Gold and Relicts

 Relict: (noun)  1. a thing which has survived from an earlier period or in a primitive form.

2. a widow.

When I think of the word relict or it's kin, relic, I think of something old and useless, a leftover piece of a discarded object. In 19th century obituaries, it refers to family, and specifically, widows, who were left after a husbands death, even unto their own. 

Dorothy " Dolly" Keith Turner 1840-1922

For instance, 'Mrs. Anne C. Stonecipher, nee Phillips, relict of Captain G. A. Stonecipher, passed away in Birmingham on Thursday ult, in her 75th year. She leaves behind 3 loving daughters, all of the faith, and one son, Mr. Thomas A. Stonecipher of Columibia."

This story is full of relicts, both human and otherwise, and also follows a thread of gold, as the North Carolina Gold Rush, and the 'relics' thereof, have a great deal to do with it.

The northern border of Stanly County, North Carolina border both Rowan and Cabarrus Counties. The families involved in this post primarily lived in a circle of that small northern border of Stanly, that north- easternmost point of Cabarrus and that southeastern foot of Rowan. This was an area steeped in gold and the people who pursued it. 

The different sides and boundaries of Stanly County was oddly and actually settled by a variety of very different people. That northern and western portion was primarily populated at the earliest, and even still, by people of German origins who had spread out from the early German settlements of Cabarrus and Rowan, primarily the Stone Church settlements of southern Rowan and the Dutch Creek Settlement of Cabarrus, near present day Mount Pleasant.

Name:	James Kerce[James Keece][James Keith]
Gender:	Male
Age:	60
Birth Year:	abt 1790
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	Harris, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Occupation:	Farmer
Industry:	Agriculture
Real Estate:	58
Line Number:	15
Dwelling Number:	301
Family Number:	302
Household Members Age James Kerce 60 Pena Kerce 45 Chusie Kerce 20 Edny Kerce 18 John Kerce 17 Rhoda Kerce 14 Wesley Kerce 13 Dorothy Kerce 10 Nancy Kerce 5

This story begins with a man named James Keith, who was living in Harris Township in Stanly County in 1850.

The Keiths were not a populous family in this area, but there were a few. There's also a Sion (also seen as Sihon) Keith in Harris Township in 1850, born around 1781. He is first found in Anson County in 1810, and in Rowan by 1820, where he married and served in the War of 1812. Afterwards, he was back and forth between Montgomery (Stanly County side) and Rowan, until showing up in Harris Township in 1850, so I am pretty confident Sion and James were related. They were probably brothers, as they both married Cannup (or Kennup,  Knupp) sisters in Rowan County around the same time.

James shows up in the 1830 census of Montgomery County, on the west side of the Pee Dee River, or the Stanly County side. He does not show up in the 1840 census, where he could have just been missed. Sion Keith does show up in the 1840 census, however, two of them, the older Sion in his 50's, in Rowan County, and a younger Sion Keith in Montgomery County, East side of the River, who we find out in the next census was born about 1815. It is assumed that Sion the Younger was the son of Sion the older, and that was probably true, although he could have been the son of James.

Sion Keith, who was about 9 or 10 years older than James, has military records, as he served in the War of 1812. Those records tell us a little bit about Sion aka Sihon, and therefore, probably the same information would apply to James as they seem to be related in some way, as I said, most likely brothers. He was a Private with a very lengthy and active military career. He had enlisted in Salisbury for the time of 5 years under a Lt. Carson. Sion was 5 foot, 7 inches tall, with dark skin, dark hair and dark eyes, and had been born in Franklin County, NC. So, that was probably where James Keith was born also.

James Keith didn't leave a great many records, but I found a few. In the 1842 Tax Record of Stanly County, which was founded in 1841 by separating Montgomery County in two, using the Yadkin / PeeDee River, shows James as owning 58 acres on Ryals Creek, for which he was taxed $25.

That places him exactly where we had already detected, in the far northeast corner of Stanly County, where it meets, Montgomery, Rowan and Davidson along the river. On the above image from The Land Trust, Ryals Creek is that slim blue stream that juts out just over the left of Stanly, with the Yadkin River on the right. Just a note, on the tax list, it shows a number of Kirks also owning land on Ryals Creek, along with Harris Kimball heirs, and John F. and Jacob Miller, who've I've seen in documents and as neighbors of the Keiths, along with Moses Morgan, from the Rowan County Morgans. So although James Keith is not in the 1840 census, he was here.

I also find him in 1834, shopping with  Sion Keith, Jr. at Daniel Freeman's store in Lawrencevill, which was on the east side of the river, and the county seat Sion bought a Gun Lock and 6 yards of calico, while James bought a weeding how and a pair of scissors. The store provided what the citizens couldn't grow, or typically make, on their own.

