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Mr. Selby Jester, Drayman from Mississippi

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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.

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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
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