Arwelder

 

Stumbling across Arwelder Morton in my search of descendants of Ezekial Morton and wife, Elizabeth Brumbalow Morton, was a discovery plagued with munificent questions concerning her name. Morton was her married name and there seemed to be no consensus concerning what her maiden name was, even among the various legal records that documented her life. Added to that conundrum, there's the situation of her first name "Arwelder".  What even is that? Was it a phonetic spelling of an actual name that was fangled and fractured by a countrified southern accent? Who was this mysterious lady?

First things first, the name Arwelder. I discovered that this was a surname associated with a small, but existing group of people found in Union and Mecklenburg Counties, North Carolina, near and neighboring counties to Arwelder's home county of Stanly. In other forms, this same surname was seen and spelled as Arwilder and Arwalter, possibly a deviation of Attwater. Had she descended from this family?

Arwelder remained dutifully hidden until adulthood. Born June 20, 1864, she should have appeared somewhere in the 1870 census yet has managed to evade me. The first record of her existence was her marriage license, which occurred at a mortifyingly young age. 

On April 24, 1880, Adam A. Morton, 21, applied for the marriage license between himself and "Welder" Chrisco, 14. He was the son of A. G. and Elizabeth Morton, both parents living. She was daughter of father unknown and a living Nancy Hinson. It was also noted as unknown as to whether her father was living or not. As I would discover later, her father was not unknown, just unnamed. This could have been because her mother was now married, herself. The consent to the marriage, as Arwelder was underage, was given by Henry Hinson and Nancy Hinson, with it being noted beside Nancy's name that she was "the mother". Henry Hinson was Nancy's husband and Arwelder's stepfather. 

The wedding was performed the next day by Justice of the Peace, F. G. Turner, at his place in Big Lick, home or office, and witnesses were E. W. Morton, A. G. Morton and A. M. Hinson. I presume these were probably Adam's brother, Enoch Willis Morton, and either his father, Allen Green Morton, or his younger brother, A. G. Morton, Jr, and A. M. Hinson were perhaps a neighbor, or relative of Henry's.

Name	Welder Morton
Age	15
Birth Date	Abt 1865
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number	85
Race	White
Gender	Female
Relation to Head of House	Daughter-in-law
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	Adam Morton
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Occupation	Homeworker
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
A. G. Morton	52
Elisabeth Morton	52
John Morton	22
Lizzie Morton	22
Adam Morton	20
Welder Morton	15
A. G. Morton	15
James F. Morton	12
Levey Morton	10
Lucy Morton	7

The 1880 census came so quickly after the wedding, that the young couple had not yet time to establish themselves on their own. They were found living with Adam's parents and siblings in Big Lick and 'Welder', as she was called, was noted as a daughter-in-law. Adam's brother, John Calvin Morton, had also recently became a bridegroom in March of the same year, and had his wife, Eliza "Lizzie" Cable Morton, in their parents' home, too. Adding to the family were younger siblings, A. G Jr., James F., Levi and Lucy Morton.

Arwelder Magdalena and Adam A. Morton

Adam and Arwelder seemed to have had a long, happy marriage of a turn-of -the century farm family and begin building a large collective of children.

1) Their firstborn son, Ellam, born around 1881, came around a year after the marriage and is only shown as a 19-year-old young man in the 1900 census. He didn't live to make the 1910 and was buried at the Little-Morton Family Cemetery near Oakboro, NC, with his name mis transcribed as "Ellan". The cause of his early demise remains unknown. It was not noted in the newspapers to my knowledge.

2) Dahlia Eugenia, the second born, would step in as leader of the pack. Born August 15, 1884, she would marry Everette A. Anderson and would remain in Big Lick for life, passing on January 26, 1954, at the age of 69. They had a son and daughter who lived until adulthood and a son and a daughter that passed as infants. Everette was the grandson of the infamous "Big Lick Witch", Melinda "Lynn" Pless Coble Byrd via her daughter, Hester, despite their marriage license naming his father as William B. Anderson (correct) and his mother as Melinda Byrd (incorrect). Dahlia's marriage license gave her mother's surname as her married name, Morton, while her death certificate gave her mother's maiden name as 'Hinson'.

3) Cornelia Nancy, aka "Nellie Ann" was born on August 22, 1886. She married Philas Jerome "PJ" Smith on January 22, 1905, and they became the parents of 10 children: Ethel, Taft, Jolie Bell, Vaughn, Mary, Willard, Newton, Fannie, Harding and Glenn. She died on November 26, 1958, having spent the first part of her marriage in Big Lick, Stanly County and the latter years in Cabarrus County, where they farmed. She was returned to her home in Stanly County for burial. Her mother was named as "Felder Morton" on her marriage document.

4) Cannon Fetzer Morton was born on July 27, 1888. He married Bertha Williams on December 7, 1917. His death certificate named his mother as "Arwelder Hinson Morton". They raised 7 children, 6 daughters and one son, moving from Big Lick to New London to Albemarle.

5) Maude Minnie Morton was born on October 10, 1890, and died on April 3, 1976. She married Adam Brigham Helms on April 21, 1907, and had 8 children, they raised in Big Lick. Her mother is referred to as "Wilder Morton" on her marriage license. 

6) Willie Adam Morton was born on March 13, 1893, and died on August 26, 1963. He married Nellie Hatley on December 21, 1915, and they lived in Big Lick, and later Albemarle, and raised 9 children. His mother was referred to as "Arwelder Crisco" on his death certificate.

7) Walter Haywood Morton was born on May 30, 1895, and died on March 19, 1951. He married Mary Lucy Huneycutt on September 8, 1919. Together, they raised a family of 10 children in Big Lick: Virginia, Naomi, Seneca Bernice, Mary Inez, Ezra, Alfred Hoover, Stella, Patricia Arwelda, Shirley J., and Delmar "Dale" Morton. His mother was named as "Arwelda Morton" in his marriage certificate.