Name:	James Keeth[James Kuth]
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):	Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14:	1
Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19:	1 Sion Jr.?
Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49:	1 James ?
Free White Persons - Under 20:	2
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:	1
Total Free White Persons:	3
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored):	3

Although James had married in 1812, at age 22, to Margaret Cannup of Rowan County, the 1830 census shows no female in the home. He is in his 40's, which would be accurate, with two young boys, one between 10 and 14, the other between 15 and 19. Sion Keith, the younger, would have been about 15, which leads me to believe he could have been the son of James and Margaret, as brothers sometimes named sons for each other. I've seen this many times. 

The old Matton's Grove Church building from Find-a-Grave

Sometime after this, James would marry Penelope Sell, and in 1850, they are living right next door to her brother, Solomon. The Sell, Schell, Sells were of German extract and had settled in the Matton Grove area of Stanly County, in that area where Rowan, Cabarrus and Stanly merge. As it appears Margaret died before1830, Penelope would have been the mother of all the children who came after. 

The Irish "Keith" name was actually very rare in this area of German- origined folk, but there was a smaller, but existing presence in Rowan County. One township was even called Scotch-Irish. By the 1820's and 1830's, Salisbury had become very metropolitan, pulling in settlers and investors from everywhere. Then with the North Carolina Gold Rush, the diversity deepened even more. Gold Mines began popping up all over Stanly, Cabarrus, Rowan and the surrounding counties.

Many people who already lived in the area would jump on the wagon, and many of them would lose their lives in doing so. Mining was a dangerous business. One of those was James Keith. Penelope Sells Keith was now a 'relict;'

Name:	Penelope Keith
Age:	50
Birth Year:	abt 1810
Gender:	Female
Home in 1860:	Stanly, North Carolina
Post Office:	Albemarle
Dwelling Number:	1129
Family Number:	1145
Occupation:	Farmer
Personal Estate Value:	85
Cannot Read, Write:	Y
Household Members Age Penelope Keith 50 Edney Keith 25 Rhody Keith 22 Dolly Keith 21 Nancy Keith 18 Letitia Keith 8 Susan Keith 2 Omy Scarlet 50

Penelope would find herself a widow by 1860. Above is the family in the  1860 census, still in Stanly County. Several of the older children had started their own families. 

 

Name:	Crepy Ann Keith (Crissy Ann Keith)
Gender:	Female
Marriage Date:	11 Jul 1857
Marriage Place:	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	David Cassen
Spouse Gender:	Male
Event Type:	Marriage

Although the transcribers really made a mess with this one, in the Stanly County marriage books, it is very clear. In July of 1857, Chrissy Ann Keith married David Caspar. Now, there were many a David Caspar in Rowan and Cabarrus Counties during this time and many marriage licenses assigned to them. For this reason, family trees listed have made an eternal mess of them. Some David Caspars even named children the same name, so it's a tangled mess. Chrissy's David has wives and children attached to him, that should really belonged to other Davids. Chrissy's marriage was to a much older David Caspar, than herself. He was a widower and his first wife's name was Elizabeth. 

Name:	Christena Casper
Age:	23
Birth Year:	abt 1837
Gender:	Female
Birth Place:	North Carolina
Home in 1860:	Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina
Post Office:	Gold Hill
Dwelling Number:	380
Family Number:	367
Household Members Age David Casper 53 Christena Casper 23 Sophia Casper 20 Julia Ann Casper 17 John Casper 16 Margaret Casper 13 Henry Casper Mary L Casper 11/12

Here they are in Gold Hill, where he was from, in 1860. They would move to Illinois, and have more children. There were already a number of other Caspars there, with North Carolina origins, who had been there awhile, along with others with Germanic names reflective of Rowan County, NC. Without a deeper research of the Caspar family, I can't say whether or not they were related, but the chances are pretty good that they were. 

David was so much older than Chrissy, that alot of people have her listed as his daughter, not his wife. Because of this confusion, I believe I need to devote a post just to Chrissy and David and their family. Henry was 3 and Mary L., an infant, so they were Chrissy's children. Margaret on up were David's. 

Restored Gold town of Gold Hill in Rowan County

Another child who had started their own family was John. He had married Martha Mahulda Ridenhour, the 7th of the 14 children of Moses and Betsy Pence Ridenhour, whose nickname was "Massie". I can't find a marriage document for 'Jack' and 'Massie', but they were married, and their first child, Eva Catherine Keith, was born in 1856, so probably between 1853 and 1855. They settled in Stanly County and 1860 found them living near her parents with 3 children, Eva Catherine, James and William.

It may be of interest to insert here, that Zero deeds for the Keith family, until about the turn of the century and later, into modern times, in either Anson, where John, the Revolutionary Solidier, and Sion, first appear, or in Montgomery, of which Stanly belonged, save one, in Stanly. This deed is located in Book 2 Page 32 of the Stanly County Deeds, and dated 1844. It not to James Keith, but to his two sons, John and Wesley.

Gabriel Arey, who was their neighbor in 1850, sold to John and Wesley Keith, 58 acres for 58 dollars in Misenheimer. The land met Jacob Isenhours corner and ran along "The Great Road". Isam Tolbert and John F. Miller were witnesses. The Great Road referred to, no doubt, the Salisbury to Fayetteville Trade route. The striking thing about this deed was that the boys were only 11 and 7 at the time. I can not tell that Gabriel Arey was any relation to them either, and this was while their father was still alive.

