 |
| Marriage license of Michael Honeycutt and Lucinda Ramsey Burgess |
Holden Ramsey, one of the older sons of Starkey "Stark" Ramsey, first shows up as Head of Household in 1830, in Anson County, NC.
| Name: | Holan Romsey [Holan Ramsey] [Hlan Rmsey] |
|---|---|
| Home in 1830 (City, County, State): | Anson, North Carolina |
| Free White Persons - Males - Under 5: | 2 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Under 20: | 2 |
| Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: | 2 |
| Total Free White Persons: | 4 |
| Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): | 4 |
He looks to be married, between 20 and 29 years old, putting his year of birth between 1801 and 1810, having a wife of the same age. We know from the 1850 census that his wife Mary aka "Polly" was born about 1815. He has two sons under 5 years of age. One of these could be William R. Ramsey born 1827, who named one of his sons "Holden". He is married by 1850 to Lavina Barbara Springer, daughter of Lewis Springer and Rachel Sides, from Stanly County, not to be confused with his cousin, William Riley Ramsey, son of Samuel Ramsey, of a comparable age.
By 1840, Holden has moved his young family to Wilkes County, North Carolina. He now has 4 children, but it looks like one of his first young sons may have died as a child. He has one son between 10 and 14, but 3 others had been born between 1830 and 1840, a daughter between 5 and 9, a son between 5 and 9, and a daughter under 5. One of those daughters was Lucinda. The other, Emmaline. The younger son, I believe to be Herbert.
Michael Huneycutt first shows up in the 1840 census of Cabarrus County. He is a single man between 20 and 29 years old. And in the 1850 census, he is no where to be found, or either, I can't find him yet. But his parents, Samuel and Nancy Honeycutt, can be found, and the census page they are on, is an interesting one, that explains some things and makes a lot of sense.
Samuel and Nancy Honeycutt are shown living in Burnsville, Anson County. Samuel is 70 and Nancy is 60. Living with them is Mary, 25, Betsy 16, Ander 13 and Lucy 8. Are these grandchildren? Mary is actually the only one old enough to be a daughter. But their neighbors are the interesting point, James Ramsey, Holden Ramsey's brother, lives next door. He is married to Beadie Ledbetter, and next to them in Nelly Ledbetter, her mother.
On the previous page, it reveals that other Ramsey family members are closeby as well.
Polly Ramsey, 35, is Mary, widow of Holden Ramsey. 17 Lucy is Lucinda. Nelly,5, Polly 3 and Annice, 9, appears to be living with neighbors James and Martha W. Ramsey, are also daughters of Holden Ramsey. Not too far away, yet another dauhter, Emmaline, is living with Cornelius and Rebecca Dunn Cox. The family progenitor, Holden's father and Polly's father-in-law, Stark Ramsey, is living next door with his wife Lisha, his son John, and John's wife Tempy. Next to Stark is more of my family, Wilson Turner and then his father George Turner, who is a 5th Great Grandfatehr of mine. He married Beadia Nancy Broadaway, and was the son of James Melchor "Jaspar" Turner and Lucy Marshall. The Turner, Broadaway and Marshall families had all settled on the Rocky River and originated in Southside Virginia and most of my maternal line did.
Lucy, 17 in this census, was now of marriagable age. Although Michael Honeycutt was nowhere to be found in 1850, and they were not each others first marriages, this shows his parents as neighbors to the Ramseys, so he must have known Lucinda as a young girl.
In 1854, Lucinda Ramsey married Allen Burgess of Stanly County. He was born on May 9, 1825, son of Basketmaker Akel Burgess, Jr. and Sarah Ledbetter Burgess. Akel was a son of Akelley Burgess and Sarah Mainor Burgess of Wake County, and himself named a son Akel Burgess, so there were 3 Akels.
The 1860 census shows Allen and Lucy living near Albemarle with a 4 year old son, John Franklin Burgess.
Michael Honeycutt reappears in 1860, and he too has gotten married. His wife is only shown as "Mrs." Honeycutt and they have a 14 year old daughter, Margaret and a 2 year old son, Joseph. The 12 year age difference suggests that maybe Mrs. Honeycutt was not his first wife, and Margaret's mother had passed away, or there were children in between who might not have made it. This big age span was not typical for this era.
