My 3rd Great Grandfather left me one clue on who his mother was in the marriage certificate of his second marriage to Abigail Furr Starnes, widow of his cousin, John Starnes. He named his parents as "Fred and Sally".
I already knew who his father was, as they lived side by side for 3 decades, 1860,1870 and 1880, even after the move from Union County to Cabarrus. His father, Frederick Starnes, one in a sea of Frederick Starnes in a decent from our original German immigrant, Frederick Sternes, had married an Elizabeth Thompson, much to young to be the mother of my Fincher Starnes, who went by "F. F. " most of the time. And she wasn't a Sally.
Abandoned Plantation House in Monticello, Jaspar County, Georgia
Another few things that puzzled me about Finch was that the censuses stated he was born in Georgia. His father was born in the section of Mecklenburg County that became one half of Union County, "Starnes Country", so why would they say that Finch was born in Georgia. The second thing that had me perplexed was that he was no where to be found in the 1850 census, but I knew from his Civil War records and one land record that at that time, as a young man, he had property on the Rocky River Road, just across the state line into Lancaster County, SC.
The following link was part of my pondering about Finch. Providence.
After writing that post, I came across a distant Starnes cousin named John Fields, (his Christian name), who is a walking history book. He is also an utmost expert on anything Starnes or Sternes.
And he had all the answers. Finch's mother was one Sarah "Sally" Fincher.
The daughter of a minister, Rev. William Starnes, she had several brothers who were also ministers. It is with the minister, whose obituary is to follow, that is all made sense.
Frederick Fincher Starnes was born on August 20, 1828. It was during this time that his grandfather, Rev. William Fincher was in Georgia, preaching in the Monticello circuit. Frederick Sr. and Sally must have accompanied her father to Georgia during this time.
According to the 1830 census, it looks like Fred and Sally had 5 children, 3 sons and 2 daughters.
The only one known is Frederick Fincher Starnes. His first child with Elizabeth was born in 1836 and he married Elizabeth Jane "Bettie" Thompson about 1835, so this was Sallie Fincher Starnes in the 1830 census.
Name:
Fredrick Starns
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):
Mecklenburg, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5:
1 Frederick Fincher (b 1828)
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9:
2 Unknown
Free White Persons - Males - 30 thru 39:
1 Fred IV
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5:
2 Unknown
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29:
1 Sarah
Free White Persons - Under 20:
5
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:
2
Total Free White Persons:
7
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored):
7
Some of them may have died, but all of them but Finch? I hope not. Who were they? This was in Mecklenburg because Union hadn't been formed yet.
After finding out about Sarah's family, it only makes sense. There were several Starnes/Fincher marriages.
Her brother, Rev. Silas Jordan Fincher, had first married a lady known only as "S. B. Starnes." What did S. B. stand for? The most popular S names for girls of the day were Sarah and Sussannah, but there was also Sabra, Samara, Samantha, and several less seen others. B, with their German roots, many have been Barbara, but we don't know. She could have been a sister of Fred, Frederick Fincher Starnes' father.
Her younger brother, Leroy Burton Fincher married 3 Starnes women, Polly, Martha and Clarrissa, as is written in his Family Bible. Clarrissa was a Starnes widow, born a Richardson, as she is mentioned in the will of her father, Kendrick Richardson. Some family trees have tried to merge Martha and Clarrissa into one person. However, you can clearly see by his Family Bible, that he married Martha C. Starnes on Sunday, March 20, 1853 and he married Mrs. Clarrissa Starnes on Sunday, September 3, 1865.
Most Mecklenburg County (Union included) Finchers are descended from a man named Jonathan Fincher, born about 1704 who settled in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He, or his family, were from England. As a note, Chester County is where I was born. He moved to Orange County, North Carolina by 1755 and died just two years later. His Will is dated 20 March 1757.
This Jonathan was married twice, first to Deborah Dix/Dicks and had two sons, Joshua and Jonathan Jr. His second wife was Jane Busby by whom he had 5 children: Mary, Richard, Joseph, Hannah and Benjamin.
My line is from first wife, Deborah, as Jonathan Fincher, Jr. was the father of our Rev. William.