An early map of the Great Wagon Road from Trading Ford in Stanly County

Also missing from the 1860 census, as far as children of the Keiths go, is Wesley, who would have been in his 20's. He may have passed away, or he may have migrated away. Old Sion still had that grant property in Missouri, and there were Keiths there, possibly older children of Sion and Wesley may have joined his family there. There is a Wesley in their midst, but no evidence to cement his identity.

Penelope Keith	50
Edney Keith	25
Rhody Keith	22
Dolly Keith	21
Nancy Keith	18
Letitia Keith	8
Susan Keith	2
Omy Scarlet	50

There are some additions to the household. First, two little girls, Letitia and Susan, Susan being named as "Cammie" in the next one. Due to Penelope's age and the decade between Nancy and Letitia, I would go with the possibility that they may have been grandchildren and not children. Their surnames may have not even been Keith. James may have had an older child who was married in 1850, and died before 1860, but I don't know who. Or perhaps they were children actually born in Penelopes 40's. The mystery of who these two girls were remains. 

The other addition is an Omy Scarlet, 50. The good thing about older people joining the household is that, while they may not show up afterwards, you know they were alive, somewhere, before.

Name:	Naomy Scarlet
Gender:	Female
Age:	30
Birth Year:	abt 1820
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	Montgomery, North Carolina, USA
Line Number:	23
Dwelling Number:	863
Family Number:	865
Household Members Age Stephen Scarlet 72 Naomy Scarlet 30 Amanda M D Scarlet 9 Emily Jane Scarlet 4 Mary A Scarlet 3

Knowing 'Omie or Omy' was short for Naomi, I found her. She was the wife of a Stephen Scarlett, who was originally from Randolph County and found in the Quaker records. They had 3 daughters, Emilly Jane, who married Frederick Morris, and Amanda and Mary Ann, who worked in Cotton mills and died unmarried. According to descendants, Omy was born in Seagrove, in Randolph County and she is buried in an abandoned cemetery in Jackson Hill, south Davidson County called Cox Cemetery, off of Lick Creek.

Omie's stone gives her year of birth as 1821 and her date of death as Octoer 13, 1881. She was not a widow when staying with Penelope and family, Her husband Stephen, albeit elderly, had returned to Randolph County.

Name:	Stephen Scarlet
Age:	82
Birth Year:	abt 1778
Gender:	Male
Birth Place:	North Carolina
Home in 1860:	Western Division, Randolph, North Carolina
Post Office:	Asheboro
Dwelling Number:	930
Family Number:	915
Household Members Age Stephen Scarlet 82 Mary Latham 78

For those who think this was too much county hopping for one family, I must share a map of the area again. For lack of a better opetion, I'll use this map of the Uwharrie area from Three River Land Trust.

Referring to the previous map of the Old Great Road, as it traveled beside the Yadkin River down into Stanly County from Rowan, you can see that the Keith family lived near where all of these counties meet. The straight line that provides the southern border of Iredell, Rowan, Davidson and Randolph and the northern border of Cabarrus, Stanly, Montgomery, Moore, etc, was called the Granville Grant line, (google Lord Granville). The Yadkin River provides the dividing line between Rowan and Davie & Davidson, between Stanly and Montgomery and between Anson and Richmond, by which time it has merged with the Uwharrie and Rocky Rivers and become the Pee Dee River. Just a small section of Stanly borders Rowan and a small section of Davidson borders Montgomery and then Randolph borders the rest of Montgomery's northern border. Draw with me an imaginary circle around the four corners on the river where Stanly, Rowan, Davidson and Montgomery meet and look how close the southwest corner of Randolph is to this area as well. So the switching from Stanly to Rowan to Montgomery to Davidson to Randolph of these folks, their families and connections was not one of a great distance or beyond reason. They actually existed in a very small area. Jackson Hill, where Omie was buried covered an area all the way to the river and part of this is now underwater from the building of High Rock and Tuckertown dams. 

How Naomi Scarlett was connected to Penelope Sell, I do not know, nor do I know her maiden name. She may have been related to the Sells, or maybe they were freinds, and had grown up together. She was not a widow during the 1860 census, but would become one soon after. There's too many counties involved and my curiousity is not great enough to dig for the reason for their separation, which may be found in old court records should anyone be that curious. Oldest daughter, Amanda D. Scarlett died in 1893 in Frankllinville in Randolph County. Second daughter, Emily Jane Scarlett Morris, the only source of descendants of Omie,  died in 1819 and is buried at Concord area in Randolph County and youingest daughter, Mary Ann, lived to 1930 also in Randolph at 'Back Creek'. Know these were Uwharrie Mountain folk.

Dorothy Keith, aka 'Dolly', was the next to marry.

