Skip to main content

Mr. Selby Jester, Drayman from Mississippi

By
W. Selby Jester
Oct 13, 1886 - April 25, 1961
Magnolia Park Cemetery
Warner Robins, Houston County, Georgia

Mr. Selby Jester and his wife Minnie were both buried at Magnolia Park Cemetery. Minnie's gravemarker states she was born 12 April 1888 and died 30 March 1962.

Selby's World War I draft registration card states the first initial of 'W' shown on the gravemarker above stands for William. He was born in Eupora, Mississippi, and his occupation in 1917 was farmer. Selby had a wife and three children at that time, and he was described as slender with brown eyes and dark hair.

The 1900 US Federal Census suggests Selby's parents were Robert P. and Abigal M. Jester:

District 102, Beat 4, Webster County, Mississippi
Sheet 11A
23 June 1900
Dwelling 192 (line 15)
Jester, Robert P. (head) - b. Oct 1846, Mississippi - m. 36 yrs - occ. Farmer
Jester, Abigal M. (wife) - b. Mar 1848, Alabama - m. 36 yrs - 11 children - father b. Kentucky - mother b. South Carolina
Jester, Dora (dau.) - b. June 1875, Mississippi
Jester, Bettie L. (dau.) - b. Feb 1879, Mississippi
Jester, Viola (dau.) - b. June 1881, Mississippi
Jester, William S. (son) - b. Oct 1886, Mississippi - occ. Farm Laborer
Jester, Durby D. (son) - b. Aug 1889, Mississippi

In 1910, William and Minnie were still in Webster County, Mississippi:

US Federal Census
District 112, Beat 4, Mathiston, Webster County, Mississippi
Sheet 4A
19th April 1910
Dwelling 60 (line 36)
Jester, William S. (head) - Age 23 - b. Mississippi - m1. 6 yrs - occ. Drayman, On Street
Jester, Minnie R. (wife) - Age 21 - b. Mississippi - m1. 6yrs - 2 children
Jester, Stella R. (dau.) - Age 4 - b. Mississippi
Jester, Gladia L. (dau.) - Age 2 - b. Mississippi

By the way, Wikipedia describes a drayman as "historically the driver of a dray, a low, flat-bed wagon without sides, pulled generally by horses or mules that were used for transport of all kinds of goods."


By 1930, William and Minnie had made it to Lamar County, Georgia:

US Federal Census
District 7, Barnesville, Lamar County, Georgia
8 April 1930
Atlanta Street
Dwelling 177
Jester, William S. (head) - Age 43 - b. Mississippi - 1st m. at age 18 - father b. Arkansas - mother b. Mississippi - occ. Ice Plant Manager
Jester, Minnie E. (wife) - Age 41 - b. Mississippi - 1st m. at age 16 - father b. Georgia - mother b. Mississippi
Jester, Otis J. (son) - Age 18 - b. Mississippi
Jester, John L. (son) - Age 15 - b. Mississippi

Ancestry's database, Georgia Deaths, 1919-1998, states William S. Jester d. 25 April 1961 at age 74 in Bibb County, Georgia. He was a Houston County resident.

I found several references to Mr. Selby Jester in the online genealogy community. Some researchers suggest he was married a second time. These census records along with the gravemarker for Minnie Jester next to Selby's, and her death date being 11 months after his suggest, IMHO, there was no second wife.

Labels:

Comments

Janice Tracy said…
I really enjoyed your interesting post about Mr. Jester. I was not familiar with the occupation of "Drayman," so I have learned something new. I wonder, however, if "Europa" was a mispelling of Eupora, MS.
January 21, 2009 at 5:43 PM
S. Lincecum said…
Thanks, Janice. I re-checked the draft registration, and my transcription was incorrect. It is Eupora, MS. Just another example of why collaboration is a great thing. I will correct the post now. :-)
January 21, 2009 at 7:59 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rocks, Rocks, and More Rocks

By
Why do people put rocks on grave stones? Some time ago, I learned that the rocks signified a visitor. That is true enough, but I decided to learn a little more about the custom and share my findings with you. Putting rocks on tombstones is most often described as a Jewish custom. There are many "Ask a Rabbi" columns out there, but I did not find one that knew for sure where the custom originated. They all agreed, however, that a rock symbolized a visitor and when put on a tombstone said, "I remember you." I also read that some people pick up a rock wherever they are when they think of a person that has passed. Then, the next time they visit the grave, they place the rock to say, "I wish you were here." Rabbi Shraga Simmons offers a deeper meaning: "We are taught that it is an act of ultimate kindness and respect to bury someone and place a marker at the site. After a person is buried, of course, we can no longer participate in burying them. H
13 comments
Read more

Southern Cross of Honor

By
I'm late to this discussion, but it's one I'd like to join. :-) Terry Thornton at The Graveyard Rabbit of the Hill Country started with Grave Marker Symbols: The Southern Cross of Honor and UCV (link no longer available). Judith Shubert at The Graveyard Rabbit of the Covered Bridges continued with Hood County Texas: C.S.A. Veterans & Southern Cross of Honor Symbol . [UPDATE, 1 June 2009: Judith has moved this post to the blog, Cemeteries with Texas Ties . The link has been corrected to reflect this move. You may also link to her article via her nice comment on this post.] Wikipedia states: The Southern Cross of Honor was a military decoration meant to honor the officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates for their valor in the armed forces of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. It was formally approved by the Congress of the Confederate States on October 13, 1862, and was originally intended to be on par with the Union Arm
25 comments
Read more

Thursday Link Love: EyeWitness To History

By
Yesterday, a link was added to the Genealogy Research Resources Group at Diigo. The link was to the website titled EyeWitness to History.com: History through the eyes of those who lived it . It's a great site, and I encourage all to visit it. Here are several items I found while snooping around. - Inside a Nazi Death Camp, 1944 : "Hitler established the first concentration camp soon after he came to power in 1933. The system grew to include about 100 camps divided into two types: concentration camps for slave labor in nearby factories and death camps for the systematic extermination of "undesirables" including Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally retarded and others." - Crash of the Hindenburg, 1937 : "Radio reporter Herbert Morrison, sent to cover the airship's arrival, watched in horror. His eye witness description of the disaster was the first coast-to-coast radio broadcast and has become a classic piece of audio history." [You ca
1 comment
Read more




SouthernGraves.blogspot.com

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"

So I answered, "O Lord God, You know."

Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!' Thus says the Lord God to these bones: 'Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live...'" (Ezekiel 37:1-5, NKJV)