Meadowlark Lemon Connection Help

Question

OK - I'm going to share the profile I think might be the bridge to the connection, but I'll throw Meadowlark in on the bottom so that everyone can go there if there is agreement on the connection.

So I started with a relative - about 3-4 marriages separated (or more) from the Lemon tree (ha - Meadowlark would probably appreciate that one). Jessie Abbott. Her parents were reported as Sebron Abbott and Maggie Copeland/Corpening/Carpening. Seeking further data about Maggie, I came across an Ancestry tree (don't judge me) that shows that Maggie was the daughter of a Julius Corpening. Looking further, Julius has a WikiTree profile and it's connected!

But not so fast... Julius is white. Maggie is black. And there's no clear evidence of his parentage of Maggie. Maggie was born either 1860, 1861, or 1868 in South Carolina, probably in the Spartanburg area. There's a potential Margaret Copeland in that area - she's black, age 10 on the 1870 Census, but living in the Laurens area. 

Julius appears to have lived most likely in the Henderson area of North Carolina but was born in the Burke area of NC. See Find-A-Grave. Maggie is there as well on Find-A-Grave but listed as LNAB Corpening and died 1884.

So it sounds like this is barking up the wrong tree for a connection, but I thought I'd throw it out there just on the wild chance that someone might find a connection here that is valid, although I'm highly dubious of Ancestry family trees in general. Especially those that are lightly sourced or not sourced at all.

Comments

Oh, and here is Meadowlark.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lemon-1885

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George Meadow Lemon born 1912

his father

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lemon-1887

death cert for 1887 names his mother as Lizzie Harper - his wife was Mary Nesbitt, daughter of John Nesbitt/Nesbett and Bettie/Betty Ramsay

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Awesome, Eddie! I figured someone got names twisted around - glad to have you here to straighten it out.

Now if I could just find enough details on his wife, I'd imagine a connection might be simpler, but she's still living so I haven't pushed too hard for that one. I did reach out to her, but as I expected, she did not respond.

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Later, my brutha - time to torture Donnie Blackstone (luv doing that !! )

Answer 1

I'll work on Meadowlark's mother.

I shared a hospital room with her in 1987.  She was making her home in Monroe, Louisiana, at that time.  And I don't think she was using Lemon as her last name.

Comments

Thanks, Kathryn! She was a bit of a mystery - the whole Nesbit last name is still a bit questionable to start with, but possible. And since her husband died in 1952, it's very likely she remarried at least once if not more, so there's a good number of possibilities there.

Even more interesting is that supposedly his paternal grandmother is supposed to be named Mary Nesbit, so there might be some interesting family dynamics going there, or it could be that someone's got a LNAB conflated somewhere.

Answer 2

Sebron's wife was MARGARET, daughter of John Copeland and Harriet/Hattie Copeland. Hattie was the daughter of Elias/Elzey Copeland

Comments

I thought that Corpening connection was an extreme long-shot. Thanks for shooting that horse dead. Still means I can add more family though. Thanks!!

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census records and death certs in Ancestry, my brutha 

dunno why ya dint ast me in the fust place, dude 

Answer 3

Are we certain Meadowlark's parents were married? I know the newspapers claimed his parents "split." This is a possiblity:

Name:	Mamie Rice[Mamie Hunter][Mamie Nesbitt]
Gender:	Female
Race:	Black
Birth Date:	30 May 1916
Birth Place:	Columbia, South Carolina
Death Date:	1 May 2004
Father:	John Nesbitt
Mother:	Lundia Godlock
SSN:	129189609
Notes:	Nov 1942: Name listed as MAMIE RICE; Sep 1946: Name listed as MAMIE HUNTER

Source Information

Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Original data: Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936-2007.

Also, Meadowlark officially changed his name to Meadowlark Lemon in December 1969 as reported in the newspaper. 

• The Bridgeport Post (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
• 14 Dec 1969, Sun
• Page 38

Comments

I also meant to add that often on marriage records the step-mother's name is used instead of the biological mother. Especially if the mother is no longer living.

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The above lady wound up being buried about a mile from where I am presently sitting.

Name:	Mamie Hunter
Death Age:	87
Birth Date:	30 May 1916
Death Date:	15 May 2004
Internment Date:	24 May 2004
Internment Place:	New York, USA
Cemetery Address:	2040 Wellwood Avenue Farmingdale, NY 11735-1211
Cemetery:	Long Island National Cemetery
Plot:	Section 3b Site 1739
Relationship:	Wife
Spouse:	Albert Hunter
Notes:	Tec 5 Us Army
Comments:	Wife of Hunter, Albert

National Cemetery Administration; U.S. Veterans' Gravesites

National Cemetery Administration. U.S., Veterans' Gravesites, ca.1775-2019 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

Original data: National Cemetery Administration. Nationwide Gravesite Locator.

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Meadowlark's father was stabbed to death in 1952. His death certificate says it was a fight with his girlfriend. His wife is mentioned in the article, but not by name. The article does not say anything about the woman being his girlfriend. Here is the location of the newspaper account:

• The News and Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)
• 28 Dec 1952, Sun
• Page 6

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Like father, like son. Meadowlark divorced his wife (or was it the other way around?) and yet a year later they were still fighting. By then, it was ex-wife, but she chased him through the streets in her car, ramming his car, repeatedly until he pulled over when he spotted some police officers. He asked them for help, and she jumped out of the car, ran behind him, and stabbed him between the shoulder blades with a steak knife before being wrestled to the ground by the police. She went to jail. He went to the hospital. At least he survived.

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Found this snippet:

Moreover, Lemon father, Meadow George  “Peanut” Lemon II served for the Wilmington Waste Paper & Recycling Co. His parents got divorced when he was a little kid. Lemon mother moved to New York City after separation. 

Not sure how accurate it is, but seems likely to be true.

https://dodoodad.com/meadowlark-lemon/

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Here's another:

Lemon was born Meadow George Lemon III in Wilmington, N.C. His parents divorced before he began grade school. He lived with his father, who worked for the local waste-paper and recycling company.

https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19940212&slug=1894800

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So if I had to take some guesses:

- Peanut marries Mary Nesbit around 1930-1932, probably in North Carolina

- Meadow III is born - 1932

- Parents divorced before he went to grade school - presuming age 5, or therabouts, so divorce around 1935-1938? - and from there, it's clear she remarried - so I suppose she might show up on the 1940 Census with a new name.

Answer 4

Can I just say that Meadowlark Lemon is possibly THE MOST FANTASTIC name I have ever heard!! Wow!!