An unusual DNA match has led to a roundabout and twisted branches search.
Attached to the family tree of this nontypical match was the following document, the April 1st, 1875 marriage certificate from Anson County, NC, for the marriage of Pinkney Ramsey, 21, and Martha A. Howell, 17.
Pinkney was the son of Harbard and Ann Ramsey and Martha was the daughter of Ann Howell. There was only a mark in the place of the father's name for Martha Howell, whether an "I" or just a check mark, I can't decipher. The wedding took place in Ansonville at the home of "L. S." or "L. G." someone, the handwriting has faded to far to reconcile. The name of one witness is clear as 'George', his surname indetectable.
On June 26, 1875, 17 year old Martha A. Howell, daughter of Ann Howell, father not given, married Pinkney Ramsey, son of Harbard and Ann Ramsey, all of Anson County, North Carolina. This we know. The copy of this document had been copied by this dna match from a name I recognized, someone I met online early in my research who has become a dear friend. I recognized the names in the document and guessed this must be the family line our shared dna traveled through, because I do indeed have Ramsey ancestry.
Pinkney is in my family tree as James Pinkney Ramsey, born around 1852 in the Burnsville Community of Anson County. I've managed to successfully trace him from childhood to death, despite the fact that he had a habit of avoiding, skipping or hiding from the records. The Pinkney Ramsey who married Martha Howell, daughter of Ann Howell was my 1st cousin 4 times removed, according to the relationship calculator at ancestry.com. The problem was, he was not the only James Pinkney Ramsey in this part of the state during the waning years of the 19th century. There was another.
While my James Pinkney Ramsey was the son of Harbard/Herbert Ramsey and wife Annis Ledbetter Ramsey and was raised in Anson County, the other Pink had different parents, was 20 or 30 years older and was raised in Rockingham County. Despite all of that, they did have a number of things in common that caused a great deal of confusion and have many folks today confusing them, mixing them up or even merging them into one person. Yes! Even 30 years apart in age, it appears they have been merged. I have found one Pinkney's chldren listed in the other Pinkney's family tree, in many, many profiles and trees. So here is what they had in common:
1. Their name - obviously.
2. They both married a girl name Martha. Different last names, but yes, both named Martha.
3. They both ended up living in a place called Rockingham at some point.
4. Both had children who relocated to busier, more industrialized cities during the rapidly changing 20th Century.
So let's explore. First, the life of James Pinkney my 1st Cousin....4 times removed. One problem in the whole confusion matter is that Harborn Ramsey does not appear in the 1850 census. That would have been most helpful. I can't even be 100 percent sure if Harborn was the son or grandson of my ancestor, Stark Ramsey, the only certain partriarch of the Anson County Ramsey's. I believe his father was a man named John, as Starkey recieved a land grant that connected the property of John Ramsey, and John was obviously significantly older than Stark, and that he may have brothers, other Ramsey's that show in the earliest of records, who migrated away. With a name like 'John' however, I've found it impossible to verify where John came from before arriving in Anson County. There's no will, and there were other John Ramsey's in multiple places before he shows up in Anson County, and I can find nothing so far with a mention of Stark or Starkey associated with any of these Johns, or even a mention of 'John of Anson' to let me know which John he may have been.
Some people even have Harborn pegged as the son of the couple who were the parents of the other James Pinkney Ramsey. That's inconcievable. First, the numbers don't match up. Someone born about 1820 is not going to be the father of someone born in 1825. Secondly, I have not found one real DNA from someone descended from that Pink or from his parents. By real, I mean people who have their wagon hooked to that tree and it's correct, not folks who have my Pink merged with that Pink, but who are really descended from my Pink or from Harborn, although their tree is a mess.
Harborn first shows up in the 1860 census of Burnsville, Anson County. Burnsville was the home nest of my branch of the Ramsey family. In the above excerpt of the census, we see Harbard aka Hubert, with his wife, Annis, and their three children, James (James Pinkney), Elizabeth (called Betty), and Annis Jr. They are in household number 55 and the Robin Broadaway family is in number 56, James Broadway in 57 and Wilson P. Turner, son of George Turner, in 58. If you peel back a page to look at the neighbors immediately preceding that of H. K. Ramsey's household (yes, we know those were his initials) we see these folks:
In Household 54, we see the Stokes McIntyre family, and in Household 53, the family of James and Biddy (Obedience) Ledbetter Ramsey. They are followed by Ben Hudson, Richard Poplin, William Carpenter, James Curlee and Sam Honeycutt. I am very familiar with many of these names. Keep James and Biddy in mind.
