THE HEATH STORY

which began February 1998

By Linda Carol Heath-Edwards

LOUIS (or Lewis) D. HEATH, SR., was born March 6, 1810. He was the son of Seth Dunton Heath and Grace Elliott. In his lifetime, he was a landowner, a farmer, and a carpenter. He helped build the BLEAK HOUSE, in 1847 and the CRYSTAL PALACE, in 1850. These two beautiful houses still stand today in Franktown, VA. I understand that members of Louis D. Heath, Sr.'s family once lived in the BLEAK HOUSE. The CRYSTAL PALACE was built for John H. E. Smith, who is believed to be a nephew of Louis D. Heath, Sr. Smith had the CRYSTAL PALACE built for his bride to be. Unfortunately, she eloped with another man. Smith lived alone in his CRYSTAL PALACE until he died. In 1855, Henry A. Wise gave a campaign speech at the CRYSTAL PALACE when he ran for governor of VA.

Louis D. Heath, Sr. was first married to Emeline Savage, and I have no record of her birth, death, or place of burial. Her first name and was discovered in a book titled VIRGINIA'S EASTERN SHORE, written by Ralph T. Whitelaw. This book was first published in 1951 by The Virginia Historical Society. Her last name, Savage, was found in book from The Eastern Shore Public Library of Lower Maryland Marriages. Louis D. Heath, Sr. and Emeline Savage were married 25 Feb 1835.

In the 1850 Northampton Co. census reports, there was no mention of Emeline S., but a Sarah A. had been added. Louis D. Heath, Sr. had several children listed on this report. The book of Maryland Marriages listed Louis D. Heath, Sr. and Sarah Ann Warner wed 27 Sept 1845.

Louis D. Heath, Sr. and Emeline Savage- Heath had the following children:

1. Horace Heath, born 1831 in Northampton Co. ( born out of wedlock?)

2. Julius C. Heath, born Sept. 1, 1835 and died Oct. 16, 1892 in Northampton Co. Burial at Royal Rest Cemetery.

3. Augustus G. Heath, born 1838 in Northampton Co. and he later married Indiana Susan Peed. Their children were:

- Rosa, Louis D. (Norman E. Heath's father), Augustus W., Sadie, Kathrine (Kitty), and Emmaline (Penny).

4. Arthur, Cathrine, and Clifton Heath were three children who died between 1840 and 1841 as infants. (Probably from illness.)

5.Franklin Heath, died in 1841 as an infant.

On Sept. 27, 1845, in Accomac Co., Louis D. Heath, Sr. remarried again to Sarah Ann Warner. Sarah Ann had been widowed twice. Her first husband was Sylvester Savage. Her second husband was Levin Core. The 1850 Northampton Co. census listed a Sara Core, age 12, living with the Louis D. Heath, Sr. household. I believe she may have been a daughter of Sarah Ann Warner and Levin Core.

Louis D. Heath, Sr. and Sarah Ann Warner-Heath had the following children:

1. Rufus W. Heath, born 1846 in Northampton Co.

2. Louis D. Heath, Jr., born 1851 in Northampton Co. (this is Alonzo W. Heath's father)

3. Juliette G. (Grace?) Heath, born April 17, 1855, in NorthamptonCo.

Sarah Ann Warner-Heath was born Feb. 21, 1815 and died May 1857. She is burried at Old Pitts Farm, Northampton Co., VA.

By the 1860 Northampton Co. census report, the following children were still living with Louis D. Heath, Sr. :

-Augustus, Louis D. Jr., Juliette G., and Horace.

Also living with Louis D. Heath, Sr. in 1860 was Sara Ann Core-Christian, now 22, and married to William S. Christian. They had a son, age 1, George Christian.

Also living with the Louis D. Heath, Sr. household was Ann Turpin, a white female, age 40, listed as housekeeper. And, four black male laborers.

On Feb. 3, 1868, Louis D. Heath, Sr. died and was buried at James Wharf, in Northampton Co. In his last will and testament (dated and signed the day of his death), he stated that all his real and personal properties be sold to pay his debts and that his executors to take care of his children. His oldest son, Horace Heath signed the will as a witness and also his housekeeper, Ann Turpin. The Will was found in The Eastville Courthouse, Northampton Co., VA.

