52 Ancestors 2015 Edition: #33 Madeline Teresa Harris --I Wish I Could Get A Better Glimpse Of You.


Amy Johnson Crow, the author of the blog No Story Too Small, is the host of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Blog Prompt series. If you are not familiar with the project please click on the following link:   Announcing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2015 Edition.

I already wrote about Madeline's mother Lovie Ann Jones Watson here on this blog. Even though I don't know much about my 1st cousin 2x removed, I still it is important to honor her life and so I've chosen Madeline Teresa Harris as my ancestor #33.

Our common ancestors are my 2nd great grandparents Alexander Hamilton Jones and Rosa Mitchell Jones.


52 Ancestors 2015 Edition:  #33 Madeline Teresa Harris --I Wish I Could Get A Better Glimpse Of You --How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey

Madeline Teresa Harris was born June 23, 1905 in Morehead City, NC. Her parents, Lovie Jones and John M Harris, were married in 1902 but by 1910 were no longer together.

Source Information Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Birth Indexes, 1800-2000 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Register of Deeds. North Carolina Birth Indexes. Raleigh, North Carolina: North Carolina State Archives. Microfilm.

In 1910, Madeline lived with her mother, grandparents and two aunts on Fisher Street in Morehead City. With her father no longer in the picture and her mother working as a nurse, It appears that her grandma Rosa Jones stepped in to fill the void.


Source Information Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: White Oak, Carteret, North Carolina; Roll: T624_1095; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0002; FHL microfilm: 1375108

In my post, Some Answers...More Questions, I highlighted some of the things Rosa Jones left for her next of kin when she passed away. Rosa referred to Madeline Harris as her daughter instead of granddaughter in her will. I wondered whether the wording in the will was a mistake or did it more accurately describe the nature of the relationship between Madeline and Rosa. It's been a little more than two years since that writing. I am now feeling more certain that Rosa was more of a a mother figure to Madeline than her own mother. Rosa had more flexibility in her schedule. She worked at home as a laundress and collected rents from folks who rented land from her. She would have had more time to be there for a young child. This wasn't the only time my 2nd great grandma Rosa would care for a grandchild. My great grandmother Ophelia's oldest child, Frank Mitchell Bryant, was also raised by Rosa. I believe this was so Ophelia could finish her schooling to become a teacher.

I wonder what it was like for young Madeline Harris. What did she look like? What sort of work did she do when she grew up? Did she find happiness?

For now, these questions remain unanswered. 


52 Ancestors 2015 Edition:  #33 Madeline Teresa Harris --I Wish I Could Get A Better Glimpse Of You --How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey
Source Information: North Carolina Death Collection, 1908-2004 Ancestry.com
Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.Original data - North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics. North Caroline Deaths, 1997-2004. North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Madeline Teresa Harris died on November 26 1982. At the time of her death, she was a patient at Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro, NC. I don't know what sort of mental illness she was suffering from nor when she was admitted to the hospital.

So many details of her life are missing. I wish I could get a better glimpse of the person she once was.

52 Ancestors 2015 Edition:  #33 Madeline Teresa Harris --I Wish I Could Get A Better Glimpse Of You --How Did I Get Here? My Amazing Genealogy Journey




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