Name:	Levi Turner
Gender:	Male
Marriage Date:	11 Oct 1864
Marriage Place:	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Dolly Keth
Spouse Gender:	Female
Event Type:	Marriage

On October 11, 1864, in Stanly County by the Justice of the Peace, D. Ritchie, Dolly married Levi Turner. The very next year, a daughter, Laura was born. A second daughter, Mary, was born in 1859. The child did not survive, so I don't know if Mary was Levi's child or not.  The marriage didn't last long, but Levi didn't die. Quite the opposite, he went on to marry twice again and father a child by each marriage. Young men were as fickle in the 1800's as they can be in the 2000's.

Name:	Dolly Turner
Age in 1870:	26
Birth Date:	abt 1844
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	8
Home in 1870:	Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Post Office:	Salisbury
Occupation:	Farm Laborer
Cannot Read:	Yes
Cannot Write:	Yes
Inferred Children:	Laura TurnerMary Turner
Household Members Age Dolly Turner 26 Laura Turner 4 Mary Turner

We can't know what went wrong, unless we find divorce papers, which I haven't, but I haven't made it a brisk effort to either, so they may exist in some county, just not in Stanly, where they were wed. 1870 finds Dolly living in Salisbury, as Levi was from Rowan County, and working as a farm labourer. It should be noted that several Millers were close by.

Gladstone Academy before restoration, Stanly County History Center

Also, during this time came war. John Keith, the only surviving (no sign of Wesley) son, served, as nearly all men did at that time, beit from choice or force, in the Confederate Army of North Carolina. His service was not without peril, as he later filed for disability due to disease.  He gave his company and regiment as H 14, and his Post Office as Gladstone, which is in what we now call Misenheimer, as Gladstone was the origins of Pfieffer University.

While searching for any trace of this family, I came across a number of other interesting documents. One was an accounting of monies recieved of and spent by the Sheriff and Wardons.

May the 9th, 1854, 'Recieved of Jennings Crowell Esqr five dollars State vs Crecia Keith for refusing to swear her ilegetamate (sp) child.'

So, going online to check the Stanly County Bastardy Bonds at FamilySearch.org, I came across not one, but two Bastardy Bonds for 'Chrisena' and ' Crisaner' Keith. In both cases, Crissy refused to name the father of the children. In the above case, Christina and her father, James D. Keith were 'held and firmly bound to the State in the sum of five hundred dollars'. That's alot of money for 1854. This document tells us a number of things. First, it gives James a middle initial of 'D'. Second, it tells us that he was alive in January of 1854. What it does not tell us is who the father of  Christina's child was. It could have been David Caspar, who would marry her very shortly after during this same decade. It remains a mystery.

The second bond only mentioned 'Chrisaner' Keith, and not her father, so perhaps he had passed by then. However, now we know who the mother of the magically appearing girls, Letitia and Susan Camma (Camilla) was.

1870

Name:	Penny Keith
Age in 1870:	61
Birth Date:	abt 1809
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	22
Home in 1870:	Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Post Office:	Salisbury
Occupation:	Keeping House
Inferred Children:	Edney KeithNancy KeithLutitia KeithCamma KeithRoma Keith
Household Members Age Penny Keith 61 Edney Keith 25 Nancy Keith 21 Lutitia Keith 14 Camma Keith 12 Roma Keith 4

Penelope Keith has also relocated to the Rowan County side of the line, though I can't help but think that since maybe they lived so close to the line, that the census taker had wandered over, not relaizing he was across the line into Stanly.

Edna, or Edney, is still in the home at 25, as is Nancy. Leticia, or Lutitia, is 10 years older, as she should be, adding or subtracting a few years, as should be and where a 12 year old Susan should be is a 12 year old Camma, so we can only assume she is the same child. Their ages more or less correspond with the bastardy bonds of Christina Keith. The family has been joined by a 4 year old, Roma, and she is about to play an important role. 

Gold Hill Main Street in 1900, Your State Magazine

In 1880, Dolly is living in Litaker Township in Rowan County. This township borders Stanly and is near the town of Gold Hill.

Name:	Dollie Keith
Age:	50
Birth Date:	Abt 1830
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Litaker, Rowan, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	377
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital Status:	Single
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	Keeping House
Cannot Read:	Yes
Cannot Write:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship Dollie Keith 50 Self (Head) Nancy Keith 35 Sister Laura Keith 15 Daughter John Keith 3 Son

Here, it shows her sister Nancy is residing in ther home. Her daugther Laura, who was a Turner, is shown as "Keith", and now it is showing she has a 3 year old son named John. It strikes me as unusual that Dollie is going by Keith, and John too, as in the interim between 1870 and 1880, she had married John Wilson Miiller, son of that Jacob Miller who also was taxed in 1842 on Ryals Creek in Stanly County. Their son, John Allen Miller, was born February 20, 1876.

John Wilson Miller, son of Jacob and wife Anna Shaver Miller, had married a Nancy Shaver, possibly a cousin, in 1867, and had two sons, Julian Mack Miller in 1868 and William Love Miller in 1874.

