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You are here: Home / Jeff's Ancestors / Tracking Great-Grandmother Laura Mae (Fields) Pace across Texas

Tracking Great-Grandmother Laura Mae (Fields) Pace across Texas

September 16, 2015 by Colleen Greene 2 Comments

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Laura Mae Fields Migration Map

Texas counties in which Laura Mae (Fields) Pace lived. Adapted from a public domain United States Census Bureau Image.1

This past Sunday, I wrote about last week’s big research find…the discovery of an obituary and death certificate for my husband Jeff’s great-grandmother Laura Mae Fields (1896-1933).

Laura Mae was the mother of Jeff’s paternal grandfather and nine younger children. She was married to great-grandfather Andrew Jackson “A.J.” Pace (d. 1961). Laura Mae died tragically young, leaving her husband to raise eight minor-age children ranging from 17 years old to just a few months old. The oldest child (my husband’s grandfather) was of adult age at the time of his mother’s death, and another child died shortly after her mother.

Childhood

Laura Mae’s descendants know very little about her life and childhood. I am piecing together something of a life story for them, one research question at a time, using methodology that follows the Genealogical Proof Standard.

Birth

According to her death certificate and obituary, Laura Mae Fields was born 8 October 1896 in Van Zandt County, Texas.2, 3 Husband A.J. Pace is identified as the informant on the death certificate, and likely served the same role for the obituary, so these documents only provide secondary (yet direct) evidence of Laura Mae’s birth since it is highly doubtful that husband A.J. was an eyewitness to her birth.

I do not yet have an actual birth certificate or even index birth record for my husband’s great-grandmother, which would provide primary and direct evidence of her birth. I am not even sure if an official birth certificate exists. According to the FamilySearch Wiki, although birth registrations in some Texas counties began as early as the 1840s, most did not actually begin this practice until statewide registration of births became mandatory in 1903.4 I will have to check at the county or town level for a possible birth registration, or for alternative documentation such as a baptism record.

The death certificate provides no information about the mother of Laura Mae, and only notes the surname for her father (Fields, no given name).5 The only other clues about her childhood nuclear family unit are references in the obituary to a surviving brother and sister.6

1910 U.S. Census

Knowing from both the death certificate and her obituary that Laura Mae Fields married Andrew Jackson Pace on 24 November 1912 (she was 16 years old) in Mesquite, Dallas County, Texas, I looked for Laura Mae on the 1910 U.S. census, where I assumed she would be living with her parents and two siblings.5, 6

In this census, I find three possible candidates, with the same name and same approximate birth year, residing in Texas in 1910. Only one candidate is identified as “Laura May” [Mae] versus just “Laura” and only one candidate is living in Dallas County–the same county in which our great-grandmother was married two years later.

Laura Mae Fields 1910 US Census Search

Great-grandmother Laura Mae Fields was enumerated in the U.S. census on 25 April 1910, in Justice Precinct 4, Dallas County, Texas, living with her brother and sister-in-law.9

Fields Family 1910 US Census Texas

The family is living in a rented home, not on a farm.

  • Julius E. Fields is identified as the head of household, age 19 (born about 1891). Married, in his first marriage, currently married for less than one year. He is noted as born in Texas, with a father born in Texas, and a mother born in Georgia. Julius is “working as a farm worker out w [west?],” not unemployed, able to read, able to write, and did not attend school the past year.
  • Essay F. Fields is identified as the wife of Julius, age 23 (born about 1887). Married, in her second marriage, currently married for less than one year. She and her parents are noted as born in Texas. Essay does not work, is able to read, and is able to write.
  • Laura May Fields is identified as the sister of Julius, age 13 (born about 1897). She is single, and is noted as born in Texas, with a father born in Texas, and a mother born in Georgia. Like her brother Julius, Laura Mae is “working as a farm worker out w [west?],” not unemployed, able to read, able to write, but did attend school the past year.

Sister-in-law Essay is the likely information who spoke with the census taker, since she did not work, and it would appear that Julius and Laura Mae were working away from the area.

Without any corroborating records identifyng a brother named Julius, what makes me think this is the right Laura May Fields?

  • She is the only Laura Fields living in Dallas County, in the couple years prior to her marriage in that county.
  • She is the only Laura Fields recorded with the middle name of May/Mae.

At this point in the research process, we do not have sufficient evidence that this is indeed our Laura Mae Fields.

1900 U.S. Census

Armed with a brother’s name of Julius, I next looked for great-grandmother Laura Mae Fields on the 1900 federal census, the first census on which she would appear if born in 1896. Laura Mae Fields was enumerated in the 1900 census on 4 June 1900 in Justice Precinct 1, McLennan County, Texas. She is living with her mother, brother, and sister.10

Fields Family 1900 US Census Texas

This is the first document I have found identifying the name of Laura Mae’s mother and sister. Her mother shares the same given name as Laura Mae’s oldest daughter, Dollie Eleanor Fields, which makes it very likely that Great-Aunt Dollie is named after Laura Mae’s mother.

