Finding Fred: And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

A few years ago, I acquired a substantial group of disks from the State Archives, that contain old court records from Stanly and Anson Counties. One day soon, I intend to transcribe the entire things, to make them more accessible to needed information.

More recently though, I've picked a few cases of possible genealogical interest to research, for people who may be a descendant of these individuals and stuck behind a brick wall.

Such is the case of this entry from the Fall Term of the 1891 Superior Court of Stanly County:

"State and Sarah Ann Pickler  vs Hezekiah Morton   - Bastardy"

These two individuals had created a child outside of the bounds of marriage, which was a crime in those days. The County wanted to ensure the child would not be a burden on society, as women in those days typically had no means of support available to them unless they were married, or lived with a parent or other relative. Hezekiah Morton was held on a bond to pay the Victorian era version of child support to begin with $15 up front for Sarah Ann Carter, and $20 the next term of court (a month away) and then a regular sum after that. Usually the sum was only paid until the child was old enough to be "bound out", or old enough to work for their own keep, typically about the age of seven. It was an archaeic practice, intended to teach a child a trade, and also intended to punish, or defer, the guilty parties from repeating  the immoral behavior. Sometimes the child ended up with a relative, sometimes a neighbor. As in todays foster system, sometimes the child was treated and loved as a family member, other times mistreated and overworked. I've seen where bound children were beloved and left property in wills by their guardians, and other times where they never made it to adulthood for being 'worked to death'. Othertimes, in the instance of girls, I've seen where the bound girl became an unwed mother as a teen, by her guardian or his sons, and the cycle continued all over again. This happened in my own family tree. Othertimes, the courts have shown cases of the bound children on the docket, requesting a change in guardians as they report mistreatment.

Other children fared better by being allowed to remain with their mother, if her father or brother paid the bond, and sometimes later, the mother married and the stepfather took on the responsibility. This became the case of  the child of Sarah Ann Pickler and Hezekiah Morton.

To discover the individual involved in this court case, I first looked for Sarah Ann Pickler. Of course, there were several in the county.

There was Sarah Ann Pickler, who was born a Palmer and married RGD Pickler (Richmond Gates Davidson). She passed away in 1854, far before this court case appeared, but was the matriarch of the Sarah Ann Picklers.

She had a daughter, Sarah Ann Pickler, who appears to have died as a child. There was an African-American Sarah Ann Pickler, who was born a Delamothe or Dillamont, and this Sarah was not. There was Sarah Ann Pickler, born in 1882, a daughter of Dock Franklin Pickler and a granddaughter of the Sarah Ann Palmer Pickler who was born in 1821 and died in 1854, but she would not have been old enough in 1891 to have been the mother of this child.



Then there was her cousin, Sarah Ann Francis Pickler, daughter of RGD Pickler Jr. of the family who favored three first names.

Sarah Ann Frances Pickler was born on January 12, 1874 in the Ridenhour Township of Stanly County, North Carolina as the third child and first daughter of Richmond Gates Davidson Pickler, Sr. and his wife, Talitha Jane Miller Pickler.

Name:	Sarah A. Pickler
Age:	6
Birth Date:	Abt 1874
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Ridenhours, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	7
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Daughter
Marital Status:	Single
Father's name:	B.J.D. Pickler
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's name:	Tillitha J. Pickler
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Attended School:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age B.J.D. Pickler 28 Tillitha J. Pickler 29 John W. Pickler 10 Levi J. Pickler 8 Sarah A. Pickler 6 Gorge W. Pickler 4

Kendall's Baptist Church is a beautiful old white church that sits on a knoll above a branch of Town Creek just off of the Old Salisbury Road in the Kendall Valley area. It was established about 1830 for the Baptists in the Northern part of Stanly County in the Kendall Valley area. Sarah Ann Picklers family were members of this church. Her parents, however, are buried in the old Pickler family cemetery closeby at the intersection of Poplin and Kendalls Church Roads.

Despite, no doubt, a strict Baptist raising, Sarah Ann Pickler found herself in court in 1891, at the age of  17, having to answer to the judge about who the father of her child was.

