I love it when I am looking for one thing and accidentally come across a gem like the above obituary of my Great, Great (a number of these) Uncle Edward Winfield "Neddy" Davis.
E. W. Davis was the third son of Job Davis and the seventh child of Sarah Winfield Howell Davis. He was also the second sheriff of Stanly County and very active in county affairs during his lifetime. He was a notoriously eligible bachelor and did not marry until he was 56 years old to Miss Rebecca Hathcock. There were 3 Davis children born prior to his death: Sarah Hortense Davis (Stewart), Thomas A. Davis and John T. Davis. (I still have questions about J. T. who is sometimes seen as John T. Crump, Jr. and his mothers second husband was....John T. Crump, Sr.).
There are some signs in E. W. Davis's legal papers that suggested that he could be a tough character and a ruthless businessman. But there are many more that suggest his strength, charitable nature and compassion. At any rate, he was a notable character and a noble man, and upon the death of his older brother Henry, and even prior to that, upon Henry's fall from grace as a judge, Major and county leader to an alchoholic, he took over and oversaw the welfare of Henry's wife/widow and children. My great-great grandfather, Horton H. Davis, lived with his uncle during his teens and later returned the favor and saw to the affairs of his uncles widow and young children after his demise.
Edward Winfield Davis was born December 3, 1811 and died October 30, 1882. I never knew a cause of death, but as he was in his later years, it did not seem relevant. I am glad I was able to discover a cause of death for other researchers.
My last post is not complete without finishing up with the children and descendants of Frank Ramsey.
To recap, John Franklin Ramsey was the son of Samuel Ramsey and Rebecca Helms Ramsey of Stanly County. His grandfather was Starky "Stark" Ramsey of Anson County, North Carolina.
He married Joyce Ann Redwine, daughter of James M. and Marinda Hall Redwine of the Fork Community in neighboring Montgomery County on November 22, 1868.
Frank and Joicy, as they were known, had 4 children together before Frank passed away in 1882.
The four children were Ella Jane, Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzie", Willie Mae and Samuel Lee. They had all arrived by the 1880 census.
Frank farmed just outside the borders of the then fledgling town of Albemarle, North Carolina. The area would now be considered part of Albemarle.
After her husbands demise, Joyce Ann would sell her property and along with an inheritance from her father, who passed away in 1899, bought a house on South Main Street between Salisbury and Spencer, in Rowan County. There, her children worked in the textile mills and Joicy took in boarders to stay afloat.
The above map shows the exact spot that Joicy Ann relocated her family to, following some of her siblings to Salisbury.
The 1900 census shows Joicy living with 3 of her children, her brother and niece and 3 boarders. Her daughter Lizzie also had her oldest child, son Charlie by that time as well.
Daughter Willie Mae, however was not in the picture. She had probably followed her mother, siblings and uncles to Rowan County, as she married in that county in 1898.
Name:
Willie May Ramsay
Gender:
Female
Spouse:
William R Smith
Spouse Gender:
Male
Marriage Date:
2 Aug 1898
Marriage County:
Rowan
Marriage State:
North Carolina
William Robert Smith was the son of James C Smith and Mary A Pendley Smith from Burke County, NC.
William R Smith and Willie Mae Ramsey Smith with son Robert Harold Smith
By 1900, their first child, Nessie was born, and William R. was working along with much of Willie's family in the Cotton Mill. He did not prefer that profession, however, and most of his life was spent as a barber.
By 1910, the family would relocate to High Point, in Guilford County, and William was established as Barber in his own shop. Two more children, sons Clyde and James had joined the family, and taking a clue from his in-laws, the Smiths took in boarders.
The 1920 census would include their fourth child, Robert Harold Smith. Soon afterwards, on July 18, 1921, fifth and last child, son William David Smith, was born.
Then, again, tragedy would strike. In 1926, Willie Mae Ramsey Smith would die of TB.
Name:
Mrs. Willie May Smith [Mrs. Willie May Ramsey]
Gender:
Female
Race:
White
Age:
49 Years 3 Months
Birth Date:
abt 1877
Birth Place:
Stanly, New York, United States
Death Date:
28 Nov 1926
Death Location:
High Point, Guilford
Spouse's Name:
Will R Smith
Father's Name:
Frank Ramsey
Mother's name:
Joyce Redwine
The transcriber made an error on this one. The actual document say "NC" not "NY". Stanly County is not in New York.
A House on Farris Ave. in High Point, where William R. Smith would reside.
