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.
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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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
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.
