There's a lovely old song making its way through TikTok Videos and Instagram Influencers in a revival of historic traditional folk songs. By Wyndreth Berginsdottir, it's a rebirth from the Viking tradition and has become an anthem of empowered women. Above, I've posted a photo of my own Savage Daughter. I have two of them, both beautiful, creative, and forcefully strong women. My youngest is more of an Earth Mother, bound to nature, with flowers blooming at her feet. This, my oldest, is more the savage, making her own way in life, living by her own rules, caution to the wind, advancing, surviving, succeeding, and letting no one stand in her way. I refer to her as my chihuahua, small in size and big in personality.
While researching the family of Maniza Ann Honeycutt, which I feel a bit incomplete on, one of her children stood out to me as the feral child, Margaret Ella, one of her youngest. Born late in Maniza's string of children, Ella's path seemed irregular, her story incomplete, yet fascinating. What facts and events created Ella?
The words to the beautiful Viking ballad, written by Wyndreth Berginsdottir are:
"I am my mother's Savage daughter,
the one who runs barefoot cursing sharp stones.
I am my mother's savage daughter,
I will not cut my hair; I will not lower my voice."
This is but the chorus. I will be repeating the remainder of the lyrics throughout this post.
Maragaret Ella Honeycutt is shown with her mother Maniza, "Nizey", and her younger sister, Rebecca, in the 1880 census of Big Lick, Stanly County, NC, as an 8-year-old.
Her supposed father, George Cagle, to whom her mother was a long-time mistress and paramour, died in 1876, at the hands of a jealous and abusive husband, Daniel Crisco, who was also an employee of Cagle. Her mother was the daughter of George Washington Honeycutt and his wife, Tabitha Tomlinson Honeycutt, who had moved to Coddle Creek, in Iredell County by this year, leaving their wayward daughters in Stanly County. Ella's date of birth is debatable and highly fluid. Upon her death, one of her sons informed the writer of her death certificate that she was 60 years old, which in 1935, would have given her a birth year of 1875. She was listed as 8 in 1880, but I feel she was much older than that at the time. She was young upon the date of her first marriage, I am sure, but not as young as her death certificate implies.
It's unknown what life was like for Maniza and her younger children after the death of George Cagle. She obviously attempted to carry on, on her own, to be found still in Big Lick in 1880, four years after his murder. His legal widow, Nancy, moved to Iredell County, with others of his children, after his death. These included Maniza's own oldest son, Ellison "Eli" F. Cagle. He would later move to the Clear Creek Community in northern Mecklenburg County, which appears to be the area that the children of Maniza would congregate, and where Maniza would call home in her later decades, with the support of her children, in particular, her sons.
Her second oldest son, James Alfred, seems to have been the official caretaker and 'rock' of the fatherless bunch, as his name ends up on records of siblings and aunts in various capacities. In 1880, he was a young 23, married to his first wife, Tisha Willliams, and living in Goose Creek, Union County.
Oldest daughter, Eliza Jane, was only 17, a wife and mother to an infant son, Eli, and living in New Salem, Union County.
The middle children, like William Daniel Hice, shown as 3-year-old William Honeycutt in 1870, and Mary Caroline, aka 'Lina', who was married in 1879 at 14-years-old, are not to be found in 1880.
Ella, it seems, was also forced into a very early marriage, perhaps one she was not happy about.
On December 18, 1883, L. F. Yow, age 27, of Stanly County, son of Mary Yow and father unknown, married "Eller" Honeycutt, age 16, of Stanly County, daughter of 'Nisy' Honeycutt and father unknown. Nisy Honeycutt gave the permission for her underage daughter to marry. The marriage took place at the office of J. H. Honeycutt, Justice of the Peace, in Big Lick, Stanly County. Witnesses were C D Lowder, P F Huneycutt and Lina McIntyre, sister of the bride.
This would have given Ella a birth year of 1867. If she and Eva, a newborn in the 1870 census, were one and the same, she would have been born in 1869, she could have, however, been missed. If she were indeed 8 years old in the 1880 census, as she was counted, she would have only been 11 years old at this marriage. Whichever scenario holds true, two facts withstand; her age was fluid, and she was a very young bride.
