Early this spring, we added a couple of tiny flowers to our garden, simply out of curiosity. They grew into bushes of a substantial size, and to the delight of our grandchildren, have certainly lived up to their name, "Butterfly Bushes". On any afternoon in August, we would find them covered in an array of colorful butterflies, predominately Eastern Tiger Swallowtails and the Red Spotted Purple Admirals. Bumble Bees are also very fond of them and I've seen several, but the above little imitator was a new one on me. At first, I wasn't quite sure what he was. He was buzzy and quick, like a hummingbird, but it was still quite evident he was an insect.
I discovered that what he was is a Hummingbird Moth, they come in a variety of colors and patterns and behave quite beelike, but are, indeed, moths. And like the subjects of this post, they were not what they at first appeared to be.
| Name: | Henry Ward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Age: | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1833 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1850: | Montgomery, North Carolina, USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Laborer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Industry: | Industry not reported | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line Number: | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 531 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 533 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
The story begins as most of my most recent have, in the pine forests of Eastern Montgomery County, North Carolina, with a 17 year old laborer named Henry Ward. He's living in the home of his parents, Thomas and Susan Ward, with their large and widespread family.
The Wards seem to have had a long and steady foothold in Montgomery County, with the very first census, 1790, showing both a Thomas and a Phillip Ward. This would not have been Thomas, the father of Henry Ward, as he would have only been 12 years old. The 1790 Thomas is noted as a Senior, though, and there's not a Junior listed as a head of household, so he could have been either the father or uncle of Thomas born about 1778, I have not dug that deep.
Henry's family does show up in 1830, however, in East Pee Dee and in 1840 in West Pee Dee. Thomas had obtained a land grant in 1838 for 138 acres on Ward Creek in Montgomery County. With a creek named for them, it seems to suggest the family had been in that spot for some time.
Wards Creek in Montgomery County, North Carolina lies north of the little whistlestop town of Star, and west of the even smaller community of Ether.
| Name: | Elizabeth Brewer | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Age: | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1835 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1850: | Montgomery, North Carolina, USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line Number: | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 465 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 467 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Also living in the same part of the county was another teenager in an equally large family, Elizabeth Brewer, known as "Lizzie", age 15, daughter of Micajah and Rebecca Brewer.
| Name: | Elizabeth Brewer |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Female |
| Bond date: | 20 Mar 1855 |
| Bond Place: | Montgomery, North Carolina, USA |
| Spouse: | Henry Ward |
| Spouse Gender: | Male |
| Event Type: | Bond |
Five years later, the couple were married, on March 20, 1855, by Calvin J. Cochran. In commonly quick succession, two daughters were born into the marriage, Mary Jane Ward, the next year in 1856 and Susan Minerva Ward on April 10, 1859. But tragedy was soon to strike.
In October of 1859, Eli and Reuben Ward, brothers of Henry, were appointed Co-Executors of his estate. Henry, only about 26 years old, had died. The good penmanship shown in his brothers signatures show the Ward brothers to have been well-educated, in script, at least.
The estate of Henry Ward was fairly typical of a young yeoman farmer in the Carolina Piedmont in of the middle 1800's. He had a fair amount of livestock, and a collection of the typical farm implements, and his own tract of land.
Lizzie Brewer Ward, now a young widow with two little girls, a toddler and a newborn, was to recieve a dower of a portion of that tract of land. Sheriff Sanders nominated a "jury of good and lawful men", to determine what her dower would be and named that task were James G. Allen, David Allen, Martin Hunsucker, Zach Burroughs, Joseph Hogan, E. C. Martin, A. P. Leach, E. Leach, James Callicutt, James R. Allen, D. W. Hurley and Dempsey Cagle.
Further in the estate files, it states that Henry was 'seized or possessed' of a tract of land of about 100 acres adjoining the properties of John Hussey and Henry Freeman, this written in a much clearer penmanship than the preceding pages. This page stated that Elizabeth Ward's dower was to include the dwelling house, 'commonly called the Mansion House', and included the adjacent farm buildings and outhouses.
