b. 23 Sep 1836, Mississippi
d. Feb 1918, Durant, Oklahoma
m. abt 1857 to George W. Mason (b. 28 Feb 1837, d. 8 Mar 1902)
In part 1 of our exploration of Dorothy Ann (Brown) Mason, we analyzed the census records and other hard evidence that points to several different names and nicknames for our subject:
Normally, as I try to identify parents of any individual in my tree from this era, I begin to search for individuals living within a known area by the same first name. We know that our subject was born in Mississippi around 1837, as was her husband, George W. Mason. It could be assumed that they were married in Mississippi and, shortly after, moved to Arkansas.
We also know that our subject's parents are either from Tennessee or North Carolina.
Unfortunately, we are unable to find a marriage record for our subject to George W. Mason. This would have given us more supporting evidence. However, it was not uncommon for courthouse records to be destroyed during fires or other natural events. In fact, the courthouse in DeStoto County suffered from destroyed records in 1940 due to fire.
Despite the missing marriage record, we do have another option to explore. We have not yet found an 1850 census record for our subject. This would have been before she was married to George W. Mason (m. abt 1857). And, lucky for us, 1850 is the first year the Federal Census recorded each individual in the household.
A search for females born 1835-1839 in Mississippi named "Dorothy" in the 1850 federal census returned 5 results. But, only 3 of them were still located in Mississippi in 1850: Dorothy Golden (b. 1837, living in Winston), Dorothy G. Martin (b. 1839, living in Hancock), and Dorothy Spencer (b. 1836, living in Oktibbeha).
Out of curiosity, I also ran the same search for "Dollie," thinking that this may also have been our subject's childhood name. Out of 5 results, 3 were still living in Mississippi at the time of the 1850 census: Dolly Ann Brown (b. 1837, living in Marshall), Dolly Hartwell (b. 1839, living in Smith), and Dolly Rymer (b. 1836, living in Hinds).
From all these potential options, one really jumped out at me: Dolly Ann Brown from Marshall County, Mississippi. If Dolly's real name were "Dorothy," we would actually have almost a perfect match for our subject... Dorothy Ann. She could fit into all but one (Elizabeth) of the names that we discovered on records for our subject.
The other fact to support this as being our subject is her proximity to where we believe George W. Mason is living at this time: DeSoto County, Mississippi. We know that the couple marries around 7 years after the 1850 census, so it would make sense to find them in the same county or close in proximity. Dolly Ann Brown is living in Marshall County, Mississippi in 1850... directly adjacent to the west of DeStoto County. With this information, Dolly Ann Brown becomes our number one possibility.
Diving into the 1850 census record for Dolly Ann Brown, we find her parents to be Elijah and Sarah Wroten. Sarah's birth state is listed as Tennessee, which would be a match for what we know about our subject's mother. However, Elijah is listed as being born in South Carolina. This does not really match with what we know about our subject's father, but we will proceed and check the importance of this fact later. Eventually, we discover that there is a reason for this perceived inconsistency.
Upon researching Sarah Wroten, we find that her maiden name is Sarah Ellen Ammons (b. 14 Feb 1814, d. 15 Mar 1892 in Prentiss, Mississippi). She marries twice. Her first husband is James Jenkins Brown (b. 1811 in Tennessee or South Carolina, d. 20 May 1843). Presumably after James passes, she remarries, this time to Elijah Wroten (b. 1807 in South Carolina, d. 8 Oct 1887 in Prentiss, Mississippi).
We find Dolly Ann living in the Wroten household in the 1850 census. However, we know that Dolly Ann is born around 1837, meaning that he father would have been James Jenkins Brown, not Elijah Wroten. While we are unsure whether James Jenkins Brown in born in Tennessee or South Carolina, this is beginning to match with what we know about our subject.
I wanted to find out more about Sarah Ellen Ammons and James Jenkins Brown in case they held any more clues to support this connection. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out identity of Sarah Ellen's mother: Dorothy Elizabeth Bright (b. 1787 in Barron, Kentucky, d. 3 Sep 1881 in Conehatta, Mississippi). Not only does this point to the family name "Dorothy," but I also discovered that this Dorothy Elizabeth also went by the same nickname of our subject... "Dollie."
This circumstantial evidence seems to point to the fact that Sarah Ellen Ammons and James Jenkins Brown are likely the parents of our subject, Dorothy Ann Brown. If this is true, we can assume that Dorothy "Dolly" Ann Brown was named after her grandmother, Sarah Ellen's mother. Dorothy went by the nickname "Dolly" or "Dolly Ann" as a child.
After she is married to George W. Mason, she begins to have a minor "identity crisis" - first going by Dartha, which may be a nickname given to her by George. Then, by 1870, she has decided to go by her middle name, and we find her on the 1870 census as "Ann D."
By 1880, it could be thought that the health of Dorothy's grandmother "Dollie" is deteriorating and she decides to take on her grandmother's middle name: Elizabeth. By 1900, she has changed to an alias similar to the one she uses in the 1870 census, going by "Anna D." In 1902, she is referred to as "Dollie" in George W. Mason's will, and then is recorded with the same nickname in the 1910 census.
When she passes in 1918 in Durant, Oklahoma, her real name is inscribed on her tombstone: Dorothy A. Mason.
While several assumptions are made in reaching this conclusion, this may be the closest we can get to the true identity of our subject and her parents. Additional research will need to be done to rule out some other less likely possibilities. But, for now, I am accepting Sarah Ellen Ammons and James Jenkins Brown as the parents of Dorothy Ann "Dollie" (Brown) Mason.