8) Oliver Morton was born in July of 1896. He passed away as a child between June 8, 1900, when he was shown as a 3-year-old in the 1900 census, and the 9th of May 1910, when his family was shown living on the Monroe Road in Big Lick, without him. He was buried in the Little-Morton cemetery south of Oakboro.

9) Watson Lowe Morton aka "Watt Lowe" Morton was born October 18, 1901, and passed away on August 1, 1976, in Mecklenburg County, NC. He married Nannie Poplin June 24, 1930, in Chesterfield County, NC and raised their daughters in Oakboro and Big Lick, NC. His mother was named as "Arwelder Huneycutt" on his documents.

Five Generations, Colorized, beginning with Nancy Crisco Hinson, sitting, right, with daughter,  Arwelder

, on the left. Standing behind Nancy is Arwelders' daughter "Dallie" Dahia Morton Anderson and behind Arwelder is Dallie's daughter, Annie Bell Anderson Griffin. Nancy Hinson is holding Annie's baby. 

It's not unusual for a woman to have had a number of different surnames. Life happens. She's usually born with one surname, gained from her parents, then acquires another as she marries. She may marry numerous times, and add on another, due to death or divorce, or even annulment.

Arwelder had one married name, Morton, with that there is no argument, but what was her maiden name? She's shown as Crisco, Hinson, and Huneycutt. The answer cannot be gleaned from looking at just Arwelder. We must back up another generation and look at the life of another lady. 

Nancy

Nancy, the oldest mother in this five-generation shot was born as Nancy Crisco, or Chrisco, 

Below is Arwelder's Death Certificate.

Her name is given as Arwelder Magdalene Morton. Her age as 66 years, 2 months and 9 days. She was a housewife and her husband; A. A. Morton has outlived her. The informant was A. F. Hinson, who reported that she was born in Stanly County, NC, and that her father's name was J. S. Huneycutt, and her mother's name was Nancy Crisco. So that is where the Crisco and the Huneycutt came from! She died of paralysis on August 28, 1930, and no reason was given for the paralysis. I believe A. F. Hinson was Finley Adam Hinson, Nancy's youngest son, who would have been Arwelder's half-brother.

Adam and Arwelder's children seemed at odds with what her maiden name was. Youngest son, Walter "Watt" Lowe Morton's death certificate named her as Arwelder  Huneycutt.

Maude Morton Helms's death certificate named her mother as Arwelder Hinson. 

Now was the time to look at the life of Nancy Crisco and answer a new question, who was J. S. Huneycutt?

Nancy Crisco first shows up as an 11-year-old in the home of her father, Jacob Crisco.

She was the youngest child in the family. Also in the home were brothers Conrad, 20 and Jacob Jr., 14. Above them lived Henry and Margaret Carver. Margaret was Nancy's older sister, and daughter of Jacob. His daughter Lydia had married a Carver as well, Margeret marrying Henry and Lydia marrying his brother, John Butler Carver. 

Jacob Crisco, Sr. had been born in the Browers Community of Randolph County, the son of George William Crisco (1765-1830) and Susannah Maness Kennedy, (1762-1860). There would be a long-standing relationship with the Kennedy family, who originated in neighboring Davidson County, and also had settled in Stanly County about the same time, in the same area. The probability of a familial relation between the two groups was high. 

ame	Jacob Criscow
Residence Date	1840
Home in 1840 (City, County, State)	North Catawba River, Burke, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5	1 Jacob
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14	2 Conrad & Gooden
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29	1 John Thomas
Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49	1 Jacob Sr.
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5	1 Nancy
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14	1 Lydia
Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19	2 Margaret
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29	1 Unknown
Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49	1 Polly
Persons Employed in Agriculture	4
Free White Persons - Under 20	7
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49	4
Total Free White Persons	11
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves	11

Jacob would be found in Burke County, North Carolina in the 1840 census, living on the North Catawba River.

It was likely this is where Nancy was born. Her mother was a Mary "Polly" Yow, and it is unknown exactly when they were married or when Polly died, however, Jacob would marry in Randolph County on February 27, 1846, to an Eliza Burrow, daughter of a John Burrow. Eliza would pass away before Jacob was shown as a widower again in the 1850 census of Stanly County. He had settled around Stillwater Creek. 

1850

Several of Nancy's siblings would find themselves among those who migrated south and west in search of greener pastures, as that area opened up for settlement. Her brother, Gooden or Goodwin, would settle first in Alabama, marrying there in 1849 to Nancy Ann Watson, in St. Clair County. Later, they would push further west into Lawrence County, Arkansas, where Gooden died in 1867, probably from wounds or debilitation he incurred during his service in the Civil War. He left one son, Jacob L. Crisco.

Another brother, John, chose to raise his large family in Shannon County, Missouri.

1860

Nancy Crisco was not to be found in the 1860 census. She would have been around 16, and still single and completely orphaned. The youngest child, both parents had passed on and Jacob Crisco left no Will. 

It is my belief that Nancy was most likely mistakenly omitted but would have been living somewhere in the above listed neighborhood. As in the prior 1850 listing, the Henry Carver family, which was headed by her brother-in-law, Henry and her sister, Margaret, is residing near her brother, Conrad Crisco, who has started his own family. They are surrounded by Honeycutt's, and Nancy would end up in a relationship with a "J. S. Honeycutt" within the next few years. A James W. Honeycutt family is listed right under the Carvers, headed by 24-year-old James and his 34-year-old wife, Rebecca. Further up the page are the Lewis and George H. Honeycutt families. Were they closely related to each other? Did they have an age-appropriate J. S. among their ranks?

Nancy would marry Henry Hinson on June 23, 1865, in Union County, NC, at the close of the War. As J. S. Huneycutt is so elusive, many have ruminated and declared that he must have met his maker during the War years. But was J S really a J. S. ? Could he have been a J W? 