Another document appears in the sheath, from the January Term of the Court of Pleas and Quarters for 1860, and in this one, Elizabeth Ward must sue her infant daughters for her dower and the supplies to support them. She's also awarded a year's allowance. After that, she is on her own.
| Name: | Micajah Brewer |
|---|---|
| Age: | 60 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1800 |
| Gender: | Male |
| Birth Place: | North Carolina |
| Home in 1860: | Diffies, Montgomery, North Carolina |
| Dwelling Number: | 324 |
| Family Number: | 324 |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Personal Estate Value: | 75 |
| Cannot Read, Write: | Y |
| Household Members: |
Despite having been awarded "the Mansion House', 33 acres of land and a year's allowance, on June 17th of that year when the census taker came around, Elizabeth was found living with her parents, siblings, nieces and nephews and her two little daughters, Jane and Susan. While Jane and Susan are listed as Wards, Elizabeth is counted among the Brewers as if she were never married.
| Name: | Elizabeth Breuer [Elizabeth Brewer] | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1870: | 34 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1836 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 72 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1870: | Hill, Montgomery, North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||||||||||||
| Post Office: | Aumans Hill | ||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | At Home | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cannot Write: | Y | ||||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
But the packet does not end there and neither does the story. In 1870, Elizabeth is still in residence with her parents. That "Mazer Breuer" is really Micajah Brewer , and the age in the original document is not 28, but 68. Just really bad handwriting there. Living with Micajah and Rebecca are their large group of daughters, Fanny (Phany), Terry (another Terry), Elizabeth, Anneliza (Aklinger), Louisa and Dorcas (Darcus). But where are the grandchildren? It's possible that they were nearby, or in the home and just not counted, but at any rate, the girls are not to be found in 1870.
| Name: | Cager Brewer | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 78 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Abt 1802 | ||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Home in 1880: | Hollingsworth, Montgomery, North Carolina, USA | ||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 44 | ||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Self (Head) | ||||||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||||||
| Spouse's Name: | Becca Brewer | ||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Farming | ||||||||||||
| Cannot Read: | Yes | ||||||||||||
| Cannot Write: | Yes | ||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Not to be found in 1880, is Elizabeth, although her parents, now in their 70's, are still living. Elizabeth would have been about 47 by then, and unless she remarried, a possibility that I've not yet found proof of, it appears she may have been deceased by this date. To note, living nearby are Jerry McQueen and his first wife, Clarice.
As for the girls, Mary Jane is not living in Hollingsworth, with or near her grandparents, but in Hill Township, instead, with her Aunt Dorcas and her cousin, Annette. Annette, by the way, was her double first cousin, as Annette's father was Reuben Ward, Mary Jane's uncle on her father's side.
| Name: | Mary J. Ward | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 23 | ||||||||
| Birth Date: | Abt 1857 | ||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Home in 1880: | Hill, Montgomery, North Carolina, USA | ||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 26 | ||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Niece | ||||||||
| Marital status: | Single | ||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Cannot Read: | Yes | ||||||||
| Cannot Write: | Yes | ||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Now 23 years old, Mary Jane would soon begin a long-term relationship, which would be in violation not only of social norms of the times, but also against the law, but one which also appears to be 'not that uncommon', in this isolated area of Montgomery County.
Between 1883, when her oldest daughter, Alice is born and 1894, Mary Jane Ward maintains an illicit and adulterous relationship with Jerry McQueen and together they have 5 children:
1883 Alice
1887 Lillie
1891 Rebecca
1892 Ollie and
1894 James Elldridge
Although Clarice McCaskill McQueen died about 1894, and Jerry remarried in 1895, it was not to Jane, but instead to a widow from a neighboring county named Mariah Jones Morrison.
Jane's younger sister, Susan Minerva Ward took things one step further. Susan not only took up with a McQueen, she married him. This was Jerry McQueen's younger brother, Jacob F. "Jake" McQueen.
Susan and Jake would have 7 children:
1884 Lillie
1887 Ethel
1888 Chester
1891 Lola
1894 Vina
1894 Jacob "Bud" McQueen, Jr.
1898 Barney
This would make the children of Jane and the children of Susan double first cousins, which carry the same amount of DNA as silbings.
The scandal revolving around the Ward sisters was the fact that while Susan and Jane Ward were obviously of 100 percent European decent, or white, the father's of their children were not. Not only that, but in order to maintain a relationship with the brothers that these sisters loved, they gave up their whiteness and claimed to be black, which they were not.
