Who Was Sophronia?

 

As of late, I have made my focus a particular Stanly County, NC branch of the Smith family. There are multiple reasons why, however, this study has now allowed me to perorate on the Smiths with the same furvor I do on my Davis line, the first one I attempted to trace.

While studying the family of James and Elizabeth T. Smith, I came across a mysterious person that no one seemed to know what to do with, a child named Sophronia, but who was she?

James and Elizabeth had a daughter named Margaret H. Smith. Margaret had married a man named Jospeh Haskell. Joseph's father was a merchant, born in England, who had settled in the young town of Albemarle, then sandwiched between two hills and several streams on the outskirts of the Uwharrie Mountains.

Name	Margaret Haskell
Age in 1870	26
Birth Date	abt 1844
Birthplace	North Carolina
Dwelling Number	114
Home in 1870	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina
Race	White
Gender	Female
Post Office	Albemarle
Occupation	Keeping House
Cannot Read	Yes
Cannot Write	Yes
Inferred Spouse	Joseph Haskell
Inferred Children	James Haskell; William Haskell; Edward Haskell

Household members

Name	Age
Joseph Haskell	29
Margaret Haskell	26
James Haskell	4
William Haskell	3
Edward Haskell	7/12
Sophronia Lowder	8

In the 1870 census, we first encounter Saphronia. She is 8 years old, and has  the surname of Lowder. She is living with the Haskell family and their children, James 4, William 3 and 7 month old Edward.

Name	Safrony Haskell
Age	18
Birth Date	Abt 1862
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	White River, Prairie, Arkansas, USA
Dwelling Number	153
Race	White
Gender	Female
Relation to Head of House	Daughter
Marital Status	Single
Father's Name	Joseph Haskell
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Name	Margaret Haskell
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Joseph Haskell	40
Margaret Haskell	35
Safrony Haskell	18
James Haskell	15
William Haskell	12
Edward Haskell	10
Lizzie Haskell	8
Mamie Bell Haskell	6
Sallie Haskell	1

Between 1870 and 1880, like a lot of young families, the Haskells made the journey southwest. They had settled in the town of White River, Prairie County, Arkansas, an area that looks a little like Louisiana.

The White River, in Arkansas

The same four children are back in 1880, Saphronia (Safrony), James, William and Edward, along with three new little girls, Lizzie, Mamie Bell and Sallie. The one thing I noticed was Saphronia was now a Haskell. Was it the same person? Saphronia Lowder was 8 and now a decade later, Saphronia Haskell is 18. If it wasn't the same girl, where was Saphronia Haskell in 1870? The relationship to the Head of Household was given as daughter.

While looking into estate files from the local Lowder family, I was looking for a Lowder who possibly had died between 1860 and 1865, and for anything concerning a girl named Saphronia.

Then I found, not one, but two, curious estate files that caught my eye. This one was labeled "Saphronia Lowder (or Saphronia Haskell) and dated 1908. But didn't the girl in the Haskell home move to Arkansas? This estate file was from 1908, in Stanly County, NC.

Page One in the file stated 'The heirs of Saphronia Lowder, (or Haskell) are hereby notified, that the Administer of Mary A. Hathcock, deceased, deposited in the office of the Clerk of the Superior Court of Stanly County, their Distributed share of said estate. They are requested to take immediate action to prove their claim and obtain said money, or the same will be disposed of among the other heirs according to law."  It was dated April 30, 1908, and signed by the Clerk of Court. The second page said that a second copy was sent to Caddo County Deaucrot Arkadarpo Oklahoma for publication.

Page 3 was a statement signed by an Eben Lowder that he believed that Saphronia Lowder had died without leaving any goods or chattels, but had she? On November 24, 1908, the Clerk of Court, after recieving no notice back, declared Sophronia Lowder or Haskell, dead. 

