Census Sunday~ 38 Years, 2 Documents

 
Crowdsourcing, Wikipedia define crowdsourcing as:
“ the process of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, and especially from an online community,…” ¹

Today I’m asking you, my fellow genealogist and family historian, to take a few minutes out of your busy schedule, read the story I am about to present and then see if you can add to this story.

I have been researching my family for 38 years. The first 24 years I lived in Utah and had access to the LDS Family History Library which I visited frequently. Yet I haven’t made any progress on this story.

Family tradition and folklore says that my maternal 2^nd Great Grandmother is Laura Driggers. My mother also said she died very young from complication due to childbirth. My second Great Grandfather was Joseph Henry John/Johns. In 1880 Joseph Henry Johns also known as Joe Johns was single, age 31.

Joseph and his elderly father can be found in the 1880 Census for Marlboro County, South Carolina. ²



This same census is one of two documents that I have found that contains the name Laura Driggers. You can see that Laura is listed next door in the Household of her Grandfather Jeremiah Polston. She is a mere 10 years of age according to this census.

But, who are Laura Driggers parents? Her presence in the household of Jeremiah suggests that her Mother was a Polston, daughter of Jerimiah, and that her Father was a Driggers.
Joseph John/Johns married Laura Driggers, about 1882. Their first born a son, Walter Joseph Johns, Sr. was born 2 August 1883.

Joseph Henry Johns and Laura Driggers had the following children:
i. Walter Joseph Johns Sr., born 2 Aug 1883, Bennettsville, Marlboro, South Carolina; married Arletha Quick, 2 Feb 1914, Bennettsville, Marlboro, South Carolina; married Blanche Scott, 10 Aug 1927, Bennettsville, Marlboro, South Carolina; married Ellen Grooms, 22 Aug 1933, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina; died 31 Jan 1964, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
ii. Julius Johns, born 4 Mar 1887, Bennettsville, Marlboro, South Carolina; married Mary Catherine Brock, 16 Jun 1912, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina; died 16 May 1937, Monroe, Union, North Carolina.
iii. Annie Bell Johns, born May 1888, Marlboro, South Carolina; married Robert Roller, abt 1914; married William Ellis Boan, abt 1919; died 22 Jul 1923, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
iv. Samuel Johns was born about 1890 in Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina. He appeared in the census in 1920.
v. Nellie Johns, born Jul 1891, Marlboro County, South Carolina; married George Washington Heustess, Oct 1909; died 18 Jan 1928, Columbia, Richland, South Carolina.
vi. Fanny Belle Johns, born Jul 1892, Marlboro County, South Carolina; married Julius Jones, 12 Nov 1912, Bennettsville, Marlboro, South Carolina.
vii. Ida B Johns was born about 1893 in Marlboro County, South Carolina. She appeared in the census in 1900.
viii. Mamie Johns was born in Jul 1898 in Marlboro County, South Carolina. She died before 1910.

Laura (Driggers) Johns is not listed in the 1900 Census. This corresponds with family folklore that she died during or shortly after the birth of her daughter, Mamie Johns. A snapshot of the Census shows that Joseph married in 1882 and in 1900 he is listed as a widow with 6 children in the household. ³



Joseph Henry Johns never remarried and was partially paralyzed shortly before his death on 10 April 1929 in McFarland, Anson County, North Carolina.

Up until this point no document has been found that named Laura Driggers as the wife of Joseph Henry Johns. The only knowledge of the event is family folklore and only one document has been found that mentions Laura Driggers – the 1880 Marlboro County, South Carolina Census.

Child Name	Death date	Father Name	Mother Name
Walter Joseph	31 Jan 1964	Certificate Restricted	(not released by state)
Julius	16 May 1937	Joe John	Not Known
Annie Bell	22 July 1923	Joseph John	Blank
Samuel**
Nellie	18 January 1928	Joe Johns	Laura Driggers
Fannie
Mamie	Bef 1910

· ** Samuel only found in one Census the 1920 census for Marlboro County, SC



Laura (Driggers) Johns, age 28/29, is believed to have died at or shortly after the birth of her daughter, Mamie in 1898. Her absence from the 1900 Marlboro County census and family folklore substantiate this thought process. Only two documents (1880 Census, SC death certificate of daughter Nellie (Johns) Heustes) have been found that substantiate her existence. ⁴

If you have any data about Laura Driggers (1869/70-1898), granddaughter of Jeremiah Polston, please contact me through this blog.

If you have some spare time, take a look for Laura, maybe the “Genealogy Genie” will look favorable of your adventure and we can add some additional facts to timeline of Laura (Driggers) Johns.
 
 










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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdsourcing
[2] 1880 U. S. Census, Marlboro County, South Carolina, population schedule, Marlboro County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) #108, page 460A, Line 22, Dwelling # 43, Family #43, Household of Shade JOHN; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed July 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm T9_1235.
[3] 1900 U. S. Census, Marlboro County, South Carolina, population schedule, Bennettsville, Marlboro County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) 87, page 55A, dwelling 365, family 383, Household of Joseph John; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed July 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm  T623_1536.
[4] Nellie Huestes, death certificate 000520 (18 January 1928), Vital Records, Department of Health and Environmental Control, Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina.