Finding PawPaw's CCC Camp

     A few years ago, I obtained my PawPaw's Civilian Conservation Corps records.  They indicated that he, Thomas Craft, served at Camp SP-3 at Albemarle, North Carolina.   The records gave me a lot of information about him, but not much about the location where he served.  I've searched on and off for more information, but tonight I must have finally done something right.

     I discovered that my PawPaw served at Camp Doughton, which helped to build Morrow Mountain State Park.  I found mention of the park's grand opening, which mentioned the CCC, and then found a silent video, posted by the State Archive of North Carolina on YouTube, which has some scenes of the camp.  Looks like I'll need to plan a trip to visit this park some time in the future.

Camp scenes begin at the 3 minute mark

Sometimes You Just Have To Do It Yourself

     I had requested photos of the graves of my 5x Great-Grandparents, Thomas and Rachel Albea, some time ago on FindAGrave.com. I very quickly received a photo of what was left of Rachel's stone. It consisted of the top portion of her stone, which contained only her name, encased in cement. There was no response regarding Thomas' grave. After more than a year, I deleted the initial request and re-posted it, which sent out new emails to volunteers.  I was very excited to receive an email announcing that the stone had been photographed, only to be disappointed when the photo was of another Thomas Albea (a hundred years too young!). It seemed that my Thomas Albea did not have a headstone. But I wanted to find out for sure.

     So what's a genealogist to do? Plan a vacation around visiting the cemetery of course.

     With my mom, I drove 268 miles to the Bethel United Methodist Church Cemetery in Harmony, Iredell, North Carolina.  There I found this picturesque church and cemetery:

     The cemetery wasn't large, but of course the stone for Rachel Albea was in the last corner of the cemetery that I looked in.  The photo that I had previously received on FindAGrave.com made it much easier to find the correct grave.  I was then able to take my own photo of Rachel's grave:

     I then looked around for Thomas' grave, which apparently two volunteers had already been unable to find. Don't know why... it was the stone to the left of Rachel.  It was hard to read, but it was the most likely choice. It took a minute to decipher, but there he was. And it had a strange yellow moss on it which, when gently brushed away, made the stone easy to read (maybe not as much in this photo, but in the closeup photo it's great).

     Sometimes you just have to do it yourself. And to commemorate the effort: a photo of me and my ancestor's grave.

Tombstone Tuesday - Albea

     Rachel Johnson, wife of Thomas Albea, is buried in the Mount Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery in Harmony, Iredell, North Carolina. A helpful volunteer got this photo for me, via findagrave.com, but were apparently unable to find the grave of Thomas. Considering the condition of Rachel's stone, I'm not surprised.  Rachel and Thomas were the parents of Tilman Albea, my GGG-Grandfather, who lived in Lincoln County, Georgia.

Tracking Mack

My maternal grandmother's father, Vary "Mack" Hyler / Huyler disappeared during the Great Depression to look for work. He left when his daughter was an infant and didn't show up again until she was 14. I'm trying to track down his location during the approximate time period of 1931-1945.

Based on stories that he told his grandchildren, he was a true hobo. Mack said that he traveled "all over" in train cars and smoked "wacky weed." These statements aren't exactly detailed. So, what do I know as fact?

• He was named Vary Americus Hyler, but was known in his later years as Mack Huyler (family stories and documents)
• He stated that he was born on 2 April 1903 in Columbia, Richland, SC (ssa)

• He appears in Lexington County Census records in 1910 and 1920 and cannot be found in the 1930 census.
• He married Ruby L Waters on 2 Jan 1931 in Atlanta GA (marriage cert)
• He and Ruby divorced during his time away (she remarried)
• On 25 Feb 1937 he filed a social security application in Augusta, Richmond, GA
• He returned to Ruby (now divorced from her second husband) when his daughter, Betty, was 14 (statement from Betty)
• He was living with Ruby again in 1948 in Atlanta, GA (directory)
• He married Ruth Sexton after Ruby died (family info and obit)

What about rumors? Aside from the few mentions of riding trains, not much is known. It has been speculated by the family that Mack knew Ruth Sexton from his traveling days and may have been in a relationship with her at that time.

• Ruth was born in Alleghany County, SC in 1913 (obit)
• She spent part of her childhood in Virginia (1920 census).

So, I'm looking for Mack GA & SC and possibly NC & VA. Considering the extensive rail system, my search could expand much further. So, I'll start by examining his Social Security Application further.


Mack's 1937 ssa tells me a few things:

• He was officially calling himself Mack, not Vary, and spelling his surname with a 'u'
• His address was 446 Watkins Street, Augusta, GA
• He was employed with Huckeye Cotton Oil Co

There are a few things I did immediately: mapped the address and checked city directories. Unfortunately, it's hard to say for sure what building on Watkins Street is 446.

The city directories are available online for 1937 and listed 446 as "vacant." So, it seems that Mack was new to this address in '37. The 1938 directory lists Benj F Steerman and Stoney Taylor as living at this address. Did Mack only live here a short time, or was he the roommate or friend of these men? Or was this just an address he listed to have something to put on the form? Regardless, Augusta, Richmond, GA is a city that might offer more clues about Mack. And maybe these other two men might provide information on Mack.

So, where else can I look? I can widen my search of city directories. I can continue to look in the 1930 census, though I don't hold out luck finding him there. I can look for military service. He should have registered for the draft in the early 1940s. I can try and track him through his siblings (three brothers, seven sisters). Any other ideas?