A maiden name is the difference between uncovering a new family line and being stopped indefinitely. My 2^nd Great-grandma, Clifford Lawson’s maiden name had been buried. Although, I had identified her on the United States Federal Censuses from 1900 to 1940 none of them revealed it.

Going through Ancestry.com and other sources, the feeling was clear. I was only discovering my paternal granddad’s mother as she related to her husband, my 2^nd Great-granddad, Nathan Lawson. Each search before their marriage returned, “No Results,” as if she didn’t exist until age 16 when she became his wife.

My connection to her felt like a long thin strand of cotton. A thread that provided a peephole view of information.  Each tad bit of information brought me closer to the door of her life. I couldn’t help but wonder who was my 2^nd Great-grandma, Clifford Lawson? She was from Georgia. Her race was labeled as colored and she died in Wilcox county on October 8^th 1944. But the most helpful information came out of her death, a certificate number.

A certificate number allowed me to search the state records for any information. But there was a catch. Some states had strict rules about who could get information. Sometimes only the next akin, husband or sibling. Sometimes record became public information 50 years after the date of death. I took my chances and made a request. It would take three months to see if anything would come out of it. But I kept searching as I waited.

I combed through five United States Federal Censuses. I learned in a fifty year span my 2^nd great-grandma had 10 children (three predeceased her), Garfield, William, James, Charlie, Zeik, Nathan Lawson Jr, Shine and Re*e. Learning to read and write was a luxury for the family that worked farms in Wilcox and later Pulaski Georgia. It wasn’t until Clifford reached 52 years old that it revealed in a 1930 US Federal Census she can read and write without ever attending school.

When my 2^nd Great-grandma, Clifford Lawson’s death certificate arrived, I used it to find out what her life looked like before marriage. She had four siblings and was born Clifford Westbrook in about 1872. Once her maiden name was discovered, I found her father, my 3^rd Great-granddad, John Westbrook and her mother, my 3^rd Great-grandma, Harriet, both who were born in North Carolina. With two new ancestors, the family tree had just opened up to a new generation of family.

7 Generations – is a blog series that digs into my family tree to consider the impact of circumstances and decisions through the generations.

—

Rashaun J. Allen (@rashaunjallen) received his MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from SUNY Stony Brook. He’s eyeing agents to help publish his coming of age story, Christine’s Dream – A Memoir of Love, Loss & Life. He is the author of A Walk Through Brooklyn & In The Moment and has been published in TSR: The South Hampton Review. When not writing he runs for the thrill of crossing the finish line. Find more of his work at www.rashaunjallen.com