Then came the Civil War. Michael Honeycutt volunteered in Albemarle and at age 42, became a Private in Company H, 42nd Infantry. He was signed for a period of 3 years, or the term of the War, by J. M. Hartsell. From the sound of it, he spent a great deal of this time in the hospital in Wilmington. But Mike, unlike so many others, made it home.
Allen Burgess did not. Lucinda is nowhere to be found in 1870. She may have been somewhere attempting to find her missing- in- action husband, Allen. There are several Lucinda Burgesses about in 1870, some which could have been her. There are several Burgesses in Alexander County, North Carolina, where her sister Elenor "Nellie" gets married (to a guy from Stanly County), or even two Lucinda Burgesses, close together in age, living in the same house and working at a Cotton Mill in Randolph County, very near the Randolph/Montgomery County line. But I can't pin her down.
She left her son, John F. Burgess , now 14, with Alfred and Tempy Ledbetter, probably relatives of his grandmother, Sarah Ledbetter Burgess, in Big Lick, Stanly County. There was a Ramsey/Ledbetter connection in Burnsville, Anson County, too, suggesting the possibility that Lucinda's mother, Mary aka "Polly" Ramsey, may have been a Ledbetter. But there is no proof of that.
Schools had ceased, for the most part, during this time and young John could not read and write. John F. Burgess lived to marry and have descendants.
He married a girl named Rose and moved to Roan County, Tennesee. They had two sons, Harley Gay Burgess, born in 1890 and William Augustus Burgess, born in 1894.
Harley joined the military and later married Maude Rollins in Polk County, North Carolina. They had a large family of 9 children: 1913 Palmer H., 1914 Delmar Samuel, 1916 Edna Mae, 1918 Bertha Burgess Moore, 1920 Ethel Rue Alice Burgess Moore, 1923 J. Howard, 1914 Carl F, 1925 Everett Harris, 1928 Mary Frances Burgess Daly.
Maude died in 1939. Harley moved from Ruffin in Rockingham County, NC to Mount Crogan in Chesterfield County, South Carolina to Augusta, Georgia. By 1950, he was back in Charlotte, North Carolina where he married at 61 to Ida Inman Osborne. Harley Gay Burgess died September 25, 1868 in Mathews, Mecklenburg County, NC.
His younger brother, William Augustus Burgess, did not live as long as Harley. He did grow up to marry, to Ruth Henderson Gilbert, and they had one daughter, Elsie Mae Burgess, who lived a long life in Florida, married twice and had two children.
Allen and Lucinda had descendants.
While Lucinda, was nowhere to be found in 1870, Mike Honeycutt was living with his family in New Salem, in Union County, not far from Burnsville. His wife is named in this one, "Vina", probably short for Lavina. His daughter Margaret is now Mary, her name being Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret and Joseph have been joined by two other siblings, Nancy and Julius. Vina would not live long after this. Michael's name is incorrectly transcribed as Mitchell.
But back to Lucinda. Whereever she was in 1870, she was back to Stanly County in 1873. Exactly when Vina died is unknown, but she is gone by 1873, because Mike Honeycutt, son of Samuel and Nancy, marries Lucinda Burgess, daughter of Holden and Mary Ramsey.
The 1880 census shows that Mike and Lucinda have had a chld of their own, Eva. While Mike's oldest children are adults and on their own, Julius would only be 16. Oddly, he is not living with his father. Perhaps Lucinda would not allow it.
The family is living in Big Lick, in Stanly County, due north of New Salem and an area infested with Honeycutts. 65 year old Mike Honeycutt is working as Farm Labor. He never owned anything himself. Lucy is Keeping House, and unlike Mike, she can read and write.
And with this last census record, both Mike and Lucy pass into obscurity. It is not known when they died or where they were buried. Perhaps in the Oakboro/Big Lick area, perhaps in Burnsville. Eva was their only child, and she survived to adulthood. Her parents were at least alive until she married, at age 16.
On September 19, 1889, Eva Honeycutt, daughter of Mike and Lucinda, married Richard Holbrooks, age 21, at the home of P. M. Morris,( Philemon Milton Morris), in Township Number 2, Cabarrus County. Mike and Lucy Honeycutt gave their permission for their minor daughter to marry. The service was performed by J. Mc Caldwell, Justice of the Peace. Witnesses were Leah M. Penninger, her husband Paul Penninger, and Lucinda's father, M. C. Honeycutt. It appears the Mr. Caldwell wrote Mike's name and then Mike put an X in the signature and it was labeled "his mark".
