The Descendants of Ephraim Starnes

By 1900, the family has relocated to Gill's Creek in Lancaster County, South Carolina. In additon to Bob and Hannah, chidren Thomas, Maggie, Blanch, and Bob Lee Starnes, along with oldest daughter Mary A. and her husband Joe Knight. Andrew Bowers is a boarder.

John R Starnes	53
Hannah Starnes	52
Lee Starnes	18
Lilian E Starnes	8
Joe C Knight	30
Almetta Knight	26
Carlton Knight	8
Joe Knight	0

In 1910, Bob and Hannah have Lee and Lillian left at home, along with oldest daughter, Mary Almetta, husband Joe and 2 sons. 

By 1920, the family had moved from Gill's Creek in Lancaster County, SC to Rock Hill in York County, SC. Bob is working in the card room of a Cotton Mill and only Lillian is left at home. 

The 1930 census was Bob's last. The family has returned to Gill's Creek by 1935  and Bob's profession is listed as "farmer" and his family as farm labor. His son-in-law, John Carpenter and daughter Lillian are in the household. According to the records, Bob died in Rock Hill, York County, NC and was taken back to Gill's Creek to be buried. He died on March 23, 1936 at the age of 86.

John and Hannah Melton Starnes had 7 children:

1) Mary Almetta Starnes Knight (1879-1962) Married Joseph Cecil Knigth. Died in Morganton, Burke County, NC of bronchiopnuemonia. Buried in Gill's Creek, Lancaster, SC. 3 sons, Carlton B., Joseph Cecil, and James.

2) William Phillip Starnes (1880-1949) Married Floy Morrow. 9 Children: Connie Lewis, Irene Leclair, Helen Inez, Virginia Lee, Floy Morrow, Mary, Harry Pratt, Talmadge, Elizabeth. 

3) Thomas Frank Starnes (1882-1949) Died of TB. Spouse unknown. 

4)Margaret "Maggie" Starnes Threatt (1887-1965) Married Oscar H. Threatt. 8 Children: Theodore Roosevelt, Velma E. , Katie Lee, Clyborn, Maybelle, Ruth, Robert Lloyd and Margaret Elizabeth "Bettie". 

5) Blanche Starnes Knight (1890-1979) Married James Hunter Knight. 8 Children: J. Edgar, Callie E (a son), Cletus Britton, Hazel H (also a son), Bertha, O V (a son, died as an infant),  Dorothy Doris Lee, James Blanche (a son). 

6) Robert "Bob Lee" Starnes (1894-1980) Married Lula Mae McManus. 5 Children: Ruth Aretta (died young), Lucille, Hubert Ordway, Sybil, Robert Lawton.

7) Lillian Oneda Starnes Carpenter (1901-1994) Married John William Carpenter. 3 Children: Robert Ray, Nancy, Jerry Ann (son). 

Born in 1857 and first shows up in the 1860 census with his parents and older brother. "Or" is a transcription error. The actual document shows "Dr". Doctor was a common Christian or first name in the later half of the 19th century as children were named for the doctor who aided in their delivery, oftentimes saving their lives, and sometimes with little or no compensation. Not certain who Doctor Franklin, the original, may have been. 

He married Margaret Louise Plyler in 1880 and shows up with her in the 1880 census. Maggie was the daughter of Doctor Henderson "Doc B" Plyer and Mary Isabella Caskey Plyler. 

In 1910, the family is living in Waxhaw, Lancaster County, SC.

By 1920, Maggie has passed and D. F. Starnes is living with his daughter. 

D. F. Starnes died on October 25, 1925 in Monroe, NC, but made his home and raised his family in the Van Wyke community, Lancaster County, SC.

He and Maggie raised 7 children:

1) Doctor Barber Starnes (1882-1940)

2) Clyde J Starnes (1885-1952)

3) Walter Alexander Starnes (1887-1944)

4)Hazel Henry Starnes (1889-1958)

5)Frederick "Fred" Franklin Starnes (1892-1960)

6) Azilee Starnes Herring (1894-1964)

7) Lula Blanche Starnes Courtney (1895-1966) Married Ernest Nebraska Courtney. 2 sons: Earnest Newton and Dock Bernard.

Records show Denie as being born in December of 1865 or even 1866. 

She first shows up in the 1880 census with her mother, sister Susan, brother John R. and his young family.

