Life History

Notes

• In the 1850 census, we find Edwin as one of the children of Wyly (43) and Lavinia (31) Padgett in Cleveland, North Carolina, Hse/Fam #597
  Wyly Padgett    43 Male Farmer Born in NC
  Lavinia Padgett 31 Female Born in NC
  John H Padgett 13 Male Born in NC
  Edwin Padgett  12 Male Born in NC
  Mary K Padgett  7 Female Born in NC
  Barbara E Padgett 6 Female Born in NC
  William Padgett   4 Male Born in NC
  Elizabeth Padgett  3 Female Born in NC
  Nancy J Padgett   2 Female Born in NC
  Caroline Padgett   1month Female Born in NC
  
  This census reports parents and all children born in North Carolina.  Note that the 1880 census below reports that Edwin's father was born in South Carolina.  The Padgett family is living next door to a McSwain family.  Only one child is listed on the page with them, John, age 10 months.  Hamrick Family information lists Edwin/Edmund and his family this way:
  
  Padgett, Edmond [Edwin] (1838 - 1907)
  b. 22 Dec 1838 in Rutherford,NC
  d. 12 Nov 1907 in Ward, Lonoke, AR
  spouse: McSwain, Judith N (~1841 - )
  - m. in NC
  ----------child: Padgette, William A (*1873 - 1922)
  ----------child: Padgett, Minnie Ola (1874 - 1961)
  
  Note that the Hamrick information lacks several children shown in the Tennessee and Arkansas censuses below.  IN the 1860 and 1870 censuses, we see the Padgetts moving westward on their way ultimately to Arkansas County, Arkansas, where they moved with other McSwain, Weathers and Padgett family members.  In 1860, Edwin is reported as Edmon.
  
  1860 Federal Census, Buncombe County, North Carolina, 10 August, P O Fairview, page 10, Hse/Fam #110
  Wiley Padgett 50 M Shoemaker $0 Real Estate $75 Personal Estate b North Carolina
  Vina Padgett 42 F Domestic b North Carolina
  Edmon Padgett 21 M Farm Laborer b NC
  Mary Padgett 17 F Domestic b NC
  Ellen Padgett 15 F Domestic b NC
  William Padgett 13 M b NC
  Elizabeth Padgett 13 F b NC
  Nancy Padgett 10 F b NC
  Caroline Padgett 8 F b NC
  Wiley Padgett 6 M b NC
  Vina Padgett 4 F b NC
  Harriet Padgett 2 F b NC
  
  In 1870, Edwin has moved west and is enumerated in Cocke County, Tennessee, in the mountains of East Tennessee, near the North Carolina border.
  
  1870 Federal Census, Cocke County, Tennessee, 23 August, District 9, page 18, Hse #123, Fam #124
  Padget, Edwin 32 M W Farmer NC  (b abt 1838)
  Padget, Juliah 36  F W Keeping House b North Carolina (b abt 1834)
  Padget, William C [E?] 5 F W b North Carolina (b abt 1865)
  Padget, John P 3 F W b North Carolina (b abt 1867)
  
  1880 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 19 June, Prairie Township (Ethel), District 2, page 24A, Hse #171, Fam #182
  Edwin Padgett  Self M Male W 41 Farmer NC SC NC
  Judy Padgett   Wife M Female W 46 Housekeeping NC NC NC
  W E Padgett   Son S Male W 15 NC NC NC
  John Padgett  Son S Male W 13 Works On Farm NC NC NC
  Mary Padgett  Dau S Female W 9 AR NC NC
  Edna E Padgett  Dau S Female W 7 AR NC NC
  Minneola Padgett  Dau S Female W 5 AR NC NC
  
  On the same page of the census was Edwin's younger sister Sue and her husband John McCreary (McCrary).
  
  1880 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 19 June 1880, Prairie Township, District 2, page 24 (scan 2), Hse #176, Fam #187
  McCreary, John W M 30 Married Farming TN NC TN [b abt 1850]
  McCreary, Sue C  W F 30 Married Wife Housekeeping NC SC SC [b abt 1850]
  McCreary, Henry  W M 2 Son Single Cannot read or write AR TN NC [b abt 1878]
  McCreary, J H  W M 4mos Son AR TN NC [b abt Jan 1880]
  
  We learn from the Holden Genealogy by David Holden that the full name of the son W E is William Ensley.
  
  In 1900 we find Edwin in Lonoke County.  He is now a widow, living with two single daughters, Mollie (Mary) age 29 and Minnie age 25.  We learn from other sources that his wife Judith died in August 1897.  They are living in the town of Austin Station in Lonoke County, Arkansas.  Other McSwains and Padgetts also lived in the Lonoke-Scott area.
  
  1900 Federal Census, Lonoke County, Arkansas, 5 June. Caroline Township, District 77, page 2, Austin Station, Hse #36, Fam #37
  Padgett, Edwin Head W M Dec 1838  age 61 Widowed NC SC NC Farmer
  Padgett, Mollie Dau W F Oct 1870  29 Single AR NC NC
  Padgett, Minnie Dau W F Nov 1874  25 Single AR NC NC
  McSwain, Ida  Boarder  Sept 1895  4 AR AR AR
  
  In their household is a boarder named Ida McSwain.  But Ida's age is only 4!  She was born in September 1895.  The Padgetts are cousins to the McSwains in Arkansas County.  I have not been able to account for Ida among the families I know.  There are no other McSwains around them.
  
