Always interested in "putting meat on the bones"! Grateful for any new tidbits.... My gg-grandparents, Pleasant "Plez" Doolittle THURMOND 1829-1887 and his wife Mary Isham VANCE 1842-1921 lived on a plantation near Meriweather, Edgefield (later McCormick) County, SC. Following is a list of their children that I transcribed directly from their Family Bible: Sarah Ann Harriet Henrietta THURMOND b: August 11, 1859 Pleasant Davis THURMOND b. September 16, 1861, m1. Elizabeth BROOKS, m2. Bettie E. DORN James Tolbert THURMOND b: November 05, 1863 Mary Ellen Josephine THURMOND b: February 22, 1866 Frances Jane THURMOND b: July 26, 1868 Margaret Anna THURMOND b: July 19, 1871, m. William Joseph WEST, Jr. b: June 26, 1867 Walter Eugene THURMOND b: July 19, 1876 Johnny Vance THURMOND b: June 20, 1878 Clarence THURMOND b: June 08, 1880 Mary Isham VANCE was the daughter of William VANCE from Kentucky and his wife Harriet ("Fannie"?) KEITH from Virginia. Mary was only age 15 years when she married "Plez" Thurmond and age 45 when he passed away. Here's a little of what I know about her life after his passing: Not long after the death of Plez Thurmond, Mary I. Thurmond became the first saleswoman for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Her sales area was called a "debit". Mary drove a buggy around her debit to make collections. In 1906 she was hired as the Matron of the Mary Warren Home in Augusta and remained in the position for thirteen years. In the April 1915 the Mary Warren Home moved into a new and larger building on Central Avenue. Mary's salary was then raised to the weekly sum of $15.00 with board. She resigned in March 1919, the minutes report she, "... decided from feebleness to give-up." In November 1921 she was at home at 1609 Broad Street in Augusta when she fell and fractured her left hip. She died 25 days later, on December 9, 1921, at University Hospital in Augusta: Cause of death attributed to her hip injury and complication of pneumonia. If anyone on the list can add the "tapestry" of my family history, it will be most gratefully appreciated. Happy Holidays, Mary West Rumora