Life History

Other facts

Notes

• Several genealogies report detailed information about Mary and her children.  They have an exact birth date but I have not found one that cites a source, like the gravestone or Bible record.
  
  Mary E. Thomas
  Birth 30 Oct 1869 in North Cove, McDowell, North Carolina
  Death 16 Feb 1924 in Madison County, North Carolina
  Parents James "Jim" Carter Thomas 1845-1917
  Martha M. Sellers 1845-1923
  Marriage to William M. Edmonds 27 Oct 1884 Erwin, Unicoi County, Tennessee
  --  Cooper, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/7403945/person/2004987742
  
  The record of death reports her month of death and her reprrted age of birth.  The age given makes her born in 1872, while family sources say she was born 30 October 1869. (I have not seen any of these sources saying where they actually got this date, so at this level it must be considered unverified.) Ages in census indicate birth in 1870 or 1871.
  
  North Carolina Death Collection, 1908-2004
  Mary Edmonds
  Age 52, Est Date of Birth 1872
  Death Feb 1924 Madison County, North Carolina
  
  The death certificate has this same general information on it.  Her husband William was the informant, so he was the one who reported her age as 52, or her birth year as 72, or both.  The birth date is given as just a year, but the age is given as 52 years and 10 months.  This would seem to indicate that the physician had at least a month of birth, though that was not recorded here.
  
  Fifty-two years and 10 months from the date of death on 16 February 1924 would NOT be 1872, but April 1871, possible March 1871, depending on the actual day.  This, of course, does not match either the month or the year of the Oct 1869 date reported in the genealogies.
  
  All this indicates the different orientation to detail in that time and culture  Exactitude was not in focus, and often people did not now, care or remember dates.  Of course, some families kept better records than others.  I would tend to favor the official report on the birth certificate, but its lack of precision and inconsistency does not engender much higher trust than the undocumented genealogy dates.
  
  North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-1975
  Mary Edmonds [Mary Thomas]
  White Female
  Age 52 years 10 months, Birth Date: 1872 [sic]
  [Year date does not match age, which would make it April 1871]
  Birth Mcdowell County, North Carolina
  Death Feb 1924, Township 11, Faust, Madison County
  Cause of Death Epitheloma [sic] of uterus and complications
  Spouse W M Edmonds, Father J C Thomas, Mother Mrs White [?]
  Both parents reported born in McDowell County, NC
  Informant W M Edmonds
  Burial 18 February 1924 at home Township 11 (Faust, Madison, NC) by Holcombe Funeral Home of Mars Hill, Madison, NC
  
  The name of her mother reported by family genealogies is Martha M Sellers.  William Edmonds' mother was Catherine White.  I wonder if there was a misunderstanding between the doctor and William on this name?  The father's name here matches family reports of the name James (Jim) C Thomas.
  
  The 1900 census has the same October birth month as the genealogy, but places it a year later in 1870, clsoer to ages reported in the census and the deth certifiacte.
  
  1900 Federal Census, Madison County, North Carolina, 30 June, Upper Laurel Township, District 84, page 11B, Hse/Fam #207
  Edmonds, William Head W M March 1861  89 Married 15 years NC NC NC Farmer Owns
  Edmonds, Mary E Wife W M Oct 1870  29 Married 15 years 9 child/7 living NC NC NC
  Edmonds, Eddie M Dau W F Apr 1886 14 Single NC NC NC
  Edmonds, James E  Son W M May 1888 12 Single NC NC NC Farm Laborer
  Edmonds, William A  Son W M Nov 1890 9 Single NC NC NC
  Edmonds, Mary M Dau W F Nov 1892 7 Single NC NC NC
  Edmonds, Zenobia C Dau W F May 1895 5 Single NC NC NC
  Edmonds, Ethel Dau W F May 1898 2 Single NC NC NC
  Edmonds, Elijah L  Son W M Feb 1900 3mos Single NC NC NC
  Hensley, William M  Nephew W M May 1896 4 Single NC NC NC

Sources

• 1. 1920 Federal Census, Madison County, North Carolina
  • 5 January, Upper Laurel, District 127, page 1B, Hse/Fam #18
• 2. 1900 Federal Census, Madison County, North Carolina
  • 30 June, Upper Laurel Township, District 84, page 11B, Hse/Fam #207
• 3. 1910 Federal Census, Madison County, North Carolina
  • 28 April, Upper Laurel Township, District 92, page 6B, Upper Laurel Rd, Hse #103, Fam #104
• 4. Ancestry Trees
  • Cooper, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/7403945/person/2004987742
• 5. North Carolina, Death Certificates, 1909-1975