The Descendants of Adam Ragland

When I last wrote about Adam Ragland, a son of Robert W. Ragland, he was the head of a household near  Eden, Yazoo County, Mississippi,  where he lived with his second wife, Mandy, and their two young daughters, Lucy and Elizabeth.  According to the U. S. Census of 1910, Adam was a farmer, and he and Mandy had been married about 12 years.  Although the relationships have not been proven, it is likely that Mandy is Mandy Travis, a sister of Adam's deceased first wife, and the 18 year old female living in the Travis household in Holmes County, Mississippi, where he and Adam Ragland, Jr. were enumerated on the 1900 U. S. Census. Adam Ragland, Jr. was not shown as a resident of his father's household in Yazoo County, Mississippi in 1910, nor have I yet been able to locate him living elsewhere. 


Also, in 1920, I was unable to find Adam Ragland, Sr. enumerated on the U. S. Census in Mississippi.  Nor was I able to locate Mandy Ragland or their daughters, Elizabeth Ragland and Lucy Ragland. Adam may have died before 1920, and his widow, Mandy,  may have remarried.  Since Elizabeth and Lucy would have been 17 and 20 years old in 1920, possibly they had already married and were enumerated with different surnames.


The U. S. Census in 1930 shows Adam Ragland, the son, living in Beat 1, Humphreys County, Mississippi, probably near the town of Belzoni.  The fact that Adam Ragland is not identified as Adam Ragland, Jr. lends credibility to my belief that Adam Ragland, Sr. likely died before the U. S. Census of 1920 was recorded. Adam's household in 1930 included his wife, Beatrice, age 28, and four daughters, Mary, age 9, Jessie, age 8, Melisa, 4 years old, and Augusta, age 4 months.  The only son listed in the household was Adam Ragland, a 6 year old, and the third Adam Ragland born in Mississippi since the mid-1800's.  Also enumerated in the Ragland household was a 17 year old laborer named Irvin Honeycup (sic).  All members of the Ragland household were identified by the racial identification code of "Neg."  A review of the Social Security Death Index showed that Adam Ragland, the 6 year old, was born in January 6, 1924 and died March 21, 2003, in Humphreys County, Mississippi.


Adam Ragland, son of Robert W. Ragland, was proud enough of his name that he handed it down to his son, who, in turn, shared it with his own son. And I have no doubt the name "Adam" lives on today in this family.  


Sources:
Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.
Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.