Daily Concord Standard
(Concord, North Carolina) • Page 1
A year after his daughter married, Mike Honeycutt entered the County Home. He was about 72 by then. No mention of Lucy is made, but instead, it is stated he had been living off the generosity of a Cabarrus man for the past year. Perhaps that man was Richard.
Richard Holbrooks, born in 1868, did not know who his parents were. He was obviously an orphan. But that became a mystery, as his son, upon his death, knew who his parents were, and was exactly right. But that is not the only mystery surrounding this couple. Eva evidently inherited this aire of mystery from her mother.
The 1900 census finds Richard and Eva living in Lemley, Mecklenburg County. As were the sad realities for the day, Eva had given birth to 6 children, with only 3 of them living.
Mecklenburg, it seems, is where Richard Holbrooks was from.
I found him in 1870 as a child, living with his parents, Simpson and Mary Ann Young Holbrooks. He's even living with his Grandmother, Marie and Uncle Larkins.
By 1880, his father had died and his mother had remarried, to John F. Fisher. Zula, his little sister, was a Fisher, not a Holbrook. They were now in Gaston County. While he was very young when his father died, he should have certainly remembered his mother when he married at age 21. The mystery of the unknown parents is simply why did he say he didn't know them?
Back to Richard and Eva. They continued to be on the move. By 1910, they had moved from Lemley Township in Mecklenburg, which is now partially covered by Lake Norman, back to Cabarrus County. where they lived in Township Number One.
The family had increased to 5 children , all boys. Leroy, Arthur, Walter, Lonnie and Otis were all trendy names of the era. Sort of like Steve, Danny, Ricky, Bobby and Jimmy of my generation, or Jason, Justin, Brian, Brandon and Mathew of my childrens generation. Now, my grandchildren's generation, it would be Aiden, Jayden, Caiden, Mason and Cyrus.
Eva had given birth to 8 children with 5 living, so she had lost no more in the last decade. They lived on Rocky River Road, in Number One Township, which is the Harrisburg area and passes the old Rocky River Presbyterian Church, one of the oldest in the area.
Richard was trying his hand at farming, but as the tides would turn in the next decade, when waves of farm families would head to town and factory, so it went with the Holbrooks.
1920 found the family split. Only the youngest son, Otis Odell, remained at home. The other sons had left the farm and headed to the Cotton mills. Richard was now farming in Lanes Creek Township in Union County.
Lanes Creek bordered Anson County to the East and South Carolina to the South. But Richard and Eva could not sit still long.
By 1930, Richard was claiming retirement and Eva had no occupation listed. They were empty nesters.
This time they would be found in the town of Raeford, in Hoke County. Hoke became a popular destination in the early 20th century for its tobacco farms. It could have also been due to its proximity to Fort Bragg if a family had a son in the military stationed there.
But the antsy Holbrook family could not sit still. The 1932 City Directory of Wilmington, North Carolina would find them there, living in house number 77 at Spofford Mill Village with their son Walter and his wife Docie.
Richard and Eva would move one last time, this time to Bladen County, where their oldest son Leroy lived, and where their youngest son Odis Odell would move to after living in Robeson and Cumberland Counties.
Richard Holbrook died on March 8, 1933 of a cerebral hemmorhage. He was 84 years old. The Death Certificate informant was his son Lonnie, now also of Bladenboro. His father's name was given, Simpson Holbrooks, and his mother, Mary Ann Young. He knew who his parents were.
Eva outlived her husband by 6 years. She died in Wilmington, New Hanover County. She was buried in Bladenboro. She was 66 years, 1 month and 11 days old. Informant was her oldest son Leroy, of Bladenboro.
Her father was listed as Mike Honeycutt and her mother as Lucy Ramsey. Her place of birth was Stanly County. She had terminal bronchial pnuemonia.
Cut and dried, huh? No mystery there. But just wait, there was.
On May 18, 1910, Eva Honeycutt married W. M. Whittington. She was the daughter of Tillman and Lucy Honeycutt and her spouse was the 55 year old son of James and Rowena Whittington. This had to be another Eva Honeycutt, didn't it? Our Eva was already married, to a still very much alive Richard Holbrooks. Or, could Tillman be Mike's middle name. His crooked "c" looked very much like a curved "T". This would all be the case of two young women from the same area with the same name, but then....
