My third great-grandparents, Sarah “Madeline” Dyer and William Stokely Pigg, were from Kelso in Lincoln County, Tennessee. I’ve never been to Lincoln County, nor do I know much about the Pigg family. These were my grandmother’s great-grandparents on her father’s side of the family, and she didn’t know anything about them. Her father and mother separated when she was young and she wasn’t close to her father. When I started doing genealogy, I was able to fill in many blanks about my grandmother’s father’s family.

My grandmother’s grandfather was Edgar Doke Pigg. I don’t know if she ever met him, and he accidentally drowned when she was ten years old. (Here are two articles I wrote about Doke: here and here.) He was born May 22, 1882. While I do not currently have hard proof as to his parents, I’d say it was Madeline and William Pigg.

Who were Doke Pigg’s parents?

1. Here is a family photo that was labeled on Ancestry. It is posted by user decafjnr. Doke is clearly labeled along with his siblings, parents, nieces, nephews, aunt and uncle.
   
2. I messaged Ancestry user decafjnr and she said that she remembers her grandmother talking about her Uncle Doke.
3. Ancestry family trees list Doke as the son of William and Sarah. No explanation given.
4. My mom’s DNA test matches descendants of William and Sarah with the right amount of CMs.
5. We do not find Doke ever living with his parents, but he was born in 1882, and likely moved out at age 18 or before.

CONCLUSION
My best guess is that this is Doke’s family. I will keep looking for solid proof.

William Stokely Pigg was born August 16, 1838 in Tennessee to James “Jim” Pigg and Eliza H. Brent. Sarah “Madeline” Dyer was born February 3, 1841 in Lincoln County, Tennessee to William Dyer and Amanda Mandana Street. (Source: tombstones and census records from Ancestry)

William and Madeline married March 1, 1860 in Lincoln County. They had at least seven children, according to family trees:

William Thomas (1861-1931)
Amanda (1863-1864)
Eliza Ophelia (1866-1944)
James Henry “Jim” (1869-1942)
David Lafayette (1872-1946)
John Clayborn (1874-1965)
Edgar Doke (1882-1938)

Was William in the Civil War? Click here to read my article and to view records and transcriptions from muster rolls. 

William was a farmer. (Source: 1870 and 1880 census)

On the 1900 census, there is a family that could be William and Madeline (Sarah). The birth dates are close, but they have two young children living with them and I am not sure who they are: Pearl and Ora. William is called Jack on this census. Madeline said she has 8 children, all living.

William died November 22, 1915 of Bright’s Disease according to his death certificate. Madeline died April 28, 1917. I wasn’t able to find her death certificate online.

They are buried in Kelso Cemetery in Kelso, Lincoln County, Tennessee. Here is a photo of their tombstone from Ancestry user decafjnr.

If you are related to the Dyers or Piggs, I’d love to hear from you. Email me at downhomegenealogy@gmail.com.