Fannie Talbot was the daughter of John Nixon Talbot and his wife Mary Ann Bunnel Talbot. When she was a few months shy of her 18th birthday, she married John Milton Bunnel. Now John Bunnel was 37 years old. When I was first researching the Smith family, of whom his mother was a member, I wondered why Milton, as he was called, who lived in Montgomery County, would travel all the way down to a place in Cumberland County with the troubling sounding name of "Flea Hill" to get married.
![Fannie Talbot]()
Couldn't he have found a wife in Montgomery?
But then I learned a little bit about Fanny.
![Eastover Prepares for 9th Year of New Year's Eve Flea Drop]()
Flea Hill is now known as Eastover. It's original name of Flea Hill was because of - you guessed it- a heavy flea infestation. They liked the sandy soil. It retained the name of Flea Hill until the 1920's, when the citizenry decided it needed a more dignified sounding name. They still celebrate their origins with a flea drop, instead of a ball drop, every New Year's Eve.
Mary Ann Bunnel was the daughter of Asa Bunnel and Martha Ann Smith. Her father and his family had arrived here to the Carolina Piedmont from Connecticutt. He married a local girl and they settled in Montgomery County, North Carolina. At the age of 20, their oldest daughter Mary Ann married John Nixon Talbert who removed with her Cumberland County and settled in - you guessed it again - Flea Hill.
Nixon and Mary Ann had a large family, as was the custom in those days and rigth in the middle of the little was a girl named Fannie. Now Fannie was a restless child. Flea Hill was too small for her. She had a restless streak. She wanted more than a Reconstruction era woman was allowed to be or do.
So Nixon and Mary Ann put their heads together and decided the best thing to do with Fannie was to marry her off, before she was "ruined"on her own.
![20 Best Mossa images | Art, Artist, Illustration]()
Mary Ann had a brother named Thomas who had stayed in Montgomery County and had raised a large family of his own. His oldest son, a quiet sort, had never married. I'm not certain of the reason why, but it may have been because he was not the best on looks, and possibly a very introverted personality. But he was a hard worker, and no doubt, would become a good provider. So a post was sent and the situation was discussed among the Montgomery County Bunnels, and John Milton Bunnel was sent to Flea Hill to marry his much younger cousin. And that he did, in March of 1878.
Name:Fannie Talbert
Gender:Female
Age:19
Birth Year:abt 1859
Marriage Date:23 Mar 1878
Marriage Place:Cumberland, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:John M Bunnell
Spouse Gender:Male
Spouse Age:30
Event Type:Marriage
Now, their ages are fudged a little bit on the marriage document. According to their actual birthdates given Milton was 37, not 30, and Fannie was not yet 18.
Milton took Fannie away from Cumberland County and away from Montgomery County. Perhaps he and her parents felt a new area, a place far from all she knew and who knew her, would give her a fresh start in life. They are found in Williamson, in Richmond County, in the 1880 census.
![19th Century Marriage Manuals: Advice for Young Wives | Author ...]()
There were no children, there were never any children. Who knows if the marriage was ever consumated. Poor Milton just endured and ran his farm, while Fannie grew more restless.
![Brunswick County, North Carolina - Wikiwand]()
Daniel Bryce started in this world on the wrong side of society. He was born in Smithville Township on the coast of North Carolina, where she sticks her toes in the waters of the Atlantic. He came into the world at the beginning of a tumultous time, in 1859, as anxiety was high and war was in the near future and Daniel Charles Bryce, or Brice, was a child of the dust in a very antebellum world.
![154 Of The World's Most Magical Streets Shaded By Flowers And ...]()
He first shows up as a 6 month old baby in the home of Henry H. Bryce and his wife, Tabitha. Daniel is obviously not the son of 49 year old Tabitha Brice. On his later documentation, he names his parents as Charles Smith and Fannie Brice.
The problem with Daniel being the son of a Fannie Brice, is that there was no Fanny Brice. I mean, there was, but it was an obvious nickname.
Ten years earlier, before the appearance of Daniel, Henry shows children David, 17, who was probably not a Brice and was Tabitha's by a first marriage as she was considerably older than Henry, and he never comes up again, so I believe he had a different surname. Then "Aphegnege" is really Euphemia, if you read the actual document, followed by Elijah, Elizabeth,Mary and John.
So, the actual children of Henry H. and Tabitha Bryce or Brice, were:
1) David ? probably not a Brice, but a stepson
2) Euphemia
3) Elijah
4) Elizabeth
5) Mary Emmaline
6) John T.
8) Amanda
9) Frank B.
In 1870, we find Daniel Charles Bryce here:
In the home of David R Canaday and his wife, Henrietta, as a student. A little research uncovers the fact that Henrietta ia a Brice by birth. This is actually Henrietta Euphemia Brice Canaday, with her husband David Richard Canaday and their daughter, Marietta. "Emerline" is Mary Emeline Brice, daughter of Henry and Tabitha as shown in the 1850 and 1860 census records as 'Mary E.", and the sister of Henrietta Euphemia Brice Canaday. And then there is Daniel. It seems quite obvious that Euphemia is most likely the mother of Daniel Charles Brice, and Fannie may have been her nickname as a child. She is the only daughter of Henry and Tabitha really old enough to be his mother, and he remains with her after she is married. Fannie and Euphemia are not a streach as nicknames go, either.