Lindsey Frank Yow had arrived in the world on July 25, 1856, in similar conditions as Ella Honeycutt. A Bastardy Bond would declare one Henry Atkins Easley as his father. Henry Easley had sprang from two of the wealthiest families along the Rocky River on the border of Stanly and Anson County, in the fertile Cottonville area just a few miles from its confluence with the Pee Dee River. He was the son of wealthy Miller Easley and his wife Francis Kendall. Miller would marry multiple times and lastly to a Great, Great, Great Aunt of mine. Henry was the grandson of John Kendall and Susanna Gaines, and Thornton Kendall and his wife, Mary. Stanly County was not a large slave-holding county full of wealthy planters during the Antebellum years, but there existed a small community of them, concentrated near the rivers, and clustered about the forks. The Kendall's and Easley's were two of them.
Mary "Polly" Yow hailed from very different origins.
Polly was the daughter of Dennis Yow and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Shoffner. She came from German roots, that had trickled into Stanly County from the Cabarrus and Rowan County borders from the north and west. They had settled in Tyson Township, not far from where the Easley's lived. Dennis Yow struggled with debt off and on. He was a Yeoman farmer. The above is a portion of the 1870 census of Tyson Township, showing the small Yow family, living among their Shoffner relatives. Dennis and wife are in their 70's. Their single daughter, Mary "Polly" Yow, at 30, is living with them. Her 14-year-old son, Lindsey is living with them, too.
Can you imagine how an innocent, 16 year old Lutheran girl would feel, if she encountered a charming and flirtatious young gentleman in his twenties, Methodist Episcopal, educated and a bit arrogant, while she might have been humble by nature, perhaps shy, and most definitely naive.
How easily she may have fallen for his wiles, smitten and taken under his spells. There may have been promises of marriage, she may have been afraid of losing him. We can't know, but can imagine the scenario.
Lindsey was born in 1856. Henry Easley would marry four years later to Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Lewis and Dorcas Smith, respectable family.
And there was the disgraced Polly Yow, in 1870, at 30, living with her parents, and her misbegotten son, 14 year old Lindsey. But she would find love.
Polly would marry a month later, on July 17, 1870, to John Carpenter, son of Thomas Carpenter and wife, Besty Broadaway Carpenter, ancestors of mine. Like many others I've feature in recent posts, they would move to Iredell County, North Carolina. John Carpenter and Polly Yow Carpenter would have one son, William J. Carpenter.
In 1880, Lindsey is living with his widowed grandfather, Dennis, next door to his mother, stepfather and half-brother. At this juncture, they are still in Tyson Township, Stanly County. Three years later, he marries Ella Honeycutt.
The marriage produces one child, a daughter Della.
Twenty years later, young Della is living with her grandparents, the Carpenters, in Coddle Creek, Iredell County. Where are her parents?
| Name | Frank ?? Yow |
|---|---|
| Age | 43 |
| Birth Date | Jul 1856 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina, USA |
| Home in 1900 | China Grove, Rowan, North Carolina |
| House Number | 49 |
| Sheet Number | 14 |
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation | 242 |
| Family Number | 245 |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Male |
| Relation to Head of House | Head |
| Marital Status | Divorced |
| Father's Birthplace | North Carolina, USA |
| Mother's Birthplace | North Carolina, USA |
| Occupation | Day Laborer |
| Months Not Employed | 0 |
| Can Read | Y |
| Can Write | Y |
| Can Speak English | Y |
| House Owned or Rented | Own |
| Farm or House | H |
| Neighbors | View others on page |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Frank ?? Yow | 43 |
Frank is living in China Grove, Rowan County, working as Laborer. His marital status is given as 'Divorced'.
What had happened?
Fortunately, the divorce was preserved in Court records.
IN the Fall Term of 1890, the case of "L. F. Yow vs. Ella Yow" was brought before Judge Byrum. The judgement was rendered against the Plaintiff for failing to be present. The details of the case follows.
I That on or about the 20th day of December, 1883, in Stanly County, he (the plaintiff, Lindsey F.Yow), was married to the defendant.
II That the plaintiff was at the time of the several acts of adultery hereinafter mentioned and at the commencement of the actions and inhabitant of the county and State.
III That the defendant on or about the ___ day of ____ 1885 committed adultery with one John Carter.
IV That the defendant on or about the ____ day of ____ 1886 committed adultery with one Jackson Gurley.
V That the defendant at diverse times and places has committed adultery with various other persons to the plaintiff unknown.
VI That said adultery was committed without the consent, connivance or...
procurement of the plaintiff and that the plaintiff has not cohabitated with the defendant since such adulterous intercourse was discovered by the plaintiff.
