It's Never Really Over: More on Joseph Marshall Herring aka Marshall Elmer Harwood

Joe or Joseph or Jocephus Marshall Herrin, son of Eli Ransom Herrin, was the subject of my post:

He had married into my family with his 1893 marriage to Daisy Herrin, which went immediately sour. Why had F. F. Starnes, planter, miller and businessman, allowed his 15 year old daughter to marry the troubled and trouble that was 23 year old Joe Herrin?

1893-1896 was a very busy time for Joe Herrin.
He got married.
He got thrown on the chaingang for theft in Stanly County.
His young bride ran off with her cousin's husband.
He escaped jail.
He eluded capture.
He was injured in a fight and swore to return to jail.
He returned and did his time.
He started dating a Miss Sloop to be turned down.
He then courted a widow with 8 children and married her.
He was arrested for bigamy as his first wife was still living.
His second marriage was anuled so he remarried her.
She died. It looked like Joe might be in serious trouble, but the medical examiner determined her death an aneurism.
He then married his third wife, and this would be his longest lasting relationship and she would be the mother of his 4 children.
 And, most concerting of all, he changed his name to Marshall Elmer Harwood.




In looking through the Stanly County land records, I discovered that something else had happened in Joe's life the year he married Daisy. - His maternal grandfather, Ransom Motley passed away. And Joe sold his one fifth share of his mother's inheritance.

Eli Ransom Herrin had married 2 of the daughters of Ransom Motley.

On August 22, 1861, he married Sarah Motley.

They had 2 daughters, Christena "Teena" and Eva Elizabeth.

Sarah Motley Herrin passed away prior to 1870 and on April 9, 1871, he marrried Jemima Motley, by whom 5 children were born: Sarah, Joseph, Mary, Martha and Laura.

"Indenture dated April 12, 1894 between Joseph M. Herrin and Sarah E. Hathcock and her three sisters, Mary J Herrin, Martha A. Herrin and Laury G. Herrin..."

"$154.....being the land that I inherited from my mother's estate.....one fifth interest in said lands known as the Ransom Motley lands."

Running Creek Primitive Baptist Church

This property served Joe well. At this time, he may have needed fine money or bail money as he had acquired some legal problems.

The second deed dealing with this property gives to a bit a confusion.

Newspaper accounts show that the man formerly known as Joseph M. Herrin, was now using the name of Marshall E. Harwood.   And even that last name could get a little skewed.

Below is shown record of his May 21, 1896 Rowan County marriage to Mary Catherine Rogers Pethel, a widow with 8 children. He gave his name as "Marshall E Howard", son of "E B and Elizabeth Howard" of Stanly County.

In his last marriage to Jenny Nora Harris Hall, in 1928, after his third wife, Mary Ellen Thomas (Harwood?/Herrin?) passed away, he gave his name as "Marshall E Harwood", son of C. M. and Jemima Harwood, with mother dead and father living, a resident of Mt. Pleasant, Cabarrus County, NC.  At this time Joe/Marshall was truthfully a resident of Kannapolis, NC and his bride was from Thomasville in Davidson County, NC and her parents from "Chandlers", which is near the area we now know as "Tuckertown", near the Stanly/Montgomery/Davidson/Rowan county corner and very close to Randolph, along the north border of the Granville line. Its in the modern Badin Lake/Uwharrie Point area.

When Joe alias Marshall married his longest term wife, and mother of his 4 children, Mary Ellen Thomas, from the New Salem community of Union County, he proffered yet another set of parents "Frank and Laura Harwood", and was using the name "Marshall E. Harwood". 

Name:	Marshall E. Harwood
Birth Date:	1873
Age:	25
Spouse's Name:	Mary E. Thomas
Spouse's Birth Date:	1875
Spouse's Age:	23
Event Date:	11 May 1898
Event Place:	New Salem, Union Co., North Carolina
Father's Name:	Frank Harwood
Mother's Name:	Laura Harwood
Spouse's Father's Name:	James Thomas
Spouse's Mother's Name:	Mary Thomas

The year was 1898, so in the following deed, when "Mary E. Herrin", was interviewed, it was this third wife, Mary Ellen Thomas "Harwood".  This shows, that a decade after using the Harwood moniker, that he would switch back over to Herrin when the event called for it, or suited him, and his wife knew about it. Mary Ellen also had to know that they were living under an assumed name, and giving their descendants a false heritage. They were not biological Harwoods, they were Herrins.