When we find the older boys working in the cotton mills in the 1920 census, we find Lonnie living with .... the Whittingtons. Was J. F the father of W. M?
And to make things more tangled, in many documents, the boys listed their mothers surname as Whittington.
Was Eva a bigamist? Did she indeed marry a Whittington while married to Richard? Or did they divorce and remarry?
Another mystery to solve.
| Name | Holden Ramsey |
|---|---|
| Home in 1840 (City, County, State) | Bomgarners District, Wilkes, North Carolina |
| Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 30 thru 39 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Females - Under 5 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39 | 1 |
| Persons Employed in Agriculture | 1 |
| Persons Employed in Manufacture and Trade | 1 |
| No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write | 2 |
| Free White Persons - Under 20 | 4 |
| Free White Persons - 20 thru 49 | 2 |
| Total Free White Persons | 6 |
| Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves | 6 |
By 1840, Holden has moved his young family to Wilkes County, North Carolina. He now has 4 children, but it looks like one of his first young sons may have died as a child. He has one son between 10 and 14, but 3 others had been born between 1830 and 1840, a daughter between 5 and 9, a son between 5 and 9, and a daughter under 5. One of those daughters was Lucinda. The other, Emmaline. The younger son, I believe to be Herbert.
| Name: | Mackael Henrycull [Mackael Huneycutt] [Mackael Honeycutt] [Michael Honeycutt] |
|---|---|
| Home in 1840 (City, County, State): | Cabarrus, North Carolina |
| Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29: | 1 |
| Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: | 1 |
| Total Free White Persons: | 1 |
| Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: | 1 |
Michael Huneycutt first shows up in the 1840 census of Cabarrus County. He is a single man between 20 and 29 years old. And in the 1850 census, he is no where to be found, or either, I can't find him yet. But his parents, Samuel and Nancy Honeycutt, can be found, and the census page they are on, is an interesting one, that explains some things and makes a lot of sense.
Samuel and Nancy Honeycutt are shown living in Burnsville, Anson County. Samuel is 70 and Nancy is 60. Living with them is Mary, 25, Betsy 16, Ander 13 and Lucy 8. Are these grandchildren? Mary is actually the only one old enough to be a daughter. But their neighbors are the interesting point, James Ramsey, Holden Ramsey's brother, lives next door. He is married to Beadie Ledbetter, and next to them in Nelly Ledbetter, her mother.
On the previous page, it reveals that other Ramsey family members are closeby as well.
Polly Ramsey, 35, is Mary, widow of Holden Ramsey. 17 Lucy is Lucinda. Nelly,5, Polly 3 and Annice, 9, appears to be living with neighbors James and Martha W. Ramsey, are also daughters of Holden Ramsey. Not too far away, yet another dauhter, Emmaline, is living with Cornelius and Rebecca Dunn Cox. The family progenitor, Holden's father and Polly's father-in-law, Stark Ramsey, is living next door with his wife Lisha, his son John, and John's wife Tempy. Next to Stark is more of my family, Wilson Turner and then his father George Turner, who is a 5th Great Grandfatehr of mine. He married Beadia Nancy Broadaway, and was the son of James Melchor "Jaspar" Turner and Lucy Marshall. The Turner, Broadaway and Marshall families had all settled on the Rocky River and originated in Southside Virginia and most of my maternal line did.
Lucy, 17 in this census, was now of marriagable age. Although Michael Honeycutt was nowhere to be found in 1850, and they were not each others first marriages, this shows his parents as neighbors to the Ramseys, so he must have known Lucinda as a young girl.
In 1854, Lucinda Ramsey married Allen Burgess of Stanly County. He was born on May 9, 1825, son of Basketmaker Akel Burgess, Jr. and Sarah Ledbetter Burgess. Akel was a son of Akelley Burgess and Sarah Mainor Burgess of Wake County, and himself named a son Akel Burgess, so there were 3 Akels.
| Name: | Allen Burgess | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 34 | ||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1826 | ||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||
| Home in 1860: | Stanly, North Carolina | ||||||||
| Post Office: | Albemarle | ||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 749 | ||||||||
| Family Number: | 760 | ||||||||
| Occupation: | Day Laborer | ||||||||
| Personal Estate Value: | 40 | ||||||||
| Cannot Read, Write: | Y | ||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
The 1860 census shows Allen and Lucy living near Albemarle with a 4 year old son, John Franklin Burgess.