In 1882, at the age of  17, Sarah Ardene married George W. Craig.

By the 1900 census, their 4 children were born. 

The 1910 census leads to a bit of confusion. Son John Robert Craig is listed twice, once ahead of his brothers, then again, ahead of his wife and daughter. 

Name:	Denie Craig
Age in 1910:	41
Birth Year:	abt 1869
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1910:	Gills Creek, Lancaster, South Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Wife
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	George Craig
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age George Craig 54 Denie Craig 41 Juddie Craig 23 Robert Craig 22 Lonnie Craig 17 Hasel Craig 14 Robert Craig 22 Perine Craig 22 Sulie Craig 3

By 1920, George and Denie had an empty nest. 

By 1930, Sarah Ardene was living in the home of her son Hazel. Hazel was a very common name for sons amongst this family. I have not tracked the source of the first Hazel. There is a Hazeltine Starnes in the Starnes family tree, born on 1858 in Rowan County. Perhaps there is a connection to an earlier male Hazel or Hazeltine Starnes in this family line. 

Sarah Ardene Starnes died on Feb 23, 1936 in York County, South Carolina. She and George W. Craig had 4 sons.

1)Judson (or Judge) Allen Craig (1886-1956)

2) John Robert Craig (named for uncle?) (1888-1962) Married Perine "Perry" Adams

3) Lonnie Lee Craig (1890-1917) Died at age 26 of pellagra.

4) Thomas Hazel Craig (1894-1950) 

Susan or "Susie" was the most difficult of the family to trace. She was born on April 12, 1864. The dates of birth of both Starnes daughters are a bit of a mystery. According to the military records of Ephraim Starnes, he was imprisoned a month after the birth of Susie, having enlisted on September 24, 1863, he left Nancy just a few months pregnant with Susan Jane. Her younger sister, Sarah Ardene Starnes was born 11 months after Ephraims death. 

Her first appearance was in the 1880 census, listed above in her siblings profiles as a teenager. 

By 1900, she has had two children, her only two, and is living with her mother Nancy, the last census that Nancy appears in. A mystery couple are also listed in the home, possibly boarders. 

 The 1910 Starnes is nearly wholly incorrect, but with research, I figured it out. 

Hoy is her son Hoyt Edgar Starnes, Nettie is his wife Jeanetta and Pearl is their oldest daughter and this group were Starnse. David is not a son, but a son-in-law and his last name was Deese. Nannie is daughter Nannie Helen Starnes and their oldest son J D Dees. J D became and important tool in linking this family altogether.

Name:	Susie Thomas [Susie Karnes]  [Susie Storner]
Age:	53
Birth Year:	abt 1867
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1920:	Cane Creek, Lancaster, South Carolina
Street:	Midway Street
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Widowed [Widow]
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Able to Read:	Yes
Able to Write:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age Susie Thomas 53 Otis Thomas 31 Nettie Thomas 29 Pearl Thomas 11 Foster Thomas 8 Louise Thomas 6 Margie Thomas 3 [3 4/12]  Lonnie Thomas 1 [1 10/12]  J D Dees 10 Mary Belle Dees 7 Hellen Dees 2 [2 10/12]  Emil Bullman 28 Pearl Bullman 18 Dexter Roads 37 Ada Green 40

I don't believe I would have been able to find either Susan or Hoyt in the 1920 census if it were not for J D Dees and his sisters. In finding him, and his two younger sisters, I looked up and noticed that the names of the children in the "Thomas" family matched the names of their first cousins, their Uncle Hoyt Edgar Starnes, and his wife Nettie. And certainly, their mother was named Nettie. Then, J D and his sibling were listed as grandchildren of "Susie Thomas"...could it be Susan? So, I went directly to the original document. And there it was, it said "Starnes" and "Otis" was actually "Hoyt". The census taker had overlined the "T" and "A" in Starnes, and nearly obliterated the "S". The only clear part of the name was the "nes" at the end, and in the barely legible script, the transcriber must have thought he or she saw "Thomas". The transcribers are not from the area and thus, not familiar with the common names of the locality. It's always a benefit to help correct these errors if you are sifting through the scanned originals and know the local family names are incorrect, like "Belt" for "Belk" or "Stames" for "Starnes". It doesn't change them completely, it just gives the next researcher another option and if they are searching for the name in its correct spelling, it will pop up as a possibiltiy. 