The loss of the 1890 census is a huge one as it gives this 20 year gap that we have to rely on other documentation to fill in. So from 1880 to 1900, we find Sarah Ann Frances Pickler go from a 7 year old child to a 27 year old woman. What makes things even more difficult in her case, is that she can not be found in the 1900 census, so we have to jump all the way to 1910, to find her in her 30's.

Name:	D E Ridenhour
Gender:	Male
Marriage Date:	18 Nov 1896
Marriage Place:	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Sarah A Pickler
Spouse Gender:	Female
Event Type:	Marriage

The one document that can be found that gives a hint of what happened to her in these years, aside from her 1891 court appearance, is that she became a bride in 1896, at the age of 22, so in the 1900 census, she would have been Mrs. Davidson Edward "Ed" Ridenhour. A newspaper clipping near to this time gives the report that Mr. Ridenhour lived in Gold Hill in 1901.



Salisbury Evening Sun
(Salisbury, North Carolina)22 Jun 1901, Sat  • Page 1

So who was D. E. Ridenhour, the man who would marry Sarah A. F. Pickler?

Davidson Edward Ridenhour was born August 5, 1836, rather fittingly, in the Ridenhour section of Stanly County, which is the northwestern corner, near the Cabarrus and Rowan County lines. He was the third of the nine children of Phillip and Elizabeth Harkey Ridenhour.

Name:	Elizabeth S or L Moose
Gender:	Female
Spouse:	Davidson E Ridenhower
Spouse Gender:	Male
Bond Date:	7 Dec 1855
Bond #:	000009805
Marriage Date:	11 Dec 1855
Level Info:	North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868
ImageNum:	005644
County:	Cabarrus
Record #:	02 166
Bondsman:	Alexander Misen
Witness:	John Wilkinson
Performed By:	John D Scheck, Lutheran Minister

On December 12, 1855, at the age of 19, he would marry 20 year old Elizabeth Sarah Moose, daughter of George and Mariah Peck Moose. Ed was a man on the move. Farming was apparently not his gig.

His military stint was peppered. Documents at Fold3 indicate he was conscripted on August 8, 1862 by Colonel Davis, who would have been my Great, Great, Great Uncle Edward Winfield Davis.

On the 19th of Novembert of 1862, he was in Richmond, Virginia signing for his $11 a month pay for the time of August 8 to November 19. It was mentioned on the receipt that he recieved $30.43 and was going on furlough.

In the January and February muster he is shown as Absent Without Leave.

A Muster Roll for Company F, 5th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry at a Camp near Orange Courthouse dated December 29, 1863, over a year later, states D. E. Ridenhour, Stanly County, 7th congressional district was a "Deserter, at home, fit for duty, can't be gotten back".  He was listed as being in the hospital in Richmond at one point.

There is no record of any charges related to his desertion, however, this time was a very sad time for his family.

Ed and his first wife, Sarah Moose had 4 children. The first two were born before he was conscripted, evidentally with protest, into the Confederate Army.

Julian Adolphous Ridenhour was born March 24, 1857

Martha Alice Ridenhour was born August 14, 1859




Sadly, his oldest son lived barely a year and Ed and Sarah buried him at Bear Creek Church, near the Stanly County, Cabarrus County line.

When Ed was conscripted, he and his wife Elizabeth Sarah, had their 3 year old daughter, Mattie and a brand new son, George T. B. Ridenhour, who was born on June 10, 1862. George was only 2 months old when his father was conscripted. Sadly, little George passed away shortly after his father was marched away on October 13, 1862.

Tombstone of George T. B. Ridenhour

Perhaps Ed had heard of his second sons demise when he claimed his pay and took off on furlough. And never came back.

Name:	D E Ridenhour
Residence:	Northampton County, North Carolina
Age at Enlistment:	26
Enlistment Date:	8 Aug 1862
Rank at enlistment:	Private
Enlistment Place:	Northampton County, North Carolina
State Served:	North Carolina
Survived the War?:	Yes
Service Record:	Enlisted in Company F, North Carolina 5th Infantry Regiment on 08 Aug 1862.Mustered out on 29 Dec 1863.
Birth Date:	abt 1836
Sources:	North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster

Oddly, a roster list of NC Confederate Soldiers has D. E. Ridenhour enlisting on August 8, 1862 in Edgecomb County, 10 days before the actual Fold3 records have him being conscripted in Stanly County, in the same Company, Co F 5th NC Infantry and had "Mustered Out" on the same date that Fold3 copies said that he was deserted, at home and "can not be gotten back".

