Job's Children: A Son Was Born

For weeks now, I've been searching for the origins, and the consumation, of the life of one Benjamin Paul, who is an ancestor of a new member of our family tree. He was born either in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, or Richmond County, North Carolina between 1872 and 1875, and that's as close as I can narrow it down.

On May 5, 1896, he married Elizabeth Ann "Liza" Gathings, in Anson County, North Carolia and she divorced him in 1917, in Stanly County, North Carolina. On the marriage license, Ben's parents are listed only by surnames, "Paul" and said to be from Richmond County, NC, as was he, and it also stated that his father was deceased, but his mother was living. His age was given as 21 and hers as 20. Liza's surname was mistakenly given as "Sheppard". She was not a Shepppard and had never married one either. After she divorced Ben Paul, she quickly married a widower, Samuel E. Hall and her later records clearly detail that she was the daughter of Sherwood Furman Gathings, nicknamed "Peter", and his wife, Rebecca, whose maiden name is still unclear, but probably either Harris or Haire, depending on who you ask.

Ben Paul and Liza show up in one census as man and wife, the 1900 census, living in Morven in the southernmost part of Anson County.

Name:

Benjamin Paul[Benjamin Rem]

Age:

Birthplace:

North Carolina, USA

Home in 1900:

Morven, Anson, North Carolina

Sheet Number:

Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:

133

Family Number:

134

Race:

White

Gender:

Male

Relation to Head of House:

Head

Marital Status:

Married

Spouse's Name:

Eliza Paul

Marriage Year:

1896

Years Married:

Father's Birthplace:

North Carolina, USA

Mother's Birthplace:

North Carolina, USA

Occupation:

Farm Laborer

Months Not Employed:

Can Write:

Yes

Can Speak English:

Yes

House Owned or Rented:

Rent

Farm or House:

Neighbors:

Household Members	Age	Relationship
Benjamin Paul	21	Head
Eliza Paul	20	Wife
Cathrine E Paul	7/12	Daughter

The young couple is shown here with their infant daugther, Catherine, (or Katherine), Elizabeth, just 7 months old. They would go on to have another daughter, Mamie, a few years later, and Mamie would carry their genes on into future generations, including my future grandchildren, one to arrive this summer.

And that is all I have had to go on about Benjamin Paul. I do not know who his parents were and I don't know what happened to him after the divorce. From the looks of things he had abandoned his wife and children.

For weeks, I've been researching the families I believe he could have sprung from and looking at the possibilities and searching for hints. Today, I quite accidentally came across a fact that didn't give me any answers to the above questions, but added a layer to the family tree.

Ben and Eliza did not only have two daughter, they also had a son.

Charlie Carl Paul had slipped through the cracks for me, then I found his death certificate. He lists his parents as Ben Paul and Eliza Gathings. He was born June 22, 1904 in Anson County. He died on May 12, 1978 in Albemarle, in Stanly County. He was buried at Silver Springs Baptist Church near Norwood, NC. Stanly Funeral home handled the service, with William J. Aldridge, Jr. signing for the funeral home. The informant was his son, Carl A. Paul of Albemarle. Charlie was a retired minister and was 73 years old.

Charlie married Myrtle Cranford, who had been born in Montgomery County, North Carolina. She was the daughter of Charlie Brookshire Cranford, Sr. and Mollie Rodena Moore Cranford. Together they had three children, though not without tragedy.

1) Carl Alexander Paul (1924-1985)

2) Albert Lee Paul (1927-2017), seen in one census as "Billy".

3) Carol Dean (1934-1936), their only daughter, Caroldean, had died at the age of 21 months old, of anemia from severe colitis, and was buried at Rehobeth Church in Aquadale.

From the burials, we can assume the Rev. Paul lived primarily around the Aquadale area.

Silver Springs Baptist Church

There are a few scant trees with Charlie in them, and no one names his parents, much less beyond, and they all start with the 1930 census as if he fell from the sky. He didn't.

