The School House

On May 6, 1859, my 3rd Great Grandfather, Henry Davis gave half an acres of land to the County School Committee for a school that was already built upon his property. I remember seeing this deed years ago, and at the time, I didn't give it much creedence, and thought it to be the Old Davis Schoolhouse, but it wasn't. What was known as the Old Davis School House was located near Aquadale, Stanly County, North Carolina. 

Stanly News and Press Albemarle, North Carolina • Thu, Feb 11, 1915Page 3

The schoolhouse building was actually a multipurpose building, as seen in the above 1915 newspaper clipping from the Stanly News and Press. It was more of a community building, and in February of 1915, the community of Davis was having a box supper, or a community gathering, much like what we would call a 'potluck'. The school was located around the intersecton of Old Davis Road and Aldridge Road. It was called Davis because it had been decades earlier, the Old Davis Plantation and many descendants of Job Davis had lived there. Other families had moved in, primarily Keplys and Kimmers. Aldridges, Carpenters, Browns and Smiths had long been neighbors of the Davis family. A Deese family had settled just south of Aquadale before the turn of the Century and an Efird family had moved in from the Big Lick area about the same time.

Stanly News and Press Albemarle, North Carolina • Sun, Apr 6, 1997Page 4

The odd thing about the old Davis School was that although the school was located on my mother's family's ancestral lands, it was my Dad who had shown me the location. Well, he had explained that he had played there as a child, and it was over the hill from his Aunt Dorothy's house, who we were visiting. Aunt Dorothy was a that time a Luther, having married one, and she was the sister of my paternal grandmother. Half-sister, to be exact, as Grandma had been born a Lemmons and Aunt Dorothy, a Burris. Both Grandma and Aunt Dorothy had attended Davis School as children. The above picture is of Davis School students in 1920. Grandma would not be in this photo, as she was born in 1915, and would not have been old enough to attend school yet. Dorothy had not been born. The two girls that were idenfied in the above photos were Keply's. One had married a Floyd. Anyone familiar with the Davis family history knows the association with the Floyd family. The roots run deep.

Stanly News and Press Albemarle, North Carolina • Tue, Jun 9, 1992Page 7

The above photo of Davis School graduates is from about the time my Grandmother was born.They are holding popscicles they recieved as a prize for the achievement of graduating. There was one boy, Lawson Hill, probably because sons were expected more, to help run the family farm than girls. As my Grandmothers mother was a Hill, and although they lived in Cabarrus County, they had Rocky Rivers roots, I pondered on if there was a relation. There may have been a few generations back, very likely, in fact. However, I found Lawson briefly in my family tree, but not due to the Hill connection. He was the younger brother of a Fred Hill, owner of the 'Fred Hill House' which is still occupied by that family. Fred Hill has a significance in two manners. First, he married Ouisa Stewart. Ouisa was the daughter of Hortense Davis, the oldest child and only daughter of Edward Winfield Davis, a son of Job and second sheriff of Stanly County. Hortense died young, of pneumonia, and had actully divorced Ouisa's father, William R. Stewart, of  Union County. The reason for the divorce was an affair with Kitty Davis, Ouisa's cousin, a tragic figure. I have several posts in the early years of this blog concerning Hortense and Kitty, and Ouisa. Ouisa was raised by her grandmother, Rebecca Hathcock Davis, widow of Edward Winfield Davis, and her legal guardian, as during that era, a man was preferred, was Rebecca's second husbanc, John T. Crump. As Ouisa was the sole heiress of her mother's share of E. W. Davis's substantial holdings, there were some shady issues involving Crumps usage and disposal of Ouisa's assetts. Eventually, she regained control of real estate, which was firmly protected due to the diligence of her grandfather, and she inherited the Davis Hill or Rocky River Hill part of the property, which is near the end of the Gaddy's Ford Road. 

Fred Hill's homestead is located off of Aldridge Road and my third Great Grandmother, Priscilla Murray Aldridge is buried behind it. Her daughter, Julina Aldridge married E. W. Davis's nephew, Horton H. Davis, and I will come back to that in a moment.

Stanly News and Press Albemarle, North Carolina • Fri, Oct 27, 1922Page 8

In the October 27, 1922 edition of The Stanly News and Press, it was revealed that the Davis School was also used as a church, or meeting house, as services were held there. Rev. Will Hopkins, evidentally, an itenerant minister, was set to preach there. Also reported that Miss Ophie Efird was going to be employed by the school as a primary teacher.

Stanly News and Press Albemarle, North Carolina • Thu, Apr 5, 1917Page 6

In 1917, the Davis School was closed for the Easter Holiday. It was announced that a picnic was to be held at the Carpenter Ford. The mention of this Ford is exciting. The Carpenter Ford was up river and around the bend from the Davis Ford. My ancestors Job Davis and Ludwell Carpenter, (James Ludwell), had been neighbors from the late 1790's. Their descendants have been neighbors for over two centuries.

This clipping seems to refer to the whole neighborhood under the title of the school. It names some of the people who lived there, Aldridges, of course, as they lived on Aldridge road, which connected to the Davis Road, but also Allen and Baucom.

Stanly News and Press Albemarle, North Carolina • Sun, Apr 27, 1997Page 4

Above is another picture of students at the school in 1923. The names of the female students are given with their maiden names and the surname of who they married. The maiden names would reflect who lived in the neighborhood, the married names, not necessarily. Lots of Aldridges, of course, Deese, afore mentioned, Floyds, of course, Turners, from just across the river, originally, another family name. Simpson, another family that lived closer to Aquadale, and Davis was between Aquadale and Cottonville, but a little west of them both. There are also Honeycutt and Burris's, immigrants from the western part of the county, and mixture of these names in the marriages, but not one Davis. Aunt Dorothy was born a Burris, and Grandma would marry a Lambert. Dorothy was born about this time, and grandma should have been old enough to attend by then, but she's not listed, but she definately stated that she went there. Oh, and there are the Keply's.

It's time to voice my grievance with the Keply's. One household of them moved into what was the home of my 2nd Great Grandmother, Julina Aldridge Davis, before she married Horton H. Davis. It is known that Julina was a Civil War orphan, who had been bound to the Benjamin Lindsey Whitley family after his death, despite having a living mother. Some of her older sisters were pushed into marriage at this time,  one to one of Whitley's sons at age 15. Julina was too young, as was her twin sister, Julia, who died as a child. Her oldest brother was also called to War, but had lived. A younger brother was sent to live with an Uncle. Julina was bound to the Whitley's who had lots of sons. Julia had several older children by one or more of these sons before her marriage. We know Molly (Aldrdige Davis Boone), and Jesse Filmore Aldridge, where children of his son, Ephraim. George's father is unknown, as he went by Davis and had no children and didn't name him in the Permanent voting record like Filmore. The first of Julina's children with H. H. Davis was Titus, born in 1887.

But there were two more, born before H. H. was involved, both girls, confirmed by Filmore, and were buried behind the house. The house at the fork of Aldridge and Davis Roads. 

