Rankin C. Lineberry

So, according to the internet, yesterday was Sibling Appreciation Day. I thought it would be appropriate to discuss my favorite set of siblings in my husband's family.

Jacob B. Lineberry and Edith Wilhoit had (at least) seven children:

• Rankin Columbus Lineberry
• Gaston Zachariah Lineberry
• Araminta P Lineberry
• Julia Ann Lineberry
• Marion Luther Lineberry
• Edith Jane Lineberry
• Scott Lineberry

Clipping from 1860 census

Why are these my favorite siblings of my husband's line? Because my husband descends from three of these siblings: Rankin, Julia, and Marion.

I knew about my husband's lineage from Rankin first. When my husband and I first got married, his mother was excited because she knew I did genealogy and she wanted me to do their family's history. She gave me some starter information on the family, and I quickly found out that Rankin is her great-grandfather.

Clipping from 1880 census showing Rankin's household

Marion was the second sibling I realized was also in his direct line. In researching my father-in-law's line, I started noticing Lineberrys were showing up in his family too. I thought this was interesting, and I started digging deeper. It took a few months to get it sorted out, but I finally realized Marion's daughter, Mary Virginia Owen Lineberry married into my father-in-law's Trogdon line. Marion is my father-in-law's great-great-grandfather.

Clipping from 1880 census showing Marion's household

Then there was Julia. I only happened across her last because I simply wasn't concerned with the Smith line very much for whatever reason. I started really digging into them though when I was trying to research Civil War families in the tree. Also, the Smith family children all had really interesting names (like "Coke"), so that further piqued my interest. Once I realized "Coke Smith" was the Joseph Coke Smith that married Julia, I had found my final connection to this set of siblings. This makes Julia my father-in-law's great-great-grandmother. I never would have imagined my father-in-law would have so many Lineberrys in his line!

Fun fact: Coke's grandmother was also a Lineberry, but I haven't confirmed if she's the specific Lineberry I think she is.

Clipping from 1880 census showing Joseph Coke Smith's household

There are many more sets of siblings like this in both of our trees, but this is my favorite of all the sets in either of our families.

Sources:

• 1850 Northern Division, Randolph County. North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1860 New Salem, Eastern Division, Randolph County. North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1870 Franklinsville, Randolph County. North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1870 Sandy Creek, New Salem, Randolph County. North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1880 census New Salem, Randolph County. North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• "The Lineberry Family of Randolph County, NC, 1725-1991"

William Vester Trogdon

William "Vester" Trogdon was born 17 February 1899 in Randolph County, North Carolina. He was the fifth of 11 children born to Francis Marion Trogdon and Mary Virginia Owen Lineberry. Vester lived his entire life in the town of Franklinville, located in Randolph County, North Carolina. I don't know much about Vester beyond that which can be found in public records, but this is what I know.

Vester had a fourth grade education, which makes sense because his father was always in some sort of trade. I don't know where he went to school, but I doubt he would have met his future wife, Minnie Elisa Gray, while in school. She was seven years younger being born 28 March 1906. (Minnie had a seventh grade education. Since her father was a carpenter, a somewhat higher level of education would make sense for her and her family.)

Vester lived in Franklinville with his parents and siblings until he got married in 1921. She, too, lived in Franklinville her entire life. I think they probably met each other some time between 1910 and 1920 when Vester and his family moved down the road from Minnie. Before then, Vester was living in what was called West Franklinville in the 1910 census. I'm not sure what parts of town this actually covered, you can kind of tell from the enumeration district map the general idea.

Randolph County Enumeration District Map for 1920 Census

I wonder if Vester's family moved due to his father's (seemingly constant) change in occupation. In 1900, Francis Trogdon was a mechanic. He was living in an un-mortgaged house which wasn't located on a farm. In 1910, he shows up as a blacksmith owning his own shop, however, now he is living on a farm which carries a mortgage located in West Franklinville. (The older boys of the house seem to be the ones working the farm.) Then, in 1920, Francis is a machinist with his own shop with all of his older boys working with him in the shop. They live, probably in the same house, on a farm still, but now they are listed as owning the farm "freely" without a mortgage.

I wish I knew a little bit about Francis' machinist shop and the kinds of tools they made. Were they mechanic tools? Were they farming tools? Or were they tools to assist with the cotton mill that seemed to be the place to work in town? I think a wise machinist would cater to all three areas at least, but I like to at least think they helped the cotton mill from time to time because that's where Minnie was working in 1920 as a spinner.

Clipping from 1920 census showing Minnie's occupation

Franklinsville Manufacturing Company
1306 Andrew Hunter Road, Franklinville

As I said earlier, Vester and Minnie got married in 1921. They set up home, as you would have guessed, in Franklinville where they each grew up. By 1930, they own their own farm home with a total value of $400.

Clipping from the 1930 Census
Vester and Minnie were the only one of their neighbors with a radio!

Minnie came home from working at the mill, probably to be with the kids, and Vester ended up getting a job there as a loom fixer where he was still working in 1940. In 1940, the value of their home increased to $500, and Vester's income was stated to be $1,300 in the census.

Clipping from 1940 census showing Vester's occupation and salary

Vester and Minnie had a total of five children:

• Grace "Yvonne" Trogdon
• Gouldia Gray Trogdon (who died at two weeks old)
• Edith Maude Trogdon
• Helen Faye Trogdon
• William Gene Trogdon

They are buried at Grays Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery.

Copyright Brittany Jenkins, 2011

Sources:

• 1900 Franklinville, Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1910 Franklinville, Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1910 West Franklinville, Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1920 Franklinville, Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1930 Franklinville, Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• Enumeration District Maps (accessed on FamilySearch)
• Randolph County Historic Landmark Preservation Commission - Franklinsville Mfg. Co.
• Tombstone, W. Vester and Minnie G. Trogdon (photo taken Christmas 2011)
• Town of Franklinville, NC