Ellen Safely was called a bad mother in the above page from an 1890 court case.
It states, omitting the unnecessary legalese, "State of North Carolina Superior Court, Stanly County,
To Ellen Safely alias Ellen Hinson
Whereas complaint has been made to me that you have a daughter vis' Sarah C. Hinson that is not properly cared for and that you are not raising the said Sarah C. Hinson as she should be raised.....the law requires me to investigate... appear before me at my office in the town of Albemarle on the 8th day of September 1890 with the aforesaid child....S H Milton CSC".
I was familiar with the name Ellen Safely from her forthcoming appearance in another court case. In that one, she was charged with Fornication, Cohabitation and Adultery, in conjunction with widower, Hezekiah Whitley, that resulted in the birth of her second daughter, Rebecca. This case I had mentioned in an earlier post which I called Nancy of Stillwater Creek. Seeing her name again piqued my curiosity. I wanted to know more about her and the fate of her neglected daughter, Sarah.
The first question was, who was Ellen Safely, and what acts of misfortune may have taken the clay of who was once, an innocent little girl, and formed her into one of the unfortunate women who kept showing up in court?
When researching Hezekiah Whitley, I discovered that in 1880, twelve years before she was living in sin with the much older man, she had been a young girl living with her mother in the same community of Big Lick. Her mother, Frances, was only 39 and Ellen was..23?
Her mother had a story, too! In this setting, both were under the name, Safely. Yet, a mere three years before..
Ellen had married John Hinson on August 26th, 1878. He was 39 and the son of Joseph and Mary Hinson. She was 21 and the daughter of Frances Safely and Allen Jones. The wedding took place at the home of Mary Gurley in Big Lick. Then by 1880, she was living with her single mother. There had to be more to the story. I needed to go back, back in time before Ellen, herself, hit the scene. Who were Francis and Allen, her parents? No one seemed to know, as far as I can tell, no one had ever looked deeper.
Big Lick, itself, would provide the answers. I recall when looking at the Nancy Whitley family and in particular, Nancy's daughter, Mary. Location + Opportunity equalled answers. In the 1860 census of Big Lick, Hardy Whitley, the older son of Nancy, lived in Household no 997. Following, we had:
998 Nancy Whitley, mother of Hardy, with Mary, Pinkney and "Teller" (Taylor).
999 Sampson Hinson 70, and family
1000 William Hinson, 26, his son. * William Hinson had been brought up in a bastardy bond with Mary Whitley a few years before, a year before he married.
1001 John Hinson family.
1002 Josiah Hatley family.
1003 James Whittendon family.
1004 Jason Jones family
1005 Wiley A. Jones family
1006 Nathan Safely family.
So, there, not very far from the Whitley's I have been researching, were Jones and Safley families. Ellen Safley had taken up with Hezekiah Whitley and had a child. Hezekiah Whitley is shown in land records as having land that bordered Nancy Whitley, his likely sister-in-law. Her mother was Frances Safeley. Her father was Allen Jones. It was time to take a deep dive into Nathan Safley.
The Safley's
The Safley were a small, but efficacious family, in the early development of Stanly County. I have come across the name of David Safley, the patriarch, many times over the years, but have never researched the family. Born about 1784, in Virginia, David Safley received a land grant on Mountain Creek in 1818.
There is a book, "Some of the Descendants of Jesse & David Safley, Two Brothers Born in Virginia". Published by Joyce Hambleton Whitten, 2004, for anyone wanting to take a deeper dive into the family. The above photo was provided from the book of David Safley, who was said to have been a Jr. He appears in the 1830 and 1840 census records of Montgomery County.
The 1850 census of Stanly County, give his birth year as 1784 and his place of birth as Virginia. A widower, he married in 1858, in Stanly County, to Rachel Fennel. He also shows up in the 1860 census, at 74 years old, but no further than that. David was a man of industry and many talents. He wasn't alone, either, He had a brother named Jesse and was ties closely to the Morris and Crowell families.
