Ruth Lee (Childers) Bartlett (1908 - 2000)

Born 5 Jun 1908 in Swain County, NC

Ancestors

Wife of William Andrew Kelly — married 1933 in Buncombe County, North Carolina

Wife of Lee Craig Bartlett — married 1982 in Buncombe County, North Carolina

Died 1 Dec 2000 at age 92 in Buncombe County, NC

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Dwight Childers [send private message]

Biography

Ruth Lee Childers was born 5 June 1908 in Bryson City, Swain County, North Carolina, a daughter of Thomas Clingman Childers, Jr, and Bertha Franklin Childers. ^[1] We do not find the family in the 1910 census, perhaps because they had moved temporarily to Greenville, South Carolina for work in the booming textile industry. (See the testimony of her older brother Roy Childers in this video: "Greenville Sojourn" Youtube https://youtu.be/pP0qX6pw32A.)

The 1920 federal census, listed for the Upper Hominy Precinct #2 of Buncombe County, North Carolina on 24-26 January, found this family: Thomas (head), age 52, was farming their own land. Wife Bertha was 43. Children at home were daughter Naomi, 16; son Roy, 14; daughter Ruth, 11; daughter Bonnie, 5; son Henry, 3; son Edmund, 1; and grandson Edward Roberson, 1.^[2]

The 1930 federal census, listed for the town of Swannanoa, Buncombe County, North Carolina on 28 April, found Ruth residing in the household of her oldest brother, Francis David Childers, while employed as a “burler” in the Beacon Blanket Mill. The household comprised Francis (head), age 36, employed as a weaver in the blanket mill (Beacon Mfg. Co), wife Ethel, 29; son Fred, 10; and son Carol, 6; and sister Ruth Childers, age 21.^[3]

On 24 June 1933, Ruth Lee Childers, of Canton, North Carolina, age 24, married William Andrew Kelly Jr, 22, in Buncombe County, North Carolina. The minister was Herman Gentry, and the witnesses were J. A. Crow, G. B. Magruder, and Sarah Eason. ^[4]

The 1940 Federal Census, listed for Black Mountain Township, Buncombe County ,North Carolina in April, found this family: William Kelly (head), age 28, working as a dairyman for a farm dairy; wife Ruth, 29; son Wilburn, 5; and “daughter” (listing error: see 1950 census) Eugene, 3. ^[5]

The 1950 federal census, listed for Black Mountain township of Buncombe County on 21 April, found this family: William A. Kelly (head), age 38, employed in the quill department of a textile factory; wife Ruth C., 41; son Wilburn S., 16; son Eugene W., 13; and daughter Barbara A, 8. ^[6]

On 2 November 1977, Ruth’s husband William Andrew Kelly died at Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina. William was a son of Bud Kelly and Alice Walker. Burial was a Homer’s Chapel Cemetery, Black Mountain. ^[7]

In 1982, Ruth married widower Lee Craig Bartlett in Buncombe County. ^[8] Craig Bartlett died 24 Dec 1999 in Buncombe County. Before retirement, he had been employed as a winding and twisting machine operator in a textile mill. ^[9] Burial was beside his first wife Frances in the cemetery of Piney Grove Baptist Church, Old Fort, McDowell County, North Carolina. ^[10]

Ruth Lee Childers Kelly Bartlett died 1 December 2000 at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina. She was a resident of Black Mountain, Buncombe County, North Carolina^[11] She was buried beside her first husband, William A. Kelly in the Homers Chapel Cemetery, Black Mountain, Buncombe County, North Carolina. ^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ (Note: some records list Bertha’s birth surname as “Lambert” (for her step-father Andrew Jackson Lambert), while others, including her grave marker, show Franklin (for her biological father, Joseph C. Franklin.) Delayed Birth Certificate, North Carolina State Archives; Raleigh, North Carolina; Register of Deeds; Roll: MF-C.091.68001. Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Birth Indexes, 1800-2000 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Register of Deeds. North Carolina Birth Indexes. Raleigh, North Carolina: North Carolina State Archives. Microfilm.
2. ↑ Year: 1920; Census Place: Upper Hominy, Buncombe, North Carolina; Roll: T625_1287; Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 40. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA. Note: Enumeration Districts 819-839 are on roll 323 (Chicago City).
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X391-ZHY : accessed 1 July 2023), Francis D Childers, Swannanoa, Buncombe, North Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 59, sheet 18A, line 30, family 254, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1676; FHL microfilm 2,341,410.
4. ↑ "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP9K-6CHS : Wed Oct 18 05:15:17 UTC 2023), Entry for William Kelly and Ruth Childers, 24 Jun 1933.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KW9F-2G1 : Tue Nov 28 12:11:21 UTC 2023), Entry for William Kelly and Ruth Kelly, 1940.
6. ↑ "United States 1950 Census", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6FM9-PQ52 : Tue Oct 03 22:40:00 UTC 2023), Entry for William R Kelly and Ruth C Kelly, April 21, 1950.
7. ↑ "North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FG5L-2GN : 29 September 2022), Ruth Childers in entry for William Andrew Kelly, 1977.z
8. ↑ Consensus of Childers Cousins.
9. ↑ Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Death Indexes, 1908-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. North Carolina Deaths, 1997-2004. North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina Death Records, 1968-1996. North Carolina Vital Records, Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina Archives and Records Section. North Carolina County Records, 1908-1967. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.
10. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/84865494/lee_craig-bartlett: accessed February 18, 2024), memorial page for Lee Craig Bartlett (2 Sep 1910–24 Dec 1999), Find a Grave Memorial ID 84865494, citing Piney Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Old Fort, McDowell County, North Carolina, USA; Maintained by Donna Thomas (contributor 47586188).
11. ↑ Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Death Indexes, 1908-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. North Carolina Deaths, 1997-2004. North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina Death Records, 1968-1996. North Carolina Vital Records, Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina Archives and Records Section. North Carolina County Records, 1908-1967. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.
12. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/181109139/ruth_c-kelly: accessed February 17, 2024), memorial page for Ruth C Kelly (5 Jun 1908–1 Dec 2000), Find a Grave Memorial ID 181109139, citing Homers Chapel Cemetery, Black Mountain, Buncombe County, North Carolina, USA; Maintained by MA Murf (contributor 48522935).