VII That the issue of said marriage is one child, named Della J. Yow of the age of one and one half years.
Wherefore the plaintiff demands judgement.
1. For a divorce from the bonds of matrimony.
2. That the custody of said child be awarded to him.
L. F. Yow being duly sworn says that the facts set forth in the foregoing complaint of his own knowledge are true except those matters therein stated on information and belief as to those matters he believe items to be true; that this complaint is not made out of levity or by collusion between him and the defendant, and not for the mere purpose of being freed and separated from each other, but in sincerity and in truth for the causes mentioned in the complaint that the facts set forth in the complaint are grounds for divorce have ajusted to his.
Knowledge for at least six months prior to the filing of this complaint + that the plaintiff has been a resident of the State of North Carolina for more than two years preceding the filing of this complaint.
Signed in a lovely script, L. F. Yow. On the 10th day of September 1887.
"My mother's child is a savage,
She looks for her omens in the colors of stones,
In the faces of cats, in the fall of feathers,
In the dancing of fire and the curve of old bones."
In summary, Ella had married, as a very young teenager, to 27 year old Lindsey Yow, who was himself an illegitimate child, as was she. Her mother may have pressed it, to get her married off before Ella, herself, became an unwed mother.
They married near Christmas in 1883, and their only child, Della J Yow, who Lindsey requested, and received, custody of, was born early in the winter of 1886, as she was a year and a half old in September of 1887. Lindsey had caught his wife with a man named John Carter in 1885, and a year later, caught her with Jackson Gurley in 1886. He filed for divorce in 1887, suspecting her of having slept with other men, but had no proof or names, just suspicions.
For some reason, he had not shown up in court when the judgement was supposed to have been made, however, it seems the divorce was granted at some point, that fact withstanding. Who were these men that Ella had dalliances with, and why?
| Name | Jackson G Gurley |
|---|---|
| Age in 1870 | 10 |
| Birth Date | abt 1860 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Dwelling Number | 113 |
| Home in 1870 | Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Male |
| Post Office | Albemarle |
| Cannot Read | Yes |
| Cannot Write | Yes |
| Inferred Mother | Mary Gurley |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Mary Gurley | 68 |
| Lucy Gurley | 30 |
| Harriet Gurley | 26 |
| Celia J Gurley | 23 |
| Jackson G Gurley | 10 |
There was a Jackson G Gurley living in Big Lick in 1870. At 10 years old, he would have been about 26 in 1886, when he was accused of an illicit relationship with Ella Honeycutt Yow. He's living in home of a Mary Gurley, 68, who may have been his Grandmother. Jackson is a bit of a mystery, but he's in the right place and the right age, to have been the accused.
| Name | John M. Carter |
|---|---|
| Age | 33 |
| Birth Date | Abt 1847 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Home in 1880 | Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Dwelling Number | 41 |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Male |
| Relation to Head of House | Self (Head) |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse's Name | Adeline Carter |
| Father's Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Mother's Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Occupation | Farmer |
| Neighbors | |
| There were a number of John Carter's in Stanly County at this time. Some of them were just children, but of the two in the most feasible age range, only one lived in Big Lick. For a young woman in the time just before the railroads came through, location had a large part to play in availability and opportunity. This John Carter was a married man in his 30's, but I've come to discover that in post war Big Lick, that didn't mean a thing. In 1885, when he was accused, he would have been 38, based on his age in the 1880 census, pictures above. | |
When we last saw young Della J. Yow, the only child of Lindsey F. and Margaret Ella Honeycutt Yow's marriage, she was 14 years old, and living with her grandmother, Mary Polly Yow Carpenter and her step-grandfather, and uncle, in the Coddle Creek area of Iredell County. Ella's firstborn didn't live a long life. Her tombstone gives no dates, but she is not to be found in the 1910 census, or beyond. I believe she passed away, perhaps as a teenager, between 1900 and 1910, perhaps of Typhoid Fever or the Spanish Flu, which were rampant in the early years of the 20th century.
| Name | Della Yow |
|---|---|
| Cemetery | Amity Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery |
| Burial or Cremation Place | Iredell County, North Carolina, United States of America |
Della J Yow was buried at the Amity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Iredell County, NC.
Her father spent his last years as a single man
Lindsey Frank Yow spent his last years alone, mining in Rowan and Cabarrus Counties
He passed away on June 20, 1917, at the age of 60, in Cabarrus County. His death certificate declared him married, although I've not found trace of another wife. He suffered from endocarditis and nephritis, which was rampant in those days.