William R Smith would remarry in 1927 to Lottie Elmo Barber from Reidsville, to help him raise his young sons. Daughter Nessie would marry mortician, Arnold Koonce about 1922.
Nessie I Smith Koonce
Ella Jane Ramsey
Ella Jane Ramsey never married and would remain with her mother at the South Main Street Boarding House for the remainder of her life, and worked in a Cotton Mill as a Weaver.
Name:
Miss Ella Ramsey
Gender:
Female
Residence Year:
1913
Residence Place:
Salisbury; Spencer, North Carolina, USA
Occupation:
Weaver
Publication Title:
Salisbury, North Carolina, City Directory, 1913
She only outlived her mother by 5 years, and passed away in 1935 of TB at the age of 66.
ame:
Ella Jane Ramsey
Gender:
Female
Race:
White
Age:
66
Birth Date:
28 Nov 1869
Birth Place:
Stanley, North Carolina, United States
Death Date:
17 Dec 1935
Death Location:
Salisbury, Rowan
Father's Name:
Franklin Ramsey
Mother's name:
Joyce Redwine
Sarah Elizabeth Ramsey lived in the boarding house with her family until her marriage in 1910. She had a son, Charlie, who is shown as a Ramsey in his first two census records.
Shortly after the 1910 cenus, on August 14, 1910 at the age of 40, she married Peagram Albert Surratt, originally from Davidson County, who had migrated to Texas for a number decades.
Afterwards, Charlie Ramsey would be shown as Charlie Surratt.
Pegram A. Surratt was born April 23, 1867, during the early years of Reconstruction. He was the son of Richard L. Surratt and Mary Margaret Earnhardt Surratt of the Jackson Hill Community in Davidson County.
Jackson Hill Church relocated and restored at Denton Farm Park
Originally, P. A. Surratt had tried his hand at being a merchant in the bustling Railroad Town of Salisbury, North Carolina.
After a devastating fire with no insurance, he decided to find greener pastures than the verdant green ones of Southern Davidson County, and relocated to Texas. The 1900 census would find him in McKinley, Collins County, Texas boarding with a Harrison family and working as a Teamster. Other teamsters lived there too, with a number of dressmakers. P. A. Surratt, however, did not marry while a young man in Texas.
According to the papers, he visited home often and also worked in Virginia in those days. Several little mentions were made in The Dispatch (Lexington, North Carolina) of his visits.
In the 1910 Census, he was living in Fort Worth and working as a Carpenter in the Building industry.
Name:
Pegrom A Surratt [Petrana A Surratt] [Pegroma G Surratt]
One particular visit in 1897 must have been particularly interesting. Perhaps he stayed in the boarding house of Mrs Joicy Ann Ramsey and her daughters, while visiting family in Salisbury and met the charming Lizzie.
By 1909, Pegram A. Surratt switched careers from being a carpenter to being a Hog Farmer. After the 1910 census, we know he made another crucial visit to North Carolina.
Name:
Pegram A Surratt
Gender:
Male
Spouse:
Lizzie Ramsey
Spouse Gender:
Female
Marriage Date:
14 Aug 1910
Marriage County:
Rowan
Marriage State:
North Carolina
After the marriage, the Surratts, with young Charlie, returned to Texas and back to the hogs.
Name:
Pegrim A Surratt
Residence Year:
1911
Street address:
ns Gandy 1 blk w of Sycamore creek XT
Residence Place:
Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Occupation:
Hog Raiser
Publication Title:
Fort Worth, Texas, City Directory, 1911
Pegram and Lizzie only had one daughter after their 1910 marriage. Ida Mae Surratt, named probably for her fathers older sister, was born on August 27, 1911, a year after her parents marriage, in Fort Worth, Texas. Her mother was 41 and her father 44. There advanced age was probably the reason for the small family of 4.
Lizzie, who had spent most of her formative years in town, was a city girl, perhaps, and maybe, most of all was homesick for family. At any rate, by 1920, she had convinced Pegram to try his hand merchanting again and the family had moved in with Lizzie's mother at the boarding house, located between Salisbury and Spencer.
Pegram was listed in the business directories as a Grocer and Lizzie as a grocery clerk.
317 S. Shaver Street today, just 2 blocks from where P. A. and Lizzie ran a Grocery store. It is described as being in the middle of the Brooklyn South Square Historic District. This house was there at the time.
Name:
P A Surratt
Residence Year:
1928
Street address:
501 s Shaver
Residence Place:
Salisbury; Spencer, North Carolina, USA
Publication Title:
Salisbury, North Carolina, City Directory, 1928
The fountain in downtown Salisbury.