Nathan Safley was his oldest son, born about 1809 by David's first wife, Rebecca Morris. Nathan was followed by Nancy, Wiley, Nicey (Eunice), William Brady, Jesse S., Whitson, Parthenia and Margaret. Nathan is the one who ended up in Big Lick.
| Name | Nathan Dafeley |
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| Residence Date | 1840 |
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| Home in 1840 (City, County, State) | West Pee Dee River, Montgomery, North Carolina |
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| Free White Persons - Males - Under 5 | 2 |
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| Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9 | 1 |
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| Free White Persons - Males - 30 thru 39 | 1 |
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| Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9 | 1 |
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| Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19 | 1 |
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| Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39 | 1 |
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| No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write | 1 |
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| Free White Persons - Under 20 | 5 |
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| Free White Persons - 20 thru 49 | 2 |
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| Total Free White Persons | 7 |
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| Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves | 7 |
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Nathan first appears in the 1840 census of Montgomery County, "West Pee Dee". They were a young family with small children. His nearest neighbors were Brady Morris, John Morris, Randall Howell and Edward Morris. He had not yet arrived in Big Lick and appears to have been living among his mothers's people.
| Name | Nathan Safly |
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| Gender | Male |
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| Race | White |
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| Residence Age | 41 |
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| Birth Date | abt 1809 |
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| Birthplace | North Carolina |
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| Residence Date | 1850 |
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| Home in 1850 | Smiths, Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
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| Occupation | Farmer |
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| Industry | Agriculture |
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| Real Estate | 227 |
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| Line Number | 39 |
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| Dwelling Number | 678 |
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| Family Number | 681 |
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| Inferred Spouse | Harriett Safly |
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Household members| Name | Age |
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| Nathan Safly | 41 |
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| Harriett Safly | 26 |
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| Jane Safly | 18 |
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| James B Safly | 16 |
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| Henry Safly | 13 |
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| David A Safly | 10 |
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| Sarah F Safly | 8 |
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| Lucy M Safly | 6 |
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| Mary M Safly | 1 |
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In 1850, he was living in Smith's District, and farming. He lived near Temperance Austin, Priscilla Austin, Harrell Hinson, Sampson Hinson. Nathan had moved to Big Lick. While David, Wiley, Jesse and William B. Safley, were all in the land records, Nathan was not. His only mention in the early court records was that he had paid a double tax in 1847, in both District 3 and District 7. This was probably the year he had moved from along the Pee Dee River, in the eastern part of the ocunty, to Big Lick in the western part along the Rocky River.
Nathan's firsst wife is reported as being Sarah Spillman Craver, (1810-1849). With Sarah he had the following children:
1832 - Elizabeth Jane Safley
1834- James Breedy Safley
1837 - Henry Ledbetter Safely
1840 - David Alexander Safley
1842 - Sarah Frances Safley
1844 - Lucy Minerva Safley
After Sarah's death, he briefly married a young woman named Harriett, shown in the 1850 census, above, as age 26.
Now, it appears, due to the 5 year age difference of Lucy and the youngest child in the 1850 census, Mary Mrgaret Safley, born January 25, 1849, that Hariett would have been the mother of Mary, however, in both her marriage documents, and on her death certificate, in 1919, her mother is listed as Sarah S. Carver.
1849 Mary Margaret Safley, so I add one more to Sarah's list of children.
Harriett Safley died around 1851, because on December 16, 1851, Nathan Safley remairred to Mary Mildred Jones, in Stanly County, N.C. Mary Mildred Jones was the daughter of Jason and Tabitha Jones. Remember When I first mentioned Nathan Safely in Big Lick and the householdnumber extending from the
Whitleys?
1004 Jason Jones family
1005 Wiley A. Jones family
1006 Nathan Safely family.
Nathan Safley was the neighbor of Jason Jones.
Now, recall the parents of Ellen Safley, Frances Safley and Allen Jones? Have you figured it out yet?
Frances Safley was Sarah Frances Safley, daughter of Nathan and Sarah S.Carver or Craver Safley. You will see this as things unfold. Allen Jones? Wiley Allen Jones, son of Jason and Tabitha Jones, seen living next door to Nathan Safely.
Ellen M. Safely was born in 1856. Her mother, Sarah Frances Safely was born in 1842. Her father, neighbor, Wiley Allen Jones was born in 1827. When Ellen was born, Allen Jones was 29 and Frances Safely was 14. You know who bore the weight and the costs of that action.
In 1850, Allen is shown as a 15 year old in his father's house.
