An Overview of The Personalities in Aunt Betty's Story
In addition to detailing her early life and experiences, Aunt Betty's Story mentions a number of personalities from early 19th-century Page County, Virginia. All of the families mentioned lived near Luray, Virginia (the 49th District in 1850), and were simple farmers.
While Bethany's last and second to last owners (John Printz, Sr. – born 1807; David McKay – born 1806) are mentioned in the narrative, a review of the county records leaves some uncertainties as to whether Bethany's first owner was truly James Fletcher of Pass Run. Taken into consideration as property and inventoried, Bethany and her sister Matilda were passed on to Lucy (a "spinster" and daughter of James) Fletcher (born ca. 1801) as a "share." Bethany's grandmother and "Uncle Peter" were given to Nasenath (also a daughter of James) Fletcher. Bethany recalled that Nasenath later married David Kibler (born ca. 1803 and a farmer with $2,500 in real estate in 1850), with whom they all found a "home" shortly thereafter. However, the 1850 census records and county marriage records indicate that Kibler's spouse (as of August 1837) was Mary Ann Leavill (born ca. 1816), leaving a question about whether Bethany's mother's owner was a Fletcher or Leavill. David, the son of Martin and Dorothy/"Polly" Kibler, died in 1873 of apoplexy.
While not an owner of Bethany Veney, another key character in the narrative was Jonas Mannyfield (Menefee), the owner of "Jerry," to whom Bethany was first married.
Read more about this topic: Bethany Veney
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