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Clara “Cloah” Gosnell Davis

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Birth	:	5 May 1888 Greenville County, South Carolina, USA
Death	:	17 Oct 1954 Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA
Burial	:	Mount Pleasant Baptist Church Cemetery, Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate	:	34.4127998, -82.0785980
Description	:	Clara/Clora Gosnell - Pittman - Ledford - Bobo - Kennedy - Davis was the daughter of Portman "Port" Gosnell and Mary Jane Howard, both of Greenville District, SC, she was probably named for her grandmother. Her parents were both from upper Greenville & were living in O'Neal TWP, Greenville County in 1880 so she may have been born there. By 1900, Clara's family was living & working in the textile mill in Gantt TWP known then as "Reedy River", it was one of the oldest textile mills in the area about 6 miles south of Greenville City. ... Read More	Clara/Clora Gosnell - Pittman - Ledford - Bobo - Kennedy - Davis was the daughter of Portman "Port" Gosnell and Mary Jane Howard, both of Greenville District, SC, she was probably named for her grandmother. Her parents were both from upper Greenville & were living in O'Neal TWP, Greenville County in 1880 so she may have been born there. By 1900, Clara's family was living & working in the textile mill in Gantt TWP known then as "Reedy River", it was one of the oldest textile mills in the area about 6 miles south of Greenville City. Clara was listed as a "Spinner" at the cotton mill, her father was a "Teamster" who drove horses. Clara's mother Mary Jane had died just 3 yrs prior, and her father had remarried 2 yrs earlier to a Rachel Wooten. Clara was listed as 17 yrs old & Single, the oldest of 3 at-home children, but on the 1940 census she told the censustaker that she was age 14 at her 1st marriage so this age on the 1910 census may be wrong by three years. (Families often got young children work at the textile mill by lying about their age, the child labor laws were not in effect at this time but older children would be given more lucrative and difficult jobs. Also, Clara has two cemetery monuments with two husbands which both say she was born in 1888 which would've made her 12 on the 1900 census and 13 at her first marriage.) Clara was first married 3 Feb 1901 in Greenville (per Ancestry family tree) to James Edward Pittman, by whom she had at least three children, two of whom were deceased by 1925. Her first husband died in 1923, then she married secondly Madison Lawrence Ledford of Georgia on 12 Jan 1924 in Greenville (she never seemed to have had any Ledford children), they were together when her son died of epilepsy in Abbeville the next year and Lawrence was listed as the informant on the death certificate; they're last listed together on the 1927 Anderson City Directory at Appleton Mill. By 1930 Clara was with widowed James Murphy Bobo of Laurens and Lawrence was with Hattie Mae Butts - Herron of Walhalla and living in Georgia (they evidently soon moved to Anderson where he remained until he died). Clara had at least five husbands, Lawrence is the only marriage that broke up. (Clara's 2nd husband Madison Lawrence Ledford had at least three wives, he was from Rabun County, GA and evidently moved to the upstate South Carolina area around 1915, on his 1917 draft card he was at Collin Mill in Pickens where he's listed as married, having gray eyes, light hair and medium height and build. Lawrence and his first wife Flora Poore adopted a child in March 1920 in Greenville, according to the local newspaper, but the child named Annie May Ledford died in September 1920 at Poinsett Mill, Greenville, and by 1921 Lawrence was living alone at Judson Mill in Greenville County. After marrying Clara in Greenville in 1924 and living with her until at least 1927, he was living with Hattie Mae Butts - Herron of Walhalla in 1930 on a farm in Kenneys, Clark Co, GA nearer where he grew up. [In 1920 just before the birth of her first child, Hattie had been listed as the married Hattie Herron living in Walhalla with her mother, I do not know the name of her first husband but she had two Herron sons before 1925, they later went by Ledford. I found a marriage of a Hattie Butts to a Richard Hill in Georgia in 1918 who may be her.] When Hattie Mae's father died in 1933 in Anderson, the Anderson obit listed her as Mrs Lawrence Ledford. In 1934 through 1945 Lawrence was listed with Hattie Mae at Riverside Mill in Anderson and remained in Anderson with her until his death in 1963. Meanwhile, in Greenville, Flora Poore - Ledford was also listing herself as a widow of Lawrence Ledford, she was at Poinsett Mill in 1933 - 1938 per Greenville City Directories, and in Greenville's Poe Mill 1940 & 1942, she remarried in Gnvl in 1948 as Flora Ledford to Robert Lee Rogers and died in 1950 of malnutrition at age 59.) I have not been able to find Clara or her first husband on the 1910 or 1920 census's under any name so