Having already researched the family of Margaret H. Smith Haskell, that included Saphronia, I knew that the Saphronia that was in the household of Joseph and Margaret, was not dead. Eben Lowder claimed that Saphronia Lowder had married 'one Haskell' and about the year 1866, had moved to west, to the state 'now known' as Oklahoma, that her friends and relatives had not heard from her in about 20 years, and when they last heard, she was a resident of Caddo. Notice was sent to Caddo and no one replied, therefore Eben believed she was deceased with no heirs and that he was responsible for the estate of Mary A. Hathcock. He, along with Lindsey Lowder, heirs of John Lowder, deceased, Omie Austin, heirs of Abigail Lowder, deceased, were the heirs entitiled to the distribution of Saphronia's shares of the estate.

Stanly News and Press

Albemarle, North Carolina • Thu, Jan 19, 1905 Page 2

But this was either not true, or this was not the right Saphronia. Several questions arise. Where was Sophronia actually and who was Mary A. Hathcock? How was Saphronia an heir of hers?

Eben Lowder claimed his relation, Sophronia, had married a Haskell and moved to Oklahoma around 1866. Our Sophronia hadn't been born until 1862 and was just a little child in 1866. It was Margaret Smith who had married a Haskell. They were still in Stanly County in 1870 and were in Arkansas, not Oklahoma in 1880. Additionally, in 1908, Saphronia Lowder-Haskell that lived with the Smith family was not dead.

Name	Saprona J Lowder
Age	38
Birth Date	Aug 1861
Birthplace	North Carolina, USA
Home in 1900	Delaware, Yell, Arkansas
Sheet Number	17
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation	292
Family Number	303
Race	White
Gender	Female
Relation to Head of House	Stepdaughter (Step Daughter)
Marital Status	Single
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina, USA
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina, USA
Can Read	N
Can Write	N
Can Speak English	Y
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Joseph Haskell	59
Saprona J Lowder	38
William F Haskell	32

In 1900, Saphronia is shown as "Saprona J Lowder".  Again a  Lowder, she is now 38 and living in Yell County, Arkansas with Jospeh Haskell, 59, and William F. Haskell, 32. The relationship given to Joseph, the head of the household was Stepdaughter.. Where was everyone else? Where was Margaret?

The 20 years between 1880 and 1900 had been devastating. Margaret had passed away on March 4 1888, and they had buried 5 of their 8 children together:

• James T. Haskell (1866 -1888)
• Edward W. Haskell (1869-1882)
• Minnie Bell Haskell (1874-1882)
• E. G. Haskell (1881-1889)
• W. T. Haskell (1883-1888)

The fate of Elizabeth "Lizzie" Haskell, born about 1872, remains unknown. She is not buried in the two cemeteries that hold her parents or three other of her siblings.

Sally Jo Haskell married Benjamin Franklin McReynolds, settled in Hot Springs, Arkansas, raising 6 children and living until 1847, at age 68.

Then there was Saphronia and William Franklin, living with Joseph.

Name	Frona Haskell
Age in 1910	48
Birth Date	1862
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1910	Dustin, Hughes, Oklahoma, USA
Sheet Number	8a
Race	White
Gender	Female
Relation to Head of House	Daughter
Marital Status	Single
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Native Tongue	English
Occupation	Farmer
Industry	General Farm
Employer, Employee or Other	Own Account
Able to read	Yes
Able to Write	Yes
Enumeration District Number	0103
Enumerated Year	1910
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Joseph T Hashell	69
Frona Haskell	48
Nell F Haskell	42

Saphronia was still alive in 1910, too, therefore, when Eben Lowder declared a Saphronia Lowder (Haskell) dead in 1908, this Sophronia was now actually alive and living in Oklahoma, in a town called Dustin, Hughes County, Oklahoma. She's still with Joseph Haskell, this time shown as a Haskell, and called a daughter, not a stepdaughter. Her brother, Will F. Haskell, has been transcribed as 'Nell' incorrectly. She's now 48, a consistent "8" in all of the census records, 8, 18, 38, 48.

Back in Stanly County, a second estate record, with Eben Lowder declaring that he had not heard from his Saphronia in years, not neccessarily dead, and the court agreeing to divide her share of estates in which she was an entitled heir, amongst the other heirs. 

So, who was Mary A. Hathcock? She left a Will.

