Livor Mortis

Livor Mortis is the final stage of death. When our spirit exits our earthly ewer, gravity takes over and our blood is free to go hang out with its friends in whatever part of our body it wishes to pool. It's 5 o'clock in John Doe land, and everyone, and everything, is off work. Depending on what angle or position the carcass is in when life leaves it, the difference in lividity patterns can vary.

I descend from the one known child of James O. Mauldin and wife Mary A. Smith Mauldin, to have a large and multitudinous family, Thomas Alexander Mauldin. With the fate of one daughter unknown, and the other passing away as a youthful wife with two small children, and the other sons dying fairly young of various diseases, accidents or war, their children left behind small families, or none at all, with, of course, the one exception. 

Relying on the Mauldin family book, 'Ye Maudlins" by distant cousin, Ervin Mauldin, which I had gifted to my mother long ago, several of those descendants seem to have been like these last, gasping pools of blood, dispersing into opaqueness and sempiternal obscurity. 

One sibling of my Thomas Alexander Mauldin, whose little clutch fell into the previous elucidation, was Archibald Claiborne Mauldin, the oldest of his younger siblings. 

Like Tom, Archie was probably born in either Chatham or Montgomery County, North Carolina, on June 18, 1827, according to an old Family Bible.. James O. Mauldin had arrived in West Pee Dee, Montgomery County, NC by 1830, as he appears in the census then, his family growing like a crop of  opportunistic weeds.

Name	James Malden
Home in 1830 (City, County, State)	West Side Pee Dee River, Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5	1 Archibald Claiborn Mauldin
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9	1 Thomas Alexander Mauldin
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14	1 John Wesley Mauldin
Free White Persons - Males - 30 thru 39	1 James O. Mauldin
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5	1 Mary Ellen Mauldin
Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49	1 Mrs. Mauldin (Mary?)
Free White Persons - Under 20	4
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49	2
Total Free White Persons	6
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored)	6

James received a grant on Jacobs Creek, a tributary to the Pee Dee River, in 1840.  The Mauldins were yeoman farmers, family and hired hands were their laborers. They did not and would not own slaves, or a great deal of land, either. They lived a godly life as humble subsistence farmers, as far as I can tell. 

The Mauldin's were said to be members of  Randles Church, and located south of Albemarle, the county seat of Stanly County. 

In August of 1847,  Archibald Mauldin received his own Grant. Found at the Stanly County Register of deeds in Book 2, Page 61 and also at NC Land Grants. For $5.00 for every 100 acres granted by the treasury, A. C. Mauldin was granted 45 acres on the Waters of Jacobs Creek adjoining James Mauldin, his father, and others. It was entered the 10th day of February 1846. Archibald would have been about 19. He may have gotten married about this time in his young life. 

A second deed involving Archibald Mauldin is an Indenture dated July 17, 1849, and found in Book 4, page 104 in the Stanly County Register of Deeds.  Thomas A. Mauldin sells to his brother, A. C. Mauldin, for $50.00 in hand, for a tract of land belonging to the estate of James Mauldin, their father, which was Thomas's ninth part share of the inheritance. 

The next deed involving Archibald will be when his widow, Mary, sells the land she inherited from Archibald's decease to J. R. Ivey, found in Book 4 Page 433, of the Stanly County Register of Deeds. 

Archibald had married Mary Allen, also seen as Polly, about 1846-1848. Polly was the daughter of Joseph Allen (1804-1877), son of George W. Allen and Jane Snuggs, and Oney Florence Shankle Allen, (1804-1840), daughter of the Rev. George Shankle, Sr. Polly Allen Mauldin was born on August 12, 1826. 

Name	Mary Mauldin
Gender	Female
Race	White
Residence Age	23
Birth Date	abt 1827
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Freemans, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Line Number	5
Dwelling Number	124
Family Number	125
Inferred Spouse	Archibald Mauldin
Inferred Child	Joseph Mauldin

Household members

Name	Age
Archibald Mauldin	24
Mary Mauldin	23
Joseph Mauldin	0

By 1850, we see the image of a young family, Archibald, age 24 and Mary, 23, having given birth to their first child, Joseph. The date was August 1, 1850, and Joseph was one month old. A. C. and Mary were living amongst family. They resided in Freeman's District, in household 125. In Household 126, following them, was his mother, Mary, and his younger, unmarried siblings; James Jr. 19, Mary 21, Benjamin 17, Eliza 15, Parham 12, and Franklin 8. James O. Mauldin had left a young family. Below his mother was neighbor, Henry Shankle. In the household prior to his own, Number 124, was his oldest brother, John Mauldin, with his wife, Sarah and children; Mary E. 9, Martha 7, James H., 5, William P. 1 and Lucy Carter, Sarah's sister, was living with them.

In the Stanly County Court Minute Document in the February 1857 Session, we discover that A C Mauldin has passed away. There must have been a lingering death, an illness or injury,  that prompted the thirty year old man in the prime of his young life to write a Will. 

"The last will + testament of A. C. Mauldin was proven in open court and offered for probate and the execution thereof was duly proved on the paths of John R Ivey + Henry Shankle the subscribing witnesses thereto.....will an codicil thereto was admitted to probate whereupon Parham Mauldin the Executor therein named was duly sworn. "

These names will be seen again.

The Will of Archibald Claiborne Mauldin was dated January 16, 1857.

"I bequeath into my wife Mary and children all of my land except 20 acres joining old tract, I give to brother Parham Maulden to attend unto my business. The tract of land what Thomas Maulden now lives on when he pays my wife for said tract of land then Mary Maulden my wife is to make said T Maulden a right to said land. 

I bequeath unto Mary and children all of my stock hogs, cattle, horses, wagon, farming tools household kitchen furniture.

As long as my wife Mary Maulden holds my name she is to have control over all the said property, if she should marry the said property is to be equally divided between my three children. "

The Will was signed A.C. Maulden and witnessed by John R. Ivey and H. Shankle.

He then would add a codicil, a month later, dated February 3, 1857. He had included his youngest brother, Dowd Franklin Mauldin. 

"I bequeath to Franklin Mauldin thirteen 3/4 acres of land joining the part of land that falls to his share."

Again, Henry Shankle stood witness and AC Mauldin signed. Mary Mauldin would keep his name until the end of her life. She was widowed at age 31. Their three children were Joseph I Mauldin, born in 1850, Lucy Ellen, born in 1852, and James Archibald, born in 1856. Mary had been left with a 7 year old, a 5 year old, and an infant. 

Name	Mary Maulden
Age	34
Birth Year	abt 1826
Gender	Female
Race	White
Home in 1860	Stanly, North Carolina
Post Office	Albemarle
Dwelling Number	228
Family Number	228
Inferred Child	Joseph I Maulden; Ellen Maulden

Household members

Name	Age
Mary Maulden	34
Joseph I Maulden	10
Ellen Maulden	8
Archy Maulden	3

1860

In  the 1860 census, taken June 13, by J. M. McCorkle, Mary is listed as a 34 year old widow, with no occupation and no value, in either real estate, or her personal estate. A.C.'s estate may still have been in limbo. Her most immediate neighbors were farmer John Carriker, a widower, with adult and teenaged children living with him, and a worker named Joseph Morton, and his wife. Below her was farmer and Methodist Minister, L. A. Whitlock. Also near was Baptist Minister, Rev. William Solomon, who had also lived near them in 1850, so they appear to have still been living upon the fields above Jacob's Creek.

On the 12th day of September, 1860, Mary sold to J. R. Ivey, for $1.00 in hand, all of her life estate, or interest in the estate of her deceased husband, A. C. Mauldin; 'lying on the waters of Jacobs Creek adjoinng the lands of James Maulden deceased, F. A. Laton and others, containing 200 acres more or less." She also named off her livestock, crops and various implements, then named the debts she owed, that she wished J.R. Ivey to pay off for her, in exchange for all she owed, including notes to neighbor, Henry Shankle, and her brother, Asbury Allen.

In his will and in the census, the name Mauldin was spelled Maulden, with an 'e'. Today, our branch of the family spell it with an "i".

