Loose Ends with the Charlie and Annie Smith Family

There's a lot of advertising suggesting that genealogy research is easy and can be done by clicking on leaves.

After thirty-nine years of research, I can tell you that not all genealogy research is easy and it definitely cannot be done sitting at your home computer.

A good case to demonstrate this is the family of Charlie Smith and Annie Atkinson of Chesterfield County, South Carolina. 

Charlie & Annie does not appear in any censuses as a couple. Annie Atkinson Smith was first found listed in the 1900 Census. She and her two children are enumerated in the household of her parents Wiley B. Atkinson and his wife Margaret. ¹

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

In the above census, Annie Smith is a Widower; thus it’s  logical that Charlie Smith, her husband, died before June 1900 (date of Census). No obituary or tombstone has been found for Charlie Smith. His date of birth and parents are unknown by this researcher. 
Only two know children were born to the union – Hezekiah (Sept 1889)  and Henrietta Smith (Aug 1896). Henrietta birth of Aug 1896 suggests that her Father (Charlie) was alive until about December 1895 and that he passed away between December 1895 and June 1900.

Annie Atkinson Smith can be found in the 1920 Census in the household of her brother  Gaston Augustus and in the 1930 Census as a Servant for the family of William Turnage Rivers. ²

One unsourced documents suggests that Annie Atkinson Smith died in 1948 in Virginia. This could not and has not been confirmed. A valid death date for Annie has not been found.

Hezekiah Smith
Hezekiah Smith was born in September 1889 according to the 1900 Census for Chesterfield County, South Carolina. Hezekiah married Fannie Jeannette Eddins, daughter of William W. Eddings and his wife Martha E. Previtte. The Eddings are my Great Uncle and Aunt. ³
Hezekiah and Fannie were married about 1909 and had 5 children; three daughters and two sons.

Fannie Eddings Smith died 23 Nov 1965 in Rocky Mount, Nash County, North Carolina. She was buried in Pineview Cemetery, South Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County, North Carolina. ⁴

No record of Hezekiah Smith’s death date has been found

Henrietta Elizabeth “Hennie” Smith
Henrietta Smith was born in August 1896 according to the 1900 Census for Chesterfield County, South Carolina. Henrietta married Samuel Arnold Brock, son of Samuel Washington Brock and Sarah Jane Lee. The Brock’s are my Cousins. ⁵

Henrietta and Samuel Arnold were married about 1910. To this union were born 8 children; four sons and four daughters. 
Henrietta Elizabeth “Hennie” Smith Brock died 28 April 1978 in Rockingham, Richmond County, North Carolina. She was buried in the Brock’s Mill Baptist Church Cemetery. Her obituary was printed in the Chesterfield Advertiser, 3 May 1978.^{6 7}

Many hours have been spent researching this family of four and yet here today we have many unanswered questions and still have much to discover.

• When and where did Charlie Smith pass away?
• Where is Charlie Smith buried?
• Who are the parents of Charlie Smith?
• When and where did Annie Atkinson Smith pass away?
• Where is Annie Smith buried?
• When and where did Hezekiah Smith pass away?
• Where is Hezekiah Smith buried?

________________________________
[1] 1900 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Court House, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) 0021, Page: 15A/99 (stamped); Line 20, Dwelling 266, Family 272, Household of Wiley B. ATKINSON; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 24 March 2015); citing National Archives Microfilm T623_1523.
[2] 1920 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Old Store, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) 46, Page: 4B/288 (stamped); Line 90, Dwelling 86, Family 88, Household of G. Augustus ATKINSON; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 24 March 2015); citing National Archives Microfilm T625_1690.
[3] 1900 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Court House, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) 0021, Page: 15A/99 (stamped); Line 20, Dwelling 266, Family 272, Household of Wiley B. ATKINSON; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 24 March 2015); citing National Archives Microfilm T623_1523.
[4] State of North Carolina, death no. 36842 (23 November 1965), Mrs. Fannie Eddins Smith; https://www.ancestry.com, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina.
[5] 1900 U. S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Court House, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, enumeration district (ED) 0021, Page: 15A/99 (stamped); Line 20, Dwelling 266, Family 272, Household of Wiley B. ATKINSON; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 24 March 2015); citing National Archives Microfilm T623_1523.
[6] State of North Carolina, death (28 April 1978), Henrietta Elizabeth Brock; https://www.ancestry.com, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina.
[7] MRS. SAMUEL A. BROCK obituary, The Chesterfield Advertiser, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, 3 May 1978.