It’s Family Time~Violet E. Purvis, a Forgotten Child

Today posting will be short but I felt compelled to write what I know about a long forgotten daughter of my Great Grandparents William James and Mary Hulda Previtte Purvis. 

If you talked to descendants of William James and Mary Hulda I would dare say except for my two elderly aunts no one in the family has ever heard of Violet E. Purvis. 


The children of William James and Mary Hulda Previtte are:
i.    John William Purvis, born 31 Dec 1880, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina
ii.    Martha Eliza "Sis" Purvis, born 10 Aug 1882, Morven, Anson, North Carolina        
iii.    James Francis "Jim" Purvis, born 7 Nov 1885, Morven, Anson, North Carolina        
iv.    Oscar Philmore "O P" Purvis, born 10 Jul 1888, Morven, Anson, North Carolina       
v.    Sarah Frances "Sallie" Purvis, born 16 Jun 1891, Morven, Anson, North Carolina
vi.    Lela Aileen Purvis, born 18 Oct 1894, Morven, Anson, North Carolina   
vii.    Violet E. Purvis, was born on 25 May 1899 in Morven, Anson, North Carolina

Violet E. Purvis was the seventh child and fourth daughter born to William James and Mary Hulda. Their daughter was born 25 May 1899 in Morven, Anson County, North Carolina. William was a farmer and he and his wife lived in a house located on the left side of Highway 52 just about 3 miles south of the town of Morven. 

Violet E. Purvis died on 2 October 1899, age 4 months 7 days. It is not known how or why he passed away nor do we have an exact burial location.  She may have been buried in the Morven Cemetery or she could have been buried at Zoar United Methodist Church Cemetery in Chesterfield, South Carolina. 

Violet E. Purvis existence appears in NO KNOWN PUBLIC DOCUMENT. Thus, none of the current researchers of this line knows of her existence unless they too have found the one single source where she is mentioned – A Purvis Family Bible.










________________________________
[1] William James Purvis Family Bible.

Hard Times in Anson County, 1887-1888

My Great Grandfather William James Purvis was married by the age of sixteen. In the 1880 Census for Morven Township, Arson County, NC both he and Mary are enumerated as husband and wife living next door to his father, William A. Purvis. ¹




Father and son worked hand in hand to eek out a living on approximately 120 acres of land Southwest of McFarlan, North Carolina with the state line being the south side of their property.

Times were hard and to survive from one year to the next put many farmers in a vicious cycle of borrowing, lending and repaying a debt from year to year.


The instrument used by the “money lenders” to carry out this deed was called a “Deed of Trust”.


A typical “Deed of Trust” would read:

State of North Carolina} ²
Anson County } Whereas, Marshall & Richardson of Anson County in the State of North Carolina, have signed to make advances to W. A. & W. J. Pervis of the county of Anson and State aforesaid for purpose of agriculture during the year A.D. 1880 to the value of one hundred dollars and such further sums as the said Marshall & Richardson may deem necessary to be made not to exceed in all the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars and whereas the said W. A. & W. J. Pervis desires to secure to the said Marshall & Richardson prompt payment for the advances made in accordance with the provisions of the Acts of the General assembly in such cases made and provided, ratified on the 1st day of March 1867 and the Act to re-enact and amend the same ratified March 1st 1873, doth by these presents sell, transfer and agree to deliver to the said Marshall & Richardson on the 15th day of October so much cotton, corn and other products raised by him during the present year as shall be sufficient to pay for the supplies to be furnished as aforesaid which conveyance and transfers shall create a lien in favor of the advances made or to be made upon all the crop the said W. A. & W. J. Pervis may raise during the present year, and for further security the said W. A. & W. J. Pervis bargains and sells to the said Marshall & Richardson the following articles of personal property, to wit: one cow & calf - lone sow & six pigs - farming tools - household & kitchen furniture - the property of W.J. Pervis. lone mule - three cows - one ox and one yearling - six head hogs one wagon - farming tools - the property of W. A. Pervis with the understanding that if the said W. A. & W. J. Pervis shall, will and truly pay the said Marshall & Richardson for the advances as aforesaid on or before the 1st day of October the said lien shall be discharged, and the said property shall revert to the said W. A. & W. J. Pervis, otherwise the said Marshall & Richardson shall have power to take into their possessions all of said property and crop on the farm or elsewhere, if removed, and sell the same or as much thereof for cash, as may be necessary to pay for the advances aforesaid, attorney's fees, registration, and any other expenses incurred in executing this provision, first advertising said sale for ten days at three public places in the County. We the said W. A. & W. J. Pervis do hereby certify that no other lien or mortgage has been' given upon said crop or property. If this claim is not paid at maturity to bear interest at the rate of 8 per cent annum from maturity thereof to the payment. In witness whereof the said W. A. & W. J. Pervis have hereunto set their hands and seal this 13th day of February, A.D. 1880.
Signed, sealed & delivered in                              W. A. X Pervis {seal}
The presence of H. C. Hardison                        W. J. X Pervis {seal}

