Solomon R. Thompson's Middle Name

©  Kathy Duncan, 2020

I've spent many years wondering about the middle name of my 3x great-grandfather Solomon R. Thompson, who lived in Kershaw and Lancaster Counties, South Carolina. A good guess would be that it was Reeves because that was his mother Priscilla's maiden name. However, that would only be a guess, and I always want documentation.

In the late 1920s, his daughter, Eliza Ann Rebecca (Thompson) Kelley and one of her daughters and some grandchildren were applying for membership in the Eastern Band of Cherokee. Their rejected applications are part of the Baker Roll. What is important about these applications is not that they were rejected - they are important for the information that they provide about the family.

The applications of Eliza's daughter Annie (Kelley) Price and the grandchildren include affidavits from Eliza. The affidavit that she provided for Annie Price is very revealing.

For one thing, there is Eliza's signature:

More importantly, Eliza's statement provides her father's full name: Solomon Reeves Thompson. And it documents his place of death: May 5, 1882, in Lancaster Co., South Carolina. This is a close match to his Findagrave memorial which bears the date May 9, 1882. However, his tombstone is so eroded it is difficult to tell from a photograph if the date is May 9 or May 5.

Why is Solomon's middle name important? Well, it suggests that I need to pay close to any other Solomon Reeves that I come across. However, since he was the eldest son it might also suggest that I should keep a close eye on Solomon Thompsons if his given name is from his father's side and his middle name is from his mother's side.

Good-bye 2019, Hello 2020

©  Kathy Duncan, 2020

Another Happy New Year to you.

A review of the year shows that my blog had 17,492 page views. Sixty-five posts were added this year. The last page of the year put the total page views at 94,435.

The most popular posts of the year in order:

Sarah Ann (Duncan) Knight - the return of a photograph of my great-grandfather's elder sister to one of her descendants after it languished in an antique store in Crescent City, California.

John W. Selph's Letter of Condolence, 1936 - a letter written by John W. Selph to Andrea (Selph) Vigil upon the deaths of her father Iley N. Selph and his brother Duncan H. Selph.

William Hogan and Lawrence Williams, Kershaw County, SC - a land deed from William Hogan to Lawrence Williams. Lawrence Williams is my most recently identified ancestor, and William Hogan might be his father-in-law.

Lewis H. Kelley Becomes Lonnie Cecil Clyburn - the life of my great-grandmother's brother, who reinvented himself because he dreamed of being more than a poor dirt farmer's son. It's not was not as romantic as it sounds.

The following posts are my favorites because they concerned the brick walls that I was finally able to breakthrough. Some of them I did not even know I had before I found them:

Nelson Kavanaugh, A Slave in the Family - Nelson Kavanaugh, a "new" son of Capt. William Kavanaugh's and a "new" sibling for my 4x great-grandmother Susannah (Kavanaugh) Duncan.

Eliza (Thompson) Kelley's Tribal Application - I grew up hearing that my great-great-grandmother was part Indian and that the Kelley's gone west to claim her Indian land. The story was not quite accurate. Eliza could not prove that her grandmother was a Cherokee, so her application was rejected. What is more thrilling about this application is that Eliza clarified her mother's name: Asenith Williams. Even better, she named her maternal grandparents: Lawrence Williams and Rachel Hogan. I'm stuck again, of course.

Capt. Solomon Reese's Obituary - as obituaries go, this one for my 4x great-grandfather is brief. Still, it was thrilling to find it. Even better, it gave me an estimated birth year for Solomon Reese.

I wish you success in your searches this year.