Friday's Photo: Henry B. Giddens and Others in the Dining Room

There are more questions than answers about this photo. As a family history researcher, I am always looking into the lives of my ancestors, but it is a real bonus to see the inside of their homes. This is obviously someone's home and might be the home of Henry B. Giddens. He was a first cousin of my second great-grandfather, George L. Giddens. I wonder if George ever sat at this table. 

This photo was generously shared with me by another Giddens researcher. Henry was named as well as his daughter, Jennie, on the right in the white dress. 

In 1910, Henry and his wife, Martha Jane Vann, owned a home on Fayetteville Street in Clinton, Sampson County, North Carolina. Could this be the home on Fayetteville Street? 

Jennie was born in 1886. She would have been 14 years old in 1900, but she looks older than 14 in this photo giving it a date after 1900. The young man and the other young woman in the picture are not identified. The young man could be a teenager. By 1910, Henry's youngest son, Oscar Henry, was 32 years old. However, Henry was a guardian to four grandsons ages 12 to 18, as his daughter, Annie Laura Slocumb, died in 1905, leaving Henry as guardian. 

C. O. Brown was a photographer in both Sampson and Wayne counties. He was found advertising in local newspapers between 1898 and 1916. Why was he taking pictures inside the home? Was it a special occasion? Everyone in the photo was well dressed. Jennie married in 1908, and Maggie married in 1907. Were they getting ready for a wedding? 

If you have answers to any of my questions OR more questions, I would love to hear from you. 

Friday's Photo: Jennie Louise Giddens Britt

Jennie Louise Giddens was the daughter of Henry Benjamin Giddens and Martha Jane Vann of Clinton in Sampson County, North Carolina. 

Jennie married Mangum T. Britt on 22 April 1908 in Clinton. A detailed description of their wedding can be seen by clicking here. 

Jennie is pictured with her first child, Mangum Deleon Britt, born in 1909. She was born on 20 December 1884, making her about 25 years old in these photos. 

For family who might want to know our connection, Jennie's grandfather was David Giddens, brother of my 3rd great-grandfather, Mitchell Giddens. Mitchell was married to Latisha Britt, sister to Jennie's grandmother, Sophia Britt. And, it appears that Jennie's husband Mangum may descend from my Britt family as well. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2022 

Jennie Louise Giddens Britt with son, NC, photo, 1909; scanned images, from the privately-held collection of Gus Grubba, NC, 2022. 

grubba, "Jordans, Britts and beyond," public tree, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/64204927?cfpid=44116712787&dtid=100 : accessed 27 October 2022). 

Friday's Photo: Henry Benjamin Giddens and Margaret Jane Vann

These photos were sent to me by another Giddens researcher. Henry was a cousin to my 2nd great-grandfather, George Lullen Giddens. George and Henry were probably well acquainted. Their mothers were sisters, their fathers were brothers, and both Henry and George were merchants in Sampson County, North Carolina. 

The couple above was not identified, but the researcher who shared the photos suspected them to be Henry Benjamin Giddens, a jeweler of Clinton, and his wife, Margaret Jane Vann. Already familiar with Henry and Margaret as the older couple on the right, I could easily see Margaret in both photos. The younger Henry's eyebrows, nose shape, cheek lines, and ears in the above image and the photo on the right showed a resemblance. I don't doubt that this is a much younger version of Henry and Margaret seen in the large group photo posted on 26 August 2022. Margaret, age 18, and Henry, age 32, were married on 21 September 1865 in Sampson County. Could this photo be a wedding photo?

If not a wedding photo, it was probably taken soon after. Martha's clothing reflects some styles seen in the 1860s. Hats were smaller, and some were modeled after those worn by men. Dresses were high around the neck, and sleeves were narrower at the wrist and broader at the elbow. Henry's clothes are difficult to see, but in the 1860s, men wore white dress shirts, loose slack coats, and pants that usually did not match the jackets. 

This photo, also not identified, is clearly Martha Jane Vann and appears to 
have been taken sometime in the 1860s or 1870s. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

.

Diana

© 2022 

Family Gathering in Sampson County, NC, photo, about 1900; scanned images, from the privately-held collection of Gus Grubba, NC, 2022.

Henry B. Giddens and Martha J. Vann, NC, photo, 1860s; scanned images, from the privately-held collection of Gus Grubba, NC, 2022. 

Martha Jane Vann, NC, photo, about 1860s; scanned images, from the privately-held collection of Gus Grubba, NC, 2022. 

Maureen A. Taylor, Fashionable Folks Bonnets and Hats 1840-1900 (Picture Perfect Press.com, 2011).

Maureen A. Taylor, Finding the Civil War in Your Family Album (Picture Perfect Press.com, 2011).

"Women's Clothing," Landscape Change Program UVM (https://glcp.uvm.edu/landscape_new/menu.php: accessed 3 Oct 2022).

Friday's Photo: A Sampson County Family

The scans of the above photos were generously shared with me by a Giddens researcher whose family descends from Henry Benjamin Giddens and his wife, Margaret Jane Vann.[1]

Identified were Margaret Jane Vann and Henry Benjamin Giddens, seated on the far right. No other persons were identified. Confirming Margaret and Henry's identity was easy as their photos are attached to their shared cemetery stone.[2] 

The second photo indicates a family relationship. And, the manner of dress for young and old alike shows that this wasn't just any family gathering. I suspect a funeral. 

The group in the photo was thought to be a Giddens or Britt family of Sampson County, North Carolina, but Margaret Jane Vann's large family of Lisbon in Sampson County should not be ruled out as a likely candidate. Margaret Jane Vann was the daughter of Kedar Vann and Louisa Robinson, and according to Kedar Vann's obituary, Margaret had at least eight siblings.[3] 

Left - This man resembles a photo of Preston Stewart Vann. 

Right - This man resembles a photo of Dallas Herring.

Investigation of Margaret's siblings led to the possible identification of two men seen in both photos. Photos of Preston Stewart Vann, Margaret's younger brother, and Dallas Herring, husband of Margaret's sister, Mary, were found by searching Ancestry.com's All Public Member Photos & Scanned Documents. These found photos strongly resemble the two men pictured above. I do not have permission to post the images found at Ancestry, but source number four below this post contains links accessible to those with memberships.[4] 

The young women's clothing and hairstyles date the photo to just after 1900.[5] 

If I am correct in the identification of Dallas Herring, the photo would have to have been taken before his death date of 20 December 1910. If my identification of Dallas Herring is not correct, we know that the last possible date for the photo would be Margaret Vann Giddens' death date of 5 September 1918.[6] 

I have enlarged and cropped portions of the larger photo for better viewing and identification. If you have this photo or can identify others in the image, please contact me by commenting on this page or through my Facebook page. 

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]