Two-Mississippi: Ashtabula bound: We're Going North

My mother's maternal grandparents are Peter Washington and Mary Barrett Washington.  They were married on December 31, 1894 in Floyd County, Georgia.

Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978

Peter was born in Georgia December 1872.  In the 1880 U.S. census he is 8 years old, living with his parents, Ned and Darcus Washington and his four brothers: Silas, Newton, Elijah, and Ned.

Year: 1880; Census Place: Barkers, Floyd, Georgia; Roll: T9_146; Family History Film: 1254146; Page: 314.1000; Enumeration District: 71; Image: 0635.

By the 1900 census my great great grandparents --  Ned and Dortes (her name is different in every census) had moved to Holmes County, Mississippi. The family unit included Peter, his wife Mary and their two children: Lena and Estella.

That census is the earliest information I have found for Mary Barrett.  It shows that she was also born in Georgia with the birth month/year given as April 1875.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Beat 1, Holmes, Mississippi; Roll: T623_810; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 34.

According to the 1910 U.S. census, my great grandmother had given birth to seven children of which five lived: Lena, Estella, Ned, Gilbert, and Lucy (my grandmother).  All of the Washington siblings eventually left their home state of Mississippi and moved Ashtabula Ohio.  So far, it seems to be between the years of 1918 and 1924.


Also in the 1910 U.S. census, Lena had already left her parents' home. She and Howard Huggins had been married one year and had a four-month old daughter, Bessie. They lived with his parents and his siblings in Holmes County, Mississippi. On July 3, 1919 they had their first child in Ashtabula Ohio, Amos Huggins,.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Beat 1, Holmes, Mississippi; Roll: T624_742; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0039; FHL microfilm: 1374755

By 1918 Estella (aka Aunt Stella) was living in Ashtabula, Ohio. She and her husband, William David Tyus had their first child, Leroy Tyus, in Ashtabula Ohio on April 20, 1918.

Ashtabula, Ohio, City Directory, 1918

In 1920 Uncle Ned, 20, was living in Ashtabula OH with his wife Virginia (from Mississippi) and newborn son, George. Also in the household was Uncle Gilbert, age 18 -- both men are listed as laborers on the railroad.





On April 10, 1924 Lucy and Noah Brown were married in Erie Pennsylvania -- I don't know why when all their siblings were in Ohio. Maybe they eloped???

However on their marriage license, Noah listed his address as 79 Bancroft Street in Ashtabula OH. Granny listed her address as 20 Depot Street in Ashtabula OH. Their first child, Verlie, was born in Ashtabula on March 1, 1925. Their second child, Arthur, was born in Buffalo, New York on March 23, 1927. Their last two daughters, Vivian and Evelyn were also born in Buffalo.

Ashtabula, Ohio, City Directory, 1926

So both sides of my mother's family --  her Washington aunts and uncles and her Brown aunts and uncles (earlier blog post One-Mississippi) moved from rural Mississippi to Ohio.  Why?


Whatever the reason, they were part of that Great Migration of Black folk leaving the south and moving to the north.  And as was the custom then, it seemed that each family member that moved north, reached out and helped those who followed.

Reaching Out to Mary Barrett Washington, 1875-1942

During the summer of 2013, my brother Flick (Richard L. Williams) and I took a day trip to visit our Cousin Elizabeth Tyus (Cousin Lizzie)  in Ashtabula, Ohio.  While sitting around laughing, talking, and enjoying the meal she prepared for us, she revealed that her grandmother, Mary Washington, died and was buried in Chicago IL.  Cousin Lizzie was a child but she remembered that time when she saw her mother cry.  Her mother, Estelle Washington Tyus (Aunt Stella), had visited her sick mother in Chicago IL and came home when it seemed that her mother was stable.  A few days later she received the news that her mother had passed but she couldn't afford to go back to Chicago for the funeral.  Cousin Lizzie said that her mother held on to the phone, crying and wailing for a long time after the call had ended. 

Up until that point I had always thought that my great grandmother had died and been buried in Ashtabula perhaps living with her daughter, Estella.  Or maybe she had been buried in Mississippi, where she lived from 1900 until 1930  --  according to the 1900 through 1930 U.S. census records.  Yet another lesson to never assume with family research and the importance of talking with the elders!

So with the knowledge about my great grandmother's death, I virtually visited the Cook County Vital Records department where I found and purchased a copy of my great-grandmother's death certificate.

From November 11-16, 2014 I was in Chicago attending the National Association of Black Storytellers Festival and Conference (NABS).  I arrived a day early for the conference so I could locate my great-grandmother's grave site.

On November 11, 2014 I visited the Lincoln Cemetery, Cook County, Worth IL 

History of Lincoln Cemetery

In 1911, a group of black funeral directors approached the owner of Oak Hill Cemetery and proposed that a portion of the undeveloped land that he owned be opened as an African-American Cemetery. Mr. Olson agreed and Lincoln Cemetery was opened. Its first burial took place in April 1911.

Through nearly 100 years, Lincoln Cemetery has served thousands of well-known families.

Lincoln has grown through the years and today consists of three areas, each with a unique history and appearance. Old Lincoln is approximately 71 acres at the northwest corner at 12300 S. Kedzie Avenue in Chicago. Lincoln Cemetery South is approximately 23 acres at the southwest corner. Lincoln Cemetery East is approximately 18 acres on the northeast corner.

 from Lincoln Cemetery website  http://www.dignitymemorial.com/lincoln-cemetery

At the unmarked grave-site of my maternal great grandmother on 11 Nov 2014

The office staff was extremely helpful, calling a caretaker to escort me and my daughter to the unmarked grave.  It was a beautifully serene area with few headstones.  It touched me that at the time my great grandmother died (December 1942), the family probably couldn't afford a funeral, let alone a headstone.  It was evident that probably many other families were in the same way financially.  

As we drove back to our hotel, my daughter was full of questions and I was happy to share what I knew about family connections and what the paper trail had revealed to me so far.  We called my mother later that day and she was amazed at my "find". Unfortunately, she doesn't recall ever meeting her grandmother or even hearing stories about her.  So I will continue to follow paper trails and try to get the remaining elders to open up about family history.