Artie Marie ~Our Lost Child~
This page is dedicated to Artie Marie VanBibber.
She was born out of wedlock and probably unwanted and this, although short, is her story...........
On Nov. 8, 1894, Ethel VanBibber, the orphaned
daughter of William & Ann Mary Sutton Vanbibber, gave birth to a daughter.
Barely fifteen years old, with no family and no husband,
she found herself alone. The birth certificate named Clinton Strong as the Father but there is no reason to believe that beyond
being present at the conception, he ever took a part in his daughter's life. We know nothing of the first 3 years of Artie
Marie's life. We pick up the threads of her story in 1900, where Ethel and Artie Marie were recorded on the Warrick Co. census.
Ten years later, again from the census, we find Ethel, married to William Crow, with a Son, Hershel but no mention
of Artie Marie who would have been thirteen.
Years into my research of this family I finally found
an answer to the question......where was Artie Marie?
The discovery of a Marriage License issued to
Artie Marie and George Southwell. We know from birth records that her birthdate had been falsified and she was in fact
only 13 when she married George who was 20 years her senior.
We next found Artie Marie in the Wesley Chapel
Cemetery. She died in 1918, barely twenty one years old.
The saddest part of this story is that Ethel had
kept Artie Marie's birth a secret from even the closest family members. My Mother-in-law who would have been Artie Marie's
Aunt swears no one in the family had ever heard of her. There is probably much more to her story that we will never know.
Many questions left unanswered. I'm just thankful that I could do for her in death what no one had done for her in life......acknowledge
that she is truely......OURS.
Bless you, you are no longer lost.......
NOTE; Artie Marie is buried beside her Husband,
George.
The inscription reads;
~George M. Southwell, Sept. 28, 1878-March
17, 1941~
~ Artie M, His Wife, March 30, 1879, Nov. 21, 1918~
From Artie Marie's Birth certificate and marriage
license we know her Father was listed as Clinton Strong and further investigation tells us that Clinton was the Stepson of
Delia Van Bibber Strong, the Sister of Ethel's Grandmother, Martha Van Bibber Sutton.
We can only assume that Delia took Ethel into her
home rather than see her go to the poorhouse, whether out of love or to gain a domestic, we don't know and never will. We
only know that the move produced Artie Marie and that there is still much to learn.......
ARTIE MARIE VAN BIBBER: (5)
daughter of Clint Strong and
Ethel Van Bibber
Born: 8 November 1896 (see data
below)
Died: 21 November 1918 Warrick
Co., IN
Burial: Wesley Chapel Cemetery
Warrick Co., IN
Married: 7 June 1911 Warrick
Co., IN Bk.15, page 115
GEORGE W.
SOUTHWELL
son of John
Southwell and Mariah Powell
Born: 26
September 1878 Warrick Co., IN
Died: 17
March 1941
Burial:
Wesley Chapel Cemetery Warrick Co., IN
1900 Owen Twp., Warrick Co., IN Federal
Census
Enumeration Dist: 153
Enumeration
date: Page:
Dwelling - Family 140 - 142
LESLIE, William..head...W..M..Dec 1836..63..M44........
.IN KY NC
......, Nana.....wife...W..F..Feb 1840..60..M44..6
- 3...IN KY KY
CROW, William..boarder..W..F..Feb 1862..38..S............IN
IN IN
VANBIBBER, Ethel..brdr..W..F..Apr 1882..18..S.1
- 1...... IN IN IN
......, Marie......dau..W..F..Apr 1897...3..S............
IN IN IN
