I have just finished writing a story on a lady named Zilphia Cochran, whom I was able to trace from her birth into slavery on the homeplace of Mr Abraham B. Cochran and his wife Mary Marshall Lilly Cochran, in what was at the time, Allenton, Stanly County, NC around 1834, to Montgomery County, NC and the Zion area, where her young mistress, the Widow Cochran, had married attorney James Lowe Gaines. After freedom, Zilphia would return to Stanly County and marry a man nearly 20 years her senior, Ben Davis, a man who had been the slave of my own Davis ancestors.

Doves of Stained Glass Window of Cottonville AME Zion Church

Ben and Zilphia had no children together, as he was 62 and she 46 upon their marriage. However, Ben had several children during his long marriage with his first wife, Fanny. Not so fortunate, Zilphia had had at least 6 children, 3 sons and 3 daughters, with several different men, which is in no way a reflection of morality, or lack of it, on her part. Her youngest daughter, Martha, was born in 1865, so all of Zilphia's pregnancies had occurred during her status as a slave. Two of her children are by Unknown fathers. They could have been one of the other fathers of the known ones, or someone else completely. Neither Zilphia, or any of her children, are ever referred to in the census records, or any other records as 'mulatto', or of mixed race. Zilphia and her children seem to have been of purely African decent. The fathers of her children that are known, were all mostly older men in the same communities where Zilphia had lived. 

Two years after the death of Abraham (or Abram) Bruton Cochran, a son of David Cochran and Catherine Butler Cochran, in 1844, a probate of his property was made in Montgomery County, where he had spent his younger years. His widow, Mary, had married Attorney Gaines and went to live at his estate in the Zion Community of Pee Dee Township, taking her two surviving daughters, Mary Catherine, called Katie, and Martha Louisa, called Louisa. She left two children, Eliza and Calvin, who had been buried at the Allenton estate, behind in Stanly County, having lost them as children. 

In the probate papers was a paper called the "Division of Negroes", and this paper named the individuals A. B. Cochran had held in slavery and most fortunately, named them as families. 

"Jesse. Beck and her four children, viz, Martin, Mason, Jones and Ralph. Aggy and her four children viz Wallace, Zilphia, Toney and Sarah. Mariah and her two children, Jimmy and Sam."

Now, Aggy appeared in 3 census records before her death, 1870, 1880 and 1900. In those 3 documents, her year of birth indicated by her given age ranged between 1809 and 1823. A good middle ground guess would put her probable year of birth in the middle document of 1815. We know Ziphia was born in 1834 or 1835, so in 1846, she would have been around 12. Also in the Cochran probate papers, they placed values on each of the people listed, based on health and work equity, supposedly, which is the closest tool we have for guessing age. Aggy was valued at $335, at about 31. Zilphia was $360 at 12. Not knowing when her siblings were born, we have to guess using common sense and comparing a few others whoses birth years are known. Two of the sons of Jesse and Becca, Martin, born in 1844, and Mason, born in 1841 were valued at $150 and $290 respectively. Aggy's son Wallace was valued at $450, so he must have been somewhat older than Zilphia, and in prime working age. He couldn't be too much older, however, or he falls out of range to have been born in Aggy's childbearing years. If Aggy was 16 when Wallace was born, which is very feasible, that gives him a year of birth of around 1831 and age 16, himself in 1846. Toney, listed after Zilphia, was valued at $350, a little less than Zilphia, but he was a boy child, so he was probably around 10, or born in 1836. Sarah, the last listed, was no doubt the baby of the family thus far, was valued at $190, more than Martin (age 1) and less than Mason (age 5), and she was a girl, so maybe 3 years old with an estimated year of birth of 1843.

Yellow Rocking Chairwoman by Wallspice

Aggy had 2 more daughters, that I have found, after 1846, Susan and Lucinda. In the 1900 census, she reports that she had been the mother of 8 children, with 4 living. Three of those were Zilphia, Susan and Lucinda. I've been trying to locate the 4th living child of Aggie in 1900. This could possibly have been Sarah, married to an unknown individual, or one of two unknown and unnamed children, as I've found only 6. After exploring the lives of  Zilphia's six children, I will examine the other descendants of Aggie that I know about.

William M. Cochran

According to the records of the children of William M. Cochran, he was born in Montgomery County, North Carolina. It is believed the "M" in his middle named stood for 'Marshall'.  Born about 1852, he was the first of Zilphia's known children, she being around 17 at his birth. His father, named in his two marriage certificates, was one Jacob Cochran. There was no Jacob Cochran mentioned in the 1844-1846 estate papers of Abraham Bruton Cochran, which lists his mother, Zilphia, his grandmother, Aggy, and other family members. I believe Jacob had been a slave in the congregate Cochran family of A. B. Cochran's father, David, and lived nearby, and with one of A. B. Cochran's siblings, perhaps one of his brothers who later migrated south and west.

The first document William appears in is his marriage, at age 28, to Harriett Howell, 24, on December 21, 1882. William is not to be found in the 1870 or 1880 census records. The wedding took place in Stanly County and both parties are noted as residents thereof. Harriett's parents were listed as Lot and Huldy Howell, and indeed, in 1870, Harriett is found as a child in her widowed mother's home. 

The marriage was performed by Justice of the Peace, B. C. Blalock at the Tyson Township home of Washington Christian. William was probably living near his mother and stepfather, Ben Davis. Witnesses to the ceremony were Dan Crump, Ed Christian and Doctor Capron, all of Stanly County.  These individuals, and several other Howells are found close to my Davis family in the 1880 census, leading me to believe the Howell family originated with the Howells related to my Davis family as Job Davis's wife, Sarah, was married first to a Richard Howell, and her oldest son, Peter, took over his fathers lands as he grew up. One of Peter's daughters married a Capron, and that explains the Capron name, which I had never seen among the African-American community in this area before. The wedding must have been near Cottonville and near the Davis area. 

Harriett didn't live a long life, as William remarried about a decade later. William and Harriett had one known child, Charles, or Charlie Cochran. He was born just before his father's second marriage, so perhaps Harriett had passed shortly after the delivery of this child.

On July 2, 1892, William Cochran married Patsy Christian. He was now about 40 years old and his bride only 19. Patsy was the daughter of Benjamin J. and Delia George Christian of Cottonville. The marriage was performed by M. R. McSwain, J. P., in Cottonville, and witnesses were Louis Christian, Patsy's brother, A. Hyatt and Gibs Turner.

They would immediately set up housekeeping and begin bringing children into their large family that would eventually increase to 11 children for W. M. and Patsy. In 1900, they had moved back across the river to Mount Gilead, in Montgomery County and the first four children, Frazier, Henry, John and Zilphia, named for her grandmother, had been born. 

By 1909, William would return to Stanly County and buy his own property. On February 12, 1909, in Deed Book 47, Page 247, William M. Cochran bought 5 and 3/4 acre of land from H. J. and Eliza Cotton, for $57.50. The location only is described as bordering David and William Colson.

One year later,  William is shown as operating his own farm, free and not mortgaged, and growing grain and cotton. That's not all he had been growing, the children now numbered 9. His neighbors were Cottons and Coggins and they are living in Harris Township. One group of neighbors, the Bunches, are in my family tree, and I know exactly where they lived, at the very end of Mountain Creek Road, placing the Cochrans between Whitney and Palmerville, near present Yadkin Brickyard area, I believe. 

The next part of Williams story involves just his family, and reveals a decade of tragedy. 

Two more child would join the fold after the 1910 census, Zorra May in 1913, and Ella on July 7, 1916. Ella didn't make the 1920 census, but I can not find a death certificate, so may have died as a child. But there were others, the 1910 census reveals Patsy as the mother of 12 children with 9 living. Existing death certificates reveal that most of the family was buried in the New Hope cemetery, in the old Isenhour area of Stanly County, just north of Badin. 

Industry drew population, and the building of the dams, the electrical company, and the town of Badin, the railroads, the canal at Palmerville and Palmer Mountain, had created jobs, and the area between Old Whitney, Palmerville and Badin was abuzz with activity, constructions, work and tragedy.

Power plant and damning of the Yadin.

It appears that William M. Cochran had died sometime between the birth (or conception) of youngest child, Ella, in 1916 and 1917, the year that brought deaths of some of his children and the settlement of the estates of two of his sons. A Death Certificate for him can not be found, nor any account of his death, or the cause of it, but Patsy was listed as alone in her sons estate papers, and as a widow in the 1920 census.

The year 1917 brought more than it's share of tragedy for the family of William M. Cochran. On June 11, 1917, Docia Cochran, seen as a 7 year old in the 1910 census, dies at 14 of pulminary tuberculosis, one of the many rampant and deadly diseases of that era. 

Stock photo of  a Coal Shoot

Just one month later, on July 20, 1917, two of William and Patsy's middle sons were working for the Tallahassee Electric Company when a tragedy struck that took the lives of several young men, including that of Henry Hampton Cochran, 23, and John Jacob "Jake" Cochran, 17.  A  lawsuit, involving the Tallahassee Power Company and Patsy Cochran, mother and administrator of the estates of both Henry and Jake, take up most of the estate files of both.