So there's my theory.
![Veteran Profile | Friends of Fort Caswell Rifle Range, Inc. | Page 6]()
As for the evasive Charles Smith, his father, there was no clear Charles Smith that lived close to them in 1860, the closest census to the birth of Daniel, but they did live in Smithville, named for a Smith family and they lived on the coast where there were plenty of opportunities for travel, so he may have shot the gap, but Daniel obviously knew who his father was.
In 1878, at the age of 21, Daniel marries Sarah Ellen Capps 18, in New Hanover County, next to Brunswick. He has listed his parents as Charles Smith and Fannie Bryce and her parents were Gideon and Mary Ann Capps. Disregard the transcription errors, "Zidears" was Gideon, actually, and he was her father, not her mother and Mary Ann was her mother, not her father.
From St. James Church Historical Records 1737-1852, Vol. I: Baptism 28 Dec 1870 of Sarah Ellen Capps born 23 Nov 1858 daughter of Gideon and Mary Ann Capps.
The marriage was ill-fated. I don't know the fate of Sarah Ellen Capps. Did she die? Was the marriage annuled? There was a Sarah Capps who married a William Waldrup in Craven County in December of 1878, another coastal county. Could it have been the same Sarah? She was mentioned in her father's will in 1869, about a decade before she married and I can't find more mention of her.
As for Daniel C. Bryce, he headed inland about 150 miles. Was he running from something?
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In September of 1879, just a year after his first marriage, Daniel C.Bryce married Roannie or Roan, Northam. Here, he named no father, just his mother as 'Faney Ann Bryce". Here it looks more like "Femey" on the actual document. Roan is from Richmond County and they married here in Rockingham.
And that is where they are found in 1880. Daniel is now working as a mechanic in the town of Rockingham. There are no children. Nor will there be.
Roan is found squarely with her parents in the previous census records. But after this one she is found no more.
![Black Widower]()
Daniel Charles Bryce is becoming a BlackWidow(er). Did both his wives died that quickly after marriage? What happened to them? Did they die in childbirth or was there something more sinister happening here?
On November 8, 1886, just 8 years after he married Roan Northam, D.C Bryce was at it again, and had married for a third time.
Maybe the third time was the charm, because this one lasted longer and seemed a little happier. Mary E. Talbert or Tolbert was a Richmond County girl and her parents, Joseph and Sarah Tolbert had links back to Montgomery County, NC. They were married in 1886 and Mary was 22 and Daniel, now on his third marriage, was still only 27.
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This marriage would produce his one and only child. There was just one problem, her birthdate.
According to her tombstone, Emma E. Bryce Blackburn was born June 21, 1881. Was Mary Tobert really her mother or had it been Roan Northam? Or had she just been born a number of years before her parents married.
But, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Daniel and Mary were married in 1886, and in the 1900 census, low and behold, after 14 years, they were still married. Mary was alive!
![Shaffer: Son of a corpse rages in Scotland County | Raleigh News ...]()
They had moved from Wolf Pit in Richmond County over to Stewartsville in Scotland County. Daniel was working as a Carpenter. He seems rather transient, doesn't he?
![-]()
In his defense, in 1886, the year he married Mary, Daniel did own something enough to owe taxes, but he didn't pay them, obviously. Perhaps that is why they moved to Scotland County.
![Richmond_County]()
Shortly after this census, Daniel's daughter, Emma, would marry Daniel James Blackburn. She would become pregnant and give birth to a daughter she named Callie Emma Blackburn. Sadly, Emma would die on September 10, 1904, just after her daughter was born. She must have died of comlications of childbirth.
She was buried at Caldonia United Methodist Church in Laurenburg.
The death of Emma was not the only tragedy that Daniel would suffer that decade. He also became a widower for the third time. Mary E Bryce succombed to the grim reaper in February of 1907. She was only 45 years old. This was just before the time when they started issuing death certificates, so we do not know what she died of. There were so many ailments that are treatable now.
It was 1907, and there was more going on in 1907.
I started this post off with Fannie Tolbert, and left off in 1880. Now Fannie Tolbert, who may have been related to Mary E through the Tolbert side, had married her much older cousin, John Milton Bunnel about the same time that Daniel Bryce had married Mary E. Tolbert. It was not a happy marriage.
This is where we find Milton Bunnel in 1900...
He was working as a Day Laborer at a Saw Mill in "Hollingsworth" Township, which was the Biscoe/ Star area of Montgomery County, NC, which was ran by the Brown Family.
![old sawmills - Google Search | Wood, Wood mill, Lumber mill]()
But he's listed as a boarder, and also as single. So where was Fannie?
Well, she'd hitched a train for Louisville, Kentucky and was boarding with a Holsheimer family from Germany. She was working in a harness shop and actually listed her marital status as married with no children, living or dead.
She didn't always go by her married name, however. She is seen in city directories as Talbot and was self-supporting. This was a girl not born for country life, apparently. Fannie had arrived in Louisville by 1885.
I'm not sure why Fannie came home, perhaps because family needed her, probably her ailing mother. But she was back in Biscoe by 1902. She and Milton never divorced, but seem to have only been married in name only. As tragedy would have it, poor Milton would become the victim of a hideous robbery and murder by a mentally deficient teenaged boy, whose married uncle had succombed to Fannies feminine wiles and had had an affair with her some years before.
I have blogged on this murder in my post:
The Murder of Milton Bunnel
Below is the part of the account of the Bunnel murder that mentions Fannie's affair with Jim Smith.
![-]()
Carthage, North Carolina07 Feb 1907, Thu • Page 1
Jim Smith was James C. Smith, born on Christmas Day in 1848 to Pleasant Smith and his wife, Emeline Graham Smith in Carthage, Moore County. He was a brother of Malcolm "Make" Smith, whose son Charlie killed Milton Bunnel. There was a very good chance Make Smith had a hand in it too, but he was never charged and his son served only 5 or 6 years for the crime before being granted a pardon. The motive was robbery, plain and simple. There may have been a personal vendetta on the part of Make, but it doesn't appear so.
Jim Smith married a woman named Clementine Cockman and had 6 children. The time of his "running off" with Fannie Talbot Bunnel would have been around 1901 or 1902.
He was in Carthage from birth to the 1880 census and is found with his wife and kids in the 1900 census down in Marlboro County, South Carolina.
He didn't seem to be much of a catch, but he must have been some kind of charactor, because he captured the imagination of the townspeople, whichever town he was in. He was called "The King of Black Ankle in the newspaper, an area known for 3 things: Turpentine, Gold and Bootlegging, and not necessarily in that order. In Marlboro, he was working in turpentine.
He even had a poem written about him.
![-]()
Pinehurst, North Carolina20 Feb 1909, Sat • Page 6
He was an unapologetic racist, a man of his time in that, I suppose. When a man wasn't much of a man, he was always in search of someone whose situation was worse, to make himself feel better.
![-]()
Carthage, North Carolina30 Oct 1894, Tue • Page 2
He had his own way to spin a yarn. Perhaps he was even easy on the eyes. Who knows what about him attracted Fannie?
![-]()
In 1910, after the affair and after the murder, Jim Smith is back with his wife Clementine and has up and moved the family to Richmond County. I guessed he'd burned his bridges in Moore, Montgomery and Marlboro.
So here is where the two tales come together. It's 1907. Fannie Talbot Bunnel has just became a widow, even though she was married in name only. She must have came back for the sensational trial. Daniel C. Bryce had just buried his wife Mary Talbot Bryce, who might have been related to Fannie.
On October 13, 1907, just a few months after the trial of Charley Smith was over, for the murder of Milt Bunnel, and Daniel Brice had buried his third wife, Mary, Fannie and Dan found each other and became husband and wife. The widower and the whirlwind had collided. They were both 48 years old.
![12" Wood lantern wedding centerpiece, Rustic Wedding Decor ...]()
Three years after their marriage in Scotland County, Dan and Fannie are found making their home in Stewartsville. Her middle name must have been Ann, because here they have her as Nancy, a nickname for Ann and in another document, she is listed as Annie, not Fannie. Dan must have had two middle names, Charles and one that begins with "S". I've been him as Daniel C and as Daniel S. Here, he is Daniel S. C. Bryce, so both must be correct.
With them are Daniel's favorite aunt, Mary Emmaline Brice Baker, who lived with him and his mother and stepfather in 1870, whom I believe he named his only daughter for. Also, his daughter Emma's only child, Callie, is living with them, too. Although her father went on to quickly remarry and have several more children, Dan and Fannie appear to have raised the girl.
Just before this document, Fannie lost her mother, Mary Ann Bunnel.
![Obituary for M Atit AHN -]()
Fayetteville, North Carolina01 Sep 1909, Wed • Page 4
The papers printed a lovely obituary. It reaffirms that her parents had remained in Flea Hill, now Eastover, and that Fannie and Daniel were living in John's Station, a Railroad stop, near Stewartsville.
![Richmond_County]()
Dan, who was in the papers in his earlier days for minor troubles, was now a respectible sort in his middle years, as happens.
![-]()
Laurinburg, North Carolina11 Nov 1915, Thu • Page 5
The 1920 census shows Daniel as a farmer in a rented home. He and Fannie appear to have had sucessfully raising his grandchild, who is shown as "Katie" E. here instead of Callie, which was her correct name. Although Fannie had no children of her own, she did get to raise one in the person of Katie.
The very next year, Katie Esther Blackburn, 18 (actually 17) would marry LeRoy Thompson in Scotland County. They would settle in Howellsville in Robeson County, NC. Roy and Katie would have 2 children, Leroy, Jr. and Shirley Ann, who would live to adulthood. Daniel S. C. Bryce has living descendants.
The transcribers, again, mistook Blackburn for Blackman, but the David and Emma is correct.
Fannie had raised a child. Not too long after Katie married and left her grandparents with an empty nest, Fannie's time upon the earth had come to an end.
