Eliza J Slack

Eliza J Slack was born 15 Feb 1868 in Cabin Creek, Kanawha County, West Virginia the seventh child to Nathaniel Henry Slack, a miller,  and Mary Elizabeth Hall Slack.

I have been unable to locate an 1870 census for Eliza but the 1880 census shows 12-year-old Eliza living with her parents, older brothers, Samuel (31) and Henderson (14), older sisters, Minerva (24), Pomelia (19), and Julia (16), younger sister Willie Harren (10), and a niece Virgie, age 3, in Cabin Creek, Kanawha County, West Virginia.

Eliza married Jerome Clinton Eskins, a coal miner, on 22 July 1885 in Kanawha County, West Virginia.  The 1900 census shows she has given birth to 8 children, 6 of whom are living.  These are Robert, 14, Cora, 12, Bruce, 9, Henry, 6, Clarence, 3, and Nellie, age 1.  By 1910 the family is living in Mucklow.  Henry is the oldest at home at 15 years of age.  Clarence is 13.  Nellie seems to have passed away away as she should be in the household, age 11, but is not.  Edna, age 8, Ella, 5, and my great-grandmother, Nina, age 2, have been added to the household.  In 1911, Eliza and Jerome’s last child, Bessie, is born.

One side note to mention, my grandfather’s name is Robert.  Here I learn for the first time he had an uncle named Robert.  I wonder if my great-grandparents named my grandpa after Nina’s brother?  I had never heard that, but it seems possible.

Eliza passed away 14 July 1917 at the age of 49 after suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis for 4 to 5 years.  She was buried at Dry Branch Cemetery.  My great-grandmother was only 10 when her mother died.

Eliza’s death certificate

Jerome Clinton Eskins

Jerome Clinton Eskins, father of my great-grandmother Nina Virginia Eskins, was born 30 October 1861 in Raleigh County, West Virginia according to his death certificate.  It looks as though his son Bruce may have been the informant for the birth certificate.  I have not located a birth certificate for Jerome, and his death certificate lists only his mother, Octavia Eskins.  I am currently working on unraveling the mystery of his father and with the help of those at Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness hope to figure it out.

When I first began researching Jerome, I ran into the usual challenge.  I could find census records with his wife and children, but nothing on family of origin.  I went to Find-A-Grave and located his grave.  Information there indicated his mother was Octavia Morehead Eskins and led me to her grave information.  I take information found on Find a Grave with a grain of salt because it doesn’t generally cite sources but it was a good lead since his death certificate stated his mother’s name was Octavia Eskins.  Still, I could find no censuses with his family of origin.  I did find death-and some birth-records of siblings mentioned on the Find a Grave site. They showed this:

• Christopher Radzuill Eskins born 25 Oct 1854 birth record lists mother Octavia Eskins, no father; death certificate for C E Eskins same birthdate lists father Henry Eskins, no mother
• Hayden Fletcher Eskins born 19 Dec 1859 birth record lists mother Octavia Eskings, no father; death certificate lists Henry Eskins, Octavia Morehead
• Eugene Homer Eskins born 19 Nov 1867 no birth record, no parents listed on death register

Even if Henry, who I have yet to find on any record other than listed as their father, exists, he could be the father of Christopher and Hayden and not of Jerome and Eugene.  If he did exists, he either died without record or disappeared as he is never listed on a census with the family.  I have another theory and will be doing more research and come back to that when I cover Octavia at a later date.

As I mentioned, Jerome was born 30 Oct 1861 in Raleigh County, West Virginia according to his death certificate.  On the 1870 census, he is listed as 9-year-old Gerome C Eskings in the household with his mother, Octavia Eskings age 34, 15-year-old brother Christopher, 12-year-old brother Haden F, and 2-year-old brother Eugene H.  Listed directly above their household are the households of DeWitt Eskings and his wife, Naoma Eskins (now married), and their parents all of whom Octavia lived with on the 1860 census where she appears to be listed as the wife of their brother and son Jerome, who I believe to be Jerome Clinton’s father.

I have been unable to find an 1880 census with Jerome Clinton.  He married Eliza J Slack 22 July 1885 in Kanawha County, West Virginia.