The company and Patsy's attorneys, obviously, had two differing accounts of what happened that fateful day, but the truth of what happened blends in the middle. Both Henry and Jacob were employed as laborers for the company, located in Badin. They had been shoveling coal and with a group of other men, took refuge in the shade of the coal shute to break and eat their lunch. The shute collapsed, killing the brothers, among others who died that day. I found the Death Certificates of Aaron Stiles, 49, of Montgomery County, NC, who had also died on July 17, 1917, in Stanly County and was "Crushed beneath a carload of coal falling from trestle while working", and had suffered a broken spine and fracture. Also, that of Henry McLendon, originally of Anson County, son of James McLendon and Harriett Surrett, 36, who also suffered a skull fracture from being 'crushed beneath carload of coal falling from trestle."

The heirs of Henry Cochran were listed as his mother, Patsy, and his siblings Zilphia (Zethia in document), Frazier, John, Addie B., Viola (actually Theolia), Haywood, Zora May and Charley. Noticiably absent were the names of his father, William and baby sister, Ella, born in 1916.

After combing through both Henry  and Jakes nearly identical probate papers (Jake's is included in the same pack as Henrys, and not filed in its own sheath), I've been able to determine certain facts that fall in the gray area between Patsy's story and the defense plea of her sons Tallahassee Electric Company supervisors. 

Both 23 year old Henry and 17 year old Jacob (named for his grandfather), were employed by the company and had been shoveling coal. It had been a rainy season and began raining again that day. It was 20 minutes before the lunch whistle sounded, but due to the rain, the men took refuge under the shute, and began eating their packed lunches. There were at least 4 worker, Henry and Jake Cochran, Mr. McLendon and Mr. Stiles. The braces and bannisters of the shute were shoddy, rotting and ill-fitting. Due to the rain, and rain-soaked ground, the braces gave way and fell, crushing the men under a load of coal.

Patsy filed the suit alone, no mention of her husband, William. It can be assumed he was alread dead, perhaps he and Ella had died near the same time as Docia, but why did she have a death certificate, and they not?

First, she filed in Stanly County, where it happened, then seeing the tremendous pull the company had with the good ol' boys and powers that be in Stanly County, someone carted her off to Marshville, in Union County, where 2 days later, she had filled the same complaint. The action eventually ended up, also, in Anson County, 

                                Patsy Cochran vs The Tallahassee Power Company, excerpts:

Page 56262 Patsy Cochran named as Admtrx of Jake and Henry Cochran.

Page 56274- Jake was named as 17 years old and Henry 23.

Page 56278- Patsy is allowed to sue as a Pauper.

Page 56280- The company claims that Patsy 'is now in Union County having been carried there simply for the purpose of bringing this action".

Much of the arguement concerning Patsy's suit was over where exactly she lived at the time of the suit, the deaths of her sons clearly happening in Stanly County. Enter the mystery of Jonah Huntley.

Jonah Huntley has clear, concise, and no missing records, of his life, his death, and his marriages. He was born on July 4, 1888, in Stanly County, was married twice, first to Lula Redfern and second, to Emma Myers and was the father of many chilrdren. All of his documentation names him as the son of Wilson and Rachel Brooks Huntley, and he shows up in the 1900 census with them. He lives most of his life in Marshville, NC, however, and dies there in November of 1953, at  65, but is buried in Anosn county at the Meltonville Baptist Church at White Store Township. What is mystifying is how he comes to be named as the stepson of Patsy Cochran.

There are two ways he could have legitimately been the stepson of Patsy Cochran. One: if he had been the son William B. Cochran, which he was not, and two, if Patsy had rapidly became the wife, or in the least, the common-law wife of Wilson Huntley before the date of the lawsuit. The death of William M. Cochran remains up in the air. He seems to have been alive at the birth of Ella Cochran in July of 1916, but was not mentioned in the estate papers of Henry and Jake, one year later.Wilson and Rebecca Huntley are together in the 1910 census of Marshville, but neither was to be found in 1920. Rebecca, however, has death records, and was a widow at her death in 1928. Wilson, however, has no such death records, so it if unknown if he had left his living wife, Rachel, for Patsy, sometime before July of 1917. 

When Patsy Cochran filed as administratrix of the estates of her sons, she had two bondsmen, Charlie Cochran and Jonah Huntley. Charlie Cochran was her stepson, being the son of William by Harriett Howell, his first wife. But how did Jonah Huntley fit in? There was obviously a relationship. 

Jonah Huntley gave a depostion in the estate files: Jonah Huntley, Patsy Cochran being his stepmother states that Patsy Cochran is now living at his home in Marshville Townhip on the lands of Mr. Ellison Moore and that said Patsy Cochran intends to reside in Union County permanently, or for an indefinate period and that Union County is the home of (both).

Several others gave statements that Patsy was a resisdent of Union County and Jonah was her stepson,. including J. F. Bivens, J. H.  Marsh, S. W. Marsh, Lee Phillips and George White.

Mr. J.E.S.Thorpe, noted as being the General Superintendant of the Tallahassee Power Company at Badin, a large hydro-electric plant, (as if his importance was being emphasized for the court) stated that Jake and Patsy lived in Stanly County and "this affiant prays that this cause be moved to Stanly County for trial", where the company had significant connections and could pull important strings. 

Thorpe also had a number of witnessess: 

I. L. Sheets, a resident of Stanly County for 35 years testified that Patsy and her sons lived there.

As did C. J. Coggin, Postmaster of Palmerville, and a 25 year resident of the county. T. J. Cotton, and 18 year resident stated he knew the family  and knew them to have lived in Stanly County, no mention at all of William M. Cochran.

Charlie Atkins, a Stanly resident, claimed Patsy and 'her small children', had been living on his property for 3 months as tenants, at the 'Charlie Atkins place'. 

Shube Harris claimed he had known the family for 12 years and that they had lived for the last 3 months on the Charlie Atkins place. 

D. G. Pickler, mail carrier for Rt. 2, New London, who claims he had delivered mail to the family for the past 8 years, stated she resided at "Charles Atkins place'.

A gentleman named Robert Crump testified as an associate and friend of Patsy and her family for 15 years, elaborated a bit more. He said that Patsy and her small children (as opposed to her older ones I suppose), had been living and working at Charlie Atkins farm, however, he said, at various times, Patsy Cochran does visit her stepson in "Munroe (sic), Union County', for weeks at a time.

The testimony ended at the consent of both parties to the case being heard at the May 1918 Term of Court in Wadesboro, Anson County, NC.

Who had been telling the truth? In the 1920 census, Patsy and her children are found living in Harris Township next to her married daughter, Zilphia Cochran Hudson and her husband. Two year old Geneva was not Patsy's daughter, she was actually Geneva Hudson, Zilphia and T. C. Hudson's daughter, and Patsy's granddaughter.

And who won the lawsuit? I've not ordered the entire court file from Archives because they are understaffed (or unstaffed) since the Covid 19 outbreak, but after the trial, Patsy Cochran was buying land.

On December 2, 1917, Patsy Cochran bought 25 1/2 acres of property in Harris Township from E. L. and Etta Kirk for $625.00. The property bordered E. V. Moss, Sibley Manufacturing Company and J. W. Davis. 

On March 21, 1918, She sold a little more than 11 acres of that same property to John W. Davis.

She must have kept the remaining property, because she was taxed for it in 1925.

I don't believe Patsy, who sued as a pauper, could have came up with over $600 in 1917 unless she won the lawsuit.

Below are the list of heirs of Henry Cochran living at the time of the lawsuit, his mother and siblings, including his half-brother, Charley. No father, no little Ella, no Jonah Huntley, either.

I can only assume that little Ella, born in the summer of 1916, did not live very long, and that William M. Cochran, who seems to have been living at Ella's birth, was deceased before the terrible accident that claimed the lives of his two sons.

Above is the draft registration for Henry Hampton Cochran dated June 5th, 1917, one month and 7 days before his death. He lived in Palmerville, was born in Norwood, was a laborer for the Tallahassee Power Company and his dependents were Father and Mother, brother(s) and sister(s). So William M Cochran was alive on June 5th, 1917, but not at the time of the lawsuit.

Did he die of TB, like his young teenagd daughter, Docia? Or did he work for this company, too, and die in an accident? Why can the death certificates of his children be found, but not his? The mystery remains.

Patsy's estate file lists Frazier Cochran, John Cochran, Zilphia Hudson, Haywood Cochran, Addie Cochran, Leola (Theola?) Cochran and Zora Cochran. The only excetpion between hers and Henry's was the omission of Charley.