James W. Huneycutt married Rebecca A. Austin on January 3, 1858, in Stanly County by H. Carver, JP. Henry Carver, husband of Nancy's sister Margaret, was living next to the couple two years later in 1860. An 8-year-old boy named Riley is living with them and was enumerated as a Huneycutt, but he may not have been a Honeycutt. By 1868, it appears that Rachel may have died, as James W. remarried to Martha Jane Griffin. Unknown when Rachel, who was a decade older than James, passed on, there is certainly available a window of time in there, where Arwelder could have appeared in the world within. 

Henry Hinson was a widower. The son of Charles Sampson Hinson and Milea Clark Hinson, he had married Mary Ann Speights, one of the "Dying Speights", on November 27, 1861. Most of her family had died off from various diseases within a brief time of each other, strangely. This tale deserves a post of its own. Henry and Mary Ann had five children together between 1851 and 1860, Anne Henrietta, John Calvin, Eli H., James Samuel, and Marion Hinson. In the 1870 census, shown above, three of Henry's sons by his previous marriage are living with Nancy and himself, and their first child together, William Henry, is shown as a 4-year-old.  He and Nancy will also have five children together, as William Henry was followed by Martha Margaret, Nancy Jane, Robert Lafayette and Finley Adam, bringing up the rear in 1882. Arwelder also escaped this census. It is unknown where she could have been, but one bit of evidence suggests she may have lived with her mother and stepfather at one point, the fact that she was seen as a "Hinson" at times. 

In 1870 the Crisco's, her youngest two brothers, are living near each other, protensively in the place their father had lived and left them. Arwelder was not among them, either.  

So, her first appearance in records remains as a newlywed in her inlaws home in 1880, and simultaneously on her April 25th, 1880 marriage license at a cringeworthy 14 year old, that declares her only as "Welder Crisco", the fatherless daughter of Nancy Hinson.

She was called Crisco, because that was her mother's maiden name and there is no indication that her parents were married.

She was called Hinson, because her mother married a Hinson, and it appears she had been raised, for the most part at any rate, in the Hinson family. 

She was called Morton, because she married a Morton.

She was called Honeycutt, because her father was a known Honeycutt, the mysterious J. S. Huneycutt, who may have been the J. S. Honeycutt who served in the Civil War, and died shortly after her birth, or possibly even before.

Rest in peace, Arwelder Magdalene, the girl with many names.

The Claims for Membership

 In my recent post on the case of Harris Melton, Native American ancestry was something to deny and be ashamed of, circa 1850's. Fast forward half a century, and for some, that perception began to change.

It started with the Dawes Act of 1887, also called The General Allotment, which allowed the President to subdivide tribal lands into "allotments", or a sort of grant given to heads of families, or single people. This was contrary to the native people's way of doing things, or their historical view of land as owned by the whole, and just territories belonging to various tribes. Now, they were being brought into capitalism, and the notion of private property. Because of this, and by the time of this, there had developed a growing group of people of mixed heritage, Native American and whatever else, especially those of European mix. The government had a job of determining who was eligible for these lands and who were not.

At first, the Five Civilized Tribes were exempt from the Dawes Act. These consisted of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee and Seminole. The Curtis Act of 1898 included these tribes and basically shutdown their methods of self-governance. I will not go into the devastating effects these acts had on the tribes, or the loss of land, only the side effect that infiltered Stanly County, and my own family tree.

The commission had to determine blood quantum's, and as there was a lack of records to prove or disprove what level of "Indianness" someone possessed, it was a very random procedure. Because there was financial gain of land, and sometime small pensions. 

On August 23, 1907, Mary M. Hatley of Stanly County, North Carolina applied to the Court of Claims of the Eastern Cherokee for membership. She was not the only one. 

Mary M. Hatley was mentioned in my last post, linked here: The Dandelions of Aaron Sanders.

Mary Miranda Sanders was the daughter of Stephen J. Sanders and Dicy Morton Sanders. She was born September 26, 1849, and was the first of their three children. She was the granddaughter of Aaron and Nancy Sanders and Hezekiah and Susanna Hathcock Morton. She married James Ruffian Hatley, and that is where the Hately name came into the picture.

On her application, 56-year-old Mary listed her tribe as the Eastern Cherokee and gave her "Indian Name" as Morton. She also listed the names, ages and year of birth of her children; Alexander Hatley, 40, Fronia Holland, 37, Sarah J Hatley, 35, Auvasia Kirk ( A.H.) Hatley, 25, Mittle Lightfoot, 21, Emma Hatley, 18 and Martin Luther "ML" Hatley, 16.

On the next page, she listed her parents, Stephen Sanders and Dicy Bowers, as her mother, Dicy Morton Sanders had married her second husband, Moses Bowers by then. She listed the year of her father's death as 1863, and that her mother's status was living, in Albemarle, NC. She listed her two siblings as Sallie Sanders Whitley, born in 1858, of Whitley, NC and her brother, William E. Sanders, 185?, age 52, of New London, NC, (both in Stanly County).

Her grandparents were listed again, Aaron and Nancy Sanders and Hezekiah Morton and Susan Ann Morton. Why the Morton's names were repeated with dashes on the first line under them, I don't know. She stated they were born in Montgomery County, now Stanly, NC and that she was born in Stanly, NC. She then listed her siblings:

James Morton -   Dead

        Ezekial Morton - Dead  

Joseph Morton of Albemarle

Jesse Morton of Whitley, NC

Mary Fesperman of Albemarle, NC

William G Morton - Dead

         

In the remarks of her application, Mary wrote, "My mother is Dicy Bowers, daughter of Hezekiah Morton, whose mother was Elizabeth Morton, wife of Ezekial Morton and where name was Elizabeth Brumbelow a member of the Eastern Cherokee Indians before her intermarriage with my great grandfather, Ezekial Morton".