1870

Name	Mary Maulden
Age in 1870	39
Birth Date	abt 1831
Birthplace	North Carolina
Dwelling Number	201
Home in 1870	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina
Race	White
Gender	Female
Post Office	Albemarle
Occupation	At Home
Inferred Children	Joseph Maulden; Ellen Maulden

Household members

Name	Age
Henry Shankle	59
Lena Shankle	56
Calvin Shankle	27
Jane Shankle	24
Stanhope Shankle
Joseph Shankle	22
Ettie Shankle	12
Mary Maulden	39
Joseph Maulden	20
Ellen Maulden	17

In the 1870 census, the first after that ungodly war, and its aftermath of poverty, and devastation, to the much of the region, and, including Stanly County, Mary Mauldin is found living with her former, kindly neighbor, Henry Shankle. With her are her two oldest children, Joseph I. Maulden, 20, and Lucy Ellen, 17. They were all probably aiding in running the Shankle farm. Prior to this, another estate file for Archibald Mauldin exists, with his administrator, and brother, Parham Mauldin, suing the children, while still just children, for their share of their father's estate, together and individually. He requested the money to pay off the debts that a young man starting out, like Archibald, had accumulated. Living near Mary was Sarah Mauldin, her sister-in-law, also a widow. This was Sarah Ross Mauldin, widow of James O. Mauldin Jr., and her four children.

There was one child missing, the youngest, Archibald II. 

Name	Archd Maulden
Age in 1870	13
Birth Date	abt 1857
Birthplace	North Carolina
Dwelling Number	129
Home in 1870	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina
Race	White
Gender	Male
Post Office	Albemarle
Occupation	At Home
Cannot Read	Yes
Cannot Write	Yes

Household members

Name	Age
E M Smith	36
Mary Smith	32
Julia Smith	8
Daniel Smith	6
Charles Smith	4
David Smith	2
Celina Smith	8/12
Archd Maulden	13

Archie, as he was called as a boy, was found in the household of E M. Smith, working as a farm hand. The young, but populous, family had small children, so help in the fields was needed, I'm sure. Mary seems to have survived with her family, and from the labor of her children. 

By  1880, Mary 'Polly' Ross Mauldin was within her middle years, which came considerably earlier in those days.

Mary and her two youger children were now boarding with the James C. Bunn family. Polly is 50, and her profession is keeping house. The age of her daughter, Ellen, is given as 25, though she was a few years older in truth. She was probably trying to appear younger. Girls did that in those days. Also boarding with them were two of Mary's unmarried sisters, Martha  Allen, 45, and Nancy Allen , age 40. Following their names is that of "Archy" Mauldin, whose age is given as 30, although he was younger than Ellen, and his occupation as "works on farm".

The missing child, now a grown man, was Joseph I Mauldin. I've told a bit of his story before. On January 24, 2014, a decade ago, I penned this post, "The Irrepressible Nealie Shepherd", about the life of the wife of Joseph I Mauldin. The post can be accessed here.

On November 19, 1887, Marion Hudson, of all people, applied for the marriage license of "40-year-old" Joseph I. Mauldin, who was actually 37 son of Archie and Mary Mauldin, and Lundy C. Shepherd, daughter of Edward and Francis Shepherd, aged 18, but actually 15. OH MARION! The wedding took place at 5 pm, "in the road between M(arion) Hudson and John Mills".  Witnesses were H. H. Russell, Joe Russell and Marion Hudson. 

I have also posted, more than once, concerning my "Uncle Marion". Once, I had put him under the heading of "Bad guys of Stanly County", or "Suday Blacksheep". Nancy Caroline Hudson was my Grandmother's Grandmother. Not my Grandmother who was born a Mauldin, but one of my other two Grandmothers. This was my non-biological Grandmother, and my Grandmother just as much. She told me the tales of her younger days. She had no other grandchild to tell them to. Marion Hudson was Caroline's only brother. The four children were orphaned young and bad things befell them. Marion actually fathered a child with his Aunt, named Polly. Given, Polly was his father's half-sister. They shared a father, but had different mothers, and Marion, her nephew, was older than she, but they still had a child together. Marion obviously had a close relationship with Joseph I Mauldin. He applied for the marriage license, and was a witness to the nupitals.

On June 10, 1891, Nealie would give birth to her only child, son Patterson. By 1900, she was widowed and living in Richmond County, where Marion Hudson was living with his wife and children. Nealie and Patterson were living there when her grandfather, Marcus Princeton Carter's will was probated in 1895. The date of death for Joseph I. Mauldin is unknown. Before the 1900 census, or that's what we've been led to believe and what was reported by his wife, Nealie. He may have gotten wanderlust and moved westward.

Name	Nealie Maulden
Age	25
Birth Date	Jun 1874
Birthplace	North Carolina, USA
Home in 1900	Rockingham, Richmond, North Carolina
Sheet Number	7
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation	102
Family Number	106
Race	White
Gender	Female
Relation to Head of House	Head
Marital Status	Widowed
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina, USA
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina, USA
Mother: number of living children	1
Mother: How many children	1
Can Read	Y
Can Write	N
Can Speak English	Y
House Owned or Rented	Rent
Farm or House	H
Neighbors	View others on page
Household Members	Household Members Name Age Nealie Maulden 25 Patterson Maulden 11

In the 1900 census, as well as the 1910, Lundy Cornelia Shepherd Mauldin and her son, Patterson, are living in the town of Rockingham, Richmond County. She becomes the housekeeper for a much older man named Lewis Dawkins and eventually married him. Nealie was a shrewd businessman and a survivor. With Dawkins money, she tapped into the 20th century trend of urbanisation and citification, and broke her husbands farm, situated near town and an industrial area, and sold small housing lots to mill workers and other folks switching from farm work to city living. Lundy went from being an orphan at 11, surviving on the streets and off the charity of neighbors, with her older brother, to becoming a developer, and creating housing developments.

Patterson Mauldin would remain Patterson Mauldin until 1910.

When he married his first wife, Ally Floyd, on January 18, 1911, he gave his name as Patterson Shepherd, his mother's maiden name, and gave his parents as Henry and Nealie Shepherd, Henry being a nonexistant person.

Patterson would prove, in the beginning, to be as fickle as his biological father. Allie was a Stanly County girl, daughter of Daniel Floyd and Nancy Wallace, her father from Rocky River Springs and he mother from Anson County. That marriage lasted a little over a year. These were the years when divorces began becoming more popular, and some folks ignored the legal process altogether. 

By the time Patterson married the second time, two years later on December 3, 1913, to Flossie Jane Richardson, he had proudly taken on the name of his biological father - Marion Morrison Hudson and became Marion Patterson Hudson.

 Flossie was the daughter of Edward Franklin Richardson and wife, Louella Mauldin Richardson. Louella, daughter of my ancestor Thomas Alexander Mauldin, was the first cousin of Joseph I Mauldin, Patterson's non-biological father and Nealie's first husband. 

This marriage was even shorter than the one to Allie Floyd. 

Patterson and Flossie had married on December 3. That same month and same year, Flossie would marry Walter Stancil Cole on December 22, 1913. In a matter of weeks, Flossie had had married Patterson, had the marriage anulled, and married Walter. Maybe she was the fickle one. Maybe she discovered that Patterson was actually 'illegitimate', born out of an act of adultry, which was a shameful thing in those days, to the child of such an act. Flossie would tire of Walter, as well, but they would have five children. She would marry a third time to Millard Philmore Hathcock about 1923, just after her fifth child, Ruby was born and over 30 years before Walter passed away. She and Millard would have 7 children together, one the year after Ruby was born. It was a close race. 

Patterson would also marry a third time, and this one would stick. 

A year after Flossie had their marriage anulled, Patterson married Lou Ellen , or Louella Harrington, on January 11, 1914. Lou Ellen was the daughter of  Tom and Minnie Harrington. She and Patterson would be married for life and he gave his parents names as Marion Hudson and Nealie Dawkins, his mothers married name. Patterson and Lou Ellen would have 6 children, all Hudsons, which was their proper biological bloodline:Lewis Thomas, Allen Patterson, John Calvin, Marion Morrison Hudson II, Mary Cornelia and William Augustus aka "Gus". 

As for Marion Morrison Hudson the first, he had been married to his wife, Margaret Rummage, the entire time. They had seven children. Three were born before Marion had James Franklin Hudson by his Aunt Polly in 1881. Three more were born between the birth of James Franklin and when he had Patterson by Nealie Shepherd Mauldin. The last child by his legal wife, Alfred,  came two years after  Patterson. 

Marion Patterson Mauldin Shepherd Hudson, the only son of Joseph I Mauldin, and listed as such in the Mauldin family book, was not a Mauldin at all. He passed away in 1966.

