52 Cousins~Through War and Reconstruction: The Journey of Alvin Raymond White

The “52 Cousins” series of biographical sketches are Artificial Intelligence (AI) compiled narratives of selected individuals from my Genealogical database.  The selected AI will used the RootsMagic Individual Summary from my Genealogical Software, Roots Magic. All genealogical data is my research material acquired over the past 46 years of research. Today's Biography of Alvin Raymond White (1849-1911) was compiled with the assistance of Claude Sonnett 4 and is entitled:

Through War and Reconstruction:The Journey of Alvin Raymond White

Early Life and Family Origins

Alvin Raymond White was born in June 1849 in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, to Richmond White (born 1815) and M. Anne Parsons (born 1818). He entered the world during a time of significant change in America, just four years after the annexation of Texas and one year after the California Gold Rush began transforming the American West.

Alvin grew up in a large farming family in rural South Carolina. His father Richmond and mother Anne raised their children in Chesterfield County, where the family appears in the 1850 census when Alvin was just an infant. By the 1860 census, eleven-year-old Alvin was living at home with his parents and siblings, including his brothers William, Thomas James, Andrew, and Marshall, and his sisters Mary, Eliza Jane, and Ellen.

Siblings and Growing Up

Alvin was one of several children in the White household. His older brothers William and Thomas James were teenagers when Alvin was still a young boy. The family worked together on their South Carolina farm, as was typical for rural families of that era. The 1870 census shows nineteen-year-old Alvin still living in South Carolina, now in Smithville, Marlboro County, in the household of his older brother Thomas James White. Their mother Annie was also living with them at that time.

Life During the Civil War Era

Alvin would have been just twelve years old when the Civil War began in 1861, and sixteen when it ended in 1865. Growing up in South Carolina during this tumultuous period would have profoundly shaped his early life experiences. Like many young men of his generation in the South, he witnessed the devastation of war and the challenging Reconstruction period that followed.

Marriage and Move to North Carolina

By 1879, Alvin had relocated to Anson County, North Carolina, where he would build his adult life. On December 23, 1879, at approximately age 30, he married Laura Rosalie Sanders in Anson County. Laura, born October 12, 1861, was eighteen years old at the time of their marriage—twelve years younger than Alvin. She was the daughter of Moses J. Sanders (1814-1874) and Prudence Reeves (1821-1903).

According to the marriage record, Alvin gave his age as 24, though he was likely closer to 30 based on other records. His parents were listed as Richard White and Annis White, while Laura's parents were recorded as Moses Sandors and Pressley R. Sandors.

Working Life and Building a Family

Alvin made his living as a day laborer, doing hard physical work to support his growing family. The 1900 census, taken in Wadesboro, Anson County, provides a snapshot of the White household. At age 52, Alvin was working as a day laborer, as was his wife Laura, then 39 years old. The census recorded that they had been married for 20 years and had ten children together, though only seven were still living by 1900.

Life was not easy for the White family. Losing three children was a heartbreak that Alvin and Laura shared with many parents of their era, when childhood mortality rates were tragically high. The surviving children living at home in 1900 included William (age 19), Ethel (age 17), Berta (age 15), Charlie (age 11), John (age 7), Daisy (age 5), and Callie (age 2).

Children and Family Legacy

Alvin and Laura White raised eight children who survived to adulthood:

William Holmes White (December 19, 1880 - September 1, 1934) - Born in Anson County, William lived in Richmond County as an adult.

Ethel White (February 10, 1883 - February 18, 1941) - Born in Anson County, Ethel lived to age 58.

Berta White (January 1, 1885 - April 28, 1930) - Born in Anson County.

Charlie Edmund White (June 17, 1888 - January 21, 1948) - Born in Anson County, Charlie died in Rockingham, Richmond County at age 59.

John Jordan White (August 17, 1894 - June 14, 1956) - Born in Anson County, John later moved to High Point, Guilford County, where he died at age 61.

Daisy B. White (February 12, 1896 - June 3, 1947) - Born in Anson County, Daisy married Colon Marshall Callahan and died in High Point, Guilford County. She was buried at Floral Gardens on June 5, 1947.

