Clarkton Bridge

This is a photograph of the Clarkton Bridge that crosses the Staunton River Bridge.  The bridge was built in 1902 and connected Halifax County, VA  with Charlotte County, VA.  On the back of this photo is the name Percy Haley.  Percy (1890-1959) was the son of  Will and Clara Haley.  I'm not sure if the young man leaning on the railing of the bridge is actually Percy or not.

Here is a close-up.

 Cousins - does anyone know?

Today the bridge is open to foot traffic only.  You can read more about this bridge here and see current photos of the bridge here.

Clarkton Schoolhouse

I grew up hearing stories from my grandmother about her early childhood in Clarkton, VA.  Her grandfather William Haley and her great grandfather Branch W. Holt  both served as overseers on the Clarkton Plantation in the northern part of Halifax County.  Clarkton still stands today.  You can read more about it here.

I found this photograph of the Clarkton schoolhouse among my grandmother's pictures.  Many of the Haley cousins of my grandmother's generation attended school here.

Cousins, does this bring back any memories or family stories?

Where Was Jesse From 1827-1835?

The answer to this question may prove to be important in my search for Jesse Haley's parents.

Jesse Haley's life is pretty well established. He resided in Halifax County, Va from 1835 to his death there in 1869.  He payed personal property taxes there from 1824-1826.  He married there in 1826.  Then he disappeared from  1827-1835.

Where did he go?  He was a young man and newly married.  His first two children were born during this time.

I talked with the genealogy researcher at the Halifax County courthouse. He offered me some ideas on where to look for Jesse:

• Check neighboring Charlotte County tax records during these years. (Jesse does not show up in the census records there for 1830.) Many Haleys lived in Charlotte County. The area that Jesse eventually settled in was not far from Charlotte County.  Also, Sterling was living near the Charlotte County border during the 1820's. 
• In 1828 gold was discovered in Georgia.  (Read more about that here.)  Over time, many Halifax County families migrated to Georgia in hopes of striking it rich.  According to the courthouse researcher, most of the surnames of Halifax County will be found Georgia by the end of the gold rush.  Haley is among the names found in Georgia during this time.  I need to check the Georgia records for Jesse. 
• Many Halifax Counties families migrated to TN during this time.  Haleys were among them.  A preliminary search found no trace of Jesse, but more research is still needed.

It is nice to have new avenues to research.

NOTE:  If you are needed to research at the Halifax County, Va courthouse, go on a Thursday or a Friday. A genealogist researcher is there both days to assist you in finding the records you need.  He is a wealth of information!

Halifax County, VA Research Trip

I'm back from my Haley research trip to the Halifax County, VA  courthouse. My goal was to determine the parentage of Jesse Haley (1803-1869) or determine possible parental candidates.  As part of this goal, I was trying to determine the relationship (if any) of Sterling S Haley, Polly Haley, and William Haley to Jesse Haley.  As I have posted earlier, these individuals appeared in the vicinity of Jesse in the 1820's.

Was I successful? 

Yes and no. 

•  I still am unable to state who was the father of Jesse Haley. I think I am giving up on the dream that I will find a document where an ancestor refers to "my son Jesse Haley".  Isn't that what we all hope for when we research?
• I was able to determine that the parents of Sterling S. Haley were Benjamin Haley and Elizabeth Williams.  The source of this information was the will of Elizabeth's father Robert Williams.
• I found that in all the records of Sterling Haley, he is referred to as Sterling S. Haley.  This may be indicative of another Sterling Haley in the area. The S may have been used to differentiate between the two men. Another possibility is that Sterling may have been called by his middle name during daily life, while his first name was used in more official records.  This is actually a pattern I have seen in Jesse's Haley family line.
• I was unable to determine the identity of the Polly Haley listed in the 1822-1824 tax records of Halifax County.  Possible thoughts were that Polly was the widowed mother of Jesse Haley and/or of Sterling.  No records of this Polly's remarriage or estate records were found. Neighboring counties' need to be checked.
• I'm still not sure who William Haley in the 1825 census record was.  There are many William Haleys that need to sorted to be able to make an accurate conclusion.
• I was able to determine that Archibald Haley and Benjamin Haley are both possible candidates to be Jesse's father.

I am continuing to sort through all the information I gathered at the courthouse and compare it to that of my previous courthouse trip this past summer.  I am excited to have new directions to take my research and am hopeful these will produce results.

Courthouse Research

I did something this past week that I have not done in my genealogical research yet.  I did on site courthouse research at the Halifax County, VA courthouse.  Oh, my!  This was one of the most valuable experiences in my research and personal genealogical education as of date.  I entered this historic structure (dating back to 1832) complete with "wavy" glass and walked into a room filled record books just waiting to be opened.

On Thursdays and Fridays, there is a gentleman there to assist those in their genealogy research.  He was a wealth of information and his assistance in finding the documents I needed was invaluable.  Like many researchers, I have done a lot of my research online.  I have also utilized the FHL microfilm as well as microfilm from the Library of Virginia.  Being able to search and the original documents and follow up on leads while the thought process was still fresh in my mind was not only fruitful, but thrilling as well.

This research trip primarily focused on my Haley family line.  I found lots of clues, but still no answer to who the father of Jesse Haley was.  Sometimes, what you do not find in the records is just as important as what you do find.  My research in Halifax County is leading me to Charlotte County, VA (not a surprising result, actually).  The helpful gentleman at the Halifax courthouse also assists researchers at the Charlotte courthouse.   I'm pulling out the calendar......    

The Highest Scoring Team

1951 Boys' Basketball Team

The highest scoring Cluster Springs team in the history of the school swept to an easy victory over all the foes in both regular season and tournament play. The team compiled a 18-1 record against county foes and made one of the strongest bids against Meadows of Dan who went on to capture the State title. The team was composed of four seniors and a junior and the first five played most of the time.