The Curious Case of the Gender Mix-up of Foy Byrd Montgomery
Most everyone who knew Foy would say that Foy was: kind hearted, giving, serving, a parent of two boys, active in the local Methodist church, a devoted spouse, and above all a female. I would conquer as her granddaughter but there are those who would argue that fact. How could several people firmly believe that Foy was a male? That in there lies the mystery.
When we begin our search for evidence of a person’s past we often look to many documents to aid us. Often we may look for a birth certificate or Christianing record or even a death record. However, many people may start out using census records to help them in gathering a basic timeline
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However, what if that person had an unusual name? In this case one that was generally given to men. Can we be so quick to assume that what we find in one census should be fact despite subsequent contrary census data? The answer to many is no, we should find primary source records to confirm what we find on a census. But, what if we don’t have that information and continue to be lead in the wrong direction. This sets the stage for the gender issue for …show more content…
However, if you look at the original census you can see that it is indeed Foy and not “Fay”. This is a clear case of why looking at the original is beneficial instead of relying on the interpretation of an indexer. Many people stop and assume that the previous census records were of a different person and not correct. Especially if they don’t know Foy’s siblings nor her parent’s names.
Now, there is another Foy Byrd that was born in 1908 that we can easily trace through the 1910 and 1920 census. He is the only child of Charles L. Byrd and Zenobia G. Byrd. He is listed as a male, white, and as being born in 1909. It can be easy to assume based on just this information this is the same Foy Byrd listed in the 1940 census instead of reading the original census records. Following this thought, though will lead to the wrong person as we will see.
In the 1930 census, there is only one male Foy Byrd that is easily found that was born in AL around 1909. This doesn’t help with the confusion between the two Foys’. The Foy that we find is the one with the parents of Ed and Erie Byrd. This clearly is my grandmother however; it takes reading the original family group on the census record to confirm this. Had I only gone on the interpretation of the indexed information I would have missed the clues that show the
Berry was born about 18 miles from Thomasville, Georgia on November 19, 1833. His parents were James Edward and Lydia (Carlton) Hendry. He had ten brothers and sisters. His father passed away on January 3, 1852 while in Georgia on a business trip. His mother passed away many years later on May 24, 1989, after her second marriage.
mother, and Wilson‘s five siblings when Wilson was a young child. His mother worked as a
The family lived there when her father was assigned to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s Allied Forces Southern Europe in the 45th Infantry Division called Thunderbird. She lived there between 1957 and 1961 before returning with her family to New York City.Harjo, 2009
She had two older brothers, Bill and Bob. Bill was 7 years older and Bob
Johnson, had three girls and two boys. Lyndon was the oldest, born August 27, 1908. The
...ng it through Grace’s mother and Mrs. Humphrey. The novel depicts this construct of gender identity through society by molding Grace to believe women are subordinate and need to get married and be good housewives to be successful. This construct is seen through emotion as women who are emotional are seen as “abnormal” and sent to asylums, while men had to power to do so. The societal construct of gender identity was seen as men were to bask in their sexuality and be assertive, while women were to be passive and suppress their sexuality. Mrs. Humphrey challenged this construct as she was assertive and the instigator. Lastly, the societal construct of gender identity was challenged through Grace’s mother as she took over the males position of being the provider. Overall, women were looked at as subordinate to men in the Victorian age and Atwood challenged this belief.
Ehrenreich points out that she has seen “one group after another… stand up and proudly reclaim their roots” but for those who come from a mixed background, it is nearly impossible to discover their roots (477). Unfortunately, many people’s family trees are twisted and inaccurate, containing many flaws known only by those who are wronged, but believed by the children who read it. For example, some female immigrants, upon moving to America and marrying a white man, changed their names and accepted the white cultural as their own. With no birth records on hand, it was assumed, when recorded, that the said female was White. The same happened frequently to the Native American people, who accepted English culture as their own. There is a whole line of cultural background completely wiped from one’s tree. These cases, which are quite common, can only be disputed either by the person who is recorded, who is presumably now dead, or hearsay by family members who claim it to be another way. Regardless, it is nearly impossible to prove. Therefore, claiming to know one’s heritage is likely false, due to the frequent inaccuracies in records, and gives no assurance to anyone on their true
fact that a person is a woman is still shown to be a disadvantage when
I began the interview asking “When were you born?” Her response was “September 30, 1940.” She continued with a big smile on her face saying, “I am 71 years old.” My mind immediately went back to the 1940s and the conditions that many African Americans were facing during the Great Depression and World War II. Mrs. McFadden told me she was born in Milledgeville, Georgia. She repeated it with pride, sp...
In this case, two of the most common and numerous Galway Traveller family names, Ward and Barrett, are not even acknowledged as such. The newspaper describes them as squatters, and the court treats them as such. Their ethnic identity is denied by not being referred to, because to do so would problematise their treatment. There is no concern expressed as to the fate of the men and their families, once they have left the property.
I continued to search through familysearch.org for more information on the childhood of my subject. The next source on the website that I was able to come up with was a census record from 1900. At the time of this census, Stephenson would have been 13 years old. According to the census, the Stephenson family was residing in Galva, Illinois at this time, and the members of his household included his mother Caroline, 3 boys, Edwin, along with his two older brothers Frank and Joseph, and 2 girls, Edwin’s sisters Mamie and Elsie. There was also one more person named Frank Sandell listed as a “boarder.” I would later discover, in the 1930 census, that this was the uncle of Edwin. Apparently Edwin’s father Charles had died at some point from his birth in 1887 to this census in 1900, because the census states that...
The United States has been taking census of all its citizens ever since the passing of the Census Act in 1790. The U.S. government is aware of how daunting this task can be. One of the more challenging aspects of the U.S. census is accounting for all of the U.S. military that are stationed around the world and in the U.S. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 1,431,000
Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: St. Martin's, 2002. 65-71 Truth, Sojourner?Ain?t I a Woman? The Presence of Others, 3rd ed. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz.
Williams was born March 26, 1911. His mother and father were Edwina and Cornelius Williams respectively. His mother was the divine essence of a southern belle whose main focus was being of the social elite. His father was a drunken shoe salesman who would later be claimed as the reason for Williams’ homosexuality. Williams’ siblings include Rose and Dakin Williams. It is said that his only real company growing up was his sister and their Negro nursemaid, Ozzie. ...
there gender. The word “Gender” should be used less and less and individuals should be