In part 1 of our exploration of Dorothy Ann (Brown) Mason, we analyzed the census records and other hard evidence that points to several different names and nicknames for our subject:
- Dartha (1860 Census)
- Ann D (1870 Census)
- Elizabeth (1880 Census)
- Anna D (1900 Census)
- Dollie (1910, George's will)
- Dorthy (headstone)
Normally, as I try to identify parents of any individual in my tree from this era, I begin to search for individuals living within a known area by the same first name. We know that our subject was born in Mississippi around 1837, as was her husband, George W. Mason. It could be assumed that they were married in Mississippi and, shortly after, moved to Arkansas.
We also know that our subject's parents are either from Tennessee or North Carolina.
Unfortunately, we are unable to find a marriage record for our subject to George W. Mason. This would have given us more supporting evidence. However, it was not uncommon for courthouse records to be destroyed during fires or other natural events. In fact, the courthouse in DeStoto County suffered from destroyed records in 1940 due to fire.
Despite the missing marriage record, we do have another option to explore. We have not yet found an 1850 census record for our subject. This would have been before she was married to George W. Mason (m. abt 1857). And, lucky for us, 1850 is the first year the Federal Census recorded each individual in the household.
A search for females born 1835-1839 in Mississippi named "Dorothy" in the 1850 federal census returned 5 results. But, only 3 of them were still located in Mississippi in 1850: Dorothy Golden (b. 1837, living in Winston), Dorothy G. Martin (b. 1839, living in Hancock), and Dorothy Spencer (b. 1836, living in Oktibbeha).
Out of curiosity, I also ran the same search for "Dollie," thinking that this may also have been our subject's childhood name. Out of 5 results, 3 were still living in Mississippi at the time of the 1850 census: Dolly Ann Brown (b. 1837, living in Marshall), Dolly Hartwell (b. 1839, living in Smith), and Dolly Rymer (b. 1836, living in Hinds).
From all these potential options, one really jumped out at me: Dolly Ann Brown from Marshall County, Mississippi. If Dolly's real name were "Dorothy," we would actually have almost a perfect match for our subject... Dorothy Ann. She could fit into all but one (Elizabeth) of the names that we discovered on records for our subject.
The other fact to support this as being our subject is her proximity to where we believe George W. Mason is living at this time: DeSoto County, Mississippi. We know that the couple marries around 7 years after the 1850 census, so it would make sense to find them in the same county or close in proximity. Dolly Ann Brown is living in Marshall County, Mississippi in 1850... directly adjacent to the west of DeStoto County. With this information, Dolly Ann Brown becomes our number one possibility.
Diving into the 1850 census record for Dolly Ann Brown, we find her parents to be Elijah and Sarah Wroten. Sarah's birth state is listed as Tennessee, which would be a match for what we know about our subject's mother. However, Elijah is listed as being born in South Carolina. This does not really match with what we know about our subject's father, but we will proceed and check the importance of this fact later. Eventually, we discover that there is a reason for this perceived inconsistency.
Upon researching Sarah Wroten, we find that her maiden name is Sarah Ellen Ammons (b. 14 Feb 1814, d. 15 Mar 1892 in Prentiss, Mississippi). She marries twice. Her first husband is James Jenkins Brown (b. 1811 in Tennessee or South Carolina, d. 20 May 1843). Presumably after James passes, she remarries, this time to Elijah Wroten (b. 1807 in South Carolina, d. 8 Oct 1887 in Prentiss, Mississippi).
We find Dolly Ann living in the Wroten household in the 1850 census. However, we know that Dolly Ann is born around 1837, meaning that he father would have been James Jenkins Brown, not Elijah Wroten. While we are unsure whether James Jenkins Brown in born in Tennessee or South Carolina, this is beginning to match with what we know about our subject.
I wanted to find out more about Sarah Ellen Ammons and James Jenkins Brown in case they held any more clues to support this connection. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out identity of Sarah Ellen's mother: Dorothy Elizabeth Bright (b. 1787 in Barron, Kentucky, d. 3 Sep 1881 in Conehatta, Mississippi). Not only does this point to the family name "Dorothy," but I also discovered that this Dorothy Elizabeth also went by the same nickname of our subject... "Dollie."
This circumstantial evidence seems to point to the fact that Sarah Ellen Ammons and James Jenkins Brown are likely the parents of our subject, Dorothy Ann Brown. If this is true, we can assume that Dorothy "Dolly" Ann Brown was named after her grandmother, Sarah Ellen's mother. Dorothy went by the nickname "Dolly" or "Dolly Ann" as a child.
After she is married to George W. Mason, she begins to have a minor "identity crisis" - first going by Dartha, which may be a nickname given to her by George. Then, by 1870, she has decided to go by her middle name, and we find her on the 1870 census as "Ann D."
By 1880, it could be thought that the health of Dorothy's grandmother "Dollie" is deteriorating and she decides to take on her grandmother's middle name: Elizabeth. By 1900, she has changed to an alias similar to the one she uses in the 1870 census, going by "Anna D." In 1902, she is referred to as "Dollie" in George W. Mason's will, and then is recorded with the same nickname in the 1910 census.
When she passes in 1918 in Durant, Oklahoma, her real name is inscribed on her tombstone: Dorothy A. Mason.
While several assumptions are made in reaching this conclusion, this may be the closest we can get to the true identity of our subject and her parents. Additional research will need to be done to rule out some other less likely possibilities. But, for now, I am accepting Sarah Ellen Ammons and James Jenkins Brown as the parents of Dorothy Ann "Dollie" (Brown) Mason.
No comments:
Post a Comment