By the 1870 Northampton Co. census reports, Louis D. Heath, Jr., age 19, was living with the Andrew Finney family. At age 20, he married Olevia S. Fox, age 17, in Worcester Co., MD, on June 28, 1871. Olevia S. Fox was the daughter of George G. Fox ( a shoemaker ) and Susan Elizabeth Mears. Susan Elizabeth Mears-Fox was the daughter of John S. and Sarah D. Mapp-Mears. Olevia's parents and grandparents are buried at The Old Wachapreague Burial Ground, behind the Herbert S. Powell Memorial Park. ( I have some dates of their births and deaths, but not all are clear.) I accidently found their burial place one day while going through Wachapreague, VA. After Louis D. Heath, Jr. and Olevia S. Fox married, on Oct. 22, 1872, Alonzo W. Heath was born. Alonzo W. Heath married Margaret Elizabeth Taylor. It is not known when or where. They had two children that died at birth, not known if male or female. This information was discovered on Ivan Donald Heath's birth certificate. They also had the following children:

1. Louise Rebecca Heath, born Feb. 28, 1915 in Quinby, Va (Accomac Co.)

2. Ivan Donald Heath, born Oct. 8, 1916 also in Quinby, Va (Accomac Co.)

Alonzo W. Heath and Margaret Elizabeth Taylor-Heath lived in Quinby, Va. Alonzo worked as a waterman.

I do not know the birthdate of Margaret Elizabeth Taylor-Heath.

Margaret Elizabeth Taylor-Heath's mother and brother also lived in Quinby, VA. Margaret's mother's name was Rebecca Taylor. Margaret's brother's name was Charles B. Taylor. Charles B. Taylor is buried behind the Smith's Chapel Church cemetery in Quinby, Va. On his headstone is the inscription: Charles B. Taylor 1889-1953, Beloved brother of Bertha Lank. I have a copy of Charles's obit and it read he had a sister named Bertha Taylor-Lank.

I would like to elaborate on a story about Charles (Charlie) B. Taylor. This story was told to my father, Ivan Donald Heath and his sister, Louise Rebecca Heath-Schultze in October 1971 when they visited Quinby, VA looking for information about their parents. Two men, Harry White and Frank Warren, had known Charlie Taylor. Their story goes: Charlie Taylor had lived alone and he had become very ill. What family and friends he had left had him put into a hospital. Charlie did not want to be there and he killed himself by using a belt and a pillow to smother himself.

This same story was told again to me in 1998 by Frank Warren, who is still alive and living in Quinby, VA. Now in his 80's, Mr. Warren also added the rest of the story...It seems a nephew of Charlie's, a George Peters, gave permission to have Charlie buried at his family cemetery plot behind Smith's Chapel Church in Quinby, VA. George A. Peters is now buried not more than 15 feet from Charles B. Taylor. If George A. Peters was a nephew of Charles B. Taylor, he must be of some kin to me also.

Not known is the birth and death date of Rebecca Allen-Taylor, Margaret Taylor's mother. She was married to Thomas Taylor. Also not known is where she is buried.

About 1923 or 1924, for reasons unknown, Alonzo and Margaret Heath separated. Margaret moved to Norfolk, Va with Louise Rebecca and Ivan Donald. There she took the job of housekeeper for Hugh M. Hunter. An arguement between Hugh and Margaret resulted into a tragic murder-suicide. On March 15, 1924, Hugh M. Hunter shot Margaret and then turned the gun on himself. Leaving behind 7 orphaned children, Louise Rebecca, Ivan Donald, and five children of Mr. Hunter's.

Margaret's mother, Rebecca Taylor did not have the money to send her daughter's body home to Quinby, Va. Therefore, she gave L. L. Williams Funeral Home of Norfolk, Va.,  permission to go ahead and bury Margaret at Forest Lawn cemetery, in Norfolk, Va. Her funeral was a sad and lonely affair with only Rev. J. A. Winn presiding. But to me the saddest part of all of this is that Louise Rebecca and Ivan Donald had to witness this whole tragic event. Hugh M. Hunter not only took away my grandmother, he took away any family ties to the Taylor side of my family.

Back in Quinby, Alonzo was still living. Also Margaret's mother, Rebecca Taylor. They apparently made no effort to retrive Louise Rebecca and Ivan Donald or perhaps there was a reason for not doing so. I tend to think on the possitive side of this. Like, if things had been different, I wouldn't be here right now writing this.

On Aug. 8, 1926, in Quinby, VA, in Accomac Co., Alonzo W. Heath died. Not much is known about the man except what little Ivan Donald remembers, which is not so good. Ivan, at the age of 5 or 6, remembers his dad as probably a drinker and a fighter. In contrast, Ivan remembers his mother, Margaret as very quiet. Alonzo's death certificate states that he died as the result of concussion to the brain due to a fall. After, recieving Alonzo's obit and learning that he was ill for a week before his death, that eased my mind a bit about the cause of his death. I now believe he just got too weak and fell.

Louise Rebecca Heath was sent to Saluda, Va to live with an aunt. On which side of the family I don't know. ( Saluda is close to Heathsville, Va ) She later met and married William Arthur Schultze May 21, 1939.

Louise Rebecca Heath-Schultze died Sept. 20, 1989 and William Arthur Schultze died Feb. 23, 1978. They are buried at Mount Vernon Memorial Park in Fair Oaks, CA.