Mary Allen Mauldin died in 1898. The death date of her only daughter, Lucy Ellen is unknown, although some report it as 1909. I investigated that report, as she is also reported to have been buried at Randalls United Methodist Church, arguably one of the oldest congregations in the County, now known as Randalls By the River, after the recent UMC controversy and division. I believe they have mixed up Lucy Ellen Mauldin with Ellen Frances Mauldin who married William McKinley Honeycutt. She was born in 1856 and died in 1909. As neither Ellen nor Mary are to be found in the 1900 census, I believe they were both deceased by 1900. According to family members, Ellen, and possibly Mary, are both buried in Randalls ancient cemetery, but that the graves may have been unmarked. Mary's younger sisters, who were living with her in 1880, do have impressive surviving markers in the Randalls Cemetery, Martha having passed away on May 14, 1911, and Nancy on February 20, 1910.

But there is another possibility concerning Mary Allen Mauldin. 

So, Joseph I Mauldin's one child was not his biological child and passed the name 'Hudson' down to his descendants, not Mauldin. Lucy Ellen never married. So that left one child to carry on the name and as far as the Mauldin book was concerned, he moved away and his fate lost to eternity, or at least to the Stanly County Mauldin hive. But that turns out to be not entirely true. Thanks to DNA, Archie Mauldin is no longer lost. 

According to "Ye Mauldins", James Archibald Mauldin had married a woman named Catherine A. born in September of 1860, and had two children, William O. Mauldin born November 1881 and a daughter, Lilly, born in December of 1883. This information appears to have come from some census record, which I was unable to connect to him in anyway. The information may have came from the family of Ervin 'Sampy; Mauldin and Rose Ann Hill. They claimed he raised James Alexander Mauldin, who would move to Rowan County.

This was an entirely inaccurate observance. While he may have raised James Alexander, there was no Catherine and those were not his children. Perhaps the author had found an entirely different James A. Mauldin.

The last record of Archie Mauldin in Stanly County was in the 1880 census, where he was living with his mother, sister and matronly maiden aunts, and working on the Bunn family farm. Afterwards, in that great 20 year missing block of time, he disappears.

The key to unlocking the mystery of Archie Mauldin was a newspaper clipping. According to 'The Enterprise', a defunct Stanly County newspaper, in the July 1914, 1910 edition, Archie Maulden and daughter, "Miss Bessie", were in town visiting friends and family. Ostensibly, there would have only been cousins, yet possibly lots of old freinds and neighbors. Perhaps Archie had just wanted to show his daughter his old stomping grounds. Advantageously, the news blurb had left a solid clue to help uncover the path of Archie Mauldin. "Of Memphis, Tennessee", they had reported. Now we knew where Archie had relocated. 

So with those two clues in hand, Memphis, Tennessee and a daughter named 'Bessie', I trudged on in search of Archie. For awhile, he remained elusive. There was not the perfect shoe that fit flawlessly.

Time after time, I kept running into this one guy. In nearly every way, he was a compeer to Archie. He was the exact same age, born in North Carolina in the census records, had the last name of Mauldin, lived in Memphis, Tennessee and had an age appropriate daughter named "Bessie". The one thing that did not fit was his first name. He went by the initials "A. C.", not "J. A." and when the "A" was written out, it became "Arthur", not "Archie". So, I disregarded him. Then I discovered that his camouflage was imperfect. There were instances of 'Arthur' being referred to as 'Archie'. I took a more meticulous look at Arthur C. Mauldin and the shoe fit. He has descendants, and those descendants shaare DNA with me and my mega-Mauldin genetics. 

James Archibald Mauldin had reinvented himself as a furniture salesman named Arthur C. Mauldin. Having figured that out, I was able to track him, and his steps. Arthur C. Mauldin was from Stanly County, North Carolina, but who knows what stories he told and why he told them. 

Shortly after that 1880 census, Archie had grown tired of farm work and made his way to Holly Springs, Marshall County, Mississippi. 

Marshall County had been a popular destination in prior decades for travelers and wanderers from the North Carolina piedmont, the biggerst surge being in the 1820's and 1830's. Perhaps he had made contact with relatives or friends from that place, who'd come home for a visit, and young Archie returned with them. 

In Missississippi, he met the Bloodworths. Elisha William Bloodworth was born in Wilson, Tennessee. He was a Wheelwright, and as a young man, relocated to Marshall County, Mississippi. On January 4, 1843, in Shelby County, Tennessee, Elisha Bloodworth had married none other than his cousin, Elizabeth Horne Bloodworth. 

Elisha was the son of William D. Bloodworth, Jr. and his wife, Francis Cole. Elizabeth was the daughter of Jesse Deloach Bloodworth and his wife, Narcissa Gibson. William D. Bloodworth, Jr. and Jesse Deloach Bloodworth were the sons of William D. Bloodworth, Sr. and wife, Millicient 'Millie' Deloach. 

In 1850 Elisha Bloodworth was a Wheelwright.

In 1860 Elisha Bloodworth was a Mechanic.

In 1870 Elisha Bloodworth was a Undertaker, and was still an Undertaker in 1880.

About 1880-1881 Archibald Mauldin had changed his name to Arthur C. Mauldin, who had not existed before this year. 

The Bloodworths had brought nine children into the world. 

1843 Narcissa Mary Caroline

1845 Jesse Deloach II

1847 Frances Elizabeth

1848 William Wilson

1851 Johnny Bird

1853 Elisha Benjamin

1854 Thomas Walton

1857 Sarah Jane Josephine

1859 Martha Homazell

On February 10, 1881, A. C. Mauldin married the Bloodworths youngest daughter, Martha Homazell.

Name	Mattie Bloodworth
Spouse	A. C. Moulden
Marriage Date	10 Feb 1881
County	Marshall

With Martha Homazell, Archie aka Arthur, had 4, perhaps 5 children.

Earnestine Orleana Mauldin (1881 -1954) Married Marion Bemass Fonda.7 children.

Edgar Oliver Mauldin (1883-1953) Married Georgia Lee Biggert. No children

Mamie Olivette Etta Mauldin (1885-1974) Married Raleigh Thomas Moore, 2 daughters. Married John McCullough  Hooks. 1 stepson.

There may have been an infant who passed named Maurice.

Arthur Fisher Mauldin was born on September 9, 1887. 

Martha Homazell Bloodworth Mauldin died on September 27, 1887, just a few weeks after his birth.

The baby died on May 31, 1888. He was 8 months old.

Name	A. C. Maulden
Spouse	Josie Bloodworth
Marriage Date	13 Oct 1888
County	Marshall

On October 13, 1888, A. C. Mauldin married  Sarah Josephine Bloodworth, known as 'Josie', the next to the youngest Bloodworth sister, and Martha'a older sister.

A. C. and Josie would have one child together;

Elizabeth Lois Mauldin (1889 -1956) Known as Bessie, who would arrive in Norwood with her father in 1914, where everyone called him "Archie". Bessie would marry A. Quitman Quinn and have three children; Elizabeth North, Sarah Jane, and one son, whom she named Archibald Mauldin Quinn.

A. C. Mauldin had moved from Mississippi to Memphis, in Shelby County, Tennessee, before the birth of Bessie.

Name	Arthur Maulddin
Age	44
Birth Date	Oct 1856
Birthplace	North Carolina, USA
Home in 1900	Memphis Ward 15, Shelby, Tennessee
Ward of City	15th
Street	Antie Avenue
House Number	1
Sheet Number	6
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation	110
Family Number	131
Race	White
Gender	Male
Relation to Head of House	Head
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	Sallie Maulddin
Marriage Year	1888
Years Married	12
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina, USA
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina, USA
Occupation	Shipping Clerk
Months Not Employed	0
Can Read	Y
Can Write	Y
Can Speak English	N
House Owned or Rented	Own
Farm or House	H
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Arthur Maulddin	44
Sallie Maulddin	42
Ernestine Maulddin	17
Edgar O Maulddin	16
Mamie O Maulddin	15
Elizabeth Maulddin	9

In 1900, the family is livng in the town of Memphis, amongst a bourgeois group of attorneys, merchants, and other professionals. Forty-four year old Arthur is a Shipping Clerk and all of the living children are still at home. They've been married 12 years and Sarah Josephine, seen as "Sallie" here, was the mother of 1 child with 1 living. All of the children were in school except 17 year old Earnestine.

