- The Feb 1976 obituary of Leland Morris Hickman stated that he was predeceased by a brother David. This is the only reference we have found to a child of this name in this family. He does not appear in any census and he was not included in the children of Thomas Hickman and Annie Riley "who grew to adulthood, married and had families" as described in "The History of Doddridge County," p. 167.
Circumstantially, the following Doddridge County birth record, Page 89, Line 952, is likely to pertain to this child:
Hickman (first name blank), white male, born Dec 28 1897 in West Union, son of Thomas Hickman (day laborer, b. Tyler Co) and Annie Riley Hickman (b. Doddridge Co).
http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=2616713&Type=Birth
Also circumstantially, the following news article is likely to pertain to this child:
Local news item, "West Union Record," Friday, Mar 16 1900, in its entirety:
"The infant child of Thomas Hickman and wife of this town died last Sunday morning and was buried in the town cemetery Monday morning."
The "town cemetery" undoubtedly refers to the one located at Blockhouse Hill, but it is not clear which of the three sections, the IOOF, the SDB or the Catholic. The IOOF section, where the child's parents were buried many years later, had its first burial in 1899. Because his parents are known to be buried there we also report burial there, but it is equally possible that he was buried in what we now refer to as the SDB section, more established section at the time.
Although in modern terms, a two-year-old child would not be considered an infant, we assume that the 1900 news article refers to the same child born in 1897. As of tthe 1900 Census, enumerated in June, the child's mother was reported to have five living children (all of whom we have accounted for, none born in 1897) and two deceased children. Clearly the child born in 1897 and the one who died in 1900 are included in this count, but it is not clear if they are the same or two different children. For the sake of simplicity, we present them as one and assign the name David as indicated. This may require some modification if and when additional information comes to light.
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1897 - 1900 (2 years)
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