The house was purchased by Keppys after Juliana joined the Davis household. A beautiful modern brick ranch house stands there now.  But, at some point, as reported by my Dad, who grew up in the neighborhood and attended Aquadale School, one of the Keplys, past the time of the children in this photo, decided the small area occupied by two tiny graves, took up too much room along the edge of his tilled property, pulled up the modest markers, and plowed over my Great Great Aunts, my Great Grandfather's half-sisters. Sally and Lizzie are now covered in Corn and Cotton. The girls were born roughly around 1883 and 1885 and died between 1887 and 1889, respectively.  He could not spare the small amount of turf taken up by two small little girls. I don't know the first name this of Mr. Kepley, and of course he is long gone by now, but when I hear of a Kepley from the Aquadale or Cottonville area, I cringe in anger. 

Stanly News and Press Albemarle, North Carolina • Tue, Oct 19, 1971Page 5

Above is an actual newspaper photo taken of the Old Davis Schoolhouse around 1920. It was probably built about 1890 or so, and was in use until the 1940's. It stood abandoned until at least the early part of my lifetime but has now totally collapsed into the earth.  The odd thing about my grandmother attending, is that her people were from Mecklenburg and Union Counties, with a little flow into Cabarrus. She was born near Concord, in Cabarrus County. Her mother would marry a Burris, after her father's death, just before her birth, who happened to be a Stanly County boy who had moved to Concord to work for Cannon Mills. They would end up near Cottonville by her teens and the children would attend the Davis School. There, she met and married her step-fathers nephew, Burley Lambert, who had been raised in Cottonville by his mother's sister, who married a Smith from the area, his mother having died when he was an infant. 

But the school that Henry Davis was donating the land to predated the Davis School by at least 3 or 4 decades. If I'm not mistaken, it also seemed to be located in another part of the County, closer to his father-in-law's house, than to his fathers.  Check out the deed below.

This small piece of property of Henrys was located near the Concord Road. As there doesn't appear to have been any direct route from the old Davis property to Concord in such a way that the road would attain the name of the town, this road was not near there at all. Other signatures on the deed give a hint to where it was most likely located. Four signatures were shown on the document besides Henrys that were not the Clerk or Registrar. Those names were James Palmer, his father-in-law, Bailey Smith, his brother-in-law, James Sanders and Albert Smith. At this juncture, I can't verify who James Sanders or Albert Smith may have been. 

If the schoolhouse was near the homes of James Palmer and Bailey Smith, however, the location to a Concord Road might be discernable. 

This above late 1800's era map of Stanly and Cabarrus Counties shows no direct path between Albemarle and Concord, but we know from other records, that one existed. This map is also a little whacky-jawed my Mom would say, as Norwood was not that close to Albemarle and was actually located much further down the river, almost to the county 'toe''.  And Narrows was a bit further up and closer to the river. Copal Grove was also a little bit further north, while the location of Leo hasn't been exactly pinpointed, but around the Stanfield area, which puts it pretty close. 

The hunt for what schoolhouse this may have been is on. I'm guessing it may have roughly been in the area of where Old Parker Road reaches the current Concord Road. I take comfort in the fact that education seemed to be of great importance in my family that even in the wild years of the 1800's, they donated schools, at least two and possibly three, to the community. 

The Homeland

Oxford defines homeland as, "a person's or people's native land". 

The Davis family was the first branch of my family tree I began researching. The Aldridge's were the second. I was 14 or 15 years old. I'm 65 today. It's been a long time. 

Both families settled in the southern part of Stanly County, along the Rocky River, in an area known as Tyson Township. What became the Davis and Aldridge lands was South of the little town of Aquadale and North of the Cottonville area and a little west of them both. Today we would call it UCLA, upper Cottonville and lower Aquadale. 

I consider this area my Homeland, as I descend from several families from this area, not just these two. 

I'm simply going to attempt to define the area my Davis ancestors lived in, using grants and deeds, to paint a caliginous portrait, at best, of the places they called home.

Job Davis arrived along the Rocky River, sometime around 1794 or so. He was about 19 and traveled with the family of Josiah and Mary Tillman Floyd. There were others in the party, Tillmans, undoubtedly, Ledbetter's possibly. More families from their particular area of Southside Virginia had arrived a decade or few before them, Marshalls, Allen's, Winfield's, Robertsons, Howells, Stokes, Atkins, Epps and others. 

The Floyd's had lived up on Taylor's Creek, that straddled Mecklenburg and Brunswick Counties. Job Davis had been born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia on April 10, 1773. He probably lived near Taylor's Creek, as well, as he would later testify that he had lived within two miles of them his entire life. There's a great possibility that Mary was his first cousin, as her mother, Rebecca Ann Davis, was the oldest daughter of Henry Davis and Mary Marriott Davis. Her stepfather, James Taylor, was one of guardians of Henry's children who were underage up on his death in 1768. The other guardian, Joshua Winfield, was the brother of Peter Winfield, who had settled in Anson County, on the Southside of the Rocky River, a decade before. Peter would become the father-in-law of Job Davis. Both the Floyd's and the Davises would name a son Henry, and another Marriott. 

Josiah Floyd was among the diluvial pack of Revolutionary War veterans who had emptied out of Virginia in the years following the War. They had arrived with a capacity to push out the western boundary of North Carolina and settled in the rolling hills and among the multifarious rivers and creeks. 

He claimed a land grant for 150 acres in Montgomery County, NC, of which Stanly was a part of at the time, on August 20, 1802, Land Patent Book 115, Page 229, Montgomery County grant # 1868. It was on the SW side of the PeeDee River, which was Stanly, began at John Stokers corner and ran with Porters field line to a stake in Job Davis's line, and met with a 100-acre tract already in Floyd's possession. 

So, Job already had property at that time. 

His first was 50 acres on the west side of Cooper's Creek, entered in 1798. Cooper's Creek runs through property today that belongs to descendants of Job Davis, passed down through the generations. It was recorded in Book 111, Page 297, Montgomery County grant # 1818. 

A small, second grant of only two acres, was entered on August 16, 1800, Book 110, Page 411, Grant 1909. It was also on the west side of Cooper's Creek and began at John Richardsons corner and met with Brooks property.

Job Davis was not married at this time. Sarah Winfield, who was also born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia in 1775, only two months younger than Job, had married Richard Howell as a teenager and they had four children between 1794 and 1800. When Sarahs father, Peter Winfield, died in 1802, Richard was still alive. He soon passed away as well, still in 1802, according to his own Will.  Job and Sarah would be married in Marlboro County, South Carolina, in 1805, by her cousin Joel Winfield.

Jobs oldest sons, Henry and James, would also receive grants in Montgomery County, before it became Stanly.

Henry's land collection began with 50 acres, and was entered on July 4, 1837, and adjoined the property of Alexander Crump, 'formerly Daniel Easley's line ", and Josiah Floyds property, ' near a high land Pond's. It met Stokes McIntyres property, Nancy Throgmorton's 50 acres and Joel Greens line.

James M Davis, second son of Job and Sarah Winfield Davis, was born in 1808, two years after his brother, Henry. He first applied for a grant on March 3, 1835. His 100 acres grant was registered in Montgomery County Land Patent Book 142, page 155 as Montgomery County Grant # 3015. It was located "on the drains of Rocky River. It began at a Post Oak on the corner of Job Davis's 50 acre entry to a stake in Nash's line, then to a stake in Carpenters Spencer tract, then back to the beginning. 

