Rosanna "Rosa" Belle Haney
b. 15 Sep 1855, Christian Burg, Virginia
d. 18 Jan 1917, Cube, Illinois
m1. John Thomas Draper Sutphin (b. 25 Dec 1859, d. 30 May 1932)
m2. Frank Wilkins (b. Dec 1866, d. 21 Dec 1948)
My maternal third great-grandmother, Rosa Haney, was one of those individuals in my tree that I honestly expected to be a permanent road block. When I initially started my family research, all I had was the name "Rosa Haney" as the wife of John Thomas Draper Sutphin, and the mother of Nan Bailey Sutphin, my second great-grandmother. No further information to draw from.
Usually, a name is enough to start unraveling the story. However, in this case, due to some missing records and certain circumstances, I always hit a dead end.
I still have yet to find any census records when Rosa was still living with her first husband, John Thomas Draper Sutphin. The two were married around 1877. We would expect to find Federal Census records for the family in 1880, but none has been uncovered. Then, John Thomas Draper Sutphin remarried to Hannah Pate in 1895, and we find him with his new wife in the 1900 census. No sign of Rosa.
Since three of the children remained with John Thomas Draper Sutphin, as evidenced in the 1900 census, I had always assumed that Rosa had died. Though, I had no evidence to prove this.
Finally, I had a breakthrough. I tracked down the Social Security application for Nan Bailey Sutphin, daughter of Rosa and John Thomas Draper Sutphin. I did not expect to find anything groundbreaking. But, when the record finally arrived, I was pleased to see a previously unknown middle name for Nan's mother: Belle.
Using this new information, I was able to discover a young Rosanna Belle Haney in the 1860 census living in Lebanon, Virginia, born around 1856. This is near the area in Virginia where John Thomas Draper Sutphin grew up. The census record also gave me insight into Rosa's parents: John W. Haney (b. abt 1834) and Sarah E. (b. abt 1834).
This information led me straight to an Illinois death index record for Rosa Bell Wilkins with her father being recorded as "John W. Haney." This individual matched perfectly with the limited information that I previously discovered about Rosa. She was born in Virginia in Sep 1855. And, further research into this individual began giving strong evidence that I had finally found my third great-grandmother living after 1900.
With this additional information, we can begin to stitch together a timeline. Rosa Belle Haney and John Thomas Draper Sutphin are married around 1877. They have five children before divorcing. John Thomas Draper is remarried to Hannah Pate in 1895, and the all the children remain in the area, three of which live with John Thomas Draper and Hannah. Around the same time, Rosa moves to Illinois, possibly to make a new life for herself. She is remarried to Frank Wilkins around 1898. Back in Tennessee, her daughter, Pearl Edith Sutphin, is married on 9 Jun 1901 to Arthur Stout. Shortly thereafter, the marriage ends and Pearl Edith moves to Illinois. She is remarried to James S. Taylor around 1906 and moves in next door to her mother. Rosa Belle (Haney, Sutphin) Wilkins dies 18 Jan 1918 in Cuba, Illinois. Her daughter, Pearl Edith (Sutphin) Taylor appears as the informant on the state death record.
m2. Frank Wilkins (b. Dec 1866, d. 21 Dec 1948)
My maternal third great-grandmother, Rosa Haney, was one of those individuals in my tree that I honestly expected to be a permanent road block. When I initially started my family research, all I had was the name "Rosa Haney" as the wife of John Thomas Draper Sutphin, and the mother of Nan Bailey Sutphin, my second great-grandmother. No further information to draw from.
Usually, a name is enough to start unraveling the story. However, in this case, due to some missing records and certain circumstances, I always hit a dead end.
I still have yet to find any census records when Rosa was still living with her first husband, John Thomas Draper Sutphin. The two were married around 1877. We would expect to find Federal Census records for the family in 1880, but none has been uncovered. Then, John Thomas Draper Sutphin remarried to Hannah Pate in 1895, and we find him with his new wife in the 1900 census. No sign of Rosa.
Since three of the children remained with John Thomas Draper Sutphin, as evidenced in the 1900 census, I had always assumed that Rosa had died. Though, I had no evidence to prove this.
Finally, I had a breakthrough. I tracked down the Social Security application for Nan Bailey Sutphin, daughter of Rosa and John Thomas Draper Sutphin. I did not expect to find anything groundbreaking. But, when the record finally arrived, I was pleased to see a previously unknown middle name for Nan's mother: Belle.
Using this new information, I was able to discover a young Rosanna Belle Haney in the 1860 census living in Lebanon, Virginia, born around 1856. This is near the area in Virginia where John Thomas Draper Sutphin grew up. The census record also gave me insight into Rosa's parents: John W. Haney (b. abt 1834) and Sarah E. (b. abt 1834).
This information led me straight to an Illinois death index record for Rosa Bell Wilkins with her father being recorded as "John W. Haney." This individual matched perfectly with the limited information that I previously discovered about Rosa. She was born in Virginia in Sep 1855. And, further research into this individual began giving strong evidence that I had finally found my third great-grandmother living after 1900.
- In the 1900 census (Fulton County, Illinois), Rosa cites that she has had 5 children and that she was married to Frank around 1898. This would align perfectly with our information and timeline of when Rosa disappeared from the Sutphin family.
- In the 1910 census (Fulton County, Illinois), Rosa cites that Frank is her second marriage, meaning that she was married once before (John Thomas Draper Sutphin), and had 5 children from her previous marriage (Eugene Hubert Sutphin, Aurora Maude Sutphin, Pearl Edith Sutphin, John Cleveland Sutphin, and Nan Bailey Sutphin)
- On Rosa Wilkin's death record, the informant is recorded as "Mrs. Edith Taylor." We find an Edith P. Taylor living next door to Rosa and Frank in the 1910 census. Furthermore, this Edith records her birthplace as Tennessee around 1884. This information matches perfectly with the daughter of Rosa and John Thomas Draper Sutphin: Pearl Edith Sutphin.
- We find this same individual in the 1930 census as "Pearl E. Taylor," supporting this theory.
With this additional information, we can begin to stitch together a timeline. Rosa Belle Haney and John Thomas Draper Sutphin are married around 1877. They have five children before divorcing. John Thomas Draper is remarried to Hannah Pate in 1895, and the all the children remain in the area, three of which live with John Thomas Draper and Hannah. Around the same time, Rosa moves to Illinois, possibly to make a new life for herself. She is remarried to Frank Wilkins around 1898. Back in Tennessee, her daughter, Pearl Edith Sutphin, is married on 9 Jun 1901 to Arthur Stout. Shortly thereafter, the marriage ends and Pearl Edith moves to Illinois. She is remarried to James S. Taylor around 1906 and moves in next door to her mother. Rosa Belle (Haney, Sutphin) Wilkins dies 18 Jan 1918 in Cuba, Illinois. Her daughter, Pearl Edith (Sutphin) Taylor appears as the informant on the state death record.