Nathan Safely continued to support his daughter, and her daughter, at least for a time. Wiley Allen Jones, who was Nathan's brother -in- law, brother of his third wife, Mary Mildred Jones, would, like nearly all of these 18th Century scoundrels and cads, not to mention child predators, almost immediately, marry an 'untouched' girl, and start a legitimate family.
In Wiley Allen Jones' case, he married Sarah P. Cagle, (1836-1905), daughter of George W. Cagle and Elizabeth Rosa Whitley Cagle, from a strong, Big Lick family.
To put salt to wound, Wiley Allen Jones continues to live next to Nathan Safley in 1860, as he adds children, James, Allen and Margaret to his new family in rapid sucession. The 1860 census is a bit odd for the family of Nathan Safley. Nathan and Mary Jones Safley are shown fairly accurately as 50 and 29 years old, respectivly. David Alexander, born in 1840, is shown correctly at 20, but they left the "ones" off the front of the ages of Sarah and Lucy, who should have been 18 and 16, and Mary Margaret , who would have been about 11, is shown completely wrong at age 5.
Nathan and Mary Mildred Jones Safley had also expanded their family. This listing also had errors. There was Jesse, which was accurate, but the child listed as Amos, a male, should have been Annis, a female, who would have been that age, two, at the time. Rebecca, three months old, must have died as a child, as she is shown no more. Ellen Safley, Sarah Frances's daughter is not shown, and she would have been older than Rebecca, so that is not her. I believe she was there, but hidden from sight when the count came, due to her shameful status of birth.
Nathan Safley would have an additonal six children by his third marriage
-1853 Jesse Aldridge Safley
- 1858 Annis Tabitha Safley
-1860 Rebecca
-1862 John Allen Safley
-1864 Wiley Krone Safley
-1867 William Jason Safley
I realize Mary Mildred Jones probably loved her brother, but to include portions of his name among two of her sons seems like a particularly cruel act and a jab at Sarah Frances, in light of what had transpired. She honored him with a namesake before she did her own father.
By 1870, the family ages had leveled up and Nathan had taken things a step further. Sometime between 1860 and 1870, Nathan had moved the family to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. They are found in Long Creek Township, Martindale Post Office, named for a man named James W. Martin, which operated from 1836 to 1902. From what I can determine, this may have been near the Beatties Ford Road and Mount Holly-Huntersville Road area. There was a Mill there called Long Creek Mill, and also Whitley's Mill, the site of which has been amazingly preserved within the bounds of a Greenway. It is unknown what spurred Nathan's departure from Big Lick, it may have had something to do with the aftermath of the War.
Nathan is shown as a 61 year old farm laborer, and Mary as 44. Still in the home as his daughters, Sarah Frances, 27 and Mary Margaret, shown as 23. They are followed by his five surviving children with Mary Jones: Jesse 17, Annie 13, John 9, Wiley 7 and William 4. Tacked on to the end, Ellen Safley, age 13, makes her first appearance in a record.
In an attempt to understand why Nathan Safely may have moved to Long Creek, Mecklenburg County, I wanted to take a look at the moves and fates of his older children, especially his sons, after the War. It was a sad chain of events.
Nathan Safley was named the Administrator of the estate of his oldest son, James Bready Safley in February of 1858.
The young man was yet unmarried but had established a trade of his own and was earning his way in life, enough to have an estate to be settled. He was about 23 years old, and it is unknown what his cause of death was. It may have been a work-related injury, or any number of freak accidents as peril abound from fording rivers to accidents involving horses, wagons, cattle and snakes. Illnesses took also take out young men in their prime. It's just unknown.
An egregious fact was found on the inventory list among Bready's probate papers. A line states, "
1 account, Wiley A. Jones " not good $1.65". The year was 1857, about the time Wiley A. Jones had fathered the child, Ellen, with Bready's disturbingly young sister, Sarah Frances. The debt had obviously been incurred while the neighbors were in good standing. By the time of Bready's death, there was most likely a very tense relationship. There may have even been a fight or some other kind of violent actions.
In 1862, Nathan Safley was again the administrator of a son's estate. This time, it was Henry Ledbetter Safley. This was the era of active recruiting, mustering and drilling in the rediment for battle for the Civil War. We don't know if Henry had enlisted, or if was avoiding recruitment, or if his death was related to the War in any way. His death was attributed to it, but I've not found war records for him.
