LoGenWriMo #2: Dock Hans Hester (1851-1922)

George W. Hester (1857-1937), left, and Dock Hans Hester (1851-1922), right.
Photo from collection of the late Sue Berryhill Brown of Amory, Mississippi.

Dock Hans Hester was born, according to family sources, 4 March 1851 in Monroe or Itawamba County, Mississippi to John H. and Nancy (Cockrell) Hester.[1] Family tradition through one of his brother’s lines states he was named Dock Hans Duggar Hester in honor of the doctor who delivered him.[2] The Hesters resided in the lost corner of Monroe County, Mississippi, resulting in census enumerators’ failure to count them in both 1860 and 1870. To enter the area by road, one most go into Itawamba County, and then re-enter Monroe County. When enumerators on what is now State Highway 371 and State Highway 25 reached the county line, they considered their work done. They probably did not know about the area, and the Hesters probably liked residing in such a secluded area because of their reputation for consuming alcoholic beverages.

Dock married Mary Ann Harris, the daughter of Walton A. and Margaret (Mosely) Harris, 20 November 1877 in Lee County, Mississippi.[3] They lived in Boyds Precinct, Monroe County, Mississippi in 1880 where Dock farmed.[4] Their home remained in Boyds Precinct, located in Beat 5, east of the Aberdeen and Richmond Public Road in 1900.[5] He lived along the Cotton Gin and Fulton Road in Boyds Precinct in 1910.[6] They lived along the Nettleton and Amory Road in Boyds Precinct, County Beat 5, in 1920.[7] Because of interstitial nephritis with an enlarged prostate gland and retention of urine, he died 21 August 1922 in Monroe County.[8]

Dock and Mary Ann were parents of:

1. Georgia Ann Hester (1878-1914)
2. Mattie Lou Hester (1880-1946)
3. Charles Anderson “Buddy” Hester (1883-1964)
4. Boyd H. Hester (1886-1887)
5. Freddie W. Hester (1888-1899)
6. Hattie Pearl Hester (1892-1930)
7. Ellie Beldon Hester (1894-1909)
8. Gillie Mae Hester (1897-1993; twin)
9. Lillie Faye Hester (1897-1897; twin, aged 9 months at death)
10. “Little Baby” Hester (unknown dates)

Note: Dock Hans Hester is my great-grandfather. This is the second LoGenWriMo entry.

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[1] Gillie Mae Hester Lantz (Amory Manor Nursing Home, Amory, Mississippi), conversation with Lori Thornton, about 1990; notes made from the conversation no longer extant. The tombstone at Hester Cemetery provides support for the year. Hester Cemetery (Monroe County, Mississippi; Clay Hill Road off Highway 371), D. H. Hester marker, photograph by Lori Thornton, about 1990. Gillie’s husband Irving was the informant on the death certificate, providing an alternative year of 1853. Although a specific date was not recorded, his age was recorded as 69 years, 4 months, and 8 days, making the alternative date 13 April 1853. This date provided by an in-law who provided “don’t know” to several questions seems unlikely. The 1880 census suggests a date between June 2, 1853 and June 1, 1854. The 1900 census states March 1857. The 1910 census suggests a date between April 16, 1855 and April 15, 1856. The 1920 census suggests he was born between January 2, 1856 and January 1, 1857. He likely was born in March, but the lack of early censuses for Dock makes it almost impossible to nail down an exact year of birth. A March 1855 date is unlikely since his brother Pink was born in December 1855. The March 1856 date is impossible because of Pink’s birth date. His brother George W. “Bud” was born in July 1857, making the March 1857 date impossible. It, therefore, seems most likely he was born in either 1851 or 1853. I selected 1851 based on his daughter’s recollection and the tombstone.

[2] I first encountered this when comparing notes with Sue Berryhill Brown, a descendant of Dock’s brother Mitch in the late 1990s. The 1900 census calls him “Dock D.” which may lend some support to the addition of “Duggar” to his name. Alexander Duggar and James Duggar lived in Itawamba County and are the only adult Duggars in the Itawamba-Monroe County area where the family lived. Alexander was employed as a farmer and James as a shoemaker. Broadening my census search failed to return additional prospects. This family tradition cannot be verified at this time.

[3] Lee County, Mississippi, Marriage Book 3: 516, D. H. Hester and Miss M. A. Harris, 1877; Circuit Clerk’s Office, Tupelo; photocopy in my possession.

[4] 1880 U.S. Census, Monroe County, Mississippi, population schedule, Boyds Precinct, Supervisors District (SD) 1, enumeration district (ED) 139, page 294 (stamped), dwelling/family 115, Dock Hester family; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 November 2018); citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, roll 658.

[5] 1900 U.S. Census, Monroe County, Mississippi, population schedule, Boyds Precinct, Supervisors District (SD) 1, enumeration district (ED) 81, page 268B (stamped), dwelling/family 14, Dock D. Hester family; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 November 2018); citing National Archives microfilm publication T623, roll 821.

[6] 1910 U.S. Census, Monroe County, Mississippi, population schedule, Boyds Precinct, Supervisors District (SD) 1, enumeration district (ED) 124, page 72 (stamped), dwelling/family 1, Dock H. Hester family; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 November 2018); citing National Archives microfilm publication T624, roll 752.

[7] 1920 U.S. Census, Monroe County, Mississippi, population schedule, Boyds Precinct, Supervisors District (SD) 5, enumeration district (ED) 78, page 257B (stamped), dwelling73, family 81, Dock H. Hester family; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 November 2018); citing National Archives microfilm publication T625, roll 887.

[8] Mississippi State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate no. 13341, Dock Hans Hester (1922); microfilm, Mississippi Department of Archives & History, Jackson.