Having read other deeds involving the Davis family, I knew that Nash had to refer to William Nash and Carpenter to neighbor, James Ludwell Carpenter, my 4th Great Grandfather. 

By this time, Job Davis had increased his holdings in both Montgomery, Anson and even the distant Cumberland County. In Anson, he had acquired property by virtue of his marriage to Sarah Winfield Howell. Two years prior to their marriage, Sarah had inherited property after the death of her father, Peter Winfield, as assigned to her husband, Richard Howell. Richard would die later that same year, and his property was then assigned to his young widow and minor children. 

Peter Winfield had first purchased property of Jesse and Susannah Spencer in 1785, on the Rocky River that had been John Spencer's patent from 1775 and met the property of Andrew (Andreas) Preslar, my 7th Great Grandfather, and also an ancestor of Elvis Presley. This tract was 280 acres. There will be mentions of the Spencer tract in future transactions within the family, on both sides of the river. In 1787, he would purchase property adjoining that tract from High Ross Sr. This land also met John Spencer's and Preslar's. This property had been granted to Ross, a Taylor, in 1775 by 'his Majesty' and was 200 acres. Witnesses were John Lilly, Richard Randle, and Donald Ross. The first deed had been witnessed by James Marshall, Benjamin Spencer, and Peter's son, Edward Winfield. It gives a little hint as to who was in the neighborhood. James Marshall had a close relationship to the family and may have made the trek from Virginia with Peter and company. 

Peter would receive two grants, both on the Rocky River, and both in 1790. One was for 200 acres, and met the property of Ross and Preslar, which generation, I can't be sure. The second was 100 acres, along the Rocky River, and began at Spencer and Ross's corner, but met the lands of Griffith Hogan, Joseph Waters, and Taylor's line.

In 1792, Peter would also purchase two tracts from James Mcinvale. The first tract began at Ross and Spencer's corner and met the property of Griffin Hogan, Joseph Walters, and again, Taylors line, of 100 acres. Witnesses were Richard Howell and Griffin Nash, both sons-in-law, Richard married to Sarah and Griffin to Jemima. 

The second Mcinvale tract began at the first at Spencer and Ross's corner and down Presley's line but met Cabin Branch and was 75 acres on the Rocky River. Peter's only son, Edward, would receive his own grants, then inheritances from Robert Lee and Argent Lee, by virtue of his marriage to their daughter, Susannah. Then, like his three sisters, he received shares of Peter's property, and then, his mother Charlotte Freeman Winfield's when she died. He expanded on that and had considerable holdings in both Anson and Montgomery (now Stanly).  The Winfield Road would be built from the vicinity of Albemarle, through Edwards estate, past Rehoboth Church, across the river at Winfield Ford and to Brown Creek in Anson. Portions still remain, especially in Anson. Winfield Ford became Davis Ford.

To understand where the Anson holdings were, the above is from an historic map of Anson County, with an empty, Texas-looking Stanly County to the north. On this one, Gaddy's Ferry is marked, within the upper bend, and shows the Gaddy's living in Anson, below the Ferry. To the west, the Efird Mill is marked, the mill that had once been ran by James M. Davis. The location is a little off, as the Mill was on Richardson Creek, near its conjunction with the Rocky River, but not on the Rocky River. The homestead of George Turner is marked, near the Efird homeplace, misspelled "Efford".  West of Efird's Mill, the old Davis Ford is marked. J. W. Davis who lived in Anson, just above the Ford would be Wesley Davis, a son of James M. Davis. The land above Davis Ford and to the left and  the right of it, was the location of the Davis Plantation and the lands of Job Davis and his sons. All the way to right side of this portion of map, below the markings of Ugley Creek, and past the Crump Mill and Crump Ferry, is the area of the Peter Winfield Plantation that had passed to Richard Howell, in right of his wife Sarah "Sally" Winfield Howell, then to Job Davis and then to Richard and Sally's children. 

This part of the Winfield Plantation would become known as the community of Wharf a century after Peter's passing.  

Peter Howell, Sarah Winfield Howell Davis's oldest son, was granted 10 acres on the Rocky River, that bordered Phillip Lynch and Griffin Nash. Griffin Nash was his uncle, married to Sarah's sister, but Phillip Lynch was of no known familial connection, yet also connected to a Joshua Davis, whom I have scrutinized with little luck. It began at an oak at Job Davis's fence, then ran with his line south 51, then east for 110 poles to Griffin Nash's line, then south 50 west 45 poles to Phillip Lynches line, then North, 40 west 110 poles to Lynches corner, then back to the beginning. His uncle, Griffin Nash and Stepfather, Job Davis witnessed it and Peter McIntyre was the surveyor. The extraordinary thing about this grant is that it was first entered on March 8, 1803 and granted on December 1, 1807. Peter Howell was born about 1794, making him a child when receiving this grant. Only 13, when it was granted. 

In July of 1818, Job Davis and his wife, Sally, of Montgomery County, transferred to Peter Howell of Anson County, 28 acres of land in Anson, "being part of a tract of land that Richard Howell lived on and died on that come to his wife from her father Peter Winfield". It began at two pines in the dividing line of Edward Winfield, 'in or near the path' and ran east to the Spring Branch, then ran with Peter's grant to Phillip Lynches line, then followed Edward Winfield's property line, (another uncle) to the beginning. It included "the house and spring". It was witnessed by John W. Howell and William Cawthorn. John Winfield Howell was Peters brother, about a year younger than Peter and William Cawthorn was the son-in-law of Phillip Lynch. I can't help but speculate over a closer connection between the two families besides just neighbors. Peter would have been about 24 at this time. 

On April 3, 1821, Jordan Howell and John W. Howell of Fayetteville, and Levi Stancill and Charlotte, his wife, of Montgomery County, sold to Peter Howell, for $300, their shares of the estate of their father, Richard Howell, who had passed away in 1802, when they ranged in age from 8 to 2. The younger two brothers, Jordan and John Winfield Howell, had already relocated to Cumberland County and Levi, a minister, and Charlotte, the youngest child, would soon be relocating to Georgia. It was witnessed by Stephen Nash, and Darling Allen. Stephen Nash was their cousin, son of Griffin and Jemima Winfield Nash and also the son-in-law of Phillip Lynch, having married his daughter, Nancy. Darling Allen was also a son-in-law of Phillip Lynch, having married his daughter, Catherine or "Katie". 

On February 7, 1848, Job Davis of Stanly County (having been established in 1841) sold to Peter Howell, of Anson County, for $525, a considerable sum in those days, land on Rocky River, known as "Lot No 2". It consisted of 41 acres and met Lot 1 and Lynches property. It was witnesses by Peter's half-brother, E. W. Davis and signed by Job and Sarah. An addendum was witnessed by Ausborn Turner and John Winfield, Peter's cousin and son of Edward Winfield. At this point, Job and Sarah were 75 years old and wanting to divide out properties among their children. The Howells seen near the Wharf Post Office and school in the above map portion were descendants of Peter Howell. Peter would marry, Elizabeth "Betsy" Floyd, daughter of Josiah and Mary Tillman Floyd, whom I have mentioned already. J. E. was James Edward Howell, born in 1834, who was the one son of theirs who had not gone west. W. M. Howell was his son, William Marshall Howell, born in 1872, probably named for J. E. 's brother of the same name, born in 1830, who had moved to Yell County, Arkansas and Grayson County, Texas. 