On the 4th day of January, 1949, by Frazier Cochran and wife Arion, of Rowan County, Zilphia Hudson and husband T. C. Hudson, Addie Bee Scott and husband, James Scott, Theola Harris and husband, Ottis Harris, of Stanly County, North Carolina, Haywood Cochran and wife, Ann Cochran of Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniea and Zora Mae Cochran (single) of Charlottesville, Virginia, parties of the first part, to  R. H. Abernathy of Sanly County, party of the second part, the same lot that Patsy owned near Palmerville, next to J. W. Davis.

There is an adendum, in a last ditch effort to find the death records or possible fate of William M. Cochran, I found, instead, another son of his.

Just before his marriage to Patsy, and presumably after the death of his first wife, harriett, William had a son, Calvin Wooley, with a Montgomery County woman, Laura Wooley. Calvin married Sallie Ann Tomlinson Davis, daughter of Walter T. and Ada Davis Tomlinson and widow of Samuel Davis, thus diving back into the Davis family tree, which William's mother, Zilphia, had married into.

In Summary, the children of William M. Cochran were:

Calvin Wooley 1883-1927

Calvin Wooley was born in Montgomery County to Laura Wooley, a single woman, and William Cochran, who was married to Harriett Howell Cochran, at the time.

Calvin and his mother would move to Stanly County from the little town of Uwharrie , where he would marry Sallie Ann Tomlinson Davis, the widow of Samuel Davis, on New Year's Eve, 1909.

By 1910, the young couple are living in Albemarle and Calvin  working on the railroad. Living with them is their first son, John B Wooley. In 1920, the family is living on the Norwood Road in Albemarle and Calvin is working as a laborer in the cotton industry. With them is a couple of boarders,including John Parker, who married is little sisiter, Mary Wooley.  He is listed as a cousin and that may be through the Davis connection as John Parkers' mother was Tessie Davis. 

Calvins' World War I draft card describes him as a medium-sized man with his right eye out, employed as a fireman by the Wiscassett Mill Company in Albemarle, NC. He and Sallie Ann were the parents of 6 children: John B. , Tine, Ardella, Callie Mae, Velaria and J. C. 

Calvin Wooley died in 1927, in Albemarle, and was buried at the Sides Cemetery, near Anderson Grove Road. He was listed as divorced and his mother living. Laura would pass away 3 years later in 1930. Calvin died of pertoniitis due to a ruptured appendix.

Charles R. "Charley" Cochran

Charlie was the second son and only child of William  M. Cochran and his first wife, Harriett Howell Cochran. Born about 1893, Charley managed to escape every census in his life, but he is listed in all other reocrds, that of his wife and children. Charels was a landowner and a farmer. He gave bond, along with Jonah Huntley, in the probate files of hsi borthers, Henry and Jacob. He is listed in the land records of buying and selling land in Tyson Tosnship, Stanly County, and he was  heir to the property of Dan Crump. 

Charley married  Lilly May Crump in 1918. The next census, 1920, was the only one that Lilly Mae hadn't been in since her birth .In 1930, Lilly Mae is living with her parents, as a widow. 6 known children:

Henry 1918-2011

Frazier 1920-1920

Craven 1921-1922

Horace 1922-1946

Callie Mae 1923-1988

Lucille 1925- before 1940

Charley Cochran must have died between 1925 and 1930, a young man in his 30's. His widow, Lilly Mae Crump Cochran lived a long life, into 1989.

John Adam Cochran 

John Adam was the eldest of the children of William M.Cochran and his wife Patsy Christian. Born on  December 1, 1895 in Stanly County, NC, he died  June 26, 1947 in Durham, NC. His World War I Draft Registration stated he worked on the street force of a construction company and lived in New London, NC, having been born in Cottonville. Like his half-brother Calvin, he too, was of  medium height and build. 

 He had married  Lottie Pennington in 1919, and th e couple moved to Durham, a larger city, where John worked in the Army, and as a laborer wihle Lottie worked as a maid. There were no children.  John died in 1947, of Cerebral Apoplexy, due to hypertension and heart disease, at the age of 53.  Lottie lived until 1979.

Henry Hampton Cochran 1896-1917 Killed in the collapse of a coal shute.

Zilphia Ann Cochran

Zilphia, named for her grandmother, was the first daughter of William M. Cochran and Patsy Christian Cochran Crump. 

Zilphia married T. C. Hudson in 1917, at the age of 19. T. C. was the son of  John Bunn Hudson and his wife, Laura Cole Hudson. Zilphia and T C.  had one daughter, Geneva, whose records state she was born in Old Whitney. In 1930, Zilphia and her little family are living on Mayo Street in West Badin and TC is working at the Aluminum Plant. In 1940, they are in roughly the same place and T. C. is working for the WPA. Daughter Genevea married Charlie Anderson, in Virginia, and they made their home in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

Zilphia died on April 216, 1952 a the age of 52, of blood clots. Her records state she was born in Palmerville and she was buried near T. C.'s parents farm at East Macedonia Church in Porter, between Albemarle and Norwood. T. C. retired to hisdaughters home in Virginia and died there in 1966.

Frazier Cochran 1918 - 1965

Frazier Cochran was born in 1918 or 1919 in Cottonville, Stanly County, NC. The transcriptionsts had a time with his name, as it is seen many different ways.  Frazier would move to Salisbury, NC as a young man and work on the railroad. It appears he spent some time in Davidson County as well. 

Frazier is seen in his brother's and mothers's estate reocrds. He met a girl named Grace Hairston from Davidson County and they had a daughter, Rachel, born in 1914, when Frazier was only 16.

He then had a long- term relationship with a woman named Mary Holmes from Rowan County. They never married, but had a large number of children together, though not all of them survived infancy. He's listed as a boarder in her home in this 1930 expert from the census, above, but is named as the father of her children in their records, including Ernest, Ollie, Moses, Mary, Thelma and Lucille.

Young Mary Excell Holmes, died of TB at the tender age of 12.

Frazier would marry later in life to Arie Crawford, daughter of Pink Crawford and Maggie Crane, from South Carolina. She is shown as 'Arian' in the 1949 land record where the surving siblings sold William M. and Patsy's lands. 

Frazier Cochran died in 1965 at the age of 67. He was worknig as a laborer for Southern Railway and died of heart trouble.  He is buried in Salisbury, N.C. Arie lived until 1971 and also died at 67.

Jacob Cochran 1902-1917  Died while working at Tallahassee Electric Company when the coal shute collapsed, killing young Jake and his brother, Henry.

Docia Cochran 1903-1917 Died of Typhod Fever as a young teen.

Addie Bee Cochran 1905-1974

Addie Bee married Cossie Hyatt in 1917 at the age of 21. In 1930, the young couple were in Albemarle, where Cossie worked as a plumber.  but moved soon after to Charolotte, NC.

Addie worked as a maid in the hotels of Charlotte after Cossie died in 1944. She helped him raise his 6 children by his first wife, Nannie Kendall Hyatt. 

Addie died in 1974 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina at the age of 69.

Fleeter Theola Cochran 1908 -1981

Theola was born in Palmerville and at the age of 18, in 1924, she had one son, whom she mnamed John Haywood. On Christmas eve, 1925, she married James Otis Harris. In the earlisest census reocrds, Johnny ,as he was called, is seen as Otiss's stepson, thereafter, he names Otis as his father, on military records and such, so he was adopted by Otis Harris. Johnny would be an only child. 

The family would live on Lee Street in West Badin in 1930 and 1940, and Otis worked in the Aluminum plant. It paid above average wages and was a good living at the time. Theola stated in one census that her first marriage was at age 16, meaning she may have been briefly married to a Haywood, Johnny's father. 

Theola was widowed in 1958, but lived herself until 1981, passing at age 73. She is buried at Parker Memorial Cemetery n New London. Her son Johnny Haywood Harris, married a lady named Willie and died in Salisbury, NC in 2006.

Daniel Haywood Cochran 1909-1989

Haywood Cochran was the youngest son of William and Patsy. He would serve in WWII and live for awhile in Charlottesville, Virginia. There, he would marry a lady named Annie Leola. Haywood worked as a Cook, and moved to Philladelphia, PA, where he would die in 1989. There were no children. 

Zora May Cochran 1913-1979

Zora May was the youngest of the Cochran children to live to adulthood.  She grew up in the Palmerville area and married Marvin Davis in 1927, at the age of 14. Her father died when she was very young. Her sister, Zilphia Cochran Hudson signed the consent form , as both paretnts were deceased by then. The document states that she was 18, but she was not. 

They would, like many in the family, move to Charlottesville, Virginia.  She would die in 1979, of a Myocardial Infarction due to diabetes and Hypertension. in Charlottesville. Her second husband was a Godwin. Zora was 66 years old. The informant on her death certificate was her neice, Geneva Hudson Anderson, Zilphia's daughter. Her body was sent from Virginia to Stanly County for burial and she was interred at the Hudson Cemetery in Porter, NC, which was her sister's husband , T.C. Hudson's family cemetery. 

Ella Cochran Born July 7, 1916 - before July 17, 1917.