If we venture just one more page backwards, we see the family of Nelly Ledbetter, 63, next to Allen Ledbetter, 25, followed up by Curlees, Hinsons and Hills. This is significant. This gives us an idea of the neighborhood that Harborn Herbert and Annis was living in during the summer of 1860. Now, let's jump back a decade. While Harborn Herbert can't be found (at least I haven't found him yet) in 1850, his future wife can be found.
Annis, who would within the year become Annis Ramsey, was Annis Ledbetter. She's living with her mother, Nelly Wall Ledbetter and siblings Rowena and Allen. Recall in 1860, Allen is in his own household with Nelly and Rowena listed in a separate house under his. The neighbor listed above them is James and Biddy Ramsey. Uncoincidentally, Biddy was also a Ledbetter. Nelly Wall Ledbetter was the widow of a William J. Ledbetter and these were among their children.
One page over, we see Ben Hudson and Nancy Nash, just in separate households at this stage of the game. There's the Carpenters, too.
One page back, there are the Curlees, Turners, Hills and Broadways and smack in the middle is old Grandparents Stark and Lisha Ramsey, with their son, John and wife, Tempy, with widowed daughter in law, Polly, above them, with her children, some in the home and others, scattered, working for neighbors. Polly was the widow of Holden Ramsey, who passed away in 1847. As a note, I share dna with/ am definately related to, descendants of John, James and Holden Ramsey. Stark Ramsey had a large family of sons.
The next bit of information we get about Harbard/ Herbert/ H. K. Ramsey that may give us a bit of insight on the early years of James Pinkney Ramsey comes from his Civil War records.
On February 1, 1862, John F. Ramsey and Harborn K. R. Ramsey, both rode or traveled from Stanly County, NC to the town of Salisbury, NC to volunteer for service in the Confederate army. Both enrolled in the 42nd Infantry, Company C, under Col. G. C. Gibbs for 3 years or the War. Both young men were approximately the same age and both stated that they were from Stanly County. Remember that in 1860, Harborn and his young family were living in Burnsville, in Anson County, near his wife's family. Harborn was 24 years old, meaning he would have been about 22 in 1860 and 12 in 1850, not old enough to have been off on his own anywhere.
John F Ramsey, who signed up at the same time, at the same place, in the same unit as Harborn, is the 14 year old 'Franklin' shown in the home of Samuel and Rebecca Helms Ramsey in the above portion of the 1850 census of Stanly County, NC. Samuel was a son of Stark Ramsey and decided to settle on the north side of the small Rocky River in the general area of what we would consider Oakboro today. Samuel and Rebecca are my 4th Great Grandparents. These were not all of Samuel and Rebecca's children, but the list included most of their sons.
| Name | Saml Ramsey |
|---|---|
| Home in 1840 (City, County, State) | Anson, North Carolina |
| Free White Persons - Males - Under 5 | 2 Harborn and Gilliam |
| Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9 | 1 Franklin |
| Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19 | 1 Thomas |
| Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29 | 1 William |
| Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49 | 1 Samuel |
| Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9 | 1 Jane |
| Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14 | 1 Rowena |
| Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19 | 2 Obedience and Unknown |
| Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49 | 1 Rebecca |
| Persons Employed in Agriculture | 3 |
| No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write | 3 |
| Free White Persons - Under 20 | 8 |
| Free White Persons - 20 thru 49 | 3 |
| Total Free White Persons | 11 |
| Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves | 11 |
Backing up a decade, to 1840, where only heads of households were listed, we see Samuel and his family still in Anson County. Oakboro, in Stanly County and Burnsville in Anson County are only 10 miles from each other, a 12 minute drive today, but still not a great distance in 1850.
As you can see in 1840, it appears that Samuel and Rebecca had 4 daughters and 5 sons listed in their home. All of the children listed in 1850 were born before 1840. Harborn, who is not listed, could have been missed in the 1850 by the census taker, but easily fits in the listing for 1840. There is also one daughter unknown in the 1840 listing, and could have easily been married like Obedience and Rowena were, by 1850, Jane being the only daughter in the home in 1850.