Book 32, Page 230  Deeds  Stanly County, North Carolina

Joseph M. Herrin to Sarah E. Blackwelder et. al, .. Anson County....this deed, made this 19th day of  May, 1904 by Joseph M. Herring and wife M. E. Herrin of the County of Anson and State of NC, of the first part, and the four daughters of Eli R. Herrin, to wit, Sarah E. Blackwelder, of Cabarrus County and Mary J Rowland, Martha A. Crayton, and Laura G. Plott, of Stanly County, for $500.....1/5 interest in a certain tract of land in Almond township.....both sides of Running Creek, adjoining Wiley Lambert, J. F. Herrin, Frank Dunn, Daniel Page, Whit Page, H. D. Crayton and others, known as the Ransom Motley lands willed to his daughter, Jemima and to her bodily heirs......H. M. Baucom, Anson County, Lanesboro Township.

M. E. Herrin, being interviewed separately. 
18th of May, 1904
Thomas Robbins, Clerk of Superior Court, Union County

Filed for Registration, W. T. Hudson, Register of Deeds, May 24, 1904.

Running Creek, Almond Twnshp, Stanly County, NC

So, what was with the juxtaposition of names? Did Joseph M. Herrin actually think he was an actual Harwood? Did he think that Eli R. Herrin was not his biological father? Could there be any truth in that theory?

Several articles ran on the long-lived Eli R. Herrin in the Stanly and Cabarrus newspapers. In all of the articles, the grand and endearing old man claimed to be the father of 7 children. He and his last wife, Iva Eudy Biggers, a widow of Wiley Biggers, had an infant son who died a few months after birth, and is buried at Herrin's Grove, where much of this family is buried. The 7 children he was father of in his 1920's and 30's interviews were his two daughters by Sarah Motley and 5 children by Jemima Motley, including Joe.




The four sets of parents given on his four marriages were:

1) February 23, 1893  Eli R Herrin and Jemima Herrin
2) May 21, 1896 E. B. and Elizabeth Howard
3) May 11, 1898 Frank and Laura Harwood
4) Oct. 5, 1928 E. M. and Jemima Harwood

I looked to see if there was a Mr. Harwood living near Mt. Pleasant in 1928. who could have been the E. M. that Joe/Marshall was referring to.

There was one, Emsley Harwood, who spent most of his life in Stanly County in the Almond Township, and lived in later years with his son Jonas, near Concord. Emsley was the son of Reddin and Elizabeth Hatley Harwood and was married to Sarah Furr. But then there's that whole "Frank and Laura" thing he threw out during his marriage to Mary Ellen Thomas. Was there a Frank and Laura?

The answer was "NO"! There was not a Frank and Laura Harwood anywhere near Joe Marshall Herrin when he was born.

For any other theory other than Eli R. Herrin being the father of Joe Herrin, I believe Joe aka Marshall was full of:




He fabricated his name, and apparently four times, he fabricated his parents. He did get his mother's given name correct, one time.

And passed on to his children, a false identity and incorrect family name.  The children of Joe/Marshall and Mary Ellen Thomas Harwood (Herrin) were:

1) James Franklin Harwood. Born September 26, 1900 in Union County, North Carolina.
     Died Sept. 23, 1981 in Concord, Cabarrus County, NC.  Married Dezzie Lee Holt on June 24,
     1922. Gave his parents names as M. E. and Mary Ann Harwood. Four children:

          A.) David Marshall Harwood  1923-2001 married Katherine
          B.)  Jewel A. Harwood Williams 1926-1998  
          C.)  Ruby C. Harwood Tyson 1929-2011
          D.)  Patricia A. Harwood Aycock 1934-2012

2) Lula Mae Harwood Born July 30. 1902 in Union County, North Carolina.
    Died May 8, 1978 in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. Buried at Herrin's Grove in Stanly County.     Married Vernie Talmadge Guinn on Feb 5, 1927, Gave her parents names as David M. Harwood
    and Mary Harwood. Two children:

        A.) Johnson Aaron Guinn 1929-1995 married Lennie Cornelia.
        B.) Lula M. Guinn  1934-2013 married 1st, Billy Lee Poole  5 children. Married 2nd Charlie
              McClure.

