20. and 21. Eliza and Martha Armistead

Two students named Armistead are in the rolls of the Mordecai school:

Eliza Armistead of Norfolk VA was at the school from the beginning of 1815 to the school's closing in 1818. She may have been an orphan: her tuition was apparently paid by a grandmother, Mrs. Newton, before Mrs. Newton's death in 1816; an uncle took over payments, but he too died in 1818. Eliza Armistead appears frequently in the Mordecai family's correspondence about the school: she was considered quite pretty. She studied astronomy and history in her later years at the school, and won a special medal at the last public examinations. She returned to Norfolk after 1818.

Martha Armistead of Norfolk VA was at the school for one year, 1818. Her account was possibly paid by a George Newton.

Turning to the online family histories, we quickly find confirmation that Eliza Tucker Armistead and Martha Juliana Armistead were sisters, the daughters of Theodorick Armistead (1774?-1812) and Martha Tucker Newton (1780-1810). Theodorick Armistead was commander of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, 1808-1810.

Eliza Armistead married a Navy man, Alexander Porter Darragh (1789-1831), in 1823. They had two children, Margaret Porter Darragh, and Martha Julian Darragh; Martha died as a newborn. Then Eliza died in late 1826, certainly not more than 25 years old. Her widower Alexander Darragh died in 1831 and was buried on Gibraltar. Their orphaned daughter Margaret married at 18, to a cousin, Thomas Newton.

Martha Armistead married a John Williams of Fairfax and had at least four children: Elizabeth Darragh Williams Sharp (named for her late aunt), Rev. Walter Wheeler Williams (d. 1892), Theodorick Armistead Williams (d. 1890, a bank president), and John Newton Williams (b. 1842). Like many Mordecai alumnae, Martha Armistead had at least one of her sons fight in the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy.

18. & 19. Caroline and Henrietta Anthony

Two students with the surname Anthony attended the Mordecai school:

Caroline Anthony was there for two years, 1817 and 1818, and the name James Gordon may be associated with hers in the ledger.

Henrietta Anthony was there for four years, 1811-1814, and an H. Anthony is associated with her account in the school ledger.

That doesn't seem like much to go on--no hometowns, no definite parent names, no reason to believe they're even related to each other. But there was pair of sisters, Henrietta and Caroline Anthony, who turn up in Southside Virginia Families Vol. 1 as the daughters of John Anthony (d. 1812) and Elizabeth Hill. John Anthony was apparently from Philadelphia, a cousin of the portrait painter Gilbert Stuart. Elizabeth Hill was the daughter of Col. Whitmel Hill and Winifred Blount--which connects these girls to the Hills, the Alstons, the Blounts, the Pollocks, the Nashes, the Camerons, the Norfleets, and many other families in the neighborhood of the Mordecai school. There's mention in one family history that Caroline was raised in part by her older sister--which would neatly explain the "H. Anthony" next to her name in the ledger.

So, retelling their story in light of what we can find in online genealogies...

Henrietta Maria Anthony left her home in Sussex County, Va. Scotland Neck, NC, in 1811, when her father John Anthony was still alive, to attend the Mordecai school in Warrenton. After John's passing, her account was paid by James Gordon, her uncle brother-in-law (he was married to John's sister Henrietta's older sister Eizabeth Anthony; strikeouts explained in comments). Henrietta later sent her younger sister Caroline Matilda Anthony (1806-1861) to the same school in its last two years, 1817 and 1818. Both girls would have been at school with many cousins as their classmates.

Henrietta married a Cyrus Dillard of Surry County, Virginia, in 1817, and had at least two children, Joseph and Henrietta (b. 1829). Caroline married a William Henry Pegram (1803-1852) in October 1824, and had four children between 1825 and 1842. Her daughter Ann Pegram died as an infant; Caroline Pegram was widowed at age 46, when her youngest child was ten. (That boy, William Anthony Pegram, would die in the Civil War ten years later.)

15.-17. The Andersons: Ann, Mary F., and William

Three students named Anderson are in the rolls of the Mordecai school.

Ann Anderson attended the school for a single term, the first part of 1811.

Mary F. Anderson attended the school for two terms, in 1818. She is listed as being from Richmond VA, and the name Henry Anderson is attached to her account.

William Anderson attended the school for two terms, in 1815. The name George Anderson is attached to his account.

