Key Facts

Snapshot:	farmer's wife
Parents:	unknown
Born:	circa 21 April, probably in 1816 or 1817 either Emanuel or Laurens county, Georgia
Died:	5 June 1888 probably Laurens County, Georgia
Buried:	Thigpen cemetery, Laurens County, Georgia Coordinates: N32.45195 W82.70428

73Mary was born circa 21 April, probably in the year 1816 or 1817, in either Emanuel or Laurens county, as explained below. Her parents are unknown, and her maiden name is uncertain. According to the death certificate of her son William, her maiden name is Ricks,1 but in contradiction, the death certificate of her son Malenthen says it's Herndon.2 (Alternatively, one could hypothesize that 72Richard had two different wives, both named Mary, but this seems doubtful.)

Problem: Resolved When and where was 73Mary born? 73Mary's tombstone states that she died 5 June 1888 at age (Unfortunately, her age in years is illegible.), 1 month, and 15 days.3 Her birthdate, therefore, is probably 21 April or thereabouts, as calculated by subtracting 1 month and 15 days from 5 June. As estimated from censuses, she was probably born in 18164,5 or 1817.6,7 The death certificate of her son 36William reports that her place of birth was Emanuel County, Georgia.1 Her son Malenthen's death certificate, however, reports her place of birth to be Laurens County.2

73Mary married 72Richard Thigpen probably sometimes in the mid-1830's. For more information on their lives together, etc., see his profile since that information won't be repeated here.

73Mary died 5 June 18881 and is buried beside her husband in the Thigpen cemetery in Laurens County, Georgia. Her grave is at coordinates N32.45195 W82.70428. A photo of her headstone is below.3

The Georgia Newspaper Project has no copies of Dublin newspapers from 1888, the year 73Mary died.

Sources Cited:

1: Laurens County, Georgia death certificate 26592 for William Thigpen. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-567-11221-2432-69?cc=1320969>, accessed 18 December 2014.

2: Laurens County, Georgia death certificate 22126 for Malenton Thigpen. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-12345-11183-1217-24?cc=1320969>, accessed 28 January 2015.

3: Tombstone of Mary Thigpin, Thigpen Cemetery, Laurens County, Georgia at coordinates N32.45195 W82.70428. Photographs taken by Bryant Knight, 26 April 2012.

4: 1860 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Laurens County, Georgia. Page 583, dwelling 37, family 36, Richard Thigpen household. NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 129. Internet Archive, <https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu129unit#page/n89/mode/1up>, accessed 18 December 2014.

5: 1880 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Smith's militia district 52, Laurens County, Georgia. Page 573C, dwelling 281, family 281, Richard Thigpen household. NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 155. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8G8-7GZ> accessed 3 February 2015. This census image is also available on the Internet Archive: <https://archive.org/stream/10thcensus0155unit#page/n109/mode/1up>.

6: 1850 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). District 49, Laurens County, Georgia. Page 234A, dwelling 75, family 75, Richard Thigpen household. NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 75. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11929-126937-47?cc=1401638>, accessed 18 December 2014.

7: 1870 U.S. Federal Census (Population Schedule). Militia District 344, Laurens County, Georgia. Page 366B, dwelling 916, family 916, Richard Thigpen household. NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 161. FamilySearch, <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12445-22250-48?cc=1438024>, accessed 18 December 2014.