Black female, stillborn on 26 September 1938 in Pensacola, Florida. Her father was Charlie Campbell, born Pensacola, FL; her mother was Celestine Hildred Cotton, born Pensacola, Florida. Her place of death, and the residence of her mother, was 513 North F St., Pensacola. Her cause of death was premature birth. She was buried in the Escambia County Poor Farm cemetery on September 27, 1938 by Morris Funeral Home.
Escambia County, Florida marriage records show that Celestine Cotton married Charles Campbell on 23 April 1938. Their divorce in 1945 gives Charles’ middle initial as D. Other than that, I have found no record in which I can positively identify him. Celestine was living apart from him in the 1940 census, and she had, in fact, remarried in 1941, so he does not appear in any records in the same household as Celestine.
Celestine was born 1 October 1920, the daughter of Nelson C. Cotton, born about 1873 in Georgia; and of Rosa Belle Mosely, born 25 November 1880 in Monroeville, Alabama. I have not been able to take the Cotton family any further back. The 1900 U.S. Census shows a Nelson Cotton living in Holmes County, Florida, born 1866 in Georgia; but it also shows a Nelson Cotton born in 1873 living in Shelby County, Tennessee. I cannot determine if either of those men is the correct one.
Celestine’s siblings included Leander James, born 1903; Felix Lorenza, born 1904; Lodia Cilister, born 1906; Inez, born 1909; Carrie L., born 1911; May Alice, born 1912; Rachael Ora, born 1917; and Edna Cleo, born 1923.
Rosa Belle Mosely was the daughter of Robert Mosley, born about 1842 in Alabama; and Caroline Mosley, born about 1845 in Alabama. She appears in the 1900 U.S. Census in the household of her parents in Sibleys Mill, Baldwin County, Alabama. Robert gave his birthplace as Alabama, with his father born in North Carolina and his mother born in Virginia. He was a famer who owned his home, and he was literate. Caroline gave her birthplace as Alabama, with both her parents born in Virginia. By 1900 she and Robert had been married for 45 years, and she had given birth to 11 children, six of whom were still living. Living in the household at that time, besides Rosa Belle (identified as Belle in this census), were James M.M., 25 years old and working as a laborer on the railroad; John, 23, also a railroad laborer; Belle, 15; and Robert, a grandson, 13. Everyone in the family was literate.
I find Robert and Caroline Mosely as far back as the 1870 census, living in Dennards Bluff, Monroe County, Alabama; however, I cannot find them enumerated in a census before that, indicating they were likely enslaved. Children of Robert and Caroline included Willis, born 1859; Osbern, born 1861; Nancy, born 1866; Sarah, born 1868; Henry, born 1870; McCray, born 1873; James M.M., born 1875; John, born 1877; Dave, born 1878; and Rosa Belle, the youngest. (It may be that James M.M. and McCray are the same person; I have not been able to decide conclusively.) I have not been able to trace these children to determine for certain which ones survived to 1900.
Rosa married Nelson Cotton on 24 June 1903 in Baldwin County, Alabama. This was apparently after the birth of their oldest child, Leander James, who was born on 9 January 1903. I have not located the family in the 1910 census, but by 1920 the family was in Pensacola, Florida, living at 513 F Street. Nelson C. Cotton was 47 years old and owned his home. He was born in Alabama of two parents born in Florida, and he worked as a bolter in a shipyard. Rosa Belle, 37, took in washing. Leander worked as a passer in a shipyard, but Felix, 15; Lodie, 13; Inez, 11; Carrie L, 9; May A., 7; and Ora, 3 1/2; were all too young to work outside the home. The census was taken in January; Celestine would not come along until October of that year.
By 1930, Rosa B Cotton was the head of the household at 513 F. Street. She was listed as simply “unmarried.” I have found a Nelson C. Cotton living as the sole member of his household in Pensacola in 1940, so one wonders if he left the family. Rosa was listed in the Pensacola City Directory without Nelson as early as 1924, but in the 1927 Directory she was listed as the widow of Nelson (which may or may not have been accurate).
In 1930, Rosa was working as a Presser at a cleaning club. She was born in Alabama, but listed her parents as having been born in the United States. Still in Rosa’s household were Inez, 21, who worked in a laundry; Mary [I believe this to be May] A., 16, unemployed; Rachael O. [Ora], 13, who worked as a sales clerk at a local grocery; Celestine, 9; Edna C., 7; Clarence G. Cotton, a 2-month-old grandson; and Charles Smith, a grandson of not quite four years of age. The three oldest daughters were born in Alabama; the younger children and grandchildren were all born in Florida. While the mothers of all these children were listed as having been born in Alabama, the fathers were listed only as having been born in the U.S.
Celestine appears in her own listing in the Pensacola City Directory in 1934, identified as a student living at 513 North F Street. The 1935 Florida State Census shows the household at 513 North F Street headed by Rosa, 46, a widow. She completed grammar school, owned her home, and worked for “Fera,” which was probably F.E.R.A., the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, a New Deal project. May Alice was 21 and unemployed, having completed primary school. Rachael was 18 and a laundress, having finished grammar school. Celestine was 15 and did not work outside the home. Also in the household were Charles Smith, 9, a grandson; Alphonse Marsh, 3, a grandson; Mary L. Houston, 7 months, a granddaughter; Robert Bell, 4, a grandson; and Ruth Virgil, 1 month, a granddaughter.
Celestine appears in the 1936 Pensacola City Directory, living at 513 North F Street and working as a clerk for Moses Williams, a grocer. The 1938 directory has her living at the same address, working as a helper at the Empire Laundry Co. This directory shows a Chas. D. Campbell living at 1107 W. Belmont Street and working as a laborer. Celestine married Charles D. Campbell in 1938 and a few months later suffered the stillbirth of her unnamed daughter.
