Summary of Tracing Your Ancestors-Part 6

Last time, we decided to follow Alex Stuckey's family forward in time. We sought to:

• Determine if Ellen Carr, Sherman Stuckey's documented mother, was also the mother of George Stuckey (the oldest child in black Alex Stuckey's household).
• Uncover more about Alex Stuckey, hopefully, when and where he died.
• Evaluate Jerry Whipple's credibility as the death certificate informant.

We found George Stuckey in the 1900 Wilkinson County census living near white Alex Stuckey's son. At the time, we could not locate Alex Stuckey or his wife Josephine.

Tracing George Stuckey

1910 Census

• George Stuckey resided in Laurens County which abuts and was formed from Wilkinson County.
• He headed a household with his wife of 12 years, Mattie and 9 children.
• George Stuckey married Mattie Rogers.
• He named Virginia as his father's birthplace, but Washington D.C. as his mother's birthplace.

1920 Census

• George Stuckey still headed a household in Laurens County, Georgia.
• He reported Virginia as his father's birthplace.
• He reported Virginia as his mother's birthplace.

1940 Census

• George was still alive and owned the house he headed in Laurens County, Georgia.

Josephine and Alex Stuckey

Using both a manual and computerized search, we found Josephine Stuckey, a 70 year old widow, in the 1900 Laurens County, Georgia census.

• She lived two houses away from a Solomon Stuckey who matched the one found in her 1870 household.
• Josephine Stuckey's age, location, and proximity to Solomon Stuckey confirmed her identity as Alex Stuckey's wife.
• She reportedly was the mother of 4 children with only 2 living.
• 1. Five children resided with Josephine and Alex Stuckey in 1870.
  2. One additional child Nancy resided with them in 1880.
• The census taker recorded Josephine Stuckey's birthplace and that of her parents as the District of Columbia.

From the 1900 census, we can conclude :

• Josephine gave birth to only 3 of the children found in 1870 plus Nancy from 1880.
• Alex Stuckey died between 1880 and 1900.
• Josephine Stuckey's reported birthplace, Washington D.C., matches the parental information recorded for George Stuckey in 1910.

Jerry Whipple

1900 Census

• Jerry Whipple lived in Wilkinson County near a 60 year old white, widow Caroline Stuckey and her daughter Mary Nighton also a widow.
• His wife was Eliza (Elizabeth), not Josephine Stuckey. Apparently the marriage certificate we previously discovered was not that of Josephine Stuckey and Jerry Whipple.
• He lived near a black man named Jack Carr.

1910-1940 Census

• Jerry Whipple continued to head a household in Wilkinson County, Georgia from 1910-1940.
• He was enumerated with a new wife called Mandy in 1920.

1880 Census

• Jerry Whipple, a 20 year old black male resided with his parents Willis and Hannah Whipple in Wilkinson County, Georgia
• He lived in the same neighborhood as Alex Stuckey.
• He lived near a family headed by Mrs. C Stuckey, a 46 year old white widow, none other than Caroline Stuckey.
• Nearby resided Jeff Carr, a 50 year old white male, with his 23 year old daughter Ellen Carr. She was too young to be Sherman's mother, nevertheless we could not ignore the Carr surname.

Without a doubt, Jerry Whipple knew the Stuckeys and the Carrs. Further investigation of Caroline Stuckey revealed that she was the Caroline Rogers who married Daniel Stuckey in Wilkinson County . Alex Stuckey(white) was his brother. Caroline's daughter Mary married John Knighton.

Thus, Jerry Whipple seems to be a credible witness!

What Else We Discovered

A manual search of Jerry Whipple's 1880 neighborhood also turned up George Stuckey's household. George Stuckey, a 22 year old black man, lived with wife Elizabeth (Eliza) and brother Solomon. Now we were certain that the George Stuckey traced from 1900-1940 matched the 14 year old boy residing with Alex Stuckey in 1870. The census taker reported Georgia for the birthplace of George Stuckey's parents.

Next, we focused our attention on locating a death record for George Stuckey who died after July 1940. Our search of the Georgia death index turned up a George Stuckey who died at Laurens County in 1946 .

Join us next time, as we untangle the Stuckey family tree.

Tips

• Please note, your search may not be as complicated as this one. If you locate your ancestor(s) of color in the 1870 census, check for them in 1860. They might have been free and therefore enumerated.
• A search for obituaries of your ancestors in old newspapers may prove fruitful. These are available on Georgia public library websites.