Michael Honeycutt reappears in 1860, and he too has gotten married. His wife is only shown as "Mrs." Honeycutt and they have a 14 year old daughter, Margaret and a 2 year old son, Joseph. The 12 year age difference suggests that maybe Mrs. Honeycutt was not his first wife, and Margaret's mother had passed away, or there were children in between who might not have made it. This big age span was not typical for this era.
Then came the Civil War. Michael Honeycutt volunteered in Albemarle and at age 42, became a Private in Company H, 42nd Infantry. He was signed for a period of 3 years, or the term of the War, by J. M. Hartsell. From the sound of it, he spent a great deal of this time in the hospital in Wilmington. But Mike, unlike so many others, made it home.
Allen Burgess did not. Lucinda is nowhere to be found in 1870. She may have been somewhere attempting to find her missing- in- action husband, Allen. There are several Lucinda Burgesses about in 1870, some which could have been her. There are several Burgesses in Alexander County, North Carolina, where her sister Elenor "Nellie" gets married (to a guy from Stanly County), or even two Lucinda Burgesses, close together in age, living in the same house and working at a Cotton Mill in Randolph County, very near the Randolph/Montgomery County line. But I can't pin her down.
She left her son, John F. Burgess , now 14, with Alfred and Tempy Ledbetter, probably relatives of his grandmother, Sarah Ledbetter Burgess, in Big Lick, Stanly County. There was a Ramsey/Ledbetter connection in Burnsville, Anson County, too, suggesting the possibility that Lucinda's mother, Mary aka "Polly" Ramsey, may have been a Ledbetter. But there is no proof of that.
| Name: | John F Burgess | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1870: | 14 | ||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1856 | ||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||
| Dwelling Number: | 238 | ||||
| Home in 1870: | Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina | ||||
| Race: | White | ||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||
| Occupation: | At Home | ||||
| Cannot Read: | Y | ||||
| Cannot Write: | Y | ||||
| Household Members: |
|
Schools had ceased, for the most part, during this time and young John could not read and write. John F. Burgess lived to marry and have descendants.
He married a girl named Rose and moved to Roan County, Tennesee. They had two sons, Harley Gay Burgess, born in 1890 and William Augustus Burgess, born in 1894.
Harley joined the military and later married Maude Rollins in Polk County, North Carolina. They had a large family of 9 children: 1913 Palmer H., 1914 Delmar Samuel, 1916 Edna Mae, 1918 Bertha Burgess Moore, 1920 Ethel Rue Alice Burgess Moore, 1923 J. Howard, 1914 Carl F, 1925 Everett Harris, 1928 Mary Frances Burgess Daly.
Maude died in 1939. Harley moved from Ruffin in Rockingham County, NC to Mount Crogan in Chesterfield County, South Carolina to Augusta, Georgia. By 1950, he was back in Charlotte, North Carolina where he married at 61 to Ida Inman Osborne. Harley Gay Burgess died September 25, 1868 in Mathews, Mecklenburg County, NC.
His younger brother, William Augustus Burgess, did not live as long as Harley. He did grow up to marry, to Ruth Henderson Gilbert, and they had one daughter, Elsie Mae Burgess, who lived a long life in Florida, married twice and had two children.
Allen and Lucinda had descendants.
 |
| Elsie Mae Burgess Summers, Granddaughter of Lucinda Ramsey Burgess Honeycutt |
While Lucinda, was nowhere to be found in 1870, Mike Honeycutt was living with his family in New Salem, in Union County, not far from Burnsville. His wife is named in this one, "Vina", probably short for Lavina. His daughter Margaret is now Mary, her name being Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret and Joseph have been joined by two other siblings, Nancy and Julius. Vina would not live long after this. Michael's name is incorrectly transcribed as Mitchell.