To add to their sorrow, a third and last son was born to Ed and Sarah on December 31, 1863 and passed away on February 22, 1864. He was named John E. Ridenhour and laid to rest at Bear Creek Church with his two brothers.

Tombstone of John E. Ridenhour

Davidson Edward Ridenhour, wife Elizabeth Sarah and daughter Martha Elizabeth, are shown in Stanly County, as a Merchant.

Name:	D E Ridenhour
Age in 1870:	55
Birth Year:	abt 1815 [abt 1835]
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	1
Home in 1870:	Ridenhour, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Occupation:	Merchant (Retail)
Male Citizen over 21:	Y
Personal Estate Value:	2500
Real Estate Value:	800
Inferred Children:	Elizabeth Ridenhour  Martha Ridenhour
Household Members:	Name Age D E Ridenhour 55 Elizabeth Ridenhour 35 Martha Ridenhour 11

 But the families experience for the next 10 years is told best in the obituary of their only daughter, Martha Alice Ridenhour Wallace, aka "Mattie".




According to her obituary, the small family migrated to Gibson County, Tennessee in the fall of 1873. Mattie joined the church there. Three years later, in December of 1876, they moved again, this time to the town of Hillsboro in Lawrence County, Alabama. Mattie married there on Valentine's Day in 1878 to William Calvin Wallace.  Her happiness was short-lived as she passed away just 6 months later at the age of 19 on September 10, 1878. She said she would be meeting her "three little angel brothers" in heaven.


The Moulton Advertiser
(Moulton, Alabama)19 Sep 1878, Thu  • Page 2



In the 1880 census, now completely childless, D. E. and E. S. Ridenhour are shown in the Lawrence County, Alabama census, living in Hillsboro.

Name:	Sarah E. Ridenhour
Age:	46
Birth Date:	Abt 1834
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Lawrence, Alabama, USA
Dwelling Number:	27
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Wife
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	D. E. Ridenhour
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age D. E. Ridenhour 46 Sarah E. Ridenhour 46

At some point between 1880 and 1889, Ed and Sarah returned to North Carolina.




It was reported in 1889 that Ed had the mail route from Bilesville (now known as New London in Stanly County) to China Grove, in Rowan County.



The Wilmington Morning Star
(Wilmington, North Carolina)09 Dec 1891, Wed  • Page 3

They were reported to be living in the Unity community in Rowan County, when Sarah passed away in her sleep in 1891. Elizabeth Sarah Moose Ridenhour was laid to rest with her sons at Bear Creek Church, the old meeting house, just inside the Stanly County line.

Name:	D E Ridenhour
Gender:	Male
Marriage Date:	18 Nov 1896
Marriage Place:	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Sarah A Pickler
Spouse Gender:	Female
Event Type:	Marriage

D. E. Ridenhour was still in North Carolina, and probably in Gold Hill, Rowan County, when he married Sarah Ann Frances Pickler on November 18, 1896 in Stanly County. He was 60, she was 22.



The Enterprise
(Albemarle, North Carolina)21 Apr 1910, Thu  • Page 2

Name:	E Ed Ridenhour [D Ed Ridenhour]
Age in 1910:	73
Birth Year:	abt 1837
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1910:	Harris, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	S A F Ridenhour
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Native Tongue:	English
Occupation:	Landlord
Industry:	Boarding House
Employer, Employee or Other:	Own Account
Home Owned or Rented:	Own
Home Free or Mortgaged:	Free
Farm or House:	House
Able to Read:	Yes
Able to Write:	Yes
Years Married:	13
Out of Work:	N
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age E Ed Ridenhour 73 S A F Ridenhour 35 Pearl E Ridenhour 6 J B Spencer 53 Thomas Spencer 57 Garrett Pickler 26

While the family is not found in the 1900 census, the 1910 census is the only one in which Ed and Sarah Ann Francis Pickler Ridenhour are shown together. By this time their only child, a daughter named Pearl Elizabeth, has been born. She arrived on November 12, 1903.



