Edgar Howard Woodford is the son of
Alonzo Woodford. This note from Rob Woodford at charter dot net. "You have entries for all Alonzo’s and Anna’s kids except for my great-grandfather, Edgar Howard Woodford. There’s a reference to Edgar Howard as a descendent of Alonzo and Anna Woodford at the following web address for a Bryant family history site: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=bryantweb&id=I34598.
However, it isn’t unusual you don’t have a reference to Edgar Howard Woodford because my dad and I believe he was the illegitimate son of Alonzo Woodford and a domestic servant in Alonzo’s household, Mary Snow. There are several reasons to believe this. Here are a few of them:
1) Mary Snow is listed as living in Alonzo and Anna Woodford’s house in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses. In 1850, Mary Snow is listed as 36, but there’s no reference to what she does in the house. In 1860, she’s listed as a 46-year old “Domestic,” and Edgar Howard Woodford is listed as an eight-year old in the house, but not as a son of Alonzo; his role in the household is left blank. In the 1870 census, Mary Snow is listed as a 57-year old “Domestic Servant,” and Edgar Howard Woodford is listed as an 18-year old in the house – but, again, not as Alonzo’s son; he’s listed as “Works on Farm.” Kids of other people in that census are listed as “At home.”
2) Alonzo and his wife, Anna, had four kids together. One, Phoebe, died prior to 1850. The other kids were listed in the 1850 census as being 15, 14, and 10 years old. Although there’s one record of Edgar Howard being born prior to 1850, there are other records that have him being born in 1850 or later. Anna was 41 years old in 1850 – pretty old to have another kid, especially one at least 10 years or more *younger* than her other four kids with Alonzo. In the 1850 census, Mary Snow is listed as being 36 years old, which seems a slightly more reasonable age to have kids than Annie’s 41.
3) On Edgar Howard’s death certificate, the father is listed as “Woodford,” but the mother is listed as “Unknown.” If Edgar Howard’s father was definitely a Woodford, and Edgar Howard *Woodford* was living in Alonzo’s household when he was eight years old (according to the 1860 census), I think it’s likely his father was Alonzo. Alonzo’s first name might have been left off Edgar Howard’s death certificate because Edgar Howard was illegitimate. I also don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to believe an Indian domestic servant mother of an illegitimate kid would be listed as “Unknown” on a death certificate.
My dad and I have been searching for information about my great-grandfather for years and we have run into several dead-ends. This is what led us to think Alonzo might have had Edgar Howard with someone other than Anna Maria Bryant."
