virgie mae harris mcdaniel
1905-2002
Life Story
Early Life in Newton County
Virgie Mae Harris, affectionately known as “Pie,” was born on February 22, 1905, in Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi, to Paul Harris and Sarah Harris.
Virgie grew up in Beat 4 of Newton County as part of a large African American farming family. Her brothers and sisters included James “Jim,” Berta, Velma, Armanda “Mandy,” Bessie, Mable, Cathrine, Ollie, Rubie, Paul, Ida Mae, and Alonzo.
Her childhood was shaped by the rhythms of rural farm life. Like many children growing up in agricultural households during the early twentieth century, Virgie combined schooling with responsibilities on the family farm. Census records document that she attended school, learned to read and write, and contributed to the family’s farm work while still young.
The historical records contain some uncertainty regarding her mother’s surname. Social Security application records completed by Paul and Sarah Harris’s children identify their mother variously as Sarah Boyd and Sarah Trotter. Sarah’s mother was Mandy Trotter, but the reason both Boyd and Trotter appear in records has not yet been determined. Until additional evidence is found, Sarah’s maiden surname remains unresolved.
A Life Grounded in Faith
Faith became an important part of Virgie’s life at an early age.
According to her obituary, she confessed Christ while young and initially joined Green Grove United Methodist Church. Later in life, she transferred her membership to Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Lake, Mississippi.
These church connections linked Virgie to congregations that served as important religious and community institutions for African American families in the rural communities of central Mississippi.
Antioch remained her church home into her later years and eventually became the place where her family and community gathered for her final services.
Marriage and a Growing Family
Virgie married into the McDaniel family and became the mother of seven children—six daughters and one son:
Daughters: Dartha Brown, Ninal Love, Emma Bell McDaniel, Ora McDaniel, Dr. Letha Mae Ware, and Helen Jones.
Son: Robert McDaniel.
Over the decades, the family that began with Virgie’s seven children expanded dramatically.
By the end of her life, she had lived to see several generations of descendants. Her obituary recorded 43 grandchildren, 106 great-grandchildren, and 42 great-great-grandchildren.
Those numbers provide a remarkable measure of how extensively the family had grown during Virgie’s lifetime.
The Harris Family Across Generations
Virgie remained part of the large generation of Harris siblings who had begun their lives together in rural Newton County.
The surviving records allow us to follow several members of that family well into old age. When Virgie’s sister Armanda “Mandy” Harris Evans died in 1991, Mandy’s obituary identified Virgie McDaniel of Lake, Mississippi, among her surviving sisters.
More than a decade later, when Virgie died, three of her own siblings were still living: her brother Alonzo Harris and sisters Ida Mae Gray and Ruby Harris.
Her obituary also identified sisters-in-law Minnie Mae Jones and Genevia Harris, along with numerous other relatives and friends.
These records provide a striking contrast with the Harris household documented early in the twentieth century. The children who had once lived together on their parents’ Newton County farm had grown older, established households of their own, and created multiple generations of descendants.
A Family Spanning Four Generations
Perhaps the most remarkable part of Virgie’s later life was the number of generations she lived to see.
At the time of her death, she was survived by:
- 7 children
- 43 grandchildren
- 106 great-grandchildren
- 42 great-great-grandchildren
Together, the three generations below her children accounted for 191 descendants. Including her seven children, the obituary documented 198 direct descendants across four generations beneath Virgie.
Behind those numbers was a family tree that had expanded enormously from the rural Harris household in which Virgie herself had been raised nearly a century earlier.
Death and Final Services
Virgie Mae “Pie” Harris McDaniel passed away at the age of ninety-seven in late November 2002.
Funeral services were held on Saturday, November 30, 2002, at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Lake, Mississippi, with the Rev. Bobby R. Nichols officiating.
She was laid to rest at Lawrence Cemetery in Lake, Mississippi.