Name	Arthur C Mauldon
Age in 1910	53
Birth Date	1857
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1910	Memphis Ward 15, Shelby, Tennessee, USA
Sheet Number	2b
Street	Ryle
House Number	1261
Race	White
Gender	Male
Relation to Head of House	Head
Marital Status	Married
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Native Tongue	English
Occupation	Salesman
Industry	Retail Furniture
Employer, Employee or Other	Wage Earner
Home Owned or Rented	Own
Home Free or Mortgaged	Free
Farm or House	House
Able to read	Y
Able to Write	Y
Enumeration District Number	0210
Years Married	21
Out of Work	N
Number of Weeks Out of Work	0
Enumerated Year	1910
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Arthur C Mauldon	53
Sarah J Mauldon	52
Elizabeth L Mauldon	20

1910 finds Bessie as the only child still at home. A. C. is a Salesman for a Furniture Company, and they seem to have moved to a much more modest area of town. Their neighborhood is more blue-collar and craftsman oriented and a more diverse mix, with some from other states and others, immigrants, from other countries.

Name	A C Mauldin
Age	63
Birth Year	abt 1857
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1920	Memphis Ward 31, Shelby, Tennessee
Street	Nelson Ave
House Number	1413
Residence Date	1920
Race	White
Gender	Male
Relation to Head of House	Head
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	Josephine Mauldin
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Able to Speak English	Yes
Occupation	Salesman
Industry	Furniture Retail
Employment Field	Wage or Salary
Home Owned or Rented	Owned
Home Free or Mortgaged	Free
Able to read	Yes
Able to Write	Yes
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
A C Mauldin	63
Josephine Mauldin	62

1920 finds the couple in their 60's and no other changes.

Name	Arthur C Maulden
Birth Year	abt 1857
Gender	Male
Race	White
Age in 1930	73
Birthplace	North Carolina
Marital Status	Married
Relation to Head of House	Head
Home in 1930	Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, USA
Map of Home	Memphis,Shelby,Tennessee
Street Address	Nelson a,
Ward of City	31
Block	1575
House Number	1613
Dwelling Number	227
Family Number	280
Home Owned or Rented	Owned
Home Value	7000
Radio Set	No
Lives on Farm	No
Age at First Marriage	23
Attended School	No
Able to Read and Write	Yes
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Occupation	Salesman
Industry	Retail Furniture
Class of Worker	Wage or salary worker
Employment	Yes
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Arthur C Maulden	73
Sarah J Maulden	72

The same with 1930. The septigenerian couple are still living in the saem place and at 73, the hardy Arthur is still selling furniture.

The Commercial Appeal Memphis, Tennessee • Fri, Jan 6, 1933Page 11

James Archibald/ Arthur C. Mauldin, the only child of Archibald Clabourne Mauldin and Mary Allen Mauldin to leave descendants, passed away at age 76, still devotedly employed as a Furniture Salesman. The newspaper report had several things as incorrect, he was not born in Charleston, every census stated North Carolina,and Josephine was never a Nash.

He was buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis. His death certificate gave cause of death as heart failure. The informant on his death certificate was his wife, Josephine. His parents names were listeted as Arthur C Mauldin and Mary Allen, both of North Carolina. His physician had attened him for 30 years and he had been a Furniture salesman for the Armstornong Furniture Company for longer than that. A. C. was the last pooling collection of blood in Achibald Clabornes bloodline.

Josie would join him at Forest Hills in 1942. She spent her last years with their daughter, Bessie.

He must have really disliked the name Archibald.

The Moves of Mary Mauldin

When I began digging a little deeper into my Atkins ancestry, I slammed right into my Freeman ancestry. Then before I knew it, I found myself back in the midst of my Smith ancestry, which I had all but given up on. This isn't the first, or only, time I've ran into myself. My family tree is a midling little Charlie Brown sort of tree, unfortunately.

Mary Ann "Polly" Smith Mauldin isn't just my ancestor, she is one of my "MEGA  ANCESTORS".

When I decided to take a lunge, and see what information could be garnered by taking the MtDNA test, which traces ones maternal heritiage from mother to grandmother to great-grandmother, ad infinitum, Family Tree DNA asked the question, "Who is the oldest ancestor you know of down your mother's line?" That would be Mary Smith Mauldin, and she's not that far back in time from myself. I've traced several paternal line ancestors back a respectible distance, but not so with this maternal line. There's been one nagging question in my mind, however. After the death of her husband, James O. Mauldin, Mary did not claim a dowery upon the land her husband left along Jacob's Creek, in the southern part of the county. She moved, along with her younger children, to an area north of the town of Albemarle, among a neighborhood of none other than a population of Smiths. 

It is my intention to explore that undertaking, as logically as possible, and explore this person, this Mega Mother of Mine, with the meager evidence that remains.

What do I mean by Mega Ancestor? Well, it means I carry more of her DNA than I do other ancestors from her place in time. My mothers mother was born Annie Maude Mauldin on August 2, 1909. She would marry a Davis and become the mother of four. 

Gramma in 1960, aged about 50.

Annie Maude Mauldin Davis was the daughter of  Walter Jonah Mauldin (1879-1930) and Wincie Ann Mauldin (1884-1964). Being widowed young, Wincie Ann Mauldin Mauldin remarried - to James William Mauldin aka Papaw Jim, (1886-1966). If that sounds like a lot of Mauldins in one sentence, that's because it is. 

Jonah and Wincie Mauldin and Family circa 1914

So another step up the maternal line we would go to the mother of Wincie Ann Mauldin. She was the daughter of  Frank Washington Mauldin (1850-1925) and Martha Catherine Margaret Russell (1848-1903). Finally a surname that is not Mauldin. Wincie had married her first cousin, though, Walter Jonah Mauldin, father of all of her children. His parents were James Duncan Mauldin (1842 -1909) and Margaret Winifred Solomon (1845-1910), but this isn't a straight up maternal line, but it is important because Frank and Duncan were brothers, sons of Thomas Alexander Mauldin (1821-1870) and wife, Mary "Polly" Blalock (1823-1882). Just keep that, or him, in mind. 

                                                Jim and Wincie Mauldin circa 1962

Back to the straight up maternal line, Martha Russell Mauldin. Martha Catherine Margaret Russell aka "Mattie", was the daughter of Eli Henry Russell and his wife, none other than Elizabeth Mauldin. I had thought Elizabeth was my oldest known female line ancestor until I found out who her parents were. Elizabeth was the oldest daughter of James O. Mauldin (1795-1847) and Mary A. "Polly" Smith Mauldin (1798-1865), making them my 4th Great Grandparents. Elizabeth had a brother, Thomas Alexander Mauldin, 'member' him?

Thomas Alexander Mauldin is my third Great Grandfather, twice over, because two of his sons, James Duncan Mauldin and Frank Washington Mauldin, are my second Great Grandfathers. This makes James O. and Mary Smith Mauldin my fourth Great Grandparents, not once, not twice, but three times! This is what makes Mary Smith Mauldin a MEGA-ancestor, more contributive to my genetics than just a regular ancestor. 

Female ancestors are usually more difficult to trace than male ancestors, and Mary is no exception, so I have to go back to her husband to find any early trace of her. James O. Mauldin was born in Chatham County, NC on May 20, 1795. He was the son of Clairbourne Mauldin and his wife, Sarah Dowd. He would have had to travel south and west about 75 miles to end up where he would settle down in what is now Stanly County. 

He first appears, to my knowledge, in the 1830 census. He's in West Pee Dee, listed in his 30's, and he would have been 35. He is listed with a wife in her 40's, which makes me wonder if he may have had a first wife, or if this was an error. Mary Mauldin would have been only 32. If he had an older wife, early on, and had remarried, it seems like he would have married a younger woman. We may never know, however, I'm standing on that it was probably an error. His name is sandwiched in between Richmond McDaniel and Henry Marshall, yet he's not far from another of my ancestors, Samuel P. Morton, who was living on David's Creek, and next to William Lee, whom I have all been researching, and he also lived in this area just north of the current town of Norwood. So this is likely the Jacob's Creek area he is in. 

In the 1840 census, James Mauldin is listed in between Thomas Rice and Nelson Pennington. He's not far from Robert Smith, who near the end of his life lived near Morrow Mountain. This seems to have been a rather random listing, as Hezekiah Herrin is not far, who was known to live near the Stanly/Cabarrus line not far from Mount Pleasant, Daniel Sides, who was also in the western end of the county and Alexander Biles, who lived near the current town of New London. 

James O. Mauldin recieved a land grant for 100 acres on Jacobs Creek on January 13, 1842. 

