Key Facts

Snapshot:	farmer's wife
Parents:	38George Williams 39Elizabeth Norris
Born:	circa 1880 Georgia
Died:	10 March 1953 At her home, Laurens County, Georgia
Buried:	Thigpen cemetery, Laurens County, Georgia Approximate coordinates: N32.45216 W82.70416

19Sallie was born in Georgia1-5 sometime circa 1880 (Estimates range from 18783 to 1890.5,6) to her parents 38George Williams5 (whom I've been unable to identify further) and (as explained below) 39Elizabeth Norris.

Problem: Resolved Who is 19Sallie's mother? 19Sallie's mother is 39Elizabeth Norris, as suggested by paper-trail evidence and confirmed by DNA evidence. Paper-trail evidence Sadly, 19Sallie's mother's name isn't provided on her death certificate:5 19Sallie's obituary identifies two siblings: "one sister, Mrs. Julia Carter, of Soperton; one brother, Jordan Williams, of Florida." 6 Julia had married Charles Carter in Johnson County on 4 March 1897.7 Julia Williams' and Charles Carter's marriage certificate. Full page.7 Unlike 19Sallie's death certificate, Julia's does provide her mother's name: [39]Lizzie Norris.8 The parents of Julia (19Sallie's sister) as recorded on her death certificate. Full page.8 In 1900 Julia and her husband Charles were living next door to a man named 78Jordan Norris.9 Julia, Charles, and 78Jordan Norris in the 1900 census. Full page.9 In 1870 78Jordan had a daughter 39Elizabeth living with him.10 (In another household closeby, a young man named George Williams was living with his mother Sallie Williams,11 but I'm not convinced that this George is the mother of 19Sallie, Julia, and Jordan; more on this below and in the next section.) 78Jordan and his daughter 39Elizabeth in the 1870 census. Full page.10 Although the paper-trail evidence suggests that 19Sallie's mother is 39Elizabeth Norris, daughter of 78Jordan Norris, confounding evidence raises some doubt and questions: • 78Jordan's obituary mentions Julia ("Mrs. Charles Carter, of Swainsboro")—but as a daughter, not a granddaughter. The obituary also seems to mention 19Sallie, but (apparently erroneously) mentions her as "Mrs. George Thigpen, of Laurens County." Jordan's survivors, named in his obituary. Full article.12 • I'm unable to find further evidence of a relationship between 39Elizabeth Norris and 38George Williams. Although a George Williams lived near 39Elizabeth in 187010,11 (as noted above), the census notes that this George Williams was black.11 Interracial relationships were taboo and unlikely at that time. Autosomal DNA from one of 19Sallie's descendants (described further below) doesn't seem to include any significant African-origin DNA, and censuses consistently describe 19Sallie and Julia as white, never mulatto.1-5,8,9 Therefore, it's doubtful that this George Williams is the father of 19Sallie. Despite these confounders, fortunately DNA evidence conclusively proves that 19Sallie is descended from 78Jordan Norris. DNA evidence An Ancestry.com autosomal DNA sample from my father shares 26 cM on one segment with a sample from Wendy Hamm (née Chrismon),13 a descendant of 78Jordan Norris with an easier, more straightforward line of descent. I've prepared a sketch of Wendy's lineage, including links to some relevant evidence. Numerous relationships could explain 26 cM of shared autosomal DNA. According to DNA Painter's Shared cM Project tool v4.0, there's a 17% probability that the two samples are from 3rd cousins once removed (i.e., the relationship between Wendy and my father if he is indeed a descendant of 78Jordan Norris and 79Julia Huffman, as proposed) or a similar relationship. Although the probability of a more distant relationship is actually higher (56%), I'm confident in my conclusion due to the paper-trail evidence presented above. Conclusions Despite several confounders, the overall paper-trail evidence certainly suggests that 19Sallie's mother is 39Elizabeth Norris, and the DNA evidence makes this proposal nearly unassailable. 78Jordan's obituary, which lists Julia and (under an erroneous name) 19Sallie as daughters rather than granddaughters, is probably simply wrong. Perhaps its writer was not especially familiar with 78Jordan's descendants, or perhaps there was a miscommunication about their relationships. Identifying 38George remains a challenge, but this need not preclude 19Sallie's descent from 39Elizabeth, 78Jordan, and 79Julia. More about Jordan Williams I haven't researched 19Sallie's brother Jordan Williams as thoroughly as their sister Julia, but below I've listed a few records pertaining to him that might prove helpful for future research.   1907 marriage record   1909 daughter Julia is born   1910 census   1918 WWI draft registration card   1920 census   1930 census   1940 census   1950 census   1954 death record index? In addition, an autosomal DNA sample from my father shares 49.8 cM on four segments with a sample from Pleas Williams,14 a great-grandson of Jordan. Numerous relationships could explain 49.8 cM of shared autosomal DNA. According to DNA Painter's Shared cM Project tool v4.0, there's a 24% probability that the two samples are from 3rd cousins (i.e., the relationship between Pleas and my father if they are indeed both descendants of 38George and 39Elizabeth, as proposed) or a closer relationship. Similarly, my father's sample shares 99.3 cM on ten segments with Pleas' father, Pleas Williams, Sr.;15 DNA Painter's tool shows a 32% probability of 3rd cousins once removed or a closer relationship.

