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Conversations with Michelle Collie
Micheale Collie
May 6
to me
Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. My mom was hospitalized last week. She's better and home, but has a long recovery ahead of her.
I'm so glad you were successful in Halifax and Pittsylvania counties!
You clearly have more information than I do. I don't have any pictures of that family and didn't know George T was married more than once. I'd really appreciate it if you would share the information you found with me, as well as the photos.
I'm so glad my tree has been helpful for you! I'm working on cleaning it up...deleting duplicates, adding more information, etc.
Mary Frances Eggleston
May 7
to Micheale
Micheale,
I'm glad to get your e-mail, and so sorry about your mother. I lost mine in '95 and so wish I could converse with her now. It appears from your site on Ancestry that our Carter lines run almost parallel. I use to visit my grandmother on Jefferson Avenue in Danville when I was a child and recall her neighbor, Mrs. Collie. I'm guessing they were related (which I never knew) along with Mrs. Satterfield and several other names I have discovered, that have married into the Carters. Once started, it is hard to find a stopping place in this genealogy stuff. I never knew of her sister, Ellie Mae, who I am told lived quite close to her, or that her husband's sister, Mattie Carter Powell, also raised a large family with the help of her own sister, Bessie Edwards, who never married and remained with their family until her death. Even the family of Mattie Carter Powell (from whom I got the photos) never knew that her given name was Martha Ellen, as she was called Mattie all of her life. Another discovery, that my Grandmother's father was in the civil war. No one ever mentioned this to me.
I got quite serious about this and have joined the DAR and Colonial Dames in order to verify, justify, and corroborate my research. There is also a group of Descendants of Tavern Owners (which may be our Carters) which I may have an interest in. Carter's Tavern was owned and operated by members of our Carter family; though I am not certain it is a direct line. I haven't gotten that far, yet! Though I am not usually a 'joiner', I thought this would be a good way to preserve information about our families, for future generations.
My own children have no interest, at this point, but I'd like to make it easier for them to find 'their ancestors' than it has been for me. I was able to capture your photos of Phillip McSherry and Eveline, who was George's sister, from your site. And if you should find others, I would appreciate it if you would share them with me. I have other photos of George which I have not scanned yet, but will get them to you, if you like.
I believe I told you before about the Will of John King Gravitt. I have it somewhere and will forward it to you when I get it scanned. I tend to be a 'hunter/gatherer' and amass loads of documents and then take forever to get it organized, digitized and filed before I 'find more interesting' people to move on with. It would be much easier if you just copy that part of the family from my work on the Devin Timber site. I began with my Father's Reynolds and they fit very nicely into this existing site and I worked on it for several years, before trying to begin my own site.
http://www.devintimber.org/getperson.php?personID=I7278&tree=dt001
Because my grandfather's mother, Sue Green died before he was 10 years old, my grandmother did not know his mother and only knew his step-mother, who turned out to be her sister. On his death record, my grandmother stated his mother's name as Martha Gravitt; (she turned out to be the mother of both girls that married George Carter. I did the whole Gravitt line, before I found the marriage license which correctly identified Sue Carter as a Green. I still have not found the marriage record for Sally Fannie, but they often went to Person County or Caswell to marry.
I do apologize for the length of this note; I can go on......and on......and on. But it is nice to meet someone who has the same interest.
Regards,
Mary Frances
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George-Carter-r2.jpg George-Carter-r2.jpg
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Mary Frances Eggleston
May 13
to Micheale
I am attaching the Will of John King Gravitt! Finally! I am spending more time on the Carter's now and questions arise because Sue Green Carter died so long ago and everyone knows about Sallie Fannie because she is buried with George T. John King Gravitt was evidently a successful attorney who did not have children of his own and left his estate to his nieces and nephews and their children. I probably never would have known any of this if my grandfather's name was not listed in this document. It took me a long time to unravel this, so if you think I have made mistakes, please let me know.
Gravett_Will.pdf Gravett_Will.pdf
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Micheale Collie
May 13
to me
All the information you've sent me has been so helpful! It is wonderful to be working with someone such as yourself who is as excited about genealogical work as I am. Thanks so much for sending me George T Carter's portrait and that of his wife. I was very confused about his wives. Thanks also, for attaching the Gravett will. I'm anxious to read it!
If I find anymore information, you'll be the first to know!
Mary Frances Eggleston
4:56 PM
to Micheale
See what you think when you read the Will. I am corresponding with another researcher who does not believe that George's wives are the d/o Martha Gravit and James A.P. Green. She does not know who their parents may be, but has raised enough good points that I am going to go to Halifax and pull the original marriage record to see if it lists her parents or even their initials. There is no doubt that he married twice, or that these girls were sisters. The ? is who their parents were. If it is not this Martha Gravit and James A.P. Green, it will be a cousin, or closer relative, for sure. But I want to find some other record to corroborate my information. As you may have seen, these families intermarried so that tracking them is difficult to say the least. I'll keep you posted.
Micheale Collie
7:19 PM
to me
I looked over the Will last night and found it very interesting. My parents are actually distant cousins, but didn't know it until I started working on their family trees. There are Carters on both sides and because of the high rate of intermarriage in rural areas they share a great+ uncle. I forget, how far do you live from Halifax? My parents still live in the Mount Carmel area of Halifax County, so if it's easier for you, I could check the marriage records in Halifax. We go up pretty often, plus I need to check some records, too.
Mary Frances Eggleston
7:33 PM
to Micheale
Oh! That would be wonderful, Michelle. I am in Fredericksburg and sometimes go to the LVA in Richmond, but they do not have the old marriage records from Halifax. I have seen the abstract of the record and it is also on-line, but does not show parents names. I have not ever found any record for the second marriage to Sally Fannie, and assumed they went to Caswell or Person County. The only thing I can think of to verify her Parents would be the marriage record, and hope it has her parents names on it. Do you know anything about where the farm was?
I can go through land deeds, etc. at LVA and have been through a lot of them, but mostly Carters, Powells, and Edwards; not so much for Gravitts and Greens. I also should look through the Woodys, as John King Gravitt (Will) and his brother both married Woody girls. Another researcher I am corresponding with, thinks Martha Sue and Sally Fannie may be the d/o Susan H. Gravitt and her Green husband, who is a sister of John King and would fit the niece and nephew outline. At this point, my head is spinning around.
Thanks so much,
Mary Frances |
