Martha Elizabeth Walker (Davies) Bigger (1842 - 1925)

Born 12 Jan 1842 in Hendersonville, North Carolina, USA

Ancestors

Wife of Robert Hamilton Bigger — married 16 May 1864 in Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, United States

Died 21 Apr 1925 at age 83 in Augusta, Georgia, USA

Biography

Origins

Martha Elizabeth "Bessie" Davies was born about January 12, 1842 at her family's summer home in Hendersonville, North Carolina.^[1] Her parents were William Walker Davies and Charlotte Howard.

Early Life

The 1850 U.S. Census shows Martha W. Davies, age 8, living in the household of her father, William W. Davies, in Richmond County, Georgia.^[2] Her father is listed as a "planter" with property valued at $25,000. Also in the household are her mother, Charlotte; two siblings: Ellen, age 9; William, age 7; her grandmother, Sarah Howard; and an aunt, Rebecca Howard. The family also owns at least 8 slaves.^[3]

The 1860 U.S. Census shows Elizabeth Davies (mistranscribed as "Dovis"), age 18, in the household of her father, W.W. Davies, in Henderson County, North Carolina.^[4] Also in the household are her mother, Charlotte; her sister, Ellen E, age 19; and her brother, William (transcribed as "M.M."), age 16.

Marriage and Children

Bessie Davies met Major Robert H. Bigger while working as a nurse during the U.S. Civil War.^[5] They married near the end of the conflict, and after a few years in New York City, moved to the Davies family home in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

The 1880 census^[6] shows R.H. Bigger, farmer, with his wife Bessie and five children: Lilia, Bessie, Mary, Charles, Louisa, and Katie. A further three daughters followed: Nellie, Roberta, and Sara.

Widowhood

Bessie Biggar^[7] appears in the 1896 Asheville, North Carolina city directory as a widow living at 161 Bailey. Her husband is said to have died in 1888.

Roughly 13 years later, she moved to Augusta, Georgia, where at least four of her children were already living.^[8][9][10] Two of her daughters, Mary and Louise, were also nurses. Mrs. Biggar is said to have been the oldest member of the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and St. Paul's Episcopal Church.^[5]

Death

Bessie Davies Biggar died on April 21, 1922.^[11] She is buried in Westover Memorial Park, Augusta, Georgia.^[12]

Research Notes

Her last name at birth is spelled "Davies" in some places (notably, her death certificate) and "Davis" in other places. - Freeth-52 15:27, 21 September 2016 (EDT)

Sources

1. ↑ "Mrs. Bigger, Pioneer of Augusta, Dies". The Atlanta Constitution, April 22, 1925. Accessed on September 22, 2016. Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, and Death Announcements, 1851-2003 (Ancestry.com)
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZYZ-T42 : 9 November 2014), Martha W Davies, Richmond county, part of, Richmond, Georgia, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
3. ↑ "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850 ," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVCM-S5H : 7 November 2014), William W Davis, Richmond county, Richmond, Georgia, United States; citing line number 32, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 442,903.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MD68-6QC : 30 December 2015), Elizabeth Dovis in entry for W W Dovis, 1860.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} "Death Yesterday of Mrs. Biggar". The Augusta Chronicle, April 22, 1922. Accessed on September 22, 2016. Copy in possession of "allenfam21".
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCX9-V9L : 11 August 2016), Bessia Bigger in household of R H Bigger, Hendersonville, Henderson, North Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district ED 98, sheet 279C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0967; FHL microfilm 1,254,967.
7. ↑ "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995", database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 September 2016), Bessie D Biggar (wid R H), 161 Bailey, Asheville, North Carolina. p. 144.
8. ↑ "Personals". The Asheville Gazette-News, December 19, 1902. Accessed on September 24, 2016. Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/image/59029249/
9. ↑ "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995", database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 September 2016), Bessie D Biggar, h West Av North Augusta, Augusta, Georgia. p. 184
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJXH-H7X : 14 December 2015), Elizabeth Biggar in household of William M Andrews, Augusta Ward 6, Richmond, Georgia, United States; citing sheet 8B, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,820,276.
11. ↑ "Georgia Deaths, 1914-1927," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JDN8-CJN : 24 December 2014), Bessie Davies Biggar, 21 Apr 1925, Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, United States; citing reference 12195, Department of Archives and History, Atlanta; FHL microfilm 2363056.
12. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial# 23413437 in Westover Memorial Park, Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia, USA. Jan. 12, 1842 - April 21, 1925.

See also:

• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MST5-57B : 22 January 2015), Bessie Sigler, Asheville Township Asheville city Ward 4, Buncombe, North Carolina, United States; citing sheet 3B, family 53, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,241,184.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to "allenfam21", whose well-sourced family tree gave many clues about where to search for documents on this person.