Ella's birth was recorrded in the earliest of birth reocrds of Stanly County, N.C.  she was the last child of William and Patsy Cochran. Neither Ella, or her father, William, was mentioned in the lawsuit Patsy took out against the Tallahassee Elecetric Company, not were they mentioned in Henry or Jake's estate papers. This means that both William and the infant child, Ella, were probably deceased by Jul 17, 1917. I've not found Death Certificates for either one. 

William Marshall Cochran was the oldest and most prolific child of Zelphia Cochran. Next up, the rest of her children. 

 Big Lick, Stanly County, North Carolina is a very small place with a very interesting name. It's name is derived from the salt licks in the area that drew deer, and then became crucial for farmers cattle. The Native Americans were familiar with the site and may have had their own version of the name "Big Lick", the 'big' coming from the fact that there are one of two smaller licks nearby.

Big Lick is now part of  the younger town of Oakboro, but locals still embrace it's history. One of the legends of Big Lick is about the "Witch of Big Lick", a woman named Lynn Bird. In 1959, a couple named Bruce and Nancy Roberts began compiling a book of  ghost stories from North Carolina. Among them was the tale of the Witch of Big Lick. Recently, I'd gotten in a blogging fog, stuck on a trail I'd went down and feeling defeated from a long vail of work.

Out of every wheat field of fantasy lies a hard grain of truth. 

The real Lynn Bird was born Melinda Pless in 1831 in Western Stanly County. She was the youngest daughter of Peter Pless and his wife, Elizabeth Barger or Boger Pless. Peter Pless was well-known and well-respected in his day. Of German decent, the Pless family were Lutheran's and attended Flat Rock Lutheran Church near Stanfield, North Carolina. 

Peter and Elizabeth raised a large family of a dozen children: Daniel, Ransom, Martin, Catherine (Teeter), Charles, Delilah, Elizabeth, Amasa (Long), Garrett, John Adam, Solomon and Melinda. The name is no longer thick in the West Stanly Soup like the Mortons, Morgans, Burris's, Efird, Honeycutts, Hatleys, Barbees and Furrs, because many of Peters children, especially his sons, migrated off to Pope County, Arkansas and destinations beyond. Even Peter, himself, may have considered moving there. He owned property there, and willed it to his daughter Catherine, in his will. 

The Pless family hooked up into my family tree due to the marriage of  his son, John Adam, to Winna "Winny" Julina Murray. Winna was the youngest daughter of Jesse Murray and the closest sister to my second Great Grandmother, Priscilla Murray Aldridge. She was only about 11 or 12 when her father died and spent the remainder of her childhood with the family of Daniel Reap. Priscilla, who was only a year older than she was named a daughter, my Great Great Grandmother, Francis Julina Aldridge, after Winny.  Winny and John Adam had one child, a daughter named Elizabeth. Adam also went west, leaving his daughter with the family of Daniel Reap, who had taken in her mother. Elizabeth married a Tucker and lived out her life in Stanly County. Her namesake neice married H. H. "Haut" Davis and became my maternal Grandfathers' grandparents. 

In 1850, the Pless family is living in Furr Township and Melinda is living with her parents. Also living with them is a baby girl, Sarah, who turns out to be Melinda's daughter. The farm next door is occupied by Peter's youngest son, Solomon, and his budding family.

The unusual thing about this census record and about Melinda is a fact that may have marked her for public ridicule and ostracization in her community in the era in which she lived. 

The Pless family of Gernan roots, were no doubt free, Caucasian  citizens of Furr Township in Western Stanly. The child Sarah was black. Most Pless descendants seem to have disregarded her, either as an odd child taken into the family, maybe as an orphan, or considered the letter of race given her by the census takers of 1850 as an error. But Sarah was not to be disregarded, at least not by Peter Pless. And she did not die as many infants did in this era of distant doctors and particulate, rudimentary medical procedures. Sarah lived, married, became a mother and a grandmother and grew old.

In all of her 3 marriage licenses, the first in her most productive marriage to the father of her children, and the two marriages that occurred in her middle years and her latter ones, she named not only her mother, but her father, a man named Henry Pless. Sarah was a mulatto, or a person of mixed race, as enumerated in the following census records of her life. Knowing her mother to be a white person of Central European origins, her father had to have been black. In 1849, the year of Sarah's birth, most black people in North Carolina were held in slavery. Western Stanly was not an area heavily populated by slaves, or those who held them. Most land owners were yeoman farmers, still there were a few, and Peter Pless was one of those persons whom held them.

In the 1850 attachment to the census called the Slave Scheudules, Peter Pless had 2 enslaved people in his household, a 40 year old woman and a 25 year old man, specifically. The 25 year old man had to have been Henry Pless, as there were no other Pless families in the area, save Peter and his children. There were no other slaves to have been known by the surname of Pless. There had been a relationship between Henry Pless, age 25 and Malinda Pless, age 19 and that relationship had produced Sarah Pless, an infant in 1850.

Photo of the Grave of Peter Pless, taken by Rodney Plowman, at Flat Rock Cemetery

It seems most of his older children had been given their share of their fathers estate before moving to Arkansas, as several are not mentioned in his will, and others passed before he did. He left two tracts of land to his youngest son, Solomon, who remained in Stanly County, and died here in 1909, including the tract that included his "mansion house". I imagine it to have been grand.

He left his daughter, Catherine, who had married a Teeter, 80 acres of land on the Arkansas River, in Pope County, Arkansas, where she lived. 

He left his wife, Elizabeth, half of the household furniture, a cow and a calf of her choice, and $25 to be made from the sale of some unwilled property. He requested that his son Solomon maintain and take care of his mother during her widowhoood, as long as she remained unmarried and remained on the property.

He left $200 to his third from youngest child, John Adam Pless, the one who had married Winna Julina Murray.

He also left Malinda both $200 and the second choice of a cow and calf, after her mother. He also left her the half of the household furnshings and kitchen furnishings that her mother did not take. Then there was a clause, that was so confusing to those who deciphered it, that it ended up in court. 

Item. I give and bequeath to my grand-daughter Sarah the child of Malinda fifty dollars in Money, my will and desire that all the residue of my estate if any after taking out the devises and legacies above mentioned shall be sold and the debts owing to me collected And if there should be andy surplus over and above the payment of debts expenses and legacies that such surplus shall be equally divided and paid over to my son Adam and daughter Malinda my will and desire is that my daughter Malinda equal part in this last devise to her bodily heirs equally to be to be divided between them and said legacies to be paid over to the above mentioned within two years from my decease to them and each and every of them their Executors Administrators aand asignes absolutely forever this is not to interfer with a deed of gift that I have made hereetofore to my son Charley and daughter Elizabeth.

So, little Sarah inherited $50 from her grandfather, a lot of money in those days. He orders the remainder of his estate to be sold and his debts paid. He requests that any surplus left over be equally divided between Adam and Malinda and that "my daughter Malinda equal part in this last devise to her bodily heirs equally to be divided between them".  He also wanted the legacies to be paid within two years and to not interfere with the deeds of gift that he had previously made to his son Charley (Charles Pless) and his daugther Elizabeth.

In the estate records of Peter Pless, which took place nearly a decade after the 1850 census, there is mention of 4 slaves, none of whom were named Henry:

To Soloman Pless........1 slave, a man named Andrew.

To Andrew Honeycutt..1 slave, a man named Steven.

To Ezekial Brooks....... 2 slaves, girls named Silvy (Sylvia) and Sousy (Susan).

Had Henry died before 1858, or had he been sold far away to put distance between himself and Melinda? Whatever his fate, Sarah Pless knew her father's name.

On the 12th day of August, 1853, James A. Coble bought a tract of land from George Teeter, who was mentioned in the first deed. This tract was for 100 acres and bordered that of George Teeter, met Jesse Morton's corner, met A. Bird's corner, (Andrew), ran with Charles Bird's line, and was proved on July  20, 1854. 

Cucumber Creek originates just north of Hwy 24/27 and just east of Pless Mill Road, between Red Cross and Locust. It ambles south, crossing Big Lick Road until it makes it way to the Rocky River below Stanfield. It's also known as Rock Hole Creek. This was the creek along which the young Cobles made their home on.

Name:	James A Coble
Age:	23
Birth Year:	abt 1837
Gender:	Male
Birth Place:	North Carolina
Home in 1860:	Stanly, North Carolina
Post Office:	Albemarle
Dwelling Number:	1098
Family Number:	1113
Occupation:	Farmer
Real Estate Value:	550
Household Members Age James A Coble 23 Linda Coble 25 Elizabeth Coble 4 Peter Coble 2

The 1860 census shows Melinda, or Linda, as a few years older than James. The first two of their 3 children had been born, Elizabeth and Peter. Hester had not arrived yet, but was probably on her way.