James was the second son, James Robert Howell, as William Marshall was the oldest. J. E. McSwain, listed twice due to two distant properties he owned, was also living on land inherited from Peter Howell. Peter's oldest son, named quite predictably, Richard, had died a young man in 1855, leaving a widow, two small children and a stepson, Patrick R. Threadgill. His father, Peter, had settled his estate and took custody of the two children, Teresa Florence Howell and Robert. When Peter died in 1866, the two children inherited their father's share of Peter's estate. Robert is not seen past age 14, and doesn't seem to have made it to adulthood, so Florence received his share and when she married James Edward McSwain, this portion came to her. Most of it remains in the McSwain family to this day. 

Job and his sons continued to buy, sell and trade property under the heading of Montgomery County, and due to multiple Courthouse fires, several of those records were lost. When West Pee Dee and East Pee Dee separated into two counties in 1841, several entries were made on behalf of the Davis clan. Most of it along the Rocky River in a big hunk above Davis Ford. 

1841 Stanly County NC Entry Takers Office February 9th, 1841

Stanly County is born. In the Land Enntry Book, the following entries are made by the Davis's:

No. Date     Name                        Location and Number of Acres

12    2-23    Henry Davis              100 acres on Fly Blow Branch adj Lewis Smith &  Charles McSwain.

13    2-23    Benja F. Davis          100 acres on the old road leading from Rocky River Springs to Allenton

                                                     adj. Lewis Smith & Charles McSwain.

48    9-1      Stokes McIntyre       100 acres adj Henry Davis, George McSwain & others.

49    9-1      Merrot F. Davis        100 acres adj Charles McSwain & others.  

50    9-14    Edward W. Davis     100 acres adj. an entry of Henry Davis & others.

51    9-16     Job Davis                100 acres on or near Fly Blow Br. adj. David Kendall, Lewis Smith &     

                                                    others including Thomas Brown's 1st site School House Spring near Cattail.

85    1-5      James M. Davis        100 acres on waters of Rocky River adj.William Nash, Tye and Ludwell

                                                    Carpenter.

86    1-5     Job Davis                  100 acres on waters of Rocky River adj. Wm. Nash, Tye & others.

142  6-3     Henry Davis               100 acres on Winfield Rd (spelled Winkfield) adj Eben Hearne & others. 

170  12-8   Henry Davis              100 acres on Rocky River adj. John Gibson & Co.

300  11-22 Henry H. Davis          100 acres on East side of Flat Rock Branch adj Henry Davis, Job Davis & others.                                                   

304  12-8   Edward W. Davis       100 acres on waters of Rocky River adj. his own lines.

390  3-25   B. F. Davis                 100  acres on the SW side of Mountain Creek adj Bailey Smith & Edward 

                                                     P. Smith. (Baily Smith was married to Mary Palmer, sister of Henry Davis's

                                                      wife, Martha Palmer Davis. Edward P was Bailey's son. Family)

This entry was preceded by entries on the same date by Bailey and Edward Pinkney Smith.  

391  3-25   John Davis                 100 acres on SW side of Mountain Creek adj. B.F. Davis's 100 a entry.

(Note: John, Benjamin F. and Henry H. Davis were the three oldest sons of Henry Davis).

429  7-27    Job Davis                 70 acres on the waters of Rocky River adj E. W. Davis & others.

432  8-17    Henry Davis              100 acres on Winfield Road adj. his own line.

(Two interesting non-Davis entries were 433 8-17 Gabriel Bell 100 acres on both sides of Winfield Rd. adj. Henry Davis and 436 8-26 Chapman E. Bell 100 acres on waters of Mirehole Branch adj. Kiah Morton and Henry Davis's lines, Kiah Morton being Hezekiah Morton). 

               

Job Davis and E. W. Davis mentioned in account book of Ebenezer Hearne

In NC Land Grants for Stanly County, we see the paralell.

Job Davis has two, one in 1842 and another in 1843. Patent Book 149 page 224 as Stanly County Grant # 79. On the waters of the Rocky River, joining E.W. Davis's tract, formerly William Nash's, To a pine in Jerry Broadway's line, to a stake in Tye's line, for 100 acres.

Land Patent Book 149 page 222 as Stanly County Grant # 74. Also on the banks of the Rocky and also joining Neddy's land (E. W. Davis's nickname was Neddy).To James M. Davis's corner, Ludwell Carpenter's line, 

 Henry Davis was issued 100 acres of land on 10 Apr 1844 in Stanly County, located "On the Fly Blow Branch". This was recorded in Land Patent Book 149 page 134 as Stanly County Grant # 66. This one joined Lewis Smith and Charles McSwain and his own line of his Poplin tract.

 Benjamin F. Davis was issued 100 acres of land on 10 Apr 1844 in Stanly County, located "Adj. Charles McSwain etc.". This was recorded in Land Patent Book 149 page 135 as Stanly County Grant # 67. Henry's oldest son, Benjamin Franklin Davis, was granted land on Ugly Creek joining Charles McSwain, James Crump and Jones Green.

Edward Winfield Davis, James M. Davis and Marriott Freeman Davis also recieved two grants each. 

In the 1850 census, Job and Sarah are listed as 77 and 76 years of age, and living in Ross with their single son, EW, a merchant, 37. Job's real estate was evaluated at $400, while Neddy's was evaluated at $1000. By this time, Job had already distributed much of his property among his sons and stepsons. 

A look up the page, and you can see that son James and his family lived close by, with Merritt/Marriott next to James. Names of neighbors reflect names seen in some of the grants. Miller, Abram Kimmer lived next door. He may have been an employee. James Ludwell Carpenter is listed on the other side and above Merritt and James is Stephen, James and Daniel Crump households with Josiah Floyd (IV) between them. 

The top of the page is led by John Davis, Henry's son, an Overseer. The family he was Overseer for was the last entry on the previous page. He was employed by his other Grandfather, Rueben Kendall. Henry Davis had first married Sarah L. Kendall, Rueben's daughter, with whom he had the two sons, Benjamin Franklin in 1829 and John in 1831. His remaining children were by his second wife, Martha Palmer. Henry was living near Albemarle on Cloverfork Creek by 1850, while still owning land along the Rocky. An 1849 deed also revealed he purchased some land in Montgomery County from Brittain Manuel. He would afterwards, before his death, go into a steady decline and sell most of his land. The Cloverfork Creek property was described as having a garden, apples trees and being near Timothy Ragsdale.

Job did not live long after the 1850 census. He had been steadily transferring propety to his sons and other kin, before his death. In Stanly County Deed Book 2 Page 63, he transfers a tract to his three younger sons, along the Rocky River, beginning near the mouth of a 'Throughfare", past a stand of Iron wood trees to an apple tree, excluding the Mill and the Mill tract. It was a small 6 acre tract and I wonder at its purpose.

