After all of my research on Laura Simpson and Bob Krider, I wondered exactly where the three acres were, that the newspapers had reported was owned by Krider, but was occupied by Laura and her illicit business called the Blind Tiger.
I knew from newspaper articles that it was located between Rocky River Springs and Cottonville. That gives us a good idea of the general vicinity, but doesn't nail it down too precisely, so I decided to give things a closer look. The likelihood of the original building still standing is pretty slim, since it was the turn of the century that we are talking about, but perhaps there exists some marker or border that can give us a more specific locale.
The newspapers said Bob Krider owned the property, and he was from another county, Rowan, so I went in search of a deed. I didn't find a single deed where he had bought the property, but I did find the one where he sold it, five years after the death of Laura, and just a year before his own demise. Fortunately, this deed also told of when he bought not one, but two parcels, that encompassed the three acres, and who he bought it from.
My guess is that in this excerpt from the 1910 census of Tyson, that the listing for Mamie Simpson and her children, and Bud Simpson and his young family, show them living on this exact three acre location. Laura was in jail at this time. Only one week later, Bud will be enumerated in Rowan County, living with Bob Krider and his family, and his wife, Pearl and their son John, living with her parents, whose property connected that of the Kriders in Providence Township, close to the old Trading Ford area. Ten years earlier, Mamie and Bud were both living with the Kriders in Rowan County, and neither had become parents yet.
Notice in the list, the family names are Wright, then Biles, then the Simpsons, then an Elijah Crump, then Jack Lilly, and lastly, Hampton Aldridge, who happens to be my Second Great Grandmother's older brother, and I know pretty much exactly where he lived.
I wonder how Krider met Laura in the first place, but it appears he may have bought the property just for her. The clipping below stated that the place was near Cottonville, and was not cultivated.
CLIPPED FROM
The below Clipping from the same article reveals what the place was used for, a Brothel and blind tiger, or bootleg joint. It also names some citizens of the area who were not happy about that.
The deed itself gives us more names to look into. Bob Krider bought the property in two sections, over the course of 10 years, the first parcel in 1899, of one and a third acres and the second part in 1909, of about 2 acres. It's a mystery as to why the two original deeds are not to be found. They may have not ever been filed with the Register of Deeds office.
W R Krider and wife, Georgia Ann Krider of Rowan County, NC to J M West of Stanly County, NC
for $300 located in Tyson Township, Stanly County, NC. Book 67 Page 87.
Adjoining the lands of J M West and Neal Duke, beginning at a stake in the East Bank of the Winfield Road and runs N. E. 4.20 chains to a planted stone, in W. R. Kriders line, there with his line. Reversed N. 87 degrees v 5.40 chains to a stake on the bank of said Road S. 54E 2 chains there with said road S. 47 E 4.90 chains to the beginning, containing one and one third acres, and being the same land conveyed by A. A. Thompson and wife D. M. Thompson to W. R. Krider by dee dated 23rd September 1899, and being one & one third acres more or less.
Adjoining the above lands & beginnning at a pine stump on the southside of Winfield Road and following A. D. Deese's old original line east 140 yards to cornering on a stake, thence south with Biles line 72 yards back to the beginning, bounded on the north and east by July Colson, on the west by C.B. Duke and wife and on the South by W. R. Krider, containing 2 acres more or less, and being the same land conveyed by John W. Howard and Hattie Howard to W. R. Krider by deed dated April 27, 1909.
So, we know have a number of names and a few places to go by that could give some direction. In 1921, the property bounded J. M. West and Neal Duke, and it was being sold to J. M. West.
We also have the location of the Winfield Rd., which I have been studying for years. The deed refers to the East Bank and the Southside of the Winfield Rd.
One and one third acre had belonged to A. A. Thompson and his wife D. M. Thompson in 1899, when W. R. Krider had purchased it from them.
A. D.Deese's old,original line is mentioned. Neighbors to this second portion of the property are named as July Colson, Biles, and C. B. Duke. This two acre portion had been sold to W. R. Krider in by John W. and Hattie Howard in 1909.
The above portion of the old C. M. Miller, of Salisbury, NC, map is supposedly dated between 1904 and 1910. Notice Rehobeth Church in the top left corner. Above that is a collection of Simpsons, and a triangle of roads. Just off screen, on the top left to the northeast was the town of Rocky River Springs, which was a resort, and is shown on the map as a grid of roads, a town.
