52 Ancestors: #49, Laura Driggers

 

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story To Small has started a challenge of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.
From her blog “The challenge: have one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor. It could be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on one ancestor. Not only should this get me blogging more, but also to take a deeper look at some of the people in my family tree.”

The focus of my blog post today is Laura Driggers, my Great Grandmother.

Laura is one of those ancestors that really tugs at your heart strings. I have written about Laura several  times in the past three years. I want this post to be in remembrance and a special tribute to her.

Laura was a very young girl, much too young to be marrying my Great Grandfather. If I believe the Census she had just barely reached her teen years when she was married. Between Aug. 1883 and Jul. 1898 she had 8 children; 3 sons and 5 daughters. She and her daughter Mamie perished during childbirth in July 1898. Laura was just barely 29 years old. Great Grandfather Joseph died some 20 years later.

The 1880 census shows Laura with her Grandfather Jeremiah Polston  in the 1880 Census for Marlboro county, South Carolina.

For 38 years all I had with Laura’s name on it, was two documents

• 1880 U. S. Census, Marlboro County, South Carolina, population schedule, Hebron, Marlboro County, South Carolina, ED 108, Page: 460A(stamped), Line 16, Dwelling 42, Family 42, Household of Jeremiah POLSTON.
• Nellie Huestes, Chesterfield County, South Carolina death certificate 000520 (18 January 1928).

Jeremiah Polston had two daughters that married Driggers men yet I haven’t been able to connect Laura to either of these two daughters.

• Emiline Polston married John Henry Driggers
• Margaret Elizabeth Polston married John A. Driggers.

That where the status of Laura has been for the past 38 years. But just within the past two weeks I had an individual to contact me that is a Driggers descendant. This individual is a descendant of Jeremiah Polston through his daughter Margaret Elizabeth Polston and John A. Driggers.



This individual has a total of 161.4 cM with the largest segment being 38.9 cM. Now I’m no expert on DNA but it seem to me that at least I’m on the right track. Any DNA experts out there please chime in and give me some direction as to where I should go from here.

Who are Laura's parents? She deserves recognition and a permanent place in my family tree.