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The marriage of Danie Bryce and Laura didn't last long, because this time it was Daniel's time to leave. Six years after the death of Fannie, at the age of 70, Daniel Bryce met his maker of unknown reasons. He is shown as a married man, his wife's name was Laura, and he was a tenant farmer. He was laid to rest at Caldonia with his daughter and 3rd and 4th wives.
![Picture of]()
I have not located Laura. Just 1 year after the passing of Daniel Bryce, there is not a Laura Bryce in Scotland County or any surrounding counties. She is not buried in the same cemetery as Daniel. Laura disappeared. She either changed her name and went back to where she came from or remarrried before the 1930 census or ....something. I can't find a marriage license for that, neither can I find a marriage license for Daniel and Laura. She remains a mystery.
![Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-Eater - Pamela Morris]()
So the 5 times married Daniel C. Bryce still leaves a waft of mystery in the air. What happened to his first 2 wives and who was his last?
Couldn't he have found a wife in Montgomery?
| Name: | Fanny Talbert [Fanny Talbot] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1870: | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1862 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 238 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1870: | Flea Hill, Cumberland, North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Post Office: | Fayetteville | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Inferred Father: | John Talbert | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Inferred Mother: | Mary Talbert | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
But then I learned a little bit about Fanny.
Flea Hill is now known as Eastover. It's original name of Flea Hill was because of - you guessed it- a heavy flea infestation. They liked the sandy soil. It retained the name of Flea Hill until the 1920's, when the citizenry decided it needed a more dignified sounding name. They still celebrate their origins with a flea drop, instead of a ball drop, every New Year's Eve.
Mary Ann Bunnel was the daughter of Asa Bunnel and Martha Ann Smith. Her father and his family had arrived here to the Carolina Piedmont from Connecticutt. He married a local girl and they settled in Montgomery County, North Carolina. At the age of 20, their oldest daughter Mary Ann married John Nixon Talbert who removed with her Cumberland County and settled in - you guessed it again - Flea Hill.
Nixon and Mary Ann had a large family, as was the custom in those days and rigth in the middle of the little was a girl named Fannie. Now Fannie was a restless child. Flea Hill was too small for her. She had a restless streak. She wanted more than a Reconstruction era woman was allowed to be or do.
So Nixon and Mary Ann put their heads together and decided the best thing to do with Fannie was to marry her off, before she was "ruined"on her own.
Mary Ann had a brother named Thomas who had stayed in Montgomery County and had raised a large family of his own. His oldest son, a quiet sort, had never married. I'm not certain of the reason why, but it may have been because he was not the best on looks, and possibly a very introverted personality. But he was a hard worker, and no doubt, would become a good provider. So a post was sent and the situation was discussed among the Montgomery County Bunnels, and John Milton Bunnel was sent to Flea Hill to marry his much younger cousin. And that he did, in March of 1878.
Name:Fannie Talbert
Gender:Female
Age:19
Birth Year:abt 1859
Marriage Date:23 Mar 1878
Marriage Place:Cumberland, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:John M Bunnell
Spouse Gender:Male
Spouse Age:30
Event Type:Marriage
Now, their ages are fudged a little bit on the marriage document. According to their actual birthdates given Milton was 37, not 30, and Fannie was not yet 18.
| Name: | Fannie Bunnell | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 20 | ||||||
| Birth Date: | Abt 1860 | ||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||
| Home in 1880: | Williamson, Richmond, North Carolina, USA | ||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 219 | ||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Wife | ||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||
| Spouse's name: | John Bunnell | ||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||
| Occupation: | Keeps House | ||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Milton took Fannie away from Cumberland County and away from Montgomery County. Perhaps he and her parents felt a new area, a place far from all she knew and who knew her, would give her a fresh start in life. They are found in Williamson, in Richmond County, in the 1880 census.
There were no children, there were never any children. Who knows if the marriage was ever consumated. Poor Milton just endured and ran his farm, while Fannie grew more restless.
Daniel Bryce started in this world on the wrong side of society. He was born in Smithville Township on the coast of North Carolina, where she sticks her toes in the waters of the Atlantic. He came into the world at the beginning of a tumultous time, in 1859, as anxiety was high and war was in the near future and Daniel Charles Bryce, or Brice, was a child of the dust in a very antebellum world.
He first shows up as a 6 month old baby in the home of Henry H. Bryce and his wife, Tabitha. Daniel is obviously not the son of 49 year old Tabitha Brice. On his later documentation, he names his parents as Charles Smith and Fannie Brice.
| Name: | Danl S Bryce | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 6/12 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1859 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1860: | Smithville, Brunswick, North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Post Office: | Smithville | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 161 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 161 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
The problem with Daniel being the son of a Fannie Brice, is that there was no Fanny Brice. I mean, there was, but it was an obvious nickname.
| Name: | Henry H Brya [Henry H Bryce] | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||||||
| Age: | 30 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1820 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1850: | Smithville, Brunswick, North Carolina, USA | ||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Overseer | ||||||||||||||||||
| Industry: | Industry not reported | ||||||||||||||||||
| Line Number: | 19 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 149 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 149 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Ten years earlier, before the appearance of Daniel, Henry shows children David, 17, who was probably not a Brice and was Tabitha's by a first marriage as she was considerably older than Henry, and he never comes up again, so I believe he had a different surname. Then "Aphegnege" is really Euphemia, if you read the actual document, followed by Elijah, Elizabeth,Mary and John.