Near the bottom right corner of this excerpt of the map is a cluster of churches, schools and houses, with the letters, C, O, T, T, running off the page to the right. This was the location of the town of Cottonville. We know from the newspaper articles, that Laura's Place was located between Rocky River Springs and Cottonville. We know from the deed that it was on the South and East side of the Winfield Road. Above, we see a 'Mrs. Simpson ' and the black square chosen to designate a home was on the southwest side of the road between Rocky River Springs and Cottonville. Could this have been Laura? The neighbors are an A. F. Deese and below that, a David Deese, to the south and to the north, a P. A. Howard and a J. T. Thompson above that, with an M. F. Biles off to the side.
So I am now posed with several questions to answer. Who were John W. and Hattie Howard who sold the property to Bob Krider in 1909, and how were they connected to P. A. Howard, if indeed they were and who was J. T. Thompson and was this Thompson related to the A. A. and D. M. Thompson family who sold a piece of property to Bob Krider in 1899? Was M. F. Biles related to the Biles family listed in the 1910 census living near Mamie and Bud Simpson ?
And of the triangle of roads in the top right corner, which was Winfield Road, which once went all the way to Albemarle and crossed over into Anson, heading down through Burnsville, but now has been greatly reduced, on both sides of the river.
And who were July Colson and the two Dukes mentioned? No Dukes are shown closeby in this section of the map between Rocky River Springs and Cottonville. There were Dukes to the east of Cottonville, going toward Cedar Grove Church, which still stands, on the way towards Norwood and Porter, near the Hudson Hive on Ugly Creek, along with a bunch of Lees, Mortons, Blalocks and Thompsons.
So, first things first, who was A. A. Thompson and wife, D. M. Thompson, who sold the lot in 1899?
A quick search for an A. A. Thompson in Tyson Township, Stanly County, NC around the turn of the century returned just one likely candidate who fit the bill perfectly, and that was Adolphus Addison Thompson and his wife, Dora M. Deese Thompson. A. A., who also went by 'Dolph' or 'Dolphus', was born in 1874, and would have been a young man of around 26 upon the sale of the property in 1899. His wife Dora aka 'Dollie', was born a Deese, and the deed had also mention that the second portion of property, which also adjoined this first acre and a half Krider had bought, adjoined 'A. D. Deese's old original line'. As Dollie was the daughter of one Atlas Durgin Deese, it appears the property was that of Dollie's, recieved or inherited from her father.
The above clipping, though not very legible, is an excerpt from the 1900 census, the closest one after the sale of the small, acre and a half sale, from A. A. Thompson to W.R. Krider. It shows 'Doffes' Thompson, Archie Deese, David Deese and Maston Thompson. On the below section of map, near the center, one can see these two, A. F. (Archibald Filmore) Deese, and David Deese, both brothers of Adolphus's wife, Dora Deese Thompson. Near them, just west of Cottonville, is R. W. Thompson, the father of A. A. Thompson.
The next names I looked for was Neal Duke and C. B. Duke, who turns out to be the same individual, Cornelius "Neal" B. Duke. He does not appear on this map, and I think that is because he didn't live in this exact area, but not far away. Like in the case of A. A. Thompson, it appears C. B. Duke came into this piece of land from his wife's inheritance. Duke was married to Flora Biles. She was the daughter of John Wesley Biles and had married George Genes before C. B. Duke. Her brother, M. F. (Millard Filmore) Biles, is shown on the map, as well as John Biles, which could be her brother John, or father, John.
In Stanly County Deeds, Book 39, Page 307, I found a transaction between L. A. Biles (Lafayette), another brother, and Flora Duke. This tract was adjoining those of F. A. Duke, A. P (or A. F.) Deese, and M. F. Biles and was located at the forks of Davis and Cottonville Roads, and ran with the Cottonville Road and A. Deese's line.
By gazing at the section of the map below, I can only gather that the Cottonville Road is the one that ran straight out of Rocky River Springs into Cottonville. So the trick is now to determine which road was the Winfield Road and which one was the Davis Road.
