It Was A Bad Summer for the Gray's And Typhoid

Copyright 2021, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

1876, Sarah Gray dies in Nansemond County Virginia.  I found her death record, recorded in old style book format.  

I did not capture the column headings.  For the most part, they are reasonably obvious.

I did get a surprise when I found it, as two other Gray family members died that summer, Claudia and Putman.  Neither of whom were in my data base.  But, here they are.  The three deaths reported, apparently at the same time by husband and father L. J.

Each line of the written record, as transcribed by Ancestry dot com - - 

Sarah A.C. Gray

Name Sarah A.C. Gray

Gender Female

Death Date 30 Jun 1876

Death Place Nansemond, Virginia

Age 30

Birth Date 1846

Birthplace Nansemond Co., Virginia

Race White

Marital Status Married

Spouse's Name L J Gray

Father's Name   Joseph M Murphy  ?????  Not the same as on marriage  ????

Mother's Name Edith Murphy  ?????

(See the question marks, well, that's a problem I found, as I have her maiden name as Hines and her father as John, her mother as Sarah.  I see lots more follow up research indicated here. Find one answer, ask 10 more.)

L.J. and Sarah's children:

Claudia Gray

Name: Claudia Gray

Birth Date: abt 1872

Birth Place: Nansemond County, Virginia

Death Date: 30 Jul 1876

Death Place: Nansemond, Virginia

Death Age: 4

Race: White

Gender: Male

Father Name: L.J. Gray

Mother Name:  Sarah A.C. Gray

FHL Film Number: 2048578

Putman Gray

Name: Putman Gray

Birth Date: abt 1875

Birth Place: Nansemond County, Virginia

Death Date: 10 Aug 1876

Death Place: Nansemond, Virginia

Death Age: 11 Months 5 Days

Race: White

Gender: Male

Father Name: L.G. Gray

Mother Name:  Sarah A.C. Gray

FHL Film Number: 2048578

What do we learn from the images that was not transcribed by Ancestry dot com?  Cause of death.  Typhoid fever for all three.

It was a bad, sad summer for L.J.

*L. J. is Lubertus J., 1844 - 1896, research continues - - 

** Transcribed records can be found at Ancestry dot com in the Virginia, U.S., Deaths and Burials Index, 1853-1917 data set.  The images were located at FamilySearch dot org.

***It will be noted that I have found the surname spelled as Gray and then in later years his descendants use Grey.  

**** Disclaimers - see my disclaimer page and note that I pay for my access to Ancestry dot com and that access to FamilySearch dot org is free.  

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Lookie What I Found, The Marriage Certificate, Chancery Style

Copyright 2021, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

When the image you have for a marriage is this:

And, you are reviewing a Chancery Case involving the same couple and you find this:

Case in point, one marriage record and one marriage certificate for Henry LeRoy Dews and Katie May Wynn. Sadly, the marriage ended in a flurry of sworn affidavits and divorce.

I have had the image of the book style marriage record for years.  I had reviewed the Chancery Case before, but, missed this "copy" of the marriage until today.

The power of review, it rarely fails me.

The book style record has been digitally edited, to removed a large portion of the page, lines and lines of marriage records that are not my subjects.  Henry and Katie are on almost the last line of the page.

The certificate is marked "A COPY" by the court clerk and was produced to provide evidence in the divorce case.

Gotta say, I thought to myself when I found that certificate, "what fun."  Genie happy dancing may have happened. 

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