So, the actual children of Henry H. and Tabitha Bryce or Brice, were:
1) David ? probably not a Brice, but a stepson
2) Euphemia
3) Elijah
4) Elizabeth
5) Mary Emmaline
6) John T.
8) Amanda
9) Frank B.
In 1870, we find Daniel Charles Bryce here:
| Name: | Daniel Brice | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1870: | 13 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1857 | ||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 1792 | ||||||||||||
| Home in 1870: | Wilmington, New Hanover, North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||
| Post Office: | Wilmington | ||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Going To School | ||||||||||||
| Attended School: | Y | ||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
In the home of David R Canaday and his wife, Henrietta, as a student. A little research uncovers the fact that Henrietta ia a Brice by birth. This is actually Henrietta Euphemia Brice Canaday, with her husband David Richard Canaday and their daughter, Marietta. "Emerline" is Mary Emeline Brice, daughter of Henry and Tabitha as shown in the 1850 and 1860 census records as 'Mary E.", and the sister of Henrietta Euphemia Brice Canaday. And then there is Daniel. It seems quite obvious that Euphemia is most likely the mother of Daniel Charles Brice, and Fannie may have been her nickname as a child. She is the only daughter of Henry and Tabitha really old enough to be his mother, and he remains with her after she is married. Fannie and Euphemia are not a streach as nicknames go, either.
So there's my theory.
As for the evasive Charles Smith, his father, there was no clear Charles Smith that lived close to them in 1860, the closest census to the birth of Daniel, but they did live in Smithville, named for a Smith family and they lived on the coast where there were plenty of opportunities for travel, so he may have shot the gap, but Daniel obviously knew who his father was.
| Name: | Mr Daniel C Bryce |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | White |
| Age: | 21 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1857 |
| Marriage Date: | 4 Feb 1878 |
| Marriage Place: | New Hanover, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | Chas Smith |
| Mother: | Fannie A Bryie |
| Spouse: | Sarah Ellen Copps |
| Spouse Gender: | Female |
| Spouse Race: | White |
| Spouse Age: | 18 |
| Spouse Father: | Mary Ann Copps |
| Spouse Mother: | Zidears Copps |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
In 1878, at the age of 21, Daniel marries Sarah Ellen Capps 18, in New Hanover County, next to Brunswick. He has listed his parents as Charles Smith and Fannie Bryce and her parents were Gideon and Mary Ann Capps. Disregard the transcription errors, "Zidears" was Gideon, actually, and he was her father, not her mother and Mary Ann was her mother, not her father.
From St. James Church Historical Records 1737-1852, Vol. I: Baptism 28 Dec 1870 of Sarah Ellen Capps born 23 Nov 1858 daughter of Gideon and Mary Ann Capps.
The marriage was ill-fated. I don't know the fate of Sarah Ellen Capps. Did she die? Was the marriage annuled? There was a Sarah Capps who married a William Waldrup in Craven County in December of 1878, another coastal county. Could it have been the same Sarah? She was mentioned in her father's will in 1869, about a decade before she married and I can't find more mention of her.
As for Daniel C. Bryce, he headed inland about 150 miles. Was he running from something?
In September of 1879, just a year after his first marriage, Daniel C.Bryce married Roannie or Roan, Northam. Here, he named no father, just his mother as 'Faney Ann Bryce". Here it looks more like "Femey" on the actual document. Roan is from Richmond County and they married here in Rockingham.
| Name: | Daniel C Bryce |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | White |
| Age: | 22 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1857 |
| Marriage Date: | 6 Sep 1879 |
| Marriage Place: | Richmond, North Carolina, USA |
| Mother: | Faney Ann Bryce |
| Spouse: | Roannie Northam |
| Spouse Gender: | Female |
| Spouse Race: | White |
| Spouse Age: | 23 |
| Spouse Father: | James T Northam |
| Spouse Mother: | Elizabeth Northam |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
And that is where they are found in 1880. Daniel is now working as a mechanic in the town of Rockingham. There are no children. Nor will there be.
| Name: | Daniel Brice | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 33 | ||||||
| Birth Date: | Abt 1847 | ||||||
| Birthplace: | South Carolina | ||||||
| Home in 1880: | Rockingham, Richmond, North Carolina, USA | ||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 254 | ||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Self (Head) | ||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||
| Spouse's name: | Roan Brice | ||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | South Carolina | ||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | South Carolina | ||||||
| Married During Census Year: | Yes | ||||||
| Occupation: | Mechanic | ||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Roan is found squarely with her parents in the previous census records. But after this one she is found no more.