3) Mary Alice Harwood Born July 30 1904 in Union County, North Carolina
    Died July 4, 1982 in Cabarrus County, North Carolina
    Married Robert Otto Gurley 4 children:
         A.) Alice Louise Gurley 1924-2010 Married John Adam "BlackJack" Ridenhour, Jr. 5 children
         B.) Mary Agnes Gurley  1925
         C.) Robert Aaron Gurley Mar. 1932-Dec 1932
         D.) James Robert Gurley 1934-1987 Married Mildred Jackson Rhyne

4) Lundy Lee Harwood Born January 3, 1908 in Union County, North Carolina
    Died August 10, 1978 Stanly County, North Carolina. Married George Tom Chewning.
    Gave parents names as J. W. and Mary Harwood.
    4 children
     A) George Preston Chewning 1927-2013 Married Frances Becky Bell
     B) James Edward Chewning 1934
     C) Bobby Lee Chewning Strikeleather 1937
     D) Betty Sue Chewning Wilson 1939

The Tragic Death of Matt Hill

Yep, this is kind of the look I give to people who claim to have a family tree full of the most honorable, angelic, perfectly lived ancestors, who never made mistakes, lived long saintly lives and died quietly of old age in their sleep, and multitudes would come to their funeral to mourn.

Smirk by ChristineAltese .

Not that I don't believe them...well, maybe I don't. But the above scenario is not what I have found in my digging around. While, there were a few 'saints' in my family tree, I also have my fair share of sinners. Flawed and feisty, imperfectly perfect forerunners who were very very human and very very intriguing and they did not all die old or quietly.



Quietly honestly, my family tree is a walnut, or hickory or pecan. It's full of nuts.

William Mathew Hill was one of my 8 Great-Great Grandfathers. I did a post on his wife, Sarah Jane Hooks Hill, and her lawsuit against the railroad, but until now, I never really looked for any newspaper accounts of what happened to Matt Hill, or "W. M." as he is sometimes seen.

Matt Hill was an imperfect individual. He had a son, William Thomas Hooks, with his wifes younger sister, Emmaline Hooks, who had another son out-of-wedlock already, at the same time his wife was expecting their first child together.  My Great-Great Grandparents did not divorce over that failing, they stayed together, even having more children of their own.

According to newspaper accounts, he was no stranger to the jug, either. At some point, he supposedly owned a mill, as passed down the line, Third Great-Grandfather, Frederick Fincher Starnes, who owned a mill on Coddle Creek, in that area Matt Hill's mill was said to be. Maybe it was on the same creek.  And he did not live to be an old man.



Matt Hill was ran over and mangled by a train. And the only mill I can find that he was connected to were the Cotton Mills in which he was employed. However, the 1900 census labels Matt Hill as a "Grist Miller", though I am not sure where the Grist Mill was.  Research sometimes tends to disprove family stories, instead of corroborate them.



The Concord Daily Tribune

29 Nov 1905, Wed • Page 1


His death was not the only time he was injured or made the papers. He was also injured while working and mangled his hand. He was not a lucky man. 


The Standard

(Concord, North Carolina
23 Jan 1902, Thu • Page 3


William Mathew Hill was born March 1, 1854, in Stanly County, North Carolina. He was the son of William Hill and Obedience "Beadie" Ramsey Hill. He was the grandson of Julious and Mary Hudson Hill and Samuel and Rebecca Helms Ramsey. 

