He Didn't Marry His Sister

Sometimes digging through old records is like pulling covers off your grandma's bed, quilt after quilt, sheet after sheet, coverlet after comforter. You can know she grew up with a wood heater when those stacks are piled high. 

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Other times, you find things that are not only perplexing, they are just wrong. While researching a group of Honeycutt's who moved from Stanly County into Mecklenburg County, I encountered a family of Saunders, who married into that family, then a family of  Walkers, who had married into those Saunders, also seen as Sanders. Upon a closer look at those Walkers, I came upon a situation in a group of family trees, one no doubt copied from the next, that was very disturbing. It was not only wrong, in the sense of where they had it, it was actually incorrect, and in it's actual formation, it was not disturbing at all. By pulling back the covers, it was clear to see the mistake, and though it's not my family tree, I feel compelled to send the correction into the stratosphere.

The Charlotte Observer Charlotte, North Carolina • Sat, Jul 24, 1954Page 24

It begins with a man named James Henry Walker. It actually begins a few generations back, but the confusion seems to really be in a group of his descendants. Jim was a man of modern times and apparently confusing beginnings. The confusion continued into his own children, as in who belonged to whom. Above is the obituary of his third wife, Mary Elizabeth Hartgrove Walker, his widow. She died in 1954, by which time obituaries had become more informative. It clearly states that she was the daughter Jake and Elizabeth Hayes Hartgrove and survived by two stepsons and one stepdaughter, but no children of her own.  That is important because these family trees, based on someone's original, but incorrect family tree, no doubt. So we'll start here, at the end and go backwards in time, using the facts to correct the misconceptions. 

James Henry Walker was born on November 23, 1871, in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. On November 12, 1893, at the age of 21, he married Miss Susan Herrin. Susan was the daughter of John and Sarah Blythe Herrin. 

Above is the marriage license of Jim and Susan. It took place in Cabarrus County, in Township Number 2. Jim gave his age as 22, which he wasn't quite yet, and his parents as Thomas Walker and Bettie Walker, Thomas living and Bettie dead. Remember that, you'll need it later for a quiz. Susan's parents were John and Sallie Herrin, both living. It was performed by a Justice of the Peace named Caldwell at P. M. Morris's farm. Witnesses were J. W. Herrin and two Austins. 

Township Two is Poplar Tent, and borders Mecklenburg County. 

ame	James H Walker
Age	28
Birth Date	Nov 1871
Birthplace	North Carolina, USA
Home in 1900	Deweese, Cabarrus, North Carolina
Sheet Number	1
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation	17
Family Number	17
Race	White
Gender	Male
Relation to Head of House	Head
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	Susan Walker
Marriage Year	1893
Years Married	7
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina, USA
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina, USA
Occupation	Farmer
Months Not Employed	0
Can Read	Y
Can Write	Y
Can Speak English	Y
House Owned or Rented	Rent
Farm or House	F
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
James H Walker	28
Susan Walker	22
Sarah A Walker	5
Lee D Walker	3
Effey R Walker	1

In the 1900 census, the oldest three Walker children have been born, Sarah, Lee and Effie. They rent a farm in DeWeese, which is in the Odell School area and covers both parts of Mecklenburg and Cabarrus, straddling the County line.

We don't know when Susan died, as she died before death certificates, and her profile has been merged with a totally different woman of the same name in Alabama. She is not the same woman as the one in Alabama and it appears she died before Jim entered his second marriage.

Jim's second marriage also took place in Cabarrus County. Jim is now 35, applying for himself and his parents are give as W. T. Walker and Bettie Walker, his father still living and his mother still dead. Keep in mind he has twice given his mother as Bettie Walker. Jim is now a resident of Charlotte, NC. His second bride is Tinie Osborne, age 30, of Township 11, in Cabarrus County, age 30. Her parents are "not known". He didn't know who his parents were, but she did. 

The wedding took place on the 19th day of September, 1907. Performed by Justice of the Peace Pitts, at the home of Noah Helms of Township 11, which was between Concord and Midland. Witnesses were Noah Helms, Joseph Sides and Betty Huneycutt. 

Name	James H Walker
Age in 1910	37
Birth Date	1873
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1910	Gastonia Ward 3, Gaston, North Carolina, USA
Sheet Number	18b
Street	West Main Avenue
House Number	806
Race	White
Gender	Male
Relation to Head of House	Head
Marital Status	Married
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	U N
Native Tongue	English
Occupation	Spooler
Industry	Cotton Mill
Employer, Employee or Other	Wage Earner
Home Owned or Rented	Rent
Farm or House	House
Able to read	Y
Able to Write	Y
Enumeration District Number	0060
Years Married	3
Out of Work	N
Number of Weeks Out of Work	6
Enumerated Year	1910
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
James H Walker	37
Tina E Walker	31
Lea Walker	15
Robert Hartsell	15
Rosa Walker	13
Louis D Walker	7
James H Walker Jr	5

Three years later, the family is found in Gastonia. The household consists of James, 37, Tinie, 31, his son, Lee, 15 and stepson, Robert, 15, daughter Rosa, 13, and sons Louis D Walker, 7, and James H. Walker, Jr., 5. Jim, and the two 15 year old boys are working as Spinners in a Cotton mill. It clearly says stepson in the record. They are renting a house, and have been married for 3 years. Jim states that it's his third marriage, while it's Tinie's second. She had been the mother of two children, with one living. Robert Hartsell was that living child. They are enumerated at West Main Avenue near North Tenth Street, which suggests they worked at either the Trenton or Loray Cotton Mills. Of importance is that they have been married for three years and the youngest is five. Tinie has one living child - Robert, who is a key player.

Jim and Tinie had several good decades together in Gastonia. In 1920, none of the children were in the home. However Baxter Hawkins (Augustus Baxter Hawkins 1894-1951), their son-in-law and their Grandson, George Anderson Hawkins, whom they would raise, are living with them. Baxter had married their daughter, Rose Effie, in 1915, when she was 16, and George was born in 1917. Rose was living in Charlotte, boarding with a Boyle family, and at 19, working in the Atherton Cotton Mill. She claimed to be a widow, which she obviously  was not.