At this time, Ed and Annie, as I will refer to S. A. F. Pickler Ridenhour, are operating a boarding house in the town of New London, which was formerly Bilesville, from which he had ran a mail route. Living with the in the Boarding house, besides their 6 year old daughter, are J. B. Spencer, a carpenter, and Thomas Spencer, a Gold Miner. New London was still a very active Gold mining town at this point. These two men may have been brothers, considering their ages. Also boarding was Garrett Pickler, Annie's little brother, who was a mail carrier.

Name:	Annie Ridenhour
Age:	44
Birth Year:	abt 1876
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1920:	Harris, Stanly, North Carolina
House Number:	8
Residence Date:	1920
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Widowed
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Able to Speak English:	Yes
Occupation:	None
Home Owned or Rented:	Rent
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Annie Ridenhour 44 Pearl Redenhour 16

Things get a bit confusing and interesting by 1920. Annie and Pearl, now 16, are living at what appears to be the corner of Main and Church Streets in the town of New London. While her house is listed on Main Street, she is right next door to her brothers Garrett and George W. Pickler, who both live on Church Street. She is listed as a widow, which would not be surprising as Ed is now in his 80's. But.....he is not dead, so she is not widowed.

Old Map of Bilesville and the Parker Gold Mines

D. E. Ridenhour is listed as living on Depot Street, in the "Village of New London". He is now 84 and his occupation is given as "An Ex-Confederate Soldier." It is likely he was drawing a pension. He is also listed as "Widowed", despite living just around the corner from his wife and daughter. Something major must have happened to cause this split. That would require  more intense research into the Stanly County court records of the years 1910 to 1920. That, I have not done. It could have meant they were divorced,

Name:	Davidson Ridenhour
Age:	84
Birth Year:	abt 1836 [abt 1866]
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1920:	Harris, Stanly, North Carolina
Street:	Depot Street
House Number:	51
Residence Date:	1920
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Widowed
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Native Tongue:	English
Able to Speak English:	Yes
Occupation:	Ex Confidents
Industry:	Soldier
Home Owned or Rented:	Rent
Able to Read:	Yes
Able to Write:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Davidson Ridenhour 84

Annie was referred to as "Mrs. D. E. Ridenhour in 1919, when her brother Levi came to visit.



The News
(Albemarle, North Carolina)05 Apr 1919, Sat  • Page 2


Ed did not make it to the 1930 census. Shortly after the 1920 one was taken, he was transported to the Old Soldiers Home in Raleigh. Despite being a deserter, a reputation that had most likely faded away with time, he appears to have recieved military benesits and was honored in the papers as a "Surviving Confederate Hero", with other living soldiers.




The Stanly News-Herald
(Albemarle, North Carolina)06 Jul 1920, Tue  • Page 1

Davidson Edward Ridenhour passed away on January 3, 1923, at the Soldier's Home in Raleigh, Wake County, NC of pneumonia, stemming from influenza. He was 87 years, 5 months and 4 days old. His death certificate states he was buried in Richfield, NC, not with his first wife and sons at Bear Creek.

But before progressing further with the life of Annie Pickler Ridenhour, we must return to the beginning of this post. Who was the other party in the court case, Hezekiah Morton, and what of the child the court case was concerning?

Like there were multiple Sarah Ann Picklers who lived in Stanly County, there were also multiple Hezekiah Morton's. Even these unusual names, like Hezekiah, can become common in an era when multiple members of younger generations are name in honor of a common ancestor.

First there was the Rev. Hezekiah Morton, who was born in 1836. He was the son of Jesse G Morton and Elizabeth Burris Morton. He was born and married the first time in Stanly County, but after his young bride died, he married a second time in Montgomery County and was found there in 1870, by the 1880 census, he was listed as a minister and was living in Harris Township in Stanly County, but by 1881, he had moved to Thomasville in Davidson County, where he was a Minister, Inventor and active in the community, until he moved to Greensboro in Guilford County by 1914, where he died in 1922. It is unlikely this Hezekiah was the guilty Hezekiah, due to his age, status and location.