Knowing that Rehobeth Church was located on the Winfield Road, which is now reduced to a short span east of Aquadale, and has a drive that reaches the Plank Road, or 'Cottonville' Road and knowing Old Davis Road currently angles off of this road with Aldridge Road angling off further down and intersecting with Old Davis, it seems the road that M. F. Biles property on the map is at the beginning of Davis Road, and the one on down Where C. H. Aldridge (my Great GrandUncle Caleb Hampton Aldridge) and W.F. Crump lived, would be Aldridge Road. Now, I am not so sure. These current roads are based upon the location of Aquadale and Aqualdale was not on this map, it was yet to be born. These roads came out of Rocky River Springs and Albemarle to the north.
Some other deeds show A. A. Thompson selling small lots in nearby, but different locations, as if he held several small landing holdings around Cottonville. On July 9,1902, A. A. Thompson sold to Henry and Hattie Kendall, a vacant lot, 'orginally part of the Cottonville Mill lots, better known as the Bill Watkins barn lot, " from the corner of the mill lot to the Winfield Road., of a quarter of an acre.
So, the map shows A. A. Thompson living on the southside of Cottonville near G. W. Davis, an Uncle of mine, but via his wife, he had inherited property to the west of Cottonville, towards Rocky River Springs, and that is the property sold to W. R. Krider.
Another neighbor mentioned as having lived to the northeast of the property was "July Colson'. I believe this was Julius C. :"Jule" Colson, shown below with his wife Francis and their two boys, Paul and Grover (Raven) and Etrie, Jule's daughter by a previous relationship.
Jule is listed as being a Cottonmill Fireman, perhaps the Cottonville Cotton Mill that was mentioned in the Thompson deed. He was born in Anson County, the son of Abram and Delilah Colson and had married Francis Allen, daughter of Frank Staton and Laura Allen. They would have one more daughter, May Belle, and move to Albemalre and later, back to the Norwood area. Daughter Etrie would marry Wallace Cochran Stacy, son of Frank Stacy.
Then, there is that last portion of land, of two acres, sold to W. R. Krider by John and Hattie Howard in April of 1909. Who were the Howards and where were they on the map?
I found John and Hattie as newleyweds in 1900, at the top of the same page I had found "Doffe" Thompson. By 1909, they were well on their way to creating a large farm family.
John Wesley Howard, or Harward, as the spellings were interchangible at the time, was the son of Peter A. Harward, of the P. A. on the map, who lived near the Deese and Biles. He had married Hattie Kimrey.
The two acres section that joined the small section of property that W. R Krider had already purchased from the Thompsons, was probably a piece of the land got from his father, Peter A Harward in Book 30, Page 612, in 1904, that was located on the Winfield Road and contained 57 and 3/4 acres.
After digging through many deeds, and the individuals named in this one deed involving W. R. Krider, I am now convinced that the Winfield Road is the one that shows P. A. Howard, Mrs. Simpson and A. D. Deese, living along it and that Mrs. Simpson must have been no other than Laura Simpson herself, on the southeast side of the road, between Rocky River Springs and Cottonville.
The Urban Dictionary defines "Blind Tiger" as 'a place that sells intoxicants illegally'. The term was first used in 1857.
In this post I will examind the children of Laura Jane Simpson, the notorious 'Blind Tigress' of southern Stanly County. Laura, herself an illegitimate child, was the mother of 4 illegitimate children. She made money as a prostitute, then later a madam, by running a club, or outlet for illicit drugs and alchohol in Cottonville, NC.
Her place was supposed to be on 3 acres owned by William R. Krider of Spencer, Rowan County and located north of Cottonville and south of Rocky River Springs, which I imagine to be near old Rehobeth Church and around the intersections of Aldridge and Old Davis Road to Plank Road.
Tales of her malefaction spread far and wide.
Laura's 4 children came into her life at four disparate stages. Each has their own unique story and led their own unique lives based upon their differing circumstances. This is their tale.
Mamie, pronounced MAY-mee, was a trendy name for the time period, 1877, and Laura was 18 years old on the day Mamie, her firstborn child, entered the world. Laura's value to society was not so grand, having came into the world as a fatherless child herself. She was summoned to court on a charge of bastardy and named Richmond T. Blalock as the father of her child.
Mamie first appeared as a 2 year old in the home of her grandmother, Nancy Simpson, along with her mother, Laura, and her young Uncle, Thomas.
