2016 1.pdf Davie Dossier, January 2016 page 1
DAVIE DOSSIER
Issued by
Davie County Historical and Genealogical Society
Mocksville, North Carolina
January 2016, Issue 1
Davie Dossier, January 2016 page 2
DAVIE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
President, Linda Leonard
Vice President, Margaret Cevasco
Secretary, Pat Reilly
Treasurer, Marie Roth
Board of Directors, Claude Horn
Dossier Editor, Marie Roth
Webmaster, Marie Roth
Our Website, www.rootsweb.ancestry.com.com/~ncdavhgs has these features:
All the churches in Davie County
Cemeteries in Davie County with locations
Names on the War Memorial in Mocksville
Index to Bible Family Records at DCPL
Order blanks so you don’t tear up Dossier
History of nine newspapers in Davie County
Meeting Dates and Programs
Guardian Accounts, Davie Co., 1846-1859
Apprentice Bonds, Davie Co., 1829-1959
1974 booklet about old schools in Davie
Branson’s NC Business Directories for Davie Co.
Sources for black family history
Another Website about Davie County genealogy and history:
http://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Davie_County%2C_North_Carolina
Meetings are on the fourth Thursdays at 7 pm at Davie County Library History Room.
DCHGS PROGRAMS IN 2016:
January 28: Program chair, Margaret Cevasco will lead a discussion about historical myths. A true/false set of
questions will be featured.
February 25:
March 24:
April 28:
May 7: assist with Daniel Boone Festival
June 23:
August: meet with Yadkin Valley Historical Association
September 22:
October 27:
November: 17:
FINANCIAL REPORT
Balance on 1/1/2015 was $5,704.12
Received for books and maps was $422.52
Received for membership was $898.00
Received misc. $ 372.00
Disbursed $717.77
Balance on 12/31/2015 was $6,678.87
FUTURE CONFERENCES
RootsTech – February 3 - 6, 2016 in Salt Lake City; see https://rootstech.org
You can watch presentations from previous years online, and watch it live in February online.
National Genealogical Society -- May 4-7, 2016 in Fort Lauderdale FL; see www.ngsgenealogy.org
In May of 2017, NGS will meet in Raleigh !!
Federation of Genealogical Societies – August 31-September 3, 2016 in Springfield IL; see www.fgs.org
Davie Dossier, January 2016 page 3
MARY ELIZABETH LEE
This photo is from FindAGrave.Com. Read this tombstone very carefully. This is in Rose Cemetery in Mocksville.
What sources would you use to prove that Mary died on her birthday when she was 100 years old?
Trying to prove that this is accurate, I read microfilmed
newspapers from Davie County. The Davie County
Enterprise-Record of 5 December 1968 had the obituary
which is below, on the right. The transcription is at the left.
Obituaries previously used words such as these “died last
Saturday morning” instead of putting the exact date. Hooray
for not doing that now. To find the exact date, I used a
genealogical software program, tools tab. Different programs
have different terms, but on RootsMagic, it is called Date
Tools, and then choose calendar. Choose 30 November 1968,
and you discover that this was a Saturday, which agrees with
the obituary. So she did indeed die on her birthday at 100
years old. There are no vital records to prove that she was
born on 30 November 1868. These were begun in 1913. But
the obituary states this date. Perhaps a family Bible would
have that date listed.
MISS MARY LEE, 100
Miss Mary Elizabeth Lee, age 100, died at the Wesley Center in Charlotte last
Saturday morning. Funeral services were held Monday morning at the First United
Methodist Church of Mocksville. Burial was in the family plot in Rose Cemetery.
Miss Lee was the daughter of the Rev. William D. Lee, M.D. and Elmira Oxner and
was born in Columbia, S.C., Nov. 30, 1868. She graduated at Columbia College, and
was valedictorian and poet of her class.
Her father later moved to North Carolina where she spent the greater part of her life
teaching English, French and Spanish in high schools. She also taught music and was
active in Methodist church work.
She lived in Mocksville with her sisters, Miss Alice Lee and the late Miss Bertha Lee
until entering the Methodist Home in Charlotte in the fall of 1947. She was one of the
first persons to come into the membership of the home. During her twenty years there
she has been a friend and help to many others as they joined the Home family.
Surviving is her sister, Mrs. Alice Lee McDougle, of the Methodist Home in
Charlotte.
Another obituary mentioned that she died on her 100th birthday.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
On page 161 of History of Davie County Schools, there is a 1932 thank you letter in
the newspaper: a teacher of a small school for black students. Line 8: “To begin with
Mrs. Jessie Bailey, the Misses Lees and Mrs. J.B. Johnstone have been our constant
friends.” [These women are all kin to each other.]