Daniel Charles Bryce is becoming a BlackWidow(er). Did both his wives died that quickly after marriage? What happened to them? Did they die in childbirth or was there something more sinister happening here?
| Name: | Roan Northam | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1870: | 19 | ||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1851 | ||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 27 | ||||||||||
| Home in 1870: | Black Jack, Richmond, North Carolina | ||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||||
| Post Office: | Rockingham | ||||||||||
| Occupation: | At Home | ||||||||||
| Inferred Father: | James Northam | ||||||||||
| Inferred Mother: | Elizabeth Northam | ||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
On November 8, 1886, just 8 years after he married Roan Northam, D.C Bryce was at it again, and had married for a third time.
| Name: | |
|---|---|
| Event Type: | |
| Event Date: | |
| Event Place: | |
| Event Place (Original): | |
| Gender: | |
| Age: | |
| Birth Year (Estimated): | |
| Mother's Name: | |
| Spouse's Name: | |
| Spouse's Gender: | |
| Spouse's Age: | |
| Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated): | |
| Spouse's Father's Name: | |
| Spouse's Mother's Name: |
Maybe the third time was the charm, because this one lasted longer and seemed a little happier. Mary E. Talbert or Tolbert was a Richmond County girl and her parents, Joseph and Sarah Tolbert had links back to Montgomery County, NC. They were married in 1886 and Mary was 22 and Daniel, now on his third marriage, was still only 27.
This marriage would produce his one and only child. There was just one problem, her birthdate.
| Name: | Emma E. Blackburn |
|---|---|
| Birth Date: | 21 Jun 1881 |
| Death Date: | 10 Sep 1904 |
| Cemetery: | Caledonia United Methodist Church Cemetery |
| Burial or Cremation Place: | Laurinburg, Scotland County, North Carolina, United States of America |
| Has Bio?: | N |
According to her tombstone, Emma E. Bryce Blackburn was born June 21, 1881. Was Mary Tobert really her mother or had it been Roan Northam? Or had she just been born a number of years before her parents married.
But, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Daniel and Mary were married in 1886, and in the 1900 census, low and behold, after 14 years, they were still married. Mary was alive!
They had moved from Wolf Pit in Richmond County over to Stewartsville in Scotland County. Daniel was working as a Carpenter. He seems rather transient, doesn't he?
In his defense, in 1886, the year he married Mary, Daniel did own something enough to owe taxes, but he didn't pay them, obviously. Perhaps that is why they moved to Scotland County.
| Name: | Daniel Brice | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 42 | ||||||||
| Birth Date: | Dec 1857 | ||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Stewartsville, Scotland, North Carolina | ||||||||
| House Number: | 131 | ||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 7 | ||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 133 | ||||||||
| Family Number: | 134 | ||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||
| Spouse's name: | Mary E Brice | ||||||||
| Marriage Year: | 1887 | ||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Occupation: | Carpenter | ||||||||
| Months Not Employed: | 0 | ||||||||
| Can Read: | Yes | ||||||||
| Can Write: | Yes | ||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||
| House Owned or Rented: | R | ||||||||
| Farm or House: | H | ||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Shortly after this census, Daniel's daughter, Emma, would marry Daniel James Blackburn. She would become pregnant and give birth to a daughter she named Callie Emma Blackburn. Sadly, Emma would die on September 10, 1904, just after her daughter was born. She must have died of comlications of childbirth.
 |
| Emma's broken tombstone from find-a-grave. |
She was buried at Caldonia United Methodist Church in Laurenburg.
 |
| Caldonia UMC from Find-a-grave. Photo attributed to "Just Plain Nosey". |
The death of Emma was not the only tragedy that Daniel would suffer that decade. He also became a widower for the third time. Mary E Bryce succombed to the grim reaper in February of 1907. She was only 45 years old. This was just before the time when they started issuing death certificates, so we do not know what she died of. There were so many ailments that are treatable now.
| Name: | Mary E. Bryce |
|---|---|
| Death Date: | 26 Feb 1907 |
| Cemetery: | Caledonia United Methodist Church Cemetery |
| Burial or Cremation Place: | Laurinburg, Scotland County, North Carolina, United States of America |
| Has Bio?: | Y |
| Spouse: | Daniel Charles Bryce |
| URL: | https://www.findagrave.com/mem... |
It was 1907, and there was more going on in 1907.
I started this post off with Fannie Tolbert, and left off in 1880. Now Fannie Tolbert, who may have been related to Mary E through the Tolbert side, had married her much older cousin, John Milton Bunnel about the same time that Daniel Bryce had married Mary E. Tolbert. It was not a happy marriage.
This is where we find Milton Bunnel in 1900...
| Name: | John M Bunnell | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 39 | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Oct 1860 | ||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Hollingsworth, Montgomery, North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 11 | ||||||||||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 198 | ||||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 199 | ||||||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Boarder | ||||||||||||||||
| Marital status: | Single | ||||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Day Laborer | ||||||||||||||||
| Months Not Employed: | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Can Read: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||
| Can Write: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
He was working as a Day Laborer at a Saw Mill in "Hollingsworth" Township, which was the Biscoe/ Star area of Montgomery County, NC, which was ran by the Brown Family.
But he's listed as a boarder, and also as single. So where was Fannie?
|
Well, she'd hitched a train for Louisville, Kentucky and was boarding with a Holsheimer family from Germany. She was working in a harness shop and actually listed her marital status as married with no children, living or dead.