Mamie was born on June 12, 1877. Nearly exactly one year later, on June 6, 1878, Richmond T. Blalock, her father, married Mary E. Hathcock, the daughter of Thomas A. and Sarah Catherine Hathcock. Their only child, Lawrence Craven Blalock, was born on November 12, 1878, 5 months after the wedding. Richmond had obviously taken advantage of young Mary, too. Yet, he married her. What was the difference? Why, Mary Hathcock was a legitimate child, and had a living father, and that father may have had a shotgun.
Below is the 1880 census showing Richmond, Mary and their son, Lawrence, and of course his name was horribly mangled by the transcribers, but it was Lawrence.
So who was Richmond Blalock? Just a South Stanly boy who lived a little east of the Simpsons on the road leading to Norwood. The Blalocks and the Hathcocks lived around the Mt. Zion Methodist Church area, very close to the Rocky River, and that is where they were buried.
Richmond was the son of Jordan Blalock and his wife, Catherine McSwain. Lawrence was the only son of he and Mary Hathcock. She died young, and is buried at Mt. Zion. Richmond would marry Hattie Kendall, daughter of John Franklin and Martha Cagle Kendall, and have a larger family with children Lena, Virginia, Vestor, Paul, Undine and Sadie May. Richmond died in 1927, and is buried at Mt. Zion.
Mamie's next appearance is in the 1900 census, where she is living near Spencer in Rowan County, with her brother Bud, or 'Odum Asberry' Simpson, and her cousin, Rosa Bell Simpson, daughter of Tirzy Simpson. The trio is listed as servants of one W. R. Krider, supposedly the father of Bud, and also the supplier of illicit alchohol and other items for her mother's blind tiger outfit. Laura was known as Stanly County's 'Blind Tigress'.
The next 4 years would be eventful in the life of Laura Simpson, who is not to be found in 1900. She was in and out of court, sentenced to jail, made an escape, had people writing the govenor in her behalf pleading for a pardon, while others threatened her with violence. The papers stated that 3 women ran her place, while William R. Krider was her supplier of alchohol.
In 1910, Laura Simpson is counted in the Stanly County jail. Mamie A. Simpson is living in Tyson Township, right next door to her brother,. Bud. Both had returned from Rowan County and both were now parents. Mamie was the victim of a transcription error, but looking at the actual, badly written copy, it clearly says 'Mamie A.' Simpson. She had put off motherhood until 25, but now, at 30, had three children. There are not marriage records for Mamie, and she was still a Simpson. I've not found any bastardy bonds either. However, I've not looked over court records into the 20th century, so there could possibly be some information on the father of her children in there.
Mamie was the mother of 3 children at this point, May 5, Robert 2 and Bill 1. All were living, which was a rare thing in those days. She also had a sense of humour. She stated she attended school and could read and write. Her home was rented and it was a farm. She admitted to be a wage earner and when asked her occupation, she said 'Working' and when asked where, she said "Out". I don't know which school Mamie claimed to attend, or what the Census taker thought of her Working Out replies, but it was obvious Mamie had some secrets of her own to keep.
By 1920, Mamie's family had increased to 7 children. She was 38 years old and not a husband in sight. This time she put all humour aside and claimed to be a farmer. Her mother, Laura Simpson, had passed away in 1917, and was buried at Rehobeth Methodist Church, just below Aquadale and on the Old Winfield Road, of which only a little piece still exists. Her oldest daughter, who was called Mae in the last census, is now an undecipherable scribble that starts with "C'. Robert is now Hugh, and his name was indeed Hugh Robert Simpson, and Bill is still Bill. In the last 10 years she had added Dallie Lee, Thelma Ruth, Margie Marie and Lane Benton, who was just a baby.
One of the newspapers mentioned that three women actually ran the Blind Tiger, Laura being the owner. I believe Mamie and Tirzah Simpson, a cousin, to be the other two. Both had a string of fatherless children and lived right there in the same area. It all just makes sense.
Mamie's days were numbered after that. Her children still young and Mamie. by no measure an old woman, had come to the end of her road, just one short year later. Mamie passed away on August 10, 1921 of a septic infection from an abscess on her leg. Her reported age was 44 and Laura Simpson was reported as her mother. Again, Furniture Store owner G. W. Stinson was the Undertaker and apparent informant, as he was for her mother, Laura. Mr. Stinson seemed to know the family pretty well. The death certificate reported that Maimie was to be buried at Cedar Grove, but she wasn't . She was buried at Rehobeth, just like her mother.