He married Sarah Jane Hooks on  August 29, 1875 in Stanly County. His children, born in Cabarrus, Union and Stanly Counties were:

1) William Thomas Hooks b 5 May 1874 - 5 August 1934. Morganton, Burke Co. 
     Mother: Emmaline Hooks Munson
     Married 1st Inezzie C McSwain 2 daughters
     Married 2nd Della Munson 10 children

Children by wife, Sarah Jane Hooks Hill

2) Mattie M. Hill b 14 Jun 1874 b Stanly County - 9 Jan. 1950 Roberta, Cab. Co. 
    Married Seaphus Adam Herrin 3 daughters

3) Lillie Lujenia Hill b 1 July, 1876 - 10 Mar 1937  Concord, Cabarrus County
    Married Lindsey C. Coble 8 children

Lugenia Hill Coble

4) Julious Bennett Hill b 13 Dec 1881 - 18 Jul 1955 Concord, NC
    Married 1st Esther Lola Dulin  6 children
    Married 2nd Mary Bell Russell  4 children

5) Martha Elizabeth Hill b 30 Sept. 1883 - 11 Jan 1911 Cabarrus County, NC
    Unmarried
     



6) Lottie Hill b 1887 - 25 Sept 1935 Cabarrus County, North Carolina
    Married 1st Harvey Lafayette Lemmons 4 children
    Married 2nd Duncan Burris 2 children that made it to adulthood

Lottie Hill Lemmonds Burris

7) Daisy Hill b 16 Jun 1891- 20 Jul 1927 Cabarrus County, NC 
    Married Henry Durant Foster  4 children

8) James William Hill Sr. b 15 Mar 1892 d 6 Mar 1976 Rowan County, NC
    Married 1st Bessie Estelle Foster 6 children
    Married 2nd Ethel G Yates  8 children, 5 who lived to adulthood.

9) Cora Peal Hill b 16 Dec 1897 - 28 Sept 1974
     Married Grover Lee Foster 7 children.

Moriah Murray buys Tobacco and Other Gems from an Old Store Ledger

The above page is from an old store ledger. The store appears to be a General Merchandise store and was located in "Center", Stanly County, North Carolina. Center is now known as Norwood, NC, named for the Norwood Brothers Store that was located there. Could this have been the Norwood brothers store ledger? Maybe. It's difficult to tell.

This ledger is full of names I recall seeing in my research. At times, names become so familiar, they are almost like living people you know, or at least like celebrities you are familiar with.

This page, page 57, was from August of 1849. The entries are shown in alphabetical order by month.
On this page we see-

R M Lanier, John R Livingston, Armstead N. Mills, Thomas S. Marshall, Moriah Murry, Thomas Morton and Miner McSwain.

Moriah Murray was the sister of my second great grandmother, Priscilla Murray Aldridge. She was a unique character and this shows she was at least still alive in 1849. Her estate was settled in 1853 and she left 7 children behind.

Here, it shows she bought a plug of tobacco for 40 cents

This September 1849 entry is of a different sort. It completes the September listing of accounts with the "W's". Hardy S. Watkins, Arnold Watkins, Miss Leah Watkins, John White.  After that, it has a list of payments on account.

Henry Johnston
Charles G. Armstead
William Simmons
E. F. Lilly
Job Davis
John Tyson, Sr.
Mrs. Mary Livingston
Wiley Thompson
Isiah "Colley" (should be Coley)
W B McCorkle

Of course, the person of interest for me in the above document is the name of my Fourth Great-Grandfather Job Davis, who was quite aged by then and lived about another 3 years after this.

This last entry is from January of 1850, page 227.

The name listing is in the "L's".  A number of the Lilly family lived along the river and near the forks, just above which Norwood, or Center, This listing shows how sometimes, these ledgers can solve mysteries on how exactly these families are interlinked by naming relationships. In this listing, there are two.

-Benjamin Lilly
-Miss Martha A. Lilly (daughter of D G L)
-James M. Lilly
-Martha M McSwain
-William (or Wm) Mills, (son of Jesse)


In February of 1851, Jesse Mills will marry Keziah Murray, sister of Priscilla and Moriah mentioned above. In the 1840 census, it appears as if he was married with children, but by 1850, he was boarding with someone and obviously alone. And by 1860, Keziah Murray has gone back to her maiden name, and no sign of Jesse Mills anywhere. This record at least gives a link to his family. He was the father of William Mills, who does show up in later records.

