52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (#1): Robert Harrow Callis 1878-1923

Robert Harrow Callis was my paternal great grandfather and he was born on 8 March 1878 in Mathews, Virginia.

His parents were George Robert Callis (1824-1907) and Mary F Mathews (1837-1907) and he was one of 7 children, being the second youngest of them all.

On the 24th of December in 1905 he married Susan Elizabeth Powell, whom they called Susie for short. Both the Callis's and the Powell's were oystermen; making a living by catching oysters. Mathews County is by the ocean with many rivers running through it and a bay, so it was ideal for oyster fishing. Both the Callis family and the Powell family spent a lot of time together; so much that Robert's sister, Lola Inez Callis, got married to Susie's brother, Carroll Powell.

Quoting from my grandmother's memoir:
"Both the Callis and Powell families (several children in each family) were fun loving eregarious people. Most of them were mariners or fisherman. Although they owned horses and participated in Surry Racing, they traveled mostly by boat or ferries as Mathews County was bounded by rivers and crossed by creeks. The Piankatank, a salt River, flowed into Chesapeake Bay. There were oyster beds in the River and Bay, and in season soft crabs were plentiful as other crabs were all season. Seafood products were a main source of income." (Callis 1).

I have a picture of his oyster fishing license, which was taken quickly (and I need to get a better scan of). My parents have this document and tons more of his, including different receipts from when he went to the market. All of my family were hoarders, which ended up to be a good thing.

Searching for his census records I was only able to find with certainty the one for 1920, which lists himself with his wife, Susie and his son, Gerald Powell. I believe I found the one for 1880, but it lists him as Harrold, which makes some sense since his middle name was Harrow and they sometimes referred to him as that. His age is correct for that census (he would have been only 2 year old) as well so I am 90% sure that this is the correct census for him.

He died on the 13th of November in 1923 at the age of 45. He was buried in H.C. Smither Memorial Cemetery in Hudgins, Mathews, Virginia; his FindAGrave memorial.

In the Callis book, which I have listed below it states Robert's birth date as the 4th of March rather than the 8th. Having only the tombstone isn't proof enough for believing it was the 8th, but then on his WWI Draft Registration Card it lists the 8th as his birth date.

Sources

• Callis, Bennie Greye (2003), Untitled Memoir, Original handwritten memoir in possession of Sarah Callis.
• 1920 U.S. Federal Census, Mathews County, Virginia, population schedule, Piankatank District, Enumeration District 74, Sheet 12A, p. 662 (stamped), Dwelling 248, Family 254; Robert H. Callis; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 November 2014), citing National Archives microfilm publication T625, Roll 1897.
• 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Mathews County, Virginia, population schedule, Piankatank District, Enumneration District 047, Sheet 486A, Dwelling 69, Family 69; George R. Callis; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 February 2015), citing National Archives microfilm publication T9, Roll 1377.
• McGinnis, Helena Callis. 1998. The Callis Family in England and the USA 1086-1998. Chicago, Illinois: H.C. McGinnis.
• "Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940," database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 18 January 2015), Mathews County, Virginia, entry for Ro. H. Callis, dated 24 Dec 1905.
• "U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 November 2014), Mathews, Virginia, entry for Robert Harrow Callis, dated 12 September 1918.