After her divorce from Lindsey, who seemed a steadfast and moral fellow, if nothing else, whom I feel loved her dearly despite her flaws, she went on to have bad taste in men, at least temporarily. Her next conquest, or love interest was a man so notorious, so dangerous, he was referred to as a local ersatz "Jesse James" and was a married man. He became the father of her second child, Bub Alec Hagler, who was born on August 10, 1891. This indicates she was living in the Clear Creek area of Mecklenburg County, where several of her siblings and most likely, her mother, had taken root. Although her son with the aberrant name of "Bub" Alex Haigler took his father's last name, there was no record of a marriage or his divorce from his wife, not at this point in time.
My mother's child dances in darknessShe sings heathen songsBy the light of the moonAnd watches the stars and renames the planetsAnd dreams she can reach themWith a song and a broom
James Alexander Haigler or Hagler, was born in Buford, Lancaster County, South Carolina around May in 1849. He was the son of Charles George Hagler and Mary "Polly Ann" Althea Honeycutt. His mother was indeed a distant cousin of Ella's. I believe their grandfathers were first cousins. He was raised in Union County, North Carolina from an early age.
On March 1st, 1872, he married Harriett Phillips, daughter of Henry F. Phillips, and wife, Mary Elizabeth Fincher Starnes Phillips, which places her squarely in my family tree, as I am borh a Fincher and a Starnes descendant.
| Name | James Hagler |
|---|---|
| Age | 31 |
| Birth Date | Abt 1849 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Home in 1880 | Clear Creek, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, USA |
| Dwelling Number | 22 |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Male |
| Relation to Head of House | Self (Head) |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse's Name | Hariet Hagler |
| Father's Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Mother's Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Occupation | Farmer |
| Cannot Read | Y |
| Cannot Write | Y |
| Neighbors | View others on page |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| James Hagler | 31 |
| Hariet Hagler | 26 |
| William E. Hagler | 6 |
| Henry Hagler | 3 |
| Ider Hagler | 1 |
In 1880, James Alec Hagler were living in Clear Creek Township, Mecklenburg, NC. The first three of their five children would be born. After that, things would go awry. There were multiple marriages between the Phillips daughters and the Hagler sons.
James Alex Hagler married Harriett Edith Phillips on March 21, 1872 in Mecklenburg County.
Isaac Wilson Hagler married Celia Ann Phillips on July 4, 1884 in Mecklenburg County.
Michael "Mike" Hokes Hagler married Ann Emilissa Phillips on August 1, 1886 in Mecklenburg County.
There may have been more connections.
Alex had another brother, Thomas, who had married a Hayes, not a Phillips, and had settled across the Cabarrus County line, in Rocky River Township. In 1885, Alex seems to have left Harriett and the children, and possibly staying with his brother, Thomas. The article below sets the stage.
In the hot Carolina summer of 1885, Alex had been a participant in a big family spat, armed himself and took to the woods to hide. What had spurred this behavior? Was the fight among he and his wife and children, his siblings, or the Phillips family, his in-laws? They all lived within one little cluster of Clear Creek, with the exception of his brother, Thomas. Had Alex been betrayed? Something that drove him to fury? Or was he mentally ill and seeing, or believing things that did not happen or did not exist?
 |
The Charlotte DemocratCharlotte, North Carolina • Page 2 |
A month later, in August, Alex was found and jailed. He had stolen a bay horse from a Mrs. Russell who lived near Rocky River Church, where a second and third Great Grandmother of mine are buried, along with distant aunts and uncles of previous generations. On the horse, it appears, he made his ways across the South Carolina into Chesterfield, where he was caught after stealing a gun.
Evidentially, Alex served some time for his misadventures, how much, I didn't dig into too deeply. He was a free man, obviously, by 1890, when he would have met Ella Honeycutt. Their son, to whom they gifted the odd moniker of 'Bub Alec', was born on August 1, 1891.
My mother's child curses too loud and too often,
My mother's child laughs too hard and too long,
And howls at the moon and sleeps in ditches,
And clumsily raises her voice in this song.
My mother's child laughs too hard and too long,
And howls at the moon and sleeps in ditches,
And clumsily raises her voice in this song.