Also like Laura, her tombstone simply stated "At Rest", with the incorrect year of death, 1920. Her Death Certificate was dated 1921.
Mamie children were ages 15 thru 1 when she died, so what happened to them?
It appears they went to live with her sister, Daisy, where the youngest are found in 1930.
I do not know who the father of fathers were of Mamie's children, but it was not that many generations ago. Her children lived and died in fairly modern times, and most of their children are still living. My advice to Mamie's descendants is to take a DNA test and familiarize yourself with the family names of those in Southern Stanly and Uppper Anson Counties during the time she lived there.
Through the process of elimination, take out those second and third cousins that you know how they connect out of the picture. Take the remainder and weed through, try to find which branch on your family tree that they connect to. Then when you get a group that just don't seem to fit anywhere, look at their trees carefully and see if there is a common thread. Do they have a common ancestry among themselves? And by that process, you might be able to figure out who was the father of the child of Mamie you descend from.
Mamie Simpsons children were:
1) C? Mae born about 1906. She was Mamie's firstborn and shows up in the 1910 and 1920 census records. I don't know any more about her at this time.
2) Hugh Robert Simpson was born on October 14, 1907. He, as with the older 3 children, were not to be found in 1930. In 1934, however, he married Mary Frone Burris, daughter of Rufus and Mollie Howell Burris. They settled around Aquadale and Hugh was the first of the known siblings to pass away. He and his wife are buried at the old Harward's Chapel Primitive Baptist Church.
3) Bill Simpson was born about 1909. Like his older sister, he only appeared in the 1910 and 1920 census records with his mother and siblings.
As both Laura, who died in 1917 and Mamie, who did in 1921, both have Death Ceritficates, and their gravesites are marked and known, I don't believe Mae or Bill died in those early years, especially since Hugh Robert, who lived until 1984, can't be found in those later census records either. I believe they probably relocated and married, perhaps, but died before Hugh did in 1984, because they aren't listed in his death certificate. It seems odd, but just because someone lived into the 20th Century, into the years of better record-keeping, doesn't mean they can be found.
4) Dallie Lee Simpson was born on September 27, 1910. In 1930, following her mother's death, she was living with Mamie's sister, Daisy Simpson Aldridge and family. In 1933, she married Aaon G. Clar, son of Titus and Rosanna Burris Clark. Their wedding announcement was even printed in the Charlotte papers.
Very odd, as she followed siblings that could not be found at all. The couple made their home in Big Lick and Dallie passed away in 2008, and is buried at Liberty Hill Primitive Baptist Church. 2008?, yes, Mamie's children lived into modern times. As I said, not that many generations ago. DNA could solve the mystery of who their father or fathers were.
5) Velma Ruth Simpson was born on August 26, 1912. Like Dallie, she was living with the Aldridges in 1930. Later that same year, on August 27, 1930, she married John Cull Preslar in Anson County, son of Elias Darling and Mary Susan "Mittie" Newton Preslar. He was a widower, a few years older than she.
Velma Ruth died on January 29, 1987 and is buried at Jerusalem Baptist Church Cemetery in Anson County, near the Union County line.
6) Margie Marie Simpson was born on July 14, 1915. She was not living with her Aunt Daisy in 1930, but instead was boarding with a John E. Love, an elderly man, near Locust.
Margie married Clifford Monk Taylor in 1938 in Chesterfield County, SC, a common wedding destination due to the lax marriage laws, and they settled in the Newsome area of Davidson County, where he was from. Newsome was a town on the Yadkin River that was mostly flooded out during the building of the dams.
Margie died in 1993 and is buried at Taylors Grove Church at the intersection of Blaine Road, Hwy 49 and Hwy 8, near the Davidson County and Montgomery County border.
7) Lane Benton Simpson was the youngest of Mamie's children. He was born on April 25, 1919. Lane served in World War II. He had also lived with the Aldridges in 1930. His draft card states he was from Oakboro, NC, but in 1940, he was living in Tarboro. The year prior, he had married Miss Emma Louise Hyde of Tarboro, Edgecomb County, and that is where he raised his family. Lane, the youngest, was also the last one living. He died in 2013 and is buried at Edgecomb Park in Tarboro. Below is his Obituray from Find-A- Grave.