  • Dollie Fields is identified as the head of household, age 25 (born August 1874), and widowed [this is not true, but that is the topic for a later post]. She gave birth to four children, three of whom are still living in 1900. Dollie is noted as born in Georgia, with both parents born in Georgia. She is able to read and write.
  • Julius Fields is identified as Dollie’s son, 9 years old, born in July 1890. He is noted as born in Texas, with both parents born in Georgia. Julius is attending school.
  • Clara B. Fields is identified as Dollie’s daughter, 5 years old, born in January 1896. She is noted as born in Texas, with both parents born in Georgia, and not yet in school.
  • Laura M. Fields is identified as Dollie’s daughter, 3 years old, born in October 1896. This birth month and year are in agreement with what husband Andrew Jackson Pace reported in her 1933 death certificate and obituary.5, 6 She is noted as born in Texas, with both parents born in Georgia.

Nobody in the Fields household is identified as working. This makes me wonder how Dollie was able to financially provide for her three children.

Since Dollie was not working away from the home, and the children are nine years old or younger, it can be inferred that Dollie was the informant who talked to the census taker.

Following Her Footsteps

Great-grandmother Laura Mae’s life becomes easier to document and track after her marriage, at 16 years of age, to great-grandfather A.J. Pace, particularly through records that document where many of her ten children were born.

Laura Mae Fields Migration Map

Texas counties in which Laura Mae (Fields) Pace lived. Numbers correspond to the timeline.
Adapted from a public domain United States Census Bureau Image.13

I have discussed the movements by the family across Texas in depth, in recent posts:

  1. Tracking the Andrew Jackson Pace Family in Rural Depression Era Texas, 1930 and 1940 US Censuses,
  2. Great-Aunt Clara Irene Pace Tragically Taken by Meningitis at 15 Years Old,
  3. Finally Finding a Death Certificate and Obituary for Great-Grandmother Laura Mae (Fields) Pace.

From discoveries reviewed in the aforementioned posts, I am able to now expand upon my working timeline for Laura Mae Fields: what life event, on what date, where it happened, and how we know (which source, F = footnote/citation). The Key ID refers to the corresponding number on the above map.

Key When What Where How
1 8 October 1896 Born Van Zandt County F2, F3
2 4 June 1900 Residence Justice Precinct 1,
McLennan County
F10
3 25 April 1910 Residence Justice Precinct 4, Dallas County F9
24 November 1912 Marriage Mesquite, Dallas County F2, F3
? 19 October 1913 Birth of son
Roy Delmar Pace
? F1414
4 1913 United with the
Baptist church
Donohoe, Bell County F3
? 16 September 1915 Birth of daughter
Dollie Eleanor Pace
Barlett, Bell or
Williamson County
F1515
5 24 September 1917 Birth of daughter
Clara Irene Pace
Mesquite, Dallas County F1616
6 12 September 1918 Residence Campbell, Hunt
County
F1717
? About 1920 Birth of son
Hulon Pace
? F1818
? About 1922 or 1926 Birth of daughter
Willie Mae Pace
? F18, F1919
6 About 1924 Birth of son
Leo Jackson Pace
Commerce, Hunt County F2020
? 3 March 1926 Birth of son
Ray Earl Pace
? F18
7 18 November 1928 Birth of son
Ladell Pace
Littlefield, Lamb
County
F2121
8 14 April 1930 Residence Justice Precinct 6,
Hockley County
F18
7 January 1931 Birth of son
Charles Wayne Pace
Levelland, Hockley County F2222
8 11 November 1932 Birth of son
Jack Pace
Lamb County F2323
9 18 February 1933 Hospitalization at
Lubbock Sanitarium
Lubbock, Lubbock County F3
21 February 1933 Death Lubbock, Lubbock County F2, F3
10 21 February 1933 Burial at
Whitharral Cemetery
Hockley County F2, F3

Genealogy Snapshot

Name: Laura Mae Fields (1896-1933)
Parents: William Sanford Fields [unconfirmed] and Dollie Nancy Stover [unconfirmed]
Spouse: Andrew Jackson "A.J." Pace
Surnames: Fields
Relationship to CJRoots: Great-Grandmother
  1. Laura Mae Fields (1896-1933)
  2. Roy Delmar Pace
  3. Betty Pace
  4. Jeff

Next Steps

What new research questions do these two new census records raise?

  • What happened to Laura Mae’s mother between the 1900 and 1910 U.S. census? Family accounts have told me the answer, but I need documented evidence.
  • If Laura Mae’s mother Dollie was widowed by the 1900 federal census, who was her husband and when did he die? Again, I know that identifying herself as a widow was not correct, but that is a topic for future posts.

What new tasks do these new documents and questions warrant?

  • Locating documentation that provide’s mother Dollie’s maiden name.
  • Conducting a reasonably exhaustive search for possible birth records for Laura Mae Fields and her two siblings, even though all three were born prior to statewide birth registration became mandatory in 1903.
  • Locating documentation that identifies the father of Laura Mae Fields.

