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| Excerpt form the 1900 U.S. Federal Census |
The application says Dolph was born December 2, 1876 in Marion County, Arkansas and that his parents were Bill McCurns and Lizzie Coker. The 1900 census shows an age difference of 12 years between Lizzie and Dolph. An 1876 birth year reduces that difference to 9 years and also makes him the same age as John Stinnett. I also have to take into consideration the inaccuracy of ages and birth years on census records. John is almost 8 in the 1880 census which pushes his birth year back to 1872. Had John been born in 1876 he would have been required to register for the WWI draft along with his sons and he didn't.
Another anomaly appears in the census record in the two rightmost columns in the image. The question was to how many children had the mother given birth and how many were still living. In Lizzie's case the answer was 6 to both questions. There are 7 children listed in the household - 4 stepchildren and 3 biolological. Is Dolph an adopted child? Is he Bill McCurn's son who was raised by Lizzie with along with the Crawford stepchildren? What is the story there?
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| Bessie Crawford Payton and "brother" Dolph McCurn. Picture courtesy of Nanda Nunnelly-Sparks. |
I have had DNA matches with descendants of both Will and Fred Crawford. Bessie's descendants haven't tested yet. Dolph had no known biological children. I have talked to Will's descendants in Batesville who knew Dolph as their "uncle" and who believe that Lizzie was his mother.
I have to accept that I may never know the real answer to these questions. For now I will accept that Lizzie was the mother who raised Dolph whether or not their relationship was biological. A family is more than just a bloodline; especially for black people in the years after enslavement. Sometimes you had to make a family with those who took you in and made a home for you. A family is the people who love you, who nourish your body and soul.