In 1851, Job transfered to James, his second son, property along "Temple's Old Path". I might have to try to figure out who Temple was. It met a marked line in the road then with the Road to Coopers Creek, to the south drain of the branch, then to the river, down various courses of the river to D. Crumps line. (Probably Daniel).

About that time Henry donated half an acre to the School Committee. This would be the start of the Old Davis School.

The Davis property would include a Mill, a Gold Mine, and E. W's Davis's Store. It sat along the Rocky River and both sides of Coopers Creek, bordered and crossed Jack's Branch and Fly Blow Branch and mentions the Mineral Springs and Mineral Springs Branch. In one of the youngest sons' properties, which bordered that of his brothers, M. F. Daivs, is  described  as meeting Mount Carmel. Was Mount Carmel a church or a Mountain? It was near Rocky River Springs. In 1850 M. F. Davis had bought property from Lewis Brown and Brown lived near the Springs. Another deed of Marriott's places his property on the Rocky River adjoining Myrick Harward, the Old Murray tract (Jesse Murray, another ancestor who settled along Alligator Branch and whose homeplace was on a ridge above Long Creek near its confluence with the Rocky River), Ross tract, which met the Murray tract, (another family that had married into the Murray family), L Green's line, (possibly Lafayette) and Stokes McIntyre's line to the Mineral Springs branch to the River and adjoining H. R. West and included the third part of "Cal Brown's tract".

There were other Job Davis's. He had two grandsons named for him, but there was a Job J. Davis in Anson County who lived near Brown Creek. This was a descendant of the Christoper/Arthur/Isham Davis clan of Anson County that I have thus far found no connection to. There was one who lived in Randolph County, and several in the Quaker lands of the North. 

My Job Davis died on November 8, 1852, his wife, Sarah, followed on July 10, 1856. The property, Job had devised in his will to be distributed among his three youngest sons, and a portion to the family of his oldest son Henry, who had become incompetent and indebted due to alcoholism. He instructed the younger brothers 'see after' Henry's family as if they were their own.

Though not a taphophile, I'm drawn to the old Davis cemetary and the lands around it. There is an elyisum to it, a feeling of comfort and belonging. It's my Homeland.

Math

The day had come, the funeral was over, the dishes were washed and labeled and ready to return to the kind neighbors, church family and kin who had brought food for the survivors. It had came time to sort through  the deceaseds belongings, what to keep, what to distribute, what to sell, what to discard. I came across an old picture box from my mother's side of the family. My mother had volumes upon volumes of albums with those sticky, peel away sheets, but this box was different. The box was fragile,and the contents much older than the those behind plastic barriers. I came across a familiar face.

The frail, elderly man in overalls,  looked out at me from the undated black and white snapshot. A faded house behind him, mostly no longer visible save the steps and porch rails. There was no name on the photograph, and  I had never met the man, but I knew who he was. I promptly labeled the back of the photo for future finders. 

The reason I knew the mans name was because I had came across this very same photo before, not the same print, but the same image. It had been in the photo box of my grandmother from the other side of the family. Why had a box of photos from my mother's side of the family held a photo of this older gentleman, who was not a member of the immediate family, that was a copy of a photo that my Grandma Thompson had, the mother of my daddy, my daddy who raised me, but with whom I don't share DNA? Grandma Thompson had labeled her copy of the photo. I had looked through her collection, this grandmother born just before the turn of the century, many times as a child.  She told me who each person, or event was. There was a picture of a school, with name, address and teacher's name on the back, that no one in the local history museum knew  existed, but that my grandmother had attended around 1906-1912. She had photos of not only her siblings, but also friends in the neighborhood of Cottonville. Then she also had this one.

The slim old farmer, with his tiny head nearly hidden by an oversized bowler was Math Aldridge. This is the story of how his photograph ended up in the family photos of both my Mom's family and my Daddy's family.

James Matthew Aldridge was born November 28, 1878, in Stanly County, North Carolina. According to his World War I Draft Registration Card, he was of medium height and build at the age of 39, and had blue eyes and light, or blonde hair. His wife was named, Berta, and they were farmers living along Route 2, Norwood. 

 My personal family tree declares that Math is my 2nd cousin 4 times removed. This is through my mother's side, as the other is not biological. Math was the son of Josiah W. Aldridge and his wife, Martha Susan Floyd, in the Tyson Community, near the town of Aquadale. His family was a large one, typical of the day, and his father, known as "Pink", had a storied past. Pink had fathered a child with a married woman, 18 years his elder, when he was but 14 years old, and that is a story all its own. The pedifiliac woman would wear a certain attire when she desired to meet the lusty young teen, and stand at a fence waiting, but that's for another time. Tyson was a land of its own. 

Pink was 22 when he married Martha Susan Floyd in November of 1867.

Name	J. P. Aldrage
Age	32
Birth Date	Abt 1848
Birthplace	North Carolina
Home in 1880	Tysons, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number	65
Race	White
Gender	Male
Relation to Head of House	Self (Head)
Marital Status	Married
Spouse's Name	Martha S. Aldrage
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Occupation	Farmer
Sick	Well
Cannot Read	Y
Cannot Write	Y
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
J. P. Aldrage	32
Martha S. Aldrage	29
Sarah E. Aldrage	9
Juda E. Aldrage	8
Wm. M. Aldrage	6
Jas. M Aldrage	1

Math would make his first appearance in a record in 1880, as a one year old and fourth born child of this union. He followed Sarah Elizabeth, Judith Edith, and William Martin.

His Mother's People:

Martha Susan Floyd was the daughte of Josiah (sometimes seen as Joseph) "Joe" Floyd IV, and wife Sarah Sophia "Sophie" Easley, two family names with deep Tyson Community roots. Joe's parents had migrated from the Mecklenburg and Brunswick County area of Virginia in the 1790's, with a 19 year old Job Davis in tow, the ancestor who I named my blog in honor of. Joe's mother, Mary Tillman Floyd was a Davis descendant, her mother, Rebecca Ann Davis, the oldest daughter of Henry Davis and Mary Marriott, who married Roger Tillman first, and James Taylor second. I believe Mary to be the first cousin of Job Davis. 

The Easleys, in kind, were a big Cotton raising family in the area known as Cottonville, but not as big as the Crumps, but fairly equal to that of the Davis family. 

Math's older sister, Judith Edith "Judie" Aldridge, would marry James Robert Hudson, and they would become my Grandma Thompson's parents. That made Math Grandma's Uncle, but it's not a biological connection to me. That comes a different way. So Math ended up in Grandma's picture box by virtue of being her Uncle.

Judy Aldridge Hudson

So, how did he end up in my mother's family pictures?

Let's go back to Pink, Math's father. Josiah Pinkney Aldridge was the younger of the two sons of Josiah W.  Aldridge and his first wife, Elizabeth Ledbetter. Josiah would remarry and have 8 more children, ten altogether. Josiah W. Aldridge was one of the two sons of Caleb S. Aldridge II and his wife, Rebecca Louise Cagle. The other son of Caleb Aldridge was David Henry Garner Aldridge, most often seen as "Garner". Garner had married Priscilla Murray and they had a family together of 12 children, before he died of disease during the Civil War. One of the youngest daughters was Frances Julina Aldridge, who would marry Horton Hampton Davis. Their son William Hampton Davis was my mother's grandfather. The picture of James Matthew Aldridge had ended up in my Mother's family via this connection to her Great Grandmother, Frances Julina Aldridge Davis. 