"State of North Carolina  County of Stanly

In the name of God Amen, I Mary A. Hathock of the County and State aforesaid.....

1st I give and bequeath to my brother, Henry Lowder$1.

2nd It is my will tath my land be sold and equally divided between my other brothers and sisters, viz; John Lowder, Lindsey Lowder, Thomas Lowder, Oma Austin, and Abigail Lowder, and I do make, Nominate and appoint my brother Eben Lowder my Executor......"

It was dated the 29th day of July 1887 and witnessed by G. S. Hathcock and J. E. Treece

Mary Ann Lowder Hathcock did not die until 1904, nearly two decades later. 

So this was a Lowder family. I found this group of siblings quite easily in the home of Daniel and Elizabeth Harwood Lowder. Daniel Lowder was born abouth 1800 and the 1850 census had nearly his entire litter listed.

Name	Daniel Lowder
Gender	Male
Race	White
Residence Age	51
Birth Date	abt 1799
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Occupation	Farmer
Industry	Agriculture
Real Estate	600
Cannot Read, Write	Yes
Line Number	17
Dwelling Number	835
Family Number	840
Inferred Spouse	Elizabeth Lowder

Household members

Name	Age
Daniel Lowder	51
Elizabeth Lowder	47
John Lowder	21
Mary Ann Lowder	19
Thos Lowder	18
Lindsey F Lowder	15
Archibald Lowder	13
Eben Lowder	11
Malichi Lowder	9
Abigail Lowder	7
Henry Lowder	0

There were 9 little Lowders in 1850. Mary Ann, whose will I just quoted, was 19. She had an older brother, John, 21, and youner siblings Lindsey F, 15, Archibald, 13, Eben, her administrator, 11, Malachi, 9, Abigail, 7, and a newborn Henry. Missing was Naomi "Oma" Lowder Austin, 22, who had married Samuel Jacob Austin already. She and her husband are listed in his parents home with three young children. 

Name	Oma Austin
Gender	Female
Race	White
Residence Age	22
Birth Date	abt 1828
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Line Number	41
Dwelling Number	877
Family Number	882

Household members

Name	Age
Jacob Austin	68
Sarah Austin	51
Samuel Austin	21
Alsa Austin	18
Stanly Austin	17
Laughlin B Austin	14
Oma Austin	22
Elizabeth Austin	4
Jacob Austin	2
Rufus Austin	0

A number of these in 1850 were not mentioned in Mary Ann's Will. 

Oldest son, John Lowder, was mentioned, and also mentioned in the case file involving Sophronia Lowder/Haskell, but as deceased. He served in the Civil War, but made it back home, for a little while. He was a married man, with children. John wrote his own Will, on May 15, 1872, which was probated on December 10, 1872.

Thomas T. Lowder, fourth child and brother just under Mary Ann, the third child, also served in the Civil War. He did die in 1862, at Richmond, Wise County, Virginia.

Lindsey Lowder was next in line, and is mentioned in both the Will and Sophronia's papers. He lived a long life, survived the Civil War, and made it home to marry Rebecca Carter in 1867.

Archibald C. Lowder, 6th child, is not mentioned.He was another Civil War casualty, passing away at age 27, on September 16, 1864, at Point Lookout, Maryland. He was unmarried and had no heirs.

Eben Lowder, 7th child, and Mary Ann's executor, served in the Civil War and made it home alive. He married Sarah Ann Snuggs.

Malachi Lowder was the 8th child, and also became a Civil War casualty, like his brothers, Thomas and Archibald. He passed away on July 3, 1863, at Gettyburg, unmarried and leaving no heirs, aged 22.

Abigail Lowder was the 9th child and third daughter, She was mentioned in both doucments, and was a double-Lowder, having married George Washington Lowder, her cousin, son of George Lowder and wife, Elizabeth Adderton Lowder.

Henry Lowder, the late baby, being born 8 yers after his youngest sibling, when Daniel was 50 and Elizabeth, 43, was the only son of Daniel Lowder to not serve in the Civil War, because he was too young. Henry was the 10th child. He marry Mary Furr and had heirs. Henry was mentioned in his sisters Will, but she left him only a dollar. Why did Mary Ann not like Henry as well as the others?