In 1858, the Cobles were involved in a lawsuit over the exact wording of the Will of Peter Pless. The problem arose from a clause pertaining to the distribution of a surplus from the estate. The name of the suit was " Pless vs. Coble 58 N.C. 231. You can read about it here:  Pless v. Coble 1858

James and Malinda had made a home, had acquired a good portion of land and had brought 3 children into the world. Then came war. James Allison Coble, being a young man, was pulled up into it. He seemed to have a bit of an attitude about it, according to his war records. He enilisted in Salisbury, NC on Feb 1, 1862, and it seems to have been a bit reluctantly. A note on his original entistment form states that he refused to sign up for the duration of the War, so they put him in a 12 month Company. The document on Fold3 reads thus:

James A. Coble - Civil War

Pvt 42nd Infantry Co C 42nd

When: Feb 1, 1862

Where: Salisbury, NC by Major Gibbs for 1 year.

Remarks: Refused to reenlist for the War and was thrown into a 12 month Company - now guarding POW's at this point.

'Thrown'.....

Name:	James A Coble
Enlistment Date:	1 Feb 1862
Enlistment Place:	Rowan County, North Carolina
Enlistment Rank:	Private
Muster Date:	1 Feb 1862
Muster Place:	North Carolina
Muster Company:	C
Muster Regiment:	42nd Infantry
Muster Regiment Type:	Infantry
Muster Information:	Enlisted
Muster Out Date:	1 May 1862
Muster Out Information:	Transferred
Side of War:	Confederacy
Survived War?:	Yes
Residence Place:	Stanly County, North Carolina
Additional Notes 2:	Muster 2 Date: 01 May 1862; Muster 2 Place: North Carolina; Muster 2 Company: Howard's C; Muster 2 Regiment: Prison Guards; Muster 2 Information: Transferred;
Title:	North Carolina Troops 1861-65,

The above record states he survived the War, but they did not follow. If you note, he mustered out in May of 1862, just 4 months after he enlisted.  He would then re-enlist in order to serve as a Prison Guard in Goldsboro, NC. Seems he sought to avoid active combat.

Military Unit:

Capt. Griswold's Co., Local Defense (Provost Guard, Goldsboro) AND Home Guards AND Capt. Hoskins' Co. (Local Defense) AND Capt. Howard's Co., Prison Guards

Full Name:

Coble, James A

Age:

[Blank]

Year:

1862

Conflict Period:

Civil War (Confederate)

Branch:

Confederate Army

Served for:

United States of America

Yet he still succombed to the War. Despite his best efforts, it got him in the end. There were more than one danger in this evil event. The last thing written in the three files on James A. Coble was his name on a list of P. O.W's released. He had gotten himself captured and was released, but had he made it home? His wife and his community  knew of his death in 1863, so maybe he did, and died still of the experience.

Name:	James A Coble
Probate Date:	1863
Probate Place:	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Inferred Death Year:	Abt 1863
Inferred Death Place:	North Carolina, USA
Item Description:	Wills, 1663-1978; Estate Papers, 1820, 1839-1952

James A. Coble died in 1863 at the age of 28. In his 26 pages of estate records, there are reciepts that refer to him as 'Allison Coble', so we know what the 'A' stood for. Melinda was widowed at 31 with 3 young children.

The administrator of James's estate was S. H. Efird, which stood for Simeon Howell Efird, son of John Jacob Efird and Catherine Cagle Efrid. He was a gentleman from the Oakboro/ Big Lick area of no apparent relation. Of course, James' heirs were his widow, Melinda and his 3 children: Elizabeth "Lizzie", Peter N. and Hester "Hessie or Hessa".  So therefore, when tragedy struck again, another estate file was in order.

Name:	Peter Coble
Probate Date:	1867
Probate Place:	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Inferred Death Year:	Abt 1867
Inferred Death Place:	North Carolina, USA
Item Description:	Wills, 1663-1978; Estate Papers, 1820, 1839-1952

Peter N. Coble was born in 1858. He died in 1867. He would have been about 9 years old. This is, in fact, the youngest person I've ever seen an estate file for. If you think it may have been for a different Peter Coble, just look inside. 

 It's only 3 pages long, but then again, he was a young child.

Malinda Coble, S. H. Efird (who was his father's Executor) and William Harward, settled the estate of little Peter, which was his share of his inheritance from not only James, but also from the 'surplus' designated to Malindas bodily heirs by Peter Pless. The estate file also lets us know that his middle initial was 'N'. Now, it could be naturally assumed he was named Peter for his Grandfather Peter Pless, but while looking into the Cobles for the parentage of James Allison Coble, I noticed that the name Peter N. also ran in that family. David Coble Sr. (father of David Jr. of the 33 children), had a brother named Peter. In fact, Peter was the oldest son of George Adam Coble (Gobel, Koeble) and Anna Margaretha Loeffel Coble, the German progenitors of this line. He lived in Rowan and Guilford counties and died about 1815. He was followed by several Grandsons, Great Grandsons, nephews and grandnephews named Peter N. Coble, and in at least 3 cases, the N translated out to be Nikolas or Nicholas. So, it was a good possibility that this little boy was named Peter Nicholas Coble, and the liklihood that his father, James Allison was a grandson of David Coble, Sr. is good gambling odds, and that they descended from old German George Koeble/Goble, is nearly a certainty.

Before I let go of the Cobles, there is one very evident error in that family tree that is sticking in my craw, and that error is in the person of Ephraim Coble. David Coble, Sr.(of the 7 children, not the 33), in his 1841 will, seemed to have a particlar fondness and closeness to his Grandson Ephraim. Ephraim is mentioned with frequency and was given the 307 acres of property that David, Sr. was currently living upon.

Ephraim was one of only two grandchildren that David mentioned. The other was Iphama Cagle. What did these two children have in common? Their mothers, daughters of David Sr., predeceased their father. Ephriam was the son Elizabeth Coble and Iphama Cagle was the daughter of James Cagle and wife, Abigail Coble Cagle. David had 3 sons, John, Jacob, and David. He had 4 daughters, Elizabeth, Abigail, Margaret "Grete" Coble Efird, and Mary Coble Huneycutt (in her fathers will, married to Levi Huneycutt at the time).

Now, Jacob Efird seems to have never married and does not mention having any children of his own in his will or otherwise. In the Abstracts of the Minutes of the Courts of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of STanly County 1841-1850, published by the Stanly County Genealogical Society, on page 7, we find this event that happened after the death of David Coble Sr., "Court of Pleas and Quarters Sessions at Nancy Hearnes near house of Eben Hearne 2nd Monday, 14 February 1842.........Jacob Coble was appointed guardian of Ephraim Coble, grandson of David Coble decd., gave bond of $1500, Henry Kimra, security.

My own personal estimation of what occurred was that after the death of Elizabeth Coble, between 1825, the birth of Ephraim and 1841, the death of David Sr., Elizabeth had died, probably closer to the former year, and her parents, David and Martha, had raised little Ephraim. Upon the death of David, when Ephraim was 15 or 16 years old, his Uncle Jacob became his guardian.

In 1853, Jacob Coble died at the age of 57 and his will was proved in 1854. In it, he leaves a slave girl named Suffronia, 8 or 9 years old, to his niece, 'Ithaney' Sides, "wife of George M. Sides", which is Ithama Cagle Sides, daughter of his deceased sister, Abigail Coble Cagle and James Cagle. She inherited in right of ther mother.

Next, he leaves a tract of land to Jerusha Hudson," a single woman", whom he refers to as his friend. Jerusha is a post of her own, and quite a coincidence to find mention of, as I have been researching the Hudsons on a different matter. It appears, though single, Jacob may have not been alone. He leaves the residual of his estate to his brothers, John and David Coble (Jr.) and his sister, Mary Huneycutt, (she dies an Efird), and to"my nephew Ephriam Coble son of Elizabeth Coble, deceased."

With minimal research, it's clear to see that Jacob Coble is Ephraims Coble's Uncle, not his Father, and that Elizabeth was Jacob's sister, not his wife. However, on Find-A-Grave, in Wiki-tree, and in numerous family trees, multiple folks have Jacob as Ephriams father. I just had to clear that one up. Unless of course, some family members have some knowledge of incest, -yuck-, which I highly doubt, I think they were grasping at straws trying to find a father for Ephraim. There are two scenarios for the father of  Ephraim, either Elizabeth being a Coble, married a Coble, and they both died young, and cousin marriages certaily occured with some frequency back then, or Ephraim was born out of wedlock, which also occurred with some frequency back then, which some disillusioned descendants are renitent to accept. "That didn't happen back then", well the truth of it is, it did.

Name:	Malinda Byrd
Age in 1870:	38
Birth Year:	abt 1832
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	243
Home in 1870:	Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Post Office:	Albemarle
Occupation:	Farmer
Cannot Write:	Yes
Personal Estate Value:	225
Real Estate Value:	300
Inferred Children:	Elizabeth ByrdHessa Byrd
Household Members Age Malinda Byrd 38 Elizabeth Byrd 15 Hessa Byrd 12

In 1867, as the Executrix of her son's estate, we find Malinda/ Melinda as a Coble. In the 1870 census, we find her as a Bird/Byrd with her two daughters, Elizabeth and Hester (Hessa/Hessie) mistakenly nameds as Birds. So how did that happen? 