Lane B. Simpson, Sr., 93, died Saturday, February 23, 2013.
Funeral service will be held Wednesday 11:00 AM at Acorn Hill Baptist Church with Pastor Sonny Simpson and Pastor James Rawls officiating. Burial will follow in Edgecombe Memorial Park.
Mr. Simpson was preceded in death by a daughter; Sally Rose Baker, grandson, Lane B. Simpson, III and a granddaughter, Sara Louise Holloman.
He is survived by a loving family including Wife of 73 years, Emma Hyde Simpson Sons; Sonny Simpson and wife Sylvia of Tarboro Robert Daniel Simpson and wife Donna of Albemarle, NC Tom Simpson and wife Beverly of Tarboro Daughters; Mary S. Johnson and husband Sam of Hobgood Estelle S. Jones and husband James of Tarboro Wanda S. Holloman and husband Bobby of Tarboro 15 grandchildren, 32 great grandchildren and 3 great great grandchildren.
The family will receive friends at Carlisle Funeral Home Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:30 PM and other times at 286 Acorn Hill Rd. or 2400 Whitehall St., Tarboro.
If anyone reading this thinks Mae or Bill could be someone you knew, a grandparent or great-grandparent, please contact me so I can add them in the family tree.
Below the article describes "Three women of questionable character" selling whiskey. One was of course, Laur, the other two, all signs point to being Terzah, her cousin, and Mamie, her daughter.
Laura Simpson had her first child, Mamie, at age 18. Seven years later, she gave birth to her second, Daisy Lee, on January 23, 1882. Saying Daisy's life was tragic is an understatement.
Daisy was also illegitimate, but knew who her father was. He was George Washington Andrews, a married man originally from Montgomery County, who was also the father of Thomas C. Simpson, Laura's younger half-brother, who was born in 1873. This would make Thomas Daisy's half-brother, as well as her Uncle.
George Andrews claimed to be a farmer, but he moved around a bit in the general vicinity, making me wonder if he didn't have a side hustle, otherwise he was just a bit of a tumbleweed. Born in 1850 in the Zion Community, which was close to the Pee Dee River which divides Stanly and Montgomery, at 20 he is found in the New Salem community of Randolph County, east of Ashboro, near the Quaker Communities there. He returned to Montgomery County at 25, to marry Martha Ann Scarboro and is found with her in the Hickory Mountain area of Chatham County 4 years later. Two years after that, his daughter with Laura Smpson, Daisy is born in 18832, and by 1900, he has returned to the PeeDee Community of Montgomery County, where he was born. Now in his 50's, his first wife dies and he travels all the way to Buncombe County, in the NC Mountains, to marry his second wife, Beulah Burns. He returns with his bride to Pee Dee, where they are found in 1910, but they move to the Steeles Community of Richmond County and are found there in 1920 and 1930. Now in his 80's, George passes away in Albemarle, Stanly County on January 12 1934 and is buried back at Zion, where he took his first breathe.
While her older sister Mamie, and her brother, Bud are living in Rowan County with W. R. Krider, Daisy is working as a servant for Charles J. Blalock and his second wife, Louisa. What was the Blalock connection? Well, Daisy's older sister, if you recall, was the daughter of a Richmond Blalock. Charles J. Blalock, the son of Maston and Sarah McSwain Blalock, had a twin brother named Richmond, he also had a 1st cousin named Richmond Blalock, son of Maston's brother Jordan, and the all had a Grandfather named Richomond Blalock Suffice to say friends of the family.
Another connection in this household could be a clue to Daisy's marriage. Louisa Arena Davis, was the youngest daughter of James and Rowena Lee Davis. James was the brother of my ancestor, Henry Davis and had moved from the southern part of Stanly County, below Cottonville, across the Rocky River into Anson to run a mill on Richardson Creek. Lou, as she was more commonly called, married Charles Blalock after the death of his first wife, Judith Catherine McSwain, who had died childless less than a decade after the marriage.
It may have been through this Davis connection that Daisy Simpson met and married Jesse Filmore Aldridge, who was the stepson of James' nephew and Lou's 1st cousin, Horton H. Davis.
Daisy and Filmore were married the next spring, on April 10, 1901. She only gave her mother as Laura and no father, although the bond existed naming her father as well as her Death Certificate , which also names George Andrews as her father. She knew who he was.