The couple must have reconciled, as a daughter, May, was born in 1921, and died in 1922. In 1925, Rose married a Carson and stayed with him the remainder of her days, while Baxter went on with his, marrying Delia Hinson about the same time. While Baxter had a daughter, and another son who died as an infant, Rose had no more children. Their son, George, was still living with her parents in 1930.

Jim was widowed a second time in 1932, when Tinie died at 55 of gangrene from diabetes. She had been living with her step-daughter, Mrs. William Carson, which was Rose Walker. In her obiturary, above, it only mentions Rose, and her son, her only child, Robert Hartsell. Tinies full name was Tinie Elizabeth Hartsell Osborne Walker.  She was the daughter of John Hartsell and Mary Esther "Mollie" Little Hartsell.

She married Allen Osborne, on November 3, 1897, in Cabarras County. Both were 20 and Allen was the son of  Allen Hartsell and Mary Honeycutt, both deceased and Tinie was the daughter of John and Mary Hartsell, only her mother was living.

Allen's parents were not married, as they were listed with different surnames, and I believe his mother was from Stanly County. There are a number of Osborne, and Honeycutts, buried at Clark's Grove Primitive Baptist Church cemetery, outside of Locust, and they appear to be from this group. There are also a number of Dry's buried there and the wedding took place at the home of a Mr. Dry. 

However, by 1900, Tiney, seen as Elizabeth T. Osborne, was working as a cook for the George Baker family in Center Township, Stanly County. Listed under her in the census was William Carson, who will end up marrying Rose Effie Walker in 1925. Under him is listed Robert L. Osborne, age three, Tinie's son who will go by Robert Lee Hartsell the rest of his life. Also boarding with the Bakers was Arch Kennedy, or Canady, a name I am familiar with. 

What happened to Allen? 

Well, in 1900, he's working as a farm laborer in Crab Orchard, Mecklenburg County and claiming to be single, while Tinie claimed to be married. 

Then a year later, in 1901, he was in Guilford County, marrying an Ada Miller Wright. Same Allen, same parents, Allen and Martha. Did they divorce or did they just separate and forget the formalities?  Was Robert an Osborne? His adult records give him a birthdate of August 14, 1895, meaning he was born two years before his mother married Allen Osborne. My own belief was that Robert was born out of wedlock and that Elizabeth was abandoned by Allen. She was still carrying the Osborne name when she married J. H. Walker, which was uncommon for a divorced woman. Then, I found court records.

Tinie filed for a divorce from Allen in 1902. Two years later, not having located him, the court sent a search for him in Guilford County, where he had married a year prior. He was now a bigamist. 

In the Cabarrus County Court records, the case was called to court over and over, and over and over, it was held over, as Allen never appeared in Court. 

It took at least six years for Tinie to obtain a divorce from her bigamist husband. 

That was not the only trouble Allen had been in with Cabarrus County. York Phifer had charged him with Tresspassing. 

Allen Osborne was also an insolvent debtor. That could have been the reason he left for Guilford County, where he had relatives including his father and brothers and at least one sister. 

James Henry Walker then married for a last time to Mary Elizabeth Hartgrove on October 6, 1933, in Gaston County at the age of 61. She was 49. 

Some family trees have the youngest child, James Jr., attributed to Elizabeth Hartgrove. Several have all the children attributed to Tinie. However, Jim only had seven children, Sarah, who died young, Lee, Rose, Lewis and Jr., who was born in 1905, two years before his father married Tinie. All of the children were born to Susan Herron Walker, whose nickname was apparently Sudie. As adults, all their records name their mother as Susan or Sudie Walker. 

The Document. 

With that cleared up, we move on to the record that I believe brought on the whole twisted error. 

In 1880, we find this household in Charlotte, Mecklenburg, headed by Mrs. Mary Ann Walker, a 57 year old widow and farmer. Living with her is Mary M. Walker, 40, relationship daughter, James Henry Walker, age 8, relationship, grandson, and Mary Jane Walker 7, relationship, granddaughter. Also in the home was a 75 year old man, Cato Wicks, also a farmer. As for relationship, in transcription, it's given as Brother-in-law, however, with a closer scrutinization of the actual document it actually is marked "S. + husband". All of the inhabitants are white, except Mr. Cato Wicks. The year is 1880. Was he her brother-in-law? Or did the 'S' stand for something besides Sister, as it had been taken for to come up with brother-in-law, which is not what it said? Could it have meant "Servant and husband"? Open to interpretation and certainly an interesting note in the record. 

This was James Henry Walker's first appearance in records. He was the grandson of Mary Ann Walker. He wasn't the only grandchild. There was a girl, one year younger than Jim, Mary Jane. Family trees have the 40 year old woman, Mary Minerva Walker, daughter of Mary Ann, as the mother of these children. Now it is time for a look at Mary Jane.

There is another document in 1880 that shows a girl around the same age as Mary Jane.

Name	Mary Walker
Age	7
Birth Date	Abt 1873
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number	114
Race	White
Gender	Female
Relation to Head of House	Daughter
Marital Status	Single
Father's Name	Thos. Walker
Mother's Name	Mary Walker
Cannot Read	Y
Cannot Write	Y
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Thos. Walker	36
Mary Walker	22
Mary Walker	7

Still in Charlotte, Mecklenburg, but on page 12, counted on June 5th, the previous record was on page 48, and counted on June 24th. This record I used in my previous post on the Saunders, When the Crab Apples Bite.

This is Thomas Walker, 36, and his second wife, Mary M. Saunders Walker, one of the twins of Wylie Pinkney Saunders and wife, Emeline Walls Saunders or Sanders. Included in the family group was a 7 year old girl named Mary, but at this point, they had only been married for three years. More on this later.

Mary Jane Walker lived a very long life. Her Find-a-Grave profile gives her date of birth as June 16, 1873 and her date of death as June 19, 1967. She lived 94 long years and was buried at Carolina Memorial Park in Concord, North Carolina. Mary Jane never married and never had any children of her own. 

