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 William M. "Will" Previtte (1870-1955) was compiled with the assistance of Claude Sonnett 4 and is entitled:
William M. "Will" Previtte: A Life Across the American South
Early Life and Family Background
William M. "Will" Previtte was born on July 15, 1870, in Mount Croghan, Chesterfield County, South Carolina, during the turbulent years of Reconstruction following the Civil War. He was the son of Thomas Kincheon Previtte (1840-1898) and Sarah Jane Tucker (1839-1918), growing up in the rural farming community of the South Carolina Piedmont.
Will came of age during a transformative period in American history, as the South struggled to rebuild its economy and society after the war. His early years in Chesterfield County would have been shaped by the agricultural rhythms of tenant farming and the tight-knit communities that characterized rural Southern life in the late 19th century.
Marriage and Growing Family
Around 1890, Will married Sarah "Sallie" Sanders in Chesterfield County. Sallie, born May 24, 1870, was the daughter of Richard Sanders and Martha Poplin. She had grown up in nearby Anson County, North Carolina, and the couple would remain devoted partners for nearly 58 years.
Will and Sallie raised a large family of seven children:
Allie Mae Previtte (May 5, 1891 - July 4, 1976), who married Arbie Franklin Tucker around 1910
Samuel Kinston Previtte (September 18, 1895 - April 19, 1969)
Horrie Harvey Previtte (September 18, 1898 - June 8, 1972), who married Myrtle Kissiah in 1920 and later Eva Wallace
Iva Previtte (August 16, 1903 - October 3, 1978)
Myrtle Previtte (May 18, 1904 - June 15, 1929)
Pheobe Previtte (October 24, 1907 - January 7, 1933)
William M. Previtte (March 23, 1911 - August 29, 1988)
The family faced the heartbreak that was all too common in that era, losing two young daughters—Myrtle at age 25 and Pheobe at just 25—during the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Life as a Farmer: South Carolina to Mississippi
The 1900 census finds the Previtte family in Mt. Croghan Township, with Will working as a farmer at age 29. The family was living alongside Will's brother Samuel R. Previtte, and their household included their first two children, Allie Mae and young Samuel.
Around 1905, seeking better opportunities, the family made a significant move to Quitman, Clarke County, Mississippi. The 1910 census records them there, with Will now 38 years old and still farming. The move to Mississippi reflected a broader pattern of Southern families seeking fresh farmland and new economic prospects during this period. The census noted that Will and Sallie had been married for nine years (likely an undercount) and had six children, with five still living—a sobering reminder of infant mortality rates at the turn of the century.
Return to South Carolina
By 1920, the Previtte family had returned to their roots in Mount Croghan, South Carolina. The census that year shows Will, now 50, back on familiar ground with Sallie and several of their children still at home: Samuel Kinston (24), Horrie (21), Ivery (16), Luby (12), and young William (6). This return suggests the Mississippi venture may not have proven as prosperous as hoped, or perhaps the pull of family and familiar surroundings drew them back.
The 1920s were challenging times for Southern farmers, with falling commodity prices and agricultural depression arriving well before the stock market crash of 1929. Like many farming families, the Previtts would have struggled with these economic headwinds.
A Bold Move to Texas
In a dramatic change of scenery, Will and Sallie relocated to Texas sometime in the late 1920s. The 1930 census finds them in Precinct 1, Crosby County, Texas—the heart of West Texas cotton country. Now 60 years old, Will had joined the wave of farmers moving to the newly developing agricultural lands of the Texas plains, where mechanization and irrigation were transforming former ranch land into productive farmland.
Their daughter Pheobe, age 22, was still living with them at this time. The move to Texas represented remarkable resilience and adventurousness for a couple in their sixties, willing to start fresh in a region known for its harsh climate, dust storms, and challenging growing conditions.
Final Years in Lubbock
By 1940, Will and Sallie had moved to Lubbock, Texas, along with their daughter Ivy. Will was now 69, and the family had settled in this rapidly growing West Texas city. Lubbock had benefited from the discovery of oil and the expansion of Texas Tech University, providing a more stable environment than rural farming communities.
Sallie passed away on February 2, 1948, at their home on Forty-fourth Street near the Tahoka highway. She was 77 years old and had lived in Lubbock for 15 years. Her obituary noted she was survived by her husband William, three sons (H.H. in South Carolina, S.K. of Lubbock, and William of Houston), two daughters (Miss Iva Previtte of Lubbock and Mrs. Mae Tucker of Lorenzo), 18 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
Will lived another seven years without his beloved Sallie, passing away on October 25, 1955, in Lubbock at the age of 85. Both are buried together in Ralls Cemetery in Crosby County, Texas—a final resting place far from where they began their journey together in South Carolina.
Legacy
Will and Sallie's life together spanned from the Reconstruction era through two World Wars, the Great Depression, and into the modern age of the 1950s. Their willingness to move—from the Carolinas to Mississippi and finally to Texas—demonstrated the restless determination that characterized many American farming families seeking better opportunities. Though they faced the profound losses of two young daughters and the countless hardships of agricultural life, they built a lasting family legacy that spread across multiple states and generations.
.png){kind=small}
No comments:
Post a Comment