Captain John Morton of Viriginia, Morton family Patriarch

Then there was Jacob Hezekiah Morton, the son of Jesse Allan Morton and Sarah Efird Morton. He was born in November of 1878, so would have been only twelve years old approaching 13 when this court case took place, so I believe he was far to young to be the Hezekiah we were looking for.

And then there was Hezekiah Alexander Morton. He was the son of Rev. William Green Morton and Sophia Lowder Morton.

To explain the Morton connections a bit, Rev. William Green Morton was the son of an even older Hezekiah Morton who married Susannah Hathcock and died in 1846. This Hezekiah was the son of Ezekial Morton and Elizabeth Brumbelow.

The above mentioned Jacob Hezekiah Morton, who was the son of Jesse Allan Morton, was also a grandson of Hezekiah Morton and Susannah Hathcock. Jesse Allan Morton and William Green Morton were brothers.

Jesse G. Morton, who was the father of the Rev. Hezekiah Morton who resided in Thomasville and Greensboro was a brother of the Hezekiah Morton who married Sussanah Hancock. Both were sons of Ezekial Morton who married Elizabeth Brumbelow. This line leads even further back into Virginia into more Hezekiah's, Ezekials and Jesse's, with plenty of Johns, Josephs and James to match.

Hezekiah Alexander Morton was born on January 28, 1869 in the shadow of Lowder's Mountain in the Poplin's Grove area.

Name:	H. Morton
Age:	11
Birth Date:	Abt 1869
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
House Number:	3
Dwelling Number:	134
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Son
Marital Status:	Single
Father's name:	W. G. Morton
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's name:	S. J. Morton
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	At Home
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age W. G. Morton 40 S. J. Morton 41 Adam Morton 13 H. Morton 11 S. L. Morton 9 John Morton 7 Henry Morton 7 Ezekiel Morton 5 A. E. Morton 2 E. F. Morton 6/12

His actions between the 1880 and 1900 census are not clear, but a few things are.

1) At the time of the court appearance in 1891, he was 22 years old to Sarah Ann Pickler's 17 years. A more likely age to be the Hezekiah in the case, than his 12 1/2 year old cousin.

2) Sometime shortly after the court appearance, he managed to go to Arkansas. A common destination for young Stanly County men who were running from responisibilities, trouble, or just looking for greener pastures during this period of time.

3) He married Alice Mazona Diffee about 1895, who was born in 1878 in Bizamark, Arkansas County, Arkansas and was found living with her parents, Samuel Diffee and Sarah Amanda Faulkner Diffee in 1880.

4) By 1900, he had returned to Stanly County, North Carolina. The family had not been there long, as daughter Jesse Alice Morton Smith, was born on September 29, 1898 in Bismark, Garland County, Arkansas.

Name:	Alex H Morton [Alex K Morton]
Age:	31
Birth Date:	Jan 1869
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1900:	Albermarle, Stanly, North Carolina
Sheet Number:	8
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:	131
Family Number:	135
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Alice M Morton
Marriage Year:	1895
Years Married:	5
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	Farmer
Months not employed:	0
Can Read:	Yes
Can Write:	Yes
Can Speak English:	Yes
House Owned or Rented:	O
Home Free or Mortgaged:	F
Farm or House:	F
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Alex H Morton 31 Alice M Morton 23 Wm H Morton 3 Jessie Morton 1 France Turner 39

The Frances Turner living with them in 1900 was Hezekiah's aunt,  Mary Frances Lowder Turner, sister of his mother Sophia and widow of Isaac Turner.

H. A. Morton would become the adminstrator of his father's estate, when William Green Morton died in December of 1900.

On November 9, 1901, Hezekiah's Aunt Mary Frances Lowder Turner deeded property to him "for and in consideration of  the support, care and maintenance through sickness and health during her natural life to be rendered by said H. A. Morton, party of the second part hereto in the same plight, way and manner as becomes or is his duty, according to his station in life to care for, maintain, support and provide for the members of his own family, including food, clothing, all medicine and medical attention necessary for the proper care of her during her natural life, with the express agreement and understanding that the said M. F. Turner is to continually live with the said H. A. Morton the remainder of her natural life', with the addition of $ 75.00 paid to Frances by Hezekiah, a tract of land in Albemarle township that bordered the property of John S. Efird, Lindsey Hathcock and others that lie on the Albemarle Road and also bordered a creek. This tract was 58 and 1/2 acres and part of an inheritance left to her by her father and Hezekiah's grandfather, Samuel Lowder. On the same day, she also signed over her personal property, including cattle and furniture, to Hezekiah, in addition to the property.