Just 25, Henry had a small estate, a little cash and various folks owing him money, possibly for labor. He also was unmarried. I was astounded to see that among his debtors was again, Wiley Allen Jones. This time he is owed $4.10. Why was this family having any association with this man? What did he owe Henry for?
Another debtor was H. A. Hunter. He was a brother in law, having married oldest sister, Elizabeth.
That same year that Nathan buried Henry Ledbetter Safley, his second son, his youngest son by his first wife, Sarah Craver, had enlisted in the Confederate army. Only 19, David Alexander Safley enlisted in Co. C, 42nd Infantry in Rowan County in February of 1862. By September of 1862, that same year, his Company had made it to Lynchburg, Virginia where David, too, lost his life. That was all of Nathan's sons by his first wife. This may have been the reason he picked up and moved to Mecklenburg County, an area where things were growing quickly and the opportunities were better. He settled along Long Creek, where his family would remain for decades.
Losing three sons may have been the catalyst for Nathan's removal to Mecklenburg, but what was Frances' motive for returning to Big Lick? What was left for her there?
Two things I wanted to look at. What were the moves Wiley Jones had taken after his marriage? And what was going on among the remainder of her family?
Oldest Safely daughter, Elizabeth Jane, had married Harry Avery Hunter in Stanly County, on December 18, 1856. In 1860, the couple was in Stanly County, but had removed to Mecklenburg with Nathan by 1870. They too, settled on Long Creek, but by 1880, the family has moved with their sizable brood to a popular destination at the time, Arkansas. The Hunters first settled in Atkins, Pope County, Arkansas. Elizabeth would die in Pine Bluff , Jefferson County, Arkansas in 1895.
The rest of the siblings, Frankie's half-siblings, remained in Mecklenburg, except one. Lucy Minerva Safely, born in 1844, was Frankie's whole sister, and close to her in age, just two years younger. She was the exception, at least for the time being.
Hardy Perry was an old man when he arrived in Stanly County. He had lived in Anson County for many decades, and was there in 1850 with his wife, Sarah. Before 1860, he crossed the Rocky River and settled near the Brooks family in Big Lick Township, where he was found at 65, with Sarah, 50. Sarah must have died soon after, as on 1863, Hardy Perry took pen in hand, with full knowledge of his mortality, and wrote out a Will.
He would leave everything in his Will to a new wife, Lucy M Perry, and her children with him, that had yet to be born. Otherwise, he left everything, after debts were paid, to his siblings. Hardy and Sarah, maiden name unknown, must have not had any children. Upon her death, he had married the much younger Lucy Minerva Safely. How much younger?
In 1863, Hardy would have been 68. Lucy, born in 1844, would've been about 18 or 19. At least she was of legal age, but easily could have been his granddaughter.
Lucy would bear heirs for Hardy, two sons. In the 1870 census, Hardy is 75, Lucy 23, and their son Hardy M. Perry was a year old. So Lucy was married by or before the 13th of January, 1863, yet she didn't have a child until May 14, 1869. Six years. A long time for a young woman. It seems as if Lucy had made the Will a stipulation of her marriage contract with the grandfatherly Hardy, but he, in his own words, made bearing an heir a stipulation of Lucy inheriting his estate.
What if Lucy, after half a decade of trying for an heir, took desperate measures to ensure an heir before Hardy, getting older and frailer and closer to death, succumbed to the inevitably of time? It has been done before.
The estate of Hardy Perry was probated on May 2, 1881, yet Lucy is shown as a widow in the 1880 census, which was taken on June 1, 1880. A second son, William D. Perry, had come along on July 28, 1873. Lucy was living near all the witnesses to the Will of Hardy Perry, William Huneycutt, William Brooks, and Alfred Ledbetter. Alfred Ledbetter's property bordered Hezekiah Whitley's. Hezekiah Whitley would become a lover of Ellen Safely.
Lucy and her sons would join the remainder of the family in Mecklenburg County by 1897. That's the year they are found in the Charlotte City Directory.
Lucy is seen as the widow of Hardy, residing in Severville, a community in West Charlotte, that was once built around a Country Store ran by a Mr. Sever. Her son, Hardy, is noted as H. M. Perry, no occupation mentioned, at the residence and W. D. Perry, a carpenter, also at the residence.
