30 Mothers in 30 Days: Leavy

I believe her name was meant to be Olivia. However, as a child born in the middle years of the the 19th century, Olivia, which trended in the Starnes family, had been corrupted to "Arleavis" and as a dimunitive, to Leavy.

Leavy and her two daughters, Maude and Minnie.

The one thing my father would recall about his Great Grandmother, was that she had a scar across her face, that she had acquired from being kicked in the face by a cow. Margaret Arleavis Starnes had grown up a farm girl, no doubt. Although several of my Second Great Grandmothers had suffered the Civil War as children, Leavy had been more fortunate than Caroline or Julina, in my mother's day series. Her father had lived, and not only that, had prospered.


Leavy was born on January 19, 1855, in Union County, North Carolina, the daughter of Frederick Fincher Starnes and Mary Louise Byram. She was the granddaughter of Frederick Starnes III and Sarah Fincher Starnes, and William Byram and Martha Phifer Byram.

As a child, the family lived near the state line, and later in the Goose Creek area of Union County, which was a center  for the Starnes family.

Leavy holding unknown Great Grandchild with her daughter and Granddaughter.

After the war they would move to Township One in Cabarrus County. She had a little brother, John, who passed away and was buried in the Stallings family cemetery, in Stanly County, near Mission Church, so they were probably living near the Cabarrus/Stanly County line.

Name:	Margaret A. Starns [Margaret A. Starnes]
Age:	23
Birth Date:	Abt 1857
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Rocky River, Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	28
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Daughter
Marital status:	Single
Father's name:	F.F. Starns
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's name:	Mary L. Starns
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Cannot Write:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age F.F. Starns 51 Mary L. Starns 43 Margaret A. Starns 23 Thomas M. Starns 19 Dalphia A. Starns 10 Georgia A. Starns 7 Fredrick L. Starns 5 Dasie L. Starns 2 Martha Byram 70

The above is the 1880 census. Grandmother Martha Byram is living with them. This is just before Leavy is to marry. She is shown as Margeret A.. 23 in this census. Leavy was the second born child. Sister Sarah Alice had already married and firstborn son, John L. had already passed as well as a younger sister.



The family attended Rocky River Presbyterian Church in Cabarrus County, after their move. Leavy's mother, Mary, is buried there alongside a few of her sisters who died as children: Martha Ann, who died in 1877, before this census and Georgia Ann, who died in 1880, after this census was taken. Mary Louise died in 1894 at the age of 54. One son, Frederick Lafayette Starnes, also is buried here, but he attained adulthood and had a family of his own.


Leavy was married on January 20, 1881, at the age of 24, a bit later than several of her generation, but it served her well. The groom was Robert B. Lemmonds or Lemmons, whose family had originated around Mint Hill and had deep roots in Mecklenburg and Union Counties. She became pregant immediately, giving birth to first child, Maude Alice Lemmonds in November.

Bob farmed, did odd jobs and worked as a postman. I've featured him and Leavy before in posts.



Leavy and Bob had 5 children during their 11 years of marriage:

1881 Maude Alice
1884 Frederick Cleveland
1886 Harvey Lafayette
1888 Samuel Grier
1891 Minnie Louise

Bob passed away in 1892, at the age of 40.

Leavy would move her young family to Charlotte, where her father and his second wife Abigail lived. As the single mother of 5 children, she had to lean on her father quite a bit.

Name:	Leann Lemmons [Leavy Lemmons]  [Leara Lemmons]
Age:	45
Birth Date:	Jan 1855
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1900:	Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina
House Number:	8
Sheet Number:	20
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:	334
Family Number:	347
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital status:	Widowed
Marriage Year:	1881
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother: Number of Living Children:	5
Mother: How Many Children:	5
Can Read:	No
Can Write:	No
Can Speak English:	Yes
House Owned or Rented:	R
Farm or House:	H
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Leann Lemmons 45 Maud Lemmons 18 Fred Lemmons 16 Harris Lemmons 13 Minnie Lemmons 18

She would settle brieflly in a community in Union County called "Brief" on a small plot of land givent to her by her father, but by 1920, she had settled finally in Cabarrus County, in Concord, where the cotton mills were.


Leavy died at the age of 84 and is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Concord near her daughters.

Happy Mother's Day Grandma Leavy.

CLIPPED FROM

The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte, North Carolina05 Aug 1939, Sat  •  Page 12