Samuel was the only Ramsey living in Stanly County during the Civil War era. Both John and Harborn gave Stanly as their home county. It's my belief they were brothers, and that Harborn was Samuel's son and Starks grandson. DNA evidence seems to support this theory, but proof is another matter altogether.
The known children of Samuel and Rebecca Ramsey, excluding Harborn, were:
1) William Riley Ramsey who married Elizabeth Helms.
2) Obedience Ramsey who married William Hill, son of Julius Hill of Burnsville. She later married James Whittington after William's death. William and Obedience Ramsey Hill were my 3rd Great Grandparents.
3) Rowena Ramsey who married James Whittington. Yes, James married his widowed sister-in-law after his wife's death.
4) Jane Louisa Ramsey who married George Smith.
5) James Thomas Ramsey who was married three times, 1st to Elizabeth Reap, 2nd to Amelia Louise Ludwig and last to Wincy Ellen Smith. His is a case I need to look into closer.
6) John Franklin Ramsey who married Joyce Ann "Joicy" Redwine.
7) Gilliam O. Ramsey.
All of the above sons of Samuel Ramsey served in the Civil War. There were two Willliam R. Ramsey's, related, and the separation of the two requires a post of its own. One survived the War, one did not. Which was which? James Thomas and John Franklin both returned from the War. Gilliam O. did not.
In March of 1862, was absent due to sickness and had returned home to Stanly County, NC.
Harborn was present in April of 1864.
Harborn is listed in a Roll of Honor and said to be a 24 year old from Stanly County.
This report shows Harborn to have been admitted to the Camp Windor Hospital in Richmond, Virginia and that his initial were recorded as both H. K and H. R. and that he was the same person. Besides having been recorded as sick at Camp Winder, there was also an instance of him suffering from Debilitis and being admitted to the hospital in Charlotte, NC on May 15, 1864. He was returned to duty on July 17, 1864. Altogether, the Civil War records show that Harborn Ramsey was alive and accounted for until at least mid December, 1864. After that, there is no more record of Harborn. He did not return home. Did he pass away of illness unrecorded? Was he captured by the enemy and his death not reported? Did he perhaps assume a new identity and head West as many young men did at this time? The answers are unknown.
What is known is that he left a widow, Annis and three young children, Pinkney, Betty and Annis II. Not one of the four of them is found in the 1870 census. They were not the only Ramsey family members that were missed. In all likelihood, they were still living together in a family unit, Annis Ledbetter Ramsey and her three children, and still in the Burnsville area of Anson County. This assumption because of the following events:
On December 4, 1874, 1874, William R. VonCannon, age 25, and Elizabeth Ramsey, 20, were married by Rev. John Lyles at his home in Lilesville Township. Then, as we've already seen, on April 21, 1875, Pinkney Ramsey, son of Harbard and Annis Ramsey, married Martha Howell, daughter of Ann Howell, in Ansonville Township, Anson County.
Bettie
Just a little excursion here to briefly look at the life of Bettie Ramsey. Elizabeth, most often referred to as Bettie, lived a long life for those days, passing away in 1938, at the age of 82. She and William Voncannon raised 10 children together. Her husband, William, grew up in Randolph County, NC. He is also always shown as 'William', except for once as a small chldren. William also lived into his 80's, so they had a long marriage.
The couple is shown in the 1880 census as living in Wadesboro, in Anson County, with the oldest three of their 10 children. After that, they are shown as living in Grant Township, southeast of the County Seat of Ashboro. The elderly couple was living in High Point in nearby Guilford County when they passed away and were returned to Randolph County for burial at Flag Springs United Methodist Church, in the general vicinity of the North Carolina Zoo. William was the son of Riley Von Cannon and wife, Lydia Corneliouson Von Cannon. He had siblings Ananias, John, Sarah Jane, Thomas, Joel and Ranson. The names of his parents and siblings are echoed in the names of his children.