Rev. William Fincher was born on March 30, 1765 in Rowan County. His father patented land there near his birth, but did not remain. They settled in Eastern Mecklenburg, the portion that would be combined with the western portion of Anson County to form Union in 1842. They lived near the North Carolina/South Carolina border, near the territory of the Cheraw Indians, known as "Indian Land".
The above map shows the general area of where the Finchers settled.
Rev. Williams Fincher's mother was Shirley Marie Wilcox, daughter of John Wilcox and wife, Sarah John Boone Wilcox, who migrated from Chester County, PA to Kentucky.
Rev. William would marry 3 times. The last two times were later in life, after the birth of his children, so all of his children were by first wife, Mary Grace. His second wife was Elizabeth Calloway and his third was Nancy Skipper.
Mary Grace had been born on April 10, 1763, in Everleigh, Wiltshire, England, making her my 5th Great Grandmother. I actually know a little bit more about her and my 6th Great Grandmother, Shirley Marie Wilcox, William's mother, than I do about poor Sarah Fincher, who died young.
King Alfred's Statue in the Vale of Pewsey
Mary Grace was the daughter of John Grace and Sarah Deare. Somehow, those names sound so beautiful to me.
Sarah Deare was baptized in Llantwit, Major, Glamorgan, Wales, daughter of John and Mary. She married John Grace on May 27, 1753, in Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. John was from Wiltshire.
The 'Vale of Pewsey' is a beautiful area, full of ancient, thatched roof cottages and home of the "White Horse of Pewsey", one of the Wiltshire White Horses, figures of horses carved into white chalk hills. Below is an article on the White Horses of Wiltshire.
So Mary Grace Fincher is one of my immigrant ancestors, perhaps my most recent one. My roots go waaayyy back into the American diasphora. I had ancestors living in the same general area where I currently live, long before Mary Grace Fincher arrived in America.
Rev. William Fincher and wife Mary Grace Fincher would raise a family of 12 children. The name of one daughter, born in Mecklenburg County, NC and who died in 1840 in Fayette County, Georgia, is yet unknown.
1784 - bef. 1844 Mary Jane Fincher
1785 - bef 1844 Rev. John Fincher
1787 - bef 1844 Elijah Fincher
1790-1844 Benjamin Fincher
1792-1875 Jane Fincher
1798-1858 Levi Fincher
1802-1840 Daughter Fincher
1804-1880 William Fincher Jr.
1805 - bef 1834 Sarah "Sallie" Fincher
1812-1880 Silas Jordan Fincher
1815-1869 Hillard Judge Fincher
1823-1897 Leroy Burton Fincher
Please remember, some of these years of birth are "appoximate" and could have differed a number of years. On the older children, their exact date of birth is unknown.
With the union of the English/Welsh Sarah Fincher and the German-descended Frederick Starnes IV, two lines of decent came together to form my very American ancestor, Frederick Fincher Starnes.
I don't know exactly when or where Sarah died and was buried. Most likely somewhere in Union County. I just know it was before Fred would marry Betty Thompson, and their first child came in 1836.
Happy Mothers Day Sarah Fincher. I am so glad to know who you are.
Addendum: I forgot the best part. In the Thru -Lines feature on ancestry.com, adding in an unknown female ancestor and having matches is not going to mean anything. That couple is your biological ancestors, and you've already added the man, you are going to match the wife, whatever name you put in. However, when you add her parents, and you match multiple descendants of 9 out of her 10 siblings (the 10th died young without children), then you are on to something. You can be pretty confident you've got it right.
This was so wide, I can't get it the whole thing in one shot, but this is what has happened since I added Sarah Fincher as my ancestor a few months ago. I'm a DNA match to 3 descendants of her brother, Rev. John Fincher, 8 from her sister Martha Fincher, 7 from her brother Benjamin Franklin Fincher, 4 from her brother William Fincher Jr., 8 from Rev. Silas Jordan Fincher and 17 from her youngest brother, Leroy Burton Fincher.
And the beauty of it is, the more people who make it this far in their family tree and figure out that they are descendants of this family who have taken dna tests on ancestry, the more matches there will be. Thank you John Fields, you are amazing.