Her death certificate only reveals that her last days were spent at the Ritchie Rest Home on Union Street. She died of Coronary Thrombosis and her informant was a Mrs. Ravon Smith who lived at the same address on Parkwood Drive that was given as Mary Jane's permanent address. The interesting information was in a brief biography on her Find-A-Grave page. It noted her as unmarried and that she worked as a Cook for a Private Family in 1920. At that time, she lived with the Robert Hartsell in Belmont. Afterwards, she is found in the home of the Robert and Annie Hartsell home in both the 1930 and 1940 census records, with no occupation given, having followed them to Concord, Cabarrus County. Do you remember the name Robert Hartsell? He was the son of Tinie Elizabeth Hartsell Osborne, who married James Henry Walker. Mary Jane Walker, for all intents and purposes, was relationally his aunt. I believe she was the sister of James Henry Walker, who raised his stepson, Robert Hartsell, and therefore the relation that Mary Jane would have with him in the family makeup would have been that of an Aunt.

Mary Jane also garnered an obituary, which explained more of her life. She was a native of Mecklenburg County, and a member of Sharon Baptist Church. No parents, or siblings are named, but she did have foster children named. Were they children she took in? Actual foster children that were sent to her by the DSS, or something else entirely? They were named as Mrs. Bill Forrest, Mrs. Rayvon Smith, who was mentioned in her obituary and with whom she apparently lived before her brief entrance into the rest home in her final days. It continued, and on to the next page with Mrs. D. Starnes, Mrs. W. W. Helms and Robert Hartsell, Jr. of Mt. Holly. That last name was familiar, the son of Robert Hartsell Sr., with whom Mary Jane had lived so many decades. Looking into Mrs. Rayvon Smith, I discovered that she was Eva Mae Hartsell Smith, oldest daughter of Robert and Annie Hartsell. That gave me a hint. Mrs. Bill Forrest was their second daughter, Bessie. Mrs. W.W. Helms was the third daughter, Jennie Lee. Mrs. D.M. (Dwight Moody) Starnes was the youngest daughter, Sarah Elizabeth and of course, Robert Jr. was the only son of Roberth Sr. and Annie Hartsell. After Robert died in 1947, it was his children who stepped up and cared for Aunt Mary Jane, who had apparently helped take care of them for all their lives. That is what it meant by foster children, she had helped to raise them while their parents worked to put food on the table.

Mary Jane's parents were not named, but it is easy to see she had a lifetime connection to the family of James Henry Walker. They were in the same home as children, and the grandchildren of Mary Ann Walker. It was time to look at Mary Ann. 

Mary Ann "Polly" Freeman married William "Billy" Walker. She was the daughter of James Freeman and Mary Ann Gibson. Her father died sometime between 1840 and 1850. 

In the 1850 census of Paw Creek, Mecklenburg County, NC, William and Mary are found with their four children, Mary, 11, Margaret, 9, Henry 6, and William 5. In the next household is Mary's mother, Mary Freeman and her three children, Polly's siblings, Thomas, Robert and Harriett. 

In 1860, Margaret Jane Walker has married William Bird, and they are living in Western Division, Mecklenburg County, and her older sister, Mary Minerva, is living with her. In the family above them, their brother, Thomas and Henry, are working as laborers for an Owens family. Some have their father, Billy's mother as an Owens, so it's possible they were a relation. 

In 1870, Mary Ann Walker is living in Charlotte with three of her children, Mary Minerva, Margaret, and William Thomas. A month later, Margaret Jane is enumerated a second time at home with her husband, William Bird. She must have been visiting her mother when the census taker came by. A boarder, Elizabeth Walls, is living with them. 

In 1880, we find Mary Ann Freeman Walker in the census record with her unmarried daughter, Mary Minerva and her two grandchildren, James Henry Walker and Mary Jane Walker. 

William Thomas Walker married Mary M. Saunders on September 26, 1877. James Henry Walker was born on November 23, 1871. Mary Jane Walker was born in 1873. 

James H. Walker gave his parents as Thomas and Bettie Walker when he married Susan Herrin in 1893.

He gave his parents as W. T. and Bettie Walker when he married Tinie Hartsell Osborne in 1907

When he died in 1942, his third wife, Elizabeth Hartgrove Walker named his father as Thomas Walker. 

William Thomas Walker died in Gaston County on March 18, 1927. James Henry and Mary Jane Walker were born before his marriage to Mary Ann Saunders, daughter of Wylie Sanders and Emeline Walls. There may have been a connection to the Elizabeth Walls boarding with his mother and himself in 1860.

This is my theory, and I will stand by it. Jim and Mary Jane were not the children of Mary M. Saunders Walker, and her middle name was not Minerva. Neither were they the children of Mary Minerva Walker, who never married. But they were the children of William Thomas Walker, Minerva's brother and Mary Saunders husband. 

Sometime after the 1870 census, Thomas must have married a girl named Bettie, or Elizabeth, maiden name unknown. She must have died between the 1873 birth of Mary Jane and the 1877 marriage of Thomas to Mary M. Saunders. He gave his children to his mother to raise while he started a family with Mary M. Saunders. He did not marry his sister, Mary Minerva. And that puts that error in records to bed. 

Sodom, Gommorah and Big Lick

Sometime prior to 1737, a German immigrant family, led by patriarch Leonhardt Kegel, arrived in America, and first, like many other families that would trickel south, settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania. This family would trickle down into North Carolina within a few decades, eventually making their way into Moore, Montgomery, Cumberland, Rowan and Cabarrus Counties. I have one, and possibly two, lines of descent from the the Cagle family, as the name would be angelized to, both from female ancestors. A Rebecca Cagle married Caleb Aldridge, Jr. and they are one set of my 4th Great Grandparents. Rebecca Cagle Aldridge is constantly being merged with a Rebecca Cagle Whitley, who was probably a cousin of some degree, but exactly how, I've not determined, or even tried to. What I do know is that a consanguineous clutch of Cagles settled around the southwestern part of Stanly County, North Carolina. Among them was a man named George Washington Cagle.

I touched on George W. Cagle, briefly, in my last post titled: The Secrets of Adeline, concerning a daughter of his.

While I was imbibing and digesting the old 19th century court records of Stanly County, I was astounded and amused at the pervicacity in which I encountered the citizens of the community of Big Lick. It was presented as an amoral and ruthless place, its citizens holding a general insouciance and lack of propriety. If ever a single individual was the embodiment or the scion of the general population of Big Lick, it was George Washington Cagle. 

