Sunday, November 29, 2020

RACHEL SCRUGGS of Alderson & her husbands Samuel Wilmer & George Washington Moore

 In the article "History of Brushy Ridge Colored" by Frank U.G. Peck he says "We will first consider the early settlers of Brushy Ridge, who they were & where they came from".  Peck mentions a man named Christopher Hoke who "owned a colored woman who became the wife of Samuel Wilmer".  (Note:   I do not yet know the identity of this first wife).  He goes on to say that Samuel Wilmer's second wife was Rachel Scruggs & that she was from Alderson.  (Peck uses two LL's in the name Willmer).  Peck then says that "G.W. Moore who owned a home and formerly lived in South Brushy Ridge is now married to Samuel Wilmer's widow".  Here he is referring to the fact that George Washington "Wash" Moore had married Rachel Scruggs.  Samuel Willmer (1825 - 1903) married Rachel Scruggs (1863 -   ) on 4/28/1881.  He was almost forty years her senior. Rachel married George Washington "Wash" Moore (1859-9/25/1942) on 12/24/1903, the same year in which her first husband, Samuel, had died. 

Mr. Peck mentions a "Scruggs" - most likely male - who is part of the "transit (sic) population of Brushy Ridge".  I think he meant "transient".  Peck also mentions that "Oscar Wilmer married Mazie Haynes" & that "they live at J.D. Haynes".  This then, is where I make a connection - in family terms - to Rachel C. Scruggs as J.D. Haynes is James Daniel Haynes who was the younger half brother of my great grandmother Elizabeth Jane Payne Haynes Lewis (the s/o Solomon "Saul" Haynes & Martha Jane Payne Haynes Jones).   

There is quite a lot of information to be found on Rachel C. Scruggs in Ancestry.com.  Note though that her daughter was also Rachel C. Scruggs (a twin of Raymond who was married to a Patterson) and they must be distinguished.  Also note that the name Bunderant pops up occasionally as it relates to Rachel.  This is probably b/c her stepfather's name Bundy is a corruption of Bunderant.  There ARE Caucasian Bunderant's in WV but I have not found any in Greenbrier County. 


Rachel (married to Wilmer & Moore):   Born 1863 in Summers County.  1870 Census - WV, Greenbrier County (GC), Blue Sulphur Springs (BSS) at 10y with her mother Harriet 34 & her stepfather, Charles Bundy, 49, farm hand & her brothers Matthew A. 14, & Charles H. 6.  Note that all of the children are listed with the surname Bundy though Rachel & Matthew were Scruggs. 1880 Census - GC, BSS, with her stepfather, Anderson Bundy 52 & her mother Harriet Bundy 45 (so her stepfather was "Charles Anderson Bundy) & her brother Andrew J. Scruggs, 25 & she is 17, & her half siblings Charles 12, Lewis 10, Sarah E. & William 5. Note that in the 1880 Census there is a Caucasian Scruggs family that is listed on the same page - so probably about four to six properties away from their property.  Rachel appears as Caucasian in some documents though she was undoubtably living her life as a Black female, & probably was just observed as some reporters to be a Caucasian woman.  There is no 1890 Census for WV.  Rachel's son Oscar Samuel Wilmer was born in 1891. 1910 Census at 47, keeping house with her husband, George W. 51 who is a laborer in a flour mill.  They have had a child, Virginia C., 5.  & with them is listed all of Rachel's "Wilmer children":  Mary W. 17, cook in a private home; Sidney L. a girl, 24, housekeeper in a private home, Julie A. 22, a laundress who works outside of the home, Samual O. (Oscar) 20 who is a farm laborer on the home farm, Luvenia 17., Charles 14, the twins Raymond 11, & Rachel 11 & Mattie, 6.  1920 Census she is listed with her husband, Wash Moore, 62, she is 57, (& all of the children are listed as Moore's even though some are stepchildren:  Osker, 30 (this is Oscar Samuel Wilmer), Luvenia A. 26, the twins Raymond 21, Rachel 21  & also Martha C. 16, Virginia C. 14, & Mary W. 37.   1930  Census at age 66 with her husband George W. Moore 71 & her daughter Rachel Wilmer 30 who is a school teacher & her son Raymond 30, who is a laborer (again twins) & with Martha W. Miller, 26  (George's first wife was named Martha & she appears to have died shortly before he married Rachel b/c she is in the 1900 Census as his wife - , b. 1863 in Virginia.  (check this)).  So maybe this Martha W. Miller was his daughter with his first wife.  1940 Census, GC ICD at 78 with her husband, Washington G. Moore 81 & her son in law - George W. Patterson 37 & her daughter Rachel 38.  George Washington "Wash" Moore died on /25/1942 in Lincoln & is buried at Hoke's Mill.  

