Looking for help getting past a brick wall - trying to locate great-great grandparents

April Thomas_4

Hello,

I have hit a brick wall in researching my great-great grandparents. Ultimately, I've run into several possible names but have not been able to find any solid records, indicating who they are. I'm looking for any help to make sense of this puzzle, perhaps even a new perspective. Here is what I have so far:

The mystery begins with my great grandmother, Margaret "Maggie" Rice/Monroe (possible maiden names include Gooden/Blackwell/Fisher/Evans). She was born May 1881 in Alabama, died November 1952 in Washington. She was married to Henry Rice (they show up as Henry and Maggie Rise in the 1910 Alabama census) around 1900. I have no problem finding Henry's family line, it is Margaret's that I am looking for. Henry died in 1918 and then Margaret remarried to George Monroe.

Henry and Margaret had 6 children together, Josephine, Mary, Flora, Roland, Nettie, Henry, and Stephen. Most children were born in Alabama with the exception of Henry (Minnesota) and Stephen (Idaho). Margaret had one more child with George Monroe, her name was Mable and she was born in Washington.

From what I have found, Margaret had three other siblings, although I believe they are 1/2 siblings. 1910 Census record in Alabama shows Margaret and Henry with some of their kids, along with Burley and Newton Fisher (listed as brother in law to Henry). I've been able to follow Burley Fisher through end of his life and he ended up moving to Washington with Margaret and Henry. They remained close until his death in 1932 (his obituary also lists Margaret as his sister). Through marriage records, census records and birth records, I have seen Burley list his parents as Mary Blackwell and Jack/John/James Fisher. Margaret pretty consistently lists her parents as Mary (unknown) and James Blackwell. Sometimes, I have also seen Margaret's possible maiden name as Gooden.

There is a 1900 census record in Alabama that lists Jack and Missouri Fisher with children Burley, Lucy and Newton. In this record, Burley is listed as Jack's step-son and the other two children are listed as his children. Later census records show Lucy going by her middle name Eva and she remains close to Newt. The record also indicates Jack and Missouri have been married for one year. I found a newspaper article from the Montgomery Adviser, announcing a marriage between Jack Fisher and Missouri Blackwell in February 1900. This could be the same people. HOWEVER, I also found a marriage record from September 1882 in Missouri which lists Jackson Fisher and Missouri Evans. I'm not positive if these are the same people or not, but it could be.

Further digging brought me to a death certificate for a Edna Mae Fisher born in Missouri 1885 to Jack Fisher and Missouri Evans. Edna married Chester Abbott and was the informant on her death certificate in 1934. I found a couple of family trees that show Edna being siblings to Burley, Newton, Lucy and Margaret/Maggie. Maggie would be the oldest (1881/1882), Edna (1885), Burley (1890/1891), Lucy (1895) and Newton (1897ish).

I am needing help trying to make sense of who the parents of these siblings might be, especially my great grandmother Margaret. I've read that many records in Alabama in the 1800s were lost/no longer exist. Each one of the siblings have different combinations of possible names for their parents. I haven't been able to track down anything concrete to indicate who Missouri or Mary are, nor Jack Fisher or James Blackwell. Part of me wonders if Missouri is Mary. Could she and Jack have been married in 1882 and then separated and remarried in 1900? Seems unlikely with the time. With that said, I don't think any of these kids had the same combination of parents/dads.

Any help, insight or direction would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

April

Shannon Potter Wilcox

@April Thomas_4 Wow! Is it possible for you to show me the pedigree of these families and if on FamilySearch their record numbers next to their names? That will be the first place for me to start to see how I can help you.

Thanks,

Shannon