"Pursuant to a Warrant No. 45 surveyed for James Mauldin 100 acres of land on the waters of Jacobs Creek adjoining his own lands Beginning at the said Mauldins corner stake in a drain and Henry Shankles line." 

It was signed by W. H. Randle, Surveryor and "CC", or chain carriers were Thomas Mauldin, and Archibald Mauldin, sons of James O. Mauldin. Thomas would have been about 21 and Archibald, 15.

Jacob's Creek is a stream that flows between Hwy 52 and Indian Mound Road and into the Pee Dee River north of Norwood, NC and southeast of Albemarle, NC.  I don't know who Jacob's Creek was named for, but as it has that name in very old records, I can assume it was a very early settler upon the creek. 

Stanly County was formed from the side of Montgomery County that was located on the west side of the PeeDee River, in 1841. A tax listing was taken that very same year and James Mauldin was listed as having held 300 acres on Lick Branch and Jacobs Creek. The property was evaluated at $150 with 35 acres under cultivation and 200 unimproved, or meaning, wooden, uncleared and uncultivated. He was a yeoman farmer, keeping just enough property cultivated that he could handle with the help of his sons. 

The James Mauldin Cemetery is located off of McNeil Rd, which connects Hwy 52,  seen meandering in a north to south gallivant, and Indian Mound Rd., seen in the top eastern corner of the map. This puts the cemetery exactly where the land grant would have been.

Photo of cemetery from distance by John V. Burns 2010

James Mauldin didn't live long after recieving the land grant. He was probably the first body planted in the abandoned ground that now bears his name, unless there were litle ones he and Mary lost first. The tombstone for James states he was born in March of 1795 and died in June of 1849, aged 53 years and 9 months. A Family Bible held by his twin brother, Benjamin Mauldin, gave their birthdates as May 2, 1795.

The estate was settled in February of 1848. Mary had to sue the administrator of the estate, and the heirs, her own children, in order to claim her widow's dower, and support for her minor children still at home.

The estate settlement came in waves. The first papers were dated February 2, 1848. In the Stanly County Court of Pleas and Quarters, in the August session of 1850, Mary Mauldin was appointed guardian of  James, Benjamin, Eliza, Parham and Franklin Mauldin, her minor childen, giving a $200 bond, with John Mauldin, Thomas Mauldin and John F. Stone, as securities. John and Thomas were her adult sons.

Also in the same session of court, Benjamin Ivy, John R. Ivy, Henry Shankle and Abram J.Shankle, Esq., were appointed a committee to settle the estate of James Mauldin, deceased, with Administrators John F. Stone and Archibald Mauldin, Archibald being another adult son. 

James O. Mauldin's second estate file is found dated 1858, a decade later than the first. 

"Mrs. Mary Mauldin guardian of the minor heirs of James Mauldin, deceased, In Acct with her wards".

To amount returned to Nov. sessions 1858 $56.97.

Cr amount paid to Parham Mauldin for this report $28.28 1/2.

The third estate file for James O. Mauldin is dated 1862. This one has a widow named Sarah, and is not the estate of James O. Sr., but James O. Mauldin, Jr., his son. 

Name	Mary Mauldin
Gender	Female
Race	White
Residence Age	52
Birth Date	abt 1798
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Freemans, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Occupation	Farmer
Industry	Agriculture
Real Estate	100
Line Number	7
Dwelling Number	125
Family Number	126

Household members

Name	Age
Mary Mauldin	52
James Mauldin	19
Mary Mauldin	21
Benjamin Mauldin	17
Eliza Mauldin	15
Parham Mauldin	12
Franklin Mauldin	8

In 1850, the widow Mary Mauldin is running a farm in Freemans District, Stanly County. She is 52 years old with six children still at home, James, 19, Mary, 21, Benjamin, 17, Eliza, 15, Parham, 12 and Franklin, 8.

A different view identifies her neighbors.

The page begins with Mauldins, so I want to start on the page before this one. 

Household 120 The family of Washington Thompson.

Household 121 William Solomon.

Household 122 David Laton.

Household 123 John (30) and Sarah (40) Mauldin, son of Mary, with children; Mary E. 9, Martha 7, James H. 5, William P. 1 and Lucy Carter, Sarah's sister, 29, boarding with them.

Household 124 Archibald Mauldin, 24 and Mary, 23, another son of Mary and James O. Mauldin, with Joseph I. Mauldin just 1 month old. 

Household 125 is Mary Mauldin, aged 52, widow of James O. Mauldin, with son James Jr., 19, Mary, 21, Benjamin 17, Eliza 15, Parham 12, and Dowd Franklin 8. 

Household 127 is Henry Shankle.

Household 128 is Abram P. Ross.

Household 129 is Catherine Thompson, 130 William S, Swaringen, 131 William C. Thompson, 132 Frances Hobble, 133 George Shankle. These are the neighbors and the area where James O. Mauldin had obtained his land grant.

Over the course of the next decade, the years following the passing of James O. Mauldin several events occured. Despite the fact that the actual document declaring the division of the property of  James O. Mauldin, Sr., we can know that it had existed, as several other transfers and sales of property between his heirs make mention of it. 

Dated July 17, 1849 and found in the Stanly County, NC Register of deeds in Book 4 Page 104, Thomas A. Mauldin sells to his brother Archibald C. Mauldin, for $50 "a tract belonging to the estate of James Mauldin decd'.  He sold his rights to property in the estate and lands of James Mauldin, including the widows dower, to Archibald.

Then there is a deed dated May 12, 1857 between Henry Russell and Eliza Russell 'his wife' on one part and Parham Mauldin, 'executor of  A.C. Mauldin, deceased". It was an exchange between Henry Russell, and his wife, Eliza Mauldin Russell, concerning her right to a 9th of the property and Parham, representing their brother Archibald Claiborne Mauldin's right to his share of their father's estate.

"all our right title interest and claim in three hundred acres of land belonging to James Mauldin dest (sic) including the lifetime dower of Mary Mauldin widow of the said James Mauldin decd being an undivided interest of one ninth part of the land lying & being in the aforesaid County of Stanly on the waters of Jacobs Creek adjoining the lands of Henry Shankle Senr and others."

In Book 4 page 421 Parham Mauldin sells to his brother, James Mauldin (Jr.), for $50.00,  his interest in the lands of James Mauldin decd....consisting of  one ninth part of same. It is mentioned inside the deed "for meets and bounds reference may be made to a deed made by John Rummage to said James for 300 acres also 20 acres devised to me by the last will and testament of A. C. Mauldin to be laid off out of the land the said A. C. Mauldin decd. " was entitled to in the undivided interest in the lands of his deceased father, James O. Mauldin.

It is very clear now, that at the time of his death, James O. Mauldin was the father of 9 children; John Wesley Mauldin, Thomas Alexander Mauldin, Archibald Claiborn Mauldin, Mary Ellen Mauldin, James O. Mauldin, Jr., Benjamin Mauldin, Eliza Mauldin Russell, Parham Mauldin and Dowd Franklin Mauldin. This group is not without its mysteries. 

This last deed was between Mary Allen Mauldin, the widow of Archibald Mauldin and her neighbor, J. R. Ivey.

Book 4 Page 432  Mary Mauldin to J. R. Ivey

'This Indenture made this 12th day of September A.D.  1860 between Mary Maulden of the County of Stanly and State of North Carolina of the one part. .....John R. Ivey....one dollar paid in hand...the following property to wit, All my life estate or interest in the lands of my deceased husband A. C. Maulden, lying on the waters of Jacob's Creek, adjoining the lands of James Maulden, Deced., F. A. Laton and others containing Two hundred acres more or less, five head of hogs, three head of cattle, my present crop of corn & fodder, and also the crop wheat oats corn & C now sowing or to be sowed and planted during the present season of sowing and the next season for planting, one cupboard, and lot of planks, Together with all the increase...".

Mary was in debt and listed her debts, a note to Henry Shankle, another to Daniel Freeman, another to G. I. Swaringen and $6.25 to her brother, Asbury S. Allen., and had sold all her worth to John R. Ivy. 

In the course of a decade Mary Smith Mauldin had lost three children.

John Wesley Mauldin had died September 10, 1857.

Archibald Clabourne Mauldin also died some time in 1856, his Will probated on January 16, 1857.

Eliza Mauldin Russell died on November 14, 1857. 

1860

The 1860 census, taken on the 4th of July by James M. McCorkle, found Mary Smith Mauldin with the following household.

