Re: Henry Ralph Dewar 1873-1921 in Wake County, NC and Valdosta, GA
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In reply to:
Henry Ralph Dewar 1873-1921 in Wake County, NC and Valdosta, GA
Chris Bishop 11/21/06
Chris, are you a descendant of Henry Ralph Dewar?Your post has prompted me to go back and closely look at Malinda F. Dewar who lived in Harnett County very near the other Dewars (in 1880), yet has remained unidentified by all Dewar researchers as far as I know.I never really focused on her closely until now.She must be related to the one and only Dewar family of that area and era: the Andrew Henry & Mary Bemont Dewar family.The only thing that makes sense is that Malinda was the 2nd wife of Henry Bemont Dewar, his first wife having died in 1869 (I don't have my notes close at hand at the moment).Henry Bemont Dewar, Andrew Henry Dewar's oldest son, I believe died in 1875 if my memory serves me correctly.This Malinda I'm telling you about had a child named Henry who was born about 1873 according to the 1880 census.They are listed only a few houses away from Henry B. Dewar's sons Andrew and Robert.Another son, Alexander, was living with William Ambrose Dewar, my great-great-grandfather, who was Alex's uncle. Youngest son William E. Dewar had moved to Wake County by then. He lived the rest of his life in Raleigh. I'm thinking now that Henry B. Dewar must have remarried and had at least one other child, Henry R. Dewar.
The young Henry Dewar listed in 1880 was stated to have a middle initial of "H", which is obviously at odds with your Henry's middle name of Ralph, but I suspect this was just a census taker's error. The month & year of birth (OCT-1873) works perfectly with the 1880 census. In 1900 Malinda F. is married to an Utley (for 15 years) and they are living right beside some of the other Dewars. She is said to have one child living. One of the former slaves named Andrew Dewar (b.~1830) is even living with Malinda at this point. I can not make out the first name of her husband named Utley, but I am working on it. I also can not find Malinda or her husband in 1910, so far.Still working on that, too.I'll keep you posted on what I find.
Have you checked to see what Henry Ralph Dewar's death certificate says for Henry's parents?How did you know that he might have been from Wake County?The Dewars actually lived within just a few miles of the Wake County, NC line.Please fill me in on what you know about this family.
Clayton Mann
Burlington, NC