In the 1900 cenus, Lucy is found in Charlotte as a 55 year old widow, no occupation, having had two children, with her sons, 'Hardie M.", 31, a Carpenter and William D., 36, a Railroad Carpenter. Later that year, Hardy would die a single young man, of an untold cause.
Lucy would remain in Mecklenburg County, but in 1880, she had been in Big Lick.
As far as the rest of the Safley family, widow Mary Mildred Jones Safely is found in 1900 in the Long Creek location at 73, with Mary Margaret, 52, Annis 41, John A. 37, Wiley E. 35, and William J. 33. This family group would remain in a bundle along Long Creek and grow old together after Mary Jone Safley passed in 1905. Lucy would join them in 1920, after her younger son struck out on his own.
Youngest Safley son, William Jason, would leave the pack when he married in 1909 to Mary Sechrist and moved to Monroe, in Union County. He would have one son, William Ashcraft Sofley, in 1913, and pass in Monroe in 1952.
The unmarried group of Mary Margaret, John Allen, Annis Tabitha and Wiley Crone Safley and widowed sister Lucy Perry would farm the Long Creek property together until one by one they would pass away.
-Mary Margarett was first in 1919.
-John Allen and Lucy both left in 1932.
-Annis Tabitha died in 1944.
- Wiley Crone was alone until he passed in 1950.
-William Jason was the last sibling, passing in 1952, but he was in Monroe.
Lucy's obituary mentioned that she had been a lifelong member of Mineral Springs Primitive Baptist Church in Stanly County. This is the church near the Alfred Ledbetter place that I mentioned in my post,
Adventures in Oakboro: Part Deaux. As seen in Lucy's obituary, the Mecklenburg County Safley's would adopt the Sofley spelling of the name.
The surviving son of Lucy Minerva Safley Perry, William D., would also never marry. He passed away in 1961. Lucy, and Hardy, would leave no heirs to carry on the Perry name. One fact I found interesting, the informant on the death certificate was one R. Neal Sofley, of Charlotte, NC, who gave his relationship as Cousin.
There was one member of the Safley - Jones group of siblings that had been prolific, that was the firstborn son of Nathan Safley and Mary Mildren Jones, one Jesse Aldridge Sofley. As his family adopted that Spelling, I will convert to it.
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| Jesse Aldridge Sofley |
Jesse Aldridge Sofley had married Nancy Hannah in Mecklenburg County on January 17, 1875. He began farming along Long Creek, but was the breakout member of the pack. Soon afterwards, he moved to Graham Street in Charlotte and is found there in 1900 as a Stationary Engineer. He and Nancy would raise a family of six children: Minnie, Walter, Florence, Robert, William and Mary. Robert Neal Sofley was the cousin, who was the informant on William D. Perry's death certificate. It seems the family stayed close.
So, Jesse was the one son who left Safley/ Sofley heirs into the future, with the exception of William Jason's one son. His obituary fills us in on his life and the families locations.
Then there was Sarah Frances. What was the impetus for her return to Big Lick? Did her stepmother become the dominant parent in the home as Nathan grew older and weaker? Did Mary Jones Sofley not want the shame of an illegitimate child to overshadow the family as her own children grew old enough for marriage and, at least in the case of Jesse, began looking to start their own family with a reputable spouse? We can't say, but we do know the two, mother and daughter, were back in Big Lick before 1877 when Ellen married John Hinson. What happened with that.
Shortly after the marriage of Ellen Safley to John Hinson, John signed an agreement indenturing a yearling calf as he owed $2.25 to neighbors Eli Cagle and William Huneycutt. (Oddly Eli Cagle would couple with another Ellen Hinson, not this one.) As Ellen signed, I wonder if the calf was originally hers, as women usually didn't join in the deeds and indentures unless it involved their personal property of inheritance or such.
It is unknown what happened to John Hinson after this, as he has passed on by 1880 and left no estate.
Who was John, the man who fathered one child with Ellen Safley and lent his name to the rest?
John Hinson, born about 1837 in Anson County, NC to Joseph Benjamin "Big-Eyed Joe" Hinson and wife, Catherine "Katy" McIntyre Hinson. He had an older sister Sarah, and a younger brother, George. They lived just across the river from the others mentioned in this post and often interacted with the Big Lick folks.