It should be noted that George Washington "Wash" Moore was the son of Samuel Nickell Moore "Big Sam" & Emily.  This compiler believes that Emily was a Haynes from Summers County but I have no documented proof of this and rather only "conversation".  This compiler's greatgrandmother (Haynes) was a seamstress at the same location (Nickell's Mill) as Big Sam (wagon driver) and Emily. 

Rachel C. Scruggs Moore died on 12/12/1956.   

So -- what happened to all of Rachel's children who appeared in the 1910 Census

(1)  Virginia C., who was 5y in 1919; (2) Mary W. Wilmer who was 27y in 1910; (3) Sidney L, who was 24y in 1910 married James E.Steele (see Hx of Brushy Ridge), (4) Julie A. who was 22 in 1910 - I haven't been able to find anything on her, (5) Samuel Oscar, who was 20y in 1910 - see above info on him; (6) Luvenia who was 17y in 1910, was b. 3/101893 in GC & she died on 7/10/1939 in GC at age 46.   She was the d/o Samuel Wilmer & Rachel, she was a beautician, & someone on ancestry has a family page for her.  (7) Charles who was 14y in 1910, (8&9) the twins Raymond & Rachel who were ll in 1910; Raymond Garfield Wilmer was born on 11/9/1898 & he died on 2/8/1967 in Ronceverte.  He was married to Luiclle Marietta Boone who he married in 1934 & had a son named Raymond Garfield Wilmer, Jr. who married Sandra Yvette Lee on 10/16/1967 in Lewisburg.  Raymond Sr. filled out a WW1 Draft Registration Card when he was 19yo, (so around 1918) & he listed his middle name as GARFIELD.  He said he was b. 11/9/1899, that he was a farmer, that his mother was Rachel Moore & she lived on Route? 4, Number 1 in Ronceverte, he registered on 9/12 but there is no year shown.  He was medium height, with grey eyes & black hair.  Raymond Sr. filled out a WW2 Draft Registration Card & indicated that he lived in Ronceverte, (check to see if he said his middle name was Garfield or Garwood) was 43y, b. 11/7/1898, his employer was Roy Simms of Ronceverte, he was 5'10", 164 pounds, brown eyes, black hair, dark brown complexion.  Raymond G., Sr. is listed on the 1940 Census, at 38, wth his wife Lucille M., 25, & his granddaughter Laverne E. who is 5.  He is a stonemason in a quarry. He is listed right under George Wash Moore & Rachel as well as his twin sister Rachel & her husband George Patterson.  They are also listed close to James Daniel Haynes (my uncle) but he is listed with an Annie J. as opposed to Loma Max Moore; Rachel C. was b. on 11/9/1898 & she died in 1986.  She was buried at Trails End in Clintonville.  She was married to George W. Patterson;  & (11) Martha C. / Mattie 6y.  

Note that I just started working on this analysis a couple of hours ago and that it will be (substantially) edited, and information will be further corroborated and verified.   However, I wanted to get some skeletal info down as I had an inquiry from someone in this family over the holidays.  I seem to connect to Rachel C. Scruggs indirectly in a number of ways.  I think her middle name was Constance or that her daughter's middle name was Constance.  This also has to be verified with documentation. 

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