George W. Cagle was born about 1813, in what was then Montgomery County, North Carolina, probably along the Rocky River close to where he would dwell for the remainder of his life. He was the son of Charles Robert Cagle, Sr. (1786-1864) and wife, Elizabeth Maranda Springer (1789-1867). He was the grandson of George Cagle and wife, Rebecca, who was no doubt the forebear of a string of granddaughters and great-granddaughters named Rebecca, including my own Rebecca Cagle Aldride and also Rebecca Cagle Whitley, wife and ex-wife of George Whitley III, with whom she is often merged. 

George Cagle, our notorious G. W.'s grandfather, was himself the grandson of the previously mentioned German ancestor, Leonhardt Kegel, via his son Johann Theobald Kegel. Therefore, George Washington Cagle was the Great Great-Grandson of the original immigrant ancestor. He was also the grandson, on his maternal side, of George Springer and wife, Sally Bloom Springer, the ancestors of another proliferant Big Lick family, meaning George had a lot of kin in and around the Oakboro/Red Cross/Stanfield area. 

He was one of nine children and the oldest son of Charles and Maranda. His siblings were, according to accepted Cagle research were:

A) 1810-1890 Sylvia Cagle, who married John Honeycutt. This one is debatable. Some have Syvia as a Burris. Others, a Robbins, due to John's close relationship with the elderly Fanny Whitley Robbins, daughter of George Whitley Sr. and widow of Isham Robbins. I've examined the one death certificate of one of their children that names Sylvia's maiden name and it appears more as Cagle, so I believe this to be correct. 

John Honneycutt and wife Sylvia Cagle  buried on property of Cromer and Polly Burrus, Across the road from Liberty Hill Chruch Cem. ---graves will be moved to Liberty Hill because of hwy. expansion

GRAVES HAVE BEEN MOVED.

1880 Stanley Co,. NC census-- Smith,James A.   22 Maria ,32 wife,  Silvey Cagle- Honeycutt age 72.

-from her ancestry.com profile.

B) 1811-1858 Mary Rebecca Cagle - married Needham Whitley, Jr. 

C) Insert George Washington Whitley, (1813-1876).

D) 1816-1880 Susan A. Cagle, never married, died of dropsy in 1880 per mortality schedule. 

E) 1821-1823 Charles Robert Cagle, Jr. died at age 2.

E) 1824-aft 1880 Charles Robert Cagle, III, married Sarah Yow, fought in Civil War. Found last in Cabarrus County in 1880.

F) 1827-1867 Sina Cagle, married Needham Whitley II.

G) 1828-1915 David M. Cagle , married 'Mikel' Michelle Hinson. Also found in Civil War.

H) 1829-1922 Millie Elizabeth Cagle, married Lewis Brown. 

I) 1830-1889 Eva Lee Cagle, unmarried.

I am not sure I agree with these on all accounts as I have not personally researched this level of this family, and some of it seems a bit conflicting/confusing or contrived. 

There is a George W. Cagle who received a few land grants on Bear Creek, but this was not the same George W. Cagle or the same Bear Creek. This individual, and this Bear Creek, were in Moore and Chatham Counties, and I believe was a distant cousin, as he sprang from the same lineage of Kegel/Cagle's who had migrated down from Berks County, Pennsylvania. 

Book 1 Page 92 Andrew Honeycutt sells to George Cagle and Thomas Long, 200 acres on both sides of Island Creek for $200. This deed was dated 1844, and an older George, G. W. Cagle's uncle, was still alive. His daughter Mary Long, is mentioned in his Will, so I believe this one is the older George. He died in 1851, so after that, George W. was the only George Cagle in the area.

In November of 1855. Isaiah Coley, sold to in a group, George Cagle and several of his close neighbors, found in Book 4, page189, a number of personal items to cover his debts. The others, besides George Cagle, were Solomon Burris, Green D. Whitley, McCamey Willis and Jesse Hathcock. The debt were owed to Nelson Smith, Albemarle Merchant, Daniel Freeman and to the estate of Robert Motley. The goods included oxen, cattle, hogs, crops and the tract of land on which Isaiah Coley lived. 

Later on, not long before his decease, George Cagle would purchase a tract of land from Susan Coley, located on Cucumber Creek, found in Book 7, Page 352. This would have been Susan Green Coley, later Howell, widow of William Coley and daughter of Jacob Green, and just before she would marry Edward H. Howell. The Green family sometime crossed Big Lick and seem to have first landed along the river, but they were of a different cut than most of the later citizens of Big Lick. The Greens were in a class equal to that of the Brooks, and the Austins and even most of the Morgans. Slightly wealthier, steadily devout and for the most part, strongly moral. 

George Cagle would sell more property than he would purchase. On July 2, 1844, he sold 100 acres on Cedar Branch to Daniel Reap, located on the north side of the Charlotte Road, witnessed by J. A. Pless. This is found in Book 2 Page 176.

On the 29th day of December, 1856, George sold to Charles and John W. Hinson, for $800, several tracts on both sides of Stony Run Creek, that met that of John Honeycutt, Solomon Burris, a Deberry, to the "Big Road", to D. W. Burris's corner, and back to George Cagle's own property and John Honeycutts again. 

In Book 4, Page 415, George sold 150 acres and a crop of wheat and oats to George Treece to cover a $1000 debt George Cagle owed to Edmund D. Ingram. This was dated February 13, 1860. 

In March of 1868, George sold to W. A. Morton, a tract of land that bordered John Hartsell's property, of 59 acres, found in Book 6 Page 512.

On April 18, 1873, George sold to Solomon Hathcock, some property located on the Rocky River and Stillwater Creek, that adjoined the lands of William and James Parker, his business partners, Mary Hinson, David Cagle, John Austin, that contained 310 acres. This was in trust to Solomon Hathcock, with the intentions of repayment of the $800. Found in Book 7 589. 

On March 27, 1875, near the end of his life, although he wasn't aware of this factor, George sold to Joseph Marshall, trustee, 160 acres of land on both sides of the Rocky River, placing part of it in Union County, adjoining the lands that George still held, and that of William Parker, in which was located a grist mill, a saw mill and a cotton gin, as part of the partnership of Cagle and Parker Mills, of which George owned half. This was to cover a $250 note. By this time, by 1873, actually, George Cagle's life had started spinning out of control, which we would see later. 