For a nostalgic, sentimental blog about Mary Elizabeth, read this:
http://hubpages.com/literature/Mary-Elizabeth-Lee-New-Information#
A photo of 97 year old Mary Elizabeth is included.
Davie Dossier, January 2016 page 4
A study of this family is very
interesting. There is some false data online.
The obituary at the right is for the step
mother of Mary. Mary’s father had seven
children in all but there were two mothers. On
FindAGrave, along with the information about
the death of the first mother is a link to a
daughter, Anna Elmira.
The summary I wrote follows:
1870 Census for Ironton, Lincoln Co., NC:
William D. Lee, 36, Methodist Minister, born
in South Carolina, worth is $150; Elmira, 28,
born in SC; William B., 5, born in SC; Henry
M., 3, born in SC, and Mary E., 1, born in SC.
1880 Census for Shelby, Cleveland Co., NC:
Rev. Will D. Lee, 45, Methodist Minister, he
and parents born in SC; wife, Sarah B., 39, she
and parents born in NC; son, William B., 15,
born in SC; son, Henry Mood, 14, born in SC;
daughter Mary E., 11, born in NC, her father in
SC, and her mother in NC; son, Tom Bailey, 7,
born in NC; daughter, Bertha M., 5, born in
NC, and Alice J., 2, born in NC. [The first 3
are children of Elmira. The last 3 are children
of Sarah. Anna Elmira does not show up on a
census.]
1880: an online submitter left notes that W.B.
Oxner adopted the 3 oldest children on 20
September 1880.
1900 Census for Mocksville, [Will died a few
months after the 1880 census was taken and
Sarah brought her 2 daughters home to
Mocksville. She lived with her brother in her
childhood home.] Sallie B. Lee, 49, 3
children/3 living; Bertha M., born February
1875, 25, single teacher; Alice J. Lee, born
December 1879, 21. William H. Bailey, her
brother, is 56, born October 1854, a merchant.
They lived on Depot Street.
1910 Census for Mocksville, Depot Street,
Sallie B. Lee, 68, wd, 3/3, own income; Alice
J., 31; William H. Bailey, 66, merchant general
store. Next door was her brother Thomas B.
Bailey, 60, lawyer, general practice with wife,
Jessie, 56, who was born in Tennessee. They
had been married for 31 years.
1910 Census for Greensboro, 524 Highland Ave., [now on campus], Bertha Lee, 33, college teacher, living with Walter and
Sadie Clements and their 7 children.
1920 Census for Mocksville, no street listed; Sarah B. Lee, 78, wd; Bertha M., 43; Allice J., 41. Next door is Jessie Bailey, 66,
born in TN.
1930 Census for Mocksville, Lexington Street, Sarah B. Lee, 88, wd.; Bertha M., 63; Alice J., 51; Mary E., 61, teacher in
public school; Jessie Bailey, 76 is next door.
1940 Census for Mocksville, Depot Street; Alice J., 61; Mary, 71
1954 Death of Bertha: Davie County Library had an interesting article from Greensboro College – Bertha was a member
of the first graduating class [and valedictorian, giving her speech in Latin] and then taught there for 20 years [English,
French, and German]. She was the first woman to serve on the school board in Mocksville. She taught Bible at the black
school.
Davie Dossier, January 2016 page 5
William Drayton Lee’s children by first wife,
Elmira Oxner
There were lots of discrepancies. Mary Elizabeth’s
obituary said she was born in Columbia, SC. Her
death certificate said she
was born in Tennessee.
Henry Mood Lee vanishes. Newspapers.com and
FindAGrave don’t have any answers.
Anna Elmira is found in FindAGrave linked to her
mother’s death information. Perhaps this was a baby
who died at mother’s death.
William Bowman was a minister who served a
mission in Brazil for the Methodist Church for 60
years. [newspapers.com had an article in Burlington
paper because he had a son living there]
William Drayton Lee’s children by second wife, Sarah
Bailey
The 1880 census was taken on June 8 and 9. Will died 3.5
months later.
Thomas Bailey Lee in 1938 article was attorney for the
Mocksville Board and received $20 per year.
His obit described his service in Idaho.
“Judge Bailey Lee served two terms as Chief Justice of the
Idaho State Supreme Court, and was a District Judge at the
time of his death.”
Alice was of special interest to me because of her
kindness to my mother. See:
http://www.simplesite.com/Gertrude2/140079679.