Name:

Charlie Paul[Charlie Pank]

Birth Year:

abt 1905

Gender:

Male

Race:

White

Age in 1930:

Birthplace:

North Carolina

Marital Status:

Married

Relation to Head of House:

Head

Home in 1930:

North Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA

Map of Home:

Street Address:

Fairview Street

Dwelling Number:

541

Family Number:

545

Home Owned or Rented:

Rented

Home Value:

Radio Set:

Lives on Farm:

Age at First Marriage:

Attended School:

Able to Read and Write:

Yes

Father's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Mother's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Able to Speak English:

Yes

Occupation:

Combers

Industry:

Cotton Mill

Class of Worker:

Wage or salary worker

Employment:

Yes

Household Members	Age	Relationship
Charlie Paul	25	Head
Myrtle Paul	26	Wife
Carl Paul	5	Son
Albert Paul	2	Son

In 1930, before the birth of Caroldean, Charlie and Myrtle were living with their two boys on Fairview Street in Albmarle, part of the Wiscassett Mill Hill. He had apparently not began his career as a minister yet, and instead was working as a "Comber" in the Cotton Mill. These mills inticed alot of young families to pull into town from farms and counties near and wide, looking to make an easy living and enjoy inside plumbing, close amenities and electric lights.

1940 found the family in the same place, on the same street, doing the same thing.

Name:

Charlie Paul

Respondent:

Yes

Age:

Estimated Birth Year:

abt 1904

Gender:

Male

Race:

White

Birthplace:

North Carolina

Marital Status:

Married

Relation to Head of House:

Head

Home in 1940:

West and North Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina

Map of Home in 1940:

Street:

Fairview Street

House Number:

1001

Farm:

Inferred Residence in 1935:

West and North Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina

Residence in 1935:

West and North Albemarle

Resident on farm in 1935:

Sheet Number:

11A

Number of Household in Order of Visitation:

186

Occupation:

Run Comers

House Owned or Rented:

Rented

Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented:

Attended School or College:

Highest Grade Completed:

Elementary school, 4th grade

Hours Worked Week Prior to Census:

Class of Worker:

Wage or salary worker in private work

Weeks Worked in 1939:

Income:

630

Income Other Sources:

Neighbors:

Household Members	Age	Relationship
Charlie Paul	36	Head
Myrtle Paul	37	Wife
Carle Paul	15	Son
Billy Paul	13	Son

Their daughter had been born and passed away, their sons were growing up. But this search isn't about Charlie, it's about finding the why's and whereabouts of this father Ben Paul. Could Charlie's earlier life give us any answers?

Name:

Charlie Paul

Age:

Birth Year:

abt 1905

Birthplace:

South Carolina

Home in 1920:

Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina

Street:

Wiscasset St

Residence Date:

1920

Race:

White

Gender:

Male

Relation to Head of House:

Adopted Child

Marital Status:

Single

Father's Birthplace:

South Carolina

Mother's Birthplace:

South Carolina

Able to Speak English:

Yes

Attended School:

yes

Able to read:

Yes

Able to Write:

Yes

Neighbors:

Household Members	Age	Relationship
James J Manlden	36	Head
Livieneal Manlden	34	Wife
Charlie Paul	15	Adopted Child
Eugene Roberts	23	Boarder
Ola Roberts	16	Boarder

The first step was finding Charlie before 1930, while he was still a boy, and I did. At the age of 15, Charlie was living with James Jacob Mauldin and his wife Lina Neal Lowder Mauldin, and being Mauldins, my Maternal Grandmother's maiden name, of course, they were already in my family tree. And so was Charlie, but as Charlie Paul Mauldin. Paul, being a common given name, I had assumed this adopted son was a transciption error as Charlie Paul Mauldin. J. J Mauldin, as he was known, died in 1922, just two years after this census and his wife Lina remarried Lee Allen Rummage. This is probably how the association with Rehobeth and Silvier Springs began as Lee's family and the Aldridges were all from this area.