Sarah Hinson married, and divorced, Allen Ledbetter of the Burnsville area of Anson County. Allen was featured in a recent post called
The Maelstrom. These folks were all connected.
George Hinson married Mary Sullivant and moved from Burnsville, Anson to Tyson, Stanly, living a long life and raising a sizable brood. Both Sarah and George have their own stories.
While there's no pictures of Joe, and John died before 1880, there exists a picture of George online, and above is a colorized version. It may give us an idea of why their father was called, "Big-eyed Joe".
Sarah Catherine Hinson, the feral child that caused her mother to be dragged to court over her misbehavior, was probably the only child of John Hinson. Born February 6, 1876, she was actually born before her parents wedding date of August 26, 1877. Given the length of a typical pregnancy, this places Frankie and Ellen back in Big Lick by at least the spring of 1875, and probably back to 1874, the year Jesse Aldridge Sofley married in Mecklenburg, giving my theory that Mary Jones Sofley had something to do with their removal from the family flock. As Ellen, her step-grandchild and her niece, was a stain on the family's good name by her very existence.
Sarah Catherine was not listed in the home of her mother and very young grandmother, Francis, in 1880. They either hid her, or she may have been in the home of a neighbor or relative, either in Big Lick, or possibly in Burnsville, or New Salem, Union County, the area that bordered the Rocky River in northern Union County. In 1890, Sarah would have been an undisciplined minor of 14.
At the age of 19, on August 30, 1897, Sarah was marrying Moses Walters, of Ford, Stanly County, which is what I suppose was the area where her grandmother had grown up and her mother had been born. Moses was 55 years old and the son of John and Sarah Walters of Union County, both dead. Sarah was the daughter of John Hinson, deceased and Ellen Hinson, living, of Union County. S. H. Milton, the magistrate who had ordered Ellen to his office in 1890, was the witness to the signature of Moses applying for the license. He was watching the wild child's life play out. The wedding took place at the office of J. S. Little, JP, in Big Lick, Stanly County.
I'm not sure what kind of man Moses was, but at the turn of the century, in 1900, Ellen Hinson was the head of household. By this time, she was the mother of three more children. Rebecca Hinson had been born on November 28, 1880, and I know at this time, Ellen was being taken to court, again, for living in sin with widower, Hezekiah Whitley, so "Beck" was most likely the child of Hezekiah. Her twins, Fairley and Filus (or Philus), were born on March 16, 1892, and could not have been the children of Hezekiah, as he was already deceased. Nor were they the sons of John Hinson, who all the children claimed, despite his death before 1880, and probably more like 1878.
Moses, now 62 and Catherine, 21, were living in the home of Ellen in New Salem, Union County, NC. All were farm hands working for Thomas Meggs, except for the twins.
Rebecca was the next to be married, the next year after the census. On June 7, 1901, Rebecca, 18, married 45-year-old Jacob Thomas, of Silver, Stanly County, NC, son of Jacob and Betsy of Union County, both deceased. Rebecca was also of Silver and her mother was alive and a resident of New Salem, Union County. They were married in Albemarle, Stanly County, by W. K. Littleton, JP. R. E. Austin, from Big Lick, was one of the witnesses, as was Sheriff Snuggs and a Carrie Smith. Riley Austin will come up again in a moment.
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9 Apr 1903 Albemarle, North Carolina |
A few years later, in April of 1903, one of the twins, would pass away of "brain fever", a catch-all term for illnesses like encephalitis or meningitis. The paper reported him as the child of Sarah C. Hinson, who was actually a Walters by then. Could the twins have been Sarah's children, and not Ellen's or had the papers made an error in his mother's name? Sarah Catherine was 16 years older than the boys, so it was possible. Fairly, the surviving twin, married, and lived a long enough life. He named his mother as Ellen on his documents, and did not list a father. He was interred into a cemetery that was near the home of Riley Austin. Mr. Austin is listed near the home of Nathan Safley in 1860, while he was still in Big Lick.