Name:	Hesikiah Marton [Hezekiah Marton]  [Fredrick Marton]
Age:	50
Birth Year:	abt 1870
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1920:	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina
House Number:	Farm
Residence Date:	1920
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Alice Marton
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's name:	Sophia Marton
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Able to Speak English:	Yes
Occupation:	Farmer
Industry:	General
Home Owned or Rented:	Own
Home Free or Mortgaged:	Free
Able to Read:	Yes
Able to Write:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Hesikiah Marton 50 Alice Marton 42 Homer Marton 18 Gladys Marton 16 Sophia Marton 80 Francis Turner 79 Fairly Holt 27 Anna Holt 22 Hubert Holt 4 Wade Holt 0 Lula Ruth Curlee 21 Martha M Curlee 3 Evelyn S Curlee 1

H. A.  appears to have kept his end of the bargain, because 20 years later in the 1920 census, his Aunt Francis is still living with him, along with his mother Sophia and other boarders.

Mary Frances Lowder Turner died on February 12, 1929 and was buried at Old Freedom Cemetery off of the St. Martin Road with many of her Lowder relatives. Her sister Sophia was buried at Poplins Grove Cemetery.

Over the next few years, Hezekiah would add to his land holdings by buying land around him. In 1905, he bought a 57 1/2 acres tract bordering George Foreman on the west bank of Long Creek, that was a part of Lot 3 of the Samuel Lowder division from William Sidney Kimrey and wife Julia Ann Holt Kimrey, William C. Thompson and his wife, Mary Ann Kimrey Thompson, and Jacob A. Hudson and his wife Rebecca Caroline Poplin Hudson. William Sidney Kimrey, Mary Ann Kimrey Thompson and Jacob A Hudson were all children of Araminta Lowder Kimrey Hudson, daughter of Samuel Lowder and wife Nancy, and therefore relatives of Hezekiah.

In 1907, he bought another 51 1/2 acres also bordering George Foreman and also on the west bank of Long Creek, from A. M. Morton, guardian of Walter and Alonzo Hudson.






Hezekiah Alexander Morton and wife Alice Diffee Morton, would raise their family on this property, on the banks of Long Creek. The 1940 census gave their address as the Oakboro, St. Martin Road in Albemarle.  They would have 4 that lived to adulthood:

1) William Washington Morton (1897-1970) Born in Hot Springs, Arkansas and died in Albemarle.
2)  Julia A. Morton Smith (1898-1984) Born in Bismark, AK and died in Winston-Salem, NC.
3) Homer Rufus Morton (1901-1964) Born and died in Stanly County, NC.
4) Gladys Viola Morton (1903-1949) Born and died in Albemarle, Married Wayne Burelson

A fifth child, Edgar Diffee Morton, died as a toddler.

The Enterprise
(Albemarle, North Carolina)31 Jan 1907, Thu  • Page 2

Alice Mazona Diffee Morton would die first, on March 31, 1947 and was buried at Poplin's Grove.
Hezekiah Alexander Morton followed on August 21, 1956 and was buried beside her.


But finally, who was the child, the product of this union that would end the young couple in court, facing charges of bastardy. Could he be found and could he be named?

I discovered he could.

Frederick Hamilee Pickler was born on March 5, 1891 in New London, NC. He could not be found in his first census, that of the 1900, but neither could his mother. He may have been living with her and his step-father, as he was not to be found among his other Pickler relatives. Or, he could have been in one of the several orphanages around in neighboring counties.

The 1910 census was telling. The 1900 and 1910 censuses are the only two that asked the questions of how many children a woman had given birth to, and how many of those were still living. It was an excellent, but sad way to have a view of the child mortality rate, which was terrible at the time. It was not uncommon to see families with more children deceased than living.