Jerry McQueen and his brother Jacob were two of the sons of Alexander "Sandy" McQueen, who had migrated to America as a toddler, from Scotland and a woman named Linda or Lindy, who had been his slave. Sandy McQueen had a total of 12 children among 3 enslaved women, which was recorded in a family bible by his youngest son with his legal (and white) wife, Neil McQueen. Neil recorded the exact birthdates of all of his siblings, both white and mixed, half of which were born after emancipation. It was a most unusual and mindboggling occurance.
So Jerry and Jake McQueen were half Scottish and half African (or less), as their mother, Lindy, is also listed as a mulatto, or of mixed race. The children of the combined unions of the Ward sisters and the McQueen brothers would have been 75 percent white and 25 percent (or less) black and would, as adults, take diverging paths.
State of North Carolina, County of Montgomery, Spring Term of Court, 1896
Susanna McQueen
VS
A Leach, Linsy Freeman, J . M. Freeman and G. N. Scarboro
Susanna McQueen above named plaintiff being duly sworn deposes and says :
I That on or about the 1st day of August, 1860 Henry Ward died intestate leaving a tract of land in Hill Township Montgomery County.
II That Susanna McQueen and Jane Ward are the only heirs at law of Henry Ward.
III That on or about the 31st day of March 1880 Susanna McQueen and Jacob McQueen , her husband, executed a deed to A. Leach for thier interest in said tract of land excepting the widow's dower, which deed is attached.
IV That aforesaid deed was executed by the Plaintiff Susanna McQueen while she was a minor under the age of 21 years old and she did not sign said deed willingly, only to satisfy a demand by the grantee, that she would have to go to jail if deed was not signed .
V Therefore the Plaintiff prays that aforesiad deed be declared void, and that she recieves the sum of $50, damages, together with all fees in this action.
Douglass and Dixon, Attorney for the Plaintiff
13 June 1896
A B McCaskilll
This claim was followed by a copy of the actual deed tha was dated March 30, 1880 wherein Jacob McQueen and wife Susanna McQueen sold to Angus Leach for $25, their interest in the "undivided half in a tract of land adjoining John Freeman, Linsy Hussy and others being the tract of land were Jacoob McQueen and wife live containing about 110 acrees beimg the land which descended to the heirs of Henry Ward."
This paragraph was followed by the usual section wherein Susanna McQueen had been interviewed separately and apart from her husband to ensure she was not being coerced into signing the document, as the inheritance was hers, and his only by reference of his marriage to her.
The next page was a recap of the separate interview with Susanna Ward McQueen wherein she had stated that she had signed of her on freewill.
This was followed by the decision of the judge that the suit be dismissed and that the defendants, Angus Leach, Lewis Freeman and G. N. Scarboro and wife, Lillie to recover their costs in this action and Susanna was declared a pauper, unable to give securities. this proceeding was ruled over by Judge Thomas J. Shaw.
The next term of court, held in the fall of 1896, painted a different picture for Susannah.
'G. N. Scarboro aknowledge themselves (sic) indebited to the plaintiff in the above action the sun of $200 to be void on condition that he pays said defendant all such sum as he may be adjudged to pay for costs in asid action."
signed by
G. N. Scarboro
D. B. Batten
Several of the pages in the action seem to contradict each other, others bring to the forefront pages from decades before. The Freemans answered next.
J M Freeman and Lewis Freeman in a statement acknowledged I and II to true, but did not have sufficient knowledge to state whether or not III and IV were true or not , therefore the plaintiff needs proof of the same.
The last paragraph in this page is very telling. There's a 'must read between the lines' moment that reveals their disdain and dismissal of Susanna Ward McQueen and her claims to property.
V "....That they deny that the deed in the fifth order.......is void but that it is a valid deed executed by a SINGLE woman .....these defendants (request) that it be discharged and they recover reasonable costs expended in this action. Allen Jordan D. A. "
The Freemans were basically saying that Susannah Wards selling of interest in her fathers' land was a legitimate deed, however, and although her husband, Jacob McQueen, had signed the deed and was named within the deed, that it was a deed put forth by a single woman, not a married one, because they did not acknowledge her marriage or her husbands right to any land inherited by her.
Next is a copy of Elizabeth Wards petition for a years allowance from 1859, wherein Archibald A. Leach, Justice of the Peace, James Allen, Martin Hunsucker and David Allen were appointed comissioners to lay off a goods and monies for her survival.
This is followed by another numbered page, this one of the testimony of an angry George N Scarboro, who along with his wife, Lillie, was ordered in a previous term of court to pay Susan McQueen $200.