far, mill families often moved from mill to mill but Edd Pittman was living at the Conestee Mill in Greenville County in 1917 per his WWI draft card, his obit in 1923 said he had been a "longtime resident". Clara had a child named Ollie Lee Pittman born 1902 who died in 1903 & is buried at Conestee Mill, and her husband also died & was buried at Conestee in 1923, it is possible there were other children. In 1925, her 2nd known child died, he was listed as L B Pitmon, a son aged 12 yrs who died of epilepsy while alone at home. Clara's name is probably spelled phonetically on his death certificate as "Clory Gosnell", the local pronunciation, though most records spelled it "Clara". (Her grandmother was listed as Clora/Cloah or Judah Gosnell and Cloah/Clora/Clory was evidently the common pronunciation in the upper Greenville area. I use the spelling "Clara" because that's on her monuments.) When Clara's father Port Gosnell died in 1925 in Inman of influenza after refusing a doctor's care, she is not listed in his newspaper obituary. When Clara's brother Charlie died 26 Oct 1928 in Spartanburg from a fall (push?) off a railroad car in Inman, she was listed as a survivor of the name "Clara Ledford" of Clinton, SC. Clara's 3rd husband was James Murphy Bobo, a widower of Laurens, SC, they are on the 1930 census with her 3rd known child, a daughter Montez Pittman (who is listed as a Bobo here). James Bobo died in 1935 & is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Laurens near his 1st wife Mamie Parris - Bobo, Clara's name & birthdate of 1888 is on his monument but with no death date. When Clara's bother George G Gosnell died March 25, 1937 in Goville (Joanna), SC (the heading said Newberry, but it is in Laurens County), Clara was still listed as "Clara Bobo" of Laurens. 10 March 1938 when her brother James Pinckney died in Clinton, Clara was listed as "Clara Kennedy" of Laurens, SC. On the 1940 census, Clara was living near Woodruff, SC with third husband Herbert L Kennedy & working in the mill. When Herbert died suddenly 28 July 1943 in Laurens, his obit said Clara was his wife. His monument also has her name and birthdate of 1888 but no death date. In Dec 1943, older brother Jake Gosnell died & she was listed as "Clara Kennedy". Clara Kennedy was last listed under that name on the Laurens City Directory in 1949. Clara's obituary in Greenville says she had married William "Willie" Davis and was living in Cleveland, OH when she died, her body was transported back to Laurens and buried next to her 4th husband Herbert Kennedy. Their monument was never changed to add her death date or name change, probably because there were no more children left, Montez had died in 1937 at the age of 19 from a septic pregnancy soon after marriage, Clara has no known grandchildren and only the youngest brother Andy was still alive in Spartanburg. Clara is a very interesting person from a memorable family who was hard to track. She was one of nine children, her family were poor, her mother died when she was about ten years old & she & her youngest siblings were all working in the textile mills soon after her death (not uncommon among poor people but which means Clara probably didn't get much education). She is on the 1900 census with her father but was evidently missed on the next two census's with her first and longest husband who was the father of her three known children after marrying at the very young self-stated age of 14. Her widowed father Port had remarried quickly, but he & his 2nd wife were evidently not compatible because by 1910 they were living apart & he stated he was a widower in 1920 (which he was not), and he was still living with his son Charlie when he died in 1925 of pneumonia after refusing a doctor's care. (I wonder if Clara & her father were also estranged when he died, she is not listed as one of his surviving children on his obit, or perhaps they just didn't know where she was then; Lawrence Ledford her husband at that time was possibly a bigamist with at least one previous wife still living and they had moved many miles away from her family soon after the marriage, and this is the only one of her marriages that didn't end because of death.) Clara had five husbands, three of whom died while they were together, but she only had children by the first husband, and none of her three known children survived her. (Her 2nd husband Lawrence Ledford doesn't seem to have had any children by any of his wives.) Clara outlived all but one of her siblings and was living in a distant mid-western town far from her relatives when she died. She was buried beside her fourth husband by her fifth husband, but their marker was never updated to reflect her death date or name change. Clara seems very reticent for a family that has a prominent history of strong opinions, controversy, violence and sudden death from unnatural causes. --research by J Richard Gosnell & Jennie Rhinehart 2/8/2013, revised 7/2018 based on death info provided by researcher