Enter the Sanders. In May of 1894, Alex Hagler got in a fight with Miller 'Sadders', who was actually Miller or Millard Sanders. Both men were up for affray in Court and fined $25. Just below the mention of their fracas, we see that Albert Sanders was also in court, brought up on charges of obtaining goods from a Mr. Berry Hill under false pretenses.
These weren't unrelated incidents and the names weren't a coincidence and the men were not random ne're-do-wells.
In the 1870 census, we find both Miller, 15 and Albert, 13, in the home of one Jesse Snaders, 37. There are also two girls in the group, Eliza 18, and Sarah, 11. Certainly appears to be a family, and it was, a father and children who had just lost their mother, living together in Crab Orchard Township of Mecklenburg County, but using the Harrisburg Post Office in Cabarrus, so straddling the county lines, so to speak.
So, Alex Hagler had gotten in a skirmish with a Miller Sanders whose brother is mentioned as a thief or fraudster in the next line. What has that got to do with Margaret Ella Honeycutt Yow, the object of his affections, at least for a time in the early Gay Nineties? Quite a bit it seems.
Ella gave birth to her third child, a son, Wylie D. G. Sanders, on January 24, 1895, which would place the most probably date of his conception as between May 1st and May 5th, 1894. The fray between Alex Hagler and Miller Sanders was reported on May 6th , 1894. Which leads me to believe that Ella was at the center of the friction and confrontation between Alex Hagler and Miller Sanders. Do not let this lead you to believe that Miller Sanders, or even his shifty little brother, Albert, were the father of said Wylie D. G. Sanders. They were not, or, rather, reportedly not. The father was, on record at any rate, Miller and Albert's own father, Jesse Sanders. Now, is the year 1895, Jesse Sanders, the purported father of Wylie, was 64, Ella, his mother was 23, and Wylie's mischievous older brothers, Miller and Albert were a mere 40 and 38. It would seem that one or them would have been the more likely wooer of young Ella. Even at the brothers ages is gives a little repugnant feeling, or like my kids would say, "cringe". The thought of a 64 year old man with a 23 year old woman, even worse, and would lead one to think he must have had money. But it was the gilded age and the mores were very different. Ella was a divorced woman with an additional illegitimate child by a mad man and social derelict. That made every bit of difference in the world. It became a matter of whomever would give her shelter. It was quite the imbroglio and a tensile situation in any course.
Now we all are brought forth out of darkness and water,
Brought into this world through blood and through pain,
And deep in our bones, the old songs are wakening,
So sing them with voices of thunder and rain.
Brought into this world through blood and through pain,
And deep in our bones, the old songs are wakening,
So sing them with voices of thunder and rain.
As far as Alex Hagler's wife, Harriett Phillips Hagler, he had long given up on her, it appears. She too, had another child about this time, and not with James Alexander Hagler. In fact she had two. Her son Edward L., aka Edd, was born on June 1, 1895 and her son Brice R. (Beverly) was born on October 14, 1896. The two brothers were listed as Taylors in 1910, and Edd's records names a 'D. C. Taylor' as his father. However, as adults, they both assumed the surname of Hagler and that is the name they passed down to their children.
The Hagglers, Phillips, Sanders and a few other intertwined families from this particular section along the Cabarrus/Mecklenburg border had several interactions with Taylors, too, so D. C. might have been a member of this clan.
Harriett would remarry, becoming the third wife of an old Confederate Vet from Tennessee named Henry Barlow, or Barley as the Carolina country folk had renamed him. He had previously been married to two Helms ladies, who were not sisters, and had a number of children. Harriett had only been married to him a few years, when she was widowed. She spent her last years with her younger two sons, passing away at 74 on June 5, 1929. She is buried at Arlington Baptist Church, near Mint Hill, which had been mentioned several times in this post and my last, as it also bears the remains of several of the family members of Maniza Honeycutt.
As for James A. Hagler, in March of 1897, his ongoing exploits had rendered him committed, and declared insane. It was reported that he was delivered to the asylum in Morganton, Burke County, NC. He didn't stay there.
The 1900 census, taken on June 25, 1900, in Clear Creek Township by William F. Houston, shows him living in the home of his only daughter, Ida Jane, who had married a William Helms. Also in the home was his son, John Hooks Hagler, and 19, and William and Ida's two young children. He declares himself 51 years of age, and married for 25 years. Although Harriett's where-abouts are unknown, her future husband, Harvey Barley, is listed just a page over, with his second wife, Sarah, and their children.