| Name: | Mitchell Haneycut | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1870: | 47 | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1823 | ||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 359 | ||||||||||||||
| Home in 1870: | New Salem, Union, North Carolina | ||||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Farmer | ||||||||||||||
| Cannot Read: | Y | ||||||||||||||
| Cannot Write: | Y | ||||||||||||||
| Male Citizen over 21: | Y | ||||||||||||||
| Inferred Spouse: | Vina Haneycut | ||||||||||||||
| Inferred Children: | Mary Haneycut Joseph Haneycut Nancy Haneycut Julius Haneycut | ||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
But back to Lucinda. Whereever she was in 1870, she was back to Stanly County in 1873. Exactly when Vina died is unknown, but she is gone by 1873, because Mike Honeycutt, son of Samuel and Nancy, marries Lucinda Burgess, daughter of Holden and Mary Ramsey.
| Name: | M C Huneycutt |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Marriage Date: | 8 Feb 1871 |
| Marriage Place: | Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | Saml Huneycutt |
| Mother: | Nancy Huneycutt |
| Spouse: | Lucinda Lucinda |
| Spouse Gender: | Female |
| Spouse Father: | Holden Ramsey |
| Spouse Mother: | Mary Ramsey |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
The 1880 census shows that Mike and Lucinda have had a chld of their own, Eva. While Mike's oldest children are adults and on their own, Julius would only be 16. Oddly, he is not living with his father. Perhaps Lucinda would not allow it.
| Name: | Michal Hunycutt | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 65 | ||||||||
| Birth Date: | Abt 1815 | ||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Home in 1880: | Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina, USA | ||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 249 | ||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Self (Head) | ||||||||
| Marital Status: | Married | ||||||||
| Spouse's Name: | Lucy Hunycutt | ||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Occupation: | Farm Laborer | ||||||||
| Cannot Read: | Yes | ||||||||
| Cannot Write: | Yes | ||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
The family is living in Big Lick, in Stanly County, due north of New Salem and an area infested with Honeycutts. 65 year old Mike Honeycutt is working as Farm Labor. He never owned anything himself. Lucy is Keeping House, and unlike Mike, she can read and write.
And with this last census record, both Mike and Lucy pass into obscurity. It is not known when they died or where they were buried. Perhaps in the Oakboro/Big Lick area, perhaps in Burnsville. Eva was their only child, and she survived to adulthood. Her parents were at least alive until she married, at age 16.
On September 19, 1889, Eva Honeycutt, daughter of Mike and Lucinda, married Richard Holbrooks, age 21, at the home of P. M. Morris,( Philemon Milton Morris), in Township Number 2, Cabarrus County. Mike and Lucy Honeycutt gave their permission for their minor daughter to marry. The service was performed by J. Mc Caldwell, Justice of the Peace. Witnesses were Leah M. Penninger, her husband Paul Penninger, and Lucinda's father, M. C. Honeycutt. It appears the Mr. Caldwell wrote Mike's name and then Mike put an X in the signature and it was labeled "his mark".
Daily Concord Standard
(Concord, North Carolina) • Page 1
A year after his daughter married, Mike Honeycutt entered the County Home. He was about 72 by then. No mention of Lucy is made, but instead, it is stated he had been living off the generosity of a Cabarrus man for the past year. Perhaps that man was Richard.
Richard Holbrooks, born in 1868, did not know who his parents were. He was obviously an orphan. But that became a mystery, as his son, upon his death, knew who his parents were, and was exactly right. But that is not the only mystery surrounding this couple. Eva evidently inherited this aire of mystery from her mother.
The 1900 census finds Richard and Eva living in Lemley, Mecklenburg County. As were the sad realities for the day, Eva had given birth to 6 children, with only 3 of them living.
| Name: | Eva Holdbrooks [Leva Holdbrook] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 25 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Oct 1874 | ||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Lemley, Mecklenburg, North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 69 | ||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Wife | ||||||||||||
| Marital Status: | Married | ||||||||||||
| Spouse's Name: | Richard Holdbrooks | ||||||||||||
| Marriage Year: | 1888 | ||||||||||||
| Years Married: | 12 | ||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Mother: Number of Living Children: | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Mother: How Many Children: | 6 | ||||||||||||
| Can Read: | No | ||||||||||||
| Can Write: | No | ||||||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Mecklenburg, it seems, is where Richard Holbrooks was from.
| Name: | Richard Holbrook | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1870: | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1868 | ||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 32 | ||||||||||||
| Home in 1870: | Deweese, Mecklenburg, North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||
| Inferred Father: | Simpson Holbrook | ||||||||||||
| Inferred Mother: | Mary Holbrook | ||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
I found him in 1870 as a child, living with his parents, Simpson and Mary Ann Young Holbrooks. He's even living with his Grandmother, Marie and Uncle Larkins.