There were several of these, applications for membership to the tribe by descendants of Elizabeth Brumbalow. The question is, where did these Great Grandchildren and Grand Children get the idea that she was Cherokee? And was she?

Rev. Ezekial Morton and Elizabeth Brumbalow Morton were among my 5th Great Grandparents. That far back, I would carry only a small fraction of their DNA, if any at all. However, these closer generations seemed sure of it. Elizabeth B. Morton was born January 7, 1775, and died on July 26, 1856, in Oakboro, NC. Her parents were Edward and Elizabeth Brumbalow, who died around 1810. She lived long enough for most of her Grandchildren and perhaps some of her Great Grandchildren, to have known her personally. The rumor of Cherokee ancestry had to have come from somewhere, and I believe it is the source of the rumor passed down to this day, of several western Stanly oriented families with surnames like Morton, Almond, Burris, Burleyson, Hatley, Whitley, Honeycutt and others, that they have Native American ancestry.

One young lady among this stock of names asked me a few years ago asked me to look into her family tree to find her Indian ancestor. While she looked no part indigenous, her father is indeed a dark-skinned, dusky looking fellow. The only possible link back to any possibility of indigenous heritage I found for her in five generations was the Mortons.

Stanly News and Press Albemarle, North Carolina • Thu, Aug 22, 1907Page 3

J. R. Price, an attorney took the Morton claims to Washington in 1907. Their proof was vague, just family lore that perhaps had stemmed from Elizabeth Brumbalow, herself, but from whatever the source, it was exiguous, and not enough to secure the family membership to the tribe. Again, it was claimed, not proven and not accepted. This does not mean it was not true, but yet again, it doesn't prove that it was.

An article came out about the time, that a grandson, Rev. D. S. Morton, and claimed that he denied the heritage, then he went on to contradict himself.

	Stanly News and Press	Albemarle, North Carolina •	Thu, Aug 29, 1907	Page 3

"I remember Grand-mama very well. She was a devout Christian. her maiden name was Bromblo, but she was not the only one of that name who lived in this country."

"Grand-mama was dark complected but no darker than many other people whom I have seen. She possibly might have been related to the Indians. I do not know."

He goes on to state that if he is related to Indians, he is not ashamed but hopes people would not be misled by such a legendary story.

Over a decade ago, I started a project called, "The Indians of Stanly County". The object of this project was to trace the lineage of some Stanly County families known to me who were visibly dark-skinned and try to find where their duskiness may have originated. 

The Chandlers had one member who had migrated west into the mountains from their Davidson County origins and returned back home with an "Indian" bride by the surname of Bell. This family would move afterwards to Stanly County from the upper Badin Lake region of the Davidson and Montgomery County border. Later research shows the Bell family may have actually been Melungeon, as that name exists in their midst and DNA shows a healthy trace of both Amerindian and African ancestry.

A branch of the Almond family had a fairly recent ancestor who was part of a small remnant group of Native Americans who lived in the upper South Carolina counties of Marlboro and Chesterfield. 

Two families had recent ancestors that were part of the Lumbee tribes. 

Several others had no clear Native American ancestors, but led back to, wait for it...the Morton family. 

Some had one particular ancestor in common, a man named William Riley Morton. 

One Underwood family descended from William R. Morton (18 Jan 1902 - 20 Apr 1967), who was a son of William Riley Morton (13 Jul 1860 - 22 Mar 1950). He would have been the living generations' Great Grandfather, those in their 60's now.

A Bowers family descended from Nara Lee Poplin (24 Feb 1916- 25 Dec. 1977), who was the daughter of Jonah Lee Poplin (1896-1959) and Selma Morton Poplin (3 March 1896- 3 Feb 1975).

Selma Morton Poplin was a daughter of the same William Riley Morton (1860-1950). In this case, he would have been the Great, Great-Grandfather of the living generation in their 50's and 60's now.

William Riley Morton must have been a dark featured, olive-skinned fellow. He also enjoyed a long life of nearly 90's years, born early enough to have had vague memories of the Civil War as a small boy and living through both World Wars and into the age of the riveting 1950's. He and his wife, Nancy Winfred Dick were a very philoprogenitive couple, producing a family of 9 children:

1893-1974 Cevilla Morton Talbert

1896-1975 Selma Morton Poplin

1897-1962 Benjamin Franklin Morton

1900-1896 David Hasten Morton

1902-1967 William R. Morton Jr.

1904-1982 John Floyd Morton

1906-1971 Albert Kirk Morton

1909-1994 Raymond Alexander Morton

1912-1989 Nancy Magnolia Curlee

This William R. Morton was the son of John Wesley Morton (1829-1870) and Lydia Adeline Ledbetter Morton, (1833-1909), daughter of Albert Ledbetter and Temperance Jane Tucker Ledbetter, whom I have touched on in my Big Lick posts.

John Wesley Morton was the son of Joseph Calvin Morton (1801-1889) and Margaret Ann Hatley (1807-1889).

Joseph Calvin Morton was the son of Rev. Ezekial John Morton (1770-1834) and Elizabeth Betsy Brumbalow (1775-1856). 

There was an Efird family with the same circumstances, dark, swarthy complexion, indigenous features, considered white and stemming from known white families. Where did the dark genes come from? Again, I found Mortons in their line, and no clear lineage other than that of anything but European heritage. 

This line stems from Walter Haywood Morton (1895-1951) who married Mary Lucy Honeycutt (1903-1998).

Walter was the son of Adam Archie Morton (1859-1946) and Arwelder Magdalene (Crisco, Honeycutt or Hinson) (1865-1930).

Adam was the son of Allen Green Morton, Sr. (1827-1894) and Elizabeth Burris (1827-1912).

