Nathan Bodie, Jr. in 1840

The 1840 census for Edgefield County/District, SC shows a Nathan Boddie. The data for Nathan indicates:

Males under 5: 1
Males 5-10: 1
Males 10-15: 2
Males 30-40: 1
Females under 5: 1
Females 5-10: 2
Females 30-40: 1

How well does this match up with what is supposedly known about Nathan's family? Nathan was born in 1804, and his first wife, Mary Edna Eidson (Jane's mother) was supposedly born in 1806, so those match up with the 2 adults. Their children should be Jesse Pitts Bodie (born 1826), Andrew Jackson Bodie (born 1828), James Russell Bodie (born 1831), Mary Bodie (born 1832), Anne M. Bodie (born 1834), and Elizabeth J. Bodie (born 1836). Amanda Bodie was not born until 10 June 1840, and so should not be counted as the effective date of the 1840 census was June 1. So we have a perfect match except for the fact that there should be a son born sometime between 1835 and 1840. Yet no such son appears in the 1850 census. Unless there is evidence to contradict it, I'll have to assume that there was another son who died prior to 1850. His most likely birth year is 1838, as there is a 4-year gap between Elizabeth and Amanda.

Nathan Bodie, Jr. in 1860

We've already seen Nathan's household in 1870, and also in 1850 (when daughter Jane was part of it). So the remaining piece is 1860. In the Saluda Regiment section of Edgefield County (or District), we find the household of "N.A. Bodie" (53), Nancy (40), Virginia (11), Daniel (7), female E.C. (4), and one-month-old Emma.

We'll now have to push Nathan back into the 1840 timeframe, when he should be in his thirties.

Nathan Bodie, Jr. in 1870

In 1870, 66-year-old Nathan Bodie appears in the census in the Saluda section of Edgefield County, SC with his third wife, Nancy Warren, and three children: 19-year-old Virginia and 16-year-old Daniel (children of his second wife, Elizabeth Warren, who was Nancy's twin sister), and 12-year-old Elizabeth (his daughter by Nancy).

Nathan Bodie, Jr.'s grave

In the early 1990s, my brother Jeff and I looked for Nathan Bodie, Jr's gravestone at a small church in Saluda County. We didn't find it in the church graveyard, not realizing at that time that there was a smaller cemetery just across the highway but hidden within the pine forest. I did manage to go back later to see it.

The cemetery is across the highway from Bethlehem Church, located in the southwest part of present-day Saluda County, within the fork of SC 121 and CR 39. Many related lines are buried here, including Bodie, Eidson, Rushton, Kemp, and Holmes.

According to Nathan's grave, he was born 7 February 1804, and died 9 November 1873. Next, we'll trace him back starting in 1870.

Jane Belle Bodie in 1850

Jane isn't hard to find in 1850. Although there are several different Jane Bodies located in Edgefield District in 1850, only one is of the right age. The family is split across 2 census pages. In the second page, Jane appears with her older sisters Susan, Amanda, Elizabeth, and Anne, as well as a younger half-sister, Virginia. On the previous page are head of household Nathaniel (47), Elizabeth (32), Russell (20), and Mary (18).

The focus now switches from Jane to her father, Nathan(iel).

Jane Belle Bodie in 1860

For now, I'm going to have to skip worrying about Jane's location in 1870 and follow her back to 1860. Here things are a bit easier. She appears as a very young wife of 14 with husband "W.M.W. Long". Located in the Saluda Regiment section of Edgefield District, Wiley and Jane are living next door to Jane's older sister, Susan Caroline Bodie Adams (as Jane would again years later).

In 1850, Jane and Susan should be with some of their other siblings and their parents, so that will be the next entry.

Jane Belle Bodie in 1870?

OK, now I've got a problem. Where was Jane in 1870? She should be somewhere with her first husband, Wiley Long, and their first 4 children: Martha (7), Emma (4), Joseph Edward (2), and Nathan Calhoun (1). And she should be somewhere between 22 and 25 (depending on which source you want to believe).

Jane Belle Bodie in 1880

The gravestone says 1848. The 1900 census says 1852. When does the 1880 census say Jane was born? It gives her age as 32, which matches the gravestone.

Tomorrow, I'll follow the family back to 1870.

Jane Belle Bodie in 1900

Jane married her third husband, John C. Farmer, sometime after the death of her second husband (my great-grandfather) and prior to 1900. I was able to find the household in the 1900 census using my grandfather, George Martin, as the index term. Most things match, but there are some discrepancies. John Farmer and his wife Jane appear in the household with his step-children George Martin, Cora Martin, Jannie Bell Martin, and Hammitt Martin. I clearly remember my great-uncle Hammitt. Cora is the same as the Chicorah Lee Asbill who is buried next to Jane.

The discrepancies relate to Jane's age and the number of children. Jane's gravestone says that she was born in 1848, but the 1900 census indicates 1852. Vanity? Also, the census indicates that she has had a total of 7 children, with 5 still alive. She certainly had 5 living children from her second marriage to my great-grandfather, Edmund Manley Martin, and it's certainly possible that she lost 2 children at an early age for them (who would fit gaps in the calendar).

But the count should have included her children by her first husband, Wiley Long. Perhaps this situation is more complicated than it looks.

Jane Belle Bodie's grave

Jane Belle Bodie (whose name appears as Janie Belle Body on my grandfather's SS-5) was married three times, first to a man named Long, then to my great-grandfather (a Martin), and then to a man named Farmer. She had children with the first two husbands, but not the third, and she was also helping to raise her Martin husband's children from his previous marriage. My mother remembers attending several Martin-Long reunions, held at a park near Lake Greenwood in South Carolina.

One of the high points in my genealogical research was finding Jane Belle Boddie's grave. Fortunately, I was aided by an extremely helpful librarian at the Laurens County public library, who was actively working on a second volume of the cemeteries of that county. She allowed me to view her notes, which included the listing for Jane's grave, located in the Laurens Mill (Northview) Cemetery. Buried next to Jane are her third husband, John C. Farmer, and a daughter, Chicorah Lee Martin (who had married an Asbill).

Next, I'll trace Jane backwards in time using census records.

Starting with ... who?

The first connection I have to the Boddie family is through my mother's father, George W. Martin. Granddaddy Martin died when I was 8, and so I have clear memories of him. It was interesting to obtain a copy of his SS-5 (his application for Social Security). The spelling of my greatgrandmother's name on the application certainly points out that the name was pronounced "body", even though it is spelled "Bodie" by most branches of the family in upstate and central South Carolina.

I'll next focus on my greatgrandmother.

Starting a Genealogical Project

January 1 seems like a reasonable day on which to begin a new genealogical project. Actually, I'm working on an old project, but in a more organized manner. My project idea is to identify all descendants of the immigrant (to America) BODDIE ancestor. Before I do that, however, I should do the "prequel" project, namely, to trace in an organized fashion my own ancestry back to that ancestor.