This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/VBG.2ACEB/132 Message Board Post: I am searching for information on James P. Brimer (aka Brymer) (b. abt 1837) of Gaston and York Counties. I was told by my mother in law that her grandfather, James P., was buried in Clover, York County, SC, but his grave was not marked by a tombstone. I have never been able to find a record of his burial in Clover. However, just this last week, my husband and I found him in Gaston County! He is buried in Old Goshen Grove Cemetery just north of Belmont next to his wife, Rachel C. Martin Brymer. They were buried near Samuel Martin, Revolutionary patriot, who was most likely her grandfather. Rachel’s dates are 14 Jun 1829 – 6 July 1884. Unfortunately, James P.’s stone carries no dates and only refers to his Confederate Service unit. Much of the info I have gleaned is through census records, but the information is somewhat contradictory. I am including the info I have picked up below in case anyone sees a connection to their own family and can help me confirm this information. Any help in tying James P. Brimer would be appreciated. In the 1850 Gaston NC census, a James Brimer (age 15) was listed in the household of A. Foster as a laborer. Two houses before the Foster household was the household of John Brimer (age 27), wife Elizabeth (27), son G. S. (11), daughter Althea (12), daughter Ruth (10), son J. P. (8), daughters Jane (6) and Eliza (4 mos.) I suspect this John Brimer may have been a brother of James P, but the age of this James does not quite match the estimated birthdate of James P. Either does that of the child J.P. Brimer in John Brimer's home, although the 15 year old sounds closest. In the 1860 Gaston County, NC Census1860, James (23) and Caroline Brimer (31) were listed in the household of George Martin (possibly the son of Samuel Martin) in Gaston County, with son George (age 1). Also listed in that household was a woman named Martha Stewart (age 23). It is a strong assumption at this point that Caroline was daughter to George and Martha Martin. It might also be conjectured that Martha Stewart could be another daughter, perhaps widowed, of George Martin or a relative of James P. Brimer. She appears in his household through numerous censuses. In the 1870 NC Census, a James Brimer (age 35) was found in Dallas, Gaston county living with wife Caroline or Candace(name was difficult to make out - she is listed as also being age 35), a son Martin (age 12), daughter Eliza (9), and son James (1). In the house next door were two women, one named Martha Stewart, aged 27, and the other Martha Martin, aged 75. In the 1880 NC Census, James Brimer (age 43) was again found in Gaston County, located in the South Point area. Living with him was wife, Rachel C. (possibly Caroline?) age 57, son George M. (Martin?), daughter Martha M. (age 18), son William S. (possibly Stewart?) (age 11) and niece Martha Stewart (age 43). Two houses before James Brimer's household, a John Brimer (age 37) lived with wife Mary (age 50), son Pinkney (age 15) and daughter Docie (age 11). Could this John Brimer be James' brother? Since I now know that Rachel Caroline Brymer died in 1884, it appears James P. had remarried by 1888, as Cora Lee (1894), James L. (1888) and Mary (Abt 1893) Brimer's mother was Emma, not Rachel. Neither Emma nor James P. are found in the 1900 census. However, in the 1910 York County, SC Census, James' 2nd wife Emma was listed as Emma Gordon (age 52), widowed and head of household. In her household were the following children: Stepsons S(ummy) Gordon (19) and B(roadus) Gordon (17) (leading me to suspect she was the second wife of Lawson Henderson Gordon by that time - however Lawson Gordon was listed as alive and living in the home of one of his sons at this time – a very confusing concept if Emma was supposedly widowed), son Jim Brimer (21), daughters Mary N. (or H.) Brimer (17) and Cora L. Brimer (14). All five children were listed as having been born in South Carolina. Emma was listed as having been born in North Carolina, as were her parents. There is no indicati! on at this time as to who her parents might have been or if she was married before marrying James P. Brimer. Some records indicate her last name may have been Massey, but James L. Brimer’s death certificate indicates his mother’s name was Emma Alice Jenkins. Unfortunately this document also lists his father as James “B.” Brimer, not James “P.” Brimer. Curiouser and curiouser! James P. must have passed shortly after Cora Lee’s birth (1894) and before 1900 as no other children were listed in the household. If you stayed with this dissertation without getting totally lost, you will have noted the confusion in the records I have found thus far. Any help straightening this mess out is greatly appreciated. Thanks.