Celebrating Women's History: And The Wall Came-A-Tumblin' Down!

The Accidental Genealogist suggests this topic for Day 20 :
 Is there a female ancestor who is your brick wall? Why? List possible sources for finding more information.

   What had started to become a brick wall for me recently came-a-tumblin' down!
 For years I was looking for anything I could find about my great great grandmother Ellen Caroline Martin Early (1850-1926). I had her Obituary that told me that she died in Columbia, SC, but it said that "it was thought that she would be buried in Statesville, NC".  No information was given about her parents or her maiden name.

 Ellen's Death Certificate was no help. Other than confirming that she was buried in Statesville, NC, it had no information on her family or what cemetery. I discovered Ellen's maiden name, Martin, when I found the Death Certificate for her son, my great grandfather, Jubal Ransom Early (1888-1964).

   Several census records in Iredell County, NC showed an E.C , Ellen C, or other variations of her name, as a child, living in the household of a William and Matilda Martin. 
 This looked pretty promising but I had no actual proof as to whether or not this was the right family. 
Then, I got an email about a possible record match for a Family Tree that I had placed online. The link took me to Find A Grave where I was thrilled to find a memorial for
Ellen Caroline Martin Early!

Find a Grave Memorial Page
Ellen Caroline Martin Early
Bethesda Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Statesville, Iredell, NC

    
Ellen is buried in Bethesda Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Statesville, NC, and her parents were- William A. Martin (1813-1887) and Matilda C. Martin (1812-1876)! 
  The family in the Census Records I had found were indeed hers.
 There is no stone marking Ellen's grave. The information on the Memorial was found in the Church Records of Bethesda Presbyterian Church. I am in the process of trying to locate those records to see what else I may be able to find.
 I added her death certificate and obituary to the memorial and, as you can see at the bottom of the page, the original creator was kind enough to transfer this memorial and others in the Martin family to me. He is not related so I am very grateful that he took the time to add the information from this cemetery to Find A Grave.
 From Ellen's memorial page I was able to locate a memorial for her mother,
Matilda C. Martin.

Find A Grave Memorial Page
Matilda C. Martin
Bethesda Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Statesville, Iredell, NC

  I love what is engraved on Matilda's headstone: "Her last words to her husband and children and friends were "Meet me in Heaven with Jesus"

 Also buried in the same cemetery with memorial pages are Ellen's father, William A. Martin, two brothers, and other members of the Martin family. There are also pages for Ellen's in-laws that provided several pieces of the puzzle of the Early family as well.

Thanks to the help of volunteers and record matching, I was able to remove the bricks from the wall that was starting to form.

Now to find information on William and Matilda and move on up the tree!

Thanks for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,