Allen G. Morton was the son of ...well we're back to Ezekial Morton and Betsy Brumbalow again.

Anyone seeing a pattern here? 

And the Honeycutt's? They descended from an entirely different William Riley Morton. This William R. Morton (1879-1933) married Rebecca Cagle (1882-1967) and also fathered a large family. 

W. R. was the son of Enoch Willis Morton (1850-1927) who married Francis Springer (1852-1923).

Enoch was the son of Allen Green Morton and Elizabeth Burris, mentioned above, who of course leads back to the same couple, Ezekial and Betsy Brumbalow Morton.

Genetics are a crap shoot. A red head can pop up from nowhere. One kid can be short like his mother's dad and his brother tall like his own father. You never know, despite some being recessive and others dominate. Darker genes tend to dominate, brown eyes over blue ones, brunette over blonde, dark skin over fair, but there are exceptions. Could the darker skin of an indigenous heritage have made its way down the generations from Betsy Brumbalow to certain of her descendants, but not others? It's certainly possible, that's the way things work. We carry tiny pieces of those who came before us, and at some point, pieces of others that came before us fall off as we can't hold them all, but that doesn't mean they are not our predecessors, we are. 

Could what Betsy's grandchildren believed of her be true? I think it could be. 

The Dandelions of Aaron Sanders

 

Aaron Sanders was a blacksmith who lived in Stanly County for awhile in the 19th century. He had emerged into the world at the commencement of it, being born about 1800, probably in Montgomery County, NC or some County nearby. He's not to be confused with Col. Aaron Harris Saunders, (1802-1885) who served for awhile as Sheriff of Montgomery County, and lived his life on that side of the PeeDee River.

He was supposedly the son of a Stephen Sanders and Mary Morris Sanders, but I've not delved into his past far enough to verify this. Aaron was a very popular name among the Sanders/Saunders family. There may be a connection to an original and honored progenitor of it. The name is seen spelled both ways. In this instance, I will stick to the Sanders spelling as that is how I found him.

I encountered Aaron Sanders in the Case Files of State vs Harris Melton and Ann Bird. They were a Stanly County couple who escaped to Gold Hill in Rowan County when their marriage was challenged. Ann Bird Melton was white, but Harris Melton had a white mother and a darker skinned father, who seemed to be of Native American or some combination of racial makeup akin to present day Lumbee or Melungeon's. Aaron was a witness for the defense and appears to have known the Melton family for a very long-time. Something about his family intrigued me, and deserved a closer look.

He appears in both the 1830 and 1840 census records, when he would have been 30 and 40 years old, having already crossed the river into West Pee Dee (Stanly County), from East Pee Dee, (Montgomery County). 

In Stanly County land records, which began in 1841, in Book 1 Page 211, Aaron bought property from James Boysworth on July 8, 1842, for $200 that had descended to James from his father, James Boysworth, Sr. consisting of 75 acres bounded by William Davis on the north, Green B. Ross on the west, Eli W. Christian on the south and the Pee Dee River made the eastern border. Witnesses were William Swaringen and George Shankle. So, we know he lived on the river. James Boysworth had also been called as witness in the same proceeding and his sister, Nancy had married John Melton Jr., an uncle of the defendant, Harris Melton. Aaron Sanders is shown as having lived near John Melton, Jr. in 1840, two years before this land purchase.

In Book 1 page 349, Aaron Sanders sells to George Shankle 35 acres of the above property, leaving 40, to settle a note Aaron owed Daniel Freeman, a merchant, due December 25, 1844, that was currently in the hands of George F. Smith, who was the Albemarle Postmaster before there was an Albemarle. His Post Office was called Smith's Store and served the fertile area where Town Creek, Melchor's Branch and Cloverfork Creek poured into Little Long Creek just before it merged with Long Creek after being fed by a few other small streams. The note was for $50 and the action was witnessed by Isaac Swearingen and Neelin Hathcock. Neelin or Newlin was also involved in the trial but was a witness for the State and had a strong objection to the marriage of Harris and Ann, who had been charged with fornication as their marriage was being declared illegal. 

Lastly, Aaron received a grant, number 5155, for 95 acres on Long Creek in February of 1850. This is found in Book 2 Page 285. The land met the property of Mathias Melchor and John Allen Mann, and had been applied for, or entered, all the way back on November 27th, 1838, when Stanly was still part of Montgomery and the grand was issued as "in Montgomery", although it was near Smith's Store.

Name	Aaron Sanders
Gender	Male
Race	White
Residence Age	50
Birth Date	abt 1800
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Occupation	Blacksmith
Industry	Miscellaneous Repair Services
Cannot Read, Write	Yes
Line Number	1
Dwelling Number	887
Family Number	892
Inferred Spouse	Nancy Sanders
Inferred Child	Mary A Sanders; Martha Sanders; Laura J Sanders; Nancy E Sanders; Wm J Sanders; Eliza C Sanders

Household members

Name	Age
Aaron Sanders	50
Nancy Sanders	48
Mary A Sanders	26
Martha Sanders	22
Laura J Sanders	15
Nancy E Sanders	12
Wm J Sanders	10
Eliza C Sanders	2
Alexander Sides	22

1850 finds Aaron at 50, living in Albemarle District 9. He's blacksmithing and has an assistant, young Alexander Sides, who is also a blacksmith. Neighbors are Roland Mann, Isaac Calloway and Solomon Hathcock. Nancy Sanders, maiden name unknown, is 48. A list of younger Sanders follows, Mary A. 26, Martha 22, Laura J. 15, Nacy E. 12, William Johnson, 10, and Eliza C. a much younger age 2. I  don't know if it would make more sense that Eliza was a grandchild than a daughter, taking in the consideration the age of Nancy. There is one child missing, oldest son , Stephen J. Sanders. Stephen is living nearby, and at 20, has already married to Dicy Morton, 22.