But first, I wondered who exactly was George N. Scarboro?
| Name: | Geo N Scarboro |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | White |
| Age: | 33 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1860 |
| Marriage Date: | 22 Feb 1893 |
| Marriage Place: | Montgomery, North Carolina, USA |
| Spouse: | Lillie Leach |
| Spouse Gender: | Female |
| Spouse Race: | White |
| Spouse Age: | 21 |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
George Nelson Scarboro was a Railroad Agent, born in 1861, who had married Lillie Leach, the daughter of Angus Leach and Deborah Hunsucker Leach.
| Name: | Lilly Leach Scarborough [Lilly Leach Leach] |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Female |
| Race: | White |
| Age: | 92 |
| Birth Date: | 1 Dec 1871 |
| Birth Place: | montg, North Carolina, United States |
| Residence Place: | Star, Montg, North Carolina |
| Death Date: | 19 Apr 1964 |
| Death Place: | Star, Montgomery, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | Angus Leach |
| Mother: | Deborah Bursuker |
| Spouse: | G N Scarborugh |
| Search for Lilly Leach Scarborough in North Carolina Wills & Probates collection |
He had acquired the property that had previously belonged to Henry Ward through his marriage to Lillie, whose father, Angus Leach, had paid the McQueens $25 for the interest in Susannah's share of the undivided property. It must be remembered that of the total property, there remained Jane's share and also, the widow, Elizabeths dower of 33 acres, that was not included ifn Susannah's interest.
This depostiion began: "George N. Scarboro, one of the above named plaintiffs".
And listed by numeral, answers to Susannahs claim. I have recouped her claim in highlight, followed by Mr. Scarboros reply to remind the reader what he is answering to.
I That on or about the 1st day of August, 1860 Henry Ward died intestate leaving a tract of land in Hill Township Montgomery County.
-Susanna
That it is admitted that Henry Ward died intestate, but when and where the defindant has not sufficient knowledge....as to the other facts alledged in the complaint - they are denied.
I That Susanna McQueen and Jane Ward are the only heirs at law of Henry Ward.
Not sufficient knowledge to say.
NoII Not sufficient knowledge.
III That on or about the 31st day of March 1880 Susanna McQueen and Jacob McQueen , her husband, executed a deed to A. Leach for thier interest in said tract of land excepting the widow's dower, which deed is attached.
III Facts as alledged are denied.....that the deed attached is specifically denied....denied that on the said 31st day of March 1880 she was a married woman or had any legal husband to join with her in the execution of the deed.
George Nelson Scarboro is now repeating the claims of the Freemans that Susannah was not legally married. She had married Jacob McQueen, obviously, however, the defendants in this case did not consider the marriage legal, due to the ethinicity of Jacob McQueen. Scarboro, in his added statement that she didn't have a legal husband, insinuates Jacob existed, but that the union was not acknowledged under law, or by hissegment of the community.
IV That aforesaid deed was executed by the Plaintiff Susanna McQueen while she was a minor under the age of 21 years old and she did not sign said deed willingly, only to satisfy a demand by the grantee, that she would have to go to jail if deed was not signed .
IV. Denied
V Therefore the Plaintiff prays that aforesiad deed be declared void, and that she recieves the sum of $50, damages, together with all fees in this action.
V. That according to the facts as alledged in the comoplaint plaintiff is not entitled to recover.....it is admitted that the defendants have been in possession ot the lands referred to sinde 1880....banned by the statute of limitations.
In Summary, G. N. Scarboro is now claiming that Henry Ward died, but he don't know when or where and that he does not know if Jane and Susannah were his only heirs. He denies that Susannah has any rights to the property because he feels she signed the documents willingly and that she is not legally married . He also disregards her claims to the property because his wife's family had been living on it since 1880 and that the statute of limitaions had ran out.