A FEW MORE HEATHS AND HOW THEY FIT IN

Louis D. Heath, born 1875 and died 1956 was the brother of Alonzo W. Heath. He married Minnie M. Heath, born 1887 and died 1968. I know they had the following children:

1. Grace Heath-Bradford

2. Alfred M. Heath

All of them are buried at Wachapreague Cemetery on 605, north of Wachapreague, VA. There is also a Jessie Heath, born 1901 and died 1979, who is buried in the same plot with them. I don't know the relation.

James Elliot Heath, born Aug. 21, 1840 and died Nov 23, 1904. Judge James E. Heath was a judge for Northampton Co. from Dec. 12, 1870 to Dec 13, 1872. His father was Rufus Heath, brother to Louis D. Heath, Sr. 1810-1868.

I received a handwritten document from Mrs. Margaret H. Wood, of Nassawadox, VA. In this document was a list of three children originally from the HEATH HOUSE at Point Breeze down Occohonock Neck, on VA's Eastern Shore. I have studied this document a great deal and will attempt to sort out my findings.

The three original children were:

Augustus Heath, Grace Heath, and Louis Heath.

This Augustus was born in 1838. Grace is probably Juliette G., born in 1855, and this Louis I believe is Louis D. Heath, Jr., born in 1851. Why do I believe this to be Louis, Jr.? Because on the document it never stated where this Louis went to live or who he married. Therefore, I believe this to be the Louis D. Heath I have been searching for. As in, the missing link to tie all the information together.

The document listed where several of the Heath children were sent to live with friends or family. But it also showed the lineage of Augustus Heath, born 1838. He was the son of Louis D. Heath, Sr. and Emeline Savage- Heath.

The reason I am adding this information is because Margaret H. Wood was first married to Norman E. Heath. Norman E. Heath was the grandson of Augustus Heath, 1838.

This is the lineage of Augustus Heath:

( which I mentioned earlier, but did not go in to details)

Augustus Heath, 1838, married Indian Susan Peed. Their children were,

More of Augustus Heath's (1838) children are:

Their children are: Evelyn, and twins- Mary and Virginia.

The second of the three original children was Grace. She married Richard Ames and there was no mention of children.

And last of the three oringinal children, was Louis. Who, I believe was Alonzo's father.

Like I said, there was no mention on this document about where this Louis was sent to live or who he married. Therefore I believe him to be the one that went to live with the Andrew Finney family and the same Louis who married Olevia S. Fox.

UPDATE: JULY 18, 1998- I recieved in the mail today the answer to a question that has been on my mind since the beginning of this search. Finally, I have learned where my grandfather, Alonzo W. Heath is buried! The information I recieved was from The Accomac Public Library microfiche files of a newspaper, The Accomac Peninsula Enterprize, dated August 14, 1926. It was the original Obituary of Alonzo W. Heath. The obit read:

Mr. Alonzo W. Heath, a highly respected citizen, and the son of the late Louis D. Heath, of Northampton County, died August 8th, at his home at Quinby, VA, after an illness of a week aged fifty-four years. Funeral sevices were held at the grave in Wachapreague Cemetery, Tuesday, conducted by Rev. W. G. Boggs. Mr. Heath is survied by two children, Louise Heath and Ivan Heath, of Norfolk, VA, one brother, Mr. L. D. Heath of Wachapreague, one half sister Mrs. Reginald Bundick, of Delmar, DE, and two half brothers, Mr. Sewell F. Lane, of Baltimore, MD, and Mr. Austin Lane, of Norfolk, VA.

I am guessing he is buried with no headstone with his family at The Old Wachapreague Burial Ground.

I recently got this information from The Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There was an Edith A. Heath, listed as the daughter of Horace Heath and Mary W. Heath. (Horace, being the oldest son of Louis D. Heath, Sr.) She was born 3 March 1874.

Also, the Juliet G. Heath mentioned earlier, was Juliet Grace Heath, born 1855. She Was Louis D. Heath, Jr.'s sister, Alonzo's aunt.

I also have a Julius G. Heath, born 1 Sept 1835, his parents are listed as Augustus C. E. Heath and Esther Heath.

Here's an update concerning Louis D. Heath, Sr."s siblings. The info came from Lorene Heath-Potter.

Seth Dunton Heath and Grace Elliott-Heath had the following children: (1) Joanna Heath, who married Isaac Andrews. (2) Augustus C. E. Heath, died 1839 and married Edith Esther Williams 17 Jul 1830. She was the widow of Wm. R. Fisher. (3) Carey Heath, who married Sally Johnson. (4) William Heath, who married Polly Dennis. (5) Melinda Heath, who married John R. Fisher. And (6) Rufus Heath, born 1814 and died 1842, married Susan T. Brickhouse 21 Sept 1835. Susan remarried 2 April 1849 to Thomas Littleton Kendall.

Note: References to living persons have been omitted.