Name	Aaron Saunders
Age	61
Birth Year	abt 1799
Gender	Male
Race	White
Home in 1860	Stanly, North Carolina
Post Office	Albemarle
Dwelling Number	459
Family Number	463
Occupation	Black Smith
Real Estate Value	100
Personal Estate Value	155
Inferred Spouse	Nancy Saunders

Household members

Name	Age
Aaron Saunders	61
Nancy Saunders	58
Polly A Saunders	37
Patsey Saunders	33
Laura Saunders	28
Betsey Saunders	22
Johnson Saunders	20
Eliza C Saunders	18
Catherine Heathtock	13
Nancy A Saunders	6
Franky Saunders	5
Martha Saunders	1

Ten years later, in 1860, the family has expanded. They are living in Albemarle and Aaron, at 61, is still a Blacksmith. Nany is 58, and the daughters are shown by nicknames. Mary is now Polly A; Martha is now Patsy. Laura is still Laura and Nancy E. is now Betsy, meaning the "E" probably stood for Elizabeth. William J., now 20, is Johnson, and Eliza C., instead of being 8 years younger than her brother, is shown as only two years younger, at 18. They've taken in a girl named Catherine Heathcock (Hathcock), 13. There were close connections between the Sanders and Hathcock's. Neelin Hathcock, mentioned earlier, was married to a Brazilla Sanders, who may have been of some relation to Aaron. She is followed by three little girls, Nancy A. Sanders, Franky Sanders and Martha Sanders, ages 6 to 1. These were not additional children of Aaron and Nancy; they had to have been grandchildren. There were other grandchildren, by their one married child, son Stephen. 

Stephen also lived near Albemarle, and followed in his fathers footsteps by taking up the trade of blacksmithing.

Stephen and his wife, Dicy Morton Sanders were the parents of three children;  Mary Miranda Sanders (1849-1911), Sarah "Sallie" Sanders, (1852-1925) and William Ezekial Sanders, (1852-1922).

A different look at the Aaron Sanders family in the 1860 census shows that he was a town dweller, and also reveals a humous opine of his 20 year old son, Johnson. While Aaron, at 61, is a blacksmith, the occupation of his son, William Johnson Sanders is given as "nothing". I can envision a disgruntled father of a lazy post-adolescent son telling that to a census taker. The Sanders family was followed by A.C. Freeman, farmer. Farmer, yes, but also the son of Daniel Freeman, merchant, and also a merchant himself and heavily involved in real estate and business partnerships. He was followed by Thomas B. Haskle, a Tailor, from England. Yes, indeed, in her early days, Albemarle had a British Tailor. Brothers WJ Ross and John O. Ross, Merchants, WJ Montgomery, Lawyer, Augustus W. Walker, Methodist Episcopal Minister, J. M. McCorkle, Lawyer all followed. As you can tell, a town, as merchants, businesspeople and especially lawyers, liked to situate themselves near the Courthouse.

Then came War, and Aaron and Nancy Sanders lost both of their sons to it, one to the rampant diseases that passed through the ranks, and most infectiously, through the war-made prisons. The other to the ravages of battle. 

Stephen, the oldest, was highly respected and was enlisted as a Sergeant in Rowan County. He later was reduced to private and spent most of the War as a POW, dying of diseases in Elmira, New York.

The younger son, William Johnson Saunders, 22, enlisted in Cabarrus County in April of 1861.

By then, he gave his occupation as a Blacksmith. He died in Battle on June 27, 1862, that same year, at Gaines' Mill, Virginia. As far as we know, he was unmarried.

The Sanders family was left with reassembling themselves.

The 1870 census finds Aaron and Nancy Sanders in their 70's. Aaron is still trying to support the family as a Blacksmith at 70, he's lost both sons and there is a whopping 13 mouths to feed in his house, maybe more, actually. He has his five unmarried daughters, Mary "Polly", 40, Martha "Patsy" 36, Nancy Elizabeth, 33, Laura, 35 and Eliza, 28.  After them are 6 others, probably grandchildren, Martha 11, Nancy 21 (unknown why the older would be second in the list?), then four who had been born within the last decade, Mary 7, Tiny 5, Robert, 2 and Josephine 2 months. None of these were Stephen's children. The family was no longer living in Albemarle, but now in Ridenhour District, or bordering Cabarrus County, somewhere between the Richfield/ Misenheimer area and Millingport. I don't think they stayed there long.

Stephen's oldest daughter, Mary Miranda Sanders married James R. Hatley, son of William Simeon Hatley and Elizabet Morton Hatley and they were living in Big Lick, next to his parents. Her mother, Dicy and two children were living with them.

Stephen and Dicy's youngest child and only son, William Ezekial (W. E. or E. W., initials were often reversed),.was boarding with a Kirk family, which places him around present-day Badin. Sarah's locations unknown, but she was alive and would marry John M. Whitley, son of George and Keziah "Kizzie" Whitley, on April 15, 1880, at age 27 to his 35. 

Their mother, Dicy Morton Sanders, would find love again at 50, and marry on Valentines Day, 1878, to 56 year old Moses Bowers.

So, where did all these loose children come from in the 1860 and 1870 Census records? 

1860                                1870

Nancy A  6                    Nancy  21

Franky  5                      Not listed ,but alive, probably skipped.

Martha 1                       Martha 11

                                      Mary 7
                                      Tiny 5

                                      Robert 2

                                      Josephine 2 months old.

Among the various Court records of Stanly County during the years the Sanders lived here, there were no traces of the older two daughters of Aaron Sanders, Polly and Patsy, having children, but the younger three were all mothers, Laura, Nancy Elizabeth aka "Betsy" and Eliza, who turned out to be older in 1850 than actually shown.

