An Aunt, Not A Byrd: Mary E. Bauguess
It's always nice when you find something that you didn't know you had lost. And it's nice when you realize you have something that you didn't know you had. That happened yesterday when I realized I had misidentified an old picture that I had gotten a few years ago.
William McKinley Billings was an interesting man. He was born in 1848 and married Mary E. Byrd in 1868. Tthey lived in Lomax, south of Traphill in Wilkes Co. They had nine children together before she died in 1892. Three years later William remarried, and his second wife's name was Mary E. Bauguess. I've always thought it strange -- or at least ironic -- that both of his wives were named Mary E., with the "E." likely standing for Elizabeth for both of them.
William died in 1919 and his second wife outlived him by nearly 20 years. I have two pictures of William McKinley's second wife, but for some reason I always assumed it was Mary E. Byrd. Now I realize that she is actually Mary E. Bauguess, my great-great-grandfather's sister. When I compare her picture to pictures of her brothers, I see a resemblance. Now, if I could just find pictures of the other four siblings, I'd have the whole family! I'll keep looking.
William McKinley Billings was an interesting man. He was born in 1848 and married Mary E. Byrd in 1868. Tthey lived in Lomax, south of Traphill in Wilkes Co. They had nine children together before she died in 1892. Three years later William remarried, and his second wife's name was Mary E. Bauguess. I've always thought it strange -- or at least ironic -- that both of his wives were named Mary E., with the "E." likely standing for Elizabeth for both of them.
William died in 1919 and his second wife outlived him by nearly 20 years. I have two pictures of William McKinley's second wife, but for some reason I always assumed it was Mary E. Byrd. Now I realize that she is actually Mary E. Bauguess, my great-great-grandfather's sister. When I compare her picture to pictures of her brothers, I see a resemblance. Now, if I could just find pictures of the other four siblings, I'd have the whole family! I'll keep looking.
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