Don't Blame Ancestry. Look Carefully at the Facts You Add to Henry Benjamin Giddens' Profile (Or Any Other Profile) in Your Online Family Tree.

Margaret Jane Vann and Henry Benjamin Giddens[1]

My last post, Gathering Giddens: David Giddens and Sophia Britt of Wayne and Sampson Counties in North Carolina, took me down an unexpected path. I spent much time looking at Henry Benjamin Giddens, David and Sophia's son, as so many online family trees and other sites show that he was the son of Mitchell Giddens and Letisha Britt (my third-great-grandparents).[2] 

David and Mitchell Giddens were brothers, and Sophia and Letisha Britt were sisters.[3] Both couples named a son named Henry. And both families lived in close proximity to one another.[4]  

David and Sophia's son was Henry Benjamin Giddens, born in 1833. Mitchell and Letisha's son was Henry Clay Giddens, born about 1844.[5]

The families of the two Henry Giddens as seen in my online family tree.[6]

I knew that Henry Benjamin must be the son of David and probably Sophia, but I wanted to show documentation in my online trees. Wanting to understand why this error occurred, I decided to concentrate on Ancestry's trees as Ancestry is my go-to site and had the largest number of online trees for this family.

Gathering Giddens: David Giddens and Sophia Britt of Wayne and Sampson Counties in North Carolina

David Giddens was still considered a minor on 21 November 1815.[1]

David was the son of John Giddens and probably John's wife, the said to be Sarah Taylor.[2] In a family history found in The Heritage of Wayne County, North Carolina 1982, it is stated that David was the fifth son, born in 1780; however, David was a minor when his father died in 1802, and census records are consistent with a birth year of about 1800. The family history was correct in naming him the fifth son as he was preceded by Isaac, John, Abraham, and Jacob, and followed by the youngest, Mitchell.[3] 

These receipts, to Needham Stevens and J. L. Clifton, were signed by David Giddens in 1836
and 1838. They were found in the John L. Clifton Papers, 1784 (1830-1889) 1916.[4]

Land transactions and census records indicate that David spent his entire life in Wayne County or Sampson County. The first land transaction found naming David was in 1823. Asher Flowers sold land to David Giddens located on Jethro's Marsh Branch and described as land received by Abraham Giddens, David's brother, in the division of their father's land. One stipulation in the deed was that Jesse Flowers and his wife be allowed to live in their home on the land for the duration of their lives. Jesse's wife was the widow of John Giddens, probably David's mother.[5] 

David was reported to be a farmer in the 1850 and 1860 census records.[6] He is said to have married Sophia Britt. No date or documentation has been found of this marriage, but their first known child, Henry Benjamin Giddens, was born in 1833, and the death certificate of their son, Lewis D. Giddens, states that his parents were David Giddens and Sophia Britt.[7] 

Found in the Daily Journal, 14 Feb 1867 at
Newspapers.com[8]

Found in the Goldsboro Messinger 25, Jun 1877 at

Newspapers.com[9]

The last found record naming David Giddens was a land purchase on 28 December 1865.[10] Only Sophia was found in the 1870 census.[11] The article above could easily be David Giddens as his age and the time of his suspected death match. Although not documented, many Public Trees at Ancestry.com give a death date for David Giddens as 4 February 1867.[12] Sophia died in 1877 at the home of her daughter, Patience Best.[13] The burial place for David and Sophia Giddens is unknown. 

This letter, written by Dr. John Tomline Walsh to John L. Clifton of Sampson County in 1855, was in regard to subscriptions for Dr. Walsh's publication, Christian Friends. David "Giddings" was named as a subscriber.[14]

From the files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Mary Thornton Kotchevar, Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Ellett of Shreveport

Mary Thornton Kotchevar was not family. According to the writing on the clipping, she was Charlie's nurse in 1912.  Charlie, Charles Arthur Martin, died young on June 15, 1912. 

Mary was the daughter of Irene Ewing and a currently unknown Thornton. Irene was a widow when she married Joseph P. Ellett. 

The above cemetery stone shows that Mary served in the U.S. Navy as nurse. Her husband, Leopold, served in the U. S. Marine Corps. 


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Diana

© 2019

Sources

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Marguerite Cook Clark. Accessed April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. Used with permission.

Mary M Kotchevar (1891-1935) - Find A Grave Memorial. Created by: wmpr2. Added: 23 Jul 2011.  <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73802797#source>