She didn't always go by her married name, however. She is seen in city directories as Talbot and was self-supporting. This was a girl not born for country life, apparently. Fannie had arrived in Louisville by 1885.
| Name: | Fannie Talbot |
|---|---|
| Residence Year: | 1885 |
| Street address: | 5201st |
| Residence Place: | Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
| Occupation: | Cook |
| Publication Title: | Louisville, Kentucky, City Directory, 1885 |
I'm not sure why Fannie came home, perhaps because family needed her, probably her ailing mother. But she was back in Biscoe by 1902. She and Milton never divorced, but seem to have only been married in name only. As tragedy would have it, poor Milton would become the victim of a hideous robbery and murder by a mentally deficient teenaged boy, whose married uncle had succombed to Fannies feminine wiles and had had an affair with her some years before.
I have blogged on this murder in my post:
The Murder of Milton Bunnel
Below is the part of the account of the Bunnel murder that mentions Fannie's affair with Jim Smith.
CLIPPED FROM
The Carthage BladeCarthage, North Carolina07 Feb 1907, Thu • Page 1
Jim Smith was James C. Smith, born on Christmas Day in 1848 to Pleasant Smith and his wife, Emeline Graham Smith in Carthage, Moore County. He was a brother of Malcolm "Make" Smith, whose son Charlie killed Milton Bunnel. There was a very good chance Make Smith had a hand in it too, but he was never charged and his son served only 5 or 6 years for the crime before being granted a pardon. The motive was robbery, plain and simple. There may have been a personal vendetta on the part of Make, but it doesn't appear so.
Jim Smith married a woman named Clementine Cockman and had 6 children. The time of his "running off" with Fannie Talbot Bunnel would have been around 1901 or 1902.
He was in Carthage from birth to the 1880 census and is found with his wife and kids in the 1900 census down in Marlboro County, South Carolina.
| Name: | James Smith [James C Smith] | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 51 | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Dec 1848 | ||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Smithville, Marlboro, South Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 282 | ||||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 282 | ||||||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse's name: | Clementine Smith | ||||||||||||||||
| Marriage Year: | 1881 | ||||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Turpentine Laborer | ||||||||||||||||
| Months Not Employed: | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Can Read: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||
| Can Write: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||
| Home Free or Mortgaged: | F | ||||||||||||||||
| Farm or House: | H | ||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
He didn't seem to be much of a catch, but he must have been some kind of charactor, because he captured the imagination of the townspeople, whichever town he was in. He was called "The King of Black Ankle in the newspaper, an area known for 3 things: Turpentine, Gold and Bootlegging, and not necessarily in that order. In Marlboro, he was working in turpentine.
He even had a poem written about him.
CLIPPED FROM
The Pinehurst OutlookPinehurst, North Carolina20 Feb 1909, Sat • Page 6
He was an unapologetic racist, a man of his time in that, I suppose. When a man wasn't much of a man, he was always in search of someone whose situation was worse, to make himself feel better.
CLIPPED FROM
The Carthage BladeCarthage, North Carolina30 Oct 1894, Tue • Page 2
He had his own way to spin a yarn. Perhaps he was even easy on the eyes. Who knows what about him attracted Fannie?
In 1910, after the affair and after the murder, Jim Smith is back with his wife Clementine and has up and moved the family to Richmond County. I guessed he'd burned his bridges in Moore, Montgomery and Marlboro.
| Name: | James C Smith | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1910: | 65 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1845 | ||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Home in 1910: | Rockingham, Richmond, North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||||||
| Spouse's name: | Clemintine Smith | ||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Native Tongue: | English | ||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Laborer | ||||||||||||
| Industry: | Odd Jobs | ||||||||||||
| Employer, Employee or Other: | Wage Earner | ||||||||||||
| Home Owned or Rented: | Rent | ||||||||||||
| Farm or House: | House | ||||||||||||
| Able to Read: | Yes | ||||||||||||
| Able to Write: | Yes | ||||||||||||
| Years Married: | 32 | ||||||||||||
| Out of Work: | Y | ||||||||||||
| Number of weeks out of work: | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
So here is where the two tales come together. It's 1907. Fannie Talbot Bunnel has just became a widow, even though she was married in name only. She must have came back for the sensational trial. Daniel C. Bryce had just buried his wife Mary Talbot Bryce, who might have been related to Fannie.
On October 13, 1907, just a few months after the trial of Charley Smith was over, for the murder of Milt Bunnel, and Daniel Brice had buried his third wife, Mary, Fannie and Dan found each other and became husband and wife. The widower and the whirlwind had collided. They were both 48 years old.
Three years after their marriage in Scotland County, Dan and Fannie are found making their home in Stewartsville. Her middle name must have been Ann, because here they have her as Nancy, a nickname for Ann and in another document, she is listed as Annie, not Fannie. Dan must have had two middle names, Charles and one that begins with "S". I've been him as Daniel C and as Daniel S. Here, he is Daniel S. C. Bryce, so both must be correct.
| Name: | Nancy Bryce | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1910: | 46 | ||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1864 | ||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||
| Home in 1910: | Stewartsville, Scotland, North Carolina | ||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Wife | ||||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||||
| Spouse's name: | Daniel S C Bryce | ||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||
| Native Tongue: | English | ||||||||||
| Able to Read: | Yes | ||||||||||
| Able to Write: | Yes | ||||||||||
| Years Married: | 3 | ||||||||||
| Number of Children Born: | 0 | ||||||||||
| Number of Children Living: | 0 | ||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
With them are Daniel's favorite aunt, Mary Emmaline Brice Baker, who lived with him and his mother and stepfather in 1870, whom I believe he named his only daughter for. Also, his daughter Emma's only child, Callie, is living with them, too. Although her father went on to quickly remarry and have several more children, Dan and Fannie appear to have raised the girl.
