Dear HARKEY list (especially John Speight and Mary), On 23 April this year, I wrote to the list about finding a genealogy website called "The Family of Joseph and Nancy Rogers Burleyson." In its account of the disposition of the BURLEYSON estate and children in Stanly Co NC, the narrative states that in February 1848, the BURLESONs' young daughter, Martha Jane, was bound to Martin HARKEY, who had also been appointed administrator of Mrs. Burleyson's estate. Based on this statement, I concluded, and reported to you, that the Martha J. in the 1850 household of Martin HARKEE (1850 Stanly Co NC census) was a BURLESON, not a HARKEY. Further research into the question has shown my statement to be wrong. Martin & Judith HARKEY *did* have a daughter named Martha Jane, b abt 1840; and Martha Jane BURLEYSON evidently does not appear in the 1850 census at all. If anyone changed his/her descendancy charts based on my incorrect announcement last April, please accept my apologies and read on. A member of the Burleyson Family Association was kind enough to snailmail to me more information on the descendants of Joseph and Nancy BURLEYSON. The packet included more court activities than appeared at the website. While it does note that Martha Jane BURLEYSON was bound to Martin HARKEY in Feb 1848, farther down it also notes that a year and a half later, in Nov 1849, Martha Jane was bound to Levi LIPE. I thought then that I would be able to find Martha Jane BURLEYSON in Levi LIPE's household in the 1850 census. She wasn't there. I checked the other families who had BURLEYSON children bound to them, and the children were where they had been placed. They all retained their BURLEYSON surname, and I became uneasy because the Martha J. in Martin's household just had ditto marks, indicating a HARKEY surname. I then looked for Martha Jane among the BURLEYSON families (remembering that the 1850 census did not identify relationships). She wasn't in any of them. Martha's trail fades then until the 1870 Stanly Co census, where she, as Martha BURLISON, is shown with two daughters. (Burleyson family tradition says that these children were sired by Davidson LOWDER, a near neighbor to Martin HARKEY and the man to whom Martha Jane's brother Derrick had been bound. She is also found in the 1880 census, as Jane BURLEYSON, with one more child. She died, still unmarried, after 1900.) Finally I realized that one test of whether Martin HARKEY had a daughter named Martha Jane would be to find a marriage record for Martha Jane HARKEY. This weekend I enlisted the aid of Leah Sims, a wonderful researcher who maintains the Stanly Co NC genealogy webpage. What a smart move that was! Leah did find a marriage for Martha Jane HARKEY (to William HARWOOD 15 Aug 1858 Stanly Co), and she found much more, all of which I think is fascinating because it puts meat on the dry bones of names, dates, and places that often are all we have of our ancestors. Rather than paraphrase, I'll quote, below, her last email. I hope this exercise has taught me to be more careful in drawing conclusions. Alma (Alma Roark Johnson) >From Leah Sims: >> Martha Jane HARKEY married William HARWOOD on 15 August 1858 in Stanly Co. >> Martha Jane Burleyson was probably not enumerated in 1850. In my own research I have noticed that many "marginal" individuals, such as apprentices and illegitimate children, are missed by the census taker. Davidson Lowder had an another illegitimate child, Laura Eudy, born circa 1866, with Nancy, widow of Malachi Eudy. Jane Burleyson seems to have had a temper. >> >From the Stanly Co. Criminal Action papers: State and W. R. Eudy vs. Jane Burleyson 19 May 1876 Peace Warrant "The State of North Carolina to any constable of said county greeting whereas W. R. Eudy has this day complained in writing to me a Justice of the Peace of said county on oath - that Jane Burleyson did on this day threaten to burn up the ["buildings of the" crossed out] said W. R. Eudy and ["also threatened to burn the said W. R. Eudy in said buildings" crossed out] and prayed the said Jane Burleyson might be required to find Sureties to keep the Peace And whereas it appears to me upon the Examineation of the said W. R. Eudy . . . that there is just reason to fear the commission of the said offence by the said Jane Burleyson - You are therefore commanded forthwith to apprehend the said Jane Burleyson and to bring her before me to be dealt with according to law . . ." Aaron Furr J. P. Witnesses: Barbrey Sides, Lunda Almond, and Christena Hurlocher W. R. Whitley, Constable Executed 20 May 1876 Bill of costs Aaron Furr $1.20 W. R. Whitley $1.25 >> "W. R. Eudy being duly sworn disposes and says that the said Jane Burleyson did to day threaten to burn the said W. R. Eudy up. This the 19th day of May 1876" W. R. (his mark) Eudy >> "Barbrey Sides being duly disposes and says that she heard Jane Burleyson Say on the 18th inst that if W. R. Eudy took her child from her that She would kill him" 20 May 1876 Barbrey (her mark) Sides >> "Lunda Allmond being duly sworn says that she heard Jane Burleyson say to day that she told W. R. Eudy yesterday that if he took her child that she would burn him up - and further states that she had heard her make such threats before" 20 May 1876 Lunda (her mark) Almond >> [Jane Burleyson was the mother of two illegitimate daughters by Davidson Lowder, Phelia (b. ca 1866) and Cora (b. 1868). W. R. Eudy was probably William R. Eudy (b. 1833). It was a common practice to apprentice illegitimate children and this is probably the "taking" that Jane refers to.] >> Leah >> lcsims@eskimo.com