The sickle of death had not been kind to the Lowder family during the war, taking every other son, like in a random game of hopscotch. An evil twister touching down in tragic pattern, take one, skip one, take one, skip one.

Mary Ann stayed with her parents for a long while before getting amrried, the War cutting slim her available aspirants. She was still in her parents home in 1870, at age 39, with her youngest brother, Henry. Had he teased her because of her 'old maid' status? Was that perhaps an element of her actions in her Will?

Mary Ann Lowder would eventually marry, however, on September 4, 1873, at age 42, to Lindsey T, Hathcock, son of  Jesse Hathcock and Catherine Whitley Hathcock. Lindsey was an oddment, an available man in the decade after the Civil War. He had lost his first wife, Mary Moss, in 1868, and had a number of grown children. Born in 1818, Lindsey was 13 years Mary Ann's senior, but it was a cromulent choice, given the circumstances.

Name	Linsey Hathcock
Age	61
Birth Date	Abt 1819
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
House Number	3
Dwelling Number	282
Race	White
Gender	Male
Relation to Head of House	Self (Head)
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	Mary Hathcock
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Occupation	Farmer
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Linsey Hathcock	61
Mary Hathcock	46
Catherine Hathcock	44
Simpson Hathcock	17

Mary, shown above in 1880, was barely older than her oldest stepchildren. She wrote her will in 1884, naming her siblings and their heirs, and noticibly not her husband or her step 'children'. Lindsey Hathcock would live until 1903, and Mary would outlive him by one year. She had also named Sophronia Lowder (Haskell) in her Will, but of what relation was Sophronia?

tombstone of daniel lowder at Poplins Grove Baptist Church

The answer would come in the Will of Daniel Lowder, who passed away on August 17, 1881, at the age of 80.

Within the estate papers was a suit by heirs of Daniel Lowder, whose property had been split between his living children, and the heirs of his deceased children, who were to split their parents share among them. Henry Lowder, the youngest child, had apparently remained on his parents land, and worked it, being the last to go out on their own, which he didn't do, but statyed and ran the farm, taking care of his mother, Elizabeth Harwood Lowder, who had outlived Daniel by just a few years. Henry would also marry and have his own family. A lawsuit was filed against Henry, as the property belonged to all of the children. 

The parts I saved, after paragraph III named the living heirs suing Henry; Lindsey Lowder, Eben Lowder, Abigail Lowder, who intermarried with G.W. Lowder, Omi Austin (Naomi Lowder Austin, who was by then a widow), Mary A. Hathcock who intermarried with Lindsey Hathcock, S. J. Lowder who was the only heir of Thomas J Lowder, decd. who was a (goes to the next page), son of Daniel Lowder, decd, each one eighth part thereof, and Sarah Poplin who intermarried  with Wesley Poplin, Daniel Lowder, Mary Kimmer who intermarried with Rufus Kimmer, J West who intermarried with CharlesWest, J Francis Thompson who intermarried with Alex Thompson and Elizabeth Lowder who are the only heirs at law of John M. Lowder, decd., who was a son of Daniel Lowder.

In another list, the heirs named by Executor, Eben Lowder, were Omie Austin, Sarah Poplin, wife of Wesley Poplin Jr., Mary Kimmer wife of Rufus Kimmer, G. Jeney West wife of C. W. West, Francis, wife of Alex Thompson, Elizabeth Lowder, Mary Hathcock, Suffronia Lowder, Lindsey Lowder, Eben Lowder, Abigail, wife of G.W. Lowde  + Henry Lowder. 

So, S. J. Lowder was named as the only heir of Thomas Lowder, Daniel's son, who had already passed in 1862, in the Civil War. In the lower document, her name was spelled out, 'Suffronia', another variation of the name Sophronia. The family was already in my daughters family tree as Sophronia's cousin, Jeroldine Eugenia Lowder West who married Charles W. West, is her third great grandfather, on her father's side, and Naomi Lowder Austin is her third Great Grandmother, both through her Dad's paternal grandmother. 