A look at where these parties were in 1880 shows Jacob McQueen on page 2 of Hill Township working for a 40 year old Deborah Leach.
| Name: | Jacob Mack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 12 | ||||
| Birth Date: | Abt 1868 | ||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||
| Home in 1880: | Hill, Montgomery, North Carolina, USA | ||||
| Dwelling Number: | 20 | ||||
| Race: | Black | ||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||
| Marital status: | Single | ||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||
| Occupation: | Works On Farm | ||||
| Cannot Read: | Yes | ||||
| Cannot Write: | Yes | ||||
| Neighbors: | |||||
| Household Members: |
|
In the actual document, he is Jacob McQueen, not Mack and his birth year, incorrectly transcribed, is given as 1860, not 1868. His actual birth year, as given in the McQueen Family Bible, was 1859, so he was 21, not 12.
| Name: | Angus Leach | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 45 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Abt 1835 | ||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Home in 1880: | Hill, Montgomery, North Carolina, USA | ||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Self (Head) | ||||||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||||||
| Spouse's Name: | Deborah Leach | ||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | Scotland | ||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Gen. Retail Mer. | ||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Angus Leach and his daughrter, Lilly are listed on page 1 in Hill, and heis a General Merchandise Retailer.
Continuing along, many of the Freemans, including J. M., are listed on page 2, Doras Brewster, an aunt of Mary Jane Ward and Susannah, is listed on page 3, with Mary Jane in her home, Lindsey Hussey is on page 4, along with John, Lewis and Linzy T. Freeman. Reuben Ward and Eli Ward, brothers of Henry Ward, are on page 5, with Mathew Ward, Eli's son, on page 6.
In the April Session of court 1898, we find the case of Jane Ward and Ssan McQueen vs George N and Lillie Scarbobo.
"Agreed by the parties that the defendants in fee of the lands described in the complaint ....sum to be paid to Attorney.
Jane Ward and Susan McQueen being duly sworn says ' that they are unable to give surities or make the deposit required by law and sue as paupers.
And again, a numbered statement:
I) Do not have sufficient knowledge...
II) ....since it is admitted said widow is dead, the are advised and believe that her dower is treated as alledged, ceased with her death...
III Admitted
IV) Defendants are in fact the owers in fee and possession of the property in Hill Township Montgomery County adjoining Lewis Freeman, J.M. Freeman, and others known as the Lindzy T. Freeman lands bounded by stake on the side of the road in Rueben Wards line to J. M. Freemans line to A. Leach and others of 50 acrs more or less.
V) ...don't know what property they refer to ...been in possession of current property where they live for 7 years.
Attached as proof of claims by the Ward sisters was the following document from 1866.
Court of Pleas and Quarters Session Oct 1866
Petition of Mary J Ward and Susan Ward by their Guradian Elizabeth Ward (their mother)
Henry Ward died intestate sometime in the year 1859 leaving his widow Elizabeth Ward and Mary J and Susan M Ward his only descendants. After his death Reuben Ward obtained letters of administration.....amount (of the estate settlement) morethan sufficient to pay debts and funeral expenses.....plea for settlement and to pay your petitioners their distribution.
A. P. Leach appointed commisioner.Mary Jane and Susan Minerva Ward lawful distributees.
Reuben Ward Admin in Commisioners report.
Excepts allowance to administrator, two) bills for taxes paid, 3) Allowance of Commistioner.
After an accounting was given, a disbursement of $36.05 was left for the family.
Other documents attrached were a Guardian bond dated March 2, 1871 and singed by Elizabeth Ward, Micajah Brewer, her father and Larkinn Brewer, her brother, for $100 and an order that the proceeds be put in trust for the girls until they arrived at full age. Elizabeth was appointed Guardian of her daughters.
A second bond was attached signed by Eliazath Ward, A. A. McCaskell and Martin Clgle for $100 dated July 3rd, 1866.
And there is no more of a final resolution to the case.
In the 1900 census, Jane Ward is 40 and living in Hollingsworth Township. She is single.
| Name: | Jane Ward | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 40 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Oct 1859 | ||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina, USA | ||||||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Hollingsworth, Montgomery, North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 10 | ||||||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 183 | ||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 184 | ||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||||||
| Marital status: | Single | ||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | Virginia, USA | ||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | Virginia, USA | ||||||||||||
| Mother: Number of Living Children: | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Mother: How Many Children: | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Farmer | ||||||||||||
| Months Not Employed: | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Attended School: | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Can Read: | No | ||||||||||||
| Can Write: | No | ||||||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||||||
| House Owned or Rented: | Rent | ||||||||||||
| Farm or House: | F | ||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
It tells us that Jane Ward is the head of a household and that she has had one year of education. She is listed as white, and the mother of 5 children, with all of them living. Four of her children are living with her and her daughter, Rebecca, is living with her father, Jerry McQueen. The children living with Jane are listed as white and the daughter livng with Jerry is listed as mulatto.