Fillmore gave his father's name as H. H. Davis and his mother as Julina Davis. H. H. Davis and Julina Davis. They had married in 1891. H. H. Davis was his stepfather. His actual father was Ephraim Whitley.
Jesse Filmore Aldridge was my Great Grandfather's half-brother. Obviously named for Julina's Grandfather, Jesse Murray, he was born in 1879. Daisy and Filmore had something in common, both were grass orphans, children of the dust, illegitimate. I've seen this sort of situation before. Fatherless children were placed among the lowest shelves of society, belittled and ostracized their entire lives. Parents of 'proper', intact families, no matter the social class, often would not let their children socialize with, neverthe less marry, them. So it was common for one illegitimate child to marry another, either that or move away and lie. Sometimes, just to the next county would do that's where also these nonexistent "Johns" came from. Actual orphans and half-orphans were common and respectable, so the fathers name on documents became John (insert persons last name here). A few people got creative, using another name, and that name might have been the actul first name of their actual father, if they knew who he was, but the surname would be theri own, wihich actually came from their mother. Thats why the child of Docie Springer and David McSwain might name their father on their marriage certificate as 'David Springer'.
As with the children of Laura Simpson's cousin, Tirzah, one named their father as John Simpson, another as Ben Simpson and yet another as George Simpson, while most of the time, father was left blank, or labeled 'Unknown'. As tumbleweed George W. Andrews had such a long relationship with Laura Simpson and her mother Nancy, fathering a child with each of them, I wonder if he might aslo be the "George" for one of Tirzy's children. Shrug, but back to Filmore.
In the above photo of the H. H and Julina Davis family, Jesse Filmore Aldridge is the tallest boy (man) in the back. To the right of Fillmore are George, Titus, Rebecca "Becky", Martha "Mattie", Carrie, William "Will", Tom (leaning on his father's knee, H. H., Julina holding Cora and Ritchie beside of her. Ritchie would die at age 3 and is buried at Rehobeth, all of the others grew up and had families of their own. The only one missing is Mollie, Julina's oldest daughter, who was married by then.
Julina's story was sad, but typical of female Civil War orphans in the South. Her father, Henry Garner Aldridge, died from disease while surving as a substitute. Some of her teenaged sisters were married off, nearly immediately to old men. The younger children were placed around with 'intact' families, families with fathers. Her younger brother , John Adam Aldridge, was fortunate in that he was placed with his Uncle Josiah Aldridge, Garner's younger brother. But Julina was not so fortunate. Julina, and perhaps her sister Rosetta, were placed with the Benjamin Lindsay Whitley family, a large family with lots of teenaged sons.
Her sister, at 17, married George Lindsay Whitley in a short-lived marriage and died within two years later. Julina ended up having at least four children, with probably the same father, George's brother Ephraim Whitley.
My mother remembered her "Uncle Fillmore", actually a Great Uncle. Filmore told of a small gravesite off of Adridge Road, between Aquadale and Cottonville, that Julina had buried two daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth, who had died as infants. Not knowing who came first, that leaves Molly as being the oldest child of Julina to survive to adulthood, and Filmore second.
Mollie listed Ephraim Whitley as her father on her marriage License to John Frank Boone in 1895. Around the same time, Filmore listed Benjamin L. Whitley, his grandfather, as his ancestor in the Permanent Voting records. A part of the John Crow Laws inacted to prevent African American men from voting, it was required of voters to be able to read, however, a grandfather clause was included if a man, or his father or grandfather, had been a 'permanent voter' , proir to a certain date. It was a listing of all of the men of the area over 21 who had been a permanent voter themsleves, or was the son or grandson of one. In genealogy, it can lend an aid in determining who was the father of someone, especially if there were multiple men in the same area with the same name. So Filmore was the Grandson of Benjmain L. Whitley, probably through Ephraim, like his sister, but not necessarily.
But back to Daisy. So Daisy Simpson, 19, married Filmore Aldridge, 22, on April 10, 1901. Filmore was said to be a big handsome guy, with a reknowned mean streak, that he likely inherited from his Murray blood, as every generation seemed to produce a rather evil or angry man in the Murray bloodlines. This 'bad blood' was fueled. no doubt, by his status as a 'bastard;' , a status I am sure he was chided about his entire life.
