Murray Bearden was the son of Dennis Bearden. In 1900, Murray was enumerated in Fernwood, Pike County, in the federal census with his brother, Charles and his family. Murray was working at the sawmill. Charles was identified as a farmer.
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| United States Federal Census 1900 Pike County, Mississippi, SD 7 ED 116, sheet number 8 dwelling number 151, family number 151 |
Transcription of Charles Bearden's family in Pike County, Mississippi, 1900 Federal census 
Murray Bearden married Ida Singletary on January 26, 1901 in Pike County.
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| Pike County, Mississippi, January 26, 1901 File # 0047275 Book "H" page 427 |
Murray and Ida moved to Lyman, Mississippi, which is verified by his World War I registration on September 12, 1918. He was working as a sawmill laborer at the Ingram-Day Lumber Company, which cut only long leaf yellow pine.
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| WWI Regestration Lyman, a sawmill town, was established with a post office around 1901 and was located in Harrison County, nine miles from Gulfport, Mississippi, near the Gulf of Mexico.  In the 1910 and 1920 Harrison County Federal censuses, Murray and Ida were still residing in Lyman. Murray’s occupation was recorded as an “oiler,” meaning he was responsible for lubricating machinery, while Ida (also referred to as Ivy) worked as a washerwoman. Ida Bearden likely passed away in 1921. At the time of her death, no children had been identified for the couple, and her death certificate has not yet been located. Following the death of Ida, Murray Bearden married Mattie King. In the 1930 United States Federal Census, the family was enumerated in Lyman, Harrison County, Mississippi, as Murray, his wife Mattie, and their five-year-old daughter, Bernice. By the 1940 United States Federal Census, Murray, Mattie, and Bernice were residing in Pearl River County, Mississippi. At that time, Murray’s occupation was reported as a janitor in a bank, indicating that he was no longer employed in the lumber industry. The last record located for Murray Bearden appears in the 1943 List of Educable Children for Poplarville, Pearl River County, which names him in connection with his fifteen-year-old daughter, Bernice.
More Information To Come ----The Tree Gardener |
