Outcast 7/52 Rebecca Lupton Yonley

 

Outcast--Disowned

One of my 5th great-grandmothers is Rebecca Lupton Yonally.  Rebecca was born about 1797 in likely Virginia.  Rebecca is the daughter of Jessie Lupton and Rebecca George.  They were Quakers.  I don't know much about the Quakers however I am keen to understand more.  

Rebecca was disowned by her church in 1816.  

What could she have done to be disowned?  

She was accused of fornication.  

Below is a transcription of the following notice. 

Rebekah Yonaly formerly Lupton has been guilty of fornication also accomplished her marriage contrary to discipline for which order by conduct is disown her from being a member of our religious society until she becomes capable of making satisfaction to friends which that she may as our desire for her. Signed in and by order of Hopewell monthly meeting held by appointment the 7th of the 10th Mo 1816. 
By: John M Phersa
       Rebecca (can't read)

Ancestry.com. U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Original data:Swarthmore, Quaker Meeting Records. Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes. Hege Friends Historical Library, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina.Indiana Yearly Meeting Minutes. Earlham College Friends Collection & College Archives, Richmond, Indiana.Haverford, Quaker Meeting Records. Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania.

Ancestry.com. U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
Original data:Swarthmore, Quaker Meeting Records. Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes. Hege Friends Historical Library, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina.Indiana Yearly Meeting Minutes. Earlham College Friends Collection & College Archives, Richmond, Indiana.Haverford, Quaker Meeting Records. Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania.

I believe that the reason Rebecca Lupton Yonley was ousted from her church was due to the fact that she married her husband Absalom Yonley (Yonally).  Absalom was not a Quaker as far as I've seen.  

The couple went on to have six children before Rebecca died in 1841.

Social Media 6/52

Newspapers: Early Social Media 

We live in a world of instant Social Media these days however Social Media is not really a new concept.  While now we can post instantly our thoughts and photos our Ancestors also had a similar thing with their local newspapers. Many Society pages were filled with the comings and goings of people, listings of parties and weddings, and other stories of torrid interest.  

I've found that many of our ancestors that lived near or in town tended to be in the local newspaper often.  

Today I am going to highlight my husband's great great grandmother Annie Lawless Wuerz Frasier.  Annie lived in Alton, Illinois.  She first married Robert Wuerz and had my husband's grandfather Conrad Wuerz.  Robert passed away and Annie remarried to James Frasier.  

Below are just a few samples of what I found in the Newspaper.

CLIPPED FROM

Alton Evening Telegraph

Alton, Illinois

19 Jan 1940, Fri  •  Page 6

Back in the day there wasn't any medical privacy.  Here we see that Mr. Frasier had been in the hsopital for 10 days.  

CLIPPED FROM

Alton Evening Telegraph

Alton, Illinois

27 Aug 1952, Wed  •  Page 13

The happy couple celebrating their 50th Wedding anniversary!  

Finding family in the newspaper is my favorites thing to do.  I love searching the pages on newspapers.com for tidbits of the life of our ancestors.  

Oops 5/52

 Oops is often exclaimed when an accident or mistake is made.  I've made plenty of oops in my genealogical journey for sure.

In the beginning, I was eager to collect names and build my tree back, and more than once I took what I saw on another's tree at face value and did not validate the information.  I have learned to be more diligent but that doesn't mean that I won't continue to have oopsies happen.

The joy I get from researching is not quelled by mistakes.  This hobby gives me a purpose and is my happy place.  

Education 4/52

 The prompt for week four of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is Education.  I struggled with what to write for this prompt.  

The majority of my ancestors were not highly educated.  Most of my direct ancestors were farmers.  This prompt has inspired me to look further into my ancestors to discover their education level and to document it in my tree.  I haven't really given it much thought.  I know many of my ancestors have proved their abilities without a degree or certification but just by their common sense and hard work ethic.

Out of Place 3/52

One of my Great Grandfathers is John Colvin Bussey.  While doing research on him I was seeking him in the 1900 Census.  I could not locate him or his parents.  He was born in 1892 so he would have been around 7-8 for that census.  I moved on to try to locate him in the 1910 Census.  I searched Atlanta, Georgia first as this is where he was born and raised.  I found his parents but not him.  

I did a broader search looking for a "John C. Bussey" and found him in Oregon!  He is found in Portland City, Multnomah county, Oregon.  

