Brickwall is Still Standing Strong but might be getting a crack or two...Louella Ledbetter.

It has been YEARS of searching and submitting DNA and we are still stumped on the true and exact parentage of Louella Ledbetter Bussey.

Awhile back my cousin got into contact with another cousin that had popped up on Ancestry.com as a DNA match.  We were able to verify that she was indeed a cousin and she too descends from Louella Ledbetter.  From a conversation with this newly found old cousin, she revealed that she had done a family tree project back in her school days and actually got some information straight from Louella's mouth!

The information garnered from the memory of our cousin included that Louella's mother's name was Alice Lee Lawrence.  That she was married to John Ledbetter and that she died, leaving Ella and Eugene.  Now it gets a little hazy as stories tend to do.  Alice died of pneumonia by a well. (?)  Now either John remarried and the stepmother was less than nice to Louella OR John just couldn't care for the children and they went to live with relatives.  This story would fit with the 1880 Census where Louella and Eugene were both living with Elizabeth Lawrence and if Alice's maiden name was Lawrence then Elizabeth would be Louella's grandmother.

Also revealed was the name Horace Saddlewhite as being Louella's grandfather or great grandfather's name.  My cousin and I took off with that name and started researching.  We couldn't find anything on Saddlewhite, however, we kept digging and indeed found a Dr. Horace B. Satterwhite in North Carolina.  After an extensive search, guess who we found living with Dr. Satterwhite and his daughter in 1850 in North Carolina?  None other than a 21-year-old Elizabeth Lawrence!  That cannot be a coincidence, right?  If our cousin got the name from Louella herself and we found Elizabeth living with this man then there has to be some truth to the story.  The thing is...Elizabeth Lawrence is not his daughter.  We've looked high and low and there are only 3 documented children of Dr. Satterwhite.  Two sons and the daughter Anna Maria.  Speaking of Anne Marie (I'm not sure which is correct as I've seen it both ways) married a Philo Bronson/Brownson and we find Elizabeth Lawrence and her daughters Mary Ella, Alice, Florence and Iola living with them in 1860 in Rabun County, GA!  So there is some kind of relationship there but not one I can prove.

So where does this leave us?

1). Elizabeth Lawrence has either 7 or 8 children (there is some question regarding the ages and names of some of the girls) and is always listed as widowed when it comes to the census that asks, but we have found no actual records indicating a husband's name.  There are two instances where we have seen a name for her husband.  In the city directory, she is listed as Lizzie or Elizabeth widow of George.  The other time I've seen the name George is from a descendant of one of Elizabeth's daughters that told me his name as was given to him by an aunt.  I have not found a marriage record at all for Elizabeth.  Where was this George?

2). What is the relationship between Elizabeth Lawrence and the Satterwhite family?  I've tried to connect her with being a possible niece, but nothing is showing up.

3).  What happened to Alice Lawrence Ledbetter?  We cannot find a death record or news of her death or anything regarding her other than the 1860 Census.

4). What about John Ledbetter?  Where was he?  Again, no marriage record has been located between John Ledbetter and Alice Lawrence.

5). We seem to always end up with more questions than answers.

If you have any insight, PLEASE let us know!