Jesse in 1840

Name:	Jesse Mills
Home in 1840 (City, County, State):	East Pee Dee River, Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9:	1
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14:	2
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29:	1
Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49:	1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5:	1
Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19:	1
Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49:	1
Persons Employed in Agriculture:	4
No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write:	1
Free White Persons - Under 20:	5
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:	3
Total Free White Persons:	8
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves:	8

Jesse in 1850

Name:	Jesse Mills
Age:	40
Birth Year:	abt 1810
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	Smiths, Stanly, North Carolina
Gender:	Male
Family Number:	685
Household Members:	Name Age Henry Baker 35 Letta Baker 33 Mary E Baker 15 Julius A Baker 12 Sarah L Baker 10 James C Baker 9 Joel N Baker 7 Aaron W Baker 5 Robert A Baker 0 Jesse Mills 40

William Mills in 1850

Name	Age
William Mills	31
Jane Mills	57
John T Mills	23
B T Mills	21
Elizabeth Mills Name: William Mills Age: 84 Birth Date: Sep 1815 Birthplace: North Carolina Home in 1900: Peedee, Montgomery, North Carolina Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Head Marital Status: Married Spouse's Name: Martha Mills Marriage Year: 1867 Years Married: 33 Father's Birthplace: North Carolina Mother's Birthplace: North Carolina William Mills in 1900 Household Members: Name Age William Mills 84 Martha Mills 60 Lilly Mills 30 Lucy Mills 21 Mary Mills 7 Jesse Mills 27 Emma Mills 18 John Mills 1	13 This makes sense as William later had a son named Jesse.

Center now indicates the Township, or area around Norwood and its voting district. It originally got its name, I have heard, because it was the Center of the road that went from Cottonville, a successful cotton-producing area at one time larger than Charlotte and Allenton, which was located east of the forks and on the lower Yadkin/PeeDee and was the earliest 'town' in that area. It was also a crossroads of that road and the old Salisbury to Cheraw road that went through Stanly County and down through Anson, the basic path of Hwy 52 today.






These scanned treasures are available online through digitalnc.org, one of North Carolina's true genealogical treasures.

Sunday Black Sheep: The Name Theif

Sunday Black Sheep is a blogging prompt from Geneabloggers.com, of which I am a member.

Today, my Subject is Joseph Marshall Herrin alias Marshall E. Harwood.

Joseph Marshall Herrin was born in Stanly County on April 11, 1873. As far as we know, he was the son of Elias Ransom Herrin and his third wife, Jemima Motley Herrin. There were two Eli Herrin's around in the area at this time, Eli R. and Eli N. . This Eli was born in 1838 and died in 1933 and was the son of  Wiley Ephraim Herrin and Elizabeth "Betsy" Almond. Eli's has a story of his own, and not anywhere near that of his son, Joe. The only census that Joe appears in as a child is at 6 years old in 1880.

Name:	Eli R. Herrin
Age:	43
Birth Year:	abt 1837
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Almonds, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Gemima Herrin
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Neighbors:	View others on page
Occupation:	Farmer
Cannot read/write: Blind: Deaf and Dumb: Otherwise disabled: Idiotic or insane:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age Eli R. Herrin 43 Gemima Herrin 30 Tena Herrin 15 Elizabeth Herrin 11 Sarah Herrin 8 Joseph Herrin 6 Mary Herrin 4 Martha Herrin 1

Tena and Elizabeth were Eli's daughters by his first wife, Sarah, who was a sister of Jemima Motley Herrin. Sarah, Joseph, Mary and Martha, were all by Jemima.

After that, his next appearance in records would be his marriage to 15 year old Daisy Starnes, daughter of Frederick Fincher Starnes II and Mary Louise Byram Starnes.

His story is easier told in a time line from here.

February 23, 1893  - Marriage to Daisy Louise Starnes




Daisy L. Starnes was only 15 when she married Joe Herrin. He was 23. Her father, my second Great-Grandfather, Frederick Fincher Starnes, had to sign his permission for the young girl to marry. I often wonder why he did. Joe, at this time, was wanted for theivery in Stanly County, and not a good character, quite the opposite of Finch Starnes, a sucessful and diligent businessman, farmer, miller, and member of Rocky River Presbyterian Church.

After that, both Daisy and Joe fell off the map for me. It was through newspaper clippings that I found out more about them. I did find mention of Joe Herrin in land records.

He appears in Stanly County in a few land records concerning an inheritance from the death of his grandfather, Ransom Motley. In one of these, where he is selling a plot of land to his sister, Christena Herrin Harwood, we know that he was alive at least until 1904.

But his adventures were more tangled than that. His tale can be told more with a timeline.

March 2, 1893 Marriage to Daisy L. Starnes

The Concord Times

Concord, North Carolina

Thu, Mar 2, 1893 – Page 3

April 13, 1893    Joe is wanted in Stanly County for stealing and has hidden out at his father-in-laws house (Frederick Fincher Starnes), having been married only a few months. His wiley tricks are already making headlines..

Daily Concord Standard

Concord, North Carolina

Thu, Apr 13, 1893 – Page 1

December 12, 1893 Joe is in jail and has escaped. 

Daily Concord Standard

Concord, North Carolina

Tue, Dec 12, 1893 – Page 1

July 7, 1894

The Evening Visitor

Raleigh, North Carolina

Thu, Jun 7, 1894 – Page 3

August 1, 1894  Joe gets hit in the head. Did it knock any sense into him?

December 1893

Daily Concord Standard
12 Dec 1893, Tue • Page 1

After his unfortunate injury, Joe had a sudden change of heart. He wrote to the manager of the county chain gang, and promised to be a good boy, and come back after recover to do his time.
September, 1894




Daily Concord Standard
18 Sep 1894, Tue • Page 1





Joe stood good to his word, and showed back up after his recovery to do his time. However, he missed Professor Zeno and his ballons. Oh my.

Oct 1, 1894  Back on the Chain Gang.

Daily Concord Standard, 1 Oct 1894, Mon, Page 1

June 6, 1894  Meanwhile, Daisy did not wait. 



Daily Concord Standard

6 Jun 1894, Wed • Page 2



August 1894   An escaped Joe enjoys his social life. 

Daily Concord Standard

Concord, North Carolina

Wed, Aug 1, 1894 – Page 1

May 28, 1896  Joe has married a second time, while Daisy is still alive and is denying his identity, now going by "Marshall Harwood."





28 May 1896, Thu • Page 2
The Standard


After Joe Herrin married the widow Pethel, otherwise known as Mary Catherine Rogers Pethel, her brother-in-law J. V. Pethel began a search for him, as he was wanted for bigamy. Daisy was still alive and living either in  Mecklenburg County or with her parents on the west side of Cabarrus. This article also reveals that Joe had already changed his name to Marshall Harwood.

How he chose this name is still a mystery. Was it because of his brother-in-law, David Harwood? Did he want people to think he was the real Marshall Harwood, another young man in the area about the same age as Joe? Or did he believe he was really a Harwood?



May 28, 1896   J V Pethel searches for the bigamist, Joe. 


The Charlotte Observer
28 May 1896, Thu • Page 2


January 27,  1897   Joe was up to his old tricks.

Daily Concord Standard

Concord, North Carolina

Wed, Jan 27, 1897 – Page 1

Soon after, Joe was found and the newspapers claimed his punishment for bigamy was lenient, and he was allowed to obtain a divorce from Daisy Starnes Herrin. This article suggests she was still alive at this juncture and a brief outline of the life of Joe Herrin is given. His divorce was said to be obtain in Stanly County. This, I am going to have to look for. I may have to contact Utah for a glimpse of this. After his divorce, he married Mary Catherine Rogers Pethel a second time. This one legally.

March 18, 1897


The Standard
Concord, North Carolina)18 Mar 1897, Thu • Page 2


The second marriage of Joe Herrin and Mary Catherine Rogers Pethel did not last long either. In 1898, he made his way to Union County, NC and married his third wife, Mary Ellen Thomas. This time using his new moniker, "Marshall Harwood."