Jerry McQueen has remarried to his second wife, Mariah Jones Morriosn, however, in 1908, he is added to a lawsuit by D. D Burton against Jane Ward (incorrectly named Ann in the newspaper), over the tract of land Jane had inherited from the estate of her father, Henry Ward.
In the same year, 1900, Susan Ward McQueen is also living in Hollingsworth Township. Unlike her full sister, Susan is listed as black. In reality, Susan was 100 percent of European heritage. Her children were of 25 percnt or less African heritage.
| Name: | Susan Mcqueen | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 38 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Apr 1862 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina, USA | ||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Hollingsworth, Montgomery, North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 114 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 114 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 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: | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mother: How Many Children: | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Day Laborer | ||||||||||||||||||
| Months Not Employed: | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Can Read: | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Can Write: | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| House Owned or Rented: | Rent | ||||||||||||||||||
| Farm or House: | H | ||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
She is said to have had had 8 children , with 7 of them living. They are all living with her except for her oldest daughter, Della. Unlike her sister Jane, Susan can not read or write. She is working as a Day Laborer, as well as her two oldest children, Lillie and Chester, and her 14 year old boarder, Joseph Sims. She is listed as a widow, meaning Jacob McQueen had died. As their youngest son, Barney , was born in 1895, Jacob must have died between 1895 and 1900.
| Name: | Della Evans | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 21 | ||||||
| Birth Date: | May 1879 | ||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina, USA | ||||||
| Home in 1900: | Hollingsworth, Montgomery, North Carolina | ||||||
| Sheet Number: | 7 | ||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 113 | ||||||
| Family Number: | 114 | ||||||
| Race: | Black | ||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Wife | ||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||
| Spouse's Name: | Daniel Evans | ||||||
| Marriage Year: | 1899 | ||||||
| Years Married: | 1 | ||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina, USA | ||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina, USA | ||||||
| Mother: Number of Living Children: | 0 | ||||||
| Mother: How Many Children: | 0 | ||||||
| Can Read: | No | ||||||
| Can Write: | No | ||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | ||||||
| Farm or House: | H | ||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Della is a newlywed, livnig in Hollingsworth Township like her mother.
| Name: | Lulla McQueen |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Female |
| Race: | Col |
| Age: | 20 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1879 |
| Marriage Date: | Mar 1899 |
| Marriage Place: | Montgomery, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | Jacob McQueen |
| Mother: | Susan McQueen |
| Spouse: | Daniel Evins |
| Spouse Gender: | Male |
| Spouse Race: | Col |
| Spouse Age: | 21 |
| Spouse Father: | Mack Evans |
| Spouse Mother: | Tamer Evans |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
She married Daniel Evans the year prior , in 1899. Della's marriage certificate states that her father is deceased and her mother living.
CLIPPED FROM
The MontgomerianTroy, North Carolina
18 Jun 1908, Thu • Page 2
In 1908, Mary Ann is taken to court over her land, in conjunction with Jerry McQueen. He must have been working it. Between then and 1910, Jerry McQueen and his wife, Mariah, move to Florida. a few of Jane's daughters go with them.
| Name: | Jane Ward | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1910: | 48 | ||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1862 | ||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Home in 1910: | Biscoe, Montgomery, North Carolina | ||||||||
| Race: | Mulatto | ||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||
| Marital status: | Single | ||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Native Tongue: | English | ||||||||
| Occupation: | Laborer | ||||||||
| Industry: | Farm | ||||||||
| Employer, Employee or Other: | Wage Earner | ||||||||
| Home Owned or Rented: | Rent | ||||||||
| Farm or House: | House | ||||||||
| Able to Read: | Yes | ||||||||
| Able to Write: | Yes | ||||||||
| Number of Children Born: | 6 | ||||||||
| Number of Children Living: | 5 | ||||||||
| Out of Work: | N | ||||||||
| Number of weeks out of work: | 0 | ||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
1910 finds Jane still in Montgomery County with her two youngest sons. They are working as laborers and she is renting a house in Biscoe.
| Name: | Sudan A Mcqueen [Susan A Mcqueen] | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1910: | 46 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1864 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1910: | Biscoe, Montgomery, North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | Mulatto | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Native Tongue: | English | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Laborer | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Industry: | Farm | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Employer, Employee or Other: | Wage Earner | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Home Owned or Rented: | Rent | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Farm or House: | House | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Able to Read: | No | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Able to Write: | No | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Out of Work: | N | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of weeks out of work: | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Susan is also living in Biscoe, renting a house, and working with 5 of her children and 3 grandchildren. Both sisters are listed as mulatto, by virtue of their children, although both of their parents, Henry Ward and Elizabeth Brewer, were completely white.
