Mary A. Elizabeth Scarborough: The Kersey Line
Mary A. Elizabeth Scarborough, daughter of William Perrien Scarborough and Penelope Fordham, is not the wife of William John Kersey.
There is a Mary A. Elizabeth Scarborough who is born around the same time from Laurens County, Ga.This Mary's parents are William Perrien Scarborough and Penelope Fordham.In reality,She marries a John Calvin Register.This Mary has been improperly cited as THE Mary that is wed to William John Kersey, but this is incorrect.I have this Mary in my tree on ancestry.com (“Kersey Family Tree:FL, GA and Beyond”) so you can follow her through time and see that she is in no way able to be the Mary wed to William John.
Mary A. Elizabeth Scarborough:B.Nov 24, 1837D.Feb 5, 1911.
Residence:
1850 Laurens Cnty, Ga w/parents William Perrien Scarborough & Penelope Fordham
1855 Georgia Marriages 1699-1944:John Calvin Register May 3, 1855
1860 Laurens Cnty, Ga w/John C. Register
1870 Militia District #29, Laurens Cnty, Ga w/John Register
1880 Burgamies, Laurens Cnty, Ga w/John C. Register
1900 Burgamies, Laurens Cnty, Ga w/Jno C. Register
1910 Burgamies, Laurens Cnty, Ga as Mary E., widowed
1911 Dead, buried at Besthsiada Cemetary, Laurens Cnty, GA
There WAS a Mary wed to William John.Not sure her maiden name was Scarborough.
I have 4 of her children's death certificates and only one of them mentions their mother's maiden name, but it says "Scarborough" in the space where she was born, not in the space for maiden name."Kersey" is listed as maiden name..., which is the married name.
There are a lot of Mary Scarborough's out there born around the same time in GA, so we just have to find the right one!Please help me by correcting this in your family tree and sharing with any others you know researching the GA/FL Kersey line.The Mary A. Elizabeth with the parents of William Perrien and Penelope is cited a lot out there on the web and in family trees.We must correct this for our sake, for history’s sake, and most importantly for accuracy.
I have also found out that the Emanuel County, GA courthouse has suffered many fires over the years:1841, 1855, 1857, 1919, and 1938.This means all of their documents were destroyed.This is sad news because I believe that William John Kersey and his Mary were wed in Emanuel County around the 1855-1860 time period and perhaps their marriage records were lost.
Sorry so long, but I wanted to share what I have found.