In my previous post, titled "Ephraim Starnes", my focus was his connection to a William Byram, who might be my ancestor, but I neglected to explain much about the descendants of Ephraim Starnes, for the benefit of those who are descended from him.
To have been someone who perished in the Civil War, Ephraim really does not have that many descendants, not as many as others of his era.
Ephraim Starnes was born about 1822 in the section of Mecklenburg County, NC, that became Union County in 1842. Family researchers have him pegged as being the son of Charles and Elizabeth Starnes, however, this is something I've not looked into, so I can't testify as to it's authenticity.
Indeed, the Rev. Charles Starnes was the ministered who performed the ceremony to marry Ephraim Starnes and his wife Nancy E. Holden, daughter of Samuel Holden.
1) August 22, 1855 John Robertson Starnes
2) January 25, 1857 Doctor Franklin Starnes (Doctor being the name, not a title. Sometimes seen as David.
3) April 12, 1864 Susan Jane Starnes
4) December, 1865 Sarah Ardine "Denie" Starnes
Ephraim Starnes passed away on January 12, 1865 at Elmira Prison Camp in New York. The tale of his widow and fatherless children echo of many of the times.
Residence: Union Co,NC. Enlistment age-43
Enlisted: Sep 24,1863 at Union Co,NC.
Mustered into Co "H" 30th NC Infantry. Died of disease while a POW at Elmira Prison,NY.
Listed: POW May 12,1864 at Spotsylvania C.H.,VA. Confined May 18,1864 at Point Lookout,MD. Transferred Aug 10,1864 to Elmira Prison,NY.
Above information from "Find-a-Grave.com"
John Robertson Starnes
Born 1855 and shows up first in the 1860 census with his parents and younger brother.
The family is not to be found in the 1870 census and in 1871, Sixteen year old "Bob" marries Hannah Melton, age 18, daughter of John and Emmaline Montgomery Melton.
By 1900, the family has relocated to Gill's Creek in Lancaster County, South Carolina. In additon to Bob and Hannah, chidren Thomas, Maggie, Blanch, and Bob Lee Starnes, along with oldest daughter Mary A. and her husband Joe Knight. Andrew Bowers is a boarder.
By 1920, the family had moved from Gill's Creek in Lancaster County, SC to Rock Hill in York County, SC. Bob is working in the card room of a Cotton Mill and only Lillian is left at home.
The 1930 census was Bob's last. The family has returned to Gill's Creek by 1935 and Bob's profession is listed as "farmer" and his family as farm labor. His son-in-law, John Carpenter and daughter Lillian are in the household. According to the records, Bob died in Rock Hill, York County, NC and was taken back to Gill's Creek to be buried. He died on March 23, 1936 at the age of 86.
John and Hannah Melton Starnes had 7 children:
1) Mary Almetta Starnes Knight (1879-1962) Married Joseph Cecil Knigth. Died in Morganton, Burke County, NC of bronchiopnuemonia. Buried in Gill's Creek, Lancaster, SC. 3 sons, Carlton B., Joseph Cecil, and James.
2) William Phillip Starnes (1880-1949) Married Floy Morrow. 9 Children: Connie Lewis, Irene Leclair, Helen Inez, Virginia Lee, Floy Morrow, Mary, Harry Pratt, Talmadge, Elizabeth.
3) Thomas Frank Starnes (1882-1949) Died of TB. Spouse unknown.
4)Margaret "Maggie" Starnes Threatt (1887-1965) Married Oscar H. Threatt. 8 Children: Theodore Roosevelt, Velma E. , Katie Lee, Clyborn, Maybelle, Ruth, Robert Lloyd and Margaret Elizabeth "Bettie".
5) Blanche Starnes Knight (1890-1979) Married James Hunter Knight. 8 Children: J. Edgar, Callie E (a son), Cletus Britton, Hazel H (also a son), Bertha, O V (a son, died as an infant), Dorothy Doris Lee, James Blanche (a son).
6) Robert "Bob Lee" Starnes (1894-1980) Married Lula Mae McManus. 5 Children: Ruth Aretta (died young), Lucille, Hubert Ordway, Sybil, Robert Lawton.