In the 1940 census, Celestine was living in her mother’s household at 513 North F Stteet. She was working as a presser at a laundry and was identified as divorced. (Rosa was identified as married, interestingly). Rosa was 55 and working as a presser in a government laundry. Alice, 26, was widowed and also working as a laundress in a laundry. Edna, Celestine’s younger sister, was 17 and single and may have still been in school. Clarence Cotton, Rosa’s grandson, was 10; Alfonse Marsh, grandson, was 9; Robert L. Simmons, grandson, was 3; and Jeanette Tate, granddaughter, was 9 months old. Only Alice and Rosa were listed as having been born in Alabama; the rest were born in Florida.
On 15 August 1941, Celestine married James Oliver Richardson, Sr. in Bay County, Florida. James, who was born on 4 August 1919 in San Diego, California, filled out a World War II draft card that year giving their address as Panama City. At the time, he worked for the Southern Kraft Corporation, a paper company. In 1945 her divorce from Charles Campbell was finalized. By time of the 1945 Florida State Census, James and Celestine were living in Cantonment, Escambia County, Florida. James was in the Navy and Celestine was a housewife. Also in the household were Robert L. Richardson, 8; and James, Jr. 1. It is likely that Robert L. was Celestine’s child from a previous relationship; he is the same age as the Robert L. Simmons who was listed as a grandson in Rosa Belle Cotton’s household in the 1940 census.
At the time of the 1950 census, Celestine was enumerated as the head of the household, though her status was given as Married. (It is likely James was underway at the time; his gravestone indicates his Navy service extended from World War II through Korea and Vietnam.) The family lived in Escambia County, Florida, and while their address is difficult to make out, it appears to be at the corner of Muscogee Street and Lee Avenue, in housing known as the “Colored Village.” Celestine was 29 years old and was not working outside the home. Also in the household were Robert L., 13; James O., Jr., 5; John H., 3; Wilbur L., newborn; and a lodger named Mamie L. Robinson, 21.
A newspaper article from 1958 mentions that James O. Richardson, steward second class, son of the Rev. and Mrs. W.J. Richardson and “husband of the former Miss Celestine Cotton, 925 K Steet, Pensacola, is servicing with the Fighter Photographic Squadron 62 aboard the aircraft carrier USS ESSEX.”
There is not much mention of Celestine except a few different addresses in Pensacola over the years. She died on 28 June, 2011, and was buried in Barrancas National Cemetery. Her husband died in 2014.
FAMILY:
Mother: Celestine Hildred Cotton Campbell Richardson
Father: Charles D. Campbell
Siblings: Richard L. Simmons Richardson; James Oliver Richardson, Jr.; John R. Richardson; Wilber L. Richardson
Grandparents: Nelson C. Cotton, Rosa Belle Mosely Cotton Williams
Great-grandparents: Robert and Caroline Mosely
SOURCES:
Florida Certificate of Death for the Infant of Charlie Campbell and wife (No. 15686), Florida Deaths, 1877-1939. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.
Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2014. Original data: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.
State Archive, Tallahassee and Clerk of Courts; Various Counties; County Marriages, 1937-1938
Florida Department of Health. Florida Marriage Index, 1927-2001. Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville, Florida.
Household of Robert Mosely, Year: 1870; Census Place: Beat 6, Monroe, Alabama; Roll: M593_32; Page: 501A. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Household of Robert Mosely, Year: 1880; Census Place: Ridge, Monroe, Alabama; Roll: 24; Page: 352B; Enumeration District: 150. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA:
Household of Robert Mosley, Year: 1900; Census Place: Sibleys Mill, Baldwin, Alabama; Roll: 1; Page: 12; Enumeration District: 0004. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Marriage Record of Nelson Cotton and Rose Belle Mosely. Ancestry.com. Alabama, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1805-1967[database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Marriage Records. Alabama Marriages. County courthouses, Alabama.
Household of Nelson C Cotton, Year: 1920; Census Place: Pensacola, Escambia, Florida; Roll: T625_220; Page: 25B; Enumeration District: 38. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Household of Rosa B Cotton, Year: 1930; Census Place: Pensacola, Escambia, Florida; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0030; FHL microfilm: 2340050. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
Rosa Cotton and household, Ancestry.com. Florida, U.S., State Census, 1867-1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Tenth census of the state of Florida, 1935; (Microfilm series S 5, 30 reels); Record Group 001021; State Library and Archives of Florida, Tallahassee, Florida.
Household of Rosa Cotton, Year: 1940; Census Place: Pensacola, Escambia, Florida; Roll: m-t0627-00586; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 17-42. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
Marriage Record of Celestine Cotton and J.O. Richardson.State Archive, Tallahassee and Clerk of Courts; Various Counties; County Marriages, 1929-1943. Ancestry.com. Florida, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1823-1982[database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
World War II Draft Card of James Oliver Richardson. National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards For Florida, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 374. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947[database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Celestine Richardson and household. Ancestry.com. Florida, U.S., State Census, 1867-1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Eleventh census of the state of Florida, 1945; (Microfilm series S 1371, 43 reels); Record Group 001021; State Library and Archives of Florida, Tallahassee, Florida.
Household of Celestine H. Richardson. National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Escambia, Florida; Roll: 3534; Page: 27; Enumeration District: 17-97. Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022.
“Servicemens’ Column – U.S. Sixth Fleet,” The Pensacola Journal, 18 AUG 1958, p. 12.
National Cemetery Administration; U.S. Veterans’ Gravesites. National Cemetery Administration. U.S., Veterans’ Gravesites, ca.1775-2019[database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.