Sources

  1. “File:Texas Locator Map.PNG,” Wikimedia Commons, (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Texas_Locator_Map.PNG : accessed 9 September 2015); specific counties added by Colleen Greene. ↩
  2. Texas State Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Standard Certificate of Death no. 750 (1933), Mrs. A.J. Pace (Laura Mae Field); from “Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976,” database with images, Ancestry (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 11September 2015). ↩
  3. “Mrs. A.J. Pace Buried Tuesday at Whitharral,” Lamb County (Texas) Leader, 23 February 1933, p. 1, col. 3; digital images, Texas Tech University Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library (http://hdl.handle.net/10605/58309 : accessed 11 September 2015). ↩
  4. FamilySearch. “Texas Birth Certificates.” FamilySearch Wiki (https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Texas_Birth_Certificates_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records : accessed 15 September 2015). ↩
  5. Texas State Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Standard Certificate of Death no. 750 (1933), Mrs. A.J. Pace. ↩
  6. “Mrs. A.J. Pace Buried Tuesday at Whitharral.” ↩
  7. Texas State Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Standard Certificate of Death no. 750 (1933), Mrs. A.J. Pace. ↩
  8. “Mrs. A.J. Pace Buried Tuesday at Whitharral.” ↩
  9.  1910 U.S. census, Dallas County, Texas, population schedule, Justice Precinct No. 4, p. 10-B (penned), dwelling 58, family 58, Julius E. Fields household; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 September 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication T624 roll 1545. ↩
  10.  1900 U.S. census, McLennan County, Texas, population schedule, Justice Precinct No. 1, p. 2 B (penned), dwelling 34, household 34, Dollie Fields household; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 September 2015); citing FHL microfilm 1241656. ↩
  11. Texas State Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Standard Certificate of Death no. 750 (1933), Mrs. A.J. Pace. ↩
  12. “Mrs. A.J. Pace Buried Tuesday at Whitharral.” ↩
  13. “File:Texas Locator Map.PNG.”. ↩
  14.  Social Security Administration, “U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 September 2015), entry for Roy D. Pace, 2000, SS no. 525-12-1778. ↩
  15.  “In Memory of Dollie Eleanor Aycock 1915-2014,” Serenity & Co. Memorial Services (http://www.serenityandcompany.com/book-of-memories/1947681/Aycock-Dollie/obituary.php : accessed 7 September 2015). ↩
  16.  Texas State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Standard Certificate of Birth no. 39106 (1917), (no given name) (Pace); from “Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1932,” database with images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 September 2015). ↩
  17. “U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” database with images, Ancestry (http://search.ancestry.com : accessed 7 February 2014), card for Andrew Jackson Pace, serial no. 755, Local Draft Board Div XX L, Wolf (Wolfe) City, Hunt County, Texas; citing NARA microfilm publication M1509, roll 1953770; Draft Board: 2. ↩
  18. 1930 U.S. census, Hockley County, Texas, population schedule, Justice Precinct 6, p. 9B (penned), dwelling 160, family 160, Andrew J. Pace household; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 September 2015); citing FHL microfilm: 2342091. ↩
  19.  1940 U.S. census, Williamson County, Texas, population schedule, Precinct No. 1, p. 9 A (penned), dwelling (none listed on page), family 165, Robert Gattis household; digital image, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 September 2015); citing NARA microfilm publication Roll: T627 roll 4166. ↩
  20. Texas State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Standard Certificate of Birth no. 15689 (1924), Genoa Jackson Pace; from “Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1932,” database with images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 September 2015). ↩
  21.  Texas State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Standard Certificate of Birth no. 95224 (1928), (no given name) Pace; from “Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1932,” database with images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 September 2015). ↩
  22.  Texas Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, (amended) Standard Certificate of Birth no. 5246 (1931), Charles Wayne Pace, formerly No Given Name (Pace); from “Texas, Birth Certificates, 1903-1932,” database with images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 September 2015); amended 4 December 1942 by Andrew J. Pace. ↩
  23.  “Births,” Lamb County (Texas) Leader, 17 November 1932, p. 2, col. 4; digital images, Texas Tech University Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library (http://hdl.handle.net/10605/60988 : accessed 31 September 2015). ↩

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Related

People Referenced: Fields, Laura Mae (d. 1933), Pace, Andrew Jackson (d. 1961)
Applicable Surnames: Fields
Filed Under: Jeff's Ancestors Topics: census records, emigration, farming, Texas

Comments

  1. Cynthia D. Brown says

    October 14, 2016 at 7:23 am

    Your map is wonderful. How was it created?

    Reply
    • Colleen Greene says

      October 19, 2016 at 12:19 pm

      Hi Cynthia. Thanks for that kind comment. I used Snagit to annotate a public domain map of Texas county borders found on Wikimedia Commons.

      Reply

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