Year:	abt 1859
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1920:	Biscoe, Montgomery, North Carolina
House Number:	Farm
Residence Date:	1920
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital status:	Widowed
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Able to Speak English:	Yes
Occupation:	Farmer
Industry:	General Farm
Employment Field:	Own Account
Home Owned or Rented:	Owned
Home Free or Mortgaged:	Free
Able to Write:	No
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Benjamin F Lewis 61 William G Lewis 25 Fannie Lewis 21

This is Ben and his family in 1920. It states that he is a widower.

Name:	Benjamin F Lewis
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Age:	25
Birth Year:	abt 1854
Marriage Date:	13 Mar 1879
Marriage Place:	Montgomery, North Carolina, USA
Father:	Calvin Lewis
Mother:	Sidney Lewis
Spouse:	Lucinda Maners
Spouse Gender:	Female
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	20
Spouse Father:	Amos Maners
Spouse Mother:	Katie Maners
Event Type:	Marriage

Now, this is the marriage license for Ben Lewis and his first wife, Lucinda Mainor/ Manor. They were married in March of 1879. He was 25 and she was 20, giving her a birth year of 1859. Some family members have given Lucinda a date of death of 1936. Others, and even on her Find-a-Grave site, give her a death date of 1953. That would mean she would be pushing 100. For clarification, we have to go to Piney Grove Cemetery.




Piney Grove appears to be located in the middle of nowhere to the northeast of Onvil, which might as well be named "nowhere", it's so small. Off of Pekin Road and McCallum Road, and south of the Ghost town of Capelsie and Capelsie Road.

Nearly all of Ben and Lucinda Manor Lewis's children are buried at Piney Grove, as well as Ben and Lucinda. This looks to be their family cemetery.







This is Lucinda's tombstone. It's barely legible, but what can be made out is:

"Lucindy
Wife of B. F. Lewis
Aged 58"

Now, if Lucinda Maner Lewis died at age 58, that would make the year about 1917. Not  1936 and Not 1953. 1953 is the year Lucinda Minerva Bunnel etc. etc. died, and I believe descendants have gotten these two Lucindas mixed up because....

Name:	Nervia Kelly
Gender:	Female
Race:	White
Age:	47
Birth Year:	abt 1873
Marriage Date:	22 Aug 1920
Marriage Place:	Montgomery, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Benjamin F Lewis
Spouse Gender:	Male
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	61
Event Type:	Marriage

On August 22, 1920, just after the census records of that year were taken, "Nervia" Kelley, divorced, married Benjamin F. Lewis, widower.

He was 61 and she was 47 and I get a real feeling of peace about this marriage. The essence of serenity. I feel that Minerva was....happy. Call me crazy for being able to just pick up on these things, I don't know if it's a 7th sense or what, but I just do.







Sadly, the marriage of Minerva and Ben did not last long. He passed away one month before their 5th anniversary.

Name:	Ben Lewis
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Age:	75
Birth Date:	1850
Birth Place:	capelsie Montgomery NC
Death Date:	9 Jul 1925
Death Place:	Biscoe; Condor, Montgomery, North Carolina, USA
Father:	Calvin Lewis
Mother:	Cynthia Lewis
Spouse:	Minervie Lewis
	Search for Ben Lewis in North Carolina Wills & Probates collection

Ben was laid to rest in Piney Grove Cemetery, very close to where he'd spent most of his life. Minerva buried him next to his first wife, the first Lucinda. She didn't die in 1936 or 1953. She died at 58, and before 1920.

Having been widowed twice and divorced once, Minerva was a strong woman who did not give up. She was now in her later 50's, and her life was not over.






Minerva was the youngest of 8 children and had 3 older sisters.

Terry Catherine Bunnel who married Jesse Dunn.
Sarah Caroline "Duck" Bunnel who married Lockey Allen and then John Franklin Burns and
Elethia Elender "Ellen" Bunnel who married Beaty T. Dunn.

Her sister, Ellen, and Beaty Dunn had 5 children together and then Ellen died in January of 1925, the same year that Ben Lewis had died.

It appeared the Lewis and Dunn families were familiar with each other.

CLIPPED FROM

The Montgomerian
Troy, North Carolina03 Oct 1912, Thu  •  Page 1



And you guessed it, Minerva would end up marrying her brother-in-law, Beaty Dunn.

Name:	Beaty Dunn
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Age:	66
Birth Year:	abt 1864
Marriage Date:	22 Oct 1930
Marriage Place:	Montgomery, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Minerva Lewis
Spouse Gender:	Female
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	64
Event Type:	Marriage

Name:	Beaty Dunn
Age:	78
Estimated birth year:	abt 1862
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Marital status:	Married
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Home in 1940:	Biscoe, Montgomery, North Carolina
Map of Home in 1940:	View Map
Street:	Ether To Dover
Farm:	Yes
Inferred Residence in 1935:	Rural, Montgomery, North Carolina
Residence in 1935:	Rural, Montgomery, North Carolina
Sheet Number:	7B
Number of Household in Order of Visitation:	123
Occupation:	Farmer
House Owned or Rented:	Owned
Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented:	1000
Attended School or College:	No
Highest Grade Completed:	Elementary school, 3rd grade
Hours Worked Week Prior to Census:	40
Class of Worker:	Working on own account
Weeks Worked in 1939:	52
Income:	0
Income Other Sources:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Beaty Dunn 78 Minerva L Dunn 74

10 years later, the old couple, now septigenarians, were still happily married and living on the road,
"from Ether to Dover".

Ethers 'Haunted Roller Mill"

I hope their last years together were happy ones. Beaty, who was born in Moore County, NC, died in Asheboro in Randolph County, NC on May 20, 1941, while in the hospital there. He was buried in Star, Montgomery County, at the Star Baptist Church, next to his first wife, Ellen Bunnel Dunn.

Lucinda Minerva Bunnel would go on to live another dozen years. She died on March 12, 1953 in Biscoe, Montgomery County, North Carolina. Her children would bury her in Candor, next to her first husband, Thomas J. Hicks. 

Name:	Lucinda Minerva Hicks
Birth Date:	4 Sep 1865
Birth Place:	Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States of America
Death Date:	12 Mar 1953
Death Place:	Biscoe, Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States of America
Cemetery:	Macedonia Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place:	Candor, Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States of America
Has Bio?:	Y
Spouse:	Benjamin Franklin Lewis
Children:	Annie Belle Allred Willie Lou Dickens

Lucinda lived a long, full life, she was 87 years old and the mother of 7 children.