| Name: | Richard Holbrooks | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 12 | ||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Abt 1868 | ||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||
| Home in 1880: | River Bend, Gaston, North Carolina, USA | ||||||||||
| House Number: | 24 | ||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 351 | ||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Stepson | ||||||||||
| Marital Status: | Single | ||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||
| Mother's name: | A. Mary Fisher | ||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||
| Occupation: | Works On Farm | ||||||||||
| Months not employed: | 7 | ||||||||||
| Cannot Read: | Yes | ||||||||||
| Cannot Write: | Yes | ||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
By 1880, his father had died and his mother had remarried, to John F. Fisher. Zula, his little sister, was a Fisher, not a Holbrook. They were now in Gaston County. While he was very young when his father died, he should have certainly remembered his mother when he married at age 21. The mystery of the unknown parents is simply why did he say he didn't know them?
Back to Richard and Eva. They continued to be on the move. By 1910, they had moved from Lemley Township in Mecklenburg, which is now partially covered by Lake Norman, back to Cabarrus County. where they lived in Township Number One.
The family had increased to 5 children , all boys. Leroy, Arthur, Walter, Lonnie and Otis were all trendy names of the era. Sort of like Steve, Danny, Ricky, Bobby and Jimmy of my generation, or Jason, Justin, Brian, Brandon and Mathew of my childrens generation. Now, my grandchildren's generation, it would be Aiden, Jayden, Caiden, Mason and Cyrus.
| Name: | Richard Halbrooks [Richard Holbrooks] | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1910: | 53 | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1857 | ||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1910: | Township 1, Cabarrus, North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Street: | Rocky River Road | ||||||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||||||||||
| Marital Status: | Married | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse's Name: | Eva Halbrooks | ||||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Native Tongue: | English | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Farmer | ||||||||||||||||
| Industry: | General Farm | ||||||||||||||||
| Employer, Employee or Other: | Employer | ||||||||||||||||
| Home Owned or Rented: | Rent | ||||||||||||||||
| Farm or House: | Farm | ||||||||||||||||
| Able to Read: | No | ||||||||||||||||
| Able to Write: | No | ||||||||||||||||
| Years Married: | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Eva had given birth to 8 children with 5 living, so she had lost no more in the last decade. They lived on Rocky River Road, in Number One Township, which is the Harrisburg area and passes the old Rocky River Presbyterian Church, one of the oldest in the area.
Richard was trying his hand at farming, but as the tides would turn in the next decade, when waves of farm families would head to town and factory, so it went with the Holbrooks.
| Name: | Richard Holbrook | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 51 | ||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1869 | ||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Home in 1920: | Lanes Creek, Union, North Carolina | ||||||||
| Street: | Belks Mill Road | ||||||||
| House Number: | Farm | ||||||||
| Residence Date: | 1920 | ||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||
| Marital Status: | Married | ||||||||
| Spouse's Name: | Eva Holbrook | ||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Able to Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||
| Occupation: | Farmer | ||||||||
| Industry: | General Farm | ||||||||
| Employment Field: | Own Account | ||||||||
| Home Owned or Rented: | Rent | ||||||||
| Able to Read: | Yes | ||||||||
| Able to Write: | No | ||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
1920 found the family split. Only the youngest son, Otis Odell, remained at home. The other sons had left the farm and headed to the Cotton mills. Richard was now farming in Lanes Creek Township in Union County.
Lanes Creek bordered Anson County to the East and South Carolina to the South. But Richard and Eva could not sit still long.
| Name: | Richard H Holbrooks | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth Year: | abt 1858 | ||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||
| Marital Status: | Married | ||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||
| Home in 1930: | Raeford, Hoke, North Carolina, USA | ||||||
| Map of Home: | View Map | ||||||
| Street address: | Baspect avenue and green street | ||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 134 | ||||||
| Family Number: | 142 | ||||||
| Radio Set: | No | ||||||
| Lives on Farm: | No | ||||||
| Age at First Marriage: | 31 | ||||||
| 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: | Retired | ||||||
| Industry: | wick | ||||||
| Household Members: |
|
By 1930, Richard was claiming retirement and Eva had no occupation listed. They were empty nesters.