Name	Mary Maulden
Age	62
Birth Year	abt 1798
Gender	Female
Race	White
Home in 1860	Stanly, North Carolina
Post Office	Albemarle
Dwelling Number	621
Family Number	628
Occupation	Farmer
Real Estate Value	350
Personal Estate Value	275
Cannot Read, Write	Y
Inferred Child	Frank Maulden; Elizabeth Maulden

Household members

Name	Age
Mary Maulden	62
Frank Maulden	20
Elizabeth Maulden	5
Ellen Smith	21
Mary F Smith	1

Mary was now 62, her youngest son, Dowd Franklin "Frank" Mauldin, was 20. Elizabeht Mauldin, age 5 was actually, Mary Elizabeth Russell, daughter of Mary's daughter, Eliza Mauldin Russell. I have not yet solved the mystery of who Ellen Smith, 21 and Mary F. Smith age 1, probably Ellen's daughter, were. 

Mary's daughter, Mary Jr., is only seen in the 1850 census. I believe she may have married, as she was one of the 9 heirs of her father and maybe somewhere there is explained what happened with her 9th share, maybe passed to a grandchild, child of Mary, or listed as a portion to a husband. There is not a tombstone in the Mauldin cemetery for her. Maybe, although the age is off a little, which is not unpresented, Ellen Smith was actually Mary Ellen Mauldin. 

A different look shows that Mary had Henry Byrd for a neighbor, and that son Parham was living near her with his young family. Next in the list was Green Smith, followed by his mother, Lovina Smith, widow of John, followed by Bailey Smith. Having already looked into Bailey Smith, as he had married into my Palmer familly, I quickly realized that while some of her children and grandchildren were living back on the lands of James O. Mauldin, Mary had moved. Mary had moved in amongst the cluster of Smiths that I have been researching, along Town Creek and off the Salisbury Road, north of Albemarle. She was no longer on Jacob's Creek.

The widow's of some of Mary and James Mauldins deceased sons would continue to raise their families on the property of Jacobs Creek.

In 1870, Mary Allen Mauldin, widow of Archibald C. Mauldin is seen living with Henry Shankle, noted in estate and land records as a long time neighbor of James O. Mauldin, his property and sons. Not far from this household, is listed that of Sarah Mauldin, at the very bottom of the page, carrying over to the next, to her children, Parham, 17, Nancy 15, Abram 13 and Eliza, 11. They were living next to J. R. Ivey, who is listed in one of the above deeds as buying the property of Mary Allen Mauldin. 

So while family stayed on Jacob's Creek, why did Mary Smith Mauldin move with her youngest children all the way over to the other side of Albemarle to live among the Smiths? Could her middle name have had anything to do with it? In my heart, I believe it did. I get the feeling that she had moved among family, that these Smith's were Mary's Smiths. I can't tell how, at this point, and possibly never will. I'm hoping DNA can help solve this one, if anything, or anyone, can. 

Mary's children, to the best of my knowledge, and at this point were: 

John Wesley Mauldin(1820 -1857)  who married Sarah A. Carter.

Thomas Alexander Mauldin (1821 - bef 1900) Married Mary "Polly" Blalock.

Archibald Claiborn Mauldin (1827 - before 1860) Married Mary Allen.

Mary E. (Ellen?) Mauldin ( 1829 -unknown) Married  - unknown.

James O. Mauldin Jr. (1831 -1862) Married Sarah Ross.

Benjamin R. Mauldin (1833 - before 1900) Married Annie Margaret Rummage.

Eliza Mauldin (1835 -1857) Married William Henry Russell.

Parham Mauldin (1838 - 1877) Married Caroline Jane Huntley.

Dowd Franklin Mauldin (1842-1861) Married Temperance. Research ongoing.

Mary A. "Polly" Smith did not live long past this last census and did not make it to see 1870.  She was buried in the old James O. Mauldin Cemetery off of McNeil Road with her husband and other family members. The description of the cemetery says that it "sits way back in the fields, in a small clump of old Holly, Oak and Cedar trees. Grown up and neglected." This explorer counted 29 fieldstones, many of them either unmarked or illegible. He also noted that there appeared to be may more unmarked graves.In the book, "These Hallowed Grounds" published in 2012 by the Stanly County Genealogical Society, 12 marked stones and 10 unmarked stones were recorded. 

Among those marked and preserved was that of matriarch, Polly Mauldin, wife of James Mauldin (Sr), died (illegible) aged about 70 year.  As the census records in which she appeared gave her a year of birth of about 1798, being aged 70 would have given her a year of death of about 1868. Other marked, and preserved graves, were that of her husband, James O. Mauldin, Sr. , her daughter, Eliza Mauldin Russell, who died November 14, 1857, age 22 years, 2 months and 26 days, son John Mauldin, stone dated 1861, but his probate records suggest a date several years earlies. Also buried here was Sarah Mauldin, died June 1, 1882, a daughter-in-law and youngest son, Dowd Franklin Mauldin, who died in 1860, and known to be buried here, but his stone no longer survives. A. C. Mauldin is buried there, with a number of grandchildren, who died as infants or toddlers, a J. O. Mauldin born June 1 1860 and died Nov. 8, 1863, an M. Mauldin born August 8, 1872 and  died in 1874, an A. E. who lived from 1857 to 1863. Other graves just give years, 1857-1857 or initials, like T. M. who died in 185?

How quickly we can slide into obscurity, living only in the memories of those who loved us, until they too are gone. 

The 9 heirs of James O. Mauldin and Mary Smith are full of stories and mysteries of their own. I can't fully list them and their children until I do more research. Several early deaths left several of the families fragmented, and their fates unknown. More to come. 

Conumdrums and Catastrophes

 

Why can't family research be straight forward? I suppose it would not be so interesting, or spur the curiosity so much, if it were. I believe for some, it's like a long desert highway where folks can drive down 'with the wind in their hair'. Not me. Never for me. In the middle of a fairly straightforward post, attempting to discover the tiny hints of life of a female ancestor, I tripped over an entanglement. Another mergement of individuals with the same name that couldn't possibly be true. I wanted to say "come on people". At any rate, I've come upon yet another entwined ball of string to unravel. Instead of starting at the beginning, I will instead, start at the end, with a piece of string sticking out that may be the least restrictive to unknot. I will start with the question, 'Who married James Edward Burris?"

To begin, there is no mystery in who James Edward Burris was. As he was a Burris, he fits squarely into my father's family tree. He was born December 20, 1847, in Stanly County, North Carolina, a Christmas baby. His parents were David Wright Burris (1817-1893) and Sarah Whitley (1818-1895), two very common western Stanly names. 

Household members

Name	Age
David W Burris
Sallie Burris	38
Davidson Burris	21
Timothy Burris	19
William A Burris	17
Sidney Burris
Thorington Burris	13
Edward Burris	11
Sarah Jane Burris	9
Pleasant Burris	7
J M Misenheimer	18

Above he is seen as an 11 year old in the 1860 census. As was typical, he was born in the middle of a sizable farm family. 

On May 17, 1873, he married Rebecca Huneycutt, daughter of William Riley Huneycutt and Milly Ann Whitley. Below, the marriage license announces the marriage of James Edward (or Edmund, seen either way) Burris, son of David Burris and Sally Burris and Rebecca Huneycutt, daughter of Riley Huneycutt and Miley Huneycutt, Witnessed by I. W. Snuggs in the 98th year of our independence. The groom was 23 and the bride was 21, a respectable age for both for a first marriage.

Eight years past the Civil War, the ashes had fallen, the community of yeoman farmers were attempting to get back to a normal life, children growing up, neighbors marrying neighbors, and cousins marrying cousins, fields plowed, cows milked, chickens fed and children raised.

Name	J. Edward Burris
Age	29
Birth Date	Abt 1851
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number	309
Race	White
Gender	Male
Relation to Head of House	Self (Head)
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	Rebecca Burris
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Occupation	Carpenter
Cannot Read	Y
Cannot Write	Y
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
J. Edward Burris	29
Rebecca Burris	29
Sarah Burris	5
Tinte Burris	3
H. Martin Burris	1

Now, we find the young family in 1880,  Edward is a carpenter, living in Big Lick, they can neither read nor write, and they have had three children during their seven years of marriage; Sarah, age 5, Tina, age 3 and son Martin Hayes Burris, one year old. 