The Riley Austin Cemetery still exists. It's located in a clump of trees in a large pasture, not close to any road and accessible only by foot, horse, or off-road vehicle, in that area south of Oakboro that I had been exploring. Not that far from Old Sandbar Road, (The Hinsons), and Rocky River Road, it's in that general area of Mineral Springs Church. This is where Ellen had been born, and where her mother, Frances, had grown up, but not where the family was currently living. Why had they crossed the river to bury the boy? What was the relationship between Ellen's family and the Riley Hinson family, besides former neighbors?
In the 1900 and 1910 census records, a question had been added to ascertain the rates of child mortality, so they asked of each woman, how many children she had given birth to and how many of those were living. I'm not sure how they asked it, but quite often, some women were confused, that easy to see. In 1900, Ellen had either not answered, not been asked, or the census taker had failed to write it down. Sarah Catherine had answered. She and Moses had been married two years and there were no children. In 1910, Ellen had answered three and thee, while nothing was given for Sarah Catherine Walters. I believe she misunderstood, as I am sure she had not forgotten Filus. She had two of her children living with her and Rebecca was alive and well tending her own household.
They had separated the pack into two families, one household. Household 191, Family 198 was Ellen, 59, a widow, and Fairley 17, her son. They were renting a farm. Family 199 was Moses Walthers, 78, born in South Carolina, and Sarah, 30. They had been married 15 years, no children. Sarah was a farm worker, Moses, not. They had moved since 1900. Now they were in Lanesboro, in Anson County, and their closest neighbors were Beachums.
Moses Washington Walters lasted one more year. He passed away on April 14, 1911, in Peachland, Anson County, at the age of 79. He was buried in what is now called the Old Smith-Walters Cemetery in New Salem, Union County. The communities are not that far away from each other, it wasn't a long distance. Moses had a whole life before Sarah Catherine. He had been born in Darlington, South Carolina before his family settled in Union County. He had served in the Civil War with Co. D 37th Infantry. He was given a military marker when he passed on, applied for by his children. Moses had married Beadie Smith and had a family of 9 children before his marriage to Sarah, the young wild child. He had children as old as Ellen, his mother-in-law and only one of his nine children was younger than his wife, Sarah Catherine. I wonder what his family thought of her, and wonder what the reason behind the union to start with. Moses may have sought youth and beauty. Ellen must have pushed the idea to calm her wild teen down before something 'bad' happened. Ellen had been dragged to court many times. Sarah Catherine never would, except as the undisciplined child.
Fairley Cleveland (or Clevern) Hinson was of the generation to receive a World War I Draft Registration, although I not sure if he ever served. It tells us a little bit about him.
He was 25 at the time, from Route 1, Peachland, NC. He had been born in Stanly County and was a tenant farmer of Henderson Davis. He claimed dependent relatives but was single and claimed his mother as a dependent. He was considered tall, and of a medium build, with brown eyes and black hair.
The 1920 census, just a few years later, gives Fairley as the head of household now, with his 70-year-old mother, Ellen and 44-year-old widowed sister, Catherine Walters, as his dependents. They were listed next door to septuagenarians, Henderson and Martha Davis, for whom he worked. Fairly didn't have all the work to himself on the Davis farm. While Henderson was listed as a Farmer at 79, it's uncertain how much he actually did, but in addition to Fairly, Sarah Catherine Walters was also a farm laborer at 44 and the Davis's single daughter, Helen, 43, was also. Their married son, Joseph, lived next door and also was listed as farm labor. It was a group effort at survival.
August 15, 1928, was the date of the next major event in the family, the marriage of son, Failey C. Hinson. Fairley was now 36 years old, his bride, Annie Myrtle Thomas was 22. Fourteen years difference in age was not a vast cavern when compared to the other marriages in this family, but there was something different, and very disturbing about this marriage. Note that both Fairley and Rebecca had married members of the Thomas family. Rebecca had married Jacob C. Thomas. Myrtle was the daughter of Jacob C. Thomas. Not only that, but she was also the daughter of Rebecca Hinson Thomas. Fairley had married his niece! He and Rebecca could not have shared the same father, though Fairley's remained unknown, the fathers of his two half-sisters were both deceased before the birth of Fairley and Philas. Things were different in those days, but was the marriage of an uncle and his half-niece even legal?