Year: 1910; Census Place: Portland Ward 6, Multnomah, Oregon; Roll: T624_1285; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0173; FHL microfilm: 1375298

I had no idea he was in Oregon.  I had asked my grandmother about it when I discovered this information years ago and she stated, "I remember him saying something about going out West when he was a young man."  She didn't know why, when, or with who.  

From this Census record, I see that he is living as a boarder in the home of Charles W. Copeland.  There is also a William Bussey from Georgia with him.  John is 17 years old.  They are working at a Box Factory.  

Looking further I found John C Bussey in the City Directory of Portland, Oregon for 1910.

Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Original data:Original sources vary according to directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory title page image for full title and publication information.

I discovered that John's Aunt Lucy Anne Bussey McDaniel McCaw had moved to Portland, Oregon.  I surmise that John moved out to Oregon for work and he had family in the area.  

John was "out of place" of where I expected him to be at 17 years old, which was with his family in Atlanta, Georgia.  Instead, I found him in Oregon, living with what I assume to be a cousin, William Bussey, as boarders in the home of Charles Copeland.  

This discovery now leads to a new research question to add to my ever-growing list of research topics.  Who is William Bussey and what is his relationship exactly to John C. Bussey?  

Another family puzzle to solve! 

Favorite Photo 2/52

 The second prompt for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is "Favorite Photo".  Below is one of my favorite photos.  It is of my younger sister, Amanda Jolene Curran, my great-grandmother Troy Waller Bussey, and myself.  I love how we are all smiling.  

I love that I had the chance to be with my great-grandmother when I was a child, I know that everyone is not afforded that opportunity.  I remember spending the night with her and her taking me on the bus in Atlanta.  I remember the smell of bacon and eggs cooking and biscuits baking in the morning when I stayed with her. I remember her telling me stories about people in our family.  I remember her hugging me and letting me sit in the chair with her.  I'm so blessed to have these wonderful memories.  

Alice Lawrence--1/52

 The first prompt for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is "I'd Like to Meet".  

I would like to meet all of my ancestors honestly.  I'd like to meet every single one of them to understand each life, each circumstance, and each personality; but of course, that's not what this prompt is about.  I need to choose one.  I would choose to meet Alice Lawrence.   

Why Alice?  I just don't know much about her to start with.  I mean is Lawrence even her last name?  I'd want to know the circumstances around her mother.  Who is her father?  How did she meet John Ledbetter?  How did she end up with two kids with him but no record of her at all?  What was her life like?  Was she happy with John?  I know they weren't married and they were very young but did she feel loved by him?  We all know what young love can feel like.  How did she die?  There is family lore that she died of pneumonia in a rainstorm next to a water well.  I mean, that sounds pretty specific to be only a story.  Some part of that had to be true, right?  Why can't I find her grave?  Why can't I find anything other than a single entry on a census?  

What do I know for certain about Alice Lawrence often called Ledbetter? 

I believe she was born around 1852 in North Carolina.  She is found in the 1860 Census to be listed as 8 years old on 5 July 1860.  She is living with who we believe to be her mother Elizabeth Lawrence (Laurence), her sisters Ella, Florance, and Iola.  They are in the household of P. Bronson and Anna M. Bronson, whom we know to be Philo and Anna Marie Bronson nee Satterwhite. 

Year: 1860; Census Place: Valley, Rabun, Georgia; Roll: M653_134; Page: 528; Family History Library Film: 803134 

Description 

City: Valley 

Source Information 

Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. 
Original data:1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. accessed 11 March 2022 

This is it.  I have found no other contemporary records for Alice Lawrence.  

We know that she gave birth to Lou Ella Ledbetter 10 Dec 1872.  We also know that she gave birth to Eugene Bartow Ledbetter 7 Apr 1875.  We have been told she had these children with a John Ledbetter.  We have no documentation to prove any of this.  We know that Alice must have died sometime after Eugene’s birth because Eugene and Lou Ella are in the household of their grandmother, Elizabeth Lawrence in 1880, without their mother.  

 

One potential John Ledbetter that may be the father of Lou Ella and Eugene Ledbetter was born Mar 1858 making him about 6 years younger than Alice if the census data is correct.  He would have been 14 years old when Lou Ella was born.   

Here is a copy of a tintype photo that has who I've always been told is Alice holding a baby Luella.

Also, there is this charcoal drawing that is of the same woman, Alice Lawrence.

I know Alice Lawrence existed and she had two children. I would surely like to meet her and hear her story.