Who was Sarah A? Found her!

I've done so much work lately on Samuel Reed (1810-1887, son of Hugh) and his family that you would think I descended from him.  I don't, but some of my favorite people do!

One puzzle surrounding this Samuel eluded me ... until this week.  Who was his third wife "Sarah A.?"  With the help of her grandchildren found on the 1880 census, I found out!  (Interesting to note is that I did all of this research without leaving my desk.)

Sarah (born about 1828) first shows up on the 1870 census as wife of Samuel.  Samuel's first wife Matilda Willis died in 1865.  His second wife Jane died in 1968.  (See "Who was Jane E?" here.)  Some time between Jane's death and 1870, Samuel married Sarah.  Living with them in 1870 were six of Samuel's children.

By the 1880 census, all of Samuel's children had moved away from home, but Samuel and Sarah still had a house full of family.

Image from 1880 Census

D[avid] Bruce Reed is listed as a nephew, but he was actually Samuel's first cousin once removed.  Bruce's father was Samuel James Reed (1826-1862) who was a son of Samuel Reed and Elizabeth Boylston. 

We see "Idella Chisholm" there, listed as granddaughter.  She was in fact Adella Chisolm, daughter of Samuel and Matilda's daughter Adella who had died in 1876.

"John Reed" listed in the household was a mulatto farm hand.  (I would love to know more about him.) 

The biggest clues to finding Sarah were the two little girls listed as granddaughters.  It turns out that they were Sarah's granddaughters.  There names were transcribed as Minnie (born about 1868) and Sarah (born about 1843) "Bessillien." 

You can easily imagine the many ways to spell their last name.  After looking around the internet for all the variations, I found a listing on Ancestry for Sarah Elizabeth Bessellieu (1873-1946).  Her parents were John Howell Bessellieu and Anna Earle Larisey.  Her mother Anna died in 1875.  She had a sister named Mary Earle Bessellieu.  Could this be Minnie? 

Looking further, I discovered that Anna Earle Larisey Bessellieu's mother was Sarah Amanda Earle born about 1828 who married Henry Larisey.  Henry had died in 1867.  The puzzle pieces fell into place!

Sarah Amanda Earle was born about 1828 in Colleton County.  We know that her mother's name was Ann from the 1850 and 1860 censuses.  Ann Earle lived with Sarah and her family then.  (There are some good hints as to her parents' full names on Ancestry, but I have been unable to find any sources.  Therefore I will not add them here until documentation can be found.  Do you have any sources for them?) 

The 1850 census has Sarah living in St. Bartholomew's Parish in Colleton County with her husband Henry Larisey, her children Ann, Mary, and Henry; and her mother Ann Earle. 

In 1860, they are all in St. Paul's Parish in Colleton County.

By 1870, Henry Larisey and Ann Earle (Sarah's husband and mother) had died, and Sarah is married to Samuel Reed and living with him and six of his children in Blackville. 

(For 1880, see above.)

I have been unable to find anything further on Sarah Amanda Earle Larisey Reed.  Do you have a clue about when she died or where she is buried?

I was able to find out a good bit more about Sarah's grandchildren Minnie and Sarah.

Minnie was Mary Earle Bessellieu.  According to her SC death certificate, she was born on 12 Oct 1867. 

Her first husband was George Henry Campsen (1862-1894).  George was captain at the Morris Island Life Saving Station near Charleston, SC.

Minnie and George had at least two children:  Gertrude (b. 1885) and George Earle Campsen (1892-1958).

By the 1900 census, Minnie had married Harry M. Hutson and lived at 557 Meeting Street in Charleston with her children Gertrude and George Campsen and William Hutson, her son by Harry.

Harry died in 1915.  In the 1920 and 1930 censuses, Minnie is living in boarding houses.

Minnie died in Charleston on 24 May 1936 of "cerebral thrombosis" (blood clot forms in an artery that supplies blood to the brain).  She is buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston. 

Minnie's son George is also buried at Magnolia Cemetery.  Her grandson George Earle Campson Jr. (1929-2010) served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1958 to 1964.  See his obituary here.  

Minnie's great grandson George Earle "Chip" Campsen III currently serves in the South Carolina Senate (Republican, District 43, Charleston & Berkeley Counties).  For further information, click here. 

Sarah Elizabeth "Bessie" Bessellieu was born on October 6 in 1871 or 1872.  (Her death certificate has 1871 while her tombstone has 1872.)

On 4 Aug 1895, she married Henry Leon Larisey (a second cousin).  They had three children:  Vivian, Karen, and Henry Jr.

Sarah's SC death certificate lists her as "Bessie Bessellieu Larisey" and her parents as John H. Bessellieu and Anne Larisey.  She died in Charleston on 4 January 1946 of cardiac failure (diabetic coma contributing).  She is buried beside her husband Henry Leon at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston.  (Link to Bessie; link to H. Leon)