Callie Raymond White Sr. (August 5, 1897 - January 24, 1951) - Born in Anson County, Callie married Mary Dockery Hamer and died in Rockingham, Richmond County. He was buried at Eastside Cemetery on January 25, 1951.

Lillie Jeanette White (August 28, 1900 - March 14, 1972) - The youngest child, born in Anson County, Lillie died in Rockingham, Richmond County at age 71.

Loss of Laura

Tragedy struck the White family in 1905 when Laura Rosalie died at the young age of 43 or 44 in Anson County.6 After twenty-six years of marriage, Alvin was left a widower with several children still at home. The 1910 census shows him living in Wolf Pit, Richmond County, with his adult son William's family, along with four of his younger children: Charlie (age 20), John (age 17), Callie (age 14), and daughters Daisy and Lillie (both age 10). At age 55, he was still working as a day laborer to help support the household.

Final Years and Death

The obituary notes that Alvin had relocated to Anson County in 1884, five years after his marriage, though this appears to conflict with other records suggesting he was already in Anson County when he married in 1879. Regardless, he spent most of his adult life in the region between Anson and Richmond Counties.

Alvin Raymond White died on February 9, 1911, at his home in Cordova, Richmond County, after a short illness. He was approximately 61 years old. His body was brought back to Anson County for burial at Mount Beulah Baptist Church cemetery in Wadesboro, where his wife Laura had been laid to rest six years earlier. The funeral service was held at the church on Friday afternoon, February 10, 1911, and was conducted by Reverend T. W. Chambliss.

According to his obituary in the Messenger-Intelligencer newspaper, eight children survived him—four sons and four daughters.9 The daughters were identified as Mrs. Andrew Tice of Anson County, Mrs. James Coward of Rockingham, and Misses Lillie and Daisy White of Cordova. His sons—William H. White, Charles, John, and Callie White—were all living in Richmond County but traveled to Anson County to attend their father's funeral.

Historical Context

Alvin Raymond White lived through one of the most transformative periods in American history. Born before the Civil War in the slaveholding South, he witnessed the conflict as a boy, endured the hardships of Reconstruction, and lived to see the dawn of the twentieth century. His life as a day laborer reflects the economic realities faced by many working-class families in the post-war South, where hard physical labor was necessary to provide for large families.

The late 19th century in North Carolina was a time of agricultural transition and economic challenge. Families like the Whites worked hard to survive, often moving between counties in search of better opportunities. Despite the difficulties—including the loss of three children in infancy or childhood and his wife's premature death—Alvin persevered and raised a family that would continue for generations in North and South Carolina.

Alvin Raymond White is my 1st Cousin 3X Removed. 

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Footnotes

Find A Grave Memorial #93769377, Alvin Raymond White (June 1849–13 February 1911), Mount Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery, Wadesboro, Anson County, North Carolina. 

1850 U.S. Census, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Page 180A, Line 16, Dwelling 1251, Family 1251, Household of Richmond White.

1860 U.S. Census, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, population schedule, Page 106, Line 28, Dwelling 179, Family 178, Household of Richd White. 

1870 U.S. Census, Smithville, Marlboro County, South Carolina, population schedule, Page 455A, Line 22, Dwelling 326, Family 326, Household of J. T. White.

"North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011," Ancestry.com database, Marriage of Alvin White and Laura Sanders, December 23, 1879, Anson County, North Carolina. 

Find A Grave Memorial #93769754, Laura Rosalie Sanders White (12 October 1861–1905), Mount Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery, Wadesboro, Anson County, North Carolina. 

1900 U.S. Census, Wadesboro, Anson County, North Carolina, enumeration district 0010, Page 5/183B, Line 79, Dwelling 92, Family 92, Household of Alvin White. 

1910 U.S. Census, Wolf Pit, Richmond County, North Carolina, enumeration district 0110, Page 3A/256A, Line 2, Dwelling 36, Family 36, Household of William H. White. 

"Death of Mr. A.R. White," The Messenger and Intelligencer, Wadesboro, Anson County, North Carolina, February 13, 1911 edition.