Getting frustrated with a much more 'recent-in-history' branch of the family tree, I have had to step back and be thankful, for the older branches of a different part of my family tree, that all came easily together, thanks to wills and war documents.
My Sixth Great Grandfather, John Lemmond, from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, served in the Revolutionary War, along with his own father, Surgeon and Clerk, William Marr Lemmond. This is an Irish branch, William Marr Lemmond hailing from County Antrim, Ireland, and red hair has traveled through this line.
John left a will in 1806 that named all 5 of his children and in the 1800 census, all individuals are accounted for:
Name:
John Lemmons
Home in 1800 (City, County, State):
Salisbury, Mecklenburg, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10:
2 William Thomas Lemmonds and Robert Marr Lemmonds.
Susan E. Davis was born around 1879 or 1880. She first appears in the 1880 census as a 6 month old baby in the home of her parents, Benjamin Franklin and Julia Ann Sibley Davis.
Twenty years later, she is the only daughter in the home with her mother "July" (pronounced Julie) Davis, brother Hartwell Alexander Davis, and a niece, 8 year old "Victory", whose identity I have not determined.
NameSusson July
Age20
Birth DateMar 1880
BirthplaceNorth Carolina
Home in 1900 Tyson, Stanly, North Carolina
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Daughter
Marital Status Single
Father's Birthplace North Carolina
Mother's Name Davis July
Mother's Birthplace North Carolina
Household Members
Name
Age
Davis July
71
Alexander July
33
Susson July
20
Victory July
8
1910 finds Susan, or Susie as she was called, as in inmate at Broughton State Hospital in Morganton, North Carolina.
Name
Susie David
Age in 1910
32
Birth Year
abt 1878
Birthplace
North Carolina
Home in 1910
Morganton, Burke, North Carolina
Race
White
Gender
Female
Relation to Head of House
Patient
Marital Status
Single
Native Tongue
English
Able to read
No
Able to Write
No
However, she was not alone there. Also there were her sisters, Sarah,( or Sallie), Davis Whitaker and W. C. (or Kitty) Davis Cox.
In a land dispute in 1911, sister Sallie Davis Whitaker is still alive and Susie is still a Davis.
I have no proof, but it may be possible, that Susan met her future husband, Martin Luther Schenck, of Rowan County, there.
Luther and Susie would be married in Rowan County, NC, 6 years later. I know that this is the correct Susie E. Davis, because her address is Norwood, North Carolina, which is in Stanly County and near the farm where she was raised, and also, because later land divisions and court actions after the death of her mother Julia in 1914, and sister Kitty, in 1922, gives her name as "Shank/Shenk".
Despite being married in 1916, Martin Luther Schenck's draft registration for World War I lists him as single.
The other interesting thing that this document gives is his reason for exemption, "Off in Mind". This is why I believe Susie may have met him in Broughton. They both obviously had been released by 1916.
The document gives his occupation as a farmer, working for his father and living in China Grove. He is tall, slender, and had light gray eyes and light brown hair.
The 1920 census finds Luther living with his parents, and no Susan, although it does list his marital status as married.
Buried in China Grove, Martin L. Schenck passed away in Lumberton. Was he residing there, or was he being treated in a hospital?
A quick look at his death certificate does give a little more information. The informant was his brother, S. F. Schenck of China Grove, and Martin Luther Schenck was at the Cancer Institute and passed away of Cancer of the Bladder. His usual occupation was given as farming and his parents as Augustus G. Schenck and Margaret Roseman Schenck. His marital status is given as married, but in the blank for spouses name, it is recorded as "UnKnown", His address was given as Rt. 2, China Grove.
His death record declares that he was married. Was he still married to Susan, and was she still alive, or had he married someone else? His Find-A-Grave Memorial does mention that he married Susie E. Davis, although she is not buried with him.
Susan E. Davis Schenck was still alive, at least in 1922, when she was a part of a land division due to the death of her sister W. C. "Kitty" Davis Cox, who had no children.
There are no indications that Susie and Luther Schenck had any children. It actually appears that they split up by the 1920 census, four years after their marriage, but Luther is still shown as married that year, however by 1930, he is not.
Name:Luther M Schenck
Birth Year:abt 1892
Gender:Male
Race:White
Birthplace:North Carolina
Marital Status:Single
Relation to Head of House:Son
Home in 1930:China Grove, Rowan, North Carolina
Map of Home:View Map
Street address:Concord and Salisbury Road
Dwelling Number:24
Family Number:26
Attended School:No
Able to Read and Write:No
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Able to Speak English:No
Occupation:Laborer
Industry:General Farm
Class of Worker:Unpaid worker, member of the family
Employment:Yes
Neighbors:View others on page
Household Members:
What I find most interesting about this census, is that although he is an unpaid family member working on his fathers farm, it claims he is unable to read and write, which was not unheard of then, but also that he was not able to speak English, although he was born in Rowan County, as was both of his parents. Did this mean he was unable to speak at all?
After the 1922 mention in the Stanly County Newspaper, Susie falls off the map.
Perhaps a trip to Rowan County can shed some light on this mystery.
Codicil: The trip to Rowan really answered no questions. It produced the actual marriage certificate, with further information that cemented the fact that Susie Davis who married Martin L. Schenck was indeed the right Susie. There were two other Susie or Susan Davis that married in Rowan County. One was African American and the other was much younger and with different parents.
The Obituary of M. L. Shenck provide no information at all on Susan:
"China Grove- Martin Luther Schenck, 77 of Rt. 2 China Grove died Sunday at 3:40 pm at the Lumberton Hospital after an extended illness. He was born May 26, 1892 in Rowan County, the son of the late Augustus and Maggie Roseman Schenck. He was a member of Ebenezer Lutheran Church. Surviving are five brothers, Douglas of Salisbury and wife Shirley, Trexler, Richard and Spencer Schenck, all of Rt. 2 China Grove; and a sister, Mrs. Della Snider of East Spencer (Della was a witness of the wedding). Funeral Services will be conducted Tuesday at 4 pm at Ebenezer Lutheran Church by the Rev. Everette Horne. Burial will be at the churh cemetery. The body will remain at Linn-Honeycutt Funeral Home, Landis, until placed in the church 30 minutes before the services. The family will recieve freinds at the funeral home tonight from 7 to 5. -The Salisbury Post, July 7, 1969 page 15.
Hats Off to "Easy" Families