Remember old Charles Bird, who was 40 in the 1850 census, son of Andrew Bird, with whom James A. Coble had resided? It seems sometime between 1867 and 1870, Malinda Pless Coble, who would have been in her latter 30's, married Charles Byrd, who would have been in his latter 60's, but in the ragged years of the post-war 1860's and 1870's, husband material was hard to come by. One sees, not only these June - November weddings, but even May - December ones, as in the case of my second GrandAunt, Margaret Aldridge, who at 15 or 16, became the third wife of old Miller Easley, well into his 70's at the time. Or in the case of the widow of my 3rd Great Grandfather, Burwell Hudson, (stepmother to my 2nd Great-Grandmother, Caroline Hudson), Sarah, who married old John Norwood, she about 23 and he about 78.

Not only had Charles Byrd married the widow Coble, it appears he then promptly died, as she is alone and he is nowhere to be found in 1870. It brings to mind that 1992 movie with Madonna, Body of Evidence, where she portrays a woman accused of killing her aged husband by having sex with him.

Now, I am not suggesting that is how Charles Byrd/ Bird died...but you never know. We still have the mystery of how Malinda Pless gained her reputation as a witch.

Moving along, I must admit that I have not found a marriage license for Malinda Coble and Charles Byrd, but due to courthouse fires and loss of old records in general, one can't say that because something can't be located , that it didn't exist. So in coming to this conclusion, I had to rely on solid circumstantial evidence.

1) Between 1867, when Malinda was named as still a Coble in her son Peter's estate records, and in the 1870 census, when she is shown as a Byrd, her name changed, meaning she had married a Byrd, some Byrd. In the annuls of Stanly County history and Ghost Stories, she is known as Lynn Bird.

2) There were not a lot of Byrds in the area at that time that she could have married. Luckily she wasn't an Efird or a Burris or a Smith, or God forbid, a Honeycutt. John Byrd was only 30 and happily married to his wife, Elizabeth in 1870, with 3 little kids. Same with Martin and his wife Lovina, married with children and William and his wife, Mary A Byrd. Sarah Byrd, widow of Jackson, was living in Albemarle with her children. Several of the younger Byrd men had lost their lives in the Civil War and the older ones had died off. Then there was Charles.

3) Location, location, location, they were neighbors. They all lived on Cucumber creek on adjoining properties. But here's the clincher, Charles had gotten himself in debt. In 1854, he had mortgaged his property on Cumcuber Creek to Daniel Freeman. Malinda was wealthier than him, having inherited property from her father, her husband and her son. Which leads me to..

4) Later, and I will touch on this again, the description on Charles property, matches up with property that Malindas grandchildren will inherit in the 1890's. 

She had married Charles Byrd.

And now, back to Nancy Robets rendition of the legend.

What had Melinda done that caused neighbors to consider her evil? 

There are multiple characters in this story, one of them being Betsy Hartsell. Who was she? There is an exact timeframe to this story. The author states in 1959 tha it too place about 75 years ago, which would be about 1884. Knowing now that Malinda was still alive in 1890, the timeline is from the early 1880's to the early 1890's. 

There lived in Big Lick an Elizabeth Hartsell, who was married to a John Hartsell, living in 1880, but who had died by 1900. I believe this to be Betsy, and to be the original conveyor of the legend of the withch.

Bill Anderson was a real person, too and in truth, a son-in-law of Malinda Pless Coble Byrd. If you notice, the author begins by correctly referring to him as William Anderson and then erroneously switches to Bill Williamson. His name was William B. Anderson. 

So right off the bat, we see in the telling that the part of Bill Anderson being in his early 30's as completely untrue. He was a middle-aged man who married a teenaged girl.

The black cameo seems to hold the status of a major character in this story. Somehow, I believe that within all the inaccuracies in the telling, the black cameo existed, but who it was actually intended for remains the question.

Name:	Hesey Coble
Age:	19
Birth Date:	Abt 1861
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	62
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Daughter
Marital Status:	Married
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Name:	Malinda Coble
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	At Home
Cannot Read:	Yes
Cannot Write:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship Malinda Coble 49 Self (Head) Bettie Coble 23 Daughter Hesey Coble 19 Daughter James E. Coble 2 Grandson

Bill Anderson and Hester Coble Anderson did have one child, a son, Everett Adam Anderson, who was born on December 30, 1878, two months shy of his parents second anniversary. In the 1880 census, it shows that Hester has returned to the home of her mother, the family has returned to going by the name, Coble, and Everette is shown as "James E. Coble". His name probably began as James Everette, in honor of his grandfathers, James Coble and James Anderson. In Everette's later records, he refers to his father as "Billie Anderson".

Enter Riley Morgan. Now, I couldn't find an appropriate Riley Morgan who lived anywhere in the same state as Malinda. Who I did find was an E. R. Morgan who lived very near the Cobles who had a wife named "Dicey", whom I believe was the personage of Riley Morgan. E. R. is seen indescriminately as "Eben", "Evan", "Even", "Ivin", "Irvin" and "Ervin". He was born about 1827 and is still living in 1900 with a new wife, Elvine. This is, if you'll recall, the fellow who sold to James A. Coble, his first lot of land, when James was just a lad of 15, in 1850.

Another character, a store owner named Hogan. Was there a store owner named Hogan? I found 3 Dry Goods Merchants in 1880; H. James Walter from South Carolina, Isaiah Hathcock and John A. Teeter. In fact, there were no Hogans in Stanly County. I did find a few in Montgomery County. That's not to say one could not have arived in Big Lick after 1880 and set up buisness for a few years. 

Mention of a Bird Lake: I took a look at the overlay maps available online at the ncarchives where a 1916 soil sample map is comparable to a current map of the area. Looking at Cucumber Creek to the west of the town of Big Lick, I can make out alittle pond. I would not call it a lake.

Here is where a bit of fact must be inserted. Bill Anderson did in fact disappear, as quickly as he must have appeared. He is not in the 1880 census of Stanly County, and Hester is living with her mother, with her son. But neither did he appear in the 1870 census, either. Even in this telling, he seems to have been a traveling man.

CLIPPED FROM

The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte, North Carolina
10 May 1959, Sun  •  Page 24

Whether Betsy Hartsell and Dicey Morgan actaually saw a black cat dash up from a corner, a gust of ashy smoke, or a black shadow figure like the ones author Dean Koontz referred to as "Bodachs" in his Odd Thomas series, is all lost to history and most likely no more than spice, added for flourish to the telling. But old Lynn Bird lived, and she died, sometime between 1890 and 1900, and it is unknown where she was laid to rest, on the property or at the 'Big Lick Cemetery", where many of her descendants, including the children of  Hester, rest in peace.

But Stanly County citizens had fun at her expense for years to come.

CLIPPED FROM

The Daily Times-News Burlington, North Carolina 17 Nov 1967, Fri  •  Page 8

Now, remember, Malinda Pless Coble Byrd had not only 2 daughters, she had 3. The last time we saw Sarah, she was a baby in the home of her Grandparents in 1850. Peter Pless left Sarah $50 in his will, so he evidentally cared about the little girl and what would happen to her. I'm not sure who raised Sarah after her grandfathers death, but she was not with her mother after Malinda's marriage to James Coble. She may have been bound out or bonded to another family, perhaps in another county, until she reached the age of majority. She's not to be found in 1860, before the war. But she is found in 1870, where she is living in  and working in Mecklenberg County. 

Name:	Sarah Pless
Age in 1870:	19
Birth Date:	abt 1851
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	81
Home in 1870:	Clear Creek, Mecklenburg, North Carolina
Race:	Mulatto
Gender:	Female
Post Office:	Coburns Store
Occupation:	Keeping House
Cannot Read:	Yes
Cannot Write:	Yes
Inferred Children:	Katie Pless
Household Members Age Henry Morris 21 Sarah Pless 19 Katie Pless Jane Medlin 17

Ninteen year old Sarah is found in the Clear Creek Community, living with a fellow named Henry Morris. She had already given birth to her first child, Catherine, and she and Henry were doing more than living together. He was Catherine's father.

Clear Creek is the part of Mecklenburg County closest to Stanly, straight through the southwest part of Cabarrus, Midland area, and just over the Rocky River. Notice the point on the east side of Mecklenburg that looks like a thorn? The tip of that point is the only spot where Mecklenburg touches Stanly County, so Sarah hadn't gone too far.  

Of course, Charlotte is now spreading like a life-sucking cancer, but in those days, it was more of a city than a sprawling mass of  roads and retail, traffic and crime. The Post Office of Coburns's Store seems to have began as Cockburns's Store, operated by one Azariah Cockburn, and covered an area on the boreder of Union and Mecklenburg counties.