Book 10, Page 96 is a transaction between George Cagle, and his Company, Cagle and Parker, and A. H. Griffin, dated September 11, 1875. Almost completely faded into illegibility, there's a mention of 'articles of said real estate viz a tract of land known as Griffin's Mill and land adjoining E. R. Griffin, ? M. Griffin and J. W. Huneycutt". It mentioned a debt and 20 days, and was signed by George Cagle, with the J. W. Huneycutt as a witness. 

The rest of the deeds involving George Cagle were after his demise. In Book 15, Page 382, a transaction between A. G. Morton and John Brooks involving "the public sale at the Parker Mills and Rocky River", held on the first day of August, 1878. John Brooks became the purchaser for $955. He purchased the Grist Mill and the land around it, known as the Parker Mill tract in the counties of Union and Stanly. It mentioned the north bank of the Rocky River, Joseph Hartsells corner, the Whitley Meeting House, Mineral Springs, then Hartsell's other line to a stake in the road. From the middle of the river to a ford, perhaps old Coble ford, or Ledbetters, across the river to the south bank of the Rocky River, the east edge of the road, to James M. Meggs house, to a stake on the road near the mouth of a branch, then with the bank of the river opposite the Stillwater Branch, then back to Hartsell's line containing 115 acres. Signed A. G. Morton, administrator of the estate of George W. Cagle.

Book 16 Page 1 contains another transaction of A. G. Morton acting as the Administrator of George Cagle's property.  It took place on the 11th day of January, 1878 and involved a man named J. H. Walters. For $250, was the sale of Lot Number 17 on the Plat of the Town of Big Lick, on the north corner of the Crossroads of Big Lick, Iza Hathcock's corner, R. J. Morton's line, to the side of the road leading to Daniel Reaps, an area of 67 square rods. Witnesses were Iza Hathcock and A. M. Cox. 

The sum of all these can give one an idea of George Cagle's situation in life, he bought and traded in large lots of land. Some of what he sold he had purchased, other parts he had inherited through inheritance from his father, other parts from his first wife's father and his second wife's father. He was a businessman, a sucessful one, but still one to find himself in debt. He owned land in two counties, and in a variety of locations in western Stanly County, including a place in the small town of Big Lick. Put this was only one piece of the puzzle of what made George Cagle. 

Other records would tell a different story of the character of the man who colored the Village of Big Lick. 

The Court of Pleas and Quarters of the new County of Stanly, North Carolina held several mentions of a George Cagle

August Session 1842 - State vs George Cagle - Peace Warrant, defendant surrendered and discharged. Edmund Almond to pay costs. Not issued.

November 1842 - Andrew Honeycutt to George Cagle and Thomas Long, acknowledged.

The above two, I believe were referring to the old George Cagle, George W's uncle, as his daughter, Mary, had married a Long, and in 1830, old George is listed next to Ed Almond. 

Any of the below could have been either George.

August Session 1848 -Jury duty, later chosen for Grand Jury in the same session of court.

February 1849 - Jury again in the case of Simeon Smith, and several more times he served as a juror before 1850. Not a troublesome time for George Cagle.

George In the Census Records:  There is one George in the 1830 census of Montgomery County, of which Stanly was a part, but this was not George W. as he would have been only 17, and the oldest male was in his 50's. This was 'Uncle George'.  George was probably in the home of his father Charles, which is seen as:

Name	Charles Cagle
Home in 1830 (City, County, State)	Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5	1 David
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14	1 Charles Jr.
Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19	1 George W. 17
Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49	1 Charles
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14	1 Susan
Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19	2 Rebecca & Sina
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29	1 Sylvia
Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49	1 Miranda
Free White Persons - Under 20	6
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49	3
Total Free White Persons	9
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored)	9

1840 - There were three George Cagles in the 1840 census, one was a man in his 60's. This would have been Charles's brother, George II. A second George was in his 30's, and had a family of 5. This George was a cousin and had migrated away before 1850. The third George was in his 20's and had a family of 7. Seen below, this fits George W. Cagle best. 

Name	Geo Cagle
Residence Date	1840
Home in 1840 (City, County, State)	West Pee Dee River, Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5	1 David S.
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29	1 George
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5	2 Sarah & Polly
Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9	2 Adeline, Ithama
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29	1 Elizabeth
Persons Employed in Agriculture	1
Free White Persons - Under 20	5
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49	2
Total Free White Persons	7
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves	7

1850 - There were two George Cagles in the 1850 census. One was George W. Cagle. He is shown here with his first wife, Elizabeth Rosa Whitley. Only one Child is missing, oldest daughter, Menece Adaline Cagle, who married Tillman Coley. She would have been 18.

Name	George Cagle
Gender	Male
Race	White
Residence Age	37
Birth Date	abt 1813
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Smiths, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Occupation	Farmer
Industry	Agriculture
Real Estate	200
Line Number	5
Dwelling Number	714
Family Number	719
Inferred Spouse	Elizabeth Cagle
Inferred Child	Barthena Cagle

Household members

Name	Age
George Cagle	37
Elizabeth Cagle	38
Barthena Cagle	10
David S Cagle	15
Sarah Cagle	13
Mary Cagle	12
Martha Cagle	10
Elizabeth Cagle	8
Methena Cagle	7
Catharine Cagle	3
Melinda Cagle	9
Joshua Honeycutt	15

The other was old Uncle George, with his daughter, Sarah. In 1840, the household was a 60 year old man and a woman in her 20's, same family.

Name	Sarah Cagle
Gender	Female
Race	White
Residence Age	35
Birth Date	abt 1815
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Furrs, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Cannot Read, Write	Yes
Line Number	25
Dwelling Number	541
Family Number	543

Household members

Name	Age
George Cagle	73
Sarah Cagle	35

It is after this date that things begin to change is the life of George W. Cagle, and George along with it. I believe it began the day that his wife died, sometime within months after the 1850 census. Her exact date of death and place of burial is unknown. She would have been around 48 years old. George, at 47, became a hot commodity.

