Tracing Your Ancestors [Part 4]
Hope you are ready to continue on this exciting search for
ancestors of color. Last time we journeyed back to 1880 and 1870
in search of Sherman Stuckey. We hoped to find him in a household
with his parents. Unfortunately, that was not the case. However,
our search turned up several other Stuckey households which we
recorded.
Census records are just one of the many documents that can be
used to search for ancestors of color. Death records or
certificates also help considerably. The state of Georgia
officially started keeping death records in 1919. We did not know
when Sherman Stuckey died, but the 1920 census revealed he was
alive at that time. So, we took a look at the 1930 Wilkinson
County census. A search of it using the Stuckey surname revealed
this household:
Stuckey, Willie Ann, Negro, age 54, widow, farm laborer
Stuckey, Mattie, Negro, age 21, daughter
Stuckey, Pearl, Negro, age 17, daughter
Stuckey, Robbie, Negro, age 15, daughter
Stuckey, Sherman, Negro, age 10, son
Willie Ann, now designated as a widow, headed the household.
Mattie, now a woman, still lived with her mother and siblings,
Pearl, Robbie and Sherman, Jr. Apparently,Sherman Stuckey died
between 1920 and 1930.
Perhaps a death certificate could be found for Sherman Stuckey. A
computerized Georgia death certificate search using the Stuckey
surname and Wilkinson County turned up the following death
certificate:
.
Sherman Stuckey died of
pneumonia March 17, 1924 in Wilkinson County, Georgia . His
parents were Alex Stuckey and Ellen Carr.Jerry Whipple, the informant, supplied
this information. Remember, we discovered
Alex Stuckey in the 1880 and 1870 censuses. He appeared in the
1870 census as head of this seven member household:
Stuckey, Alex, age 38, male, black, born in Georgia,
farmer
Stuckey, Josephine, age 30, female, black
Stuckey, Sarah, age 10, female, black
Stuckey, George, age 14, male, black
Stuckey, Anna, age 8, male, black
Stuckey, Solomon, age 6, male, black
Stuckey, Elisabeth, age 3, male, black
Note, Sherman does not appear in Alex Stuckey's household.
Fortunately, while searching Stuckey marriage certificates, we
recorded Alex (Ellick) Stuckey's marriage to Josephine Stuckey on
May 29, 1873:
.
You probably noticed Alex and Josephine carry the same last name.
Former slaves chose whatever surname they preferred.
But what about Ellen Carr? Did Alex Stuckey have a previous
wife? Could we possibly have the wrong Alex Stuckey?
Surprisingly, another Alex Stuckey appeared in the 1870 Wilkinson
County census. This Alex Stuckey, a 50 year old white male,
headed the following household:
Stuckey, Alex, age 50, male, white
Stuckey, Eliza, age 43, female, white
Stuckey, HT, age 21, male, white
Stuckey, Wiley H, age 16, male, white
Stuckey, Missouri, age 13, female, white
Stuckey, Rosmerson, age15, female, white
Stuckey, Fannie, age 10, female, white
Stuckey, William, age 8, male, white
Stuckey, Alex, age 6, male, white
Stuckey, Margaret, age 4, female, white
Stuckey, Lee, age 2, female, white
Join us next time as we unravel the history of Sherman
Stuckey's parents and continue our search for ancestors of
color.
Tips for Tracing Your Ancestors:
- You probably noticed that the census taker recorded "Negro"
as race for Willie and all her children in 1930 . The race notation used by census
takers for people of color varied with the census year.
- 1860-Used the terms Black, Mulatto,Indian
- 1870, 1880-Used the terms Black, Mulatto,Indian
- 1900-Used the terms Black, Indian
- 1910, 1920-Used the terms Black, Mulatto, Indian, Other
- 1930-Used the term Negro
- mixed white/ black called Negro
- mixed Indian/black called Negro
[Part 5]
Last updated: 1-March-2017
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