This is the last installment in my series of randomness and researching local history. From the last post, we discovered an African American farmer named John Grice buried in the Caucasian Huggins Family Cemetery. I tried to dive in to find his connection to the Huggins family.
John E. Grice the Farmer
John was born between 1883 and 1888. His year of birth is questionable due to different censuses that listed him with different birth years. However, his death certificate stated his birth year as 1888. He was born in Craven County, North Carolina to Moses Grice and Ella Harris Grice, both born in Onslow County. He died 21 Nov 1935 of chronic nephritis. His death certificate stated that he was buried the next day at “Huggins Place by friends.” In order for John Grice to be buried in the Huggins family cemetery plot, there must be some connection to the Huggins/Canaday family. So let’s work this backwards…
Death Certificate of John Grice
Census Records
Since John died in 1935 and we’ve viewed his death certificate, the next document reviewed was the 1930 census. In 1930, John lived on a farm he rented with his wife Lula McLamb Grice and children on Highway 24 (no cross street listed). His children were Susie (b. 1912), Donzie (b. 30 May 1913), Marvin Woodrow (b. 26 Nov 1914), Viola (b. 1918), Daisy Bell (b. 24 Sep 1921) and Eula (b. 1924). From maps viewed, this area was still within the downtown Jacksonville area near Railroad, Ann, New Bridge and Old Bridge Streets.
In 1920, John Grice lived on New Bridge Street in a rented home with his wife and four children – Charlie (b. 1904), Beatrice (b. 17 Feb 1909), Susie (b. 1912) and Donzie (b. 30 May 1913). John worked as a laborer. Old Bridge and Railroad Streets are within the radius of the Huggins Family Cemetery. Were they friends or neighbors? Did John Grice work for the Huggins/Canaday families? Inquiring minds want to know!
Unfortunately, John and his family could not be located on the 1910 census. John was married by 1910 because his son Charlie was born in 1904; however, no record for Lula Grice could be located either. I found a death certificate for their daughter Beatrice who died 29 July 1923 and is also buried at the Huggins Farm (that was a surprise).
In 1900, John lived in the household with his parents Moses Grice and Ella Harris Grice and siblings David (b. 1883), Hannah (b. 1890), and Moses Jr. (1893). His parents got married in 1884. Moses worked as a farm laborer who rented a house eight homes away from the families of John Huggins and Tina Huggins, the African American Huggins! The plot thickens!
Death Certificate of Beatrice Grice
Death Certificates Can Tell A Story
A total of four African American Grices had Huggins Farm listed as their cemetery:
Moses Grice, Jr. (1921-1924)
John Grice (1888-1935)
Beatrice Grice (1909-1923)
Lelly Grice (1900-1923)
This information led me to one conclusion – the Grice family had to be enslaved by the Huggins family (death certificates weren’t required in North Carolina until 1913 so there might have been more Grices buried on the Huggins Farm). We knew from Part 1 that Owen Huggins, inferred uncle of Augustus Cicero Huggins, owned slaves so this should not be a surprise. Because so many African Americans were buried on land that they did not own, this is one reasonable possibility. Another possibility is that the Grice family were sharecroppers on Huggins land. Either way, it is comforting to know that the Huggins family showed kindness by allowing them space to bury their dead.
The Conclusion
Now, do you remember the original question I posed in Part 1 of my randomness (It’s ok if you don’t remember – after all it was 25 March 2022)? My question pertained to wondering if the current resting place for Augustus Huggins in the middle of Downtown Jacksonville in an obscure plot was the family land of the Huggins Family? Well, after reviewing the North Carolina Land Grant Files, 1693-1960 for Onslow County on Ancestry, I found that Owen Huggins owned 370 acres of land in Onslow County, most of it near the New River Inlet and Downtown Jacksonville area. That acreage would be the same area where those gravestones are now. So yes! It was family land. Whew…mystery solved!
Sidebar
Thank you for indulging me with my 4-part series! I encourage everyone to start researching local history in their hometown, either by going to your county/state museum (mine is Onslow County Museum) or your local library which usually has a local history and genealogy section. This goes to show you how far I am willing to research a genealogical question. If you are interested in knowing more about your family history and would like me to do the research for you, click here for more information.
We continue the genealogical research from the last time with two broken headstones left (https://familymattersgenealogy.com/?p=352). This was going to be a challenge. The third headstone, the broken headstone, only had the death date showing. This was a true mystery. However, I know enough about detective work with my extensive training through Law & Orders episodes to be a super sleuth! By inputting the death year and location on www.findagrave.com, I was able to narrow down 5 possible records. Fortunately, only one exact match coincided to the death date. Canelum David Canaday died 10 Sep 1879 – this date matched the broken tombstone. His family buried him in the Huggins Cemetery We know from Part 2 that:
Canelum was the son of Richard Canaday.
Richard Canaday was the father of Laura D. Canaday Huggins, the 2nd wife of Augustus Huggins.