Problem: Unresolved Who is 19Sallie's father? As noted above, 19Sallie's death certificate shows that her father's name was George Williams.5 In 1870 39Elizabeth (19Sallie's future mother) lived just a few houses away from a family that included a young black man named George Williams, apparent son of Sallie Williams. George Williams in the 1870 census. Full pages: 1, 2.11 However, an Ancestry.com autosomal DNA sample from my father shows very little African-origin DNA: Ancestry.com categorizes it as 1% Cameroon, Congo & Western Bantu Peoples, whereas one might have expected ~6.25% if his 2x-great-grandfather were fully African. Furthermore, censuses consistently describe 19Sallie and Julia as white, never mulatto.1-5,8,9 Therefore, it's doubtful that this George is 19Sallie's father. On the other hand, name repetition among the generations seems to reinforce the notion that this is the correct George: A proposed family tree to show name repetition. Abbreviated to show only persons in question. A Y-DNA test from a male-line descendant of 19Sallie's brother Jordan would no doubt help to solve the problem, but unfortunately I haven't yet found a suitable descendant willing to take such a test.

19Sallie married 18Willie Thigpen in Laurens County on 4 September 1898.16 See his profile for more information about their marriage, their lives together, etc., since that information won't be repeated here.

19Sallie died at home in the Rockledge area, Laurens County, Georgia on 10 March 1953.5

19Sallie and her husband are buried in the Thigpen cemetery in Laurens County, Georgia, approximately at coordinates N32.45216 W82.70416. Photos of her grave's headstone and footstone are below.17

Sources Cited:

1: 1910 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Oconee, Militia District 1338, Laurens County, Georgia. Enumeration district 110, sheet 2B, dwelling 37, family 37, Wm Thigpen Jr household. NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 199. Internet Archive, <http://archive.org/stream/13thcensus1910po199unit#page/n337/mode/1up>, accessed 10 October 2021.

2: 1920 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Orland District, Treutlen County, Georgia. Enumeration district 126, sheet 9A, family 105, Willie M. Thigpen household. NARA microfilm publication T625, roll 280. Ancestry.com, accessed 17 July 2010. Internet Archive, <http://archive.org/stream/14thcensusofpopu280unit#page/n1121/mode/1up>, accessed 10 October 2021.

3: 1930 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Rockledge, Militia District 1720, Laurens County, Georgia. Enumeration district 88-32, sheet 10A, dwelling 184, family 190, Willie Thigpen household. NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 373. Internet Archive, <http://archive.org/stream/georgiacensus00reel373#page/n185/mode/1up>, accessed 10 October 2021.

4: 1940 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Rockledge, Militia District 1720, Laurens County, Georgia. Enumeration district 87-35, sheet 5A, household 92, W. M. Thigpen household. National Archives, <1940census.archives.gov>, accessed 2 April 2012. This image is also available on FamilySearch at <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-27876-13994-72?cc=2000219&wc=MRB8-1JY:790105601,795238401,798691501,798691502>.

5: Laurens County, Georgia death certificate 6778 for Sally Thigpen.

6: "Mrs. Thigpen Rites Today," The Dublin Courier-Herald (Dublin, Georgia), Wednesday 11 March 1953, page 8

7: Johnson County, Georgia. Marriage book A, page 379, marriage of Charles Carter and Julia Thigpen. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXVJ-G3S>, accessed 18 December 2014.

8: Treutlen County, Georgia death certificate 7301 for Julia Carter, who died 3 March 1956. You can see a copy of the certificate here.

9: 1900 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Lothair, Militia District 1221, Montgomery County, Georgia. Enumeration district 78, sheet 16A, dwelling 287, family 289, Charles Carter household. NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 213. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11100-179466-58?cc=1325221>, accessed 18 December 2014.

10: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia District 1202, Johnson County, Georgia. Page 179B, dwelling 99, Jordan Norris household. NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 160. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12151-89953-5?cc=1438024> accessed 18 December 2014.

11: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia District 1202, Johnson County, Georgia. Pages 180A and 180B, dwelling 112, Sallie Williams household. NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 160. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12151-90687-35?cc=1438024&wc=92KX-N77:518665401,518856501,519583201> (page 180A) and <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12151-90172-95?cc=1438024&wc=92KX-N77:518665401,518856501,519583201> (page 180B), accessed 18 December 2014.

12: "DEATH OF AN AGED MINISTER: Rev. Norris, Well Known Throughout Section," The Montgomery Monitor (Montgomery, Georgia), Thursday 26 August 1915, page 1. You can see a copy of the article here.

13: For privacy reasons, I won't share further details of the DNA match here. This PGP-encrypted file contains those details.

14: For privacy reasons, I won't share further details of the DNA match here. This PGP-encrypted file contains those details.

15: For privacy reasons, I won't share further details of the DNA match here. This PGP-encrypted file contains those details.

16: Laurens County, Georgia. Marriage book L (1892-1906), page 235, marriage of Mr. Wm Thigpen and Miss Sallie Williams. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KXVX-MQD>, accessed 28 April 2013.

17: Tombstone of Willie M. and Sallie W. Thigpen, Thigpen Cemetery, Laurens County, Georgia at approximate coordinates N32.45216 W82.70416. Photographs taken by 1Bryant Knight, 19 July 2010.