COLD CASE: A CANTY QUEST MYSTERY (PART I)

Fannie BILLINGS ENOS was born abt 1890 in New London, Connecticut where her mother's family line (BRIGGS, COMSTOCK) had been living since before the Revolution.  (Proof of this exists.)  Her father's family line (ENOS) came over in the early 1800's from the Azore Islands of Portugal (More proof). 

Thomas Walter CANTY was born abt 1885 in Barnwell, South Carolina where his father's family line I'm still investigating but went back to at least the late 1700's.  (Proof).  His mother is still a brick wall.

Fannie and Thomas were married (no proof yet) at least by around 1910 and lived in New London where the first of their three children were born (Leona, Nellie and Harold).  Harold being the last of their children was born in 1915.  So far, I have no evidence of a divorce or a death.  I do have proof of Thomas relocating back to the South and living in Clyo, Georgia with/near his brother Willie and his wife in 1918.  I also have proof of Thomas being (honorably) discharged from the Army on May 25, 1913 at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina.

Fannie re-married Charles Joseph DURR abt 1918-19 and lived in New York where the first of their two children were born (Anna and Lawrence).  In the 1920 Census Leona, Nellie and Harold are listed as "Cantey [sic] Durr" and referred to as the step-children of Charles DURR.  Charles died before 1930.  Thereafter Harold used only the last name Durr, while Leona and Nellie kept the CANTY name.  Harold's family to this day continue to use the surname DURR.

Fannie went on to marry two other times but that is another story.  [A tongue-in-cheek story of Fannie was that she was referred to by later family members as the "black widow" as all of her husbands passed away.]

THE MYSTERY:  Why does Thomas CANTY leave the Army in South Carolina (he was stationed in New London) in 1913?  Does he move back to New London since it appears he has another child (Harold) in 1915?  Why does he end up back in Clyo, Georgia, working as a salesman and living either with or near his brother Willie?  Also, I have found a newspaper clipping of Harold's death saying he was the child of Fannie and Charles?  

THEORIES:  Thomas deserted Fannie.  She moved to New York, met and married Charles.  Harold may really be Charles' son even though he is listed as his step-son in the census.   Or, really any number of scenarios which I have not been able to confirm.

WHY I CARE:  Thomas and Fannie are my grandparents.  Their second child Nellie Frances CANTY was my mother who passed away when I was 5.  I am trying to write their stories and genealogy for the benefit of not only myself but for my children as well.

Mama Has a Great Nephew

Well, 2011 is looking good so far!  My computer is virus-free and I have completed a letter to my Mama's great nephew.  I am hoping he will contact me and we can share our common lineage.  After all his great grandfather is no other than Thomas Walter CANTY.  I'm sure he and his family would like to know more about this mystery man as well.


I have had the fun and excitement recently of looking up old newspaper articles which are on line.  It was easy to pull up some information about my New England anscesters and so I'm off to see what the South has to offer. 

Last Records or is it First Records

Since I'm going backwards at this point, the "last" records I have of my grandfather, he was 13 years old and was living in Augusta, Georgia.  The 1900 Census tells me that both he and his father James Canty were sweepers in the cotton mill.  Already working at the age of 13.  Since his sister Sadie Pearl was 5 years old and born in South Carolina, that tells me that he and his family were born and lived in South Carolina until that time.  I am guessing but it seems like their mother might have died in child birth or at least sometime thereafter, leaving Gr. Grandpa with four children to raise on his own.  The Census also tells me Gr. Grandpa's mother was born in Georgia so perhaps they had connections there or perhaps working in the cotton mill was an important reason to move.

So now, the story I have learned is that Grandpa Canty was born in South Carolina, lived there until he was between 8 to 13 and then moved to Augusta, Georgia.  Then his father dies, the family is again hit by sorrow and on top of that split up.  He ends up with in-laws in Ohio and decides to join the Army.  The Army sends him to New London where he meets my grandmother.  They have three children.  And then it gets confusing, leading up to a brick wall.

Oh Grandpa, Where Did You Disappear To???

So, in a nutshell, Grandpa Canty married my Grandma, Fannie Billlings Enos, had three children and disappeared.  I have no pictures of him and those who might have known him are no longer living.  Searching for Grandpa has turned into a bit of a mystery to me.  So, piece by piece, I have worked my way backwards and think I can tell the story of his early life and hopefully I will someday find the pieces which explain where he disappeared to and what happened to him in his later life.

The LAST piece of physical evidence I have found through my search is from a World War I Draft Registration Card, dated 12 Sep 1918.  Grandpa had made his way back to Georgia and was working as a salesman for the Globe Medicine Co.  He was living in Clyo, Effington, Georgia.  Through again my friend the Census Report, I found that his brother Willie Canty lived in this area.  I deduce from this that Grandpa ended up living with his brother.  The trail grows cold there.  I cannot find him in any Census Report for 1920 or 1930.  I could conclude that he passed away, but I cannot find any report of his death, either.

As I share his story, I will lay out what I do know and work backwards to his birth in approximately 1887 plus or minus depending on which report one is looking at.  It is fascinating, like putting together a puzzle, to read what the Census Reports have to say.  They tell a definite story.

Beginning Steps

Nellie Frances Canty was born in New London, Connecticut in 1912.  The first step I took to find out more about my mother was actually the old fashioned way.  I wrote a letter to the clerk in New London and paid for my mother's birth certificate.  When it finally arrived, I not only learned where she was born, I learned for the first time about her parents.   This birth certificate was actually established not when she was born but 30 years later in 1942 by her mother via a sworn affidavit.  Because of this, the information about my grandfather was really based on grandma's memory and not on actual records. 

On this affidavit, my grandmother listed her name as Fannie Billings Enos Canty Saunders.  Fannie was born in 1890 in New London, Connecticut.  Grandfather's name was listed as Thomas Walter Canty.  His occupation was Bugler-U.S. Army - Fort H.G. Wright.  His birthplace was listed as Augusta, Georgia; however, later I found out that he was really born in Barnwell, South Carolina.

This was an exciting experience.  That first rush of adrenaline that comes with finding a new piece of information that previously was unknown.  Since I really didn't know my mother, this was the beginning of making her a real person in my mind.

Who Am I?

"What's your mother's maiden name?"  Now there is a question that I have been able to answer for years.  "My mother's  maiden name is Canty."  "How do you spell that?"  I knew the answer to that too.  "C-A-N-T-Y, Canty." 

My mother died when I was five years old.  I had just a few pictures and some information that my father shared with me.  But contact was lost with her family.  Today you can do research with the click of a finger.  In the 1950's, keeping track of each other when they moved away was much more difficult.  For those reasons and perhaps the challenge my father had in raising a five-year old, my mother's Canty family was lost in my life. 

The loss of my mother, Nellie Frances Canty, has affected my entire life.  It has affected the way I raised my children, the choices I have made in spiritual matters and how I view living on a daily basis.  Thankfully, due to the encouragement of a friend, I decided much later in life to to search out my mother's story.   I am finding out in this process  not only who she was and who her family was, but who I am.