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| By US Census, Ruhrfisch - taken from US Census website [1] and modified by User:Ruhrfisch, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2379952 |
Their oldest child, Lydia Vandelia VonCannon, was supposed born on October 12, 1874, two months before the marriage. I suppose this could be true, but as age was very fluid in these old records, it is also quite possible that she was actually a year or more younger.
| Name | Vandelia Vancannon |
|---|---|
| Age | 5 |
| Birth Date | Abt 1875 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Home in 1880 | Wadesboro, Anson, North Carolina, USA |
| House Number | 145 |
| Dwelling Number | 183 |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Female |
| Relation to Head of House | Daughter |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Father's Name | William Vancannon |
| Father's Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Mother's Name | Elisebeth Vancannon |
| Mother's Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Neighbors | View others on page |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| William Vancannon | 25 |
| Elisebeth Vancannon | 20 |
| Vandelia Vancannon | 5 |
| Monroe Vancannon | 3 |
| Thomas Vancannon | 4/12 |
In the 1880 census, she is shown as only two years older than her brother, Monroe, who was born in 1877, so 1875 was most likely her year of birth and children often appeared a year after their parents marriage in those days. Vandelia was followed by Madison Monroe, Thomas H., Alice Martha, Ananias, Sally Ella, Althace Annis, Daniel Maye, Atlas Charless and Addie Elizabeth wrapping up in 1894. Bettie had a death certificate and named her parents as H. K. and Annis 'Lineberry' Ramsey. Several members of Annis's Ledbetter family were called 'Lineberry' at some point and descendants often designate the surname as Ledbetter / Lineberry in family trees. It was actually Ledbetter leading all the way back to Virginia.
Now back to Pink. He, too, shows up again in 1880. He and Martha have started their family in the town of Ansonville in northern Anson County, not far from Burnsville. Ansonville was known as a college town in those days, and very Southern Antebelllum. A beautiful place in its day, I am told. Pink and Martha have a 4 year old son, Stephen, and a two years old daughter, Mary. They are living near Betsy May. May was a prominent Anson County surname. As Pink's sister Betty named a son Daniel Maye, from the surname (masculine), not the month (feminine), I wonder if there was somewhere a Maye connection to the family.
Youngest sister, Annis Jr or 'Anna', also reappears in 1880. She is 18 years old and still living in the area of Burnsville. She is working as a servant of the David Carpenter family. Anna or Annis Jr. never married. She was a member of what they described at that time as the 'defective class'. She is listed as being 'deaf and dumb'. She could neither hear nor speak, but she could, at this stage in her life, work as a farmhand.
Sometime during the 20 year jump from 1880 to 1900, Pink has moved his family to neighboring Richmond County, where they would remain. This is one fact that lead to the confusion with the other James Pinkney Ramsey.
| Name | Pugh Ramsay |
|---|---|
| Age | 48 |
| Birth Date | Mar 1852 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina, USA |
| Home in 1900 | Beaver Dam, Richmond, North Carolina |
| House Number | 1 |
| Sheet Number | 8 |
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation | 141 |
| Family Number | 149 |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Male |
| Relation to Head of House | Head |
| Marital Status | Widowed |
| Father's Birthplace | North Carolina, USA |
| Mother's Name | Anias Ramsay |
| Mother's Birthplace | North Carolina, USA |
| Occupation | Mill Labor |
| Months Not Employed | 0 |
| Can Read | N |
| Can Write | N |
| Can Speak English | Y |
| House Owned or Rented | Rent |
| Farm or House | H |
| Neighbors | View others on page |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Anias Ramsay | 70 |
| Pugh Ramsay | 48 |
| William I Ramsay | 24 |
| Mary E Ramsay | 20 |
| Adam Ramsay | 14 |
| Hugh P Ramsay | 9 |
| Reina Ramsay | 7 |
| Maggie Ramsay | 5 |
As the above handwritten excerpt is difficult to read, Ive included the transcribe verion which incorrectly has Pink as "Pugh". His wife, Martha Howell Ramsey has passed away. As the youngest child, Maggie, is 5 years old, this probably dates Martha's demise to between 1895 and 1900. Although she managed to hide during the 1870 and 1880 census, Pink's mother, Annis, has reappeared to help rear the children. This document also tells us that Pink is renting a place in Beaverdam community. Richmond saw an influx of residents during this year due to being a textile center. Farmers who were barely scraping by sometimes chose to move into a town with a Cotton Mill, especially if they had young adult or teenaged children they could put to work in the factories. Mill Villages sprang up in these areas and with them, businesses that catered to the needs of these mill workers who walked to work for the most part. Pink was no exception.