Name:	John W. Miller
Age:	34
Birth Date:	Abt 1846
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Morgan, Rowan, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	72
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Nancy Jane Miller
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Name:	Anna Miller
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	Farmer
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship John W. Miller 34 Self (Head) Nancy Jane Miller 31 Wife Julian M. Miller 11 Son Wm.L. Miller 5 Son Anna Miller 72 Mother

And then here we find John Wilson Miller, a farmer and surveyor, living with his mother, his wife Nancy Jane and their two sons in 1880 in Morgan Township.

So evidentally, Dollie did not marry John Wilson Miller, they simply had an affair. I easily found a marriage certificate for Wilson and Nancy Jane Shaver, but none for he and Dollie. Nancy didn't die, and the couple are together in 1880.

Name:	John W Miller
Gender:	Male
Marriage Date:	19 Sep 1867
Marriage Place:	Rowan, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Nancy Jane Shaver
Spouse Gender:	Female
Event Type:	Marriage

Probably, if one was desirous enough, either a case of adultery for the two can be found in the Court logs of Rowan County, and possibly a bastardy bond. I find no need as John Allan Miller went by his fathers name the rest of his life, clearly knew who his father was , claimed him on legal documents, although claiming his parents were married, although they obviously were not. Dollie married Levi Turner, but not Wilson Miller.

Wilson and his wife are buried at  Luthers Lutheran Church, which is listed with a Richfield address, but is just across the county line into Rowan County. It was originally called the "Piney Woods" cemetery.

Nancy Keith, the youngest daughter of James and Penny, would marry James T. Huneycutt, son of Ambrose Huneycutt and wife Lucinda Mae Yow, known as Mae, later that same year, in July of 1880, in Cabarrus County, which if you recall, was very closeby.

Name:	Nancy Keith
Gender:	Female
Race:	White
Age:	26
Birth Year:	abt 1854
Marriage Date:	8 Jul 1880
Marriage Place:	Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Jas Honeycutt
Spouse Gender:	Male
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	21
Spouse Father:	A Honeycutt
Spouse Mother:	L Honeycutt
Event Type:	Marriage

She claimed to be 26, yet she was actually 31. She shows up as a baby in the 1850 census. this was probably because her husband was only 21. Coincidentally, just a few years later, in 1884, his brother, Andrew Willson Huneycutt, marries Dolly's daughter, Laura Turner. 

Name:	A Wilson Honeycutt
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Age:	21
Birth Year:	abt 1863
Marriage Date:	19 Aug 1884
Marriage Place:	Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA
Father:	Anselma Ahumada[Ambrose Honeycutt]
Mother:	Laurinda Noneyewrt
Spouse:	Laura Turner
Spouse Gender:	Female
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	21
Spouse Father:	Turner
Spouse Mother:	Dally Turner
Event Type:	Marriage

Laura's marriage license reveals the opposite situation, she claims to be 21, when she is actually 19. But back to the 1880 census. A different view of this record reveals something interesting. Mae Turner, a widow, and her four children are listed just above the Keith family, so the Huneycutt brothers were neighbors of the Dollie Keith household.

.

Except from the 1880 census of Litaker Township, Rowan County, NC showing Mae Huneycutt living above Dollie Keith. Name: John Keath Age: 48 Birth Date: Abt 1832 Birthplace: North Carolina Home in 1880: Center, Stanly, North Carolina, USA Dwelling Number: 4 Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Self (Head) Marital Status: Married Spouse's Name: Martha Keath Father's Birthplace: North Carolina Mother's Birthplace: North Carolina Occupation: Farmer Neighbors: View others on page Household Members Age Relationship John Keath 48 Self (Head) Martha Keath 49 Wife Elizebeth Keath 14 Daughter Lucy E. Keath 8 Daughter Eleanor A. Keath 6 Daughter

So,  Crissy Keith is now a Caspar and living in Illinois. John has moved from Gladstone in the Northern part of Stanly County to Center Township, or near Norwood in the southern part of Stanly County, Nancy was living in Litaker Township, Rowan County and married a neighbor boy, Rhoda hasn't been seen since the 1870 census with their mother, Penny and Wesley only in the 1850, and in the deed with his brother, John. But what about the next to the oldest daughter, Edna, who consistently lived with her family?

I didn't just find Bastardy Bonds for Chrissy Keith, I also found one for Edna or Edney. Edney was cahrged with Bastardy in 1870 and named a man named Lafayette Settles as the father.

Lafayette David Settles

Lafayette David Settles was born in 1839 in Hardeman County, Tennesee. It appears the Civil War is what brought him to North Carolina, probably to Cabarrus County, because when he couldn't be found, a warrant was issued for him in Cabarrus County. He was known to authorities, but could not be found. He was on the run. He had signed up with the Missisippi Infantry, Co. D 32nd Regiment. 

