BARBEE, INFANT

Many of the remains interred in Geer Cemetery are those of infants and children. Early death due to disease, poor healthcare, poor living conditions, and what today would be considered questionable medical practices are but a few of the reasons that we encounter when we consider infant death in the late 19th and early 20th century. Baby Barbee was one such child.

Baby Barbee was stillborn on 21 January 1929. Her parents were George and Plassie Barbee, and she was delivered by Mary Whitaker, midwife, at the family’s home at 705 Elizabeth St., Durham, NC.¹Baby Barbee death certificate: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1121/images/S123_228-0536: accessed 31 Jul 2022. Original data: North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. North Carolina Death Certificates. Microfilm S.123. Rolls 19-242, 280, 313-682, 1040-1297. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina. According to Baby Barbee’s birth certificate, this was not the first stillborn birth for young Plassie Barbee.²Baby Barbee birth certificate: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1121/images/S123_228-0536: accessed 31 Jul 2022. Original data: North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. North Carolina Death Certificates. Microfilm S.123. Rolls 19-242, 280, 313-682, 1040-1297. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina. In fact, there had been one other. At this time, we have no information to discern if this baby was also buried at Geer Cemetery. What we do know, however, is that Baby Barbee is not the only member of her family buried at Geer Cemetery. (See the life stories of Ida Barbee (her maternal grandmother), Elnora Barbee (her cousin), and William Barbee (her maternal grandfather).

Twenty-one year old Plassie Barbee was already a mother to two children, Mary Elizabeth Barbee (father unknown), and another unnamed child, when she married George Barbee on 31 March 1926.³Mary: “North Carolina Deaths and Burials, 1898-1994”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:H42P-G83Z : 21 January 2020), Plassie Barbee in entry for Mary Elizabeth Barbee, 1943.

Marriage: Barbee marriage registry: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1291059:60548: accessed on 2 Jul 2022. Original data: North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC. The young family moved into 705 Elizabeth St. as renters and both were employed at one of Durham’s many cigarette factories.⁴Year: 1930; Census Place: Durham, Durham, North Carolina; Page: 29A; Enumeration District: 0006; FHL microfilm: 2341421  https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/77149820:6224; accessed on 28 July 2022. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. Baby Barbee was the first child of their union. By 1940 son George Jr. and daughters Esther and May were added to the family unit. It is no wonder then that the family also moved residences during this time to accommodate the growing family and were now living at 511 Canal St., Durham, NC. Both George and Plassie continued to work at a tobacco manufacturing company. Plassie was identified as a Stemmer and George as a Tobacco Worker at the Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company and both remained employed by L&M for the remainder of their careers.⁵Occupations: Year: 1940; Census Place: Durham, Durham, North Carolina; Roll: m-t0627-02902; Page: 62A; Enumeration District: 32-14 https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2442; accessed on 28 July 2022. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.

L&M: Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1877102:2238: accessed 31 Jul 2022. The National Archives at Atlanta; Atlanta, Georgia; WWII Draft Registration Cards for North Carolina, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 16.

Plassie last date at L&M: Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/723990559:2469; accessed on 28 July 2022. Original sources vary according to directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory title page image for full title and publication information.

George last date at L&M: Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/723990488:2469; accessed on 28 July 2022. Original sources vary according to directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory title page image for full title and publication information.

Tragedy struck the family on 21 July 1943 when Mary Elizabeth, age 17, died due to Exfoliative Dermatitis and Acute Nephritis due to Mapharsen.⁶ “North Carolina Deaths and Burials, 1898-1994”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:H42P-G83Z : 21 January 2020), Plassie Barbee in entry for Mary Elizabeth Barbee, 1943. Throughout the centuries and in particular the late 19th and early 20th centuries, arsenic and its chemical derivatives were used to treat a multitude of health concerns.⁷John Frith, “Arsenic—the ‘Poison of Kings’ and the ‘Saviour of Syphilis’,” JMVH 21, No. 4. https://jmvh.org/article/arsenic-the-poison-of-kings-and-the-saviour-of-syphilis/: accessed 2 Jul 2022. Mapharsen was one of these arsenic derivatives and clinical trials indicated that when “a proper dosage is employed” Mapharsen was found to be effective for individuals in the early stages of syphilis. When administered improperly the damage could be irreversible and the symptoms that caused Mary Elizabeth’s death were known amongst the medical establishment at the time as being associated with Mapharsen poisoning.⁸Hiram E. Miller, M.D., Norman N. Epstein M.D., and Roger G. Simpson, M.D., “Mapharsen: Its Use in the Treatment of Syphilis,” California and Western Medicine 45, No. 4, pp 321–324. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1761405/pdf/calwestmed00392-0018.pdf: accessed 2 Jul 2022 It appears that Mary Elizabeth received too large a dose and in so doing was inadvertently poisoned by her Mapharsen treatment.

The family remained intact until sometime in late 1949 or early 1950 when George and Plassie separated and established separate residences. Plassie remained on Canal Street and George moved to 706 Railroad.⁹Plassie: Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1148071809:2469; accessed on 28 July 2022. Original sources vary according to directory. The title of the specific directory being viewed is listed at the top of the image viewer page. Check the directory title page image for full title and publication information.

George: Hill’s Durham (Durham County, N.C.) City Directory [1950], Date (Text)1950, Date 1950, p.43. In September, 1954, George married Sarah Wilson at AME Zion Church.¹⁰Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2374889:60548; accessed on 06 June 2020. North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC. Given currently available documentation, George and Sarah lived together until his death on 17 May 1988 when he was buried at Beechwood Cemetery.¹¹Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Death Indexes, 1908-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.  https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/4538109:8908; accessed on 06 June 2021. North Carolina Deaths, 1997-2004. North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina Death Records, 1968-1996. North Carolina Vital Records, Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina Archives and Records Section. North Carolina County Records, 1908-1967. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina. Plassie continued to reside on Canal Street until her death on 3 September 1977 when she too was buried at Beechwood Cemetery.¹²Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Death Indexes, 1908-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.  https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/6195091:8908; accessed on 06 June 2020. North Carolina Deaths, 1997-2004. North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina Death Records, 1968-1996. North Carolina Vital Records, Raleigh, North Carolina. North Carolina Archives and Records Section. North Carolina County Records, 1908-1967. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.

BORN: 21 Jan 1929.¹⁴Baby Barbee death certificate.

DIED: 21 Jan 1929.¹⁵Baby Barbee death certificate.

BIRTH PLACE: 705 Elizabeth St., Durham, NC.¹⁶Baby Barbee death certificate.

DEATH PLACE: 705 Elizabeth St., Durham, NC.¹⁷Baby Barbee death certificate.

SPOUSE: N/A

PARENTS: George Barbee and Plassie Barbee¹⁸Baby Barbee death certificate.

CHILDREN: N/A

OTHER FAMILY: Mary Elizabeth (half-sister), George (brother), Esther (sister), May (sister)¹⁹Mary Elizabeth Barbee death certificate.

FAMILY BURIED IN GEER CEMETERY: Ida Barbee (maternal grandmother), William Barbee (maternal  grandfather), Elnora Barbee (paternal  cousin).

OCCUPATION: N/A

CHURCH: N/A

AFFILIATIONS: N/A

ADDRESS: N/A

MILITARY SERVICE: N/A