David Holcomb, died on the 22nd day of July, 1902

Who was David?  Sometimes you just gotta break it down, starting with generations you know and remember.   Laura Bertha Warren married James H. "Jim" Dulaney, and they were my husband's great-grandparents, parents of Lawrence Orr Dulaney.  Laura Bertha (that's how I think of her, but she may have been called Berta for all I know) was the daughter of John Ed Warren and Sarah A. "Sallie" Holcomb.   Sallie's parents were David Holcomb and Penelope Bottoms, both natives of Marion County, Alabama.   David's date of death was unknown to us until today -- all I knew was that he was no longer found in census records after 1900, so I figured he died before 1910.  Now I know the rest of the story.

My morning at the Itawamba Courthouse was going to brief.  I had specific citations and documents that I was to pull and then leave with them.  Of course, that didn't happen, and I got caught up with Chancery Court Minute Books 8, 9 and 10.  Without an index, these books (about 500 pages each) had to be paged one by one, but it was well worth the effort.

In Chancery Court Minute Book 9, I found the following (now, you understand my mission was to find my Bowen family estate papers, but you can't just ignore another family when it jumps up and slaps you!)

(page 364)
August 30, 1902
Vacation term

In Re Estate of David Halcomb, Deceased
To the Hon. H. L. Muldrow Chancellor of the 1st Chancery District of Miss:  The undersigned petitioner would respectfully state and show unto Your Honor:  that David Halcomb died at his home in Itawamba County, Miss. on the 22nd day of July, 1902 and that your petitioner has been duly and legally appointed administrator of the estate of said David Halcomb deceased:  That said David Halcomb had at the time of his death a growing crop of corn and cotton and that he left no one on the place to take care of, gather and market said crop and that it is greatly to the interest of said estate for some one to be appointed to gather said crop.  Therefore your petitioner asks Your Honor to give him an order authorizing and directing him to take cahrge of said crop and to gather and dispose of said crop or assist of said estate.  And as in duty bound will ever ... etc.
(signed)  D. W. Baldridge
Sworn to and subscribed before me the 22nd day of August, 1902.
(signed)  J. A. MacDougal C Clk
The prayer of this petitioner is granted and the authority requested is given.
August 30, 1902
(signed) J. LO. Muldrow

David Holcomb, at the time of his death, had no sons around to help get in his cotton and corn.  It's pretty amazing that David had a crop at all, being that he was seventy years old!    David's older son, Seth Thomas Holcomb (husband of Sarah Ann Nanney) died in 1900.   Zachariah, the younger son, had moved to Texas before 1900.    I guess the son-in-laws had their own crops to get in.