Less than a month later, Alex has been at it again, and Squire Maxwell was on his trail, again. Alex was terrorizing the neighborhood of Clear Creek armed to the teeth with guns and brass knuckles and three dogs in accompaniment. The newspapers declared him 'insane beyond any shadow of a doubt.'
 |
The Charlotte NewsCharlotte, North Carolina • Page 5 |
For at least a second time, Alex had been released to the peril of Clear Creek. He was taken to jail again in May of 1904. He was now 73 years old.
Alex was kept in jail in 1904 for a span of nearly 5 months. On October 3, it was reported that he was taken to the asylum in Raleigh, which would have been Dorothea Dix Hospital for the Insane. Within the next four years, he was returned home for the third, and perhaps last, time.
 |
The Charlotte NewsCharlotte, North Carolina • Page 5 |
James Alex Hagler was again in custody in July of 1908. He had been confined in the penitentiary, for some unknown offense, and was being transported back to Raleigh, probably to Dorothea Dix Hospital, by Sheriff Wallace. Now 78, the inestimable Alex escaped, by some means. Perhaps his age had given him abeyance.
I don't know the date of decease or final resting place of the Mad Alex Hagler. I believe it most likely to have been between this last date of July 2, 1908, and 1909, which allowed his wife Harriett the release and freedom to marry Mr. Barley.
Back to Ella
But what about Ella, the heroine of this story? 'E. Yould' in the 1900 census below is Ella Yow, now 34.
| Name | E Yould |
|---|---|
| Age | 34 |
| Birth Date | Jun 1865 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina, USA |
| Home in 1900 | Crab Orchard, Mecklenburg, North Carolina |
| Sheet Number | 7 |
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation | 124 |
| Family Number | 135 |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Female |
| Relation to Head of House | Boarder |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Father's Birthplace | North Carolina, USA |
| Mother's Birthplace | North Carolina, USA |
| Occupation | Housekeeper |
| Months Not Employed | 0 |
| Can Read | Y |
| Can Write | N |
| Can Speak English | Y |
| Neighbors | View others on page |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| J Sanders | 61 |
| Willard Sanders | 45 |
| Alic Sanders | 9 |
| Wylie Sanders | 5 |
| G?Y Sanders | 3 |
| E Yould | 34 |
Ella is living in Crab Orchard Township, Mecklenburg County, working as a housekeeper for Mr. Jesse Sanders. The "E Yould" is very vague, however, we can rest assured this is Ella, because she ends up marrying Mr. Sanders, and should, because the three children listed, Alic, Wylie and Guy, are her own children, but it is a little more complicated than that. Jesse is listed as 61. The 45 year old man living with him is his son, and Miller has been misrepresented as "Willard". Three little boys, ages 9, 5 and 3 are also listed as the sons of Jesse Sanders. They turn out to be Bub Alec Hagler, son of Ella and James Alex Hagler, and not a Sanders at all; Wylie D. G. Sanders, Ella's son with Jesse, mentioned before; and Davidson Guy Sanders, also a son of Jesse and Ella, supposedly. Not listed is the third child of Jesse and Ella, and Ella's fifth child, a daughter, Mary Annie Sanders, born December 5, 1899.
Just three days after the census was taken, Jesse Sanders must have came to his senses and decided to make an honest woman of the mother of his youngest children, and give them a legal name. On June 28, 1900, Jesse Sanders, aged 69, son of Josh Sanders and Sallie Sanders, married Ella Yow daughter of "Iza" Honeycutt, living and father unknown. Both of Jesse's parents were deceased. The wedding took place at the Temple of Justice in Charlotte by Justice of the Peace Maxwell and witnessed by J W. Cobb, John B Spence and J. F. Adams. Adams was of some relation to the Sanders family. I believe the husband of his niece.
The marriage lasted six years. Jesse was noted to have been in declining health in two newspaper articles, weeks before his demise. He died on September 30, 1906, and was buried in the Hickory Grove Church Cemetery. The article was wrong on several accounts. Jesse wasn't over 90. He was about 75 years old, in all honesty. He was survived by his widow, three young children and a step son and four, not three, adult children. Those named were his children, but they neglected to mention Miller, or Millard or Willard, whichever incantation is correct. He was living.
After Jesse's death, Ella moved her family into the bustling City of Charlotte. The 1908 City Directory has her living at 403 East 14th Street. Of course, the place, or residence, is no longer there. Instead, a treatment center belonging to Atrium Health occupies the space. The 1910 census gives us a snapshot of how she was surviving.