Therefore, Canelum is the brother of Laura Canaday Huggins!
The Brother
Canelum Canaday was born 28 Oct 1849 to Richard and Harriet Burns Canaday in Carteret County, North Carolina. He appeared on the 1850, 1860 and 1870 censuses living in the household with his parents and siblings. There is no military record for Canelum who died 10 Sep 1879 at the age of 30-years-old of consumption (tuberculosis) as recorded on the Federal Census Mortality Schedules 1850-1885. However, he was listed as a seaman who resided in Wilmington, NC at the time of his death. He filed his last will and testament in Onslow County where his parents and siblings lived. He left his estate to his mother Harriet who could share the inheritance with his siblings Henry, Catherine, David and Alexander.
Surprise Discovery
The fourth headstone broke below where the date would have been. I had absolutely no information to go by, therefore I went back to Findagrave.com. When I conducted a search of the Huggins Cemetery, I did not expect to find much…I was wrong! According to Findagrave.com, six people are interred in this little cemetery! Of course, it is possible that headstones were removed from either disrepair or vandalism. Of course, I returned to the site! I looked closely at the area – I did not see any indentations in the earth to suspect the removal of any headstones. This was an amazing discovery. So I had to dig deeper (no pun intended). The broken headstone could be one of three people:
Harriet Canaday, the wife of Richard Canaday, born 28 Feb 1827 – makes sense.
Laura Devane Canaday Huggins, the 2nd wife of Augustus Huggins, born 18 Sep 1851 – makes sense.
John Grice, an African American farmer, was born between 1883 and 1888. Now this does NOT make sense!
Who is John Grice???
Genealogical Research for the Unknown
Million dollar question of the day! Harriet and Laura buried in the Huggins Cemetery makes sense. But why John Grice? How was he connected to the Huggins/Canaday family? Time to do more genealogical research. It will be the final post in this series.
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.
Preparing for the release of the 1950 census records
I’m excited for 1950 because of the census! Some people get excited when a new cell phone drops but genealogists get excited when new records become available! Imagine the family historians cutting a rug when the National Archives drops the 1950 census on April 1st? It will be similar to New Year’s Eve! This census is so important to genealogists for several reasons:
This is the census that most of our parents show up on for the first time.
We continue to follow the migration of our relatives from the South to the North and out to the West.
Alaska and Hawaii did not become states until 1959; however, they were included in census records as well as other U.S. territories.
Military personnel living on their installations and college students living at their college were enumerated at their respective locations.
What you need to know
Here are some things that you need to be aware of with this census:
Enumerators microfilmed only the front side of the 1950 census. Unfortunately, the originals were destroyed. Bah humbug!
There were several versions of the 1950 Census. The P1 (Basic Census form) was what the enumerators (census takers) used when they went door-to-door; however, there were 17 other forms that enumerators used. Wow!
The 1950 census had fewer lines (30 lines) compared to the 1940 census (40 lines). They included more room for enumerators to take notes or give explanations about information on the record.
Name searching will be available through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) that will decipher the handwritten records. If you find a mistake in the transcription, submit a correction to help perfect the indexing.
The relationship status updated compared to the 1940 census. They removed “S” for single and added “N” for “never married.”
Enumerators asked additional questions based on previously answered questions or their position on the census.
Personally, I’m going to make a list to prep for the 1950 census release. How am I going to do that you ask? That’s a post for another day. Happy Searching!
Not really but we’ve all heard some kind of far fetched family tale or rumor – your family comes from royalty, your 4x great grandmother was Pocahontas, or your 10th cousin was Attila the Hun. Believe it or not, there might be a bit of truth in every tall tale. As we get older, we begin to wonder…is it a fact? Maybe. So, we start asking questions and we can’t get a straight answer. Any family who knew the answer to the question has been long gone. Curiosity finally gets the best of you and you NEED to know if this story is true. Your best bet? Hire a genealogist!
But first, thank you for deciding to research your family history. It is important to know who you are and where you come from. Genealogy is the history of you and your ancestors. Some people will spend their entire lives not knowing the greatness that they stem from; their familial knowledge might only go as far as their grandparents. So, now start considering your options…
Hire a Genealogist
Genealogical research is a HUGE undertaking for the inexperienced. Attention to detail is important because there are a lot of dates and locations and people who share the same names. Organization is key also. You can do it! But…if you can’t, hire me! I can work with you or for you:
Solve a specific research question concerning a family rumor, missing ancestors and/or verify familial relationship.
Map out a research plan if you are an semi-experienced researcher and need some assistance or direction in scaling the proverbial brick wall.
Teach you the basics about performing genealogical research online so you can experience the joys of discovering your ancestors yourself.
Conduct the research for you and build your family tree along your direct line ancestor, a relative from whom you descend in a direct line (parent, grandparent, great grandparent, etc.) either on their maternal side, paternal side, or both.
If some assistance is needed, fill out the form on the Contact Us page for a free consultation. Thank you for considering Family Matters Genealogy in your family history journey.
