Daughter of Benjamin Franklin "Ben" Coley and Mary Lizzie Radford Coley.
Married three times. First husband was Ben Barnes. Divorced him in 1949. Married second husband Johnnie Bert Rawls and with him had two daughters and four sons. When he died she married her third husband which was Robert Henry Benford, and was married to him for six months and then divorced him. After the divorce she took back the Rawls surname.
She died from Alzheimer's disease.
And according to my grandmother, Ruby, she always believed that Beatrice Coley was her mother because she remembers living with Beatrice, whom they all called Bedie. She says that Bedie told her one day, "You are going to go live with your papa because I can't take care of you anymore." Her father Benjamin "Ben" Coley came on horse and wagon to pick her up. She said whenever they were in town, Rocky Mount, and Bedie would see them she would come over and talk to her and paid no attention to any of the other children. Grandma states that whenever Lizzie would get mad at her she would always reference her looking like Bedie. She states that her father Ben had a trunk that had letters and things inside it, presumably from Bedie because Lizzie got so mad one day that she threw it out and set it on fire. She said my great grandpa Ben cried when Lizzie did this.
(and in looking for a connection I found that her father Ben was married to Bedie in 1907 and was on the 1910 census living with her.)
Married three times. First husband was Ben Barnes. Divorced him in 1949. Married second husband Johnnie Bert Rawls and with him had two daughters and four sons. When he died she married her third husband which was Robert Henry Benford, and was married to him for six months and then divorced him. After the divorce she took back the Rawls surname.
She died from Alzheimer's disease.
And according to my grandmother, Ruby, she always believed that Beatrice Coley was her mother because she remembers living with Beatrice, whom they all called Bedie. She says that Bedie told her one day, "You are going to go live with your papa because I can't take care of you anymore." Her father Benjamin "Ben" Coley came on horse and wagon to pick her up. She said whenever they were in town, Rocky Mount, and Bedie would see them she would come over and talk to her and paid no attention to any of the other children. Grandma states that whenever Lizzie would get mad at her she would always reference her looking like Bedie. She states that her father Ben had a trunk that had letters and things inside it, presumably from Bedie because Lizzie got so mad one day that she threw it out and set it on fire. She said my great grandpa Ben cried when Lizzie did this.
(and in looking for a connection I found that her father Ben was married to Bedie in 1907 and was on the 1910 census living with her.)
Daughter of Benjamin Franklin "Ben" Coley and Mary Lizzie Radford Coley.
Married three times. First husband was Ben Barnes. Divorced him in 1949. Married second husband Johnnie Bert Rawls and with him had two daughters and four sons. When he died she married her third husband which was Robert Henry Benford, and was married to him for six months and then divorced him. After the divorce she took back the Rawls surname.
She died from Alzheimer's disease.
And according to my grandmother, Ruby, she always believed that Beatrice Coley was her mother because she remembers living with Beatrice, whom they all called Bedie. She says that Bedie told her one day, "You are going to go live with your papa because I can't take care of you anymore." Her father Benjamin "Ben" Coley came on horse and wagon to pick her up. She said whenever they were in town, Rocky Mount, and Bedie would see them she would come over and talk to her and paid no attention to any of the other children. Grandma states that whenever Lizzie would get mad at her she would always reference her looking like Bedie. She states that her father Ben had a trunk that had letters and things inside it, presumably from Bedie because Lizzie got so mad one day that she threw it out and set it on fire. She said my great grandpa Ben cried when Lizzie did this.
(and in looking for a connection I found that her father Ben was married to Bedie in 1907 and was on the 1910 census living with her.)
Married three times. First husband was Ben Barnes. Divorced him in 1949. Married second husband Johnnie Bert Rawls and with him had two daughters and four sons. When he died she married her third husband which was Robert Henry Benford, and was married to him for six months and then divorced him. After the divorce she took back the Rawls surname.
She died from Alzheimer's disease.
And according to my grandmother, Ruby, she always believed that Beatrice Coley was her mother because she remembers living with Beatrice, whom they all called Bedie. She says that Bedie told her one day, "You are going to go live with your papa because I can't take care of you anymore." Her father Benjamin "Ben" Coley came on horse and wagon to pick her up. She said whenever they were in town, Rocky Mount, and Bedie would see them she would come over and talk to her and paid no attention to any of the other children. Grandma states that whenever Lizzie would get mad at her she would always reference her looking like Bedie. She states that her father Ben had a trunk that had letters and things inside it, presumably from Bedie because Lizzie got so mad one day that she threw it out and set it on fire. She said my great grandpa Ben cried when Lizzie did this.
(and in looking for a connection I found that her father Ben was married to Bedie in 1907 and was on the 1910 census living with her.)