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Clara “Cloah” Gosnell Davis's memorial?
Clara “Cloah” Gosnell Davis's memorial is located at: Mount Pleasant Baptist Church Cemetery, Laurens, Laurens County, USA.
When did Clara “Cloah” Gosnell Davis death?
Clara “Cloah” Gosnell Davis death on 17 Oct 1954 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Clara “Cloah” Gosnell Davis's memorial?
Latitude: 34.4127998
Longitude: -82.0785980

Family Members:

Parent

Spouse

James Edward “Edd” Pittman

(1881 - 1923)

Maderson Lawrence Ledford

(1894 - 1963)

Herbert L. Kennedy

(1881 - 1943)

Siblings

James Pinkney Gosnell

(1874 - 1938)

Andrew Jackson Gosnell

(1889 - 1976)

Children

Ollie Lee Pitman

(1902 - 1903)

Montez Pittman Faulkner

(1918 - 1937)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Cedar Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3978290, -82.0597180

2. Cunningham Memorial Cemetery
Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4124750, -82.0508730

3. Mehaffey Family Cemetery
Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4354220, -82.1017120

4. Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery
Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4421005, -82.0896988

5. Madden Family Cemetery
Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4419510, -82.0568170

6. Rocky Springs Baptist Church Cemetery
Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4434013, -82.0478973

7. New Prospect Baptist Church Cemetery
Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4459700, -82.0495700

8. McDaniel-Dial Family Cemetery
Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4451470, -82.1240620

9. Waterloo Cemetery
Waterloo, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3560982, -82.0563965

10. Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4407997, -82.1461029

11. New Zion Methodist Church Cemetery
Waterloo, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3501015, -82.0923996

12. Smyrna AME Church Cemetery
Waterloo, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3466988, -82.0749969

13. Mount Olive Baptist Church Cemetery
Ware Shoals, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3811520, -82.1512990

14. Union Baptist Church Cemetery
Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4552002, -82.1453018

15. Laurel Hill Baptist Church Cemetery
Waterloo, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3408800, -82.0603900

16. Beaverdam Baptist Church Cemetery
Mountville, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3905983, -81.9927979

17. Reedy Grove Pentecostal Church Cemetery
Waterloo, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3535460, -82.1417300

18. Sharon Pentecostal Holiness Church Cemetery
Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4608540, -82.1578040

19. Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
Laurens, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.4936790, -82.1108470

20. Kings Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery
Ware Shoals, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3908005, -82.1782990

21. Bethlehem Union Church Cemetery
Waterloo, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3345340, -82.1199670

22. Sacred Acres Cemetery
Waterloo, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3375128, -82.1279046

23. Paslay Family Cemetery
Mountville, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3839910, -81.9802720

24. Old Bethlehem Methodist Church Cemetery
Waterloo, Laurens County, USA
Coordinate: 34.3342540, -82.1227760