  There were other McSwains from North Carolina in other counties of Arkansas at this time, and this Ida could be from one of them that I do not have information on.
  
  I later found a Hamrick genealogy that adds a few other details, like Edwin's first initial W.  This may stand for William, since that is such a prominent name among the Padgetts and related families.
  
  W Edwin Padgett
  Birth 22 Dec 1838 in NC Death
  12 Dec 1907 in Lonoak, AR
  Spouse Judith N McSwain 1834-1897
  Children:
  John Pinkney Padgett b 1867
  Mary "Mollie" Padgett b 1870
  Edna Earl Padgett 1872-1956
  Minnie Ola Padgett 1874-1961
  --  Hamricks of Ireland, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/9887369/person/-728281014
  
  I found a marriage record for what looks like this Edwin Padgett in Arkansas County, marrying M G McSwain (spelled McSwayne here) in 1886.  She was Mary McSwain (maiden name) whose first husband was John Franklin McSwain, a cousin of some level in this same McSwain clan.  McSwains and Padgetts moved together from Cleveland County, North Carolina in the 1960s and 1970s to locations in Arkansas.
  
  Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
  Edwin Padgett
  Age 48, Birth Year abt 1838
  Spouse's Name M G McSwayne
  Spouse's Gender Female
  Spouse's Age 43
  Marriage 12 Dec 1886 Arkansas County
  Marriage License Date 10 Dec 1886
  
  This record looks like the same W Edwin Padgett who married Judith McSwain in North Carolina, then moved to Arkansas with other Padgetts and McSwain.
  
  Edwin was a brother of Martha Elizabeth Padgett, the wife of P K McSwain, who was a distant cousin of Edwin's wife Judith.  Mary G (Polly) McSwain, also called Ida, was also a cousin of P K, and was married to John Franklin McSwain of the same lineage.
  
  The personal details match for this Edwin who married Mary G McSwain in 1886 to be the W Edwin Padgett who married Judith McSwain in North Carolina.  But the report of death we have for Judith is not until 1897. This, however, is from a Hamrick family report, and I have not found her Arkansas death record.  I have not found Mary G McSwain in the 1900 census.  W Edwin appears as a widowed father of two daughters, in Lonoke County, Arkansas.
  
  The only possibility I can think of to account for this is that Edwin and Judith divorced and Edwin married Mary McSwain.  Another marriage record looks like the same Edwin married his former wife Judith (Judie) in 1888, two years after the marriage to M G McSwain.  But I have found no divorce record in Arkansas County records.
  
  Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
  E Padgett
  Gender Male
  Age 49, Birth Year abt 1839
  Spouse's Name Judie Padgett
  Spouse's Gender Female
  Spouse's Age 54
  Marriage Date 24 Oct 1888 Arkansas County
  Marriage License Date 24 Oct 1888
  
  Edwin was a widower when enumeraterd for the 1900 census in Austin, Lonoke County, Arkansas, about 100 miles northeast of Ethel, Arkansas, where he and Judith first lived with their Padgett and McSwain relatives when they moved from Tennessee.  Edwin died in Ward, Lonoke County, Arkansas in 1907.

Sources

• 1. 1900 Federal Census, Lonoke County, Arkansas
  • 5 June. Caroline Township, District 77, page 2B, Austin Station, Hse #36, Fam #37
• 2. 1860 Federal Census, Buncombe County, North Carolina
  • 10 August, P O Fairview, page 10, Hse/Fam #110
• 3. FamilySearch Trees
• 4. Hamrick Data Pages
  • http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~Hamrick/wga81.html
• 5. 1850 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina
  • Hse/Fam #597
• 6. Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
• 7. 1870 Federal Census, Cocke County, Tennessee
  • District 9, Post Office Newport, Hse #122, Fam #123
• 8. 1880 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
  • 19 June, Prairie Township (Ethel), District 2, page 24A, Hse #171, Fam #182
• 9. Family Data Collection - Births
• 10. Ancestry Trees
  • Hamricks of Ireland, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/9887369/person/-728281014
• 11. 1870 Federal Census, Cocke County, Tennessee
  • 23 August, District 9, page 18, Hse #123, Fam #124
• 12. 1850 Federal Census, Cleveland County, North Carolina
  • 4 September, p 316, Hse/Fam #597
• 13. Judy McSwain Miller
• 14. 1900 Federal Census, Yell County, Arkansas
  • 13 June, Lamar, District 157, page 10B, Hse #166, Fam #168
• 15. 1920 Federal Census, Yell County, Arkansas
  • 3 January, Lamar Township, District 191, page 1A, Plainview town, N Main St, Hse/Fam #191
• 16. 1910 Federal Census, Yell County, Arkansas
  • 15 April, Lamar Township, District 168, page 2A, Plainview town, East Border Rd, Hse/Fam #25
• 17. RootsWeb -- McSwain-Padgett-Moore-Green
  • http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=dwh1951&id=I2975
• 18. Salem Cemetery, Yell County, Arkansas, Register
• 19. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 20. 1910 Federal Census, Lonoke County, Arkansas
  • 3 May, Ward Township, District 137, page 15A-B, Hse #269, Fam #275
• 21. 1930 Federal Census, Lonoke County, Arkansas
  • 8 April, Ward Township, District 38, page 4A, Kuckelbur [sic] Rd, Hse/Fam #65