Mecie Pennington

Every time an obituary gets posted on one of the Ashe Co., NC funeral home sites that have to do with a Pennington.  I go through a process.  I see if I have the individual and then I see if I have their parents.  Sometimes, I don’t have either one and I go even deeper into the research.  The last few times I have done this, I have found out that these individuals don’t descend from a male Pennington but rather a very specific female Pennington.

Artremicia Pennington was born April 1846 in Ashe Co., NC to James Pennington and Catherine Sexton and would be part of the Pennington Research Associations – Group 30.  She was obviously named after her aunt Artremicia Pennington (b. abt 1810 d. 27 Feb 1897 m. James Blevins)  I suspect that James Pennington and Artremicia might have been twins because they were both born the same year, however I don’t know this to be a fact.  Mecie (as she was called) was one of the younger children of James Pennington and Catherine Sexton and can be found in her parent’s household in the 1850, 1860, 1870 & 1880 census records.   What makes Mecie interesting and an enigma is that she had four sons with no sign of a father in the 1860’s and 1870’s.  One must admit that this was a bit strange during that time period.

In the 1870 census, Mecie is recorded first with her son James Emmit Pennington b. 2 May 1863.  He is listed in the household of his grandfather as his grandson.  By the 1880 census, Mecie has three more sons.  Robert Lee b. Jun 1873, Arthur Winfield  b. 27 Jun 1873 (I assume they are twins but I haven’t yet found a death record for Robert Lee) and finally Gordon b. Jun 1877.  Now I have run into this family several times…I find a Pennington and trace them back and it usually goes back to either Arthur Winfield Pennington or James Emmit Pennington.  I have no idea who their father was nor if they had the same father, but it is strange enough to take notice for the time.

By 1900, Mecie is recorded with her son Arthur Winfield Pennington as well as in 1910.  She dies on 24 Aug 1915 at Chesnut Hill, Crumpler, Ashe Co., NC. She is listed as single with very limited educational attainments.  She died of dropsy…which is today called edema probably due to congestive heart failure. Her family wasn’t entirely truthful on her death record because they list her birth as 20 Aug 1855.  Many researchers have this as her birth date but since she was recorded in the 1850 census and in almost every census is recorded as born around 1846, this is obviously a mistake.  Just goes to show that you can’t always trust the death record. 

I’m sure that my pursuit of information about Artremecia Pennington is not over.  There will be other Penningtons that I will find that trace back to her.  It is doubtful that anyone knows who the father or father (s) of her sons were.  I’m not sure even they knew because no father is listed on Arthur’s death record.  So, who knows what I might find out a few years from now.  Mecie has been an interesting puzzle.  Here is a bit more on her line.

Descendants of Artremicia Pennington

Generation No. 1

1.  ARTREMICIA⁵ PENNINGTON  (JAMES⁴, ) was born Apr 1846 in Ashe Co., NC, and died 24 Aug 1915 in Nathan's Creek, Ashe Co., NC.

More About ARTREMICIA PENNINGTON:

Census 1: 1880, Chestnut Hill Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 23, #188

Census 2: 1850, Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 283B, #665

Census 3: 1860, SE District, Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 175, #1265

Census 4: 1870, Chestnut Hill Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 32, #218

Census 5: 1900, Dist. 18, Walnut Hill, Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 9A, #152

       

Children of ARTREMICIA PENNINGTON are:

                   i.    JAMES EMMIT⁶ PENNINGTON, b. 02 May 1863, Crumpler, Ashe Co., NC; d. 08 May 1939, Ashe Co., NC; m. JULIA HOUCK, 09 Aug 1890, Ashe Co., NC; b. 19 Aug 1875, Ashe Co., NC; d. 03 Jan 1926, Ashe Co., NC.

More About JAMES EMMIT PENNINGTON:

Name 2: James Emmett Pennington

Burial: May 1939, P06 - Jefferson Municipal Cemetery, Jefferson, Ashe Co., NC

Census 1: 1870, Chestnut Hill Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 32, #218

Census 2: 1880, Chestnut Hill Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 23, #188

Census 3: 1900, Dist. 18, Walnut Hill, Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 8B, #144

Census 4: 1910, Dist. 26, Jefferson Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 6A, #101

Census 5: 1920, Dist. 29, Jefferson Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 8A, #158

More About JULIA HOUCK:

Name 2: Juliana E.

Burial: Jan 1926, P06 - Jefferson Municipal Cemetery, Jefferson, Ashe Co., NC

Census 1: 1900, Dist. 18, Walnut Hill, Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 8B, #144

Census 2: 1910, Dist. 26, Jefferson Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 6A, #101

Census 3: 1920, Dist. 29, Jefferson Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 8B, #158

                  ii.    ROBERT LEE PENNINGTON, b. Jun 1873, NC; m. ELLA, Abt. 1896, NC; b. Jan 1883, NC.

More About ROBERT LEE PENNINGTON:

Census 1: 1880, Chestnut Hill Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 23, #188

Census 2: 1900, Dist. 18, Walnut Hill, Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 12B, #213

More About ELLA:

Census: 1900, Dist. 18, Walnut Hill, Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 12B, #213

                 iii.    ARTHUR WINFIELD PENNINGTON, b. 27 Jun 1873, Hilton, Ashe Co., NC; d. 19 Jan 1940, Ashe Co., NC; m. JANE HOWELL, Abt. 1899; b. Abt. 1883, NC.

More About ARTHUR WINFIELD PENNINGTON:

Name 2: Abraham Winfield Pennington

Name 3: Arthur Pennington

Date born 2: 29 Jun 1873, NC

Burial: Jan 1940, K13 - Scott-Blevins Cemetery, Walnut Hill Twp., Ashe Co., NC

Census 1: 1880, Chestnut Hill Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 23, #188

Census 2: 1920, Dist. 29, Jefferson Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 12B, # 236

Census 3: 1930, Dist. 16, Oldfields Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 8A, #134

More About JANE HOWELL:

Date born 2: Sep 1882, Robeson Co., NC

Census 1: 1920, Dist. 29, Jefferson Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 12B, # 236

Census 2: 1930, Dist. 16, Oldfields Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 8A, #134

                 iv.    GORDON PENNINGTON, b. Jun 1877, NC.

More About GORDON PENNINGTON:

Census: 1880, Chestnut Hill Twp., Ashe Co., NC, Pg. 23, #188