P. A. and Lizzie and their two children were a thriving, middle class family in Salisbury during the roaring twenties and into the 1930's.
By 1930, both children had moved out of the house and Lizzie and her husband were still in the boarding house with her mother, sister and boarders Mr. Ballard, and Mr. Eddleman.
Charles Basil Surratt worked at Salisbury Mills while he lived at the boarding house with his family. He married Ethel Carpenter in 1924. He had registered for service in WWI and in WWII. By 1930, his two oldest daughters were born.
Charlie and his family remained in Salisbury until at least 1935. He took up truck driving and relocated to Bessamer City in Gaston County, North Carolina, where he raised 3 daughters and passed away in 1966.
Charlie and Ethel had 3 daughers: Mary Elizabeth, Alice Joyce and Norma Jean.
Sister Ida Mae married Whitney "Whit" Kluttz in 1933. They would also have 3 children: Sarah Craige Klutz, William Glenn Klutz and Doris Sue Kluttz.
Ida passed away in 1991 and her husband in 2000.
DA KLUTTZ: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice
Greensboro News & Record (NC) - Saturday, February 23, 1991
Deceased Name:IDA KLUTTZ
SALISBURY - Ida Mae Surratt Kluttz, 79, of 3120 Dunn's Mountain Road died Friday at Lutheran Nursing Home.
Funeral will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at Union Lutheran Church, of which she was a member. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
A native of Fort Worth, Texas, she was a retired sales clerk.
Surviving are husband, Whitney Kluttz; daughters, Mrs. Sarah Holshouser of Spencer, Doris Kluttz of Rockwell; son, Glenn Kluttz of Spartanburg; five grandchildren.
The family will be at Lyerly Funeral Home 7-9 p.m. today.
Memorial contributions may be made to Union Lutheran Church, 4770 Bringle Ferry Road, Salisbury, N.C. 28146, or to Lutheran Nursing Home, 820 Klumac Road, Salisbury, N.C. 28144.
Whitney 'Whit' Kluttz: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice
Salisbury Post (NC) - Tuesday, September 19, 2000
Deceased Name:Whitney 'Whit' Kluttz
The funeral will be Wednesday for Whitney 'Whit' William Kluttz, who died Sunday (Sept. 17, 2000) at Rowan Regional Medical Center after a month of serious illness.
Born Oct. 10, 1908, in Rowan County, Mr. Kluttz was a son of the late David Alexander and Augustus Craige Kluttz. He was educated in the Rowan County schools.
Retired from Martin Marietta Stone Co., he had earlier worked for Southern Railway. He was a member of Union Lutheran Church, Agner-Efird Sunday school class and Good Timers Club.
His wife, Ida Mae Surratt Kluttz, died Feb. 22, 1991.
Survivors include son Glenn Kluttz, Spartanburg, S.C.; daughters Sarah Holshouser, Spencer, and Doris Kluttz, Rockwell; sister Nannie Terleton, Salisbury; five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Services: 11 a.m. Wednesday, Union Lutheran Church, conducted by the Rev. Darrell Norris, pastor, and the Rev. C.P. Fisher. Members of the Agner-Efird Sunday school class will be seated as a group. Burial in family plot in the church cemetery.
Visitation: 7-8:30 tonight, Lyerly Funeral Home. At other times the family will be at the home of daughter Sarah Holshouser, Spencer.
Memorials: Union Lutheran Church, Fellowship Building Fund, 4770 Bringle Ferry Road, Salisbury, NC 28146.
Samuel Lee Ramsey was the only son of Frank and Joicey. He was obviously named for grandfather, Samuel Ramsey of Stanly County. Born on Christmas day in 1879, Sam was only 3 years old when his father passed away. He appears in the 1900 census with his mother, sisters, Uncle J P Redwine, cousin Maddie and nephew Charlie, but married later that year.
Name:
Samuel L Ramsay
Gender:
Male
Spouse:
Jeneva Loflin
Spouse Gender:
Female
Marriage Date:
1 Sep 1900
Marriage County:
Rowan
Marriage State:
North Carolina
He married Geneva Loflin from the southern part of Davidson County.
By 1910, they were the proud parents of 4 children.
Samuel Lee Ramsey died at the young age of 46 in Salisbury. He was found dead on his porch and cause of death could not be determined. Geneva never remarried and lived a long life, passing in 1973 with 2 of her 4 children surviving.