In August 1860 term of Court for Stanly County is found the case of Nancy Elizabeth Saunders, all three names used vs Joseph Morton, in a case of bastardy, or, a child born outside of marriage. He was to pay her $25 for the ensuing year, $15, the second year and $10 for the ensuing two years after that. On motion it was ordered that he pay Nancy E. Saunders for the year ensuing and $15 a years for the succeeding years.

 The timing of the birth of this child would suggest that this was Martha, born around 1859, as the child mentioned had already been born. 

Joseph Morton was the brother of Dicy Morton who married Stephen J. Sanders. To eclipse the disrespect to Nancy Elizabeth, he had married a Martha E. Mask from Montgomery County on February 18, 1860. I have seen this event recur in case after case, where a young man would pursue a girl and when her innocence was lost, turn and marry another, after probably promising marriage to the one he 'ruined'. He lived to be an old man of 85, had a large family, and lived his last years on the Efird Mill Hill in Albemarle.

1869

In September of 1869, Nancy Ann Sanders, was brought to court on a charge of Bastardy and named Benjamin Mauldin as the father of her child. Nancy Ann was not Nancy Elizabeth. Nancy Ann was the oldest of the assorted grandchildren who lived in the Sanders home. She was shown in 1860 as 6 and 1870 as 21. Whichever was closest, she was old enough to become a mother in 1869. The youth of the mother was not of consequence in the 19th century 

These two warrants were recorded on school registers, suggesting a shortage of paper during these years. The child the event pertained to must have been one of the younger two, probably two-month-old Josephine, making her Aaron's Great Grandchild.

Benjamin Mauldin was a name passed down for a few generations, fathers to sons and uncles to nephews. In 1870, the nearest census, there were two. The elder had been born in 1793 and was living in Tyson township in the southern part of the county. The younger was 35 and living in Albemarle Township. He was the most likely culprit. A married man, Benjamin R. Mauldin had a wife, Ann Rummage, and a family. He was my 4th Great Granduncle and not without controversy. A few years prior at the culmination of the War, he has been called as a witness to the murder of Hector Oxendine, a Lumbee man, (called 'colored').
There is no indication that either Joseph Morton or Ben Mauldin has anything to do with their Sanders children after paying their fines.

Eliza Sanders case was a little different. She was ordered to court and when appearing, refused to name the father of her child or children and was ordered to pay a $5.00 fine. 

Oftentimes when married men, or men of good standing, were caught with their pants down, figuratively, they would offer a quiet payment for the woman to bear the burden and not name names. 

Eliza

On January 8th, 1870, A J Shankle received the $5.00 payment from Eliza Sanders and delivered it to J.S Stone, Clerk of Court.

That same year both Eliza Sanders and Mary E. Coley were reimbursed for attending the trial of State vs Green Hathcock as witnesses for the State. Again, there were multiple Green Hathcock's, but looking at the time period, around 1870, you had two, one in Big Lick, aged 12, and one in Albemarle, aged 45, so I believe it was clear which one this case was concerning. It also makes a lot of sense when other factors are taken into account.

This is another Hathcock connection to the Sanders family. Green Lee Hathcock (1825-1892) was another son of James H. and Mary Esther Honeycutt Hathcock, and a younger brother of Neelin Hathcock, mentioned multiple times already. Green was a shingle maker and farmer. He married twice, but the first time was to Susannah Sanders ,(1825-1885). They named the second of their 4 sons Aaron. Neeland Hathcock, (1813-1882) was married to Brazilla Sanders (Abt 1825-bef 1860). One of Neeland and Brazilla's daughters, Mary A., married a William T. Cole before 1870. She may have been the Mary A Coley in the record.

Does anyone else see a pattern? 

Aaron and Nancy were certainly old enough to be the parents of someone born in 1828 as Polly was born about 1824.

Name	Aaron Sanders
Residence Date	1840
Home in 1840 (City, County, State)	West Pee Dee River, Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14	1 Stephen J.
Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49	1 Aaron
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5	1 Nancy Elizabeth
Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9	1 Laura
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14	2 Susannah and Patsy
Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19	1 Brazilla
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29	1 Polly
Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39	1 Nancy
Persons Employed in Agriculture	1
Persons Employed in Manufacture and Trade	1
No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write	1
Free White Persons - Under 20	6
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49	3
Total Free White Persons	9
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves	9

Looking back at the family in 1840, there was one son, which would have been Stephen. William Johnson Sanders wasn't born yet. Nancy was probably pregnant with him. Eliza wasn't born yet. There appears to have been 6 daughters, before counting Eliza: Polly, Patsy, Laura, Nancy Elizabeth and two more. Were Neelin and Green Lee Hathcock the sons-in-laws of Aaron Sanders? It fits.

Continuing on, back in May Sessions of Stanly County Court, Laura Sanders had been charged with bastardy. Like Eliza, she refused to name the father and was fined $5.00. This could have only applied to the oldest grandchild, Nancy Ann Sanders. Laura was also the mother of Franky Saunders. So, in the list of grandchildren that lived in the home of Aaron Sanders, it appears the following incomplete list.

Child                        Year                    Mother

Nancy Ann              1851                   Laura           

Frances Louise        1855                   Laura     

Martha                    1859                   Nancy Elizabeth and Joseph Morton  

Mary                       1863                   Eliza (will see later)

Tiny                        1865                    Unknown

Robert                    1867                    Unknown

Josephine                1869                    Nancy Ann and Benjamin Mauldin

Henrietta                 1870/71               Eliza and Green Hathcock (possibly) -not yet born as of 1870.   

Sometime soon after the 1870 census, the Sanders family left Stanly County. Only Dicy Morton Sanders and her children remained. It appears they first stopped in Warren County, where Henrietta was born to Eliza Sanders. They would end up in Raleigh, Wake County. There appears to have been multiple deaths in this decade, including the parents, Aaron and Nancy. As to their daughters Martha "Patsy" Sanders and Laura Sanders, it is unknown, but it does appear that Laura, at least, made it to Wake County. 