May 12, 1898


Life then became a little more complicated for Joe Herrin, alias Marshall Harwood. His former bride was found dead, her marriage to him unrecognized, as she was referred to as the widow of Frank Pethel.

April 13, 1899  Mary Catherine Rogers Pethel Herrin found dead. 


The Mount Airy News
13 Apr 1899, Thu • Page 1


In this reprint from The Salisbury Sun, Joe is mentioned, but his last name  incorrectly given as Hearne instead of Herrin, and he was unflatteringly referred to as "a bigamist named Hearne".

Asheville Citizen, 4 Apr 1899, Tue, Page 2

Luckily for Joe/Marshall, the coroner determined his latest bride had died of a cerebral hemmorhage. He was not arrested for murder, although foul play was obviously suspected.

 
The Concord Times
6 Apr 1899, Thu • Page 3

Below is another article reporting her death, but it gives the general location in modern terms, of where she lived. "Glass" as a community, was a mystery. Glass was apparently "below China Grove".



The Salisbury Truth
Apr 1899, Wed • Page 5


At this point,  I believe I should insert some information concerning the unfortunate Mrs. Pethel. As was mentioned, she was a widow with 8 children. She was the mother of 10 in all, possibly more, with two having died prior to their mother, one daughter the same year.

Mary Catherine Rogers was born on September 2, 1849 to John Rogers and Wilhemina Sloop Rogers.  On Nov 26, 1868, at the age of 19, she married James Franklin Pethel, known as Frank. The couples 10 known children were:

1) Edward Long Pethel  1869-1950

2) Elizabeth "Lizzie" Pethel  1870 - 1943

3) Martha Jane "Jennie" Pethel 1873 - 1899

4) Esther Matilda Pethel 1876 - 1969

5) Reese Henderson "Henry" Pethel 1877 - 1945

6) Charles Brown Pethel 1880- 1962

7) Robert O. Pethel 1881- unknown. Died as a child.

8) Archie David Pethel 1882-1928

9) Richard C Pethel 1887 - 1907

10) John Wilson Pethel 1890 - 1962

Their father, Frank Pethel, died on April 26, 1894, of a train accident. 

Mary Catherine died March 1, 1899, of an apparent brain aneurism. 


She is buried at Centergrove Lutheran Church in Cabarrus County. 


Under his new moniker of Marshall Elmer Harwood, Joseph Marshall Herrin began a new leaf. 

He married Mary Ellen Thomas in Union County in 1898, before his second wife, the former Mrs. Pethel died. He divorced Daisy, and what became of her is unknown after her trial for fornication, where she was found "Not Guilty". 

Name:	Marshall E. Harwood
Birth Date:	1873
Age:	25
Spouse's Name:	Mary E. Thomas
Spouse's Birth Date:	1875
Spouse's Age:	23
Event Date:	11 May 1898
Event Place:	New Salem, Union Co., North Carolina
Father's Name:	Frank Harwood
Mother's Name:	Laura Harwood
Spouse's Father's Name:	James Thomas
Spouse's Mother's Name:	Mary Thomas

Joe, alias Marshall, gave his parents names as "Frank and Laura" Harwood at his marriage to Mary Ellen. 

A land record in 1904 between he and his sister Tena Herrin Harwood, lists his residence as "Anson County", but Marshall and Mary Ellen are not found in the 1900 census.

They are found in later census records, however, and had 4 children. 

Name:	Mary E Howard
Age in 1910:	37
Birth Year:	abt 1873
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1910:	New Salem, Union, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Wife
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Marshal E Howard
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age Marshal E Howard 37 Mary E Howard 37 James F Howard 9 Lula M Howard 7 Mary A Howard 4 Lundy L Howard 1 [1 3/12]

During this time, they lived in New Salem, Union County, near her parents. 