In 1910, Sarah Ann Pickler Ridenhour informed that she had given birth to two children, but stated that only one was living. Her answers were 2 and 1. Her daughter Pearl was living with her, so it made it look like her other child was deceased. He was not. It could have been that she misunderstood it to mean, how many were living with her.

Name:Fred Pickler
Age in 1910:18
Birth Year:abt 1892
Birthplace:North Carolina
Home in 1910:Jerusalem, Davie, North Carolina
Street:Salisbury Road
Race:White
Gender:Male
Relation to Head of House:Nephew
Marital Status:Single
Father's Birthplace:North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:North Carolina
Native Tongue:English
Occupation:Laborer
Industry:Odd Jobs
Employer, Employee or Other:Wage Earner
Attended School:No
Able to Read:Yes
Able to Write:Yes
Out of Work:N
Number of weeks out of work:0
Neighbors:
Household Members:

Name	Age
Levi J Pickler	38
Mary J Pickler	29
Fred Pickler	18

Frederick Hamilee Pickler was living with Levi Pickler, his uncle, in 1910 and working odd jobs as an 18 year old. Jerusalem is just a little spot on the road now, on Highway 601 between Salibury and Mocksville, just above the crossing of the South Yadkin. Daniel Boone family territory.

I looked to see where Levi John Calhoun Pickler was in 1900. He and his young bride were already in Davie County by then, but Fred Pickler was not with them.

Name:	Frederick H Pickler
Residence Year:	1915
Street address:	313 E 5th
Residence Place:	Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Occupation:	Salesman
Publication Title:	Charlotte, North Carolina, City Directory, 1915

Fred next shows up in the Charlotte City Directory in 1915, working as a Salesman. As a young man of the early years of the 20th century, footloose and fancy free, public transportation was expanding to make the world his oyster. He did not have to be stuck in a farming community for life and he didn't.




Military records indicate he served in the Navy for a time.

He would marry Anna Augusta Kerr, whose family originated in Pennsylvania and the 1920 census found the young couple living in Hillsdale, Michigan, where Fred was working as a foreman in a construction company.

Name:	Frederic Pickles [Frederick Pickler]
Age:	28
Birth Year:	abt 1892
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1920:	Hillsdale Ward 2, Hillsdale, Michigan
Street:	Manning-St
Residence Date:	1920
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Anna Pickles
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Able to Speak English:	Yes
Occupation:	Foreman
Industry:	constructin Co
Employment Field:	Wage or Salary
Home Owned or Rented:	Rent
Able to Read:	Yes
Able to Write:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Frederic Pickles 28 Anna Pickles 23

In the years between 1920 and 1930, several interesting things happened.

Name:	Frederick Pickler
Birth Year:	abt 1892
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Marital Status:	Married
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Home in 1930:	Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA
Map of Home:	View Map
Street address:	Lawler
Ward of City:	37
Block:	421
House Number:	547
Dwelling Number:	35
Family Number:	54
Home Owned or Rented:	Rented
Home Value:	66.00
Radio Set:	Yes
Lives on Farm:	No
Age at First Marriage:	25
Attended School:	No
Able to Read and Write:	Yes
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Able to Speak English:	Yes
Occupation:	Contractor
Industry:	Building
Class of Worker:	Working on own account
Employment:	Yes
Veteran:	Yes
War:	W.W
Household Members:	Name Age Frederick Pickler 38 Anna Pickler 32 Blair Male 28 Lawson Miller 19 Pearl Ridenhaur 26

Fred and Anna were living in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois where Fred was working as a building contractor. They had take in several boarders including Blair Male, an electrical contrator from West Virginia, Lawson Miller, Anna's nephew, the son of her sister Hazel and Pearl Ridenhour, Fred's half-sister, the daughter of Sarah Anna Pickler and Ed Ridenhour. Pearl was working as a school teacher and Lawson was working for an electrical contractor. It's possible that Fred, Blair and Lawson all worked for the same company.