Undated article and photograph of
Alice McDougle was found in
history room at Davie County
Library. Alice was receiving a
special award from the Red Cross
for being one of its prime
supporters of Operation Helpmate,
which aids servicemen in the 249th
General Hospital in Japan.
Davie Dossier, January 2016 page 6
HATS OFF TO OUR 24 LIFE MEMBERS !!
This $100 membership amount is tax deductible.
You won’t have to pay annual dues any more.
Hal and Kathryn Abbot
Michael W. Anderson
Stacy Beck
Robert Bailey Lee Carmody
Mike and Margaret Cevasco
Wayne Frye
Sharyn Fuller
Elizabeth Harris
Rolland K. Hauser
Pamela A. Hazen
Sandra Heifetz
Claude Horn
Dorothy M. Horn
David Joyner
Dianna Beck King
Jack Koontz
Thurman F. Miller
Nancy K. Murphy
James Myers
Bill Roesel
Marie Roth
Sylvia Stroud Smith
James G. Wall
Kathryn H. Weiss
ODD-FELLOWS IN DAVIE COUNTY IN 1858
Gwynn Meroney, one of our DCHGS members
who lives in Mocksville, showed me a very old booklet
that had belonged to one of his relatives. Here are the
words on the cover:
Proceedings
Of the
Right Worthy Grand Lodge
Of the
Independent Order of Odd-Fellows,
Of the
State of North Carolina,
At its annual session,
Held at
The Hall of Cape Fear Lodge, No. 2,
in the Town of Wilmington,
on the 23d, 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th NOV. 1857
Baltimore:
Printed by P.G. James Young
No. 114 Baltimore Street.
1858
This book listed all the Odd-Fellows Lodges in North
Carolina and members in each lodge.
There were two lodges in Davie County:
DAVIE LODGE. No. 51
Past Grands – J.M. Johnson, M.D. Armfield, J.M.
Clement, M.D. Armfield
Scarlet Degree –D.C. Clement, C.U. Rich, J.A. Hendricks,
G.W. Moore, J.T. Martin, M.G. Richards, D.C Wilson, C.
Harlem, G.J. Anderson, G.W. Neely, R.R. Martin, G.M.
Bingham, B.W. Parker.
Covenant Degree – J.D. Cleck, B. Baily.
Initiatory Degree – J. B. Jones, C. Anderson, A. Glascock,
J.G. Clifford.
FARMINGTON LODGE, No. 46
Past Grands – W.W. Long, J.H. Johnson, James H. Foote,
J.W. Wiseman, G.W. Johnson, John Lunn.
Scarlet Degree – Neely Bohannon, George Carver, M.R.
Chaffin, Joseph F. Cuthrell, L.H. Cash, M.C. Evans,
William Fulford, T.J.R. Griffith, Alexander Harper, J.H.
Kinyoun, Jacob W. Sheek, John Turner, Elias W. Turner,
S.O. Tatum, M.A. Vestal, W.P. Ward, S.C. Welch, Ezekiel
Williams
The Odd-Fellows was formed in the 1700s in
England. It came to the United States in 1819. It is now
in 30 countries with a membership of 600,000. It
promotes world-wide friendship and service to all
people. The women’s group is called the Rebekahs.
The symbol is a chain of three links which stand for
Friendship, Love, and Truth. This symbol can be found
on tombstones of members. Odd-Fellows is similar to
Free Order of Masons. Some men were Odd-Fellows
and Masons.
INTERESTING WEBSITE AND SKETCH:
An amazing online chart of many generations of family members: http://www.tarvinfamily.org/images/thoroughgood-72.gif
Davie Dossier, January 2016 page 7
ORDERING BOOKS AND MAPS (Out of state residents don’t pay state tax when ordering.)
Title Author Non-NC NC No. Cost
Davie County. A Brief History, paperback James W. Wall, 128 pages $9.00 $9.39
The Boone Families in Davie County Wall, Howell Boone, Flossie Martin $8.00 $8.31
Davie County Marriages 1836-1900 Nancy K. Murphy $25.00 $26.55
Davie County Marriages 1901-1959 Nancy K. Murphy $25.00 $26.55
Davie County Cemeteries, a 2-volume set D.C. Historical/Gen. Soc. $55.00 $58.88
1850 Federal Census-Davie County Forsyth Genealogical Society $15.00 $15.68
1860 Federal Census-Davie County Nancy K. Murphy and Everette Sain $20.00 $21.16
1870 Federal Census-Davie County Nancy K. Murphy and Everette Sain $20.00 $21.16
Lagle Land Grant $8.00 $8.31
Hughes Historical, 1700's, drawn in 1977 $8.00 $8.31
J.T. Alderman, 1887 $6.00 $6.47
Wilson F. Merrell, 1928 $6.00 $6.47
POSTCARDS OF DAVIE CO. SCENES, (set of 8) $2.50 $2.50
CD of all issues Davie Dossier since 1987 $7.00 $7.39
TOTAL NUMBER AND COST
Davie County Heritage Book, non-NC resident cost is $45; NC resident cost is $48.10.