He got in trouble often, mostly for fighting, and quickly gained a reputaiton for it in the Aquadale area. There were rumours that he even beat his wife and children. Yet, the rumours do not hold out within the records of the times. If he was a 'bad' man, he was not all bad. My mother only remembered a very old man when she was a very young girl, quiet and smiling.
The first census of the couple as a married family shows them with 5 children and a 20 year old Servant named Ginnie Simpson. So, they rented a farm, but were wealthy enough to have a servant? No, notice that the last name was Simpson. Ginnie (aka Jenny) was actually Daisy's half-sister. So, why did they call her a servant to the census taker? Probably beccause Ginnie was not white, she was racially mixed. Still a daughter of Laura Simpson, Filmore and Daisy had taken her in , but were probably embarrassed about the relationship. It was 1910, 2021's colorblind mindset did not exist. A white woman having a mixed child in the late 1800's, early 1900's just did not happen, except that it did. It just was not socially acceptable to the point of ostracization. To avoid an unpleasant explantion to the census taker, they just called her a servant, and I am sure she helped take care of the children, household chores and gardening.
The 1920 census shows a steady stream of children, begining shortly after their marriage, until the birth of a new baby boy that year, Victor. Although their names were quite destroyed by the transcriptionist, they were, so far, Beulah, Horace, Marvin, Nisson, Lillian, Joe Claude, Edna, Jesse Filmore II "Junior" and Victor. And the family was not complete, not just yet. One big improvement I noticed was that Filmore was no longer renting his farm, but owned it.
Not only had the couple taken in Jenny, When she was young. but the 1930 census also shows Filmore in a more positive light. The birth of their youngest daughter, Mildred, had given them a total of 10 children, and the older three had already flown the nest. But having a full house of 9 people already did not deter them from taking in the children of Mamie Simpson after her death. Ruth, Dallie and Lane were Mamie's children, and shown living with Filmore and Daisy in 1930, despite them having had 10 children of their own. To add to that, if it was not enough, Horace, the oldest son had married, and his wife, Bronnie and their two children were living with the family for a total of 15 people in the home. I hope it was a large house.
Unfortunately, just 4 short years later, Daisy's life would end tragically. On October 16, 1934, the Aldridge home caught fire and Daisy was caught in it. Her Death Certificate stated that she was burned from the hips up, with practically all skin burned from the hips up. She was 53 years old. The informant on the certificate was her husband, Filmore. He gave her father as George Andrews and her mother as Laura Simpson. Daisy was buried at Rehobeth Church below Aquadale.
Five years later, Filmore, now 60, would remarry to Martha Hudson Huneycutt, a widow. There would be no children of this marriage, as both were mature. Six years later, Filmore would join Daisy in the cold ground at Rehobeth and lie beside her forever.
The 10 children of Daisy Simpson Aldridge were:
1902-1979 Beulah Lee Aldridge. Married twice; Thomas Lee Broadway & Torrence Homer Almond;
2 children.
1913-1943 Horace Augustus Aldridge, Married Bronnie Smith, 4 children. Horace was the first of the four children to pass away.
1911-1977 Joe Claude Aldridge, Married Estelle Huneycutt, 1 child.
1913-1997 Edna Rosetta Aldridge, Married John P. Hamman, 2 children.
1916-2002 Jesse Filmore Aldridge, Jr. Married Bertie M. Morton, 2 children, lived in Charlotte.
1919-2015 Thomas Victor Aldridge, married Joan Purnell; 3 children, Married Franicis Morgan, 1 stepchild. Vic was the last living child of Daisy. He settled in Siler City, NC.
1922-2003 Mildred Louise Aldridge, Married Robert L. Funderburk, 1 child, moved around a bit before settling in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Laura Simpson would go on to have 2 more children after Mamie and Daisy; Bud, her only son, and Jenny. I've decide to tell thier stories separately and also to elaborate on Daisy's tragic death in a separate post.
In the meantime, I've included a few obituaries of Daisys children who lived well into the 21st Century. Marvel with me at the manifestation of the American dream, where one can be born into modest and even tragic beginings and through hard work and perserverance, pursue ones dreams. Let's treasure this fact of our wonderful nation and never loose sight of it.
These are followed by more of the many clippings of the escapades of Laura and her crew. What an extraordinary character she was.