Now, in Charlotte Township, Ella is a 38 year old widow. She's living with her three youngest children, and claims to be the mother of six children with four living. We know that Dora Yow has passed, but the sixth child remains a mystery. She also has two boarders, Elbert and Johnny "Euton", father and son. Elbert was also a widower, and the name was actually spelled 'Wooten'.
A glimpse at the other side of the census shows how they were living. Ella did not have an occupation. Her 15 year old son, Wylie and 13 year old son, Guy, were both working in Cotton Mills. I've seen this painfully many times in records of this age, where children, even very young children, would be working while the mother stayed home, and the father, if living, farming. Nine year old Mary was not employed, thankfully. Her boarder was a Carpenter and his 14 year old son was not employed.
Ella's oldest son, Bub Alec Hagler, was 19 and on his own by 1910. Above is shown his military registration card, which gives a snapshot of what Bub was up to. He was a Mill operator, single, and working at Appleton Mills, while living on North Davidson Street.
Ella was always one to take advantage of an opportunity. As it would turn out, her boarder, the carpenter, was more than just a boarder. He was her lover.
Her seventh child, counting the unknown one, was born on October 10th, 1910. Ella would have been well along in the pregnancy when the census taker made his rounds. She named the child, a daughter, Margaret Agnes Wooten. A second daughter, named Myrtle, would follow on February 18, 1914. Elbert and Ella married just after Agnes was born and Ella was in her early 40's by the time she had Myrtle, her last child.
The Wootens
Elbert Alvin Wooten was born in October 5, 1848 in Eagle Mills, Iredell County, son of Alvin Wooten and Jennie Stillman of Yadkin County. He was a widower, having previously been married to a Cynthia, by whom he had two children, William and Viola, both born in the 1870's. His youngest son, Johnny, or John Lewis Wooten, was born of a Sarah Gordon in 1895. Ella was his third wife.
In 1920, the family had established sort of a family grouping of residences on North Davidson Street. Elbert, 67, was still a Carpenter, and Ella, now 48, was a housekeeper, raising their two daughters, Agnes, 9 and Myrtle, 5. Right next door, can be found Ella's son, Guy A Sanders, with his wife, Mary and next to Guy, was John Wooten, with his wife also named Mary. All four of the last four, the sons and their wives, were listed as Weavers and occupied "cutting wire".
This one seemed to stick. No longer wonton youth, seeking excitement in life, Ella and Elbert settled in and grew old together, with the City of Charlotte growing larger and busier around them. The 1930 census had them living on East 20th Street, near North Davidson Street. They were in the Belmont neighborhood, where most surviving homes were built in the 1920's, so it was a new, growing neighborhood in their day. Elbert, now 76 years old, had retired. Ella was 54, both had misunderstood the question, "How old were you at your first marriage?", and answered with the age they were when they married each other, or one misunderstood and answered for both. Their daughter, Margaret Agnes, now married to a Bass, lived with them, but her husband did not live with them. She was an inspector at a Cotton Mill. A City Directory close to this time revealed she was an Inspector at the Calvine Mill. Near the Belmont neighborhood, the Mill sat in the vicinity of the 1100 Block of Hawthorne Lane and had a considerable mill village surrounding it. A small street called Calvine Mill Way is left to honor it.
Margaret Ella Honeycutt Yow Sanders Wooten died on March 23, 1935, of cervix cancer and influenza. The informant on her death certificate was her son, Wylie Sanders. He couldn't recall the names of her parents, as he had never met them. He gave her place of birth as Montgomery County, which I don't believe was correct. Ella was buried at Arlington Cemetery in Clear Creek, where many of her family rests. Wylie's address was 1020 Pegram St. in Charlotte, which was the address the paper reported as her own in her obituary, indicating Wylie may have been caring for her in her illness. She was not a widow, as Elbert outlived her, despite a 20-year age difference.
Margaret Ella was the mother of eight children, and only five survived her, Bub Alec Hagler, Wylie and Guy Sanders and Agnes and Myrtle Wooten. She was also survived by her oldest brother Eli Cagle, and her brother Daniel Hice. Two older sisters survived her, Eliza Cagle Philemon, and Lina Honeycutt Simpson. Not mentioned in her obituary was her husband, Elbert, although he survived her. There may have been a family rift, or he may have abandoned her to the care of her son, Wylie, during her illness, causing them to omit him.