Virgie was survived by her seven children: Dartha (Jimmy) Brown, Ninal (Ezelle) Love, Emma Bell McDaniel, Ora McDaniel, Dr. Letha Mae (Johnny) Ware, Helen (Wilson) Jones, and Robert (Eleanor) McDaniel.
She was also survived by her brother Alonzo Harris; sisters Ida Mae Gray and Ruby Harris; sisters-in-law Minnie Mae Jones and Genevia Harris; and her many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, relatives, and friends.
Legacy
Virgie Mae “Pie” Harris McDaniel’s ninety-seven years connected several generations of the Harris family’s history.
Born in 1905, she began life as one of the many children of Paul and Sarah Harris, growing up on a farm in Beat 4 of Newton County. She attended school, learned to read and write, and helped with the agricultural work that sustained her family’s household.
Her life eventually extended far beyond that childhood farm.
Virgie became the mother of seven children and lived long enough to see her family expand through grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. By the end of her life, nearly two hundred direct descendants were documented across the four generations that followed her.
Faith remained another thread connecting the beginning and end of her story. She embraced Christianity while young, first becoming a member of Green Grove United Methodist Church and later making Antioch Missionary Baptist Church her church home. It was at Antioch that her family and community gathered to honor her after her death.
Virgie’s life spanned nearly the entire twentieth century—from the segregated farming communities of early twentieth-century Mississippi through decades of profound social, economic, and generational change.
The little girl known as “Pie,” who grew up among a houseful of Harris children on a Newton County farm, eventually became the matriarch of a family extending through four generations and nearly two hundred descendants.
Resting Place
Lawrence Cemetery in Lake, Mississippi.
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1910 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, population schedule, Paul Harris household, Beat 4. Virgie Harris was enumerated as a young child in the household of her parents, Paul and Sarah Harris, along with her siblings.
- 1920 U.S. Census, Newton County, Mississippi, population schedule, Paul Harris household, Beat 4. Virgie was living with her parents and siblings, attending school, able to read and write, and contributing labor to the family farm.
- Social Security Administration, Applications and Claims Index, records for children of Paul and Sarah Harris. Records created for different children identify their mother variously as Sarah Boyd and Sarah Trotter. Sarah’s mother has been identified as Mandy Trotter, but the available evidence does not yet establish why both surnames were used.
- “Virgie Mae McDaniel,” Scott County Times (Forest, MS), December 4, 2002, 2. The obituary states that Virgie confessed Christ at an early age, initially joined Green Grove United Methodist Church, and later transferred her membership to Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Lake, Mississippi.
- Ibid. The obituary identifies Virgie’s seven children as Dartha (Jimmy) Brown, Ninal (Ezelle) Love, Emma Bell McDaniel, Ora McDaniel, Dr. Letha Mae (Johnny) Ware, Helen (Wilson) Jones, and Robert (Eleanor) McDaniel.
- “Armanda Evans,” The Newton Record (Newton, MS), November 13, 1991, 2; “Armanda Evans,” The Union Appeal (Union, MS), November 13, 1991, 8. Mandy’s obituary identifies her sister Virgie McDaniel of Lake, Mississippi, documenting Virgie’s residence there in 1991.
- “Virgie Mae McDaniel,” Scott County Times, December 4, 2002, 2. At the time of Virgie’s death, her surviving siblings included Alonzo Harris, Ida Mae Gray, and Ruby Harris. The obituary also named sisters-in-law Minnie Mae Jones and Genevia Harris.
- Ibid. Virgie’s obituary reported 43 grandchildren, 106 great-grandchildren, and 42 great-great-grandchildren. Together with her seven children, these figures document 198 direct descendants across four generations beneath her.
- Ibid. Virgie died at age ninety-seven in November 2002. Funeral services were held Saturday, November 30, 2002, at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, with the Rev. Bobby R. Nichols officiating. Ibid. Following the funeral service, Virgie was laid to rest at Lawrence Cemetery in Lake, Mississippi.
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