In this last document, we see Sophronia J. Lowder's actual signature. No 'X'. She was literate and 19 years old here, in 1881, and still living in Stanly County. 

These facts reifies the identity of Sophronia J Lowder/ Haskell.

On July 3, 1860, J. M. McCorkle, census taker, found 27 year old Thomas T. or J. Lowder, operating his own farm, with the help of a hired boy, 13 year old Nelson Clayton. He was living near George F. Smith, whom we know had a house and farm in the vicinity of the current Albemarle High School, just off Melchor Branch and not far from Little Long Creek. 

Margaret Smith, 18, was at the same time still living with her parents off of Town Creek. Although no marriage contract survives, they must have gotten married sometime shortly after that, because Sophronia was considered legitimate and carried the Lowder name. 

Sophronia J. Lowder was born on August 20, 1861. Margaret would have gotten pregnant in November of 1860. Thomas Tillman Lowder enlisted in Company B, 5th North Carolina Infantry on August 8, 1862, just days before the birth of Sophronia.    He became sick almost immediately, appearing in muster rolls as being in the hospital. He died on September 23, 1862, in Richmond, Virginia, of Chronic Dysentry.

He was buried in Richmond, Wise County, Virginia in November of 1862. Did he ever get to see his daughter? I don't believe so. 

Margaret Smith Lowder, widow, filed for a pension.The date of death given on the pension application was December 19 ,1862. His tombstone gives a date of November 17, 1862. However, among the papers of his service on Fold3, I found the muster roll where it declares he died of Chronic Dysentry and the date given was September 23, 1862. I  don't think they would have reported him dead if he was not already. The later dates would have been incorrect, but based upon the information the individuals were given.

Then, somewhere around 1864-1865, Margaret H. Smith Lowder would marry Joseph T. Haskell. Her daughter, Sophronia J. Lowder would have been just a toddler. She would not have known anyone as a father but Joseph T. Haskell. Although her legal name was Lowder, and she knew that, she would vacilate between identifying as Lowder or Haskell.

Eben Lowder

Eben Lowder had it wrong. Sophronia hadn't married "one Haskell", her mother, Margaret H. Smith Lowder had. They did not move away in the year 1866, it was after 1881. It may have been true that they lost touch with her. The weird thing is, the family had first migrated to Arkansas, and were there in 1900, the closest to the death of Mary Ann Lowder Hartsell. It wasn't until 1910 that she shows up in Oklahoma, with her half-brother and stepfather, so if Eben hadn't heard from her, and thought she may be dead, how did he know to advertise in Oklahoma, and not Arkansas?

Dustin 

The last years of Sophronia Lowder

Joseph T. Haskell, stepfather of Sophronia J. Lowder, passed away on February 2, 1917, in Dustin, Hayes County, Arkansas. His remains were returned to Dardanelle, Yell County, Arkansas, to be interred beside his wife Margaret H. Smith Haskell, who had predeceased him by 29 years.

William F. Haskell and Sophronia J. Lowder Haskell would remain together in their Oklahoma home. Neither would ever marry.

In 1920, Will is 52, Sophronia is 56, and acting as his housekeeper. He, like most men in that area, struggled to bring substance from the dirt, and called himself a farmer.

In 1930, nothing had changed but the year. The siblings were now in their sixties and William still fought the dirt. He would lose his fight in three more years, passing away in Dustin, Oklahoma, in 1933, and taken to Dardanelle, Arkansas, like his father, to join his parents and a number of siblings, in the Brearley Cemetery.

Sophronia lived alone for four more years.  

Her obituary had referred to her as a pioneer. She passed away at the age of 76. They claimed she had moved to Hughes County in 1904. Like that of Joseph Haskell, and her brother, William, Sophronia's body was returned to Arkansas for burial. She had one surviving sister, Sally Jo Haskell McReynolds, who had another decade in her bones.

Sophronia J. Lowder Haskell, daughter of Thomas T. Lowder and Margaret H. Smith, and stepdaughter of Joseph Haskell, left this earth, single and childless, on July 24, 1937. And that's who Sophronia was.