52 Ancestors 52 Weeks Week 19 – Missie (Missy) Austin
Missie
was born according to most documents in Georgia between 1866 and1868. This would be about ten years after her
oldest brother, Henry Carroll/Cal was born in 1858. Henry is my 2nd great grand father,
also born in Georgia. According to the
1870 US Census for Lawrence County, Missie was the fourth born child (age1) of
Emma Sims who married Joseph Austin about 1868.
The mystery of where Missy and
some of her siblings were born in Georgia before migrating to northwest Alabama
creates a brick wall in our family research.
Missy grew up in the small rural town of Town Creek, Lawrence County,
Alabama on a tenant farm.
Missie
married Fred Sherrod 14 April 1888 in Lawrence County. Fred died in 1894 and in the 1900 U.S Census,
Lawrence County list Missie is a widow with five children; Lela (1890), Velma (1892) William (1893)
Gertrude (1894), Fred Ida (1895). Fred
would have been a young man of about thirty-five and not finding a death
certificate makes me wonder whether he became ill or had an accident leading to
his death. Missie a young woman of about
thirty-three with five children continued on the tenant farm to make a living
and provide for them. Missie knew the
work of a farm after all that is what her parents Joseph and Emma did from the
time they arrive in Town Creek shortly after emancipation.
Fortunately,
she met and married Hugh Jackson in Leighton, Colbert County on the 4th
of January 1903. Missie and Hugh had a
son, Emmett and a daughter, Beatrice Jackson.
Life must have been on the upswing
for the couple had seven children that of course would help on the farm
along with them. However, the forward
movement lasted too short awhile for by 1920, Missie was back on her on living
as a widowed head of house. The house
couldn’t have been too large yet Missie, her eighty-three year old mother, Emma
along with some of her children and grandchildren lived in the home. Can’t imagine how they managed but they did.
Missie’s mother, Emma Austin died in 1927 and by 1930, Missie was living with
her single younger son, Emmett who was twenty-seven. This represents a culture of assisting family
and making the best of circumstances. No
record has been found of where Missie was during the 1940 Census but we are
fairly certain she remained in Alabama throughout her life.
Missie
Austin Sherrod Jackson died in Morgan County, Alabama in 1952. My gg aunt Missie lived through difficulties
with her parents being enslaved to beginning anew in a new state, tenant
farming, becoming a new wife twice, having seven children, making it on her own
and providing home a for her mother Emma Austin in her last years. There is no question that each of stands on
the shoulders of our ancestors. The
question now is will we leave enough strength for our descendants to stand on
our shoulders.
This
family historian feels the responsibilities that have been passed on by our
ancestors.