One bad crop year and you are in deep troubles with these predatory money lending practices.

SALE of REAL ESTATE³By virtue of power contained in a Deed of Trust executed by W. A. Purvis and Sarah J. Purvis on the 23rd day of December 1884 to N. J. Thompson and C. C. Moore, partners under the style of Thompson & Moore, and registered in trust book no. 18, page 202 of the registers office of Anson County, Dec. 27th, 1884, and by consent and request of said W. A. Purvis and Sarah J. Purvis, we will sell for cash to the highest bidder at the Court House door in the town of Wadesboro, on Monday the 7th day of December 1885, the land described in said Deed of Trust, containing 50 acres more or less, adjoining the lands of W. J. McLendon and others. Sale of above lands made to satisfy a note secured by mortgage on said reality. N. J. THOMPSON
C. C. MOORE.
Partners and MortgageesNov 25 1885, lt.
[The Anson Times, 3 Dec 1885, Thu,Page 3]
RAOGK Contributor Debra Cooper, 17 December 2014
https://www.facebook.com/groups/raogkUSA/permalink/589522781149614

In December 1885 William J. Purvis was able to purchase a 30 acre tract from his father. William A. Purvis had purchased the 30 acreage tract from Joseph P. Smith on 6 December 1866 (DB 8, page 284-286). On that same day William James Purvis purchased the 30 acres from his father, William A. Purvis (DB 8, Page 421-423). ⁴

It’s evident that the 1887-1888 crop year was not a good year as evidence by this newspaper clipping.





William J. Purvis owed .59 cents tax on his 30 acre tract and it was being put on the Auction block unless he paid the taxes.  To avoid losing it for failure to pay the taxes, William J. Purvis sold the land on 7 January 1888 to T. F. Mulholland (DB 9, Page 284-286). (Chesterfield County, SC).⁵

This was the beginning of the sell-off of all lands owned by William A. and his son, William J. and they then became “Sharecroppers”. The wife of William A. suffered from cancer for some time and died on the last day of December 1893. Between  December 1899 and May 1900; William A. Purvis had passed away. The last 18 acres, reserved for William’s 2nd wife Betsey, was sold on 30 Sept. 1900 to J. D. Rhyne, the purchaser of earlier acreages. The deed is recorded in Anson County Deed Book 34, Page 491-492. Betsy died in October 1926. ^{6 7 8}














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[1] 1880 U. S. Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Anson County, North Carolina, enumeration district (ED) # 2, Page 350B, Line 36, Dwelling 233, Family 251, Household of William A. Purvis; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 1976); citing National Archives Microfilm T9, Roll 951.
[2] Anson County, North Carolina, Trust Deed Book 11: page 529, W. A. Purvis & W. J. Purvis to Marshall & Richardson; 13 February 1880, Register of Deeds, Wadesboro, Anson County, North Carolina.
[3] SALE of REAL Estate, 50 ACRES obituary, The Anson Times, Wadesboro, Anson County, North Carolina, United States, 3 December 1885, Page 3. Default on Deed of Trust.
[4] Chesterfield County, South Carolina, Deed Book 8: pages 421-423, William A. Purvis to William James Purvis; 6 December 1866, Register of Deeds, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina.
[5] Sale of Land for Taxes - William J. Purvis, The Messenger and Intelligencer, Wadesboro, Anson County, North Carolina, United States, 10 January 1888, Page 3, Right two columns of page. Sale of Land for Taxes, 30 acres, .59 cents Taxes due.
[6] Sarah Jane Graves Purvis obituary, Messenger-Intelligencer, Wadesboro, North Carolina, 4 January 1894, page 3, McFarlan News.
[7] Anson County, North Carolina, Deed Book 34: pages 491-492, Betsy Purvis to J. D. Rhyne; 30 September 1900, Register of Deeds, Wadesboro, Anson County, North Carolina.
[8] State of North Carolina, death certificate no. 351, (18 October 1926), Mrs. Betsy Purvis; https://www.ancestry.com, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina.