Elbert is found in 1940, at 92 years, living with the two children born of his middle marriage to Sarah Gordon, John Lewis Wooten, with his wife and son Lewis. His sister, Bertha and her husband, William Burris, were also in the home. The old Carpenter would pass on November 25, 1944, at the age of 96, of a cerebral hemorrhage due to hypertension. His children buried him at Oaklawn Cemetery in Charlotte.
Ella Honeycutt married three times, was divorced once, and took into her heart many lovers along the way. She was one of those who seemed to thrive on excitement, chaos and daring in her youth. A fatherless child, she did things her own way. She was the daughter of a postwar mistress, Maniza Honeycutt, and probably the lascivious miller, businessman and farmer, George Washington Cagle. Ella met life on her own terms.
We are our mother's savage daughters,
The ones who run barefoot cursing sharp stones.
We are our mother's savage daughters,
We will not cut our hair, We will not lower our voice
The ones who run barefoot cursing sharp stones.
We are our mother's savage daughters,
We will not cut our hair, We will not lower our voice
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| Savage Daughter Karaoke Graphic |
The descendants of Margaret Ella Honeycutt were:
1) Della Yow born in Stanly County in 1886. Died as a teenager in Iredell County. Father Lindsey Frank Yow.
2) Bub Alec Hagler (1891-1960) Born in Clear Creek Township, Mecklenburg County. Had a military career and later spent decades as a Beamer in a Cotton Mill. Married Bertie Darnell at age 32. No children. Settled in Charlotte. Son of James Alexander Hagler.
3) Wylie D. G. Sanders (1895-1979) Born in Crab Orchard Township, Mecklenburg County. Veteran of WWI. Married Mary Leila Jones and worked in Textiles in Mecklenburg County remainder of life. Six children: Lee, Jesse, Oten, Essie, Betty, Clarence. Son of Jesse Sanders.
4) Davidson Guy Sanders (1897-1973) Born in Mecklenburg County. Veteran of WWI. Lied about age to get in. Married at 20 to Mary E. Pendleton. Worked as a Carpenter and in the Cotton Mills. Lived on Pegram Street near his brother Wylie. Father of five children: Edna, Elizabeth, Wilson Lewis, Pauline,and Barbara Jean. Son of Jesse Saunders.
5) Mary Annie Sanders (1900-1927) Born in Charlotte, NC. Lived with Aunt Mary Caroline Honeycutt Simpson for awhile in a Cotton Mill Village. Married at 17 to Andrew Carl Stuttz. Moved to Chester, South Carolina. Died young, at age 28, of peritonitis. Three children, but only two lived until adulthood, Wanda Juanita and Paul Amburst Stuttz. Daughter of Jesse Saunders.
6) Unknown child born between 1900 & 1910. Ella had reported being the mother of six children with 4 living in 1910.
7) Margaret Agnes Wooten (1910-1990) Born and raised in Charlotte NC, worked as an Inspector and Seamstress. Married Benjamin Burwell Bass in the late 1920's. One son, Monte Lee Bass, was born early and died at one day old. She divorced Burwell Bass, a character in the frame her mother would have sought after, and was living with her parents by the summer of 1930, in the census. She claimed her husband's infidelity had given her a disease that killed their son and would render her infertile. She had married Isaac Sherrill Greene ,(before 1940), by the time her father passed away in 1944 and was living in Norfolk, Virginia at the time. She was living in Mecklenburg County, when she passed a widow with no children at 83. Her obituary named her as Martha Agnes. Other records have her as Margaret Agnes.
8 Myrtle Aileen Wooten (1914-2002) Born and raised in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County. At the much too tender age of 13, Myrtle married William Samuel Wilson, 14 years her senior, much like her mothers preference for much older men. Five children were born to this union, between 1930, when she was 16, and 1938, when she was 24, namely Lila Aileen, W. S. II, Joyce Louise, Ella Josephine, Annie Victoria. She would later marry a second time to Thomas Smith. She was the daughter of Elbert Wooten.
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The Charlotte ObserverCharlotte, North Carolina Thursday, June 21, 1928 |
Myrtle's story is too fresh and recent to tell in any depths, but she was her mothers savage daughter. When she passed away at 89, she was survived by two of her five children, 23 grandchildren, 48 great grandchildren, and 50 great great grandchildren.
The Saga Continues