During the next decade, most of the children of Jane and Susan would marry and move on with their lives. As their mothers were sisters and their fathers were brothers, these cousins shared the same dna percentages as siblings.
1920 reveals little to no change in location for the sisters.
| Name: | Jane M Ward | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 65 | ||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1855 | ||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Home in 1920: | Biscoe, Montgomery, North Carolina | ||||||||
| House Number: | X | ||||||||
| Residence Date: | 1920 | ||||||||
| Race: | Mulatto | ||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||
| Marital status: | Single | ||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||
| Able to Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||
| Occupation: | Farm Laborer | ||||||||
| Industry: | Working Out | ||||||||
| Employment Field: | Wage or Salary | ||||||||
| Home Owned or Rented: | Rented | ||||||||
| Able to Write: | No | ||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
Jane is still living in Biscoe, with herson Ollie and grandson, Ira. She is now in her midsixities. They are all working as farm labor.
| Name: | Susan Mc Queen [Susan Mcqueen] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 61 | ||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1859 | ||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Home in 1920: | Biscoe, Montgomery, North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| House Number: | X | ||||||||||||
| Residence Date: | 1920 | ||||||||||||
| Race: | Mulatto | ||||||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||||||
| Marital status: | Married | ||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Able to Speak English: | Yes | ||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Farm Laborer | ||||||||||||
| Industry: | Working Out | ||||||||||||
| Employment Field: | Wage or Salary | ||||||||||||
| Home Owned or Rented: | Rented | ||||||||||||
| Able to Write: | No | ||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||
| Household Members: |
|
As for her sister, Susan, she is also living in Biscoe with four of her children. Now 61, Susan and her daughters are working as farm laborers, while her sons are working in a saw mill. Jacob Jr. is driving a team and Barney is a log cutter. Susan is widowed, Vina, or 'Vennie', is divorced and the rest are single. Neighobors include some of her husband Jacob's McQueen relatives and some of Susan's Brewer relatives.
I wonder if they acknowleged or reocognized, the relationships.
1920 would be the last census for both sisters. Mary jane Ward died in 1928, according to the NC archives, exact date notgiven. I have not found a death certificate for her, or know where she was buried. She was about 72.
Her younger sisiter, Susan, however, did have a death ceritficate, giving her date of death as January 9, 1924. She died of pnuemonia at the age of 64 after 3 days of suffering. Her date of birth is given as April 10, 1859, just months before her father died. She never knew him.
Susan was buried at Macedonia Presbyterian Church, in the same cemetery as many of those in the nieghborhood she grew up in: Britts, McCaskills, Battens, McQueens, Lammonds, Martins, Dunns, Kellis, Yarboroughs, Smiths , Stewarts and Brewers, including her grandfather, Micajah Brewer.
 |
| Macedonia Presbyterian Church near Candor, NC from Find-A -Grave. From What I can acertain, the following are the children of Mary Jane Ward and Jerry McQueen and Susannah Minerva Ward and husband, Jacob McQueen: |
Mary jane Ward 1856-1928.
Relationship with Jerry McQueen 1848-1915.
1) Alice Ward 9 April 1883 - 10 Jan 1972 Moore County. (All born in Montgomery County.)
Married Thomas Person 1882-1964, 11 children: David, Mary Ruth, Sarah Agnes, Roy, Mary Adeline, Sylvan Caroline, Solomon, Cora, Saul, Maggie, Infant son.
2)Lillie Ward 5 Junec 1887 - 31 Jan 1974 in Moore County.
Married Thomas Lee Coddell, 7 children:
Alice, Jerry Clarence, Lillie Inez, William Thomas, Hullen, Guye Tillman, Jerome Ward Coddell.
3) Rebecca Ward McQueen 19 may 1891 - 6 May 1943 Dauphin County, PA.
Married 1st: William Lewis, 2 Children: 1904 - James Edgar Lewis, 1905 Ira James Lewis.