Tombstone Tuesday~My Great Grandparents.

William James Purvis
b. 25 Sept. 1863
d. 8 June 1941

Mary Hulda Previtte Purvis
b. 5 Jan 1861
d. 29 Jul 1938

bu. Zoar United Methodist Church Cemetery1

A previous article about my great grandparents can be read here.

• http://carolinafamilyroots.blogspot.com/2014/05/52-ancestors-20-william-james-jim-purvis.html

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[1] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database and digital images, (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 12 October 2011); Memorial page for William James Purvis; (25 September 1863–8 June 1941); Find a Grave memorial # 78248220, Citing Zoar United Methodist Church Cemetery; Brocks Mill, Chesterfield County. South Carolina, USA.

52 Ancestors: #20, William James “Jim” Purvis

 

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 posting today is my Great Grandfather William James Purvis.
 

William James "Jim" Purvis¹ is my Great Grandfather. He was born on 25 Sep 1863 in Morven, Anson, North Carolina; the only child of William A. Purvis and Sarah Jane Graves Purvis.² 
William James is enumerated as a 7 years old child with his parents in the 1870 Population census.³
In 1879, William James "Jim" Purvis, age 16, married Mary Hulda "Sis" Previtte, age 18.⁴ 

Mary Hulda "Sis" Previtte, daughter of John Washington Previtte and Elizabeth "Bette" Davis, was born on 5 Jan 1861 in Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina, United States.
From 1880 through 1940, William James is recorded as Head of Household or as a Father with one of his children. ^{5 6 7 8 9 10}

In the late 1880’s Grandpa Jim fell on “hard times” and was unable to pay the property tax on his 30 acre farm; a mere 59 cents in taxes were due. The Land was sold for Taxes on 6 January 1889. From this point on, until he was unable to work, Grandpa share cropped with various farmers within this neighborhood. ¹¹

William James Purvis and Mary Hulda Previtte had the following children:
 
i. John William Purvis, born 31 Dec 1880, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina, United States; married Nancy Elizabeth Wallace, 25 Aug 1901, McFarlan, Anson, North Carolina, United States; died 10 Aug 1956, Morven, Anson, North Carolina, United States.
ii. Martha Eliza "Sis" Purvis, born 10 Aug 1882, Morven, Anson, North Carolina; married Ervin Samuel Brock Jr., abt 1903; died 15 Dec 1966, Cheraw, Chesterfield, South Carolina.
iii. James Francis "Jim" Purvis, born 7 Nov 1885, Morven, Anson, North Carolina; married Lucy Pearl Deese, bef 14 Mar 1908; died 21 Feb 1936, Court House, Chesterfield County, South Carolina.
iv. Oscar Philmore "O P" Purvis, born 10 Jul 1888, Morven, Anson, North Carolina; married Roxie Carolyn Brock, 2 Feb 1913, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina; died 20 Apr 1931, Morven, Anson, North Carolina.
v. Sarah Frances "Sallie" Purvis, born 16 Jun 1891, Morven, Anson, North Carolina; married John Rufus Lang, 10 Jun 1910, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina; died 22 May 1951, Florence, Florence, South Carolina.
vi. Lela Aileen Purvis, born 18 Oct 1894, Morven, Anson, North Carolina;   married John Lucian Deese, 1910; died 20 May 1983, Florence, Florence, South Carolina.
vii. Violet E. Purvis¹² was born on 25 May 1899 in Morven, Anson, North Carolina.¹³ She died on 2 Oct 1899 at the age of 0 in Morven, Anson, North Carolina.¹⁴ She was buried on 3 Oct 1899 at Morven Cemetery in Anson County, North Carolina.