This time they would be found in the town of Raeford, in Hoke County. Hoke became a popular destination in the early 20th century for its tobacco farms. It could have also been due to its proximity to Fort Bragg if a family had a son in the military stationed there.
| Name | Richard H Holbrooks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Male | |||||
| Residence Year | 1932 | |||||
| Street Address | 77 Spofford Mills Village | |||||
| Residence Place | Wilmington, North Carolina, USA | |||||
| Spouse | Eva Holbrooks | |||||
| Publication Title | Wilmington, North Carolina, City Directory, 1932 | |||||
| Household Members |
|
But the antsy Holbrook family could not sit still. The 1932 City Directory of Wilmington, North Carolina would find them there, living in house number 77 at Spofford Mill Village with their son Walter and his wife Docie.
Richard and Eva would move one last time, this time to Bladen County, where their oldest son Leroy lived, and where their youngest son Odis Odell would move to after living in Robeson and Cumberland Counties.
Richard Holbrook died on March 8, 1933 of a cerebral hemmorhage. He was 84 years old. The Death Certificate informant was his son Lonnie, now also of Bladenboro. His father's name was given, Simpson Holbrooks, and his mother, Mary Ann Young. He knew who his parents were.
Eva outlived her husband by 6 years. She died in Wilmington, New Hanover County. She was buried in Bladenboro. She was 66 years, 1 month and 11 days old. Informant was her oldest son Leroy, of Bladenboro.
Her father was listed as Mike Honeycutt and her mother as Lucy Ramsey. Her place of birth was Stanly County. She had terminal bronchial pnuemonia.
Cut and dried, huh? No mystery there. But just wait, there was.
| Name: | Eva Honeycutt |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Female |
| Race: | White |
| Age: | 27 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1883 |
| Marriage Date: | 18 May 1910 |
| Marriage Place: | Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | Tillman Honeycutt |
| Mother: | Lucy Honeycutt |
| Spouse: | W M Whittington |
| Spouse Gender: | Male |
| Spouse Race: | White |
| Spouse Age: | 55 |
| Spouse Father: | James Whittington |
| Spouse Mother: | Krian Whittington |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
On May 18, 1910, Eva Honeycutt married W. M. Whittington. She was the daughter of Tillman and Lucy Honeycutt and her spouse was the 55 year old son of James and Rowena Whittington. This had to be another Eva Honeycutt, didn't it? Our Eva was already married, to a still very much alive Richard Holbrooks. Or, could Tillman be Mike's middle name. His crooked "c" looked very much like a curved "T". This would all be the case of two young women from the same area with the same name, but then....
| Name: | Lonnie Holbrooks [Louise Holbrooks] [Lunnie Holbrooks] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 22 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1898 | ||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Home in 1920: | Monroe, Union, North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Street: | Streets Not Named | ||||||||||||
| Residence Date: | 1920 | ||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Boarder | ||||||||||||
| Marital Status: | Single | ||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Able to Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Laborer | ||||||||||||
| Industry: | Cotton Mill | ||||||||||||
| Employment Field: | Wage or Salary | ||||||||||||
| Able to Read: | Yes | ||||||||||||
| Able to Write: | Yes | ||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
When we find the older boys working in the cotton mills in the 1920 census, we find Lonnie living with .... the Whittingtons. Was J. F the father of W. M?
| Name: | Odis Odell Holbrook |
|---|---|
| Event Type: | Delayed Birth |
| Birth Date: | 12 Feb 1903 |
| Birth County: | Cabarrus |
| Parent1 Name: | Richard Holbrook |
| Parent2 Name: | Eva Whittington |
| Roll number: | NCVR_B_C016_68001 |
| Volume: | 19 |
| Page: | 105 |
And to make things more tangled, in many documents, the boys listed their mothers surname as Whittington.
| Name: | Odis Odell Holbrook |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | White |
| Age: | 65 |
| Birth Date: | 12 Feb 1903 |
| Birth Place: | , North Carolina, United States |
| Residence Place: | Fayetteville, Cumberland, North Carolina |
| Death Date: | 9 Dec 1968 |
| Death Place: | Fayetteville, Cumberland, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | Richard Holbrook |
| Mother: | Eva Whittington |
| Spouse: | Nellie Cook Holbrook |
Was Eva a bigamist? Did she indeed marry a Whittington while married to Richard? Or did they divorce and remarry?
Another mystery to solve.
I just love your website!
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