My grandfather came from a very large family and some of them did not stay very still (in one place for very long).
Particularly difficult though was the fact that his mother Sarah Jane Lewis was orphaned young. She was placed in Oxford Orphanage in 1881 here in North Carolina and adopted out of the orphanage in 1883. The couple she ended up with did not treat her very well. She married my great grandfather George Gilliam Parrish in 1887.
FINDING INFORMATION
But it was her mother's family that was an enigma. Over the years I found bits and pieces of information and slowly started building this side of the family tree.
Her mother was called Westduck Lewis and her father was Henry Boss King. Her parents were not married to each other as far as I can tell. Westduck's parents were named Norfleet and Julia Lewis. They lived in Halifax County, North Carolina. They had several other children besides Westduck.
One of these siblings of Westduck, I have chased behind from NC to VA and finally to Kansas.
GOLLY ANN LEWIS "ANNIE M" 1852-1939
Her name was Golly Ann Lewis, later known as "Annie M". She was born around 1852 in Halifax County, North Carolina. On March 4, 1869 she married Eli J Lewis, son of Lewis Lewis and Peggy Blunt.
( I do not know if they were cousins, just that they both had the surname of Lewis).
In the 1870 Census, the couple was found in Caledonia township of Halifax County, NC. They are listed with the household of John Randolph, a local planter whose real estate and personal estate combined is $20,000 (464,316.03 in today's money). Eli is listed as 25, Annie is listed as 22 and their son William is listed as 1 year old. (William later has the name Manoah, sometimes seen as Ma Noah).
In 1880 census, we find Annie in Halifax Township, Halifax County, North Carolina. In the household is her husband Eli aged 38, herself aged 35, and four sons: Noah aged 11, Clifton aged 8, Luther aged 6 and Arthur aged 4. Also living with them is a cousin Angelina who is 50 years old.
The 1890 census was destroyed in a fire, so researchers have a huge gap in time when doing searches.
The 1900 census finds Annie in the state of Virginia, Richmond to be precise. She was living at 2204 Leigh Street, Jefferson Ward, Richmond, Henrico County, Virginia. Her husband Eli has died by this time. She is listed as widow, age 43 and the mother of 4 children, with only 3 surviving. Two of her sons , Manoah and Luther are living with her. Her son Arthur has died by this time.
The 1910 census finds Annie all the way in Great Bend, Barton County, Kansas! She is listed as being a widow and being 55. They live on Stone street. She is living with her son Luther and her son Clifton, along with Clifton's wife and kids. Luther is listed as a dentist and Clifton is a carpenter.
The 1920 census finds Annie still in Great Bend but now she is at 2922 Broadway Avenue. She is 65 and her grandson Hartwell C Lewis is 12 and living with her.
The 1925 Kansas State Census , we found Annie living with her son Luther, his wife Grace and his daughter Ruth.
The 1930 Census, we find Annie in Great Bend, Kansas at the age of 76. She's listed as a roomer of Eugene and Lucile Canfield.
The last census Annie was on, was the 1937 census of Great Bend, Kansas. She is listed there as Mrs A M Lewis and her son Luther is on the line below her.
It took me several years of searching but I finally found that she died in Great Bend, Kansas on Feb 20, 1939. She is buried in Great Bend cemetery but she has no grave marker. She was 89 years old when she died.
TRAVELING TO GREAT BEND
I would like to travel to Great Bend, Kansas at some point this year or early next year. I want to see where she is buried and swing by the library and see if I can find an obituary for her , or maybe get a death certificate for her to go with all my other research.