Josiah and Garner were brothers, therefore;

-Pink and Julina were first cousins.

-Judith and Will were second cousins.

-Hattie and Lewis were third cousins.

-Daddy and Momma were fourth cousins.

So unbeknownst to my mother her second husband was her fourth cousin and that had dire effects in the way of defective recessive genes. I was a child of the first husband, so was therefore a possible carrier, but not a victim of the bad genes. 

The above map, circa 1905, of the area in Tyson Township, near the Rocky River, south of Aquadale and southwest of Cottonville, is where James Matthew Aldridge lived. A big serpentine swirl of my DNA helix came from Tyson.  "Mat Aldridge' is listed right there on the left side of the map. The 'Col Ch' marked below him was on part of the Old Davis property that lie on that part of the river and north, towards Cottonville.The parts on the map labeled "J. T. Crump", was the property of John T. Crump, who had married beneficially to Rebecca Hathcock Davis, the widow of Edward Winfield Davis. Uncle Ned Davis had married in his 50's to an 18 year old girl, so unsurprisingly, she outlived him. Thus, the "JT Crump" lands were actually Davis lands. "J. T. Crump Jr." was actually John Teeter Davis, youngest son of Rebecca and E. W. Davis. I had doubted John T. Davis's paternity for awhile, because at times, he is seen as John T. Crump, Jr., which wasn't his real name, and in truth, he was raised primarily by his stepfather. In addition to that, he suspiciously carried the same first name, John, and middle initial  "T", though John was a very common name. John Teeter Davis would have a substantial number of chldren by three different wives. DNA has proven, to me, several times over now, that he was definately the biological son of Edward Winfield Davis, and not John T. Crump, as I have many of his descendants among my DNA matches. 

Above Crump is the name, J. P. Aldridge. That would be J. Pinkney Aldridge, Math's father. The road trailing up is the Old Davis Road, whose path changed somewhat over the century, but still led through what was the Old Job Davis plantation. The road that branches off to the right, in the middle of the Davis/Crump lands would be Aldridge Road, on up is the name 'C. H.Aldridge'. That would be Caleb Hampton Aldridge, the oldest surving brother of Julina Aldridge Davis, and cousin of Math. 

The 1900 census would find Math at 20, living at home on the family farm with his parents and older brother, Martin Aldridge, and older sister, Sarah, or Sally. The family had been joined by two younger sisters, Ella and Docia, after the birth of Math. Some family trees include an untraceable Jasper and Ephraim Aldridge. These could have been children who died young, that appear in a Family Bible or other record, that I've not had the priveledge to see, but I can't say. By 1900, next to the oldest child, daughter Judith Edith Aldridge, had married James Robert Hudson on December 6, 1890.

Next to youngest sister, Martha Ella Aldridge, was a bride, having just married two months before this census, on April 26, 1900, to William E. Boone. 

Martha Ella Aldridge Boone and her two children, Nannie Lou and James Roy Boone

Mathew, himself, would marry Arey Alberta Turner, known affectionately as "Berta", on August 10, 1904. Math and Berta were both 25. His bride was the daughter of Benton Ausborne Turner and Martha Jane High Turner, both of sturdy North Anson County families. I've posted a good deal on George Turner and wife, Obedience Broadway Turner who lived on Richardsons Creek, near its confluence with the Rocky River, just across the Rocky, aka, the county line, in Anson County. Their daughter Elizabeth, married Marriott Freeman Davis, at a young age, and died at about 20 years old, leaving M. F. Davis with a young son, Millard Filmore Davis, and a baby girl named Rebeth, who would pass away some five months after her mother at 18 months old. Benton Ausborne Turner was a grandson of George and Beadia, via their son Wilson Pinkney Turner who lived in Burnsville. 

Math's single siblings would marry near about this time, too.

Oldest child, Mary Sarah Elizabeth Aldridge, aka 'Betty', was at 38, already an "Old Maid" by the standards of that day, but on March 8, 1908, she became the second wife of William R. McSwain, 68, thirty years her elder, who had 9 children, the oldest the same age as Betty. She would have one son with William R., himself the son of Lewis Jones McSwain and Lucinda Randle, a boy born in 1910 named Thomas Pincus McSwain. Despite the enormous age difference, the marriage would last nearly 20 years, and she would only outlive him by three, passing at age 59 of uterine cancer.

Older brother, William Martin Aldridge would marry in 1907, to Effie Jenette Turner, the sister of Math's wife, Bertie. They would raise a family of six sons and a daughter: Thomas High, Wilson Burns, Cecil Turner, Jason, Ouisa Pines, Charles E. and James Sanford "Jim" Aldridge.

Benton A. Turner, Math's father-in-law.

Youngest sister, Docia, married in 1908, to William Henderson Eury, and had one son, James Lonnie Eury, the next year, in 1909. She would pass away three years later of tuberculosis at age 27.

This wasn't the only tragedy in the family in that early decade of the 20th century. Sister Ella became a young widow, losing her husband, W. E. Boone in 1905. She would move back home and raise her two children with her parents, Pink and Susan. 

Pink and Susan Aldridge (sitting) Martha Ella Aldridge Boone (standing in back) with son James Roy on the left and Nannie Lou on the right.

Math and wife Berta would spend a lifetime farming the fertile fields south of the Rocky River Springs and north of the Rocky River. Math lost his mother in 1924 and his father in 1926. In addition to Docie and Bettie, he would lose sisters Judy in 1922 to Influenza and Bronchitis at age 51 and sister Ella in 1926 to Pellagra at age 45.

Math and Martin remained, both for quite awhile.

Math and Berta would raise a fine family of 9 children in the rolling hills of Tyson Township.

1905 -1986 Jessy Mae Aldridge, married James Valentine Caudle.

1906-1979 Fred Harold Aldridge, married Mattie Lee Crump.

1908-1998 Myrtle Lee Aldridge, never married.

1910-1976 Arthur Benton Aldridge, never married.

1912-1943 James Blake Aldridge, never married, died in WWII in the Phillipines

1913-1968 Myron Clay Aldridge, never married.

1915- 1984 Herton Craig Aldridge, married Hannah Pines Carpenter.

1917-1973 Houston Campbell "Cam" Aldridge, never married.

1923-1967 Laura Christine Aldridge, married Edgar Asbury Hinson.

Math lost his only brother, Martin, in 1941 and tragically, lost his bride of 43 years, Berta Turner Aldridge, in 1947.