7) Lillian Oneda Starnes Carpenter (1901-1994) Married John William Carpenter. 3 Children: Robert Ray, Nancy, Jerry Ann (son).
Doctor (or David) Franklin Starnes
Born in 1857 and first shows up in the 1860 census with his parents and older brother. "Or" is a transcription error. The actual document shows "Dr". Doctor was a common Christian or first name in the later half of the 19th century as children were named for the doctor who aided in their delivery, oftentimes saving their lives, and sometimes with little or no compensation. Not certain who Doctor Franklin, the original, may have been.
He married Margaret Louise Plyler in 1880 and shows up with her in the 1880 census. Maggie was the daughter of Doctor Henderson "Doc B" Plyer and Mary Isabella Caskey Plyler.
The 1910 census leads to a bit of confusion. Son John Robert Craig is listed twice, once ahead of his brothers, then again, ahead of his wife and daughter.
By 1930, Sarah Ardene was living in the home of her son Hazel. Hazel was a very common name for sons amongst this family. I have not tracked the source of the first Hazel. There is a Hazeltine Starnes in the Starnes family tree, born on 1858 in Rowan County. Perhaps there is a connection to an earlier male Hazel or Hazeltine Starnes in this family line.
Sarah Ardene Starnes died on Feb 23, 1936 in York County, South Carolina. She and George W. Craig had 4 sons.
1)Judson (or Judge) Allen Craig (1886-1956)
2) John Robert Craig (named for uncle?) (1888-1962) Married Perine "Perry" Adams
3) Lonnie Lee Craig (1890-1917) Died at age 26 of pellagra.
4) Thomas Hazel Craig (1894-1950)
Susan Jane Starnes
Susan or "Susie" was the most difficult of the family to trace. She was born on April 12, 1864. The dates of birth of both Starnes daughters are a bit of a mystery. According to the military records of Ephraim Starnes, he was imprisoned a month after the birth of Susie, having enlisted on September 24, 1863, he left Nancy just a few months pregnant with Susan Jane. Her younger sister, Sarah Ardene Starnes was born 11 months after Ephraims death.
Her first appearance was in the 1880 census, listed above in her siblings profiles as a teenager.
By 1900, she has had two children, her only two, and is living with her mother Nancy, the last census that Nancy appears in. A mystery couple are also listed in the home, possibly boarders.
Hoy is her son Hoyt Edgar Starnes, Nettie is his wife Jeanetta and Pearl is their oldest daughter and this group were Starnse. David is not a son, but a son-in-law and his last name was Deese. Nannie is daughter Nannie Helen Starnes and their oldest son J D Dees. J D became and important tool in linking this family altogether.
I don't believe I would have been able to find either Susan or Hoyt in the 1920 census if it were not for J D Dees and his sisters. In finding him, and his two younger sisters, I looked up and noticed that the names of the children in the "Thomas" family matched the names of their first cousins, their Uncle Hoyt Edgar Starnes, and his wife Nettie. And certainly, their mother was named Nettie. Then, J D and his sibling were listed as grandchildren of "Susie Thomas"...could it be Susan? So, I went directly to the original document. And there it was, it said "Starnes" and "Otis" was actually "Hoyt". The census taker had overlined the "T" and "A" in Starnes, and nearly obliterated the "S". The only clear part of the name was the "nes" at the end, and in the barely legible script, the transcriber must have thought he or she saw "Thomas". The transcribers are not from the area and thus, not familiar with the common names of the locality. It's always a benefit to help correct these errors if you are sifting through the scanned originals and know the local family names are incorrect, like "Belt" for "Belk" or "Stames" for "Starnes". It doesn't change them completely, it just gives the next researcher another option and if they are searching for the name in its correct spelling, it will pop up as a possibiltiy.