Name:	Sarah Pless
Gender:	Female
Marriage Date:	5 Jan 1871
Marriage Place:	Mecklenburg, North Carolina, USA
Father:	Henry Pless
Mother:	Molinda Pless
Spouse:	Henry Morris
Spouse Gender:	Male
Spouse Father:	Joe Morris
Spouse Mother:	Mary Miller
Event Type:	Marriage

Henry Morris, son of Joe Morris and Mary Miller and Sarah Pless, daughter of Henry Pless and Malinda Pless, married the very next year on January 5.

Name:	Sarah Morris
Age:	29
Birth Date:	Abt 1851
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Morning Star, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	251
Race:	Mulatto
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Wife
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Henry Morris
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	Keeping House
Cannot Write:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship Henry Morris 30 Self (Head) Sarah Morris 29 Wife John W. Morris 12 Son Catharine L. Morris 11 Daughter Harrett A. Morris 10 Daughter Mary Jane Morris 8 Daughter Henry I. Morris 6 Son Sarah E. Morris 5 Daughter Margaret L. Morris 3 Daughter Joseph W. Morris 6/12 Son

Henry and Sarah, as typical of late 1800 and turn-of-the century families, had a large one. By 1880, they were up to 8. Catherine was actually older than John, however. If you remmeber, she was already born in 1870. the family lived in Morning Star, whic is probably the same spot they were in 1870, as this township still covers that eastern most part.

Name:	Sallie Morris
Age:	49
Birth Date:	Apr 1851
Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Home in 1900:	Morning Star, Mecklenburg, North Carolina
Sheet Number:	7
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:	18
Family Number:	118
Race:	Black
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:	11
Mother: How many children:	14
Occupation:	Farmer
Months Not Employed:	0
Can Read:	Yes
Can Write:	No
House Owned or Rented:	Rent
Home Free or Mortgaged:	F
Farm or House:	F
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship Sallie Morris 49 Head Joseph Morris 21 Son Richard Morris 19 Son Samuel L Morris 17 Son Ames H Morris 15 Son Emma E Morris 14 Daughter Columbus A Morris 10 Son

Sometime between 1890, when their last child, Columbus was born and 1900, Henry Morris must have died. Sarah, ak Sallie, is a widow living still in Morning Star with her youngest children. But Sarah wasn't through.

Name:	Sarah Morris
Gender:	Female
Race:	Black
Age:	55
Birth Year:	abt 1849
Marriage Date:	17 Jun 1904
Marriage Place:	Mecklenburg, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	George Gribble
Spouse Gender:	Male
Spouse Race:	Blk
Spouse Age:	74
Event Type:	Marriage

On July 4, 1904, the 55 year old widow, Sarah Morris, married George W. Gribble.

Name:	Sarah Morris[Sarah Pleas]
Gender:	Female
Race:	Colored (Black)
Age:	55
Birth Year:	abt 1849
Marriage Date:	19 Jun 1904
Marriage Place:	Mecklenburg, North Carolina, USA
Father:	Henry Pleas
Mother:	Malinda Coble
Spouse:	G W Gribble
Spouse Gender:	Male
Spouse Race:	Colored (Black)
Spouse Age:	74
Spouse Father:	Jake Hutchinson
Spouse Mother:	Synthia Gibble
Event Type:	Marriage

This copy shows that we have the right Sarah, daughter of Henry Pleas (Pless) and Malinda Coble (married name) and that George was the son of Jake Hutchinson and Synthia Gribble.

Name:	George Gribble
Age in 1910:	75[2]
Birth Date:	1835[1835]
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1910:	Crab Orchard, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, USA
Street:	Salisbury Road
Race:	Black
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Inmate
Marital Status:	Widowed
Native Tongue:	English
Able to read:	No
Able to Write:	No

By 1910, old George, who was a pauper, ended up as an inmate at the Almshouse. I thought Sarah had died, since he is listed as a widower. However, while tracing her children, I am not so sure.

The children of Henty and Sarh Pless Moriris were typical of second and third generation descendants of freedmen, in that they migrated off the farms and to the industrial centers of America. Some traveled as far as New York, Detroit and Chicago, to better themselves and find work in the factories. Others gravitated to the tobacco and furnitutre factories of  Durham, High Point, and Winston-Salem. Roanoke and Danville, Virginia seemed to be a common destination, too.  

There is a Sarah Morris in Forsyth County the right age and status to be Sarah Pless Morris in 1910. She had 3 children living there at the time. If this was her, she died in 1916, and is buried at Brushy Fork Cemetery. 

 The 13 children of Henry Morris and Sarah Pless Morris (Gribble) were:

1869 Catherine L.

1870 John W. 

1871 Harriett A "Hattie"

1872 Mary Jane

1874 Henry

1875 Sarah E.

1877 Margaret L.

1880 Joseph W.

1881 Richard

1883 Samuel L.

1884 Ames H.

1886 Emma

1889 Columbus

  

Name:	Sarah Morris
Birth Date:	1851
Birth Place:	North Carolina, United States of America
Death Date:	10 Feb 1916
Death Place:	Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States of America
Cemetery:	Brushy Fork Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place:	Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States of America
Has Bio?:	Y
URL:	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151389231/sarah-morris

Elizabeth Coble, the second daughter of Malinda Pless Coble and the oldest child of Malinda and James Coble, may have actually, Left Big Lick and never returned", as the article stated. Except it wasn't Hester she left with, but Sarah.

Name:	Lizzie Coble
Age:	40
Birth Date:	Mar 1860
Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Home in 1900:	Charlotte Ward 1, Mecklenburg, North Carolina
Ward of City:	1
Street:	Tryon Street
House Number:	504
Sheet Number:	1
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:	5
Family Number:	5
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Boarder
Marital Status:	Widowed
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Mother: number of living children:	0
Mother: How many children:	0
Occupation:	Seamstress
Months Not Employed:	0
Can Read:	Yes
Can Write:	Yes
Can Speak English:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship Elizabeth G Pharr 67 Head Lizzie Coble 40 Boarder Mack Galloway 22 Boarder Jim Earnhart 35 Boarder

Lizzie Coble is working as a seamstress in  Charlotte and boarding with Elizabeth McConnell Pharr.  Elizabeth Pharr was from Mount Pleasnat. She very well could have known Elizabeth Coble. Was this our Elizabeth? The age is 5 years short, but that is not a rare thing. Women of this era often lied about their age and marital status to increase their social value and reputation. A widow held more respect than an Old Maid. As far as age, the younger, the better, when it came to community value. 

Elizabeth McConnnell Pharr died in 1904 and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Charlotte. I can find no other trace of Lizzie Coble, when she died or where she was buried. 

Hester, also seen as Hessa or Hessie, was the youngest child of Malinda and James Coble. She did marry the mysterious Bill Anderson, who was the 'victim' in the Ghost Story. They had one son, James Everette Adam Anderson.  Less than two years later, she would have a daughter by Big Lick reisdent, Enoch Morton, a married man. This child is seen alternately as Ivey, Iva, Ida or even, Emma, which may have been her middle name. 

Hester died in 1886 and left an estate record under the name of Hester Anderson. Hester was only 28 years old, her son Everette was 8 and her daughter, Ivey, was 6 when she died. My guts do not tell me that Hester was an evil woman, but a girl probably swept off her feet by a disreputable traveling man. Betsy Hartsell's tale had him as in his early 30's, but he would have been nearly 50 two years after he married her. The story haled him as a travleer, which makes sense, as he shows up in no permanent record in Stanly County, save his marriage license and in his son's records. 

Name:	Hester Anderson
Probate Date:	1886
Probate Place:	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Inferred Death Year:	Abt 1886
Inferred Death Place:	North Carolina, USA
Item Description:	Wills, 1663-1978; Estate Papers, 1820, 1839-1952

The first page in Hesters's  estate files is called " Incomes of Everette and Ida Anderson for 1894". Their land, inherieted from tieir mother, was being rented during their childhood and cotton, oats, wheat and corn being grown upon it. It is clear in the estate records of Hester Coble, that her mother, Malinda Coble, outlived her. In fact, notes of provisions for Malinda Coble are noted up to 1890, meaning she was alive until at least then.

J. F. Green was applointed Guradian for Everette and Ivey, alothough the witch tale claimed Everette was raised by a John Tucker. It appears, however that J. F. Green only handled their legal affairs. It appears they actully lived with....Malinda. 

However, in November of 1891, it is mentioned of an ESTATE of Malinda Coble, meaning she was deceased by then. W. A. Cagle was the Executor of Malinda's estate, however, there is no sign of an estate reocod in Stanly County for Malinda . 

James Farrington Green, 1861-1916,. son of John and Wincy Coley Green, of Big Lick was the Guardian of Everette and Ivey Anderson. William Alfred Cagle, 1857-1933. son of David and Sarah Thomas Cagle, was the executor of Malinda Cobles's lost estate. . Neighbors, not relatives, not a Morgan or a Hartsell.

The children of Hester Coble Anderson grew up. Ivey married first, to Titus W. Coble, son of  David Coble Jr. of the 33 chidren. As her grandfather was a Coble, this marriage between Ivey and Titus may have been a cousin marriage, but they were not first cousins.

