I am so, so stuck. I can not find any information on my 3x great grandfather, Pinckney (Pikney, Pinkney) Pucket (Puckett). I don't know where to start, so I'll just start at the end with what I do know: I've confirmed through birth, death, marriage certificates and US censuses that Francis Marion Puckett was the son of John W and Minerva Branch Puckett. She is buried in Hollywood Cemetery and John is buried in Raleigh, in Oakdale Cemetery. He was committed to the Soldiers House and his death certificate states he died of "Senile Dementia" which I'm sure we would now call Alzheimer's. His parents were Pinckney and Celia Moore Puckett. Pinckney is still a mystery as is what has happened to Celia Moore Pucket after 1860. His marriage register says he was born in Laurens County, SC in 1811. I can find no evidence of him until his marriage in Mecklenburg County, NC in 1832 when he married Celia. John (and perhaps a brother, Joseph, unsure about that) was born in Georgia, according to marriage certificate and Civil war papers, NCcensuses etc. But I can't find any of them definitively on a census in GA. Long story short, Celia Pucket, John and Joseph Puckett (I have reason to believe there was a sister also, named Mary Sue, but that is unconfirmed as of right now) pop back up in the 1850 US census for Burke County, NC living with Margaret and Ruthy Moore. No Pinckney. No men in the household, whatsoever unless you count John who was in his late teens early 20s. The 1860 census, both boys (Pucketts) have gone off to war (Civil, Confederates). Celia is still living with Ruthy and her children. Still no mention of Pinckney. Celia disappears after that and Ruthy can be found in 1870 living in Burke with her husband and children. So that man has returned from wherever he was in 1850/60. John comes home from war and marries the widow, Minerva Branch and the rest of the story I have figured out.
Tentative Timeline:
1811-Pinckney Pucket born in Laurens County SC (unconfirmed)
12/2/1832- Pinckney Pucket marries Celia Moore in Mecklenburg County, NC
1836/38- John W Pucket is born somewhere in Georgia (according to his marriage cert and NC cencus. No birth cert. as of yet).
1850- Celia Moore Pucket, John and Joseph Pucket surface in Burke County NC living with Ruthy and Margaret Moore.
1860- Celia is still living with the Moore's and her sons are off to war.
1870- John W Puckett (with two T's now) marries Manerva
no mention of Pinckney or Celia in any records I can find after that. Celia is estimated to have been born between 1814-1817 (in New Hanover, NC), she was younger than Pinckney and very well could have remarried, if he was in fact, deceased. I guess divorce is also a possibility. Just a lot of unknowns....