Charlie is listed as an adopted child, but probably an unofficial adoption as the didn't change his name. This is bothersome as his mother, Eliza, was alive and remarried and was busy having more children. Did Sam not like or want his stepchildren? Wiscassett Street, where they were living, was on the Efird Mill Hill, not far from the Wiscassett Hill, that Charlie would raise his boys on, but J. J. Mauldin was did not work in the Cotton Mill.

Name:

James J Manlden[]

Age:

Birth Year:

abt 1884

Birthplace:

North Carolina

Home in 1920:

Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina

Street:

Wiscasset St

Residence Date:

1920

Race:

White

Gender:

Male

Relation to Head of House:

Head

Marital Status:

Married

Spouse's Name:

Livieneal Manlden

Father's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Mother's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Able to Speak English:

Yes

Occupation:

Merchant

Industry:

Retail Store

Employment Field:

Home Owned or Rented:

Owned

Home Free or Mortgaged:

Free

Able to read:

Yes

Able to Write:

Yes

Neighbors:

Household Members	Age	Relationship
James J Manlden	36	Head
Livieneal Manlden	34	Wife
Charlie Paul	15	Adopted Child
Eugene Roberts	23	Boarder
Ola Roberts	16	Boarder

J. J. was a merchant and ran a retail store. He and Lina were a childless couple. The Roberts couple who boarded with them did work in the mill, however. He probably ran a village store, like the ones that were common when I was small, that carried a variety of products, sold on credit and even delivered in old pickup trucks.

Rosebriar Restaurant in Albemarle, NC.

Rosebriar Restaurant was once known as "Holt and Troutman", one of these neighborhood markets. I was very familiar with this one as my daddy cut meat there on Saturdays and worked at the Department of Transportation during the week. I recall the sawdust on the floor, the glass cases and the big butcher block. My favorite area was the spinning toy rack and I collected the little farm animals than came in packs of 20 or so.

I wondered how far away from Charlie his mother, Eliza lived.

Name:

Sam Hall

Age:

Birth Year:

abt 1874

Birthplace:

North Carolina

Home in 1920:

Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina

House Number:

434

Residence Date:

1920

Race:

White

Gender:

Male

Relation to Head of House:

Head

Marital Status:

Married

Spouse's Name:

Lina Hall

Father's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Mother's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Able to Speak English:

Yes

Occupation:

Laborer

Industry:

Hosiery Mill

Employment Field:

Wage or Salary

Home Owned or Rented:

Rented

Able to read:

Yes

Able to Write:

Yes

Neighbors:

Household Members	Age	Relationship
Sam Hall	46	Head
Lina Hall	41	Wife
Young Hall	16	Son
Mary Hall	14	Daughter
Sam Hall	12	Son
Pauline Hall	8	Daughter
Ramell Hall	6	Daughter
Lamar Hall	2	Son
William Hall	0	Son

Eliza and her second husband, Sam, were living in North Albemarle Township, and Sam was working in a Hosiery Mill. She was taking care of his many children by his two deceased wives, Narcissa and Daisy, and had already given birth to the first of the two sons she would have by him, William Clegg Hall.

North Albemarle Township in those days was the area between Albemarle and Badin. Even including Badin, but south of New London. It probably encapsulated an area that is now inside of the city limits of Albemarle, as Sam worked in a Hosiery Mill, and those would have been located in Albemarle, to my knowledge, perhaps Lillian Mill, in the center of town.

Stanly County Museum copy, Lillian Mills

So, Eliza lived not that far from Charlie, 5 miles at most, and likely much less, but that doesn't explain why the kindly childless grocer couple took him in. Then my mind asks, where were his older sisters in comparison, as far as location, knowing Kate had married and Mamie was a boarder.

