Researching Local Onslow County History
Let’s pick up where we left off, shall we? In the previous post, I was exploring Onslow County history (read https://familymattersgenealogy.com/?p=339 if you need to catch up). I found some random gravestones in a random place; since I love randomness, I had to research it. The second headstone I researched was a flat grave marker located next to Augustus Huggins. It belonged to Richard Canaday.
Richard Cornelius Canaday
His full name was Richard Cornelius Canaday according to his son Alexander’s South Carolina death certificate. Canaday was born 21 Oct 1822 in Carteret County, NC.
Richard was married to Harriet Burns, whose maiden name was confirmed on the death certificates of their sons Alexander and David. NC Historical Records Survey Cemetery Inscription cards recorded his burial at the Canaday Cemetery. However, the US Veterans’ Gravesites recorded him as being buried in the Huggins Cemetery. Well, we know which document is correct…Huggins Cemetery!
1840s through 1850s
According to the 1850 US Federal Census, Richard Canaday lived in Bogue Sound, Carteret County with real estate valued at $500. He worked as a Blacksmith and owned 3 slaves according to the 1850 US Federal Census – Slave Schedules. He lived with his wife Harriet and children:
- Henry C. (born about 1845)
- Margaret (born about 1847)
- Canelum (born about 1849)
Nancy Canaday (born about 1791) lived in Richard’s household. It is most likely she was Richard’s mother. A review of the 1840 census revealed that there was a Cornelius Canaday who lived in Carteret County, NC with his family and children. Unfortunately, this census did not list the names of others living in the household. Reviewing North Carolina Marriage Bonds 1741-1868, there was a Cornelius Canaday that married a Nancy Read on 1 July 1827 in Carteret County. Well, if these were his parents, Richard Cornelius was born out of wedlock. This was a no-no back in the day!
1860s through 1870s
The 1860 US Federal Census moved Richard Canaday and his family to Swansboro in Onslow County (Nancy no longer lived in the household…RIP Nancy). He worked as an engineer with real estate valued at $500. There were two new additions to the family:
- Laura (born about 1853)
- Olivia (born about 1856)
He served as a Captain in the Confederate States Army, attached to the 21st NC Confederate Militia. After the war, he continued to live in Swansboro with his family according to the 1870 US Federal Census. He worked as a blacksmith with real estate valued at $1000 and personal property valued at $200. Their family kept expanding. Two more children were born into the family:
- Catharine (born about 1862)
- David (born about 1864)
By the 1880 US Federal Census, Richard moved to Jacksonville Township in Onslow County with his family and worked as a mechanic. Finally, the last child Alexander, was born about 1871. The enumerator noted that he was sick, suffering from the condition carbuncle. Carbuncle is a painful cluster of boils under the skin.
Connections
I couldn’t understand why Augustus Huggins and Richard Canaday were buried together on this little plot of land. What is the connection? Were they family? How were they family? Well, I found out the answers to my questions. The connection between Augustus Huggins and Richard Canaday was through marriage! Richard was Augustus’s father-in-law! Augustus was married to Laura Canaday and Richard was Laura’s father. A double obituary in The Daily Journal (New Bern, NC) had Richard who died 15 Mar 1888 presumably of old age and his daughter Laura Huggins died 17 Mar 1888 of pneumonia.
Two graves down, two more to go! Of course, this will be a post for another day.
Sidebar
You can learn a lot about the living through their death. Obituaries, funeral programs and cemeteries give great amounts of family information. Newspaper obituaries list immediate family members. Unfortunately, they are expensive; family members purposely keep them short. Funeral programs are less expensive; therefore, they are more lengthy than an obituary. This is an excellent source to tell the story of a person’s life. Ancestry has a collection of Virginia African American Funeral Programs which should be a treasure trove of information for Black Virginians (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61906/). Cemetery cards have great information that can be used for genealogy purposes. As a contributor for www.findagrave.com, there are many requests for pictures of headstones to confirm death dates and where people are buried.