William? Yes, boys attended the Mordecai school--they made up about 10% of the students ever enrolled. They were generally younger local boys who seem to have filled seats during low-enrollment years. So William Anderson was likely a Warrenton child who took classes at the school but lived at home. There were certainly families named Anderson in Warrenton at the time, but it's a common name and that's true of many towns in the 1810s, I suspect. Because of this, there isn't much more to find about these three students online--or, perhaps there is, but the few details I have here don't help me much in finding more.

10.-14. The Alstons (Caroline, Charity, Eliza, Emily, and Martha)

There were five girls named Alston in the Mordecai rolls:

Caroline M. Alston, Eliza Alston, and Emily Alston are all listed as being from Warren County NC, and are all listed with "Th. W. Alston" as their guardian in the ledger. Caroline attended from the school's opening in 1809 through the end of 1811; Eliza was only there for 1809; Emily was there one term longer than Eliza, leaving in mid-1810.

Martha Alston is listed with Alfred Alston as the adult on the account; she attended after the girls above, and for much longer than any of them, being at the school from early 1812 until mid-1817.

Charity D. W. Alston is listed with an H. G. Williams possibly associated with her account. She was at the school for half of 1812, then returned later for three terms, 1814 through mid-1815.

Alston's a common North Carolina name--when I taught in Durham, I had several students named Alston. Because there were so many Alstons in Warren County and surroundings, and because many names were recycled within and between generations, it's hard to pin down which girls these are in the family trees. Warren County records show a Charity D. Alston assigned to Robert T. Cheek as her guardian in 1807 (he payed her board and tuition that year). Same records show a Joseph J. Williams assigned as guardian of a Caroline Alston, "orphan," in 1808. The guardian of the first three girls is probably Thomas Whitmel Alston--but there were at least a couple men with that name floating around!

The Alstons are related in various ways to the Norfleets, the Plummers, the Branches, and other families who sent children to the Mordecai school. More on them later.

***

Martha Alston was, according to the Mordecais' family correspondence, a Warrenton girl; she was a local and one of the school's longest-running students. As such, the Mordecais took a stronger interest in her life after school. In 1821, teacher Caroline Mordecai Plunkett referred to her as "good natured in appearance" and "handsome." We learn from family letters that Martha was sent to Philadelphia in 1822. In 1824, she married a Mr. Burgess (fellow Mordecai alumna Lucy Plummer Battle attended the wedding). In 1850, Lucy Plummer Battle visited with Martha and her daughter (Lucy Burgess) while staying in Warrenton.

Heading back into the genealogical websites, Martha Alston's husband was a John Burford* Burgess (or Burges), b. c. 1797. In the announcement of their marriage bond, Martha is referred to as "daughter of the late Thomas Alston." This researcher has her as Martha Janie Alston, born in 1802 as daughter of Thomas Whitmell Alston (1756-1809), and Lucy Faulcon (1763- ). This makes her the sister of Alfred Alston (1791-), who married another Mordecai girl, Mary Ann Plummer (1795-).

*UPDATE (9/7/10): Jordan Kearney, a reader and descendant of Martha Alston, sends this correction and further information (with promise of further information):

"The three other Alstons were Elizabeth Alston, Caroline Medora Alston and Rebecca Emily Alston, all daughters of Samuel and Elizabeth Faulcon Alston...They were double first cousins to Martha Jane Alston Burges. I also have information concerning Rebecca and Lucy Ballard....John Lovatt Burges was the husband of Martha Jane Alston."

Thank you, Jordan Kearney! The whole idea of putting up this blog is to tap into the wealth of information that family historians and others have, and gather it here for a fuller picture of the Mordecai students as a cohort. I appreciate your contributions and look forward to further exchanges.

7, 8, & 9. Frances, Jane, and Sarah Alexander

Unlike sisters Eliza and Margaret Adam, and sisters Penelope and Ann Albertson, I have no idea whether any or all of the Alexander girls were related. I don't know much about them, period, and such a common last name doesn't bode well for learning more, but here goes.

Frances Alexander attended the Mordecai school for one session, the first half of 1810.

Jane Alexander of Mecklenburg Co., VA attended the Mordecai school for three-and-a-half years, mid-1814 to the end of 1817. The name "Mark Alexander" is associated with hers in the ledger.

Sarah Alexander of Mecklenburg Co. VA attended the Mordecai school for five sessions, not continuous: she was there from mid-1812 to mid-1814, and then again for the second session in 1815. A "Col. Alexander" is associated with her account in the school ledger.