Name:	Eva Anderson[Eva Morton]
Gender:	Female
Race:	White
Age:	17
Birth Year:	abt 1879
Marriage Date:	5 Nov 1896
Marriage Place:	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Father:	Enoch Morton
Mother:	Hester Anderson
Spouse:	Titus Coble
Spouse Gender:	Male
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	28
Spouse Father:	David Coble
Spouse Mother:	Malinda Coble
Event Type:	Marriage

At the age of 17, Ivey, seen in her marriage license as "Eva", daughter of Enoch Morton and Hester Anderson, marries 28 year old  Titus Coble, son of David and Malinda Coble, Malinda, not being Ivey's grandmother , of course, but the third wife of Daivd Coble, Malinda Hinson Coble.

Name:	A E Anderson
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Age:	24
Birth Year:	abt 1877
Marriage Date:	15 Dec 1901
Marriage Place:	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Father:	William Anderson
Mother:	Malinda Byrd
Spouse:	Dallie L Morton
Spouse Gender:	Female
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	18
Spouse Father:	A A Morton
Spouse Mother:	Arwelder Morton
Event Type:	Marriage

Her brother, Everette, had a mistake on his marriage license. First, he was Everette Adam, or E. A., not the other way around. Second, his parents were given as William Anderson and Malinda Byrd, except that, we know Malinda was his grandmother and Hester was his mother. Everette married Dahlia "Dallie" Lugenia Morton, daughter of Adam and Arwelder Hinson Morton. on December 15, 1901. He was 24 and Dallie was 18.

Dahlia Morton Anderson and her daughter, Annie

A year earlier, in 1900, he had being working for the Earl Lemuel Howard/Harward family. 

Name:	Anderson E A[Anderson E A ] [Anderson E A]
Age:	21
Birth Date:	Dec 1878
Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Home in 1900:	Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina
House Number:	8
Sheet Number:	15
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:	268
Family Number:	268
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Servant
Marital Status:	Single
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Occupation:	Farm Laborer
Months Not Employed:	5
Attended School:	5
Can Read:	Yes
Can Write:	Yes
Can Speak English:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship E L Harward 32 Head Sarah Harward 28 Wife Mamie Harward 12 Daughter Lucy Haward 10 Daughter Carl Haward 8 Son Nelie Haward 6 Daughter Dupree Haward 1 Daughter Anderson E A Haward 21 Servant

There were several, actually many, land reocrds invovling the Anderson and Coble families, together and separately. I've chosen to present a few of the most interesting. 

First, in Book 16 page 470 J. F. Greene, guardian of Everette and 'Ida" Anderson to W.A. Cagle Of Stanly, under a judgement of the Superior Court of Stanly County in the Special Proceedings....$160 to the highest bidder, a 60 acres plot adjoining John L Dry and others. 1886

Book 43 Page 82 : A certain tract or parcel of land on Cucumber Creek,. Lot No 2 in the Division of the  lands of Malinda Byrd, Decd' allotted to E. A. Anderson......to wit -planted stone..W. A. Cagle's line.. a corner of Lot No. 1, runs with line crossing Cucumber Creek .. 62 8/10 acres, between E.A. Anderson and Titus Coble and wife Iva. 

Book 48 Page 489: Dated spet. 5 1907 Between E.A. Coble and wife Dallie Anderson and I. R. Coble

"An agreement of division of equal tracts"

"this plat represents Lot No. 1 in the division of the lands of Malinda Byrd decd'. Begining at a stake in the old Monroe Rd. , runs with Andrew Huneycutt's line, ...a planted stone in  W.A Cagles's line, runs with the old line by a dogwood, Miss Hartsell's corner crossing the the public road , just across a branch...to a planted stone at the old Monroe Rd. ..46 1/10 acres. 

Everette and Dallie are later seen swapping lots in Furr City and the West Oakboro Development. Book 71 Page 135, E.A. and Dallie Anderson to Jonah Morton, Lot 136 Plat Book 1 Page 25, Town of Oakboro. Platt Book 2 P 8, Maude and  C. S. Furr to E. A. Anderson, being Lots 49 and 50 of the West Oakboro Development. These streets are now in the center of the town of Oakboro.

In 1910, Everette is shown as a farmer living along the Monroe Road, with his wife Dallie and their daughter Annie Belle.

Name:	Everett A Anderson
Race:	White
Birth Date:	30 Dec 1877
Residence Date:	1917-1918
Street Address:	Oakboro
Residence Place:	Stanly County, North Carolina, USA
Physical Build:	Stout
Height:	Medium
Spouse:	Dallie Anderson

The  Draft card for WWI describes him as stout and of medium build. He did not have to serve, as he was already past 40.

1920 finds the family living on Pine St.  in Oakboro, and Everette working as a Carpenter. He and Dallie now have a son, Billie Adam Anderson and thier daughter has grown up and moved on. 

1930 shows the family has returned to farming on Malinda's old property as they live right beside his sister and brother-in-law, Titus and Ivey Coble. Son, Billie, is still living with them. The family is sandwiched between familiar surnames with different Christian names: C. A. Teeter instead of George, Joel Hartsell instead of Jacob and Elizabeth., also Milton and Oscar Hartsell, nearby to Son McIntyre. McIntyre Row....

In 1940, Everette is a patient at the State Hospital for the Insane in Morganton, NC. He  died 4 years later of myocardititis at the age of 65. Everette was buried at the' Big Lick Cemetery', now Big Lick Baptist Church.

Dallie outlived Everette by 10 years. She died in 1954 and is buried at Smith's Grove. They had two children, Annie Belle and Billie Adam. In between those two were a few babies born early or stillborn and their death certificates remain. 

Ivey and Titus Coble are also living in Big Lick in 1900. At this time, just a few years into their marriage, Ivey is shown as the mother of 3 children, with none living. Infant mortality soared at this time. 

Name:	Titus Coble
Age:	29
Birth Date:	Dec 1870
Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Home in 1900:	Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina
House Number:	8
Sheet Number:	13
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:	235
Family Number:	235
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Ivie Coble
Marriage Year:	1896
Years Married:	4
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Occupation:	Farmer
Months Not Employed:	0
Can Read:	Yes
Can Write:	Yes
Can Speak English:	Yes
House Owned or Rented:	Own
Home Free or Mortgaged:	Mortgaged
Farm or House:	F

By 1910, their two oldest daughters were living with them, Bessie Belle and Emma Grace. The big age difference betwee Bessie and Emma suggests the possibility of a lot of lost infants. Also, Bessie was born before the marriage, and was not living with them in 1900. 

Name:	Bell Coble
Gender:	Female
Race:	White
Age:	20
Birth Year:	abt 1894
Marriage Date:	20 Oct 1914
Marriage Place:	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Father:	Titus Coble
Mother:	Cathriane Pophin
Spouse:	Troy B Huneycutt
Spouse Gender:	Male
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	21
Spouse Father:	Ephriam Huneycutt
Spouse Mother:	Eliza Huneycutt
Event Type:	Marriage

A little sleuthing revealed that Ivey was not Bessie Belle's mother. She was the daughter of Titus and a Catherine Poplin. In 1914, Belle Coble of Big Lick married Troy Bascom Honeycutt of Locust.

Name:	Eutus Coble[Titus Coble][Titus Coble]
Age in 1910:	39
Birth Date:	1871[1871]
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1910:	Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Street:	Monroe Road
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Iva R Coble
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Native Tongue:	English
Occupation:	Farmer
Industry:	General Farm
Employer, Employee or Other:	Employer
Home Owned or Rented:	Own
Home Free or Mortgaged:	Free
Farm or House:	Farm
Able to read:	Yes
Able to Write:	Yes
Years Married:	13
Out of Work:	N
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship Eutus Coble 39 Head Iva R Coble 28 Wife Emmer G Coble 3 Daughter Bessie B Coble 15 Daughter

Titus and Ivey seem to have lived in the one sopt, the lands of Malinda Byrd, of James A. Coble, of Charles Byrd, their whole lives. Titus, being from a large family, may have been glad to have inherited something from Ivey's small one. 

Titus W. Coble

Titus and Ivey had 7 named children, but only six made it to adulthood: Bessie Bell, Emma Grace, Lydia Cozette, Charles Craig, Jack Rayvon, Frank, born in 1911, died as a child, and Horace James. 

After Ivey died in 1934, Titus remarried to Margie Inez Turner. She had one child by Titus, Phyllis, born the year he died in 1938.

Titus and Ivey are buried at Big Lick Baptist Church Cemetery. 

The real Lynn Bird was born Melinda Pless, the youngest daughter of Peter Pless and his wife, she married twice and was the mother of 4 children. What about her created the legend about her as a witch? Did she succomb to mental illness later in life? Was her behavior a result of social ostraziation?  Was she an outcast due to the birth of Sarah, a mixed-race child born of her affair with a slave before the Civil War? If so, it was not enough to cause men to not want to marry her. 

Melinda, or Linda, as she was known, was one of those women who did not exist, except that she did.