So, in 1920, Susan J Starnes is living in the community of Cane Creek on Midway Road. She is listed as a widow despite having never married. This must be confusing to those trying to climb up the family tree. Families often bent the truth in order to save face in those days. The truth is that nowhere are the names of her children's father or father listed in documents. She can read and write and she is taking in boarders, as well as raising her daughters 3 children. Hoyt and his wife Nettie are working in the Cotton Mill. Their children Pearl, Foster and Louise, along with his sister Nannie Helen's two older children, J D and Maybelle, are attending school. Margie is only 3 and Lonnie only a year old, and the youngest Deese, Helen, only 2. 

Of the boarders, Emil Bullman is a Carpenter, while his wife does not work. Dexter Rhodes is a Contractor, building homes, and Ada Green works in the cotton mill. 

In fact, nearly the entirety of Ephraim Starnes descendant were Cotton Mill workers between the late 1800's and the 1940's. This industry sustained them, and in the case of many of them, may also have shorten their lives. 

Cane Creek was in and about the city of Lancaster and Midway dead south of it. 

Susan Jane Starnes would not live long past this last census. She died on July 12, 1924 of pulminary TB. Her son, H. E. Starnes was the informant, and had the names of his grandparents correct. She was 60 years, 7 months and 10 days old. Bass Furniture Company was the undertaker. It was not unusual for those who built househole furniture to also build caskets in those days, and they went all the way into undertaking at the same time. 

The above is just a few examples of this trade that would be considered bizarre today. 

Hoyt Edgar Starnes, only son of Susan, married Jeanetty Estelle Rorie, daughter of Robert James and Laura Miller Rorie, of Chesterfield, South Carolina. 

His 1918 Draft Registration shows him as being Short in stature, of medium build, with dark hair and dark eyes, having a wife, 4 children and a mother in his care. 

Hoyt and Nettie had the following children:

1) 1908 - 2002 Pearl Lee Starnes, Married Earnest George Ivey.

2) 1911 - 1997 Willie Foster Starnes. Married Lillian Mae Culberson

3) 1913 - 1997 Louise Janie Starnes. Married Elva Easton Thomas

4) 1917-1910 Marjorie Helen Starnes aka "Margie". Married 1st: Thomas C. Dixon. Married 2nd Harvey Keller.

5) Lonnie Lee Starnes 1918 - 1997. Married 1st Nannie Doris Holemsback. Married 2nd Tiny Florence Tew.

6) 1921 - 1993 Melton Hoyt Starnes. Married Lula Frances Clayton.

Hoyt Edgar Starnes relocated to Burlington in Alamance County, NC and raised his family there. He passed away on January 11, 1961 at the age of 73. His death certificate gives his father as H. E. Starnes and his mother as Susie Cole. The informant was daughter, Mrs. T. C. Dixon (Margie). This was incorrect, Susan was never married and never a Cole, and there was never a Hoyt E. Starnes, Sr. However, could this have been a hint to the truth? Was Hoyt's father a Cole? Was H. E. his fathers initials? There was a Cole family in the area at the time. 

I skipped the 1930 census for one reason, to backtrack. Hoyt E. Starnes raised not only his own 6 children, but his sisters 3 children. What happened to Nannie Helen Starnes? 

Nannie Helen Starnes died on October 26, 1918 at the age of 23 of pnuemonia and influenza. Those two diseases were terribly deadly at that time. She was a cotton mill worker and her mother was given as Susie Starnes and her father as unknown. The informant was her cousin Hazel Craig. 

Nannie Helen Starnes married an orphan, David L. Deese. David Deese turned his 3 children over to his wife's family and went on about his life. He remarried, likely twice, and was a Car repairer. Born in Chester, he returned to Chester and died in 1937 of TB. 

The three children of Nannie and David were:

1) James D Deese 1908-1939, never married. He died a young man of ulcerated colitis, and had to be hospitalized at the Sanitorium in Black Mountain, NC. Also a textile worker, he was only 31 years old. 

2) Maybelle Deese, 1912 - 1987 married Johnie Monroe Staley, daughter Helen Marie Staley

3) Helen Grace Deese 1917 - 1990 married Henry Clayton McCaskill 4 children: Donald, David Lee, William Paul and Deborah Leigh McCaskill.