Name	Rebecca Burris
Maiden Name	Honeycutt
Gender	Female
Birth Date	23 Jan 1851
Birth Place	Stanly County, North Carolina, United States of America
Cemetery	Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place	Oakboro, Stanly County, North Carolina, United States of America
Has Bio?	Y
Father	William Riley Honeycutt
Mother	Amelia Ann Honeycutt
Spouse	Edward James Burris
Children	Tina WhitleySallie L LewisMartin Hayes Burris

All so normal until tragedy strikes. Soon after, young mother Rebecca passes away, and Edward has to plant her in the ground at the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery with a date of birth, but no date of death can be determined. Their three children do make it to adulthood and live lives of their own.

With three small children to care for, Edward looks for a wife to help and finds Mary Elizabeth Russell and this is where the confusion comes in. There were more than one Mary Elizabeth Russell and this has caused an entanglement. 

The marriage liscense seems to give plenty of information. Solomon Burris applied for the license of J. E. Burris, now 34, son of David W. Burris and Sarah Burris, both living, of Stanly County, and Mary E. Russell, aged 32, daughter of Henry Russell and Elizer Mauldin, father living and mother dead, of Stanly County. The marriage took place at the home of Solomon Burris and witnesses were A. C. Burris and R. A. Lambert, (Rufus Alexander Lambert, my 2nd Great Grandfather). All so well and normal, but the first thing I notice is that while Edwards mother is listed under her married name of Burris, Mary Russell's is not. 

Name	J E Burris
Gender	Male
Marriage Date	4 Aug 1885
Marriage Place	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Spouse	Mary E Russell
Spouse Gender	Female
Event Type	Marriage

There's another marriage document, the Register, which gives pretty much the same information, with Mary E. Russell's parents being Henry Russell and Elizabeth Mauldin, and the Date August 4, 1885.

So where is the issue? Not only was there more than one Mary Elizabeth Russell, there was more than one Henry Russell and wife Elizabeth or Eliza. I'm related to both, and by the way, why was Eliza or Elizer listed by her maiden name?

In multiple family trees on the web, are found two Mary Elizabeth Russells married to James Edward Burris. 

One is Mary Elizabeth Russell, born February 5, 1841 in Stanly County, and died February 16, 1904 in Montgomery County.

The other is Mary Elizabeth Russell, born November 19, 1854 in Stanly County, and died November 12, 1937 in Montgomery County.

We'll call one the February M. E. Russell and the other the November M. E. Russell.

Miss February was the daugther of  Eli Henry Russell (1804-1854) and Elizabeth Mauldin Russell (1811-1861).

Miss November was the daughter of William Henry Russell (1829-1915) and Elizabeth Mauldin (1835-1857).

So who wins Edward? Miss February or Miss November?

The first clue is in the marriage certificate itself. On August 4, 1885, Henry Russell, the father of the bride, was living and mother, deceased. Miss February's parents were both dead by 1885. Miss November, however, would have a living father,and a deceased mother, in 1885.

Also, Eli Henry Russell and Elizabeth Mauldin Russell were 4th Great Grandparents of mine, and Elizabeth left a pretty extensive Probate estate record, and land records of her estate divisions and actions taken after her decease. One particular section within her probate papers reads, "Stanly County  Probate Court

This day, the execution of the within deed as to M. E. Solomon and H. E. Solomon was duly proven by the oath of D. A. Simpson.."  It continues but was filed July 11, 1896. Although Elizabeth Russell, widow of Eli Henry Russell, died in 1861, her estate was still being distributed and settled in 1898. Her daughter, Mary Elizabeth, had married Henry C. Solomon, and was still married to Henry C. Solomon. So, Miss February married Henry C. Solomon and it was actually Miss November who married James Edward Burris.

It gets even more convoluted into an unimaginable imbroglio.  When looking at the parents of Miss November, we discover that her father, William Henry Russell, was the brother of Miss February. 

Eli Henry Russell & Elizabeth Mauldin 

                  children

William Henry Russell (b 1829) married Eliza Mauldin (not Elizabeth).

Mary Elizabeth Russell (b 1841) married Henry C. Solomon.

This would make Miss February,  Miss Novembers' Aunt. But, wait, just wait, that's not all. 

Elizabeth Mauldin Russell who married Eli Henry Russell was the daughter of James O. Mauldin and possibly Mary Ann Smith Mauldin, or possibly a first wife, as he had an older wife in the 1830 census and not in the 1840 census, so I believe he may have had an earlier wife and Mary Smith was his second wife. 

Eliza Mauldin Russell who married William Henry Russell was the daughter of James O. Mauldin and Mary Smith Mauldin.

Margaret Jane Martha "Mattie" Russell, called Jane Mauldin in her mother's estate papers, born in 1848, daughter of Eli Henry Russell and wife, Elizabeth, married Thomas Alexander Mauldin, son of James O. Mauldin and Mary Smith Mauldin.

This is just too much inbreeding for even Stanly County! I've come to the conclusion that Elizabeth Mauldin who married Eli Henry Russell was not, could not have been, the daughter of James O. Mauldin and wife.

If you remove that element, it becomes a little bit more Stanly County, entanglements, siblings marrying their spouses siblings, but not so inbred. 

So who was Elizabeth Mauldin Russell? Was she even a Mauldin? That's another question for another post. 

Moving forward, I'm just going to look at Henry Russell and Eliza Mauldin, who was the daughter of James O. Mauldin and Mary Smith.

1850

Name	Eliza Mauldin
Gender	Female
Race	White
Residence Age	15
Birth Date	abt 1835
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Freemans, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Attended School	Yes
Line Number	11
Dwelling Number	125
Family Number	126

Household members

Name	Age
Mary Mauldin	52
James Mauldin	19
Mary Mauldin	21
Benjamin Mauldin	17
Eliza Mauldin	15
Parham Mauldin	12
Franklin Mauldin	8

Eliza Mauldin appears as a 15 year old in the home of her widowed mother, Mary Smith Mauldin.

Name	Henry Russel
Gender	Male
Race	White
Residence Age	21
Birth Date	abt 1829
Birthplace	North Carolina
Residence Date	1850
Home in 1850	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Occupation	Laborer
Industry	Industry Not Reported
Line Number	25
Dwelling Number	936
Family Number	941
Inferred Spouse	Caroline Russel

Household members

Name	Age
Eli Russel	46
Elizabeth Russel	39
Alxe Russel	24
Henry Russel	21
Caroline Russel	18
Isiah Russel	15
Temply Russel	13
Elizabeth Russel	8
Gabriel Russel	5
Catharine Russel	3

Henry Russell appears as a 21 year old in the home of his parents, Eli Henry and Elizabeth Russell. Eliza lives in Freemans District, while Henry lives in Albemarle.

There's no surviving marriage record, however, they likely got married this year or the one after. Their son, William Isaiah Russell, was born on September 14, 1852, when Henry was 23 and Mary Elizabeth, 17. His sister, Mary Elizabeth Russell, aka Miss November, was born on November 19, 1854. 

Eliza Mauldin Russell died on November 14, 1857, at the age of 22 years, 2 months and 26 days, of unknown causes. She was buried in the James O. Mauldin cemetery with her father and her markers survives. She may have died of childbirth, and the unknown child buried with her, or of thyphoid fever, which was rampant in those days, or of any number of accidents or ailments. 

1860

Henry Russell is found living with his widowed mother, Elizabeth, Eli having passed away in 1854.

Name	Henry Russell
Age	30
Birth Year	abt 1830
Gender	Male
Race	White
Home in 1860	Stanly, North Carolina
Post Office	Albemarle
Dwelling Number	389
Family Number	390
Inferred Spouse	Mary E Russell

Household members

Name	Age
Elizabeth Russell	42
Henry Russell	30
Mary E Russell	18
Gabiel Russell	16
Martha Russell	11
Wm J Russell	7

The Mary E Russell, 18, listed under his name, is his sister, who will marry Henry C. Solomon. Next is his brother, Gabriel, 16,  followed by Martha Jane Margaret Russell, who married Frank Washington Mauldin, son of Eliza Mauldin's brother, Thomas Alexander Mauldin. Martha Jane is my third Great Grandmother. She was only 4 years older than Henry's son, William Isaiah Russell, who is the 7 year old at the end of the list, transcribed as "Wm J Russell". 

Name	Elizabeth Maulden
Age	5
Birth Year	abt 1855
Gender	Female
Race	White
Home in 1860	Stanly, North Carolina
Post Office	Albemarle
Dwelling Number	621
Family Number	628
Inferred Mother	Mary Maulden

Household members

Name	Age
Mary Maulden	62
Frank Maulden	20
Elizabeth Maulden	5
Ellen Smith	21
Mary F Smith	1

While Henry kept his son with him, his daughter, Mary Elizabeth is found in the 1860 census, living with her maternal grandmother, Mary Smith Mauldin. She is the 5 year old, Elizabeth. Mary Mauldin, 62, is Eliza's mother and her youngest son, Dowd Franklin is living with her. The family is living in a different area than Henry.