Name:	Frederick Pickler
Age:	49
Estimated Birth Year:	abt 1891
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Marital Status:	Married
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Home in 1940:	Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Map of Home in 1940:	View Map
Street:	Lockwood
House Number:	950
Inferred Residence in 1935:	Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Residence in 1935:	Same Place
Sheet Number:	1A
Number of Household in Order of Visitation:	4
Occupation:	Carpenter
House Owned or Rented:	Owned
Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented:	6000
Attended School or College:	No
Highest Grade Completed:	College, 1st year
Hours Worked Week Prior to Census:	40
Class of Worker:	Wage or salary worker in private work
Weeks Worked in 1939:	21
Income:	1020
Income Other Sources:	No
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Frederick Pickler 49 Anna Pickler 41 Frederick J Pickler 6 Lawson J Miller 29 Pearl Miller 35 Mildred Brown 41 Roy Brown 7

Pearl would marry her brothers brother-in-law, Lawson Miller, and 10 years later the combination of siblings were still living together. Fred was working as a carpenter and Pearl was still a School teacher, while her husband, Lawson was a relay adjuster. In the meantime, Fred and his wife Anna had welcomed their first son into the fold, Frederick James Pickler. A second son, Ronald W. Pickler, was somehow missed, but should have also been in this census.

Frederick Hamilee Pickler, son of Sarah Ann Frances Pickler and Hezekiah Alexander Morton, would move from Chicago to L. A. and there he died on January 19, 1952. He is buried at Roosevelt Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.

His wife Anna Augusta Kerr Pickler died on October 17, 1954 and was buried beside her husband.

Their oldest son, Frederick James Pickler, would marry Virginia Lauricella in the 1952, the year his father died. Frederick James would remain in California and died there on August 16, 1996 in Fresno. He was buried at the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery

Ronald W. Pickler, second son, would marry in California, but returned to Illinois. He died there on December 23, 1981, in Cook County, Illnois.  He was buried at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Bradley County, Tennesee.



The Stanly News-Herald
(Albemarle, North Carolina)20 Jan 1922, Fri  • Page 3


Sarah Ann Pickler's daughter, Pearl Elizabeth Ridenhour Miller, would return to Stanly County. She passed away on July 4, 1979. Her husband Lawson (or Losson) J Miller passed away on December 30, 1984. Both are buried in the New London town cemetery in New London, NC where Pearl grew up.




As for Sarah Ann "Annie" Pickler Ridenhour, she would remain in New London, Stanly County, NC.

Name:	Annie Ridenhor [Annie Ridenhour]
Age:	66
Estimated Birth Year:	abt 1874
Gender:	Female
Race:	White
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Marital Status:	Widowed
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Home in 1940:	New London, Stanly, North Carolina
Map of Home in 1940:	View Map
Farm:	No
Inferred Residence in 1935:	New London, Stanly, North Carolina
Residence in 1935:	Same House
Resident on farm in 1935:	No
Sheet Number:	1B
Number of Household in Order of Visitation:	23
House Owned or Rented:	Owned
Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented:	1500
Attended School or College:	No
Highest Grade Completed:	Elementary school, 6th grade
Income Other Sources:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Annie Ridenhor 66 Josephine Pickler 39 James B Spence 83

The 1940 census found Annie in the same house she had lived in for decades, with her younger sister Josephine Pickler. Josephine had been living with their brother Levi in 1930, who had slid a little closer to home down Hwy 601, and was found in Franklin, in Rowan County, just south of Jerusalem, and on the southern bank of the South Yadkin. Living with the sisters was James B Spence, who had been boarding with Annie for decades.

Sarah Ann Frances Pickler Ridenhour passed away on November 29, 1962 in Concord, North Carolina, where she was hospitalized. She had been living in a nursing home there. She was 88 years old. The informant on her death certificate was her daughter Pearl, who was still in Chicago at the time. It might have been the inheritance of property that caused Pearl to retire back to New London.

Annie was also buried in the New London Town cemetery.

Obituary for Sarah Ann Pickler Ridenhour


Descendants of Frederick Hamilee Pickler seem lost as to his origin. There are some who have his mother correct and his father as D. E. Ridenhour, seemingly not concerned with the different surname. Others have his mother listed with no surname, as if Pickler were her married name, and then his father as "Pickler" with no first name. Most just have no parents for him at all. My hopes is that his living descendants will be able to find this post in their research and be able to fill out their trees a little more and connect with their Stanly County roots.