He began a relationship with not just one, but multiple women. He couldn't pick just one, but he married just one. He became infatuated with another, and a third after that. His older children began to marry and build their own nests. Other children were just being born. In the decade between 1850 and 1860:

• 1850 Ithama Barrthena Cagle marries William B. Hinson
• Jan. 4, 1852 George marries a second time to Nancy Jane Hinson, widow of Joseph Speight by whom she had two or three children.
• June 5, 1853, Sarah P. Cagle marries Wiley Allen Jones, who was also the father of Ellen Safely who I featured in my post, The Bad Mother.
• Jan. 10, 1854 David S. Cagle marries Sarah Michell Thomas
• Sept. 21, 1854 Anna Jane Cagle is born to George W. and Nancy Hinson Cagle.
• Jun 3, 1856 Ellison "Eli" Franklin Cagle/Huneycutt is born to Maniza Huneycutt.
• June, 1856 Mary Caroline Huneycutt is born to Maniza Huneycutt. She appears to be a twin to Eli. At this point, Maniza's children seem to be attributed to George W. Cagle. He names Eli in his Will.
• September 6, 1857, James Alfred Huneycutt is born to Maniza Huneycutt.
• 1857 Frances Laura Cagle is born to George and Nancy Hinson Cagle, their last.
• 1857 Mary Polly Cagle marries Alfred Smith, son of Richard and Susan Smith.
• April 1, 1858 Elizabeth Cagle marries John W. Huneycutt, son of George W. and Tabitha Tomlinson Huneycutt.
• July 20, 1858, Malinda Cagle marries Jacob A. Crisco II.

By the 1860 census, George only has only two daughters by his first marriage left in the home, "Mathena", who I covered in "A Rose By Any Other Name", whose name is inconclusive as she is called, Mathena, Luphrenia, Luthena, Lou, Beatie, Beedie, Phenia, Phrenia, among various other combinations and variations. I believe her name was probably Bethania Luphrenia Cagle or Beadie, for Obedience Louvenia Cagle. The other was his youngest with Elizabeth Whitley, Lucy Catherine, very simply. Lucy is sometimes confused with the daughter of Mariah Meggs, Melissa, aka "Lissy", but they were actually about 16 years apart in age, Lucy Catherine Cagle, being born in 1848 and Melissa Ann Meggs in 1865/66.

In the decade between 1860 and 1870: 

George's mother, Malinda Springer Cagle passes away September 11, 1861.

His father, Charles R. Cagle Sr. passes away April 9, 1864. 

Menece Adeline Cagle married second husband, Holden Hartsell on October 13, 1865, and was soon widowed. 

Lucy Catherine Cagle married James T. Baker on June 9, 1868. 

Elizabeth Cagle Huneycutt would pass away before the end of the decade and her husband, John W. Huneycutt would become a Civil War casualty. Her father, George would get custody of their son, William Huneycutt. 

Another unusual event of note took place on October 20, 1860. Maniza Huneycutt, George's paramour, married Gabriel Barbee. Gabriel Barbee would also become a Civil War casualty in 1864, leaving Maniza widowed, however, I believe the marriage may have ended before that happened, as she is never seen with the surname Barbee again. He may have discovered things about her he had not previously known and set her aside, divorced her or had the marriage annulled. They supposedly had a daughter named Martha, born in 1861. 

In 1866, Maniza Huneycutt had to press charges against George W. Cagle due to his lewd and lascivious behavior. The court pages are shown below.  

February Session, 1866 in the Stanly County Court of Pleas and Quarters, the jurors for the State of NC declared George Cagle. " a person of most wicked, lewd, lascivious, depraved and abandoned mind and disposition and wholly lost to all sense of decency, morality and religion." He was accused of, on September 5, 1865, displaying himself naked and with an indecent posture in front of the home of Maniza Huneycutt, in full view of a number of people, and they were appalled and shocked by his behavior. 

It appears that George had gotten drunk, was missing his mistress and started flashing the entire neighborhood. He was dealt with accordingly with fines and minimal punishment. It may have been due to the fact that Maniza was not considered a moral woman, having had children out of wedlock by this man. 

They were apparently neighbors around this time. Maniza's parents had relocated to Catawba County with their youngest son, and left several of their single, but not childless daughters, huddled together at the old homeplace with their collective children. 

In the 1870 census, George Cagle is 58. His household consists of his second wife, Nancy, their youngest daughter, Fannie, his son by Maniza Huneycutt, Eli, a border, Mariah Myers Meggs and her young daughter, and his 11-year-old grandson, William Huneycutt, son of his daughter Elizabeth, who predeceased him, and her husband, John W. Huneycutt, who died in the Civil War. His only legitimate son, David S. Cagle is listed after him. 

In the list above him are the three Huneycutt sisters, Frances, or Franky, and her children, Clara, and her one son, James H. Huneycutt, and Maniza and her children. All of the children by these three sisters were "fatherless", so to speak, although they all had fathers, of course. I believe Maniza was incorrectly transcribed as "Mariah". 

In 1868, George penned a Will. It is unknown what spurred him to do so. A sudden illness he recovered from? His recent run in with the law? Threats by irate and offended neighbors? The deaths of his parents, son-in-laws and neighbors in the War or just after returning from the War in weak and wounded conditions? Perhaps it was a combination of these things, but he felt the desire to ensure his widowed and unmarried daughters were cared for, as well as his orphaned grandson.

George's Will, dated November 30, 1868, is found below. It can be found in the Stanly County Will Book No.  2, Page 176 and 177.

"George Cagle's Will

Be it remembered that I George Cagle of the County of Stanly and the State of North Carolina Concidering myself to be of perfect sound mind and memory and not knowing the length of my earthly existence do make and declare this my last will and testament hereby revoking all former wills made by me (viz).

First I give and devise unto my daughter Menece A. Hartsell fifty acres of land off the Western end of my three hundred acre tract commencing on Dunn's line and running to southwest so as to include the above amount of lands. Also I give and devise unto Ely Huneycutt, my illegitimate son, one hundred and fifty acres of land the whereon I now live, by his maintaining my daughter Beedy M. Cagle during her natural life, in case she does not marry and if she marries, he shall be released from that obligation by his paying her one humdred dollars.

Also I give and devise unto my grandson William Huneycutt, seventy five acres of land adjoining the fifty acres given Menece A. to include The long House place, now in case the abobe Ely Huneycutt and William Huneycutt shall be disobedient to me and not serve as dutiful children till they attain the age of twenty-one years, in that case they shall have none of my property and in such case I direct that my daughter Beedy M have one hundred acres of the lands designated for Ely Huneycutt including the dwelling house and outbuildings and I direct that the remainder of the lands designated for Ely and all the land designated for William, and also all the balance of my lands not herein disposed of after running off my son David S. Cagle's fifty acres, to be divided equally between my daughters Sarah Jones, Mary Smith, Martha Cagle, Any Jane and Fany L. Cagle and Malinda Crisco.