Mecklenburg County VA borders Warren County NC. Mark Alexander isn't a difficult name to track down in Mecklenburg County. A Mark Alexander (1792-1883) was a Congressman from that county, born on a plantation near the county seat Boydton, an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1811). He seems a bit young to be the father of any girls at the school; but maybe he's an older brother?

The Congressman Mark Alexander was married to Sallie P. Turner, the daughter of North Carolina senator and governor James Turner. Sallie Turner's older half-sisters Mary and Rebecca Turner definitely attend the Mordecai school, 1812-1815. More on them later.

Mark Alexander's father was also Mark Alexander (d. 1824), and his mother was Lucy Bugg (d. soon after 1792). He seems to have had a half-sister Lucy Jane Alexander (1803-1862), who was called Jane or Jenny, and who married Lawson Henderson Alexander (c.1789-1842, apparently a cousin) in 1823 and settled in Arkansas later in life. She apparently had four children, Nancy, Lucy, Marcus, and Sarah Jane. Is this the Jane Alexander who attended the Mordecai school? Seems very likely.

Would love to hear from any Alexander family historians who can disentangle any of this!

UPDATE 5/15/13:  I have heard from an Alexander family historian!  Frances and Sarah Alexander might be the daughters of Mark Alexander's brother, William Lee Alexander, who died in 1806. 

5. & 6. Ann and Penelope Albertson

Sisters, again. Ann and Penelope Albertson attended the Mordecai school together for two years, 1815 and 1816; then Penelope was also enrolled for part of 1817 and part of 1818. They're listed as being from Elizabeth City NC, and the ledger connects them to a William Albertson.

Searching around online for more details.... roughly chronological:

*Their parents: William Albertson married Penelope Sutton in August 1800, in Pasquotank Co., NC.

*Miss Ann R. Albertson married James S. Relfe on 13 June 1819, and Ann is listed as "the eldest daughter of William Albertson Esq of this city," in the Pasquotank County records. Assuming she was born within two years after her parents' wedding, that makes her 17-19 years old. It also means she was a teenager when she attended the Mordecai school.

*I also find William Albertson as the publisher of a newspaper in Elizabeth City, 1821-1825.

*From the Digital Library on American Slavery, we find petitions from Ann Albertson Relfe, Penelope Albertson, William Albertson, and James S. Relfe, all filed in North Carolina in 1826. The petitions could be any kind of legal request made in court--perhaps all four inherited or sold slaves that year, and the paperwork turns up for that event. (Additionally, an Emeline Albertson and a Benjamin Albertson are also found in 1826 NC filings.)

*Miss Penelope S. Albertson and a Mrs. Priscilla E. Bailey, both of Elizabeth City, are both listed as subscribers to a book, Miscellaneous Poems by Eliza Crawley Murden, published in Charleston in 1827. Mrs. Priscilla E. Bailey was the former Priscilla Brownrigg, and a fellow Mordecai student. (Much more on her when we get to the Bs.) So Penelope was still single in 1827.

More as I find it, but these details paint the beginnings of a picture--Ann was a teen, and Penelope was a bit younger, when they attended the Mordecai school. Two-and-a-half years after she finished school there, Ann married; Penelope waited at least nine years after leaving school to wed, if she ever did. Penelope was interested in the work of a Southern woman poet, enough to subscribe to the publication of her verses. And both young women were involved in a court petition involving slaves in 1826--probably an inheritance, or a sale on their behalf.

4. Susan Adams

Some of the students on the roster don't have much detail to work from. The fourth name, Susan Adams, is one of the sketchier figures. What we know: Susan Adams was enrolled at the Mordecai school for two terms in 1811; the name "Dr. Robert Moore" is attached to her account, and the town of Hicksford VA may be related to her as well.

Hicksford is in Greensville County, Virginia, a little north of the North Carolina border. It's now called Emporia, but there's still a Hicksford Avenue and Hicksford Historic District there.

Checking with the genealogical resources online: There was a Susan Adams born to Jeremiah Adams and Elizabeth Grigg of Bedford Co. VA, sometime after 1798 (both parents were born in 1776 in Virginia, and Elizabeth was born in Hicksford). That Susan was one of ten children. A bit slim a connection, though, for such a common name. So Susan Adams may not be someone we can track down definitively, at this point. But she was a Mordecai student in 1811, so she was probably born around 1800, and she may have had an uncle or guardian named Dr. Robert Moore.