Pink, 48, is listed as a Mill Hand. William Stephen Ramsey, 24, has been promoted to a Night Boss. Twenty year old Mary Ella is spooling while her brothers, Adam 14, and Hugh, only 9, are dolphing. Only Reina, 7 and Maggie, 5, are not employed in the textile mills, while 70 year old Annis, their grandmother, must have been keeping house and watching the girls. Most of the neighbors had Mill related occupations and child labor was alive and well. It was more common to see older children and teens working than their mothers, a fact I have personally found disturbing.
Annis Ledbetter Ramsey.
While Annis managed to escape the census takers until 1900, the local newspapers give us small glimpse into what her life was like around the turn of the century.
 |
The Messenger and IntelligencerWadesboro, North Carolina • Page 4 |
In 1893, the newspaper in Anson County reported that Annis and her daughter, evidentally referring to her deaf and mute daughter of the same name, Annis, was receiving $4.50 a month support from the County funds. She was a pauper, too old or physically unable to support herself, and therefore living off the County.
| Name | Pink Ramsay |
|---|---|
| Age | 71 |
| Birth Year | abt 1849 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Home in 1920 | Wolf Pit, Richmond, North Carolina |
| Street | Jato Street |
| Residence Date | 1920 |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Male |
| Relation to Head of House | Father |
| Marital Status | Widowed |
| Father's Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Mother's Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Able to Speak English | Yes |
| Occupation | Sweeper |
| Industry | Cotton Mill |
| Employment Field | Wage or Salary |
| Able to Write | No |
| Neighbors | View others on page |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| William S Ramsay | 43 |
| Mary Ramsay | 39 |
| Beaulah Ramsay | 14 |
| Maude Ramsay | 9 |
| Odell Ramsay | 3 |
| Pink Ramsay | 71 |
| Name | Martha J Apple |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Race | White |
| Age | 11 |
| Birth Year | abt 1839 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Home in 1850 | Western District, Rockingham, North Carolina, USA |
| Line Number | 28 |
| Dwelling Number | 84 |
| Family Number | 84 |
| Inferred Father | Samuel Apple |
| Inferred Mother | Eliza Apple |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Samuel Apple | 55 |
| Eliza Apple | 39 |
| Richard Apple | 20 |
| Julinia F Apple | 15 |
| Mary A Apple | 13 |
| Martha J Apple | 11 |
| Eliza A Apple | 7 |
| Zachary S Apple | 2 |
| Isaiah McBride | 18 |
| Name | Richard Ramsey |
|---|---|
| Enlistment Age | 20 |
| Birth Date | abt 1841 |
| Enlistment Date | 22 May 1861 |
| Enlistment Place | Rockingham County, North Carolina |
| Enlistment Rank | Private |
| Muster Date | 22 May 1861 |
| Muster Place | North Carolina |
| Muster Company | K |
| Muster Regiment | 13th Infantry |
| Muster Regiment Type | Infantry |
| Muster Information | Enlisted |
| Muster Out Date | 1 Jul 1863 |
| Muster Out Place | Gettysburg, Pennsylvania |
| Muster Out Information | Killed |
| Side of War | Confederacy |
| Survived War? | No |
| Residence Place | Rockingham County, North Carolina |
| Occupation | Farmer |
| Title | North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster |
| Name | Pinckny Ramsey |
|---|---|
| Age | 31 |
| Birth Year | abt 1829 |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | White |
| Birth Place | North Carolina |
| Home in 1860 | Southern Division, Rockingham, North Carolina |
| Post Office | Troublesome |
| Dwelling Number | 449 |
| Family Number | 449 |
| Occupation | Laborer |
| Cannot Read, Write | Y |
| Inferred Spouse | Martha Ramsey |
| Inferred Child | John Ramsey |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Pinckny Ramsey | 31 |
| Martha Ramsey | 26 |
| John Ramsey | 5 |
| Mary Ramsey |
| Name | Pinkney Ramsey | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1870 | 45 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Date | abt 1825 | ||||||||||||
| Birthplace | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number | 224 | ||||||||||||
| Home in 1870 | Simpsonville, Rockingham, North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Race | White | ||||||||||||
| Gender | Male | ||||||||||||
| Post Office | Wentworth | ||||||||||||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||||||||||||
| Male Citizen Over 21 | Yes | ||||||||||||
| Personal Estate Value | 150 | ||||||||||||
| Inferred Spouse | Martha Ramsey | ||||||||||||
| Inferred Children | Mary J RamseyJulia A RamseyWm Ramsey | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
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