Name	James M Aldridge
Age	71
Birth Date	abt 1879
Gender	Male
Race	White
Birth Place	North Carolina
Marital Status	Widowed
Relation to Head of House	Head
Residence Date	1950
Home in 1950	Tyson, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Street Name	On Road Boding Cottonville to acquadale road to left toward rocky drive
Dwelling Number	101
Farm	Yes
Questionnaire Number	69
Occupation Category	Other
Worked Last Week	No
Seeking Work	No
Employment Status	No

Household members

Name	Age
James M Aldridge	71
Myrtle Aldridge	41
Auther B Aldridge	39
Myron C Aldridge	36
Herton C Aldridge	34
Christine Aldridge	25

Above is Math and family in the 1950 census. He's 71 years old at this point and aided in  running the farm by his five unmarried children, Myrtle, Arthur, Myron, Herton and Christine. The street name is given as "On road leading off Cottonville to Aquadale to left toward Rocky River". Others on the same road were Robert Kendall, J. J. Biles, Renus Floyd, Sara Eury, Tom Floyd, Jason Burris, Charlie Poplin, Carl Fred Hill, Effie Aldridge, his Sister-in-law, James Talbert, Jake Crump, Earnest Richardson, Craig Aldridge, his son; Lucy Allen, Mary Kepley, Willie Turner, James Caudle, Joseph Kendall, and Jarvis J. Burris.

James Matthew Aldridge was released from his earthly shell a few days before Christmas in 1951, December 23rd to be exact. He was 73 years old. His body was laid to rest at old Rehobeth Church, the Aldridge home church. Most of the familly, both children, parents and siblings, rest at Rehobeth. A few are interred at Cottonville Baptist, where most of the Rehobeth Congregation relocated after the congregation disbanded. Many family members would move to Albemarle, or Norwood. His unmarried children would remain on the old farm until the last son, Craig, passed in 1984 and daughter, Myrtle, stayed in the old house until 1998.

Math Aldridge, the tall, frail old fella in the boiler hat, would stand for a picture in his latter years in front of his old house, and copies would be made. One would end up in the collection of his niece, Hattie Helen Hudson and another in the collection of his cousin, Lewis Theodore Davis. 

Rehobeth

The Office

So this is another one of those blog posts that isn't about genealogy, except that it is. I'm not being facetious or flippant here. I actually had someone ask me how I stay inspired and how do I stay organized. The answer to the first part is imminent. The answer to the second part is, I'm not. Not really 😕. 

Those stacks of papers that the cast of the TV show, The Office, in my heading is pretty accurate. 

When I'm gone, my survivors will be aghast when they have to come fossick though what is left of my wordly possessions. There will be two acronymns uttered repeatedly by my descendants in their appellation, "OMG" and "WTH".  OMG at the enormity of their task and WTH at the oddity of what they will find when they realize they never knew me, in spite of knowing me all their lives. 

But the question is where do I get my inspiration to keep going in a genealogical search, when brickwalls abound, I must add, as that was the unspoken part. We'll start with my quiet little corner of the world. 

What I call my office is not an office. I have an office at work, but at home, I have an unremodeled bedroom,  unoccupied since my little ones flew the nest. It is still painted in my daughters favorite colors and echoes of the Charlotte Hornets in its paint job. When I sit down in the morning, before work,  to begin my quest,  for whatever is intriguing me that day, the above photo is what I am looking at. My skill is being gauche, so my fung shui is clutter. 

I have a very old computer sitting upon an even older computer table, sitting next to another, more stream-lined computer table holding the printer and a router, with a filing cabinet underneath. Not that this two drawer cabinet is all, oh no! There's two on the other wall, a three drawer and a two drawer, next to a small bookcase. They don't match, one is gray, one is black and one is wooden. Let's get this out of the way to begin with, I'm poor. Not, not knowing where my next meal is coming from poor, but not having a beautifully designed office with matching furniture, poor.

Instead of this, (above), I have that cavalcade of confusion (further up). What jumps out first? It's similar to a "Where's Waldo" page. However, all are things I use, treasure, or what inspires me. The cardinal is not only my favorite bird, but my daddy's funeral announcement. The willow tree espouses one of my favorite sayings, "Sometimes the right path is not always the easiest one". The tree, art called 'Grandmother Willow',  drawn by an artist who calls herself Pocahontas. There's water in my coffee warmer, random jewelry, fingernail clippers, and assorted desk trolls like a calculator and a pencil sharpener, under the screen. My papersorter is filled with disks from state archives. A church fan adorns the back wall stamped West 2nd Street, Oakboro, est. 1915. A couple of small books peek out over the CD's, Cider With Rosie, by Laurie Lee, about his time in Cotswold after the War, a treasure from a visit to my relatives in the UK, and 'Albemarle and Stanly County in 1891', by local historian Lewis Bramlett and his son, Andrew. The Bramletts and I share a tree branch of German ancestry through our decent from the Starnes family. My third Great Grandfather, F.F.Starnes (Frederick Fincher) and his Great Grandfather of some unknown degree of Great, F E. Starnes,  (Francis Eugene), were business partners at some point, referred to as 'cousins' in the newspaper of the time.

And as for the cluttered collection of ancestors and descendants above it, beginning with a wooden tourist trap rendition of the hilly streets of Love, in Cornwall.....

It's twain! There's also a top row that begins with my little brother and ends with my oldest daughter. A photo of a paternal Great Grandmother sits next to a photo of my mom and her siblings at their parents 50th Anniversary party, partially blocked by a photo of the same 4 siblings with their Dad, my Pawpaw, as children. A photo of my Mom and myself connects to an old family photo of a different grandfather, with his family, as a little boy, followed by a current little boy, one of my younger grandchildren. Framed by treasures, hanging handmade ornaments, made of piory thatch by my friend, Meralda, from Pitcairn Island, an artist whose work can be found at Maimitihaven.com. 

Then, there are the maps. I love maps. I collect maps. There's much to be gleaned from maps, whether studying history, or in particular,  tracking of family trails. The one above the first photo, over my brothers' head is an 1870 Captain N. A. Ramsey  map of Chatham County, NC. Chatham is a country of beautiful terrain,  that an impressive number of my procreaters passed through,  on their way here, to my home county of Stanly.

Next to that is a map that predates the Chatham one by over 200 years, the 1640 Blaeu Map of the Eastern Seaboard,  from Virginia south, through the Carolinas to the Florida border, which was Spanish territory at the time.

To the far right is a map of Scotland with the names of some of the most populous Scottish Clans labeled in the area of their historic origins. I'm a mite sain of all things Scottish, as this land claims the largest hunk of my DNA, which comes from dozens of locations worldwide, primarily Europe, but not exclusively. The family names found upon this map that I know I descend from are Ramsey, Murray, McCoy, and McGregor. 

My map collection also consists of:

- 1904 map of Anson County, very similar to a C. B. Miller Map. 

- 1982  map of Stanly County encircled with small replications of the area, with towns and points of interest marked from 1841, 1850., 1875, 1900, 1925, 1950, and 1975.

-The C. B. Miller map of Stanly County, circa 1890-1910, that included place and people names, and marked schools and churches.

- 1982  map of Montgomery County.

- The First Lord Proprietors Map of the Carolinas dated 1672.

- An H. S. Tanner Map of North and South Carolina circa 1825.

I hope to add to this collection one day. 

Ah, the print table! To the right of my ostrich flamingo pen is the surge protector and router and printer, watched over by not one, but two pictures of Great, Great, Great Grandfather, Henry Davis. There's a calendar with a beautiful model, who happens to be my only Granddaughter and another Grandchild flipbook of my fourth Grandson on the front. It's the boxes to the right they will need to be afraid of. All of them are full of genealogy notebooks, by family and filled to the brim with research and stuff. No better word for it than stuff. Shake in terror of those, they are heavy and mighty. 