William James Purvis died 8 June 1941 and was buried the next day beside his devoted wife Mary Hulda at Zoar Church cemetery, Chesterfield, Chesterfield, South Carolina. ^{15 16 17}
 
I never knew my Great Grandparents; both William James and Mary Hulda Purvis passed away before I was born. I do have two living Aunts that knew their grandparents. 




 
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1. William James Purvis, The Messenger and Intelligencer, Wadesboro, Anson County, North Carolina, 8 June 1941, The Messenger and Intelligencer. Son of the late William Purvis and Mrs. Sarah Graves Purvis..
2. William J. Purvis Family Family Bible Holy Bible, (N.p.: n.p., n.d.), W. J. Pervis; Birth - 25 September 1863, Obtained from T. Gathings, [address for private use].
3. 1870 U S Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Morven, Anson County, North Carolina, enumeration district (ED) No ED, page 403A, line 38, Dwelling 178; Family 178, Household of William A. Purvis; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 1976); citing National Archive Microfilm M593, Roll 1122.
4. 1880 U S Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Morven, Anson County, North Carolina, enumeration district (ED) #2, page 350B, line 40, Dwelling 234, Family 253, Household of William J. Purvis; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 1976); citing National Archive Microfilm T9-0951.
5. Ibid.
6. 1900 U. S. Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Morven, Anson County, North Carolina, enumeration district (ED) 8, page 149B, line 79, dwelling 15, family 15, Household of William J. Purvis; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 1976); citing National Archives Microfilm T623, Roll 1181.
7. 1910 U. S. Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Morven Twsp., Anson County, North Carolina, enumeration district (ED) #012, page 184, line 64-67, dwelling 65, family 65, Household of William Purvis; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 2010); citing National Archives Microfilm T624, Roll 1096.
8.1920 U. S. Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Morven, Anson County, North Carolina, enumeration district (ED) 13, Page 197B, Line 72, dwelling 209, family 209, Household of William J. PURVIS; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed June 2010); citing National Archives Microfilm Series: T625, Roll: 1283.
9. 1930 U. S. Census, Morven, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Morven, Anson County, North Carolina, enumeration district (ED) #18, Page 27B; Line 99, Dwelling 118, Family 119, Household of John W. PURVIS; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : viewed 11 October 2011); citing National Archives Microfilm T626_Roll: 1672.
10. 1940 U. S. Census, Anson County, North Carolina, population schedule, Morven, Anson County, North Carolina, enumeration district (ED) 4-18, Page: 9A/216A (stamped), Line 5, Household #132;, Household of J. W. PURVIS; digital images, 1940 CENSUS (http://1940census.archives.gov : viewed 14 December 2012); citing NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 2871.
11. Sale of Land for Taxes - William J. Purvis, The Messenger and Intelligencer, Wadesboro, Anson County, North Carolina, United States, 10 January 1888, Page 3, Right two columns of page. Sale of Land for Taxes, 30 acres, .59 cents Taxes due.
SHARECROPPER: a tenant farmer especially in the southern United States who is provided with credit for seed, tools, living quarters, and food, who works the land, and who receives an agreed share of the value of the crop minus charges
12. Family data, William James Purvis Family Bible, , (N.p.: n.p., n.d.); original owned in 2000 by T. Gathings, [address for private use].
13. William J. Purvis Family Family Bible, BIRTH: 25 May 1899, Violet E. PURVIS.
14. William J. Purvis Family Family Bible, DEATH: 2 October 1899, Violet E. PURVIS.
15. State of North Carolina, death certificate no. 17 (8 June 1941), William James Purvis; https://www.ancestry.com, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina.
16. James C. Pigg, Chesterfield County Cemetery Survey; Self-Published, 1995, page 845. Tombstone of William J. Purvis; 25 September 1863–8 June 1941, Zoar Methodist Church Cemetery, Chesterfield, Chesterfield County, South Carolina.
17. Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database and digital images, (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 12 October 2011); Memorial page for William James Purvis; (25 September 1863–8 June 1941); Find a Grave memorial # 78248220, Citing Zoar United Methodist Church Cemetery; Brocks Mill, Chesterfield County. South Carolina, USA.