The Civil War

Henry registered as a Private in Company K 28th Regiment, North Carolina, as did his younger brother, Gabriel. Gabriel was wounded at Gettysburg. taken prisoner and seen no more. Henry was wounded at Harper's Ferry, but survived and made it back home. There is a Memorial Stone to both brothers at the Anderson Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Albemarle, NC. 

Among his war papers is a general description of Henry as being 5 feet 7 inches tall, with a dark complexion, black hair, hazel eyes, and damage to his left eye, after he was wounded. 

Henry would return from the War as all men did who were fortunate enough to return, frayed, ravaged and warworn. His children were likely still in the homes of relatives, probably Mary Smith Mauldin, as Henry's own mother, Elizabeth, passed away in 1861, not living long enough to witness the ruin of her sons by war. His mother-in-law, Mary Mauldin, died in 1865, about the time Henry came home. He made the decision the next year, having inherited land from his parents, to start over again. He did so by making the choice of a Civil War Widow, Sarah Frances Rummage, as his second wife.  Fanny, as she was called,  had been married to John S. Blalock, son of  Richmond Blalock and Catherine Howell. He had died in Richmond, Virginia in 1864. Fanny came with two young sons, Maston Crawford Blalock, born in 1859, and William Julius Henry in 1861.

Henry and Fanny would combine their families, of two children each, and add 7 together, making a total of 11.

Name	Harry Russell
Age in 1870	41
Birth Date	abt 1829
Birthplace	North Carolina
Dwelling Number	11
Home in 1870	Center, Stanly, North Carolina
Race	White
Gender	Male
Post Office	Albemarle
Occupation	Farmer
Male Citizen Over 21	Yes
Personal Estate Value	100
Real Estate Value	100
Inferred Spouse	Sarah F Russell

Household members

Name	Age
Harry Russell	41
Sarah F Russell	32
William J Russell	17
Mary E Russell	15
Martha C Russell	11
W J Blalock	9
Jonah Russell	3
Thomas Russell	2
Emma Russell	6/12

In the 1870 census, above, Henry is shown as "Harry", a nickname, and his wife as Sarah F. He is now 41, she 32. They married in 1866. William J, 17, is William Isaiah Russell, Mary Elizabeth is 15. The 11 year old "Martha C. Russell" did not exist. This is a transcription error in multiple ways. First the child is male, and his first name is not Martha, but Maston. Second, he was not a Russell, but a Blalock, and was labeled Russell because his surname was omitted. Oddly, his younger brother, W. J. Blalock, was included with the correct name. At this time, Henry and Fanny have had three children together in rapid succession, and again, rife with transcription errors. First, Jonah is not Jonah, a son, but their only Daugther, Ona or Onie. Age three, she's followed by Thomas, age 2 and 6 month old Emma.

Name	Harry Russell
Age in 1870	41
Birth Date	abt 1829
Birthplace	North Carolina
Dwelling Number	11
Home in 1870	Center, Stanly, North Carolina
Race	White
Gender	Male
Post Office	Albemarle
Occupation	Farmer
Male Citizen Over 21	Yes
Personal Estate Value	100
Real Estate Value	100
Inferred Spouse	Sarah F Russell

Household members

Name	Age
Harry Russell	41
Sarah F Russell	32
William J Russell	17
Mary E Russell	15
Martha C Russell	11
W J Blalock	9
Jonah Russell	3
Thomas Russell	2
Emma Russell	6/12

In 1880, all of the children by previous marriages, have grown up.  Their family of seven more,together, was complete.

Name	Henry Russell
Age	50
Birth Date	Abt 1830
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	Center, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number	6
Race	White
Gender	Male
Relation to Head of House	Self (Head)
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	Fannie Russell
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Occupation	Farmer
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Henry Russell	50
Fannie Russell	45
Onia Russell	14
Thos. A. Russell	12
Emen J. Russell	10
Joseph Russell	8
Eli H. Russell	6
Joshua Russell	4
David Russell	2

In 1870, they were living next to Calvin Lee, near Cedar Fork Creek, above Center. This time, they are living next to the Thompsons, whose property adjoined the Pee Dee River, off of what was once Greentop Road and is now Indian Mound Road. Henry and Fanny are in the 1900 census with four of their children, and have a lengthy marriage. The fate of Fanny is unknown, but she appears to have passed away before Henry. 

William Henry Russell passed away on March 1, 1915. He was 85 years, 7 months and 20 days old, marital status, widowed. His youngest son, David, was the informant and knew that his grandfather's name was Eli, perhaps because his brother, Eli, had been named for him, but he didn't know the name of his grandmother. His cause of death was unknown, as there was no physcian present. His place of burial was given as the Albemarle Cemetery and the funeral home, Campbell and Fink, was located in Richfield, NC, while son David was a resident of Albemarle. His marker is located  at Anderson Grove Church Cemetery, so his body may have been moved, or he has a grave and a separate memorial marker with his brother, Gabriel. 

The children of William Henry Russell were:

(With first wife, Eliza Russell)

1) William Isaiah Russell (1852-1839) Married Mary Jane Laton (1850-1823) one child; Ida Lee Russell Ingram.

2) Mary Elizabeth Russell (1854-1937) Married James Edward Burris (1847-1923) two children: Eliza Ann Russell Moyle (1880-1970) and Philmore Russell (1882-1916). James Edward Burris married Elizabeth when her children were 5 and 3 years old and raised them. Their biological father is unknown, but they were raised by Edward Burris. 

The children of Sarah Frances Rummage with her first husband. John S. Blalock were:

3) Maston Crawford Blalock (1859-1936) Married Tempie Eliza Upchurch, ten children.

4) William Julius Henry Blalock (1861-1919) Married 1st Martha Custis "Mollie" Sherrill.  Married 2nd Frances Rosanna Smith. Eleven children. Settled in Anderson, South Carolina.

The children of William Henry Russell and Sarah F. Rummage together:

5) Onie Russell (1866 -1911) Married Frank Washington Mauldin on December 28, 1904. She was the second of his three wives. Her Aunt, Henry's sister Martha Margaret Jane Russell, was his first. Onie and Frank had no children together, however, like her sister, Mary Elizabeth Russell, Onie had two children out of wedlock; John W. Russell in 1887, who married J. Lizia Page and in 1890, Eliza Ann Russell, who married Walker Hampton Dean. Their fathers are unknown, but Eliza Russell claimed Frank Mauldin, her step-father, on her marriage license. 

6) Thomas Alexander Russell (1868-1939) Married Sarah J. Edwards, settled in Anson and Union Counties, Six children:  William D. Russell, Cornelia R. Helms, Lottie Martellia R. Howard, Rosa M. Russell Helms, James Henry Russell and Fannie Russell Thomas.

7) Emma Jane Russell ( 1868-1937) Married John Henry Randle; six children; Henry Thomas Randle, Robert Lee Randall, Jennie Mae Randall Deal, Joseph Randle, Sam McLeod Randle, Delmar Asbury Randle.

8) Eli Henry Russell (1871-1936) Married Pattie Lee Austin, settled in Kannapolis, Rowan County; four children: Henry Thomas Russell, Robert Scott Russell, Dororty L Russell, Claud E. Russell.

9) Joseph "Joe"Russell (1872 - 1944) Married Rettie Jane Burris. five children; Phronia, Henry Clinton, Bertha Mae, Willie, Jodie Allen Russell.

10) Joshua R. Russell (1876-1957) Married Amanda Leonard, three daughters : Bessie Russell, Queen Victoria Russell and Martha Russell Gainey.

11) David Alexander Russell (1878-1964) Married Rosa Bell Hinson; 10 children; Bertha Russell, Clifford B. Russell, Crawford Russell, Ray Russell, Leroy Russell, Everett Leniz Russell, Coy Hill Russell, Mae Rose Russell Ballard, Robert R. Russell, Jamie F. Russell.

I hope this helps to clear up the confusion between the multiple Henry Russells, father and son, and the multiple Mary Elizabeth Russells, aunt and neice, and the multiple Elizabeth / Eliza Mauldins. The intermarriage and duplicate names among the Russells, Mauldins and Solomons can cause quite the conundrums.