These are the survivors of the move we find in Raleigh in 1880

The home is headed by oldest sister, Mary A "Polly" Sanders 56. With her lives sister Nancy E. Sanders, 43 and Eliza Sanders, 37, and nieces Mary E. 15 and H. R., aged 10. The sisters are dressmakers and niece Mary is a seamstress. Ten-year-old Henrietta is at school. I am not certain where the other two sisters are, except that they were no longer in Stanly County under their maiden names. They may have married, moved away, or passed away. It is also unknown what happened to the other grandchildren, except one.

In Raleigh, Wake County, NC on August 24, 1875, Francis L. "Frankie" Sanders of Wake County married Albert Lee of Catawba County. The bride was 20 years old, the daughter of father unknown and Mother Laura, deceased. The groom was 27 and son of Jesse and Nancy Lee, father deceased, mother living. The wedding took place at the Institution of the Deaf and Dumb. Frances was deaf.

Name	Francis L. Lee
Age	25
Birth Date	Abt 1855
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	Mount Airy, Surry, North Carolina, USA
Street	Rockford Street
Dwelling Number	533
Race	White
Gender	Female
Relation to Head of House	Wife
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	M. Albert Lee
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Occupation	Housekeeper
Deaf and Dumb	Y
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
M. Albert Lee	30
Francis L. Lee	25
James B. Lee	3
Mary E. Lee	1

Frankie and Albert would raise their family in Surry County, NC. He supported them as a simple farm laborer and the children pitched in as they grew older. Francis was the mother of 5, with four living until adulthood: James B, Charlie C., Mary Ella and Minnie Ray. She lived to be 48 and died Mary 17, 1903 and was buried in Toast, no pun intended, literally Toast, Surry County, NC.

Mary "Polly" Sanders, the head of the sister clan, began getting temporary benefits from the County due to age and debility. She died March 15, 1891, at the age of 67.

Nancy Elizabeth Sanders died on Mary 17, 1894. She was 58 years old and is buried at the City Cemetery in Raleigh, NC.

The final fate of Eliza C. Sanders is yet unknown. She was the mother of the two young girls in the household in 1880. She may have lived with one of her daughters after marriage.

On June 27, 1881, Mary E. Sanders, claiming to be 18, but actually still 15, daughter of father unknown and Eliza Sanders, living, married Alfred F. Gorman, 23, son of Henry Gorman, deceased and Rachel Gorman, living. The wedding took place at the residence of the bride's mother. Witnesses were Henrietta Sanders, her little sister, written large and proud, as she was only eleven, Eliza Sanders and Lizzie Sanders, mother and aunt of the bride, I believe.

Name	Mrs. Mary Gorman
Gender	Female
Residence Year	1886
Street Address	402 s McDowell
Residence Place	Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Occupation	Seamstress
Publication Title	Raleigh, North Carolina, City Directory, 1886

In 1886, Mary, now married, was still working as a Seamstress and living at 402 S. McDowell St. in Raleigh.

In the same record, we find Eliza, Seamstress, living at the same address, as well as Elizabeth, a nurse, and Polly Ann, no occupation given. It seems the surviving daughters made a life for themselves running a dress shop and sewing business in the City of Raleigh after the death of their parents. Elizabeth was even able to transition to nursing. 

402 South McDowell is still in existence and is now a Smoke and Vape Shop ran by the Ibrahim Brothers. 

Mary E Sanders and Albert F. Gorman had three children together; Effie in 1881, Sarah O. 'Sadie' in 1885 and Alpha Mae in 1890. Alfred Gorman passed away and Mary Sanders Gorman then married Joseph Walton Williams on April 10, 1898.

In 1900, the family is living on South Cabarrus Street in Raleigh. Joseph is a painter and Mary is still a seamstress. The older two of her three daughters were working in a Cotton factory as teenagers. Mary and Joseph both died in 1914, within months of each other of TB.

Daughter Effie's future is unknown.

Sadie married Henry H Hardie and had three children, dying at 29 in 1915.

Alpha Mae Gorman married three times having a daughter with the last husband, A Daniels. She died in 1943 at 53.

Eliza C Sanders youngest daughter, Henrietta, married on July 19, 1885, at the age of 15. Eliza seemed hell- bent on marrying her daughters off early, most likely to prevent them from befalling her own fate on single motherhood. 

She married Albert Sidney Renn, 23, of Wake County, but originally of Vance County. He would take his bride with him back to Vance. Albert was the son of Harmon and Nancy Strum Renn or Wrenn. 

They settled on Montgomery Street in the town of Henderson, where Albert worked as a Tinner. Above, the family is shown in 1900, with their 5 children. The children of Albert and Henrietta were:

Priest Elmore Wrenn (1886-1967)

Maria Louise "Mimi" Wrenn Wilson (1889-1945)

Maude Lee Wrenn Grissom (1890-1987)

George Hughes Wrenn (1891-1951)

Margaret Elizabeth Wrenn Evans Croom (1900-1951)

They seem to lead a very normal, happy life in Henderson and by 1920, Albert is the Chief of Police. 

Henrietta died in Richmond, Virginia on March 25, 1923, of Uterine Fibroids, or Cancer, at the age of 53. There is no case of any of the children or grandchildren of Aaron and Nancy Sanders living to a respectable old age. 

The descendants of Aaron Saunders were scattered like dandelion seed in the wind. The fate of many of his daughter's illicit offspring is yet unknown. Some, like Tiny and Robert must have died as children. Others, like Nancy Ann and her daughter, Josephine, and Martha, who made it to eleven, I still believe are unsettled. Something tells me they lived past 1870, probably marrying and under a different name. Only the children of his son, Stephen J. Sanders remained in Stanly and surrounding counties. There are still Sanders or Saunders descended from Willaim Ezekial living here today.