Name:	Marshall E Howard
Age:	49 [47]
Birth Year:	abt 1871 [abt 1873]
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1920:	New Salem, Union, North Carolina
Street:	Marshville and Olive Branch Road
House Number:	Farm
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Mary Howard
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Able to Speak English:	Yes
Occupation:	Farmer
Industry:	General Farm
Employment Field:	Own Account
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age Marshall E Howard 49 [47]  Mary Howard 52 James Howard 19 Loula Howard 17 Mary Howard 15 Landay Howard 11

They did not make it to the next census and at sometime during the decade, they moved to the Kannapolis area. 

Marshall had stayed in this area when he was said to have been working for a Mr. Sloop and nosing about the skirts of Mrs. Pethel. 

 March 14, 1928 The Death of Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen Thomas Harwood, passed away on March 14, 1928, in Kannapolis, Cabarrus County, North Carolina. She was buried, however, at Herrin's Grove Primitive Baptist Church in Stanly County, along with her inlaws and other members of the Herrin family. 

Joseph Marshall Herrin aka Marshall Elmer Harwood, did not stay a single man long. On October 5, 1928 Marshall E. Harwood married Jennie Lenorah Harris Hall, a widow. 

October 5, 1928 Marriage to Jennie Hall

Marshall E Harwood
Event Type:	Marriage
Event Date:	05 Oct 1928
Event Place:	Davidson, North Carolina, United States
Age:	51
Father's Name:	C M Harwood
Mother's Name:	Jemima Harwood
Spouse's Name:	Jennie Nora Hall
Spouse's Age:	46
Spouse's Father's Name:	Gabriel P Harris
Spouse's Mother's Name:	Nora T Harris
Digital Folder Number:	004138305

The above record is from familysearch.com. Joe aka Marshall, went all the way from Kannapolis to Davidson County to find his new bride. She was the widow of William Etheldred Hall and like Mary Catherine Rogers Pethel, a mother of 8 children. She was the daughter of Gabriel Postell Harris and wife Nora, of Montgomery County, NC. The couple may have known each other previously. 
She had lost her husband in June of 1927. He was from Stanly County and had moved the family to Davidson. William E. Hall also appears in my family tree as the brother of one of my Second Great-Grandfathers. 

Joe's last marriage was about as brief as his first two. He passed away on November 20, 1929.

November 20, 1929 Death of Joseph Marshall Herrin aka Marshall E. Harwood. 

He was buried in Stanly County, next to the mother of his children and his longest lasting wife, Mary Ellen Thomas Harwood, and with the rest of the Herrin's at Herrin's Grove. 

To corroborate this, I checked the files on the Herrin family in the library history room. This verified that the man named "Marshall Harwood" on the tombstone at Herrin's Grove was the same born Joseph Marshall Herrin, son of Eli Ransom Herrin. 




Joe's death certificate can not be located. He traveled around between counties so much, it's unclear where he died. But he was buried with family. 

But why the name Marshall E. Harwood? There was a 'real' Marshall Harwood in the area, about the same age as Joe, Joseph, Josephus, as his name was alternately seen. This was William Marshall Harwood, son of Ephraim Eudy and Celia Ann Harwood, who married Rosa Moose. This Marshall Harwood was born in 1873 and lived Albemarle. Was it this man's identity he was attempting to assume?

There was also a Marshall E. Herrin in the area, about the same age as Joe as well, born June 20, 1873. This Marshall was his first cousin, son of John Franklin Herrin, Eli Ransom's brother. The real Marshall Elmond Herrin was born in Stanly County, moved to Cabarrus County, and lastly to Charlotte, in Mecklenburg County. 



For whatever reason Joe chose his new name, it is what he passed down to his children and grandchildren. Never were they Herrins again. 

Only son James Franklin Harwood was born September 26, 1900 in Union County and died at the age of 80 in 1981. After growing up in New Salem, he raised his family in China Grove and later moved to Kannapolis. James married a Miss Dezzie Holt, daughter of David I Holt of Cabarrus County and they had 4 children, David, Jewel, Ruby and Patricia. 

Daughter Lula Mae was born in 1903.

Daughter Mary Alice was born in 1904 and married Robert Otto Gurley, they had 4 children, raised in China Grove and Kannapolis.

Youngest daughter, Lundy Harwood, was born in 1908 and married George Chewning. They had 5 children.