In 1900, Jerome, Eliza, and their six children are living in Cabin Creek, Kanawha County, West Virginia.  Jerome and his 14-year-old son, Robert are working as mine laborers.  By 1910, son Henry, at 15, is the oldest child in the house and he is working with his father as a coal miner.  The family is living in Mucklow.  His older two brothers are living with their families, working in the mine as well.  By 1920, the family is in Dry Branch.  Jerome is widowed and still working as a miner, with four daughters ages 9-17 at home to support.

Jerome passed away 15 July 1928 at Cabin Creek, West Virginia at the age of 66.  He is buried at Dry Branch Cemetery.  It is interesting to think that Jerome’s daughter, my great-grandmother Nina, would have been pregnant with my grandfather at the time her father passed away.  I wonder if it hit her harder realizing her dad would not see her son grow up, if she reminisced about him a lot after he was born.  Or was death just another part of the life these tough mining folk led?

My 16: Great-Great Grandparents

Today I begin sharing the lives of my great-great grandparents:

• John Merido Watkins and Margaret Roxanna Radford of North Carolina
• David Mooney Taylor and Sarah Elizabeth Grant of North Carolina
• Doctor Franklin Sebastian and Elizabeth Dowell of North Carolina
• Henry L Bemis and Ida Mae Osgood of Ohio
• John Solomon Bailes and Rachel Louisa Bragg of West Virginia
• George William Comer and Nicatie Gibson of West Virginia
• Henry Preston Hudnall and Martha Ellen Williams of West Virginia
• Jerome Clinton Eskins and Eliza J Slack of West Virginia

My great-great-grandparents were born between 1837 and 1878.  The last one passed away in 1954.  Four lived into their eighties, two into their seventies.  Four of the eight women passed away in their thirties.  In fact, all but one of these men outlived their wives.  They were farmers, miners, teamsters, merchants, a postmaster, and a soldier.

These are my grandparents’ grandparents, most of whom were not known to my grandparents because they passed away before they were born.  In some ways it is harder to write about them because most were unable to pass their stories along.  Some have been more difficult to find, research, and write about, their stories feeling somehow incomplete.  I continue researching them in hopes of knowing and sharing more of their lives.  I feel grateful to be able to share photographs of five out of eight sets but continue the search for more.

Many people begin researching their genealogy to see if they are related to someone famous or because they have heard they are.  Many are expecting great things from their ancestors, but let’s face it:  most people today live simple lives like you and I, working each day to provide for their families.  The same can be said for most of our ancestors.  Sometimes small surprises come our way.

I will revisit my great-grandparents and their families often, sometimes sharing information on their siblings that you may find interesting.  I will also keep sharing those old photos we all love.  Let me begin by sharing the story of John Merido Watkins.

Mamaw Hudnall-Nina Virginia Eskins

Nina Virginia Eskins

My great-grandmother, Nina Virginia Eskins, was born 2 October 1907 in Kanawha County, West Virginia, the ninth of ten children of Jerome Clinton Eskins, a coal miner, and Eliza Slack.  Her oldest sibling, brother Robert, was 21 by the time she was born.

In the 1910 census, two-year-old Nina is listed in the household with her parents, two older brothers, and two older sisters.  Her two oldest brothers, Robert and Bruce, lived nearby with their families.  They were working as coal miners and her oldest brother at home, 15-year-old Henry, was also working as a coal miner along with their father.

In 1917, when Nina was about ten years old, her mother died.  By the 1920 census, her father and the four youngest daughters are living in Dry Branch.  Her older brothers Robert, Henry, and Clarence are living nearby with their families.  In her pre-teens or teen years, Nina backed up to a fireplace at home and caught the back of her dress on fire, burning her back severely.  The wounds from this injury never fully healed.

Nina Virginia Eskins Hudnall obituary

In 1924, Nina married Clarence  Huling Hudnall.  They lived in Charleston from then on, with Clarence working as a baker.  By 1928 they had two children, Reva Ann and Robert Lee.    Nina lived in Charleston until her death 21 November 1971.  She is buried at Grandview Memorial Park in Dunbar, West Virginia.

Clarence & Nina Hudnall gravestone