A Marker and a Memory~ When Did Her Father Die?

 My maternal Great Grandfather, Manning David Daughrity, Jr. was born and died in Sumter County, South Carolina. David, as he was known to his family, is buried in the Sumter City Cemetery.

 Finding David's headstone at the cemetery was exciting. I had discovered his birth and death dates.
 Or had I? Nagging at the back of my mind was my Grandmother,  Azile Juanita Daughrity Roberts Sullivan (1921-2009) telling me that the stone was not the original. She told me that she and her sisters put new markers on their parents graves, and the one for their father was wrong. Her memory was that he died around Christmas because she remembered being so sad that holiday season.
     A search of Manning David Daughrity's death certificate has been unsuccessful. Many attempts have been made by myself and other Daughrity family researchers over the years.


  The Memorial Record from David's funeral has the following information

Memorial Record

Manning David Daughrity

9th June  1931

 But who filled out the Memorial? Was it done at the time of his death or years later? What about the information, is it correct?
  The family Bible also has Manning David Daughrity's death as 9 June 1931, but the same questions arise. Who filled it out and when?

 A search for an obituary for David Daughrity produced the following from The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina. It is dated 10 June 1931.  The report is of the death of M.D. Daughrity on 9 June 1931.

M.D. Daughrity Obituary
The State, Columbia, South Carolina
10 June 1931.pg. 6

 Pretty convincing evidence that Manning David Daughrity, Jr. died on 9 June 1931.

One more piece of evidence convinced me of his death date. 

 A day of research at the  Sumter County Genealogical Society in Sumter, South Carolina provided me with the funeral home record for the death and burial of M.D. Daughrity.

Shelley-Brunson Funeral Home Record
M. D. Daughrity, 9 June 1931, pg. 240

The record from Shelley-Brunson Funeral Home, Sumter, South Carolina is consistent with the newspaper report of death.
 Also, a deed was found for Cemetery Plot  No. S506 bought by Mrs. M. D. Daughrity with the date 13 June 1931.  

 With these pieces of information, it is clear that M.D Daughrity died on 9 June 1931 and was buried on 10 June 1931 in the Sumter City Cemetery. 

    So Grandmom was right. Her father's marker was wrong.

 He didn't die at Christmas as she remembered, but the death date was not correct.

 What caused her to think her father died in December?  

I think I may have found out the answer to that question.

Shelley-Brunson Funeral Home Record
Mary E. Dority, 18 Dec. 1930, pg. 256

  
   While searching through the Funeral Home records for David Daughrity, I came across the entry for Mary E. Daughrity (1843-1930), David's mother and Grandmom's Grandmother. The date of her death and burial may provide the reason for the memories of an unhappy holiday season. Grandmom was remembering the death of her Grandmother, who died on 18 December 1930 and buried the next day.
 Family stories and memories usually have some truth to them. Grandmom's memory of sadness due to a loved one's death at a time that should have been a season for celebration was correct.  The family member mourned at Christmas in 1930 was her beloved Grandmother. Following six months later was the death of her father. Surely, the Christmas Holidays of 1931 was a hard one for the family as well.
   A marker and a memory. Proving that more than one source is needed to verify information and that family stories, while not always correct, can lead us to our ancestors. 

What family stories have aided you in finding your people?
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Cheri