Mad Monday - Brick Walls

Let me just say that I absolutely hate brick walls.  They are the most maddening thing I can imagine.  One of my most maddening brick walls concerns my 2nd Great Grandmother, Martha White.


At some point before his death, my mother and father visited my Uncle Marlin Brock in Wewahitchica, Florida and my mother copied information from a family bible he had in his possession.  Her notes contained the information that Russell Evan Brock and Martha White were married in Thomasville, Georgia in 1848.  This information confirms the record found in the Family Search of the LDS church.  Ancestry.com lists their marriage as being in Terrell County, which was not formed until 1856.  It was formed from Lee and Randall Counties.  Unfortunately, we do not know what became of the Bible after Uncle Marlin's death and the marriage information I have found does not list any parents.


The 1850 Census has a listing for Rusell E. Brock, 20; Martha Brock, 17; and John Brock, 1. ( Year: 1850; Census Place: District 81, Thomas, Georgia; Roll  M432_83; Page: 34A; Image: 423.)


My mother's notes show that Russell Evan Brock and Martha White's oldest child was named John and that he was born in 1849.  If Martha White was 17 in 1850 she would most likely have been 15 when she and Russell were married.


There is a Thomas White with a female child ages 5 to 10, living in Thomasville,  2 doors from the Brock family that I am convinced is the family Russell Brock belonged to.  However there is also a Samuel White living elsewhere in Thomas County with a female child of the correct age.


Although there are no White or Brock families in Lee County in 1840, there is a John B. White in Randolph County who had a female child of the correct age.


I also have to take into consideration that there were 8 years between the 1840 census and an 1848 marriage. The family that Martha belonged to might not even have lived in Thomas, Lee or Randolph counties in 1840.


I have not been able to locate the Brock family in the 1860 census.  By the 1870 census they are living in Washington County, Florida.  There are White families also living in Washington County in 1870 but I have no records to indicate that my Martha is connected to any of these families.


In summary, the only White ancestor I have identified to date is Martha White, born in Georgia, probably in 1833.