Turned out, Mamie, boarding with the Lee Halls , a member of her stepfamily, was on Watts Street, a street just two streets over from where Charlie lived after he married, on the Wiscassett Mill Hill, with Graham Street in between, they parallelled. Kate, now married to first husband Claude Wilhoit, was all the way in Aberdeen in Moore County, two counties away, with Montgomery in between.

But could I find Charlie in 1910? I had not found his parents or Mamie. I thought I had found Catherine, and perhaps I had. In these early census records, some had been counted twice.

Name:

Jacob J Mauldin

Age in 1910:

Birth Date:

1887[1887]

Birthplace:

North Carolina

Home in 1910:

Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA

Race:

White

Gender:

Male

Relation to Head of House:

Head

Marital Status:

Married

Spouse's Name:

Nealie Mauldin

Father's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Mother's Birthplace:

North Carolina

Native Tongue:

English

Occupation:

Farmer

Industry:

Home Farm

Employer, Employee or Other:

Own Account

Home Owned or Rented:

Rent

Farm or House:

Farm

Able to read:

Yes

Able to Write:

Yes

Neighbors:

Household Members	Age	Relationship
Jacob J Mauldin	23	Head
Nealie Mauldin	23	Wife

He was not living with the Mauldins yet, because I had found them. It was then that I took a clue from the 1920 census, where it had Charlie being born in South Carolina. Why had they thought he was born in South Carolina? Then again, Morven in Anson County, where his parents lived just 4 years prior to his birth, is very close to the South Carolina line. If he was not in Stanly, where he would eventually live, or Anson, where his parents were in 1900, or in Richmond, where his parents were originally from, could he be found in South Carolina?

Name:

Charlie Paul

Age in 1910:

Birth Date:

1904[1904]

Birthplace:

South Carolina

Home in 1910:

Court House, Chesterfield, South Carolina, USA

Street:

Mc Farland Road

Race:

Mulatto[]

Gender:

[]

Relation to Head of House:

[]

Marital Status:

[]

Father's Name:

Lizza Paul

Father's Birthplace:

South Carolina

Mother's Birthplace:

South Carolina

Attended School:

Neighbors:

Household Members	Age	Relationship
Lizza Paul	28	Head
Cate Paul	12	Daughter
Mary Paul	9	Daughter
Charlie Paul	6	Son

Put in the parameters and there he was. There was a lot wrong in the record, so that is why I had dismissed it when I had came across it before. First, they were not all born in South Carolina. Second, I had failed to look at the actual record. The transcriber had labeled them as "M" for race instead of "W". Mamie was mislabled "Mary", but I had seen that in other records that Mamie was in. And, at the time, I didn't know there was a Charlie.

Chesterfield County, South Carolina

What is right about this record is that Chesterfield is only 10.13 miles from Morven. "Lizza" Paul is the same age as Liza Paul," Cate" Paul is the right age to be Katherine Paul, "Mary" Paul is the right age to be Mamie Paul and Charlie Paul was the same age as the Charlie Paul I was looking for, and put all that together, along with various times that both Mamie and Kate were said to have been born in South Carolina, and I can be pretty confident that this was the right Paul family, despite the fact that someone mistook a W for an M.

CLIPPED FROM

The Charlotte News

Charlotte, North Carolina

13 May 1978, Sat • Page 4

Charlie's two sisters and his two half-brothers are mentioned in his obituary. He had not been in theirs because he predeceased them. Charlie, the youngest, died in 1978, Mamie, the middle child, died in the middle, in 1982 and the eldest, Katherine, died last, in 1994.

Still no record as to Ben Paul's origins or what had happened to him, or where he had gone.

I ordered a copy of the divorce reocrd from the NC archives, but it told me nothing. They just sent me the docket listing and not the actual case or conclusion. All I know is that Eliza had made it to Stanly County, where she had family, and filed for divorce in 1917, whereafter she immediately remarried to Sam Hall. Still, there are traces, crumbs, coincidences that are too convincing and numerous to be coincidences.