1930 finds the family grouping with Fairley again as head of household, running a farm together, independently, although they are renting, they are operating their own farm. Fairley is a father now, they have a son, Brice. His mother Ellen, listed as, 82, and sister Catherine, 51, are still in the home. They live along the Savannah Road, in Burnsville Township, Anson County. I'm sure the road has changed since then, but it still exists, north of Peachland and near the Union/Anson County line. It lies further south in Anson County, and not near the Rocky River.
Despite living with her son, Ellen Safley Hinson had made the pauper list in 1927. Ellen would live to be 78, despite the census listing her age as older. They often exaggerated the age of the elderly.
Ellen Hinson died of pneumonia on December 7, 1934. Her date of birth was given as January 27, 1847, but her mother wasn't born until 1842, and all of her earlier records suggest a birth year of 1856 or 1857. She was born in Stanly County and died in Burnsville Township, Anson County. The informant was a J. F. Lowder, who didn't know much about her, but some. She was listed as the widow of John Hinson, and then someone turned around and put John Hinson as her father. Her mother was correctly identified as Frances Safley. Her burial site was listed as the Austin Graveyard in Stanly County, NC.
Ellen was returned to the Mineral Springs area she was born in for burial, in the Riley H. Austin cemetery. Her tombstone, lying flat but still existing reads, "Gone but not forgotten".
Ellen M. Safley Hinson was the illegitimate daughter of Wiley Allen Jones, son of Jason Jones and Sarah Frances Safley, daughter of Nathan Safely. She married an older man, John Hinson in 1877 and had one daughter with him, Sarah Catherine Hinson. She was widowed in less than three years. In the early 1880's, she was living with Hezekiah Whitley, an old widower and was convicted of Fornication, Co-habitation and Adultery. During this time, she had a second daughter whom she named Rebecca, most likely the child of Hezekiah Whitley. Hezekiah Whitley died shortly thereafter, within months of Rebecca's birth. Ellen would not remarry, but in 1892, at the age of 36, she would give birth to twin boys, Fairley and Philas, father unknown. Philas would die of "brain fever" at age 9 and was buried in the Riley H. Austin Cemetery in Stanly County, south of Oakboro. Ellen and her family would live as tenant farmers in Union and Anson County for the remainder of her life. She passed away before Christmas in 1934, and was buried with Philas in the Riley Austin Cemetery, which is thought to have also been an early cemetery for Mineral Springs Primitive Baptist Church.
Her descendants were:
A) Sarah Catherine Hinson (6 Feb 1876-15 Dec 1960). Married Moses W. Walters. No children. Remained in her brother's home after her mother's death until her own.
She was buried at the Griffin and Old Davis Cemetery near Polkton, Anson County, NC.
B) Rebecca Hinson (28 Nov 1880-15 Jan 1968) Married Jacob C. Thomas. Five children:
1) William Wesley Thomas (1903-1969)
2) Annie Myrtle Thomas (1906-1978)
3) Claude Houston Thomas (1910-1994)
4) Benjamin Harvey Thomas (1913-1996)
5) Alfred Thomas (1918-2007)
Rebecca's family moved between New Salem in Union to Tyson in Stanly, to Albemarle, back to New Salem, to Big Lick to Monroe. She was buried at Smith's Grove Primitive Baptist Church near Oakboro.
C) Fairley Clevern Hinson (16 March 1892 - 3 June 1957) Married Annie Myrtle Thomas. Four children:
1) Bryce David Hinson (1929-1992)
2) James Baxter Hinson (1931-2012)
3) Mary Magdalene Hinson (1934-2009)
4) Margie Lee Hinson (1938-2023)
Fairley died at Union Memorial Hospital in Monroe at 65 years old, of cancer. He was buried at the Old Griffin and Davis Cemetery near Polkton, Anson County. He had raised his family in Burnsville Township.
D) Philas Hinson (16 March 1892- 9 April 1903) Died of Brain Fever at age 9. Buried in the Riley H. Austin Family Cemetery near Oakboro, with his mother, Ellen.
Ellen Safley had been born into a bad situation beyond her control. It appears that she may have been overwhelmed at times, just trying to survive in a world of circumstances stacked against her. Was she a bad mother? I can't say, although she was accused of it. I believe she was doing the best she could with what life had dished out for her.
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| Denise Austin Creech photo of Riley Austin Cemetery |