There was another Lafayette Settle who died in 1856, so long dead in 1870, and a couple others, born in 1888 and 1910, who were not yet born, so this was the only Lafayette Settles it could have been. He could have been  attempting to locate family, as his father was from North Carolina. He married a Margaret Stafford in Alconr County, MS and had four children with her, dying in 1912 in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Name:	Edney Keath
Gender:	Female
Race:	White
Age:	49
Birth Year:	abt 1829
Marriage Date:	26 Dec 1878
Marriage Place:	Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Abraham Semran
Spouse Gender:	Male
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	53
Spouse Father:	Jacob Semran
Spouse Mother:	Susan Semran
Event Type:	Marriage

On her part, back in North Carolina, Edney had married a man named Abraham Seaman. Abraham was from Mount Pleasant in Cabarrus County, and from what I can surmise, just across the Cabarrus/ Stanly County line not far from Mattons' Grove. They didn't live far apart. Check the below map from 1911 where it shows the Cabarrus borders with Stanly and Rowan. Look at the corner on the right where the three come together, you'll notice 'Goldhill' in Rowan and Millertown, written in Stanly, but the circle that marks its spot is in Rowan. That's where the Keiths had lived when shown in Rowan. Below Millertown is Misenheimer 'or Misenheimer Springs', going off the page. Below that is the town of Richfield. Pictured is a road going through Gold Hill, Misenhiemer, Richfield and to New London. That's what we now refer to as Highway 52.

The union of Abraham and Edna doesn't appear to have been a happy marriage. In 1880, we find Abraham living in Misenheimer, Cabarrus County, meaning he was now just across that line from Misenheimer into Cabarrus.

Name:	Abraham Seamon
Age:	54
Birth Date:	Abt 1826
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Misenheimers, Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	46
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital Status:	Married
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	Farmer
Maimed, Crippled, or Bedridden:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship Abraham Seamon 54 Self (Head)

On the other hand, Edna Seaman and her daughter, Romey J. Keith, 15, are living in Brewers, in Cabarrus. Both are said to be sick with measles, which is why Abraham might have been living somewhere different.

Name:	Edney Seamon
Age:	50
Birth Date:	Abt 1830
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Brewers, Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	13
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital Status:	Single
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	Keeping House
Sick:	Measles
Cannot Read:	Yes
Cannot Write:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship Edney Seamon 50 Self (Head) Romey J. Keith 15 Daughter

And now we jump 20 years. Lo and behold, Edney is still alive. She is living with Romey, her daughter (seen as Roma in the 1870 census when they were living with Penelope. Edna is a widow and so is Romey, so both are relicts. In the two decades between 1880 and 1900, Romey has married and had 4 children, but the question is,  to whom?

Name:	Ednay Keish[Ednay Keith]
Age:	90
Birth Date:	Sep 1829
Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Home in 1900:	Litaker, Rowan, North Carolina
Sheet Number:	9
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:	156
Family Number:	156
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Mother
Marital Status:	Widowed
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina, USA
Mother: number of living children:	1
Mother: How many children:	1
Can Read:	Yes
Can Write:	No
Can Speak English:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members Age Relationship Romey Wini??Ll 30 Head MI*E Wini??Ll 14 Daughter George Wini??Ll 12 Son Norah Wini??Ll 8 Daughter Lou A Wini??Ll 6 Daughter Ednay Keish 90 Mother

The family is living in Litaker in Rowan County and just above them is a 20 year old farmer named John Miller and his mother, Dollie Turner. Dollie would remain living with her son, John Allen Miller, until her death in 1922 at the age of 82, making her the last living Keith child. John would die in 1905, after marrying Eliza Earnhardt in 1892, after his first wife, Martha, passed away.

 Edna was not 90, either, she was about 71. Odd how people would exagerate their age when they were teens or elderly, but shave them away when they were in between.

But now, to determine who Romey Keith had married. The name began with W, certainly enough, so I began by looking at the surnames of neighbors tha began with ' W' in the 1900 census. Then there were also the first names and birth years of her children. I could tell there was Minnie born in 1886, George in 1888, Norah in 1892 and Lou A. in 1894. With a slight bit of effort, I found them.

Name:	George David Wensil
Gender:	Male
Birth Date:	May 1855
Birth Place:	China Grove, Rowan County, North Carolina, United States of America
Death Date:	1892
Death Place:	Shupings Mill, Rowan County, North Carolina, United States of America
Cemetery:	Rock Grove Methodist Church Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place:	Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina, United States of America
Has Bio?:	Y
Father:	Henry Adam Wensil
Mother:	Amelia Wensil
Spouse:	Roma Keith
Children:	Luana Wensil

Their father was a man named George David "Dave" Wensil who was born near China Grove in 1855. He was the son of a Henry Adam Wensil and wife,  Amelia Yost, Rowan County Germans. In 1870, they were living in Litaker, near the Keiths. Dave died in 1892, leaving Roma a widow, and is buried at Rock Grove Methodist Church, east of Rockwell. Their 4 children were Edna Minnie Wensil Bostian, who died at age 36 in 1923, George David Wensil, Jr., who died in 1981 at the age of 92,  Nora Wensil Britt, who died in 1918, at the age of 27 from pregnancy complications, and Leanna Wensil, who died in 1911 of appendcitis a age 17. 

Roma died in 1900, shortly after the census, she is buried at Rock Grove with Dave and Luanna. It is unknown when Edna died or where she is buried, but she didn't make it to 1910.  It was when I sought out a marriage license for David and Roma that I was in for a surprise.