The printer table has a top tier, too. Left of the clans of Scotland is a portrait of one of my favorite founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. I named my firstborn Benjamin. The print comes with a quote, "Any Society that will give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." 

Sadly, we've forgotten this, it seems and are doomed to suffer the consequences. There's my 'currently working on' trays, and that little munchkin with the bronzed baby shoes is me, my mother had these done and they sat atop my dresser as a child. Now they sit in front of a clever montage of my oldest four grandchildren and is guarded by one of my horse statues and my gingham bunny, treatises spawned from childhood delights. If you can't splurge on childhood desires when you are a senior citizen, which is rapidly approaching, when can you? 

Back to maps, one wall features the 1982  map of Stanly County, which I previously mentioned, adjacent to an ornamental family tree. Above them, the Charlotte Hornets design is on full display. 

The Townships of Olde Anson adorn the door. To the left is another favorite poster, George Caleb Binghams, 'Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap'.

The walls aren't all covered in Maps, per this photo. There's a print of Shiloh Methodist Church in Montgomery County, NC, still standing, where a beautiful historic Christmas show, complete with antique instruments and decor, is put on in early December. A portion of the Lord Proprietors map I spoke of earlier. A print of Sequoia, the Cherokee who invented a written system of the Cherokee language, and the Daniel Boone print beside him. And oh yeah, I'm big on Native American decor, too. It's everywhere including here. No need to go through all the walls, but in addition to the maps, there's a big, beautiful black and white print of a casual John and Jackie Kennedy circa 1953, a UFC poster of Connor McGregor, A King's and Queens timeline poster from Egbert, the first Saxon king recognized as King of all the English in 827, to Elizabeth II., and a theater poster of Chris Hemsworth as Thor in the Marvel Movies. yeah.

Cabinet drawers hold books, reference books, family history books, and some casual reading texts, too. Above is shown, including The Biography of Frances Slocum, by Meginess, Stanly County, by D. Douglas Buchanon and the Stanly County Museum, Gold Mines in North Carolina, by John Hairr and Joey Powell, Uwharrie Bizarres, by Fred T. Morgan, Crossing Buckhorn, by George G. Thomas, Unruly Women, by Victoria E. Bynam, Cryin's For Hungry Babies, by Dennis Hayman, The Journey, by Eugene Broadway, and Broadway Royals, by the same. There's Family Maps of Sumter County, Alabama and Family Maps of Marengo County, Alabama, both by Gregory A. Boyd, J. D., as well as some books just for reading. I literally have books everywhere. 

On top of The Boggan Family Patrick, Benjamin, James and their sister, Jane by Frances Henrietta Bingham Krechel are a couple of spare DNA tests I keep around, just in case someone might need one. These are under a couple of Brent H. Holcolm books, Marriages and Death Notices from the Southern Christian Advocate 1837 - 1860 Volume # 1 and 1861 - 1867 Volume # 2, and Southside Virgina Families Volume 1, by John Bennett Boddie. I have several of the Boddie books, and I mention this, because I don't mind doing look-ups, as long as it doesn't become overwhelming.  Several of the books I mentioned in my first paragraph concerning books, listed authors with roots here in Stanly or Anson Counties. A few of them even share ancestors with me. Loving history, especially family history, seems to run in the family. 

(Note: I better insert here that I don't give out free DNA tests. Oh no, it MUST be a party that is beneficial to my research, a relative, adoptee, etc. These things aren't cheap, $59 on sale, $100 normally.)

More books, yeah, I'm pretty boring. One on Andrew Jackson, a very old book called The Brandons,  by Angela Thirkell. No, this isn't like a male version of the 'Heathers" movie, it's a genealogy book on a very old Virginia family with the surname 'Brandon'. The Story of Scott's Hill, Tennessee by Gordon H. Turner, Sr., is about a place where relatives of some of my Turner ancestors migrated to, and yes, I am related distantly to the author. These Is My Words, by Nancy E. Turner, Biographical Genealogies of The Virginia - Kentucky Floyd Families with Notes, by Nicholas Jackson; The Tudors by Jane Bingham, The True Story of Tom Dooley, by Fletcher, The Great Wagon Road by Dietz, Uwharrie Ghost Stories, Fred T. Morgan, and too, Cold Mountain and a decoupage map of Norwood, NC, and another entire layer of books behind those.

Besides a ridiculous number of books, the extra special stuff is in a small mobile chest of drawers. Two drawers hold the CD's for Stanly and Anson County, others hold the census books for Stanly, Montgomery and Anson Counties, the Marriage books, the Cemetery Books, the Court Book, and the bottom drawers hold Journals and Bulletins from the Genealogical groups I belong to, Stanly, Anson, Mecklenburg, Counties in North Carolina, and Southside Virginia. Quarterlys from family groups, The Pace Society and Wingfield Association, and a smattering of small pamphlets like the 1810  Substitute census of Mecklenburg County, Virginia, which includes a nice little map with all the creeks. The Southern counties of Virginia are also an area many of my ancestors lived before coming here. Which reminds me, I do have a map of Mecklenburg and Brunswick Counties in Virginia, but I don't have it up.

This is what the filing cabinet drawers look like. I wonder how much $ I've spent on copies. Let's not go there. I could probably buy a nice car.

While my family files are in alphabetical order per drawer, they're not necessarily in alphabetical order all together. Some families have a file in multiple drawers and there's at least one on every family I descend from and several I don't, that may have ties to my family. Among these, but not limited to, are Aldridge, Abshier, Alexander, Allen,  Almond, Atkins, Bass, Blalock, Boggan, Brandon, Broadway, Bridges,  Burgin, Burris, Byrd, Cagle, Callaway, Carpenter, Carter Coble, Cochran, Coley, Crump,  Dancy, Davis, Dowd, Downer, Drew, Duke, Easley, Efird, Erwin, Exum, Faulkner, Fincher, Flowers, Freeman,  Gallahorn, Gould, Gordon, Green,  Gunter,  Hathcock, Hatley, Herrin, Hildreth,High,  Hill, Holmes,  Honeycutt, Hooks, Howell, Hudson, Ingram, Kendall, Kennedy, Kernachan, Lambert, Lee, Ledbetter, Lemmons, Lisenby, Lowder, Love, Lynch, Marriott, Marks, Marshall, Martin, Mauldin, McGregor, McCoy, McQueen, Means, Meggs, Melton/Milton, Moffitt/Moffatt, Morgan, Morton, Murray, Nash,  Nobles, Palmer, Parker,  Paul, Parrott, Pfifer, Pickler, Pilcher, Preslar, Query, Ragsdale, Randall, Ramsey, Reed,  Robertson, Robbins, Russell, Sibley, Siegel, Simpson, Smith , Solomon, Springer,  Starnes,  Thompson, Threadgill, Thrower, Tomlinson, Turner, Upchurch, Warren, Webster, Whitley, White, Wilson, Winfield, Works. 

So, this untidy little enclave is where I do my thing, and where I find my inspiration. For every mystery I solve I find a dozen more. Every stone unturned leads to another pile. Every question answered leads me to ask another. 

It's neverending. Sorry kids.