It’s Family Time~Who are the Parents of my Great Grandmother-Laura Driggers

For almost 40 years I have looked for the parents of my Great Grandmother Laura Driggers. Only two known clues exist to even prove that Laura ever existed and only family folklore exist that she is in fact my Great Grandmother.   

But, first some background. Sometime before 1860, my Great, Great Grandfather moved from Chesterfield County, SC to Russell County, Alabama where he and the family can be found in 1860. ¹


1860 CENSUS: Southern Division, Seals Station, Russell County, Alabama Roll: M653_22; Page: 893; Image: 499; Family History Library Film: 803022; Line 7, Household 238/227. Shadrick JOHNS, 60, Male, Day Laborer, born in SC; Mary JOHNS, 44, Female, House Keeper, born in SC; Alice C. JOHNS, 16, Female, House Keeper, born in SC; Thomas H. JOHNS, 14, Male, born in SC; Henry J. JOHNS, 11, male, born in SC and Anna W. JOHNS, 6, female, born in SC.
 

You can see that the family consisted of 2 sons and two daughters. The oldest daughter Alice Catherine married Joel S. Toler in Bullock County, Alabama on 30 Sept 1869.  We next find Shadrach, Joseph Henry and two grandchildren, William Shadrac and Mary Toler in Marlboro county in 1880.^{2 3}

1880 CENSUS: Hebron Twsp., Marlboro County, South Carolina; T9_Roll: 1235; Family History Film: 1255235; Page: 460A; Enumeration District: 108; . Film #0448724, Soundex for 1880 SC Census, Film #1255235, Line 22, Dwelling # 43, Family #43. Shade JOHN, age 80, Shingle Getter, born in SC; Joseph JOHN, son, age 31, May TOLAR, grand daughter, age 10, born in SC and William TOLAR, grand son, age 7, born in SC. 

To this day, I still do not know what happened to Mary Boan Johns (Wife of Shadrach) Alice Catherine Johns Toler, Joel S. Toler, Thomas H. Johns and Anna W. Johns.
But back in Marlboro in 1880 we find Shadrach (aka Shade), Henry Joseph and the two grandchildren living beside Jeremiah Polston and his family. ⁴

1880 Hebron, Marlboro Co., SC

In the household of Jeremiah Polston is his granddaughter, Laura Driggers, age 10. This is one of the sources I mentioned in the beginning of this post. Yes, I know my Great Grandfather Joseph Henry is listed as age 31 in this census.

Family folklore says that Joseph Henry married Laura Driggers. It is believed that they were married about the time that Laura turned thirteen or about 1883. Over the next 15 years they would conceive 8 known children. Laura would not survived the birth of her eighth child, Mamie in July 1898 and ultimately the child did not survive.  Their children were: ⁵

• Walter Joseph, b. abt 1885
• Julius, b. Mar 1887 (My Grand Father)
• Annie Bell, b. May 1888
• Samuel, b. aby 1890
• Nellie, b. Jul 891
• Fanny Belle, b. Jul 1892
• Ida B., abt 1893
• Mamie, b. July 1898

The other known source that mentions the name Laura Driggers is the death certificate for her daughter – Nellie Johns Heustess. 












That’s it, Laura Driggers existences is only mention in two known documents:

• 1880 U. S. Census, Marlboro County, South Carolina, population schedule, Marlboro County, South Carolina, ED #108, page 460A, Line 22, Dwelling # 43, Family #43, Household of Shade JOHN.
• Nellie Huestes, Chesterfield County, South Carolina death certificate 000520 (18 January 1928).⁶

Laura is not enumerated in the 1900 censuses and I can only surmise that she perished during or shortly after the birth of her daughter Mamie in July 1898. 

If you have some spare time, I challenge each and every one reading this blog post to take just a few minutes to look and see if they can find any additional information about Laura Driggers.








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[1] 1860 CENSUS: Southern Division, Seals Station, Russell County, Alabama Roll: M653_22; Page: 893; Image: 499; Family History Library Film: 803022; Line 7, Household 238/227. Shadrick JOHNS, 60, Male, Day Laborer, born in SC; Mary JOHNS, 44, Female, House Keeper, born in SC; Alice C. JOHNS, 16, Female, House Keeper, born in SC; Thomas H. JOHNS, 14, Male, born in SC; Henry J. JOHNS, 11, male, born in SC and Anna W. JOHNS, 6, female, born in SC.
[2] Bullock County, Alabama, Alabama, County Marriages, 1809-1950, , Marriage of Joel S. Toler & Alice Catherine Johns, 30 September 1869; image, Latter Day Saints, Family Search (http://www.FamilySearch.com : viewed, download 23 May 2014).
[3] 1880 CENSUS: Hebron Twsp., Marlboro County, South Carolina; T9_Roll: 1235; Family History Film: 1255235; Page: 460A; Enumeration District: 108; . Film #0448724, Soundex for 1880 SC Census, Film #1255235, Line 22, Dwelling # 43, Family #43. Shade JOHN, age 80, Shingle Getter, born in SC; Joseph JOHN, son, age 31, May TOLAR, grand daughter, age 10, born in SC and William TOLAR, grand son, age 7, born in SC.
[4] Ibid.
[5] 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.
[6] Nellie Huestes, death certificate 000520 (18 January 1928), Vital Records, Department of Health and Environmental Control, Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina.