Black Sheep Sunday - December 27, 2009

I have taken my Black Sheep Sunday's to a different level than most bloggers use. I realize the term, "Black Sheep", is meant to describe than more "unsavory" of characters. But, to be honest, I have only found a very few of those in my ancestry. [Oh, I am certain there are more than I have found, but I just have not uncovered those persons!] And so, I have been utilizing my Black Sheep Sunday posts to uncover those brick walls I have.

Today, I would like to discuss my Carnefix ancestry. This elusive branch has been added mostly from the greater research of others, as I have found very little on it. Part of the problem is in the variations of the spelling of the name. I have found the more recent spelling of Carnefix to be the rarest of the spellings. But I have also unearthed the following: Carnafix, Carnefax, Carnafax, Carnifix, Carnifex, Carnifax, Carnafex, Cornfix, Cornafax, Cornefax, and I can keep going on here.

My maternal grandmother's mother was Elizabeth Carnefix.

Elizabeth "Eliza" Carnefix

1851 - 1929

The odd shape of the photo above is because it was cut to fit a locket, more than 100 years ago. My grandmother kept the portrait in a tiny frame, with another, that of her father, Stephen Ledford Faudree.

Eliza was born 08 Jul 1851, in the tiny community of Sweet Springs, Monroe County, [W]Va. This tiny little hamlet today is easily missed if you but blink when driving through. There isn't even a post-office. No stores. The houses are set wide apart, having once been a farming community. There are still many farms, mostly cattle or grain. But when Eliza was born here, this area was bustling. At that time, there were at least 6 churches, 4 stores, a post-office, and even a regular mercantile! There was a stage line that ran directly through the community, with a proper stage stop and rest. And there was the world reknown Sweet Springs Resort, as well as two smaller hotels. It wasn't until after World War I that the community began to dwindle, and the economy to crumble.

Eliza was born the eldest of at least 4 children born to George Carnefix and Mary Susan Daugherty. The other children were Nancy [b. 1854]; James [b. 1856], and Charles [b. 1858].

On 17 Dec. 1878, Eliza wed Stephen Ledford Faudree [1857-1929] in a ceremony at her father's home that was officiated by the Rev. Alfred M. Clelland, a Methodist minister of the gospel.

Eliza went on to have 10 children with Stephen: Ida [1880-1953]; Bervie [1881-1909]; Pearl [1883-1959]; Gordon [1885-1958]; Spurge [1888-1962]; Roy [1891-1952]; Faye [1895-1904]; Mary [1897-1975; Mary was my grandmother]; Zenna ane [1900-1971]; and Veda [1903-1993].

I suppose if there were a Black Sheep to this particular part of the Carnefix family, it would be in Eliza's father, George.

George was born about 1831 in Virginia. And he died in the 1860's, we believe, although a death record has yet have been found. It is believed he may have been killed in the Civil War. He married Mary Susan Daugherty [b. 1834 in Monroe Co., VA] on 01 May 1860. [You will note from the above list of four children from the family, that they were all born between 1851-1858, thus having been born illegitimate.] Grandma once told me that her grandparents were married when talk of a Civil War begn to break out. It is unknown why George and Mary did not marry sooner. They resided, according to Census records, in well populated areas, with readily available ministers to perform the ceremony if it should have been desired. Although, in many parts of the county, there were many couples who assumed the roles of husband and wife without benefit of marriage, until a minister became available to "sanctify" the marriage. And a common-law marriage was considered the norm in many areas until the 1940's, and the advent of nearly every household owning a motor vehicle.

The ancestry beyond George is not something I have proven yet. [Sad to say that much of this I have had so little time to research! Seems I am always busy with clients, and have so little time for my own ancestry!] But this is what I have gleaned from the work of Ralph Faudree, my cousin, who passed from this life in 2002:

Beginning with George:

George Carnefix: b. 1831; m. Mary Susan Daughtery; son of William Carnefix and Nancy Holsapple.

William Carnefix: [1770-09 Sep 1856, Campbell Co., VA]. M: Nancy Holsapple; 11 children. Son of William E. Carnefix and Esther Maxey.

William E. Carnefix [1730-Nov 1812]; M: Esther Maxey; son of John Carnefix and Unknown Chesley.

John Carnefix [1711-1752]; M: Unknown Chesley; son of John Carnefix.

John Carnefix - no known data.

The Carnefix branch of my family tree is on my "to do" list for 2010.