1860 Lexington CO SC Census, Vicinty of Beaver Pond (203) p. 358
Residences: 1551 & 1501
Richard Sturkie, 50,,Farmer;
Jerusha, 45, keeping house;
Calvin, 24, farm hand;
Zedekiah, 19, farm hand;
Nathan, 16, farm hand;
Daniel, 14;
Rachel, 12;
Franklin, 10;
Silas, 8;
Mary, 6.

1870 Lexington CO SC Census - July 21, 1870 221 & 226
Richard Sturkie, 61, Farmer, b. SC;
Jerusha, 56, b. SC; Franklin, 19, at home; Silas, 17; Mary 12.

Listed on 1880 Census: Richard Sturkie, age 71;
Jerusha Sturkie, wife, age 65;
Mary Sturkie, daughter, age 22;
Samuel Sturkie, grandson, age 2.55

1900 US Census for Lexington, Platt Springs, SC
Mary Sturkie, Head, b 1857, age 43, Day Labor
Samuel, b. 1875, 25, Day Labor
Lula, b. 1882, age 18
Frank, b. 1884, age 16


1910 US Census for Richland, 3-WD Columbia Township SC
STURKIE, MARY (1910 U.S. Census)
SOUTH CAROLINA, RICHLAND, 3-WD COLUMBIA
Age: 41, Female, Race: WHITE, Born: SC
Series: T624 Roll: 1471 Page: 118
Mary Sturkie - Head, age 41, bore 3 children, 3 living in 1910, widowed, renting and apparently not working
Frank, son age 18, is a weaver at the Cotton Duck Mill

Mary M. Sturkie and the Censuses

Mary’s story is told largely by the US Censuses from 1860 to 1910. Mary M. Sturkie, youngest child of Richard Benjamin and Jerushia Sturkie was born about 1857 in Lexington CO, SC. The 1860 US Census for Lexington County shows her to be six years old which would mean she was born about 1854. However, the 1870 US Census shows Mary to be 12 years old which is more in sync with an 1857 birth date. In 1870 she is living at home with her parents and brothers: Franklin and Silas. The 1880 Census shows Mary living at home with her parents along with her two year old son, Samuel. (According to this Census, Sam would have been born about 1878 or 79.) Mary is 22 year old. There is no indication of a change of name.

Family story is that Mary lived with her mother until Jerushia’s death in 1895. By 1900 Mary is shown on the US Census as head of household in Lexington, Platt Springs, SC. She is living with her three children: Samuel, age 25; Lula, age 18 and Frank, age 16. Mary is 43 and is doing day labor. She is listed under the name Sturkie. She is living near her brothers Joseph Franklin and Zedekiah Sturkie and their families. The 1910 Census shows Mary living in Columbia, Richland CO, with her 18 year old son Frank. Mary is 41. (This age does not jive with the previous census.) He is working as a weaver at the Cotton Duck Factory and it doesn’t appear that she is working. Family story says that Frank began working at the CD Factory when he was only eight years old. The census also indicates that Mary bore 3 children and that in 1910 she has three living children. She reports that she is a widow.

To date, I have not found Mary in the Censuses of 1920 and 1930. She is not listed as living with her sons or near them although her family says that she lived with Frank until her death in November of 1930. However, there seems to be no record of a Mary M. Sturkie with this death date. If Mary is buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Columbia, SC, she is buried in an unmarked grave. Also buried there is Samuel and his wife, Lola.

Mary’s three children were: Samuel Waley, Lula and Frank S. Samuel, born Dec 31, 1878 married a Lola Cooper and they had no children. Lola was born in SC and shows that her father was born in Ireland. Lula Sturkie was born about 1882 and married a man with the last name of Prince and they had one child, Mae Prince. Lula and Mae were living with Samuel and Lola in 1910. Frank Sturkie was born about 1884 (according to the Census.) Family has his birth date as December 12 1889. Frank married Almetta Williams and they had seven children. Frank died June 20 1953 in Kershaw County, SC. All of Mary’s children maintained their mother’s last name of Sturkie.

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Notes:
Mary has one child by 1880 and is living with her parents. Sam is two. By 1900 she has two more children but is the Head of the house. !n 1910 she says she is a widow. The children go by the name of Sturkie. We still do not know who the father is. Or if the children have the same father. Or if she ever married. According to Kathy Lachiotte, Mary’s great grandaughter, Mary’s middle initial was M. but she has nothing to substantiate this--only what has been handed down in the family. Mary is buried in the Elmwood Cemetery in Columbia along with Sam and Lola. (It would be helpful to get death certificates on Samuel. No death certificate for Mary has been located.)

Children of Mary Sturkie and Unknown or Unknowns:
Samuel W. Sturkie bn. Dec 31 1878
Lula Sturkie bn. ca 1882
Frank Sturkie bn. Dec 12 1889

Samuel Sturkie and Lola Cooper had no children.
(Samuel’s WWI Draft registration gives his birth date as Dec 31, 1878 and states his middle name is Waley).

Children of Lula Sturkie and Mr. Prince:
Mae Prince m. Earl Dent and had one child:
Barbara Dent

1920 US Census Columbia City, Richland SC (Jan. 8 1920)
Samuel W. Sturkey. age 38, wks @ cotton mill
Lola M., age 40
Lula Prince, sister, age 35, weaver @ cotton mill
Mae, niece, age 15

1930 US CENSUS, Richland, Columbia, SC
W. Leon Dent, age 20, first married at 17, motion picture projectionist
May, age 24, first married at 21, father born in England, motion picture cashier.
*Listed on same page with W. Edward Dent, 55 and family.

Children of Frank Sturkie and Almetta Williams:
Harris Franklin b. 1920 d. ca. 1978
Richard Eugene b. 1921 d. 1995
Billie (Living)
Mary Lou b. 1926 d. 1995
Annie Ruth b. 1930 (Living)
Lola Mae b. 1934 (Living)
Roy b. 1940 d. 2000


 

                                                                           

 
 

From the Ancestral File (AFN: 2MJC-0J)
Mary M. Sturkie
Birth May 1 1860
Lexington, Lexington, SC
Death: March 29, 1939
Parents: Richard b. Sturkie and Jerusha Jeffcoat
(This is incorrect--This Mary M is Gus Sturkie’s wife Mary Matilda Wise.)

Source: Steve Dixon Spectra TN@aol.com July 2005: Steve's mother is Ann R. Sturkey Dixon. Her father was Frank Sturkey born probably in 1884 or 1889. Frank's mother was Mary Sturkie. Mary's father was Richard Sturkie, and Richard's father was John Sturkie. Steve says they can find no marriage record for Mary Sturkie. Steve says he remembers that Frank did not have a father around. Rumor was that his father was someone named Gardner or Dr. Gieger. The family never talked about it. We know Frank had a brother named Sam (rich bootlegger) who was older than him. We think he had cousins named Mae (Dent) and Lula. We know he was related to a Banker Sturkie. We know that Frank started working in the textile mills at age 9, he later owned a store and butcher shop in Columbia and a farm, store and motel in Elgin (Blaney) SC. Frank's children think he was born in 1889 not 1884. Steve also says his guess is that Frank's mother Mary may have been an unmarried mother and that they may have lived with a related Sam Sturkey.
1910 census, Columbia Ward 3, Richland, South Carolina (ancestry.com) Mary Sturkie, head of household, age 48, born about 1862 in SC, widow, 3 children/3 living Frank Sturkie, son, age 18, born abt 1892 in SC
Note that Mary’s marital status is "widow."