b. 18 June 1859, d. 12 May 1934
Birth | 18 Jun 1859 | Mary Elizabeth Virginia Thompson was born on 18 Jun 1859 in Washington County, Virginia.4,1 |
Name Other | | Although Mary appears to have used her given name on formal records created during her lifetime, she was known as Jenny within the family. |
ParentsDcd | | Jenny's father fought for the Confederate Army during the Civil War and died while a prisoner at Elmira, New York in 1864. Jenny's mother died in 1870, following which Jenny and her sister Ella were raised by their father's parents.3 |
Marriage | 30 Sep 1879 | She married James Campbell Crenshaw, son of George Sanders Crenshaw and Margaret Wilson Buchanan, on 30 Sep 1879 in Washington County.5 |
Cens-1880 | 16 Jun 1880 | James and "Jenny" lived with his parents in Washington County immediately after their marriage.6 |
Residence | | Although the 1880 census did not include specific information as to location, James's parents are known to have lived in the Chestnut Ridge neighborhood. |
ParentsDcd | | James's mother died in 1883, followed by his father in 1891. |
Cens-1910 | 21 Apr 1910 | By 1910 James and Mary [Jenny] were the parents of 10 children, all of whom were living. Six children were still residing at home. James listed his occupation as "farmer" but the 2 sons who were still at home worked in jobs outside the farm. The adult children at home included: Ada (25), a teacher, John (22), a bookkeeper and Elbert (20), a clerk at a wholesale house. Mary, Grace and Jamie were all still of school age. The location of the farm was identified as Chestnut Ridge.7 |
| | The widow of James's brother William also lived on Chestnut Ridge. She was named Mary Jane but was known in the family as Jenny. Since Mary (Thompson) Maiden was also known as Jenny the nieces and nephews referred to the two women as Aunt-Jenny-Jim and Aunt-Jenny-Will.8 |
ChildDeath | | James and Jenny's son Asa died in a roller coaster accident in Long Beach, California in 1915. He had been enumerated in 1910 living in New York city with his wife and mother-in-law. At that time he was employed as a ship caulker. |
Cens-1920 | 1920 | In 1920 the location of the family home was described as "Crenshaw and Foster Rd." [the family had not moved - rather a "formal" road name had come into use]. James, at age 65, owned his farm; Mary [Jenny] was 60. Although 6 children were again listed with the couple, the make up of the household had changed somewhat. Son George (39) was enumerated with the family; he was employed as a machinist at a shipyard. Son "Batte" [Beattie Alexander] was also included in the household; he was employed as a machinist pipe fitter. Son Elbert (32) was a shoe drummer. Three daughters were living at home and teaching school: Mary (28), Grace (22) and Jamie (19).9 |
| | It is difficult to know if George and Beattie were living in Washington County at the time of the 1920 enumeration or just visiting; obviously George was not working at a shipyard in landlocked Washington County. His 1918 World War I draft registration recorded his place of residence as Jersey City, New Jersey, where he was employed by the Federal Ship Building Company. Beattie's 1910 census entry found him working as a pipe fitter at a shipyard in Lorain, Ohio. |
Cens-1930 | 4 Apr 1930 | James and Mary [Jenny]were enumerated again in 1930. Daughters Grace and Mary were the only children recorded living at home. Other relatives lived in the neighborhood, including son Beattie.10 |
| | James and Jenny appear to have instilled a sense of exploration in their children. At some point in their lives almost all of their 10 children pursued an educational or employment opportunity that took them some distance beyond the region in which they grew up. Four of their 5 daughters became teachers. In fact the 1930 census may be somewhat misleading in it's suggestion that Grace and Mary were living at home. In reality Grace taught math at Averett College in Danville, Virginia, and Mary taught art at Louisiana College in Pinevllle, Louisiana. |
Death | 12 May 1934 | Jenny died on 12 May 1934 at age 74. James died 6 months later.4,1 |
Burial | | She was buried at Mountain View Baptist Church Cemetery in Washington County, Virginia.4 |