Allso, I direct that my personal estate goods and chattels in every respect to be sold and equally divided between my daughters Sarah Jones, Mary Smith, Martha Cagle, Ann J Cagle, Fany L. Cagle, Malinda Crisco, Menece A. Hartsell and Beedy M. Cagle and my son David S. Cagle and my son Ely Huneycutt and my grandson William Huneycutt   and also my saw mill with the two acres of land for the cite and priveledges of the same adjoining J. A. Criscos line be sold and equally divided between my daughters above named.

I hereby make ordain and appoint S.C. Little my Lawful Executor of this my last Will and Testament in testament whereof I hereunto set my hands and subscribe my name this 30th day of September 1868 

                                                                        George Cagle (seal)

Attest

A J Austin

S C Little

The Will is reiterated above in the estate papers, but what struck me as unusual was that George didn't mention two of his daughters, Ithamia Barthena Cagle Hinson and Lucy Catherine Cagle Baker, or his wife, Nancy Hinson Speight Cagle.  I can't say why.

George Cagle passed away six years after the 1870 census, wherein his son Eli or Ely and grandson William Huneycutt was living with him, along with his youngest daughter, Fanny and a border, Mariah Meggs and her daughter. On February 27, 1876, the man who would flavor the Town of Big Lick with his big personality and indecent behaviour, would be no more.His demise bears a story of its own. His death was not natural and was a result of his wayward and moraless exploits. He was 63 years old and the place of his burial is unknown, but thought to be somewhere in Big Lick, or around Liberty Hill.

On April 6, 1876, six months after his death, we see that A. G. Morton, not S. C. Little, had been appointed administrator of his estate. His heirs at this time, in 1876, were listed as Nancy Cagle, the widow, Adaline Hartsell, named Menece A.Hartsell in the Will, ,Lithany Hinson, (Ithamia Barthena Cagle Hinson, not mentioned in the will, D.S. Cagle, his son David S.Cagle, mentioned in will, Sarah Jones, Mary Smith, mentioned in Will, Elizabeth Baker, his daughter Elizabeth who married John W. Huneycutt and was the mother of William Huneycutt, who is mentioned in the Will. She would later marry a Baker in Cabarrus County as Elizabeth Huneycutt, Malinda Crisco, named in the Will, married Jacob Crisco, B. D. Cagle, can only be Beedie Methena Luphrenia Cagle, unmarried daughter mentioned in the Will. Where did the "D" come from? Catherine Baker, Lucy Catherine, youngest daughter by first wife, Elizabeth Rosa Whitley, Amy J Hartsell, actually Annie Jane Cagle, first daughter by second wife, Nancy Hinson Speight, who married Joseph Hartsell, a son of Holden Hartsell who had married George's oldest daughter, Adaline, so two sisters, one who married the father and another who married the son. Fanny Larceny Cagle, youngest daughter by second wife, unmarried.

Georg'es estate took many years to completely settle. There were lawsuits concerning the mishandling of monies and heirs that were left out of the will and heirs that were mentioned in the Will. A Green Morton would be appointed Administrator instead of S C Little, who George had chosen. The estate file is it's own story, as is the complete story of George's demise. Who were actually the heirs of George Cagle?

Looking for Liberty Hartsell

 

Tabitha Liberty Hartsell Barbee

When my oldest daughter was expecting her only child, she was considering the name "Liberty" if the baby was a daughter. He was not, and was instead, named after my Great Grandfather on my Paternal side, Elias. I've alway liked the name, however, for its attributes of implications and uniqueness. We never welcomed a Liberty. 

Recently, I've been researching a certain obscure Whitley family. While looking at the small family of Hardin "Hardy" Whitley (1835-1864) and his wife, Basheba "Bashie" Hatley, (1832-1873), that her brother, Hardin "Hardy" Hatley (1834-1918) , had custody of their children for at least a period of time after the deaths of both Whitley's. Yes, that's a lot of Hardys and I believe the mother of Hardy Whitley could have been a Hatley. The Whitleys had left two children, a son and a daughter, and only the daughter survived long enough to marry. I examined this family in my post, The Curse of Bitter Rain.

While examing Hardy Hatley's family, I saw that in 1880, there was a young woman named Liberty Hartsell in his home. The name intrigued me, and I wondered who exactly Liberty Hartsell was, this young woman with the interesting name.

Name	Hardy Hatly
Age	45
Birth Date	Abt 1835
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number	71
Race	White
Gender	Male
Relation to Head of House	Self (Head)
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	Malinda Hatly
Father's Name	Wily Hatly
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Occupation	Farmer
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Hardy Hatly	45
Malinda Hatly	28
Jonah Hatly	16
Ephram Hatly	14
Minnie Hatly	1
Wily Hatly	87
Liberty Hartsell	23

Luckily for me, 1880 was the first year that the relationships of the people in a household to the head of the household were given. Hardy Hatley was one of those older men that had married a much younger woman as his second wife. At 45, 28 year old Malinda was not his daughter, but his wife. Jonah and Ephraim were his sons, and one year old Minnie was his daughter. It's easy to understand that the sons were by his first wife, and he probably hadn't been married to Malinda for long. Wiley Hatley, 87, was Hardy's aged father, and Liberty Hartsell was his sister-in-law. 

A little further research revealed that Hardy had married, as his second wife, Mary Melinda Hartsell, daughter of Holden Hartell and his wife, Mary Honeycutt. The couple had a family of 10 children and Mary passed away in 1862, before they were all grown up. Holden had remarried and had one more before passing away in 1865. 

Mary Malinda Hartsell Hatley was one of the younger children of Holden and Mary. Above, in the 1860 census, Mary Malinda was 9, her younger brother, Holden Monroe, aged 6, was scratched out and added again at the bottom of the page, I'm not sure why, and the youngest child was Bitha L. Hartsell. It looks like Bettie, and was transcribed as such, but there was an older sister named Bettie and with a little more research, it was clear that the child's name was "Bitha L.", and she was only four years old. 