Make check to Davie County Heritage Book. Use DCHGS address below.
The Historic Architecture of Davie Co., non-NC resident cost is $30; NC resident cost is $31.94.
History of Davie County, hardback, by James W. Wall, 449 pages; non-NC resident cost is $30; NC resident cost is
$31.94. Make check to Davie County Public Library. Use DCHGS address below.
The Civil War Roster of Davie County by Mary Alice Miller Hasty and Hazel Miller Winfree incorporates
biographical and military service sketches of 1,147 Davie County Civil War veterans. Non-NC resident cost is $60. NC
resident cost is $64.26. Checks should be made out to M & M Books and sent to Mary Alice Hasty, 105 East Brick
Walk Court, Mocksville NC 27028.
History of Davie County Schools, 318 pages, by Marie Benge Craig Roth has photos, locations, longitude/latitude,
names of students, and teachers. There is an 18 page index of 3,222 names. A chronology describes the evolution of the
school system in Davie. Make check to Marie Roth for $40.26 for non-residents and $43 for NC resident. Order: 276
Park Ave., Mocksville NC
Davie County in World War One by Marie Benge Craig Roth has 670 biographies of Davie men and women who
served, photographs, old letters, description of military bases, and extensive index. 400 pages. Make check to Marie
Roth for $42.47 for non-residents and $45 for NC resident. Order: 276 Park Ave., Mocksville NC 27028.
Davie County Veterans’ Memorial, by Marie Benge Craig Roth has lists of all war deaths and biographies and photos
of WW2, Korean, Vietnam, and Beirut Bombing deaths. Tom Ferebee’s 32 minute talk at the dedication in 1987 is
included. $31.23 for non-resident and $33 for NC resident. Order: 276 Park Ave., Mocksville NC 27028.
Remembering Davie County Protection and Service Personnel by Marie Benge Craig Roth contains biographies of the
five law enforcement personnel who died on duty and also photos and descriptions of the monument erected in their
memory. The monument also honors all first responders in Davie County. Order: 276 Park Ave.; total cost $17.
NEW: Davie County in the Spanish-American War by Marie Benge Craig Roth contains biographies of the 15 men
who served in this war and the resulting war in the Philippines. Order: 276 Park Ave.; total cost $20
Cana Connections, 201 pages, by Betty Etchison West; Life in Cana in the Thirties and Forties and Special People
with Cana Connections. There are many biographies and photos of people and buildings. Order from Betty West, 3532
NC Hwy. 801 North, Mocksville NC 27028. Make check to Betty West for $35, which includes tax and shipping.
Looking Back at Davie County II by Charles Crenshaw and Ron Smith. $45. Mail orders to Charles Crenshaw, 421
Park Avenue, Mocksville NC 27028
DCHGS, 371 North Main Street, Mocksville NC 27028
You are encouraged to send articles and queries to be published in the next issue.
Send to DCHGSList@gmail.com
Davie Dossier, January 2016 page 8
Davie county historical/genealogical society
371 North Main Street
Mocksville NC 27028
If you would like to receive your Dossier as a PDF attachment in an E-mail instead of a paper copy,
please send an E-mail message to the editor at dchgslist@gmail.com.
Please state “E-mail my Dossier instead of mailing a paper copy” and include your E-mail address. This
saves money, time, postage, effort, and paper.
The number beside your name, above, shows the year for which you last paid $5 dues. Example: if you have a 15 by your
name, you have paid dues through 2015. 2016 Dues are due now!
MEMBERSHIP for a calendar year is still just $5.00/year. Life Membership is $100 per person.
We are 501(c)(3) and dues are tax deductible.
Below is a registration form for your use; checks, payable to the Society.
DAVIE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (DCHGS)
Davie County Public Library, 371 Main Street
Mocksville, North Carolina 27028
NAME ________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS _____________________________________________________________________
E-MAIL ADDRESS ______________________________________________________________
Send my copy by E-mail instead of paper; yes, no