I’m working daily researching my 4th great grandmother Bethina Littleton Condon, born 1805 in North Carolina and died between 1870 and 1880 in Georgia.
Bethina was the mother of my 3rd great grandfather, Henry Littleton Lowe born (1818 Georgia-1906 Harris County, Georgia). And I’m trying so, so hard to tell Bethina’s story because she needs to be remembered as her situation was not ideal, especially in the time and place in which she lived.
See, the father of Henry Littleton Lowe is Henry H Lowe, yet Henry and Bethina were NEVER married. And to be honest, based on Bethina’s age at the time she gave birth, which was 13, let me say that again, 13, I question how her pregnancy came to be. Even based on norms of the time a 22 year old man would have known it wasn’t proper to entice a 12/13 year old into a sexual encounter. I have no proof but it seems like rape to me.
The story as told to me when I was a teenager goes like this, and please remember this story had been whispered for several generations before my grandmother told me and every generation seemed to include the eye roll that would let the listener know just what type of person Bethina was:
Well, you see. Bethina’s mom was a seamstress in Jones County where Henry H lived. His parents had a large party and invited people from the town and at this party is when Bethina got pregnant. Henry’s parents wouldn’t let him marry her and Henry married a cousin from his mom’s side and Bethina found someone to marry and she had other children and they all grew up and stayed close to Henry L his whole life.
What? Really?
Now that I’m older I look at the information I have on Bethina and remember these hushed comments about her and I want to scream at everyone who looked down on her. She was 13 when she gave birth, so possibly 12 when she was impregnated. She was a child, even if that was a marriageable age at the time, Henry H knew better, he had to have known.
So, now I’m digging and digging to find more on Bethina, and well, other than her marriage record to Caleb Condon in 1823 in Crawford Georgia and census records until 1870 I can’t find anything on her. No place of death has been located, and I can’t even determine who all of her children were with Caleb – this does not mean I’m throwing in the towel. Nope, I’m digging in my heels to find as much as I can about Bethina, she deserves to be remembered and not have her name whispered for the rest of time.
I’m sorting a DNA matches of my aunt who are descendants of Josh Condon, half brother of Henry L.
I’m also trying to determine if 8 children ages 26-7 with the last name Canden in the 1850 Pike County Georgia census are children of Bethina and Caleb as they are 2 pages over and the 8 children are in the home of a lawyer whose surname is different from the kids. One of these kids is in the 1860 census in the home of Caleb and Bethina: who are these children?????
This post serves two purposes: 1 to let the wold know about Bethina Littleton Condon 2. to share the journey of finding Bethina, when I find more I’ll share it here and Bethina will not be forgotten by her descendants.
Side note: Henry H Lowe married Mariah Tarver in 1821, 3 years after the birth of Henry L. Henry H was never disputed as the father of Henry L., Henry L was named as Henry Littleton Lowe on all records from his birth until his death and was named as an heir by Henry H on his will (more on this in another post).