Name:	Romie Steadifer
Gender:	Female
Race:	White
Age:	20
Birth Year:	abt 1864
Marriage Date:	12 Feb 1884
Marriage Place:	Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA
Mother:	Edny Steadifer
Spouse:	David Wentzell
Spouse Gender:	Male
Spouse Race:	White
Spouse Age:	24
Spouse Father:	N A Wentzell
Spouse Mother:	Millie Wentzell

Dave and Romie had gotten married alright, on February 12, 1884, in Cabarrus County, by a relative of mine, AMD Starnes, just not to a RomRomie Keith, but a Romie 'Steadifer', daughter of Edny Steadifer.

Something about that last name struck a chord, and it wans't because it was a familiar local name, it was not. It was because I had just came across it before. 

There were not a lot of Stedifors, or Stidefor, or any other of the multiple spellings of this name around this area in the 1800's.  It began with a woman named Elizabeth Luckey, though Luckey was not her maiden name.

Name:	Elizabeth Luckey
Age:	46
Birth Year:	abt 1804
Arrival Year:	1850
Arrival Place:	North Carolina
Primary Immigrant:	Luckey, Elizabeth
Source Publication Code:	4629.5
Annotation:	Date of naturalization in Rowan County or date and place where first appeared on census.

She arrived in Rowan County before1850 from England, with her husband, Bernard, with a group of Cornish miners. in search of gold. Elizabeth was a widow, who had been married to a Stidifor, by whom she had had two sons, John B. and Samuel. She had then married a  Bernard Luckey, by whom she had 3 children, Elizabeth, William and Lucy. He died before 1850, after being  settled in Gold Hill, N. C., via a stay in Massachusetts.

Name:	John B Stidafor
Gender:	Male
Age:	24
Birth Year:	abt 1826
Birthplace:	England
Home in 1850:	Gold Hill, Rowan, North Carolina, USA
Occupation:	Miner
Industry:	Mining, Not Specified
Line Number:	10
Dwelling Number:	167
Family Number:	171
Household Members Age Elisabeth Luckey 46 John B Stidafor 24 Samuel M Stidafor 21 William R Luckey 5 Lucy H Luckey 2 James Peters 32 Nannie Peter 3

She is found there taking in boarders with her sons John and Samuel, in tieir 20's working as miners and her younger two children were small.. Missing daughter Elizabeth had married and remained in Massachusetts.  John and Samuel had been born in England, like their mother. William R. Luckey was born in Massachusets and Lucy was born in North Carolina.

Name:	Elizabeth Lukey
Gender:	Female
Spouse:	Christopher Bringle
Spouse Gender:	Male
Bond date:	22 Apr 1858
Bond #:	000123173
Marriage Date:	24 Apr 1858
Level Info:	North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868
ImageNum:	004957
County:	Rowan
Record #:	01 039
Witness:	J S Myers, Deputy Clerk
Performed By:	E Mauney, Justice of the Peace

In 1856, Elizabeth was married again, to a local barkeep named Christian Bringle, of German persuasion. In 1860, they are running an Inn in Gold Hill and boarding several miners from Germany. Lucy is now a teenager and going to scholl, but there are no signs of Elizabeth's sons. That doesn't mean they were not around. Samuel pops back up in 1870, having married a local girl, Frances Bream Hearne in 1858 in Stanly County.

Name:	Samuel Stidphor
Gender:	Male
Marriage Date:	27 Jan 1858
Marriage Place:	Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Francis Heame
Spouse Gender:	Female
Event Type:	Marriage

Samuel had a deep connection to the Mauney brothers, Ephraim and Valentine. Ephraim had settled in Gold Hill and ran a store there. Ephraim had performed the marriage of his mother and Christian Brinngle. Valentine had settled near Bilesville, or New London, in Stanly County and had busineess interests far and wide. He had land holdings in Rowan, Cabarrus, Stanly,. Anson, Mecklenburg and Randolph Counties.  I've seen his name as far as Cumberland and in national newspapers. I'm very familiar with the Mauney brothers because they were both Grandson- in- laws of Job Davis, for whom this blog is named. Both married daughters of Jobs son, James M. Davis. Valentine married Wincy Elizabeth and Ephraim married Charlotte.

Just an aside of note, I've found it quite interesting that the double-cousin descendants of Valentine in Stanly County pronounce the name "Moo-ney", while the Rowan County descendants of Ephraim prounounce the name "Maw-ney". The Mauneys also had deep connections to two Stanly County families of wealth and influence wtih an interest in gold ,the Hearnes and the Biles. That probably how Samuel met Frances and also how the following stiuation occured. 