This was a good list as it included the entire family which was :

Holden Hartsell  45 and wife, Mary 46 then: William Riley (1838-1899), Elizabeth P "Bettie" Byrd (1839- 1917), Emaline M Hartsell Smith ( 1841-1909), Julia Ann Hartsell Howell (1842-1879), John Adam Hartsell (1844 -1910), Joseph Monroe Hartsell (1846-1923), Eva Mahaley Hartsell Smith (1847-1928), Mary Malinda Hartsell Hatley (1851-1926), Holden Monroe Hartsell (1854-1910) and Tabitha Liberty Hartsell (1851 -1910).

After the death of their parents, the children seemed to scatter to the wind. Most of the older ones married as soon as they could, especially the daughters.

Name	Tobitha Hartsell
Age in 1870	14
Birth Date	abt 1856
Birthplace	North Carolina
Dwelling Number	217
Home in 1870	Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina
Race	White
Gender	Female
Post Office	Albemarle
Occupation	Domestic Servt
Cannot Read	Yes
Cannot Write	Yes

Household members

Name	Age
John Byrd	30
Elizabeth Byrd	28
Mary Byrd	6
Sarah Byrd	4
Sophonia Byrd
Tobitha Hartsell	14

Tabitha Liberty Hartsell, being the youngest of the children of both parents, ended up as the Domestic Servant, Elizabeth "Bettie" Hartsell, who had married John Byrd. She was living in Big Lick at 14, in 1870, the wild west of Stanly County.  And then, of course, in 1880, we find her living with another sibling, Mary Malinda Hartsell Hatley, in 1880. It seems Tabitha, as she was normally seen, earned her keep as Housekeeper and Nanny for her married siblings after she was evicted by her wicked stepmother, Adaline, after the death of her father, and that is a story of its own.

Just when it seemed as if Tabitha Liberty Hartsell was destined to be an old maid, she found herself a husband, and a younger one at that! She had not settled herself as the young bride of an old man for stability, like many of her time, when there were Civil War widows and orphans aplenty, although that was not what she was. No, Tabitha had been just an ordinary orphan with a young stepmother who married an old man with one foot in the grave so she could take over his estate from his older children. 

Tabitha married on April 10, 1887, to 21 year old William Barbee, son of  Jacob and Sarah Barbee. Her age was given as 26, when she was actually 31. Perhaps she felt like five years was all she could believably shave off. The marriage was performed at the office of John A.Furr, Justice of the Peace, in Furr Township. Witnessess were A.J. Huneyctt, E. D. Smith, which may have been her sister, Emaline, and A. J. Barbee, perhaps a relative of the groom.

William Martin Barbee

William Martin Barbee was the son of Josiah and Sarah Smith Barbee. At the time of the marriage, his father was deceased, but his mother was living, as both of the brides were deceased. While Tabitha had grown up in Big Lick, William had grown up in Furr Township. He was the oldest son and second child in the family. He was preceeded by Susan Catherine and followed by Cenia Marie, Nelson, James Hiram, Sarah Elizabeth, Lina and Lundy.

During the next thirteen years, the couple had settled among the rest of the Barbee Family in Furr Township, in the general area of Stanfield. Around 1900, give or take, the Barbee's had their photos made. William appears to have dressed in his best suit, and a colorized version of the photo paints his hundred yard stare with bright blue eyes. He appears nervous, like he could jump and run in an instant. He has a brunette combover and an unruly mustache that looks like a scrub brush resting under his nose. Tabitha Liberty Hartsell's photo is the lead in, off center and severe, she has an almost manly bearing. Her brunette hair pulled tightly back, Tabitha shows none of her husbands nervousness. Her eyes akilter, they also appear light, either blue or green. Broad-shouldered and square, she looks like a strong woman, but not a pretty one. Hers was a body built for work, and her large, oval face with a short, wide chin was directly opposite of William's oblong face with a recessive chin.

They would have five children, beginning immediatley and in rapid succession.

1888  Beechus S. Barbee

1890 William Harley Barbee

1891 Lou Etta Barbee

1896 Twin girls Bertie and Gertie Barbee

The 1900 census shows them surrounded by family names closely involved in their lives, lots of Barbees, with a few Hathcocks, a Stogner and an Eudy. The Barbees appeared to be very tribal, they stuck together, which is a strength. Sadly, the 1900 census revealed that Tabitha had actually give birth to seven children, only five survived. All of these five grew up.

1910 looks a little odd, but it appears the whole family pitched in together, still. They are no longer living in the grove of Barbee's, but still in Furr Township. William and Tabitha, now 44 and 50, respectively, are farmers, and thier oldest son, Beechum, is the only one living in their home. Second son, Harley, has married to Gatha Barbee, a distant cousin, and had two sons of his own, Melvin and Hubert, the era of those steampunk names. The three Barbee sisters, Etta, Bertie and Gertie, are now in their teens, and living with their brother, instead of their parents. The two households must have been close together.

Tabitha didn't live a very long life, but for her time, she was considered an old woman, when she was overcome with uterine cancer at 61, which led to her demise. An A.A.Hartsell was the informant, probably a relative, but not a sibling, who correctly gave her parents as Holden Hartsell and Mary Huneycutt. He knew she had been born in Big Lick. Her attending doctor had been Ira Yow, of Georgeville, in Cabarrus County and her death certificate was filed by Dock Love in Stanfield. She was buried in the Meadow Creek Cemetery in Locust and the undertaker was P.L.Hartsell of Oakboro. Her age gap had caught up with her. It was now known that she was ten years older than her husband, not five.

Widower, William Martin Barbee, would go on with his life for another twenty-three years. He remarried, to Martha Lou Hinson, who was also middle-aged, at 48, on July 27, 1919. She was the daughter of  John Washington Hinson and Sarah Jane Rummage, and the widow of a Tarlton.

They shared over a decade together in the 'Village of Stanfield', as the 1920 census put it, before William passed away at 63. His children buried him next to their mother. His own widow, Martha, is shown living with her son and still with the name, Barbee, in 1930, the year that he died. She would return to her former name of Tarleton, to match her own children, by 1940, and would pass away 18 years after William in 1948. Martha was buried at Love's Grove.

Tabitha (or Tibitha) Liberty Hartsell lived the typical life of a Victorian era farmwife in rural North Carolina. There was nothing outrageous or extraordinarty about her, and therein lies her beauty, the girl with the beautiful name.