So, in 1920, Susan J Starnes is living in the community of Cane Creek on Midway Road. She is listed as a widow despite having never married. This must be confusing to those trying to climb up the family tree. Families often bent the truth in order to save face in those days. The truth is that nowhere are the names of her children's father or father listed in documents. She can read and write and she is taking in boarders, as well as raising her daughters 3 children. Hoyt and his wife Nettie are working in the Cotton Mill. Their children Pearl, Foster and Louise, along with his sister Nannie Helen's two older children, J D and Maybelle, are attending school. Margie is only 3 and Lonnie only a year old, and the youngest Deese, Helen, only 2.
Of the boarders, Emil Bullman is a Carpenter, while his wife does not work. Dexter Rhodes is a Contractor, building homes, and Ada Green works in the cotton mill.
In fact, nearly the entirety of Ephraim Starnes descendant were Cotton Mill workers between the late 1800's and the 1940's. This industry sustained them, and in the case of many of them, may also have shorten their lives.
Cane Creek was in and about the city of Lancaster and Midway dead south of it.
Susan Jane Starnes would not live long past this last census. She died on July 12, 1924 of pulminary TB. Her son, H. E. Starnes was the informant, and had the names of his grandparents correct. She was 60 years, 7 months and 10 days old. Bass Furniture Company was the undertaker. It was not unusual for those who built househole furniture to also build caskets in those days, and they went all the way into undertaking at the same time.
The above is just a few examples of this trade that would be considered bizarre today.
Hoyt Edgar Starnes, only son of Susan, married Jeanetty Estelle Rorie, daughter of Robert James and Laura Miller Rorie, of Chesterfield, South Carolina.
His 1918 Draft Registration shows him as being Short in stature, of medium build, with dark hair and dark eyes, having a wife, 4 children and a mother in his care.
Hoyt and Nettie had the following children:
1) 1908 - 2002 Pearl Lee Starnes, Married Earnest George Ivey.
2) 1911 - 1997 Willie Foster Starnes. Married Lillian Mae Culberson
3) 1913 - 1997 Louise Janie Starnes. Married Elva Easton Thomas
4) 1917-1910 Marjorie Helen Starnes aka "Margie". Married 1st: Thomas C. Dixon. Married 2nd Harvey Keller.
5) Lonnie Lee Starnes 1918 - 1997. Married 1st Nannie Doris Holemsback. Married 2nd Tiny Florence Tew.
Hoyt Edgar Starnes relocated to Burlington in Alamance County, NC and raised his family there. He passed away on January 11, 1961 at the age of 73. His death certificate gives his father as H. E. Starnes and his mother as Susie Cole. The informant was daughter, Mrs. T. C. Dixon (Margie). This was incorrect, Susan was never married and never a Cole, and there was never a Hoyt E. Starnes, Sr. However, could this have been a hint to the truth? Was Hoyt's father a Cole? Was H. E. his fathers initials? There was a Cole family in the area at the time.
I skipped the 1930 census for one reason, to backtrack. Hoyt E. Starnes raised not only his own 6 children, but his sisters 3 children. What happened to Nannie Helen Starnes?
Nannie Helen Starnes died on October 26, 1918 at the age of 23 of pnuemonia and influenza. Those two diseases were terribly deadly at that time. She was a cotton mill worker and her mother was given as Susie Starnes and her father as unknown. The informant was her cousin Hazel Craig.
Nannie Helen Starnes married an orphan, David L. Deese. David Deese turned his 3 children over to his wife's family and went on about his life. He remarried, likely twice, and was a Car repairer. Born in Chester, he returned to Chester and died in 1937 of TB.
Name:
David L Deese
Birth Date:
1885
Gender:
Male
Race:
White
Death Date:
2 Apr 1937
Age at Death:
52
Death Place:
Chester, South Carolina
Cause of Death:
231
Certificate Number:
005053
Volume Number:
11
The three children of Nannie and David were:
1) James D Deese 1908-1939, never married. He died a young man of ulcerated colitis, and had to be hospitalized at the Sanitorium in Black Mountain, NC. Also a textile worker, he was only 31 years old.
2) Maybelle Deese, 1912 - 1987 married Johnie Monroe Staley, daughter Helen Marie Staley
3) Helen Grace Deese 1917 - 1990 married Henry Clayton McCaskill 4 children: Donald, David Lee, William Paul and Deborah Leigh McCaskill.