Name: Samuel Stediford Age in 1870: 42 Birth Date: abt 1828 Birthplace: England Dwelling Number: 28 Home in 1870: Gold Hill, Rowan, North Carolina Race: White Gender: Male Post Office: Gold Hill Occupation: Butcher Male Citizen Over 21: Yes Inferred Children: Elizabeth StedifordJohn Stediford Household Members Age Samuel Stediford 42 Elizabeth Stediford 11 John Stediford 9 Elizabeth Bringle 72

Samuela Stidefor and Frances Hearne had two children before she died shortly after, Elizabeth and John. In the 1870 cenus, they are living in Gold Hill whrere Samuel, now a widower, and his mother, again a widow, are runnig a butcher shop. Both are now Relicts.

North Carolina Herald Salisbury, North Carolina 23 Dec 1886, Thu  •  Page 3

Elizabeth Stedifor grows up and marries a McCandless and remains in Rowan County. Her little brother, John had a case of Wanderlust and traveled far and wide, marrying in Kansas and dying in Texas. Mining remaind in their blood.

Samuel Stidefor died in 1875 and is buried in the Gold Hill cemetery. His mother, Elizabeth, lived a very long life under the care of her grandaughter, Elizabeth Stidefor McCandless. Her daughter, Lucy, also married a McCandless and Elizabeth also outlived Lucy by 20 years.

So, that is just a handful of Stidifors, John B. and Samuel, and Samuel's two children. I came across a few more. 

Name:	Eady Stradford (Stedford in record)
Age in 1870:	36
Birth Date:	abt 1834
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	160
Home in 1870:	Township 8, Cabarrus, North Carolina
Race:	Black
Gender:	Female
Post Office:	Concord
Occupation:	Keeping House
Personal Estate Value:	120
Inferred Children:	Rose StradfordMinnie Stradford
Household Members Age Eady Stradford 36 Rose Stradford 8 Minnie Stradford 2

There's an Edith "Edie" Stedifor living in Cabarrus County in 1870, a recently freed slave, with her daughters, Rose and Minnie.  She later marries a Jackson Rowland in Stanly County on January 30, 1873. They have 7 children together and one of her sons later refers to her as "Edith Hearne" in a record.

Name	Edith Hern
Gender	Female
Birth Place	NC
Spouse	Jack Rowland
Child	Wm Callie Rowland

I also find a child named Alfred Stedeford living with a Hearne family in Stanly County, also recently freed slaves. He may have been Edith's son.

Name:	Alfred Stedeford[Alfred Steadford]
Age in 1870:	9
Birth Date:	abt 1861
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	61
Home in 1870:	Harris, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	Black
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Albemarle
Occupation:	At Home
Household Members Age Abe Hearne 33 Jane Hearne Anna Hearne Pleasant Harris 31 Mary Harris 63 Alfred Stedeford 9

I believe that Edith and her older children were probably slaves that had arrived in the Stidefor family via Samuels marriage to Frances Hearne.

So where did Edna Keith and her daughter, Roma, pick up the Stedifor name? Did she marry John B. before he died or did she marry Samuel briefly, after the death of his wife, Frances?

So now I need to explain where I had seen this unusual name that arrived with cornish Miners. Just before I found this Bastardy bond between Edney Keith and Lafayette Settles in August of 1870, I found this other one.

1870 Bastardy Bond between Edny Keith and Lafayette Settles

Now notice the Bastardy Bond below between 'Edy Stedaford" and Thomas Biles dated September 4, 1869, nearly a year before. This one states tha the child is over two years old in 1869, while the one in 1870 claims that she is 'with child', or currently pregnant.

1869 Bastardy Bond between Edy Stedaford and Thomas Biles

Thomas Biles (III), being an important and influential man in the county at the time, fought tooth and nail, calling witnesesses of all kinds to defend his character against the charges brought against him.

Elez. N Parker and John Snotherly named.

Thomas Biles basically claimed that Ben Harris and John Snotherly had slept with his accuser.

Naming a Ben Harris and claiming woman's character was 'notoriously bad."

Name:	Ben Harris
Age in 1870:	55
Birth Date:	abt 1815
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	34
Home in 1870:	Harris, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	Black
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Albemarle
Occupation:	Farmer
Cannot Read:	Yes
Cannot Write:	Yes
Male Citizen Over 21:	Yes
Inferred Spouse:	Judy Harris
Household Members Age Ben Harris 55 Judy Harris 58 Phebe Manny 18 Rosella Manny 6/12

Ben Harris in 1870 was a freedman in Stanly County with two Mauney's living with him and his wife.

John Snotherly was a white man living in Stanly County who was in the employ of Valentine Mauney.

Name:	Ben Harris
Age in 1870:	55
Birth Date:	abt 1815
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	34
Home in 1870:	Harris, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	Black
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Albemarle
Occupation:	Farmer
Cannot Read:	Yes
Cannot Write:	Yes
Male Citizen Over 21:	Yes
Inferred Spouse:	Judy Harris
Household Members Age Ben Harris 55 Judy Harris 58 Phebe Manny 18 Rosella Manny 6/12

So, who was  "Edy Stedeford"? Was she the same woman as Enda "Edny" Keith, who may have married a Stedifor? Or was this the Edith Hearne - Stedeford Rowland who was a recently freed slave? The mystery remains. Tell me what you think in the comments.