Pulling Fanny White out of obscurity - Matrilineal Monday

One line of family that I have found countless brick walls, some of which I have climbed and some I'm still running into, is the White family of Roanoke County, Virginia. I have found some records, a census here, a headstone there. But I have had a hard time finding conclusive facts to track this family. The patriarch of this line is Edmund Penn White. He married Sarah McClanahan on October 14, 1820 in Botetourt County, Virginia.

The Roanoke County, Virginia historical marker. Photo by MarmadukePercy from Wikimedia Commons.

I have found record or "mention" of the following children for Edmund and Sarah:

William White, no dates
Francis P. White, 1822-1891
Virginia Lafayette White, 1825-1913

Agnes Lewis White, 1825-1873

Gay White, 1830-

Marcellus Fulton White, 1832-1895

Ann White, 1835-

Watkins Leigh White, 1837-1903

Mary White, no dates

In an effort to find out more about the White family, I decided to find out more about the siblings of my ancestor, Marcellus. Through doing this I came across a written history of Virginia Lafayette White that included all of the siblings names.

A possible photo of Virginia Lafayette White McClanahan.

But Virginia and her sister Agnes were the only sisters I could pull out of the woodwork until yesterday. I decided to look in to Fannie P. White, a sister I was only aware of because of the listing of siblings in the history of Virginia White McClanahan. A search of marriages on the Roanoke County, Virginia GenWeb page lists a marriage for a Francis P. White to Adolphus Huff in 1841. The date seemed to make sense, but I had no idea if it was "my" Francis. So I decided to add the couple to my "test" tree on Ancestry.com. I maintain a test tree on Ancestry used solely to gather information and records for potential relatives, without inadvertently messing up my "real" tree.

I added Francis and Adolphus and quickly found many census records and nine children. One child was named Edmund and one was named Sallie...names that Fanny's parents went by. A good start, but not conclusive. I was able to trace Adolphus through 1900 where I found him living with two sons in St. Louis, Missouri. A terrific stroke of luck because Missouri has a wonderful collection of death certificates on the Missouri Digital Heritage website. If one of the sons died in Missouri I had them...and potentially had a link to Fanny.

The first son I looked for, named Lindsay B. Huff, died in St. Louis in 1940. But his death certificate lists his parents as "unknown." The second son, Warner, died in St. Louis in 1929. I clicked on his death certificate and low and behold...

His mother is listed as Fanny White. So now I have two mentions of Fanny White linked to Adolphus Huff. I later find Adolphus and Fanny Huff buried in East Hill Cemetery in Roanoke County, Virginia. The same cemetery where other members of the White family are buried. It turns out the Fanny died in 1856.

I have three links to a Fanny White: a marriage in the family's home county, mention on a son's death certificate and burial in the family's home county. The age on the headstone matches what makes sense for my Fanny White. Plus, her children include names from her family line and her family immigrated to Missouri like four of the other White siblings. Have I pulled Fanny out of obscurity? While I don't have actual conclusive proof I feel like I have.

(Note: Following this post I learned from a cousin that Fanny White Huff's children are buried in the same plot as Edmund White. Proof enough for me!)

Who is "my" Marcellus?

My search for the White family of Salem, Roanoke County, Virginia has come to a grinding halt. This is a family line where I have found next to nothing in print regarding anyone in the family. I have only several censuses to guide me in my search. And I am not even sure that some of those are for the right "Whites." It is just one of those common surnames.

There is a line of Whites that are well known in Roanoke County and the patriarch was Samuel White. He either built, or owned, a mansion and several houses called Fort Lewis. He was clearly a very wealthy man. In his will he gave the mansion house to his youngest son, Alexander. His second son, Edmund Penn White, was named executor and was given a tract of land known as the "Ned Taylor Tract" in Bedford County, Virginia, just north of New London.

Edmund P. White married Sarah (Sallie) McClanahan October 14, 1820 in Botetourt County, Virginia. They are listed on the 1850 census in Roanoke County with five children: Gay, Marcellus, Ann, Lee and Mary.

Page 2 of the 1850 Census listing for Edmund P. White, showing his son, Marcellus.

Fast forward to Ray County, Missouri. I have traced my White line from my grandmother to Hugh C. White, born March 16, 1876. According to his death certificate his parents were Marcellus F. White and Mary J. (Tosh) White, both born in Virginia. I am able to trace Marcellus and Mary back to 1870 in Ray County, Missouri. Other than his headstone and several censuses, I do not have many conclusive sources for Marcellus. A biography in a Ray County, Missouri history states that he fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. There is only one Marcellus F. White that fought for the confederates in Virginia. He was a Quartermaster sergeant and was captured by the Union army following Gettysburg and spent time in the Union prison at Fort Delaware. He enlisted in 1861 at Salem, Roanoke County, Virginia.

I have found several trees that link the Marcellus I know in Missouri to Edmund Penn White. The 1850 census I mention above does list a Marcellus, age 18, which would be the appropriate age for "my" Marcellus...as I have come to call him. But I have no conclusive link between the two. There is no death record on file for Marcellus. I cannot find an obituary for him in any of the Ray County, Missouri newspapers. There are also no probate records for him. I also have no information about Edmund Penn White's death. Roanoke County, Virginia has no record of any probate documents for him. I do know that Mary J. Tosh, "my" Marcellus' wife, was born in Roanoke County, Virginia through various documents. But I was unable to locate a marriage for Marcellus and Mary in Roanoke County. Their first child, Thomas, was born in Virginia in 1860, but there is no marriage record for his parents around that time.

I have contacted so many sources in Virginia I could not even begin to list them here. I even had a chance to visit the great Virginia Room at the Roanoke City Library, but I came up with very little. Now I must wait for all of my emails to bear fruit. Oh, where can "my" Marcellus be?