Just before this document, Fannie lost her mother, Mary Ann Bunnel.
CLIPPED FROM
The Fayetteville IndexFayetteville, North Carolina01 Sep 1909, Wed • Page 4
The papers printed a lovely obituary. It reaffirms that her parents had remained in Flea Hill, now Eastover, and that Fannie and Daniel were living in John's Station, a Railroad stop, near Stewartsville.
Dan, who was in the papers in his earlier days for minor troubles, was now a respectible sort in his middle years, as happens.
CLIPPED FROM
The Laurinburg ExchangeLaurinburg, North Carolina11 Nov 1915, Thu • Page 5
| Name: | Danil Chas Bryce [Janie Chas Bryce] [Janie Chas Beyer] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 61 | ||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1859 | ||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Home in 1920: | Stewartsville, Scotland, North Carolina | ||||||||
| Street: | Public Road Smyrna To Morton-Two St | ||||||||
| House Number: | Farm | ||||||||
| Residence Date: | 1920 | ||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||
| Spouse's name: | Fannie R Bryce | ||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Occupation: | General Facing | ||||||||
| Industry: | Farmer | ||||||||
| Employment Field: | Own Account | ||||||||
| Home Owned or Rented: | Rented | ||||||||
| Able to Read: | Yes | ||||||||
| Able to Write: | Yes | ||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
The 1920 census shows Daniel as a farmer in a rented home. He and Fannie appear to have had sucessfully raising his grandchild, who is shown as "Katie" E. here instead of Callie, which was her correct name. Although Fannie had no children of her own, she did get to raise one in the person of Katie.
The very next year, Katie Esther Blackburn, 18 (actually 17) would marry LeRoy Thompson in Scotland County. They would settle in Howellsville in Robeson County, NC. Roy and Katie would have 2 children, Leroy, Jr. and Shirley Ann, who would live to adulthood. Daniel S. C. Bryce has living descendants.
The transcribers, again, mistook Blackburn for Blackman, but the David and Emma is correct.
| Name: | Lee Roy Thompson |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | White |
| Age: | 19 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1902 |
| Marriage Date: | 21 Sep 1921 |
| Marriage Place: | Scotland, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | J H Thompson |
| Mother: | Carry Thompson |
| Spouse: | Katie E Blackman |
| Spouse Gender: | Female |
| Spouse Race: | White |
| Spouse Age: | 18 |
| Spouse Father: | David Blackman |
| Spouse Mother: | Emma Blackman |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
Fannie had raised a child. Not too long after Katie married and left her grandparents with an empty nest, Fannie's time upon the earth had come to an end.
| Name: | Fannie R. Bryce |
|---|---|
| Gender: | F (Female) |
| Birth Date: | 1862 |
| Birth Place: | Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States of America |
| Death Date: | 26 Apr 1923 |
| Death Place: | Scotland County, North Carolina, United States of America |
| Cemetery: | Caledonia United Methodist Church Cemetery |
| Burial or Cremation Place: | Laurinburg, Scotland County, North Carolina, United States of America |
| Has Bio?: | Y |
| Father: | John Nixon Talbot |
| Mother: | Mary Anne Talbot |
| Spouse: | Daniel Charles Bryce |
| URL: | https://www.findagrave.com/mem... |
Fannie was now 64 years old and had succomb to the ravishes of diabetes. She was laid to rest at Caldonia United Methodist Church near Laurenburg, along with Mary E. Talbot Bryce and Emmaline Esther Bryce Blackburn, her step-daughter.
Daniel S. Charles Bryce was not a man to grieve long and not a man to give up. Sometime after the death of his fourth wife, Fannie Talbot Bunnel Brice, he took a 5th , and her name was Laura.
The marriage of Danie Bryce and Laura didn't last long, because this time it was Daniel's time to leave. Six years after the death of Fannie, at the age of 70, Daniel Bryce met his maker of unknown reasons. He is shown as a married man, his wife's name was Laura, and he was a tenant farmer. He was laid to rest at Caldonia with his daughter and 3rd and 4th wives.
I have not located Laura. Just 1 year after the passing of Daniel Bryce, there is not a Laura Bryce in Scotland County or any surrounding counties. She is not buried in the same cemetery as Daniel. Laura disappeared. She either changed her name and went back to where she came from or remarrried before the 1930 census or ....something. I can't find a marriage license for that, neither can I find a marriage license for Daniel and Laura. She remains a mystery.
So the 5 times married Daniel C. Bryce still leaves a waft of mystery in the air. What happened to his first 2 wives and who was his last?