Married 2nd: HJohn Ingram: 2 children: 1907 Clayton Ingram, 1909 Thomas Ingram.
Married 3rd: Henry C. Ingram: 5 children:
1915 Nellie, 1917 John Frederick, 1925 Henry J., 1927 Helen Dorothy Ingram.
4) Ollie L. Ward 5 Dec 1893 - 22 April 1972, Moore County.
Unmarried, no children.
5) James Eldridge Ward 2 Jul 1894 - ?
Married Isabella Robinson- One child; Sebastion.
Susanna Minerva Ward 10 April 1859 - 10jan 1924, Bisoce, Montgomery County, NC.
Married Jacob F. "Jake" McQueen. 7 children:
1) Della McQueen 1879- 1951
Married Daniel M. Evans, 4 chilrdren: 1904 Fleta, 1907 Floyd, 1910 Teed Jacob, 1917 Susan Evans Spencer.
2) Chelsea Luanna "Duck McQueen 11 July 1888 - 14 Aug 1973 Moore County, NC.
Married Rufus D Simmons 11 children: 1903 Lola, 1908 Georgia, 1908 Beulah Mae,1910 Alice, 1912 Lucy Ruth, 1915 David, 1917 Olla, 1919 Annie,1921 Doyle, 1925 Lloyd, 1925 Monnie Mae.
3) Lola McQueen 1891- 9 Feb 1964.
Married Robert Simmons 2 children: 1910 Creel McQueen, 1906 Bernice "Bernie" McQueen 1906 -1991 (from a previous relationship with a Mr. Brown).
4) Vina E. 'Vennie' McQueen 1894 - ?
Married Fred Simmons
Notes on the Simmons Brothers: Rufus, Robert and Fred were sons of Joseph "Joe" Simmons and wife, Francis Byrd Simmons. They grew up in Wolfpit in Richmond County, NC. and moved later to Montgomery County, NC, where they met the McQueen sisters. Fred Simmons ended up in Baltimore with the military. There's no sign of Fred after 1910 and no sign of Vina after 1920.
5) Jacob "Bud" McQueen, Jr. 19 June 1894 - 19 March 1932.
Married Maggie Lenore Dunn 5 children: 1922 Jacob III, 1923 George, 1924 Thomas, 1926 Della Rachel, 1927 John Calvbert,.
6) Barney James McQueen 19 Aug 1898 - 5 June 1966 Candor, NC.
Married Lilly Harris, 4 children: 1914 Jessie, 1922 Ella Mae, 1926 Edward Earl Harris McQueen, 1929 James Roland McQueen.
7) Lillian Ethel McQueen 13 Sept 1899 - 10 Oct 1977 Starke County, Florida.
Married Pate W. Goins - Divorced.
Married Barnie D. McRae: 1 son: Barnie Arthur McQueen (1913 -1941).
The love stories between the Ward sisters and the McQueen brothers was no less than epic. And it was no less than love. Susan Ward married Jacob McQueen and together had 7 children over the course of 20 years, despite the legitimacy of their marriage being questioned and despite facing social ostracization by their neighbors and communities.
Mary Jane Ward did not marry Jerry McQueen, despite sharing a farm and having 5 chilren over the course of 11 years. She acted as his mistress through two marriages of Jerry to other women of his own ilk and skintone.
Both women gave up the class status and socially advantageous benefits of their European heritage and wore the lables of "colored" in their documentation and "mulatto' in the census - for love. The men risked no less than death by maintaining relationships with women outside of their ethnic group during a very intolerant time.
I chose to blog on the story of the Ward sisters because theirs was a bridge that had not been crossed. Ward family reseachers seemed to have listed Henry, his marriage, and his two daughters, but left them hanging like a dangling participal, as if they had disolved into the mist.
The actual descendants of Jane and Susan Ward had only records of them from 1900 on, as if they had dropped from the sky as fully grown adults, never making the connection between the white Ward sisters, daughters of Henry Ward and Lizzie Brewer Ward, and their own Great Grandmothers.
As the Hemaris, or Hummingbird Moth, with it's rapid wingbeat of up to 70 beats per seocond and its long tongue-like proboscis that it uses to reach nectaor deep inside a flower, poses as something, a hummingbird, that it is not, the Ward sisters posed as women of color to match their children and the men they loved.
Records attached to Henry Wards own probate papers show that the Ward sisters were his daughters and the same women that married the McQueen brothers.